PGPGPGPGPG PGPGPGPGPG

74 8PGPGPGPGPGPGPGPGPGPG

3

RTC all set to hike bus fares

The health authoritiesalso said that privatehospitals should avoidconfirming dengue casestill samples come posi-tive. The health authori-ties have confirmed 12cases of dengue, out of63 suspected casesreported in the Statecapital that were sent fortesting to Institute ofPreventive Medicine(IPM). Intermittent show-ers have created the rightconditions for the denguevirus to thrive in the city.However, there were nofatalities reported, au-thorities clarified.

Hollywood callingfor Zarine Khan!

If all goes well, Zarine Khan willgo Hollywood for Daniel Silva’s“Chimera”, starring Billy Zane ofTitanic fame. However, Zarineis yet to give her final answer.Confirms the actress, “I havebeen offered the film but I amthinking about it.”“It is a thriller called ‘Chimera’opposite Billy Zane. I have readthe script but I am still thinkingabout it,” she added.

I don't need aKhan: Bipasha

Western embassiesstormed as protests

spreadIs Telangana

BeingBetrayed

Once More?

Jagan to be in jail tillSeptember 28

Dengue fevers hit Hyderabad againWhile appealing to public to take pre-ventive measures, health officials haverequested private clinics and hospitalsto notify suspected dengue cases. Bar-ring a few, a majority of private hospi-tals, clinics and nursing homes hereare not reporting suspected denguecases.

“A month ago, we had sentnotices to associations rep-resenting private hospitalsasking them to notify den-gue cases. Reporting sus-pected cases will help ustake preventive measures inareas where the cases haveoriginated,” says DistrictSurveillance Officer, Dr. D.Sriharsha.The health authorities also said thatprivate hospitals should avoid confirm-ing dengue cases till samples comepositive from Institute of PreventiveMedicine (IPM) and Veterinary Biologi-

cal Research Institute (VBRI). “The WHO guidelinesstipulate that samples should undergo IGM ELISAtest, which are available only at IPM and VBRI,” Dr.Sriharsha advises.Senior physicians maintained that there was no needfor the public to panic. “The Aedes mosquito respon-sible for dengue, is a day time biter. Measures suchas getting rid stagnant fresh water at home and sur-roundings are simple ways to avoid dengue. Major-

ity of dengue cases are self-limitingand can be managed,” formerSuperintendant of Gandhi Hospital,Dr. B. Balraju said.

Following increase in thediesel prices, the AndhraPradesh State Road Trans-port Corporation (APSRTC) isall set to increase the busfares.In an informal chat with the media personsat Bus Bhavan here on Friday, RTC Man-aging Director AK Khan said that the hikein diesel prices by Rs 5 per litre would putan additional burden on the RTC by Rs350 crore. Presently, the RTC is spend-ing Rs 2,500 crore per annum on diesel.However, the present hike would increase

the spending on the diesel bynearly 15 per cent including taxesand other levies.Khan said that the RTC Boardwould study the impact of dieselprice hike and would take a deci-sion on the increasing the fares.However, he said the hike in fareswould be imminet to prevent thecorporation from further losses.When asked about the RTC ex-ploring the options of introduc-ing battery-operated and CNGbuses, he said both the optionscould not be implemented innear future.

Hyderabad: The Hajjpilgrims might faceinconvenience like2006 and2009 Hajjcamps be-cause thereseems to beno interest ofHajj Commit-tee in makingproper ar-rangements.The pitadjacent to Hajj Housebulding is yet to befilled up.Hajj committee Chairman, Mr.Syed Khaleeluddin seems to be

Lapses in Hajj arrangements– Pilgrim face difficulties

helpless in arranging a few things for the Hajjpilgrims.It is reported that catering arrangements wereassigned to one of the relatives of the memberof Hajj committee. There were many complaintsagainst him Enquires were also made. By the

Department of Minorities Welfare.This time, catering arrangementshave been given to some responsiblepersons.The arrangements pertaining toerection of tents, lighting etc., arebeing targeted this time. Effortsare being made to give this con-tract to a relative of Congressmember of Hajj Committee. Hewas blacklisted by the then Chair-man of Hajj Committee Mr. HafizPeer Shabbir Ahmed. During theHajj Camp of 2008 also this con-tract was given to a supplyingcompany recommended by amember. On receiving complaints,his tender was cancelled within (8)days and another company was al-lotted this work.Instead of rectifying the previous mis-takes, Hajj Committee is trying torepeat the same mistakes. If thesame blacklisted supplying companyis given contract, Hajj Committee willhave to face the same difficulties thisyear also.In case, the same decision is taken,a member of Hajj Committee hasthreatened to approach the court ofLaw against it.

TMJAC to observe ‘fall of Hyderabad’Paying tributes to the exemplary and remarkable achievements of Asaf Jah VIINizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur during his 39 year old rule, TelanganaMuslim JAC will observe ‘fall of Hyderabad’ on September 17 at the shrine of AsafJah VII Nizam Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, located at King Kothi MasjidJudi, after Zohr prayers. A delegation of TMJAC led by Mr. Mohammed MushtaqMalik president Telangana Muslim Joint Action Committee will pay floral tributes tothe great ruler.

EditorialEditorialEditorialEditorialEditorial

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

Mohammed Yousuf

Recently the Bangalore policearrested 18 Muslim men, includ-ing two from Hyderabad andMaharashtra, for allegedly tryingto assassinate several promi-nent personalities in Karnatakaincluding media persons VijaySankeshwar, Vishveshwar Bhatand Pratap Simha.In his article published in outlookVishveshwar Bhat challenged‘Let anyone show me a singleline I have written in my 23 yearsas journalist that is anti-Muslim.’It must be recalled that Bhat hadresigned from Vijaya Karnataka(ToI group) on 8th Dec 2010 onthe ground that he wanted athree-year sabbatical to goabroad and study which theJains of Times group were de-clined to give. However, thepress club gossip revealed an-other version in a hushed tone.This version said that Bhat waspromoting right wing nationalismappealing to the majority Hindus,attracting the ire of Christians,Muslims and Communists. It

A man carries a little girl home from schoolthrough a water logged street after heavy

rain in Patna.

