On a whirlwind road trip across many cities in Western Nepal, one can find a lot of similarities with Kathmandu, the capital. Although construction is booming, the roads are dug up without a timeframe for when they will be re-laid, and houses are built in an unplanned manner. It’s as if the road conditions are accepted as long as there is enough space for motorcycles to pass through, never mind ambulances or fire engines.

Ugly hoarding boards jostle with each other; and, if there is anything that unites Nepal visually, it is the presence of massive boards advertising alcoholic beverages everywhere. It is sad to see that people have aspirations to consume and build in the same manner as folks in Kathmandu, even in the most remote of areas. Ugly banquet halls or party palaces, shopping centres that resemble garbage centres from afar, shops occupying most of sidewalks, two-wheelers and four-wheelers parked on the streets in a haphazard manner – it is easy to not react to all these as we can blame politics and politicians for all this chaos.

My colleague Samriddhi Pant, who joined us recently after her studies in Singapore, had some interesting insights to share as we crossed the border from Nepalgunj to Rupaidiha in India. Her thoughts were that Kathmandu resembles a border town in terms of how the shop-fronts and houses are built. We discussed quite a bit on this topic. Yes, perhaps the commonality in how Nepal now looks across cities and towns is that it is just an aggregation of border towns. Historically, in all trading cities, it used to be shop-fronts lined up on the main street or thoroughfare through which travellers, including traders, passed by. With limited roads, the shops and houses ‘on High Street’ commanded a premium. Temples and resting places were built along these routes.
In the 20th century, with automobiles proliferating worldwide, the roads that automobiles could use became the key trading routes. These were routes where vehicles would be parked and travellers would spend a night at roadside inns, eat at the eateries.

The replication of the trading route and border town mindset in Kathmandu is visible in the encroachment of all open spaces, compounded by the lack of sense to have parking lots that can accommodate the rising flow of cars. Traditional Newa architecture, prevalent in the Valley before the days of horse carriage and automobile, did focus on community living and community spaces. However, this was destroyed as everyone wanted to claim every inch of land in a market where land prices continue to skyrocket each year.

Border towns do not believe in open spaces. Everyone is absorbed in the myopia of the moment – with people in transit conducting business with the like-minded in a jostle. Never is it about long-term planning. And this mindset has become contagious. Even in the industrial estates all over Nepal that are basically capturing high value land at low lease rentals, the concept is about just having a row of establishments.

Travelling across Nepal, every municipality or village council seems to find it very easy to build what look like temporary structures on river beds, disputed land and land without papers. The business of just replicating border towns and trading streets has been quite easy, it seems. Far away from the beautiful postcard pictures of the seventies, towns and cities in the past 40 years have started to look alike in their ugliness.

Two of the other common sights in Nepal are the tipper trucks that carry extracted natural resources and ferry them, and the bulldozers that are deployed to extract resources in the name of building roads. River beds are contracted out for low amounts to people who are either politicians turned into business persons or business persons turned into politicians. These contactors then engage in extensive extraction, depleting river beds. Stretches of roads are destroyed by the heavily loaded tippers that enjoy impunity from prosecution by police and other agencies as the cartels that operate the business and transport vehicles have tremendous political clout.

In a country where we are never concerned about the source of our construction materials, these issues never become a point of public discourse. Extensive extraction facilities crated on river beds are creating irreparable damage, but of course, putting up ‘Open Defecation Free Zone’ signage is easier to work on and get engaged with rather than such bigger issues. The world as we know it has been built on natural resources extracted; there is no debate on that. But regulation on extraction methods is something that needs more public discourse as well as policy framework. The proper implementation of the framework drawn is important, too.

In two generations, Nepal, like many other countries, has moved quickly in integrating itself to the ever globalising world, but the key question to ask is whether our sense and sensibilities are also moving forward. Travelling by air, bikes, and cars or in busses, communicating with our gadgets, eating out at eateries and restaurants, shopping in large format stores, watching movies in halls that have best of technologies, attending programmes including concerts etc are all the amenities to have reached the common Nepali – in just the past three decades. However, we are yet to get to learn basic ways to deal with situations.

Comments coming from the Tourism sector single out Chinese and Indian tourists as the most difficult ones to handle. And now, Nepalis are getting on to this list. Money can buy space in hotels and restaurants, tickets to the cinema, mobile phones and recharge cards but one has to invest in good behaviour as well. Otherwise, the identity of a country gets associated with all the things you don’t want it to be associated with. So perhaps 2018 will be a good year to focus on how we improve the sense and sensibilities around simple things like driving or parking etiquette, behaviour at restaurants, hotels, stores and cinema halls and many other daily activities. Surely, we don’t need to sort out the political situation first to achieve this!

