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Chennai’s No 1 English evening daily since 1982
www.newstodaynet.com
NATIONAL DAILY
VOL. XXXIII NO. 110
FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R
H CHENNAI H FRIDAY 27.3.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS SATURDAY 28.3.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H
Vajpayee receives
Bharat Ratna
Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
Reaching out
rime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the
well-off people to give up subsidised cooking gas,
and expressed his government’s resolve to reduce
dependence on energy imports by 10 per cent by 2022.
Sharing oil companies’ plans to increase piped cooking gas connection to one crore households from 27
lakh currently in the next four years, Modi said the decision to surrender LPG subsidy by 2.8 lakh consumers
would result in a savings of Rs 100 crore.
‘I had made a small mention about giving up LPG
subsidy. As many as 2.80 lakh people has responded
positively...and this will lead to a saving of at least Rs 100
crore. This Rs 100 crore can be utilised for the welfare
of poor,’ Modi said while speaking at the ‘Urja Sangam’
in Delhi. Since the government started the new scheme
of direct benefit transfer (DBT) for cooking gas, several
persons opted out of the subsidy scheme.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a leader par
excellence who has worked tirelessly for the nation. Vajpayee is being conferred country’s highest civilian award
Bharat Ratna today by President Pranab Mukherjee.
‘This a proud moment for the country and all of us.
He a stalwart leader of the country. He is a leader of
par excellence who has worked tirelessly in the interest
of the nation,’ Jaitley said. Setting aside protocol, the
President will visit Vajpayee’s Krishna Menon Marg
residence in Delhi to confer the Bharat Ratna.
‘BAR’BARIC ACT
Hours before the honour was
confered on Vajpayee, Home
Minister Rajnath Singh
described the former Prime
Minister as an international
icon who is respected and
loved by one and all
Posing danger to motorists and passersby, iron bars used for construction are being transported on 100 Feet Road at Vadapalani.
Photo: R THIYAGARAJAN
Chain snatched
at Nanganallur
NT Bureau
Chennai, March 27:
An elderly woman was relieved off her
seven sovereign gold chain by an unidentified biker at Nanganallur last night.
According to police sources, Parvathy
(70) was on her way to a temple in
Nanganallur, when a biker snatched
her gold chain and escaped.
Following this, a complaint has been
filed with the Pazhavanthangal police
station.
Court stops Sruthi from
signing new movies
New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI):
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today
appealed to the well off people to give
up subsidised cooking gas, and expressed his government’s resolve to
reduce dependence on energy imports
by 10 per cent by 2022.
Sharing oil companies’ plans to increase piped cooking gas connection
to one crore households from 27 lakh
currently in the next four years, Modi
said the decision to surrender LPG
subsidy by 2.8 lakh consumers would
result in a savings of Rs 100 crore.
‘I had made a small mention about
giving up LPG subsidy. As many as
2.80 lakh people has responded positively...and this will lead to a saving
of at least Rs 100 crore. This Rs 100
crore can be utilised for the welfare
of poor,’ Modi said while speaking at
the ‘Urja Sangam’ here.
Since the government started the new
scheme of direct benefit transfer (DBT)
for cooking gas, several persons opted
out of the subsidy scheme.
Modi said that 12 crore bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan
scheme are being used for transferring subsidies directly to the consumers which has helped in plugging
the leakages and effectively fighting
corruption. ‘To fight corruption, if
institutional mechanism, transparent
mechanism, policy driven system can
be put in place then we can prevent
leakages. And this has been proved by
cash transfer,’ the Prime Minister said.
Referring to India’s 77 per cent dependence on energy imports, Modi
said the effort should be to reduce it
by 10 per cent by 2022, when India will
celebrate 75 years of Independence.
‘We can reduce this import by at least
10 per cent in 2022. This 10 per cent
we will produce ourselves and this
should be our dream,’ he said.
‘If we become successful in reducing import by 10 per cent in 2022, by
achieving 10 per cent growth in domestic production, then I can assure
you that by 2030 we can reduce this
import to 50 per cent,’ he added. Modi
said the country needs to increase
domestic output of energy to reduce
dependence on imports.
‘Our target has to be higher, only
then we can reduce the import...
for that we have to make effort,’ he
said, adding that the domestic energy
companies should aim to become
multinationals.
Man kidnapped,
assaulted at Royapettah
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
A man has filed a complaint with
the police that he was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by a group of
unidentified men in Royapettah last
night. According to police sources,
Sunraj (42), a businessman, alleged
that he was kidnapped by a group of
four men, who beat him up for two
hours before releasing him.
Police suspect the involvement of a
former Mayor in this case, and it is
alleged that Sunraj took Rs 12 lakh
from him, promising a new house.
He is currently undergoing treatment
and the police has registered a case.
Former co-op staff held
for swindling money
Dindigul, Mar 27 (PTI):
A former secretary of an agricultural
cooperative society in the district has
been arrested by the Economic Offences wing police for allegedly
swindling Rs 67.89 lakh.
Arivazhagan, former secretary of
Vedasanthur Devinayakanpatti Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit
Society and a member of AIADMK
from Kuttam, was arrested on a complaint from District Deputy Registrar
Jesudasan, police said today.
filed an Interlocutory Application in
the Supreme Court on 18 November
2014, <I>inter-alia<P>, to restrain
the government of Karnataka from
proceeding with the construction
of reservoirs at Mekedatu or any
other new projects across the river
Cauvery in Karnataka which are not
contemplated and/or permitted in the
final decision of the Tribunal, besides
seeking orders to maintain status quo
till the disposal of the Civil Appeals
and the constitution of the Cauvery
Management Board’, he said.
Today’s resolution in Assembly
assumes significance as it comes
in the wake of a bandh call given by
the Coordination Committee of the
All Farmers Associations in Delta
Districts condemning Karnataka
government’s adamant attitude in this
issue and urging the Centre to act on
this issue fast.
Several political parties, trade unions, traders associations have expressed their solidarity for the bandh.
Dalmiya lauds
Team India
3 held for murder of
16-year-old girl
New Delhi, Mar 27 ((PTI):
The disappointment of a semifinal exit
notwithstanding, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya today congratulated
the Indian cricket team for its ‘stupendous’ World Cup performance, saying
that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men put
up an outstanding show. India, the
defending champions, were knocked
out of the World Cup following a 95run semifinal loss to Australia in
Sydney yesterday.
Dalmiya said despite the
defeat, the team must be
lauded for a seven-match
unbeaten streak leading up
to the last-four stage.
‘I congratulate the entire
Indian cricket team for having
played some outstanding cricket in
the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
They have indeed displayed some
admirable skills while playing the
game in its true spirit, and thereby,
bringing joy to millions of cricket fans,’
DGET
Give up subsidy:
Modi to rich
such unprofessional attitude is not
repeated and to protect the interests
of its various stakeholders, we
initiated both civil and criminal
proceedings against her’.
Taking cognisance of the
civil offence, a court in Hyderabad issued an injunction
restraining her from signing
any new movie until further
orders. For the criminal offence,
police have been instructed to investigate the matter, the release
added.
NT Bureau
ing the importance of the issue, MPs
belonging to all parties in Tamilnadu
Chennai, Mar 27:
should meet Prime Minister Narendra
The Tamilnadu Assembly today
Modi and hand over this resolution
adopted a resolution urging the Cenand convey the concern of the people
tral government to stop Karnataka
of Tamilnadu to him.
government from building a new dam
The resolution comes just a few
across Cauvery river at Mekedatu.
days after Panneerselvam wrote a
The House also regretted Cenletter to Prime Minister Narendra
tre’s ‘inaction’ towards State
AD U B
Modi said, ‘I write this letter
government’s repeated reN
to bring to your attention the
quests to form Cauvery
repeated violation of the final
Management Board and
award of the Cauvery Water
Cauvery Water Regula01
1
5Disputes Tribunal by government
tory Authority to implement
of Karnataka. Karnataka continues
the final order of the Cauvery
with its intransigent stand to construct
Tribunal and to advise Karnataka not
a reservoir at Mekedatu without obto proceed with its plans to construct
taining any clearance from the govnew dams across Cauvery river.
ernment of India, the Cauvery Water
Further, the Tamilnadu Assembly
Disputes Tribunal or the government
also expressed deep concern and
of Tamilnadu.’
protest over Karnataka government
Quoting media reports, Panneerselallocating Rs 25 crore for preparing a
vam said Karnataka had allotted funds to
Detailed Project Report for constructprepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR)
ing a new dam at Mekedatu.
to construct a reservoir at Mekedatu.
Moving the resolution, Chief Minis‘The government of Tamilnadu has
ter O Panneerselvam said considerU
ter of actor Kamal Haasan, arbitrarily
pulled out of their project citing dates
clash as a lame excuse.
‘The dates were mutually
discussed with her and schedules were planned around
her convenience. Shooting
commenced and the first
schedule was completed
and unexpectedly Sruthi conveyed through an email that she
wanted to quit the project’.
The production house further said,
‘with an intention of ensuring that
q Cauvery: TN urges Centre to stop K’taka
from constructing dam at Mekedatu
2
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
Actress Sruthi Haasan, who walked
out of a Nagarjuna-Karthi-starrer recently, has landed herself in trouble.
The production house has initiated
criminal and civil proceedings against
her. They have managed to obtain an
injunction from the court restraining
her from signing any new movie until
further orders.
In a press release here, the
producers Picture House Media,
alleged that Sruthi Hassan, daugh-
Assembly passes
key resolution
6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Home Minister Rajnath Singh and
other senior Cabinet ministers
will be present on the special
occasion.
Mamata congratulates
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee has expressed happiness
over former prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee being conferred Bharat
Ratna and described him as a ‘truly
great statesman’ who richly deserves
this honour.
‘Happy that Atalji is being conferred
Bharat Ratna today.
‘He is a truly great statesman who
richly deserves this honour.I wish
him well,’ the Trinamool Congress
supremo, who served as a minister in the Vajpayee government,
tweeted.
National Conference leader
Omar Abdullah congratulated
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee for receiving Bharat
Ratna saying it was ‘an honour’
to serve under him.
In a departure from tradition, the
President will confer the Bharat Ratna
on Vajpayee at his Krishna Memon
Marg residence today.
TAMIL
NT Bureau / PTI
New Delhi, Mar 27:
President Pranab Mukherjee was
set to confer the Bharat Ratna on
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee at his Krishna Menon Marg
residence later today.
Hours before the honour was confered on Vajpayee, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh described the former
Prime Minister as an international
icon who is respected and loved by
one and all.
‘Our former Prime Minister Vajpayee is not only just an Indian statesman but an international icon who is
respected and loved by everyone,’
Singh told reporters in New Delhi.
Vajpayee is being conferred country’s highest civilian award Bharat
Ratna on Friday by President Pranab
Mukherjee.
The Home Minister said it is a matter of immense happiness for the
whole country that the former Prime
Minister is being bestowed with the
Bharat Ratna.
‘His personality, his oratory skill,
his honesty and humility signify his
greatness. He is a great human being,’ he said.
Dalmiya said in a statement. ‘In spite
of the disappointment due to the loss
in the semi-final, the fact that the impending generation has showed the
desired potential to take Indian cricket
to greater heights is quite gratifying,’
he added. BCCI secretary Anurag
Thakur also praised the team for its
overall good performance.
‘Being present at the venue and
having witnessed the match, I was
privy to the excitement and joy
that our Indian team brings to
the spectators,’ Thakur said.
‘I take this opportunity to
thank all our fans across the
world and especially those
who were present for the semifinal and supported Team India.
The BCCI truly appreciates the
sustained efforts of our team and
congratulates them for their outstanding performance while upholding the
values which have long embodied the
game of cricket,’ he added.
Namakkal, Mar 27 (PTI):
A 16-year old girl was strangulated
by a jilted lover and two others, including her school mate, at a village
in the district, police said today.
