JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932

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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`8 &RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OXFAMREPORT SUPPLEMENTARY CHARGESHEET Covid deepened Goswami paid inequalities:wealth, SINGHU ECHO IN me $12,000 and education, gender MUMBAI Wealth surge of richest11inpandemic Farmers from various Rs 40 lakh to fix parts of Maharashtra could sustain NREGS for10years arrivedinMumbai on Sundaytoparticipate ratings: Dasgupta in arally on Monday UDITMISRA Growth againstthe newfarm NEWDELHIJANUARY24 vs laws. Ganesh Shirsekar BARC ex-CEO’slawyer: Handwritten inequality REPORT, PAGE 7 ANEW reportbyOxfam has statementhas no evidentiaryvalue found that the Covid pandemic deeplyexacerbated existing in- HIGH LEVELSofinequal- 3ROUTESFINALISED equalities in and around ities hurtthe economy FORR-DAYTRACTOR MOHAMEDTHAVER& the world. and undermine social RALLYINDELHI KRISHNKAUSHIK The report, titled ‘The cohesion. Some argue PAGE 4 MUMBAI,NEWDELHI, Inequality Virus’,has foundthat that governmental ef- JANUARY24 as the pandemic stalledthe econ- fortstoreduce inequal- omy, forcing millionsofpoor ity mustsucceed, not THE FORMER CEO of Broadcast Indians out of jobs, the richestbil- precede, effortstoboost 1YEAR AS UNION TERRITORY Audience Research Council lionaires in India increased their growth because that will (BARC) India, Partho Dasgupta, Dasgupta’s statement wealth by 35 per cent. define howmuchthere has claimedinahandwritten againstGoswami partof “Thewealth of Indian billion- is to distribute. That will statement to Mumbai Police that chargesheet airesincreasedby 35 percentdur- be the challenge forthe J&K:Dropinlaw&orderincidents he receivedUS$12,000 from ing the lockdown and by 90 per Budget. Republic TV Editor-in-Chief cent since 2009 to $422.9 billion Arnab Goswami fortwo separate AUDITREPORT rankingIndiasixthintheworldaf- holidays andatotal of Rs 40 lakh terUS, China, Germany, Russia lations, since March,asthe gov- butuptickinmilitantrecruitment over three years, in return for ■Favouritism and France,” states the report. ernment announcedpossibly manipulating ratings in favour of towardschannels According to Oxfam's calcu- CONTINUEDONPAGE9 the news channel, according to J&K DGP Dilbag Singh says severalmilitant commanders Kargil ignored the supplementarychargesheet ■ Ratings were filedinthe TRP scam case. pre-decided killedinayear, ‘situation better’ on allparameters in first Ladakh The 3,600-pagesupplemen- ■ BARC officials India, China hold ninth tary chargesheet, filedby violated code dentsalso dropped5per cent to tableau: chief MumbaiPoliceon January11, also round of LAC talks NAVEEDIQBAL VIOLENCERELATED 243in220 compared with 255 includes aBARCforensic auditre- SRINAGAR,JANUARY24 TOMILITANCY in 2019.The fall is significant of Hill Council port, WhatsApp chatspurport- The audit reportnames sev- (BPM) point, continueduntil when compared with 2018, edly between Dasgupta and eral news channels, including KRISHNKAUSHIK evening. IN ITS FIRSTfullyear as the 2019 2020* whichwitnessed417 militancy- Goswami, and statementsof59 Republic, Times Nowand Aaj NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 The latesteffortcame two- newest Union Territoryofthe Militancy- 255 243 related incidents. BASHAARATMASOOD persons, including former council Tak, andlists instances of and-a-half months afterthe country,Jammu and Kashmir relatedincidents The number of recruitsjoin- SRINAGAR,JANUARY24 employees and cable operators. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 SENIOR MILITARYcommanders lastround of discussions be- witnessedanuptickinrecruit- Lawandorder 584 143 ing militancy in the UT has, how- from India and China meton tweenthe twosideson ment to militant ranks; the incidents ever,seen a22per cent riseto OLD FAULTLINES between Sundayfor the ninth round of November 6, with around number of lawand orderinci- Militantskilled 157 222 174in2020 from 143in2019. Of BuddhistLadakh and Muslim talkstodiscuss apossible solu- 50,000 troops deployedinthe dents, however, droppedsignif- Militant 143 174** the 174recruits, 76 militants Kargil have emergedinthe tion to the nearly nine-month region, alongwith additional icantlyduring the year. recruitment were killedand another 46 ar- Republic Daytableauofthe new border standoffineastern artillery, tanks, and air de- According to police datafor Ceasefire 605 930 rested.Just52remain active, Union TerritoryofLadakh. Ladakh. fence assets. the lastthree years, the number datawiththe J&KPolice shows. The firsttableauofLadakh violation DR SHEKHAR MANDE The meeting, whichbegan It followedamemofrom of lawand orderincidentsinJ&K When contacted,Director will depict the Thiksey *UptoDec 30 DIRECTOR GENERAL, COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC around 10 am on the Chinese India fortalkswhile the two plunged 75 percentto143 in **Out of which 76 killed,46arrested General, J&KPolice, DilbagSingh, Monastery in Leh and the Indian AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH and 52 still active side of the Chushul-Moldo countries maintainedregular 2020 compared with 584in told The Indian Express that Astronomical Observatoryin PAGE 12 Border Personnel Meeting CONTINUEDONPAGE2 2019.Militancy-related inci- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE9 Pak Zindabad: Sexual assault under BUSINESSASUSUAL 11-hour police POCSO needs skin to BY UNNY ordeal for family, friends skin contact: Bombay HC over agame Man who pressedbreasts of childover her clothes convicted formolestation

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The verdict, deliveredby NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 VIVEKDESHPANDE Justice Pushpa VGanediwala on NAGPUR,JANUARY24 January19, setasidethe ruling of TWOmen were detainedand alower court underSection 8of questionedfor eight hours IN Acontroversial orderthat POCSO applicable to “sexual as- through Saturday-Sunday night could have implications on a sault” on children, againstcon- and three women foratleast rangeofcases,the Nagpur bench vict Satish Bandu Ragde. three hours Sunday morning by of Bombay HighCourt acquitted Saying that Section 8of the Delhi Police —all because aman of sexual assault on the POCSO provides forstringent THE WORLD theywereheardsaying “Pakistan grounds that pressing the breasts punishment of five years’ of rig- Zindabad” as partofacycling of achild over her clothes with- orous imprisonment (RI), the PRACHANDAGROUP game near Khan Market Metro out direct “skin to skin” physical High Courtobservedthat EXPELSOLIFROM station lateSaturday night. contact does notconstitute“sex- “stricter proof and serious alle- Their ordeal, that startedat1 ual assault” underthe Protection gations arerequired”. PARTYGENERAL am on Sunday, endedonlyby of Children from Sexual Offences The judgesaid: “As such, MEMBERSHIP PAGE 14 noon withthe police admitting (POCSO) Act. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 that “PakistanZindabad” was said in a“lighter vein”, and no case wasmade out. Ahead of Republic Day, police At IIM Calcutta, it’s teachers versus said, theywereon“high alert” when theyreceivedacallaround Director over her powers, their role 1amabout a“group shouting slogans, praising Pakistan”. An enquiryofficerwas sent culture of transparency and ac- to the spot. “Two families (one RITIKACHOPRA Director countability. from Delhi, the other from NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 Anju Seth That group isn’t small. Gurugram) along with their says ‘small Lastmonth, as many as 61 child had come to India Gate THE FACULTYat Indian Institute group’ upset teachers —over75% of the IIM- Saturdaynight. Theyhad rented of Management, Calcutta, is with her Calcutta’s faculty —wrote to the Yulu bikes theywereracing, and lockedinanunprecedented MinistryofEducation (MoE) theyhad namedeachother after standoffwiththe institute’s di- urging it to step in alleging that countries like India,Pakistan, rector alleging that she has cen- Director Anju Seth hasattrib- Seth’s styleoffunctioning, was Japan and Australia. Theywere tralisedpowers in her hands and uted the confrontation to "a “arbitrary, discriminatory,and, cheeringeachother on by usurpedtheir role in administra- small group of individuals" up- having averynarrowvision.” CONTINUEDONPAGE9 tion and decision-making. setwithher effortstofostera CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Afterstrides in social welfare, Latur village hands over batontoall-woman panchayat

PAGE 1 waypaved by the performance ANCHOR of two-time sarpanch BhagyashreeChame,who was one of the three women elected in 2015,along with ShobhaKasle MAYURAJANWALKAR and Kalpana Sagar. ANANDWADI(LATUR), Giventhe number of JANUARY24 ‘Anandwadis’ in Nilanga, the vil- lage, located 25 km from Latur NINE YEARS after50per cent city, is more commonlyknown seatswerereserved forwomen as Gaur.Home to 635people, in Maharashtra’s gram panchay- mostlyfarmers, Gaur has in the ats, Anandwadi villageinLatur’s pastfiveyears seen improved Nilanga taluka haspickedanall- cleanliness, acampaign against woman panchayat. The six were superstitions,changeinname elected unopposedinthe pan- The members were elected unopposed. Amit Chakravarty plates of all 112homes to that of chayat polls held recently, their CONTINUEDONPAGE9

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Militant recruits arelowerthan the previous year. outrageher modesty." der Section 7ofPOCSO, “pressing looking forher and found her in pletehertermasdirectoratIIMin say, wasgivenjustfivedaystosub- wellthatIknowhow theTRPsys- Thenumberof J&Kpoliceperson- "In viewofthe above discus- of breast”fellunderthedefinition the upstairs room of Ragde's ayear. mit suggestions on the draftand temworks.Healsoalludedto 2020 markedasignificant im- nel killed due to militant activity sion, this Courtholdsthatthe ap- of sexual assault. house.Theroomwasboltedfrom Among theissues flagged by that the faculty feedbackoncen- helpingmeout in the future.” provement in the situation on hasalsoseena24percentdecline. pellantisacquittedunderSection CitingfromPOCSO'sdefinition the outside.She had metRagde the teachersisfacultyshortage. tralisation of powers in the Board It states:“Iworkedwithmy countsof terrorism,lawandorder In2020, asmanyas61police per- 8ofthe POCSO Actand convicted of sexual assault, theHighCourt comingdownthe stairsand had Sources said that onlyone new andDirector wasnot considered team to ensuremanipulation of and security.“If youlook at the sonnel losttheir lives. underminoroffenceu/s354ofIPC said, "as per the definition, the of- asked him about her daughter's facultymemberhasbeenhiredin by theBoardwhile passingthe TRP ratings that made Republic pastdecade, the situation is bet- Meanwhile, ceasefireviola- andsentencedhimto undergoRI," fence involves following neces- whereabouts. Ragde had told her thelast twoyearsdespitetheinsti- Regulations. TV getnumber1rating. This teronall parameters since 2016.I tions across the LoCs have in- the judgesaid. The maximum saryingredients—act musthave thathedidn'thave anyideaabout tutelosingover10 teachersonac- Lastmonth,afterwritingtothe wouldhave continuedfrom2017 would sayalotofimprovement creasedbyover50per cent, sentenceisfive yearsandthemin- been committed with sexual in- where her daughter was. count of resignation, superannu- MoE againstthe instituteleader- to 2019.Towards this,in2017 has been made on lawand order recording 930 incidentsin2020. imum one year foranoffenceun- tent,actmustinvolve touchingthe The girltoldher mother that ation, and voluntaryretirement. ship,the faculty also wrotesepa- ArnabGoswami had personally andsecurityaswellasterroristvi- der this section. vagina,penis,anusorbreastofthe Ragde had held her by hand and Some of the exits, teachersallege, ratelyonitsconcernsregardingthe metmeatStRegishotel, Lower olence. Severalmilitant com- LAC talks "Evidently it is notthe case of child or making the child touch takenher to his houseonthe pre- were due to “harassment.” Regulationsandrequestedthegov- Pareland givenme6000 dollars manders were killedinasingle contactthrough thehotline and theprosecutionthattheappellant thevagina,penis,anusorbreastof text of giving heraguava but in- “There’salot of micromanage- ernmenttoholdoffitsnotification. cash formyFrance and year...,”hesaid. othermechanismsto preventany removedher topand pressed her suchperson or anyother person sidehetriedtoremove hersalwar ment by the director…For in- The IndianExpress sent a Switzerlandfamily trip...also in Between Januaryand untowardincidentthatcould breast," Justice Ganediwala said. ordoinganyotheractwithsexual and he pressedher breasts.The stance, the doctoral research pro- questionnaireonthese com- 2019 ArnabGoswamihadperson- December 2020, as manyas225 complicatethe situation. "Theactof pressingof breastofthe intent whichinvolve contact mother filedapolice complaint gramme committee whichdeals plaintstoSeth. In response,she allymet me at St Regis and given militantswerekilledbysecurity On Sunday,the Indian dele- childaged12 years,intheabsence without penetration." against Ragde,whowasconvicted with permissions forfaculty to said:“Our team at IIM Calcuttais me 6000 dollarsfor my Sweden forcesoperatinginJ&K.In103op- gation wasled by Lt Gen PGK of anyspecificdetailastowhether JusticeGanediwalaobserved: by thelower courtunder both present papers at international committedto upholdtherequire- and Denmarkfamily trip.Also in erations,207militantswerekilled Menon, XIV CorpsCommander, the topwas removedorwhether "Asperthedefinitionof‘sexualas- POCSOandIPCsections.Thecon- conferencesisalmost defunctbe- mentsofthe IIMAct to firmlyset 2017,Goswami had personally in the Valleywhile 18 in the whichisresponsible forthe LAC heinsertedhishandinsidetopand sault’, a‘physicalcontactwithsex- victthenmoved theHighCourt. cause the director insists on hav- the Instituteonthe path to global metmeatITC Parelhoteland Jammuregion. in eastern Ladakh, and included pressedher breast, would notfall ual intentwithout penetration’ is ing the final saywho can or can- excellencewhileatthesametime givenmeRs20lakh cash... also in Officials said 46 topcom- another senior militaryofficer inthedefinitionof 'sexualassault'.” an essentialingredient of theof- IIM notattendinternational fostering aculture of trans- 2018 and2019...Goswamimetme manders of various militant out- from Delhi.NaveenSrivastava, The courtofExtraJoint fence. The words‘anyotheract’ The letter,the facultyclaims, conferences,”said ateacher. parency,accountability and mer- at ITChotelParel andgavemeRs fitswere amongthoseneutralised AdditionalSecretary(EastAsia) Additional SessionsJudgehad encompasseswithinitself thena- wassent to the governmentonly It’salsoallegedthatinherrole itocracy.These essential aspects 10 lakhs eachtime...” in 2020.These include Riyaz in the MinistryofExternal foundRagde, 39,guilty of offence tureofthe actswhichare similar afterexhausting all redressal av- as chairperson of the Academic of the Actmay cause disruption Dasgupta'slawyerArjunSingh Naikoo and Junaid Sehrai andDr Affairs, wasalso present. of sexual assault of the 12-year- to the actswhichhavebeen enuesinternally. This is unusual Council(AC), Seth indulged in se- and discomfort to asmall group said: “Wetotallydenythisallega- Saifullah of theHizbul The Chinese delegation was old girlunder POCSOalong with specificallymentionedinthedef- giventhat the IIMs, in the past, lectiverecording of minutes and of individualswithdissimilarval- tion as the statementwould have Mujahideen. Lashkar’s Sajad ledbyMajorGeneralLiuLin,com- Sections 354(assault or criminal initiononthepremiseof theprin- have always been critical of gov- decisions of theCouncil. uesand interests. been recordedunder duress. It Haider,Burhan Koka from Ansar mander of the South Xinjiang forcetowoman withintent to ciple of ejusdem generis(of the ernment interference. Members have alleged that "Weare painedbythe base- does nothaveany evidentiary Ghazwat-ul-Hindandcommand- MilitaryRegion. outrageher modesty); 363 (pun- same kind). The act should be of Official sources said anyinter- minutes of acrucial AC meeting lessstoriesinstigatedby thissmall valueinthecourtoflaw.”Amem- ers of the newly-carvedThe ishmentforkidnapping);and342 the same nature or close to that." ventionby theMinistryisunlikely, heldonSeptember 17 and21last groupto sullytheInstitute’srepu- berofGoswami's legal team de- ResistanceFrontwere alsoamong Sexual assault (punishment forwrongful con- In this case, dating back to at leastfor now. "Wecannotstart year did notreflect thedecision tation built over decades. Despite clinedtocomment. thosekilledin2020, an official thereisnodirectphysical contact finement)ofthe IPC. 2016,the convict had takenthe interfering in an institute's inter- that faculty feedbackon the challenges we have con- Thechargesheetalsoincludes withJ&K Policesaid. i.e. skin to skin with sexual intent Ragdehad movedthe High girlintowrongful confinement nalaffairs,especiallywhenwe are Regulations under the IIM Act fronted includingthoseposed by BARC'sauditreport,datedJuly 24, The dataalso shows that36 without penetration". The bench Courtagainstthe judgment andhadpressedherbreasts while advocating autonomyfor other shouldbeshared with the Board theCOVIDcrisis,we arenow oper- 2020,whichstatesthat evidence civilians and 45 security person- observedthat "the act of pressing throughhislawyerSabahatUllah. shewasrunninganerrandforher higher education institutions of Governors. atingatevengreatereffectiveness “indicated favouritism shown to nelsuccumbedto military-related breastcan be acriminal forcetoa Public prosecutor MJKhan sub- mother.Asthe girldid notreturn along the lines of what has been The newIIM Actcame into ef- and efficiencywithdevotionto fewchannels”and“insomecases, activities in 2020. Thecasualties woman/girlwiththeintentionto mitted in the HighCourtthatun- foralongtime, themotherwent grantedto theIIMs,"anofficialsaid. fect January31, 2018,and grants thesuccess of our talented stu- we suspect that the ratings were Also,the crisisisseenmoreas sweeping powers to all20busi- dents. Having converted chal- pre-decided”. anegoclashasmuchasaturf war. nessschools, including in the ap- lenges into opportunitiesto Forinstance, the reportmen- “These issues aren’t thingsthat pointment of directors, chairper- strengthen our resilience, we are tionsallegedsuppressionof view- can’t be resolvedinternally,”the sonsand Boardmembers. Each excited to march intothe future ership forTimesNow to boost official said. Indeed, higher edu- IIM,underthenewIIMAct, hasto with integrity and commitment Republic’s weeklyrankings,and cation secretaryAmitKhareis draftits Regulations, whichwill to thepledgeof'IIMFirst',blessed highlights apurported conversa- learnt to have metSethand overseeandguidetheadministra- by thegood wishes andsupport tion betweenBARC's topexecu- Kulkarni and asked them to re- tion of the Institute. of valuedmembersofour faculty tivesand asenior marketing ex- solve thestandoff internally. Teachers at IIM-Calcutta have and extendedcommunity.” ecutiveofIndiaToday Group on Sethwasappointedasthefirst alleged that the Regulations seek Askedaboutthefaculty'scon- “pre-fixing”Aaj Tak’s ratings. woman head of IIM-Calcuttain to reduce the Academic Council’s cerns over the newRegulations, With multiple emails and November 2018.Analumnus of remit. One of them being that the BoardChairman Shrikrishna messagesbetweenBARC officials IIM-Calcutta (1978),shehasadoc- Academic Council,infuture,will Kulkarni wrote:"As apractice we attachedasannexures,thereport torate from the University of onlybeableto electonerepresen- donotdiscussinternalmattersre- states that one of the reasons Michigan (1988). She joined tative to the Boardinstead of two lated to our belovedInstituteand givenbythe council forchanging VirginiaTech in2008andheaded as has been the norm. Now, the my Boardinthe public domain... TimesNow’sviewershipdataisto itsdepartment of management Boardchairperson will select the Pleasebereassuredthatwe onthe cater for“outlier” data, whichis from 2008 to 2013.She will com- second. Boardare fullycommitted and meanttoidentify spikes in view- The faculty alignedtothe best interestofIIM ership due to the channel being also claims Calcutta. Theallegations listed in the “landing page” on some dis- that, unlike theemailbeloware withoutcon- tributors. peer institutes text and baseless." Thepracticeof placingachan- suchasIIM-A nelonthe“landingpage”waspro- and IIM-B, the BARC hibitedby TRAI.Butthatdirection formulation alleged manipulation as well as wasset aside by theTelecom and adoption “pre-fixing” of ratings forthe Disputes Settlement and of the pro- channels by BARC's topexecu- AppellateTribunal,andthematter posed tives. is nowinSupreme Court. Regulations of The supplementary The audit wasconducted by IIM-C was chargesheetwas filedagainst AcquisoryRiskConsulting.Theex- done without Dasgupta,formerBARC COORomil ecutive summaryofthe audit re- their engage- Ramgarhiaand Republic Media portstatesthat “manipulation mentandcon- NetworkCEOVikasKhanchandani. wasevidencedin2017, 18 and19 sultation. Afirstchargesheetwasfiledagainst across English News Genreand The 12 persons in November 2020. TeluguNewsGenre”. Academic According to thesecond The reportstatesthat sixtop Council, they chargesheet, Dasgupta's state- executivesofBARC, including ment was Dasgupta,wereinvolvedin“ma- recordedin nipulationof ratingsandviolation the office of of the code of ethics” between the Crime 2018 and2019. Intelligence Whencontacted,BARCsaidin Unit on an email: “As the matter is asub- December 27, jectof anongoinginvestigationby 2020,at5.15 the various lawenforcement pm, in the agencies,we areconstrainedtore- presence of spondtoyour enquiries.” twowitnesses. Republic saidinastatement Dasgupta's that“therehasbeenacollusionof statement corporateandpoliticalintereststo reads: “I have target”Goswami. known Arnab Times Nowdefended theuse Goswami of landingpages,statingthatthey since 2004. are“notruledasillegal”and “are We usedto simplythe mostpreferred fre- work together quency whichissold and bought in TimesNow. at aPremium by perfectlylegal IjoinedBARC means”. It said the outlier policy asCEOin2013. was“abusedbycorruptBARCof- Arnab ficials to manuallyinterveneand Goswami wilfullyanddeliberately improve launched channelranksfor favoured chan- Republicin nels”andthatitis“contemplating 2017.Evenbe- legal action”. fore launching IndiaToday Groupdid notre- RepublicTVhe spondtoqueriesfromThe Indian would talk to Express. me about While Dasgupta is in jail, The plans forthe IndianExpress reachedout to launchand in- Mehta, Samrat, Ramgarhia, directlyhintat Kumar and Basu.OnlyKumarre- helpinghimto sponded.“Ihadremotely nothing getgoodrat- to dowithresearch orratingsasit ings to his wasadifferent team whichhan- channel. dledmarket analytics and data,” Goswami he said, adding that everything knewvery else was"slander".

