Snooze and lose: Tips to help you sleep more and weigh less

Your poor sleeping habits could be adding inches to your waistline!

In the last few years, the link between what we eat and our sleep patterns has increasingly emerged as an important piece in the obesity puzzle.According to a new study , your poor sleeping habits could be the reason for your expanding waistline.

Scientists at a university in Leeds have found that people sleeping less than six hours a night have, on average, three centimetre bigger waist than those sleeping for nine hours. “Our findings highlight the importance of getting enough sleep when it comes to obesity ,“ says lead researcher Dr Laura Hardie.


We've known for a long time that right foods can aid sleep, but more recent research shows that better sleep helps promote weight loss.


Another study , this time by a university in Sweden, found that the more tired people were, the more they ate during the day -which, over time, led to significant weight gain. This is partly explained by the fact that lack of sleep appears to stimulate production of the hunger hormone `ghrelin', which makes us overeat. Equally , the more you sleep, the less you tend to eat.“There are now a number of interesting studies that show how long and how well you sleep are linked to your weight,“ says nutritionist Fiona Hunter and adds, “If you're trying to lose weight, it makes sense to overhaul your sleep habits as well as your diet and include foods that can help you get a good night's sleep.“


PLAN YOUR MEALS
The first step to sorting your sleep and slimming down is to eat balanced, nutritious meals and snacks, which are evenly spaced throughout the day. Eat too little during the day, and you'll overeat in the evening, leading to a night of tossing, turning and indigestion. But eat too small a dinner and you might find yourself lying awake, desperate for a trip to the fridge.Planning is therefore essential. A planned meal plan will help you break the dreaded daily cycle of sleeping badly, then guzzling caffeine and caffeine and snacking on sugary treats to get through the day. This way , you'll get a more restful night and the food plan is also designed to aid weight loss. Within two weeks, you should be sleeping more soundly, experiencing fewer cravings and starting to drop a few kilos. Follow your plan for four weeks and you could ditch a whole dress size!


DON'T CRASH DIET
If you're e a t i n g ewer than fewer than 1,200 calories per day, as some diets recommend, there's a good chance you'll d hungry, which will naturally go to bed hungry, which will naturally play havoc with sleep, so you'll tend not to lose weight in the long run. Go for a balanced diet, which has around 1,400 calories per day. This is high enough to ensure you don't go hungry, but low enough to help you lose weight.


EMBRACE VARIETY
Any restrictive diet which cuts out food groups could mean you miss out on nutrients vital for good, quality kip. For instance, low levels of calcium (found in dairy) and magnesium (in dark green vegetables, nuts and seeds) are linked to poor sleep, as both these minerals are natural relaxants. Low iron can trigger restless leg syndrome and a deficiency in the B vitamin folic acid, found in whole grains, may lead to insomnia. Similarly, people deficient in vitamin C (found in fruit and veggies) or selenium (typically in nuts, meat and fish) have been shown to sleep for fewer hours per night. Your diet should be packed with fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, fish and lean meat to ensure a varied supply of vital nutrients.


SKIP COFFEE COMPLETELY
Experiments show that caffeine actually stays in your system for up to 12 hours, which means the effects of that 11 am latte could linger until 11 pm. Avoiding caffeine for just one day , on the other hand, can improve sleep quality that night, according to stud ies. This goes for chocolate and tea, too.

TUCK YOURSELF IN WITH TRYPTO PHAN

This is an amino acid, which helps in inducing sleep. Good sources of tryptophan include eggs, meat, seafood, nuts, yoghurt, milk, oats, bananas and beans.


EAT NO LATER THAN 7 PM
It's best to eat your evening meal around three hours before bed, as this will optimise your levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin in time.


Eating late at night, on the other hand, increases blood flow to your digestive tract, causing your stomach to secrete more gastric acid and making your intestinal muscles work harder. This stimulates your body's metabolic systems at the very time when you want them to be slowing down for sleep.Avoiding late meals also reduces your chance of suffering from acid reflux, which can be a serious sleep disrupter.


AVOID (NEARLY ALL) BOOZE
At first, alcohol induces sleep, but if you indulge in more than one or two small drinks, you're probably in for a fragmented night. One study pinpointed that booze increased slow-wave deep sleep during the first half of the night, but increased sleep disruptions in the second half. This is why , after a heavy night out, we often find ourselves crashing straight, but then waking in the small hours. For the first two weeks on this diet, it's best to avoid alcohol. After that, one small glass of wine every other night is the limit. Sticking to this will cut lots of calories, too.


ET THE RIGHT WATER BALANCE
Research shows a direct correlation between your hydration level and the number of hours of kip you get. Aim to drink around 6-8 glasses of water a day. But if you often find yourself needing the loo in the night, it's best to avoid liquids for three hours before bedtime.

HERE ARE A FEW SLEEP-INDUCING SNACKS
Handful of Brazil nuts or almonds
Oatcakes with mashed avocado
Banana yoghurt (small bowl)
Glass of semi-skimmed milk
Sliced apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter
HAVE A MAGNESIUM BATH


Most of us know that a relaxing bath before bedtime can help get us in the mood for sleep. But by adding the muscle-relaxing mineral magnesium, you can supercharge your soak's snooze power.Magnesium deficiency has been linked to insomnia, but not everyone can absorb the mineral effectively from their diet, so getting it through your skin is a great way to boost your sleep levels.


FIVE SNOOZE SABOTEURS


1 Cheese: Soft cheese is fine but hard cheese, such as Cheddar, contains high levels of the amino acid tyramine, which makes the brain feel very alert.


