April 22, 2016

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IN BRIEF 

HC refuses to grant 

interim protection to 

Virbhadra’s children 

New Delhi : The Delhi High 

Court today refused to grant any interim 

protection to Himachal Pradesh 

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s two 

children, who have challenged the 

Enforcement Directorate’s provisional 

attachment of some of their assets 

in a money laundering case. 

“We will give them (ED, Ministry 

of Finance) an opportunity to file response 

and then we will see if there is 

a need to protect you, if any. We don’t 

see any urgency to pass any interim 

order now,” a bench of Chief Justice 

G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath 

said. 

The bench, meanwhile, issued notices 

to the ED and Centre on the plea 

filed by Virbhadra’s daughter Aprajita 

Kumari and son Vikramaditya 

Singh, who have also sought stay on 

the March 23 provisional attachment 

order (PAO) of ED, saying it has “exceeded 

its jurisdiction”. 

During the hearing, senior advocate 

Amit Sibal, who appeared for 

the petitioners, requested the court 

to stay the further proceedings in the 

matter but the bench said that it will 

go through the response filed by the 

Centre and will then hear the matter. 

When the bench posted the matter 

for April 18, Sibal said, “Before April 

18 I must be protected. The ED may 

commence proceedings within a period 

of 30 days from the provisional 

attachment order of March 23.” 

To this, the bench said, “You are 

challenging the constitutional validity. 

They (ED and Centre) will be 

given an opportunity to file their response.” 

The petitioners have also challenged 

the recently amended second 

proviso of section 5(1) of the Prevention 

of Money Laundering Act 

(PMLA), saying it be declared unconstitutional, 

claiming it was contradictory 

to the scheme of the Act and 

violated the Constitution. 

FORECAST 

Max 37.0 0 

Min 24.0 0 

Wind 13 (kmph) 

M.Humidity 37 (%) 

BOTTOM LINE IPL 2016 

Mother Dairy partners Delhi 

Daredevils as principal sponsor 

New Delhi 

April 06, 2016 

Mother Dairy has partnered 

Zaheer Khan-led 

IPL cricket team Delhi 

Daredevils as its principal 

sponsor. 

With this association, 

the brand Mother Dairy 

will be seen on Delhi 

Daredevils team jersey, 

along with the visibility 

at key spots in the stadium 

on match days. 

“Our association with 

WITHDRAW EXCISE DUTY 

AHMED PATEL TO JAITLEY 

New Delhi 


FMCG major ITC today 

said it has adequate cigarette 

stocks available in the market 

despite shutting all its manufacturing 

in the wake of the 

government rule that requires 

larger pictorial warnings on 

packets. 

“Adequate stocks are 

available in the market,” an 

ITC spokesperson told in an 

e-mailed response. 

The company had on April 

2 said that it was not ready to 

print larger pictorial warnings 

Mercedes posts record sales in 

India in FY16 at 13,558 units 

New Delhi 


German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz 

today reported its 

best ever sales in a fiscal in India 

at 13,558 units, up 20.91 

per cent from the previous year. 

The company had posted sales of 

11,213 units in 2014-15, which was 

the previous best, Mercedes-Benz 

India said in a statement. 

For the January to March 2016 

period, the company said it posted 

its best ever quarterly sales at 3,622 

units, as against 3,566 units in the 

year-ago period, up 1.6 per cent. 

The Q1 sales momentum 

achieved is significant against the 

backdrop of the ban on 2,000 cc 

Delhi Daredevils team 

was a natural fit as we 

share the same passion 

for Delhi and the very 

reason of our existence. 

Volume-2, Issue-17 I Thursday, April 07, 2016 

Office space leasing down 26% in Jan-Mar at 5 mln sq ft: CBRE 

New Delhi 


Office space absorption fell by 26 per 

cent to about 5 million sq ft during the 

first quarter of 2016 in seven major cities 

of the country, with corporates yet to 

finalise their real estate plans for the year, 

property consultant CBRE says. 

Delhi and NCR contributed 31 per cent 

Press Release 

Press Conference 

Advertising 

Brand Building 

Media Relations 

Content 

BABUS TO SUGGEST WAYS 

SCHEMES 

Adequate cigarette stocks 

available despite shutting mfg: ITC 

New Delhi 


Backing the protesting 

jewellers, Rahul Gandhi 

today dubbed the one 

per cent excise duty on 

non-silver jewellery 

items as an “assassination 

attempt” on traders 

by the BJP government 

and alleged it was being 

done to benefit big industrialists. 

The Congress Vice 

President, who was addressing 

a rally of the 

on its cigarette packs and its 

factories would remain shut 

till clarity emerged on the 

above diesel engines in the key 

Delhi and NCR market, successive 

price hikes and a lack of incentives 

for the automotive sector 

in the Union Budget, it added. 

Commenting on the company’s 

sales performance, Mercedes-Benz 

India Managing 

Director & CEO Roland 

Folger said: “It is a significant 

All India Bullion Jeweller 

and Swarnakar 

Federation at Jantar 

Mantar here, once again 

Continued Pg-7... 


matter. 

As per the notification of 

the Health Ministry, tobacco 

to the total office space leasing in the January-March 

quarter of this year. 

“While the first quarter of the year traditionally 

witnesses muted transaction 

activity, the overall sentiment among 

India’s corporate space occupiers is optimistic,” 

CMD of CBRE, South Asia Pvt 

Ltd, Anshuman Magazine said. 

India continues to remain one of the 

global key outsourcing destinations 

Crisis Management 

Rahul backs jewellers,says Govt 

strangulating small businesses 

ridiculed the Centre’s 

‘Make in India’ initiative 

with a reference to 

its logo, saying it was a 

Social Media Management 

Price 3.00 I Pages 8 I SURAT I RNI NO : GUJENG/2015/63176 

products are required to have 

pictorial warning on 85 per 

cent of the packaging space. 

ITC argued the required rule 

is more than the average global 

warning size of 31 per cent. 

“The warning size in India 

is much larger than the average 

of 20 per cent among the 

top five tobacco producing 

countries -- China, Brazil, 

USA, Malawi and Zimbabwe, 

comprising around 90 per cent 

of global tobacco production 

and the global average warning 

size of 31 per cent,” the 


which will improve the momentum going 

forward, he said in a statement. 

About 5 million sq ft of prime office 

space was absorbed during January-March, 

a drop of about 26 per cent 

year-on-year, the CBRE’s ‘India Office 

MarketView - Q1, 2016’ report said. 

The seven cities named in the report are 

-- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, 

Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. 

New Delhi 


The Centre’s green panel has given 

clearance to Tata Steel for diversion 

of about 199 hectare of forest 

land for expansion of its iron ore 

mining project in Keonjhar district, 

Odisha. 

“The Forest Advisory Committee 

(FAC) under the Union Environment 

Ministry examined Tata 

Steel’s proposal during last month’s 

meeting and recommended granting 

forest clearance,” a senior government 

official said. 

The FAC has suggested that the 

ministry should give final clearance 

subject to some conditions, the official 

added. 

Normally, the ministry gives final 

nod to projects based on the recommendations 

of the FAC. 

As per the proposal, the company 

MITCHELL JOHNSON OPENS 

UP ABOUT HIS RIVALRY 

WITH VIRAT KOHLI 

Tata Steel gets forest panel 

nod for Odisha mining project 

“babbar sher” that wants 

to “strangulate” small 

businesses. 

“This is not an excise 

duty on you. This is an 

assassination attempt 

on you. You are being 

killed.... But why are 

you being killed? Who 

will benefit from this? 

“First and foremost 

big industrialists will 

benefit and secondly 

those people will gain 


New Delhi 


(IANS) Actor Arjun 

Kapoor, who is currently 

riding high on the success 

of his latest release “Ki & 

Ka”, says he will like to 

be part of a biopic only if 

he relates to the character 

he gets to portray. 

Wheat remains weak on 

higher supply, reduced offtake 

GOLD 28,743.00 

Previous 28,824.00 

SILVER 36,109.00 


DOLLAR 66.6550 

Previous 66.4350 

SENSEX 24,900.63 


Will do a biopic if it connects 

with me: Arjun Kapoor 

The 30-year-old actor 

says an actor should do a 

biopic only if the character 

connects and not just 

because everyone is doing 

it. 

“You should do a biopic 

when it connects with 

you. It should not be done 


has sought permission for diversion 

of 199.1 hectare of forest land, including 

2.2 hectare for safety zone, 


New Delhi 


Wheat prices fell further by Rs 10 

per quintal at the wholesale grains 

market on ample stocks on higher 

supplies from producing regions 

against reduced offtake by flour mills. 

Maize also eased on muted demand 

from consuming industries. 

Traders said adequate stocks position 

on higher supplies from producing 

belts against reduced offtake by 

flour mills kept wheat prices lower. 

Meanwhile, over 15,000 tonnes of 

wheat have arrived in the grain markets 

of Haryana during the rabi marketing 

season 2016-17. 

In the national capital,wheat dara 

(for mills) eased by Rs 10 to Rs 

1,590-15,95 per quintal. Atta chakki 

delivery followed suit and shed Rs 5 


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2 GUJARAT 

Thursday, April 07, 2016 

Withdraw excise duty on gems, 

jewellery: Ahmed Patel to Jaitley 

Gandhinagar 


Ahmed Patel, political secretary to 

Sonia Gandhi, and Rajya Sabha MP 

from Gujarat has written a letter Union 

finance minister Arun Jaitley for withdrawal 

of Central excise duty on the 

gems & jewellery industry. 

Patel wrote that imposition of central 

excise duty of 1%, or 12.5% with input 

credit on gems and jewellery industry, is 

a massive disappointment for more than 

1 crore artisans, karigars and goldsmiths 

whose livelihood is dependent on the 

industry. It is estimated that the jewellery 

industry is paying around Rs30,000 

crore tax annually, and one crore people 

are directly, and six crore people indirectly 

employed in this industry. 

He said that it is surprising that 

the government, which is championing 

‘ease of doing business’’ and has 

launched programs like ‘Make in India’ 

has chosen to increase red tape for this 

critical sector. 

He said that he got several representations 

on the issue and requests immediate 

rollback of the excise duty on the 

sector. The indefinite strike by jewellers 

across Gujarat entered its 36th day on 

Tuesday as all jewellery shops remained 

shut throughout the state. At the same 

time, losses by jewellers have crossed 

Rs 10,000 crore mark. Meanwhile, more 

than 500 jewellers from the city held a 

candlelight vigil in Manek Chowk on 

Tuesday evening. Since March 2, more 

Contractors, govt officials 

booked for car crash at flyover 

than 50,000 jewellers of the state have 

been protesting against the proposed 

1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery 

items as well as mandatory quoting of 

PAN by customers for transaction of Rs 

2 lakh and above. 

The striking jewellers want complete 

rollback of excise duty and claim to 

continue their strike till their demands 

are met. 

Lioness attacks farmer in Kodinar 

Rajkot 


A 21-year-old farmer 

in Gir-Somnath 

district was attacked 

by a lioness early on 

Tuesday morning. 

The lioness 

pounced on the farmer 

Vijay Jadav, who 

was watering his field 

in Gir-Devdi village 

of Kodinar taluka at 

around 4:30 am. 

“A pride of lions 

was passing through 

the area when Jadav 

was irrigating his 

farm. A lioness from 

the group suddenly 

attacked Jadav. Farmers 

from nearby fields 

rushed to his rescue,” 

sources said. Jadav 

was taken to a hospital 

in Kodinar where 

he was treated for injuries 

on his back. 