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 ANANDVIHAR SIRIFORT SHADIPUR DWARKA-SECTOR8 SKYWATCH Very Poor Very Poor Poor Very Poor FORECAST: Jan 25 Mainlyclear sky. 399 376 235 368 Dense to very dense AQI AQI AQI AQI foginthe morning PM: 2.5 05PM: 2.5 00 0500 05PM: 10 00 0 PM: 2.5 500 MAX: 17 MIN: 6 4 THE CITY 0-50 Good 51-100 Satisfactory 101-200Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400VeryPoor 401-500 Severe 4.3°Cbelownormal 1.6°Cabovenormal

FARMERS’ UNION ISSUESINSTRUCTIONS: ‘MAINTAIN PEACE, DON’T CARRY WEAPONS’ Haryana SIC Policenodforfarmers’tractormarchon raps govtfor not R-Day,3routesfromborderschalkedout givinginfo in RTI "Haryana's StateInformation VARINDERBHATIA Commission has askedprincipal said Special CP Pathak. CHANDIGARH,JANUARY24 secretaries of Town and Country EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE SINGHU One of the farmer organisa- Planning department, Forest and NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 tions,BKUUgrahan,however, said THE HARYANA State Wildlifedepartment to conduct a THEROUTE Singhu border –SanjayGandhi Transport it is nothappywiththe routes as- Information Commission has surveyofthe Aravalli area — Singhu Nagar–Kanjhawala –Bawana –Auchandi DELHI POLICE Sundaysaid it has border signed.“TherouteplanfromTikri rappedthe stategovernment for specificallythe 60 farmhouses — border –KMP expressway –Singhu border allowedthe farmers’tractor border doesnot suitevery organ- "strenuouslysubverting infor- and furnish complete details of TIKRI Kanjhawala march in the city on Republic (62km) isation...Thesuggestedroute says mation under the RTIAct" in an illegal construction in the area, so Tikri –Nangloi – Day, withadequatesecurity Tikri GHAZIPUR the tractor march should move application filedbysenior IAS of- that the public can access facts arrangementsinplace.Three Najafgarh–Jharoda – ApsaraBorder from Tikri to Nangloi but we can- ficer Ashok Khemka, who about encroachersofthe Aravalli Ghazipur border – 56 foot road – routes were finalisedfollowing a KMP (western peripheral Nangloi notreachNangloi as pandals of sought details of owners of 60 il- land under Section 4and 5of Apsara Border – Hapur Road – KGP week of meetings between farm- expressway)–Tikri other organisations come in our legal farmhouses constructed in Punjab Land Preservation Act, expressway (eastern peripheral ers and senior police officers. (63-64km) way... We will be meeting police theAravalli region. 1900,which has been con- Najafgarh Ghazipurborder expressway) – Ghazipur border In apress conference, Special (46 km) authorities of Delhi, UP and In ascathing order passedon structed without taking change CP (Intelligence) Dependra Eastern Haryana on Monday at 8.30am,” January 15,the StateInformation of land use from Town and Pathak said, “Wehelddiscus- DELHI said Shingara Singh, vice-presi- Commission has "frowned" CountryPlanning Department; WesternPeripheral Peripheral sions with BharatiyaKisan Union Expressway dentofBKU Ugrahan. upon the public authority and and to take action againstthese leaders and there’s an agreement Expressway UTTAR calledthe denial of information farmhouses as per law. The thattheywillcarry outtheir HARYANA PRADESH Police flag Pak as a"shameless disregardfor ac- Commissionalsoasked that the march afterRepublicDay cele- Twitter handles countability". entireexercise mustbecom- brations at Rajpath. Thereshould "If asenior bureaucrat likeSh. pleted, preferably, in amonth," beno disturbanceduring the pa- Tractors nearSinghuborder, Police claimed308 Pakistan- Ashok Khemka is running from the January15order reads. rade. We will provide them with Sunday. GajendraYadav basedTwitter handlesare trying pillar to postfor an RTIreply, then The SPIOs-cum-District adequatesecurity;their march to disrupt thetractor march.“We onecan only guess what an ordi- Town Planners (Enforcement), will bepeaceful and theywillre- receivedinputsabout these han- naryman mustsufferwhen Faridabad and Gurgaon, have turn to the border at the end.” county,”instructions issuedby dles between January13and 18. searching forhonestreplies also been directed to remain The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha the group said. Theyweremade by Pakistan- through aclear and legitimate physically present with the rel- (SKM) Sundaysaid onlytractors Tractors will notovertakethe basedterroroutfitstocreatedis- routelikethe RTIAct —atoolfor evant records on March 10,inthe and trolleys with tableaux will be cars in whichfarmer leaderswill turbance during the rally,”said systematictransparencyprovided Commission's Secretariat, failing allowedinthe march;noone travel, SKM said. Thereshall be Special CP Pathak. by theverygovernmentthatgoes whichpenal action would be ini- should carryaweapon, “noteven no overtaking during the march On Sunday, Delhi Police onto strenuouslysubvertit,"State tiated againstthem. sticks”; and maximum of 5peo- and no music will be playedin Commissioner SNShrivastava Information CommissionerArun The Commission observed ple can ride on one tractor.“No tractors, it added. directed police personneland Sangwanhad said in his order that the RTIapplicationwas filed one willride on the bonnet, The group has also asked outsideforces likeITBP and dated December8. by Khemka on February28, bumper or roof of tractors,” it said farmers nottoindulgeinquar- CRPF who will be deployed for Continuingthe hearinginthe 2020, on the basis of aminister's in astatement. rels with police, ignorerumours the Republic Dayparade to also same case on January15, the SIC replyinthe Vidhan Sabha Policewill remove barricades and verify informationthrough maintain security forthe trac- observed,"The Commission againstaquestion raisedbyMLA on January26for farmers to der,thetractors will pass through (Eastern Peripheral Expressway).” needtoensure that the march is itsFacebook page—Kisan Ekta tormarch. frowns upon this shameless dis- Seema Trikha. The MLAhad carry out the rally. Pathak said, Nangloi, Najafgarh, Jharoda and Meanwhile, instructions for peaceful. “Through this parade Morcha. In an order,the CP said per- regard foraccountability and de- sought information about illegal “Farmers from Singhu will pass KMP Expressway.Policewillclear farmers, passedbySKM,also say we have to tell the countryand Police saidmorethan7,000 sonnel will be required to be on liberateattemptstokeep con- farmhouses in Aravalli region through SanjayGandhi Transport aroute of around 64 km forthe theyshould pack24-hours theworld aboutour plight... Our tractors from Tikri border,5,000 duty “immediatelyafter R-day ceal/misrepresent facts". and what actionthe government Nagar, Kanjhawala, Bawana, march.FromGhazipurborder,a worthrationand water, and victoryliesinthe parade being from Singhu and 1,000 from celebrationsare over” and “re- In itslatestorder,the wastaking,towhichforestmin- Auchandi border and KMP ex- routeof46kmhas been cleared makearrangements forprotec- takenout in averypeaceful Ghazipur willjointherally. “More main in aposition to move at Commission also asked Haryana isterKanwarPal hadgiven alist pressway before coming backto as the rallywillpassthrough 56- tion from cold in case theyare manner... Our aim is nottocon- tractors arecoming in. We have shortnoticefor lawand order government to conduct asurvey of 60 suchfarmhouses but Singhu border. The distance will foot-road, Apsaraborder,Hapur stuckintraffic jams. quer Delhi, but to win over the faith that our farmer brotherswill arrangement in connection with of the 60 illegal farmhouses and names of owners were notmen- bearound62 km. From Tikri bor- road and reachKGP Expressway Thegroup stressed on the hearts of the people of this return to the borders peacefully,” kisan rally”. submit areportinamonth. tioned. BRIEFLY At Ghazipur, sisters from VHP holdsbike Max temp plunges Mobilevans withnutrition Nainitalset up mahila store rallies in capital for to 15°C, no respite forchildren inNoida Ram Mandir funds for next 4days Noida:Two mobile vans in some areas. It wasfollowedby equippedwith study and EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ahavanatseveral temples at EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE nutrition material forchil- NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 Nangloi and Rajendra Nagar, and NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 dren in vulnerablesitua- the opening of an office forfund tions were launchedin THE VISHWAHindu Parishad collection in TilakNagar. DELHI WITNESSED acold dayon Noida on Sunday. The (VHP) held bikerallies at 47 loca- Vice-presidentofVHP’s Delhi Sundayasthe maximumtem- vans—coveredwithbright tions in the capital on Sunday unit Surender Gupta said theor- peraturedroppedto15degrees artwork—were launched morning to spread awareness ganisation has startedcontacting Celsius, six degreesbelownor- under “Nanhe Parinde”, a about itsdonation drive forthe RWAs,tradeunions,temples,stu- mal forthis time of the year,as joint initiative by Gautam RamMandir in Ayodhya.VHP dents’unionsandotherorganisa- per the India Meteorological Budh NagarPolice and spokespersonMahendraRawat tions,andwillreachoutto 42lakh Department (IMD). HCL Foundation, and im- said this will be followed by a familiesthroughthem.“Four-five Scientists at IMDattributed plemented by NGO ‘prabhat pheri (morning proces- groups willgotoevery area with the dip to winds blowing from Chetna. SanjayGupta,di- sions)’ and bhajan programmes 40,000 karyakartasofdifferent the Western Himalayanregion, Near Akshardham Temple rector Chetna, said the before the drive starts on Hindu organisations, who will be wheresnowfall occurredon Sunday. AbhinavSaha vanswouldfrequentparts February1.ItendsonFebruary27. partofthe drive,” he said. Saturday, and lowclouds over of Noida with large con- Holding saffron flags,volun- Rawatsaid 175campoffices Delhi and across northwestIndia centrationsofstreetchil- teers of the VHP,Bajrang Dal and arebeing openedacross Delhi — during daytime. dren. ENS Gursharanjeetand Harsharanjeetatthe storeset up by them. AbhinavSaha BJP raisedslogans of Jai ShriRam, eitherattemples or small shops On Sunday, the Safdarjung THEWEEKAHEAD with lorries playing devotional —which will be the centrepoint observatory, whichisrepresen- songs accompanying them at forfund collection. During the tative of thecity, recordedamax- 60staffat sewa in agurdwarabackintheir Gursharanjeet is pursuing some places. Theywentaround drive,cadreswillreachoutto fam- imum temperatureof15degrees DayMin Max Delhiprisons ASHNABUTANI hometown. They accompanied postgraduate studies in Biology areas suchasAndheriaMod, iliesto tellthemabouttheplanon Celsius,lowerthan 20.4 degrees Monday6°C 17°C NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 their brother and father,who and givesIELTS tuitions. Trilokpuri,MayurVihar,Jangpura, the structureofthe temple and Celsius on Saturday, while mini- Tuesday5°C 18°C started alangar. Harsharanjeet worksintheITsec- PaschimVihar,TagoreGardenand howthemoneywillbedeposited mum temperaturewas 8.8de- vaccinated Wednesday 4°C 18°C AT GHAZIPUR border,two sis- The sisters then decidedto tor. While thesisters take care of VishnuGarden. Therallystarted in the Sri RamJanmabhoomi grees Celsius, higherthanthe 8 NewDelhi:Around 60 ters from Nainital have setupa devotetheir time and resources the store, afew women volun- at 10 am and lasted till afternoon Teerth KshetraTrust. degrees Celsiusthe daybefore. Thursday 4°C 18°C paramedical staffofthe ‘Kisan Mahila Store’ with the to women’s needs, and turnedit teer to help them.AnjuParveen As per IMD criteria,acoldday Friday5°C 18°C Delhi prisons depart- aim of tending to the needs of intoarealitywith thehelpof (39) from Trilokpuri said sewa is when the minimum temper- ment have been inocu- women at the protestsite. Over friends and cousins. has become her full time job atureis10degrees Celsius or lated so farduring the 1,000 women arenow present Theyassessedthe items that since the protests began. “I don’t lower, andthe maximum tem- Disturbance recently, which Covid-19vaccination at the siteand moreare ex- women neededmostatthe site. have afarming background. Ide- peratureis4.5 degrees below causedsnowfall and rainfall in drive,officialssaid on pected to arrive in therun-up to HarsharanjeetKaur(28) said, cidedtocome hereand help be- normal, whichis21.3degrees the mountains in north India, Sunday. “The vaccination Republic Day. “Wedecidedtostayinthe tents cause Ieat food. It is our duty to Celsius forthis time of the year. cold windsare again blowing will help boostthe GursharanjeetKaur(25), the ourselves. We learnt that mos- help farmers.” The city has witnessedtwo from this region towardsDelhi. morale of the jail officials youngerofthe two, said, “We quitoes were amenace hereand Items at the storerangefrom cold days in December andone In addition to this, thereisanup- and security forces per- firstvisited the siteonDecember it is difficult forwomen to walk sanitarynapkins and newunder- in January so far. liftedfog or lowcloud covering sonnel, who were at a 25. We sawafewstoresbut they toofar to usethe washrooms.” garmentstosoaps, shampoo, Kuldeep Srivastava,head of the entireregion from Punjab to high risk of catching the did nothaveitems likesanitary Theymade arrangementsto toothpaste and towels. Nanni the IMD’s regional weather fore- .” virus due to the natureof napkins. At the same time, move the washrooms closerto Devi from Faridpur visited the casting centre, said, “Over the Meanwhile, the city’s air their job," Director women had juststarted coming the women’s tents. The tents storeinthe afternoon to collect next 3-4 days,wecan expect quality is also forecasttodeteri- General (Prisons) in and we decidedtomakeafew can accommodatearound 80 sanitarynapkins and atowel. She both cold dayand cold wave oratetothe higherlevels of 'very Sandeep Goelsaid. PTI tentsspecificallyfor women.” people and they arecurrently said the storehas made her stay During the bikerallyonSunday. Prem Nath Pandey conditions in the city... With the poor' categorybyWednesday, as The sisters were involved in setting up moreofthese. at the border mucheasier. passing of aWestern per agencies. Forest department seizes Slumdwellers being rehabilitated to pay Rs 1.4 Lper flat equipmentofDJB,PWD ernmenthas readied9,315 flats Of the 9,315 flats, the largest ters instead of forcing them to inviting "unrulyelements, van- 2013 order.Aforestofficial said, SOURAVROYBARMAN built under the Jawaharlal Nehru In case of families chunk,7,400, is at Bhalswa, shift to flatsbuilt in thecity'spe- dalism and wear and tear". EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE “Wehavepowers under the Delhi NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 National Urban RenewalMission falling under the where sevenclusters will be ripheralareas, so theydon't lose However, thegovernment later NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 Preservation of Trees Act1994to (JNNURM) forthis purpose. shifted.Among therest, 1,060 their sources of livelihood. announcedits plan to construct seize equipment if we believe an SLUM DWELLERS identifiedto "General categorybeneficiar- ScheduledCaste (SC) flatsare at Sultanpuri and 855at However, thepolicy,called 89,400flatsinthree phases, out THE FORESTDepartmentSunday offence has beencommittedand be rehabilitated to housing soci- ies will have to payRs1.42 lakh category, apayment of Bawana. These areall 1-BHK flats Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana, al- of which41,400flatsare to be said it has seizedequipment of trees have been damaged.” eties will have to payRs1.42 lakh per flat, whichincludes Rs 30,000 Rs 31,000per flat will in multi storiedapartments. A lows forrelocationbeyond the built at an estimated costofRs8 Delhi Jal Boardand Public Works “A hearingonthe matter per flat, according to aplan maintenance charges. In case of topDUSIB official said CM 5-km radius cap with prior ap- lakh eachbynextyear. Departmentfromtwo locations with the DJBwillbeconducted drawnupbythe Delhi Urban ScheduledCaste beneficiaries, have to be made, DUSIB Arvind Kejriwalhas directed that proval of the DUSIB board. The Delhi government did fordamagingtreeroots by dig- on January28. PWDwill be is- Shelter Improvement Board the price of the flatshas been member Bipin Raisaid slum dwellers be shiftedto LastSeptember,DUSIB had notimplement the Pradhan ging within one metreofthem. sued anotice about the hearing (DUSIB). In case of families fixedatRs31,000,including Sultanpuri by April 31,while May scrappedadecision to construct Mantri Awas Yojana in the city. Forest officials said the PWD on Monday,”the official said. falling under the Scheduled maintenance charges. We plan to 31 is the deadline forthe remain- 3,780 flatstorelocateover3,000 In 2019,ithad carriedout asur- damaged rootsofthree treesat TheDJBspokespersondidnot Caste (SC) category,apayment completethe firstphaseofreha- and InfrastructureDevelopment ing ones. families residing in slums of veytoascertain the number of AshramChowk andtheDJBdam- respondto queriesseekingacom- of Rs 31,000 perflat will have to bilitation by May. The process Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC), New This will markthe firstmajor Jahangirpuri and Wazirpur near slum dwellers. DUSIB estimates agedonetreerootatNew Friends ment. An official from the PWD, be made,DUSIB member Bipin will startinMarch," Raisaid. Delhi Municipal Council round of rehabilitation since the their sources of livelihood. that thereare around 20 lakh Colony. Officials said digging and in charge of theAshram Chowk Raitold TheIndian Express. Across Delhi, especiallyinits (NDMC) and Delhi Development AAP took office in 2015.Among DUSIB had pointed out"no slum dwellers in the city,which construction work within one area,said:“Neitherhasourequip- In the firstphase,Rai said the outer areas, around 40,000 flats Authority (DDA), have been ly- the major poll promises made by concrete plan of actionfor relo- has nearly 675jhuggi clusters, metredistance of trees has been ment been seizednor has our government plans to shiftupto built by various agencies, includ- ing unusedand in astate of com- the AAP wasthat of in-situ or on cation has been drawn" and a over300 of whichare on land prohibited by the NGTinits April work been stopped.” 9,300 families by May. The gov- ing DUSIB,Delhi StateIndustrial plete disrepair forupto12years. siterehabilitation of slum clus- large number of flatslie unused ownedbythe DDA.