As head of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Dr Ajay Mathur exudes energy in more senses than one. Energy is also his area of specialisation.

Mathur, the Director General of TERI, is also a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. In his former role as Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), he was responsible for bringing energy efficiency into homes, offices and factories, through initiatives such as the star labelling programme for appliances, the Energy Conservation Building Code, and the Perform, Achieve and Trade programme for energy-intensive industries.

He has been a key Indian climate-change negotiator and was also the Indian spokesperson at the 2015 climate negotiations in Paris. He recently joined the global group of industrial, financial and think-tank leaders to co-chair an Energy Transitions Commission, which will suggest ways for companies and countries to move towards climate-friendly energy futures.

Mathur spoke to ASHA RAMACHANDRAN on the energy issues plaguing India, given the country’s commitment to move towards renewable energy and its commitment at the Paris Climate Change Summit in December 2016. Excerpts:

Q: On the energy front are we moving forward because we often appear to be moving in circles?
A: We are clearly in a turbulent transition state which means we know that change is happening but we don’t know the next challenge. And the next challenge gets thrown at you some day. And that also reflects the feeling that we are working in different directions. The long-term prognosis is that, even today, the newest rates that we have for solar electricity show that it costs less than coal-based electricity at Rs 2.44 per unit. And coal is Rs 3.50.

Q: Then where is the catch?
A: But solar is available only when there is sunshine. And the peak electricity demand we have is at 11 p.m. Therefore, we need to have coal plants. How else will we get electricity at 11 p.m.? But if I start buying electricity from solar during the day, the coal plants operate for a shorter period of time. So the coal electricity becomes expensive. This is the current dilemma. This is not helped by the fact that over the past few years, we have built up more coal-based power plants than we can buy electricity.

The total installed capacity is to the tune of 330 GW. And the highest amount of electricity sold is 165-167 GW. Coal alone is 190 GW. Most of this capacity has been put up in the last few years. Most of these companies have taken bank loans. They can’t sell electricity, they can’t pay back the loans. The bank does not have money to lend. So growth is suffering. So it’s very important that coal sector starts functioning.

Q: How about renewable energy?
A: If we want prices of renewables to continue to drop, we have to continue to make sure that we have newer bids and tenders so that there is a certainty in the renewable industry. So there is clearly a tension at this point of time.

As we move ahead, by 2020-21, coal power plants will be operating at a power plant load factor of 60-65 per cent or so. At that plant load factor they should be able to meet their financial obligations. That is the next challenge.

Once we come there, as far as coal-based electricity is concerned, I have already paid the fixed cost. Now, if I have to buy electricity from them I only have to pay the variable cost, which is less than Rs 1.50. So, it’s better to pay Rs 1.50-2 to get coal electricity instead of paying Rs 2.44 and get solar energy. So, it is important to get the solar electricity price to about Rs 1.50. Then the distribution companies will become indifferent whether they buy electricity from coal plants or solar plants.

Q: What does that mean for the consumer?
A: Demand is still growing in India. The coal power plants that exist ~ 330 GW ~ will start operating at 75-80 per cent plant load factor. Now the company has more electricity and says, should I add more coal or should I add solar. If I’m getting solar at Rs 1.50-2 and coal at about Rs 2 ex-cost, or Rs 1.50 variable cost, I’ll invest in solar energy. So if solar energy is able to reach a price of Rs 1.50 by 2020-25 we will see that additional capacity that is installed would come from solar.

Q: But solar power is available only during the day. What happens at night?
A: The only way to address this is to have a system that stores electricity generated during the day and provides it at night. The cheapest form is hydro pump storage. So, we’ll probably have 8-12 GW of pumped hydro that is available.

Q: After that?
A: Then we will have to go in for something more expensive like batteries. Today, if you set up a system with solar and batteries, the cost is around Rs 11-12 per kilowatt hour. But in the newest bids this is fast coming down to Rs 9. If by 2025, the price of solar goes down to Rs 1.50 and price of batteries goes down from Rs 6 to Rs 3, we’ll have electricity that costs less than Rs 5.
Now we’re in an interesting situation. If I build new coal plants with new environmental norms, I’ll produce electricity at Rs 5. And if I’m able to halve the cost of batteries, I’ll be able to also produce solar electricity at Rs 4.50-5. Therefore, when we set up new plants, the preference will be for solar plus batteries.

Q: Even in climate change negotiations, there is a strong stress on solar power.
A: Yes. But first, it is important that price of solar falls to half of where it is today ~ from Rs 2.40 to Rs 1.50. The price of batteries must fall to half over the next 10 years. If we are able to do that ~ it’s not easy ~ then we may see no more investment in coal plants. Those which are under construction will be constructed but no more new investment.

