December 2018

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December 2018 

On 6th December, 2018, two events to mark the 

Parinirvana Day of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar 

On 6th December, 2018, two events to 

mark the Parinirvana Day (death anniversary) 

of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar, one at 

the Ambedkar House and Memorial, 10 

King Henrys Road, North West London 

and another at the Ambedkar Hall, India 

House, Indian High commission were 

organised. After garlanding the busts and 

full size statue of Babasaheb, a number of 

dignitaries paid homage to Babasaheb. 

Mr Raj Kumar Badole, Minister of Social 

Justice, Government of Maharashtra 

especially came to attend this event. It 

must be reminded that Mr Badole has 

played a prominent role in the purchase 

and development of the Ambedkar 

Memorial in London. Second event took 

Russian Navy ships arrive in India for maritime exercise 

New Delhi : Russian 

Federation Navy (RuFN) ships 

Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev 

and Boris Butoma on Sunday 

arrived at Visakhapatnam to 

participate in INDRA NAVY, 

the bilateral maritime exercise 

with Indian Navy. The 10th edition 

of the exercise will be conducted 

from December 9-16. 

The primary aim of the exercise, 

which was initiated in 

2003, is to increase inter-operability 

amongst the two navies, 

develop common understanding 

and procedures for maritime 

security operations, as per 

a release. This edition of the 

exercise would be held in two 

phases. 

The Harbour Phase would 

be held at Visakhapatnam from 

December 9-12, which "would 

encompass planning conferences, 

professional interactions, 

cultural visits, sports fixtures 

and formal calls between 

flag officers/senior officers of 

participating navies". 

The Sea Phase from 

December 13-16 would be conducted 

in the Bay of Bengal. 

"The thrust of exercises at sea 

would be on anti-submarine 

warfare (ASW), air defence 

drills, surface firings, visit 

place at the Indian High Commission 

attended by the many academics and the 

followers of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar. 

Mr Rajkumar Badole, Minister, Social 

Justice, GoM, Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam, 

the High Commissioner of India, Mr 

Charanjeet Singh, Deputy High 

Commissioner, Mr A.S. Rajan, Minister 

Coordination, Ms Santosh Dass, 

President of the Federation of 

Ambedkarite and Buddhist 

Organisations, UK and many others 

spoke on the contribution of Babasaheb 

in regard to the equality, liberty and equal 

justice. As a the Father of the Indian 

Constitution, his services in making modern 

India was also applauded. 

board search and seizure 

(VBSS) operations and tactical 

procedures," adds the release. 

During exercise INDRA 

‘Modi misusing 

investigative agencies 

against opposition’ 

New Delhi, Stepping up its 

attack on the Modi government 

over the searches at the premises 

of people linked to Congress 

President Rahul Gandhi’s 

brother-in-law Robert Vadra, 

the Congress on Saturday 

accused Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi of misusing the 

investigating agencies. 

The Congress also alleged 

that actions by 

these were 

being carried 

out on opposition 

leaders at 

the behest of the 

Prime Minister. 

Addressing a 

press conference, 

Congress 

leader Kapil 

Sibal said: “The 

Prime MInister 

thinks that the 

exit polls are 

correct and he is 

in a state of panic. Opposition 

is being targeted with Income 

Tax, ED or arrests. “Attacks on 

opposition are being carried out 

across the country without any 

complaint, warrant and they 

take away records or documents 

and forcefully make people 

to sign on blank papers,” he 

alleged. 

The Congress leader said the 

ED team came to “Vadra’s 

office” in Sukhdev Vihar without 

any warrant and searched 

the place. “There were four 

employees and they were kept 

there till 4.30 a.m.” He said 

NAVY-18, the Indian Navy 

would be represented by INS 

Ranvir, a guided missile 

destroyer, INS Satpura, an 

there was no FIR, ECIR against 

Vadra and the ED reached his 

offices without any warrant. 

They did not reveal their names 

and broke into the office and 

broke almirahs and cabins. 

“Under which provision this is 

being done? Why this is being 

done?” he asked. 

“If on exit poll results this is 

what your reaction is, then 

what will happen 

when your 

exit comes 

closer?” 

Sibal said: 

“The other day 

Modiji was 

saying that we 

have played 

such a game 

that we have 

sent Karti 

Chidambaram 

to jail. We want 

to ask from 

Modiji how are 

you going to send him to jail? 

“It is the law and the 

Constitution which will decide 

who shall be sent to jail. And as 

Prime Minister has said that I 

had sent them to jail then it 

means that he has accepted that 

all the actions are being done 

on his behest.” He said the government 

was misusing its agencies 

also in Andhra Pradesh, 

West Bengal and Haryana. 

He alleged that ED officers 

Sanjay Kumar Mishra and 

Jasbir Khichad were harassing 

employees of Vadra at the 

Prime Minister’s behest. 

indigenous frigate, INS 

Kadmatt, an indigenous antisubmarine 

warfare corvette, IN 

Ships Kuthar and Khanjar both 

indigenous missile corvettes 

and INS Jyoti, a fleet tanker. 

In addition, one 

Sindhughosh class submarine, 

Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, 

Hawk fighter aircraft and 

other integral rotary wing helicopters 

would be taking part in 

the exercise. 

The Indian Navy interacts 

with Russian Federation Navy 

on many fronts, which include 

operational interactions, training, 

hydrographic cooperation 

Ex-Bihar CM 

Manjhi 'will 

embrace Buddhism 

if Dalit torture 

CONTINUES' 

Patna : Former Bihar 

Chief Minister and 

Hindustani Awam Morcha 

(HAM) chief Jitan Ram 

Manjhi on Thursday said he 

would convert to Buddhism if 

the Dalits continue to face 

insult, humiliation and torture 

due to the age-old caste system. 

These days torture and 

suppression against Dalits are 

increasing across the country, 

including Bihar, and this is a 

matter of serious concern for 

the Dalits, Manjhi said. 

"I am ready to follow path 

of Babasaheb Ambedkar and 

will convert to Buddhism, 

along with his followers," 

said Manjhi, coming from the 

Mushahar community that 

derives its name from the 

practice of eating rats after 

usually hunting for them in 

paddy fields. 

In Bihar, Mushahars are 

still treated as untouchables 

and they are the most backward 

community among the 

Dalits. Manjhi's HAM is part 

of the Grand Alliance of Lalu 

Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal 

and the Congress in Bihar. 

and exchange of subject matter 

experts in various fields 

through the medium of Navyto-Navy 

Staff Talks, as per the 

release. "Exercise INDRA 

NAVY-18 would help to further 

strengthen mutual confidence 

and inter-operability and also 

enable sharing of best practices 

between both the navies. The 

exercise will be yet another 

milestone in strengthening 

maritime security cooperation 

between the two navies and 

will serve to reinforce the longstanding 

bond of friendship 

between the countries," stated 

the release.

2 December 2018 

WORLD 

www.theasianindependent.co.uk 

Kovind, Naidu, Modi pay 

TRIBUTES TO AMBEDKAR 

New Delhi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President 

M. Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 

Thursday paid tributes to Dalit icon Babasaheb Bhimrao 

Ramji Ambedkar on his death anniversary. Kovind, Naidu, 

Modi also paid floral tributes to Ambedkar at a function in 

Parliament House Lawns here. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra 

Mahajan and several other MPs also paid tributes to the 

architect of the Indian Constitution. “The nation is ever 

grateful to the architect of the Constitution. His wisdom will 

continue to guide us at all times,” Naidu tweeted. “He championed 

the cause of marginalised and strove for creating a 

casteless society. We will be paying a real tribute to Baba 

Sahebji by establishing a truly egalitarian society and by 

upholding values and ethics in public life,” Naidu said. 

“India bows to Babasaheb Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan 

Diwas (death anniversary),” Modi tweeted. He also shared a 

link of the audio highlighting the works and contribution of 

Ambedkar, who died on December 6, 1956 in Delhi. 

Cold wave continues 

in parts of J&K 

Srinagar, Minimum temperatures remained below freezing 

point in the Kashmir Valley on Thursday as an intense cold wave 

continued across the Ladakh region with Leh recording minus 

8.6 degrees Celsius, Met said. It will be partly cloudy in the valley 

for the next 24 hours till Friday, a Jammu and Kashmir Met 

official said. The minimum temperature was minus 2.6 in 

Srinagar, 

minus 4 in 

Pahalgam and 

minus 4.6 in 

Gulmarg. 

Jammu city 

recorded 8.8, 

Katra 8, Batote 

2.7, Bannihal 

0.2 and 

Bhaderwah 0.7 

as the night’s 

lowest temperatures. 

Pakistan continues to use Taliban as hedge against India: US commander 

Washington, Pakistan continues 

to use the Taliban as a hedge against 

India rather than utilizing it as part of 

a stable, reconciled Afghanistan, a top 

American commander has said days 

after US President Donald Trump 

sought assistance from Islamabad in 

the Afghan peace process. 

The remarks were made by US 

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth 

McKenzie at the Senate Armed 

Services Committee during his confirmation 

hearing for commander of the 

US Central Command (CENTCOM). 

“Pakistan is an essential element in 

long term stability in Afghanistan. It 

could play a key role in facilitating 

talks between the Taliban and government 

of Afghanistan. At this time, 

however, Pakistan does not appear to 

be using the full extent of its influence 

to encourage the Taliban to come to 

the table,” McKenzie Jr told the members 

of the committee. “We continue 

to see the Taliban being utilized as a 

hedge against India rather than as part 

of a stable, reconciled Afghanistan.” 

McKenzie said Islamabad’s policy 

towards its neighbour Afghanistan and 

its stance against the terror groups in 

the region seemed to be unchanged. 

“Despite Pakistan’s positive rhetoric 

in support of the South Asia 

Strategy, violent extremist organizations 

(VEOs) operate along its border 

with Afghanistan. While Pakistan has 

conducted some operations against 

VEOs in Pakistan, they must continue 

to expand these operations and remain 

aggressively engaged,” he said. 

According to the top official, 

Pakistan’s action or inaction as it related 

to stability in Afghanistan “often 

led to frustration between our governments 

and militaries”. 

“Stability in the South Asia region 

remains the most important mutual 

strategic interest for both the US and 

Pakistan, and I think we must continue 

to engage with Pakistani leadership to 

realize how we can achieve this mutual 

interest.” McKenzie urged 

Islamabad to take concrete steps that 

deny VEO safe havens in the country 

and prevent their movement from 

Pakistan to Afghanistan. 

“Pakistan must leverage their influence 

over Taliban leadership to help 

compel them to come to the table for 

reconciliation negotiations. 

He said the US CENTCOM will 

continue to support the Department of 

State as it works towards a diplomatic 

solution to the conflict in Afghanistan 

which included ensuring that 

Islamabad’s equities are acknowledged 

in any future agreement. 

McKenzie added that the US 

CENTCOM will keep backing 

Trump’s South Asia Strategy and 

remained committed to holding 

Pakistan accountable for the commitments 

they had made to support US 

efforts in finding a negotiated settlement 

to the Afghanistan conflict. 

Delhi government launches free 

pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens 

New Delhi, The Delhi government 

on Wednesday 

launched the ‘Mukhyamantri 

Team AI : 

Devinder Chander 

Editor-in-chief 

Columnists 

V.B. Rawat 

Farzana Suri 

Arun Kumar 

Rahul Kumar 

Harminder K. Bhogal 

Head Office 

Samaj Media Enterprise Ltd 

Suite 507, Hawthorns House 

Halfords Lane, Smethwick, 

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Email : 

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+44 7475 475 343 

The Asian Independent is an 

Intellectual Property of 

Samaj Media Enterprise Ltd 

Tirth Yatra Yojana’ — which 

offers free travel packages on 

five religious circuits for senior 

citizens from the national 

capital. The scheme, approved 

by the Cabinet in July, was 

launched by Chief Minister 

Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi 

Secretariat. “The scheme will 

enable 1,100 senior citizens 

from each Assembly constituency 

of Delhi per year to 

undertake free pilgrimage, the 

expenses for which will be 

borne by the Delhi government,” 

Kejriwal said, adding 

that a total of 77,000 pilgrims 

will be able to avail this facility 

every year. The pilgrimage 

duration will be of three days 

and two nights and will be for 

any of the following routes: 

Delhi-Mathura-Vrindavan- 

Agra-Fatehpur Sikri-Delhi; 

Delhi-Haridwar-Rishikesh- 

Neelkanth-Delhi; Delhi- 

Ajmer-Pushkar-Delhi; Delhi- 

Amritsar-Wagah border- 

Anandpur Sahib-Delhi; or 

Delhi-Vaishno Devi-Jammu- 

Delhi. 

Indonesian protesters rally 

in support of Rohingyas 

Jakarta, Dozens of protesters on 

Wednesday staged a demonstration outside 

the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta, protesting 

against the inhuman treatment of 

Rohingya Muslims in that country and 

demanding its government to take action. 

The demonstrators shouted slogans and 

carried placards reading “We stand with 

Rohingya” to express solidarity with members 

of the minority community in 

Myanmar, Efe news reported. 

The protests were held a day after a boat 

with 20 Rohingya refugees reached the 

coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province after it 

was found adrift at sea. 

It was the third boat of Rohingya 

refugees to arrive in Aceh this year after 

two boats, with 76 and five refugees 

respectively, were rescued in April. 

Aceh has traditionally provided asylum 

to Rohingyas, with the region having 

received over 2,000 refugees in 2015, 

many of whom lived for more than a year 

in a refugee camp in Langsa. 

Over 730,000 Rohingyas, who are not 

recognized as citizens by Myanmar, have 

sought refuge in Bangladesh since August 

2017, following a military campaign 

against the minority community in western 

Rakhine state. 

As the monsoon season ends, Rohingyas 

usually make a treacherous voyage through 

the Andaman Sea on their way to Thailand 

and Malaysia. In 2015, the Thai authorities 

launched a crackdown against human 

smuggling after mass graves were found in 

jungle camps near the Malaysia border. 

Bangladesh and Myanmar had earlier 

reached a deal to start repatriating hundreds 

of thousands of Rohingya refugees to 

Rakhine on a voluntary basis from 

November 15. But the repatriation process 

was cancelled due to the refusal of refugees 

to go back, citing lack of guarantees 

regarding their security and citizenship. 

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London-Strategies that animals like lions, 

tigers and penguins use to find food can put their 

own lives in danger, a study says. 

According to researchers from the UK's 

Swansea University, animals using a high-risk 

strategy to find rarer food are likely to become 

extinct as they fail to gather food for their young 

ones before they starve. 

For example, lions and tigers have to search 

for long periods before they find prey, are more 

likely to fail to accrue the energy they need to 

breed, compared to animals that adopt a low-risk 

gambling strategy, like herbivores such as 

zebras. 

"We know that animal populations across the 

world are taking a hit, with the most charismatic 

animals like lions and cheetahs being among the 

worst affected, but up until now it has not been 

clear why," said Rory Wilson Professor from the 

varsity. 

The average time the young of each species 

can survive without food depends on their size 

(larger young ones can survive for longer) but 

newly hatched or newly born young of none of 

the species can live without food for more than a 

UNITED KINGDOM 


British PM May suffers three Brexit defeats in Commons 

London, British Prime Minister Theresa 

May has suffered three Brexit defeats in the 

Commons as she set out to sell her EU deal to 

sceptical MPs. Ministers have agreed to publish 

the government’s full legal advice on the 

deal after MPs found them in contempt of 

Parliament for issuing a summary, BBC 

reported on Wednesday. And MPs backed 

calls for the Commons to have a direct say in 

what happens if her deal is rejected next 

Tuesday. May said MPs had a duty to deliver 

on the 2016 Brexit vote and the deal on offer 

was an “honourable compromise”. 

The Prime Minister was addressing the 

Commons at the start of a five-day debate on 

her proposed agreement on the terms of the 

UK’s withdrawal and future relations with the 

EU. The agreement has been endorsed by EU 

leaders but must also be backed by the UK 

Parliament if it is to come into force. MPs will 

decide whether to reject or accept it on 

Continue Page 16 

Mentoring schemes and top scholarships... 

A* to C grades in GCSE maths and English, compared to all 

looked-after children in 2016. By establishing up to 10 of these 

hub areas – creating partnerships between councils, independent 

and boarding schools, social workers and Virtual School Heads – 

the government aims to replicate some of the outcomes seen in 

Norfolk. In these areas, more children in care will be offered 

places at partner independent or boarding schools, but will also 

benefit from meaningful opportunities and activities from these 

schools without attending as pupils – in recognition that boarding 

full time may not always be the best option for every child. 

In each hub, arrangements will be put in place setting out the 

services available to children in care, including: 

the academic support they will receive, with a particular focus 

on tutoring, mentoring or contributions towards activities in the 

school holidays; the activities they will benefit from that help to 

widen their extra-curricular skills, such as work experience opportunities, 

targeted help with writing UCAS statements, or debating 

clubs; and their access to independent schools’ sports, drama or 

music facilities. The plans will also provide schools with advice 

and guidance on how to target bursaries towards looked-after 

children. They will also provide options between partners for 

funding these places, using the Boarding Schools Partnerships 

model as an example, where more than 60 independent schools are 

already signed up to offer bursaries at reduced rates for children in 

care. Head of Highgate School, part of the hubs working group, 

Adam Pettitt, said: Too often young people find themselves shut 

out of the Higher Education and employment opportunities that 

are accessible to peers who have not experienced traumatic experiences 

in their young lives. Highgate’s long-standing Chrysalis 

Accelerator programme provides a model for other independent 

schools to consider when exploring ways to engage with these 

especially vulnerable young people. 

December 11. May said Brexit divisions had 

become “corrosive” to UK politics and the 

public believed the issue had “gone on long 

enough” and must be resolved. 

The Commons supported a motion 

demanding full disclosure of the government’s 

legal advice, by 311 votes to 293. 

The move was backed by six opposition 

parties, while the Democratic Unionists, 

which have a parliamentary pact with the 

Conservatives, also voted against the government. 

It came after Attorney General Geoffrey 

Cox published a summary of the advice on 

Monday and answered MPs questions for 

three hours – but said that full publication 

would not be in the national interest. 

Labour had accused ministers of “wilfully 

refusing to comply” with a binding Commons 

vote last month demanding they provided the 

attorney general’s full and final advice. 

After Labour demanded the advice should 

be released ahead of next Tuesday’s key vote 

on Mrs May’s deal, Commons Speaker John 

Bercow said it was “unimaginable” this 

would not happen. In response, Commons 

Leader Andrea Leadsom said she “would 

respond” on Wednesday but would ask the 

Commons Privileges Committee to consider 

the constitutional repercussions. An attempt 

by ministers to refer the whole issue, including 

the government’s conduct, to the committee 

of MPs was earlier defeated by four votes. 

The privileges committee will now decide 

which ministers should be held accountable 

and what sanction to apply, with options ranging 

from a reprimand to the more unlikely 

scenario of a minister being suspended from 

the Commons. Lib Dem leader Sir Vince 

Cable said the result left the government “on 

the ropes”, adding: “Theresa May’s majority 

has evaporated, and the credibility of her deal 

is evaporating with it.” 

Rail Review moves forward 

as call for evidence launches 

Independent chair Keith 

Williams invites evidence from 

a wide range of stakeholders. 

review now seeking views 

from passengers and businesses 

across the country 

evidence to inform ‘root and 

branch’ review which will 

transform rail industry 

ambitious reforms to help 

railway meet demands of 21st 

century 

The sweeping review of the 

rail industry, announced by the 

Transport Secretary in 

September, has moved significantly 

forward with the launch 

of the call for evidence today (6 

December 2018). 

Keith Williams, independent 

chair of the Rail Review and 

former British Airways chief 

executive, is inviting evidence 

from a wide range of stakeholders 

in all parts of the country, 

including passenger representatives, 

businesses, leading 

thinkers and investors, and 

local and devolved bodies and 

governments. He is travelling 

across the country visiting 

cities, towns and regions that 

depend on rail connections, listening 

and gathering information 

that will help inform a 

transformation of the rail 

Why animals with high-risk strategies are likely to be extinct 

3 

industry to benefit passengers 

and support a stronger, fairer 

economy. 

Keith Williams said: 

Creating a railway for the 

21st Century passenger is at the 

core of this review. We’re 

launching a call for evidence 

and want to hear from passengers, 

the industry, leading 

thinkers and investors – and 

also the cities, towns and 

regions who depend on their 

rail connections. 

Next year, after forensic 

investigations and conversations 

with people across the 

country, we will deliver a white 

paper with ambitious proposals 

for change. The review will 

consider ambitious recommendations 

for rail reform, building 

on the government’s franchising 

strategy and bringing track 

and train closer together to 

reduce disruption and improve 

accountability. It will also consider 

regional partnerships and 

how we can use innovation to 

improve services and value for 

money for passengers. 

The government will publish 

a white paper on the review’s 

recommendations, with the 

implementation of reforms 

planned to start from 2020. 

few days, the researchers explained. 

For the study, published in the journal Current 

Biology, the team used animal-attached thumbnail-sized 

electronic tags record the movement 

and measure food consumption in condors, cheetahs, 

penguins and sheep in Argentina, South 

Africa and Northern Ireland over a six-year period 

While the Magellanic penguins from 

Argentina finds fish easily, indicating that the 

odds are good for them, the African penguins, 

whose population has been declining in southern 

Africa for decades, have very poor odds for their 

food-finding stakes due to commercial fishing 

practices. 

"When animals are taking rare prey anyway, 

even small changes in the ecosystem stemming 

from human activities can be the straw that 

breaks the camel's back in terms of breeding success, 

and this seems to be the case for the African 

penguin, whose population is now just one per 

cent of what it was 100 years ago," Wilson said. 

The researchers hope that their model can be 

used to predict the fortunes of species across the 

globe, which could prove pivotal in helping to 

formulate conservation plans.




GURUNANAK DEV GURPURB 

CELEBRATIONS 2018-VERY 

AMBITIOUS AND 

ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY 

PROJECT IN SLOUGH 

An environmental friendly 

‘Tree Planting Project’ was 

launched by The Worshipful 

the Mayor of Slough 

Councillor Harmohinderpal 

Singh Sohal in celebrations of 

the very special 550th 

Anniversary of the founder of 

Sikh faith Guru Nanak Dev on 

Friday 23 November 2018 at 

Sheehy Way in Slough, the 

road where Sri Guru Singh 

Sabha Gurdwara is based. 

Despite the extremely cold 

weather conditions the event 

was attended by High Sheriff 

of the Royal County of 

Berkshire Graham Barker; 

Acting President of Sri Guru 

Singh Sabha Gurdwara 

Ravinder Singh; Leader of 

Slough Borough Council 

Councillor 

James 

Swindlehurst; Mrs. Lydia 

Simmons First Black Mayor 

of Slough; Member of 

Parliament for Slough 

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi; 

Chairman Wexham Court 

Parish Council Raja Fayyaz; 

Secretary of Jamia Masjid & 

Islamic Centre Latif Khan; 

President of Hindu Temple 

Dalip Kumar Sharma; 

Commissioner for Health and 

Social Care Councillor Natasa 

Pautelic; Councillor 

Mohammed Rasib, Councillor 

Balwinder Bains, Councillor 

Atiq Sandhu, Mr. Atiq Battiest 

of MAC Slough and many 

others representatives from 

the diverse communities of 

the borough. 

