This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.Success isn’t easy. This is why a lot of people don’t achieve the level of success they desire.Success isn’t fast. This is why many people quit too early.Success isn’t certain. This is why many never begin.Success is not someone else’s definition of success. This is why some don’t realize they have it or pursue the wrong path.Success is not a straight line. This is why some give up.Success is not for the lazy and unmotivated. This is why they will never get close.Success is not for the uncourageous. It takes an act of courage.Success is not for those who are afraid to get their hands dirty. It’s not for prima-donnas.Success is not for those who avoid conflict. It only comes with adversity.Success is not for those that aren’t willing to do the work. It’s the only path and its own reward.Success is not for those that wait for permission. It’s for those who to take action.Success is not for those that believe their critics or their raving fans. It’s not about your press clippings.Here is what success is.QuestionsHow do you define success?What is success?What makes success so elusive for so many? Get the Free eBook! Learn how to sell without a sales manager. Download my free eBook! You need to make sales. You need help now. We’ve got you covered. This eBook will help you Seize Your Sales Destiny, with or without a manager. Download Now
Your company will have problems executing. The people on your team will make mistakes, and these mistakes will become problems for your clients. Sometimes what you deliver is so wildly at odds with what you sold that you could die from embarrassment.What’s worse, the failures to execute occur most often with new clients. Adding insult to injury, the problems are also bigger when you are right at the beginning of the relationship. For some reason, the bigger the client, the more trouble you have at the beginning. Because you own the outcomes you sold, your phone rings when the train comes off the track.You wish your team was better. You gave them the killer hand-off, and you wish they’d just execute as promised. Maybe you wish you worked for your competitor. Surely they don’t have these problems.The truth is that your competitor doesn’t have it any better than you do. Apple makes the best products on Earth. Walk into the closest Apple Store on a Saturday morning and look at the line of people waiting to get help with their product (subtract the one’s with the spider-webbed screens). No one, no matter how good they are, is without their problems and challenges when it comes to serving their clients.The reality is that business is hard. Execution is difficult. There isn’t a single one of your competitors who doesn’t have salespeople who share the exact experience you have when it comes to failures. Your competitors have the same challenges delivering the outcomes that they sold, and they are just as unhappy when this happens as you are now. Your competitor’s salespeople are no more happy to stand in front of their clients to address the problems their team has executing.There is one more thing that you and your competitor have in common. You both believe the other’s grass is greener. Get the Free eBook! Learn how to sell without a sales manager. Download my free eBook! You need to make sales. You need help now. We’ve got you covered. This eBook will help you Seize Your Sales Destiny, with or without a manager. Download Now
Essential Reading! Get my 2nd book: The Lost Art of Closing “In The Lost Art of Closing, Anthony proves that the final commitment can actually be one of the easiest parts of the sales process—if you’ve set it up properly with other commitments that have to happen long before the close. The key is to lead customers through a series of necessary steps designed to prevent a purchase stall.” Buy Now One of the reasons so many sales forecasts end up wildly off base at the end of a quarter is because the interactions between salespeople and buyers are so complex and so dynamic as to make them nonlinear. There are more people engaged in the process and more variables being introduced in large, complex, strategic deals that come with a good deal of risk. The evidence that we use to determine whether to forecast a deal is no longer up to the task.Set aside the fact that salespeople often use end of month or quarter end dates as placeholders instead of asking the client what date it would make sense to go live with a new solution. Also set aside that many of what are called “opportunities” in the pipeline are really still leads. Also set aside the fact that many prospective clients have not really committed but are simply engaged in conversations at the early stages of exploring.None of this is to suggest that you should not have a forecast, or that you should accept the nonlinearity of the sales process without trying to create certainty and predictability in sales. But there are some factors that should now be given more weight.The sales process is really a series of commitments that we make with the client to engage them in the process of change. The making and keeping of these commitments provide an indication as to the progress the salesperson and their prospective client has made towards deciding to change and executing that change.When commitments have been made but not kept repeatedly over time, it is an indication that the organization the salesperson is working with will continue to struggle to keep commitments, and later to execute. The fact that the people in the organization are struggling to keep their commitments does not necessarily mean they won’t buy, but it does mean without further evidence that