NEW DELHI: Bitten by an element of urgency, the Congress and other non-BJP parties are desperately trying to forge a United Front in the upcoming elections to the highest constitutional office of President in the second half of July. 

There is no doubt that the BJP will like one of its senior leaders occupying Rashtrapati Bhawan for the first time. Narendra Modi’s sterling performance at the hustings since he became the Prime Minister in May 2014 has raised the ruling party’s hopes particularly after the recent runaway success in the assembly elections in the most crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. 

For the opposition, Congress President Sonia Gandhi spoke to Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a bid to have an opposition front. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah met Sonia earlier this week. On his part Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had spoken to former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. 

TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is keen to be part of this front but made it clear nobody had approached her so far. Sonia Gandhi is also expected to meet with BSP’s Mayawati.

BJP strongman Modi would like to install one of its leaders as the First Citizen in the erstwhile Viceregal Lodge. And in achieving that objective the ruling Lotus party will need the backing of the AIADMK and some other opposition parties as it lacks the requisite majority at present in the electoral college. 

Odisha’s ruling BJD, the Telengana Rashtra Samiti and some others are also likely to be consulted soon in evolving the opposition front. The aim is to create a national alternative to the BJP in the run up to the next general elections barely two years away in 2019. 

Such fronts have been mooted in the past before assembly polls particularly in states viewed as an important battleground state in the country but have hardly been successful. 

This is a huge wake up call for the leaders of the proposed front whose performance in the assembly elections over the last two-and-a-half years has been dismal barring the AAP’s mind boggling win in Delhi and the saffron brigade falling by the wayside, thanks to the “mahagathbandhan” in Bihar in 2015. 

Leaders have welcomed Sonia Gandhi’s return to active politics after having taken a back seat for some time. Interestingly, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury has already clarified that the Left’s antipathy towards Trinamul Congress would not be a hurdle in the quest for a larger unity. Akhilesh Yadav has also made it clear that the SP has no objection to state rival BSP’s inclusion in the front. 

The non-BJP Leaders realise they will have to be flexible. Some of them recalled when the National Front was formed, the government was headed first by H D Deve Gowda and later by I K Gujral to keep the BJP at bay. 

With President Pranab Mukherjee’s term ending on July 25 this year, the fight to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan is definitely hotting up. 

With talk of his new residence in the national capital getting ready, the Congress and others of its ilk might like Pranabda to be given a second term which appears highly unlikely. 

So far the country’s first Head of State Rajendra Prasad is the only person who has served two terms in the imposing Rashtrapati Bhawan. As of now the BJP-led NDA does not have a majority in the electoral college. It will need the backing of opposition parties to facilitate its nominee past the winning post in the ensuing Presidential election. 

Even if the Congress backs Mukherjee for a second term as President, the regional satraps would prefer a non-Congress nominee. Mukherjee has been described as a “copybook President” who assured he is duty bound to preserve and protect the Constitution. 

The previous NDA government headed by BJP stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee did spring a surprise when it zeroed in on missile man A P J Abdul Kalam. That Modi, who is the BJP’s face at this juncture, enjoys a definite advantage at this juncture is not in doubt. 

(T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. The views are personal.) 

Movie – Bahubali 2 : The Conclusion

Director- Srisaila Sri Rajamouli alias SS Rajamouli

Music- M.M. Keeravani

Camera- KK Senthil Kumar

Story- KV Vijyendra Prasad

Star Cast- Prabhas, Rana Duggubati, Satyharaj, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishna, Nassar 

Movie Review:- The memes and jokes on social media come to an end which hysterically took on the internet awaiting the much celebrated question of the Babubali- the beginning, that why did Katappa kill Bahubali? Bahubali 2- the Conclusion has so far broken all the records on the box office as it passed the mark of nearly 600 crores earnings, leaving Aamir Khan’s PK behind within a week after the worldwide release. 

Mahindra Bahubali alias Bahu (Prabhas) struggles against the Dharma of a king and the kingdom (Mahishmati), trapped in political turmoil instrumented and maneuvered by his elder brother Bhallal Dev (Rana Duggubati), who was number two in the empire Mahishmati. Despite being elder, he was chosen to stay away from the throne. The good guy Bahubali talks about political correctness, righteousness, equality and Dharma, going against his mother Shivgami Devi, who favored her younger son because of his mettle and ability to think witty on the war field. His valour on celluloid is unmatchable. Every time he swung his majestic arms holding the sword, wearing traditional uniform of a king teamed up with golden pair of kundal in ears and a mark of half-moon on his forehead, put the energy level of the theatre at its peak. The character of Bahubali explicitly and primarily portrays a man of higher moral standards, then a mighty king of the Mahishmati Kingdom. The reign of Mahishmati vows to the greatest emperor even after he was dethroned by Shivgami Devi in the wake of him supporting Devsena, the queen of a princley state and love of Mahendra Bahubali, revolting against the will of his mother to detain and imprison Devasena.