Among others cost and 

care of trees were donated by 

UK residents of Virk village 

from Punjab, India in memory 

of Sant Baba Phoola Singh Ji; 

Sushil Kumar Tuli CEO & 

President of Leader Bank 

Boston USA in the loving 

memory of his wife Rita Tuli; 

Chalvey Supermarket owner 

Iqbal Abdeali in memory of 

his beloved father Akbarali 

Abdeali. 

Just before the first of the 

eighteen trees was planted, in 

which ‘A TIME CAPSULE’ 

was placed, prayers were said 

in English by the Mayor’s 

Chaplin Reverend Linda 

Hillier and the Sikh Ardas 

done by priest from the 

Gurdwara. 

After welcoming everyone 

the Mayor said “ Guru Nanak 

was a spiritual leader, social 

reformer, revolutionary and a 

great environmentalist who 

travelled extensively on foot 

to spread the message of 

brotherhood, peace, coexistence 

and engaged in interfaith 

dialogue. 

The world started talking 

about global warming and 

ecological balance during the 

last 40 years or so but Guru 

Nanak realised this more than 

500 years ago. I am hopeful 

that 550 trees and saplings 

will be planted by the end of 

March next year. I am thankful 

to the Slough Borough 

Council, Sri Guru Singh 

Sabha Gurdwara, Wexham 

Court Parish Council, Slough 

Labour Group, Chalvey 

Foundation and all those who 

have contributed towards this 

project.” 

For further information 

and donations please contact 

01753 875 001. 

A Public Meeting by BSP at Mukerian 

and Dasuha Vidhan Sabha 

Under the leadership of Dr Meg Raj 

Singh, BSP Incharge Punjab, Haryana, and 

Chandigarh, a public meeting was convened 

at Mukerian and Dasuha Vidhan Sabha. 

Under “ Booth Karo Majboot” drive the 

local workers are asked to engage the people 

and strengthen the BSP at the booth level. 

Dr. Megraj Singh, BSP Incharge said in his 

speech that, “ BSP sympathizers and supporters 

should leave no stone unturned to get 

a maximum number of seats from Punjab in 

the forthcoming 2019 elections. 

He also said, “ today we want to see Behn 

Kumari Mayawati a Prime Minister of the 

country and that can be possible only if all 

of us work hard and win maximum seats. He 

also said, “ the Manuwadi forces have been 

wreaking havoc in the life of the poor Dalits. 

The Constitutional Rights as enshrined in 

the Constitution of India by Dr. B.R. 

Ambedkar, the World Hero & the architect 

of the Constitution of India, are trampled 

upon. Reservation is almost at the verge of 

annihilation. Scholarship meant for the poor 

Dalit students is cut by the ruling dispensation 

at the centre. In that case, it is the only 

Behn Kumari Mayawati who can protect the 

Constitutional Rights of the Dalits. 

Beniwal Singh and Vice- President BSP 

Punjab Rajinder Singh Rihal also participated 

in the public meeting and asked the local 

BSP leaders to enroll members of the BSP 

and strengthen the BSP at the booth level. 

Thousands of people participated in a public 

meeting. 

UK Celebrates Historic Day 

– Sardar Patel Memorial Society 

Sardar Patel Memorial Society (SPMS) 

UK in coordination with High Commission 

of India, London celebrated the 143rd birth 

anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as 

the ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ on 31st October 

2018 while the world’s tallest ‘statue of 

unity’ – was officially inaugurated in India 

by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The event was attended besides Mr C.B. 

Patel, Chairman, SPMS, Dr. Rami Ranger, 

Vice Chairman SPMS, by the Deputy High 

Commissioner, Shri Charanjeet Singh, Mr A 

S Rajan , Minister of coordination, Mr. 

Virendra Sharma, MP, Lord Meghnad Desai, 

Lord Jitesh Gadhia, Mr Manoj Ladwa, 

Mayors of Brent, Greenwich & Harrow with 

councillors and a large number of Indian 

Diaspora community leaders. 

The celebration started with a luncheon 

reception (courtesy of Arun Luthra – 

Ragamama) with mouth-watering food. 

Mr Alpesh Patel, The Master of ceremonies 

started the proceedings after lunch 

with the British & Indian National Anthems 

followed by garlanding & floral tributes to 

Sardar Patel by the dignitaries present. 

Dr Rami Ranger – Convenor / vice-chairman 

of SPMS, welcomed all present with a 

brief history of Sardar Patel’s achievements 

and how he united India as the Iron Man of 

India. C B Patel, the Chairman of SPMS 

highlighted the humble origins of Sardar 

Patel. “Sardar left Rs 233 in his bank balance, 

said Mr. Patel, “No property, no other 

financial asset; none of his children’s relations 

were elevated to the positions of profit 

or power; he was marginalised from highest 

offices more than once and yet, his legacy is 

visible, vibrant and ever-lasting.” 

Sardar Patel Memorial Society (SPMS), 

UK was founded in 1985 and has remained 

active since with the help of contributions 

from volunteers. Mr Patel added, “If we forget 

our history then we cannot create history!” 

Lord Gadhia in his keynote speech highlighted 

the controversy in his three-fold justification 

of the significance of the statue. He 

explained how the statue is built out of scrap 

iron that is collected from farmers across the 

country who have donated one of their used 

agricultural tools. According to him, “This 

statue will not just help in generating tourism 

but is a step in extending India’s soft powers 

in the world!” 

E. Charanjeet Singh, the deputy high 

commissioner of India in the UK took a step 

further from delivering his speech and getting 

the guests to take a pledge termed as the 

“Rashtriya Ekta Divas Shapath.” 

After the video presentation on the life of 

Sardar, Manoj Ladwa of IndiaInc conveyed a 

special message from the Prime Minister of 

India. The speakers lauded the role played by 

Sardar Patel in unifying the country after 

Independence and his role as a freedom 

fighter before that. But for him, India would 

not have been the one we are witnessing 

now. His firm belief in non-violence, steely 

resolve in unity of India and farsightedness 

make him a unique leader. India owes much 

to the ‘Iron man of India’. The participants 

took a pledge to safeguard the unity of the 

country on the ‘Day of Unity’. 

A special commemorative souvenir was 

launched on the life of Sardar Patel – with 

contribution from expert people and journalists 

from all over the country. 

Krishna Pujara – Secretary General of 

SPMS thanked everyone for their support – 

including the caterers Ragamama, Alpesh 

Patel, Mr A Rajan& Cordination Team, Mr C 

B Patel, Dr Rami Ranger, Atul Pathak, Ravi 

Gidar, Mr PG Patel, Jitubhai Patel, Kanti 

Nagda, Deepak Patel, Himanshu Darji, 

Himesh Patel, Photographer Mr CK Naidu, 

Dhruv Gadhvi , Zee TV and well-wishers.


Ayurveda Day was celebrated on 21st 

November 2018 for the first time in the European 

Parliament, Brussels. The discussions and celebrations 

were hosted by British Conservative MEP, 

Geoffrey VAN ORDEN MBE, Chairman of the 

European Parliament's Delegation for Relations 

with India and Her Excellency Ms Gaitri Issar 

KUMARAmbassador of India to the Belgium, 

Luxembourg and the EU and guided by Amarjeetsingh 

BHAMRA, from the UK Parliament's 

AllParty Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Indian 

Traditional Sciences. The Ayurveda Day has been 

celebrated in the British Parliamentregularly since 

the formation of the APPG Indian Traditional 

Sciences. 

As well as European Parliamentarians, some 60 

delegates came from across Europe, India, the 

USA and Peru, including many Distinguished 

Academics, Ayurvedic Doctors, Integrative 

Clinicians, GP's, Hospital Directors, Practitioners, 

College Principals, Manufacturers, Traders as well 

as Leaders of Ayurvedic Associations andWorld 

Health Organisation attended to share, update and 

plan the political strategies, circumstances and 

progress of Preventive Healthcare Systems from 

17 countries. 

Mr Alojz PETERLE MEP former Prime 

Minister of Slovenia, welcomed the first celebration 

of Ayurveda in the European Parliament. He 

stressed that Traditional Sciences are not less scientific 

than modern science and needs to be given 

its due respect. The aim should be not to test the 

efficacy of Ayurveda but to offer patients real 

choice. Patients are well informed andpluralism in 

medical modalities is required.He suggested that in 

India, western medicine should be the Alternative 

or complimentary modality and Ayurveda the 

mainstay. 

Mr Peterle also shared a personal anecdote of a 

friend who was on the list for knee surgery and 

benefitted from Ayurvedic treatment. This cheaper 

treatment prevented this friend from undergoing 

costly knee surgery. He explained to the meeting 

the main barrier to overcome regarding the progression 

of Ayurveda into mainstream healthcare 

was the modern demand for "science" and "proof". 

Mr Peterle explained that 'the modern world is very 

interested in an evidence base, however just 

because the current evidence-based model cannot 

identify evidence, that does not mean the evidence 

is not there'. 

His words were well received. 

The modern definition of evidence seeks efficacy, 

which is simple to assess for chemical interventions. 

In chemical testing, it is easy to show that 

one chemical has an action on another chemical, 

and it is simple to adjust the characteristics of a 

chemical to fit the intended action. However, in 

Ayurveda, the model of working is not efficacious, 

but rather effective: a whole person, whole health 

outcome based on multiple variables rather than 

the actions of one synthetic chemical upon another. 

Mr Peterle ended his talk with a reminder that it 

is not natural or traditional medicine that is the 

alternative treatment, the alternative treatment is 

pharmaceutical. 

Mr Jo LEINEN is a German politician and 

Member of the European Parliament from 

Germany. He is a member of the Social 

Democratic Party, part of the Party of European 

Socialists. He is well known for his environmental 

and foreign affairs activities, as well as for his support 

for a Federal Europe. He spoke expressively 

on Ayurveda as a preventative medicine, which 

keeps us healthy. With western health care systems 

focused on disease, a preventative system is welcome, 

said Mr Leinen during Ayurveda Day celebrations. 

Mr Leinen thanked and agreed to support 

the work of Amarjeet S. Bhamra of the APPG 

Indian Traditional Sciences and his international 

efforts to protect and promote the Ayurveda 

System of Medicine. 

The host, Mr Van Orden said: "We have much to 

learn from Ayurveda as a way to prevent disease 

and to deal with chronic illnesses. I feel sure we 

would all benefit if Ayurveda was better understood 

and appreciated in the West.Among the challenges 

are the need for improved methods of verification 

of the benefits of Ayurveda and for proper 

certification and professional accreditation of practitioners." 

He agreed with Mr Peterle, and reiterated that 

all of the good outcomes of Ayurveda must be 

logged, recorded and presented to policymakers 

and the rest of the world. He explained that seeing 

the congregation of experts, academics, clinicians 

and politicians from all over the world is surely a 

great sign that developing a body of evidence is 

possible. 

Mr Van Orden read a petition that will be 

launched shortly to gather one million strong signatures 

for the European Parliament to review and 

debate Ayurveda and Traditional Medicines. 

Hon. Ms Gaitri Kumar - Indian Ambassador 

stressed the essential role that Ayurveda played in 

the lives of Indian citizens on a daily basis. From 

the kitchen to the medicine cupboard, Ayurveda 

was used daily. 

She also reiterated the AYUSH commitment to 

poly medicines. Patients require choice and should 

not just be limited to western medicine. 

The Indian Ambassador also said it was both 

fantastic and inspiring to see the congregation of 

such an amazing gathering all passionately speaking 

about what interests them the most. The event 

was about ancient science, but not science in the 

modern sense. She reiterated the issue of evidence, 

and suggested that perhaps there needs to be a 

renewed look at what evidence is: do we need to 

see the effect of Ayurveda in a Petri dish, or is the 

clear, discernible benefits of yoga to people suffering 

from arthritis good enough? She reminded the 

group of the importance of collecting evidence, 

and suggested that perhaps there should be a Chair 

appointed to co-ordinate activities and generate the 


research and evidence the Western World would 

like to see. 

Prof. Madan THANGAVELU, stated that this 

well attended event was a show of strength for the 

Ayurvedic cause. On behalf of the APPG Indian 

Traditional Sciences, he made a presentation of a 

joint statement between EU and India regarding 

moving Indian Traditional Sciences forward. 

Prof. Tony NADER, the head of the worldwide 

Maharishi Organisation via Skype offered similar 

direction to Mr Leinenand stressed that Ayurveda 

was preventative and personalised medicine. 

Peoples physiology differed and Ayurveda 

addressed this issue. Because Ayurvedic techniques 

are so simple and easily assimilated in to 

everyday live - it is considered kitchen medicine. 

But Ayurveda played another role - it looks into 

human consciousness and awareness. Our experience 

of life is based on our awareness and consciousness. 

But other systems of healthcare do not 

acknowledge this aspect of the human. When you 

develop consciousness, physiology improves. 

Ayurveda is the best system of medicine to make 

life on earth happier. 

Dr Geeta PILLAI from the World Health 

Organisation's Traditional Medicines Committee, 

reiterated the message of the importance 

ofTraditional Medicinal Systems. Getting regulation 

right is essential, he said, as if the regulatory 

structure is not right, then we may inadvertently 

harm or restrict the practice of Ayurveda, rather 

than help or promote it. All the work that has been 

done by WHO is geared towards promoting an 

essential preventive healthcare method. The WHO 

does not distinguish between traditional and complimentary 

medicine. They are looking for what 

works. The WHO is focused on patient centred 

medicine. 

Prof. Dr.Venkata JOSHI, principal lecturer at 


First Ayurveda Day celebration in the European Parliament 

5 

the College of Ayurveda UK speaking on the theme 

of this gathering, Ayurveda for Public health, said, 

Ayurveda is steeped in individualised medicine 

and brings stability to the being. He discussed 

physiology from an Ayurvedic perspective stressing 

how this system addressed all aspects of the 

human being - from physiology to psychology. 

Ms. Ragasudha VINJAMURI, a renowned 

Bharatnatyam dancerexplained the legendarycultural 

dance origin of Lord Dhanvantari (father of 

Ayurveda)through herdance movement. 

Esteemed Delegates in all their imposing ways 

shared the fundamental prescription of choice of 

freedom in order to achieve our goals. We would 

like to grow and ensure that the Ayurveda professionals 

arerecognized as equal to other registered 

medical professionals in the European Union. 

Wesee a bright future for Ayurveda in Europe and 

will contribute our best efforts to ensure 

thatAyurveda becomes fully integrated in 

European Health System. Therefore, we welcome 

and salutethis brave new initiative launched by the 

UK All Party Parliamentary Group Indian 

Traditional Sciences to unite Ayurveda fraternity 

from all over Europe and the rest of theworld and 

give them voice in the European Parliament. 

Speakers as well as participants included: 

Juliette INVERDALE, Rajinder K SINGH, 

BrittanySPENCE, Elizabeth GIBBENS, Dr 

WalterMOELK, Deniz GULER HILHORST, 

ElisabethDE WACHTER, Minakoemarie MAN- 

GRE, Dr AvtarSINGH, GordonBRENNAN, 

Khushboo MEHTA, Leyla MOUDDEN, Dr 

Mauroof ATHIQUE, Dr NitashaBULDEO, 

CarlaVAN DIJK, CornelisPETERS, 

TamaraSLIJEPCEVIC, GayatriPURANIK, 

GudrunBUCHZIK, Dr HarshaGRAMMINGER, 

LotharPIRC, MartinRICKINGER, Mark ROSEN- 

BERG, Rolf DietrichWACHSMUTH, 

StephanHEIN, Werner LUEDEMAN, Dr Geetha 

PILLAI, Dr SrikanthbabuPERUGU, 

ThomasMULLINS, 

CarmenLEGUA, 

RolandoCALCINA, Amandio FIGUEIREDO, 

Gordana PETROVIC, Antonio FLORES, 

JoseRODRIGUEZ, Jose RamonRUBIO LAPOR- 

TA, JuanROURA, Maria CORDON, Maria CEJU- 

DO, Sergio VIANA, Alice RAGHUBAR-GOEP- 

TAR, Dravin RAGHUBAR, 

SawitrieRAMCHARAN, Tomas PFEIFFER, 

Ludmila DOLAKOVA, Alena DUDAKOVAand 

Dr Ton NICOLAI. 

A presentation of a sculpture of Hanuman was 

giftedon behalf of Shreemati Bhartidevi Kantaria, 

daughter of Pujya Shree Rambaba to the European 

Parliament by Amarjeet S Bhamra, as symbol of 

Sanjeevani herb for Ayurveda. Gift bags were 

offered with Ayurvedic products generously donated 

by Ms. Gudrun Buchzik of Maharishi Europe 

Netherlands and Ms. Gayatri Puranik of 

Aashwamedh Germany. 

Amarjeet S. Bhamra. Traditional Medicines and 

Indian Sciences, he said, is something that people 

the world over would like to see practiced. He was 

grateful for the opportunity provided by Mr. 

Geoffrey Van Orden MEP the host of the meeting 

along with Hon. Ms Gaitri Kumar - Indian 

Ambassador who kindly supported this milestone 

event, recognising the All Party Parliamentary 

Group - Indian traditional Sciences to lead the way 

for Integrated Medicine in which Ayurveda along 

with its sister sciences would play a vital role. He 

also graciously thanked European Parliamentarians 

Mr Peterle and Mr Leinen, all speakers and an 

amazing effort of all participants from the 

European continent as well as India, Peru and USA 

to shape future discussions with the European 

authorities. 

Amarjeet S. Bhamra called for a high-powered 

committee to convene an operational structure to 

progress the contributions, findings and recommendations 

made by the high-ranking experts that 

congregated together today in support of Ayurveda 

at the EU Parliament including officials from the 

Indian Government. And not to lose the momentum, 

APPG Indian Traditional Sciences will be 

looking forward to coordinate the next meetingearly 

in the new year.


ASIA 


Kovind to dedicate houses built for 

Rohingya refugees in Myanmar 

New Delhi : President Ram Nath 

Kovind will dedicate the first 50 housing 

units built for displaced Rohingya 

people during the course of his threeday 

state visit to Myanmar from 

December 11, a senior official said on 

Thursday. Briefing the media here, 

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said 

that India signed a development programme 

for Rakhine State in Myanmar 

late last year which was designed to 

assist the Myanmar government in 

Rakhine State to build housing infrastructure 

for return of displaced persons. 

"Two hundred and fifty units were 

planned for the first phase and by virtual 

means, President of India will be dedicating 

the first 50 units to the Myanmar 

side," Gokhale said. 

"It is something that has been appreciated 

not just by the government of 

Myanmar but also by the UN and other 

agencies." 

Over 730,000 Rohingyas, who are 

not recognised as citizens by Myanmar, 

have sought refuge in Bangladesh since 

August 2017, following a military campaign 

against the minority community 

in western Rakhine state. Giving details 

of the President's programme, Gokhale 

said that after reaching Myanmar's capital 

Nay Pyi Taw late on December 10 

evening, Kovind will be accorded a ceremonial 

welcome on December 11 

which will be followed by delegationlevel 

talks with Myanmar President U 

Win Myint, a meeting with State 

Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and signing 

of agreements. 

On December 12, Kovind will visit 

the Advanced Centre for Agricultural 

Research and Education (ACARE) and 

the Rice Biopark. 

"These are both government of India 

projects funded by grants," Gokhale 

said. At the ACARE, Kovind will also 

launch a mobile app for agriculture 

technology. After completing these 

engagements, Kovind will leave for 

Yangon where he will lay a wreath at 

the Martyrs' Memorial which is also the 

resting place of Gen Aung San who was 

Aung San Suu Kyi's father. 

The President will also visit the 

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and 

attend a community reception to be 

hosted by the Indian Ambassador to 

Myanmar. On December 13, Kovind 

will visit the Shri Kali Temple in 

Yangon and the mausoleum of the last 

Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar. 

He will also inaugurate the 

"Enterprise India" exhibition being 

organised by Indian industry body CII 

to showcase Indian manufacturing capabilities 

and industrial technology. 

Later in the day, the President will 

visit the Dhamma Joti Vipassana 

Mediation Centre. Kovind will return to 

India on December 14. Press Secretary 

to the President Ashok Malik said that 

this will be Kovind's last state visit this 

year and also the first state visit to a 

country with which India shares a land 

border. 

The President will be accompanied 

by a three-member delegation comprising 

Minister of State for Railways Rajen 

Gohain, Lok Sabha MP from Assam 

Ram Prasad Sarma, and Rajya Sabha 

MP from Manipur K. Bhabananda 

Singh. 

"All three members of this delegation 

are parliamentarians from the states 

of Northeast," Malik said. 

"This is a recognition of the fact that 

the development of the Northeast is 

inter-linked with the development of 

Myanmar and our relationship with 

Myanmar," he said. 

"It is a tribute to the government's 

Act East Policy and and the centrality of 

the Northeast in that." 

India has been increasing its engagements 

with Southeast Asia under New 

Delhi's Act East Policy. 

India is also a key development aid 

partner of Myanmar and is working on 

some major infrastructure projects in 

that country, including the India- 

Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway 

and the Kaladan multimodal transport 

project connecting Sittwe port with 

Mizoram. 

"In the past three years, political, 

economic and defence ties with 

Myanmar have grown rapidly," a statement 

issued by the External Affairs 

Ministry earlier regrading Kovind's visit 

said. 

It stated that Kovind's visit was 

expected to maintain the momentum 

generated by Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi's visit to Myanmar in September 

2017 and the visit of Suu Kyi to New 

Delhi in January 2018 for the India- 

Asean (Association of Southeast Asian 

Nations) Commemorative Summit. 

Myanmar is the only Asean member 

state with which India is linked via land 

and sea.


Sonata Software buys 

Australian firm for Rs 28 crore 

Bengaluru : Leading Indian IT services 

provider Sonata Software on Thursday said it 

acquired Australia-based Scalable Data Systems 

for Rs 28 crore (Australian dollar 5.5 million) to 

hardsell Microsoft Dynamics 365 product. 

"We signed an agreement to acquire Scalable for 

an enterprise value of Australian dollar 5.5 million 

(Rs 28 crore) subject to adjustment on account of 

working capital and debt," a company spokesman 

told IANS here. 

"The acquisition will enable Scalable to become 

a digital transformation partner of choice for customers 

in retail, distribution, manufacturing and 

travel sectors across Australia," said the company 

in a statement. 

The Brisbane-based Scalable has been providing 

business solutions, including Microsoft 

Dynamics 365 software product, in the Australian 

market over the past 25 years for enterprise 

resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship 

management (CRM) applications. 

