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SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

JKENG/2012/41612 Vol. 2 No: 176

UPA, NDA JOUST AT ASSOCHAM MEET

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WEST'S 'BLAME ITPAGE ON INDIA' AFGHAN PLAN 5

JAMMU, JULY 20 : Amarnath Yatra from Jammu resumed this evening after it was halted for two days following imposition of curfew in many parts of Kashmir Valley due to a firing incident in Gool area which claimed four lives. "A fresh batch of 1,834 pilgrims, including 45 saints, left for the Valley from Jammu base camp at 5:35 pm," a police official said. Amid tight security, the batch of pilgrims left Bagwati Nagar base camp here in a cavalcade of 56 vehicles, he said. The yatra to the 3,888metre high Amarnath cave shrine situated in South Kashmir Himalayas was suspended after curfew was clamped in Kashmir Valley and some other areas of the

CANNOT RISK A PARALLEL ARMY IN NORTH: BASIL

Chhapra mid-day meal case: Forensic report confirms pesticide in food

PATNA, JULY 20: The Forensic Science Laboratory's (FSL) report on Saturday in Bihar's mid-day meal tragedy stated that high quantity of organo phosphorus pesticide was found in the food items that the children consumed. "Organo phosphorus has been found in the food, it is normally used in insecticides," Ravindra Kumar, ADG, Bihar told reporters here on Saturday. The death toll in Chhapra's mid-day meal disaster rose to 23 on Saturday. The Forensic Science Laboratory report found Monocrotophos, an organophosphorous compound in the samples of oil

Amarnath Yatra resumes from Jammu BRIEFLY

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NGO urges PM to set up monitoring committee mid-day meals

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: Several school children and activists Saturday protested here demanding strict action against those responsible for the death of 23 children in Bihar after eating a contaminated mid-day meal. The activists also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to form a monitoring committee. Organized by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and its partners, the protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar and said that Contd p2

Missing cop's body recovered in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: The monthlong search for an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Jammu and Kashmir police ended on Saturday with the recovery of his body from a stream in Chandanwari area in the periphery of Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said. ASI Habib Ullah, incharge of a police naka party, went missing in Chandanwari along the Pahalgam-Amarnath cave track on Contd p2

from the container, food remains on the platter and mixture of rice with vegeta-

bles on Aluminium tasla (utensil), Additional Director General of Contd p2

state following a firing incident in Ramban district that left four persons dead and several others injured on Thursday. Yatra was suspended on July 19 and no fresh batch was allowed this morning, he said. Over 2.50 lakh pilgrims have participated in this

year's yatra to perform the 'darshan' of the naturallyformed ice lingam of Lord Shiva at Amarnath cave. From Jammu, 22 batches comprising of 41,673 pilgrims have left for the cave shrine till last evening. The Jammu-Srinagar national highway route Contd p2

German ambassador Steiner talks investment with J&K governor

SRINAGAR: Germany's ambassador to India has discusses the scope for investment by his country in Jammu and Kashmir during a meeting with Governor NN Vohra here, an official spokesperson said on Saturday. Michael Steiner, the German ambassador, called on Vohra at Raj Bhavan yesterday and spoke about the possibility of investment by his Contd p2

JAMMU, JULY 20 : Curfew was on Saturday lifted in Ramban district even as fresh protests broke out in Banihal belt against the firing by BSF personnel with agitators blocking the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. "The situation is under control, peaceful and normal and there have been no untoward reports from anywhere today", a police spokesman said here. The authorities are monitoring the situation round-the-

bomb set Jammu University hosting the 101st Protests in Banihal, Curfew lifted in Ramban Homemade off at Beijing airport Indian Science Congress in 2014
clock and additional forces have been deployed in sensitive areas of the Jammu region, he said. Curfew has been lifted in Ramban district as the twoday curfew period expired last night and no fresh curfew orders were passed, officials said. The Gool, Dharam and Sanglandan area of Ramban district, which have been epicentre of protests, have returned to normalcy. There is no tension, they said. However, there have been fresh protests in Banihal belt of Ramban district where some people have assembled on the highway and are sitting on a dharna demanding the arrest of the people involved in Thursday's firing incident in Gool. Additional police force has been deployed in the area to ensure that there are no violent protests. On July 18, four persons were killed and 42 suffered injuries in the firing when a mob attacked Contd p2 BEIJING, JULY 20: A wheelchair-bound Chinese man, who was reported to have been petitioning authorities for justice after suffering police abuse, detonated an explosive device at the arrivals area of Beijing airport on Saturday evening. The official Xinhua news agency said "a disabled person ignited bombs on himself" using fireworks and gunpowder, at 6.24 pm local time, adding that the explosion, which left the arrivals area covered with smoke and dust, caused no casualties or injuries to bystanders. Police authorities identified the man as Ji Zhongxing, a 39-year-old from northeastern Shandong province, adding that he was receiving treatment for his injuries. Citing a police probe, Xinhua reported that Mr. Ji carried out the explosion after he was "stopped from handing out leaflets to get attention to his complaints". Similar incidents of aggrieved citizens carrying out explosions have been reported in China, most notably in May 2011 when farmer Qian Mingqi protested the loss of his land by exploding three home-made bombs targeting local government offices in southern Jiangxi province. Like Mr. Ji, Qian had, for many years, petitioned authorities to address his grievances but had failed to have his case heard. Contd p2

'KU to host Regional Science Congress in September

SRINAGAR, JULY 20: N. N. Vohra, Governor, chaired a high level meeting at the Raj Bhavan here today to discuss the arrangements to be put in place for the 101st Indian Science Congress being held at the University of Jammu from 3rd - 7th February 2014. The theme of this Science Congress is "Innovations in Science and Technology for Inclusive Development". After earlier discussions with Prof. R. C. Sobti, President of the Indian Science Congress Association, the Governor, who is Chancellor of the Jammu University, had invited the Vice Chancellors of all the 9 Universities in the State, Director SKIMS,

J&K govt approves Rs 55.50cr to strengthen Panchayat Raj

SRINAGAR: In its effort to strengthen the Panchayati Raj System, Jammu and Kashmir government has approved the annual plan 2013-14 under Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) to the tune of Rs 55.50 crore for funding. The plan was approved by the State level High Powered Committee headed by Contd p2

Bharat Ratna for dead does not matter much?

Bharat Ratna for hockey wizard Dhyan Chand is making news. If awarded, the nation can make only light amends to its folly of ignoring him. There is also a sense of dejection in the country that Bharat Ratna is many times not awarded when the person is alive. What purpose will it serve if the highest award in the country is given to a person when he is dead? It reflects the pathetic lack of respect in our hearts for the great person who deserved the award in his life time. A whopping twelve times has the most prestigious award been given posthumously? The architect of Constitution, B R Amdedkar, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan, K Kamraj, Acharya Vinoba Bhave who should have been awarded in their life time so that people too could relate with them figure in the posthumous list. Eminently, the hockey genius deserved the award many years earlier. In fact, he died in 1979, till then any sensitive government could have awarded it to him. The famous saying Daer Ayad Durust Ayed (Better late than never) does not fit in here. Sometimes precious sayings too lose their import. Death means death and life means life. It seems that the highest award in the country has turned into a Sarkari award which is given after many calculations. Atal Bihari Vajpayee too deserves the award in his life time but the question, will he ever get it tickles the mind. RANASAHIB

Srinagar, Director, IIIM, Jammu, Director, NIT, Srinagar, Principals of Medical Colleges at Jammu and Srinagar, Principal of the College of Engineering and

Technology, Jammu, and Director, Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar to this meeting. The Governor impressed upon all the Contd p2

GOOL INCIDENT: KNEE JERK RESPONSE WILL NOT HELP?

HINDSIGHT
ROHIT SINGH RANA The killings at Gool in which four lives were lost in firing by security forces has reflected many dimensions which have to be taken into account. Foremost, the killings were unfortunate and should have not happened. The loss of lives always is sad and every well meaning person will not feel happy when blood is shed. In the same way the reason given for violence and firing has to be taken into account which resulted into violence. More significantly, the way government reacted under these circumstances has not been optimistic or prudent. First of all there was no need to shift the deputy commissioner of Ramban immediately without giving him chance to make situation stable. He was at Ramban and in no way was he at the site when the incident took place and arrived only thereafter. District administration is an important tool of law and order and at the same time it is a means to instill confidence in the administration. When the head of district administration is transferred without his direct complicity, it is only a knee jerk reaction to a situation. The government did well not to shift the then Director General of Police when the stone throwing agitation was claiming many lives per day. It is not a good sign to oust the head of a district in the heat of situation, conversely he is given time to prove his administrative skills. The mass protest at Gool went hyper because it is alleged that the holy book was desecrated by BSF. It is essentially not possible to prove it when the other side is vehemently denying the desecration. There are many versions of the sacrilege theory getting circulated. The BSF top brass has denied it and said that some anti-nationals had come to take over the protest and the local Molvi too chipped in to instigate the crowd. The FIRs lodged by the BSF against the protesters points to this angle. A credible investigation should prove what actually went wrong. In the present climate, when many sections of politicians and people are against army, BSF and other Para military forces, it is unwise to blame BSF camp personnel only. May be under severe threat to their lives they fired in self defence. A violent mob instigated due to alleged desecration theory must have pressed hard against the BSF camp. In this haze and non clarity the decision to shift the BSF camp to other areas without the findings of investigation is like stabbing the backs of the security forces operating under trying circumstances and will definitely lower its morale. The state government has not done well in shifting the BSF camp from the area. It will give the anti nationals a ready lever to press the point that it is the BSF that is the villain and without it there will be peace in the area. The vacation of the camp is essentially a victory for the anti- peace forces and the whole region which was a hot bed of militancy will return to those abnormal times yet again. Besides the shifting f the camp will threaten the security of crucial JammuSrinagar railway construction activity undergoing in the area. Notwithstanding the commitment of the government to investigate the incident, it is equally important that those who instigated the mob to ransack the BSF camp should be brought to book. The religious persons alleged to be involved in the incident should not escape reach of the law. But how awful is to think about the people killed in the firing, hearts go to the dead persons and their families; they had every right to live. Unfortunately, the State has been turned into a tragic situation where anti-nationals, separatists, rights groups and other fringe elements have taken centre stage to disturb peace, and amity while their children have gone to other countries to pursue prospect of good life leaving ignorant and credulous citizens as cannon fodder.

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STUDENT AGE SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2013

CONTD
their free lunch at school, provided as part of the government's midday meal scheme. Of the sick children, 23 died. The food is suspected to have contained chemicals found in insecticides. ignited a wide debate on Chinese social media websites, with many expressing some sympathy for Mr. Ji. "Each one who has received unfair treatment in this country is a ticking time-bomb," wrote commentator Zuo Yeben to his more than 6.5 million followers on Weibo. The message was forwarded more than 10,000 times within only two hours. Some Weibo posts referencing Mr. Ji's blog and his past were deleted by censors later on Saturday evening, although most photographs and posts about the explosion were left up on the site. In China, citizens aggrieved by the local government are allowed to petition central authorities in Beijing for their cases to be addressed. Many petitioners, however, often fail to have their cases heard, as they are usually harassed and detained by provincial police forces who aim to prevent them from presenting their cases to higher authorities. Local officials often illegally persecute and imprison petitioners because having grievances conveyed to the central government could diminish their promotion prospects. Many legal scholars and social scientists in China have, consequently, called for reforming the system. They have argued that as petitioning does not address the roots of social conflicts, lower-level courts, which are usually under the tight control of local Party officials, should instead be given more independence to resolve cases at the grassroots. Universities and other science and technology institutions in J&K for presenting their papers and participating in the working sessions of the Science Congress. Recalling the various INSPIRE programmes organized by different Universities in the State in the past four years, he added that the talented students and young scientists need to be encouraged to present their knowledge before the galaxy of scientists at the Congress. Referring to the high importance of encouraging innovation in science, he stressed that the youth from the State who have made a mark in this arena must be identified and encouraged to exhibit their innovations at the Science Congress. The Governor also particularly urged the Vice Chancellors of the two State Farm Universities to identify themes which are J&K specific so that these could be included for deliberations in the working sessions of the Science Congress. He observed that climate change and global warming could be among the areas of focus of the Science Congress. Prof. R. C. Sobti, Vice Chancellor, Baba Saheb Ambedkar University, Lucknow and the President, Indian Science Congress Association, said that more than ten thousand scientists, including a large number of top scientists from within and outside the country, are likely to participate at the 5-day 101st Science Congress. He said that the main activities of this event will comprise Inaugural Ceremony, 14 Parallel Sessions on identified themes, Science Communicators Meet, Women Science Congress, Children Science Congress, Science Exhibition, Book Exhibition and Valedictory Function. He thanked the Governor for taking keen interest in organizing the upcoming Indian Science Congress. The meeting discussed issues relating to financing the varied expenditures, arrangements to be positioned for the Science Congress which included, interalia, accommodating the VVIPs and all others who are likely to participate in the Inaugural, Working and Valedictory sessions, preparation of mementos, presentation of awards, publication of a Souvenir, cultural and other logistics. The participants put forth several suggestions for successfully organizing this event. Prof. Sobti stated that, as suggested by the Governor, the Science Association had agreed that the Regional Science Congress, preparatory to the Indian Science Congress, should be held at Srinagar. In this context, the meeting held preliminary discussions for the Regional Science Congress being hosted by the Kashmir University in the last week of September 2013, which will involve participation of over 100 scientists. Among those who participated in the meeting included Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, Kashmir University; Dr. M. P. S. Ishar, Vice Chancellor, Jammu University; Prof. Sudhir K. Jain, Vice Chancellor, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University; Dr. Tej Partap, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Kashmir; Dr. A. R. Trag, Vice Chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipore; Prof. I. A. Hamal, Vice Chancellor, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri; Dr. Sameru Sharma, Principal, Government College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu; Dr. Ram A. Vishwakarma, Director, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu; Prof. Showkat Ali Zargar, Director, SKIMS, Srinagar; Prof. Rafiq Ahmad Pampori, Principal, Government Medical College, Srinagar; Dr. Shashi Gupta, Principal, Government Medical College, Jammu; Dr. Nazeer Ahmad, Director, Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar; Navin K. Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor; Prof. Naresh Padha and Prof. Meena Sharma of the Jammu University, who are the Local Secretaries for the Science Congress. tries.

2
J&K govt ..
Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khanday which met here yesterday, an official spokesman said. The spokesman said the State Panchayat Resource Centres (SPRCs) and District Panchayat Resource Centres (DPRCs) are planned to be established under RGPSA in various Districts. Moreover, Rs 50,000 will be provided to each Halqa Panchayat for various services including street Lighting, sanitation under the Scheme, the spokesman said. For administrative and technical support to Panchayats, the spokesman said services of four member team comprising Panchayat Development officer, Accountant Cum Data Entry Operator, Panchayat Sahayak and Junior Engineer are needed under the scheme. "As such the total requirement of personnel for data entry operator is 2064 with a target of 518 operators during the current financial year and placement of 1032 Panchayat Sahayaks," the spokesman said. Besides administrative and technical support to Panchayats, RGPSA also envisages a range of activities such as, Panchayat infrastructure support, capacity building and training of elected representatives (ERs) and other functionaries, upgradation of institutional structures that provide training and capacity building to PRIs, promotion of active gram sabhas, e-enabled Panchayats, appropriate accounting procedures and accountability processes such as social audit, the spokesman said.

