Neha Tripathi starts 2019 season with win

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January 18, 2019

Beginning the new season in a tremendous fashion, Neha Tripathi held on to her massive lead to script a five-shot win on the final day of the first Leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, on Friday.

Neha shot a final round of one-over 72 to complete the week in one-under 212 and take home prize purse of Rs 1,44,000.

Amateur Pranavi Urs, who at one stage seemed to be inching close to the leader, ultimately finished second after carding one-under 70 and an aggregate of four-over 217.

Diksha Dagar (73) and Amandeep Drall (72) were third and fourth, while Afshan Fatima shot the day’s best score of two-under 69 to rise to fifth.

Starting the final day with a six-shot lead over the field, Neha did not have the best of starts as she double bogeyed the first. Playing in the lead group with her was Diksha, who parred the hole, and Pranavi, who birdied the hole for a three-shot swing. Pranavi, who was seven behind Neha at the start was now four behind.

When Diksha birdied the second and both Neha and Pranavi parred, Diksha moved to three within the lead.

Neha steadied herself for a string of pars till she had back-to-back bogeys on sixth and seventh. Fortunately for her, neither Pranavi nor Diksha found any birdies. In fact, Diksha dropped shots on fifth, sixth and ninth, while Pranavi bogeyed the eighth.

Neha turned in four-over 39, while Pranavi made the turn in even par 35 and Diksha was two-over 37. At this juncture with the final nine to play, Neha was two-over while Pranavi was five-over and that was the closest anyone came to Neha. Diksha had slipped to third at six-over.

On the back nine, Neha stepped up with a birdie on 10th and a superb eagle on the Par-5 12th. She did drop a shot on Par-4 14th, but a birdie on Par-3 16th ended any hopes her rivals may have had.

Pranavi did fight to get closer, but her three birdies were offset to some extent by two bogeys and she ended five behind Neha. Pranavi’s scorecard of one-under 70 was very creditable and it should hold her in good stead in the coming events on the amateur circuit too.

Big govt announcement for farmers soon: BJP farmers’ wing chief

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January 18, 2019

A senior leader of the ruling BJP on Friday said the Centre will soon announce a “very big decision” aimed at boosting the income of farmers.

Addressing a press conference, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) farmers’ wing president Virendra Singh Mast said the government had taken a number of “historic” decisions for rural development and the agriculture sector.

In the near future, a big decision will be taken for the prosperity of farmers, he told reporters.

There has been speculation that the Union government may announce a scheme to give some kind of an input cost to farmers, depending on their individual land-holdings.

Mast, however, declined to share any details of the likely decision.

He also said the loan waiver was not a permanent solution to the problems facing the farmers of the country.

Mast added that the farmers’ wing of the BJP will hold its national convention at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh next month and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address its concluding session on February 24.

51 women of menstruating age entered Sabarimala after SC verdict: Kerala govt

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January 18, 2019

Kerala government in a note to the Supreme Court on Friday said that that 51 women between 10 and 50 years of age entered the Sabarimala Temple following the verdict of the top court.

“Over 16 lakh devotees have done the online registration for ‘darshan’ in the Sabarimala Temple and out of these 8.2 lakhs have visited the shrine. A total of 7564 women between the age of 10 and 50 have registered for darshan, and as per the digitally scanned records around 51 women in this group have already visited the shrine and had darshan, without any issue. This doesn’t include many others who have come as normal pilgrims and not availed the online facility. A total number of 44 lakh pilgrims visited the temple from November 16, 2018, till date,” a note of Kerala Police chief stated.

Hearing the plea of two women who entered the Ayappa shrine on January 2 amidst ensuing protest against the entry of women of menstruating age, the Supreme Court directed the Kerala Police to provide adequate security to two women, Bindu and Kanakadurga.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, “They (two women) should be given adequate security. Give them full security and you (Kerala) are fully responsible for their life.”

The apex court, however, rejected their prayer to tag their plea with review petitions.

Nearly four months after the top court’s verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the Temple, the two women aged below 50 entered the Lord Ayyappa temple to offer prayers.

Kanakadurga was hospitalised after being thrashed by her mother-in-law on January 15 following her visit to the temple. The victim said she was hit around 10-12 times with a wooden stick by her mother-in-law as soon as she entered her residence.

A case has been registered by Perinthalmanna police based on Kanakadurga’s complaint under Sections 341 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against her mother-in-law.

The plea filed by both the women sought round-the-clock security to them due to the threat to their life for entering the temple.

