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Archives for September 2018

Kohli conferred Khel Ratna; Neeraj, Hima get Arjuna award

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Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu were conferred with the country’s highest sporting honour — Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — by President Ram Nath Kovind at the annual National Sports Awards ceremony here on Tuesday.

This year’s award ceremony was postponed to September 25 from the usual August 29 National Sports Day event due to the clash of dates with the Asian Games in Indonesia.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is given for a ‘spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years’. Both Kohli and Chanu received a medal, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh.

Besides the Khel Ratna, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, sprinter Hima Das, table tennis star Manika Batra were among the 20 recipients of the prestigious Arjuna award.

The other Arjuna awardees were long distance runner Jinson Johnson, shuttler N.Sikki Reddy, boxer Satish Kumar, woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana, golfer Shubhankar Sharma, hockey stars Manpreet Singh and Savita Punia, Col. Ravi Rathore (Polo), shooters Rahi Sarnobat, Ankur Mittal, Shreyasi Singh, paddler G. Sathiyan, tennis player Rohan Bopanna, wrester Sumit, Pooja Kadian (Wushu).

Para athlete Ankur Dhama and para shuttler Manoj Sarkar were also conferred with the Arjuna award, that included statuettes, certificates and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.

PTI

Matka Man: From London to Delhi on a thirst-quenching mission

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On a scorching summer day, the likes of which are plentiful in Delhi, what one needs most is a glass of water to quench one’s thirst, more so for those who toil in the unbearable heat to earn their livelihoods. The hundreds of civic workers, rickshaw pullers, street vendors and road sweepers cannot afford to buy water several times a day from vending kiosks. To their rescue come the “matkas”, or traditional earthen pitchers, installed at different parts of the city which seem to get magically filled up with water every single day.

Behind these matkas is a 69-year-old man who wakes up every morning before dawn and steps out in his van to fill up the 70 matkas — used to store water in homes before refrigerators and coolers arrived — he has installed in the city to ensure the poor don’t go thirsty. The man who overcame cancer and gave up his business in Britain, finally found happiness in this daily routine with which he gives back to what he says is an “interconnected” community that has lost its social purpose.

He says he wants to start a “revolution in human kindness”.

The story began in the summer of 2014 when Alagarathanam Natarajan — now known as Delhi’s Matka Man — realised that even something as basic as cold drinking water was not accessible to all even in the national capital. So he put a water-cooler outside his home.

“Once, I casually asked one of the guards who came to take water from the cooler why he was coming here and not taking water from where he worked. He said they did not provide him water,” said Natarajan, who earlier ran a corner store in upscale Oxford Street in London.

The answer shocked Natarajan and also motivated him to do something.

“It was always on my mind to do something for my community. I discussed it with my family. But installing water coolers was difficult as it required space, electricity and also needed a lot of maintenance. So, I thought of installing matkas to help people in the hot summers,” he said.

However, it became a throughout the year ritual to wake up in the morning and fill the pitchers. During the initial days, people used to consider him as someone appointed by the Delhi government.

“I am not backed by an NGO, nor am I a government-sponsored organisation. I am mostly self-funded through my pension and life savings. I do get a few donations and, most importantly, lots of help and support from my family,” he said.

Brought up in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Natarajan moved to London as a young man and spent 40-years there as a businessman running a souvenir shop. There he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and, after his treatment, he decided to return to India and do something for the less privileged.

“It was always on my mind to come back to the country. I saw cancer as nature’s reminder of my wish.”

After returning to India, he volunteered at an orphanage, a last-stage cancer hospice, served langar (free food) to the homeless in Chandni Chowk and even carried out the cremation of destitutes to give them a dignified end.

In 2014, he turned his attention to water which then expanded to encompass a much larger range of activities for the poor. Natarajan not only provides free drinking water to the poor but also distributes food and fresh fruits.

“I distribute seasonal fruits and vegetables like cucumber, watermelon, white radish twice a week to labourers and the poor when I go to distribute water in my van. It also include other items like ‘lassi’ (a curd-based summer drink) or ‘jalebi’ (a popular syrupy sweet snack) as well,” he said.

“Through this work, I have come to believe that we are all crucially linked together but that society today has abandoned this inter-connectedness,” he said.

For the water distribution, Natarajan has modified a van fitted with a 800 litre tank, a pump and a generator to run it. From the van, he fills the matkas daily and maintains the stands.

“In the summer, I do up to four rounds a day to ensure the matkas are always filled.”

