www.facebook.com/thenewsyoulike
`30
www.thenews.co.in
PAGES: 68 VOL.5 | ISSUE: 11 | DECEMBER, 2017
EDITORIAL
VOL:5 I SSUE:11 I DECEMBER, 2017 `30
Editor SUDHAKAR
Special Correspondent D Bal Reddy
Senior Correspondent Mallesh Babu Mattipati Yanadi Reddy Mandha Ravi Kumar
Reporters M.Praveen Kumar, P Vishnuvardhan Reddy
Photographers M Vijay S Sridhar, Shair Ali Baig
Cover & Layout T. Srinivasa Rao
General Manager Mohd Nizamuddin
Chief Executive (Marketing) Venkata K Ganjam (GK)
Chief - Business & LifeStyle K. Bharath Reddy
Marketing Associate M. Akhil Raj Shaker
The News You Like Phone: 9701141377, 9848133363 E-mail: thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Website: thenews.co.in
Address for correspondance: #3-5-890, Flat No. 203, Paras Chambers, Beside Telangana Tourism Bldg, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500029. Phone: 98481 33363, 97011 41377. email: 24thenews@gmail.com thenewscoordinator@gmail.com Printed, Published And Owned By Ramya Sree , Printed At S.M.S. Press, H.No.11-38, Pragathi Nagar, P&T Colony, Saroor Nagar, Dist Ranga Reddy – 60, Published At The News Publications, H.No.334, B, Prajay Sai Gardens, Keesara Mandal, Dist - Ranga Reddy, Telangana
N
ot just the Gandhi family but the TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao seems to be in the process of promoting second generation of family to the top position if the recent prominence given to K T Rama Rao during the Global Entrepreneur Summit or at the inauguration of Metro Rail is any indication. KTR was all over during the two events while KCR was lying low. In fact, KTR was sitting by the side of Prime Minister while KCR was sitting by the side of Governor, ESL Narasimhan when they travelled on Metro after inaugurating it. Even US president Donald Trump’s advisor and his daughter Ivanka Trump also underplayed KCR in her speech and was all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Political analysts feel that KCR is promoting his son to be the next chief minister while he himself is trying to carve out a bigger role by forging relations with other parties within and outside the state. It is due to this reason KTR was made to sit beside Prime Minister. And it is due to this reason KCR is getting closer to MIM and also to the DMK in Tamil Nadu. KCR seems to play a bigger role in the 2019 elections to take control of the situation at the centre, say the analysts. However, political analysts do not rule out an internal feud in case KTR is elevated because there are strong contenders in the form of KCR’s daughter Kavita and his nephew T Harish Rao.
Editor : Sudhakar
Note: Focus/Infocus features are marketing initiatives
(Sudhakar)
Any legal disputes comes under the jurisdiction of courts in Hyderabad
The News You Like | December, 2017
3
4
CONTENT
Mahendar Reddy takes over as in-charge Telangana DGP
The new director general of police and head of police force of Telangana, M Mahendar Reddy, is known for consistent efforts to bring in systematic changes in the department to ensure speedy delivery of transparent services for the people.
Page... 6
Yet another MLM company, Azmalo fleecing Telangana
Here is a new multi-level marketing (MLM) company that is offering a whopping Rs 2.5 crore income in just one year on a meagre investment of Rs 3000. Page... 17
Jagan, Mallya, Karti among Indians linked to companies in tax havens
Page... 35
Cops bust religious conversion racket
Telangana police along with district child welfare officials, raided the premises of Peace Orphan Home Society in Moula Ali area...
Page... 37
Corporators causing trouble for TRS
Until a couple of years ago residents of Hyderabad felt the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) should be run by elected representatives and not the special officers so that their problems are solved. Page...
23
The News You Like | December, 2017
Metro Rail
........................5
Telangana news
........................6
Cover story
.....................12
Religious Politics
.....................15
AP News
.....................18
News bytes
.....................20
Cops & Crooks
.....................22
Politics & Crime
.....................23
Crooked cop
.....................25
Fact File
.....................26
Special Report
.....................27
Regional
.....................29
National
.....................31
Politics
.....................32
Crime
.....................35
Tax troubles
.....................38
IT Blues
.....................39
Education
.....................40
Railways
.....................41
Business
.....................42
Sports
.....................46
Environment
.....................49
Innovation
.....................50
Food & Health
.....................51
Tinsel town
.....................55
Beauty with brain
.....................57
Road safety
.....................58
Science & Tech
.....................59
Research
.....................61
Life style
.....................64
Spiritual
.....................66
METRO RAIL
P
Metro rail becoMes reality as Modi inaugurates first phase
THE NEWS BUREAU
rime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Hyderabad Metro and also took a ride from Miyapur to Kukatpally on November 28. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao, Governor ESL Narasimhan and other senior officials. The 30 km-long stretch from Nagole to Miyapur has 24 stations covering several busy clusters and city landmarks, including the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Osmania University, Secunderabad Railway Station and major commercial hubs like Begumpet and Ameerpet. Over one lakh people took to the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) on November 29, after the project was thrown open to the public.
The first day of the HMR's launch saw long queues and packed trains, as several people had stepped in just for the experience. Several residents of the city, young and old alike, were seen taking selfies and enjoying the ride. The stations were packed since the first ride at 6am, and continued to be crowded till late in the evening. HMR Managing Director NVS Reddy also travelled around the stations, taking feedback from the public and overseeing all operations. According to reports, L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail sold 10,000 smart cards and 45,000 tokens till afternoon on the first day of operations itself. Other reports add that seven trains covered the 13-km stretch from Miyapur to Ameerpet, with a frequency of 8 minutes, while there
The News You Like | December, 2017
were another seven trains between the 17-km stretch from Ameerpet to Nagole. “We are yet to determine how many among the nearly 1 lakh passengers will be regular commuters who will continue to use the rail. Most people who boarded the metro today took to it to satiate their curiosity,� MP Naidu, a senior official from the engineering division said. This largest metro project in the world in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode was conceived way back in 2007, and was actually grounded in 2010. However, the foundation stone of the project was laid in December 2012. The project, which was once on the brink of collapse, saw many ups and downs since L&T won the bid in 2010 to build the 71.2-km elevated metro on three corridors.
5
6
TELANGANA
Mahendar Reddy takes over as in-charge Telangana DGP
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he new director general of police and head of police force of Telangana, M Mahendar Reddy, is known for consistent efforts to bring in systematic changes in the department to ensure speedy delivery of transparent services for the people. Reddy, a 1986 batch IPS officer took charge as the DGP from his predecessor Anurag Sharma on the latter’s retirement on November 12. On his retirement, government appointed Sharma as advisor to the state government on internal security. After assuming charge as the incharge DGP, Reddy said, “As the police chief, my responsibility and my first duty is to fulfill the expectations of people in terms of continuing the best traditions of Telangana Police and improve them in terms of service delivery". Since the formation of Telangana, the police in the state has taken long strides in terms of service delivery, technology improvements, process improvement and leadership practises, he said. Telangana Police has endeared itself to the people in all aspects through 'citizen friendly' initiatives and community partnerships, Reddy added. Before being appointed as the DGP, Reddy was Hyderabad Police Commissioner. During his three and a half years tenure, Reddy brought sea changes in the city police set up. He strongly believed in utilizing technology as a force
multiplier and gave a strong push for installation of several thousands of CCTV cameras both on behalf of the government and also with the public partnership. During his tenure, city police won awards for its apps such as Hawkeye. Recognising the need for hard work turned out by police personnel across all ranks, he introduced an evaluation system across all verticals and the best performers got rewards. This brought a huge change in the functioning of the lower level police officials. Reddy also gave a push for people friendly policing. On the other hand, he crushed criminal activities with iron hand with the use of PD Act against habitual offenders. About 1000 criminals were detained under PD Act, which brought he chain snatching and other such offenses under control. The News You Like | December, 2017
After assuming charge as the DGP, Reddy said, "We would like to translate all the initiatives of Hyderabad City Police across all the police units in the state". "We also would like ensure that all the police stations are transformed into citizen friendly units and responsive service delivery units," he added. "We have a vision to ensure that common people and everybody must have free access to the police services, get good response and get justice for their grievances," he said. To a query, Reddy said "Immediate priority is to define the service delivery standards for three commissionerates in Hyderabad, all the remaining Police commissionerates in the state and rural police districts and then put in place a framework to achieve these standards over a period of time".
8
TELANGANA NEWS
Telangana to be power surplus with additional 13,752 MW generation
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
elangana is on its way to becoming a power surplus state with the construction of new plants to generate additional 13,752 megawatts, according to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. The government has fixed a target of increasing the installed generation capacity to 28,000 MW with an investment of Rs 94,000 crore. He told the state assembly that when Telangana was created the installed capacity was 6,574 MW, a deficit of 2,700 MW. He claimed that during last three-andhalf years additional 7,981 MW capacity was commissioned. He recalled that when the state was formed there was severe crisis in power sector with two-to-ninehour power cuts for domestic sector every day and two-day power holidays in a week for industries. He announced that Telangana has created new record in the country by supplying quality power free of cost for 24 hours to the agri-
cultural sector. The supply of round-the-clock power to 23 lakh agriculture pump sets across the state began on experimental basis from Monday night. "The transmission and distribution network will be closely monitored for five-to-six days and 24-hour uninterrupted power supply will begin on permanent basis from coming Rabi season," he said. Rao told the House that 25 per cent of the power in the state is being utilised by agriculture pump sets. Recalling that at the time formation of the state the farmers were not getting power even for two-tothree hours, he said daily nine-hour supply was ensured within a few days. KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said that with the 24-hour supply to agriculture sector, the total power demand will increase to 11,000 MW and power utilities were ready to meet this demand. He said the new lift irrigation projects also require 8,500 MW of The News You Like | December, 2017
power. The new power plants will meet the demand for lift irrigation projects and new industries being established in the state. The construction of 4,000 MW capacity Yadadri Ultra Mega Power Plant has started while 1,880 MW of power will be available by 2018 through the power plants which are under construction at Manuguru and Kothagudem. Another 1,600 MW power plant is under construction under aegis of NTPC. "For achieving complete transparency and to avoid delays, the construction of power plants was handed over to public sector unit BHEL," he added. The per capita power consumption has increased from 1,200 units at the time of formation of the state to 1,505 units. This is higher than the national average of 1,122 units. He said the government put in a lot of effort to transform Telangana into a resplendent state. The transmission and distribution systems were strengthened with an investment of Rs 12,136 crore.
TELANGANA NEWS
ZPHS teacher from Warangal selected for IELP
English, she is currently pursuing Psychology. Niharika won several accolades and appreciations as the best teacher in her two decade long career. She also worked as Assistant Girl child development officer in the district on deputation for about four years and a lead in Telangana Maths forum at mandal level and
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
teacher working in government run zilla parishad high school (ZPHS) in Gorrekunta of Warangal rural has been selected for the International Leaders in Education Programme (IELP) by Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States of America, for the year 2018-19, anchored by United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF).
Niharika Thoutam, who works as School Assistant for Mathematics has been chosen for the programme after a rigorous selection procedure. She is the only female out of the four teachers selected from India. Scheduled to begin from January 2, 2018, only 64 higher grade teachers from all over the world have been selected for the programme. Holding Masters in Mathematics, English, Education and Post Graduate Diploma in The News You Like | December, 2017
resource person for e-content development in National and State council of Educational Research and Training. She is also active in donating note books to prevent school dropouts, sponsoring learning material, benches, distribution of corporate back packs to the students. Further, she strives for empowerment of women, instrumental in preventing many child marriages and active in UN campaigns such as prevention of child trafficking and breast cancer etc. During her stay at United States she will work with group of outstanding scholars around the world, attend seminars and discuss best teaching practices.
9
10
TELANGANA NEWS
Corrupt officials help land sharks grab house sites of ex-servicemen
T
MANDHA RAVI KUMAR
hey spent their prime of life guarding the nation against external enemies. They did their duty without fear or favour. In recognition for their service to the nation, the government gave the exservicemen house sites and issued pattas in Kothagudem in 1985. As many 118 ex-servicemen were given house sites in survey number 137/11 near Industrial Estate. Many of them constructed houses on the site and began residing there. The locality came to be called as Kothadudem Sainikpuri Colony. However, plot numbers 111 to 117 were lying vacant for long as the ex-servicemen to whom those plots were allotted, could not take up any construction. Further, plot number 118, which was left vacant for public purpose, was also lying vacant.
Taking advantage of this, some land grabbers began construction about five years back though they had no right over the house sites. The colony welfare association immediately informed the revenue authorities including the local MRO about the constructions taken up by unauthorized people. Though the revenue authorities initially stopped the unauthorized people from carrying out the construction, the land grabbers resumed their illegal acts recently allegedly with the support of an assistant engineer of Chunchupally Gram Panchayat. Two single rooms on plot numbers 111 to 113, four single rooms on plot numbers 114 to 118 were constructed. It is alleged that the land grabbers also encroached road adjacent to plot numbers 113 and 114 and sold out some plots.
The News You Like | December, 2017
The land grabbers managed to get house numbers for the illegal constructions using fabricated documents. The colony welfare association petitioned the Kothagudem Tahsildar requesting him to make fresh allotment of the plots not utilized by the previous beneficiaries or utilize them for public purpose. The Sainik Welfare Officer of Khammam was also present when the request was made on November 13. The colony welfare association appealed to the Telangana ministers K T Rama Rao, Nayini Narsimha Reddy, district collector of Kothagudem and local tahsildar to take stern action against the land grabbers and erring officials who are hand-in-glove with the miscreants.