CONTINUATION
Chhapra mid-day ..
Police (HQ) Ravinder Kumar told reporters making the report public. Monocrotophos is used as a pesticide for agricultural purposes. It is very toxic to human beings and other animals, the ADG said quoting the FSL report. The report confirmed the Bihar government's apprehension that the food given to the children of Dharmasati Gandaman primary school at Chhapra was poisoned. A total 23 children died after eating the meal while 24 others and the cook Manju Devi are undergoing treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital. "It was also observed from the data available in the FSL report that the peak area of the poisonous substance in the oil was more than 5 times in comparison to the commercial preparation used as a control," the ADG said. The ADG said the sample results were compared with a control standard (Hilcron) procured from the market. The peak retention times matched the sample, which again confirmed the presence of the pesticide in the samples. To highlight authenticity, the report said results were interpreted using NIST library, which is an internationally accepted database. The FSL scientists tested samples of the suspected poisonous cooking medium found in a plastic container, the cooking utensil and the leftover food from a platter, Kumar said quoting the report. Some other material like froth from the mouth of one sick child, which was collected in a cotton gauge, water and oil was taken from the place of occurance by the police were also subjected to forensic analysis, he said adding the scientists used standard analytical method on GCMS instrument for the lab test. Details like from where the killer pesticide came and who mixed it in oil would be answered in reports of the police investigation which is still in progress. The incident took place in Dharamsati primary school in Masrakh in Saran district on Tuesday. The children belonging to the age group of 8 to 12

years fell ill soon after eating the meal, which consisted of rice, pulse and soyabean. A case was later registered against the school's headmistress Meena Devi who has been on the run ever since. According to district officials probing the incident, Meena Devi had forced the cook to use the oil despite the latter's complaint that it had a pungent smell. A government inquiry report has blamed her for the deaths of the children who had consumed midday meal on Tuesday. On Thursday, Amarjeet Sinha, principal secretary, education, had said it was not a case of food poisoning but poison in food. He said preliminary findings pointed to insecticide poisoning of the oil and vegetables. According to a Saran district official, the forensic science experts had collected samples of the oil used to cook the meal late Tuesday night. "The oil samples had a bad odour," officials said.

Missing cop's ..
June 8 while leaving for a bath in Lidder stream. The body of the missing ASI has been fished out from the stream near Zig morh Chandanwari and was later handed over to his family for last rites, a police spokesman said. The officer had drowned in the stream while taking a bath, he said.

Amarnath Yatra .
which was closed after the violence broke out, have been reopened for vehicular traffic, the official said.

Protests in ..
a BSF camp in Dharam area of Ramban district to protest against alleged high-handedness by a BSF team. Protests against the killing erupted across Jammu and Kashmir on Friday during which 16 people, including two policemen, were injured in clashes, stonepelting and cane-charge in Jammu region's Doda district.

German ambassador .
country to aid in the rapid economic growth of J&K, the spokesperson said. The duo discussed issues arising out of the global economic slowdown and other topics related to the strong bilateral ties between India and Germany. They also discussed the chances available for the youth of the state to pursue education at centres of higher learning in Germany along with the job opportunities open to them. Vohra, as the founder co-chairman of the Indo-European Union Round Table between 2001-08, has had extensive experience of promoting bilateral and multi-lateral understanding between India and European Union coun-

NGO urges ..
the scheme posed a grave risk to the health of several children. "There is enough proof that criminal negligence, widespread apathy and deep rooted corruption are prevalent in the mid-day meal scheme. Complaints related to insufficient quantity, nutrient value and hygiene are most common, but children have no say at all," said BBA in a statement. Kailash Satyarthi, founder of BBA, said a complete overhaul of the system was the need of the hour. "Such appalling treatment is not even meted out to animals the prime minister is tightlipped as usual, and politicians are busy in the blame game, because the public has a short memory. We call for a complete overhaul of this scheme." BBA submitted a charter of demands to the prime minister underpinning the constitution of a high power judicial committee headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court with a time-bound mandate to inquire into the lapses in the mid-day meal scheme. It also demanded compensation of Rs.5 lakh each for the families of victims. On July 16, nearly 50 children were admitted to hospital in Chhapra, Saran district of Bihar, after taking ill soon after eating

Homemade bomb ..
Saturday's case, however, received particularly wide attention as it not only took place in one of the most secure areas of the nation's capital, but it was also almost immediately reported widely as witnesses began posting dozens of photographs on social media websites. Photographs were, within minutes, widely shared on the Chinese Twitter equivalent Sina Weibo, which has more than 500 million users, showing a wheelchair-bound Mr. Ji holding aloft a white packet minutes before the explosion. Chinese media reports said Mr. Ji had been petitioning authorities for justice after he had been beaten by police and left paralysed. He was reported to have been working as an unlicenced taxi driver in Shandong. A blog entry which some Chinese media reports identified as having been penned by Mr. Ji - the blog was subsequently deleted later on Saturday evening - described how his endless efforts at seeking justice from authorities led him nowhere and left him hopeless and in a state of desperation. The incident on Saturday

Jammu University ..
Vice Chancellors and the heads of the various medical, science and technology institutions of higher learning in the State to join hands for organizing this mega scientific event in the most befitting manner, particularly as it was being held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir. He observed that this Science Congress shall provide a historical opportunity for the students and scientists to demonstrate their talent and scientific temper. Observing that there is unlimited talent in the State, the Governor emphasized the need for identifying individual scientists in the various

Calcium supplements could be lethal for kidney patients

WASHINGTON: A new study has found that kidney patients who take calcium supplements to lower their phosphorous levels could be at a 22 percent higher risk of death than those who take other non-calcium based treatments. The study calls into question the longtime practice of prescribing calcium to lower phosphate levels in patients with chronic kidney disease. The researchers suggest some of the calcium is absorbed into the blood stream and may expedite hardening of the arteries, leading to a higher risk of heart disease and even death. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for people with chronic kidney disease. "Doctors commonly prescribe calcium supplements to prevent elevated phosphate levels, which can damage the body, but a growing number of studies have shown calcium supplements may actually increase the risk of heart disease," Dr. Sophie Jamal, a physician at Women`s College Hospital and an asso-

ciate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, said. "Our study validates these claims and, for the first time, shows the long-term

consequences of taking calcium supplements can be dangerous for patients with kidney disease," she said. The study is published in the Lancet.

WASHINGTON: A team of Harvard scientists has now uncovered evidence of genetic changes that might help protect some people from contracting cholera. Based on genetic data gathered from hundreds of people in Bangladesh, a research team made up of Harvard faculty and scientists from the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital were able to a number of areas in the genome some of which are responsible for certain immune system functions, while others are related to fluid loss - that appear to be related to cholera resistance. Later tests showed genetic differences between people who had contracted the disease and those who had been exposed, but did not become ill. "This study is exceptionally exciting for us because it shows the power of this approach," Associate

Genetics` key role behind cholera revealed How curd could help treat upset tummies
WASHINGTON: A probiotic bacterium which is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome has been found to soothe gut bacterial infections caused by salmonella, paving the way for potential relief from foodborne illnesses that affect millions of people annually, a new study has revealed. Manuela Raffatellu, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, and colleagues at UC Irvine and the University of Washington identified how a probiotic strain of E. coli reduces salmonella colonization by competing with this pathogen for iron, an essential nutrient that salmonella acquires in the gut in order to replicate at high levels. In fact, the researchers discovered that the E. coli strain called Nissle 1917 acquires iron more efficiently than does salmonella. As a result, salmonella

Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Pardis Sabeti, one of two senior coauthors of the paper, said. "This is the first time we`ve taken a genomic-wide approach to understanding cholera resistance. But it`s a first step, and there is a lot of

exploration to go from here. For a disease that`s so ancient and widespread there`s very little that`s known about host immunity," the researcher said. The hope, Sabeti added, is that by better understanding why some people appear to

be immune, it will help in our efforts to develop vaccines and therapies, so outbreaks like those that occurred in recent years in Haiti and Africa might one-day be avoided. The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

counts in the gut decrease when Nissle is administered during infection. "Although we focused on salmonella, our findings suggest that this approach can be effective against other gut bacterial pathogens that need iron to grow," Raffatellu, who`s also a member of UC

Irvine`s Institute for Immunology, said. "By understanding how these `bad bugs` get nutrients, we can further study methods to eradicate them," the researcher said. The study is published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

LOST OF MIGRATION CERTIFICATE

I, Anjana Kumari D/o Sh Hem Raj R/o Village Kariya, District Chamba, I do my B. Ed in 200708 from Kashmir University under registration no 4078-VBJ07. So I lost my migration certificate if anyone found please contact above mentioned address.

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STUDENT AGE SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

STATE

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BJP activists protest against poor cellular service by BSNL
JAMMU, JULY 20- Led by BJP Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary Constituency Incharge Yudhvir Sethi, hundreds of BJP activists and people came out on the roads to protest against poor cellular service by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). They had assembled at Purani Mandi Chowk and took out a march which culminated at City Chowk, where the effigy of BSNL department was burnt. The protestors were shouting slogans against the BSNL department against the poor connectivity and busy network which has become common feature of the BSNL service throughout Jammu provision. Yudhvir Sethi, while addressing the protestors, said that the BSNL customers are made to suffer on account of poor services despite the fact that this government run department as the best, modern and costly infrastructure in comparison to other private service providers. He said that when we cross the Akhnoor town the cellular signal disappears upto Poonch. We can't think about the proper signal in the heart of city. Many times people couldn't contact each other because the numbers continuously sounding busy even when the mobile sets are not busy. He questioned why the BSNL officials are always silent on this issue? It seems that they have surrendered in favour of private telecom sector. They don't perform their duties sincerely and their motive is to promote other private telecom companies with the hope that after retirement from the government service they will be reemployed by Private companies. BSNL officials are not in a mood to work for the betterment to improve network .It's seems it is least concerned about the improving its services by taking necessary measures. BSNL has installed less number of towers in comparison to lacs of connections they have with them. Lakh of connections have been allotted to the BSNL subscribers, We have to dial the number for several times to receive the call or dial the call. BSNL is a customer industry, Why should they not open their district wise grievance centres. The customers care centres are at deaf ears. The computerised complaint centres are not working upto the mark. GPRS service of BSNL is erratic in most of areas. BSNL mobile has become more of a liability than an asset. In short call drops and blank calls made hole in subscriber pockets. Subscribers are shifting to other cellular companies. He warned the BSNL authorities to take effective steps to provide services to the satisfaction of the customers failing which the people will be left with no other option but to come on roads in large numbers. Anil Masoom, Ravinder Khajuria, Narotam Sharma, Sunny Sehgal, Ajay Gupta, Suraj Parkash, parvesh Kumar, Rahul Khajuria, Billu Pahalwan, Raj Kumar, Satish Kumar, Babu Sethi, Rohit Jamwal, Inderjit Sharma, Tarseem Jain, Lucky, Mool Raj, Babu Suri and others took part in the protest demonstration.

Addressing social welfare needs of different sections priority of govt: Tara Chand
Distributes wheel chairs, tricycles, hearing aids, sewing machines
JAMMU, JULY 20 The Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand today said the government is fully committed to address the welfare needs of different sections of society through different social welfare initiatives. Upliftment of underprivileged, marginalized, old age persons, physically challenged, women and children in distress is priority of the government and different schemes have been launched to ameliorate the lot of these people in distress, he added. He was addressing a gathering on the occasion of one day social welfare awareness camp at Khour today. Sarpanchs, Panchs and scores of people of the area attended the camp. During the camp the Deputy Chief Minister distributed wheel chairs, tricycles, hearing aids and sewing machine sets to various beneficiaries of the area. A total of 10 wheel chairs, 5 tri-cycles, 12 hearing aids and 50 sewing machine sets were distributed. While addressing the gathering, Tara Chand called upon people at large to avail maximum benefits from the awareness camps which are being organised in the area from time to time and come forward to get registered for different schemes and programmes being launched by the government. Panchayati Raj representatives can play decisive role in making people aware about different schemes launched in social welfare, labour, agriculture, rural development and employment sector, he added. He said all the required formalities for getting registered under different social welfare schemes would be completed in the camp and people who get registered would be saved of the hassle to travel to the district office for filling the forms and completing the formalities. Exemplary initiatives have been taken by the government to address the needs of different sections of the society and benefits in real terms will only happen when every single beneficiary gets covered under the respective schemes, he said. He directed the concerned officers to address the gaps existing in benefit delivery mechanism and ensure that time bound settlement of cases is done. Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Akhnoor Mr. N.S.Jamwal, District Social Welfare Officer Mr. Kulraj and other officers of the department participated in the camp.

2 die in Surankote mishap, Army Governor calls on German comes to the rescue ambassador, discusses investment Rana, Bukhari express grief
SRINAGAR: Germany's ambassador to India has discussed the scope for investment by his country in Jammu and Kashmir during a meeting with Governor NN Vohra here, an official spokesperson said on Saturday. Michael Steiner, the German ambassador, called on Vohra at Raj Bhavan yesterday and spoke about the possibility of investment by his country to aid in the rapid economic growth of J&K, the spokesperson said. The duo discussed issues arising out of the global economic slowdown and other topics related to the strong bilateral ties between India and Germany. They also discussed the chances available for the youth of the state to pursue education at centres of higher learning in Germany along with the job opportunities open to them. Vohra, as the founder cochairman of the IndoEuropean Union Round Table between 2001-08, has had extensive experience of promoting bilateral and multi-lateral understanding between India and European Union countries. JAMMU,JULY 20: Two people were killed and over a dozen got injured Saturday in a road accident at Lasana in Surankote of Poonch district. Reports said that an ill-fated civil passenger bus bearing registration No JK-32 AP4369, which was carrying approx 20 passengers, met with an accident at Lasana, Dist Poonch, while moving on the road from Lasana to Jammu, when its driver lost the control, resulting in the bus falling into a deep gorge. The Accident resulted in the death of two youths and injuries to 10 passengers, including two ladies. The dead were identified as Mohd Safi, Age 25 years son of Shabad Ahmed and Mumtaz Ahmed, Age 15 years, son of Arshad Ahmed. According to reports the Army came to the rescue of victims of a bus accident at Lasana today. The rescue and relief party from a nearby post of Counter Insurgency Force (Romeo) reacted with utmost speed and reached the accident site within a few minutes, for speedy evacuation of the accident victims. The Medical Team provided first aid on the spot, along with simultaneous evacuation of the accident victims to Primary Health Care, Lasana and onwards to the civil hospital for treatment. The Commander, 6 Sector Rashtriya Rifles, the Commanding Officer, Rashtriya Rifles Battalion and DDC Poonch, Sajad Ahmed Khan personally monitored the safe evacuation of the injured persons. Meanwhile Provincial President National Conference Mr Devender Singh Rana and Vice President National Conference, former Minister Peer Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari on Saturday expressed deep anguish and grief over the loss of life in tragic road accident at Surankote in the Poonch district. Conveying condolences to the bereaved families, the National Conference leaders urged the administration for ensuring specialized medicare to the injured. Mr Rana and Mr Bukhari prayed for peace to the departed souls.

