Three days of intense preparation brought three moments of respite for Australia as India dominated the opening day of the Kotla Test after a shaky start. Gautam Gambhir led the way with his highest Test score, an unbeaten 149 that riled the Australians no end as India ended on 296 for 3.

One of Australia’s biggest concerns all tour has been the non-performance of Brett Lee and the pacer sent his first ball spearing down leg, followed it up with a near wide outside off. When he did manage to hit the target, Virender Sehwag’s pad came in the way of a delivery that would have uprooted the middle stump. Aleem Dar had to make a simple lbw decision.

Rahul Dravid came out looking to play his shots, wasting no time in cover driving for three and glancing for a boundary. But he was guilty once again — third time this series — of chasing a wide delivery, and only managed a thick edge off Mitchell Johnson that Matthew Hayden caught inches from the ground at first slip. At 27 for 2 India were perfectly poised to squander the advantage of having won a good toss.

Thankfully for the home side, home boy Gambhir was in no mood to squander a golden opportunity to bat long. Sachin Tendulkar constantly spoke to Gambhir, presumably urging him to keep his concentration going, and it paid dividends. Even as Tendulkar batted freely, showing the balance and timing that has brought him more runs than any other batsman in history, Gambhir tightened his game and settled in for the long haul. For more log on to www.hinustantimes.com

In Maharashtra, the objective of the Shiv Sena or its spin off Maharashtra Navnirmaan Sena is to secure more representation for Marathis mainly in jobs. It now appears that neither the objective nor the means to achieve it is justified and have divisive undertones. A clear divide has been created between Indians and Maharashtrians by both Shiv Sena and MNS. If a South Indian or a Gujarati can come and work in Maharashtra or Mumbai in particular, then why there is allergy to people from North especially when all the Gods the Maharashtrians worship too hail from UP.

India is a democratic country and the Constitution provides the right to its citizen to live and work anywhere in the country. If a north Indian chooses to live and work in Maharashtra then a Maharashtrian too has the right to work and live in any part of the country. And, they are. Hence, the plea that Raj or Shiv Sena are working for the betterment of the Maharashtrians is mere a political stunt to enhance their political future. Otherwise, the MNS or Shiv Sena would have been “also a party of not much significance.” Interestingly, Shiv Sena leader Udhav Thackeray said recently in an interview to a newspaper that what Raj is replaying the Shiv Sena record and won’t last long. 

Secondly, if there is a grievance of lesser representation in jobs there are thousand and one ways to redeem it. No one has the right in this free and democratic country to kill or cause bodily harm to any person to achieve any end. By killing people you can’t reduce the number of north Indian job seekers. Why don’t the Marathi Manoos respond to the advertisements? We haven’t heard anything like regional quota in any kind of Government jobs. There is no question of preference for any community.. The whole game plan is to wrest the seats in the “golden goose” Corporation. The more popular they are , the more seats they win. And, after that  we will come to know who is really bothered about Maharashtra.

It was shocking to learn from the Defence Counsel of Raj Thackeray, Mr. Akhilesh Chaubey, a North Indian himself, that the North Indians are creating law and order problems.  Mr. Chaubey is forgetting that Dharavi existed from time immemorial. I have been visiting Mumbai every year since 1981; I have never found it clean or traffic rules being followed. In fact that is an all India phenomenon. So, blaming North Indians for all ills is nothing but a political stunt.

 “Public,” said Napolean “is fickle.” This is exactly what has been happening in Maharashtra today. Shiv Sena and MNS, are making full use of these words of Napolean.  It is mainly aforementioned parties that are blindly playing the sectarian politics card on the fickle minds of the public without realizing the consequences. Also, their leaders are taking the country where the British had left it — divided and bruised. But they are unable to gauge the seriousness of the situation they have pushed the nation in — a 1947 like situation.

We hope Maharashtra would not take lead in this direction.

FENG SHUI Column –

     by Roseline Deleu, Feng Shui master & author www.fengshuisteps.com

The flow of the energy in your business needs to be different than in your house. We are at work to enjoy what we do, while we are also manifesting our Abundance. At work, we will aim to create an environment where Chi (energy) is more Yang (active) than at home.