Are Muslims being scapegoated?Made in the United States

India has buckled to outside pressure byallowing in the multinational retailer —

the only beneficiary of this moveFor U.S. President Barack Obama there could be nothing morecheering. The ‘underachiever’ now goes to the presidential pollswith a lot of confidence — India’s decision to open up FDI inmulti-brand retail comes as a shot in the arm for the belea-guered American economy and will obviously boost his pollprospects. Mr. Obama certainly knows what is good for theU.S. economy; Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also knowswhat is in America’s interest. Mr. Obama, for instance, wantedto stop outsourcing to protect U.S. jobs. No amount of persua-sion from India changed his mind. Similarly, knowing how im-portant FDI in retail is for him, he had pitched for a new waveof economic reforms. It was surprising to see Mr. Obama tell-ing India what is good for us.Aided and abetted by TIME magazine and credit rating agen-cies like Standard&Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s, India finally buck-led under global pressure. What is little known is that Indiawas also under a G-20 obligation to remove all hurdles to thegrowth of multi-brand retail. But is FDI in retail really good forIndia? Will it improve rural infrastructure, reduce wastage ofagricultural produce, and enable farmers to get a better pricefor their crops? While a lot has been said and written about thevirtues of big retail, let me make an attempt to answer some ofthe big claims.Agriculture: The Prime Minister has repeatedly projected FDIin retail as a boon for agriculture. Unfortunately, this is not true.Even in the U.S., big retail has not helped farmers — it is fed-eral support that makes agriculture profitable. In its last FarmBill in 2008, the U.S. made a provision of $307 billion for agri-culture for the next five years. .Where is the justification for such massive support if big retailwas providing farmers better prices? And let us not forget, de-spite these subsidies studies have shown that one farmer inEurope quits agriculture every minute.The second argument is that big retail will squeeze out middle-man and therefore provide a better price to farmers. This isagain not borne by facts. In the U.S., some studies have shownthat the net income of farmers has come down from 70 percent in the early 20th century to less than four per cent in 2005.This is because big retail actually brings in a new battery ofmiddlemen — quality controller, standardiser, certificationagency, processor, packaging consultants etc. It is these middle-men who walk away with the profits and the farmer is left tosurvive on the subsidy dole.Monopolistic power enables these companies to go in for preda-tory pricing. Empirical studies have shown that consumer pricesin supermarkets in Latin America, Africa and Asia have re-mained higher than the open market by 20 to 30 per cent.And finally, the argument that multi-brand retail will provideadequate scientific storage and thereby save millions of tonnesof food grains from rotting. I don’t know where in the world bigretail has provided backend grain storage facilities?FDI is already allowed in storage, and no investment hascome in. Let it also be known that even the 30-per-centlocal sourcing clause for single-brand retail has already beenchallenged and quietly put in cold storage by the Ministry ofCommerce.Employment: The Indian retail market is estimated to be around$400 billion with more than 12 million retailers employing 40million people. Ironically, Wal-Mart’s turnover is also around$420 billion, but it employs only 2.1 million people. If Wal-Martcan achieve the same turnover with hardly a fraction of theworkforce employed by the Indian retail sector, how do we ex-pect big retail to create jobs? It is the Indian retail sector whichis a much bigger employer, and big retail will only destroy mil-lions of livelihoods.In India, we are aware that Wal-Mart alone had spent Rs.52crore in two years to lobby, as per a disclosure statement madein the U.S. It has certainly paid off.

Therefore, the relaxation in visafacilities, limited no doubt, maybe a small step in the long haulto a visa-less environment, butit is, indeed, a positive develop-ment. “I promise you aborderless regime,” the lateBenazir Bhutto told me a fewdays before she left London forPakistan. I am sure she wouldhave tried her best if she hadlived, but ultimately she wouldhave been defeated by the in-telligence agencies which stillrule the roost.

The intelligence agencies onboth sides have seen to it thatthe visa possessors follow thesame old humiliating process ofreporting at a police station inthe midst of jibes and threaten-ing postures. It is apparent thatthere is no change in their atti-tude of suspicion and hostility.Several visitors may still behappy because the choice be-fore them has either been a visaor no visa. I believe that seniorcitizens above 65, who will getvisa on arrival, will be exemptfrom police report. And so will

India-Pak foreign ministers could have gone further

maintained that they waited foropportunities, highlighted theirviewpoints and were able to con-vince ToI management to pushMr. Bhat to a corner. Ofcourse,Mr.Bhat was taking sides evenwithin the BJP singing to thetune of Ananth Kumar faction.When Bhat was nominatedunanimously for an honorarydoctorate by the Karnataka Uni-versity Dharwad (KUD), theKarnataka chapter of Transpar-ency International dashed off apetition accusing the editor ofbeing “primarily responsible forinstigating and fuelling commu-nal hatred by regularly publish-ing extremely volatile and offen-sive articles and editorials.” TheFederation of the DakshinaKannada Scheduled Caste andScheduled Tribes Unions alsolaunched agitation against Mr.Bhat demanding withholding ofthe doctorate by the KUD to Mr.Vishweshwar Bhat and had ap-pealed to the administrativeboard of ToI to relieve Mr. Bhat

of his post.On 27 December 2008, theMangalore South police station,registered a case (FIR No 343,dated 27-12-2008) in connec-tion with an article written by thenoted Kannada author S.L.Bhyrappa in Vijaya Karnatakaon 16 October 2008. The casewas registered on a complaintfiled by P. B. D’Sa, president ofthe Dakshina Kannada unit ofPeoples Union for Civil Liber-ties (PUCL). In his complaint,D’Sa alleged the article incitedcommunal feelings, in the wakeof the attack on churches inKarnataka in September lastyear. The complaint said the ar-ticle had hurt the feelings ofChristians, and pointed to anumber of demonstrations andjathas taken out by Christiansagainst it. The local diocesehad termed the article “commu-nally provocative” when it waspublished.Six days later a complaint wasbooked by the Mangalore North

police [case (FIR No. 2, dated 2-1-2009)] which dealt with an ar-ticle written by Pratap Simha (an-other journalist allegedly on thetarget list) a sub-editor with thepaper who writes a weekly col-umn published on 20 September2008. The complainant in thiscase is James Louis, vice-presi-dent of the Bharathiya CristaSeva Sanghatane (BCSS). Andhere, too, the charges are identi-cal: of endorsing the bashing ofthe minority community and seek-ing to create discord among vari-ous communities. The report said‘Predictably, the author of the ar-ticle (Simha), the editor of thepaper (Bhat), the resident editor(Kumaranath) and the printer(Ramesh) have been named inthis complaint. But also standing“accused” are five directors ofVijayanand Printers Limited(VPL), the Times of India subsid-iary that publishes the paper:Ravi Dhariwal, Chinnen Das,Anand Sankeshwar, BhaskarDas, and Probal Ghoshal.’

When Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar suggests thatIslamabad is willing to view Kashmir from “another angle” to tackle thethorniest problem and the Indian Foreign Minister, S.M. Krishna,changes the subject, it means that Pakistan has overcome pressuresfrom within. Of course, Foreign Minister Khar’s remark is primarily meantto reopen the problem which remains frozen. Yet, the mere suggestionof “another angle” indicates a new confidence that the tottering Asif AliZardari government has assumed.

be children below the age of 12.Yet, the most important point that Indian foreignminister and his counterpart have missed is howto deal with terrorism, which is on the rise in boththe countries. Who is more to blame or whostarted it first does not help at this time becausethe Frankenstein of a monster is on the prowl.Instead of reviving the joint commission for coop-eration in various fields, the two countries wouldhave done better to underline the serious propor-tions which terrorism has assumed. For this, ajoint commission on terrorism alone — pooling ofintelligence and fighting against terrorists together— would have given a stern message to thetrouble makers.That no such machinery was ever proposed isenough of a proof of the yawning differences over

the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.Krishna wanted the perpetratorsto be brought to book quickly tosoothe the hurt of people inMaharashtra and elsewhere inIndia. Khar apparently had herown compulsions and merelysaid: “We will not brood over di-vergences.” My feeling is that thepunishment of the culprits, espe-cially Hafeez Syed, the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, is a litmus test forIndia to judge Pakistan’s earnest-

ness.Once the Pakistan Judicial Commission revisitsMumbai to cross-examine witnesses of 26/11 at-tacks, the cases should move quickly. Islamabadshould be seen to be keen to punish the guiltybecause the visit of Prime Minister ManmohanSingh to Pakistan, rightly or wrongly, has got linkedto the outcome of the 26/11 cases in Pakistanicourts. Krishna, more or less, said so when hewas asked by even President Zardari as to howsoon would the Indian Prime Minister come to hisvillage near Jhelum in Pakistan?The positive side of the meeting far excels thenegative. Things would have proceeded faster,but for the lack of preparations on the part of New

Delhi. My information is that India’s foreign officedid not know how far Islamabad was willing to ac-commodate New Delhi. The Pakistan Army Chief,Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, had given the Zardari gov-ernment, more or less, a cart blanche becauseKayani wants to fight against the Taliban single-mindedly. He has even withdrawn troops from theIndian border to put them on the Waziristan front.India realises that it indicates Kayani’s confidencein normalising relations with New Delhi. This wasthe best opportunity which India should havegrabbed with both hands to reach an agreementon Sir Creek, which Islamabad was ready to sign.One thing would have led to another.

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

AP CM announces sops forphysically challenged persons

Mahbubnagar : Andhra Pradesh Chief MinisterN Kiran Kumar Reddy today assured the physi-cally challenged persons that the government willextend all help to them to stand on their own feetby utilizing the welfare schemes.While interacting with physically challenged people at Devarakadraduring his sixth leg of 'Indiramma Baata' here, the Chief Ministersaid the government was committed to address all issues of dis-abled persons in a phased manner and the government has re-leased Rs 212 crore for their welfare in the budget. The govern-ment had set up 40,000 Disability Self Help Group in the State toredress their woes on the lines of women SHGs, he said, addingthe government had provided three percent reservation to disabledin the government jobs. It was ready to give Rs 50,000 to thosewho marry physically challenged persons as financial assistance,he also assured them that the government would provide directloans from banks for those who are interested in taking up selfemployment schemes to stand n their own feet.

‘Jai Andhra’ Meet LeadsTo Tension—Vasantha Arrested

September : Tension prevailed for some time when ‘Jai AndhraJAC’ has tried to hold a public meeting on Friday here.The police have obstructed Jai Andhra JAC honorary presidentand former Minister Vasantha Nageswara Rao and the activistswhen they were proceeding in a rally to attend the public meet-ing, at National Highway. The activists picked up an argumentwith the police officials, to allow them to go to the public meeting,and squatted on the National Highway. As a result, the traffic cameto a standstill on highway. Following the traffic jam, the policehave arrested Nageswara Rao.Samakyandhra JAC activists also reached there and raised slo-gans in favour of United Andhra Pradesh. The police have whiskedthem away from there. (NSS)

Jagan to be in jail till September 28

A bench of justicesAftab Alam andRanjana PrakashDesai, however, di-rected the CBI toplace before it the ap-plication moved be-fore a special court inHyderabad for pur-portedly summoningkey witness, Y.S u r y a n a r a y a n aReddy, in the allegedscam.The apex courtpassed the directionafter senior counselGopal Subramaniamand counsel GopalS h a n k a r n a r a y a npleaded for the bail on the groundthat Jagan was in judicial custodyand already three charge sheetshave been filed against him by theagency.Mr. Subramaniam also assailed thesummoning order issued by thespecial CBI judge to Mr.Suryanarayana Reddy, to record hisstatement under section 164 CrPC.The counsel contended that if suchan order is passed by the special

judge, it is unheard of as there is no provision under 164CrPC to issue summons to a witness.In other words, it was argued that a statement under 164CrPC can be recorded only voluntarily and not through sum-mons.At this stage, the bench said it would examine the said sum-moning order and accordingly directed the CBI to place onrecord before it the application moved by the agency be-fore the special judge for summoning of the witness.During the argument, the bench also observed that “MrGopal Subramaniam, with your wide experience you knowthat resourceful persons even while sitting in the jail can

get their things done outside.”Additional Solicitor General MohanJain appeared for the CBI.On September 11, while opposingMr. Jaganmohan’s bail plea, the CBIhad claimed that the trail of his al-

leged disproportionate as-sets extended not only todifferent states but also toseveral countries.“The respondent submitsthat the case against the pe-titioner A—1 (Jagan) andother accused has a largemagnitude not only confinedto the state of AndhraPradesh but also extends tothe states of Maharashtra,Karnataka, West Bengal,Delhi and several foreigncountries.“Therefore, the public per-ception in the rule of law andmajesty of justice will sufferdilution. In the present case,

the petitioner and other accusedhave impoverished the state exche-quer with several thousand croresand the petitioner in particular hasenriched himself to a large magni-tude only through resorting to illegaland corrupt methods.