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Total Vacant THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 TOTALCASES HOSPITALBEDS 9,0548,228 6,33,924 VENTILATORS 1,175949

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths Tests ases Jan23197 3671076,868 ec

CORONAVIRUS activ Jan24185 315962,307 al

5 THE CITY ot IN THE CAPITAL

Total1,741*6,21,37510,808 1,03,51,768 *T

RECOMMENDATIONS SENT TO MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT &HIGHWAYS No official orderinplace,parents Totackleunpaidfines,trafficpolice andschools uncertainaboutfees because we have notbeenable vate school societies and associ- SUKRITABARUAH to paythemsalaries,” said the ations. Theyhaverequestedthe NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 head of school. court to direct DPS Society to not suggestscancellinglicence,registration Schools have been orderedto charge annual chargesand to LACK OF fresh directivesfromthe charge onlytuitionfeessinceApril dismiss their writ petition. Delhi government on feecollec- 2020. This orderwas extended Parentshavebeen complain- 1,24,17,23,000as compared to Rs forinsurance companies to take tion afterschools re-openedfor saying,“Unlockingstageisstillgo- ing of schools charging under MAHENDERSINGH 94,08,03,900in2019. intocognizance the challan his- classes Xand XII studentslast ingoninaphasedmanner,hence, heads other than tuition fees — MANRAL JCP (Traffic) Manish Kumar toryof thevehicleinsured,” asen- week has leftparentsand schools complete lockdown is yettobe suchasoperational charges, de- NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 Agrawalsaid,“Wehavewrittento ior police officer said. uncertain. While manyschools overandschoolsareyet to beopen velopment fundand mainte- MORTH to restrict/blockservices Meanwhile,dataprovidedby said theywillwait foragovern- forphysical classroom learning.” nance fees —since lastAugust. DELHI TRAFFIC Police has recom- likelicence, registration, permit, trafficpolice shows adeclinein ment order in this regard,parents Delhi government education Aftercomplaintsbyparents, mendedtothe MinistryofRoad pollutionundercontrol(PUC)cer- trafficviolations since the 2019 of students in some schools officials did notrespond to the DirectorateofEducationhad Transportand Highways tificate, etc. We have informed amendmentstothe Motor claimedtohavereceived mes- queries on whether anydirec- invitedthe managerorhead of (MORTH) to cancel driving li- them that licensing and registra- Vehicle Actcame intoeffect. sages seeking extrapayment. tiveswill be issuedsoon. school of DPS MathuraRoadfor a cence and registration of vehicle tion of vehicles have been linked “A total of 2,51,547challans On Saturday, parents of chil- SKBhattacharya,presidentof meetinginSeptember.Itissueda owners if severalchallans are to pending challans. If someone were issuedfor improperparking dren studying in aschool in the Action Committee Unaided notice to the school after“neither pending againstthem.Ithas also goesto re-registertheirvehicleor in 2020 as compared to 9,34,699 Pitampurareceivedmessages RecognisedPrivate Schools, said principal nor manager or any asked the Insurance Regulatory re-validatetheir driver’s licence, challans the previous year.While from school authorities forpay- schools under it would continue other representative from the and DevelopmentAuthorityof andisfoundto have pendingchal- 1,05,436 challans were issuedfor ment of fees accumulated over to wait forfresh directivesoran school attendedthe meeting”. India (IRDAI) to recoverpending lans, serviceswill be blockedun- one-way violation in 2020, the last10months. “...since interventionby DelhiHighCourt. School principal Deeksha e-challans from trafficoffenders less theypay.Wehavealsosug- 2,93,698peoplewereprosecuted school had reopenedfrom “Reopening is onlyinalimited Kherasaid shewould notcom- when theytry to renewtheir in- Policesaid manyoffendersare notpayingchallans. Archive gested that IRDAIask forahigher in 2019.Similarly,91,257people January 18,2021, we would re- fashion forclasses Xand XII. The ment on the feecollection “as the surance. The move comes after premium from suchdefaulters.” were prosecutedfornot wearing questparentstocooperate by matter of feecollection is still in matter is being resolvedincourt”. trafficpolice found that severalvi- Trafficauthorities also de- helmets lastyear but10,36,151 depositing... the abovemen- courtaswehad challenged the “Until the court says otherwise, olators were notpaying challans. by speedcameras everyday but challans by redlight violation de- cidedtosharedetailsofpending challans were issuedin2019. tionedcharges(annual and de- government'slastorder... There’s we maycontinuewithourcollec- Asenior police officer said this 60% of these remain unpaid. tectioncameras and16,92,308for e-challans of registeredvehicles 86,342 challans issuedfor cross- velopment charges) for2020- no doubtthatschools areingrave tion. Everyone is waiting forthe is to ensureelectronicallyissued DatafromTrafficPoliceshows other violations in the lastyear. with insurance companies. ingthe stoplinein thelastyear as 2021inthree...installments financial trouble, but at same court's final directives,” she said. summons arecompliedwithas that 82,17,692 noticeswere issued However, the amount receivedin “Traffic Policehas askedthemin- compared to 3,38,031 challans,” amounting to INR6,600payable time we cannotdoanything be- Renuka Tyagi, one of the peti- 25,000 challans arebeing issued by speed cameras, 18,03,293 fines lastyear wasRs istrytocreatealegal framework an officer said. in January, Februaryand March causethatwouldbeaviolation of tioners, said reopening of schools 2021,”the messageread. the government order,” he said. has made their plea moreurgent: “...wehavetotakeresponsi- Meanwhile, parentsofstu- "Thereisaconcern that schools bilityfor ourstaff.Since the be- dentsofvarious Delhi Public opening forclasses Xand XII will SDMC to begin phase II of RFID toll plan from March ginning of the lockdown, we School branches have alsofiled be usedasajustification to col- have had to layoff 20 drivers, 15 an intervention appeal in the HC lect annual and other charges nodal agency forcollecting taxes capital from non-RFID border alliedstaff and some teachers in response to the petition by pri- from studentsofall classes." ABHINAVRAJPUT from vehicles entering the capi- points. NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 tal. Leaderofhouse, South MCD, Of the 111 points,10are to be NarendraChawlasaidthe pro- Thetech After SDMC, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE EMPOWERMENT FROM MARCH,the South Delhi equipped withboom barriers posal has been sent backdue to OF PERSONS WITH MunicipalCorporation has and RFID infrastructurewhile issues with the budget,whichis Radio-frequencyidentifi- North body nod INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES (DIVYANGJAN ) plannedtostart phaseIIofthe handheld devices will be made Rs 36 crore. “Wehavelimited cation technology is used Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) radio-frequency identification available at the rest as theyare moneyasour finances have to collectmoneyauto- for food trucks (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India) (RFID) system at 111 locations very small points. The10entry been hit. So we have askedthe maticallywithout halting An ISO 9001: 2015 Institution from where 20%ofvehicles en- points areKundli-2, Loni Main, toll department to decrease the vehicles. Around 6lakh NewDelhi: Afterthe SouthMCD Manovikas Nagar,Secunderabad -500 009, Telangana. terthe capital. This is to ensure New Seemapuri, Chander Nagar, budget and bring afresh pro- vehicles enter the capital gave itsnod to foodtrucks,the Tel: 091-40-27751741-745, Fax :091-40-27750198.www.niepid.nic automatic toll deductionand New Kondli, Noida Major,Pul posal, whichwewould most everyday.Public help Northbodyhas also passeda Employment Notice No :01/2021 end congestion and confusion at Prahladpur,Bajghera,Dhansa RFID systems willbeset up likelypassinthe next meeting.” booths have been setup similar proposal in itsbudget.A This Institute invites applications from eligible candidates for the toll booths. and Jharoda. at 111 more locations. Archive Members of the erstwhile near toll plazas, from senior official of NorthMCD said following Regular Post to be filled on Direct Recruitment basis In July2019, 13 majortoll The newlyformed Environment Pollution where drivers can collect that the exactdetails areyet to at this institute. booths —through which80% ve- Commissionfor Air Quality (Prevention and Control) RFID tags. The device will be chalked out but people earn- hicles pass through —were Management has asked the the house but is yettobeap- Authority SunitaNarain and be installedonwind- ing less than Rs 25,000 income SI. Name of the Post No.of No. Posts Level Category equippedwith RFID technology South MCD to complete the sec- proved.The official said speedy BhureLal had said expansion of shields of vehicles. Each would be allowedtooperate to deduct toll and Environment ond phase by January31. implementation of the project is the RFID system wasakey proj- time avehicle enters the food trucks.The budget also pro- 1Lecturer in Physiotherapy 01 Level-10 OBC Compensation Chargesauto- However, asenior South MCD of- very important as it wasob- ectthatneeds to be expedited.If capital, moneywillbede- posedrevenue generation ven- maticallyfromcommercialve- ficialsaid it could be delayedas served that old polluting vehi- implemented well, it will help ducted automatically. tures, likeATMs and LED ads at The Last date for receipt of CompletedApplication forms is 22.02.2021 hicles. The South MCD is the the proposalhas been placedin cles were tryingtosneak intothe reduce pollution in the capital. 6,1000 parks under it. ENS The detailed notification is available on institute’swebsite: www.niepid.nic.in Director

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 6 GOVT &POLITICS

AMIT SHAH IN ASSAM EPS says Stalin Chinese troops in remembering deity because of Indian territory: DELHI CONFIDENTIAL Assembly polls Rahul targets PM EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CHENNAI,JANURAY24 ourcountry,”hesaid.TheChinese PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA understoodthatModiwas“weak ADAY afterDMK chief MKStalin TIRUPUR,JANUARY24 and destroyed thenation'secon- wasseencarrying aVel, the spear omyand that is whytheyare in- associated with the Hindu deity CONTINUINGTOtargetPrime sideour territory”, he alleged. LordMuruga, Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterNarendraModionhis Withoutanydoubt,hesaid,he MinisterEdappadiKPalaniswami second dayofcampaign in Tamil could tell the people that China Sundayaccusedhimof deception Nadu,Congress leader Rahul would have neverhad the “guts” and said he remembered the di- Gandhi on Sundayalleged to stepinsideIndianterritoryifthe vine symbol onlybecause polls Chinese troops have occupied economy, farmersand small and were around the corner. Indianterritoryandthemanwith medium enterprises had been “People who usedtotalk ill “56-inchchest”cannotevenutter strong and if the “nonsensical Home MinisterAmitShah being presented with a‘japi’ at arallyinNalbari district on Sunday. PTI about gods arenow taking Velin the name of the neighbouring GST”anddemonetisationhadnot their hand,” he said at arally in country. been implemented.The Prime NEW RESPONSIBILITY Coimbatore on Sunday—adig at Addressingmeetingshereand Ministerhasweakenedthecoun- Stalin's atheism and DMK'sratio- in Erode district as partofthree- trybecause he does notworkfor THE CONGRESSunit in Kerala, manyleaders of whichhave nalistfounding principles. This daycampaign tour of Tamil Nadu the people but onlyfor his five or been critical of party MP Shashi Tharoor in the past, seems to ‘Cong-AIUDFwillopen wasatheme he repeatedly ahead of the Assembly elections, six businessmenfriendsand have warmeduptohim as it gears up foratoughAssembly touchedonduring the dayat he also repeated his charge that China has “come inside” because poll fight. The Oommen Chandy-ledelection management other roadshows and public Modi governedthe countryfor of suchaweakened position,he and strategy committee in itsfirstmeeting entrusted Tharoor meetingsinrural areas. justfiveorsix business people. claimed. —also amember of the panel—to consult people and collect Aggresively going afterhis ri- “For the firsttime, theIndian Takingforward his Tamil lan- inputsfor the manifesto.Quicklycameinappreciation from gatestoinfiltrators’ val, Palaniswami said: “Theycan peoplecanseethatChinesetroops guageandculturepitch to connect coalition partners too. IUML MP ETMohammedBasheer recognise Velonlyduringthepoll have occupiedIndianterritory. As withthepeopleandattacktheBJP, laudedthe decision, saying Tharoor had an acceptability in all season. He wasn’table to see God we speak today, thousands of the Congress MP said he wanted sections of society,includingyouth, and this would help him alliance willopen all doors forin- shotbulletatAssam’s youth. or Velearlier.” Chinesetroopsareoccupyingour to bethe soldier of the Tamilpeo- getgoodfeedbackfor themanifesto. ABHISHEKSAHA filtrators and allowinfiltrators to Those who aredoing ‘andolan’ During his rallies near territoryand the man witha56- pleinDelhiandreiteratedthathe GUWAHATI,JANUARY24 come intoAssam because thatis (protests) today, arehelping the ThiruttaniinnorthernTamilNadu inchchestcannotevensay the wouldnotallow thesaffronparty theirvotebank.Ifanyonecanstop Congressbycutting intothe BJP’s onSaturday, aplaceknownasone word China. That is the reality of to disregard Tamil culture. HOME MINISTER Amit Shah infiltrators, it is onlyand only the votes. People of Assam should of the sixabodes of Lord Muruga, PARADE PARTY Sundaysaid the Congress-AIUDF NarendraModi-ledBJP govern- identifythosewhoarehelpingthe Stalin waswelcomedbyasilver allianceinAssam would only ment,”Shah said. He spokeon Congressindisguise—theydonot Velbyhis party men. FORTHE firsttime, a122-membercontingent of Bangladesh open the gatesto“infiltrators” in howtheModigovernmenthasre- have Assam’s benefit in their At anotherplace,Palaniswami ArmedForces will participateinthe Republic Dayparade. The ordertosecure avotebank, and pealedArticle370 in Jammu & minds. Theywant to help pickedupthe Velissue again. majority of soldiersinthis contingent hail from the mostdis- arguedthat it wasonlythe Kashmir and startedbuildingthe Congresswin.” “Stalin has takenanew avatar tinguishedunitsofthe Bangladesh Armycomprising 1, 2, 3, 4, NarendraModi-ledBJP govern- RamTemple in Ayodhya. “Assamese and non- with theVel. Remember,your 8, 9, 10 &11EastBengalRegiment and1,2and 3Field Artillery ment that can ensurea“corrup- Ajmal, the MP and perfume Assamese; Bodo and non- drama ahead of the pollsisbeing Regiment. These units have the distinct honour of fighting tion-free, foreigner-free and ter- baron, leads theAIUDF,aparty Bodo…weneedtoidentifythose closelywatchedbyGod.Waitand and winning the 1971 Liberation War. This year,Bangladesh rorism-free” Assam. thatenjoys alarge supportbasein who arecausing these conflicts. see,hewillalsodoadramato give celebrates 50 years of itsindependence. ShahonSundayaddressed the state’s Bengali-originMuslim Theyare notdoing it for ourde- youafitting replyinthe election twoeventsinthe poll-bound community. TheCongressandthe velopment but to scorepolitical results,” he said. state—one, agovernment func- AIUDF,togetherwiththree Left points.Time has comefor people TheChief MinistercalledStalin THE CHIEF QUESTION tion in Kokrajhar in Bodoland parties and aregional party,have of Assam to teachsuchpeoplea an “actor”. “Story,screenplayand Territorial Region to commemo- announcedagrand alliance lesson,” Shah said in Kokrajhar. direction of Stalin’s drama is han- WILLCONGRESShave anon-GandhiaspartypresidentinJune? rate one year of thesigning of the againsttheBJPintheforthcoming Shah’s reference underlines dledbyPrashant Kishor. And ThereisspeculationinthepartyafterCWC decidedtodeferelec- Bodo Accord,and the other,BJP’s polls, expected in April. Assam’slonghistoryof violentag- Stalin is the actor.See, he has tion of the partypresident till June. The newpresident will have ‘VijaySankalp Samaroh’ in At both events, Shah spoke itations, insurgency and also, startedacting already.Heisplay- aterm tillDecember2021since the party has to hold organisa- Nalbari.“Thosewhohave beenin about dividesand conflicts in morerecently, the genesis of two ing this drama nowbecause his tional elections in the secondhalfof2021. RahulGandhiwas powerherefor years and talk Assam.“WhentheCongressruled newparties—the Assam Jatiya Grama Sabha programmes failed electedCongresspresidentin2017withafive-yearterm.Sothe aboutAssameseculture,Iwantto Assam,theyhaveonlymadepeo- Parishad (AJP)and theRaijor Dal to gain momentum,”hesaid. newpresidentwillbefortheremainingterm.Manyleadersbe- askthem,whathave youdonefor ple fight againstone —fromthe massiveanti-CAA Palaniswami said electing lieve thepartycouldappointanon-Gandhi–asdesiredby Rahul Assameseculture?Youhavedone another…They followthe British protests in 2019.The twoparties DMK backtopower would mean when he steppeddownin2019–forthe remaining part of the nothing apartfromgarnering policy of divide and rule…The areintalksabout an alliance for bringing back chaos. “Land grab- term. That way, one senior leader said,the partycan honour votes,” said Shah. Congress stainedAssam with the comingelections. bing…Loadshedding...Doyoure- Rahul’s wish and it will also getthe flavour of anon-Gandhi as “Do youwant to makeAssam blood.The bloodofAssamese InKokrajhar,Shahsaidthatthe ally wishforthat?”heaskedaloud, president. And in organisational elections at the end of 2021, freeof infiltratorsornot?Congress youth has justbled,”Shahsaid in decades of violence were over pausing until he heardaloud‘No’ Rahul Gandhi in front of astatue of former Chief Minister Rahul can return as full-fledged president, the leader said. andBadruddinAjmalcannotpro- Nalbari. now, and the “eraofpeace” has from the crowd—a styleremnis- MG Ramachandran in Erode district. PTI tectAssamfrominfiltrators.Their He continued: “The Congress begun. centofthe lateJayalalithaa. Electronic Identity politics, spiritual leadership: Furfura WAROFWORDS CONTINUES version of TMC says slogans voter card to be launched today Sharif cleric’s party modelled on IUML raisedtoheckle Asaduddin Owaisi-ledAIMIM. spread across the state, he said. ED LIZMATHEW Bidto IUML president Panakkad “In itseffortstostopthe BJP,the PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 consolidate Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal party is ready forany preorpost- Mamata, BJP claims NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 PLAIN E Muslimvote has inherited thespiritual lead- poll alliances with non-BJP par- ● BEFORE HE launchedthe Indian EX ership of the community from ties. But the TMC should apolo- LAWMINISTER Ravi Shankar Secular Front (ISF), Pirzada his father PMSPookoya gise forneglecting the bid to appease ‘30%’ PrasadwillonMonday launch the Abbas Siddiqui,the 34-year-old THE ISF,along with Thangal, said to be the 39th de- community. In constituencies electronic version of the voter cleric of Furfura Sharif in West AIMIM, will be looking to scendant of Prophet whereISF does nothavecandi- Lord&Protector Shri Modi was identity card, whichcan be Bengal, visited Kerala and closely consolidateMuslim votes Muhammad. Everyday, hun- dates, it will backother candi- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE speaking at Netaji event none of downloadedonamobile phone monitored theactivities of in the upcoming West dredsvisit the family’s ancestral datesagainstthe BJP,”Ghaffar KOLKATA,JANUARY24 his fans hailed him with Jai Shri or apersonal computer. Indian Union Muslim League Bengal Assemblyelec- home, Kodappanakkal Tharavad said, countering the argument Ram? Howcomethe heckle cry The e-elector photo identity (IUML), ledbythe spiritual Pirzada of FurfuraSharif tions.The party has al- in Panakkad, Malappuram, seek- that the newoutfit would dent THE WARofwords between the wasonlyraised when CM cardisnon-editable digital ver- leader of Muslims in Kerala. Abbas Siddiqui at the ready announcedthat it is ing Thangal’s blessings and po- the Muslim supportbaseofthe BJPand Trinamool Congress over Mamatadi spoke?...” sion of the elector photo identity Inspired by the waythe political party launch. File open to tie-ups with non- litical intervention. TMC. West BengalChief Minister Senior TMC leader and state cardand it can be savedinfacili- Panakkad Thangal familywields BJP parties to keep the BJP “The ISF will model identity While launching his party, ’s refusalto minister Firhad Hakim said, “BJP ties such as digital lockerand can political and social influence in out of power. If it manages politics with aspiritual leader- Siddiqui said, “YearsofCongress speak at the event to markthe has turnedagovernment pro- be printed in the PDF format, Kerala politicsand among the leaders, ledthe political and so- to getasignificant num- ship to transform the society into rule, then that of CPM and then 125th birth anniversaryofNetaji gramme intoajoke. Will it look Election Commission officials Muslims in the state, Siddiqui cial activities of aparty.Hewas berofseats, it mayalso apolitically significant, devel- Trinamool Congress in Bengal SubhasChandraBoseafterJaiShri good If Prime MinisterNarendra said. triedtobepartofthe IUML, impressedbyhow theparty leverage itstallytoforge oped, moderate, modern society. did nothing forthe Muslims or Ramslogans were raisedcontin- Modi comes to an event andwe "UnionministerRaviShankar whichhas unitsinmostofthe keeps the community moderate an alliance with TMC. West Bengal has 30 per cent the poor people.” uedonSunday. engageinsloganeering?Thisisan Prasadwilllaunchthe e-EPIC pro- states in the country. and away from fundamentalist Muslims. If this supportbase “FurfuraSharif is the second WhileTrinamoolleadershave insulttoLordRam as well...” grammeand distributee-EPICs However, IUML refusedto groups,” said Sabir Ghaffar, the gets splitintogroups,the BJP will mostprominentMazar in the allegedthatBJPsupportersraised Hittingback,BJPnationalgen- and Elector Photo Identity Cards join hands withSiddiqui or let former national president of the IUML. form the government there. We countryafter AjmerSharif.Ithas the slogans to humiliate and eralsecretaryKailashVijayvargiya to five newvoters," aCommission him form apolitical outfitthat IUML youth wing who had tried Ghaffarresignedfromhis want to make the Muslim pop- followers in Assam,WestBengal, heckle the Chief Minister, the BJP said, “Jai Shri Ramsloganis raised statement said on Sunday. The could work as acoalition. to convince the IUML leadership postinIUMLSaturdaytowork ulation astrong supportbase Tripuraand even in Bangladesh. has accused Banerjee of trying to to welcomeguests.WhenthePM physical cardtakes timetoprint “Thecleric and his associates to join hands with Siddiqui. with ISF. that preventsthe BJP,” Ghaffar And politics is notstrangetothe appeasetheminoritypopulation. arrived(at the event), the slogan and reachthe voter,and theidea had visited Kerala duringthe He addedthat Siddiqui had He has playedakey role in told TheIndian Express. family–it playedakey role in the TMC MP and Banerjee’s wasraised. The samewas done is to provide faster delivery and floods in 2018 aftercollecting severalinteractions with the formation of ISF and itsdeci- The ISF willworkwith not formation of the Indian Muslim nephewAbhishek Banerjeeon when MamataBanerjee arrived. easy accessibility to the docu- moneyfor relief work.Theyhad Panakkad Sadiq AliShihab sion to contest the West Bengal onlythe AIMIMbut anumber of League, but took political back- Sundaysaiditwasadeliberateat- What is thereinthissloganthat ment, the statement said. seen howthe Thangals, spiritual Thangal, the number twoin electionsalong with the other social and political outfits stagefor long,” Ghaffarsaid. temptbyBJP nottolet the Chief MamataBanerjeefelt insulted?... Ministertospeak in the event. she has done it keeping apolitical “Yesterday,the CM elected by agendainmind.Shehasdoneitto 2.5 crorepeople in the statewas appease 30 per cent[an apparent Mamata move to contest from Nandigram revives humiliated... Iappeal to people to referenceto theMuslimcommu- give abefitting replytopeople nity]population,” he said. whoinsultNetajiSubhasChandra StateBJP president Dilip Bose on his birth anniversary,” Ghosh said, “Those who consider her streetfighter image,willhelp TMC:Party leaders Abhisheksaidwhilespeakingata JaiShriRamaslangshouldrefrain public meeting in South 24 from politics... MamataBanerjee Parganas district. deservedthisasshehadsentpeo- contesting from Nandigram wo- move that neededtobecoun- to quit politics if Banerjee is not On Saturday, Chief Minister ple to jailfor chanting this slogan. DIPANKARGHOSE uld be areminder of who she is. tered.Evenif youlookatlocalme- defeated in Nandigram, the BJP Banerjee, sharing adaiswith Of coursewewill do politics over NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Chief dia surveys, afterheleft, theysaid leadership has said results of the Prime MinisterNarendraModiat Netaji’s legacy.Hewas apolitical Whip of TMC in RajyaSabha said, at leasttwentyseatsinand aro- 2019 Lok Sabha elections show Victoria Memorial, refusedto leader so we will100 per centin- WESTBENGALChief Minister “Nandigram is amajor sensitive undMedinipurwere goingto BJP. TMChaslostgroundinBanerjee’s speak afterasectionofthe audi- dulgeinpolitics over his name...” MamataBanerjee’s announce- politicalincident of MamataBan- Thathas changed now. It is not home seat Bhawanipur and that enceraised‘Jai ShriRam’ slogans Leader of Congress in Lok ment to contestthe Assembly erjee’slife.Shewasoneof theonly Suvenduversusnobody.ItisSuv- her decisiontocontestfrom when shewas about to speak. Sabha Adhir Chowdhurysaid, “It electionfromNandigramwillhelp people in independent India who enduversusMamata in Nandi- Nandigram is to save face. Banerjeehadsaid,“Ifeelagov- wasdone to insultMamata the TMC campaign by bringing went on ahunger strikefor 26 da- gram,” asenior TMC leader said. Raysaid Banerjee has “never ernmentprogrammeshouldhave Banerjee.We feelinsultedassheis backher streetfighter imageand ys.The Centreand the Governor “Now people arewaiting to said” she would notfightfrom some dignity.This is agovern- the CM and awoman. We must by preventingtheBJPfromclaim- appealedtoher,butshewasreluc- see whathewill do. Will he fight Bhawanipur as well. Referring to ment programme, notthe pro- respectthe dignity of her chair.I ingapartintheNandigrammove- tant because of the waythe farm- from Nandigram, or will he cha- NarendraModicontesting from gramme of apolitical party… I am strongly protesting this.” ment, according to party leaders. ers were attacked. She wasthe West Bengal CM Mamata BanerjeeinNandigram. File ngethe seat? The questions are VadodaraandVaranasi,andRahul thank the PM and the Culture CPMleader Mohammad TMC leaders said the decision lone voice forthe farmers.” nowwithAdhikariandpeopleare Gandhi from Amethi andWaya- Ministryfor organising the pro- Salim said, “It mustbecon- has enthusedthe cadre, specifi- “Ultimately, her stance was watching,” the leader added. nad, he said this wasnot newto gramme in Kolkata. But it doesn’t demned.Atthe same time, callyinMedinipur wherethere vindicated when the people ral- Referringto Adhikari,Raysaid Nandigram movement, whichis Another leader said the cadre Bengaleither.“AjoyMukherjee behove youtohumiliateaperson Mamata Banerjee has turnedal- wassome demoralisation after liedaround her and even courts “somepeople”were tryingto cla- laughable.BJPwasnowhereinthe in these districtsare nowwaiting contestedin1967fromTamluk afterextending an invitation.” mostall hergovernment pro- former stateminister Suvendu gave judgements in favour of her im credit forNandigram move- people’s movement,” Raysaid. andwatching as opposedtojum- andArambagh.InArambagh,Pra- Condemningthe incident, grammes intopolitical events. It Adhikari leftfor the BJP.The lead- stancethatnolandof anyindivid- ment.“If by defectingto BJP,some- TMC strategists admitted ping the ship. “Manyworkers fr- fullaChandraSen,hispredecessor TMC MP Mahua Moitrasaid, is adifferent matter who learnt erssaidthatafteradecadeinpow- ual canbetaken by the govern- oneclaimsthatitwashewhogave Adhikari’sdeparturewas seen as omanypartygo where theythink asCM wastheCongresscandidate “Never have Ibeenproudertobe thisfromwhom.We willhopeshe er,“itwasnatural”forpeopletobe- ment without consent. And the birth to themovement, it is not aproblem in areas in and around theparty theyare affiliatedto will andhelost.Whetheritiswrongor partofMamatadi’s team. In an will mend her ways.” LeftFront gintoseeBanerjeeasaCMandnot central government ledby onlyfarfromtruth,butalsomeans Nandigramand Medinipur.“It is win.NowtheyknowTMCisgoing right will be decidedbypeople.” ocean of monkeys she stands out chairman Biman Bose, too, con- afighterfor “people’s rights” she Manmohan Singh had to amend thatBJPistryingto exploitthesit- foolish to sayhis leaving doesnot nowhere,”anotherstrategistsaid. FULLREPORTON as the lonelioness.NationNeeds demnedthe incident, saying it oncewas,but the symbolismof thearchaicLandAcquisitionAct.” uation as if it wasalso partofthe mean anything. It is apolitical WhileAdhikari has promised www.indianexpress.com to Know: HowcomewhenGreat wasaninsult to thestate.

