Cupertino (California), May 1 (IANS) Riding on the growth in its Services and wearable segments, Apple has posted a revenue of $58 billion for its second quarter of 2019 -- a decline of 5 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

The revenue from iPhones was $31.05 billion -- down from the year-ago quarter but enough to make up over 53 per cent of the entire revenue.

The revenue from Apple's non-hardware business like iCloud, Apple Music and App Store surged to $11.5 billion this quarter.

"Our March quarter results show the continued strength of our installed base of over 1.4 billion active devices, as we set an all-time record for Services, and the strong momentum of our Wearables, Home and Accessories category, which set a new March quarter record," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement late Tuesday.

This is a good quarter for Apple compared to the last one where the company admitted poor iPhone sales and revised its earnings guidance.A

The iPhone sales had fallen 15 per cent from the year prior in Apple's first quarter.

In Q2, international sales accounted for 61 per cent of the revenue.

"We delivered our strongest iPad growth in six years, and we are as excited as ever about our pipeline of innovative hardware, software and services," Cook added.

Apple generated operating cash flow of $11.2 billion in its second quarter.

"We also returned over $27 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. Given our confidence in Applea?s future and the value we see in our stock, our Board has authorized an additional $75 billion for share repurchases," informed Luca Maestri, Applea?s CFO.

For its fiscal third quarter of 2019, Apple forecasts revenue between $52.5 billion and $54.5 billion.

The company recently announced new Services like News+ subscriptions, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade.

The company has also released back-to-back new models of AirPods, iPad Air, iPad mini and the iMac desktop.

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Venu Sriram has already gotten the green signal from Bunny regarding the script. However, Sukumar is still making tweaks and changes.

If Sukumar does not come to a conclusion soon, Bunny will kick-start Venu Sriram's project and that makes it clear that Sukumar's project will not take off anytime soon.

Bunny-Sukumar project not happening in near future? (Photo:SocialNews.XYZ)

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Washington, May 29 (IANS) The US will hold off on applying major new sanctions against Pyongyang while it tries to put back on track the proposed June summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A US official told the Journal on Monday that the White House had been set to announce the sanctions as soon as Tuesday but will now delay them indefinitely as negotiations with North Korea continue, reports The Hill.

The Treasury Department had readied a sanctions package aimed at more than 30 targets, including Russian and Chinese entities, the official added.

American officials are currently in North Korea to meet their counterparts in the truce village of Panmunjom on demilitarized land near the South Korean border.

The officials are meeting through Tuesday attempting to get the June 12 summit in Singapore back in motion.

Trump last week unexpectedly cancelled the planned summit with Kim, citing North Korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility".

The two countries, as well as South Korea, have since worked to reschedule the meeting, with the White House this weekend sending a team of American officials to Singapore to meet North Koreans and prepare should the summit go forward.

The US and the UN over the last several years have been able to ban most of North Korea's trade and cut off a large portion its foreign income stream - including getting China to reduce trade.

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Washington, April 21 (IANS) American Olympic champion hurdler Brianna Rollins has accepted a one-year ban for failing to report correctly her whereabouts to anti-doping officials, a media report said.

Rollins missed three tests, on April 27, September 13, and September 27 in 2016, which resulted in an anti-doping violation, Xinhua news agency reported.

The ban is retroactive to September 27, the date of her last missed whereabouts report, which will not affect her 100m victory at the Rio Olympics.

However, it will keep her out of the 2017 world championships in London in August.

In a statement released on Thursday, her attorneys said the computer program mix-up caused the ban as it listed her location on certain dates as both her home and a track meet where she was competing.

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) A "normal" monsoon brought much-needed relief to farmers after two consecutive years of drought. However, the demonetisation drive during the harvest season has devastated them, with one expert estimating they would need a bailout package of a staggering Rs 3 lakh crore ($44 billion), slightly less than India's defence budget.

India received 862 mm of rainfall this monsoon, just three percent less than the average of 887.5 mm, spelling good fortune for farmers who had suffered losses and agony in the past few years due to insufficient crop yield.

Barring exceptions in a few states, the average rainfall translated into surplus agricultural produce.

However, farmers' hopes of earning profits or compensating for the losses they incurred during past drought years were wiped out due to a huge dip in the prices of agriculture produce -- a fallout of the tremendous cash cruch that followed the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

According to farmers, almost all crops lost their reasonable prices, with tomato growers being the worst hit.

Data issued by the National Horticulture Board showed the average monthly wholesale price of tomatoes went down to Rs 374 per quintal at Pimpalgaon market in December -- the lowest in the country -- compared to Rs 1,675 per quintal in the same month last year.

In Delhi, the tomato prices in December this year were Rs 653 compared to Rs 1,925 during the same month last year.

Similarly, the average monthly wholesale price of onions plummeted to Rs 540 at Varanasi and Rs 711 at Bhopal, where the lowest price last year was Rs 926.

Noted agricultural policy analyst Devinder Sharma termed the impact of demonetisation more severe than that of the past two droughts combined.

"In last two droughts, farmers suffered a lot, but they were prepared since they could see it coming. After the normal monsoon this year, they had expected profits and improvement in their monetary condition and livelihood. However, demonetisation has caused a 60-70 percent drop in agriculture prices," Sharma told IANS.

"The fallout of demonetisation has crippled the rural economy. Just imagine the condition of the farmers who have suffered losses when profits were expected after a long time," he added.

Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat are among the states which received deficient rainfall this monsoon. However, it did not have any visible impact in Punjab and Haryana as these states have sound irrigation systems -- 98 percent assured irrigation in Punjab and 82 percent in Haryana.

Demonetisation, however, changed the scenario even in these two states. Farmers felt the pinch as their yield did not get reasonable prices after demand plummeted. They claimed that their yield had to be sold below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and they did not have money to buy seeds for the rabi crop, sowing for which is currently under way.

Narendra Singh, a farmer from Rachedi in Haryana's Ambala district, said: "Due to lack of enough currency notes during the harvest period, there was a drop in demand from traders. Being the festive and wedding season, we had no option but to sell our yield quite below the MSP."

What fuelled the slowdown in demand from traders was the traditional cash-based transactions. And the negative impact on the income of the farmers would severely impact their spending power.

Shaam Singh Maan of Karnal district said most farmers in his area did not have enough money to buy seeds for the rabi crop. "My rice yield could fetch just Rs 1,250 per quintal when the MSP was Rs 1,470. Since we are under previous loan burdens, we do not have enough money to buy seeds for the rabi season," Maan told IANS.

The southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, too, were badly hit due to three consecutive droughts and demonetisation.

Don Bosco, a farmer and social activist from southern Karnataka, said the region witnessed a huge dip in agriculture produce. "Due to short and low rainfall, paddy and ragi output was too low. Farmers were already in distress. Now, demonetisation has added to our woes. We are banking on summer rains now," he said.

Meanwhile, the government has released rosy data of wheat sowing -- a major rabi crop. The figures provided by it show that the area sown under wheat was 27.86 million hectares till end-December, compared to 25.94 million hectares in the same month last year.

And, if one is to believe Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, the sale of seeds and sowing for the rabi crop were not only unaffected but, rather had increased. "As per the data provided by the state governments and agencies, the sale of seeds has increased this year. So is the sowing area," Singh told reporters.

Experts, however, differed. Analyst Sharma said farmers cannot afford to keep their land barren and sought a relief package for those affected by demonetisation on the lines of drought or flood relief packages.

"The rural economy is totally shattered. The farmers, already suffering from a financial burden due to two consecutive years of drought, don't have any money. The bureaucrats sitting in Delhi don't appreciate the plight of farmers. In such a situation only a relief package of Rs 3 lakh crore will help the farmers," Sharma said.

Concurring, Yudhvir Singh, General Secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), demanded a loan waiver for farmers to ease their financial burden.

"The government has shown no sympathy for the problems of farmers post-demonetisation. Many farmers have taken loans from private money lenders to buy seeds and fertiliser for the rabi crop. The government should waive off farmers' loans," he said.

(This is the last of a series of articles from IANS that looked back at the year that was. can be contacted at saurabh.k@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) If signing of the trilateral agreement on developing the Chabahar port in Iran, the civil nuclear deal with Japan and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (Lemoa) with the US marked the major highlights of Indian diplomacy in 2016, deteriorating relations with Pakistan and China stalling India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) are the negatives.

With two major cross-border terror attacks from Pakistan and the Islamic State's attacks in Europe, the fight against terrorism figured majorly in India's diplomatic initiatives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Brussels in March fresh after bombs ripped through the Belgian capital's airport and a Metro station, claiming dozens of lives, including that of an Indian techie, and injuring an Indian air carrier's staffer.

Modi's visit to Brussels also marked the resumption of summit-level talks with the European Union after a gap of four years following the case of two Italian marines being charged with killing Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala.

Though India managed to draw the support of Switzerland, Mexico and South Africa for its membership of the NSG during Modi's visits in June and July, China stalled New Delhi's bid on the ground that for a country to be a member of the 48-member bloc, it has to be a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Despite two rounds of discussions between India's Joint Secretary (Disarmament) and the Chinese Director General leading the NSG talks, Beijing continued to block New Delhi's membership bid.

This, when India and Japan signed a historic civilian nuclear deal during the Prime Minister's visit to Tokyo for the annual bilateral summit. Japan being an active player in the civil nuclear market, the agreement will help major companies like GE and Westinghouse of the US in setting up nuclear plants in India.

Though China said the test firing of the Agni V intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month should help the strategic balance in South Asia, Beijing's blocking of New Delhi's NSG membership should be seen in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) perspective. India has raised concerns over the CPEC that passes through Pakistan-adminsitered Kashmir (PoK) ending at the newly-developed Gwadar port in southwest Pakistan.

Against this, what can be seen as a major boost to New Delhi's Act East Policy is its strengthening of ties with Myanmar that has newly acquired democracy. After Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) assumed power in March, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Nai Pyi Taw in August which was followed by a visit to New Delhi by Myanmarese President U Htin Kyaw within a week.

India's relationship with Southeast Asia was further emphasised with Modi's visit to Vietnam in September during which the bilateral relationship was elevated from "Strategic Partnership" to "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership". India also offered a $500-million defence credit line, part of which will be used for the construction of offshore patrol boats by Larsen & Toubro.

This came in the wake of the an international arbitration tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague ruling in July that China violated the Philippines' rights in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest commercial shipping routes.

India urged all stakeholders to follow the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea (Unclos). During Indonesian President Joko Widodo's visit to New Delhi earlier this month, both sides agreed to ensure safety and security of the sea lanes while prioritising defence and security cooperation.

On the western front, India's ties with Pakistan dipped to a new low with two major cross-border terror attacks at an Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot in Punjab in January and at an Indian Army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in September. A peace initiative that was launched by Sushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad in December 2015 and Modi's visit to Lahore on Christmas Day the same year was thrown completely off the tracks.

But New Delhi gained significant upper ground when it signed a trilateral agreement with Kabul and Tehran for developing the Chabahar port in Iran, boosting connectivity with Central Asia.

Modi visited Iran in May after inaugurating a redeveloped mega dam in Afghanistan signifying India's Neighbourhood First policy with its western neighbour. In December last year, Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurated a new building of the Afghanistan parliament that was built with Indian aid.

India's engagement with its extended neighbourhood in the west can be gauged from the fact that the Prime Minister visited Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar across May and June in quick succession.

Following the India Africa Forum Summit hosted by New Delhi in October last year, Modi made his first trip to mainland Africa visiting Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. India-Africa ties were further boosted by the visits of President Pranab Mukherjee to Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia, and Vice President Hamid Ansari to Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria and Mali.

