Hyderabad, Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Indian
[email protected]
RNI No: APENG/2010/35309
www.indianhorizon.org
Volume
Issue No: 182
No: 6
Horizon
English Daily
In memory of Dr Asima Kemal and Prof. Dr. Salim W Kemal
Published from Hyderabad & New Delhi
Sandra asked to
appear before ACB
on Monday
Hyderabad, Sunday, July 5, 2015
Modi to visit five
Central Asian nations,
Russia next week
P-2
Briefs
Iftar - 7:00
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Former
IPL chief Lalit Modi has alleged
that Congress vice-president Rahul
Gandhi and his brother-in-law Robert Vadra were beneficiaries during
his tenure as IPL commissioner.
Congress sources, however,
dismissed the allegations and
termed them baseless.
Congress leader Ajay Maken
said Lalit Modi was trying to help
the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Lalit Modi late Friday posted on
Twitter a couple of his pictures
with Rahul Gandhi and Robert
Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress
president Sonia Gandhi, in the
same frame.
Modi tweeted: “I hope @OfficeOfRG (office of Rahul Gandhi)
informed @INCIndia that he was
a beneficiary of my hospitality. He
sat in my box.”
The picture, which appears to be
from an IPL match, also has Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, his
wife Gauri Khan and actress Deepika Padukone along with others.
Modi also asked if they (Rahul
Gandhi and Vadra) had declared it
to the Congress leadership.
Modi, who has been described as
a “fugitive” by the Congress and is
wanted by the Enforcement Direc-
torate for alleged financial impropriety, tweeted: “My Q to #rahulgandhi and #robertvadra did you
ever receive any hospitality from @
lalitkmodi - and did u declare it to @
INCIndia #lalitgate.”
Congress spokesperson Maken,
however, accused Lalit Modi of trying to help the BJP through the pictures. “Chotta Modi is trying to help
Bada Modi by tweeting images to
help the ruling party,” Maken said.
Posting the photographs, Lalit
Modi also said they were not altered.
Lalit Modi also tweeted in response of a tweeter handler:
I was also a sapling of Siddipet nursery
and striving for uplift of poor: KCR
Washington, July 4 (IANS): Noted Indian
conservation biologist Kamal Bawa will be
formally admitted to the prestigious Royal Society as a fellow on July 10 for his “pioneering
contributions to understanding the population biology of tropical forest trees”.
India-born Bawa, an internationally recognised evolutionary ecologist and a distinguished professor of biology at the University
of Massachusetts, Boston, was elected a fellow of the London-based society in April, according to a university media release.
Bawa joins former and current fellows such as
Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein,
Stephen Hawking, and about 80 Nobel laureates. Established in 1660, each year the Royal
Society’s existing fellowship proposes about 700
candidates for election, and then elects up to 52
fellows from England and the Commonwealth
countries, and up to 10 foreign fellows.
Siddipet (Medak), July 4 (NSS):
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar
Rao today reiterated that he would
wash the feet of the people of Siddipet with Godavari waters in about
three years.
Launching Telangana DeekHyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today
sha Pylon at Siddipet as part of the
offered sops to Husnabad Mandal in Karimnagar district. Every village
prestigious Haritha Haram–greenwill get Rs 10 lakh each for developmental works like construction of
nalas, laying roads and others.
ery program here on Saturday, the
The Chief Minister also offered Rs 1 crore to Husnabad mandal and
Chief Minister promised to keep all
stated that he will not ask votes from the people if he failed to keep the
the promises of converting the town
promises. KCR lashed out at the previous governments for destroying
into a district, distributing irrigathe rural pockets in all sectors.
tion waters to Siddipet connecting it
Addressing a public meeting at Husnabad in Karimnagar district
with railway transportation facility.
along with Finance Minister E Rajender and others on the second day
Describing himself as a “Plant of
of Harithaharam project, KCR said that the previous Governments deliberately dumped the region from development and failed to protect
Siddipet Nursery” now grown up
the interests of the people. “I am ready to give you required funds to
into a tree giving shade (providtake up the developmental works on a war footing”, he said, adding
ing succor) to people, KCR said the
that sarpanches of the respective villages will play a hero role and inspread of greenery will help bring
volve local officials, KCR asserted. The aim of the project is to improve
rains and send monkeys back to the
greenery in villages and towns to attract rains and flourish agriculture
woods. He also accused the previsector, he said. He said that the people should cooperate with the govous governments of neglecting the
ernment to take up afforestation program on a grand scale.
greenery, which led to pollution and
scorching weather like summer. tarily to make sure that the greenery time and send back monkeys to the
“The people should turn up volun- expands manifold to bring rains on forests”, KCR said.
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Pages 12 + 4 pull out (P16)
Price: 3.00
Greece Finance
Minister accuses
creditors of terrorism
P-8
P-5
Indian scientist Kamal
Bawa elected fellow of
Royal Society
Sensex
Postal Registration Order No HD/1188/2014-16
Lalit Modi alleges Rahul Gandhi was
beneficiary of his hospitality
Ramdan Timings
Sahar - 4:14
[email protected]
KCR offers Rs 1 cr to
Husnabad; Rs 10 lakh each
for 121 gram panchayats
Dawood’s surrender offer was
conditional, so rejected: Pawar
Mumbai, July 4 (IANS): NCP chief
Sharad Pawar on Saturday said lawyer Ram Jethmalani had contacted
him over mafia don Dawood Ibrahim’s readiness to surrender in
the 1990s when Pawar was Maharashtra chief minister but the don
had put forward conditions which
were not acceptable. The conditions put forth for the surrender by
the don were not acceptable to the
state government and hence it was
rejected, the Nationalist Congress
Party president told media persons here. The incident took place
when Pawar -- who then belonged
to the Congress party -- was the
Israel thanks India
for abstaining on
UNHRC vote
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Israel
on Saturday thanked India for not
voting on an “anti-Israel bashing”
UNHRC resolution, which sources
said was a result of Tel Aviv’s sustained talks with the Indian leadership over the past year.
Israeli envoy to India Daniel
chief minister. “It is true that Ram
Jethmalani had given the proposal
about Dawood’s willingness to surrender. But, there was the condition
that he should not be kept in jail. He
wanted to remain in a house. This
was not acceptable to us, we said he
must face the law,” Pawar said.
The NCP supremo was reacting
to Jethmalani’s charge that the state
government rejected an offer by
Dawood to return to India and go
under house arrest as he feared for
his life in a jail, as well as guarantees
that he would not be subjected to
third-degree torture by the Indian
authorities.
Carmon tweeted his appreciation.
“We appreciate votes by members
of @UN_HRC, including #India,
who did not support yet another
anti Israel bashing resolution. We
thank them.”
On Friday, India abstained on
a United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) resolution condemning Israel over a UN report
into the alleged war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict
“That will never happen I am not
into politics. But a NGO next stop.
And never Modi vs Modi. Modi vs
Gandhi yes.”
He was asked by a twitter handler @karmritesh: “Support for
@LalitKModi is growing in the
runup to clean cricket & politics;
going to see #ModiVsModi in next
Election! #CongressMuktBharat.”
He has been tweeting regularly,
often implying nothing more than
a meeting with political figures.
Earlier, Lalit Modi tweeted that he
“bumped into” Congress president
Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka
and her husband Robert Vadra in a
London restaurant last year.
He had also tweeted that Congress leader Kapil Sibal had chatted over three days during a wedding in Istanbul.
Lalit Modi’s links with External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje have kicked off a
political storm, with the Congress
demanding their resignations.
Lalit Modi has continued his belligerent attack on leaders across
party lines, dragging BJP MP Varun
Gandhi and Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley as well as Congress MP Rajeev Shukla into the controversy.
Women scoop top four
ranks in UPSC exam
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Women scooped the top four ranks
in the civil services exam results
declared by the Union Public
Services Commission (UPSC) on
Saturday, officials said.
A total number of 1,236
candidates have been recommended for appointment to the
Indian Administrative Service,
Indian Foreign Service, Indian
Police Service and Central Services Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’,
the UPSC said.
Of the top five candidates,
four are women - Ira Singhal
(1), Renu Raj (2), Nishi Gupta
(3) and Vandana Rao (4). Singhal is from Delhi.
It was for the first time that
the final results were declared
within four days of the closing
date of the interviews.
Conducted by the UPSC annually in three stages -- preliminary, mains and interviews
- the examination took place
on August 24, 2014 at 2,137
venues at 59 centres across the
country. Of the 9.45 lakh candidates who applied, about 4.51
lakh were cleared to sit for the
examination. A total of 16,933
candidates qualified for the
main examination which was
held in December, 2014. A total
of 1,364 posts have to be filled
through the examination.
Confident about
renewed energy in
India-US ties: Modi
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted the people of US
on the occasion of their 239th Independence Day and said he was
“extremely excited and confident
about the renewed energy” in India-US ties.
“Dearest sisters and brothers of
US, on the occasion of Independence Day, I convey my warm
wishes to you all. The ties between
India and US are time tested and
connected by shared values. We are
both vibrant democracies and remain very proud of our democratic
framework,” he said in a message.
- marking a significant change in
India’s stance.
But India also stated that “there
is no change in New Delhi’s longstanding position on support to the
Palestinian cause”.
Forty-one of the 47 UNHRC
council members voted in favour of
the resolution, including the eight
sitting EU members: France, Germany, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia and Estonia.
Renu Raj who got the Second rank in the Civil Services Exams 2014, celebrates her succes with the family at the their
residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. (PTI Photo)
AP govt to probe
alleged corruption in
housing scheme
Hyderabad, Jul 4 (PTI): The Andhra Pradesh government today
decided to conduct vigilance inquiry into the alleged corruption
in housing scheme in the state.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
“In other decisions, the Cabinet decided to conduct a vigilance
inquiry into the alleged corruption in poor people housing in the
state” Labour Minister K Atchannaidu told reporters.
“Approximately, Rs 5,500 crores has been looted in 10 years
(during 2004-2014) in housing,” he said, adding the allegedly looted money would be recovered under the revenue recovery act.
Recalling that the government decided to implement pre-fabricated method for construction of 6,500 houses in areas hit by
hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam region last year, he said the
same model would be adopted across the state if it is found to
be good. The government also decided to make Aadhar linkage
compulsory for all departments with regard to implementation of
welfare and development programmes, the minister said.
2
Indian Horizon, Hyderabad
City
Short Takes
Sandra asked to appear
before ACB on Monday
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): The Telangana
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which was
investigating into the infamous cash-forvote case, today issued a fresh notice to another TDP MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah.
In its notice, the ACB asked Sandra to
appear before it before 5 pm on Monday.
The notice was pasted by ACB officials as
the MLA was not present at his residence
at MLA Quarters.
It may be mentioned here that Sandra,
who played hide-and-seek game for some
time, informed the agency that he would
be available whenever the ACB asked him
to come. He sent a letter to the ACB after
being discharged from a hospital.
GITAM Student selected
for Internship in Boeing
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): GITAM School
of Technology (GST), Hyderabad, B.Tech.
Aerospace Engineering student Nikhila
Prasad G.K. has selected for internship in
the prestigious Boeing International Corporation. GST Director Prof. N.Siva Prasad
informed in a press release on Saturday.
Seven students were shortlisted for
this internship across the nation. Except
Nikhila, all are from various IITs across
India. During the internship the selected
students will get a sum of Rs.25,000/- per
month as stipend. Nikhila Prasad has involved in three projects during her internship.
GST Principal Prof. Ch.Sanjay, Resident
Director DVVSR Varma, Aerospace Engineering HoD Prof. N.V.Swamy Naidu, other HoDs and faculty have appreciated the
student on her outstanding achievement.
Diggy calls KCR ‘new
Nizam of Hyderabad’
New Delhi, July 4 (NSS): AICC leader incharge of AP and Telangana States Digvijay Singh here on Saturday dubbed Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao
as New Nizam of Hyderabad for acquiring
a brand new Rs 5-crore Mercedes bulletproof bus.
Digvijay Singh, in a twitter, stated that
the New Nizam of Hyderabad has no
money to fulfill his election promises, but
could afford a Mercedes bullet-proof bus
worth Rs 5 crore.
KCR taking ‘useless’
men into TRS: VH
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Congress senior leader and Rajya Sabha member V
Hanumantha Rao has charged TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar
Rao with taking “useless” people into his
party.
Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan here on Saturday, VH alleged that
the former APCC chief D Srinivas, being
a BC leader, failed to groom a BC person
as leader of the Congress party. He further alleged that D. Srinivas used to sell
B-forms when he was APCC chief. “D
Srinivas worked as a covert to TRS then”,
he alleged. He exuded confidence that former minister Danam Nagender would not
leave the party.Stating that the Congress
would go to the people against BJP’s corruption and cash-for-vote issues, VH said
he asked the TPCC to stage dharnas in districts from July 10 to 20.
Earlier, VH, along with former minister
R Damodar Reddy removed the photos of
former APCC chiefs — D Srinivas, K Keshav Rao and Botcha Sathyanarayana from
the Gandhi Bhavan.
Marri seeks removal of
Narasimhan
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Reiterating
that continuance of Talasani Srinivas Yadav in Telangana Cabinet was in violation
of Constitution, former MLA from Sanathnagar constituency Marri Shashidhar Reddy dashed off a letter to the Centre three
days ago asking it to remove Governor ESL
Narasimhan for his failure to discharge his
functions properly. He said a delegation
of Congress leaders would meet the President and plead for removal of the Governor.
Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan here on Saturday, Marri alleged that
the Governor ignored the Supreme Court
judgments too with regard to Talasani
Srinivas Yadav’s issue. The Governor was
ignoring the improper activities of the
TRS in encouraging defections, he said.
He had urged the Centre to remove ESL
Narasimhan from his post to protect the
Constitution. He also alleged that the Governor too was indirectly encouraging party
defections and violated the X Schedule of
Constitution. He said he would request
the President for the removal of Governor.
Ramana accuses KCR of
witch-hunting Oppn
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Telangana
TDP leader L Ramana has charged Chief
Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao with
adopting hostile attitude towards the Opposition parties in the State during the
past one year. “At least now, KCR should
mend his attitude after President Pranab
Mukherjee’s advice and work for development of the State.
Speaking to the media, the TDP leader
said after issuing notification for MLC
elections, KCR was on warpath against
the Opposition parties instead of paying attention to the administration. He
also lamented that even Central schemes
were not being implemented properly and
15,000 workers were agitating for the last
one month due to tardy implementation
of Employment Guarantee Scheme in the
State.
Another TDP leader Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy has alleged that KCR was
creating more problems instead of resolving them amicably.
BJP men rejoice formation
of party OBC Morcha
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): The BJP leaders and activists here on Saturday rejoiced
formation of a separate ‘OBC” Morcha by
party president Amit Shah and distributed sweets at Telangana BJP headquarters
here.
Party leaders N Indrasena Reddy, Dasari
Mallesham, Pusala Brahmachari, Gade
Raghunandan, Gopalji, K Narasimhulu,
Sadanandam, D Srinivas, Sripati Kirti,
Vinod Yadav, Mallesh, Viswanath Mudiraj,
Srikanth Yadav and others were present.
Speaking on the occasion, former MLA
Ramulu said he had submitted a memorandum to party president Amit Shah and
Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting
them to form a separate morcha for OBCs.
He expressed his gratitude to the party
president and Prime Minister for forming
OBC morcha.
Jana exhorts youth to
imbibe Alluri’s spirit
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Telangana
Congress Legislature Party leader K Jana
Reddy today exhorted the youth to continue spirit of freedom fighter Alluri Seetharamaraju.
On Saturday, Jana Reddy paid floral
tributes to Alluri’s statue at Tank Bund on
the occasion of Alluri’s birth anniversary.
Speaking on the occasion, he said Alluri’s
brave fight against the British Raj was
pride to Telugu people and it was necessary to organize Alluri’s birth anniversary
every year.
Rowdy sheeter Wahab
held under PD Act
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Cyberabad
Police Commissioner C.V. Anand, IPS,
has ordered detention of rowdy sheeter of
Sanath Nagar PS Syed Wahed alias Wahab,
35, of Pandit Nehru Nagar, Bodabanda.
Wahab was involved in ten criminal cases
under Cyberabad Commissionerate limits.
The Cyberabad police chief has stated
that the notorious rowdy sheeter and
goonda of Sanathnagar PS has been maintaining a gang and indulged in unlawful
acts like murder, rape, dacoity, rioting,
theft, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, causing hurt, damage thereby
spreading terror among the general public
living in Sanathnagar, S.R. Nagar and Kukatpally areas and posing serious threat
and danger to the society. Orders have
been served on the Goonda for his detention. The Preventive Detention orders are
invoked against him as a part of preservation of peace and to maintain public order
in Cyberabad. He was arrested under
these provisions and sent to Cherlapally
Central Prison.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
‘Bhatkal didn’t use mobile
phone to call from inside jail’
Hyderabad, Jul 4 (PTI): Telangana prison officials today denied reports that jailed IM operative Yasin Bhatkal had called
his wife using a mobile phone
from Cherlapalli jail.
“The allegation that Yasin Bhatkal called his wife with a mobile
phone from inside the Cherlapalli
Prison is baseless, factless and
there is no truth...it is a false allegation,” Telangana Prisons DIG A
Narasimha told reporters here.
The question of bringing in a
cell-phone inside the prison does
not arise as thorough checks are
conducted before anyone enters
the premises, Narasimha claimed.
Bhatkal, who is one of the accused in the February 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case that
rocked the city, is lodged in the
Cherlapalli Central Prison here.
According to reports, Bhatkal
called up his wife using a cell
phone from inside the jail and
told her that he would get out
of the jail soon with help from
“friends from Damascus”.
Following the court orders,
Bhatkal was granted telephone
facility from February this
year, wherein prisoners are
allowed to speak to their family members twice a week, the
DIG Prisons said.
“Since Bhatkal availed the landline telephone facility, he spoke
on two numbers to his mother
and wife on 27 occasions. The
phone facility is only for five minutes and it automatically gets disconnected after completion of the
specified time,” Narasimha said.
The entire conversations have
been recorded and the same have
been handed over to the investigating and security agencies.
“The 27 conversations, which
are in Urdu and Arabic have been
handed over to investigating
agencies,” he said, adding, however, Bhatkal may have spoken during transit (while attending Court
proceedings in the case) and “that
needs to be ascertained”.
Security around the Cherlapalli prison will be enhanced
with deployment of additional
forces, the DIG said adding they
carried out surprise checks on
the jail premises today, but no
cell phone was found.
“In the last one month, Bhatkal
spoke to his family members seven times through the authorised
landline phone facility. He did not
speak from cell phone from inside
the jail...It is just not possible,”
Telangana Director General (Prisons) V K Singh told PTI.
“We deny any such conversation from mobile phone...If he really has such a plan, why would he
share with his family members,”
the DG (Prisons) said adding, “I
don’t know...there may be such
a plan and investigating agencies
will look into that.”
Meanwhile, an intelligence officer said the National Investigation
Agency (NIA), which is probing
the case, is taking lot of precautions whenever Bhatkal and other
accused are taken to court in connection with the case.
“He has a plan to escape from
the jail and we are watching it. The
trial in the case is going on and lot
of precaution is being taken by the
NIA whenever Bhatkal and others
are produced before the court,”
the officer said.
Eighteen people were killed
and 131 injured in the deadly
twin explosions that were trig-
gered by powerful IEDs planted
near Konark and Venkatadiri
theatres in Dilsukhnagar, a
crowded shopping area in the
city on February 21, 2013.
The NIA had on March 14 last
year filed its first charge sheet in
the case against Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Mohammed Ahmed Siddibapa alias
Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah
Akhtar alias Haddi, who were arrested on the Indo-Nepal border
in August 2013.
Bhatkal and Haddi were
charged for murder and various
other offences under the Indian
Penal Code and Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The second charge sheet
was filed in September 2014
against absconding IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal and two other
IM operatives.
The terror outfit IM had
hatched a high-level conspiracy to
wage a war against India and carried out the blasts in Hyderabad
to create terror in the minds of the
people and to further the outfit’s
activities, NIA had then said.
‘DS’ to join ‘TRS’
on July 8th
Nizamabad, July 4 (NSS): Former PCC Chief
D Srinivas, who left the Congress party two
days ago, has announced that he would join
TRS party on July 8th.
Speaking to the media here on Saturday,
Srinivas, who enjoyed all positions except the
Chief Minister post, made it clear that he was
joining TRS without expecting any position.
He also divulged that he will not force any
follower or supporter to join TRS party along
with him. He said that he will do justice to the
responsibilities assigned to him by the Chief
Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Responding on the removal of his photo
along with other former PCC Chiefs-- K Keshava Rao and Botcha Sathyanarayana from
Gandhi Bhavan’s Media Conference Hall,
Srinivas said that he was leaving the issue to
the wisdom of the Congress party leaders. He
made it clear that he will not remove the AICC
Chief Sonia Gandhi’s photo in his residence.
VHP & BD demand
change of ‘Bajrangi
Bhaijan’ film name
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Activists of Vishwa
Hindu Parishat (VHP) and Bajarang Dal here
on Saturday staged protests demanding that
the producers of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’ film featuring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapur, to
change the name as it was hurting the sentiments of Hindus.