In a workshop on quality education held in March-April 2015 at Busan, South Korea, by the ‘Global Education First Initiative’, under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, a teacher from Argentina recounted her attempt to promote career education in her institution. She said: “In my institution, parents of students came to the classroom once a month to talk to us about their careers. The events brought the community together, and helped provide students with career education which was not imparted systematically to students.” The anecdote was well-received by the stakeholders present not merely because of its innovative nature but because of its potential ability to overcome the challenges of higher education by converting these institutions into community learning and interaction centres.

The challenge to ensure both quality and quantity in higher education is has emerged the world over. Students can contribute to the socio-economic needs of the country once their higher education is formally complete. While there is general unanimity among all stakeholders on the need to improve quality, our educational scenario has three special characteristics which make it difficult to adopt mechanisms on quality that are modelled on developed nations. The first is the inter-relationship of educational levels in the country. We have been following what they call a “chain continuation system” that is strictly followed with a structured primary, secondary and higher secondary system. Any scope of lateral entry to higher education without the mandatory minimum of twelve years of schooling is not allowed as a matter of policy. This quality of higher education therefore rests on the quality of school education. The admission to centres of higher education through compromised schooling standards can render quality control ineffective.

One major reason for the rather indifferent quality of higher education in India is the poor skill attainment during the twelve years of schooling. No wonder the World Conference on Higher Education held in 1998 under the aegis of UNESCO declared under Article 3 that “Higher education institutions must be viewed as, and must also work within themselves to be a part of and encourage, a seamless system starting with early childhood and primary education and continuing through life. The higher education system must work in active partnership with parents, schools, students, socio-economic groups and communities. Secondary education should not only prepare qualified candidates for access to higher education by developing the capacity to learn on a broad basis but also open the way to active life by providing training on a wide range of jobs.”

The second challenge to the quality of higher education is the limited geographical reach of such institutions. While the current concept of “infrastructural augmentation” in the education scenario is limited to an increase in investment on tangible assets, such as classrooms or advanced teaching aids, a holistic assessment of the special requirements of diverse backgrounds of learners is largely neglected. The framing of the curriculum is typically urban-centric, and a large section of learners are forced to compromise academic tastes and interests while attempting to fit into pre-determined higher education modules.

The third challenge is a skewed distribution of manpower to teach and administer higher education institutions, with the best in quality and efficiency limited to the geographical reaches of metro-cities and large urban centres.

Steps have been taken over the past few decades to address these three critical anomalies, but its effectiveness still eludes us. Attempts to overhaul school education through compulsory training of teachers, setting up of model schools in backward districts, enforcing effective evaluation of skill development of school learners through continuous and comprehensive evaluation systems have failed to make the desired impact. The reason is lack of coordination in the framing of policy and implementation by the states and the Centre.

The scrapping of detention as a matter of policy in schools without matching progress in the evaluation of learners have ensured that millions of school children without basic school-level skills have ‘passed’ and entered the higher education institutions. Such students are a drag on the quality of higher education. It is a universally recognised principle that the no-detention system in schools can only work when the evaluation and remedial framework function in tandem with due seriousness and efficiency.

As regards the skewed distribution of quality manpower and infrastructure in higher education, the usual remedy of setting up of such institutions in rural areas has not been effective. This is due to the obvious disconnect between the prospective learners’ background and the urban-centric curriculum framework adopted in such institutions. Learners in remotely situated areas have been forced to adopt learning systems and standards which are removed from their interests, inclination, and sometimes, even ethos. The obvious consequence is a half-hearted participation in the higher education process, resulting in dropouts from higher education institutions and attaining degrees without the desired skill-sets required for effective participation as socio-economically active individuals.
One innovative course to circumvent such disparities is to introduce a nationally admissible choice-based framework that would cater to both core educational subjects as well as specialised academic and vocational areas. This is how Australia, Canada and China could overcome vast disparities in terms of higher education. These countries adopted a choice-based curriculum at the national level a decade back, and the fact that many higher educational institutions there routinely rank among the best reaffirms the viability of choice-based curricula framework in countries with vast diversities in geography, languages, and culture.

An area that is critical to higher education, which our policy-makers still have to grapple with and for which there are no readily available and tested models internationally, is to correct the skewed patronage of general and vocational streams among learners. The 2014 Survey of Higher Education, conducted nationally, points to the fact that nearly 90 per cent of school pass-outs enter the general streams in colleges and a single-digit per cent actually volunteer for vocational and technical education, thereby resulting in a critical shortage of technical manpower and burdening the system with an overwhelming number of general stream graduates with limited and unemployable skill sets. This is unlike most developing and developed countries where the popularity of vocational stream courses far out-run general stream courses in terms of popularity and learner interest.