India's growing ties with the US got a significant boost with the signing of the Lemoa. Earlier this month, the US made India a "major defence partner" during the visit to New Delhi of US the Defense Secretary. What India-US ties will see in the incoming Donald Trump administration is the subject of much speculation

On the multilateral front, India hosted the annual BRICS (Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa) Summit in its role as the chairman and the Sixth Ministerial Heart of Asia Istanbul Conference on security and development.

(This is a part of a series from IANS that look back at the year that was. Aroonim Bhuyan can be contacted at aroonim.b@ians.in)

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By Anand Singh

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The Indian Railways -- one of the world's largest networks --had a difficult year in 2016 as it grappled with a string of accidents that cast a shadow on safety measures notwithstanding the government's bid to revamp the ageing national carrier.

The colonial-era railway system, which carries millions of passengers daily, hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons as early as February when the Kanyakumari-Bangalore Island Express derailed near in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu leaving several people injured.

In yet another tragic accident in July, at least seven children were killed in July when a speeding train plough into a school van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh.

But the worst came on November 20, when the Patna-Indore Express jumped the tracks near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh leaving as many as 149 passengers dead beside maiming many others.

One of the worst railways disasters, it raised questiones yet again about the safety of the railways especially after the government announced investmenting Rs 1.27 lakh crore over five years on safety measures.

The creaky railway system has long been a safety concern for the over eight billion passengers it carries annually. The network runs around 12,000 trains daily of which 7,000 are passenger carriers.

Apart from accidents, 2016 will also be remembered for the historic decision of doing away with the Rail Budget. The decision was taken on September 21 after the cabinet gave its nod for merging it with the general budget, putting an end to a practice that started in 1924.

The year also witnessed the introduction of new class of services like Mahamana Express, Gatimaan Express and Humsafar Express. Through the launch of these trains the government said it redefined the travel experience of passengers in trains.

The change started with the launch of the swanky new superfast 'Mahamana Express' connecting Delhi and Varanasi on January 25.

The features in the Mahamana Express include ergonomically designed ladders for climbing to upper berths, snack tables for side berths, windows with powered venetian blinds and roller blinds, LED lights as berth indicators, LED reading lights, fire extinguishers in all coaches and an electrically operated chimney in the pantry car.

The toilets of the Mahamana Express have platform washbasins, bigger mirrors, an odour control system, exhaust fans and dustbins.

The railways also introduced India's fastest train, the Gatimaan Express, on September 20 that runs between Delhi and Agra at a maximum speed of 160 km/h.

Similarly, the railways also launched Humsafar Express on December 16, the first of a series of fully air-conditioned 3rd A/C services, between Anand Vihar and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The Humsafar Express also boasts latest technology like vinyl wrapping, high quality curtains and passenger information system to enhance the user experience of travelling by train.

The train also has fire and smoke detection systems and most of the parts are made of fire-resistant materials.

Humsafar coaches have pleasing and comfortable interiors and attractive exteriors with GPS-based public information system, deodoriser, fire suppression system, and hygienic lavatories.

The coaches of the Humsafar Express are also equipped with a mini-pantry with oven/fridge, convenient berth identification, distinctive furnishing board and welcome boards.

Apart from all this, the railways came up with the biggest surprise of flexi fare for premier trains - Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi from September 9.

Under this, the base fare increases by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold subject to a prescribed limit. There was no change in the existing fare for 1AC and EC class of travel.

But on December 19 Railways said started to provide 10 per cent rebate on any seat left vacant after the preparation of the chart.

(This is part of a series of articles by IANS that look back at the year that was. Anand Singh can be contacted atanand.s@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) In a year that saw surgical strikes, a new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) and strengthening relations with both Russia and the US, the Defence Ministry had many firsts, but also could not escape controversies, including those around the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and One Rank One Pension (OROP).

In two major achievements for the Make in India initiative and the forces, indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas was inducted with much fanfare, while India's first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, was quietly inducted in the service -- with no official word on this so far.

The year was marred by several attacks on defence establishments, starting with the Pathankot air base on January 2 that left seven security personnel and one civilian dead. There were many more attacks at Army convoys and units, the worst being the attack at the Uri army camp on September 18, in which 19 soldiers were killed.

India's response to the attack came in the form of surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Kashmir. These were the first ones on the western front that the Indian Army has officially announced.

The strike, and the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani in Jammu and Kashmir, meanwhile, led to a spurt in infiltration and cease fire violations, according to the government. Minster of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, in a written reply in Parliament, said there was an increase in infiltration attempts since Wani's killing.

All together, there were over 400 ceasefire violations reported along the India-Pakistan frontier under the control of the army (216 violations) and the Border Security Force (221).

While situation at the border remained tense, the year was also marked by great achievements for the forces, specially for the women. The first batch of women fighter pilots -- Flying Officers Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh -- were inducted, breaking another glass ceiling.

An all-women's team of the Indian Navy circumnavigating the globe is currently at Cape Town in South Africa to participate in the "Cape to Rio 2017" race.

In a big step towards Make in India, the Defence Ministry came out its new DPP. It came into effect on April 1 and aims to push Make in India by according the highest priority to buying Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) items.

It also allows "agents" for foreign vendors, but with a rider that they cannot be paid depending on the success or failure of the contract.

And, in a bid to push domestic defence production, the ministry is also on finalising "strategic partners" for specific sectors.

According to Defence Ministry, since 2014, 135 contracts worth Rs 1,91,018 crore have been signed with Indian and foreign vendors for procurement of defence equipment such as aircraft, helicopters, frigates, rockets, missiles, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rifles, ammunition and simulators.

In a major diplomatic and military achievement, the year also saw the magnificent International Fleet Review (IFR) being conducted in Visakhapatnam in February with the participation of 34 Indian Navy ships and 20 foreign warships from 14 countries, including the US, China, Japan and Russia.

There was speculation about the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant joining the IFR. However, the then navy chief, Admiral R.K. Dhowan, denied the report. The vessel, constructed under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister's Office, was within months quietly inducted into the Indian Navy.

The other major indigenous marvel -- the Tejas LCA -- entered squadron service with two aircraft being inducted on July 1.

The year also saw defence relations with both the US an Russia grow stronger. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar met for the seventh time in December 2016, and the third time this year.

The two countries signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and also finalised India's designation as a "Major Defense Partner" of the US.

India and Russia, during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, signed deals for S-400 Triumf air defence systems, a joint venture to build Russian Kamov helicopters in India, and another deal for building four frigates for India.

The year was, however, not free of controversies.

While OROP was granted in 2015 and payments with arrears are already being given, the suicide of a veteran, Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal, in November, brought the issue to fore once again, as did the resumption of the protest at Jantar Mantar by the United Front of Indian Ex-Servicemen.

The veterans are demanding the removal of anomalies, with a major sticking point being the time period for revision of pensions. While the government says this will be done every five years, the veterans have demanded this be an annual exercise.

The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission also did not go down well with the forces, and the three service chiefs have had meetings with the Defence Minister on the issue, being assured that the anomalies will be resolved.

Disability pension was one of the major contention points with the pay panel recommending that a soldier who is currently getting disability pension as a percentage of his salary, will get a fixed slab-based amount if the recommendation is implemented.

While a final call on it will be taken by the anomaly committee of the pay panel, the Defence Ministry issued an order in October stating that the disability pension component will be paid as per the old system till a solution is found.

Another issue that came up was that of rank parity, after a ministry circular dated October 18 on rank equivalence between defence officers and armed forces headquarters (AFHQ) civil service officers brought the ranks of armed forces officers a notch down compared to their earlier status. Parrikar has promised to resolve this issue as well.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Anjali Ojha can be contacted at anjali.o@ians.in)

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By Somrita Ghosh

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) Amidst literary geniuses like Taslima Nasreen, Amitava Ghosh, Devdutt Pattanaik and Ramachandra Guha, some debutant authors twinkled in the galaxy of Indian literature and books.

Be it fiction or non-fiction, many authors made a mark and created an identity for themselves. While many opted for rom-com to woo readers' hearts, some opted for coming of age stories while a few created controversies.

The year saw many senior journalists penning their personal accounts which depicted the harsh truth and some dose of reality -- entangled with controversy, ofcourse!

Journalist Rana Ayyub's "Gujarat Files Anatomy of a Cover Up", based on a sting operation to unravel the truth behind the 2002 Gujarat riots became quite a sensation. So did Josy Joseph's "A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India" which draws upon two decades of his skills as an investigative journalist and exposes how some of the industrial houses "own" the country.

Senior journalist Akshaya Mukul's "Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India", an account of one of the most influential publishing enterprises, was also acclaimed by readers. Mukul also won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize -- now in its 9th edition -- for his work.

Former JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar also made his literary debut this year with "Bihar To Tihar: My Political Journey".
"
"The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore" by 26-year-old Manu S. Pillai was also praised for its focus on the remarkable life and work of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last -- and forgotten -- queen of the House of Travancore.

Saurabh Dugggl's recently-launched "Akhara", which dwells on the life of wrestler Mahabir Singh Phogat and his daughters, has already created a buzz -- and is the inspiration for a Bollywood film. The year also saw the literary debut of tennis star Sania Mirza, who co-wrote "Ace Against Odds" with her father Imran Mirza and sports journalist Shivani Gupta.

Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi too entered the league of debutant authors with "Kiss of Life", co-written by Bilal Sidiqqi, on his son's struggle with cancer. Aseem Chhabra's "Shashi Kapoor: The Household, The Star" is the first biography of the actor.

Another book that made the mark was "Swimmer Among the Stars Storis" by Kanishk Tharoor, as did Madhu Gurung's "The Keeper of Memories" and Nayeema Mahjoor's first-hand account on Kashmir -- "Lost in Terror".

Tanuj Solanki's "Neon Noon" was also liked while Manu Bhattathiri's "Savitri's Special Room", a delightful collection of stories that bring together an eccentric cast of characters, was much appreciated.

Romance retained its position as one of the favourite themes for debutant authors like "The Wedding Photographer" by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal, which garnered praise owing to its being set amidst the hustle and bustle of a Big Fat Indian wedding. Priyanka Mookherjee's "Hedon" was also liked.

Savi Sharma's "Everyone Has a Story" had different characters from different backgrounds coming under one roof and sharing their stories.

The year also witnessed an abundance of women authors who became vocal with their writings on sexual emancipation and craving for a self-identity. The characters came out strong-willed and bold and who don't hesitate to speak out their hearts and minds.

Take Ratika Kapor's "The Private Life of Mrs Sharma" which dramatically examines the clash of tradition and modernity from the eyes of the protagonist, Renuka Sharma. Kanchana Banerjee's "A Forgotten Affair" also dwells on a woman looking for an identity.

Publishing houses have been playing a pivotal role in putting the limelight on first- time writers, nurturing their talent.

"Every established author today once wrote a first book. And every editor dreams of discovering that author or book whose work goes on to become truly significant. So it is not a philanthropic motive but that publishing houses are always searching for good writing, good content, and debut writing is a very good place to look," Ajitha GS, Senior Commissioning Editor at Harper Collins, told IANS""

"There are so many titles in the market; it is crowded and not everyone knows how to find what they read; festivals, reviews and social media can effectively get to readers. Secondly, we need to read more literary fiction -- it needs an extra push and word of mouth helps," Ambar Sahil Chatterjee, Commissioning Editor at Penguin said in same context.

(This is part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Somrita Ghosh can be contacted at somrita.g@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) Sipping a oreo chocolate shake accompanied by a thick chicken patty smashed between buns or experimenting with the flavours of Indian regional cuisine -- a culinary visit to any eat-out remained incomplete without the "foodporn" and "foodgasm" hashtags, making 2016 a tummy-blessed foodilicious year.