The VHP and Bajarang Dal warned the film
producers that they would intensify agitation
if the producers failed to change the name of
the film and made it clear that they would not
allow the cine theatres to exhibit the film. The
film was ready for release on Eid. Kabir directed the film.
“Bajrangi Bhaijan” was the next film after
‘Ek Tha Tiger’ film produced in the combination of Kabir and Salman Khan.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Rs 5-crore bulletproof
‘vanity’ bus that drew sharp criticism from the opposition, in Hyderabad on
Friday. (PTI Photo)
GHMC meeting
for Swatch
Hyderabad
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS):
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)
has proposed to buy 2500
auto trolleys and 1500 tricycles for lifting of garbage
in twin cities of Hyderabad
and Secunderabad for
which modalities are being
worked out so as to implement the sanitation works
in a proper way.
A Swachh Committee
consisting of Members,
Deputy Chief Minister
Mohd Ali, Ministers, MPs,
MLCs and MLAs of the twin
cities held here today which
was attended by Narsing
Rao, Special Secretary to
Chief Minister, Somesh Kumar, Commissioner & Spe-
cial Officer and senior officials of the GHMC held a
review meeting on Swachh
Hyderabad at GHMC Head
Office today.
The main aim of the
meeting is to strengthen
the Swachh Hyderabad
programme duly upgrading the various infrastructure to the existing sanitation works in the twin cities
in a proper planning. They
discussed about various
aspects pertaining to civic
related issues with an intention to make the city to
a World Class.
The committee after a
meeting suggested that existing Owner Cum Driver
scheme will be implemented to the auto trolleys duly
involving the local youth
those who are in the field
of during door to door gar-
bage collection every day.
As per the suggestion in
the first phase 2000 auto
trolleys will be purchased,
the people who are having
driving license and must
be a citizen of the city and
priority will be given to
the city youth who are already in the field of door
to door garbage collection,
For each auto rickshaw approximate an amount of
Rs. 5 lakhs may be incurred
where as 10% subsidy will
be given to the SC/ST candidates given subscription
and 20% to others. SC, ST,
BC and Minorities will be
implemented as per the
Government norms. Each
auto driver has to cover at
least 800 houses every day.
GHMC is likely to involve 3
to 4 agencies to monitor the
sanitation works.
Grant-in-aid for voluntary bodies: Kemal Publications
Applications called for
Excellent modern multi
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Telangana Scheduled Castes Development Department Director Dr M.V.
Reddy has invited applications from
registered voluntary organisations
for grant-in-aid from the Telangana
Social Welfare Fund for 2015-16.
Telangana Social Welfare Fund’s
main aim is to give Grants-in-aid/
financial assistance to registered
voluntary organisations engaged
in Social Welfare activities i.e., welfare services for Orphan, Destitute
Children, Balwadis, Welfare Services for Physically Handicapped/
Mentally Retarded Children, Medical Institutions, Welfare Services for
the aged and Infirm, Rehabilitation
for Leprosy/T.B. patients and their
children etc., in Telangana and who
are registered and functioning since
three years.
Stating that Grants-in-aid will be
given in three types a) Annual b)
Recurring and c) Non-Recurring,
he said the voluntary organisations
may obtain application and prospectus from the concerned Deputy
Director, SCDD or the Secretary,
Telangana Social Welfare Fund, 4th
Floor, D.S.S. Bhavan, Masab Tank,
Hyderabad and filled-in applications
should reach on or before August 17
at 5 pm, according to Dr M.V. Reddy,
I.A.S., Director, Scheduled Castes
Development, Hyderabad.
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Sunday, July 5, 2015
Short Takes
AP cabinet okays new
email policy
day. However, the President’s Secretariat
did not grant permission due to the size
of the delegation. In place of 42 members,
the TPCC has been asked to reduce the
size to just 25 members. The TPCC is likely
to submit a fresh request on Monday and
permission is likely to be granted on July
7th or 8th.
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Andhra
Pradesh government now will approach
people through e-mail.
The Chandrababu Naidu cabinet today
gave its nod for the new e-mail system.
With this, all State government employees
will utilize e-mail right from junior assis- Wrong decisions by
tant to higher officials.
MANUU negatively
In the first phase, the government
effect admissions
would provide 40,000 e-mail accounts to
its employees and next year this will be
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): Not many
increased to 2.5 lakh e-mail accounts. The students turned up for admissions in
cabinet also accorded its permission to Maulana Azad National Urdu University.
Aadhar-based system.
It seems that keeping in view the poor performance of the university students are
Rosaish turns 82,
not showing interest in taking admission
into the university courses.
worships Balaji
According to reliable sources ex- Vice
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): Tamil Nadu Chancellor of the university fixed the age
Governor Konijeti Rosaiah, who turned 82 limit for admission into some courses
today, visited Tirupati and had darshan of upto 28 years. Earlier there was no such
lord Venkateshwara.
age limit for the said courses. Besides this,
Rosaiah was accompanied by his wife it is said that the scholarship of Rs. 1000
K Sivalakshmi and other family members. which used to be given to students pursuing undergraduate and post graduate
Jagan inspects Koti
courses has been stopped.
Because of these two decisions taken by
Lingala Pushkar Ghat
the university, it has got less application
Rajahmundry, July 4 (NSS): YSR Con- forms from students this year. University
gress Party president Y S Jaganmohan is also worried about the less applications
Reddy on Saturday inspected the “Koti received. The last date for application was
Lingalu” Pushkar ghat to have first hand July 2. To attract more applications from
information on the arrangements being students possibilities of extension of date
made for the Godavari Pushkarams slated are also being explored.
to begin from July 14.
Speaking to mediapersons, Jagan said Pictures of ex-PCC
the works were handed over to the allies chiefs removed from
of the government for gaining kickbacks.
Gandhi Bhavan
The government, despite knowing that
the Lingala pond is lopesided they have
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): A group of
not taken enough efforts to make it safer angry Congress leaders on Saturday has
for the pilgrims. He also complained that removed all the picutres of former PCC
the quality of work was bad.
chiefs from the Gandhi Bhavan, the party
Jagan also paid tributes to late Van- headquarters.
gaveeti Mohan Ranga on his birth anniThe Congress workers removed the
versary.
pictures of K Keshava Rao, Botsa Satyanarayana and Dharampuri Srinivas. While
Naidu should step
KK and DS have joined the TRS, Botsa has
recently joined the YSR Congress Party.
down: YCP
Speaking to media persons later, Rajya
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): “Andhra Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao and forPradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu mer MLA R Damodar Reddy described D
Naidu should resign from his post ow- Srinivas as an opportunist. VHR said that
ing to allegations of cash-for-vote scam”, despite serving as minister for two terms,
YCP leader Konda Raghava Reddy has de- Srinivas did nothing for the development
of Backward Classes. He alleged that
manded.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Sat- Srinivas earned crores of rupees by selling
urday at the party office, Raghava Reddy away party tickets to aspirants in two gensaid since video footage of cash-for-vote eral elections and by-elections.
VHR also claimed that Greater Hyderscam proved his involvement, Naidu
should put in his papers, he demanded. abad Congress president D Nagender
The YCP leader said cash-for-vote scam would not leave the party.
did not subside with President Pranab
Mukherjee’s remarks that two Telugu Special courts for
States should live in complete harmony.
speedy trial of cases
The TD Government is pretending law
relating to atrocities
and order problem by raking up section 8
issue to divert Naidu’s involvement in the against women
cash scam, he charged. Being the Chief
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): The TelanMinister of the State it is the duty of Chan- gana government has decided to set up
drababu to prove his integrity by resign- 13 special courts exclusively to try cases
ing from his post, he said. The YCP leader relating to atrocities and crimes against
alleged that Naidu was buying time to women. Session judge will be appointed
respond on the cash scam. Naidu should to hear the cases relating to atrocities and
come out clearly if he has any respect to crimes against women to ensure speedy
democracy and ethics, he suggested.
trial and conviction.
To a query he said there will not be any
Telangana government has sanctioned
alliance with any other parties for the judges and other staff for these special
forthcoming GHMC elections.
courts. Secretary government N Shiva
Shankar issued orders in this connection,
Data of missing
Superintendent, translator and senior assistant, junior assistant (5) and other jobs
candidates submitted
were approved. Thus 31 posts were sancfor JEE Ranks
tioned for one special court.
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): The Telangana Board of Intermediate Education Hajj Orientation Camp
has informed the parents and students at Moghalpura today
that the data of missing candidates, which
was submitted to the CBSE for JEE Ranks
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): Telangana
by the Board, was accepted and the Ranks State Hajj Committee organises 7th orithat they were entitled are given to them. entation camp for selected Hajj aspirants
The candidates have been advised to ex- on Sunday, July 5, from 10 am to 1 pm at
ercise their option in time.
Masjid Salahuddin Khan, near Moghalpura water tank.
TPCC delegation’s
Prof. S A Shukoor Special Officer, Telangana
State Hajj Committee will preside
meeting with
over. Eminent scholars and experts will
President delayed
explain Hajj rituals. All Hajj aspirants are
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): The meet- requested to attend on time and bring
ing of a delegation of Telangana Pradesh notebook and pen to note down imporCongress Committee with President of tant points.
Hajj aspirants going to Hajj through
India Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Nilayam in Secunderabad has been private tour operators can also avail the
opportunity. Separate arrangement for ladelayed due to technical issues.
According to sources, the TPCC delega- dies. They are requested not to bring chiltion was to meet the President on Satur- dren along with them.
3
State
Medak district
Congress demands
to be split
dismissal of
Governor Narasimhan three-way:
Telangana CM
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): Congress
senior leader and former minister
Marri Shasidhar Reddy on Saturday
demanded the dismissal of Governor
ESL Narasimhan.
Speaking to media persons here at
Gandhi Bhavan here, Sashidhar Reddy
alleged that Narasimhan should be relieved of his responsibilities as Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
as he has faltered and blatantly failed
to discharge his duties. Stating that
he has written a letter to Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue,
Shashidhar Reddy said that Talasani
Srinivas Yadav was elected as an MLA
from Sanathangar on the TDP ticket.
“The Governor administered the oath
of office to him as a minister in the government run by the TRS party, which
is not the police party through which
he got elected as a legislator. He has
thus become a party to the attempt of
the TRS Government’s unethical and
unprincipled defections,” he said.
“The Governor deliberately chose to
ignore Paragraph 2 (1)(a) of the Tenth
Schedule of the Constitution and the
ratio laid down by the Constitutional
Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court
of India, in the Rajender Singh Rana
Vs Swami Prasad Maurya case delivered on 14-2-2003 (AIR 2007 Supreme
Court 1305), which is very clear with
regard to the continuance of a person beyond six months as a Minister
is unconstitutional. The Governor, as
the custodian of the Constitution, has
violated not only the Constitutional
provisions but also the Judgment of
the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,
which is unpardonable,” he said.
Sangareddy, Jul 4 (PTI): Meeting a long-pending demand of the people of Medak, Telangana
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today announced that his home district will be trifurcated “very shortly”.
After trifurcation, there will be Medak, Sangareddy and Siddipet districts. Also, parts of Jangaon
(Warangal district) and Husnabad (Karimnagar) will
be merged in would be Siddipet district, he said.
Rao did not specify when the decision will be
implemented, but said the three-way split will take
place “very shortly”.
The Chief Minister was speaking after planting a
sapling in the premises of Mandal Praja Parishad
Office building at Siddipet in Medak district.
Rao was here to participate in his pet programme
`Telangana ku Haritha Haaram’ (an afforestation
drive for increasing the green cover of the State).
Hyderabad House,
Vigyan Bhawan,
Jawaharlal Bhawan
top cleanliness ratings
New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI): Hyderabad
House, Vigyan Bhawan and Jawaharlal
Nehru Bhawan have topped the Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) ratings, leaving
behind Rashtrapati Bhawan among the
29 RPT 29 government buildings in the
capital that were screened for overall
cleanliness.
The three buildings scored 20 points
each while Rashtrapati Bhawan and
South Block were ranked 6th with 14
points each, an Urban Development
Ministry official said.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) surveyed the buildings
based on availability of sanitation infrastructure, cleanliness and adequacy of
dustbins in the buildings and premises
last month.
The winning buildings of Hyderabad
House, Vigyan Bhawan and Jawaharlal
Nehru Bhawan scored maximum points
in respect of sanitation infrastructure
(maximum of 10 points), cleanliness (8)
and availability of dustbins (2 points).
Sardar Patel Bhawan came second
with 18 points followed by the new CGA
building with 17 points. Krishi Bhawan
and Shastri Bhawan were at the bottom
of the ratings with 8 points each while
Lok Nayak Bhawan scored 10 points.
Fourteen buildings in the capital
scored in the range of 14 to 16 points.
The Urban Development Ministry has
circulated the ratings to all concerned
ministries and departments with a request to take remedial action for improving infrastructure and cleanliness.
‘Mega Book Sale’ from
July 4 to 13
Hyderabad, July 4 (IHNN): Aiming at
providing more reading facility in less cost,
to people and students of Hyderabad, a
10-day special discount mela is being organised at ‘Mega Book Sale’. New and old
costly rare books are available which will be
sold by weight. Convenor Mega Book Sale
Mohammed Meraj told this in a press conference. Books like lady Bird, Disney’s, DK,
Readers’ Digest, will also be sold by weight.
He appealed people to avail the opportunity. Details are available on bookswala.in.
Botcha seeks judicial
probe in Bhuma’s arrest
Hyderabad, July 4 (NSS): YCP leader
and former minister Botcha Satyanarayana today slammed Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for booking a case against
his colleague Bhuma Nagi Reddy.
Addressing a press conference at
YCP headquarters here, the former
minister accused Naidu of indulging
in suppressive tactics against the leaders of the opposition parties. The YCP
leader demanded a judicial inquiry
into the arrest of Bhuma Nagi Reddy
by the Andhra Pradesh Police. He took
serious exception to the SC, ST Atrocities case filed against Bhuma Nagi
Reddy at the behest of Naidu. He also
A student having look of a rocket launcher at an exhibition organised by the Indian
Army at Boko in Kamrup district of Assam on Saturday. (PTI Photo)
Replica temple opening
on July 13: TTD EO
Rajahmundry,
July
4
(NSS): TTD EO Dr D Samba
Siva Rao said the model temple of Lord Venkateswara in
Rajamundry has shaped up
very well akin to Tirumala
shrine and it will be formally inaugurated with Maha
Samprokshanam and other
religious activities on July 13.
Addressing media persons
in the TTD Kalyana Mandapam at Rajamundry, the EO
said, the temple management
of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTDs) is foreseeing
a pilgrim influx of about 50-70
thousand to its replica temple
every day during Pushkaram
period. “As the devotees always wish to have darshan of
Lord after Pushkara Snanam,
we have set up the replica
temple on the lines of Tirumala so as to give a feel that they
are in Tirumala. We have also
set up four line queue system
so as to give a comfortable
and hassle-free darshan to
devotees”, he maintained.
The EO said, the temple will
be officially opened on July 13
in the auspicious Muhurat
fixed by the agama scholars
between 9:07am to 10:30am.
“The darshan will be open to
devotees from 4:30 am to 10
pm every day with a 15-minute break thrice a day for Naivedya Kainkaryams. Suprabhatam to presiding Lord will e
performed every day between
4am to 4:30am. For the promotion of Hindu Sanatana
Dharma as this event happens to be the most appropriate stage, we will also set up a
“Go Pradakshinasala” where
in after darshan of Lord in
replica temple the devotees
have to circumambulate Kapila Govu (indigenous cow) in
the Goshala which is considered to be more pious. If the
pilgrims visit the temple in
traditional dress voluntarily
as in Tirumala, it will be great
and will definitely enhance
the spiritual atmosphere”, he
added. The EO said TTD will
distribute either pulihora or
chakkara pongal as Prasadam
to devotees after darshan.
Adding further, EO said,
alleged that Nagi Reddy was taken into
custody for asking the police not to
manhandle. The Naidu Government
is responsible if anything happens to
Bhuma Nagi Reddy, he said.
The police deliberately filed cases
against Nagi Reddy and not shifting
him to NIMS in Hyderabad as there
was no adequate escort security. He
fumed at Chandrababu for resorting
to target the leaders of the Opposition
party. “We are not ready to take the
diktats of the Naidu Government”, he
said, adding that the YSRCP will fight
tooth and nail. Botcha Satyanarayana
also expressed concern that the police
manhandled Bhuma Nagi Reddy’s
daughter Akhila Priya, a woman legislator. He said they are not against the
irrigation projects.
TTD is also setting up book
stall in Municipal grounds
along with Photo, Floral,
Ayurvedic and Museum
expos to give wide publicity to its publications as Ttd
treasures rare and noteworthy spiritual books. “Now we
have already placed 80 of our
titles under e- publications and
very soon remaining 2000 odd
books are going to be placed
on our website for the sake
netizens. Our spiritual magazine Sapthagiri is also readily
available on web now in all the
six languages. The readers can
either download free or pay
on-line subscription to read
the magazine”, he said.
The EO also said, there are
many cultural programmes
gearing up to enthral the devotees here which will be performed under the aegis of our
Annamacharya, Dasa Sahitya,
HINDU Dharma Prachara
Parishad projects. “The spiritual discourses by Brahmasri
Chaganti Koteswara Rao and
other renowned scholars, Harikatha artistes, Sangeeta vidwans etc. are going to be a special attraction”, he maintained.
Tirumala JEO KS Sreenivasa
Raju was also present.
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4
Short Takes
Jayalalithaa greets
Governor on his
82nd birthday
turing facilities to neighbouring
Ramanathapuram district due
to close monitoring of their activities in Virudhunagar district
Chennai, Jul 4 (PTI): Chief which considered a hub of fireMinister J Jayalalithaa today works industries, police said.
greeted Tamil Nadu Governor
K Rosaiah on his 82nd birthday. Youth held for
“On the joyous occasion of circulating
your 82nd birthday, I have great
objectionable
pleasure in conveying my warm
felicitations and best wishes to messages on Whatsapp
you. “I pray that the almighty
Tirunelveli, Jul 4 (PTI): A man
may grant you many more years hailing from Uttar Pradesh was
of robust health and peace to arrested in connection with
serve the nation,” she said in the murder of a watchman of
her birthday greetings sent to a bank at Naduvapatti near
the Governor. Jayalalithaa ex- Thiruvengadam in this district
tended her greetings to Rosaiah in 2011, police said today.
over phone and the Governor
Narendrapal Singh alias
thanked the Chief Minister for Rajesh of Aligarh district in Utthe same, a state government tarpradesh had joined hands
release said here.
with his associates in Tamil
Nadu and tried to loot the
CPI(M) opposes
primary agriculture cooperaCentre`s proposal tive bank after murdering the
watchman Ramaraj, who resistto roll out DBT
ed their attempt
scheme
He was arrested yesterday,
Puducherry, Jul 4 (PTI): CPIM police said, adding, the memtoday dubbed as ‘anti-poor’ the bers of the gang would be arCentre’s proposal to extend on rested soon.
a pilot basis the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme in Teacher ignoring
three union territories, includ- other students
ing Puducherry, for foodgrains
and kerosene supplied through
Ramanathapuram, Jul 4
PDS.
(PTI): The District collector has
State unit CPI-M Secretary sought a report from authoriR.Rajangam in a release here ties about a physics teacher of a
said the proposal would hit the government aided school, who
common man, particularly the had been charged of teaching
poorer sections as the inflation and conducting periodical exwas playing havoc in prices of aminations only to those stuessential goods.
dents who come to him for tuThe Narendra Modi led gov- ition and ignoring others.
ernment was going in for an
District Education Officer
`injurious` approach and the Marimeena, who conducted
proposal to adopt the scheme initial investigation based on
on pilot basis in three Union the complaint given by eight
Territories-Puducherry, Chan- studnets studying in the F secdigarh and Dadar and Nagar tion of twelveth standard of
Havelli-should be dropped.
the higher seccondary school,
revealed that the teacher had
New E-initiatives deliberately marked absent for
students during the tests and
in Kerala
examination because they did
Thiruvananthapuram, July 4 not come for tuition classes
(PTI): Congress led UDF gov- under him. The officials said toernment In Kerala will launch day the education department
a slew of e-Governance initia- instructed the school managetives which includes e-KYC for ment not allow the teacher to
Aadhaar Project, Citizen Por- take physics class for the partal for e-Office Project, and e- ticular section.
However, tension prevailed
Learning Portal as part Digital
India programme launched by in the school as the majority
Prime Minister Narendra Modi students who were taking tuition under the teacher proon July 1.
State Minister for Industries tested against the transfer of the
and IT P K Kunhalikutty would teacher. The officials intervened
launch the programmes at a and held talks with them,the
function here on July 6, an offi- correspondent of the school
Ilangovan said.
cial release said here today.
The Collector had sought reE-Office was introduced in all
departments in the secretariat in port from the education departAugust 2013. So far it has been ment officials and the school
implemented at 21 departments correspondent.
either fully or partially.