Prabhash’s Hindi voice-over is done by Sharad Kelkar. His dialogue delivery is highly impressive. 

SS Rajamouli has done the screenplay of the film. The story is brilliantly written by his father KY Vijyendra Prasad, who has also written Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The other casts have marked their best appearance on the screen. Rana Duggubati, in the role of Bhallal Dev, has maintained not to overdo the role of an evil. His cunning and janus-faced expressions while talking to his mother is noticeable. His gigantic physique suits his character. Apart from the skirmishes between Bahubali and Bhallal Dev in the first part, the final bout in Babubali-2 between them makes the audience stand on their feet due to the intensity. The epic fight scene is well-shot. Injured Prabhas and Rana look like a rock in the fight scene.

The two lionesses of the movie, Shivgami (Ramya Krishna) and Devasena (Anushka Shetty) have been given almost equal screen times in comparison to other characters, due to their influence of the duo on the celluloid. After a very a long time, Rajamouli emerged as one of those rare Indian directors who broke the monotonous saga of masculinity, dominating a female role in the reel. Devasena as a warrior impresses with her moves on horse, archery and bold attitude to face the Mahishmati Queen Shivgami. In one scene, Bahubali teaches Devsena about the skillset of archery with three bows a time, it wins heart of the theatre.  Shivgami aggression dominates the male characters in her presence.  She possesses more a stubborn and egoistic queen, rather an empathetic mother who orders Katappa(Sathyaraj) to kill Bahubali because of his growing stature, eventually becoming a threat for Bhallal Dev’s throne. Katappa, undoubtedly, is a pivotal role in the Conclusion. He makes you laugh. He makes you cry. Sathyaraj acting has been the backbone of Bahubali-2. Whatever said about him is less than what he did. His role will be remembered till decades to come. 

The awestruck Visual effect, the VFX, part was no less than any Hollywood movie. The film has already won accolades all across the world due to its VFX. More than 33 Indians studios and 10 international studios were combined for the special effects. The gigantic rocks of Mahishmati kingdom, animals, people, crowd, boats, castles and huge walls were Computer Generated Imagery (CGI). The Roto artists have played their role with sheer efficiency. However, few scenes are highly exaggerated. Stiil, much were not overdone. The precise detailing of every scene is a salute to the absolute excellence of the VFX team of Bahubali-2.

Cinematography by K.K. Senthil Kumar is definitely one of the strongest pillars behind the success. He shot the movie in a great composition. The costumes are chosen perfectly. Devasena’s attire attracts the most. The background score will give you goose bumps. The thud and bass of Prabhas’ entry is outstanding. The songs appeal the audience in the theatre.

To sum up, Bahubali-2 is bigger than what we had ever thought of. SS Rajamouli has set the cinema standards higher for any conventional Bollywood director. He has managed to kick the monopoly of Bollywood which was a much-needed break for Indians fans, who had been waiting for a movie like Bahubali-2. So many things are going to be written for the success of Bahubali-2 in the upcoming days or weeks. There would be some self-acclaimed critique who will be criticizing the film for its exaggerated scenes and valour on screen, but the fact is that Bahubali-2 has revolutionized the Indian cinema and we may witness the golden era of Indian cinema back soon.

S.S Rajamouli’s magnum opus “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” has successfully surpassed Aamir Khan’s “Dangal” at the US box-office with earnings over $12.6 million so far and counting.

According to Great India Films, the US distributor of “Baahubali 2”, the film minted $12.6 million as of Wednesday, officially surpassing life-time earnings of $12.3 million of ‘Dangal’.

“Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” has also officially become the highest grossing Indian film at the US box-office.

NEW DELHI: Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, a key ally of the BJP in the ruling NDA combine, on Thursday rebuffed another NDA constituent Shiv Sena by asserting that there was no vacancy for prime ministership till 2024 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership had been liked and recognised by the people across the country.  

