First india gujarat for gujarat today epaper 20 feb 2020 edition

AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 86
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stops at a snacks stall at
Hunar Haat at Rajpath in New Delhi on Wednesday.
rime Minister
Narendra Modi
on Wednesday
made a sur-
prise visit to
‘Hunar Haat’ at Raj-
path here, where he
interacted with arti-
sans and relished ‘lit-
ti-chokha’ and ‘kul-
had’ tea.
Soon after chairing
the meeting of the Un-
ion Cabinet, Modi
reached Rajpath
where ‘Hunar
Haat’ is being or-
ganised by the
Ministry of
Minority
Affairs.
Sourc-
es in the
g o v e r n -
ment said of-
ficials of the
ministry were
surprised when they
came to know about
the prime minister’s
visit.
Modi, who was there
for 50 minutes, ate ‘litti-
chokha’, a dough ball
made of whole wheat
flour and stuffed with
‘sattu’, and paid Rs 120
forit.Thedishispopular
in Bihar, Eastern Uttar
PradeshandJharkhand.
He later had tea
served in ‘kulhad’
with Minority Affairs
Minister Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi and paid
Rs 40 for two cups.
Artisans participat-
ing in the event said the
traditional arts were
dying, but the ‘Hunar
Haat’ programme has
helped revive them.
There was a surge
in crowd when people
came to know that the
prime minister was
visiting the event.
The ‘Hunar Haat’
here is based on the
theme of ‘Kaushal Ko
Kaam’ and will be held
till February 23.
Master artisans,
craftsmen and culi-
nary experts, includ-
ing more than 50 per
cent women, from
across the country
are participating at
the Haat.
A ‘bawarchikhana’
section has also been
set up with traditional
delicacies of several
states available for peo-
ple to savour.
Similar ‘haats’ are
being organised across
India as part of an ef-
fort to empower master
artisans.
First India News
Gandhinagar: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s 11-year-old
dream of Children
University will now
flourish on 30 acres
of land, with Chief
Minister Vijay Rupa-
ni’s government allo-
cating land at the
Shahpur village on
the outskirts of Gan-
dhinagar city for the
project at no cost.
Deputy Chief Minis-
ter Nitin Patel made the
announcement on
Wednesday after the
cabinet meeting. The
idea behind the univer-
sity is to introduce In-
dian culture and phi-
losophy to babies in
utero and, later, during
their formative years
through Tapovan and
Shishu Vatika.
Patel added that
the university will
play a very vital role
in the upbringing of
children.
A 100% grant-in-aid
university, Children
University will receive
a Rs5.33 crore grant in
the current financial
year from the state
government, which
will bear all expenses
in developing the uni-
versity.
In 2008, then Chief
Minister Narendra
Modi had shared his
dream to set up a chil-
dren’s university. The
following year, his
government passed
Children University
Act in the state as-
sembly. However, it
took almost three
years for it to take off.
University officials
and the vice-chancel-
lor had to explain to
bureaucrats that this
would be a university
with a difference.
Tapovan centres pro-
vide registered preg-
nant women knowledge
about how to take care
of an infant, how long
to feed them, and the
kind of nutritious food
they should eat during
pregnancy. During
their three-hour daily
sessions at the centres,
these women are ex-
posed to “appropriate”
music, lullabies and
positive stories in addi-
tion to being provided
healthy food.
The university
plans to launch Shishu
Vatika this coming
academic year, where
children in the age
group of three to five
years will be taught
aspects of traditional
Indian culture.
In addition, it will
establish various pro-
grammes such as Mas-
ters of Arts, Masters
of Education, M.Phil
in Education and a PG
Diploma in school
counselling. It will be
registered with the
University Grants
Commission under
section 12(b) to avail
of grants for courses
and faculty.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani along with Chief Principal Secretary to CM K Kailashnathan, Principal
Secretary to CMO M K Das, Industries Commissioner Rahul Gupta, MSME Commissioner Ranjeeth
Kumar and Neelam Rani Additional Industries Commissioner during the meeting with SBI ofﬁcers.
Rupani govt allocates 30 acres of free land for Children University
STATE ATTRACTS IEM OF MORE
THAN Rs 3 LAKH CRORE
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani, the state has successfully attracted
Industrial Entrepreneurship Memoranda
of Rs3,43,843 lakh crore—51% of total
memoranduma signed in the country. Each
month, the state attracts 16,000 MSME
(micro, small and medium enterprise)
registrations, and is home to more than 43%
of the nation’s start-ups. Gujarat has become
holistic Industrial Development Role Model
for the rest of India. Compared to past years,
the state is likely to attract Rs50,000 crore in
foreign direct investment.
rime Ministerrime Minister
Narendra ModiNarendra Modi
on Wednesdayon Wednesday
made a sur-made a sur-
prise visit toprise visit to
‘Hunar Haat’ at Raj-‘Hunar Haat’ at Raj-
path here, where hepath here, where he
interacted with arti-interacted with arti-
sans and relished ‘lit-sans and relished ‘lit-
ti-chokha’ and ‘kul-ti-chokha’ and ‘kul-
had’ tea.
Soon after chairingSoon after chairing
the meeting of the Un-the meeting of the Un-
ion Cabinet, Modiion Cabinet, Modi
reached Rajpathreached Rajpath
where ‘Hunarwhere ‘Hunar
Haat’ is being or-Haat’ is being or-
ganised by theganised by the
Ministry ofMinistry of
Minority
Affairs.
es in the
g o v e r n -g o v e r n -
ment said of-ment said of-
ficials of theficials of the
ministry wereministry were
PM MODI RELISHES ‘LITTI-CHOKHA’
DURING SURPRISE VISIT TO ‘HUNAR HAAT’
P PM to be chief guest at ET GBS 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be
the Chief Guest at the Global Busi-
ness Summit, presented by The Eco-
nomic Times and Yes BankNSE 0.71
%. GBS 2020 will be held over March
6-7 in New Delhi. The Prime Minister’s
keynote speech, the centrepiece of
the two day event, is on March 6. The
PM’s speech will be highly anticipated,
given the context. His government has
sought to address the slowdown in the
Indian economy, with measures that
range from corporate tax cuts to in-
novative choices for personal income
tax payers. The government is also
getting ready for a possibly mega IPO
of LIC. Further, the PM and other sen-
ior ministers have repeatedly asserted
the importance of wealth creators.
There are also the problems facing
the telecom sector that the govern-
ment is closely monitoring. It is also
considering possible measures that
may be needed if the economic impact
of Covid-19 on some sectors becomes
more severe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi eats
litti-chokha at a snacks stall at Hunar
Haat in New Delhi on Wednesday.

SAY NO TO JOINT VENTURES
Avoid your friends like plague! When four buddies get
together, we all know the books feel ignored. But if
you can arrange a group study session with the studi-
ous topper, that can be permitted.
DO NOT GET CARRIED AWAY
Some students cannot bear the fact that others are
getting ahead. May be someone else has completed
a greater part of the syllabus, so what? Perhaps he
is not doing it as seriously as you are! Don’t bother
about others and stay focused.
DO NOT PUT PRESSURE ON YOUR HANDS
Yes, one must practice writing to improve his speed
and to remember things better, but one must not put
too much pressure on their fingers or they might get
stiff while writing the paper! That would be a pretty
bad situation!.
ENSURE BETTER SLEEP
Proper sleep is extremely important for everyone.
Many students consume caffeine during exams to
avoid sleepiness. A good night’s sleep is essential
for your body and mind to ensure proper rest. You
should also sleep properly for 6-8 hours a night
before exams.
MAKE A PLAN
Planning helps you reduce more than half of the
stress. Make a plan which can help you organise
your study time, playtime and how you are
going to study. It will help you prevent
last-minute stress and confusion.
INCLUDE ENERGY BOOSTERS IN YOUR DIET
Eat natural and healthy energy boosting foods in your
exam diet like bananas, apples, eggs, brown rice.
Eat more protein-rich foods like eggs, legumes, tofu,
chicken, turkey breast etc. The protein-rich foods
give you energy and help you stay satiated for longer.
Healthy carbs from sweet potatoes can also help you
stay energised and full for longer.
EAT MORE STRESS-BUSTING FOODS
Foods like berries, almonds, milk and yogurt, fatty fish
etc. help you beat stress. It’s important to recognise
when you are eating too much and too often that you
are doing that because of stress.
CONTROL YOUR CAFFEINE INTAKE
It is easy to drink multiple cups of coffee or tea during
exams. But excessive caffeine intake may leave you
dehydrated and more stressed. Instead sip on green
tea, matcha tea or any caffeine-free herbal tea.
DON’T IGNORE YOUR HUNGER, SNACK
OFTEN
Avoiding your hunger pangs makes things worse. It
may give you gas and may make you binge in your
next meal. Eat when you feel hungry instead of putting
your meals off. Keep a box of homemade trail mix with
low sugar on your study table.
AVOID RUSHING THROUGH YOUR MEALS
Stressed-out students often tend to rush through their
meals, as they are more than eager to get back to
their studies after eating. It is much healthier for you
to instead slow down during your meals and eat more
mindfully. You will not only feel more fulfilled, but it
will also refresh you and make you feel prepared
for long hours of studying.
EAT ON TIME
Eat your last meal as early
in the evening as possible
and follow a proper meal
schedule. It saves time,
and keeps your mind and
body healthy.
TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
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CRACK BOARD
EXAMS, NOT
YOUR HEALTH
Exams are loaded with stress for both students. They are highly busy with test papers, sample papers, extra classes, and
important questions to perform their best. But this is also a time of vulnerability when it comes to their mind and body
T
he Central
Board of
Secondary
E d u c a t i o n
(CBSE) is conducting
exams for the 10th and
12th standards in
schools affiliated with
the board, across the
country and abroad.
The exams will be held
over a period of the
next month and a half
and 31 lakh candidates
will reportedly appear
for their board exams.
Exams are loaded
with stress for both
students and parents.
Students are highly
busy to perform
their best.
With test
papers, sample papers,
extra classes, impor-
tantquestionetc.there
is an endless list of
tasks to be completed
in a short span. CBSE
exams 2019 began
this week and with
the exams came an
atmosphere of
stress, especially for
those appearing for
boards for the first
time. Many students
find it difficult to fo-
cus during exams
due to various
reasons. In-
c r e a s e d
stress can
also affect their per-
formance as well as
preparation. Exami-
nation stress can have
multifarious effects on
the body and mind. A
lot of students indulge
in stress-eating or de-
velop unhealthy eating
habits during the ex-
ams, which may not
only result in weight
gain, but may also trig-
ger sluggishness. It is
important for stu-
dents to
follow
a healthy diet and
maintain a good eating
schedule, in order to
stay alert during the
papers. Maintaining a
healthy weight is im-
portant for the overall
well-being of a stu-
dent. But students’
diet may go for a toss
in the months and
weeks preceding ex-
aminations, due to
excessive pressure
from parents, teach-
ers and peers, as well
as due to internal
stress. Stress fogs
the brain and ham-
pers clear thinking
and cognition, which
is important for
scoring well.
 Banish exam fear
While addressing the
nation on the No-
vember 2019 ‘Mann
Ki Baat’ programme,
Modi said that the
fear of exams needs
to be banished com-
pletely.