The caf? culture saw a rise this year. Take Illiterati Caf? at Mcleodganj in Dharamshala which is turning out to be quite a popular spot amongst tourists. Prithvi Caf? in Mumbai and Biker's Caf?, Tyre Patty and Cafe4 in Kolkata are turning out to be some of the favourite hang-outs of the youth.

In the national capital, Satya Niketan, Greater Kailash and Rajiv Chowk -- still called Connaught Place by diehard fans -- remained favourite cafe destinations.

Presentation is playing an important place when it comes to praising a dish. Mason jars and bulbs are turning quite a unique way of serving shakes and juices in places.

A trend that has been running across restaurants is amalgamation of science with food, especially molecular gastronomy.

"With the rise of molecular gastronomy in the food category, the beverages have also seen a spike in molecular mixology and craft cocktails. These practices have given autonomy to the bartenders to create drinks with differentiation like smoked cocktails, foams, torched and scratched drinks etc," Riyaz Amlani, President, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) told IANS.

Some trendsetters in this category are Farzi Caf?, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, The Molecule Air Bar that have been drawing a lot attention with dishes like "Molecule - dragon smoke popcorn" or popcorn mixed with Maggi tastemaker and infused with liquid nitrogen. The outcome? Thick smoke emerging from the mouth and nostril when popped inside.

The use of organic and local vegetables remained a key focus this year.

"It was great to give a nod to local farmers and artisans and present to our diners the local produce. Thumbs up for reducing the carbon footprint," Abhishek Basu, Executive Chef, F&B Production, The Park, told IANS.

Basu also pointed to kitchen garden salads, buddha bowls, seafood and local meats also becoming popular.

For Chef Achal Aggarwal, Executive Chef at the Hilton, Chennai, the year saw modern and contemporary food when chefs has experimented a lot with new styles, like blending Western and Asian foods with Indian flavours.

"With chefs, foodies and restaurateurs all experimenting with regional cuisine, dishes are slowly making their way into mainstream dining. Some of the restaurants that are promoting regional cuisine are Mahabelly, The Toddy Shop, Bombay Canteen and The Potbelly (in the national capital)," Amlani further added.

Revival of old recipes, regional cooking, demand for authentic international cuisine such as Italian, Korean, Japanese and French are the rise. Craft Beer is now becoming more discerning and there is a rise in demand for more flavours and different kinds of beer.

And, not to forget -- the social media remained an integral part for all food lovers. Hashtags like "foodlover", "foodporn", "foodgasm", "foodie", "nomnom" and "dindin ruled the Instagram dictionary.

Some of the emerging trends that will rule the gastronomic world in the coming months are virtual kitchens, home chef aggregators and the Food Truck, ubiquitous in the West but quite nascent in India.

"The coming year will be for authentic food from the hidden kitchens of India which will become trademark in the culinary world," Aggarwal pointed out.

Technology will also play a pivotal role in the gastronomic world in future with online orders and quick home-deliveries.

"Today customers can use their smart-phones to order food from any restaurant of their choice and get it delivered. Apart from easy ordering through websites and mobiles, the big discounts offered by these players have held the industry in good stead," Amlani noted.

And for those who mind putting in some extra kilos and opted for healthy food diets, pitapit breads, Mediterranean diet and consumption of wholegrains has seen a rise.

Chef Basu too noted that wellness tonics or shots will rule the kitchens in the coming years as people turn more and more health conscious.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Somrita Ghosh can be contacted at somrita.g@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) "Britney Spears is dead by accident!" Fortunately, it was just a hoax and the "Toxic" star is still alive. But not all musicians were as "Lucky" as the star. If it was "Last Christmas" for George Michael, Prince made the rain gods pour "Purple rain" when they breathed their last this year.

It was time for merry making, believing in Santa Claus and hanging lights and gifts on Christmas trees. But the festive mood got switched off when the news of the legendary singer-songwriter George Michael's death broke on Christmas Day. The Grammy winner was 53.

The British pop icon, who sold tens of millions of albums as a member of the Wham! duo and on his own, was found dead at his home in Oxfordshire, England, by his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz. Police described the death as "unexplained but not suspicious".

While the tributes are still pouring in for the "Father figure" hitmaker, the year gone by has been widely tagged as "a curse" as many musicians bid their final adieu.

2016 began with rock legend David Bowie's death on January 10. Aged 69, Bowie, who enjoyed a string of worldwide hits from the late 1960s onwards, died peacefully surrounded by his family after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Bowie's last released album "Blackstar" became his first record to top the charts in the US. The record was released two days before Bowie died.

A week after his death, Mott The Hoople drummer Dale Griffin died at the age of 67. He was a founding member of the group, best known for songs including "All the young dudes", which was penned by Bowie. Griffin died peacefully in his sleep.

January 18 was another day to mourn as Glenn Frey, a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, died at 67. He succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia, read a post on the official website of the band, which had churned out hits like "Hotel California" and "Take it easy".

The time of grief continued in February too. Maurice White, the Earth, Wind and Fire vocalist and co-founder, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on February 4. He was 74. The singer had reportedly been battling Parkinson's disease since 1992.

Singer Gogi Grant, whose hit track "The wayward wind" pushed music icon Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak hotel" off from the top spot on the Billboard charts, died on March 10. She was 91.

The same day, legendary keyboardist Keith Emerson of English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and The Nice band died at age 71. Emerson's death was ruled a suicide.

On March 16, Frank Sinatra Jr, the son of the legendary singer Frank Sinatra, passed away aged 72. He died of cardiac arrest while on tour in Daytona, Florida.

Flamboyant pop musician Prince, who became a global superstar in the 1980s, with albums like "1999" and "Purple Rain", died at his home in Minnesota on April 21. He was 57. Based on toxicology reports, he died of an accidental overdose of Fentanyl - the same painkiller found at the Los Angeles house where King of Pop Michael Jackson died in 2009.

Congo music star Papa Wemba, 66, died on April 24 after the stage collapsed during a concert in Ivory Coast.

"Me and Mrs. Jones" hitmaker Billy Paul also breathed his last on April 24 "after a serious medical condition". The soul singer was 81.

Nick Menza, drummer of the former heavy metal band Megadeth, passed away after he collapsed on stage during a show in California on May 21. He was 51.

Renowned Pakistani qawwali singer Amjad Sabri was shot dead in Karachi on June 22, after unknown gunmen fired at his car.

Scotty Moore, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" Elvis Presley's guitarist, died at 84 on June 28.

Legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, whose "Hallelujah" was one of the most covered songs, passed away at 82. He died during his sleep following a fall in the middle of the night on November 7.

Rock icon Leon Russell also died in his sleep on November 13. He was 74.

Noted Carnatic musician M. Balamuralikrishna, 86, passed away in Chennai on November 22. He had been ailing for some time.

Renowned Pakistani singer and preacher Junaid Jamshed died in a plane crash in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on December 7.

(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)

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By Fakir Balaji

Bengaluru, Dec 31 (IANS) Global headwinds such as macroeconomic factors, currency volatility and disruptive technologies impacted the resilient Indian IT industry in 2016, forcing Nasscom, its apex body, to lower the growth rate for fiscal 2016-17.

"The IT industry is going through a transient phase with global and domestic factors impacting its performance. While the effect of short-term factors may show for a couple of quarters, the worst is behind us," Nasscom President R. Chandrashekhar told IANS.

The single-digit growth of global software majors like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL for the July-September second quarter made Nasscom revise its industry export revenue guidance to 8-10 per cent ($117-119 billion) in November from 10-12 per cent ($119-121 billion) it projected in February.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has, however, maintained the domestic revenue growth at 11-13 per cent to achieve Rs 1,560-1,590 billion ($22.9-23.4 billion) by March 31,2017.

"This year has been an interesting one for the industry owing to various global and domestic factors. Increased adoption of digital technology by consumers, e-commerce and start-ups has driven the industry's growth in the domestic market," Chandrashekhar asserted.

Though India accounts for 56 per cent of global sourcing with seven per cent market share of the world's software and IT services, currency volatility and innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, automation, Internet of Things and machining have disrupted the industry's traditional products and solutions to enterprises worldwide.

"To stay globally competitive, the industry needs to invest and enhance its digital capabilities. This entails a mix of reskilling, domain and platform capabilities coupled with acquisition-led competencies," Chandrashekhar maintained.

Recovering from the fallout of the global financial meltdown in 2008-10, the Indian IT-BPM (Business Process Management) industry flourished to grow in double digits (12-14 per cent) on a wider base over the last couple of years, thanks to its adoption of cloud computing, big data, analytics and mobility.

As a result, the industry's revenue grew 12-13 per cent in the 2015-16 fiscal to $143 billion, including $108 billion from exports, while domestic revenue increased by 10 per cent to Rs 1,41,000 crore.

For the first time in many quarters, IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported flat sequential growth for the second quarter, which made its Chief Executive N. Chandrasekaran admit that growing uncertainties in the environment was creating caution among customers and resulted in holdbacks in discretionary spending.

Similarly, Infosys lowered its annual revenue guidance to 8-9 per cent for this fiscal due to uncertain business outlook and currency volatility from 10-11.5 per cent on June 30 and 11.8-13.8 per cent it projected in April.

Unlike its peers TCS and Infosys, Wipro projected flat revenue from its IT services for October-December third quarter due to weak demand and uncertainty in technology spend.

The government's push towards digitisation for a digital economy and enhancing the ease of doing business through administrative overhaul and tax reforms, however, augured well for the industry.

Looking forward, Chandrashekhar said 2017 would be the year of re-adoption for the industry, with technology disruptions reshaping enterprises and providers focusing on building technology-led platforms that can redefine services delivery.

"Trends like consumerisation of IT, SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud), changing lines of business and new under-penetrated markets will alter the future of the industry."

Industry hiring also took a beating, with the IT majors deferring recruitment of freshers from campuses, holding back appointments for laterals and postponing joining dates for new techies.

The industry employee base reached 3.7 million, with an addition of 200,000 employees in 2015-16.

"The industry is looking for talent from 'qualification' to 'skill-based' with greater focus on hiring 'knowledge and expertise'-based talent," Chandrashekhar noted.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Fakir Balaji can be contacted at fakir.b@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) Indian badminton this year saw P.V. Sindhu coming out of the shadow of her illustrious Hyderabadi city rival Saina Nehwal, who was blighted by multiple injuries that marred the second half of her season.

Sindhu did what no other Indian woman had done before: bag a silver medal at the Olympic Games -- bettering Saina Nehwal's 2012 London Games show of a bronze medal -- which was a first in Indian badminton.

Sindhu's standing was further consolidated when she captured her maiden Superseries title -- in China in November -- and by the end of what has been a memorable year she possessed her best world rank, at No.6.

Saina, who clinched the bronze medal at the Asian Championships and a team bronze at the Uber Cup, followed by the title at the Australian Superseries, was India's premier hope for a medal at Rio. But a right knee injury meant she wasn't at her best leading up to the Games, where the 26-year-old lost to lower-ranked players and failed to make it to the knock-out stage.

After Saina's exit, the Indian medal hopes fell on double World Championships silver medallist Sindhu, known not only for her giant-killing instincts but also for her inconsistency.

But her hard work and preparations under the watchful eye of Pullela Gopichand paid off at Rio. Her improved defence helped her dispatch talented and experienced opponents like Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, London Olympics silver medallist Yihan Wang of China and Nozomi Okuhara of Japan before reaching the final.

As she entered the summit clash, India, which opened its medal account through the fiesty woman wrestler Sakshi Malik's bronze medal, clamoured for the yellow metal after a gap of eight years.

Her final opponent was two-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain, the lone challenger to Asia's band of talented women's singles players -- and Sindhu clearly was not the favourite.

But the 21-year-old Indian gave a tough fight to the Spaniard before bowing out in the third game as a ruthless and determined Carolina became the first non-Asian to finish on top in the category at the Olympics.

