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December 11, 2017, 1:03 am

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The Third Edition of the Discussion on the State of the Indian Economy

ON DECEMBER 11, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

India International Centre

40, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi-110003

India International Centre

Cordially invites you to the Discussion

The Third Edition of the Discussion on the State of the Indian Economy

Speakers: Prof. Jean Dreze, Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, Ranchi University; Prof. Surajit Mazumdar, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Prof. Partha Sen, former Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics; and Prof. R. Kavita Rao, Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy

Introduction: Suhas Borker, Convener, Working Group on Alternative Strategies

On Tuesday, 19th December 2017 at 6.00 pm in the Centre’s Conference Room-I, 40, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi-110003

(Collaboration: Working Group on Alternative Strategies)

all being welcome, also this will be a day after on going assembly results are announced – fyi & participation

China will remain world’s largest bottled water market to 2021

ON DECEMBER 11, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

The ever increasing thirst for quality water and health-conscious drinking habits will mean that China retains its position as the world’s biggest bottled water market to 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Growth in disposable income is also expected to help the country’s bottled water market stay ahead of major nations like the US, India, Indonesia and Germany, in terms of volume.

During 2016-2021, GlobalData expects China’s bottled water market to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.42% and lead the global market with 57,903.90 million litres expected to be consumed in 2021 alone.

Per capita consumption of bottled water has been on a steady upswing, from 23.6 litres in 2013 to 29 litres in 2016, and is expected to further rise to 30.8 litres in 2017. This consumption pattern is propelled by the improving quality and fast pace of life, which can be seen to steer consumers towards the use of bottled water over barrels of water. This trend is more evident in urban areas where 57.4% of the population resides. Moreover, the quality of tap water in much of China is not high enough to drink.

Ellen Rivers, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Growing purchasing power has seen consumers spending more on high-end products. Factors such as exposure to brands and large-scale marketing have served to tip the scales in favour of premium bottled water.”

This segment has witnessed a huge surge in the last few years – jumping from a meagre 45.7 million litres in 2013 to a whopping 520.6 million litres in 2015.

GlobalData has also found that 74% of Chinese consumers pay more attention to packaging materials and capacity when choosing food and beverages, noticeably higher than the global average of 51% of consumers.

Rivers notes: “Packaging is essential to the perception of consumer satisfaction. Trends show that glass packaging, small packages and PET material will have a decisive impact on purchasing choices in China.”

Information based on GlobalData’s Consumer Intelligence Center

ENDS

For more information

Analysts available for comment. Please contact the GlobalData Press Office:

Asia-Pacific: +91 40 6616 6809
EMEA & Americas: +44 (0)207 832 4399

Email: pr@globaldata.com

To gain access to our latest press releases and expert analysis on developments in your industry, please connect with us on:

GlobalData.com | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

Editor’s notes

– Quotes provided by Ellen Rivers, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData

– Information based on GlobalData’s Consumer Intelligence Center

– This press release was written using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by GlobalData’s team of industry experts

About GlobalData

The Global Partnership Summit 2017

ON DECEMBER 11, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

>Dear Mr. Sagar,

Thank you for showing interest in “The Global Partnership Summit (GPS2017)” to be held on 11th December’17 in New Delhi. We are pleased to confirm your participation for the summit

Details of the Event:

Date : Monday, 11th December, 2017

Venue : Andaz, Aerocity, New Delhi (Click here for Google Map)

Time : Registration starts 8.30 am onwards

Please Click Here for the detailed day wise Agenda

Please Click Here to make hotel reservations and you may write to traveldesk@globalpartnershipsummit.org for other travel related queries.

Looking forward to your presence at this Exclusive Summit

Thanks & Regards,
Team Global Partnership Summit

UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018

ON DECEMBER 10, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Press Invitation

United Nations Information Centre

cordially invites you to the

Media Launch

UN DESA’s

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018

at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, 11 December 2017

UN Conference Hall

55 Lodi Estate, New Delhi-110003

The Report will be presented to the press by

Prof. N.R. Bhanumurthy

Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy

Mr. Michael Williamson

Head, a.i., UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Sub-regional Office for South and South-West Asia (UNESCAP-SSWA)

The World Economic Situation and Prospects Report, the UN flagship report on the state of the global economy, continues to convey the overarching message that robust and inclusive growth is a prerequisite for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The global analysis of the World Economic Situation and Prospects for 2018 will be launched by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York, and regional analyses will be launched in key regional hubs in December, in cooperation with UNCTAD, the United Nations Regional Commissions and other partners.

RSVP: unic.india@unic.org; Phone: 46532242

Please carry a Press Photo ID with you to facilitate your entry into the UN Premises; You will have to trade the Photo ID at our security desk for the visitor’s pass; and follow standard security procedures.

RAJIV CHANDRAN

National Information Officer

United Nations Information Centre

for India and Bhutan

Dear Naresh, where after all do Universal human rights begin?

ON DECEMBER 10, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Naresh,

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home…where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal dignity without discrimination…Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

This was the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt, a principle architect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted sixty-nine years ago today. She understood the power of American leadership—she personified it—and she knew that the most effective way to lead is by example—by living our values.

And yet on this Human Rights Day, we are witnessing a stunning abdication by the United States of its historical leadership role in the world, leaving a vacuum that authoritarians and tyrants are rushing to fill. When President Trump cozies up to dictators, alienates our allies, and denies protection to vulnerable refugees, he undermines the international structures and norms that have helped secure American interests for decades.

You and I have a different vision: We know that respect for human rights is not some fuzzy sentiment; it is the foundation of peace, justice, and security.

That’s why today we celebrate the brave and generous men and women like you—veterans, lawyers, corporate leaders, people of faith, activists—all over our country who are working alongside us to protect human rights and defend American ideals.

Join us by sharing this image on Facebook. And help us keep fighting by making a $50 donation in honor of Human Rights Day.

SHARE ON FACEBOOK

Thank you!

Elisa Massimino

President and CEO

Israeli strike on Gaza after rocket attacks

ON DECEMBER 10, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Two militants were killed and at least 25 people have been injured, including six children, after the Israeli Air Force bombed alleged Hamas targets inside Gaza. The airstrikes were in retaliation for 3 rocket attacks launched at Israeli territory.

“In response to the projectiles fired at Israel from Gaza earlier today, IAF aircraft targeted a Hamas training compound & an ammunition warehouse in the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Twitter. “The IDF holds Hamas solely responsible for all hostile acts against Israel emanating from the Gaza Strip.” It went on to say the retaliatory strikes targeted “two weapons manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse, a military compound”.

No plans for Serbia to join NATO

ON DECEMBER 10, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told TASS on Friday that his country is on the European path, but it does not want to join NATO. “Ten days ago, I was in Brussels, at NATO’s headquarters, and told the 29 leaders… that Serbia has no intention of joining NATO,” he said in Belgrade, adding that “Serbia will maintain its military neutrality.” He also said ahead of his visit to Moscow that Belgrade did not impose sanctions on Moscow and will not do that in the future. “No pressure can make us change our position,” he added.

Saudi Air strikes kill 4

ON DECEMBER 10, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Yemeni rebel officials say that at least four people have been killed in Saudi-led airstrikes outside a rebel-run TV station in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, AP reports. Witnesses confirmed the strikes to AP, and the officials said that airstrikes had targeted the gate of the facility just the day before. The Saudi-led coalition invaded Yemen in 2015, and has been at war with Houthi militia since then.

US airstrikes killed five Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, including two leaders, US Central Command said in a statement on Friday. The strikes took place on November 20 in the Bayda Governorate, and resulted in the deaths of Mujahid al-Adnani (also known as Mohammad Shukri) and Abu Layth al-Sanaani, along with three other militants of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), CENTCOM said.

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December 12, 2017, 1:13 am

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South Asia positioned to remain the world’s fastest-growing region: UN report
Steady growth outlook supported by robust private consumption and sound
macroeconomic policies
New Delhi, 11 December – An upturn in the global economy—now growing by about 3 per cent— paves the
way to reorient policy towards longer-term issues such as addressing climate change, tackling existing
inequalities and removing institutional obstacles to development, according to the United Nations World
Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2018 Report, launched today.
According to the report, in 2017, world economic growth has reached 3 per cent—the highest growth since
2011— as crisis-related fragilities and the adverse effects of other recent shocks subside. The improvement is
widespread, with roughly two-thirds of countries worldwide experiencing stronger growth in 2017 than in the
previous year. Global growth is expected to remain steady at 3.0 per cent in 2018 and 2019.
Growth prospects in South Asia
The economic outlook for South Asia remains steady and favourable, driven by robust private consumption and
sound macroeconomic policies. The positive outlook will contribute to further gradual progress in labour market
indicators and a reduction in poverty rates. Monetary policy stances are moderately accommodative, while fiscal
policies maintain a strong emphasis on infrastructure investment. Regional GDP growth is expected to
strengthen to 6.5 per cent in 2018 and 7.0 per cent in 2019, after posting an estimated 6.3 per cent in 2017.
Regional inflation is expected to remain stable and at relatively low levels.
Despite a slowdown observed in early 2017, the outlook for India remains positive, underpinned by strong
private consumption, robust public investments and structural reforms. GDP growth is projected to accelerate
from 6.7 per cent in 2017 to 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019. Yet, the anaemic performance of
private investment remains a key macroeconomic concern.
Meanwhile, GDP growth in the Islamic Republic of Iran remained relatively robust in 2017 at 5.3 per cent. In
2018 and 2019, growth is expected to reach at least 5.0 per cent. However, the outlook is contingent on the
capacity to attract foreign investments and is subject to significant geopolitical risks.
Economic activity in Pakistan is expected to remain vigorous, with GDP growth projected to reach 5.5 per cent
in 2018 and 5.2 per cent in 2019. However, a rising current account deficit coupled with a recent deterioration
of fiscal accounts, pose risks to the baseline projection.
The Bangladesh economy is projected to continue expanding at rapid pace, underpinned by strong domestic
demand, especially large infrastructure projects. GDP growth is expected to remain above 7.0 per cent in 2018
and 2019.
PRESS RELEASE
Embargoed until
Monday, 11:00 am EST
11 December 2017
Issued by the UN Department of Public Information
Risks and policy challenges
Despite the improved short-term outlook, the global economy continues to face risks—including changes in
trade policy, a sudden deterioration in global financial conditions and rising geopolitical tensions.
The world economy also faces longer-term challenges. The report highlights four areas where the improved
macroeconomic situation opens the way for policy to address these challenges: increasing economic
diversification, reducing inequality, supporting long-term investment and tackling institutional deficiencies. The
report notes that reorienting policy to address these challenges can generate stronger investment and
productivity, higher job creation and more sustainable medium-term economic growth.
For South Asia, the region faces several downside risks that can significantly alter the projected growth
trajectory. On the domestic front, the reform agenda could experience setbacks in some countries, while
heightened geopolitical tensions might also restrain investment projects. On the external front, the monetary
normalization process in the United States also poses risks to financial stability across the region.
To promote a more sustained and inclusive development path in the medium term, the South Asian economies
need to address several structural constraints. First, strengthening the fiscal accounts constitutes a key challenge
in most economies. Second, the region needs to tackle large infrastructure gaps in areas such as energy,
telecommunications, sanitation and water access, as well as transport and connectivity. Promoting private
investment in infrastructure projects should be a key policy priority through a range of measures, including
public investments that include private investments, better implementation capacities in public sector, regulatory
changes and structural reforms.
About the report: The World Economic Situation and Prospects report is the UN’s flagship publication on
expected trends in the global economy. WESP is produced annually by the UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the five UN regional
commissions and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
For more information, please visit: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/
Media contacts:
UN Department of Public Information
Dan Shepard, T: +1 (212) 963-9495 | E: shepard@un.org
Sharon Birch, T: +1 (212) 963-0564 | E: birchs@un.org

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December 12, 2017, 2:46 am

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EU rebuffs Netanyahu’s call

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

EU’s foreign policy head Federica Mogherini said she told Netanyahu that the bloc supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
She said the EU will continue to respect the international consensus on Jerusalem until the city’s final status is determined through direct negotiations between the parties concerned.

The EU plans to invite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Brussels in January to convey its stance on the issue.

Europe to follow the US in recognizing Jerusalem as his country’s capital. But the EU’s foreign policy chief has rejected the idea.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

He said US President Donald Trump’s decision does not obviate peace but makes it possible.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris on Sunday. Macron expressed disapproval of the US decision.

He urged Netanyahu to make some courageous gestures toward the Palestinians, suggesting that Israel freeze construction of new settlements in East Jerusalem and other occupied lands.

But Netanyahu made no mention of the settlements during the news conference.

He said the sooner the Palestinians come to grips with reality, the sooner they will move toward peace.

Abbas, Sisi agree to revive East Jerusalem capital of Palestine

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have agreed on the need to take concrete action to defend the rights of Palestinians.The agreement was made during a meeting between the two leaders in Cairo on Monday.

Sisi is said to have reiterated his support for Palestinians claiming East Jerusalem as the capital of its future state.

Two leaders also agreed to continue high-level coordination to maintain the rights of Palestinians.

Climate change summit in Paris

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

World leaders gathered in Paris to discuss climate change on Tuesday, exactly 2 years after the Paris Agreement was adopted.

Attention is focused on whether they will be able to issue a clear message to secure funds from the public and private sectors to combat global warming.

The meeting was called by French President Emmanuel Macron. Leaders and cabinet ministers from nearly 100 countries as well as top United Nations officials were invited.

The gathering is part of efforts to ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which established an international framework to deal with global warming beyond 2020.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and others took part in a morning session. Topics of discussion included how to secure 100 billion dollars per year for climate action in developing countries.

US President Donald Trump has announced his country’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. He has also said his country would stop contributing to a fund for developing nations.

Operation in Afghanistan’s north on ISIS

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Afghanistan’s military plans to launch a major operation to stop Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) making inroads into the country’s northern provinces, officials said on Tuesday. The operation will target the provinces of Sari Pul, Faryab and Jowzjan, Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said. “We know there are foreign fighters among them, but we will eliminate all of them, regardless of their nationality,” he promised. French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, have joined new IS bases in northern Afghanistan

Heavy snow Belgian flights cancelled

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

300 flights were cancelled at Belgian airports due to heavy snow on Tuesday, according to media reports. The cancellations affected more than 5,000 passengers. On Monday, high winds and heavy snow in Europe stranded thousands of travelers and kept schoolchildren at home, AFP said. It was the second consecutive day of fierce weather across the continent, with Britain still digging out from its deepest snowfall in four years. Flights were also cancelled in the Netherlands and UK.

6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Kerman, Iran

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Kerman province in SE Iran

An earthquake of measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale hit Kerman province in southeast Iran on Tuesday, Reuters said, citing state media reports. No damage was immediately reported from the quake, which occurred near the town of Hejdak, according to state TV.

Services Conclave “Serve India and the World”

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Tuesday, 19th December, 2017: Hotel Leela Palace, New Delhi

Dear Mr/ Mrs,

It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with the support of the Ministry Commerce and Industry and Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) is organising the Services Conclave: Serve India and the World on 19th December in Delhi.

The Services Sector is emerging across the world as an enabler of economic growth and inclusion. The sector contributes almost one third of the gross value added, half of the world employment, one fifth of global trade and more than half of the world FDI flows.

In India, the contribution of the Services Sector has grown to more than half of the country’s output today, from 30 per cent of GDP in 1950, contributing 62 per cent of the gross value addition with the growth of 7.7 per cent in 2016-17. This fast emergence has thrown open huge opportunities and challenges for the sector.

Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu has agreed to deliver the Inaugural Address at the conclave on the 19th of December.

The Conclave will be attended by Policy Makers, Industry Captains, Academicians and other Stakeholders. The conclave will also address on“How IT and ICT is catalyzing growth through Digital Platforms and Sports as an emerging subsector which will drive growth, development and inclusion”.

The main components of the programme are:

· Conference

· Knowledge Report on Road map on Building Services Competitiveness

· White Paper on India: Leapfrogging with Disruptive Tech for 1.3 billion

· Global Exhibition on Services 2018: Curtain Raiser

The Conclave will attempt to bring in the stake holders: Government and Industry on a common platform to discuss and debate on building competitiveness of the Services Sector by,

Identifying and addressing key Competitive Differentiators in the Services Sector
Ideating on bridging the regulatory gaps in the key sub segments of the Services Sector
Strategizing to develop a holistic framework for an overarching Services Policy

I take the opportunity to invite you to join us for the Inaugural Session and also nominate your senior colleagues to attend the Conclave.

Look forward to receiving you at the Conclave.

Warm regards,

Amita Sarkar

——————————————

Amita Sarkar
Deputy Director General

Confederation of Indian Industry

The Mantosh Sondhi Centre

23, Institutional Area, Lodi Road

FRDI bill to empower the govt to write off the loans, privatise PSU banks & seize our deposits in banks.

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

‏Verified account @pbhushan1

After giving huge loans to Adani, Ambanis, Essar, Mallya & other cronies, many of whom have run away with them, Govt now brings the FRDI bill to empower the govt to write off the loans, privatise PSU banks & seize our deposits in banks. Can wreak havoc

Modi government’s FRDI bill may take away all your hard-earned money

UNICEF: Make the digital world safer for children

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

UNICEF: Make the digital world safer for children – while increasing online access to benefit the most disadvantaged

Flagship report highlights digital divides and explores current debates about the impact of the internet and social media on children’s safety and wellbeing

NEW YORK, 11 December 2017 – Despite children’s massive online presence – 1 in 3 internet users worldwide is a child – too little is done to protect them from the perils of the digital world and to increase their access to safe online content, UNICEF said in its annual flagship report released today.

The State of the World’s Children 2017: Children in a digital worldpresents UNICEF’s first comprehensive look at the different ways digital technology is affecting children’s lives and life chances, identifying dangers as well as opportunities. It argues that governments and the private sector have not kept up with the pace of change, exposing children to new risks and harms and leaving millions of the most disadvantaged children behind.

“For better and for worse, digital technology is now an irreversible fact of our lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “In a digital world, our dual challenge is how to mitigate the harms while maximizing the benefits of the internet for every child.”

The report explores the benefits digital technology can offer the most disadvantaged children, including those growing up in poverty or affected by humanitarian emergencies. These include increasing their access to information, building skills for the digital workplace, and giving them a platform to connect and communicate their views.
But the report shows that millions of children are missing out. Around one third of the world’s youth – 346 million – are not online, exacerbating inequities and reducing children’s ability to participate in an increasingly digital economy.

The report also examines how the internet increases children’s vulnerability to risks and harms, including misuse of their private information, access to harmful content, and cyberbullying. The ubiquitous presence of mobile devices, the report notes, has made online access for many children less supervised – and potentially more dangerous.

And digital networks like the Dark Web and cryptocurrencies are enabling the worst forms of exploitation and abuse, including trafficking and ‘made to order’ online child sexual abuse.

The report presents current data and analysis about children’s online usage and the impact of digital technology on children’s wellbeing, exploring growing debates about digital “addiction” and the possible effect of screen time on brain development.

Additional facts from the report include:

Young people are the most connected age group. Worldwide, 71 per cent are online compared with 48 per cent of the total population.
African youth are the least connected, with around 3 out of 5 youth offline, compared to just 1 in 25 in Europe.
Approximately 56 per cent of all websites are in English and many children cannot find content they understand or that is culturally relevant.
More than 9 in 10 child sexual abuse URLs identified globally are hosted in five countries – Canada, France, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation and the United States.

Only collective action – by governments, the private sector, children’s organizations, academia, families and children themselves – can help level the digital playing field and make the internet safer and more accessible for children, the report says.

Practical recommendations to help guide more effective policymaking and more responsible business practices to benefit children include:

Provide all children with affordable access to high-quality online resources.
Protect children from harm online – including abuse, exploitation, trafficking, cyberbullying and exposure to unsuitable materials.
Safeguard children’s privacy and identities online.
Teach digital literacy to keep children informed, engaged and safe online.
Leverage the power of the private sector to advance ethical standards and practices that protect and benefit children online.
Put children at the centre of digital policy.

“The internet was designed for adults, but it is increasingly used by children and young people – and digital technology increasingly affects their lives and futures. So digital policies, practices, and products should better reflect children’s needs, children’s perspectives and children’s voices,” said Lake.

Equity is an important focus of children’s participation in the digital space in India. Internet penetration is higher in urban areas, however the potential to grow is huge. The Internet in India is still a ‘male preserve’, with on average only a third of users being female. There are potentially serious consequences for girls excluded from the digital age: the continued isolation in countries and cultures where girls are restricted in their movement or activity online and offline because of their gender; inability to access online services and information on issues related to their health; inability to further their education; and no chance to further skills that could help them participate in the global economy of the 21st century.

“Girls and boys in India have the unique opportunity to benefit from the connectivity that the digital world can provide. India is famous as an IT Hub and no matter where they live, every girl or boy should have a digital advantage,” said UNICEF Representative in India, Dr Yasmin Ali Haque at the launch in Delhi.

“UNICEF is working with the Government in developing a comprehensive plan on digital safety for children. The Internet and social media provide incredible opportunities for children to learn, participate and socialize but it also brings significant risks of online abuse and violence. Digital literacy is therefore key to ensure that all girls and all boys can stay informed, engaged and safe online,” said Dr Haque.

On 17 December UNICEF is organizing a digital carnival involving children, parents and digital experts at the National Bal Bhawan in Delhi. Child hackathon awards in partnership with Google and Learning Links Foundation will also be presented. In Hyderabad on 18 December NASSCOM and UNICEF will bring together some 50 key corporate leaders together with child digital champions to discuss child participation and online safety.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org. Follow UNICEF on Twitterand Facebook

For UNICEF India and its work visit www.unicef.in . Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

For more information, please contact:

UNICEF India:

Geetanjali Master, Communication Specialist,

Tel: +91 981 810 5861, email: gmaster@unicef.org

Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer,

Tel: +91 981 017 0289, email:sarkar@unicef.org

Azadpur Wholesale Market Rates 10% to 40% of Retail Price

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December12, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh* progressindia2015@gmail.com

This is biggest Tragedy of India farmers and labor particularly in villages don’t earn enough to sustain normal healthy living – over50% Indians are malnourished, 20% are Stunted, 600m are below poverty line defined as $1 per day expenditure or Rs.32 per day, real figure could be 1000m at $2 per day expenditure UN Standard for poverty.

India is yet to learn how to Distribute Foods to 1.3b People Without Middlemen Loot & Physical & Nutritional Loss, Minimize Logistics Cost and Urban Waste Generation.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

Wholesale Price Farmers Get in Azadpur Mandi including Unloading & Mandi Charges

We Pay 2-10 Times of Wholesale Price Depending on Items and Locations

Rates are Per 100 kg – Modal Price is in Bold

This is the latest price available in Digital India

Current Bazar Rate of APMC azadpur (as on Tuesday, November 21, 2017)

S No.	Commodity	Variety	Arrival	Unit	Max Price (in Rs)	Modal Price (in Rs)	Min Price (in Rs)
1.	Apple	R. Delicious	38446	Qtl	8000	4379	1750
2.	Apple	American	–	–	4063	2245	938
3.	Apple	Delicious	–	–	4688	3307	1250
4.	Apple	Golden	–	–	6000	3833	2000
5.	Apple	Maharaji	–	–	2500	1510	500
6.	Banana	Banana – R	798	Qtl	1400	1245	1100
7.	Banana – Green	Banana – G	12	Qtl	1500	1250	1000
8.	Beans	Beans	231	Qtl	4500	3470	2750
9.	Bhindi	Bhindi	496	Qtl	4000	2889	2000
10.	Bitter gourd	Bitter Gourd	125	Qtl	2400	2025	1750
11.	Bottle gourd	Bottle Gourd	868	Qtl	1000	733	533
12.	Brinjal	Brinjal	473	Qtl	1100	756	400
13.	Cabbage	Cabbage	929	Qtl	1500	995	600
14.	Capsicum	Capsicum	1622	Qtl	2500	2067	1500
15.	Carrot	Carrot	5686	Qtl	3000	1938	1250
16.	Cauliflower	Cauliflower	1008	Qtl	2000	1130	500
17.	Chikoos(Sapota)	Other	–	–	4500	3133	2200
18.	Coconut	Big	101	Qtl	2571	1934	1250
19.	Coriander	Coriander	577	Qtl	3000	1900	1150
20.	Cucumbar	Cucumbar	1978	Qtl	1750	1238	500
21.	Garlic	Average	482	Qtl	9500	3819	1250
22.	Guava	Guava	132	Qtl	6000	1772	625
23.	Gwar	Gwar	3	Qtl	1875	1592	1250
24.	Kakada	Other	–	–	4000	2875	2000
25.	Karbuja	Karbhuja	355	Qtl	5625	2708	1000
26.	Lemon	Other	295	Qtl	1714	1467	1142
27.	Little gourd	Other	123	Qtl	1000	875	750
28.	Mango	Badami	16	Qtl	5500	3900	2000
29.	Methi	Methi	121	Qtl	1500	1300	1000
30.	Mousambi	Mousambi	10	Qtl	5000	2750	1000
31.	Onion	Onion	4138	Qtl	3500	2258	1000
32.	Papaya	Other	394	Qtl	1000	808	625
33.	Peas Wet	Other	841	Qtl	5250	4281	3500
34.	Pine Apple	Other	53	Qtl	2700	1867	1000
35.	Potato	Potato	4163	Qtl	1400	682	280
36.	Pumpkin	Other	312	Qtl	1000	800	500
37.	Raddish	Other	599	Qtl	450	356	250
38.	Season Leaves	Other	229	Qtl	1250	988	750
39.	Sugarcane	Other	135	Qtl	500	450	400
40.	Sweet Potato	Sweet Potato	1043	Qtl	1000	813	625
41.	Sweet Pumpkin	Other	–	–	1200	1125	1000
42.	Tomato	Tomato	2611	Qtl	4000	2966	1600
43.	Water Melon	Other	122	Qtl	1100	900	700
44.	Yam (Ratalu)	Other	–	–	1200	990	800

Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Prashant Bhushan, your clarion call, is here and shall be wide publicity but be visible in social media, Facebook,twitter, LinkedIn, etc

Dear Naresh Kumar Sagar,

Greetings from Swaraj Abhiyan!

You may be aware that a citizens Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms has been campaigning for the last several years, seeking far reaching reforms in the judicial system to make the judiciary accessible, responsive, credible and accountable, so that it becomes an effective and functional system for delivering justice. In particular, we have campaigned for a proper system for investigating complaints against Judges and seeking their accountability for any misconduct.

In a recent petition regarding a Medical College, where the CBI had registered a FIR that there was a large conspiracy and planning to procure a favourable judgement from the Supreme Court by paying bribes to judges, we petitioned the Supreme Court that such a sensitive investigation can be used by the government to compromise the independence of the Supreme Court and therefore it should be handled by a SIT monitored by the Supreme Court and headed by a former Chief Justice of the Court. Unfortunately however, this petition led to a series of unfortunate and ugly developments which culminated in a bench of junior Judges of the court, not only dismissing the petition but also imposing costs of 25 lakhs on the Campaign. The Campaign has decided to fight this unjust judgement and we are seeking a review and other legal remedies. A statement has also been issued by former Judges and others for supporting the Campaign.

In response to the suggestions by a large number of well wishers, the Campaign decided to put out a crowdfunding appeal for taking forward the campaign and if that eventuality arises, to also use the money for paying the costs imposed on the Campaign.

I request you to support the Campaign through the crowdfunding effort. This is the link to make your contribution. https://www.bitgiving.com/cjarcampaign

Do sign the online petition started by Justice Shah, Justice Singhvi and others in support of the Campaign –

https://www.change.org/p/citizens-act-now-to-save-the-judiciary

Join the Campaign by visiting this page and signing up now – http://judicialreforms.org/join-us-now/

With warm regards,

Prashant Bhushan

UN WESP 2018: Lift in global economy prompts opportunities to tackle deep-rooted development issues

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

A three per cent upturn in the global economy has paved the way to readjust policy towards longer-term issues, such as addressing climate change, tackling existing inequalities and removing institutional obstacles to development, according to a new United Nations report on global economic prospects.

Launched in New York on Monday, among other things, the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2018 offers policy imperatives that include tackling inequality and delinking economic growth from environmental degradation.

“The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 demonstrates that current macroeconomic conditions offer policy-makers greater scope to address some of the deep-rooted issues that continue to hamper progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals,” stated UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres in the Foreword.

According to the report, 2017 global economic growth had reached three per cent – its highest since 2011 – as crisis-related fragilities and the adverse effects of other recent shocks have subsided.

The improvement is widespread. Roughly two-thirds of the world’s countries have experienced stronger growth in 2017 than in the previous year, and movement is expected to remain steady at three per cent in 2018 and 2019.

Noting that the recent pickup in global growth stems predominantly from firmer growth in several developed economies, the report states that East and South Asia remain the world most dynamic regions.

Despite the improved short-term outlook, the global economy continues to face longer-term challenges, including trade policy changes and rising geopolitical tensions.

The report highlighted that the improved macroeconomic situation has opened a door for reorienting policies, including to increase economic diversification; reduce inequality; support long-term investment; and tackle institutional deficiencies. It noted that addressing these challenges can generate stronger investment and productivity, higher job creation and more sustainable medium-term economic growth.

Uneven Growth

However, the recent economic improvements have been unevenly distributed across countries and regions.

Through 2019, negligible per capita income growth is expected in several parts of Africa, Western Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean – underscoring the urgent need to foster an environment that will both accelerate medium-term growth prospects and tackle poverty through policies that address income and opportunity inequalities.

The report also found that – hindered by institutional deficiencies, inadequate basic infrastructure and greater exposure levels to natural disasters, along with challenges to security and political instability – very few least developed countries (LDCs ) are expected to reach the Sustainable Development Goal target for GDP growth of “at least 7 per cent” (SDG 8.1) in the near term.

In addition to mobilizing financial resources to meet LDC investment needs, policies must also focus on conflict prevention and removing barriers that continue to hinder more rapid progress.

After remaining flat for three consecutive years, preliminary estimates suggest that 2017 global energy-related CO2 emissions increased, according to WESP.

“While the upturn in global growth is a welcome sign of a healthier economy, it is important to remember that this may come at an environmental cost,” said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin.

As the frequency of weather-related shocks continues to rise, the urgent need to build resilience against climate change and prioritize environmental protection is becoming more prevalent.

International shipping and aviation emission polices, which do not fall under the purview of the Paris Agreement, must be strengthened as their emissions continue to grow faster than those from road transport.

“This calls for stronger efforts to delink economic growth and environmental degradation – as also emphasized by the UNClimate Change Conference in Bonn last month,” stressed Mr. Liu.

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Third Edition of Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth Opens with Raveena Tandon and other national and international dignitaries

The third edition of the ‘Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth’ (SIFFCY) was inaugurated today in the esteemed presence of actress Raveena Tandon, along with Shantanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation & Chairman – SIFFCY and Jitendra Mishra, Festival Director – SIFFCY. The weeklong festival started from today will continue till 17th December, 2017 at Sirifort, New Delhi.

This year, apart from prestigious International juries, SIFFCY also have a young jury board where children have given their inputs in selection of films. International jury consists Mr. Arend Agthe (Germany), a celebrated film maker known for Karakum and My Friend Raffi; Mr. Gert Hermans (Belgium), Chief-editor, European Children’s Film Association; Ms. Judita Soukupova (Czech Republic), Festival Director, Junior Fest, Ms. Michal Matus (Israel), Head of Education Department, Cinematheque and Festival Director, Tel Aviv Int’l Children’s FF and Ms. Chantal Bowen (Canada), a veteran film maker and Executive Director – Youth Media Alliance and National award winning film maker from India Anwar Jamal. The panelist for the film festival includes Ms. Laurie Gordon (Canada), a film maker; Festival Director – Montreal Animation FF and Ms. Marlaine Cover (USA), Spokesperson & Trainer, Life Skill Parenting 2.0.

Speaking on the occasion, Raveena Tandon said, “I am so thankful to all of you to be here on the inauguration morning on the very own SIFFCY, it is something that is to be very proud of children that there is a film festival, that is only and wholly for children. I want kids to take a vow that whatever they will learn from here, they will follow in their daily life. Movies are the best media to educate our children, so I also want to thank SIFFCY which has acted as a media to communicate goodness to our children, as it is the right time to educate them what is good and what is bad for them”.

Santanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation & Chairman – SIFFCY said, “I hope through SIFFCY, we will be able to channelize the energy of children and youth in a positive way and engage them proactively in the process of initiating social change. The idea behind SIFFCY is to design a rich mix of film programmes to build and support the growing interest in the infotainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for World Cinema while supporting filmmakers in career development, so that this powerful medium can be explored in a more focused manner for disseminating serious yet effective social messages”.

“SIFFCY is a unique platform to encourage and support the growing interest in meaningful cinema among young, aspiring, independent people without any favouritism. This year we have been fortunate enough to have many international partners, who have extended their support towards our initiative to entertain, engage, educate & empower the children & youth through various cinematic experiences & related capacity building workshops. We have scheduled Panels discussions & forums on ‘Environment & Climate change’, ‘Road Safety’, ‘Like Skill development’ and Role of Cinema, apart from the regular technical workshops by industry experts on Film making, Cinematography, Sound design, Production design, Storytelling & Photography” added Mr. Jitendra Mishra, Festival Director – SIFFCY.

SIFFCY is a reflection of Smile Foundation’s efforts to use films as a medium for sensitizing masses, especially children and youth, and engaging them proactively in the process of bringing Social change.

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

‘Mrs. India Delhi NCR Beauty Pageant’ India’s only national beauty pageant for Married Women offering International platform!

Mrs. India beauty pageant is all set to recognize and celebrate the existence of woman, by coming up with the new platform Mrs. India Delhi NCR Beauty Pageant especially for all the married woman, India’s only national beauty pageant for Married Women offering an International platform and promoting Diabetes Awareness. Based on the theme of the pageant that is “Beauty in Diversity”, to the fact that every woman is beautiful.

Therefore, for the same, the entire team as well as Judges of ‘Mrs. India Delhi NCR Beauty Pageant’ today showcased their upcoming beauty contest while a press conference held in Delhi at The Lalit Hotel, Barakhamba Avenue. Well, to grace the event the personalities from fashion industry as well as Bollywood were witnessed by their presence such as Mrs. Ritu Sood, the Board of Director Mrs. India. Ahmad Kabir Shadan, director & producer. Chief Guests such as Mrs. Gurumaa Bhrigushree Monica Anand, Director of Bhrigu Shastram along with Kapil Mohan Gupta, director of AD fashions Retail Pvt.Ltd. Apart from them Mrs. Deepa Antil, president of Women welfare association, Satbir Gujjar, Chairman, Mrs. Deepali Phadnis, National Head Mrs. India were also part of the event.

While interacting with media the enthusiastic team of ‘Mrs. India Delhi NCR Beauty Pageant’ revealed several details for their upcoming contest and showcased categories conducted for the ladies in two age groups. As Mrs. Asia International India for Age up to 40 Years. Classic Mrs. Asia International India, Age above 40 Years. Mrs. Planet – Age Up to 50 Years as well as Mrs. World. And apart from this, the main highlight of the contest was also revealed that the State (Delhi/NCR) Pageant Winners will get Direct Entry for Mrs. India 2018.

Well, it’s time for all the ladies to pull up their socks because Mrs. India Delhi/NCR Pageant is ready to full fill its promise to be an amazing show with the most beautiful women from all over Delhi/NCR who will be representing the Delhi/NCR State for Mrs. India 2018. Audition 1 will be held on 23rd December on Saturday. Audition 2 will be held 7th January on Sunday in Gurgaon. And Finale will be held on 2nd, 3rd & 4th Feb i.e., Friday, Saturday & Sunday at Hotel The Lalit, Delhi.

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December 13, 2017, 1:19 am

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Poland fined US-owned broadcaster TVN

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

United States criticized a decision by Poland’s media regulator to slap a $415,000 fine on TVN, a US-owned private broadcaster, saying the ruling appeared to undermine media freedom. PiS has been at loggerheads with the European Union over policy, including placing the country’s media under increased state control.

TVN24 is the most widely watched independent channel in Poland, and critics on Monday interpreted the fine as an effort to mute its criticism of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party amid speculation the state may take the broadcaster over.

The broadcaster was fined by regulator KRRiT on Monday over its coverage of protests in parliament last year.

“This decision appears to undermine media freedom in Poland, a close ally and fellow democracy. Free and independent media are essential to a strong democracy,” the U.S. Department of State said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that it remained confident in the ability of Polish authorities to ensure democratic institutions were fully functioning and respected.

The regulator said it had fined the broadcaster’s TVN24 channel for “promoting illegal activities and encouraging behavior that threatens security,” without giving details.

TATA STEEL GROUP & PGTI ANNOUNCE THE 16TH TATA OPEN GOLF

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

~Top names in the field are Udayan Mane, Shamim Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Om Prakash Chouhan, Mithun Perera

Jamshedpur, December 12, 2017: The TATA STEEL Group and PGTI have announced the 16th TATA Open Golf which will be held in Jamshedpur from 14th – 17th December, 2017. The four-day tournament will be hosted at the Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur. The Pro-Am will be played on 13th December, 2017. The event offers a rich prize purse of Rs. 1 crore.

The tournament will feature some of the top Indian professionals such as Udayan Mane, Shamim Khan, Mukesh Kumar, M Dharma, Om Prakash Chouhan, Shankar Das and Amardip Sinh Malik, to name a few. The top foreign players in the field are Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, Anura Rohana, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Kunal Bhasin of Australia, Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, South African Damian Naicker and Swaziland’s Arthur Horne.

The local challenge will be led by professional Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur. The field also features two leading amateurs from Jamshedpur, Kurush Heerjee and Navtez Singh.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel said “We are pleased to host the 16th Tata Open Golf Pro – Golf event at our Golmuri Golf Course. The event has grown from strength to strength over the years. The golf course has also matured and we are looking forward to witness some very competitive golf.”

Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “We thank the TATA STEEL Group for partnering with the PGTI in laying a strong foundation for professional golf in India. The 16th edition of the TATA Open promises to bring out the best from the Indian and foreign professionals playing on the PGTI as they strive for the honour of winning the coveted PGTI Order of Merit title. We wish the players all the best.”

89% of auto sales in India are digitally influenced:

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

89% of auto sales in India are digitally influenced: Google & Kantar TNS Report

~Smartphones, Search and Online Video are poised to disrupt auto sales in India~

New Delhi, December 13, 2017: Google India, along with Kantar TNS, today released a comprehensive report on the influence of digital on the decision-making journey of an automobile shopper. The report titled “The Drive to Decide” states that in 2017, 89% of Indian car purchases are digitally influenced, up from 75% in 2016. These auto shoppers exhibited three key digital behaviours: 96% of them are searching online, 80% are watching online videos and 88% of them prefer to research on their smartphones.

Talking about how digital is transforming this industry, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said, “Online video has emerged as the biggest disrupter for the four-wheeler industry in India. YouTube has over 225 million* Indian smartphone users watching online video every month, auto content itself has witnessed an astounding 225% year-on-year watch time growth. From an advertiser perspective, what makes this trend even more relevant is that car manufacturers can now measure the exact impact that online is having on offline sales, and we believe that is a real game changer.”

Elaborating on the influence of digital on the path to purchase, the report shows in the last two years, there has been a 2.5x increase in consumers who are taking only two months to buy a four-wheeler. Concurrently, the number of dealer visits have also dropped by 50% in the last three years. Finally, two-thirds of digitally influenced buyers are searching and discovering dealers online. Together, all of these are leading to shorter, more efficient buying cycles.

As per the report, online video is fast becoming a preferred information source that is allowing buyers to explore a new car from different perspectives. The percentage of online video usage in the process of buying a car in 2017 has nearly doubled, to 80% from 43% in 2016. Breaking up the types of videos consumers are watching; the report shows that 41% are vehicle safety tests; 41% showcase the technology and features of the car; 38% are on performance and 33% of them are customer reviews. Further, the report highlights that 79% of consumers who are watching online video are taking an action – underscoring the important role of online video in the decision-making process.

Speaking about the challenges that marketers face today and some future trends, Gabri Herrmann, Kantar TNS said, “The modern auto shopper walks into the dealership armed with a staggering array of information. Delivering on research needs and inspiring the consumer is critical — brands that succeed in this will win the sale!”.

Report Methodology:

These findings were based on research conducted by Kantar TNS. The research covers 500+ respondents in each of the 27 markets (overall 13828 respondents in 27 markets) via online or face-to-face with an average survey length of 15 minutes.

About Google India Private Limited:

Google India Private Limited (Google India) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Google LCC. It is engaged in the business of marketing & selling advertisement space and rendering Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES).

About Kantar TNS

As one of the largest research agencies worldwide, we provide powerful insights on how to unlock the moments that will help our clients flourish. We are part of Kantar, one of the world’s leading data, insight and consultancy companies.

For further information please contact:

Dipti Mehra

Google India

diptim@google.com

+91 98118 20160

Riddhi Sharma

Six Degrees Cohn & Wolfe

Riddhis@sixdegreespr.co.in

“Plugging In: Electricity Consumption in India Homes”

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear All,

In the seventh post of the series, “P lugging In: Electricity Consumption in India Homes“ by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and Prayas (Energy Group), we examine electricity demand in the NCR.

The burden of managing energy demand is particularly relevant to the National Capital Region (NCR), with Delhi being among the highest residential electricity consuming areas in India. Yet, in spite of the scale of current and future residential electricity use, an understanding of Delhi and the NCR’s household consumption patterns and their drivers is limited. In this post, we examine electricity demand in the NCR, which comprises Delhi, much of Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The NCR covers approximately 130 cities and towns, a land area of 22,500 square miles, and has an urban population of over 30 million that is growing at about 20% per decade. We focus our findings around three questions: How much electricity does the NCR resident consume? What are the electricity services that households in the NCR most consume? How is the ownership of cooling appliances changing with increasing incomes and the ability of households to consume more?

Click here to read the full post.

I look forward to your comments, feedback, and questions.

4th Digital India Awards

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Sir/ Madam,

As we all know, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. In a bid to give an impetus to this vision, Times Network hosted the flagship ‘Digital India Summit & Awards’.

The first three editions of the Digital India Summit drew an overwhelming response among both industry and policy makers who deliberated on goals, evaluated performance and identified areas where more attention is required.

Not only this, the Digital India Awards felicitated digital initiatives in the social and corporate world that harnessed the power of ICT and digital tools to transform business processes, improve delivery of public services and create a positive impact on society.

Through power packed deliberations & debates revolving around our theme Constructing An Action Plan: 2020, the 4th Edition of Digital India Summit will unearth key challenges, lay emphasis on the headway made on the Digital India Initiative & chart out a definitive roadmap to build an empowered society & knowledge economy. The Digital India Awards 4.0 will continue to recognise those who are converting India’s digital-dream into a reality.

Join us for the power packed day long sessions & awards ceremony on 16th December 2017 at Hyatt Regency, New Delhi from 10am onwards. (Click here for Google Map)

The summit consists of 6 sessions:

Ø Special Address: Honourable Minister for Law & Justice and Information Technology, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad

Ø Plenary Session: Digital India: Where do things stand? A Real-Time Assessment

Ø Session Two: Developing A Digital Workforce: The Ground Realities

Ø Session Three: 5G in India: The Avenue to making the Digital India Vision A Reality?

Ø Session Four: Fintech: The Digital India Game-changer

Please treat this as a personal invitation for you and your association or organization members to be a part of the audience and take part in the proceedings.

Request you to register interested members with the below details to attend this Event.

Name :

Company Name :

Designation :

Mobile No :

E Mail Id :

To register for the sessions send an email to digitalindiasummit@acquist. co.in OR can call us on 022 – 3946 4317

We look forward to your presence at this exclusive event.

Rights of admission reserved.

Thanks & Regards,

Acquist – Client Desk

Description: Description: Description: Description: cid:image001.jpg@01CEFBFE.70B0E830

Acquist Marketing and Information Solutions Private Limited.,

1st Floor,Tulsi Kunj,

Mukteshwar Ashram Road,

Powai, Mumbai – 400076.

Mobile Number: + 91 95948 91420

BRPL Trippings in Delhi at 1227 MW, Connected 10,000 MW

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December12, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

There are Frequent tripping of power in South Delhi like Rural Feeders for three days at a time when BRPL Load Fluctuates between 1483 MW to as low as 422 MW today against connected load of over 10,000 MW perhaps over 11,000 MW at present.

Maximum ‘Delhi Load’ today was 3539 MW at 10:10:58 hrs as given in the graph and table and minimum load was 1335 MW at 3:00:25 hrs against connected load exceeding 25,000 MW.

BRPL is not concerned with damage to Rs.Lakhs of Croresworth of equipment connected to it – sensitive gadgets like Computer Systems or Lifts or Traffic Lights or Metro Railway etc.

It was shocking Chairman and a Member Posts are Vacant of three member regulatory board.

Entity	Peak Load	Peak Load Time	Min. Load	Min. Load Time	Avg. Load
Delhi	3539	10:10:58	1335	03:00:25	2722
BRPL	1483	10:33:08	422	03:00:29	1060
NDPL	1202	11:27:14	424	03:00:27	890
BYPL	738	07:21:54	348	00:25:16	582
NDMC	176	12:54:43	96	00:29:04	139
MES	32	06:37:37	19	03:29:16	26

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

Doug Jones has won Alabama’s special Senate election

ON DECEMBER 13, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Naresh, we did it! Doug Jones has won Alabama’s special Senate election and is headed to Washington to become the state’s next U.S. Senator.

This is a victory for hardworking Alabama families and for Democrats nationwide. Hundreds of thousands of supporters from all over the country rallied to make phone calls, send text messages, share social media posts, and donate whatever they could to help Doug get out the vote today.

And we got the job done. Together.

We’ve proven all year long that we can win anywhere when we invest in our state parties, mobilize the grassroots, and employ all of our best practices, tools, and technologies to help our candidates win.

We have all of the momentum heading into the new year — but we know that Trump and his Republicans are going to fight tooth and nail to keep control of Congress.

Tonight, we proved yet again that we can beat the GOP — with your help, we can take the fight to them in all 50 states.

EU rebuffs Netanyahu’s call

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

The EU plans to invite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Brussels in January to convey its stance on the issue.

He said US President Donald Trump’s decision does not obviate peace but makes it possible.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris on Sunday. Macron expressed disapproval of the US decision.

He urged Netanyahu to make some courageous gestures toward the Palestinians, suggesting that Israel freeze construction of new settlements in East Jerusalem and other occupied lands.

But Netanyahu made no mention of the settlements during the news conference.

He said the sooner the Palestinians come to grips with reality, the sooner they will move toward peace.

Abbas, Sisi agree to revive East Jerusalem capital of Palestine

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Sisi is said to have reiterated his support for Palestinians claiming East Jerusalem as the capital of its future state.

Two leaders also agreed to continue high-level coordination to maintain the rights of Palestinians.

Climate change summit in Paris

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

World leaders gathered in Paris to discuss climate change on Tuesday, exactly 2 years after the Paris Agreement was adopted.

Attention is focused on whether they will be able to issue a clear message to secure funds from the public and private sectors to combat global warming.

The meeting was called by French President Emmanuel Macron. Leaders and cabinet ministers from nearly 100 countries as well as top United Nations officials were invited.

The gathering is part of efforts to ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which established an international framework to deal with global warming beyond 2020.

US President Donald Trump has announced his country’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. He has also said his country would stop contributing to a fund for developing nations.

Operation in Afghanistan’s north on ISIS

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Heavy snow Belgian flights cancelled

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Kerman, Iran

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Kerman province in SE Iran

Services Conclave “Serve India and the World”

ON DECEMBER 12, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Tuesday, 19th December, 2017: Hotel Leela Palace, New Delhi

Dear Mr/ Mrs,

It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with the support of the Ministry Commerce and Industry and Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) is organising the Services Conclave: Serve India and the World on 19th December in Delhi.

Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu has agreed to deliver the Inaugural Address at the conclave on the 19th of December.

The main components of the programme are:

· Conference

· Knowledge Report on Road map on Building Services Competitiveness

· White Paper on India: Leapfrogging with Disruptive Tech for 1.3 billion

· Global Exhibition on Services 2018: Curtain Raiser

The Conclave will attempt to bring in the stake holders: Government and Industry on a common platform to discuss and debate on building competitiveness of the Services Sector by,

Identifying and addressing key Competitive Differentiators in the Services Sector
Ideating on bridging the regulatory gaps in the key sub segments of the Services Sector
Strategizing to develop a holistic framework for an overarching Services Policy

I take the opportunity to invite you to join us for the Inaugural Session and also nominate your senior colleagues to attend the Conclave.

Look forward to receiving you at the Conclave.

Warm regards,

Amita Sarkar

——————————————

Amita Sarkar
Deputy Director General

Confederation of Indian Industry

The Mantosh Sondhi Centre

23, Institutional Area, Lodi Road

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December 14, 2017, 3:06 am

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Rohit first batsman to hit triple, double century

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Rohit Sharma’s third double hundred ease India to a level series after 141-run win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Mohali today.

Rohit Sharma captaining the team in absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, smashed 12 sixes and 13 fours in an unbeaten 208 after the hosts, who trail the three-match series 1-0, were put in to bat in Mohali.

Sharma reached 200 in the 50th over, bowled by opposition skipper Thisara Perera. His first hundred came off 115 balls, and his second off just 36 balls.

Sharma other double ton in home, scored 209 against Australia in Bangalore in 2013, and followed that double-hundred with his highest score of 264 against Sri Lanka a year later in Kolkata. Next to follow in double ton record after Rohit,the great to hit are Martin Guptill (New Zealand), Virender Sehwag (India), Chris Gayle (West Indies) and Sachin Tendulkar (India) those have recorded a double century each in ODI cricket.

Skipper Sharma made a bright start with his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (68) after the Indian batsmen´s horror showing in the opening ODI, when they were skittled out for just 112 and lost humiliating defeat from the Sri Lanka.

Sharma’s 213-run stand for the second wicket with Shreyas Iyer, who scored 88, also stood out on a hazy day in Mohali.

Dhawan, who hit nine boundaries during his 67-ball knock, was caught at mid-wicket off Sachith Pathirana.

But the wicket proved to be a minor blemish on India´s innings as Sharma dominated the bowlers with the attack-minded Iyer for company.

Sharma took a special liking to first-ODI hero Suranga Lakmal, hitting the paceman for four towering sixes in one over.

Iyer also changed gears after completing his maiden fifty in just his second ODI, smashing the Sri Lankan bowlers around the park.

Perera got three wickets with his medium-pace bowling but was still hit around the park by Sharma, who had vowed to bounce back after India were mauled in the first game.

Sharma’s unbeaten 208 steered the hosts to an imposing 392-4 and then restricted Sri Lanka to 251-8 to level the three-match series at 1-1 in Mohali.

Rohit hit an unbeaten 208 off 153 balls to fire India to a mammoth 392 for four. The chase proved to be too much for Sri Lanka as the visitors ended way behind at 251 for 8 with Angelo Mathews’ unbeaten 111 going in-vain. Yuzuvendra Chahal claimed 3 wickets for India.

India’s score of 392 for 4 in today’s match is the highest by any team at Mohali.
Skipper three double tons, plus has scored seven hundreds this year (six in ODIs and one in Tests) — all of this after a thigh surgery last November.
Shikhar Dhawan scored 68 off 69 balls and Shreyas Iyer hit 88 off 70 balls. For Sri Lanka, Thisara Perera took 3 wickets. After winning the game, skipper Rohit Sharma attributed the victory to collective effort of the team.

The third and final match of the ODI series will be played at Visakhapatnam on Sunday. The visitors will also play 3 match Twenty20 series against India, with the first T20 match on the 20th of this month at Cuttack.

Indian Retail inflation rises to 4.88 per cent

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Retail inflation has risen to 4 point 88 per cent in November this year on account of costlier fuel, vegetables and eggs. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the inflation, based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), was at 3.58 per cent in October. It was 3.63 per cent in November last year.

Inflation in eggs shot to 7.95 per cent in November on annual basis, as against 0.69 per cent in the previous month.In the fuel and light segment, it was 7.92 per cent, as against 6.36 in October.

For vegetables it was 22.48 per cent in November. The inflation in the segment was a only 7.47 per cent in October.

However, in the pulses segment the print continued to show disinflationary trend as it contracted by 23.53 per cent on annual basis.On overall basis, the inflation in the food segment increased to 4.42 per cent in November as compared to 1.9 per cent in the preceding month.

Indian Wholesale inflation jumps 3.93% in November

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Inflation based on the wholesale price index rose to 3(point)93 per cent in November this year. This was due to an increase in the prices of onions and seasonal vegetables.

Wholesale inflation had stood at 3.59 per cent in October this year, and 1.82 percent in November last year.

According to Commerce Ministry data, wholesale inflation in food articles increased to 6.06 per cent in November, from 4.3 per cent in October.

Wholesale inflation in onions surged to 178.19 per cent in November, and in seasonal vegetables, it jumped to 59.8 per cent. But inflation in eggs, meat and fish as a category dropped to 4.73 per cent during the month.

Inflation in manufactured goods stood at 2.61 per cent in November, almost unchanged from 2.62 in October.

Indian Industrial output growth hits to 3-mth low of 2.2% in Oct

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Growth in the country’s industrial production hit a three-month low of two point two per cent in October this year.

Factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production, had increased 4.2 percent in October last year, and 4.14 percent in September this year.

Data released by the Central Statistics Office today showed that growth in the manufacturing sector, which accounts for almost 78 per cent of the index, slowed to 2.5 per cent in October, mining output rose 0.2 per cent, and consumer durable goods output contracted 6.9 per cent.

But consumer non-durables output increased 7.7 per cent, and capital goods output rose 6.8 per cent in October.

8.4 million,“A step away from famine” in Yemen,

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

8.4 million people who are “a step away from famine” in Yemen, a senior UN official said on Monday.

A Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen’s civil war blockaded ports last month after a missile was fired towards Riyadh.

Jamie McGoldrick, the humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the blockade has since been eased, but the situation remained dire.

“The continuing blockade of ports is limiting supplies of fuel, food and medicines; dramatically increasing the number of vulnerable people who need help,” McGoldrick said in a statement.

“The lives of millions of people, including 8.4 million Yemenis who are a step away from famine, hinge on our ability to continue our operations and to provide health, safe water, food, shelter and nutrition support,” he added.

That marked an increase from past UN estimates of around 8 million people on the brink of famine.

The coalition accuses Iran of sending weapons to its Houthi allies, including missile parts, through Yemen’s main Hodeidah port, were most food supplies enter.

Saudi state television said on Monday a UN delegation of experts has arrived in Riyadh to meet the coalition and the Yemeni government the coalition supports “to prevent the transfer of weapons and rockets to Houthis”.

Iran has denied supplying the Houthis with weapons, saying the US and Saudi allegations are “baseless and unfounded”.

The United Nations says food shortages caused by the warring parties blocking supplies has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudis intervened in neighbouring Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis advanced on the southern port city of Aden and forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile.

The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and triggered a cholera epidemic that has infected about 1 million people.

The U.S. government on Friday called on the Saudi-led military coalition to facilitate the free flow of humanitarian aid to all of Yemen’s ports and through Sana‘a airport.

A senior State Department official told reporters in Geneva on Monday that the United States had provided nearly $638 million in humanitarian assistance to Yemen in the U.S. fiscal year 2017 that ended on Sept 30.

“We have called on both sides to stop the fighting and seek a political solution to the problem,” the official said.

He said the United States had made its position clear to its allies to end the blockade and called on the Houthis to allow access for humanitarian supplies as “there are shocking shortage of food, fuel and medicines that are causing great suffering”.

Americans get lower taxes

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

President Donald Trump said he’s just days away from delivering on a promise to provide “a massive tax cut for the everyday, working Americans who are the backbone and heartbeat of our country.” Lower taxes could go into effect as early as February, Trump said on Wednesday. Several middle-income families joined the president in the grand foyer of the White House to promote the reform. The agreement reached by House and Senate Republicans paves the way for final votes next week.

The House and Senate leadership have struck a deal on the tax reform bill, US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday. “We’re very close to getting it done,” he said, meeting at the White House with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who were leading the efforts to sort out the differences between the two chambers’ versions of the bill. Trump said he was hoping for a vote on the measure next week, before Congress goes on Christmas recess.

US, Italian, Russian astronauts return from ISS, land in Kazakhstan

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

A capsule carrying US, Russian and Italian astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday, according to a NASA TV live broadcast. Cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky of Roscosmos, as well as astronauts Paolo Nespoli of ESA and Randy Bresnik of NASA left the ISS early on Thursday, entered the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft, and closed the hatch at 2:01 GMT, the Russian mission control center said. Expedition 53 Commander Bresnik handed over station command to Roscosmos’s Aleksandr Misurkin in a change of command, NASA reported.

Pre Budget 2018 Conference

ON DECEMBER 14, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Mr. Sagar,

Greetings from Pahle India Foundation (PIF)!

Pahle India Foundation is a not for profit policy think tank, established in June 2013 as a Section 8 company. PIF’s motto is “Facilitating Policy Change.” PIF is committed to enriching the public discourse and also to influence policy formulation that will help India successfully complete its triple transition in economic, political and social fields.

With this in mind, Pahle India Foundation is organising a “Pre-Budget 2018 Conference” on 19th December 2017 at Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm, wherein we will be holding 3 sessions as under:

Session I: “Indian Economy and Budget 2018”

Chaired by: Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog (Confirmed)

Session II: “2018 Budget Asks from Banking & Financial Services”

Chaired by: Shri Rajiv Kumar, Secretary, Dept. of Financial Services, MoF (Invited)

Session III: “Infrastructure & Investment”

Chaired by: Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Dept. of Investment & Public Asset Management, MoF (Invited)

A detailed programme is given below for your information.

We hope to submit a detailed policy brief that summarises the discussion,as part of the overall 2018 Budget Asks,to concerned regulators andpolicymakers, to try and push the policy forward.

We look forward to seeing you at the Conference.

Please RSVP to:

Anil Kumar, Pahle India Foundation

E-mail: anil.kumar@pahleindia.org Tel: +91 11 41551498 Mob: +91 8826408889

Many thanks!

Regards,

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Vietnam US Goods Trade Surplus $32b($26.4b) India $19.7b ($21.5b)

ON DECEMBER 15, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December14, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

In 1980 when Garland Canal, world’s most Lunatic was proposed, on my hand written letter Indira Gandhi PM and PC Alexander her Principal Secretary decided to shelve it in a TV News Report in hours of receiving it – even more Lunatic –Planting Fruit trees on both banks of India Rivers was State Sponsored show all over India and entire Niti Ayog is Examining it.

In 2003 when President Kalam advocated River Linking – after he left I asked ‘River Linking STUPID idea of Ganga Cauvery is on for 30-40 yrs Instead of Transporting 50,000 Billion Tones of Water over 3000 km, most of it to lost on way why can’t we Grow Foods in Fertile Ganga Basin and export 30 million tones of Grains.’ India deserve Intelligent Leaders.

Last week CS Wealth Data release disappointed me the most, India is at the bottom of Median Wealth Per Adult in Asia– data for Afghanistan was not available. When countries of the region work to ensure ‘Equitable Distribution Of Wealth, Indian Banks Enrich Few.’

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/exh4s.pdf , https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/exh4as.pdf

When India’s Trade Surplus with USA declined in YTD Oct2017 compared to last year (-) $1.8b – Vietnam trade surplus increased by $5.6b. India was displaced by Malaysia for 9th rank exporting $5m more goods than India but Malaysia is justPunjab in population.

Vietnam Exports Growth 57 Times to India 4.6 Times Since 2000

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5520.html / https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5330.html

Vietnam’s Goods trade with USA in 2000 was $821m Exp and $365m Imp = $1186m when India’s figures were $10,686m and $3,667m = $14,353b but figures for this YTD to October2017 are$38,755m + $6,596m = $45,351m for Vietnam; India $40,987m+ $21,267m = $62,254m. Adjusting for two months or 20% -Vietnam Exports to USA Growth was 57 Times Since 2000 to India 4.6 Times.

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/exh20b.pdf

India’s Services exports to USA are $27,775b for last 4 Quarters, imports for same period are $22,729m – Surplus Trade in services is just $5b.

India YTD Exports of ATP to USA $1.531b; Pacific Rim – $213.282b

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/exh16a.pdf

When India’s YTD October2017 ATP Exports to USA was$1.531b, petty amount compared Pacific Rim countries Exports were $213.282b. All these countries were largely ruined in World War – S.Korea continues to be battle ready and Vietnam in particular endured 30 more years of war.

YTD Exports of South Korea was $14b to much larger Japan $18b.

China with $134 b ATP Exports led the world not just the region, Malaysia at $20.6b was next in the region. Taiwan just New Delhi in Population exported $12.6b, Singapore $6.9b, Philippines $3.9 b. Israel Exports $2.9 b twice more ATP to USA, Australia AT Exports too are more than India.

India’s Gross FDI $463 b, Vietnam $125 b > World $52,900 b

http://unctad.org/sections/dite_dir/docs/wir2017/wir17_fs_in_en.pdf /http://unctad.org/sections/dite_dir/docs/wir2017/wir17_fs_vn_en.pdf

India accounts for just 0.87% of Gross World FDI. [FDI both Inward & Outward are equally important – Inward brings in Technology & Skills & Outward FDI is Commercialization of Technologies & Skills on Global Scale]

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

“ITNEXT Annual Security Survey”

ON DECEMBER 15, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Request you to participate in the “ITNEXT Annual Security Survey”

]Dear IT Leader,

As you know, with growing cyber threats, security is becoming one of the most essential components of organizational IT strategy.

We are conducting a small research to better understand how IT managers in mid-sized organizations like yours approach security—how they perceive the risks, how they manage security as well as what they see as challenges.

To help your community’s cause, please help us by answering a few questions on your outlook and approach towards security. The survey will not take more than 10 minutes.

Please participate by clicking here.

As a gesture of our appreciation for your time and effort, we will share the summary of findings with you.

Thanks for your time

Editor IT Next

M6.5 – Java, Indonesia

ON DECEMBER 15, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude	6.5
Date-Time	15 Dec 2017 16:47:57 UTC 15 Dec 2017 23:47:57 near epicenter 15 Dec 2017 20:47:57 standard time in your timezone
Location	7.734S 108.023E
Depth	91 km
Distances	0.3 km (0.2 mi) ESE of Cipatujah, Indonesia 43.4 km (26.9 mi) SSW of Singaparna, Indonesia 44.0 km (27.3 mi) SSW of Kawalu, Indonesia 50.0 km (31.0 mi) SSW of Tasikmalaya, Indonesia 102.1 km (63.3 mi) SSE of Bandung, Indonesia

Seminar ‘Engaging an Expansionist China: Options for India’

ON DECEMBER 15, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

NMML Invitation for Seminar ‘Engaging an Expansionist China: Options for India’ 18-19 December, 2017

Kingsize Enjoyment: A380s in Munich

ON DECEMBER 15, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Lufthansa has already deployed 15 A350 aircraft at Munich Airport, and in 2018 they will be reinforced by five A380 wide-body airliners. These are the world’s largest and heaviest passenger aircraft. Measuring nearly 73 meters long and 24 meters tall with a maximum takeoff weight of 560 tonnes, each of these planes can accommodate up to 526 passengers.

This is major news for Germany’s southernmost aviation hub: it is the first time that Lufthansa is using the superjumbos to power three important long-haul routes, namely those to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Beijing. This expansion of intercontinental capacities will catapult Munich into the elite club of Europe’s largest airports. It will also integrate Bavaria better into the globe-spanning aviation network.

The airport’s boss, Dr. Michael Kerkloh, sees the planned stationing of the giant Airbus planes as a logical consequence of the joint efforts in recent years to grow the Munich hub: “Now we’re harvesting the fruits of the highly successful partnership between Lufthansa and Munich Airport, which proves its worth daily in Terminal 2 and the new satellite building. The fact that the London-based Skytrax institute honored our Terminal 2 this year as the world’s best airport terminal confirms that passengers, more than anyone else, are benefiting greatly from this intensive collaboration.”

See for yourself: experience these gargantuan aircraft up close and use them to fly nonstop to Los Angeles, Hong Kong or Beijing in state-of-the-art comfort.

