March, 20182MIDNIGHT REPORTER

IAS IPS

Public Sector

Babudom

*Anjani Kumar Singh, IAS officer Bihar 1981 batch,who is presently posted as Chief Secretary, Govern-ment of Bihar, his tenure has been extended upto 31stMay 2018.

*The 1982 batch IAS officer of AM cadre, Jai PriyePrakash, Secretary in the Dept of Pharmaceuticals hasbeen given additional charge of the post of Secretary inthe Dept of Chemicals & Petrochemicals with the imme-diate effect.

*The 1982 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, PrabhasKumar Jha, Secretary, Department of Official Languagehas been given additional charge of the post of Secre-tary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs with the immedi-ate effect.

*The 1983 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, AmarjeetSinha has been given assignment of additional charge ofthe post of Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj withimmediate effect. He is presently posted as Secretary,Dept of Rural Development.

*The 1983 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre,Ms. Preeti Sudan, Secretary in the Department of Health& Family Welfare has been given assignment of addi-tional charge of the post of Secretary, Dept of HealthResearch with the immediate effect.

*The 1984 batch IAS officer of AM cadre, K. V. Eapenhas been given assignment of additional charge as Sec-retary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implemen-tation with immediate effect. He is currently working asSecretary, Department of Administrative Reforms andPublic Grievances.

*The 2005 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre,Sameer Shukla has been appointed as Private Secre-tary to the Minister of Steel, Sh. Birendra Singh Chaudharyat the level of Deputy Secretary.

*The 2002 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, Dr.Dinesh Arora has been appointed as Director for‘Ayushman Bharat’ Scheme in the Ministry of Health &Family Welfare for the balance period of his central depu-tation tenure

*The 1994 batch IAS officer of UT cadre, SharatChauhan has been given extension in tenure as Techni-cal Officer, Planning and Coordination, Grade 5 in WorldHealth Organization (WHO), New Delhi

*The 2008 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, AshimaJain has been appointed as Private Secretary to theMinister of State for Food Processing Industries, SadhviNiranjan Jyoti at the level of Deputy Secretary.

*Retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, P KMohanty has been appointed as Chairman, CooperativeCommission by Yogi Government.

*The 1989 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre,Dharmendra, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Housing& Urban Affairs has been given extension for the periodof three months.

*Rishi Kumar Shukla IPS officer Madhya Pradesh1983 batch, who is presently posted as Director Gen-eral of Police(DGP) Government of Madhya Pradesh,is likely to be appointed as DG CISF, Ministry of HomeAffairs, Government of India.

*Pankaj Kumar Srivastava IPS officer MadhyaPradesh 1992 batch, who is presently posted as IGP,Admn., PHQ, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Police, has beenrelieved from Madhya Pradesh Police to join centraldeputation as Joint Director, CBI.

*Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal, IPS officer AGMUT1997 batch, who is recently appointed as Director Se-curity Airport Authority of India(AAI), Ministry of CivilAviation, Government of India, has taken over chargeas Director Security Airport Authority of India, Ministryof Civil Aviation, Government of India.

*Nilabh Kishore IPS officer Punjab 1998 batch, whois presently posted as IG, Counter Intelligence, PunjabPolice, has been appointed as DIG, ITBP, Ministry ofHome Affairs, Government of India.

*The 1988 batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre,Zulfiquar Hasan has been given extension of deputa-tion tenure as IG, CRPF for the period of six monthsbeyond 11.03.2018.

*The 2006 batch IPS officer of Tripura cadre,Thirugnan Sambandan has been appointed to the postof First Secretary, at the Permanent Mission of India tothe United Nations in New York (PMI, New York) underthe Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

*Rajesh Kakkar, Executive Director, Oil & NaturalGas Cooperation Ltd(ONGC) has been appointed tothe post of Director(Offshore), ONGC.

*Mrs. Seema Gupta, Executive Director, Power GridCorporation of India Ltd(PGCIL) has been appointed asDirector(Operations), PGCIL.

*B. V. Rama Gopal, Executive Director, Indian OilCorporation Ltd(IOCL) has been appointed to the postof Director(Refineries), IOCL.

*Jagdish Chandra Nakra, Director(Projects), Engi-neers India Ltd has been appointed as Chairman &Managing Director, EIL.

*Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Executive Director inIndian Oil Corporation Ltd has been appointed to thepost of Director(Human Resources), IOCL.

*Rajive Kumar Singh has been appointed as Part-time Non Official Director under the Chartered Accountcategory on the Board of Union Bank of India.

*As many as two General Managers have beenappointed to the post of Executive Director. They are:Debashish Mukherjee of United Bank of India appointedED to Canara Bank and Murali Ramaswami of VijayaBank appointed to Vijaya Bank.

Pani takes over asIGP Kashmir

S w a y a mPrakash Pani, a2000-batch IndianPolice Service(IPS) officer, todaytook over as thenew inspector gen-eral of police (IGP)Kashmir Range,making him theyoungest officer tohold the post.

Pani (41), an IPS officer of the Jammu and Kashmircadre, took over the charge of the IGP Kashmir, a policeofficial said.

He said Pani is the youngest officer to hold the post ofthe IGP Kashmir and his name was cleared in a Cabinetmeeting chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti lastweek.

He replaced Munir Ahmad Khan, who was holding thecharge of the IGP Kashmir range, and has been appointedas additional director general of police (ADGP) securityand home guards, the official said.

Pani has served in key positions, including deputyinspector general of police, south Kashmir range, seniorsuperintendent of police, Kulgam and Kathua.

He has also served in the Intelligence Bureau andNational Investigation Agency (NIA).

Mundhe assumes chargeas Nashik municipal

commissionerIAS officer

Tukaram Mundhetook charge asthe Commis-sioner of NashikMunicipal Corpo-ration (NMC).

The 2005-batch officer wasearlier posted asthe Chairman andManaging Direc-tor of PuneMahanagar Pari-vahan Maha-mandal Ltd(PMPML).

After taking over the reins from the outgoing civicchief Abhishek Krishna, Mundhe immediately called ameeting of the heads of all departments at the municipalheadquarters. Before heading the PMPML in Pune,Mundhe was the Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Mu-nicipal Corporation (NMMC). A no-confidence motionhad been moved against him in 2016 during his stint asNMMC commissioner.

Jodi Ko ‘Shadi Mubarak’Sabi Ney Diya AashirwadShadi mubarak ! SP Sameer Sharma & Collector Amrapali Kata

wedlock at Jammu and Kashmir.The valentine couple planned theirwedding reception at Warangal and Hyderabad city. Presently Sameeris posted in Union Territory of Diu and Amrapali is posted at Warangaldistrict.When it comes to the officer’s fraternity the ‘officers jodis’ are innumbers, this trend of officers match is a common one and happensduring every marriage season in the officers fraternity.And because ofthe same work commitments the officer matches are quite successful.Chalo coming back to the news lets wish and bless the new coupleAmrapali & Sameer.Jodi ko shadi mubarak.

