Pant is one for future: Ganguly

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January 7, 2019

Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday hailed India’s historic Test series win in Australia and said wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is one for the “future”.

Having made his Test debut in August 2018, the 21-year-old Pant has gone from strength to strength, scoring a Test hundred each in England and Australia within months.

In Australia, Pant amassed 350 runs in seven innings, the second highest after Cheteshwar Pujara, while behind the stumps he broke the record for most catches – 20 – by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test series.

“He will be a superb player for India in the future. He has been so good in the series and in future also, he will shine,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture against Punjab.

Rain played spoilsport in the fourth and final Test as the Virat Kohli-led side won the series 2-1, ending a 71-year wait to win their first series Down Under.

Australia were 316 in arrears when the match was called off, leaving India with a 2-1 triumph after wins in Adelaide and Melbourne. Australia won in Perth.

Terming their win terrific, Ganguly said: “It’s a terrific win. They played excellent cricket througout and the batting clicked. They scored 400-600 runs and that was the key.”

“Bumrah and Pujara were simply brilliant. They played big roles behind the win,” Ganguly said, while also giving credit to pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed 21 wickets in four Tests at an average of 17.00, including a five-for.

Pujara amassed 521 runs at 74.42, scoring three hundreds to be adjudged both Man of the Match and Man of the Series.

Asked to compare Kohli’s side with teams of the past including his side that drew 1-1 in 2003-04, Ganguly said: “I don’t compare ever. So I can’t answer that question.

2936 cases of ceasefire violations recorded in J&K by Pak in 2018, highest in 15 years

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January 7, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 2,936 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 2018 — the highest in the past 15 years with an average of eight cases daily — in which 61 people were killed and over 250 injured, officials said on Monday.

Shelling and firing by Pakistani troops was “very heavy” in 2018, virtually making the 2003 India-Pakistan border truce “redundant”, they said.

“Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted forwards posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) to create a fear psychosis among the people,” a senior police officer said.

“Pakistani forces have violated the ceasefire 2,936 times in 2018, in which 61 people were killed and 250 injured,” a senior Army official told agencies.

The violations continued despite Pakistani troops vowing to maintain peace on the border during more than 20 brigade commander-level and flag meetings with the Indian forces. “Pakistan vows to maintain peace and strengthen border relations, but they do not keep their promises,” the Army official said.

The number of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in 2018 were over three times that of 2017 when 971 cases were reported. In 2017, 31 people — 12 civilians and 19 security forces personnel — were killed and 151 suffered injuries.

People living near the border in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts were severely hit by firing and shelling by Pakistani troops. Fear gripped the border populace due to frequent shelling, which prompted thousands of people to migrate to safer places.

The officials said that due to shelling and firing incidents, people had to migrate to safer places three times last year, which affected education and farm activities.

To protect border residents in view of increasing ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir, the central government sanctioned Rs 415 crore for the construction of over 14,400 underground bunkers along the LoC and the IB and made efforts to speed up the work last year.

Over 300 bunkers have been constructed under the programme in Rajouri, Poonch, Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts and tenders have been floated for more such bunkers, the officials said, adding that over 4,000 bunkers would be constructed this year.

Giving details of cases of ceasefire violations in the past decade, the officials said that in 2015, 405 cases of ceasefire violations were reported and 583 such instances were recorded in 2014.

There had been a gradual increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan between 2009 and 2013. The corresponding figures for 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 were 347, 114, 62, 44, and 28.

In the previous three years, the numbers of such violations were77 in 2008, 21 in 2007 and three in 2006, according to official data.

For three years – 2004, 2005 and 2006 – there was not a single such violation on the border.

The Indian government led by the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee entered into a border ceasefire agreement with Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on November 26, 2003.

India shares a 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan, of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LoC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.

BSNL, Eros Now partner to offer unlimited movies, videos to prepaid customers

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Web Team

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January 7, 2019

State-run BSNL has entered into a partnership with Eros Now for offering free video content to select prepaid customers.

Under the tie-up, a select segment of BSNL prepaid customers will be able to watch unlimited movies and video content from Eros Now from this month.