they are committed to a certain timeline, it will be difficult to include them in a forecast. No matter how well you try to control the process.Other organizations have a greater willingness and capacity to make change inside their own organization when they are aligned with their goals, and when their communication allows for the tricky and sticky conversations around change, there’s a greater likelihood that the people inside the company keep the commitments they make, and things tend to stay on track.The willingness to make and keep the commitments that make up the process of change and that result in a better future state is one factor you have to consider when assessing whether or not to forecast a deal in your pipeline. Kept commitments over time indicate that they are more likely to be kept in the future. Unkept conversations over time increase the likelihood more will be missed. This is a generalization, and all generalizations are lies, even when they prove useful.The increasingly nonlinear nature of sales is going to require a deeper dive into the progress made around all the commitments necessary to make change. In order to understand where your opportunity lies, and how likely it is to close on or before the date it is being forecast, you’re going to have to consult the record of commitments made and kept.
The Bihar Assembly witnessed pandemonium on Monday, with the Opposition NDA leaders demanding a CBI inquiry into the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) paper leak. A delegation of IAS officers met the Assembly Speaker seeking his intervention in the issue and the release of the arrested BSSC chairman, Sudhir Kumar.The NDA MLAs gathered at the gates of the Assembly with placards and shouted slogans against the government. Later, as the House sat for the day, the Leader of the Opposition, Prem Kumar, demanded suspension of Question Hour to take up the urgent matter. When the Speaker refused, Opposition leaders trooped into the Well of the House and raised slogans against the Nitish Kumar government. They also demanded the sacking of Ministers allegedly linked to the scam. The House was then adjourned till 2 p.m.In the second half of the session, the government presented its revenue-surplus budget for the year 2017-18. Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui ended his budget speech in 20 minutes, which later drew criticism from the Opposition leaders. “There is nothing in the budget to highlight, which is why he ended it quickly,” said Mr. Kumar.Later, outside the House, Mr. Kumar told journalists that the government should agree to the IAS officers’ demand for a CBI probe into the BSSC paper leak scam. “The government should also disclose the names of Ministers and MLAs who had made job recommendations to the BSSC and take action against them,” he told The Hindu. Former Chief Minister and leader of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Jitan Ram Manjhi said he had some papers, which he would make public in a day or two, that would reveal the identity of those who had sent recommendations to the BSSC chief for jobs. “BSSC chairman Sudhir Kumar is an honest IAS officer and his arrest only shows the vindictive attitude of the government,” he said. Meanwhile, a delegation of IAS officers met Speaker Vijay Chaudhury in the Assembly to seek a CBI inquiry into the scam. They are also likely to meet Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav and senior State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.On Sunday, the IAS officers declared that they would no longer take oral orders, not even from the Chief Minister.
The Ground breaking ceremony of the ₹6,000 crore LNG Terminal was held at Dhamra port in Odisha’s Bhadrak district on SaturdayPetroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan performed the Bhumi Pujan in the absence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.The 5 MMTPA capacity LNG terminal will play a major role in accelerating the process of development and economic growth in eastern India, Mr.Pradhan said.Construction of the LNG import terminal would involve an investment of ₹ 6,000 crore, while a 2539 km long network of pipeline to transport gas would be laid at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore, the petroleum minister said.The network would connect 13 districts of Odisha and states like Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, he added.Stating that the country now has only one gas terminal in Gujarat, Mr.Pradhan said that natural gas would now be brought to Bhadrak from countries like America, Canada and Qatar.The natural gas from the terminal would also be supplied to various city gas distribution networks in the eastern India.While households in various cities would get piped gas, motor vehicles and industries would get cheaper and clean fuel, the Petroleum Minister said adding it would create vast employment opportunities for the the youth of Odisha.Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was supposed to perform “Bhumi Pujan”, skipped the programme. BJD MP and MLAs also did not attend the function.Mr. Pradhan said the chief minister had been invited to the function but it was learnt last night that he would not be attending it.He said since the gas infrastructure project is set to boost economic growth in Odisha and the entire eastern region, the chief minister’s presence would have been been more appropriate.BJD spokesperson and MP Pratap Keshari Deb said the chief minister had given consent to attend the function as it was a government programme. However, he decided to stay away when it was understood that it would become a political event.
