AV 15th December 2018

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FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

15 - 21 DECEMBER 2018 - VOL 47 ISSUE 32

MALLYA ON THE WAYBACK

inside: Five-State Assembly Elections: Congress looks at strong finish, takes 3 states SEE PAGE 26

Priyanka Mehta

Vijay Mallya, the Indian businessmen involved in the case of defunct Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), can be extradited from the UK to face fraud and money laundering allegations in India, the Westminster magistrates' court has ruled.

According to Judge Arbuthnot, there was no reason to block the extradition after finding that Mr. Mallya had a prima facie case to answer on criminal charges linked to the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines in 2012. This decision is hailed as a victory by India’s Modi government after their two-year attempt to secure the extradition of the “king of good times” as part of their declared war on the “crony capitalism” of its predecessors.

Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, on Monday, tweeted- “Great Day for India. No one who cheats India will go scot-free.”

Continued on page 16

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15 - 21 December 2018

onetoone WITH KEITH VAZ, MP

Kish Bhudia Kish Bhudia was born, raised, educated and worked in Wembley for most of his life. Having left school with only 4 GCSE’s he went straight into working life and eventually backed by Brent Council as a trainee Surveyor graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying after studying part-time at SouthBank University. Having gained years of experience with Building Contractors, Local Authority, Housing Associations and Private Practice, he set up KDB Building Designs Ltd (www.kdbdesigns.co.uk) a Chartered Architectural Technologists Practice specialising in home renovations, extensions, loft conversions and new build homes. KDB is the thread that binds together the home owner, council planners, inspectors, contractors, Surveyors, interior designers, and the neighbours, as Party Wall Agreements are now becoming more of a concern than ever before.

As a multi-disciplinary practice KDB provides the complete service for anyone looking to create their dream home, and can guide you from concept to completion.

1

Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?

I’ve lived and worked most of my life in and around Wembley, so would be safe to say Wembley is my home. Most of my family and friends still live in the area, and our

new office where I spend most of my time is in Perivale behind the Hoover-Tesco building on the A40, just a stones throw from Ealing Road. But I love to walk around Central London when I have free time, as there is so much to see and do.

Shop explosion accused denies getaway role A man accused of causing an explosion which killed five people and destroyed a building has denied being involved. The blast at a Polish convenience store in Leicester in February is alleged to have been an insurance scam.

The prosecution claimed Hawkar Hassan, one of three defendants, was the getaway driver. But Mr Hassan told Leicester Crown Court: "It is nothing to do

with me, I would not do this even for my mum or dad."

It is alleged Mr Hassan's role was to drive his codefendant Arkan Ali from the scene of the explosion to a house they used in Coventry. When his defence put this to him, he said: "No, I'd never do this, this is wrong. It is nothing to do with me, I would not do this even for my mum or dad."

He told the jury he was "shocked" when he first

heard about the explosion the next morning.

Mr Hassan also denied claims he and the other defendants met in Leicester's Highcross shopping centre on the day of the explosion to plan the crime.

All the defendants deny five charges of murder, five charges of manslaughter and a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

The trial continues.

Nottingham woman donates blood for toddler with cancer A British blood donor says she feels "privileged" to help a two-year-old girl receive crucial cancer treatment in the United States.

Zainab Mughal, who lives in Florida, suffers from neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that mostly affects babies and young children.

She also has one of the rarest blood types in the world. More than 1,000 people were tested in a global search to find a donor match. The donor, a mother-of-two from Nottingham, has chosen to be anonymous.

Zainab's blood is missing an antigen known as "Indian B". Most people carry the antigen in their red blood cells, non-profit organisation OneBlood said.

The only donors likely to be a match are people of exclusively Pakistani, Indian or Iranian descent with blood type O or A, and fewer

Zainab with her mother and father

than 4% of such people will be missing the Indian B antigen. The Nottingham donor, who is aged 50 and of British-Indian origin, said she felt "very humbled" to play "a small part" in helping Zainab's treatment.

Two other donors have been found in the US, but doctors believe at least seven to 10 people will be needed to contribute throughout the course of Zainab's treatment.

The British donor was traced after OneBlood and

the American Rare Donor Programme contacted the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL), a specialist unit in Bristol run by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

A match was found on the UK's rare donor panel, which was tested by NHSBT and given to the US. NHSBT consultant haematologist Dr Rekha Anand, who manages the UK's rare donor panel, said: "The credit goes to all our British donors, whose altruism is the key."

2

What are your proudest achievements?

Completing a London to Paris cycle ride in 2014 to raise money for disadvantaged children in Kutch Gujarat has been my most notable achievement to date, but I’ve also been a Vegan for over 4 years and believe this has been beneficial to my mental and physical well-being.

3

What inspires you?

And the worst?

It is human nature to want to save money, but in doing so, many home owners engage the cheapest people to work with, and then pay for this mistake later on. Typically, Pennywise and Pound Foolish. It is then very difficult to salvage such situations without getting emotionally involved.

8

What are your long term goals?

Lately I have found reading and listening to Sadhguru, founder of the Isha movement to be very refreshing and logical in his approach to life, death and everything in between.

4

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Only having 24 hours in the day, and not being able to clone my knowledge and experience onto my team. Copy and Paste Myself..!!

5

Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

When I first decided to set up the practice, my father gave me some advice, which I still remember daily. Money will come and go, but your reputation and family name is more important than money, and has taken generations to build – so be careful what you say and do.

6

7

What is the best aspect about your current role?

Having been in business for over 15 years, we have established a reputation locally with the community and local builders, and it’s great to have people call the office and say they been recommended by several of their family and friends. Word of Mouth at its best.

I very much enjoy Cycling and Yoga, and would love to be able to see other countries whilst cycling through them, and to take up the Yogic lifestyle seriously enough to teach others and use this as a means to raise money for charity.

9

If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

I can’t say I’m fond of Politics, but believe that Health & Education are the fundamental foundations for a strong economy and also for personal development. Being a father to 2 teenagers, I feel there is too much emphasis on exam results, and that this doesn’t really prepare you for the real world.

I was a failure at school, but found alternative means to reach my goals.

10

If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?

‘Be the Change you want to see in the World’ is the moto that greets visitors when they first walk into our offices. It is one of the hundreds of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings, and I feel everyone can learn something from his life.

Mum of two diagnosed with leukaemia starts stem cell search Mum-of-twins Meena Kumari-Sharma was a successful recruitment consultant and loved long weekends of trips to the zoo and cocktails with friends. But after Christmas last year she was diagnosed with leukaemia, and now urgently needs to find a stem cell donor.

Donor matches are never easy to find, and it's even harder for Asians so rather than sit back and wait, Meena began her own search.

Speaking to the BBC Meena said: "I just wanted to feel that if my children ask in the future, they can say, 'Mummy did everything that she could've done. She really tried everything.”

When Meena was diagnosed, she was happy in her home in St Albans, Hertfordshire. But she had to move to Leicester for treatment and leave her two five-year-olds behind with their dad. She video calls them as much as possible.

"Not even a year ago, everything was turned upside down. In all honesty, I didn't even know that adults got leukaemia. I'm the first person in my entire family to have got cancer," she says.

Faced with an uncertain future, Meena decided to devote her time to persuading as many people as possible to sign up to the stem cell register. Supported by blood cancer charity DKMS,

Meena, left, has signed up 1,500 people to the stem cell donor register since starting her campaign

she began touring the country, urging people to join up.

A good match is most likely to be found in people with similar heritages, so Meena is focusing on Indian donors.

With her family in tow, she has set up donor drives in shopping centres, mosques, and temples.

"Last month I had to speak to 1,600 people at a classical concert. People were just crying in the audience. I think when they listen to somebody's story that is an actual patient, that is going through the process, that is a mother, that has twins, that is only 41 - that is an actual shock to the system," she says.

In nine weeks, she has signed 1,500 people up to the register as potential donors.

Earlier this week doctors told Meena she had two months left to find a match.

Before Meena started her campaign, she would tell people "just pray for me, send positive vibes".

And now I'm like, well actually, you can organise an event, you can spread the

word, you can sign up."

Despite the stacked odds, Meena has found solace in her Match4Meena campaign.

"It's been really powerful to just get up, be brave, and speak to people. Before the campaign started, I was really feeling in despair about what the future holds. Even still today I don't know what's going to happen in six months' time. I don't know if I'm going to be here or not. Obviously that's hugely worrying, but the campaign has allowed me to let go of that negativity and let go of that unknown because this is something tangible that I can do. When I look back to when I was diagnosed, sitting in front of a consultant, that was horrendous. It was so dramatic.

I don't know what will happen to me, but I might be able to save someone else's life and that is reward enough," she says.

If you are interested in registering as a potential stem cell donor please sign up through the Anthony Nolan Trust and DKMS websites.

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15 - 21 December 2018

Why the Bharatiya Janata Party needs Modi Citizens from five states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana cast their vote lately to choose their Vidhan Sabha members. With the results out on Tuesday, the trends gave a clear winner in Mizoram, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, but a close call in Rajasthan. It was however, Madhya Pradesh that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. K Chandrasekhar Rao won a clean victory in the youngest state of Telangana, and Mizoram voted for its Mizo National Front.

It is official, the ruling national Bharatiya Janata Party needs Narendra Modi to clinch in even the smallest of victory. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh and Rajasthan are traditional BJP strongholds with large agrarian electorates. However, with Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan now handed over to the Congress, and Madhya still hanging loose and inching closer towards the foot-in-mouth Rahul Gandhi's party, the truth is Modi's BJP has suffered a massive political blow. Now it is left to see how the party springs back in 2019's Lok Sabha elections. BJP's shock defeat came in Chhattisgarh, where the Congress has far outstripped the BJP in the Maoisthit state.

While the Modi party did get a wake-up call, it is the Congress that seems to have truly won against their own will, failing to capitalise on antiincumbency except in Chhattisgarh. The BJP put up a real fight in MP and Rajasthan. In the former state, BJP was battling a three-term anti-incumbency, while in Rajasthan, it was fighting against the 30 year old trend of voting out the government in assembly elections. The BJP is still in the picture in Madhya Pradesh if the state gets a hung assembly.

However, latest trend from the counting of votes depicts that BJP did better for an incumbent party than what the Congress did as a challenger. While the throne belongs to Gandhi, the people's hearts belong to BJP. Apart from Chhattisgarh, the Congress seems to have failed to cash in on anti-incumbency in any of the states. While the BJP governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had to fight huge antiincumbency both against the government and the sitting MLAs. While on one one hand it bodes true that BJP needs Modi to breathe, another theory is Modi's honeymoon period with Indian voters has come to an end. Ever since his massive, yet brutal victory in Uttar Pradesh last year, the results of demonetisation and the mess that was the implementation of GST, people's confidence in him seems to have shaken. The worst was when he had to slog in his own regionGujarat, for the party to win the state. His presence in MP and Chhattisgarh campaigning was miniscule at best, a brave move giving chief ministers all the focus.

Rajasthan's Vasundhara Raje was not seen as being on the same page as the BJP’s national leadership, including Modi and party president Amit Shah. Her personal traits are believed to be one of the main reasons behind the BJP’s defeat. Her image of behaving like a queen and being inaccessible seemingly didn't go along well with the voters.

While there is no certainty on how much the election results will influence the next Lok Sabha elections, it seems to be certain that Modi has a strong challenger in the INC. He also needs to work on his presence in election campaigns next year, because after all, Modi tikta hai toh Bhajap bikta hai.

Creating a fictional global order US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was recently quoted as saying that America would be moving ahead with its grand plan for an emergent global order based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law and other such items from his country’s political confectionary. Tellingly, Russia, long a western bête noire was to be excluded from this arrangement, with Chine, too, outside the pale.

China, once a favoured strategic partner against Moscow (and India) during the halcyon NixonKissinger era, is now viewed through a glass, darkly.

Few, if any, of the globe’s chattering classes are likely to taken in by this gaseous projection of US authority. Many a banana republic next door has been sustained by Washington’s life support systems reserved for dependencies. Overt and covert indulgence of Gulf sheikhdoms and the medievalist monstrosity of Saudi Arabia and the self-enriching Marcos dynasty in the Philippines, coupled with the generous bounty accorded over decades to the Pakistan military, and thence to its jihadi operatives, is a dismal tale. The Pompeo subtext reveals the intent to use regime change near and far as a continuing practice of US foreign policy. He should understand that his country’s size and weaponry alone cannot be the criteria of American strength; otherwise the most feared pre-historic reptiles and mammals would defy extinction and still be stalking and terrorizing the Earth’s benign creatures.

Nothing reflects the hallowed American sanctities than the vaporous eulogies of the late President George H.W Bush and his long public service to his country’s myriad causes, among which was a feisty, unbowed Iran. Hence the shooting down of an Iranian passenger aircraft with the loss of 290 lives on board, including 66 children, elicited flared nostrils and high octane rhetoric of defiance that he, as President of the United States, would never censure his country’s actions since its apostolic sacrament was the pursuit of freedom and democracy. As the pursuit of such happiness

rigorously excluded the continent’s native Indians (now near to extinction) and African slaves for almost a century, the senior Bush’s vision statement was blighted by a severe recession of the truth. The mainstream US media have buried their country’s torture chambers in Guantanamo, Iraq et al.

The ZTrump administration’s is similarly gungho. Its tariff war with China no sooner put on hold than followed the warrant for arrest of the Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the founder of the Chinese flagship high-tech telecommunications and smartphone company Huawei. Held in Canada,she has applied for bail at a Vancouver court and is also contesting the legality of the extradition order to the US. Meng Wanzhou’s alleged felony is believed to be covert financial transactions with Iran. The Chinese government in high dudgeon has naturally demanded an explanation. Whither US-China relations?

Finally, President Trump’s administration has given Russia 60-day notice to cease production of an intermediate range ballistic missile or face the consequences. The President’s threat that the US had nuclear weapon technologies beyond the reach of any other nation is self-defeating and dangerously hallucinatory. This is what propelled the Truman administration to manufacture and use the first atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The president, his, close advisers and the CIA predicated their policy on the calculation that it would take the ‘backward’ Russians many decades before had anything remotely comparable. Moscow’s bomb was tested within four years, signalling the start of the ruinous arms race.

President Putin responded to the latest US threat laconically. Any US withdrawal from nuclear arms limitation treaties, said his military chief, would meet with an appropriate Russian response. A new arms race looms menacingly over humanity. Crusades require crusaders: Dr Strangelove is alive and well in the White House.

We always think the thing we need to transform everything - the miracle - is elsewhere, but often it is right next to us. Sometimes it is us, ourselves - Jeanette Winterson (2011)

Seema Malhotra MP Member of Select Committee for Exiting the European Union and former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Brexit trade uncertainty threatens to set UK back by 46 years Theresa May is putting the British economy in peril.

Many Asian Voice readers will be staggered by the seeming incompetence of the Government in starting a debate, promising a vote and cancelling plans at the last minute with a humiliating statement in Parliament. I was one of more than 135 MPs due to speak in the House on the day the vote was cancelled – an unprecedented move that gives the distinct impression of a Government being in office but not in power.

But as people look more at the detail of Brexit and what it means, people are rightly asking if they are being told what we will lose as much as what we might gain.

Research I have undertaken in Parliament shows more than £150bn of UK trade is at risk because of the government’s failure to confirm what will happen to Britain’s participation in the EU’s free trade agreements after Brexit.

The new Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, told me in our Brexit Select Committee hearing last week that he could not guarantee that the UK would still benefit from the free trade agreements the EU has with 70 other countries once we leave – agreements that we have helped negotiate. These trade deals stretch around the globe, from Trinidad and Tobago, to South Korea and Mauritius, and allow the UK to have a truly global reach. Trade with these countries account for more than 10 per cent of both our exports and imports.

In no longer having access to these trade deals, we could be left at the diplomatic starting line, 46 years behind where we were as part of the EU and at a distinct disadvantage when we start again to negotiate a trade deal on our own as a country of 60m rather than a continent of 500million. The British Chamber of Commerce have also raised their concern. That’s why along with over 40 colleagues I have written to the Brexit Secretary of State to urge the Government to make a statement on the status of trade agreements during the transition period and afterwards.

This is not only significant for UK businesses across the country but also for foreign companies, including many Indian businesses, investing in the UK. A business registered in the UK, regardless of where the holding company is registered, would be governed by EU trade and customs rules and be able to trade with any of those 70 third countries under an EU FTA. The UK exports 1.33m cars per year, and over 12% of these exports are to countries covered by the EU FTAs. Jaguar Land Rover is the largest manufacturer of cars in the UK, producing over 500,000 each year. However the uncertainty over our participation in these trade agreements could make foreign investment into the UK less attractive if there is a risk of tariffs levied on our exports.

Continued on page 6

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15 - 21 December 2018

Pharmacist Mitesh Patel jailed for murdering wife to start new life with boyfriend

in brief TAKEAWAY LICENCE SUSPENDED OVER ILLEGAL WORKERS

Patel was in trouble with Pharmaceutical Council Murderer Mitesh Patel had been in trouble with the General Pharmaceutical Council before he killed his wife Jessica , it can be revealed. The 37-year-old was given life behind bars with a minimum 30 year term for murder last Wednesday at Teesside Crown Court .

Mitesh had cheated on his wife with other men and planned to emigrate to Australia with his "soulmate", Amit Patel.

But before he murdered Jessica then tried to cover his tracks by staging a burglary at their home - the couple ran Roman Road Pharmacy in Linthorpe .

A spokeswoman for the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) has confirmed that Patel's licence to practice pharmacy was suspended after he was arrested on suspicion of murder in June.

That decision was reviewed on December 3 - the day before he was found guilty by a jury - and he will now remain suspended for another six months, before a further fitness to practice review decides whether to strike him off.

But it can now be revealed that Patel, while a Superintendent Pharmacist, was under investigation by the GPC in 2016. It was alleged that between April 1, 2015 and December 2, 2015, Patel had incorrectly stored Methadone the heroin substitute - on a shelf in the pharmacy, when it should have been stored in a locked controlled drugs cabinet.

In a heated phone call to the Teesside Live newsdesk where Patel complained about a planning story just months before murdering Jessica, Patel claimed he had "fulfilled his boyhood dream" and built the pharmacy after purchasing it in 2012.

However, a reader contacted Teesside Live to clarify that Patel and his wife had actually bought the business - which was already established - in 2015, not 2012 as he claimed to our reporter.

Last Tuesday, a jury convicted Patel of murder after four hours of deliberations.

Jessica's family read out three statements about the loyal and devoted daughter and sister, before Mr Justice Goss delivered the sentence at Teesside Crown

Jessica Patel

Mitesh Patel

Court. One of the family’s statements addressed Mitesh Patel, saying: "While she rests in heaven, you will rot in hell."

Patel strangled his 34-yearold wife to death in their home on The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough on the evening of May 14. Then he ransacked his own home in a staged burglary, binding his wife's wrists and ankles with duct tape.

tion.

Meanwhile Jessica’s sister Minal said Jessica was "beautiful inside and out" and wanted nothing more than to fall in love and have a family and now the 34-year-old's dreams will remain unfulfilled.

A statement written by Jessica's father Jayantilal Patel, was read to the court by her cousin, Gayutri Patel. It read: "As

Family of Jessica Patel speaking after the sentencing of her husband

Prosecutors said he then headed to the pharmacy he and his wife owned on Roman Road to set up an alibi. He then texted his wife - a message he knew she could not read - about food, and ordered pizza to create the illusion of an ordinary evening. The court heard that Patel stood to make £2m from Jessica's life insurance policy. He had been in a relationship with another man, Amit Patel, said to have been a doctor in Sydney, and planned to emigrate to Australia and spend his life with him. And Patel had been unfaithful by cheating on Jessica with other men he met on the Grindr app, and other gay dating sites. He had searched 'I want to kill my wife' online and watched videos on strangula-

a father, to know that your child has been murdered can only be described as very, very devastating. Before I lost my wife Harsha, she had told my sisterin-law Shila that she had no concerns or worries about our daughters because she knew that I loved my daughters and would look after them. Sometimes now I feel as if I have let Harsha down, I have failed to protect my daughter. If only I had just picked something up to indicate that this was to happen in a few hours on the same day that I was there on that Monday. Then to be told three days on that it's none other than my own son-inlaw who has been arrested in connection with my daughter's murder and almost 32 hours

later to be told that he is being charged, believe me I cannot find the words to express.

"Mitesh was our son-in-law but we all saw and treated him as part of our family, as good as our own son. We trusted him with our daughter, to love and protect her. My family and I cannot come to terms with this, what have we done wrong and why would you do this? If he wanted to part with Jessica he could have spoken to me or any member of this family. Nobody has the right to be so selfish and deceive his own."

A statement written by Jessica's grandmother was also read to the court by her stepmother, Roshni Patel. It said: "With my own hands I brought up Jessica, my first grandchild from when she was a small little girl. She was quiet, well behaved and would always be laughing and smiling. I really can't express in words just how much she meant to me. I question myself, what mistake did she make that she received this big a punishment. He could have divorced her and with happiness we would have welcomed her back and kept her safe with our love.

Until her last breath she suffered."

The third and longest statement was from Jessica’s younger siblings including her two sisters and three cousins, who all grew up together, and two of their partners. It was read out by Jessica’s youngest sister Divya. It said: "We miss her more than she will ever know: she was and always will be our eldest sister.

Jess was beautiful both on the inside and out. Her soul was pure, her heart ever so kind and the love and generosity she afforded to everyone in her life was second to none. The thing that set her apart from everybody else was her beautiful smile, which encapsulated her warm nature and innocence. A moment that summarises her so well is when my uncle was diagnosed with cancer, Jess came to visit, she was crying and laid her head on his chest and said to him 'if I could take this cancer off you I would gladly take it'. An incredible gesture from someone so selfless.”

60-year-old Harrow woman graduates from uni 22 years later A 60-year-old Kenyan immigrant has fulfilled a “lifelong dream” of graduating from university 22 years after she finished. Krishna James from Harrow was unable to attend her graduation from the University of East London in 1996 because she had no one to look after her new baby boy, Sathya.

Last month, the university invited Krishna back to attend this year’s graduation ceremony

where she was at long last awarded her Art History degree.

The opportunity only came about because her now grown up son, Sathya contacted the university after hearing the story from his mother two decades later. He said: “I had just graduated myself and we were looking at photos from my ceremony and my mum started talking about what had happened to her. I had no idea. I’d always pre-

sumed that she had graduated but just not taken any photos.”

Krishna added: “Sathya was only three weeks old and born six weeks premature. He was so precious, I couldn’t risk it, but I was very disappointed I couldn’t go.

It was something I had been striving for all my life.”

Krishna James with her family

A pizza takeaway has had its alcohol licence suspended for three months after illegal workers were found during a immigration raid. Tops Pizza in Reading avoided having its full licence revoked after lawyers argued its franchisor had no knowledge that three illegal workers had been employed there. The Home Office found them working there and in full uniform in April.

Tops Pizza said the case had "provoked a wholesale review" of the company. Lawyer Matthew Phipps argued Tops Pizza Ltd, the licence holder, did not carry out "that exploitation", the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported. He added: "We are very sorry. We have let ourselves down."

Supervisor of the Reading branch and director Ali Yazdi was effectively absent from the takeaway, Mr Phipps said.

Franchise owner Masood Aghabarari's contract has now been terminated and the business was liquidated in November, with new owners taking over.

FIFTH MURDER ARREST OVER MAN'S DEATH IN DUDLEY

Yasir Hussain

A fifth person has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a man who was stabbed to death.

Yasir Hussain, from Lancashire, was pronounced dead on Central Drive in Lower Gornal, Dudley, last Tuesday.

The man was arrested on Sunday and was taken into police custody for questioning.

Nabeel Choudhary, from Hope Street, West Bromwich, appeared at Walsall Magistrates' Court charged with murder on Saturday.

West Midlands Police said Mr Choudhary, 20, who was also charged with possession of an imitation firearm with criminal intent, was remanded in custody.

Three other people who were arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday and a 21year-old woman held on suspicion of assisting an offender have since been released pending further investigation.

COUNCIL SEEKS TO EASE IMMIGRATION 'PRESSURE POINTS' Birmingham City Council wants to hire a dedicated immigration boss in a bid to help asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

It is thought about 250,000 of Birmingham’s 1.1 million population are migrants and in 2016 alone it welcomed more than 15,000 new arrivals.

The new post, set to cost £59,000 for about 12 months, is part of a wider bid which has been made to the government worth £862,542 in total. It is hoped the money, if granted, will help about 4,000 asylum seekers, refugees and EU migrants in areas such as housing and welfare support and help ease "pressure points".

The cabinet was expected to retrospectively approve the funding request at a meeting this week.

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15 - 21 December 2018

Ruchi Ghanashyam becomes India’s second woman envoy to UK Ruchi Ghanashyam has been appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to UK. She is the second woman to hold this key post since independence in 1947. The only woman high commissioner so far was Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who was in the post during 1954-1961. She was India’s third envoy after VK Krishna Menon and BG Kher.

Mrs Ghanashyam is a career diplomat, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982. Prior to her current assignment as High Commissioner to the UK, she was Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), New Delhi from April 2017 to November 2018.

In a career spanning nearly thirty-six years after joining Indian Foreign Service, Mrs Ghanashyam's various assignments include serving in the Embassy of India Damascus from May 1984 to May 1987 as Third Secretary, where she also learnt Arabic language.

She was Under Secretary in XAV/Cons, MEA from June 1987January 1991. She served as Secretary B.P. Koirala India Nepal Foundation at Embassy of India, Kathmandu from 1991-1994 and First Secretary (Info & Culture), HoC in Embassy of India Brussels from 1994-1997. She was Counsellor (P.Info) & HoC and Counsellor (Political) in High Commission of India in Islamabad from 1998-2000. She has served in the Ministry of External Affairs from

August 2000 to March 2004 as Director (Pakistan) and Director CNV Division, MEA. Mrs Ghanashyam was Minister in New York, Permanent Mission of India to the UN from May 2004 to March 2008. Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam was High Commissioner of India to Ghana concurrently accredited to Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Togo from March 2008 to October 2011.

She was Joint Secretary/ Additional Secretary of the Europe West Division, MEA from November 2011 to October 2014. She has also served as High Commissioner of India to South Africa concurrently accredited to Lesotho, from October 2014 to April 2017.

Born in 1960, Mrs Ghanashyam holds a Master of Psychology from the Bhopal University. She is married to A. R. Ghanashyam (a Retd. IFS officer) and have two sons.

Nazia Khatun wins award honouring BAME women Pioneering Bangladeshi Brit, Nazia Khatun has won the Sportswoman of The Year Award at The Baton Awards 2018. Khatun has changed the lives of thousands of women since beginning her career as a boxer. Collecting her award at The Houses of Parliament, Khatun said she was ‘honoured’ to be recognised as a BAME trailblazer.

“Not so long ago I was the intern, the green hopeful in the newsroom but now advancing years and experience have placed me firmly in the position of Mentor. It’s a role I actually relish as it is imperative that the baton is passed on, and that is precisely what the awards achieved,” said Sky's Gillian Joseph, The Baton Awards cohost.

The Baton Awards 2018 was designed not only to inspire BAME women, by celebrating pioneers and innovators, but to actively activate change at a grassroots level and create a surge in the myriad of industries that aren’t being accessed by the female BAME community. With the rise of #MeToo, 2018 is being hailed ‘The Year of The Woman’ and this is the circle of progress that The Baton Awards 2018 is based firmly upon.

Nazia Khatun accepts her award from former athlete Michelle Moore

After suffering from bulimia and depression in 2013, Khatun reinvented herself as a body transformation coach.

She is an amateur boxer who grew up in a Bangladeshi household with five younger siblings, and it was the late Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Laila, who inspired her to start boxing and facilitated her love of sport when she visited her college. She has also racked up the attention of many female who have experienced domestic violence.

Speaking about that she

said, “When I first started I got the attention of domestic violence victims. I was fixing these broken females. In our community, we don’t talk about things like sexual abuse, depression, mental health and domestic violence. These topics are associated with shame and honour; honour is the most important thing for the Asian community, often things get brushed under the carpet. It can create long-term depression, there’s too much pressure on achievement and being successful.”

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Brothers admit stealing car and killing family in horror crash during police chase Adnan Ashraf Jarral died alongside 16-month-old son Usman A teenager has admitted killing a father of three, 35, his baby son and two family friends in a horror crash while being pursued by police.