2 Spicy foods: Apart from probably causing indi gestion, chilli contains capsaicin, which makes it harder for your body to regulate temperature and may result in a disturbed night.


3 Dark chocolate: Good quality chocolate can contain as much as 40 per cent of the amount of caffeine found in a standard cup of coffee.


4 Celery: If eaten in large amounts too close to bedtime, celery can act as a a diuretic that may leave you needing to pee during the night!


5 Green tea: Not only is it a source of caffeine, but it also contains two other stimulants theobromine and theophylline which can increase heart rate and trigger anxiety. Not what you want late at night!

THE RIGHT Prescription

CREDIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ARE WHAT MAKES NABH THE MOST TRUSTWORTHY CERTIFICATION IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR

Like all organisations and institutions, hos pitals too require ac creditation to function well with minimum risks. NABH, the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, established in the year 2006, is considered to be the highest accreditation for hospitals in India.The body puts in place stringent protocols for all departments to ensure the smooth functioning of a hospital.

“Accredited hospitals offer higher quality of care to their patients. It helps reduce the risks, focuses on organising, strengthens patient care and creates a culture of safety for both, the staff as well the patients.NABH accreditation makes sure that the hospital adopts the best practices. It has also improved the overall professional development of clinicians, para medical staff and promotes leadership and quality improvement,“ says Philip Mathew, deputy manager for corporate relations at a leading cardiac specialty hospital in the city. Also, a programme for internal champions on implementing the quality manage ment system, has been put in place. It essentially creates a structure for the work.Quality being a continuous process, stimulates continuous improvement by means of doing audits at predefined intervals to make sure whether the established systems and processes are sustained to meet the standards requirements. Any changes in the system or process are monitored frequently. Internal champions are used as mentors for quality improvement and implementing the changes in their work areas concerned,“ he adds.


The NABH 4th edition standards are documented in 10 chapters, which are Access, Assessment and Continuity of Care, Care of Patients (COP), Management of Medication (MOM), Pa tient Rights and Education (PRE), Hospital Infection Control (HIC), Continual Quality Improvement (CQI), Responsibilities of Management (ROM), Facility Management and Safety (FMS), Human Resource Management (HRM) and Information Management System(IMS).The NABH essentially aims at streamlining all the processes of the hospitals and that is reflected by healthcare professionals across the city. “NABH accreditation promotes higher quality healthcare to the patients, maintains rights and responsibilities of the staff and ensures that quality is maintained by health care providers,“ says Dr V Balaji, director of a leading diabetes care centre in the city.


However, it is not easy to get accredited by NABH.With strict rules and regulations in place, it takes a lot for hospitals to even be eligible for consideration for this accreditation. “We have to go through stringent protocols, follow guidelines for all activities of the hospital, strict maintenance of records, streamlined practices, proper paper work for equipment used, infection control, biomedical waste management, keeping records of patients as well as attenders, disinfection in handling patients, documentation of all procedures, drug charts etc,“ says Dr Geetha Haripriya, director of a fertility care centre in the city.“For surgeries there are processes in place to counsel the patients regarding the risks and benefits of the procedure, lab management, radiology procedures etc. Following these protocols gives good output and minimises risks in patient management. It helps the patient by reducing waiting time, the doctors by providing immediate patient history and basically improves the overall functioning of the hospital,“ she adds.


This accreditation is given to hospitals, blood banks, eye care centres, dental care centres, blood storage centres, allopathic clinics, AYUSH (Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani, Siddha and Yoga and Naturopathy) hospitals, wellness centres, clinical trial centres and panchakarma centres to name a few. According to the CEO of NABH Dr Harish Nadkarni, the body intends to be a robust, accessible and competent organisation that complements the healthcare system to improve its efficiency and the predictability of healthcare outcomes.

Champions are made; you have to work to become one

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has been a revelation for India at the international badminton circuit. Apart from being the world No. 2 women's shuttler and the only Indian badminton player to have ever appeared in an Olympic final, she would easily feature among the 10 soughtafter women badminton players in the world. Sindhu has been nominated for the Padma Bhushan award. She is appointed as the deputy collector of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh and is the brand ambassador of Swachh Andhra Mission. CT caught up with the Olympic silver medallist, who was in Coimbatore recently for the inauguration of a sports academy.

So, how does she handle all these responsibilities at a young age? “I am really happy about my achievement, but this is only the beginning. I would like to thank the government and the sports ministry for having nominated my name for the Padma Bhushan. I have achieved a lot, but there is immense scope for improvement. I will keep working harder.Since, I have achieved something, the expectations are much higher.Previously, people were like `she might win the tournament,' but now it's like `she should win the tournament'.“

Sharing the experience of being a part of her coach Pullela Gopichand's Badminton Academy, Sindhu says, “I have been associated with the academy since the age of 10.I am really lucky that I got such good coaches and everything I wanted, right from the infrastructure to proper coaching. We should have coaches like the ones in the academy. It takes years of practice to become a World no. 1 or 2. My coaches have always been on my side, motivating me to try harder and harder every day, which is not easy.“

She adds, “Not everyone can go to Gopichand Academy or afford to get trained in such reputed academies.But at the same time, being in Gopichand's academy won't guarantee you a medal. Champions are made -you have to work on your basics initially and work hard to become a champion.“ India is being introduced to many premier leagues these days. Does she feel the leagues genuinely help the respective sports to grow? “We have Premier Badminton League (PBL) for our sport. I think it really helps everybody , especially the junior players. They get to play with top players from different countries and they play at international standards.They learn a lot from these players. But for the league, they won't get a chance to interact with them frequently . We also get to learn a lot from other players and coaches because their mentality , strategy and attitude are all different. We get to play as a team and it's a different experience all together,“ she says.