While we have made some progress in assessment and accreditation of higher education institutions through the objective assessment criteria over the past decade, a review of the funds disbursed to such accredited institutions in accordance with their assessment grades, reveals that a disproportionate amount earmarked for higher education are diverted to institutions with suitable infrastructure. This is reflected in their higher assessment grades, leaving institutions with a challenged infrastructure and poorer assessment grades with little financial support to correct and remedy areas of quality. If quality has to be assured with equity, funds meant for higher education ought to be disbursed to geographically remote and financially challenged institutions.
Neglecting areas which cry out for resource-support would lead to another crisis in higher education that we can well do without, because the international higher education scenario has already evolved an ‘equity of quality’ mechanism from an ‘assurance of quality’ regime in contemporary higher education.

The writer is Assistant Professor in English, Pritilata Waddedar Mahavidyalaya, Nadia in West Bengal.

Following is the scorecard of Day 1 of the first cricket Test between India and South Africa at Newlands here on Friday.

South Africa (1st Innings):
Dean Elgar c Saha b Bhuvneshwar 0
Aiden Markram lbw b Bhuvneshwar 5
Hashim Amla c Saha b Bhuvneshwar 3
AB de Villiers b Bumrah 65
Faf du Plessis c Saha b Hardik Pandya 62
Quinton de Kock c Saha b Bhuvneshwar 43
Vernon Philander b Shami 23
Keshav Maharaj run out (Ashwin) 35
Kagiso Rabada c Saha b Ashwin 26
Dale Steyn not out 16
Morne Morkel lbw b Ashwin 2
Extras (b 2, lb 3, w 0, nb 1, p 0) 6
Total (all out, in 73.1 Ov) 286

Fall of Wickets: 0-1 (Dean Elgar, 0.3), 7-2 (Aiden Markram, 2.6), 12-3 (Hashim Amla, 4.5), 126-4 (AB de Villiers, 32.6), 142-5 (Faf du Plessis, 35.5), 202-6 (Quinton de Kock, 44.5), 221-7 (Vernon Philander, 50.2), 258-8 (Keshav Maharaj, 62.2), 280-9 (Kagiso Rabada, 69.3), 286-10 (Morne Morkel, 73.1)

Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 19-4-87-4, Mohammed Shami 16-6-47-1, Jasprit Bumrah 19-1-73-1, Hardik Pandya 12-1-53-1, Ravichandran Ashwin 7.1-1-21-2

India 1st Innings:
Murali Vijay c Elgar b Philander 1
Shikhar Dhawan c & b Steyn 16
Cheteshwar Pujara batting 5
Virat Kohli c de Kock b Morne Morkel 5
Rohit Sharma batting 0
Extras (b 0, lb 1, w 0, nb 0, p 0) 1
Total (in 11 Ov) 28 for 3

Fall of Wickets: 16-1 (Murali Vijay, 4.4), 18-2 (Shikhar Dhawan, 5.2), 27-3 (Virat Kohli, 8.1)

Bowling: Vernon Philander 4-1-13-1, Dale Steyn 4-1-13-1, Morne Morkel 2-2-0-1, Kagiso Rabada 1-0-1-0.

The “grey matter” was never in doubt, proficiency in language-skills and flourish in delivery exhibited on several occasions in and beyond Parliament, yet in popular perception Shashi Tharoor was often seen as something of a “smart Alec”. That image, probably skewed, has been substantially erased by the role the Lok Sabha member representing Thiruvananthapuram played in putting an end to an unseemly controversy: facilitating a Class XII student to take his “board” examinations, and a Class XI girl to resume her studies. The controversy had arisen when the boy gave the girl what he claimed was a congratulatory hug after a musical performance, but the authorities of St Thomas Central School, Mukkolakkal, interpreted the incident very differently. There was little “innocent” to the gesture they deemed and both students were suspended. Appeals were preferred to the education department, and eventually the issue taken to the High Court. A needless mess and one that raised counter-queries about liberal social norms and the need for maintaining discipline in educational institutions. Matters were likely to snowball into ugly confrontation until Tharoor brokered a settlement at a meeting of the students, their parents and the school management. The victims/culprits will be permitted to pursue their academic interests, the school would hope its discipline-message ~ which was judicially endorsed ~ will have an exemplary deterrent effect.

The incident raises the large question of whether students in higher classes should be required to adhere to “parade-ground” norms of yesteryear. Times are changing and the “divide” between boy and girl students is being obliterated. Yet at what age-level can the revised thinking be deemed “acceptable”: students in many schools come from different social backgrounds and no common yardstick can be easily laid down. What about the impact of less-stringent mores on younger students? The teachers’ community could have an entirely different “take”, it is in the direct firing line when discipline breaks down. Those formulating the national education policy are now required to look far beyond the “three Rs”, their outlook must be progressive rather than regressive ~ inculcating healthy relations between adolescent boys and girls. Their understanding one another might actually have a positive fall-out on eve-teasing, crime against women etc. Tharoor did not seem to have broached those tricky issues, though his liberal outlook is unquestioned. What marks distinct his role in resolving the controversy is that as an MP he used his good offices to address a social problem, and it is unlikely that political dividends will accrue to him. That is the point ~ MPs are not just political entities, they could serve as social leaders too, act as a bridge across the many ills that divide society. An MP could opt to become a father-figure ~ though Tharoor is too young at heart to savour that description.