“BSNL has taken this initiative of offering unlimited free viewing of video content on the Eros Now app. This service will be made available to BSNL subscribers by the end of January 2019,” BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said in a statement.

As per the pact, Eros Now will provide 11,000 movies, music videos, original web shows and exclusive videos to choose from.

Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said over-the-top industry in India is expected to reach USD 5 billion by 2023 with tier II, III cities and rural areas witnessing a sizeable increase in mobile penetration and data consumption.

“We are well poised to cater to this growing community and our alliance with BSNL is a step towards bridging the urban-rural gap and expanding Eros Now’s national reach,” Singh said.

AGP withdraws support to BJP in Assam over Citizenship Bill

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January 7, 2019

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Monday withdrew its support to ruling BJP in Assam over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, AGP president and minister Atul Bora said.

The Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

The decision followed an AGP delegation’s meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, who asserted that the government will ensure its passage in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Bora said.

“We made a last ditch attempt today to convince the Centre not to pass the Bill. But Singh told us clearly that it will be passed in Lok Sabha tomorrow. After this, there is no question of remaining in the alliance,” Bora said in New Delhi after meeting the Home Minister.

The announcement followed AGP leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s statement here that the party would withdraw support to the government in the state if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in passed by Lok Sabha.

The bill seeks to amend Citizenship Act 1955 to grant Indian nationality to people from minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 even if they don’t possess any proper document.

The Bill has been opposed by a large section of people and organisations in the Northeast.

The Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI (M) and a few other parties have been steadfastly opposing the bill claiming that citizenship can’t be given on the basis of religion and that it is unconstitutional.

NGT directs AAP govt to shut down industries running in residential areas

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January 7, 2019

The National Green Tribunal has directed the AAP government and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to shut down unauthorised industrial units located in residential areas of Daryaganj in New Delhi.

A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore said that the factories operating in residential areas cause air pollution and is extremely harmful to the people who are living in the surrounding areas.

The green panel directed the municipal corporation to ensure that these factories do not operate till they obtain clearance from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

“In case the units have applied for clearance from the DPCC, the same may be reopened, as and when the requisite clearances are given by the committee.

“The DPCC shall decide on the application so received, for obtaining clearance, expeditiously and in no case later than four weeks… In case any application is pending before it, the same shall be immediately looked into and decided within the stipulated time,” the bench said.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Daryaganj resident Mohd Shariq seeking action against illegal factories in the area and demanding sealing of such units in non-conforming areas.

The plea, filed through advocate Gaurav Bansal, has also sought directions to initiate criminal proceedings against those running such unauthorised units.

It claimed that despite issuance of several letters by Public Grievances Commission of Delhi and Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has failed to stop operation of illegal factories.

SC seeks Centre, EC’s response over increase in tallying of VVPATs

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January 7, 2019

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) over a plea seeking to increase the tallying of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs).

A division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul was hearing a petition which sought court’s direction for increasing the verification of VVPAT with the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes.

The petitioner wants an increase of the tally from the current 10 per cent to 30 per cent for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier in December last year, the apex court dismissed a petition filed by the Congress party seeking directions to the ECI to count and cross verify at least 25 per cent of voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) with votes cast with EVM.

Govt grants 10% reservation to economically-weaker in general category

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January 7, 2019

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Government on Monday decided to grant 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to economically-weaker sections of upper castes across religions.

The decision taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, surpasses the 50 per cent limit set by the Supreme Court.

“A proposal for 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker upper caste was approved by the Union cabinet today,” government sources said.

For implementation of the decision, the Constitution will have to be amended as the Supreme Court had in 1992 put a ceiling of 50 per cent on caste-based reservation.

The immensely significant decision, based on the economic criteria rather than social or religion basis, comes just months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

It will benefit upper castes of not only Hindus but also Muslims and Christians, a government source said.

The criteria for availing of the benefits include annual family income of up to Rs 8 lakh and agriculture land up to 5 acre, the source added.

Among the Hindus, the castes which would benefit from the decision include Brahmin, Banya, Bhaiyya, Thakur’s and Kayasthas, the source said.