Sham pays surprise visit to Sitlee Filtration Plant

Directs for regular test check of water

DC Ramban chairs meeting of Civil Society Civil Society members vow to maintain communal harmony in area
RAMBAN/JAMMU,JULY 20: A meeting of members of Civil Society of Ramban and adjoining areas was held here today at DC Office Ramban in which prominent citizens of the area, leaders of various political parties and representatives from NGOs took part and gave their views/versions of the unfortunate incident. After detailed deliberations the whole civil society unanimously condemned the incident that occurred on July 17th and 18th, 2013 in Ramban District and termed it as unfortunate. They resolved that such incident shall not be repeated and pledged to maintain communal harmony in the district in future. The meeting was Chaired by Deputy Commissioner, Ramban M. H. Malik. Besides, members from Civil Society, S.P Ramban Javed Matoo, ADDC, Ramban Pardeep Kumar and Assistant Commissioner (Rev), Ramban Dhananter Singh were also present in the meeting.

Yasha Mudgal Discusses Strategy Independence Day Arrangements

UDHAMPUR, JULY 19, 2013: To discuss the arrangements for the Independence Day function, a meeting of officers of different departments was convened under the chairmanship of the District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Mrs. Yasha Mudgal here today. Additional District Development Commissioner, Mr. Ajay Singh Jamwal, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Surat Singh, Joint Director Planning, Mr. Rakesh Jamwal, Assistant C o m m i s s i o n e r Development, Executive Engineers, PHE, PDD and PWD, Chief Education Officer,District Youth Service and Sports Officer, Udhampur, District Officers of different departments and senior officers of Police, attended the meeting. It was decided in the meeting that the main function would be held in the premises of Government PG College for Boys ground where the VIP would unfurl the National flag followed by march past of contingents drawn from District Police, SKPA, Forest Protection Force, NCC and students of various schools. The school children would also present cultural programmes reflecting rich cultural heritage and patriotism. A committee of officers was also constituted to finalize the list of outstanding students to be awarded on the National Day.Important Government buildings would be illuminated in the evening of auspicious day, the meeting decided. The celebrations of the National Day would start with the playing of Shehnai Vadan by the District Information Centre, Udhampur in the wee hours of the day.

Body of ASI recovered in J&K

SRINAGAR, JULY 20: The month-long search for an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Jammu and Kashmir police ended on Saturday with the recovery of his body from a stream in Chandanwari area in the periphery of Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said. ASI Habib Ullah, incharge of a police naka party, went missing in Chandanwari along the PahalgamAmarnath cave track on June 8 while leaving for a bath in Lidder stream. The body of the missing ASI has been fished out from the stream near Zig morh Chandanwari and was later handed over to his family for last rites, a police spokesman said. The officer had drowned in the stream while taking a bath, he said

JAMMU, JULY 20- As a part of initiative to improve work culture and ensure close monitoring of the working of the government departments, Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Mr. Sham Lal Sharma, today paid a surprise visit to Sitlee, filtration plants here at Nagrota and inspected the functioning of the premier installation for supply drinking water to the city of Jammu. The Minister inspected the Filtration Plants, Intake Units and water testing laboratory. Chief Engineer PHE,

Mr. K. K. Gupta also accompanied the Minister. The Chief Engineer informed the Minister about the capacity of filtration plants and said that it supplies 1.60 crore MLD clean potable drinking water per day. The Minister issued directions to the concerned engineers to take preventive measures for safeguarding the plant from the flood waters. He also directed for regular test checks of water in the laboratory to ensure safe drinking water to the people. He also directed to update

the store inventories and proper upkeep of filtration plants. The Minister also visited the office complex and took strong notice on the absence of some officials/officers. He said every head of the institutions will be accountable for the functioning of their establishments and they have to maintain the transparency and efficiency in the overall functioning. He asked the officers and officials to change their attitude and ensure work culture and maintain punctuality in the office.

I-Day arrangements finalized at Udhampur

UDHAMPUR, JULY-20:- To discuss the arrangements for the Independence Day function, a meeting of officers of different departments was convened under the chairmanship of the District Development Commissioner, Udhampur, Mrs. Yasha Mudgal here today. Additional District Development Commissioner, Mr. Ajay Singh Jamwal, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Surat Singh, Joint Director Planning, Mr. Rakesh Jamwal, Assistant Commissioner Development, Executive Engineers, PHE, PDD and PWD, Chief Education Officer, District Youth Service and Sports Officer, Udhampur, District Officers of different departments and senior officers of Police, attended the meeting. It was decided in the meeting that the main function would be held in the premises of Government PG College for Boys ground where the VIP would unfurl the National flag followed by march past of contingents drawn from District Police, SKPA, Forest Protection Force, NCC and students of various schools. The school children would also present cultural programmes reflecting rich cultural heritage and patriotism. Threadbare discussions were also held regarding arrangements of seating, barricading, security, traffic regulation, drinking water and power supply, sanitation, first-aid, deployment of buses and fire-tenders etc. The DDC directed the engineers of R&B, PHE and PDD to ensure effective arrangements of barricading, seating and drinking water besides uninterrupted power supply on the day of function. The Executive Officer, Municipality was asked for maintaining cleanliness of college ground and town well in advance while Chief Medical Officer was directed to deploy mobile van with staff and medicines at the venue of the function.

Rather for reviving its golden past

SRINAGAR, JULY 20: Maintaining that J&K, despite having a strong resource base, purchases goods and services worth Rs. 35000/- Crore annually from other States, which provides a wide evidence of existence of a strong market suited to the economic viability of manufacturing projects within the State, the Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs, Mr. Abdul Rahim Rather enjoined upon the J&K State Financial Corporation (J&K SFC) to play its assigned role of lending to Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) and its allied sectors of the State to accelerate its economic development. Speaking at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the J&K SFC held at Banquet Hall Srinagar, this evening Mr. Rather, who is also Chairman of the Corporation, said that at National Level the MSME sector is playing a significant role in the economic development of the country adding that it contributes about 8 percent to GDP and 45 Percent output to manufacturing sector. However in J&K, the MSME sector has got derailed due to prolonged disturbance as most of the SFC Financed Units got closed after losing their financial viability, Mr. Rather said adding that this sector needs a strong lending support by the banks & other financial institutions to exploit its about Rs 10,000/Crore untapped investment potential in the fields of tourism, power, horticulture, floriculture, handicrafts, Indian System of Medicines, Fisheries etc. He said in consonance with developmental goals at National Level and underlining objective of the States 12th Five Year Plan 2012-2017, the credit flow for MSME & cooperative sector shall be on forefront of financial measures of the State. He said that in order to utilize the natural & human resources of J&K profitably, the financial institutions and banking network in the State have to ensure adequate lending facilities to encourage growth of successful entrepreneurs and to help the State to overcome the grave problems of unemployment of its educated youth. Economic Advisor to Government, Mr. Jalil Ahmed Khan, Principal Secretary, Finance, Mr. B. B. Vyas who is also Principal Secretary, to Chief Minister, Assistant General Manager, SIDBI, Mr. Anuj Jain, MD J&K, SFC, Mr. A. R. Makroo and concerned shareholders were present in the meeting. Recalling the excellent role played by the J&K SFC in the past to promote MSME sector and Nursing the first generation entrepreneurship in the State Mr. Rather said it was heartening that the corporation is now again back in business and has restarted its main activity of lending adding that it has also reentered in the MSME sector. He said during the last four years since its revival from March 2010, the corporation has sanctioned loans to the tune of Rs 66.69 Crores and made disbursement of 49.93 Crore. He said the fresh lending and improved recoveries have resulted into improving its standard portfolio from 10 percent as on 1st April 2009 to 51 percent as on 1st April 2013. Mr. Rather said that prior to the implementation of its revival plan in March 2010, this premier financial institution had lost all its business and had descended to a huge negative net worth of over Rs 104.78 Crore and it was in default to its supporting institutions to the extent of Rs 180.40 crore. He said the work of audit of its accounts had hit a backlog of six years. But today with the adoption of the audited accounts for the year 2011-12 , the Corporation shall be clearing 7 annual accounts in a period of four years, Mr. Rather added. He said the income of the corporation has increased from Rs 5.74 crore in 200809 to Rs 9.39 crore during last fiscal. He said the net worth of the Corporation which had sunk to Rs () 104.78 crore as on 1.4.2009 has turned positive to Rs +1.39 crore as on 1.4.2013 after a gap of more than a decade. Talking specifically of the achievements made during last fiscal, the Minister said the Corporation issued sanctions of Rs 2875.00 lakh and made disbursement of Rs 1840.69 lakh. The focus remained on recoveries and during the period under report, an amount of Rs 1745.51 lakh was recovered. He said the Corporation earned a total revenue income of Rs 757.17 lakh during the same period as against the revenue income of Rs 366.39 lakh earned during the previous year. He said with the financial support from the State Government, the management settled liabilities of Rs 173 crore out of a book debt of Rs 180.40 crore, thus taking the Corporation out of the debt trap. He said the corporation successfully launched and executed a One Time Settlement Scheme (OTSS 2010) and settled a large number of long pending bad accounts. He said the corporation while following an effective mechanism to recover the decades old debts in default during the last four years, recovered Rs 76.53 crore. While providing an exit route to loss bearing constituents, it has reduced its own loss portfolio from 62% as on 1.4.2009 to 24% as on 1.4.2013.The debt equity ratio of the Corporation has improved substantially from 2.50:1 to 1:9.61.

J&K SFC back in business with positive net worth after a decade

Bhalla takes stock of damages caused due to overnight rains

Asks JMC to gear up men machinery to clear garbage for Nallahs
JAMMU, JULY 20: The Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Floriculture, Raman Bhalla today conducted an extensive tour of the city to assess the situation caused due to overnight heavy rains, besides visited to the residence of the victim women who died at Nanak Nagar after rain water entered in her house. The minister visited Nanak Nagar, Jeevan Nagar, Gangyal, Pamposh Colony, Malik Market and Bilal Colony, besides Channi Himant, Channi Rama, Trikuta Nagar, Sai Vihar, Rampura, and other parts of the city and took stock of the water logging problems in these areas caused due to overflowing of deep drains and Nallahs. Deputy Commissioner Jammu, A. K. Sahu, Commissioner JMC, K L Khajuria, Joint Commissioner Kapil, besides senior officers of R&B, UEED, Revenue and

other line departments accompanied the minister during the tour. At Nanak Nagar, the Minister handed over Rs 1 Lakh Cheque to the family of the deceased woman under Natural Calamity Relief Fund and assured the members every possible help from the government. Later, the Minister inspected the chocked local Nallah due to which the water overflowed into the residential houses in the area. He directed the JMC commissioner to

gear up men and Machinery to clear the Nallah to avoid further inconvenience to the people. The Minister also visited Jeevan Nagar locality to take stock of the water logging problem created due to chocking of the local Nallah. The Minister inspected the lanes and roads damaged due to over flowing of the rain water from the Nallah. He also interacted with the local people and inquired about their problems. The Minister also visited

Malik Market, Channi Himmant and Chenni Rama, besides Guru Tej Bhadur Nagar and took stock of the damages caused to the public utilities in these areas. The Minister took serious note of the encroachments along the Nallahs in these areas and asked Civic Authorities to remove the same immediately. He also directed to gear up men and Machinery for clearing garbage and silt form these nallahs to avoid chocking in the future.

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STUDENT AGE SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

EDUCATION AGE

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pany into a consistent image that consumers become familiar with. Logo Designer: Many graphic designers specialize in logo production. They are hired by companies to produce signage, in-office products, and even marketing and promotional materials. A logo is a brand identity image, or a tag of a company or product. A logo is a tangible concept that provides a company with a visual image, and that fosters recognition by consumers. Similar to the brand identity designer, a logo designer works to mold the company's public image using color, type, and graphics. Flash Designers: Some graphic designers design and create websites. They use flash animations, one of the trendiest technology used in web design, to design unique applications for company websites. A Flash designer creates interactive movies using customized effects on text, navigation, animation, video. Illustrators: Illustrators conceptualize and create illustrations that represent an idea or a story through two-dimensional or three-dimensional images. As an illustrator, you may find employment with magazines, periodicals, book and software publishers, manufacturers, or working with various types of electronic media. There are also opportunities in the motion picture and video industries, and computer game design industry as well. They work as freelance illustrator, and do work in several of these industries on a contract basis. Web Designer: A graphic designer who specializes in coding can work as a web page or website designer. A web designer creates pages, layout and graphics for web pages. Their main task is to create an aesthetically pleasing and user friendly site. As a web designer, you will make decisions regarding what content is included on a web page, where things are placed, and how the aesthetic and continuity is maintained from one screen to the next. Multimedia Designer: A Multimedia designer produces sketches, scale models, drawings or plans. Multimedia designers can explore careers in the field of television, audio or film production, as well as set or production design. As a Multimedia designer one can find employment with film studios, television stations, advertising agencies and video production houses. You may also be able to work with live productions such as live theater and live concerts. Prepress Technician: Graphic designers are often employed as prepress technicians for magazines and newspapers. Prepress technicians are responsible for several tasks before publications go to print - such as checking for text, layout and other errors, colors and graphic placement, and more. Prepress technicians also find work in desktop publishing. Job prospects in prepress area available in several industries such as traditional printing and publishing, advertising, public relations, graphic design, and business The career of graphic designer is an exciting one that has many different opportunities, from working for a major corporation to owning your own online graphic design business. The graphic designers get a wide scope in creative media such as electronic media, packaging, film and animation, advertising agencies, marketing firms, design studios, educational institutes, printers and typesetters, exhibits and displays, audio-visual media, publishers, manufacturers and department stores. This is really a flexible career. You can work from the comfort of your own home and you can even use your skills in design to accomplish business projects. REMUNERATION Salaries for Graphic designers vary upon their level of responsibility, experience, training and the industry in which they work. Starting salary for freshers is about 7,000 to 10,000. With experience and ability salary increases. Those with creativity salary is not a constraint. On an average the salaries of the candidates for the job of graphic designer cum web designer vary between 1,25,000 to 3,00,000.