Dear Naresh Kumar, take a look

ON DECEMBER 15, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Naresh Kumar,take a look and stay informed about the most exciting news at Munich Airport. Visit the new “Welcome Lounge” before you take off with the A380 to Los Angeles!

But also in Munich itself are a lot of things going on that you should not miss! Stay at the new Steigenberger Hotel in Munich´s city center and experience the latest show “APASSIONATA”!

Do you have any suggestions, criticism, or perhaps even a word of praise about our newsletter to contribute? If so, simply reply to this email. We’re glad to receive any feedback from you!

Best wishes,
Your Munich Airport Marketing Team

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December 19, 2017, 3:05 am

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Shouting brigade threats, poll results & Ram Janmbhoomi case

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

– Vinod Bansal

Every eye was stuck up, be it a media channel, politician, social worker or a common man, everybody was busy speculating what would happen in the apex court as the case of Ram Janmbhumi was to be heard on a day to day basis. Many petitions/appeals were made, dozens of learned advocates were ready for the arguments, and many new applications were filed for becoming a party to the case. Hon. Judges were there to find a solution to the 77 year old high profile litigation after the country’s independence. Almost all concerned were hopeful that something new will come-up after the day-long hearing of 5th December, 2017, the date decided by the Supreme Court 116 days earlier, i.e. on 11th Aug, 2017.

It was 2Pm when the Hon. Judges began the proceedings in the court room fully occupied by the advocates/attorneys/ plaintiffs/defendants/ appellants/respondents etc. Senior Advocates K. Parasaran, C S Vaidyanathan, Harish Salve and Vikramjit Banerjee of shri Ram Lala Virajman started their arguments but, the other side on several occasions interrupted them. Hearing of the matter was strenuously opposed by former Union Law minister, senior congress man & Counsels Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave and Rajeev Dhawan, respectively.

Sibal stated that this hearing was being made at the instance of the BJP, as it was in BJP manifesto by referring to a letter of Subramanian Swamy addressed to the PM even though his matter is detagged. He specifically mentioned that matter should be heard only in July 2019, after completion of tenure of this Government. Kapil Sibal and Dave also stated that judgment in this case will affect the secular fabric of the country and will have repercussions outside the court and therefore you should not hear it. Instead of three, not even five, but seven judges bench should be constituted as this matter is of high importance. Dhavan even told the CJI that they cannot conclude hearing of this case during their tenure. Sibal even threatened to walk out of the proceedings if the hearing commenced. The documents are running into 90,000 pages and all the exhibits have not been filed.

The councils for Ram Lala Virajman opposed the repeated interruptions saying that it is merely a first appeal arising out of a title suit and there is no question as to interpretation of constitution as required under Art. 145. The bench accepted the contention and said that at this stage there were no questions which would require reference to larger bench, but if the occasion arises we will consider it.

When C S Vaidyanathan proceeded to open his case by stating the statement of case and placed his submission before the court, the other side again started objecting to the proceedings saying that the documents are running into 90000 pages and all the exhibits have not been filed. The councils for Ram Lala Virajman apprised the court that they had filed all their documents and it is only the other side who has not filed their exhibits which were very few in number. State of UP has also filed all the translated statements as directed by the court on 11/8/2017.

It was unfortunate that on the very first day of the hearing of the first appeal, the politics, threats, indecency and illogical arguments were seen in the highest judiciary of the country. First of all how the manifesto of a political party could affect the proceedings/judgement? If anything happens outside the court, it is the duty of the government to tackle it or approach the court in the matter (if requires). But justice can neither be delayed nor could it be denied on this ground. Secondly, how some so-called senior counsels compel the court that the case be heard only by Five/seven judge bench instead of the existing bench of three judges headed by the CJI? Being the highest judiciary of the country, most of the SC Judges have left with very short service tenures. How the counsels could stop hearing the case by a judge on this illogical ground? Over and above, it was most socking that the so-called senior councils were not only shouting & disturbing the court but also threatening to boycott the court proceedings.

In another case in the apex court, due to repeated disruptions/disrespect by the Shouting Brigade the Supreme Court on Thursday (7th Dec.) warned the so-called senior advocates and lawyers to forthwith rein in their tendency to raise their voice during arguments when they find the court disagreeing with them.
Taking strong exception to the repeated tactics employed by the ‘shouting brigade’ a five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan said, “Lawyers are called the ministers of justice. They are also referred to as officers of the court. But unfortunately, a small group of lawyers raise their voice. They must understand absolutely clearly that raising their voice is not going to be tolerated. Raising the voice means either the lawyer is incompetent to present the case or he is inadequately prepared with the case.”

Referring to the arguments advanced by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Dushaynt Dave and Rajeev Dhavan in the Ayodhya case on Tuesday and the manner in which Dhavan argued on Wednesday for Delhi government in its turf war with the Centre, the CJI said, “We are compelled to connect it (expression of anguish) to yesterday’s incident (when the bench expressed dissatisfaction with Dhavan’s tone and tenor of arguments in the Delhi case). Behaviour of the senior counsel was atrocious yesterday. Day before yesterday (in Ayodhya case), it was even more atrocious. “The senior counsel (Dhavan) who argued on Wednesday (in Delhi case) contradicted the other counsel for Delhi government Indira Jaising. Same client had many counsel. Different and contradictory arguments were advanced by the counsel for the same party. How does the court discern what is the stand of the party? This is not the tradition of the bar. If the bar does not regulate, we will be compelled to regulate.”

Judges have highest respect in our country but unfortunately, the above facts clearly evident that some advocates believed that they could/had the influence over the judiciary and could do anything they want. Now its high time to deal with this shouting brigade firmly either through the Bar or through the courts verdict. But Nobody could be allowed to cross the limits of the constitution/judicial pronouncements of this great country. Non serious litigations/counsels & vested political interference in the system should also be dealt with firmly. All though, the first hearing of the Ram JanmBhumi case has clearly become victim of the shouting brigade threats, Congress politics & non serious players but it had unveiled the constant hidden agenda of the congress & like-minded influential people who might have been infiltrated into our top constitutional bodies since long for their vested interests. The latest poll results of the two states have again put stamp on the fact that people of this country are well aware of behaviors tactics & intent of those anti-Hindu & unconstitutional divisive forces who may attack any time on any constitutional body. Every citizen of this country is of the opinion that now it is high time to regain the glory of the Ram Temple at the birth place of Bhagwan shri Ram in pious Ayodhya and declare the pride of Bharat the Ram Setu a national monument.

** Writer is a social worker, columnist & National spokesperson of Vishawa Hindu Parishad(VHP)**

Russia warns weapons supplies to Ukraine

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Russia has warned the US and Canada about the consequences of arms shipments to Ukraine, TASS reported on Tuesday. Shipments of US and Canadian weapons to Ukraine are pushing the country’s leadership to pursue new military adventures, said Pyotr Ilyichyov, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN. He cited reports that Canada had announced its readiness to issue licenses to companies for arms deliveries to Ukraine. They include, in particular, the manufacturer of hand-grenade launchers Airtronic USA. “Everyone should understand that the conflict in the Donbass will not be resolved by force,” Ilyichyov said.

Thai election to be held in November 2018

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday he would use a special order giving the military sweeping powers to lift a ban on political activity. The ban has been in place since a 2014 coup. Prayuth, who is also head of the junta, has said that Thailand will hold a general election in November 2018, Reuters reports. Major political parties had been urging the government for months to lift the ban in order to allow parties to prepare for the vote.

US strategic report an Imperial act

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

19399588_10212862279573367_241255944724245033_n

China and Russia denounced a US report on national security strategy. President Donald Trump’s first National Security Strategy pillories China and Russia as “revisionist powers” bent on rolling back American interests, according to the hard-hitting text released Monday.

The document designed to serve as a framework for the Trump administration’s approach to the world uses remarkably biting language to frame Beijing and Moscow as global competitors.

The Kremlin denounced the “imperialist character” of the report, accusing Washington of clinging to a “unipolar world.”

“The imperialist character of this document is obvious, as is the refusal to renounce a unipolar world, an insistent refusal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding the Russian authorities “cannot accept that the country is treated as a threat to the security of the United States”.

China said Washington should “abandon outdated notions such as a Cold War mentality”.

“Any country, or any report, which distorts the facts, or maliciously slanders will only do so in vain,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.

Cooperation between China and the US will lead to a win-win outcome for both sides, but confrontation will bring mutual losses, China said on Tuesday. The statement came after Washington branded it a competitor that was seeking to challenge US power. Beijing hopes the US can seek common ground while respecting differences, China’s US embassy said. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China has always been a contributor to global development and a protector of the international order, Reuters reported. In a new national security strategy based on US President Donald Trump’s “America First” vision on Monday, the US described China and Russia together as competitors seeking to erode US security and prosperity.

India gets USD 400 million boost from new European Investment Bank

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Renewable energy investment across India gets USD 400 million boost from new European Investment Bank – YES BANK initiative

Expansion of renewable energy power generation across India will be supported by a new
USD 400 million joint initiative backed by the European Investment Bank and YES BANK, India’s 5thlargest private sector bank. YES BANK will manage the new co-financing programme for construction of new solar power plants and wind farms across the country.

The new USD 400 million private sector renewable energy financing programme was announced in New Delhi today by Donal Cannon, Head of the European Investment Bank Representation to South Asia and Arun Agrawal, Group President, International Banking, YES BANK. It will be supported by USD 200 million from the European Investment Bank, alongside financing from YES BANK, project promoters and other financial institutions.

The 15 year USD 200 million EIB loan was approved by the EIB Board of Directors on 12th December and financial details of the new initiative are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.

The new financing programme will streamline financing for a range of renewable energy projects being built and operated by leading Indian corporations and private sector developers. Eligible solar projects have already been identified in the states of Rajasthan, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka and additional wind and solar projects are currently being examined.

“India and the European Union are committed to the Paris Agreement and tackling climate change. This new USD 400 million initiative demonstrates the shared vision and commitment of both the European Investment Bank and Yes Bank to increasing renewable energy power generation across India. This new financing programme will make a significant contribution to harnessing wind power and solar energy to produce green energy, create thousands of jobs during construction and strengthen technical and financial skills for the renewable energy sector to expand.” said Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President.

“The new cooperation between YES BANK and the European Investment Bank, demonstrates another milestone in our leadership as India’s pre-eminent ‘Green Bank’. The highly successful transaction showcases continued trust and enthusiasm of Global multilaterals and Finance Institutions in partnering with YES BANK. With this transaction we remain well on track to achieve our commitment to finance 5,000 MW of RE made at the 1st RE-INVEST Summit in Feb 2015 and is also synchronous with our COP 21 commitment of mobilizing USD 5 Bn for Climate Finance by 2020.” said Mr. Rana Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK.

This new initiative is the first EIB cooperation with YES BANK, and represents the first support for renewable energy in Asia with a commercial bank. This is also the longest tenor borrowing facility for YES BANK in the international loan market. The European Investment Bank is the world’s largest international public bank, owned directly by the 28 European Union member states and the largest lender for renewable energy investment worldwide.

Last year the European Investment Bank provided EUR 19.6 billion for climate related investment worldwide.

In recent months the EIB has made new investment in sustainable transport in India, backing expansion of the Bangalore and Lucknow Metro systems..

Background information:

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

Train on inaugural trip derails near Tacoma

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

High speed the passenger train that derailed in Washington state was traveling 80 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone, transport investigators said late Monday.

Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told journalists “it´s too early to tell” why the train was traveling at such a fast speed, an estimate that came from preliminary information obtained from an event data recorder in the rear locomotive.

Amtrak passenger train on its inaugural trip on a new route derailed this morning in Washington state near the city of Tacoma, spilling multiple cars flying off a bridge and onto a busy interstate, killing at least six people.

The train, which was carrying 78 passengers and five crew, was part of a newly expanded faster rail service along the route linking Seattle and Portland, Oregon featuring new locomotives.

The Amtrak train was traveling on a new route for the first time before plunging off a bridge onto a busy highway, leaving at least six people dead.Many more were injured on board the train, which hit vehicles on the I-5 highway below. Another 77 people have been taken to hospital, reports say.

Federal investigators would be on the scene for a full day Tuesday, she said, kicking off a probe into the incident that would likely last seven to 10 days.

Information obtained from the front locomotive´s data recorder, which has been more difficult to access, would potentially lend more insight into the train´s exact speed, according to Dinh-Zarr.

Pictures captured following Monday morning´s derailment showed one Amtrak train car overturned and crushed on the interstate highway and others dangling from the overpass.

Several other carriages of the 14-car train also ended up on the highway, shutting down a key section of the busy artery that connects the greater Seattle metropolitan area to Olympia. All but one car jumped the tracks.

Officials gave no reason for the derailment of southbound Amtrak train 501, the inaugural run of a new service that promised faster connections between Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Local officials had warned only weeks ago that the track still might not be safe enough to handle trains at higher speeds.

‘INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN IN AVIATION & AEROSPACE’

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Afghan-Air-Force_UH-60-Black-Hawk_Kandahar

PRESS INVITATION

Indian Women Pilots Association cordially invites you for the Press Conference & to share with you the uniqueness of

‘INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN IN AVIATION & AEROSPACE’

(The Indian Women Pilots Association Indian Women Professionals in Aviation & Aerospace invites you for the Grand Conference including Indian & Abroad Mentors, along with eminent personalities.)

Chief Guest:

· Shri P.Ashok Gajapathi Raju (Hon’ble Union Minister of Civil Aviation)

Guests of Honour:

· Shri Jayant Sinha (Minister of State for Civil Aviation)

· Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa (Chief of Air Staff) Along with many others.

Time: 5:00 pm

Date: 19th December 2017 (Tuesday)

Venue: Air Force Auditorium, Subrato Park, Near Dhaula Kuan Metro Station, Delhi

You are requested to send correspondents/ photographers/ camera crew for the Event.

R.S.V.P

Shailesh Giri

9811222325(M)

Standing ovation for Bollywood’s Ashley Lobo in Germany

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Standing ovation for Bollywood’s Ashley Lobo in Germany

Ashley Lobo is first Indian to choreograph ballet for an international company

Bollywood’s renowned choreographer Ashley Lobo who has choreographed many super hit songs in Bollywood movies and made SRK, Hrithik, Anushka dance to his steps has been making waves internationally as well.

Ashley‘s international acclaim got one of Germany’s biggest art companies – the Chemnitz Ballet Company to invite Ashley to choreograph The Jungle Book in ballet form. Ashley Lobo went on to script and choreograph a full length dance drama play based on The Jungle Book theme. Show after show AshleyLobo has been getting standing ovation by packed houses coming in to watch the show.

Ashley says: “Its indeed a pleasure and honor to represent India on international dance platforms and showcasing that India indeed is a powerhouse of skilled dancers and talent. Indian choreography is thankfully making a huge impact internationally and really honoured to be a part of this wonderful journey. It was a proud moment for me as an Indian to get standing ovation from the German audiences.”

Ashley is back in the country after working on the German ballet dance drama for two months.

Ashley is the first Indian to choreograph a ballet dance drama for an international company.

Ashley has choreographed songs in films like Jab We Met, Namastey London, Cocktail, Guzarish, Harry Met Sejal, Rabtaa and many more. He now aims to make a dance film which he is scripting himself.

Services Conclave “Serve India and the World”

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu Service Conclave address, India need to be the global leaders in service sector, our services are globally acceptable. Apart from health, education, awaits mega growth in employment but even manufacturing, agriculture, the need of digital services an essential part in all sectoral dimensions and progressive employment generators. Services are now globally are best and productive engine of growth for the developed and developing world. India shall be organising this years an International seminar in which we must take a lead in coordinating the converging various sectors for which Mr Vivek Nair leader in hospitality and Mr Uday Kotak fiscal and banking leader are best persons to play pivot part in ensuing International event.

Service Conclave: Bank fiscal for MSME weak, Digital service enhance pace in tourism, promos. Technology transition is giving teething problems for employments. Jobless global growth irk at all levels. India GST landscapr poorrly planned, mover of economy the Tourism is still bewildered with higher GST, need to be 5℅. GST need further ease in sector-vise. Indian diaspora 15mn. MSME Innovation RD, Raw Material needs paramount attention by both governments and other business houses further MSMS no ease of business, the Gov banks make mockery of startups. MediaEnt also reels under GST as this sector too is job captive.

GeM – eProcurement Gov initiative

Prashant Kishore Rs.250 Cr Fees is Just & Fair Service Cost

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December19, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singhprogressindia2015@gmail.com

Ireland was poorest Nation in EU but in 8 Years was richest EU country. Mind Blowing Transformation is possible through Professionally Led & Supported Government.

Had Rahul Gandhi hired Political Consultant after losing 2014 @ Rs.4 Crore Per month INC would have ‘Won Every Election’ After that including Gujarat Election.Parties may have spent Rs.2,000 Cr in Gujarat Elections in just 60 days.

When States Hire Advocates who charge Rs.1 Cr for every appearance in lower court –National Elections or State Election fees of Rs.250 Cr or Rs.500 Cr Fee is virtually nothing considering the actual poll expenditure.

In fact Consultants Fee should not be Considered as Poll Expense because this the way Elections should fought in Democracy and instead of –

n Instead of Poll Funding – Each Party be provided State FUNDS to hire Consultants.

n This shall make Indian Elections Clean and Fair.

n Parties should be assisted to IMPROVE their performance & develop economic policies.

Even after so much expenditureParties Couldn’t release Poll Manifesto – both Congress and BJP sites have no Gujarat manifesto – means Gross Failure to even explain their 5 year plans.

Congress Manifesto Highlight‘Promises to Constitute SIT to Investigate Corruption’ but INC was largely sleeping most of 5 years.

BJP in run up to the 2014 Elections hired 5,000-20,000 Consultants to Manage Election Campaign – Monthly expenditure could be Rs.100 Cr Per Month in last 4-6 months.

Consultants can in case of INC from Selection & Training of Candidates for LS 2019, and state elections in between,design poll campaign, Speeches, Media Engagement, Development Issues, Grooming Leaders in Each District of India, Economic Policies related to Agriculture, Industry & Services, Public Services etc.

Both Congress and BJP largest parties of India don’t have PROPER websites when every State and Parliament candidate should have their own Websites like in Developed countries.

I alone have over 43 yrs experience.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Power of Love

ON DECEMBER 19, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

PRESS INVITATION

You are cordially invites you for the Song launch of the first Hollywood Song by personalities of Indian Film Industry & to share with you the uniqueness of

‘POWER OF LOVE’

(Versatile Indian Playback Singer Hema Sardesai has made her American debut with her new single. This song was rel;eased in Manhattan, New York on Monday.)

Guests:

· Hema Sardesai(Bollywood Playback Singer)

· Mishaal Raheja (TV Star, Love-Story & Laagi Tujhse Lagan fame)

Time: 2:00 pm

Date: 19th December 2017 (Tuesday)

Venue: PVR Plaza, H-Block, CP, Delhi

You are requested to send correspondents/ photographers/ camera crew for the Event.

R.S.V.P

Shailesh Giri

9811222325(M)

Germany, UNMA Launch First Global Migration Data Portal

ON DECEMBER 18, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Berlin — Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and IOM, the UN Migration Agency’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) will launch today (15/12) the Migration Data Portal in Berlin. The Migration Data Portal brings together the key facts and figures about global migration trends in one place for the first time.

“Especially in critical times, such as those we are facing today, it is our task to ensure that responses to migration are based on sound facts and accurate analysis,” said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.

The idea to develop such a portal was first discussed and agreed upon on 12 July 2016, at the 2nd Berlin Roundtable on Refugees and Migration, where the former German Foreign Minister met with heads of international organizations working on migration, including IOM, UNHCR, the IFRC, the EC and the World Bank. The Portal was developed by IOM and with the support of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The Migration Data Portal was developed with financial support from the US Department of State and Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.

The portal communicates global data on migration through visualizations, infographics and videos. It simplifies the navigation through complex international migration data for policy makers, journalists, statisticians and anyone interested in migration.

The portal also covers a wide range of topics including data on immigration and emigration trends; the linkages between migration and development; data on irregular migration; students and children; and data on migration policies as defined by the United Nations development goals and background on a global compact on migration expected to be adopted by the UN in 2018.

At its initial stage, the portal features 70 indicators from 15 international data providers (UNDESA, UNHCR and World Bank among others) and aggregates data at the national, regional and global levels. This range offers ample opportunities to explore and compare data while, understanding the context behind it.

“At a time when migration is high on the global agenda, it is essential that everyone has access to the key facts and figures about migration, and that we better understand the strengths and weaknesses of data on migration,” said Frank Laczko, Director of IOM´s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre.

German foreign policy employs a coherent strategy to manage migratory movements more efficiently and to address the root causes of forced migration. For fact-based policies and responses, reliable data are vital to ensure efficient, needs-based humanitarian aid, to counter harmful assumptions and to fight populism.

The development of the Migration Data Portal is a big step forward towards making the multitude of data on migration better and more available to policy makers.

The Migration Data Portal will scale up in coming months, making more data available at the regional and national levels. Visit the Migration Data Portal at: www.migrationdataportal.org

For more information contact Stylia Kampani at IOM GMDAC: Tel: +49 (0)30 278 778 16; Email: skampani@iom.int.

PGTI to become an ‘Open Tour’ from the 2018 season

ON DECEMBER 18, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Schedule for first half of 2018 announced

· PGTI to become an ‘Open Tour’ from 2018 with no restriction on the number of foreigners on the tour

· PGTI set to host 8 events in first half of 2018 with prize money of approximately Rs. 2.8 crore

· 3 new events scheduled in the first half

· Season tees-off on 24th January with inaugural Dhaka Open, an international event tri-sanctioned by PGTI, ADT & BPGA

New Delhi, December 17, 2017: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is set to become an ‘Open Tour’ from 2018 onward. This would mean there will be no restriction on the number of foreigners on the tour once they earn their cards through the PGTI Qualifying School.

The PGTI had a limit of a maximum of 15 foreign players in each tournament till date. As the PGTI now transforms into an ‘Open Tour’, there will be no such restriction any more.

With the PGTI becoming an ‘Open Tour’ from next season, the tour also hopes to soon align itself with the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system thus attracting world ranking points for all its future events.

The PGTI has also announced its calendar for the first half of the 2018 season. As per the calendar, the PGTI is scheduled to host eight tournaments between the months of January and April. The front half of the year will feature three new events.

The total prize purse on offer in the first half is approximately Rs. 2.8 crore, an increase of Rs. 20 lakh compared to last season.

The 2018 season will tee-off on 24th January with the inaugural Dhaka Open at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The event worth approximately INR 40 lakh will be tri-sanctioned by the PGTI, Asian Development Tour (ADT) and the Bangladesh Professional Golfers Association (BPGA).

Besides the Dhaka Open, there would be two new additions to the schedule including an event in Delhi NCR.

The PGTI Cochin Masters presented by CIAL Golf Club (Rs. 40 lakh), Golconda Masters (Rs. 40 lakh) and Pune Open (Rs. 30 lakh) are the three established PGTI events that feature in the schedule for the first half.

The two events that return for their second editions are the Chennai Open (Rs. 30 lakh) and the Chittagong Open (Rs. 40 lakh).

The US$ 1.75 million Indian Open, co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Asian Tour, will be the second international event in the first half of the season. The Indian Open, now a PGTI Order of Merit event, is slated to be held from March 8 – 11, 2018.

With PGTI hosting eight Order of Merit events in the first half and the Indian Open also becoming an Order of Merit event, there will be a total of nine PGTI Order of Merit events in the first half of the season.

The First Stage of the 2018 PGTI Qualifying School will begin from January 8, 2018. It will feature three events of 36-holes each (Pre Qualifying I, II & III). The Final Stage of the Qualifying School, a 72-hole event, will be staged from January 17 – 20, 2018. The Qualifying School will be held at the Kensville Golf & Country Club, Ahmedabad.

DATE	TOURNAMENT	PRO-AM	VENUE	PRIZE MONEY
Jan 24-27, 2018	Dhaka Open 2018*	Jan 23, 2018	Kurmitola Golf Club, Dhaka, Bangladesh	BDT 50 Lacs (approx INR 40 Lacs)
Jan 31 – Feb 3, 2018	2018 PGTI Cochin Masters presented by CIAL Golf Club	Feb 4, 2018	CIAL Golf Club, Cochin	INR 40 Lacs
Feb 8-11, 2018	New Event (TBC)	Feb 7, 2018	TBC	TBA
Feb 22-25, 2018	Golconda Masters 2018 (TBC)	Feb 21, 2018	Hyderabad Golf Club, Hyderabad	INR 40 Lacs
Mar 1-4, 2018	Chennai Open 2018	Feb 28, 2018	Madras Gymkhana Golf Annexe, Guindy, Chennai	INR 30 Lacs
Mar 8-11, 2018	Indian Open 2018* (TBC)	Mar 7, 2018	TBC	US$ 1,750,000
Mar 13-16, 2018	New Event	Mar 17, 2018	Delhi NCR	INR 30 Lacs
Mar 21 – 24, 2018	Chittagong Open 2018	Mar 20, 2018	Bhatiary Golf & Country Club, Chittagong, Bangladesh	INR 40 Lacs
Apr 10-13, 2018	Pune Open Golf Championship 2018	Apr 14, 2018	Poona Club Golf Course, Pune	INR 30 Lacs

Seminar on Engaging an Expansion China, Option for India

ON DECEMBER 18, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

‏ @Nksagar

Sagar Media Inc:Engaging an Expansion China Option for India Ranjit Ghua let India be not kiddy in global strategy . Prof Bharat Karnad CPR, India to liberate to be power in itself, national interestparamount, not to be parasite 2 Superpower.We have to have plans, strategy. Adm Anil chopra talked on importance of Marine best location

Fourth, Five Generation warfare are needed, further Cyber warfare all are important for the war all Time.

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Friday, December 22, 2017

FAC:Food scare in conflict-hit Mid East, N. Africa

Food security in the Middle East and North Africa “is fast deteriorating” because of conflicts, the UN’s food agency said Thursday. Violence in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Sudan are leading to “a widening gap in well-being” compared with other parts of the region, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. “The level of undernourishment in the conflict countries is now six times larger than that in non-conflict countries,” it said, as cited by AFP. Yemen is suffering the worst food insecurity and malnutrition of all the conflict-hit countries in the region, followed by Syria and Sudan, according to the FAO’s report.

Naresh Kumar Sagar

Just now

Bomb explodes outside Athens court
ON DECEMBER 22, 2017 BY NARESH SAGAREDIT
A crude bomb exploded near the Athens Court of Appeal on Friday morning, causing damage to the building, police say. Officers found a bag outside the building which contained explosive material. There are no reports of injuries. Greek media groups received warning calls nearly an hour before the blast, according to police.

Pro Independence way ahead in Catalona Election

ON DECEMBER 22, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Media reports play various exit polls,counting in progress results are in favour of Catalan pro independence leaders.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, are on course to win 70 of the 135 parliamentary seats.

Media report parties opposing the region’s independence are likely to gain 57 seats.

Observers say if secessionist forces regain their majority, they could step up pressure for independence, dealing a heavy blow to the administration of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

The Catalan election was conducted after Rajoy’s central government dissolved the regional parliament as it approved the unilateral declaration of regional independence in October.

Young Food Leaders

ON DECEMBER 22, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Nksagar,

We’ve just announced some of our incredible speakers for our upcoming District of Columbia (February 28), Seattle (March 17), and Boston (April 19) 2018 Food Tank Summits.

All three events are going to be incredible, and we hope you will join us in 2018.

Also, we are putting up a limited number of tickets for all three summits at 20-percent off, while supplies last ($239 instead of $299).

Here are just a few of the incredible people you will see:

Washington, D.C. (February 28, 2018, at the Jack Morton Auditorium)
Cultivating the Next Generation of Young Food Leaders
In partnership with The George Washington University, World Resources Institute, the National Farmers Union, Future Farmers of America, and the National Young Farmers Coalition

30+ speakers including (many more to be announced): M.J. Altman, World Food Program USA; José Andrés, Celebrity Chef and Owner, ThinkFoodGroup; Allison Aubrey, National Public Radio; Eliza Barclay, Vox; Xavier Brown, Soilful City; Blaze Currie, National Future Farmers of America; Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post; Jill Isenbarger, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture; Roger Johnson, National Farmers Union; Rachel Konrad, Impossible Foods Inc.; Jeremiah Lowery, D.C. Food Policy Council; Kathleen Merrigan, The George Washington University; Edie Mukiibi, Slow Food International; Regina Northouse, Food Recovery Network; Andrew Steer, World Resources Institute; Lindsey Lusher Shute, National Young Farmers Coalition; Dan Simons, Founding Farmers; Lauren Frances Tucker, Kiss the Ground; and Cecily Upton,FoodCorps.

To learn more or purchase tickets for the Washington D.C. Summit click HERE.

Seattle, WA (March 17, 2018, at Pigott Auditorium at Seattle University)
Growing Food Policy
In partnership with Food Action and Seattle University

30+ speakers including (many more to be announced): Ashley Ahearn, KUOW Seattle; Steve Cohen, City of Portland; Ken Cook, Environmental Working Group; BJ Cummings,Sustainable Seattle; Whitney Ellersick, Portland Public Schools; Mark Freeman, Microsoft; Ben Friedman, Homegrown; Chip Giller, Grist; Rosalinda Guillén, Community to Community Development; Katie Herzog, The Stranger; Stephen Jones, The Bread Lab at Washington State University; Sharon Lerman, City of Seattle; Mike Lufkin, King County Government; Amanda Oborne, Ecotrust; and Nicole Sprinkle, Seattle Weekly.

To learn more or purchase tickets for the Seattle Summit click HERE.

Boston, MA (April 19, 2018, at Royale)
Exploring the Paradox of Hunger and Obesity
In collaboration with the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Oxfam America

30+ speakers including (many more to be announced): Eva Botkin-Kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor; Lindsay Kalter, Boston Herald; Jeff Cole, Mass Farmers Markets; Jennifer L. Harris, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity; Alex Kingsbury, The Boston Globe; Katherine Miller, James Beard Foundation; Michel Nischan, Wholesome Wave; Gideon Porth, Atlas Farm; Noreen Springstead, WhyHunger; and Norbert Wilson, Tufts University.

To learn more or purchase tickets for the Boston Summit click HERE.

Every day we will be making more incredible announcements, and these events will all sell out quickly! Tickets include breakfast and lunch. All of our events are free to watch via live stream, and a limited number of scholarships are still available.

Hope to see you at one of these incredible events!

All the best,

Myanmar denies entry of UN special rapporteur

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Myanmar denies entry of UN special rapporteur. A United Nations human rights investigator Yanghee Lee has disclosed that she had been barred from visiting Myanmar to assess the human rights of minority Rohingya Muslims there.

UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee on Wednesday released a statement saying the declaration of non-cooperation with her mandate can only be viewed as a strong indication that there must be something terrible happening in Rakhine state.

Lee condemned Myanmar’s government, saying she is puzzled and disappointed by the decision. Lee was scheduled to visit the western state of Rakhine next month, where security forces have been accused of abusing the human rights of Rohingya Muslims.

Initiatives of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) in 2017

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) envisions a vibrant MSME Sector by promoting growth and development of the MSME Sector, including Khadi, Village and Coir Industries, in cooperation with the concerned Ministries/Departments, State Governments and other Stakeholders, through providing support to existing enterprises and encouraging setting-up of new enterprises.

The year 2017 has been very significant for the Ministry of MSME during which it took various initiatives to promote MSME Sector including launching of Digital MSME Scheme, augmented the package for supporting MSEs, took various initiatives to support MSMEs in the backdrop of demonetization, work started to establish Technology Centers in eight cities, launched MSME Delayed Payment Portal and Public Procurement Portal among others.

The Major Initiatives of the Ministry during this year are mentioned below:

Digital MSME Scheme launched:

The Digital MSME Scheme is revolving around Cloud Computing which is emerging as a cost effective and viable alternative in comparison to in-house IT infrastructure installed by MSMEs. In Cloud Computing, MSMEs use the internet to access common as well as tailor-made IT infrastructure including software for managing their business processes. Cloud Computing is free from the burden of investment on hardware/software and infrastructural facilities. This Scheme would encourage MSMEs towards this new approach i.e. Cloud Computing for ICT adoption.