After slashing VAT on petroleum products, the Gujarat government on Wednesday announced more populist measures to attract investments in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector by unveiling a new textiles and apparel policy which offers generous subsidies and incentives.Moreover, ahead of the Assembly polls slated to be held later this year, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced setting up of as many as 16 industrial estates and parks by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in various locations.Wage subsidyUnder the new textiles and apparel policy, the government will provide incentive for garment unit owners for generating employment by providing subsidy in wages. The women workers will get ₹ 4,000 subsidy, while male workers will get ₹ 3,500 as subsidy while other incentives include subsidy in interest, exemption of stamp duty and partial relief in electricity duty.Gujarat is one of the largest cotton producing States in the country and has a robust base in textile manufacturing. The State has 25 lakh spindles installed. “We want to make Gujarat, once again a Manchester of the East and become number 1 in textiles,” the Chief Minister told media persons.No industrial baseOn new industrial estates and parks, Mr. Rupani said that the new locations selected for setting up new estates were from the areas which had no industrial base. He added that by setting up new estates, the government aimed to create one lakh job opportunities for youth.“These GIDCs will unlock the growth in remote areas and SMEs. These GIDCs, spread across 2400 hectares in 16 villages, will have the potential to accommodate about 15,000 factories. The total estimated employment generation is approximately one lakh,” he added.
While overruling the conviction of the Talwar couple in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case by a lower court, the Allahabad High Court observed that the trial court judge acted like a film director and tried to solve the case like a mathematical puzzle.Coming down heavily on special CBI judge S. Lal, the High Court said he had “aberrated” and taken “evidence and the circumstances of the case for granted.” He tried to “thrust coherence amongst facts inalienably scattered here and there but not giving any coherence to the idea as to what in fact happened,” it said.Also Read In November 2013, Judge Lal, though working on circumstantial evidence, came to the “irresistible and impeccable conclusion” that Rajesh and Nupur Talwar murdered their teenage daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj and destroyed evidence in the case.While acquitting the couple of the crime, Justice A.K. Mishra, one of the two judges in the High Court Division Bench, felt that the trial judge had out of “extra zeal and enthusiasm” and on the basis of “self-perception” adopted “partial and parochial approach in giving vent to his own emotional belief and conviction and thus tried to give concrete shape to his own imagination stripped of just evaluation and facts…”Justice Mishra said that “it is apparent that the trial judge was unmindful of the basic tenets of law and its applicability to the given facts and circumstances of the case.”He said the trial judge failed to properly appraise facts and evaluate evidence and analyze various circumstances of this case. “The learned trial judge has prejudged things in his own fashion, drawn conclusion by embarking on erroneous analogy conjecturing to the brim on apparent facts telling a different story propelled by vitriolic reasoning.” Strongly worded dismissal of trial court’s conclusionIn a strongly worded dismissal of the trial court’s conclusion, the High Court said the entire judgment was “on the whole creation of fanciful reasoning with pick and choose presuming facts with indomitable obstinancy…”The CBI court judge had “surprisingly assumed fictional animation” of the incident by “dint of fallacious analogy and reasoning.” The judge had tried to give a live and colourful description of the incident in question and the “whole genesis of the offence was grounded on fact that both the deceased, Hemraj and Aarushi, were seen by Dr. Rajesh Talwar in flagrante,” the High Court said.”Certainly such recalcitrant mindset in interpreting facts vis-à-vis circumstances of the case and evaluation of evidence ought to have been shunned,” Justice Mishra said. The