The 48th Earth Day celebrations on Saturday saw participation from school children in awareness drives, campaigns in social media, emotional appeals from MNCs and a request from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep the planet clean and green.

While describing the Earth Day "a day of gratitude to mother earth", Modi said: "It is our duty to live in harmony with the plants, animals and birds we share the earth with. We owe this to our future generations."

He hoped that this year's theme of "Environmental and Climate Literacy" would help in creating awareness about protecting nature and natural resources.

According to the Earth Day Network, a global environmental movement, April 22 marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environment movement in 1970.

Also, hundreds of volunteers, including students and officials of the US embassy, were out on the streets here to promote air quality awareness among people of the national capital and conducted a survey.

As part of the Earth Day activities, the US embassy, in cooperation with programme partner Clean Air Asia, organised a two-day campaign "Better Air, Better Earth" to promote air quality awareness.

The campaign involved volunteers from the embassies of the US, Sweden, Spain, the High Commission of Canada and Clean Air Asia's Youth Clean Air Network (YCan), who were posted at various locations here to record PM 2.5 levels and take a perception survey.

The campaign would continue on Sunday when the volunteers would record people's perception of air pollution in the city.

"We are proud to support Clean Air Asia's efforts to raise awareness about air quality in India. Projects like these are at the heart of this year's Earth Day theme — environmental literacy," Richard Pinkham, Director of Programmes, New Delhi American Centre, said.

Manaswi Singha, a student of Delhi University, and Nishant, an engineering student of Delhi Technological University, who were conducting the survey, said that they chose to be a part of the campaign as they wanted to create awareness and understand the real cause of pollution.

Also, NGOs, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wildlife SOS organised a Snake Awareness Workshop. The aim of the workshop was "to promote wildlife wakefulness among public and to mitigate the effects of wildlife human conflict".

During the workshop, the team of Wildlife SOS demonstrated how snakes play a key role in the functioning of the entire ecosystem.

Also, there was a campaign to create awareness among the masses to save water.

"Eat less meat, opt for carpooling and unplug unused electronic devices — do your bit and make a huge difference to saving Earth," suggested Google's Earth Day doodle.

The doodle followed the story of a fox, who dreamt about an Earth that had been polluted and adversely affected by climate change.

Doing these small things could go a long way to help save the only known planet in the universe that harbours life, it said.

"Whatever you do today, we hope you're able to take a moment to savour and cherish this boundless, stunning Earth that we inhabit," Google said in a statement.

At an estimated 4.543 billion years of age, the Earth is also the densest planet in the solar system and the largest of the four terrestrial planets.

Zaheer Khan led Delhi Daredevils' bowling unit impressed again in the IPL 2017 as they dominated table-toppers Mumbai Indians on their home ground and restricted them to 142/8 in their innings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.

After winning the toss, Delhi decided to bowl first and kept Mumbai under control throughout 20 over of cricket.

Experienced leg-spinner Amit Mishra and young pacer Pat Cummins gained maximum in the bowling assault as both the bowlers claimed two wickets each.

Mishra took the scalp of MI skipper Rohit Sharma (5) and pinch-hitter Krunal Pandya (17), while Nitish Rana (8) and Kieron Pollard (26) were the victims of Cummins.

South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who played his fist game for Delhi, claimed the wicket of opener Parthiv Patel (8) and impressed with the run out of Harbhajan Singh (2), where he defeated the Indian in a sprint.

For Mumbai, Jos Buttler scored highest 28 runs as the table-toppers lost four of their batsmen for a single-digit score.

India would welcome Apple to make its iconic iPhones in the country where a lot of big firms were already making mobile phones, said Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday.

"A lot of big mobile phone manufacturing companies have come, and if Apple comes fine, they are welcome," he told reporters at the margins of an IT event here.

Noting that he would soon be meeting top officials of the US-based firm to discuss its plans to make its mobile phones in India, Prasad said as India was a huge market, making in India for the domestic and export markets was important.

"They (Apple) are very keen. Its executives are going to meet me in a couple of days though I need not share with you what they are going to discuss with me," quipped Prasad after an interactive meet with captains of the IT industry, organised by the state-run Software Technology Parks of India hereb.

Noting that 72 global telecom firms have started production in the country over the last two years, the Minister said 42 of them were making handsets while others (30) were manufacturing components like batteries and other parts.