March, 20183MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Telangana Tourism Secretary B. Venkatesham is all set to givea big boom for forthcoming Telangana Tourism Conclave-2018 tobe held between June 28 and June 30, which will be organised inassociation with Federation of Telangana and Andhra PradeshChambers of Commerce and Industry.The conclave would high-light Telangana as a tourist destination and aims to give a push tobusiness-to-business category in tourism. “Singapore and HongKong are examples of cities surviving on tourism. Spain and Francehave more tourists coming into their country than their citizens.Tourism can vastly improve people's lives. We are trying to pushmedical tourism, where Hyderabad lags behind Delhi,” said Mr.Venkatesham. “Tourism is not about leisure or money. It is alsoabout livelihoods. Tourism in Telangana is a Rs. 50,000 crore busi-ness opportunity that has the potential to employ 10,000 people,”said the officer.

Excise Revenue Jumps -Thodi Thodi Piya Karo

The Excise department has recorded revenue of Rs.15,092 crore till February15, almost Rs.1,000 crore higher than the total revenue of Rs.14,184 crore duringthe previous financial year. This is big news that Excise department growth hasbeen increased drastically and this will go on. The versatile officer , Excise Depart-ment Principal Secretary Somesh Kumar must be happy with the growth graph.Andit’s a routine for the officer as where ever he will be posted, things happens.

Now it’s a suggestion from ‘Midnight Reporter’ in the public interest that the liquoris quite expensive now days, so drink but ‘thodi thodi piya karo’.

After the long wait and after many predications finallythe versatile officer Principal Secretary, Forest Depart-ment Dr.Rajat Kumar, IAS appointed as a Chief ElectoralOfficer (CEO) of Telangana State. The State governmentforwarded names of three officials to the Chief ElectionCommissioner (CEC) for selection and after short-listing,Rajat Kumar was picked for the post by the Election Com-mission of India and orders were issued in this regard.Afterthe term of officer Bhanwarlal the CEO post was vacantfrom a long period.The officer will be looking into forthcoming elections, a challenging task, which is acceptedby the officer. Best wishes.

Double bedroom scheme is the biggest and challengingtask for the state government, which is on headlines ever sinceits announcement.The versatile lady officer ChitraRamachandran, Special Chief Secretary for Housing is on toesto make the project success.Perfection, best quality and thecompletion of the sites on time is her priority, in fact she gotsucceed in earlier projects.The lady officer recently inspectedthe housing colony at Keesara, which is the second biggestongoing work.Where in an area of 41 acres, the houses will beconstructed in 52 blocks of stilt-plus-10-storied buildings withparking. Amazing one ! There will also be a facility of schools,bus-stands, hospitals, and shopping complex.Ms.Ramachandran directed the officials to take it up as modelcolony incorporating the latest technology.Kudos to the ladyofficer for her efforts and for her commitment.

Venkatesham In Lead Role -All Set For Tourism Conclave

Double Bedroom Scheme - Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani

Challenge Accepted - Rajat Is The Full-Fledged CEO

Joshi In Josh - Do Aankhen Barah Haath

The Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar Joshi is in full swing and desire to workmore in lesser time.That’s the reason the officer wish to come up with a systemwhere various files will be maintained at one place where entire information anddevelopment issues will be available.The officer also wants to put in place a systemin which official phone numbers of all IAS officers will remain with the post so thatthey can be easily accessible. Whereas the government proposes to set up acommand control room in the State Secretariat linking the databases available withall the departments so that the progress of various welfare and developmentalactivities could be monitored online. The offices right from that of the Chief Secretary,principle secretaries, heads of departments and district collectorates as well assenior officials at the district-level would be connected so that the officials at differentlevels could communicate with each other more effectively.

Live Test Match Is On -DGP Mahendar Dhoni’s Century

The hardcore top cop, DGP M.Mahendar Dhoni/Reddy has completed his cen-tury last month, as the officer took over the charge on 10th of November.And fromthe first day the officer is working every moment for the state police,no time and nospecial days, moving and working 24/7 hours.That’s the reason things are movingsmoother in perfect manner, it would be CMs meetings,VIPs visits, festivals, eventsor routine commitments, all is well in his regime.Many more fabulous things hap-pened and many more to come on screen soon.As the top cop is looking into thematters personally and monitoring the activities, that’s the reason no chance forerrors and faults. Kudos to Mahender Reddy,who always hits at boundary line.

4 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Boss Anurag Sharma got retired after serving 35years, but not yet retired with his thoughts/Sonch, en-thusiasm/Utsah, punctuality/Pabandi, Responsibility/Jimmedari, Commitments/Pratibadatha and Realistic/Yatharthdvadi. It’s just a variation of time, which havegone, but the junoon and the zazbaa are fresh. And thisis all because of nasha of khaki vardi, which will be withhim all the time.That’s why it is rightly said ‘Kya Hua JoVakt Ne Karwat Li - Mein Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga….!’Chaahat king size life jine ki, chaahat madad karney ki,Chaahat hasney aur hasaney ki, aur Chaahat logo keydilo mey apni jagah bananey ki. It’s an example that timecan change the things, but cannot change the qualities.It’s just a mind set, real things remains till last.

When it comes to swimming,cycling & running the energetic IPSofficer Rajiv Trivedi's( Prl. Secretary,Home Dept.) name comes first, theofficer who is just passionate whenit comes to fitness.The officer isagain in news for reaching the eventvenue as a chief guest by running19km's distance. Generally theguests moves to the events on ve-hicle, but to set an example and alsoto bring awareness in the people tobe fit, the officer with his son Prashantran to attend the Dikshant Parade of355 Armed Reserve Recruit Con-

This time on the occasion of valentine day ‘Wet &Dry Waste divorce day’ celebrated in almost all thecircle offices and zones. Various programmes arrangedin parks and at various important junctions to createawareness among the citizens about segregation ofwet and dry garbage. How’s that, what a idea sirji.Amazing, how the baldiya boss gets this kind of uniquethoughts.

As per the directions of GHMC Commissioner BJanardhan Reddy, the officials requested the citizens,NGOs to down load Swachh Dooth app on top priorityand an SMS on importance of Swachh Survekshan.The citizens were also informed about SwachhSurvekshan survey teams who would visit all the 150wards. He also directed the people to be alert and tocoordinate with the team for proper response.

Commissioner appealed the students, citizens todial 1969 and to give a missed call and help Hyderabadto bag on top position. He, in turn, informed the citi-zens that they will get a call back and they need toanswer the questions correctly for Hyderabad to be inthe top position in Swachh Survekshan-2018.

Lets applaud to TSWREIS Secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar, whois now planning to open a school exclusively for students from themarginalised sections to prepare them for careers in the Armedforces.This is going to be one of the wonderful initiative in comingdays. Recruitment of retired officers from the Indian Army, AirForce and Navy is currently under way and they would be given afree hand to decide the academic curricula and other activitiesnecessary in preparing the youngsters to join the Armed forcesthrough National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla,Pune.Said Praveen Kumar. “People from the marginalised sectionshave very low representation in the Armed forces. A few are sol-diers, but their number in the officers’ category is dismal. Our effortis to prepare them to enter the NDA so that they can becomeofficers and serve the nation,” he stated.

“In the beginning boys will be facing the exams and soon will

stables from his residence , Jubilee Hills to Petlaburj in the morning time.Where the officersand the participants grand welcomed the officer.In fact it was a memorable happening and agreat experience for the new recruit police personals. Amazing one !