“The matkas need around 2,000 litres of water a day in the summer months. The water is supplied by a school nearby and two kind souls. The rest I supplement from my own home. I maintain these stands daily with my van.”

“The stands have a sign with my personal telephone number, so people can notify me when a matka is empty. I have also installed a bench for people to sit,” he said.

He also urges people to place matkas outside their homes so that he can fill those up as well, an advice that many have taken seriously.

With each trip to fill water taking three to four hours, Natarajan now also has an assistant who helps him in doing this.

Apart from the matkas, he has also placed 100 cycle pumps around the neighbourhood to help those in need.

“Delhi roads are hard on cycles. These pumps give poor people the flexibility to fill air 24/7. Some are stand-alone units and some are part of the matka stands. I also distribute glow-in-the-dark stickers for safety purposes and spare nozzles for their wheels.”

He believes that people in a community must sincerely care for one another. “Every one of us has something to give and share with society.” Unfortunately, today we live in a culture where we, as a society, have become greedier and more self-indulgent, he said.

“As a consequence, the poor, who are watching this growing inequality from the periphery, have become angrier; and as a result of this injustice, crime is on a rise.

“I wish to help those in need around me and also to inspire people to help those around them. Perhaps then, I can start a quiet revolution of human kindness,” he adds.

(IANS)

Now a hair dryer made of 23.75 karat gold

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New Delhi, A new hairdryer made of 23.75 karat gold has been launched.

Dyson has introduced the Dyson Supersonic™ 23.75 karat gold hair dryer. Designed by James Dyson and priced at Rs 37,900, the product is gold leafed using a traditional hand-gilding method and is the first of its kind.

“Gold is one of the most resilient materials in the world and has been used in design, sculpture and architecture for centuries. As an element, I’m fascinated by its properties. Like the engineering process we pride ourselves on, gilding is a true example of meticulous craftsmanship,” said James Dyson in a statement.

Dyson design engineers and model makers first learned the skills for gilding under a master guilder, learning the process and technique to gild. Once learnt, the design and engineering team sought how to scale the process, making it more repeatable and perfecting the surface finish specifically for this application.

“We aren’t afraid to take on a new challenge. We weren’t experts in gold or gold leafing but we broke down the technique into individual steps to understand how each parameter affects the finish and how we could best apply it to our hair dryer.

“Using our expertise in design processes, adhesives, paint and model making, we managed to learn a very traditional skill and translate it to a 21st century application,” said Design and Engineering Lead Britta Stockinger.

(IANS)

Sushma, Fiji PM discuss defence cooperation By Arul Louis

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United Nations, Sep 26 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama have discussed defence cooperation between their countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.

After the meeting on Tuesday, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said they were “building upon a historical relationship with an important Pacific partner of India”.

They discussed “development assistance, capacity building and defence cooperation,” he tweeted.

In 2017, during Fiji’s Minster for Defence Ratu Inoke Kubuabola’s visit to New Delhi, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation covering defence industry, military training and humanitarian assistance and disaster management.

The Indian Defence Ministry said at that time Kubuabola and Arun Jaitley, who was holding the defence portfolio then, “discussed expanded defence partnership in maritime security between both the countries, and naval cooperation was identified as an area of promise.”

Sushma Swaraj and Suriname Foreign Minister of Deborah Pollack-Beighle met on Tuesday and discussed cooperation in capacity building, traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals, and followed up to President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Suriname in June, Kumar tweeted.

She also met Estonia’s Foreign Minister of Sven Mikser and “had a good exchange of views on intensifying cooperation in IT, trade and investment, culture, education, tourism and multilateral fora,” he tweeted.

On Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to meet with Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma and Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Sushma Swaraj will be speaking at the High-Level Meeting on Climate Change convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Committee on Palestine.

[IANS]

Revival of 45 bankrupt companies will meet 50% of lenders’ claims: IBBI Chairperson

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About 45 bankrupt companies have been approved for revival under the new insolvency law and this will recover more than Rs 50,000 crore, or 50 per cent of the total claim of creditors, a senior official has said.

“The recovery from these 45 companies approved for resolution is about 50 per cent of the total claims of the creditors, which is very good,” Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson M.S. Sahoo told IANS in an interview.

About 1,100 companies have been admitted in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) since the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in 2016 and the admission of the first company in January 2017, Sahoo said.

“More than 180 companies have been sent for liquidation. Currently, there are about 800 corporates undergoing CIRP and about 100 cases have been closed on appeal or review as they should not have been admitted in the first instance,” Sahoo said.