Movement creates Action

Apply the magic square grid (Fig. 1) onto your work or office plan aligning the 8-1-6 side of it with the main entry of your premises.  Divide the floor space into 9 equal parts. The sector ‘6’ symbolises ‘Helpful People, Clients, Travels and Movement’, this is the area of your premises where you will add movement.

↑                           ↑                           ↑

Fig 1 – align this side (8-1-6) with your entry, divide your plan into 9 equal parts.

Then, follow these steps:

1.       Look at the sector 6 of your premises with new eyes and ask yourself how do you feel? The cleanest the place, the more welcoming it will be. The lighter the room, the more Yang and active the energy (Chi) will be.

2.       De-clutter all the items that you hardly ever use, dust and clean with the intent of bringing new energy in this space.

3.       Change the frames and décor and add a picture of something with a symbol of quantities. I give you some example to inspire you and put your on the right track: a poster of a group people walking towards you, a picture with lots of pebbles, a close-up of coffee beans, a collection of buttons etc…

4.       If you cannot hang anything on the wall, display a nice transparent vase filled with lots of coloured marbles or pebbles.

5.       Open the curtains or blinds daily welcoming the day light into the room and keep in mind your intent of welcoming new clients, helpers and helpful people.

6.       Hang in the window a round and faceted crystal ball for maximum 9 days.

7.       After the 9 days, wash the crystal ball, thank it and put it away. Instead hang a little mobile or a feature that is light enough to show you the movement (for example a butterfly, a feather, a wind chime, a dream catcher etc.)

8.       Enjoy your Feng Shui experience and email me a few lines with your results.

For those of you who have an excess of ‘Wood’ in sector 6 (for example: floorboards and green walls and picture of forest or plants) or ‘Fire’ (for example reds: triangles, plastic or leather furniture) you will feel that you when you are working there you feel drained.  If so, add the Earth Element with China or Ceramics adding some earthy tones and a picture of a heavy Rock or Earth instead of the forest.

For those in a shop environment and who only have ‘one room’ to place the grid, hang two mirrors facing each other: one on the wall in sector 8 and one in sector 6. These will create the impression of infinity and when a client walks in, its reflection creates a double movement and unconsciously generates the idea that he is not entering alone that there are more people, so that your business is successful.

I met a Bangladeshi in Sydney who had been a government servant in his country. During a casual conversation he asked me what was my nationality. I said Indian. He then repeated the question. I repeated the reply. He clarified that he was asking me if I was a Punjabi or a Marathi or Gujarati. I tried to correct him that my nationality is Indian and I belong to …. State. He insisted that is your nationality and not Indian. “You are a citizen of India and your nationality is ….

He went on to say that Bangladeshis have shown to the world how to preserve their nationality. The Punjabis or Marathis or the Gujaratis were too weak at the time of Independence to fight for their ‘nationality.’ Now Hindi is your national language and that has been forced upon you.

Raj Thackeray was no where near me at the time when this conversation was taking place but surely there are some divisive elements or “foreign hand” that have brought the country  to such a point. And, this is just a beginning.

Well, the country has seen some similar movements in the past — Khalistan for example but that was reportedly being religion based conflict. That too failed to break the strong fabric of the country.

In Maharashtra, the objective of the Shiv Sena or its spin off Maharashtra Navnirmaan Sena is to secure more representation for Marathis mainly in jobs or facilities. The objective is fine but the means adopted to achieve this is wrong and have divisive overtones. A clear divide has been created between North Indians and Maharashtrians. The leaders are playing with the sentiments of middle class and lower middle class people.

In 1986, my wife was in Moscow and it was Soviet Union at that time. She could sniff the discontent among the people against the government and we discussed its implications. Six years later, the Soviet Union broke into smaller nations.

Maharashtra should certainly not take a lead into this direction as the divide created between the people is frightening.  

“Public,” said Napolean “is a fickle.” This is exactly what has been happening in Maharashtra today. Shiv Sena and MNS, are making full use of these words of Napolean. In fact, it is politicians of all varieties who indulge in this act to their advantage. It is mainly aforementioned parties that are blindly playing the sectarian politics card on the fickle minds of the public without realizing the consequences. Also, their leaders are taking the country where the British had left it — divided and bruised. But they are unable to gauge the seriousness of the situation they have pushed the nation in — a 1947 like situation.