Another major initiative is Woman with two
e-learning platform that of- kids found dead
fers a learning environment
in a sump
vastly different from the traditional classroom and helps the
Coimbatore, Jul 4 (PTI): A
department,trainers and course woman along with her two girl
creators to set up an online children were found dead in a
classroom setting with oppor- sump, attached to their house
tunities for rich interaction and in Kangeyampalayam on the
collaboration with their stu- city outskirts, today.
dents, the release added.
Naveen, a driver by profession, found his wife Ezhin missThree arrested for ing along with two daughters-four and half year and one and
illegal transport
half year old--when he woke up
of wicks
this morning, police said.
As the search for them in the
Madurai, Jul 4 (PTI): Three
persons were arrested today for neighbourhood remained futransporting several bundles of tile, he noticed the door of the
“Karunthiri” (chemical coated sump was opened and on peepwick used in crackers), after ing found the bodies of wife and
making them without license children floating, they said.
As he raised alarm, neighin houses, near Aruppukottai in
bours rushed to the spot and
Virudhunagar district.
Police said the wicks were be- informed police, who retrieved
ing transported from Sayalkudi the bodies form the sump, they
in Ramanathapuram to Virud- said. Even as bodies were sent
hunagar when police seized for postmortem, investigations
were on whether this was a
and arrested the persons.
The fireworks manufacturers case of suicide or murder, pohad shifted the illegal manufac- lice said.
Indian Horizon, Hyderabad
South
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Jayalalithaa takes
oath as MLA
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa taking oath as Member of
Legislative Assembly at Secrataiat in Chennai, on Saturday. She was declared
elected in Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency bypoll recently.
(PTI Photo\ DIPR)
Chennai, Jul 4 (PTI):
Days after securing a
thumping victory in the
RK Nagar bypoll here,
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
J Jayalalithaa today took
oath as MLA.
Jayalalithaa took oath
as Legislator in the presence of Speaker P Dhanapal in his chamber inside
the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Her cabinet colleagues
were also present on the
occasion. The AIADMK
supremo returns as Legislator after a gap of about
10 months, after she was
disqualified as MLA and
Chief Minister following
her conviction in a wealth
case by a Bengaluru trial
court last September.
Jayalalithaa was subsequently acquitted by the
Karnataka High Court in
May following her appeal
against the lower court
HC issues notice
to TNPSC
Chennai, Jul 4 (PTI): Madras High
Court today ordered issue of notice to
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission
on a plea seeking to re-publish the list
of thecandidates selected for the post of
Civil Judges after excluding five candidates from General Turn of Persons Studied in Tamil Medium category (PSTM).
The Division Bench comprising Justice V
Ramasubramanian and Justice T Mathivanan directed the TNPSC to file its reply by
July 13 on a petition by K Nandini, an advocate and an aspiring candidate.
The process of selection is based on the
marks obtained in the written examination and the viva-voce. As per the mini-
verdict, allowing her to return as the Chief Minister.
Her party member P Vetrivel had vacated the RK
Nagar Assembly seat in
May, resulting in a bypoll
which Jayalalithaa won by
a huge margin of 1,50,722
votes against her nearest
rival, CPI’s C Mahendran
who forfeited his deposit.
The bypoll was held on
June 27 and results were
declared on June 30.
mum pass marks prescribed, 590 persons
were called for certificates verification.
Interview was conducted in the TNPSC
office by a panel of five Judges of Madras
High Court and a final rank list of 151
candidates was published.
According to the petitioner the rank
list published was wrongly filled up the
candidates of General PSTM category
because of which she was kept out of the
provisional selection list.
She contented that the PSTM Category
was created vide a Government Order in
2010 and a special reservation was made
for the persons Studied in Tamil Medium.
The petitioner alleged that five candidates
who have included in the PSTM category
have not obtained the minimum prescribed
marks of 40 per cent and not qualified to be
considered under that category.
ISRO to undertake biggest
commercial launch on July 10
Bengaluru, Jul 4 (PTI): In the
heaviest ever commercial mission undertaken by ISRO and its
commercial arm Antrix, the country’s workhorse the Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will put in
orbit five foreign satellites from the
spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh on July 10.
With the overall lift-off mass of
the five satellites amounting to
about 1,440 kg, this mission becomes the heaviest commercial
mission ever undertaken by Antrix/ISRO, the Indian space agency
said. In its 13th flight, PSLV-C28
will launch three identical DMC3
optical earth observation satellites
built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom (UK). The three DMC3 satellites, each weighing 447 kg, will be
launched into a 647 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) using the
high-end version of PSLV (PSLVXL), ISRO said on its website.
PSLV-C28 will be the ninth flight
of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration.
In addition, the rocket will also
carry two auxiliary satellites from
UK - CBNT-1, a technology demonstrator earth observation micro
satellite built by SSTL, and De-OrbitSail, a technology demonstrator
nano satellite built by Surrey Space
Centre, it said.
Accommodating the three
DMC3 satellites each with a height
of about 3 metre within the existing payload fairing of PSLV, was a
challenge, ISRO said.
To mount these satellites onto
the launcher, a circular Launcher
adaptor called L-adaptor and a triangular deck called Multiple Satellite Adapter-Version 2 (MSA-V2),
were newly designed and realised
by ISRO for this specific purpose.
Elephant tramples 52-year
old man to death
Udhagamandalam, Jul 4 (PTI): Tension gripped Gudalur town
after when a 52-year old man was trampled to death by a stray elephant in the early hours of today.
Dominic was going to his house through a paddy field in Kasimedu, fringe area of Gudalur town, about 60 Kms from here, when the
elephant roaming around the area for the last six months chased
and trampled him to death, police said.
Hearing about the incident, the villagers rushed to the area and
staged a picketing and refused to shift the body, protesting against
the apathy of forest department to put an end to the man-animal
conflict, they said. As officials from forest and police departments,
along with the local Tahsildar reached the spot and assured to find
a solution, they dispersed and the body was sent to government
hospital for postmortem.
Kerala to start facility
to produce varieties
of fish products
Kochi, Jul 4 (PTI): Seeking to
capitalise the huge demand for
value-added fish products in
the country, Kerala government
will set up a fully mechanised
manufacturing and processing
facility with international standards to produce varieties of
fish products.
Minister for Fisheries, Ports
and Excise K Babu today said a
detailed project report had been
prepared and submitted to the
National Fisheries Board.
“The new unit will increase
the production capacity from
5 tonnes to 15 tonnes,” he told
reporters here after launching
the new value-added dry fish
product by Kerala State Coastal
Area Development Corporation (KSCADC) under the brand
name ‘Drish Kerala’.
Babu said the new initiative
would provide employment opportunities to a large number of
women fisher-folk in the coastal
areas of the state.
KSCADC Managing Director
K Ampady said they would soon
tie-up with distributors across
the state to market the new
products.
“We are first focusing the
Kerala market and will scale up
operations in other states, particularly in the north-east, in the
due course of time,” he said.
‘Drish Kerala’ products are
varied types of fish which are
dried and processed at the stateof-the-art facility of KSCADC in
Shaktikulangara in Kollam district.
Ampady said ‘Drish Kerala’
is a high-end quality product
processed as per international
standards.
“The fresh fish procured directly from landing centres are
cleaned and processed in modern fish processing plants.
’s hygienic, standardised and
branded. The ready-to-cook
products with optimum salt
content and minimum water
content are packed in multilayered transparent pouches
providing colour and odour retention,” he pointed out.
Providing sets: HC directs Registrar
General to look into the matter
Chennai, July 4 (PTI): The Madras High Court has directed its
Registrar General to look into the matter of making provisions
for giving seats in the courts to those accused in the criminal
and trial Courts.
The First Bench Comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul
and Justice T S Sivagnanam gave the direction on a PIL filed by
A Jaiganesh, a social activist seeking a direction to all Judicial
and Quasi-Judicial Forums in the state to treat victims, witnesses and suspects with dignity by offering them a seat.
“We find it difficult to accept that any court would deliberately make a woman or an expectant mother to stand in the court”,
the bench said.
Een in the witness box, if required, a person can be seated.
The purpose is to record the testimony and not to cause pain
or physical inconvenience. We again see no reason why if there
are benches vacant, even the accused who come to the court
cannot be seated there, the bench said.
The Bench while referring with a Supreme Court judgment in
its order said “the dictum laid down by the apex court, all the
courts would be expected to follow the same and this issue will
be looked into by Registrar General of this Court and if required
necessary direction/office order can be issued.?
Adani Group to set up solar
park in TN for Rs 4,536-cr
The Adani Group on Saturday signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu
government to set up a Rs 4,536 crore solar park in the state. The
development comes on the back drop of the state’s decision to buy 2000 MW
of solar power by the end of this calendar year.( PTI Photo\ DIPR)
Chennai, Jul 4 (PTI): Business conglomerate Adani
Group has proposed to set
up a solar park in Tamil
Nadu tipped to be among
the world’s largest at an outlay of Rs 4,536 crore.
State-run
TANGEDCO
(Tamil Nadu Generation and
Distribution Corporation)
and Adani Group signed an
agreement today in the presence of Chief Minster J Jayalalithaa. “Adani Group has
proposed to set up five solar
power generation centres
with a total capacity of 648
MW in Ramanathapuram
district of Tamil Nadu at
an investment of Rs 4,536
crore”, an official statement
said. The power generated
from the plant would be purchased at a price of Rs 7.01
per unit by the government.
Adani Group MD Rajesh
Adani while explaining
about the project said it will
be one of the world’s largest
solar park and will be set up
in Kamudhi, Ramanathapuram district. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said, “I am
very happy to be here. I hope
the project is successful and
I hope your partnership with
Tamil Nadu will continue”.
TANGEDCO has already
inked power purchase
agreements with 31 private
players to generate 436 MW
of solar power.
“The signing of MoU between Adani Group and with
the other private players will
attract investments of Rs
7,588 crore towards generation of 1,084 MW of solar energy in the state”, the statement further said.
The Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (TANTRANSCO) engaged
in developing electricity infrastructure, has undertaken
a slew of projects including
setting up of substations and
power corridor at various
places with an investment of
Rs 691.51 crore, it said.
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
Confusion in BJP’s
Goa unit over powerful
secretary’s ‘transfer’
Panaji, July 4 (IANS) The transfer of influential state BJP organising secretary Satish Dhond
to Maharashtra appears to have created confusion in the rank and file of the BJP cadre as well
as the top state leadership.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Saturday said Dhond had been transferred to Thane
in Maharashtra, while BJP state unit president
Vinay Tendulkar, who has been peppered with
119 representations from state party leaders
demanding a stay on the transfer, insisted that
he has not been intimated by the party high
command “about any transfer”.
“He (Dhond) has been transferred to Thane,
but that will have no impact on Goa,” Parsekar
told reporters here, even as Tendulkar told
IANS over phone that he has had “no intimation from the party high command about any
transfer”.
Media reports earlier said Dhond, who was
referred to as ‘Super CM’ in the state’s power
corridors, thanks to his proximity to Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar, has been transferred as the organising secretary in-charge of
Thane.
Party sources said the ruling BJP’s lackluster
performance in the recently concluded zilla
panchayat elections, in which the party narrowly scraped through, had dented Dhond’s
clout in the party, which could have led to his
transfer.“Some of the decisions taken during
the zilla panchayat elections were inexplicable.
AAP’s expelled leader Yogendra Yadav
addressing a press conference in Nagpur,
Maharashtra on Saturday. PTI
5
Nation
Sunday July 5, 2015
Centre must release caste-based
census data: CPI(M) leader
New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) The Centre
should make public caste-based data
from the Socio Economic and Caste
Census to reveal the real picture of
financial status of those belonging to
the backward classes, senior CPI(M)
leader Subhashini Ali said here today.
During a session on ‘neo-liberal
policies and Dalits’, organised by the
Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch (DSMM),
to mark the 125th birth anniversary of
B R Ambedkar, the speakers demanded that the Centre offer reservation to
Dalits in private sector and Delhi Government make 16.75 per cent “actual”
budgetary allocation for Dalits under
the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan.
“The government survey says that
monthly income of 75 out of 100 families in rural India is less than Rs 5,000.
Now, how they must be adjusting in
such a small amount? “This survey is
based on caste. But the government
said it will not tell which castes the
poor ones belong to. The government
said if they reveal so, there will be an
explosion.
Brothers and sisters, this blast
should take place. The poor have been
looted in such a way over the past 30
years that whatever they had is not
left with them,” CPI(M) Polit Bureau
member Subhashini Ali said at the
meet.
Ali said that neo-liberal economic
policies have created inequality across
the world over the past three decades.
It is not only between poor and rich,
but also women, she said, adding social inequality has been a big truth in
India.She said perusal of such policies
will mean lead to Government’s minimal role in welfare of poor majority of
whom are from backward class.
Self Styled godmanRampal
followers arrested by police
HISAR(Haryana) July 4
(PTI): Around 32 followers of
self-styled godman Rampal
were arrested here for defying prohibitory orders while
another six were arrested for
breach of peace, police said on
Saturday.
Among the 32 arrested, five
were women. They were arrested for defying prohibitory
orders near mini secretariat
here, police said. A large number of followers had gathered
yesterday when Rampal was
to be produced in the court in
connection with a case registered against him last year.
However, because of security reasons, Rampal was
produced before the court
through video conferencing,
police said. The controversial
godman was last year booked
under various sections including 121 (waging or abetting
the waging of war against government), 121A (Conspiring
to commit certain offences
against the state),122 (Collecting arms with the intention of
waging war against the government), 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.
Another six followers of
Rampal were arrested from the
Rehri market Patel Nagar here
yesterday on various charges
including breach of peace.
They were allegedly distributing a book containing objectionable content, police said.
Modi to visit five Central Asian
nations, Russia next week
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will next
week visit the five Central Asian
nations of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan, as well as Russia,
where he will participate in the
BRICS and SCO Summit.
The visits start on Monday,
from Uzbekistan.
“India and Uzbekistan enjoy
a close strategic partnership...
I would be holding talks with
President (Islam) Karimov and
we would be inking key agreements to strengthen cooperation
between our countries,” Modi
said in a post on his official Facebook page.He said Indian movies, language and music were
very popular in Uzbekistan.“In
fact, the Uzbek radio completed
50 years of Hindi broadcasting in
2012... I would be interacting with
Indologists, students learning
Hindi and members of the Indian
community. There are over 3,000
Indians in Uzbekistan.”On July 7
and 8, Modi will be in Kazakhstan,
India’s largest trading partner in
Central Asia. He will meet President Nursultan Nazarbayev and
Prime Miniter Karim Massimov.
“India and Kazakhstan are cooperating in a wide range of sectors including energy and space.
I see a huge opportunity for our
economic ties to grow further.
India and Kazakhstan can also
increase ties in agriculture,” said
Modi.He will also interact with
Kazakh youth at the Nazarbayev
University, and inaugurate the
India-Kazakhstan Centre for Ex-
cellence in Information and Communication Technology at the
L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National
University.“I will join a wreath
laying ceremony and planting of
sapling at the Monument of Defenders of Motherland.”
“Our cultural ties with Kazakhstan are deep rooted. Our films,
TV serials and dances are very
popular. Yoga is gaining popularity. I must appreciate the enthusiasm with which Kazakhstan
joined Yoga Day celebrations on
21st June,” he said.
The next stop would be Russia,
where Modi will attend the 7th
BRICS Summit and SCO Summit in Ufa.“In the past one year, I
have had the opportunity to meet
the BRICS leaders at the Summit
in Brazil and during other international forums. The Summit last
year was productive and I am sure
we will build on the ground covered during the last Summit.
Complaint filed against Swaraj, Raje, Lalit Modi
Patna, Jul 4 (PTI) A complaint has
been filed against External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan
Chief Minister Vasundhre Raje and
former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi
in a district court here.
Vinay Kumar Singh, chief of NGO
“Friends of Bihari”, filed the complaint in the court of Chief Judicial
Magistrate Bharat Singh yesterday.
But, the complainant did not turn up
in the court today in the hearing for
admission of the case.
The court would fix a future date
to give another chance to the complainant to plead his matter to decide whether it could be admitted in
the court or not.The complaint was
lodged under IPC sections 120, 124
and Information Technology Act
WB assessing landslide damage : Mamata
Kolkata, Jul 4 (PTI) West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
today said the state government
was conducting an assessment of
the landslide-battered districts
and the report would be sent to
the Centre.“Assessment of Darjeeling landslide damage is being
carried out and the same will be
sent to the Centre,” Banerjee told
reporters at the state secretariat
‘Nabanna’ .She said the Rapti
Khola Bridge in Darjeeling district
and a 10.1-km-long road connecting Siliguri and Mirik was likely to
be opened temporarily from tomorrow evening.
Stating that Gorkha Territorial
Administration (GTA) chief Bimal
Gurung had called her to provide
an update on the disaster, Banerjee said, “Along with GTA all have
to work together for the sake of the
people there (in Darjeeling hills).”
2000.Referring to media reports, the
complainant alleged that Lalit Modi
through Twitter has tried to destabilise the country by dropping names
of one leader after another in connection with some wrong practice.He
prayed to the court to direct Kadam
Kuan police station in the capital to
register a case against Swaraj, Raje
and Lalit Modi and probe the matter.
Bombs recovered
in West Bengal
Suri (WB), Jul 4 (PTI) Several bombs
were recovered from a house at Sattor in
Birbhum district today.
The bombs were kept in plastic containers and those were later shown to media persons, police officials said.
Although villagers alleged that the
bombs had been recovered from a Trinamool Congress party office in the area,
police officials dismissed the allegation as
baseless.
RSS mouthpiece takes a dig at China in Lakhvi case
New Delhi July 4 (PTI): Expressing
concern over growth of ISIS in the
world, RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’
on Saturday stressed on a coordinated approach to tackle it and said
“selective abetment” as China did
to Pakistan in the Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur- Rehman
Lakhvi case will not help the cause.
It said that mere high-handed
military approach will not address
the issue and will instead make ISIS
more popular, noting that unless it
is accepted that political Islam with
ideology of Jihadism has emerged as
a challenge to Western liberalism, a
piecemeal approach to the problem
will be maintained.
“Mere high-handed military approach will not address the issue;
on the contrary, it would make the
group more popular. There is a need
for coherent containment strategy to
deal with the menace and the selective abetment as China did to Pakistan in the Lakhvi case will not help
the cause,” the editorial in the ‘Organiser’ said on Saturday.China had
recently blocked India’s move in the
UN demanding action against Paki-
Court refuses to recall arrest
warrant against TMC MP
Kolkata, Jul 4 (PTI) A city court
today refused to recall a warrant of
arrest against Trinamool Congress
Lok Sabha MP Prasun Banerjee in
connection with his alleged slapping of a police constable in January.
Bidhannagar Additional Chief
Judicial Magistrate A K Ghosh, who
had directed the police to take Banerjee into custody and produce
him before his court by July 17, refused to entertain a plea by Baner-
jee’s counsel to recall the warrant.
The warrant was issued by the court
yesterday as the Howrah MP failed
to turn up before it despite notice
being served upon him.
The counsel submitted that
charge sheet in the case has been
submitted and that Banerjee was
not an absconder.
He told the ACJM that the footballer-turned-politician would appear before the court as and when
directed.
stan over release of LeT commander
Lakhvi in violation of a resolution of
the world body as it contended that
India provided insufficient information.The RSS mouthpiece suggested
that Islamic countries in West Asia
who believe in democratic traditions
and understand the dangers of IS
menace should lead the strategy for
containing Jihadi forces and the voices of Muslims victims of Jihadi terror
need to be strengthened.“Unless we
openly accept that political Islam
with the ideology of Jihadism has
emerged as a challenge to the West-
ern liberalism, we will maintain the
piecemeal approach towards the
problem.“Without the coordinated
approach, the Islamic State can be
temporarily defeated but the idea of
Caliphate will continue to perpetuate violence for hundreds of years,”
Organizer” said.
The RSS mouthpiece said, it
needs to be accepted that this phenomenon is a spillover of the Cold
War period external interventions
in West Asia by superpowers and
things have become complicated for
the oil-rich region.
MPs’ salary: BJP reserves views,
says final call for govt to
New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) BJP today sought to distance itself from
a parliamentary panel’s recommendation for a 100 per cent
hike in MPs’ salary besides a number of perks, saying it was for
the government to take a call on it.
“We have nothing to say. It is our government at the Centre
and the panel is headed by a senior member of our party. But
the Centre has apparently put the report in cold storage. It is finally for the government to take a call on it,” a party leader said.
The fact that the parliamentary panel is headed by BJP MP Yogi
Aditynanath has forced the party to maintain a distance.The
panel has pitched for 100 per cent hike in salary and daily allowances of MPs and 75 per cent raise in pension of ex-MPs apart
from facilities for their “companions” in place of “spouses”.
Cong MP Sanjay Singh’s
son arrested in a case of
cop’s death
RAF men arrest a man in connection with the communal violence at Atali village in
Faridabad on Saturday. PTI
Amethi, Jul 4 (PTI) Anant Vikram Singh, estranged son of Congress leader and Rajya Sabha
member Sanjay Singh, was today arrested in
connection with the killing of a policeman here
about nine months back.
Police constable Vijay Kumar Mishra had
died in firing in September outside the Bhupati
Bhawan, whose ownership is being claimed by
several people of the royal family of Amethi.