Without revealing further details about the recent months, Sahoo said the recovery in 34 companies that were approved for resolution till June end was about 56 per cent, which was much higher than the liquidation value of these stressed assets.

The resolution plans for the 34 companies assure recovery of Rs 49,826 crore against the total creditors’ claim of Rs 89,486 crore, IBBI data shows. With liquidation value of these 34 companies at Rs 21,000 crore, the recovery stands at 237 per cent.

However, the 136 companies sent for liquidation till June end are likely to recover less than Rs 5,000 crore, about nine per cent of the total admitted claims against these 136 companies at around Rs 57,600 crore, as per IBBI data for June quarter.

“Of the 136 companies sent for liquidation, 110 companies were already either in Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) or were non-functional. And, most of these (106) had a resolution value less than the liquidation value,” Sahoo said.

On state-run banks such as SBI and PNB planning to sell their non-performing assets (NPAs) to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) and others, the IBBI chief said it was a good development as people should have options to select from.

“That is good. People should have options. IBC should be another competitive option to them. In some cases, IBC is better, somewhere Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) is better, sometimes going to ARC is better, somewhere Sashakt scheme is better.”

IANS

Learning from diversity in regulation

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Regulation has an unfortunate, negative connotation to it. It brings to mind an authoritarian image with regards to the government. That is definitely not how it should be. It must be accepted that regulation has a great positive impact on society and the economy. The economic crisis of 2008, which was effectively a failure of regulation, forcefully underlines this fact. One needs to see regulation as an enabler, even for businesses, and not as a deterrent.

It is only natural for a citizen to have inhibitions about the regulatory environment. However, such concerns can be allayed if the government ensures that the key elements for an efficient regulatory body are present. An OECD document, “Principles for the Governance of Regulators”, explains that the key elements for “better” regulatory outcomes are: Well-designed rules and regulations that are efficient and effective; appropriate institutional frameworks and related governance arrangements; effective, consistent and fair operational processes and practices; and lastly, high quality and empowered institutional capacity and resources, especially in the leadership.

Given that India has a very peculiar regulatory environment, due to the lack of uniformity and presence of diversity in the structures and functionality of regulatory bodies, it is necessary to not only ensure that the aforementioned necessary conditions are met, but that the regulatory bodies adapt with the dynamic environment and learn from one another. India has multiple regulatory authorities, which have been set up due to three primary reasons. One is for welfare, wherein they have been set up in the public interest; two, to counter anti-competitive forces; and, lastly, to prevent any form of market failure.

India’s regulatory environment took flight only with the advent of the economic reforms of 1991, which implies that the regulatory bodies are at a very nascent stage. For instance, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently completed 20 years; the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) completed 10 years; while the Central Electricity Regulation Commission (CERC) has also been functioning for 20-odd years.

The tricky role of a regulator is to ensure the participation of the citizens, involve them in the process and enable them in the movement towards a better society and economy. The recent mammoth task taken up by FSSAI with its Eat Right Movement, which nudges the citizens and consumers to change their eating habits, is one example of how a regulatory body has been able to impact social and behavioural change that will culminate in a healthier nation and involves citizens.

It is not only about involving the citizens but also ensuring that they are be able to trust the regulatory bodies. As a case in point, TRAI has strengthened its administrative set-up for the purpose of internal audits. Similarly, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) now has an in-house transparency officer to cater to the same concern.

In a similar spirit of improved transparency, the regulatory bodies have adapted themselves to the ongoing increased reliance on technology and shifted to online portals and apps. This has not only made the processes and mechanisms smoother but has also reduced cumbersome paperwork.

For example, TRAI has whole host of online portals and apps, such as TRAI Analytics Portal and the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Portal. FSSAI has also incorporated facets of the online revolution within its system, wherein the licensing and registration of businesses can be done online via the Food Licensing and Registration Systems (FLRS) platform.

Finally, given that the regulatory environment is quite new, it is also crucial to continuously update policies and ensure laws are amended to be in sync with the changing economic and social environment. TRAI recently released a draft of the National Telecom Policy 2018. This is a step that every regulatory body needs to follow.

For India, the regulatory environment is growing, and newer, more innovative techniques are being adopted for the larger social good and to make the economy more competitive. For growth to be sustainable, all the regulatory bodies should learn from one another, adapt to the changing global environment and keep implementing innovative methods to counter issues as they arise. Most importantly, they must function as accountable, transparent and independent authorities.