Gandhiji believed one should eradicate sin and not the sinner. By arresting MNS chief Raj Thackeray the malaise of sectarian politics will not eradicate but on the contrary it will add fuel to the fire. The people have reacted sharply to the arrest not because they understand the issue but the blind pride that their leader has been arrested. The party workers may not have acted in this manner had Thackeray not provoked them to do so. When the news of his arrest warrants reached Mumbai he had openly challenged the police to arrest him and face the consequences. This emboldened the party workers who thought that it to be a directive from their leader and indulged in rioting.

While the Police said that they have made a strong case against Thackeray, within minutes after being produced in court he was granted bail in one of the cases thus making mockery of the measures against the spread of the disease. Whether released or not, Raj Thackeray will emerge a hero from a big Zero. This will not only embolden the leader but also turn the sin more grave.

All the political parties are after the head of Thackeray but no one is thinking of curing the malaise of sectarian politics. The fear of Thackeray should replace the fear of 1947 in the minds of people and political parties alike. The Supreme Court should take cognizance of this fact and take measures to check the spread of this disease and then total eradication.

The answer to all this lies with the valued “common public.” The ball is in its court. Ignore the divisive forces. In a democracy where the people make or break the governments, they can also ignore people like Thackeray

Denial: Earlier, Raj denied his involvement in the rail exams attack case and the court ‘promptly granted’ him bail. But how can the party workers act on their own when their leader did not want them to do so. If that is the case, couldn’t the court or the police trace the calls made from Raj’s mobile or the landline phones or the phones of his associates who were in Ratnagiri with him? This is 21^st century when we have so many facilities at our disposal. His Counsel appeared on TV after he procured bail for Raj and looked nervous and gave the impression that he has done something “not right.”

A combative Raj had justified the Sunday’s attack on north Indians and warned the state that it will have to “regret” the consequences in the event of his arrest.

“Arrest me and be ready to bear the consequences…. You will have to regret,” Thackeray, said. “If Raj is arrested, entire Maharashtra will be set on fire,” he threatened. This statement was enough to nail him down. But things work differently here.

By Ashok Kumar

Indeed, India beat Australia by a record margin of 320 runs on a tailor made pitch but questioning the supremacy of the Australians by just one victory is too immature and too early conclusion by the print and visual media to judge the series.

Of course, India dominated the second test but were great pressure in the first test being able to just manage a draw. India is still too far to dislodge Australia as number one. India still needs to overcome the number two — the South Africans.

Meanwhile, in both the matches the good thing for cricket is the fact that they went into the fifth day where the matches end even before the fourth day.

For the record, commentator Ravi Shastri said The margin of 320 runs is India’s biggest victory in Test cricket (not counting innings victories). The Australians line up to congratulate the Indians as they troop off the ground. Dhoni’s got a stump as a souvenir, but, seeing that Ganguly doesn’t have one, he gives it to him.”Cant get better from an Indian bowling point of view —  Bhajji starts it all, Ishant chimes in, Zaheer joins the party and now Mishra wants to wrap it up. Good all round performance,” says Ravi.

Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of selectors, high-fives each of the Indian players as they go into the dressing room. There’s a particularly big one for Dhoni, who’s been fantastic in this match. Fantastic with the bat, and in the field.

Ponting: “Right from the first morning India were nice and aggressive. They took the momentum away from us early in the game. They thoroughly deserve their victory and congratulations to them … We’ll probably have a couple of days off after this, back to back matches are always hard. We’ll fine-tune our skills before the next Test … They’re a very good bowling attack, their two seamers were terrific and they used the reverse swing well.”

Tendulkar is being given an award from the PCA for becoming the highest run-scorer in Test cricket. One more trophy for an overflowing cabinet. Sourav Ganguly also gets one for it being his final Test in Mohali.

Dhoni: “We got the perfect start after winning the toss and we were up to the mark in all departments. It was a very good track to bat on. I think Mishra bowled really well after a perfect start from the fast bowlers. It was a perfect Test match for us … A lot depended on how quickly we could get the reverse swing going for nothing much was happening with the new ball. We were able to reverse swing the ball from the 12th or teh 13th over and after that it became hard for the batsman.

