NEW DELHI : PM Modi today called upon State Governments to work with the Union Government, as “Team India,” to build the India of the dreams of our freedom fighters by 2022, the 75th anniversary of independence. Delivering the closing remarks at the third meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, he urged States, local Governments and all Government and Non-Government organizations to decide goals for 2022, and work in mission mode towards achieving them. 
Recalling the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, on the occasion of the centenary of the Champaran Satyagraha, the Prime Minister said NITI Aayog has been taking steps to transform India, with fresh vigour. He said the Government, private sector and civil society, all need to work in sync. He noted that NITI was a collaborative federal body whose strength was is in its ideas, rather than in administrative or financial control. He pointed out that the Chief Ministers did not have to come to NITI for approval of budgets or plans. He said NITI Aayog had gone beyond relying on government inputs and taken on board a number of outside specialists, subject experts, and Young Professionals; and States can also contribute to policy formulation. He gave the example of e-NAM, where experiences of States played a key role in the final policy. 

This is a book about a woman taking the lead in getting divorced when she is 35- years-old and trying to rebuild life from scratch. A memoir, Arathi Menon’s first book “Leaving Home With Half A Fridge” is witty, matter of fact and poignant. 

Any divorce is bound to leave its scars. But the author found the courage to rediscover fun. She began to value all the little things that make life such an astonishing gift and got back to her love of writing. Having spent her childhood in Bangalore where she loved trees, food and beer, she currently lives in Bombay and is addicted to happiness and books. 

Arathi referred to her husband as the “Ex” with a capital “E” with whom her marriage lasted five years. She does not reveal his name and finds it difficult not to think of him after deciding to go their separate ways. 

As well read people and being professionals, she had nothing to fall back on in terms of a healthy bank balance. At the same time they did not want anything from each other. She explains without the least fuss the reasons for seeking a divorce. The initiative was entirely hers. That in essence is her story. 

She decided to seek an amicable separation as there was no spark in her married life. She met her Ex on and off but the thought of coming together again was shut out. May be anybody who has loved and lost might relate to it. Her marriage gets dissolved forever upsetting every single thing she was brought up to believe in. 

She maintains she found happiness after the biggest social institution she had committed to had broken down. “It is a fairly tale with a happy ending.” 

Simply put it is about kissing the wrong frog and facing the consequences. Her family supported her wholeheartedly. Their involvement was, however, minimal as Arathi was adamant about handling the situation independently. Her writing is simple, lucid, witty and at times telling. 

Divorcees are thankful for the sheer relief of getting a second chance at dancing passionately, joyfully, unstoppably to the tune of life. 

Her first chapter is aply titled “The End”. No matter what anybody says every divorce is a sad love story. After having tried and tried and tried, she was tired. There was no reason to continue the relationship with Ex. “You could either choose to live in this hell of meaninglessness or take every ounce of courage you have and snap the threads that swayed from your happiness.” 

Her divorce while tragic was never melodramatic. This was real. Her account is anchored in “today’s reality and spoken in a language that is ours”. Things with the Ex were going downhill and the word “divorce” kept popping up in her head. She had to find out what it entailed. Well she did what most people do when they have to research something they are ashamed of. 

After the research she would go to the history and delete her finds. It gave her such a sense of triumph to click on “Clear History” and watch three hours of browsing vanish without a trace. “I figured a mutual consent divorce would be the best for us.” 

The Ex and I had to be living apart for a year before filing for divorce and after that six more months the couple were given an opportunity to change their minds. (This law has changed now.) One needs to go through a process that lasts a year-and-a-half to get divorced, while to get married one has to wait only a month. 

Theoretically Arathi was clear that a mutual consent divorce was the most painless. The emotional trauma will be there but that was her cross to bear. 