“I want to see my
young friends smiling
during examina-
tions, their parents
should be stress-free,
teachers should be
assured,” he said.
In his 2017 Mann
ki Baat address,
he said that exams
are not the test of a
lifetime but a test of
a year.
 Realise that marks
are not everything
Though good marks
are still held as a
benchmark by the
majority of parents
in India, the fact is
that the world is a
lot bigger and marks
are starting to matter
lesser and lesser.
PM Modi advised
parents not to pres-
surize their stu-
dents and reminded
everyone that the
world is full of op-
portunities.
 Take care of your
mental health
At the last Pariksha
Pe Charcha session,
PM Modi advised
students to identify
why they were feel-
ing low or why their
mood was feeling off.
He said managing the
mind and the mood
was all about exerting
self control.
When asked about
depression, he ad-
vised parents not to
put undue pressure
on their children to
keep them in their full
capacity like Spring.
He told parents to ac-
cept their kids as they
are.
 Manage technology-
use well
It is no secret that
mobile phones can
be extremely dis-
tracting during ex-
ams. PM Modi told
students to “not
let technology rule
you, rather, rule the
technology.”
 Don’t be afraid of
failure
One of the top causes
of exam stress is
the fear if failing in
exams. During the
Pariksha Pe Charcha
2020 session, PM
Modi gave the exam-
ple of Chandrayaan 2
and said, “Every fail-
ure is a step towards
success.”
He also advised
students to culture
confidence which can
help battle the stress
and improve their
focus in the exam
hall.
 Do something
instead of becoming
something
PM Modi told stu-
dents in Pariksha Pe
Charcha 2020 that
students face a lot of
stress because they
are worried about
becoming a great
person
“You think that if you
fail the exam, you’d
fail to become that.
It is this tension. We
should never dream
about becoming
something rather we
should dream of do-
ing something,” said
PM Modi.
 Take proper rest
Since adequate sleep
and a balanced diet
could improve one’s
health to a great
extent, PM Modi
advised students in
Mann Ki Baat 2017
to make sure they do
not skimp on either.
Take a leaf from NaMo’s book
TIPS TO BEAT EXAM STRESS DIET TIPS

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AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 86
RITU PHOGAT IS CHARTING A NEW
PATH AFTER MAKING AN EXPLOSIVE
MMA DEBUT IN NOVEMBERP7 P9
RIYANKA TARGETED SAID THE ISSUES
PERTAINING TO FARMERS HAVE NOT
BEEN ADDRESSED IN THE UP BUDGET
First India News
Jaipur:Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot will pre-
sent the second budg-
et in the Assembly
tomorrow. Different
sections of society, in-
cluding farmers,
youths, and industrial-
ists, have a lot of ex-
pectations from this
budget. Here’s a look
at what specific expec-
tations people have of
the budget:
New Delhi/Washing-
ton:US President Don-
ald Trump has com-
plained that India has
not treated his country
“very well” on the
trade front and indi-
cated that a “very big”
bilateraldealwithNew
Delhi may not be
signed before the
American presidential
election in November.
“Well, we can have a
tradedealwithIndia,but
I’m really saving the big
dealforlateron,”Trump,
who is scheduled to vis-
it India on February 24
and 25, told on Tuesday
when asked whether he
expectsatradedealwith
India before his trip.
“We’re not treated very
well by India,” the US
president complained.
The Congress alleged
that the remarks made
by Trump are an insult
andaffronttothecoun-
try’s dignity and the
government should
respond accordingly.
Congress spokesperson
Manish Tewari said the
issueisseriousasitseeks
to undermine the pro-
gress made in the last
many years as regards
Indo-USties.Healsosaid
that the tone and tenor
of Trump’s visit seems
to be “transactional and
not strategic”. “The
president of the United
States, on the eve of his
visit for the first time to
India, has made certain
remarks. I think it is an
insult and affront to the
dignity of the country
and the ministry of ex-
ternal affairs should
respond to it,” he told
reporters. Trump, force-
fullypursuinghis“Amer-
ica first” policy, has pre-
viously described India
as a “tariff king” for
imposing “tremendous-
ly high” tariffs on Amer-
ican products. Turn on P5
New Delhi: Advocates Sanjay Hegde and Sad-
hna Ramachandran, who have been asked by
the Supreme Court to speak to the anti-CAA
protesters at Shaheen
Bagh and find a solu-
tion to the road-block
issue, visited the pro-
test site on Wednesday.
HedgeandRamachan-
dran met the protesters
and spoke to them. “We
havecomehereaccording
to the order of the Su-
premeCourt.Wehopeto
speak to everyone. We
hope to resolve the matter with everybody’s coopera-
tion,” said Hegde. Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Ke-
jriwalmetUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahatShah’s
residence in the national capital. The meeting was
earlier scheduled at the Home Ministry. Turn on P5
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad:Amid the
controversy of the Cit-
izenship Amendment
Act (CAA), Gujarat’s
home department re-
fused to disclose any
information regard-
ing the number of
refugees and whether
there is any state
government Act or
policy for their regis-
tration.
According to CAA,
minorities from three
countries—Afghani-
stan, Bangladesh and
Pakistan—can avail
citizenship of India if
they have been living
here since before De-
cember 31, 2014.
Ahmedabad-based ac-
tivist Yash Makwana
had sought district-
wise information about
displaced people living
in the state under the
Right to Information
(RTI) Act.
“The home depart-
ment said that my
questions regarding
refugees staying in
Gujarat, was under
the purview of the
Central government.
Hence the state gov-
ernment cannot give
me any answers,”
Makwana told First
India.
“I remember Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
organising rallies and
promising Meghwal
Dalits staying in Kutch
citizenship under
CAA,” he also said, add-
ing, “If the state govern-
ment does not have any
information regarding
these refugees, how
could the State Assem-
bly pass a resolution
supporting CAA? I
think there is no clarity
in the department be-
cause the CM promises
to provide citizenship to
Dalits in public, but the
home department does
not want to reveal any
information.”
According to the
home department, as
many as 7,000 for-
eigners on long-term
visas in Gujarat have
filed applications for
citizenship by natu-
ralisation. Some of
these are sent to the
Union Home Ministry
for the required veri-
fication.
Department sourc-
es revealed to First
India that at least 75-
80% of these appli-
cants could benefit
from the Citizenship
Amendment Act 2019,
under which foreign-
ers living in India
since before Decem-
ber 31, 2014, may be
given citizenship in
five years.
According to the
Home Department of-
ficer about 5,600, or
80%, of the 7,000 ap-
plications were filed
before the end of
2014. Of these, at least
70% are from Paki-
stanis living here and
include Hindus, Mus-
lims, and others.
The officer added
that, with CAA, there is
only one change made
in the Citizenship Act
of 1955: earlier, the min-
imum period prospec-
tive citizens were re-
quired to stay in India
used to be 11-12 years.
Now, this has been re-
duced to five years, this
person said.
HOPES
RIDE ON
BUDGET TODAYDifferent sections of society have specific and
wide-ranging expectations from the budget
CM Ashok Gehlot signing the state budget 2020-21 at the CMR on Wednesday. Niranjan Arya, Hemant Gera, Dr Prithviraj, Sudhir Sharma and Sharad Mehra are also seen.
Ahead of visit, Trump
WHIPS UP A STORM
US President says India not treating America well on the
trade front; Opposition says remarks are an insult to India
z Trump had previ-
ously described India
as a “tariff king” for
imposing “tremen-
dously high” tariffs on
American products
z The US President
indicated that a “very
big” bilateral deal with
New Delhi may not be
signed before the US
presidential election in
November.
z Says: “I’m really
saving the big deal for
later on.”
POTUS’ GROUSE
‘I LIKE PRIME MINISTER MODI’
Washington: Though President Trump is
not happy with bilateral trade ties with India,
he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and said he is looking forward to his visit
to India. “I happen to like Prime Minister
Modi a lot,” Trump said. “He (Modi) told me
we’ll have seven million people between the
airport and the event. And the stadium, I un-
derstand, is sort of semi under-construction,
but it’s going to be the largest stadium in the
world. So it’s going to be very exciting... I
hope you all enjoy it,” he told reporters.
Nritya Gopal Das elected
Ram Temple Trust chief
New Delhi: Mahant
Nritya Gopal Das was
elected president and
Champat Rai general
secretary of the Ram
Temple Trust at its
first meeting here on
Wednesday.
The meeting, held at
the residence of senior
lawyerKParasaran,also
elected Prime Minister
NarendraModi’sformer
principal secretary
Nripendra Misra as the
head of the temple con-
struction committee of
the Shri Ram Janmab-
hoomi Tirth Kshetra
Trust. The meeting
was aimed at working
out modalities to speed
up the construction of
the Ram temple in
Ayodhya. It was also
decided to open an ac-
count in Ayodhya’s
SBI branch for dona-
tions for the Ram tem-
ple construction,
Chanmpat Rai told
reporters after the
meeting. Turn on P5
Govt refuses to give information about refugees in Gujarat
Members of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the Trust
set up to oversee construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya,
during its first meeting at New Delhi on Wednesday. Ram Janam
Bhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (centre) is also seen.
PAYING TRIBUTE TO CHHATRAPATI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, on his Jayanti
on Wednesday. The PM posted this photo on Twitter.
SHAHEEN BAGH
Mediators to protesters:
Let’s work together
Interlocutors Sanjay Hegde (left)
and Sadhna Ramachandran
(centre) with the protesters.
FARMERS
The farmers of the are
expecting new schemes
from the Ashok Gehlot
government with an-
nouncements related to
offering new loans at
a low interest rate and
fertilizer and seeds.
YOUTHS
The youth wants the
government to initi-
ate schemes that can
create new jobs. A large
number of youths are
unemployed and there
are some who are not
getting the jobs they
want.
WOMEN’S
EMPOWERMENT
The government should
start new programmes
for women’s empow-
erment, like making
self-defence courses
mandatory from the
school level. Apart from
this, women should have
a special exemption for
start-ups as well.
HEALTHCARE
The government must
look to expand the Niro-
gi Rajasthan scheme,
so that treatment can
be accessible to every
person. Also, health
services, insurance and
pension facilities should
be improved as much as
possible.
STUDENTS
Students want the
government to increase
the budget in the field
of education, along with
a reduction in interest
rates in education loans.
Turn on P5
Pakistani citizens living in India on long term visa and waiting for citizenship. —FILE PHOTO

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
BUGGED? Or is it the
grapevine... . First India
begins a column that
brings to you gossips or
tete-e-tete from the
corridors of power
GUP
SHUP
ON A CLIFF’S END
In the wake of the agitation by reserved
and unreserved category regarding
the reservation issue, MLAs are in two
minds: whether to toe the party line
or support either agitation group. It
seems to be a Catch-22 situation for
these MLAs, who are fearful of the
consequences if they don’t support
the protesters. And rightly so. Their
constituents have raised their voice
against an issue and the elected leaders
have not come out in support of their
cause. With elections coming soon, it
should be interesting to see how the
voters fare. Very few of the leaders
have actually taken a stand, but those
who have, probably think that it will
disappoint party seniors and they
will have to face their ire. What to do
indeed, leaders?