“In a short span of time to be pre-cise within a period of five years thepetitioner herein has enriched him-self to several thousands of croresillegally and by subversion of the

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned till September 28 the bailplea of YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy in the allegedmulti-crore disproportionate assets scam being probed by the CBIand Enforcement Directorate.

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

Hyderabad : Not only inHyderabad but in the entireAndhra Pradesh, the month ofSeptember is labeled as

‘sitamgar’. Elders of Hyderabadsay that the month of Septemberhas always been proved disas-trous for the state. Not only theincidents of flood, natural disas-ters, communal riots but thegreatest tragedy in the history ofIndia, the police action, also oc-curred in the month of September.In the name of mergingHyderabad into Indian union,lakhs of Muslims were massa-cred, women were dishonored,cities, towns and villages werecompletely destroyed, lakhs of

A Muslim man burns a U.S. flag during a protest against a film they considerblasphemous to Islam, outside a mosque in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

Demonstrators form a human pyramid in the waters of the Bay of Bengal as they shoutslogans during a protest near the Kudankulam nuclear power project in the southernIndian state of Tamil Nadu. Demonstrators are protesting against the country’s largest

nuclear power project, over fears about the plant’s safety.

New Delhi: Driven by a sharp increase infood prices, inflation rose to 7.55 percentin August from 6.87 percent in July, gov-

ernment data showed Friday.The more-than-expected rise in inflation dashes hopes of a ratecut Monday when the Reserve Bank of India meets to take stockof monetary policy keeping in view of the India's slowing eco-nomic growth. It is now widely believed that the inflationary pres-sure would increase following Thursday's diesel price hike wouldhave a cascading effect on prices and may force the ReserveBank of India (RBI) to leave key rates unchanged.RBI Governor D. Subbarao has said inflation remains above thecentral bank's perceived comfort level of 5 per cent and needs tofall further or risk more damage to the economy. Inflation, basedon wholesale price index (WPI), was 9.78 percent in August 2011.According to data released by the ministry of commerce andindustry, a sharp increase in food items like pulses, wheat, po-tato and some other vegetables had stoked inflation up in Au-gust. During the month under review, potato became costlier by68.86 percent year-on-year, while prices of pulses surged by34.39 percent. Wheat became costlier by 12.85 percent andprices of rice increased by 10.29 percent.

India's inflation soars to7.55 percent in August

Hyderabad: "Is it possible to a politician to suc-ceed without any act of betrayal?" The destiniesof many movements have one lingua franca- the"collective political babble of history" and the on-going Telangana movement is no exception.Telangana people have been displaying theiraspirations in different forms in protest, anger,aggression, conciliation, pride or apology sincelong.These faceless voices, thousands of whichhave faded away in the annals of time, havebeen led by some singular opportunist politi-cal cries that still resonate through history.Guess who has been whining these days, un-mindful of the confusing statements of Delhibosses that a solution was not possible in thenear future on Telangana, KCR, the torchbearer of the present Telangana Movement hasbeen Camping in New Delhi, pursuing for ap-pointments with Congress high-command toplace merger proposal in exchange of a "fa-vorable statement" repeat only a "Favorablestatement" on Telangana.Please. KCR if you can't get a good excuse tomerge and once again subject Telangana people for another be-trayal, get a good political adviser to draw your strategies.

Is Telangana Being Betrayed Once More?Politics is choreographed bymusic notes of rhetoric. But oflate, KCR's plaintive voice (tillthe other day he was roaring)weeping in the wilderness ofpolitical misery is an echo of thedampening spirit of his party

and the movement he is lead-ing.

More than three decades afterthe 1969 movement, tragedy isbeing repeated as farce. This isthe Telangana movement'sweakest period in contrary to allthe speculations of the month ofSeptember might witness inten-sity of the Movement. The re-gion, once known as "Land ofrevolutionary movements" isnow on its knees, desperately insearch of a united voice to roarin hope and challenge, with allthe main protagonist politicalparties speaking in differentvoices to suit their own politicalinterests.

"We shall fight till thelast breath, we shallfight in the fields andin the streets, we shallfight in the hills; weshall shake the Delhiedifice, we shallachieve Telangana atany cost"; it was agoose pimple momentin Telangana history,when KCR and his ilkroared while launching"sakal Janula samme"the so called "Ultimatewar" for Telangana.KCR,the figurehead of a fourcrore people, instead, retreated,wrapped in the tattered sheds ofhis dignity by preferring silenceover answers, by preferring restin the farm house over taking themovement to streets.

Chief Minister N. Kiran KumarReddy announced that all thethree major lift irrigationsschemes - Kalwakurthy,Bheema and Nettampad - takenup under Jalayagnam in the dis-trict would be completed beforethe 2014 Assembly elections.Addressing an impressive meet-ing after inaugurating the firstphase of Nettampad lift irrigationscheme, the Chief Minister said31 lakh acres additional ayacutwould be created by June 2014in the State.He said over 8 lakh acres of land

3 major projects to beready before 2014: Kiran

would be brought into cultivationin the perennially drought-hitdistrict of Mahabubnagar byspending Rs. 6,500 crore.Nettampad project alone aimsat irrigating 2 lakh acres inGadwal and Alampur constitu-encies.The Chief Minister on his firstday of the three-day tour as partof Indiramma Bata in the districtannounced several sops, somefor physically challenged per-sons and listed out theprogrammes being taken up bythe government for their welfare.