She and her Ex were not the kind of persons to brandish the “D” word every time there was a fight. A lot of things could be found lacking in that marriage but one of the things it had was the brutal honesty. “I think it was because both of us did not know how to lie convincingly. What the Ex had done was that he had brought home this large problem. He had kept it in the living room and it had started getting bigger and bigger pushing our marriage out. We both knew it was killing our ’till death do us apart’ vow, but he did not know how to throw it out. I definitely did not want to stay in a place where everything I believed in was being choked into nothingness.”

In fact, on some days I couldn’t even see the Ex as the problem had grown so huge. Finally it came to a point where our marriage had disappeared. That’s when I dropped the ‘D’ word on the carpet. It fell with a deafening clatter and immediately much to satisfaction the problem had already begun to look smaller. The Ex seemed a little shocked like he had never heard the word before. He sat down and she carefully took him through the process. 

After the explanations, much to my surprise, he cheered up immediately. He was relieved the divorce would not happen tomorrow. There was a whole year-and-a-half to go through and being the optimist he was, he thought anything could happen by then. He suggested living apart like the courts had asked pointing at the problem muttered hopefully that maybe this separation would cause it to disappear. 

A lot of couples fake this and pretend they have already lived apart in order to get the divorce more quickly. The problem with having uttered the “D” word is that it is a monster. It clings to you and grows in power. Every single day, every single minute after you have discussed it, it hangs in your mind. The fact that the “D” word had been said helped. By growing louder and louder, it began pushing me out. 

“The house we shared got unbearable.” It hurt so bad to be with someone with whom every single connection, bond and love was broken. She knew it was time for her to leave and the word ‘divorce’ was going with her. Looking back she realised how lucky she was to have friends, such a corpus of them. In divorce one always walks alone. It is great to know that as you walk, there are people who will walk a while with you. Once the divorce by mutual consent came through it dawned on her that she had emerged as a strong, independent woman who is a bit of a chicken when night falls and she is alone at home. 

It is important to question where to find love again. Arathi decided to be open to everything. She had nothing to lose. She went on blind dates met people and learnt all sorts of things. Not all the men were nice. At the same time she believed she would get what she wanted. Happiness was her focus. If she was alone, she’d be happy in her solitary garden.  

In conclusion the author provides a dozen step tango for the divorcee. This includes among others: “Get A Job” if you can’t volunteer at charity step out of your home five days a week; “Let Go” as you can’t force anybody to love you or be with you; “Take Care of Yourself” where one looks good, feels good and believes that you are attractive; “Close Contact” by saying goodbye to the Ex for some time till you have healed; “Fake Happiness” like pretending till happiness turns real; “Its Okay” to hurt as living with pain isn’t that bad as it will go away one day without warning; “Things Will Get Better” as the worst is over and a new beginning has started; and “Close Contact” by saying goodbye to the Ex till you have healed.

Nearly two weeks after the death sentence awarded to the former Indian Naval Officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Pakistani Military Court (FGCM), Pakistan said that the ‘consular access’ will be given on the basis of merit. Kulbhushan Jadhav was convicted by the military court over the alleged charges of espionage and subversive activities in the Balochistan Separatists Movement. Indian government has repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s version and asked for consular access to Jadhav 14 times, but rejected. Now Kulbhushan Jadhav cannot appeal in the civilian court. He can request for a ‘review’ in the FGCM court or appeal in Military Appellate Tribunal. The India Saga has learned about the murky and dubious procedures followed in the Pakistan’s Military Court trials that arise doubt in transparency and sanctity of these Military Court.

About FGCM

Following the terror attack at Peshawar Army School by Taliban that claimed 148 lives of innocent children, Pakistani government proposed a bill in the Parliament to amend the ‘Army Act 1952’ which was done for a two-years period, to try civilians for terror related offenses and activities. As Nawaz Sharif government failed to prevent terror activities via Civilian courts of Pakistan, he went on for an ‘effective deterrent’ that raised serious questions about the prosecution of the civilians since 2015. After the death sentence awarded to the Indian national, it’s high time to talk about the dubious and secretly controlled trials by the Pakistan’s Military Court. 