Forgive the relapse, for sentimental reasons, to journalistic jargon of yesteryear: to the days of “hard copy” when an item deemed unworthy of publication was thrust on a metal spike ~ a sign of rejection. Pardon also the pun on the name of the Israeli anti-tank guided missile which India has opted against purchasing although the matter had been progressed to so advanced a stage that initial work had begun at an industrial unit in Hyderabad where the Spike missile was to be domestically produced. Scrapping defence deals is nothing new in India ~ during UPA-rule it had become virtually standard practice as AK Antony had placed higher emphasis on his personal squeaky clean image than military preparedness ~ but the junking of the $ 500 million plan to enhance the efficacy of the Armoured Corps is unique in that no allegations of kickbacks etc have surfaced. Whether buying 131 Barak surface-to-air missiles to protect warships against sea-skimming missiles suffices to compensate the Israeli principal (both Barak and Spike hail from the same stable) is not easy to determine: it hopes to revive the deal during the Israeli prime minister’s upcoming visit. Once again has India’s credibility as a reliable defence “customer” come under the scanner.

At first glance there might be cause for satisfaction, some pride too perhaps, that a less-expensive indigenous anti-tanks missile system is being preferred over the Spike. That argument would have been more convincing had top Army experts articulated such a professional evaluation. In the absence of any such public endorsement a feeling could spread ~ in military circles anyway ~ that once again the interests of the soldier are being sacrificed at the altar of “indigenisation”. The ‘Nag’ series of anti-tank missiles have a poor reputation, the latest version has yet to “sell” itself to the troops. This could be another chapter in the story that takes in the MBT Arjun, INSAS rifle, and some critics would contend the Tejas LCA too. It is an open secret that the state-run defence production units ~ the DRDO, Ordnance Factory Board, HAL etc ~ are very apprehensive over the comparative ease with which new-found economic prosperity makes “got-abroad” military hardware available to the forces, and have been working overtime to boost the prospects of their own products. That is perhaps understandable; what is not acceptable is that the “industry” ~ for long a monopoly catering to a sellers’ market ~ has done little to make itself competitive, in both economic and technological terms. To avoid the soldier feeling short-changed, the Army would do well to have the domestic anti-tank missile evaluated and certified afresh ~ statements from the minister, ministry, scientists and bureaucrats will not suffice. A soldier’s life is too precious to be “spiked”.

Urban development, Housing and Town and Country Planning minister, Sarveen Chaudhary on Friday said no compromise would be tolerated in the quality of construction work and complete transparency should be maintained in the departmental affairs.

Presiding over a review meeting of HIMUDA here, Chaudhary directed to expedite the work on HIMUDA projects which were either not started or were going on a slow pace.”The demand of housing and commercial units was huge. A comprehensive plan should be prepared to meet the housing demand of the people as they had great expectations from the department,” she said.
Chaudhary said that HIMUDA has developed 17,229 houses, flats and plots so far while construction of 146 flats and development of 181 plots was under progress. Moreover, four housing colonies at Sheel, Dharmapur, Trilokpur and Rajwari were in pipeline.

The minister directed to prepare plan for the first 100 days highlighting the priority of works with the projection of cost and resource management. She also directed the department for launching a cleanliness drive in the state.Additional Chief Secretary, UD, TCP and Housing, TarunKapoor said it was a big challenge before the HIMUDA to fulfill the housing demand of the people especially the poor and middle income group.

He underscored the need for planned and systematic development of housing colonies with new design and specifications. CEO, HIMUDA, Dinesh Kashyap, Chief Engineer, Umesh Sharma and other officers of the department attended the meeting.

Later in the review meeting of urban development department, the minister emphasised the need for best utilisation of the funds and speeding up various projects so that these could be completed in a stipulated time period and allotted budget. She said close coordination should be ensured with the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for effective implementation of various schemes.

The minister said that there was the need to monitor and execute centrally and state sponsored schemes expeditiously as these were time-bound. She said five clusters would set up for solid waste management at Baddi, Hamirpur, Kangra, Shimla and Mandi. She directed to work in close co-ordination with Shimla and Dharamshala Municipal Corporations which were developed as smart cities.

A spokesperson of the Revenue department said on Friday that a section of media has reported that 1,200 retired Patwari/Kanungos were appointed on contract against vacant posts in the Revenue department, which was not factual.