Mahesh Bhagwat alias Marvelous Bhagwat.Twoincidents which has proved the Rachakonda PoliceCommissioner as tough Mahesh Bhagwat and aswell as Marvelous Bhagwat, which took placerecently.Goud family from Hayathnagar area ap-proached the police commissioner as some of theunknown people were trying to encroach theirland.Officer immediately passed on the directions tothe concerned station master and in just 6 hours thecase is solved.The Goud family with tears in theireyes met the officer thanked him for saving theirland.That’s Mahesh Bhagwat ! Till now many of themmight know that the officer is a guru for the hundredof aspirants from various states, who are preparingfor civil exams.Yes, its true with his guidance numberof students cleared the civils and many are in thequeue.The officer with the help of whats upp groupsguides the students and guidance from a currentofficer is like a ‘Glucon D’ for them. Superb initiative !This zeal of helping students in view to build and thestrengthen the Nation is remarkable.That’s Marvel-ous Bhagwat.One screen-two shows.

Charu Sinha, IG Training will be soon joining the centralservices as Inspector General with the Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF).The lady officer is the best performer and knownto as a sincere officer in the officer’s fraternity.Apart from theroutine commitments the lady officer has worked tremendousfor the awareness of ‘child sexual abuse’, the special cam-paign hit the screen on the state level, in which thousands ofchildren’s and the parents were educated with various means.This is the cause which has a need of big push and the ladyofficer put all her efforts to spread the message.Kudos to herefforts. The lady officer will be serving in CRPF for next fiveyears.Best wishes.

19 Kms Of Run - In The Morning Sun

Anand Moving After Making A Big Boom

Tremendous Work By Charu -Soon To Join CRPF

Another Initiative From by Praveen Kumar -Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo

Officer CV.Anand, the hit man, who began the drive against corrup-tion in the Civil Supplies Department as a Commissioner will soon moveto Delhi to join as CISF, IG. Amazing is after the orders the officer did theoutstanding work for the department by completing all IT projects-eposin 17,000 shops and establishing command control centers in 31districts.Before moving he rushed to the districts, this is called pakkacommitment ! Anand brought several reforms in PDS in his 18-monthtenure and could save over Rs 1,200 crore to state exchequer byforming special enforcement teams to carry raids on rice mills, rationshops indulging in diversion of PDS stocks. The government appointedAnand as a civil supplies commissioner and the officer took the taskover and not just squeezed the corruption, but ensured the streamliningof the distribution system. The officer will be serving for next five years inthe central deputation.Best wishes to the hit man moving after a big boom.

also have another school for girls. We have been encouraging our boys and girls to do well incourses other than engineering and medicine,” said Mr. Kumar. Now TSWREIS students willbe seen in armed forces, Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo.....!

Kya Hua Jo Vakt Ne Karwat Li-Mein Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga

Janardhan’s Jingle Make The Wave -

Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se Mainey Deka Jo SawreyBade Saaf Nazar Aye, Bade Saaf Nazar Aye…

One Screen - Two ShowsThat’s Mahesh Bhagwat

5 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Public SectorNMDC’s Spectacular FinancialPerformance

· Turnover (9M) - Up by 30% to Rs.7732 Cr as againstRs.5958 Cr during CPLY

· Profit Before Tax (9M) - Up by 37% to Rs.4187 Cr asagainst Rs.3,062 Cr during CPLY

· Profit After Tax (9M) - Up by 30% to Rs.2700 Cr asagainst Rs.2,077 Cr during CPLY

· Iron ore production (9M) - Up by 3% to 24.23 MT asagainst 23.63 MT during CPLY

NMDC’s turnover up to 9 months for the year 2017-18is Rs.7732 Cr, Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs.4187 Cr andProfit After Tax (PAT) of Rs.2700 Cr representing an in-crease of 30% in turnover, 37% in PBT and 30% in PATrespectively over the corresponding period last year (CPLY).

The Company’s production of iron ore for 9 months forthe year 2017-18 is 24.23 Million Tonnes (MT) registeringan increase of 3% over CPLY while sales of iron ore was

25.54 MT which is marginal decrease of 1% over CPLY.NMDC has posted a turnover of Rs.2469 Cr, representing a marginal decrease of 1% over

CPLY. NMDC has recorded PBT of Rs.1377 Cr and PAT of Rs.887 Cr in the 3rd quarter of 2017-18 which is up by around 50% & 49% respectively over CPLY.

The Company’s production of iron ore during the 3rd quarter is 8.56 MT registering adecrease of 12% over the corresponding CPLY while sales of iron ore was 8.06 MT which isabout 20% less than that of the CPLY.

The 3rd quarter results for 2017-18 were approved by the Board of Directors of the Com-pany under the Chairmanship of Shri N. Baijendra Kumar, IAS in its meeting held on 13.02.2018.

During 6th October 2017 to 12th December 2017, there was disruption in Railway Line ofBailadila Sector, resulting in lower despatches during the said period.

“Your faith on NMDC is visible during its Offer for Sale which is subscribed by almost 600%which itself is a big achievement, for which NMDC is grateful to all its stakeholders” said Shri N.Baijendra Kumar, IAS.

NLCIL Organises National FinanceSeminar-2018

The 2nd National FinanceSeminar “Enriching KnowledgeSharing through sharing of bestpractices in Financial Manage-ment and Corporate Gover-nance on Emerging Markets” isbeing organized with The Insti-tute of Costs Accountants of In-dia, The Institute of CharteredAccounts of India and the Insti-tute of Company Secretaries ofIndia knowledge partners. Theinaugural function was orga-nized in Learning & DevelopmentCentre, Neyveli.

V. Lakshmikumaran,Founder and Managing Partner of Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys, the Chief Guest, inhis inaugural address, stated that, transparency is the fundamental element of good gover-nance. One should achieve goals through the means of Accountability, Responsibility, Dexter-ity, under the purview of law & regulations and following his own conscience.

Dr. S.K Acharya, CMD, NLCIL in his presidential message, informed that as part of corpo-rate governance, it doesn’t matter how many decisions we have taken, but What matters mostis, how we implement those decisions righteously and that too in an efficacious manner byredefining our goals and by changing our roles in given situation abiding law and ethics.

Dr. P.V.S Jagan Mohan Rao, Vice President, South Asian Federation of Accountants andDr.P.V.S Ahalada Rao, Vice President, (ICSI) in their special addresses stated that, CorporateGovernance is nothing but Intellectual honesty for genuine results, where ultimately ethics andintegrity prevail.

To mark the occasion an e-seminar souvenir was released by V. Lakshmikumaran and thefirst copy was received by Dr. Acharya.

NBCC Q3 Profit RisesBY 29.40%

NBCC (India) Ltd., the Stateowned Navratna Enterpriseunder the Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs, has regis-tered 29.40% consolidated in-crease in PAT (Profit After Tax)at Rs. 73.98 Crore for the Third

Quarter ended December 2017, compared to Rs.57.17 Crore in the same quarter last year. The com-pany has registered a consolidated growth of 29.05%in EBITDA of Rs 75.52 Crore in Q3FY17-18 asagainst an EBITDA of Rs 58.52 Crore in Q3FY16-17. Consolidated total income from the operationsof the Company is Rs.1511.51 Crore. The Board ofDirectors in a meeting today approved the financialresult of the company for the quarter and nine monthended on December 31, 2017. The Board also ap-proved splitting of company’s equity share of facevalue of Rs 2/- each into 2 (two) shares of facevalue Rs 1/- each. The Board will also consider thepayment of interim Dividend in the Board Meetingscheduled to be held. Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal, CMDsaid “The Company’s strategic move of expandingbeyond its traditional scope of businesses, identify-ing new revenue streams, entering new marketsand securing high value projects, has reflected inthis financial result.” “Going forward, the companyis going to pursue a multipronged approach of car-rying out a sustainable and profitable businessmodel.” he added.