Package for supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) approved – Corpus of Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for Micro, and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) augmented:

1. Corpus of the Trust augmented from Rs. 2,500 crore to Rs. 7,500 crore and will be fully funded by the Government of India.

2. Coverage of the loans covered under the Credit Guarantee Scheme from Rs.1 crore to Rs.2 crore increased.

3. Coverage of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for loans being extended to Micro and Small Enterprises by NBFCs increased

Initiatives taken for MSMEs in the backdrop of Demonization:

1. The coverage of the loans covered under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSEs implemented by CGTMSE has been increased from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2 crore

2. The credit Guarantee scheme has also been extended for loans given to MSMEs by NBFCs.

3. Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance has issued an advisory to Banks regarding raising of working capital/cash credit limit for MSEs.

Technology Centres are being established in 8 cities viz., Puducherry, Visakhapatnam, Rohtak, Durg, Baddi, Bhiwadi, Bengaluru and Sitarganj

MSME Delayed Payment Portal – MSME Samadhaan http://samadhaan.msme.gov.in launched:

This Portal will empower Micro and Small entrepreneurs across the country to directly register their cases relating to delayed payments by Central Ministries/Departments/CPSEs/State Governments. The Portal will give information about the pending payment of MSEs with individual CPSEs / Central Ministries, State Governments, etc. The CEOs of PSEs and the Secretary of the Ministries concerned will also be able to monitor the cases of delayed payment under their jurisdiction and issue necessary instructions to resolve the issues. The Portal will greatly facilitate the monitoring of the delayed payment in a more effective manner. The information on the Portal will be available in public domain, thus exerting moral pressure on the defaulting organizations. The MSEs will also be empowered to access the Portal and monitor their cases.

Public Procurement Portal for MSEs – MSME Sambandh htttp://sambandh.msme.gov.in launched:

The Portal will help in monitoring the implementation of the Public Procurement from MSEs by Central Public Sector Enterprises(CPSEs). Using this Online Portal, the Ministries and CPSEs can assess their performance.

MOU signed between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) for co-operation in the field of Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation:

The MoU would benefit Indian SMEs and lead to equitable and inclusive development. The exposure to best practices in SME sector abroad would provide an opportunity to Indian SMEs to improve upon them and innovate further. It would also provide to Indian SME sector an opportunity to have a mutually beneficial relation with SME sector of the United Arab Emirates and to explore their markets.

MOUs signed with 4 Sector Skill Councils to provide skill development trainings to SC-ST Entrepreneurs under National SC/ST Hub Scheme.

Report on National MSME Policy submitted.

Evaluation study of the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) by Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurugram presented.

Darpan Launched For Financial Inclusion Of Rural Population

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

The Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha today launched DARPAN – “Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India” Project to improve the quality of service, add value to services and achieve “financial inclusion” of un-banked rural population. He said, the goal of the IT modernization project with an outlay of Rs. 1400 Crore is to provide a low power technology solution to each Branch Postmaster (BPM) which will enable each of approximately 1.29 Lakhs Branch Post Offices (BOs) to improve the level of services being offered to rural customers across all the states. Shri Sinha said that as on date, 43,171 Branch Post Offices have migrated under the “DARPAN”projectwith the aim of financial inclusion to rural population and it is targeted to complete the project by March, 2018.

The Project shall increase the rural reach of the Department of Posts and enable BOs to increase traffic of all financial remittances, savings accounts, Rural Postal Life Insurance, and Cash Certificates; improve mail operations processes by allowing for automated booking and delivery of accountable article; increase revenue using retail post business; provide third party applications; and make disbursements for social security schemes such as MGNREGS.

As part of IT modernization project, the Department of Posts (DoP) has carried out business process reengineering across various functional areas and has created To-Be processes that will enable it to achieve these objectives. As an achievement, Department of Posts has established 991 ATMs across the country, which are interoperable with other banks and the common people has directly benefited with the wide network of Department of Posts especially in rural areas. Till now, 1,12,85,217 transactions have been carried out on the DOP’s ATMs out of which 70,24,214 transactions have been done by the non-DOP customers. Department of Posts is the only Government player in this space.

For more than 150 years, the Department of Posts (DoP) has been the backbone of the country’s communication and has played a crucial role in the country’s socio-economic development. It touches the lives of Indian citizens in many ways: delivering mails, accepting deposits under Small Savings Schemes, providing life insurance cover under Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) and providing retail services like bill collection, sale of forms, etc. The Department of Posts also acts as an agent for Government of India in discharging other services for citizens such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) wage disbursement and old age pension payments. With 1.5 lakh Post Offices (approximately), the Department of Posts has the most widely distributed postal network in the world.

Trends such as urbanization, increased demand for financial services, increased funding by the government for the weaker sections and the rural sector, have opened up new opportunities for the Department of Posts,which in turn has necessitated development of new processes and supporting technology. The Department of Posts is also faced with twin challenges of increasing competition and continuing advances in communication technology, especially in mobile telephony and the Internet. In order to provide the best-in-class customer service, deliver new services and improve operational efficiencies,the Department of Posts has undertaken an end to end IT modernization project to equip itself with requisite modern tools and technologies. The IT modernization project intends to achieve the following:

I. Wider reach to the Indian populace through more customer interaction channels

II. Better customer service

III. Growth through new lines of business

IV. IT enablement of business processes and support functions

Cancer cell killer ‘Disarib’

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Indian Researchers from eight different groups spread over labs in Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, and a couple of Indian scientists at the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, have designed and synthesised ‘Disarib’, a drug which induces the death of cancer cells. Preliminary tests have been carried out as well. It has been patented, a first for a home-grown drug developed for targeted therapy of cancer.

Initial results after the preliminary tests, the molecule was found effective against a range of cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and colon cancer. Department of Biotechnology will decide when the drug will be available in the market.

ANC Leader Ramaphosa

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

ANC delegates elected Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the party’s new leader. President Jacob Zuma remains head of state.

South Africa’s ruling party says, the country’s embassy in Israel should be downgraded to a liaison office to show support for the Palestinians.

The African National Congress said late yesterday that delegates to a national party meeting endorsed the proposal to the government for an immediate and unconditional downgrade of the embassy in Tel Aviv.

The proposal comes ahead of a UN General Assembly vote today on a resolution urging President Donald Trump to rescind his decision recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

South African media say, the ANC endorsed a boycott of Israel at a party meeting in 2012 but the government did not implement it.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Filmmaker Anand Kumar is back with a Hard Hidden film based on the condition of Nation’s farmers from the point of view of a Kid!!

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Known for his hardcore movies given for Bollywood Industry, the maker of films like Zila Ghaziabad, Desi Kattey, Delhii Heights, director come producer Anand Kumar is back again with another influential topic of our Nation, based on the condition of farmers in our country, but the special fact of the movie is about a kid, who will showcase the entire struggle, a farmer, and his family faces. And the movie is titled as “Tilli”, on the

Produced by Anand Kumar itself, the movie is directed by Sagar S Sharma. “Tilli” is a story of a naughty boy named Tilli. In the minor villages of India, every year many farmers commit suicide due to the burden of debt and failed to farm. This story revolves around the life of the children of our farmers who live with these tough conditions. Tilli’s father is also facing this extremely worse condition of drought and is in heavy debt. Tilli’s mother always tries to influence his father to leave farming and start doing a labor’s job so that they can have a fixed income.

Tilli is also attached to the postman of the village, who somehow have a grey character in the movie. The Postman himself doesn’t like his job, as he has to deliver bank’s notice to the villagers’ home who defaults on bank’s loan. Due to this burden of debt, many villagers commit suicide every year. On the other hand, there is another important character named Bhola who is connected with Tilli, One of the villagers who holds postman accountable for his son’s death, because after reading the bank notice his son had committed suicide. Bhola becomes mentally unstable after his son’s death.

At this point of the story, Tilli is tensed as he thinks that his father will also commit suicide and there is nothing he can do to help him. So with the help of Bhola, he tries to save his father. And the story takes another heartbreaking twist when Bhola also commits suicide, which raises stress of Tilli as well as questions and negative thoughts in his mind. And this holds the interesting truth and end of the story.

Featuring under the banner of Anand Kumar Productions Pvt.Ltd., “Tilli” have a talented star cast which includes Raghubir Yadav, Atul Srivastav, Niraj Pandey, Rizwan Sheikh in vital roles. And the release date of the movie will be revealed soon.

5.7 quake, strike off NE Japan coast

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

A series of tremors with magnitudes ranging from 4.9 to 5.7 struck off the coast of Japan within three hours, the US Geological Survey reports. The strongest 5.7 quake hit some 249 kilometers North East from the Japanese islet of Chichijima around 3am GMT, following 5.0, 4.9 and 5.2 shocks in the same area several hours before. Another 5.1 quake, which was also preceded by several powerful shakes, hit some 98 kilometers east of the city of Nishinoomote on the island of Tanegashima. There’s been no immediate reports of any damage or injuries, and no tsunami warning was issued.

Syrian opposition delegates arrive in Astana as peace talks start

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

A delegation of the armed Syrian opposition has arrived in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana to participate in the eighth round of talks on Syria, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.“All the participant delegations have arrived in Astana. The Syrian opposition delegation comprises more than 20 members, they all have arrived,” TASS quoted the ministry’s spokesman, Anuar Zhainakov, as saying. UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is expected to arrive on Friday, when the plenary session of the Astana talks opens, the ministry said.

Catalonia holds regional election

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Catalonia on Thursday holds a regional election which the Spanish government hopes will strip pro-independence parties of their control of the Catalan parliament. Final polls showed separatist and unionist parties running neck-and-neck, and an effective pro-independence majority remains a likely outcome, Reuters said. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called the vote in October, and sacked Catalonia’s previous government for holding a banned referendum and declaring independence. None of the six parties in the Catalan parliament are expected on their own to come close to the 68-seat majority.

S. Korea to buy 20 additional F-35 aircraft

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Seoul plans to buy an additional 20 F-35A stealth fighter aircraft from the US, a South Korean newspaper reported on Thursday. US President Donald Trump announced less than two months ago that Seoul would be spending billions of dollars on new military equipment, Reuters said. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has established a process for procuring the 20 additional aircraft, the Joongang Ilbo newspaper reported, citing government sources. In 2014, South Korea announced a plan to buy 40 F-35As from American defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Netanyahu says UN is ‘house of lies’ ahead of Jerusalem vote

ON DECEMBER 21, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Israel’s prime minister described the UN as a “house of lies” ahead of a vote on Thursday on a draft resolution calling on the US to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “The State of Israel totally rejects this vote, even before [the resolution’s] approval,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in public remarks. “Jerusalem is our capital and we will continue to build there, and foreign embassies, led by the US, will move to Jerusalem. It will happen,” Reuters quoted him as saying

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

MESCO Steel at Glance

ON DECEMBER 20, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

MESCO Steel (Mideast Integrated Steel Ltd.) is a prominent and recognized player in the steel and mining space in India. The company owns steel plants and mining reserves in Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and overseas. The vision of the company is spearheaded by Mrs Rita Singh (Chairperson and Managing Director) and Mr J K Singh (Chairman Emeritus). The company primarily caters to players in the domestic market but is now looking at exporting its products to Middle Eastern markets.

Incorporated in 1992 with assets in coastal Odisha, MISL currently operates an iron ore mine and a pig iron plant in Odisha. MISL’s main products are iron ore fines, calibrated lump ore and pig iron. MISL currently operates two 389 cubic meter blast furnaces at its plant at Kalinga Nagar, Odisha. The plant has a pig iron making facility of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). MISL is planning a major expansion at its plant, which will take the finished steel capacity to 3.5 million tonnes in two phases.

The company has a strategic alliance (Marketing and Finance) with Stemcor, UK and is the first company in India to have a technical collaboration with CMIEC (Sino Steel, China). With its strong financials and negligible debt to equity ratio it is the only mid-sized steel player to be essentially debt free.

The company is also committed to its role in upliftment and development of society at large. The company undertakes a large number of community development initiatives. Some of the prominent areas in which the organization actively contributes through sponsorship and developmental work are education, sports, health care, infrastructure development, safety and environment. The organization also runs an NGO called “Krishna Ashram” for welfare of stray dogs and other animals.

Central Asia Digest by Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar

ON DECEMBER 20, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar
Advisor, Central Asia, Ananta Aspen Centre
Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia
DECEMBER 2017|VOL 02 ISSUE 12| MONTHLY

H I G H L I G H T S

● Political Developments

● Economic Developments

● India-Central Asia Relations
Political Developments

Kyrgyzstan’s newly-elected President Sooronbay Jeenbekov was sworn into office on 24th November, 2017. Jeenbekov’s assumption of office is the first peaceful transfer of power in Kyrgyzstan’s contemporary history. The two former presidents, Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev, were toppled through revolutions in 2005 and 2010 respectively and fled the country.

Prosecutors in Kyrgyzstan have opened a criminal case against Omurbek Babanov, runner-up in recent presidential elections. He is accused of fomenting ethnic tension during the campaign and inciting overthrow of government.

An International Conference titled “Central Asia: Shared Past and Common Future, Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Mutual Prosperity” was organized by Uzbekistan in collaboration with United Nations in November, 2017. General VK Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs led a delegation from India to the Conference. Foreign Ministers of other 4 Central Asian countries, External Relations Commissioner of European Union, Iranian Foreign Minister, representatives from UN, OSCE, SCO, CIS, EBRD and senior delegations from other countries participated. Addressing the Inaugural Session, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev spoke of necessity to use transit and logistics potential of region more efficiently and ensure advanced development of transport infrastructure. He announced that Uzbekistan will host an international conference on development of transport and transit infrastructure in Central Asia in 2018. Mirziyoyev said that since beginning of 2017, Uzbek trade with region had increased by 20% on average, and almost 70% with certain states. The Conference discussed specific areas for enhancing cooperation in political, trade-economic, investment, transport-communication, water-energy, environmental and cultural-humanitarian spheres, as well as issues of confronting modern threats and challenges.

Kazakh foreign minister announced at the Conference that President Nursultan Nazarbayev will convene Summit of Central Asian leaders in 2018 to give an impetus to regional integration.

On sidelines of the Conference, 13th annual EU-Central Asia ministerial meeting took place. EU leaders identified radicalization of youth, Iranian nuclear program, and achieving stability in Afghanistan as major concerns.

Also, foreign ministers of five Central Asian nations signed a Program on Mutual Cooperation for 2018-19. The document outlines joint efforts to boost security, trade and economic cooperation, investment, transportation, energy, tourism, and culture across the region.

Turkmenistan and EU discussed prospects for cooperation in political, economic and trade spheres. Talks on supplying Turkmen gas to Europe started in 2011. Southern Gas Corridor, which includes the Trans-Caspian project (laying of a 300-km gas pipeline along bottom of Caspian Sea to coast of Azerbaijan), remains a priority for EU.

Another important event was the signing of an agreement on demarcation of junction point of state borders of three states by Foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It creates a solid basis for promoting mutual respect, equality and territorial integrity of the three countries.

Kyrgyzstan’s outgoing-President Almazbek Atambayev indicated in his last press-conference that he might contest elections to Kyrgyz Parliament in 2020. Atambayev charged that restrictions by Kazakhstan on goods from Kyrgyzstan were contrary to provisions of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). He accused other EAEU members of “complete indifference” to this “blockade” causing immense hardship to Kyrgyz traders and transporters. He suggested that Russia should intervene to resolve the dispute.

Atambaev signed a law repudiating Agreement of 2016 whereby Kazakhstan would provide assistance of $100 million “to promote integration of Kyrgyz Republic in Eurasian economic Union”. Atambayev rejected this financial assistance from Kazakhstan.

After a massive crackdown on the Islam-following Uyghur community in its Xinjiang province, China started targeting ethnic Kazakhs living on its side of the border – again on grounds of religion to force them to stop following their customs, including praying five times a day.

A radioactive accident reportedly in Russia or Kazakhstan sent radioactive contamination into atmosphere drifting in a cloud over Europe in recent weeks. High levels of Ruthenium 106, an isotope produced by nuclear reactors, which is not found in nature and is not harmful to human health or environment were detected.

Tajikistan has declared that all imams who received their religious training abroad will be sacked. The government hopes that this will prevent radicalization.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Uzbekistan to attend the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) meeting in Tashkent. Russia and Uzbekistan confirmed their commitment to further deepen relations and signed a package of new cooperation and investment agreements. Uzbek President also held bilateral meetings with Prime Ministers of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan. Bilateral cooperation and prospects for development of relations were discussed.

Iranian Foreign minister met President and foreign minister of Tajikistan during his visit to Dushanbe. It was agreed to hold meeting of Joint Commission soon in Dushanbe. Foreign ministers of Tajikistan and Iran inaugurated the new building of Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe.

Uzbek President visited South Korea and signed 75 deals covering finance, trade and industry. Contracts in energy, oil and gas sectors amounted to $2.95 billion. Another $1.7 billion were pledged in construction and infrastructure deals, and $2.7 billion in banking and finance sector. Uzbekistan also signed first long-term contract for supply of uranium to South Korea.

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Economic Developments

7th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) was held in Turkmenistan to discuss investment opportunities in Afghanistan. Political and business leaders from 40 countries and representatives of 30 regional and international organizations focused on key aspects of economic development of Afghanistan. Afghan foreign minister said that 7th RECCA Meeting had come at a time when need for economic growth, stability and confidence-building in the region was greater than ever before. His inter-alia pointed to launch of Afghanistan-India Air Corridor Programme, through which Afghanistan exported more than 1150 metric tons of goods to India since June, 2017. Indian Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar said that Pakistan has emerged as the “largest wall in history”, inhibiting connectivity between India and Afghanistan. He accused Pakistan of committing crime against Afghan people by blocking normal access between India and Afghanistan. Lapis Lazuli Transit Route agreement was signed between Afghanistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The agreement focuses on two issues viz. transit structure and transportation infrastructure.

Iran and Turkmenistan are discussing possibility of transporting Turkmen gas to Armenia and Azerbaijan via Iran.

Kazakhstan hopes to settle a dispute with global energy companies developing the Karachaganak gas condensate field in the coming weeks. Kazakhstan had filed a $1.6 billion claim against foreign firms developing Karachaganak field in 2015.

Pakistan has asked Turkmenistan to slash gas price by linking it with Brent crude oil rates under a revised pricing formula for shipments through TAPI pipeline.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reopened its office, which had been closed since 2007, in Uzbekistan and announced first new financing in the country of four loans totaling $125 million. 15 more projects in next 12 months are planned.

Pakistan’s exports to Tajikistan plunged 40% owing to tariff restrictions and non-availability of cost-effective transportation. Non-availability of direct air links between the two countries is the biggest bottle-neck to restrict trade volume. Exports from Pakistan to Tajikistan dropped to $4.5m in 2015-16 from $7.5m in 2014-15. But imports, mainly of raw cotton, increased to $11.16m from $0.068m during same period.

Kazakhstan is expected to see GDP growth of 3.8% and 3.5% in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Kyrgyzstan will see GDP growth of 4.4% in 2017 and 4.2% in 2018, and Turkmenistan – 5.7 and 5.2% respectively. In Central Asia, highest GDP growth will be witnessed by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; Tajikistan at 6.5% and 5.0% in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and in Uzbekistan, GDP is expected to rise 5.4% in 2017 and 6.2% in 2018.

Pakistan prevented Afghan trucks from crossing the border and without any prior notification, increased customs tariffs by up to 150% on 120 out of 741 Afghan goods being exported to Pakistan. In retaliation, Afghanistan banned entry of Pakistani trucks via Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings. It decreed that Pakistani trucks should unload at the border and goods carried to their destinations only by Afghan trucks — a practice that Pakistan has been following since 2010 with respect to trade between Afghanistan and India over the Wagah crossing.

Russia has launched oil supplies in test mode to Uzbekistan. Russia plans to construct a new refinery with capacity of 5 million tons in three years. To increase supplies it is necessary to expand capacity of oil pipelines through Kazakhstan Capacity of pipeline through Kazakhstan needs to be expanded from current 10 million tons to at least 18 million tons. Supplies could then be increased up to 3 million tons to Uzbekistan, and 2 million tons to Kyrgyzstan.

Uzbekistan raised gasoline prices by about 40% and diesel by about 70% amid chronic shortages of fuel in the country. The hike brings prices closer to those in neighbouring countries after Uzbekistan devalued its currency by almost 50% in September.

China will build an aluminium factory worth $1.6 billion in Tajikistan. This will further increase China’s influence as it already owns more than half of Tajikistan’s external debt.

As against exports of an average 44,000 metric tons of high-octane kerosene a month by Russia to Kazakhstan in 2016, quantity this year dropped to around 15,000 metric tons. This has resulted in long queues at gas stations and unhappiness amongst common people. Even more acute is the situation with aviation fuel.

In a policy reversal, Uzbekistan announced construction of a major 400 MW hydroelectric power project on river Pskem to produce 900 million kwh of electricity per year, making this the second largest plant in the country. Export-Import Bank of China will reportedly extend a $240 million loan toward the $800 million cost of the project.

Volume of oil production in Kazakhstan in January-October 2017 amounted to 60.172 million tons, which is 12% more than for same period in 2016. Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field is expected to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of this year.

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India-Central Asia Relations

Indian Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat held talks in New Delhi with Kyrgyz armed forces chief on ways to expand bilateral security and defence cooperation.

Kyrgyzstan was focus country in annual India International Trade Fair organized in Delhi from 14th-27th November, 2017. 7,000 exhibitors participated in the Exhibition.

The 14-day long joint training exercise between defence forces of India and Kazakhstan titled “Prabal Dostyk – Robust Friendship – 2017” was held in Himachal Pradesh. A mock drill to repel terrorist attack on “United Nations office” marked the culmination of the exercise. This was second edition of “PRABAL DOSTYK” series, the first having been conducted in Kazakhstan in 2016. Exercises included basic mutual orientation between contingents of two armies, joint training in counter-insurgency/counter-terrorist operations under UN mandate and culminated with a validation exercise. Overall aim of the exercise was to understand each other’s operational methodology and develop interoperability to enable joint operations.

India held talks with EAEU on starting negotiations for establishing a Free Trade Area. Current Indian trade with EAEU is $8.4 billion which is well below potential. EAEU has so far concluded only one FTA with Vietnam. During his first visit to Russia as Commerce Minister, Suresh Prabhu attended first ministerial conference on trade organised by Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after India became full member in June 2017.

Kazakhstan will simplify visa regime for Russia, China, India, EU and the Persian Gulf countries in the coming years.

Kazakhstan’s flag carrier Air Astana will add Mumbai as its second destination in India by 2019. Air Astana currently operates 10 flights between Kazakhstan and India every week – a daily service between Almaty and New Delhi and thrice weekly between Astana and New Delhi. Its first priority is to institute daily flights between Astana and Delhi. Total number of passengers carried between Kazakhstan and India during 2017 reached 43,459, representing an increase of 43% compared with 2016.

India approved protocol amending Agreement with Kyrgyzstan for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. New clauses are being added to existing DTAA with Kyrgyzstan regarding exchange of information.

Uzbekistan is keen on Indian companies taking advantage of country’s attractive investment climate and is willing to offer far-reaching incentives to Indian pharmaceutical companies in particular. At first stage it is suggested that Indian companies open packaging facilities for some value addition. Demanded level of localization is 36% which could be achieved in next 3-4 years.

Credit Reporting Awareness MSME tool kit by World Bank

ON DECEMBER 20, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

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Germany Assists UN Migration Agency in Iraq

ON DECEMBER 20, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Germany Assists UN Migration Agency’s Humanitarian Operations in Iraq as Winter Advances

Iraq – As the winter temperatures continue to drop in Iraq and nearly 2.9 million people are still living in displacement across the country, the Government of Germany has extended its partnership with IOM Iraq by injecting another 7 million euros to address the urgent humanitarian needs of those who remain internally displaced.

With these additional 7 million euros, the total contribution of Germany to IOM Iraq’s emergency operations reaches 18 million euros from 2015 through 2019. Since 2015, Germany’s support has enabled IOM to respond to critical humanitarian needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs), especially in areas such as Mosul, Fallujah, and Ramadi, which had recently been retaken from ISIL.

The funding also supports the rehabilitation of residential areas ravaged by conflict and help returnees upon their arrival to settle in their areas of origin. Many of these beneficiaries still face urgent needs for shelter and health care, including mental health and psychosocial support.

“The German Government is very happy to support returnees in areas of return and strengthen government authorities in their efforts to restore essential services in the most affected areas of return,” said the German Ambassador in Iraq, Cyrill Nunn. “Our scaled-up support includes restoring the electricity grid and water supply in retaken areas, as these services have been heavily damaged and are prioritized for immediate rehabilitation by host communities and returnees,” the German Ambassador added.

The German funding will enable IOM Iraq to include 1,200 vulnerable displaced families in its essential winter assistance programme, supporting them with emergency kits to cope with winter conditions. Each emergency kit includes a carpet, plastic mat, thick blankets, rechargeable light, and a hygiene kit.

“With the winter setting in, we really need this heater, blankets and winter clothes,” said Abu Mashari, a displaced man from Hatra district, around 170 kilometres south of Mosul, pointing to the winter kit he received from IOM.

“We left all our belongings behind in the middle of the night, as we were in hurry to leave our home. We didn’t bring anything other than what we were wearing in the beginning of summer,” he added. “We don’t have enough money to buy clothes and other items to warm ourselves and our tent during the cold nights.”

The additional financial support also allows the population of the two emergency sites constructed by IOM, in Haj Ali and Qayara, southeast of Mosul which, combined, currently shelter more than 73,000 IDPs, to access medical services and receive quick support and referral in case of medical emergencies.

IOM has mental health and psychosocial centres in selected IDP camps to reach out to the IDP community through mental health and psychosocial assistance, raising awareness on mental health issues and specialized care when needed.

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Onward Together

ON DECEMBER 25, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Before 2017 ends, I want to say thank you, Naresh.

We knew this year would be a difficult one. But it was also full of fierce passion and hope — from the millions of people who took to the streets on behalf of the values we share to the activists, newcomers and veterans alike, who lead us to victories in Virginia, Alabama, and across the country. We really have seen that we are stronger together (sorry, couldn’t resist).

My wish for you is that you’re able to take a break this holiday season and spend some time with the people you love. Bill and I will be celebrating the best way we know how: by sharing our favorite traditions with the youngest members of our family.

2018 will be a big year for this team. I hope you enjoy your holidays — and come back refreshed and ready to win. I know I will.

Onward!

Hillary

Film:Yugpurush Atal

ON DECEMBER 25, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Press Invite : “YUGPURUSH ATAL”

Spectrum Movies is making a biopic on Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The film will be announced on the occasion of his birthday on Monday, the December 25, 2017. All media people are cordially invited to grace the occasion.

Venue : The Press Club of India, New Delhi (Near Central Secretariat Metro Station)

Time : 12:30 P.M.

Regards.
Ashish Nigam
(Manager Production)
Phone – 9871668024

ON DECEMBER 25, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra speaks about the need
for empowering adolescent girls and boys.

New Delhi December 24, 2017: Film of Priyanka Chopra interacting with children of Nine is Mine :

https://we.tl/8kDWNTo90e

New Delhi, December 23, 2017: Interacting with a group of young girls and boys along with media, during a special interaction in the capital today, UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassador, Priyanka Chopra said, “Adolescents today face a unique set of challenges. Giving them the tools to improve their lives will help create a generation of economically-independent citizens who will actively contribute to their communities.Investment in adolescents can lift millions out of poverty by creating a constructive and skilled workforce.”

“I strongly believe that our regular efforts in empowering adolescent girls will contribute to the growth of our country” she added. Focusing on the issue of child marriage, she said, “A girl who is married as a child is more likely to be out of school, experience domestic violence. She is more likely to have children when she is still a child. There are more chances of her dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.”

India is home to more than 243 million adolescents, who account for a quarter of the country’s population. Coordinated efforts are crucial for the socio-economic development of adolescent girls and boys with a special focus on adolescent empowerment. Ending child marriage, enabling access to secondary education and transition to work can be a game changer for India’s future growth and development.

Adolescence offers a second chance to those who may not have got the requisite support during early childhood. While adolescence is an age of opportunity, it is also a time of vulnerability. Adolescent girls may be vulnerable to child marriage, dropping out of school, face gender based violence at home and in public spaces and have limited opportunities to transition into paid, formal work. During this period, adolescent boys, may be vulnerable to paid child labour and consequently miss school.

A study on ‘Supporting Adolescent transition to adulthoods – “What Works and What Doesn’t” was also shared on this occasion. The findings from UNICEF’s joint study with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a global research network explores evidence on social protection measures for adolescents.

Teenage populations are a unique demographic asset that is often overlooked. Young adolescents are often invisible in discourse and data, falling between programmes and policies focused on children and on the youth. By investing in adolescent education and training, countries can reap a large and productive workforce, contributing significantly to the growth of national economies.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visitwww.unicef.org. Follow UNICEF on Twitterand Facebook

For UNICEF India and its work visitwww.unicef.in . Follow us on TwitterandFacebook

Film: https://we.tl/8kDWNTo90e

ON DECEMBER 24, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Shubhankar Sharma snatches victory in classic encounter with Rashid Khan at McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2017; Makes it ‘icing on the cake’ to dream season

Shamim Khan bags his second PGTI Order of Merit title; Viraj Madappa is Emerging Player of the Year

Kolkata, December 24, 2017:Shubhankar Sharma snatchedvictory from the jaws of defeat in the final round of the Rs. 1.5 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2017 to make it the ‘icing on the cake’ to a dream season which saw him win three titles.

The 21-year-old from Chandigarh, who recently became the youngest Indian to win on the European Tour, prevailed over Delhi’s Rashid Khan by one shot in a classic encounter at the PGTI’s year-end championship played at the revered Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC).

Shubhankar, trailing by two shots till the 14th hole, turned it around in the final stages to end up with a round of 68 and a winning total of 17-under-271. He thus took home his sixth professional trophy and the winner’s cheque worth a whopping Rs. 22,50,000. The 26-year-old Rashid (71) finished with a total of 16-under-272.

Shamim Khan of Delhi bagged his second PGTI Order of Merit title after finishing tied fourth at eight-under-280 this week. Shamim, who had earlier won the title in 2012, closed the 2017 season with earnings of Rs. 51,64,233 to finish number one in the money list by a fair distance. He won three titles during the season.

Ahmedabad’s Udayan Mane, who also bagged three titles in the season, the joint-highest with Shamim, came in second on the money list with season’s earnings of Rs. 43,14,251. He posted a tied 18th finish at RCGC with a total score of two-under-286 for the week.

Shubhankar Sharma (66-70-67-68) began the day two shots behind the leader Rashid Khan (67-67-67-71) but caught up with the latter on the eighth thanks to three birdies including two tap-ins. Rashid then produced some magic by holing out from 150 yards for an eagle-two on the ninth to regain his two-shot lead.

Khan, a two-time Asian Tour winner, was two ahead after the 14th and looking good for his 10thtitle. Sharma then clawed his way back with an excellent bunker shot on the 15th that led to a birdie. Rashid found the water on the 15thand the hole witnessed a two-shot swing in favour of Shubhankar that brought him back to level terms with Rashid.

Both players raised the intensity of the contest by making birdies on the next hole. However, the 17thproved to be decisive as Khan’s poor chip shot resulted in a bogey and saw him fall back by one shot. Sharma finally converted a tricky 10-feet par putt on the last hole to clinch his second PGTI title of the season and also his second professional title at the RCGC.

In the process, Shubhankar equaled the lowest winning score at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship earlier posted by Anirban Lahiri during his 2013 triumph.

Shubhankar said, “I was really calm the whole day. Despite being behind I never let the pressure build on myself. I was a bit upset after missing a three-footer for birdie on the ninth but bounced back well with some good shots on the back-nine.

“The 15th was the turning point for me. I knew Rashid had to work hard to make par after finding the water and I produced my best shot of the day on that hole. I landed my bunker shot to five feet which helped me draw level with the leader. I then left myself a tricky 10-feet winning putt after misjudging the green speed with my first putt on the last hole. But I read the line well and saw it through. My putting was much better compared to the last two rounds.