CAREER IN GRAPHIC DESIGNING

INTRODUCTION Graphic Design is the process of visual communication which combines words, images and ideas to present the information to the audience. Graphic Design in simple words, deals with aesthetically creating visual designs with the aid of computer to convey a message to the viewers. In other words, Graphic Design is an artistic and professional discipline that focuses on visual communication and presentation toward the goal of delivering a message or creating a product. Graphic design is a part of marketing campaign that involves visual communication. Graphic design attempt to transmit specific messages by means of appropriate visual material. These messages may be aimed at projecting a certain image of an organisation, transmitting information or promoting a service or product. Graphic designers or graphic artists plan, analyze, and create visual solutions to communication problems. Graphic designer is a person in the graphic arts who puts together art, text, and other visuals to produce professional printed results. Graphic designers influence how we view the world using colors, illustrations, photos and fonts. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media. Graphic designers develop the layout and production design of newspapers, magazines, corporate reports, journals and other publications. They also design the logos, packaging and promotional material that give companies and their products a distinctive identity. Graphic designers find out what their client or organization is trying to say and who their target audience is and they are able to effectively communicate that through graphic arts. Graphic design is a part of our life and can be seen around us as long as there is visual advertising. Graphic designers are working behind the scenes to help market products. If we look around us from a magazine to company logos, sign boards and even product packing influence of graphic design is present. Graphic design

are also seen in the production of film and television advertisements as well as the design of book covers, calendars, labels, wrappers, letterheads and trademarks. Graphic Designers may work in their own offices or studios or in clients' offices. Graphic designers employed by large advertising, publishing, or design firms generally work regular hours in well-lighted and comfortable settings. Designers in smaller design consulting firms and those who freelance generally work on a contract, or job basis. Self employed designers work longer hours or shorter hours according to there convenience and based on the work undertaken or scheduled time. ELIGIBILITY Educational: A bachelor's degree in graphic design or fine arts is usually required for most entry-level and advanced graphic design positions. Bachelor's degree programs in fine arts or graphic design are offered at many colleges, universities, and private design schools. Bachelor course is of 3 years duration and eligibility is 10+2 with a creative bent of mind. There is 1 year Diploma in Visual Communication. There are also 2 years and 1 year program for the candidates who have attained 18 years and with 10+2 education. Personal attributes: Creativity is very important factor for a career in design. The more creative a person is, the farther they will go in this field. Graphic design-

ers must possess a combination of skills, including technical, computer and design skills, and the ability to detain audience. The abilities to work independently and under pressure are equally important traits.Graphic designers must be open to new ideas and influences, and quick to react to changing trends. PROSPECTS & CAREER OPTIONS Graphic designing as a career is the right choice for you if you love to draw and sketch. Graphic design is a globally universal skill, therefore it is possible for you to work all over the world. Due to tremendous growth of the media industry there is excellent employment options in this career area. If being your own boss appeals to you, then graphic design is a compelling career choice. There are a variety of graphic design jobs for those interested in this field. You have the freedom to choose which area of graphic design you'd like to pursue based on your talent. Graphic design career opportunities include: creative directors, layout artist, Flash designer, web designer, multimedia designer, logo designer, brand identity designer, prepress technician etc. Creative directors/Art Director: Creative directors are also called art directors, they are hired by different types of media outlets - particularly advertising agencies, magazines, newspapers and television networks. Art directors manages the team that consist of artists, graphic

designers, photographers, copywriters and production staff. These people are the ones who do a lot of the less creative work in a design studio. However, over half of art directors are self-employed or freelance. Layout artist: Layout Artists are in charge with the structure and layout of images and text for print media such as magazine works, flyers, posters, etc. They are required to have knowledge and experience in using various computer software's like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Freehand. Employment opportunities for layout can be found with advertising agencies, magazine and newspapers, public relations firms, and manufacturers. There is also a strong demand for freelance layout artists or in-house layout artists. Brand identity designer: In larger cities, graphic designers can find employment with a company as a brand identity designer. Brand identity designers are responsible for developing products and promotional materials that will mold how the company is viewed by the public. A company's brand identity can be represented in terms of design through a unique logo, or signage. Brand identity design is what helps consumers remember the company and often what brings them back. The right brand identity design can be one of the company's strongest marketing tools as it translates the values, and strategic vision of a com-

School boards will stay till state repeals education Act

MUMBAI: The Bombay HC clarified that school boards will continue till the state legislature repeals the Maharashtra Primary Education Act. A division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice K R Shriram was hearing a petition by members of a primary education school board from Pune, urging a stay on the July 1 ordinance. They said the ordinance's preamble states that the Maharashtra Primary Education Act provisions are inconsistent with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act provisions and the former Act has been repealed, thus dissloving school boards. The HC was informed that children's education will suffer in absence of a caretaker body to manage primary education affairs till a new body takes over. Petitioner's advocates Anil Anturkar and Sugandh Deshmukh submitted that the boards can continue as per the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act and it will not affect the continuation of the school boards by the repeal ordinance. Government pleader Sandeep Shinde said the boards are dissolved by the ordinance and a n independent machinery is in place under the RTE under RTE. The HC said the boards can continue as per MMC Act. Rosy Sequeira"This arrangement can continue till the legislature passes the appropriate act for repealing the Maharashtra Primary Education Act,'' said Justice Kanade.

Montek to meet HRD minister to finalise PPP format in education

NEW DELHI: Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahuwalia will meet human resource development minister M M Pallam Raju on Saturday to finalise a structure on Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) in education. The meeting will take place ahead of the Plan panel's discussions to be held next week with higher education secretaries of states on the 12th Five Year Plan (201217), sources said.Tomorrow's meeting will be attended by Advisor to Plan panel, Gajendra Haldea, prominent educationists and others. The Planning Commission has set up working group on private participation in the sector, especially PPP mode for school education. The discussions are expected to include implementation of ambitious programmes of the Ministry such as Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan which seeks to improve access, equity and excellence and strategic planning for the states. The programme entails setting up of cluster universities and incubators be realised through PPP. A major thrust of the deliberation, in fact, is expected on the PPP model in execution of the programmes. The HRD Minister would dwell upon the agendas to be discussed during the meeting on July 22. The agenda includes consolidation of new institutions set up during the 11th Plan, skill building through PPP approach, issues relating to quality including Accreditation, research and innovation and a database of higher education. During the 12th Plan, the HRD Ministry proposes to set up innovation universities through active private partnership during the current plan.

Panjab University: BEd aspirants sit pretty for round two

CHANDIGARH: The three-day BEd counselling ended at Panjab University, with a majority of students preferring social science subjects. "It was the first stage. The second two-day phase will start from August 2. Dozens of seats are expected to be filled during this period," said Vandana Mehra, co-ordinator, BEd counselling. The university is conducting centralized counselling for 565 BEd seats in five city colleges. Mehra said students were choosing social sciences subjects in BEd and very few were keen on yoga. "Most of the students want to opt for social sciences subjects but there is tough competition. However, Brahamrishi Yoga Training College in Sector 19 has failed to admit even a single student during the three days," said Mehra. At PU, heavy rush was witnessed at the science department, where counselling for MSc in biochemistry was held. The course attracted a good number of candidates from different parts of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. "I have come from Abohar district (around 300 km from Chandigarh) to attend the MSc counselling. Panjab University's MSc is renowned across the country, so I do not mind covering a long distance to come here for studies," said Mahima Thakur, one of the applicants.

16 lakh school seats, but only 9 lakh students in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: In what seems to be an irony, the city has more number of seats being offered by schools than students. In direct violation of the SC order in 2012 which had asked govts to regulate the surge of private schools, Hyderabad has at least eight private schools in every 5 km radius. The statistics by the school education department reveals that cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Mumnai have only 3-4 schools in every 5 km radius. The alarming increase in the number of schools is a trend seen in the last five years, with big schools setting up branches in different areas. While there are around 9 lakh students in the city, the number of seats being offered by the 2,000 govt. and private schools in Greater Hyderabad is close to 16 lakh, a figure critics say is unheard of in other cities. Sadly at the same time, students in neighbouring districts like Nalgonda, Warangal and Ranga Reddy are struggling to get a seat given the less number of schools there. "The govt. has sanctioned more schools for the city this academic year, adding on to the existing schools. Close to 40% of the seats in most schools are left vacant every year as there are no takers," said S Srinivas Reddy, president, AP Recognised Schools Managements Association. The association had petitioned the state government as early as Sept 2012, asking it to regulate fresh sanctions being accorded to schools. "Private managements set up schools in prime localities like Hyderabad as they tend to reap more benefits from cities than rural areas. However, when asked about the massive increase in the number of schools, officials of the school education department said they are left with no option but according sanctions. "The constitution allows for the setting up of institutions and we have been giving permission to institutions which have fulfilled the requirements specified under the AP Education Act," said an official. Critics, however, said that the city has way more schools than the department can inspect regularly.

1,536 awarded degrees at IIT-Madras convocation

CHENNAI: A total of 1,536 students were awarded degrees during the 50th convocation of IIT-Madras. It was a milestone in the history of the institution where only 106 degrees were awarded in 1964 when the first batch passed out. Of 1,536 students, 318 were BTechs, 249 dual degree holders (BTech and MTech), 448 MTechs, 119 MS students, 24 MA, 51 MBA, 125 MSc, 156 PhD students and 46 PG diplomas. The campus wore a festive look and parents went around the campus, taking in the atmosphere of the place where their wards spent four years. The chief guest was Subra Suresh, an alumnus and president of Carnegie Mellon University. In his address, director Bhaskar Ramamurthy outlined the achievements of faculty and students. He said there were 7,533 students on the rolls, more than 50% of them post-graduate students. The institute also added 37 new faculty in 2013-13 out of which 3 are women. When he spoke about MITr, a student welfare organisation on campus, many couldn't control their laughter on hearing the words "with the objective of nurturing physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually balanced life." Ramamurthy also broke into a smile.

IIT-Kharagpur alumni demands immediate appointment of PP Chakraborty as director

NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented move, head of IIT-Kharagpur alumni association Arjun Malhotra went public with the demand of immediate appointment of PP Chakraborty as the director of the institute. His claim that Chakraborty has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the IIT-Kharagpurboard of governors flies in the face of facts. Of course, the most dubious role has been played by the HRD ministry that, at one point, raised the issue of Chakraborty not having got the vigilance clearance. Chakraborty was among the three persons named by the CBI in theCoalnet scam. Even CAG had pointed out wrongdoing. Last September when Chakraborty's name was nearly finalized as IIT-Kharagpur director, the HRD ministry's vigilance department said their view was not sought and pointed out his involvement in the Coalnet scam. However, IIT-Kharagpur said its board of governors had quashed the CBI report against Chakraborty and others. What IIT-Kharagpur did not reveal is that the HRD ministry had found fault with such quashing by the board of governors. HRD wrote to IIT-Kharagpur director that "if the disciplinary authority does not agree with the recommendations of the CBI with regard to the proposed action, it should record detailed reasons for the same and make a self-contained reference to the CVC recommending closure of the case". It also made it clear that "decision of the CVC would prevail". The HRD ministry also went on to say that prima-facie, there is a case. As for the quashing of the CBI report, the ministry said, "Quashing of an action which has neither been taken nor has been proposed the disciplinary authority to CVC for first stage advice, does not arise in the first place." In March 2013, CVC wrote to the IIT-Kharagpur registrar that the Coalnet project has been examined. CVC said, "In agreement with the recommendations of the CBI, the commission advises initiation of major penalty against AK Bhowmick, RN Banerjee and initiation of minor penalty proceedings against PP Chakraborty." CBI had said IIT-Kharagpur took work order from Coal India Limited (CIL) and outsourced the work which was against the contract. In March, IIT-Kharagpur issued chargesheet against Chakraborty stating that he, after succeeding Bhowmick as the dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) centre, misrepresented facts that the work had not been outsourced. He also allegedly defended his position by producing a backdated letter which did not find mention in any of his previous letters. Chakraborty, in his defence, said when he took over as the head of SRIC, the Coalnet project was in the mature stage. He explained that the outsourced company TCG was taken only for manpower services to work under the control of the IIT team. He also denied and provided a sequence of events about the allegation of writing a backdated letter. Eventually, HRD ministry said "defence of Chakraborty can be accepted". But the larger question is why did the ministry, instead of asking IIT-Kharagpur to start the selection process afresh, waited to give a clean chit to Chakraborty.

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STUDENT AGE SUNRDAY, JULY 21, 2013

EDITORIAL

GOOD SCHEME GONE BAD

Amid the cry of wailing parents and the din of politicians looking to score quick brownie points, as the death toll in Bihar continues to rise after children consumed mid-day meals laced with insecticide at school, one thing is clear: The authorities have failed their most vulnerable citizens every step of the way. Right from the procurement of food grains and vegetables to the preparation of the meal to the point where sick children lost their lives because the hospital didn't have the necessary antidote, this tragedy has exposed much of what is wrong with India's welfare state that is bursting at the seams and rotting from within. As always, the intent behind the mid-day meal scheme is noble: Attract hungry children to school with free lunches. In the process, the dual goals of nourishment and education are well served. Every school day, the Indian state feeds more than 10 crore children in 13 lakh schools at an annual cost of Rs 10,000 crore. The numbers are impressive but the devil lies in the detail. Under the mid-day meal scheme, food grains (usually rice) are supplied by the Food Corporation of India to the State food corporations, which then hand them over to the block education officer - who then distributes the material to the schools. But across the country, food grains are routinely pilfered along the way to the schools where they are rarely weighed to ensure that the full amount has been received. Government officials, transport contractors, NGOs and even school authorities are involved in the loot. The next step is the procurement of vegetables, cooking oil and other ingredients. These are bought by the schools from the local market. A quality control committee at the school is expected to monitor these purchases, but it is ineffective. Also, there often exists a nexus between school officials and local businessmen who consider the mid-day meal scheme to be their cash cow, and use inferior quality ingredients to increase profit margins. For instance, in Bihar's Dharmashati Gandaman school, ingredients, including the contaminated cooking oil which killed more than 20 children since Tuesday, was purchased from a grocery owned by the school principal's husband. The situation gets worse at the storage and preparation stage. Official guidelines insist on puccakitchens, but given that many schools are just one room structures, often the meals are cooked in unhygienic temporary sheds or even in the open. No wonder, rats, dead lizards, insects and even iron chips have been found in the meals. Block and district-level officials are responsible for quality control, but most couldn't care less. Finally, after the meal is prepared, school authorities are expected to do a taste-test and record their findings. But again, this a rule followed in the breach. Had a taste-test been done, perhaps the Bihar tragedy could have been avoided. Students had complained about the food, and even the cook had protested, but all that had all fallen on deaf ears - possibly because bad food had become the routine. The mid-day meal scheme will need to have a stronger in-built system of checks and balances, and a system of accountability as well. If various schools from across the country serve poor quality food all the time, it's because they get away with the crime lightly.