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 GOVT &POLITICS 7 UP FOUNDATIONDAY Farmersreach Azad Maidan, Adityanath govt Dispelrumours,liesabout launches free MVA leaderstoaddress them coaching, starts vaccination,PMtellsyouth new award EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,JANUARY24

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE DIPANKARGHOSE OVER 6,000 farmers from across LUCKNOW,JANUARY24 NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 21 districtsinMaharashtra arrived inMumbaiSunday eveningto be- LAUNCHINGTHEthree-daycele- PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi gin theirthree-daysit-in at Azad brations to markthe foundation Sundaycalledonthe youthto as- Maidaninsolidaritywithprotest- dayofUttarPradesh,Chief Minis- sistinthe country's Covid-19vac- ing farmers at the Delhi border. terYogiAdityanathonSundayan- cination programme by dis- Seniorleaderscuttingacrossparty nouncedanewaward,UPGaurav pelling “lies and rumours” lines, includingNCP chief Sharad Samman, whichwill recognise surrounding it. Pawar, willbeaddressingthe “exceptionalpeople”whosework Addressing cadets of theNCC gatheringonMonday. Thefarm- bringslaurels to thestate. and NSS as well as artisteswho ers have gathered under the ban- The awardwill be givento will take part in the Republic Day ner of All India Kisan Sabha’s peoplefromseveralfields,includ- parade, Prime MinisterModialso (AIKS) Maharashtraunit. ProtestingfarmersinMaharashtrawalkdowna10-km ingtechnology,cultureandsports, calledonyoungsters to lead the Therallyispartofthecallgiven stretchofKasaraGhatontheirway to Mumbai. Express and theChiefSecretarywillhead effort foraself-reliant India. by SamyuktaKisanMorcha itsselectioncommittee. Exhorting the youthtohelp in (SKM),whichisleading the Delhi At the event at Awadh Shilp the vaccination programme, he protests,tointensifytheagitation. to RajBhavantomeetthe Gover- ment all over the country,”said GraminLucknow, theChief Mini- said it wasimportant thatthe Morefarmersareexpectedto join nor and hand over amemoran- AIKSnationalpresidentDrAshok ster also announcedlaunchofa right information aboutvaccines PM NarendraModiand UnionMinisters Rajnath Singh, Arjun Munda, Kiren Rijiju and Renuka the gathering on Monday. dum againstthe newfarm laws. Dhawale. He said the delegation statewidefreecoachingfacilityfor be spread. “You have to give the Singh withartistesparticipatinginthe Republic Dayparadeatan‘At Home’ eventSunday. PTI Whilemostfarmerswho AIKSleaderssaid over 50,000 alsowantedthestategovernment studentstohelpthempreparefor correct information about the reachedMumbaiaremembersof farmers areexpected to take part to ensuretheeffective implemen- competitive examslikeJEE,NEET vaccine to thepoorestofthepoor, AIKS, other organisations as well inMonday’smarch.Theagitation tation of the Forest Rights Act. and UPSC. Abhyudaya Coaching and the common citizens. By sense of duty,” he said. knowhow these things have en- manypaths, but the destination as political parties, including the willconcludeontheRepublicDay MumbaiPolicespokesperson programmewill begin from making the vaccinefor coron- On the Atmanirbhar Bharat tered, in one wayhavemade us is the same—Ek Bharat, Sreshtha Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) al- withaflaghoistingceremonyand DCP ChaitanyaSsaid elaborate BasantPanchami,thedaygoddess avirusinIndia, India’sscientists mission, Modi said:“We have be- slaves, mental slaves,” he said. Bharat.” He also referred to the liance, will also be apart of the apledgetomakethe struggle of arrangementshavebeen made of learning Saraswati is wor- have fulfilledtheir responsibility. comeslavestoforeignproducts”. The Prime Ministersaidthe Prakash ParvaofGuru TegBaha- protest.Farmerorganisationsand farmers and workers victorious. forfarmers’ rally. “In addition to shipped, the CM said. Now, we mustfulfill our respon- “The firstresponsibility of goal of aself-reliant India would dur and the anniversaryofNetaji politicalpartieswillbepresenton “This march is being held to thedeploymentoflocalpolice,ex- He said that despiteplaying a sibility.Wehavetodefeat every making an Atmanirbhar Bharat be metnot onlybywords, but by Subhas ChandraBose. “The 75 asingle platform of Samyukta support and expand the historic trasupportinformof 100officers, leading role in the country’s cul- instrument of lies and rumours should startwithusonly. Iamnot action,particularly fromtheyouth. years of independence, the lifeof ShetkariKamgarMorcha. farmers’ struggle in Delhi forthe 500constableshasbeenprovided. tureandtradition,thestate’sfoun- by the right information. We have saying that if youhavesomefor- Lauding thediversityofthe Guru TegBahadur Ji, the valour of The rallywillbeaddressedby repeal of the three farm laws and Apartfromthis, nine platoons of dationdaywasnotcelebratedear- to remember that our republic is eignitem yougothrow it away to- countryonthe eveofRepublic Netaji, his courage, allofthis is a PawaratAzadMaidanand in the foracentrallawtoguaranteeare- SRPF have been providedand lierbecause“peopleatthehelmof strong because it is definedbyour morrow.... But we do noteven Day, he said: “India mayhave very big inspiration forus.” afternoon, protesters will march munerative MSP and procure- droneswill also be used.” affairs earlier” neverthought of it. “AfterBJPcameto power, then Governor RamNaiksaid most NATIONAL GIRL CHILDDAY OBSERVED IN UTTARAKHAND states celebratetheir foundation day, but notUttar Pradesh.When Imoved the proposalinCabinet, Childrights panel takes cue from Nayak,makes 19-year-old CM for aday itwasacceptedwithopenhearts.” TheChief Ministersaidthelaw MinisterofUttarakhandforaday. she asked officials to renovate di- DhanSingh Rawatwelcomed Sabha the CM foraday. The re- andordersituationinthestatehas LALMANIVERMA The initiative wastaken by Utta- lapidatedbridgesacrossthestate. Goswami on her arrivaltothe viewmeetingswereaimedatde- improved.“UP has been the focal DEHRADUN,JANUARY24 rakhandState Commission for The recommendationsshemade Vidhan Sabha and also attended veloping administrative quality.” pointof India’sIndependenceand Protectionof ChildRightstomark willbeforwardedtothegovernm- thereviewmeetingasarepresen- The StateCommissionfor has ledthe countryinevery field. ONSUNDAY,whenallofficeswere the NationalGirlChild Day. Offi- entforconsideration,officialssaid. tative of Chief Minister Rawat, Protectionof ChildRightsin2014, Forthe pastfew years, it carried closedinDehradun,policeperson- cials said theytookthe cuefrom Earlier,when Leader of Oppo- who wasinHaridwar to inspect alongwithanNGOandasocialor- animageof“Danga(riot)Pradesh nelandgovernmentofficialsstood BollywoodmovieNayak inwhich sition in Bal VidhanSabha, Asif arrangementsfor Kumbh Mela. ganisation, startedBal Vidhan andApradh(crime)Pradesh”.Ho- outside room no. 120onthe first the protagonist, playedbyactor Hasan, remarkedthat therewas Usha Negi, chairpersonofthe Sabhato helpchildrenunderstand wever, we have successfullyshu- floorofUttarakhandVidhanSabha AnilKapoor,becameCMforaday. no engine in the “double engine” StateCommissionfor Protection governanceanddemocraticproc- nnedthatimagebyensuringstrict buildingwhere19-yearoldSrishti “Thatwascinema…thisisreal. government,Goswamiresponded of Child Rights, said the Chief esses. Studentsapplytobeselec- lawand order since 2017.UPhas Goswamiwasreviewingthework Youcan guess the excitement. I by listing decisions the stategov- Ministerapprovedthe idea of tedaslegislators.Afterinterviews, become amodel forlaw and ord- of over adozendepartments. am thankful to CM (Trivendra ernment has takenfor thepublic. GoswamiasCMforaday to senda thecommissionselectsonelegis- er,employmentandinvestment.” Afteradetailedpresentation Singh Rawat) and the Commi- Goswami belongs to messageofencouragingleader- lator from eachofthe 70 con- TheChief Ministerpraisedpe- on crime records by DIG, Lawand ssionforprovidingmethisgolden DaulatpurvillageinHaridwardis- ship capability among girls on the stituencies and those selected opleof thestatefortheir“steelyre- Order,Nilesh Anand Bharney, opportunity,”Goswamisaidafter SrishtiGoswami reviewedworkofoveradozen departments trict whereher father runs agro- occasionof NationalGirlChildDay. votetoelect aCM, ministers and solve”during the pandemic. “It Goswamiaskedhimto ensurethe her four-hour tenure. She added ceryshop and her mother is an “AnilKapoordidsucharolein aLeader of Opposition from came as no surprise that Uttar safetyofwomen in public trans- thatif shegets achanceto become Anganwadiworker.Shewascho- Nayak.Sowethought Uttarak- amongthemselvesforthreeyears. Pradesh receivedaccolades from portandprohibitiononthesaleof “real CM”for aday,she will work Goswami asked officials to pre- Responding to the presenta- sen to be CM foraday as she was hand can present it in the form of MeetingsofBalVidhanSabhaare foreign countries and WHO for drugsina500-mradiusof schools. on priority to addressissues re- vent child abuse and ensurethat tion on the country’s longestmo- elected Chief Ministerfor three a‘nayika’tosendamessageofgirl held on issuesrelatedtochildren commendable work done in the Thestudentof AgricultureSc- lated to children. privacy of women is maintained torable single-lanebridge, Dobra yearsinBalVidhanSabhain2018. empowermentby makingachild and the recommendations are Covid management,” he said. ience wasthe symbolic Chief During the reviewmeeting, afternaturaldisastersatanyplace. Chantibridgeacross Tehri lake, Higher Education Minister whoisalready CM of Bal Vidhan sent to thestate government.

New Delhi THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 8 EXPRESS NETWORK

BRIEFLY Javadekar: People Keralagovtto of different faiths for construction referrapecases of Ram temple againstChandy, at Ayodhya EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE VKSasikala NEWDELHI,JANUARY24