court also listed certain norms that needed to be kept in mind by the trial judge in sensitive cases like the Aarushi-Hemraj murder: parochial and narrow approach to facts and evidence should be avoided and evidence of a particular case has to be read and construed on its face value in line with the statutory requirement; passionate and rash reasoning should not be the guiding factor while scrutinising evidence, facts and circumstances of a criminal case; self-perception and realm should not be reflected on analogy of the facts and evidence on record; the judgment should not be based on self-created postulates, and the imagination should not be given a concrete form and transparency of approach must be reflected in the judgment. Talwar couple likely to be released from Dasna jail on October 16
Two Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants were killed in a nightlong encounter in Shopian, while a woman died and 14 civilians received injuries during violent protests after the gunfight.Director General of Police, J&K, S.P. Vaid said two bodies were recovered from the Shopian encounter site on Tuesday. These militants were involved in the killing of two bank guards on December 11 in Shopian, said the police.Security forces blasted a double-storey residential house with explosives to neutralise the holed-up JeM militants. However, one JeM militant escaped by taking advantage of the darkness, said the police.A police spokesman said the gunfight with militants continued all night on Monday at Shopian’s Batmuran village. “During the encounter, the police made repeated announcement to get Tanveer Ahmad, a local, to surrender but he ignored it,” said the police.Another slain militant was identified as Ali alias Qari alias Noman, a foreigner. Two AK rifles and ammunition were recovered from spot.The police said two security personnel were injured.Earlier, protesters made attempts to disrupt the operation by resorting to stone-throwing. Violent clashes erupted in the area after the operation was over.A local hospital official said one woman, Ruby Jan, was hit by bullets in the abdomen and “succumbed on her arrival.” The police said the victim died in “crossfire.”According to the police, nine civilians were also injured. However, local hospital sources said over 14 civilians were brought to the hospital including four with bullet wounds and 10 with pellet injuries.National Conference working president Omar Abdullah condemned the civilian killing. “With this killing, the number of civilian deaths in Kashmir in 2017 has reached 60. This after the 100 plus killed in 2016. For all the claims and rhetoric of reconciliation, this is a stark, sad reality,” said NC spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu. CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami sought a probe into the civilian killing.Separatist forum Joint Resistance Leaders, comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mitwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, called for a shutdown on Wednesday against the civilian killing.A street protest was also held by separatists at Lal Chowk on Tuesday. The police foiled a march bid and detained a few separatist leaders.
Rajasthan will get its full share of 1.119 billion cusec metres of water from the Yamuna, with the Upper Yamuna Review Committee deciding over the weekend that 1,917 cusecs water will be released from the Tajewala headworks to Jhunjhunu, Churu and Sikar districts for drinking and irrigation. With this decision, the dispute between Rajasthan and Haryana over the sharing of Yamuna waters, as per an agreement signed between the Chief Ministers of five States in 1994, has been resolved.Allocated 9% shareThough Rajasthan was allocated 9% share in the Yamuna waters, the desert State was not getting it even when excess water was available in the river between July and October every year.The State will get its full share of water from Tajewala and Okhla headworks.A detailed project report will be prepared shortly for bringing water from Tajewala to Rajasthan at an estimated expenditure of ₹20,000 crore. Rajasthan Water Resources Minister Ram Pratap, who attended the meeting, said the State’s share in Yamuna waters would be reserved even after the construction of Lakhwar, Kishau and Renuka dams. “This will be very important for Rajasthan which is always facing water shortage,” he said.