“I’ve been really calm on the course for the past one month and that has made a huge difference to my game. My special relationship with the RCGC continues as I previously won the All India Amateur here in 2013 and another PGTI event in 2016.

“Wins don’t come easy at the professional level so you have to capitalize when you’re playing well. I’ve managed to capitalize on the form so far. I’m now excited about playing in Europe next season,” added Shubhankar, who won his maiden international title at the European Tour’s Joburg Open two weeks back.

Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee (71) finished third at nine-under-279 while Delhi’s Shamim Khan, Kolkata’s Viraj Madappa, Md Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and Gurgaon-based Manu Gandas were bunched in tied fourth at eight-under-280.

On his Order of Merit win, Shamim Khan, said, “It’s been a just reward for my fantastic season as I won thrice. I was in contention all through the year thanks to some consistent performances. Now looking forward to an even better season next year.”

Twenty-year-old Viraj Madappa of Kolkata won the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title with season’s earnings of Rs. 23,49,641, the highest among the rookies. Viraj ended ninth on the PGTI Order of Merit courtesy six top-10s in the year including a joint runner-up finish in Jamshedpur last week. Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar, who claimed tied 30th place at two-over-290 at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship, finished second in the Emerging Player race with season’s earnings of Rs. 9,71,633.

On his Emerging Player win, Madappa, said, “I didn’t have too many expectations at the start of the year as I was going through a change in my swing. But I got really comfortable on the PGTI as the year progressed. The good performances in my rookie season have given me a lot of confidence for the future. Hopefully, a win should come soon.”

Local favourite SSP Chawrasia finished tied 10th at five-under-283.

Need help of Indian Gov to Recover Money

ON DECEMBER 24, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

We need Help of Indian Governemnt to recover our Money – Anastasia Akimova

New Delhi- The Young Entrepreneur Anastasiia Akimova is having Agriculural Product Import & Export Business in Ukraine, cheated by Khurabhai Nagaji bhai Ramani, owner of Ollo Export & Import based in Rajkot, Gujarat of approx 1.25 Crore on name of Exporting Chickpeas to Ukraine and received money on name of exporting products of Rs 1.25 Cr from in May 207 but after that he randomly denying from supplying products. the Deal was done in Rajkot, Gujrat by Both Traders. The Ollo Export & Import Company is also registered with DGFT.

The Indian government has been continuously inviting foreign investors in India for Business, and as Anastasiia Akimova has already Agriculture Based Import & Export Business in Ukraine, Russia so she decided to purchase Agro based products from India, and come to know about Ollo Import & Export Company in Gujarat and contact them for Import of Chickpeas (Kabuli Chana) and after conformation of all documents they came to Rajkot, Gujrat and paid the approx 1.15 crore to them and after conformation of delivery of products they returned back to Ukraine.

Addressing Media, Akimova said that we had to do business in India only after keeping the policies of the government in mind. We have a businessman whose name is Khoda Bhai Nagaji Bhai Ramani in Rajkot of Gujarat. Under the company Ollo Import and Export, the company had dealt with the business of chick pica( kabuli chana). chick pica (Kabuli Chana) wanted to take India from Ukraine, we already have a business of Agriculture Produce. Under this deal, our company made a payment of 1 crore 10 lac rupees to businessman Khuda Bhai Nagaji Bhai Ramani. But this businessman of Rajkot, the Khuda Bhai, did not give us the confession. And our money went wrong. Anastasia Akimova said that we complained to DGFT and Rajkot police. Khuda Bhai’s company is also registered in Olo Import and Export DGFT. Rajkot Police also arrested the businessman but till now our money was not recovered. They requested from Government of India to recover the money from trader. We have also complained about it to the Ministry of Industry and also during investigation we come to know that they have also cheated few more persons and investigation is going on in this issue. We have also filed a complaint in the Ministry of External Affairs. But no action has been taken so far. she said that we want to do business in India. But if our money does not recover, then how will we trade? It is worth mentioning that in the Rajkot police against Khuda Bhai there are many complaints already registered but no action to stop his illegal actions.

Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin arrives in New Delhi

ON DECEMBER 23, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Russian Dy PM Dmitry Rogozin call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is holding meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation with visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

Mr Rogozin arrived in New Delhi this morning. He is accompanied by senior Russian Government officials and representatives of trade and industry.

The meeting will enable the two sides to review the progress achieved by various Working groups and Sub-groups under the IRIGC-TEC and also discuss new areas of cooperation that could strengthen bilateral trade and investment.

Lalu Yadav, 15 others convicted

ON DECEMBER 23, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Former CM of Bihar Lalu Prasad, other convicted in the fodder scam case were send off to Birsa Munda jail, where security has been tightened, CBI sources said.

CBI judge Shivpal Singh pronounced the verdict in a packed courtroom in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994.

The court will pronounce on 3rd of Jan 18, the quantum of punishment to Lalu Prasad and 15 others convicted in fodder scam case .

Special court acquitted 80-year-old Jagannath Mishra and five others — former Public Accounts Committee chairman Druv Bhagat, former Indian Revenue Service officer A C Choudhary, fodder suppliers Saraswati Chandra and Sadhana Singh and former minister Vidya Sagar Nishad.

Those convicted,besides Lalu Prasad are political leaders Jagdish Sharma and R K Rana, IAS officers Beck Julius, Phoolchand Singh and Mahesh Prasad, and government officials Krishna Kumar and Subir Bhattacharya. The others are suppliers/transporters Tripurari Mohan Prasad, Sushil Kumar Sinha, Sunil Kumar Sinha, Raja Ram Joshi, Gopinath Das, Sanjay Agarwal, Jyoti Kumar Jha and Sunil Gandhi.

RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has said the party will move the high court against today’s CBI court order.

The RJD chief has already been convicted in another fodder scam case that cost him his Lok Sabha seat and his disqualification from contesting elections.

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December 27, 2017, 2:53 am

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India the World’s fifth largest economy in 2018

ON DECEMBER 26, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

India looks set to leapfrog Britain and France next year to become the world’s fifth-largest economy in dollar terms, a report said. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) consultancy’s 2018 World Economic League Table painted an upbeat view of the global economy, boosted by cheap energy and technology prices.

India’s ascent is part of a trend that will see Asian economies increasingly dominate the top 10 largest economies over the next 15 years.

Despite temporary setbacks, India’s economy has still caught up with that of France and the UK and in 2018 will have overtaken them both to become the world’s fifth largest economy in dollar terms,” said Douglas McWilliams, Cebr deputy chairman.

McWilliams said India’s growth had been slowed by restrictions on high-value banknotes and a new sales tax, a view shared by economists polled by Reuters.China is likely to overtake the United States as the world’s No.1 economy in 2032, Cebr said.

The report said, The USA will retain its global crown a year longer than Cebr anticipated in the last report, because the impact of President Trump on trade has been less severe than expected.

Sobchak submits bid for Russian presidential race

ON DECEMBER 26, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Russia’s Central Election Commission has unanimously rejected top opposition figure Alexei Navalny’s bid to run against President Vladimir Putin next year. The commission voted 12 to zero in barring Navalny from the presidential election, citing a controversial embezzlement conviction for which he received a five year suspended sentence.

The decision prompted the 41-year-old protest leader–who maintains that the court case against him was fabricated for political reasons to call for a boycott of the election.

Sobchak file Papers CEC for candidature of Prez election.

Sobchak, the 36-year-old chief editor of the Russian edition of the international fashion magazine L’Officiel, first announced her intention to run for the presidency in mid-October.

TV host Ksenia Sobchak files paperwork at the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) to run for Russia’s president at the 2018 election.

Sobchak’s nomination as a candidate is backed by the Civil Initiative party headed by former Russian Economy Minister Andrey Nechayev. This means that she will have to collect and present 100,000 signatures from supporters to join the race, instead of the 300,000 required for independent contenders and no signatures at all for those who represent one of the four Russian parliamentary parties.

FM Chrystia Freeland:Venezuelan charge d’affaires persona non grata,”

ON DECEMBER 26, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Canada on Monday ordered Venezuela’s ambassador and charge d’affaires to leave, escalating a row two days after its top diplomat at the Canadian embassy in Venezuela was kicked out by President Nicolas Maduro’s regime.

“In response to this move by the Maduro regime, I am announcing that the Venezuelan ambassador to Canada… is no longer welcome in Canada.

“I am also declaring the Venezuelan charge d’affaires persona non grata,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

She noted that Wilmer Omar Barrientos Fernandez — Venezuela’s ambassador — “had already been withdrawn by the Venezuelan government to protest Canadian sanctions against Venezuelan officials implicated in corruption and gross human rights abuses.”

The tit-for-tat response follows Venezuela’s announcement on Saturday that Craig Kowalik — Canada’s charge d’affaires in the embassy in Caracas — and Brazilian ambassador Ruy Pereira were no longer welcome.

Kowalik was accused of “nagging [and] constant rude and offensive interference in Venezuela’s domestic affairs,” according to Delcy Rodriguez — a Venezuelan official who heads a powerful body of Maduro loyalists known as the Constituent Assembly.

Pereira was described as the representative of an illegitimate government in Brazil — a stance Caracas has taken since conservative Brazilian President Michel Temer replaced impeached leftist president Dilma Rousseff.

Venezuela has riposted fiercely against growing international condemnation of Maduro’s tightening hold on power this year.

Canada, the United States, Europe, and most Latin American nations have denounced what they call the trampling of democracy and human rights in the once-rich South American nation, which is now on the brink of default.

On Friday, Canada imposed fresh sanctions on Maduro and members of his regime for alleged rights violations and corruption.

Freeland said Venezuela’s expulsion of Kowalik “is typical of the Maduro regime, which has consistently undermined all efforts to restore democracy and to help the Venezuelan people.”

“Canadians will not stand by as the government of Venezuela robs its people of their fundamental democratic and human rights, and denies them access to basic humanitarian assistance,” she said.

Govt directs NGOs to open account in designated banks

ON DECEMBER 26, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Union Home Ministry has directed all NGOs, business entities and individuals who receive funds from abroad to open accounts in any of the 32 designated banks, within a month for higher level of transparency.

According to the ministry order, the directive to the NGOs, companies and individuals to open foreign contribution accounts in banks, which are integrated with the central government’s Public Financial Management System (PFMS), came for providing a higher level of transparency and hassle-free reporting compliance.

The order, issued on December 21, said the NGOs are directed to comply with the order within one month. The government also told them not to do anything detrimental to national interests.

The central government has already decided that all banks where the FCRA registered persons and organisations have opened their foreign contribution accounts will be integrated with the PFMS for providing a higher level of transparency and hassle-free reporting compliance.

FCRA Department has been trying to get all banks with FCRA accounts to become PFMS-compliant. PFMS stands for Public Financial Management System. This allows the FCRA Department to directly monitor transactions in FCRA bank accounts (see tweet by @fcra2010 on 15-Dec-15).

However, many banks have not migrated to PFMS as planned. Therefore, FCRA Department has decided to play hardball.

It has now published a list of 32 banks which are PFMS-compliant:
1. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
2. Allahabad Bank,
3. Allahabad UP Gramin Bank
4. Andhra Bank
5. Axis Bank
6. Bank of Baroda
7. Bank of Maharashtra
8. Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd.
9. Canara Bank
10. Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd.
11. Central Bank of India
12. City Union Bank
13. Corporation Bank
14. Cosmos Co-Operative Bank
15. DCB Bank Ltd.
16. Dena Bank
17. HDFC Bank
18. ICICI Bank
19. IDBI Bank
20. IndusInd bank linited
21. Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd.
22. Karur Vysya bank
23. Manipur state Co-op Bank
24. Oriental Bank of commerce
25. Punjab National Bank
26. South Indian Bank
27. State Bank of india
28. Syndicate Bank
29. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd.
30. UCO Bank
31. Vijaya Bank
32. Yes Bank

All FCRA-holders / prior-permission holders must now keep their FCRA bank accounts with one of these. They have been given time till 21-Jan-18 to migrate to these. They should then file form FC-6 with details of the new bank account.

North India engulf with cold

ON DECEMBER 26, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

The cold wave has tightened its grip over North India with mercury plummeting several degrees below normal at many places. Most parts of Himachal Pradesh continued to reel under intense cold despite dry and sunny weather in the day.

The local Meteorological office said, in tribal areas Keylong was the coldest with minimum temperature settling at minus 7.3 degrees followed by Kalpa in Kinnaur with minus 1.4 degrees. Shimla and Una recorded minimum temperatures of 4.5 degrees Celsius each. However, the maximum temperature rose marginally at some places with Una in Shivalik foothills being the hottest at 24.2 degrees Celsius. The Met office has predicted dry weather in the region till 1st of January.

In Jammu and Kashmir, surface transport has been badly affected in the Srinagar city due to dense fog. MeT office said, the night will become more chilly during the next 48 hours in Srinagar due to dry weather.

Cold weather conditions also prevailed in Punjab as Amritsar and Adampur remained the coldest places with minimum temperatures of 3.5 degrees Celsius each. Chandigarh recorded a low of 7.2 degrees Celsius. In Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest place recording a low of 5.2 degrees Celsius.

In Uttar Pradesh, dense to very dense fog occurred at few places with Muzaffarnagar recording the lowest temperature of 4 degrees Celsius yesterday. The day temperatures also dropped in Moradabad, Bareilly and the Gorakhpur divisions. The MeT office has forecast very dense fog at a few places in the state today.

In Delhi, a thick blanket of haze enveloped the city yesterday with the maximum temperature settling at 22.8 degrees Celsius, one degree above the season’s average. The minimum temperature settled at 7 degrees Celsius, one degree below the season’s average. Due to poor visibility, around 17 trains were cancelled, 26 were delayed and six others were rescheduled.

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December 28, 2017, 12:07 am

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St. Petersburg blast, 8 hospitalized

ON DECEMBER 28, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

A total of thirteen people were injured in Wednesday’s explosion in a storage locker at a busy St. Petersburg supermarket in the northeast of Russia, according to the city’s deputy governor Anna Mityanina. The earlier-reported figure of ten injuries proved to be an underestimate. The condition of five of the eight victims remaining in hospital is of intermediate severity, the rest are in a satisfactory condition. The explosion, equivalent to 200 grams of TNT, was caused by a homemade explosive device filled with lethal fragments. An investigation is currently underway.

Gunman opens fire on schoolchildren in Turkey

ON DECEMBER 28, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

At least seven people, including five children, have been wounded in Gaziantep, Turkey on Wednesday, local media reported. An unidentified gunman, armed with a pump shotgun, opened fire at children who were playing ball in a schoolyard. The injured people have been taken to a local hospital, and none of the victims was in life-threatening condition, according to media reports. The police are searching for the assailant, who managed to flee the scene after the incident.

Triple talaq bill debate in parliament begins:

ON DECEMBER 28, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Bill to prohibit divorce by triple talaq and protect rights of married Muslim women introduced in the Lok Sabha. Debate on the bill happening now. It will will be considered in the Rajya Sabha after the Lok Sabha debate. Opposition raises questions on the Bill. The Bill was tabled by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Lok Sabha.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has said that the bill on Triple Talaq is aimed to give gender justice, protection and respect to Muslim women.

Kumar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed for consensus in passing the bill.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for unanimous passage of the Bill as it aims to give gender justice, protection and respect,” he said.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 seeks to criminalise the practice of triple talaq. The draft bill says, “Any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal”.

There is also a provision of imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and fine for violators. The draft bill also envisages entitling divorcee Muslim women for maintenance.It also has a provision for the divorcee Muslim women to have the custody of their minor children.

The offences under the purview of this bill will be cognisable and non-bailable.The Bill shall extend to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir. — ANI

ISIS attack Afghan Voice

ON DECEMBER 28, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

With reports 40 people were killed and thirty wounded in multiple blasts near a media outlet and mosque in Kabul on Thursday, officials said, in the latest violence to hit the Afghan capital, Pajhwok news agency reported citing the deputy spokesman of the Interior Ministry.

Afghanistan’s health ministry confirms four people have died and six people have been injured in an explosion at an office of the Afghan Voice news agency in the capital city Kabul.

ISIS Claims Afghan Intelligence Agency Explosion.

“There were two explosions. We still do not know the target of the attack, but Afghan Voice Agency is in the area of the attack,” interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

“Our initial information shows there are five dead and six wounded but this toll could change.”

AFP reporters near the scene of the blast heard a third explosion, suggesting the attack may still be under way.

A hospital official told local TV that 18 wounded had been brought to his facility, including five in a critical condition.

Media agencies

Bhutanese Artists- Twinz

ON DECEMBER 28, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Save the Date | Exhibition Preview – Invoking Entities | Bhutanese Artists- Twinz | Friday, 5th January 2018, 6:30 PM | Bikaner House, New Delhi

Obama Foundation. And you were a part of it.

ON DECEMBER 28, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

2017 was the year we began our work at the Obama Foundation.

And you were a part of it.

It’s been a year of listening, learning, and experimenting to design the most effective ways to inspire and empower people to change their world.

We’re spending these last few days of 2017 taking stock of what we’ve done together — and what we’ve learned from you.

Take a look — and then tell us something concrete and achievable that you’re ready to change in your community in 2018.

You told us what you’re fighting for, and what you’d like to see us fight for — and helped us define our mission.

“A good citizen is someone who puts the needs of their people above their own — someone who doesn’t choose the easier path but instead digs their heels into the tougher path to forge a new one for others.” –Natalie M., Mableton, GA

You’ve shared what you believe makes a good citizen — and helped shape our programming.

“Even though we’re a bunch of teenagers from a variety of backgrounds and skin tones (at a school with a vast range of socioeconomic and demographic situations), we believe that if we choose to celebrate each other and work together, we can truly give life to our mission. We plan a community forum at the end of each school year as a culmination of our work throughout the year, and we will again be staying true to our vision: attendees will include Republicans, Democrats, state legislators, nonprofit advocates, judges, students, school administrators, public servants, and any member of the public who wants to add their voice to the mix.” –Sam B., Raleigh, NC

You opened up your favorite spaces for us — and helped us plan one of our own.

“John’s Park in Mansfield, Ohio, is a park surrounded by families struggling with poverty. I love this park because it is a gathering place for the community. We have installed a community garden, a mural, and a summer fun program for the youth. Over the last few years it has become the location of a non-violence rally, a basketball tournament, and a place where area organizations teach free classes! I love this park because the community has come together to save it!” –Rochelle J., Mansfield, OH

Take a look at how we spent our year — and what we learned from you. Then, tell us what you’re ready to change in your community in 2018. It doesn’t have to big and lofty — it just has to be doable.

Each time you share something with us — whether it’s a story, a person we should know, a place, or an idea — you’re actively helping to build this organization. You’re adding another brick to a structure that’s going to grow strong enough to support millions, equipping the next generation of leaders with the tools they need to change their worlds.

Because we’re just getting started.

We heard from hundreds of thousands of you over the course of this year. And we can’t wait to hear from so many more.

Thank you, and Happy Holidays.

The Obama Foundation Team

CPC proposal amending part of China’s Constitution

ON DECEMBER 27, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee decided Wednesday to discuss a proposal about amending part of China’s Constitution at the second plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in January.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the political bureau meeting Wednesday, which also listened to a work report from the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and discussed the Party’s anti-graft work in 2018.

The campaign to ensure full and strict governance over the Party and curb corruption shall not stop, said a statement issued after the meeting.

The CCDI should take the responsibility to supervise Party members, implement discipline and hold violators responsible under the guidelines of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, according to the document.

While safeguarding the authority of CPC Constitution and regulations, the CCDI should carefully check the implementation of the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee.

Stressing the importance of political discipline and regulations, the statement said discipline inspection agencies will focus on Party members who are disloyal and dishonest to the Party, who comply in public but oppose in private, who disobey the Party’s political guidelines and compromise the political environment.

Stressing the significance of the campaign against undesirable work styles, the statement said that the priority is to curb bureaucratism, red tape and privileges among senior officials.

To consolidate the progress of the anti-graft campaign, the CCDI will push forward reform of the national supervision system and fight corruption at the lower ranks, the statement said.

Officials who did not stop their misconduct after the Party’s 18th National Congress in late 2012, those who the public have strongly complained about, and senior officials who are likely to be promoted will be placed under strict scrutiny.

Those who develop personal networks and foster interest groups within the Party will face severe punishment, the statement said.

Before the meeting, Xi chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

New Delhi World Book Fair 2018

ON DECEMBER 27, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

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New Delhi World Book Fair, Book Fair 2018 will focus on one of the most important issues that our world is facing. “Environment and Climate Change” will be this year’s theme.The event that all the book lovers were waiting for is now around the corner! New Delhi World Book Fair will be organized from 6 to 14 January 2018 in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The fair will be organized from 6 to 14 January 2018.

Germany at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2018

Sat Jan 06 2018 at 11:00 am

Hall No. 7, International Pavilion, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

German Book Office New Delhi will be representing Germany at the EU Pavilion at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2018.

• One of our primary goals at this year’s NDWBF is to promote the translation of German books to diverse Indian languages. Witness the Indo-German exchange of literature at our WALL OF TRANSLATION display.

• Book collection on nature, literary releases, the Karl Marx collection, and the Best German Book Design 2016 collection are among the others that we will be displaying as a part of the CONTEMPORARY BOOK COLLECTION FROM GERMANY.

• Come and see the BOOKS ON TOUR! 50 original German titles from 26 publishers and their English translations from 53 publishers in the United States, Great Britain and the Commonwealth.

Launch Multi- modal Electric Public Transport System

ON DECEMBER 27, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

INVITATION

Dear Sir/Madam,

Event: A Press Conference to announce plan to launch Multi- modal Electric Public Transport System in 10 cities by Shri Anant Geete, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises. MoS Shri Babul Supriyo will also be present.

Venue: 1st Floor, Room No. 176 Minister Office (HI&PE), Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.

Date: Wednesday, 27th December, 2017

Time: 4:30pm.

You cordially invited to cover.

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December 29, 2017, 2:47 am

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Viswanathan Anand wins World Rapid Chess Championship

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand has won the World Rapid Chess Championship in Riyadh. The former world champion remained unbeaten through the tournament and came back strongly to bag the top position on a tie-break after a three-way tie with Russians Vladimir Fedoseev and Ian Nepomniachtchi at 10.5 points from a possible 15. The Chennai ace then defeated Fedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break to win the trophy yesterday. The 48-year-old Anand has thus claimed his first rapid world title since 2003.

After winning the title Anand said he entered the tournament in a “pessimistic” frame of mind but managed to surprise himself and the world with an unbeaten campaign. He described the win against Norway’s world champion Magnus Carlsen as the crucial moment in the tournament.

President Ram Nath Kovind has congratulated Viswanathan Anand for winning the World Rapid Chess Championship. In a tweet, Mr Kovind said such determined pursuit of excellence across decades makes Anand an inspiration for all. He said the country is proud of Viswanathan Anand.

Anand’s erstwhile rival, Russian great Garry Kasparov, hailed his triumph on Twitter, saying congratulations to the man from the sixties on his World Rapid title.

He said the country is proud of Viswanathan Anand. Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore has also congratulated Viswanathan Anand on winning the World Rapid Chess Championship. In a tweet, Mr Rathore said, Anand tenacity, mental fortitude and never-give-up attitude is an inspiration to not just chess players, but all sports persons.

CAG Report on Ganga Rejuvenation, discouraging

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

PM Modi,constituency is the holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges, the clean-up of the Ganges one of his key campaign promises in the 2014 general election.The face lift, the quality of water are so poor that the spiritual bathing is impossible task.The parallel drains running of sewer along Ganga with meadows,rights green plants, adopting of latest technologies to clean the Ganga river,plan with paving path of river with dredging is still distant dream with neat and clean Ghats with modern amenities in spiritual cities.

Government spent nearly quarter of the funds available for a programme to clean up the Ganges river over the last two years, CAG audit has found, citing lapses in planning and financial management of a flagship scheme.

Government used 20% of earmarked for the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programme between April 2015 and March 2017, according to the report from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Further CAG reports water quality in eight of ten towns surveyed along the Ganges did not meet outdoor bathing standards.

“The performance audit revealed deficiencies in financial management, planning, implementation and monitoring, which led to delays in achievement of milestones,” the auditor said in its 160-page report which was presented to parliament last week.

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG

MoF Jaitley:India is 2nd fastest growing major economy in 2017 in the world

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

MoF Arun Jaitley today said despite the slowdown in 2016-17, as per the IMF, India was the fastest growing major economy in 2016 and second fastest growing major economy in 2017 in the world.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Mr Jaitley said the government has taken various initiatives to boost the growth of the economy which include fillip to manufacturing, concrete measures for transport and power sectors as well as other urban and rural infrastructure and special package for textile industry.

The minister said government had also announced various measures in the budget 2017-18 to promote growth in the economy which among others, include push to infrastructure development by giving infrastructure status to affordable housing, higher allocation to highway construction and focus on coastal connectivity.

Mr Jaitley informed the House that the government has launched a phased programme for bank recapitalization. He said this entails infusion of capital to the public sector banks that is expected to encourage banks to enhance lending.

Mr Jaitley said the other growth promotion measures include lower income tax for companies with annual turnover up to 50 crore rupees and further measures to improve the ease of doing business and a major push to digital economy.

The minister stressed that the introduction of GST has provided a significant opportunity to improve growth momentum by reducing barriers to trade, business and related economic activities.

The government today said there is no official estimation of the quantum of black money in circulation in the country and the amount stashed outside the country.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, the government, however, has taken a number of activities for eradicating and forfeiting black money.

Mr Jaitley said under direct taxes laws, such actions include searches, surveys, assessment of income, levy of tax, penalty and filing of prosecution complaints before criminal courts, wherever applicable.

He said from April to December 15, this year 15522 millions of currency notes printed in the country while it was 29,043 million in 2016-17.

Singapore EXPO Hall 7 Home Planner 2017

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Eubiq

Searching for the right furniture and design inspirations? Look no further, join us at Home Planner 2017 EXPO Hall 7, 30/12/17 ~ 07/01/18, 12PM to 10PM. Cash Prizes + Free Gifts worth more than $80,000 to be won. See you there!

Image may contain: 10 people, people smiling, food

UNSC denies international port access to four North Korean ships

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

UN Security Council has denied international port access to four North Korean ships suspected of carrying transported goods banned under international sanctions targeting Pyongyang.

Diplomats said, the ban of the four vessels was requested by the United States along with measures targeting ships registered in other countries. But China agreed only to target the four North Korean ships, diplomats said, as part of international efforts to curb Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programmes. One diplomat said, the procedure remains open to include other vessels in the future.

The list submitted by the US in December had also included ships flying flags from Belize, China, Hong Kong, Palau and Panama. In 2017, the Security Council has slapped three sets of sanctions on North Korea. Blocking suspected vessels from ports except in the case of humanitarian need, is provided for in the August resolution.

New York:Bronx apartment fire

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

New York, at least 12 people were killed and four critically injured when a fire tore through an apartment building in Bronx late last night.

Officials said the cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, but it began on the first floor and spread rapidly to the third floor. They said, four other people were critically injured and fighting for their lives.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at the scene after the blaze was extinguished that there could be more casualties.

The fire-alarm fire broke out in the building in the city’s northernmost borough at around 7:00 pm on a bitterly cold night, with temperatures well below freezing.

George Weah win Liberia’s president election

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

George Weah has been announced as the winner of Liberia’s presidential run-off, beating Vice President Joseph Boakai in the first democratic transfer of power in decades following two devastating civil wars. Weah is set to replace incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took over at the helm of Africa’s oldest republic in 2006.

‏Verified account @GeorgeWeahoff

My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation. I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on.

George Weah of Liberia joins Marshal Kim Jong-Un as second FIFA player of the year to become head of a national government.

The National Election Commission (NEC) said Weah had won an insurmountable 61.5 per cent of Tuesday’s vote, which was delayed several weeks after a legal challenge from Boakai. The NEC said that with 98.1 percent of all votes counted, Boakai had secured only 38.5 percent support.

Putin:Armed criminals to be liquidated

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that armed criminals could be liquidated on the spot. Speaking at a function in Moscow today, Mr Putin said, he had ordered the nation’s security services to act decisively and liquidate bandits on the spot if armed terrorists put up resistance. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters later that the Russian leader was referring to all those who harbour plans to carry out acts of terror in Russia.
Russian President said, yesterday’s blast that tore through a Saint Petersburg supermarket and injured 14 people was an act of
terror. Mr Putin’s 2015 decision to intervene in Syria militarily on
the side of Bashar al-Assad has made Russia a priority target
for the Islamic State terrorist group.

Italy General Elections on 4March

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella has dissolved Parliament as the country prepares for knife-edge general elections in March next year. The elections are scheduled to be held on March 4 and are expected to mark a new era of uncertainty for the country.

However, the next parliament could be left without a clear majority as the vote is predicted to be split between the right, centre-left and the populist Five Star movement. But instability is nothing new for the country that has seen 64 governments since 1946.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni is the third leader of the parliament that was elected in 2013. He is likely to stay in office until the creation of the new government following elections.

CMVijay rolls out his cabinet

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani allotted portfolios to the 19 newly inducted ministers last night.

AIR correspondent reports that an official list of portfolios was released after the cabinet meeting in Gandhinagar late last evening.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has been alloted Road and Building, Health, Medical Education while finance has been given to Saurabh Patel, who will also handle Energy.

Lone woman minister Vibhavariben Patel has been made MoS for Women and Child Development and Primary and Secondary Education.

Besides, many previous ministers have been given the same portfolios. The BJP government was sworn-in for the sixth time in Gujarat on Tuesday.

Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Saffron has made a mark in its history by adopting the bill to combat a social evil in society to mal- treat the wedlock partner in lurch after narrating three words order.

Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017 making instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband.

The bill introduced in the Lok Sabha yesterday, was passed after the House rejected a string of amendments moved by various opposition members.

Replying to a debate on the bill, Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad rejected opposition charge that the bill has been brought in a haste. He also ruled out any political motive behind the legislation.

Earlier moving the Bill, Mr Prasad had said the practice of triple talaq has been curbed and regulated even in many Islamic countries and a secular country like India will have to ensure justice to Muslim women.

While seeking the support of all parties for its passage, Mr Prasad said the bill should not be seen through an eye of religion, politics or vote bank.

The Law minister said the government has to bring a bill because the practice of instant triple talaq has continued despite the Supreme Court order terming it illegal.

He said the proposed law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’ and give power to the victim to approach a magistrate seeking subsistence allowance for herself and minor children. The woman can also seek the custody of her minor children.

Participating in the debate, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said, the bill has been brought to end the fear among the Muslim women folk from the constant threat in the name of talaq.

He said, the spirit of Quran does not only give women their right but more than that. He also questioned the credibility of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, saying who have given them authority to speak on behalf of the entire Muslim community.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017 bill seeks to make instant triple talaq in any form spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp as bad or illegal and void.

According to the proposed law, giving instant talaq would attract the jail term of three years and a fine. It would be a non-bailable offence.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge while favouring the Bill said, enough time should be given to elicit public opinion on the subject and the Bill should be sent to standing committee to look into various aspects of the Bill.

Participating in the debate Sushmita Deb of Congress also urged that the Bill be sent to the Standing Committee of the House. She said the Bill has many lacunae which should be removed.

Ms Deb criticized the government for making civil offence a criminal act. She suggested a provision of corpus for providing maintenance to divorced Muslim women in case their husbands failed to give subsistence allowance.

Meenakshi Lekhi of BJP demanded codification of Sharia Law. She said Talaq-e-biddat is a customary practice which has nothing to do with any religion. Ms. Lekhi accused the opposition leaders of speaking the language of Personal Law Board.

She also made it clear that the proposed legislation is not against any existing law but it is an addition to them for the empowerment of Muslim women.

The bill will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha for passage before it is forwarded to the President for signing it into law.

BJP President Amit Shah has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire government for the successful passing of Triple Talaq Bill in the Lok Sabha.

In a tweet, Mr Shah said, this bill is a historic step towards ensuring dignity for Muslim women. He also thanked all Parliamentarians who have supported this bill, which will bring a new era of hope and respect in the lives of Muslim women.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar today appealed to all political parties in the Rajya Sabha to support the government to ensure the smooth passage of Triple Talaq bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday.