UNION MINISTER for otherstoCBI Information and Broadcasting KARNATAKA Prakash Javadekar on Sunday Sasikalastable, inalcasesagainstChandyandoth- said thatpeople from different SHAJUPHILIP ers,buttherewaslittleprogressin faiths were in supportofthe sayshospital THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, the cases as the government got Ramtemple at Ayodhya and that JANUARY24 adverselegaladvice.Also,Chandy the daythatthe BabriMasjid Bengaluru: Expelled movedthe High Court,which wasdemolishedwas theday a AIADMK leader VK MONTHS AHEAD of Assembly quashedthecaseagainsthimand “historic blunder”had been Sasikala, who is serving polls in Kerala, the CPM-ledstate restrainedthemediafromdebat- rectified. ajail term in a governmenthas decidedtorec- ingcontentsofthe letter. Speaking at an event at the corruption case and has ommendtothe CBI the rape The woman thenfilednew Delhi BJP office to felicitatepeo- been hospitalisedfor cases registeredagainstCongress complaintsagainstthe Congress ple who have donated moneyfor Covid-19, is stable, leader Oommen Chandy and his leaders and fresh caseswere reg- the construction of the temple, according to the otherparty colleagues basedon istered. Recently, she approached Javadekar said he wasin hospital whereshe is complaintsbyawoman accused Chief MinisterPinarayiVijayan, Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. undergoingtreatment. in the 2013 solar scam. seekingaCBIprobeintothe cases. "When foreign invaders like The symptoms have The solar scamduring the The woman told the media BEACH LANDING Babur came to India, whydid reducedand she is now tenureofthe previous govern- that she did notsee apolitical theychoose Ramtemple for stable, authorities at ment ledbyChandy wasone of motive behind handing over the Armypersonnel practise manoeuvres duringthe ‘AMPHEX-21’exercise at Andamanand Nicobar Islands on Sunday. ANI demolition...thereare lakhs of Victoria Hospital said the keyissuesinthe 2016 cases to CBI. “I hadcomplained temple in the country. Because Sunday. Her sister-in- Assemblyelections in whichthe against14persons, including Jose theyknewthatthe soul of the lawJIlavarasi, who is UDFwas routed and the LDF KMani. Now, six cases in which countryresides in Ramtem- also serving aprison came to power. FIR has been registeredwould be Nitish: Anti-social ple…," he said. term in the corruption The woman alleged she was handedovertoCBI,’’ she said. UP: ATS arreststwo Chinese "Thestructureofthe temple case, has tested positive sexuallyexploited by Chandy, CPM statesecretaryA work being done wasdemolished. It wasnot a forCovid-19and AICCgeneral secretary KC Vijayaraghavansaidthe govern- on social media mosque, because it is nota admitted to Victoria Venugopal,Congress MPs Hibi ment took adecision basedon nationals for‘financial fraud’ mosque if thereisnoworship.I Hospital. Abulletin Eden and Adoor Prakash and for- the complainant’s demand fora am adirect witness. Iusedto said: "Conscious, alert merministerAPAnilKumar.Then CBI probe. “The cases were Patna: Twodays afterthe eco- to theforethat some criminals tionsofthe owners of the hotel, work in Yuva Morcha. On and well oriented. CongressleaderAPAbdullakutty, handedovertoCBI as partofen- nomicoffencesunitandthecyber EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE had openedbank accountsput- the OTP forWhatsAppregistra- December 6, 1992,Iwaspresent Stable and comfortable, who laterjoinedthe BJP and be- suring natural justice to the com- crimewing of Bihar Police issued LUCKNOW,JANUARY24 ting in fake details in different tion wasshared withthe in Ayodhya.Wewereinthe same taking oral food came itsnational vice-president, plainant,’’ he said. acircular asking government de- banks. These bank accountswere Chinese nationals. The twoac- courtyardwith millions of ser- normallyand walking is also an accused. Although the Chandy,who has been ap- partmentsto bringto itsnoticethe THE UP Anti-TerroristSquad receivingmoneyfroman cuseddonot knowwho wasus- vants. On the second daythe with support.” She had woman had earlier complained pointedchairmanof theCongress use of objectionablelanguage (ATS) has arrested twoChinese unidentifiedsource whichwas ingthe 150activatedWhatsApp whole worldsaw howahistori- complainedoffever on againstKeralaCongress(M)leader election management and strat- againstpublic servants, Bihar nationals, identifiedasPochnli being drawnbydifferent means. numbers and wheretheywere cal blunder wasrectified," he Wednesday, aweek Jose KMani, who recently joined egy committee, said, “TheLDF Chief Minister NitishKumar on Tengli alias Li Teng alias Alice and With regard to this, the ATShad being used.” said. before her release. PTI the LDF,nocase has been regis- came to powerafter staging mas- Sundaysaid“anti-socialwork was Xu Xunfu alias Julahi, in connec- on January 17 made 14 arrests. A An ATSofficersaid it wasstill BJP leaders in Delhi will start teredagainsthim. sive agitations againstthe UDF beingdoneonsocial media”and tion with financial fraudafter red-corner notice and ablue-cor- notclearwherethe WhatsApp, adrive acrossthe city starting The stateHome Department governmenton thesolarscamis- that word on good work doneby theyallegedly bought SIM cards ner notice were issued against forwhichOTPs were shared,ac- February1to collect funds for on Saturdayissuedagazetteno- sue. What have theybeendoing his government wasnot “perco- with forged documents. the absconding Chinese accused, countswerebeing usedsince the the construction of the temple at BIHAR tification, saying the government forthe lastfiveyears? Theydid lating to people”. The twowereheld in Noida who were arrested from Noida messaging app is notusedin Ayodhya. Manheldfor has decidedtorefer five cases, nottakeany action on the com- Speaking at an eventtomark on Saturdaybasedoninforma- on Saturday.” China.“China does nothave Javadekar said that people of registeredin2016,2018 and 2019, plaints. LetCBI probethe issue.” thebirthanniversaryformerchief tion provided by 14 people who The ATSsaidduring prelimi- WhatsApp, and we arestilltry- other faiths also support the con- killingofficial to the CBI. Congress Chief Whip in Lok ministerKarpooriThakur, Kumar had been arrested on January17 naryquestioning it came to light ing to unearth wherethe struction of the temple. "I am The judicial commission Sabha, Kodikunnil Suresh, said said:“Technologyisto beusedfor in connection withafinancial thatthe Chinese usedtoprocure WhatsApp wasbeingused,” the happythatlordRam is no longer Patna: Ablock-levelofficer whichprobed the solar scam the stategovernment’s decision good, but it is being misused... scam. pre-activatedSIM cards from officer added. claimedbyone religion and has who had gone missing had recommendedin2017that is a“ludicrous political drama”. Anti-social work isbeingdoneon In astatement on Sunday, the distributors and retailers after The ATSsaidtill datethe two become asymbol of pridefor the from his Patna home was acase forsexual abuse be regis- UnionMinisterandBJPleader social media. This is sending a ATSsaid, “The ATS, Uttar Pradesh, those passedthrough several accused hadgiven 1,000pre-ac- entirecountry. Even people of found dead on the out- teredagainstChandy,Venugopal VMuraleedharansaidVijayanhas wrong messagetothe younger got information that agang is peopleinDelhi. tivatedSIM cards to thehotel other religions favour construc- skirts of thestate capital and other Congress leaders. The senseddefeat in the Assembly generation,” said Nitish. conspiring and is procuring SIM “Thepre-activatedSIM cards owners. According to thesquad, tion of the Ramtemple in with police arresting a woman, in alettertothe com- elections. “Vijayan has been “They(youth)havetobetold cards on fake IDs and then are usedtobemadeavailable to the Li Teng alias Alice’s business visa Ayodhya," he said. man forthe allegedkilling. mission, had alleged that againsttheCBIprobeintoFCRAvi- about howthings were in the. opening online bank accounts. manager of ahotel ownedbya expired in September 2020, The ministersaidthe con- The body of Masaurhi Chandyand others sexually olationsinthegovernmenthous- What wasthe condition of roads, Theywereexchanging moneyaf- Chinese couple in Gurgaon. One while Xu Xunfu’s business visa struction of the temple has be- blockagriculture officer abusedher and allowed her so- ingscheme andtwin murders of electricityandwatersupply. They terindulging in cheating through of them [the couple] usedtostay expired the monthbeforethat. gun and will be completedin AjayKumar(45) was lar firm to make illegal gains Youth Congress leadersbyCPM also needtotold what is being the accounts. The moneywas be- in China, and the accused were An officer saidthe twowould twoyears. Not only allIndians, found withinjuriesonthe when Congress wasinpower. cadres. The sudden love forCBI donetoday,”Kumaradded,with- ingforwardedforuse in criminal connected to them through be presentedincourt andtheir but crores of people from all over head. Asenior police offi- Thereafter, theCPM govern- showsthe government’s double- out making anyreference to the activities. When theinformation WeChat,” read the statement. remand would be sought for the worldwill visit Ayodhya to cer said: “A trowel could mentorderedregistrationof crim- standard,’’hesaid. recentpolicecircular. ENS wasverifiedand checked, it came The ATSadded, “On direc- questioning. see the temple, he added. have been usedfor the murder afterhewas ab- ducted.” The police ar- rested one Golu Kumar, AMU to bury time capsule of Centre gives green light to underwater son of aseeds dealer, in connection with the killing.The officer had lent its 100-year history on R-Day study to determine Ram Setu origins Rs6lakhtoGolu,whichhe wasnot returning. ENS guests from 1922 to 2018.The India(ASI),hasapprovedthepro- Assemblyelections in Tamil Sethusamudram Shipping Canal EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE documentsabout growth, devel- DIVYAA posal forthis underwaterexplo- Nadu, sources sayresearch is Project, to build ashipping canal JAMMU &KASHMIR LUCKNOW,JANUARY24 opment and journey of the var- NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 ration project. The study —tobe likelytobegin this year itself. to linkthe Arabian Seawiththe sity will also be preservedinthe conducted by the Council for In it's proposal note,NIO said: BayofBengal. Forthis,achannel 2suffocateto THE ALIGARH Muslim time capsule,” Abrarsaid. THE GOVERNMENT has ap- Scientific and Industrial Research “The historicity and the dateof passing through the limestone deathinvehicle University (AMU) will burya The time capsule will be proved an underwaterresearch (CSIR) and National Instituteof ‘Ramayana’ remain adebatable shoals of RamSetuwas to be time capsule recording the evo- buriedinthe park opposite the project to ascertain the origins of Oceanography(NIO) Goa —will subject among historians, ar- dredgedinthe Sethusamudram Jammu: Twopeople lution of the varsity over the last Victoria Gate, whichisthe old- the RamSetu—a48-km-long focus on the process behindRam chaeologists and scientists.Itis sea, between Tamil Nadu and Sri were found dead inside 100years of itsexistence on estbuilding in the university, chain of shoals between India Setu'sformationandalsowhether proposedtocarry out scientific Lanka. However, the project was amini-truckonSunday Republic Dayaspartofits cente- said the university official. and Sri Lanka. thereare anysubmerged habita- and underwaterarchaeological opposedbyenvironmental in Banihal along the narycelebrations. AligarhMuslimUniversity The papers whichwill be Talkingabout the aim of the tions around the structure. studiestounderstandthe nature groups as well as by the BJP as Jammu-Srinagar The capsule, whichweighs kept in the capsule will be pre- exploration, Union Ministerof Patelsaid,“ASI has been asked andformation of theRam Setu theysaid that the project would Highway as theywaited around 1.5tonnes, willcontain served by makingthem acid- Statefor Tourism and Culture, forpermission by the NIO on two and itssurrounding area.” damage the RamSetu. forthe blockedroute to documentsshowcasing the rich the past 100years.Itwill also free andwithaddition of some Prahlad SinghPatel, said,“The counts—excavation to ascertain The agency’s research vessel At thetime, AIADMK chief reopen. Sources said history of theAMU. have thebiographyoffounder Sir chemicals. worldshould gettoknowabout the ageofthe structure, and to ex- namedSindhu Sadhana will be Jayalalithaa had demandedfrom both appear to have “As partofthe university's Syed Ahmedand his addresses. “Wehavetaken allpossible the RamSetuthrough evidence plorethe surrounding area. The deployedtocollect samples of the-then Prime Minister diedofsuffocation as centenarycelebrations,wewill It willalso have textsofspeeches precautions regardingthe cap- basedonscientific research.” permission has been granted.” sediment from 35-40 metres be- Manmohan Singh that Rama theyhad burnt coal in a buryatimecapsuleonthe cam- of prominent people from pre- sule so it can be preservedfor a RamSetu, also known as Also, RamSetu's agewill be lowthe waterlevel.Sindhu Setu be declared anational mon- fire-pottokeep pus on January26. Theevent will Independence era,” said AMU long time. The capsulehas been Adam’s BridgeorNala Setu, ascertainedthrough the study of Sadhana is an indigenous explo- ument, even as then DMK chief themselveswarm be presidedoverbyVice- spokesperson Rahat Abrar. built with high tempered steel holds religious significance be- fossils andsedimentation to see ration vessel whichcan stay un- MKarunanadhihad come down during thenight. The Chancellor Tariq Mansoor.The “Besides the details of all the and is around four feet deep. It cause of the Ramayana. if it correlateswiththe Ramayana derwaterfor up to 45 days. heavilyon“communal forces” official word on the time capsule will containdocu- buildingsonthe campus,the will be buried30feetdeepinto Thecentraladvisoryboardon period, sources in the Ministryof RamSetuhasbeen at thecen- forusing the “myth” of Ram cause of death is mentsshowcasing the historyof time capsulewillalsohavecopies the earth,” the spokesperson archaeology,whichfunctionsun- Culturetold TheIndian Express. treofdebate since 2005 whenthe Sethu to stall the awaited.Following the varsity and itsjourneyover of convocation addresses of chief added. der the Archaeological Survey of Keeping in view theupcoming UPAgovernmentproposedthe Sethusamudramproject. the incident,people, including drivers, pelted stones at Railway Chowkin Banihal, syaing the duo diedofcold because of Hit by pandemic, IFFI’svirtual-physical formatismain show this year the administration. The highway wasreopened later. ENS were screened. To compare, forcinema, we gave theoption for their crew is notdisheartening. virtuallyare concernedfor world KRISHNKAUSHIK queues were longer outside the entries to bevirtual only, physical At least 46 international direc- premieres”astheyare largelyfor GUJARAT PANAJI,NEWDELHI, entrances to the severaloffshore only, or both. At thatpoint of time, tors, actors and actresses, whose the “the Indianaudience”. JANUARY24 casinos in Goa, justafewhun- that wasfor November,wehad movies were screenedatthe fes- Further,Prasad said if the movies Starlingsfound dred meters north on Mandovi. an overwhelming response for tivalmanaged to makeit. were intended forglobalaudi- deadinRajkot THE PASTEL yellowand white, Officials however, insisted virtual,” said Prasad. SeveralIndian filmmakers, ence,thenthe parameters would colonialstyle building that that crowds were present, Finally,amixed, format was including Madhur Bhandarkar, be different. “Nexttime, we will Rajkot:Six rosy housesthe Entertainment though virtually. Because of the selected.Prasad said around 85 Rahul Rawail andHariharan also pitchfor that,”hesaid. “Because starlings were found Society of Goa (ESG) is on astreet pandemic, the objective this year movies premiered in the festival, conducted virtual “master- we were doing the firsttimehere, deadonthe bankofthe in Panaji that runs parallel to the wasn’t to getthe crowds, an offi- including some whichwere classes” on filmmaking. we hadtobealittlecautious and Aji riverinRajkoton Mandovi rivertill it meets the cial said, but to ensure that “peo- “world premieres”. “Whatwefeel is that this hy- notoverambitious.Our focus was Sunday, raising fears of Arabian Sea. Forthe lastten days ple whomatter”, likemovie crit- Though the total registra- brid version is going to stay.Will to reachout to people who mat- birdflu in the city.“We or so, the street waslit up, with ics and students, among others tions were less than half those in definitelyhappen in the next terincinema—students, film have sent samples of lightsdangling from electric were present. 2019 —whenaround 10,000 edition, with moreimprove- critics, among others.” twoofthemtothe poles and trees all along it. It is the firsttime IFFI wascon- Actor-director Biswajit Chatterjee gets the Indian people had registered—last ment. This wasatrial phase, Though“therewerenoticket National Instituteof It seemedlikeanearnestat- ducted in this hybrid fashion of Personality of the Year AwardatIFFI in Panaji. @PIB-India year's edition also markedit's wherehopefully, we have done sales” and nobody can enter the Virology and handed tempttobrighten the venue that physical and virtual screenings. golden jubilee. well.” Prasad said. screeningunlesstheyhad regis- over the remaining annuallyhosts the International Officials said nearly a1000 peo- The number of entries how- Speaking moreabout the teredbeforehand,but “people carcasses to the forest Film Festival of India (IFFI), be- ple across the countrywatched “The wayCovid progressed, wasdecided to postpone the fes- ever didn't take averybig hitthis newformat andit's challenges, who matter forcinemaare here”, department,” said Dr cause barringthe lights, little else movies online, and around 3500 our planning also took that into tival, theyzeroedinonthe dates year.Atotal of 224movies from Prasad said, the experience of Prasad reiterated. KU Khanpara, deputy suggestedthe festival is on. registered themselvestobe account. If the caseswereunfor- —January16-24—and stuckto across 60 countries hit the screening films onlyonlinewas Forthe newformat, theor- director of animal The pallofthe pandemic sat physicallypresent at oneofthe tunatelyincreasingatsome them. screens this year,compared to new, as “wehavetobeverycare- ganisers cut down thenumber husbandry, Rajkot.“It’s heavy on this year's edition of sevenscreens near ESG, officials point of time, that wasatimewe According to Prasad,theyor- the 300in2019. ful because the streaming of screenings per dayto28. difficult to comment on IFFI, whichconcludedonSunday. whomanaged thefestivalsaid. kept our work together.Wealso ganisers had decidedonholding Officials said that even as the process, wherethe rightsare Prasad added, “The qualityof the cause of death until It wasvisibleinthe absence of IFFI directorChaitanyaPrasad kept options—ifthe festival is virtual screenings even before the pandemic disruptedlives giventous”. cinema is no less this year.” reports arein.” ENS anylarge crowds near anyofthe said thefestivalwas “verymetic- stoppedorpostponed, what will postponementplanwasfinalised. around the world, the participa- He explainedthat“thereare FULLREPORTON sevenvenues wherethe movies ulouslyplanned”. we do.” He addedthatonceit “When we invited applications tion of international films and issues as farasstreaming of films www.indianexpress.com

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 EXPRESS NETWORK 9 ‘Maoist’ leader Negative Covid test, Andhra: ASHA Kanchan UPtopsindisbursingvendor worker’sdeath Nanavare dies registration: Centre aftervaccination in Pune hospital sparks protests after long illness loans;Bengal,Keralalowest issues KumbhSOPs PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA and letters of recommendation low.”However, the SUDA mem- dateofvisitshall onlybeallowed AMARAVATI,JANUARY24 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE SANDEEPSINGH LOANSDISBURSED –the onus formakingthe bersaid, “Theissue betweenthe LALMANIVERMA to enter the Kumbh Mela site. PUNE,JANUARY24 NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 schemesuccessful, therefore, lies Centreand the statehas now DEHRADUN,JANUARY24 According to the Centre's SOP, AN ACCREDITED social health AMOUNT(`CR) with them. been resolved.” healthcareand other frontline activist(ASHA) diedinthe KANCHAN NANAWARE alias EVENASseveral stategovern- If ULBs do notrecommend Ashwin Kumar Jha, convener ANEGATIVE Covid-19RT-PCR workers will be vaccinatedon Government General Hospital in ■ NoofLoansdisbursed Bhoomi (38),analleged Maoist mentsand their local administra- lists of beneficiaries to banks, of the StateLevel Bankers test report, amedical certificate priority in the nationwide drive Guntur in AndhraPradesh on ■ Amountdisbursed operative who wasarrested tions arepushing the bank branches will notbeableto Committee(SLBC) in West and registration with and that onlythose workers who Sundaywithher fellowworkers along with her husband Arun PMSVANidhiYojana, the Centre's MOST execute the scheme, abanker in Bengal, said thenumber of appli- Uttarakhandgovernment willbe have been vaccinatedwill bede- alleging that she diedfollowing Bhelkealias Rajan by the state micro-credit scheme forurban Uttar 3,54,152 347.4 the private sector said. “So states cations wasnow rising, and sanc- mandatoryfor devotees wishing ployed on duties at the event. Covid vaccination. Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in street vendors,there arestark dif- Pradesh whereULBs arepushing the tion and disbursement amounts to attendKumbh Mela-2021in The stategovernment will Guntur district Collector September 2014,passedawayat ferences in the pace of imple- Telangana 2,39,525 233.6 scheme have seen morebenefici- were expected to increase soon. Haridwar,accordingtothe followthe same regimen of reg- Samuel Anand said the exact Sassoon General Hospital in mentation of theschemeacross Madhya 2,28,535 226.7 aries and higher disbursements “Therewill be moresanctioned StandardOperatingProcedure istration of devotees as the one cause of the ASHA's death would Pune following aprolonged states. Pradesh from banks,” said the official, applications, sincebankers have (SOP) issuedbythe Health being usedfor Amarnath Yatra. be revealedonlyafter apost- heartailment and related health While UttarPradesh has dis- who declinedtobeidentified. assured that applications will be Ministry. All devotees will have to register mortembut maintainedthat not complications, police said. bursedover3.5 lakh loans,and LEAST Asked about the extremely treatedonpriority,” Jha said. Chief MinisterTrivendra with the stategovernment and asingle adverse eventfollowing Her lawyers had filedfor a Telangana and MadhyaPradesh Uttarakhand 6,342 6.3 lownumbers in West Bengal, the On the lownumbers in SinghRawat on Sundayin- obtain acompulsory medical immunisation wasreportedin bail application on medical have givenout over 2lakh loans Kerala 6,144 6.1 StateUrbanDevelopment Kerala, asenior SLBC official said spected the siteofthe event and certificateintheir state. the district as 10,099 healthcare grounds in sessions courtin eachoverthe pastseven months, Agency (SUDA), whichplays a the union government aimedto said arrangementswill be made Vulnerable populations —those staffwerevaccinated in the first Pune in September lastyear, West Bengal, Assam, and Kerala J&K 5,821 5.8 keyrole in accepting applica- take the scheme to 1lakhven- according to the Centre's SOP. above 65 years og age, pregnant eight days. whichwas rejected and herbail have disbursedonlyasmallfrac- Assam 5,693 5.7 tions, said it wasonaccount of dors,but the statehas only Kumbh Mela-2021 is likelytobe women, children below10years ASHAs staged ademonstra- plea in the BombayHigh Court tion of thosenumbers. West 950 .09 delayinapproval of the scheme 24,000registeredstreetvendors. held from February27toApril of age, thosewithunderlying co- tion in front of the GGH, de- waspending fordisposal. The PM Street Vendors' Bengal in the state. “There areafewfactorsfor 30. An estimated 10 lakh people morbid conditions —shall be manding compensation of Rs 50 Asenior police officertold Atmanirbhar Nidhi All-India 13,27,000 1,311.0 “The scheme wasapproved the pooroff-takeunder will attend the mela on aregular discouraged to attend the lakh forthe kin of the deceased. The SundayExpress that (PMSVANidhi) scheme, launched total by the stategovernment six PMSVANidhi. We arenot getting dayand about50lakh people are Kumbh Mela. Aleader of the Centreof Nanaware passedawayat in June 2020 amid the Covid-19 months afteritwas launched, enough applications despite expectedtoattend on special Use of face covers or masks Indian Trade Unions that ledthe Sassoon General Hospital around pandemic, provides street ven- As of Jan 20, 2021. Totalofall and onlyafter itsapproval in good campaigning by banks.A days includingMaghPurnima will be mandatory. protestpickedupanargument 4pmonSunday. At the time of dors collateral-free loans of Rs states andUTs,including Januarywereapplications spon- section of street vendors feels the on February27, Mahashivratri on The Incident Command with the district Collector when the couple's arrest from Pune in 10,000 at concessional rates. All those notmentioned in chart. sored,” aSUDAofficial said on amount is toosmall forresuming March 11,Somvati Amavasyaon System (ICS) forthe Mela will he visited the hospital to console 2014,the ATShad recovereda vendors who have been vending Source: PMSVANidhi website condition of anonymity. business. Manyvendorsare wait- April 12,Baisakhi on April 14, have aspecial task forcethatwill the familymembers of the de- forged PANcard, an Aadhaar since March 24,2020, and have a The stateUrban ing to resume businessfirst, oth- RamNavmi on April 21 and respond to all matters related to ceased. card, astock of medicines and certificateofvending, canavail of Development and Municipal erwise they fear that theywould ChaitraPurnima on April 27. Covid-19management. The The Collector said he would other items from them. the loan. so fardisbursedatotal Rs 6.09 Affairs MinisterFirhad Hakim, default on repayment,’’ the offi- The Uttarakhandgovern- Centre's SOP adds that events send aproposal to the stategov- The couple wasfacing UP tops the implementation croreto6,144 individuals, scor- however, said therewas no inter- cialsaid. ment will have to convey to all suchasexhibitions, andprayer ernment forpayment of com- chargesunder sections of the list, with banksinthe statehav- ing above onlyWestBengaland estinthe scheme from street Under the scheme, vendors states that onlythose possessing meetings within the mela site pensation to the ASHA worker's Indian Penal Code (IPC) andthe ing disbursed loans aggregating Assam amongthe bigger states. vendors, who had already bene- can avail aworking capital loan negative RT-PCRtestreports with should be restricted or regulated kin, on the lines of those paid to Unlawful Activities Prevention to Rs 347.4crore to 3.54 lakh indi- The best performing states af- fitted from grants by the state repayable in monthlyinstal- atestdate72hours prior to the as farasfeasible. frontlinehealthworkers who Act(UAPA). viduals as of January20. terUPare Telangana (2,39,525 government. mentsinone year.While SBI succumbed to the pandemic.. Lodged in Yerawada Central West Bengal sitsatthe bot- loansaggregatingtoRs233.6 cr) “WegaveRs2,000directlyto chargesinterestat7.25 percent, The44-yearold ASHA com- Prison since her arrest,Nanaware tomofthe list–amereRs9lakh and Madhya Pradesh (2,28,535 street vendors, whereas the cen- the scheme offers an interest TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE plainedofsevereheadache and had been suffering from cardiac has been disbursedduringthis loans; Rs 226.7 crore). tral government is giving them a subsidy of 7per cent on fever on January22, threedays ailmentssince her collegedays. period under the scheme to just Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, loan. Therewas no delayfrom timely/early repaymentofthe aftershe took ashotofthe Covid Her lawyer,AdvocateRohan 95 individuals acrossthe state, and AndhraPradeshhavedis- our side,” Hakim said. loan. However, despitethe inter- NUMBER OF vaccine. Nahar,told The Indian Express, dataonthe PMSVANidhi website bursedoverRs50crore eachun- AnotherSUDAmember said estsubvention, manyloanac- VACCINATIONS Her brother deniedthat she “Wehavecometoknowthat show. The disbursalnumbers in der the scheme. that the weak numbers in West countsunder the scheme have (JAN 24) had sufferedabrain stroke as Navaware has passedawayto- West Bengal arelowerthan According to bankers, urban Bengal reflect the tensions be- turnedNPAs. 31,466 wasbeingasserted by the GGH day. We had appliedfor her bail states thatare farsmallerinarea local bodies (ULBs) and town tweenCentre and thestate. INPUTSFROMSWEETY doctors. on medicalgrounds in and population,suchasTripura, vending committees arerespon- “The stategovernment for KUMARIANDSHAJUPHILIP Total:15,68,656 September last year and had Mizoram, and Goa. sible foridentifying eligiblebor- obvious reasons didn't sponsor movedthe HC afteritwas re- Kerala is among the worst rowers and issuing them certifi- the applications,and accordingly FULLREPORTON NUMBER OF ADVERSE Vaccinated jectedbythe sessions court.” performers, the datashow. It has cates of vending,identity cards the number of applicationswas www.indianexpress.com EVENTS AFTER IMMUNIZATION teacher dies 10 in Telangana In the works, CSR-like policy for scientific community Total:1,653 Hyderabad: A45-year-old ture, conducting skill develop- This is something that has now CASES: ACTIVECASES:184,408 Anganwaditeacher,who was ESHAROY ment workshops, and coming ED been borne out by the Covid-19 328 administeredthe Covid vaccine