Dhoni is also the Man-of-the Match for his two aggressive half-centuries and for his captaincy. His had a terrific match.

India went into the fifth morning with visions of victory and Zaheer helped realize that as he struck with three early wickets. He first removed Brad Haddin, with the moving in late and the rattle the stumps of the batsmen. The next to go was Cameroon White with the ball reversing. This time the ball went away from the batsmen and he got an outside edge and neatly taken by MS Dhoni.

Australia then lost Brett Lee, as Zaheer again swung the ball late and chip his off-stump to make Australia eight dow. They were 157/8.

Amit Mishra cleaned up the remaining two batsmen as he dismissed both Mitchell Johnson and Michael Clarke in quick succession to give India a mammoth 320 runs win over Australia

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was arrested at Ratnagiri in the wee hours today for Sunday’s brutal attack on north Indian rail exam candidates by MNS workers.

A case was registered in this connection against Raj Thackeray and his supporters at a north-west suburban police station of Kharwadi, after MNS workers attacked 13 railway board examination centres in suburban Mumbai to protest against “inadequate representation” to locals.

Thackeray, who was currently on tour in western Maharashtra and Konkan region was arrested from Ratnagiri district and is likely to be produced in Bandra court in Mumbai later in the day.

The arrest of the MNS chief comes against the backdrop of mounting pressure on the Maharashtra Government to rein in Thackeray and his activists.

Earlier, a combative Raj had justified the Sunday’s attack on north Indians and warned the state that it will have to “regret” the consequences in the event of his arrest.

“Arrest me and be ready to bear the consequences…. You will have to regret,” Thackeray, who was attending a ceremony at Bahadursheikh Naka in Chiplun in the state on Monday, said.

“If Raj is arrested, entire Maharashtra will be set on fire,” he threatened.

Meanwhile, incidents of violence were reported across Mumbai allegedly by the MNS activists.

Taxies parked at Tardeo in South Mumbai were damaged by some unknown miscreants who fled on motorcycles, police said.

Two separate incidents were reported in the orth-West suburban of Borivali where miscreants attempted to burn trucks, they added.

Miscreants attacked a toll booth located in the North-West suburban of Mulund and set one of the counters on fire, police said.

There were also reports of some unidentified men throwing stones at the suburban resident of Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam. — PTI

It was Sachin’s day all the way on Day I of the second test in Mohali. First, he eclipsed Brain Lara’s record of most runs scored by a batsman in Test cricket and then scoring 50^th half century followed by the milestone of 12000 runs. However, he missed his 40^th century by 12 runs and failed to revise the target for Ricky Ponting who is just three centuries behind Tendulkar. Like in the 1^st test, Tendulkar was out to a debutant—Peter Siddle.

Tendulkar’s records notwithstanding, it was a day of ups and down for India. The openers started well by putting 70 runs on the board before Sehwag departed for 35. Dravid and Gambhir followed it up with 76 run partnership. Thereafter three wickets tumbled in quick succession.

Later, the authority Tendulkar and Ganguly showed first in taming and then dominating the bowling was unmistakable. While the owner of many records came up with a flawless display, the left-hander was almost as good and added to the frustration of the Australians by taking his own sweet time in going about things.

Tendulkar broke Brian Lara’s record off the first ball after tea, steering Peter Siddle to third man, but, once the seemingly endless fireworks subsided, India needed a much more substantial contribution from him. It was Ganguly, however, who set the pace initially. He had taken 17 balls to get off the mark before tea but after the interval he hit the ball through gaps in the offside with precision, driving Shane Watson and Peter Siddle for three boundaries between point and cover. He milked that region for 41 of his runs and, apart from a stumping against Cameron White – Rudi Koertzen did not refer it to the third umpire – and a couple of uncertain wafts against the second new ball, his innings was calm.

Towards the end of the day, Tendulkar was batting so confidently that he despatched the first delivery with the second new ball, bowled by Siddle, through cover with a back foot drive. He tried to repeat the shot the next ball but inside edged the ball past his stumps. His third attempt to push the new ball through the offside 15 minutes before stumps landed in Matthew Hayden’s hands at first slip and gave Siddle his maiden Test wicket. It ended a 142-run stand and helped even the balance between the teams.