Talking to media outside Parliament, he said the government is in touch with the political parties in this regard. He said, everyone should help the government to end the age-old tradition of triple talaq in the country.

Mr Kumar said, the government wants the empowerment of Muslim women and give them equal rights in the society.

Mumba fire in Kamala Mills

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Mumbai, at least 14 people were killed including ten women and about 20 injured in a massive fire in Kamala Mills Compound in Lower Parel locality.

BMC Control room has confirmed that the fire broke out after midnight in a pub on the third floor of the building on Senapati Bapat Road in Central Mumbai. The building houses commercial establishments including hotels.

The injured have been admitted to KEM, Bhatia and Airoli hospitals. Six fire tenders were rushed into service. AIR correspondent reports that according to fire Control department, the fire is now under control.

Anguished by the fire in Mumbai. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. I pray that those injured recover quickly: PM @narendramodi

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry into the incident of Kamala Mill compound blaze killing 14 people.

In his tweets today the Chief Minister said that he has directed the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Commissioner to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the incident and take action against the erring officials.

Fire safety clearances and other permissions given to the pub and resto-bars in the Trade Centre building are now in question.

Mumbai Police have registered an FIR regarding the Kamala Mill fire tragedy.

Fourteen people including ten women died in the massive fire in a building in Kamala Mill compound in Lower Parel locality of central Mumbai area in the early hours today.

20 people who sustained injuries are admitted to KEM, Bhatia and Airoli burns hospitals.

Meanwhile, the KEM hospital officials have confirmed that the death in the tragedy was due to suffocation in the crammed place engulfed in smoke and fire. Two of the injured are in critical conditioned.

The broadcasts from two TV channels, TV NINE (Marathi and Hindi), operating from the premises of Trade Centre building and the adjacent buildings have been affected.

CAIT CONFEDERATION on agitation

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

28th December, 2017

The Confederation of All India Traders strongly condemn the silence being kept by political leadership of all shades on brutal sealing of shops which is uprooting the trade in Delhi. It is highly regretted that so far no steps have been taken by either Government to began talks with the traders who have been made scapegoat in this burning issue. The brunt of the failure of the Govt is being faced by the Government.

It is further unfortunate that both Govts and MCD are tight lipped over gross violation of MCD Act by MCD official himself as no notice is being served on traders. It is more unfortunate that even orders of Supreme Court for giving 48 hours notice is also being violated and no politician has courage to raise the voice.

If Government does not want trade to be conducted and developed in Delhi, the traders are prepared to shut down the shutters of the shops and willing to handover keys to Govt. The manner in which sealing is conducted and traders are humiliated is beyond tolerance. If things are not taken seriously by both the Govenmentd then once again Delhi can go on agitation as it was done in 2006 and 2007.

9 Families Rs.16,81,540 Cr Loans > All Farmers & MSMEs

ON DECEMBER 29, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December28, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

Fortune In500 reported Unbelievable Fact that just 9 Families in India had borrowed Rs.16,81,540 Cr which is much more thanAgriculture [Rs.9,81,000 Cr] and MSMEs [Rs.4,52,500 Cr]together.

These 9 Families report Rs.19,88,147 Cr Revenue – compared to Rs.75,02,274 Cr or 26.4% for all Fortune In500 Companies.Rest of Fortune In500 contribute 73.6% of Rev.

9 Families – India Wages 1% of GDP & Net Value Add 8% GDP

9 Families Adv 57% Credit – Contribute22% Rev in India [26.4%] and 21.24% of Fortune In500 Profits without Labor Arbitrage. [TCS, TM & TS + Have Foreign Revenue]

RBI latest credit data show that all Large Industry was advancedRs.21,46,600 Cr and entire Services credit was Rs.17,33,600 Crthis together add up to Rs.38,82,000 @ 75% of it advanced to Fortune In500 – Rs.29,11,500 Cr – but Borrowings of 9 Familiesare Rs.16,81,540 Cr – around 57% of the Bank Credit for Large Industry & Services Advanced to 9 Families only.

Net Profit contributed by 9 Families is Rs.1,26,291 Cr but even this includes TCS, Tech-Mahindra and L&T Infotech plus few more smaller IT Companies which contributes say Rs.30,000 Cr – [TCS Rs.26,289 Cr and Tech-Mahindra Rs.2,812 Cr] which are Labor Arbitrage – Rs.96,291 Cr or 21.24% of Fortune In500.

But most AMAZING – 9 Families had INVESTED Rs.6,68,421 Cr in other Companies or Business – $104b Families Venture Fund.

ü At Least Rs.10,00,000 Cr EXCESS BORROWINGS by 9 Families.

ü 8 Are Registered in Mumbai & One in Ahmedabad of 9 Families.

ü SEBI make direct 9 Families to Shed Equity through Public Auction – Max Equity Limit 10% for Capital Intensive Projects Steel, Power, Cement, 20% for Engineering Industries, 40% for High-Tech Industries.Generate Rs.20,00,000 Cr Resource.

ü CAG Investigation into Biggest Scams – Regular Monitoring.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

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Child playing with stove caused deadly New York fire

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

United States, an unattended three-year-old boy playing with the burners on a kitchen stove started a fire in a New York City apartment that killed 12 people yesterday, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.

Children aged 1, 2 and 7 as well as a boy whose age was unknown died, along with four men and four women. Among the dead were at least three members of the same family. Authorities said firefighters rescued 12 people from the building and four people are in the hospital in critical condition. New York City is going through a bitter cold snap with temperatures and high winds.

It was the deadliest fire in the city since an arsonist torched a Bronx nightclub in 1990, killing 87 people inside the venue that did not have fire exits, alarms or sprinklers, the New York Times reported.

Girls rescued from UP Madrasa

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Uttar Pradesh, 52 girls aged six to 19, who were being held hostage in a madarsa in the old city area of Lucknow, were rescued last night.

Madarsa manager Mohd Tayyab Zia, who had been allegedly exploiting the girls, was arrested. Madarsa Jamia Khadeejtul Qubra Lilabnat, situated in Yasinganj area under Saadatganj police jurisdiction, was being used as girls’ hostel. The patron of the madarsa, Syed Mohd Jilani Ashraf, had reported the matter to the local police station, but no action was taken. He then approached Lucknow senior superintendent of police.

Though there were 101 girls living in the madarsa hostel, only 52 were present when the police raided the facility. Rest of the girls were believed to have gone to their families during winter vacation.

The girls rescued from the madarsa reportedly told the police that the manager used to sexually harass them under duress. Any girl who raised objections would be threatened of dire consequences, it was alleged. The girls were later sent to a women’s protective home in Lucknow. Further investigations are being conducted.

GAIL awards major contracts for Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

New Delhi, 29th December, 2017: GAIL (India) Limited has placed line pipe orders for approx. 400 Km for pipeline connectivity from Dobhi (in Bihar) to Durgapur (in West Bengal). With these awards, major contracts of the Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project, i.e. pipe supply orders for 2100 Km and pipeline laying orders for 1700 Km have been finalized.

The prestigious 2655 Km long JHBDPL project, also known as the ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’ project was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India in July’2015. The project is progressing in full swing. GAIL till date has committed over Rs 6500 crores for the project which will pass through the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

The project will usher Industrial development in East India by supplying environmentally clean Natural Gas to Fertilizer & Power plant, Refineries, Steel plants and other Industries. Further, the arrival of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga will provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people.

The project will also provide clean energy to households and transportation in the cities en-route the pipeline. The City gas Network laying activity in Varanasi & Bhubaneswar has already commenced and activities in other cities namely Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Cuttack & Kolkata will start by next month. The pilot project in Bhubaneshwar for providing PNG & CNG has already been inaugurated in Oct 2017 & Dec 2017 respectively , by Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Skill_Development_and_Entrepreneurship>.

Shri B. C. Tripathi, CMD, GAIL (India) Ltd. said that “GAIL is committed to complete the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project well within scheduled time and cost. Construction works for another prestigious pipeline project, which is also part of National Gas Grid, Kochi Kottanad Mangalore project in Kerala and Karnataka state has also gained momentum. I have reviewed the project activities in Kochi last week and I am confident that the pipeline will be completed well before the scheduled completion of Feb 2019.”

CMD, GAIL (India) Ltd , further added that “ Major contracts for both the projects have been awarded which will contribute to the Make in India initiative of Government of India and provide huge employment opportunities in the pipeline project and City Gas Distribution networks. GAIL will be spending its committed project Capex for the current Financial year which will enhanced by more than 50% to around Rs 6000 crores in the next fiscal year largely for the 4000 kms of pipe line and City Gas projects it is presently executing.”

Think Digital, Be Digital

Artêria Gallery, pleasure to kick off 2018 with the LA Art Show 2018!

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

We are offering you free tickets to the LA Art Show next week. Act fast because quantity are limited !

View this email in your browser

LA Art Show 2018

It is our great pleasure to kick off 2018 with the LA Art Show, an innovative, world-class contemporary exhibition celebrating the multi-cultural influences of Los Angeles, California. In keeping with LA’s position at the cutting-edge of entertainement and technology, the producers of this event work to expand the viewing experience to include large scale installations, performances, and a special section of the event dedicated to design.

Artêria is proud to add our own diverse group of artists to the global art community convening in LA this January. Come check it out!

Opening times

VERNISSAGE
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Vanguard Entrance, 7pm–8pm
Patron Reception, 7pm–11pm
Opening Night Premiere Party, 8pm–11pm

Thursday, January 11     11 am – 7 pm
Friday, January 12   11 am – 7 pm
Saturday, January 13     11 am – 7 pm
Sunday, January 14     11 am – 5 pm

Venue

Arteria Gallery
Booth 629
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street, West Hall

Complimentary tickets

You can register online by clicking on the complimentary admission links below. Should all the free tickets options already be gone, simply let us know by replying to this email, so that we can leave tickets under your name at the door of the event.

Not to be missed!

ZUT
“Des idées farfelues”
30×30 inches / 76×76 cm

C.A.B.81
“Orange Crush #1”
39×29 inches / 99,5×74 cm

VIRGINIE SCHROEDER
“Always on my mind”
60×40 inches / 152×102 cm

MARIE-ANNE BARON
“Welcome to Yellow City”
40×40 inches / 102×102 cm

HUGO CANTIN
“Vanishing Kaloma”
58×13 inches / 147,5×33,5 cm

Mr REVRAC
“Glitch TechX 0-101317-0”
16x12x9 inches / 41x30x23 cm

L3F0u aka CONSTANTIN LE FOU
“Vegan James Dean (River Phoenix)”
48×48 inches / 122×122 cm

CANTSTOPGOODBOY
“Four Corners”
24×24 inches / 61×61 cm

PASHA SETROVA
“Orange Corset”
10x10x33 inches / 25x25x84 cm

POL TURGEON
“Flores Claustra”
19×12,5 inches / 48×32 cm

LA Art Show 2018

C’est avec grand plaisir que la galerie Artêria donne le coup d’envoi de 2018 avec le LA Art Show, une exposition contemporaine novatrice, de classe internationale, célébrant les influences multi-culturelles de Los Angeles. Fidèles à l’avant-gardisme californien dans l’industrie du spectacle et de la technologie, les organisateurs de cet événement ont voulu ajouter à l’expérience, en proposant des installations à grande échelle, des performances et une section spéciale dédiée au design.

Artêria est fière de présenter la grande diversité de ses artistes à la communauté artistique internationale et ce, dès janvier prochain!

On vous y attend!

Heures d’ouverture

VERNISSAGE
Mercredi, le 10 Janvier 2018
Vanguard Entrance, 7pm–8pm
Patron Reception, 7pm–11pm
Soirée d’Ouverture, 8pm-11pm

Jeudi, le 11 Janvier     11 am – 7 pm
Vendredi, le 12 Janvier   11 am – 7 pm
Samedi, le 13 Janvier     11 am – 7 pm
Dimanche, le 14 Janvier   11 am – 5 pm

Lieu

Galerie Artêria
Booth 629
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street, West Hall

Billets

Veuillez vous inscrire en ligne en cliquant sur les liens d’admission gratuits ci-dessus. Si toutes les options de billets gratuits sont déjà écoulées, contactez-nous en répondant à ce courriel et nous laisserons des droits d’entrée à votre nom , à la porte de l’événement.

À ne pas manquer!

Mumbai Fire Tragedy is Totally Scammed City Administration

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December30, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

Recently at a Security Event noticed NDMC Auditorium, at NDMC Head Quarter itself was not designed from SAFETY ANGLE was DEATH TRAP in Case of Fire or Explosion.

I went around the building because Toilets were located in back side which was closed and toilets at ground floor were flooded to had to pass through Narrow Stair Case to access first floor toilet which too was on the rear side – there was no Lift but Escalators directed in opposite direction which in case Power Cut would be Stalled. There were two Boundary Walls between Auditorium and outside. Food for Guests is served on the Second Floor.

NDMC Auditorium though approved & legal itself VIOLATED Building Code.

Fire Tragedy in Illegal Buildings is TOTALLY SCAMMED Administration.

First it was POLICE which allowed Illegal Activities at the Rooftop RESTO-BARS Structures serving Liquor & Tobacco without Permit – Which can’t go Undetected after Office Hours police is responsible for 24 Hour Security, Parking, Licensing of Bar & Restaurants.

Parking Alone is a BIG Issue 30-40 Illegal Structures at Kamala Mills may also Illegally use 1000 Car Parking Space, Creating Nuisance for Legal owners EVERY DAY fire or no fire. Police is also responsible for Illegal Street Food joints.

Second it was Fire Department which had not cared to SEAL BUILDINGS operating without fire safety compliance.

Third was MUMBAI MUNICIPALITY which didn’t carry out DEMOLITION OF ILLEGAL Building.

Fourth was GST & TAX Administration, Excise Department, Food Inspectors, Entertainment Tax etc which Compromised on Tax Collection for Space, Liquor, Food Served and DJ.

Fifth was Water, Electricity, Sewage and other services connected in Illegal building. I was in Mumbai helping an NRI shoot Music Video – All Unions & Agents came to collect BRIBES on Public Holiday 2000. All services were CHARGED without legal orders.

When it is reported 8% Eateries in Delhi are Observing Safety norm even 20 years after UPHAAR and 4812 Building in Mumbai served notices for Fire Safety norms it is TOTALLY SCAMMED Administration.

UNSAFE BUILDING COULD BE IN MILLIONS IN URBAN INDIA – OLD CITY AREAS HAVE 2 Ft Passages – Some Have Steep Steel or Wooden Stairs where only one Person can go up & Down at a time. Unauthorized Structure Have No SAFETY COMPLIANCE.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

Dialogue Missing Between LG & DyCM; Delhi Govt & Public

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

December30, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

The dialogue between Government and Public is Critical for administration of state and Optimizing Development which isMISSING Totally – LG and DyCM too are not talking.

Most of Delhi Problems can be RESOLVED throughDIALOGUE. I am giving just couple of Examples – have intervened in Power, Water, Transport, Industry, Environment etc also.

In 2000 when ‘UNIT AREA SCAMMED method of HOUSE TAX ASSESSMENT’ [Replacing Valuation Based] was introduced – I asked RWA President that I can file Petition Against this in HC or Consumer Forum – he said ‘I am paying Rs.500 for residential property and Rs.45,000 for Basement for Commercial Use, My House Tax shall be Rs.15,000 for Residence & Rs.18,000 for Commercial Property – I gain Rs.12,500 – I am happy’.

In this BJP at Center and Municipal Level and INC in Stateconnived for short term gain but – Construction activity presently is 100 Times in real value terms as almost all Malls, Metros, Offices, Residences, Shops etc use ITALIAN MARBLE and LUXURY IMPORTS – but there is very little growth in House Tax Collection.

A newly Built Luxury Home – built with Italian Marbles, Imported Fittings & Appliances, Jacuzzi Baths, Split Air-Conditioner in Every Room, 500 Lt Plus Refrigerators on every Floor, LCD TVs in Every Room, Luxury Toilet, Geysers, Lifts, Generator, 3-4 Cars, Club Membership, Security System, 200 KW Connection, Using Roads For Parking pays same House Tax as >>

>> Neighbor living in 60 Years old property using 4 KW Load without Car and all the Luxuries. Marriage of his daughter in Chhatarpur Marriage Hall could cost Rs.15 lakh to just Rs.5 Lakh in Club of the RWA. Luxury home owner with Club Membership Enjoys SUBSIDIZED 5-STAR FOOD, SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT Every Day.

Delhi Could Double TAX Collection Yet Ensure Savings to Residents of Delhi.

Ø Delhi to Provide ‘Fresh Food TRUCK Parking’ at all Important Parking Spots where 6 Tone Trucks could bring ‘Farm Fresh Graded Fruits & Vegetable for Retail and Leave No Garbage’. NO COST TO CLEAN CITY.

Ø Rotation of SPECIAL Grade Teachers is better than Schools of Excellence.

Ø SPORTS are Critical for Development of Team Work, Community Participation & Learning – Teaching Same Chapter 10 Times in School and 100 Times out of school is Most Stupid. BRIGHT CHILDREN PICK UP IN JUST FIRST LESSON – 2-3 IN COMPLEX or DIFFICULT CHAPTER.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

Obama Foundation:More than anything,

ON DECEMBER 30, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Obama Foundation

I’ve always liked counting down to the new year. We get to reflect on what we’ve been through, and prepare for what’s ahead. There’s something inherently optimistic about that.I know optimism isn’t always fashionable. Certainly not when we’re fed a steady stream of cynicism on television and through social media. We face some extraordinary challenges, but consider the long view. If you think about it, by almost every measure, America and the world are better than they were fifty, twenty, even ten years ago.

I was born at a time when women and people of color were systematically, routinely excluded from huge portions of American life. Today, women and minorities are rising up in the ranks of business, politics, and everywhere else. That’s just one of the significant shifts we’ve seen. And when you measure it against the scope of human history — it happened in an instant.

Around the world, we live in a time when fewer people are dying young and more people are living not only longer, but better. More girls are in school. More adults can read. More children get the vaccines they need.

These are good things. And none of them are lucky accidents. They happened because countless people, toiling for many years, fought to make this progress.

More than anything, that’s what’s needed now – the engagement of everyone who wants to see a better future for our children. The kind of collective action that has always driven human progress. And even in the face of cynicism and division, it’s those kinds of stories from 2017 that I’ll remember.

When Kat Creech, a wedding planner in Houston, Texas, saw a rapidly strengthening hurricane approaching her state, she and a couple whose Labor Day wedding she was planning decided to postpone. At Kat’s suggestion, that couple instead invited their wedding party, family, and friends to join together and volunteer to support those affected by the flood. Inspired, Kat kept going. She started a Facebook group to help connect and coordinate with fellow residents who wanted to volunteer. That became Recovery Houston, hundreds of volunteers strong. They helped clear more than 120 homes in a single week. Asked what she hopes others will learn from her story, Kat said, “You can move mountains and really make a difference in someone’s life.”

That’s a story from 2017.

In the wake of this summer’s violence in Virginia, Chris Long, a defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles, gave his first six paychecks of the season to fund scholarships at the high school he attended in his hometown of Charlottesville. But, like Kat in Texas, he wanted to do more. He decided to give away the rest of his paychecks for the season as well. An entire season’s salary. “Be that contagious light that spreads energy to other people,” Chris told a group of high school students this year. “Be contagious in your energy.”

That’s something else that happened in 2017.

At just five years old, Jahkil Jackson had witnessed the struggles of Chicago’s homeless families when his aunt took him to Lower Wacker Drive to hand out food to those camped there. He found himself restless, wanting to do more. With a spark of inspiration and the help of his family, Jahkil created “Blessing Bags” — kits full of socks, toiletries and snacks that he could offer to those in need. Now, as a 10 year old, through his organization Project I Am, Jahkil has enlisted the help of his school and community to pursue his goal of handing out 5,000 Blessing Bags, all because he wanted a simple way to help his neighbors. Just yesterday, with the support of his friends, Jahkil reached his goal.

A 2017 story.

Kate, Chris, and Jahkil were all living in the same country, during the same time, as you and me. They chose not to be daunted by challenges, but to stand up and make their world better.

I saw that spirit all across America in people who chose to get involved, get engaged, and stand up not only to defend their rights, but more importantly, the rights of others. People who rejected cynicism and pessimism and pushed forward with a relentless, infectious optimism. Not a blind optimism that ignores the scale and scope of our challenges, but rather a hard-earned optimism rooted in the stories of real progress.

It’s a belief that each of us can make a difference, and all of us ought to try.

You only need one person speaking with conviction, speaking with courage, and yes, with optimism, and you’re going to change some minds.

Those folks won’t just be convinced — they’ll be motivated to go out and spread the message that swayed them. They’ll be its best ambassadors.

And on it goes, one conversation at a time, until you’ve got yourself a movement. A movement that can change the world.

I’ll believe that as long as I live. So go keep changing the world in 2018.

– Barack

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Sagar Media Inc: Tweet 31.12.2017

ON DECEMBER 31, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

‏ @Nksagar

Sagar Media Inc: New Year 2018,Begins, China Xi said Resolute Reforms.AINA 2 run Russian Prez election against Putin. German without Gov. May Progress in Brexit.Nitin Dy CM gets FM.NZ,Samoa, Tonga, Kirbati enters Year 2018.Pak provoke India, this 821 ceasefire violation.

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‏ @Nksagar 31

Sagar Media Inc:Rajini to join politics to launch new political party in Tamil Nadu to contest assembly Election,his fans go berserk.Pulwana attack 5 CRPF Jawans killed gun battles on.Xi to Putin for more cooperation. Auckland NZ fireworks first cel NY 2018.

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Shiv Kapur closes 2017 on a high with third victory of season at Royal Cup

ON DECEMBER 31, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Gaganjeet Bhullar secures third place, Khalin Joshi is sixth

Pattaya, Thailand, December 31, 2017: India’s Shiv Kapur closed the year on a high with his third victory of the 2017 Asian Tour season at the Royal Cup in Thailand.

Kapur, the only golfer to win multiple Asian Tour titles in 2017, emerged triumphant in a fascinating duel against Thailand’s Prom Meesawat on the final day of the US$500,000 event.

Shiv (67-68-68-67) posted a last round of four-under-67 to finish with a total of 14-under-270, one ahead of Meesawat.

There were three Indians in the top-6 as Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-71-69-66) secured third place at 11-under-273 while Khalin Joshi (70-68-71-67) claimed sixth place at eight-under-276.

At the start of the final round, Prom was two shots ahead of Kapur, who was four shots ahead of the rest of the field.

However, Prom lost his advantage as early as the second hole of the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club. After pulling to the left, Prom had to settle for a bogey at the par-three hole, while Kapur knocked in a birdie.

Prom’s further bogeys on the fifth and ninth handed Kapur the lead. Although, the 33-year-old Thai managed to shake off his nerves after the turn and it was all square again following consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th.

Kapur did himself no favours when he bogeyed the 13th and 14th and in the process, handed Prom a two-shot lead again.

Kapur bounced back remarkably with two consecutive birdies of his own and it was back to a deadlock. With Prom bogeying the 17th, the door was left open for Shiv to win the Royal Cup, and he did.
Prom nearly forced a playoff as he narrowly missed a birdie putt at the last hole of the tournament.

Shiv, who won the Yeangder Heritage and the Panasonic Open India earlier in the year, made 19 birdies at the cost of five bogeys during the Royal Cup week. It was his fourth win on the Asian Tour and the seventh international win by an Indian in 2017.

Kapur, who traded six birdies for two bogeys on Sunday, said, “It was a see-saw battle indeed. I had to come out fighting straight out of the blocks. I made two birdies in my first three holes and that reversed Prom’s advantage. It doesn’t always go to plan, but luckily, I started well and he made a bogey on the second hole and before I knew it, I was leading the tournament.

“On the ninth, I made a good par, which was pivotal. I had a great putt from off the green on 10th. At that stage, I thought I was in control. I hit a poor drive on the 11th and got away with par. He made good birdies on 11th and 12th and regained the lead.

“I felt that I made a bad swing on 13th and that carried over to the next hole. After the two bogeys, I was obviously disappointed as a two-shot lead turned into a two-shot deficit.

“Standing on the 15th tee, I told my caddie that we’re not going to go down without a fight. Let’s make a birdie here and see what happens or at least give myself a chance going into the last two holes.

“The birdie there (on the 15th) got me back into the tournament. I had a good up and down on the 17th and Prom kind of handed me the tournament as he three putted there. At the 18th, I thought he was a bit unluckily. Prom is a steely competitor and I’m lucky to come out on top.

“I think the tournament has a great format. It has a lot of history and I’m glad to join the illustrious list of winners.

“A lot of people were taking the week off. In hindsight, sometimes, good things happen. If I had made the EurAsia Cup team, I wouldn’t be here. It’s always great to win three times on Tour during the season. On top of that, it’s a special feeling to have my daughter here on the 18th green celebrating my win.

“If 2018 can come anywhere close, I’ll be happy. I’ll be building on my success. After three weeks of rest and relaxation, I’ll be back competing on the Asian Tour.”

Gaganjeet Bhullar held on to his third round position of third place after a 66 that featured an eagle, four birdies and a bogey.

Bhullar said, “I had a good tournament. I didn’t prepare much as I came straight from my wedding. Today was particularly good. I holed a lot of good putts and gave myself good opportunities. I played well but obviously these guys (Kapur and Prom) played better than me.

“It is good playing this golf course again. I had good memories from last year and I’m glad I came back and played well this week.

“The year 2017 has been a memorable one. The Macao Open was special as it was a wire-to-wire victory and my second win there. It’ll be a tournament that is always close to my heart. This week was great, of course.”

Khalin Joshi fired a last round of 67 to gain three places from his overnight tied ninth and finally finish sixth.

Jyoti Randhawa ended the week in tied 41st at three-over-287.

Ananta Aspen:Session on “India – Israel:

ON DECEMBER 31, 2017 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

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January 1, 2018, 2:42 am

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PM Modi address on Satyendra Nath Bose’s 125th birth anniversary in Kolkata

ON JANUARY 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today pitched for using vernacular languages in promoting science communication in a big way to develop love of science in the youth, saying language should not be a barrier but a facilitator.

Addressing the curtain-raiser ceremony of the commemoration of professor Satyendra Nath Bose’s 125th birth anniversary in Kolkata via video-conference from New Delhi, he said Bose was a crusader for teaching of science in vernacular languages and had started a Bengali science magazine.

He said, the fundamental importance of his work may be gauged from the fact that several Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded subsequently to researchers carrying forward his ideas to diverse physical applications.

The Prime Minister also asked the scientists to use their fundamental knowledge to help the general public in today’s life. He said it is important in today’s world that the final outcome of the innovation and research should be judged for their positive impact on the lives of poor people. He asked scientists to determine their subjects of research keeping in mind the socio-economic challenges faced by the country.

Mr Modi said, the scientific community and anyone associated with science and technology must focus their innovation and research towards building a New India.

He said, science and technology works as an extraordinary engine for Development, Growth and Transformation.

Mr Modi said, for various reasons, India missed the first Industrial revolution but it can not miss similar opportunities today. He said, upcoming sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Cyber-physical systems, Genomics, and Electric Vehicles are new challenges that require attention and scientists need to ensure, that as a country, India keep pace with these emerging technologies and innovations.

He said, the way India’s scientific community tackles these challenges, it will determine it’s success in smart manufacturing, smart cities, Industry 4.0, and the Internet-of-Things. He said, country’s scientific ecosystem must connect directly with innovators and entrepreneurs to cultivate, channelize and empower them.

Physicist S N Bose is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s. Bose discovered what is known as bosons and worked with Albert Einstein to define one of the two basic classes of subatomic particles.

Hello Naresh, The 20th century was tough

ON JANUARY 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Hello Naresh,

The 20th century was tough on old planet Earth.

Our population explosion combined with our modern consumer lifestyles have been overtaxing the natural resources of the planet ever since mid-20th century.

Scientists say we need 1.5 planets to support all of us today.

We need 6 planets to support everyone at the level of American or European lifestyles.

The catch is we have only one planet.

So now what do we do now?

Do we let oceans die? Let the forests burn? Let the water tables drop?

No. We know you can’t stand by and simply watch the vital signs of our planet sink.

It’s time to get engaged.

Don’t you want your grandchildren to remember the 21st century as the century we found an acceptable balance between our lifestyles and the capacity of the planet to support us?

At Worldwatch, we believe this balance is possible but it will require a vast human commitment to overcome the inertia of business as usual.

Finding and promoting a vision for a sustainable future has been the focus of Worldwatch since 1974. We have inspired tens of thousands of people around the world to dedicate their careers to solving this problem. But it will take millions of us to do so before we turn things around.

Get involved with our mission.

Read our books. Read our blogs. Support our research.

Ask your local communities and universities what they are doing to solve this century’s greatest challenge.

386K children born worldwide on NY day

ON JANUARY 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Nearly 386,000 children will be born worldwide on New Year’s Day, says UNICEF

UNICEF challenges nations around the world to make sure more newborns survive their first days of life

NEW YORK, 1 January 2018 – Approximately 386,000 babies will be born on New Year’s Day, UNICEF said today.

Kiribati’s Christmas Island in the Pacific will most likely welcome 2018’s first baby; the United States, its last. Globally, over half of these births are estimated to take place in nine countries:

India — 69,000
China — 44,760
Nigeria — 20,210
Pakistan — 14,910
Indonesia — 13,370
The United States — 11,280
The Democratic Republic of Congo — 9,400
Ethiopia — 9,020
Bangladesh — 8,370

While many babies will survive, some will not make it past their first day. In 2016, an estimated 2,600 children died within the first 24 hours every day of the year. For almost 2 million newborns, their first week was also their last. In all, 2.6 million children died before the end of their first month. Among those children, more than 80 per cent died from preventable and treatable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis and pneumonia.

“This New Year, UNICEF’s resolution is to help give every child more than an hour, more than a day, more than a month — more than survival,” said Stefan Peterson, UNICEF’s Chief of Health. “We call on governments and partners to join the fight to save millions of children’s lives by providing proven, low-cost solutions.”

Over the past two decades, the world has seen unprecedented progress in child survival, halving the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday to 5.6 million in 2016. But despite these advances, there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month account for 46 per cent of all deaths among children under five.

Next month, UNICEF will launch Every Child Alive, a global campaign to demand and deliver affordable, quality health care solutions for every mother and newborn. These include a steady supply of clean water and electricity at health facilities, the presence of a skilled health attendant during birth, disinfecting the umbilical cord, breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, and skin-to-skin contact between the mother and child.

“We are now entering the era when all the world’s newborns should have the opportunity to see the 22nd century,” added Peterson. “Unfortunately, nearly half of the children born this year likely won’t. A child born in Sweden in January 2018 is most likely to live to 2100, while a child from Somalia would be unlikely to live beyond 2075.”

Notes to Editors

In India, 69000 babies are born every day. The day of birth is the riskiest day for both the mother and the newborn as nearly half of the maternal deaths and 40 per cent of the newborn deaths occur on the day of birth. Measures to ensure that every woman delivers in a health facility assisted by a skilled birth attendant, would be key to preventing these deaths as nearly five million newborns are delivered at home in India every year.

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January 1, 2018, 10:41 pm

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West Asia Digest by Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad

ON JANUARY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad
Adviser, West Asia & North Africa, Ananta Centre
Former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman & UAE
1 January 2018

I Political Developments1. Iran: On 14 December, the US defence department displayed at a hangar at a joint base at Anacosta-Bolling, Washington, three intact Iranian weapon systems and debris from a fourth, apparently recovered from the battlefields of West Asia. Recalling President Trump’s Iran strategy announced in October, the department spokesperson said these missiles were proof of Iran’s malicious strategy, specifically “evidence of Iranian weapons proliferation in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2231”. The weapons systems on display were retrieved from battlefields by U.S. partners in the region — primarily Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the spokesperson said.

The four systems were a short-range ballistic missile, an antitank guided missile, an unmanned aerial vehicle and exploding boat technology. There were pieces of two Iranian Qiam missiles launched from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, one had targeted the Yanbu oil facility, while the other was aimed at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh.