Elliott Bower, 18, was driving a VW Golf which crashed into a VW Touran as it was being pursued by police in Sheffield last month.

Adnan Ashraf Jarral, 35, died along with his son Muhammed Usman Bin Adnan, who was just 16months-old, and a married couple - Vlasta Dunova, 41, and Miroslav Duna, 50.

Bower pleaded guilty to four counts of causing death by dangerous driving and other offences at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday.

He appeared alongside his brother Declan Bower, 23, and a 17-year-old boy, who each pleaded guilty to offences including aggravated vehicle taking.

All three defendants will be sentenced on January 28.

Mr Jarral was about to drop the Duna family off at their home from a day trip

The scene of the horror crash in Sheffield, which occurred as Bower, his brother and an unnamed 17-year-old boy were fleeing police

The crash killed father-of-three Adnan Ashraf Jarral and his 16month-old son Muhammed Usman Bin Adnan,

to London when the Golf collided with them while overtaking a bus – catapulting their people carrier into parked cars.

Vlasta and Miroslav's daughter Nikola Dunova, 22 and her three-year-old daughter, Livia Matova, were seriously injured along with Mr Jarral's wife.

The Bower brothers stood in the dock in a packed court each handcuffed to a security guard.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, stood using

crutches.

All three defendants will be sentenced on January 28.

It was confirmed that

the VW Golf driven by Bower was being pursued by officers at the time of the collision.

Fraudster Zahid Khan was busted trying to smuggle illegal Afghan immigrants into UK Conman jailed for 10 years in his absence over £500k number plate fraud Playboy fraudster Zahid Khan was busted as he tried to smuggle illegal Afghan immigrants into the UK - in the back of his tyre lorry.

The conman had travelled to Europe on the pretence of buying stock for his Sparkhill company, Bulls and Horses Tyres, based in Stratford Road. But when his lorry returned to Dover off a P&O ferry customs officials swooped - and discovered five Afghan nationals.

The men and women were hiding within the tyres in the truck.

Zahid Khan, 32, had driven a BMW over to the continent in convoy with the lorry and was arrested in Dover along with his brother Aamir Khan and another man, Dharmendra Singh.

Zahid Khan

The three men were found guilty of conspiring/assisting in unlawful immigration into the UK. Khan had fled the country before the case started at Canterbury Crown Court.

He was sentenced to 30 months.

A local media outlet has now discovered that Khan, 32, took a flight to Dubai just days before the summer trial had ended. He later posted pictures of himself seemingly in Mumbai on his Facebook page - where he has aimed abuse at legal officials after claiming he

Brexit trade uncertainty threatens to set UK back by 46 years Continued from page 3

The implications for businesses currently trading under these agreements are clear. One corporate executive I spoke to this week, who exports to more than 10 countries under these agreements, said that, without them, the business would have to send products via a Belgian subsidiary and would incur extra costs, increased duties and slower reaction time when providing after-sales support. Each factor could alienate customers and directly hit the bottom line.

The government’s own advice con-

firms what we already know. Brexit will impede trade and inflict lasting damage on our economy. Its economic assessment of Mrs May’s draft agreement with Brussels estimated that the British economy will shrink by 3.9 per cent — equivalent to a loss of £100bn — by 2030.

It is a dereliction of duty to leave UK businesses in limbo over access to these trade agreements. This Government’s current Brexit strategy is set to set to take us backwards not forwards in terms of global trade. The government’s vision of Global Britain is less a vision and more of a mirage.

did not get a fair trial.

Back in June he was sentenced to ten years jail in his absence over a £500,000 number plate fraud. He had gone on the run before the fraud trial ended - and posted messages to the judge on Facebook claiming he had not had a fair hearing.

Aamir Khan, 25, was sentenced to 30 months for the illegal immigrant scam.

He was also jailed for a total of four-and-a-half years over his part in the number plate scam.

Dharmendra Singh was sentenced to 18 months jail for his part in the illegal immigrant smuggling.

The smuggling bid took place on November 8, 2015.

Singh and Amir were in the lorry which was stopped at the port.

Zahid Khan was stopped in a separate BMW. In June 2016 Khan said tyre-fitting business was destroyed by ‘jealous’ arsonists - and later claimed he was spending £100,000 to reopen it.

The conman claimed he had renovated and refitted his Bulls and Horses Auto Centre after the supposed attack. He also claimed his business was torched in the early hours of February 12.

He offered a £25,000 reward, but no-one was arrested.

Sheffield councillor sent photo of topless woman during meeting A councillor who sent a photo of a topless woman to a group of mums during a meeting has been suspended.

Sheffield City councillor Mohammad Maroof posted the image on a Mums United WhatsApp group while its founder Sahira Irshad presented a petition on knife crime.

He has been suspended by the Labour council pending an investigation.

Mr Maroof said he was "very embarrassed" and apologised for what he described was an "honest mistake".

He said he was trying to attach a video of Ms Irshad speaking at the meeting and instead accidentally attached the unsolicited image which he received earlier in the day, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The councillor, who represents Nether Edge and Sharrow, said he asked for it to be deleted "within seconds" of sending it.

He said: "This is my private phone and I receive so many things that my Whatsapp has been set up to automatically save everything in my phone's photo file.

"Somebody sent me this photo, it may have come in the morning, and it went

into my phone's file.

"I tried to send the group a video and by mistake I pressed the wrong photo.

"As soon as I realised, I asked for it to be deleted as I couldn't delete it myself. It was only there for a second."

Mr Maroof said he sent an apology to the group chat.

"I sincerely apologise. I had no intention to do such a thing and to cause such disruption," he added.

"I have a lot of respect for the group."

A member of the group, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was "absolutely disgraceful".

Council leader Julie Dore said it was "a very serious matter" and added his suspension was immediate "until we have ascertained the details".

Mr Maroof said he came up with the idea of setting up the WhatsApp group to empower women.

Study finds women make better recruiters for ISIS Terror groups prefer to use women to groom potential new members on social media because of their 'empathy and soft approach', researchers found.

Both Islamist organisations such as ISIS, and farright terrorists, use women to target vulnerable individuals on social media, radicalise them and persuade them to join their 'cause'.

Research carried out on behalf of Facebook found that ISIS in particular had successfully used this tactic.

'They [women terrorists] put in the hours... That's when radicalisation works best,' Erin Saltman, lead manager of counterterrorism policy at Facebook, said according to The Times.

'They're very good at recruitment because it's a very human process - they're playing on grievances with world problems and offer membership to an extremist group as the solution.

'That's what is being sold and women are very good at those dialogues.'

Several British women who are known to have left the country to join ISIS in

British 'ISIS wife' Aqsa Mahmood, from Glasgow, is a woman recruiter, who is known to have urged British Muslims to join the terror organisation in Syria on social media platforms

Syria in recent years have been actively trying to recruit others using social media.

Aqsa Mahmood, from Glasgow, Scotland, went to Syria to marry an ISIS fighter aged 20 in 2014, having been radicalised online.

Salma and Zahra Halane, known as the 'terror twins', left Manchester in June 2014 to join ISIS, and are then said to have been painting a romanticised image of life in Syria on social media.

They are said to have been radicalised over the internet themselves.

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Young Asian medics quit the profession to combat anxiety and mental illnesses Rupanjana Dutta A record number of young medics including Asians, are now quitting the profession or moving to work private after long hours, high work pressure and lack of appreciation (from patients) in the NHS- which is driving them to a breaking point.

The NHS currently appoints 1.2mn people, becoming the country's largest employer and ranks number five globally. According to statistics published by The Daily Telegraph, there are around 440,000 medical professionals, with 140,000 doctors, 300,000 nurses and midwives. Yet there are 50,000 vacancies across all types of clinical staff found by the National Audit Office in 2014. 43% of junior doctors have stuck to their NHS profession in comparison to 71% in 2011. More and more young doctors are opting to take a break, work abroad or leave the profession entirely, to combat rising toll of mental illness, many suffering from mental health condition.

Dr Diana Suja Madanraj left for New Zealand, 9 months after becoming a GP after years of rigorous training in the UK. Speaking to Asian Voice, she said, “I always wanted to work abroad for the experience but partly also because of the NHS situation- the way doctors are getting affected by long hours and stress.

Spending cuts have made it so hard, and it became so stressful, I could not work more than 3 days in a week, but I am not a pro-privatisation person. However I generally feel London patients are much more unappreciative. Especially the younger patients. Moreover with the large number of immigrants from EU and non-EU countries, many don't get how actually NHS works. The ignorance or their inability to adapt to the system makes it harder for us.”

Though Diana has returned to working in the NHS, and stuck to medicine even after working abroad, many decide otherwise.

Some feel working abroad especially in developing countries could be harder, more challenging, sometimes even resources are minimum. But they have somehow felt happier, and have quit medicine entirely after coming back to the UK.

Careers advice Dr Abeyna Jones, founder of Medic Footprints, a careers advice for junior doctors reportedly said that many are looking to leave the profession as more and more people have become demoralised. Jones founded this enterprise after four years of battling the situation in South East. She told The Daily Telegraph how understaffing at hospital wards made the doctor fatigue situation extremely vicous. She gave

an example of how she has heard of doctors who come to work with appendicitis, finish their shift and then checked into A&E. Medic Footprints connects young doctors with top private sector employers such as Deloitte, Babylon, Virgin. It has advised 11,000 doctors since 2014.

Asian doctors also fear to be additionally blamed for unavoidable mistakes, so some have also gone and done medical negligence degree in law, to ensure they don't get victimised for something completely out of their hands.

Karan Mathoor* told Asian Voice, though a medical degree would cost on average £220,000 of tax payer's money, but Asian families don't always adapt well to the delay in success in medical careers.

“In our culture there is always a rush to get a house, get married, have children, move jobs, earn better and better with years. And medical career in current situation delays this by many years. That does not get appreciated at all by our families. So the pressure is immense from both ends, and we burn out both ways.

Speaking about his own experience, “I struggled to finish my degree as it became harder to work as a junior doctor. Burn outs is not only common, you are practically driven to the brink of mental break down with the lack of sleep and work stress. But then you don't want to go and report it to your senior, in fear of being referred to the General Medical Council (GMC).”

Burn out Dr Jahangir Alom, who grew up in Tower Hamlets and eventually wants to return there and serve the local population is now a junior doctor in East Midlands.

He told the newsweekly how he has witnessed his colleagues suffering, amidst pressure to specialise and progress as doctors.

“Burn out is very common amongst junior doctors. In my short time as a doctor I have noticed many of my colleagues burn out', he said. “In fact I approached one of my seniors a few months ago and told her I think she’s burnt out. She would not accept my statement. I

training and also dropping out of training. The Health Education England need to address the problem of junior doctor morale. GMC have acknowledged this as a problem and are investigating.”

BMA has also warned that a survey from the Royal College of GPs found the extent of pressures on these doctors are ‘alarming’.

Responding to the survey, BMA GP committee chair, Dr Richard Vautrey, said: “These findings are alarming and will cause a great deal

liament, while the majority of NHS staff in England are British – but a substantial minority are not.

Around 144,000 out of 1.2 million staff report a non-British nationality. This is 12.7% of all staff for whom a nationality is known, or one in every eight. Between them, these staff hold 200 different nonBritish nationalities. Around 63,000 are nationals of other EU countries - 5.6% of NHS staff in England. Around 49,000 staff are Asian nationals, with 19,000 Indians.

Nationals of other EU countries make up 9.7% of doctors in England's hospital and community health services. They also make up 6.8% of all nurses and 5.6% of scientific, therapeutic and technical staff. The percentage of doctors and nurses with EU nationality grew between 2009 and 2016.

of worry for patients who would be forced to find a new practice.

While GPs strive to provide high quality care to all of their patients, statistics such as this speak volumes to the huge amount of pressure they are under; rising demand from a growing population with increasingly complex conditions means that workload is nearing insurmountable levels.

“Given the stress this causes and impact that it has on doctors’ wellbeing, it is unsurprising that many are questioning their own futures and the future of their practices.

“For the last 70 years general practice has been the foundation on which the NHS is built, but without proper support, investment and a plan to tackle the current retention crisis, it is in serious

Since 2016, the percentage of EU nurses has fallen. 37% of hospital doctors gained their primary medical qualification outside the UK. 20% qualified in Asia and 9% qualified in the EU. For GPs, 4% qualified in the EU and 13% qualified in Asia.

In 2015/16, 11% of those joining the NHS were EU nationals. In 2016/17, this fell to 9%, and in 2017/18 the figure was 7.9%. For nurses the percentage of EU joiners fell from 19% in 2015/16 to 12.4% in 2016/17, then further to 7.9% in 2017/18. In 2017/18, 13% of nurses leaving the NHS were EU nationals, up from 9% in 2015/16.

Chauhan added, “Brexit may have an adverse impact on workforce compounding this. The workforce needs to be addressed, and NHS needs to hire more. The

risks of crumbling. The BMA is therefore urging the government, using its long-term plan, to drastically increase the share of the NHS budget that general practice receives to guarantee its ability to continue to provide high-quality, person-based care from within the community for years to come.”

With Brexit approaching, the already decaying work force of NHS is meant to suffer further.

According to a research by the par-

number of Medical Training Initiative places needs to be increased urgently as a short term measure. The proposed new medical schools when opened will help in the long term. Regulation of physician assistants will help support doctors. We need to look at scaling up the number of medical associate professionals in supporting doctors.”

GP pressures

described some of the features of burn out (tiredness, lack of enthusiasm, poor communication, low mood) and told her she should have some time off.

“Given the nature of our careers and the competitiveness of the progression, doctors are substituting their days off for courses and conferences to boost their chances of getting into a speciality training programme. We of course have a separate study leave for this, but I find that doctors I’ve worked with take more study leave than annual leave.”

While organisations such as BMA, BAPIO, BIDA & DAUK are running campaigns to support the mental health of doctors, stress is not the only issue that affects these junior doctors. International medical graduates additionally suffer from loneliness for being entirely alienated in remote locations, without any support.

Dr Alom added, “One major mental health issue I find amongst junior doctors, especially international medical graduates, is loneliness. Doctors are spread out across the country and sometimes have to choose between location over specialty training. The training of a doctor is intense and moving to somewhere on your own means you’re without support which can be very detrimental to your health.”

Dr Dev Chauhan, Chair of the Indo-UK Healthcare Policy Forum in BAPIO ( B r i t i s h Association of Physicians of Indian Origin), told Asian Voice, “Junior doctor morale is at an all time low, driven by the imposition of the new context in 2016. The number of suicide amongst doctors and number of sickness absenteeism have all increased. This is a vicious cycle which compounds and has a negative impact on the workforce. We have a profound problem of doctors not applying for speciality

(*name changed on request)

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As I See It

CB Patel

The golden jubilee of mass exodus of Kenyan Asians and settlement in the UK

The mass exodus of Kenyan Asians was accelerated in February and March 1968. Indian settlement in Kenya began in earnest from the start of 18th century. At that time Kenya was not a British colony. By 1963, around 179,000 people of south Asian origin predominantly, Indians were living in Kenya.

Their population was less than 2 percent, but trade commerce industry, civil service and other admin jobs were very largely in the Kenya Asians hands. Following Kenya’s independence in 1963, Jomo Kenyatta’s government brought in Kenya Immigration Act 1967, which required work permit for Kenyan Asians who were not citizens. Subsequently the Kenyan government brought in trade licensing act 1967, which limited the areas of the country in which non Kenyans could engage in trade.

Around 100,000 Kenyan Asians had acquired British citizenship. And the mass immigration of thousands of them, caused a major crisis for the U.K. government of Prime minister Harold Wilson.

The Home Secretary James Callahan, rushed through new legislation aimed specifically at curbing the flow of immigrants from East Africa. The 1968 Commonwealth Immigration Act introduced a requirement to demonstrate a “close connection with the UK.” By 1969 almost 40,000 Kenyan Asians had moved out, mainly to UK. Their population in Kenya in 1979 was 78,000. More East African Asians moved to UK from Kenya than Tanzania or Uganda.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will publish a special magazine to celebrate the golden jubilee of their settlement in the UK. The magazine will contain relevant information about migration from undivided India to East Africa, particularly to Kenya. It will also record their contributions not only in the economy but the society and political emancipation of the Kenyan Africans. We have acquired substantial information from various reports, books and studies on these subjects.

All the new Britons with Kenya connection are invited to submit any relevant information/stories about their own or friends and family’s experience in United Kingdom. We would also like to include success stories of people in public and political life as well as invite entrepreneurs and professionals to send their stories.

Any other suggestions on topics are welcome.

Deadline: 20th January 2019 Email: cb.patel@abplgroup.com

Baroness Verma to stand as Leicester's mayoral candidate Baroness Sandip Verma has been chosen to run as Leicester's mayoral candidate for the Conservative party in May, to take on Labour's candidate Sir Peter Soulsby. Though it is believed the party initially had someone else in their mind, she was chosen after she came up as the favourite among local party members.

Verma has been a member of the House of Lords since 2006 and was a parliamentary under secretary for the Department for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development from May 2015 to July 2016.

She was born in India and moved to the UK with her parents in the 1960s and grew up in Leicester.

She has campaigned to tackle violence against women and has a tough challenge to dislodge Soulsby, who is seeking jis third term running

Baroness Sandip Verma

Leicester City Council.

She has campaigned to tackle violence against women and is a director of a family owned care firm.

Chairman of the Leicester Tories Jack Hickey told the Leicester Mercury: “Sandi Verma will make an excellent candidate to take the fight to Peter Soulsby on the issues that matter to people.

“She's an experienced campaigner, particularly on social care issues, having been a Government frontbencher in the the House of Lords.”

Home office scraps suspension of the 'Golden Visa' scheme UK's anti-corruption policy was under scrutiny after the government failed to implement a promise to suspend the widely criticised 'golden visa' scheme. The Tier 1 investor visa, famously known as the “Golden visas” have been criticised for allowing the superrich to buy the right to live in the UK are being suspended in a crackdown on money laundering and serious organised crime.

The visa which were introduced a decade ago to attract investment from outside the EU, including from India, have proved more popular with Russian and Chinese applicants. However on Thursday 6th, Home Office announced that it would be suspended from December 7th, as part of a 'crackdown on financial crimes'.

It read, “The Home Office has suspended the Tier 1 (Investor) route as it prepares for sweeping reforms in 2019, as part of its ongoing efforts to tackle serious organised crime and money laundering.

The immigration min-

ister, Caroline Nokes, reportedly said in the statement: “I have been clear that we will not tolerate people who do not play by the rules and seek to abuse the system.”

However, the Guardian reported that a Home Office spokesperson on Tuesday issued a statement of less than 30 words – only on request – confirming that the promised change in policy had not been implemented.“The Tier 1 (Investor) visa is not currently suspended, however we remain committed to reforming the route. A

further announcement will be made in due course.”

In 2015 these visas were

Caroline Nokes

issued to 3000 people, allegedly without checking the source of the funds.

However anti-corruption campaigners, who had

welcomed the original announcement that the scheme would be suspended, were enraged with this

sudden 'u-turn'.

Responding to the uturn on suspending these visas, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey attacked the Government’s immigration plans as “simply unworkable”.

Ed Davey said, “The Home Office can’t even take action on one small part of the immigration system without creating chaos and confusion. How do the Tories expect it to cope with a whole new system for millions of European workers if we leave the EU? “The truth is that Theresa May’s plans are simply unworkable. That’s why she has refused to publish her immigration white paper for more than a year – because she knows it will expose the hollowness of her promise to ‘take back control’.

“The Liberal Democrats demand better. Now that Theresa May has delayed the meaningful vote on her Brexit deal, there’s no excuse for her not to publish the white paper beforehand, so that MPs can properly scrutinise the proposals.”

Surinder Arora may bag DAA hotel deal Surinder Arora of the Arora Hotels might be awarded a contract for a 400bedroom hotel at Terminal 2 of the Dublin Airport by the airport authority DAA, even though it appears he is the only bidder of the tender.

It is understood that the airport body has entered exclusive talks with UK group Arora Hotels for the project despite the lack of a competitive process. According to The Times, DAA had received legal advice it could proceed unilaterally with Arora after the only other shortlisted party, the Irish group Tifco, dropped out.

Businessman Surinder Arora has hotels at Heathrow and Gatwick airports near London, and has also proposed the expansion of terminal 3 of Heathrow Airport at half the cost of Heathrow Airports Limited at £14.4 bn.

A number of parties that were ruled out of the airport hotel contract at an early stage believe the process should be rerun because of the lack of competition. It is understood Dalata, a quoted group running 39 hotels, was eliminated as it did not intend to use an international brand at Terminal 2.

Other groups, such as billionaire John Malone's MHL Hotel Collection, was ruled out because they had not developed any properties themselves but have spent £420m in buying 11 hotels since 2013.

DAA has said it aims to have a pre-

in October. It also has Sofitel and Renaissance at Heathrow, and Sofitel and Hilton hotels at Gatwick Airport.

Arora accquires Buckinghamshire Golf Club

ferred bidder for the hotel by the end of this year. The existing planning approval for an 11-storey hotel linked to Terminal 2 is due to expire in March 2019, however, meaning the winning group would have to submit new plans.

Arora has opened a 304-bedroom Crowne Plaza and a 457-bed Holiday Inn Express at Heathrow’s Terminal 4

Surinder Arora, had also announced a move into the sporting sector with his acquisition of the Buckinghamshire Golf Club in Denham for an undisclosed sum. He said how he is looking to use luxury hospitality experience “to reinvigorate the club, providing a new and enhanced experience for its members”.

The club was sold in February last year to Surinder Arora Buckingham Park Resort (Holdings), a subsidiary of Eagle resorts, and was previously owned by Japanese brewery Asahi Group Holdings for nearly 25 years.

In addition to offering golf on an 18hole championship course designed by the late Ryder Cup player John Jacobs, the resort also caters for events and weddings within its Grade II-listed clubhouse and mansion house.

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Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Nitin Sawhney composes entire original score for Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle It took me a he soundtrack composed by Nitin Sawhney for the hit Andy Serkisdirected film that just launched across the world; Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, is the result of being a British Asian composer, he tells us.

The Asian Voice was invited to interview Nitin Sawhney and the other stars on the actual Red Carpet at the glitzy Mayfair Curzon Premiere of Mowgli last week, when he appeared alongside Naomi Harris and director-actor Andy Serkis.

Andy Serkis is best known for his unique performance capture roles such as Gollum in Lord of the Rings and also now runs his own production company and motion capture workshop, The Imaginarium Studios, which he used for Mowgli. The movie has just launched in the UK. Nitin Sawhney has a long pedigree. The Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement awardwinner is a world-class producer, songwriter, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, orchestral composer and cultural pioneer, and has 20 studio albums to his name.

He was asked by Andy Serkis to compose the score to create an Indian setting for the film, which is based on the original Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. The result is a rich, gripping soundtrack with original songs, reflecting an exciting and thoughtful film which presents the dilemma of Mowgli, brilliantly played by Rohan Chand, who is

T

Nitin Sawhney

caught between the two worlds of humans and animals.

The thing he is proudest of, says Nitin, is the haunting theme he wrote for Mowgli. “It took me a couple of years to get to a theme I really liked. We had a few different versions.

I spent a lot of time with Andy trying to capture that, even walking through the jungle in South Africa at one point.” Some of the scenes were shot among one of the biggest Indian communities outside India, in Durban.

Nitin feels for Mowgli in having two worlds to straddle. He knows that situation, familiar to so many second generation

lot of conversations with British Indians. “I was caught couple of years aAndy, a lot of time spent between two worlds at school. I to get to a thinking about the characterget the search for identity for those from immigrant backMowgli theme I ization; the psychology not only of the characters but also grounds. From my point of view really liked as a British Asian, I was trying to the narrative and how it develfind a mixture of my heritage and ops through the story. my context. So the score has a big The Mowgli theme occurs in western orchestra in there but I also lyrical ways throughout the film and brought in great Indian classical players like was catching the ear even as it played on the Ashwin Srinvasan, the Bansuri, or bamboo Red Carpet while Nitin Sawhney spoke to the flute player.”

Asian Voice.

Nitin Sawhney is acclaimed for his signaThe film score has been highlighted by ture fusion music; it is the hallmark of his critics as one of the many outstanding career. aspects of the film. Mowgli is no sugar- coat“I have made a lot of studio albums since ed Disney- style cutesie project; it will appeal the nineties; I have been doing this in differto British Asians as the colonial character, the white hunter, is not shown in a particuent contexts like club music. This is somelarly favourable light and meets a surprising thing I know a lot about; it felt like coming destiny. home; using a language that was familiar to So what comes next for Nitin? He has lots me that I could present to the world.” on the go, but smiles as tells us; Composers work in different ways on “I am creating a new national anthem for their films, but Nitin Sawhney and Andy Sky Arts with the National Youth Orchestra Serkis have been friends for years and since and a big choir. It will be performed at the the film took four years to make, Nitin had Barbican. It is satirical; based around BREXtime to work organically. Mr Serkis told us that Nitin was his first choice and go- to perIT. I have been going to Manchester, Glasgow, up and down the country, asking son to give the film twenty-first century culpeople about their feelings.” tural authenticity.

Nitin is a talented, exciting man of our So how did Nitin Sawhney evolve his film times; he brings a fascinating dimension to score? whatever project he works on.

“I spent time initially with the storyMowgli: Legend of the Jungle is on boards, then we built it from there. Gradually Netflix and in select cinemas now.a I would get more and more of the cuts. I had

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10 READERS VOICE

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15 - 21 December 2018

True meaning of Christmas

Chasm between China and the USA

Christmas is deemed as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. But what is most important is the remembrance not only of His birth but of his teachings of love, giving, sharing, and gratitude too. The word ‘Christmas’ comes from .the Old English Christes Maesse or ‘Christ’s Mass’.

December 25 is not the actual birth date of Jesus Christ.

The date was selected as the day of Christmas because it was around the time of various Pagan festivals, such as the Roman Saturnalia.

Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai, India

China had one of the world’s largest and most advanced economy prior to the nineteenth century. With the rise of Europe, China’s share of the world economy shrank and its isolation from the world after the communist revolution (1946-49) did not help it to industrialize.However, adoption of market principles and Nixon’s visit in 1972, recognition as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by Carter in 1979 and joining the WTO in 2001 helped China enormously for economic development in the recent years. Of course, the lack of transparency and authoritarian rule did help it by some extent. The double digit growth (15.2% in 1984) of the Chinese economy in the late 20th and in 21st century has been an envy of the world.

Today, China (PRC) as a country has world’s second largest economy after the monstrous economy of the USA. However, Chinese per capita income stands at 72nd in the world ranking. Chinese phenomenal economic growth and its

Old age problems In the UK, 10 million people are aged over 65 years that is 18% of the population. This figure is likely to double by the year 2030. Likewise, in India too, 20% of the population is above 60 years and the proportion of this ageing population is steadily increasing. As the old age population is on a rise, their problems are also increasing at a rapid pace. Though they are entitled to free medical treatment as also the prescription in the NHS, yet the prolonged waiting period for this treatment tremendously adds to their sufferings. In India however, they have to make their own financial arrangements for their medical cure.

Moreover, these old age people are often subject to humiliation in their own families. They are being ignored and harassed by the younger generation while what they only expect is love, respect and recognition. Thus senior citizens must realise that they must make appropriate arrangements for their own old age. They can form their own likeminded groups and indulge in social and religious activities so that they are not too much dependent on others.

Bharat Shah Harrow

Knife culture We understand from media reports that knife crime in this country is again on the rise.The worrying figures published indicate that the number of knife offences went up again by an alrming rate. It went up from 26,000 in 2014/15 to 40,000 in 2017/18, Knife crime in the UK has overtaken the gun culture in America. Thank God the acid attacks which were more prevelant in previous years are in the wane after severe punishments were meted out to the culprits. Would similar harsh punishments for knife crime make any difference?

Imagine yourself being confronted by man weilding a knife and threatening to harm you. It must be a very frightening experience. People who are victims would probably live the rest of their lives on a knife edge, being jittery and afraid to go out any time of day or night. It has been suggested by some that increased jail sentences for the culprits may be an answer. But others argue that prison sentences on their own are not effective.