Those who demand to observeliberation day on Sept. 17 are inhuman

Muslims were madehomeless and Masajidand Dargahs were dis-mantled. The tragedy is

known in the history asMuslim genocide and po-lice action.Today the miscreants andcommunal forces demandto observe liberation dayon September 17. Theysay that on September 17Hyderabad state got free-dom from Asaf Jahi rulers.While the other broadminded and secular per-sonalities like CaptionPandu Ranga Rao assertthat the communal forces

should be ashamed of demand-ing such thing as most of thewater they drink, the roads onwhich they travel, the bridges

through which they pass by andthe hospitals in which they go fortreatment and the university inwhich their children are attainingeducation are the bestowal ofAsaf Jahi rulers.17th September is not the libera-tion day but the black day in thehistory of Hyderabad which waspreceded and followed by Mus-lim genocide, the implications ofwhich can be felt even today andthose who demand declaring theday as liberation day are inhu-man.

Scam-hit industrythrows 5,000 lives

out of gearThe lives of an esti-mated 5,000 labourers,daily wage earners andother employees of thecotton processingindustry in Adilabadtown lie woefullyscattered following amajor industrialist housegoing bust recently.The sudden closure of some bigfactories in the wake of a finan-cial scam by the industrial housein question has brought untoldmiseries to the poor familiesworking in these units.

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

New Delhi: After battling stiffopposition, government Fridayallowed 51 percent foreigninvestment in multi-brand retailbut left it to the states to permitglobal retailers open stores.It has also tweaked the sourcing norms forFDI exceeding 50 percent in single brandretail, requiring foreign firms, which want arelaxation of the 30 percent procurementnorms, to set up manufacturing facilities inthe country.After considering various aspects and dis-cussions with various stakeholders andstates, it has been decided to go ahead withthe decision to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail, Commerce and Industry Minis-ter Anand Sharma told reporters after theCabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister

Govt approves 51% FDI in multi brand retail

Manmohan Singh. "The response has been amixed one but the UPA had tried to evolve aconsensus," he said.The cabinet had in November last year ap-proved 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail buthad to put it on hold due to opposition from

political parties, including UPA allyTrinamool Congress. Sharma also reiter-ated that foreign retailers planning to en-ter the multi-brand segment would haveto invest a minimum of USD 100 millionwith 50 percent of it in rural areas.

New Delhi: In the boldest decision taken byPrime Minister Manmohan Singh in UPA-II,the government has bet big on crucialreforms that are bound to bring a big cheerfrom industry. However, the move has alsoput the government in troubled waterpolitically with the Opposition and some keyallies voicing strong differences.Just like Manmohan Singh had put the survival of his govern-ment at stake over the Indo-US nuclear deal in UPA-I, he onceagain stood firmly to push bold economic reforms.

UPA government playsbig bang reform card,Trinamool Congress,Opposition fume

President Pranab Mukherjee being presented a momentoby West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a

public reception programme organised by the WestBengal government in Kolkata.

At the meeting of the Cabinet Com-mittee on Economic Affairs (CCEA),the government on Friday clearedforeign direct investment (FDI) inmulti-brand retail, single-brand retail,aviation, broadcasting and powerexchanges.In multi-brand retail, an issue thathas been troubling the governmentfor quite some time, the Cabinetdecided to allow 51 per cent foreigndirect investment. However, unlikethe last time, the government haslet individual states decide whetherto allow it or not.There is an opt-out clause in the FDIin multi-brand retail, which says,"Retail sales outlets maybe set upin those states which have agreedor agree in the future to allow FDI inmulti-brand retail under this policy.This is an enabling clause. Thismeans that no FDI in retail will be

allowed in any state unless thestate explicitly agrees to comeon board and agree to thepolicy."The Cabinet also approved theproposal of the Department ofIndustrial Policy and Promotionfor amendment of the existingpolicy on FDI in single-brandproduct retail trading. The gov-ernment permitted FDI, up to100 per cent, in single brandproduct retail trading, subject tospecified conditions.Relaxing the norm in single-brand retail where FDI is above51 per cent, the governmentsaid that while 30 per cent of thesourcing would have to be donefrom Indian companies, theymay not be from medium andsmall scale, village or cottage in-dustry. However, it said that itshould preferably be done fromthem. Notably, it was earliermandatory in case of FDI over51 per cent that 30 per centsourcing should be done fromsmall and medium scale, villageand cottage industry.

BJP Mahila Morcha activists demonstrating against decision to limit supply of subsidisedcooking gas cylinders, in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Activists of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam indulging invandalism outside US consulate during the demonstration to

condemn an alleged anti-Muslim film, in Chennai .

PS burnt down after Quran's desecrationGhaziabad: Irate community members set fire to a police station in Masuritown of Ghaziabad district Friday night, after a Holy Quran, with its pagessplashed with abusive graffiti, was discovered, police said. The attack onthe police station ensued after police allegedly ignored the complaint ofthe desecration of the holy book.

"A member of our communitysaw the defiled pages of theQuran on which objectionableand abusive words were foundwritten along with a mobilenumber. He took the pages tosenior community members inMasuri town who in turn tookthem to the police station. The

police personnel, instead of tak-ing action, ignored the com-plaint," said advocate and localRashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leaderAyub Ali. The irate mob set thepolice station alight. Police finallyhad to use force to disperse themob.A senior police officer confirmed

the incident."Yes the mob have set the po-lice station afire," said DeputyInspector General, Meerut, ZakiAhmad, but did not give furtherdetails, saying he was on thespot only.--IANS

No plans of joining politicsNew Delhi: Priyanka Gandhi, about whom therehas been speculation that she will contest nextLok Sabha elections, says she has no plans ofjoining politics."I am not joining politics. I am look-ing after my mother's constituencyas I did from 1999 to 2004 withoutbeing in politics," she has said inan SMS to a television channel.Gandhi, daughter of SoniaGandhi, has also said that therewas nothing new in her interact-ing with workers in Rae Bareli andAmethi, the constituencies repre-sented by her mother and brother

Rahul, in the Lok Sabha. "I havebeen doing so since 1991. As therehave been organisational issueslately, I will be travelling to RaeBareli now and then to look intothem,"she said.This is the first public response ofPriyanka over intense speculationin media about the possibilities ofher contesting the 2014 generalelections from Rae Bareli.