Scalable has sold Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O 

(finance and operations) solutions to leading 

clients in manufacturing and wholesale and distribution. 

"Scalable brings value in terms of 

Microsoft Dynamics capabilities and resources to 

us, besides additional IP (intellectual property) and 

geographical reach," Sonata Chief Executive 

Srikar Reddy said on the occasion. 

Sonata also enables platform-based digital 

transformation for enterprises to create businesses 

that are connected, open, intelligent and scalable. 

"Sonata is a leader in the Microsoft Dynamics 

space and has a track record of acquiring and nurturing 

firms for fuelling growth. The acquisition 

will give us an additional capability in the 

Microsoft tech stack and address larger opportunities 

in the market," Scalable Chief Executive Brett 

Crew said. Sonata acquired the US-based IBIS 

Dynamics 365 partner in October 2015 and has an 

IP brick and click for retail, modern distribution 

and manufacturing industries. The commodity IP 

from Scalable has also extended Sonata's supply 

chain capabilities focused on manufacturing and 

distribution industries. 

ASIA 

Quick watering system 

to ensure adequate 

water supply in trains 

New Delhi : Come March 2019 and the 

passengers of mail or express trains won't 

complain of water shortage in the coaches, as 

the Indian Railways is all set to use "quick 

watering system" to fill water, an official said 

on Thursday. The Railway Board Member - 

Rolling Stock, Rajesh Agarwal, said the 

Indian Railways used to receive 

a lot of complaints related to 

water shortage in the train 

coaches. "But with the use of 

quick watering system, a 24- 

coach train can be filled up 

within five minutes and multiple 

trains can be watered simultaneously," 

he said. 

Highlighting the functionality 

of the new system, Agarwal said that earlier 

the water in the train coaches at railway 

stations were filled with the help of four-inch 

pipes. "But those four inch pipes would now 

be replaced with six inch pipes with high 

power motors and the water would be supplied 

to the train coaches through a computerised 

system called SCADA (Supervisory 

Control and Data Acquisition)," he said. He 

said that the quick watering system uses a 

powerful motor and a centralised monitoring 

system with flow meters which can also 

check exactly how much water is being filled 

into the tanks thereby reducing wastage. 

Agarwal said that the Railway Ministry has 

planned to install pressure pumps of 40 horsepower 

to increase water pressure, so that 

trains can refill water in five minutes. He 

said that by March 2019, this system would 

be installed at over 142 stations which have 

the water filling stations in trains. Recently 

the rail board sanctioned Rs 300 crore for the 

project. He said that the Ministry has planned 

to install pumps of 40 horsepower 

to increase the water 

pressure. According to Railway 

Ministry officials, the water in 

the long-distance trains are 

filled at every 200 km. But as 

the old pipeline did not provide 

adequate pressure, 

it took around 20- 

25 minutes to fill 

1,800 liters of 

water in a coach, 

resulting in inadequate 

filling of 

water in the train 

coaches. The official 

said at present, 

railway staff fix hose pipes 

from their water line to the inlet 

of coaches and fill tanks. The 

speed of a regular pumping system 

is comparatively slow, 

resulting in lesser water being 

filled in the coaches. 

The official noted that the 

quick watering system was 

developed by the Research and 

Design Standrads Organisation 

(RDSO)'s CAMTECH, 

Gwalior unit. Through an open 

tender, the contract will be 

given to the local contractors, 

the Ministry said. 


7 

DCW engages external 

agency to audit Delhi 

shelter homes 

New Delhi : Following orders from Deputy Chief Minister 

Manish Sisodia, the Delhi 

Commission of Women (DCW) 

on Thursday appointed Tata 

Institute of Social Sciences 

(TISS)'s "Koshish" to conduct 

social audit of all shelter homes 

for women and girls in Delhi. 

Koshish has earlier conducted 

similar audits in several 

states, including Bihar, that 

brought to light the 

Muzaffarpur shelter home horror. 

The decision came after 

nine minor girls reportedly went 

missing from a shelter home in 

the national capital on Monday. "Koshish team is visiting all the 

shelter homes in Delhi and auditing them on various aspects 

which shall include infrastructure, facilities provided, training 

programmes and attitude of staff, and rehabilitation and restoration 

efforts, among others," the DCW said in a statement. An 

agreement has been reached between the DCW and Koshish, 

wherein the Koshish team shall inform the Commission immediately 

in case any instances of abuse are discovered in the 

homes. In a meeting with Sisodia on Thursday, DCW chief 

Swati Maliwal stated that a pilot social audit of shelter homes 

had been initiated by the Commission in September and "a 

report is being submitted to the government". 

Sisodia, on the other hand, said that the Delhi government is 

"keen to overhaul and improve the functioning of all the shelter 

homes and has therefore invited an external agency" to examine 

the status and issues of homes in a non-partisan manner. 

Cabinet nods India's first 

agri export policy to 

double farmers' income 

New Delhi : Union Cabinet 

on Thursday approved the 

country's first Agriculture 

Export Policy with an aim to 

double farmers' income and 

agricultural export to $60 billion 

by 2022, Commerce and 

Industry Minister Suresh 

Prabhu said. 

"This is in line with the 

Prime Minister's vision of doubling 

farmers income by 2022. 

In less than one year, we have 

raised our agricultural export to 

$37 billion from $30 billion 

and we are sure to double it to 

$60 billion by 2022," Prabhu 

told reporters. 

"Today, only three products - 

- rice, marine products and 

meat -- constitute about 52 per 

cent of our agricultural exports. 

Therefore we need to diversify 

and will work on that. We will 

promote organic, ethnic and 

indigenous products in a substantive 

manner," he said. 

Leaving out some primary 

farm products like onion based 

on domestic needs (to be 

reviewed from time to time), all 

export restrictions on organic 

and processed agricultural 

products will be removed by 

the government, the Minister 

said. 

"The government has come 

out with a comprehensive 

Agriculture Export Policy 

aimed at doubling the agricultural 

exports and integrating 

Indian farmers and agricultural 

products with the global value 

chains," an official statement 

said. 

The Cabinet also approved 

the proposal for establishment 

of monitoring framework at 

Centre with Commerce as the 

nodal department with representation 

from various line 

ministries and departments, 

agencies and representatives of 

concerned state governments to 

oversee the implementation of 

Agriculture Export Policy. 

Objectives of the policy 

include reaching $100 billion 

export target in the next few 

years with a stable trade policy 

regime, diversify export basket 

and destinations, and boost 

high value and value added 

agricultural exports with focus 

on perishables. 

It also aims to promote 

novel, indigenous, organic, ethnic, 

traditional and non-traditional 

agri product exports, provide 

an institutional mechanism 

for pursuing market 

access, tackling barriers and to 

deal with sanitary and phytosanitary 

issues. 

The government has planned 

clusters for exportable agri 

products in consultation with 

states and has drawn a list of 

agricultural products that will 

be promoted as exports from 

the country under the Brand 

India tag. This will entail an 

outlay of Rs 1,400 crore, 

Prabhu said.


ASIA 


Amritsar Dusshera function had no permission, 

Amarinder orders 'stern action' 

Chandigarh, The magisterial 

inquiry into the Amritsar 

train tragedy that claimed 61 

lives has held that the Dusshera 

event organised by a ruling 

Punjab Congress leader was 

held "without permission" and 

"without undertaking required 

safety and security measures". 

Punjab Chief Minister 

Amarinder Singh on Thursday 

"ordered stern action against all 

those found responsible for the 

Amritsar train mishap, after the 

magisterial probe found the 

gateman of the railway crossing 

at Jaura Phatak and the 

organisers of the event accountable 

for various acts of omissions 

and commissions leading 

to the unfortunate tragedy". 

The inquiry report stated 

that "the organisers were not 

having any approval/permission 

required for holding this 

event of Dussehra celebration 

including 'Ravan Dahan' at 

Dhobi Ghat and they held the 

event in an illegal manner, 

compromising the safety and 

security of spectators' life". 

The inquiry report observed 

that while the spectators "committed 

the mistake" of watching 

the event from rail tracks, 

"the organisers held this event 

without any permission and 

without undertaking required 

safety and security measures". 

The report blamed the police 

and the Municipal Corporation 

for their "failure to enforce the 

law and showing unwanted 

generosity". 

The report stated that "key 

rail employees failed to take 

safety and security measures 

even after having full knowledge 

of presence of a large 

number of people on and 

around the rail tracks". 

The magisterial inquiry into 

the incident, which claimed 61 

lives on Dussehra day (Oct 19), 

was conducted by the 

With SC nod, country gets witness protection scheme 

Divisional 

Commissioner, 

Jalandhar, B. 

Purushartha, on 

the orders of the 

Chief Minister. 

The inquiry 

revealed an alarming 

situation so far 

as regulation and 

supervision of an 

event at a public 

place/government 

land was concerned, 

a Punjab 

government spokesperson said 

here. 

"Everyone concerned with 

organization, regulation and 

supervision of the event under 

inquiry committed omissions 

and commissions including 

dereliction of statutory duties," 

the report observed. 

"It is true that such omissions/commissions/dereliction 

of duties have not been done 

for the first time (but) in this 

event it combined with the 

blunders committed on the part 

of key rail employees and a ripe 

situation for occurrence of this 

accident was created." 

The comprehensive report 

submitted to the Punjab government 

last month "examined 

all the aspects related to the 

tragedy". It was based on interviews 

with all the people 

affected and various officials. 

The inquiry concluded that 

the, gateman of Jaura Phatak, 

Gate No. 27, Amit Singh, had 

not only failed in discharging 

his statutory duties but also 

committed a blunder in not taking 

appropriate safety and 

security measures which could 

have easily prevented this accident. 

"He is one of those key 

railway employees whose blunder 

has resulted into this accident," 

the report said. 

The report also blamed the 

gateman of another gate (No. 

26) for his failure. 

"It is also evident that gateman 

of Railways Level 

Crossing, Gate No. 26, Nirmal 

Singh, also failed discharging 

his statutory duties by his late 

reaction in informing Gateman 

of Jaura Phatak, Gate No. 27. 

He came to know about this 

gathering on rail tracks at 

around 5.30 p.m., but informed 

Amit Singh at around 6.40-6.45 

p.m. He did not inform the concerned 

Station Master and kept 

giving all right signals to 

approaching trains. Therefore, 

he is also responsible for committing 

this blunder. 

"It is also evident that the 

organisers conducted this event 

without taking adequate precautions/measures 

to ensure 

safety and security of the people 

gathered to watch Dussehra 

celebration and Ravan Dahan," 

it added. 

Blaming the organisers for 

failure to inform the railways, 

the report said: "The organisers 

neither informed the railways 

nor took any precautions and 

safety measures to stop people 

from watching the celebrations 

from rail tracks". 

"A simple information could 

have resulted into issuance of a 

caution order by the Railways 

for controlled and alerted 

movement of trains in this rail 

section and other security 

measures which could have 

easily prevented this accident," 

it observed. 

The inquiry made it clear 

that Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the 

wife of the Local Bodies 

Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, 

who attended the function as a 

Chief Guest, had "no role in 

organising the event". 

The report said that had the 

organisers been sensitive to the 

safety and security of the people 

watching the Dussehra celebrations 

and taken the simple 

action of putting a view cutter 

of 10-12 feet height along the 

boundary wall separating the 

ground and rail tracks, the accident 

could have been prevented. 

The probe indicted Saurabh 

Madan Mithoo, the son of 

Congress councillor in 

Amritsar and a close political 

aide of the Sidhu couple, and 

officials of the Amritsar 

Municipal Corporation, local 

administration, police and railway 

authorities for lapses that 

led to the tragedy. Mithoo was 

the main organiser of the 

Dusshera event while Navjot 

Kaur was the chief guest. 

A separate inquiry into the 

train tragedy conducted by the 

Chief Commissioner of 

Railway Safety had blamed 

"negligence" of the people who 

were standing on the railway 

track for the incident. 

Shiromani Akali Dal leader 

Virsa Singh Valtoha said on 

Thursday that they had predicted 

earlier that the Sidhu couple 

would get a clean chit in the 

magisterial probe. The probe 

commissioner submitted his 

300-page report to the Punjab 

Home Department on 

November 21. Over 150 people 

were examined during the 

probe. Opposition leaders and 

locals alleged that Navjot Kaur, 

a former legislator, fled the 

scene after the train killings. 

New Delhi, To stall the criminal 

cases collapsing with witnesses turning 

hostile under duress, the Supreme 

Court on Wednesday put in place a 

long-awaited witness protection 

scheme for the safety of witnesses 

faced with threat to life and harassments 

to them or their families in 

criminal cases’ trial. 

Supporting the ‘Witness Protection 

Scheme, 2018' prepared by the Centre, 

the bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and 

Justice S. Abdul Nazeer in their judgement 

said, “It shall be the law under 

Article 141/142 of the Constitution till 

the enactment of suitable parliamentary 

and/or State legislations on the 

subject.” The witness protection 

scheme essentially involves concealing 

the identity of the witness faced 

with threat, prohibits the publication 

or revealing, in any manner, the identity 

of the witness during investigation, 

trial and post-trial stage. 

Describing the condition of witnesses 

as “pathetic”, Justice Sikri said, 

“Because of the lack of witness protection 

programme in India and the 

treatment that is meted out to them, 

there is a tendency of reluctance in 

coming forward and making statement 

during the investigation.” 

“One of the main reasons for witnesses 

to turn hostile is that they are 

not accorded appropriate protection by 

the State. It is a harsh reality, particularly, 

in those cases where the accused 

persons/criminals are tried for heinous 

offences, or where the accused persons 

are influential persons or in a 

dominating position,” the judgement 

said. This situation, the court said, 

“prevails because of the reason that 

the state has not undertaken any protective 

measure to ensure the safety of 

these witnesses, commonly known as 

witness protection'”. 

The court today ordered that the 

Union of India as well as states and 

Union Territories will enforce the witness 

protection scheme in letter and 

France upset Argentina; knock 

Spain out of hockey World Cup 

Bhubaneswar : In 

what turned out to be the 

biggest upset of the 

ongoing men's hockey 

World Cup, minnows 

France on Thursday outclassed 

Olympic champions 

Argentina 5-3 in 

their final must-win pool 

A fixture to keep their 

quarter-final dreams 

alive. The result meant 

Spain were knocked out 

of the World Cup after 

finishing last in the pool. 

Spain played out a 2-2 

draw with New Zealand 

earlier in the day at the 

Kalinga Stadium here. 

Despite the loss, 

World No.2 Argentina secured direct qualification for the quarters 

while France and New Zealand will now take part in the 

cross over matches. As per the format of the tournament, the top 

four teams -- one from each of the four pools -- will directly 

qualify for the quarters while the second and third placed teams 

will play cross over matches against the teams of other groups to 

grab the remaining eight spots in the quarters. 

France ended their pool stage on the second spot with four 

points behind toppers Argentina (6 points). An inferior goal difference 

put New Zealand (4 points) at the third spot. 

For the French side, Hugo Genestet (18th minute), skipper 

Victor Charlet (23rd), Aristide Coisne (26th), Gasper 

Baumgarten (30th) and Francios Goyet (54th) were the goal 

scorers while Lucas Martinez (28th) and two penalty corner 

strikes from Gonzalo Peillat (44th, 48th) could not revive 

Argentina's fortunes. 

Earlier, New Zealand bounced back from a deficit of two 

goals to hold Spain to a 2-2 draw to virtually end the Spaniards' 

chances of qualifying for the knock-outs. 

spirit. The court ordered that “in all the 

district courts in India, vulnerable witness 

deposition complexes shall be set 

up by the States and Union 

Territories” and this “should be 

achieved within a period of one year.” 

The witness protection measures 

would be proportionate to the threat 

perception and would include that witness 

and accused do not come face-toface 

during investigation or trial, monitoring 

of mail and telephone calls, 

changing the telephone number of witness 

including providing him unlisted 

number and other measures. 

All this will be for a specific period 

and would not exceed three months at 

a time. It may also include, the court 

said, “the option of the modification of 

the image of face of the witness 

including modification of the audio 

feed of the witness’ voice, so that 

he/she are not identified. It may also 

include change of identity or relocation 

of witnesses to other places” within 

the state or outside. There would be 

categorisation of witnesses on the 

basis of whether threat perception 

involves life, safety, reputation or 

property of the witness or his family 

members, and lastly moderate threat 

involving harassment or intimidation 

of the witness or his family member’s, 

reputation.The scheme says that the 

application for witness protection 

would be heard in camera where only 

necessary people would be allowed to 

be present. Deposition by the protected 

witness would be through live 

video links without being present in 

the courtroom. The hearing on the 

need for the witness protection 

scheme is rooted in a petition by 

Mahender Chawla who miraculously 

survived a murder attempt for daring 

to testify against so-called godman, 

Asaram Bapu, and his son Narayan 

Sai in cases of rape of a child and two 

sisters. Other petitioners included a 

witness, father of a murdered witness, 

father of the child rape victim and a 

journalist who escaped an alleged 

murder attempt and still faces death 

threats.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk ASIA December 2018 9 

BSP`S STANDS GOOD CHANCE IN 

PUNJAB 2019 ELECTIONS 

The trumpet of 2019 Lok Sabha elections 

has already been blown. Bahujan 

Samaj Party(BSP) in Punjab has taken a 

leading role in winning the hearts and 

minds of the voters belonging to all sections 

of the society particularly the marginalized 

sections. Local media reports 

emphasize that there is a great enthusiasm 

among the SC population in Punjab 

to see the BSP on the seat of power. 

According to 2011 census, 

Scheduled Castes population in Punjab 

constitutes 32 percent. No doubt, this 

rock-solid strength of SC population in 

Punjab is not enough to get a maximum 

number of Members of Parliament 

(MPs) elected provided the local leadership 

bring SC/OBCs on the same board 

‘Ambedkarism’ as the core of its ideology, 

the party has to propagate the 

aspects of “Social Transformation and 

Economic Emancipation” and convince 

the voters that the BSP is the only political 

party that has been fighting for their 

constitutional rights. 

Kanshi Ram`s Style of Functioning 

Kanshi Ram, the founder of BAM- 

CEF, DS4 and the BSP toured the country 

by cycle from Kashmir to 

Kanyakumari to raise awareness among 

the Dalits about the philosophy of Dr. B. 

R Ambedkar, the architect of Indian 

Constitution. He was a leader who 

believed strongly in building the cadres 

at the village level. My recent communication 

with the BSP hardcore followers 

who worked closely with Kanshi 

Ram in the state of Punjab assert, “that 

people used to rush to Kanshi Ram in 

the public meetings. His style of functioning 

was to educate the masses and 

make them aware of their social and 

economic problems. Further, it is also 

claimed by the old timer, loyal supporters 

of the BSP that, “Kanshi Ram was a 

grassroots level worker who could sit at 

the cot and sip a tea with the party workers”. 

The slogan was given by Kanshi 

Ram and Mayawati: 

Vote Hamara Raj Tumahara, Nahi 

Chalega Nahi Chalega 

(Our Vote your rule, No longer No 

longer) 

has lost sheen over the time among 

the Dalit masses. The reason being that 

Mayawati joined hands with the BJP, 

anti-dalit party and formed a government 

and become Chief Minister in 

Uttar Pradesh four times. Anti 

Mayawati propaganda by the BJP, RSS 

that she is no more a “Garib Ke Beti” 

has been corroding the party political 

base especially in the rural area where 

the masses are illiterate. It is unfortunate 

that lies and rumors spread by the opposition 

parties against the party President 

Behn Kumari Mayawati tend to confuse 

the Dalit illiterate masses particularly in 

the villages of Punjab resulting into 

splitting of votes. 

Contemporary Political Situation 

of BSP in Punjab 

It is a fact that Dalits are known by 

different nomenclatures in the state as in 

the country viz: Scheduled Castes, 

Ravidassis, Neo-Buddhists, Valmikis 

etc. to name just a few, which are religiously 

divided. Prof. Ronki Ram, 

teaching political science at the Punjab 

University, Chandigarh argues that 

Despite the common nomenclature— 

SCs, Dalits are sharply divided into 39 

castes. This caste heterogeneity impacts 

their upward social mobility and political 

mobilization in multifarious 

ways(EPW,2017) 

The SC leaders belonging to different 

Ambedkarites/Buddhists/ 

Ravidassis/Valmiki organizations lack 

confidence in the present local Punjab 

leadership since they are neither invited 

nor welcomed to promote the agenda of 

the BSP in the state of Punjab. Similarly, 

OBCs leaders from different religious 

and social organizations feel alienated 

from the party. Past studies conducted 

by sociologists affirm that “the majority 

of the OBCs leaders are in the 

Rahul Bali 

Senior Correspondent, 

the Asian Independent, UK 

grip of Sikh Gurdwaras who 

are either fed by Akali Dal or Congress 

party. There is a need to bring different 

people to a common platform and build 

a solid front. There is also a need to 

invite OBCs leaders to garner support 

for the BSP in the state of Punjab. 

Kanshi Ram`s BAMCEF terminology 

was to create, “ Man, Money and 

Mind Power”. However, the BAMCEF 

and the BSP could attract men and 

monies but Mind Power lacks behind. 

Mind power means that there should be 

a core group of intellectual class among 

the BSP supporters that can study the 

social and economic problems of the 

Dalits of Punjab and chart the party programme 

accordingly and raise the real 

issues concerning the lives of the Dalits 

in the state of Punjab. 

Real Issues of the Dalits in Punjab 

The duty and function of the intellectual 

class should chart the programmes 

and guide the party cadre to 

raise the real issues concerning the welfare 

of the Dalits. For example, Punjab 

Scheduled Castes Land Development 

and Finance Corporation, an undertaking 

of Punjab Government has no funds 

to support welfare schemes meant for the 

Scheduled Castes (Ref Annual 

Administrative Report 2014-15). The 

state government, as usual, pass the buck 

to the central government for not releasing 

the funds. This blame game between 

the Centre and the State has economically 

stopped the Dalits to become entrepreneurs. 

Doaba Dalits are marginalized as 

compared to upper caste people because 

of anti- Dalit policies. Violence against 

Dalits has escalated dramatically. 

Reservation is only for the namesake. 

There is hardly any government job; if at 

all available that is at the lower level. 

The current status of the elementary education 

level of SC students studying in 

government schools particularly in the 

villages of Punjab is dismal because of 

lack of infrastructure and qualified 

teachers. Media reports state that scholarship 

meant for the SC students are 

either usurped by corrupt administrative 

or reduced to such a low level that does 

not meet the requirement. A recent case 

of 210 crore scam of SC students scholarship 

in Himachal Pradesh is a clear 

example of plunder of resources meant 

for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes 

Students. The Constitution of India is 

attacked by the Manuwadi forces. The 

BSP has to fight for the physical and 

institutional marginalization of the 

Dalits; non-fulfillment of reservation 

policies. The land ownership is the lowest 

in the country by the Dalits. Only 

9.23% land is owned by Dalits , according 

to the NSSO Household Ownership 

and Operational Holdings in India. 