While attacks by 

leopards on labourers 

sleeping in the fields 

are frequent, it is rare 

for a lion or lioness to 

attack humans unless 

provoked. The attack 

on Jadav comes barely 

a fortnight after a 

lion killed a farm labourer 

Jina Makwana 

in Ankadiya village. 

Makwana was 

asleep when the lion 

dragged him for 

around 200 m away 

from his hut. 

In December last 

year, a 26-year-old 

lion tracker Shahid 

Khan Pathan was attacked 

by lioness 

during a rescue operation 

in Samadhiyala 

(2) village in Amreli 

district. Just a day later, 

a lion had mauled a 

farmer in Khatrivada 

village near Una in 

Gir-Somnath district. 

The lion was sitting 

in the cotton field of 

Ramjibhai Shivabhai, 

the 23-year-old farmer. 

Earlier in 2014 too, 

an 18-year-old farm 

labourer, Deepak 

Babariya, was brutally 

killed by a lioness 

in Agariya village, 

some five km from 

Rajula in Amreli district. 

623 Gujarat villages declared 

‘scarcity affected’ 

Vadodara 


A day after two persons died 

after their car fell off an under-construction 

flyover in 

Ranoli, the Chhani police have 

booked the contractor and 

government officials for negligence. 

A complaint filed on Tuesday 

after investigations revealed 

that there were neither barricades 

nor signboards or reflectors 

installed at the approach 

of the flyover to indicate that it 

was under construction. 

Police have booked the staff 

of IRB Infrastructures Developers 

Ltd and government and 

private contractors involved in 

Ahmedabad 


State home department on Tuesday 

issued a notification for transfer 

and promotion of six IPS officers. 

Two IPS officers have been 

transferred to Ahmedabad city to 

take charge as DCPs of traffic and 

control room. 

the construction of the flyover. 

“The approach roads to the 

bridge were constructed from 

both sides but the portion at the 

centre was yet to be connected. 

There was a wide gap between 

two sides of the bridge one km 

from the approach road. The 

two persons who got on to the 

flyover were clearly unaware of 

this and kept driving,” said A A 

Saiyad, Chhani police inspector. 

“By the time they noticed 

the gap it was too late. Their 

car plunged from a height of 

about 30 feet and both died on 

the spot,” Saiyad added. 

The deceased were identified 

as Jitesh Kori and Sunil Chaudhary 

, both residents of Gandhinagar. 

Kori and Chaudhary 

worked together at a private 

gym. While Soni worked as the 

manager of the gym, Chaudhary 

worked as a trainer. They 

were returning from Surat and 

going to Gandhinagar. 

The work on the flyover was 

stopped few days ago as there 

were electric lines passing over 

the bridge. According to police, 

the authorities were working on 

transferring these wires underground. 

Commuters are often 

confused while travelling on 

the road leading to Ahmedabad 

NH-8 and Vadodara-Ahmedabad 

Expressway . There are no 

clear signboards to indicate the 

roads leading to the Expressway 

and often commuters end 

up driving on the wrong side. 

6 IPS officers transferred, promoted 

Ashok Kumar Yadav, SP, Anand, 

has been shifted to State Crime 

Records Bureau (SCRB). Saurabh 

Singh, ACP, C Division of Vadodara 

city, has been promoted to 

SP rank and transferred to the post 

of SP, Anand. Sources said that Yadav 

had supervised probe into the 

recent kidney racket in Anand. 

MD Jani, DCP (traffic), Ahmedabad, 

has been transferred to SRP 

battalion in Kutch. Sudhir Desai, 

SDPO, Vadodara rural, has been 

promoted and transferred as DCP 

(traffic). Balram Meena, ASP Valsad, 

will take charge as DCP (control) 

in Ahmedabad city, Karanraj 

Vaghela, ASP, Gandhinagar, 

would take charge as DCP Zone II 

in Rajkot. 

Gandhinagar 


The Gujarat government’s 

cabinet sub-committee of ministers 

took a decision to declare 

623 villages as ‘scarcity 

affected’. 

These villages will be supplied 

fodder at the same rate as 

in water scarcity hit areas. Of 

these villages, 64 are in Porbandar 

district, 190 in Jamnagar, 

68 in Devbhoomi Dwarka 

and 301 in Kutch. According to 

senior minister Bhupendrasinh 

Chudasama, who is in-charge 

of the cabinet sub-committee 

on water scarcity, said the 

committee will take further 

decisions after getting reports 

from the district collectors of 

Banaskantha, Patan and Amreli. 

Chudasama said that the villages 

have been declared scarcity 

hit based on various criteria 

including severe lack of 

fodder for cattle, scarce drinking 

water, crop failure among 

other reasons. 

“The collectors have been 

directed to provide fodder at 

Rs 2 per kg and drinking water 

through tankers to people 

in these affected villages,” said 

Chudasama. 

Earlier, 527 villages in Rajkot, 

Jamnagar and Devbhoomi 

Dwarka were declared ‘partially 

scarcity hit’. 

Bariben Mahadeva, sarpanch 

of Lodarani village in Rapar 

taluka in Kutch said, “We are 

getting water once a day. There 

is a major water scarcity staring 

us in the face. We are finding 

it extremely difficult to 

arrange fodder for our cattle. 

There is no fodder available in 

our area and farmers are even 

ready to pay Rs 300 for a 20 

kg bale. Government should 

make emergency arrangements 

for fodder, otherwise the people 

will be forced to migrate 

in large numbers.” Amarbhai 

Chuchiya, sarpanch of Halara 

village in Bhachau in Kutch 

said: “We are fortunate to have 

access to drinking water as 

Narmada water has reached 

the outskirts of our village. 

However, we are facing a major 

shortage of fodder for our 

cattle, as this is the second 

consecutive years where Kutch 

has received scarce rainfall,” 

said Chuchiya. 

SUDOKU 

ACROSS 

The classic sudoku game Involve a grid of 81 squares the grid is divided 

into nine blocks, each containing nine squares. The rules of the 

game are simple : each of nine blocks has contain all the numbers 1-9 

within its sqaure each number can only appear in a row, column or box. 

A crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or 

a rectangular grid of white and black shaded squares. The goal is to fill the 

white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which 

lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer 

words and phrases are placed in the grid from left to right and from top to 

bottom. The shaded squares are used to separate the words or phrases. 

Across 

1 Motion (8) 

5 Put off for ever (4) 

9 Side of the face (5) 

10 Artillerymen (7) 

11 Totalitarian regime (12) 

13 Team sport, informally (6) 

14 Opera by Bizet (6) 

17 In between (12) 

20 Make joyful (7) 

21 Mealtime prayer (5) 

22 Actor’s part (4) 

23 US state, capital Annapolis (8) 

Down 

1 Small rodents (4) 

2 Swerving (7) 

3 Come up to scratch (4,3,5) 

4 Contradict (6) 

6 Eye, back, baby, gold or false, for example 

(5) 

7 Put off (8) 

8 More and more (12) 

12 Percy __, Country Gardens composer, d. 

1961 (8) 

15 Sicilian dessert wine (7) 

16 Rupture (6) 

18 Lag behind (5) 

19 Fermented honey drink (4)

SOUTH GUJARAT 


3 

Europe terror attacks fail to deter Gujarati tourists 

Ahmedabad 


City-based businessman Rishabh 

Bagadia, 37, is set to embark 

on a two-week Europe 

tour along with his family and 

friends in a few days. The bookings 

were done in advance, with 

the children’s vacations in mind. 

The recent terror attacks have 

not spurred any change in travel 

plans for Rishabh and his friends. 

And Rishabh is not alone. Scores 

of Gujaratis will be travelling to 

Europe for their summer break 

this year. 

According to tour operators and 

travel agencies, the terror attacks 

in Brussels and Paris have failed 

to dampen the spirit of Gujarati 

tourists headed to Europe for 

IPS officer plays truant, 

for two whole years 

their summer holidays. 

The Scandinavian countries, 

beside Switzerland and France, 

continue to be firm favourites. 

Travel operators claim there is a 

25% surge in bookings for summer 

holidays this year, with Europe 

and then the USA being the 

most preferred destinations. 

“We have witnessed an impressive 

growth in bookings of more 

than 26% from the Gujarat region. 

Not just from Ahmedabad, 

but equally in mini metros of Vadodara, 

Surat and Rajkot. There 

is high demand for countries like 

Switzerland, Germany, France, 

Spain and Italy,” said Rajeev D 

Kale, president and country head, 

leisure travel, Thomas Cook India 

Ltd. 

Summer tours to destinations 

like Europe and the USA are 

booked well in advance, as early 

as January. “Advance bookings 

were quite good and until now we 

have not received many requests 

for cancellation or changes in 

plans by tourists from Gujarat,” 

said Sanjeev Chhajer, vice-president, 

Cox & Kings Ltd. 

“While we did receive queries 

from customers, we have got zero 

cancellations till date. Also, besides 

the traditional favourites, 

new destinations such as Flanders, 

Lucerne, Ireland, Vienna, 

Scandinavia and North France’s 

Picardy are strongly emerging as 

new favourites among tourists to 

Europe,” added Kale. 

Though there are no cancellations, 

tourists to Europe are taking 

precautions in their own way. 

These include avoiding the exact 

terror attack spots in cities such 

as Paris, and using private vehicles 

instead of public transport 

among other measures. 

“Family holiday bookings in 

the Ahmedabad region have risen 

by around 15% compared to 

last year. Close to 65% of family 

vacation tours happen in the summer,” 

said Karan Anand, head, 

relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd. 

According to a city-based tour 

operator, the rush for holidays 

in Europe is such that visa processing 

for countries like UK, 

Switzerland, France and other big 

destinations is taking around 10- 

15 days. 

A Gujarati Patel among 21 

arrested for visa fraud in US 

Ahmedabad 


An IPS officer posted 

in Junagarh went absent 

without official leave two 

years ago without any explanation. 

The 2011 batch IPS 

officer Abhishek Kumar 

Singh - who has a master’s 

degree in engineering 

- was appointed ASP, 

Junagarh, in 2014. 

Soon after his appointment, 

Singh went missing. 

A police team was sent 

to his hometown, Patna. 

It found Singh there, but 

he wouldn’t let the policemen 

enter his house. 

The police team stayed in 

Patna for 15 days to convince 

him to return to his 

duty. It was unsuccessful. 

Ahmedabad 


Ten Indian-Americans 

are among 21 people arrested 

as part of a sting 

operation in which a fake 

university was created 

by US authorities to expose 

a visa scam that allowed 

more than 1,000 

foreigners to maintain 

student and work visas. 

In a nationwide sweep 

federal authorities arrested 

21 people in New 

York, New Jersey, Washington 

and Virginia. 

“These defendants arranged 

to obtain visas by 

having individuals enroll 

in a fake university. Unfortunately 

for them, that 

fake university was run 

by undercover agents of 

the Department of Homeland 

Security,” Paul J 

Fishman, US Attorney for 

New Jersey, told reporters. 

The arrested people 

were brokers, recruiters 

and employers who unlawfully 

and fraudulently 

obtained or attempted 

to obtain student visas 

and foreign worker visas 

for approximately 

1,000 foreign nationals 

from 26 countries. 

It is learnt that a large 

number of students who 

received necessary visa 

and permits to work in the 

US as a result of the sting 

operation for which they 

reportedly paid huge sums 

of money are from India. 