They also sought directions to declare all authorities not to conduct the “rite of purification” or to shut the temple on account of any woman of the age of 10-50 having entered the temple, as this ritual is representative of a cleansing ceremony signifies they were impure, violative of their dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.

After their entry, a purification process took place in the temple, while violent protests broke out across the state with agitators pelting stones and blocking the national highways.

On September 28 last year, the apex court lifted the ban on the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 years into the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.

Urban Affairs Min to organise fortnight-long programme for poorest of poor

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January 18, 2019

The Housing and Urban Affairs ministry will extend the outreach of its flagship project Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana among the poorest of poor in the country through a series of events in the coming month.

The ‘Shehri Samridhi Utsav’, focusing on urban livelihoods, will be held from February 1 to 15, showcasing initiatives of the Deen Dayal Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM), Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at a press conference.

The Mission has made “significant progress” in the last five years, organising 34 lakh urban poor women into self-help groups, besides providing subsidised loans to over 8.5 lakh individuals and groups, the minister said.

“Over 8.9 lakh candidates have been skill trained and certified. Over 4.6 lakh have been placed,” Puri said.

Among other achievements under the mission, 16 lakh street vendors have been identified through a survey and half of them have been given identity cards. More than 1,000 permanent shelters have been set up, creating space for more than 60,000 urban homeless, he said.

A survey named safety net survey’ is being conducted to identify eligible SHG members who are not covered by government programmes, he told reporters.

The minister said a new platform called ‘Shehri Sahabhagita Manch’ has been proposed for regular meetings of the officials of urban local bodies with SHG federations for easy resolution of local issues and identifying gaps in extending basic services in urban poor settlements.

Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said various activities will be organised in the city, state and at the national level as part of the ‘Shehri Samridhi Utsav’.

A national exhibition will be held in New Delhi from February 8 to 17 along with a national street food festival which will start on February 14, he said. A national conference on street vending will also be held to discuss issues and seek a way forward to support livelihoods of hawkers.

National-level workshop on sanitation and a conference on street vending will also be part of the planned programmes. Further, a rally by SHGs, job melas, loan camps, identity cards for street vendors and other activities will be organised.

Ram Temple will be built only when Congress comes to power: Harish Rawat

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January 18, 2019

Describing the BJP as a party with no regard for ethics, senior Congress leader Harish Rawat said that a Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya only when his party comes to power at the Centre. “The BJP is a party of unethical people. Those who have no regard for ethics and dignity cannot be devotees of Maryada Purushottam Ram,” the AICC general secretary said on Thursday.

“We believe in ethics and in the Constitution. A Ram temple will come up in Ayodhya only when the Congress comes to power. That is for sure,” Rawat told reporters in Rishikesh. Accusing the BJP of trying to topple the government in Karnataka, he said, “The BJP is out to dislodge rival parties from power by hook or by crook, by misusing money, muscle power and institutions like the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and the Income Tax Department as political tools.”

Rawat exuded confidence that the Congress-JD(S) ruling combine will win all 27 seats in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. “The game that the BJP is playing in Karnataka will cost it dearly in the Lok Sabha elections when people will give it a befitting reply, with the Congress-JD(S) alliance bagging all 27 seats there,” he said.

Political turmoil began in Karnataka on Monday amid reports that the BJP was allegedly making a renewed bid to dislodge the state’s seven-month-old coalition government. Both the ruling coalition and BJP have been levelling charges of horse-trading against each other.

Dhoni makes it a historic ODI series win in Australia

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January 18, 2019

Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck an unbeaten 87 to guide India to a historic ODI bilateral series win against Australia as the visitors beat the hosts by seven wickets in the decisive third match.

Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav (61) shared an unbeaten 121-run stand for the fourth wicket as India overhauled the tricky 231-run target on a slow wicket with four balls to spare. Before this, India had become first team from the sub-continent to win a Test series Down Under.

Brief Scores:
Australia: 230 all out in 48.4 overs (Peter Handscomb 58, Shaun Marsh 39, Yuzvendra Chahal 6/42).

India: 234 for 3 in 49.2 overs. (MS Dhoni 87 not out, K Jadhav 61 not out, V Kohli 46; J Richardson 1/27).

Hero Cycles to set up industrial park on 100 acres land in Ludhiana

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January 18, 2019

The Punjab government on Friday signed an agreement with a leading bicycle maker Hero Cycles for allotting 100 acres of land to set up an industrial park in the upcoming Hi-tech cycle valley project at Ludhiana.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation MD Rahul Bhandari on behalf of the state government and Hero Cycles chairman Pankaj Munjal in the presence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, and Industry Minister Sunder Sham Arora, as per an official release.