NO FAVOURS!
Asenior politically well-
connected officer in the
local police is set to retire soon
but is not keen to do that early.
The officer believes that he has
more to offer and can serve the
state for a few more months, if
not years. He sought the advice
of a colleague on whether he
should explore political options
to extend his tenure or not. His
colleague strongly advised him
to retire and not ask for a favour
from a political connection
and become obligated to grant
favours. Which is how favours
work, right? But, it’s always
better to steer clear of political
mumbo jumbo and leave with
your dignity intact, isn’t it?
BJP MP for scrapping of 2018 GR
Bharatsinh Dabhi termed the General Resolution an injustice to SC/ST/OBC candidates
First India News
Gandhinagar: The agi-
tation against General
Resolution 2018 found
another supporter in
BJP MP Bharatsinh
Dabhi. The leader has
openly stated that GR
2018 is an injustice to
candidates belonging to
Scheduled Caste, Sched-
uled Tribes, and Other
Backward Classes (SC/
ST/OBC) and should be
scrapped.
Dabhi was in Gandhi-
nagar to appraise State
Education Minister
Bhupendrasinh Chu-
dasama that the Hem-
chandracharya North
Gujarat University was
in violation of the wom-
en’s reservation policy.
According to him, the
university is currently
recruiting staff in vio-
lation of the policy and
should discontinue the
process with immediate
effect.
The state govern-
ment’s decision to in-
crease the number of
positions for women
candidates in the LRD
recruitment process led
to the withdrawal of
their protest. Now, pro-
tests from male candi-
dates demanding an in-
crement in positions
has ensured that the is-
sue refuses to die down.
Theissuestartedwith
women candidates sit-
ting on a dharna in Gan-
dhinagar, in protest of
the state government’s
decision to adhere to the
General Resolution 2018
for the LRD recruitment
process.
First India News
Ahmedabad: Coun-
cillors of the
Ahmedabad Munici-
pal Corporation
(AMC) have written
another letter asking
for the removal of
leader of opposition,
Dinesh Sharma. The
letter, written by 33
councillors, was sent
to the state in-charge
Rajiv Satav by AMC
councillors of the
Congressparty.Asim-
ilar letter was sent to
the Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee
in 2018 as well.
The councillors
stated in the letter,
which was written
ninemonthsaheadof
localbodyelectionsin
the state, that even af-
ter four years, there
has not been any
change in leadership.
This is the second
time that Congress
councillors have ex-
pressed unhappiness
with the LoP’s leader-
ship.
“As per the civic
body’srotationpolicy,
the LoP must be
changed every two
and a half years. Peo-
ple of other commu-
nities and castes
should be given a
chance. The local
body election is due
bytheendof theyear-
end and there is dire
need to strengthen
party,” the letter says.
It also says that the
signatories will “ac-
cept anyone whom
the top leadership
announces as the
next leader.”
First India News
Gandhinagar: Accord-
ing to satellite pictures
of the rabi crop cultiva-
tion, taken by the state
government, a record-
breaking cultivation
area of 10.81 lakh hec-
tares can be seen in the
Narmada command.
With good rainfall in
the monsoon season,
sufficient quantity of
water has been stored
in small and large wa-
ter reservoirs, for the
agriculture sector. This
had facilitated a bigger
yield of cultivation
area in the Narmada
command.
Addressing the me-
dia, Deputy Chief Min-
ister Nitin Patel said,
“In 73 villages of 17 dis-
tricts, cultivation of
around 10.81 lakh hec-
tares of rabi crop has
taken place. In January
2019, rabi crop was
sown on 9.34 lakh hec-
tares of land. But, ow-
ing to the availability
of sufficient water, an
increase of 1.47 lakh
hectares area has been
seen. The state govern-
ment expects a good
rabi crop this year.”
In Patan district,
sowing has taken place
on 32,857 hectares of
land, while in Kutch
and Banaskantha dis-
tricts, crops were sown
on 28,403 hectares and
15,143 hectares of land
respectively. These are
water-scarce areas of
the state.
As per the data of the
Agriculture, Farmer’s
Welfare & Cooperation
department for the
month of January, sow-
ing has taken place on
37,97, 585 hectares of
land in the entire state.
This number is 121.74%
higher than the aver-
age for the last three
years.
Over the last three
years, on average 31
lakh hectares of land
was covered during
rabi season, whereas in
2018-19, crops were
sown on 28 lakh hec-
tares of land.
First India News
Surat: Recently an IPO
meet was held in the Su-
rat to encourage pro-
moters & CEOs of city-
based IT (Information
Technology) companies
to list their companies
on stock exchanges.
The seminar was or-
ganised by Chetan Pa-
tel. World and 78 CEOs
of IT companies attend-
ed this very informative
session. On this occa-
sion Chief Guest,
Anand Chari, DGM,
BSE explained the im-
portance and benefits
of IPO. He also noted
that ethical practice
will make Surat’s fu-
ture bright.
On the other side,
Chetan Patel urged all
the leaders to work hard
to make Surat IT-hub
and provide job oppor-
tunities to the youth so
they do not have to go
outside Gujarat.
Dhiren Dave, emi-
nent company secre-
tary shared his knowl-
edge of IT company
compliance.
He emphasized on
the internal control sys-
tem and governance.
Then, Rakesh Doshi,
Financial Advisor pre-
sented an effective per-
formance for the lead-
ers.
Punit Gajera and Al-
pesh Vaghasiya had cre-
ated a group of IT peo-
ple to make this event
successful.
Many leaders have
joined the hand to bring
IT culture and bring
IPO in Surat.
Gandhinagar: India’s
digital payment solu-
tions and enterprise
software platform pro-
vider Infibeam Avenues
Ltd said on Wednesday
it has made inroads into
the United States, the
world’s second largest
digital payments mar-
ket by revenue.
The company will of-
fer digital payment so-
lutions to web and mo-
bile based small and
medium enterprises
largely operating in the
online retail, education,
hospitality and travel
and tourism industry
apart from other indus-
try verticals under the
brand CCAvenue.
Infibeam said its two-
decade of track record
in the domestic market
and successful launch-
es in the Middle East
provides it with the con-
fidence to launch in one
of the world’s most de-
veloped digital com-
merce market.
“The United States
market presents a tril-
lion dollar digital pay-
ments processing op-
portunity,” said Manag-
ing Director Vishal
Mehta.
“To strengthen our
position in the region,
we will explore oppor-
tunities to partner and
collaborate with large
financial institutions
including selective ac-
quisitions to extend our
digital payments solu-
tion reach to merchants
and customers in the
United States,” he said
in a statement.
Executive Director
Vishwas Patel said
CCAvenue has been by
far the most technologi-
cally advanced payment
gateway in India cater-
ing to over a million
merchants over the last
two decades.
“We are looking for-
ward to launching our
advanced real time pay-
ment gateway solu-
tions in the United
States which is a huge
market with over 280
million electronic pay-
ment users doing over
450 transactions per
capita per year,” he
said.
First India News
Gandhinagar: Minis-
ter of State for Home
Pradipsinh Jadeja
successfully con-
vinced reserved cate-
gory women candi-
dates protesting
against General Reso-
lution (GR) 18 to with-
draw their agitation
on Wednesday. Jadeja
met with the protest-
ing women candidates
in a 90-minute meet-
ing.
Aspiring candidates
of Lok Rakshak Dal
(LRD) from the re-
served category were
protesting against the
state government’s GR
2018.
Candidates felt the
resolution was an in-
justice to women can-
didates. As a result of
continued protests,
the state government
increased the number
of positions for wom-
en in the LRD recruit-
ment process.
It also announced
that GR 2018 will not
be implemented in the
current LRD recruit-
ment process. Yet, the
women candidates be-
longingtothereserved
category had contin-
ued their protest
which clocked 70 days.
It seems that the
state government
wishes to resolve all
matters before the
arrival of US Presi-
dent Trump on Febru-
ary 24.
Jadeja convinces LRD women
candidates to withdraw protest
33 councillors
demand removal
of LoP Sharma
Patel: 10L ha rabi crop
in Narmada command
RECORD SOWING
E-COMMERCE RETAIL GROWS 14.4%
Gandhinagar: The
state government on
Wednesday promoted
three IAS officers of the
1989 batch to the grade
of Additional Chief
Secretary (ACS).
General Administra-
tion Department’s Prin-
cipal Secretary Kamal
Dayani through a wide
order granted promo-
tion to Srinivas Ka-
tikithala as Additional
CS. Kathikithala is cur-
rently Additional Secre-
tary, Department of
Personnel and Train-
ing, Government of In-
dia, New Delhi. Princi-
pal Secretary Amren-
dra Kumar Rakesh, who
will continue to dis-
charge his duties as Ad-
ditional Chief Secre-
tary, Panchayats, Rural
Housing and Rural De-
velopment Department.
Sunaina Tomar, Princi-
pal Secretary, Energy
and Petrochemicals De-
partment will take
charge as Additional CS
at the same post.
Three IAS officers
promoted to ACS
‘Listing on Stock Exchange will
boost growth of IT industry’
Infibeam Avenues expands business to US
HAVING A BALL
Children jump to catch ball as they play inside Sarkhej Roza in Ahmedabad.
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI
The party
leadership
is aware of
some miscreants.
Those who have
signed the letter were
forced to do so. There
were also many peo-
ple, who gave in
writing that they are
not against me
—Dinesh Sharma
Leader of Opposition
VASAVA MEETS ST PROTESTERS
Tribal Minister Ganpat Vasava met Adivasi leaders
to convince them to withdraw their agitation, as
the government is not going to entertain anyone
with fake certificates. Scheduled Tribe members
are currently protesting over the fake tribal certifi-
cate issue. They have demanded that the govern-
ment should not review certificates of tribals
whose certificates have been invalidated.
SEEKS TIME
Candidates from un-
reserved class cat-
egory have moved
the High Court
pleading to direct
the state to issue
appointment orders
to 254 candidates.
According to them,
the state has not
issued appointment
orders to those who
have cleared the
exams and are on
the merit list. HC
has asked the state
to file a reply before
March 11.
—FILE PHOTO

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
Nritya Gopal...
Swami Govind Dev Giri
of Pune was appointed
as treasurer of the trust
at the meeting.
Among those present at
the meeting were the
central government rep-
resentative, additional
secretary in Home min-
istryGyaneshKumar,UP
government’s represen-
tative Avinash Awasthy
and Ayodhya District
Magistrate Anuj Kumar
Jha. The Trust was con-
stitutedbytheNarendra
Modi government. Modi
had announced the for-
mationof the15-member
trust in Parliament on
February 5. The Shri
RamJanmabhoomiTeer-
tha Kshetra Trust has
seven members, five
nominatedmembersand
three trustees. The trust
wasformedinadherence
to the Supreme Court
verdict on the Ayodhya
disputeinNovemberlast
year. Senior lawyer
Parasaranwasnamedas
theheadof theTrustand
its other members in-
clude Jagatguru Shank-
racharya, Jyothish-
peethadheeshwarSwami
VasudevanandSaraswa-
ti Ji Maharaj from Alla-
habad, Jagatguru Mad-
havacharyaSwamiVish-
wa Prasannatheerth Ji
Maharaj, Pejawar Math
in Udupi, Yugpurush
ParamanandJiMaharaj
from Haridwar, Swami
Govinddev Giri Ji Ma-
haraj from Pune and
Vimlendra Mohan Prat-
apMishrafromAyodhya.