He clarified that only 214 retired Patwari/Kanungos were engaged against the vacant posts as a stopgap arrangement. As many as 1,120 Patwari candidates are presently undergoing training and they would be available for posting by the end of August, 2018.

He said the government was sensitive towards public which should not suffer on account of termination of services of engaged retired Patwaris. The cabinet in the meeting held on 4 January, 2018 had taken a decision in public interest to continue with the services of 214 retired Patwaris/Kanungo till freshly recruited 1,120 would be available of posting by the end of August, 2018.

In a meeting of Officers of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department in Shimla on Friday, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Kishan Kapoor categorically stated that no compromise on quality of essential commodities under PDS will be made anywhere in Himachal Pradesh.

He asked officers to physically go in the field and conduct regular inspection of fair price shops, take samples and ensure reporting.

He said that the state government has been giving a subsidy of more than 220 crore on subsidized food in the state and it was duty of officers to ensure quality in this ration to provide the best food to consumers in every nook and corner of the state. Kapoor asked officers to ensure that ration supplied to the consumers matched the samples sanctioned by the government for purchase. He said leakage of samples was unfortunate and the procedure should be monitored at a higher level with proper secrecy. Reports the sample should be procured in a stipulated time and at the earliest so that substandard supply could be checked in time.

The minister said that all the ration cards will be linked with Aadhar Number within 100 days.

Toll free numbers 1967 has been functioning to redress grievances of consumers.

In a major administrative reshuffle the state government on Friday transferred Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of 10 districts, barring Kullu and Una in Himachal Pradesh.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Rohan Chand Thakur has been posted as Director of Urban Development and shall also hold additional charge of the post of director Town and Country planning, Shimla, however, Amit Kashyap MD, Minorities Finance and development Corporation has been posted as DC Shimla.

Rakesh Kanwar DC Solan has been posted as Director Rural Development and Panchyati Raj-cum-ex-officio-Special Secretary (Rural Development and Panchyati Raj), however, Hans Raj Sharma Managing Director (MD) HP State Electronics Development Corporation Shimla as DC, Solan.

Sudesh Kumar Mokta DC Chamba as Director Tourism and Civil Aviation (also additional charge of the post of Director Town and Country Planning, Shimla), however, Harikesh Meena Special Secretary PWD and IPH as DC Chamba.

Deva Singh Negi DC Lahaul and Spiti has been transferred as Settlement Officer, Shimla, while Ashwani Kumar Chaudhary Mandi has been posted as DC Lahaul and Spiti.

Naresh Lath, DC Kinnaur has been transferred as Director Empowerment of Scheduled Class, Other Backward Class and Minority Affairs and Specially Abled Department, Shimla (also additional charge of member secretary HP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights), while Gopal Chand Settlement Officer, Shimla as DC Kinnaur.

Chander Prakash Verma DC Kangra transferred as Special Secretary (Forest and Industries), Shimla, while Sandeep Kumar Director Town and Country Planning as DC Kangra.
Madan Chauhan DC Mandi as Director Food, Civil Supplies, Shimla, while, Rugved Milind Thakur DC, Bilaspur as DC Mandi.

While, Vivek Bhatia Director Transport, Shimla who is also holding additional charge of the post of Director Food, Civil Supplies, Shimla as DC Bilaspur.Kadam Sandeep Vasant DC, Hamirpur as as Director Women and Child Development, Shimla and he shall also hold additional charge of post of Director Information Technology, Shimla, while Rakesh Kumar Prajapati Additional DC, Shimla as DC Hamirpur.

Balbir Chand Badalia DC Sirmaur as Director Transport, Shimla, while Lalit Jain Director Information Technology transferred as DC, Sirmaur.

Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger has been slapped with a three-match touchline ban and a hefty fine on Friday for his outburst against referee Mike Dean in the aftermath of his side’s 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion.

“Arsène Wenger will serve a touchline ban for Arsenal’s next three matches after he was charged with misconduct,” a FA statement read.

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“It follows an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today at which the Arsenal manager admitted that his language and behaviour in the match officials’ changing room after the West Bromwich Albion game on Sunday (31/12/17) was abusive, improper and questioned the integrity of the match referee. He was also fined £40,000,” the statement added.

Wenger had repeatedly stated he had done nothing wrong but now the veteran French manager will be forced to sit out of his side’s next three games.

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The games Wenger is going to miss are: Nottingham Forest (FA Cup third round, January 7), Chelsea (EFL Cup semi-final first leg, January 10) and Bournemouth (Premier League, January 14).

The 68-year-old Gunners boss will return to the touchline for their January 20 Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.