"Though we (India) missed the industrial revolution and the entrepreneur revolution, we don't want to miss the digital revolution. We want to become leader in that, which is our fundamental philosophy," he said.

Asserting that India was at the cusp of a digital revolution, he said the country's digital economy would be a trillion dollar market, for its stakeholders, including IT/ITeS, e-commerce, digital payments and communications.

All eyes will be zeroed in at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday when Arsenal face Manchester City in the second FA Cup semifinal, a clash set to be a goal-fest.

The teams have a defence that has bordered on the shambolic this season and while they have flattered deceive in the league, the FA Cup is a last chance to salvage their season.

Arsenal

Whether manager Arsene Wenger signs a contract extension at the end of the season may well be hinging on the Gunners’ result on Sunday.

The North Londoners are facing the possibility of having no Champions League football this season, trailing fourth-placed Arsenal by seven points with just seven games remaining.

So can they beat a confident Manchester City? It is difficult but as usual, the onus will be on talisman Alexis Sanchez and the mercurial Mesut Ozil. Both haven't been in top form of late and if the Gunners are to book their place in the final, they will need to deliver a performance that justifies their current wage demands.

Wenger, now, faces another dilemma, as he is still unsure whether he should start with three at the back, like he did in the win over Middlesbrough on Monday. Whatever his final decision, he will have to pay attention to their defensive organisation on set-pieces and implore defensive stalwart Laurent Koscieny to not make a major error in such a high-stakes clash.

What they are saying: “It is a match between two Premier League teams who are very close to each other in the table, so that means it’s very open and certainly you will be a bit more on your toes mentally,”Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (as per www.arsenal.com)

Injury concerns: Shkodran Mustafi (Thigh),  Danny Welbeck (Toe), Santi Cazorla (Ankle),  David Ospina (Back), Lucas Perez (Thigh)

Suspension Alert:  None

Manchester City

It’s been a tough first season for Pep Guardiola in the English Premier League and now he is a far cry from contending for trebles as he accustomed to.

While Champions League qualification is almost assured, the Catalan was hired to win trophies and see them emerge as major power players in Europe and not finish third in the league. His side are brilliant going forward, with young wingers Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling emerging as standout players this year. Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero have had a muted season by their lofty standards but overall, the quality in their squad is immense and they should outclass Arsenal in theory.

Captain Vincent Kompany is fit again and as long as he continues to play, City can keep it relatively tight at the back but the big boost is that forward Gabriel Jesus has been included in the squad and could feature. With John Stones effectively ruled out, the Nicolas Otamendi is likely to partner Kompany in the centre of defence.

What they are saying: “I think it’s going to be a beautiful game. We expect that as players, the fans expect for sure because the two games we’ve played against Arsenal there were a lot of goals. Overall, I think we are the team who produce the most beautiful games in the Premier League, Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure (as per www.mancity.com)

Injury concerns: John Stones (Knock), Bacary Sagna (Doubt), Gabriel Jesus (foot), Ilkay Gundogan (Knee)

Suspension Alert: None

Super Stat: Arsenal's top scorer in this year's competition is Theo Walcott with five goals while Sergio Aguero leads the way for City with four strikes.

The group of Tamil Nadu farmers, who have been using different methods of protest in Delhi's Jantar Mantar for the last two months demanding drought relief funds and waiver of agricultural loans, were stopped by Delhi police from drinking their own urine on Saturday. However, before the cops stepped in a few of them had already sneaked a few sips.

The farmers, who had vowed to drink urine and eat faeces if their demands were not made, reconsidered their strategy after the intervention by Delhi Police. They instead decided to collect their urine in a bucket and send it back to their home state.

The farmers declared that the course of their protest will now depend on the outcome of the meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palainsamy on Sunday morning.

P Ayyakkammu, state president of the National South Indian Rivers linking Farmers Association, who is leading the protest, told The Statesman, “We may not be allowed to drink urine, but nobody can stop us from sending urine collected in the buckets back to our home state. That is our right. “

The protesting farmers claimed that the government was forcing them to resort to such means of protest. They also accused the government of not living up to its assurances and promises. The farmers have been demanding intervention by the Centre to write off their loans from nationalised banks, revise the drought relief package and resolve the drying up of the Tamil Nadu leg of the Cauvery river.

One of the protesting farmers said, “You can understand our plight, we so don’t want to do this, but our decision to drink our urine speaks of our helplessness and desperation. The government is not ready to listen to us and is rather alleging that we are doing it at the behest of someone’s political agenda. If Prime Minister Modi could come and hear us, may be our problems would be resolved .”