12
IRReGulARITIeS GAloRe RevISIon of eleCToRAl RollS COVER STORY
It appears the GHMC officials feel they are not public servants but were given jobs to serve the ruling party and their allies, for they have done it again apparently to show their loyalty to the ruling TRS and locally powerful AIMIM.
>>
COVER STORY
T
D BAL REDDY
he GHMC officials, who have claimed that 6.6 lakh votes have been deleted after the Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (IRER) during 2017, have allegedly carried out the revision as per the diktats of the TRS and MIM leaders. Allegations galore that the booth level officers (BLOs) along with data entry operators have carried out IRER to make sure that votes of those people who vote for a national political party were only deleted. Further, it is alleged that new votes were not enrolled in BJP strongholds. Besides, on an average, 30 percent votes were deleted in BJP strongholds. BJP leaders alleged that the revision was done to ensure benefit for TRS and MIM keeping in view the 2019 elections. BJYM state public convener on enumeration, Ponna Venkataramana told The News that he has documentary evidence to show that the IRER was carried out in a partisan manner to benefit the TRS and MIM. Quoting from circular No.690/Elec/GHMC/2017/528, dated October 11, 2017, Venkataramana said that more than 30 percent votes were deleted in 53 polling stations in Musheerabad, 60
polling stations in Amberpet, 78 polling stations in Khairatabad, 120 polling stations in Goshamahal – where BJP has strong voter base. However, the number of polling stations in which more than 200 votes were enrolled in these constituencies is just one, zero, one and zero respectively, while the new enrollments of more than 200 votes have been done in 29 polling stations in Chandrayangutta, 16 polling stations in Yakutpura and 36 polling stations in Bahadurpura assembly constituencies where MIM has strong base, he said. The News You Like | December, 2017
Further, the GHMC officials are not disclosing the house numbers where more than 100 voters have been registered under one house number in the TRS and MIM strongholds. For instance, in Malakpet 9,962 voters were registered under 61 houses, while 12,083 voters registered in 64 houses in Charminar, 7,027 voters registered in 42 houses and as many as 17,402 voters are registered in just 90 houses in Yakutpura assembly constituencies. All these constituencies are held by MIM, Venkataramana said.
13
14
COVER STORY
He also compared the polling station vise votes secured by BJP candidate in Yakutpura assembly constituency during the 2014 elections with that of the votes available in those booths as on October 11, 2017, which clearly shows that the revision was aimed at hitting the strongholds of the BJP alone. According to him, BJP candidate from Yakutpura assembly constituency secured 723 votes in polling station (PS) No.1, 613 votes in PS.2, 697 votes in PS.3, 645 votes in PS.4, 524 votes in PS.5, 884 votes in PS.6 and 521 votes in PS.7. However, after revision, the number of votes left in the above polling stations respectively is just 318, 197, 262, 88, 89, 43 and 191. “We have lodged protest with the GHMC officials wherever we have identified gross irregularities. But the GHMC officials have accepted and carried out corrective measures only in some polling sta-
justice after the GHMC announces the final electoral rolls. He also said that they will bring the culprits to book and prevent the MIM and TRS leaders from carrying out their nefarious designs. It may be recalled a report titled ‘voter enrollment mafia’ was published in these columns in January 2014 issue which discussed in detail how some corrupt GHMC officials in collusion with MIM leadership had enrolled large number of bogus votes on the strength of which the MIM candidates won the 2014 elections. The News secured documents which show several families got more than one voter ID card with different registration and serial numbers – i.e. one person would be able to cast more tions,” Venkatarathan one vote in the mana told The same election. News. MIM leaders He claimed that could garner bogus the votes of even votes in favour of those present in the their candidate. same houses were Large number of Ponna Venkataramana removed. This has bogus votes had been done at the been prepared behest of MIM and TRS leaders. during the special summary reviHe also alleged that the GHMC au- sion 2014 and the draft photo electhorities are not providing nazari toral rolls published on November naksha (a map demarcating the 18, 2013 showed the glaring irreghouses that come under one polling ularities wherein same person was station) copies because the revision issued with more than one voter ID is not being carried out as per card just by changing either his nazari naksha. name or his father’s name or even “If the revision is done as per by adding a sub-division to the nazari naksha, bogus votes can be house number in which he resides. removed. But the GHMC officials Until now, it was just MIM that are not ready to do that because used to resort to voter enrollment they are loyal to MIM and TRS mafia. Now, the TRS has joined the leaders only and not to the people,” bandwagon and intensified the he said. illegal activity taking advantage of Venkataramana said they were being in power, Venkataramana approaching the High Court for alleged. The News You Like | December, 2017
RELIGIOUS POLITICS
Raid on Wakf Board: Activists demand CBI probe
E
THE NEWS BUREAU
ven as certain political parties welcomed the raid on State Wakf Board office by the revenue officials on the instructions of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the move came under sharp criticism from different corners. It may be recalled the revenue officials swooped down on the wakf board office in Nampally late on November 7 evening amid tight security and took away all the records pertaining to the wakf properties in the state before sealing the office. Reports suggested that at a
meeting with top officials to review the functioning of Wakf Board, the Chief Minister enquired about Wakf lands and other properties and sought details. As the employees failed to provide the details, he decided t crack the whip. Wakf Board chairman Mohammed Saleem said following the Chief Minister's order, Hyderabad
The News You Like | December, 2017
District Collector Yogitha Rana and other officials reached the office along with the police and sealed it. Officials said this was done to prevent any employee from tampering with records or shifting the files relating to Wakf properties. The ruling TRS and its ally AIMIM welcomed the action. However, wakf protection activists criticized the action terming it illegal and claimed that the state government did not have power to raid the wakf board office since it was an autonomous body. One activist even approached the high court against the action. The government in response admitted in the court that it did not have power to raid the wakf board office but it had done so in good faith and with an intention to protect wakf properties.
15
16
RELIGIOUS POLITICS Meanwhile, another wakf protection activist, Ali Bin Omer Afeef Al Yafai demanded a CBI probe into the late evening raid on wakf board and seizure of records. He alleged that some influential politicians in the state government were in collusion with some other elected representatives to grab wakf properties besides covering up the illegal activities of some politicians with respect to wakf properties. He also alleged that wakf properties – both surveyed and not surveyed – located in various places of Telangana were grabbed by influential people, particularly the ruling TRS and AIMIM leaders. There are also allegations that the Chief Minister himself had usurped certain wakf properties in the previously Medak district, which is his political home ground. “There are reports in newspapers that the Chief Minister had ordered the raid after AIMIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi sought information in the state legislature about wakf properties and the Chief Minister was angry at the Wakf Board officials as he could not get proper reply from the Wakf Board.” “It comes as a surprise for the common man that AIMIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi has sought information about wakf properties despite the fact that Akbaruddin’s elder brother and present Lok Sabha member, Asaduddin Owaisi is not only the member of Wakf Board but he was one of the crucial member of the First House Committee on Wakf Properties, which was appointed by the then Telugu Desam government to study and
submit a report on the wakf properties in the state,” said Ali Bin Omer Yafai. HE also said that the house committee constituted by the then Telugu Desam Government had conducted a detailed inspection of wakf properties in the state, more particularly in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medak districts etc. However, the recommendations of the First House Committee report were not implemented by the subsequent governments since the AIMIM was hand-in-glove with the land sharks who grabbed wakf properties. Subsequently, a second house committee on wakf properties was also appointed and its recommendations are lying in the dust in the Assembly secretariat and the Wakf Board office. After the formation of Telangana, the TRS government appointed third house committee of which Akbaruddin Owaisi is a member. It is Akbaruddin Owaisi who is supposed to provide inforThe News You Like | December, 2017
mation to other lawmakers since he is the member of house committee on wakf properties, the activist said. However, the truth is that the AIMIM and the TRS are hand-in-glove with each other and its leaders in collusion with land sharks have grabbed wakf properties worth multi-million crores of rupees. The raid by revenue officials at the Wakf Board office is only to cover up the land grabbing acts by way of tampering with the records of the wakf properties to ensure that the details of grabbed properties are removed from the wakf records, he alleged. The Telangana government had ordered comprehensive survey of lands in the state purportedly to purify the revenue land records to put an end to land disputes. The government had claimed that previous survey was conducted in the years 1932 and 1936 during the Nizam era. The survey began September 15, 2017. During the survey, huge tracts of land in different parts of the state is being found as wakf land which is under dispute due to encroachment by influential people, land sharks and political leaders including elected representatives of various political parties. This prompted the Chief Minister to order seizure of all records from Wakf Board office only with an intention to tamper with the records for the benefit of land sharks, the activist alleged. He said he had lodged a complaint with the CBI seeking a probe into the unauthorized raid on Wakf Board office and seizure of records since Wakf Board is governed under central act.
MLM FRAUD
Yet another MLM company, Azmaloeecing Telangana people
H
P VISHNUVARDHAN REDDY
ere is a new multi-level marketing (MLM) company that is offering a whopping Rs 2.5 crore income in just one year on a meagre investment of Rs 3000. What more! The company is not collecting the Rs 3,000 just as investment. It claims that the member will be given a water purifier in return for Rs 3,000. However, the member has to bring in five more members into the company’s fold to get Rs 2.5 crore income in just one year. The company named Azmalo.com, claim to be a Lucknow based company, has been all over the internet and also organising meetings across the country to lure customers into its fold.
The company recently organised meetings in Ramanthapur and Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram to promote its business. The company asked interested people can contact one Raghava Rao for details and even posted his mobile numbers on the website. The company initially lures the customers on the promise that they will get over Rs 2 crore in return for getting five people as customers. The company also promises that even if the five members fail to do any business, the returns are guaranteed. Ones a customer falls to their trap, the company marketing executives convince and compel the victims to invest lakhs of rupees in multiples of Rs 3,000. The marketThe News You Like | December, 2017
ing executives lure the customers saying that the investors can become millionaires in just one year by investing a few lakhs. Since the company promises to pay the returns on investment in instalments over a period of one year, many are falling in the company’s trap and losing their hard earned money. Though the reason for the survival of such fraudulent companies is the greed for becoming millionaires within a short period and that too in an easy manner, observers stress that there is an urgent need for the police to act against this company and prevent them from robbing gullible people because the company is said to have collected crores of rupees in Telangana.
17
18
AP NEWS
Ready to hand over Polavaram project to centre: Chandrababu
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that his government was ready to hand over the construction work of the Polavaram project to the Centre, if it is willing to take over, and promises to complete the work within the scheduled time. Speaking in the Assembly on the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, Naidu said that there were many legal hurdles in completing the project, and reiterated that he was committed to meeting the deadline. “I took the trouble of meeting Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkhari in Nagpur last month, and will meet him once again in the light of the Central government’s letter to stop fresh tenders for parts the Polavaram project. I am ready to explain to the Prime Minister the importance of the project, its present stage, and the need to complete it within the stipulated time,� he was quoted as
saying. Naidu, seemingly irked at the central government, even one step further, saying, "If Centre wants us to stop the tender work we will stop it and hand over work to Centre to complete the project. Will take Opposition to Delhi to discuss the project if they are willing to come. We have spent Rs. 12,0000 crore so far, and we need Rs. 42, 0000 crore more for it. Because they (BJP) are the ally, we are acting with patience. My only aim is that the project gets completed on time. Doesn't matter who completes it." Naidu was angry over a letter that the Centre recently sent, asking the state to keep in abeyance the tender process for works worth Rs 1,000 crore, until it produced the accounts for the funds released by the Centre till now, Mirror reported. The report also quotes Naidu saying, "As a friendly party, we are observing utmost restraint though the Centre has not been implement-
The News You Like | December, 2017
ing many commitments made to AP in the Bifurcation Act. I did not politicize the Special Category Status (SCS) though it was a commitment made by then PM Manmohan Singh in the Parliament and the Modi government had gone back on it. If the Centre does not cooperate, we will salute it and leave execution of the Polavaram project to it." Earlier this week, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to allow the construction of the Polavaram irrigation project until all pending issues were resolved. The Polavaram project dam is being built on the Godavari river in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to help divert and utilise the river water to Krishna and other rivers. Almost every state surrounding Andhra Pradesh has complained about the project, with Odisha being the biggest critic. A case is also pending in the Supreme Court.
AP NEWS
boat tragedy claiMs 21 lives
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
n overloaded boat carrying 38 people capsized in the Krishna river near Vijayawada on November 12 evening, resulting in the death of 21 tourists while, the police said. Fifteen people were rescued by local fishermen. The ill-fated boat was being operated by a private company and was said to be on a trial run. The incident occurred when the boat set off for Pavitra Sangamam at Ferry village near Vijayawada from Bhavani Island, the police said. "The boat was overloaded with 38 people and most of them were not provided life jackets. It capsized near a curve as it approached
the Pavitra Sangamam point and most of the people were trapped underneath and were killed," a police officer said. Most of the passengers were members of the Ongole Walkers Club in Prakasam district while some were from Nellore who were on a visit to Vijayawada. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N China Rajappa, Opposition leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, state BJP president K Hari Babu and others expressed grief over the incident. China Rajappa announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. Naidu, who also visited the scene of the accident, said the whereabouts of three crew members were not known. He said
The News You Like | December, 2017
the private boat had no licence to operate. The tourists had boarded a boat of the tourism department, but when told that the time for ferrying passengers was already over they boarded the private boat. The Chief Minister said the driver was inexperienced and unfamiliar with the area. He suddenly lost control of the overloaded boat, which capsized. The police has registered a criminal case against the boat operator. Naidu announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the dead. Terming the incident unfortunate, the Chief Minister said a committee comprising of IAS and IPS officers has been formed to prevent such incidents in future.