Coal India net profit up 4.21% in Q3Coal India reported a 4.21 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to

Rs 3,004.79 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2017, as com-pared to Rs 2,883.27 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue from opera-tions during the quarter under review was at Rs 21,643.28 crore, down by1.6 per cent from Rs 22,000.79 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2016-17.

The state miner said its total expenses during the December quarterstood at Rs 17,873.93 crore, down by 5.4 per cent from Rs 18,907.17crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal.

Post applicability of Goods and Services tax from July 1, 2017, rev-enue from operations are disclosed net of GST, and accordingly, the rev-enue from operations and total expenses for the quarter are not compa-rable with the previous periods, it said. However, it reported that its em-

ployee benefit expense in the third quarter of the current fiscal increased by 6.3 per cent to Rs8,753.21 crore as compared to Rs 8,231.79 crore in the corresponding period of the previousfiscal. In a filing to the stock exchanges, it said the employee benefit expenses for the quarterincludes an adhoc provision of Rs 67.79 crore towards pay revision of the executive employees.

After a long negotiation, Coal India management and workers’ unions, in last October, hadsigned the wage agreement for non-executive employees and this would be effective for fiveyears till June 30, 2021.The miner had said the wage hike would have an estimated averageannual impact of Rs 5,667 crore.During the three months ended December 31, its tax expensewas at Rs 1,605.19 crore as against Rs 1,274.21 crore in the corresponding three months ofprevious fiscal.

NALCO’s Q3 registers highest-evernet profit in 10 years

The National Aluminium Company Limited(NALCO) has achieved a record net profit of Rs722 crore in the third quarter ended December2017, the company said on Friday.

The company has been able to break the high-est-ever net profit figures in a quarter during the last ten years. NALCO declared its financialresults for the third quarter of the financial year 2017-18 at the Board meeting held at Bhubaneswar.

NALCO has achieved a record net profit of Rs 722 crore (growth of 207 per cent), as againstRs 235 crore in the preceding quarter and Rs 144 crore in the corresponding quarter of theprevious fiscal, said a company statement.

The net sales in the third quarter were Rs 2,360 crore. Similarly, the net profit for the ninemonths ended December 2017 works out to Rs 1,085 crore (growth of 171 per cent), against thecorresponding figure of Rs 400 crore for the previous fiscal, the statement added. The net salesfor the nine months of the fiscal are Rs 6,538 crore as compared to Rs 5,071 crore in thecorresponding period of the last financial year, said the statement. NALCO has also achievedrecord growth in production on all fronts. During the first nine months of the current fiscal,NALCO achieved production of 54.40 lakh tonnes of bauxite, as compared to 53.23 lakh tonnesachieved during the comparable period of the previous fiscal.

Gail’s Q3 net profit up over 28%Natural gas utility major Gail (India) on Monday reported a rise of over

28 per cent in its net profit for the third quarter of 2017-18. According to thecompany, its net profit increased to Rs 1,262.22 crore crore from Rs 982.92crore reported during the corresponding period of FY17.

The company further said that its Board has recommended the “issu-ance of one bonus share of Rs 10 for existing three equity shares of Rs 10each fully paid up, subject to the shareholders approval”

BHEL’s Q3 standalone net up 64%State-run power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy

Electricals (BHEL) on Thursday reported a 63.77 per cent rise inits standalone net profit to Rs 153.19 crore during the third quarter(Q3) of 2017-18. The company’s net profit in Q3 2016-17 wasreported at Rs 93.54 crore.

During the period under review, the total income of the com-pany stood at Rs 6,763.84 crore - up 0.37 per cent - from Rs6,738.60 crore reported in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

“The Board has declared and approved payment of interim dividend at 40 per cent (Rs 0.80per share) on the paid up share capital of the company for FY 2017-18. Interim dividend shall bepaid/dispatched on February 28, 2018,” the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.

The company’s shares on the BSE rose by 1.60 per cent to close at Rs 95.45 per scrip.

6 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Ayurvedic Approach to Knee Pain: EasyTips and Home Remedies

Aching knee joints is a common health disorder globally. Thepain in the joints can be attributed to a ton of factors too numerous tocount. Some of the most common reasons for knee pain includeinjury, degeneration, arthritis, infection, dislocated kneecap, osteoar-thritis, bursitis, bone chips and tendonitis to name a few.

The severity of knee pain depends on the disorder and environ-ment and may vary from person to person. Some of the commonsymptoms may include unbearable pain in joints, tenderness, stiff-ness, locking, and sometimes an effusion. However, knee pain canalso be caused by minor sprain or contusion which may vanish withproper rest and some simple and easy Ayurvedic home remediesproviding deep and prompt pain relief.

EASY AYURVEDIC HERBAL TREATMENTS AND REMEDIESTURMERICTurmeric is a widely researched, and commonly used spice in India with amazing antiseptic and healing

properties. Called as the 'golden wonder', turmeric can be used to treat numerous ailments, especially inflamma-tion, helping you to recover from joint pains and arthritis.

GINGERGinger is an important herb in Ayurveda for rejuvenation and healing. Best known for its anti-inflammatory

properties, Ginger can be included in your daily diet. Application of ginger oil as well as drinking ginger tea can alsoprove effective results.

ASHWAGANDHAAshwagandha is a Sanskrit tern translating to "smell of horse". It is believed that a person who consumes this

herbal medicine will gain horse-like strength and vitality. Studies show that the extract of this Ayurvedic herb is aneffective anti-inflammatory medicine.

SHATAVARIThe healing qualities of Shatavari is highly beneficial to treat an array of ailments. Shatavari also has anti-

inflammatory properties, helps in reducing symptoms like cramps and pain and increases knee flexion.TRIPHALATriphala, the “nectar of life”, is a traditional Ayurvedic formulation with amazing healing powers. The herbs in

triphala have anti-inflammatory effects and helps in speeding the healing process in the body. It provides nutrientsthat help strengthen your bones and flush out excess uric acid, which can lead to inflammation, thus providing relieffrom gout, joint pain, arthritis, and other problems.

MASSAGEThere are many types of massage that can benefit people with knee pain. Massage helps relieve pain in the

muscles, relax surrounding the joints, decrease stress, release stiffness and allow for better range of motion andmobility.

EXERCISEYoga is an ancient, natural and effective joint pain relieving technique that strengthens the body. There are many

simple yoga asanas that can help you get rid of joint pain easily and manage arthritic conditions. It is also extremelyhelpful when you're living with symptoms like back pain, stiffness and inflammation.

These Ayurvedic home treatments are effective and provide intense relief for rheumatic pains, joint pains,swelling, muscular pain and knee pain and also help to control arthritis and spondylitis without side-effects.However, in case of intense and intolerable pain, consult your Ayurvedic physician immediately before proceedingwith any home treatments or massages.

All students in Telangana to get health cardsThe State government has decided to con-

duct health tests for over 30 lakh students acrossthe State and issue health cards to them from thenext academic year. Accordingly, the Health De-partment officials had been directed to start com-prehensive health check-ups for students fromJuly and complete the process within six months.This would be followed by issue of health cardsto the students.