The Centre has directed government owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) to coordinate with Jammu and Kashmir government to set up oil depots and LPG bottling plants in various parts of the valley.

OMCs will take the list of possible locations in the Valley for commissioning of New LPG distributorships and petrol pumps and Kashmir and examine its feasibility on priority, said a senior officer of the Petroleum Ministry.

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar on Saturday and discussed in detail how to expedite the projects in the pipeline.

The Centre has told all public sector oil companies to recruit employees from reputed engineering colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. The OMCs have also been asked to invest at least Rs 1 crore from their corporate social responsibility fund for infrastructure development in Tulip Garden, Srinagar.

After guiding Rising Pune Supergiant to a thrilling last ball six-wicket win against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Saturday, former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the key to successful run chases is staying "calm".

Dhoni, who blasted a 34-ball unbeaten 61 to take his side home on the final ball of the innings, said he doesn't take the pressure of the mounting asking rate and its only about how the opposition bowlers execute and how the batsmen seize the advantage.

"There is no run-rate that is high. It boils down to how well the opposition bowlers execute. So seven, eight, nine, ten, doesn't matter. What matters is keeping your calm," said Dhoni, who was declared the man-of-the-match.

Hailing the way Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary complimented him towards the end, Dhoni said: You can't always win games like this. I think we did very well. Manoj contributed, which was very important because he didn't eat too many deliveries." 

Acknowledging that the chase wasn't the easiest, Dhoni said Pune could do it only because they had big hitters in the side.

"It was a difficult one. But it was important that since we had strikers in the back of the innings, it was important we take Rashid (Khan) out of the game. And one side we can hit with the breeze. One side can always hit with it," he said.

Heaping praise on the efforts of the 35-year-old stumper, Pune skipper Steve Smith said: "Got pretty close towards the end, but MS (Dhoni) did what's he's done for such a long period of time. Under pressure, he comes good again." 

The six-wicket win has helped Pune jump from last to the fourth spot in the IPL team standings and Smith is confident of getting up the ladder with four more home games.

"It was a 160-165 wicket, we probably didn't execute our plans as well as I thought. We batted really well, (Rahul) Tripathi at the top and MS did what he's done for such a long time. We have four games now at home and one in Mumbai and hopefully we can get up the ladder."

Indian Grand Master Harika Dronavalli continued her good run at the Reykjavik Open chess tournament as she got past Martin P. Burrows of England in the fourth round game at the Herpa Concert Hall here.

With three wins and one draw in four outings, the World No.11 Indian has amassed a total of 3.5 points.

Playing in white pieces, Harika approached the game with a different strategy to catch her opponent who has a lower ranking, off-guard from the early stages and capitalised on her opponent's errors to wrap up the three-hour-long tie in 30 moves on Friday night.

"I had chosen a sideline from the opening stages of the game which my opponent was not aware of. This strategy baffled him and he started playing over the board," Harika said after the game.

"Even though the game lasted for three hours, my opponent found it hard to catch up to my strategy and made positional errors in inferior positions which I exploited and won the game," she added.

She is currently placed 13th on the leader board and will play her fifth-round game later on Saturday.

This columnist's teenage daughter explained the latest politically correct views on "gender identity" to her mother and me.

I learned that many young people in Asia are adopting the position promoted by two terrifying extremist groups in the West, a scary US tribe called "Californians" and the UK's even more frightening "Guardian Readers".

These groups say you must legally recognise people as whatever they claim to be — or risk being sued for discrimination.

I'm pretty chill on all this. If a man feels he is a woman or a dodgy real estate salesman thinks he is President of the United States, let them.

Furthermore, I like the idea that everyone should be legally forced to recognise, for example, that this writer is a handsome, intelligent, good man trapped in the body of a lazy, evil dwarf.

But my chill attitude was challenged when a US reporter friend told me about Pablo Gomez Jr, a man recently charged with the murder of a young woman. After his arrest, Gomez announced that he was a girl "inside" and thus needed to be sent to a women's prison. In most countries, police would have slapped him around and told him not to be silly. But this happened in California so law enforcement officers are now legally required to hold doors open for him, comment on his hair and the like.

Obama spread the California policy across the country. In most states now, police must ask arrested people "How do you identify" and accept the answer given.

