PM to interact with people on March 31 over ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign

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March 19, 2019

Intensifying his ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ (I too am watchman)campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 31 will interact with people, who have pledged their support to the campaign, from 500 places across the country.

Speaking at a press conference, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the campaign has become a “people’s movement” as the ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ hashtag has been tweeted 20 lakh times and had 1680 crore impressions.

Replying to a question if the campaign was a counter to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s ‘chowkidar chor hai’ (watchman is the thief) barb, he rejected the suggestion and asserted that Modi in his campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls had projected himself as the “first servant” and ‘chowkidaar’ of the country.

On Saturday, Modi had urged his supporters to take the ‘main Bhai chowkidar’ (I too am watchman) pledge, saying he is not alone in the fight against graft and social evils.

Following his appeal, all BJP leaders, including party chief Amit Shah and Union ministers, prefixed the word ‘chowkidar’ to their names in their Twitter profile as they sought people’s support in the Lok Sabha elections.

Mindtree to be run independently for now, says L&T

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March 19, 2019

Engineering major L&T which mounted a hostile takeover of software firm Mindtree with Rs 10,733-crore bid on Monday ruled out merging it with its IT arm for the time being.

L&T on Monday announced a hostile takeover bid involving a three-pronged acquisition of Mindtree, wherein it will pay Rs 980 a share for 20.3 per cent stake of V G Siddharth, buying 15 per cent from the public and mounting an open offer at Rs 980 a share later.

Thus, it plans to acquire 67 per cent for a consideration of Rs 10,733 crore.

“We have not thought about integrating Mindtree with us (L&T Infotech). For the time being, it will be run as an independent entity,” L&T Managing Director and chief executive S N Subramanyan told reporters on Tuesday.

Describing the deal as the meeting of two like-minded people, he said V G Siddharth whose 20.3 per cent stake the company has bought out at Rs 980 a share, had approached them three months back for buying him out.

“It was a meeting of minds between us and Siddharth,” Subramanyan said, adding the Cafe Coffee Day owner wanted to house his shareholding with a group where he saw the same governance values and ethics.

“The senior management at Mindtree are good friends with us and are people of repute and we see a lot of positivity in going ahead with the deal,” he said.

He also reassured employees that L&T is an 80-year-old company with strong governance values.

“Mindtree will be run as an independent company, LT will provide board oversight. We hope better sense and rationality will prevail,” Subramanyan said.

L&T group CFO R Shanker Raman said there is a relative upside to Mindtree and that’s what made them to buy the company and that both the companies (L&T Infotech and Mindtree) are $1 billion each and have enough opportunity to grow respectively.

Zydus Cadila gets USFDA nod to market generic antiviral ointment

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March 19, 2019

Drug firm Zydus Cadila Tuesday said it has received a final nod from the US health regulator to market antiviral Acyclovir ointment in the American market.

The company has received the final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market generic Acyclovir ointment USP 5 per cent, Zydus Cadila said in a filing to the BSE.

The product will be manufactured at the group’s topical manufacturing facility at Ahmedabad, it added.

The ointment is a generic version of Zovirax ointment in the same strength, Zydus Cadila said.

Acyclovir is an antiviral drug which stops the growth of certain viruses. It is used to treat the first outbreak of genital herpes infection and to treat non-life threatening herpes infections of the skin and around the mouth in people with a weakened immune system, it added.

The group now has 257 approvals and has so far filed over 350 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) since the commencement of its filing process, Zydus Cadila said.

Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading at Rs 340.65 per scrip on the BSE, up 0.41 per cent from its previous close.

JLR India to hike prices on select models from April

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March 19, 2019

Jaguar Land Rover India on Tuesday said it will increase prices of select products by up to 4 per cent with effect from April 1. The company, however, did not specify which models will be affected by the price hike.

“This increase in price is purely inflationary and we are certain that the two global iconic brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, will continue to attract existing and new customers,” Jaguar Land Rover India President & Managing Director Rohit Suri said in a statement.

JLR India’s products under the two brands Jaguar and Land Rover ranges from Jaguar XE with price starting at Rs 40.61 lakh to Range Rover tagged at Rs 1.79 crore.

Last week, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) had also announced that it would increase prices of some of its products from next month in order to offset the rise in input cost.

TKM, however, did not disclose the quantum of hike and the models that would become costlier.

2014 govt was of BJP, next govt will be of NDA: Raut

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March 19, 2019

Indicating the BJP may fall short of simple majority and have to cede space for its allies, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said that while the government formed in 2014 was of the BJP, the next one will be of the NDA.