However, Sindhu won hearts despite the loss as you don't often see an Indian playing the gold medal round at the Olympics and showing composure, talent and respect towards her opponent.

Sindhu's medal was India's second and last at the Games and she returned to a thunderous welcome and grand monetary cheques from various quarters -- as also the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. She became a household name and has reportedly signed an annual contract of Rs 50 crore with a private firm, making her the country's richest non-cricketer.

She extended her dream year with the China Open SuperSeries title and then finished second at the Hong Kong Superseries before settling with a No.6 world ranking to close the year.

Even as Sindhu soared, Saina faced a host of fitness issues. She won a bronze at the Asian Championships and powered India to another bronze at the Uber Cup. She was then troubled by a foot injury before recovering and registering an important triumph at the Australian Open.

Afterwards, during training prior to Rio, she injured her right knee. After the Olympics washout, she underwent surgery to repair her troubling knee and made her comeback in November. Come next year, she will hope to hit top fitness and form starting with the Premier Badminton League (PBL), as she seeks to remain India's premier shuttler.

As the limelight was on the duo, Indian men tried their best to exceed expectations, but the likes of Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap were not able to sustain form. While Srikanth managed to reach the quarter-finals, Kashyap was sidelined due to a knee injury and spent most of his season in the process of putting his fitness back on track. Young Sourabh Verma made some amends by winning the Chinese Taipei Masters Grand Prix title and reached the final at the Bitburger Open.

Among other categories, the successful women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa decided to part ways after difficult results at various levels, including the Rio Olympics. The 2011 World Championships bronze-winning pair was unable to advance to the knock-out phase. Come PBL 2017, both will be hoping to show fans their form and, especially for 33-year-old Jwala, it will be a question of extending her long career.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Abhishek Purohit can be contacted at Abhishek.P@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The Narendra Modi government came under increasing attack by opposition parties through the year over a range of issues, including demonetisation, but larger opposition unity remained elusive due to the competing interests of political outfits opposed to the ruling BJP-led alliance.

The year also saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regaining its electoral momentum after its emphatic victory in the Assam assembly polls and the main opposition Congress unable to halt its downslide as it lost power in Assam and Kerala.

Demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, suddenly effected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, emerged as the biggest political issue of the year with opposition parties vigorously focusing on the plight of people forced to stand in unending queues to withdraw their own money.

Opposition parties also found an issue to personally target Modi and sought an inquiry into allegations that he received money from the Sahara and Birla corporate houses when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Demonetisation is set to be a key issue in the forthcoming assembly elections in five states, with people, specially the poor and middle classes, expecting tangible results from the massive exercise that forced them to endure hardships in getting cash and also affected jobs and businesses.

Both the opposition parties and the government have been using demonetisation to rally people behind them. With the responsibility of delivering results squarely on his shoulders, Modi, in his speeches, has been seeking support by terming demonetisation as a struggle of the honest tax-paying citizens against unscrupulous elements out to usurp money meant for the welfare of the poor. He also has been reaching out to people through radio and social media on demonetisation and other issues.

There was no effective debate on demonetisation during the winter session of parliament but several opposition parties came together to target the government on its impact on the people, the frequent change in rules and "shifting goalposts". But the unity was not visible outside due to competing interests of parties ahead of assembly polls in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, expected early next year. Besides Uttar Pradesh, assembly elections will also be held in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.

Even as they targeted the government on demonetisation, there was no unanimity in the demands of opposition parties. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress demanded a rollback of demonetisation while the Communist Party of India-Marxist said that old notes should be allowed till the crash crunch was over. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as also Biju Janata Dal leader and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed demonetisation.

Also, despite demonetisation affecting people in every nook and corner of the country, the opposition could not stage a mass nationwide protest.

The Left parties, JD-U, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Nationalist Congress Party did not attend a meeting called by the Congress to target the Prime Minister over demonetisation and the Birla and Sahara papers.

The Congress, which suffered a debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has not won any major assembly election in the past over two-and-a-half years. In the assembly polls held this year, it could win only Puducherry in alliance with the DMK. The AIADMK returned to power in Tamil Nadu and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

The BJP, which lost the assembly polls in Delhi and Bihar in 2015 but regained its momentum, also performed credibly in civic election polls held during the year in some states.

Much is at stake for the BJP in the assembly polls in the five states, particularly Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The year also saw opposition parties finding a slew of issues to target the Modi government including the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, "failure" of ruling alliance's Pakistan policy, arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, suicide of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula, the Centre's action in relation to the assemblies of Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh and the "politicisation" of surgical strikes carried out on terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Kashmir.

The Congress and some other parties also accused the government of "helping" liquor baron Vijay Mallya leave the country despite being probed for loan defaults.

Political commentator and senior journalist S. Nihal Singh said the opposition ineffectiveness has been because it was unable to get its act together.

"There are conflicting views. Too many differences, ambitions by each leader," Nihal Singh told IANS.

He said the Congress does not appear to be in a position to effectively challenge the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Nitish Kumar could emerge as a possible choice of opposition parties.

Political analyst and senior journalist Kuldip Nayar said that "people are beginning to realise there has to be another alternative. An alternative to the Congress and BJP."

"I think an alternative will emerge by the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019. I think people will vote for regional parties rather than all-India parties," he said.

Nayar said the BJP may not be able to fulfill all its election promises and the Congress has still not come out of dynastic politics. "So people are not yet convinced. If there was some other leader, Congress probably would have become (more) relevant."

He said opposition parties can come together in future on a common minimum programme but there is no indication of this happening as yet.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Prashant Sood can be contacted at prashant.s@ians.in)

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By Prashant Sood & Brajendra Nath Singh

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) consolidated its position as the premier national party of Indian politics in 2016, breaking new ground in some states. The coming year poses fresh challenges for the party due to assembly polls in five states and uncertainty over the impact of demonetisation at the grassroots.

The outcome of the assembly polls in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, along with those in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, is likely to be seen as a kind of referendum on demonetisation.

The impact of banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes also has ramifications for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image, given that he is the prime mover of the sudden announcement on November 8 -- and is also the party's main vote puller.

If the move, which affects every Indian, is seen to bring positive results to the economy and improve the life of the common man, the BJP can hope to break new electoral ground among poorer sections that are seen to stay away from it.

But if the move does not significantly curb corruption and black money or bring a meaningful change in the lives of the working class, the BJP may have to pay an electoral price. Some of its traditional support base, including small and big shopkeepers, could shift their loyalties due to their business losses owing to demonetisation.

It was otherwise a comeback-year for the BJP as it had scored resounding success in Assam after losses in Delhi and Bihar in 2015. The party scripted an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad which helped it reap electoral dividends. It also performed well in a number of civic elections held in the past year. The party is seen as replacing the Congress as the central pole of national politics.

The BJP can also derive satisfaction from its expansion in areas it was regarded as weak. The party made its maiden entry in the Kerala assembly, getting 10.5 per cent votes in this year's state election. It got three seats in West Bengal, more than doubling its vote share at 10.16 percent over its figure in 2011.

While Uttar Pradesh presents a major challenge for the party due to its complex caste equations and multi-cornered contests, the BJP also faces tough test in the other four states. It is in power in Goa and is junior partner of the ruling alliance in Punjab with the Shiromani Akali Dal.

In both Punjab and Goa, the Aam Aadmi Party's presence has changed equations and the BJP will be keen to deny victory to a party with which it has an uneasy relationship in Delhi. The Congress also poses a potent challenge in Punjab and Goa while it is in power in Uttarakhand and Manipur. The BJP will also be keen to defeat the Congress in the poll-bound states as it would make it even more difficult for the main opposition party to revive itself after its debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when it could win only 44 seats against the BJP's 282 in the 545-member house, where two MPs are nominated.

The elections will also be a test of BJP president Amit Shah's poll strategy. Shah has been able to shore up his authority in the past year due to electoral successes and also silence those who had begun to gun for him following the reverses in 2015.

The BJP increasing its footprint in the southern and eastern parts of the country is also seen as a strategy to counter any losses it would face in parts of northern and western India, where it had done exceedingly well in the last Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP last year became part of the government in Arunachal Pradesh, led by the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA). The developments on Thursday, which saw a change in the Chief Minister, have not affected the party's fortunes.

The death of J. Jayalalithaa has changed electoral dynamics in Tamil Nadu with the present AIADMK leadership expected to warm up to the BJP-led central government.

The BJP has also sought to increase its social base with appointments of state chiefs, including in Punjab and Bihar, where the incumbents belong to the Dalit and backward communities. Shah sprang a surprise by appointing first-time MP Manoj Tiwari as Delhi BJP chief. The party faces tough municipal polls next year.

The BJP scripted history in 2014 by getting a majority in the Lok Sabha and then forming governments in several states. However, the winning momentum was disrupted in 2015 and seems restored in 2016. The electoral battles next year are likely to decide the course of the party's politics for the next general election.

(Prashant Sood can be contacted at prashant.s@ians.in and Brajendra Nath Singh at brajendra.n@ians.in)

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By Anurag Dey

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) After storming to power in West Bengal for a second consecutive term, 2016 saw Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee striving for a bigger role in national politics as she emerged among the most vocal adversaries of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his moves, particularly demonetisation.

Despite odds heavily stacked against her, including rivals Left Front and the Congress joining ranks and her own party facing severe corruption charges, Banerjee single-handedly decimated the opposition in West Bengal as the Trinamool captured 211 of the 294 seats in the assembly polls earlier this year.

Her strong desire to extend Trinamool's influence beyond Bengal and position it as the pivot to an anti-Modi and anti-BJP political battle was evident the very day she was sworn in.

The guests of honour included key anti-BJP leaders like RJD Chief Lalu Prasad, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah who all have pitched for an alternative secular front.

Often accused by political rivals of having a "tacit understanding" with the BJP, Banerjee steadily upped the ante against Modi and repeatedly accused him of destroying the federal structure of the country and "financially depriving" Bengal.

Her aspiration of playing a key role in the capital's politics got a fillip in September when the Trinamool got national party status from the Election Commission, and she continued her rants against Modi over various issues.

But it was the Prime Minister's November 8 move to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes that Banerjee has used to the hilt to mount a massive assault.

All prominent opposition leaders including Congress' Rahul Gandhi, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal vehemently opposed the note-ban, but Banerjee took centre stage, holding successive meetings in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and letting loose a no-holds-barred attack on Modi through her daily tweets.

Inside Parliament, Trinamool leaders raised the pitch against the ruling BJP.

In her bid to rev up the anti-demonetisation war, she even dialled archrival Yehcury, CPI-M General Secretary, and got BJP ally Shiv Sena -- otherwise a pariah for her brand of politics -- on board for a march to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking rollback of the currency spike decision.

Joining forces with Kejriwal, she held two rallies in the national capital, getting support from key leaders like Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav, and National Conference's Omar Abdullah.

Using every issue to assail the BJP government, Banerjee termed as a "coup attempt" the deployment of army personnel at toll plazas in her state claiming her administration had been kept "in the dark".

Known for her theatrics, Banerjee stayed put at the state secretariat overnight protesting against the deployment which the army called a routine exercise carried out with prior information to the state administration.

In the same vein, Banerjee also raised objections to CRPF personnel providing security to income-tax officials during search operations in Bengal.

Political observers believe Banerjee has successfully used demonetisation to assert herself in national politics.

"The Trinamool was nearly isolated from national politics following the Saradha chit fund scam. But the demonetisation protest has catapulted it back into reckoning. She (Banerjee) has revved up her image both as pro-poor and anti-Modi," analyst Biswanath Chakraborty told IANS.

Praveen Rai, from the Centre for Study of Developing Societies, too opined that Banerjee has successfully asserted her presence in national politics.