In a swift action, police arrested
the trio late last night, hours after the
murder came to light.
According to police, the girl, a
plus one student from Periyanmalai village, was missing after she
left for school yesterday morning.
Farmer killed by
elephant in Erode
Erode, Mar 27 (PTI):
A 55-year old farmer was trampled to death by an elephant in a
forest area in Burgur in the district,
police said today. The body of Kulandaisamy of Kalvarai was found
by cattle grazers in the Kalvarai
forest yesterday, they said.
The body had markings of elephant
trampling and doctors at Anthyuir Government Hospital confirmed the farmer
died in an attack by elephant, police said.
2 FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
City
Centre
CHENNAI
Solution at the source
TAKEN OVER
New garbage collection system in Valasaravakkam
V
Branches of trees that have been cut and strewn over the sides
of Sannathi Street, Valasaravakkam, block pedestrian movement.
Photo: R Thiyagarajan
alasaravakkam has been facing
issues in collection of garbage
from houses here. Garbage vans
have been irregular for the past few
months. However, the Corporation,
in an initiative to make the zone a
cleaner one, is planning to introduce
source segregation of garbage soon.
An official confirmed the news. ‘The
Corporation has decided to give a
Kuwait-based National Cleaning
Company (NCC) a seven-year contract to clean up Valasaravakkam
zone. Once given the job, NCC is
expected to distribute two bins each
to households. A green one will be
for biodegradable waste and a blue
one for non biodegradables. The
agency will collect the waste right at
the doorstep of the people’, he stated.
Residents are happy with this development as they feel that this will
result in the area looking cleaner
than before. Uma, a resident of Valasaravakkam said, ‘garbage collectors
here do a decent job. But if they are
on leave, nobody comes to collect
the garbage and they get piled up
with a rotten smell hanging around
the households. But now if there is
segregation of waste with separate
New waste bins that will be installed in the area.
bins for them, it will be better for
both the Corporation and
the residents to maintain
a neater neighbourhood.
I hope this system does
not wane off like other ideas
before’.
The main idea
behind this
I
N
PALA
project is to
VADA
create a bin-less
zone. Currently, in most places
Welcome move
The
new
seating
arrangement will
help
senior people
to stay
comfortable.’
Officials erect new bus shelter in T Nagar
R
equirement of bus shelters at MTC
stops across the neighbourhood
is heightened during the summers. This
time, the civic body has taken s o m e
proactive measures in this
regard.
A new shelter was
recently erected at
the MTC stop on DuT
raiswamy Road.
Thanks to the local MLA
V P Kalairajan, who took
t h e
initiative in erecting the
shelter.
Several complaints regis- t e r e d
the concern of commuters time and again.
Apart students of nearby schools, the
facility is expected to bring a big relief to
the number of shoppers from the nearby
South Usman Road.
Ramani, a resident of
Baroda Street, said, ‘it is
a timely action. The new
R seating arrangement will
A
G
help senior people to
NA
stay comfortable.’
He added that it is equally important for
buses to halt at the stop, otherwise the purpose would be unserved.
- NT Bureau
A new shelter for MTC stop at Duraiswamy Road
will be helpful to commuters.
05:30 PM Kalai Koil
TV TODAY
06:00 PM Utchakattam
06:30 PM Idhu Pudhusu
JAYA TV
07:00 PM News
04:30 PM Kollywood Gallery
07:30 PM Mohini
05:00 PM New Songs
08:00 PM Bhavani
05:30 PM Makkalin Mudhalvar
08:30 PM Romapuri Paandiyan
06:00 PM Suvaiyo Suvai
09:00 PM Odi Vilayadu Pappa
08:00 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu
08:30 PM Saravanan Meenatchi
09:00 PM Mahabharatham
09:30 PM Super Singer T20
10:30 PM Office
11:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal Varai
11:30 PM Vazhakku Enn 18/9
RAJ TV
STAR SPORTS 1
03:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
3: Australia vs. Pakistan
04:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
4: New Zealand vs. West
Indies
05:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1:
New Zealand vs. South
Africa
06:30 PM Galatta Comedy
06:00 PM Mundhanai Mudichu
09:30 PM Madippakkam Madhavan
07:00 PM Ramayanam
06:30 PM Pasamalar
10:00 PM News Headlines
07:30 PM News
07:00 PM News
10:02 PM Kaliyugam
08:00 PM Hits
07:30 PM Nadhaswaram
10:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
08:30 PM Akka
08:00 PM Deiva Magal
11:00 PM Kuthu Padalgal
09:00 PM Priyamana Thozhi
08:30 PM Vamsam
11:30 PM Telebuy
09:30 PM Poomagal
09:00 PM Priyamanaval
09:30 PM Vani Rani
VIJAY TV
07:30 PM Mann Vasanai
10:00 PM Kavidhaiyae Theriyuma
10:30 PM English News
10:00 PM Sakthi
04:30 PM Cricket Extra : Post Show
08:30 PM Alaipayuthey
06:00 PM En Kanavan En Thozhan
09:00 PM En Iniya Thozhiye
07:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1:
New Zealand vs. South
Africa
06:30 PM Puthu Kavithai
09:30 PM Gouravam
08:30 PM Cricket Legends
10:00 PM Koppium-Crime Time
09:00 PM Match Point : Semi Final
2: Australia vs. India
10:45 PM Tamil News
10:30 PM Azhagi
11:00 PM Thenkinnam
11:00 PM Veettoda Mappillai
SUN TV
KALAIGNAR TV
07:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal
Varai
03:00 PM Valli
04:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
07:30 PM Aandaal Azhagar
03:30 PM Rajakaali Amman
05:00 PM Vinnai Thodu
05:00 PM S K Shoppe
05:30 PM Vellithira
06:00 PM Raj News
06:30 PM Thirai Vaanil
07:00 PM Sindhu Bhairavi
08:00 PM Karuthamma
10:30 PM Aandan Adimai Goura-
IN HOME
SONYPIX
VALIYAVAN
06:19PM
09:00PM
11:41PM
AGS Cinemas, INOX National, Abirami Mega Mall,
Captain America: The First
Avenger
Iron Man
Hollow mane
HBO
06:16PM Star Trek Into Darkness
Theatre
07:00 PM Cricket Legends
S
U
D
O
K
U
MOVIES NOW
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Hall, Rakki
07:15PM Dunston Checks In
Multiplex, Abirami Theatres,
09:00PM Bean
10:50PM The Matrix Revolutions
DRAGON BLADE
STAR MOVIES
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
07:00PM Behind Enemy Lines
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Abirami
09:00PM Johnny English
Theatres,
11:00PM Spider-Man
4
03:15 PM PSA World Tour 2015
: Canary Wharf Classic
Men SF 2
04:30 PM Gillette World Sport
05:00 PM WWE Smackdown
07:00 PM Volvo Ocean Race : Sanya
to Auckland
07:30 PM Gillette World Sport
08:00 PM ASP World Championship
Tour 2014
09:00 PM French Ligue 1 2014/15 :
Preview Show
10:00 PM WWE Smackdown
TEN
CRICKET
03:00 PM Cricket Classics : Pakistan vs. West Indies ’04
04:00 PM South Africa Tour of Sri
Lanka 2014 H/ls : 1st Test
7
9
1
1
1
5
3
2
8
7
5
8
6
1
5
4
3029
11:36PM The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
TEN SPORTS
6
8
8
09:00PM Now You See Me
CSK
11:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1:
New Zealand vs. South
Africa
06:00 PM Tri-Nation 2014
10:30 PM Late Cut
Kamala Theatre, Udhayam Theatre, PVR Cinemas,
Multiplex, Sri Ganga Cinema, Raj Theatre, Maharani
06:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Semi Final 2:
Australia vs. India
10:00 PM Cricket Legends
IN THEATRES
Woodlands Multiplex, Mayajaal Cinema, Sangam
the bins are brimming with garbage
until the Corporation garbage van
comes to clear it.
- NT Bureau
The object is
to insert the
numbers in
the boxes to
satisfy only
one condition:
each row,
column and
3x3 box must
contain the
digits
1 through 9
exactly once:
Easy nah?
ANSWER TO
SUDOKU 3028
(26.3.2015)
3
9
2
2
2
6
5
4
8
3
7
2
4
5
6
9
1
8
3
4
2
6
5
1
9
7
6
7
1
9
9
6
2
5
5
3
7
8
4
1
8
2
3
4
1
5
4
3
2
8
7
1
6
4
9
2
5
7
3
9
8
6
4
2
9
5
6
8
1
3
7
3
8
4
9
7
2
6
1
5
8
9
3
7
4
6
2
5
1
Around Town
CHENNAI
FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
Kolkata kid cured in city
q DMDSC treats baby suffering from neonatal diabetes
Cambridge English Language Assessment regional director (South
Asia) T K Arunachalam presenting students with Business English
Certificate at S A Engineering College, Chennai recently.
City students get
Cambridge certificates
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
Cambridge English Language
Assessment (CELA), a part of University of Cambridge presented
Business English Certificates
(BEC) to students of S A Engineering College, Chennai recently.
According to a press release,
students received certificates from
CELA regional director (South
Asia) T K Arunachalam in presence
of college director P Venkatesh
Raja and principal S Suyambazhahan.
In September 2014, a total of 719
students passed the BEC assessments. As many as 571 students
took the Cambridge English:
Business Preliminary (BEC Preliminary); 148 students took the
more advanced level Cambridge
English: Business Vantage (BEC
Vantage). The BEC are globally
recognised.and over 500 colleges
in India have tied up with CELA to
help students with job placements
and prepare them to face an international business environment,
the release said.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
Ivana Das, a three-month-old
baby from Kolkata, was diagnosed
with diabetes 15 days after birth,
while she was being evaluated
for fever. Inspite of giving insulin
injection four times a day, there
was no improvement in the sugar
levels. She was then referred to
Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities
Centre (DMDSC) in Chennai.
As the child had developed diabetes prior to six months of age,
she was diagnosed and a sample
was sent for genetic analysis by
DMDSC. The results showed a
mutation in the KCNJ11 gene,
which is known to be associated
with neonatal diabetes.
Based on the results, the child
was given a small dose of oral
anti-diabetic tablet and reduced
the dose of insulin. The blood sugar
levels drastically improved after
three days.
Addressing mediapersons here
yesterday, DMDSC chairman Dr V
Mohan said, ‘This is an unique case
that took place due to genetic mu-
DMDSC chairman Dr V Mohan and vice-chairman Ranjit Unnikrishnan with
three-month-old baby Ivana at a press conference in Chennai yesterday.
tation. Making a genetic diagnosis
of neonatal diabetes is of utmost
importance. In the absence of genetic testing, many of these children
would be incorrectly diagnosed with
Type 1 diabetes and treated lifelong
with insulin, unnecessarily.’
DMDSC head (Genetics) Radha
Venkatesan said, ‘Gene defects
can be identified through sanger
sequencing machine. The baby
underwent the test and we treated
accordingly. The baby did not have
any episodes of low sugar and we
were able to completely stop insulin by day three and continue the
tablets alone’
DMDSC recommends that children diagnosed with diabetes
prior to six months of age undergo
genetic testing to screen for mutations in the genes concerned with
insulin secretion, This can avoid
unnecessarily treatment with insulin
as well as improve diabetes control
in many cases.
3
Ratha yatra held
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
Jagadguru Sri Sankara Bhagavath
Padhal Panchami Seva Trust, Postal
Colony First Street, West Mambalam
organised Sri Sankara Ratha yatra
(Panchami day) on 24 March.
A press release said, Regional
Meteorological Centre, Chennai,
Director, S R Ramanan, presided
over the yatra which went through
various streets of West Mambalam
and Ashok Nagar. Speaking on
the occasion, Ramanan narrated
the teachings of the Mahaperiyava.
Trust founder Panchami Nagarajan
organised the programme.
