PUNE,LATECITY SEPTEMBER23,2018 20+4(NEWSLINE)+6(EYE)PAGES,`5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA IDEA EXCHANGE SUNDAY STORY PAGE 8 Free fall ‘COMPETITION IN INDIA HAS INCREASED, MANY JUNIORS ARE DOING WELL’ As the rupee hit an all-time low of 72.98 against the US dollar on September 18, what a weak currency means for the economy NEERAJ CHOPRA, Asian Games gold medalist RAFALE CONTROVERSY MoD’s defence: Government had no role, Hollande has conflict of interest French govt says ‘not involved’ in choice of Reliance as offset partner; Dassault Aviation says decision theirs SUSHANT SINGH NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 22 DEFENDING ITSELF against the allegation by former French president Francois Hollande — that the Indian government “proposed” Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation in A Rafale fighter jet. Reuters file theRafaleaircraftdeal—thegovernment said it played “no role” and that “unnecessary controversies” were being created. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Defence Ministry also invoked “issues of conflict of interest involving persons close to the former President (Hollande)”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rahul says PM Modi must clear name, BJP hits back EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 22 TRIGGERING A political slugfest, Congress president Rahul GandhisaidonSaturdaythatformer French President Francois Hollande’s statement showed there was “clear cut corruption in the Rafale deal”, and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his position. Hitting back, the BJP accused Rahul of defaming a popular Prime Minister. Hollande,whowasPresident of France when the deal for 36 Rafalefighteraircraftwassigned CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AN EXPRESS SERIES The Indian Express Wishes Its Readers A Happy Anant Chaturdashi We are closed today. There will be no edition of the newspaper on Monday, September 24, 2018 ONGC tells Kohli, others to push brand As scheme rolls out today, private hospitals in queue but none make the cut in Mewat Officials try to get them on board, owners point to strict criteria GUNMEN ATTACK IRAN MILITARY PARADE, KILL AT LEAST 25 `5 LAKH HEALTH INSURANCE THE ROLLOUT PART 3 MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 22 ABANTIKA GHOSH INDIA’SBIGGESTbrandendorser Virat Kohli will now have to aggressively promote his longtime employer ONGC, as the company has decided to strictly implementitssportspolicy.Kohli is among the 179 ONGC elite sportspersons who have been askedtoprominentlydisplaythe ONGClogo—animportantclause of the sports policy — on their clothing and talk about the oil PSU during their public appearances,wheneveritispermissible. It is learnt that the top ONGC management, at a recent meetingwiththeirsportspersons,emphasised the company’s brand CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LEANING BACK on a steel chair at City Care Hospital in Nuh, Mohammed Haneef is patiently waiting for a doctor to treat his “throatpain”,unsureof whatthe bill will finally add up to. The 40-year-old farmer from Ghasera in Mewat doesn’t know it yet. But in a few months, the bill will no longer be a concern — if City Care’s application to be empanelled on the list of private hospitals for the world’s largest government health insurance programme is cleared. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will roll out the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MEWAT, SEPTEMBER 22 Inside the City Care private hospital in Nuh. Praveen Khanna WHO MAKES THE CUT Criteria for empanelment of private hospitals: ■ At least 10 in-patient beds ■ 3 qualified nurses, 2 MBBS doctors ■ 24X7: Specialists, pharmacy, blood bank, laboratory, dialysis unit, endoscopy and X-ray facilities, ambulance and emergency services RATES, PACKAGES The PMJAY has issued a reimbursement list for 1,350 treatment packages. They include: ■ Chemotherapy: Rs 45,000-70,000 (For Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer) ■ Radical hysterectomy: Rs 50,000 ■ Pacemaker implantation: Rs 50,000 ■ Bone tumour excision plus joint replacement: Rs 1,50,000 ■ Total hip replacement: Rs 75,000-90,000 As Maldives Oppn cries foul, Yameen promises free, fair election ARUN JANARDHANAN President Abdulla Yameen CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 22 INSIDE PAGE 6 ● COST OF TRICOLOUR: NO DOOR, MUZAFFARNAGAR PORTER PAYS PRICE FOR USING IT AS SHADE AS MALDIVES votes in a key presidential election on Sunday amidst a government crackdown and Opposition fears of rigging, President Abdulla Yameen told The Sunday Express that his administration was “committed to holding free, fair and transparent elections”. “If elected, my administration is further committed to fulfilling ourvisionof anindependentand CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL INTERVIEW PAGE 6 Women actors must push for better pay, says Varun; no equal ground, says Anushka EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 22 “HOW MUCH will I talk about it? I’m done now. You talk now,” actor and producer Anushka Sharma said, turning to her colleague Varun Dhawan and entrusting him with the responsibility of speaking up on gender inequality in the Hindi film industry. Sharma’s comment, which highlighted the need for male actorstotakeastandonthegender gap in Bollywood, was 13 14 WORLD PVT PARTICIPATION DEVENDRA PANDEY & AMITAV RANJAN Actors Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma at the Express Adda in Mumbai. Amit Chakravarty PAGE 7 promptedbyaquestionfromthe audience at a recent edition of the Express Adda in Mumbai. Dhawan responded to the question — about whether Bollywood would ever bridge the gender pay gap — with revelationsabouttheextenttowhich male actors are beneficiaries of an unequal system. An important source of compensation for male actors, he acknowledged, are the “packages” they get as part of the satellite and digital rights for their films. “Nowadays, when we make CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The Bombay that Saadat Hasan Manto inhabited fuelled his creative genius and made him the writer that he was Must avenge Pak Army’s barbaric acts, pay back in same coin: Gen Rawat India arrogant and negative, says Imran DEEP MUKHERJEE JAIPUR, SEPTEMBER 22 SAYING THAT there is a need to “avenge” the “barbaric” acts carried out by the Pakistani Army and terrorists against Indian soldiers, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Saturday that it is time to “give it back in the same coin”, while refraining from resorting to “similar barbarism”. “Firstly, this kind of barbaric act that terrorists of Pakistan, with the support of the Army, has been carrying out regularly, is something which is not acceptable to us and cannot be allowedtocarryon.Isthereaneed to change strategy? I would say yes,” he told mediapersons on SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 22 ‘The other side must also feel the same pain’ the sidelines of the Haifa Day commemoration parade. “Weneedtotakesternaction to avenge the kind of barbarism that terrorists and the Pakistan Army have been carrying out CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A DAY after New Delhi called off the bilateral meeting between theforeignministersof Indiaand Pakistan, Pakistan’s Prime MinisterImranKhanonSaturday expresseddisappointmentatthe “arrogant” and “negative” responseof theIndiangovernment to his call for resumption of the “peace dialogue”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Muslim neighbours rally behind family of slain SPO in Valley ADIL AKHZER BATAGUND (SHOPIAN), SEPTEMBER 22 IN THE 1990s, when militancy erupted in the Valley, Special Police Officer Kulwant Singh’s family stayed back, assured that their Muslim neighbours would never turn their backs on them. On Friday, when tragedy struck the family, the entire village was at their doorstep. Singh, 35, and two other police personnel were abducted andkilledbysuspectedmilitants on Friday morning in South Kashmir’sShopiandistrict.Aday later, the villagers rallied behind CONTINUED ON PAGE 6