19
20
NEWS BYTES
Woman dies of shock over daughter's death in boat tragedy
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he boat capsize in Krishna river on November caused a double tragedy to a family in Andhra Pradesh as a woman died of shock on seeing the body of her daughter. Lakshmi Kantham, who was in a state of shock since hearing about the tragedy, collapsed when the body of D. Leelavathi reached home in Ongole town of Prakasam district on Monday. The 72-year-old
apparently suffered cardiac arrest, resulting in her death, family members said. Leelavathi (50) was among 20 people killed when a boat overturned and capsized in Krishna river near Ibrahimpatnam Ferry Ghat in Krishna district on Sunday evening. Leelavathi was staying with her mother following the death of her husband 15 years ago. She along with 31 other members of Ongole
Walkers' Club was on board on the boat which sailed from Bhavani Island to Pavitra Sangamam, a confluence of Krishna and Godavari rivers. Over 40 people had boarded the private vessel to Pavitra Sangamam to witness 'Maha aarathi' ritual on the last Sunday of the auspicious month of 'Karthika'. Leelavathi's daughter, who is studying in Vijayawada, lost both her mother and grandmother due to the tragedy.
Telangana govt mulls monorail in Hyd's IT corridor
T
he Telangana government is contemplating to introduce monorail transport system in the city's IT corridor to improve traffic movement, a senior official has said. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (IT), said this while addressing the '5th FM Council Summit', organised by the Facilities Management Council (FMC) Telangana, according to a release from the organisers. FMC is the professional body of the facilities management industry in the state. Noting that Hyderabad is still the preferred destination for investments, the official cited example of reputed firms increasing their staff strength in the city. The desired green cover of 35 per cent in the IT corridor would be achieved in next two years, he said. FMC is a platform to network and share best practices in the areas of office management, engineering operations, food and beverages, transportation, security, seat management, guest relations,
environment, health & safety and building infrastructure, among others, said Satyanarayana Mangala, president of FMC, Telangana.
The News You Like | December, 2017
22
COPS & CROOKS
Friendly police is only propaganda
C
It is only culprit friendly police, say victims
THE NEWS BUREAU
ity police keep claiming credit and feel proud of the initiatives taken to prevent crime against women. City police also boast about free registration of cases as soon as they receive a complaint. But it appears that all the trumpeting is only to make the people believe in the propaganda while the ground reality is completely different. Though there are numerous instances to prove the dual standards of the city police, this one stands out to be a classic example. A woman named Reshma Kauser went to Habeebnagar police station on August 16 to lodge a complaint against neighbours who had been passing lewd comments and misbehaving with not only her but also other female members of her family. The reason for the accused resorting to such acts was that they had a civil dispute with her husband. However, the personnel posted at the reception counter in Habeebnagar police station refused to receive the complaint stating that officers were on bandobust duty and they cannot take the complaint without obtaining permission from the officers. This comes as a surprise because senior police officers keep claiming that city police was a people friendly police and the reception centers were opened for the people to approach police stations and lodge their grievance without any fear and seek help. Copies of the complaint were sent to the SHE team, assistant commissioner of police of Goshama-
hal division, deputy commissioner of police, west zone, city police commissioner and also to the director general of police. But, there was absolutely no response from any of them. When the complainant and her husband pursued the matter relentlessly, Habeebnagar police gave an acknowledgement in October 2017 saying they received the petition on October 24, whereas the complaint was actually sent in August through speed post after the reception counter personnel refused to receive the same. The acknowledgement was issued with a great difficulty and that too after the station house officer Madhukar Swamy instructed the personnel concerned. After getting an acknowledgement, the victim thought a case will be registered and action taken against the culprits. However, to their utter dismay, the personnel concerned compelled the victim to make rounds of the police station until mid of November only to suggest her that they will negotiate with the culprits and arrange a compromise. The complainant and her family was shocked to hear the suggestion and tried to meet the station house officer again but to no avail. With the police not registering any case for the reasons best known to them, the culprits felt emboldened and stepped up their acts of passing lewd comments and misbehaving with the female members of the complainant’s family. Aghast at not getting justice from the self-claimed friendly police, the victim said she would approach the court for justice.
The News You Like | December, 2017
POLITICS & CRIME
U
Corporators causing trouble for TRS
MATTIPATI YANADI REDDY
ntil a couple of years ago residents of Hyderabad felt the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) should be run by elected representatives and not the special officers so that their problems are solved. Accordingly, the Telangana government conducted elections and the TRS won majority seats while MIM stood in second place. As the council took over reigns from the special officer, people thought all their civic issues will be resolved. But there is no sign of city residents getting succor. Instead, the corporators are raking in moolah causing trouble for the people as well as for their respective parties. Particularly, the TRS corporators have attained notoriety for this and the party MLAs and MPs are worried over their future following the activities of the corporators. The corporators belonging to ruling party are allegedly going to any extent for bribes, contracts and for collecting protection money. Either the corporators or their kith and kin are acting as agents to see that building permissions are granted against the prescribed rules, facilitating illegal constructions and collecting cuts from the builders and owners of plots and buildings who sell or purchase plots and take up construction. The corporators are allegedly
Aekkala Chaitanya Kanna
Anala Reddy M
Muddagouni Laxmi Prasanna
S Ramana Reddy
N Jagadeeshwar Goud
Samala Hema
The News You Like | December, 2017
23
24
POLITICS & CRIME
collecting Rs 1 lakh per one floor construction for not creating any disturbance. Increasing number of cases against the corporators and their close associates in connection with their illegal activities shows the magnitude of the situation. A man named Veeraswamy lost his eye sight when Seethaphal Mandi corporator Hema’s father attacked him recently. Similarly, Malkajgiri division-20 corporator N Jagadeeshwar Goud’s son Abhishek Goud has been booked twice for blackmailing women using their morphed photographs. On the other hand, B N Reddy Nagar Corporator M Lakshmi Prasanna’s son Mahesh Goud is facing accusations of attacking toll gate staff and refusing to pay toll fee. Chaitanyapuri corporator Jinnaram Vittal Reddy has been booked for threatening a house owner demanding bribe for not creating any hurdle in the construction of house.
Ginnaram Vittal Reddy
Going a step ahead, Kacheguda corporator Akkalla Chaitanya Kanna’s husband Kanna Yadav not only took up illegal construction but also assaulted GHMC section officer Vani when the latter raised objection and asked him to stop illegal construction. The GHMC official filed a case against the corporator’s husband. In Musheerabad, one corporator The News You Like | December, 2017
was booked for demanding a residential flat from a builder, while another corporator in Chandanagar is facing allegations of operating illegal paid parking lots and yet another corporator in Serilingampally is accused of demanding money from the relatives of a Member of Parliament. There seems to be no end for such instances, but not all of them are coming to light. Yet, people have started feeling agitated with the criminal attitude of several corporators and strongly feel antagonism for TRS. This is causing a headache for the leadership and is said to have ordered the special branch and intelligence wing to make discreet enquiries against all the corporators of the ruling party and submit a detailed report. Based on the intelligence reports, the TRS leadership is likely to take a decision on the future of the sitting corporators from the party.
CROOKED COP
This ACP is happier than the new DGP on the latter’s elevation
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
here is only one police officer in the entire Telangana who is jumping with happiness with the appointment of M Mahendar Reddy as the director general of police (DGP). In fact, it appears he is happier than Mahendar Reddy. And the happiest police officer is deputy superintendent of police, K Ravichandan Reddy, who boasts himself a close disciple of the new DGP. The DSP has been anxiously waiting for Mahendar Reddy’s elevation to the post of head of police force and he had been making open claims that he would land a plum post ones his ‘guru’ becomes the DGP. All this is because Ravichandan Reddy was removed as the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Malkajgiri sub-division after a report about his involvement in the grabbing of wakf property was published in this periodical in its July 2016 issue. This case pertains to the lands attached to Hazarath Mir Mehmood Saheb Pahadi of Attapur to an extent of 328 acres 10 guntas dry land and 56 acres 1 gunta wet land. It was declared as Wakf property in Gazette 2893 and the land in survey
numbers 403, 418 to 421, a notified wakf property attached to Dargah Kohe Moula Ali and land in survey numbers 399, 400, 401, 403, 420 to 426 having heritage precincts. Land sharks headed by Pasham Madhusudan Reddy and Pilli Anjaneyulu Yadav created fake documents with the help of some corrupt officials and alienating this Wakf property. It was then Wakf property protection activist Mohammed Ayub Ali singlehandedly began his fight to protect Allah’s property. The then ACP of Malkajgiri, K Ravichandan Reddy, in collusion with the land sharks got a case registered against Ayub Ali. When the activist was undeterred, the ACP threatened him with booking him under PD Act. Following the investigative report in this periodical, an enquiry
was ordered into the role of ACP, Ravichandan Reddy and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) was also asked to probe the matter. While the influential ACP managed to bring the CID probe to a halt, the previous Deputy Commissioner of Police, LB Nagar, Tafseer Iqbal, submitted his report to the Director General of Police. The report of the DCP reportedly nailed ACP, Ravichandan Reddy for his role in the wakf property grabbing scandal and recommended for suitable action. Following this, the then DGP, Anurag Sarma posted the ACP to a police training college in Karimnagar. However, Ravichandan Reddy, did not report to his new place of posting even after a year but was waiting for Mahendar Reddy to become DGP. Now that the new DGP has taken charge, Ravichandan Reddy has been boasting in police circles that he was soon going to get a plum posting in Hyderabad city. Interestingly, it is said that except for working as sub-inspector in Vikarabad, Ravichandan Reddy served the rest of his career so far either in Cyberabad or Hyderabad, while his batch mates went to different places as part of their job.
Land sharks headed by Pasham Madhusudan Reddy and Pilli Anjaneyulu Yadav created fake documents with the help of some corrupt officials and alienating this Wakf property. It was then Wakf property protection activist Mohammed Ayub Ali singlehandedly began his fight to protect Allah’s property. The News You Like | December, 2017
25
26
FACT FILE
A
extra marital affair lands two families in trouble
THE NEWS BUREAU
married woman developed extra marital affair with a married man other than her husband. And their extra marital affair claimed the life of the woman’s husband as she wanted to get rid of him and live with her paramour. However, the mobile phone the paramour gifted to his courtesan helped police crack the case within a week leading to the arrest of killers. Chikkadpally Inspector, Bheem Reddy told The News how they could solve the case. According to him, police received a report on November 10 that one Shaik Jani Miya of Zamistanpur, who worked as a tailor, was found dead in his home under suspicious circumstances. As police reached the place, the dead man’s wife Shaik Asma Banu told police that he died of ill-health. However, Jani Miya’s relatives informed police that he never had life threatening ailments and expressed doubt on the cause of death. “As there was suspicion, we sent the body for autopsy which confirmed the cause of death was smothering and throttling. Immediately, we altered the case from suspicious death to murder and launched investigation,” the police officer said. During investigation, police found Asma Banu had been using a mobile phone and enquiries revealed that it was gifted to her by a neighbor named Mohammed Moin aka Baba, who worked in a private
factory. Police secured the call data records of Asma Banu’s phone and Moin’s phone. It gave clarity for the investigators. To make sure, police summoned Asma Banu to the police station and subjected her to thorough grilling. It was then Asma Banu made the chilling revelation. She told police that her husband used to come home drunk and harassed her both physically and mentally. In the course, she found solace in the company of Moin, a neighbor. Moin gifted her mobile phone to talk to her so that he can take her to parks and other private places. The phone helped her call Moin to her house whenever she was alone and engage in physical acts of intimacy, the police officer said. Since the duo wanted to take the illegal relationship to the next level, they planned to eliminate The News You Like | December, 2017
Jani Miya and executed the plan on the intervening night of November 9 and 10. They tied his limbs with her dupatta as he slept after consuming alcohol and then smothered and throttled to death. Later, she told the neighbours that her husband died of illness, the police officer said. Soon after committing the murder, Moin took away the SIM card from Asma Banu and destroyed it along with his SIM card in an apparent bid to destroy the evidence. However, the post mortem report, call data records and evidences of the people of the locality helped police arrest the culprits. Unfortunately, the extra marital affair left the two kids of Asma Banu orphaned as she landed in prison, while Moin’s family is deprived of the support an earning man could provide to his family.
