ON ARMY DAY, CHIEF SAYS SCRAPPING 370 DISRUPTED PAK PLANSArmy Chief Gen M M Naravane on Wednesday hailed the abrogation of provisionsof Article 370 as a "historic step" and said the move had disrupted plans ofthe "western neighbour and its proxies", in a clear reference to Pakistan.The armed forces have "zero tolerance against terrorism", he said at the72nd Army Day function held at the Cariappa Parade Ground in DelhiCantonment. "We have many options to counter those who promote terrorism andwe will not hesitate to use them," he said."The abrogation of Article 370 is a historic step. It will prove to beimportant in integrating Jammu and Kashmir in the national mainstream. Thisdecision has disrupted the plans of our western neighbour and its proxies,"the Army chief said.The Army Chief said the situation along the LoC is linked to the situationin Jammu and Kashmir. "Today, we remember those who have made ultimatesacrifice for the country. It will keep inspiring the coming generations,"he said.The Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year to mark Lt Gen K MCariappa taking over as commander-in-chief of the Indian Army in 1949 fromGeneral Francis Bucher, the last British commander-in-chief of India.Captain Tania Shergill, the first woman Parade Adjutant, led all-mencontingents during the parade, drawing praise from senior officers and loudcheers from the audience.CHINA'S ATTEMPT TO RAKE UP KASHMIR FALLS FLAT AGAINIndia on Wednesday slammed Pakistan for again trying to raise the Kashmirissue in the UN Security Council where it failed yet again to find anysupport, with New Delhi asserting that Islamabad needs to focus on the hardtasks it has to address in order to ensure normal relations with India.Yesterday, China made a fresh pitch to raise the Kashmir issue under "othermatters" during closed consultations in the Security Council ConsultationsRoom. China, Pakistan's "all-weather ally", stood alone in the Pakistanicorner to get the Security Council to focus on the Kashmir issue. Theattempt failed as other member countries felt Kashmir is a bilateral matterbetween India and Pakistan.India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said:"We once again saw an effort made by one member state of the UN, fail inplain view of all others."NOSTALGIA FOR RUSSIA LINGERS, US TOO HOLDS MUCH PROMISE, SAYS JAISHANKARExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said while nostalgia forthe former Soviet Union or Russia still lingered in India, the relationshipwith the US provided "promising opportunities" to help the country move to amore knowledge-driven world where talent and innovation were the keys tobecome a bigger global power."I like nostalgia. I started my career in Moscow," said the minister whileobserving that foreign policy practitioners tend to underestimate thesentiment on the street. Giving the example of his 90-year-old mother,Jaishankar said she turned out on the streets in 1955 with lakhs of Indiansto welcome then ruling Soviet duo of Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev.It is still there in her mind.But the sentiment in India towards the US has changed. "Look at any sectorand I will show you something that is happening in that relationship. Therehave been changes in the US for a variety of reasons. It is looking beyondalliances," he added.He described India's global vision as an extrapolation of its nationalpersonality which is a pluralistic society and historically very open to theworld. "You will see those traits reflect themselves. What has changed isgreater capacities and more influence; an opinion that is expressed morefirmly and decisively," he declared.INDIA CAN PLAY A ROLE IN DE-ESCALATING TENSIONS IN GULF: IRANIAN FOREIGNMINISTERIndia can play a role in de-escalating tensions in the Gulf region as NewDelhi is an important player, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said onWednesday.His remarks come amid tensions between the US and Iran over the killing ofIranian general Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani.India has been maintaining that it would like the situation to de-escalateas soon as possible and the country has been in touch with key players,including Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, as it has importantinterests in the region. "India can play a role in de-escalating tensions inthe Gulf region as New Delhi is an important player," Zarif said.RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT RESIGN AFTER VLADIMIR PUTIN SPEECHRussia's government resigned in a shock announcement on Wednesday afterPresident Vladimir Putin proposed a series of constitutional reforms.In a televised meeting with the Russian president, Prime Minister DmitryMedvedev said the proposals would make significant changes to the country'sbalance of power and so "the government in its current form has resigned"."We should provide the president of our country with the possibility to takeall the necessary measures" to carry out the changes, Medvedev said."All further decisions will be taken by the president." Putin askedMedvedev, his longtime ally, to continue as head of government until a newgovernment has been appointed."I want to thank you for everything that has been done, to expresssatisfaction with the results that have been achieved," Putin said.Earlier Wednesday Putin proposed a referendum on a package of reforms toRussia's constitution that would strengthen the role of parliament. Thechanges would include giving parliament the power to choose the primeminister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as in thecurrent system.NEPAL'S PRACHANDA SAYS HE CAN BE BLAMED FOR 'ONLY' 5,000 DEATHS DURING CIVILWARFormer Prime minister and chairman of the ruling Nepal Communist Party,Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said Wednesday that he was ready to takeresponsibility for the death of 5,000 people, but that he was notresponsible for all 17,000 