Mediators to...
“MetHon’bleHomeMin-
isterShAmitShahji.Had
a very good and fruitful
meeting. Discussed sev-
eralissuesrelatedtoDel-
hi.Bothof usagreedthat
wewillworktogetherfor
development of Delhi,”
Kejriwal tweeted. Re-
sponding to a query, he
saidtherewasnodiscus-
sion on Shaheen Bagh.
Ramachandran, echo-
ing the Supreme Court
order,said,“TheSupreme
Court has said that you
have the right to protest.
The law (CAA) has been
challenged in the SC.”
Ahead of...
“We’re doing a very big
trade deal with India.
We’llhaveit.Idon’tknow
if it’ll be done before the
election (in November),
but we’ll have a very big
deal with India,” he said
during an interaction
with reporters at the
Joint Base Andrews out-
side Washington.
TheUSandIndiacould
sign a “trade package”
during Trump’s maiden
visit,accordingtomedia
reports.
US Trade Representa-
tive Robert Lighthizer,
thepoint-personfortrade
negotiations with India,
may not accompany
Trump to India, sources
said. However, officials
have not ruled it out al-
together.
Multiple rounds of
talks have taken place
betweenCommerceMin-
ister Piyush Goyal and
Lighthizerinthepastfew
weeks over telephone.
India is demanding
exemption from high
dutiesimposedbytheUS
on certain steel and alu-
minium products, re-
sumption of export ben-
efits to certain domestic
products under their
Generalised System of
Preferences(GSP),great-
er market access for its
products from sectors
including agriculture,
automobile,autocompo-
nents and engineering.
Ontheotherhand,the
USwantsgreatermarket
access for its farm and
manufacturingproducts,
dairy items and medical
devices, and cut on im-
port duties on some ICT
products.TheUShasalso
raised concerns over
high trade deficit with
India which was $16.9
billion in 2018-19.
Meanwhile,theUS-In-
dia Strategic and Part-
nershipForum(USISPF)
inareportsaidthelatest
quarterly data depict
continuation of overall
positive bilateral trade
trends.Thethirdquarter
data reflects some
downslide in growth
rates.
“It may be due to sev-
eral reasons, including
the unexpected econom-
ic slowdown in India’s
economicgrowth,impact
of US-China trade war,
GSPwithdrawalfromthe
US side and retaliatory
tariffs on specific US
goods from the Indian
side,” it said.
HOPES RIDE...
INDUSTRIALISTS :
The business class is
hoping for further sim-
plification of rules re-
garding investment, so
that maximum invest-
ment can come and Ra-
jasthan’s industrial sec-
tor can grow.
DRINKING WA-
TER: Even today, there
are many villages
where there is no drink-
ing water. The govern-
ment should be focused
on making water reach
such villages.
ROADS
If we look at villages,
there are no roads even
today. In such a situa-
tion, the common man
is hopeful for road con-
struction from the gov-
ernment.
EDUCATION
The Gehlot govern-
ment is expected to
open new colleges
and schools in
many places, so
that students do not
have to travel much for
basic education.
NEW DISTRICTS
ANNOUNCEMENT
This is an issue which
has been pending for
many years. Last time,
Pratapgarh was de-
clared a district, but
since then, there are
many areas where peo-
ple are demanding to
make a district. Also,
there have been many
protests regarding it in
Kotputli, Beawar and
Bandikui.
FROM PG 1
Only Prez, no other guests in Motera
The city police have asked Motera residents to not entertain guests on February 24
AMC lays road
overnight ahead of
‘Namaste Trump’
First India News
Ahmedabad: United
States President Donald
Trump’s arrival has the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporationonallcylin-
ders. It has built a new
200 meter by x 16 meters
road in Motera literally
overnight, to ease traffic
for the “Namaste
Trump” event next
Monday. It will also fin-
ish another 12m road on
Wednesday night.
Assistant city engi-
neer Rushi Pandya says
the civic body will finish
the road from Narana-
rayan party plot to Asar-
am Ashram by Wednes-
day night. “We will re-
surface the stretch from
the Ashram onward.”
Sources say the AMC
will a second 12-metre
town-planning road
from Menghi Ba cross-
roads to Asaram Ash-
ram on Wednesday
night at a cost of Rs30
lakh. “A new fountain
near the Ashram and
other embellishments
may also be added,” a
senior official said.
According to a local
resident,“Thenewroad,
which is near the Asar-
am Ashram, is all in
vain. Local people do
not use stretch to com-
mute.”
Even as the city re-
ceives its makeover,
AMC officers are also
busy making lists of in-
vitees to gather public
for the February 24
event. According to
sources, very few offi-
cials and elected mem-
bers of the civic body
will be allowed inside
Motera stadium.
First India News
Gandhinagar: A four-
member team of the
United States adminis-
tration met Chief Secre-
tary Anil Mukim, in a
closed-door meeting at
the secretariat.
Sources say the meet-
ing was more of a cour-
tesyvisittodiscussplans
for Trump’s visit to the
city. It covered discus-
sionsonprotocol,suchas
who would be at the air-
port to receive the US
President.
Whereas in Ahme-
dabad, Indian and Amer-
ican security service
teams also conducted a
meeting which covered
preparationsof theroad-
show route and other se-
curitydetails.Bothteams
willconductareconnais-
sance of the route.
First India News
Ahmedabad: The
Gandhi Ashram on
Wednesday received a
new lawn, even as the
city is getting a hasty
facelift ahead of US
President Trump’s
visit.
“What was the need
for a new lawn near
Gandhiji’s statue?
There was already a
proper one there. All
they have done is cre-
ate a new slope and in-
crease the height of
the ground,” said
Shailesh Rathod, a res-
ident of the ashram.
However, there are
rumours that Trump
may not even visit the
ashram at all. “If you
look at the preparation
done by the govern-
ment near Motera,
nothing of that sort is
being done in or
around Gandhi Ash-
ram. A few changes
have been done, but
compared to the ar-
rangements made for
previous VVIP visits,”
added Rathod.
Hriday Kunj, the
place where Gandhiji
stayed, has also been
painted and its roofs
cleaned. The ashram
premises has also been
thoroughly cleaned
and a stage erected.
First India News
Ahmedabad: In the lat-
est addition to the list
of restrictions being
put in place ahead of
the visit of US Presi-
dent Donald Trump, the
city police have asked
Motera residents to not
entertain guests on Feb-
ruary 24.
Rashami Mistry, a
resident of Motera,
said, “For the last two to
three days, the police
have been asking us to
avoid inviting guests to
our homes on February
24. This is just the lat-
est. For the last two
weeks, police personnel
in plain clothes have
been visiting our homes
and questioning us on
how long we’ve lived
here and where we
work. They’ve also
asked to see our house
papers. Now, they’re
also saying roads will
be blocked.
Civilians will not be
allowed on roads from
Sabarmati Janpath Ho-
tel to Motera village on
the day of Trump’s ar-
rival. Only invited visi-
tors can visit the area in
government vehicles.
“Some emergency
routes will be kept
open, but movement
will be restricted on
February 24. The au-
thority has not yet an-
nounced any alternate
route. There is a possi-
bility that on one side,
roads will be kept open
only for emergency pur-
poses,” said a senior
traffic police officer
who asked for anonym-
ity since he is not au-
thorized to talk to the
media.
Gandhi Ashram gets a new lawnUS officials, CS Mukim
discuss security details
A general view of VVIP road out side Motera stadium.
—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE
—PHOTOS BY NANDAN DAVE
Workers prepare a hoarding with the images of the US President
Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and First Lady
Melania Trump ahead of Trump’s visit in Ahmedabad.
—PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE
First India News
Ahmedabad: The sec-
ond aircraft of the Unit-
ed States Air Force ar-
rived today at the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Inter-
national Airport here in
Ahmedabad. While the
first one brought cars
and equipment to be
used for President Don-
ald Trump’s motorcade
during his a few hours
long visit on February
24, the second aircraft
that arrived today has
brought Trump’s offi-
cial helicopter. Called
Marine One when the
President on board, the
chopper usually reverts
to the call sign of Ma-
rine Helicopter Squad-
ron One (HMX-1) when
he is not on board.
Trump might use the
Sikorsky VH-92A heli-
copter to travel from the
world’s largest cricket
stadium at Motera to
SVPI airport, where he
will board Air Force
One to travel further in
the country. The current
Marine One can fly
more than 150 miles (241
km) per hour and fea-
tures ballistic armour
and antimissile coun-
termeasures.
Helipads have al-
ready been built at the
Motera stadium, where
Trump will arrive with
First lady Melania
Trump. He will be re-
ceived at the airport by
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi.
The two leaders will
participate in the India
Road Show on the air-
port road to Motera sta-
dium where ‘Namaste
Trump’ event is being
organized.
TRUMP TOYS COVER CITY SKY
The police or
any authority
cannot ask
people to shut them in
their homes. If the
state is welcoming an
international guest,
then what is the harm
in people inviting
their guests?
—Dinesh Sharma, LOP
Chief Secretary Anil Mukim

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 86 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
ADAPTING TO A
FAST-FORWARD
WORLD
The world is going through a period of accelerating
change, as four secular developments illustrate
irms and governments must in-
creasingly internalize possibility
of an acceleration of four secular
developments that influence what
business and political leaders do
and how they do it. Decision-makers should
think of these trends as waves, which, espe-
cially if they occur simultaneously, could feel
like a tsunami for those who fail to adapt their
thinking and practices in a timely manner.
First and most important trend is climate
change,whichhasevolvedfromarelativelydis-
tant concern, on which there is ample time to
take remedial action, to an imminent and in-
creasingly urgent threat. Second, privacy con-
cerns have grown alongside technical innova-
tions involving AI and big data. Third secular
force involves disruptions to multi-decade pro-
cess of economic and financial globalization.
Finaltrendisdemographicandconcernsmore
than aging of societies in Europe and Asia and
thistrendseconomicandpoliticalimplications.
For starters, businesses need to be smarter
about “anywhere, any place, any time” deliv-
ery. Furthermore, job loyalty and tenure are
decreasing, while expectations of comprehen-
sivejobfulfillmentandengagementarerising.
Self-mobilisation for political and other caus-
es, often with no visible leadership structure,
hasbecomealoteasier,yetoftenislessdurable
and raises tricky questions about what comes
afterward. And all of this is taking place amid
continued migration of an ever-expanding
range of interactions from physical to virtual
spaces. Each of these secular forces will have
an important impact on the effectiveness and
success of companies and governments alike.
And while being challenging overall, the four
trends involve a diverse and geographically
dispersed set of winners and losers. Execu-
tives and policymakers therefore must make
timely revisions to both their tactical and stra-
tegic mindsets. Getting this right will require
cognitive diversity, openness to constructive
criticism, repeated scenario analyses, and
multi-disciplinary approaches. And this is
even before one considers unanticipated peri-
odic shocks such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
Consider another aspect of demographic
change: migration and humanitarian chal-
lenges with it. The combination of de-globali-
zation and misuse of AI and big data to in-
fringe individual privacy is similarly trou-
bling. This could lead to questionable behav-
ior by governments.