IN Budgetarysupport DAYSSINCE 1,06,54,533 DEATHS:153,339 NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 up with solutions to local envi- pandemic whichhas shown us PANDEMIC nearly aweek ago, diedafter ronmental or healthissues. howaspecific problem can ac- BEGAN TESTS: 19,17,66,871 | RECOVERIES: 1,03,16,786 complaining of chestpain THE MINISTRY of Science and Beneficiaries can include stu- PLA forscience tuallyprovideanimpetus to sci- overnight in Warangal districtin

EX E ● CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS Technology has draftedapolicy dents, school and collegeteach- ence,” he added. JAN23 Telangana, doctors said on on the linesof themandatorycor- ers, localbodies, communities, The policy envisages an SSR 14,849 15515,948 781,752 Sunday. poratesocial responsibility model women’s groups, NGOs and THE SCIENCE, Technology and Innovations Policy,2020 and monitoring system in eachinsti- The teacher,vaccinatedon forthe country'sscientific com- MSMEs, among others. the newSSR draftpolicyhavebothemphasised the needfor tution to assess institutional STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES January19, hadtaken some munity,withaseniorofficialsay- “Whiletheknowledge worker “line ministries”—that is, central ministries that would ben- projectsand individual activity. CASES(JAN23) TOTAL medicines on Saturdaynight as ing this wasnecessitated by sci- would be givenwidelatitude in efit from scientific innovations—as well as stategovernments, Institutes arealsotopublishtheir Kerala 6,960 884,243 she washaving chestpain and entists’“isolation"fromsocietal choosingtheSSRactivity,itshould to keep aside aportion of their budget forscientific innova- SSR activity as partoftheir an- Maharashtra2,6972,006,354 sleptinher house at Shayampeta needs. The “Scientific Social necessarilypertain to the trans- tions. The SSR policy envisages that suchabudget be used nual reports.IndividualSSR Karnataka 902935,478 on the outskirts of Warangal. She Responsibility”policy,undercon- missionofscientificknowledge to forpro bono activities of scientists forvariousprojects. work is to be givendue weigh- wasfound dead on Sunday sultation forayearnow, hasbeen society,” says the draftpolicy. tage in “performance evaluation STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS morning,theysaid. finalisedand will soon be sent to Prof Ashutosh Sharma, of the knowledge worker,such DEATHS(JAN23) TOTAL Her body wasshiftedto the Union cabinetfor approval. Secretaryatthe Department of theseresources can beusedto de- have often“worked in silos” and as the performance-basedas- Maharashtra5951,963 state-run Mahatma Gandhi As per the draftpolicy, every Science and Technology,said: velop newdirect interfaces with been “isolated from societal sessment system the outputof Kerala 23 3,635 Memorial Hospital forpost- “knowledge worker” has to de- “The idea is to createlinkages be- society.While scientists maydo needs”. “With increasedexpo- university and collegeteachers”. Delhi 10 10,799 mortemand samples were also voteatleast10person-days each tweenscience and society. Our in- this already,itisarbitrary and suretosociety,theywillalso gain “Inthe near future, this mon- collected there and sent fortest- year to SSR activity,whichcan in- stitutes have certain resources at lacksstructure. We want to insti- knowledge and the kind of re- itoring and grading can become DataasonJanuary23,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical ing to ascertain the cause of Researchandstategovernments.Oftenthenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays clude givinglecturesinschools their disposal, both infrastructural tutionalise this exercise.” search and inventions that is re- apartofthe institution’s rank- aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive death, itsSuperintendent Dr K and colleges, sharing infrastruc- as well as knowledge-based, and Prof Sharma said scientists quired in the countryrightnow. ing,” said Prof Sharma. Nagarjuna Reddy said. PTI FROMPAGEONE

woman, she says.“We had a symbols but candidates areoften discuss issues. Nowmothers beganoveracenturyago. only6per cent of thepoorest20 partofthe Oxfam International (the) partial visual representa- ‘Pak Zindabad’ name in mind and the village backedbyparties. In Gaur village, come, and children see them as Sectorally, India’s large infor- percenthouseholds hadaccess reportreleased on the opening tion of the UT at an event as shouting these names when had agreedtoher,but her caste candidates were chosen by the having arolebeyond the home.” mal workforcewas theworsthit to non-shared sources of im- dayofthe WorldEconomic prominent as the National some locals heardthem shout, certificatewas found invalid by villagers themselves. Bhanudas Nagmode, 74,are- as it made up 75 per cent of the proved sanitation, compared to Forum’s “DavosDialogues”. Republic Daycelebrationsalien- ‘Pakistanzindabad’,” said Eish the district administration." “I oftencitethis village as an tired primaryschool teacher, 122million jobs lost. Informal 93 per centofthe top20per cent “The deep divide between ates the people of Kargil district.” Singhal, DCP (New Delhiand One of the changes the vil- example.The property cards in says theyare happytoconcede workers had relatively fewerop- households in India. the richand poor is proving as Khan has asked that the PRO). lage takesgreat pride in is the the village areall in the name of the successtotheir women. “We portunities to work from home In terms of caste,just37.2per deadlyasthe virus,”said tableau be modified: “LAHDC During interrogation at the normalisation of the conversa- women, theyhavestarted their have had no infectious diseases andsufferedmorejob loss com- cent of SC households and 25.9 Gabriela Bucher,Executive Kargil wishes to requestyou to Tughlaq Road police station, po- tion around menstruation, ledby flour mill, women and men in the lastmanyyears, open pared to the formal sector.The per cent of ST households had Director of Oxfam International. kindly pass necessarydirections lice found the familyhad ASHA worker Manisha work equallyhardintheir drains have been covered, the 40-50 million seasonal migrant access to non-shared sanitation Oxfam has arguedthe urgent to the concernedfor incorpora- “named” the 14-year-old boy Tangadpalle. “Menstruation is a farms,” says Nilangekar,aBJP villageiscleaner," Nagmodelists. workers, typicallyengaged facilities, compared to 65.7 per needfor policymakers to taxthe tion of religious/heritage sites “Pakistan” during the game. natural process, but girls hesitate legislator,addingthat, impor- GangaChame, 29, among the working in constructionsites, cent forthe general population. wealthyindividuals and richcor- and cultural ethos of Kargil dis- “When the boywas slow, to talk to theirmothers aboutit, tantly, the women panchayat sixnewpanchayatmembers,says factories etc. were particularly The pandemic has also poratesandusethatmoneyto“in- trict in the UT Ladakh tabeau.” others, whichincludedhis par- though theytalk to me freely. members in Gaur arenot proxy the election marks another mile- distressed, notesthe report. widenedgender disparities. vest infreequalitypublicservices Khan told The Indian Express ents, shouted ‘Pakistan haar The sanitarynapkin dispenser candidates forthe men in their stone. “Wecame hereasdaugh- The pandemic also spiked The unemployment rate and social protection to support that the administration did not gaya…peechhe rehgaya,’ and we setupinthe anganwadi gives families. ters-in-law, butourfamiliesnever health and education inequali- among women rose from al- everyone, from cradle to grave”. consultthe people of Kargil be- when the boystarted speeding, three napkins forRs5.Soon we Agovernment official also ac- discouraged us from participat- ties. ready high 15 per centbefore However, with the Union fore finalising the tableau. theycheered himwith ‘Pakistan will install amachine forsafedis- knowledgesthat this is what sets ing.Theyput theirfaithinusand Over the pastyear as educa- Covidto18per cent.“This in- Budget round the corner,not “Ladakh is notonlyLeh,italso in- Zindabad’,” said the officer. posal of napkins too," Gaur apart.“Leadershipatthe letustakeour owndecisions.” tion shiftedonline, India sawthe crease in unemployment of everyone is convincedofthese cludes Kargil, andthereare other The twomen in the group – Tangadpalle says. grass-rootlevel takestime to Vishnu Chame, aformer digital divide worsening in- women can result in aloss to policy recommendations. distinctions within Leh and one of themisthe boy’s father - Sangeeta Chame, whoruns emerge.But giving women member of the panchayat, says equalities. On the one hand, pri- India’s GDP of about 8per cent NRBhanumurthy, Vice- Kargil,” he said.“We feel sad at -weredetainedbythe police for the mill that grinds flour forfree, powerisimportant." it is notsurprising thatGaurwas vate providers suchasBYJU’s or $218 billion,” states the report. Chancellor of Dr BRAmbedkar being ignored.There were many eight hours, before being al- still remembers the Raksha The goodwill earnedbythe receptive to change. Home to (currentlyvaluedat$10.8 billion) Of the women who retained School of Economics University important religious and cultural lowedtoleave at around 9am Bandhan from twoyears ago, "in members means villagers are Marathas, Dhangars, OBCs and and Unacademy(valuedat$1.45 their jobs, as many83% were in Bengaluru, said that this is not sitesinKargil whichcould have Sunday. whichbrothers giftedsanitary ready to pitchinwithdonations, STs, Gaur has neverlet caste mat- billion) experiencedexponential subjected to acut in incomeac- the year to prioritise inequality. been displayed, but theydidn't The three women and the napkins to sisters". likefor renovation of the gram ter, he says.Whether weddings growth yet, on theother, just3 cording to asurvey by the “Reducing inequalitiesisvery consult anyone –not even the childwere alsotakentothepolice Tangadpalle's grandfather, panchayat office, to supplement or funerals, everyfamilyinthe per cent of the poorest20per InstituteofSocial Studies Trust. important but it should be a elected representativeslikeus.” station at night but allowedtogo who passedawayin2017, was the panchayat's modestannual village participates. cent of Indian households had Beyond income and job medium-term target.Between Sajad Hussain, aprominent home. The women, including the the village's firstorgandonor. budget of about Rs 2.5 lakh. One accesstoacomputer and just9 losses, poorer women also suf- growth and distribution, we social and political activistof child’s mother,wereagain called Withhis example prominently of the schemes the funds have Inequality per cent had access to the inter- feredhealthwise because of the mustget the sequencing right. Kargil, saidthetableaureflectsthe to the police station between 8 displayed at thegrampanchayat helpedorganise is the the strictestlockdown anywhere net. disruption in regular health serv- We needtogrowfirstbeforewe waythe BJPthinksabout Ladakh. and 9amand letgoatnoon. office, 447villagers have pledged Kanyadaan Yojana, to ensureno in the world, India’s top100 bil- In terms of healthcare, ices and Anganwadi centres. "It can distribute.Otherwise,we “It is very unfortunatethat Officials of the Special Cell to donatetheir organs since. one "thinksoftheir daughters as lionaires sawtheir fortunes in- Oxfam found that since India is predicted that the closureof can getstuckinalow-income Kargil has been completelyig- and Intelligence Bureauwerein- To dispel superstitions about aburden". In the pastfiveyears, crease by Rs 12.97trillion— doesnot reportcasedatadeseg- familyplanning services will re- equilibrium,” he said. nored... Kargil has been the bat- volvedduring questioning, said ghosts and spirits, adesertedvil- villagers have shared expenses enough moneytogiveevery one regatedbysocio-economic or sult in 2.95 millionunintended tleground during the Kargil war. sources. lagecrematoriumhas been trans- forfiveweddings. Aboardatthe of the 138million poorest social categories, it is difficult to pregnancies...1.80 million abor- Kargil Theycouldhaveshowcasedany Singhal said, “Theywere formedintoachildren’s park. entrance to the panchayatde- Indians acheque forRs94,045 gauge the distribution of the dis- tions (including 1.04million un- Hanle, and Kargil feels ignored. of thewar symbolslikeTiger cheering and said Pakistanzind- “People usedtobescared of the clares that the village doesn't each. In starkcontrast,170,000 ease amongstvarious commu- safeabortions) and 2,165mater- FerozAhmad Khan, Hills, Tololing. This (tableau)re- abad in alighter vein.” crematorium but nowchildren give or receive dowry. people losttheir jobs everyhour nities. But India currentlyhas the nal deaths," states the report. Chairman of the Ladakh flectsthe binarythrough which come on their owntoplay,"says Ayodhya Chame, 55, head of in the month of April 2020, the world’s second-largest cumula- The pandemic also fueleddo- AutonomousHill Development the BJPlooksat Ladakh,” he said. Latur village Bhagyashree's husband Dyanoba Gaur's Tantamukti Samiti or dis- reportpointsout. tive number of COVID-19posi- mestic violence againstwomen. Council (LAHDC) Kargil, has The UT of Ladakh wascre- their women occupants, asani- Chame,who has authoredabook pute-resolution committee, says “In fact, the increase in tive cases and globally, the poor, As of November 30, 2020, cases written to Lt Governor RK ated afterthe constitutional tary napkindispenser, inclusion in Marathi titledNirmile Astitva the panel ensures disagree- wealth of the top11billionaires marginalisedand vulnerable of domestic violence rose by al- Mathur protesting that “cultural changes of August 5, 2019,by of widows in festivities, adrive Majhe (Creating My Identity) that mentsare resolvedbeforethey of Indiaduring thepandemic communities have higher rates most60% over the past12 and religious symbols” of Kargil whichJammu and Kashmir's to encourage organdonation, tells the storyofthe transforma- turn intoseriousrows. “This is could sustain the NREGS scheme of COVID-19prevalence. months. have been ignored. special status wasabrogated, and afreeflour-grinding mill. tion of the village. whywecould elect our gram for10years or the health min- “The spread of disease was “While the Coronavirus was “It is unfortunatetonote that and thestate wasdowngraded Having firstbecome NilangaMLA Sambhaji Patil panchayat unopposed,” she says. istryfor 10 years,”accordingto swiftamong poor communities, being touted as agreat equaliser asingular aspect of Ladakh has to twoUTs.While aseparateUT sarpanchin2005, Chame says Nilangekar says another villagein Ayodhya pointsout thathav- Oxfam’s calculations. oftenliving in crammedareas in thebeginning, it laid barethe been incorporated fordisplayon wasalways the demandofthe she will nowmakeway fora the taluka, Dongargaon,hadcho- ing women in leadership roles The reportstatesthat Covid with poor sanitation and using starkinequalities inherent in the the UT Ladakh tableauduring people of Leh, the people of newsarpanch, to be chosen from sen an all-woman panchayatbut, sets agood role model forthe has the potential to increase eco- shared common facilities such society soon afterthe lockdown Republic Day, therebyfailing to Kargil have voicedconcerns over among the six members. The unlikeGaur, theymet withoppo- younger generation. As an exam- nomic inequality in almostevery as toilets and waterpoints,” it wasimposed,” saidOxfam India showcase the richand diverse alleged discrimination. Ladakh seventh seat, reserved forSTs, sition. Gram panchayatpolls are ple, she says,“Earlier,onlyfathers countryatonce--the firsttime states. CEOAmitabh Behar. religio-culturalfabric of Ladakh,” is Buddhistmajority,while Kargil will be filledsoon, with another notcontested on political party would go to children’s school to this has happenedsince records In this regard,itfound that Oxfam India’s findings are Khanhas written. “It is felt that is Muslim majority.

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 WORDLY WISE Youdon’tbelieve the skyisfalling untila 10 THE EDITORIAL PAGE chunk of it fallsonyou. —MARGARET ATWOOD The injustice of merit

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Broadening thesocial base of the faculty BECAUSETHE TRUTHINVOLVES US ALL at IITsisanecessary step

NITISH DIMINISH Alok Tiwari Bihar order againstcriticism of government online is against MANY YEARS AGO(1997-2001), Iwas astu- wring our hands in despair.Ifwewereasked poor,confirming the biases of general cate- governance. The Chief Ministermustscrap it dent of IIT Kanpur whichwas, andcontinues to name the greatest injusticeinthe world, it gory faculty members. Thereafter, it wasa to be,agreat place to learn. The experience would have been reservation —inacountry long andpainful journey downhill. Low HE BIHAR GOVERNMENT’S decision to designate“objectionable and inde- wasexhilarating forasmall-town, middle- with widespread poverty, exploitation and grades, poor job prospects, no glowing rec- cent” comments made online againstthe stategovernment or itsministers, class adolescentmaturing intoayoung adult. inequalityofevery conceivablesort! ommendations from professors foradmis- MLAs,MPsandofficialsascyber-crimeisonemoreexampleofelectedgover- With wonderful, brilliant learners and a The collective rage we felt had twosig- sions to the topuniversities abroad. Many nmentsabusing their powertobuy themselvesaTeflonshield againstcriti- beautiful campus, the IIT yearswereatime nificant consequences for“us”, as well as for were likelyscarredfor life—and all the while, T when Iwas living my childhood dream. It “them”. The mostsinisterresult of our anger we thought this wasjustareflection of the cism,dissentandaccountability.InNovemberlast year,theKeralagovernm- wasaseemingly liberal place whereyou wassomething everyalert and sensitive naturalorder of things. Therehavebeen ad- ent had brought in an amendment making “threateningorabusive”posts punishable by a could watchamovie sitting on achairwhile reader would have noticedbynow: It was mirableexceptionstothe pictureIhave jail term, but withdrew it afteranuproar againstthe unconstitutional move.Bihar is now your professor wasseatedonthe floor,where the “othering” of the reserved categorystu- painted,but the point is thatthe reservedcat- sallying down the same path of undemocratic excess. Acircularissuedbythe Biharpolice’s agirlcould come andstayinmalehostels, dentsbythe general categorystudentsand egorystudentswerenot allowedtobring out economicoffencesunit,thenodalagencyforactionagainstcyber-crime,asksprincipalsecre- even duringthe night. To contextualise the the faculty,whichitself wasdrawn almost the best in them becauseofthe exclusionary tariesandsecretariesof variousdepartmentstobringinstancesof such“objectionable”posts aboveexamples,pleasebear in mind that it fullyfromthe generalcategory. There were thoughtand behaviour structures that were to itsnoticesothatactioncanbetakenunderprovisionsof theITActandtheIndianPenalCode. wasstillthe 20th centuryand the IIT wassit- twodifferent universes between whichthere programmed intoIIT lifeinmytime there. uated in Kanpur,UP. wasalmost no porosity of affection, empa- Twodecades have passedsince Ileftthe This gagorder suggests thatChief MinisterNitish Kumar perceivesthe freedomof Books, exams, grades, research,scholar- thy, camaraderie or shared existence. We IIT.Reservation forOBC studentshas changed speechand expression guaranteedtohis state’s citizens as minor,dispensable hazards of ships, US universities, jobs, green cards, etc. barelyspoketoeachother,and rarely were the composition of current batches. Society democracy.Itisnot.Inhis last threeterms, NitishKumar’s focus on the tangiblesofde- —all good things of life—weretheretobe students from the reserved categoryapart is increasingly becoming less casteistand velopment, from roads to lawand order, education of girls and empowerment of women, had. It wasgreat to be alive in suchaplace, of our charmedcircles. The compartmental- moreaccommodative of thosewho maybe had earnedhim the calling cardof“Sushashan Babu”. But by shutting down uncomfort- nothing wasamiss, or so we thought.Almost This wasalso not the isationwas water-tight, though unstatedand different from the so-calledmainstream. In able, even angryand unruly,criticism againsthis government and itsadministrators, the nothing, if we were forced to be morepre- horizontal un-ordainedinformalterms. fact, the mainstream itself has been meta- cise.Therewas somethingjarring in the idyl- This wasalso notthe horizontal compart- morphosing intosomething morerepresen- JD(U)leader risksputting the enterprise of his much-touted “good governance” in peril. lic reality thatIhave just described above — compartmentalisation of mentalisation of gender-basedrest-rooms. tative of ourpopulace.Inthis context, it is Unlikeautocracies, democracies work by casting the netofexperiences and objections anot-so-palatable sideshowinthe celebra- gender-based rest-rooms. It It wasavertical, hierarchical stratification, pertinent to note thatthe reservationfor fac- wide, by refusing to believe in the vanity projectsofone-man or one-womanorone- tion of merit and hardworkthat the IIT wasavertical, hierarchical looselyparodying the Jew-Aryanideology of ulty posts in IITsisarefreshing change to party solutions. The free exchangeofideas and opinions, especiallyinahierarchical so- seemingly was. The IIT dream, likethe more stratification, loosely Nazi Germanyorracialsegregation of tackle the deep-seated prejudices of the old popular American dream, had aseductive apartheid South Africa. Our humanity was guardagainstreservedcategorystudents. ciety prone to capturebydominant interests,isthe feedbackloop without whichgover- parodying the Jew-Aryan nance cannotbecome either just,equitableoreffective. It notonlyhelpscitizens flag appeal —and the myth overwhelmedreality mutilated by suchothering and our reserved Anyattempt to resistthe broadening of the to createalarger-than-lifehalf-truth at best, ideology of Nazi Germanyor categorybatchmates were subject to poten- socialbase of the faculty would be aretro- corruption, or the disenfranchisedtocontest decisions that affect their lives, but also ablatant lie at worst. racial segregation of tially soul-sappingdegradation —aresult of grade step. Manythings will have improved savesthe executive from the arrogance of itsown infallibility —byleaving the door open The Mecca of merit and industriousness apartheid South Africa. Our being excluded from the mainstream of the and manyothers arelikelyalreadyonthe forcorrection. Simplyput,freespeechiscentral to good governance. Increasingly,how- had aperceivedunderclass—those from the community in whichone lives. Ilearnt first- road to improvement. ever,democracy is being seen as acompetitive winner-takes-all electioneering race, in reservedcategory—who were oftenreferred humanitywas mutilated by hand about the deleterious effect that even Ihavetried to recountthe depthofdark- whichthe electoral mandateisusedtoinsulatethe government from criticism and ac- to withdemeaning epithets,whichques- suchothering and our mild and subtle exclusion can have on one’s ness from whichwehavemoved to our cur- countability.Inthisparanoidview, all potential criticism equals motivatedattackson the tionedtheirintelligence and right to beat the reserved category self-esteem and educational performance, rent reality,whichisdefinitelybetter, though state—this anxiety manifests in the waygovernmentsare using aslewofIPC provisions institution. Many sawthem as ablotonthe batchmates were subjectto when later in my lifeIwentontostudy at the Iamnot saying that it is perfect. Rose-tinted fair name of IIT Kanpur;impostors who had London School of Economics, whichisastory nostalgia about the pastshould notbeal- —toarrestjournalistsand comics foratweet or asloganoraFacebook postorajoke. usurpedthe domain of meritoriouskids like potentially soul-sapping foranother day. lowedtobrush suchmonstrous injustices The Bihar government’s newcircular —its imprecise framing about what constitutes us, justbecause India’s half-literatepoliticians degradation —aresult of Secondly, and moreconcretely, theywere under the carpet. That would be unjusttoour “indecent” and who makes that subjective call —isset up formisuse and harassment of had proppedthem up forvote-bank politics. being excluded from the notallowedtopartakeinthe learning envi- pastsufferers while miseducating our pres- citizens. It is an unconstitutional diktat that will expend precious administrative energy Their lowranksinthe JointEntranceExams mainstream of the ronment of IIT.Mostlyrelegated to the hu- ent generation. And it will nothelp createa did notprevent themfromgetting “better” miliatinglytitled“slowpace” programmes, better future. on policing the internetand cancellinggovernment critics. Thatisanything but sushasan. communityinwhich Chief MinisterNitish Kumar mustwithdraw it immediately. branches of engineeringwhile we and our manywould soon become“juniors”oftheir helpless teachersand parentscould merely one lives. ownbatchmates. Their grades were mostly The writer is district magistrate,Kanpur CHANGING CLIMATE