Mishra was part of police deployment outside the Bhawan in Ramnagar area when trouble broke out over the ownership of the property on the fateful day, Superintendent of Police
Heera Lal said.An FIR was registered against
hundreds of people including Anant, he said,
adding a local court had issued a non-bailable
warrant against him.Soon after his arrest, Anant
was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody.
Family members Malvani Hooch tragedy victims stage a dharna demanding higher compensation in Mumbai on Saturday. PTI
Over 70,000
transgenders
in rural India
Kolkata, July 4 (IANS) Rural
India has over 70,000 transgenders, with Uttar Pradesh
topping the list with nearly
13,000, and West Bengal
home to around 10,000, reveals the Socio Economic
and Caste Census 2011.The
census’s gender analysis reports rural India has 74,286
transgenders.Uttar Pradesh
tops the list among 35 Indian
states and Union Territories
with 12,916 members, Bihar
comes in second with 9,987
transgenders and rural Bengal ranks third with 9,868
members of the third gender.
According to Ranjita Sinha,
transgender activist and a
member of Bengal’s Transgender Development Board,
the survey released on Friday
reflects the growing recognition of the third gender in the
state.“The census will provide
a way to frame better policies
for the third gender in the
state. A lot of positive things
are happening in Bengal and
the official record of the numbers are evidence of the growing recognition, especially in
the rural areas,” Sinha told
IANS.The survey reports a
population of 7,07,68,606,
and 1,57,56,852 households
in rural Bengal. The proportion of transgenders in the
state is around 13.3 percent of
the national total.Sinha, also
the secretary of the Association of Transgender/Hijra in
Bengal, said the statistics and
data will help further strategies in health and education
of the third gender.
Court admits defamation
complaint of Sushil Modi’s wife
Patna, Jul 4 (PTI) A local
court today admitted a defamation complaint against Bihar Health Minister Ramdhani
Singh filed by the wife of senior
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi
for allegedly saying that she
was working as a professor on
the basis of fake degrees.
Chief Judicial Magistrate
Bharat Singh admitted the
complaint and transferred the
matter to Judicial Magistrate
Raghini Kumari for hearing.
The court has fixed July 13
as the date of hearing in the
complaint.Modi’s wife Jessie
George appeared in the CJM
court today and pleaded that
her academic degrees were
genuine and the allegation of
her fake degrees has tarnished
her reputation.
She had filed the complaint
in the CJM court on June 22
against the minister through
her lawyer Subodh Kumar Jha
under IPC 499 (defamation)
and sought lawful punishment
for him.
In her complaint, George
said that by calling by her degrees ‘fake’, Singh had sullied
her image in the eyes of stu-
dents, teachers and parents.
She said she had matriculated
from Maharashtra Board of
Secondary Education and had
done her BSc and BEd from
Sophia College of Maharashtra. She has done MEd from
Mumbai and PHD from Patna
University.
After working in a central
school for eight years, she became a lecturer in Patna University in 2003 and since April
2011 was working as principal
in-charge of Womens Training
College under Patna University.
6
By. CHARLES LAMB
AT the north end of Cross-court there yet stands a
portal, of some architectural pretensions, though reduced to humble use, serving at present for an entrance
to a printing-office. This old doorway, if you are young,
reader, you may not know was the identical pit entrance
to Old Drury -- Garrick’s Drury -- all of it that is left. I
never pass it without shaking some forty years from off
my shoulders, recurring to the evening when I passed
through it to see my first play. The afternoon had been
wet, and the condition of our going (the elder folks and
myself) was, that the rain should cease. With what a
beating heart did I watch from the window the puddles,
from the stillness of which I was taught to prognosticate
the desired cessation! I seem to remember the last spurt,
and the glee with which I ran to announce it.
We went with orders, which my godfather F. had sent
us. He kept the oil shop (now Davies’s) at the corner of
Featherstone- building, in Holborn. F. was a tall grave
person, lofty in speech, and had pretensions above his
rank. He associated in those days with John Palmer, the
comedian, whose gait and bearing he seemed to copy;
if John (which is quite as likely) did not rather borrow
somewhat of his manner from my godfather. He was
also known to, and visited by, Sheridan. It was to his
house in Holborn that young Brinsley brought his first
wife on her elopement with him from a boarding-school
at Bath -- the beautiful Maria Linley. My parents were
present (over a quadrille table) when he arrived in the
evening with his harmonious charge. -- From either of
these connexions it may be inferred that my godfather
could command an order for the then Drury-lane theatre at pleasure -- and, indeed, a pretty liberal issue of
those cheap billets, in Brinsley’s easy autograph, I have
heard him say was the sole remuneration which he had
received for many years’ nightly illumination of the orchestra and various avenues of that theatre -- and he
was content it should be so. The honour of Sheridan’s
familiarity -- or supposed familiarity -- was better to my
godfather than money.
F. was the most gentlemanly of oilmen; grandiloquent, yet courteous. His delivery of the commonest
matters of fact was Ciceronian. He had two Latin words
almost constantly in his mouth (how odd sounds Latin
from an oilman’s lips!), which my better knowledge
since has enabled me to correct. In strict pronunciation they should have been sounded vice versa -- but
in those young years they impressed me with more awe
than they would now do, read aright from Seneca or
Varro -- in his own peculiar pronunciation, monosyllabically elaborated, or Anglicized, into something like
verse verse. By an imposing manner, and the help of
these distorted syllables, he climbed (but that was little)
to the highest parochial honours which St. Andrew’s has
to bestow.
I had for some time past, dwelt
upon the prospect of our being reduced to this last horrible extremity,
and had secretly made up my mind
to suffer death in any shape or under any circumstances rather than
resort to such a course. Nor was this
resolution in any degree weakened
by the present intensity of hunger
under which I laboured. The proposition had not been heard by either
Peters or Augustus. I therefore took
Parker aside; and mentally praying
to God for power to dissuade him
from the horrible purpose he entertained, I expostulated with him for
a long time, and in the most supplicating manner, begging him in
the name of every thing which he
held sacred, and urging him by every species of argument which the
extremity of the case suggested, to
abandon the idea, and not to mention it to either of the other two.
He heard all I said without attempting to controvert any of my
arguments, and I had begun to
hope that he would be prevailed
upon to do as I desired. But when
I had ceased speaking, he said that
he knew very well all I had said was
true, and that to resort to such a
course was the most horrible alternative which could enter into the
mind of man; but that he had now
held out as long as human nature
could be sustained; that it was unnecessary for all to perish, when,
by the death of one, it was possible,
and even probable, that the rest
might be finally preserved; adding
that I might save myself the trouble
of trying to turn him from his purpose, his mind having been thoroughly made up on the subject even
before the appearance of the ship,
and that only her heaving in sight
had prevented him from mentioning his intention at an earlier period. I now begged him, if he would
not be prevailed upon to abandon
his design, at least to defer it for another day, when some vessel might
come to our relief; again reiterating
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
LITERARY
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Essays Of Elia
MY FIRST PLAY
He is dead -- and thus much I thought due to his
memory, both for my first orders (little wondrous talismans ! -- slight keys, and insignificant to outward sight,
but opening to me more than Arabian paradises!) and
moreover, that by his testamentary beneficence I came
into possession of the only landed property which I
could ever call my own -- situate near the road-way village of pleasant Puckeridge, in Hertfordshire. When I
journeyed down to take possession, and planted foot on
my own ground, the stately habits of the donor descended upon me, and I strode (shall I confess the vanity?)
with larger paces over my allotment of three quarters
of an acre, with its commodious mansion in the midst,
with the feeling of an English freeholder that all betwixt
sky and centre was my own. The estate has passed into
more prudent hands, and nothing but an agrarian can
restore it. From either of these connexions it may be inferred that my godfather could command an order for
the then Drury-lane theatre at pleasure -- and, indeed,
a pretty liberal issue of those cheap billets, in Brinsley’s
easy autograph, I have heard him say was the sole remuneration which he had received for many years’ nightly
illumination of the orchestra and various avenues of
that theatre -- and he was content it should be so. The
honour of Sheridan’s familiarity -- or supposed familiarity -- was better to my godfather than money.
In those days were pit orders. Beshrew the uncomfortable manager who abolished them ! -- with one of
these we went. I remember the waiting at the door -- not
that which is left -- but between that and an inner door
in shelter -- O when shall I be such an expectant again
! -- with the cry of nonpareils, an indispensable playhouse accompaniment in those days. As near as I can
recollect, the fashionable pronunciation of the theatrical fruiteresses then was, “Chase some oranges, chase
some numparels, chase a bill of the play;” -- chase pro
chuse. But when we got in, and I beheld the green curtain that veiled a heaven to my imagination, which was
soon to be disclosed -- the breathless anticipations I endured! I had seen something like it in the plate prefixed
to Troilus and Cressida, in Rowe’s Shakspeare -- the tent
scene with Diomede -- and a sight of that plate can always bring back in a measure the feeling of that evening.
-- The boxes at that time, full of well-dressed women of
quality, protected over the pit; and the pilasters reaching down were adorned with a glistering substance (I
know not what) under glass (as it seemed), resembling
-- a homely fancy -- but I judged it to be sugar-candy
-- yet, to my raised imagination, divested of its homelier
qualities, it appeared a glorified candy -- The orchestra
lights at length arose, those “fair Auroras!” Once the
bell sounded. It was to ring out yet once again -- and,
incapable of the anticipation, I reposed my shut eyes in
a sort of resignation upon the maternal lap. It rang the
second time. The curtain drew up -- I was not past six
years old -- and the play was Artaxerxes!
I had dabbled a little in the Universal History -- the
ancient part of it -- and here was the court of Persia. It
was being admitted to a sight of the past I took no proper interest in the action going on, for I understood not
its import -- but I heard the word Darius, and I was in
the midst of Daniel. All feeling was absorbed in vision.
Gorgeous vests, gardens, palaces, princesses, passed
before me. I knew not players. I was in Persepolis for
the time; and the burning idol of their devotion almost
converted me into a worshipper. I was awe-struck, and
believed those significations to be something more than
elemental fires. It was all enchantment and a dream.
No such pleasure has since visited me but in dreams.
-- Harlequin’s Invasion followed; where, I remember,
the transformation of the magistrates into reverend beldams seemed to me a piece of grave historic justice, and
the tailor carrying his own head to be as sober a verity as
the legend of St. Denys. AT the north end of Cross-court
there yet stands a portal, of some architectural pretensions, though reduced to humble use, serving at present
for an entrance to a printing-office. This old doorway, if
you are young, reader, you may not know was the identical pit entrance to Old Drury -- Garrick’s Drury -- all of
it that is left. I never pass it without shaking some forty
years from off my shoulders, recurring to the evening
when I passed through it to see my first play.
The afternoon had been wet, and the condition of
our going (the elder folks and myself) was, that the rain
should cease. With what a beating heart did I watch
from the window the puddles, from the stillness of
which I was taught to prognosticate the desired cessation! I seem to remember the last spurt, and the glee
with which I ran to announce it. The next play to which
I was taken was the Lady of the Manor, of which, with
the exception of some scenery, very faint traces are left
in my memory. It was followed by a pantomime, cal]ed
Lun’s Ghost -- a satiric touch, I apprehend, upon Rich,
not long since dead -- but to my apprehension (too sincere for satire), Lun was as remote a piece of antiquity as
Lud -- the father of a line of Harlequins -- transmitting
his dagger of lath (the wooden sceptre) through countless ages. I saw the primeval Motley come from his silent tomb in a ghastly vest of white patch-work, like the
apparition of a dead rainbow. So Harlequins (thought I)
look when they are dead.
My third play followed in quick succession. It was the
Way of the World. I think I must have sat at it as grave
as a judge; for, I remember, the hysteric affectations of
good Lady Wishfort affected me like some solemn tragic
passion. Robinson Crusoe followed; in which Crusoe,
man Friday, and the parrot, were as good and authentic as in the story. -- The clownery and pantaloonery of
these pantomimes have clean passed out of my head. I
believe, I no more laughed at them, than at the same age
I should have been disposed to laugh at the grotesque
Gothic heads (seeming to me then replete with devout
meaning) that gape, and grin, in stone around the inside
of the old Round Church (my church) of the Templars.
I saw these plays in the season 1781-2, when I was
from six to seven years old. After the intervention of
six or seven other years (for at school all play-going
was inhibited) I again entered the doors of a theatre.
That old Artaxerxes evening had never done ringing in
my fancy. I expected the same feelings to come again
with the same occasion. But we differ from ourselves
less at sixty and sixteen, than the latter does from six.
In that interval what had I not lost! At the first period
I knew nothing, understood nothing, discriminated
nothing. I felt all, loved all, wondered all - I had left
the temple a devotee, and was returned a rationalist.
The same things were there materially; but the emblem, the reference, was gone -- The green curtain
was no longer a veil, drawn between two worlds, the
unfolding of which was to bring back past ages, to
present “a royal ghost,” -- but a certain quantity of
green baize, which was to separate the audience for a
given time from certain of their fellow-men who were
to come forward and pretend those parts. The lights
-- the orchestra lights -- came up a clumsy machinery. The first ring, and the second ring, was now but
a trick of the prompter’s bell -- which had been, like
the note of the cuckoo, a phantom of a voice, no hand
seen or guessed at which ministered to its warning.
The actors were men and women painted. I thought
the fault was in them; but it was in myself, and the
alteration which those many centuries -- of six short
twelve- months -- had wrought in me. -- Perhaps it
was fortunate for me that the play of the evening was
but an indifferent comedy, as it gave me time to crop
some unreasonable expectations, which might have
interfered with the genuine emotions with which I
was soon after enabled to enter upon the first appearance to me of Mrs. Siddons in IsabelIa. I saw the primeval Motley come from his silent tomb in a ghastly
vest of white patch-work, like the apparition of a dead
rainbow. So Harlequins (thought I) look when they
are dead. Comparison and retrospection soon yielded
to the present attraction of the scene; and the theatre
became to me, upon a new stock, the most delightful
of recreations.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
CHAPTER 12
every argument I could devise, and
which I thought likely to have influence with one of his rough nature.
He said, in reply, that he had not
spoken until the very last possible
moment, that he could exist no
longer without sustenance of some
kind, and that therefore in another
day his suggestion would be too
late, as regarded himself at least.
Finding that he was not to be
moved by anything I could say in a
mild tone, I now assumed a different demeanor, and told him that he
must be aware I had suffered less
than any of us from our calamities;
that my health and strength, consequently, were at that moment far
better than his own, or than that either of Peters or Augustus; in short,
that I was in a condition to have my
own way by force if I found it necessary; and that if he attempted in
any manner to acquaint the others
with his bloody and cannibal designs, I would not hesitate to throw
him into the sea. Upon this he immediately seized me by the throat,
and drawing a knife, made several
ineffectual efforts to stab me in the
stomach; an atrocity which his excessive debility alone prevented
him from accomplishing. In the
meantime, being roused to a high
pitch of anger, I forced him to the
vessel’s side, with the full intention
of throwing him overboard. He was
saved from his fate, however, by
the interference of Peters, who now
approached and separated us, asking the cause of the disturbance.
This Parker told before I could find
means in any manner to prevent
him. The effect of his words was
even more terrible than what I had
anticipated. Both Augustus and
Peters, who, it seems, had long secretly entertained the same fearful
idea which Parker had been merely
the first to broach, joined with him
in his design and insisted upon its
immediately being carried into effect. I had calculated that one at
least of the two former would be
found still possessed of sufficient
strength of mind to side with myself in resisting any attempt to execute so dreadful a purpose, and,
with the aid of either one of them,
I had no fear of being able to prevent its accomplishment. Being
disappointed in this expectation, it
became absolutely necessary that
I should attend to my own safety,
as a further resistance on my part
might possibly be considered by
men in their frightful condition a
sufficient excuse for refusing me
fair play in the tragedy that I knew
would speedily be enacted.
I now told them I was willing to
submit to the proposal, merely requesting a delay of about one hour,
in order that the fog which had
gathered around us might have an
opportunity of lifting, when it was
possible that the ship we had seen
might be again in sight. After great
difficulty I obtained from them a
promise to wait thus long; and, as
I had anticipated (a breeze rapidly
coming in), the fog lifted before the
hour had expired, when, no vessel
appearing in sight, we prepared to
draw lots. It is with extreme reluctance that I dwell upon the appalling scene which ensued; a scene
which, with its minutest details,
no after events have been able to
efface in the slightest degree from
my memory, and whose stern recollection will embitter every future
moment of my existence. Let me
run over this portion of my narrative with as much haste as the nature of the events to be spoken of
will permit. The only method we
could devise for the terrific lottery,
in which we were to take each a
chance, was that of drawing straws.
Small splinters of wood were made
to answer our purpose, and it was
agreed that I should be the holder. I
retired to one end of the hulk, while
my poor companions silently took
up their station in the other with
their backs turned toward me. The
bitterest anxiety which I endured
at any period of this fearful drama
was while I occupied myself in the
arrangement of the lots. There are
few conditions into which man can
possibly fall where he will not feel a
deep interest in the preservation of
his existence; an interest momentarily increasing with the frailness
of the tenure by which that existence may be held. But now that the
silent, definite, and stern nature of
the business in which I was engaged
(so different from the tumultuous
dangers of the storm or the gradually approaching horrors of famine)
allowed me to reflect on the few
chances I had of escaping the most
appalling of deaths--a death for the
most appalling of purposes--every
particle of that energy which had
so long buoyed me up departed like
feathers before the wind, leaving
me a helpless prey to the most abject and pitiable terror. I could not,
at first, even summon up sufficient
strength to tear and fit together the
small splinters of wood, my fingers
absolutely refusing their office, and
my knees knocking violently against
each other. My mind ran over rapidly a thousand absurd projects by
which to avoid becoming a partner
in the awful speculation. I thought
of falling on my knees to my companions, and entreating them to let
me escape this necessity; of sud-
denly rushing upon them, and, by
putting one of them to death, of
rendering the decision by lot useless--in short, of every thing but
of going through with the matter I
had in hand. At last, after wasting a
long time in this imbecile conduct,
I was recalled to my senses by the
voice of Parker, who urged me to
relieve them at once from the terrible anxiety they were enduring.
Even then I could not bring myself
to arrange the splinters upon the
spot, but thought over every species of finesse by which I could trick
some one of my fellow-sufferers
to draw the short straw, as it had
been agreed that whoever drew the
shortest of four splinters from my
hand was to die for the preservation
of the rest. Before any one condemn
me for this apparent heartlessness,
let him be placed in a situation precisely similar to my own.
At length delay was no longer possible, and, with a heart almost bursting from my bosom, I advanced to
the region of the forecastle, where
my companions were awaiting me.
I held out my hand with the splinters, and Peters immediately drew.
He was free--his, at least, was not
the shortest; and there was now
another chance against my escape.
I summoned up all my strength,
and passed the lots to Augustus.
He also drew immediately, and he
also was free; and now, whether I
should live or die, the chances were
no more than precisely even. At this
moment all the fierceness of the tiger possessed my bosom, and I felt
toward my poor fellow-creature,
Parker, the most intense, the most
diabolical hatred. But the feeling
did not last; and, at length, with
a convulsive shudder and closed
eyes, I held out the two remaining
splinters toward him. It was fully
five minutes before he could summon resolution to draw, during
which period of heartrending suspense I never once opened my eyes.
Presently one of the two lots was
quickly drawn from my hand. The
decision was then over, yet I knew
not whether it was for me or against
me. No one spoke, and still I dared
not satisfy myself by looking at the
splinter I held. Peters at length took
me by the hand, and I forced myself
to look up, when I immediately saw
by the countenance of Parker that
I was safe, and that he it was who
had been doomed to suffer. Gasping for breath, I fell senseless to the
deck. I recovered from my swoon in
time to behold the consummation
of the tragedy in the death of him
who had been chiefly instrumental
in bringing it about. He made no resistance whatever, and was stabbed
in the back by Peters, when he fell
instantly dead. I must not dwell
upon the fearful repast which immediately ensued. Such things may
be imagined, but words have no
power to impress the mind with the
exquisite horror of their reality. Let
it suffice to say that, having in some
measure appeased the raging thirst
which consumed us by the blood
of the victim, and having by common consent taken off the hands,
feet, and head, throwing them together with the entrails, into the
sea, we devoured the rest of the
body, piecemeal, during the four
ever memorable days of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth,
and twentieth of the month. On
the nineteenth, there coming on a
smart shower which lasted fifteen
or twenty minutes, we contrived
to catch some water by means of
a sheet which had been fished up
from the cabin by our drag just after
the gale. The quantity we took in all
did not amount to more than half a
gallon; but even this scanty allowance supplied us with comparative
strength and hope.
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
LITERARY
Sunday July 5, 2015
7
ISLAMIC RESPONSE TO CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES
BY. DR. RAHIMUDDIN KEMAL
C
hallenges in the contemporary world are
many, varied, complicated and have been
arising incessantly. The greatest of these challenges is that man is under great pressure. He has
lost his accord with his Self and his inner world is
lost to him. The society he lives in is also discordant
with nature. The conventional boundaries of territories and regions are fast disappearing. There is
no sign or hope that man's bewilderment will find
a solution and his affairs will be properly managed
so that the challenges are adequately met. Everyone
is straining for some space to breathe freely and live
peacefully and creati-vely.