WEST'S 'BLAME IT ON INDIA' AFGHAN PLAN

G PARTHASARATHY

THE US AND ITS ALLIES ARE LOOKING FOR SCAPEGOATS. THEY WILL TARGET INDIA FOR THEIR FAILURE TO CONTAIN THE PAKISTANI ARMY'S SUPPORT TO THE TALIBAN. SELF-STYLED HISTORIANS LIKE WILLIAM DALRYMPLE ARE WILLING ACCOMPLICES IN THE ACT
Bruce Riedel, arguably one of the best informed and most experienced American analysts on the AfPak region, recently wrote an interesting analysis titled, 'Battle for the Soul of Pakistan'. Mr Riedel noted: "Pakistan also remains a state sponsor of terror. Three of the five most-wanted on America's counterterrorism list live in Pakistan. The mastermind of the Mumbai massacre and head of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafeez Saeed, makes no effort to hide. He is feted by the army and the political elite, and calls for the destruction of India frequently and Jihad against America and Israel". Mr Riedel adds: "The Head of the

Afghan Taliban Mullah Omar shuttles between ISI safe houses in Quetta and Karachi. The Amir of Al Qaeda Ayman Zawahiri is probably hiding in a villa not much different from the one his predecessor (Osama bin Laden) was living in, with his wives and children, in Abbotabad until May 2011." Despite these realities, a new narrative seems to be creeping in, as uncertainties grow in Western capitals over how the much touted 'end game' will play out. American combat operations are progressively ending and Afghan Forces assuming full responsibility to take on the Taliban. There is uncertainty over whether Afghanistan's presidential election scheduled in April 2014 will be free and fair and whether the new President will enjoy support cutting across ethnic lines, as President Hamid Karzai, a Durrani Pashtun, currently enjoys. As Pakistan remains an integral part of Western efforts to seek 'reconciliation' with the Taliban and for pull out equipment by the departing Nato forces, there appears to be a measure of Western desperation in seeking to persuade themselves and the world at large that there has been a 'change of heart' on the part of the Pakistan Army, which is now depicted as having given up its larger aim of seeking 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan through its Taliban protgs, led by Mullah Mohammed Omar. As Mr Riedel notes, Mullah Omar remains an ISI protg housed in ISI safehouses in Pakistan. Pakistan's real aim as a 'facilitator' of 'reconciliation' in Afghanistan became evident when Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz suggested to the Afghan Ambassador that the Taliban should be allowed to take control of provinces in Southern Afghanistan, as the process of 'reconciliation' commences. The Americans have only encouraged such thinking and added to the confusion by their over-anxiety to directly engage the Taliban, discarding earlier conditions for dialogue. Such obvious over-anxiety prompted the Taliban to up the ante and infuriate President Karzai by converting their

premises in Doha to the Office of a virtual Government in exile. The Americans and their Nato allies are evidently looking for scapegoats in case their 'exit strategy' fails, as it did in Vietnam. India now appears to be the new scapegoat in the event of such failure, as the US and its Nato allies seem to be bent on blaming India for their failures to deal with the Pakistani Army's support for the Taliban, which could lead to an ignominious exit for them from Afghanistan. In this effort, British writers like the self-styled historian, William Dalrymple, seem to have become willing and enthusiastic accomplices. In a recent paper published by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, Mr Dalrymple avers: "While most observers in the West view the Afghanistan conflict as a battle between the US and Nato on the one hand and the Taliban and Al Qaeda on the other, in reality the hostility between India and Pakistan lies at the heart of the conflict in Afghanistan". As a self-styled historian, Mr Dalrymple conveniently forgets that the present AfPak tensions flowed from British colonial policies advocated by imperialists like Lord Curzon, whose 'forward policy' aimed to check growing Russian influence in Central Asia and also give the British undisputed and unchallenged control over the oil resources of the entire Persian Gulf. It was Imperial Britain that changed historical borders, depriving the Pashtuns of moving across their historical homeland by the imposition of the Durand Line in 1893. The problems between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the birth of Pakistan have been primarily because of past actions of Imperial Britain, as no Afghan Government has ever recognised the borders imposed by Imperial Britain. It is this border dispute that has bedevilled relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan since August 14, 1947, when Pakistan was born. India has never taken sides on this Pakistan-Afghanistan dispute - a creation of British imperialism. The Afghans, in turn,

have never taken sides on differences between India and Pakistan, except during the Taliban rule. In a recent paper I received, written by a former Director General of the ISI, the author noted, while referring to past Pakistan-Afghanistan relations: "The message from Kabul both in 1965 and 1971 (India-Pakistan conflicts) was that we could move all our troops from the Durand Line to the Eastern borders, where we needed them. We did precisely that and the Afghans ensured for the duration of the crises there was all quiet on the western front. The two countries have their good neighbourly troubles, but their stakes in each other's security and stability are so high that neither would do anything deliberately to hurt the other's interests". The likes of Mr Dalrymple and his American and European friends should remember that the religious extremism and violence that ail and afflict Pakistan and Afghanistan today, are direct outcomes of the backing given by the ISI, joined by the CIA and MI6, to armed fundamentalist groups, to wage jihad against the Soviet Union on Afghan soil and beyond. This, in turn, encouraged the ISI to believe that promotion of 'militant islam' is the ideal means to build influence within Pakistan, 'bleed' India and carry the forces of 'radical Islam' to Afghanistan and beyond. The US and the CIA paid the price for their earlier follies in Pakistan and Afghanistan, when attacks like those of 9/11 and the London bombings were planned and executed from safe havens in Afghanistan and along the Durand Line. India will have to keep these realities in mind when fashioning its policies in Afghanistan. While we have played along with the Americans and complemented their policies in Afghanistan, there is need for New Delhi to be prepared to build new bridges in relations with its old partners like Russia, Iran and the Central Asian Republics, given the uncertainties and unpredictability in emerging American policies.

Is the United Nations racist?

RAMESH THAKUR
Ask it quietly, but ask it we must. Is the United Nations racist, either deliberately or unconsciously? Many years ago, the late Sergio Vieira de Mello, universally admired as one of the brightest and best U.N. officials, was pulled out of the Balkans because the Europeans would not accept a non-European as head of the U.N. mission there. This despite the fact that in personality, outlook and ways of thinking, he was more European than most Europeans. Their stance might have had credibility if, by the same logic, Europeans excused themselves from serving as heads of U.N. missions outside Europe. In fact, westerners dominate this category. DOUBLE STANDARDS We have seen the same double standard, rooted in the belief in the innate superiority of the westerners, in the choice of the chief executives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The former is always headed by an American. On any objective measure, the U.S. nominee last year would not have made it to the short list against the other two main candidates from Africa and Latin America. But under the cosy EU-U.S. arrangement, the American candidate got the job. This causes neither Americans nor Europeans to blush when they lecture others on good governance norms. When Dominique Strauss-Kahn had to resign in the wake of a sex scandal, his successor as IMF chief was another French nominee. Again without blushes, where all the years previously they had justified the selfserving arrangements on grounds of how well Europe had done economically, this time it was because only a European could understand the grave crisis afflicting the eurozone and lead the IMF. The position of U.N. Secretary-General (SG) is protected against such shenanigans by the rotation principle whereby each continent gets its turn for the top job. But almost all the top U.N. posts after that, at the ranks of deputy, under and assistant secretary-general, are within the personal discretion of the SG to fill. The same applies to the large number of his special representatives and envoys. Unlike the parliamentary system of government, the top ranks of this international civil service are not filled by career officials. Instead the practice is closer to the U.S. system where the President gets to choose his own senior people. But in the U.S. system, senior appointments, including ambassadors, are subject to independent confirmation by the Senate. The U.N. practice does not have any comparable check on whimsical and unsuitable appointments. Ban Ki-moon has been commendably conscious of and good at appointing women to the senior ranks. But both he and the system are yet to be sensitised to the fact that the top-level under-representation of non-westerners is even worse. The situation persists not just because western donor countries use money power and are more focussed in lobbying for their nationals. An even more telling explanation is that the developing countries fail to act in pursuit of their collective interest, are not equally committed to backing their own, and do not wish to jeopardise their own individual chances of a cushy U.N. post. Remarkably, many commentators seem to believe that the alleged waste, inefficiency and corruption in the U.N. system is rooted partly in affirmative action policies that prioritise incompetent and unqualified personnel from developing countries in recruitment and promotion. When I looked into the statistics almost a decade ago, I was astonished at the reality as compared to the myth. Almost all the powerful and big-budget senior posts in the Secretariat and in the U.N. system are filled by westerners, including peacekeeping, political and humanitarian affairs, management, development and environment programmes, children's fund, refugees, etc. I suspect that for the same ability, qualifications and experience, western U.N. officials can expect to retire two ranks higher than the rest. Asians contribute about half the U.N.'s total peacekeepers and one-quarter of its regular and peacekeeping budget (although most of this comes just from Japan). They have also suffered around one-quarter of total U.N. peacekeeping deaths. Yet a decade ago, twothirds of senior peacekeeping officials were westerners. In the U.N. Secretariat overall, Asians comprised a mere 17 per cent of senior U.N. staff at the grades of director and above. This for a continent that accounts for well over half the world's population, is not short of experienced and sophisticated diplomats, and has many high achievers. Between them, Canada and the U.S. had the same number of senior staff in the Secretariat as all of Asia, when they account for 5 per cent and 60 per cent of the world's population respectively. I no longer have access to U.N. data and cannot guess what the numbers might be today. But another set of figures is publicly available. A decade ago, Asians comprised a mere 12 per cent of high-level representatives. Today, according to the list available on the U.N. website, of the total of 94 special representatives/envoys of the SG, 16 per cent are Asian, 30 per cent African (almost all dealing with African crises), 2 per cent from Latin America and the Caribbean: and 52 per cent from Europe, North America and Australia with nine out of ten of them dealing with nonwestern and global problems. This is like western scholarship. If you are western, you can tackle any topic or region. If you are nonwestern, you are expected to inhabit the intellectual ghetto of your own country or continent. Consider three specific examples. To avoid being misunderstood: my comments do not apply to particular individuals. I am interested only in the patterns of over and underrepresentation and the consequences for the U.N.'s legitimacy and effectiveness. We would have been rightly outraged if the first two heads of U.N. Women had been men, no matter how capable the individual might have been. Why is there no matching outrage and unacceptability when the head of the Development Program is a westerner? No matter how well intentioned, they cannot possibly know the political and social imperatives driving development strategies and policies. This is compounded by having an American as a special adviser on development goals. A practising economist from a developing country would be an infinitely superior choice, instead of people whose knowledge of development is derived from books or as an aid donor. The developing-country background and experiences of Mahbub-ul Haq and Amartya Sen were crucial, not incidental, to the emergence and enduring appeal of the notion of human development. The only part of the system that has its global headquarters in Asia is the U.N. University. Only one of its six chiefs to date has been Asian, when equity and justice would have seen only one non-Asian. On every table of university rankings, the Asian universities (although not, alas, Indian universities) have made the most dramatic progress. Asian university presidents and vice chancellors must be doing something right. How then to explain the bias against them? Or take a third example, the responsibility to protect (R2P). The likely sites and targets of intervention in the foreseeable future will be developing countries. It is their people who will suffer if mass atrocities being committed are not stopped, or if geopolitical and commercial interventions are masked in humanitarian language. Conversely, people in developing countries will primarily benefit if interventions are motivated mainly by humanitarian concerns and executed responsibly. The interveners can come from advanced and/or developing countries. Conversations on R2P should occur therefore first among the civil societies and governments of developing countries, and secondly between developing and advanced countries. NORM HIJACKED And the SG's special adviser on R2P should be a powerful (public) intellectual from the global South. Instead we have had an American and now a Canadian. This is not going to help as sentiment firms that the norm, in whose origins Africans (Kofi Annan, Francis Deng, Mohamed Sahnoun) have

GREAT FALL
As Gordon Brown, former British prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer, observed nearly 20 years ago, a weak currency arises from a weak economy which in turn is the result of a weak government. That is true of the rupee today. It crossed Rs 60 to the dollar barely a week ago, and may yet do so again; the latest raft of economic news on manufacturing, inflation and export growth underscore the extent of the weakness in the Indian economy. A government readying for national elections in about ten months does not have the ability to implement serious and much-needed reform, undermined by a complete lack of political capital. Looking ahead, things are unlikely to get much better: just look at the numbers. In June, over $7 billion flowed out of India's debt and equity markets; the current account deficit is unlikely to get much better because a stronger dollar means a higher import bill - India's exports as a share of the economy are very low compared to its size - and the measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India might prove more harmful than helpful if they are kept in place beyond the next six or seven months. The rupee's fall has been a long time coming; since 2008, India's external debt has grown by $166 billion, and its foreign exchange reserves that in 2008 were 133 per cent of external debt have fallen to just 75 per cent. Those reserves in 2008 covered 15 months of imports; they have declined by just over $18 billion but now are enough for just over 7 months of imports, and fall by another $2-3 billion once the RBI revalues its gold reserves. The 10 per cent decline in the rupee's value against the dollar was beyond the RBI's control; in recent weeks, the volatility in its value has been driven by fear of the US Federal Reserve's probable reduction of its bond repurchases that have kept global markets liquid. The RBI's actions in money markets - reducing the amount that banks can borrow against excess statutory liquidity reserves and hiking borrowing costs - may have prevented them from buying dollars by speculating on expectations that the rupee would decline even further against the dollar. Consequently, the central bank's auction of government treasury bills had to be cancelled because banks were demanding yields that were just too high. Beyond that, present conditions will now force companies to postpone their capital investment plans almost indefinitely, and reduce the chances of an economic revival; worse, it may have increased the risks of greater deterioration in the asset quality of banks. The government could do what has worked before in times of stress: issue foreign currency bonds and raise about $20 billion that could fund the current account gap from the global Indian diaspora; but it's unclear whether investors have the courage or the wherewithal.

WHY IS THERE NO MATCHING OUTRAGE AND UNACCEPTABILITY WHEN THE HEAD OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IS A WESTERNER? NO MATTER HOW WELL INTENTIONED, THEY CANNOT POSSIBLY KNOW THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IMPERATIVES DRIVING DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND POLICIES. THIS IS COMPOUNDED BY HAVING AN AMERICAN AS A SPECIAL ADVISER ON DEVELOPMENT GOALS. A PRACTISING ECONOMIST FROM A DEVELOPING COUNTRY WOULD BE AN INFINITELY SUPERIOR CHOICE, INSTEAD OF PEOPLE WHOSE KNOWLEDGE OF DEVELOPMENT IS DERIVED FROM BOOKS OR AS AN AID DONOR. THE DEVELOPING-COUNTRY BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCES OF MAHBUB-UL HAQ AND AMARTYA SEN WERE CRUCIAL, NOT INCIDENTAL, TO THE EMERGENCE AND ENDURING APPEAL OF THE NOTION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.
played the most crucial roles, is being hijacked and appropriated by the West to serve the old and discredited humanitarian intervention agenda, or to pursue regime change (Libya, Syria). Why, with numbers to put a stop to it, do developing countries put up with such clear and heavy bias and permit it to persist? One dispiriting answer might be that a particularly insidious consequence of the century of European colonialism is that non-westerners have themselves internalised the sense of racial superiority of westerners. My own extensive experience suggests that the immigration, customs and security officials in developing countries are more obviously racist than in the West. Part of India's national identity is the selfbelief in being a champion of developing countries. Is it prepared to take the lead in demanding an explanation-cum-correction of this anomaly in the U.N. system? (Ramesh Thakur, a former senior U.N. official, is professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University)

READER SPACE

Immortal Pran
Dear Editor, The death of actor Pran who played Ugranarayan in Madhumati, Raka in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Gajender in Ram Aur Shyam, Dharma in Dharma, Sher Khan in Zanjeer and Mangal Chacha in Upkaar is too painful for words. A stage also came that the success or super success of a movie depended on his inclusion in the film. Thank God, at least the Dada Saheb Phalke Award was conferred on him, though it came too late in his life. Yours Etc, Roshni Singh Airport Road Jammu

Secular drama

Dear Editor, We are the world's largest democracy but, unfortunately, we are not a 'mature' democracy since our

people are neither eager nor ready to accept its value, merits and responsible code of conduct. As a result, we stand shamed before the international community in the irresponsible manner we have conducted ourselves as citizens of a democratic nation. Indeed, our so-called democracy is in name only, shorn of all features essential to a healthy robust and vibrant democratic polity. Consider the facts: Rule of law and accountability are neither being ensured nor enforced in our governance; corruption rules in every sphere of public life; the widening chasm between the 'haves and have nots' defies definition; and money and muscle power are the tools the powerful and the corrupt use to exploit the people. 'Secularism', a much-abused term, has lost its import, and is blatantly used to criticise political opponents and appease minorities for political benefits. Are we really a secular democracy? Yours Etc, Ragav Behl Gandhi Nagar