The person will come out of jail more hardened criminal and would be carrying a chip on his shoulder. But then how could we put a stop to this sometimes indiscriminate harming of people who may have caused no offence or harm to the perpetrators? The culprits and their victims need more support from their peers. However, the poor victims of knife crime would probably live the rest of their life on a knife edge.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Child poverty in the UK It is disheartening to see child poverty in UK still existing inspite of being the 5th richest country in the world. This situation is unjustifiable and needs to be urgently resolved for the sake of future generations. This issue is more important which needs to be addressed by the government now, than getting bogged down with the imbroglio of Brexit which is getting priority over other important national matters. Child poverty has been rising since 2011/12, much faster than expected based on population growth, it added. JRF chief executive Campbell Robb said: ‘We are seeing a rising tide of child poverty as more parents are unable to make ends meet, despite working. ‘This is unacceptable. It means more families are trapped in impossible situations, struggling to pay the bills, put food on the table and dealing with the terrible stresses poverty places on family life.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). A fifth of the population – more than 14millionpeople–are in poverty, according to its annual state of the nation report. Of those, it states more than half are working-age adults, 4.1million are children and 1.9million are pensioners. The social policy research charity said, in-work poverty has been rising faster than employment, especially among parents,. Child poverty has been rising since 2011/12, much faster than expected based on population growth. It is depriving parents to afford even a week’s holiday for their children. Also it affects their education, their health and quality of life adversely. It is time government took this matter seriously by bringing in the right policies so that every child can have the opportunity to do well in life and we have a stronger economy, healthier and fairer society.

Baldev Sharma Rayners Lane, Harrow

Drink industry and alcoholism For once, our MPs are united in demanding 5p levy on a bottle of wine to pay for the ever-increasing cost of treating health problems associated with excessive drinking that consumes a significant amount of NHS budget, many considering it as self-inflicted wounds! Increasing alcohol duty by 5% will raise some £500 million that could go a long way in treating this ever increasing menace that consumes so much time, energy and NHS budget, especially in A & E department that is so often inundated with binge drinkers, especially at weekends, that is detrimental for the health of general public, especially OAPs and chronically sick who are so often pushed back in the queue so as to treat these binge drinkers and drug users first, brought to A & E by ambulance!

But 5p levy will increase the cost of a pint of beer and a bottle of wine by some 15 to 30 pence. As alcoholic drinks, along with tobacco products are already heavily taxed, government may not risk the wrath of drinkers, to add to the Brexit problem the government is already facing. Alcohol awareness is gaining momentum fast among British public and some thirty organizations have created a special “Alcohol Awareness Charter” urging the government to take alcohol related health problem seriously before it becomes a chronic problem affecting family and public life.

How bright were my ideas?

I wonder if I can take credit for various ideas I put forward when I wrote a regular column called "Shop Talk" for ABPL Group’s former “Asian Business” fortnightly magazine for independent retailers? My column (an entire page, with photos I took) ran for 12 years, starting in the early 1980s and boosting my journalistic experience as a full-time reporter elsewhere.

For example, I urged greengrocers to bag up unsold fruits and vegetables before they deteriorated and sell them at £1 a bag. To my surprise and delight, I noticed many Asian greengrocers doing just. Were they adopting my idea or acting on their own initiative all those years ago?Another idea of mine was for newsagents to wrap up unsold magazines, whatever their cover price, and sell a batch of three at £1. This also happened. Another coincidence?

I also floated the idea in the 1980s that chemists could use their medical knowledge and expertise to deal with many people suffering from coughs, colds and other minor ailments, thus relieving pressure on GPs. This idea, after all these years, is now being considered by the NHS. Another coincidence?

Readers will recall my suggestion in Asian Voice several months ago that entrepreneurs who wanted to get rich quickly should consider starting a taxi service in Southampton to transport vast numbers of people between the city's rail and coach stations and the various cruise ship terminals there. I

aggressive attitude in the South China Sea has startled the Western World. It seems President Trump’s policy of “Make America great again” is used for curbing Chinese advance. Not only the USA has accused China for intellectual property theft and not playing by the trade rules but have also slammed tariffs on Chinese goods and threatened to inc rease them unless China agrees to change its trade policies.

The chasm between the two largest economies in the world has increased in recent days as Canada has arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver by the USA request. Huawei is one of the largest telecom equipment and service provider in the world. Their escalation of trade war may hurt all the countries in the world but will it stop Draga n’s aspiration to be a Super Power? It may delay that eventuality but will never be able to stop it.

Narsibhai Patel New Malden One good news is that some five pubs are closing their doors every week, as pints are becoming too expensive. But competition among supermarkets, especially at Christmas time to promote alcohol, some even selling these drinks below cost price, are encouraging home drinking which may be more harmful than pub drinking, as there is no time limit at home, especially for those who are alone, lonely and drink on their own.

The Cross Party Drugs and Alcohol Parliamentary Group, as well as other alcohol monitory groups urge the government to introduce minimum pricing policy for alcoholic drinks, in line with Scotland, so as to reduce the number of deaths in England directly associated with uncontrolled drinking, numbering just under six thousand in 2017.

In any case, this extra levy is not a novel approach; as such duties are already imposed on smokers, sugary foods, alcohol, petrol and diesel that raise billions. But on most part such duties, taxes are not spend as intended by the public but become part of general revenue that goes into bottomless pit, including unsustainable overseas aid budget of some £14 billion, as well as defence budget when one single aircraft carriers may cost more than a billion pound, our contribution to NATO to protect super-rich nations like Germany!

Kumudini Valambia By email noticed long queues in Southampton serviced by only a handful of taxis. Did any (or many) business-minded Asians decide to try their luck with my idea?

“So," I hear you say, "what other big ideas do you have now?” Well, when I see folk treading carefully up and down aircraft stairs, I remember how former US president George Bush nearly tripped up on one occasion. This led me to the idea that airlines could provide mobile escalator stairways to wheel up to tarmac-parked aircraft for increased passenger safety.

How to solve the housing shortage? Bricks-and-mortar houses take too long to build. Here's a crazy idea that might just work. I would suggest constructing giant mobile 3D printing-type machines to produce compact bungalows on vacant land, taking just minutes to create each one and producing hundreds of instant houses every day, complete with strategic gaps for linking up utility services.

Regarding police shortages, why not have street-based robot police controlled by remotely situated security staff monitoring CCTV screens and directing instant arrests by computer?

Finally, don't discard Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar after you have finished reading them. Pass the papers to relatives and friends. They will not only appreciate your kind gesture but enable both papers to inform and entertain even more people in the UK and abroad.

Rudy Otter By email

Deepening ties between Indian and Jewish community Since BJP came to power at the Center, especially under the premiership of patriotic Narendra Modi, the close relations between two progressive nations, India and Israel progressed by leaps and bounds for the mutual benefit of both nations.

Israel is a sophisticated, battle-hardened, well advance nation with a modern army capable of defending itself against any internal or external threats. That is how such a tiny State not only survives but prospers even though surrounded by hostile States bent upon destroying the Jewish nation.

These close relations between two nations have beneficial side effects between Indian and Jewish communities throughout western world, as both communities are highly educated, gainfully employed, extremely law-abiding and loyal citizens of their adopted motherland without divided loyalty!

Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) as well as our politicians, especially members of House of Lords of Indian origin, have played an important part in cementing these close ties. Our heart-felt thanks goes to Lord Dolar Popat, Lord Jitesh Gadhia, Lord Navnit Dholakia, late Lord Gulam Noon, Rami Ranger and a few more leading personalities who have taken leading part in uniting these two flourishing communities, many Jewish MPs, Lords and community connoisseurs are active members of Labour and Conservative Friends of India and vice versa, opening the corridor of power through unity, understanding and participating. This indeed sets an encouraging example of how two ethnic minorities, socially and religiously

polls apart, could successfully integrate, not only with the indigenous population but also among vast culturally diverse ethnic minorities.

In view of the recent anti-Jewish sentiments, prejudice among a tiny number of Labour party activists, as well as acts of vandalism against synagogues and Hindu temples and the rise of Right-Wing nationalism throughout Europe, makes it desirable, indeed obligatory to have such close ties for the mutual benefits of the two enterprising communities and hopefully drawing in other enlightened, enterprising minorities, like Daudi Bhoras, Ismalis, Sufis, Parcis and Christian Indians, few among many ethnic minorities who are capable of standing together for common good.

One noticeable absence is lack of cooperation between these two communities at grass-root level, neither community members interacting socially, culturally or religiously, although I have noticed presence of Jewish community members at our Hare Krishna temple in Watford. Our thanks also go to GS/AV and especially its editor Shri C. B. Patel who has been in the forefront in cementing friendship between our two communities, enlightening our community members about the achievements of Jewish community who take care of their own, with their own schools, sheltered, as well as nursing homes for the less prosperous members of the community.

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

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AsianVoiceNews

EDUCATION

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

11

15 - 21 December 2018

Oxbridge 'over-recruits Grandparents 'key Ethnic minority academics earn less from eight schools' to tackling youth than white colleagues

When Meenakshi Sarkar landed a job as a teaching fellow at Leeds University after a successful career in business in India, she was delighted. But the university put her on the lowest possible academic pay band, leaving her struggling financially. It became clear that colleagues were paid more for similar work, leaving her feeling "depressed and devalued".

"I feel like everyone else is running a 100m sprint and I'm running a steeplechase alongside them. It's not an equal race," she says. Ms Sarkar's frustration is not unusual, according to data obtained by BBC News under Freedom of Information law.

The BBC sent FOI requests to all 24 universities in the Russell Group of

highly selective, researchbased universities, and 22 responded.

At these universities, the data showed average salaries of: l £52,000 for white academics l £38,000 for black academics l £37,000 for academics from an Arab background This means that black and Arab academics at the UK's top universities earn an average 26% less than white colleagues. And female academics fare even worse, with an ethnicity pay gap on top of the gender pay gap. The pay gap is smaller for other Asian and mixedheritage academics.

The Russell Group said it was unable to comment on individual universities' recruitment practices.

Oxford and Cambridge are being accused of being so socially exclusive that they recruit more students from eight top schools than almost 3,000 other English state schools put together.

The Sutton Trust social mobility charity says the leading universities are failing to attract a wide enough range of talent.

Trust founder Sir Peter Lampl said all young people needed a "fair chance".

Oxford University said they were "very aware" that they "must work harder".

The study examined Oxford and Cambridge admissions data between 2015 and 2017 and found a handful of schools, mostly private, disproportionately dominating the number of places awarded.

The Sutton Trust says pupils from eight schools filled 1,310 Oxbridge places over three years, compared with 1,220 from 2,900 other schools.

These 2,900 schools were those with historically few admissions to Oxbridge - and accounted for about three-quarters of secondary schools. In the past three years, Oxford and Cambridge admitted a total of 19,851 undergraduates, with the remainder of places coming from other private

schools and top performing state schools and colleges.

The research also found that high-achieving independent school pupils were twice as likely as state school pupils to apply to Oxford and Cambridge, even with the same ability and predicted grades.

The report shows the imbalance in admissions: l 7% of all UK pupils attend private schools l 18% of those taking A-levels are at private school l 34% of Oxbridge applications are from private school l 42% of Oxbridge places go to private school pupils The study says there are some parts of the country where particularly few young state-educated people get places.

The study blames a lack of advice and guidance for applicants and calls for better information about what is required for entry and for admissions to take into account young people's backgrounds.

Oxford runs summer schools to encourage more disadvantaged students to apply - and the university says there are plans to attract more students from places where it had recruited few students in the past.

anxiety epidemic'

Grandparents should be brought back into children's lives to help tackle a surge in youth anxiety and mental ill health, says Dame Esther Rantzen. The Childline founder said children's wellbeing was being harmed by the "fragmentation of the family" and a lack of nearby supportive relatives. She said children should be given an automatic legal right to see their grandparents, as they are in France.

Many parents were too busy to meet children's emotional needs, she added. Dame Esther made the comments as children's charity NSPCC, which runs youth counselling service Childline, released figures showing the demand for support with anxiety had doubled over the past two years. It provided more than 21,200 sessions for young people trying to manage feelings of anxiety. Hollie Evans, now 21, said a call to Childline after a suicide attempt in hospital effectively saved her life. It had allowed her to speak to people again, open up and seek the therapy she needed to get better, she said. The telephone helpline service originally

focused on offering support to children fearing for their safety but is now taking up a bigger role in helping a growing number of children with mental health issues.

Dame Esther said: "When I was a kid, I had extended family around me.

The things that I couldn't talk about with my parents, I could speak to my extended family about. We had family meals together there was a social context in which maybe somebody would notice that you weren't feeling tremendously happy.” Dame Esther highlighted how grandparents of children caught up in battles over family separations in the UK often had to go to court to regain access to their grandchildren. In countries such as France, grandparents had an automatic right to their see grandchildren, she said, adding that should be adopted in the UK. Dame Esther said with high profile people, including the the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, talking about such problems, young people had been given permission to open up about their anxiety.

12 MEDIA WATCH

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15 - 21 December 2018

SCRUTATOR’S As the language of India’s political discourse continues to grow shriller by the day, descending at times perilously close to the gutter, a number India’s elder statesmen, noted for their decorum and courtesy, have been expressing alarm. They caution that this absent of restraint weakens the strength and vitality of Indian democracy. The latest voice to appeal for a change of behavior was former President Pranab Mukherjee, who had the longest career in the country’s public life.

President Pranab Mukherjee He joined Indira Gandhi’s cabinet way back in 1967, steadily rising to occupy the principal posts of Home Minister, Finance Minister, Defence Minister and Minister of External Affairs, ending finally as India’s President. As a member of parliament, he was a forceful speaker, yet unfailingly courteous and approachable to fellow parliamentarians from every side of the House. He earned their respect and affection.

Speaking at a public function in the capital, he invoked Edward Bulwer Lytton, who said that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword.’

Mr Mukherjee’s own sentiments were commendable: ‘Use the power of your words in these increasingly fractured, fragmented times, when we spend a lot of time talking at each other instead of talking to each other.’

Listen and digest, ye men of little faith (Times of India December 2).

UP barbarism Barbarism is rarely far from the surface in India’s widely accepted badlands, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. It takes little to ignite the mobs in these combustible parts. A police inspector and a youth were

firms such as Pay/TM, Ola or Flipkart while choosing startups that need to be supported,’ she asked (Business Line December 4).

India, US air drill Navy boost The Indian Navy which currently has a fleet of 140 warships and 220 aircraft, is set to induct another 32 warships now under construction in domestic shipyards. Its pln is for a force of 212 warships and 458 aircraft, and to this end, the Cabinet Committee on Defence is preparing to sanction a further 56 ships and six submarines by 2027.

Chief of the Navy Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, speaking on Navy Day, said: ‘We have overwhelming superiority over Pakistan in all domains at sea.’ China was the greater challenge with it superiority in the South China Sea,

Manufacturing in November high

The Indian and US Air Forces commenced a 12-day air exercise at Kalaikunda and Panagarh air bases in West Bengal with the aim to enhance operational cooperation.

The US has sent a fleet of F15C/D C-130 transporters, while India is fielding its frontline Sukhoi 30MK. Mirage 2000, C-130J and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control) (Hindu December 3).

India, US to sort out sanctions waiver Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was accorded honour as she arrived at the Pentagon for talks with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, who told reporters that

the month will be his first call abroad, and we will hope to finalise Indian assistance for the 12 th Five Year Plan,’ and look forward ‘to Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Bhutan.’ (Hindu December 4).

Sikkim’s Namchi top Smart city in NE South Sikkim’s Namcchi was declared the performing smart city in North-East India by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Namchi with three Buddhist monasteries, Siddheshwar Chardham, Sikkim’s largest tea estate and a soccer stadium , edged out nine cities, including Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal and Gangtok. The goal is to make Namchi a world-class tourist destination -(Times of India December 5).

The manufacturing sector in November rose it its fastest rate in past year, reinforcing the belief of a recovery from the impact of demonetization. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose for the third consecutive month, buoyed by stronger demand and increased sales in a whole range of commodities (Times of India December 4).

Mega deal in healthcare Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) announced a merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd The deal values the total business at Rs 31,700 crore.

The deal will help HUL strengthen its food and refreshment business.

‘The acquisition is in line with HUL’s acquiring a profitable business with a strong portfolio of brands in the domestic market.

The potential is a win-win situation for both the parties,’ said Kaustubh Pawaskar of BNP Paribas (Business Line December 4).

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba

but India’s force deployment across the Indian Ocean was capable of meeting any threat from that quarter. India’s naval expansion in the last decade has been pretty significant, with numbers and technologies that place it among five foremost navies in the world.

Bengal shipyards set for revival More naval orders are to be placed with the Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata and will result in the resurgence of other shipyards in West Bengal. GRSE presently has an order book Rs 20,000 crore and has started work on the first of three advanced stealth frigates that it contracted to build in West Bengal (Times of India December 4).

DRDO seeks military officers in staff

Mobs set ablaze UP Bulendshahbr police outpost

killed, cars and lorries were set alight as a mob ran amuck at rumours of a cow carcass in the State’s Bulandshahr district. The UP State government reacted promptly, dispatching police reinforcements and arrested four men and held five others for questioning. However, the leader of the mob, a member of the notorious Bajrang Dal is absconding (Hindu, Times of India, December4, 5).

to 12,347 last year, said WIPO in a report released recently in Geneva (Hindu December 5).

Deadweight on IT sector The IT ecosystem was being held back by bureaucrats, said Asha Jadeja Motwani, an angel investor from the US Silicon Valley. Their tedious file-pushing was a brake on the ‘brilliant talent that exists in India. ‘Why should babus who have never done a startup in their lives be in charge of of IT? Why can’t they enlist the help of those who have demonstrated their ability by founding successful

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has invited applications from serving officers from the three services already on its staff for permanent absorption as civilian members. Those eligible will have to be 50 years or less and will be judged on their research experience (Hindu December 3).

Patents rise 50 per cent The number of patents registered

by India shot up by 50 per cent in 2017, sustaining a trend of steep increases, according to the UN’s Intellectual Property Organization.

(WIPO). The patents granted by India increased from 8,248 in 2016

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laying a wreath at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia

differences would be sorted out in due course. Mattis said: ‘India has spent many many years in its non aligned status. Its drawn a lot of weapons from Russia. We have a growing strategic confluence of interests with our country and theirs…and we’ll sort out all those issues …in the days ahead.’ (Hindu, Times of India December 5).

India, Russia in $1bn helicopter deal Indo-Russian Helicopters Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics and Russian Helicopters is looking to start negotiations on the financial aspects of the deal for 200 Ka-2261 helicopters with the Indian Defence Ministry this month.

According to Andrey Boginsky, Russian CEO, Russian Helicopters has a ‘clear cut plan. of which components to be localized in India and partners will work with us in the country. (Business Line December 5).

India cornerstone of Bhutan’s policy

Indian American Women excel Four American women of Indian extraction have been named by Forbes among America’s 50 leading women technology entrepreneurs.

They are: IBM CEO Ginni Rmetty, Neflex Executive Anne Aron, Padmasree Warrior, former Chief ZTechnology Officer, Cisco, Komal Mangani, Senior Director Uber, Naha Narkhende, Chief Technology Officer, Confluence and Sivaramakrishnan, CEO Identity Management Company (Business L:ine December 6).

Michel extradited Christian Michel, a British middle man, wanted by the Indian authorities for his alleged role in the Augusta Westland helicopter deal,was extradite to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and was refused bail and remanded in custody for five days by a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi last week (Mint, Hindu, Times of India December 6).

GSAT-11 in orbit

Bhutan new Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji, speaking over the telephone reiterated that Indian was the cornerstone of Bhutan’s foreign policy; that this had the firm support of parties in Bhutan.

‘We will continue to build on that policy, with India as the cornerstone of our foreign policy,’ he said in a conversation with an Indian reporter. Prime Minister Lotay Tsering has said he would like to take the India-Bhutan friendship to greater heights. His visit to India towards the end of

India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-11 was successfully launched into orbit by an Arianespace rocket from French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.

Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization, K. Sivan, said: ‘The satellite has 38 spot beams as well as eight sub-beams, which can cover the entire country.

It is going to provide something like 16 GBPS data link services to the country.’ (Business Line December 6).

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Alpesh Patel

Hindu-Shaming I keep seeing messages on social media telling me I should be ashamed as a Hindu. Well, okay, the messages are not directed at me personally, but they all keep saying ‘Shame on Hindus’. Oh and these are not messages from Islamic fundamentalists or Christian missionaries. They are from other Hindus. Hindu shaming is a real thing.

These messages fall into several key clusters: First, the ones who blame me for not being more like Christians and Muslims. They keep arguing to every wrong they perceive that ‘they would treat us with more respect if we were like other faiths’. This is curious. They are am sure proud Hindus, who want self-evidently, not to be.

Second, there are the ones blaming me for the fall of temples, and not being more aggressive, (or presumably a time-traveller).

Thirdly, there are those who shame us because a Bollywood actress married a none Hindu.

Okay people. Some tips. First, calm down. The faith has been here 5000 years and survived 500 years of Islamic conquest. Second, if you want Hindus to be more part of the faith, maybe tone down the self-superior extremist tone. It doesn’t put me off of course. I love it. But, others tell me that you guys really put them off Hinduism – the exact opposite of what you want.

Third, telling others what they should do on social media makes me wonder, with all your social media and organisation skills why you are not out in the field, saving girls from sex slavery in Mumbai so those evil Christians trying to convert them by saving them, feeding them, caring for them can’t do it instead.

Don’t get me wrong, I have the blasted secular liberals on the other side, like the one I met at a dinner who sneered at my liking Modi, as that told him all he needed to know then proceeded to ask me if I was brahmin. Then looked down on me for being a Patel, self evidently with no right to profess the faith as not being in the right caste apparently ie not brahmin. He was sure I would be wearing rudraksha– yes indeed I do. It’s not enough for the soul to ‘just be a good person’ whatever the hell that means. Traditions matter and so does faith.

There is enough hate and anger in the world. Calm down everyone.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

15 - 21 December 2018

UK

13

Priti Patel faces criticism over comments on no-deal Brexit in Ireland A Tory MP's suggestion that the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit on the Republic of Ireland could encourage the EU to drop the backstop has been widely criticised. However, Priti Patel said her comments "have been taken out of context". A government report, leaked to the Times, indicated that there could be food shortages in Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

It said the economic impact on Ireland would be worse than in the UK. The report indicated that there would be a 7% drop in GDP for Ireland.

The equivalent UK drop would be 5%.

Speaking to The Times,

Conservative MP Priti Patel said such warnings should have been used in negotiations as leverage against the Republic of Ireland to encourage them to drop the backstop.

"This paper appears to show the government were well aware Ireland will face significant issues in a nodeal scenario. Why hasn't this point been pressed home during negotiations?

"There is still time to go back to Brussels and get a better deal."

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the Tanáiste (Ireland's deputy prime minister) Simon Coveney said Ms Patel's comments were "ridiculous".

Her words were interpreted by some as insensitive given Ireland's history.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long tweeted: "This kind of comment from MPs like Priti Patel demonstrate not only profound ignorance of and insensitivity about our history but also reckless indifference to the impact on relations today."

Elsewhere on Twitter, SDLP MLA Claire Hanna delivered a sharp rebuke to Ms Patel's comments.

"The warped and spectacularly ignorant mind of Brexit, alongside the evil approach to Ireland is the failure to grasp that this is about the most food secure island in the world," the

Priti Patel

South Belfast MLA wrote.

Former Sinn Féin Irish presidential candidate Liadh Ní Riada MEP accused Ms Patel of using the "threat of food shortages in Ireland" to force a change in Ireland's policy on the backstop which she said was "despicable".

Priti Patel resigned as UK international development secretary in November last year amid controversy over her unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials.

Indian scientist explores way to grow crops in arsenic contaminated soil An Indian scientist in the UK is working on a way to grow crops in arsenic contaminated soil, a study which is likely to have wide ranging impact for farmers in north-eastern India.

Dr Mohan TC, from Dr Alex Jones Laboratory at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick, conducted a pilot study in transgenic Barley and is now looking at doing it in rice plants following funding

Dr Mohan TC

from the Medical and Life Sciences Research Fund (MLSRF), UK. The university made the announcement on Wednesday, to mark World Soil Day on December 5. Warwick University said that arsenic in soil is a worldwide problem. The chemical is carcinogenic and is naturally found in water supplies and soil, particularly in parts of North-east India and Bangladesh. Scientists at the

University of Warwick wanted to make plants with more phytochelatins in the roots, to stop any of the arsenic escaping and travelling up the shoot to the edible part of the plant.

The university said this is being done by making transgenic plants with reduced cytokinin hormone in the roots, which means phytochelatin is boosted and can detoxify and hold more arsenic in the root.

Terror suspect ‘sketched posters of 9/11 and police being shot’ in prison Jail for teen driver ‘who fell asleep at the wheel’ and killed pensioner Rahul Pandey, an 18-yearold teenage waiter who said he had “fallen asleep” at the wheel when he killed a pensioner and seriously injured her husband in a head-on crash has been jailed for five years.

He smashed into Angila Conington’s car as she drove her parents Shirley and David to the airport for a holiday to Spain. Shirley

died instantly in the crash on the A233 near Biggin Hill, while husband David, 76, suffered serious injuries including a fractured pelvis.

The court heard Pandey was convicted as a 15-yearold of joyriding when he stole and crashed his father’s car. But he gained his driving licence aged 17, just seven weeks before the fatal crash.

Quarter of adults think marital sex without consent is not rape A survey commissioned by the End Violence Against Women Coalition found that a third of people in the UK think it isn’t usually rape if a woman is pressured into having sex but there is no physical violence.

The survey with a sample size of approximately 4000 people carried out by YouGov. Laws against rape in marriage have been in place since 1991. The report revealed a stark genera-

tional gap in attitudes – with more than a third of over-65s believing that in most cases sex without consent with your wife or partner was not rape, compared with just 16% of 16- to 24year-olds. The results come at a time when Jeremy Corbyn had warned that the country was facing a “rape crisis”, and as MPs welcomed a survivor of Rotherham's child exploitation scandal to the Commons.

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury

A terror suspect accused of attacking police officers outside Buckingham Palace with a samurai sword drew ‘posters’ in prison of an officer being shot by a man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’, a jury heard.

Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 27, also sketched a picture of a plane hitting the Twin Towers,

and then pinned them up on his cell wall when he was remanded in custody.

The Uber driver accepts he drove his car to the palace then brandished a samurai sword on August 25, 2017, but told the Old Bailey he was trying to trigger a ‘death by cop suicide’ – not a terror attack.

He had also brought a knife sharpener from Sainsbury’s to the scene with him. An imitation gun was also found at his flat which prosecutors say could have been used to fool cops instead of the ‘deadly’ sword.

A search of his prison cell was then carried after the discovery, which revealed a piece of paper headed ‘TAGHUT’, a term for worship other than of

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Allah. Chowdhury was born in London in May 1991 and later moved to Luton, working as a self-employed Uber driver.

He left a ‘suicide note’ on his sister’s laptop on the night, which said: ‘Tell everyone I love them and that they should struggle against the enemies of Allah with their lives and their property. ‘The Queen and her soldiers will all be in hellfire.

‘They go to war with Muslims around the world and kill them without any mercy. They are the ene-

mies Allah tells us to fight.’

Jurors heard Chowdhury’s mother had suffered from bipolar throughout their childhood, with her disorder having an impact on the family.

The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, told jurors that the case may engage their emotions but a ‘reasoned and calm mindset’ was needed to try Chowdhury. Chowdhury, of Luton, denies one count of preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

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Earl and Countess of Wessex visit Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Southall

125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's Chicago address celebrated Maya Jaishankar

The Earl and Countess of Wessex visited the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Southall on Sunday to celebrate their licensing to offer The Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The Earl and Countess met people taking part in the DofE awards at the Gurdwara, found out more about their activities. They also watched martial art presentations, visited the Prayer hall (Darbar Sahib) and the Royal Highness helped prepare lunch in the kitchen. The Countess wore a blue dress and covered her head with a blue sequined scarf.

The Sri Guru Singh Sabha is believed to be the largest Sikh institute outside of India and is the first Sikh body registered for The Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

OFBJP UK held its Karyakarta Training Day in London Overseas Friends of BJP (UK) held its Karyakarta training day in Indian Gymkhana Osterley, London on Sunday, 2nd December 2018. It was attended by approximately 200 members from different towns of UK including London, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool and Edinburgh as well as 50 women members. Vijay Chauthaiwale, in-charge of foreign affairs cell of BJP specially flew from India to attend it.