"Considering BJP's stint at the Centre so far, coupled with the way it has implemented demonetisation, Mamata sensed the opportunity of offering an alternative... Mamata has very wisely used the opportunity to come to the fore by leading the protest," Rai told IANS.

It's not just demonetisation, Banerjee has been firing one salvo after another at Modi.

On November 30, when an aircraft ferrying her had to hover over the Kolkata airport for some time before landing, the Trinamool sniffed a conspiracy to "silence" Banerjee for being at the forefront of the anti-demonetisation protest, and raised a hue and cry in parliament. The government was forced to order a probe.

She has used popular imageries to drive home her point nationally. For instance, she likened the Income Tax department to the legendary villainous character Gabbar Singh from the Hindi movie Sholay.

"It is Christmas but instead of celebrating, people are scared. They fear that Income Tax officials may turn up. Suddenly, Gabbar Singh may turn up. This is the state of the country," Banerjee said referring to the IT raids across the country.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Anurag Dey can be contacted at anurag.d@ians.in)

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By Sarwar Kashani

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) "Failure", "chaotic", "immoral", "unsettling", "revolutionary", "brilliant". Opinions about the effects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's November 8 midnight bomb wrapped in nationalistic garb differ, depending on whom you are talking to.

But the radical decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in its third year of power to recall 86 per cent of currency in circulation has resulted in unprecedented disruption -- both in the economic as well as political narrative of India.

The Prime Minister declared that Rs 500 and 1,000 notes would become "worthless little slips of paper" from that night. People were given until December 30 to swap their spiked bills for new bank notes. Modi said the move would cause inconvenience but promised that the short-term pain would be over in a "few days", leaving the country to reap long-term gains.

He later changed the deadline and sought people's cooperation to "help me for 50 days and I will give you the India you desired". By an executive stroke, the Prime Minister had forced march India into a digitised world or a cashless system.

The decision was ostensibly taken to catch black money hoarders off-guard and crack down on hidden wealth accumulated over the years by rich Indians by evading taxes. It was also aimed at attacking rampant corruption, terror-funding and counterfeit currency notes. Modi supporters called it a "surgical strike" against black money but others wondered whether it was not a "carpet-bombing" that affected the poor the most.

The narrative kept changing over time, though by the end of the 50-day deadline on Friday, it was difficult to say whether the move was worth all the trouble it caused the common man. Perhaps a more lucid picture would emerge over the next few months.

Over 120 deaths have been linked to the move -- mostly of people waiting in queues to withdraw cash. But the massive currency crunch, with people struggling for money to meet even their daily expenses, slowed down the economic growth of a country where an estimated 78 per cent of transactions are done in cash.

Over the weeks, queues outside banks and ATMs shrank but the problems did not. Workers in India's unorganised sector, where 90 per cent receives salaries in cash, small-time shopkeepers and businesses continue to struggle to cope. Consumption expenditure also took a huge hit with the massive reduction in money supply.

Experts warn that the uncertainty and anxiety triggered by the note-ban decision is unlikely to change at the crack of the New Year dawn or even weeks later, while the expected positive gains, if any, will take more time to put in their appearance.

The move, though hailed domestically, was heavily criticised abroad. More so, the way it was executed without proper planning as was evident with the government's decision-a-day approach to deal with the after-effects of the move.

Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine, in an editorial on December 22 called it a "sickening and immoral" decision that caused an economic turmoil compounded by the government's inability to print a sufficient amount of new bills to replace spiked currency.

"Not since India's short-lived forced-sterilisation program in the 1970s -- this bout of Nazi-like eugenics was instituted to deal with the country's 'overpopulation' -- has the government engaged in something so immoral," Forbes wrote.

Figures from the Reserve Bank of India, which has been unusually economical with releasing data on demonetisation, indicate that the move may have failed in its basic goal of removing black money from the system.

On December 13, the central banks said Rs 12.44 lakh crore in old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were received back. Since then, it has not updated the figure or value of spiked notes deposited in banks.

But other reports suggested that overall some Rs 14 lakh crore of the scrapped Rs 15.44 lakh crore money may have returned by December 30 evening, leaving a narrow gap of a little less than Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

That belies the hope of the government that a "windfall gain" or Rs 3 lakh crore to Rs 5 lakh crore would accrue to by not showing up in the banking system, thus extinguishing the RBI's liability on this count.

Some money is expected to come through the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme -- the window is open until March 31, 2017 -- but that too is a doubtful since old notes would not be accepted by banks after December 30. All the black money held would necessarily be in the old currency.

On the other hand, the exact amount of fresh or valid banknotes the central bank has put into circulation after November 8 has also not been updated lately or adequately.

On December 18, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said Rs 5.50 lakh crore of fresh currency was infused in the markets. This is only 35.6 per cent the spiked currency. But he did not give the break-up of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes, something similar to what RBI had done when giving information on new currency.

By the last day of the year, the government has promised to supply Rs 6-6.5 lakh crore in currency value in the market, meaning cash woes may continue for some more time amid fears that the country's GDP may also take a hit.

Over the weeks, the nationalistic packaging of the move has given way to a rhetoric of making India a cashless economy. The government, of late, said the decision will pave the way to turn India into a cashless economy, making people use trackable and taxable transactions.

The move definitely widened India's digital economic grid as millions, including wayside vendors, were forced to transact through the virtual world.

But is it possible to turn the economy into a digital one so fast? Perhaps not. And definitely not immediately. India is an incredibly huge cash-centric economy where, according to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, more than 600 million people in small towns or villages have no access to banks.

But the move has admirers who see gains in the long term. Many said it would initiate a structural change in the Indian economy, increasing transparency. A less-cash economy helps nip black money at the generation level, a few commentators said.

Despite the cheerleaders, the government may have got bitten twice over -- GDP growth slowed down and small-time workers and farmers suffered losses due to the cash crunch.

Modi, in an interview to the India Today weekly, called the demonetisation move a "difficult" but apolitical decision that carried political risks not only for him but for the BJP as well.

The real political test comes early next year when polls to five assemblies, including in a crucial state, Uttar Pradesh, are expected. The results would determine how the gamble Modi took in November would turn out.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at sarwar.k@ians.in)

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By Debayan Mukherjee

Kolkata, Dec 30 (IANS) Ask anyone if Jeje Lalpekhlua can be dropped from the Indian football team on current form, and he will laugh in your face. But ask Jeje, the just-crowned All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year, and he will give you a different answer.

"In the last two years, so many new players have come into the national team set-up. There is not a single player in the team who takes his position for granted," Jeje told IANS in a telephonic interview from Aizawl, Mizoram, his home town.

"There are so many players vying for every position in the team. Even my posiition is not secure, neither is that of Sunil (Chhetri) or anyone," the 25-year-old Mizoram striker, who has netted a bucketfull of goals for club and country this year, added.

Jeje started the year scoring in the final of the SAFF Cup against Afghanistan. India won the tournament.

The former Pune FC marksman also lifted the Federation Cup with Mohun Bagan, ending as the top scorer in the tournament with eight goals from five matches.

He played two World Cup qualifier matches in Indian colours, while also scoring two goals in friendlies. Overall, Jeje scored five times for his country.

"I thank my club (Mohun Bagan) and coach (Sanjoy Sen) for my rise. I have seen myself evolve as a player after joining their ranks. I have learnt to take up more responsibilities.

"(India coach Stephen) Constantine and Chennaiyin FC (his ISL franchise) coach (Marco) Materazzi too played important roles," Jeje said.

He was equally prolific in front of the opponent's goals in the AFC Cup, finding the back of the net six times in seven matches before Bagan were eliminated in the round of 16.

In the ISL, Jeje scored three goals for Chennaiyin, though the team failed to make it to the playoffs.

"My most memorable goal was the one I scored at the Salt Lake Stadium against Tampines Rovers," Jeje recalled when asked to pick one goal from his collection of many this term.

Jeje opened the scoring in the fifth minute in that AFC Champions League qualifier which Bagan won 3-1 to script history by becoming the first Indian club to win a qualilifying match at the highest level of Asian club football.

"It was a historic match and I felt the crowd simply adored me when I put the ball into the back of the net," said Jeje, who was spotted by former India youth coach Colm Toal and also played for All India Football Federation's now-defunct Pailan Arrows developmental side.

Jeje is the first from Mizoram to win the Player of the Year award and the sixth from the northeast region after Bhaichung Bhutia (Sikkim), Tomba Singh, Surkumar Singh, Gouramangi Singh (all Manipur) and Eugeneson Lyngdoh (Meghalaya). The award was instituted in 1992.

Looking ahead, Jeje said 2017 will be a very important year for the national team with the third round of 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers on the horizon.

"It will be very important. We have improved our ranking (135) and anywhere you travel, people first ask you about that," Jeje said.

"I think next year will be crucial and we have to improve our game to be able to put up a fight in the Asian Cup qualifiers. It is a young group who needs to put its best foot forward," he signed off.

The draw for the Asian Cup qualifiers will be held on January 23 and India would be playing their first match on March 28.

(Debayan Mukherjee can be contacted at debayan.m@ians.in)

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Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) The year 2016 has been the most momentous since India's Independence for the Reserve Bank on account of a trinity of events -- Raghuram Rajan's exit from the governorship, the decision on interest rates for the first time by a Monetary Policy Committee and the demonetisation of high-value currency last month.

This last also put a question mark on whether the RBI knows its math -- as several analysts found, the many figures it put out about disbursal of new currency notes simply did not add up.

Rajan's term was due to end in September and the preceeding months passed amid speculation about whether his term would be extended, punctuated by attacks on him and his policies in the media voiced by prominent people close to the ruling BJP.

Rajan himself ended the suspense by announcing he would quit at the end of his three-year term because he had decided to return to academics in the US. It also ended up as being the first time that a government had not extended the tenure of a RBI Governor.

With India becoming the fastest-growing large economy in a global context of economic slowdown, the pressure on Rajan to cut the RBI's short-term lending rate to spur growth had become louder and more intense every time the bi-monthly monetary policy review came around.

Considering Rajan's credentials and record, he was the person most suited to the job. Beginning with his unexpected rate cut in January 2015, Rajan reduced the RBI repurchase rate by 150 basis points by the time he left office. It is another matter that banks have only transmitted a fraction of what Rajan eased in rates to their customers because of the huge stress on their balance sheets from bad loans.

When Rajan took charge at RBI in 2013, at a time the US Federal Reserve had declared its intent to wind down its stimulus programme, the rupee plunged in value against the dollar on fears of a spiralling current account deficit.

In a series of measures, Rajan managed to stabilise the currency and bring back investors. Giving Rajan its Central Banker of the Year award for 2015, British magazine Central Banking said: "His decisive policy actions based on robust analysis and deep understanding of the underlying causes have contributed significantly to changing perceptions about the strength of the Indian economy."

Rajan had predicted the 2008 market crash caused by the housing market crisis in the US that put its economy into deep recession and set off a global slowdown from which the world is yet to recover. In 2005, Rajan had argued that increasingly complex markets with myriad instruments of credit and mortgage-backed securities in ever-greater quantities had made the global financial system a risky place.

Over a decade later, Rajan is stronger in his belief that global markets now are at risk of another crash due to the developed economies adopting competitively loose monetary policies. Pointing to the very low interest rate policies of the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England in a bid to stimulate their economies, he has been warning that emerging markets are especially vulnerable to big shifts in capital flows triggered by the unprecedented monetary accommodation in rich countries.

Though the expectation among those critical of Rajan for not easing enough on monetary policy were high when Urjit Patel took charge in September, it needs to be kept in mind that his moorings are as monetarist as Rajan's and he attaches the same importance to controlling inflation as his predecessor.