Coal controversy likely tohave impact on PAC meet

New Delhi :The political heat generated by the CAG report oncoal block allocations is likely to have its impact on the meet-ing of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee next week whengovernment auditor briefs the panel on the issue.Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai and his team ofofficials will brief the PAC on the auditor's findings on coal blockallocation which virtually washed out the entire Monsoon ses-sion of Parliament following disruptions by BJP-led opposition.Soon after CAG's presentation on September 20, officials ofthe Coal Ministry will face the PAC on the issue of allocations.In its August 23 meeting, PAC had decided to examine the fourlatest reports of the CAG, including the one on coal block allo-cation. The other CAG reports are on Delhi International Air-port Ltd, Ultra Mega Power Plants and Atomic Energy Regula-tory Board (AERB).

MP Council expandedBhopal, Sep 14 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan today expanded his nearly four-year-old Council by in-ducting former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee's nephew and Legisla-tor Anoop Mishra, besides elevating Ministers of State (Indepen-dent charge) Rajendra Shukla, Paras Jain and Ranjana Baghel toCabinet rank. Governor Ram Naresh Yadav administered the oathof office and secrecy during a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.

Bombay HC pulls up police foraction on cartoonist

Mumbai, Sep 14 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today heavily camedown on Mumbai Police for arresting cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on'frivolous' grounds and 'without application of mind', saying its ac-tion breached his freedom of speech and expression.

Jt Interrogation CelI toquiz IC-814 hijacker

Jammu: Top militant Mehrajuddin Wani, suspected to be involvedin the 13-year-old Kandahar hijack case will be sent to the JointInterrogation Cell (JIC) for thorough questioning to know more abouthis role in various terror attacks besides the IC-814 hijack.

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

Bollywood Actors Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher and Director Karan Johar during thelaunch of the fourth season of upcoming TV show ‘India’s Got Talents’ in Mumbai.

A model on the ramp displaying Jyotsna Tiwaricreations during Aamby Valley India Bridal

Fashion Week 2012, in Mumbai.

Exercise helps you copewith stress, anxiety

quiet rest were equally effectiveat reducing anxiety levels ini-tially. However, once they wereemotionally stimulated (by beingshown 90 photographs from theInternational Affective PictureSystem, used in emotion re-search) for 20 minutes, the anxi-

ety levels of those who hadsimply rested went back up

to their initial levels,whereas those who had

exercised maintainedtheir reduced anxiety

levels.The study find-ings suggest thatexercise may

play an important role in help-ing people to better endure life'sdaily anxieties and stressors.

Moderate exercise not only keeps one fit and healthybut also helps him or her to cope with anxiety andstress, suggests a new study."While it is well-known that exercise improves mood,not as much is known about the potency ofexercise's impact on the emotional state," explainsJ. Carson Smith, assistant professor of kinesiol-ogy, University of Maryland School of PublicHealth, who led the study."We found that exercise helps to buffer the ef-fects of emotional exposure. If you exercise,you'll not only reduce your anxiety, but you'llbe better able to maintain that reduced anxi-ety when confronted with emotional events,"said Smith, the journal Medicine and Sciencein Sports and Exercise reports.Smith, whose research explores howexercise and physical activity affectbrain function, aging and mental health,compared how moderate intensity cy-cling versus a period of quiet rest (bothfor 30 minutes) affected anxiety levels ina group of healthy college students, according to a Marylandstatement.He assessed their anxiety state before the period of activity (or rest), shortlyafterward (15 minutes after) and finally after exposing them to a variety of

highly arousing pleasant and un-pleasant photographs, as well asneutral images.Smith found that exercise and

With the govern-ment deciding tolimit the number ofsubsidised LPGcylinders to six/year, a move thatwill lead to a spikein fuel cost for theaam admi, hereare practical waysto soften the im-pact on yourmonthly budget.1. Wipe utensils dry before

placing them on theburner. A minute or twoof gas that will beneeded to evaporate ex-cess water can besaved. Added together

the saving wouldbe substantial.

2. Before commencingactual cooking,prepare and col-lect all raw ma-terials that wouldbe needed.Chop veg-etables andkeep spicesready at hand toavoid wastingtime once theflame is lit up.

3. Thaw frozen foodsbefore cooking,the heat energythat would beneeded to bringdown the food'stemperature toroom tempera-ture can besaved.

4. Once the cookware getssufficiently heated up, putthe burner on medium orslow mode as the amountof heat required to cookis less than what is needto keep it up heated athigh temperature. Also,food cooked on low flametends to have better nu-tritional value.

5. Avoid open vessel cook-ing as far as possible, alid on the vessel ensuresthat the energy is usedmore efficiently there byleading to huge savings.

6. Cook using pressurecooker as it consumesless time and energy.

7. Don’t use too much wa-ter while cooking asevaporating off the ex-cess water will meanmore use of LPG.

10 Easy Ways to Save LPG8. Those who own a micro-

wave but are averseto use it for cooking In-dian dishes, they cango for the hybridmodel. Use the micro-wave to semi cookvegetables/meat andthen transfer it to apan on the burner.This way cooking isfaster without the useof LPG.

9. If water needs to beboiled for beveragesmultiple times a day,use a thermos bottleinstead.

10. Check the regulator,pipes, burner for leaksand also ensure thatregulator is switchedoff after cooking toeliminate any chanceof wastage due tosmall leaks.

‘Assess individual departments,not entire university’

He was delivering the keynote address at the University Grants Com-mission-sponsored national seminar on “Higher education 2020 – newstrategies for empowerment and growth” here on Thursday.About the disadvantages of the affiliation system, Prof. Savadatti citedthe recommendations of various committee reports that also validatedthis. “We have not been able to quantify — measure the growth, ex-cess, quality, innovation and excellence. It is difficult to measure themin the affiliation system,” he said.On the NAAC grading system, Prof. Savadatti, who was a member ofthe brainstorming group that evaluated the feasibility of NAAC, said,“Evaluate a university department-wise. Right now, the assessment teamspends a maximum of 15 minutes in each department.”About teachers, he said that those in coaching classes were paid betterthan teachers in colleges and universities. A roadmap for teachers shouldbe drawn up, he suggested. On the phenomenon of brain-drain, hesaid only five per cent of those who went abroad are researchers andwell-paid workers. “The rest are highly paid but not researchers,” headded.

Universities shouldnot be evaluated aswhole by NationalAccreditation andAssessment Coun-cil (NAAC), insteadindividual depart-ments should beassessed, sug-gested M.I.Savadatti, formerVice-Chancellor ofMangalore Univer-sity.

