IThere were at least multiple layers of auditing system which chose to either look the other way or do a casual job. You had inadequate supervision
u-19 woRlD cuP// India’s Under 19 cricket team made history when it lifted the U-19 World Cup on February 3 by defeating Australia. India is the first country to win the trophy four times. Played in New Zealand between January 13 and February 3, the U19 World Cup featured the best junior teams in the world. The Indian team had a fantastic tournament, winning every single match en route to the final. In the final, they thrashed Australia, winning by eight wickets.
After reducing Australia to 216, the Indian batsmen crossed that score in the 39th over, having lost just two wickets. Left-handed batsman Manjot Kalra smashed a century (101 off 102 balls) to help his team win. It was India’s second win over Australia at the 2018 U-19 World Cup, having also beaten them by 100 runs in the first stage.
Led by Prithvi Shaw, the U-19 team was easily the team with the best batsmen and bowlers. As India marched into the final, interest in the tournament grew, especially as it became clear that some of the young boys on the field would soon be in the national team. The U-19 team has traditionally thrown up stars of the future-the 2008 U-19 World Cup was in fact won by India under a young Virat Kohli. In 2018, players like Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Manjot Kalra are the ones to watch. Look out for these players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year!
A feather in his cap
As a batsman, Rahul Dravid was one of the most talented to ever play for India. As a coach, that run of form continues. For, it is under Dravid’s coaching that the U-19 team has climbed from peak to peak. In an interview after the win Dravid was quick to point out that, “The real challenges for them start now”, referring to the fact that the youngsters will now move on to play in the Ranji Trophy, IPL and perhaps even for the national team.
MODI BATS FOR FARMERS AND POOR IN HIS BUDGET
BuDgET// On February 1, Narendra Modi’s government presented its final full Union Budget, which was packed with ideas to help farmers and people who are not well-off. As this is the last full financial year (April 2018-March 2019) before Modi has to face voters in elections, the focus is on projects that affect the largest number of people. Let’s look at the biggest announcements of the budget.
The biggest gain for farmers was the announcement that the government would buy their crops for a price 50% above the cost. For example, if it cost Rs. 1 lakh to cultivate a field of wheat, the government would buy the crop from the farmer for Rs. 1.5 lakh. Farmers across India have been suffering from low incomes as they aren’t able to make much profit from their crops. This markup above cost should fix that hopefully.
Health for all
Perhaps the most ambitious (toughest, most challenging) project announced in the budget is a health insurance plan. The insurance plan will cover 100 million families and their hospitalization bills upto Rs. 5 lakh per year will be covered by the scheme. So if someone who is covered by the insurance scheme is hospitalized, the hospital bill upto Rs. 5 lakh per year will be paid by the government through the insurance scheme. The 5 lakh limit is for an entire family so if several members are hospitalized, then the amount will be divided between them. Once implemented this will be the largest government health plan in the world.
PADMA AWARD FOR ROM WHITAKER
AwARD// One of the Indian government's top awards for citizens, the Padma Shri, has this year been given to Romulus Whitaker, a herpetologist who started the Madras Crocodile Bank and the Snake Park, also in the southern city. Whitaker's work has been important for the conservation of endangered crocodiles, snakes and other reptiles.
The Padma awards are announced on Republic Day each year. This year others who won the award include:
Rajagopalan Vasudevan, a professor from Madurai (a city in Tamil Nadu), who came up with the idea of using plastic waste to construct roads
Subhasini Mistry, a woman from West Bengal who worked for 20 years as a maid to raise money to build a hospital in her village
Arvind Gupta, an IIT-trained scientist who gave up his job to create toys from garbage. He has visited thousands of schools all over India to spread his message of science
INDIA GRAB A HISTORIC WIN IN SOUTH AFRICA
cRickET// The Indian cricket team notched up a historic 5-1 win over host nation South Africa in the One Day International Series that ended recently. This is the first time that India has defeated South Africa in a bilateral series playing in South Africa.
Other than one match that was shortened due to rain that India lost, the Indians were the dominant side. Captain Virat Kohli has been in tremendous form through the series. Giving him company has been opener Shikhar Dhawan who also scored a century and two fifties.