His views on the monetary policy were expressed at the time Rajan held rates in the February 2015 review after making an unexpected rate cut the previous month -- the first in nearly two years. Patel elaborated on the "important backdrop" to Rajan's move.

"We are in the midst of the age of competitive depreciation and of a beggar-my-neighbour philosophy. It brings to mind an old African saying that when elephants fight, the grass suffers," Patel said at the press conference to announce the policy review, on the trend of accommodative monetary policies being adopted by developed economies.

"While the ECB (European Central Bank) and the Bank of Japan are printing money and devaluing their currencies on one hand, the US economy is reviving on the other. Anyone in the middle is getting crushed," he added.

Patel became the first governor to preside over a committee approved monetary policy review of RBI rates in October.

The government also set an annual inflation target of four per cent, plus or minus two percentage points, for the next five years. The RBI Act was amended for this through the Finance Act, 2016.

The setting of the inflation target comes under the monetary policy framework agreement between the government and RBI signed last year, by which the government, in consultation with the central bank, determines the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or retail, inflation once in every five years.

Now it is the Monetary Policy Committee, which sets the interest rate -- that was earlier being done by the RBI. Out of the six members of the MPC, three are from RBI, including the Governor, who is the ex-officio chairperson. The other three members are appointed by the Centre.

Patel will also go down in history as having presided over the November demonetisation of high-value currency designed to combat black money, counterfeit currency and terror financing. The move provoked a major cash crunch, and came under fire for the slow pace of re-monetisation, with the RBI committing a number of flip-flops in announcing measures to deal with demonetisation.

As things stand today, the true proof of the pudding will come only in the new year. The question is: When?

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Biswajit Choudhury can be reached at biswajit.c@ians.in )

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By Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, Dec 30 (IANS) The SUM Hospital tragedy, poor healthcare, shoddy handling of the Mahanadi water-sharing dispute and the CBI inquiry into the multi-crore chit fund scam dogged the Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government in the outgoing year.

The "shame walk" of a tribal with his wife's body, the death of 20 children due to malnutrition and the Japanese Encephalitis menace put the international glare on the lack of development and shambolic healthcare facilities in the eastern state.

The heart-wrenching image of Dana Majhi carrying the body of his wife on a long 10-km trek with a sobbing daughter walking alongside in Kalahandi district brought out the deprivation and utter hopelessness of lives of the poor and punctured the development claims of the government through the years.

Then again, around 20 tribal children died due to acute malnutrition in mineral-rich and industrially-vibrant Jajpur district in July.

It later came to light that the benefits provided by the state government had not reached the area till the issue cropped up.

The nutritional status of children remains far from encouraging in Odisha as the rate of stunting and wasting among children has shown only a marginal decline over the last 10 years, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

The report reveals that at least 34.1 per cent children under the age of five are stunted in the state.

In another case pointing to the deteriorating healthcare facilities, over 100 children died in Malkangiri district due to Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome this year. Despite being a part and parcel of KBK (Kalahandi, Balangir, Koraput) programme for years together, the health condition of the tribal people in the area has not improved satisfactorily.

"The health sector is in a mess in Odisha. Many primary health centres do not have doctors while several doctors are absent from duty. It is horrible that patients are lying on floors as they do not have beds in the hospitals. The health sector has been completely neglected by the state government," said Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra.

As healthcare seemed in a shambles, the death of over 25 people in the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospitals fire in Bhubaneswar exposed the callousness of the state government towards the safety of patients.

The public outrage sparked by the tragedy brought to light that the medical facility was allowed to operate without the statutory fire safety certificate.

According to a note of the Director, Medical Education and Training (DMET), only three hospitals in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri -- where more than 500 private hospitals and nursing homes operate -- have fire safety certificates.

Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak had to resign following the tragedy.

Even though the law-and-order situation remained largely peaceful, the death of five tribals in firing by security personnel in Kandhamal district in July sparked a row. The security personnel, hiding behind trees, opened fire on the villagers, who were returning at night in an auto-rickshaw to their village after attending a function. The victims included two women and a child.

Notably, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik holds the home portfolio. The beleaguered state government ordered a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) after coming under attack from opposition parties and civil society.

"The state government has completely failed to protect the lives of common people. More than 100 children died in Malkangiri, but the Chief Minister did not visit the area. The government is only concerned of its vote bank," said state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Basant Panda.

The state government also came under attack from the opposition for its poor handling of the Mahanadi water-sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh. While the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government was demanding stoppage of construction of dams and barrages in the upper catchment area of the Mahanadi, the opposition tried to corner it for sitting idle for over 15 years on the issue.

Leader of Opposition Mishra said the state government knew about the construction of the barrage by the Chhattisgarh government since 2001.

"Construction of projects upstream on the Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh was in the knowledge of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his government. He had replied to an adjournment motion on April 10, 2001," Mishra pointed out.

The last month of 2016 also did not pass well for the government. Bhubaneswar Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, a leader of the state's ruling BJD, got entangled in a sex scandal and murder case with the opposition upping the ante against the government for protecting the mayor.

Last but not the least, the CBI probing the multi-crore chit fund scam quizzed BJD's Balasore MP Rabindra Jena for his alleged involvement in financial transactions with Seashore Group, which had duped thousands of investors in the state.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Chinmaya Dehury can be contacted at chinmaya.d@ians.in)

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By Parmod Kumar

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The year that is ticking down saw the Supreme Court guarding its turf against the Narendra Modi government's attempts to have its say in judicial appointments by sitting on the appointments recommended by the collegium, and reversing attempts to destabilise the Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand.

Yet another achievement of the year was the court's determination to cleanse the rot that has crept into the BCCI since its commercial success.

Though court did not interfere with the demonetisation decision, it did prod the government to address the inconveniences and hassles being faced by the common man standing in long queues. Chief Justice of India (CJI) T.S. Thakur also expressed his doubts whether the decision was impulsive or well-thought out.

If the might and majesty of the top court was lost on some, it got reiterated and reaffirmed when its former judge, Justice Markandey Katju, tendered an unconditional apology after he was issued a contempt notice for criticising judges on his blog.

Still more importantly, the apex court added an element of objectivity in the functioning of an assembly speaker in the Arunachal Pradesh case, holding that an individual under a cloud should desist from invoking the anti-defection law for unseating legislators.

The government sitting over the collegium's recommendation and choking the appointments came in for sever indictment when Chief Justice Thakur bluntly asked the government: "You want to lock out justice?"

Referring to these and some other instances, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said 2016 saw the top court's judges continuing to courageously stand up to the "tyranny of the government in browbeating the higher judiciary", saving democracy and upholding the judiciary's independence.

If last year saw the striking down of the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) by a five-judge constitution bench, this year the CJI relentlessly raised the issue of non-appointment of the judges by the government, Gonsalves added.

The court cracked the whip when the BCCI dared to defy it by not implementing the Justice Lodha panel's recommendations for ushering in organisational reforms in the apex cricketing body and its affiliate state units.

This tendency to defy the top court is a matter of worry that was not lost on the judges, snubbing BCCI president Anurag Thakur, a prominent MP of the ruling BJP dispensation, and warning him he may have to go to jail for his act of perjury in seeking a letter from International Cricket Council (ICC) that the presence of the government auditor's nominee on the BCCI amounted to the state interfering in its affairs.

Stressing that the reforms suggested by the Lodha panel were like "Der Aye Drust Aye" (Better late than never), former Indian cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi said: "The Supreme Court verdict must be complimented by one and all and accepted gracefully by the BCCI."

The court's intervention in tackling the worsening air-pollution in the national capital and the National Capital Region (NCR) has been commended by the experts in the field for reducing the pollution load.

"Its critical intervention enabled the implementation of an action plan for different pollution sources like vehicles, waste and the construction activity, and also broadened the ambit of the case for the entire region for regional action," said Anumita Roy Chowdhury of the Centre for Science and Environment.

The court's intervention in securing relief for farmers and the poor in 256 drought-affected districts has been appreciated by experts in the field of agriculture.

Chandigarh-based expert Devender Sharma said: "The government is not at all serious about agriculture. Look at the way the government is pushing a cashless economy. Had it addressed with the same zeal the plight of marginal farmers and the poor, hunger would have been history in this country."

Taking a holistic view of the top court in 2016, veteran lawyer C.A. Sundram said: "I think there are positives and negatives. Positive is that the court has stood very firm on maintaining its independence and dignity. But the court is increasingly exceeding its own jurisdiction involving whatever that is conceived as extrajudicial."

The court is now increasingly getting involved in the government policies, something which it would avoid, he said, adding that it ought not to step into private bodies such as BCCI in its zeal to protect public interest.

Important pronouncements in 2016:

April 25: It is better to dance to earn a livelihood than begg on the streets

May 6: Four weeks' parole granted to Sahara group chief Subrata Roy for performing his mother's last rites

May 11: Asks government to discuss relief measures with drought-affected states

May 13: Upholds the constitutional validity of India's criminal defamation law

July 13: Restores Nabam Tuki as Arunachal Chief Minister, holds that Governor not the legislature's conscience-keeper

July 18: Bars government ministers/officials from BCCI

July 26: Customs and traditions have to pass the test of being legal and constitutional

August 1: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers should vacate their official accomodation

August 31: Quashes Singur land acquisition for Tata Nano

September 30: Orders criminal-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin back to jail

November 9: Animals may not have rights, but cannot be subjected to cruelty

November 10: Strikes down as unconstitutional a Punjab act abrogating water-sharing agreement between the state and neighbouring relating to the Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal

November 11: Asks Justice Markendey Katju as to why contempt proceedings shouldn't be initiated against him for criticising judges on his blog

November 11: Entry tax (on trucks entering Delhi) doesn't violate freedom of trade and commerce as "free trade does not mean freedom from tax"

December 14: Formulate National Action Plan to combat drug abuse amongst children

December 15: Bans sale of liquor on highways across the country.

December 15: Can't grow beard on religious grounds in the armed forces.

Besides the apex court passed several interim orders on beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya, non-performing assets of banks and made Samajwadi Party leader and Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan apologise for his statement on the Bulandshhahr gang-rape.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Parmod Kumar can be contacted at saneel2010@gmail.com)

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By Arul Louis
United Nations, Dec 30 (IANS) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed away this year, India followed a strategy of quiet diplomacy while projecting its soft power at the world body, even as it suffered a setback in the fight against terrorism.

A.R. Rahman's concert commemorating that of M.S. Subbulakshmi at the UN 50 years ago was the highlight of a series of events this year promoting India's cultural influence. The Oscar-winner's tribute to the "Queen of Music" in August was an evocation of universal harmony, blending traditions, time, faiths and languages at the General Assembly chamber in a show of 21st century pizzazz.

On Gandhi Jayanti -- October 2 -- which is commemorated at the UN as the International Day of Nonviolence, the UN postal service released a commemorative stamp in Subbulakshmi's honour.

India had a low profile on the diplomatic front that masked a lot of behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

After having made a trip to Washington to address the Congress, Modi did not attend the annual general debate of the General Assembly that brings together heads of state and government from the 193 members of the UN.

New Delhi's strategy of quiet diplomacy started outside the UN at the Nonaligned Summit in Venezuela held just before the General Assembly session in September. (Modi did not attend that either.)

The trio of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar and Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin began the diplomatic drive there to boost India's influence as an emerging economic and political power and to neutralise Pakistan's bid to rake up the Kashmir issue.

It was carried forward by Akbar and Akbaruddin to the General Assembly's general debate that followed in New York. Over a week they met scores of world leaders and the various geographic, political and economic groups before External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj came to deliver India's speech at the general debate on its last day.

As a result, support for India's bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council was solidified among key groups of nations, the universal risks from terrorism was highlighted and Pakistan was isolated on Kashmir.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was left plodding on a lonely road among nations more concerned about terrorism.