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While the Gunners are expected to progress to the next round of the FA Cup at the expensive of Nottingham Forest without their manager, their EFL Cup tie against Chelsea looks even more difficult now and the North Londoners will be hard-pressed to come away with a win from Stamford Bridge.

Industries Minister, Bikram Singh asked the officers of industries department to prepare a ‘Road map’ or ‘Target Document’ for 100 days to make Himachal Pradesh an ‘Industrial Hub’ of the country in real spirit, for which they should work with missionary zeal. He was presiding over the meeting of the state Industries department at ‘Udhyog Bhawan’, the Directorate of the Department on Friday.

Bikram Singh said that the department should do something innovative and come up with some pioneering ideas so that HP becomes a favourite destination for investors.

He said that Start-up Himachal, a major initiative of the Union government needs to be publicised widely, so that more and more youth could derive benefit from the scheme.

He said that the focus should be laid on effective implementation of ‘ease of doing business’ so that investors does not face hardship in getting various clearances to set up their units in the state.

He expressed pleasure that the state ranks seventh in ease of doing business, but the ranking must be improved and HP should be the top ranking state in ease of doing business.

Industries minister said that various Central schemes should be implemented in right perspective. He said that the Department must ensure that at least 80 per cent employments in up-coming industrial units in the state were provided to the Himachali youth. He said that Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme should also be effectively implemented.

He said that land should be identified for setting up of new industrial areas in the state, so that the land was readily available for the entrepreneurs. He also stressed upon promoting Khaadi and Sericulture, as both sectors have immense potential for employment generation.

Bikram Singh said that work on State of the Art Industrial Areas at Pandoga in Una district and Kandrauri in Kangra district would be expedited. He said that more such industrial areas would be developed in the state.

A ‘New Industrial Policy’ focusing ‘Rural Industrialisation’ would also be formulated for uniform industrialisation in the state. He said that the Department should ensure online and time bound clearances of investment proposals. He said that clearances under Section 118 for setting of new industries should also be taken up as special cases.

Industries minister said that effective measures required to be taken for curbing the menace of illegal mining in the state. He said that this not only results in environmental degradation, but also causes loss of revenue to the state exchequer. He said that the Mining Officers should ensure regular inspection and a special flying squad be constituted to check illegal mining. He said that mining sites and quarries should be auctioned in a transparent manner.

Assuring ‘Zero tolerance’ to crime against women, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced that a 24X7 ‘Gudia’ helpline for the safety of women will be launched soon.
“The state government is serious to tackle crime, for which a special crime cell would be set up in all the three police range offices, Shimla, Mandi and Dharamsala, which would be required to report any crime against women in the state within no time. The day to day reporting would be monitored by the Chief Minister Office and action will be taken within 48 hours,” said Jai Ram Thakur.

He was talking to mediapersons on Friday at the ‘Meet the Press’ organised by Shimla Press Club.

The last year’s ‘Gudia’ case and Hoshiyar Singh case, both being probed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had brought bad name to the state, he said, adding that concerted efforts will be made to improve law and order situation so as to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future.

A ‘Hoshiyar Singh’ helpline will also be duly launched soon, said he, adding that and also the cases of cyber crimes will also be checked.

Concerned with the growing drug menace in the state, Jai Ram Thakur said that in the second phase, stringent measures would be taken to curb the drug menace in the state and the home department have been asked to work out a plan for it.

Thanking the Press Club members for the invitation extended to him, he sought suggestions from the press for better performance of the government wherever required. He also urged for cooperation from the media of the state and said that he was open for suggestions anytime.

He said he believed in strengthening the ‘fourth pillar’ of democracy and his government would be ever ready to extend assistance for it.

The CM directed the authorities for early completion of press Club building near SubziMandi and assured for looking into the pensionery and medical facilities to the journalists.
He announced a sum of Rs 5 Lakh for Shimla Press Club.

Shimla Press Club president, Dhananjay Sharma welcomed the CM and other dignitaries present on the occasion.General Secretary, Press Club Shimla Anil Bhardwaj welcoming the CM and urged him to provide pensionery benefits to the journalists on analogy of Haryana, Uttrakhand and Madhya Pradesh Government.

He also urged for a provision of Health Cards, to them for securing medical facilities.

Premier League giants Chelsea on Friday completed their first signing of the January transfer window as they confirmed the £15 million (reported) acquisition of Everton midfielder Ross Barkley.

“Chelsea Football Club has today completed the signing of Ross Barkley from Everton,” a club statement read.

“The 24-year-old has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract and will wear the number 8 shirt,” the statement added.

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Everton manager Sam Allardyce had, earlier in the week, stated that the talented midfielder was likely to leave and Premier League sides Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur were said to have renewed their summer interest in the versatile midfielder with the Blues eventually winning the race.