"A person with a full beard and complete male 'plumbing' who claims to identify as female will be put in the female cell block," Deputy Sheriff Paul Harding confirmed. "Complaints from female prisoners about the person who looks exactly like a man sleeping and showering with them in their cell block are not valid."

A UK reporter told me that British murderer Peter Laing also told cops that he felt like a girl inside. They duly sent him to a women's prison under his chosen name (Ms Paris Green) where he kept having sex with the other inmates. They told him to behave and transferred him to a second women's jail — where the same thing happened. "He's just trying to manipulate the system," complained a family member of his victim. Police have now risked the wrath of Guardian Readers by putting him in a male jail.

A police friend tells me cops in Asia assign arrestees to male or female prisons after a simple visual check of their "undercarriage". In Thailand, this means that many "ladyboys" end up in male prisons and some are delighted, according to a 2013 study by Phuketwan, a Thai news service: "Ladyboys commit crimes, most often petty theft, just so they can return to the jail."

I told my kids that laws which force police officers and teachers to let male tricksters into females' safe spaces were a bad thing, but the most important thing was to be kind to everyone, including people of non-standard gender.

I also told them that I myself started life as a man trapped in a woman's body. And then, after nine months, I was born.

(IANS)

India's star finisher MS Dhoni gifted Rising Pune Supergiant a picture-perfect six-wicket victory against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL 2017 match at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Saturday.

Dhoni scored when RPS needed the most and clinched the win out of the jaws of defeat. He slammed unbeaten 61 runs off 34 balls at a strike rate of 179.41, his best in the season so far.

The 35-year-old hit three massive sixes and five boundaries to lift the home crowd off their feet.

Along with Dhoni, Manoj Tiwary (17*) shouldered responsibility and stabilised Pune at middle-order. 

The fifth-wicket partnership pair put unbeaten 58 runs to propel Pune to the victory.

Chasing a competitive target of 177 runs, Pune hesitated in the beginning as opener Ajinkya Rahane lost his wicket cheaply for two runs.

However, the other opener Rahul Tripathi didn't fail to impress as he smashed 59 runs off 41 balls with the help of three sixes and six boundaries.

Captain Steve Smith and overseas delight Ben Stokes managed to contribute just 27 and 10 runs respectively in the chase.

For Hyderabad, purple cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bipul Sharma and Rashid Khan claimed one wicket each besides other unsuccessful bowlers in the camp.

Earlier, it was Moises Henriques' swashbuckling 55 runs (not out) that lifted Hyderabad to a comfortable score of 176/3 in the end of their innings.

Henriques intensified the action in last four overs and slammed two sixes and six boundaries in his 28-ball entertaining knock that was concluded at a strike rate of 196.42.

At the helm, middle-order batsman Deepak Hooda stood tall alongside Henriques, scoring 19 runs (not out) at a strike rate of 190.

Hooda and Henriques put unbeaten 47 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership stand.

SRH captain David Warner played slower innings at Pune though managed to contribute 43 runs off 40 balls before losing his wicket to Jaydev Unadkat.

Other top-bets Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson lost their wicket to Imran Tahir and Daniel Christan after scoring 31 and 21 runs respectively.

A strong wind exceeding 39 km per hour kicked up a dust storm in Delhi on Saturday evening and brought respite to its residents after a sunny morning.

The weather office forecast a dust storm on Sunday also.

"The evening will remain partly cloudy and the temperature is expected to decline to 29 degrees Celsius by 9.30 p.m.," an official of the India Meteorological Department said.

Following the dust storm, the mercury in the national capital dipped to 33.6 degrees around 5.30 p.m.

Earlier, the maximum temperature in Delhi was 39.2 degrees, one notch above the season's average while the minimum was 28.9 degrees, six notches above the season's average.

"Dusty winds will bring relief from a hot day and temperatures will come to normal as per the season's average for the next four to five days," IMD scientist Ravinder Vishen said.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 39 and 26 degrees respectively.

Friday's maximum settled at 40.2 degrees, two notches above the season's average, while the minimum was 28.9 degrees, six notches above the season's average.

On Thursday, the city recorded the hottest day of this year at a maximum of 43.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average.

Taking a lead in shunning VIP culture, Governor NN Vohra on Saturday ordered removal of red beacon and siren from all vehicles of the Raj Bhavan in Jammu and Kashmir.

A spokesman of the Raj Bhavan said that consequent to Government of India’s decision in the matter, the Governor directed that red lights and sirens on all Raj Bhavan vehicles at Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar should be removed forthwith.