But the real stars of the series were the two spinners-Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. The pair have, between them taken an amazing 33 wickets in the six match series. This is the easily the highest number of wickets taken by India spinners in a series and also the most by any visiting team in a series in South Africa. The South African batsmen were simply unable to play the spinners.
With this win, India has become the No 1 ODI side in the world. However, it must be remembered that the Indians played against a weakened South African team whose top batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis were not always available for the matches due to injury.
CAUVERY MUST BE SHARED, SAYS SUPREME COURT
vERDicT// The Supreme Court last month decided on a new formula for sharing waters of the Cauvery River between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Under the new order, Karnataka has to release 404.25 tmcft to Tamil Nadu each year, which is 14 tmcft less than the state’s earlier share. One tmcft stands for one thousand million cubic feet. This is used to measure volume of water in a storage tank/reservoir or to measure river flow. Although farmers in the Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu may be unhappy about getting less water, some of them are already saying that they are happy that Karnataka has been ordered to release the waterwithout any more discussion. In the past, the quarrel between the states led to the stoppage of water released by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka farmers aren’t entirely happy about the order. They were hoping that Tamil Nadu’s share would be reduced by 30-40 tmcft. However, the people of Bangalore have something to cheer about as the Supreme Court ordered that 4.75 tmcft be set aside for the city. The dispute between the states over the use of Cauvery water is an old one. As the River Cauvery originates in Karnataka, the state is able to control the amount released downstream to Tamil Nadu through dams across the river. Tamil Nadu’s farmers heavily depend on the Cauvery for their cultivation of crops, especially rice. The much-awaited judgement was pronounced by a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar, which had on September 20 last year reserved the verdict on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the tribunal. The apex court also allowed Tami Nadu to draw an additional 10 tmcft ‘groundwater’ from a total of 20 tmcft beneath the Cauvery basin. It said the increase in share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft is because of the 10 tmcft groundwater and 4.75 tmcft drinking water requirement for Bengaluru residents. The apex court said drinking water has to be kept on the highest pedestal. It said its order on Cauvery water allocation will hold for the next 15 years
CHANDRAYAAN II TO SPEND 14 DAYS ON THE MOON
SPAcE// India’s second moon mission-Chandrayaan II-will see a rover land on the moon for a two week stay. The rover will land near the Moon’s south pole. The launch is likely to happen in April this year.
Previous landings on the Moon have always been near its equator. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is targeting a polar landing due to the presence of large rocks near the pole that are millions of years old. ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan told a newspaper recently, “Analysing these rocks and the surface will help us explore the moon better and enrich our understanding of the universe.”
The Chandrayaan II spacecraft will take off from Earth on ISRO’s GSLV MkII rocket. In outer space, the rocket will release the Orbiter which will take a month to reach the Moon’s orbit. Once there, the Lander will detach from the Orbiter and descend to the Moon’s surface.
The Rover, which will be housed in the Lander, has been designed to spend one Lunar Day which is equal to 14 earth days, on the Moon’s surface. It will walk 150-200 metres and conduct several experiments as well as analyse (study) the lunar surface. The Rover will use the Orbiter (which will still be circling the Moon) to send images back to Earth.
The Chandrayaan II mission is costing ISRO Rs. 800 crore, which is cheaper than the Hollywood space movie Interstellar which cost over Rs.1000 crore!
HYPERLOOP LINK FOR MUMBAI-PUNE
TRANSPoRT// A new super-fast transport system is being planned between Mumbai and Pune. Richard Branson of the United Kingdom -based Virgin Group has signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to build a ‘Hyperloop’ system between the two cities.
Hyperloops consist of small pods or passenger vehicles (like mini-cabins) that runs inside a tube-like structure at very high speeds. They are able to move fast since a vacuum is created inside the tube. With no friction or resisting force, the pods are able to travel exceedingly fast. The Hyperloop will be able to transport a person from Mumbai to Pune in 25 minutes-the journey by car/train now takes three hours. Over the next six months, Branson and the Maharashtra government will make a plan for the project. If all goes well, India could have one of the first Hyperloop systems in the world.