No Transparency

Since February 2015, a total of 274 individuals have been tried and convicted in several military courts. There are 11 military courts in Pakistan; three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three in Punjab, two in Sindh and one in Balochistan. 

Conventionally, judges are opined to explain the reasoning behind the verdict. However, the Military court doesn’t ensure any such documents to the families of under trials. Even the essential findings are not disclosed. Everything depends upon the wit of Military court that curtails the human rights of the accused. 

No Right to Appeal in Civilian Courts

The Military courts’ convicts cannot appeal against the verdict in the Civilian courts. According to the Pakistan Army Act (1952), Military courts’ convict can only appeal in the ‘Military Appellate Tribunal’. However, convicts can request to ‘review’ the decision in the FGCM courts. Mercy plea is always an option. 

Military court functions in such offenses

– Kidnapping for ransom

– Attacking Military officers

– Instigating or waging war against the state

– Possessing, storing or transporting explosives, firearms, suicide jackets or other articles

– Using or designed vehicles for terrorist attack

In an exceptional move by amending the Constitution, Pakistan became the lone South-Asian country where civilians are tried by Military courts.

The International Commission for Jurists (ICJ) has been a continuous watchdog for Pakistan’s Justice system. It condemned Pakistan in 2016, “the government and military authorities have failed to make public information about the time and place of their trials; the specific charges and evidence against the convicts; as well as the judgments of military courts including the essential findings, legal reasoning, and evidence on which the convictions were based.”

No Law Degree required in Military courts

In Pakistan, Military court judges are military officers very much a part of the military chain of command. There is no requirement for them to have a law degree or a legal background, which are prerequisites of judicial competence and independence of UN Principles. With Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the only source of information for Military court actions, Pakistan continues to announce death sentence to many. 

Kulbhushan Jadhav death sentence looks highly dubious and suspicious when we look at the above proceedings and functions of Pakistan Military Court. In the name of prevention of terrorism, Pakistan has been neglecting the international human rights norms on spy and espionage of Vienna Convention.

The World Bank has approved a $375 million loan for capacity augmentation of National Waterway-1 under Jal Marg Vikas Project. 

The government is developing NW-1 (River Ganga) under JMVP from Haldia to Varanasi (1390 Km) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank. The project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT. 

Union Minister of Shipping, Nitin Gadkari said “The NW-1 projects are expected to create 1,60,000 direct and indirect jobs“

The project will enable Inland Waterways Authority of India  (IWAI) setting up of River Information Service System on NW -1 for the first time in India. River Information System (RIS) are equipment, hardware and software information technology (IT) related services designed to optimize traffic and transport processes in inland navigation. 

NW-1 is a waterway of national significance passing through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, serving the major cities of Allahabad, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Bhagalpur, Patna, Howrah, Haldia and Kolkata, and their industrial hinterland including several industries located in the Ganga basin. The Rail and Road corridors in this region are heavily saturated. Hence, the development of NW-1 would provide an alternative, viable, economical, efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport. The waterway will act as a catalyst in the socio-economic development of the regions by creating new business and employment opportunities.

In a significant first step at ending the obnoxious VIP culture in the country, the Narendra Modi government has decided to end the practice of cars displaying the ‘Lal Batti‘ from May 1.  The move has been welcomed widely with the Prime Minister himself alluding to being the ‘servant of the the people’.  

This is unlikely to reduce the sense of entitlement as the system itself needs radical reforms. Henceforth the enforcement agencies and ambulances requiring to speed up can use the flashing blue lights for clearing the way. 

The swanky cars of VIPs with the red beacon amounted to conferring power to these busy bodies smacking of colonial supremacy. More than the red beacon’s status symbol there was a tendency to misuse the facility.  

A lot more needs to be done beyond mere symbolism. If this is aimed at asserting democratic equality, the Centre will have to come down heavily on a lot of other irritating aspects particularly stopping traffic on key roads for interminably long periods during VVIP movements. 