He can be reached at 94447 57441.
Postal dept
sets target
The Department
of Posts has
set a target of
opening one
crore ‘Sukanya Samriddhi
Account’ during
the financial year
2015-2016.
‘In order to meet the ever-growing
demand , the savings bank counters
in all the head post offices and 195
select sub-post offices under Chennai city region will remain open
exclusively for opening of Sukanya
Samriddhi Account on Sunday,’ said
a release.
Endowment
Lecture
E-READING OR
ME-READING?
q What do book-lovers prefer in this digital age
N SAHANA AROORAN
Chennai, Mar 27:
Empty halls, deathly silence and
dusty books. This is the condition
of a number of bookstores across
the city which are facing closure,
due to the slow decline in visitors.
It may be noted that a popular
book store in Hyderabad, dating
to the Nizam era, recently shut
shop citing heavy losses. ‘It has
become difficult to compete
with online retailers’, the owner
reportedly said.
Walking into a book store
and buying a book has become a rarity in this digital
age, so to say. A recent
survey found that more
and more book-lovers
have shifted to online
reading, an
activ-
ity which has been popularised
with the advent of e-books and
reading apps.
But can virtual books replace a
hardcopy? News Today finds out.
‘While it is certainly far more
easier to search and read a book
on the internet, I personally feel
that it is no match for ‘real’ reading’,
says Aditi, a college student.
A common complaint put forth
is that one does not find all books
online.
‘One major reason why people take to
internet
reading
is because it
‘A book is a treasure, something that would always stay
with us and be preserved for a lifetime. In earlier days,
certain books would be passed on from one generation to
the other, as a family tradition. That kind of importance,
sadly, is no longer given to books, as people are hardly
interested in buying them’
is perceived to be free of cost. But
most of the times, the desired book
will not be available in the PDF format and one might have to pay to
download the same. This defeats
the very purpose of reading on the
internet’, adds Aditi,
Also, many argue that e-books
are for those who read to kill
time, and that those who are
really passionate about reading
would always want to take home,
a brand new book of one’s favourite author.
‘A book is a treasure, something that would always stay
with us and be preserved for a
lifetime. In earlier days, certain
books would be passed on from
one generation to the other, as
a family tradition. That kind
of importance, sadly,
is no longer
given to
books, as people are hardly
interested in buying them’,
feels Venkatesh, a book-lover.
One of the major causes that
has led to the lackadaisical approach towards ‘real’ reading is
the growing popularity of apps
like Kindle, which help one read
on the move with e-readers
vouching for its benefits.
‘It is no surprise that
virtual reading
is preferred
in today’s
f a s t paced
l i f e .
A n d
with
various websites that encourage readers to form
communities and rate or review books, the activity has
become far more interesting’,
feels Shruti, a city-based
professional.
All said and done, if the current digital trend continues,
future generations might
never experience the simple
pleasures of life, such as
having a hard-bound
book in hand, turning
one page after the
other and placing
one’s favourite
bookmark in it!
Madras
S c h o o l
of Social
Work will
organise its
20th ‘Mary
Clubwala
Jadhav Endowment Lecture’ on Saturday at
its campus at 4 pm. Gamesa Wind
Turbines Pvt Ltd chairman and managing director Ramesh Kymal will
deliver the lecture on ‘Renewable
Energy Prosperity of the Nation
and the Role of Professional Social
Workers.’
The institute will also award Integrated Rural Community Development Society (IRCDS) and women’s
Education and Economic Development Society (WEEDS) for rendering best humanitarian services.
Traffic awareness
campaign
Thozhan, an NGO will organise
a traffic awareness campaign at
various signals in T Nagar and other
parts of the city on 29 March.
For details, contact Sabarivas at
98849 66613.
Meditation
session
The Art of Living Centre will organise a free meditation session on 2
April at 6 pm in 13A/6A, Umapathy
Street.
For registration, contact 98407
89742.
It is an
world!
q More people prefer shopping using mobile devices, says study
Rotary Club of Chennai Towers presented vocational service awards to
people from various sections of society at a function at T Nagar in Chennai
yesterday. Percussionist Viku Vinayakaram was presented Life Time
Achievement Award. Additional Director General of Police J K Tripathy
and Rotary District Governor Nominee, RI 3230 R Srinivasan participated.
Brain dead woman
donates organs
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
A 37-year-old woman’s family took
the decision of donating her organs
after she was declared brain dead
at a private hospital in the city on
Thursday.
The deceased Parameshwari,
hailed from Cuddalore and was a
tailor. She had children and was
ill for the past few days. She was
undergoing treatment at a hospital
in Cuddalore and had a brain stroke.
She was referred to Global Hospital
on 25 March.
On Thursday, the doctors declared
the patient as brain dead. Later, the
doctors at the hospital counselled the
family to donate her organs saying
the it can save many lives.
Agreeing to it, the family donated
liver, kidney and heart valve. Her
kidney was donated to Fortis Malar
Hospital, liver was given to Global
Hospital and heart valve to Madras
Medical Mission.
SANGEETHA R
Chennai, Mar 27:
Whether you are intent on keeping
a check and taking control of your
daily calorie intake, or choose to
listen to unlimited soundtracks or
have ever missed out your favourite
television show or are a shopaholic.
There is no worry, it seems. There is
an app for almost everything now!
Over the past few years, the
popularity of smartphones has
grown steadily and so far there are
no signs of a slowdown as companies keep developing software and
features. Popular apps have truly
revolutionised the mobile phone
industry, it can be said.
According to Vyshnavi, a citybased software professional,
‘Smartphone users are moving away
from so called ‘traditional’ towards
web browsing online in favour of
mobile apps platform’.
‘People have moved towards more
instant communication in the form
of messaging app. These are gaining momentum among people of all
age groups and are popular as they
are more convenient and cheaper
than text messaging’.
Over the past few years, the popularity
of smartphones has grown steadily and
so far there are no signs of a slowdown
as companies keep developing software
and features. Popular apps have truly
revolutionised the mobile phone industry
Also, apps that have ruled for
years have now been losing ground
to newer ones. Those introduced
for cricket buffs and some by ecommerce firms to enable shopping
online are among recent crowdpullers.
The ‘special days’ or ‘end of season’ sale have attracted internet
shoppers, but some organisations
have more to offer for customers
through mobile phones now.
‘An online retail firm’s ‘Big app sale’
for three days, offered big discounts
on various products for customers
who shop through its mobile app
while the same wasn’t available on the website. Those
wanting to buy at lower prices
need to download the app’,
said Karthik a college student.
‘Online retailing has grown at
an enormous rate, catering to
an ever-increasing diverse base of
internet users. Also, mobile applications have gained relevance because
it allows the users to stay logged in
all the time and also the shopping is
quicker compared to doing it through
the website’, he added.
Meanwhile, Gizmobaba.com, a
portal for all kinds of gizmos and
gadgets, in a recent study, said
transactions made with mobile device had increased from a mere 10
per cent to a whopping 50 per cent
this year. It also said customers
found transacting with their mobile
devices rather convenient and safer.
Further, the report said transactions made by women had increased to 40 per cent compared to
the 20 per cent last year. Women
are increasingly buying online from
an array of products both for themselves and for purposes of gifting to
others, it added.
Another trend as per the study is
the growing sales from remote towns
of the country. Only a year ago, the
share of sales from small towns was
a meager 10 per cent, which has
rapidly escalated to 30 per cent this
year and is expected to go up further.
With an increasing number of users choosing relatively new apps,
this does not mean that mainstream apps are dead and buried.
It is only that the users are using
these networks less than before.
Blend
4 FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
WHAT
WH
AT NEWS
NEW
NEW
EWS
S TODAY
TODA
TO
DAY
DA
Y PRINTS
PRIN
PR
INTS
IN
TS IS
IS NEWS
NEWS THAT
THA
THA
HAT
T COUNTS
COUN
CO
UNTS
UN
TS
FIGHTING FIRE
CHENNAI
C
L ICK
PIC
Time to move on
I
t looked good as long as it lasted. India’s campaign in the World
Cup at the back of a disheartening display in the Test and ODI
series Down Under, raised the expectations of the fans, especially
after the team went through the league phase unbeaten.
After another emphatic win over Bangladesh in the quarterfinals,
M S Dhoni & Co lined up for (yet another) encounter against the
Aussies. However, the losses in the previous months preceding the
showpiece event were forgotten and there was a lot of hype about
India’s chances.
The defeat in the semifinals at the hands of Australia came without
much of a fight, which probably disappointed fans more. As with a
defeat in the World Cup, the exit from the 2015 championship saw
people in the country react, on rather expected lines, and there was
outrage and verbal attacks on the players. Virat Kohli’s girlfriend
Anushka Sharma was also picked on with some saying her presence
was a distraction for the team’s star batsman.
What happened in the nation after the Indian team was
unceremoniously bundled out of the 2007 tournament in the
Caribbean is still fresh in the minds of many. The country’s sport
fans often tend to get overly jingoistic and react in an unsavoury
manner after not-so-good performances in big events.
There was an outpouring of ‘feelings’ after the Mitchell Starc got
the final wicket to send the 2011 champs out of the Cup, paving way
for a trans-Tasman final on Sunday.
There were ‘experts’ taking potshots at the Indian team in the
aftermath of the loss and blaming Anushka for Virat’s failure probably
stuck out like a sore thumb. What was worse was that security was
beefed up at Dhoni’s residence in Ranchi as the defending champ’s
challenge went pear-shaped.
The fickle-minded fans were at it again. Heaping praise and
deifying sportspersons, especially cricketers is the norm in India as
is ‘crucifying’ them in the event of failures. This shows that sportslovers haven’t matured as yet. Wins and losses are part of every sport
and have to be taken that way.
The entire nation went bonkers after Dhoni slammed Nuwan
Kulasekara to seal the World Cup in 2011 but the cricketers have
come under the pump after what has been a good but not a great
campaign in the showpiece event held Down Under.
For a bunch of cricketers, who have been on the road since
November 2014 and endured more downs than ups before this
tournament arrived, the exit will give them time to take their minds
off the game, albeit briefly, as the IPL caravan is set to begin in a
couple of weeks time (8 April to be precise).
The same team was picked on after the Test series loss to Australia
and the insipid performances in the tri-series. Once the World Cup
started, Dhoni’s team was a transformed one and they humbled one
rival after the other before the Aussies derailed the title defence. A
lot of credit is due to the ‘Men in Blue’ who rose above expectations
and were anointed favourites after claiming six straight wins in the
league stage. Rather than look at the negatives, it is time to consider
the positives and look ahead.
Also, there is bound to be speculation about Dhoni’s ODI future
and he did take a jibe or two at the media during the post-match
interaction but a decision is best left to him.
Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the fans’
disappointment (of the WC exit) would last only till the IPL kicks off!
Taapsee Pannu
@taapsee
Those that are close to you
: You can actually hear their
voice as you read their texts
on mobile .. na ?
We all love you Dhoni! Your
name will be etched in the heart
n mind of millions. Team India
we welcome you back. We are
proud of u all.
Germanwings crash
wasn’t just suicide
‘Co-pilot wanted to destroy the aircraft’
FRENCH ALPS:
Reports from multiple sources now
claim that Andreas Lubitz, a 28-yearold German co-pilot, deliberately
crashed Germanwings flight 9525 in
the French Alps on 24 March, killing
himself, 144 passengers, and five
crew members. According to French
prosecutor Brice Robin, it appears
that Lubitz ‘wanted to destroy the
aircraft’, although a motive has yet
to be identified.
After Lubitz reportedly locked himself in the cockpit alone, he ‘manipulated the buttons of the flight monitoring system to activate the descent
of the aircraft,’ Robin announced at
a 26 March press conference. This
apparently requires a conscious effort, which has led many to conclude
that the pilot’s intention was suicide.