This was the first such event in a series of programmes planned to galvanise the Indian diaspora in UK, to support the 2019 election campaign of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. OFBJP UK has devised a new strategy to

Vijay Chauthaiwale, in-charge of foreign affairs cell of BJP specially flew in from India to attend the event

connect the maximum number of diaspora to BJP. It has grouped its members based on the state of their origin in India, which has proved very successful. 20 such state groups were represented in the daylong programme. It also has plans to

take it to districts and parliamentary constituency level.

Along with Mr Chauthaiwale, Manoj Ladwa, one of the leading members of the Modi’s campaign team from UK; and Dr Anand Arya, vice president of OFBJP UK guided the participants on the background and history of OFBJP UK, the methodology and strategy of supporting Modi’s 2019 election campaign. It was decided to project the achievements of Modi government of last 4.5 years using social media and connect to the voters of their area of origin in India.

There was great enthusiasm amongst the participants who suggested noble methods to support the 2019 election campaign.

Yog Foundation wins faith in the community awards Yog Foundation was nominated for 4 categories at the inaugural Bexley Faith in the Community 2018 Awards held at Bexley Civic Centre on 15th November.

As the only Hindu group in the area of Bexley, Yog Foundation has been making waves and achieving recognition for the unique work it does for the community. Awards presented to their CEO Chetan Halai by James Brokenshire MP. Bhaven Pathak received Outstanding Individual award. Yog

Foundation was also given special recognition in the categories of Outstanding Team, Healthy Communities and Cohesive Communities. There was an unprecedented number of nominations for these awards with over 20 faith groups represented and attended by 200 people. Yog Foundation is a community group serving the Indian & Hindu community in the Kent area to promote and maintain tradition, culture, faith and values - all in the spirit of "seva".

The 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s historic Chicago address was celebrated at the Terrace Pavilion in the House of Commons in London on 15th November this year.

The legendary speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the first Parliament of World Religions in 1893 is not only a landmark in the history of the Ramakrishna Mission and Modern Vedanta, but also marks the introduction of Indian philosophies, yoga and Hinduism in the West.

During the course of this Parliament (11th - 27th September), he spoke to his audience about the commonality that intrinsically connects people all around the world – peace, harmony and tolerance are the tenets that we should live by.

Following his address, Swami Vivekananda garnered much love and appreciation from his audiences as well as the American press who dubbed him the “cyclonic monk from India”.

He further toured around the United States and later the United Kingdom and Germany, giving lectures at several universities around these countries.

His legacy is honoured by the followers and wellwishers of the Ramakrishna Mission all over the world, and this year, the 125th anniversary of his address was conducted by Baroness Sandip Verma and the Vivekananda Human Centre. The Guest of Honour for the evening was Revered Swami Sarvasthananda, the president of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, UK, and the key-note speaker was Revered Swami Bodhasarananda, the Assistant General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission from the Belur Math in India. In attendance were various councillors and mayors of London bor-

Week. They spoke of Swami Vivekananda’s critique of fanaticism and extremism, his astute observations about the danger in communalism and his advocacy of open and healthy inter-religious dialogue.

Baroness Sandip Verma addressed the audience and elucidated upon the idea of ‘tolerance’ and why we only tolerate others instead of accepting them, to revel in the strength of diversity Swami Vivekananda and inclusion. She extended her gratitude oughs, ardent followers of to the mayors and deputy the Swami’s teachings, as mayors of the London well as a collection of people Boroughs who were present for whom the socio-cultural at the event, for it showed influence of the teachings the unity in diversity that were particularly resonant existed in the country even with the current state of the in the wake of the chaotic world today. events spurred on by Brexit.

The programme began She emphasized the imporwith a candle lighting and a tance of channelling the universal prayer that was led teachings of Swamiji in such

by Reverend G. Nagese, a world fraught with such Nipoonzan Myohoji of the political tension.

London Peace Pagoda. After When asked why he the welcome address, a thought it was important select number of passages that we still celebrate the from the Chicago address Chicago Address today, were read by Sagar Jain, Uday Shankar Das, the comSuhita Saha and Anushka pere for the evening said, “If Das. Following this, letters you read Swamiji’s address”, from important socio-politihe responded, “you will see cal figures such as Her how he predicted how Majesty the Queen, the things could become, even Prime Minister and the in the 21st century. If you Mayor of London were read think about it, the world aloud to the audience, that we live in now, one that telling them the impact and is besotted with hate and importance of this day in conflict, his message resthe lives of the citizens of onates now more than ever.” the UK. He also added that, “In the The message that was present, 9/11 to us is synonyreiterated throughout the mous with what happened evening was the call for tolwith the Twin Towers, but erance amongst members of in history, 9/11 should be a diverse community. remembered for that fantasCouncillors Debbie Kaurtic, iconic speech that Thiara (Mayor, Redbridge), Swamiji gave in Chicago.”

Jenny Headlam-Wells The cultural perfor(Mayor, Borough of mances during the night Camden), Sirajul Islam included musical renditions (Deputy Mayor, Tower from Maya Ames and Shona Hamlets), Nitin Parekh Ames, Sarita Saha, Gouri (Deputy Mayor, Harrow) Choudhury and the stuand Sohan Sumra (Deputy Mayor, Harrow) all spoke of dents of Forest School who the significance of the celewere conducted by Ronan bration during Inter-Faith MacManus.

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15 - 21 December 2018

Music

Hindi Medium bags Arin Johri a role in Mowgli Priyanka Mehta “Jungle Jungle pata chala hai...” Arin Johri is the voiceover artist in the new Netflix release Mowgli. Arin is a shy looking boy from Canons High School who was right from his childhood was always interested in acting and involved in school plays and drama. But how did he manage to snag a small but significant voice in Mowgli where he mimes the growls of Wolves, Monkeys and Mowgli's other friends?

“They were looking for someone who was fluent in Hindi and at the same time sounded Indian?” Arin said, explaining how he was able to secure the role because of his “Hindi speaking ability.”

His everyday car journey to school and back home means listening to Bollywood music over the radio and his proficiency in

Arin Johri

Hindi comes from the atmosphere back at Home.

“It is important for kids to know their own native language and this way it opens up diverse avenues for them and gives them an advantage over the rest.” said Arin's father who ensures that all conversa-

tion back home is in Hindi.

Arin was at Goldbeaters Primary School and the school encouraged him to be a part of a casting agency ID Kids Talent after the agent heard him audition at one of the plays.

Interestingly enough the school was kind enough to pay for his Casting agency fees based on his talent. Ever since Arin's career has traversed through the drama and film industry both behind and in front of the camera. From being a voice-over artist for one of BBC's 'Good Kerma Hospital' episodes to portraying the child who lost his mother in a fatal accident in 'O Maa', Arin loves experimenting and exploring his talent.

“I prefer being in front

of the camera because I just have to be me and I am not worried because I know that I will have the production staff assisting me! And it is fun experimenting in front of the camera!”

But how difficult is it for the 13 year old boy to find that balance between managing his studies and pursuing his passion for movies and drama. And more importantly, what role does the family play in supporting the kid in establishing an acting career in future?

“My dad has always encouraged me to follow my passion and dreams. But at the same time he ensures that I don't take my studies for granted as it is also for very important for survival.”

The young chap who plays guitar is optimistic of his future prospects but until then he revels in the success of Mowgli.

Carers UK produce Gujarati guidebook for caring with BAPS partnership Carers UK have launched their popular ‘Looking after someone’ guide in Gujarati.

It is a product of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s ongoing partnership with Carers UK which began during the annual challenge in April 2018, where more than 3,000 enthusiastic participants from across the UK joined together to raise funds for various good causes.

The publication will enable Gujarati carers to draw upon support, ensuring that they can in turn provide the best level of care to those they are supporting in their respective communities.

‘Looking after someone’ is a tool for anyone caring for family or friends. It outlines the rights of carers and provides an overview of the practical and financial sup-

Hannah Hockin, Corporate and Events Fundraiser at Carers UK, presenting the guide to Kashmira Popatia, a wheelchair- and oxygenbound volunteer at BAPS who is herself supported by a full-time carer had worked closely with Carers UK to create the Gujarati guide

port available to them.

Kashmira Popatia, a wheelchair- and oxygenbound volunteer at BAPS who is herself supported by a full-time carer had worked closely with Carers UK to create the Gujarati guide.

Hannah Hockin, Corporate and Events Fundraiser at

Carers UK, presented the guide to Mrs Popatia during the Hindu New Year festivities at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London, on Thursday 8 November 2018.

The unveiling of this new guide follows the cheque presentation made

to Carers UK in September for the funds raised during the Annual Challenge.

Professor David Grayson CBE, Chair of Carers UK, also thanked BAPS for its support in a letter that was sent on 29 September 2018.

Mrs Popatia said, “It is very encouraging to see the tangible outputs from the annual charity Challenge.

This booklet has made the life of carers in the Gujarati community much better and I hope that it will improve the lives of those in the community who are struggling to find access to appropriate resources.”

Carers UK is the country’s only national membership charity for carers. It aims to make life better for the 6.5 million people in the UK who are supporting a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill.

Plant-based concept from Michelin-trained chef Bindu Patel, who spent spells in the kitchens of Michelin-starred and Gymkhana and Trishna restaurants and staged at Le Gavroche in London, is to open her own restaurant, Sanctua, in Leicester in January.

The 40-seater venue, is located on the site of the former Geeta’s Krupa on London Road in the Oadby district of Leicester, Sanctua will offer a completely plant-based eclectic menu, employing mostly fresh, local and seasonal ingredients.

Changing regularly, the use of ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables, organic where possi-

Bindu Patel

ble, helps reduced foo waste.

Located in one of Britain’s most multiculturally rich environments, specialised ingredients will be sourced from reputed ethical suppliers. Besides the restaurant's

signature dishes, there will also be a Platter of the Week, featuring a selection of Eastern, Indian, Mexican or Italian dishes.

Although the cooking draws its inspiration from the best of several cuisines from across the globe, it embraces Ayurvedic principles from the earliest Brahman traditions of Hinduism. Ayurvedic cooking, where food is viewed as medicine. It Is not just about balancing foods’ tastes and textures – it is about knowing which food combinations can cause indigestion and bloating – because different foods digest at differing rates. Overcooking

through deep-frying and burning is believed to not only kills its ‘spirit’, but also the taste.

Bindu, who samples new dishes on her meat-loving friends before adding them to the menu, said, “I want people to eat my food because they really enjoy it.

We’re not here to preach about lifestyles and animal welfare. Whether customers, are fully vegan, ‘demi veg’, flexitarian, pescatarian or cutting back on meat consumption for sentimental, environmental, or health reasons, isn’t the issue - I want people to eat here because the really love the cooking.”

NAUGHTY BOY RELEASES TRACK WITH RAHAT FATEH ALI KHAN Superstar producer, songwriter and artist Naughty Boy has released the beautiful track “Bungee Jumping”.

The track sees Naughty Boy teaming up with his long-time collaborator, multi-platinum selling artist Emeli Sandé and Pakistani musical icon, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

The song precedes Naughty Boy’s new album, set for release in autumn 2019.

A wistful and soft track, the production interpolates Pakistani soundscapes and influences, with warm, watery textures, creating a haunting song that hums with emotion perfect for this time of year. Naughty Boy has always been a fan of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s music. As the first Pakistani musician to perform at the Nobel Prize concert in 2014, Rahat has won numerous awards, including Best International Act at the 2012 UK Asian Music Awards. The former Watford pizza boy turned chart-topping songwriter and music producer received the Editor’s Award for Rising Star at the Asian Achievers Awards in 2014.

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Indian Professional Forum discusses methods RBI v/s Modi Government: 3 years & 3 governors to enhance Technology Entrepreneurship Priyanka Mehta

Over 50 delegates from academia, industry, finance, media and entrepreneurs including large IT companies like Infosys and TATA Consulting Services gathered at the House of Lords to explore ways to enhance the contribution of Indian ventures and technology entrepreneurs in the UK. The meeting was chaired by Lord Bilimoria and organised by the Indian Professionals Forum (IPF.) The main objective of the gathering was to address a number of issues to assist in galvanising the entrepreneurial spirit among the UK’s Indian professional community and ultimately implement a framework to direct specific collaboration, investments and community engagement. It included discussions on topics such as, how can we make UK as attractive for Technology entrepreneurs as Silicon Valley whilst rising to the challenges of fast rising tech-

nology hubs such as Stockholm and Tel Aviv, how can we evolve an innovative ecosystem to foster the growth of Technology Entrepreneurs in general and Indian entrepreneurs in particular, how do we collaborate with existing support mechanisms like Intra-government support, Bank Financing, Investors,

Business Support etc and how can we can we enhance UK India-Technology corridor involving both UK, Indian and global companies?

IPF had also circulated a white paper on Enhancing T e c h n o l o g y Entrepreneurship prepared by one of its members Subhash Jogia, an accom-

plished Technology leader in Investment banking formerly with Morgan Stanley and UK cabinet office. The paper highlights the key aspects essential for an ecosystem to support start-ups and scale ups to flourish over a long period of time.

The main points of debate included: Technology Revolution, UK ecosystem

for influencing change, Basic indicator of the health of the Ecosystem, Issues of capital and UK –India Corridor Greeting the delegates to the meeting of the Indian Professionals Forum, President Dr Mohan Kaul said that as well as representing the work of the Indian diaspora in the UK, the impending Brexit had

strengthened the need for the creation of the IPF. He said: “Brexit or no Brexit, the UK and India will remain as strong partners, with the UK continuing to be the first choice of location for a lot of Indian business.

London will remain a strong financial centre for raising finances for Indian businesses and infrastructure.

“Our focus has been on advanced technology companies and particularly startups in the UK and India as we look to strengthen the UKIndia technology corridor for UK companies to scale up in India and for Indian companies to innovate in the UK. We are focusing on strengthening the technology parks in the UK to match Silicon Valley in the US. As you are aware, 20% of the technology start-ups in Silicon Valley are

by Indian diaspora while the number of such companies in the UK is very small and we are looking at ways to increase this.”

Mallya to be extradited Continued from page 1

The 62-year-old, businessman who has built India’s biggest alcoholic drinks business, claims he is the victim of a high-profile “witchhunt” and a politically charged movement led by Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister. However, Judge Arbuthnot said"There was a failure to ensure that the guarantees were formally taken when they should have been and a failure to investigate the representations that KFA made at various stages to obtain the loans.”

Home Office receives Mallya’s verdict The UK Home Office said it has received the Westminster Magistrates' Court verdict for Mallya's extradition to India.

“If after considering the case the Home Secretary thinks extradition should go ahead, he has to order the extradition within two months of the date the matter was referred to him. Whatever that decision, the losing side has up to 14 days within which to approach the appeal – if granted – will be heard at the High Court,” said the Press Officer at CPS. Mr. Mallya is a flamboyant celebrity businessman in India, where he is considered symbolic of Indian businessmen who lead luxurious lifestyles even as their companies fail to repay billions of dollars in debts to the stricken banking system. The allegations against Mr. Mallya vary from the diversion of funds from bank loans, including from state-owned IDBI Bank.

Kingfisher Airlines, where Mr. Mallya was chairman and chief executive, became defunct in 2012 leaving about $1.1bn in unpaid debts to banks that were mostly state-owned.

Sajid Javid

Mr. Mallya has repeatedly insisted that the airline’s demise was a legitimate business failure triggered by unfavourable Indian aviation industry policies and unprecedented high oil prices, almost $112 per barrel at the time. The Indian government alleges that Mr. Mallya’s handling of his airline went beyond bad management into criminal wrongdoing including fraud, fund diversion, and other misdeeds. It claims that Mr. Mallya was the central figure in a “dishonest plot” to obtain large loans from IDBI for Kingfisher Airlines in 2009.

Willing to repay 100% borrowing Earlier before the judgment Mr. Mallya had tweeted saying he was willing to repay 100% of the principal amount that he had borrowed from all creditors, including the consortium of banks led by the SBI, and paying the salary of his ex-employees. Mr. Mallya went on to even say how it was not a bogus offer.

Is it not the duty of the banks to consider the various “substantive” offers and accept them? To that, Rajnish Kumar the chairman of SBI

in an interview to Mint said that the bank has not received any formal offer from Mallya for settlement of loans “as of date”.

However, even if the banks and Mr. Mallya reach some sort of a negotiation wherein the banks are able to recover their money, Mr. Mallya faces criminal charges of siphoning off money under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that is being investigated by the CBI. The defense at Magistrates Court had argued that the CBI is a “caged parrot” and follows it's minister's words. But the Court observed that CBI special director Rakesh Asthana had not acted "corruptly".

“It sets things in motion, he has got charges like siphoning & diverting funds. It is not just a case of repayment of money it also involves a lot of criminal deeds. He should face the music,” said Neetu Sukla, former Kingfisher employee on UK court ordering Vijay Mallya’s extradition.

In her ruling, Judge Arbuthnot said the allegations were that Mr Mallya and other Kingfisher executives conspired with figures at IDBI Bank to sanction and disburse loans they had no intention of repaying.

Addressing IDBI's failures she that there had been a “catalogue of failures of the bank at different levels” and that if proper background checks had been carried out then the loans to Kingfisher would not have been granted. These failures, she said in the ruling, were either deliberate or “it is a case of a bank who was in the thrall of this glamorous...billionaire playboy who charmed and cajoled these bankers into losing their common sense and persuading them to put their own rules and regulations to one side”.

Despite Monday’s decision, Mr. Mallya is unlikely to be extradited from London for some time and may seek to overturn the decision to the High Court. After coming out from Monday’s hearing, in his address to the media, he said“She [Judge] told me about my right to appeal. It's unfortunate that the Judge has found a prima facie case that I had misrepresentations to the IDBI bank only and persuaded them to loan money to Kingfisher airlines.

“Be that as it may, the judge was entitled to make whatever judgment she thought fit. I have my rights. You heard the judge. My legal team will consider various options and then I will decide going forward."

His lawyers had argued that his extradition to India should be blocked as “no credible evidence” was put forward and said that Kingfisher had given “full, complete and accurate information” to IDBI before the loans were made. For the judge to make her decision, it was not necessary to establish whether

PCA framework and regulations Currently, the banks are regulated under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)

IAS Officer and new RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

which was introduced by the RBI in 2002, and reviewed in 2017 following stressed assets and bad loan crisis in India. In other words, PCA is a quick corrective measure taken in case a bank is found to be having low Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) or high NPAs. RBI initiates PCA when CAR goes below 9% or NPA rises above 10%.

“The PCA framework is not at all good for us,” said a banker who did not want to be named.

“While we cannot lend money to our borrowers, the NPAs stand as they are. When we cannot generate money from the revenues from sanctioning these loans then how can we convert our losses into profits?” he asked.

One of the biggest points of difference between the RBI and the Modi government is

the issue of imposition of PCA. Modi government is trying to “meddle” into the working of the RBI wherein it wants for the PCA norms to be relaxed so that lending to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSEMs) can be allowed. This addresses the issue of credit crunch in the economy and simultaneously providing financial aid to uplift these small sectors.

Politics of double-edged sword Many in the country, however, see the government's strategy as a political move that comes just before elections with the intention of gaining votes from these sectors at a time when unemployment is rave in the country and growth has suffered flowing the double blow from a hastily implemented GST and demonetisation.

“The BJP came to power stating that the RBI is not doing enough to clean-up the banks and bad loan crisis. Now when the RBI has taken this initiative there is no reason for the government or the finance ministry to interfere into the working of the institution,” said another banker who wished to stay anonymous.

“The PCA is a doubleedged sword!” he explained saying how for “financial aid, the bank has to have enough capital to be able to sanction these loans and earn revenue from them. You can't dip into the red and then expect the RBI to pull them out using its capital reserves.”

Under PCA, banks are mandated to cut lending to corporates and focus on reducing concentration of loans to certain sectors. They are also restricted from opening new branches and paying dividends. Currently, 11 public sector banks and one private sector bank are operating under PCA. But the PCA framework is applicable only to commercial banks and not extended to co-operative banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and FMIs. At a 10-hour-long board meeting last month, under heavy pressure from government nominees, Mr Patel made a number of concessions including promising to review

Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel

restrictions on fresh lending by banks that already have high levels of bad debt. Banks are also supposed to comply with the internationally agreed Basel-III norms by March 2019, for which they need Rs 1.2 lakh crore additional capital in the next five months.

Urjit Patel was widely expected to quit for weeks, though his term officially ends next month. In the meantime, BJP has brought in IAS officer Shaktikanta Das as the new RBI governor. But what concerns the Indian markets as well the Forex is that this is third governor appointed at the RBI in the last 3 years. And perhaps the reasons for the stepping down of previous governors be it Urjit Patel or Raghuram Rajan is the food for thought among economists and politicians.

CII-UK Announces new Chair for 2019

Mehul Choksi

Mallya’s right to appeal to higher court

Urjit Patel, India’s central bank governor, has abruptly resigned following a tussle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over the Reserve Bank's independence and a wide range of central bank policies. The Indian rupee plummeted 1.6 percent to a one-month low of 72.46 per dollar in early trade, but pared some losses to trade at 72.24 by 0435 GMT versus its previous close of 71.35.

In a sign of just how badly the markets have reacted to Patel's resignation that even the Pound amidst the Brexit uncertainties and a delayed vote, strengthened against the rupee trading at 91.12 versus the previous day of 90.50.

“However, a lot of the losses would have been capped between yesterday and today. And owing to uncertainty both with regards to Brexit vote and chaos in the political economy in India, the exchange rate of GBP/INR is likely to fluctuate in the range of 90-92 Rupees,” said Rishi Patel, Currency Account.

Dr. Raghuram Rajan former RBI governor's first reaction to the Patel's resignation was how "all Indians should be concerned” and in an interview to ET he noted “how this should be seen as a sign of

protest” It must be observed that Mr. Patel is the second RBI Governor to depart under the present BJP-led government.

Mr Patel cited “personal reasons” for his decision to step down from the position he has held since the government declined to extend the tenure of his predecessor, Raghuram Rajan, in September 2016. Mr. Patel's decision was posted as a statement on the Reserve Bank of India website, and is effective immediately. His exit comes just days ahead of what was likely to be a fiery meeting of RBI governing board, during which highly contentious issues — including New Delhi’s demand for higher payouts to the government from the central bank’s surplus reserves to fund the fiscal deficit— were tabled for discussion.

The RBI and Mr Modi’s government were at a face-off for months over the central bank’s monetary policy, its measures to tackle bad loans, Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) at India’s state banks and the liquidity squeeze that followed trouble in the shadow banking sector.

Niran Modi

he was innocent or guilty of the allegations, but whether there was enough prima facie evidence of a criminal case for him to be extradited.

Mr. Mallya has the right to appeal to the higher court against Monday's judgment within the next 14 days. However, it is unlikely that the judgment pronounced can be over-turned. If his appeal is granted permission by the court then an extension period of another month or two can be provided to him.

However, if Mr. Mallya doesn't go through with the appeal and Sajid Javid who is the Home Secretary signs off on the extradition judgment then he is setting himself up for a long investigation process and a perhaps a longer stay at 12 Arthur Jail.

Many economists in India also believe that with Mallya’s extradition, the process to extradite Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowksi, wanted in the biggest-ever banking fraud of roughly $2bn at state-run Punjab National Bank, may also be expedited.

Jim Bligh, Director Corporate Affairs, Tata Consultancy Services has been appointed as the new Chairperson to take over leadership of the CII India Business Forum (IBF) in the UK for 2019.

Dr David Landsman was preceded by Mr. Prashant Jhawar, Chairman, Usha Martin as the Chair of CII UK IBF. After two years of supporting CII-IBF UK as Chairperson, Dr David Landsman, Executive Director, Tata Ltd will be handing over to Mr Jim Bligh, effective as of 6th December 2018.

On his appointment as the new Chairperson, CII-IBF UK, Mr Bligh said, “I am delighted to be taking on this important role, especially given the challenge ahead around Brexit uncertainty.

The UK and India’s relationship is of critical economic and historical significance and I’m delighted to take on this role to champion our two nations’ special bond. Indian businesses invest billions in the UK economy, helping secure jobs and growth, while India represents a huge economic market for British firms. Despite the political uncertainty around Brexit, the CII and India Business Forum will play a key role in seizing opportunities for both nations.”

Mr Bligh is Director of Corporate Affairs for the UK and Ireland at Tata

Lakshmi Kaul, Dr David Landsman, HE Ruchi Ghanshyam, Jim Bligh and the CII team Consultancy Services, where he is responsible for public affairs and policy; stakeholder, academic, industry analyst and government relations; and the TCS award-winning event series the Spark Salon.

Mr Bligh is a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. At the Institute, Jim is supporting work on artificial intelligence and the future of work, global supervision of the internet, and the ethical and practical implications for business of the fourth industrial revolution.

He joined TCS in 2015 from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), where he was head of policy for employment, skills, pensions, trade and public services reform. He has previously worked as head of corporate

affairs at ManpowerGroup, the global recruitment business. Jim has degrees in English from Durham, where he was President of the Union, and Medieval and Renaissance Literature from Cambridge.

He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the executive committee of the Industry and Parliament Trust, and a member of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) London Council.

The CII UK India Business Forum is an exclusive group of corporate members, primarily Indian companies with existing or planned operations in the United Kingdom. The CII UK IBF provides an avenue for senior representatives of UK or Europe-wide operations of

Indian companies based in various regions across the UK to come together and represent India Inc. They key objectives for CII UK IBF are: Build “Brand India”, serve as a networking as well as knowledge-sharing platform for all Indian companies who are members of the IBF of the respective country, identify regulatory issues impeding Indian companies from doing business effectively and make representations on their behalf to policy makers and position this platform to address collective issues of Indian Industries and contribute to enhancing trade, investment and economic cooperation between India and the Forum’s country.

On the announcement Dr David Landsman said, “It has

been an honour to serve for two years as the Chairperson for CII-IBF UK, representing Indian companies in the UK and developing contacts across Europe. I’ve enjoyed working with our members both on strengthening business contacts and engaging stakeholders on our policy priorities. There will be many exciting new opportunities in the coming years and I wish Jim every success in helping Indian business to make the most of them. I look forward to continuing to support CII from the sidelines.”

The Patron of the CII UK IBF is the High Commissioner of India. The new High Commissioner of India HE Mrs Ruchi Ghanshyam who announced the New Chair of the CII UK IBF on 6 December. While

thanking Dr David Landsman for his role in strengthening the UK India economic relations both in his role as the CII UK IBF Chair as well as the Executive Director of Tata Ltd. She welcomed Mr James Bligh as the new Chair and congratulated him on the appointment saying, “I look forward to working closely with the CII and the Indian businesses in the UK extending my support wherever is necessary”.

Addressing the CII UK’s India Business Forum she spoke about the balance in the economic relationship and the two countries. She underlined the contribution of India Inc to UK’s economy and their apetite to enter UK regardless of uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

16 UK

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Indian Professional Forum discusses methods RBI v/s Modi Government: 3 years & 3 governors to enhance Technology Entrepreneurship Priyanka Mehta

Over 50 delegates from academia, industry, finance, media and entrepreneurs including large IT companies like Infosys and TATA Consulting Services gathered at the House of Lords to explore ways to enhance the contribution of Indian ventures and technology entrepreneurs in the UK. The meeting was chaired by Lord Bilimoria and organised by the Indian Professionals Forum (IPF.) The main objective of the gathering was to address a number of issues to assist in galvanising the entrepreneurial spirit among the UK’s Indian professional community and ultimately implement a framework to direct specific collaboration, investments and community engagement. It included discussions on topics such as, how can we make UK as attractive for Technology entrepreneurs as Silicon Valley whilst rising to the challenges of fast rising tech-

nology hubs such as Stockholm and Tel Aviv, how can we evolve an innovative ecosystem to foster the growth of Technology Entrepreneurs in general and Indian entrepreneurs in particular, how do we collaborate with existing support mechanisms like Intra-government support, Bank Financing, Investors,

Business Support etc and how can we can we enhance UK India-Technology corridor involving both UK, Indian and global companies?

IPF had also circulated a white paper on Enhancing T e c h n o l o g y Entrepreneurship prepared by one of its members Subhash Jogia, an accom-

plished Technology leader in Investment banking formerly with Morgan Stanley and UK cabinet office. The paper highlights the key aspects essential for an ecosystem to support start-ups and scale ups to flourish over a long period of time.