Does Sindhu think that the sport has reached such a level that an aspiring player can take up badminton as a career? “Definitely... It wasn't the case sometime back. It was only cricket that got attention. After the Olympics outing, everybody wants to get into badminton. If you believe in yourself, you can achieve what you want to, but, you have to make few sacrifices in life. And you have to work hard to keep up your good work,“ she asserts.

Sindhu is all set to take part in the National Championship in November.How does she feel about coming back to the national level after playing at the international circuit? She says with a laugh, “It is going to be different. Since we are at the senior level, we don't know much about the junior level. But I think the junior players have improved a lot and it's going to be a good tournament.There are many upcoming players and you never know, anybody can do anything at any moment.“

Talking about her rivalry with her Japanese counterpart Nozomi Okuhara, she shares, “Rivalry is always there on the court, because the competition is really high. Out of the top 20 players, anybody can win on any day . I lost against her in the World Championships and won in the Korea Open Super series and lost again in Japan. The World Championship was one of the longest matches in my career. I don't have any regrets, but sometimes, I think if I had won, it might have been different. It was just not my day , I played all the strokes, but, it just wasn't my day . In badminton, it's not about the first game, it's about every point you win. Each point is extremely important. Nozomi has been playing really well.“

On a parting note, what does she have to say to youngsters? “Earlier, parents wanted their children to become a doctor or an engineer. But now, they want to support their children in sports and want them to be champions. Support of parents is crucial. My parents have always supported and motivated me and have been on my side. The child should be really interested in the sport heshe wants to play and work hard to be successful in the long run.“

Cleanliness on par with godliness at the Madurai Meenakshi Temple

While Trichy has constantly been listed among the cleanest cities in the India for the last few years, the news about Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai being selected as the cleanest iconic place in the country is something that definitely adds to the pride of the people of Tamil Nadu. According to officials in charge of the temple, the footfall at the temple on any given day is more than 20,000. And during the festival season, the numbers go up to a lakh.Considering the large number of visitors every day at this temple, how do they manage to maintain the temple and its premises spick and span? Can the same 


cleanliness system be replicated in other temples across the state?

THERE'S A FOCUSED EFFORT FROM TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION

A lot of credit for this definitely goes to the district collector and the temple officials, say visitors and heritage enthusiasts. Temple chronicler from Chennai, Padmapriya Baskaran, says, “I know K Veera Raghava Rao, the Madurai district collector, since the time he was working in Tiruvallur. And I've had an opportunity to work with him in Madurai as well.He is a very socially conscious person. So, when the admin istrative head and the temple officials make conscious efforts to keep the place clean, it percolates down to others working in and around the temple, and also visitors.“ She adds, “There is a focused effort on their part to ensure cleanliness drives on a daily basis, deputing adequate workers and volunteers for such drives and placing enough number of waste bins throughout its sprawling premises. And I guess they also have a system in place, where if someone is found littering heshe will be fined `50.“

WORKERSVOLUNTEERS WORK ROUND THE CLOCK

N Natarajan, joint commissioner of the temple, says, “Mass cleaning happens four times a day. There are 89 workers exclusively for cleaning and they work in two shifts. This apart, there are two volunteer groups, who come here regularly to clean the premises.“ S Vivekanandan from one of the volunteer groups called Thirukoil Bhaktharkal Peravai Trust, says, “Every third Sunday we go to the Meenakshi Amman temple and clean the premises. We've been doing this for the last 26 years. Each time, around 70 to 100 people from different walks of life join us as volunteers for cleaning. They come to the temple on their own. We provide them refreshments and meal. Also, every Thursday, a few of us go there in the night and clean the sannidhi from 12am to 4am when devotees are not around.“ The volunteers also help in clearing vegetation that grows on the vimanas. “Birds drop seeds into the crevices of vimanas and vegetation starts growing.

And slowly they develop cracks. So, we clear them off regularly and also clean the gopurams,“ he says.

AWARENESS ABOUT CLEANLINESS PLAYS A KEY ROLE

Without any doubt, what's adding to the efforts put in by the officials is the success of the awareness created among public. Padmapriya says, “ Apart from not littering the place, people have been following protocols -like lighting lamps at designated places and refraining from taking them too close to the idols to avoid soot spoiling the idols. Even priests have been educated on how and where to discard old flowers and clothes. In temples, everyone, from priests to worshippers, have to undergo behavioural change to keep the premises clean. Because we perform pujas in the premises and serve prasadam, there should be a conscious effort to create awareness among everyone to maintain cleanliness -be it about lighting lamps, discarding used stuff, dumping containers in which prasadam is served, not spilling oilturmerickumkumam on floor, etc. That kind of awareness is definitely happening at the Madurai Meenakshi Temple.“

Seconding her is Lakshmi Narayanan, a regular visitor to the temple, who says, “I've always been amazed to see visitors at the temple making that conscious effort to keep its premises clean. You hardly see anyone littering the place. When they see the premises that clean, it deters them from littering the place.“

WHY THIS SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE TO OTHER TEMPLES IN THE STATE

While agreeing that this is a commendable achievement, Padmapriya adds, “Madurai Meenakshi Temple has unlimited source of income. It's a UNESCO heritage monument; it sees a large number of footfall and so, donations are also high. It's easier for a temple like that to have a proper system in place for keeping the site clean. But if this has to be duplicated in smaller temples, it can only happen with behavioural change in people, right from the head of the institution to the devotees. And for that, there should be continuous effort to create awareness.Once that happens, we can be rightfully proud that our temple has achieved this award. This achievement should set an example and motivate other temples in Tamil Nadu to start working towards it.“

THE FIRST BABY STEP

Hosts India Meet USA In Their Maiden WC Clash

Be canny and careful, baby you are on the brink...“All long jouneys start with a baby step. Former FIFA president's Sepp Blatter's `sleeping giants' are about to take that first one. As Friday evening will settle down on the Capital's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, India's U-17 boys -the select few born on or after 2000 -will have their first taste of a global competition. The biggest in their age category , the World Cup.