“I’m overwhelmed, I’m looking forward to it and I’m really excited to get started,” Barkley was quoted as saying by the club website upon signing as he continued, “To be given a fresh start at a new club like Chelsea, it’s unbelievable for me. I’m looking forward to continuing where I left off at the end of last season and hoping to improve and add more goals to my game”.

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Barkley, who was once touted as English football’s next big thing, has been sidelined since August with a hamstring injury and his new employers have not yet revealed when the 24-year-old will be making his first-team debut.

Considering he had recently rejoined first-team training at Everton, the 6’2 midfielder is unlikely to feature in their FA Cup third round tie with Norwich City on Saturday.

The Blues take on arch-rivals Arsenal the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on January 10 and Barkley could be in contention to play some part in that cup tie.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday demanded the Amarinder Singh government to scrap its loan waiver scheme and replace it with a comprehensive waiver scheme covering all indebted farmers.

In a statement, he said the Congress government was playing with the lives of Punjab farmers by proposing to implement a fraudulent crop loan waiver which left out genuine beneficiaries.
The SAD president said nearly 400 farmers had committed suicide after the government failed to implement the promised Rs 90,000 loan waiver covering cooperative and nationalized banks as well as private money lenders.

He said now an even more dangerous trend was in the offing after the suicide of a farmer from Lehragaga in Sangrur who took his life after finding out his name was not in the beneficiary list.
Alleging that the Congress government and its legislators were responsible for the death of Lehragaga farmer Sikander Singh, the SAD president said this had happened because Congressmen had vitiated the entire exercise by resorting to corruption which had left lakhs of deserving beneficiaries out of the ambit of the current crop loan waiver scheme.

“The present scheme is only for crop loans which have a traditional recovery percentage of 95 per cent,” he said. Stating that indebted farmers would not to tolerate this injustice, Badal asked them to gherao Congress legislators and ministers to get their just due.

“The government’s repeated betrayals on this issue have left farmers with no other choice”, Badal said while adding that the SAD would also launch a protest movement against this injustice.
The SAD president alleged besides cherry picking of beneficiaries at the hands of Congressmen, for which bribes were also being exchanged, the government was also denying the loan waiver to those who needed it most.

“Small farmers with less than five acres of land are being denied this waiver if their debt amount is Rs One more than Rs Two lakh. Similarly marginal farmers with less than 2.5 acres of land are also being kept out of the ambit of the scheme. No relief had been given to farm labourers,” Badal said.

He said many beneficiaries who had been given relief between Rs 100 and a few thousand had been deliberately included in the scheme to inflate the beneficiary list in order to deceive the farming community.

Haryana Government has declared 30 places in the state as prohibited and regulated for the purpose of both mining operation and construction.

A notification to this effect has been issued by the Archaeology and Museums Department.

These places included Bhima Devi temple and Takiya Bawa Fakir, Pinjore, and Nahan Kothi in Panchkula, European Cemetery in Ambala, Shish Mahal, Farukh Nagar in Gurugram, Dehra Mandir, Firozpur Jhirkha in Mewat, Old Badashahi Bridge, Uchasiwan, Prachin Shiv Mandir, village Salwan and Victoria Memorial Hall in Karnal. Similarly and other places including Prachin Shiv temple and Vishwa Mitra Ka Tila, Pehowa and Bodh Stupa in Kurukshetra, Tomb of Shiekh Tayyab etc.

With dense fog in northern India throwing normal life out of gear and cause all sorts of traffic issues for some days now, Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU), the public transport unit, on Friday issued an advisory for the general public to cope with the dense fog and low visibility.

In the 15-point advisory, the CTU advised commuters to avoid unnecessary travel , drive slowly when there is low visibility, use blinker lights and reflectors to avoid untoward accidents. It also suggested drivers to park their vehicles in proper parking lots , avoid use of cell phones while driving.

In the case of dense fog, the advisory suggested drivers to use fog lamps and low light beam as the high beam get reflected back in fog. Use the white marking and right edge of the road for guidance, it said adding that drivers should give proper signal while taking a turn.”Be patient, and watch for stalled or slow moving vehicles in front of you,” it said.

The advisory also suggested that drivers should keep heater on to avoid condensation inside and reduce possible ‘in car’ distractions. “Heavy fog and low visibility calls for careful driving so avoid overtaking , stopping or parking vehicle on the road and if you do so always keep the blinkers on,” the advisory said. Keep the car manufacturer’s roadside assistance number with you in your car, it added.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in past 24 hours, the minimum temperature was recorded at 8.1 degree Celsius which was three degree below normal and the minimum temperature was 14.4 degree Celsius which was six degrees below normal. As per the IMD forecast for the coming week, while the fog and mist will continue in the morning, the minimum and maximum temperature will between 6 degree Celsius and 19 degree Celsius.