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thakeray had criticised the BJP for reportedly being in a hurry to impose the leadership of Mr Modi and said Mr Paswan had prevailed upon other NDA partners in endorsing a resolution passed at an NDA meeting last month in New Delhi declaring that next Lok Sabha elections slated for 2019 would be fought under the leadership of the Prime Minister Modi.

”Why has Mr Thakeray awaken after a month? How could I force any leader to endorse the resolution. They were not children. All of us are certain that till 2024, there is going to be no vacancy for prime ministership,” he said at a Meet the Press programme, organised by the Press Club of India, here.  

Mr Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party, was replying to questions about the Shiv Sena leader’s statement.  

The Union Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs said the Modi government had since assuming power dealt a hard blow to corruption, brought in transparency and increased accountability.

People have benefitted immensely from the various decisions of the Modi government, especially from note ban that had given the poor a satisfaction of being vindicated as against the trouble it caused to those who made money by dishonest means, he said.

”The results of the recent polls in the UP Assembly and the Delhi Municipal Corporation reflect people’s endorsement of the policies of the Modi government,’’ Mr. Paswan said. 

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on linking of Aadhaar with the PAN card, even as the court was told that it was a “draconian” provision and must go.

The bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan was hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the newly-inserted Section 139AA in the Income Tax Act that makes linking of Aadhaar with PAN card mandatory.

As the bench was told that linking Aadhaar with PAN would have “extreme far reaching consequences not only for individuals but small business too”, the court enquired if the issue “was never debated or raised in the Parliament or referred to a parliamentary standing committee?”

Senior counsel Arvind Datar, appearing for senior Communist Party of India leader Binoy Visman, told the bench the government had “an agenda” to push Aadhaar and pointed to the “dichotomy” between Aadhaar Act 2016 that makes possessing Aadhaar optional and Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act that makes its linking with PAN compulsory.

“A right that is voluntary under Aadhaar Act can’t be made a penal provision under the Income Tax Act,” said Datar.

Besides Visman, former Major General of Indian army S.G. Vombatkere and convenor of Safai Karamchari Andolan Bezwada Wilson have also challenged the validity of Section 139AA.

As Datar said the provision under challenge would affect nearly 2.8 crore individual assesses, the bench observed: “If it can’t cover companies that does not mean that we should not do it with individuals. If they (government) want to do something, a beginning has to be made somewhere.”

Hammering the point that Aadhaar was voluntary under the Aadhaar Act and could not be made mandatory under the Income Tax Act, Datar said the government was “slowly, step by step making it compulsory by linking it with various things. Is it not a contempt of court?”

The senior counsel was referring to two earlier orders of the top court which said that government could insist upon Aadhaar only for distribution of foodgrains, and LPG and other cooking fuel. Later this was expanded to include other schemes like MNREGA, old age pension scheme, Provident Fund and Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana.

As Datar tried to impress upon the bench that Aadhaar could not be made compulsory through other statutory routes, Justice Sikri in a lighter observation said: “They say if you don’t give Aadhaar, you are not entitled to benefits under social welfare schemes. Why don’t they say if you don’t give Aadhaar you are not entitled to pay taxes?”

Pointing to the “dangerous trend”, Datar said a provision has been made that says that tax authorities need not give any reason for conducting searches and “all the searches conducted since 1962 are valid”.

He told the bench that soon the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is going to ask all the company secretaries, chartered accountants, DIN (Direct Identification Number) holders, Directors, key managerial personnel, professionals and others to integrate their Aadhaar number with MCA21 portal for availing services.

Datar said he did not think that linking Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) would curb black money. In a poser, he asked “Have you done a study before you (government) took the monumental decision of linking Aadhaar with PAN?”

(With Inputs from IANS)

NEW DELHI : The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at six places, including the Delhi Secretariat, following alleged irregularities in spending Rs 10 crore on security of Delhi hospitals by former Health Secretary Tarun Seem, considered close to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.  Sources said a CBI team searched Seem’s office and his residence for documents pertaining to the contract for hiring three security agencies.  “The raid was conducted following an allegation of Rs 10 crore misappropriation of Delhi government funds,” an official said.  The probe agency has registered a case against Seem, also close to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and three security firms, the official said.  Seem, an IRS officer, was earlier appointed health secretary by the AAP government. But the decision was overturned by then Lt. Gov. Najeeb Jung because only an IAS officer can seve as a secretary to the government.  Seem was later appointed director of health services in Delhi by the Kejriwal government.  “Irregularities were committed in the engagement of three private agencies for security in the emergency areas of Delhi government hospitals,” the official said.