deaths that took place during the decade-longarmed insurgency led by the Maoists beginning February 1996.Prachanda's statement comes amid demands by rival politicians that he shouldbe tried for killing 17,000 people during the insurgency, which was led byPrachanda.Addressing a gathering in Kathmandu, Dahal said since he led a movementagainst the feudal system, he was ready to take responsibility for thekilling of 5,000 people. The other 12,000, he said, were killed by thestate.The Maoists are now part of the ruling Nepal Communist Party and had joinedthe political mainstream in 2006.US AND CHINA SIGN DEAL TO EASE TRADE WARThe US and China have signed an agreement aimed at easing a trade war thathas rattled markets and weighed on the global economy. Speaking inWashington, US President Donald Trump said the pact would be"transformative" for the US economy.Chinese leaders called it a "win-win" deal that would help foster betterrelations between the two countries. China has pledged to boost US importsby $200bn above 2017 levels and strengthen intellectual property rules.In exchange, the US has agreed to halve some of the new tariffs it hasimposed on Chinese products. However the majority of the border taxes remainin place, which has prompted business groups to call for further talks.NEW PM HOUSE, PMO & PARLIAMENT BEFORE 2024; MINISTRIES ALONG CENTRAL VISTAUsed since 1984 when late Rajiv Gandhi became the PM, the current residenceof Prime Minister was built over 12 acres of land, based on designs by NewDelhi's chief architect Edwin Lutyens. However, with a new redevelopmentblueprint on the table, the PM's residence is now expected to move to theSouth-West corner, behind South Block on Raisina Hill.The blueprint for redevelopment of the central vista, the ambitious planthat includes setting up of a new Parliament building, bringing all centralministries closer, and redeveloping the existing heritage structures in andaround the central vista - has many such proposals to alter the layout ofLutyens' Delhi.According to Bimal Patel, head of HCP Design and Planning - the firm thathas bagged the contract for creating the blueprint - the project is in linewith the original plan created by Lutyens. Consolidating, rationalising andsynergising government functions through better office infrastructure is atthe heart of this project, he said.Apart from accommodating all ministries, bringing the PM andVice-President's residences within the central vista are key facets.Similarly, the V-P's residence will be behind North Block.To accommodate and modernise the Parliament, instead of refurbishing theexisting building (used since 1947) a new building will be developed insideParliament complex. A triangular structure will be set up on a 13-acre plot,which is currently used for car parking. Besides a Lok Sabha hall threetimes the size of the current one, a Rajya Sabha hall and a lounge will alsocome up.At present, 22 of the 51 union ministries are located in and around thecentral vista. According to the blueprint, 10 modern buildings along bothsides of the Rajpath spread will house all ministries.Besides integrated underground parking lots, these building complexes willhave underground transit passages directly linked to the Delhi Metro'syellow and violet lines.To further cut down traffic congestion on the 3-km-long central vista -spread between India Gate and Raisina Hill - pedestrian underpasses willreplace traffic signals.Patel says his plan has followed Lutyens' "Ridge to River" model tocommemorate 75 years of India's independence in 2022. Starting from theridge of Raisina Hill - the central Delhi plan will connect the area withYamuna River, where a memorial will be set up to celebrate the 75thanniversary.KERALA, BENGAL MAKE IT OFFICIAL, ASK REGISTRAR GENERAL TO PUT NPR ON HOLDThe Registrar General of India (RGI) has received communication fromgovernments of Kerala and West Bengal to put on hold the exercise ofNational Population Register (NPR). The two states had earlier announcedthat they would not participate in the NPR exercise."The states have written to their district magistrates saying that the NPRexercise could be detrimental to public order and so it must be put on holdfor the moment. That communication was forwarded to our regional Censusoffices, and we have received it from them," an MHA official said.However, there is no clarity within MHA on what the Centre would do ifstates do not cooperate with the NPR exercise. Notably, manpower for conductof Census, and even NPR, is to be drawn from state governments.CHHATTISGARH'S CONGRESS GOVT CHALLENGES NIA ACT, A UPA-ERA LAWA day after Kerala invoked Article 131 of the Constitution to challenge theCitizenship (Amendment) Act in the Supreme Court, the Congress government ofChhattisgarh too cited the same provision to move the top court, challengingthe Constitutional validity of the National Investigation Act, 2008.Incidentally, the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre when the lawwas enacted by Parliament.The Chhattisgarh petition said the NIA Act, in its present form, not onlytakes away the state's power of conducting investigation through police butalso confers unfettered discretionary and arbitrary powers on the Centre.There are no rules governing the exercise of power which, it said, givesample discretion to the defendant to exercise its power at any juncturewithout providing any reason or justification for the same.OPEN TO PROBE DAVINDER SINGH'S ROLE IN 2001 PARLIAMENT ATTACK CASE: J&K DGPDays after one of its officers, Deputy Superintendent of Police DavinderSingh, was caught with two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, the J&K Police hasrecommended a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).Responding to a question, DGP Dilbag Singh said they were also open to aprobe into Davinder Singh's alleged role in the 2001 Parliament attack. "Ifthat issue also comes up during ongoing investigations, it can also beprobed,'' he said.In 2004, in a letter to his lawyer Sushil Kumar, Afzal Guru, then lodged inTihar Jail for his involvement in the Parliament attack, had said that "DSPDavinder Singh", then posted with J&K Police's Special Operations Group atHumhama, had asked him to "take Mohammad", a Pakistani national identifiedas one of those who carried out the Parliament attack, "to Delhi, rent aflat for his stay and purchase a car for him".Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration late Wednesday nightforfeited the Sher-I-Kashmir honour for gallantry awarded to DySP DevinderSingh in August 2018.Davinder Singh who was posted with the J&K Police anti-hijacking unit atSrinagar airport, was arrested with top Hizbul Mujahideen commander SyedNaveed Mushtaq, alias Naveed Babu, and his associates, at a checkpoint onthe Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on January 11.FIR ON AMU COMPLAINT TO BE FILED ONLY IF HC DIRECTS: POLICEPointing out that the matter related to violence on the campus of AligarhMuslim University (AMU) on December 15 last year was subjudice, the Aligarhpolice said Wednesday that an FIR into a complaint filed by the AMU Tuesdaycould be registered only after a court directive."How can we lodge an FIR when the matter is subjudice in the High Court?Their [AMU] complaint was against police personnel. The court has directedfor a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) inquiry, which is underway.How can we lodge an FIR in the middle of all this?" said Aligarh SSP AkashKulhary.On Tuesday, AMU Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor had said the varsity hadlodged a complaint demanding an FIR against police personnel for entering auniversity hostel on December 15.MAHARASHTRA GOVT REVIVES PLAN FOR A LONDON EYE REPLICA IN MUMBAIThirteen years after it was first mooted, the Uddhav Thackeray-ledgovernment has revived the ambitious plan of constructing a 'Mumbai Eye' inthe city on the lines of the hugely popular tourist attraction in London,the London Eye. The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government on Wednesday discussedthe proposal during the weekly Cabinet meeting.Later, speaking to mediapersons, NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy ChiefMinister, Ajit Pawar, said that the entire Cabinet is in favour of theproposal. But just as Pawar suggested in the meeting that land availabletowards the Bandra end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link can be considered forthe project, senior officials said that paucity of space and lack of naturalvantage points from which one can get an unimpaired view of Mumbai mightcome in the way of its implementation.As per an initial study, the plan for a London Eye replica will need atleast five acre, which can be prove to be a challenge in Mumbai, an officialsaid.ARJUNA'S ARROWS HAD ATOMIC POWER, SAYS WEST BENGAL GOVERNORThe arrows of Mahabharata's Arjuna had atomic power, claimed West BengalGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar, drawing sharp criticism from academics, even ashe joined a long list of politicians who have in recent years given bizarreinterpretations linking mythology with science.Speaking at the 45th Eastern India Science Fair and 19th Science andEngineering Fair on Tuesday, Dhankhar also claimed that flying objectsexisted during the period of Ramayana."It is said that the plane was invented in 1910 or 1911, but if we delveinto our old scriptures we will see in Ramayana, we had 'uran khatola'(aircraft)," he said."Sanjaya narrated the entire war of Mahabharata (to Dhitarasthra) not fromTV. The arrows of Arjuna in Mahabharata had atomic power in it," Dhankharsaid, asserting that the world could no longer afford to ignore India.Dhankhar, who has been in news for clashes with the Mamata Banerjeegovernment ever since he assumed office in July last year, joins politicianssuch as Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb and UP Deputy Chief MinisterDinesh Sharma to give odd interpretations of mythology.KOHLI MAY RETURN TO NO. 3The crushing 10-wicket defeat to Australia in the first ODI in Mumbai hasgiven Virat Kohli and the Indian management a very serious headache. TheIndian batsmen failed on a batting-friendly track, and their bowlers wererendered helpless by rampaging Australian openers. After the dismissal ofKohli, caught-bowled by leg-spinner Adam Zampa, the Indian line-up failed toput up a challenging total.Kohli came in at No. 4, instead of his regular No. 3 position, because Indiahad included three openers in the playing XI on the basis of good form.After the thrashing, though, Kohli indicated that that decision will change."Because of the way KL (Rahul) has been batting, we have tried to fit him inthe batting line-up," Kohli said. "Having said that, I don't think it'squite gone our way whenever I've batted number four, so we'll probably haveto rethink about that one."Having said that, Kohli said it's OK to fail occasionally when experimentingto get the right playing combination. "It's very easy to just go with onetemplate and just follow it non-stop," the captain said. "I think peopleneed to relax and not panic with one game, I'm allowed to experiment alittle bit and fail as well at times. You lose games here and there buttoday was one of the days where it didn't come off." "All in all it's aboutgiving some guys opportunities and you'll never know if this works or not ifyou don't try," Kohli said.Meanwhile, Kohli has been named the captain of the ICC Test and ODI teams ofthe year, capping off a memorable season for the leading batman of theworld.Apart from Kohli, there were four Indians who were picked in the ICC's Testand ODI teams of the year. The Test team featured Mayank Agarwal and RohitSharma apart from Kohli, pace bowler Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinnerKuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.