The world is in a period of accelerating
change, leading edge of which is ever-growing
list of developments that have gone from im-
possible to inevitable. Many challenges facing
business and political leaders may be broken
down into four secular changes that can help
anchor the timely formulation of required
responses at the local, national, regional, and
global levels. The faster that companies and
governments recognize this, the likelier they
will be to alter the balance of benefits, costs,
and risks in their favour. —MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN
IN-DEPTH
F
NITISH CHANDAN
his is another one of those posts
which I am writing because of a
heavyamountof searchqueries.
“Pornography rules in India”,
are there any? If you ask a
straightforward question, the
answer is no. The reason so
many people (not just young-
sters) want an answer to this
questionisbecausetheyarecon-
suming pornography and are
afraidwhetherwatchingpornis
legal in India. To break the ice
for yet another time, it is legal.
Nobody in this country will
putyouinjailforwatchingporn
unlessyouaredoingitinpublic.
Well, there is the whole public
morality law in question. But
generallyspeaking,itisdefinite-
ly legal to watch porn in India
until and unless it is child por-
nography. For that even if you
are afraid about the Pornogra-
phy rules, you are as sick as this
gets. No vigilante groups, hack-
ers,statebodiesetc.anywherein
the world support the idea of
childpornography.Theveryfact
that child pornography exists is
afailureof theentireecosystem
of morals, internet, values and
the law. Even in USA and
UK where possession of por-
nography has never been an of-
fence,ChildPornographyiscon-
demned and is a penal offence.
That said, coming back to the
topic of Pornography rules in
India, it is apt to mention some
things here. Though watching
porn is legal yet making some-
one else watch it is a crime pun-
ishable by up to 5 years of im-
prisonment. Making someone
else watch it might sound a lit-
tle loose. Trust me when I say
this, there are several cases
where guys have often forced
upon girls to watch porn. It has
been while they have been in
relationships or just friends as
well. Within this ambit of
“making someone watch” as I
put it, the legal words are pub-
lishing, transmitting or caus-
ing any of the two. This means
that if you publish anything
containing a sexually explicit
act, even if it is an image, you
are liable for the same punish-
ment. The same goes for trans-
mitting in private messages,
Facebook Chats, WhatsApp
messages etc.
WHAT ARE THE
RELEVANT LEGAL
PROVISIONS?
Section 67, 67A, and 67B of the
Information Technology Act,
2000aretherelevantprovisions.
Section 67 talks about punish-
ment for publication or trans-
mission of obscene material in
electronic form. Though the
definitionof obscenityismostly
vague in the Indian context, we
have tried to trace the develop-
ments. It prescribes imprison-
mentuptothreeyearsorfineup
to`5lakhorbothonfirstconvic-
tion. As for second and subse-
quent convictions, imprison-
mentuptofiveyearsandfineup
to`10lakhhavebeenprescribed.
Section 67A criminalises the
publication or transmission of
any material depicting sexual-
ly explicit act or conduct in
electronic form. Imprisonment
up to five years or fine up to `10
lakh or both are prescribed in
this section. It also incorpo-
rates situations when a person
or group of person forces or
influences another person to
publish or transmit such con-
tent over the Internet. For sec-
ond and subsequent convic-
tions, the extent of fine re-
mains the same; however, im-
prisonment up to seven years
may be prescribed.
Section 67B focusses on child
pornography and it prescribes
for imprisonment up to five
years or fine up to `10 lakh or
both on first conviction. Just
like Section 67A, the extent of
fine on second and subsequent
convictions remain same, but
imprisonment up to seven
years may be prescribed. This
section mentions various acts
that can be considered as an of-
fence under its ambit:
 Publication or transmission of
material depicting children in
sexually explicit conduct or act,
or forcing/inﬂuencing the same
 Creating text or images show-
ing child pornography
 Collecting, searching, brows-
ing, downloading, promot-
ing, advertising, distributing,
or exchanging any material
showing child pornography in
electronic form
 Facilitating abuse of children
online
 Enticing or inducing children
to an online relationship with
other children for sexually
explicit acts
 Recording sexually explicit act
with children
WHAT IF I SENT
SOMEONE AN OBSCENE
PICTURE?
Thereisdefinitelyalawagainst
it. As for this post, we will keep
it to pornography. If you send
someone a picture that depicts
some sort of sexual act, you are
liable for punishment. For any-
thing else obscene, I will write
another post.
ARE SEX STORIES LEGAL?
If you go by the definition of
law, unless a text is for the pub-
lic good of creating awareness,
sex education etc., “sex stories”
though textual will still fall un-
der the ambit of being called
pornography and will be tried
the same way. So no, sex stories
are also within the ambit of the
law which will criminalize you
for publishing or transmitting.
Consumption, however, is le-
gal. So if sex stories are legal
in the US and you read them
here, it is totally legal.
IS PORN HOSTED
OUTSIDE INDIA LEGAL?
Outside India is outside India’s
jurisdiction in the practical
sense. If pornography is legal-
ized in the country where it is
hosted, India cannot force upon
the website to stop functioning.
Alternatively, as we have seen,
the Government or the Judici-
ary might ban it in India, if it
is thought to be unacceptable.
TO SUM UP ALL THE
PORNOGRAPHY RULES
IN INDIA
 Watching porn at home is not
illegal.
 Saving it on your personal
laptop, smartphone, storage
media is also not illegal.
 Distribution/Sale/Showcasing/
Publishing/Sending on private
messages etc. is illegal.
 Sending porn videos/images/
texts or anything depicting
sexually explicit acts (unless
educational) to someone is
also illegal.
 Sex stories are also sexually
explicit content.
 Whether ISPs are causing
transmission of such porn into
the country is a grey area but
practically they will not be held
responsible except for child
pornography.
 Child Pornography, in any
sense, watching, saving, shar-
ing etc. is totally illegal.
PORNOGRAPHY RULES IN INDIA
T
if you publish
anything
containing a
sexually explicit
act, even if it is
an image, you
are liable for the
same
punishment.
The same goes
for transmitting
in private
messages,
Facebook Chats,
WhatsApp
messages etc.
Section 67B focusses
on child pornography
and it prescribes for
imprisonment up to
five years or fine up
to `10 lakh or both on
first conviction
besity rates are
on the rise in
Australia and
across the
world. For
years, public health and
medical groups have called
for schools to ban sales of
junk foods as one way to
stem the tide.
Selling fatty or sugary
food and drinks has been
banned in Western Aus-
tralia’s public schools
since 2007. A 2018 study
found WA children were
eating healthier as a result
of the ban. But it also found
some regional schools
were struggling to comply
with it.
Some countries, includ-
ing Canada and Chile, have
banned junk food in
schools. Should Australia
do the same?
We asked five experts.
Four out of five experts
said yes.
The more junk food
available, the more kids
eat it, so changing the
foods available at schools
supports kids to eat
healthier. Kids spend a lot
of time at school, so if
providing them with at-
tractive, affordable and
nutritious options will
give them one more rung
on the ladder to health
and well-being, why
wouldn’t we do it?
But food is also tied to
other things in life includ-
ing culture, politics and
socialising. Bananas may
be nutritionally “healthy”
but many people who pick
them are subject to poor
working conditions. A
slice of sugary cake may
not meet nutrition guide-
lines, but when consid-
ered in the context of bak-
ing, sharing, celebrating
and the pleasure of eating
it, cake may enhance our
well-being.
Banning junk food may
demonise food in un-
healthy ways. For in-
stance, a child (and their
parent) could be shamed
by a teacher for bringing
a cupcake to school. And
it does nothing to disrupt
the structural inequities
that make it difficult for
children to access the
“right” food outside the
school gates.
Children are bombarded
with advertising including
on television, gaming de-
vices, public transport and
billboards. The enormous
range of food outlets and
foods, along with the rise
of delivery systems like
Uber Eats, make unhealthy
food seem appealing and
easy to access. Children
should be protected from
this, at least in a school set-
ting. Learning about good
food choices in a controlled
environment is one step
towards reducing child-
hood obesity rates.
In several countries,
such as Canada and Chile,
unhealthy foods cannot be
sold at school or provided
to children. In Australia,
some states, such as New
South Wales, have banned
unhealthy foods from
school canteens. Restric-
tions on unhealthy foods
are achievable, although
evidence shows schools
need support in the transi-
tion process.
Unhealthy diets can
compromise learning and
behaviour, partly due to
unstable blood sugar lev-
els, with spiralling impacts
on school performance. In
the long-term, they have
been linked to mental
health problems such as an
increased risk of anxiety
and depression.
On the upside, research
shows creating a positive
food environment (engag-
ing kids with gardening,
cooking and eating healthy
food together) can sway
their eating behaviours in
a healthy direction. It’s
high time schools jump
aboard the healthy canteen
wagon and its multiple re-
wards.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM
Should we ban junk food in schools?
O
The more junk
food available,
the more kids eat
it, so changing the
foods available at
schools supports
kids to eat
healthier
TOP TWEET
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Transforming lives of crores of
annadatas,more than 22.84 cr Soil
Health Cards have been distributed
so far to support our farmers
improve farm productivity. The
#SoillHealthCardScheme has proved
beneﬁcial in maximising yields
and ensuring welfare of farmers.
#HarKaamDeshKeNaam

INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
New Delhi: Deputy CM
of UP Dinesh Sharma
on Wednesday exuded
confidence that the
Ram Temple will be
constructed in Ayodhya
soon since the Central
government-mandated
trust for the holy site
will hold a meeting lat-
er today to decide the
future course of action.
“I would like to thank
the SC and the Central
government. Everyone
wants the Ram temple
to get constructed as
soon as possible. The
temple will now get con-
structed without any
obstructions,” said the
deputy chief minister.
In Wednesday’s
meeting, Mahant Nri-
tya Gopal Das was
elected president and
Champat Rai general
secretary of the Tem-
ple trust. The meet-
ing, held at the resi-
dence of senior law-
yer K Parasaran, also
elected PM Modi’s
former principal sec-
retary Nripendra Mis-
ra as the head of the
temple construction
committee of the Shri
Ram Janmabhoomi
Tirth Kshetra Trust.
‘AYODHYATEMPLETOCOME
UPWITHOUTOBSTRUCTIONS’UP Dy CM expressed
confidence on
temple’s construction
to sail smoothly
Ayodhya: The Ram La-
lla statue at the make-
shift Ram Janmabhoo-
mi temple will be shift-
ed to another site near
Manas Bhawan, when
the construction of the
Ram temple begins.
Acharya Satyendra
Das said on Wednesday
that the existing temple
site will have to be
vacated to facilitate
construction of the new
temple.
“A makeshift temple
will be built near Ma-
nas Bhawan where the
deity will be placed un-
til the grand temple is
constructed. The site is
about 150 metres away
from the existing site,”
he said. According to
the priest, the sanctum
sanctorum of the new
temple will be built at
the site where the deity
is presently placed.