Welcoming the decision, BJP MP and Dalit leader Udit Raj told agencies that the 50 per cent bar on quota is not a Constitutional binding and reservation can be provided even up to 70 per cent.

In this context, he cited the example of Tamil Nadu, the state has reservation of up to 69 per cent.

All overseas debt cleared, $1.75 bn paid to Indian, foreign banks: Essar Global

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January 7, 2019

Essar Global Fund Ltd, the holding company of Essar Group, on Monday said that it has repaid all its overseas debt after it paid back the last tranche of Rs 12,000 crore ($1.75 billion) to its various Indian and foreign lenders.

This is in addition to Rs 30,000 crore (($5 billion) repayment made in August 2017 to various lenders from the proceeds from the sale of Essar Oil to Rosneft of Russia, the company said in a statement.

With this, Essar Global has now repaid about Rs 6,300 crore to ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank. This repays entire Rs 31,500 crore of loans availed from these banks during 2008-14.

Over the past two years, Essar Group has repaid more than Rs 1.37 lakh crore (USD 21 billion) of debt (including that of Essar Steel), the majority of which are to Indian lenders. “This is more than 80 per cent of the group’s debt,” the statement said.

Russia’s VTB is the only continuing lender to Essar Global.

Giving details of the Rs 1.37 lakh crore debt repayment, the group said in 2017, Essar Global repaid about Rs 86,000 crore of liability, including Rs 72,600 crore to banks, from proceeds of the sale of Essar Oil to a consortium led by Rosneft and Trafigura.

Additionally, BPO arm Aegis has been sold for about Rs 6,000 crore and Equinox Business Parks for Rs 2,400 crore. These proceeds have been used to deleverage the group.

“A further Rs 45,000 crore of group debt relating to Essar Steel India is being addressed through the ongoing insolvency and bankruptcy process,” it said. “In this regard, lenders have already received an offer from ArcelorMittal offering them cash repayment of Rs 42,000 crore.”

A subsidiary of Essar Global has separately offered Rs 54,389 crore to fully pay all outstanding of lenders and operational creditors.

In addition, Essar has paid Rs 3,955 crore to minority shareholders of Essar Oil and Rs 1,400 crore to minority shareholders of Essar Ports.

“Over the past two years, we committed ourselves to a massive deleveraging programme and have repaid more than Rs 1,37,000 crore to our lenders, most of which will go to the Indian bankers and lenders. The premium valuations being placed on various assets that have been sold by Essar are a testament to the quality of these assets and businesses we have built over the years.

With the deleveraging programme now drawing to a close, and with a much stronger and sustainable balance sheet, we look forward to repositioning ourselves for growth,” said Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital.

Lupin gets USFDA nod for generic schizophrenia drug

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January 7, 2019

Drug maker Lupin on January 7 said that it has received approval from the US health regulator to market Lurasidone Hydrochloride tablets, used in the treatment of schizophrenia, in the American market.

The company said that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its product, which is a generic version of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc’s Latuda tablets, in strengths of 20 mg, 40 mg, 60 mg, 80 mg, and 120 mg, Lupin said in a regulatory filing.

The drug is indicated for conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar depression.

As per IQVIA MAT September 2018 data, Latuda Tablets had sales of around $3,217.3 million in the US market.

Lupin shares on Monday closed 1.03 per cent down at Rs 820.40 on the NSE.

SC notice to Anil Ambani over contempt petition by Ericsson

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January 7, 2019

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to Reliance Communication Ltd (RCom) chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani and others on a contempt petition filed by Ericsson India over non-payment of its dues. A bench headed by Justice RF Nariman sought a response from Ambani and others in four weeks.

Appearing for RCom, senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi asked the court to accept Rs. 118 crore towards outstanding dues to Ericsson India to establish its bona fide.

The counsel appearing for Ericsson, however, refused to accept the amount and said that the entire outstanding sum of Rs. 550 crore should be deposited.

The bench then directed RCom to deposit a demand draft of Rs. 118 crore in the registry.