Officials, however, did 

not give the number of 

Indian students who were 

trapped by this year-long 

sting operation done by 

immigration and law enforcement 

authorities. 

While the US Government 

did not reveal the 

nationality of the arrested 

people, names released by 

authorities indicate that 

10 of them are either Indians 

or of Indian-origin. 

Those name include: 

Tajesh Kodali, Jyoti Patel, 

Shahjadi M Parvin, 

Narendra Singh Plaha, 

Sanjeev Sukhija, Harpreet 

Sachdeva, Avinash Shankar, 

Karthik Nimmala, 

Govardhan Dyavarashetty 

and Syed Qasim Abbas. 

These people arrested 

for their involvement in 

an alleged scheme to enroll 

foreign nationals as 

students in the University 

of Northern New Jersey, a 

purported for-profit college 

located in Cranford, 

New Jersey (UNNJ). 

Unbeknownst to the 

defendants and the foreign 

nationals they conspired 

with, the UNNJ 

was created in September 

2013 by special agents 

of Homeland Security 

Investigations (HSI). 

“Pay-to-Stay schemes 

not only damage our perception 

of legitimate student 

and foreign worker 

visa programmes, they 

also pose a very real 

threat to national security,” 

Fishman said. 

The HIS sting investigation 

was carried out to 

unearth the unauthorised 

networks and educational 

institutions that are “nothing 

more than sham visa 

mills”, he said, adding that 

these educational institutions 

have no curriculum, 

no classes, no instructors 

and no real students. 

“These purported 

schools and their corrupt 

administrators 

simply give out I-20 

forms in exchange for 

payment,” he said. 

“This illegal practice 

is known as ‘pay to stay’ 

because foreign nationals 

pay money to brokers and 

recruiters, like the defendants, 

to be enrolled 

in a school for the sole 

purpose of obtaining immigration 

status as a student 

but with no intention 

of or interest in going to 

class or making any progress 

toward an academic 

degree,” Fishman said. 

To catch these recruiters, 

HIS developed an 

undercover investigative 

strategy that involved the 

creation of a school called 

the University of Northern 

New Jersey or UNNJ. 

Although UNNJ was 

physically located in 

New Jersey, in a real 

Rajkot mayor faces oppn 

ire over water shortage 

Rajkot 


Rajkot city Congress 

councillors led by leader 

of opposition, Vasram 

Sagathia, on Tuesday 

stormed into Rajkot mayor 

Dr Jaiman Upadhyay’s office 

with empty water pots 

protesting against unavailability 

of drinking water 

supply in many parts of 

the city since the past two 

days. 

The Congress workers 

were agitating over the 

Rajkot Municipal Corporation 

(RMC) declaring 

water cuts in some parts of 

city on Monday and Tuesday 

. They also shouted 

slogans against the mayor 

and demanded water for 

the citizens. They sat down 

on the floor with the steel 

water pots.Mayor Upadhyay 

had to call the police, 

who forcefully removed 

the protesting Congress 

workers from his office. 

Meanwhile, his colleagues 

told Singh that he 

would lose his job if he 

didn’t join duty soon. 

Singh then finally went 

to the DGP’s office in Junagarh 

to join duty. The 

DGP informed him that 

his case file has been sent 

to Delhi. 

“We have informed 

about Abhishek Kumar 

Singh to National Police 

Academy. They are 

suppose to inform MHA 

(Ministry of Home Affairs)for 

the same. So, 

now only MHA can 

take any decision about 

Singh’s job,” Mohan Jha, 

ADGP, administration 

said. 

Singh is now in Delhi 

and trying to save his job. 

He still hasn’t offered 

any explanation about his 

two-year absence. 

“Thousands of residents 

in western parts of the city 

are left without drinking 

water. RMC has not been 

supplying drinking water 

since the past two days. 

BJP leaders have repeatedly 

assured people of adequate 

drinking water supply 

but in summer people 

are facing acute drinking 

water shortage,” alleged 

Congress leader Vasram 

Sagathiya. Congress councillor 

Mansukh Kalsaria 

claimed that in parts where 

the water was supplied, 

there was not enough pressure 

for people to store adequate 

quantity . 

Households in Rajkot 

city get 20 minute supply 

of drinking water daily . 

The city further requires 

210-220 MLD (million 

litre per day) of Narmada 

water to fulfil its daily water 

requirement. Explaining 

the RMC’s water cut, 

Upadhyay said, “Rajkot’s 

main local water sources 

Aji (1) and Nyari (1) dam 

have dried up completely 

and we are now totally dependent 

on Narmada water 

supply , besides 40 MLD 

water from Bhadar dam.” 

“Since the past three days 

we are receiving only 20 

MLD water at Khambhala 

water works as against 40 

MLD requirement. We are 

in touch with the state government 

and concerned department 

to get more Narmada 

water for the city ,” 

Upadhyay told TOI.”As of 

now, we receive only 190- 

200 MLD Narmada water 

as against requirement of 

220 MLD. So, whenever 

we get less than 220 MLD 

water, we are left with no 

option but impose water 

cut in certain areas of the 

city,” said an RMC official. 

building in Cranford, 

the university was not a 

real school. Its only employees 

were undercover 

HIS agents posing as 

corrupt administrators. 

The school had no instructors 

or educators; 

it had no curriculum; 

and no actual classes 

or educational activities 

ever occurred there. 

Once word got out, 

brokers descended on 

the school, clamouring 

to enroll their foreign 

student clients. 

But as the complaints 

also allege, the defendants 

did so while fully 

aware that those clients 

wouldn’t be attending 

any classes at the university, 

wouldn’t be furthering 

their educational 

goals, and wouldn’t 

be getting a degree. 

Instead, UNNJ was 

just another stop on 

the “pay to stay” tour. 

The undercover agents 

specifically told each 

defendant in conversations 

that were secretly 

recorded that the university 

was a sham devised 

to get immigration 

status for foreign 

nationals, Fishman said. 

In exchange for their 

illegal services, the defendants 

made money in 

several different ways. 

Some defendants had 

their foreign national clients 

make payments to 

the university disguised 

as tuition and then the 

defendants received kickbacks 

or “commissions” 

from the university. 

Other defendants 

charged their clients 

thousands of dollars and 

then the defendants made 

sham tuition payments 

directly to the university. 

In one case, a defendant 

gave an undercover 

agent a USD 7,000 

watch as “tuition fees” 

for seven purported 

student, Fishman said. 

He told reporters that 

to further complete the 

illusion, the complaints 

allege that virtually every 

defendant knowingly purchased 

fake documents 

from the undercover university, 

including fraudulent 

transcripts with made 

up classes and grades; 

diplomas; attendance 

sheets; student ID cards; 

sham receipts; and even 

phony parking passes. 

In the majority of instances, 

the undercover 

agents e-mailed blank 

templates to the defendants, 

who then with 

their clients filled in the 

phony information (such 

as classes and grades for 

transcripts) and e-mailed 

these false documents 

back to the agents. . 

The agents then placed 

the university s letterhead 

on the forms, printed 

and signed them and 

e-mailed them back to 

the defendants, he said. 

Fishman said in addition 

to this “pay to stay” 

scheme, several defendants 

were involved in 

H1-B fraud, that is, visas 

that allow foreign nationals 

to lawfully work 

in the United States. 

These defendants requested 

that undercover 

agents create phony Information 

Technology projects 

at the university, like 

software development. 

Although the defendants 

were explicitly told 

by undercover agents that 

the university had no need 

for any such projects, at 

least three of the charged 

defendants requested and 

paid thousands of dollars 

for a variety of false 

documents from the university 

to trick USCIS 

into issuing H1-B visas 

to the defendant s foreign 

national employees. 

For example, Syed Abbas, 

from New York, is the 

owner of Fastnet Software 

International, an information 

technology staffing 

and consulting company. 

He purchased a lot of 

false documents from undercover 

agents and petitioned 

USCIS on behalf of 

approximately 20 foreign 

workers. None of these 

visas were issued, he said. 

Gujarat CM launches 

‘Maa Annapurna Yojna’ 

Ahmedabad 


Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben 

Patel today officially launched 

the state-wide implementation 

of National Food Security Act, 

which has been renamed as ‘Maa 

Annapurna Yojna (Scheme)’ 

by the state government. 

Though the Food Security 

Act was passed during the UPA 

regime at the Centre, Patel, in 

her speech at a grand launching 

function at Sanathal village near 

here, did not mention anything 

about the Act and sought to give 

all credit to Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi, who according to 

Patel, envisioned the scheme. 

“When Congress was ruling 

this state, only 1.88 crore people 

were given food-grains at subsidised 

rates prior to 1995. Now, 

under this Maa Annapurna Yojna, 

3.82 crore people of Gujarat 

will be benefited. Each of them 

will get rice at Rs 3 per Kg and 

wheat at Rs 2 per Kg,” said Patel. 

She even slammed past Congress 

governments in Gujarat 

for “not understanding 

the pain of poor citizens”. 

“Out of 35 kg given at subsidised 

rates during Congress 

rule, only 16 kg of food-grain 

was given at those rates, while 

for the remaining 19 kg, government 

used to charge Rs 7.70. 

Now, PM Modi removed this 

condition and has announced 

to give the entire 35 kg of foodgrain 

at subsidised rates,” she said. 

Patel claimed that Modi 

is the first PM of India who 

took care of poor citizens. 

“Due to efforts of Modiji, many 

poor citizens, including widows 

and those farmers who lost their 

crops, are now covered under this 

scheme and they no longer have to 

worry about feeding their families. 

No other PM has thought about 

poor people in the past,” said Patel. 

Though the implementation of 

the Act started in Gujarat from 

April 1, it was officially launched 

by the CM on the foundation day of 

BJP today. Other ministers have simultaneously 

launched the scheme 

from different parts of state today. 

In her speech, Patel appealed 

to the citizens to come forward 

in withdrawing their names from 

the list of beneficiaries if they 

are well-off and do not need the 

food-grain at subsidised rates..

4 


EDITORIAL 

The inheritance of loss 

Tilting towards the Saudis 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia, arguably the leader of the Sunni 

Muslim countries in West Asia, clearly sets out the priorities of his government’s policy for 

the region. The Riyadh trip came eight months after Mr. Modi went to the United Arab Emirates, 

another Gulf nation and a member of the Saudi camp. 

Historically, India’s West Asia policy has been multi-directional. During the Cold War 

years, India maintained close economic cooperation with both Saudi Arabia and Iran, the 

rival poles in regional geopolitics. Even when New Delhi warmed up to Israel in the 1990s as 

part of the country’s efforts to diversify its diplomatic engagement in the post-Soviet world, 

it was careful not to jeopardise the traditional relations with Muslim countries. The bi-directional 

approach has been expanded to a tri-directional foreign policy to accommodate the 

three key pillars of West Asia — Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel. 

Ties with Iran, however, took a beating during the sanctions years when New Delhi cut its 

energy cooperation significantly despite its vitality and huge energy potential. It was during 

the same time that India deepened cooperation with the Saudis. Mr. Modi’s visit to Riyadh 

should be seen against this background. His government appears to be following the regional 

policy set by its immediate predecessor. This approach, while not entirely giving up the 

tri-directional framework, is tilted more towards the Saudi camp and Israel. Mr. Modi is 

expected to travel to Israel this year, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Jewish 

nation. Many see the trip to Riyadh as part of New Delhi’s balancing act between the Saudis 

and the Israelis. On the other side, there appears to be a complete lack of interest on India’s 

part to reboot ties with Iran even after international sanctions on the country were removed 

following the nuclear deal. 