The smell of paint is still fresh at the venues as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) pulled out all the stops to get things in order since winning the bid in 2013. Scouting, selection and almost three years of preparations went on under chief vcoach Nicholai Adam before he was hastily removed in February 2017 and Luis Norton de Matos was given the reins to help the adolescent boys become men.


Emotional management, which rocked Adam's boat, is said to be De Matos' key weapon.Blending it with his technical acumen, De Matos has promised to get the best out of the boys.


Midfielder Amarjit Singh, the democratically elected leader of the bunch, looked visibly excited. One just hopes his energy electrifies his mates as they will be up against a far superior opposition, the USA. Considered as one of the title contenders, USA has come with a fearsome reputation.


Amarjit's opposite number Josh Sergeant is going to join Werder Bremen once he turns 18 in February. Tim Weah has already bagged a Paris Saint Germain contract, at a younger age than his famous father, George.


“We have had a wonderful journey so far,“ said Amarjit on Thursday. “We have prepared well and the coach has tried to polish the rough edges in the last six months.“ His coach, however, sounded a warning note. “Wha ever we have tried to perfect in practice, it is not quite the same on the field,“ said de Matos.


It is the conversion rate that has left creases on Dos Matos' countenance. “Our opponents score one out of three chances. For us, the rate is one out of seven.“
In the Youth Cup in 2016, USA scored four past India without response. However, their coach John Hackworth refused to read oo much into that. “The scoreline isn't indicative of the contest.


ndia is the most hard-working eam I have seen and they must have made huge strides since,“ Hackworth said on Thursday.


In a recent interview to US Soccer, the coach had thrown ight on his captain Sergeant.The handsome boy made a cameo appearance on Thursday at he press conference. “Well, I hink this is a big challenge for Josh. Look, the only way that he can improve on his Under-20 per ormance is to win the Golden Boot at the Under-17 World Cup and that is, hands-down, an incredibly tough challenge,“ said he coach.


Sergeant will be earning a unique distinction of playing in he U-20 World Cup and U-17 in he same calendar year. “What I really like about Josh and his de velopment and having these experiences at the U-20 World Cup is that he doesn't let that change his daily focus -on how he goes about his job at trying to get better. I mean, he's very confident in his ability, his work ethic is excellent,“ said Hackworth.


Ready to join Werder Bremen in February when he comes of age, Sergeant typfies the style that the US team plays. Physically very strong, technically sharp and having a wealth of experince. “I have tried to bring my U-20 experience to this team,“ the striker said.
Something that Amarjit and his mates will find hard to match once the ball is set rolling by Prime Minister Narendra Modi .The U-17 World Cup is a tournament of the first post-millennial generation. Amarjit and his mates have the opportunity to showcase on the brightest stage that they are truly the select few.

Game on.

International entrepreneurs fight for `startup' visa, move US court

A group of entrepreneurs, including some from In dia, along with US-based National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), filed a lawsuit last month against the Trump administration for delaying the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), that would have enabled foreign entrepreneurs to operate in the US. In common parlance, IER is referred to as the `startup visa'.

On September 29, this group of plaintiffs also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in a federal court in Washington DC. The objective was to compel the US Department of Homeland Security (the Citizenship and Immigration Se rvices wing falls in its ambit) to implement the IER and begin processing applications from entrepreneurs, pending disposal of the lawsuit. Omni Labs, which provides clients digital platforms for data visualisation and analytics, had set up a US entity in 2015. Yet two of its founders--Nishant Srivasta va and Vikram Tiwari--couldn't obtain work visas. Both finally got Canadian work visas. The petition that has been filed points out that as these cofounders cannot come to the US, the company was forced to set up an office in Canada. Aside from costs involved in setting up the Vancouver office and obtaining Canadian work permits or the challenges relating to obtaining future US funding, operational challenges arise. “Omni's US employees must either work with these founders remotely or travel to Vancouver, which they do roughly once every two months,“ adds the petition.

India-origin brothers, Atma and Anand Krishna, co-founders of LotusPay , a digital payment platform, had set up a US holding company in the US state of Delaware in May 2017.This was a pre-condition for participating in the Y Combinator programme, which could result in funding from this early stage investor. LotusPay obtained $120,000 from this investor and attracted interest from other US investors besides a list of prospective customers. But as the IER was not introduced, plans fell apart. “The US market is very attractive to LotusPay , and its platform ...would be a boon to US-based companies and the economy ,“ the petition said. The brothers have been unable to obtain any other form of lawful status in the US. This makes it far more difficult for them to launch their platform in the US, and hire or work in the same location as USbased employees. Further, US-based investors have a comfort level if founders are based in the US, the petition explains.

In addition to the NVCA, the Krishna brothers, and Omni Labs, another company--Peak Labs is also a plaintiff.Its chief architect, a Dutch national, was unable to obtain a work visa and is forced to work from the Netherlands. Paul Hughes, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP--one of the firms involved in representing the plantiffs-explains: “The Department of Homeland Security suspended the IER six days before it was to take effect.Hundreds of entrepreneurs would have benefited from the programme.“

Probe Gandhi's assassination afresh: PIL

On Mahatma Gandhi's 148th birth anniversary , conspiracy theorists are digging up `unsolved mysteries' of the assassination... Which pistol was used? How many shots were really fired? Was there a second shooter?