Notably, Hi-tech cycle valley project is coming up at village Dhanansu over 380 acres of land where hi-tech bicycles, e-bikes would be manufactured.

The Chief Minister said that the project shall attract around Rs 400 crore investment by Hero Cycles and its suppliers or ancillaries, and generate close to 1,000 direct employment opportunities.

He said the industrial park will have a production capacity of four million bicycles per annum and the project shall be implemented within 36 months.

Additional Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said Hero Cycles Ltd has been selected through an objective, competitive and technical bidding process as the ‘project company’ to set up an anchor unit for manufacturing of bi-cycles e-bikes, etc and also to develop the industrial park along with vendor units.

Hero Cycles shall be responsible for the development of the entire industrial park in the allotted land.

Within the proposed project, Hero Cycles will develop its own anchor unit over 50 acres. In the remaining 50 acres, it shall invite major national and international manufacturers as ancillary units, she said.

Chairman Hero Cycles Pankaj Munjal said he hoped that the hi-tech cycle valley at Ludhiana would act as a catalyst for the overall development of the area, giving further impetus to the industrial development of Punjab.

Hero Group was alone producing ten million cycles annually, which accounts for 7.5 per cent of the world production, he added.

The upcoming cycle valley project would cater to 50 per cent demand of cycle production in India and Europe, said Munjal.

Hero Cycles has invited globally reputed manufacturers with high end technology to set up ancillary vendor units in the industrial park, said Munjal.

The company has been allowed to utilise land not only for industrial purpose but also for other allied operations covering warehousing, logistics, research and development centres and skill development centres.

The Hi-tech cycle valley being set up by PSIEC would help in decongestion and relocating industry from Ludhiana, and encourage setting up of an anchor unit in the sector specific fields of cycle industry.

Apart from investment of Rs 300 crore on infrastructure, the project would attract an estimated additional investment of Rs 1,000-1,500 crore.

The cycle valley would provide developed industrial plots to the prospective investors at an affordable price and shall be equipped with modern amenities along with integrated support services covering banking, health, institutional, recreational, education etc.

Working on programme to push agri exports from NE states: Commerce Min

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January 18, 2019

The Department of Commerce is working on a programme to push exports of agricultural goods from northeastern states of the country, a senior government official said on Friday.

“The department is prepared to give a viability gap funding (VGF) for which a programme is being worked out so that the fresh agriculture produce from the northeast (NE) region can be taken to the international market because virtually, the entire region is organic and fertile,” Sudhanshu Pandey, additional secretary in the department, said.

Speaking at the North East Business Summit, Pandey said that the region produces one of the best fruits and vegetables, which holds huge export potential.

VGF is a one-time grant provided by the public sector for financial support to public-private partnerships in infrastructure, with the objective of making a project commercially viable.

This will also lead to increased private sector participation in developing infrastructure in the country through the public-private participation mode.

He also said that improving connectivity remains a top priority for the government in this region.

Further, Pandey said these states are gateway to explore the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) region.

Employees in India may see double-digit salary growth this year: Report

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January 18, 2019

Employees in India are likely to see a double-digit salary growth in 2019, but inflation may play a dampener capping the hike at 5 per cent, a report said on Friday. According to global consulting firm Korn Ferry, as a result of rapid economic growth, India continues to enjoy the highest overall salary increases and real-wage growth in Asia.

Salaries in India are expected to increase 10 per cent in 2019 as compared to 9 per cent last year and inflation-adjusted real-wage hikes are likely to rise to 5 per cent from 4.7 per cent in 2018. “Consequent to rapid economic growth, India continues to enjoy the highest overall salary increases and real-wage growth in Asia,” said Navnit Singh, Chairman & Regional Managing Director, Korn Ferry India.

Singh further said companies should take a broader perspective to define their business strategy and cost drivers in view of increasing automation, use of new technology and the rising demand for skilled workers.

OPEC publishes output cut quota for six months to June

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January 18, 2019

OPEC on Friday published a list of new levels of reduction in oil output by its members and other major producers for the six months to June as part of the group’s latest production-cutting deal.

It also urged participating countries to redouble efforts for supply adjustments to ensure oil markets remain in balance in 2019.

In the first half of 2019, OPEC and other major producers will cut oil output by 1.195 million barrels per day (bpd) to 43.874 million bpd.

The production adjustment will be monitored by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) on a monthly basis, it said.

The next JMMC meeting will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on March 18, it added.