This has inevitably delayed seriously ill patients reaching hospital on time because of which precious lives have been lost. What is a shame is the cops blindly following orders without even listening to the entreaties of the people that a seriously ill patient or a pregnant woman who is in labour needing immediate medical attention has invariably fallen on deaf ears. 

It is time that this country puts an end to the VIP culture of privilege and entitlement. However, commitment has been lacking. When an MLA suggested in Madhya Pradesh that the VIP culture should be abolished, he was mocked at. 

Recently there was the Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad taking pride and justifying hitting an Air India employee with his shoe. 

It was shameful that Parliament failed to disown Gaikwad. This abuse of power was let off with an apology. When the constitutional guarantee of special treatment or protection is misused, ways have to be found to stop it. Amid all this the average citizen suffers as he is not on a par with an MLA, an MP or a minister in enjoying equality before law. 

Thanks to Modi the country’s VIP culture is being shaken up. This puts the brakes on the central and state governments nominating dignitaries who could use the red beacon. Accordingly, the Central Motor Vehicles Rules of 1989 are being amended symbolising an assault on India’s over reaching VIP culture. 

At the same time over the last three years the governments in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab having different political governments had limited the use of red beacons.

It was not surprising that Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh welcomed the move while Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik promptly removed the red beacon no sooner than he head the union cabinet’s decision on April 19. 

Simultaneously, the call for a review of other VIP privileges at the tax payers money is gaining ground. The big bungalows in Lutyens Delhi in which ministers, MPs and senior bureaucrats reside with acres of land available to them must be replaced with functionally efficient accommodation which is decent and functional. 

There are several other perks and privileges that the MPs enjoy. Several years ago the MPs demanded a red beacon for their cars as well. It is also questionable why the salaries of ministers and MPs is tax free. 

It is heartening that the Modi government has taken the bold step of doing away with the “lal batti” VIP culture which is what ambitious MPs desired at the Centre some years back. The quest of legislators in the states has always been the ‘Lal Batti’ as a stepping stone to pelf and power.      

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

The manner in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is positioning himself as the messiah of the poor much to the chagrin of the Congress along with gaining in strength is paving the way for storming the next general elections two years later in 2019. 
That is the signal emerging from the two-day National Executive of the BJP held in Bhubaneshwar last week end. They now want to make inroads in Eastern India. The Lotus party is keen to make a beginning from Odissa by dislodging chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD in the next assembly elections to be held along with the general elections. 
The Congress is the main opposition in that state and is in a shambles. It has now been relegated to the third spot. On the other hand the saffron brigade has been emboldened by the surprise outcome in the panchayat elections held two months back in February. 
Naveen has been the chief minister since 2000 and is in his fourth consecutive term. He is also gearing up against the BJP and began by paying respects to his late father, the indomitable Biju Patnaik on the occasion of his death anniversary. 
West Bengal is also on BJP’s radar but the competition there with TMC supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the helm of affairs is not going to be easy. The credit goes to her for sending the Left Front packing in the state after it had ruled unchanged in Kolkata for more than three decades. 
With assembly elections round the corner in Himachal Pradesh and in Modi’s home state of Gujarat at the end of this year in December is bound to be a prestigious one for him. It is in this context that his 48 hour visit to the Patidar stronghold of Surat straight from Bhabaneshwar after the conclusion of the BJP National Executive assumes importance. 
The messages that emerged from the BJP National Executive were clear. Modi’s concern for the poor and the backward found various expressions. The most noticeable was the decision to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Other Backward Classes. The OBC category which includes the backward segments of the minority community received special attention from the Prime Minister indicative of his focus on development being inclusive. 
BJP president Amit Shah emphasised that the party’s success was rooted in this ideal of development as people no longer voted on the basis of religion or caste but only for progress. The demographic change in the BJP’s traditional vote bank has given the Lotus party the confidence to address the ‘triple talaq’ issue directly which Modi called an “evil custom” underlining the need to be addressed for the sake of justice to “Muslim sisters” without recourse to violence. 
Shah, a confidant of the Prime Minister, went on to say that the golden age of the BJP will come only when it has  a chief minister in every state and makes its presence felt from the “Panchayat to Parliament”. He specifically wanted Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal to be part of the BJP’s golden age. 
Modi came out with his own two mantras – P2 for pro-people and G-2 for good governance. He had no doubt that the Commission for the OBCs, which has been referred to a Select Committee in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP-led NDA is in a minority, is a step towards ensuring greater social justice across the board. 
He has urged the party cadres to reach out to the backward Muslims so that they are reassured of their safety. BJP’s gambit in the recent assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh of taking up the cause of non-Yadav OBCs facilitated a landslide win. 
With Modi staying put in his constituency of Benaras for three days at a crucial stage, a surge in favour of the saffron brigade was evident. Considering the complex caste considerations, the BJP also joined hands with small regional groups confined to specific areas which proved to be advantageous. 
While the two resolutions adopted at the BJP’s National Executive touched upon the pro-poor initiatives of the Modi government, it refrained from commenting on the problem of slow job creation. If a positive change is not brought about in the disappointing situation prevailing on the job creation front as well as uplifting a slow economy, it could hurt the Modi government. 
(T R Ramachandran is senior journalist and commentator. Views are personal.)