It all leads to one historic fact that the West which
was trying to manage the affairs of the world has failed
in this task utterly. People are rising against its leadership. Muslims are not an exception to this upsurge.
The last two decades have witnessed tremendous upsurge among Muslims all over the world. Without exception they wish to regain their roots to build a momentum for renaissance, but along with regaining the
roots and shunning the accretions of foreign domination they are in search of a vision for the future. This
vision is possible only if they come out of the conflicts
and confusion created by these challenges. They have
to relink with their inner world and rebuild the society
they live in. The test of the harmony is whether it generates beneficence for humanity.
The vision of the future comes to them from Quranic
insl:A.ration that weaves humanity into family relationships. At the same time each individual family and
group has been given identity and freedom to actualize
itself. The spiritual bond creates a strong brotherhood.
Prayer to Allah enables man to attain his spiritual radiance and equips him to serve humanity. This is the real
relationship between divinity in man and its obligation
A
s SOON we came out of the bank I said to Helena
Gerbertovna "And now let's have a party." "What
for this time?" "Because now I paid the mortgage
all. Why, I really own a piece of America." "Good as any
other reason," Helena Gerbertovna said. "Who we have
and when?" "Easter and we ask everybody. All the Georgians and all our American friends, too. I like to have a
really big party. So big that for the next ten years people
remember everything did it happen Before or did it happen After our party." "What was the best party we ever
went to?" Helena Gerbertovna asked me. "Hard to decide." I was thinking. "Maybe when Besso's daughter got
married and they had the musicians for three days and
and service to man and society in secular dimensions.
In secular dimen¬sions humanity is served and there
is no distinction between Muslim and non-Muslims.
The Quran has con¬ceived humanity as a family. With
a view to achieving this clarity of vision Muslims have
to understand Islam in the spirit of the Quran. The understanding of Islam in the light of the Quran will enable Muslims to adequately evaluate the contemporary
challenges and meet them successfully.
I started my work on understanding the Quranic
concept of society and public law about four decades
ago. As foreseen, the most essential demand in Muslim countries would be to reconstruct their societies
and reframe public laws in the light of the Quran. My
book the Concept of Constitutional Law in Islam was
published in 1952 as a prelude to this effort. Now I am
getting it reprinted with the addition of three chapters
1) Economic Foundation of Ummah, 2) Islamic Budget and Fiscal management, and 3) How to frame an Islamic constitution? The addition of these chapters has
become necessary to meet the need of the Islamic State.
The Muslim countries now are fast moving towards
adopting Islamic constitutions and providing a larger
scope for Ijtehad in Muslim society. The book has been
written to cover a very large field precisely and clearly.
The analytical and critical study of Islamic history is
also needed to plan the future of Islam. The role of Ummah except in the early period of Khilafat and certain
periods of crises has remained in the background. Individual dynasties and races inspired by Islamic ideology and values have made a glorious contribution to
Islamic history. It unfolds a marvellous record of Muslim achievements in the field of learning, science, technology, arts, crafts, architecture, medicine, administration, military technology, music, trade and commerce,
above all culture is expanding into a civilization having
passed through many ebbs and tides. It is once again
kiss each other and say, "Christos oskrece." "Looks so
nice," Miss Betty says, she's giving chilarens their breakfast, "What does it mean?" "Means Christ rose. You supposed to answer, Voi-stinit V oskrece.' I do believe that
He rose! Like Amer-icans say, 'Happy Easter.' "But much
better," Miss Betty said, "Christ rose. I like it.
Sounds so sweet and serious for Easter morning.
Christ rose." "Christ rose!" Besso came in the kitchen
and kissed everybody. "I believe—how you say—I believe He rose?" Miss Betty told him, "But I thought you
was an atheist, Besso?" "Certainly I am. We take for example story of )1 Adam and Eva "I know," Miss Betty
said. "You explained me that yesterday. But why you
ON EASTER DAY
BY. GEORGE AND HELEN WAITE PAPASHVILY
platters of fresh hot corn bread every meal. That was
pretty good. What you chose?" "Time at Eliko's. Was it
Christmas or Easter?" "Easter how I remember it. And
Vasso was tornado that time to lead the table and give all
the toast. And he made such a nice speech. After he drank
for every-body in turn, somebody proposed a glass for
him—'for the man who did so much for his country' and
he said, 'I thank you for your words but whatever I did for
my country was not smallest part of what my country did
for me. A good said answer."
"The thing I remember," Helena said, "was that we
sat down at the table about two o'clock and first we
had zakuski of fishes and salads and what all and in two
hours the table was a mess. Emilia cleared everything
and started with a new tablecloth and chickens and a
ham—she had six new tablecloths before the night was
over and by the last one she had started on her linen
sheets. "I think I see if I can negotiate a small pig for
our party and we roast whole outdoors on a spit." "I'm
going to make everything I can think of. Every single
thing." "And plenty of it," I said. So we sent invitations
and Saturday before Easter seventeen peoples turned
up and with four little kids and us made twenty-three.
"Nice comfortable size for a party," I told Helena. _ I
was right. About four o'clock we sat down and we was
just enough to make a good table. Everybody enjoyed
themselves to eat and drink and we sang all our Georgian songs and our American friends gave nice tunes
for reply—about some house they used to live in before
in Kentucky and a lady that went around on her knees
carrying a banjo and cowboys who had troubles and all
the college songs—some of the best songs in America,
I noticed, is the college ones, especially about football.
Must be a very musical game to watch, that. One of our
ladies, Vera Petrovna, is Estonian and someway they
found out Estonian birthday greeting is same tune as
California University hymn and so they had fine time
singing and singing, each their own words—quite like
a duet, when they had luck to come Out even. Yes, we
was a pretty good company and once 3 made excuse to
leave the table and go outside just sc I could catch it all
in my heart to keep the voices floating away through the
trees, the feathers of smoke rising from the chimney, the
roasting baking buttery smell sifting out of the kitchen
door, the windows shining with golden light—people
being happy in my house. They was still singing when I
came back—"What leaves a man when he rides to war?"
Piotr's big bass asked. "He leaves a wife so true," Besso's
sweet tenor answered. And then the company in chorus, "Such leaves a man when he rides to war." "I gonna
drink last glass now," Piotr, our tornado, said when song
was finished, "is only eleven o'clock, but tomorrow be
Easter and we want to keep some appetite." Next morning, in honor of the Day, all us foreigners have habit to
say, Christ rose?" "Why? After all," Besso looked hurt,
"just because person is atheist—Christos V oskrece,
Piotr. Chal-lico---" He kissed them on both cheeks
as they came through the door.—"Because person is
atheist he don't need to have bad manners. Who likes
to crack Easter egg with me?" Childrens all gathered
around him. "Me. Me."
"I can't do nothing unless you find egg with your own
name," he said. "Otherwise wouldn't be official Now you
found? We gonna tap ends of eggs together —so. See,
I hold and you hit. One whose egg gets cracked loses.
Pays a forfeit. But won't be me. No. No. Never be Besso.
All right. Ready? Smack. What? Mine broke. Now how
happened that? I try another." Little kids kept jumping
up and down, "Me next. Me next." Everyone they broke
Besso's eggs. He found four presents in his pocket and
lined them up. "Funny," he said, "everybody wins from
me. Giorgi Ivanitch, next Easter I want you to carve me
a stone egg. I gonna color it—blue, I think, and paint
regular designs on and I win from everybody. But don't
tell—" he whispers to childrens, "—if you don't say a
word They all closed mouths up tight.
No. No. No. No. All four heads shaking. “—Why I take
you for my partners."
After breakfast we made a fire and let it die to bright
embers, then we stuck two forked branches either side,
spitted the pig, laid it across and then turned around
and around while it grew crickling, crackling browner
and browner and the dogs sat on their haunches and
watched with hungry eyes and long tongues and so, too,
did the peoples. Challico was tantada for the table this
day and he made a good one—kept the songs going and
the glasses filled and said the toasts in words that didn't
stop at your ears but went straight through to the heart.
"Give me attention," be said at last.
"We drank lotta toasts today—for everybody as
himself, for the childrens, for the mothers and the
fathers, for our hostess and our host. Now I gonna
propose for some-thing different. Piotr, please to stop
cracking nuts and listen me.'' "With pleasure," Piotr
said, "I only wish I had donkey's ears so I could hear
you better. My glass is empty, what's more." Somebody filled his glass. He held to light. "Very beautiful
wine this, looks like melted rubies. I hope you making
beautiful toast to go with it, Challico." "Before I was
interrupted," Challico went on, "I said we was gonna
drink for something different. Well this little glass is
for Home. I see lotta American faces around me. I like
to tell them we pleased to see them at our party especially since we had honor to be at their wide table,
which is United States in America, for a long time and
enjoy all the things they put before us. We tried to be
good guests. I hope we was. That's one Home. Lotsa
other kind of peoples we are here, too.
moved by a new upsurge. The gain from the set-back
Muslims experienced during the last one and a half
centuries is that Ummah has come into the forefront
to lead this upsurge of renaissance to new heights. The
scope is wider, the work more intensive and the reach
has got to be total and wholesome in all fields of thought
and life. This collection of reviews, review articles and
papers form a theme that is vital for understanding the
Islamic response to the contemporary challenges, an
upsurge to a renaissance of new height.
This collection of articles and papers is not a substitute for a comprehensive treatment of the subject.
Never¬theless, they will, offer clarity of Islamic response to contemporary challenges and stimulate
others for detailed work. I have been associated with
‘Islamic Culture’, a journal of international repute for
more than five decades, sometimes as a member of the
panel of Experts and Reviewers, sometimes as a member of its Editorial Board, and as its contributor. I also
had ample opportunity in national and international
seminars at universities and many other academic institutions. I have also had the privilege of presi-ding
and guiding conventions and conferences of Islamic
concern. This collection is drawn from these papers,
articles, review articles, and addresses.
Reviews generally are not reprinted unless something of a permanent value is discussed in them. The
books reviewed were of considerable importance
and most of them by highly reputed orientalists.
These are writers both from the Western as well as
the Eastern world. The books reviewed usually dealt
with topics that were of relevance to the challenges
faced by Islam or the Muslims in the contemporary
world. The issues are so varied and numerous that
it would require some volumes to deal with all these
topics satisfactorily. In a sense it is an attempt to
help in the understanding of Islam, its value system,
its institutions and socio-political structure and economic foundations. The understanding of Islam is
most essential, because the World is passing through
so much confusion that every one looks at it from his
own point of view. Here an attempt has been made to
present Islamic World view as it is worth understanding for a peaceful co-existence. Islam has a creative
role to play in the contemporary world.
The articles, reviews, review-articles and papers can
be classified in the following categories:
1) Reviews and Review-articles of the books that were of
importance for the understanding of Islam and its contemporary challenges;
2) Papers dealing with important Islamic issues and events
in the Muslim world;
3) Plans of action and suggestions to meet the challenges
Islam and Muslims face in various parts of the world;
4) Refutation of the theory of Muslim decline;
5) The concept of the future of Islam;
6) Is conflict with other civilizations inevitable?
What is the way out? And the scope for Islam’s creative
role. Views expressed earlier were reevaluated to see
whether any changes were needed. It was seldom
found necessary to make any changes.
My life over the last five decades has been
one of active participation in the process of
develop¬ment of Islamic thought in the contemporary
world. This brought me closer to institutions in which
or persons with whom, I had ample opportunities in India and abroad to achieve this objective.
These writings were not done in a sportive vein. They
relate directly to episodes and events or issues that did
create waves in the calm waters of individual or social
lives. It was indeed a great challenges to keep this lamp
of interest in Islamic thought burning amidst the agonies and depression of the fall of Hyderabad.
..........................TO BE CONTINUED
TIDDLEY-POM'S PENCIL
BY. ENID BLYTON
IDDLVY-POM the tailor was very happy. The
1 King had given him a beautiful gold pencil
with his name on, because the little tailor had
made him a splendid red party suit. 'Look!' TiddleyPorn said to everyone he met. 'Look! See my beautiful golden pencil! The King 0-aye it to me!' TiddleyPom's wife was very pleased. She took a good look at
the pencil and said, 'Now, Tiddley-Porn, you just be
careful with this pencil.
You know how careless you are with your things—
always putting them down here, there, and everywhere, and never being able to find them again.
Just choose a safe place for your pencil, and keep it
there when you are not using it.' 'In my pocket?' said
Tiddley-Pom. 'No,' said his wife. 'That's a silly place,
because your pockets always have holes. 'You should
mend them,' said Tiddley-Pom. 'I do,' said Mrs. Tiddley-Porn, 'but you will keep putting your scissors
into them, Tiddley-Porn, and the points make holes.'
'I'll keep my pencil on the mantelpiece,' said Tiddley-Pom. 'No,' said his wife. 'It might roll off there.'
'Well,' said the tailor. 'I'll tie it on a bit of string and tie
the string to a button on my coat! What do you think
of that, wife?' 'No good at all,' said Mrs. Tiddley-Pom.
'You are always taking your coat off—aid you forget
where you leave it, so your pencil would be gone too!
Do you know, Tiddley-Pom, that I found your coat on
the roof the other day. Now how did it get there?' 'It
mantelpiece. No pencil there either. Tiddley-Pom
scratched his head and thought. 'It must be somewhere about!' he said. 'I had it about half an hour
ago.' 'Perhaps it has been stolen,' said Dame Tubby.
'A valuable pencil like that might easily be stolen,
you know. A witch or a gnome would be pleased to
have it!' 'Oohl' said Tiddley-Pom in alarm. `So they
might. Oh, Dame Tubby, Snippy the gnome came in
this morning—and Witch Toddles—and the Yellow
Witch too—and Higgle the gnome as well! Do you
suppose any of them took it?' 'Well, I shouldn't think
so,' said Dame Tubby.
'They are all friends of yours, aren't they? I'll tell
you what to do, Tiddley-Pom. I've got a spell at home
for robbers. I'll go and get it. Wait a minute. We'll
soon get back your pencil!' Dame Tubby ran off. On
the way home she told everyone about Tiddley-Pom's
lost pencil, and how she was getting a spell to find the
robber. So, before she had got back to the shop again,
about twenty gnomes, goblins, witches, fairies, and
pixies had arrived at Tiddley-Pom's, all anxious to
hear the latest news of the wonderful pencil. Dame
Tubby came back, most important. In her hand she
carried a little box. 'Look, Tiddley-Porn,' she said.
'There's a yellow powder in here. Blow it into the
air, and call upon it to find the one who has the pencil.' 'But how shall I know who has it?' asked
Tiddley-Po tn. 'Oh, you must choose something that the spell makes them do,' said
Dame Tubby, excited. 'Tell the spell
must have been left there when I went up to watd the
sweep's brush coming out of the chimney!' said the
tailor going red. 'Oh, wife! I ki-Now such a good place!
I'll keep my pencil behind my ear—like this!'
He stuck the lovely gold pencil behind his ear,
and it stayed there nicely, because Tiddley-Porn had
great big pointed ears, and only the tip of the pencil could be seen sticking out. 'That's quite a good
place,' said his wife. 'Now I'm going out shopping,
Tiddley. So get on with your work whilst I'm gone.'
Off she went. Tiddley-Pom settled down to his sewing very happily. He whistled as he worked, and
a good many of his friends came and chatted with
him at the open window. One of them was old Dame
Tubby, who had been away a week with her sister.
'I hear the King gave you a beautiful gold pencil,
Tiddley-Potn,' she said. 'Will you show it to me?'
'Oh, haven't you seen it?' said the tailor. 'I'll love to
show it to you.' He put his hands into his pocket to
get the pencil. It wasn't there. 'Funny!' said TiddleyPom. 'I usually keep my pencil there. Wait a minute.
I may have put it on the mantelpiece.' He ran to the
to start them braying like a donkey—or standing on
their head—or galloping like a horse! Then as soon
as the spell begins to work, we'll see which of us is
doing that, and we'll find the pencil on him!' 'Ooh!'
said Tiddley-Pom, 'it's a powerful spell. I know what
I'll do. I'll tell it to make the robber quack like a duck
and hop on one foot all the ,way down the street.
Then we shall soon find the one who has my beautiful
gold pencil.' Tiddley-Pom took the box, and opened
the lid. He blew the powder up into the air, crying,
'Spell, spell, find the one who has my pencil! Make
him quack like a duck and hop all the waw down the
street!' The powder flew up into the air with a queer
crackling noise and disappeared. Every one stood still
and looked at everyone else. Who was the thief? Nobody moved—and then, suddenly, a most peculiar
thing happened! Tiddley-Pom began to quack! You
should have heard him! 'Quarck, quarck, quarck!'
he said, opening and shutting his mouth like a beak.
'Quarck, quarck, quarck, quarck!' And then he put up
one leg and began to hop solemnly to the door—and
out of it—and down the street!
T
The views expressed in these columns are the writers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Indian Horizon or its management.-Editor
8
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
OP-ED
Crisis in
European Union
Sunday July 5, 2015
Putting the Railways on fast-track growth
About 93 per cent of the receipts are used in disbursement of salaries and defraying maintenance charges.
Very little amount is left for expansion and modernisation of projects.
Germany must give new lead
BY R.N MALIK
BY S NIHAL SINGH
T
HE great concept of the European Economic
Community, which morphed into the European Union (EU), is facing its greatest crisis
as Greece totters under debt and is unable to meet
its obligations. Whether it can remain in the eurozone, the common European currency shared by
some EU members, should be decided in the coming days and weeks. But the crisis facing a unique
undertaking in modern European history is larger
than that of Greece.
Britain is in a peculiar position because the
Conservative government of David Cameron has
promised a referendum on whether to stay in the
EU, before the end of 2017. But the rise of fringe
parties on the continent, both on the right and the
left, speak of the disillusionment of many on the
goal of “an ever closer union”, three words Britain
finds particularly bothersome.
Having joyously parted with a large portion of
their sovereignty, European nations now find that
they have given away too much. Syriza in Greece
on the left, with extreme elements in it, was born
out of this feeling, accentuated by a weak tax regime, a bloated public sector and a habit of living
beyond its means. And Marine Le Pen’s extreme
right National Front of France wants the old currency back, instead of the euro, and does not have
much time for the EU.
Part of the problem facing Europe is economic.
Decades of prosperity enjoyed by the EU nations
ended up in recession and while a new generation of Europeans took it as given that it could live
and work wherever it liked in any of the member
states, the pain of recession hurt. Parties outside
the mainstream, as in the case of Greece, suddenly
bloomed. And in such member states as Hungary,
the leadership is evolving its own brand of an authoritarian system, threatening to build barriers to
keep out Serbs seeking EU goodies.
Nothing illustrates the narrowing of vision as EU
members’reluctance to take an equitable share of
waves of immigrants escaping from the mayhem
and murder in Africa and the Middle East. Given
their geographic location, Italy and Greece have
had to bear most of the burden. While a facesaving solution was found in allocating 40,000
migrants among members, Britain, among others,
refused to take any migrants.
Greece has forced Europeans to think through
the difficulties they are facing, with the most important European leader, Angela Merkel, striking a
cautious note. The EU is to blame in Greece’s case
inasmuch as it gave it a second bailout when it did
not honour the first, and in the failed last-minute
negotiations, Alexis Tsipras asked for a third. Although Greeks were sick of years of austerity, they
did not throw up a leader who could take the bull
by the horns. It was therefore easy for the present
Left regime to come to power, promising to stand
up for the rights and dignity of the people.
While the Greek crisis will run its course after
Sunday’s referendum on the terms of the deal offered by the EU, the group’s leaders must attend
to the political problems underlining the heart of
the crisis. The British problem must be dealt with
separately because it has always been a reluctant
European believing in its own exceptionalism and
had received major opt-out concessions. Cameron is in a fix, having promised an in-out referendum because a British exit would greatly harm the
country and the European enterprise.
Among member countries, Germany is most
committed to the EU because its economic
and political dominance is underpinned by the
group. Given the World War II history, the EU
serves as the sheet anchor overriding lingering
concerns Europeans might harbour about the
Nazi record. A breakup of Europe would therefore stir old demons. Today, Germany is a normal nation except for the bias it shows towards
Israel against Palestinian rights to compensate
for its past treatment of Jews.
However, the nub of the problem is to fire the
imagination of a new generation on the great European enterprise. We are witnessing a return to
a new parochialism and nationalism, with the left
and the right exploiting this mood. There are, of
course, limits to how far these extreme elements
can go because we are living in a highly connected
world and simply cannot go back to the nationalism of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Merkel cannot do the impossible because she
has to heed her people who take a particularly
dim view of the prospect of all the German money
loaned to Greece going down the drain. In fact, the
present crisis has somewhat dented her popularity
as an astute leader. Perhaps it is time for her to give
a new lead by soaring above the crisis to call Europeans to a new ideal. The point is that the EU has
achieved much since its early days as the Coal and
Steel Community than as the European Economic
Community, and ultimately, the EU.