The Saudi significance 

To be sure, there’s a consensus in India’s foreign policy establishment that maintaining 

vibrant ties with Saudi Arabia is imperative to its national interest. Today, Saudi Arabia is 

India’s largest supplier of crude oil. That India is dependent on imports to meet around 70 per 

cent of the country’s energy demand itself makes Riyadh a vital player in the country’s quest 

for energy security. Besides, India is the largest recipient of foreign remittances from the 

kingdom. Of the 11 million Indians working in West Asia, nearly three million are in Saudi 

Arabia. Therefore, stability in the region, and particularly in Saudi Arabia, is high on India’s 

core agenda. But bilateral relations have gone beyond the economic realm in recent years, 

acquiring a strategic sense and pushing both countries to beef up their security partnership. 

Lessons from a massacre 

It is difficult to equate delayed justice 

with ‘justice denied’ in all cases. There 

may be occasions when even a delayed 

conviction can send out a message that 

there is no such thing as permanent impunity. 

The verdict of a Special CBI Court in 

Lucknow sentencing 47 police personnel 

to life imprisonment for participating in 

one of the most heinous massacres perpetrated 

in the name of an ‘encounter’ with 

armed terrorists, is one such instance in 

which some sort of accountability has been 

established, and the law has caught up with 

the perpetrators. On July 12, 1991, a bus 

carrying Sikh pilgrims was intercepted by 

the police about 125 km from Pilibhit in 

Uttar Pradesh, and all the men among them 

were taken away in a van. The police later 

claimed that the men were terrorists and 

that 10 of them were killed in three different 

‘encounters’ in the forests that night. 

A Central Bureau of Investigation probe 

ordered by the Supreme Court later revealed 

that the victims were killed in fake 

encounters. The agency charge-sheeted 57 

personnel, but 10 of them died during the 

course of the trial. It is worth recalling that 

militancy was at its peak in Punjab at the 

time. There were fears that it had spilled 

over from Punjab to the Terai region of Uttar 

Pradesh. The police in both States suspected 

that some Punjab militants were active 

in the Terai too, and Pilibhit, a district 

with a significant Sikh population, was 

under watch. It was also a phase in which 

the state was seen to be using questionable 

TheBIGpicture 

tactics to eliminate suspected terrorists. 

A judicial commission appointed by the 

Kalyan Singh government had given a 

clean chit to the police, even contending 

that the officers involved in the Pilibhit 

operation deserved ‘commendation’. But 

the CBI came to a different conclusion. 

However, the agency was faulted by human 

rights activists for leaving out superior 

officers, especially the Superintendent 

of Police at the time, R.D. Tripathi, from 

the charge sheet. Many felt that a nightlong 

operation involving personnel from 

several police stations could not have 

taken place without the knowledge of the 

district police chief. The trial judge, too, 

has noted that senior officers posted in the 

district at the time could have been part of 

the conspiracy. It is possible to commend 

the agency for successfully prosecuting 

those involved, but it is the families of the 

victims that deserve credit for their perseverance. 

However, the long delay and the 

failure to bring higher officials to book 

will surely cast a shadow on the quality of 

justice meted out in such cases. In troubled 

times, uniformed men tend to resort to extrajudicial 

killing not only to wreak vengeance 

on militants or extremists targeting 

their colleagues and civilians, but also to 

garner rewards and promotions. It can only 

be hoped that a verdict fixing responsibility 

will help end the culture of impunity 

seemingly enjoyed by the security forces, 

and bring a sense of closure to instances of 

such excesses. 

SCRIPSI 

“It’s one thing that no cabinet had ever had, is a Secretary Of The Future.” 

~ Kurt Vonnegut 

In dismissing a special leave petition 

that questioned the incarceration of a 

man-eating tiger in a zoo, the Supreme 

Court has brought the curtain down on 

a nearly year-long saga. The tiger in 

question, popularly known as Ustad by 

his admirers, was a star attraction at the 

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. 

In May last year, the nine-year-old 

tiger, known in official records as T24, 

ambushed and killed forest guard Rampal 

Saini who was on a foot patrol with 

his colleagues. During the previous five 

years, Ustad is believed to have killed 

three other people, two of whom were 

partially eaten. Saini’s killing was the 

last straw for the locals. They demanded 

that the tiger be removed forthwith, failing 

which they would unleash retribution 

against the reserve. Moving swiftly, 

forest officials tranquilised Ustad and 

moved him to a large enclosure in the 

Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur. 

The matter ought to have ended there, 

with the Forest Department commended 

for its decisive action. Instead, the move 

ignited a storm of protest from Ustad’s 

legion of fans — visitors who had 

watched him in action and lovingly captured 

his magnificence on their cameras 

— as well as thousands of others who 

had never seen him but felt strongly that 

it was cruel to punish a tiger for being 

a tiger. The majority opinion was that 

since Ranthambore was his territory, he 

could not be faulted for attacking humans 

who invaded his space. Thousands 

of angry protesters on social media 

drowned out the voices of experienced 

conservationists who believed that the 

right thing had been done. Candlelight 

marches, demonstrations, and petitions 

in court followed — not to demand 

The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples 

Democratic Party (PDP) captured 

power a mere three years after it was 

founded in 1999. As if the lightning 

speed with which it captured power 

was not surprising enough, it did so 

with only 16 elected MLAs against the 

28 of the National Conference (NC). 

The result did two things: it created the 

façade of a democratic choice between 

two State parties and cut the NC down 

to size. Those who accuse the deep 

state in Delhi of manipulating politics 

to ensure that Kashmir is browbeaten, 

acquiescent and isolated can be forgiven. 

The PDP started its first term well in 

2002. It instituted the “healing touch” 

slogan. It managed to ratchet down 

some of the Army’s easy, overt and 

self-confident everyday humiliation 

of civil society that had become a new 

normal. It introduced cell phones in the 

State, a bold move then. And it initiated 

important ornamental developmental 

projects, such as the one along the 

Jhelum river. Regionally the PDP devolved 

power to Ladakh and took Jammu 

into confidence. Internationally it 

called for India-Pakistan dialogue on 

Kashmir with uncanny confidence for 

an establishment-favoured party and 

convinced Delhi to allow buses and 

trucks to ply across the Line of Control, 

albeit with severe restrictions. On 

the political front it produced an interesting 

“self-rule” document that challenged 

Delhi’s stated position. 

The second coming 

So it was not much of a surprise 

when it won 28 seats in the 2014 Assembly 

election. In fact, many had expected 

the PDP to win at least eight or 

10 more seats, giving it close to a majority. 

But that was not to be and it had 

to settle for a coalition. However, for a 

party that had steered so deftly through 

the waters of the troubled Jammu and 

Kashmir State, the PDP became inexplicably 

hesitant and unconfident. 

Much has been written about the oddity 

of its coalition with its emblematic 

and ideological opposite, the Bharatiya 

Janata Party (BJP). The arguments and 

counterarguments about the coalition 

can be summed up thus: the PDP fell 

in line with the pattern of accepting 

that political power in Kashmir does 

not flow from its people but from being 

submissive to Delhi. It is a pattern 

despised because it favours individual 

legislators, not the State collective. 

There were many who argued that the 

late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, if anyone, 

could best the choppy waters of 

such an image and its constraints. But, 

sadly, he passed away after less than a 

year in office. 

Expectations of his daughter Mehbooba 

Mufti, who has acquired the 

mantle, were high. After all, she has 

been credited or defamed, depending 

on your perspective on State politics, 

for earning the “soft separatists” sobriquet 

for the PDP with her activism. 

However, in the last three months she 

suddenly became indecisive, awkward 

and tentative, casting serious doubts 

about her leadership abilities among 

the people. Some have offered her the 

false hope of escaping this perception 

by suggesting that she now has the option 

of portraying herself as being unwilling 

to compromise for power. It is 

an impression that cannot be sustained 

in the light of her eventual decision to 

return to the status quo ante. Besides, 

the people of Kashmir are way past 

such naiveté. But Ms. Mufti’s actions, 

or more accurately her inaction, after 

her father’s demise demonstrate that 

she may lack the courage of conviction 

of her pre-election politics and her 

pre-government-formation posturing. 

Losing her touch? 

Three examples will suffice as evidence 

of her backsliding on long-held 

positions. 

First, not once did Ms. Mufti, who is 

known for her rapport with the people, 

speak to her broader constituency after 

prompt and adequate compensation for 

Saini’s bereaved family, but for the return 

of Ustad to his usual haunt. 

Now that the Supreme Court has settled 

the matter, it might be opportune 

to dispassionately examine the issue of 

man-eating tigers, and how to deal with 

them. 

Fear factor 

I have filmed wildlife in India’s jungles 

for 30 years, often sitting alone and 

unarmed in flimsy ‘hides’, which a tiger 

could easily swat aside. Every day, forest 

guards on anti-poaching foot patrols 

and wildlife researchers studying ecology 

go about their work in our forests 

freely, because most wild tigers have an 

inherent, deep-seated fear of humans on 

foot. With their keen senses, the canny 

predators silently slip away into the 

forest when they become aware of our 

presence. It is only on rare occasions 

January 7 [Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s 

demise]. She was a perfect candidate to 

do what politicians do when faced with 

a Hobson’s choice: approach the people 

and ask them for their preference. 

The politician may end up eventually 

doing what she concludes is best; 

but giving an ear to the people’s will 

goes a long way in acquiring a feel for 

their pulse. The opacity of the PDP’s 

decision-making process as the BJP 

allowed them to twist in the wind has 

done Ms. Mufti much damage. 

Second, a political leader cannot 

overlook the first lesson of leadership: 

taking calculated risks for the betterment 

of the people you presume to 

lead. During this latest hiatus in Jammu 

and Kashmir’s civilian governance, 

Ms. Mufti has shown herself to be riskaverse 

in dealing with Delhi when in 

power and more willing to risk the ire 

of her constituency. This will not make 

governance easy. 

Finally, the ultimate test of leadership 

is courage of conviction in difficult 

times. It could not have been easy 

for the Chief Minister to discover, 

as it’s rumoured that 15, if not more, 

PDP MLAs had indicated a readiness 

to form the government with the BJP 

“with or without Mehbooba”. Everything 

about her past suggests that if 

this was true, she would call their bluff, 

expose the greedy politicians and give 

the people an opportunity to punish 

them in the next election. To have succumbed 

to their blackmail was not an 

instance of making pragmatic political 

concessions; it was one of capitulation. 

Why Ustad must be in captivity 

that one of them might be provoked to 

attack in self-defence — for example, 

when someone stumbles upon a sleeping 

tiger or gets too close to a mother with 

young cubs. 

There are, however, exceptions to 

this rule. When a tiger becomes too old 

to hunt its fleet-footed natural prey, or 

is disabled as a result of an injury, it 

might, in sheer desperation brought on 

by hunger, turn to killing humans. Once 

it learns how easy this is, it proceeds to 

deliberately target us to assuage its hunger. 

After a few such kills, it loses its innate 

fear of man, rendering it extremely 

dangerous to anyone living in the area. 

Admittedly, Ustad did not fit the profile 

of a typical man-eater. He was neither 

past his prime nor incapacitated in 

any way. His human kills were made far 

apart, and he was perfectly capable of 

bringing down wild prey.