Conclusion 

The BSP has to devise new strategies 

to fight with Brahminical structure. On 

the other hand, the Dalits need to revisit 

their tendency of begging for justice. 

The BSP like other national political 

parties needs to establish a strong IT 

cell, media cell to educate the masses 

about the aims and objects of the party. 

The local Punjab leadership should 

emulate the style of functioning of 

Kanshi Ram to build a grass root network 

of workers at the village level and 

establish a communication with them. 

The party has to raise the social and 

economic issues of the people of Punjab 

not only with the state but also the central 

government and see to it that their 

demands are met. Today, the Dalits of 

India knows it very well that it is the 

only BSP party that can safeguard the 

constitution of India that guarantees 

them dignity, justice, and equality. It is 

true nobody can ignore Behn Kumari 

Mayawati. 

‘Come on, kill me’: Owaisi’s retort to BJP leader 

Hyderabad, “Come on, kill me. I go 

around without security” is how AIMIM 

chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday 

reacted to a challenge by a BJP leader to 

leave his security and fight with him for 

15 minutes. T. Raja Singh, the Bharatiya 

Janata Party (BJP) candidate from 

Goshamahal Assembly constituency in 

Hyderabad, had dared Asaduddin 

Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin 

Owaisi to keep aside their security and 

wrestle with him. The All India Majlise-Ittehadul 

Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief 

told reporters that during the last 25 

years, he never had even one security 

guard and goes around alone. “I am 

ready to die for my cause 

and I am not scared.” Raja 

Singh, who was a member 

of the dissolved Assembly, 

had earlier threatened to 

cut the head of Akbaruddin 

Owaisi. 

“What kind of language 

is this. Had I used the same 

language for Prime 

Minister, you would have 

turned it into Hindu-Muslim, linked me 

to Pakistan, and branded me an agent of 

Lashkar-e-Toiba and a friend of Bin 

Laden,” said Asaduddin Owaisi. The 

MP said ganging up of Modi, BJP 

President Amit Shah, Uttar 

Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi 

Adityanath, Congress 

President Rahul Gandhi and 

Telugu Desam chief 

Chandrababu Naidu against 

him had given strong message 

to the people of 

Hyderabad. 

“The pride of Hyderabad 

will be shown on December 

7. People will reject politics of hate and 

threat and politics of entitlement. They 

will give a befitting reply.” Referring to 

the allegations of the BJP and Congress 

leaders against him, Owaisi said they 

were working together in Telangana to 

stop AIMIM. “Whatever I do becomes a 

point of discussion. All parties whose 

graph is going down think that by criticising 

Owaisi they will become relevant 

in Indian politics,” he said. On Yogi’s 

recent statement that if the BJP comes to 

power, Owaisi will have to flee 

Hyderabad, the AIMIM leader said the 

BJP cannot treat Muslims as secondclass 

citizens. “I am not only an Indian 

by birth like Yogi, but I am also an 

Indian by choice. We rejected Jinnah’s 

theory and accepted India as our homeland. 

You can’t treat us like secondclass 

citizens.” Owaisi said Rahul 

Gandhi should realise that the politics of 

entitlement would not work now. 

“Because of their ignorance, arrogance, 

incapacity, incapability and their feudal 

mentality, people are forced to vote for 

Modi. The moment they change, the 

change will happen,” he said attacking 

the Congress. The Hyderabad MP 

remarked that India’s politics cannot be 

biplolar because the country has huge 

diversity which is not being represented 

by the Congress and the BJP. 

“It has to be reflected by regional 

parties. They will play an important role 

in who should be the next Prime 

Minister,” he said.


Accountants 

City Accountants 

29 Foremans Road, Sparkhill, 

B’ham B11 3AA 

Tel. 0121 777 8000 

www.city-accountants.co.uk 

43B Formans Rd, B’ham, B11 

3AA | Tel: 0121 777 8000 

Barber Shop 

JC Hairstyles 

78 Gipsy Ln, Leicester LE4 

6RE 

Tel: 0116 266 9188 

271 Tat Bank Rd, Oldbury, 

Birmingham, B68 8NP 

Tel : 0121 544 0068 

Ladypool Rd, Birmingham, 

B128JY 

Bars & Pubs 

5 Market Pl, Tipton, DY4 7EJ 

Tel : 0121 557 6506 

Bank 

118 Soho Rd, B21 9DP 

Tel : 0121 515 0400 

182 Soho Rd, Birmingham, 

B21 9LP, Tel : 0121 507 9940 

173-175 Soho Rd, B’ham, B21 

9SU | Tel : 0121 523 5973 

290 Soho Rd, Birmingham, 

B21 9LZ | Tel : 0121 554 9082 

Builders 

S &P Builders 

Sukhi Mob. : 07737 060 121 

Pamma Mob.: 07450 762 550 

Bearwood Maintenance 

Mob. 07811 392 786 

Raj & Raj Building Work 

B’ham | Mob. 07404 042 783 

Birmingham Building 

Construction 

Osman Abyan 

Managing Director 

Mob; 07429 398 280 

birminghambuildingconstruction@hotmail.com 

Carpentry 

Flora Carpentry 

Sunny Mob. 07403 586 305 

Mail: gurdipflora@hotmail.com 

Carpets 

UK Carpets 

1188-1190 Warwick Rd, Acocks 

Green, B’ham B27 6BT 

Tel. 0121 707 6424 

www.uk-carpets.com 

Corner Shop 

165 -167 Stratford Rd, B’ham, 

B111RB | Tel : 0121 772 1322 

523 Foleshill Rd, Coventry, 

CV6 5AU | Tel : 024 7666 5277 

Wallsal Rd, Wednesbury, 

WS10 9SJ 

44a Pinson Rd, Willhall, 

WV132PR | Tel : 01902 606302 

42 Church St, Bilston, 

Wolverhampton, 

WV14 0AH 

Aaron’s Catering Services 

Brewery Street, off High Street 

Smethwick B67 7RA 

Tel : 0121 555 8400 

Mob : 07805 337 232 

Mail: info@aaronsfoods.co.uk 

Web: www. aaronsfood.com 

Indian Sweets 

& Catering 

We Cater For All Occasions; 

Weddings, Birthdays, 

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other Social Functions. 

Big Discounts on 

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Quality Service and 

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71 Great Bridge, 

Tipton, DY4 7HF 

Tel. 0121 238 2648 

Mob: 07413 426 930 

Mail: vivek_18hp@yahoo.com 

Café & Restaurants 

84 Oxhill Rd, Birmingham, 

B21 9RH | Tel : 0121 554 5517 

225 Holyhead Rd, Birmingham 

B21 0AP | Tel : 0121 515 4110 

20 High St, Smethwick, B’ham, 

B66 1DX | Tel : 0121 558 8488 

86 High St, Smethwick, B’ham, 

B66 1AQ | Tel : 0121 558 8372 

Tollgate Shopping Precinct, 

Smethwick, Birmingham, B67 

7RA | Tel : 0121 565 2122 

Tollgate Shopping Centre, 

Brewery St, Smethwick, B’ham, 

B67 7RA | Tel : 0121 555 8400 

285-287 High St, Smethwick, 

Birmingham, B66 3NJ 

Tel : 0121 565 2187 

166 High St, 

Harborne,Birmingham, 

B179PN 

314, High St, 

Harborne, Birmingham, 

B179PU 

10, Rood End Road, 

Oldbury, Birmingham, 

B688SH 

125 High St, West Bromwich, 

Birmingham, B70 6NY 

Tel : 0121 525 9458 

142 High St, West 

Bromwich, Birmingham, 

B706NY 

40 Old Walsall Rd, B’ham, 

B42 1NP 

205 Dyas Ave, Birmingham, 

B42 1HN 

572 Kingstanding Rd, B’ham, 

B44 9SD | Tel : 0121 373 3549 

563 Coventry Rd, Small Heath, 

Birmingham, B10 0LP 

Tel : Tel: 0121 572 6397 

703 - 705 Stratford Road, 

Sparkhill, B’ham, B11 4DN 

Tel: 0121 778 5100 

71 Great Bridge, Tipton, DY4 

7HF | 0121 238 2648 

48A Lower High St, 

Wednesbury, WS10 7AL, 

Tel : 0121 505 1211 

200 Dudley Rd, Wolverhampton, 

WV2 3DT | Tel : 01902 450939 

Barcroft Rd, Wolverhampton, 

WV2 3HF | Tel : 01902 451113 

Cash & Carry / 

Supermarkets / 

Corner Shops 

Radias Superstore 

121-127 Melton Rd, City 

Centre, Leicester LE4 6QS Tel: 

0116 266 9409 

A1 Cash and Carry 

112 Green Lane Road, 

Leicester, LE5 3TJ 

Tel: 0116 212 2129 

Shah's Pan House 

523 Foleshill Rd, Coventry, 

CV6 5AU 

Tel: 02476 665 2777 

Catering 

Sukhdev's Catering 

Unit 4, 5/7 South Road, 

Hockley, Birmingham B18 5LT 

Tel: 0121 314 1247 

Mail: sukhdev@sukhdevfoods.com 

www.sukdhevcaterings.co.uk 

Double Glazing 

Star Windows (GB) Ltd. 

16 Rolfe St, Smethwick, 


Tel. 0121 555 8333 

Electronics 

86 Great Hampton St, B’ham, 

B186EW 

Fence 

T & D Fencing 

Unit 405, Smethwick Enterprise 

Centre, St, Smethwick, B66 2AR 

Tel. 0121-565 4533 

www.TandDfencing.co.uk 

Hardware Store 

Queens Park Stores 

Diy • Furniture • Beds • Bathrooms 

224/230 Court Oak Road, 

Harborne, Birmingham B32 2EG 

Tel: 0121 – 4282164 

www.queensparkstores.co.uk 

27A W Bromwich St, Walsall, 

WS1 4BP :| Tel : 01922 642329 

CLASSIFIED 

Health Care 

Premium Community Care 

86 Digbeth, B’ham B5 6DY 

Tel. 0121 643 9808 

Insurance 

Crownsway Insurance 

Brokers Ltd. 

183 Holyhead Road, 

Handsworth, Birmingham 

Tel. 0121 554 3566/9788 

www.crownsway.co.uk 

Insurance Broker 

46 Summer Rd, Birmingham, 

B236UR 

DJS House, 183 Holyhead 

Road, Birmingham, B21 0BD 

Tel : 0121 554 3566 

Lettings & Sales 

Ignite Properties 

44A High Street, Leamington 

Spa, CV31 1 LW 

Tel.: 01926 930 251 

www.ignite-properties.co.uk 

Angel Estates Ltd 

251-253 Rookery Rd, 

Birmingham B21 9PU 

Phone: 0121 448 0717 

M & R Lettings & Sales 

Wolverhampton 

Tel. 01902 833 844 

Sodhi & Co. 

123 Evington Road, Leicester 

Tel. 0116 255 3455 

www.sodiandco.com 

Library 

Birmingham Rd, Birmingham 

B43 6NW 

193 High St, Harborne, B’ham, 

B179QG 

Kingstanding Road, B’ham, 

B44 9ST | Tel : 0121 464 5193 

Meat Shop 

Soand Meat Shop 

122 Green Lane Road, Leicester 

Tel. 0116 276 0658 

326 Ladypool Rd, Birmingha, 

B128JY 

Punjab Meat Center 

16 Tollgate Shopping Precinct, 

Smethwick, B’ham B67 7RA 

Tel. 0121 448 7279 

169 Rookery Rd, Birmingham, 

B21 9QZ, Tel : 0121 554 1988 

Tollgate Shopping Precinct, 

Smethwick , B’ham, B67 7RA 

Tel : 0121 558 4441 


Birmingham, B70 6NY 

Tel : 0121 553 3555 

37 High St, West Bromwich , 

Birmingham, B70 6PB 

Tel : 0121 553 5231 

600 -602 Coventry Rd, Small 

Heath, Birmingham, B10 0US 

Tel : 0121 773 0234 

542 -544, Coventry Rd, Small 

Heath, Birmingham, B10 0UN 

Tel: 0121 771 0292 

711/713 Stratford Road, 

Sparkhill, Birmingham, B11 

4DN | Tel: 0121 778 5553 

Soand Meat Shop 

122 Green Lane Road, Leicester 

Tel. 0116 276 0658 

Punjab Meat Center 

16 Tollgate Shopping Precinct, 


Tel. 0121 448 7279 

Stand Meat Shop 

122 Green Lane Road, 

Leicester, LE5 3TJ Tel: 0116 

276 0658 

New Asia Meat Centre 

119 Caludon Rd, Coventry CV2 

4LR Tel: 024 7644 7900 

Gill Meat & Grocery 

Unit 12, Tollgate Shopping Centre, 


Tel : 0121 558 4441 

383 Mosley Rd, B’ham, 

B129DD 

Tat Bank Rd, Oldbury, B’ham 

B68 8NR 

212 Golden Hillock Rd, B’ham, 

B112PN 

Birmingham, 

B10 0QP 

Mortgage 

Zakir Mortgage 

128 A, Stoney Lane, B’ham 

Tel. 0121 449 7091 

Mob. 07890 615 016 

Motoring 

BR Car Care 

383-387 Moseley Rd, B’ham 

B12 9DD 

Tel. 0121 440 0779 

Mosque 

Off License 

Super Wines and Spirits 

91-793 Stratford Rd, 

Birmingham B11 4DG 

Tel: 0121 778 5016 


10 

4-6 Beauchamp Ave, B’ham, 

B201DR 

255 Lodge Rd, B’ham, 

B18 5SJ 

91-793 Stratford Rd, B’ham, 

B11 4DG | Tel: 0121 778 5016 

138 Clay Ln, Coventry, 

CV2 4LT 

Brax News, 156-160 W 

Bromwich St, Walsall, 

WS1 4DE 

Darlaston, Wednesbury, 

WS10 7TQ 

Party Hall 

Supreme Banqueting and 

Conference 

10, Roebuck Lane, West 

Bromwich, B70 6QP. 

Tel: 0121 553 3921 

Radio 

715-C Parkfield Road 

Wolverhampton, WV4 6EE 

Tel. 1902 681 655 

TM 

Sky Digital Channel 0205 

24 hour Entertainment 

On Sky, On-Line, On Mobiles 

Studio : 01902 457875 

Reception : 01902 450533 

Safety Lockers 

MINT Safety Deposit Centres 

MacDonald Road, Leicester, 

LE4 5HD | Tel. 0345 222 3456 

School of Motoring 

Bains School of Motoring 

Mobile: 07973 281968 

Tel: 0121 523 2848 

Security Services 

Your Security Services Ltd. 

86 Digbeth, B’ham B5 6DY 

Tel. 0121 448 0750 

www.ysrl.co.uk 

Singers, Stage and 

TV artists 

Babbu Chander 

Wolverhampton 

Mob. 07492 129 321, 07429 119 530 

Sukhdev Jassi 

Bedford | Mob. 07901 796 669 

Pamma Lasadia 

Wolverhampton 

07448 886 166


Solicitors Chaudhary’s Cash & Carry 

Stratford Rd, Birmingham, B11 

4BP | Tel: 0121 778 3800 

Dadiyal Supermarket 

118-120 Alum Rock Rd, B’ham, 

B8 1NH 

Desi Bazaar 

560 Coventry Rd, Small 

Heath, Birmingham, B18 0UN 

Tel: 0121 773 9909 

Braitch Solicitors 

28 Chapel Ash,Wolverhampton 

Mob. 07773 374 848 

Tel. 01902 711 200 

Indian Advocate & Top 

Immigration Services 

Wolverhampton 

Tel.01902 457711 

Mob. 078 2828 3992 

Midland Immigration 

Services Ltd. 

255 Melton Road, Leicester 

Tel. 0800 0304 998 

VKM 

48, Queen St, Wolverhampton 

WV1 2BJ 

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Super Market 

Sabar General Stores 

113, Holyhead Road, 

Handsworth B21 0HH 

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Wayco Supermarket 

72A Soho Road, Handsworth, 

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Soho News 

129 Soho Rd, BIRMINGHAM, 

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Buy and Save 

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Desi Mass Bazar 

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East & West Supermarket 


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132 - 136 Ladypool Rd, B’ham, 

B128JA 

Food World 

121 Villa Rd, Birmingham, 

B19 1NH | Tel: 0121 554 6532 

Food World Super market 

728 Stratford Rd, Birmingham 

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Gill Super market 

330A Soho Rd, Birmingham, 

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Grocery Store 

New Street, Smethwick, B’ham, 

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Hill Top Super market 

125 Hill Top, West Bromwich, 

Birmingham, B70 0RU 

Tel : 0121 505 3529 

Khan Super Market 

618 - 620 Coventry Rd, Small 

Heath, Birmingham, B10 0UT 

Tel : Tel: 0121773 6843 

Lifestyle Express Apna 

Food & Wine 

Albret Rd, 

B’ham, B21 9QX 

Lodge Supermarket 

70 Lodge Rd, West Bromwich, 

Birmingham, B70 8PA 

Tel : 0121 553 4004 

Londis Supermarket 

23 Acfold Rd, Birmingham, 

B20 1HD 

Malhi's Supermarket 

Bacchus Rd, Birmingham, B18 

4RE 

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Ladypool Rd, 

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Pak Super Market 

121-125 Lozells Rd, B’ham, 

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Unit 1 Cape Hill Retail Centre, 

Cape Hill, B’ham, B66 4PH 

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42 Alum Rock Rd, B’ham, B8 

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Punjab Food Store 


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R S Superstore 

58 Nineveh Rd, Birmingham, 

B21 0TE | Tel : 0121 554 1687 

S & B General Store 

3 College Rd, B’ham B20 2HU 

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Sabar General Store 

113 Holyhead Rd, Birmingham 

B21 0HH | Tel : 

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537, Coventry Rd, Small 

Heath, Birmingham, B10 0LL 

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Toor Supermarket 

93 Rookery Rd, B’ham, B21 

9QX | Tel : 0121 554 0796 

Vegmart 

147-149 Soho Rd, B’ham, B21 

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117 Villa Rd, B’ham, B19 

1NH | Tel : 0121 554 2374 

Wayco Supermarket Ltd 

72A Soho Rd, B’ham, B21 

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Heer Super Store 

19-21 Clay Ln, Coventry, CV2 

4LJ | Tel : 024 7645 6903 

Warley Supermarket 

75 Bridge St, Wednesbury, 

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Banga Stores 

59A Lea Rd, Wolverhampton, 

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418 Dudley Rd, Wolverhampton 

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Sandhus Supermarket 

15 Bargate Dr, Wolverhampton, 

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Take Away & Cafe 

Chick King 

225 Holyhead Rd, B’ham 

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Jalandar Sweet Shop 

86, High St, Smethwick, 


Apna Punjab Sweet Centre 

65A, Purely Road, Leicester 

LE4 6PB 

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Brit Coaches 

93 Dudley Rd, Halesowen 

B63 3NS 

Tel. 0121 769 2707 

www.britcoaches.co.uk 

Warley Cars 

Tel. 0121 555 7654 

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86, Digbeth Rd, Birmingham, B5 

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209, Bordsley Green, B’ham, B95SP 

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BUSINESS 


China's Xiaomi swings to net profit in third 

quarter on robust sales in India, Europe 

Xiaomi's fastest-growing markets are India, where it has had success with its budget Redmi 

phone series, and Europe, where it entered in 2017 with launches in Russia and Spain. 

Hong Kong : Chinese smartphone 

maker Xiaomi Inc said on Monday it 

swung to a net profit in the third quarter, 

beating analyst estimates, driven 

by robust sales in India and Europe. 

Profit for the three months through 

September reached 2.48 billion yuan 

($357.23 million), versus an 11 billion 

yuan loss in the same period a year 

earlier. That compared with a 1.92 billion 

yuan average of five analyst estimates 

compiled by Refinitiv Eikon. 

Xiaomi also said operating profit 

sank 38.4 per cent to 3.59 billion yuan 

in the third quarter. Revenue rose 49.1 

per cent to 50.85 billion yuan. The 

mixed results come amid a slowdown 

in smartphone purchases both in 

China, where Xiaomi once was the 

top-selling handset brand, and overseas. 

Nevertheless Xiaomi, along with 

fellow low-cost handset makers Oppo 

and Vivo, accounted for around a quarter 

of the global smartphone market in 

the first half of 2018, showed data 

from researcher IDC. Xiaomi's fastestgrowing 

markets are India, where it 

has had success with its budget Redmi 

phone series, and Europe, where it 

entered in 2017 with launches in 

Russia and Spain. Earlier this month it 

released its flagship Mi 8 Pro device in 

Skype calling is now available 

on Amazon Echo devices: 

Here's how to set up Skype on 

Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and 

Echo Show. 

New Delhi : Microsoft is 

finally bringing its Skype calling 

service to all Amazon Echo 

smart speakers. Now, you can 

make Skype calls on both 

audio-only Alexa-enabled 

devices like the Amazon Echo 

Dot, Echo and Echo Plus as 

well as video-enabled devices 

like the Amazon Echo Shot and 

Echo Spot. The good news is 

that Skype for Amazon Echo 

will be available in a handful of 

countries such as the US, India, 

Canada, and New Zealand, to 

name a few. The feature was 

first announced in September 

but is now live. 

Here's how to set up Skype 

on Alexa-enabled Echo smart 

speakers 

-To activate Skype, Amazon 

Alexa Echo smart speaker 

Britain. But to weather the global market 

slowdown, analysts said Xiaomi 

needs to expand to new markets and 

also sell more higher-priced devices 

with wider profit margins. 

The firm has been adding new 

SKYPE CALLING NOW 

LIVE ON AMAZON ECHO 

SMART SPEAKERS : 

HERE'S HOW TO SETUP 

owners will need to follow the 

following steps: 

-Open and login into the 

Amazon Alexa app on your 

Android or iOS smartphone 

-Press the hamburger option 

on the top left corner of the app 

and press settings 

-Then under the 'Alexa 

Preferences' heading find and 

press 'communications' 

-In the 'communications' settings 

panel, you will find a new 

Skype option, press that 

-A new window will open up 

requiring you to enter your 

Microsoft account credentials 

-Input the credentials and 

you are done. 

To encourage users to link 

their Skype accounts with their 

Alexa devices, customers are 

being offered 100 free minutes 

of calls per month. This offer 

will be valid for two months 

giving customers 200 minutes 

worth of calling credit to make 

SkypeOut calls. 

brands to its smartphone portfolio to 

target niche consumers. Concurrent 

with today's earnings, it announced a 

partnership with Meitu Inc, a maker of 

a photo app popular with young 

women, to sell phones under its brand. 

San Francisco : Facebook is 

testing a feature called 'Watch 

Videos Together' on Messenger 

that would enable simultaneous 

co-viewing of videos over a 

group chat on different devices. 

A Facebook spokesperson 

said this is an "internal test", 

TechCrunch reported on Friday. 