After the arrest of RBI’s one of the top ten defaulters and absconded business man Vijay Mallya, much has been anticipated about his extradition and deportation to India. Soon after his arrest by the Scotland Yard, the Westminster Magistrate Court released him on strict bail conditions after he deposited a bond worth 6,50,000 pounds (5 crore 38 Lakhs Rupees). Now it is the prerogative of the Indian government to follow the due process of Mallya’s extradition, which will be a cumbersome exercise on India’s part.
What is Extradition? India and UK have signed the Extradition Treaty dated back in 1992 and enforced in 1993. The country requesting an offender extradite have to appeal in the UK court with the valid evidence in the complete paperwork form. Indian government is positive to extradite Vijay Mallya, as per the UK’s Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). After Mallya’s deportation, he is bound to face proceedings under the Indian Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 
Early Extradition Cases and India’s success rate:
The only extradition in the last 24 years has been done of Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, a wanted in 2002 post-Godhra, Gujarat riots case. That time the Indian authorities issued a Red Corner Notice against him. He faced serious charges to burn 23 muslims alive in Gujarat state. Other-profile cases have not been successful include those of Lalit Modi ;IPL ideologue, music director Nadeem Saifi ;accused and acquitted in the famous singer Gulshan Kumar murder case, Ravi Sankaran; accused in the Indian Navy war-room leak case, Tiger Hanif; wanted in connection with two bomb blasts in Gujarat in 1993 and some Khalistan movement individuals. India is also seeking the extradition of UK citizen, Raymond Varley, who is accused of child abuse in Goa. One British national of Indian origin, Shrien Dewani, who was tried by South African court for the murder of his wife, Anni, in 2010, was extradited to UK. Last year, he was found hanged in his house. 
Where India falls short in the process of extradition?
The India Saga has learned that a poor paperwork and lack of evidence are the key reasons of past setback in the UK Westminster Magistrate Court. On the contrary, the diplomatic procedures and formalities against Vijay Mallya case have been done with more care. CBI and Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have done the formalities in more paperwork taking a lesson from the past.
Why UK a safe heaven to refuge?
UK legislature has stringent human right laws that benefit an absconder if there is a possibility of him to be tortured and sentenced to death in the deporting country. 
The well-known Scottish reformer Samuel Smiles called London “the world’s asylum, the refuge of the persecuted of all lands”. Fugitives with considerable wealth enjoy safe passage and asylum in UK. They can park their assets there under the provisions of UK legislature. Many fugitives from Russia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Pakistan are granted asylum in London. 
One reason is the role European Union, the EU. The person facing charges of extradition has rights to appeal in the European Court of Human Rights. According to the article 8 of European Conventions of Human Rights, several extradition cases have been refused on humanitarian grounds. We must learn that Britain is not completely out of the EU. So the chances for Vijay Mallya to appeal further is still there. 
UK legislature Extradition Process in Category-2, where India falls:
–  Arrest under certified warrant-  The extradition hearing-  Secretary of state functions-  Appeals (Against, Court’s appeal under section 26, 28, 32, appeal in Supreme Court)-  Time for extradition and asylum claim-  Withdraw extradition request-  Competing extradition request-  Consent to extradition-  Post extradition matters-  Cost-  Interpretations.
UK Courts’ orders to Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya’s former lawyer Harish Salve said it will take 4-6 months to extradite him. “He will exhaust all his legal option there in UK. There will be argument and arguments on whether he should be extradited or not,” said Salve. 
After the hearing at Westminster Magistrate Court, Mallya is bound to follow legal implications. He has to be accessible all time until the proceedings. As he is traveling to UK on a diplomatic visa and owns no valid passport, he can’t flee to any other country till the hearing is completed.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today presented awards and addressed civil servants on the occasion of the eleventh Civil Services Day. Describing this day as one of “rededication,” the Prime Minister said that civil servants are well aware of their strengths and capabilities, challenges and responsibilities. 
While addressing at Civil Services Day the Prime Minister said that earlier, Government was almost the sole provider of goods and services, which left a lot of scope for ignoring one’s shortcomings. However, now, very often, people perceive that the private sector offers better services than Government. PM said that with alternatives now being available in several areas, the responsibilities of Government officers have increased. 
PM emphasized on the importance of competition, which brings qualitative change. He said that the sooner the attitude of Government can change from regulator to enabler, the faster this challenge of competition will become an opportunity. 
He said that anonymity is one of the greatest strengths of the civil services. PM cautioned officers that the use of social media should not lead to a decline in this strength, even as social media and mobile governance are leveraged for connecting people to benefits and government schemes. 
“Reform, Perform and Transform”, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that political will is needed for reform, but the “perform” part of this formulation must come from civil servants, while transformation is enabled by people’s participation. 