US President Donald Trump vowed to work as a “mediator, an arbitrator or a facilitator” to help broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians as he welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House.
 “We will get this done,” Trump vowed as he met Abbas on Wednesday.  Trump reiterated the need for Israelis and Palestinians to broker a peace through direct negotiations and called on Palestinian leaders to “speak in a unified voice against incitement to violence and hate”.  “There’s such hatred, but hopefully there won’t be such hatred for very long,” Trump said, speaking alongside Abbas in the Roosevelt Room.  The Palestinian leader expressed his support for a two-state solution to the conflict and the long-held Palestinian desire for a capital in East Jerusalem, welcoming Trump’s role as a mediator in peace negotiations.   He said he had “hope” about prospects for peace with Trump in that role as he praised the President for his negotiating acumen.  “I believe that we are capable under your leadership and under your courageous stewardship and your wisdom as well as your great negotiating ability.   “I believe we can be partners — true partners to you — to bring about a historic peace treaty,” Abbas said through an interpreter. “Now, Mr President, with you we have hope.”  Trump expressed his desire to have Palestinians and Israelis draw on the Oslo Accords that Abbas signed as the Palestinian negotiator in 1993 and said he hoped the Palestinian leader would soon sign “the final and most important peace agreement”.  The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements between the government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).   The accords marked the start of the Oslo process, that is aimed at achieving a peace treaty and to fulfil the “right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”.   While Trump spoke broadly about his desire for a peace deal and some of the barriers to a deal, Abbas spoke about the specific complaints and demands of Palestinians.  Abbas spoke of the importance of providing solutions that would address the situation of Palestinian refugees and those imprisoned in Israeli prisons, referring to “the suffering of my people”.  “It’s about time for Israel to end its occupation of our people and of our land,” Abbas said, referring to the Palestinian territories in the West Bank under Israeli control.  Trump did not address Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which he had asked the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt, nor did he address the terrorist group Hamas, which controls Gaza and earlier this week opened the door to at least a temporary deal for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.  Abbas’ visit comes over two months after Netanyahu visited Trump at the White House.