The weapon riddle leads to Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh. TOI has copies of a 1948 police document which show that Dr Dattatraya Parchure of Gwalior -who allegedly provided the Beretta with which Godse fired three shots at the Mahatma -owned a second Beretta whose registration number 719791 was strangely the same as a pistol owned by another Gwalior resident, Uday Chand, at the same time.

The pistol with which Gandhi was shot has the registration number 606824.While Dr Parchure had given this one to Godse, he had refused to give him the second Berretta. Both pistols were seized in the aftermath of the assassination -one from the scene of the shooting and the other from Dr Parchure's home.

TOI has a copy of a document, signed by the superintendent of police of the erstwhile Gwalior State on February 15, 1948, showing Dr Parchure and Uday Chand holding pistols with the same serial number. The note bases its data on records of May 2, 1947.

TOI approached Dr Par TOI approached Dr Par chure's son Upendra, who practices homeopathy in Gwalior, and his grandson Meghdoot for their opinion, but they refused to speak.

Now, a self-confessed Veer Savarkar devotee, Dr Pankaj Phadnis -founder of a modern-day `Abhinav Bharat' -has filed a PIL in Supreme Court, questioning the belief that three bullets were fired at the Mahatma. He insists four shots were fired and it is the fourth bullet that took his life.An earlier petition of Phadnis seeking reopening of the case was dismissed by a high court, but he is undeterred.

Demanding a fresh probe into Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, he claims that “most newspapers throughout the world“ reported that four bullets were fired at Gandhiji and that the “fourth bullet has remained a mystery all along“. Phadnis cites an excerpt from Manuben's diary: “Almost 1o'clock, Bapu was brought inside to bath while taking him to bathroom, all started to cry. Bapu's dhoti, shawl, handkerchief was completely covered with blood from clothes one bullet came out.“ Manuben, Gandhi's grandniece, was beside him during the assassination.

Phadnis wants to know where this “mystery bullet“ came from and who fired it.His petition will be heard on October 6.

There is more to the bullet riddle, and the trail again leads to Gwalior. The petition to reopen the Gandhi assassination case encloses a letter, dated May 6, 1948, from the then IG-police of Delhi province to the director scientific laboratory , East Punjab CID.The IG wants to know if a bullet found in Gwalior matches any of the Berettas seized after the murder. This bullet is alleged to have been fired by the conspirators during a dry run of the assassination.

The laboratory replied that the bullet could not have been fired from the pistol recovered from Godse. TOI has copies of these letters. The question is why did the police feel the need to check out the other Beretta?
Phadnis has also questions why Herbert `Tom' Reiner, a vice-consul attached to the US embassy , who was the first to nab and disarm Godse, was not made a witness in the case. He wants to know if Gandhi's killing had anything to do with his proposed visit to Pakistan in February 1948, which Pakistan Governor General Jinnah had agreed to.

Guj becomes 1st state to say yes to VAT cut on petrol, diesel

TN Declines To React, Kerala Says Reduction Not Feasible

BJP-ruled Gujarat became on Thursday the first state to say it would cut VAT on petrol and diesel after the Centre urged states to cut their levies on the fuels by 5%.Other BJP-ruled states, such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand, and states where it shares power, like Bihar, seemed likely to follow suit with cuts or seriously consider the option of doing so.

“Apart from the central taxes that have been reduced, the Gujarat government will cut down on state-related taxes on petrol and diesel,“ chief minister Vijay Rupani was quoted as saying on TV .


Similarly , Madhya Pradesh was likely to announce a Diwali gift for consumers by slashing petrol and diesel prices this week. “We are seriously considering reducing VAT,“ CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday . State finance minister Jayant Malaiya said he would attend a GST Council meeting this week “where I will discuss the plan to cut 5% VAT on petrol and diesel“.


But Haryana, though a BJP state, appeared in no mood to cut taxes. “Before any further review of VAT on fuel in the state, stabilisation of GST is more necessary ,“ Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu said, adding the state already had the lowest VAT on fuel in the country . He said they would wait for the impact of GST to stabilise in Haryana.


Kerala said a reduction was unfeasible, while Odisha felt the request was unjustified.Tamil Nadu declined to react, while Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal said his state didn't need to effect any cuts because, though the Centre had hiked excise duty on fuel 11 times in the past 36 months, the state had not increased VAT on any of those occasions.


Kerala FM Thomas Isaac ruled out the possibility of a VAT reduction, saying the state government could not accept the extra burden that would be created by lowering VAT on the fuels as Kerala had already been crippled by the heavy burden of GST. He said the Centre's decision to cut excise duty by Rs 2 was an eyewash.


Odisha finance minister Shashi Bhusan Behera said, “ A poor state like Odisha is charging only 26% VAT, which is less compared to many states. Now, asking all states to cut it by 5% is not fair. Instead the Centre should take more steps at its level to bring down fuel prices.“ Behera told TOI a final decision on the Centre's request would be taken after consultations at a high level in government. “But, personally , I feel the request is unjustified,“ he said. Bengal finance depart ment officials said the government was trying to assess the impact on revenue if sales tax on both fuels was reduced by 5%. They said the Centre should impose GST on petroleum products to ensure a uniform price across the nation.