Hygiene kits: In addition, the government will distribute health and hy-giene kits to close to eight lakh students enrolled in the SC/ST/BC/minorityresidential educational institutions, KGBVs, government high schools andother institutions. The decisions were announced by Deputy Chief MinisterKadiyam Srihari and Health Minister C. Lakshma Reddy after a reviewmeeting with senior officials on Wednesday.

The Ministers directed the officials of the Health and Education depart-ments to prepare a joint action plan for ensuring that there were no studentsin the state who were left uncovered by the scheme. Officials should ac-cordingly prepare and release institution-wise schedules for the health testsso that all students in the State were covered under the first-of-its kindprogramme in the country, the Ministers said. The government was alreadydistributing health kits to more than 3 lakh girl students through the Educa-tion Department and efforts should be made to cover the remaining 5 lakhstudents enrolled in these institutions.

Niti Aayog Health Index puts Telanganaat 12th position

Telangana state has taken a beating in the health sector and beenplaced in the 12th position in the Niti Aayog Health Index, five spots behindAndhra Pradesh. TS has fared the worst in terms of the indicator assessingthe timely flow of funds to implementing agencies i.e. the number of days ittakes for funds to be transferred from the state treasury to state healthsocieties, which has increased from 70 to 287. The Healthy States, Pro-gressive India report which was released by Niti Aayog on Friday, enliststhe performance of all states and union territories with respect to a range ofhealthcare indicators. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh feature on thelist of larger states, which contains 21 states. States have been givenincremental ranks on the basis of their performance in 2015-16 with respectto the base year 2014-15. While Andhra Pradesh saw an increment inindicators of health by 2.41 units, Telangana only saw an increment of 0.45units. Though both states feature on the achievers’ list, Telangana alsofeatures on the list of states showing the least improvement and AndhraPradesh features on the list of states showing moderate improvement.

Illiterate Rickshaw Puller From Assam Sets up 9Schools for Village Children!

The three most common reasons for children drop-ping out of schools in India have been poverty, availability,and accessibility to schools. When a family is financiallyunstable ensuring that the children go to school is fardown on their list of priorities. The protagonist of this storyis Ahmed Ali, a rickshaw-puller from Madhurbond villageunder Patherkandi circle of Karimganj district, Assam,who had to drop out of school ages ago due to the pov-erty-stricken conditions he and his family suffered. Thisman has made it his life’s mission to ensure that everychild in his village who wishes to study does so withouthaving to drop out due to unavailability of funds.

Over the course of the last four decades, this sep-tuagenarian has established nine schools - three lowerprimary schools, five middle schools and a high school inMadhurbond and its adjoining areas.

Ali’s target is to establish ten educational institutions.With nine already set up, he now wants to establish acollege in the area. “I am getting old and want to make myvillage a developed one through education,” he said. “Illit-eracy is a sin, the root cause of all ills. Most families faceproblems because of lack of education,” he said.

At a time when everyone jumps into philanthropy onlyto have their name everywhere, Ahmed has just one of the nine schools named after him. That also, because of theinsistence of the villagers who urged him to do so.

Lauding the septuagenarian’s philanthropic work, Paul said Ali was a “rare personality” and announced havingsanctioned Rs 11 lakh for the development of Ahmed Ali High School from the multi-sectoral development programmefund under the Union ministry of minority affairs, reported the publication. Here’s hoping that Ahmed fulfils his dreamof setting up ten schools and also goes beyond that and sets up many more.

Class 10 minimum qualification for Level 1posts: Railways

The Railways relaxed the rules for those applying for the posts of porters,gate men, helpers and other Level 1 jobs, going back to the criteria it followedtill last year.

Railway minister Piyush Goyal said candidates for these jobs have to cleartheir Class 10 exams.

The Railways in its recruitment advertisement had set a minimum educa-tional qualification of Class 10 and an ITI certificate for railway apprenticeshipor equivalent for its 62,907 Level 1 posts for track maintainers, points men,helpers, gate men, porters and others, but has now made the technical certifi-cation optional.

"We realised that we have not given candidates enough time to know thatthe criteria have changed, so we relaxed the qualifications needed to Class 10.We have a robust training programme which we plan to strengthen further. Sothere should be no problems," the minister said.

The minimum educational qualifications for all Level 1 posts were class 10 or ITI or equivalent till July, 2017. InJuly, 2017, for many of these Level 1 posts, the minimum educational qualification was changed to class 10 plusan ITI certification or equivalent.

Koti Women's College to be upgradedinto Telangana Women's University

The 94-year-old KotiWomen’s Collage will be up-graded into Telangana Women’sUniversity ,declared deputychief minister and educationminister Kadiyam Srihari dur-ing a surprise visit to the col-lege on Thursday.

In a press release issuedby the minister’s office, the col-lege will be upgraded from the

ensuing academic year after seeking approval from Telangana chief minis-ter K Chandrasekhar Rao. The minister has sought a report from the highereducation department officials on the facilities required to upgrade thecollege into a university within a month.

During the visit, the minister also spoke to students and enquired aboutthe quality of education at the college. He inspected various facilities suchas the library, building, classrooms etc. of the college which is spread over40 acres of land.

The minister expressed his concerns over the absence of a women’suniversity in Telangana. “The proposal to set up a women’s university wasrecently floated in a meeting with union minister of human resource devel-opment Prakash Javdekar. We are hopeful that the central government willhelp us in doing so,” said Srihari.

Telangana education minister seeksIIM for Hyderabad

Telangana deputy chief minister and education minister Kadiyam Sriharisought an IIM in Hyderabad from the union minister of human resourcedevelopment Prakash Javadekar.

The proposal to sanction an IIM in Hyderabad was made during ameeting held at New Delhi. During the meeting, Srihari submitted the Cen-tral Advisory Board of Education sub-committee report on girl child educa-tion to the union minister. Srihari headed the CABE sub-on girl child educa-tion. According to a press release issued by the minister's office, the sub-committee has recommended provision of mid-day meals and uniforms upto intermediate level. He further proposed to set-up Gurukul schools forgirls belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe in Telangana. "In modelschools, the number of students must be increased from 100 to 200," readthe press release. He further explained the necessity to extend KasturbaGandhi Balika Vidyalayas up to class 12. "To curb child marriages and toreduce dropout rate among girls, KGBV's will play a crucial role," saidSrihari. Javadekar responded positively to the recommendation submittedby Srihari on behalf of CABE sub-committee.

7MIDNIGHT REPORTER March, 2018

Time to discuss about Neeraja Reddy, the young hap-pening interior designer, who has set her own identity in theinterior designing industry in a very short time.Neeraja aliasN-designz, the firm which is known for both modern looksand traditional interiors.

N-designz- An expert in interior designing and contrac-tors deliver a chic, refined interiors with luxurious finisherand occasional bursts of daring colours or moderngeometrics.They have extensive and versatile body rangesfrom interior design of residences corporate office ,retailspaces etc. Which is functining in the highly competitive andever changing Indian markets for the past 2 years. Underthe very able guidance of its founder of Neeraja Reddy.