Acknowledging antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a matter of great concern, India plans to address this public health challenge in a mission mode in the next five years. 
It will establish a National Authority on Containment of AMR (NACA) to provide oversight and monitoring to ensure sustained and effective national action for management of drug resistance in humans, animals and farming.    Importantly, the government intends to initiate several activities to raise awareness and knowledge about AMR, to engage and encourage behavioural change at all levels, promote evidence-based prevention, infection control and sanitation programmes in accordance with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Kayakalp and Swachh Swastha Sarvatra initiatives of the government. 
India has drafted a National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2017-2021) with focus on six strategic priorities which include improved awareness and understanding of AMR through effective communication, education and training (even among professionals); strengthening knowledge and evidence through surveillance of antimicrobial resistance human, animal, food and environment; reducing the incidence of infection in health care, animal health, community and environment settings; and optimizing the use of antibiotics in humans, animal and food with focus on strengthening regulations, access and surveillance of antimicrobial use. Also, the government will promote investment in AMR activities such as research and innovations with focus on development of new antibiotics, innovations in diagnostics and vaccines; and strengthening India’s leadership on drug resistance with focus on international, national and state or local level collaborations.      
The government will involve research institutes, civil society, and encouraging public private partnerships in alignment with Make in India. 
India made these commitments at the Inter-Ministerial Consultation on Antimicrobial Resistance in New Delhi last month where the participants pledged to adopt a “holistic and collaborative’’ approach towards prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance. 
“Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society and is driven by many interconnected factors. Single, isolated interventions have limited impact and coordinated action is required to minimize the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance,’’ Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda said. 
Recognizing that emergence and spread of AMR was negating many 20th century achievements, particularly reduction in illness and death from infectious diseases, the Delhi Declaration brought out after the consultation, admitted that AMR was projected to kill millions of people worldwide as well as in India with massive social, economic and public health repercussions. 
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has identified AMR as one of the top 10 priorities for the Ministry’s collaborative work with the World Health Organisation. The National Health Policy 2017 identifies antimicrobial resistance as a problem and calls for effective action to address it.
India is among the nations with the highest burden of bacterial infections. An estimated 410,000 children aged five years or less die from pneumonia in India annually; with pneumonia accounting for almost 25% of all child deaths. The crude mortality from infectious diseases in India today is 417 per 100,000 persons. Consequently, the impact of AMR is likely to be higher in the Indian setting.
The emergence of resistance is not only limited to the older and more frequently used classes of drugs but there has also been a rapid increase in resistance to the newer and more expensive drugs, like carbapenems. Available data indicates to rising rates of AMR, across multiple pathogens of clinical importance, at the national scale. In 2008, about 29% of isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin resistant, and by 2014, this had risen to 47%. In contrast, in countries which have established effective antibiotic stewardship and/or infection prevention and control programs, the proportion of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates have been decreasing. Extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL) producing strains of Enterobacteriaceae have emerged as a challenge in hospitalized patients as well as in the community. 
The burden of AMR in livestock and food animals has been poorly documented in India. Aside from sporadic, small, localized studies, evidence that can be extrapolated to the national level is lacking. Given that there are few regulations against the use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes in India, the emergence of AMR from antibiotic overuse in the animal sector is likely to be an unmeasured burden in India, the background note of the Action Plan says.  Drug resistant bacteria have been isolated from dairy cattle as early as the 1970s. One of the most common clinical issues encountered in the dairy farms is mastitis, which maybe sub-clinical or overtly symptomatic. Commonly thought to be a disease of production, milk from mastitic cows and buffaloes have been shown to contain a wide range of bacteria, with a wide spectrum of resistance against commonly used antibiotics. 
As with the dairy sector, there is limited evidence available on the exact amount of antibiotic consumed within the poultry industry. In many cases, since the antibiotic is given as a growth promoter through the premixed feed, which comes with added antibiotics that are not even mentioned on the label, it is difficult to exactly estimate the dose or the consumption levels of antibiotics in the poultry sector. 
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned the use of antibiotics and several pharmacologically active substances in fisheries. In contrast, there is no regulation in the poultry industry where many of the commercially available premixed feeds come with added antibiotics. These drugs can, of course, be added to the feeds separately by the farmers. Compared to the poultry and dairy sector, antibiotic resistance has been scrutinized more closely in the aquaculture sector. The existence of legislative provisions to contain the inappropriate and non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in fisheries is expected to impact the levels of AMR in the aquaculture sector but studies have proven otherwise, the note adds. 
India has previously instituted surveillance of the emergence of drug resistance in disease causing microbes in the context of vertical programmes, like the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), and the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). However, a cross-cutting programme dealing with antimicrobial resistance across multiple microbes has been lacking. 
To promote rational use of antibiotics, national treatment guidelines for antimicrobial use in infectious diseases has been released to serve as a reference guide for hospitals in the country for formulating their own local guidelines on the basis of which physicians will be trained. National infection control policy has been drafted and is in the process of finalization for strengthening infection control practices.
In 2010, India was the largest consumer of antibiotics, although the per capita consumption of antibiotics in India (10.7 units per capita) was lower than that seen in many other countries (e.g. 22 units per capita in USA).
Since March 2014 a separate Schedule H-1 has been incorporated in Drug and Cosmetic rules to regulate the sale of antimicrobials in India. About 24 antimicrobials belonging to third and fourth generation cephalosporins and carbapenems are covered under the schedule. These antimicrobials cannot be sold without a proper medical prescription and these drug packaging are required to be labelled with the following text along with red border. 
With respect to consumption of antimicrobials in food animals, the global consumption was estimated to be 63,151 (±1,560) units in 2010; India accounts for 3% of the global consumption and is the fourth highest in the world, behind China (23%), the United States (13%) and Brazil (9%). The consumption of antimicrobials in the food animals sector in India is expected to double by 2030.
In 2004, in the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies, only 1.6% of the drugs in the development stages were antibiotics, and none of them were from novel classes, nor were they targeted to treat multidrug resistant agents. Despite the obvious need to develop newer classes of drugs to respond to the challenges of emerging AMR, there are few late stage candidates in the process of development. Additionally, pharmaceutical agencies have been reluctant to invest in research and development of antibiotics.