SPECIAL REPORT
India faces serious nutrition burden
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndia is facing a serious problem of malnutrition, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2017 released in November. The more worrying is the fact that India has the highest number of anaemic women between the ages of 15 and 49 years. China, Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia occupy the following places in the list. Globally, anaemia affects a whopping 614 million women in that age bracket. The report calls attention to the serious crisis facing a majority of countries in the world, with 88% of countries being found to have a serious burden of either two or three forms of malnutrition (childhood stunting, anaemia in women of reproductive age, and/or overweight in adult women). The report says that while India has made some headway in addressing the problem of under-five stunting, it has lagged in tackling anaemia among women and is offthe-mark when it comes to targets for reducing adult obesity and diabetes. The report also states that in India 38 percent of children (totaling 47,505) under the age of five years were affected by stunting (children being short because of a lack of nutrition) while 21 percent of children (25,979) under five were affected by wasting (low weight for a certain height). The under-5 mortality rate has The News You Like | December, 2017
27
28
SPECIAL REPORT the gnr also reports worrying findings on childhood malnutrition. some countries have managed to reduce the number of children under five who are chronically or acutely undernourished decreased from 57 percent in 2011 to 48 percent in 2015, while 16 percent of Indian adult men and 22 percent women are overweight. Further 27 percent men and 25 percent women have raised blood pressure, while 9 percent men and 8 percent women have raised cholesterol and 26 percent men and 30 percent women have raised blood glucose. One of the alarm bells the report sounds has to do with the growing spread of obesity, not only in high-income countries, but also low and middle-income countries. Worldwide, 2 billion adults were found to be overweight or obese. “The problem affects more women than men in all the world’s regions, reflecting a wider global gender disparity,� the report states. 15 percent of women were found to be obese globally, compared to 11 percent of men. Similarly 39 percent of women were found to be overweight, as against 38 percent of men. At this rate, the probability of meeting the internationally agreed targets to halt the rise in obesity and diabetes by 2025 would be less than 1%, the GNR noted. The GNR also reports worrying findings on childhood malnutrition. Some countries have managed to reduce the number of children under five who are chronically or
acutely undernourished (stunted and wasted). However, the global progress is far from the correct pace to meet internationally collated nutrition targets, including the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that stipulates that all forms of malnutrition should be ended by 2030. The report states that childhood stunting affects 38 percent of children under the age of five, totaling up to 155 million children worldwide. Further, 21 percent of children under five (52 million children) were found to be "wasted" or "severely wasted". At the global level, nutrition is recognised as a key factor in enabling sustainable development, according to Corinna Hawkes, cochair of the GNR's Independent Expert Group and Director of the Centre for Food Policy at City University of London. "We will not achieve any of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development by 2030 unless there is a critical change in our response to malnutrition in all its forms, and action throughout the goals to tackle the many causes of malnutrition," Corinna said. The GNR-2017 urges that nutriThe News You Like | December, 2017
tion should be at the heart of efforts to end poverty, fight disease, raise educational standards and combat climate change. "A well-nourished child is onethird more likely to escape poverty, learn better in school, be healthier and grow into productive contributors to their economies," said Jessica Fanzo, GNR co-chair and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy and Ethics at John Hopkins University. One of the major obstacles the report points to is the insufficient funding that nutrition projects around the world receive. Donor funding for nutrition increased by just 2 percent in 2015 to $867 million, representing a slight fall in the overall percentage of global aid. However, experts estimate that adequately tackling childhood stunting, wasting and anaemia, and increase breastfeeding rates requires that donor funding should be tripled to $70 billion over 10 years. Hearteningly, the Global Nutrition Summit 2017 saw new commitments of billions of dollars to achieve nutrition targets, including a pledge of $50 million for five years by the Tata Trusts, Mumbai.
REGIONAL
Dalit woman IAS oďŹƒcer is Karnataka’s new CS K ratna prabha who was the additional chief secretary in the state since 2016, was considered for the top post by the chief Minister over two other contenders
S
THE NEWS BUREAU
enior woman Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer K Ratna Prabha took over as Karnataka's new Chief Secretary on December 30, replacing Subash Chandra Khuntia who retired on superannuation earlier in the day. A 1981-batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, Prabha is the third woman officer to hold the top administrative post in the state after Theresa Bhattacharya (2001) and Malati Das (2006). Prabha, 59, is also the first Dalit woman to become Chief Secretary in the southern state. "I am grateful to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for giving me this honour. My first priority will be
solving the problems of people. Attending to their grievances has always been close to my heart," Prabha said as she assumed office in the southern state capital. Unless given an extension, Prabha will be in the new post for four months as she is due for retirement by February. According to official sources, Prabha, who was the additional chief secretary in the state since 2016, was considered for the top post by the Chief Minister over two other contenders -- Latha Krishna Rau and S.K. Pattanayak, who are also in the rank of Additional Chief Secretary. Though she hails originally from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state, Prabha belongs to a family of The News You Like | December, 2017
IAS officers, as her father K.Chandraiah was an IAS officer, her second brother Pradeep Chandra retired as the Telangana Chief Secretary recently. Prabha also had a stint in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government over a decade ago on interstate deputation. Prabha is also the second woman top officer in the state after Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Neelamani N Raju took over as the state Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) in October. "Congratulations to Ratna Prabha. Karnataka's administration (civil and police) is now headed by two women," Siddaramaiah had tweeted on Prabha's appointment.
29
30
REGIONAL
PFI’s Sainaba behind several forcible conversions
N
THE NEWS BUREAU
ational Commission for Women acting chairperson Rekha Sharma has said that the Popular Front of India women’s wing president, AS Sainaba, converted several women in Kerala, apart from Hadiya, to Islam. Rekha Sharma said that the parents of some of the women, who have been allegedly forcefully converted in the state, told her that Sainaba was behind the conversions. “It was after meeting them that I understood that Sainaba was behind this. Not only Hadiya, but she converted other women too. I have met Sainaba. She complained that she is being framed by some media outlets,” she said. Rekha Sharma said that she has forwarded 11 complaints of forceful conversion to the DGP. “I have got some other complaints also, but they are before the court now,” she
T
told the media after meeting State Police Chief Loknath Behera at his office in Thiruvananthapuram. In January 2016, Akhila, a student at a Salem college, left with her roommates to study Islam. However, her friend’s father Aboobacker refused to keep Akhila at their house and approached Sathya Sarani, an educational institution and conversion centre in Manjeri, Malappuram. Sathya Sarani sent Sainaba, a social worker, to meet Akhila. From January 7, Akhila started staying
with Sainaba. Akhila later converted to Islam and assumed the name Hadiya. Though the court allowed Hadiya to live with Sainaba, it had at one point questioned Sainaba’s source of income and how she was able to afford the expenses. Later, the court was angry at Hadiya’s ‘sudden’ wedding to Shafin Jahan at Sainaba’s behest and annulled it. However, Sainaba denied the allegations and said that the visit of the Commission to the state is mysterious.
Travellers, complaints pour in for Metro Rail he Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) continued to witness a heavy rush after it began commercial operations, as citizens refused to stop pouring in despite several complaints. According to reports, more than 50,000 commuters travelled in the HMR by 4pm on December 30. Many commuters said that the
Metro had reduced their travel time by a great deal. However, many also had complaints like long queues to purchase tokens and smart cards, lack of parking facility and lack of connecting road transport facilities. Many users took to social media to complain that there was a shortage of dustbins at Metro
The News You Like | December, 2017
stations. Others pointed out that there was a lack of parking space at some of the stations, which led to commuters parking their vehicle by the side of the road. Reports suggest that only 12 out of 24 stations at present have designated parking slots at stations, which has been resulting in a traffic nightmare.
NATIONAL
up tops in crimes against children
N
THE NEWS BUREAU
orthern state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) recorded the maximum number of crimes against children in the year 2016, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on December 30. According to the data, UP recorded 16,079 cases, among the total 1,06,958 cases recorded across the country. This is a drastic jump from its own earlier figures 14,835 (in 2015) and 11,420 (in 2015). UP is followed by Maharashtra which recorded 14,559 cases and Madhya Pradesh, with 13,746 cases. Close on their heels is the Union Territory of Delhi with 8,178 cases. The data reveals that in South India, Karnataka tops in the number of crimes against children with 4,455 recorded cases. It is at rank 7 among all states and union territories. Kerala comes next with 2,879 cases and is at rank 14 overall. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, closely follow at 15, 16 and 17 respectively. Tamil Nadu recorded 2,856 cases, while Telangana and Andhra Pradesh recorded 2,909 and 1,847 cases respectively. Similarly, a total of 1,06,958 cases were registered under POCSO. Of this, 1,799 cases occurred in the UTs. Even in POCSO cases, Uttar Pradesh tops, with 4,954 incidences. UP is closely followed by Maharashtra at 4,815 and Madhya Pradesh at 4,717. This is followed by Odisha at 1,928 and Delhi at 1,620. Coming to the South, Kerala
tops in cases registered under POCSO with 1,848 cases, followed by Karnataka at 1,565, Tamil Nadu 1,583 and Telangana 1,158. Among the south-Indian states, Andhra Pradesh recorded the least number of POCSO cases, at 830. Under the POCSO Act, Jharkhand recorded 19 cases under Section 14, 15- use of children for pornography/storing child pornography material. One case each was registered in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Odisha.
and 86 cases respectively. While Kochi is at 18th position, Coimbatore stands at 19. In terms of murder cases, UP tops again with 506 incidences, followed by Maharashtra at 162 and MP 126. In the south, Tamil Nadu tops the list with 87 incidents, followed by Karnataka with 84 cases and AP with 54 cases. While Telangana recorded 48 incidents, Kerala had 33 cases. In the year 2016, a total of 93 cases of infanticide were recorded.
Tamil Nadu follows Jharkhand with nine cases. Kerala comes next with four cases and Karnataka and Rajasthan with three cases each, and UP and West Bengal with two cases each. The data indicates that Delhi tops the list of crimes against children in metropolitan cities with 7,392 cases, followed by Mumbai at 3,400 and Bengaluru at 1,333. Chennai is at 14th position with 230 cases and Hyderabad at rank 11 with 410 cases. Coimbatore and Kochi are the metropolitan cities that recorded the lowest number of crimes against children, with 69
UP recorded 21 cases of infanticide, while Rajasthan and MP recorded 14 cases each. Coming to the south, the incidences are visibly lower, with AP having 10 cases, Telangana having six cases and Karnataka and Tamil Nadu recording two cases each. Kerala did not record any case of infanticide in 2016. While Chattisgargh recorded one case of infanticide, it recorded 18 cases of foeticide. Once again, UP topped the list with an alarming 52 cases, followed by Rajasthan at 21 and Madhya Pradesh at 19.
The News You Like | December, 2017
31
32
POLITICS
I
Another YSR Congress MLA joins Telugu Desam
THE NEWS BUREAU
n yet another jolt to the YSR Congress, one more MLA from the party crossed over to the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, taking the total count of legislators who have switched loyalty to 23. Giddi Eeswari, the tribal legislator from Paderu constituency in Visakhapatnam district, joined the ruling party, with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu formally welcoming her into the TDP fold. Incidentally, Eeswari once reportedly threatened to chop off Naidu's head if he went ahead with permitting bauxite mining in the Araku-Paderu Agency area of Visakhapatnam district. Last year, when legislators from the Jaganmohan Reddy- headed YSRC were making a beeline to join the Naidu-led party, Eeswari alleged she was offered crores of rupees to shift loyalty to the TDP but refused. "The YSRC leaders are accusing me of receiving Rs 25 crore for jumping over to the TDP. This is totally false. I was a teacher and a tribal who follow ethics. It is untrue that I was offered the money," the first-time MLA told reporters after meeting the chief minister. Eeswari said she joined the TDP with a lot of pain as YSRC chief Jagan let the party members down. "We have toiled for the YSRC for years but now Jagan is bringing in tribals from the plains and thrusting on us. We tried to prevail on
I placed only one demand before the Chief Minister - that bauxite mining be not permitted at any cost in the Agency area and safeguard the interests of tribals him against it but to no avail. Hence, I decided to join the TDP," she said. "I placed only one demand before the Chief Minister - that bauxite mining be not permitted at any cost in the Agency area and safeguard the interests of tribals," the MLA said. Defection from the YSRC, the only opposition party in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, began in February 2016 and so far 23 lawmakers have crossed over. Four of them were made ministers in the Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet. Petitions seeking disqualification of these lawmakers were The News You Like | December, 2017
pending before Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao. The speaker, however, has pointed out that the issue was held up because of an ongoing litigation in court. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Kiran Kumar Reddy's brother N Kishore Kumar Reddy and his son N Amarnath Reddy joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party. Their initiation into the party took place in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who welcomed the new entrants by draping a yellow scarf around their necks.
vijayashanti meets Rahul
POLITICS
Ramulammareturns to politics
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
fter keeping mum for three years, veteran actress and former Member of Parliament M Vijayashanti is set to become active in politics as she called on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi recently. Congress party leader incharge of party affairs in Telangana RC Kuntia and state party chief Uttam Kumar Reddy were also present during the meeting. Vijayashanti told Rahul that she will work for the victory of the party in 2019 elections. Party sources said she may get an important responsibility in the organisation. The actress-turned-politician was away from active politics since her defeat in 2014 elections. Vijayashanti began her acting career in 1980, playing a leading role in the Tamil film Kallukkul Eeram, at the age of 13. She even
A
played a role in Telugu film Satyam-Sivam in 1981, which starred the likes of NT Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. She then went on to do several films with actors such as Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi and Daggubati Venkatesh. Vijayashanti began her political career with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1997 and served as General Secretary of the party's women's wing.
She quit BJP in 2005 to float a separate outfit to fight for separate statehood to Telangana. She later merged "Talli Telangana" with TRS and was elected to Lok Sabha from Medak constituency in 2009. Later she joined Congress on the eve of 2014 elections after she was suspended from TRS for antiparty activities. She also had a fallout with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
ap, t'gana decide to expedite process of division of assets
committee of officials belonging to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has decided to expedite the process of division of assets and properties between the two states in the wake of bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The meeting was participated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar, his Telangana
counterpart S P Singh and officials from both the states. "It was decided to expedite division of Schedule-X institutions, which do not have land and buildings; It was decided to expedite the division of properties of A.P. Bhavan at New Delhi," a state government release said. "It was decided to expedite approval of recommendations of
The News You Like | December, 2017
the Expert Committee headed by Dr. (Mrs.) Sheela Bhide, IAS (Retd.) on division of assets, liabilities & employees of institutions listed under Schedule-IX of A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014," it said. The meeting also decided several other issues concerning division of employees and assets between the two states.