Another piece of equipment was an Iranian-made antitank guided missile called a Toophan, obtained by Saudi Arabia. The missile is a high-precision, direct-fire weapon with a range of about 2.4 miles. The Houthis in Yemen use these missiles to target infrastructure and vehicles. The display also showcased a Qasef-1 unmanned aerial vehicle operated by Houthi forces, which was recovered by Saudi Arabia. Finally, the display featured the guidance system from an Iranian Shark-33 boat. This is an explosives-laden, unmanned boat used in an attack the Saudi Arabian frigate, HMS al Madinah.

The Shark-33 has a guidance system allowing it to track and hit a moving target without an operator on board, so the boat can be deployed to blow up a ship without sending someone on a suicide mission. The computer and sensors serve as that unmanned guidance system for the Shark-33. Finally, the boat’s onboard camera captures a still image of its location every time the guidance software turns on.

During the press conference at the hangar where the Iranian equipment was on display, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that the display was hard evidence that Iran is seeking to destabilize West Asia from the Arabian Peninsula, to Central Asia, to the Levant. She added: “It’s hard to find a terrorist group in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints all over it”, and concluded that Iran is “fanning the flames” of conflict. Haley called on all nations of the world to join the United States in resisting Iran as the nation has become “a global threat.”

Haley’s remarks were the latest attempt by the Trump administration to mobilise international opinion to punish Iran for its ballistic missile programme and its role in West Asia. Iran dismissed her assertions. A spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations called them fabricated and part of a pattern of false accusations by Washington. The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted side-by-side photos of Ms. Haley at her news conference and Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, during his infamous 2003 speech at the United Nations arguing for an invasion of Iraq; “When I was based at the U.N., I saw this show and what it begat”, the minister wrote.

Reza Marashi of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) notes that Haley had cited a UN report in her claim regarding Iranian missile transfers to the Houthis, but the UN has in fact reached no such conclusion. Instead, a panel of experts had concluded that the fired missile fragments showed components from an Iranian company, but they have “no evidence as to the identity of the broker or supplier.” In fact, analysts from the U.S. Department of Defence, speaking to reporters at Haley’s speech, acknowledged that they do not know the missiles’ origin. Marashi describes Haley’s presentation as her “Colin Powell 2003 moment” in the way she “cherry-picked intelligence in a fashion reminiscent of the 2002-2003 push for invading Iraq”.

Paul Pillar, writing in the National Interest, has also recalled the “Powell moment”, saying: “Now Nikki Haley has provided the closest replication yet of the notorious show-and-tell from 2003. She has tendentiously and selectively brandished pieces, including physical pieces, of intelligence to stir up hostility toward Iran, with which the Trump administration seems intent on picking a fight”. Pillar concludes: “We still don’t know exactly where Trump, Haley, or anyone else in the current administration wants or expects to go with their campaign of stoking maximum tension with, and hostility toward, Iran. But more and more of their campaign sounds a lot like what the Bush administration and neoconservatives were saying about Iraq in 2002 and 2003.”

A report in the New York Times said that Haley’s assertions “fell short of proving her claims”. It pointed out that Defence officials could not say exactly when the weapons were given to the Houthis, which means that they could have been transferred before the Security Council resolution was enacted; in some cases, the officials said that they could not say when the weapons were used. Defence officials were also unable to say exactly where or when the drone, a broken Qasef-1, was found.

2. US’ National Security Strategy: On 18 December, the US’s National Security Strategy (NSS) was released; it mentions Iran twelve times. The first mention castigates the Obama administration’s focus on achieving a nuclear deal with Iran, declaring that the Trump administration is now “confronting the danger posed by the dictatorship in Iran, which those determined to pursue a flawed nuclear deal had neglected.” It goes on to outline many of the activities that Iran is engaged in, including its testing of ballistic missiles and ties to designated terrorist groups, frequently mentioning Iran in the same breath as North Korea.

The document then goes on to say: “We will work with partners to deny the Iranian regime all paths to a nuclear weapon and neutralize Iranian malign influence” and “We will work with partners to neutralize Iran’s malign activities in the region.” However, the NSS does not provide any details on how the administration intends to proceed against Iran, suggesting that the details of an approach to Iran remain elusive.

On the other hand, the GCC countries are likely to welcome the NSS: as Hussain Ibish has noted, the three main goals for West Asia in the NSS – combating “jihadist terrorists,” preventing the domination of “any power hostile to the United States,” and ensuring “a stable global energy market” – are fully consistent with the national interests of the Gulf Arab countries. The latter will also be pleased with references to the value the Trump administration places on alliances with traditional West Asian partners.

Trump’s introductory note asserts: “We have renewed our friendships in the Middle East,” which is what Gulf Arab countries have been seeking after the wilderness years of the Obama administration. They will also welcome the commitment: “We will retain the necessary American military presence in the region to protect the United States and our allies from terrorist attacks and preserve a favourable regional balance of power.”

3. Yemen: The death of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh has overturned the Saudi-UAE strategy of using him to defeat the Houthis and regain the territory under Houthi control, particularly the capital, Sanaa, and the port city of Hodeidah. The UAE now seems to be backing Saleh’s son, Ahmed Ali Saleh, who has rallied Yemeni ground forces still loyal to Saleh and, for now, to Ahmed Ali. These forces are seeking to take territory on the coastal route north from Aden to Hodeidah and, following Saleh’s death, they seem to have air and naval support from the UAE to do so.

Saudi Arabia has broadened its options by re-engaging with the Al Islah, the Islamist party, which also has a variety of tribal and religious elements, it had sponsored as a political coalition in Yemen in 1990 to promote its interests. Al Islah has close links with the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed as a terror group by both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is now seeking to revive this alliance, and has brought a reluctant UAE on board as well, a significant achievement given the UAE’s hostility towards all Brotherhood-affiliated entities.

On 15 December, the Abu Dhabi-based The National reported that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had held talks in Riyadh with the Al Islah party on the previous day. During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed and Prince Mohammed reviewed the latest developments in Yemen with Al Islah chairman Colonel Mohammed Abdullah Al Yidoumi and Secretary-general Abdulwahab Ahmad Al Anisi.

This was the second time in a month that Mohammed bin Salman had publicly met with the Islah leader, who has spent two years trying to re-establish Islah’s formerly good relationship with the kingdom. After the meeting, Yidoumi praised what the Saudi-led coalition is doing in Yemen. Al-Anisi, the secretary general of Islah, said that the meeting was a “turning point,” and that the party had been asked to reach out to remnants of Saleh’s party to work with his followers against the Houthis. Al Islah militants have been fighting alongside forces loyal to Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi in Marib province, east of Sanaa, for three years.

In addition to Ahmed Ali Saleh, Saudi Arabia is also still working with General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Ali Abdullah Saleh’s former close military ally and currently Vice President to Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Ali Mohsen has long worked with Salafi fighters and those affiliated with Al Islah.

Separately, in the aftermath of Saleh’s death, the Houthis controlling Sanaa have tightened their grip on the city and its people in recent weeks, shutting off access to the internet, blocking social media sites and sending gunmen to raid the homes of Saleh’s supporters and anyone else they suspect of opposing them. Hundreds of people have been detained, and prices for basic goods like food and fuel are soaring, threatening to exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis

4. Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on alleged corruption shows no signs of letting up, with more people being questioned and banks freezing more accounts. There are reports that, almost seven weeks after the purge started, authorities are detaining new suspects and releasing some of those held. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is also asking banks to freeze the accounts of more individuals who are not under arrest and people linked to them.

The authorities are hoping to reach agreements with detainees, who include royals and billionaires such as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, “within weeks,” Attorney General Sheikh Saud Al Mujib said earlier in December. The kingdom is hoping to recover as much as $100 billion from settlement deals made with detainees. Bank accounts of 376 individuals, all of whom are either detainees or people linked to them, have been frozen as a “precautionary measure,” Al Mujib said. Some suspects being held are starting to make payments to settle cases in exchange for freedom, he said.

The government is setting up an asset management committee to handle the proceeds of settlement agreements. Any funds that are handed over to the state as part of settlement agreements will ultimately go into the budget and be used to fund government projects and services such as education and healthcare.

Nearly two months after the royal purge in early November, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, according to the Wall Street Journal, is reported to be resisting pressure by the government to hand over $6 billion. Instead, the prince is said to have offered the government a significant stake in his Riyadh-listed Kingdom Holding that has investments in Citibank, Twitter, Four Seasons hotels, and Disney, and operates a media and entertainment empire. The prince has also insisted that he retain a leadership position in his conglomerate. Kingdom Holding has lost 14 percent of its $8.7 billion market value since Prince Al-Waleed’s detention.

With a fortune estimated by Forbes at $16.8 billion, Prince Al-Waleed reportedly believes that the cash settlement demanded by the government would jeopardise his empire, while indicating an admission of guilt to the corruption charges. Quoting sources close to Prince Al-Waleed, The Wall Street Journal reported that the prince was demanding a proper investigation and was willing to fight it out in court. The paper points out that a court battle would put the government’s assertions of fairness and transparency to the test, besides possibly exposing the limitations of the Saudi judicial system.

5. Syria: On 21-22 December, the Syrian government and some opposition delegations met in Astana at talks convened by the Iranian, Turkish and Russian governments. The three “guarantor” countries later announced that they had agreed on setting up a working group for the release of detainees.

The next talks on Syria’s peace process, titled the Syria National Dialogue Congress, are to take place in the Russian resort city of Sochi on January 29- 30, and are expected to bring together 1500-2000 Syrian politicians from different factions. At this conclave, Russia will seek the setting up of a 21-member constitutional committee that will decide either to write a new constitution or amend the current constitution of 2012.

However, on 25 December, the peace process received a setback when about 40 Syrian opposition groups, including some militant factions, rejected Russia’s planned Sochi conference, saying that Moscow was seeking to bypass a United Nations-based Geneva peace process. They also blamed Russia for committing war crimes in the country.

The opposition statement said: “Russia is an aggressor country that has committed war crimes against Syrians. It stood with the regime militarily and defended it politically and over seven years preventing UN condemnation of [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s regime.” Moscow says its bombings target militants, but opposition groups and residents say the Russian airstrikes over the last two years ago have caused hundreds of civilian casualties in indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas away from the frontline.

While the Russia-led peace process has halted conflict in large parts of the country, several political issues remain unresolved. The first pertains to Syria-Turkey ties. Turkey is firmly opposed to the participation of Syrian Kurds in the Sochi meeting; so far, President Bashar al Assad had remained non-committal on the subject. However, believing that a tough posture on the Kurds would improve his position in the eyes of President Erdogan, on 18 December, Assad referred to all elements cooperating with the US as “traitors”, which includes the Kurds. But, this got him no plus points with Erdogan: the latter referred to Assad as a “terrorist” who was impossible to work with.

On the question of Kurdish participation in the Sochi talks, Russia appears to be pursuing a balancing act: after talks in Moscow with Sipan Hemo, general commander of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), some weeks ago, Russia seems to have invited about 155 Kurdish participants, pointing out that the Sochi conclave is for the “Syrian people”, not parties. The Syrian Kurdish leaders have accommodated Turkish sentiments by referring to themselves as part of “Autonomous Administration and Political Entities”; also, names that Erdogan was likely to veto are not included in the Kurdish list.

Russia is said to be going ahead with the Sochi congress and is quietly lobbying various opposition groups. Moscow-based commentator Maxim Shukhov has said: “Ensuring the success of the Syrian political settlement and the subsequent transition process is a diplomatic priority for Russia in 2018.” He adds that “Syria will remain at the core of Moscow’s policy in the Middle East”, which will include the destruction of last remnant of jihad – Jabhat Nusra.

Over the last fortnight, both chambers of the Russian parliament approved an agreement between Moscow and Damascus to extend the lease on Russia’s naval facility in Syria’s port of Tartus, on the Mediterranean. The lease is for 49 years and allows Russia to modernize and drastically expand the facility. The base currently can accommodate only one warship; the expansion will create space for a maximum of 11, including nuclear-powered vessels.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….II Oil PricesAt year-end, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $60.42, the highest close since June 2015. Brent crude futures were at $66.62 a barrel, after briefly crossing $ 67. This 17 percent rise in Brent prices was supported by ongoing supply cuts by OPEC and Russia as well as strong demand from China.

WTI prices were supported by data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration late on 28 December showing that domestic oil production declined last week to 9.75 million barrels per day (bpd) from 9.79 million bpd in the previous week. WTI prices were further boosted by an EIA report of a 4.6 million barrel weekly drop in U.S. commercial crude storage levels. Inventories are down by almost 20 percent from historic highs last March, and well below this time last year or in 2015. Analysts expect US production to top 10 million bpd in the next few weeks and to keep growing, limiting efforts by other producers to cap glob

S. Korea offers high-level talks with N. Korea on Jan. 9

ON JANUARY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

New Year 2018 bring the North Korea on diplomatic mood to have talks for participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics sports. Treading path of cooperation shall mitigate further differences.

South Korea on Tuesday proposed high-level talks with North Korea next week over its participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, in response to leader Kim Jong-un’s reconciliatory New Year message the previous day.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon proposed that the two Koreas meet next Tuesday at the truce village of Panmunjom in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone.

“We hope that South and North Korea will sit down to discuss the North’s participation in the games and ways to improve inter-Korean ties in a frank manner,” Cho said at a press conference.

“The government has a willingness to have dialogue with the North regardless of timing, place and format,” the minister said.

In a New Year’s speech on Monday, Kim said that Pyongyang is open to dialogue with Seoul, hinting at its willingness to take part in the Winter Games to be held in South Korea on Feb. 9-25.

Kim’s surprise offer came as the South is pinning hopes on the North’s participation in the games because it believes that the move could help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea’s presidential office welcomed Kim’s olive branch.

If realized, it would mark the first high-level inter-Korean talks since December 2015.

“We think that the suspended inter-Korean communication channels should be immediately restored. We propose that the two Koreas discuss details of talks including agenda items and the composition of delegations through the channel at the truce village,” Cho said.

Key communication channels between the two Koreas are not operating as the North cut off them in February 2016 in protest against Seoul’s shutdown of an inter-Korean industrial complex.

South Korea’s presidential office welcomed Monday’s proposal by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to send a delegation to the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics slated for next month.

“We welcome that Kim expressed willingness to send a delegation and proposed talks as he acknowledged the need for improvement in inter-Korean ties,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun told a press briefing. “The successful launch of the games will contribute to stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in East Asia and the rest of the world.”

In a televised message earlier, Kim said he could send a delegation to the games and is open to talks with Seoul. But he also made it clear that his country would not give up its nuclear and missile programs, and he claimed that a “nuclear button” is always on his desk.

Cheong Wa Dae stressed that it has always intended to hold talks with the North regardless of “time, place or manner” so long as such a meeting can help restore frayed relations and improve overall stability in the region.

“We hope to sit together (with the North) as concerned parties to find a solution to enhance stability on the peninsula while engaging with the international community in resolving the nuclear issue,” the office said.

Inputs

yonhapnews.co.kr

US to withhold $255mn military aid to Pakistan

ON JANUARY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

White House has said it will continue to withhold $255 million in military aid to Pakistan until the Trump administration reviews the country’s actions in confronting terrorists and militants.

“The United States does not plan to spend the $255 million in FY 2016 foreign military financing for Pakistan at this time,” a National Security Council spokesman said, quoted by CNN. “The President has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan’s actions in support of the South Asia strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance.”

The Trump administration first said in August that it was temporarily withholding the $255 million aid, which was part of a $1.1 billion aid package authorised in 2016 by Congress. The money was withheld until Pakistan ‘agreed to do more to combat terrorist networks’.

The National Security Council official said the administration would continue to review Pakistan’s level of cooperation in security areas.

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to cut aid to Pakistan after accusing the country of giving nothing in return except for “lies and deceit”.

In a tweet on New Year’s Day, he claimed that the United States had foolishly given Pakistan over $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years.

Trump also accused Pakistan of thinking US leaders to be fools. “They give safe havens to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

US president tweeted -:

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!

5:42 PM – Jan 1, 2018

Trump’s tweet drew a strong reaction from Pakistan. Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan has already refused to ‘do more’ for the United States.

“We have already told the US that we will not do more, so Trump’s ‘no more’ does not hold any importance,” Asif told Geo News.

“Pakistan is ready to publicly provide every detail of the US aid that it has received,” Asif added.

AI use to diagnose of childhood asthma

ON JANUARY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Delhi’s CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology (IGIB), Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and AIIMS researchers made an able diagnostics study to improve the diagnosis of childhood asthma and even identify three asthma subtypes.

The researchers have been able to correctly identify children with asthma and also the subtypes along with potential biomarkers using artificial intelligence (AI).

Researchers observed that children belonging to subtype 1 showed a typical signature of ammonia metabolite but had no family history of asthma. Subtype 3 had lower blood eosinophilia and elevated neutrophilia compared with the other two subtypes. Children belonging to this subtype had a stronger family history of asthma and suffered from more acute asthma episodes even when on treatment.

Subtype 2 had high eosinophil count but was otherwise similar to subtype 1, but very different from subtype 3.

The algorithm was able to differentiate the total nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of healthy children and those who had asthma. The algorithm has 80 per cent sensitivity and 75 per cent specificity in identifying children with asthma.

Henrietta Fore becomes new UNICEF Executive Director

ON JANUARY 2, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

NEW YORK, 1 January 2018 – Henrietta Fore takes office today as UNICEF’s seventh Executive Director. Ms. Fore brings to the role more than four decades of private and public sector leadership experience.

“I am honored to be joining such a remarkable organization, which I have known and admired for many years, and look forward to continuing UNICEF’s work to help save children’s lives, fight for their rights and help them realize their potential,” Ms. Fore said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Ms. Fore as UNICEF Executive Director after consultation with UNICEF’s governing board.

Prior to taking up this appointment Ms. Fore served as Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company. From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Fore, an American national, served as both the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and as Director of United States Foreign Assistance in the U.S. State Department. From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Fore was Under Secretary of State for Management, the Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Department of State. Prior to that, she was the 37th Director of the United States Mint, a position she held from 2001 to 2005. Earlier in her career, at USAID, she was appointed as Assistant Administrator for Asia and Assistant Administrator for Private Enterprise (1989-1993). She also served on the Boards of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

In addition to her Government service, Ms. Fore has had leadership roles in a number of organizations in civil society, including being Global Co-Chair of the Asia Society, and associations with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Aspen Institute, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, and the Center for Global Development.

Ms. Fore has also had leadership roles in the corporate sector, serving on the boards of a number of U.S. and international public corporations, and being active in promoting best practices in the corporate sector – including as Co-Chair of Women Corporate Directors. Effective December 31, 2017 Ms. Fore will have stepped down from all outside board engagements.

Ms. Fore has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wellesley College and a Master of Science in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. She is married and has four children.

Dear Naresh

ON JANUARY 1, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Dear Naresh,

Despite a difficult and hostile political environment in 2017, we’re proud of the inspiring work we accomplished with you, our supporters. Together, we provided free legal representation to 2,023 refugees and linked hundreds of refugee families with critical basic resources, like food, clothing, housing, and medical and mental healthcare.

Behind those numbers are real people. Take Theodore*, an Ethiopian political activist who was tortured by authorities for his efforts to expose corruption within the government.

Or Jessica and Milo, two young children from El Salvador whose mother was forced to send them to the United States border after the MS-13 gang killed her husband and targeted her family.

Together, we not only won asylum for Theodore, Jessica, and Milo, but brought help to them and thousands of others in need. Their future is brighter because of you.

In the new year, we look forward to partnering with you to continue making a difference.

↧

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Security beefed up Mumbai and other cities

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

In Mumbai: Metro services of the AC local has been suspended for the day in view of the protests. Other suburban services are being run amid intermittent protests at Elphinstone Road, Goregaon, Dadar, Malad stations. There is no cancellation of long distance trains so far. In Pune, barring a couple of incidents of stones being pelted on public transport buses, the “bandh” in Pune started on a peaceful note. The shutdown received a mixed response in the city since morning with some shops doing business with their shutters partially up.

Additional Commissioner of Police (South/North Region) Ravindra Sengaonkar said that there were two instances of stone-pelting, one in Sukhsagar Nagar and second in Singhgad Road on buses of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited.

According to PMPNL, since Tuesday, 42 buses from its fleet were stoned and since Wednesday morning, the number of buses being hit by stones stood at around 10 to 12.
“Buses are being plied under instructions from the police,” said a PMPMl officer. Several private schools remained shut as a precautionary measure despite there being no official holiday being declared for educational institutions.

Heavy security has been deployed in Mumbai and other cities on the backdrop of Maharashtra Bandh today. Prakash Ambedkar, the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader has called a ‘Maharashtra bandh’ to protest against the government’s alleged failure to stop the violence. He has appealed for peace during the bandh period.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also appealed for calm and ordered a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court into the Pune violence.

No untoward incidents of violence are reported from across the state. Local trains, city buses, taxies and other private transport services are running smoothly in the city.

Government offices, schools and colleges in Mumbai are open but school buses in tense areas are off roads in Mumbai as a safety measure. The School Bus Owners’ Association has said it would not operate its fleet of 40,000 buses. Dabbawala’s services will remain closed today in Mumbai.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has condemned the incidents of violence and appealed to the public to maintain unity and harmony in the society.

Leaders across the parties have also appealed people to maintain calm and not fall prey nefarious tactics to divide society over castes. Several towns and cities in Maharashtra were on edge yesterday as Dalit protests against violence in Bhima Koregaon in Pune district.

Iran’s security and stability depend on its own people

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

#Breaking Thousands of people in Eastern of Kurdistan & Iranhave been detained due to their participation in the recent protest.

I will keep my brothers in Iran with me in my thoughts as they continue to protest a torturous regime that has attempted to take basic human rights away from Iranians. #IranianProtests #iran #iranprotests #IranProtest

Golnaz Esfandiari‏Verified account @GEsfandiari
Iranians have the right to protest?! Since when? Some of those who peacefully protested in 2009 ended up in prison where they were tortured. #Iranprotests.
Golnaz Esfandiari added,
Javad ZarifVerified account @JZarif
Iran’s security and stability depend on its own people, who — unlike the peoples of Trumps regional “bffs”—have the right to vote and to protest. These hard-earned rights will be protected, and infiltrators will not be allowed to sabotage them through violence and destruction.
Bay3gi‏ @bay3gi

Replying to @GEsfandiari

Of course you’re free to protest in Iran. What happens afterwards however is somewhat of a mystery as many such protesters simply disappear never to be heard from again.

2 Jan 2018

Warrior woman #IranProtest

171230172246-04-iranian-student-protests-exlarge-169.jpg

Tweets on

IranProtest Crowd of 100 attack a military base with fire bombs.Defenders ward them of with warning shots. Contrary to what’s being reported,Iranian police/forces are usually acting with EXTREME RESERVE.This is why agent provocateurs can get so close.What would US police do huh?

France concerned by Iranian protests, No comment on FM visit

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Paris is concerned by the number of deaths, injuries and arrests in anti-government protests across Iran, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “The right to protest is a fundamental right,” he said as cited by Reuters. The spokesman also declined to comment if this week’s planned visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Tehran was still on the cards. Around 20 people have been killed and over 450 arrested during the six days of unrest across Iran, according to state television. Media agencies

US President:I too have a Nuclear Button, my Button works!

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

President Donald Trump has fired off a tweet against North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, claiming to have a “more powerful” nuclear weapons launcher.

Trump’s tweet, amid a barrage of angry posts, is a belated response to Kim’s New Year speech, in which the North Korean leader claimed, “The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk.”

“This is reality, not a threat,” Kim said, adding that “these weapons will be used only if our security is threatened.”

Storm Eleanor hits the UK:

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

BBC News (UK)‏Verified account @BBCNews 2m2 minutes ago
#StormEleanor hits the UK: – Thousands of homes left without power – Met Office yellow warning for winds in place – Man hurt as tree falls on car in Wales – Possible disruption to public transport http://bbc.in/2EG2UDA

Park Geun-hye on additional bribery charges

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

President Park Geun-hye on additional bribery charges as early as this week over allegations that during her term Park took bribes from the state spy agency.

Two former NIS chiefs have been indicted and detained over bribery charges, with senior secretaries who served in Park’s administration also detained under the same charge.

Several former top officials from the previous administration have been under investigation, including former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan.

An official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that prosecutors are also considering “gradually pressing charges against the others involved.”

Prosecutors have been investigating allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s main spy agency, provided Park with up to 200 million won (US$188,000) in kickbacks every month between May 2013 and July 2016.

Prosecutors suspect that the NIS paid Park around 3.8 billion won in total and that she used those funds personally or to carry out illicit political activities.

Park was officially stripped of power on March 10 after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment. She was arrested later that month over an influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend and has since been under pre-sentencing detention on 18 corruption charges.

Prosecutors sought to question Park in prison twice over the fresh allegations, but she has refused to cooperate.

The prosecution said they will nonetheless move forward with the additional indictment, saying they have sufficient evidence from testimonies by others involved.

yonhapnews

Swami Haridas Tansen Sangeet Nritya Mahotsav

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Namaskar,

I have great pleasure in inviting you on the occasion of our forthcoming annual presentation “SWAMI HARIDAS-TANSEN SANGEET- NRITYA MAHOTSAV” on 11th, 12th, 13th & 14th January, 2018 at 6:30pm at Shankar Lal Hall, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. We look forward to your gracing the occasion. Well known artists participating are:

11th January, 2018

Uma Sharma (Kathak)

Kaushiki Chakraborty (Vocal)

Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute)

12th January, 2018

Ayaan Ali Bangash (Sarod) Son of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan

Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt & Manganiyars from Rajasthan (Mohan Veena)

Pt. Chhannulal Mishra (Vocal) from Varanasi

13th January, 2018

Smt. Shubha Mudgal (Vocal)

Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar) Son of Ustad Vilayat Khan

Ustad Aashish Khan (Sarod) Son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

14th January, 2018

Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (Vocal)

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (Sarod)

Invitation Card Enclosed. Please do come..

Thanking you,

India’s external debt US $496 billion

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Naresh Kumar Sagar

Admin · Just now

India’s external debt registered at about US $496 billion at end-September 2017

India’s external debt stock stood at US$ 495.7 billion, recording an increase of US$ 23.9 billion (5.1 %) at end-September 2017, over the level at end-March 2017 . The rise in external debt during the period was primarily due to the increase in foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in the debt segment of domestic capital market included under commercial borrowings. Some increase in short-term debt primarily due to trade related credit also contributed to the overall increase in total external debt. On a sequential basis, total external debt at end-September 2017 increased by US$ 10.0 billion (2.1 %) from the end-June 2017 level.

Major highlights pertaining to India’s external debt as at end-September 2017 are presented below:

Ø The maturity pattern of India’s external debt indicates dominance of long-term borrowings. At end-September 2017, long-term external debt accounted for 81.3 % of India’s total external debt, while the remaining (18.7 %) was short-term external debt.

Ø Long-term debt at end-September 2017 was at US$ 403.0 billion, showing an increase of US$ 19.1 billion (5.0 %) over the level at end-March 2017. Short-term external debt registered an increase of 5.4 % and stood at US$ 92.7 billion at end-September 2017, though its share in total debt at 18.7 % was only marginally higher than the 18.6 % at end-March 2017.

Ø Valuation loss (depreciation of US dollar against the SDR, Euro and pound sterling) was at US$ 1.4 billion in September 2017 compared to March 2017. This implies that excluding the valuation effect, increase in debt would have been lower at US$ 22.5 billion instead of US$ 23.9 billion at end-September 2017 over the end-March 2017 level.

Ø The shares of Government (Sovereign) and non-Government debt in the total external debt were 21.6 % and 78.4 % respectively, at end-September 2017 with the former’s share increasing from 19.4 % at end-March 2017. This was mainly due to the increasing level of foreign portfolio investment in government securities.

Ø US dollar denominated debt accounted for 50.0 % of India’s total external debt at end-September 2017, followed by Indian rupee (35.7 %), SDR (5.7 %), Japanese Yen (4.4 %), Euro (3.2 %), Pound Sterling (0.6 %), and others (0.4 %).

Ø The foreign exchange cover to total external debt improved to 80.7 % at end-September 2017 compared to 78.4 % at end-March 2017.

Ø The ratio of short-term external debt by original maturity to foreign exchange reserves stood at 23.2 % at end-September 2017 as compared to 23.0 % at end June 2017 and 23.8 % at end-March 2017.

Ø On a residual maturity basis, short-term debt constituted 41.7 % of total external debt at end-September 2017 (41.1 % at end-June 2017 and 41.5 % at end-March 2017) and its ratio to total foreign exchange reserves was at 51.7 % (51.6 % at end-June 2017 and 52.9 % at end-March 2017).

Ø The ratio of concessional debt to total external debt was 9.1 % at end-September 2017, compared to the 9.3 % at end-March 2017.

Sagar Media Inc: 21 killed in Iran protest

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

‏ @Nksagar

Sagar Media Inc: 21 killed in Iran protest,US Trump ask Iran to unblock social media amid Protest.Israel ask Ks Migrant to leave or face imprisonment.US Tells NKorea hasbig Nukbutton. Iran accuse Protest aidby US UK and US tel nonsense.Trump to cut aid Palestine not for peace.

7:09 PM – 2 Jan 2018

Tweets earned 60.6K impressions over this 28 day period

2.0K4.0K2040Dec 10Dec 17Dec 24Dec 31

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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 30Sagar Media Inc: Towering Inferno in Manchester firefighters fight to douse injured and those caught in reports awaited. Need in Africa is health care. Peace need prevail. UN need ex effort, enforce peace. Israeli PM visit India 14 Jan 2018.Protest in Iran,Libya. ChillyCold 1Jan pic.twitter.com/HxHgwbIdw1
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 30Make mountain out of molehill DNA probs
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 24Sagar Media Inc : Merry Christmas.Pope Francis Christmas mass fr Vatican plead for Migrant.Guatemala Embassy shifts Jerusalem. Spain King Felipe warns Catalona separatist.BitCoin trade suspended. Jailed Alberta Fujimori EX Peru Prez pardoned.BJP rule 19 States & both Parlhouse. pic.twitter.com/kaXyZWF3S0
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 9Sagar Media Inc: Poland school cut sex Edu from curriculum. Arab League pass reso Palestine S capital East Jerusalem.10Ks anticorruption protests PM Ben in Tel Aviv. Borris visit Iran.UN envoy warn NKorea miscalculate trigger war keep space for dialogue. PM :Iraq free from ISIS. pic.twitter.com/DjJWfBjmYQ
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 25Sagar Media Inc: Indian army cross LoC PoK kill 3 Pak rangers retaliate, Pak 4 Sat.PM Benjamin welcome Guatemala Embassy in Jerusalem.India airports High security alert.S Vietnam brace ahead weak Tembin storm.Moscow subway bus crash kill 4 person.PM Modi b GujCM swear pic.twitter.com/z9kEne6fJk
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 10Sagar Media Inc-:Anti Nuke Noble Award to ICAN. Protest Anti US in Indonesia, Morocco, Lebanon,Turkey. Netanyahu & Macron meet, Netanyahu talk for peace. Venezuela election but opposition boycott poll. Saudis airstrike kill 4 in Yemen. EU agt Jerusalem capital Israel.JKTerr kill pic.twitter.com/68oiNIJQFE
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 30Sagar Media Inc: Iran anti Gov corrupt, protests turn violence on 3 day, Tehran.ProGovt congregation too on.Irk of eco chaos Rouhani Q.New Yr celbrtion, Security beefed US EU, Nepal ban Solo climber Everest’s.Freez Arctic NYCel low.Stamped Shanghai pic.twitter.com/zUAlK3HihP
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 29CAG Report on Ganga Rejuvenation, discouraging sagarmediainc.com/2017/12/29/cag…
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 7Sagar Media Inc : NKorea war with US inevitable.Hezobullah backs ask US reverse Decision Jerusalem.PM Modi to visit Palestine.US Techwave to counter NKOREA missiles attack.20ks evacuated fire California. Kelly Clement Rohingya still flee Myanmar.Arg Court Ex Prez Kirchner arrest pic.twitter.com/3fBBJuYloe
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 31Sagar Media Inc:Rajini to join politics to launch new political party in Tamil Nadu to contest assembly Election,his fans go berserk.Pulwana attack 5 CRPF Jawans killed gun battles on.Xi to Putin for more cooperation. Auckland NZ fireworks first cel NY 2018. pic.twitter.com/SA026KCqB8
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 30Sovereign Mind is purely independent in its originality and endure,care for ideas for betterment of CARE for all.Not an iota of inspirational one 2. pic.twitter.com/rdcNtfFh5j
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 7Sagar Media Inc: Tamil fisherman 1313 missing Ockhi cyclone.Quake 6.2 hit east Yap. Caroline cyclone batters UK. Ks Protest in Turkey against Trump Pak Chief army order US Drones.German socialist talk Merkel.Pro Catalonia protest in Belgium.May get Brexit dead line. pic.twitter.com/nrOKcyTryn
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 6Sagar Media Inc:Trump recognizing Jerusalem capital of Israel establish US embassy instead Tel-Aviv.Macron,May has opposed the move. Antonio Israel – Palestine to work UN resolution Jordon call meet for Arnab league,protester surround US embassy in Jerusalem.Erodgan has opposed. pic.twitter.com/RxQVIkhkPH
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Naresh Kumar Sagar @Nksagar Dec 23Sagar Media Inc: Himachal Pradesh JaiRam Thakur is new saffron CMelect in legislature meeting in presence of MoD Nsitaraman . Swearing in ceremony post Xmax.Blurr Yet magicalTransition in tech Next Gen New Health, Education, Business,Social, movers Entertainment get crazy easy. pic.twitter.com/jkkLwVcKHi
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MEET US THIS WEEK AT THE NDWBF!