Ninety per cent of the speakers mentioned terrorism, but none, except Sharif, talked of Kashmir, Akbaruddin pointed out and asked: "Diplomacy is the art of the possible; are you seeing any other countries raising the issues Pakistan has?"

After Sharif's general debate speech glorifying Burhan Muzaffar Wani, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Eenam Gambhir, a young diplomat at the Indian mission, hammered Pakistan's association with terrorism in a reply that made her a mini-celebrity in India.

"The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism," she said in a memorable line.

India, however, had a setback in fighting terrorism as China continued to provide cover for Pakistan and for terrorists based there who are behind attacks on India.

Beijing blocked New Delhi's request to have Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, who was behind the attack on the Pathankot air force base, declared a terrorist by the Security Council committee that imposes sanctions on terrorists linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

This was to be expected of a Council that Akbaruddin had ridiculed as functioning in a "random mix of ad-hocism, scrambling and political paralysis".

Attempts to reform the Council suffered another setback that directly hit India's quest for a permanent seat on the high table.

The Inter-governmental Negotiations (IGN) on reforming the Council lost the momentum built up last year. The General Assembly decided in July to put off further negotiations on reforms to the next session after discussions spluttered. The new session that started in September has not yet taken it up.

This was despite 113 countries of the 122 that responded to an IGN survey in 2014 supported expanding the Council, according to Akbaruddin.

India's cultural push included an exhibit, "Africans in India: From Slaves to Generals", that depicted India's tradition of openness that raised those who came as slaves to positions of power as rulers and military leaders.

The Second International Yoga Day was celebrated under the leadership of the Sadhguru at the UN in June with several hundred people, including Mogens Lykketoft, the president of the General Assembly, doing a round of asanas in front of the UN.

To celebrate Deepavali, the towering glass-fronted UN Secretariat was lit up with the image of a traditional lamp and "Happy Diwali" projected on it in letters several stories high.

Although not sponsored by India, an exhibition at the UN in September paid tributes to Mother Teresa, an Indian citizen by adoption, whose sisters work across the globe among the poor and the forgotten -- even in New York where the UN headquarters is located.

On the climate change and economic fronts, India and France launched in April a solar finance programme with a potential to raise more than $1 trillion in investment for members of the International Solar Alliance.

A familial bond at the highest level for India came with election of the former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres as elected Secretary-General: His wife Catarina de Almeida Vaz Pinto was born in Goa.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

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By Aroonim Bhuyan

New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) As 2015 drew to a close, there were fresh expectations on India-Pakistan ties with the two sides deciding to resume their comprehensive bilateral dialogue during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad and Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a surprise visit to Lahore on Christmas Day on his counterpart Nawaz Sharif's birthday and his granddaughter's wedding. That euphoria now seems a distant dream.

And for good reason.

Even as the Foreign Secretaries of the nations were scheduled to meet to formulate the dialogue process, terrorists of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) attacked the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot on January 2 this year resulting in the deaths of seven Indian security personnel and all five attackers. The entire peace initiative was thrown off the rails.

India demanded that Pakistan bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice and gave what it termed irrefutable proof of the JeM's involvement in the attack. Pakistan lodged an FIR against unknown persons in February.

In March, India allowed a Pakistani investigation team to visit Pathankot as part of the probe into the attack.

In the same month, Pakistan arrested an Indian national, Kulbhushan Jadhav who had inadvertently crossed over from Iran and charged him with spying. India said that Jadhav is a former Indian Navy officer. Jadhav has since been denied consular access despite repeated requests from New Delhi.

In April, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry during the latter's visit to New Delhi for a meet on Afghanistan, but the government has since dismissed this as "not to be taken as a bilateral dialogue".

In June, Pakistan reportedly said that it would consider allowing an Indian investigation team to visit its territory as part of the Pathankot probe attack but with no palpable action being seen taken by Islamabad, hopes of a dialogue continued to recede though the National Security Advisors of the two countries reportedly continued to remain in contact.

Things took a drastic turn for the worse with the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the poster-boy of Kashmiri terrorism. Bilateral relations dipped to a new low with Pakistan describing Wani as "a martyr" and accusing India of human rights violations in Kashmir.

The violence sparked off in the Kashmir Valley by the killing of Wani claimed the lives of nearly 100 people, with India blaming Pakistan for inciting the violence. Sushma Swaraj, in a statement, categorically ruled out talks with Pakistan, saying that "talks and terror cannot go hand-in-hand".

Pakistan suffered further embarrassment when Bahadur Ali, a terrorist who had infiltrated from its territory was caught by Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit was issued a demarche which stated: "Bahadur Ali has confessed to our authorities that after training in Lashkar-e-Toiba camps, he was infiltrated into India."

At an all-party meeting in New Delhi in the backdrop of Kashmir, Prime Minister Modi red-flagged Pakistan's continued abuse of human rights in Balochistan province and mentioned this in his Independence Day speech as well.

Then came September 18. Terrorists, allegedly belonging to the JeM, carried out a cross-border attack on an Indian Army base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in which 19 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

This time, as the whole country clamoured for revenge, India retaliated with aggression by going on the diplomatic offensive of isolating Pakistan in the international community.

Then came the surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control on September 29.

Just ahead of this, warning the world that "we do not know who this Frankenstein's monster will devour next", Sushma Swaraj in her speech at the UN General Assembly, said in Hindi: "If we want to defeat terrorism, there is only one way -- that we unite across our differences, add steel to our resolve and inject urgency in our response... And if any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it."

Modi cancelled his visit to Islamabad to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit that was scheduled in November in protest against Pakistan's state sponsorship of terrorism. Other Saarc nations like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan too followed suit, citing the same reason.

India also said that it would revisit the World Bank-brokered 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that has withstood three wars -- drawing nervous reactions from Islamabad.

But the final diplomatic humiliation for Pakistan happened at the sixth ministerial 'Heart of Asia conference - Istanbul Process' conference on security and development of Afghanistan.

This time, it was not India but Afghanistan that named and shamed Pakistan for state sponsorship of terrorism.

Directly addressing Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, while turning down a donation of $500 million from Islamabad for development work in his country, said: "This fund, Mr. Aziz, could very well be used for containing extremism because without peace any amount of assistance will not meet the needs of our people."

As of now, the prognosis for 2017 doesn't seem too good.

(Aroonim Bhuyan can be contacted at aroonim.b@ians.in)

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Mumbai, Dec 29 (IANS) Star or no star, big screen or the computer screen -- it was film and digital content backed by good and compelling storylines that drew the audience's attention in 2016, when formulaic sequels and even some ambitious dramas failed to make it big.

While some small-budget films generated unexpected results, some star-driven movies didn't excite the audience and, instead, growing takers of online viewing added a new dimension to film watching.

This is the year when sequels of hit films, earlier considered as money spinners, failed at the box office. "Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive", "Tum Bin II", "Rock On 2" and "Kahaani 2" didn't do as well as their first instalments.

"Rock On 2" was the first movie to release after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the central government's decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. And that had a direct effect on the box office earnings of the movie, which had an approximate budget of Rs 45 crore, and reportedly earned Rs 15.67 crore.

Real-life inspired stories were brought to screen with films like "M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story", "Airlift", "Rustom" and "Dangal" -- all of which did well.

"The stories of 'Neerja' and 'Airlift' are truly inspirational and celebrate heroism. I think the mass audience still loves to watch a hero who wins the battle facing all odds. So there is an instant audience connect," Apurva Asrani, writer and editor of "Aligarh", told IANS.

Some highly ambitious films like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Mirzya" and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Fan" failed to impress critics and the masses alike.

At a time when success is coming to films like "Neerja" and "Pink", which send out relevant messages in a style that is as commercially viable but yet worthy of critical acclaim, there is also a film like "Aligarh", which gets lauded by critics but does not set the cash registers ringing.

Explaining this, Asrani said: "Two very important things should be taken under consideration while judging the success of a sensitive film like 'Aligarh'. First, the intention of making the film was not box office success.

"Secondly, the audience of this kind of experimental, sensitive film is also outside the theatres. They are watching them on the digital platforms like Netflix and at special screenings during film festivals. Those are some of the ways to reach out to people."

Saiwyn Quadras, co-writer of the Sonam Kapoor starrer "Neerja", feels the audience prefers to watch films on topics like homosexuality, online rather than in theatres.

"That might affect the box office, but not the reach of the film, he said, adding: "Online viewership extends the life of a film after its release in theatres. That is one of the reasons why so many avenues are opening for digital release of a film and the numbers are growing fast."

The digital route is finding many takers.

Production banner Eros International releases films on its online channel Eros Now before their TV premiere. Even Amazon is opening its platform for digital release of films and, most recently, Shah Rukh's home banner Red Chillies Entertainment has collaborated with Netflix for the exclusive viewing of the superstar's movies.

So, is the progressive audience shifting medium from theatre to online?

"Whether a movie is a hit or a flop is always decided based on box office collection as that is the faster way to recover all the invested money of the film for a producer. The online views do not count as revenue for box office or the immediate business of the film.

"Satellite and online viewers are not investing (much) money to watch a film," film trade expert Komal Nahta told IANS.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny that the audience is changing and they are receptive to good stories.

Nahta said: "The audience is evolving, and 'Pink' is an example of that. It has done good business at the box office. It is a good thing that stars like Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor are doing different roles.

"But you see, without Akshay, 'Airlift' could have been made and considered as a good film, but it would not have become such a big film... Stars make that happen," Asrani said of Bollywood's ever-prevalent 'star' system.

Rightfully so.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)

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New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) Human beings are mortal and know it but still can't avoid grief over deaths, especially when the person concerned seemed likely to go on for ever, had discovered a solution to some mystery of the human condition or something beneficial, or otherwise ensconced themselves in our hearts. And 2016 had no lack of occasions to mourn.

The year saw us bid goodbye to a number of personalities, spanning monarchs to mountaineers, statesmen to sportsmen, actors to astronauts, directors to doctors, musicians to mathematicians, philosophers to philanthropists and an array of acclaimed authors.

And while the celebrities garnered most attention even in death, the biggest loss was of three Americans who helped to make our world healthier: Donald Henderson, who led the global effort to eradicate smallpox; Denton Cooley, the first to implant an artificial heart; and Henry Heimlich, who developed the technique to help those choking and also a valve to remove blood and air from the chest cavity.

Also dying was Pakistan's Abdul Sattar Edhi, whose sobriquet "Father Teresa" offered a perfect overview of his humanitarian efforts in Karachi.

Among statesmen, the foremost was of Cuban revolutionary colossus Fidel Castro, who passed away at the age of 90 on November 25. Another prominent leader who passed on was Israel's Shimon Peres -- in the year marking the 40th anniversary of his greatest triumph: the military operation to successfully rescue passengers of an hijacked Israeli airliner from Idi Amin's Entebbe.

Other statesman who died were former Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala; long-time German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who oversaw German reunification and closer European links; longest-serving Singaporean President S.R. Nathan; Tajikistan and Uzbekistan's first post-Soviet leaders Qahhor Mahkamov and Islam Karimov; Jamshid Amouzegar, possibly the last effective premier of the Shah of Iran; and US President Richard Nixon's Defence Secretary Melvin Laird, who began withdrawing American soldiers from Vietnam.

Then there was Egyptian diplomat Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose tenure as UN Secretary General (only one term due to US opposition) saw the world body try to confront the horrific crises in Bosnia and Rwanda, and John Glenn, who after becoming the first American in space, had a long career as US Senator.

Royal deaths included the late Shah of Iran's twin (and more forceful) sister Princess Ashraf, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX, whose 70-year-reign made him the world's longest-serving head of state, and Japanese Emperor Akhito's paternal uncle, Prince Takahito, who at 100 was the oldest living royal personage.