‘French Alps plane crash treated
as suicide and mass murder by copilot,’ according to EuroNews, on 26
March. ‘Apparently he had burnout,
he was in depression,’ reported the
Daily Mail.
But not everyone agrees with telling
the story as a suicide. ‘When you are
responsible for 150 people, I don’t
Mysterious warm layer
discovered in Venus
data collected by the Venus Express
probe.
‘We measured temperatures at
altitudes of 90 to 140 kilometres,’ said Denis Belyaev of
Moscow Institute of Physics
and Technology (MIPT) and the
Space Research Institute of the
Russian Academy of Sciences.
BERLIN:
Germany’s aviation association
BDL has announced plans to introduce a two-person cockpit rule after
it emerged that the co-pilot on a Ger-
WASHINGTON:
Researchers in the US have created a flapping robotic wing that can
recover from mid-air collisions. By
examining the wings of birds and
bats, the researchers at Stanford
University, have created a mechanism that could allow drones to
easily squeeze between obstacles,
such as branches of a tree, and
fully recover after accidental hard
impacts.
When it comes to flying, birds such
as pigeons and swallows can morph
their wings until they are tucked close
into their body, allowing them to pass
through gaps.
VOICE MAIL
Fair is the word
Sir,
In many communities where child marriage is practised, girls are not
valued as much as boys - they are seen as a burden. The challenge will
be to change parents’ attitudes and emphasise that girls who avoid early
marriage and stay in school will likely be able to make a greater contribution
to their family and their community in the long term.
Where poverty is acute, giving a daughter in marriage allows parents to
reduce family expenses by ensuring they have one less person to feed,
clothe and educate.
Many parents marry off their daughters young because they feel it is in
her best interest, often to ensure her safety in areas where girls are at high
risk of physical or sexual assault
SHRIRAM, By email
ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO :
The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
or e-mail to : [email protected] / [email protected]
An undated image taken from
Facebook of Germanwings
co-pilot Andreas Lubitz.
call it a suicide,’ Robin told reporters. ‘If a person kills himself and
also 149 other people, another word
officer Andreas Lubitz deliberately
flew the plane to a lower altitude.
We know also that the plane wound
up crashing into a mountain. The
question Robin has not answered is
how he knows the co-pilot had that
end in mind.
We know the plane was commanded down to a lower altitude after
reaching 38,000 feet. We do not yet
know why.
We know the Captain, identified in
web postings as Patrick Sonderheimer, left the cockpit and was unable
to get back in. We do not know that
he tried to enter using the door passcode or that the door was blocked
The evidence so far shows first officer
Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew the plane
to a lower altitude. We know also that the
plane wound up crashing into a mountain
should be used not suicide,’ added
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in a
statement on 26 March. Lufthansa
owns Germanwings.
The evidence so far shows first
In their study, the researchers created one of the first mechanisms in
which the morphing of the wing was
completely passive, requiring no actuation to fold or unfold, making the
wing much lighter and more reliable.
The robotic wing was modelled on
bat and bird wings and was made
using carbon fibre and Mylar film.
Similar to a bird wing, each of the two
robotic wings had a wrist joint, which
were custom built using a 3D printer.
The pin joint connected the arm
wing and the hand wing. The arm
wing attached to the body of the
robot at the shoulder joint, which
initiated the flapping. The complete
wing set had a wingspan of 400 mm
and a length (chord) of 80 mm.
manwings flight deliberately crashed
after being left alone.
The announcement was made by
the federation’s chief Matthias von
Randow, a BDL spokeswoman said.
The new policy would require two
crew members to be in the cockpit at
all times. The second person could
be a flight attendant if the pilot or copilot has to exit the cockpit in flight.
Separately, the head of Germanwings’ parent company Lufthansa,
Carsten Spohr, said the two-person
cockpit rule would be discussed at
an industry meeting to be attended
by the Federal Aviation Office (LBA).
The meeting will focus on ‘ways that
could in the short term help increase
security’ on planes, Spohr told German public television ARD.
The Canadian government and
several European airlines, including easyJet and Norwegian Air
Shuttle, announced that they were
introducing the ‘rule of two’ on all
their flights.
Oldest remains of
processed food discovered
BEIJING:
Chinese archaeologists have discovered the oldest processed wheaten food remains in the country, indicating the people ate bread-like food
2,600 to 2,900 years ago.
‘Our team has used infrared scans
to screen the food remains, which
were discovered in pottery wares
unearthed from Yanghai Cemetery,’
Yang Yimin, associate professor of
the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
The oldest processed wheaten food
remains were unearthed in north
Pilots need
regular medical
attention: UN
Montreal:
Pilots must have regular mental
and physical check-ups, the UN
world aviation body has said, after
it emerged that a Germanwings
first officer deliberately crashed
his plane killing all 150 on board.
All pilots are required to ‘undergo a periodic medical examination (by a doctor who is trained
in aviation medicine) that includes
both a physical and a mental assessment,’ the Montreal-based
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said in a statement.
beyond the normal locking function.
All we know is that the cockpit voice
recorder shows he tried to enter by
knocking.
Aviation association
seeks ‘rule of two’
New wing to
stop drones
collisions
Amitabh Bachchan
@SrBachchan
MOSCOW:
Scientists have discovered a warm
layer in Venus’ atmosphere,
the nature of which is still
unknown. The researchers
made the discovery when
compiling a temperature map
of the upper atmosphere on
the planet’s night side based on the
Smoke billows from a building in New York’s East Village neighborhood at the scene of a large fire and a partial building collapse. In
the other photograph, people help firefighters try to contain a fire at a petrol station in Lagos, Nigeria.
China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region. ‘The ingredients were mainly
flour made from barley and millet. It
was also mixed with lactobacillus and
yeast,’ he was quoted as saying to
state-run Xinhua news agency.
The food was made in a period between China’s Western Zhou Dynasty
(1046-771 BC) and Spring and Autumn Period (722-476 BC), he said.
Yang said the discovery showed
wheat became an important staple
food in Xinjiang for that period. Food
decomposes quickly and is rarely
found at archaeological sites.
‘If there is any concern from this
medical screening then a further,
more specialized, assessment
can be undertaken that may include neuropsychological testing,’
the UN agency added.
French authorities said the copilot of the Germanwings fl ight
appeared to have slammed his
Airbus A320 into the French Alps
on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old initiated the
plane’s descent while alone at
the controls and refused to open
the locked cockpit door for the
captain, who was believed to have
gone to the toilet. His motives are
yet unexplained.
Stampede kills
10 Hindu pilgrims
DHAKA:
At least 10 Hindu pilgrims, including seven women, were killed and
several others injured in a stampede
during a holy bath in the Old Brahmaputra River outside Dhaka, the
capital of Bangladesh.
‘Most of the victims were aged
over 50 years...Seven women were
among the dead in the stampede
during the ‘Astami snan’ at Langalbandh, Narayanganj,’ a police
official said.
He said around 30 devotees were
also injured and they were rushed
to nearby medical facilities for
treatment.
Rouhani keen to push
Iran’s N-deal
LAUSANNE:
Iran’s president appealed to the
leaders of Britain, France and Russia
to seize an ‘exceptional opportunity’
to strike a nuclear deal, as negotiators raced against the clock in
Switzerland.
‘We are acting in the national and
international interest and we should
not lose this exceptional opportunity,’
Hassan Rouhani told British Prime
Hassan Rouhani
Minister David Cameron by phone, the NEWS MAKER over Iran’s nuclear activiof the day
presidency said.
ties, also spoke to RusRouhani, whose 2013
sian President Vladimir
election led to the biggest effort in Putin and France’s Francois Hollande.
years to end the decade-old standoff
‘Hope was expressed for suc-
cess at the new round of talks in
Lausanne,’ the Kremlin said in a
statement, while noting with ‘satisfaction the progress’ made over
previous weeks of talks.
Hollande, ‘while insisting on Iran’s
legitimate right to use peaceful nuclear power, insisted on the need to
work towards a lasting, robust and
verifiable agreement,’ the French
presidency said.
But highlighting the difficulties of
talks that resumed in Switzerland
today between US Secretary of State
John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Rouhani also said Iran wants
all sanctions lifted.
Enterprise
CHENNAI
CARE India’s
initiative for
women
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
CARE India organised a
CEO meet, titled, ‘Celebrating
Women’s Empowerment
and Gender Equality at the
Workplace’, in the city recently.
According to a press release,
the event, which saw the
participation from more than
15 companies, was aimed to
have United Nation’s Women
Empowerment Principles (UN
WEPs) signatories on board to
reiterate and celebrate a stronger
commitment to gender equality
within their companies and share
‘best practices’ on corporate
leadership in promoting equality
of the genders.
The participating corporates
and SMEs engaged in an
interactive session on the
issues of sexual equality while
empowering women at work
and exploring solutions to
overcome the same, based on
WEPs. Most of the participating
corporates present to share
their experiences on women
entrepreneurship and their vow
to make their companies gender
sensitive workplaces, were WEPs
signatories, including Sulekha,
L&T, CETAS, Sundaram Group,
Computer Age Management, Pink
Papaya Foods, Saksoft, Groom
India- Naturals, Manipal Group,
Sutherland, Allsec Technologies
and eNoah iSolution India Pvt
Ltd.
The project worked to promote
gender balance, ensuring that
the corporates should provide a
favourable work environment for
women while adopting WEPs.
The efforts are concerted to
reduce discrimination and
inequity towards women in
private sector by advocating
promoting gender equitable
policies and practices.
US & India to make
business easy
Washington, Mar 27 (PTI):
US and India are planning to launch
negotiations to sign a high quality
bilateral investment treaty to create
an enabling business environment
in India, a senior American diplomat
has said.
‘With India now having concluded
its own model bilateral investment
treaty (BIT) framework, we are poised
to be able to engage with the Indians
and commence in negotiations on a
bilateral investment treaty’, Assistant Secretary of State for South and
Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said.
There are ongoing conversations
between the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) Office, the Department
of State and our Indian counterparts
There are ongoing conversations between
the US Trade Representative’s (USTR)
Office, the Department of State and their
Indian counterparts on launching
into BIT negotiations
on launching into BIT
negotiations, Biswal
told US lawmakers during a Congressional
hearing.
‘We want to make
sure that any bilateral investment
treaty is very high quality, high standard that reflects the expectations of
our companies and the best practices
Wipro to celebrate
Earth Hour
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
Wipro will be observing World
Earth Hour tomorrow by turning off
their non- essential light and conducting interactive employee and
customer engagement session.
According to a press release,
Wipro will participate in the campaign by turning off electricity
across campuses globally, for a
minimum of one hour (8:30 pm to
9:30 pm local time) on 28 March
2015.
Earth Hour is an annual event
held globally to encourage individuals, communities, households
and businesses to turn off their
supplementary and dispensable
lery shows, held annually
by UBM India’.
GJIIE 2015 Chennai saw
participation from 300 exhibitors, as compared to 265
in 2014. These exhibitors included retailers, artisans and
wholesalers from all over
India and international markets who showcased their
product offerings ranging
from gold, diamonds, pearls,
gem stones, silver and allied
machinery products. In addition to Chennai, Mumbai,
Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur,
Ahmedabad, Hyderabad
and other potential II and III
tier cities in India, the exhibition had representation from
Turkey, Dubai, Hong Kong
and Thailand.
GJIIE 2015 also had the
Machinery Section (a GJIIE
first), which was hosted in
association with MSME
& BIS. This section had
over 80 machinery manufacturer exhibitors and
saw the participation from
Germany, Italy and Japan
in addition to local counterparts. The machinery
section also conducted
workshops and seminars
during the three days.
lights for one hour, from 8:30 to
9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday
of March.
Wipro will also run an online employee and customer engagement
campaign where the respondents
have to answer various questions
related to energy conservation.
Each correct answer will add an
additional second to the duration
for which the electricity will be
turned off beyond the mandated
one hour.