A court in central Assam’s Hojai on Wednesday awarded death sentence to the prime accused in the rape and murder of a 58-year-old school teacher more than a year ago.The court of additional district and session judge pronounced death sentence for Moinul Haque while co-accused Salimuddin was given life sentence.The two were caught on June 1 last year, a day after the body of the teacher of Changjurai Ilashi Deuri Primary School near Jamunamukh was found near river Kopili. The teacher used to routinely cross the river by boat to commute to and from the school.“Post-mortem report revealed the teacher was raped. We collected clinching evidence that the duo was involved,” a police officer investigating the case had said.The two confessed to have followed the teacher for some time before waylaying her as she was returning from school on May 31. Data with Assam police show there were more than 10,000 cases of crimes against women, including rape, between 2007 and 2017.
Prof. Bose said that the photographs in the exhibition were painstakingly collected by his father from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Burma [now Myanmar] over 50 years. The photograph where Netaji announces the Provisional Government of Free India at Singapore’s Cathay Theatre on October 21, 1943, is among the iconic pictures at the exhibition. Krishna Bose, mother of Sugata Bose, flagged off a cycle rally to mark the 75th anniversary on Sunday.Photographs on display include those of the first Cabinet of the INA government; INA soldiers marching past Netaji and the leader reviewing troops including the Rani Lakshmi Bai regiment. The exhibition also has the last known photograph of Netaji at Saigon Airport, on August 17, 1945. Netaji’s visit to Japan in 1943 and his visit to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans are also recalled. Netaji Bhavan in Kolkata is hosting an exhibition of more than 60 black-and-white photographs to mark the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose announcing the Azad Hind government. The iconic two-storied house is the place from which Netaji gave the slip to the British during his “great escape” in a vintage Wanderer car, which is also on display. The exhibition titled 1943: One Year, One Man and a World at War, has been curated by Sugata Bose, Netaji’s grand-nephew and a professor of history at Harvard University. It highlights significant events such as the setting up of the Indian National Army and, later, the Azad Hind government. “1943 was the most glorious year of Netaji’s life. In January, he was stuck in Europe and by December he was standing on Indian soil in Andaman having proclaimed the Azad Hind government on October 21 in Singapore,” Prof. Bose told The Hindu. The exhibition draws heavily from Sugata Bose’s father Sisir Kumar Bose’s diary of 1943. Precious diaryIt was Sisir Kumar Bose, Netaji’s nephew, who drove him during his great escape from Kolkata to Gomoh railway station between January 16-18, 1941. “It is good that we are celebrating 75 years of the Azad Hind government but it is important to note the significance of this house in Netaji’s life. Had the Mahaniskraman (great escape) not happened from this very house, there would have been no INA,” said Krishna Bose, chairperson of the Netaji Research Bureau that operates from the house. She added that the Indian National Army may have suffered a military defeat but it was a political victory that paved the way to the end of the British empire.
Normal life was hit in several western Odisha districts on Thursday, the first day of the 48-hour-long strike called by lawyers demanding setting up of a permanent High Court Bench in the region.Although emergency services such as hospitals, ambulances, fire tenders and water supply were kept out of the purview of the bandh, the general public had a difficult time as passenger buses remained off the roads and train services were disrupted with agitating lawyers squatting on tracks at several locations. Several trains were cancelled and a few were diverted due to the bandh, said East Coast Railway officials. Educational institutions and business establishments remaining closed in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Bargarh, and Subarnapur districts.The Central Action Committee of All Western Odisha Bar Association claimed that the bandh was supported by three major political parties – Biju Janata Dal, Congress and BJP — and several other organisations.The lawyers of western Odisha districts have been demanding a permanent High Court bench in their region for the past several years.