Before that error in judgement, however, Tendulkar had scored runs all round the ground and wasn’t tied down by any bowler. He was severe on Siddle, against whom he scored 29 off 20 balls, driving him twice past mid-on for four and steering him to the third-man boundary. He also scored at a strike-rate of above 75 against Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, who was once again Australia’s best bowler. When Ponting brought on Cameron White, Tendulkar attempted to unsettle the legspinner by charging down the pitch and lofting down the ground. He brought up his fifty – his 50th in Test cricket – and also became the first batsmen to score 12,000 Test runs.

Johnson was largely responsible for the fightback. He ended Virender Sehwag’s charge in the morning, caught down the leg side, and dismissed Laxman in a similar manner after lunch. In between those wickets he contained Dravid by bowling full and wide with seven fielders on the off side, and induced an edge from Gambhir as he tried to drive another full delivery through cover. Australia picked up 3 for 17 and recovered from the rapid start made by Gambhir and Sehwag.

Gambhir was struck on the helmet by Siddle’s first ball in international cricket but recovered to drive the ball through cover, a stroke that would become a feature of his innings. Sehwag ensured the run-rate stayed around six an over by piercing the infield frequently. He punished Siddle when the line was too straight, nudging him down to fine leg, and flicking to the square-leg boundary twice in succession.

The batsmen hit 10 boundaries in the first hour and raced to 63 in 13 overs. Having tried all his fast bowlers, Ricky Ponting gave the final over of the session to the left-arm spinner Michael Clarke. Gambhir took the opportunity to reach his half-century before lunch by stepping out to loft Clarke twice in a row over mid-on. — The IST and Agencies

Aravind Adiga displaying the prize

Beating predictions by bookies and others, debutant Indian novelist 33-year-old Aravind Adiga’s book “The White Tiger” was on Wednesday declared the winner of the prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction for 2008.

 Adiga beat favourite Sebastian Barry to take the 50,000 pound (USD 47,000) prize.

 The other authors in the shortlist were Amitav Ghosh, Steve Toltz, Linda Grant and Philip Hensher.

Adiga’s novel was described as a “compelling, angry and darkly humorous” novel about a man’s journey from Indian village life to entrepreneurial success. It was described by one reviewer as an “unadorned portrait” of India seen “from the bottom of the heap”.

Adiga, who wanted to be a novelist since he was a boy, was born in Madras (now known as Chennai) and now lives in Mumbai.
He becomes the fifth Indian author to win the prize, joining V S Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai who won the prize in 1971, 1981, 1997 and 2006 respectively.
In addition, “The White Tiger” is the ninth winning novel to take its inspiration from India or Indian identity.
His book, “The White Tiger”, has been published by Atlantic Books and has already won rave reviews.

Michael Portillo, chairman of the judges, said: “In many ways it was the perfect novel.

The judges found the decision difficult because the shortlist contained such strong candidates. In the end, The White Tiger prevailed because the judges felt that it shocked and entertained in equal measure.

 Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man Group PLC, presented a cheque of 50,000 pounds to Adiga at a gala dinner in the Guildhall in London.

“The novel undertakes the extraordinarily difficult task of gaining and holding the reader’s sympathy…dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour.”

Each of the six shortlisted authors, including the winner, receives 2,500 pounds (USD 4,357) and a designer-bound edition of their book.
The judging panel for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction comprised: former MP and Cabinet minister Michael Portillo, editor of Granta Alex Clark; novelists Louise Doughty, founder of Ottakar’s bookshops James Heneage and Hardeep Singh Kohli, a TV and radio broadcaster.

President Pratibha Patil has congratulated Aravind Adiga for his achievement.

In her message to the 33-year old author, Patil said that the honour was international recognition of Indian writings.

The novel is a narrative of Balram Halwai, a school dropout who kisses entrepreneurial success in booming Indian economy.

PM congratulates Adiga

 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday congratulated Adiga, saying the nation was proud of him.

 “The nation is proud of the international recognition of Adiga’s talent,” he said in his congratulatory message to the writer.

While congratulating Adiga, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the award will inspire and encourage aspiring young authors to produce quality literature of world standard. — DDI News

A quiet family celebration was on the cards for his 66th birthday. Normally, it’s an open-house at Jalsa, the Bachchan residence in Juhu, with the scent of jasmine in the air. That wasn’t to be.