From journalism, there was Egyptian Mohamed Heikal, a close confidante and speech-writer of President Gamal Abdel Nasser; longtime BBC host Terry Wogan; and American Michael Herr, whose "Dispatches", comprising his reportage of the Vietnam war, was hailed as one of its most profound depictions.

The world of showbiz was badly hit. Among singers who sang their last notes were David Bowie; Glenn "The Heat is On" Frey, late of the Eagles; Prince; Marni Nixon, who sang for the heroines in classics like "The King and I" and "My Fair Lady"; Leonard Cohen and George Michael. Also to be mentioned is prolific classical music conductor Neville Mariner.

Bowing out were actors Alan Rickman, famous as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies; Frank Finlay; George Kennedy, known for his Oscar-winning performance in "Cool Hand Luke"; Carlo Pedersoli alias Bud Spencer; Gene 'Willy Wonka' Wilder; Robert Vaughn, the last of "The Magnificent Seven"; "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher and her mother and Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, who died a day after her daughter.

Directors Guy Hamilton, who helmed four James Bond movies from "Goldfinger" to "The Man With the Golden Gun" as well as some war movies; Michael Cimino, who never again replicated the success of his "The Deer Hunter"; Iranian Abbas Kiarostami; and Garry Marshall, known for "Pretty Woman" and "The Runaway Bride" also said adios.

From the world of sports, the losses included American boxer Muhammad "I'm the Greatest" Ali; American golfer Arnold Palmer; Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Everest; Russian chess Grandmaster Mark Taimanov, who was also a skilled concert pianist; and discus-thrower Nina Ponomaryova, who became the first Soviet athlete to win an Olympic gold (Helsinki 1952).

Then, February 19 was a black day for literature with the passing of both Italian philosopher and literary novelist Umberto Eco and reclusive author Harper Lee, whose sole book "To Kill A Mockingbird" brought her lasting fame.

Also dying were Nobel winners Imre Kertesz, Elie Wiesel (also an Holocaust survivor), Dario Fo, Alvin Toffler (the first to dwell deeply on the social impact of technology) and Irish short-story writer William Trevor.

To be remembered as well are US philosopher and computer scientist Hilary Putnam; Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman to receive prominent awards in her field; British sociologist Anthony Smith, who did pioneering work on nationalism; and US Nobel laureate Thomas Schelling, who used gaming theory to explain conflict.

However, one who will not be missed is Bernardo Provenzano, or 'Capo di tutti capi' (boss of all bosses) of the entire Sicilian Mafia, who died a decade into his life term.

(Vikas Datta is an Associate Editor at IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

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New Delhi/Mumbai, Dec 29 (IANS) A maiden integrated policy and over 20 per cent month-on-month traffic growth gave wings to the country's civil aviation sector in 2016.

The sector reaped benefits out of a rise in domestic disposable income, lower jet fuel prices and enhanced services to the non-metro cities, which accelerated India's passenger traffic growth in 2016.

According to the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), passenger traffic during January-November 2016 zoomed by 23.10 per cent to 90.36 million.

This rise and other contributing factors have led global airlines' industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) to estimate that India will displace the UK as the third-largest aviation marketplace by 2026. It is currently at 9th.

Recently, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha elaborated that the sector has "dramatic headroom" for growth as India has only 150 million passenger trips a year as compared to China's 450 million and the US' 800 million.

In the backdrop of such high growth, the sector finally got its maiden integrated National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP).

The long-awaited policy envisages a roadmap to support 300 million air travellers in five years and steps to make flying affordable and convenient.

Broadly, the policy dwells on upgrade of airports, regional connectivity, easing of norms for flying abroad, liberalisation of the open skies regime, development of cargo hubs, chopper services, attracting investments in maintenance and ground-handling and security.

The ambitious policy did away with one of the most contentious rules of the sector known as '5/20' -- five-years operation and a 20-aircraft fleet -- to qualify for flying abroad.

The five-year wait was done away with, but airlines will need 20 aircraft or fly 20 per cent of their capacity on domestic routes.

The policy may be far away from achieving its intended target, but its showpiece sub-segment -- the 'UDAN' (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) -- is expected to become a reality from early 2017.

According to Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the first flight under the RCS is expected to be operated by January 2017.

The Udan scheme, meant to enhance air passenger traffic in the country by stimulating demand on regional routes, will be in operation for a period of 10 years, provide air connectivity to unserved and remote routes with airfare being capped at Rs 2,500 for an hour's journey of around 500 km.

The RCS is expected to support airlines by providing direct financial support namely VGF (viability gap funding), which would be given to the interested airlines to kick off operations to an un-served or underserved airport, and also keep passenger fares affordable.

The central government is expected to provide concessions in the form of reduced excise duty and service tax, whereas state governments will have to lower the VAT (value added tax) on ATF (air turbine fuel) to one per cent or less.

Besides, the state governments would not charge on security and fire services while electricity, water and other utilities would be provided at concessional rates.

Minister of State Sinha elaborated that through Udan, the central government is also working to expand the aviation map of India from 75 to 150 airports, adding that the Kanpur and Bhatinda airports have become operational under the scheme.

Among other highlights of 2016 -- the government has initiated a trial run for "non-stamping" of passengers' baggage tags at the time of boarding the aircraft at six airports to facilitate hassle-free movement of passengers with hand baggage.

In other major developments, the government appointed B.S. Bhullar as chief of the country's civil aviation regulator, DGCA.

(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in)

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By Mohammed Shafeeq

Vijayawada, Dec 29 (IANS) For the residual state of Andhra Pradesh it was an eventful year marked by numerous post-bifurcation challenges -- the biggest being the shifting of the administration from Hyderabad to Amaravti, the new state capital coming up near here.

Though under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 Hyderabad was declared the common capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for 10 years, the latter preferred to shift the administration in the third year itself.

Almost all departments have moved from Hyderabad to the Interim Government Complex (IGC) built at Velagapudi village. It was an emotional moment for thousands of government employees to bid adieu to Hyderabad and shift to a remote and deserted place, bereft of any infrastructure.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who had been operating from here since last year but was shuffling between Vijayawada and Hyderabad, too started functioning from his new IGC office.

As someone who has the distinction of being the longest-serving Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh (1995-2004) and who played a key role in catapulting Hyderabad to what it is today, Naidu left the city with misty eyes. His emotions were visible after attending the last session of the state assembly.

Now the new legislature complex is coming up near the IGC and the first session is likely to be held in January-February. The foundation stone has also been laid for the permanent government complex in what is expected to be the core area of the capital city.

The shifting of the secretariat helped the government to not only better focus on administration but also use it as the launch pad for the development of the capital.

The process has gathered pace with the government allocating lands for a few universities and a hospital group to set up their campuses.

The cash-strapped state's plans for capital development received a shot in the arm with the World Bank, Hudco and Andhra Bank together in-principle sanctioning Rs 17,500 crore ($2.5 billion). The state plans to spend Rs 32,000 crore over the next four years to create infrastructure in the greenfield capital city.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in the state continues to face a financial crunch with the revenue deficit mounting to Rs 6,641 crore in the first half of 2016-17 though for the whole year it is estimated at Rs 4,868 crore. The Chief Minister himself admitted that the state has no money to pay salaries to the employees and is already running on a huge overdraft.

The demonetisation of high-value currency has further dented the state's revenues. Naidu, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government, initially claimed credit for demonetisation but later publicly expressed his displeasure over the manner in which it was implemented.

However, the biggest blow to Naidu came when the Centre refused to accord special category status to the state as announced by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in parliament in 2014. Interestingly, the BJP, during the 2014 general election campaign, had promised the status for 10 years against Manmohan Singh's five.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley clarified the announcement can't be implemented as, according to the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations, special status can be given only to hill states and the northeastern states.

Jaitely instead promised equal monetary compensation to Andhra Pradesh through externally-aided projects.

This was seen as a big jolt to Naidu, who had been demanding central hand-holding till the development in Andhra Pradesh is at par with its neighbouring states.

With no alternative, the TDP chief gave up the demand without a fight. He, however, was satisfied with the Centre allowing the state to execute the Rs 16,000 crore Polavaram irrigation project. The Centre will provide the entire funding for the project, which is expected to become the state's lifeline.

However, Naidu came under attack from the opposition, which accused him of surrendering to the Centre to wriggle out of a "cash for vote" case in Telangana.

The U-turn also saw the TDP-BJP alliance's ally and popular actor Pawan Kalyan turning its bitter critic. Lashing out at Naidu for hurting the self-respect of Telugu people, the Jana Sena chief announced plans to launch a public movement. He also declared his intention to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

These are political challenges Naidu will have to face, but it is how well he manages the state's economy -- and the transition to the new capital -- that will be closely watched.

(Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)

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The rapid growth of smartphones and internet connectivity across the country, especially in tier-II and III cities, has given greater access to virtual shopping and e-tailing for the tech-savvy generation and millennials.

Even as e-tail behemoths Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon vied for a greater pie of the growing e-commerce market, enterprises and businesses in diverse sectors have joined the bandwagon to hard-sell their products by leveraging digital technology.

"E-commerce in India is at an inflection point, thanks to robust growth in consumer demand. Mobile penetration and increasing use of smart phones have led to the emergence of m-commerce, which accounted for about 40 per cent of the sector's sales this year," Tata CLiQ Chief Executive Officer Ashutosh Pandey told IANS.

According to a study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI), transition to mobile shopping is faster in India, which overtook the US this year in terms of active mobile users (220 million) and next only to China in user base.

The emergence of the Omni-channel model in e-tailing has also enabled netizens shop across e-portals, web sites, apps and in stores as per their convenience.

"As a result, e-commerce players are looking at seamless integration of online and offline stores to offer consumers a unique shopping experience in the virtual and real worlds," Pandey asserted.

With digital payments increasing through multiple gateways for online and offline buying, the push for cashless transactions in the aftermath of the November 8 demonetisation has driven more and more consumers to e-shopping and m-shopping.

Greater use of cloud computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence has made e-commerce players not only competitive and smart in retaining their mass user-base but also map shopping trends and predict purchasing patterns to consolidate their dominant position for sustaining growth.

"The sector, however, continues to face a trust-deficit and last-mile delivery issues persist despite having robust logistics networks and partners. Lack of trust in online transactions makes many shoppers prefer cash on delivery, which is risky and time consuming," Pandey lamented.

The sector is also bedevilled by infrastructure woes across cities and towns, increasing operational cost for timely delivery and expanding the customer base.

Though demonetisation has impacted the retail sector due to the cash crunch, digital transactions have enabled e-commerce firms to weather the crisis.

Growing at about 40 per cent cumulative average growth rate (CAGR), the country's e-commerce market is projected to touch a whopping $38 billion this fiscal (2016-17), with the online travel segment alone accounting for 70 per cent, followed by e-tailing, financial services, classifieds, job searches and matrimony.

"The key drivers of the sector's growth have been increased internet penetration, growing acceptability of online payments and an increase in per capita income," a Snapdeal spokesperson said.

Favourable government policies and improving infrastructure have also contributed in connecting consumers and sellers across the country.

"The start-up ecosystem has gone through a phase of consolidation, indicating maturity in the sector for achieving scale, building capabilities and increasing the market share," the spokesperson explained.

Given the demographics and rapid adoption of the internet, it's advantage for all the stakeholders to grow and consolidate.

Global audit firm KMPG's e-commerce partner Sreedhar Prasad said demonetisation had impacted the sector with a 30 per cent dip in sales and, as a result, the annual growth may not show a big spike.

"The cost of business, including that of supply chains, remains a challenge. Unless the cost is regulated, profitability will be difficult in the sector," Prasad added.

(This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Bappaditya Chatterjee can be contacted at bappaditya.c@ians.in and Fakir Chand can be contacted at fakir.c@ians.in)

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