Over the decades, the European enterprise has
made concessions to regionalism and nationalism
by granting greater autonomy in financing and administration. Some incongruities remain such as
the wasteful agricultural subsidies underpinned by
French clout. But the EU remains a work in progress and ingenious ways can be found to surmount
national hurdles. What is missing is the spark to
ignite the passions of a new generation to a truly
historic enterprise. Here is a true union of nation
states choosing to give up chunks of their sovereignty for the common good. It is easy enough
to relight the fires of nationalism and selfishness
for narrow gains but the leaders of Germany and
France cannot let the European enterprise fail.
Britain has still to decide which way to go.
IANS
T
he Indian Railways (IR) is the biggest government
organisation in the country, with a workforce of
14 lakh people. It daily runs 8,000 trains to ferry
14 million passengers and 6.1 million tonne of freight to
8,000 stations. Unfortunately, the financial health of the
Railways is very poor. About 93 per cent of the receipts
are used in disbursement of salaries and defraying
maintenance charges. Little amount is left for expansion and modernisation of projects. The worst period of
the Railways was when the Raliways Minister Mamata
Bannerjee operated from Kolkata. According to an RTI
information, the monthly TA bills of officials to go and
come back from Kolkata were Rs 11 lakh per month.
The Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the
Railway Budget for five years, that is for 2015-2020, with
the thrust on doubling and electrifying 10,000 km of
railway tracks by the year 2020. It requires Rs 8.5 lakh
crore to complete this big-ticket project and to marshal
the necessary resources. The Railways suffers from five
maladies that prevent it from moving toward excellence. These are: Poor financial health, inefficiency and
gross under-utilisation of 60 per cent railway tracks,
missing links, slow progress in electrification and doubling of tracks, insanitation.
The root cause of poor financial health is low fares.
The ordinary bus fare from Delhi to Chandigarh is Rs
219, while that of the mail train for the same class is only
Rs 95. The fare between Delhi and Rohtak is just Rs 20,
against the bus fare of Rs 65. Pass holders enjoy almost
a free ride by paying for only eight tickets per month.
The government does not have the guts to increase
the fares or curb ticketless travelling. The Railways will
keep fighting a ding-dong battle to raise the necessary
resources for completing expansion and modernisation projects. The basic cause of inefficiency and associated problems is the size of the Railways. There is
a limit to the size of an organisation so as to deliver optimum efficiency. The IR has outgrown that optimum
size. Gross inefficiency is reflected in the non-punctuality in running of trains (which is worst on secondary routes) and under-utilisation of 60 per cent railway
tracks where hardly two to three trains run during the
day. This contributes maximum losses to the Railways.
For instance, hardly two trains run on the new 50-km
railway track that was laid between Rewari and Rohtak
at a cost of Rs 600 crore. Consequently, under-utilisation of 35,000-km-long tracks is an issue. The solution
lies in an order of the government that says: “Allow the
states to run trains within their territories.” This order
will revolutionise the Railways.
Unfortunately, having monopolised the railway system, the Railways is not ready to give even an inch to
the states. It runs even suburban trains in Mumbai and
Kolkata. Time has come for the Railways to unbundle
itself and allow the states to run trains within their respective territories. It should run only interstate trains.
This will enable the states to fix their own fares, make
the running of trains a profitable proposition and enable use of under-utilised tracks and help to cut flab.
Thirdly, every state has some missing railway links/
gaps in the existing railway network. For example, a
train from Hisar cannot go to Chandigarh till a railway
link of 25 kilometres is provided between Uklana and
Narvana. Likewise, a train from Ferozepore cannot go
to Amritsar till a missing link between Patti and Miyanwala is laid. There are innumerable examples of such vital missing links throughout the country and their total
length is not more than 2,000 km.
Fourthly, only 35 per cent railway tracks (21,000 km)
have been doubled and electrified. The present rates of
electrification and doubling of tracks is 500 and 200 km
per year, respectively. Now, the Railway Minister promises to double and electrify 10,000 km tracks by 2020.
Timely execution of this project will bring efficiency in
the running of trains. Finally, the term “insanitation”
has become synonymous with the Railways. The toilets
in ordinary coaches are always stinking. Both the interi-
ors and exteriors of the compartments are stained with
spitting. Railway tracks have become coveted places for
open defecation. The orthodox system of disposal of human excreta from the tracks at railway stations leaves a
lot to be desired. In developed countries, the toilets in the
train get automatically closed as soon as the train arrives
at the station. The Railways needs to do a lot to remove
the stigma of insanitation and present a hygienic face to
the travellers. The recent report of Bibek Debroy Committee has caused serious rumblings in the Railways.
The five main recommendations of the Committee are:
Privatisation of running and maintenance of passenger
trains, empowering zonal heads and devolving the powers of the Railway Board to mere policy making.
The focus should be on running trains and not peripheral activities like running schools and hospitals.
The Committee is for corportising the manufacturing
of coaches, wagons and locomotives and setting up the
Railway Regulatory Authority of India. Strangely, the
Committee washed its hands off the core issue of poor
finances and simply advised setting up of another Investment Advisory Committee.
The Railway Ministry has already opposed the proposal of privatising the running of passenger trains. The
Board members too are jittery and did not even send
comments on various proposals as desired by the Debroy Committee. The remaining recommendations will
not cut much ice and effect only a cosmetic surgery.
Non-solution of these five issues discussed is responsible for the IR’s constant state of poor health.
By now our railway service should have been clean,
punctual and comfortable. Half the problems of Indian Railways will be solved if states are allowed to run
trains within their respective territories and the balance 50 per cent will be mitigated if fares are increased
to the required extent. The Government needs to heed
the urgent wake-up call and initiate bold reformative
steps to make the Railways a vibrant body.
IANS
Modi's positives should not be swamped by negatives
BY AMULYA GANGULI
S
o, even as the economy is certified
by the Reserve Bank governor to be
on the mend, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to take the
country into a digital age with more
e-governance, it is the daily stumbles
of ministers and mandarins that are attracting greater attention. While these
missteps may be difficult to prevent,
given the casual manner in which rules
tend to be flouted by the rich and powerful, a prompt and decisive intervention
from the highest levels will be an effective counter to the impression that the
government is being overwhelmed by
various problems.
The prime minister's decision to step
into the rumpus caused by the deplaning of passengers in Leh, Ladakh, to accommodate VIPs is a sign that the norms
are being tightened. But there has to be
more such steps at a time when the various controversies range from la'affaire
Lalit Modi to the mysterious deaths of
the accused and witnesses associated
with a scam in Madhya Pradesh to the
holding up of an international flight so
that a member of a chief minister's staff
can fetch his passport from home or
the non-submission of e-tenders (even
as e-governance is being hailed) by a
Maharashtra minister for the purchase
of fire extinguishers. Collectively, the
drip-drip of allegations can erode the
government's image. It will not be until
the economy reaches a high plateau of
an 8-9 percent growth rate, or the prime
minister's fabled penchant for enforcing
discipline begins to visibly bear fruit on
more than one occasion, that the government will be able to breathe easily.
The only success which the government
has been able to achieve so far is to prevent a major communal flare-up. This
accomplishment cannot but disappoint
Congressmen like Mani Shankar Aiyar
who was hoping for a "Godhra moment"
to tarnish Narendra Modi's name.
Related to this achievement is the
government's success in taming the saffron hotheads. As a result, the incidents
of 'ghar wapsi' and 'love jehad' have
tapered off, suggesting that a stern message is all that is needed to bring the doctrinaire elements to book.
What is curious, however, is why the
government has been unwilling to take
pre-emptive action against the fundamentalists so that they will not be able to
queer the pitch to start with.
Had that been done, much of its image problems could have been avoided.
The anticipatory steps might have been
expected since the umbilical connections between those in the government
and the extremists outside would have
warned the former what to expect. Yet,
we have the instances of madrasas
(Muslim schools) being downgraded in
Maharashtra or the National Investigative Agency's lawyers being asked to go
slow on Hindu militants, which cannot but reinforce the perception of the
government being guided by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Arguably, by the time the economy picks up
and the daily gaffes are curbed, the next
general election will not be far away. In
the meantime, the state elections in Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and elsewhere,
apart from the various by-elections, may
not always yield results in the BJP's favour, thereby denting its confidence.
Since the run-up to a general election
is not the time to take what may be unpopular decisions, whatever the government has to do on the economic front
has to be done now. If any "bitter medicine" is to be administered, as the prime
minister said right at the beginning of his
tenure, this is the time for it to be given.
But as long as the government continues to grapple with the various controversies, any movement even on ushering in governance via mobile phones,
as Modi promised, or ensuring Swachh
Bharat, let alone on the economy, will
be tentative. What the fate of the Congress in the last general election has
shown is that the government must always be proactive about its plus points.
Otherwise, an accumulation of negative
impressions can be fatal. As is known,
the poverty reduction under the Man-
mohan Singh government was the fastest in the country's history. This was
stated by none other than the present
government's chief economic adviser,
Arvind Subramanian. Notwithstanding this remarkable achievement, the
Congress crashed to its worst defeat
in its history simply because the many
scams, big and small, undermined the
party's and the government's credibility. If the Modi government wants to
avoid a similar outcome, it will have to
match its performance with promise.
And the promise is not only the one on
economic growth but also on transparency in official functioning based on
trust and credibility.
However, trust cannot be gained by
rejecting a Right to Information (RTI)
application seeking details on the former
cricket impresario, Lalit Modi's passport.
Nor can it be enhanced if a minister of
state in the external affairs ministry accuses those seeking such information as
conducting a "supari" (contract) operation. This was the point which L.K. Advani made when he recalled how he resigned when a momentary shadow was
cast on his reputation with the mention
of his name in a hawala transaction.
Considering that the octogenarian
leader is expected to indicate the marg or
path which the party should follow, his
advice should not be ignored.
IANS
Look East for economic integration
Prospects for transport connectivity corridors and sharing energy are huge
BY G PARTHASARATHY
A
T the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in 2003, the
heads of government proclaimed: “To give effect
to the shared aspirations for more prosperous
South Asia, the (SAARC) leaders agreed on the vision
of a phased and planned process, eventually leading to
a South Asian Economic Union”. India’s regional economic integration has been far slower in South Asia,
than what has transpired in its relations with ASEAN,
with whom India has concluded Free Trade Agreements (FTA), in both goods and services.
Moreover, India has also concluded Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreements, going well beyond
FTA, with Japan and South Korea. Despite the conclusion of a SAARC Free Trade Agreement, Pakistan has
placed crippling trade restrictions on Indian exports
and made a farce of pious declarations to establish an
Economic Union in South Asia. There is no realistic reason to believe this will change in the foreseeable future.
Pakistan’s determination to torpedo South Asian
Regional Cooperation was starkly manifested in its
opposition to India’s proposal for launching a satellite for exclusive use by SAARC members. Mercifully,
the enthusiasm shown by other members forced Pakistan to eventually fall in line. Apart from trade, there
are two other crucial features that accelerate regional
cooperation — connectivity and energy cooperation
— including through the interlinking of electricity
grids. The 2014 SAARC Summit in Kathmandu spoke
of increasing regional cooperation in areas ranging from connectivity and energy, to terrorism and
telecommunications. Quite obviously, Pakistan has
no intention to expand cooperation in any of these
areas. It blocks road connectivity between India and
Afghanistan, and despite facing severe power shortages, it has rejected offers from India to supply electricity. It sends the likes of Ajmal Kasab for terrorism
in India and provides haven to terrorists like Dawood
Ibrahim and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
New Delhi has now moved ahead on measures that
will promote regional cooperation, bypassing Pakistan.
Connectivity with Afghanistan is now being sought
through the Iranian port of Chabahar. At a recent ministerial meeting in Bhutan, the Transport Ministers of
India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh concluded a significant Motor Vehicle Agreement, laying the framework for seamless movement of passenger, personal
and cargo vehicular traffic. Nitin Gadkari said the agreement would “allow motor vehicles of all categories in
our countries to move freely in our region”.
India and its eastern neighbours are envisaging
a massive project, including 30 priority transport
connectivity corridors, requiring an investment of
around $8 billion. Initial estimates suggest that such
corridors could potentially increase sub-regional
trade by 60 per cent. Asian Development Bank (ADB)
has expressed its interest in funding such projects. It
remains to be seen if Asian Infrastructure Bank will
adopt a similarly positive approach. Crucially, as relations with Bangladesh improve, the prospects for land
and maritime connectivity with our Northeast states
through Bangladesh appear increasingly bright.
The prospects for energy cooperation with our
eastern neighbours are immense. The visits of the
Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister to
Nepal over the past year have helped create an envi-
ronment for tapping into Nepal’s vast hydroelectric
potential of 83,000 MW. Barely 600 MW of this potential is now being utilised. While Independent Indian Power Producers (from the private sector) are in
the process of negotiating agreements for generating
around 11,000 MW, delays could arise because of political uncertainties in Nepal. Similar considerations
could cause delays in major inter-governmental
projects like the 5,600 MW Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. Grid connectivity between India and
Nepal is also set to expand. At the same time, hydroelectric projects in Bhutan are being expeditiously
completed, with a target of 30,000 MW by 2030.
The prospects for developing an eastern electricity
grid linking India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh now
appear bright, as grid connections have also been established between Bangladesh and both Tripura and
West Bengal. India would be supplying Bangladesh
1,100 MW of power from West Bengal and Tripura by
the year-end. Moreover, implementation has already
begun on a 1,320 MW thermal power station in Bangladesh, with an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. The project
is being executed by a joint venture of India’s public
sector National Thermal Power Corporation and the
Bangladesh Power Development Board. Arunachal
Pradesh has a huge hydroelectric potential. The state
government is seeking to conclude agreements for
some 42 hydroelectric projects with an estimated capacity of 27,000 MW. Construction on the Upper Salang
Hydroelectric Project, with an estimated capacity of
12,000 MW, has commenced. Hopefully, environmental challenges to these projects will be addressed fast.
IANS
The views expressed in these columns are the writers’ own and do not reflect the views of Indian Horizon or its management.-Editor
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Short Takes
Princess Charlotte to be
christened tomorrow
London July 4 (PTI): The UK’s royal family is gearing up for
the christening of their newest member Princess Charlotte on
Saturday where the two-month-old child of Prince William and
his wife Kate will make her second public appearance. The baby
will be christened in a low-key ceremony in St Mary Magdalene
church on her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s country
estate of Sandringham in Norfolk, eastern England.
This is the same church where William’s late mother Diana,
princess of Wales, who grew up nearby, was christened. William
and Kate, the duke and duchess of Cambridge will appear in
public for the first time as a family of four at their daughter’s
baptism at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham.
Personal artefacts of Sikh saintsoldier on display in Singapore
Singapore, July 4 (IANS) A two-day exhibition was put up at a
gurdwara in Singapore on Saturday to display the artefacts belonging to a Sikh saint-soldier.
The exhibition, put up at Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road in Bukit
Merah area of Singapore as part of a month-long festival to honour Sikh saint-soldier, Bhai Maharaj Singh, features some of his
personal items such as a salottar (wooden stick used as a support
and weapon), dastaar chakkar (turban steel quoits used to retain
the shape of a turban) and a mala (rosary) belonging to the spiritual leader, The Straits Times reported on Saturday.The items on
display are on loan until July 5 from his descendents in India.Bhai
Maharaj is believed to be the first Sikh in Singapore. He was taken
to Singapore in 1850 after he was arrested by the British out of
fear that his detention in India may cause unrest as he was revered by the Sikh community in India for his spirituality, patriotic
fervour and for standing up against British dominion.
Dozens of migrants ‘storm’ tunnel
between UK, France
London july 4 (AFP): The operator of the rail tunnel linking Britain and France says services were disrupted today after
around 150 migrants tried to storm a French terminal in an attempt to board a Britain-bound freight.Eurotunnel says freight
services were disrupted for a few hours after migrants tried to enter restricted areas port of Calais at about 2 am local time. Some
passenger services were also affected.
The company today urged authorities to resolve the worsening migrant crisis in the region.The disruption caused a return of
snaking lines of trucks and freighters to British highways, which
saw thousands of drivers stuck this week because striking French
workers crippled ferry crossings.Businesses have complained of
migrants taking advantage of the slow-moving traffic to board
vehicles.
Bill payment can be
done through a selfie
New York, July 4 (IANS) Paying bills can be fun, if you do it
through Mastercard. You just need to click a selfie with your
smartphone, blink once at your self-portrait and your bill is paid.
That’s with the help of a new mobile app that MasterCard has
come up with, CNET.com reported. The app uses facial recognition to verify your identity.After downloading the app, you pay
for things by simply looking at your phone and blinking once.The
blink prevents thieves from showing the app a picture of your
face in an attempt to fool it. Alternatively, the app can read your
fingerprint.
9
International
Putin tells Obama US-Russia
dialogue key to global stability
Moscow July 4 (AFP): Russian
President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said relations between Moscow
and Washington were key to ensuring global stability and called for
dialogue based on “equality and respect.”
In a message to his US counterpart
Barack Obama on Independence
Day in the United States, Putin said
US-Russian relations were “the key
factor in ensuring stability and security in the world, despite the differences” between the two countries.
“Russia and the United States are
able to find solutions for the most
difficult international problems and
effectively counter global threats
and challenges,” Putin said in a telegram, according to the Kremlin.
This needs to be done by “building dialogue on the principles of
equality and respect of each other`s
interests,” the message said.
Russia has used increasingly antagonistic rhetoric about the US
since the start of the conflict in
Ukraine, claiming that Western
Greece Finance Minister
accuses creditors of ‘terrorism’
sanctions against Moscow over its
alleged involvement in the hostilities are the result of US pressure on
EU countries.Last month, Nikolai
Patrushev, who heads Putin`s security council, claimed the US was out
to destroy Russia as a country.
Russia`s military top brass have
focused on NATO`s presence in
eastern Europe, which they see as
the greatest threat to the country`s
security.
However Putin has also reached
out to Obama to discuss the threat of
terrorism, notably from the Islamic
State group.
The Russian leader had tasked
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with
discussing a joint anti-terrorism
strategy with US Secretary of State
John Kerry.
IS faction claims responsibility
for missile attack on Israel
Cairo, July 4 (IANS)
An Islamic State (IS)
affiliate has claimed
responsibility for firing three rockets into
Israeli territory on Friday.
“Three rockets were
launched from Sinai
Peninsula bordering
Israel and Gaza,” The
Jerusalem Post quoted an Israeli Defense
Force (IDF) source as
saying on Saturday.
The IDF source said
the affiliate, which
calls itself Sinai Province, in a statement
posted on Twitter on
Friday, confirmed it
had fired three Grad
rockets at Israel, adding that it was in retaliation for Israel’s
support
to
Egypt
armed forces when
the terrorists attacked
army checkpoints in
northern Sinai.The attack did not cause any
casualty or material
damage, the source
said.The missiles were
fired from Egypt’s violence-plagued Sinai
Peninsula just days after the terrorists killed
50 Egyptian soldiers
in brutal dawn raids.
At least 60 people, including army, police
personnel and civilians, were killed in a
series of suicide attacks and bombings
on several security
checkpoints in Egypt’s
northern Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday.
The terrorist group
had also announced
that its members took
full control of several
positions and confirmed clashes were
going on at the border.
rity in the wake of the attack
Tunisia beach
on 26 June, deploying armed
attack: State of
officers at hotels and beaches.
Tunisian President Beji
emergency declared Caid
Essebsi is due to address
Tunis July 4 (AFP)Tunisia
has declared a state of emergency, just over a week after
38 tourists, mainly Britons,
died in an attack in the resort
city of Sousse.
The state of emergency
gives security forces more
powers and limits the right of
public assembly.Authorities
had already tightened secu-
the nation later.
Security forces were criticised for not responding more
quickly to the attack in Sousse,
when a gunman opened fire
on tourists on a beach before
entering a hotel. Islamic State
(IS) said it was behind the attack, the most deadly in Tunisia’s recent history. Those
killed included 30 Britons.
Athens July 4 (AFP):
Greek finance minister
Yanis Varoufakis accused
Athens’ creditors of “terrorism” in an interview
published on Saturday, a
day before Greeks vote in
a high-stakes referendum
on their bailout.
“What they’re doing
with Greece has a name,
terrorism,” the blunt-spoken Varoufakis told the
Spanish El Mundo daily.
“What Brussels and the
troika want on Saturday is
for the ‘yes’ (vote) to win so
they could humiliate the
Greeks.”
“Why did they force us
to close the banks? To instill fear in people. And
spreading fear is called
terrorism,” he said, referring to the IMF, European
Central Bank and European Union.After failing to
Saudi-led air strike
on Yemen rebel
bastion kills 23
Sanaa, Jul 4 (AFP) A Saudi-led air
strike on a Huthi Shiite rebel stronghold in Yemen’s northern mountains
killed 23 people early today, tribal
sources said.
The strike targeted a munitions factory in Saqayn, near Saada, the sources
said.
Coalition aircraft also bombed the
rebel-held capital Sanaa, targeting an
arms warehouse and the air defence
headquarters, witnesses said.
The coalition launched air strikes
against the rebels in March, after the
Huthis seized control of much of the
country prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to take refuge in
neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Philippines ferry capsize
toll rises to 59
Manila, July 4 (IANS) The
toll in the ferry capsize in
central Philippines’ Leyte
province has risen to 59, officials said on Saturday.