In addition to this, Wipro EcoEnergy will also dim the website
www.wiproecoenergy.com for
the entire day. In the course of
this initiative, Wipro is looking at
saving over 500 kWh.
Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI):
About 54 per cent of
health insurance policy
holders self initiate the
buying process of the
health cover, according
to a survey.
‘More than half of the
owners (54 per cent) selfinitiate the purchase process’, according to Max
Bupa Health Insurance
Pulse 2015.
However, only 40 per cent
health insurance policy
renewals were self-initiated
by the owner, it added.
Max Bupa Health Insurance Pulse 2015 study
was conducted among
over 1,500 respondents
in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and tier I
and II cities in states like
Hyderabad, Punjab and
Rajasthan.
The study also revealed
that there is a shift in age
groups of health insurance buyers, with 32 years
emerging as average age
of health insurance purchasers across cities.
In terms of gender related
All permits of
four companies are
expiring in 201516 period
data services in line with
the best service providers in the world’, Reliance
Industries CMD Mukesh D
Ambani said.
Airtel made successful
bids worth Rs 29,130.2
crore in 23 circles, which
include 10 service areas
in 900 Mhz band, six in
1800 Mhz and seven circles for 3G spectrum, according to auction details
released on Thursday.
Spectrum in 900 Mhz
held by Airtel through six
American companies bring cutting
edge technology and best practices
and are highly sought after in terms of
investment and partnership in India, but
they face certain impediments, she said.
‘The focus on the bilateral investment treaty has long been as a
mechanism to create the kind of
enabling environment that provides
the framework for greater ease of
investing in and doing business in
India’, she added.
Responding to questions on challenges being faced by companies
like Amazon, she said e-commerce
was a developing field within India in
terms of how to deal with the issues
of internet commerce and the tax
implications.
Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI):
Lack of original content is restricting the growth of animation, visual
effects, gaming and comics (AVGC)
sector in the country, industry veteran
A K Madhavan said on Thursday.
The country has to be satisfied doing only lower-rung work of offering
services, without creating original
content, he said.
‘We still don’t know how to tell stories and that is the biggest problem
being faced by the industry’, he said,
adding we need to come up with
original scripts for animation films.
‘India predominantly has been in
hire mode or in services job when it
comes to the AVGC sector. It’s only
in the last couple of years that India
is trying to create intellectual proper-
There is a shift in age groups
of health insurance buyers,
with 32 years emerging as
average age of health insurance
purchasers across cities
findings, an increasing
number of women are becoming the sole decision
makers in buying health
insurance (55 per cent). Almost two third of them are
not aware that new born
and in-laws can be covered
under health insurance, the
study said.
Doctors’ advice (50 per
cent) also is a key reason
for health insurance purchase, followed by rise of
lifestyle diseases (33 per
cent), tax planning (31 per
cent) and age (31 per cent),
it pointed out.
The study said consumers seek day care treatment (41 per cent), loyalty
or renewal benefits (40 per
cent) and new benefits like
maternity (34 per cent) as
licences was put up for
auction.
Idea retained 900 Mhz
airwaves in nine circles
that came up for renewal
and also made successful
bids in seven other service areas.
Vodafone defended
the premium airwaves in
seven circles while wining
fresh spectrum in another
one.
In the case of RCom,
seven permits came up
for renewal but it could
defend the 900 Mhz airwaves in two circles only.
However, RCom won
spectrum across 18 telecom circles, which include
11 service areas of 800
Mhz band and five in 1800
Mhz as well.
All these permits of four
companies are expiring in
2015-16 period.
Bharti Airtel MD and
CEO for India and South
Asia Gopal Vittal in a
statement said, ‘We have
secured a 20-year roadmap and have a strong
platform to lead the Digital India story. However,
the auction design and
the scarcity of spectrum
have resulted in exorbitant bids to secure the
spectrum’.
New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI):
Oracle on Thursday announced
plans to expand its sales team in
India by adding 300 executives as
the tech giant targets the growing
market for cloud services in the
country and the Asia Pacific region.
The US-based firm will hire a total
of 1,000 people in sales for the Asia
Pacific region.
Oracle’s recruitment efforts will primarily focus on growth in Australia,
China, India, Korea and ASEAN
countries. However, there are roles
being created across the region, the
company said in a statement.
‘Oracle on Thursday announced
signifi cant recruitment plans that
will add 1,000 new employees to
its sales force across Asia Pacific
(APAC). Nearly 300 of this specialised sales force for Cloud will be
recruited in India’, it added.
The expansion will help equip
Oracle to drive growth and support
demand for Oracle Cloud solutions
across the region, the firm said.
What affects
animation sector?
ties on the space’, Madhavan, who
has launched his own animation and
visual effects company, Assemblage,
said on the sidelines of FICCI-Frames
here. Even though a KPMG report
has valued the animation, VFX and
post-production industry in India at
Rs 44.9 billion in 2014 from Rs 39.7
billion a year ago, Madhavan said
adding it is very small compared to
the developed countries.
He said one of the main reasons
for this is that people associate
animation with children and not the
family.
Madhavan, who quit as chief executive of Crest Animation Studios
to start up on his own, said there is
a potential for growth for the sector.
KPMG has projected that the CAGR
‘Health is wealth
for 54% Indians’
Spectrum auction:
Gainers, losers
New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI):
Three leading telecom
players Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea retained
and expanded their holding
in premium 900 Mhz, but
RCom lost its holding in the
same band in five circles.
Meanwhile, RIL’s telecom arm Reliance Jio
Infocomm, which holds 4G
spectrum across the country, also bagged airwaves
in 800 Mhz and 1800 Mhz
bands which would enable
it to boost 4G offerings with
voice services.
‘Jio’s seamless 4G services using proven multiband LTE technology and
supported by our large
spectrum footprint will provide superior user experience for voice, video and
that we have gleaned
from our engagements
around the world’, she
said.
‘We believe that that
will clear the path for
greater ease of dispute resolution,
addressing issues of taxation and
other things that impede investment
in India’, Biswal said.
5
Oracle expands
sales team
Plan bilateral investment treaty Aim to sort out tax issues
GJIIE 2015
draws to a close
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
The 11th edition of the
three-day mega B2B gem
and jewellery extravaganza, the Gem & Jewellery
India International Exhibition (GJIIE 2015), drew to
a close.
A press statement here
said, the exhibition held at
the Chennai Trade Centre
from 20 March to 22 March
2015, was inaugurated by
actress Esha Deol, in the
presence of UBM India
acting managing director
Yogesh Mudras, MJDMA
- GJIIE chairman Rajesh
Vummidi and MJDMA president Jayantilal Chalani.
Speaking on the occasion, Yogesh Mudras said,
‘The overwhelming industry response towards Gem
& Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE)
2015, further validates the
industry need for such
a large trade platform to
tap the potential of South
India’s market, for both exhibitors and visitors. GJIIE
Chennai, co-hosted with
MJDMA, is one of the five
successful pan India jewel-
FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
significant features in their
health insurance cover.
‘Health insurance consumers are evolving from
being price conscious to
being value conscious
with majority of them preferring family health plans
over individual coverage
and opting for a sum insured of is Rs 6-7 lakh.
We have also observed
that the most common
sum insured individuals
opt for is Rs five lakh and
Rs 10 lakh in case of a
family cover. In fact, there
has been a two-fold increase in the claims from
the segment with a ticket
size of over Rs 10 lakh
since last year’, Max Bupa
head-Marketing Anika
Agarwal said.
Foreign Trade
Policy likely
on 1 April
New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI):
The government is likely to
unveil the new Foreign Trade
Policy (FTP) on 1 April, which
is expected roll out incentives
to boost exports.
‘We are trying to unveil
the new FTP on 1 April. It
will be aligned with Make In
India, Digital India, ease of
doing business and India’s
free trade pacts with its
partner countries’, a commerce ministry official said.
The much-delayed FTP
may include sops for labour
incentive sectors like leather
and handicraft. It is likely to
talk about ways to enhance
the country’s services exports, the official said.
The foreign trade policy,
which is usually announced
in April, provides guidelines
for enhancing exports with
the overall objective of pushing economic growth and
generating employment.
of animation and VFX industries will
grow by 16 per cent during next five
years.
‘Unlike feature films, animation
characters have got long self-life and
the sector doesn’t have any language
barrier as you can dub the same animation film in a number of languages.
Also, it doesn’t have any geographical
barrier. The AVGC industry’s revenue
comes from merchandise too’.
Given the potential the sector offers,
both infrastructure and skill development works are taking place in a big
way simultaneously and several players are involved in it. One such entity
is Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corp (KINFRA), which is
into various activities, including film
and video services.
I, C.A.ANTOO, Son of Thiru
Anthony,C.V., born on 5th
April 1971(native district:
Trichur-Kerala), residing at
Old No.28, New No.11, 6th
Main Road, Jawahar Nagar,
Chennai-600 082, shall
henceforth be known as
ANTO.
C.A.ANTOO
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public Notice is hereby given to
public in general on behalf of my client
Mr.G.RAJMOHAN, S/o. Late A.G.Ganapathi,
residing at No.11/14, 145th Street, Anna
Nagar, Tanjore-6, The property bearing
S.No.86/2A,
Madampakkam
Village,
Tambaram Taluk, Kancheepuram District,
measuring an extent of 61cents, SRO
Tambaram was purchased by my client’s
father from Govindammal, by way of
Sale Deed dated 20.12.2004, registered
as Document NO.8895/2004 at SRO
Tambaram, After the death of my client’s
father, my client, is in peaceful possession
and enjoyment of the above said Property
till this date. But unfortunately the above
said original sale deed along with original
documents (i) 1903/2004, (Power of
Attorney) (ii) 3825/1981 (Sale Deed) and
Patta (No.694)misplaced while taking
xerox in the Redhills Bus terminus on 21
.03.2015. Since the above said original
documents are lost, any person who has
found shall contact me at the address
mentioned hereunder within 7 days from
the date of publication of this notice. Public
hereby cautioned not to deal with above
said immovable property with any person
whomsoever except with my client and
further if any transaction done (or) made in
respect of the property is not binding upon
my client.
N.ANANDAN & M.SANJEEV KUMAR
Advocates
58, Law Chambers, High Court
Buildings,Chennai -104.
Cell: 98412 13375.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Testamentary & Intestate Jurisdiction)
O.P.No. 127 of 2015
In the matter of Indian
Succession Act, of XXXIX 1925
AND
In the matter of Last Will And
Testament of Late L. Saradha
1. V. Varadarajan, S/o. Vadivelu Gounder,
No. 140, M.G. Road, Villupuram,
Villupuram District, Pin - 605602.
2. Smt. Santha, W/o. Ethirajulu,
No. 27/1/1, Muthuvel Layout, K.R. Road,
Villupuram, Villupuram District,
Pin - 605 602.
...Petitioners.
All persons claiming to have any interest
in the Estate of the above named Deceased
L. Saradha., who died on 24-02-2013
resided at No. 140, M.G. Road, Villupuram,
Villupuram District, Pin - 605 602.
are hereby cited to come and see the
proceedings on 13.04.2015 before the
Learned Master sitting in Original Side of
High Court of Judicature at Madras on
of Letters of Administration.
Dated at Chennai on this the 24th day of
March, 2015.
(K.ARIVALAGAN)
Assistant Registrar,
Original Side -1,I/C
High Court, Chennai - 104.
Mr. S.UDAYAKUMAR,
Advocate
No. 102, Additional Law Chambers
High Court Buildings, Chennai - 600 104.