BUSINESS 


Babus to suggest ways to reboot flagship schemes 

5 

Mumbai 


Ahead of its second anniversary 

next month, the NDA Government 

has constituted a group of joint secretaries 

from select ministries to evolve 

strategies to put more substance and 

speed into the action plans for flagship 

programmes such as Digital India, 

Swachh Bharat, Skill India and 

Make in India. The final presentations 

will be made to Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi 

The mandate of this group, which 

marks a departure from the traditional 

approach of setting up groups of ministers 

or committees of secretaries to 

devise such plans, is to finalise a strategy 

over the next month and a half to 

ensure these programmes deliver outcomes 

with a greater visible impact 

on the ground before the 2019 general 

election. 

Some new initiatives could be unveiled 

on the basis of these deliberations 

during the government’s second 

Mumbai 


Reserve Bank of India 

(RBI) Governor Raghuram 

Rajan said on Tuesday that it 

was not proper to make the 

names of all defaulters public 

as it would hurt the risk-taking 

ability of entrepreneurs. 

Dr. Rajan said only wilful 

defaulters’ names should be 

made public. 

“Sometimes, you default on 

credit card bill. Do you want 

to your name to be put out 

in public?” Dr. Rajan asked 

during a post-policy interaction 

with the media. 

“What we are saying is that 

the act of default happens in 

Mumbai 


Group of joint secretaries will evolve strategies for greater 

visible impact. 

Not proper to reveal names 

of all defaulters: Rajan 

business. Sometimes because 

not of your own fault,” he said. 

Earlier, the central bank 

submitted a list of names of 

large defaulters to the Supreme 

Court in a sealed cover 

but requested it not to make it 

public. 

“We believe, simply any act 

of default, without understanding 

the severity, if it just put 

out for the public to consume, 

it could create both loss of 

business as well as undue anxiety 

and panic and therefore 

chill business activity. If you 

are a promoter why will you 

take risk if there is a slightest 

chance of default and your 

name is put up in public for 

shame. I don’t think we wanted 

that kind of move, that was 

our plea to the Supreme Court 

for keeping this confidential,” 

the governor said. But he justified 

why the names of wilful 

defaulters should be made 

public. 

“We have no problem if the 

intent is to publish wilful defaulters 

list. That is where the 

promoter has, in the eyes of 

the bank, taken it for granted. 

The bank has gone through a 

legitimate process of declaring 

the promoter as wilful defaulter. 

That can be made public. 

In fact, some courts have prevented 

banks from making that 

list public,” Dr. Rajan said. 

Skill India as well as initiatives in the 

health and education sectors,” a senior 

government official privy to the 

developments told The Hindu. 

Marathon interactions are being 

held to evolve a fresh strategy for each 

of these that can be executed before 

the next general election. The group 

of joint secretaries has been tasked 

with formulating a blueprint for each 

programme. Initial presentations have 

been circulated to the respective nodal 

ministries for their comments and 

inputs. 

The ministers concerned have also 

been instructed to hold discussions 

with officials at the level of deputy 

secretary and above to finalise a strategy. 

The final presentations are to be 

made to the Prime Minister. 

“The objective of the action plan is 

to take the development model to the 

next level for quicker delivery. The 

plans will be based on views of multiple 

ministries with the involvement of 

all mid-level and above government 

officials,” said the official. 

Former cabinet secretary Naresh 

Chandra said, “It is a good move if 

it helps to improve the ease of doing 

business in these sectors and accelerates 

investment flows. Monitoring and 

setting up committees alone, however, 

will not work if the officials working 

at the ground level are not helpful.” 

The new action points formulated 

by the joint secretaries’ group that 

pass muster with the government 

could then be added to the Prime Minister’s 

monthly monitoring system to 

ascertain the status of various critical 

projects and policies across the country. 

On the fourth Wednesday of every 

month, the Prime Minister usually 

meets secretaries of the Union government 

and chief secretaries of all State 

governments to review the progress of 

projects under implementation. 

These meetings are held over video-conference, 

using an ICT-based 

multi-modal monitoring system called 

PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and 

Timely Implementation). 

anniversary celebrations. 

“The idea is to work on the major 

themes of this government such 

as Digital India, Swachh Bharat and 

As RBI cuts repo rate, home 

loans could become cheaper 

New Delhi 


The Reserve Bank of India 

(RBI) on Tuesday cut the 

benchmark repo rate by 25 

basis points to 6.5 per cent, as 

widely expected, with Governor 

Raghuram Rajan assuring 

that the monetary stance will 

remain “accommodative.” 

Bankers said the comment 

signals that the central bank 

is leaving the door open for 

further reductions. 

The rate cut could help 

lower the cost of loans for 

consumers, including automobile 

and home buyers. 

The RBI said easing price 

pressures had been a key factor 

in determining the policy 

Modi unveils scheme to 

make Dalits entrepreneurs 

stance and cited “government’s 

effective supply side 

measures keeping a check on 

food prices, and the government’s 

commendable commitment 

to fiscal consolidation.” 

Retail inflation slowed 

to 5.18 per cent in February 

after accelerating for six consecutive 

months. 

The repo rate, which is at 

its lowest in five years, will 

help banks reduce borrowing 

costs, helping boost economic 

growth. “We have cut 

interest rates by 150 basis 

points since the beginning of 

the accommodative cycle,” 

Dr. Rajan told reporters. 

The latest rate cut should be 

seen in the backdrop of banks 

reducing lending rates by 25 from 95 per cent from April 

to 50 bps since adopting a 16, the marginal standing 

new loan pricing mechanism facility rate (the penal rate 

— the marginal cost of funds at which banks borrow from 

based lending rate — in the the RBI) was cut by 75 basis 

points and the reverse 

first week of April, according 

to the RBI Governor. repo rate (the rate banks earn 

Also read: Editorial — when they park money with 

Staying accomodative the RBI) raised by 25 bps. 

“Policy action is more significant 

today than just a 25 moving into the real econo- 

“Policy actions... are not 

basis points rate cut. Borrowing 

is now significantly like,” Minister of State for 

my as quickly as we would 

cheaper and will continue to Finance Jayant Sinha said on 

get so,” he said. 

Tuesday. “So our focus is not 

The RBI also announced so much on the sugar high of 

measures to ease liquidity what the RBI can do in terms 

in the banking system. The of rate cuts as on working 

daily requirement for maintaining 

cash reserve ratio has where transmission is prov- 

in the areas of the economy 

been reduced to 90 per cent ing a problem.” 

Stocks slump after RBI rate 

cut as IMF spooks investors 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday 

unveiled the ‘Stand-up India’ scheme to promote 

entrepreneurship among women, scheduled 

castes and tribes by enabling them secure 

easier loans and said this could be an engine of 

job creation for the youth. 

“Dalits and poor people, if given an opportunity, 

can bring in various reforms in the 

country. That’s my vision for Stand-up India… 

This scheme is going to transform the lives of 

Dalit and tribal communities,” Mr. Modi said 

while introducing the scheme in Noida, Uttar 

Pradesh. 

Under the scheme, SC/ST and women entrepreneurs 

will be provided loans of between 

Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore for setting up new 

enterprises. 

Mr. Modi said this will help in creating 2.5 

lakh entrepreneurs throughout the country as 

every bank branch will be required to provide 

two such loans – to a Dalit or SC/ST person 

and a woman. 

The Prime Minister said the scheme, which 

was announced during his Independence Day 

speech last year, is being unveiled on April 5 to 

mark the birth anniversary of Congress Dalit 

Leader Babu Jagjivan Ram. “Whatever one’s 

party or ideology may be, we want to remember 

those who have lived and toiled for the 

nation. As agriculture minister, Babu Jagjivan 

Ram did a lot to usher in the green revolution. 

During the 1971 war, which we won, very few 

people would know that he was the defence 

minister,” he said. Mr. Modi’s remarks and his 

choice of venue to unveil this scheme assumes 

significance in view of the upcoming assembly 

elections in five states where the Dalit and 

other backward class votes could be critical. 

Uttar Pradesh, which goes to polls early 

next year, has the highest Dalit population 

among all states. 

The prime minister said the scheme aims 

to empower every Indian and enable them 

to stand on their feet. It seeks to convert 

“job-seekers into job-creators.” 

In an indirect jibe at Mr.Vijay Mallya, who 

is currently facing charges of wilful default 

on bank loans, the prime minister said people 

have tried to find ways to run away after 

borrowing money from banks “but the poor of 

the country, whom we had asked to open zero 

balance accounts… have put in a total of over 

Rs.35,000 crore with accounts opened under 

PMJDY.” 

Mr. Modi also distributed 5,100 e-rickshaws 

under the scheme and 151 women were 

among those whoreceived the vehicles. 

“E-rickshaws will be given to those who do 

not own rickshaws. Beneficiaries of this will 

be the poor,” he said. This will also benefit the 

environment, he said pointing out that India 

spends billions on importing oil while these 

rickshaws will run on batteries charged using 

solar power. These e-rickshaws have been distributed 

for use in Delhi-NCR region. 

“Dalits and poor people, 

if given an opportunity, 

can bring in 

various reforms in the 

country. That’s my 

vision for Stand-up 

India…This scheme 

is going to transform 

the lives of Dalit and 

tribal communities.” 

— Narendra Modi 

Mumbai 


The benchmark BSE 

Sensex slumped 516 

points on Tuesday with 

bank stocks bearing the 

brunt as investors ignored 

a widely anticipated 25 

basis points rate cut by 

the RBI amid a global 

sell-off. Stocks declined 

in Asia and Europe as oil 

fell and the IMF warned 

that the global economy 

was losing momentum. 

The Sensex lost 2 per 

cent to close at 24,883.59. 

The broader Nifty settled 

below the 7,700 mark at 

7,603.20, down 155.60 

points or 2.01 per cent. 

This was the biggest single-day 

fall in nearly two 

months. 

“The rate cut of 25 basis 

points was on expected 

lines and largely discounted 

in the markets,” 

said Kamlesh Rao, Chief 

Executive Officer, Kotak 

Securities. “Thus, with 

no positive surprise, markets 

came off, post the 

policy announcement.” 

However, the measures 

announced by the central 

bank will enhance liquidity 

and that should lead 

to better transmission of 

rates over the medium 

term, which will be a 

positive from economic 

growth perspective, he 

said. Banking stocks lost 

the most with the BSE 

Bankex shedding 592 

points or 3.21 per cent 

– the highest among all 

sectoral indices. Heavyweights 

like ICICI Bank 

and State Bank of India 

lost over five per cent 

each. Yes Bank, Bank of 

Baroda and Punjab National 

Bank lost in the 

range of 4-5 per cent 

each. 

Jayant Manglik, President 

- Retail Distribution, 

Religare Securities said 

the RBI rate cut that was 

in line with market expectations 

failed to cheer 

the markets as a result 

of which profit taking 

was witnessed across the 

board with rate-sensitive 

sectors like banking, auto 

and realty losing maximum 

ground. 

Global equity declines 

also weighed on sentiment. 

The Nikkei slid 

390 points, while the 

Hang Seng lost 1.57 per 

cent. 

Almost all the European 

indices were also trading 

in the red at the time 

of going to press. 

Back in India, the overall 

negative trend was 

corroborated by the weak 

market breadth with the 

advance-decline ratio of 

almost 1:2. 