The passenger vessel MV
Kim Nirvana-B, which capsized on Thursday near the
port of Ormoc, was carrying
173 passengers and 16 crew
members, Xinhua reported,
citing the coast guard.The
ferry was sailing towards
Iran talks in endgame inching
close to nuclear deal
Taiwan’s military special forces “frogmen” pass in front of thousands of spectators in a parade marking the 70th anniversary of the
end of WWII, at the military base in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, Saturday, July 4, 2015. Taiwan marched out thousands of troops and displayed its most modern military hardware Saturday to spotlight an old
but often forgotten claim that its forces, not the Chinese Communists,
led the campaign that routed imperial Japan from China 70 years ago.
AP/PTI
Syrian forces
kill 20 rebel
fighters
Damascus, July 4 (IANS) Syrian
forces killed 20 rebel fighters east
of the capital Damascus on Saturday, media reports said.
Rebel commanders were
among those killed in the eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus, Xinhua cited the state
news agency SANA as saying.
Sources familiar with the situation said the rebels in Damascus’
eastern neighbourhood of Jobar
on Saturday launched a major
offensive against the nearby district of Zablatani, which is under
government control, prompting
the Syrian forces to respond with
heavy firepower.The sound of
gunshots reverberated through
various parts of heavily-fortified
Damascus. The rebels’ offensive
was coupled with heavy mortar
shelling on districts and squares
inside Damascus.
Syrian TV said at least one civilian was killed and many wounded in the mortar attack.Sources
said the Syrian army successfully
repelled the attack, which they
said was “expected”.The rebels
in eastern Damascus apparently
carried out the offensive to lower
the pressure on their comrades in
the city of Zabadani in northwestern Damascus.
Vienna, Jul 4 (AFP) After months of intense negotiations, global powers and
Iran launched into a key weekend of talks
today amid signs they may be within sight
of a historic nuclear deal to end a 13-year
standoff.
While all sides remained cautious, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif said the world had “never been closer” to reaching an unprecedented accord
with his country aimed at blocking Iran’s
pathways to developing nuclear arms.
In signs of a possible breakthrough on
one of the thorniest issues still blocking a
deal, the IAEA announced today that it may
be able to complete a probe into whether
4,000 aftershocks rattle
China’s quake-hit Xinjiang
Beijing, Jul 4 (PTI) Four
thousand aftershocks have
been recorded in China’s
northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after a 6.5
magnitude earthquake struck
the area, prompting authorities to evacuate more than
66,000 people.
The official death toll from
the temblor yesterday has
been revised to three from
six, while 71 people have been
injured.The shallow quake,
one of the worst to hit the region, struck Pishan County of
Hotan Prefecture yesterday,
with its epicentre recorded at
a depth of 10 km, said China
Earthquake Networks Cen-
tre (CENC).State-run CCTV
reported that the areas have
suffered 4,000 aftershocks,
some having a magnitude of
more than four.The earthquake
damaged
12,000
houses, local officials said. In
excess of 66,000 people have
been evacuated, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Many of those displaced have
been relocated to No 1 Middle
School in Pishan.Rescuers
and soldiers have set up shelters and distributed food and
water to the quake-hit people.
Harenisa Abdurahman, an
evacuee, said when the quake
struck her husband was
sleeping inside their house.
reach a deal with its creditors last weekend on an extension of its bailout programme Greece’s radical
leftist government closed
the country’s banks and
imposed capital controls
until July 6.
Varoufakis said that
whatever the result of Sunday’s vote, in which the
government is calling for a
‘no’ vote, the banks would
reopen and Athens would
end up reaching an accord
with its creditors.“Europe
needs
an
agreement,
Greece needs an agreement, meaning we will
reach an agreement,” he
said, reiterating a pledge
the Camotes Islands, some
40 km south-west of Ormoc
when it was battered by
huge waves and sank just
100 metres from the port
of departure.The captain
of the ferry and some of the
crewmen, who were among
the survivors, are already
in the Philippine Coast
Guard’s custody.An investigation into the cause of the
accident is underway.
Iran has ever sought nuclear weapons by
the end of the year.In a rare move, Zarif also
offered the promise of greater cooperation
to tackle other global problems, such as the
rise of the Islamic State group, should the
deal be sealed.
Global powers are trying to draw the curtain on almost two years of roller-coaster
negotiations, which gathered fresh impetus after President Hassan Rouhani took
power in late 2013.The aim is to finalise a
deal which would put a nuclear bomb be-
to resign if the ‘yes’ vote
carried the day.The flamboyant economist, who
has become one of Europe’s most recognizable
politicians in the few short
months since he took office, also repeated that the
“troika” of creditors wanted to “humiliate Greeks”
and make them an example of what not to do for
other countries, like Spain,
where radical left-wing
parties are on the march.
Referring to Syriza’s
Spanish ally Podemos,
he said: “I think that in
Europe there is a need
for parties like Syriza and
Podemos, which are both
critical of the system and
pro-European and democratic. Those who hate us
want to cast us as anti-European but it’s not true, we
are not.”
Afghan par rejects
Ghani choice for
defence post
Kabul, Jul 4 (AFP) Afghanistan’s parliament today rejected President Ashraf
Ghani’s nominee for defence ministry, a
crucial post that has sat vacant for months
as stretched security forces fight to secure
territory from a revitalised Taliban.
In late May, the president had named
Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, a top official in the government body overseeing
the country’s peace process, to head the
ministry.
Stanekzai needed 107 votes from MPs to
be approved, but received just 84 out of the
213 who cast votes, dragging out the process
of finding a candidate for the post into its
10th month.
“Masoom Stanekzai unfortunately could
not get the vote of confidence from the
lower house of parliament,” the speaker of
the lower house, Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, told
today’s session.
“Therefore, we request that the president introduce another candidate for the
defence ministry post as soon as possible,”
Ibrahimi said.Ghani’s previous pick for the
post, former Afghan army chief of staff Sher
Mohammad Karimi, was also rejected by
the lower house in January.
The repeated delay on the appointment
is reportedly due to differences between
Ghani and his chief executive and former
presidential election rival, Abdullah Abdullah, over their choice of candidate, with
many linking the leadership vacuum to a
recent uptick in deadly insurgent attacks.
yond Iran’s reach, in return for lifting a web
of biting international sanctions slapped
on the Islamic republic, some of which date
back to 1995.Speaking in English from the
balcony of the Viennese hotel hosting the
talks, Zarif said in a message posted on YouTube that at “this 11th hour, despite some
differences that remain, we have never
been closer to a lasting outcome”.“Getting
to yes requires the courage to compromise,
the self-confidence to be flexible, the maturity to be reasonable,” he said.
Two of the three missing London teens
have married ISIS fighters: lawyer
London July 4 (AFP): Two of
three teenage girls who travelled
from Britain to Syria sparking
criticism of the police response
have married ISIS fighters, the
lawyer for their families said Saturday.
Kadiza Sultana, 16, and
15-year-olds Shamima Begum
and Amira Abase left their homes
in February and flew to Istanbul
before crossing into Syria.
Two of the trio have been in
touch with their families to say
they have married men in ceremonies approved by ISIS and
are living in and around the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group’s
stronghold, the Guardian re-
ported.The newspaper did not
identify which two of the three
had got married at the families’
request. Tasnime Akunjee, who
represents the families, told
the Guardian that the news had
“caused a lot of distress.”
“It entrenches their lives in
Syria, rather than in Britain.
It erodes significantly hopes
that they will come back,” he
added. The paper reported that
the two teenagers were given a
“catalogue” of men to choose
from and that their husbands
were in their 20s. All three of the
girls attended the same school
in east London, Bethnal Green
Academy.They are believed to
have followed a classmate who
left a few months previously.
Four other girls from the same
school have been given a court
order banning them from traveling abroad over fears they too
could go to Syria.
The girls’ families have accused police of failing to communicate information, which
could have alerted them to the
risk that their daughters would
travel to Syria.
Scotland Yard believes around
600 Britons have travelled to
Syria and Iraq since the conflict
began though about half are believed to have returned to Britain.
10
Business
Expect Cabinet approval
on spectrum sharing by
month-end: Secy
New Delhi Jul 4 (PTI): The Cabinet is likely to approve by month end
the long-awaited guidelines on spectrum trading and sharing, that
will pave way for merger and acquisitions in the telecom sector, a senior government official said today. Speaking at a FICCI event here,
Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said the spectrum sharing and trading guidelines have almost been finalised at the department level and
Cabinet note has been circulated. “Spectrum sharing/trading guidelines have been almost finalised at department level and Cabinet note
has been circulated. We expect guidelines to be approved by Cabinet
by end of the month,” he said. Garg added that this will consolidate
spectrum and help both telecom operators and subscribers. Spectrum sharing guidelines will allow telecom companies to share their
un-utilised airwaves with other service providers in the same telecom
circle. Department of Telecom had, in April, sought clarifications
from sectoral regulator TRAI regarding spectrum-sharing and trading guidelines. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had reiterated
its stand on most of the recommendations on spectrum-sharing and
trading guidelines, while clarifying that radiowaves acquired through
trading can also be shared. It also stood by recommendations of allowing operators to share all spectrum including 3G. The regulator
also recommended allowing the trading of spectrum. As of now, only
government is allowed to allocate spectrum to telecom firms through
auctions. Once trading is allowed, it is expected to increase efficient
use of radiowaves by enabling telecom operators, who have a lower
subscriber base or un-utilised spectrum, to trade in it.
Traders against
proposed GST; say
it is more complex
Mumbai Jul 4 (PTI): With the government hopeful of passing Constitutional amendment bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in
the forthcoming Parliament session, traders are opposed to it, saying
that in the current form, it is more complex and needs to be simplified. “The purpose of GST is to make the indirect tax structure simple.
However, in the proposed format it is more complex. We demand
single GST taxation structure so that traders may be required to file
only one return,” Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), told reporters here. The central and
state GST are to be paid to the accounts of the central and state governments separately, he added. Khandelwal said there is also levy of
an additional tax on supply of goods and services, not exceeding 1 percent in the course of inter-state trade or commerce, for a period of two
years. “We demand single tax GST with single authority coupled with
uniform act and tax rates across the country and develop India on a
concept of ‘one Mandi’. The stakeholders cannot be taken for granted
and the proposed form of GST is not acceptable to us,” he added. He
said the traders’ body has recommended to government that besides
e-compliance, manual compliance should also be made applicable in
the initial period for transitional purposes. Also, the VAT registration
number should itself be construed as GST number and the procedure
of obtaining new GST registration number should be made simple and
easy, he added. Khandelwal said that to make traders aware about the
advantages as well as disadvantages of the proposed GST, CAIT will
hold 40 seminars across the country.
Franklin Templeton
acquires 8.49% stake in
Pantaloons Fashion
New Delhi Jul 4 (PTI): Leading fund house Franklin Templeton has
acquired 8.49 per cent stake, estimated to be worth over Rs 143 crore,
in Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Ltd. Franklin Templeton has acquired
7,879,902 equity shares of Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla
Nuvo Ltd (ABNL) firm, the company said in a BSE filing. It further informed that out of the total transaction, 4,784,239 shares of Pantaloons
Fashion & Retail were acquired by Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund and the rest 3,095,663 shares by Franklin India Prima
Fund. The stake purchase took place on July 2.
Mumbai Jul 4 (PTI): Stock
markets rose for the third
straight week with the benchmark BSE Sensex reclaiming
28,000-mark and NSE Nifty
closing well above 8,400-level,
as monsoon worries eased and
RBI allayed fears of any impact
of Greek crisis on the country.
The domestic bourses, that
bucked the global market
trend as a result of Greek debtdeal stand-off, closed at twoand-a-half-month high levels.
The 30-share Sensex resumed lower at 27,451.07 and
hovered in a range of 28,135.43
points to 27,209.19 points during the week. It finally settled
the week at 28,092.79 points,
showing a gain of 280.95 points
or 1.01 percent over previous
week. The Sensex has shot up
by a whopping 1,667.49 points,
or 6.31 percent in three weeks.
The CNX Nifty also climbed
103.80 points, or 1.24 percent
to 8,484.90. It has also gained
502.00 points, or 6.29 percent
in the same period.
Analysts said the market wit-
nessed initial sluggishness due
to weak global cues weighed
by Greece’s uncertain status
over debt default and exit from
Eurozone. The bourses gained
despite small bouts of profitbooking and choppiness, they
added. Also, investors factored
in positive domestic cues, including sufficient monsoon
across the country, slew of
government sops led by capital
support to PSU banks, and improved macroeconomic data
as country’s core infra sectors
jumping to a six-month high
by expanding to 4.4 percent.
Optimism also strengthened
after Reserve Bank Governor
Raghuram Rajan allayed fears
over Greek crisis on the country. Meanwhile, foreign investors turned net-sellers amid
caution ahead of Sunday’s
Greek referendum.
Buying was mainly led by
FMCG, Power, Banks, CapitalGoods, Consumer Durable,
HealthCare, PSUs, Oil&Gas,
Power, Auto and Teck sectors.
Shares of MidCap and Small-
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
Sunday, July 5, 2015
FoodMin has proposed 10% import
duty on wheat: Paswan
New Delhi Jul 4 (PTI): Food
Minister Ram Vilas Paswan
today said his ministry has
proposed 10 percent import
duty on wheat to curb cheaper shipments as the country
already has surplus stock.
At present, there is no import duty on wheat. Paswan
also ruled out any quality issue on wheat procured this
year by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal
agency for procurement and
distribution of foodgrains.
“There are reports that private traders are importing
wheat. We have proposed 10
percent duty to check cheap
imports and ensure that surplus wheat is consumed,”
Paswan told reporters here.
Wheat is being imported at
Rs 17 per kg, while it is available in the domestic market
at Rs 18.50 per kg, he added.
“There is sufficient supply in
the country. The wheat being
procured by FCI this year is of
good quality and is fit for human consumption,” he said.
Paswan said that quality norms were relaxed on
wheat procurement as crops
got damaged due to unseasonal rains, but asserted
that the “quality of grain is
good”. Food Minister Ram
Vilas Paswan today said
his ministry has proposed
10 percent import duty on
wheat to curb cheaper shipments as the country already has surplus stock. At
present, there is no import
duty on wheat.
Paswan also ruled out
any quality issue on wheat
procured this year by the
Food Corporation of India
(FCI), the nodal agency for
procurement and distribution of foodgrains Imports
are happening despite
bumper domestic wheat
output in the 2014-15 crop
year and surplus stocks
Gold recovers on
buying by jewellers;
silver remains higher
New Delhi Jul 4 (PTI): Gold prices
recovered by Rs 50 to Rs 26,550 per
10 grams at the bullion market today,
snapping its three-day falling streak,
on emergence of buying by jewellers
and retailers at prevailing levels. Silver
also advanced by Rs 200 to Rs 36,200
per kg on pick up in demand from
industrial units. Bullion traders said
revival of buying by jewellers and retailers at existing levels, helped gold to
regain its glitter.
In the national capital, gold of 99.9
and 99.5 per cent purity went up by Rs
50 each to Rs 26,550 and Rs 26,400 per
ten grams respectively. The precious
metal had lost Rs 450 in the previous
three sessions. Sovereign, however, remained steady at Rs 23,300 per piece of
eight gram in limited deals.
Silver ready continued its yesterday’s
gain and added another Rs 200 to Rs
36,200 per kg and weekly-based delivery gained Rs 180 to Rs 35,680 per kg.
Bullion traders said revival of buying by
jewellers and retailers at existing levels,
helped gold to regain its glitter.
In the national capital, gold of 99.9
and 99.5 per cent purity went up by Rs
50 each to Rs 26,550 and Rs 26,400 per
ten grams respectively. The precious
metal had lost Rs 450 in the previous
three sessions. Sovereign, however, remained steady at Rs 23,300 per piece
of eight gram in limited deals. On the
other hand, silver coins held steady at Rs
54,000 for buying and Rs 55,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
WDM witnesses trade worth
Rs 2,842.66 crore on NSE
Mumbai Jul 4 (PTI): The Wholesale Debt
Market segment of the National Stock
Exchange on Friday witnessed a total
turnover of Rs 2,842.66 crore in 73 trades.
Top securities (non-repo) traded at the
WDM were: The 8.07 securities maturing
in CG2017 traded value at Rs 700 crore at
weighted yield the 7.92 percent, the 8.27
securities maturing in CG2020 traded value at Rs 225 crore at weighted yield the 8.14
percent and the 9.20 securities maturing
in CG2030 traded value at Rs 210 crore at
weighted yield the 8.32 percent. During the
week, the total turnover was Rs 8,969.01
crore and the total number of trades during the week was at 311. The highest volume amount of trade during the week was
at Rs 2,842.66 crore on Friday, while the
lowest volume amount Rs 1.214.23 crore
was on June 29. This week, the weighted
yield on government securities with a maturity period of 0-3 years, 3-7 years, 7-10
years and more than 10 years was quoted
at 7.90 percent, 8.18 percent, 8.08 percent
and 8.24 percent, respectively.
The weighted yields on treasury bills
maturing within 90 days was 7.52 percent,
it was 7.65 percent for bills of 91-182 days
tenure, and 7.61 percent for bills of 183-365
days’ tenure. During the week, the cumulative value of government securities, treasury bills and state government securities
trading on the WDM was Rs 6,674.56 crore,
trading in Non- Government.
Sensex, Nifty over 2-month
high; extend gains for 3rd week
cap companies witnessed
good buying activity. While,
IT, Realty and Metal segments
saw profit-booking. FIIs sold
equities worth Rs 137.53 crore
during the week as per SEBI
data including the provisional
figure of July 3. Shares of MidCap and Smallcap companies
witnessed good buying activity. While, IT, Realty and Metal
segments saw profit-booking.
FIIs sold equities worth Rs
137.53 crore during the week
as per SEBI data including the
provisional figure of July 3.
Twenty-two stocks out the
30-share Sensex pack ended
with strong gains while 8 declined. Twenty-two stocks
out the 30-share Sensex pack
ended with strong gains while
8 declined. On the S&P BSE
sectoral front, FCMG topped
its peers, surging over 2.71
pct, followed by Bankex 2.12
pct, Capital Goods 1.91 pct,
Healthcare 1.46 pct, PSU 1.26
pct, Oil&Gas 1.08 pct and Auto
0.56 pct. Meanwhile, Midcap and
Small-cap stocks
were seen outperforming the
benchmark indices, rallying by
1.72 percent and 1.62 percent,
respectively.
Major gainers were Hindunilver (4.24percent), Bharti
Artl (4.12percent), Axis Bank
(3.59percent), Lupin (3.45percent), BHEL (3.01percent), ITC
(2.26percent), HDFC (2.15percent), Cipla (1.98 percent), Bajaj
Auto (1.81 percent), Coal India
(1.60 percent), Dr Reddys (1.67
percent), L&T (1.56 percent),
Heromotoco (1.20 percent),
HDFC Bank (1.06 percent), SBI
(1.43 percent), Reliance (0.72
percent), M&M (0.98 percent)
and NT percent (0.87 percent). The domestic bourses,
that bucked the global market
trend as a result of Greek debtdeal stand-off, closed at twoand-a-half-month high levels.
Optimism also strengthened
after Reserve Bank Governor
Raghuram Rajan allayed fears
over Greek crisis on the country.
Meanwhile, foreign investors
turned net-sellers amid caution
ahead of Sunday’s Greek refer-
endum. The 30-share Sensex
resumed lower at 27,451.07 and
hovered in a range of 28,135.43
points to 27,209.19 points during the week. It finally settled
the week at 28,092.79 points,
showing a gain of 280.95 points
or 1.01 percent over previous
week. The Sensex has shot up
by a whopping 1,667.49 points,
or 6.31 percent in three weeks.
The CNX Nifty also climbed
103.80 points, or 1.24 percent
to 8,484.90. It has also gained
502.00 points, or 6.29 percent
in the same period.
On the flip side, Hindalco
tumbled by a hefty 5.47 percent. It was followed by Gail
3.60 percent, Vedanta 2.40
percent, Maruti 1.75 percent,
Infosys 1.60 percent, Wipro
1.60 percent, ONGC 1.21 percent and Tata Motors 1.03 percent. The total turnover on the
BSE and NSE was Rs 13,565.72
crore and Rs 75,295.06 crore,
respectively during the week
compared to Rs 13,051.34
crore and Rs 79,882.47 crore
preceding week.
with the FCI. The corporation has a huge stock of
40 million tonnes of wheat
despite drop in production to 90.78 MT in 201415 from record 95.85 million tonnes in the 2013-14
crop year. FCI has procured 27.6 MT wheat so
far in the current marketing year that started from
April. “Of which, 20-30
percent of the grain is of
poor quality and that need
to be disposed of soon,” an
official had earlier said.
The corporation procured
poor quality wheat as it relaxed norms this year to pro-
tect farmers, whose crop got
damage due to hailstorms
and unseasonal rains from
February to April.