Joe Biden’s decision on Paris Pact, WHO arewelcome signalsof the US reversing insular tendencies of the Trumpera OPEN,ONLY ON PAPER

MONGJOE BIDEN’S firstdecisionsafter assuming office as the 46th President of the US wastorecommit his countrytothe Paris Climate Lackoftransparency on vaccine goes againstCentre’s draftscience policy Change Pact and affirm Washington’s ties with the WorldHealth A Organisation (WHO).His predecessor, DonaldTrump, hadwithdrawn Priyanka Choudhary the US from the landmarkpact, calling it a“disaster” forAmerica.And, amidstthe raging COVID pandemic,hehad haltedUSfunding to the global health organisa- WHILE SCIENTISTS AND researchers have EUA, Covishield, has been developedby —ICMRfunded the clinical trial sitefeesfor tion, accusing it of being “under the total control of China”. In awelcome departurefromhis been calling fortransparency in COVID-19 AstraZeneca and OxfordUniversityand is Covishield andcollaborated in thedevelop- predecessor’s “America First” approach, Biden saidonhis inauguration thaton“climateand vaccine-related research data,the Centre, manufactured in India by the Pune-based ment of Covaxin. These would, therefore, fall arangeofother issues,the US will engagewiththe worldonce again”. ironically, releasedthe draftversion of the Serum Institute. The Central Drugs Standards withinthe scope of thedraft STIP 2020 —so The US’swithdrawal from the WHO, scheduled to take effect in July, would have drasti- Science, Technology,and Innovation Policy Control Organisation (CDSCO), the country’s all research dataonthe vaccines mustbe callyaffectedthefinancesof theglobalhealthbody—nearly 16 percentof itsbudget isfinanced (STIP)inDecember2020 basedonthe ethos drug regulatoryauthority, states that the made availableinthe publicdomainfor col- of “Open Science”. overall efficacy of the vaccine, basedonstud- lective scrutiny and peer-review. by Washington.Likewise, the secession of the world’ssecond-largest GHG emitter would Open Sciencehas emergedasaglobal iesinBrazil, South Africa and UK (23,745 par- When dataisnot openlyavailable, espe- have jeopardisedthe Paris Pact’s objective to keep temperaturerise in this century under 2 movement amidstagrowingcrisis in science ticipantsaged18orabove)is70.42 per cent. cially in cases of publicly-fundedresearch degrees Celsius,compared to pre-industrial levels. Biden has notyet revealed the detailsof that has affected India as well, and includes In India, basedonthe Phase II/IIIclinical tri- and research whichhavewider public safety hisadministration’sclimateambitions,butif hiscampaignisanyindication,Americaislikely issues suchasfabrication and falsification of als on 1,600participants, this is “compara- concerns, the vaccine forinstance, notonly to recommititself to thevoluntaryemissionreductiontargetsthatconstitutetheParisPact’s data, plagiarism,unethical authorship, fail- ble with those from the overseas clinical is publictrustinscience and scientists dam- bedrock.His$2trillionclean-energyproposalenvisagesanemissions-freeelectricgridby 2035 uretodisclosefundingsources andgender studies” according to the regulatorybody. aged,the self-critical and self-correcting na- andaimsto maketheUSanet zero carboneconomyby2050.Afterhiselection,Bidenrenewed disparity in research institutions.Aninterest- Scientists have,however, raisedtwo major ture of science is severely hampered as well. ing exampletounderstand the crisis is the concerns —thereis“limited ethnicitydata” The government’s intention to prioritise re- this pledgeandassuredthathis plan to “Build BackGreener”will have specialfocus on com- “10,000 steps aday to remain healthy” goal, in the current trials and thereisalso an ab- search andinnovation in the fight against munities of colour, “who have suffereddisproportionatelyfromfossilfuelpollution”. whichmostofusare awareof. Howmany, sence of resultsonolderpeople, the ones at the COVID-19pandemicislaudable. Avac- ThenewPresident’sdecisionsonhealthandenvironmentarefirststepstowardsplugging however, knowthatthisgoal is basedonbad the highestrisk,becausemosttrialpartici- cine, however, cannotcomeatthe costof the riftbetween the topglobal powerand the rest of the world. Theyare alsoarecognition science and thereisnoevidencefor the pants were underthe ageof55. This concern transparency,anindispensableelement in thatnationalsilosare ill-equippedtodealwithalmostallthecrisesconfrontingtheplanetto- 10,000 steps figure? is especiallyrelevant in the Indian context the fight againstthe virus.WhileCDSCO day, whether theybemelting glaciers, warming temperatures or notoriouslyinfectious Open Sciencedraws attention to some because people above 50 years areamongst guidelines clearly mention that“adequate core values suchastransparency,accessibil- the priority groups in the vaccination drive. datashould be generated”toensuresafety pathogens. Even as severalglobal leaders, including the former US president, pandered to ity, collaboration,and “constant and contin- Also, as some researchers have pointedout, and effectiveness of anyvaccine whose de- insular tendencies,the pandemic underlinedthat thereisnoescape from theglobal village. uous transfer of knowledge betweenproduc- as per the latestCDSCOGuidelines, a“bridg- velopment is expedited forunmet medical Borders did have to besealedasanemergency response to the virus. Shortagesinvital med- ersand users of knowledge.” It’s alsoan Thedevelopment of both the ingstudy” needs to be carriedout to under- needsofthe country, this datashould also icalprovisions,drugs,personalprotectionequipmentandventilators—now vaccines—how- essential partofthe draftSTIP 2020, which vaccine candidates is part of stand immune response in the Indian pop- be madepublic. ever,meant that no countrycould deal with the crisisonits own. At the same, thequestions states that an “all-encompassing Open public-funded research— ulation. This is, however, the “firstfull Going ahead, dataacross the different raisedofglobalisation —including those by Trumpism and itsvariants—cannotbeput off Science Framework will be built to provide ICMR funded the clinical peer-reviewedefficacy result” to be pub- stages of COVID-19vaccine research (includ- access to scientific data, information, knowl- lishedfor aCOVID-19vaccine,soitcan ar- ingbut notlimitedto research methodology, by the changeinthe White House. It’stoo earlytosay if Biden’s presidency augurs acourse edge,and resources to everyone” and “all data trial site fees forCovishield guablybesaidtobewithin thenorms of research tools, negative results, efficacy data, correction.Buttheemphasison“humility”intheearly statementsofhisnewly appointedcli- used in and generated from publicly funded and collaborated in the “good science”. and otherlimitations) should be madepub- matediplomat, former secretaryofstate JohnKerry,doessendpositive signals —asdothe research will be available to everyone under development of Covaxin. The secondapproved vaccine candidate, lic on ICMR’s open accessrepository,the cen- President’sinitial decisions on climateand health. FAIR (findable,accessible, interoperable and These would,therefore,fall “Covaxin”, developedbyHyderabad-based tral repositoryofthe Department of Science reusable) terms”. However, the news on the BharatBiotech in collaboration with the and Technology or other open access repos- “Emergency Use Authorisation” (EUA) to the within the scope of the draft Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is itories identifiedbythe CSIR. This mustbe Freeze Frame EPUnny twoCOVID-19vaccine candidates, whoseef- STIP 2020 —soall research still undergoing Phase III trials. It is widelyac- done on apriority basis to ensurethat bad sci- ficacy data is either currentlyunavailable or dataonthe vaccines must be knowledgedinthe scientific community that ence does notcompromisepeoples’ health disputableinthe Indian context, leads one to made available in the public these trials areimportant to understand the and the trustinscience remainsintact. wonder if thereisaninconsistency between ability of the vaccine to prevent clinical dis- policy andpractice. domain forcollective ease. The development of both the vaccine The writer is aresearcher with the The firstvaccine candidatetoreceive the scrutinyand peer-review. candidates is partofpublic-fundedresearch government of Punjab

JANUARY 25,1981, FORTY YEARS AGO

ISLAMIC SUMMIT over apassagetoUSplanes during theGulf KRaghunandanReddy,formerUnionlabour THE FOREIGN MINISTERS of 38 Islamic na- War. Egypt, whichhas signedapeace treaty minister, said the BJP’sGandhian socialism tions went intosessioninTayef in Saudi with Israel and Afghanistan, is bannedfrom wasnothing but aform of “corporate Arabia to hear the reportofafive-member the summit. socialism”. delegation theyhad sent to Iran to persuade the countrytoattend the Islamic Summit ALL WANT SOCIALISM SATURDAY,AHOLIDAY opening on January25. Thedelegationdid IT’SALMOSTCERTAIN that anew political MILLIONS OF POLES defiedtheir country’s notmeetwithsuccess. The Iranian leaders, it party will take shape at theconclusion of the socialistregime and stayed homeonJanuary appears, did notwant to meetthe Iraqi three-dayAll India Democratic Socialist 24,aSaturday,topress forafive-dayweek. President, Saddam Hussein, at the summit. Convention in Bombay. The chief of the con- Production wasdowntoatrickle andthe The Iranian position appears to be that the vention, HNBahuguna, indicated that the fi- huge Hutasteel mill at Warsawand other Islamic countries should firstcondemn the nal decision will be takenonJanuary25. major factories in the Polish capital and else- Iraqi aggression againsttheir country before Speakers at the convention agreedthat all where. The Baltic portofGladsk,the flash- Tehran can accepttheirmediation in the people wanted socialism and the Bharatiya pointoflastyear’s workers’ strike,was re- Iran-Iraq conflict. Libya is also boycotting the JanataParty (BJP) “had deceived the people portedatastandstill with the exception of summit over adisputewith SaudiArabia by putting up itsown brandofsocialism”. food shops and hospitals.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “Americaand Britain are eachemergingfromdisruptive internal periods.The alliance between them must be rooted in realism about the present,not fantasy 11 THE IDEAS PAGE about thepast” —THEGUARDIAN, UK Reforming capitalism Majority complex The BJP believesthat itslegislativemajority makes WorldEconomic Forumwillmeetatatime whenglobal economyisincrisis.Delhishould contributeto differing views irrelevant, givesthe rightto the framingofnew rules to govern internationalinstitutions impose itswill on futuregenerations

futuregenerations. Severalofthe far-reaching changes to the structureofIndiahave, of course, been approved by the SupremeCourt butthen so wasthe Emergency, whichthe apex courtiswondering if it can declare unlaw- ful decades later.Inademocracy,you ei- RAJA MANDALA ther live with the pastyou inheritorpre- tend that it wasdifferent. The present by CRajaMohan Salman Khurshid government wantstorewritehistory and certainlyalter the pathofthe future. We THE UP GOVERNOR recentlyremarked seem to have made the mistake of onlyat- WHETHERITISaclevergimmickoraserious that the Opposition does precious little pol- tacking the government forthat instead of attempt to produce structural changes in the itics beyond presenting representations to engaging with citizens who supportthe organisation of global capitalism, the World her.Asalong-term politician, she must government. We needtoask them why, if Economic Forum’s initiative for“TheGreat knowwhat politics entails. When in at all, theyhateus; howtheybelieve their Reset” has setoff furious conspiracy theories Opposition,there is an implicitobligation preferredway of lifeisbeing adverselyim- on the right and contemptuous dismissal to provide constructivecooperation and pacted by the alternative wayoflife; what from theleft. honestscrutinyofgovernment decisions. in the system we have inheritedprevents The Great Reset, conceptualisedbythe The governorneednot go very fartotest them from feeling that their proud Hindu founder and executivechairman of the WEF, her idea of politics as farmers, including identityiscomplete;how the Hindutva Klaus Schwab, has evolvedoverthe lastfew from western UP,are gathered on the bor- project will address our collective concerns years and is basedonthe assessment thatthe der of the national capitaltoprotestthe about food, jobs, education, healthand worldeconomyisindeep trouble. He argues farm laws.The Opposition, including the happiness. thatthe situation has been made alot worse Congress, have extendedtheir unqualified Despiteour deepdifferences, we can- by manyfactors, including the pandemic’s supporttothe movement but have strate- notand must notcountenance anything devastating effectsonglobal society,the un- gicallyrefrainedfromstealing the thunder likeacivil wartothe finish. We have lived folding technological revolution, and the con- of the farmers. Sadly, politics has takena together and our destinyistolivetogether. CRSasikumar sequences of climatechange. strangeturn, so muchsothat organic The project to acquirepower and retain it Schwab demands that “the worldmust tres of the post-War globalorder—on notgoingtoreformitself. Making capital more protests likethose againstthe CAA-NRC forsome time willcertainlybeservedby act jointly and swiftlytorevampall aspects September 11,2001. responsive belongs to the realm of the state. and nowthe farm laws remain uneasy accentuating an ostensible divide--but of our societies and economies, from educa- The choice of Singaporeiscertainlyprac- The kind of policy choices that astate makes about political parties being seen sharing then what? Even apowerful militaryisun- tion to social contractsand working condi- tical; it is also symbolic. The success of East in mediating between different stakeholders the stagewith them. This model owes able to secure status quobeyond aperiod; tions. Everycountry, from the United States Asia, or “Greater China” if youwill, in contain- depends, in turn, on the balance of political muchtoKejriwal-IAC, wherethe hidden powerful demagogueslosetheir grip; un- to China, must participate,and everyindus- ing the pandemic standsinstark contrastto forces within societies and between them. agendafor transforming the agitation into shakeable structures likethe SovietUnion try, from oil and gastotech, must be trans- thefailures in NorthAmerica and Europe. The Second, Davosiscertainlyrighttofocus apolitical party happilyallowedtaking dis- give way; demigods arehumbled. Onlydi- formed. In short, we needa‘GreatReset’ of onlycitiesthat can hostlarge physical events on the deepening climatecrisis. Climatescep- creetsupport from the opponentsofthe alogue and empathysurvive in the ultimate capitalism.” rightnow areinAsia, and Singaporeisar- tics have been oustedfromWashington and Congress,but without conceding them analysis. The rightseesthe WEFarguments about guablythe mostconvenient. Meanwhile, the PresidentBiden has rejoinedthe 2015 Paris space directly. It is another matter that the To return to thegovernorofUP: Surely restructuring the global economyasadan- much-talked-about Asia’s rise —notwith- accordonmitigating climatechange.But that enterprise helpedthe BJP and hurtthe Her Excellency accepts that allthis is about gerous attempt to impose “socialism” and dis- standing itsinternal contradictions —iswith is notenough to resolve themain political Congress. politics. To believe in this, to articulatethis, mantle the traditional society,orwhat re- us and is nowadecisive factor in reordering challenge on climatechange. It is about dis- The Congress is the onlyOpposition to educatethe electorate about this, to mains of it. The leftscoffsatthe DavosMan’s the global economy. tributing the economic and socialcosts of party that has the footprint to makeadif- stand up and be counted —itispolitics at talk on the crisis of capitalism. It pointstothe The agenda of The Great Resettoucheson moving away from carbon use within and ference to theresistance to the incumbent the highestand certainlydifferent from complicity of theDavos forum in promoting manykey issues facing the world. Three of across nations. government, although giventhe present politickingthateveryone seems to confuse policiesthathavebroughtthe worldtothe them stand out. Internally, the conflictisabout manag- conditions, we understand that we will with politics. But, of course, thereisanother current impasse and question itscapacity to Firstisthe question of reforming capital- ing the differential social impact and exter- have to keep space forlike-minded dimension: Debateand discourse aredis- producesolutions. ism. Davoshas been at the forefront of call- nally, it is aboutreconciling the divergent Opposition parties. It is still early to expect missedasnon-starters and politics is no- Irrespectiveofwhat the WEF might say, ingfor “stakeholder capitalism” that looksbe- carbon policy imperativesamong the ma- aworkable two-wayaccommodation, ticedonlywhen thereisdisruption. Make thereisnodenying the contemporaryglobal yond the traditional corporatefocus on jor economic actors. This again leads to the giventhe regional contradictions that exist. it impossible foragovernmenttowork; challenges. The reigning assumptions about maximising profit forshareholders. realm of contestedpolitics —bothinternal However, ajoint effort within Parliament blockthe streetsand trains; switchoff elec- deregulation and globalisationthatsignifi- The demandsfor itsreformare as oldas and international. and beyond on demonetisation,GST im- tricity and water; squeeze supplyoffood cantly reducedconstraintsoncapital within capitalism itself; we also knowthat the dom- Thirdisthe growing difficulty of global co- plementation, the Citizenship Amendment and other supplies; disturb public peace — and across borders over the lastthree decades inant capital tends to resistchange. Whatis operation that Davoswants to promote.The Act, police atrocities, mixed marriages laws, these arecertainlynot publiclyadvocated arenow being challenged across the world, different thistime is the vocal support forthe eraofgreat powerharmonythataccompa- the futureofJ&K,farm laws,incompetent by anyone in authority yetare we to believe including in the US that longchampioned principles of stakeholder capitalism from the niedthe liberalisation of the global economy handling of COVID-19, etc, is neither incon- that theyare symptoms of live politics? these ideas four decades ago. tophonchos of the globalindustry. In the US, at theturnofthe 1990s has yieldedplace to sistent with political ideology nor the Furthermore, ahapless police forcecon- Delhi, whichisinthe middle of an eco- progressiveshope President Joe Biden, like intense contestation. Thecontestation is not strategies of the entirespectrum of the tortspublic protestintosedition,though nomicresetofitsown,mustnot onlypay atten- PresidentsTeddy andFranklinRoosevelt,will just political but increasinglyeconomic and Opposition. Letusnot forget,ifIndialives thankfully yetnot intoinsurrection -- the tion to theglobal debate, butalso recognise bring much-neededreform. Noteveryone is technological. If the worldneeds universalist therewill be opportunity forthe word being usedfor thestorming of the US that the current crisis and itspolitical conse- convincedthough. solutions, getting them has become harder Opposition. Some stillborn stepswere Capitol by therednecks supporting quences will inevitablyleadtoarearrange- Commentaryinthe Wall Street Journal TheGreat Reset, than ever before.This, in turn, might lead to takeninthe past months but time is run- President Donald Trump. But who willex- mentof theglobalorder; DavosornoDavos.If routinelydismissesstakeholder capitalism conceptualised by the “competitive multilateralism” and the con- ning out to put up aformidable challenge plain to thehundredsofincarcerated youth structural changeisinevitable, the question is as afront for“irresponsible corporatism” that founder and executive struction of coalitions of the willing, capable to theinsensitiveand incompetent func- chargedwithUAPAand otheroffences in whatDelhicandoto maximiseIndia’spossibil- divertscash flows from productive use of cap- chairman of the WEF,Klaus to developand enforce newrules. tioning of agovernment that claims over- the CAA-NRCFIRsthat their politics wasa itiesand limit the potential dangers. ital thatcan produce collectivegood. On the Unlikeinthe 20thcentury, India nowcan whelming popular support but in electoral crime?Understandably, thereisaredline Prime MinisterNarendraModi will be American left, critics argue capital has shown Schwab, has evolved over the and mustactively contributetothe framing of records can showless than 40 per centof between protestand sedition but advising among the manyworld leaders who will be littleconcern forthe interests of stakehold- last few yearsand is based on newrules to govern global capitalism and re- the popular vote. The governmentbelieves the citizen to protestfor politics should addressing this week’s annual gathering of ers and itsinstinct forprofitmaximisation has the assessment that the shaping of international institutions. At the that itsmajority makes all differingviews come with an assurance that it will notbe the WEF. The pandemic has compelledthe onlygottenworseduring the pandemic. world economyisindeep same time, it mustalso reform itsown econ- irrelevant. Laws that theylegislate can still crushed by an impervious law. forum to move online from itstraditional The large technology companiesthat omyand societytomakeitmoreequitable, be reversedinthe future, but changes like wintryabode in the Swiss Alps. But Davoshas were to deliverusintothe digital utopia have trouble. He argues that the sustainable and capable of coping with rapid the newParliament andCentral Vistawill The writer is senior Congress leader and notgiven up on aphysical meeting for2021. proven to be as rapacious as the European situation has been made alot external change. It is only those nationsthat impose the will of atransitorymajority on former Union minister It is scheduledtotakeplace in Junein merchant kings of the early colonialera and worsebymanyfactors, caneffectivelymanagethe dynamic interac- Singapore. exploitative capitalists of the19th century. including the pandemic’s tion betweenthe internal and external that This is onlythe second time that the Davos Big beneficiaries of deregulationand special will come out as winners in the Great Reset annual forum is takingplace at another loca- concessions around the world, the tech gi- devastating effects on global that is unfolding. tion. In 2002 January, the forumconvenedin antspay fewtaxes and actively depress society, the unfolding LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR Manhattan, to demonstratethe resilience and wagesfor working people. Theyalsohaveac- technological revolution, and The writer is director,InstituteofSouth Asian resolve of international capital againstthe quired unprecedentedpower to influence Studies, NationalUniversity of Singaporeand spectacular terror attacksonNew York and the governments. the consequences of climate contributing editor on international affairs Washington—the financialand political cen- Realists would suggestthat capitalism is change. for The Indian Express CENTRE'SFOLLIES IDEAS THIS REFERS TO the article, 'Pause or re- peal: Government mayhavetogoback ONLINE to SC or Parliament on farm laws'(IE, January22).This is notthe firsttime the ONLYINTHE EXPRESS current government at the Centrehas Swachh lessons for Covid times ● LETCHILDRENBREATHE: underminedthe authority of constitu- tional provisions. Be it CAA-NRCorthe AJAYSINGHNAGPURE, recent farm laws,the government has NITYAKAUSHI World’slargest sanitationprogrammecanbeamodelforcautionpostthevaccine remainedblissfully ignorantof bothcon- stitutional principles and public senti- ● CLIMATE CONCERNS AkshayRout ment,while marching to itsown beat. In 2021:ASHISH CHATURVEDI, this process, the government has insid- VIJETA RATTANI iouslytarnishedthe ideals of aparlia- ACROSS EUROPE, EVEN in Rome, therewere pation. In Prime MinisterNarendraModi’s swachhagrahis remain watchful across India’s is seen as amodel forvaccine distribution, the mentarydemocracy,envisionedbyour www.indianexpress.com poignant reports of subduedChristmas cele- words, “swachhata” wastakenup asa“collec- six-and-a-half lakh villages to makesurethat instrumentsand mechanismsofSwachh leaders and enshrinedinour brations, unavoidable, because of the fear of tive national responsibility”. As the vaccine en- the guardisnot down. The scaleofmass ac- Bharat Mission can address the needfor sus- Constitution. the unpredictablecoronavirus.Countries have teredthe collective imaginationofanexpec- tion and buzz creation around sanitation un- tainingCOVID-responsiblebehaviour —cover- ShreyaSingh, Mumbai DRAGON’SDEN fallen backonthat age-oldadage,discretion is tant population, PM Modi reminded: “Dawai der Swachh Bharat Mission was ing the face and maintaining physical distance. the better partofvalour.New Year's Evewas bhi, Kadaai Bhi ''. Though it’s currentlycon- unprecedented. Avolunteering forcelikethe swachhagrahis BIDEN’SFIRST DAY THISREFERSTO the editorial, ‘Slaying the notmuchdifferent.InIndia, cities and states strictedby avoidable vaccinehesitancy,India’s Foracountrythatprides itself on accom- or the band of young and skilledwarriorslike Dragon’ (IE, January22).Itisironic that took recourse to anew setofrestrictions that vaccine programme will hopefullyusher in plishing theworld's largestbehaviour change the zila Swachh Bharat prerakscould beaptfor THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Biden's on the one hand, the merename of afor- can’t be dismissedaskilljoy. Leaders and gov- herdimmunity at the earliest. programme, involving 600millioncitizens, the purpose. burden'(IE, January22).The recent as- eign-sounding fruit canstir thewaters ernmentsare having to anxiouslyremind cit- Behavioural changes requiretime. The ob- sustaining acorona-responsive behaviour Barelyhavethe firstjabs been adminis- sault on the US Capitol building is proof forGujarat Chief MinisterVijay Rupani izens about pandemic protocols. Among the servation of safesanitation practices —espe- should be less challenging, giventhat the teredinahandful of countries, amutant vari- of the fact that America is atinderbox. but the shutting down of legendary fewrescue actsofJoe Biden’sfirstday in the cially thosepertainingto toilet use, assiduously threat is muchdirect. In fact, to inculcateanew ant of the virus has made itspresence felt. The Nowthat Joe Biden is in the Oval Office, Gujarati publishers likeLokmilap go WhiteHouse wasthe restoration of the mask. cultivatedduring the Swachh Bharat years of behaviour has always been relatively easier fear of asecond or thirdsurge of thepandemic he should work to stanchthe bleeding. without anyinterventiononhis part.Itis In Mumbai,civic authoritieshavefound 2014-2019 —isacase in point. The keyfind- compared to changinganage-oldhabit like lurks.Postvaccine, COVID-19 maymoderate As the US president, he can either rise to high time that the Gujarat government that the number of people revelling at wed- ings of the FifthRound of the National Family open defecation. in termsof severity andinfectivity,butit might theoccasion by reaching out to theother introspectedandchannelleditsenergies ding receptions, pubs, restaurantsand night- HealthSurvey,2019-20 do throw up certain The hardworkofthe last10monthsof sur- notbecompletely eliminatedsome time soon. side,orhecoulddrive awedge deeper towardsthelinguisticandculturalcauses clubsexceededthepermissiblelimits—infact, concerns about the stateofsanitation in the veillance and testing, nottospeak of enduring The learning from the pandemic is notonlyre- between the Democratsand the that actuallymatter. manyweremaking merry without the country, particularly in itsrural parts.Itwould the painful lockdowns,and the fruitful precau- siliencebutalso humilityinconductandbeing Republicans by perpetuating this ugly Kushal Khandhar, Mumbai mandatorymask. Morethan 10 lakh people appearthat the focus of theSwachhBharat tions of masking, distancing and regularhand awarethat the virus remainsanunpredictable partisan fight. were finedintheMaximumCityfornot using Mission on toiletaccessand useneeds to be washing will come to anaught if the com- adversary. The piece of cloth spread across the Varun Das, Zirakpur THISREFERSTO the editorial, 'Slaying the masks. Violations were also reportedinother takenforward with double the vigour. mencement of vaccination or the slide in the face thatshuts offsomeofour sensoryorgans, Dragon' (IE, January22).The renaming cities and towns. So, the announcement of a Sustaining the changed behaviour requires a COVID case count areseen as an invitation to besides being functionallyefficient, is sym- THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Biden’s of dragon fruit to “kamalam” wasunnec- night curfew wasanexpected enforcement steady stream of campaigns, something that freedom. The year of vaccination,2021, can bolic of this willing subjugation —that has to burden' (IE,January22).Theway US PJoe essary, to saythe least. It is high time that response. has always tested the implementers. only becomparedwithPhase II of the Swachh continue. The Clean India of Mahatma’sdream Biden reversed17executive controver- the government, in this case in Gujarat, Fines and police action areperhaps justi- Very pertinently, the Swachh Bharat Bharat Mission. Muchlikethe imperative sus- becamepossible when 130crore Indianscame sial decisions of his predecessor on Day understands that thereare moreimpor- fiedforprotecting livesand preventing the sys- Mission Phase II givesinstitutionalisedatten- tain an ODF society,the behavioural changes together and adoptednew habitsofsanitation. Onesignals his intentions to the world tant issues to focus on. The debilitating temfromcollapsing. Butmaking the wearing tion to the sustainability of ODF (Open necessitatedby the pandemic mustbebepre- The same joint resolve is necessarynot to leta —thatheisfirm about mendingthings. conditionof the country’seconomyand of masksasustainable habit and observing DefecationFree) status, despitethe action servedwith double the efforteven though the single mask drop offthe nose. His quickdecisions will go along wayin itspeople due to the pandemic is surely physical distancingaspartofeverydaybehav- moving on to solidand liquid wastemanage- vaccine has openedupavista of hope and the bringing changes in apositive wayfor amoremajor concern than these petty iourwould have to bepartofashared—albeit ment.While Amitabh Bachchan calledout for scale of infection is down —the latter owesin The writer,aformer Director General (Special America and the rest of the world. issues. noneto cheerful —vision till thereisadecisive “Darwaza Bandh'' —shutthe door on open no small measuretothe observance of the dis- Projects), Swachh Bharat Mission, is presently SSPaul, Nadia Komal Pugalia, Silchar green signal.Ithas to be likeIndia’s Swachh defecation —inthe initial phase, the current tancing and masking prescriptions. aVisiting Professor at Central University of Bharat, asterling example of people’s partici- call is for“Har Koi,HarRoz,Hamesha”. Trained While the networkofelection operations Odisha. Viewsare personal