NEW DELHI: India joined the club of select few nations as the Navy today successfully fired the BrahMos Land attack supersonic cruise missile from a ship. 
This variant of Long Range BrahMos missile was fired from Indian Naval Ship Teg, a Guided Missile Frigate, on a target on land, according to a spokesperson of the Navy. With this, the Navy has acquired the capability of precisely attacking a target on the land from any of its frigates in the sea. 
This successful maiden firing of BrahMos Land Attack Supersonic Cruise Missile has significantly enhances the prowess of Indian Navy.  
BrahMos Missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia, and its Anti-Ship variant has already been inducted into Indian Navy. Majority of the frontline ships of Indian Navy, like the Kolkata, Ranvir and Teg classes of ships, are capable of firing this missile. 
Land Attack variant of BrahMos Missile provides Indian Naval Ships the capability to precisely neutralise selected targets deep inland, far away from coast, from stand-off ranges at sea.
According to officials of the Indo-Russian BrahMos corporation, the missile met all flight parameters during the test where it selected the designated target among the group of targets, hitting it precisely and destroying the target with its tremendous kinetic energy. The firing took place somewhere in the Bay of Bengal. 

NEW DELHI- National Green Tribunal on Thursday came down heavily on the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for his controversial statement blaming the Centre and the green panel for damage to the Yamuna floodplains where his organisation had organised a massive gathering last year.
Describing the statement as ‘shocking’, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said, Art of Living founder has no sense of responsibility. 
The Art of Living founder had blamed the government and the NGT for permitting his NGO to hold the World Culture Festival on the floodplains of river Yamuna. 
The counsel appearing for the Art of Living, however, contested the findings of the expert panel and sought quashing of the report that they have certain objections with regard to the findings of the expert committee and sought setting aside of the report.