33
34
POLITICS
Delhi government did not spend a penny from environment cess E
THE NEWS BUREAU
ven as an RTI query revealed that the Kejriwal government did not spend even a rupee out of the Rs 787 crore it collected as environment cess since January this year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blamed the Centre for blocking projects. The government said it spent Rs 93 lakh of the cess in 2016, but there was "no mention of any expenditure" in 2017. The AAP government came under attack from the opposition parties following the revelation. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken slammed the city government and said they could have bought new buses with this money and also augmented total parking capacity of the bus depots. Lashing out at Kejriwal, Maken said: "Instead of using the money which
is lying idle, he is busy aiming at other state governments and the Centre instead of doing his bit." Maken said Kejriwal could have purchased road vacuum cleaners, as the dust "is the single-biggest contributory factor for air pollution" in Delhi. "When we were in power, the strength of the DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) was 5,445 buses, which has now gone down to 3,951 buses. There has been a shortfall of 1,500 buses in three years," he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) instead blamed the central government for its failure to spend Rs 787 crore of environmental cess and accused it of blocking the projects to control pollution. AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said they never said that the Delhi government had shortage of funds. "Though government wanted to purchase buses, but the central govThe News You Like | December, 2017
ernment did not allot land for bus depots," he said. He also said that the government had approached the central government for permission for aerial sprinkling of water to control pollution and was even ready to spend the money. Bharadwaj told IANS that the government had been taking other measures like spraying of water on roads to control dust, but environment cess was not being utilised for it and was being done using other funds. When asked about other pollution control measures like installation of air purifiers and vacuum cleaning of roads, the leader said that both options were looked into, but they were not found feasible. Meanwhile, the Delhi government said it had prepared a oneyear short-term plan to tackle air pollution.
PARAdISe PAPeRS
CRIME
Jagan, Mallya, Karti among Indians linked to companies in tax havens
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he names of several Indians have surfaced, linked to companies in offshore tax havens, according to reports appeared in media, dubbed the 'Paradise Papers'. The Indian Express, which worked with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ) for the investigation, reported that Indian company, Sun Group, founded by Nand Lal Khemka, figured as the secondlargest international client of Appleby, a law-firm, with as many as 118 different offshore entities. Appleby’s documents also reportedly show how millions of dollars worth of loans taken by offshore companies of Vijay Mallya's The News You Like | December, 2017
United Spirits Limited India were waived by Diageo, which later acquired USL. The Express said that among Appleby's Indian clients were several prominent corporates and companies, which subsequently came under the scrutiny of investigating agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (EF).
35
36
CRIME
These include firms in the SunTV-Aircel-Maxis case, Essar-Loop 2G case, SNS-Lavalin in which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was named and then cleared, the Rajasthan ambulance scam which has recently been routed to the CBI and which names a company called Ziquista Healthcare (Sachin Pilot and Karti Chidambaram were early honorary/independent directors of the firms respectively), the Express said. It also uncovered fresh financial links in the CBI case against YSR Congress Party Chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha's name figures on the record because of his past association with Omidyar Network, so does the name of R K Sinha, BJP Rajya Sabha member of Parliament, in Malta offshore companies' list. Sinha and others had denied any wrongdoing in response
to Express queries. Sinha also sent tweets saying full disclosure had been made to the authorities. "Besides corporates, the data revealed details of individuals as well. Amitabh Bachchan's shareholding in a Bermuda company acquired before the 2004 Liberalised Remittance Scheme kicked in, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and film star Sanjay Dutt's wife who figures under her former name Dilnashin," the daily said. There are also thousands of documents on the GMR Group, Jindal Steel, Apollo Tyres, Havells, Hindujas, Emaar MGF, Videocon, the Hiranandani Group and D S Construction, the IE report adds. The investigation was performed by 382 reporters at almost 100 media outlets who analysed more than 13 million tax haven documents covering the period 1950-2016, Efe news reported. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Colombian President Juan Manuel The News You Like | December, 2017
Santos and singers Bono and Madonna are among the 127 internationally known figures linked to offshore tax havens. The documents from 19 jurisdictions on the worldwide list of tax havens were leaked from the Appleby and Asiatici Trust Law Firm and received by Germany's SĂźddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which called in the ICIJ to examine them. This investigation comes months after the 'Panama Papers' were published in April this year. The Panama Papers are set of leaked documents which show how law firm Mossack Fonseca helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax with offshore accounts. However, offshore accounts do not by default indicate illegality. The investigation into the papers was carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
CRIME
T
Cops bust relIgIous ConversIon raCKet
THE NEWS BUREAU
elangana police along with district child welfare officials, raided the premises of Peace Orphan Home Society in Moula Ali area and busted a major religious conversion racket a couple of weeks ago. "I saw the police when they came. We did not know anything. A big team came at around 6 in the morning, and raided the place. We read about it in the news the next day," says Venkat, the watchman in an under-construction building nearby. "We started seeing the children from the past two weeks or so. They would come to the balcony sometimes, but we never suspected anything big like this," another local remarks. Inside the white building, the police say that 17 children between
the ages of four and 15 were being systematically converted to Islam. The police arrested Mohammed Siddique, the chief accused, along with 9 others, for luring children from poor families and converting them to Islam, without changing their Hindu names. During the raid, the police rescued 10 boys and seven girls from the building in Moula Ali's Maruthi Nagar area. The police said that Siddique targeted children from marginalised communities, especially STs, after convincing their parents that the child's education and accommodation would be provided for. For this, he visited lower economic areas in parts of Bhadrachalam, Mahabubnagar, Khammam, Warangal and Suryapet in Telangana. According to the assistant commissioner of police, G Sundeep, the children were going to
The News You Like | December, 2017
a private school, but it was stopped recently and a tutor was appointed to teach them English and religious studies. They were made to study the Quran. Out of the nine accused nabbed so far, three of them were Hindus who had converted to Islam. Additionally, the foundation was completely illegal, and did not have any permissions," the ACP said adding further investigation was underway. District Welfare Officer Swarupa Rani said most of the children rescued could not comprehend what was happening. They knew that they were taken away from their homes under the guise of being provided education, but that's about it. They also mentioned that they were constantly changing locations, which was distressing. Besides that, the children did not understand much, she added.
37
38
One lakh enTiTies under i-T scanner TAX TROUBLES
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he Income Tax Department is set to issue notices to about one lakh entities and individuals, who deposited huge cash in banks post demonetisation and whose tax returns have been picked for detailed probe into suspected discrepancies, according to official sources. Issue of notices has already begun, they said. In the first phase, notices will be issued to 70,000 entities that deposited over Rs 50 lakh in cash in banks but chose not to file tax returns or respond to the relevant Income Tax Department advisories, the sources said. These notices will be issued under Section 142 (1) of the I-T Act (inquiry before assessment), they said. Similarly, about 30,000 scrutiny notices will be issued to those whose deposits and tax returns were found to be starkly "deviant" from their past behaviour or their accounts showed huge monetary transactions post demonetisation, they added. As many as 20,572 tax returns have been selected for the scrutiny procedure by the department post demonetisation, declared by the government on November 8 last year. The rest of the scrutiny notices will be issued in due course, they added. This action will be followed by the taxman issuing similar notices by next month to those individuals and entities who have made deposits between Rs 25 lakh and Rs
50 lakh post demonetisation. These activities, they said, are part of the 'Operation Clean Money' that was initiated by the tax department in January this year to check black money generation post the note ban. According to official data, accessed by PTI, 17.73 lakh suspicious cases involving Rs 3.68 lakh crore have been identified by the taxman in 23.22 lakh bank accounts post demonetisation. Responses from 11.8 lakh people for 16.92 lakh bank accounts have been received by the department The News You Like | December, 2017
through online medium till now. "We will again ask people who made bank deposits of over Rs 50 lakh to respond to our notices. If they do not cooperate, we will begin the legal action. Similar thing would be initiated against those who have made deposits less than Rs 50 lakh but over Rs 25 lakh," a senior I-T department officer said. The I-T department had conducted 900 searches between November 9, 2016, and March this year, leading to seizure of assets worth Rs 900 crore, including Rs 636 crore in cash. The searched led to the disclosure of Rs 7,961 crore undisclosed income, according to the official data. During the same period, the department conducted 8,239 survey operations leading to detection of Rs 6,745 crore of black money, it had said.
IT BLUES
Ex-Facebook chief warns site was built to exploit people’s weaknesses
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
n the wake of last year's U.S. election, in which Russian interference and "fake news" on social networks became major topics, many are rethinking the role of social media in our society. Adding their voice to the list of critics is Sean Parker, who in 2004 became the first person to serve as president of Facebook. During a talk in Philadelphia this week, Parker warned consumers that the social network, like other social media sites, was designed to exploit people's psychological vulnerabilities. "God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains," said Parker, according to Axios. He joked that his comments could get him barred from Facebook. "The thought process that went into building these applications, Facebook being the first of them ... was all about 'How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?'" Parker said. "And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever. And that's going to get you to contribute more content, and that's going to get you ... more likes and comments." He described Facebook as ""a social-validation feedback loop" that is "exactly the kind of thing
that a hacker like myself would come up with," because it exploits a psychological vulnerability. Parker started out as a cofounder of the music-sharing site
Napster before becoming involved with Facebook. His tenure at the social media site didn't last long; he was asked to resign in 2006 after police found cocaine in a vacation home he was renting. Many media critics have begun arguing that the business model of Facebook and some other social sites encourages extremism, by creating echo chambers in which ideas spread without being contested, and by rewarding controversial ideas with greater exposure. Parker is among a growing number of tech insiders whose consciences have begun to eat at them in the wake of the explosion of The News You Like | December, 2017
social media. In a widely-shared post last year, former Google employee Tristan Harris outlined how tech companies capture the minds of users. Product designers "play your psychological vulnerabilities (consciously and unconsciously) against you in the race to grab your attention," he wrote. Like magicians, social media apps "give people the illusion of free choice while architecting the menu so that they win, no matter what you choose," he wrote. In an Atlantic article in 2014, programmer Ethan Zuckerman, the principal research scientist at MIT's Media Lab, apologized for his role in creating pop-up ads in the 1990s. "I wrote the code to launch the window and run an ad in it. I'm sorry. Our intentions were good," he wrote. But in his comments this week, Parker argued that the big brains behind big social networks knew exactly what they were doing when they developed their sites' advertising-based models. "The inventors, creators — it's me, it's Mark [Zuckerberg], it's Kevin Systrom on Instagram, it's all of these people — understood this consciously. And we did it anyway," he said. Parker described himself as a "conscientious objector" to social media, though he does maintain a presence on Facebook and Twitter.
39
40
EDUCATION
Children being turned into machines and robots: AP CM
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu warned educational institutions against putting pressure on the students, and playing with their lives. Referring to the high number of student suicides that have presently taken the state by storm, during a short discussion in the Legislative Assembly on the issue, Naidu said that students were being turned into machines and robots. “There are various reasons that are driving students to suicide, the prime cause being mounting stress and pressure. Even parents are exerting pressure on kids for high
score. Performance grading of students in colleges, health (problems), family problems, love failure and depression are some of the reasons. Some students are ending their lives (because they are) not willing to stay in hostels. Some are unable to cope with the high standards set by their institutes,” the Chief Minister was quoted as saying. He also pointed out that they were just made to study all day, and forced to appear for tests on holidays, with no provisions for extracurricular activity. "It’s not right to turn students into machines and robots. We will severely punish such managements,” Naidu added.
The News You Like | December, 2017
Human Resources Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao who also spoke on the matter, said that they were monitoring complaints from students, and ensuring strict action against institutes that were violating norms. In July this year, Andhra Pradesh's Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) issued guidelines to decrease stress on students in Junior Colleges, and prevent suicides across the state. The guidelines were issued based on the findings of a twomember committee, consisting of Retired IAS officer D Chakrapani and Ratna Kumari, Former VC of Sri Padmavathi Mahila University. Stating that the teacher-student ratio should be maintained, and should not exceed the norm prescribed by the Board, the committee said, "A counselor shall be appointed for each corporate college, and the same may be informed to the Board. "There should be only one test every month in each subject, and parent interaction at the end of 6 months on progress of the students shall be made compulsory. Frequent shifts of students from one section to another based on performance shall be stopped. Display of marks on notice board should be avoided," it said. "No instructions before 8am and after 6pm, and focus on personality development of the student should be given utmost importance in all the colleges," the committee added.
RAILWAYS
ISRO technology to help railways alert people at unmanned crossings
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
satellite-based system will now alert road users at unmanned level crossings about approaching trains and also help in tracking train movement on a realtime basis. The space technology, adopted with the help of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will warn road users through hooters once a train approaches an unmanned level crossing. The railways is installing ISRO-developed integrated circuit (IC) chips on 10,000 locomotives of trains. About 500 metres before the level crossings, the hooter will be activated through a signal from the IC chip, warning road users as well as the train drivers near the crossing. The hooter will become louder as the level crossing nears, and will fall silent after the train has passed. On a pilot basis, two level crossing gates in Sonepur division on the Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani route are to be equipped with the ISRO system, to be followed by a few gates on the Delhi-Mumbai route shortly. Trials would be conducted on these two busy rail corridors and, according to the plan, all level crossings will be equipped with the ISRO system in phases, said a senior Railway Ministry official who did not want to be named.