The code discovered describes 

Messenger allowing you to "tap 

to watch together now" and "chat 

about the same videos at the 

same time" with chat thread 

members receiving a notification- 

"Everyone in this chat can control the 

video and see who's watching." The feature 

Earlier this year it launched Black 

Shark, a phone targeted at gamers, and 

Poco, a value-for-money device aimed 

at India. Mo Jia, who tracks China's 

smartphone makers at research firm 

Canalys, said attempts to sell more 

was first spotted by Ananay Arora, the 

founder of deadline management app 

'Timebound' and an engineer named Jane 

expensive devices requires changing 

its brand perception. 

"It's still very hard for Xiaomi to 

change its perception of being a lowend 

device manufacturer as the majority 

of its smartphone shipments are the 

Redmi series." Xiaomi also aims to 

transform itself from a smartphone firm 

into a software company. As the firm 

prepared for its IPO, founder Lei Jun 

touted internet services - namely advertisements 

placed on the firm's in-house 

apps - as its future and key differentiator 

from other handset brands. In the 

third quarter, Xiaomi's smartphone 

division grew revenue by 36.1 per cent 

while its internet service division grew 

85.5 per cent. But phones made up 64.6 

per cent of total sales, while internet 

services made up 9.3 per cent. 

The results are the second set 

released by Xiaomi since the smartphone 

maker raised $4.72 billion in an 

initial public offering (IPO) in June, 

valuing the firm at about $54 billion - 

around half of some earlier industry 

estimates of $100 billion. Its shares 

have fallen roughly 20 per cent since 

they started trading in July amid a 

broader Chinese stock market sell-off 

and concern about a slowdown in 

China's tech industry. 

Facebook testing feature to let you co-watch videos with friends 

Sydney/New Delhi : Australia is 

mulling a strict law that gives enforcement 

agencies power to track messages on platforms 

like WhatsApp and Telegram that 

offer end-to-end encryption and also to 

force users to open their smartphones when 

demanded, a media report said. The controversial 

encryption bill comes amid allegations 

of encrypted platforms facilitating 

spread of rumours, hate speech and even 

criminal activities like child trafficking and 

drugs businesses. 

In countries like India, messages circulated 

in WhatsApp have been linked to several 

lynching cases, forcing the government 

to ask platform to take suitable preventive 

action. But the new Australia bill 

also raises privacy concerns as under the 

proposed legislation, the Australian government 

agencies could compel companies 

to build spyware. The proposed laws could 

force companies to remove electronic protections, 

assist government agencies in 

accessing material from a suspect’s device, 

and in getting technical information such 

as design specifications to help in an investigation, 

News.com.au reported on 

Wednesday. Critics have slammed the bill 

for being broad in scope, vague and potentially 

damaging to the security of the global 

digital economy, the report said, adding 

Manchun Wong in Messenger's 

code-base, the report added. 

Along with allowing 

Messenger users to create shared 

experiences from afar, the 'Watch 

Videos Together' feature would 

introduce new revenue opportunities 

for the company, the report 

said. 

Since the News Feed ad revenue 

growth has slowed down 

amidst fluctuating user growth 

and limited ad space, the social 

media giant has recently been 

focusing on its subsidiaries like Messenger 

and photo-messaging app Instagram to 

increase monetisation. 

New Australia bill gives police power to spy on WhatsApp messages 

that a Parliamentary Joint Committee on 

Intelligence and Security has been scrutinizing 

the bill. The laws will help security 

agencies nab terrorists, child sex offenders 

and other serious criminals, Australia’s 

Attorney-General Christian Porter was 

quoted as saying. About 95 per cent of people 

currently being surveilled by security 

agencies are using encrypted messages, he 

added. The spying powers are limited to 

only “serious offences” such as preventing 

terrorism and tackling organised crime in 

Australia, dailymail.co.uk reported. In a 

statement to IANS, WhatsApp said it cares 

deeply about the privacy of its users. 

“WhatsApp cares deeply about the privacy 

of our users and we remain committed 

to providing end-to-end encryption,” a 

company spokesperson said on 

Wednesday. WhatsApp has challenged 

government attempts to curtail the use of 

end-to-end encryption in the past, most 

notably in Brazil.


LONDON : People who are 

exposed to road traffic noise for 

prolonged periods may be at 

increased risk of obesity, a study 

has found. 

The study, published in the 

journal Environment 

International, was based on data 

from 3,796 adults. 

"Our analysis shows that people 

exposed to the highest levels 

of traffic noise are at greater risk 

of being obese," said Maria 

Foraster, from Barcelona 

Institute for Global Health 

(ISGlobal) in Spain. 

"For example, we observed 

that a 10 decibel increase in 

mean noise level was associated 

with a 17 per cent increase in 

obesity," said Foraster. 

Researchers also analysed 

exposure to noise generated by 

aircraft and railway traffic and 

found no significant associations 

except in the case of long-term 

exposure to railway noise, which 

was associated with a higher risk 

of overweight but not of obesity. 

The methodology and design 

of the study were chosen to 

allow the authors to look at the 

data from two different perspectives. 

Cross-sectional analysis 

was used to study the participant 

population at a specific time 

point in the study and to examine 

more objective measures. 

The longitudinal design, on 

the other hand, allowed the 

authors to evaluate how the risk 

of obesity evolved over the study 

period. The associations with 

traffic-related noise pollution 

were consistent in both cases. 

Overweight was only associated 

with exposure to traffic-related 

noise in the cross-sectional 

analysis. Researchers found no 

association between noise exposure 

and body mass index measured 

continuously throughout 

the longitudinal analysis. 

"Our study contributes additional 

evidence to support the 

hypothesis that traffic-related 

noise affects obesity because the 

results we obtained in a different 

population were the same as 

those reported by the authors of 

earlier studies," said Foraster. 

Sustained exposure to noise pollution 

is a widespread public 

health problem that is more serious 

than previously thought, 

researchers said. Noise generates 

stress and affects our sleep. It 

alters hormone levels and 

increases blood pressure. 

Moreover, among other effects, 

sleep disturbance deregulates 

HEALTH 

Exposure to traffic noises 

may up OBESITY RISK 

glucose metabolism and alters 

the appetite. "In the long term, 

these effects could give rise to 

chronic physiological alterations, 

which would explain the 

proven association between persistent 

exposure to traffic-related 

noise and cardiovascular disease 

or the more recently discovered 

associations with diabetes and 

obesity," said Foraster. "Our 

findings suggest that reducing 

traffic-related noise could also 

be a way of combating the obesity 

epidemic," she said. 


13 

Early risers are less likely 

to develop breast cancer 

Turns out that early to bed and early to rise can lower the risk of 

developing the deadly disease of breast cancer as researchers have 

lately found a link between the body clock and breast cancer. 

New Delhi : Early risers are less likely to be diagnosed with 

breast cancer than women who are night owls, according to 

researchers have lately found a link between the body clock and 

breast cancer. 

According to a study presented by researchers from University 

of Bristol, women who are in the habit of waking up at the crack of 

the dawn reduced the risk of developing breast cancer by 40 to 48 

per cent in comparison to late risers. Researchers also found that 

women who slept for more than seven to eight hours had a 20 per 

cent chance of developing the disease by 

Dr Rebecca Richmond of the University of Bristol told BBC, 

"We would like to do further work to investigate the mechanisms 

underpinning these results, as the estimates obtained are based on 

questions related to morning or evening preference rather than actually 

whether people get up earlier or later in the day. In other words, 

it may not be the case that changing your habits changes your risk 

of breast cancer; it may be more complex than that." 

She further said, "However, the findings of a protective effect of 

morning preference on breast cancer risk in our study are consistent 

with previous research highlighting a role for night shift work and 

exposure to 'light-at-night' as risk factors for breast cancer." 

"These findings have potential policy implications for influencing 

sleep habits of the general population in order to improve health 

and reduce the risk of breast cancer among women," she added. 

TOOTH LOSS in 

postmenopausal women 

linked to hypertension 

New York, Postmenopausal women 

experiencing tooth loss could be at 

higher risk of developing high blood 

pressure — a key risk factor for heart 

disease, warns a new study. The study 

showed that 

such women 

had approximately 

20 per 

cent higher 

risk of developing 

hypertension 

compared 

to 

o t h e r 

women. 

“These 

findings suggest 

tooth 

loss may be 

an important factor in the development 

of hypertension,” said Jean Wactawski- 

Wende, Professor at the University at 

Buffalo in the US. “Further research 

may help us to determine the underlying 

mechanisms by which these two common 

diseases are associated,” 

Wactawski-Wende added. 

The reason could be because people 

may change their diets to softer and 

more processed foods as they loose 

teeth, which could be associated with 

higher risk of hypertension, the 

researchers noted. 

In addition, multiple studies have 

suggested an 

association 

between periodontal 

disease 

and 

tooth loss 

with hypertension. 

However, 

their relationship 

remains 

unclear. For 

the study, 

published in 

the American 

Journal of Hypertension, the team 

included 36,692 postmenopausal 

women. 

Improved dental hygiene among 

those at risk for tooth loss as well as 

preventive measures such as closer 

blood pressure monitoring, dietary 

modification, physical activity, and 

weight loss may reduce the risk of 

hypertension, they suggested. 

Hot bath may improve 

inflammation, metabolism: Study 

A two-week treatment period in which the men participated in daily hot-water baths showed a reduction 

of fasting blood sugar and insulin levels as well as improved low-grade inflammation at rest. 

London : If you are unable to exercise, 

a hot water treatment may help 

improve inflammation and blood sugar 

(glucose) levels, particularly in overweight 

men, suggests a new study. 

Physical stress such as exercise can 

increase the level of an inflammatory 

chemical (IL-6), which activates the 

release of anti-inflammatory substances 

to combat unhealthily high levels 

of inflammation, known as chronic 

low-grade inflammation. 

However, a hot-water immersion 

may "improve aspects of the inflammatory 

profile and enhance glucose 

metabolism in sedentary, overweight 

males and might have implications for 

improving metabolic health in populations 

unable to meet the current physical 

activity recommendations", said 

researchers including Christof Andreas 

Leicht from the Loughborough 

University in the UK. 

For the study, published in the 

Journal of Applied Physiology, the 

team included a group of sedentary, 

overweight men who participated in 

both hot-water immersion and ambient 

room temperature (control) trials separated 

by at least three days. In the hot 

water trial, the volunteers sat immersed 

up to their necks in 102-degree 

Fahrenheit water. The research team 

measured the men's heart rate, blood 

pressure and body temperature every 

15 minutes throughout both the control 

and immersion conditions. Blood samples 

were taken again two hours after 

each session. 

The researchers found that a 

single hot-water immersion 

session causes 

the elevation of 

IL-6 levels in the 

blood and 

increased nitric 

oxide production, but 

did not change the expression of 

heat shock protein 72 - another protein 

suggested to be important for 

health. However, a two-week treatment 

period in which the men participated 

in daily hot-water baths showed a 

reduction of fasting blood sugar and 

insulin levels as well as improved lowgrade 

inflammation at rest.


HEALTH 


Pneumonia may kill over 1.7 mn children in India by 2030 

London : More than 1.7 million children 

in India are likely to die of pneumonia 

by 2030, despite the infection 

being easily treatable, a global study 

released on Monday has warned. 

The study, released on the occasion of 

the World Pneumonia Day, found that 

the infectious disease is likely to kill 

nearly 11 million children under five by 

2030. Nigeria, India, Pakistan and the 

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 

are likely to bear the highest burden of 

deaths, according to the report by UKbased 

non-profit Save the Children. 

The report also shows that more than 

four million of these deaths -- over a 

third -- could be easily averted with concerted 

action to improve rates of vaccination, 

treatment and nutrition. 

The disease is the biggest infectious 

killer for children globally, killing more 

than malaria, diarrhoea and measles 

combined. As many 880,000 children, 

mostly under the age of two, died from 

the disease in 2016, the most recent year 

for which full data is available. 

"It beggars belief that close to a million 

children are dying every year from a 

disease that we have the knowledge and 

resources to defeat," said Paul Ronalds, 

CEO of Save the Children. 

"There is a vaccine available, and a 

New shoe insole 

could treat 

diabetic foot ulcers 

NEW YORK : Researchers have developed a shoe insole that 

could help make the healing process more portable for people who 

develop ulcers as a result of diabetes. 

Diabetic ulcers commonly result from high blood sugar damaging 

nerves, which takes away feeling from the toes or feet. 

"One of the ways to heal these wounds is by giving them oxygen," 

said Babak Ziaie, Professor at the Purdue University in the 

US. "We've created a system that gradually releases oxygen 

throughout the day so that a patient can have more mobility." 

Without the ability to feel pain, hits and bumps tend to go unnoticed 

and skin tissue breaks down, forming ulcers. 

A lot of sugar in the bloodstream, along with dried skin as a 

result of diabetes, further slow the ulcer healing process. 

The researchers used lasers to shape silicone-based rubber into 

insoles, and then create reservoirs that release oxygen only at the 

part of the foot where the ulcer is located. 

"Silicone is flexible and has good oxygen permeability," said 

Hongjie Jiang, a post-doctoral researcher at the varsity. 

"Laser machining helps us to tune that permeability and target 

just the wound site, which is hypoxic, rather than poison the rest of 

the foot with too much oxygen," Jiang added. 

In a paper published in the journal Materials Research Society 

Communications, the team said the insole can deliver oxygen at 

least eight hours a day under the pressure of someone weighing 

about 53-81 kg. It can also be customised to take on any weight, the 

study said.The team envisions a manufacturer sending a patient a 

pack of pre-filled insoles customised to his or her wound site, based 

on a "wound profile" obtained from a doctor's prescription and a 

picture of the foot. "This is mass-customisation at low cost," said 

Vaibhav Jain, research associate at Purdue. 

A patent is pending on the insole technology. The team is currently 

seeking corporate partners. 

Chicago : Just days after the 

US city of Chicago took eight 

online retailers to court for illegally 

selling e-cigarettes to 

underage residents, federal agencies 

confirmed astonishing 

increases in nationwide youth 

use of e-cigarettes. 

According to the 2018 

National Youth Tobacco Survey, 

released on Thursday by US 

Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA) and the Centres for 

Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC), about 3.6 million of US 

middle and high school students 

are currently using e-cigarettes, 

about 1.5 million more than a 

year before. 

From 2017 to 2018, there was 

a 78 per cent increase in current 

e-cigarette use among high 

school students and a 48 percent 

increase among middle school 

students. 

In an open letter issued by 

FDA Commissioner Scott 

Gottlieb, he described youth use 

of e-cigarettes as an "epidemic." 

"These increases must stop. 

And the bottom line is this: I will 

not allow a generation of children 

to become addicted to nicotine 

through e-cigarettes," he 

wrote. The FDA chief vowed to 

take all necessary actions to stop 

these trends from continuing. 

course of antibiotics costs just 54 cents 

AUD," Ronalds said. "There are no pink 

ribbons, global summits or marches for 

pneumonia. But for anyone who cares 

about justice for children and their 

access to essential healthcare, this forgotten 

killer should be the defining cause 

of our age," he said. The agency's forecasts 

are based on a model developed by 

researchers at Johns Hopkins University 

in the US called the Lives Saved Tool 

(LiST). They show nearly 10,865,728 

children will die by 2030 on current 

trends, with the highest burden of deaths 

in Nigeria (1,730,000), India 

(1,710,000), Pakistan (706,000), and the 

Democratic Republic of Congo 

(635,000). However, scaling up vaccination 

coverage to 90 per cent of children 

under the age of five could save 610,000 

lives; providing cheap antibiotics could 

save 1.9 million; and ensuring children 

have good nutrition could save 2.5 million. 

If all three overlapping interventions 

were carried out by 2030, the 

model suggests a total of 4.1 million 

deaths could be averted. The year 2030 is 

the target date for the Sustainable 

Development Goals (SDGs), which 

include an ambitious global pledge to 

'end preventable child deaths' and 

achieve Universal Health Coverage. 

E-cigarette use among US youth becomes an 'epidemic' 

New York, Regular 

consumption of alcohol 

may lead to long-term 

weight loss in people with 

diabetes, say researchers. 

The study, led by 

researchers from the 

University of Pennsylvania, 

showed that losing weight 

can help prevent or delay 

the onset of diabetes. 

Obesity is known as one of 

the leading risk factors for 

developing diabetes. 

“Patients with Type 2 diabetes 

who are trying to lose 

weight should be encouraged 

to limit alcohol consumption,” said lead 

investigator Ariana M. Chao, Assistant 

Professor from the Univeristy’s Department 

of Biobehavioural Health Sciences. 

While best practice for weight loss often 

includes decreasing or eliminating calories 

from alcohol, few studies examine whether 

people who undergo weight loss treatment 

report changes in alcohol intake and whether 

alcohol influences their weight loss. 

The study suggests that alcohol consumption 

may attenuate long-term weight loss in 

adults with Type 2 diabetes. 

In the study, published in the journal 

Obesity, the team followed nearly 5,000 people 

who were overweight and had diabetes 

US federal agencies now plan 

to prohibit the sale of sweetflavoured 

electronic cigarette 

liquid at convenience stores and 

gas stations. Vaping products, 

including e-liquids, may now be 

sold only in stores that can verify 

the age of customers. They 

may be sold online only when 

there is more stringent age verification. 

E-cigarettes are devices that 

heat a liquid into an aerosol the 

user inhales. The liquid usually 

has nicotine and flavouring in it, 

and other additives. 

Earlier this week, Chicago 

filed lawsuits against eight 

online retailers, mostly based in 

Florida and California, for selling 

e-cigarette products directly 

to Chicago residents under the 

age of 21. 

Alcohol intake may cause weight loss in diabetics 

for four years. 

One group participated in 

Intensive Lifestyle 

Intervention (ILI) and the 

other in a control group consisting 

of diabetes support and 

education. 

Data showed that participants 

in the ILI group who 

abstained from alcohol consumption 

over the four-year 

period lost more weight than 

those who drank any amount 

during the intervention. 

Results also showed that 

heavy drinkers in the ILI 

group were less likely to have 

clinically significant weight loss over the 

four years. “This study indicates that while 

alcohol consumption is not associated with 

short-term weight loss during a lifestyle 

intervention, it is associated with worse 

long-term weight loss in participants with 

overweight or obesity and Type 2 diabetes,” 

Chao explained.


HEALTH 


15 

6 ways to manage dry and itchy skin in babies 

New Delhi, Babies have delicate 

skin, which is sensitive to humidity and 

changes in the weather. Cold weather 

affects the skin even further by causing 

rashes, redness and itching. 

Most rashes are harmless and go 

away on their own. However, in some 

situations, the skin condition can 

become chronic and difficult to manage. 

Atopic dermatitis, also called 

atopic eczema, is one such skin condition 

that affects one in five children 

globally. 

Atopic dermatitis is long-lasting 

(chronic) and tends to flare periodically. 

Often, it appears in infants in the first 

year of birth and progresses till five 

years of age and, at times, even beyond. 

It leads to inflamed and itchy skin, 

resulting in patches of red and dry skin. 

The condition may worsen during colder 

months. Often, as the child enters 

teenage, the skin condition persists, 

affecting daily activities. This leads to a 

lack of self-confidence, thus impacting 

the child’s overall personality development. 

Atopic dermatitis can lead to skin 

infections, as the dry, inflamed skin 

results in cracks, causing microbes and 

irritants to enter the skin. Dryness, itching, 

cracks, and redness are the common 

symptoms of atopic dermatitis, 

which can occur anywhere on the body. 

A child whose family member has a history 

of asthma or allergies is more likely 

to develop atopic dermatitis. There is 

a 40-50 per cent probability of a child 

developing atopic dermatitis if one of 

her parents also suffered from the condition. 

This figure rises to 50-80 per 

cent when both the parents suffered 

from the skin condition. Dr. Rajesh 

Kumawat, Head-Medical Services & 

Clinical Development, The Himalaya 

Drug Company, shares a few tips to 

combat atopic dermatitis in babies: 

Avoid harsh soaps: Use baby washes 

containing herbal actives, specially formulated 

for baby’s delicate skin. 

Natural ingredients like Indian aloe 

(aloe vera), almond oil, milk, and olive 

oil work together to nourish and maintain 

the moisture balance of baby’s 

skin. Avoid hot baths, long showers: 

Maintain the right water temperature 

New treatment shows promise 

against peanut allergy 

New York : In a first, an oral 

immunotherapy drug derived from 

peanut protein could help build tolerance 

and eliminate potentially deadly 

reactions in children and adolescents 

with severe peanut allergies. 

The study showed that controlled 

ingestion of the medication, called 

AR101, derived from peanut protein, 

could build tolerance as well as reduce 

severe allergy symptoms. 

"Almost 6 million American children 

are currently living with a lifethreatening 

food allergy," said Christina 

Ciaccio, Associate Professor from the 

University of Chicago in the US. 

"Every three minutes a food allergy 

reaction sends someone to the emergency 

room, contributing to the total 

annual cost of caring for children with 

food allergy to nearly $25 billion. 

Despite this, not a single treatment for 

food allergy has been approved by the 

FDA," she said. 

However, the drug "is not a quick 

fix, and it doesn't mean people with 

peanut allergy will be able to eat 

peanuts whenever they want", the 

researchers stressed, in the paper published 

in the New England Journal of 

Medicine. But it is definitely a breakthrough 

and "results of this landmark 

trial are likely to lead to the first FDAapproved 

treatment for food allergy in 

2019", Ciaccio said. 

As a result, people who receive and 

are able to tolerate this treatment 

should be protected from accidental 

exposures, the researchers noted, 

adding that once someone stops the 

treatment, there is no longer a protective 

effect. For the study, the 

researchers at the American College of 

Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 

(ACAAI) in the US included 496 participants 

aged from four to 55 years, 

most were four to 17 year olds, and all 

had peanut allergy. 

One third of the participants were 

given a placebo, while the remaining 

two-thirds were given peanut protein 

powder as part of an oral food challenge 

(OFC) in increasing amounts 

until reaching the "maintenance dose" - 

equivalent of one peanut daily. 

Compared to the placebo group, participants 

who took AR101 had less 

severe allergy symptoms. Furthermore, 

two-thirds of the people were able to 

tolerate the equivalent of two peanuts 

per day after nine to 12 months of treatment, 

and half the patients tolerated the 

equivalent of four peanuts. 

for the baby’s bath. Water should be 

lukewarm, as hot water can make the 

skin dry. Baby should be bathed for not 

more than 10 to 15 minutes. Lightly pat 

the skin with a towel to remove excess 

water, and avoid drying the skin completely. 

Keep fingernails short: Keep 

your child’s fingernails short and cover 

itchy areas with a cloth or dressing to 

prevent scratching that can cause skin 

irritation and infection. Moisturise the 

New York, Fish oil, containing 

the omega-3s, lowers the risk of 

bleeding during surgery, say 

researchers, challenging current recommendations 

to stop fish oil. 

Fish oil is among the most common 

natural supplement for treatment 

of hypertriglyceridemia or prevention 

of cardiovascular disease. 