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

2 January 2018 | Edition: 271

Greetings

Hello Readers,

Greetings and warm wishes for the New Year.

We’re ringing in 2018 with great excitement, and what better way than to meet you all! We’re coming to the New Delhi World Book Fair, starting this week, and bringing along interesting displays, sessions and engagement activities. Read on to know about the programme, and follow us on social media to stay updated.

Best wishes
Team GBO

HALLO, 2018!

German Book Office New Delhi wishes you a happy and prosperous New Year 2018.

MEET US THIS WEEK AT THE NDWBF!

The European Union is the Guest of Honour at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2018, and GBO New Delhi will be there to represent Germany. The German participation at the NDWBF will focus on promoting Indo-German translations, the contemporary book collection from Germany, and the Books on Tour initiative. Here’s our event line-up for the Fair.

German Stand Stand 36, Hall No. 7, European Union Pavilion New Delhi World Book Fair Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
DISPLAY	INDO-GERMAN TRANSLATIONS AT THE WALL OF TRANSLATION Date: 6 January to 14 January 2018 Time: 11 AM to 7 PM Venue: German Stand, EU Pavilion, Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan
DISPLAY	CONTEMPORARY BOOK COLLECTION FROM GERMANY Date: 6 January to 14 January 2018 Time: 11 AM to 7 PM Venue: German Stand, EU Pavilion, Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan
DISPLAY	BOOKS ON TOUR Date: 6 January to 14 January 2018 Time: 11 AM to 7 PM Venue: German Stand, EU Pavilion, Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan
EVENT	GLOBALOCAL TALK Ø Panel discussion – Business vs Responsibility: Politics and Publishing Ø Session – Success Stories from Frankfurt Book Fair Date: 9 January 2018, Tuesday Time: 12:00 to 1:30 PM, followed by networking lunch (entry for lunch by invitation only) Venue: Rights Table, 1st Floor, Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan
EVENT	TRANSLATION TALK Date: 10 January Time: 2 PM onwards Venue: German Stand, EU Pavilion, Hall No. 7, Pragati Maidan
To know more about or to participate in any of the above events, please write tocontact@newdelhi.gbo.org or call on 011 6617 2441/ 011 6617 2442/ 011 4912 0951 We have a bagful of excitement coming your way this New Delhi World Book Fair! Follow us on social media to stay updated about our events and contests. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gbonewdelhi/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/germanbookofficenewdelhi/?hl=en TWITTER: https://twitter.com/gbonewdelhi?lang=en See you there at New Delhi World Book Fair!

2017 World’s Biggest Lie, Ashok Gulati – IE Agriculture Story

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Researcher view only:

January02, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

This year’s prize Biggest Lie Award goes to Ashok Gulatiwith minimum qualification of Professor and Holding CEO Position. I have on more than 10 occasions exposed his lies but he persists. 10 or 20 years doesn’t match INDIA Growth including Cotton.

Gujarat Per Capita Agriculture Growth (-) 25%

When there is slightly negative Growth in Agriculture Production in GUJARAT – (-) 25% in per capita terms in last 10 Years – Population Growth of 23% plus addition of migrant labor, he projected Gujarat as top performing state averaging 8% growth in 2003-2013 in INDIAN EXPRESS story. Gulati picked up Peak & Pits data.

Punjab is 26% of Gujarat in Area & Water Resources, Produce SIX Times more Wheat & Rice than Gujarat. 50% Food for Indian PDS. Punjab Milk Yield per animal owned is 4 Times than Gujarat.

Since 1997-98 Gujarat Contributed –

ü 1.7 mt Foodgrains Growth of India 83 mt or 2%, of India,

ü 0.9 mt Oilseeds, of 10.9 mt or 8%, of India,

ü 5.1m Bales of BT COTTON, of 22.2m Bales – 23%, of India,

ü 0.1 mt Sugarcane, India 27.2mt – 0.4% of India.

GUJARAT

https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Publications/PDFs/TABLE24D5C4B9605D884AC79F1FED0A2F8CCF61.PDF

T24 : State-Wise Production of Foodgrains and Major Non-Foodgrain Crops

Year	Rice	Wheat	C. Cereals	Pulses	F.Grains	Oilseeds	Cotton	S.Cane
2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1997-98	1042.3	1647.0	2407.2	613.3	5709.8	3837.6	3180.0	11836.2
2007-08	1474.0	3838.0	2151.0	743.0	8206.0	4725.0	8276.0	15190.0
2016-17	1930.0	2743.0	1929.0	818.0	7420.0	4781.3	8220.0	11950.0

INDIA

T24: State-Wise Production of Foodgrains and Major Non-Foodgrain Crops

Year	Rice	Wheat	C. Cereals	Pulses	F.Grains	Oilseeds	Cotton	S.Cane
2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1997-98	82544.5	66349.9	30397.8	12970.8	192263.0	21319.8	10850.0	279540.0
2007-08	96692.9	78570.2	40750.4	14761.5	230775.0	29755.3	25884.1	348187.9
2016-17	110152.2	98384.1	44191.7	22954.3	275682.4	32097.0	33092.0	306720.5

PUNJAB

T24: State-Wise Production of Foodgrains & Major Non-Foodgrain Crops

Year	Rice	Wheat	C. Cereals	Pulses	F.Grains	Oilseeds	Cotton	S.Cane
2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1997-98	7904.0	12715.0	464.2	60.0	21143.2	218.6	937.0	7150.0
2007-08	10489.0	15720.0	583.1	23.0	26815.1	76.5	2355.0	6690.0
2016-17	11034.5	16440.5	480.5	37.3	27992.8	57.5	1267.0	7252.0

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

Rakesh Singh : Dalit been persecuted,exploited and diluted

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Rakesh Singh tagged you and 56 others in a post.

Rakesh wrote: “Dalit have been persecuted, exploited and diluted over time to time but this fact acceptability is not as at comfort level as required, this is one believe system imposed by the habitat but it is on decline mode. Indian territory are difficult and attacked by China and Pakistan. RSS and BJP commencing and going for cast-less society but Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid, Umar Khalid and Rahul Gandhi trying to provoke it for their political mileage but it also provide strength to Indian enemy countries motto. Dalits never been anti national and they never turned for separation, even when extortion was at extreme but Kanhaiya Kumar, Shehla Rashid, Umar Khalid and Rahul Gandhi are now trying to push and indulge them into as anti national face. During Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee era was about Brahman, Kshatriya and Baniya and at that time BJP was replicated for Brahman and Kshatriya faces but in Mr. Narendra Modi era is for all. Modi era “BJP” now replicating dalits, where Rahul Gandhi and their allies feels inferior so for no option other than doing dirty politics. No single media focus on it adequately.”

Yaari Ve song Launch

ON JANUARY 3, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Meet Bros launched their new romantic upbeat song ‘Yaari Ve’ in Delhi!

Stars of Indian Music Industry, composers Manmeet Singh, and Harmeet Singh, aka Meet Bros, are famous for their happening dance numbers, therefore this time they are back with a romantic upbeat song “Yaari Ve”. As the duo were present in Delhi, at Chew Restaurant, Connaught Place, for the song launch of their new single. “Yaari Ve” also features the dancing sensation Lauren Gottlieb alongside the musical duo.

While talking to media in the Song Launch event Meet Bros. shared their thoughts, they stated, “Thank You very much for loving our song, we already got 5 million views. This songYaari Veis for all the friends, especially for those who could not be able to express their feelings. This track is all about love. Not only for us but for Lauren also this project was different, as this is a romantic track, not much of a dance number, so she was excited for her part in this song. Right from New York, she came to Greece for the shoot, and we had a wonderful time together while working for the same.”

On asking about their upcoming projects, they told media, “We have been known for our dancing numbers like Chittiyaan Kalaiyan & Baby Doll, but now we are up for some different work, Yaari Ve is a romantic number, we are going to launch more soft versions this year in 2018. Now Meet Bros are not only focusing on film songs but themselves also, we are going to launch a Rajasthani song as well. And Once again we are really thankful to you guys for supporting us and Loving our work. We hope to create more magic in future.”

Composed and sung by Meet Bros, this latest track “Yaari Ve” also features Prakriti Kakar. The song is released under Times Music and has been extensively shot in picturesque locations o

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January 4, 2018, 1:25 am

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N Korea and S Korea hotline reopens

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

UK and other countries have welcome the move of neighboring nations on hotline once again.North Korea has reopened a hotline with South Korea to discuss issues including sending athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. This comes after Seoul said it wants high-level talks with Pyongyang.

Inter-Korean relations have been showing signs of a thaw, following conciliatory remarks by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his New Year address.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry released a photo of an official speaking on the hotline.

The two sides reportedly spoke for about 20 minutes, to check that the line is working properly. But the Ministry did not disclose what else was discussed.

The hotline had been shut down since February 2016.

Ahead of the restoring contact, North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea made an announcement on state television.

The committee’s Ri Son Gwon said, “Our country will cooperate with the South in connection with issues, such as our participation in the PyeongChang Olympics.”

South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesperson was positive on the development.

The spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun said, “Our country welcomes the North’s response to our proposal of normalizing our communication channel. The channel can be used to arrange talks between officials from the two sides and other working-level issues.”

Pakistan is using terrorists as part of foreign policy

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

United States National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster has alleged Islamabad only goes after terrorists “selectively” while it “sustains and supports others who act as an arm of its foreign policy.” US President Donald Trump is “frustrated” but also values a “partnership with Pakistan” said media meet VOA, further adds, the US president’s tweet was not a “blame game” rather termed it America’s “effort to communicate clearly to Pakistan that our relationship can no longer bear the weight of contradictions, and that we have to really begin now to work together to stabilize Afghanistan.”

McMaster blamed Pakistan is “operating against the interested of its own people” by “providing safe havens and support bases for Taliban and Haqqani network leadership” who “perpetuate hell in portions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been informing members of Congress that it will announce as soon as Thursday its plans to cut off “security assistance” to Pakistan, congressional aides said Wednesday, a day after the White House warned Islamabad it would have to do more to maintain US aid.

Aides in two congressional offices said the State Department called on Wednesday to inform them that it would announce Wednesday or Thursday that aid was being cut off, although it was not clear how much, what type or for how long.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declined to say whether an announcement was imminent. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The calls to Capitol Hill came a day after Washington accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” on fighting terrorism and warned Islamabad it would have to do more if it wanted to maintain US aid.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Tuesday that Washington would withhold $255 million in assistance to Pakistan.

UN calls for peaceful resolution in Iran

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

UN human rights chief has urged the Iranian government to achieve a peaceful resolution to the ongoing protests sweeping the country.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called on the authorities to handle the wave of protests with great care so as not to further inflame violence and unrest.He said he is deeply disturbed by reports that more than 20 people, including an 11-year-old boy, have died and hundreds have been arrested. He stressed that the issue must be resolved through dialogue.

Zeid also called for independent and impartial investigations into deaths and serious injuries that have occurred so far. He said the authorities must respect the rights of all demonstrators and detainees, including their right to life, and guarantee their safety and security.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern about the loss of life during the protests. He called for avoiding further violence in a statement released on Wednesday.

India’s EAM engagement with ASEAN countries

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj left on a 5-day visit to Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore today.

On the first leg of her visit, Mrs Swaraj will reach Thailand and hold a meeting with Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai. All aspects of bilateral relations with Thailand will be discussed with particular focus on political, defence and economic ties and on further enhancing India’s engagement with ASEAN countries.

During the visit to Indonesia, Ms Swaraj will co-chair the 5th meeting of India-Indonesia Joint Commission with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.

The Ministers will also inaugurate the second meeting of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks. Mrs Swaraj will also call President of Indonesia and will interact with representatives of the Indian community. She will also meet the new Secretary General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi.

In Singapore, the External Affairs Minister will inaugurate the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas of ASEAN countries on 7th of this month.

She will have bilateral meetings with the leaders in Singapore and also interactions with PIO delegations from ASEAN countries, who are participating in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

On all three legs of her visit, Ms Swaraj will share with her interlocutors relevant information about the forthcoming ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit which marks 25 years since the establishment of Dialogue Partnership between Indian and ASEAN.

Winter storm hits Southeast USA

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

A rare winter storm has hit the Southeast United States, dumping snow on Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, for the first time in three decades. The governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia declared states of emergency, warning residents to expect icy roads and freezing temperatures. Schools have also been shut in New York City due to the weather. The National Weather Service said, New York could see 5 to 8 inches of snow and wind gusts as high as 80 kilometres per hour today.
New England also braced for a blizzard which is expected to bring heavy accumulations.
Sustained cold spell has also frozen parts of Niagara Falls on the American and Canadian sides. It played havoc with public works causing pipes to freeze and water mains to burst.
At least nine deaths have been reported over the past few days.

Eleanor batters western Europe

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Winter storm Eleanor, packing winds up to 160 KPH, battered parts of western Europe, derailing trains, halting flights and toppling trees. Authorities said, one person was killed and several others were injured in Switzerland and France. The high winds played havoc on transport, derailing trains in Switzerland and Germany and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes across France, Switzerland, Britain and Ireland without power.

Officials said, one skier was killed in the French Alps after being hit by a falling tree in Morillon.
In Switzerland, several people were injured when a train was blown off the tracks near Lenk in city of Bern. The storm forced the cancellation of flights at Zurich and Basel airports.In France, 15 people were injured following accidents caused by high winds.

Indo-Russia strategic ties

ON JANUARY 4, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have vowed to strengthen Indo-Russia strategic ties.

During a telephone conversation yesterday, the two leaders discussed the intensification of the bilateral relations between India and Russia and their cooperation in the international forums.

A release from the Indian Embassy in Moscow said, both leaders agreed to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia.

They positively reviewed the exchanges between the two countries in 2017. The release said, Mr Modi also greeted the Russian leader on the occasion of the New Year.

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January 5, 2018, 2:03 am

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US suspends all financial aid to Pak :

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Toughening its stance, the US today suspended more than USD 1.15 billion security assistance to Pakistan for failing to take “decisive actions” against terror groups like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network operating from its soil.

The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year’s Day tweet accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

The suspended amount also include USD 255 million in Foreign Military Funding for the fiscal year 2016 as mandated by the Congress. In addition, the Department of Defense has suspended the entire USD 900 million of the Coalition Support Fund money to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017 and other unspent money from previous fiscal years.

“Today we can confirm that we are suspending national security assistance only, to Pakistan at this time until the Pakistani government takes decisive action against groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters.

A top American Senator has announced that he will introduce a bill that would stop US aid to Pakistan, saying the country does not deserve American assistance as it is stonewalling access to key information in fighting terrorism.

“I’m introducing a bill to end aid to Pakistan in the coming days. My bill will take the money that would have gone to Pakistan and put it in an infrastructure fund to build roads and bridges here at home,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said after Trump Administration announced its decision to suspend its security assistance to Pakistan.

“US should not give one penny to countries that burn our flag and chant Death to America. Countries like Pakistan that stonewall access to key information in fighting terrorism don’t deserve our money,” he said.

Union Budget on February 1:

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

The Budget session of Parliament will be held from January 29 to April 6, says Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1. The Phase-1 of the Budget session will be held from January 29 to February 9, while Phase 2 will be held from March 5 to April 6.

The last day of the winter session of Parliament concluded today without passing the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Rajya Sabha today bade farewell to three of its veteran members –Karan Singh, Janardan Dwivedi and Parvez Hashmi, who would be retiring later this month. Speakers from both sides showered praise on them for their contributions in the House. All the three retiring MPs were elected from Delhi.

The farewell was held today on the last day of the Winter Session as their actual retirement date of January 27 would fall in the inter-session period. Both houses of Parliament adjourns sine die ending the winter session.
The House was unable to pass the instant triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha with the Opposition holding firm asking for the legislation to be referred to the Select Committee.

Both the BJP and the Congress had issued whips for its members asking them to be present in both Houses.
The triple talaq bill, which criminalizes the practice of instant divorce among Muslims, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The Congress and the opposition parties, which have numbers in their favour in the upper house, want the proposed legislation to be sent before a select committee, but the BJP has rejected the demand. In the lower house, where the ruling party has a majority, the bill was passed.

Celebrate Bob Marley this February ’18

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Lets celebrate the birthday month of the legendary singer Bob Marley with Reggae beats in air, in the Home of All Right!

Every year in Jamaica, February marks the onset of the annual Reggae Month, that traditionally kickstarts with the joyous Bob Marley Birthday Bash. From 1st February – 6th February, Jamaicans along with visitors from around the world will celebrate the 26th birthday of the King of Reggae, in Negril. Continuing the soulful legacy, the week-long festivities would feature a taste of authentic Jamaican culture, through energetic Music and Live Performances, delectable Caribbean Food, Creative Art Expressions and much more. In the honour of Bob Marley Birthday Bash, top International artists, recognized worldly, for their rhythms of pulsating reggae music, would charm the islands vibe, which undoubtedly have their roots in Jamaica.

Saluting the grand occasion, the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association, would be extending the weekly celebration into a month-long party-box, as a dedication to the much-loved genre of Reggae. Store-in is an everyday promise of electrifying live music, dancehall concerts, and weekly discussions, expos and awards nights. Amidst all this February fun, a walk-through the Reggae Village is a must, especially set up at Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, for the visitors. Also do not miss to visit Bob Marley Museum, which is his former place of residence. The place will show every aspect of the life of Bob Marley.

Although Jamaica is known for its year-round celebratory ambiance, but, Reggae is the islands spirit, that one will find in every shade of this beautiful Caribbean Island! Reggae is also an inevitable part of the Bob Marley legacy, which has transcended beyond Jamaican shores. Born and brought up in Jamaica, the timeless legend always has a special place in the hearts of Jamaicans and his fans worldwide.

Come and discover the purest form of reggae music, this February, at the 11th staging of Reggae month, only in Home of Reggae.

Inventors, CTO Like Gym Trainers Keep Companies Fit-Healthy

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

January05, 2017 (C) Ravinder Singh progressindia2015@gmail.com

Inventors and CTOs keep their Companies Fit & Healthy with latest and viable technologies like a Gym Trainer who introduce latest equipment for training clients.

Had Sanjay Gandhi in 2004 introduced some ‘Innovative Home Appliances’ than Maruti Car and sold under Maruti Brand he would have Started Industrial revolution – MASS PRODUCTION in Factories – we persists with MSMEs Factories idea even today.

India preferred Crippled Patent Office even today. Though have opened up many sectors up to 100% but nobody can run on one leg – Crippled Patent Office not protecting Patents and Trade Marks are violated when next to McDonald Retail so many other food joints come up in no time.

SUZUKI introduced latest Small Car technology and Advanced Manufacturing to overthrow FIAT, Ambassador and Standard Gazelle – actually outrun by Scooters between red lights.

Vodafone and Idea are to merge soon and their Joint Ventureshall have Three Times more revenue, Bharti already has 120% more revenue than RJio would be No.2 but lower operating cost than reported in latest TRAI performance report. RCom is already history RJio shall be even worse.

RCom started with WLL, next CDMA and GSM no company in the world would offer Three Competing Technologies. Transmitters and Handsets are different for these three technologies. [It is not like buying a Honda, or Hyundai or Suzuki or Toyota or VW, BMW or Mercedes Cars we can own any or all – they only need Petrol or Diesel fuel]

CTO in Indian Companies would have ensured HEALTHY GROWTH of Companies maximizing profits to Promoters, Minimizing Cost to Customers.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS

Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770, 9871056471, 9650421857

Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,

Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects

Sagar Media Inc, Every contribution you make

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Nksagar_1@yahoo.com

5 Jan. at 12:11 pm

Dear Sagar Media Inc,

80 lakh people from every state in India have used Change.org to fight for a cause they believe in.

I am grateful for all the times you stepped up to support issues that impact lakhs of Indians.

Because of you, ministers paid attention!

The Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis became a verified decision maker on Change.org.

Change.org users were invited by the WCD Ministry to take part in the creation of the National Policy for Women, 2017.

Because of the impact your signatures created, 3 Change.org petition starters were recognized as Agents of Change by the Indian Government.

This was made possible because of donations from people like you.

Sagar Media Inc,

Every contribution you make will enable us to empower individuals who need help the most.

Donate and share this message with your friends and family.

Looking forward to an exciting 2018!

Preethi Herman

Forging an Indispensable Democratic Partnership

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Jan

Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and the Center for American Progress (CAP) are pleased to invite you to a discussion on
The United States and India: Forging an Indispensable Democratic Partnership
Introductory Remarks:
Yamini Aiyar, President and Chief Executive, CPR
Speakers:
Nirupama Rao, Co-Chair, CAP Task Force on U.S.-India Relations,
Rich Verma, Co-Chair, CAP Task Force on U.S.-India Relations
Moderated by Ashok Malik, Press Secretary to the President of India

Tuesday, 16 January 2018, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Conference Hall, Centre for Policy Research

This event will be live streamed through Facebook live on CPR’s Facebook page.

The relationship between India and the United States has become an important priority for both nations, and is increasingly important to advancing shared interests in global peace, prosperity, and freedom. Over the past year, the Center for American Progress organized a binational group of Indian and American experts in a wide variety of fields to work together to craft a vision for the future of U.S.-India relations.

The resulting task force report – The United States and India: Forging an Indispensable Democratic Partnership – outlines a path forward for the bilateral relationship, along with a series of concrete recommendations that both sides can take to advance shared interests. The report focuses on five key areas: investing in jobs and economic opportunities; building a clean energy future from the bottom up; creating a U.S.-India security advantage in Asia; strengthening democratic institutions at home and around the world; and strengthening ties between Indians and Americans.

Please join the Centre for Policy Research and the Center for American Progress on Tuesday, 16 January for the release of the report and a discussion with the task force co-chairs – Ambassadors Nirupama Rao and Rich Verma, moderated by Ashok Malik – on the future of the U.S.-India relationship.

Introductory remarks:
Yamini Aiyar, president, Centre for Policy Research

Speakers:
Nirupama Rao, Co-Chair, Center for American Progress Task Force on U.S.-India Relations; former Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India and former Indian Ambassador to the U.S.
Rich Verma, Co-Chair, Center for American Progress Task Force on U.S.-India Relations; Vice Chairman, The Asia Group and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India

Moderator:
Ashok Malik, Press Secretary to the President of India

Please RSVP to president.cpr@cprindia.org. The venue can seat up to 50 people on a first-come-first-serve basis.

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January 6, 2018, 3:30 am

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UN MA Helps Nearly 3,000 Migrants Get Home from Yemen in 2017

ON JANUARY 6, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Aden – During the final days of 2017, IOM, the UN Migration Agency succeeded in completing two movements of stranded Somalis and Ethiopians out of Yemen, despite immense security challenges and difficult sea conditions. Two boats were deployed, one headed to Aden to evacuate Somali refugees, while the other went to Hudaydah to evacuate Ethiopians, who were considered especially vulnerable due to the dangers of rising violence near that port city.

The 27 December operation was the 19th assisted voluntary humanitarian return conducted by IOM out of the city of Aden sea port, taking 138 Somali men, women and children home in cooperation with UNHCR. With this final movement in 2017, IOM Yemen helped a total of 2,241 Somali refugees through its sub-office in Aden. The total number of Ethiopian migrants helped return home through Hudaydah seaport via Djibouti reached 746 people during 2017.

It took several attempts to move a second group, some 71 Ethiopians, all occurring within days of the Somali movement. Complications beyond the control of IOM delayed the movement until 31 December but at 4:30 PM on New Year’s Eve, an IOM boat successfully left for Djibouti.

The next morning (1/01/2018), maritime authorities informed IOM that heavy waves near Djibouti would prevent the continuation of the voyage, forcing IOM’s vessel to return to international waters near Yemen. Later that afternoon, authorities informed IOM its boat could set back on its course, ending what had become a long ordeal.

“It was very challenging to conduct movements out of Hudaydah seaport due to the security threats that are present in Yemen’s northern Governorates. Those require us to liaise with different counterparts and authorities as well as the coalitions,” said Hanan Hajori, of IOM Yemen’s Assistance and Protection unit in the Hudaydah sub-office.

Without such permission, return assistance might not happen. In addition, due to rough seas and weather a number of movements had to be cancelled several times. “At the end, migrants in Hudaydah were taken out safely despite of all these challenges,” Hajori added.

While most UN agencies deal with the challenges that come with shortages in funding, IOM Yemen’s additional concern lies in the paramount issue of the safety of migrants and refugees while they are in IOM’s care.

Providing food, shelter and medical assistance are key aspects of IOM’s operations. IOM must also deal with complex security situations and volatile changes on the ground that can derail weeks of preparations in a matter of seconds. Keeping up with a heavy demand for operational efficiency as well as psychosocial efforts to lift the spirits of the people under IOM care requires working day and night to effectively help migrants so they may reach their final destination safely.

“This process usually takes from five to six hours, if everything is going smoothly,” said Rabih Sarieddine, an IOM official directing the sea-borne operations. “Nevertheless, on many occasions, the movement can be delayed for hours due to security matters, such as poor coordination between the security cells on the ground and the coalition, or due to lack of resources at a port, say, where a captain isn’t available.”

None of these are easy passages. Embarkation at a collection/transit centre generally starts in the early morning hours before buses can move to a port. There, beneficiaries go through security and immigration checks, after which the IOM team begins assisting beneficiaries onto their vessel.

A journey from Aden to Berbera typically takes between 12 and 15 hours, depending on the sea conditions, Sarieddine explained.

For more information, please contact Saba Malme at IOM Yemen, Tel: + 967 736 800 329, Email: smalme@iom.int

Naresh — Thank you again

ON JANUARY 6, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Naresh —

Thank you again for being a part of Onward Together in 2017. With your help, we were able to support eleven groups doing critical work toward making our country stronger and more fair.

You’ve already been introduced to the first round of organizations. Today, I wanted to tell you a little bit about some of the newer members of the Onward Together family:

The organizers at iVote worked with partners on the ground to get automatic voter registration on the ballot in Nevada in 2017. 450 brand-new civic leaders and activists attended The Arena’s very first summit — and they’re on track to train 5,000 people by the end of 2018. At the Alliance for Youth Action, young people are using local organizing to address economic inequality, attacks on voting rights, and more. The team at Latino Victory Fund is working to elect more Latino candidates at every level of government. More than 400 students and leaders met last month at the Voto Latino Power Summit to share resources and tools for national advocacy. And with the help of Collective Future, 23 African-American candidates have been elected to local, state, and federal offices since August 2016.

Along with Indivisible, Color of Change, Emerge America, Swing Left, and Run for Something, I know these groups will continue to do the incredible work of making our democracy stronger in 2018, and I’m proud to be on their team. We’re only able to support these organizations because of you, so one more time, thank you.

If you’re still with us in 2018,

Onward,

Hillary

VICE PRESIDENT INAUGURATES DGNCC RDC CAMP 2018

ON JANUARY 6, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

NEW DELHI SAMACHAR

Just now ·

New Delhi06 JAN, 2018VICE PRESIDENT INAUGURATESDGNCC RDC CAMP 2018

Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the Hon’ble Vice President of India formally inaugurated theNational Cadet Corps Republic Day Camp 2018 at the DGNCC Camp adjacent to CariappaParade Ground in Delhi Cantt. On his arrival, the Vice President was received by theDirector General, Lt Gen BS Sahrawat, SM.2070 Cadets including 695 girl cadets drawn from 29 States and 07 Union Territories ofthe Country are participating in this camp that culminates into the Prime Minister’s Rally on 28Jan 2018. The cadets attending the camp will be participating in a number of activities, likeCultural Programmes, National Integration Awareness and Institutional Training Competitions.

A contingent of smartly turned out NCC cadets drawn from all the three wings of Army,Navy and Air Force, presented a ‘Guard of Honour’ to the Vice President on his arrival. TheVice President also visited the Flag Area where he has briefed by the young cadets about theirrespective States on themes contributing towards national awareness and integration. Heappreciated the efforts displayed in the Flag Area by the different States.

The Hon’ble VicePresident along with other distinguished guests later witnessed a spectacular ‘CulturalProgramme’ by the talented cadets in the NCC auditorium. In his address, the Hon’ble Vice President complimented the efforts of National CadetCorps, the largest uniformed youth organisation in grooming the youth of the country and itscontribution towards “Nation Building’. He also mentioned that NCC is and would be in thevanguard of all activities helping to channelise our youth into a creative force to usher in socialchanges through a wide spectrum of activities. He also appreciated the impressive turnout ofthe ‘Guard of Honour’. The Hon’ble Vice President urged the NCC cadets to avail the best ofNCC training and be more responsible and empowered citizens of the count

Sagar Media Inc today tweets

ON JANUARY 5, 2018 BY NARESH SAGARLEAVE A COMMENTEDIT

Naresh Kumar Sagar‏ @Nksagar 3h3 hours ago
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Sagar Media Inc :Two jets collision At Pearson Intl airport Toronto Canada this is second colloid in five months Enquiry ordered to reveal shortcomings. Mexico 23ks political death 6 in week,Gen election ensuing Org crime dominate Governance.18 killed US snow storm ad b indoors.
You Retweeted
Naresh Kumar Sagar‏ @Nksagar 19h19 hours ago
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Believe it or not Gossip in Sports policy by Delhi Govt on the anvil some draft are being discussed for Right of Education includes Right of play or sports an essential ingredient in school education.
You Retweeted
Naresh Kumar Sagar‏ @Nksagar 18h18 hours ago
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Media Gossip believe it or not PM Modi not satisfied with performance some cabinet minister then what is action forward need to bring some excellent ones to bring efficient governance,some surprise for Media and thinkers.Not hallucinations but get excellence from team is Rt think
Naresh Kumar Sagar‏ @Nksagar 5h5 hours ago
Naresh Kumar Sagar‏ @Nksagar 2h2 hours ago
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Sagar Media Inc Media Gossip of PM Modi reshuffle in cabinet Blast in JK kill 4 Policeman Indian US diaspora too much fear to be sent back with no plan in India.
Naresh Kumar Sagar‏ @Nksagar 6h6 hours ago
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India growth in downturn due to Demtz-GST dry cash flow slowed most MSME,Agr, Infra & Industry 2Qtrs.PM Modi 2018 imp,Gov need Smart cabinet changes. Living legends action on display Equally global support add up. Vibrant Saffron’sState BIZmeet on cards in current year. Coordination rise

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Session on “India – Israel: Building a transformational partnership”
EVENT DETAILS
DATE		Friday, January 5, 2018
TIME		5:30 PM – 7:00 PM (Registration: 05:00 PM )
LOCATION		WWF Auditorium, 172-B, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi- 110003

SPEAKERS		Lt Gen Subrata Saha (Retd), Director General, Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) & Principal Advisor, CII Ambassador Arun K Singh, Former Ambassador of India to the US and Israel Mr. Shiv Khemka, Member, India Israel CEOs Forum; Member, CII International Council and Vice Chairman, SUN Group (INVITED)
MODERATOR		Mr. Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Foreign Editor of Hindustan Times and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta Aspen Centre