The arbitrary and unreasonable move of the Maharashtra government to change the eligibility criteria at the last moment for admission for post graduation in the State government medical colleges has dealt a cruel blow to about 2000 doctors as they have been rendered ineligible for admissions for being non-domiciled.
Even though the Mumbai High Court bench of Justice S S Kemkar and A M Badar stayed the order of Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) giving relief to them, the Maharashtra government has approached the Supreme Court against the stay order putting a question mark on the future of these hapless doctors who have been running from pillar to post to get justice. Their argument is that since the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) results came out in January and during the on-line counselling in April they were eligible for admission to all the government medical colleges, but now all of a sudden DMER has changed the eligibility criteria on April 28 and even published a merit list containing names of only domiciled students which is grave injustice and miscarriage of justice and fair play.
The Mumbai High court bench has held that the “change of eligibility criteria at the stage when the first selection list was to be published is in our considered view arbitrary and unreasonable.” Doctors who were under the expectation right since January 2017 that they would be eligible for admission have been rendered ineligible and would find it impossible now to apply for PG seats in any other State since the admission process is midway, the court had observed while passing orders on a plea filed by Dr Gagandeep Mahi and others against the change of eligibility rules. The High Court order has made it clear that the list should be prepared on the basis of earlier eligibility rule – which means non-domiciled graduates, too, should be included along with domiciled students. While issuing notice to the State government, the bench had observed that admission rules published before January 27, 2017 had made even non-domiciled MBBS students graduating from Maharashtra colleges with one year internship by March 31, eligible for PG admissions in the State, changing the rules mid-way was prima facie not sustainable, it said.  
According to the new resolution of the Maharashtra government, 50% of seats (state quota) in medical institutions are to be filled by domicile students. Besides, in the 35% institutional quota, 17.5% is kept aside for domiciles. Therefore, the reservation for domicile candidates is more than 67.5%. The non-domiciled students graduating from colleges of the state has now been confined to 17.5% management quota in private medical colleges. However, the HC bench has stayed this government resolution and suspended the list of domicile candidates for now.  Many of the non-domicile students from Maharashtra, who had earlier given up their seats in other states in the hope of getting admission in government medical colleges, are now have their hopes pinned on the Supreme Court. They are hoping and expect it to provide them justice and succor against the arbitrary decision of the state government.  
Describing it as a grave injustice, of the affected student Ayush said that when students had taken admission in Maharashtra colleges they were eligible for admission to the government medical colleges of the state. Moreover, after NEET examination results in January the non-domiciled students were called twice for document verification and were given written receipts stating that they were eligible for all government, private, corporate and deemed college seats in Maharashtra based on their performance in NEET.
“So, during on-line counseling I filled only government quota seats options as deemed seats are too expensive with fees ranging from minimum Rs 60 lakh to two crore for the course which is unaffordable for any middle class student. Suddenly, on Friday night a notice was issued by DMER that we are ineligible and have been shifted from category 1 to 2 making us ineligible for government seats while the quota for domiciled students have been increased from 67.5 percent. They did not give us any chance to alter my preference list. So, now since I had only applied for government seats during the on-line counseling I have no chance of getting any seat in the state which is grave injustice for student like me. Earlier, I had returned the seat in MD, Pathology in JNMC, Belgaum Karnataka as I was hopeful of getting a seat in a government medical college in Maharashtra. Now I don’t know what to do as my hard work during the entire year appears to have gone waste.”    Another student who has passed out from a government medical college of the state said that she had got admission in MBBS through the All India 15 percent quota. Though hailing from Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, she had chosen to study in Maharashtra as it has more colleges and so more PG seats. However, now being rendered ineligible at the last moment has made her stateless as Rajasthan does not give admission to students who have not done MBBS from the state.
“Today I don’t have a state quota in any state- not in my native state and not even in Maharashtra. Non-resident Maharashtrians, however, are getting a state quota in two states. If this is not discriminatory, I don’t know what is. This is a grave miscarriage of justice and today I feel like being a step daughter of India.”
Gagandeep Mahi, from BJMC Pune, said that it was a serious breach of trust on the part of DMER as he had even paid Rs 10 lakh in lieu of one year rural posting to get a chance for admission in Maharashtra colleges, but now he has been declared ineligible. “This is height of regionalism. We are not against domicile students, but consider us also.”        
Another student Varun Shukla shared that he got a seat in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata. However, he chose to give up that seat as he had hoped to get a better choice in Maharashtra. But one hour after he gave back that seat, the shocking announcement from DMER came putting his future in peril.
The students find no merit in DMER director Pravin Shingare’s argument that state students should benefit from our facilities. He had said that since students from Maharashtra find it difficult to secure admissions in other states as many follow domicile policy that is why the rules have been changed. However, non-domiciled students’ argument is that if it was the case then they should have been informed while taking admission in the first year of MBBS course itself as it would have given them the choice to opt for other states as such knee jerk action at the last moment and putting their future in peril. (Annapurna Jha is a senior journalist. Views are personal.)

