BCCI head Ganguly's meeting with NCA chief Dravid was a reunion of greats

Sourav Ganguly, newly appointed Board of Control for Cricket in India president, is a crowd-puller. It seems he hasn't lost his charm. A selfie posted by the former Indian skipper on Twitter — in which he is surrounded by a sizeable crowd with smiling faces at Bengaluru airport — late on Wednesday evening was all the rage and it continued to be liked and shared through Thursday. “At the check-in airport of Bangalore... love of people makes you feel so grateful,” Ganguly tweeted, along with a picture that featured fans and security personnel at the airport. His visit to Bengaluru itself created a lot of buzz as he was there to meet his one-time deputy, National Cricket Academy chief Rahul Dravid. Netizen could not keep their calm over the reunion of these two greats who have now donned administrative and coaching roles.

Making an exception

Government sources on Thursday requested the media to show “sensitivity and understanding” in reporting on the ceremonial welcome to be accorded to German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) on her visit to New Delhi on Friday. On account of her health, certain provisions of the order relating to the national anthem of India will be invoked to allow Merkel to remain seated while the national anthems of both the countries are played during the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. The German chancellor’s difficulties in standing without support are known and, lately, she sits during ceremonial events, both at home and abroad, when the practice is to stand, sources said. The exemption is being invoked based on a request from the German side, sources said.

The state of exports

How serious are the states in promoting exports and helping India achieve the target of raising exports to $1 trillion by 2025? An indication of the states’ lack of enthusiasm on this came from the Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairman, N K Singh. At a panel discussion held in New Delhi on Wednesday immediately after the release of the report of the High-level Advisory Group set up to recommend steps to boost India's share in global merchandise and services trade, Singh said, as chairman of the Finance Commission, he had visited 27 of the 29 states in the country. While some chief ministers did underline the importance of tourism, none talked about exports, Singh said with a wry smile.