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

DUBAI: Haitham MahmoudAl Kouatly, the 34-year-oldprime suspect in a sub-leasing con exposed byXPRESS last week, haspulled off one of city’sbiggest rental scams ever.An investigation reveals ittook the conman at least 24months to lay the ground-work for the swindle that lefthundreds of families penni-less — and, soon, home-less. Some of them hadeven paid him up to twoyears’ rent in advance.

Pak factory fire: Rs 500penalty for 314 lives lost!

U.N. refugee agency’s (UNHCR) special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, flankedby officials, visits a camp to meet with Syrian refugees in the southeastern

Turkish city of Kilis.

Royal family consideringlegal action against maga-zine after it published privatepictures of DuchessLONDON: A French magazine Friday pub-lished what appeared to be photos of PrinceWilliam’s wife Kate sunbathing topless at aprivate house in southern France, promptinga strong condemnation from the royal family.Officials said the royal family was consider-ing legal action for a “grotesque and totallyunjustifiable” invasion of privacy in the samecountry where William’s mother PrincessDiana died while fleeing paparazzi.

Furore over Kate’s topless photos

The couple was “saddened” by the use of the photos,which appear genuine, royal officials said. The firstmajor press incident involving William and Katebrought back memories of Diana being hounded bypaparazzi in France in the hours and days before herfatal car crash there in 1997.

Angry protesters stormed theGerman and British embassiesin Khartoum as anti-U.S. pro-tests related to an anti-Islam

video spread across the Arabworld after Friday prayers.“The German Embassy in

French magistrates takeinto account when theperson is flaunting them-selves on camera. KateMiddleton will get dam-ages because she’s notbehaving in this way.

How Haitham Al Kouatly pulled

off Dubai’s biggest rental scamHow did he end up duping well-heeled people? XPRESS can revealthat Al Kouatly even lost money ini-tially to earn the trust of his victimseager to strike a rental bargain.Some people allege Al Kouatly is re-lated to Shukri Al Kouatly, Syria’spresident from 1943 to 1949 and from1955 to 1958. Others claim Al Kouatlysaid his parents lived in Switzerland,and that he had a villa in EmiratesHills. The US-educated conman alsoclaimed to be hanging out in Eurpoeand Lebanon. These claims cannotbe independenty verified.Some of them have posted picturesof his BMW X6 on the Shamyana Vic-tims’ Facebook page. ?Hundredshave approached the police.Meanwhile, a senior official has urgedShamyana victims to lodge a case

with the Rent Committee.Mohammad Ahmad Al Shaikh, gen-eral secretary of the Rent Commit-tee at the Dubai Municipality, said:“So far only a few have come for-ward to open a case with us. Whena case is filed, both parties must beheard in order to pass a proper judg-ment. During the hearing, the ten-ancy contract is crucial. All judg-ments are passed according to whatthe contract stipulates.”Al Shaikh said they have heard over2,000 cases so far this year, morethan half the total of 3,388 cases forall of 2011.Al Kouatly, meanwhile has elimi-nated all trace of himself in the digi-tal world and though a global man-hunt has been launched, he’s not yeton Interpol’s wanted list.

Washington: As anti-American protestsover an anti-Islam video spread to some20 nations across the Muslim world, theUS sternly warned them to stop the vio-lence, but Google declined to block theoffending clip.Calling YouTube clips from the film "Inno-cence of Muslims" as an "awful Internet videothat we had nothing to do with," Secretary ofState Hillary Clinton asked the nations to actand seek justice against those attacking itsdiplomatic missions, or else the UnitedStates will."The people of Egypt, Libya, Yemen andTunisia did not trade the tyranny of a dicta-tor for the tyranny of a mob," she said Friday

Western embassies stormed as protests spreadKhartoum is currently the target of attacks by aggressive protest-ers,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a state-ment.“The Sudanese ambassador was summoned this morning. His

nation’s duty toprotect diplomaticmissions wasclearly explainedto him,” Mr.Westerwelle said,adding that diplo-mats were safe.According tobroadcaster AlJazeera, protest-ers replaced theGerman flag with ablack one. Securityforces used teargas to disperse the

crowd, which was trying to set the building alight.Angry mobs took to the streets of cities across West Asia and NorthAfrica, ignoring an earlier plea for calm from U.N. Secretary-Gen-

eral Ban Ki-moon.In Lebanon’s northern city ofTripoli, at least one person waskilled and 25 wounded duringclashes with police.

Protesters vandaliseda KFC restaurant in theport city before settingit on fire, the officialNational News Agency(NNA) reported. Theviolence comes asPope Benedict XVI wason a three-day “peacepilgrimage” to Leba-non.In Cairo, where the protests firststarted, worshippers gatheredafter noon prayers and chantedslogans against the UnitedStates.

Striking South African miners say they are rejecting a Lonmin platinum mine wage offerof a 900 rand ($112.50) increase that would give new-entry workers a basic monthly

salary of 5,500 rand ($688).

Protesters climbwalls of the U.S.embassy inSanaa, YemenApprehendingspread of anti-USprotests afterweekly Fridayprayers today overa film deemedoffensive to Islam,the ObamaAdministration saidthat it has beefedup security of itsmissions acrossthe globe and wasclosely monitoringthe situation.

US asks nations to act as anti-American protests spread

during a ceremony in which the bod-ies of the four killed in Benghazi, in-cluding US ambassador to Libya,Chris Stevens, returned to theUnited States.Reports of anti-American protests -- some peaceful, some violent -came in Friday from Tunisia, wheretwo people were killed and morethan 20 wounded, Egypt, Sudan,Yemen, Afghanistan, Gaza, Syria,and Lebanon among others.There also were protests in Iran,Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey England, Is-rael, Nigeria, Malaysia, Bangladeshand India.

Islamabad: Thefactory owner inKarachi will have topay a measly Rs500 penalty fornegligence, said amedia report afternearly 300 peoplewere killed in ablaze in Pakistan'sport city.Under the Factory Act 1934, theowner will have to pay only Rs500 in penalty over negligencein the protection of workers, GeoNews reported on Friday.Changes had been made in the

Factory Act 1934 that had beenpromulgated during British rule. Butit was not completely changed.