However, concerns about theoretical 

bleeding risk have led to recommendations 

that patients should stop 

taking fish oil before surgery or 

delay in elective procedures for 

patients taking fish oil by some 

healthcare professionals. The study, 

published in the journal Circulation, 

found that higher blood omega-3 

levels — eicosapentaenoic acid 

(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid 

(DHA) — were associated with 

lower risk of bleeding. 

For the study, 1,516 patients 

scheduled for cardiac surgery were 

randomised to omega-3s or placebo. 

The dose was 6.5-8 grams of 

EPA+DHA over two-five days 

skin: Immediately apply a gentle and 

hydrating lotion or cream to moisturise 

baby’s skin immediately after a bath. A 

good moisturising agent usually consists 

of natural ingredients such as 

coconut, kokum, rice, and aloe vera, 

among others. Moisturising helps 

hydrate the skin and relieve skin irritation. 

Put comfortable dresses: Loose 

cotton clothing helps keep the baby 

comfortable, whereas woollen and synthetic 

fibres may keep baby too warm 

and worsen the skin condition. Avoid 

covering the baby in thick 

blankets/clothes that can cause irritation 

to sensitive skin. 

Avoid harsh chemical products: 

Choose products that are free from mineral 

oils, parabens, fragrances and artificial 

colours. Natural ingredients like 

kokum and aloe vera are known for 

their hydrating and moisturising properties. 

Rice bran extract provides necessary 

skin components called ceramides, 

which are essential for maintaining skin 

barrier function and retaining skin 

moisture. Coconut has anti-inflammatory 

properties that help reduce redness 

and soothe the skin. Understanding the 

needs of baby’s skin is essential for 

healthy development, both physical and 

mental. Any ailment of the skin can 

affect baby’s overall well-being. 

Fish oil reduces bleeding risk 

in surgery patients : Study 

before surgery, and then 1.7 grams 

per day beginning the morning of 

surgery and continuing until discharge. 

The findings showed that there 

was a significant reduction in the 

number of units of blood needed for 

transfusions. In another analysis, the 

higher the blood EPA+DHA level on 

the morning of surgery, the lower the 

risk for bleeding, according to the 

Bleeding Academic Research 

Consortium (BARC) criteria. “The 

researchers in this study concluded 

that these findings support the need 

to reconsider current recommendations 

to stop fish oil or delay procedures 

for people on fish oil before 

cardiac surgery,” said Bill Harris, 

Founder of OmegaQuant. 

While Omega-3s, specifically 

EPA and DHA, are important for 

heart, brain, eye and joint health, 

most people do not get enough of 

these valuable fatty acids, which can 

increase their risk of the most serious 

health issues.


WORLD 


Why onion prices are bringing 

TEARS TO FARMERS' EYES 

New Delhi : The Narendra Modi 

government may have promised to 

double farm incomes by 2022, but 

farmers in the country's onion-growing 

regions are appalled at the bizarre 

market dynamics that keep its retail 

price hovering between Rs 20-30 a 

kilogram while they struggle to get 

even 10-20 per cent of the final cost. 

The constant fall in prices and subsequent 

lower remuneration in the past 

few weeks has led to outbursts and 

protests where farmers have thrown 

tonnes of onions on roads, while one 

farmer made national news by sending 

his meagre returns to Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi. 

Onion farmers blame the government 

and its arbitrary policies on 

exports and procurement for their 

plight. 

According to the Food Ministry, on 

Thursday, onions were sold for Rs 27 

per kg in Delhi, for Rs 22 in Mumbai, 

for Rs 25 in Kolkata and for Rs 16 in 

Chennai. The retail prices were higher 

by Rs 2-5 last week. At Nashik's 

Lasalgaon, the country's largest 

wholesale market for onions, prices 

for onions harvested in summer have 

fallen to Rs 100-300 per quintal while 

fresh arrivals have managed to get an 

average of Rs 800-1,000 per quintal. 

Notably, the input cost for cultivation 

of a kilo of onions has been fixed at Rs 

8.50 by the Directorate of Onion and 

Garlic Research (DOGR), a constituent 

body of the Indian Council of 

Agricultural Research (ICAR). 

Sanjay Sathe, an onion grower 

from Nashik, came into the limelight a 

few days ago after he sent a moneyorder 

of Rs 1,064 to Modi as a mark of 

protest. 

"I did not sell a part of onions I cultivated 

this summer due to the prevailing 

low prices. However, I was forced 

to sell it now as I had no money. I was 

shocked when I received just Rs 1,064 

for 750 kg," Sathe said. "I paid Rs 400 

to clean those onions and Rs 750 for 

transportation. So what I have been 

left with in the end? Nothing!" 

Aghast at the gloomy side of the 

market dynamics, Sathe sent the 

money-order to awaken the government 

to the situation. Last year, he 

sold onions at Rs 3,000 per quintal. He 

says the authorities do not have an 

answer for the sharp slump in prices 

this year. 

Anoop Kumar, Principal Secretary 

of Maharashtra's Marketing 

Department, said the onion crop that 

hits the market in winter has a short 

shelf life, which may have led to the 

low procurement price. 

"We are aware of the low prices. 

We have operationalised a scheme to 

provide 50 per cent subsidy on the 

transportation if onions are sold in 

other states," Kumar told IANS. 

The situation is similar in other 

onion-producing states like Madhya 

Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan. 

Farmer activist Kedar Sirohi said 

the remuneration to onion growers in 

poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and 

Rajasthan has fallen to as low as Rs 1 

per kg. 

"Due to the advancement in transportation 

and communication, prices 

remain more or less the same in the 

adjoining states. In Neemuch (in 

Madhya Pradesh), one farmer received 

just Rs 2,300 for 2,100 kg of onion he 

sold on Wednesday. So, roughly, Rs 1 

per kg," said Sirohi, who is the president 

of the Aam Kisan Union. 

Lasalgaon APMC Market 

Chairman Jaydatta Holkar said the 

government's inconsistent export policies 

and additional procurement were 

to be blamed. 

"There have been so many flipflops 

on the export policies in last few 

years that we have lost credibility in 

the international market. There is now 

greater demand for onions from 

Pakistan," said Holkar. 

"Also, the government procured a 

huge amount of onions though the 

NAFED (National Agricultural 

Cooperative Marketing Federation) 

last year. It sent a wrong signal in the 

market that there is no demand," said 

Holkar. India exported 24,15,739 

tonnes of onions in 2016-17 but this 

reduced to 15,88,985 tonnes in 2017- 

18, as per Agricultural and Processed 

Food Products Export Development 

Authority (APEDA). Around 8,31,645 

tonnes of onions have been exported 

since April this year. 

Holkar asked for an increase in the 

incentives for onion exports under the 

Merchandise Export from India 

Scheme (MEIS) from the current five 

per cent to 10 per cent. 

Sathe said he received a call from a 

Maharashtra government official 

seeking details about his land and crop 

yield and if he was a part of any political 

outfit. 

"There was just a phone call. I do 

not know who it was, except that it 

was a government official. Nothing 

has happened since then," he said. 

A senior Agriculture Ministry official 

said cognisance had been taken of 

the situation but no decision has been 

taken so far. 

The ministry cannot intervene until 

a state approaches it for implementing 

the Market Intervention Scheme 

(MIS), which is designed to protect 

farmers from making distress sales, 

said the official, who requested 

anonymity. 

Mentoring schemes and top scholarships for children in care 

The Government will launch a new 

scheme creating partnerships between 

independent schools and councils to 

boost opportunities for looked after 

children. Children in care could 

receive mentoring or scholarships 

from some of the country’s top independent 

schools as part of a wider 

drive to raise outcomes and ambitions 

for these vulnerable young people. 

Children and Families Minister 

Nadhim Zahawi will launch a national 

scheme between independent schools 

and councils today (Tuesday 4 

December) to improve the offer they 

make to young people growing up in 

care, who too often struggle to get 

ahead in mainstream education as a 

result of their challenging upbringing. 

He will set out his vision for lookedafter 

children, including those who 

display particular gifts in subjects 

from sports to science, by helping 

them access specialist schools or facilities, 

and will announce a network of 

regional hubs in 2019 to focus on 

improving these young people’s academic 

outcomes. 

Speaking at the Boarding Schools 

Partnership conference in London, the 

Children and Families Minister will 

say: Children in care often find themselves 

marginalised, struggling to 

make a success of themselves at 

school through no fault of their own 

but because of the chaotic start to their 

lives. Your background should not 

determine your future. I am living 

proof that the right support at the right 

time can transform a life – as an immigrant 

child I struggled in school, and 

now, as the Minister responsible for 

children in care, I am determined they 

too have every chance to fulfil their 

potential. We need to dream much bigger 

for these vulnerable children and 

raise ambition and belief in what they 

can achieve – whether that means 

school scholarships, mentoring or help 

applying to university. Many independent 

schools are already putting 

this in action, so this new scheme will 

help even more provide that stability. 

It builds on his commitment to expand 

existing schemes that already offer 

opportunities to children in care and 

his ambition for as many as 1,000 

independent schools to be involved. 

The Minister’s call to arms builds on 

a successful 10-year project run by the 

Boarding Schools Partnerships and 

Norfolk County Council, where young 

people who were either in care or at risk 

of going into care were taken off the 

council’s risk register after at least three 

years in a boarding school. A higher 

proportion of looked-after children who 

were at boarding schools achieved 

See on Page 3


ENTERTAINMENT 


17 

Priyanka Chopra thanks PM Modi 

for attending her wedding reception 

Actor Priyanka Chopra on Wednesday 

expressed her gratitude towards Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi for attending her 

wedding reception here. 

Priyanka, who got married to American 

singer Nick Jonas last weekend in a lavish 

twin wedding ceremony in Jodhpur, 

Rajasthan, appeared for a photo-op at 

Hotel Taj Palace in the national capital. 

PM Modi was one of the prominent dignitaries 

at the event which was a close-knit 

affair with family and close friends. 

Priyanka took to Twitter to thank the 

prime minister for his blessings. 

Tagging Nick, the 36-year-old actor 

wrote, "A heartfelt thank you to our 

Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi 

ji for gracing us with your presence. 

Touched by your kind words and 

blessings." Similar to the two-part nuptials, 

the reception was also a fiercely 

guarded event. 

There was tight security around the 

luxury hotel and since the prime minister 

attended the event, policemen were also 

on their toes. Priyanka and Nick, 26, 

exchanged wedding vows on December 

1 at Jodhpur's majestic Umaid Bhawan 

Palace in a Catholic ceremony officiated 

by the groom's father Kevin Jonas Sr. It 

was followed by an equally grand wedding 

as per Hindu traditions on 

December 2. Congratulations have been 

pouring in—both from within the fraternity 

and outside - since the couple first 

exchanged vows. 

New Yashoda for 

RadhaKrishn? 

Reena Kapoor, who is currently 

seen as Yashoda in Star Bharat’s 

RadhaKrishn, seems to be facing 

some issues. The actress is 

unhappy with her role of 

Krishn’s mother. Reena has 

expressed concern with the way 

her character is being portrayed 

on screen. She is also facing 

problems while travelling to the 

shoot location. Travelling such 

long distance and then dealing 

with the dust and pollution has 

been yet another reason, as she is 

an asthma patient. 

A source shares, “Reena Kapoor 

has expressed her dissatisfaction 

with the show for quite some 

time now. Production is trying to 

mend things; the actress is now 

in talks to quit the show altogether. 

While there is no confirmation 

on it, we might soon see a 

new Yashodha on 

RadhaKrishn.” 

Sarah Hyland takes 

social media break 

amid trolling 

Days after her cousin was killed in a car 

crash, actor Sarah Hyland is distancing herself 

from the social media for a while. 

The "Modern Family" star was trolled 

with respect to the 14-year-old Trevor 

Canaday, who was killed late Saturday night 

in Omaha, Nebraska, in an alleged drunk 

driving accident. Hyland announced her 

decision on Monday that she was stepping 

away from the internet due to the "horrible 

negative ignorant words". "You guys finally 

did it. Your horrible negative ignorant words 

have broken me. 

Happy? Staying offline for a while. I have 

a special announcement and video releasing 

on Wednesday I believe. So. There's that," 

Hyland, 28, wrote on Twitter. Earlier 

Monday, she asked the trolls to keep their 

opinions about the tragedy to themselves. 

"You don't know all the details. And how 

dare you attack when a beautiful life has 

been lost," the actor added. Over the weekend, 

Hyland announced on social media that 

Canaday "was killed by a drunk driver". She 

said her uncle, who was also in the car, "is 

still in the hospital in need of more surgeries". 

Big B to meet UP farmers to pay off their loans 

Mumbai : After Maharashtra, megastar 

Amitabh Bachchan will pay off loans of 

farmers in Uttar Pradesh and will personally 

meet some of them to give them their bank 

letters. He will arrange for 70 farmers to 

travel to Mumbai and receive their bank letters, 

his spokesperson has said. 

The superstar will be taking care of 1,398 

farmer loans from Uttar Pradesh amounting 

to over Rs 4.05 crore. 

Amitabh has done an 'OTS: One Time 

Settlement with Bank Of India' and cleared 

the farmer's loans with the bank. He has also 

invited 70 farmers to Mumbai by blocking an 

entire train compartment for their travel, to 

personally give them their bank letters on 

November 26.The farmers will receive their 

bank letters by Big B at his office here. 

When approached, his official spokesperson 

confirmed: "Yes, Mr Bachchan has 

cleared the loans of 1398 farmers from Uttar 

Pradesh. He had earlier paid off the loans of 

Maharashtra's farmers. And now he has done 

so for the debted farmers of UP. Around 70 

farmers have been chosen to personally travel 

and receive the bank letters directly from 

Mr Bachchan in Mumbai, clearing their outstanding 

dues." Earlier this year, the "Paa" 

star, who is in Baroda to accept Sayaji Ratna 

Award, helped over 350 farmers by paying 

off their debts and also helped the families of 

around 44 martyrs of Maharashtra. 

Amitabh and his wife Jaya handed over 

the amount to the farmers and army martyrs 

families privately in Mumbai a few months 

ago.


ENTERTAINMENT 


When women are strong, countries 

become stronger: Akshay Kumar 

Mumbai : Lending his support to gender 

equality, actor Akshay Kumar said that 

strong women make stronger countries. 

Akshay along with a bevy of Bollywood 

celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Varun 

Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Vicky Kaushal, 

Rekha, Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini, 

Madhuri Dixit Nene, Kareena Kapoor Khan 

and Alia Bhatt, gathered on Sunday night to 

attend the 3rd Lux Golden Rose Awards to 

extend their support to the United Nations' 

campaign #HeForShe. 

Talking on the subject, Akshay said: 

"When women are strong, families become 

strong and countries stronger. I am happy to 

be a part of a family which has many strong 

women like my mother, my wife, my sister and 

my mother-in-law." The campaign celebrates the 

contribution of women to society. 

Talking about the role of female actors in the 

industry, Shah Rukh said: "These women have 

contributed to making me a better human." Gennext 

stars like Taapsee Pannu, Nushrat Bharucha, 

Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Rakulpreet 

Singh, Ada Sharma too were present at the event. 

Janhvi, daughter of producer Boney Kapoor 

and late veteran actress Sridevi, bagged the Lux 

Golden Rose Emerging Beauty Of The Year. 

She said the award was "encouraging". 

"My parents have always maintained that a 

good artiste is a reflection of a good and honest 

person and I hope to prove myself by doing 

exactly that," she added. Veteran actress and 

politician Hema Malini bagged the Lux Golden 

Rose Iconic Beauty over the Decades award. 

The star-studded evening became much entertaining 

when Kareena performed on stage on the 

super hit tracks of her male co-stars like Shah 

Rukh, Salman Khan and her actor-husband Saif 

Ali Khan. Kareena also won the award of Lux 

Golden Rose Confident Beauty Of The Year 

alongside Shikha Talsania and Swara Bhasker. 

Others who were seen shaking a leg at the 

gala were Varun Dhawan, who paid a tribute to 

his co-stars like Taapsee and Alia; and Madhuri, 

who enthralled the audience by dancing on 

tracks like "Dream girl", "Laila main laila" and 

"Yeh mera dil". 

People have to wait to see 

my wedding : Alia Bhatt 

Mumbai : Actress Alia Bhatt 

has made it clear that her wellwishers 

have to wait to see her 

marriage happening whenever 

it does. 

There were reports that Alia 

is going to tie knot with actor 

Ranbir Kapoor in 2019 but the 

actress says that people have to 

wait. 

"If people are waiting for my 

wedding then, they have to wait 

for it. I think climax should be 

good and there should be a 

happy ending to it," she said 

while interacting with media at 

Lux Golden Rose Awards 2018 

on Sunday, here. 

Alia and Ranbir sort of made 

their relationship official when 

both of them walked together 

hand-in-hand at Sonam Kapoor 

and Anand Ahuja's wedding 

reception earlier this year. 

They are also going to be 

seen together for the first time 

in "Brahmastra". 

Reacting on Priyanka 

Chopra and Nick Jonas's 

impending wedding which is 

going to take place in Jodhpur, 

Alia said, "I am really happy 

and excited that PC (Priyanka 

Singapore : Actress-producer 

Anushka Sharma has unveiled her 

interactive wax figure in Madame 

Tussauds here and says she is glad 

that her figurine is the first ever 

talking and interactive wax statue. 

"I am glad that my wax figure is 

the first ever talking and interactive 

wax figure in Madame Tussauds 

Singapore. I had a special fan take 

over my Instagram page today to 

capture the Madame Tussauds experience 

and I am thankful for the love 

and support that they constantly 

give me," Anushka said in a statement. 

She added: "My fans who visit 

Madame Tussauds Singapore can 

engage with my interactive figure 

and also take a selfie." 

Chopra) is getting married. I 

am very excited to see PC and 

her wedding attire. I am very 

fond of her and I have lot of 

warmth and love for her. I hope 

that she will have a beautiful 

wedding. I am sure she will 

make a beautiful bride and she 

should have a beautiful life." 

Alia is often being compared 

with Kareena Kapoor Khan in 

terms of their look and acting 

style and when asked that how 

does she take that comparison, 

she said, "It's a compliment for 

me but I don't think it's true 

because I think there is going to 

be only one Bebo (Kareena 

Kapoor Khan) and I am very 

different from her so, I don't 

think it's fair to draw comparison 

between us." "Brahmastra" 

is written and directed by Ayan 

Mukherji and produced by 

Karan Johar's Dharma 

Productions. It also features 

Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple 

Kapadia, Akkineni Nagarjuna, 

Divyendu Sharma and Mouni 

Roy in lead roles. The first part 

of "Brahmastra" trilogy is 

scheduled to release in 

Christmas 2019. 

Anushka unveils her interactive wax figure in Madame Tussauds 

Her life-like figure holds a phone personally 

inviting visitors to photograph a 

selfie with her, which can be digitally 

shared with friends and family. 

"Anushka Sharma is a big star, and she 

is so nice to work with... Anushka's new 

interactive figure will be a great addition 

for our visitors and we will continue to 

grow our attraction in 2019. With much 

more interactives and Indian film stars 

coming to Singapore," said Alex Ward, 

General Manager, Madame Tussauds 

Singapore. 

Anushka's figure joins other Bollywood 

stars, including Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan, 

Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, 

Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor Khan and 

Ranbir Kapoor in the IIFA Awards experience 

where you can re-live the glamour of 

the Bollywood awards ceremony. 

Sean Penn in Turkey for ‘documentary 

on Khashoggi murder’ 

Istanbul, US actor and filmmaker Sean Penn and his crew 

were seen in front of the 

Saudi consulate here on 

Wednesday, reportedly 

making a documentary on 

the killing of journalist 

Jamal Khashoggi inside the 

mission. 

Turkish private NTV 

broadcaster said the actor 

was trying to gather 

detailed information to 

make the documentary 

about the murder of supporter-turned-critic 

of Saudi 

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, a case that has sparked an 

international outcry. The two-time Oscar winner came to the 

consulate with a crew of around 10 and shot in front of the consulate 

as well as the residence of the Saudi consul, who left 

Turkey after the journalist’s killing on October 2. Khashoggi, a 

columnist for the Washington Post, went missing after entering 

the consulate for collecting documents in order to marry his 

Turkish fiancée Hatice Cengiz. After initially saying the journalist 

had left the consulate alive, weeks later the Saudi administration 

admitted he was killed there and blamed a “rogue” team. 

Penn was expected to meet Cengiz in the city, according to the 

broadcaster. The Sabah daily reported that the actor will also 

visit Ankara to meet Turkish officials. According to the Istanbul 

prosecutor, Khashoggi was strangled to death after he entered the 

Saudi consulate and his body was then dismembered and 

destroyed. The Turkish police and crime scene investigators 

were still trying to locate the remaining parts of his body across 

Istanbul and the neighbouring Yalova province. 

Comedy is quite difficult to do: Nushrat 

New Delhi, Actress Nushrat Bharucha of “Pyaar Ka 

Punchnama” fame has some more comedy films coming up but 

says they’re not easy to do. “Comedy 

actually is quite difficult to do. The 

timing, the tone, the delivery and the 

precise expressions are all very crucial, 

especially for actresses because we are 

not given the author-backed punches,” 

Nushrat told IANS. 

“But I’m very comfortable with the 

comedy films that I have done because 

they have a certain premise and subtext. 

I have been playing catalyst sort 

of roles in the comedy films that I’ve 

been doing. I love what I do, I love what is being given to me, I 

am comfortable with it and I love the way it has been received,” 

added the “Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety” actress. 

Looking back at her Bollywood career, which started over a 

decade ago, she said: “If you come to think of it, it’s been a comical 

journey for me.” “But both ‘Turram Khan’ and ‘Dream Girl’ 

are very different from the rom-com (romantic-comedy) films 

I’ve done in the past. Their treatments are different and even 

within the comedy genre, these films explore different subgeneres. 

‘Turram Khan’ is a social comedy and ‘Dream Girl’ is a 

unique yet a hardcore commercial entertainer.” There are a lot of 

genres that she really wants to do. “I feel it’ll take time for everything 

to fall into place – whether it’s scripts, roles, characters or 

writing. So, I guess with time, I will do other genres,” she said.


TECH 


19 

Are air purifiers helpful inside your home? 

NEW DELHI: Installing air purifiers 

in your homes and offices may, to 

some extent, help combat the impact of 

deadly air on your respiratory and circulatory 

systems; but the question 

remains: How effective they can be over 

time in mitigating the ill-effects of 

Delhi's toxic air. While most air purifiers 

are able to remove airborne pollutants 

like mold spores, pollen, dust, bacteria 

and pet dander, are they really 

effective as the Air Quality Index (AQI) 

nosedives to life-threatening levels? 