Besides alerting road users, the satellite-based system will also be used for tracking trains for disseminating information about their movement on a real-time basis. At present, train movement related information is maintained manually, leaving scope for inaccuracies. The trial for real-time train information system is already being carried out on Mumbai Rajdhani and Guwahati Rajdhani services, said the official. Safety at unmanned level crossings is a cause of serious concern for railways as these crossings witness maximum mishaps. The public transporter had explored various ways to address the issue before settling for the ISRO system. A few locos are being equipped with the device and installation of hooters at unmanned level crossings gates on Delhi-Mumbai and The News You Like | December, 2017
Delhi-Guwahati routes is being carried out gradually. There are about 7,254 unmanned railway crossings in the country which account for around 40 per cent of accidents involving the railways. There are about 18,000 manned level crossings. While the Railways had eliminated 1,148 unmanned crossings in 2014-15 and 1,253 in 2015-16, it has scaled up its target and now plans to eliminate all such crossings in the next two to three years. Once all unmanned level crossings are eliminated, the hooter system would be shifted to manned level crossings as per the plan. The satellite-based system will also help railways in mapping the area and the technology will come in handy at the time of accidents when it can be used to ascertain the exact location of trains and topography.
41
42
BUSINESS
Use technology to enable women work from kitchen: Ivanka
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
vanka Trump, Advisor to US President Donald Trump and his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump favoured formulation of policies that support greater participation of
women in workforce. She even referred to technology that can be used to allow women to work from kitchens and help reduce the gender gap. "I think it's incredibly important that policies support modern families... We need to start thinking The News You Like | December, 2017
about ways to support the modern workforce and the modern reality in household. I think technology is a great driver," she said. She was speaking at a session on innovation in workforce development on the second day of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad. Ivanka suggested that policymakers need to devise ways to support the "modern workforce and the modern reality in household". "Technology is reducing barriers to starting businesses, it's creating flexibility... Technology offers tremendous opportunities to women and women entrepreneurs," she pointed out. Stating that there is a need to fuel skill training and workforce development, Ivanka said it is necessary to align what is being taught in the classroom with economic realities. Ivanka, a businesswoman and a fashion designer too, said efforts should be made to get more women into male dominated professions to create an equitable balance in workforce. "I am incredibly fearful that when we look at where future work is going, if women continue to represent only 13 per cent of engineers in the United States or continue to represent only 24 per cent of computer science professionals, the gender wage gap is actually going to grow in years to come. "It is something we need to address, it is something that the administration in the US is very very focused on," she stressed.
BUSINESS
Ivanka visits Golconda fort
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
vanka visited historic Golconda Fort on November 29, on the second and last day of her visit to Hyderabad to attend Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). After attending a session in the morning on the second day, Ivanka went back to Trident Hotel, where she stayed. Later she left for the fort, which was the capital of the Qutb Shahi kingdom from 1518 to 1687. US security agencies and the local police had made security arrangements. The fort was closed for tourists and police imposed restrictions on traďŹƒc in the surroundings. Earlier, Ivanka attended dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Taj Falaknuma, the palace hotel in the old city, on November 28.
GeS dRAwS 1,500 deleGATeS
A
bout 1,500 delegates from 150 countries and territories are taking part in the three-day Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) here that began on Tuesday. Ivanka Trump, adviser to and daughter of US President Donald Trump, headed the US delegation to the event, co-hosted by the US and India at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) in Hitec City. This is the eighth GES which brings together entrepreneurs, investors and eco-system supporters for mentoring, networking and investment matchmaking. It is the ďŹ rst time the event is being held in South Asia.
The News You Like | December, 2017
43
44
BUSINESS
telangana announces incubator for women startups
E
THE NEWS BUREAU
nthused by the success of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) which concluded here on Thursday, the Telangana government announced the setting up of WE-Hub, an exclusive incubator for women entrepreneurs. Minister for Information Technology K T Rama Rao announced at the end of the summit that WEHub would be modelled on the
lines of T-Hub, the country's largest technology incubator which earned appreciation at the summit. As the summit was focused on women entrepreneurs, the state government decided to set up the facility to help women startups. Rao also announced the setting up of a Technology Fund (T-Fund) with a corpus of Rs 15 crore exclusively for women entrepreneurs. The women entrepreneurs can get Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore under this
The News You Like | December, 2017
fund. Announcing the third initiative, the minister said women entrepreneurs will get one-fourth share in 25 per cent of the total procurements made by the government from the private sector, mostly SMEs. NITI Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant announced that the Atal Innovation Mission of the government of India would partner with the state government for these initiatives.
BUSINESS
G
THE NEWS BUREAU
MR group chairman G M Rao was awarded 'The Economic Times Most Inspiring Business Leader in Asia' by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on November 29. The two-day event titled, 'The Economic Times Asian Business Leaders Conclave' was held at Kuala Lumpur on November 2930. In his speech, drawing a historic link to the contribution made by India towards Asia's GDP, Rao
gMr chairman awarded ' Most inspiring business leader in asia' said, "If one goes through the Asian history, one would find that some 1000 years back, India played a major role in contributing to Asia’s GDP and along with another neighboring nation to the World GDP. Most of the Asian countries were quite advanced as they collaborated well and lived like one country." He further added, "Asian companies should learn from western multinationals on how successfully they run generations after generations. Asians are tremendous entrepreneurs, and we can create big multinationals if we have a strong
The News You Like | December, 2017
‘Family Governance’. It is critical for the long term sustainable economic development of the country." Speaking at the event, Malaysian PM Razak described his country as India's gateway to ASEAN and beyond. The conclave that was attended by ministers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and high commissioner of Philippines had discussions on initiatives to chalk out ways to successfully assert Asia's position as a torchbearer of global economy.
45
46
SPORTS
T10 league to be launched in Sharjah
C
THE NEWS BUREAU
ome December 21, the iconic Sharjah stadium in the United Arab Emirates will reverberate to the thwack of leather on willow, but with a difference. Thanks to the initiative from the UAE-based business tycoon and sports lover Shaji Ul Mulk, the venue will host the first ever 10 overs cricket league. The ten-over per team matches will be spread over 90 minutes (45 minutes each side). The T10 cricket league has attracted scores of famous marquee names including Eoin Morgan, Virender Sehwag, Misbah-ul-Haq and Inzamam-ulHaq. Brian Lara will coach the Kerala Kings led by Morgan. The final of the league matches will be played on December 24. The draft for players to the five teams took place on board a luxury yacht berthed at the Dubai Marina
on Sunday. As many as 60 players were chosen by the five teams taking part in these proceedings, with the 6th team Sri Lanka Cricket having already been announced a day prior. "The idea was really to bring cricket into the same time realm as most other sports and ninety minutes or so is the norm. The idea was kicked around and no one could deny there was a certain excitement to the visual aspects of watching the barrage of runs which would accrue or the happily reckless fall of wickets." Mulk, chairman of the T10 Cricket League, told reporters in Dubai. Sharjah's cricket stadium is a popular place for one-dayers. According to the General Manager of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Mazhar Khan, the new dimension to the short-form cricket has the potential to become a runaway hit. "We are seeing the excitement
The News You Like | December, 2017
building already and we will see full houses not just out of curiosity but because the lure of the big names is also there. This is instant cricket and the fans will have a great time," Khan said. "The demographic dictated a concentration on players in the Emirates and nations that are represented in the region," Mulk said. He underscored the fact that the rules were according to the ICC mandate and though there was a large element of fun in the quick version, the games would be played competitively and professionally. "The desire to be the first winners of a T10 tournament would be a historical achievement and will motivate the players to doing their best on the field," he said. President of the League Salman Iqbalk, compared T10 to the F1 motor races saying he was confident the format would be here to stay.
asian Boxing championship
SPORTS
Mary Kom wins gold
S
THE NEWS BUREAU
tar Indian boxer M.C. Mary Kom defeated Hyang Mi Kim of North Korea in the women's 48kg category to clinch gold at the Asian Boxing Championship. The Olympic bronze medallist got the better of her opponent in a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the final to win her fifth gold at the Asian Boxing Championship and first in the 48 kg category. "I am really happy the way this championship has panned out. I would like to dedicate this victory to all those who have supported me even though the world had written me off. I would like to thank my coaching staff who worked hard with me over the last few months," Mary said after her victory. "A special word for the professional setup that BFI has put in place, ensuring that best facilities were given during the month-long camp and all the exposure trips for the team. Also, I am thankful to BFI President Mr. Ajay Singh es-
pecially for showing faith in me," she added. Mary Kom got off to a brilliant start, launching a blistering attack right from the word go. She landed most of her punches which put her ahead in the opening round itself. The Korean tried to stay in the fight, packing a few of her own. But Mary had clearly done better. In the second round, Mary eased up a little, preferring to be a
The News You Like | December, 2017
little cautious. She used her defensive abilities to the optimum and attacked only on the counter in this round. This strategy also worked, taking her just one step away from the gold. The Korean grew desperate in the final round and came out swinging, almost recklessly. But Mary was ready for that too. She used her reflexes well to slip in her jabs and hooks, while connecting her punches too. It was enough to put her on top of the podium. Another Indian finalist Sonia Lather suffered a heartbreak as she went down to China's Yin Junhua in the final of the 57kg category to settle for the silver. It was overall a great campaign for the Indian contingent as seven of their boxers will return home with medals including one gold, one silver and five bronzes.
47
48
SPORTS
I
India’s Mirabai wins two golds in women’s weightlifting worlds
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndian athlete Chanu Saikhom Mirabai showed grit in winning the women's 48kg total and clean and jerk titles at the 2017 world weightlifting championships on December 29. Mirabai, the 2017 Commonwealth Games champion, lifted her personal best in career totaling 194kg to beat Sukcharoen Thunya of Thailand to the second place by a slim margin of 1kg. She was also the winner in clean and jerk of the event, reports Xinhua news
agency. Two-time junior world champion Sukcharoen finished first in snatch with 86kg but came up short in the clean and jerk. The Pan-American champion Ana Iris Segura Segura from Columbia was third in total. Nearly 400 athletes from about 70 countries and regions, including six reigning Olympic champions, will be competing through December 5 at the competition. This will be the first world championships featuring eight weight categories for both men and women. The News You Like | December, 2017
Governor of Manipur Najma Heptulla hailed Saikhom Mirabai Chanu's gold-medal winning effort at the Weightlifting World Championship in Anaheim, USA. Congratulating Mirabai, the Manipur governor said the achievement indeed shows than the state which has a population of less than three million shows the tiny landlocked state is the powerhouse of sports in the country. "With better training and exposure, sportspersons of her state can perform more," Heptulla told a news agency over phone.
ENVIRONMENT
unauthorised units pollute environment as pcb looks the other way
O
THE NEWS BUREAU
ver 1000 unauthorised industrial units have been functioning within the radius of Outer Ring Road (ORR) and dumping their hazardous chemical waste and effluents harming the environment, even as the pollution control board officials look the other way. According to sources, there are little over 5000 industrial units within ORR limits. Of these, majority units produce pharmaceutical, bulk drugs, plastic products, while some are into stone crushing and Research and Development. However, more than 1000 units out of these 5000 are said to be carrying out their operations without obtaining mandatory clearance or permission from the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB). These unauthorised units are allegedly dumping hazardous chem-
ical waste in the nearby nallas, rain water drains, open lands and also releasing pollutant and poisonous gases into the air thereby causing serious health hazards. According to sources, any industrial unit has to obtain from the PCB Consent for Establishment (CFE) and then obtain Consent for Operations (CFO) under under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environment Protection Act 1986 before starting operations. The PCB will keep a watch on the units that obtain CFE and CFO by way of periodical inspection and initiates action in case of any violation. However, the truth is something different. Many units in Prashantnagar, Alipiri (Kukatpally), Bachupally, Bhowrampet, Jeedimetla, Cherlapally, Mallapur, Nacharam, Hayathnagar, Turkayamzal, Uppal, Moulali, Mailardevpally, Gandhi-
Chemical drums abandoned in open land
The News You Like | December, 2017
nagar, Moosapet, Miyapur are run without any permission. Since there is no supervision from PCB, the managements of these units are resorting to gross violations and causing serious environmental issues by dumping hazardous chemical waste, pollutants and toxic gases into the nallas, rain water drains, water tanks and open lands. While the unauthorised units blatantly violate the rules and guidelines, some PCB officials are allegedly minting money by collecting huge bribes from the unauthorised units. There are allegations that some corrupt officials of the PCB are collecting up to Rs 50,000 per month from each unauthorised unit for not taking any action. Unless serious steps are taken, the hazardous chemical waste, industrial effluents, toxic gases and pollutants will completely damage the environment seriously affecting the health of humans.