The main points of debate included: Technology Revolution, UK ecosystem

for influencing change, Basic indicator of the health of the Ecosystem, Issues of capital and UK –India Corridor Greeting the delegates to the meeting of the Indian Professionals Forum, President Dr Mohan Kaul said that as well as representing the work of the Indian diaspora in the UK, the impending Brexit had

strengthened the need for the creation of the IPF. He said: “Brexit or no Brexit, the UK and India will remain as strong partners, with the UK continuing to be the first choice of location for a lot of Indian business.

London will remain a strong financial centre for raising finances for Indian businesses and infrastructure.

“Our focus has been on advanced technology companies and particularly startups in the UK and India as we look to strengthen the UKIndia technology corridor for UK companies to scale up in India and for Indian companies to innovate in the UK. We are focusing on strengthening the technology parks in the UK to match Silicon Valley in the US. As you are aware, 20% of the technology start-ups in Silicon Valley are

by Indian diaspora while the number of such companies in the UK is very small and we are looking at ways to increase this.”

Mallya to be extradited Continued from page 1

The 62-year-old, businessman who has built India’s biggest alcoholic drinks business, claims he is the victim of a high-profile “witchhunt” and a politically charged movement led by Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister. However, Judge Arbuthnot said"There was a failure to ensure that the guarantees were formally taken when they should have been and a failure to investigate the representations that KFA made at various stages to obtain the loans.”

Home Office receives Mallya’s verdict The UK Home Office said it has received the Westminster Magistrates' Court verdict for Mallya's extradition to India.

“If after considering the case the Home Secretary thinks extradition should go ahead, he has to order the extradition within two months of the date the matter was referred to him. Whatever that decision, the losing side has up to 14 days within which to approach the appeal – if granted – will be heard at the High Court,” said the Press Officer at CPS. Mr. Mallya is a flamboyant celebrity businessman in India, where he is considered symbolic of Indian businessmen who lead luxurious lifestyles even as their companies fail to repay billions of dollars in debts to the stricken banking system. The allegations against Mr. Mallya vary from the diversion of funds from bank loans, including from state-owned IDBI Bank.

Kingfisher Airlines, where Mr. Mallya was chairman and chief executive, became defunct in 2012 leaving about $1.1bn in unpaid debts to banks that were mostly state-owned.

Sajid Javid

Mr. Mallya has repeatedly insisted that the airline’s demise was a legitimate business failure triggered by unfavourable Indian aviation industry policies and unprecedented high oil prices, almost $112 per barrel at the time. The Indian government alleges that Mr. Mallya’s handling of his airline went beyond bad management into criminal wrongdoing including fraud, fund diversion, and other misdeeds. It claims that Mr. Mallya was the central figure in a “dishonest plot” to obtain large loans from IDBI for Kingfisher Airlines in 2009.

Willing to repay 100% borrowing Earlier before the judgment Mr. Mallya had tweeted saying he was willing to repay 100% of the principal amount that he had borrowed from all creditors, including the consortium of banks led by the SBI, and paying the salary of his ex-employees. Mr. Mallya went on to even say how it was not a bogus offer.

Is it not the duty of the banks to consider the various “substantive” offers and accept them? To that, Rajnish Kumar the chairman of SBI

in an interview to Mint said that the bank has not received any formal offer from Mallya for settlement of loans “as of date”.

However, even if the banks and Mr. Mallya reach some sort of a negotiation wherein the banks are able to recover their money, Mr. Mallya faces criminal charges of siphoning off money under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that is being investigated by the CBI. The defense at Magistrates Court had argued that the CBI is a “caged parrot” and follows it's minister's words. But the Court observed that CBI special director Rakesh Asthana had not acted "corruptly".

“It sets things in motion, he has got charges like siphoning & diverting funds. It is not just a case of repayment of money it also involves a lot of criminal deeds. He should face the music,” said Neetu Sukla, former Kingfisher employee on UK court ordering Vijay Mallya’s extradition.

In her ruling, Judge Arbuthnot said the allegations were that Mr Mallya and other Kingfisher executives conspired with figures at IDBI Bank to sanction and disburse loans they had no intention of repaying.

Addressing IDBI's failures she that there had been a “catalogue of failures of the bank at different levels” and that if proper background checks had been carried out then the loans to Kingfisher would not have been granted. These failures, she said in the ruling, were either deliberate or “it is a case of a bank who was in the thrall of this glamorous...billionaire playboy who charmed and cajoled these bankers into losing their common sense and persuading them to put their own rules and regulations to one side”.

Despite Monday’s decision, Mr. Mallya is unlikely to be extradited from London for some time and may seek to overturn the decision to the High Court. After coming out from Monday’s hearing, in his address to the media, he said“She [Judge] told me about my right to appeal. It's unfortunate that the Judge has found a prima facie case that I had misrepresentations to the IDBI bank only and persuaded them to loan money to Kingfisher airlines.

“Be that as it may, the judge was entitled to make whatever judgment she thought fit. I have my rights. You heard the judge. My legal team will consider various options and then I will decide going forward."

His lawyers had argued that his extradition to India should be blocked as “no credible evidence” was put forward and said that Kingfisher had given “full, complete and accurate information” to IDBI before the loans were made. For the judge to make her decision, it was not necessary to establish whether

PCA framework and regulations Currently, the banks are regulated under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)

IAS Officer and new RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

which was introduced by the RBI in 2002, and reviewed in 2017 following stressed assets and bad loan crisis in India. In other words, PCA is a quick corrective measure taken in case a bank is found to be having low Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) or high NPAs. RBI initiates PCA when CAR goes below 9% or NPA rises above 10%.

“The PCA framework is not at all good for us,” said a banker who did not want to be named.

“While we cannot lend money to our borrowers, the NPAs stand as they are. When we cannot generate money from the revenues from sanctioning these loans then how can we convert our losses into profits?” he asked.

One of the biggest points of difference between the RBI and the Modi government is

the issue of imposition of PCA. Modi government is trying to “meddle” into the working of the RBI wherein it wants for the PCA norms to be relaxed so that lending to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSEMs) can be allowed. This addresses the issue of credit crunch in the economy and simultaneously providing financial aid to uplift these small sectors.

Politics of double-edged sword Many in the country, however, see the government's strategy as a political move that comes just before elections with the intention of gaining votes from these sectors at a time when unemployment is rave in the country and growth has suffered flowing the double blow from a hastily implemented GST and demonetisation.

“The BJP came to power stating that the RBI is not doing enough to clean-up the banks and bad loan crisis. Now when the RBI has taken this initiative there is no reason for the government or the finance ministry to interfere into the working of the institution,” said another banker who wished to stay anonymous.

“The PCA is a doubleedged sword!” he explained saying how for “financial aid, the bank has to have enough capital to be able to sanction these loans and earn revenue from them. You can't dip into the red and then expect the RBI to pull them out using its capital reserves.”

Under PCA, banks are mandated to cut lending to corporates and focus on reducing concentration of loans to certain sectors. They are also restricted from opening new branches and paying dividends. Currently, 11 public sector banks and one private sector bank are operating under PCA. But the PCA framework is applicable only to commercial banks and not extended to co-operative banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and FMIs. At a 10-hour-long board meeting last month, under heavy pressure from government nominees, Mr Patel made a number of concessions including promising to review

Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel

restrictions on fresh lending by banks that already have high levels of bad debt. Banks are also supposed to comply with the internationally agreed Basel-III norms by March 2019, for which they need Rs 1.2 lakh crore additional capital in the next five months.

Urjit Patel was widely expected to quit for weeks, though his term officially ends next month. In the meantime, BJP has brought in IAS officer Shaktikanta Das as the new RBI governor. But what concerns the Indian markets as well the Forex is that this is third governor appointed at the RBI in the last 3 years. And perhaps the reasons for the stepping down of previous governors be it Urjit Patel or Raghuram Rajan is the food for thought among economists and politicians.

CII-UK Announces new Chair for 2019

Mehul Choksi

Mallya’s right to appeal to higher court

Urjit Patel, India’s central bank governor, has abruptly resigned following a tussle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over the Reserve Bank's independence and a wide range of central bank policies. The Indian rupee plummeted 1.6 percent to a one-month low of 72.46 per dollar in early trade, but pared some losses to trade at 72.24 by 0435 GMT versus its previous close of 71.35.

In a sign of just how badly the markets have reacted to Patel's resignation that even the Pound amidst the Brexit uncertainties and a delayed vote, strengthened against the rupee trading at 91.12 versus the previous day of 90.50.

“However, a lot of the losses would have been capped between yesterday and today. And owing to uncertainty both with regards to Brexit vote and chaos in the political economy in India, the exchange rate of GBP/INR is likely to fluctuate in the range of 90-92 Rupees,” said Rishi Patel, Currency Account.

Dr. Raghuram Rajan former RBI governor's first reaction to the Patel's resignation was how "all Indians should be concerned” and in an interview to ET he noted “how this should be seen as a sign of

protest” It must be observed that Mr. Patel is the second RBI Governor to depart under the present BJP-led government.

Mr Patel cited “personal reasons” for his decision to step down from the position he has held since the government declined to extend the tenure of his predecessor, Raghuram Rajan, in September 2016. Mr. Patel's decision was posted as a statement on the Reserve Bank of India website, and is effective immediately. His exit comes just days ahead of what was likely to be a fiery meeting of RBI governing board, during which highly contentious issues — including New Delhi’s demand for higher payouts to the government from the central bank’s surplus reserves to fund the fiscal deficit— were tabled for discussion.

The RBI and Mr Modi’s government were at a face-off for months over the central bank’s monetary policy, its measures to tackle bad loans, Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) at India’s state banks and the liquidity squeeze that followed trouble in the shadow banking sector.

Niran Modi

he was innocent or guilty of the allegations, but whether there was enough prima facie evidence of a criminal case for him to be extradited.

Mr. Mallya has the right to appeal to the higher court against Monday's judgment within the next 14 days. However, it is unlikely that the judgment pronounced can be over-turned. If his appeal is granted permission by the court then an extension period of another month or two can be provided to him.

However, if Mr. Mallya doesn't go through with the appeal and Sajid Javid who is the Home Secretary signs off on the extradition judgment then he is setting himself up for a long investigation process and a perhaps a longer stay at 12 Arthur Jail.

Many economists in India also believe that with Mallya’s extradition, the process to extradite Nirav Modi and Mehul Chowksi, wanted in the biggest-ever banking fraud of roughly $2bn at state-run Punjab National Bank, may also be expedited.

Jim Bligh, Director Corporate Affairs, Tata Consultancy Services has been appointed as the new Chairperson to take over leadership of the CII India Business Forum (IBF) in the UK for 2019.

Dr David Landsman was preceded by Mr. Prashant Jhawar, Chairman, Usha Martin as the Chair of CII UK IBF. After two years of supporting CII-IBF UK as Chairperson, Dr David Landsman, Executive Director, Tata Ltd will be handing over to Mr Jim Bligh, effective as of 6th December 2018.

On his appointment as the new Chairperson, CII-IBF UK, Mr Bligh said, “I am delighted to be taking on this important role, especially given the challenge ahead around Brexit uncertainty.

The UK and India’s relationship is of critical economic and historical significance and I’m delighted to take on this role to champion our two nations’ special bond. Indian businesses invest billions in the UK economy, helping secure jobs and growth, while India represents a huge economic market for British firms. Despite the political uncertainty around Brexit, the CII and India Business Forum will play a key role in seizing opportunities for both nations.”

Mr Bligh is Director of Corporate Affairs for the UK and Ireland at Tata

Lakshmi Kaul, Dr David Landsman, HE Ruchi Ghanshyam, Jim Bligh and the CII team Consultancy Services, where he is responsible for public affairs and policy; stakeholder, academic, industry analyst and government relations; and the TCS award-winning event series the Spark Salon.

Mr Bligh is a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. At the Institute, Jim is supporting work on artificial intelligence and the future of work, global supervision of the internet, and the ethical and practical implications for business of the fourth industrial revolution.

He joined TCS in 2015 from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), where he was head of policy for employment, skills, pensions, trade and public services reform. He has previously worked as head of corporate

affairs at ManpowerGroup, the global recruitment business. Jim has degrees in English from Durham, where he was President of the Union, and Medieval and Renaissance Literature from Cambridge.

He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the executive committee of the Industry and Parliament Trust, and a member of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) London Council.

The CII UK India Business Forum is an exclusive group of corporate members, primarily Indian companies with existing or planned operations in the United Kingdom. The CII UK IBF provides an avenue for senior representatives of UK or Europe-wide operations of

Indian companies based in various regions across the UK to come together and represent India Inc. They key objectives for CII UK IBF are: Build “Brand India”, serve as a networking as well as knowledge-sharing platform for all Indian companies who are members of the IBF of the respective country, identify regulatory issues impeding Indian companies from doing business effectively and make representations on their behalf to policy makers and position this platform to address collective issues of Indian Industries and contribute to enhancing trade, investment and economic cooperation between India and the Forum’s country.

On the announcement Dr David Landsman said, “It has

been an honour to serve for two years as the Chairperson for CII-IBF UK, representing Indian companies in the UK and developing contacts across Europe. I’ve enjoyed working with our members both on strengthening business contacts and engaging stakeholders on our policy priorities. There will be many exciting new opportunities in the coming years and I wish Jim every success in helping Indian business to make the most of them. I look forward to continuing to support CII from the sidelines.”

The Patron of the CII UK IBF is the High Commissioner of India. The new High Commissioner of India HE Mrs Ruchi Ghanshyam who announced the New Chair of the CII UK IBF on 6 December. While

thanking Dr David Landsman for his role in strengthening the UK India economic relations both in his role as the CII UK IBF Chair as well as the Executive Director of Tata Ltd. She welcomed Mr James Bligh as the new Chair and congratulated him on the appointment saying, “I look forward to working closely with the CII and the Indian businesses in the UK extending my support wherever is necessary”.

Addressing the CII UK’s India Business Forum she spoke about the balance in the economic relationship and the two countries. She underlined the contribution of India Inc to UK’s economy and their apetite to enter UK regardless of uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

18 FINANCE - UK

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Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, Is the EU the winner between UK, EU and US? The Russia crisis is likely to lead to more EU diplomatic sanctions according to experts. With Trump also likely to expel diplomats and EU avoiding serious tariffs from Trump but instead likely to work with him on tackling China and a hard Brexit likely to be avoided, one could see how the EU is the key beneficiary between the UK, EU, US, China in the world economic picture.

And given that data supports the UK may leave the EU as its weakest major economy, the Europeans may well not be losers after all. And all the while Europe is powering ahead (despite French protestors).

It is little wonder that Euro-area confidence is so high as data shows for this past year.

Brexit has shown the instant negative impact on economic growth of EU and UK as well for short term.

But the expert arguments show that if we observe the long-term impact of Brexit it may enhance the economic growth to a large extent.

Experts reveal that there are more risks for the UK with Hard Brexit. The recent predictions about Hard Brexit say that if we analyze the short to medium term impact of this deal, GDP of UK will fall by great extent as compared to EU. However, the report of Bertelsmann Foundation shows that Hard Brexit will cost somewhere around 0.1 to 0.36% for EU’s GDP by the year 2030. The impact continues to other platforms as well where Ireland will be losing by 2.66%, Germany will decline by 0.33%, Sweden by 0.48% and Belgium will lose by 0.99%.

We have a perfect storm where the EU may be in the peaceful eye; Brexit (the UK suffers more), trade wars (the EU is largely exempted so US and China fight it out), Russia (the EU is protected by its scale and size).

For my readers, the key point then becomes to diversify abroad your investments, and with your business, export! My own business is an exporter and with the falling pound, that’s good. But it’s meant with that devalued pound we’ve onshored a lot of services from IT to back office administrative work.

These are business and investment trends we will just have to get used to I think.

Alpesh Patel Her Majesty’s Government’s Dealmaker For a free online trading course visit www.alpeshpatel.com

Pound falls to lowest in almost two years amid Brexit uncertainty The pound slumped to its lowest level for almost two years as risks to the British economy grow from political paralysis over Brexit and a possible no-deal situation.

Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to delay the parliamentary vote on her Brexit plan sent the sterling tumbling by over 1.3 per cent against the dollar and by almost one per cent against the euro on the foreign exchanges. The pound dipped below $1.26 to the lowest since April 2017 after May said her Brexit plan would have been rejected by a “significant margin” in a Commons vote scheduled for Tuesday.

Chief market analyst at financial trading company Markets.com, Neil Wilson said the pound had experienced one of its worst days since the 2016 referendum, adding that “the government had left investors completely in the dark about what happens next.” Economists at the Capital Economics consultancy said chances of May's deal passing the parliamentary vote in future, whenever it was held, was about 40 per cent with similar odds for a no-deal Brexit. They gave a 20 per cent chance to a second referendum or a longer period of membership in the EU beyond the March 2019 deadline for Article 50.

Senior UK economist at the firm, Ruth Gregory said the delay was “kicking the can further down the road”.

They added, “We would not be surprised if Brexit uncertainty, which we estimate has knocked 0.5 percentage points off growth since the referendum, starts to weigh more heavily on the economy.” The more UKfocused FTSE 250 index fell two per cent to its lowest level since December 2016. Thomas Cook, Stagecoach and Dominos Pizza were among the most affected.

Director General of the Institute of Directors, Stephen Martin said, “Business leaders may understand the political reasons for the delay, but today's announcement will be viewed by most as another extension of the frustration and uncertainty.”

British businesses roped in by “golden opportunities” in India UK businesses contributed seven per cent of all foreign direct investment into India last year as their expenditure grew by $847 million. Research conducted by the CBI, lobby group, and accounting firm Grant Thornton reveals companies based in the country, particularly manufacturers, services providers and retailers, have been increasing their presence in India in the last few years. Britain is the largest western investor in India, with businesses putting in $26 billion into the country in the past 18 years. It's mostly due to the business-friendly policies implemented under Narendra Modi since 2014.

The report titled 'Sterling Assets: Britain Meets India' said about 40 per cent of British companies had made new investments in India last year, creating over 50,000 new jobs. British firms are believed to have created about 423,000 jobs in India since 2000. Shehla Hasan, CBI director for India said, “There's no question that India will be a vital trading partner as the UK charts a new future out the EU”. She said that

there was a “golden opportunity” for UK companies thanks to economic reforms that she said made India more attractive to entrepreneurs and established businesses.

British investment in India tops that of the United States and the Netherlands that contribute six per cent to the total.

It invests more than Germany,

which contributes three per cent and France, which represents two per cent.

India's chemical industry has received the largest share of British investment in India since 2000 at $12 billion, followed by the drugs and pharmaceuticals sector, at $8.8 billion, and services, at $7 billion. Mumbai city in Maharashtra has attracted the biggest chunk of British investment since 2000.

Blippar on the brink real-life Slumdog Millionaire The much-hyped tech unicorn for his colourful — and Blippar is teetering on the brink sometimes exaggerated — of collapse after a dispute backstory, has raised almost between two of its biggest $150m from investors. Candy investors, the property owns 49%, the hedge fund developer Nick Candy and the Lansdowne Partners holds 14%, Malaysian sovereign wealth Khazanah 12% and US tech fund Khazanah. Blippar, which giant Qualcomm 12%. specialises in augmented reality, Blippar has burnt through wrote to shareholders on Friday money and been forced to close to warn that Khazanah had offices around the world to cut blocked an emergency costs. The latest accounts, for fundraising, giving the board the 12 months to March last “no current option other than to year, showed pre-tax losses of give notice to start insolvency £34.5m on sales of £5.7m. proceedings”.

David Currie, the former Administrators from David Ambarish Mitra, boss of Blippar, with co-founders Steve Spencer, left, Investec banker who chairs Rubin & Partners have been and Omar Tayeb, right Blippar, wrote in Friday’s letter: lined up. Blippar’s failure would this year, according to the investment “Whilst some larger contract put 75 jobs at risk just before firm Atomico. In 2013, the figure was negotiations have progressed, the Christmas. It would be the latest blow $5bn. company has not been able to generate for the British tech industry, following Blippar was devised in a pub eight sufficient short-term revenue to meet the high-profile unravellings of Powa years ago, when Ambarish Mitra joked the business plan.” He said Candy Technologies and Ve Interactive. to co-founder Omar Tayeb that it Ventures had offered to inject new cash Blippar once claimed to have turned would be “cool” if the picture on a — believed to be about $5m — but any down a $1.5bn takeover bid, putting it banknote could come to life. They fundraising would require approval in the elite breed of start-ups valued at developed an app allowing users to scan from Khazanah. “This approval has more than $1bn. The development physical objects such as supermarket been sought and declined,” Currie said. comes despite an ongoing rush of promotions to produce responses on Khazanah could not be reached for money into European tech start-ups, their smartphones. Mitra, dubbed the comment yesterday. which attracted a total of $23bn (£18bn)

Australian pensions giant buys UK care provider for £200m Australian pensions giant AMP has agreed to buy UK social care business Care Management Group (CMG), a chain of 190 with 2000 patients from turnaround specialist Court Cavendish. While the seller would not confirm the value of the deal, a report suggests the price to be around £200m.

Court Cavendish, which also owns UK's largest care home chain HCOne, bought CMG 10 years ago when it was struggling with debt problems and a poor reputation. It turned over £85m last year and 98pc of its services are rated good or outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

Chai Patel

Chai Patel, founder of Court Cavendish, said the sale showed “you

can actually have an investment in this sector and continue to do well both for residents and colleagues as well as investors.” The industry is currently waiting for a delayed government green paper which is expected to set out proposals for the future. Patel said social care providers continue to suffer from uncertainty over funding following a decade of austerity. “We are doing as good a job as we can but I wouldn't pretend that the funding environment is appropriate. There is a need for additional funding, partly to ensure we can provide the best care we can, but also to ensure our colleagues are properly paid.”

REAL ESTATE VOICE

A HEALTHY DOSE OF CAUTION

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Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

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The art world has a reputation of being under handed. There is no regulation in this market, the price of a picture is not even quoted. The artists and dealers protect themselves by saying this allows the viewing to be totally about the art and not the price. In theory, and sometimes in practice, dealers will quote a different price depending on who they are speaking to. Why would they do this? Because, depending where the piece ends up will affect the future of the artist. In certain galleries the artist will gather repute, and in the home of a private collector who perhaps does not even know what he’s buying, the sale will have little impact.

Given this is only one thread of how the art market works, it is refreshing when there is an auction, as anyone who qualifies for a paddle can come in and bid.

The auction room offers transparency. OR does it?

Auctioneers often have a habit of, what they call in the art market, chandelier bidding. The term for the property market is bidding against the wall, as you don’t always have a chandelier in the

Why is service important to us?

Because life is about relationships. We are emotional creatures and how we feel drives our lives.

Ultimately, everything we do in life is motivated by a feeling that we want to experience whether that feeling is one of security, love, recognition,

AGONY AGENT IS HERE TO HELP! Q: My tenant has mice! What should I do?

In the property market, unlike the art market, there is transparency in terms of pricing.

One can see within minutes what all the other properties in the block or street have sold for, and when the sale occurred. You can also see the ownership details, and whether they have a mortgage and with whom. This is arguably perhaps a little too much information. This is the issue of the property market, there is too much information and therefore the margin is very tight; meaning everyone knows the construction cost, and the resale values.

The property auction market may look transparent and on the whole is; however, those who know the

power, control and so on.

With respect to other people, we make judgements. We trust or don’t trust. We have expectations of others. All of this rests upon how we interact and relate to other people.

This all depends on our mindset when we communicate with other people.

I was reflecting on this mindset. Mindsets are often so deeply ingrained that they become indistinguishable, like

BUY TO LET OPPORTUNITY

15 - 21 December 2018

humble rooms used. Here, the auctioneer starts the bidding below the reserve price, and if there are no bids in the room they pretend there are bids coming in until they hit the reserve price. Not exactly transparent.

BEING TRUE, BEING AUTHENTIC I frequent a cafe in my neighbourhood. I like the ambience but the service is, to put it mildly, uninspired.

19

A: First of all, your tenant should be thankful that they do not have rats, as in London they could easily be confused with cats due to their size! rules also know how to bend them. With the influx of retail investors, many auctions instead of being the realm for dealers, have now become a dumping ground for traders. With the idea being to dupe the unsuspecting buyer, whilst complying with the letter of the law but not the spirit.

We have seen several cases of buyers ending up with lemons from the auctions. However, auctions can also be a great place to pick up opportunities, and you do have the security of actually getting the deal done. One just needs to exercise a healthy dose of caution when tackling them.

furniture we see everyday and no longer notice due to familiarity.

A question dawned on me.

When I am communicating with others do I say what is true or am I preoccupied with impressing or making the other person like me? Or am I driven by what I think the other person thinks of me.

The reality is we can neither know what others really think of us nor can we control it.

If we want to be successful, if we want to be happy, and if we want to be respected, then we are better off putting truth and authenticity at the centre of our world, and not some fleeting and fluctuating illusion of someone else’s perceptions.

Your first point of call is to find out who's responsible for sorting it, you or your tenant. As the landlord you would be responsible if the mice got in through a pre-existing hole or opening in the property, the mice were in the property before your tenants moved in, or you listed that vermin would be your responsibility under the tenancy agreement.

On the other hand, if your tenant has caused the problem, they did not clear away rubbish or leftover food, then the tenant would need to take action; and I would recommend that you keep tabs on your tenants to ensure they have done this .

If you have a standard AST and neither party caused this issue, then this would be down to you if you choose to step in and help, but be warned as your tenant could state their case to environmental health.

If the mice are coming from your neighbour’s place, then speak to the owner. If they do not take any action at all then you can report it to the council.

Feel free to contact me for more information.

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Kotak Mahindra moves Bombay HC against RBI Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Reserve Bank of India's decision to reject its sale dilution announced in August. The promoter owns Kotak family owns over 30 per cent in the bank and has to reduce it by a little over ten per cent points by December 31 to keep it under 20 per cent. In its petition, the bank seeks a widening of the definition of the paid-up equity capital to include these preference shares as well beyond the present equity voting capital. It is also questioning the laws related to the capping of the shareholding at a more fundamental level, asking if there is a legal basis to have shareholding caps.

Kotak Mahindra completed an issue of perpetual non-convertible preference shares on August 2, increasing the bank's paid-up capital from Rs 953 Crore to Rs 1453 Crore, bringing down the promoter’s holding from 30.3 per cent to 19.7 per cent. However, it informed the stock exchanges on August 14 that the method did not meet RBI requirements. In a regulatory filing on

Monday, Kotak Mahindra said ever since, it has clarified and conveyed its position to the central bank “in relation to PNCPS being a part of paid-up capital, and the legal basis on the matter of dilution of shareholding under the Banking Regulation Act”.

“We have also shared with the RBI the opinions of eminent jurists and senior-most legal counsels of the country, which confirm our understanding.” It added that it has not heard from the RBI and given the deadline of 31 December, the “bank has been left with no option, but to protect its interests”. Sources

said the bank had sought opinion from a host of senior lawyers on the matter, who, mentioning past precedents, including Supreme Court judgments, have supported the lender.

A banking analyst said in challenging RBI's decision, Kotak has essentially challenged RBI's powers to regulate private sector banks. They said there are two possible outcomes from this. If Kotak wins the case, and is allowed to use PNCPS to reduce promoter shareholding, the RBI will definitely challenge it in the SC. The second scenario is, if Kotak loses the case, then he will not only have to find another alternative to pare his stale, but also face more stringent regulatory supervision after the debacle.

“The bank has filed a case against the regulator. The case will surely set a precedent for any such future disputes. The matter pertains to the interpretation of the law and should be dealt with by the court only,” said Ashish K. Singh, founder and managing partner of law firm Capstone Legal.

India's growth under Modi, very Top 10 among world's fastestsolid: IMF Chief Economist growing cities from India International Monetary Fund's Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld praised India's fundamental economic reforms like the GST and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code carried out by the government, saying the country's growth Narendra Modi has been “very solid” over the past four years. Speaking to the press, he said, “India under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has carried out some really fundamental reforms. These include the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code... A lot of what they have done on financial inclusion has been really important,” Obstfeld said.

He also said the country's “growth performance has been very solid. I mean, not much in the third quarter of this year, but generally it has been quite solid.

There are important vulnerabilities, so it is important for the reform momentum to be maintained even as an election comes up and for the path of

fiscal adjustment to be maintained.” Obstfeld said that one risk that has become much more evident in the last few years has been non-bank finance, usually called shadow banking. “There is a big challenge of stricter, oversight.” Noting the legacy of corporate debt associated with bad infrastructure projects in India, he said it has been very concentrated in banking system.

