Delhi Confidential: Himalaya-Headed

MaryKay Loss Carlson

Seemingly the toast of the season, Bhutan is being wooed by many. Close on the heels of Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s visit to the Himalayan state, US acting ambassador MaryKay Loss Carlson is also visiting Thimphu. She met Bhutan’s top officials and lawmakers on Wednesday as part of US efforts to understand the dynamics at play after the Doklam standoff.
Goal Missed

With the inaugural match of the Under-17 FIFA World Cup just a day away, Olympian and former captain of Indian football team Prasun Banerjee is yet to receive an invite. After some enquiries, on Thursday the Arjuna awardee and Trinamool Congress MP received a call from the Sports Authority of India, asking him to fill up a form so that he can be issued an invite. A hurt Banerjee says he is willing to watch the matches on TV. “I will take to the streets the moment India goes into the knockout stages,” he says.

Chairman Again

The HRD Ministry seems to have pulled itself out of its dilemma and decided to let V S Chauhan continue as the acting UGC chairman until a permanent head is appointed. The ministry had recently sought an informal legal opinion on who should act as the Commission head in the wake of the six-month delay in appointing a full-time chairman. As per the UGC Act, a Commission member can officiate as the head for a maximum period of six months, which, for Chauhan, ended on October 4. The government has been pretty happy with Chauhan’s work, and with the legal opinion in favour of letting him continue, the ministry brought out an order on Wednesday extending his term until a permanent chairman is appointed.