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MIDDAY MEAL: CENTRE FOR Already given best wishes to Modi: Uddhav COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
NEW DELHI, JULY 20: Amid the blame game between the Centre and Bihar government over the midday meal tragedy, the Human Resource Development Minister Pallam Raju on Saturday said it is time to wake up and take collective responsibility. The minister said government wants that the central government scheme is implemented properly and has hence constituted a review committee, which will look into the quality of the programme. It is certain that we will be strengthening the mechanism towards implementing the scheme, he told reporters in New Delhi. The Union minister said he has received the report by the Saran administration over the incident, which talks about shortcomings in the way food was stored and how that one factor led to the unfortunate incident. But we are awaiting forensic report, which will give greater detail about what is happening. Raju said, I I know there is a monitoring mechanism committee whose job is to find out loopholes and shortcoming. They have particularly pointed out to those 12 districts. He, was, however, quick to add, Now this is not a question of who has done what. It is the time that all of us should wake up...It is a collective responsibility. It is not responsibility of state alone. It is the responsibility of local community, school management committee and district administration to ensure things are going to function, Mr. Raju said. The minister said that when we know that this is the scheme, which is going to provide nutrition to our children, we should strengthen it and the focus should be on that. The midday meal tragedy has sparked a blame game with the Bihar government refuting Centres contention that it had sent alerts to 12 districts, including Saran, where 23 children died after consuming food, over implementation of the scheme. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday dispelled any impression that he was not enthusiastic about Narendra Modi as Prime Ministerial candidate, saying he has already given his best wishes to him after he was appointed the BJP campaign chief for the Lok Sabha elections. What I had said yesterday about the country needing a reliable face was in the context of Congress which is currently ruling. I was talking about the Congress, he told reporters blaming the media for allegedly misinterpreting his remarks. Replying to a query, Mr. Thackeray made it clear that Hindutva issues like Ram temple were unlikely to take prominence in the opposition campaign as there was need to focus on the burning problems faced by the common man due to the Congress misrule. Mr. Thackeray, on his first visit to the national capital after Mr. Modi gained centre stage in the BJP, said at the outset that when the Gujarat Chief Minister came to his residence after becoming the campaign chief, he had extended his best wishes. Why I should clarify on

STUDENT AGE SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

NATIONAL

To a question about the Bihar government denying

receiving any alert as claimed by his ministry,

Lila, wife of anthropologist Verrier Elwin, passes away

SHILLONG, JULY 20: Lila Elwin, widow of noted anthropologist Verrier Elwin, travelled a long distance in her life, criss-crossing geographical and psychological barriers. Daughter of a Pradhan Gond tribal chieftain from a remote village in Madhya Pradesh, she never went to school and never had more than a smattering of English, but married an Englishman and went on to play hostess to scholars and politicians with effortless ease. She passed away in Mumbai on July 14 after a brief illness, (aged around 80), bringing to a close a fascinating cross-cultural chapter in the history of tribal India. Lila came to Meghalayas capital as the young bride of one of Indias most celebrated anthropologists, whose books on the tribals of Bastar, Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh or NEFA as it was then known are still regarded as classics. She never went back to her native village Patangarh in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. A devoted homemaker, wife and mother, Lila Elwin was also an active social worker. Till the time of her death, she was the president of the Stoneyland Ladies Recreational Centre and helped out at a crche. She was a mother figure to many and was well known for her hospitality and acts of charity. Though there is no official record of her birth, her 11 grandchildren from her three sons celebrate September 20 as her birthday. Lila used to regularly send money orders to her mother in her native village. Lila Elwin hosted many prominent guests, including two Prime Ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. She would occasionally accompany her husband on his tours, though they never went to England after they got married. He could speak broken Hindi and they managed to communicate with each other.

SINGLA, Rashtrapati Bhavan isnt a retirement home for Pranab VIJAY OTHERS SEEK BAIL
quality and not quantity is the vanguard of economic growth, said Dr. Thomas Mathew, Additional Secretary to the President. The V-Cs were asked to draw up a road map so that Indian universities figure in the list of top 100 global institutions. At the inauguration of the Indian Science Congress, his message to students and teachers was that: It has been 83 long years since C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize for Physics. Another Nobel Prize in science is long overdue. He often speaks extempore. He passionately speaks to the youth about the changes that they can usher in. For instance, he is deeply concerned by the rising incidents of crime against women. He has been reiterating his views to ensure the young will listen and pay heed, said Venu Rajamony, Press Secretary to the President. Political upheavals and pandemonium in Parliament have not gone unnoticed either by the man whose political career spans over five decades. NEW DELHI, JULY 20: Delhi High Court issues notice to CBI as accused claim due procedures were completed The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation on petitions filed by Vijay Singla nephew of former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and three others seeking bail in the Rs.10-crore cash-for-post bribery case. Justice Hima Kohli asked the investigating agency to file replies to the petitions by August 30. The four accused Singla, suspended Railway Board Member Mahesh Kumar, managing director of Bangalore-based company G.G. Tronics India Narayan Rao Manjunath and alleged middleman in the case Sandeep Goyal submitted that the charge sheet had already been filed and nothing was left to be probed further. Their counsel submitted that they were denied bail by the trial court on an apprehension that they would tamper with evidence. All the recoveries have been made and statements of all the witnesses recorded. So there is nothing left to be done. We request the court to give us an early hearing as the accused would be in jail for so long even after filing of the charge sheet, counsel for the accused argued. Arguing that evidence being tampered with was not the only concern, counsel for the investigating agency submitted that the trial court had denied the accused bail in view of the gravity of the offence.

things which I have not said in my speech (on Friday). The media is also a responsible part of society, he said, adding that only you people say that Uddhav has made a U turn. Addressing a press conference after his meetings with L.K. Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Sushma Swaraj on Friday, he said that it was for the BJP parliamentary Board to first decide on the Prime Ministerial candidate and then consult allies like Shiv Sena and Akali Dal. It is not a hidden fact that due procedure will be followed, he said sidestepping all questions on the leadership issue. To a question

about Shiv Senas support to Sushma Swaraj as the PM candidate when Bal Thackeray was alive, he said when his father spoke of the issue no other leaders name was doing the rounds. He said the decision about the PM candidate is to be taken within four walls and suggested that he does not want to complicate matters by making any remarks. Mr. Thackeray took a dig at a reporter seeking replies on questions over the PM candidate of the opposition. Oh, you are more emotional than me. But I know very well the mantra given to me by my father. He brushed aside a question that editorials in the Sena

mouthpiece Saamna reflected the dilemma of his party over Mr. Modi. If someone has this impression, then he does not understand Marathi, he said. He was also dismissive of a question that whether the next polls would be a Rahul Gandhi Vs Narendra Modi affair. Get over all these things. Talk of corruption, unemployment, slide of Rupee despite the Prime Minister being an economist. Now even the idols of god are being imported like leaders, he said in an apparent dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He also criticised the Food Security Bill, saying it was aimed at elections. He wanted to know what the government has done for the security of the farmers in the wake of growing incidents of suicides. Why it has not been done in the last so many years, he asked. The Shiv Sena chief, whose party is the oldest ideological ally of the BJP, said that issues of Hindutva would not find prominence given the changed scenario where use of religion attracts disqualification.

NEW DELHI, July 20: He has visited 23 States in the past 12 months and packs in about a dozen engagements and private meetings on a daily basis. When he is not on the move, he uses his vast experience to guide all those who call on him at his imposing 340-room residence. As Pranab Mukherjee completes one year in office, he has changed the perception that Rashtrapati Bhavan is a retirement home. Even in his titular role, he is so involved with events that he is being called the active President. But, even in his active participation, he is careful not to act beyond his mandate. He showed this when he rose to two major challenges the December 16, 2012 gang rape and the mercy petitions of terrorists on his desk. The astute politician that he is, he was able to counsel Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on the course to follow without overstepping his brief. The criticism he faced over the swift disposal of the mercy

petitions was silenced when Rashtrapati Bhavan responded by saying that the President does not believe in subverting the Constitution. Mr. Mukherjee has combined in him K.R. Narayanans working style and A.P.J. Abdul Kalams peoplefriendly demeanour. He recently issued a directive to do away with the prefix His Excellency, insisting only on honourable.

Soon after he took over, he chaired a meeting of ViceChancellors and Governors. He told the Governors to play an active role within the constitutional framework and focus on developing areas that have been ignored. He believes that the harbinger of change and the trajectory that the economy should take depend on the quality of higher education. In his view,

UPA, NDA JOUST AT ASSOCHAM MEET

current-account deficits. The depreciation of the rupee had added to the woes of domestic entrepreneurs too. Contending that the NDA government had had a current account surplus, Mr. Singh said both fiscal deficit and inflation had been under control and a sizeable number of infrastructure projects pending since 1980 had been completed during the six years of NDA rule. He charged that the UPA government lacked in transparency and fell short of effective governance as result of which the government was rocked by major corruptions as never before. The BJP president accused the Prime Minister of lacking the confidence and commitment he had displayed after returning to power in 2009. The Prime Minister had promised to bring inflation down within six months, then sought another six months, and now, refrained from even speaking of the issue, he said. Comparing the Prime Minister with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr. Rajnath Singh said Dr. Singh was an economist and not a realist who understood ground realities. He said vision and firm conviction could transform the country into an economic power. The Shiv Sena chief, on his part, asserted that the NDA would come to power in 2014 and outstrip the UPAs performance. Mr. Thackeray said the country had no takers abroad because the promises made during the past 60 years had not been kept. Holding that a strong, trustworthy government was the need of the hour, Mr. Thackeray said it was unclear who was running the country the government, the media, the judiciary or some NGO.

TN BJP demands judicial probe into leaders murder

ALEM/CHENNAI, JULY 20: The Tamil Nadu BJP unit on Saturday demanded that the state government order a judicial probe into the murder of its General Secretary and gave a call for state-wide bandh on July 22 even as special police teams were formed to track down the assailants. A four-member unidentified gang hacked state unit BJP General Secretary V Ramesh (52) while he was returning home after visiting the party office last night in Salem, an incident that triggered sporadic incidents of stone pelting. As a precautionary measure, authorities ordered closure of schools in Salem on Saturday. We want the guilty to be brought to book. We want a detailed probe into the incident by a retired judge of the Madras High Court, the BJP state president Pon Radhakrishnan Said. We want a detailed probe so that such incidents dont happen in the future, he said. Mr. Radhakrishnan accused the state government of not providing security to his party leaders and claimed in the last one year, three state-level leaders -- Arun Reddy, P Murugan and Velliyan -- were murdered and the culprits were still at large. He alleged that even police had not taken action

KHURSHED ALAM KHAN PASSES AWAY

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: Khurshed Alam Khan, a former Union Minister and father of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, died on Saturday at the age of 95. Khan, who had served as Minister of State under the late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, was admitted to a private hospital here six days ago after he complained of chest pain. Dr T.S. Kler, Executive Director of cardiac sciences department, Escorts Hospital, said that Khan was admitted with fever and chest infection. But he already had a major problem of Aortic Stenosis (AS), a disease of the heart valves. He (breathed his last) at around 3 a.m. on Saturday, Dr. Kler said. Khan, who was in a major way responsible for creation of the Jamia Milia Islamia as an independent university through a Parliamentary law, had served as Chancellor of the university. Born in Pitaura village in Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh, he had represented Farrukhabad in Lok Sabha between 1984 and 1989. Son-in-law of the late President Zakir Hussain, Khan served as Member of Parliament for 15 years. He was in Rajya Sabha from 1974 to 1984. He resigned from the Lok Sabha in July 1989 Governor of Goa. Then he shifted to Karnataka in 1991. As union minister, he had held portfolios of education, textiles, tourism, and transport besides external affairs.

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: A function organised by captains of industry turned partially political on Friday as the UPA and NDA battled each other on the issue of governance and performance. Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to defend the governments performance during the UPA rule at the annual general meeting of Assocham. The NDA representatives led by Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray went on to launch a counter attack on the same forum. The Prime Minister said the UPA government had an overall track record to be proud of. He said the governments political critics were playing to the gallery and taking advantage of the UPA having had one bad year: This makes for good television but it presents a much-distorted picture. Outlining the achievements of the UPAs nine-year rule, the Prime Minister said: I agree we have had one bad year. I assure you we will

get out of it. Stressing that his government would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the economy rebounds, Dr. Singh asserted that his government would stay the course to achieve the collective national goals. Comparing the UPAs performance figures with that of the NDA regime, Dr. Singh suggested his government had done better with respect to agriculture and rural wages, poverty levels, and growth. The BJP president, in his turn, said the country was facing a credibility crisis even at the international level due to the failure of the UPA government. He said the NDA regime had performed well, faced with the issue of political untouchability, with 24 allies. Economists around the world had praised the government and Indians had been sought after to participate in global economic activities, he maintained. At present, Mr. Singh charged, investor confidence had been shattered with the rising fiscal and

on their pleas to provide protection to partymen. Partys national leaders condemned the incident, with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, calling for action against the guilty. Both expressed shock over Rameshs killing, with Ms. Swaraj pointing out that this was the third such incident in the state involving a senior party

functionary. Killing of our Tamil Nadu units General Secretary Ramesh is shocking. Spoke to TN BJP president last night and expressed sadness on the killing. My deepest condolences to the family of Ramesh. May his soul rest in peace. The culprits must be punished at the earliest, tweeted Mr. Modi. Swaraj said government must apprehend those behind the brutal murder.

Heavy rains lash Himachal affecting normal life

SHIMLA, JULY 20: Normal life was thrown out of gear in Himachal on Saturday as heavy rains triggered landslides, uprooting trees and blocking roads in the interior areas. All the major rivers and their tributaries are in spate and flowing above danger mark. The rains inundated low-lying areas in Jungle Berry in lower hills, while trees uprooted by landslides blocked highways in Nurpur and adjoining areas. Incessant heavy rains forced people to stay indoors and people living along the banks of the rivers have been asked to remain alert. Sujanpur Tira in Hamirpur district was wettest in the region with 187 mm of rains till Saturday morning, while Nahan and Renuka in Sirmaur district recorded 185 mm and 169 mm, followed by Dehra

Gopipur 160 mm, Dharamshala 148 mm, Nadaun 143 mm, Jogindernagar 125 mm, Dharamshala (AWS) 111 mm, Bangana 106 mm, Una and Mehre 105 mm. Nurpur in Kangra received 102 mm rain, followed by Bangana 99 mm, Bhoranj 92 mm, Nagrota Suriyan 90 mm, Baijnath 74 mm, Gaggal 73 mm, Palampur and Ghamroor 73 mm, Rampur 49 mm, Sangraha 38 mm, Pandoh 34 mm, Manali 32 mm and Dharampur 31 mm. Intermittent rain was continuing in the region, causing marginal fall in temperature. The local Metrological office has warned of heavy rain at some places and thundershowers at many places in the State during the next 24 hours as a cyclonic circulation extending up to 0.9 km above sea level, lies over Punjab and adjoining Haryana. Heavy rain in New Delhi Heavy rainfall lashed the national capital on Saturday, flooding almost all arterial roads in the city and throwing traffic out of gear. Throughout the city, streets

were flooded as drains overflowed as rain beat down with intensity. Heavy traffic snarls were reported in almost all areas of the city due to waterlogging as well as non-functional traffic signals. Bumper-tobumper traffic was witnessed at major intersections such as ITO, Laxmi Nagar, Moti Bagh, Kashmere Gate, Munirka, Dwarka and Dhaula Kuan. Commuters had a hard time navigating the roads in most parts of the city as visibility also dropped. Pedestrians were seen wading through streets flooded by overflowing drains. It took me 40 minutes to reach the Akshardham metro station from my home, a distance which I cover within five minutes every day. Traffic was moving very slow, said Ridhi Chouhan, who works at a private bank in Noida. People were stuck at metro stations and bus stops waiting for the showers to subside while autorickshaw and taxi drivers had a field day charging hefty sums from those in a hurry to reach office.