“But as the government is trying to better oversee the banking system, these loans have migrated to shadow banking and that is an area where more needs to be done to contain financial pressures, which we are beginning to see in India.”

Obstfeld, 66, is set to retire this month-end and will be succeeded by Gita Gopinath, the second Indian to be appointed to the position. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had served as Chief Economist of the IMF.

in brief DRT SERVES NOTICE TO NIRAV MODI, FAMILY Nirav Modi

The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has served notice to absconder diamantaire Nirav Modi, his family members and his companies to recover over Rs 7000 Crore they scammed Punjab National Bank out of.

The notice, sent by DRT-1 Registrar, A. Murali, came six months after the beleaguered PNB had moved the tribunal in July to recover around Rs 7029 Crore. The notice said all accused-defendents including seven individuals and nine group companies, and all are barred from disposing off, transferring, or entering into any transactions pertaining to the secured properties. They have been given time till January 15, 2019, to reply to the notice, failing which, the PNB plea would be decided ex-parte. Along with Modi, the notice has been issued to his wife Ami, their children Rohin, Ananya, and Apasha, his brothers Nehal Deepak Modi, Neeshal Deepak Modi, Deepak Keshavlal Modi, and sister Purvi Mayank Mehta. Also named in the notice are nine companies- Stellar Diamonds, Solar Exports, Diamond RUS, Firestar International Ltd., Firestar Diamond International Pvt. Ltd., ANM Enterprises, NDM Enterprises, all based in Mumbai.

NRIS SENDING HOME AROUND $80 BILLION THIS YEAR: WORLD BANK India is set to dominate over the next two decades where the top 10 cities for economic growth is concerned. Topping the list is Surat, Gujarat's diamond processing and trading center, which will see the fastest expansion through 2035, averaging more than nine per cent. Richard Holt, Oxford's head of global cities research wrote that while economic output in many of those Indian cities will remain rather small in comparison to the world's biggest metropolises, aggregated gross domestic product of all Asian cities will exceed that of all North American and European urban centers

combined in 2027. It will be 17 per cent higher by 2035, with the largest contribution coming from Chinese cities.

Not a lot will change at the top of the list of the world's biggest cities in the coming several years. New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London will defend their spots as Shanghai and Beijing surpass Paris and Chicago.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Southern China will also make the top 10, crowding out Hong Kong. Fastest-growing African city is the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, while the Armenian capital of Yerevan holds the top spot in Europe.

The World Bank's latest report on migration and remittances reveals that India will witness a 16.18 per cent increase in remittance inflow this year. The remittance inflow last year was $68.9 billion, while this year it is expected to be $79.4 billion. India is followed by China with $67 billion, Mexico and the Philippines with $34 billion each, and Egypt with $26 billion. “The upsurge is driven by stronger economic conditions in advanced economies, particularly the United States, and the increase in oil prices having a positive impact on outflows from some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, which reported a 13 per cent growth in outflows for the first half of 2018.”

The GCC is a regional inter-governmental political and economic bloc of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The report also added that Bangladesh and Pakistan might experience upticks of 17.9 per cent and 6.2 per cent in 2018 respectively.

Rate rises in the near-term: An Unlikely Certainty?

Abhishek Sachdev

As ever, any interest rate change will be at the focal point of decisions made by households and businesses. As rates rise, so will the cost of borrowing including mortgage repayments and commercial property loans. However with the growing uncertainty surrounding Brexit

and the current state of the UK economy, are rate rises a likely possibility in the near-term? We are asked this question almost daily by clients, and are helping several hoteliers / property investors to agree interest rate hedging before the year-end.

Commencing on 4th December, MPs will debate Theresa May’s Brexit deal for five days, after which the vote will take place on 11th December. The markets are currently expecting the deal to be rejected which could lead to a number of possible scenarios, more than one of which would challenge Theresa

May’s position as Prime Minister. If the UK referendum and US election results of 2016 have taught us anything, it is that anything really can happen.

There is a very real possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

We have just seen extraordinary scenes of the sitting Government being held in contempt of Parliament.

According to Mark Carney, interest rates could rise following a ‘no-deal Brexit’.Though it may come across as the opposite reaction required in a whatwould-be damaged economy, the Governor’s reasoning is focused on a spike in inflation caused by a weak-

ening pound sterling.

When this happened in 2016 following the referendum, the Bank of England adopted the view that it would only be temporary.

The expectation is that a no-deal outcome will have more drastic and long-term repercussions for the UK economy.

The credit crunch following the financial crisis, significantly reduced the available funds for SMEs who bore the brunt of banks trying to lighten their balance sheets.

Raising interest rates could prove to be problematic for debt-ridden SMEs with already high interest costs.

The majority of SMEs in the UK are not able to secure lending on a fixedrate basis and will feel the unpleasant pinch of higher interest repayments. Even a small increase in interest rates could have a large impact on businesses operating on an already stretched balance sheet.

Higher inflation combined with increased borrowing costs require businesses to take a proactive approach to structuring their debt.

Vedanta Hedging specialises in helping SMEs in the area of hedging. In fact, we are the largest FCA-Authorised hedging advisor to SMEs in the UK.

You can keep track of key market rates by subscribing to our FREE market rate sheet. Updated every day, this simple but concise summary covers rates such as swap rates, FX Spot / Forwards and Commodities such as Oil and Gold. Visit our website for more details."

If you would like to discuss any aspect of your interest rate hedging please do contact us.

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15 - 21 December 2018

in brief CHILD MARRIAGE COSTS COUNTRIES BILLIONS IN LOST EARNINGS: WORLD BANK According to a new World Bank report, more than a third of girls in sub-Saharan Africa marry before their 18th birthday, costing countries billions of dollars in lost earnings. Estimates for 12 countries suggest around $62 billion is lost because child brides complete fewer years of formal education than their peers who marry later.

The report titled 'Educating Girls and Ending Child Marriage' suggests that every year of secondary education reduces the likelihood of marrying before the age of 18 by five per cent or more. West Africa particularly has the highest prevalence of marriage before the age of 15. 18 from the top 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world are in Africa. 24 countries have launched national strategies to end the practice since the African Union began a campaign to stop child marriage by 2023. While the causes of child marriage are complex and include traditional beliefs, climate change, and conflict, poverty is an underlying factor.

National Museum in Copenhagen pay tribute to Indian culture Rupanjana Dutta Part of the Scandinavian countries, Denmark comprises of a few of islands, with Copenhagen as their capital. The National Museum in Copenhagen stands witness to the Danish detailed recording skills. Even locals are extremely proud of their culture, and seen visiting the museum on a Sunday morning with their young children to learn about their own history, including attending an exhibition on the Vikings. The museum is carefully divided into many sections across three floors, including one that talks about the Hindu Gods.

'GOD LETTER, ALBERT EINSTEIN'S HANDWRITTEN LETTER FETCHES $2.9 MILLION A handwritten letter by Albert Einstein, in which he grapples with the concept of religion has sold for almost $2.9 million smashing predictions. The so-called 'God Letter' written in 1954, was expected to fetch $1.5 million at Christie's Rockefeller Center auction in New York. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist had written the oneand-a-half page note to German philosopher Eric Gutkind in response to one of his works. A statement from Christie's said, “This remarkably candid, private letter was written a year before Einstein's death and remains the most fully articulated expression of his religious and philosophical views.” Written in native German, Einstein takes issue with the belief of God, in the letter. “The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses. The Bible a collection of venerable but still rather primitive legends.”

He continues, “No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can change anything about this.” “The Jewish people to whom I gladly belong, and in whose mentality I feel profoundly anchored, still for me does not have any different kind of dignity from all other peoples,” he writes.

"STINGING SUBSTANCE" PANIC LEADS TO STAMPEDE IN ITALY NIGHTCLUB, 6 DEAD At least six people have died and dozens injured in a stampede when panic broke out during a rap concert at an Italian nightclub over the weekend. Reports said the suspected use of a pepper spray-like substance sparked the chaos at the Lanterna Azzurra club in Corinaldo, near Ancona in central Italy. The fire service issued a statement on Twitter and said, “The cause may have been the dispersal of a stinging substance, the young people fled and trampled over each other. Sadly, six people died and dozens are injured.” The victims include five people under the age of 18, three girls and two boys, and an adult woman who had accompanied her daughter to the concert. Local fire chief Dino Poggiali said that 14 of the injured were in a critical condition and 40 less serious. Around 1000 people were gathered at the venue for a performance by Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta, known as the “ling of the trap” for his style of Hip Hop.

India in 1620, at the village of Tharangambadi (Tranquebar), where they built a fort and European-style houses.

A section in the museum has also been attributed to 'The Weaver of Porayar' talking about a South Indian family of weavers (Raman), spinning out cotton dhoti. A statue of Vishnu was also kept in the sectionsymbolising local family worship, an example Reverend Fuglsang brought back, when he travelled as an envoy to Thanjavur.

A section on Hindu Gods is also on display under the ‘People of the earth’ section. To build interest in visitors, there is

Statue of Goddess Kali in the museum

A section on the weavers of Tamil Nadu

In the section on the ‘Voices from the Colonies’, an area is cordoned off, a realistic street scene has been recreated from the town of Serampore in West Bengal, India-

with quintessential Bengali posters under model street lamps. There is a window where one could access a special video made on The Goswami Palace in Serampore or that of the St Olav’s Church Diocese of Calcutta.

Serampore was a Danish colony from 1755-1845. In fact, Serampore was one of Denmark’s largest cities and home to Denmark’s third largest universities.

Right in the centre of that room, which has wall to wall pictures of the city’s streets, homes and shops, stands a model vendor van, something we see in every nook and corner of Bengal’s streets today, selling from Bengali newspapers to titbits.

The Danish had first landed in South

A scene from Serampore recreated in the museum

a huge idol of Goddess Kali by artist Kartick Chandra Paul of Kolkata displayed at the reception. There is also a Ganesh statue opposite, tucked in a quiet corner, next to the children's museum section.

“Yellow Vests” no excuse to curb climate battle KATOWICE: Speaking at the UN climate talks on Monday, France said it fears certain countries will exploit its “yellow vest” protests to curb their ambitions in the fight against global warming. Brune Poirson, French Secretary of State for Ecological Transition said, “It would be dangerous to blame the environment for this entire crisis.

It's a broader political, economic and social problem.” Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the UN climate talks held in Katowice, Poland, she said she was notably there to “help countries decode” the situation in France.

“The 'yellow vest' movement is much broader and goes way beyond the single issue of ecological transition, so I believe one should not conflate things. The risk is that other countries... will use what happened in France and reduce it to a question of ecological transition and a poorly received carbon tax in order to also curb their ambitions regarding the climate,” Poirson said. She conceded the need to figute out a way to transition to clean energy “in the fairest way possible”, adding that the “end goal remains the same, namely to get over our oil dependence and speed up the ecological transition.”

Officials from across 200 countries are currently meeting in Katowice to try to revive all promises made in the 2015 Paris climate accord. The Paris deal saw nations agree to limit global temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) and under 1.5C if possible. The ongoing 'yellow vests' movement began in France last month in protest against anti-pollution fuel tax hikes. The demonstrations have now snowballed, leading to calls to topple French President Emmanuel Macron who is accused of favouring the rich.

The "yellow vests" demonstrations have snowballed, leading to calls to topple French President Macron.

Last week, US President Donald Trump had posted two tweets referring to the antigovernment protests that sparked rioting in Paris. “Very sad day & night in Paris. Maybe it's time to end the ridiculous and extremely expensive Paris Agreement and return money back to the people in the form of lower taxes?” he tweeted.

He had earlier posted, “The Paris Agreement isn't working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France.

People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe

protect the environment. Chanting 'We Want Trump!' Love France.” Trump retweeted one of several posts falsely claiming that French protesters were chanting his name.

The French government responded to the tweets, urging the President to not interfere in French politics.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said, “We do not take domestic American politics into account and we want that to be reciprocated. I say this to Donald Trump and the French president says it too: leave our nation be.”

22 WORLD

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in brief

US - AFRICA

South Africa Names First Female Top Prosecutor JOHANNESBURG: President Cyril Ramaphosa has named a respected female lawyer to head South Africa's prosecuting authority which is currently marred with accusations of improperly protecting former president Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa's appointment of Shamila Batohi distances him from his predecessor's scandal-tainted rule. Speaking to the press, he said, “I am confident that the advocate possesses all the attributes of a capable National Director of Public Prosecutions... she has shown herself to be a fit and proper person.”

Appointed as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is the first female to occupy the role. She is a former prosecutions chief in KwaZulu-Natal province and has served as senior adviser to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2009. Back in 1995, she was part of a high-level team appointed by Nelson Mandela to investigate apartheid-era hit squads. Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said, “This is not just a political appointment. Perhaps it's a sign that may we, as South Africa, appreciate the ICC and are rethinking our position on the ICC.” Batohi's predecessor Shaun Abrahams, or 'Shaun the Sheep' as he was known for his

Shamila Batohi

slavish loyalty to Zuma, was in the dying days of his tenure when he decided to reinstate the graft charges that Zuma now seeks to have dropped. Abrahams was forced out after a court ruled that his initial appointment to the job was invalid.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said, “As we address matters that South Africans are most concerned about, such as state capture, corruption and widespread crime, our country needs a National Prosecuting

Authority that is above reproach.”

The Office of the NPA has seen an insulting decline in public confidence over the years, and it now depends on Batohi how she brings peace to a largely frustrated South African populace. She has a mammoth task on her hands as she takes over an office that was plagued with corruption for the last few years, towards the end of Zuma's presidency.

“The NDPP in our country occupies a vital position in democracy, and makes an essential contribution in upholding the rule of law and ensuring the integrity of law enforcement,” Ramaphosa said in appointing her. “Our country needs an NPA that is above reproach in performance of its mandate. The NDPP must ensure that it exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice and must not be beholden to any vested interest in politics or business,” He added. Speaking about her appointment, Batohi said, “South Africans have bestowed a lot of confidence in me, and I need to reciprocate that confidence. I will strive to serve with the best interest of our society at heart. Our challenges have always existed and will continue to exist. Your NDPP stands with you and together, we stand for justice, and the nation.”

Simran Jeet Singh named Columbia’s first Sikh religious adviser COLUMBIA: Educator and activist Simran Jeet singh has been appointed as Columbia’s first-ever Sikh Religious Life Adviser. He will join Columbia’s 15 other Religious Life Advisers, clergy and spiritual advisers that oversee various faith groups in the university, along with support from “sending organisations” outside of the institution.

Singh's sending organisation is the Sikh Coalition, a New York-based civil rights organisation, and he will provide Sikh students with direct spiritual counseling and organised programming.

Singh, who received his B.A from Trinity University also holds graduate degrees from Columbia and Harvard University. He is a Senior Religion Fellow for the Sikh Coalition and a Visiting Scholar at NYU's Center for Religion and Media. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, he was among the few Sikhs in his community when growing up.

Former co-president of CU Sewa Anmolpreet Kandola said, “It's a very long time coming, and it's going to be really great for Sikh students on this campus to feel like they have a place here. That their religion

Simran Jeet singh

doesn't have to be this constantly other-ed thing that they constantly have to explain...

They won't feel like they're alone.” Sikh students represent a small but active part of the campus community. CU Sewa is the only Sikh organisation on campus, based on the Sikh values of peace, social justice, and selfless service. However, the club is also

open to non-Sikh students. According to the current president of the group, Sunny Birdi, Singh's experience with social justice work and his “phenomenal track record” will be invaluable resources for the club.

“It helps having someone of his background who has navigated the waters of handling how to incorporate a club such as ours into the community and make sure that we're doing our best to include everyone,” he said. “When I was here doing my Ph.D., I often longed for community. There were a handful of [Sikh] graduate students and professors … but we never had someone who was devoted to facilitating and guiding students,” Singh said. Kandola said he was excited about the prospect of having a personal adviser to advocate for and guide Sikh students through their undergraduate experience. “A lot of kids come to college not really sure of how their religious identities play into their college experiences.

The biggest thing is having someone who can lead guided discussion … where you can ask these sort of exploratory questions and ask questions without being judged.”

Nikki Haley hits out at Pak for harbouring terrorism NEW YORK: US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said that Pakistan should not be given “even a dollar” as it continues to harbour terrorists who “turn around and kill American soldiers”. Speaking to a magazine, Haley said funds released to the South Asian country should be based on the goodwill displayed by that nation, rather than, funding and expecting goodwill in return. “The one example I'll give you is, look at Pakistan. Giving them over a billion dollars, and they continue to harbour terrorists that turn around and kill our soldiers that's never okay. We shouldn't even give them a dollar until they correct it. Use the billion dollars. That's not a small amount of change,” she said.

Haley said Islamabad should be told that “you have to do these things before we will even start to help you with your military or start to help you on counter-terrorism”. “I

Nikki Haley

don't think you should blindly give it and then expect goodwill. You have to ask for

goodwill and then give it when you see good things happen.” Haley's statement came days after US President Donald Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan parred in a war of words. In September, the Trump administration had suspended a $300 million military aid to Pakistan citing inaction over terrorism. Trump had also sent a letter to Khan seeking Pakistan's cooperation in bringing peace to Afghanistan.

When asked if she does not agree that foreign aid can turn an adversary into an ally, or can make a country more favourable than it would be otherwise, Haley said, “No, I think it absolutely can. I think that you do have to use it as leverage”. “I don't think you should blindly give it and then expect goodwill. You have to ask for goodwill and then give it when you see good things happen,” she said.

US MILITARY END SEARCH FOR MARINES MISSING OFF JAPAN The US military has declared five missing crew members dead after their refueling plane collided with a fighter jet last week off Japan’s southern coast, and halted search and recovery operations. Two crew members in the F/A-18 were recovered after the accident, but one died. The U.S. Marines said the survivor was in stable condition when rescued. Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya addressed a press conference and said, “The incident is regrettable, but our focus at the moment is on search and rescue. Japan will respond appropriately once the details of the incident are uncovered.” A US official said they were unsure precisely how the mishap occurred but none suspected foul play. An investigation is currently underway. The Marine Corps suggested Japanese search and rescue aircraft had taken the lead on the rescue mission. It said, “We are thankful for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's efforts as they immediately responded in the search and rescue operation.”

NASA PROBE FINDS SIGNS OF WATER ON NEARBY ASTEROID BENNU NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has discovered ingredients for water on a relatively nearby skyscraper-sized asteroid named Bennu. Scientists said OSIRIS-REx, which flew within a 12 miles of the asteroid some 1.4 million miles from Earth, found traces of hydrogen and oxygen molecules.

The probe, which is on a mission to return samples from the asteroid to Earth for study, was launched in 2016. Bennu, roughly a third of a mile wide, orbits the sun at roughly the same distance as Earth. There is concern among scientists of the possibility of Bennu impacting Earth late in the 22nd century. “We have found the water-rich minerals from the early solar system, which is exactly the kind of sample we were going out there to find and ultimately bring back to Earth,” University of Arizona planetary scientist Dante Lauretta, the OSIRIS-REx mission’s principal investigator said. “We’re really trying to understand the role that these carbon-rich asteroids played in delivering water to the early Earth and making it habitable,” Lauretta added. “When samples of this material are returned by the mission to Earth in 2023, scientists will receive a treasure trove of new information about the history and evolution of our solar system,” Amy Simon, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in a statement.

DONALD TRUMP CONCERNED ABOUT IMPEACHMENT : REPORT A media report has suggested that US President Donald Trump sees his impeachment as a “real possibility” over finance violations. Impeachment talks have taken up storm in recent days following a blockbuster filing from prosecutors in the Southern district of New York, in which they directly alleged for the first time that Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen was being directed by the president when he broke the law during the 2016 presidential campaign. A source close to Trump said he has expressed concern that he could be impeached when Democrats take over the House. Special counsel Robert Mueller has launched an 18-month investigation into the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s 2016 election win. The source said that aides inside the West Wing believe “the only issue that may stick” in the impeachment process is the campaign finance violations tied to former Cohen’s payouts to Trump’s alleged mistresses. Prosecutors said Trump’s lawyer clearly sought to influence the outcome of the 2016 election from the sidelines through illicit payments.

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in brief BANGLA TO HONOUR LIBERATION WAR MARTYRS FROM THE IAF

Bangladesh will honour Indian Armed Forces personnel martyred in the country's Liberation War on December 16. Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner, Taufiq Hasan who was in Kolkata, said, “A silver plaque, certificate, speech by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two books by Bangabandhu Mujibar Rahman will be presented to the family of each martyr.” This is the second time that the honours are being presented to families of Indian soldiers who fought in the 1971 war against Pakistan in the eastern frontier. Hasan said Sheikh Hasina had given the honours in Delhi last year for the first time. “All the martyrs of the Indian Armed forces in the eastern theatre in the 1971 war will be honoured gradually,” Hasan said.

PAK PLEDGES HELP ON AFGHAN WAR AFTER MEETING US PEACE ENVOY Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged his help to find a political settlement to the long-running war in neighbouring Afghanistan. The visit to the Pak Capital US special representative to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, came after US President Donald Trump requested Pakistan to help find an end to the 17 year war between Taliban insurgents and the western-backed Afghan government.

Khan's office issued a statement saying, “The Prime Minister reiterated Pakistan's abiding interest in achieving peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan through political settlement.”

Khalilzad, an Afghan-born U.S. diplomat who served as George W. Bush's ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations, was named by Trump three months ago as a special envoy to negotiate peace in Afghanistan. The US has for years been pushing Pak to lean on Taliban leaders who are believed to be based inside Pakistan. While Islamabad has promised in the past to work to help bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiation table, this will be the first attempt for Khan's new government that came in power since August.

“INDIA HAS STAKES IN AFGHANISTAN, ITS COOPERATION NEEDED” In a rare moment, Pakistan has acknowledged for the first time that India has stakes in Afghanistan and its cooperation is necessary for the peace process in the war-torn country.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, speaking in the National Assembly said, Pakistan alone could not bring peace in Afghanistan as it was a “shared responsibility” of regional countries. “Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that peace could not be established in Afghanistan through military power today. Today, the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Taliban also wanted a solution through dialogue,” Qureshi said. He added, “Some meetings have taken place for establishment of peace in Afghanistan. India also has stakes in Afghanistan and its cooperation will also be needed.” The US had hinted at its plans to give a role to India in Afghanistan, whereas Pakistan's stance over the years was quite clear that India had no role to play in the country.

PAKISTAN-SRI LANKA

Pak PM calls 26/11 Mumbai attacks act of terrorism ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has reportedly said that resolving the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case was in the interest of Pakistan as it was an “act of terrorism”. Making the comments in an interview with a media source, he said that he had asked his government to review the status of the case as resolving it was in their interest. “We also want something done about the bombers of Mumbai. I have asked our government to find out the status of the case. Resolving that case is in our interest because it was an act of terrorism,” Khan said.

His remarks came days after India slammed its neighbour for showing “little sincerity in bringing the perpetrators to justice.” In a statement issued on the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, India had expressed its disappointment with Pakistan as the masterminds of the deadly attack that killed 166 people continue to roam freely on the streets of Pakistan. Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat reacted to Khan's comments. He said, “We know who did it. I don't think we have to get anymore statement from anybody. International community knows who did it. Acceptance is good but even

without it, we knew who had done it.”

Meanwhile, Khan also claimed that his overtures of peace with India had been rejected by the Narendra Modi government repeatedly. He alleged that the current Indian government was “anti-Muslim” and “anti-Pakistan”. “India has elections

coming up. The ruling party has an antiMuslim, anti-Pakistan approach. They rebuffed all my overtures,” Khan said. He added, “I have opened a visa-free peace corridor with India called Kartarpur. Let's hope that after the election is over, we can again resume talks with India.”

We're not your “hired” gun, Imran tells US ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan has accused the US of “pushing Pakistan away”, saying he would never want to have a relationship where Pakistan is treated like a “hired gun”. “I would never want to have relationship where Pakistan is treated like a hired gun-- given money to fight someone else's war,” Khan said in an interview. Referring to the 1980s war against the Soviet Union and the ongoing war on terror. “We should never put ourselves in this position again. It not only cost us human lives, devastation of our tribal areas, but it also cost us our dignity. We would like a proper relationship with the US,” Khan said.

When asked to elaborate on the ideal nature of relationship that he would like to have with the US, Khan said, “For instance, our relationship with China is not onedimensional. It's a trade relationship between two countries. We want a similar relationship with the US.” He said his country was not “hedging” towards China, rather it was

Imran Khan

Washington's attitude which had brought a change in the bilateral relationship. “The US had basically pushed Pakistan away.” When asked why he “harboured anti-US sentiments”, Khan said disagreeing with Washington's policies did not make him “anti-American”. “This is a very imperialistic approach. You are either with me or against

me.” Khan also condemned the 2011 US operation in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden. Calling it “humiliating” that the US did not trust Pak to kill terrorist, Khan said, “It was humiliating that we were losing our soldiers and civilians and (suffering terrorist) bomb attacks because we were participating in the US war, and then our ally did not trust us to kill bin Laden.” He added that the US “should have tipped off Pakistan”.

“We did not know whether we were a friend or a foe.”

Khan said he was committed to having dialogue to achieve peace in war-torn Afghanistan. “I talked for years about how there was no military solution in Afghanistan and they called me Taliban Khan. Now I'm happy that everyone realises there is only a political solution.” He also dismissed claims that there were safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan, saying that “there are no sanctuaries in Pakistan.”

SL Prez accuses foreign forces of intimidating him COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said the country's current political crisis is a result of a clash between external and local values, as he accused “foreign forces” of intimidating him. Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since October 26 when Sirisena removed Ranil Wickremesinghe and installed exstrongman Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.

He later dissolved the Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court later overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls.

“When I acted according to the principles of nationalism without giving in to foreign forces and without being intimidated by their threats, foreign forces have become a challenge. The shadows of the old imperialism stand in our way,” Sirisena said, refraining from naming any country. “The current crisis is the result of

Maithripala Sirisena

the concern by the world powers over the affairs of our country due to Sri Lanka's geographical importance or its location in the world map.” He added, “This is an issue between those who believe in foreign thinking and those who respect local values.” The President said that he would accept whatever the Supreme Court's ruling on the petitions filed against the gazette notification issued by him to dissolve Parliament. He even tweeted, “ I look forward to the constitutional interpretation

of the Supreme Court. Whatever it may be, I will take future political decisions accordingly, to the best interest of our motherland, not to the benefit of any person, group or party”. It was aimed at the United National Party with whom Sirisena was running the national unity government.

The partnership ended this year on October 26, when he fired Wickremesingh, triggering a political stand-off in the country.

Sirisena has already said he has no intention of making Wickremesinghe prime minister again no matter what the outcome of the case.

Currently, both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa claim to be the prime ministers of Sri Lanka. The former said his dismissal is invalid because he still holds a majority in the 225-member Parliament. The United National Front (UNF) coalition led by Wickeremesinghe has moved three motions of no trust against Rajapaksa. However, he refused to step down.

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SOUTH INDIA

Telangana election body chief apologises over missing names of voters HYDERABAD: With elections in Telangana held on December 7, voters were in for a shock with names of many people missing from the voters' list at booths in various parts of the state. Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar said, “We put out a lot of advertisements that people should ask for Form 7 and enroll. But I am sorry not everyone was able to use it.” Shockingly, among those with their names missing on the list was ace badminton player Jwala Gutta and a senior IPS officer.

Gutta alleged that she couldn't vote in Telangana as her name was missing from the voters' list. The shuttler wrote in a series of tweets that she was surprised to see her “name disappear” from the list. Kumar said he is getting a report from the official who is in charge of Gutta's neighbourhood. “I do empathise with Jwala Gutta. Actually, her name has been missing from electoral roll since 2016. So, in 2016, 2017, 2018, the inclusion was not there. We will rectify that situation,” Kumar said. Senior police officer T Krishna Reddy also posted on the internet that his name had gone missing mysteriously. Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy went to court saying the

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar

electoral rolls were not complete and had serious errors.

Internet researcher Srinivas Kodali, who had filed a petition seeking the names of deleted voters said, “The low voting is a reflection not just of those who didn't go to vote but those who were denied a chance to vote. There is reason to believe that there was voter profiling done and there was targeted deletion of voters though I don't have proof for that.” Back in September, 2.81 Crore people were named in Telangana's final electoral rolls after the names of 3 Lakh

dead voters and duplicate names were removed. Telangana and Rajasthan, which voted last week were the last of the five states where elections were held ahead of next year's national elections.