The allegations regarding the transparency of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have ignited a debate in this country. After Bharatiya Janta Party secured historic mandate in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati alleged the winning party with the EVM tampering. In the UP post-result press conference, she outrageously pointed out the doubts over the veracity of these voting machines. Subsequently, Samajvadi Party also went vocal on EVM tempering debate, sooner picked up by the Aam Aadmi Party Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the defeat in Municipal Corporation of Delhi election. Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodiya said the BJP party has mastered to tampering EVM since UP win and now they have graduated to ‘hacking’ the EVM for MCD results in their favor. But how justified the allegations are without knowing the details about our EVM?
EVM Background
EVM was first used in Kerala By-Poll elections in 1982 in Parur assembly constituency. This election was declared ‘null and void’ by the court as it rightly said that the ‘Representation of People’s Act’ explicitly talks about the Election Commission to conduct elections through ballot papers. Then the law was amended in the December 1988 and enforced in 1989. From 2004 onwards, the entire voting system is carried out by EVMs. 
10 Facts and Advantages of EVMs, Know Your EVM
An EVM consists of two units- a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit, joined by a five-meter cable. 
The Control Unit is with Presiding Officer and the Balloting Unit is kept inside the voting compartment. EVMs can record a maximum of 3840 votes. It can cater to a maximum of 64 candidates. In case the number exceeds, we will get back to ballot paper.
The total number of voters will not exceed 1500. However, the capacity of voting machines is more than sufficient.
The EVMs have been devised and designed by the Election Commission in collaboration with two Public Sector Undertakings; Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangaluru and Electronic Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad. 
The machines will record only ‘five’ votes in a minute. It minimizes the possibilities of miscreants polluting the polling booths. There is a ‘close’ button on the EVM which once pressed reject the chances to record bogus votes any further. 
EVMs save a huge cost of papers. It also ends the hassle of transportation, printing of ballot papers and its storage. 
Counting is very quick so the results can be declared within 2-3 hours.
There are ‘no invalid votes’ under this system of voting. During the ballot papers regime, there were large number of invalid votes. Sometimes, ironically, the number of invalid votes were more than the winning margin. But now in the era of EVM, the choice of the electorate will be more correctly reflected.
The ‘hacking’ debate, Defence of EVM
Instead blaming the EC or the EVM, the political parties must learn the physical attributes of an EVM. The software used in an EVM cannot be altered as it operates with ‘Standalone’ software. Standalone softwares cannot be rigged or say ‘hack’ because they are not connected to computers, like a calculator. In other countries, the EVMs are connected to computers which is vulnerable to hacking. The chip inside an Indian EVM is one-time programmable, which is burnt during the time of manufacturing, hence there is no scope of tempering or hacking. The inbuilt chip can never be rigged as it is totally against the nature of the ‘Standalone’ mechanism. 
The buttons on EVMs are not permanently fixed. It is fixed in alphabetical order of the candidates’ name. So with every other polling booth, the sequence of the political parties can change.
Global Reference On EVM Ban By Losing Parties. 
Currently, the BJP is defending the transparency of EVM. But way back in 2009, the same party had questioned it. In fact, the current spokesperson of BJP, GBL Narsimha Rao also wrote a book on EVM’s malfunctioning, introduced and acknowledged by Lal Krishna Advani, which is a reference book for many sitting in the opposition. Nevertheless, we must do some fact check.
Journalist turned politician AAP’s Ashutosh spoke after the MCD defeat on a private news channel that Michigan University had considerably ‘proved’ that EVMs can be ‘hacked’. In fact, the example he quoted is manufactured and distorted. In the year 2009, a techie Hari Prasad accompanied by some computer science students and Michigan professors rigged the EVM, altering the ‘hardware components’ of the EVM. There was no proven software hacking, as Ashutosh claimed, or malfunctioning recorded in the standalone processing. Later on, EC issued a clarification that EVMs are safe and cannot be tempered. The same year, the then congress government booked Hari Prasad and he was jailed under the charges of stealing the EVM. 
In the Netherlands, the EVMs were banned in 2006. A ‘Dutch Public Interest Group’ recorded a video later broadcasted on national television that how one can hack the EVM? In Netherlands, the EVMs were connected to internet so it becomes vulnerable to hacking which is certainly not in Indian case. 
Ireland, after the worth 51 million pounds spent, decided to junk all EVMs. Germany banned it after the court said it to be unconstitutional because of transparency. England and France have never used EVMs. In the United States, many states like California and others have banned it due to paper trail. 
EVM and the way forward, VVPAT
In the wake all the allegations, comes the concept of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT). VVPAT works like a printer. Inside the polling booth, there is a Balloting Unit. With this unit is attached the VVPAT. When a voter casts his vote in the favour of a candidate ‘X’, the VVPAT will generate a ballot slip with the candidate’s name X, party symbol of X and serial number X in a sequence. It will be displayed on a screened window for seven seconds. The slip will automatically cut and drop in a sealed drop box. The voters would not receive that receipt as it will harm the secrecy of votes which might be a threat. 
VVPAT was first used in ‘Noksen Assembly Constituency’ in Nagaland in 2013. In the Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India in 2013, Swami failed to prove the machines could be tampered with. In the response to his petition, the Apex Court directed the EC to equip these machines to VVPAT systems. 
The Union Government has approved the proposal to buy 16,15,000 VVPAT machines for 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. 
One important thing which must be discussed is the use of ‘Totalizers’. The ‘Totalizers’ are interface which are connected to multiple VVPAT systems to count results without disclosing the booth-wise counting results. As it dangerous to announce votes booth-wise, why not to use ‘Totalizers’? The former Election Commissioner of India Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi said, “we asked for the opinions of political parties on using ‘Totalizers’ in counting but they denied as they wanted to know booth-wise results for booth management for the next elections. So don’t blame EC.”
So, in the current scenario, the defeated political parties must introspect the reason of losing elections but not to blame the sanctity and transparency of a world renowned institution, the Election Commission. They should fall in the debate of VVPAT and ‘Totalizers’ but not in some futile, baseless and irresponsible allegations on EVM. Like the Technical Evaluation Committee in 2006 called 100 experts across the country to demonstrate the functions of EVM then said that it cannot be tampered or hacked from a distance as it has no decoder or server. Repeating the same, the Election Commission came on front foot and drove the ball of allegation out by inviting similar experts, IITians, techies for an open challenge to ‘hack’ the EVM. 