SARAN SCHOOL TO BE TAGGED WITH NEARBY MIDDLE SCHOOL

CHHAPRA/PATNA, JULY 20: The primary school in Bihar that witnessed the death of 23 children due to consumption of poisonous midday meals will cease to function from its present location and will be tagged with nearby middle school having infrastructure for cooking hygienic food. The Dharmasati Gandaman primary school will not function at the present location at a community hall building and will be tagged with Gandaman middle school which is around 200 metres away, Saran District Magistrate Abhijit Sinha said. The primary school was earlier a part of the middle school and would again go back to its old location, the DM said. The tagging is part of the state governments decision to attach thousands of new schools across the state which does not have roof or proper kitchen facility for cooking healthy midday meal. The school has been shut since the midday meal tragedy that took place on last Tuesday. Meanwhile, no clue of the absconding principal of the institution and her husband has been found. The police is conducting raids in search of the fleeing duo, Superintendent of Police Sujeet Kumar said. The SP said if needed, police would seek order for property attachment of the principal.

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STUDENT AGE SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

INTERNATIONAL & ECONOMY

Candidates make final appeal in Japan election

TOKYO, JULY 20: Candidates for the upper house of Japans parliament made final campaign pushes on Saturday, a day before elections that Prime Minister Shinzo Abes ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. A victory on Sunday would give Mr. Abes Liberal Democratic Party and junior partner New Komeito control of both houses of parliament an elusive goal for the government in recent years making it easier to pass legislation at a time when Japan faces huge structural challenges, including a rapidly greying population and bulging national debt. Reviving the long-stagnant economy is the top priority for voters, and Abe agrees. Aggressive monetary easing and public works spending the first two arrows of his three-pronged Abenomics economic program has so far borne some fruit, lifting the stock market, boosting business confidence and easing pressure on Japans vital exporters by weakening the yen. Major economic challenges lay ahead, including Mr. Abes promises to carry out economic reforms aimed at increasing Japans competitiveness Japan, the LDP promises to make Japan a muscular, gentle and proud country. It calls for a strong economy, strategic diplomacy and unshakable national security under the JapanU.S. alliance, which allows for 50,000 American troops to be stationed in Japan. That message has resonated with some voters worried about tensions over territorial disputes with China and South Korea and widespread distrust of an increasingly assertive China. A recent survey by Pew Research Centre showed that only 5 percent of Japanese have a favourable opinion of China. Perhaps the most significant revision proposed by the LDP is relaxing the constitutions war-renouncing Article 9, which bans the use of force in international disputes except for selfdefence. A revision could open the way for Japan to have full-fledged armed forces and make territorial protection a public duty. Stepping up nationalistic rhetoric or taking steps to expand the role of Japans military will likely further strain ties with major trading partners China and South Korea.

7
SYRIAN ARMY BOMBS KEY REBEL TOWN; THREE KILLED
BEIRUT, JULY 20: Syrian government forces bombed a strategic rebel town in the countrys north for the third straight day on Saturday, pounding it with airstrikes that killed at least three people, activists said. President Bashar Assads troops have in recent weeks seized the momentum in the civil war, now in its third year, and have been on offensive against rebels on several fronts, including in the northern Idlib province along the border with Turkey. In Idlib, government forces this week besieged the town of Saraqeb, hitting it with rockets, tanks and air raids, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. On Saturday, the group said military aircraft dropped at least 15 makeshift bombs, known as barrel bombs, on the town. The bombs are made of hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of explosives stuffed into barrels. Meanwhile, an airstrike by a

the third arrow and a decision this fall on whether to follow through on raising the sales tax next April from 5 percent to 8 per cent a move some warn will derail the fledgling recovery. A convincing victory in Sundays election, where half the 242 seats in the less powerful upper house of parliament are up for grabs, may also embolden Mr. Abe and his backers in the LDP to pursue a nationalistic

agenda he had abandoned his first time in office in 2006-2007. Mr. Abe and others in the increasingly right-wing LDP have said they would like to revise the countrys pacifist constitution, drafted by the United States after World War II, to give Japans military a larger role and make changes to the education system to instil more patriotism in students. Under the campaign slogan Recover

fighter jet killed at least three people, including two children, said the Observatory, which relies on reports from a network of activists on the ground. The number of casualties was likely to rise because many of the people have been buried in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the shelling, the Observatory added. Assads troops are in firm control of the provincial capital, also called Idlib, while dozens of rebel brigades control the surrounding country-

side. Clashes between the warring sides have been fierce as Assads troops try to push opposition fighters further away from the city. With a population of 40,000 people, Saraqeb is Idlibs second largest urban center. It has been under oppositions control for more than a year and it is strategically important for both sides because of its location along the highway that links Syrias largest city, Aleppo, with the capital, Damascus, the seat of Assads power.

China plays down Indias strike corps move Cannot risk a parallel army in North: Basil
BEIJING, JULY 19: China on Friday indicated that Indias move to raise a mountain strike corps along the border would not have a negative impact on bilateral ties, with officials reiterating that they were "willing to join hands" with India to maintain peace and stability in border areas. The measured reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, analysts said, reflected the renewed keenness, on both sides of the border, to ensure that bilateral ties were better insulated from boundary issues in the wake of the Depsang border stand-off in April. The Foreign Ministry here on Friday played down the significance of the move the Cabinet Committee on Security had on Wednesday granted in-principle approval to set up a strike corps of 45,000 soldiers saying both sides already had agreements in place to ensure border stability. The ministry added, in a statement to The Hindu issued in response to questions, that it was willing to join hands with India to safeguard peace and tranquility of the border areas. China and India have signed several agreements on maintaining peace and tranquility of border areas and on establishing confidencebuilding measures in the military field, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that the overall situation in the border areas was peaceful and stable. Chinese strategic analysts have also played down the move, in part because the official approval was both long-expected and overCOLOMBO, JULY 19: Despite Indias efforts to persuade Sri Lanka to fully implement the 13th Amendment in the islands northern province, the Rajapaksa government appears firm about not handing over some powers, including those related to police and law enforcement, to the Tamil minority. Revealing the extent to which absence of trust remains an obstacle to ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka, Basil Rajapaksa brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Minister for Economic Development who visited New Delhi last week, told The Hindu that Sri Lanka would never risk a provincial government forming its own army through devolved police powers. Referring to the Tamil National Army a militant outfit raised by the beleaguered 1988 EPRLF government in the North-Eastern Province in a futile attempt to protect itself against the LTTE that had rejected the Amendment and

86,000 children working in Madagascar mines: ILO

MADAGASCAR, JULY 20: As many as 86,000 children are working in mines in Madagascar, an International Labour Organisation (ILO) official has revealed, adding that some of them work to help parents in sapphires or gold careers. The latest data published by the ILO bureau shows that 28 per cent of the children in Madagascar, aged between five and 17, are engaged in household work, mining, carriage, prostitution, farming and restaurant service, reported Xinhua. The findings prompted the ILO to launch a project to tackle child labour by encouraging education between September 2012 and May 2013 in the Southwestern region of the island country, said Ntsay Christian, the ILO representative to Madagascar. Today, the ILOs educational project has enabled 830 children, aged six to 15, to attend school, 500 children to resume school learning and 80 to have vocational training, he added. According to the law in Madagascar, anyone employing children can be slapped a fine of 1 million to 3 million Ariary (about $500 to $1,500) and with up to three years of imprisonment. Madagascar, lying off the Southeastern coast of Africa, is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. It is known around the world for its rich biodiversity and tropical rainforests. The country, having a legal system based on French civil law and traditional Malagasy laws, is home to five per cent of the worlds species, many of which are native only to Madagascar.

due, mired in bureaucratic delays, and hence hardly seen as a surprise. Analysts were of the view that while the decision would likely generate media attention in both countries Chinas nationalistic tabloid newspapers are yet to react to the move, although it has sparked some discussion on online military forums it would have little impact on bilateral relations.

boycotted the election he said there was no ruling out that a future Northern provincial government would not do the same: If [the NPC] form another army, can we afford another war now? He dismissed arguments that armed struggle by the Tamils was now a thing of the past, and that the 13th Amendment in any case gave the President overriding powers over the province.

As Sri Lanka moves to hold elections for the first time in the Tamil-majority Northern province, there is a raging debate in the country over the pros and cons of the 13th Amendment, including the proposed changes by the Rajapaksa government to strip it of clauses that it perceives to be inimical to national and territorial integrity; and the reported insistence by India on its full implementation.

ECONOMY

TOP GAINERS BSE

TCS 1741.90 BAJAJ AUTO 1967.05 HEROMOTOCO1772.15 TATA MOTOR 294.70 GAIL 332.60 +4.92% +3.68% +2.62% +2.52% +2.51%

Gold firms up on good buying, silver extends losses Govt bonds worth $3.97 b to
MUMBAI, JULY 20: Gold prices firmed up further at the domestic bullion market on Saturday due to increased demand from stockists and jewellers amid steady investment offtake. Silver continued its slide for the sixth straight day on the back of consistent unwinding by traders and speculators. Standard gold of 99.5 per cent purity climbed up by Rs. 90 to finish at Rs. 26,885 per 10 gm from Fridays closing level of Rs. 26,795. Pure gold of 99.9 per cent purity rose by Rs. 105 to conclude at Rs. 27,030 per 10 gm from Rs. 26,925. Silver ready (.999 fineness) moved down by Rs. 55 to end at Rs. 40,885 per kg as against Rs. 40,940 on Friday. On the global front, gold ral-

be auctioned for FIIs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will hold an auction on Monday for grant of investment limits to foreign investors in government debt securities worth over Rs. 23,000 crore. At the auction, to be held on the National Stock Exchange on July 22, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) would be able to bid for investment limits of Rs.23,661 crore ($3.97 billion) in government bonds. ROBUST INTEREST The auction follows a robust interest shown by FIIs for sale of government debt bond investment limits to the tune of Rs.42,000 crore last month. The encouraging response last month came at a time when FIIs have been pulling out of Indian debt market. Since the beginning of June, FIIs had made a net outflow of over Rs.44,331 crore from debt securities, after a net inflow of about Rs.25,000 crore in the first five months of this year. DEBT MARKETS Indian debt markets had witnessed robust interest from FIIs last year as well, when their net investments stood at close to Rs.35,000 crore. The bidding would be held on a designated electronic exchange platform of NSE between 3.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m., the bourse said in a circular. It would be the second auction for debt securities since a hike in the investment limits for FIIs in government debt to $30 billion, from $25 billion previously, last month.The auction follows a robust interest shown by FIIs for sale of government debt bond investment limits to the tune of Rs.42,000 crore last month. The encouraging response last month came at a time when FIIs have been pulling out of Indian debt market.

TOP GAINERS NSE

TCS 1742.80 HCLTECHNOL 892.25 BAJAJ AUTO 1966.00 TATA MOTOR 294.65 GAIL 332.70 +4.96% +3.89% +3.65% +2.70% +2.53%

TOP LOSERS BSE

BHEL SUNPHRMIND STERLITEIN JINDALSTLP ICICI BANK 173.75 1080.25 82.85 210.60 959.05 -8.02% -3.35% -2.93% -2.77% -2.64%

lied to a one-month high on easing near-term concerns over US stimulus pull-back as well as weakening Dollar

value. Gold for August delivery jumped $ 8.70 to settle at $ 1,292.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the

NYMEX late on Friday. Silver for September contract gained 7 cents to close at $ 19.46 an ounce

TOP LOSERS NSE

BHEL INDUSINDBA AXIS BANK RANBAXY LA SUNPHRMIND 173.70 445.00 1191.90 324.15 1080.15 -8.34% -4.30% -3.74% -3.67% -3.42%

TCS results help FDI in defence may be capped at 49 per cent Sensex rally to 20,149.85
The BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday gained for the third straight day by adding over 21 points to end at a new 6week high, on heavy buying in software exporters, led by TCS following robust earnings. Sharp losses in BHEL, HDFC and ICICI Bank weighed on the 30-share bluechip index but good gains in IT and auto stocks like Bajaj Auto helped Sensex end in positive terrain. RIL closed 0.7 per cent higher ahead of Q1 earnings. The Sensex, which had gained 277 points in past two sessions, advanced further by 21.44 points, or 0.11 per cent to 20,149.85. Trading commenced on a promising note as the index touched a 2month high of 20,256.60, though fag-end profit booking wiped off some initial gains. Brokers said market sentiment bolstered after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asias largest software exporter by market value, NEW DELHI, JULY 20: The government has decided to fix 49 per cent as the upper limit for foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence manufacturing, subject to approval by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). A note, approved and circulated by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) after the July 16 meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, states that FDI up to 26 per cent in defence manufacturing would be through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Any proposal involving FDI of 26 per cent to 49 per cent upper limit, however, will be decided by the CCS if it entails induction of state-of-theart technology. The finer details about what will constitute the state-of-the-art technology and high-end technology will be spelled out after the Cabinet gives its

MCX
NATURAL GAS GUAR GUM CRUDE OIL GUAR SEEDS 227.60 +5.66% 19181.00+2.13% 6451.00 +2.06% 6948.00 +1.73%

NCDEX
IND 28.5 MM SOYMEAL YELLO SOYA. SESAME SEEDS 42000.00+95.09% 32750.00+92.65% 34950.00+89.95% 10868.00+78.63%

gained 5.3 per cent, higher than leading peers like Infosys. TCS total revenue, under IFRS accounting standards, rose 21 per cent to Rs 17,987 crore from Rs 14,869 crore a year ago. TCS surged to a record of Rs 1,755 before ending at Rs 1,740.10, posting a gain of 4.92 per cent. However, the broad-based National Stock Exchange

index Nifty surrendered all gains to end lower by 8.85 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 6,029.20, after climbing to 6,066.85. SX40 index, the flagship index of MCXSX, inched up by 2.54 points. Within the Sensex, 16 stocks closed with gains while 14 ended lower. Among major gainers were Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Dr Reddys, Hero MotoCorp and ONGC.

formal approval to the proposal that is likely to happen next week. There is lot of confusion about various aspects of the FDI in defence. It is absolutely wrong to say that the limit can stretch up to 100 per cent. This is why the 49 per cent FDI upper limit will be reflected in the Cabinet note, a senior official of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said. A one-page note earlier

issued by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on July 16 had indicated that FDI in defence manufacturing up to 26 per cent would be under the automatic approval route and above 26 per cent, without any upper ceiling, would be taken up by CCS on a case-to-case basis. The mood among the U.S. companies over the recent initiatives to open FDI in various sectors has been one of caution

but with a positive outlook. INTERNAL NOTE In an internal note circulated to its member companies in U.S. and India, the United States India Business Council (USIBC) states that they have been indicated by the government thattechnology acquisition will be a key determinant for whether up to 49 per cent investment will be approved.