Neeraja a dynamic yet thoughtful designer whose workis invariably modern, with an electric twist, she likes to de-scribe her designers as "creative and playful". She alsolikes to deliver a project with a sense of the unexpected, butrespecting her client’s personalities. She firmly believe thatgood client relationships improve the creative process andexecutives a slick, Modern look or traditional interiors withequal confidence. N-designz work is about producing con-temporary, classic, modern design with transitional notes,creating serene timeless and elegant designs in interiors.

Neeraja said , we love discovering our client’s visionand approach, each project with an open mind to createsomething UNIQUE .Our interest in global and local trendsin fashion, lifestyle, travel and design is reflected in ourvaried palette of retail spaces, breweries, restaurants andresidential projects. Standing tall on its philosophy of estab-lishing a superior eye or DESIGN DETAIL and DEMEANOR.

N-designz : For modernlooks & traditionalinteriors

Shriram Properties looking atstressed assets in real estate

Bengaluru-based Shriram Properties is looking at stressed assets in the realestate sector as part of its growth plans, besides interests in affordable and mid-housing projects, a company official said.

The company was in the process of setting up an integrated township project--Shriram Grand City--near the metropolis on 314 acres of land, which belonged tothe now-closed Hindustan Motors at Uttarpara in Hooghly district.

MD of Shriram Properties M Murali today said the company was eager forbuy-out of stressed assets in real estate, especially in the southern states of India.Shriram Grand City, which would have 25,000 units upon completion of the entireproject, is the largest project of the company in a single location.

He said that 1,200 units out of a total of 2,348 had been sold out in the firstphase, to be built at a cost of Rs 650 crore.

Shriram has also tied up for a school project with Sri Sri Academy inside thetownship.

Sumitomo Corporation joinshands with Krishna Group

Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation has entered into a partner-ship with Gurgaon-based Krishna Group to venture into the Indian real estatesector. Both corporations have formed a joint venture, Krisumi Corporation, todevelop real estate projects across the country. Both partners will have a 50:50stake in the JV company.

Announcing the partnership, Ashok Kapur, Chairman, Krishna Group, said,"The biggest challenge facing the Indian real estate industry today is with regardto quality, efficiency and commitment to timelines, all of which is exactly whatJapan is known for - Japan is already beyond RERA. We are certain that ourpartner, Sumitomo Corporation, part of the 400 year old Sumitomo Group, withtheir extensive Global experience in real estate development shall contributetremendously in creating projects with endearing value for our clients as well asthe local communities around it."

The first project to be undertaken by the joint venture will be Krisumi City. Thetotal build-up area of the project is expected to measure over 18 million squarefeet. The Krisumi City will be developed in different phases over 4-5 years. Theproject will be developed on a 65-acre plot in Sector 36A of Gurgaon with aninvestment exceeding $2 billion.

8 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Publisher/Printer/Editor/Owner: Dr. CHAITANYA SINGH, Printed at COLOUR GRAPHICS, 3-1-351, Nimboliadda, Kachiguda Station Road, Hyderabad - 500 027, Telangana State.Published at H.No. 13-6-249/3, Jafferguda Post Kulsumpura, Karwan, Hyderabad-06, Telangana State. Cell : 8008175000. E-mail : mrnewseditor@yahoo.com.

Dil Chahta HaiOn Women’s Day

Kavya Priya Vazrala-You can do almost anything

ur mind to.You can swim the deep-est ocean and climb the highestpeak,be a doctor or fly a plane youcan face adversity and still walktall. You are strong, beautiful ,com-passionate and much more thanwords could ever say. Today isyour 's & so is every other day -happy women s day.

If u ask me wish, I can sayhealthy woman can build ahealthy nation.

Message like wish - becomeaddicted to bettering urself , loveyourself ,accept yourself self ,pri-orities yourself self - no obstaclecan set a woman back.

Shubhi K Shah-Women is symbol of Power,

God’s finest & beautiful creationwithout whom no creation is pos-sible. One who gives birth & nur-ture . So whenever I have a chanceof rebirth, I would wish to be awoman again.

Rekha Uppaluri-“Empower - to restore dignity and the inherent

power of girls and women, which has been deniedand stripped away for generations”.

Vandana Mahajan-As I have seen so many videos on

FB about valentine's day , where men'sand women's are beating the couple's, and in one of the video few men holdthe guy and in front of him they rapedhis girlfriend. That was so sad to see. Iwish I could do something for that .ButI feel ashamed to be in this societywhere people treat a girl like a toy

I don't understand what was hermistake , she was with her boyfriendthat's it. We celebrate women's day,but 99% people don't respect women.

There is no use of celebratingwomen's day , where girls are beingraped, women's are beaten up by theirhusbands. How can it will be a incred-ible India.I don't think we should cel-ebrate mother's day or women's day,when one cannot respect them.

Urvashi Vasant-One is not born woman,

one becomes one.A women is like a" TEA

BAG " you never know howstrong she is until she getsinto hot water.!

Swetha AJ Ravuri-I firmly believe a women as

a great influence in our soci-ety, So my wish on this daywould be that every womendeserves to be loved and livedby choice.

Deepika Sarode-Women have started to take

off to reach the skies and beyondand would love to see morewomen join that league.

Reddy G Mounika-“Women who give meaning

to life and girls should neverbe afraid to be smart”

Aakanksha KediaTolasariya-

On this Women’s day my wishis “I should be a feel good factorfor all the women I know N who existin my life”.

Pranathi Bhanu-Now that I employed a set

of women staff and training afew more. My wish this womensday is to get another 20 womenon board and make them standbrave and independent.

Suvarna Sharma-As a women I want rape free

country and a very strict lawagainst women molesters andsecond Mental health for women,as women are getting prone tomental illness in terms of stressand depressions.If they arestrong, the entire home is strongand feels secure.

Manju Reddy-Women’s Day is the day to pay trib-

ute to every Woman and to salute herimmense contribution in shaping thesociety. Happy women’s day.

9MIDNIGHT REPORTER March, 2018

‘Mrs. India Telangana’ Fervor Is On

Mrs. India Telangana is on the cards now,which is a unique initiative aimed to promotethe culture and traditions of Telangana throughwomen empowerment by breaking the stereo-types about beauty.Mrs.Mamta Trivedi-theMrs.Asia International World-2017 title winner isbehind this pageant,which aims to identify ‘beau-tiful souls’ that create role-models for the soci-ety. The pageant will be a CSR initiative, for theupliftment of women and girls child. Mamta hasadded more feathers to her profile, includingClassic Mrs.India-2017 and also bestowed withsub-title as ‘Mrs.Incredible.’ So, ladies be pre-pared to rock on the ramp….!

Event Of The Month -Yuva Nation Fest-Yi, Hyderabad Chapter organized ‘Yuva Nation Fest-2018’ at Sri Satya Sai

Nigamagamam. Apart from the fest various competition were announced inwhich collage students in numbers participated and showed their talent.Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat,IPS inaugurated the festand gave the inspirational speech. In the picture special guest AyyappaNagubandi, Chapter Chair Sandeep Rathi, Co-Chair Naman Baldawa and PastChair D.P.Chandrashekar can also be seen with Mr.Bhagwat.