On the BSE, 1,664 

stocks lost ground as 

against 857 gainers. 

Foreign institutional investors 

(FIIs) sold shares 

worth Rs.16,647 crore in 

the first two months of 

2016. 

Only Lupin managed 

to buck the trend with a 

marginal gain of 0.12 per 

cent.

6 

Thursday, 


ENTERTAINMENT 

Sonu Sood unveils Jackie 

Chan’s wax statue in Jaipur 

Shah Rukh Khan wraps up ‘Raees’ 

Actor Sonu Sood has unveiled the wax figure of martial arts actor Jackie Chan in Jaipur. 

The “Dabangg” actor says he feels honoured to reveal the wax figure of his “friend”. 

“Revealed the wax statue of my friend, the legend Jackie Chan at Jaipur. Nahargarh Fort. Honoured,” he tweeted on Tuesday night. 

The “Happy New Year” star also shared a photograph with the legendary actor’s wax statue. Jackie and Sonu were shooting a schedule 

for the film in Jodhpur for their upcoming Indo-Chinese film upcoming film “Kung Fu Yoga”. Directed by Stanley Tong, “Kung Fu 

Yoga”, which also stars actress Amyra Dastur, is a part of the three-film agreement signed between the two countries during Chinese 

President Xi Jinping’s visit to India. 

Shah Rukh Khan has 

wrapped up the shooting 

for his upcoming 

film ‘Raees’, directed 

by Rahul Dholakia. 

Raees also marks the 

debut of Pakistani actress 

Mahira Khan. 

SRK took to Twitter and 

said that a bit of patchwork 

was left if any for 

the film and also that he 

will miss the shoot related 

memories and his 

‘sweetest unit ever’. 

Also read: SRK, Kapil 

Sharma pull each others’ 

leg in The Kapil 

Sharma Show teaser 

Shah Rukh Khan recently 

shared a picture 

of him on Instagram 

where he is seen in full 

fledged action mode 

while shooting for 

Raees. The actor, who 

will be seen fighting the 

villains in this one had 

written in his Insta post, 

that no ropes were used 

while shooting for the 

sequence. The film will 

also see a dance number 

by actress Sunny Leone, 

who will be seen 

sharing screen space 

with the “Dilwale” star 

for the first time. While 

‘Raees’ is slated to hit 

the theatres on 3 July, 

Shah Rukh’s another 

project, ‘Fan’ is all set 

to hit the sliver screen 

in next nne days (April 

15). 

‘Confessions – Its Complicated’ 

is unapologetic entertainment 

‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ mints 

Rs.10.1 crore in India 

Popular computer-animated action comedy martial arts film “Kung Fu Panda 3” has received an overwhelming response in India in its 

opening weekend. The film has collected over Rs.10 crore in three days — said to be the highest opener for an animated film in India. 

Co-directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, the third installment in the popular “Kung Fu Panda” franchise features 

voices of Hollywood stars like Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan, among others. 

The film, which released on April 1 in India, collected Rs.2.1 crore on its opening day followed by Rs.3.4 crore on Saturday and Rs.4.6 

crore on Sunday — totalling Rs.10.1 crore, read a statement. (Read: Kung Fu Panda 3 movie review) 

“When we saw the film, we knew this film will resonate well with not only children but also with the adult audiences. We are thrilled 

that ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ has recorded the biggest weekend ever for any animated film in India,” said Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star 

Studios. 

“We are certain that the positive buzz around the film will hold consistent in the week to come. We are delighted that the film’s success 

will add one more to our back-to-back blockbusters,” Singh added. 

Singer-actress Anushka 

Manchanda, who has 

lent her voice to the 

title track of an interactive 

web series “Confessions 

– Its Complicated”, 

says the show is 

all about “honest entertainment” 

delving into 

subjects that are rarely 

discussed in cinema or 

on television. 

FremantleMedia, a 

television production 

company, recently announced 

their second 

venture into the digital 

world with the interactive 

web series. And 

Anushka also shares 

that the title track has a 

fun vibe to it. 

“Singing the title track 

was as fun as the show 

is. ‘Confessions…’ is 

part of this new breed 

of unapologetic, honest, 

no holds barred entertainment. 

It is a very 

fresh approach to subjects 

that we are all involved 

with ourselves, 

but rarely discuss in 

cinema or on television,” 

Anushka said in 

a statement. The show 

traces the story of three 

girls – Raka, Sameera 

and Nupur – who move 

to Mumbai from different 

parts of India to 

make it own their own. 

The series premiered 

on Facebook on Monday 

in a unique creative 

association with Facebook’s 

Live tool, and 

will go on till June end. 

The track by Anushka 

will be launched on 

Wednesday. Anushka, 

who came in front of 

the camera for “Angry 

Indian Goddesses”, 

feels the show is a part 

of change. She said: 

“This is a show that 

is part of that change. 

This was my first time 

recording with Leslie 

Lewis, and it was an 

absolute breeze. He is 

so cool, and we carried 

that vibe, which is also 

the vibe of the show, 

through the song. I’m 

really happy with how 

the song has turned 

out.” 

Ranveer Singh learning 

hip-hop, tango for ‘Befikre’ 

Actor Ranveer Singh is busy learning 

dance forms like ‘hip hop’ and 

‘tango’ for his next film “Befikre”. 

“It’s a light romantic film. One can’t 

imagine that there is so much prep 

(preparation) for light romance, but 

apparently there is,” Ranveer told reporters 

at an event on Tuesday (April 

5). 

“There are lot of dance forms that I 

am learning, like a little bit of ‘hip 

hop’, ‘tango’. I am trying to up my 

dance 

skill in this film, so let’s see. I will 

put in the hours for rehearsals,” the 

30-year-old actor said. 

In Aditya Chopra’s directorial venture 

“Befikre”, Ranveer will be seen 

romancing Vaani Kapoor. 

The “Bajirao Mastani” actor, meanwhile, 

will also perform at the opening 

ceremony of the upcoming season 

of Indian Premier League (IPL) 

cricket tournament. 

“The opening is on 8th of April and 

it is going to be a wonderful show. I 

have performed at almost all award 

functions this year. I love performing 

live, you feel energetic,” he said. 

Ranveer admits he gets nervous 

before a live performance. “It is 

nerve-wrecking as there are thousands 

of people shouting. I am going 

to do a special performance on 

April 8. There is a special interactive 

graphic technology that we will 

be using. I would like to keep it as 

a surpise,” he said. British royals 

Prince William and his wife Kate 

are reportedly slated to visit India 

soon and expected to be introduced 

to Bollywood glamour at a gala dinner, 

which is likely to be attended by 

who’s who of the industry, including 

Shah Rukh Khan, Sonam Kapoor, 

Ranveer Singh and others.

SPORTS 

Mitchell Johnson opens up 

about his rivalry with Virat Kohli 

7 


Barcelona getting knocked out would 

hurt UEFA a lot, rages Felipe Luis 

Australia 


It has always been 

a mystery where former-Australia 

bowler 

Mitchell Johnson and 

India batsman Virat 

Kohli’s rivalry began and 

now there is an answer to 

that – at least from the 

Aussie’s side. 

“We’ve had our differences 

and most of it 

stems from the 2014 Adelaide 

Test, when a ball 

I threw hit Virat on the 

body. I was legitimately 

trying to run him out 

but he didn’t like what I 

did. When he made some 

comment in the media 

that night about having 

no respect for me as a 

player, that’s when I got 

really annoyed,” wrote 

Johnson in his column 

for Fox Sports. The incident 

Johnson refers to 

happened on the third day 

of the third Test between 

the two sides. Johnson 

was on the bowling end 

and tried to run Kohli 

out but ended up hitting 

the batsman. While no 

words were exchanged 

then, Kohli didn’t take 

too kindly to the attempt 

in the press conference. 

“I respect quite a few 

of (the Australian players) 

but someone who 

doesn’t respect me I’ve 

got no reason to respect 

him,” Kohli said. “It was 

going on throughout the 

day. “They were calling 

me a spoiled brat and I 

said ‘maybe that’s the 

way I am, and I know 

you guys hate me’ … and 

it worked in my favour 

I guess. “I like playing 

against Australia because 

it’s very hard for them 

to stay calm and I don’t 

mind an argument on 

the field.” Despite their 

differences, Johnson 

admits that it is Kohli’s 

brand of competitiveness 

that makes him someone 

you would want in your 

team. “Having said that, 

Virat is the kind of player 

you’d want in your 

team. He’s a real fighter 

and to be honest he’s a 

bit like most of us were 

in the Australian team. 

We go pretty hard on the 

field, and he’s got that 

about him as well.” “The 

fact he plays the game 

like us is probably why 

we’ve rubbed each other 

the wrong way. If I sit 

back and digest it properly, 

we’re actually quite 

similar in the way we 

approach the game. He’s 

a fiery character and he 

pushes the boundaries, 

just like I’ve always tried 

to do. Maybe that’s why 

we’ve clashed so often.” 

“I can’t wait to come up 

against him and his Royal 

Challengers Bangalore 

teammates later in the 

IPL,” with the fixture 

scheduled for 9th May. 

Mitchell Johnson 

takes a dig at Virat 

Kohli 

This wasn’t the end of 

as far as their rivalry and 

digs at each other go. 

Most recently, Johnson 

took to Twitter to have 

a go at Kohli before the 

India vs Australia virtual 

quarterfinal at World 

T20 where incidentally 

Kohli answered with 

his bat in glorious style. 

Cricket fans in India can 

get intimidating Johnson 

also opened up on the 

difference in culture between 

India and Australia 

as far as treatment of 

cricketers is concerned. 

He wrote that the passion 

displayed on the field and 

off it needs to be matched 

because of the expectations. 

“There was a time 

last year when I felt a 

bit concerned about my 

safety. It wasn’t that we 

were in serious danger 

– although it felt close – 

but the sheer number of 

people involved made 

the whole experience 

pretty intimidating,” he 

started.” “After having a 

quiet meal with a couple 

of my Kings XI Punjab 

teammates in a Dharamsala 

restaurant, we began 

to make our way to the 

exit. As we walked down 

several flights of stairs 

people began to notice 

us, and seemingly within 

seconds there were 

people hanging off doors 

just to get a look at us.” 

“Eventually we made it 

to our car and there were 

just people everywhere. 

Things soon escalated 

and before I knew it I had 

people grabbing onto me, 

just trying to touch me. I 

had to whack their arms 

off me just to get into 

the car. Then they started 

shaking the car.” “It was 

a whole new experience 

and pretty crazy. However 

I want to make it clear 

the people that day had 

no intention of hurting 

me – they’re just so fanatical 

and so excited to 

see cricketers and this is 

the way they express that 

fanaticism,” he explained 

in detail. Johnson though 

shared that there are some 

fans who express it in less 

intimidating ways as well 

possibly because they 

are nervous to ask for a 

photo. But he also empathised 

with the Indian 

fans by saying, “At times 

you’ve just got to accept 

this is what life is like as 

a cricketer in India. The 

locals hardly ever get to 

see their heroes up close 

in the flesh so it’s understandable 

how passionate 

they are when they see 

us.” 

Barcelona 


Barcelona’s Luis Suarez 

was at his ruthless 

best and also again 

caught up in controversy 

as he scored twice 

to secure a 2-1 victory 

over Atletico Madrid in 

their Champions League 

quarter-final, first leg on 

Tuesday. 