Rs 137 crore cash seized during Telangana assembly The Telangana assembly elections have proven to be one of the costliest elections ever held in terms of the amount of cash seized by police before the polling was held.

CEO Rajath Kumar said nearly Rs 137 Crore, including Rs 125 Crore in cash, has been seized by police authorities across Telangana till now, since the announcement of election schedule in the first week of October. This is nearly Rs 50 Crore over the amount seized during the 2014 assembly elections held for the combined Andhra Pradesh.

He said, “Apart from cash, over 10 lakh litres of liquor was seized across the state over the last one month, besides unaccounted gold and silver ornaments and other material apparently meant for luring voters.” Another election official said what was seized was not even 10 per cent of what is being spent by the political parties to woo voters.

K'TAKA LAKE DRAINED AFTER HIV+ WOMAN'S BODY FOUND FLOATING A 23-acre lake in a village in Karnata was drained out after police officers discovered the body of an HIV-Positive woman last week. The woman, in her late twenties, was found dead with her body bloated, and half-eaten by fish. Villagers refused to drink water from the lake believing it was contaminated with the virus. Authorities first tried telling the villagers that they would test the water, however, to no avail.

Finally, with no other option left, officials deployed 20 siphon tubes with four motors to pump out the water. Water was pumped out after which it was cleaned and then filled with water from Malaprabha canal.

The lake is a key source of drinking water for over 1000 people who live in the area.

BADALS USING TAKHT FOR POLITICAL GAINS: MINISTER

PUNJAB

CM calls Kartarpur Corridor opening a Pak gameplan CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has called the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor a big conspiracy hatched by the Pakistan army. In a press release, the CM said the opening of the corridor was clearly a gameplan of the ISI, considering Pak Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa had broken the news of opening to Navjot Singh Sidhu before Imran Khan was sworn in as Prime Minister.

He said the neighbouring country said that Pakistan was attempting to revive militancy in Punjab and everyone should be cautious about its overtures. Captain Amarinder also said that the whole Sidhu situation was hyped unnecessarily and those raising the topic had clearly failed to see ISI's plan the whole time. Demand for opening of the corridor was pending since partition as several holy Sikh shrines – Sri Nankana Sahib, Sri Panja Sahib, Dera Sahib and Kartarpur

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh

Sahib, were left in Pakistan. Former prime ministers like Indira Gandhi and Dr

Manmohan Singh had taken up the issue before. Amarinder himself had raised the issue with his Pakistan Punjab counterpart Parvez Elahi and with the then president Pervez Musharraf during his previous tenure as the chief minister.

He also lashed at the Opposition Badals for branding Sidhu as Khan's stooge. He dismissed it, calling it nothing more than a credit war. Singh also lambasted the Akalis and the BJP central leadership for indulging in unwarranted controversy over his relation with Sidhu, diverting public attention from the core issue of Pakistan’s continued and deliberated perpetration of terror activities in the state. Singh also said that Imran Khan was undoubtedly making efforts to bring peace and harmony with India, but at the same time, he should prevail upon the top brass of Pakistani Army to ensure that “killing of our soldiers at the borders stopped immediately.”

WEST BENGAL

Fake voter ID scam busted in West Bengal KOLKATA: The West Bengal police has busted a fake voter identity card racket in Bongaon, a city near Kolkata. Authorities raided a building located only four and a half kilometers from the Bangladesh border, after receiving a tip-off about the Voter ID racket. Police said main accused in the racket used sophisticated equipment to replicate the logo of the Election Commission and other government offices to produce fake Voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards, driving license and passports.

Arup Biswas, one of the main accused was arrested with a large number of fake identity cards, documents and equipment.

Police officials also seized a computer, printer, few ATM cards, and a fake Bongaon Municipality Trade license from his possession. It was revealed during the interrogation that the racket was operating from Biswas' house for over a year. He would

attract new clients using middlemen and misleading advertisements. His business allegedly attracted several officials who wanted fake identity cards too. They then

allegedly placed orders for a tranche of fake Voter ID cards for a huge amount.

The men would replace photos in scanned copies of documents, change th names and put fake photos on them. They would then use sophisticated machinery to carefully place the original government seal before laminating them. Sources said police are trying to identify the officials who ordered the fake Ids and the purpose behind it. The case is vital as the scam unraveled just near the International Border.

Officials suspect involvement of some unscrupulous people in the district collectorate. Intelligence inputs, in the past, have highlighted that the fake identity cards were procured by Bangladeshi immigrants at a premium.

Possibilities of terror suspects are not ruled out.

Sukhbir Badal

Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar has called for a 10-year ban from public and professional life for Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal and his family for dishonouring the Akal Takht and using it to their political ends. He also questioned the SGPC chief on his role in allowing the Badal family's rituals and whether the Takht could be allowed to be used for “political atonement for sins”. “The Badals have used religion for political gains. Does a court or a judge ever roll out a red carpet for a convict. Sukhbir has become his own convict, advocate and judge. He has misused the religion in the 10 years of his reign and now in the name of seeking atonement he is using the name of Akal Takht. I request the Jathedar to ban the Badal clan from public and political life for 10 years,” he said.

SCHOOL EXAM PAPER SEEKS ANSWERS ON MAMATA'S SINGUR MOVEMENT A state-aided school in Kolkata has set as many as five questions on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her land movement in Singur in the history question paper of Class 8. The total five questions carried a total of 14 marks in a paper of 70 marks.

Opposition parties have reacted sharply to the inclusion of a chapter on the movement and the CM. Last year, the inclusion of Singur movement and Banerjee's role had prompted opposition leaders to pillory the ruling party alleging comparison with Adolf Hitler. The movement began in 2006 opposing the land acquisition policy of the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government for the Nano factory of Tata Motors is one of the most defining moments of Banerjee's political career.

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15 - 21 December 2018

Palkhivala for only 30 % Reservation • The Mandal Commission report had opened the Pandora’s box for the reservations • Unlimited power of amending the Constitution endangers democracy and the unity one can dispute the scenario developing in India is the outcome of the caste-based Reservation policy and populist policies followed by all the political parties. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, along with both of his lieutenants, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, had visualized the vicious circle well in advance. All the three were opposed to the caste-based Reservations while drafting the Constitution of India in post-independence days.

It is too late to reverse since it would be suicidal for any political party to oppose or even review the caste-based reservation policy. More and more castes have been agitating to get the benefits of government jobs and education quota in various states. The Mandal Commission report had opened the Pandora’s box for the reservations for the Socially and Educationally Backwards and there is no end to it. Despite the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India in the Indra Sawhaney Case putting a ceiling limit of 50% on total reservations in November 1992, there is hardly any political party, ruling or opposition, which would prefer to follow it.

N

Nani Palkhivala(11 January 1920- 11 December 2009), who appeared in the Supreme Court for the petitioner, pointed out several defects in the method adopted by the Mandal Commission for ascertaining backwardness. His insisted on merit and percentage of reservations be confined to 30% since reservations were the exception and not the norm.

It was rejected by the Bench.

The majority placed a cap of 50% on total reservations for appointments made every year.

The Article 16(4) of the Constitution reads as : “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State.”

The article is an exception but it is being made the norm in most of the Indian States. Since Tamil Nadu and other States have more than the ceiling limit of 50%, even other States are inclined to follow higher percentage of reservations.

Such actions are liable for judicial review. Recent example of Maharashtra passing a bill in both the legislatures in the State to give 16 % reservation to the agitating Marathas makes the total of 68 %!

The Patidars of Gujarat are agitating for reservation quota

since last more than 3 years and the Rajputs, Brahmins and even Lohanas are queuing up submitting memorandums to the Other Backward Class Commission.

Since the elections are round

Nani Palkhivala

constituted its largest ever bench of 13 judges to decide whether Parliament had the unfettered right to amend the Constitution or not. On 24 April 1973, seven out of 13 judges held that Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution

Ambassador Palkhivala with PM Morarji Desai and External Affairs Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

the corner, the announcements are made even to amend the Constitution. Palkhivala had warned more than two decades ago that the trend would lead to 100 % reservations making it a mockery.

“If a count were to be made of the ten topmost lawyers of the world, I have no doubt that Mr. Palkhivala’s name would find a prominent place therein.” This was the tribute to Palkhivala by Justice H. R. Khanna, a judge of the Supreme Court of India who saved the Constitution of India vide the landmark judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati Case way back in 1973. The Supreme Court

was limited. The basic structure of the Constitution cannot be amended. When his junior, M.H. Beg, was appointed the Chief Justice of India, Justice Khanna resigned on the same day in

Next Column: The Dream Nehru saw in 1929 at Lahore Fulfilled January 1977.

Palkhivala’s book, “We, the People” which was published soon after the Emergency was revoked, carried a full-fledged chapter on him titled, “Salute to Justice

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one with political stability. The greatest credit for this achievement is due, apart from the outstanding personality of your father and yourself, to the basic structure of our Constitution.”

Palkhivala wrote to her during the Emergency when he along with

Justice H.R.Khanna

Justice M. C. Chagla and H. M. Seervai were opposing her undemocratic actions.

Since most of the Indian states are facing agitations by the socalled Savarnas i.e. upper castes demanding inclusion among the Social and Educational Backwards, it becomes Constitutionally necessary to raise the ceiling limit of 50% on total reservation. The political parties are in competition even to amend the basic structure of the Constitution.

This would make Nani Palkhivala’s warning prove right that “If Article 16(4) was not an exception, theoretically there could be 100 % reservation! Soli J. Sorabjee and Arvind P. Datar have rightly written in “Nani Palkhivala: Courtroom Genius”: “If the decision in Kesavanda Bharati helped to preserve the unity and integrity of India, the decision of the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India popularly called the Mandal casepolarized Indian society by upholding reservations that are almost exclusively based on caste.” Dr. Hari Desai (The writer is a Socio-political Historian.

E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com)

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Khanna”. He says in the book, “his statue must be installed in every street and corner of the country for the yeoman service rendered by him for the cause of justice”. Till PM Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency, Palkhivala was on her side appearing in her case in the Supreme Court, but the mid-night declaration and mass arrests of the opposition leaders and imposition of pre-censorship to gag the press made him change his mind and conveyed Mrs. Gandhi on 27 June 1975 his decision “to withdraw from the Appeal against the Allahabad High Court’s judgment in the Election Petition against her”.

Palkhivala wrote a long letter to the then PM “My dear Indira ji” on 9 November 1975 suggesting her to desist from her efforts to empower the Parliament to amend the Constitution by reversing the Kesavananda Bharati judgment.

Possibly due to this communication, the PM gave up the idea to get the judgment reversed and the larger bench of the Supreme Court formed was disbanded! Nani wrote to the PM: “If Parliament is given an unlimited power of amending the Constitution, the high degree of possibility is that the basic structure of the Constitution which postulates a free democracy and the unity and integrity of the country will vanish within a few years. After you, who will be able to hold the entire country together?

The States will fight for greater autonomy than is desirable. It is, to my mind, inconceivable the freedom and unity of the country can survive for long after Parliament’s supremacy over the Constitution is established…The basic structure of the Constitution is the real safeguard of the minorities. They are bound to feel grave apprehension at the prospect of the structure being held alterable. How many of your successors will share your own exemplary non-communal outlook?...India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon got their independence at about the same time, and of these countries, India is the only

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AgustaWestland Scam: Delhi court extends CBI custody of Michel A Delhi court has extended the CBI custody of British national Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman accused in the Rs 3600 Crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case, by five days. Michel was extradited from the UAE on December 4 and has been in custody since. CBI Special Judge Arvind Kumar asked the CBI to produce Michel on December 15 after the agency said it needed more time to confront the accused with number of documents and other witnesses. CBI counsel DP Singh submitted, “He is to be interrogated and number of documents are to be confronted (which) have been received from five countries pursuant to the letter of request sent to these countries and incriminating materials (have been received). Accused needs to (be) confronted with some witnesses to unearth the deep rooted conspiracy and to identify his accomplices including IAF officials, bureaucrats and politicians.”

He further submitted, “He has been non-cooperative.

When

New Arrival

Congratulations to mum Suchira, dad John and family for the arrival of their new bundle of joy Arjun Thomas Grice on Thursday 6th December.

May this exciting time be filled with lots of joyous and loving memories.

Happy Birthday

Christian Michel James

confronted with documents, he knows when he is in problem and becomes evasive and we have to do elaborate investigation. It will open Pandora's box.” Meanwhile, Michel's counsel Aljo Joseph said allegations about his client being noncooperative is “absolutely wrong”. He submitted, “He has participated in a trial and was acquitted by an Italian court. There is no incriminating material. The interrogation is just for torture.”

Responding to this, Singh said, “He (the counsel) is trying to create a headline. He (Michel) has not been even spoken loudly and has been treated with utmost respect. He is an accused who did not join the trial.”

Joseph also submitted that the Special Power of Attorney (SPA) of the accused, “namely Santrolli Rosemary Patrizi Dos Anjos”, wants to meet the accused once. To this, the prosecutor said, “She is a newsmaker and tells vague things to the press.”

Birthday boy: Dev Gadhia DOB: 11.12.14 Play around as much as you can! Sing along loudly to songs you love at the top of your lungs!

Dance to your favourite music until your legs hurt!

Happy Birthday Dev. May your year be filled with plenty of happiness and nothing but good times.

Five-State Assembly Elections: Congress looks at strong finish, takes 3 states

Rahul Gandhi

As the year inches to a close, the Indian National Congress made a strong finish in the recent state elections sweeping BJP off from its strong-holds.

Capturing Chhattisgarh, gradually winning Rajasthan and clinching a slim victory on the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh, Congress is currently on a high. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi who took over as president of the party last year, said it was “time for change”, and credited his party workers for the result.

He promised “strong governments” in the states that his party is set to win. MP and Chhattisgarh have been ruled for the last 14 years by the BJP and Rajasthan for the last five.

Speaking at a press conference, Gandhi said, “This is a clear message to the Prime Minister and the BJP that the country is not happy with what they are doing... The BJP has a certain ideology and we will fight against it. We have won this elections, we will also win in 2019.” He added, “However, we do not want to get rid of anyone.” Votes were counted in five states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. Votes from the multi-state elections were counted as the semi-final before next year's Lok Sabha polls.

Telangana pulled back K Chandrasekhar Rao of the Telangana

Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) and Congress lost its last bastion in the north east in Mizoram, as the Mizo National Front took over.

The INC continued with a tease reaching a majority mark of 100 seats, almost 12 hours after counting began.

The party has an offer of support from the Rashtriya Lok Dal. A party or alliance needs 100 seats to win in the

Prospective Rajasthan CM Sachin Pilot

200-member Rajasthan, and voting was held in 199 seats as a candidate in one constituency died. Congress scored the target seats, with BJP lagging with 73 seats.

Madhya Pradesh was the closest contest for most part of the day, with the Congress leading in 113 seats, and the BJP in 109. The Congress had reached out to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the GGP to request support in case it

Source: TOI

Recurring Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao

fails to make the majority. A party needs to win 116 seats in the state's 230-member assembly to form a government in the northern state.

Chhattisgarh was swept clean by the Congress, taking in 68 of the state's 90 seats, a two-thirds majority and a gain of 29 seats from last time. In the country's youngest state, Telangana, Rao established his supremacy as his TRS lead in a whopping 87

seats, way past the 60 it needed for a majority in the 119 member assembly. KCR faced a united challenge from the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Left that have formed a ‘mahakootami’ (grand alliance) to unseat the TRS. The BJP fought separately and is now leading only in one seat. In Mizoram, the Mizo National Front (MNF) will return to power after a gap of 10 years by defeating the Congress with a lead of 26 seats. chief minister Lal Thanhawla of the Congress lost both the seats he contested. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress, Rao and Mizoram's MNF for their victories. He said, "We accept the people's mandate with humility." Modi also tweeted, "Today's results will further our resolve to serve people and work even harder for the development of India." Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "We have done reasonably well. We have to introspect. The cadres will have an honest analysis ". He said in Rajasthan, where "it was predicted that we will be way behind".

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

27

15 - 21 December 2018

Study finds drinking orange juice could slash your risk of dementia by 50 per cent Antioxidants in fruit and veg can help protect the brain from ageing damage Drinking a glass of orange juice every day could significantly lower your risk of getting dementia, a study suggests.

Researchers tracked almost 28,000 men for two decades to examine how their fruit and vegetable consumption affected their brain power.

They found men who drank a small glass of orange juice were 47 per cent less likely to have difficulty remembering, following instructions or navigating familiar areas.

Lapses in memory, understanding and episodes of confusion can be early signs of brain decline which can ultimately lead to lifethreatening dementia.

An estimated 46.8million people are living with dementia worldwide – 850,000 within in the UK, and five million in the US. There is no cure for the condition but scientists have been trying to find a cure for the memory-robbing disor-

der for years.

This new evidence reiterates the importance of a healthy diet in staving off the degeneration of the brain which comes with old age.

'Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and nutrients, including antioxidants, that can help protect the brain,' said Dr Hannah Gardener, a researcher at the University of Miami, who wasn't involved with the research.

These health-giving benefits can protect the brain from a build-up of unwanted molecules and maintain a healthy blood supply to the brain.

Lead study author Changzheng Yuan said longterm intake of veg, fruit and orange juice 'may be beneficial' for maintaining cognitive function.

Fruit consumption, overall, didn't appear to influence the risk of moderate cognitive problems.

But drinking orange juice did, according to the research, published in the journal Neurology.

Just 6.9 of people who drank orange juice every day went on to develop poor cognitive function.

In comparison, the figure was 8.4 per cent of men who drank orange juice less than once a month.

'The protective role of regular consumption of fruit juice was mainly observed

among the oldest men,' Ms Yuan said.

'Since fruit juice is usually high in calories from concentrated fruit sugars, it's generally best to consume no more than a small glass (four to six ounces) per day.'

The study didn't intend to find the link between a healthy diet and memory, however.

Therefore it lacked data on participants memory skills at the beginning of the study, which would have shown how their diet might have influenced this over time.

Dr Hannah Gardener added: 'Fruit and vegetable consumption may be a piece of the puzzle to maintaining cognitive health and should be viewed in conjunction with other behaviors believed to support cognitive health.'

Tiny 'jellybean' in the thumb ends pain of hand arthritis and increases grip strength

A tiny ‘jellybean’ implanted in the thumb joint could relieve the pain and immobility of hand arthritis, according to new research.

The prosthesis, made from the same clear gel material as disposable contact lenses, takes just 30 minutes to insert and has also been shown to increase grip strength.

In those with arthritis, the smooth cartilage that usually lines the tiny joints of the hand wears away.

This can be particularly pronounced in the main thumb joint, located just above the wrist and allows the thumb to rotate.

Without cartilage, the bones grind together causing

inflammation and pain.

The jellybean implant does not replace the joint but sits between the ends of the thumb bones, acting as a cushion. As it stops the bones coming into contact with each other, the thumb can move freely without causing pain.

Previously, patients with severe hand arthritis may have been offered joint fusion. Also called arthrodesis, this procedure fuses the two bones that make up the painful arthritic joint using metal plates, screws or wires.

Recovery can take weeks or even months and patients will lose the ability to move the thumb freely, though the surgery means pain and

swelling are greatly reduced.

Another surgical option involves removing one of the arthritic bones at the base of the thumb – a trapeziectomy. Although this also relieves pain and maintains movement, grip strength still remains poor.

The jellybean implant, however, relieves pain and preserves normal movement.

Osteoarthritis of the thumb is estimated to affect eight to 12 per cent of adults

and as many as a third of women over 55. Also known as basal thumb arthritis, symptoms include pain, swelling, stiffness, deformity, loss of motion and weakness, making even simple tasks such as turning doorknobs difficult.

In the early stages, the arthritis can be treated with painkillers, splints and injections. But in many cases the disease progresses to the point where little or no cartilage is left, leaving the sufferers with painful bone-tobone contact.

Implantation takes less than one hour and starts with a small incision a few inches long, to expose the joint. Damaged cartilage is then removed and the Cartiva is inserted into the base of the thumb.

Fitness tracker that can predict depression An electronic body tracker could help doctors diagnose depression and anxiety disorders. The device is made up of headset, wrist bands and an ankle bracelet, monitors heart rate, level of sweating, respiration and diameter of pupils. The data is collected and analysed by computers. It is estimated one Briton in six suffers

in brief PATIENTS FORCED TO WAIT WEEKS FOR GP APPOINTMENT EVERY MONTH A fifth of patients trying to make an appointment with their family GP are left waiting two weeks or more, NHS figures have revealed. Nearly five million patients couldn't see their GP within two weeks in October, with a million of them having to wait a staggering four weeks.

Official data also shows more than a million appointments simply go to waste every month because patients don't bother to turn up. NHS Digital figures released last Friday showed patients failed to attend nearly six million consultations in the first five months of 2018.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has urged patients to let their GP surgery know 'as soon as possible' if they can't attend their appointment. The shock figures come amid warnings the unprecedented demand and falling GP numbers has left the primary care sector extremely fragile.

WALKING UP FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS QUICKLY WITHOUT STOPPING IS KEY TO AVOIDING AN EARLY DEATH Being able to walk up four flights of stairs without stopping for a break is key to avoiding an early death, researchers say.

Spanish scientists tested the theory on nearly 13,000 people who were battling or suspected to have coronary artery disease. They found those who struggled were three times more likely to die from heart disease and faced twice the risk of dying from cancer.

The researchers claim their results provide further evidence of the benefits of exercise and being fit on health and longevity. Researchers from the University Hospital Coruña in Galicia analysed people with diagnosed or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Light activities, such as standing or walking slowly, use less than three METs, according to the researchers. While moderate activities, such as brisk walking, use three-to-six METs, and vigorous activities, such as jogging or playing football, use more than six METs. Good functional capacity was defined as being able to achieve ten METs during the treadmill test before becoming breathless.

CANCER WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE ERADICATED, SAY NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS The winners of this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine say they expect substantial advances toward treating cancer in the next several decades, although it is unlikely the disease could be eradicated. James Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan made the assessments at a Thursday news conference, days before they will receive the 9 millionkronor ($999,000) prize. They were named winners of the prize in October for their work in immunotherapy — activating the body's natural defense system to fight tumors.

'Soon we'll get close with some cancers,' Allison said, citing progress against some forms including melanoma. But, he said, 'the world will never be cancer-free.'

Addressing their statement, experts said that is, unfortunately, a fair assessment for many unpreventable types of cancer. But there are scores of cancers that can be prevented simply by bringing an end to cigarettes, improving diets and physical activity, and increasing the rate of people who receive the HPV vaccine.

COULD DIY BLOOD TESTS FREE YOU FROM THE GP? The device is made up of headset, wrist bands and an ankle bracelet, monitors heart rate, level of sweating, respiration and diameter of pupils

from anxiety or depressive disorder at some point.

Some remain undiag-

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement any advice. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

nosed due to patients’ failure to recognise and report symptoms. However, physical symptoms can be used to indicate potential problems early. Pilot studies of the device, called SysteMD (System with Sensors to

Evaluate Mental Disorders), developed by US engineering firm Draper, have proved impressive, diagnosing acute anxiety disorder correctly in 94 per cent of cases. The device is expected to be available for use from 2019.

Worried about diabetes or high cholesterol? Maybe you’re desperate to know why you’re tired all the time?

Good news… waiting for a GP’s verdict on a host of conditions may no longer be necessary. Over the past five years, the array of do-it-yourself health tests has mushroomed, promising to aid diagnosis of everything from vitamin deficiencies to heart disease.

With a third of British women neglecting potentially lifesaving screening appointments, the Department of Health may soon roll out DIY smear tests nationwide. Similarly, athome tests for sexually transmitted infections successfully detect disease and aid early diagnosis. Many DIY tests can deliver a verdict in seconds – but are all these home-test kits as scientific as they should be?

28 BOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

15 - 21 December 2018

Magazine calls Priyanka a “scam artist”, people lash out Several celebrities and the public have slammed a magazine for writing an article that called Priyanka Chopra a “modernday scam artist” over her marriage to American singer Nick Jonas. Published by The Cut on their website, the blatantly racist, sexist, and xenophobic piece was rife with first world complex combined with a hint of misogyny. Journalist Mariah Smith, who came up with the article that has now been deleted, wrote several things about Chopra, nothing nice, including, “All Nick wanted was a possible fling with Hollywood's latest It Woman, but instead he wound up staring straight at a life sentence with a global scam artist.”

She also wrote, “Even more upsetting, she's a scam artist who never even took the time to make sure he was comfortable riding a horse before arranging for him to enter their wedding ceremony on horseback.” The piece found much-deserved hate online by several people, including Nick's brother and his fiance, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner. Sophie slammed the article saying, “This is wildly inappropriate and totally disgusting.

Very disappointed that The Cut would give anyone a platform to spew such bullshit.” Joe wrote, “This is disgusting. @TheCut should be ashamed to have someone write such evil words. What Nick & Pri have is Beautiful Love. Thank u, Next.”

There was a strong reaction from Bollywood too, with actress Sonam Kapoor calling the article “sexist, racist and disgusting”. She tweeted, “For a publication that 'shows women's what they are made of' @TheCut has a lot to answer for. The article on @priyankachopra was sexist, racist and disgusting.

Also it's written by a woman which is so sad. It reeks of envy and bitterness. @mRiah shame on you!”

After the furore, the website issued an apology and said it has deleted the objectionable article.

“An earlier story about Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas did not meet our standards. We've removed it and apologize,” The Cut wrote on its official Twitter handle. It had however, earlier “updated” the article, just removing the objectionable mentions of the actress. They had even kept the tag 'Scam' intact after the update. The writer too tweeted an apology, a couple of days after the internet reacted on her article. She wrote, “I want to sincerely apologize to Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, and to the readers, I offended and hurt with my words. I do not condone racism, xenophobia, or sexism. I take full responsibility for what I wrote, and I was wrong. I am truly sorry.”

Deepika Padukone is first woman to enter top 5 in Forbes’ richest Indian celebs list The year is ending on a fantastic tone for our favourite Deepika Padukone. After a lavish destination wedding with dreamy Ranveer Singh, and a never-ending week of celebration, the actress has now made it to the top five of Forbes India's 2018 list of richest Indians and become the first woman to do so. She raked in a phenomenal Rs 112.8

Crore this year. At No. 4 in the celebrity list, Deepika Padukone is the highest earning woman celebrity in India while Ranveer Singh is four places behind at the No.8 spot.

Virat Kohli comes second, with Rs 228.09 Crore, and is the first sportsperson to make it to the spot. He is followed by Akshay Kumar at third with a total gross of Rs 185

Crore. Mahendra Singh Dhoni stands at fifth position, with Rs 1,1.77 Crore. Forbes has noted that the period under its consideration was October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. The cumulative earnings figure for 2018 amounted to Rs 3,140.25 Crore, which is 17 per cent higher than last year's Rs 2683 Crore.

Suhana helped SRK get 'Zero' song right Suhana Khan's aspirations for acting is no secret, and her father Shah Rukh has often spoken fondly about her career goals. Now it appears that she has been giving him some work advice. Sharing a throwback picture from the sets of his upcoming film 'Zero', Shah wrote, “Of all the things I have done for 'Mere Naam Tu... this is the sweetest. My daughter teaching me to get the lyrics right on the sets. Hope after she sees the song she approves...”

The mentioned song features the actor confessing his love to Anushka Sharma in a romantic way. The song has been picturised with special effects involving water ans colors.

Just a few days ago, Suhana had performed on stage in her college play titled 'Romeo and Juliet' and her superstar father was there among the audience. He had shared a picture on his social media, praising her acting skills. Shah

Rukh, Katrina Kaif and Anushka are collaborating for the second time after 2012's 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'. 'Zero' will hit the screens on December 21.

Akshay Kumar tries to hide his children from paparazzi Paparazzi focus on celebrity children is certainly a cause of alarm today. With their privacy invaded everyday, celebrity parents like Akshay Kumar have grown a certain aversion towards exposing their children to the media. “I will never bring my kids in front of the camera on purpose. I don't want to turn them into products of sorts.

But if we go out and photographers happen to spot us, they can click pictures,” the actor said in a recent interview. He said photos of his children don't come out as often, “but honestly speaking, I don't like it at all.”

The actor was however, also

sympathetic towards the paps.