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STUDENT AGE SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013

MISC

COLOMBO, JULY 20: Kumar Sangakkara smashed a career-best 169 on Saturday as Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 180 runs for its second heaviest defeat in oneday international cricket. Sangakkara hit six sixes and 18 boundaries in an entertaining 136ball innings to lift Sri Lanka to a commanding 320-5 in 50 overs. His innings was the third best ODI score by a Sri Lankan after Sanath Jayasuriyas 189 and Upul Tharangas 174 not out. He also beat his previous best oneday score of 138 not out against India in 2005. The defeat was South Africas second heaviest by runs after losing by 182 to Pakistan. It was also Sri Lankas biggest win over South Africa. Fast bowler Lasith Malinga dealt a blow to South Africas daunting run chase with his first ball, bowling opener Colin Ingram with an inswinging yorker for a first-ball duck. The visitors never recovered and lost regular wickets to be dismissed for 140 with 18 overs to spare. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath returned the best bowling figures for the hosts with 3-25 while seamer Thisara Perera got 3-31. Opener Alviro Petersen, who top scored for South Africa with 29,

Sri Lanka thrashes South Africa by 180 runs Indian recurve

KOLKATA, JULY 20: The Indian womens recurve team, comprising Deepika Kumari, Rimil Buriuly and L. Bombayla Devi, stormed into the final of the World Cup archery Stage 3 at Medellin in Colombia. The mens compound team made it to the bronze medal playoff. Earlier, the mixed recurve team of Atanu Das and Deepika ensured a place in the bronze medal play-off. The other two sides, the mens recurve and womens compound, were eliminated in the quarterfinals. The second-seeded Indian women enjoyed a bye in the first round. Two good victories against Venezuela at 224201 in the quarterfinals and the U.S. at 216-211 in the semifinals enabled the trio to face top-seeded China in the final on Sunday. The final entry assured the Indian team at least of a sliver medal. The mens compound team, consisting of Rajat Chauhan, Ratan Singh and Sandeep Kumar, began promisingly defeating Guatemala at 227216 in the round of 16 before thrashing El Salvador at 236-229. The sixth-seeded Indians, however, failed to tame the third-ranked France and went down at 231-234. The bronze medal play-off will be against the hosts. A lot was expected from the Indian mens recurve side that had Jayanta Talukdar,

women in final
Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai. Ranked 14 in the 16team field, the Indians did very well by downing the third-ranked French team at 220-219 in the pre-quarterfinals. Facing sixth-seeded Canada, the Indians needed 30 from the last three arrows but could manage only 26 to lose the tie and a place in the semifinals. The compound women trio of Trisha Deb, P. Lily Chanu and V. Jyothi Surekha had nothing left in them facing the World No. 1 and third seed the U.S. in the quarterfinals and lost at 223-229. All the compound events will be held later and all the recurve proceedings will be gone through on Sunday

shared a promising 44-run partnership with captain AB de Villiers for the third wicket but Herath struck in his third delivery, bowling de Villiers for 23. The visitors lost their remaining seven wickets for 67 runs. Earlier, Sri Lanka was sent in to bat by de Villiers and lost opener Tillakaratne Dilshan with the total on 23. Coming in at No. 3, the left handed

Sangakkara took full advantage of some wayward bowling from the visitors for his 16th one-day century. Sangakkara shared useful partnerships of 70 for the second wicket with Tharanga who made 43, and 74 with Mahela Jayawardene (42). Sangakkara contributed 100 in a 84ball stand of 123 with Lahiru Thirimanne (17) for the fourth wicket.

Fast bowler Morne Morkel took 2-34 in 10 overs but others struggled to maintain direction as Sangakkara played aggressively and improvised, using the bowlers pace for runs behind the wicket. Fast bowler Chris Morris went for 80 runs in his nine overs while Ryan McLaren conceded 69 off his 10. Altogether, the South Africans bowled 15 wides.

Lee Chong Wei says IBL will thrill the fans

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: The biggest star in the upcoming Indian Badminton League, world number one Lee Chong Wei said he is excited about exploring the different cities during the inaugural edition of the event commencing on August 14. It will be exciting to play in different cities in India. I have been travelling a lot to New Delhi but this will be a new experience and I hope to have a great time teaming up with players from different countries, Lee said. Any step being taken to promote and popularise badminton is highly commendable. Indian badminton has produced some legendary players for the sport and its a great moment for all of us that India is taking a major step forward by conducting the Indian Badminton League, he said. Applauded IBL for organising the first-ever auction for badminton players, Lee said, It is a new concept and will thrill the fans no doubt. I hope the team owners will also make some good choices. The IBL will feature six franchises and will run for 18 days. Each franchise will host a two-day leg.

Olympic champion Mellouli takes 5km world title

BARCELONA, JULY 20: When Olympic champion Oussama Mellouli decided to accelerate during the 5-kilometre open water race at the world swimming championships on Saturday, the race was effectively over for his rivals. The Tunisian surged ahead as soon as he got within the ropes outlining the finish area. Mellouli clocked 53 minutes, 30.4 seconds. Eric Hedlin of Canada took silver, 1.2 seconds behind, and five-time world champion Thomas Lurz of Germany finished third, 1.8 back. I was hoping they wouldnt stay with me, Mellouli said. Once I put the jets on I was able to take off, finish the race and take the win. Mellouli won the 10K and took bronze in the 1,500m freestyle at 2012 London Games to become the first swimmer to win medals in both the pool and open water at the same Olympics. And he won the 1,500 at the 2008 Beijing Games. Mellouli had planned to retire after the London Games but he changed his mind a couple of months later, and only began training again six months ago. This year was supposed to be a year off for me, he said. So to come back here after a solid two months of training and to be on top of the world is quite exciting for me. Anderson shines American swimmer Haley Anderson edged Poliana Okimoto of Brazil to win the 5km open water race. Anderson finished in 56 minutes, 34.2 seconds while Okimoto took second 0.02 behind. Another Brazilian, Ana Marcela Cunha, finished third.

Flying Eagle pleases

PUNE, JULY 20: Flying Eagle and Swift Memories pleased when the horses were exercised here on Saturday morning. 600m: Ace Of Diamond (rb) 39. Moved freely. Razeena (rb) 40. Pressed. Governor (rb) 41. Easy. 800m: Hidden Goodness (T.S.Jodha) 54, 600/40. Pushed. Sword Of Honour (N.Jodha) 57, 600/43. Easy. Mighty Splendour (rb), Halo Of Fame (R.Vaibhav) 52, 600/39. Former was pushed and they finished level. Protector Of Paris (K.Kadam), Dynamo (Jethu) 56, 600/42. Pair easy. Insignia (Pasha), Dreams Of You (Kharadi) 53, 600/40. Former superior. Silver Streak (Sandeep Jadhav), Afrojack (D.S.Rathore) 52, 600/39. Former strode out well and finished three lengths ahead. Ghanghorr (S.Sunil), Savannah Sound (Pereira) 51.5, 600/38.5. Former finished a distance ahead. Monet (Kharadi), Winston (Jethu) 52, 600/39. They moved level freely. Jeremiah (Pasha), Amistad (K.Kadam) 53, 600/40. Both were easy. Stormy Princess (Baria) 53.5, 600/40.5. Moved freely. Roswald (S.Shinde), Colossus (Pasha) 54, 600/40. Both moved freely. Wings Of Glory (Khalander) 50, 600/38. Moved well. Hamlet (K.Kadam), Knight Of Ke (S.Shinde) 54.5, 600/40. Former superior. Archimedes (Pasha), Santa Canterina (Kharadi) 53, 600/40. Former was urged. Super Bolt (Khalander), Zarar (D.A.Naik) 54, 600/41. They finished level. Belvederre (K.Kadam), Trisara (S.Shinde) 54.5, 600/41.5. Former better. Fontanelle (K.Kadam), Modus Vicendi (Kharadi) 55.5, 600/42. They were easy. 1,000m: Honest Pleasure (Ikram) 1-8, 600/39. Moved well. Infalliable (Pereira), Star Force (S.Sunil) 1-6, 800/52.5, 600/39.5. Former who is in good shape finished a distance ahead. Oxbridge (Kharadi), Mufasa (K.Kadam) 1-8, 600/40. Former was two lengths better. Follow Me (R.Vaibahv) 1-10, 600/43. Easy. Scarlet Pimpernel (Kharadi), Zakynthos (Pasha) 1-7, 600/49. They moved level freely. Caruso (Pasha), Snora Bella (Kharadi) 1-7, 600/40. Former finished well clear. 1,200m: Swift Memories (Dashrath), Veenas Star (S.Sunil) 1-20.5, 1,000/1-6.5, 800/52.5, 600/39.5. Former was well in hand and finished two lengths ahead. Moon Shadow (Baria), Gates Of Heaven (D.A.Naik) 1-22, 600/40. Former superior. Gate practice (Sand track) 1,000m: Flying Eagle (Sandeep Jadhav) 1-5, 600/40.

Akkunji set for World Athletics Championships

NEW DELHI, JULY 19: Double Asian Games goldmedallist Ashwini Akkunji looked set to make it to the Indian women`s 4x400m relay squad for next month`s World Championships in Moscow after she finished joint second in the trials held at Patiala today. Five runners took part in the trials and Nirmala, who was the fourth member of the gold-winning Indian quartet in the Asian Athletics Championships in Pune early this month, was first in 54.60secs in the 400m trials while Akkunji and Anilda Thomas clocked 54.70secs each.Saritha was fourth with 55.80secs, while Priyanka Mondal was fifth and last clocking 56.20secs in the trials conducted in the presence of 400m coach N Ramesh and Athletics Federation of India officials at the NIS Patiala tracks. Akkunji had won a gold each in w om en` s 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou before she was caught for doping the following year. Her two-year ban period ended on July 3. India qualified for the women`s 4X400m relay in the August 10-18 World

Championships after winning gold in the Asian Athletics Championships in Pune early this month. The quartet of M R Poovamma, Anu Mariam Jose, Tintu Luka and Nirmala had clocked 3:32.26s to bag the gold in Pune.

Root piles on Australias agony

for a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Australia, which was bowled out for only 128 in its first innings, will need a record fourth innings test total to win with two days left in the match. West Indies 344-1 in 1984 is the only occasion a team has scored more than 300 to win a Lords test. Jonny Bairstow on 11 was with Root at stumps, after Ian Bell scored 74 and nightwatchman Tim Bresnan made 38. Seeking a third straight Ashes series victory, England dominated the match all day though Australia endured another umpiring controversy. Bell edged fast bowler Ryan Harris low down to Steve Smith at gully when on 3, but waited to check with the umpires whether the ball had carried. Third umpire Tony Hill ruled in Bells favour much to the Australians annoyance. In the first test at Trent Bridge, Stuart Broad declined to walk despite clearly edging to slip with Australia out of referrals. Bell went on to score 74 and shared a partnership of 153 with Root and took the game away from the tourists. Australia promised so much after its attempt to win the first test failed by just 14 runs. But it has failed to back up that display this time round. England, which made 361 in the first innings, will likely declare overnight or early on day four and look to dismiss Australia a second time. The pressure was on the 22-year-old Root entering this series, despite his century against New Zealand earlier in the summer. Nick Compton was omitted as Alastair Cooks opening partner for the Ashes and Root was promoted, meaning he had to prove himself all over again. He did so at Lords. Root patiently applied himself with a 334-ball stay at the crease, putting on 99 with Bresnan. Roots run rate was slow at times, as Australia bowled accurately after lunch, but after tea he cut loose to advance from 97 to 178. At one point Root and Bell managed 71 runs in 10 overs. Root, whose only error was an edge inbetween wicketkeeper and slip when on 8 on Friday, cut teenage spinner Ashton Agar for his 12th four to go to three figures. The Yorkshireman also became the first to 1,000 first-class runs in the English summer, when he reached 70. He has six centuries this summer. Roots two sixes off leg-spinner Smith within three balls in the penultimate over of the day demonstrated his growing confidence.

Divij, Raja move to semis of Claro Open

COLOMBIA, JULY 20: Indian pair of Divij Sharan and Purav Raja advanced to the semifinals of the ATP Claro Open came after recording a come-frombehind win over Nicholas Monroe and Vasek Pospisil, here. The fourth seeded Indian duo beat American-Canadian combo 3-6 6-3 10-6 in the quarterfinals of the USD 638,085 hard court event. After Divij`s serve was broken at 3-4, the Indians could not catch up and conceded the lead.They saved three break points in the first few games and broke the rivals at 4-3 to take the set 63. As has been the case in the

LONDON, JULY 20: Opening batsman Joe Root hit an undefeated 178 against Australia as England took a huge 566 run lead after closing the third day on 333-5 in the

second test at Lords on Saturday. Captain Alastair Cook opted against a declaration and a few overs of bowling in the evening session in a test England is well placed to win

last few tournaments, Divij and Raja excelled in the match tie-breakers and went on to win the match. The Indians won 58 points to 60 of their rivals but still managed to win. They play the top seeds from Colombia Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the semifinals.

McDowell backs `Iron Man` Woods to win Open Championship

LONDON: World No.1 Tiger Woods has been backed by Northern Irish golf star Graeme McDowell as being ready to return to return to his winning ways with a victorious Open Championship at Muirfield, after five years of a Major drought. According to the Mirror, Woods last lifted the Open trophy back in 2006 despite the parched fairways and greens of Royal Liverpool and is set to break that record in East Lothian, adding that he also may be a step closer to golf legend Jack Nicklaus` Major haul of 18. Stating that the American star looks like he is close to winning a Major, McDowell said that he has been impressive so far in the tournament and will be very tough to defeat if he continued to play in the way that he has been playing, adding that it will not be surprising for him if Woods picked up the Claret Jug on Sunday night after the final. According to the Ulsterman, Woods is going to be a dangerous opponent, adding that he is playing the course very conservatively and is using his famous `iron style` to devastate his opponents.

Gouramangi backs Nabi to give his best shot at DC United

WASHINGTON DC, JULY 20: Syed Rahim Nabi has been approached by Major Soccer League (MLS) outfit DC United and IMGReliance are said to be "looking positively at the proposal", according to the player`s agency - The FootballEdge. While the India defender is set to travel to the States in the month of September, Gouramangi Moiranthem feels that Nabi deserves the opportunity and urges his fellow countryman to give his best shot. "It (trial at DC United) is good news for Nabi first and for other players to think about it (possible opportunity). Nabi has been consistently performing well for the last few years and I think he deserves it," said the 27-yearold, speaking exclusively to Goal. "I would say that there`s no harm in trying. You (Nabi) have been working hard in India and now when you have this opportunity to train in a better facility and football culture...though India is trying to catch-up with other Asian countries at least. "Whether it`s a bad move or good, only time will tell. As everyone knows, a footballer`s career is very short. Not everyone is going to be a Paul Scholes or a Ryan Giggs. So Nabi should go out and give it his best. I`m sure he has the best wishes from the football fans from all over the country." `Mangi` is eager for another chance after his trial at Melbourne Hearts FC three years ago Gouramangi went on to keep his options open for a similar opportunity that beckons his India team-mate. It must be noted that the India international had given a trial at Australias Melbourne Hearts FC back in 2010 but things didnt work out for the former Prayag United centreback. "Tomorrow, if any proper opportunity comes for me as well, then I`ll also think about it. Today, it`s still premature to talk about it, because tomorrow I just want to play," he remarked.

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