After the deity is
shifted to the new tem-
ple, all rituals of wor-
ship will continue unin-
terrupted. A group of
engineers and archi-
tects had visited the site
to assess the landfill
required for construc-
tion to begin. —Agencies
Ram Lalla to be
shifted before
construction
begins
New Delhi: Congress
general secretary Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra on
Wednesday targeted the
Central Government
over the budget and
said that the issues per-
taining to farmers have
not been addressed in
the state budget, which
was presented yester-
day by the Yogi Adity-
anath led government.
Taking to Twitter,
the Gandhi scion stat-
ed, “ The budget of UP
has come. The prob-
lem of stray animals
belonging to farmers
has not been men-
tioned. The issue of
payment of sugarcane
to the farmers is miss-
ing from the budget.
The issue of compen-
sation for crop wast-
age of farmers is also
missing. The problem
of the price of the
crop to farmers is also
not mentioned in the
budget.”
The Cong leader also
shared a video in which
farmers are narrating
their ordeals.
In the 1:55 minutes
long clip, Priyanka also
did a voice-over and
claimed that farmers
are in deep trouble.
“They are not able to
sleep at night as the
animals enter their
farms during the night.
The investigation must
be carried out on the
same.”
On Tuesday, leader of
OppositioninUPAssem-
blyandSamajwadiParty
leader Ram Govind
Chaudhary had also
called the budget
brought out by the state
govt as anti-poor, anti-
students and anti-farm-
ers. The Yogi govt pre-
sented a budget of Rs
5,12,860.72 cr for the fi-
nancial year 2020-21 on
Tuesday. This year’s
budget amount was Rs
33,159 cr more than pre-
viousfinancialyear2019-
20, which in percentage
terms is an increase of
6.5 per cent year on year.
For the financial year
2020-21, the Yogi govt has
included schemes of
Rs 10,967.87 crore in
the budget. —Agencies
Farmers’ issue unaddressed in UP
budget, alleges Priyanka Gandhi
New Delhi: Respond-
ing to the opposition
against CAA, NRC and
NPR, LS Speaker Om
Birla on Wednesday
said everyone must re-
spect laws passed in
Parliament as they nat-
urally have the consent
of common people. “In
India, everyone has
right to speak but the
law formed by the govt
should be respected.
The laws passed, natu-
rally have the consent
of public,” said Birla.
‘Laws passed by
Parliament must
be respected’
Chandigarh: BJP na-
tional president JP Na-
dda on Thursday will
meet Akali patriarch
Parkash Singh Badal at
his residence in Pun-
jab’s Muktsar, days af-
ter the former chief
minister said the mi-
norities ‘should be tak-
en along’ to run a gov-
ernment.
At a rally in Amritsar
on Feb 13, Badal had
said that all religions
should be respected.
Nadda will be coming to
Punjab for the first time
after taking charge of
the party, a party leader
said on Wednesday.
“The BJP president
will meet Badal Sahib
at his residence in Bad-
al village of Muktsar on
Thursday,” said the BJP
leader, adding that it
will be a courtesy call.
Nadda will land at
the Bathinda airport in
morning from where he
will go to Muktsar to
meet Badal. —Agencies
BJP chief
Nadda to meet
ex-Punjab CM
Badal today
New Delhi: The Minis-
try of Home Affairs on
Wednesday informed
the Delhi HC that the
Delhi Police will ques-
tion cricket bookie San-
jeev Chawla inside
Tihar Jail. Addl Solici-
tor Gen Sanjay Jain ap-
pearing for the Minis-
try of Home Affairs
said, “The centre piece
of the assurance given
to UK govt that he will
be kept in Tihar will not
be violated.” He will be
confronted and investi-
gated in Tihar, and if he
is to be confronted with
anyone outside Delhi
we will use VC, Jain
said. If at all he has to
be taken anywhere, we
will seek court’s per-
mission, added Jain.
Sanjeev will be quizzed in
Tihar: MHA tells HC
New Delhi: The Union
Cabinet on Wednesday
approved the ‘Assisted
Reproductive Technol-
ogy Regulation Bill
2020’, intended to pro-
tect women’s reproduc-
tive rights.
Calling it historic
Bill, Women & Child De-
velopment Minister Sm-
riti Irani said that the
Bill aimed for welfare of
women in country as it
proposes law to estab-
lish a national registry.
“A national board and
the state board will be
set up to help imple-
ment the legal frame-
work. A central data-
base of clinics and
banks will also be estab-
lished,” Irani said, add-
ing those indulging in
embryo sale and traf-
ficking can be fined and
even put behind bars as
per the provisions of
the bill. The Bill is ex-
pected to be introduced
in Parliament in next
phase of Budget session
which will commence
on March 2 and contin-
ue till April 3. —Agencies
Cabinet okays Bill to protect
women’s reproductive rights
PRADHAN URGES PATNAIK TO SEND
PROPOSAL FOR MEDICAL COLLEGE
Bhubaneswar: Union
Petroleum Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan has
requested Odisha CM
Naveen Patnaik to send a
proposal to the Centre for
establishment of a medical
college in Bhadrak district
under the Pradhan Mantri
Jan Vikas Karyakaram
(PMJVK). In a letter to
CM, Pradhan requested
to send a proposal to the
Union Ministry of Minority
Affairs to set up a med-
ical college in Bhadrak.
“Bhadrak dist does not
have any tertiary medical
facility as of now. Having
a medical college in the
district would be extreme-
ly helpful in providing the
required medical facilities
for people in and around
the district,” Min Pradhan
wrote in the letter.
KAMAL APPOINTED AS NDMA
MEMBER FOR 5 YR FRESH TERM
New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday
approved the appointment of Kamal Kishore as
a member of the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA), for a fresh term of five years.
The centre has also approved the appointment of
three others as members of NDMA. Government
approved the appointment of Krishna Vatsa (Policy
Advisor, Disaster Recovery, Climate Change and
Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDP), Rajendra Singh
(former DG, Coast Guard) and Lt. Gen. (Retd.)
Syed Ata Hasnain as Members of NDMA.
AJAY BHALLA TO APPEAR BEFORE
PARLIAMENTARY BOARD OF MHA
New Delhi: Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla will be
appearing before the Parliamentary Committee
of Home Affairs on Wednesday on demands for
grants (2020-2021) of Home Ministry pertaining
to UTs. Acc to official communication, the Home
Secretary will give a presentation on Demands
for Grants of the Ministry of Home Affairs fol-
lowed by a discussion. There will be another pre-
sentation by the Home Secretary on Demands for
Grants of the Ministry of Home Affairs pertaining
to Central Armed Police Forces and Delhi Police.
AYODHYA ADMINISTRATION
WITHDRAWS BAN ON MEAT SALE
New Delhi: Ayodhya
district administration
on Wednesday withdrew
city health officer’s order
prohibiting the sale of
meat products in the
municipal area. The order
was issued in wake of
coronavirus on Feb 14.
“Order issued on Feb 14
for prohibition on the
sale of meat products in
the wake of coronavirus,
has now been withdrawn
by the district adminis-
tration,” according to an
official release. The city
health officer had issued
an order banning the sale
of meat, stating that meat
will not be sold in munic-
ipal area. The coronavirus
outbreak has triggered
global concerns over the
hygiene standards main-
tained in meat markets.
New Delhi: Hours be-
fore the very first
meeting of the Ram
Janmabhoomi trust
here in Delhi, a con-
troversy has erupted.
The Hindu Mahasab-
ha has alleged that
VHP, RSS and the BJP
have “occupied” the
trust through the pre-
sent government.
Calling the present
formation of the trust
as “unfair”, Hindu
Mahasabha Chief
Swami Chakrapani
said he is “hurt”.
“From 1949 we have
been fighting for this
cause. We were a par-
ty to the case. Other
Hindu organisations
too worked for it. But
when the Supreme
Court gave it’s verdict
and tasked the gov-
ernment to form a
trust, the VHP and
Sangh occupied it.
This is unfortunate,”
he alleged.
He added, “The govt
didn’t feel the neces-
sity to call all stake-
holders and thank
them for the role they
played or ask for their
suggestions.”
The Shri Ram
Teerth Kshetra Trust
has invited veteran
and Ram Janmabhoo-
mi Nyas head Mahant
Nritya Gopal Das for
Wednesday’s meeting.
VHP VP Champat Rai
may also be made a
part of the trust,
sources said. —Agencies
Hours before trust meet,
allegations of occupation
SWAMI GIRI PROPOSES TO LEAD TRUST
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday ap-
proved constitution of the 22nd Law Commission
which advises the govt
on complex legal issues.
The term of the previous
law panel had ended on
Aug 31 last year. With the
cabinet approval, the law
ministry will now notify
the new panel, which will
have a term of three years. The panel will have
a full-time chairperson, four full-time members
(including a member secretary), and law and leg-
islative secretaries in the law ministry as ex-officio
members. “It will also have not more than five
part-time members,” an official statement said.
UNION CABINET APPROVES CREATION
OF 22ND LAW COMMISSION
CONG MULLING ON CHIEFS OF 3 STATE UNITS
New Delhi: Post dis-
patching all 406 people
including seven Maldiv-
ians who were under
quarantine for over a
fortnight after being
evacuated from the cor-
onavirus hit Wuhan,
the ITBP camp at
Chhawla here is now
gearing up for a fresh
batch of people from
China who are expected
to reach India by Friday
morning.
According to sources
in the ITBP, the next
batch of over 120 people
is likely to include two
diplomats. The process
of disinfecting and fu-
migation has already
been started by ITBP
doctors and team.
AP Joshi, Chief
Medical Officer, ITBP
who is heading the
team overseeing the
medical team compris-
ing 25 doctors, a psy-
chologist and a psychi-
atrist said that the pro-
cess of disinfecting
and preparing the fa-
cility will continue for
the next 24 hours. —ANI
ITBP gears up for next
batch of people
arriving from China

‘GST BIGGEST MADNESS
OF THE 21ST CENTURY’
Hyderabad: Describing India’s latest tax
reform GST as “the biggest madness of
the 21st century,” BJP leader and Rajya
Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said
that the country needs to grow at 10%
per annum to become a superpower by
2030. He also demanded that former
Prime Minister, late P V Narasimha Rao,
be given the highest civilian award,
the Bharat Ratna, for the reforms he
introduced during his tenure.
SUNIL MITTAL, KUMAR
MANGALAM BIRLA MEET FM
New Delhi: Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal
and Vodafone Idea chief Kumar Mangalam
Birla on Wednesday met Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman to apprise her the
current stressed state of affairs in the
telecom sector due to huge Adjusted Gross
Revenue payment. “We are responding to
the Supreme Court judgment on AGR dues.
Have made our payments, working to cal-
culate the remaining AGR liability. Telecom
industry has seen a lot of stress for the past
three years,” Mittal said. On Tuesday, Mittal
met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash.
NOTHING CAN SAVE THOSE
WITH DEATH WISH: UP CM
Lucknow: UP CM Yogi Adityanath defended
police over the deaths of anti-CAA protest-
ers, saying they were shot by other rioters
and nothing can be done to save someone
with a death wish. Wrapping up the dis-
cussion in the assembly on the Governor’s
address, Adityanath said the role of the
police in dealing with rioters during the
anti-CAA protest should be appreciated. In
hard-hitting remarks, he said his govern-
ment supported democratic protests but will
maintain law and order by dealing strictly
with those indulging in violence.