Himachal Pradesh excise and taxation minister Prakash Chaudhary said no decision had been taken on reducing VAT on petrol and diesel. “... if the need arises, I will discuss the matter with chief minister Virbhadra Singh as he has to take the final decision,“ he said.


Assam, where the BJP leads the government, finance commissioner Ravi Kota said the states, including Assam, were yet to receive an official notification from the Centre to cut VAT on fuel by 5%.

NEET: 500 free centres from Oct-end

50K Questions By Experts To Be Released In Phases

The 50,000 questions that experts are preparing to help students in the state crack competitive exams like NEET would be released in phases from the end of this month, education minister K A Sengottaiyan said on Thursday .

The 1,000-2,000 questions that will be released each week would give time for teachers and students to tackle a set of questions at a time and prepare accordingly , he said.


The minister was speaking during the state principals' conference on `Futuristic Schools' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu.


The curriculum framework, which is expected to be ready by November, will be made accessible to the public for a span of 10 days during which feedback will be invited, he added. “Suggestions will be taken from stakeholders and members of the public to incorporate them into the revised curriculum,“ he said.


Nearly 500 free NEET training centres will also be set up by the end of the month.Identity cards will be given to students to walk into these centres.


Asked about the teacher requirement for these centres, Sengottaiyan said there were enough teachers for the purpose and that training would be carried out through several means, including video tutorials.


Earlier, speaking at Sathyabama University on the occasion of World Space Week, the minister had declared that the training centres for competitive exams would be set up in all 32 districts by the end of November. Sengottaiyan also said that work on setting up Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled classrooms would start by November 15 with the process of floating tenders scheduled to begin next week. A sum of `437 crore had been allocated earlier for the setting up of these classrooms for students of Classes IX to XII.


Reflecting on several such measures, delegates at the CII conference focused on how schools would have to adapt to the changes that are being brought into the system.
“For the current situation, how fast will schools have to move to acclimatise to the new patterns being brought into the educational setup? Schools will vary from city to city so there are challenges that will have to be kept in mind,“ said P Diwya, executive officer, CII, Southern region.


A report with inputs on the educational system from principals from across schools in the state had been submitted to the education department, she said.. Thangam Meganathan, chairperson of the Rajalashmi group of institutions, said that the conference was a networking and knowledge-sharing base for teachers from across 150 participating schools in the state. It was aimed at providing a platform where they could make suggestions about new practices and steps to improve. “Schools are crucial because that is where change can be triggered to adapt ourselves for the changes in the future,“ she said.


The conference was also aimed at highlighting the critical role played by the school principal in a dynamically changing environment, deliberate on key challenges and create a platform for peers to understand and learn the best practices prevalent in the field of education.

GST Council set to give relief to SMEs and exporters today

PM, FM, Shah Brainstorm Before Meet

The Centre will use Friday's GST Council to push through relief measures and calm jittery businesses complaining about the new tax regime. The panel of state and Union finance ministers is expected to ease exporters' pain by allowing electronic payment of taxes through “virtual currency“, while announcing a series of steps for small and medium enterprises as it seeks to smo othen the implementation of GST.

Expectations of a raft of measures were triggered after PM Narendra Modi's strong defence of the health of the economy on Wednesday , which he backed up with a meeting with finance minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday .


Shah, who is supposed to provide critical political feedback, cancelled his return to Kerala on Thursday for the planned padyatra. Jaitley skipped a scheduled speech at the India Economic Summit on Thusday evening. Sources, however, described the meeting as routine.


Details of the meeting were sketchy , but sources said addressing concerns related to GST is a top priority for the government. The big focus on SMEs and exporters, which have been hit hard by GST, will see the Centre and the states allow for filing of quarterly returns by businesses with turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore. This is in addition to a proposal to increase the threshold for the composition scheme to Rs 1 crore from Rs 75 lakh, which will allow small businesses, inlcuding eateries, to pay 1-5% tax (based on the businesses they are in) without having to deal with the three-stage filing process, sources told TOI.


On Wednesday, PM Na rendra Modi had promised to address all the concerns related to GST. On Monday , revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia had told TOI that the GST Council was expected to remove irritants for SMEs and exporters.


n his Dussehra address, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had also called for securing the interests of small businesses and farmers. While GST has not impacted consumers in any significant manner, businesses are complaining, with SMEs saying that several of them are no longer preferred suppliers to large businesses who insist that they should be registered with the IT network and be part of the tax chain.


In case of relief for exporters, the committee headed by Adhia has suggested that for July , all refunds be processed by October 10 and, for August, this task is to be completed by October 18 on the basis of returns that have been filed. For input credit too, the timeline will be fixed as the Council seeks to speed up the entire pro cess, compared to five-six months taken earlier.


The committee was unable to find a solution to address the concern rela ted to working capital get ting blocked, although two options, including exemption from payment of IGST and cess on imported inputs and nominal GST for merchant exporters were considered. Several finance ministers are, however, in favour of the second option which will allow for notional credit of taxes through an electronic medium -being referred to as virtual currency or e-wallet. The credit will be on the basis of past export performance and this can be used to meet the tax liability.Subsequently , this will be adjusted against the refund payable, said sources.

Childish miners speak ill

A lot has been said about the Chamber of Mines decision to boycott an important mining stakeholder event that was held in Joburg on Monday evening. Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane attended the event, addressed the delegates and had an opportunity to interact with the media to outline his views on the sector and the impasse regarding the Mining Charter, which will be dealt with in the High Court in Pretoria later in 2017.

One of the important things Zwane said in his address was that the mining sector plays an important role in the economy. It is still a goose that lays the golden egg, but there is important and urgent work to be done by all industry stakeholders to transform the industry and make it beneficial to all South Africans across race and gender.