“They click star kids' pictures because they sell and newspapers, magazines print them. I am sure they aren't doing it just for fun but because they get money for it.

I won't say that they are 'troubling' anyone because they have their own reasons for clicking such pictures. And I can totally understand because they get paid for those pictures. As long as lens-men are making money, I am fine with it.” He added, “As far as I am concerned, I am personally all for it. In fact, I always readily pose for photographers and tell them to take good pictures.”

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KOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

29

15 - 21 December 2018

Manju Warrier suffers minor injuries on set Actress Manju Warrier, who currently awaits the release of Mohanlal-starrer 'Odiyan' was recently hurt while shooting for an action sequence for Santosh Sivan's 'Jack and Jill' in Haripad, Kerala.

Sources said she suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital nearby where she received a few stitches. While the particular schedule of the film was to end on December 7, it has been extended by few days owing to

Aditi Rao Hydari sings for GV Prakash

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari has taken up on a new role, and will make her singing debut in GV Prakash starrer 'Jail'. Prakash took to his Twitter account to announce the news. Posting a picture of them, he wrote, “Super happy to announce that the super talented Aditi will be singing her debut Tamil song, a duet, 'Kaaththodu', in my music for Vasantha Balan sir's 'Jail'. Can't wait for you guys to hear it.”

Aditi also tweeted on her song and wrote, “Recorded my first song in Tamil. Butterflies in my tummy. Thank you for trusting me with such a pretty song and guiding me through so smoothly.” 'Jail' marks the comeback of Vasanthabalan and stars Abarnathi of 'Enga Veetu Maapillai' fame in the female lead. Sources said the movie is based on slum rehabilitation. Produced by Krikes Cine Creations, Jail will have music scored by GV Prakash himself.

On the work front, Aditi is currently working on Telugu film 'Antariksham 9000 KMPH' and Tamil Petta.” The new poster features a close-up film 'Psycho'. of the actor sporting a moustache and spectacles.

Nawazuddin is making his Tamil debut with 'Petta', and his first collaboration with Rajinikanth.

Siddiqui also shared his look from the film on social media and wrote, “First look of Singaar Singh in Petta.”

Makers had previously unveiled a poster featuring Rajinikanth with south Indian actress Simran Bagga. In the poster, they are shown navigating their way through a crowd of people holding potted plants and with huge smiles.

Shooting for the film began in June at Eastern Forest Rangers College at St. Mary’s Hill, Kurseong in Darjeeling with the second schedule took place in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Manju's injury.

The film is a suspense thriller and also stars Kalidas Jayaram and Soubin Shahir. It also marks Santosh's comeback to the Malayalam film industry after his critically acclaimed work 'Urmi' in 2011.

On the work front, Warrier awaits the release of Mohanlal's magnum opus 'Odiyan' on December 14. She is also working with him on another project titled 'Lucifer'. The film will mark the debut of actor Prithviraj as director.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s first look from 'Petta' out

First look of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui from his Tamil film 'Petta' is out. Petta director Karthik Subbaraj shared the first look poster on social media and captioned it, “Here it is... The killer performer Nawazuddin Siddiqui sir as Singaar Singh in

* Schedule is subject to change

MONDAY 17th - FRIDAY 21st December

TIME

16:00: 17:00: 17:30: 18:00: 18:30: 19:00: 19:30: 20:00: 20:30: 21:00: 21:30: 22:30: 23:00:

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RASOI SHOW THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 2 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI UTTARAN DIL KI PUKAR INTERNETWALA LOVE ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN JAHAANARA BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE RED ALERT TANTRA JAHAANARA

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18:00: 18:30: 19:00: 19:30: 20:00: 21:30: 22:30:

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18:00: 18:30: 19:00: 19:30: 20:00: 21:30: 22:30:

SATURDAY 22nd December TV PROGRAM NAMES

RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI UTTARAN DIL KI PUKAR THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 2 DANCE DEEWANE ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA TANTRA

SUNDAY 23rd December TV PROGRAM NAMES

RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI UTTARAN DIL KI PUKAR ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN - WEEKEND KA MAHA EPISODE DANCE DEEWANE ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA TANTRA

Tuesday December 18, 2018 01:35 Film : Kalyug 06:00 Film : The Perfect Girl 08:00 Film : Main Tere Pyaar Mein Pagal 10:28 Film : Naaraaz 12:55 Film : Bas Ek Tamanna * Schedule is subject to change 15:18 Film : Fareb 17:44 Film : The Shaukeens Saturday December 15, 2018 * Schedule is subject to change 20:21 Film : Ghatak 02:10 Film : Yeh Hai Judgement Hanged Till Death 23:38 Film : Jai Bharat SATURDAY 15th DECEMBER Wednesday December 19, 2018 06:00 Film : Cheetah The Leopard TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 02:20 Film : Sabse Bada Mawali 08:45 Film : Nazar Ke Samne 06:00 Film : I Don't Love You 17:00 Keys to Kismat 11:22 Film : Rama Rama Kya Hai Drama 08:17 Film : Khalnayak The Fighter 17:30 Crime Patrol 14:03 Film : Fox 11:20 Film : Jahan Tum Le Chalo 18:30 Indian Idol 16:30 Film : Awaara Paagal Deewana 14:10 Film : Bangkok Summer 20:00 Indian Idol 22:00 Comedy Circus 20:00 Film : Don- The Chase Begins Again 16:45 Film : Akaash Vani 19:36 Film : Star Stop 23:00 Crime Patrol 23:34 Film : Zeher 20:16 Film : Awarapan Sunday December 16, 2018 22:47 Film : Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai SATURDAY 16th DECEMBER Thursday December 20, 2018 02:05 Film : Hey Bro 01:27 Film : Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun...

TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 06:00 Film : Good Buddy Gadbadi 06:00 Film : Huff! It's Too Much 08:22 Film : Gurudev 17:30 Crime Patrol 08:00 Film : Taaqatwar Policewala 11:40 Film : Aakhree Raasta 10:05 Film : Khel 18:30 Indian Idol 13:45 Film : Anjaane - The Unknown 14:55 Film : 36 China Town 20:00 Indian Idol 16:00 Film : Main Khiladi Tu Anari 17:50 Film : Agent Vinod 22:00 Comedy Circus 19:36 Film : Star Stop 20:57 Film : The Shaukeens 23:00 Crime Patrol 20:05 Film : Phobia 23:40 Film : Madhoshi 22:24 Film : Bewafaa MONDAY 20th - FRIDAY 21st DECEMBER Friday December 21, 2018 Monday December 17, 2018 02:00 Film : Pappu Can't Dance Saala 01:35 Film : Jaanbaaz The Hero TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 06:00 Film : Future To Bright Hai Ji 06:00 Film : The Silent Heroes 08:10 Film : Jurm 18:30 Vighnaharta Ganesh 08:13 Film : Dushmano Ka Dushman 10:41 Film : Krishan Avtaar 19:00 Mere Sai 11:10 Film : Luv Shuv Pyar Vyar 19:30 Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai 13:43 Film : Chaalbaaz 13:41 Film : Man On Mission Fauladi 16:54 Film : Santa Banta Pvt Ltd 20:00 Chandragupta Maurya 20:30 Main Maayke Chali Jaaungi 16:20 Film : Don- The Chase Begins Again 19:15 Film : Star Stop 21:00 Patiala Babes 20:00 Film: Saaya 20:00 Film : Agneepath 21:30 Ladies Special 22:44 Film : Akaash Vani 23:15 Film : Phobia 22:00 Crime Patrol SUNDAY 23rd December SATURDAY 22nd December

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* Schedule is subject to change

MONDAY 17th - FRIDAY 21st December

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UDANN

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DASTAAN-E-MOHABBAT SALIM ANARKALI

20:00:

SHAKTI ASTITVA KE EHSAAS KI

21:00:

BIGG BOSS (SEASON 12)

22:30:

VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA

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SILSILA ROOP

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INDIA'S GOT TALENT - SEASON 8 INSIDE ACCESS WITH MISSMALI NI (SEASON 2) DESI BEAT 3.0 NAAGIN - SEASON 3 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 12) - WEEKEND KA WAAR INDIA'S GOT TALENT - SEASON 8 UDANN

TIME

TV PROGRAM NAMES

18:00: INDIA'S GOT TALENT - SEASON 8 19:00: DESI BEAT 3.0 19:30: INSIDE ACCESS WITH MISSMALINI - (SEASON 2) 20:00: NAAGIN - SEASON 3 21:00: BIGG BOSS (SEASON 12) - WEEKEND KA WAAR 22:00: INDIA'S GOT TALENT - SEASON 8

30 UK

AsianVoiceNews

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

15 - 21 December 2018

Pramukh Swami's 98th Birth Anniversary celebrations continue in Rajkot

Swayamsevak Prerna ceremony was held in the presence of the head of Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Mahant Swami, in Rajkot on December 4. On December 5, Mahant Swami and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani performed opening ceremony of Swaminarayan Nagar. Swamishri, Vijay Rupani offered mantra-pushpanjali to HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj, along with senior sadhus. Dignitaries present at the evening assembly talked fondly about Pramukh Swami's life and activities.

His birth anniversary was on December 7. On that day, in his address to the crowds, Mahant Swami informed everyone present that Pramukh Swami was an absolutely benevolent saint. He used to inspire everyone to do what is good for others. In the evening assembly, a dance programme was presented on the life of Pramukh Swami. On December 8, Sahayak Sanman ceremony was celebrated. Volunteers and devotees who were helpful in the Mahotsav were honoured in the function. On December 9, singers Kirtidhan Gadhvi and Osman Mir gave a beautiful performance. Mahant Swami gave them his blessings. On December 10, Mahant Swami and other senior sadhus oversaw commencement of the 'Swaminarayan Vishwashanti Mahayagna'. More than 15,000 devotees had participated in the ceremony. Mahant Swami will reach Sarangpur for his vicharan on December 16.

l

Coming Events

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London is collecting clothes and tinned food for the homeless. All haribhaktas are requested to bring over unwanted winter clothes and tinned food for the needy. You can drop your donations at Yogi Hall, The Swaminarayan School, on December 15, between 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm.

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Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

Sneh Joshi

A rogue landlord who ran an illegal box-room empire must pay £1.5 million or spend nine years in prison.

Vispasp Sarkari continuously ignored planning rules and converted properties across north-west London into substandard flats without permission.

Harrow Crown Court heard that the 56-year-old would cram as many people as possible into these dangerous rooms and charge tenants extortionate rent.

His operation was brought down by a joint venture between Harrow

and Brent Councils.

Sarkari operated for at least five years in Brent and Harrow, ignoring several enforcement warnings from both councils and raking in thousands of pounds from those desperately seeking a roof over their heads.

His criminal enterprise included a one-bed house in Brent – converted into eight box-room bedsits – and four similar properties across Harrow.

He was ordered to pay an additional £12,000 and cover the costs for both local authorities in full.

Dog owner banned from keeping Alsatians after noise complaints A shopkeeper has been banned from keeping his Alsatian guard dogs within half a mile of his property after they repeatedly ruined neighbours' sleep by barking through the night.

Chaand Anjum, 31, who runs Mecca Convenience Store on Ayres Road in Old Trafford, must also cough up more than £22,000 in fines and court costs.

Anjum was earlier found guilty after a trial of five charges of breaching a noise abatement notice to keep his animals quiet. He now cannot keep any dog within 800 metres of Ayres Road.

The defendant still denies any wrongdoing and says he will lodge an appeal.

Manchester magistrates heard during his sentencing on Monday how, over several years, Anjum has failed to keep his dogs quiet at night.

A neighbour, who didn't want to be named, told the M.E.N after the case that he was 'relieved' by the sen-

Chaand Anjum

tence and 'hopeful' he could now get a good night's sleep.

During Anjum's trial last month, the disturbance from constant barking caused one couple who live near the shop to nearly split up, while two others had to seek counselling.

Anjum now has 21 days to remove his dogs from his property on Ayres Road. He was fined £7,000 and also ordered to pay all court costs of £15,700 within 28 days. Anjum, who represented himself in court, did not speak as his sentence was read out.

A new domestic abuse service has been launched in Slough.

Slough mayor Paul Sohal unveiled charity Hestia’s services, which is hailed as London’s largest provider of domestic abuse refuges, in the borough over the weekend.

Hestia’s service provides community support to tackle domestic abuse. The service has specialist teams working with “marginalised” groups across the borough, while another supports the borough’s most vulnerable high-risk victims to seek justice and increase safety.

The charity also runs a domestic abuse awareness raising programme – the Freedom Project – which aims to provide a wider understanding of domestic abuse and support victims in their next steps.

Launching the Freedom Project in Slough, Cllr Sohal said: “When I knew I was to become mayor back in May, I immediately gave some thought as to the theme of my mayoralty and based

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The UK’s leading Vedic writer and TV personality

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 Improved productivity marks the

beginning of the week, but your efforts may slacken later. You may be searching for some answers, but take care that introspection doesn't cause you to withdraw from others. With the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in your solar ninth house, you will be thinking of far off lands and some of you will travel.

Charm is your ally in your dealTAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 ings with others. Others will be impressed by you and your personable ways. Singles are apt to meet with new romantic opportunities. A good time to spend some time researching your investment options. Rely on your own research or your intuition. You need to exercise careful judgment regarding whom you'll confide in.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Mercury, Sun and Jupiter in your

opposite sign favour your love life. If you are still seeking the ideal partner, things are definitely looking up. An increase in your social life is likely to bring you in touch with someone attractive.

At work you need greater flexibility as well as a degree of patience. Do not step on any one's toes.

You will meet with chances now to improve your income and status. Be ready to capitalize on opportunity when it strikes.

You will be sowing the seeds today for a future success. However, don't expect immediate results. Be patient and allow sufficient time for your efforts to reap the rewards. Remain positive and the pieces of your puzzle will begin to fit soon.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

Slough mayor launches Rogue Harrow landlord must pay £1.5 new domestic abuse service million or face prison

A blast of personal energy comes your way, and showing your leadership skills works for you now. Romance and pleasure are highlighted this week. The flowing, expressive, and spontaneous energy surrounding you attracts like-minded people. Be sure to take time to enjoy yourself, preferably around others!

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

Domestic and family interests are likely to require lots of attention as your solar fourth house is lit up. Mercury, Sun and Jupiter in this sector could produce auspicious results for those buying or selling property. Some of you will renovate your home. There may be some sort of financial snag that impedes the free flow of funds - take expert advice.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

You are exploring and searching now, making connections, and paying attention to your immediate environment. Socially you are very popular and your communications strengthen your connections. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls, and light socializing. Siblings, close relatives and friends may play an important role in your life during this period.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Your charisma, appearance and self-expression are to the forefront. Spontaneity of expression is what this transit is about.

Increased energy and a renewed feeling of confidence is with you now, so take advantage. There's nothing wrong with achieving your personal goals, it's time to carve your own path in life.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

upon my many years of community service, I decided that a women’s welfare charity would be at the forefront of my civic year.

“As the council’s partner, my obvious choice was Hestia. They are a long established and highly respected organisation with a wealth of experience and I am really pleased to be able to support their work and particularly the launch of this new service.”

Mia (name changed to protect privacy) was referred to the service in Slough after being forced into marriage aged 17 and living in fear of her husband and his family since. After her husband’s addictions and violence became life-threatening, she and her young daughter turned to Hestia in Slough.

She said: “I haven’t really been free since I was 17 and with Hestia’s support, I am taking steps to go back to work and my daughter is finally smiling again. Now I am free and it’s the best feeling ever – it’s my life and after 10 years I am finally living it my way.”

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

You will feel energetic and confident as the week begins. New beginnings are favoured around now, as long as you do not bite off more than you can chew. Your thinking is inspired, so listen to your thoughts. This may be a time of expansion and improved opportunity and it would be unwise to let yourself become complacent. Affairs of the heart are likely to flourish.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 You may find yourself hard at work behind the scenes, although that may not be apparent to others. You may find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of activity, with opportunities to advance on both the inner and outer level. There’s a sparkle to your social life and you will have fun communicating with others.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

For those seeking amorous experience, the prospect could not be much more favourable - the fates are truly smiling upon you! Although the very practical affairs of life continue to be highlighted, this does not mean that there will be all work and no play. In fact, you will be very much in demand socially.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Try not to be drawn into a contest of wills. Cooperation is the key to success in any dealings, be it personal or monetary. Job concerns may get you down a bit, but agreements will be reached with patience and diplomacy. You'll be able to successfully combine business with pleasure as new opportunities come your way.

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INDIA

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31

15 - 21 December 2018

Beyoncé and the Billionaires : An Indian wedding worth obsessing Udaipur’s grand Lake City Palace decked up for Isha Amabani’s Sangeet

Nita and Mukesh Ambani with former US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton

several costume changes.

The one-day event saw India's celebrities dancing the night away. The wedding has seemingly overwhelmed Udaipur as the Ambanis' guests took over the city's hotels and even its airport. Also, Mumbai's international airport set record for traffic as dozens of private chartered flights made their way to the venue. It is also reported that the guests received their invitations in a Dolce & Gabbana box, adorned with pink and gold lace and detachable chains that could be worn as jewerly.

The wedding ceremony is planned for Wednesday at Mukesh Ambani’s 27-story home, which towers over southern Mumbai and includes a six-level parking garage and three helipads. Celebrations this week will also include a ceremony at Mr. Piramal’s father’s home in Mumbai, and a reception at JioGarden, an event space in Mumbai built by Mr. Ambani’s company.

Bride Isha Ambani serving food to guests during an 'Anna Seva' ritual that coincides with pre-wedding functions

While Indian weddings are known for being long, elaborate, and rather brutal to the pockets, there has been none in the past several years that could by any measure, compete with the week-long celebrations for Isha Ambani's wedding. Ambani, 27, is set to marry her childhood friend Anand Piramal, 33, a real-estate developer and scion of yet another prominent business family. The bash is said to include at least five events. While the cost estimate of the entire affair is pegged at $100 million, a source close to the family said it is “not more than $15 million.” The higher figute is around three times the reported cost of Prince Harry's wedding.

The amount however, barely touches the bride's father Mukesh Ambani, a businessman with an estimated net worth of $41.6 billion. Pre-wedding festivities hosted by Ambani and wife Nita began on Saturday in Udaipur and roped in celebrities from around the world. Alist guests included former US secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and none other than the queen, Beyoncé- who flew in to perform a 45-minute private concert, with

Beyoncé

Shahrukh Khan and wife Gauri perform a romantic number

India has a new witness protection programme Putting an end to the country's long wait for a programme to ensure safety of witnesses, the Supreme Court has approved a Witness Protection Scheme drawn by the government. It has asked the Centre, states, and Union Territories to “enforce it” it “in letter and spirit”. Approving the scheme, a bench of Justices AK Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer said, “The right to testify in courts in a free and fair manner without any pressure and threat whatsoever is under serious attack today. If one is unable to testify in courts due to threats or other pressures, then it is a clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. The right to life guaranteed to the people of this country also includes in its fold the right to live in a society, which is free from crime and fear, and the right of witnesses to testify in courts without fear or pressure.”

The bench also said, “It shall be the 'law' under Article 141/142 of the Constitution, till the enactment of suitable Parliamentary and/or State Legislations on the subject.”

The question of witness protection had come up in a PIL seeking protection for witnesses in cases against Gujarat-based preacher Asaram Bapu. The witness protection scheme by drawn by the Centre this year with inputs from 18 states/UTs, legal services authorities of five states and open sources including civil society, three High Courts and police personnel. It was created with the aim to “to ensure that the investigation, prosecution and trial of criminal offences is not prejudiced because witnesses are intimidated or frightened to give evidence without protection from violent or other criminal recrimination.”

The bench referred to the significance of

witnesses in criminal trials and added that despite this, “the conditions of witnesses in Indian Legal System can be termed as ‘pathetic’.” The court said “there are many threats faced by the witnesses at various stages of an investigation and then during the trial of a case… These witnesses neither have any legal remedy nor do they get suitably treated. The present legal system takes witnesses completely for granted.

They are summoned to court regardless of their financial and personal conditions” and are “not even suitably remunerated for the loss of time and the expenditure towards conveyance etc”. Expenses for the programme will be met from a Witness Protection Fund to be established by states and Union Territories.

The brand new programme identifies “three categories of witnesses as per threat

perception”.

Category A: Those cases where threat extends to life of witness or family members during investigation, trial or even thereafter.

Category B: Those cases where the threat extends to safety, reputation or property of the witness or family members during the investigation or trial.

Category C: Cases where the threat is moderate and extends to harassment or intimidation of the witness or his family members, reputation or property during the investigation, trial or thereafter.

The bench has also asked all states and Union Territories to set up vulnerable witness deposition complexes, as required by the Scheme, by the end of 2019. These rooms will be equipped with facilities to prevent the accused and witness coming face to face.

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Sport

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15 - 21 December 2018

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India crushes Australia for 1st Test win in 10 years India managed to pull off a fantastic 31-run win over Australia, registering their first victory in a Test Down Under in 10 years.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who took three wickets in the final innings, hit the final nail in Australia's coffin to end the hosts' admirable rearguard action. Also crucial to India's cause were pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, picking three wickets each while Ishant Sharma chipped in with one. This is the visitors' first victory in Adelaide since 2003. Also, the last time India defeated Australia at home was in 2008, in Perth.

Australia's tail put up a good fight on the final day of the Test, almost pulling off the impossible, however, India seemed to peg away to finally clinch a much-deserved win.

Pat Cummins (28), Mitchell Starc (28) and Nathan Lyon (38 not out) made valuable contributions with the bat to frustrate Virat Kohli's team but fell agonisingly short after Josh Hazlewood (13) was caught at second slip by KL Rahul off the bowling of Ashwin.

Shaun Marsh, who was 31 not out at stumps on Day 4, scored his 10th Test half-century but fell for 60 to a brilliant Jasprit Bumrah.

Tim Paine also showed some fight on the final day but Bumrah was again at hand to dismiss the Australian captain for 41 and put India on the brink.

Starc and Cummins added 41 runs for eighth wicket giving the hosts a glimmer of hope. While Mohammed Shami broke the partnership to give India the crucial breakthrough but then Lyon and Cummins began to frustrate the Indians. The Australian pair added another 31 runs to put Australia within touching distance of the target. Their reign ended when Bumrah got Cummins to edge a delivery to Virat Kohli at slips. With India needing just one wicket to win, Australia's No.11 Hazlewood walked in and batted bravely for 43 balls. Lyon and Hazlewood strung together a 32-run stand for the final wicket as Australia started dreaming of an unlikely victory.

However, Ashwin dashed the home side's hopes with a flighted delivery finding the edge of Hazlewood's bat. Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant made history by matching the record 11 catches in a Test currently held by England's Jack Russell and South Africa's AB de Villiers.

He also beat the record 10 catches in a game by an Indian that was previously held

by Wriddhiman Saha. It was a huge breakthrough for Virat Kohli's men, with

in brief AUSTRALIA CRICKET STAR'S BROTHER 'FRAMED' TERROR SUSPECT

Arsalan Khawaja and brother Usman

Australia always proving a tough hunting ground. Australia resumed the final day needing another 219 for victory with four wickets down, but lost their last two specialist batsmen before lunch, shifting the odds heavily in India's favour.

to fend it off and Ajinkya Rahane took the catch at gully. Paine joined Marsh and they upped the ante, capitalising on some loose balls from Shami to chip away steadily and close the gap. By lunch Australia had fought to 186 for 6, still needing a further 137 runs

CHETESHWAR PUJARA RETURNS TO TOP-FIVE Cheteshwar Pujara's knock of 123 and 71 runs in the first Test against Australia has placed him on fourth spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings for batsmen. He has now moved ahead of England's Joe Root and Australia's suspended David Warner, trailing third-ranked Australia's Steve Smith by 55 points. Born into the Lohana community in Rajkot, Gujarat, Pujara's father Arvind Pujara was a Ranji Trophy player for Saurashtra.

Following the win, he thanked Arvind, who had been his childhood coach as well, for consistent support and said his father would be proud of his efforts. Lately criticised and dropped over scoring-rate issues in the past, Pujara showcased his worth as he single-handedly led India's fightback after a top-order collapse on the opening day of the first Test. “It [father's support] means a lot. He [Arvind] is someone who started coaching me when I was eight years old. I'd like to thank him for all his support throughout my career.

He will be a proud father at this stage. He believed in my ability more than I do,” Pujara said after bagging the Man of the Match award.

Marsh and Travis Head had started cautiously, grinding out 11 runs in the opening seven overs before seamer Ishant Sharma struck with the score on 115, bowling a bouncer that caught Head's bat as he tried

for victory, with Paine not out 40 and Pat Cummins on five. But in the second over after they resumed Paine top edged a pull shot from Bumrah and Pant easily took a catch.

Kapil Dev in BCCI's panel to pick Women's coach

Serena Williams debuts in Forbes’ Most Powerful Women list

The BCCI has formed an adhoc panel comprising of former Indian cricketers Shantha Rangaswamy, Kapil Dev and Anshuman Gaekwad to help appoint a new head coach for the national women's cricket team. With the Cricket Advisory Committee deciding to stay away, the three-member panel will conduct interviews of eligible candidates on December 20 at BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.

Deadline for sending in applications is December 14.

Ramesh Powar is reportedly yet to re-apply after his bitter fallout with senior-most player Mithali Raj, leading to an ugly blame game that began when she was dropped from the line-up for the ICC

The 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams has finally found a place on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful women. The highest paid female athlete for the third straight year, the magazine stated her singles trophies and $18.1 million earnings in 2017 contributed to her being one of the 20 new entrants on their annual top 100 list. Standing at no. 79, Williams finds herself among the likes of Shomda Rhimes, Beyonce, and Priyanka Chopra. The list is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Williams has had an eventful year, as she welcomed a daughter and returned to tennis five months later by announcing she would defend her Australian Open title.

She then made headlines by standing up to double standards

Kapil Dev

Women's World T20 semifinal against England last month. When Raj wrote a scathing letter blaming Powar of ill-treatment and humiliation in the Caribbean, the interim coach accused her of threatening to retire and leaving the tour mid-way if denied the opening slot in the batting order. Meanwhile, Herschelle Gibbs, Owais hah, and Manoj Prabhakar have confirmed their applications for the vacant position.

Serena Williams

against women in tennis during the final of US Open. Known for her business acumen along with a career in tennis, Serena launched her own clothing line in May this year and bought a stake in the Miami Dolphins alongside her sister in 2009. She has also been running a campaign on working moms by discussing the challenges of working women who are mothers and has also helped increase awareness on breast cancer.

Brother of Australian cricket star Usman Khawaja has been arrested for allegedly framing another man over a fake terror plot.

Australian police have charged Arsalan Khawaja, 39, with forgery and attempt to pervert justice. In August, officials had charged a Sri Lankan student in Sydney over an alleged plan in a notebook bout killing Australian politicians. Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen was detained for a month before being released. Last week, police alleged Nizamdeen had been “set up in a planned and calculated manner” by Khawaja. Khawaja, who had worked in the same department as Nizamdeen, had been partly motivated by a “personal grievance” over a woman, police said. Police have questioned Khawaja over the notebook. Meanwhile, Usman Khawaja, one of Australia's leading batsmen said, “It's a matter for police to deal with. Out of respect for the process it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment.”

LEICESTERSHIRE CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO JOIN PAKISTAN CRICKET BOARD Wasim Khan

Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan is all set to become managing director of the Pakistan Cricket Board. The 47 year old has been in the role at Grace Road for four years, with the club saying it has made “significant progress” during his time in charge. He oversaw three consecutive years of net profit from 2015 to 2018 as well as the installation of floodlights. Khan was among 350 candidates who expressed interest in the role that was advertised by the PCB. He made it to nine-man short list, and then a three-man list, before being selected. PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said, “We welcome Wasim who will be joining the PCB soon. He was selected unanimously following robust interview process with some seriously good candidates.” He added, “Wasim brings with him fresh ideas and knowledge of cricket, and he will receive the support of the Board and the management of PCB. We have started the process of revamping the PCB and under Wasim, we now have an experienced leader of the management team who will oversee the implementation of the Board decisions. His first task would be to oversee the reforms of domestic cricket structure.”

Meanwhile, Wasim announced, “With sadness I'm bringing my time with Leicestershire to an end. However, this is an extremely exciting opportunity to lead Pakistan Cricket in the international game. It is something that I couldn't turn down.”