49
50
INNOVATION
IIT students win global competition for ‘earthenware cooler’ I
THE NEWS BUREAU
nnovating on the age-old concept of using earthenware to keep the water cool, two students of IIT Roorkee have built 'Evacool', an air cooler which uses the same fundamentals of cooling as employed by many Indians in use of earthenwares and won an award for it. Raja Jain and Nimisha Gupta aced the global competition held by Schneider Electrics, a French MNC specialising in energy and automation solutions, in Paris outdoing 12 other teams. "We have developed a cooling system for air, it's called
Evacool. It works on the principle of evaporation," said Gupta, a fourth year student of chemical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee. "So, we know that Indians have been using earthenware for cooling for a long time and we have applied similar concept for the cooling of air." Jain, a third year biotechnology student said: "Two qualities of Evacool are that it's very cheap and it doesn't emit greenhouse gases and unlike other air coolers, it will use less energy." "Where a routine cooler uses about 300 watt per hour, Evacool
The News You Like | December, 2017
uses on 65 watt per hour." The two students presented their prototype at the competition 'Go Green in City 2017' held in Paris in August after having been shortlisted in May. It took them on two months to conceptualise and build the device. The winning team was awarded an opportunity to build their career with Schneider Electric, a world VIP-style trip, visiting two destinations facilities as well as networking opportunities with employees and senior management at Schneider Electric, said the firm in statement.
Toxic lead found in raw food items
A
THE NEWS BUREAU
team of Indian scientists detected the presence of a high concentration of lead in raw food items such as polished rice and fish. The scientists have highlighted the linkages of the presence of the toxic substance with diesel combustion. The observations are based on recent studies carried out by a group of scientists lead by Avijit Das, Chemist of Geological Survey of India (GSI). "The raw food items, sold near the streets of Kolkata, contain a mean lead concentration between 3.78 and 43.35 mg/kg (average 23.56 mg/kg) which is very high compared to the threshold value of
2.5mg/kg specified by Food Safety and Standards Regulation (2011), India," a statement from the Geological Survey of India said. The study also revealed that about 75 per cent of the lead contamination in the food items sold in Kolkata street markets, was contributed by atmospheric lead, mainly produced by combustion of diesel. The current reference range for acceptable blood lead concentrations in healthy persons without excessive exposure to environmental sources of lead is less than 0.05 mg/L for children whereas, it is less than 0.25Amg/L for adults (as per American/European standards). Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic element and its prolonged exposure The News You Like | December, 2017
FOOD & HEALTH
to humans can cause permanent damage to the kidneys, liver and hematologic systems. Children are more at risk because lead exposure can reverse their brain growth and cause irreversible damage to their overall health system. Samples of eight items -- polished rice, red lentil (masoor dal), red spinach, chicken, fish (without scales), biscuits, spice (cumin seeds) and a common medicinal herb (holy basil or tulsi) -- were collected from 12 roadside markets covering the north, south, east and west of Kolkata. Soil and vegetables samples were collected from Dhapa Ground, alongside the EM Bypass, for the study of lead contamination
51
52
FOOD & HEALTH while street dust samples were sourced from major roads north and south of Kolkata. Coal samples from Jharia and Ranigunj were analysed for the presence of atmospheric lead from the use of coal. The study also included analysis of galena (ore of lead) samples from Alwar (Rajasthan) to calculate the Lead Isotope Ratio (LIR) of Indian lead; rain water and diesel samples were collected from Kolkata. LIR is a modern method used to ascertain the sources of lead exposure. All these samples were collected to compare their lead isotopic ratios and lead concentration with that of food items sold near the streets of Kolkata. To compare the level of contamination in sedi-
ments and vegetables found in Dhapa, soil and vegetable samples were collected from a relatively less polluted place called Ichapur (Control Site), located about 30 km north of Kolkata. As far as the lead concentration in the street dust is concerned the findings are "worrisome". The mean concentration of Pb found in the 29 sites was 383.2 mg/kg with a range from 23.82 mg/kg to a very high value of 2697.24 mg/kg at Amherst Street in north Kolkata. "The study reveals that the accumulated atmospheric lead, derived mainly from diesel exhausts of the city's traffic, had the dominant lead isotopic fingerprints. This lead contamination can be arrested by minimizing the use of diesel and by encouraging the mass traffic movements by greener energy sources like LPG/CNG operated vehicles, battery operated electric cars, solar cars and increasing Metro rail network," the statement said. Avijit Das carried out the research in association with K.V.S.S. Krishna, Rajeev Kumar, Anindya Das, Siladitya Sengupta and Joy Gopal Ghosh. Their work has been published in the peer reviewed international journals of "Environmental Science and Technology" [(2017) (online publication)] and "Environmental Science and Pollution Research" (2016).
The News You Like | December, 2017
FOOD & HEALTH
A
Mushrooms have anti aging potential
THE NEWS BUREAU
team of researchers found mushrooms are rich in antioxidants that scientists say could be used fight aging and boost general health. The study suggests that mushrooms have high amounts of the ergothioneine and glutathione, both important antioxidants, said Professor Robert Beelman. He added that the researchers also found that the amounts the two compounds varied greatly between mushroom species. "What we found is that, without a doubt, mushrooms are highest dietary source of these two antioxidants taken together, and that some types are really packed with both of them," said Beelman. Beelman said that when the body uses food to produce energy, it also causes oxidative stress because some free radicals are produced. Free radicals are oxygen atoms with unpaired electrons that cause damage to cells, proteins and even DNA as these highly reactive atoms travel through the body seeking to pair up with other elec-
trons. Replenishing antioxidants in the body, then, may help protect against this oxidative stress. "There's a theory -- the free radical theory of aging -- that's been around for a long time that says when we oxidize our food to produce energy there's a number of free radicals that are produced that are side products of that action and many of these are quite toxic," said
The News You Like | December, 2017
Beelman. "The body has mechanisms to control most of them, including ergothioneine and glutathione, but eventually enough accrue to cause damage, which has been associated with many of the diseases of aging, like cancer, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer's." According to the researchers, the amounts of ergothioneine and glutathione in mushrooms vary by species with the porcini species, a wild variety, containing the highest amount of the two compounds among the 13 species tested.
53
54
FOOD & HEALTH "We found that the porcini has the highest, by far, of any we tested," said Beelman. "This species is really popular in Italy where searching for it has become a national pastime." The more common mushroom types, like the white button, had less of the antioxidants, but had higher amounts than most other foods, Beelman said. The amount of ergothioneine and glutathione also appear to be correlated in mushrooms, the researchers said. Mushrooms that are high in glutathione are also high in ergothioneine, for example. Cooking mushrooms does not seem to significantly affect the compounds, Beelman said. "Ergothioneine are very heat stable," said Beelman. Beelman said that future research may look at any role that ergothioneine and glutathione have in decreasing the likelihood of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. "It's preliminary, but you can see that countries that have more ergothioneine in their diets, countries like France and Italy, also have lower incidences of neurodegenerative diseases, while people in countries like the United States, which has low amounts of ergothioneine in the diet, have a higher probability of diseases like Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's," said Beelman. "Now, whether that's just a correlation or causative, we don't know. But, it's something to look into, especially because the difference between the countries with low rates of neurodegenerative diseases is about three milligrams per day, which is about five button mushrooms each day." The findings have been published in the journal Food Chemistry.
O
Be happy to lead a healthier life
THE NEWS BUREAU
ptimists and happy people are healthier overall, enjoying lower blood pressure and less depression and anxiety, among other measures, new research on college students suggests. The findings, published in the Biomedical Journal of Scientific and Technical Research, suggest that universities should creatively design wellness programmes and centres that dynamically integrate body, mind and spirit into a seamless unit. College students generally suffer high rates of anxiety and depression and often neglect physical self-care and exercise. To researchers from the University of Michigan and Fudan University in China set out to learn the extent to which body mass index (BMI) and positive outlook affect the physical and mental health of college students in China's Fudan University. The study showed that a pos-
The News You Like | December, 2017
itive outlook and BMI both contributed significantly to good health, said Weiyun Chen, Associate Professor at University of Michigan. The researchers asked 925 students to rate four indicators of psychological well-being -hope, gratitude, life satisfaction and subjective happiness. They also calculated students' BMI based on self-reported body weight and height. To assess physical and mental health, the researchers asked students various questions about their sleep quality and how often they felt healthy, energised, worthless, fidgety, anxious or depressed. Taken together, the four psychological variables and BMI accounted for 41 per cent of the total variance in health, Chen said. Individually, subjective happiness had the most significant impact, followed by hope, and then BMI, the study showed.
anushka back with new look A
TINSEL TOWN
ctress Anushka Shetty's new look has sent fans into a tizzy. The actress, who usually had long hair, seems to have chopped off her tresses and is sporting a short haircut. In a photo posted on her Facebook page, Anushka says, "A dream doesn't become reality through magic, it takes Sweat, Determination and Hardwork". The photo looks like it was taken during or after a work-out session. Anushka, among the top rated women actors in the south Indian film industry, has been receiving body shaming comments ever since she put on the kilos for her bilingual film Size Zero. The film, which was about an overweight young woman, delved into the weight loss industry and the unethical practices within it. Not content with using prosthetics, Anushka had chosen to put on weight for the role. However, the actor, who used to work as a yoga instructor previously, was not willing to take to unhealthy weight loss methods to shed the weight after the film was done. The fact that she'd put on weight attracted a lot of criticism, especially around the time of Baahubali's release, with speculation on how much the makers had spent to make her look slim on screen. There were also reports that she'd been dropped from the upcoming film Saaho with Prabhas because of her weight. However, it was later clarified that Anushka had declined the film due to date issues.
i aM in a phase of uncertainty: Katrina D
espite flops, there has been no dearth of good opportunities for Katrina Kaif. The actress, who has "Tiger Zinda Hai" coming up for release with Salman Khan, opens up on a rough run at the box-office and uncertain personal life. In her recent conversation with a leading daily, Katrina said, “The last year-and-ahalf has been, at many times, extremely rough and trying for me. I think I’m still in the transition period till I find myself and learn a lot more about myself. I’m happy in this phase. I’m working hard and understanding the joys of a film set. But, I’m still in a phase where there’s a lot of uncertainty". She also said that she has shifted the focus from her personal life to work post breakup and has learned how to balance things. Earlier the actress said everyone goes through a phase where they are extremely inspired and then there are times when they feel stagnant. "
The News You Like | December, 2017
55
56
TINSEL TOWN
‘Savitri’ most challenging role of my career: Keerthy
A
ctress Keerthy Suresh is juggling a string of projects in Tamil and Telugu cinema but she says playing legendary actor Savitri in "Mahanati" is the most demanding character she has taken up in her career so far. Keerthy says it was both an opportunity and a challenge for her to portray the veteran actor
in the Telugu film. In an interview with PTI, Keerthy says, "Ninety per cent of the audience only know Savitri through her onscreen image. Not many know how she was off-screen. "So to bring out that difference in the film was a difficult task. It's been a genuinely a challenging experience to play Savitri." "Mahanati" is being shot as a bilingual movie - in Tamil and Telugu by director Nag Ashwin. One of the finest actors in Telugu cinema, Savitri had an equally impressive career in Tamil besides working in languages such as Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Some of her most notable films include "Devadasu", "Ardhangi", "Missamma", "Donga Ramudu", "Pasamalar", "Pava Mannippu" and "Ganga Ki Lahren". Keerthy says the makers of "Mahanati" have recreated some memorable sequences from Savitri's original hits. "There are few sequences from her original films; we have done a scene from 'Maya Bazaar' and a portion of a song from the film. I had to work hard because I cannot use my imagination anywhere here and have to be completely in her shoes. She was a person who would give a 100 expressions in 10 seconds. "The way her bold eyes and her lips express an emotion – it is impractical to replicate her precisely. But I wanted to give my best. I have more than a 100 costumes (changes) in this film. Savitri's appearance also changes with age in the film, so we had to go in for a makeover for each stage." Also featuring Mohan Babu, Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Vijay Deverakonda, Shalini Pandey and Prakash Raj in key roles, "Mahanati" is produced by Vyjayanthi Movies.
The News You Like | December, 2017
BEAUTY WITH BRAIN
I
India’s Manushi Chhillar becomes Miss World 2017
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndia's Manushi Chhillar won the coveted Miss World 2017 crown at a grand event in China, bringing to an end the country's dry spell of 17 years at the top pageant contest. The 20-year-old from Haryana, who is a medical student, edged out top five contestants from England, France, Kenya and Mexico. Chhillar was presented the crown by Stephanie Del Valle, the last year's Miss World winner from Puerto Rico at the event in Sanya City Arena in China which was televised live globally. In the top five round, Chhillar was asked which profession according to her deserved the highest salary. "I think a mother deserves the highest respect and when you talk about salary it's not always about cash but I feel it's the love and respect that you give to someone. My mother has always been the biggest inspiration in my life. "All mothers sacrifice so much for their kids. So, I think it is the job of a mother that deserves the highest salary," Chhillar said to a wide-applause. Chhillar is the sixth Indian to win the coveted crown, which was first won by Reita Faria back in 1966. Aishwarya Rai had bagged the title in 1994, followed by Diana Haydon in 1997, Yukta Mookhey in 1999 and Priyanka Chopra in 2000, the last for India. According to Chhillar's profile on the Miss World website, she aims to be a cardiac surgeon and wants to open a chain of non-profitable hospitals based in rural areas. A trained Indian classical dancer, Chhillar has a passion for outdoor sports and actively participates in paragliding, bungee jumping, snorkelling and scuba diving besides sketching and painting. Her personal motto, as described on the website, reads: "When you cease to dream you cease to live" and "Courage to give flight to your dreams and the ability to believe in yourself makes life worth living". The News You Like | December, 2017
57
58
ROAD SAFETY
Implement road safety policy in right earnestness: SC
N
THE NEWS BUREAU
oting one death every three minutes due to road accidents in India, the Supreme Court has issue 25 directions for road safety and directed all states and UTs to implement a policy on the issue with all "earnestness and seriousness". The court also issued time lines for the implementation of its directions, including setting up of State Road Safety Councils, District Road Safety Committees, Lead Agency, creation of Road Safety Fund and putting in place a Road Safety Action Plan, including Permanent Road Safety Cell. Impressing upon the states and union territories that road safety has to be taken seriously, a bench
of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta also directed for setting up a special force to patrol the National Highways and State Highways for which necessary steps must be taken by the state governments and UTs. Identifying 'poor quality of roads and improper design' as main reasons for road accidents, the court directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to publish a "protocol for identification and rectification of black spots and take necessary steps for improving the design of roads to make them safe". The court's directions came on a public interest litigation filed in 2012 by orthopaedic surgeon Dr S. Rajaseekaran, who is Chairman and Head of Department of Or-
thopaedic Surgery at Coimbatorebased Ganga Hospital. The petitioner had suggested for practical measures in a timebound and expeditious manner to enforce legislations, reports and recommendations for ensuring minimum loss of human lives in road accidents. The other directions issued by the apex court includes traffic calming measures, road safety audits, engineering design of new roads, working group on engineering, drivers training, lane driving, imparting road safety education, installing of speed governors, putting in place emergency medical care and universal accident helpline number, collection of data on road accidents, and bus/truck body building code.