Vinita In Lead RoleIts news that the young entrepreneur

Vinita Surana is all set to play a big role,yes Vinita has been appointed as the Chair-person of Young FICCI Ladies Orga-nisation, Hyderabad Chapter ,which isknown to be one of the reputed businessplatform for young ladies entrepreneur ofHyderabad. YFLO is a unique platform foryoung women from diverse professionaland entrepreneurial backgrounds to inter-act with each other, learn, explore new av-enues and launch their ideas in a support-ive and nurturing environment.So, underthe chair of Vinita many more happeningsto take place, keep your fingers crossed toknow about it n coming days.

Thumbs Up Aamer-It’s celebration time for Aamer

Javeed, as the young congressleader is appointed as TelanganaState Secretary for AICC ResearchDepartment by All India CongressCommittee (AICC). The ResearchDepartment aims to bolster theparty’s stand in country as a stron-ger opposition. The Research De-partment will provide ammunitionto senior leadership in the Stateon current issues, fact check theopposition and further stretch itsfeathers on social media tocounter false claims. Many moreto come in coming days….! Goodluck Aamer.

Birds Ka Buddy-Towards maintaining the ecological balance,

Satti Rama Chandra Reddy is doing his bit,byconserving the dwindling bird species.Birds area natural enemy to the insects and rodents, whichif not kept under check will destroy the entireforest. They are also among the primary seed car-riers, a phenomenon known as pollination.

Through placing artificial nest boxes on treesand buildings, He is giving home for birds to nestand breed in the urban areas. He provides mixedfood grains and water on his terrace for spar-rows, crows & pigeons. Not confining this activ-ity to himself, he has started gifting nest boxesto people on various occasions (Birthday, Mar-riage, New Year). He choose this was to enlightenand encourage others as well. Amazing !

Warm Greetings To The LeaderThe entire state celebrated the birth day of

Telangana State Chief Minister KCR garu, offcourse the versatile leader deserves the honor,greetings and blessings, who has pulled-upTelangana as best state in the country.Duringthe celebration the SK News, Editor SureshKasyap had an opportunity to meet & greet thevisionary chief minister.Lucky chap….!

Puja’s Party-Celebration time ! Occasion Puja

Chandak’s birth day !Where most ofthe known feminine’s of the towngathered to have a blast. Offcourse itwas a fun filled night.In the clickSuchita Ahuja captured with Puja…!

Dr.Rafee ‘On Screen’Senior journalist and editor of Kala magazine,

Mohammad Rafee has been honoured with the degree ofHonorary Doctorate in Journalism from the InternationalPeace University, Germany. The doctorate is recognized bythe Global Accreditation Council, UK. Dr.Rafee, who wasthe recipient of Kala Ratna Award, was special correspon-dent with HMTV for about two years.He received over 140awards from various organisations from state and abroadas the best journalist.Best wishes !

‘Mother India’ On Real ScreenMother India is a 1957 Indian epic drama

film, directed by Mehboob Khan, which is stillin the minds of the people. Now after the reelscreen let’s talk about real screen ’Mother In-dia Charity Trust’, which is quite in discussionin the town for its social initiatives. Till dateFounder Praveen, Co-Founder Sunaina andtheir team visited numbers of old age homesand orphan centers and provided food andmedicines to the needy. ‘Joy of giving home-made food for elders’ is Trust’s main motto.

‘WOW’ Is Really ‘WOW’- ‘WOW’ a new kitty is being formed to make aware the new

happenings, technique of fitness, to celebrate the occasions andto add on more happiness in the lives. Neha Sanghi, Aditi Talreja,Namita Kankaria & Shilpa Agarwal,the four pillars founded thekitty with eighteen members.Way to go…..!

10 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

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11 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Tourism

Turkey eyes Indian weddings to prop up tourism industryLavish wedding parties thrown by wealthy Indians at posh seafront hotels in Turkey have come to make headlines in the local media in recent years. Though Turks themselves are known

as big spenders on weddings, the flamboyance of million-dollar Indian celebrations has fascinated the Turkish media, which often recounts the events in detail, from the glitzy decorations andcolorful attire of the guests to the entertainment shows and passionate dancing.

Bunyat Ozpak, the manager of a tourism company working with Indian clients, said the target is to attract up to 30 Indian weddings per year to Antalya, Turkey’s main touristic hub in theMediterranean. “Each wedding in Antalya is attended by 400 to 800 people, and the turnover of a wedding ranges between $1 million and $5 million,” Ozpak said. The Indian clients, he notes,“pay attention to everything, from the quality of accommodation and services to the sound and light system, the variety of entertainment bands, the sea, the beach and historical sites.”

The Indian wedding market, estimated at about $40 billion, is a relatively new discovery for the Turkish tourism sector. Backed by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the sector is eager tograb a share of that market, especially now that it is struggling to recover from a serious crisis. In an important step to that effect, Istanbul in June will host the International Convention of theWedding Fraternity, an annual event organized by Indian wedding planners. Indian weddings may whet the Turkish tourism sector’s appetite, but former Tourism Minister Bahattin Yucel believesthe expectations are overblown. Yucel told Al-Monitor that any revenue from wedding hosting would be a modest one. “Portraying those weddings as a savior is a misrepresentation that hampersdebate on the real problems in the tourism sector,” he said. “Indians have a tradition to hold weddings abroad, but they prefer the Maldives, South Asia, Europe and even Australia. Pinning toomuch hope on that looks like a reverie to me.”

S. Africa Expects 100,000 Indian Tourists in 2018With the growing number of Indians looking at

foreign travel, more and more countries are tryingto attract outbound tourists from the country. Thelatest in line is South Africa, which hopes that morethan 1 lakh Indian visitors would travel to the coun-try by the end of 2018.

To make the destination more attractive to In-dians, the country is being promoted as a destina-tion for numerous activities that are suitable for allage groups. South Africa Tourism is organizingroadshows in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhiand Ahmedabad this month to popularize the destination among Indians.

“We have observed that Indians are fond of activities, even on a leisure trip. So this year weare focusing on promoting activities here, which are suitable for all age groups,” Alpa Jani ofSouth Africa Tourism.

Abu Dhabi to attract more Indian tourists

Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate of UAE, is hoping to attract more Indian tourists this year. Aspart of its promotional efforts, it is holding Abu Dhabi week in Kochi and Kolkata celebrating thetourism and cultural heritage of the emirate.

Last year, it had held the event in Delhi and Mumbai. “Owing to the growing levels ofdisposable income in the hands of Indian travellers, we believe that India is a crucial market witha potential to expand the tourism inflow in Abu Dhabi,’’ said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, director, promo-tions and overseas offices, department of culture and tourism, Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi welcomed 3.2 lakh Indian guests in 2017 with year-on-year increase of 11%.The emirate operates 282 flights a week from 13 Indian destinations. The average length of stayis about 2.7 nights.

The two-day Abu Dhabi week in Kochi started on February 17 while that in Kolkata onFebruary 23. The idea is to position Abu Dhabi as the ultimate destination for vacations, leisuretravel, and weddings. Bejan Dinshaw, country manager India department of culture and tour-ism, Abu Dhabi, said the emirate with new attractions has lot more to offer to the tourists thanprevious years.

Dubai tourism announces new strategicalliances for Indian market

Dubai Tourism has an-nounced the appointment ofNijhawan Group as its in-mar-ket destination representationand trade marketing manage-ment firm in India.

The decision was drivenby the Indian subcontinent’sgrowing outbound demand,witnessed in the steady risein visitation from India, alongwith rises in the length of stayand spending power of Indiantravellers.