IANS

No need to collect quantifiable data on SC/ST: SC

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the state does not require to collect quantifiable data on the backwardness of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) persons for giving them reservation in promotion.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra said this while hearing a plea by the Centre seeking reconsideration of its 2006 judgement that asked for providing of quantifiable data on the SC/STs before considering them for reservation in promotion.

The top court by its 2006 judgment, also known as Nagaraj case, had said: “…state will have to show in each case the existence of compelling reasons, namely backwardness, inadequacy of representation and overall administrative efficiency, before making provision for reservation in promotion.”

The October 19, 2006 the judgment was pronounced by a five-judge constitution bench comprising then Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justices K.G. Balakrishnan, S.H. Kapadia, C.K. Thakker and P.K. Balasubramanyan.

Making it clear that the concept of creamy layer within the SC/ST is not the issue, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Indu Malhotra had earlier said: “There may be individuals (within SC/ST) who might have overcome the stigma, but the community continues to face the stigma.”

The judgment was reserved on August 30.

(IANS)

Bengal Bandh: BJP called shutdown hits normal life

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Rail-blockades in many stations and sporadic incidents across West Bengal districts partially hit normal life in a 12-hour called shutdown by the BJP on Wednesday.

Vehicular traffic though remained near normal.

Following the killing of two youths during a clash between agitating students and the police last week over the recruitment of new teachers at a school at Islampur in North Dinajpur district, the Bharatiya Janata Party called the shutdown claiming the two were shot dead by the police.

They have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the incident.

The shutdown supporters put up rail blockades and clashed with the police in many stations in the suburbs in South 24 Parganas district’s Diamond Harbour, Lakhikantapur, Canning; North 24 Pargans’ Jaggadal, Kakinara, Madhaygram; Hooghly’s Konnagar; East Midnapore’s Mecheda and Howrah’s Phuleswar.

Train services were disrupted both in Howrah and Sealdah division of the Eastern Railway.

Fresh obstructions were made at Titagarh, Aranghata (Ranaghat Gede section), Krishnanagar, Barasat, Pyradanga (Kalyani Ranaghat section) and Bhabla (Barasat Bangaon) in the Sealdah division.

In the Howrah division, agitators obstructed train movement at Bansberia (Bandel Katwa section) and at Baidyabati (Howrah Bandel section).

The BJP activists, who took out rallies in many places, vandalised a number of state government buses in Howrah and Coochbehar districts.

In Kolkata, though, people hit the streets in the morning and many public and private buses, taxis, autos were seen plying normally on the roads. Most shops though remained closed.

State Minister and Trinamool Congress’ Secretary General Partha Chatterjee had said that the government would take all measures to maintain public utility services.

State BJP President Dilip Ghosh has said there would be repercussions if the ruling Trinamool deploys hooligans or uses the administration to foil the movement.

The state government has issued a circular stating its offices would remain open on Wednesday and no leave would be granted. It also urged banks, educational institutions including schools and colleges to remain open.

Additional police personnel have been deployed throughout the state to prevent any disruption or violence in connection with the shutdown.

IANS

Ranveer has ‘fan moment’ on meeting P.V. Sindhu

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Mumbai, Sep 26 Actor Ranveer Singh says he had a fan moment meeting Indian star shuttler P.V. Sindhu and added that he loves her spirit.

Ranveer met Sindhu on Tuesday at the Forbes India Tycoon Of Tomorrow event, where he was feted with the Youth Icon Award.

Sindhu shared a photograph of herself with the actor and captioned it: “Finally we meet! It was such a pleasure meeting you and an absolute fan moment.I congratulate you for all the success and I wish you all the very best for your future endeavours. I would rather call you ‘rockstar’ than Ranveer Singh.”

To which, Ranveer replied: “Yes, finally! it was a pleasure indeed! and likewise, a fan moment for me too… You make us so proud, champ! Love your spirit. May you continue to shine bright.”

On the acting front, Ranveer is currently busy shooting for filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s “Simmba”, which also features actor Saif Ali Khan’s daughter Sara.

(IANS)

Markets open on high note

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The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on Wednesday opened on a positive note during the morning session of the trade.

The Sensex of the BSE opened at 36,936.64 points touched a high of 36,938.74 points and a low of 36,745.80 points.

The Sensex is trading at 36,789.92 points, up by 137.86 points or 0.38 per cent from its Tuesday’s close at 36,652.06 points.

On the other hand, the broader 51-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 11,145.55 points after closing at 11,067.45 points on Tuesday.

The Nifty is trading at 11,104.40 points in the morning.

(IANS)

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