SCIENCE & TECH
India successfully test ďŹ res subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay
I
THE NEWS BUREAU
ndia on November 7 successfully test-fired its indigenous subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay, which failed its last test in December 2015, an official statement said. In a major achievement, the first indigenously-designed and developed Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile which can be deployed from multiple platforms, was successfully test fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha. The test took place after the errors, that led to the failure of its fourth trial in December last year, were rectified, said the statement. The missile has the capability
to loiter and cruise at 0.7 Mach, at altitudes as low as 100 metres. The flight test achieved all the mission objectives completely from lift-off till the final splash, boosting the confidence of all scientists associated with the trial, it added. The missile took-off in the programmed manner and all critical operations including launch phase, booster deployment, engine start, wing deployment and other operational parameters demonstrated The News You Like | December, 2017
through autonomous way point navigation. The guidance, control and navigation system of the missile is configured around the indigenously designed Ring Laser Gyroscope and MEMS based Inertial Navigation System along with GPS system. "The missile majestically cruised for a total time duration of 50 minutes, achieving the range of 647 km. The missile was tracked with the help of ground based radars and other parameters were monitored by indigenous telemetry stations developed by DRDO," the statement said. Defence Minister Nirmala
59
60
SCIENCE & TECH Sitharaman hailed the success of DRDO scientists and complimented them for this inspired achievement. She was optimistic that this successful trial would take India to the select league of nations for possessing this complex technology and sub-sonic cruise missile capability. DRDO Chairman S Christopher, DG, Aero, CP Ramanarayanan, along with other senior DRDO scientists and user representatives from Army witnessed the momentous launch and congratulated team Nirbhay for making DRDO proud for the longawaited achievement. Nirbhay's December 2016 trial
was aborted half-way as the missile changed its targeted course. It had to be destroyed within minutes of taking off amid a threat that the missile could hit land. The 750-1,000 km-long range missile's first test on March 12, 2013 failed as it fell after 20 minutes of flight. The second on October 17, 2014 was, however, successful. The third test on October 16, 2015 saw the missile nose-dive after covering 128 km in the Bay of Bengal. With the capability to strike deep into enemy territory, Nirbhay has been designed and developed
THE NEWS CLASSIFIEDS
by the DRDO at its aeronautics R&D laboratory Aeronautical Development Establishment based in Bengaluru. The cruise missile is powered by a solid rocket motor booster developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory and is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system indigenously developed by Research Centre Imarat. Nirbhay is able to pick out a target among multiple targets and attack it, can go around a target and re-engage it. It can fly at different altitudes ranging from 500 metres to 4 km above ground and can fly at tree level to avoid detection by radar.
Contact to CLASSIFIEDS & ADVTs:
Ph: 97011 41377, 99490 15509
The News You Like | December, 2017
RESEARCH
Scientists ďŹ nd way to stop cancer cells from using glucose
S
THE NEWS BUREAU
cientists have identified a way to restrict the ability of cancer cells to consume glucose for energy, thus paving the way for developing a potential new therapy for the deadly disease. The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, showed that the gene CDK8 plays a critical role in allowing cancer cells to use glucose as an energy source. Over-expression of the gene CDK8 is linked to the development of many cancers including colorectal cancer, melanoma, and breast cancer. Although a number of drugs aimed at blocking CDK8 activity are currently being developed, it is not yet clear how effective they are at treating various cancers.
When the researchers used a sophisticated chemical genetics approach to specifically switch off CDK8 activity in colorectal cancer cells, they saw that the cells failed to activate glycolysis genes and took up much less glucose. Further experiments showed that blocking CDK8 activity leads to a lower rate of glucose use. "Because of this role of CDK8 in glycolysis (the process of con-
The News You Like | December, 2017
suming glucose), I reasoned that the cells with impaired CDK8 activity should be more susceptible to drugs that block glycolysis," said Matthew Galbraith from University of Colorado Cancer Center in the US. Sure enough, treating cancer cells with drugs that block both CDK8 and glycolysis slowed their growth more effectively than either approach alone. "These are very exciting discoveries," Joaquin Espinosa from University of Colorado added. "Combining drugs that block CDK8 activity with those that block glycolysis may enable specific targeting of cancer cells without harmful effects on normal cells," Espinosa said.
61
62
RESEARCH
E
Why females are more generous than men
THE NEWS BUREAU
ver wondered why women are more lenient in rewarding tokens than men? It is because the female brain responds more strongly to the prosocial behaviour than the male brain, which responds more to the selfish behaviour, finds a study. The findings showed that the striatum - an active decision-maker located in the middle of the brain and responsible for the assessment of reward - is more strongly acti-
vated in female brains during prosocial decisions than during selfish decisions. "The reward and learning systems in our brains work in close cooperation. Studies show that girls are rewarded with praise for prosocial behaviour or helping behaviour instead of selfish behaviour," said Alexander Soutschek, post-doctoral student at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. "With this in mind, the gender differences could best be attributed to the different cultural expecta-
The News You Like | December, 2017
tions placed on men and women," Soutschek added. The study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, also revealed that when the researchers applied medication to the participants, both the males and females behaved differently. Under these conditions, women behaved more selfishly, while men became more prosocial. "These results demonstrate that the brains of women and men also process generosity differently at the pharmacological level," Soutschek added.
RESEARCH
T
THE NEWS BUREAU
he Jamun fruit seed can remove excess fluoride from groundwater, according to researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad. A team led by Chandra Shekhar Sharma, assistant professor, Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT, Hyderabad has succeeded in reducing fluoride level in water using `activated carbon' obtained from Jamun seeds. Excess fluoride in groundwater is a major problem in several states as it causes health problems. The findings of the IIT team were published recently in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. The researchers converted Jamun seed powder into a highly porous carbon material. It was further processed at high temperatures to improve its efficiency. The material was first used in trials carried out on synthetic fluoride solutions prepared in laboratory, Sharma said in a release. Later, tests were conducted using groundwater samples collected from the Nalgonda district of Telangana, known to be one of the worst fluoride-affected areas in
Jamun seed can remove uoride from water, IIT team shows India. Results showed that it reduced the fluoride concentration to less than 1.5 mg/litre, the acceptable limit as per the World Health Organisation. As many as 17 states in India face the problem of higher-thanrecommended fluoride levels in groundwater, Sharma said, adding that it creates a major problem for safe drinking water supply. "Although there is a long way to go before successful commercialisation of this idea, the IIT Hyderabad Research Team has
The News You Like | December, 2017
demonstrated a potential for a biobased waste material like Jamun seed for fluoride removal from drinking water," he said. "The performance of Jamun Seed Derived Carbon was found to be superior to most other biomassderived carbons which were reported earlier (in research papers)," he said. Ramya Araga, lead author of the study, said the team is now working on finding ways to remove various water pollutants using the Jamun Seed Derived Carbon.
63
64
LIFE STYLE
W
Taking little stress may be good for you
THE NEWS BUREAU
orried that being in stressful situations might harm you? Take heart. According to a study, taking a little stress can be good for your cells as it boosts resilience, protects ageing cells as well as delays the risk of disease. The findings will help researchers better understand the molecular mechanisms that drive ageing and risk for age-associated degenerative diseases. "Our findings offer us a strategy for looking at ageing in humans and how we might prevent or stabilise against cell decline as we age," said Richard I. Morimoto, Professor at the Northwestern University. "Our goal is not trying to find
ways to make people live longer but rather to increase health at the cellular and molecular levels, so that a person's span of good health matches their lifespan," Morimoto added. For the study, published in the journal Cell Reports, the team screened a transparent roundworm C. elegans' approximately 22,000 genes. The researchers found that signals from mildly stressed mitochondria -- the cellular source of energy -- prevent the failure of protein-folding quality control (proteostasis) machinery that comes with age. This, in turn, suppresses the accumulation of damaged proteins that can occur in degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, HuntThe News You Like | December, 2017
ington's and Parkinson's diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). "People have always known that prolonged mitochondrial stress can be deleterious. But we discovered that when you stress mitochondria just a little, the mitochondrial stress signal is actually interpreted by the cell and animal as a survival strategy," Morimoto said. "It makes the animals completely stress-resistant and doubles their lifespan. It's like magic," he added. C.elegans has a biochemical environment and cellular properties similar to that of humans. The findings in the transparent roundworm may have implications for humans and quality of life.
65
Why is it so hard to quit smoking! r
the news bureau
esearchers have confirmed that a previously dismissed genetic mechanism is behind nicotine dependence as well as the withdrawal effects that makes quitting smoking so difficult. according to the study conducted by researchers from university of Michigan, it was found that a specific genes and microrna (a class of small rna molecules that help fine-tune gene expression) plays an essential role in determining how nicotine dependence and withdrawal responses are developed. researchers examined the withdrawal responses in millimeter-long roundworms Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which get hooked on nicotine just like humans. they discovered a series of genes in the roundworms which were involved in a process that ultimately increased the production of the nicotine receptor proteins, with micrornas playing a pivotal role -- clues that may also carry over to the mammalian realm. "we're seeing a clear link between nicotine, microrna, the receptor proteins, and nicotine-dependent behaviour," Jianke gong, lead author and researcher at the varsity, said. however, the same mechanism was dismissed earlier on as insignificant to nicotine dependence. the results have been published in the journal Cell reports. the latest discovery in C. elegans will now lead other scientists to reexamine the role of these micrornas in nicotine dependence in mammals, and ultimately lead to a better understanding of what causes the dependence. The News You Like | December, 2017
66
SPIRITUAL
The Power of peace should be at peace like all of them. There should be shanti all around. You can also experience the power of shanti or peace even in this day and age through the Sanatan Kriya and Vedic Havans.
H
YOGI ASHWINI
ave you wondered why we like being with some people and why we want to stay away from some? The reason is simple, anyone who is calm and at peace, or shant creates a serenity around and people feel good in such a person’s company and those who are disturbed, stressed , anxious or ashant create the same disturbance around them thereby giving signals to people to stay away.. The difference is the difference in positive and negative vibrations. The frequency of the waves that a person radiates directly affect his immediate environment, and the Creation at large and as an equal and opposite reaction the state of the person also gets affected by his/her immediate environment. Thus, a person who is troubled, stressed, anxious would spread disturbances into his surroundings, and as its effect he would in turn get more and more disturbed; a
vicious circle… and all this would have a chaotic and cumulative effect on the whole environment. The above clearly tells us as to why the present state of the world is what it is today. We, the selfish beings of today cannot think beyond ourselves and just want peace for the self, failing to understand that if there is disturbance around us how can we ever be peaceful! But our Vedic rishis had realised that being at peace is possible only if there is peace all around us. They showed us the way to have complete peace, complete shanti, which is not just being at peace with ourselves but to have peace all round -they gave us the beautiful Shanti path. When you are chanting this mantra you are praying that — first there should be peace in the universe, then our mother earth, then the plant kingdom should be at peace, the herbs and medicines should be at peace, the gods around, and Lord Brahma should be at peace. We The News You Like | December, 2017
Here I am giving a simple technique from Sanatan Kriya. • Sit in a comfortable position preferably cross legged on the floor. • Closing your eyes pay reverence to your Guru. • Gently inhale and exhale such that your breathing takes on a soft rhythmic movement. Then take your awareness to your Anahad chakra (the chest region). Become aware of the entire Creation in front of you. Feel one with the whole Creation and then chant the Shanti path. • You can repeat this mantra seven times. • When you get up (make sure you get up very slowly after paying reverence to your Guru) you will carry the peaceful vibrations not only inside you but also around you. Vedic havans, which are routinely conducted by sadhaks at Dhyan Ashram, are also a very powerful means to experience what peace actually is. To perform a Vedic Havan: Take a copper bowl/kund, put some cow dung cake in it along with sesame and guggul. Light fire using camphor and give oblations of ghee from a desi cow while chanting the mantras.
The News You Like December, 2017
RNI No: APENG/2013/48048 P.R. No. LII/RNP/HD/1187/2017-19 (DOP: 1st of Every Month; DOP: 8/9-12-2017)
We are at the ending point of 2017. Let us be better human beings, better persons and better citizens. New Year is a time to better ourselves for a better world. Have a great New Year 2018!