Read
Every evening
PUBLIC NOTICE
My client Mr.Vasanthraj Naick,
S/o. Mr.Subbappa Naick, resident
of No.41, Flat No.112, D.L.F. Garden
City, O.M.R., Chemmancherri
has lost his original Sale Deed
dated 10.11.2006, Document
No.14060/ 2006 at Joint II S.R.O.,
Chengalpattu and copies of parent
documents pertaining to vacant
Plot No.732, Maraaimalai Nagar
Co-operative Maha Nagar Phase II,
comprised in Survey No.104/ 2 In
Panangottur village, Chengalpattu
Taluk, Kancheepuram District
measuring 2400 Sq. Feet. If
anybody found the original, please
return to my client. In case, anyone
misuses the said original, It will
not bind upon my client.
A.SENTHIL KUMAR,
Advocate,
352, Addl. Law Chamber,
High Court, Chennal-104.
6 FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
Sports
Oz media laments
India’s flop show
Australian team comes in for praise
Sydney, Mar 27 (PTI):
Restrained in their criticism of the
Indian cricket team, the usually aggressive Australian media was in
celebratory mode as it focussed on
lavishing praise on Michael Clarke’s
men for ousting the World Cup
defending champions with a comprehensive semifinal
triumph.
Chasing a stiff
target of 329, India
were all out for 233
in 46.5 overs and the
media
here said that the likes of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (65) and
Virat Kohli (1) failed to inspire their
team when it mattered the most.
‘If India were going to have any
chance of chasing down Australia’s
target, it was going to come down
to one of Dhoni or Kohli to go the
distance but neither managed to,’ a
Indian shuttlers
sizzle
New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI):
Rising Indian shuttler H S Prannoy
scripted the biggest upset of the day at
the Yonex Sunrise Indian Super Series,
stunning top seed and World No.2 Jan
Jorgensen of Denmark to enter the
quarterfinals of the $
275,000 event, here yesterday.
Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth
also won their respective matches to
make it to the last-eight stage.
But it was Prannoy’s high-voltage
encounter that saw some spectacular
strokes, a contentious line call and
India coach Pullela Gopichand losing his cool, even as the 22-year-old
player came out with flying colours with
a 18-21 21-14 21-14 win over the All
England finalist at the Siri Fort Sports
Complex.
In the adjacent court, Saina Nehwal
defeated birthday girl Ruthvika Shivani
Gadde 21-16 21-17 but not after the national champion posed a few questions
to the All England finalist, especially in
the second game where she was leading 13-10 at one stage.
Later in the day, Srikanth saw off Japan’s Kento Momota 21-12 15-21 2115, while RMV Gurusaidutt prevailed
over young Sameer Verma 18-21
21-19 21-18.
Among other Indians in fray, Commonwealth games champion Parupalli
Kashyap paid for his series of errors as
he went down 17-21 11-21 to China’s
Xue Song in the pre-quarters.
Indonesia Masters winner Prannoy,
who had beaten Jorgensen in 2013
Japan Open, played a fast paced
game and went neck-and-neck with
Jorgensen 17-17 before the Dane
marched ahead. The Indian was finding
it difficult to counter Jorgensen’s better
forehand returns.
The Australians humbled India to set up a final clash with neighbours
New Zealand.
report in the Daily Telegraph said.
‘There was hope for India for as long
as MS Dhoni was still at the crease,
but in the semi-final of the World Cup
the Indian skipper simply gave up.
Dhoni, possibly playing in his last ODI
after his shock retirement from Test
cricket recently, top-scored for India
City Sports
Myneni bites
the dust
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
Top-seeded Indian Davis Cupper Saketh Myneni came a cropper against fifth-seeded Russian
Ivan Gakhov, losing in straight
sets in the quarterfinals of the
MCC-SR Subramaniam Memorial
ITF Men's
Futures tennis tournament here
yesterday.
Ivan Gakhov, who beat Saketh
6-3, 7-6 (1) and faces local player
N Sriram Balaji in the semifinal. The other semifinal
Tennis
would be between V M
Ranjeet and Vijay Sundar
Prashanth.
In the doubles semi-finals, top
seeds Sriram Balaji and V M
Ranjeeth comfortably beat Akash
Wagh and Anvit Bendre in two
easy sets while the popular Sood
brothers -- Chandril and Lakshit
-- defeated fourth seeds Nikky
Poonacha and P C Vignesh in
straight sets.
Results: Main draw singles:
Quarterfinals: V M Ranjeet bt
Antoine-Michel Alexeev (Sui) 6-3,
3-6, 6-3; Vijay Sundar Prashanth
bt M Descotte (Arg) 6-1, 6-0; N
Sriram Balaji bt Yannick Thivant (Fra) 4-6, 6-4, 2-1 ret; Ivan
Gakhov (Rus) bt Saketh Myneni
6-3, 7-6(1).
Doubles: Chandril Sood/Lakshit
Sood bt Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha/
Vignesh Peranamallur 6-4, 6-3;
N Sriram Balaji/Ranjeet bt Anvit
Bendre/Akash Wagh 6-2, 6-4.
Kerala Police wins
Kerala Police defeated South
Central Railway (SCR) 25-18, 2512, 25-20 in a women’s match at
the P John Memorial all-India volleyball tournament on Thursday.
Other results: Men: TN Police
bt ICF 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24;
Western Railway bt Rajasthan
20-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-18;
SRM University bt Income Tax
25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 17-25,
15-13.
Women: Southern Railway bt
Western Railway 25-19, 25-22,
25-15.
On Wednesday: Men: SRM
bt Karnataka 20-25, 25-19, 2522, 19-25, 15-8; Indian Bank bt
Income Tax 31-29, 25-19, 25-18.
Women: Kerala Police bt Southern Railway 25-17, 26-24, 21-25,
25-16.
Cricket camp
Blue Sky CA will conduct a
coaching camp for boys and girls
in the age group 6-16 from 15
April to 31 May at St Paul's HSS,
Vepery.
For details contact V G Lakshmi
Raj at 9841790992.
with 65 before being run out by Glenn
Maxwell. ‘It was a superb throw, but
Dhoni seemed to retire halfway down
the pitch. There was no dive, no lastditch attempt to make his ground, he
simply ran straight down the tunnel.
And with him vanished India’s last
sliver of hope,’ the report said.
The report quoted former England
captain Kevin Pietersen as having expressed surprise to Dhoni not even
sliding his bat to reach to his crease.
‘I don’t know what Dhoni was doing here -- he could have made it.
Absolutely he could have made it,’
Pietersen said.
Another newspaper Sydney
Morning Herald also described
Dhoni’s innings as ‘bizarre’.
‘Any questions over whether Australia’s total of 328 for 7 would be
enough were answered, although the
nerves did not subside until Dhoni’s
bizarre 65 was brought to an end.
Daria Gavrilova
defensive skills.
Venus Williams began her 16th appearance at Key Biscayne by beating qualifier Urszula Radwanska 6-3,
6-2. Radwanska’s sister, Agnieszka,
won, as did former No. 1 Caroline
Wozniacki.
Juan Martin del Potro, playing for the first time since 15
January, lost in the first round
to Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 7-6
(7). Del Potro had been
sidelined with a lingering
left wrist injury.
‘I don’t feel frustrated,’
del Potro said. ‘I have to
take the positive things on
my comeback. The score
doesn’t matter for now.’
Ranked 97th, Gavrilova
cracked the top 100 this week for the
first time. She’s making a comeback
from a torn anterior cruciate ligament
in her right knee in 2013.
Del Potro, who won the 2009 US
Open, had wrist surgery a year ago
and played in just four tournaments
Sex talk stumps Clarke
Sydney, Mar 27 (AFP):
Australia captain Michael Clarke
was momentarily stumped
by
a bungled question which
appeared to be about his
sex life as he celebrated
World Cup semi-final win
over India. Clarke, who
had just led the co-hosts
to a crushing 95-run win
against the defending
champions, was facing the
media at the post-match
press conference at the Sydney
Cricket Ground, when he was asked
to comment on ‘the tremendous sex’
he had enjoyed since taking over as
captain.
The embarrassed reporter quickly
corrected himself, telling Clarke
he had meant to say ‘the tremendous success’.
‘How well do you know
me?’ Clarke asked the journalist as man-of-the-match
Steve Smith, who was sitting
next to him, laughed.
‘It’s a question for my wife,’
said the skipper. Australia will face
trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand
in Sunday’s final at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground.
Michael Clarke
Downcast Dhoni seeks
changes to ODI rules
Melbourne, Mar 27 (PTI):
A staunch critic of the ICC’s fourfielder theory which has led to regular
run-riots in one-dayers, India cricket
captain Mahendra Singh feels the
current rule should be changed as
it heavily favours batsmen.
With lack of a seamer-all-rounder,
Dhoni’s struggle was evident yesterday when his fifth bowler -- left-arm
spinner Ravindra Jadeja -- failed
to check the flow of runs in the lost
World Cup semifinal against South
Africa.
Dhoni has time and again made it
clear that India’s bowling has been
affected by this rule of not having
more than four fielders outside the
30-yard circle.
‘It’s my personal opinion, I would
like them to change it. In the history
of cricket, we have not seen double
hundreds in ODIs and now in three
years’ time you see three double
hundreds (actual number is six) being scored,’ the Indian captain said.
From India only, there are four
double hundreds in ODIs with Rohit
Wins for TN,
Hyderabad
Kochi, Mar 27 (PTI):
Tirumalasetti Suman’s blistering 93
off just 61 balls set up Hyderabad’s
82-run win over Andhra in the South
Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali
Twenty20 Trophy here yesterday.
In another match, Tamilnadu edged
Kerala by two wickets with four balls
to spare after overcoming a shaky
start.
Gavrilova sends
Sharapova packing
Key Biscayne, Mar 27:
Maria Sharapova is 0-5 in Key Biscayne finals. This year her loss came
at the start.
Seeded No. 2, Sharapova was upset in her opening match Thursday
night by wild-card Daria Gavrilova,
7-6 (4), 6-3.
The 21-year-old Gavrilova, who
was born in Moscow and is based in
Australia, earned her first victory over
a top-10 player with a poised, aggressive effort before a near-capacity
stadium-court crowd.
Sharapova said she went into the
match knowing little about Gavrilova.
But Gavrilova was well acquainted
with the Siberia-born Sharapova.
‘I have been dreaming about beating Maria since I was probably 12,
when I saw her win Wimbledon,’
Gavrilova said. ‘She was my idol. She
was just huge in Russia.’
Sharapova lost serve four times,
struggled with her return and found
herself in a succession of long rallies,
thanks to the 5-foot-5 Gavrilova’s
CHENNAI
in 2014. His ranking has fallen to
No. 616, and his rustiness showed
against Pospisil, to the disappointment of a partisan stadium crowd
rooting for the Argentine.
Del Potro said he felt fine
physically after the match.
He said his wrist is not
yet 100 per cent, but it’s
improving week by week.
Venus Williams, seeded
16th, lost serve three times and
committed 21 unforced errors but
still advanced in barely an hour.
The typically windy weather on
the island required an adjustment, she said.
Aside from Williams,
American women went
0-3, with Madison Brengle,
Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko losing. Wozniacki, seeded
No. 4, beat Brengle, 6-0, 6-1. No.
9 Andrea Petkovic swept McHale
6-2, 6-2. No. 28 Lepchenko was
eliminated by Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-4.
Sharma being the owner of two,
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender
Sehwag having one each. Among
others, Chris Gayle and Martin
Guptill have scored a double
ton each.
‘A lot of people might
say that a lot of dot balls
that are being bowled
because of that extra
fielder inside. If that’s
the case (logic), rather
than having the option
of keeping fielders
outside, you might as well
bring all 11 inside the circle to have more dot balls,’
Dhoni said taking a dig at the
ICC rule with straight face.
Dhoni didn’t take a backward step
while calling the rule a ‘harsh’ one.
‘I feel the rules are slightly harsh.
Maybe slightly more harsh on the
spinners, who like to deceive the
batsmen with their flight or perhaps
like to challenge them. Now you
have these all batsmen playing
sweeps, reverse sweeps and all
these different shots, and they have
an advantage.