The Uruguayan kicked 

out at defender Juanfran 

in the first half in 

an off-the-ball incident 

and, after equalising just 

past the hour mark, got a 

yellow card for striking 

Filipe Luis in the face 

moments before heading 

the winner in the 74th 

minute. 

An unhappy Filipe 

Luis said he thought 

Uruguay international 

Suarez was lucky to stay 

on the pitch. “It was an 

aggression, a red card,” 

he told Spanish radio station 

Cadena Cope. 

Barcelona gain first 

leg lead courtesy Suarez 

Fernando Torres had 

given Atletico the lead 

after 25 minutes but was 

sent off in the 35th for 

two fouls in quick succession 

and Filipe Luis 

also criticised German 

referee Felix Brych’s 

decision to dismiss the 

forward. “The sending 

off is totally unjust and 

changed the game. Barcelona 

are protected. When 

you play against them 

you realise that they are 

a very powerful club,” he 

said. “You realise the fear 

when Barcelona could 

get knocked out. It would 

hurt UEFA a lot. I don’t 

know what they have to 

do for someone to send 

one of them off.” Suarez 

now has eight goals in the 

Champions League this 

season and 45 in all competitions. 

He was also on 

target when Barca came 

from behind to beat Atletico 

in La Liga in January 

and has played in all seven 

matches against Diego 

Simeone’s side since 

joining the Nou Camp 

side in 2014, all of which 

the Catalans have won. 

Jordan Spieth to launch Masters 

title defence with Paul Casey 

Augusta 


Reigning Masters 

champion and world 

number two Jordan Spieth 

has been grouped 

with fellow American 

Bryson DeChambeau 

and England’s Paul Casey 

for Thursday’s first 

round at Augusta National. 

Spieth, a double major 

winner who stormed to 

a stunning wire-to-wire 

victory last year by four 

shots at the age of 21, 

will tee off at 9:48 a.m. 

ET (1348 GMT) with 

U.S. Amateur champion 

DeChambeau and Casey. 

Australian world number 

one Jason Day, who 

landed his first major 

title at the 2015 PGA 

Championship, will 

launch his bid for a second 

consecutive grand 

slam crown in the company 

of American Matt 

Kuchar and South African 

Ernie Els. 

Day, the hottest player 

in the game after winning 

six times in his last 

13 starts, and company 

are scheduled to tee off 

at 1:06 p.m. on Thursday. 

In other groupings, 

2013 champion Adam 

Scott of Australia will 

set off with Americans 

Kevin Kisner and Brooks 

Koepka while 2011 winner 

Charl Schwartzel of 

South Africa has been 

paired with American 

Davis Love III and Spaniard 

Rafael Cabrera-Bello. 

Twice Masters champion 

Bubba Watson, 

aiming to become the 

sixth triple winner at Augusta 

National, will start 

out in the company of 

South African Branden 

Grace and Englishman 

Ian Poulter. 

Northern Irish world 

number three Rory McIlroy, 

Germany’s Martin 

Kaymer and American 

Bill Haas will tee off in 

the final group of the day 

on Thursday. 

First off at 8:20 a.m., 

following ceremonial tee 

shots by golfing greats 

Jack Nicklaus and Gary 

Player, will be Australian 

Steven Bowditch and 

American Jim Herman, 

who earned a late spot at 

the Masters by winning 

the Houston Open on 

Sunday. 

Continued from Page-1 

Adequate 

company spokesperson 

said. 

On April 1, the Tobacco 

Institute of India 

(TII) had stated that its 

members, which include 

ITC, Godfrey Phillips 

and VST Industries, have 

decided to shut all their 

factories and stop manufacturing 

in wake of the 

larger pictorial warning 

rule. 

The companies, which 

account for more than 98 

per cent of the country’s 

domestic sales of duty-paid 

cigarettes, put the 

estimated production revenue 

loss at over Rs 350 

crore per day for tobacco 

product manufacturers. 

Will do a 

because everyone is 

doing it,” Arjun told 

IANS. 

The “Gunday” star 

says he would only be 

interested to be part of a 

biopic if he gets a “genuine 

script” and if he could 

relate to the person he 

will be seen playing onscreen. 

“If a genuine script 

comes to me and if I feel 

I can play that character 

and it connects with me, 

then of course I will consider 

it (biopic),” he added. 

Arjun is currently prepping 

for his next “Half 

Girlfriend”, an adaptation 

of the eponymous novel 

of the same name written 

by author Chetan Bhagat, 

directed by Mohit Suri. 

He says he is not just 

“looking for a biopic specifically” 

“I am looking to (do) 

all kind of films,” he added 

Ṁercedes 

achievement for us, as 

we have maintained our 

growth momentum in Q1 

2016, despite facing multiple 

market challenges.” 

The firm has been able 

to compensate the negative 

sales impact in the 

Delhi and NCR market, 

with a strong double digit 

growth achieved in most 

other markets across 

the country, he added. 

The company’s network 

expansion drive 

also enhanced its 

growth story even further 

with new customers 

opting for a Mercedes-Benz, 

Folger said. 

The sales growth in 

the January-March 2016 

quarter was led by the 

E-Class, celebrating 20 

years in India, the company 

said, while the 

C-Class also was a significant 

volume contributor. 

Rival Jaguar Land 

Rover India also reported 

45 per cent for the three 

month period, crossing 

1,000 units, on the 

back of robust demand 

for sales of its recently 

launched new models 

such as all-new Jaguar 

XE and Discovery Sport. 

Tata Steel 

for iron ore mining and 

allied activities in Katamani 

mines in Deojhar 

and Thakurani Reserved 

Forest, Keonjhar district. 

Out of the total forest 

land proposed to be diverted, 

57.55 hectare is 

reserved forest. As many 

as 49,600 trees are required 

to be felled in the 

virgin forest land. 

Total cost of expansion 

of Katamani iron ore 

mine project is estimated 

at Rs 45 crore up to production 

level of 5 million 

tonnes per annum. 

The iron ore produced 

from the Katamani mine 

will be supplied to steel 

plants of Tata Steel and 

its group companies. This 

mine is one of the major 

sources of supply of high 

grade iron ore to its largest 

plant in Jamshedpur. 

Tata Steel has manufacturing 

operations in 

26 countries and employs 

around 80,500 people. 

Rahul backs 

who will extract money 

from your profit 

through pressure and 

blackmail. This ‘babbar 

sher’ belongs to five 

to six big industrialists 

and those who want to 

suck your blood and earn 

through ‘dalali’ (brokery),” 

Gandhi said. 

Invoking Mahatma 

Gandhi, Gandhi compared 

the ‘charkha’ symbol 

with Make in India’s 

‘lion’ saying while the 

former was powered by 

the strength of “small 

businesses, farmers, labourers” 

the latter symbolized 

a handful of “five 

to six big industrialists”. 

“When Modi ji talks 

about Make in India, he 

actually refers to those 

five to six big industrialists. 

Traders associated 

with jewellery don’t have 

factories of Rs 10,000 

crore. They have small 

units,” he said. 

Congress General Secretary 

Digvijaya Singh, 

former Haryana Chief 

Minister Bhupender 

Hooda and his son and 

Rohtak MP Deepender 

Hooda and Delhi Congress 

chief Ajay Maken 

were also present at the 

rally where people raised 

slogans against the BJP. 

Wheat remains 

at Rs 1,600-1,605 per 90 

kg. 

Other bold grains like, 

maize fell by Rs 100 to Rs 

1,600-1,610 per quintal. 

Following are today’s 

quotations (in Rs per quintal): 

Wheat MP (desi) Rs 

1,965-2,570, Wheat dara 

(for mills) Rs 1,590-1,595, 

Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 

1,600-1,605, Atta Rajdhani 

(10 kg) Rs 230, Shakti 

Bhog (10 kg) Rs 230, Roller 

flour mill Rs 850-860 

(50 kg), Maida Rs 930-940 

(50 kg) and Sooji Rs 1,010- 

1,025 (50 kg). 

Basmati rice (Lal Quila) 

Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal 

Rs 11,300, Super Basmati 

Rice Rs 9,700, Basmati 

common new Rs 5,600- 

5,700, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 

4,300-5,300, Permal raw 

Rs 1,850-1,900, Permal 

wand Rs 2,050-2,100, Sela 

Rs 2,200-2,300 and Rice 

IR-8 Rs 1,600-1,620, Bajra 

Rs 1,600-1,605, Jowar yellow 

Rs 1,800-1,900, white 

Rs 3,400-3,500, Maize Rs 

1,600-1,610, Barley Rs 

1,340-1,350. 

Office space 

“Following a particularly 

strong fourth quarter 

of 2015, the first quarter 

of 2016 was comparatively 

sluggish as most corporate 

space occupiers were 

still strategising their real 

estate plans for the year, 

with limited transaction 

decisions being implemented 

in the first quarter,” 

CBRE said. 

Corporate real estate 

space take-up during the 

quarter was led by Delhi-NCR 

with a share of 

31 per cent of total transacted 

space in the leading 

cities, followed by Mumbai 

(23 per cent) and Bangalore 

(17 per cent). 

Almost 47 per cent of 

the leasing activity in the 

quarter was concentrated 

in IT developments. 

Corporate occupier 

interest remained concentrated 

towards prominent 

micro-markets 

such as Gurgaon, Thane, 

Navi Mumbai, Vikhroli, 

Goregaon and Andheri 

in Mumbai, Koramangla, 

Whitefield and Electronic 

City in Bangalore, IT 

Corridor in Hyderabad, 

and Viman Nagar in Pune. 

Leading SEZ properties 

in Chennai, Bangalore, 

Gurgaon and Noida also 

witnessed considerable 

traction, accounting for 

about 14 per cent of total 

transaction activity. 

In terms of supply, 

about 7 million sq ft of 

new office space was 

completed in the quarter 

with smaller cities such 

as Kolkata, Hyderabad 

and Pune accounting 

for about 68 per cent of 

the total supply released 

during the quarter. 

Pune led project completions, 

generating about 

25 per cent of the total 

supply released during 

the quarter across leading 

cities. Commercial (non- 

IT) projects accounted 

for about half of the overall 

supply that came onstream 

in Q1 of 2016. 

Mother Dairy 

This association presents 

us with a fantastic 

platform to connect with 

our consumers and cricket 

fans,” Mother Dairy 

Fruit and Vegetable Managing 

Director S Nagarajan 

said in a statement. 

Delhi Daredevils had 

recently appointed Zaheer 

Khan as the captain 

of the franchise for the 

2016 season. 

Mother Dairy in partnership 

with Delhi Daredevils 

will soon launch a 

mass campaign at company’s 

select booths across 

the national capital region. 

The company will also 

offer products during the 

matches. 

Speaking on the partnership, 

Delhi Daredevils 

CEO Hemant Dua said” 

“We are delighted to welcome 

Mother Dairy to the 

Delhi Daredevils family. 

I am confident with their 

support, Delhi Daredevils, 

with the exciting new 

additions to our squad 

will be able to give our 

fans a lot to cheer about 

this season.” 

GMR Sports, Delhi 

Daredevils franchise 

owners are backed by the 

GMR Group. The team is 

mentored by Rahul Dravid, 

the former Indian captain. 

Mother Dairy was 

commissioned in 1974 as 

a wholly-owned subsidiary 

of the National Dairy 

Development Board 

(NDDB). It was established 

under the initiative 

of Operation Flood, 

the world’s biggest dairy 

development programme 

launched to make India a 

milk sufficient nation.