The Act states that ifthe factory owner com-mits negligence sec-ond time, the penaltywill be Rs 750 and thepenalty will be in-creased to Rs 1,000 inthird time.The fire in a garments factory inKarachi on Tuesday broke outjust hours after another blazeengulfed another factory inLahore. The combined tollcrossed 300. The Karachi firewas one of the worst industrialinfernos in the country. IANS

15-09-2012 to 22-09-2012

Deccan Chargers' IPL contract ter-minated by the BCCI

New Delhi: The BCCI tonight terminated the contract of the debt-ridden Deccan Charg-ers, bringing an end to the suspense on the fate of the beleaguered franchise. The deci-sion to terminate Deccan's contract was taken at an emergency governing council meet-ing of the IPL in Chennai. The BCCI President N Srinivasan took the final call to endCharger's contract after discussing the issue with other members, a top BCCI officialsaid. BCCI's working committee will meet tomorrow to decide the future course of action.

U.S. Olympic 400m sprint gold medalist SanyaRichards-Ross takes a picture with U.S. President

Barack Obama as the 2012 U.S. Olympic andParalympic teams visit the White House in Washington.

Bollywood actress Helen with Kareena Kapoor at the locationshoot of their upcoming film “HEROINE”, in Mumbai

Nargis Fakhri learns kick-boxingActress has changed her fitness regime to adapt herself for an action-packed scriptThe former America's Next Top Model contestant Nargis Fakhri is known to be a fitness freak.She's also regular with her yoga and swimming too. But recently, this girl has changed her inter-est. Nargis has been busy attending kick-boxing classes. Now she's so into the martial art form that she practices it everyday and is very happywith her progress. And turns out this is not just another fad but quite a calculated careermove. According to a source, the model-turned-actress prefers to stay stoic about heracting career and is currently reading a couple of scripts and pledges to be seen on thebig screen soon. `Nargis is keen to do an action movie. If the right script comes along, wewill see her donning a mean avatar.`

Karan excited towatch Shahrukh’s‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’!

Karan Johar who is a close friend ofSRK, said that he is eagerly waiting for‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ as he will get to seea hardcore romantic film after ages.Karan tweeted, “Am the hugest YashChopra fan and can’t wait to see ‘JabTak Hai Jaan’ Shah Rukh (Khan),Katrina (Kaif) and Anushka (Sharma)!!!A true blue romance after a long time.”‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ is all set to hit screenson 13th november. Karan too is busywith the promotions of his first directo-rial flick ‘Student Of The Year’ which willrelease on october 19th.

“I haven’tstripped forRaaz3?:EshaEarlier EshaGupta had saidthat she strippedfor her scene inRaaz 3! Thosewho have seenthe movie willknow the scenewhere the actressgets attacked bycockroaches andshe rips herclothes and runsnaked in front ofseveral people.However, EshaGupta deniessaying or doingany such scene.

I don't need a Khan: BipashaBipasha Basu talks about never hav-ing a Khan as a co-star in her 12-yearBollywood career and being tired ofthe 'sexy' tagBipasha Basu tell us she is on a high these days. De-spite critics slamming her recent horror flick, the actresssays she has been getting a lot of feedback from people,who have apparently named her the Tigress of Bollywood.She gently reminds us that on the route to completing 12 yearsin the industry, she has never worked with any Khan.The actress states, `I never belonged to any camp nor worked withany Khan in the 12 years of my acting career. So it is a big achieve-ment that a film that was completely resting on my shoulders hasmanaged to rake in ̀ 40 crore in its first week. ̀ The Bengali bomb-shell feels that actresses like Vidya Balan have kicked off apositive trend in the industry that 30 plus actresses too canbe glamorous. `I think you can always look glamorous.However I am tired of being given tags that I am sexy orthat people find me hot. I wanted to showcase my act-ing skills and I think I have fairly managed to do it,`Basu quips. While the actress has been in news forher bitter parting with ex-beau John Abraham, shetells us that currently she is single and is living lifeto the fullest.

Makers ofBarfi! in legal

trouble!!!Just before the releaseof Anurag Basu’s Barfi!,the film has landed inhot soup when Mumbai-based company MurphyEnterprises sent a legalnotice, dated Sept 10, tothe producers of UTVMotion Pictures andIshana Films for tres-passing the copyrightsof their registered trade-marks without obtaininga NOC.Murphy Radio or theMurphy baby were fea-tured in the print adver-tisements of MurphyEnterprises, in 1960sand 70s. The song ‘A LaBarfi’ has words like‘Murphy’, ‘Murphy Ra-dio’ and ‘MurphyMunna’, which is in thefilm as well, and havebeen taken without anywritten permission.

‘If Ronaldo is not happy atReal Madrid, he has to leave’

Madrid: FormerReal Madridpresident RamonCalderon be-lieves the clubshould sellC r i s t i a n oRonaldo if he isunhappy.The current ad-ministration tookover fromCalderon in 2009 with his successor Florentino Perez bringing in thePortuguese maestro for a world record transfer fee.Calderon has been critical of the new regime since his departure andwhen asked about the Ronaldo situation he insisted the right course ofaction would be to let 27-year-old leave the club. "If a player is un-happy, they must go," he said in an interview. "It happened to me withRobinho; it was a dramatic saga, but he was bought for •28 million andsold for •48 million, so it was a good deal."

Sindhu stuns Olympic goldmedallist Xuerui in China Masters

Changzhou (China): Rising Indian shuttler P V Sindhucontinued her giant killing spree as she stunned Lon-don Olympics gold medallist Li Xuerui of China tostorm into the women`s singles semifinals of the LiNing China Masters Super Series badminton tourna-ment on Friday. World number 24 Sindhu, who is the

lone Indian woman in the fray in theabsence of star compatriot SainaNehwal, won 21-19 9-21 21-16 in atense 45-minute contest against thesecond seeded and world number threeChinese.

Sub continent drought in ODI rankingsIndia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have not had the distinctionof bagging the top slot in the One Day International (ODI)cricket now for the last 17 years with India last achievingthe number one rank in August 1995.However, the bigger worry going by current performance of cricketers from the sub-continent it is highly unlikely that the top slot is achievable in the near future. While strikebowlers from the region have turned increasingly wayward, star batsmen have chosento embrace zero as the new elixir of life.