Amitabh Bachchan took ill around 12.30 pm on Saturday following abdominal pain. He was rushed to Nanavati Hospital, a brief drive away from his house. Abhishek was with his father in the ambulance with wife Jaya Bachchan, daughter Shweta Nanda  and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai following in a car.

Bachchan had been complaining of stomach pain since Friday evening. “The cause of pain is being investigated. Bachchan has undergone blood investigations and a CT scan of the abdomen. The reports will come on Sunday,” said Lilavati Hospital spokesperson Mohan Rajan.

The family, too, announced that this was a routine check-up. But from Nanavati Hospital in Juhu, Bachchan was taken to the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra.

The last time Bachchan was admitted to hospital was in December 2005. That time it was for inflammation and perforation of his intestines. Bachchan was operated on and discharged after about three weeks.

On Friday, the actor was shooting for Teen Patti, produced by Ambika Hinduja. He was to resume shooting on Monday. In 1984, he had suffered from a neuromuscular ailment while shooting for Mard. In 1982, he had suffered a near-fatal stomach injury while on the sets of Coolie in Bangalore.

“He will be in the hospital for 48 to 72 hours. There is slight improvement in his condition,” Abhishek said.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday expressed confidence that India can weather the storm of financial crisis blowing across the world saying the country’s economic fundamentals and the banking system were strong.

He admitted there is a liquidity crunch in the market and that the economy was facing ’spill over and ripple’ effects of the global storm but held out an assurance that the “RBI is ready to take further steps and infuse more liquidity if necessary”.

Referring to the current global meltdown, Chidambaram said “there is a storm blowing in the world. We did not not create the storm. We are facing the spillover effects or the ripple effects of the storm.

“We must brace ourself and weather the storm. I am confident that the Indian economy is strong and resilient to weather the storm and I would request all players in the economy to cooperate with the government in weathering the storm,” he told PTI.

Chidambaram said “the weekend is a good time for people to reflect. Firstly, those who have money… There have been wage increases for the government servants, and many have received Diwali bonuses.

“Those who have money should spend some money and should save some money. Savings in banks are completely safe. Our banks are well regulated and well capitalised. Depending on your risk threshold you can save in some other instruments. Someone with a low risk threshold should save in a bank,” he said.

The Finance Minister said for those who need money for running their businesses, trade and firms, the government recognised that there is a liquidity crunch.

“But we have responded swiftly and we have infused a huge amount of liquidity. Between now and October 25 or so, a huge amount of liquidity will find its way into the Market through CRR cut, fertiliser subsidy, additional spending on National Rural Employment Guarantee schemes and payment to banks for loan waiver,” he said.

Besides, the RBI is ready to take further steps to infuse more liquidity, if necessary, he added.

On deposits in banks, Chidambaram said “no depositor need have any reason to worry. Different investors have different risk profiles. But if you are an investor you should take informed decisions. The last thing you should do is to act in haste. The last thing you should do is to give room for panic.”

He maintained that the fundamentals of the real economy were strong. “If you ask me whether the fundamentals of the economy have changed so dramatically as portrayed in the stock market, the answer is no.”

In fact, Chidambaram said that some promoters were buying shares this time. Therefore, no investor need to take any decision in haste or in panic. “He or she should take informed decisions.”

Chidambaram said “The weekend is a good time to calmly reflect on the situation. Any citizen of India should reflect calmly while coming to the conclusion that we can weather the storm.”

The minister said inflation was inching down and huge capacities were being added. “Our regulators are vigilant and any citizen of India should reflect calmly on the way we should weather the storm.”

To a query, he said the export and import growth was 35.1 and 37.5 per cent respectively in dollar terms.

He doubted the industrial production figures, which showed a plummeting of industrial growth to 1.3 per cent, and said he has conveyed his concerns to the Ministry of Industry.

“There are certain concerns about the IIP figures and I have conveyed these concerns in the past and today to the Ministry of Industry,” he said reacting to the data on Index of Industrial Production figures released yesterday.

Chidambaram said “growth in capital goods in July was 20 per cent. This has fallen to 2.3 per cent in August. There cannot be such a dramatic shift in capital goods production. It can’t take place.”

— DDI News