Dhoni defended an under-fire Virat
Kohli for his indiscreet
shot selection in the
semi-final clash.
Asked if Kohli’s
shot selection
was reflective of
the pressure on
him, Dhoni batted strongly for
his deputy.
M S Dhoni
Smith’s golden summer
goes on and on
Sydney, Mar 27:
Steve Smith’s golden summer
just keeps on getting better. Australia’s new run-scoring machine
just can’t seem to do any wrong
and now he’s off to the World
Cup final.
Smith has been piling on the runs
and breaking records all summer
long. And on Thursday, in one of
the biggest matches of his blossoming career, he did it again,
scoring a match-winning century in
the World Cup semi-final against
India.
Smith’s 105 was a composed
and perfectly-constructed innings.
He came to the crease early after
Australia lost David Warner in the
fourth over and quickly settled the
host nation’s nerves. The 25-yearold reached his fourth straight half
century at the World Cup in 53
balls then his hundred off 89 balls,
which he brought up with a six and
a four off successive balls.
He departed soon after but the
job had been done. Australia went
on to post a massive total of 328
for 7 and India could only manage
233 in reply. ‘We thought 330 was
around par. We knew we had to bowl
and field well,’ Smith said after being
named man of the match. ‘The boys
did a terrific job tonight. Bring on Melbourne.’ Australia will play New Zealand in the final in Melbourne on Sunday. For Smith, his century continued
his amazing run of form with the bat
this summer. In the four-Test series
against India, which started in November, he scored a century in every
match. In the months leading up to
the World Cup, he also scored one-
Steve Smith
day international centuries against
South Africa and England before
notching his first World Cup hundred
on Thursday.And for good measure,
he also pulled off a brilliant piece of
fielding, running out Ravindra Jadeja
with a direct hit. Smith’s extraordinary
run has coincided with his surprise
promotion to the Australian captaincy.
When regular skipper Michael Clarke
hobbled out of the first test against
India with a hamstring injury, Smith
was given the nod as Australia’s 45th
test skipper and hasn’t looked back.
‘It’s nice to contribute to a few wins.
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
A STATESMAN
qV
Vajpayee to be honoured with country’s highest award
NT Bureau
Pres
President
Pranab Mukherjee will confer Bharat
A
Ratna Award
on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee at his residence in New Delhi later today.
Mi
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit
Shah and a select group of senior Ministers and party
leaders w
will be present.
Awards
EARLIER DAYS
E
Vajpayee was b
born on 25 December, 1924, in Gwalior,
Madhya Prades
Pradesh to Krishna Bihari Vajpayee and Krishna
Devi. As a te
teenager, Vajpayee was jailed briefly for
opposing B
British colonial rule. He flirted with communism b
before choosing to support the Rashtriya
Swamya
Swamyamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Jan Sangh.
He also
als dropped out of law school to run an
RSS magazine in the early 1950s. Later, he
tran
transcended his political roots in the RSS to
em
emerge as the moderate voice of the BJP.
TMC extends
support to ryots’
bandh call
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 27:
The Tamil Manila Congress (TMC)
will join the State-wide bandh tomorrow, called by farmers’ association
across Tamilnadu, protesting Karnataka’s move to build a dam across
river Cauvery.
This was decided after a meet
attended by various farmer associations and political parties, including
TMC.
Farmers’ bodies in Tamilnadu met
Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and
sought the government’s support for
the same.
In a press release, announcing the
TMC’s participation in the bandh,
the party president G K Vasan said,
‘As per rules for water rights for
riparian States, which is something
followed worldwide, it is mandatory
that every bit of agricultural land
must receive water for cultivation.
And Karnataka government refuses
to let the 192 tmc-ft reach Tamilnadu, which is contempt of court, as
their government ignores the orders
of Supreme Court’.
‘Karnataka government’s decision
to construct dams across certain
regions along Cauvery is outrageous,
and to express the opposition and
protest against this move by Karnataka, also to urge the Central government to deny nod for such projects
and to make Karnataka release the
specified amount of water, the bandh
has been called for on on 28 March’.
FIRST PM FROM BJP
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first person from the Bharatiya Janata
Party to become the Prime Minister of India. He was sworn in as Prime
Minister for three times - 1996, 1998, 1999. However, the first two times,
the number 13 proved unlucky for him.
Vajpayee was conferred Padma Vibhushan in 1992 in
recognition of his services to the nation. He was also conferred the Lokmanya Tilak Puruskar and the Bharat Ratna
Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for the Best Parliamentarian,
both in 1994. Earlier, the Kanpur University honoured him
with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in 1993.
Political career
Vajpayee was Prime Minister of India from 16-31May, 1996, and then again
from 19 March, 1998 to 13 May, 2004. With his swearing-in as Prime Minister
after the Parliamentary election of October 1999, he became the first and only
person since Jawaharlal Nehru to occupy the office of the Prime Minister of India
through three successive Lok Sabhas. Vajpayee was the first Prime Minister since
Indira Gandhi to lead his party to victory in successive elections.
7
Noted
Parliamentarian
Vajpayee has been a Member
of Parliament since 1957. He
was elected to the 5th, 6th and
7th Lok Sabha and again to the
10th, 11th 12th and 13th Lok
Sabha and to Rajya Sabha in
1962 and 1986. In 2004, he was
to Parliament from Lucknow in
Uttar Pradesh for the fifth time
consecutively. He is the only Parliamentarian elected from four
different States at different times
- UP, Gujarat, MP and Delhi. His
legacy as Prime Minister is a
rich one that is remembered and
cherished even a decade after
his term ended. It included the
Pokhran nuclear tests, astute
and wise economic policies that
laid the foundations of the longest period of sustained growth in
independent Indian history, massive infrastructure projects such
as those related to development
of national highways and the
Golden Quadrilateral. Few Indian
Prime Ministers have left such a
dramatic impact on society.
‘Modi one among
world’s greatest leaders’
q Obama dropped for second year
in a row from Fortune’s annual list
New York, Mar 27:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi
have been named among the 50
greatest leaders in the world by
Fortune magazine in its annual list
of ‘extraordinary’ men and women
transforming business, government
and philanthropy.
Modi is ranked 5th on the 2015 roster of ‘World’s Greatest Leaders’ with
Satyarthi coming in at the 28th spot.
The list has been topped by Apple
CEO Tim Cook. A notable exclusion
from the list is US President Barack
Obama, who has not been named
in the list for a second year in a row.
Fortune said that ‘faced with difficult
circumstances’ domestically and
globally, Obama has ‘surrendered’.
On Modi, Fortune said the Indian
leader has ‘actually’ begun to deliver
on his election promises and is ‘making genuine progress’ in his efforts to
make India more business-friendly
and less regulated, addressing violence against women, improving sanitation and ‘patching up relations with
other Asian countries and the US’.
On Modi, Fortune said the
Indian leader has ‘actually’
begun to deliver on his
election promises and is
‘making genuine progress’
in his efforts to make India
more business-friendly
It said there is still a ‘long way to go’
and fully achieving Modi’s goals will
require ‘reforming India’s powerful,
widely corrupt bureaucracy.’
Fortune noted that Modi has put
the bureaucrats on notice and has
been taking action where he can.
He has also greatly simplified the
procedure for getting a visa to visit
India, symbolically lowering the status of bureaucrats and raising that of
potential outside investors, it added.
‘Modi still faces such huge challenges as privatizing India’s vast
portfolio of state-owned businesses
and deregulating labour markets. But
simply by declaring those as goals,
Hit-and-run case:
Court to record
Salman’s statement
Mumbaim, Mar 27:
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan
has reportedly reached a sessions
court in Mumbai to record his statement on the 13-year-old hit-and-run
case in which he allegedly ran his
vehicle over pavement dwellers. A
person was killed and four others
were injured.
Salman has been ordered to personally appear before Additional
Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande to
record his statement under Section
313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the evidence and sequence
of events in the case.
The development follows the closure
of submission of evidence against the
actor by prosecutor Pradeep Gharat
and is the crucial stage in the ongoing day-to-day re-trial before the final
arguments begin.
The processional deity of Kasi Vishwanathar Temple at West
Mambalam in Chennai was taken on rounds on Adigara Nandi as part
of Brahmotsavam celebration.
As part of annual 10-day Panguni Uthiram festival, special pooja was
performed to the temple flag at Sri Siva Subramania Swamy temple in
Veludaiyanpattu, Neyveli on Wednesday.
Dornier crash:
Body of third
officer found
Panaji, Mar 27:
Rescuers today recovered the
missing body of Lt Abhinav Nagori
from the fuselage of the crashed
Dornier-228 maritime surveillance
aircraft.
Flight data recorders have also
been recovered from the fuselage
and search and rescue operations
have been called off. Lt Nagori’s body,
meanwhile, is being brought to Goa.
Lt Nagori was among the three crew
members of the ill-fated Dornier-228
aircraft which crashed into the Arabian
Sea near Goa earlier this week. While
the body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat was
found on Thursday, Commander Nikhil
Kuldip Joshi was rescued alive when
the crash happened on Tuesday night.
he has seized control of the national
agenda and sent a message that
it’s time for all of India - not just its
infotech services sector - to join the
21st century,’ Fortune said, citing
forecasts by the IMF that India will
be growing faster than China in the
next couple of years.
On Satyarthi, Fortune said while
he had been ‘overshadowed’ by last
year’s other recipient of the Nobel
Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai, Satyarthi has led the global fight against
child labour for more than three
decades. It said no one has done
as much to prevent child labour as
he has.
Tamilnadu State BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan distributing
sweets to cadres at Kamalayam in Chennai today, to celebrate the
country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna being conferred
on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Senior BJP leader
L Ganesan is present.
Indian Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral HCS Bisht called
on Tamilnadu Governor K Rosaiah at Raj Bhavan in Chennai today.
‘Kiwis up against
Aussie brawn’
New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI):
With New Zealand at the cusp of
World Cup glory, former captain Martin Crowe has said the Black Caps will
have to dig deep into their resources
if they have to beat Australia as it will
be a ‘high emotion’ title clash between
the trans-Tasman rivals.
New Zealand go unbeaten into
the title clash in Melbourne on Sunday and even though the Brendon
McCullum-led side has won all their
eight matches on home shores, playing in Australia would certainly test
their true mettle.
Crowe believes that Australia will
certainly be a tough opposition to
match.
‘It’s the unknown. Nobody played at
MCG, probably only Daniel Vettori
and Brendon McCullum, I am not
sure. But they will have to dig in their
reservoir of resources, their own own
resilience and that’s where they
are playing their game from,’
Crowe told <I>PTI<P> in an
exclusive interview ahead of
the World Cup final.
‘I don’t think the grounds are
going to have too much of a
difference but up against Australia it’s certainly going to be a
high fever emotion in cricket’s silicon
valley,’ he said.
The Kiwis have got the better of
Australia in the league stages when
they edged past the Kangaroos by
one wicket in a low-scoring thriller at
Eden Park, Auckland, but Crowe still
feels that the Michael Clarke-led side
is a hard nut to crack.
‘I mean Australia bring a very powerhouse kind of game. It’s a lot of
brawn and they are very bullish about
it,’ said Crowe.
It will also be a battle of pacers when
Trent Boult, leading the wickets pack
in the showpiece event with 21 from
eight matches, and company, lock
horns with the likes of Mitchell Starc
(20 wickets), Mitchell Johnson and
Josh Hazlewood.
Crowe has a lot faith in the ability of
Kiwi fast bowlers.
‘New Zealand have got a lot more
skill in the fast bowling department,
with their fast swing,’ he said.
Despite the presence of spinners like
Daniel Vettori and Glenn Maxwell in
the respective sides, Crowe opines
spin will not play much of a part at
the MCG.
‘Spin played a huge part in this World
Cup, but MCG is a big ground and I
don’t think spin will dominate proceedings. And even if it does the New
Zealand side have been
able to meet up all the challenges so far,’ Crowe said.