"The air purifiers are effective but 

only up to a certain extent. A person 

would eventually have to go outside 

where they would be exposed to polluted 

air," said Rajesh Chawla, Senior 

Consultant, Critical Care, at 

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New 

Delhi, told IANS. "Air purifiers help 

reduce air contamination inside the 

house and reduce indoor air pollution to 

some extent. They are shown to have 

positive effects on respiratory health as 

well circulatory health. As there is a 

saying, something is better than nothing," 

added Gyanendra Agarwal, Senior 

Consultant, Department of 

Pulmonology, Jaypee Hospital, Noida. 

The effectiveness of an air purifier is 

judged by its capability to filter PM up 

to level 2.5. The fluctuating air quality 

in cities like Delhi depends upon various 

factors and the air pollution is high 

because of the particulate matter (PM) 

found in air, such as dust, dirt, soot, 

smoke, etc., which are denoted as PM10 

and PM2.5 levels. According to Jai 

Dhar Gupta from New Delhi-based 

company Nirvana Being that sells air 

purifiers and masks, most of the brands 

available in the market today or being 

sold online are designed for foreign 

cities. The air purifiers are designed for 

"cities like London and Singapore, etc., 

where, on a really bad day, the PM2.5 

reaches a mere 150 whereas in cities 

like Delhi, the PM2.5 reaches 1,500 

plus," Gupta told IANS. 

He said that air pollution problems 

here are a "lot more severe and alarming 

in comparison to other countries and our 

solutions need to also be equally effective 

and aggressive". 

Although most of the available air 

purifiers absorb volatile organic compounds 

(VOCs) -- a type of indoor air 

pollutant-including benzene, toluene 

and xylene, cooking gas, paint and 

building material vapours, as well as 

tobacco smoke, they create huge environmental 

damage, Gupta stressed. 

"Every air purifier bought requires a 

filter change after every 8-12 months 

and the sad part is that these filters land 

up in a landfill, thus all those pollutants 

trapped within the filter go back into the 

air," Gupta noted. However, according 

to Saurav Katyal, Director, Samsung 

India Consumer Electronics Business, 

Microsoft turns off ads in Windows 10 email app 

San Francisco : After introducing personalised advertisements in the Windows 

10 default email app, Microsoft has made a U-turn and turned these ads off. 

The beta version of the company's Mail client for Windows 10 was found pushing 

ads right at the top of the inbox. 

"Bad news: Mail for Windows 10 is getting ads for non-office 365 subscribers!," 

Aggiornamenti Lumia reported late on Friday. 

Microsoft's frequently asked questions (FAQ) page, which has now been taken 

down, said: "Consistent with consumer email apps and services like Outlook.com, 

Gmail and Yahoo Mail, advertising allows us to provide, support, and improve 

some of our products. We're always experimenting with new features and experiences." 

"The experiment was never intended to be tested broadly, which doesn't 

quite jibe with the existence of a FAQ about a pilot programme taking place in 

several countries around the world, but either way the ads should be gone," Frank 

Shaw, Communications Head, Microsoft was quoted as saying by The Verge. 

Users of Windows Insider fast-track builds of Mail and Calendar, particularly 

version 11605.11029.20059.0, may have seen the ads among their emails, depending 

on their location. Those in Brazil, Canada, Australia and India were chosen 

for this experiment, according to The Register. 

the company's air purifiers come with 

PM2.5 filter which captures up to 99 per 

cent of ultra fine and hyper fine particles, 

which are of 0.02Âμm in size. 

"In the four-step filtration system, 

the deodorisation filter removes harmful 

gases such as ammonia, acetaldehyde, 

acetic acid, filter formaldehyde, TVOC 

(Total Volatile Organic Compounds), 

benzene, ethyl benzene, xylan and 

Styrene," Katyal noted. 

Dr Agarwal from Jaypee Hospital 

said the OPD is witnessing a three-fold 

increase in asthma-related cases. 

He suggested that increasing the 

intake of vitamin C and E could help 

boost immunity. 

Other measures such as more plantations 

inside and outside the house, more 

biodegradation and organic manure, 

regular pollution check of vehicles, as 

well as stricter construction laws, may 

also help. To protect children from the 

worst effects of pollution, it is important 

that parents adhere to some basic precautions. 

"Children should not go outside 

to exercise or play. Right now, it is 

better to indulge in indoor games such 

as badminton and table tennis, etc. Take 

a bath to ensure that all the dirt and pollutant 

particles sticking to your body get 

removed," Chawla stressed.


TECH 


US dollar falls on 

economic growth fears 

New York, The US dollar slid in late trading on 

Tuesday as an 

inverted US 

Treasury yield 

curve sparked 

general concerns 

about a 

slowdown in 

US economic 

growth. 

In late New 

York trading, 

the euro was 

down to $1.1341 from $1.1342 dollars in the previous 

session, and the British pound was down to $1.2717 

from $1.2726 in the previous session, Xinhua news 

agency reported. The Australian dollar was down to 

$0.7337 from $0.7348. 

The US dollar bought 112.81 Japanese yen, lower 

than 113.68 Japanese yen of the previous session. The 

US dollar decreased to 0.9974 Swiss franc from 

0.9988 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.3247 Canadian 

dollars from 1.3210 Canadian dollars. 

The dollar index, which measures the greenback 

against six major peers, was down 0.07 per cent to 

96.9680. Over the past five decades, an inversion of 

yield spread between the two-year and 10-year notes 

appeared ahead of every recession in the US. 

Analysts cautioned that the latest inversion between 

short-dated and long-dated bonds signalled market 

expectations that US economic growth will slow 

down. The recent broad sell-offs in the stock markets 

have prompted some investors to turn to the comparatively 

less risky US Treasury bonds and also increased 

demands for the greenback as a safe-haven currency 

because of its high liquidity. 

However, analysts said as traders grew worried 

about sagging US growth, longer-dated Treasury bond 

yields have been sharply weighed down. 

Equity indices end lower as RBI’s 

policy fails to cheer investors 

Mumbai, Broadly negative global cues as well as 

disappointment over the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy 

announcement dragged the key Indian equity 

indices to end in the red for the second straight day on 

Wednesday. 

According to market observers, caution over initial 

signs on re-emergence of trade tension between the US 

and China subdued the Asian markets and subsequently 

impacted the domestic indices. 

Even the disappointment over the Reserve Bank of 

India’s (RBI) decision to maintain its stance of “calibrated 

tightening” unchanged had its impact on the 

investor sentiments. In addition, the RBI’s monetary 

policy committee (MPC) kept its key lending rate for 

commercial banks unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the 

second time in succession. 

However, RBI’s announcement to continue its liquidity 

infusion measures including OMOs (open market 

operations) arrested the sharp decline in the equity 

market. Till now, RBI has injected durable liquidity 

through open market operation purchases to the tune of 

Rs 1.36 trillion in the current financial year. 

“The pace of our OMOs has stepped up with the 

injection of slightly over Rs 1 trillion in the last three 

months. Second, the RBI has also provided liberal 

infusion of liquidity through term repos in addition to 

the usual provision via the LAF…,” RBI Deputy 

Governor Viral V. Acharya said at the post-MPC meeting 

press conference. 

“Based on our assessment of durable liquidity needs 

going forward, we have already announced an OMO 

purchase program of Rs 40,000 crore for December. 

We expect that this increased frequency and quantum 

of OMO purchases may be required until end of 

March.” Index-wise, the S&P BSE Sensex lost close to 

250 points, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 10,784.95 

points. All sectoral indices on BSE ended in the red led 

by metal, auto and healthcare stocks. Interest sensitive 

banking stocks traded 1 per cent lower on the BSE. 

However, the Nifty IT index saw a recovery as it 

was the only sectoral index ending in green with marginal 

gains. The Sensex settled lower 0.69 per cent, or 

249.90 points, at 35,884.41, from its previous close of 

36,134.31. It touched an intra-day high of 36,048.65 

and a low of 35,777.81. 

Oil prices slide as Trump 

urges OPEC not to cut supply 

New York, Oil prices have extended losses 

as US President Donald Trump once again 

tried to dampen OPEC’s efforts to tackle 

falling oil prices amid market expectations on 

further output cut. 

“Hopefully OPEC will be keeping oil 

flows as is, not restricted. The World does not 

want to see, or need, higher oil prices!” 

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday, Xinhua 

news agency reported. 

The West Texas Intermediate for January 

delivery decreased $0.36 to settle at $52.89 a 

barrel on the New York Mercantile 

Exchange, while Brent crude for January 

delivery decreased $0.52 to close at $61.56 

Kohima, Union Tourism 

Minister K.J. Alphons on 

Wednesday said the Central government 

has initiated many new 

programmes and schemes for the 

development of tourism in the 

northeastern states. 

Speaking at the Hornbill 

Festival, the Festival of all 

Festivals in Nagaland, Alphons 

pointed out that the Central government 

has given Rs 1,351 crore 

for the northeastern states to 

develop the tourism industry. 

“Nagaland alone is getting Rs 

197 crore for two (tourism) projects,” 

he said. 

“For Nagaland and entire 

northeast, tourism is a future. I 

don’t really think there is any 

place under the sun which is 

more beautiful than northeast 

India, particularly Nagaland,” 

dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures 

Exchange. The remarks came just a day prior 

US stocks tumble amid worries 

over possible economic slowdown 

New York, US stocks plunged on Tuesday with all three major 

indices erasing more than 3 per cent, 

amid worries over inverted yield 

curve signalling a possible economic 

slowdown. The Dow Jones 

Industrial Average decreased 799.36 

points, or 3.10 per cent, to 

25,027.07. The S&P 500 decreased 

90.31 points, or 3.24 per cent, to 

2,700.06, Xinhua reported. The 

Nasdaq Composite Index fell 

283.09 points, or 3.80 per cent, to 7,158.43. The US three-year treasury 

note yield stood at 2.805 percent, higher than the five-year note on 

Tuesday. The inverted yield curve caught investors’ attention because 

historical statistics showed that when short-term yields trade above 

longer-term rates a recession could follow. 

Fears of a possible economic slowdown were also spurred by weakerthan-expected 

quarterly guidance from Toll Brothers. 

The US leading builder reported its first fall in quarterly orders in 

more than four years, hit by rising interest rates and higher home prices. 

The company’s results are the latest evidence of slowing housing 

demand, after years of steady recovery following the housing crash a 

decade ago. The US Census data showed new home sales have declined 

for 11 straight months. On sectors, financials and industrials led the slide, 

declining 4.40 per cent and 4.35 per cent respectively. Apple shares fell 

4.40 per cent in intraday trading after HSBC downgraded the stock, citing 

too much dependence on a single product and slowing emerging 

markets economies. HSBC downgraded Apple to hold from buy and cut 

its 12-month price target to $200 from $205. Among other Dow components 

that plunged were Caterpillar, Boeing and Intel which declined 6.93 

per cent, 4.85 per cent and 4.75 per cent respectively. 

Alphons said. 

Noting that Nagaland represents 

everything wonderful about 

the country, the Tourism Minister 

said, “The colour, music, dance, 

textile and food, it’s such an 

amazing place. The hyper active 

Chief Minister (Neiphiu Rio), 

who is everywhere, is leading 

Mumbai, In its penultimate 

monetary policy review of the 

current fiscal, the Reserve 

Bank of India (RBI) on 

Wednesday kept its key lending 

rate for commercial banks 

unchanged at 6.5 per cent for 

the second time in succession. 

Consequently, the central 

bank’s reverse repo rate has 

been maintained at 

6.25 per cent, and 

the marginal standing 

facility (MSF) 

rate and the bank 

rate at 6.75 per cent. 

The RBI’s monetary 

policy committee 

(MPC) also made no 

changes to its stance of “calibrated 

tightening” adopted in 

the last policy review conducted 

in October. The decision on 

keeping the policy rate 

unchanged was taken unanimously 

by the six-member 

MPC headed by RBI Governor 

Urjit R. Patel. However, 

Ravindra H. Dholakia voted to 

change the stance to neutral. 

According to the RBI, even as 

this 

state into an amazing state of 

prosperity.” He narrated his conversation 

with the Union 

Minister of Civil Aviation 

regarding helicopter services 

from Guwahati to Dimapur to 

Kohima and to Imphal and from 

Imphal back to Dimapur, where 

to OPEC’s meeting in Vienna, piling pressure 

on the Saudi-led cartel, Russia and other nonmember 

nations over potential global oil policy-making. 

Moscow has shown willingness 

to cooperate with OPEC to cut oil production. 

Russia’s oil giant Lukoil said it’s ready to cut 

production if the upcoming meeting results in 

a deal to prop up prices, the company’s CEO 

Vagit Alekperov told reporters, according to 

TASS news agency. 

Yet he said such a reduction could be done 

“only gradually,” due to the adverse weather 

conditions in Western Siberia. “The reduction 

should be smooth, just like last year,” 

Alekperov was quoted as saying. 

RBI keeps policy rate 

intact; stance unchanged 

inflation projections have been 

revised downwards significantly 

and some of the risks pointed 

out in the last resolution have 

been mitigated, especially of 

crude oil prices, several uncertainties 

still cloud the inflation 

outlook. “The MPC noted that 

the benign outlook for headline 

inflation is driven mainly by 

the unexpected 

softening of food 

inflation and collapse 

in oil prices 

in a relatively short 

period of time,” 

Patel said at the 

post-meeting press 

conference. “Excluding food 

items, inflation has remained 

sticky and elevated, and the 

output gap remains virtually 

closed.” As per the review 

statement, based on an overall 

assessment, GDP growth for 

2018-19 has been projected at 

7.4 per cent (7.2-7.3 per cent in 

H2) as in the October policy, 

and for H1:2019-20 at 7.5 per 

cent, “with risks somewhat to 

the downside”. 

Centre initiates new schemes for tourism 

development in NE states : Alphons 

the Minister agreed to his 

request. 

“I come from Kerala which is 

known as ‘God’s own land’ but I 

think this is ‘God’s own paradise’,” 

Alphons said. 

Highlighting the projects 

undertaken for the poor under 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 

he said: “We are on a huge path 

of progress. Tourism industry in 

India provides employment to 84 

million people, and India generates 

$234 billion from tourism, 

contributing 7 per cent of the 

GDP.” Expressing his happiness 

on the growth of tourism within 

the last four and a half years and 

the potential of tourism, Alphons 

said: “we have amazing people 

here, smiling all the time, and 

who are the epitome of hospitality.”


Smile Train India to bring 

smile on Himachal 

children's faces 

Shimla : Finally, children born with clefts in 

Himachal Pradesh have a fair reason to smile! 

Smile Train India, a non-government organisation, 

the National Health Mission and the state 

Directorate of Health and Family Welfare have 

signed a memorandum of understanding to enable 

free surgeries for children with congenital cleft lip 

and palate. 

Through this three-year partnership, the 

patients for the surgeries will be identified 

through a programme named the Rashtriya Bal 

Swasthya Karyakram. Smile Train will support 

free surgeries and post-operative care for the children, 

a government spokesperson told IANS. 

Since 2000, Smile Train has supported more than 

1,700 cleft repair surgeries, free of cost, in 

Himachal Pradesh. This new partnership looks at 

intensifying outreach so that more children born 

with clefts can benefit from the free surgeries and 

get a chance to lead a normal life. While signing 

the memorandum of understanding, Directorate of 

Health and Family Welfare Mission Director 

Manmohan Sharma said this partnership will help 

children with untreated cleft access free treatment 

in a timely manner through Smile Train India's 

partner hospitals. Renu Mehta, Area Director with 

Strategic Projects in South Asia in Smile Train 

said: "We are thankful to the state government for 

their support in spreading awareness about clefts 

and the treatment available." "With the support of 

the state, we are sure that we will be able to reach 

out to children born with clefts from remote areas, 

who do not have access to quality cleft treatment 

or surgery," she added. 

WORLD 

UK government calls for reducing 

tablets taken by older people 

London, British Health 

Secretary Matt Hancock on 

Saturday called for a drive 

to reduce the number of 

tablets and pills taken by 

older people after a survey 

found nearly half of over 75- 

year-olds were taking five or 

more medicines, with the 

percentage rising as people 

get older. 

The review will look at 

patients most at risk of suffering 

from adverse effects 

from overprescribing of tablets 

and pills, Xinhua news agency 

reported. Spending on medicines 

by the National Health 

Service (NHS) in England has 

grown from $16.55 billion in 

2010-2011 to over $23 billion 

in 2017-2018, an average 

growth of around 5 per cent. 

It now means 1.1 billion prescriptions 

for medicines are 

dispensed every year by family 

doctors, known as GPs. 

The review into medicine 

use will be led by Chief 

Pharmaceutical Officer Dr 

Keith Ridge. He will look at 

addressing “problematic 

polypharmacy” where patients 

take multiple medicines unnecessarily, 

the report said. 

Ridge said recent successes 

by NHS England to reduce 

unnecessary antibiotics and 

medicines in care homes and 

family doctor surgeries, known 

as polypharmacy, are beginning 

to end overmedication for people 

with learning disabilities, 

showing what can be done on 

what is an important topic. 

The review will consider 

individual circumstances where 

patients may be most at risk of 

suffering from adverse effects 

from overprescribing. 

The overprescribing of medicines 

can be dangerous for 

older people who often take a 

cocktail of different medicines 

to manage complex health conditions, 

said health 

officials. 

They may suffer 

side effects of their 

medicine regimes 

that lead to them 

falling and being 

admitted to hospital. 

Some patients remain 

for years on repeat 

prescriptions which 

roll over without ever 

being reviewed by 

doctors. 

The British Health Secretary 

said: “Poorly managed prescribing 

can lead to serious 

issues for patients such as 

increased admissions to hospital 

or antibiotic resistance. 

“As we invest an extra 20.5 

billion pounds ($26.1 billion) a 

year into our NHS we want to 

empower doctors and pharmacists 

to use the data available to 

ensure patients get the medicines 

they need and stop taking 

those that no longer benefit 

them.” The survey will also 

look at the role of digital technologies 

in reducing overprescribing 

as well as increasing 

other forms of care, including 

social prescribing. 


21 

Debina, Gurmeet 

to represent India 

at world summit 

Mumbai : Star couple Debina Bonnerjee and 

Gurmeet Choudhary will represent India at a 

world summit to be held in Instanbul, Turkey 

later this month. Debina, an actress and a 

lifestyle blogger, 

will attend the 

INFLOW Global 

Summit 2018, 

which will begin 

from December 17. 

The summit will 

bring together 

social media content 

creators, opinion 

leaders and 

sector professionals 

with brands in 

various sectors for 

informative and 

fun activities. 

Debina started blogging under the name 

'Debina Decodes' last year. 

"It is exciting to be amidst talented people 

from various field across the globe. I started 

blogging out of passion as I always loved to 

document interesting food and places," Debina 

said in a statement. "Since Gurmeet and I travel 

together, most of my travel blogs are with 

him. So, the summit team extended an invite to 

Gurmeet as well as two is always better than 

one and also beneficial for them to reach a bigger 

audience," she added. 

India- East Midlands Business 

relations on the rise 

‘India Derby Business’ 

meeting was hosted by the 

Derby City Council on 27th 

November 2018. Consul 

General, Aman Puri shared 

his insights besides giving an 

update on Indian economy 

stating, ‘though Indian economy 

is highly competitive, it 

provides an enormous opportunity 

for British businesses 

for growth, and returns in the 

long term’ The meeting was 

focussed on identifying the 

successful examples which 

could be used further by 

Derby City Council to influence 

policy, investment and 

drive economic growth 

between India and UK. Cllr. 

Baggy Shanker of Derby 

City Council, moderated the 

meeting and discussed how 

the various sectors in Derby 

can benefit from the huge 

pool of available resources in 

India, the fastest growing 

major economy of the world. 

Leader of Derby City Council Cllr. Chris 

Poulter expressed great satisfaction that the 

signing of Memorandum of Understanding 

between Derby City Council and East 

Midlands Chamber of Commerce with 

Indian Chamber of Commerce – Kolkata in 

January 2018, has resulted in 9 businesses, 

based in and around Derby, to form business 

links with their counter parts in Kolkata. 

Subsequently, Consul General, Aman Puri 

toured the facilities of ‘Rolls Royce – 

Aerospace Centre’ in Derby where Mr Paul 

Harris, Director of Economic Development 

gave an overview of the economic impact of 

Rolls Royce on the aerospace industry, and the 

larger economy. He also highlighted the 

Company’s Indian footprint including work 

which Rolls Royce is currently doing in reaching 

out to a targeted 6 million kids, to kindle 

their interest in STEM (Science, Technology, 

Engineering & Mathematics) courses. In order 

to reach that overall goal, Rolls Royce have 

taken formed partnerships with NGO’s & 

institutions in India where 30,000 students 

have been covered in the programme. 

Dr Puri also visited the facilities of 

‘Bombardier’– a world leading manufacturer 

of trains. Mr Will Tanner, Director Public 

Relations and Public Affairs, Bombardier 

UK, gave an insightful tour of the train manufacturing 

giant, and also presented interesting 

facts on Bombardier & the relationship 

with Delhi Metro. He also highlighted 

the manufacturing taking 

place in India for export to 

Queensland, Australia supporting 

the ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

The day ended with a visit to 

‘Pattonair’ – leading global 

aerospace and defence supply 

chain service provider, where 

Mr Mark Ness, Commercial 

Director focussed on Pattonair’s 

working relations with India 

and how Pattonair is in the 

process of setting up their first 

supply centre in Bangalore. He 

also shared their plans to have 

India as a base to supply to 

other economies. He mentioned 

the support provided by the 

‘Access India Programme’, for 

Pattonair to establish their footprint 

in India. 

To conclude, Consul 

General, Aman Puri lauded the 

efforts of Cllr. Baggy Shanker 

for organising such a fruitful 

visit. Consul General also 

expressed hope that a major ‘ Aerospace 

Conference’ could be hosted at Derby in the 

middle of 2019, which will further strengthen 

India and East Midlands business relationship. 

Midlands Engine had supported a 

Trade Mission to India in October, 2018, 

during which Secretary of State Rt. Hon. 

James Brokenshire was accompanied by 

Mayor Andy Street, and Sir John Peace, 

Chairman of Midlands Engine. Consulate 

will be supporting the next Midands Trade 

Mission to India, and will encourage British 

Small and Medium Enterprises from East 

Midlands to join in large numbers to explore 

first hand, the amazing opportunities available 

in India. 

CBI books Delhi firm, 

its directors for Rs 

10,000 crore fraud 

New Delhi, The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered 

a case against a Delhi-based chit fund company and its 

directors for cheating lakhs of investors to the tune of Rs 10,000 

crore by promising to double their investment in a year. 

The CBI booked Karol Bagh-based firm tviexpress.com and its 

promoters and directors Tarun Trikha, Varun Trikha, Veena Trikha, 

Sikha Trikha, Shakti Sharad, Anoop Kumar and Kabita Ganguly 

under charges of cheating, forgery and violation of the Securities 

and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) guidelines. 

It was alleged that the firm was engaged in the business of share 

trading, commodities trading, holiday package booking and airticketing 

without any legal sanction or approval required under law. 