INX MEDIA CASE
INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
NAME OF KOTHARI CLEARED FOR
CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER
Name of Sanjay Kothari, a 1978 batch retired IAS
officer of Haryana cadre and presently Secretary
to President, has reportedly been cleared for the
post of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
NAME OF JULKA CLEARED FOR
CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
Name of Information Commissioner Bimal Julka,
a 1979 batch retired IAS officer of MP cadre,
has reportedly been cleared for the post of Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC).
SURESH PATEL TO BE VIGILANCE
COMMISSIONER
Former CMD of Andhra Bank Suresh Patel has
reportedly been chosen as a Vigilance Commis-
sioner by the panel headed by PM Narendra Modi.
AMITA PANDOVE TO BE IC
Former member of Punjab Civil Services Com-
mission, Amita Pandove has reportedly been
chosen for the post of Information Commissioner
(IC) Central Information Commissioner.
60 SHORT-LISTED FOR SPECIAL
DIRECTOR IN ED
60 IPS and IRS officers have been short-listed for
over half a dozen posts of Special Director in ED.
THREE IRS-IT OFFICERS SHIFTED
Rajiv Kumar Singh has been appointed as CIT (OSD)
in the office of Pr. CCIT, Bhopal MP & Chattisgarh
Region, while Amitabh Kumar Sinha is CIT (OSD)
Delhi Region and Deepak is CIT(A), Jamshedpur.
RAGHVENDRA SINGH RELIEVED
TO JOIN MP GOVT
The Government of Bihar has relieved Raghven-
dra Singh of cadre responsibility to join Madhya
Pradesh Government cadre transfer. He is a 2013
batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre.
AFMC DEAN MRS KANITKAR
ELEVATED TO LT. GEN RANK
Dean and Deputy Commandant of Armed Forces
Medical College (AFMC), Pune, Major General
Mrs Madhuri Kanitkar had been elevated to the
rank of Lt. General now . She was empanelled in
October last year as Lt General.
SERVICETENUREOFMKBHATTACHARYA,
ED, INDIAN BANK EXTENDED
Central Government has extended the term of
office of M K Bhattacharya, Executive Director of
Indian Bank for a period beyond February 17, 2020
till date of his superannuation, i.e. Nov 30, 2020.
NAGESHWARA RAO Y GETS TENURE
EXTENSION AS WHOLE-TIME DIR OF
SYNDICATE BANK TILL MAR 30
The Central Government has extended the tenure
of Nageshwara Rao Y. presently posted as Officer
on Special Duty and Whole-time Director of
Syndicate Bank till March 30, 2020.
DR JUSTICE S MURLIDHAR’S TRANSFER
TO P&H HC RECOMMENDED
The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended
transfer of Dr Justice S Murlidhar, Judge of Delhi
High Court to Punjab & Haryana High Court.
JUSTICE RANJIT V MORE’S TRANSFER
TO MEGHALAYA HC RECOMMENDED
transfer of Justice Ranjit V More, Judge of Bom-
bay High Court to Meghalaya High Court.
JUSTICE R V MALIMATH’S TRANSFER
TO UTTARAKHAND HC RECOMMENDED
transfer of Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath,
Judge of Karnataka HC to Uttarakhand HC.
AWANISH KUMAR AWASTHI NOMINATED
AS MEMBERS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Awanish Kumar Awasthi, ACS, Home and Anuj Ku-
mar Jha, Collector, Ayodhya have been nominated
as ex-officio Members in Board of Trustees, in UP.
POWERGallery
New Delhi: Chief Jus-
tice SA Bobde on
Wednesday said that it
would like to hear
Transport Minister Ni-
tin Gadkari on the Cen-
tre’s policy of switching
all public transport and
government vehicles to
electric vehicles over a
period of time in order
to curb air pollution.
Additional Solicitor
General ANS Nadkar-
ni, appearing for Cen-
tre, objected to the pres-
ence of Minister in the
court, saying, him com-
ing to the Supreme
Court will be misused
politically. The Chief
Justice clarified that
the invitation to the Un-
ion Minister is not a
summon and sought re-
sponse from the Minis-
try on the plea.
A Bench of the Su-
preme Court, headed by
Chief Justice SA Bobde,
was hearing a plea of
Centre for Public Inter-
est Litigation (CPIL)
seeking implementa-
tion of Centre’s policy
to gradually convert all
public transport and
government vehicles to
electric vehicles.
The bench sought the
government’s response
on steps being taken to
implement its 2012 elec-
tric vehicles policy.
The court, while ex-
pressing its keenness to
interact with Gadkari
on implementation of
electric vehicles
scheme, said, “He (the
minister) has made
many statements on the
issue. We are not indict-
ing or ordering him.
But want to hear him”.
Passing the order, the
bench said the issue of
vehicles is related to a
number of other pollu-
tion-related cases pend-
ing before the apex
court and if the policy
is implemented it can
solve many pollution
related problems.
The court granted
Transport Ministry
four weeks to file re-
sponse on the plea of
CPIL.
Advocate Prashant
Bhushan appearing for
CPIL contended that for
electric vehicles there
is a requirement of you
charging infrastructure
or charging ports to
charge the battery. —ANI
SC KEEN TO KNOW GADKARI’S
VIEWS ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES
New Delhi: A special
court granted regular
bail to all the six
bureaucrats in the
INX media corruption
case. These bureau-
crats were charge-
sheeted by the Central
Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) and are cur-
rently on interim bail.
Special CBI Judge
Ajay Kumar while con-
firming the interim bail
into regular bail, also
directed them not to
leave the country with-
out the permission of
the court. The court
granted regular bail to
all six bureaucrats on
a personal bond of Rs
2 lakh each and told
them not to tamper
with the evidence.
COURT GRANTS
REGULAR BAIL
TO SIX
BUREAUCRATS
CHINMAYANAND
APPEARS BEFORE
SPECIAL MP/MLA
COURT IN LKO
Why no lie detector test
on Asthana, asks Court
Hearing adjourned due
to pendency of sanctions
CBI VS CBIJNU SEDITION CASE
Lucknow: Former Un-
ion minister Chinma-
yanand, who is out
on bail in a case in
which he is accused
of sexually abusing a
law student, appeared
before a special
MP/MLA court on
Wednesday. Judge
PK Rai fixed March
4 as the next date
of hearing for the
framing of charges.
Chinmayanand, 72,
was released from
the Shahjahanpur
district jail after the
Allahabad High Court
granted him bail.
New Delhi: A Delhi
court rapped CBI on
Wednesday for not con-
ducting psychological
and lie detector tests on
its former special direc-
tor Rakesh
Asthana in a
bribery case in
which he was re-
cently given a
clean chit. Spe-
cial CBI Judge
Sanjeev Aggar-
wal directed the initial
investigating officer,
Ajay Kumar Bassi, in
the case to appear be-
fore it on February 28 to
explain the case diary.
The court asked the
CBI whether there was
anytelephonicconversa-
tion recording of Astha-
na, which the agency
denied. “What about
calls made to Asthana
viaWhatsApp?Thecom-
plainant, Sana Satish
Babu,hassaidthisinhis
statement recorded un-
der 164 CrPC (be-
foreamagistrate)
... Evidence can-
not be disregard-
ed at filing of
charge sheet,”
the court said.
“Did you col-
lect any electronic
equipment, mobile
phones from Asthana?
Did you confront him
with Manoj Prasad and
Someshwar Prasad,” it
asked.
The CBI said, “No, we
examined him but nev-
er confronted him with
anyone.”
New Delhi: Senior
Counsel RS Cheema is
settocontinueasSpecial
Public Prosecutor (SPP)
till June 30 to conduct
trials on behalf of ED in
the money laundering
case pertaining to the al-
leged irregularities in
coal block allocations.
“On our request RS
Cheema,seniorcounsel/
SPP has agreed to con-
tinue as a Special Public
Prosecutor to conduct
prosecution of the mon-
ey laundering cases un-
der the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act,
2002 pertaining to the
coal block allocation
matters till June 30,
2020.” stated an order
passedonFridaybyaDi-
vision Bench of the Su-
preme Court, compris-
ing of CJI SA Bobde and
Justice Deepak Gupta.
RS Cheema to
continue as SPP
till June 30
New Delhi: A Delhi
court on Wednesday ad-
journed till April 3, the
hearing in the Jawaha-
rlal Nehru University
(JNU) sedition case, in
which Kanhaiya Kumar
is an accused, as Delhi
government is yet to
grant the requisite
sanctions in the matter.
CMM Purshottam
Pathak adjourned the
matter after investigat-
ing officer informed the
court that the file re-
garding the grant of
sanctions is still pend-
ing with the Home De-
partment of Delhi gov-
ernment and that there
haven’tbeenanyfurther
updates. Patiala House
Courtalsoaskedthegov-
ernment to file a status
report in the matter and
asked Delhi Police to
send another reminder
to the Government of
NCTasnosanctionhave
been granted yet.
Earlier, the matter
was also adjourned af-
ter the public prosecu-
tor had informed that
sanction of charge-
sheet was still pending
and home department
had not given sanction.
In the charge-sheet filed
in a court in January,
Delhi Police said that
former JNUSU presi-
dent Kanhaiya Kumar
and others led a proces-
sion and raised anti-
national slogans in the
university campus dur-
ing an event on Febru-
ary 9, 2016.
Bhadohi: An FIR was
lodged against BJP
MLA Ravindra Nath
Tripathi and six others
on Wednesday for alleg-
edly raping a woman in
2017, police said.
The 40-year-old wom-
an, who is a widow, had
lodged a complaint on
February 10, they said.
The woman alleged
that she was first raped
by Tripathi’s nephew
Sandeepin2016.Shesaid
she did not lodge a com-
plaint back then as Ti-
wari had promised to
marry her, SP Ram
Badan Singh said. She
has alleged that in the
run-up to the 2017 UP As-
sembly polls, she was
kept at a hotel for a
month by Tiwari. All the
seven accused would
visitthehotelandrepeat-
edly rape her, the officer
said. She also claimed
thatshegotpregnantand
was forced to undergo
abortion, he added.
UP BJP MLA, 7 others
booked in rape case
INDIA 2020 YEARBOOK
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday released the India 2020 yearbook that highlights
the flagship programmes of the government and important events of the year. Javadekar also released the e-version of the
publication. The book will be priced at Rs 300 and the e-book will be available at Rs 225. The book can be purchased online
from February 20, 2020, from the website of the Publications Division.
IN THE COURTYARD
Ravindra Nath Tripathi
SPICEJET TO LAUNCH
20 NEW FLIGHTS
Mumbai: No-frills carrier SpiceJetNSE
4.34% said it will launch 20 new flights
on its domestic routes, including some
services under govt’s regional con-
nectivity scheme, Udan, from late next
month. The new flights, starting from
March 29, include services to Patna
from Amritsar, Varanasi and Guwahati.
Besides, it will also launch flights on
Hyderabad-Mangaluru, Bengaluru-Ja-
balpur and Mumbai-Aurangabad routes.