The principal secretary to Governor disclosed that this had been got done in respect of all vehicles even though the Governor had never allowed use of red lights or sirens ever since he came to the state.

However, ministers, including those of BJP, and bureaucrats of the state government were continuing to use red beacons and sirens on their vehicles.

India's concerns over H1B visa related developments have been conveyed at the "highest quarters" in the US, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

The IT ecosystem is based upon "reciprocity" approach, and India neither creates boundaries nor appreciates boundaries, the minister said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Washington had met the Commerce Secretary of the US and conveyed the concerns.

"We are proud of the contribution of Indian IT companies in America and around the world. They have paid $22 billion as tax revenue in the last five years, they have created 400,000 jobs there, they have given value and competitive edge to nearly two-thirds of the fortune 500 companies," Prasad said.

He said the IT ecosystem is based up on reciprocity.

"Indian human resource contributes to USA's economy and many US companies also benefit here in Bengaluru and other parts of India who have Indian minds in creating their research products more competitively."

Prasad was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the interactive meeting with IT /ESDM industry organised by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).

To a question about protectionist noises being heard from Europe and other parts of the world and government's approach towards this, he said, "We are reaching out. But what I'm very confident about is the talent of Indian IT minds – that they will always keep the flag flying."

Earlier, addressing the meeting, Prasad said that today IT ecosystem is under some stress and pressure because of what is happening in the US.

Stating that the IT sector needs to acknowledge its own real strengths, he said the Indian IT industry has created a new form of confidence in India's human resources.

He said, "The DNA of technology does not count in its boundaries, and as far as we in India are concerned, we neither create boundaries, nor we appreciate boundaries."

"Indian IT companies don't steal jobs, they create jobs, wherever they go whether it is America or any part of the world." 

Noting that the Indian digital economy that includes communication, IT/ITES, e-commerce, digital payments is going to be $1 trillion, the minister said he is seeing India at the cusp of a big digital revolution.

"We missed the industrial revolution, we missed the entrepreneur revolution and we don't want to miss the digital revolution. We want to become leader in that, that is our fundamental philosophy," he said.

Highlighting that in the last two years, 72 mobile manufacturing factories had started production in India, Prasad said 42 are mobiles and 30 are components like battery and others.

He also said that the US-based iPhone maker Apple is again going to meet him in couple of days.

"They are very keen."

To a question by reporters on meeting with Apple executives, he said they are going to meet him. What was important is that India is a huge market and Make in India was basically for making in India for Indian market and also exporting it outside, he said.

"A lot of big mobile phone manufacturing companies have come, if Apple comes fine, they are welcome," he added.

Preparing delicious food can be quite a task, and delicious food may not be good for health. There are, however, food that are easy to prepare, delicious to eat and nutritious as well. One being a simple Arhar Dal-Palak recipe.

Including more pulses in your diet may improve your health, as it lowers the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. They are a good source of folate and high in protein and other essential nutrients. Use this delicious ultra-low fat recipe to eat your way to a healthy weekend.

Serves: 4; Preparation time: 15 minutes; Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Palak (Spinach) 1 ½ cups (chopped)

Arhar dal ½ cup

Garlic 1 clove (finely chopped)

Ginger ½ “(finely chopped)

Green chilli 1 (finely chopped)

Coriander leaves few (finely chopped)

Turmeric powder ½ tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Roasted cumin seed 1 tsp

Method:

Wash dal. Wash chopped palak thoroughly in running water.

Mix dal, palak, turmeric powder, salt, garlic, green chilli and ginger.

Add 2 ½ cups of water and pressure cook to give one whistle.

Keep on slow flame for two to three minutes.

Remove from fire.

Roast cumin seeds in a pan till it turns brown.

Add in hot dal. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with whole wheat chapaties.

Make pulses a healthy addition to your diet especially on the weekends when you prefer to eat home-made food. They are the mystery super foods with gigantic health benefits.

China's environmental authority on Saturday found over 2,800 companies in violation of standards during the first round of air pollution inspection.

Inspection teams in 28 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and nearby areas found 2,808 of the 4,077 companies breaking the rules, Xinhua news agency cited the Environmental Protection Ministry as saying.

Problems included unlicensed production, inefficient dust prevention and lack or malfunction of pollution treatment facilities, a statement said.

Inspectors also found that some enterprises which had been closed for violations illegally resumed production and some reported fake monitoring data.