“The firm and its functionaries have been accused of collecting 

money in the name of Pacific Royal Airlines. They siphoned and 

misappropriated more than Rs 10,000 crore of investors’ funds by 

inducing them to invest in their schemes by offering double returns 

on their investments within a year. But these promised returns were 

never paid back,” the investors’ complaint alleged. 

“The accused had created a software through which it was promised 

that investors can redeem their investments, but it never 

worked.” 

The CBI’s move comes after the Supreme Court’s May 9, 2014 

order to probe all chit fund companies. The case was earlier being 

probed by the West Bengal Police.


WORLD 


It’s that time of the year. You find 

yourself single, while all your friends 

seem to have plans. And, the New 

Year’s Eve is hurtling towards you 

faster than you thought. If your New 

Year’s resolution was ‘not be date-less 

on New Year’s Eve’ and it has not 

fructified yet, then hold on, it isn’t all 

that bad. There are still a few weeks to 

go and many nights and days to set the 

ball rolling by being in the right place. 

Here are a few ways to get yourself 

a date: 

Make socialising a priority. Take 

the opportunity to attend every social 

gig you are invited to. The more invitations 

you accept and go to, higher 

are the chances of meeting new people. 

Throw your own party and ask 

your friends to bring along a friend. 

The best way to meet more new people 

is to get your social network to 

invite people in their network. The 

possibility of meeting someone new 

or being introduced to someone, 

expands and all of this at your own 

party. 

Tap into your own social network. 

If you notice someone who is always 

on your timeline and is supporting 

your posts with great comments or 

likes the same things you do and you 

have a liking for them, perhaps meeting 

them offline may not be a bad 

idea. Try a coffee meet-up so you get 

to know each other better and then 

take it ahead either ways from thereon. 

Become a regular at a coffee shop. 

There are many people hanging out at 

cafes or operating their business from 

Transatlantic flight guarantee as UK and 

Canada agree new air arrangement 

Planes flying from the UK 

will continue to enjoy the same 

access they currently have. 

Transport Secretary 

announces arrangement between 

UK and Canada guaranteeing 

vital routes will remain in place 

once the UKleaves the EU 

the arrangement provides certainty 

for businesses, allowing 

trade to continue driving tens of 

billions pounds into the UK 

economy 

builds on the successful conclusion 

of the government’s air 

services arrangement with the 

United States 

Millions of passengers will be 

able to enjoy the same access to 

transatlantic routes once the UK 

leaves the EU. 

The Transport Secretary 

Chris Grayling has today (30 

November 2018) announced that 

the UK has reached a new air 

6 Tips to snag a date 

for New Year’s Eve 

there. Schedule 

a specific time 

to become a 

regular, be it 

for a fortnight 

or a week. I’ve 

seen strangers 

becoming 

familiar when 

you’ve seen 

them a few 

times. It 

prompts conversations 

and 

possibly the 

development of 

a new friendship. 

Take the 

time to reach 

out and get to 

know someone. 

Dive into online dating. Where can 

you can meet men and women 24/7? 

The ‘cuffing season” or the period 

between December and January sees 

peak traffic in the online dating scene. 

Choose apps that have the most traffic 

like Tinder, Match, Plentyoffish, or 

OKCupid. A word of caution, though 

talk to them before meeting. Go with 

services arrangement with 

Canada which will see flights 

continue between the 2 nations 

post Brexit. The deal ensures 

that planes flying from the UK 

will continue to enjoy the same 

access they currently have with 

Canada, helping the UK maintain 

its place as Europe’s most 

important aviation hub. 

Transport Secretary Chris 

Grayling said: This new aviation 

agreement between the UK and 

Canada will further strengthen 

the strong economic and cultural 

bonds shared between our countries. 

International cooperation is 

essential to a thriving economy 

and this latest arrangement continues 

to build momentum for 

the UK as we leave the EUand 

take a more prominent position 

on the world stage. Since 2012, 

the number of passengers travelling 

between the UK and Canada 

your intuition if something seems off 

about a profile or the person. 

Use Matchmakers. In case you are 

wary of online dating then apps such 

as OkSasha and Three Day Rule could 

help where the matchmakers meet you 

in person at singles events and operate 

on setting you up using the traditional 

and personalized methods. Tawkify 

has been steadily increasing with 

more than 3 and a half million 

people travelling between the 2 

countries last year. 

Today’s announcement with 

Canada is another step forward 

as the UKcontinues to build on 

an important trade relationship 

which saw goods worth £17.5 

billion traded between the 2 

countries last year. 

It follows the government’s 

recent announcement of a new 

air services arrangement with the 

United States, guaranteeing passenger 

journeys and further bolstering 

a trade relationship worth 

£50 billion. The deal will replace 

the existing EU aviation agreement 

which is currently in place, 

providing passengers and businesses 

with the guarantee that 

they will continue to enjoy the 

same access they currently have 

with Canada. 

UK MP quits 

in protest at 

May’s Brexit 

deal: Report 

London, The UK’s minister 

for universities and science 

Sam Gyimah has resigned in 

protest at Theresa May’s Brexit 

deal, it was reported here on 

Friday. 

Local newspaper The Daily 

Telegraph reported that 

Gyimah called the Brexit deal 

“naive” and said any deal 

struck with Brussels will be 

“EU first”, reports Xinhua 

news agency. 

The Conservative MP has 

become the seventh member of 

the Government to quit since 

May unveiled the draft 

Withdrawal Agreement. 

Gyimah said the plan was 

“not in the British national 

interest” and that voting for it 

would “set ourselves up for 

failure” by surrendering “our 

voice, our vote and our veto”. 

He said that May should not 

rule out holding a second referendum, 

The Daily Telegraph 

reported. 

picks your matches, using algorithms 

and when you become a client, they 

pair you with a personal matchmaker 

who will help assess the compatibility 

for dates. 

Once you have established a relationship 

of sorts, when you ask what 

they are doing for New Year’s, you 

are likely to get one of the three 

‘Purging’ voter list BJP’s old 

trick to win elections : AAP 

answers. 

They have set plans like heading to 

Goa or London. In which case, you 

can move on. 

They don’t have any plans. That is 

your cue to suggest if you both could 

do something together. Why waste an 

opportunity? 

They have plans which are fluid. 

Which means the probability of you 

being invited along are high! 

While these are a few ways to hitch 

yourself a date, if you feel the tug of 

resistance, I’d recommend you hang 

out with your closest buddies. Most of 

them don’t care whether you come 

along with a date or not. They would 

be more than happy to be with you. 

And, if that still doesn’t vibe. Date 

yourself. It’s the best thing you can 

gift yourself and release the pressure 

to perform for the sake of some ‘societal 

norm’. 

There is no law stating that you 

have to have a date for New Year’s 

Eve. 

Author: 

FARZANA SURI, 

Victory Coach 

New Delhi, The Aam Aadmi 

Party (AAP) on Wednesday 

alleged that the BJP has always 

been deleting “unfavourable” 

voters’ names from the electoral 

list in order to win the elections 

and that they are doing it again 

with an eye on the upcoming 

Lok Sabha elections. 

“To delete those people’s 

names from the electoral list 

who do not support the BJP is 

the party’s tried and tested strategy. 

Using this strategy, they 

have been winning the elections 

in Gujarat and now, they are 

doing the same in Delhi,” AAP’s 

East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency 

in-charge Atishi told 

the media here. The AAP government 

has been actively raising 

this issue ever since they 

found that about 30 lakh names 

of voters — particularly those of 

Baniya, Muslim and Purvanchali 

community — were axed from 

the electoral list, allegedly on the 

direction of the Bharatiya Janta 

Party (BJP). She added: “The 

BJP, which has always been victimising 

the Muslims, has categorised 

the Baniyas and 

Purvanchalis as the second 

Muslim community in Delhi.” 

Atishi went on to slam Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi for his 

approach towards the voters’ 

deletion matter and said that it is 

“Modi ji’s responsibility to fight 

for the fundamental right of the 

30 lakh voters of Delhi”. “Are 

Baniyas and Purvanchalis not a 

part of this country? Do they not 

deserve their right to vote?” she 

said. Giving data on the number 

of deleted voters from each community, 

she said that in Jangpura 

in south Delhi alone names of 

27,443 voters have been deleted 

from the list. “Of this, 5,300 are 

Baniyas, 4,900 Muslims and 

8,500 are Purvanchalis.” 

In Okhla, she said, 46,700 

voters have been removed — 

30,000 Muslims, 11,000 

Purvanchalis and 5,700 Baniyas. 

The AAP had downloaded the 

deleted voters’ list from the 

Election Commission’s website 

a few days back, following 

which they analysed the whole 

list and found the discrepancy.


WORLD 


23 

V P SINGH : The man who gave the 

biggest jolt to politics of dominance 

At the time when we are facing difficult 

political situation and even when 

the people of the country seems to have 

made up their mind to defeat the sectarian 

communal forces, the political parties 

seems to be still calculating their 

petty interests and not focusing on joining 

hand to defeat the forces against our 

constitution and civility. Not that they 

should not think about their interests but 

it is equally important to look at the 

broader issues of endangered polity and 

how can they fight it together. 

Many corrupt deals at the highest 

level have been exposed. The message 

is going to the people that a few corporate 

have gained yet corruption still has 

not become the major issue today. The 

reason for this are simple. The people 

who are raising it, may be new but have 

a lot of burden of their legacies of the 

past from which they have benefited 

and hence unless if they are unable to 

take an unbiased stand on that, it would 

be difficult. 

Today we are remembering a man 

who passed on in silence when Mumbai 

saw an attack on its identity on 

November 26, 2008, and people and 

media were glued to watch live the terrorist 

attempt to attack our constitution, 

the man who had influenced India’s 

polity more than any one else at least in 

the independent India, passed away in 

Delhi without much knowledge of the 

media and people. Yes, V P Singh went 

into silence permanently on November 

27th without much remembrance by 

media as well as his associates who benefited 

from him and his politics. V P 

Singh created history everywhere he 

went. And his fight against corruption 

particularly against those who were 

holding the high offices as well as 

against the corrupt crony industrialists 

gave country a hope. The people listened 

to him and felt he was the genuinely 

interested in eliminating corruption. 

Corruption became the issue 

of the people. Many ‘experts’ feel 

that Bofors was not a big scandal 

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat 

social and human rights activist 

and they are correct if we compare 

it to the alleged corruption in the 

Rafale deal or any other deals but we 

need to understand as why despite a 

huge scandal this has not become the 

major issue among the masses. Are the 

people asking questions on Rafale as 

they were during the Bofors time. 

Perhaps not that much. 

To understand this phenomena we 

need to understand that there is no 

magic wand to convert an issue into a 

national obsession. V P Singh unlike 

others was actually a politician whose 

relationship with people was immense. 

He was extraordinary simple and honest. 

That apart, his access to common 

karykartas and local political leaders, 

student leaders, communities, intellectuals, 

civil society people made him 

remarkably a different person. In the 

post emergency India, there are very 

few political leaders who had respect 

for intellectuals and creative persons 

and VP was one among them. As the 

polity became too individualistic and 

politicians became brand themselves, 

the other things disappeared. Party 

became the main thing while promoting 

and encouraging young leaders side 

tracked. I have not seen after that when 

political leaders were engaged directly 

with students and encouraging young 

leaders to join politics. So much happened 

in the past four years. Our campuses 

were on fire and there was a huge 

resentment but who organisesd this 

huge chunk of youngsters dissatisfied 

with the current system. Where is the 

link between the civil society, the intellectuals 

and students leaders. Those 

who should have been doing it are silent 

while those who want to change constitution 

and do away with it, have been 

engaged dong it. 

The parties of social justice and those 

who are dedicated to the ideals of 

Ambedkar, Lohia and other legends 

need to engage more with civil society 

organisations, intellectuals, students and 

communities to create new leadership. 

We need multiplicity of 

leaders and not merely 

those few who can fight 

elections. The world is 

changing and can not be 

confined to those who 

contest a few elections. It 

is much bigger than that. 

The crisis today is of 

the highly inaccessibility 

of the political class. 

Count any of the great 

leaders of our time and 

you will find few things 

in common. You may 

agree or disagree with 

them but their connect 

with masses remained. 

They created new leaders, 

from absolutely 

untested one and provided 

opportunities. 

Ideologically they were 

clear. You 

can count 

very few of 

them. V P 

Singh was 

one among 

them. Late 

Kanshiram 

created the 

whole movement and 

absolutely dedicated 

team of Ambedkarite all 

over the country. All this 

does not come without a 

clear and unambiguous 

ideology. That apart, all 

of them remained 

absolutely uncorrupted. 

None could purchase 

them. They remained 

humble to the core. 

So, if the issue of corruption 

has to be a major 

issue then the communication 

too is important. 

The communicator 

should too be clear in 

absolute term whether he 

would be selective in 

choosing target or would 

talk about himself. V P 

remained honest in his 

personal lives because if 

todays leaders who are deep neck in 

corruption want to speak about it, people 

dont listen to them. Rahul is young 

and making efforts but they fall short 

because of Congress Party’s own track 

record have never been that clean particularly 

after Indira Gandhi. Nehruvian 

Congress was not merely secular but 

also ideologically committed and clean 

unlike the gangs promoted by Sanjay 

Gandhi and like him. 

The politics 

changed afterwards. 

The crisis of 

being V P is many. 

It is a lesson for all. 

One, when we 

fight ideological 

battle, it is difficult. 

You wont get 

many. In our society, 

most of our allegiance 

to our people 

is our caste, community, religious and 

regional linkages and associations. If 

you venture beyond this then you might 

get isolated. V P Singh ventured beyond 

that and lost in the din of noise of politics 

which became a family venture or 

private limited companies with chamchas 

all around. He did not have a 

strong party network. I tried to cobble 

together various groups and parties but 

that will only work when any one has a 

The crisis today is of the highly 

inaccessibility of the political class. Count 

any of the great leaders of our time and you will 

find few things in common. You may agree or 

disagree with them but their connect with masses 

remained. They created new leaders, from 

absolutely untested one and provided opportunities. 

Ideologically they were clear. You can 

count very few of them. V P Singh was one 

among them. Late Kanshiram created the whole 

movement and absolutely dedicated team of 

Ambedkarite all over the country. 

feeling of coming 

to power 

otherwise 

these associations 

are 

bound to 

fail. 

It is 

important 

for all of us 

to learn from 

the experiences, 

failure 

and success 

stories of all those who matter in our 

political lives. Attempt have been made 

by people to ignore and forget V P 

Singh but perhaps his relevance will 

remain as ever and none can deny his 

space in the history of India as a leader 

who changed the destinies of millions 

and gave the brahmanical polity the 

unrecoverable jolt of its life.


WORLD 


Amarinder sees bigger design of Pak Army in Kartarpur affair 

Chandigarh, Dec 9 (IANS) 

Dubbing the whole affair initiated 

by Pakistan on the 

Kartarpur corridor as a "bigger 

conspiracy" hatched by the 

Pakistan Army, Punjab Chief 

Minister Captain Amarinder 

Singh said the hostile neighbour 

is trying to revive militancy 

in Punjab but it will not be 

allowed to succeed. 

Citing that Pakistan Army 

chief General Qamar Javed 

Bajwa had "broken the news of 

opening the Kartarpur Corridor 

to Navjot Singh Sidhu even 

before Imran Khan was sworn 

in as their Prime Minister", 

Amarinder said the whole affair 

smacked of a bigger conspiracy. 

"The opening of the 

Kartarpur corridor is clearly a 

game plan of the ISI (Pakistan's 

Inter-Services Intelligence). A 

bigger conspiracy seems to 

have been hatched by Pakistan 

Army against India. Pakistan is 

attempting to revive militancy 

in Punjab and thus everyone 

should be wary of all of its 

overtures, no matter how grand 

they appear to be," Amarinder 

told a TV news channel. 

Ex-Indian diplomat 

elected to UN’s 

socio-economic, cultural panel 

United Nations, Former senior Indian 

diplomat Preeti Saran has been elected 

unopposed to an Asia Pacific seat on the 

Committee on Economic, Social and 

Cultural Rights (CESCR) of the UN. 

The UN’s Economic and Social Council 

(ECOSOC) elected the recently-retired 

External Affairs 

Ministry Secretary 

(East) by acclamation 

on Wednesday 

to the 18-member 

committee of 

experts that monitors 

the implementation 

of the 

International 

Covenant on 

Economic, Social 

and Cultural 

Rights (ICESR). 

Saran will 

begin her four-year 

term on January 1, 

after another former 

Indian diplomat, Chandrashekhar 

Dasgupta, completes his third term on the 

CESCR at the end of this year. 

After Saran’s election, India’s 

Permanent Representative Syed 

Akbaruddin tweeted: “Thanks to all our 

friends for electing by acclamation India’s 

candidate Amb. Preeti Saran…” 

Members of the CESCR serve in their 

personal capacities as experts and do not 

represent their countries even though they 

may have been nominated by their own 

nation. India was elected in October to the 

UN Human Rights Council, where the representation 

is by countries and not individuals. 

It received 188 votes in the 193-member 

General Assembly, the highest number 

polled by any of the contestants. 

When the rotating elections for the nine 

members to start their terms next year on 

"The Sidhu affair is being 

unnecessarily hyped and those 

raising it have clearly failed to 

see the ISI game plan, said 

Amarinder, lashing out at the 

Akalis for branding the Punjab 

Minister as stooge of the 

Pakistan Prime Minister," the 

Chief Minister's spokesperson 

said here on Sunday. 

Dismissing the issue as 

"nothing more than a credit 

war", Amarinder lambasted the 

Akalis and the Bharatiya Janata 

Party (BJP) central leadership 

"for indulging in unwarranted 

controversy over his (Chief 

Minister's) relations with Sidhu 

in a bid to divert public attention 

from the core issue of 

Pakistan's continued and deliberate 

perpetration of terror 

activities in Punjab with the 

ultimate aim of destabilising 

the border state". 

Amarinder said in the interview 

that the demand for opening 

of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor 

was pending since partition 

as several holy Sikh shrines (Sri 

Nankana Sahib, Sri Panja Sahib, 

Dera Sahib and Kartarpur 

Sahib) had gone to Pakistan. 

"Even former Prime Ministers 

Indira Gandhi and Dr 

Manmohan Singh had taken up 

the issue of opening the 

Kartarpur Corridor with 

Pakistan. I had myself raised 

this issue with my Pakistan 

Punjab counterpart Parvez Elahi 

and with then 

President Parvez 

Musharraf during my 

previous tenure as 

Chief Minister," 

Amarinder pointed 

out. The Chief 

Minister said 

Pakistan Prime 

Minister Imran Khan 

"is undoubtedly making 

efforts to bring 

peace, tranquility and harmony 

with India", but at the same time 

he should also prevail upon the 

top brass of Pakistani Army to 

ensure that killings of Indian 

soldiers at borders are stopped 

immediately. 

Asked why he opted not to 

go to Pakistan for the groundbreaking 

ceremony of the 

Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, 

Amarinder said he declined the 

invite because he could not 

the CESCR was held in April, Heisoo Shin 

of South Korea was re-elected but the Asia 

Pacific region did not have a nominee for 

the second seat leading to the postponement 

of the election for it. 

While any country from the Asian 

Pacific group was free to put up a candidate 

for that seat, none did 

deferring to India, 

according to diplomatic 

sources. In 

November, India 

nominated Saran, who 

had retired from the 

foreign service in 

September, and her 

nomination was circulated 

to UN members 

by Secretary-General 

Antonio Guterres on 

November 23, paving 

the the way for 

Wednesday’s delayed 

election. Saran’s election 

will add a woman 

to the CESCR, which has been criticised for 

having only five women on the 18-member 

panel. An international NGO, the Global 

Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural 

Rights, which monitors the CESCR, commented 

earlier in 2018, “Unfortunately the 

gender balance on the Committee remains 

poor.” “States should be very concerned by 

this gender imbalance on a UN human 

rights treaty body, particularly given the 

Committee’s mandate to monitor implementation 

of States obligations to ensure 

the equal right of men and women to the 

enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural 

rights,” it said. CESCR was set up in 

1985 by the ECOSOC to monitor on its 

behalf the implementation of the 

International Covenant on Economic, 

Social and Cultural Rights, which has been 

ratified by 169 countries. 

think of going there while 

Indian soldiers and civilians 

were being killed by the 

Pakistan Army. 

On the issue of Navjot 

Sidhu's visit to Pakistan for the 

ground-breaking ceremony, the 

Chief Minister said he had told 

Sidhu that he had 

declined the invite 

by writing a letter to 

the Pakistan 

Minister for foreign 

affairs, and had also 

shared a copy of the 

same on the social 

media. Despite his 

advice against 

going to Pakistan, 

Sidhu went ahead 

due to his friendship with 

Imran Khan," said the Chief 

Minister, adding that "this was 

not unreasonable". He said that 

he himself has many friends 

there, including former 

Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister 

Parvez Elahi. 

"We had been meeting frequently 

during my previous 

tenure and Elahi had also been 

coming to meet me in Patiala," 

Amarinder said. 

Downplaying the controversy 

around his rumoured feud 

with Sidhu, Amarinder said 

Navjot Sidhu is a "likeable person" 

and he shares warm ties 

with even Sidhu's parents when 

the cricketer-turned-minister's 

father was president of Patiala 

district Congress unit and his 

(Amarinder's) mother 

Mohinder Kaur was the 

Member of Parliament from 

Patiala. The Chief Minister said 

that he and Sidhu "were not at 

loggerheads as reported by the 

media and he has absolutely no 

problems with Sidhu in running 

the government". 

Amarinder said that Sidhu 

always speaks in a forthright 

manner and his only problem is 

that "sometimes he shoots 

before he thinks". Responding 

to another question regarding 

Sidhu's remarks that Rahul 

Gandhi is his captain, the Chief 

Minister said that this was 

hardly any issue to be raised as 

Sidhu has always treated him 

(Amarinder) as a "fatherly figure". 

Amarinder Singh warned 

Pakistan against carrying on its 

nefarious designs and urged it 

to desist from trying to foment 

trouble in Punjab. 

"General Bajwa should 

understand that Punjab Police 

is fully geared up to take 

Pakistan head-on, if it continues 

to vitiate peaceful atmosphere 

of the state through terror. 

Bajwa is sadly mistaken in 

underestimating the unbounded 

capacities and capabilities of 

Punjab Police in facing any 

daunting challenge," the Chief 

Minister said. 

He advised Bajwa "not to 

compare Punjab with the 1970s 

and 1980s when its police force 

was a meager 16000-17000".A 

"The force now is well 

equipped with high tech 

weapons and ammunition, 

along with professionally committed 

commando battalions 

and the Punjab Armed Force, to 

effectively tackle any challenging 

task," the Chief Minister 

asserted. Reiterating his government's 

commitment to break 

the backbone of terrorism, 

Amarinder said that no one 

would be allowed to push 

Punjab back into the black days 

of terrorism.

December 2018

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