CHHOTA SHAKEEL DENIES
MARIA’S ALLEGATIONS
Mumbai: Absconder mafiosi Chhota
Shakeel rubbished contentions by
Rakesh Maria that fugitive mafia don
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar had allegedly
been given a contract to kill Ajmal
Kasab. Chhota Shakeel said, “all these
are absolute lies.” Maria has revealed
that Dawood had been assigned the
task of killing Kasab by LeT and ISI,
ostensibly to erase the only living evi-
dence of their heinous (terror) act.

SPORTSAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
Kenin loses to
Rybakina on WTA
Dubai: Sofia Kenin lost
her first WTA match
since winning the Aus-
tralian Open earlier
this month as she went
down 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3 to
Rybakina on Tuesday
(Feb 18) at the Dubai
Championships. World
number 7 Kenin’s loss
completed a hat-trick of
seeded upsets on the 4th
day of action in the
United Arab Emirates.
Title holder Belinda
Bencic was overhauled
1-6, 6-1, 6-1 by Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova while
third seed and two-time
tournament winner Eli-
na Svitolina was ham-
mered 6-2, 6-1 by qualifi-
er Brady. Kenin played
a pair of non-Tour Fed
Cup matches immedi-
ately after her Mel-
bourne win over Gar-
bine Muguruza, who
cut short Kim Clijsters’
comeback on Monday.
Pujara to represent
Gloucestershire
Gloucester: India top-
order Cheteshwar Puja-
ra on Wednesday was
signed by England
county Gloucestershire
for the upcoming Coun-
ty Championship.
The batsman will be
representing the Coun-
ty for the first six
matches of the Champi-
onship. He is currently
at the seventh spot in
the ICC Test batting
rankings. “I am really
excited to get the oppor-
tunity to represent
Gloucestershire this
season. The club has a
rich cricketing history,
and this is a great op-
portunity to be a part of
it and contribute to its
success,” Pujara said.
Atletico hold
Liverpool 1-0
Madrid: Atletico Ma-
drid defied predictions
by jumping out to an
early lead and hanging
on to stymie holders
Liverpool 1-0 in the first
leg of their Champions
League knockout stage
tie. Though the real test
will come in the March
11 second leg at Anfield,
Atleti’’s supporters at
the Wanda Metropolita-
no responded with en-
thusiasm on Tuesday
seeing their heroes hold
the reigning European
champions without a
single shot on target, re-
ports news agencies.
Parupalli crashes
out of Spain Masters
Barcelona: Indian
shuttler Parupalli
Kashyap crashed out of
the ongoing Spain Mas-
ters tournament on
Wednesday after retir-
ing midway during his
first-round match.
Kashyap had won 1st
game, 21-19 against
Ygor Coelho, but then
he went on lose the sec-
ond game, 18-21 and was
also trailing in the final
game. With scoreline at
14-12 in favour of Coel-
ho in the final game,
Kashyap had to retire
hurt and as a result, he
crashed out of the
Spain Masters.
BRIEF
in
Sydney: Star batswom-
an Smriti Mandhana
believes the young play-
ers -- which are part of
the India squad -- have
brought in a whole, new
energy within the group
and that in turn will
benefit the team in the
T20 World Cup.
The average age of In-
dian team, taking part
in the World Cup, is just
23 and features four
teenagers.
“You can think of the
vibeif youseetheageof
ourteam!Withthatkind
of age group, there has
to be fun and if there’s
no fun there’s some-
thing wrong with the
girls” 23-year-old Mand-
hana was quoted as say-
ing by the ICC.
“It’s been like that for
the last one or two years.
I won’t say it wasn’t like
that in the years before,
but since the teenagers
have come, there is a dif-
ferent energy.
“Young players come
into it with fresh think-
ing, they don’t have any-
thingbehindthem.They
know nothing. They’re
very different people to
we were when we came
into the side at 17.
“They are very fear-
less, they don’t have a lot
of pressure on them.
They think like it’s any
other match and coming
into a World Cup, that’s
the best thing about
them.”
Rodrigues, 19, com-
posed a rap to mark
Harmanpreet’s 100th
T20I in September last
year alongside Harleen
Deol. —Agencies
‘Teens have brought in a different energy in team’
WOMEN’S WORLD T20

The average
age of Indian
team, taking
part in the
Women’s
World Cup, is
just 23 and
features four
teenagers
‘World Test C’ship
biggest of all events’
Wellington: India skip-
per Virat Kohli on
Wednesday put his
weight behind the
World Test Champion-
ship, terming it as the
mother of all other ICC
events.
“I think World Test
Championship as an
ICC tournament should
be right up there. All
the other tournaments
for me they start under
that. This is probably
the biggest of them all
as every team wants to
make it to the final at
the Lord’s. We are no
different. We are in that
zone. We want to make
sure that we qualify as
soon as we can and be in
that frame of mind to
hopefully win that
(championship),” said
Kohli ahead of the In-
dia’s first Test against
New Zealand at the Ba-
sin Reserve from Fri-
day.
Kohli said the Test
Championship has
made the longest for-
mat of the game more
exciting, adding that
India might be sitting
on top of the points
chart but they need to
perform away from
home to maintain that.
“It has made Test
cricket more exciting
and that’s something
we have experienced as
a side although we
haven’t had too many
games away from home.
Couple of games in the
Windies and we haven’t
had a tour of Australia
as a part of Test Cham-
pionship,” said Kohli.
—Agencies
Wellington: India
captain Virat Kohli is
preparing himself for a
“rigorous three years”
of playing all three
formats after which
he might reassess his
workload amid a “tran-
sition phase” setting
in. The world’s premier
batsman is looking at
the “bigger picture”
in Indian cricket with
two T20 and one
50-over World Cup in
the next three years
after which he might
decide on playing two
of the three formats.
—Agencies
‘Will play for
at least 3
more years’
Indian team are at the top of World Test Championship table
with 360 points whereas NZ are at sixth spot with 60 points
First India News
Valsad: A riveting, two-
monthlonggroupphase
of the Ranji Trophy has
set the stage for the
knockout rounds – eight
teams remain in the
fold as the 86th edition
of India’s oldest cricket
competition enters its
quarter-finals.
Four former champi-
ons – Gujarat, Bengal,
Karnataka and Sau-
rashtra – are joined by
four competitors eyeing
a maiden title in
Andhra Pradesh, Jam-
mu and Kashmir, Odis-
ha and Goa as the busi-
ness end of the Ranji
Trophy 2019/20 season
commences from 20
February.
The 38-team league
stage, split in three divi-
sions, provided for a
gripping couple of
months.
Gujarat carried out
their unbeaten run
while rubbing shoul-
ders against the tough-
est competitors – their
group campaign high-
lighted by a four-wicket
victory over defending
champions Vidarbha at
Surat. Five wins out of
eight saw them emerge
clear winners in the
Elite division (three
points ahead of Ben-
gal), although they did
concede the first in-
nings lead in all three
of their drawn rubbers,
against Bengal, Ra-
jasthan and Delhi.
Gujrathi stays top in
Prague chess tourney
First India News
Ahmedabad: In the
SPCT Cup Under-18
Cricket Tournament
played in Ahmedabad,
Molyaraj Chavda’s cen-
tury helped the Gandhi-
nagar Warriors team
become champions. In
the 2-day final, match
between Gandhinagar
Warriors and New Ho-
rizon drew, but in first
claim, Gandhinagar
team was declared as
winner on the basis of
lead. Molyaraj Chavda
had scored 148 runs in
189 balls. Chavda was
declared as the man of
the match. Score: 4/454
(Molyaraj Chavda 148,
Prince Barot 99, Ary-
aditsingh Rathod 72,
Anuj Pandaya 65, Rehan
Sheikh 2 wickets for 92
runs) Kunj Trivedi 44,
Manthan Upadhyay
took 4 wickets for 8
runs, Het Prajapati 2 for
12 runs. Rudrajeet Sin-
gh Gohilan slammed
two wickets in 21 runs.
GandhinagarWarriors
markvictoryinSPCTcup
GNLU to organise
annual sports fest on
February 20 to 23
First India News
Gujarat: Olympic
Bronze medallist Ga-
gan Narang will be
the Chief Guest at
the Opening Ceremo-
ny at 5.00 PM on Feb-
ruary 20. Sports Min-
ister of Gujarat Ish-
varsinh Patel has
kindly consented to
be the Chief Guest at
the closing ceremony
on February 23.
After successfully
hosting five editions
of Justice League,
the latest edition of
this four-day sport-
ing extravaganza
promises to be an ex-
tremely engaging af-
fair with over 800
participants from
different universities
across the country
heading to our
grounds to compete
in different sporting
events to bring glory
and pride to their in-
stitutions.
Along with the for-
mal sporting events
such as Basketball,
Throwball, Cricket,
Volleyball, Football,
Lawn Tennis, Ath-
letic events, Table
Tennis, Badminton,
Carrom and Chess,
GNLU will also be or-
ganising a whole ar-
ray of informal
events such as tug-of-
war, arm wrestling,
etc which will add
some fun and excite-
ment in the fest.
Prague: Indian Grand
Master Vidit Gujrathi
maintained a one-point
lead after settling for a
draw against Vitiugov
of Russia in the sixth
round of the Prague
Chess Festival’s Mas-
ters category here.
He has 4.5 points and
is ahead of Vitiugov
and top seed Jan-Kr-
zysztof Duda, both on
3.5 points. The 25-year
old Indian no.2 opted for
a London opening in his
game against the Rus-
sian GM and had to sign
the peace treaty in 39
moves late on Tuesday.
Gujrathi’s compatri-
ot P Harikrishna had to
be content with his fifth
draw in six games,
against lower-rated
Spanish GM David An-
ton Guijjaro. —Agencies
New Delhi:
A wrestler
whose family
story was im-
mortalised by
Bollywood is hop-
ing to create a
blockbuster of
her own by be-
coming her
country’s first
world cham-
pion in the
high-octane
sport of
mixed mar-
tial arts. Ritu
Phogat, who
initially fol-
lowed her father
and two elder sis-
ters into wres-
tling, is now chart-
ing a new path after
making an explo-
sive MMA debut in
November.
Ritu, 25, is forg-
ing a different ca-
reer. After winning
her first MMA fight
in less than three
minutes, she will
face China’s Wu
Chiao Chen at this
month’s ONE
C h a m p i o n s h i p
fight night in Singa-
pore, which will be
held behind closed
doors because of
the coronavirus.
Phogat is trading
an attempt at an
Olympic medal to
tackle MMA, but
she said she was at-
tracted by the lure
of making history
in her new sport.
“I got a chance to
train with best in
Singapore and
there was no look-
ing back,” she said.
“There was the
2020 Olympic
GamesbutIthought
that I would do well
in mixed martial
arts. I have come
with an aim of be-
coming the first girl
from India to be-
come a world cham-
pion in mixed mar-
tial art,” she added.
—Agencies
Ranji Trophy: Guj, K’taka
favourite in quarters pool
Wrestling royalty to MMA,
RITU EYES HISTORY
After her
explosive
MMA debut
in November,
Ritu Phogat
is going to
face China’s
Wu
ChiaoChen at
the ONE
Champion-
ship fight
night in
Singapore
Virat Kohli and NZ Captain Kane Williamson pose with the trophy after the practice session ahead of
the test match series, at the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington on Wednesday.

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