8 SURAT 


Inclement weather hits 

Valsadi hafooz yield 

Surat 


The luscious Valsadi hafooz (alphonso) 

could be out of bounds 

for many this summer. Unseasonal 

rains and cloudy weather that 

persisted for days in the last two 

months have badly affected the 

crop in Valsad and Navsari, the 

two south Gujarat districts where 

hafooz is grown. On Tuesday , 

several parts of Valsad and Vapi 

districts saw a bout of unseasonal 

rainfall and cloudy weather that 

lasted till late afternoon. 

Mango farmers in the region 

claim that they are on the brink of 

losing at least 45% of the crop. 

Vinod Desai, an alphonso farmer 

who has an orchard of 2,500 

trees in Valsad, said, “Valsadi hafooz 

is extremely sensitive to even 

a minor change in the weather. Inclement 

weather in the last two 

months affected the crop badly 

this year.” 

Agriculture department sources 

said that out of the to tal seven 

lakh metric tonnes of annual mango 

production, Valsadi Hafooz 

accounts for roughly 4.5 lakh MT. 

This year, the it likely to remain 

bet ween 2-2.5 lakh MT. 

Babu Madhwala, a mango farmer 

in Fanaswada village near Vapi, 

said, “After a spell of rain and 

cloudy weather, the temperatures 

suddenly shoot up to 42 degree 

Celsius.This loosens the fruits that 

start dropping from the trees.” 

“I have 300 hafooz trees.Last 

year, the yield was around 10 MT. 

This time around it would barely 

be 5 MT,” he said. 

Former dean of ASPEE college 

of horticulture of Navsari Agriculture 

University (NAU), Dr NL 

Patel said, “Last year, hafooz sold 

at Rs 800 per 20 kg in the wholesale 

market. This time, prices are 

expected to touch Rs 1,000 per 20 

kg. This is all due to unfavourable 

weather conditions in the region 

from the last two months.” 

Textile businessman 

commits suicide, hangs self 

Surat 


A textile businessman of 

New City light area had 

committed suicide on Tuesday 

hanging self at his resident. 

Initial investigation 

states that, he was from 

Bihar and owned a shop at 

textile market. 

The deceased was identified 

as Sanjay Jhunjhunwala 

(30) was father of two, 

residing at Ashirvad palace 

at New city light area. 

On Tuesday evening when 

family members were out, 

he hanged himself with 

ceiling using a saree, when 

family members returned 

they found him hanging. 

His body was taken away at 

New Civil hospital for post 

mortem. 

One of the family friend 

said, “ His financial condition 

was stable, one cannot 

say what made him go in 

such depression to take a 

massive step. It can be said 

that, financial instability 

cannot be the reason behind 

his death” However police 

have started investigation 

of the case registering case 

of suicide. 

Hardik’s sister attempts 

suicide, consume poison 

Surat 


The lady who set on 

a hunger strike for her 

sworn brother PAAS 

leader Hardik Patel had 

attempted to end her life 

consuming poison on 

Wednesday, she is under 

treatment at a private hospital. 

Jayshree Patel, is a single 

mother and lives in 

Mohandeep Society at 

Ambalatavadi Katargam, 

she played a crucial part 

in hunger strike to release 

her sworn brother Hardik 

Patel who is under police 

custody in sedition 

charges. She had lead 

many programmes to release 

Patel from Jail. 

On Sunday, Patidar 

community has organised 

a programme ‘Maha lapasi’ 

where she was also invited, 

amid programme 

she was hurt by some of 

the issue and went in to 

depression and consumed 

poison on Wednesday, 

she was admitted at a private 

hospital where her 

condition is said to be 

stable. 

Mob thrashes woman 

caught snatching chain 

18 paise/unit reduction in Torrent 

Power tariff in Gujarat: GERC 

Surat 


In its Tariff Order 

today for the Torrent 

Power Limited(TPL) 

consumers, Gujarat Electricity 

Regulatory Commission 

(GERC) has not 

given instant or major relief. 

However GERC has 

noted that with changes 

effective from today consumers 

of Torrent Power 

across all the categories 

will see 18 Paise/unit reduction 

in tariff. 

Following are the 

highlights of tariff order: 

– No permanent tariff 

increase in tariffs of 

Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar 

and Surat area consumers 

– Regulatory Charge 

@ 45 Paise/unit shall be 

recovered from the consumers 

during FY 2016- 

17 till the past periods 

gaps get recovered. Once 

these past periods gaps 

get recovered, the Regulatory 

Charge recovery 

shall be stopped 

– The FPPPA charge 

recovery is capped at Rs. 

1.35/Unit against present 

FPPPA of Rs. 1.98/unit 

– With this, effectively 

there will be 18 Paise/ 

unit reduction in all the 

categories of consumers 

of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar 

and Surat 

Following is the note 

attached: 

The Torrent Power 

Limited (TPL) filed 

their petitions for its 

Ahmedabad Generation, 

Ahmedabad Distribution 

and Surat Distribution 

businesses before 

the Gujarat Electricity 

Regulatory Commission 

(GERC) for truing-up 

of their financials for 

FY 2014-15 and determination 

of tariff for 

FY 2016- 17 under the 

GERC Multi-Year Tariff 

(MYT) Regulations. 

GERC examined the 

petitions by following 

the procedure prescribed 

for the purpose in the 

Electricity Act, 2003. An 

elaborate exercise was 

undertaken by inviting 

comments/ suggestions 

from the general public 

and stakeholders. The 

commission held public 

hearing on 15th February, 

2016 at Gandhinagar. 

Various stakeholders 

including individuals 

and organizations participated 

in the hearing. The 

Commission (comprising 

Shri K.M. Shringarpure, 

Member and Shri P. J. 

Thakkar, Member) issued 

the Orders on these 

petitions on 31st March 

2016. 

In the Multi-Year Tariff 

(MYT) order, the Commission 

had given targets 

of distribution losses of 

5.15% for Surat distribution 

area and 8.50% 

for Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar 

distribution area. 

However, the actual distribution 

losses achieved 

by TPL are 4.09% in 

Surat area and 7.34% 

in Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar 

area for the FY 

2014-15 which is commendable. 

The Commission 

approved the consolidated 

revenue gap of 

TPL-D for FY 2014-15 at 

Rs. 664.58 Crore against 

the consolidated revenue 

gap of Rs. 708.80 Crore 

claimed by the TPL-D. 

The Commission has 

worked out net revenue 


against the net revenue 


claimed by TPL-D after 

adjusting the estimated 

surplus of the approved 

ARR and Revenue for 

FY 2016-17. 

TPL had proposed to 

recover the past periods 

gaps of Rs. 638.51 Crore 

by introducing “Regulatory 

Charge” at 60 

Paise/unit. However, the 

Commission approved to 

recover the final past periods 

gaps of Rs. 470.50 

Crore after adjusting revenue 

surplus of FY 2016- 

17 by way of “Regulatory 

Charge” at 45 Paise/ 

unit. The Commission 

has to allow recovery of 

past periods gaps based 

on the Judgments given 

by Hon’ble Appellate 

Tribunal of Electricity. 

While allowing such 

“Regulatory Charge”, 

the Commission has endeavoured 

to reduce the 

electricity bill of consumers 

by 18 Paise/unit 

by capping the recovery 

of FPPPA during FY 

2016-17 at Rs. 1.35/unit 

compared to the present 

FPPPA of Rs. 1.98/unit, 

in view of the recent 

trend of reduction in fuel 

price, particularly gas 

price. The “Regulatory 

Charge” shall be shown 

in the electricity bills of 

consumers as a separate 

line item. 

Recovery of “Regulatory 

Charge” shall be 

stopped once it is recovered 

in full during the 

year. TPL has been directed 

to share the details 

of recovery of “Regulatory 

Charge” with consumers 

by hosting the 

same on their website. 

The Commission introduced 

the “Regulatory 

Charge” instead of merging 

it with the regular 

tariff to protect the consumers 

from a perennial 

tariff hike on account of 

past period gaps. Further, 

in order to promote usage 

of electricity during 

night hours, various restrictions 

related to that 

have been relaxed. 

This order shall come 

into force with effect 

from the 1st April, 2016. 

The revised tariff shall 

be applicable for the 

electricity consumption 

from 1st April. 

Surat 

in full public view. A video shot Police claimed that the woman 


by some people present at the spot was not coopera ting with them in 

A woman, who was caught trying 

also went viral in the town. Sourc- 

tracing her family members. “She 

to snatch a gold chain, was brues 

in police station said that the is also giving wrong addresses 

tally thrashed by a group of men in woman is dalit while police are not about her home and native place,” 

Sukhesh village of Valsad district. confirming her caste as her relatives 

said Premvir Singh, superintendent 

The woman, Asha Hatgale, was 

are yet to be traced. 

of police, Valsad. 

caught snatching the chain from Police have booked the unidentified 

She was taken to a local hospital 

60-yer-old Parvati Patel at the 

men seen in the video while the for treatment of wounds. 

weekly market. Sources said that woman has been arrested for chain “We have registered the woman’s 

enraged people caught hold of her, snatching, said R M Sanghada, police 

complaint against those who 

slapped, punched and kicked her 

sub-inspector, Pardi police sta- 

thrashed her. They will be arrested 

and some men even ripped her sari tion. 

soon,” added Singh. 

Gandhinagar and Surat railway station 

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today officially launched the state-wide implementation of National 

Food Security Act, which has been renamed as ‘Maa Annapurna Yojna (Scheme)’ by the state government. 

development projects move forward 

Surat 


Indian Railways has 

taken up two projects 

of building railway stations 

of international 

standards in Gujarat. 

According to Indian 

Railway Stations Development 

Corporation 

Limited(IRSDCL), a 

Joint Venture of IRCON 

& Rail Land Development 

Authority, a draft 

Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) 

is in the 

process of finalisation 

for integrated development 

of ‘Multi Model 

Transport Hub’ in Surat 

in association with the 

Surat Municipal Corporation(SMC) 

and Gujarat 

State Road Transport 

Corporation(GSRTC). 

Chief Secretary, Government 

of Gujarat 

convened a meeting of 

all stakeholders in capital 

Gandhinagar on 18 

March for this project. 

For Gandhinagar project, 

Expression of Interest 

(EOI) for development 

of Gandhinagar 

Railway station together 

with 300/400 Room Hotel 

on the Air space right 

of the Station and operation 

and management 

of Mahatama Mandir & 

Exhibition Centre has 

been sought from the 

interested parties. The 

last date for submission 

of applications is 

22.4.2016. 

“Attention developers: 

Indian Railways in association 

with Government 

of Gujarat offers 

a unique opportunity 

to develop railway station 

along with 300/450 

room hotel and air space 

right of station combined 

with operation 

and maintenance(O&M) 

of State-of-art Mahatma 

Mandir and Exhibition 

Center at Gandhinagar, 

Gujarat,” an advertisement 

of Indian Railways 

reads. 

The last date of submission 

of Expression 

of Interest is 22nd April. 

Pre application conferences 

are held at General 

Manager, Western 

Railway office in Mumbai 

on 4th April and Mahatma 

Mandir, Gandhinagar 

on 11th April. 

According to IRSD- 

CL, Chief Secretary, 

Government of Gujarat 

convened a meeting of 

all stakeholders at Gandhi 

Nagar on 18.3.2016 

and reviewed the status 

of this project for which 

draft MoU is under approval 

of the Authority.

April 22, 2016

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