Speaking at an event organised by BBC News Marathi here, the Rajya Sabha MP said he had predicted a change in the political situation prevailing in 2014, when the BJP came to power with a simple majority, and of 2019, when members of the 17th Lok Sabha will be elected in the next two months.

Raut said the BJP might win around 210 seats in polls, scheduled to be held in seven phases beginning April 11.

He also said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would get around 300 seats.

Sena is the oldest constituent of the BJP-led bloc.

Raut also said that as of now there was no alternative in sight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the BJP, but also added that other NDA constituents may have a say about who should be the next prime minister, should the BJP’s tally falls below 200 seats.

In 2014 polls, the BJP won 282 seats, the highest number of seats won by any party on its own since the 1984 Lok Sabha polls.

The saffron party went on to form the government under Narendra Modi, and inducted allies like Shiv Sena.

“Around three-and-half years ago, I had said that there would be a lot of difference between the situation prevailing in the country in 2014, and in 2019. In 2014, there was a BJP government at the Centre. In 2019, it (government) will be of the NDA,” Raut observed.

Speaking about numbers, Raut said the BJP might win around 210 seats and the NDA 300 seats.

He hinted the political narrative was changed post the Pulwama terror attack. “People want a stable government at the Centre,” he added.

When asked what prompted the Sena and BJP to overcome bickering of last four years, Raut said, “the alliance was stitched in the interest of the nation”.

Replying to a question of the session moderator that if he feels that Modi has tempered his aggressive style of late, Raut said one has to remain humble.

“You have to bow before the people. None can be their master. Neither Nehru, nor the Britishers, nor Mughals could become so. You have to be humble,” he said, without naming anyone.

Raut said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had raised the Rafale deal issue aggressively, but it has fallen aside after the Pulwama attack, in which 40 personnel of CRPF were killed.

Referring to issues like unemployment, Raut said, “These issues are important, but they will be raised in the new Lok Sabha. We are not shrugging off these issues”.

Ponting backs Rishabh to bat at No.4, Ganguly terms him ‘huge asset’

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March 19, 2019

Ricky Ponting Tuesday unequivocally backed Rishabh Pant for the number four slot in India’s World Cup line-up and even saw him as one capable of winning the tournament.

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly marked the young wicketkeeper-batsman as one for the future, calling him a “huge asset”.

With little over two months to go for the World Cup and the number four batsman yet to be decided, it could now boil down to performance in the Indian Premier League, according to Ganguly.

But Ponting, a two-time World Cup winning Australian captain, left nothing to doubt when discussions turned to Pant.

“The first thing I would do is pick him in that Indian squad for the World Cup, I would play him as a batter, I would play him at number four. He is the sort of guy, with that kind of talent, he can win you a World Cup, he has just got that x-factor,” Ponting said.

Ganguly added, “Anybody who wants to succeed in shorter formats of the game he has to go up, we have seen the best in world do that. If you send Rishabh at number four, he will score runs for you because he is so talented, he has got so much time to play.

“In his short career he has been remarkable for India and once he starts getting opportunity consistently, he will be a top player.”

Pant had a terrific start to his Test career, becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to score centuries in England and Australia, but there is a perception that he hasn’t showed the temperament or tasted as much success in the shorter formats.

During an interaction organised by the Delhi Capitals, Ganguly didn’t agree with the viewpoint.

“Look at the way he played in the IPL last year, he got a full tournament, 14 games, and he was probably the second highest run-getter in the IPL last year.

“The problem with him in shorter formats is that he doesn’t get regular cricket because you have a champion in MS Dhoni who actually plays most of the shorter formats, so Rishabh is coming in and going out all the time and that’s never good for anybody, however quality a player you are,” Ganguly said.

Pant’s exploits with the willow has the taken the cricket world by storm in recent months.

Ganguly said, “The reason he succeeds in Test cricket is because he plays consistently. How many Indian wicketkeeper-batsmen have got Test hundreds in England and Australia, and he scored them at ease. It’s not that he struggled, it’s not that he looked out of place against fast bowling.

“For me, he is your future. For the next 10 years, you will see that boy a lot in all formats of the game and not because he plays for Delhi, he can play for anyone he wants to.”

Pant will be eyeing a successful IPL with the rechristened Delhi Capitals.