INDIA MOURNS: BOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR SRIDEVI DEAD AT 54
DEATh// The sudden death of the actress Sridevi seems unlikely to leave the news cycle anytime soon as confusion abounds over her death in Dubai
Cause of death
On Monday, IANS reported diplomatic sources as saying that the Dubai Police had transferred the case to Dubai Public Prosecution following revelation that she died due to "accidental drowning" in her hotel room.
Later, a Dubai Police forensic report stated that 54-year-old Sridevi died due to "accidental drowning" in the bathtub of her hotel room here before her dinner date with husband and film producer Boney Kapoor. This development came a day after media reported that she had died due to a cardiac arrest on Saturday night. Another twist came with the mention in the forensic report of traces of alcohol in her blood — with some media reports claiming that it was found to have been at "elevated levels".
Sharing the image of the forensic report, Gulf News stated that Sridevi, who had traces of alcohol in her blood, lost balance and fell into the bathtub and drowned. However, this could not be independently confirmed.
The latest report of the accidental drowning has added new layers to the mystery surrounding Sridevi's death at the age of 54. It is not clear what caused the actor to lose consciousness, and whether the initial report of her death due to cardiac arrest still holds.
According to a post on the official Dubai Media Office Twitter handle, Dubai Police has transferred the case to Dubai Public Prosecution, which will carry out regular legal procedures that are followed in such cases. “The investigation is still going on to determine the circumstances surrounding the accident as the forensic report only says that she drowned,” an official told Gulf News
The police is trying to piece together the sequence of events and ascertain what exactly happened.
A chief prosecutor told Gulf News: “In such accidental death incidents, the results of the postmortem and forensic examination reports are referred to the Public Prosecution as part of ordinary law enforcement procedures. The papers are revised by the prosecutors of the jurisdiction where the incident happened. An official order to hand over the body of the deceased to the family or relatives is issued shortly after that.”
Time of death
Earlier reports said that the actor was getting ready for a dinner date with her husband. Boney flew to Dubai from Mumbai and went to her room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel at around 5.30 pm on Saturday to “surprise” her with the dinner, a source close to the family told the Khaleej Times.
He woke her up and the couple chatted for about 15 minutes before he invited her for dinner, said the report. She then went to the washroom. After 15 minutes had passed and Sridevi did not come out, Boney knocked on the door to check on her. When he got no response, he forced open the door to find the actor lying motionless in the bathtub full of water, the source said. "He tried to revive her and when he could not, he called a friend of his. After that, he informed the police at 9 pm," he added. The police and paramedics rushed to the site, but she was pronounced dead.
However, conflicting reports later emerged that her time of death was 10.01 pm, which throws the entire previously established timeline into disarray.
Sridevi, Boney Kapoor and their younger daughter Khushi Kapoor were in Ras Al Khaimah, another part of UAE, last week to celebrate the wedding of her actornephew Mohit Marwah. Boney had returned to Mumbai after the wedding, but decided to return to Dubai to surprise his wife.
Sridevi returns home, for the last time and her dead body has been taken to her Lokhandwala house in Mumbai, her funeral will take place at 3.30 pm on Wednesday, February 28. The Embraer jet, owned by industrialist Anil Ambani, landed in Mumbai around 9.30 pm. Anil Ambani, wife Tina Ambani and Anil Kapoor were among those at the airport when the plane landed. The mortal remains were then taken to the Lokhandwala house of the Kapoors where about a dozen police personnel and as many private security men were deployed for crowd management. Sridevi, known as Indian cinema’s first woman superstar, leaves behind her husband and their two daughters Jhanvi and Khushi. “On behalf of Khushi, Jhanvi, Boney Kapoor, the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan families, a sincere thanks to the media for your continued sensitivity and support during this emotional moment,” a statement by the family said. In Mumbai, industry insiders and friends visited the family in the home of actor Anil Kapoor, Boney Kapoor’s younger brother. With their father away, Khushi and Jahnvi were at their uncle’s Juhu home.