Flour millers and private traders say they are
importing wheat on lower
global prices as well as lack
of high quality wheat in
the domestic market. Millers have started importing
wheat from Australia for the
first time in a decade. They
have already contracted for
import of 5,00,000 tonnes
of wheat from Australia and
are planning to purchase
another 5,00,000 tonnes
from France and Russia.
Grexit may stall FPI
inflows into India: BofA
New Delhi Jul 4 (PTI): In case
of Greece’s exit (Grexit) from
the Eurozone, foreign portfolio investment (FPI) equity
inflows into India could stall
as markets would swing to risk
off, Bank of America Merrill
Lynch said in a research report. “Our Europe economists
think this will make Grexit that
much more difficult to avoid.
Although India’s exposure to
Greece is negligible, in our
view, contagion, if any, could
travel through markets.
“We would expect FPI equity
inflows (USD 0.3 billion in FY16
so far) to stall further as markets swing to risk off, although
India’s growth prospects and
China’s volatility should limit
outflows,” BofA Merrill Lynch
Research said.
In the forex market, BofA believed that the Reserve Bank
would sell USD 15 billion to defend Rs 65/USD. “We believe
that the RBI would sell USD 15
billion to defend Rs 65/USD
levels to anchor INR expectations in the FX markets. Not
surprisingly, Governor Rajan...
Reiterated that the INR is at fair
value,” it said. The rupee’s performance in the current Greek
crisis has been broadly in line
with peers.
RBI could let initial shock
blow over, it added. “USD
15 billion leaves 8 months’
import cover on March 2016
basis... We continue to peg
this at about USD 15 billion
assuming that the RBI must
maintain 8-month import
cover for rupee stability,” it
added. “The G-sec market remains relatively insulated to
a ‘no’ Greek vote. While this
would postpone its expected
USD 5 billion FPI G-sec limit
hike and any possibility of an
August 4 rate cut, neither is
really priced in.” In the forex
market, BofA believed that
the Reserve Bank would sell
USD 15 billion to defend Rs
65/USD. “We believe that the
RBI would sell USD 15 billion
to defend Rs 65/USD levels to
anchor INR expectations in
the FX markets. Not surprisingly, Governor Rajan... Reiterated that the INR is at fair
value,” it said. The rupee’s
performance in the current
Greek crisis has been broadly
in line with peers.
Grexit may stall FPI inflows
into India: BofA “We expect
the RBI to hike the FPI G-sec
limit by about USD 5 billion
if Greece resolves itself next
week,” it further said. On open
market operations, it expects
no such activity until December. The RBI will likely prefer to
inject liquidity through repos
rather than OMO purchases for
now in case of capital outflows.
“We estimate that the money
market liquidity will likely persist at sub-Rs 500 billion,” the
report added.
11
Sports
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
Sunday, July 5, 2015
All eyes on Lionel Messi at
Copa America climax
Santiago Jul 4 (PTI): Lionel Messi and
Argentina will be chasing a first major
title in 22 years Saturday when they face
hosts Chile in a dream Copa America final in Santiago. The three-week South
American football showpiece reaches its
climax at the Estadio Nacional with Argentina aiming to win their first title since
1993, 12 months after defeat in last year`s
World Cup final.
Chile are anxious to shed their unwanted tag as the perennial nearly men of
South American football, ending decades
of hurt by winning a first Copa America
crown after nearly a century of failure.
Argentina captain Messi has declared
himself “desperate” to win an international title after winning every honor at
club level with Barcelona. Coach Gerardo Martino said Friday victory for Argentina was almost an “obligation”.
“It`s very difficult to imagine what
would have happened if we had not
reached the final,” Martino said. “In reality the expectations this group of players generates are so great that sometimes
they think winning is an obligation.”
Argentina head into the final in buoyant
mood after thrashing Paraguay 6-1 in the
semi-finals. Martino said Argentina`s
players had been told to take the emotion out of what is expected to be a highly
charged occasion.
“There is always an emotional factor in
the final, but the guys must ignore that.
These are the kinds of games where there
is so much tied up in the result that you
can sometimes change the way you approach the match. “But what will bring
us the title is to do things as usual.” Striker Sergio Aguero insisted that the pressure of ending a 22-year title drought was
not getting to Argentina.
“It`s true that for many years we have
not won anything,” Aguero said. “But
we have many players with experience
of winning titles, so the pressure is not a
problem. “With the group of players we
have, we have got to win a title and we are
one step away from doing that.” Chile are
anxious to shed their unwanted tag as the
perennial nearly men of South American
football, ending decades of hurt by winning a first Copa America crown after
nearly a century of failure. Argentina
captain Messi has declared himself “desperate” to win an international title after
winning every honor at club level with
Barcelona. Coach Gerardo Martino said
Friday victory for Argentina was almost
an “obligation”.
“It`s very difficult to imagine what
would have happened if we had not
reached the final,” Martino said. “In reality the expectations this group of players generates are so great that sometimes
they think winning is an obligation.”
Argentina head into the final in buoyant mood after thrashing Paraguay
6-1 in the semi-finals. Martino said
Argentina`s players had been told to
take the emotion out of what is expected to be a highly charged occasion.
Since a 6-1 defeat to Argentina in the
inaugural South American Championship in 1916, Chile have endured years
of frustration. While Argentina will join
Uruguay as the most successful side in
the tournament`s history if they win
their 15th title on Saturday, Chile are
still waiting for their first crown after
finishing runners-up four times. Chile
have also never beaten Argentina at the
Copa America in 24 attempts. Chile`s
own golden generation -- featuring the
likes of Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez and
Claudio Bravo -- believe Saturday represents a now-or-never moment. Coach
Jorge Sampaoli said Chile would not
abandon their trademark attacking style
even against an Argentina team which
tore Paraguay to pieces. “Our preparations have been similar to previous
matches. Of course we are taking some
things into consideration about our opponents, but our system will not change,”
Sampaoli said. “We will try to dominate
the game and the game may depend on
who dominates who. But the system we
David Warner reveals why he
attacked Joe Root, says he felt the
Englishman was insulting Muslims
New Delhi Jul 4 (PTI):
Days before the start of the
first Test of the Ashes series,
David Warner has finally revealed why he attacked Joe
Root in a Birmingham nightclub in 2013.
Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald, Warner claimed
that he felt the English batsman was poking fun at the
South
African
batsman
Hasim Amla and his religion
by wearing a fake wig in the
chin. “A mate of mine was
actually wearing [the wig] on
top of his head like a [Lasith] Malinga wig, that’s what
it was. He was wearing it on
his head and (Root) decided
to come in and take it off my
mate’s head and start acting
the way he did,” Warner said.
Amla, who sports a beard,
is widely respected as one
of the finest batsman of the
era, is a devout Muslim. The
South African was also subject to a ‘terrorist’ comment
by Dean Jones in 2006. The
former Australia batsman
turned TV commentator was
sacked by his employers after
being heard saying, “the terrorist has got another wicket”
when Amla took the catch to
dismiss Kumar Sangakkara in
a Test match at Colombo.
“When people are drunk
that’s what they do but I
thought it was a bit inappropriate the way he went about
that stuff so I went over and
tried to take it off him. I just
think in today’s society you
shouldn’t be fooling around
with that kind of stuff,” Warner explained. Warner, how-
ever, sounded apolegetic
about the infamous incident
and said, “And he probably
didn’t mean anything by it at
all but I just thought ... actually I can’t say I thought ... I
probably let my aggression
and alcohol take over there
and probably made an excuse for me to go over there
and actually take it off him.”
In the infamous nightclub
brawl, the Aussie opener
punched the Englishman,
earning himself a two match
ban. Known for his explosive batting and also volatile
presence in the field, Warner
has had his share of negative
limelight. In a bid to enhance
his image, Warner has become a tee-totaller, and he
even celebrated Australia’s
recent Test win at West In-
have used has given us the opportunity
to be where we are now, in the final, and
we intend to continue playing the same
way.” Sampaoli declined to comment
about a plan to combat the threat posed
by Argentina`s “Fantastic Four” -- Messi,
Aguero, Javier Pastore and Angel Di Maria. “We have spoken to the players about
some of our concerns and we have communicated some things that we believe
are important to keep in mind so that we
have a good game,” Sampaoli said. The
final takes place at 5:00 pm (2000 GMT)
and will be the only match of the tournament to feature 30 minutes of extra time
if the scores are tied after 90 minutes.
Women’s World Cup
final: Japan vs USA
Japan can expect a United States
at “full throttle” and bent on revenge on Sunday as the Asian
champions bid to defend their
title in the Women`s World Cup
final. It will be the third showdown
between the two sides in a major
championship final. Nicknamed
`the Nadeshiko` - a pink flower
symbolising grace and beauty Japan won the 2011 World Cup
crown in dramatic fashion in
Frankfurt, Germany.
The United States, World Cup
winners in 1991 and 1999, twice relinquished a one-goal lead before
succumbing in a penalty shootout.
But the Americans took the Olympic gold ahead of Japan in London
in 2012. Both squads include many
of the same players who were on
the pitch in the 2011 final, including all four goal scorers. Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach scored for
the United States, while Homare
Sawa and Aya Miyama were on
target for the Japanese. Carli Lloyd
was one of three US players to
miss her penalty kick in 2011, but
scored both goals in the Americans` 2-1 win in the 2012 Olympic
final. “I want to bring everything I
have to this game,” warned Lloyd,
who has been in stunning form in
Canada, scoring and setting up another goal in a 2-0 semi-final win
over top-ranked Germany.
“For me in the final everything is
on the line, my foot on the pedal
full force. Our confidence is growing, it grew against China and Germany and now it`s no regrets, full
throttle. “We know what`s at stake
and have to play our best. We`ll be
able to weather the storm, we`ve
fresh legs and are physically fit.”
The United States could also be
considered the home favourite
with the 53,000-plus crowd at
BC Place Stadium in Vancouver
largely behind the Americans. “We
feel like we`re playing in the US,”
Lloyd said. Japan have won all
their games.
Wimbledon 2015, Day 6: Federer defies
big-serving Groth to make last 16, Brown exits
London Jul 4 (PTI): Seven-time
champion Roger Federer defeated bigserving Australian Sam Groth to reach
the Wimbledon last 16 on Saturday
while Dustin Brown, the conqueror of
Rafael Nadal returned to earth with a
bump. Second seed Federer clinched
a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 victory over
world number 69 Groth who fired a
147mph ace in the third game. Federer will next face Spanish 20th seed
Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in
the quarter-finals. “I am very happy.
It has been a hot week the first week
but thankfully I have had easy matches
going through without too many long
four or five setters,” said Federer.
“Now we are looking ahead and there
are only big matches.” Dreadlocked German qualifier Brown was unable to follow
his triumph over Nadal when he slumped
to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3 defeat to Serbian 22nd seed Viktor Troicki. Brown joins
Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios who all lost their next match at Wimbledon after knocking out Nadal over the
last four years. Troicki goes on to face
either British wildcard James Ward or
Canada`s Vasek Pospisil for a place in the
quarter-finals. It is the 29-year-old Serb`s
first last-16 run at Wimbledon since 2012
and his best performance at a Grand
Slam since returning from a 12-month
drugs ban in July last year. Brown came
through qualifying at Wimbledon but
defeat on Saturday meant a swift return
to the daily grind. “The schedule is to go
to the airport and take the earliest flight,
because tomorrow morning, I have club
matches in Cologne, Germany,” said the
30-year-old. US Open champion Marin
Cilic took just two games to see off John
Isner on Saturday after returning to finish
off their third round match poised at 1010 in the final set.
Croatian Cilic, the ninth seed, beat the
US 17th seed 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-7
(4/7), 12-10 on Court One in a match that
lasted four hours and 31 minutes in total
after it had been suspended late Friday
due to bad light. “I was playing yesterday
really good and I was close to finishing
it off. I think throughout all the match I
was the one who was putting more pressure on the returns,” Cilic said after winning on a fifth match point having had a
first match point in the 12th game of the
decider on Friday. Cilic sent down 35 aces
to Isner`s 37 and next faces wildcard Denis Kudla, the last American man in the
tournament, for a place in the quarterfinals. Danish fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki reached the last 16 for the fourth
time with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over
Italy`s Camila Giorgi. “I was very happy to
win this one. I know that Camila is such
a tricky opponent. She hits so hard. I was
just trying to get every ball back. I was really pleased how I managed to keep my
composure,” said Wozniacki. The former
world number one will face Spain`s Garbine Muguruza after the 20th seed shocked
2012 semi-finalist Angelique Kerber 7-6
(14/12), 1-6, 6-2.
Muguruza, who made the French
Open quarter-finals this year, saved
nine set points in the opener on her
way to a first appearance in the second
week at Wimbledon. Romania`s Monica
Niculescu also made the last 16 for the
first time, beating Czech world number
134 Kristyna Plískova 6-3, 7-5. She will
face Switzerland`s Timea Bacsinszky
who put out 2013 runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-2 to book a spot in the last 16
for the first time. Later Saturday, 2013
champion Andy Murray, the third seed,
takes a 6-1 career lead over Italian veteran Andreas Seppi into their third round
showdown. Now we are looking ahead
and there are only big matches.” Dreadlocked German qualifier Brown was unable to follow his triumph over Nadal
when he slumped to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3),
4-6, 6-3 defeat to Serbian 22nd seed Viktor Troicki. I was just trying to get every
ball back. I was really pleased how I
managed to keep my composure,” said
Wozniacki. The former world number
one will face Spain`s Garbine Muguruza
after the 20th seed shocked 2012 semifinalist Angelique Kerber 7-6 (14/12),
1-6, 6-2.
Brown joins Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis
and Nick Kyrgios who all lost their next
match at Wimbledon after knocking out
Nadal over the last four years. Troicki
goes on to face either British wildcard
James Ward or Canada`s Vasek Pospisil for a place in the quarter-finals. It is
the 29-year-old Serb`s first last-16 run at
Wimbledon since 2012 and his best performance at a Grand Slam since returning from a 12-month drugs ban in July
last year. Brown came through qualifying at Wimbledon but defeat on Saturday meant a swift return to the daily
grind. “The schedule is to go to the airport and take the earliest flight, because
tomorrow morning, Seppi knocked Federer out of the Australian Open in January but his only win over the British star
came back in 2006 in their first meeting. Sixth seeded Czech Tomas Berdych
faces Spain`s Pablo Andujar. Defending
women`s champion Petra Kvitova, who
has only dropped three games, faces
Serb 28th seed Jelena Jankovic.
Ashes 2015: England
bank on Trevor Bayliss
to douse Australian
London Jul 4 (PTI): A callow England team with a
new coach take on a bullish and streetwise Australia in an intriguing Ashes series which should provide plenty of drama and aggressive cricket. Michael
Clarke`s touring side will attempt to win the urn on
English soil for the first time in 14 years and Alastair
Cook`s hosts will try to win back the trophy following their crushing 5-0 defeat in the last series Down
Under. Two years ago Australia went into the Ashes
with a new coach in Darren Lehman and lost 3-0, but
it was a victory margin which flattered England. This
time around the hosts will be led by Australian coach
Trevor Bayliss who will aim to build on the feelgood
factor generated by England`s impressive resurgence
in the recent one-day series against New Zealand.
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes having
the 52-year-old Bayliss at the helm will give England
an advantage. “He knows a lot of us very well,” Watson said. “He`ll have these ideas about how he can
try to expose our team. The edge will be the inside information he will have. But we know that if we are at
our best we will be very hard to beat.” England stagnated under former coach Peter Moores, drawing a
test series in West Indies this year before being held
by New Zealand on home soil under Paul Farbrace.
After two barren years Alastair Cook has rediscovered
his batting form but doubts remain about whether he
has the captaincy acumen to outwit the Australians.
British Grand Prix:
Lewis Hamilton rules
at home to take pole
position
Silverstone Jul 4 (PTI): Lewis Hamilton moved to
third place on Saturday in the list of all-time Formula
One pole sitters when he secured his eighth pole spot
in nine races for Sunday`s British Grand Prix. Responding to a below-par run in practice on Friday, the
series leader and defending two-time world champion
made the most of overnight improvements to his car -and passionate support from his home fans -- to beat
his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by a tenth of a
second in a tense qualifying session at Silverstone. The
30-year-old Briton clocked a best time of one minute
and 32.248 seconds on his first run to beat the German
by one-tenth of a second. Neither man improved on
their final runs in the final seconds.
Hamilton`s success gave him his second successive
pole for his home race. It is also the 46th pole position of his career, a total that took him one ahead of
four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel, who
has taken 45, and leaves only seven-time champion
German Michael Schumacher, with 68, and threetime champion Brazilian Ayrton Senna, on 65, ahead.
His success also gives him a good chance to increase
his 10-points lead ahead of Rosberg in the championship, if he can win Sunday`s 52-laps race. “It`s a very
special day, for me to take pole here,” said Hamilton.
“The fans give me such motivation and I thank them
all for their support. “It`s an unbelievable feeling.
“Generally, it hasn`t been the smoothest weekend.
I made a change in the car before qualifying, which
hopefully will be good for the race.”
Rosberg had looked likely to be quickest, but said he
had problems with `the left front` of his car. “My first
lap was really good, but Lewis was one-tenth quicker
-- which is annoying, but that`s the way it is. There
was something wrong and we need to look at it.” Like
Hamilton, he praised the crowd. “It`s awesome to
see how many people and here and great to see how
enthusiastic everyone is about our sport.” Massa was
the only leading driver to improve on his final run. He
said: “It is a fantastic day for us. It is amazing to see
how many people are here, it is the home grand prix
for the team (Williams) and it is great to see. I hope
we can have a strong race and fight with Ferrari.” The
Mercedes team`s success gave them a seventh front
row lockout this season, a statistic that confirms the
supremacy of the Silver Arrows cars. In a surprising
last push, the two Williams cars of Brazilian Felipe
Massa and Finn Valtteri Bottas took third and fourth
ahead of an all-Ferrari row three to be filled by Finn
Kimi Raikkonen and four-time champion German
Sebastian Vettel. Russian Daniil Kvyat was seventh
for Red Bull ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sainz of Toro
Rosso, German Nico Hulkenberg of Force India and
Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull.
Ricciardo was one of several drivers who suffered
for having a lap deleted for running off circuit at
Copse to gain an advantage. Raikkonen also got penalised after posting a fast lap. This left the indignant
Finn, who believed he was permitted two wheels on
the kerb, facing an exit before the top-ten shootout. He squeezed through in ninth with another lap.
The travails of the hapless McLaren team continued
apace with both their former world champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button failing to qualify
even for the second session and will start on the
ninth row of the grid. It was the first time since the
Chinese Grand Prix in April that both McLarens were
eliminated in Q1.
12
Entertainment
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Indian Horizon
Modelling is
stepping stone
to acting:
Rakul Preet
Singh
Yo Yo Honey Singh is back with a bang!
India's favourite, king of rap Yo Yo Honey
Singh is back with his single 'One Bottle
Down'. After working together for many
successful singles, Bhushan Kumar released
Yo Yo's next single 'One Bottle Down' today
which will be his first single of 2015.
On this new song One Bottle Down,
Bhushan said, "Yo Yo is really fun to work
with. Our association has grown stronger
over the period of time. His songs has always created a stir in the market. His fans
all over are waiting for his next song and
One Bottle Down that is a feet thumping party number will bowl them over.
Yo Yo gave me the final track a few days
and the song will be his yet another top
chartbuster. It's a great single and will do
wonders."
Courtesy:Bollylife.com
Rakul Preet Singh first faced the camera
when she was all of two, and her love for
showbiz since has only grown manifold.
Having done her fair share of catwalks before entering films, she says modelling gives
newcomers a push into the movie world.
Rakul, who made her Bollywood debut
with "Yaariyan" and has starred in various
southern films like "Venkatadri Express",
"Loukyam" and "Current Theega", calls
herself a "filmy kid". "I was a filmy kid. I
was two when I faced the camera for the
first time. My parents realised it pretty early and I'm really thankful to them for their
support and help. I did modelling for a year,
but then I always wanted to be an actress,"
Rakul told IANS over phone from Mumbai. A former Miss India contestant, Rakul
started paving her way to films through the
ramp. Asked why she chose a modelling
career if she had her eyes set on films, the
Delhi-born beauty said: "Beauty pageants
work as a platform from where you can
reach out to many. Although they are two
different fields, they come under the same
group. "For newcomers, modelling is like a
stepping stone to acting. The exposure and
experience in modelling helps...But for acting, we have to show a lot of hard work and
dedication towards it." On the film front,
Rakul will next be seen in two southern
movies -- "Pandaga Chesko" and "Kick 2".
Kriti Sanon plans
balancing act in
Hindi, southern
films
Actress Kriti Sanon, who debuted with
Bollywood film "Heropanti", has also
been doing films down south. She says
she hopes to strike a balance between
both worlds.
"I think that at the end of the day, you
are doing a project. I signed my first Hindi and Telugu film simultaneously. I did
one more Telugu film after 'Heropanti'.
I would want to keep a balance between
Hindi and southern industry," Kriti said
here.
"There are some great and talented people all over," she added. What about competition in showbiz?
"It's a good thing. I take it in a good way.
There is no pressure, but it's a healthy
competition as there are a lot of talented
people in this industry."
Courtesy:Bollylife.com
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