“Just the serious talent he is, he is a hard worker, I have been watching him at nets for the last four years, he is always the first one to come out and bat for longer periods. He will be huge asset to Indian cricket in the years to come,” said Ganguly.

A political personality who always worked for national interest: Bhagwat on Parrikar

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March 19, 2019

Paying tributes to late BJP leader and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday described him as a political personality who always worked for national interest.

Parrikar was diligent, committed and focused in his goals, Bhagwat said in a statement issued by the RSS.

He said Parrikar, the former head of Sangh’s Goa unit, was a leader who dedicated everything for development of his state with due diligence.

Talking about Parrikar’s tenure as Defence Minister, Bhagwat said he guided the defence establishment in a new direction.

“Amiable, studious, strong-willed, work-oriented and someone who had no other thought in his mind except national interest, Manohar Parrikar was, indeed, a rare public figure,” Bhagwat said, adding that he will always be remembered as an ideal social, political worker.

Parrikar, 63, passed away on March 17. He was battling with cancer for more than a year.

Yogi govt’s performance report cards ‘fake’: Priyanka Gandhi

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March 19, 2019

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday termed the Yogi Adityanath government’s report cards on its performance in the last two years “fake” and said these did not reflect the ground reality in Uttar Pradesh.

“Everyday I am meeting people of Uttar Pradesh. Be it farmers, poor, school teachers or women, everyone is unhappy with the government. All these report cards of their performance in two years and publicity of their schemes are fake. One should visit the areas and see the ground reality,” she told the media in Bhadoi.

Attacking BJP for questioning the performance of Congress in the last 70 years, Priyanka Gandhi, who is a three-day ‘Ganga Yatra’, said, “Now they (BJP) should tell what they have done in their five years when they have been in power.”

Her three-day river journey, which started from Prayagraj yesterday, will take her to Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Uttar Pradesh will go to polls during all the seven phases of the general elections to be held on April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Will carry forward Parrikar’s legacy of good governance: Goa CM

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March 19, 2019

Newly-appointed Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday met family members of his deceased predecessor Manohar Parrikar before assuming charge of office, hours after he took oath of the post at around 2 AM.

Sawant visited the family members of Parrikar at their private residence at Dona Paula near here around 12 noon, before heading to the CM’s Office at state Secretariat, Porvorim.

Speaking to reporters, the new chief minister said his priority would be to reach out to every person, and carry forward the “glorious legacy” of good governance left behind by Parrikar.

Sawant, a BJP MLA, was sworn in as new Chief Minister just before 2 am Tuesday, hours after cremation of Parrikar, as the BJP moved swiftly to snuff out Congress’ attempts to wrest power in Goa.

Sawant, a protege of Parrikar, was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly when he was picked to be the successor of Parrikar.

“Manohar Parrikar is a father-like figure for me. He was my inspiration…every thing. I am here only because of him…I became MLA, then Speaker, and now CM only because of Parrikar,” Sawant told reporters after meeting of the late chief minister.

When asked to list his priorities, Sawant said, “As a chief minister, my aim would be to reach out to every person and complete his works”.

Sawant also appealed that he not be greeted with bouquets for being the new CM, as the state is in morning.

“I have taken charge with great humility and gratitude towards my idol and mentor Manohar bhai (Parrikar). I seek your blessings and support to carry forward the glorious legacy of commitment towards good governance,” he said.

In the wake of the fluid political situation in Goa and Congress’ repeated attempts to wrest power, the BJP leadership ensured that the new chief minister was in place quickly.

Sawant was sworn in by governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan at 1.50 am.

Sinha also administered the oath of office to 11 other ministers, including those from BJP’s allies MGP and the GFP.

Parrikar died at his private residence Sunday evening due to pancreatic cancer. He was cremated with full state and military honours Monday evening.

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Web Team

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March 19, 2019

“Harry Potter” actor Miranda Richardson has been roped in to star in “Game of Thrones” spin-off, tentatively titled, “The Long Night”.

The actor is known for her turn as Rita Skeeter, the nosy Gossip Correspondent for the fictitious newspaper Daily Prophet in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”.

According to an online portal, Richardson has joined the ensemble cast which features Naomi Watts in the lead.

Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp and Toby Regbo are also attached to star.

The prequel pilot comes from writer Jane Goldman and “GOT” creator and co-executive producer George RR Martin. Goldman will also serve as showrunner.

According to HBO, the new show will be set thousands of years before the events of “Game of Thrones”.

It will chronicle the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend, the official logline of the show read.

“GOT” returns for a final time on April 14.