NEW DELHI: In May last year Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) floated a tender to set up towers in uncovered villages in the Northeastern states (except Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam considered difficult/remote areas) and for mobile coverage along National Highways as part of comprehensive telecom development in the region, which does not have good infrastructure and is lagging behind from other states of India.
But apparently as a strategy private operators stayed away from the tender process and no company came forward to put up the towers. It was the case when these private operators have taken licenses to provide telecom services in the Northeast, but they never came forward to put up telecom infrastructure on their own.
It was then that DoT held meeting with the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to find a way forward. COAI gave its suggestions which ironically the Telecom Commission agreed completely without any changes or clarifications.
Market analysts and telecom experts say the COAI virtually adopted “blackmailing” tactics and forced DoT to agree to such terms and conditions which would not only put the DoT on a weak footing but also lead to misuse of public funds. The new provisions agreed by DoT in favour of COAI and telecom operators are also against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) guidelines as it favours particular companies and discriminates against other firms who are not operators but telecom equipment manufacturers and are ready to bid for the project as they have done in other projects. The DoT have also agreed to COAI terms and conditions which also detrimental to environment as it would enable setting up of diesel-powered gensets in villages and eco-sensitive zones.
Telecom experts point out that it will first such case in the telecom sector across the world where funds collected from private operators to boost telecom infrastructure would be given back to them for the same job. They should have put towers as per contractual terms and agreement, and are hence “defaulters”. Ironically, USOF is giving funds collected from operators back to them to put up towers.
It will also be first time in India, where a government department and “defaulters” are fixing the terms of the tender.
DoT also ignored state-owned BSNL in this project. Relying on private operators instead of state-owned company is bizarre. DoT seems to have completely ignored a CAG report which had pointed out how in the past private operators first took money and subsidy from the government to set up towers in remote areas, but later shut down these towers living several users in the dark. These cases are in the litigation, they added.
There are 8,621 uncovered villages in the eight Northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (2805), Assam (2503), Meghalaya (2374), Manipur (528), Mizoram (252), Nagaland (134), Sikkim (23) and Tripura (2). For this, the DoT has envisaged setting up 6,673 towers in these eight states with an investment of Rs.4,770 crores. The DoT has also earmarked Rs.270 crores for setting up 321 mobile towers for providing telecommunication coverage along the National Highways in the region. But all these projects have been stuck for the past several months due to delays in finalizing the tender process.

(Courtesy: ictflash.com)