The picturesque Goa Raj Bhavan at Dona Paula was opened to locals and tourists from Saturday, at a function held on Friday.Visitors will now be able to take the Raj Bhavan Darshan tours thrice a week, with mandatory prior online bookings. They will get a glimpse of the building’s heritage, views, gardens and various initiatives introduced by the Governor in solid waste management, water harvesting and solar energy. The tours will be conducted in two batches of 50 visitors each, from 2.30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The tours will be conducted by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation. Bookings can only be done on https://bookings.rajbhavan.goa.gov.in
With no assurance from the Central government over the resumption of mining in Goa, a solution to the crisis has to be worked out at the State-level, said Minister for Agriculture and Goa Town and Country Planning, Vijai Sardesai, on Monday. Mr. Sardesai told presspersons after attending a Cabinet meeting at ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s private residence near Panaji that the issue of mining resumption was discussed. “People are asking us and the Centre has not given any solution. So we will have to work out some solution at the State-level,” said the Minister.The Supreme Court banned mining from March 2018 after it quashed the second renewal by the State government of all 88 iron ore mining leases in the State.Members of the Legislative Assembly as well as the Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF), an umbrella organisation of mining-affected people, have launched a campaign against the government seeking a solution to the mining ban ever since the Supreme Court banned the activity, the second time in six years, over the issue of illegalities and irregularities.Recently, a GMPF delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, but returned unhappy with Mr. Modi’s assurance that he would “look into the matter within the framework of the law and the Supreme Court order”. Meanwhile, the Congress, the main Opposition, stepped up its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for failing to resolve the mining deadlock, despite heading governments both at the Centre and in the State.“For 12 months, the BJP did nothing except give false assurances to people dependent on the mining industry. And now they say, they cannot do anything about it. The BJP will pay for this betrayal in the upcoming elections,” warned Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he shares the same fire in his heart as rest of the countrymen, while speaking at a gathering in Bihar’s Begusarai. Mr. Modi was visiting to launch a slew of projects in the State. The Prime Minister was speaking at a gathering, while making oblique reference to the recent Pulwama terror attack. The crowd gathered at the function in which Mr. Modi inaugurated and laid projects worth ₹33,000 crore.The Prime Minister also declared that under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojna ₹7.5 lakh crore would directly go to the accounts of the farmers of the country. “The farmers of Bihar too would be benefited from this”, he added.He further said that his government has opted two tracks of development. “First is infrastructure based while second, is to make life better for suppressed and oppressed section of the society”, he said. He mentioned about the 10% reservation given by the government to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of the upper caste. Begusarai is an upper caste dominated constituency of Bihar. He thanked people for choosing a strong government at the Center which could take “strong” decisions. Mr. Modi further listed several developmental measures taken by his government for the welfare of the people during his regime. He also thanked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his team for all developmental projects in the State. Earlier, Mr. Modi started his speech in local Magahi lingo, which gathered cheers from the crowd.All ministers from Bihar at the Center, including CM Nitish Kumar, Governor Lalji Tandon and state BJP leaders were present at the function .