Remind him of the 1992
World Cup campaign,
when they lost to eventual
winners Pakistan in the
semi-finals, Crowe says
that cricket has come a
long way in 25 years.
‘Different time, different era, different
conditions, different rules, different
everything. The game is played at a
much faster pace, the rules favour the
batsman. So it’s not possible to compare the fact that they have gone one
further than 1992. They have broken
the semi-final barrier and now they
are on the verge of something pretty
special,’ said the former batsman.
Dharmasena to
officiate in
WC final
Dubai, Mar 27 (PTI):
Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena
and England’s Richard Kettleborough were today appointed onfield umpires for the ICC Cricket
World Cup final between Australia
and New Zealand on Sunday in
Melbourne.
‘Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough will be the two
on-field umpires,’ the ICC said in
a statement.
Sri Lanka’s Ranjan Madugalle
was named the match referee for
the high-octane clash between the
trans-Tasmanian rivals.
While Australia beat India by 95
runs in their semifinal clash, New
Zealand got the better of South Africa in their last-four stage match.
The match official appointments
are as follows: March 29: Australia
v New Zealand, Melbourne - Ranjan Madugalle (match referee),
Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough (both on-field
umpires), Marais Erasmus (third
umpire), Ian Gould (fourth umpire).
8FRIDAY
27 MARCH 2015
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
SYDNEY/NEW DELHI:
A pall of gloom descended
on the Indian dressing room
after the team’s campaign
in the World Cup came
to an agonising end here
Thursday, and the pain
of losing the semi-finals
engulfed the entire cricketcrazy nation that was left
grief-stricken.
Disappointment was writ
large on the faces of players
and their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after they
succumbed to pressure
against the clinical Australians, who decimated the
defending champions by 95
The
lowdown
after the
highs
runs to romp into the finals
and break a million Indian
hearts.
While Dhoni and his men
managed to put up a brave
face at the post-match presentation ceremony, many
broke down at the Sydney
Cricket Ground and miles
away from the hallowed
turf.
Angst was also one of
emotions on display in a
country that lives by the
cliche ‘cricket is religion and
cricketers are God(s)’.
A man reportedly broke
his television set in Ranchi,
the hometown of Dhoni,
while a few of them were
learnt to have burnt the
posters of their favourite
icons.
While a family in the capital has gone into mourning
cancelling a planned weekend celebration, in Mumbai
and Kolkata, supporters of
the Men in Blue were seen
consoling each other with a
hug after the defeat.
The Indians in Australia and back in India had
planned their Sunday keeping the grand finale in mind,
only to see their hopes
being dashed by this loss.
‘I had planned a leave on
Sunday hoping to watch the
match in the comforts of my
home. I begged my boss to
grant me leave... now I am
feeling shattered, so badly
Umesh Yadav’s
dismissal brought
the curtains down
on India’s World Cup
challenge.
President,
PM laud team
President Pranab Mukherjee lauded the Indian cricket
team for its brave showing
despite being knocked out
by Australia in the semifinals of the World Cup in
Sydney.
‘Well played Team India,
better luck for the next World
Cup; Congratulations Australia on an excellent
game,!’ Mukherjee wrote on his Twitter handle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had words
of praise for the cricketers and wrote on his
Twitter handle: ‘Victory & defeat are a part of
life. Team India played great cricket throughout
the tournament. We are proud of them.’
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, too,
supported the team.
‘Team India had worked real hard. They
played quality game today,’ Sonowal said.
I wanted them to win,’ said
Trisha, a young journalist.
Shiny, a software professional, also had her plans
chalked out in advance.
‘After such a great run,
losing in this manner was
something we could never
imagine. It is definitely a
very sad moment for all of
us,’ she said, flanked by her
team members.
Similar was the reaction
of Debolina and Shoumik,
a doctor couple.
It was not only the youngsters but the elderly ones
were also affected by the
reverse.
The build-up to the mega
event had raised more apprehension than hope amid
rumours of all not being well
in the dressing room, but the
team’s stunning turnaround
after the winless Test and
ODI campaign Down Under
raised hopes of a second
successive world title. ‘I don’t
know whether I will live to see
India win an ODI World Cup
title again, the most prized
achievement in cricket,’ said
79-year-old Gulshan Lal
Khanna, a retired professor.
In an engrossing semifinal
clash, four-time champions
Australia rode on Steve
Smith’s classy 105 to post
an imposing 328 for 7 before bundling out India for
233 in 46.5 overs to set
up a summit clash with
trans-Tasmanian rivals and
co-hosts New Zealand in
Melbourne on Sunday.
After a dream run which saw
them win seven matches on
the trot, India’s quest for a second successive World Cup
title was finally thwarted by
the formidable Australians,
who outplayed Mahendra
Singh Dhoni’s bravehearts
in every department at the
fully-packed SCG.
— PTI
The final will be played at
Melbourne on 29 March (Sunday)
Laver’s willow connection
WAIPAWA (NEW ZEALAND):
Few cricket fans have
heard of James Laver, even
though the master craftsman’s bats -- likened to
‘Stradivarius in willow’ -have graced the innings
of legends such as Sachin
Tendulkar, Brian Lara and
Ricky Ponting.
Laver works in relative
anonymity in the hamlet of
Waipawa on New Zealand’s
North Island, hand-carving bats for his boutique
Laver & Wood label while
also supplying some of the
world’s top players.
But elite batsmen inevitably have lucrative endorsement contracts with
major manufacturers, so
the bats he makes for the
stars appear with the sponsor’s name on, rather than
Laver’s.
Laver explained he has an
understanding with major
manufacturers that he can
James Laver
talk about retired players
who have used his blades,
but not those who are still
playing.
The result is polite evasiveness when trying to determine the level of Laver’s
involvement in Sunday’s
Cricket World Cup final
between New Zealand and
Australia.
Can he confirm his bats
will be used in the decider
at the Melbourne Cricket
Ground?: ‘Yes’
Can he say who will be
using them?: ‘No,’ he replies with a twinkle in his
eye. “But they’ll be on both
sides.’
‘People often ask if I get
frustrated that my name’s
not on there but it’s not like
that,’ he said.
‘I know my bats will be
used in a World Cup final
regardless, and that’s quite
cool, in a way.’
Drifts of wood shavings
reach knee high in the corners of Lavers’ factory,
where bats of every kind
line walls and shelves -from rough-hewn ‘clefts’ of
imported English willow, to
split, battle-scarred blades
sent by clients around the
world to be replaced.
After one half-formed bat
has gone through a mechanical press -- two tonnes
of pressure to compress the
wood and harden the face
-- Laver administers a quick
‘thwack, thwack, thwack’
with a mallet.
— PTI
‘India apart, Asian sides disappointed’
KARACHI:
Former Pakistani cricketers rued the failure of any
Asian team to make it to
the cricket World Cup final
after Australia beat India by
95 runs in the second semifinal in Sydney on Thursday.
‘It is the first time since
1987 that we don’t have
an Asian team in the World
Cup final and it shows just
Vaibhav
in
Stanley’s
film
S S Stanley of April Madhathil fame will return to
direction with a movie to be
produced by filmmaker A R
Murugadoss. Interestingly, it
would have Vaibhav playing
the hero.
Says Vaibhav ‘I have also
signed projects with Vision
how much work needs to
be done by teams in the
south Asian region to catch
up with the changing face of
cricket,’ Pakistan’s former
captain Rashid Latif said.
He said while India had
managed to reach the
semi-finals because their
players had benefited from
playing in Australia since
the last four months but
other Asian teams disappointed in the World Cup.
‘I think the foreign players particularly those from
New Zealand and Australia have changed their
approach to limited overs
cricket because of their
continued exposure in the
IPL. Which is why we see
these two teams in the
final,’ he said.
I Medias of Aranmanai fame
and Kushbu Sundar C’s
Avni Cinemax.’
‘I am a director’s actor.
Years of hard work are
paying dividends and I am
glad that I am in the orbit
of glory’.
— NT Bureau
Former Test batsman
Muhammad Yousuf admitted that Asian teams now
need to change their way
of playing limited overs
cricket. ‘It goes without
saying a lot has changed
since when we played. The
sort of attacking batsmanship we see nowadays
from Australian and New
Zealand batsmen has to be
emulated by our players as
well. The mental approach
has to change,’ he said.
He did not agree that
having the World Cup in
New Zealand and Australia
benefited the hosts.
‘I don’t think pitches or
conditions matter that
much now. It is just that
the finalists have improved
in the last four years.’
Vijay Sethupathi turns cop
V
ijay Sethupathi and
Ramya Nambeesan
acted together in Pizza.
The movie was a huge
hit. Now the duo are at
it again. For an untitled
movie to be produced by
Wansun Pictures and di-
rected by Arun Kumar of
Pannayarum Padminiyum
fame, Vijay Sethupathi
will pair up with Ramya
Nambeesan. The movie
is a cop’s story and Vijay Sethupathi plays a
police officer.
Horror time
for Srikanth
S
owcarpettai, the next venture of Mynaa producer
John Max, is Srikanth’s first horror thriller. Moreover, he also dons his first dual role with the flick.
‘It’s the first time I’m doing a double role. I’m also
trying my hand at the horror and thriller genres with
Sowcarpettai. Its very different from the usual chocolate
boy and romantic roles I’ve done so far. So I’m really
kicked that director Vadivudaiyaan saw another facet
inside me and will be bringing out a very aggressive
and hitherto unseen look.’
The film is touted to be a full blown commercial flick
and Srikanth will be teaming up with Vivekh again.
The shoot starts in the first week of April in Chennai.
— NT Bureau
Former Test opener and
coach Mohsin Khan said that
losing the semi-final was a
setback for Indian cricket.
‘There was this feeling India
could beat Australia as they
were on a roll but I think the
Australians showed more
intent and purpose and withstood the pressure better
than the Indians,’ he said.
— PTI
Dinesh Krishnan cranks
the camera while music is
by Nivas K Prasanna. Producer Shan Sudharshan,
says, ‘It will be a gripping
entertainer. Shooting will
commence shortly’.
— NT Bureau
What is
Araathu about?
A
ctor Vishal’s next film is titled after Rajinikanth’s 1983 blockbuster Paayum Puli.
This is the second time Vishal has named his
movie after Rajinikanth’s film.
Last year, Vishal’s thriller Naan Sigappu Manithan
was also named after a Rajinikanth film.
The makers of Paayum Puli announced the title on
Twitter on Thursday.
Being directed by Suseenthiran, the movie features
Vishal as an undercover policeman in Madurai.
The film, which is said to be based on a true story,
also features Kajal Aggarwal and Samuthirakani in
important roles.
— NT Bureau
Vishal &X-Files
Rajini
is back
OK Kanmani
pushed to 24 April
M
ani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani will be releasing on 24 April and the
news has been confirmed
by Prime Media who will be
distributing the film in USA.
Produced by Madras
Talkies, O Kadhal Kanmani
has music by AR Rahman
and already the Mental Ma-
nadhil song was a big hit.
The film has Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menon, Prakash Raj, Leela Samson,
Lakshman, Ramya Subramanian, Kaniha and many others
to its star cast.Studio Green
will be releasing O Kadhal
Kanmani in Tamilnadu.
— NT Bureau
Director Vincent Selva,
who made films like Priyamudan, Youth and Jithan,
has changed his name
as Piriyamudan Shelvaa.
Now the director is gearing up with his next venture Araathu.
Araathu is scripted based
of true story set
around North
Madras.’It
will be rustic. It carries
a cute subject
and I had balanced both love and war in
equal proportion’, he says.
Vijay Karthick plays the
male lead and Champi is
cast opposite him. Dangamari fame Viji is penning
and crooning two songs.
SK is cranking camera
and music is by Sandeep
Chowta.
— NT Bureau
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