Zwane also sent a signal to the industry to indicate its areas of discomfort when it comes to the pace with which his department (and government) is moving in transforming this important sector of our economy.

Unfortunately, the chamber was not there to listen to and interact with the minister. It issued a statement saying it had chosen to interact with him only through the courts. The minister respects the chamber’s decision to go this route and boycott important industry events that have the potential to facilitate conversations among stakeholders and achieve consensus on the best way to build a future for this economy.

The mining industry will not be built by leaders who travel thousands of miles across the oceans to talk ill about the country and drive away potential investment. This industry will only be built by men and women who exercise diplomacy, caution and patience and who understand that growing the industry must at all times be measured against how well the sector is doing to address historical imbalances. These imbalances deal with ownership, health and safety, and procurement, among others.

People took time off to attend the Joburg Indaba on Monday evening. They listened to the minister and interacted with him thereafter. They interact with him on a daily basis. They do not have to agree with his views, but they recognise that he is the minister responsible for this industry and they do not allow petty personal differences to stand in the way of these difficult conversations.

The minister’s door remains open for the chamber to engage with him. Flying thousands of miles across the oceans to bad-mouth the country is a display of immaturity and lack of commitment to a country endowed with resources that can actually grow the industry.

SA is a constitutional state governed by the law, an independent judiciary and internal stability. Our conversations have to focus on growth and change — how we grow the industry and share the proverbial pie.

Fidel Hadebe

Spokesman, mineral resources ministry

PSL still hoping for a familiar face

● If Bafana Bafana do not make it to the World Cup finals in Russia next year the Premier Soccer League will still be hoping for some representation and‚ barring injury‚ are guaranteed to have at least one player who plays in South Africa at the finals.

In Group B of the African qualifiers‚ only Nigeria and Zambia are left in the race for top spot in the group and the one qualifying berth for the tournament next June.

Home victory for Nigeria in Uyo on Saturday (kick off 6pm) will ensure that the Super Eagles become the first African side to advance to the finals.

Chippa United goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi is likely to return to the starting line-up after injury kept him out of the last two qualifiers against Cameroon.

Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme is currently battling cancer and, with Akpeyi absent for the last game‚ the No 1 jersey fell to Ikechukwu Ezenwa‚ one of the few home-based players to have featured in the Nigerian side in recent years. Akpeyi moved to Chippa after the CHAN-2014 tournament in South Africa and has been among the best PSL goalkeepers since.

Should Zambia win on Saturday they will cause yet another upset and put themselves in line for a first-ever World Cup.

Their squad is captained by Kennedy Mweene of Mamelodi Sundowns and has new Orlando Pirates signing Justin Shonga and Rodrick Kabwe of Ajax Cape Town among its newer members.

Brian Mwila of Platinum Stars would have also been included had he not been injured. That keeps him sidelined this week.

At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil‚ there were two PSL-based players in Ghana’s 23man squad — goalkeeper Fatau Dauda‚ who was on Pirates’ books at the time‚ and Rashid Sumaila‚ then at Sundowns but now playing in Kuwait.

Komphela digs his heels in as fans bellow for his head

● Embattled Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela says he is not going anywhere.

Komphela has faced a barrage of criticism from irate Chiefs fans since the start of the season‚ but the besieged coach says he has no intention of throwing in the towel.

“Winners never quit and quitters never win‚” he said yesterday.

“You don’t go around saying, ‘Eish‚ I am not making a breakthrough’. The thought of quitting never crossed my mind.”

A section of the Chiefs fans have continued to voice their displeasure with Komphela’s regime for weeks now and some have gone as far as verbally abusing the coach and pelting him with missiles after games.

Komphela believes he and Stuart Baxter could sit down and have an interesting chat about their similar turmoil.

“He is going through more or less what I am going through. And maybe the two of us could have a cup of coffee. That could go down well with the two of us.

“I wish him well‚ because I know what he is going through.”

Back-to-back defeats against Cape Verde have seen Baxter heavily criticised and left Bafana needing victories from their last three games to stand a chance of reaching the World Cup in Russia next year.

Chiefs‚ after two seasons without a trophy under Komphela‚ have started the season knocked out of the MTN8 in the opening round and with only two wins from seven PSL games.

Komphela has exited numerous stadiums in the company of security guards‚ but the Chiefs mentor is adamant he is not going anywhere. STEVE KOMPHELA Kaizer Chiefs coach

“I am looking more at the project here. The excitement of the challenge is that you want to break through.

“Maybe I am wired differently‚ which is why I am in this position.

“Every coach is abnormal‚ which is why you will have coaches going through fire and the rest of the world asking if he can’t see the fire‚” he said‚ as the club prepared for a Macufe Cup tie against Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday.

Komphela said he understood the Kaizer Chiefs fans’ frustration and was aware that they were tired of hearing excuses.

“There are two things in football‚ results and reasons‚” he said.

“I am sure that people are tired of reasons. We are tired. There have been too many reasons‚ for too long‚ and people don’t need that.”

Komphela admitted that he would take a win from anywhere‚ even from their friendly Macufe Cup clash against Celtic on Sunday afternoon.

“We need results in the Macufe Cup so that we get our confidence back,” he said.

“There have been too many reasons for too long”

Suns follow Dew course

AFL: Stuart Dew is undaunted by the massive task that has been handed to him – turning Gold Coast into a viable and relevant AFL entity.

The Port Adelaide and Hawthorn premiership player, and most recently Sydney assistant (pictured), has been signed on as coach for the next three seasons.

Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans praised Dew’s “connection to people” and ability to “(band) them together to chase down success ... influenced by his time at Hawthorn, Sydney and Port Adelaide”.

Dew played 206 senior games and was a premiership player with the Power in 2004 and the Hawks in 2008 after being enticed out of retirement by Alastair Clarkson.

Gold Coast has been a graveyard for senior coaches with Guy McKenna (2014) and Rodney Eade (2017) both axed after failing to find success.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here today if I had any reservations,” the 38-year-old said. “I am aware in the lifetime of an AFL coach you probably get one crack at it, some get more. But I am aware that this is my opportunity and I’m rapt.”

Dew beat the favourite, Carlton assistant John Barker, and Clarkson’s new right-hand man at Hawthorn, Scott Burns, to the role.

Dew had previously been touted as Paul Roos’ successor at Melbourne but opted to bide his time at Sydney.

“As an aspiring assistant you certainly look at opportunities that might come up and this is one I have been keeping my eye on for a while,” Dew said.

“I am excited by the challenge, I have been in three great environments and I have a clear view on what I think delivers a successful environment.”

Dew revealed that he had not yet spoken to wantaway Suns star Gary Ablett but has “touched base” with co-captain Tom Lynch, who is currently in Europe.

There is also speculation Dew may entice Swans big man and Gold Coast native Kurt Tippett to come with him after falling out of favour at Sydney this season.

But, the new coach said he wouldn’t be making any “bold statements” about the improvements he wanted to see in the near future.

“We’ll be setting small goals. In terms of turnarounds, we want every day to be a turnaround on the day previous,” Dew said.

Brisbane, meanwhile, is believed to be the desired destination for Queenslandbred Adelaide Crow Charlie Cameron in season 2018.

The AFL’s free agency period begins today with the trade period to follow on Monday.

PLAYBOY AND THE APEX GANG

A PLAYBOY businessman is accused of paying young crime gangs for goods stolen during Melbourne’s wave of terrifying jewellery store robberies.

Flamboyant gold and diamond dealer Alex Mendieta was yesterday arrested at his Collins St business, Gold Buyers Melbourne, by Gangs Crime Squad police who have been tracing the proceeds of up to 33 rob- beries. Mr Mendieta, who flaunts his lifestyle on social media and was able to hire Delta Goodrem to sing at his 30th birthday, was late last night charged and released on bail.

The Herald Sun understands Mr Mendieta’s business had a turnover of more than $50 million in the first half of this year.

Detectives have for many months been investigating vicious armed robberies in which thugs — some connected with the notorious Apex Gang — have stormed jewellery stores across Melbourne, confronting staff with guns, machetes and baseball bats.

The Colombian-born Mr Mendieta, 31, lists himself as the “Big Boss” at Gold Buyers Melbourne.

A JETSETTING socialite and dealer in gold and diamonds has been arrested in connection with a series of smashand-grab robberies of jewellery stores across Melbourne.

Gangs Crime Squad detectives raided the Collins St store of flamboyant Colombianborn dealer Alex Mendieta, 31, yesterday.

Just before midnight police revealed Mr Mendieta had been charged with the possession of stolen goods, recklessly possessing stolen goods and handling stolen goods.

Police suspect Mr Mendieta received stolen goods from armed thugs who robbed 33 jewellery stores across greater Melbourne over the past year.

The terrifying daylight robberies involved young criminals, some of them connected to the Apex gang and on bail, confronting staff and customers with guns, machetes and baseball bats.

Several robberies led to high-speed police pursuits and dramatic arrests.

Police also suspect some of the goods were stolen during home invasions, which have recently plagued the state.

Arrested with Mr Mendieta were two Colombian nationals, aged 36 and 34, who last night were also charged with the same offences and released on bail. Police also executed warrants at residential properties in the CBD, Southbank and Caulfield North.

A Lamborghini was seized at a CBD address. Police also seized numerous items “believed to either be stolen or the proceeds of crime, including cash, gold and silver, precious stones and gold bullion’’.

Australian Taxation Office officials were also involved in yesterday’s operation.

Mr Mendieta lists himself as the “Big Boss’’ at Gold Buyers Melbourne. His Facebook account displays a lavish lifestyle.

He is shown sipping champagne on boats, in a pool at his St Kilda Rd penthouse, driving a Lamborghini, and travelling the world.

The Herald Sun understands the business, which has high-level security, had a turnover of more than $50 million in the first half of this year.

Detective Acting Commander Peter De Santo said 33 armed robberies had been carried out at jewellery stores across Melbourne in the past 12 months.

He said: “Even today, while the investigators were at the jewellery store in Collins St, we had known criminals attending to fence goods ... gold and jewels we suspect are proceeds of crime from recent aggravated burglaries and home invasions in Melbourne.”

Police could not give an estimate on the value of the seized goods.

Cdr De Santo said identifying where the jewels were being taken was important, so that robbers were unable to dispose of them.

He said the armed robberies “have a significant impact on victims — whether it’s those who are in the store or owners who are left with the loss of stock and damage.

“We understand there has been a lot of concern from business owners, as well as the wider community about this.”

He said the arrests highlighted the police force’s determination to stem the problem.

Cdr De Santo urged those in the trade to remain vigilant and contact police if they noticed anything suspicious.

Tony Fialides, co-owner of IMP Jewellery in Toorak — which has been robbed twice in the past year — said: “I’m very happy that some arrests have been made.

“If nobody was receiving these stolen goods, it would make it a lot less encouraging for the perpetrators to sell, so this is really positive. It is obviously a slow process for the police to build a case like this but they have done well.”