Notorious for its “patriarchal mindset” and crime against women, including honour killings, Haryana has only nine times elected women candidates to the Lok Sabha in the 13 general elections held since its formation on November 1, 1966.In other words, the women Lok Sabha MPs from the State comprise only 7.03% of the total 128 MPs elected from Haryana since 1967 general election.Indian National Congress’ P. Wati was the first woman candidate to contest the Lok Sabha election from Ambala in Haryana in 1967. She polled 1,19,303 votes but lost to Bharatiya Jana Sangh’s S. Bhan by a margin of just 8,700 votes.First win in 1977No woman candidate contested the 1971 general election in the State. Bharatiya Lok Dal’s Chandrawati became the first woman to a win Lok Sabha election in Haryana in 1977 when she polled 2,89,135 votes in Bhiwani constituency. However, the same election, INC’s Subhashni managed to secure only 15.56% votes from Sonipat and lost her deposit.Of the five women politicians elected to the Lok Sabha from Haryana, Kumari Selja of the Congress has been elected four times — twice each from Ambala and Sirsa Lok Sabha seats. She represented Sirsa in 1991 and 1996 and Ambala in 2004 and 2009. Similarly, Kailasho Devi won twice from Kurukshetra on Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) and Indian National Lok Dal tickets in 1998 and 1999 respectively.In 1999, Sudha Yadav, a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, won from Mahendragarh, while Shurti Choudhry, the granddaughter of late Chief Minister Bansi Lal, won from Bhiwani in 2009.Tough fightIn what further highlights the dismal performance of women candidates in Lok Sabha elections in Haryana, 60 out of 78 times they contested the polls, they lost their deposit. The women candidates fared the worst in the 1984 general election when all 10 of them, including BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, the incumbent External Affairs Minister in the Narendra Modi government, lost their deposit. In 2014, 10 of the total 11 women candidates lost their deposit and in 2009, 12 of the total 14 candidates suffered the same fate. Also in 2009, the women candidates contested on the maximum of nine Lok Sabha constituencies out of the total 10 in the State.The two national parties — the Congress and the BJP — fielded women candidates only eight and six times respectively till the 2014 Lok Sabha election. In 2019, the Congress has fielded two women candidates — Kumari Selja from Ambala and Shruti Choudhry from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh — and the BJP has fielded only one — Suneeta Duggal from Sirsa.Political analyst Ram Kanwar said the predominantly patriarchal mindset of society in Haryana prevents women from entering and making it big in politics. He said that it’s not looked upon with respect for women in Haryana to join politics and therefore the women from non-political families refrain from doing so. He said that two of the five women elected from Haryana had political background. “Even if a woman wins at a village or zila parishad-level in Haryana, the show is mostly run by her husband or other male members in her family,” said Mr. Kanwar.
Pompeii wasn’t the only Roman town destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E. The blast of hot air and rain of volcanic ash also reached nearby Herculaneum (pictured above), where it entombed a library of papyrus scrolls. Unfortunately, it also transformed them from pliable parchment into little more than blackened, carbonized lumps. Archaeologists have tried several techniques to unroll the scrolls since the library was discovered in the 1750s, but they always ran the risk of destroying them in the process. Now, a new technique using high-energy x-rays offers a nondestructive way of reading these ancient texts. By placing a rolled up scroll in the path of a beam of powerful x-rays produced by a particle accelerator, researchers can measure a key difference between the burned papyrus and the ink on its surface: how fast the x-rays move through each substance. That allows them to differentiate between the scroll and the writing on it and, slowly but surely, reconstruct the text. Although they’ve managed to read only a few complete words so far, the researchers have reconstructed a nearly complete Greek alphabet from the letters inscribed on a still-rolled-up scroll, they report today in Nature Communications. The handwriting style is characteristic of texts written in the middle of the first century B.C.E.; in fact, it looks a lot like the handwriting on a previously unrolled scroll attributed to the philosopher Philodemus, the team says. More studies with even higher energy x-rays are needed to reconstruct the whole text on this and other scrolls, but the technique offers the possibility of reading works that haven’t been seen for nearly 2000 years.
Read it at Business Insider Related Items
India and Thailand may have to give freer rein to the rupee and baht this year to avoid triggering US accusations that they’re manipulating their currencies to support exports.The Reserve Bank of India has already exceeded a key threshold on how much it can intervene to curb the rupee’s gains that the US monitors, according to Nomura Holdings Inc.Policy makers in Thailand have also passed this level with the baht, said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.Should the two countries’ central banks seek to assuage US concerns – and avoid a range of possible penalties – it would likely lead to gains for their currencies, potentially reducing their export competitiveness.For all the efforts of policymakers last year, the baht appreciated almost 10% against the dollar, while the rupee climbed 6.4%.Read it at FMT Related Items
An Indian-American woman lawyer on Thursday was appointed to a top post in a US organisation, which advocates religious freedom.Read it at India Post Related Items