With over 45 years of experience in India, Nijhawan Group will now be responsible for alltrade communications, brand partnership conversations and building crucial trade relation-ships in the Indian subcontinent to strengthen Dubai’s position in the market and ultimately bringthe emirate closer to its Tourism Vision 2020 goals.

Meanwhile, Cruise Club has been appointed as the representative in India for Dubai Busi-ness Events. Based out of Mumbai, Cruise Club’s role is to increase Dubai’s market share fromincentive groups and corporate meetings.

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM)said, “India remains a top priority for us, now consistently being the largest source market fortourists to Dubai. This is a feat achieved through years of establishing and building strong tradeties in the market, in addition to the execution of a segment-specific approach across India.Charson Advisory has played a great role in realizing this feat, and I would like to take thisopportunity to thank them for their consistently professional approach, enduring commitmentand dependable work.”

12 March, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

New tourism policy will attract globaltourists to U.P.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced a new tourism policy this year to increase thefootfall of tourists as well as investments in the state.

Talking to the media about the policy, state Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said bothPrime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were focusing in a big wayto make Uttar Pradesh the most preferred tourist destination in the country.

She said that the government was aiming to encourage “at least four-five persons” fromeach of the 6.5 lakh villages in the country to come and participate in the Kumbh Mela atAllahabad in 2019. The Yogi Adityanath government has made it mandatory for all state govern-ment letters, letterheads and publicity material including hoardings and advertisements to carrythe new Kumbh logo with immediate effect. The logo shows a group of sadhus taking a dip in theSangam confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna in the backdrop of temples and the Swastiksymbol. UP has also changed the nomenclature of the fair, which is held every six years andwas so far known as “Ardh (half) Kumbh”. Now it will be called just “Kumbh”.

“The Department of Tourism envisages an annual increase in the number of foreign touristsby 10% and domestic arrivals by 15%,” Joshi said. The state government had also accordedtourism the status of an industry, she added and shared the investment opportunities, fiscalincentives and benefits offered by the government under the new tourism policy, on makinginvestments within a 20-km radius of all tourist sites of the 10 tourist circuits in the state.

These circuits include the Ramayana circuit, the Braj circuit, the Buddhist circuit, wildlifeand eco-tourism circuit, Bundelkhand circuit, Mahabharata circuit, Shakti Peeth circuit, Adhyatmikcircuit, Sufi circuit and the Jain circuit.

Under the new policy, a “Bed and Breakfast” scheme has also been launched, which alsoincludes ashrams. “The state government also aims at attracting investments worth Rs 5,000crore every year in the tourism sector,” the Minister announced and informed that 70 MoUsworth Rs 10,000 crore had already been inked in the run-up to the Investors Summit thatconcluded recently in Lucknow. “Under the new policy, through various incentives, the stategovernment also aims to log 100,000 tourists annually to its national parks and wildlife sanctu-aries other than converting 10 heritage buildings to heritage hotels every year,” PrincipalSecretary (Tourism) Avanish Awasthi said.

Cruise tourism business sees boom atKochi portThe port of Kochi is seeing a boom in cruise tourism business.

More than 40 cruise liners are expectedto visit the port this financial year, even asthe port looks forward to a busy season.The major cruise liners that call on the porton a regular basis include Cunard Lines,Royal Caribbean Lines, Aida Cruises, andCosta Cruises. Moreover, the port oper-ates ‘Samudrika’, a state-of-the-art cruisefacilitation centre that issues all statutoryclearances through a single window. Cruisetourism services at the port are supportedby a dedicated round-the-clock cruise cell.The port authority also offers several fa-

cilities including walk-in-berthing, assured quality bunkers, fresh water services, and greywater reception. The introduction of facilities for passenger cruise has seen the businessexpand steadily over the years. The number of cruise vessels calling at the port has gone upfrom 26 in 2005-06 to 44 in 2016-17. Though there have been minor fluctuations in numbers, thetrend has been more or less steady. Besides, the Union government had relaxed cabotagerestrictions for foreign cruise vessels to make it possible for them to transport Indians from oneport in the country to another.

Tourism push for DeojharanSambalpur: The state government

has decided to develop Deojharan,known for its waterfall, and the nearbydam in the district as an eco-tourismcentre. The state tourism departmenthas sanctioned Rs 50 lakh forproject's first phase of development.The district administration had sub-mitted a project of Rs 1 crore to bespent in phased manner for the pur-pose. In the first phase, the adminis-tration has planned to construct 20kitchens for the use of visitors. Apart

from that, there will be provision for boating facilities, improvement of platforms, construction oftoilets and viewpoints on the both sides of the stream. Afterwards, there are plans for construc-tion of a guest house, watch tower on the top of the hill, a garden and a children park.

A medium irrigation dam was constructed on the downstream of Deojharan about 10 yearsago. A Shiv-Durga temple is situated nearby.

The dam is surrounded by three forests. After falling from a height of more than 50 feet, thewater flows into the dam below. Tourists visits the place especially during winter and summer forpicnics. The waterfall is situated around 30km from Sambalpur and 10km from the nationalhighway between Sambalpur and Rairakhol. "It is a peaceful place with natural surroundings.After its development, more domestic and international tourists will come," said Sambalpurdeputy collector Sutanshu Tripathy. Rairakhol MLA Rohit Pujari has thanked the chief ministerNaveen Patnaik and tourism minister Ashok Chandra Panda for sanctioning the project.

AP Tourism to bring up 6 marqueeprojects to attract tourists

Andhra Pradesh Tourism is currently working on 6 marquee projects offering good potentialfor investments. The announced projects of Madhurawada, INS Viraat, Havelock Bridge, BhawaniIsland, Gandikota, and Kakinada Swadesh Darshan are all set to transform the state into atourist destination. Speaking at the panel discussion of ‘Strategies for Development of TourismInfrastructure and Services in emerging tourist destinations of Andhra Pradesh’, at CII Partner-ship Summit in Vizag, Principal Secretary Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Mukesh Kumar Meena I.A.S,said that the government is adopting a policy where unique projects are undertaken to attracttourists, with the help of collaborations with private players.

While 700 acres of Bhawani Island will be converted into a world-class tourist destination,Havelock Bridge in Rajahmundry, and Gandikota will be made into recreation, and adventure andheritage zones respectively. Also, INS Viraat will boast of a 5-star hotel, gaming zone, andMaritime Museum Memorabilia. Also speaking at the event was Minister for Tourism, TeluguLanguage and Culture, Bhuma Akhila Priya who stated that 250 acres of land have been identi-fied at Madhurawada to build multiple facilities such as an amusement park, oceanarium, andothers. The government also has plans to develop Kakinada Beach Front and 50 acres of areais being developed for the same.

Two new tourist circuits soonThe tourism department has decided to develop two new tourist circuits in the state with

assistance from Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) under the Centre's 'SwadeshYojana'.

"At present, the state has Buddhist and Ramayana circuits in functional order to attract local,inter-state and international tourists," tourism minister Pramod Kumar said, adding developmentof tourism sector in the state will also create employment opportunities for youths.

The minister said one of the new tourist circuits, christened 'Surya Circuit', will link theexisting sun temples in the state which attract a large number of people for tourism and religiouspurposes. According to the minister, another circuit will be developed in East and West Champarandistricts linking the places of religious importance from the Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic traditions."The fourth circuit will be given a suitable name soon," the minister added.