Some companies refused the inspection or prevented inspectors from carrying out their duties.

The statement said the first round of inspection ended on April 20 and the second round had already started. There will be a total of 25 rounds this year.

The share of days with good air quality in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei rose by 14.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 66.3 per cent in March, even though the share declined in the first quarter, MEP data showed.

India and Indonesia have agreed to explore cooperation in areas like oil, coal, electricity and energy efficiency, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said.

"Two sides have agreed to explore cooperation in number of areas such as upgrading of refineries in Indonesia, relocation of gas-based plants from India to Indonesia, sharing of experience in use of LEDs and renewable energy in India, sharing the expertise of Indonesia in gasification of fuel oil, exploration of oil, gas and coal fields," Goyal said.

Goyal and Indonesian Energy and Mineral Minister Ignasius Jonan met on April 20 during the first 'India Indonesia Energy Forum' held in Jakarta.

According to a statement, Goyal requested Jonan to consider joining International Solar Alliance as Indonesia is a solar-rich country. He also requested Jonan to revisit changes in policy in coal sector and work visa.

Jonan said Indonesia is an important destination for investing, especially in energy and infrastructure sector.

He added that a team of 19 officials from oil and gas, coal and power sectors will be visiting India to look into several issues discussed during the Energy Forum, including relocation of gas-based plants and large scale use of LEDs.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (Indonesia) on cooperation in the field of oil and gas was signed on the occasion.

The MoU seeks to establish an institutional framework to facilitate and enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of oil and gas.

India is the third largest importer of coal from Indonesia. India's imports of coal from Indonesia amounted to $3.5 billion in 2016.

Several Indian companies have invested in coal mines in Indonesia. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $15.90 billion in 2015-16 with Indonesia s export to India amounting to $13.06 billion and India s exports to the country at $2.84 billion.

Leading oncologists from over 100 cancer hospitals have urged the prime minister to include bidi in the list of demerit goods under the GST regime, saying this low-cost tobacco product is the single largest cause of smoking-related deaths in the country.

The demand from leading oncologists and 108 cancer hospitals under the aegis of the state-funded National Cancer Grid (NCG), comes ahead of the GST Council meeting on Monday in the national capital that is likely to fix GST rates, including those on demerit goods.

The meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is also expected to finalise the fitment of various goods and services into five slabs under the GST regime.

The call follows media reports that the government may exclude bidi from the list of demerit goods and additional cess to protect the interest of tobacco farmers.

Oncologists from 108 cancer centres, led by Tata Memorial Centre, pleaded with Modi in a letter to end the serious anomaly of low tax on bidis in the Goods and Services Tax as bidi smoking alone kills as many as 6 lakh or 60 per cent of all cancer-related deaths annually.

The NCG is a network of 108 cancer hospitals, research institutes, patient groups, professional societies and charities and works towards uniform quality of cancer care across the country.

It is estimated that around 6 lakh cancer patients are treated annually at the NCG centres, which amounts to 60 per cent of the total cancer patients in the country.

Calling for putting all tobacco products, including bidis in the demerit goods list under GST and fixing a uniform tax on all tobacco items, R A Badwe, director at Tata Memorial Centre said: "The present tobacco taxation is much lower than the WHO recommended level. GST is a golden opportunity to correct this historical aberration in tobacco taxation.

"In the interest of citizens, especially future generations, we urge you to put all tobacco products, including bidis, in the category of demerit goods in the proposed GST structure and rates." 

Pramesh C S, cancer surgeon at the Tata Memorial hospital, which is the largest cancer facility in the country, and coordinator of the NCG said, "tobacco kills every third user prematurely and unfortunately every third adult uses some form of tobacco".

He said: "About 10 lakh die of tobacco-related diseases each year in the country and nearly 40 per cent of all cancer cases the country are attributable to tobacco usage. High taxation will certainly curb this epidemic." 

The letter pointed out that according to the Union health ministry, total economic cost attributable to tobacco use in 2011 was a staggering Rs 1.05 lakh crore or 1.16 per cent of the then GDP. It was 12 per cent more than the combined healthcare budgets of the Centre and states.

The total excise duty collected from tobacco was however only 17 per cent of this cost, Badwe said.

A uniform taxation on all tobacco products can be a first effective step to discourage its consumption, the letter said.

It concluded by saying that cancer cannot be defeated unless tobacco use is curtailed and termed tobacco-related deaths as man-made disasters.