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12 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 IDEA EXCHANGE Newsmakersinthe Newsroom DR SHEKHAR MANDE, DIRECTOR GENERAL,COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC ANDINDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ‘ Could we’ve waited for Phase 3trials?... But should ‘we not save 50,000 lives?... There is no risk to anyone Dr Mande talksabout “guardedoptimism” over drop in Covid-19cases, says effectiveness of vaccines will be monitoredfor the next twoyears, andexplains hygiene hypothesisand whyhebelievesour immunesystemcan deal with newstrains.The session wasmoderated by Resident Editor (Pune) Amitabh Sinha

DR SHEKHARMANDE: Aglobal health earlier interviews,you said thereisa ratories of the CSIR)... We can go on citing emergency likeCovid-19was foreseenfor difference betweenefficacy and examples...We collaboratewitheverybody. the lastseveral years. We did notknowin effectiveness of the vaccine. Can you When the Rs 48,000 croreorder forTejas what form it would come, but for20-25 elaborate? wasplaced,mostpeoplelaudedtheDRDO. years it wasbeing predicted that the next Efficacy is calculatedinclinicaltrialson Nobody knew that alarge amountoftech- pandemicwasjust aroundthecorner.And, subjectsthat have receivedeither the vac- nology and the entirecontrol system of even afterthis pandemic is over,thereisa cine dose or the placebo.Neitherthe per- Tejas wasmadebythe CSIR.Manypeople possibility that another one might still be son who is adminis- don’tknowthere is a around the corner.So, we should be pre- tering the vaccine nor verygloriouscollabo- pared forthat. the person who is re- If we were under-reporting, ‘ ration between the In India, the firstCovid-19casewas re- WHY ceiving it knows one-and-a-half-million CSIR, DRDO and HAL. portedonJanuary30, last year.Wedis- whether it is the ac- It is afault on ourpart cussedtheissueatameetingof thedirectors SHEKHAR MANDE tual vaccine or a people would have died of that information has of all the laboratoriesunder Council of placebo. At theend of notbeendistributed ScientificandIndustrialResearch (CSIR)on schief of CSIR, thestudy,whichtakes Covid-19.Isthat believable? among members of February25-26. TheWorld Health whichhas anetwork afew months, you Under-reporting is not the the public. Organisation declared thepandemic on findoutwhogot what. ‘ Aof 37 of India’s March 11,almost15days later.Bythattime, Forexample, in the cause (for lownumbers) TABASSUM ourstrategywasalreadyinplaceanditwas premier researchlabs, Mande Modernatrials, about BARNAGARWALA: rolledout by mid-March.Thereweresev- 30,000 people were Thereisalot of eral aspects to the response. The firstverti- has been at the centre of govt’s givenadose of either discussion about cal wassurveillance, whichweare doing the placebo or the vaccine, and 196devel- howlow-and middle-income eventoday. Itincludessequencingdifferent Covid-19 response strategy.As opedCovid-19afterafew months.Of these, countries have lowCovid-19 mortality viral strains across India, conducting air vaccination begins, his team 185hadreceivedtheplaceboand11 hadre- rates. Is the ‘hygiene hypothesis’the samplingsurveys to knowhow farthevirus ceivedtheModernavaccine.Sotheefficacy onlyreasonbehind it or is therealoose travelsetc.Thesecondverticalwasdiagnos- will be part of the pharmacov- was95%. link with the BCG vaccination? Or,in tics.Youwouldhave heardabout,forexam- igilance processfor next 2yrs Basedonefficacy,theregulatordecides India’s case, is therealow recording ple,the Feluda test kit thathas come from to give approvalforthevaccineto beadmin- rate of thedeaths? theCSIR’sstable...We diddryswabs,which isteredtothe generalpopulation. Now, in My personal research paper on the is- reducesthecostofRT-PCRtestsby half.The sueiscomingoutinajournalcalledCurrent dryswabmethodhas also been approved Science... Thepopulationof theUnitedStates by theIndian Council of MedicalResearch. is roughlyone-fourthofIndia’s. The total Thethirdverticalisinterventions,where number of deathsinthe US is morethan we arelooking at both vaccines as well as double that of India. If youtakethe ratio of drugs.Favipiravirisalreadybeingsoldinthe people dying per million, it is ahighly market by Cipla, the process forwhichwas skewed ratio in the countrieswhichhave generated in the CSIR... We have also taken high GDP or ahigh Human Development cognizance of traditional knowledgeand Index. This is true across the world. If you some trialsare going on along withAyush lookatthe number of people dead in (Ministry). African and SoutheastAsian countries, it is The fourth aspect is medical instru- waylowerthan countries with high GDP ments, and therehavebeen severalinno- and HDI. Many people sayitisunder-re- vations heretoo, including the BiPAP porting,butif youare under-reporting,India ‘SwasthVayu’Ventilator.It’sforpeoplewho would have had to reportabouteight to 10 arenot critical but their oxygen levelneeds timesmoredeaths (in comparison to the to be enhanced. We have already supplied US). If we (India) were under-reporting, 1,200suchventilators to the Delhi govern- about one-and-a-half-million people in ment. We have launched ‘rapidlydeploy- India would have succumbed to Covid-19. able hospitals’ whichcan be setupinre- Idon’tthinkanyonebelievesthatone-and- mote locations in about five days andsix a-halfmillionpeople in India have died... suchhospitals areready in Himachal Under-reporting is notthe cause. In Africa, Pradesh now. it would have causedhavoc. In places like Thereweretwo principlesthatweused Dharavi,itwould have been acatastrophe. while bringing about these innovations. But that has nothappened. Number one, therehas to be industry’s in- The second issue that countrieswith volvement,likeCipla’sinthe case of highHDIhave isanageingpopulation.If you Favipiravir.Thesecondimportantpointthat lookatthelifeexpectancyinsuch countries, we discussed wasthat all the components the averageage is muchhigher than coun- mustbemadeinIndia,sothatwe don’thave trieslikeours.And,we knowthatthisvirus to depend on imports.Sowith both these affectsolder people more. principles,we arenow inapositionto scale Nowlookatthedistributionof otherdis- up everything forthe benefit of society. eases.Theincidenceof communicabledis- ease liketuberculosis, malariaand cholera AMITABH SINHA:Inyour assessment, in countries whichhavehigher GDP and is the Covid-19graph in India in an HDI is muchlower. And the incidenceof irreversible decline, or is therestill a thesediseasesinlow-HDIcountriesismuch fear of asecondwave? Also,can you higher.Onthe contrary, non-communica- tell us alittle bit about the different ble diseases such as diabetes, asthma, pso- Covid-19strains that have emerged? riasis aremuchhigher in countries with Areweoverthe pandemic in India? high HDI and lowerinlow-HDIcountries... Thereisavery guardedoptimism about it. Inlow-HDIcountries,thesanitationparam- Thenumberof casesisgoingdown.It’shov- eters tend to be poor... It is an established eringbetween16,000-20,000casesperday Illustration: Suvajit Dey fact that improved sanitation conditions in India, compared to about 2,20,000- have increasedthe incidence of auto-im- 2,40,000 per dayinthe US. But we are strains morevirulent thanthe others? newdrugs, theywilltakeanother four-five everyday,right? In the next three-four the general population thereare people mune disorders in higher HDIcountries... guarded,becausethepandemicisn’tover.If The standardstrategythatall govern- years to come out. months,letusassumeyouloseabouta100 who were excludedfromclinicaltrials. Accordingto thehygienehypothesis,aswe we letour guard down, thereisevery pos- mentsaroundthe worldhaveadopted is peopleaday.Thatmeansabout3,000peo- Peoplewithcomorbidities,peoplewhoare arecontinuouslyexposedtopathogens sibility of asecond wave. So, we mustbe testing, tracking, tracing... We sequence ANURADHAMASCARENHAS: pleamonth,andabout10,000deathsinthe above theage of 70...Sonowyouwillmeas- sinceourchildhood,ourimmunesystemis very,verycareful whenwesay that the strains from thosepeoplewho have ahis- Professor Rohini Godbole from the next three-fourmonths.That’s alow esti- urethings in the entirepopulation.Inthe trained... In the paper (in Current Science) number of cases have gone down. tory of travel to the UK etc. Once we know Centre forHigh Energy Physics at IISc, mate.The higher estimatecouldbe50,000 real worldscenario, the numbers will we aresayingthatwhathas savedusisthe

Compared to other moredeveloped na- that the person is UK-positive,weisolate wasawarded the OrdreNationalDu people.Now,avaccine candidatehas been changefrom95%...That is effectiveness. immunetrainingourbodyhasgot because tions,thedefiningfeatureinIndiahasbeen the person so that the virus doesn’t spread Merite, amongthe highest provento besafe,therehasbeennoadverse Thereisasubtle difference and it is being of continuous exposure(to pathogens) theearly lockdown. It gave us the opportu- to others. That’s the government's strat- distinctionsbestowedbyFrance. How impact in Phase 1clinicaltrials as well as in monitored postvaccination. Thereisgoing since our childhood. nity to tell people aboutthe dangersofthe egy.Also, youknowabout SpiceHealth. We can we encouragemorewomento the pre-clinicaltrials in animals. In Phase2 to beveryclosemonitoringfortwo yearsas

pandemic, and to preparetohandle the aretryingtoactuallycollect samples at air- join STEM sectors? clinicaltrials,youshowthat(thevaccine)is partofthe pharmacovigilance process. AMITABH SINHA:This is probablynot pandemicaswell.We were ableto educate ports andthen reduce the number of days Thereisaleakypipelinesomewhere.Let immunogenic, that it is eliciting sufficient thelastpandemicthat we willsee.In everyone that when requiredforsequenc- usacceptthatfact.Attheschoollevel,there immune response in HARISH terms of our response,how is the next youstepout of the ing. That’s precisely is equal opportunity foreveryone. As we ahumanbeing.So,the DAMODARAN: pandemic going to be different? What house, don’t forget what SpiceHealth startclimbing up,unfortunately, thenum- hope is that since it is What is the total arethe thingswehavelearnedand ‘ yourmask,washyour Forthe last 20-25 yearsit will bedoing at differ- ber(of women)dropsdramatically. And,by generating an im- There is aleakypipeline… ‘ budget of the CSIR institutionalisedsothat the response hands, keep distance, wasbeing predicted that ent airportsinthe the time youcome to the job market, the mune response, the In seniorleadership, andhow muchof to anysuchpandemic in the futureis and that actually country. numbers areevenlower, andatthe senior humanimmunitycan that is spent on different and qualitatively better? helped. Youdon’t see the next pandemic was Now, areany of the leadership level, the numbers arepathetic. likelytakecareofthe number of women (in sponsored or Mostimportantishealthmonitoringin- this happening even newvariantsmore So howdoyou encourage(womentojoin virus. The criticism demand-driven frastructure...Inthiscase,theresponsewas in the mostdevel- near... And, even after virulent? It’s not STEM sectors)? First, letusacceptthatwe has been that we STEM) is pathetic… One research? very rapid. As soon as the Chinese authori- opedcountries. Covid-19,there is another proven yet. What is have notdonewellonthesenumbers.Then, couldhavewaited for has to talk about it,people Till about 10 years tiesdetectedtheclusterofpneumonia-like Aboutthestrains... ‘ proven is howtrans- one has to continuouslyand proactively another four months ‘ ago, thereusedtobe cases, theyreported it to theWHO. By the Everyvirus mutates. one around the corner missibletheyare. keep talkingabout these issues in the pub- forPhase3clinicaltri- likememustcorrectit enormous delays in fourth day, theWHO team wasonthe Thereisaninterplay Whatisthe probabil- lic space, even if the truth is inconvenient. als to getover... (But) flightsinDelhi due to ground in Wuhan to assess thesituation. betweenthehost(the ity of one personto Secondly, peoplelikeme,whohave thead- youare going to risk fog. All those delays Ontheseventhday, we knewthatitwasbe- humanbody)andthe transmit avariant to vantageofbeinginanadministrative posi- the livesof10,000- have reducedsignifi- cause of aviruscalledcoronavirus... We pathogen, whichisthe virus. Now, as the another person, whichistypicallydefined tion,musttryto correctthings...AttheCSIR 50,000people.That’sthefirstrisk.Thesec- cantly. Atransmissometer(forthedetermi- need to have arapid actionforce...And this pathogentries to establish an infection in by the R-number.And these variants(UK, we have ensured that alladvisorybodies, ond risk is that mutantsare very rapidly nation of visual range) has been installed is good in the countryrightnow... We are the host, the latter tries to getrid of the SouthAfrica)areactuallyknownto bemore committees, have agender balance. We emergingaroundtheworld.If youare areg- across100airportsinthecountry. Itiscalled doingreasonablywell(inourresponse)and pathogen. (Asthe virus mutates) our im- transmissible, about60to70% more... have triedtodothe sameinsenior leader- ulator,whatwouldyoudo?Wouldyousave DrishtiandwasdevelopedbyNAL(National we shouldtryto improve. But what we ac- munesystemtriesto getridof it(themuta- However, it is notknown whether theyare ship positions too. It’s ahugechallenge. 50,000lives? Would youallowmutantsto Aerospace Laboratory, aconstituentofthe tuallyneedtoimprove is infrastructure in tions),unlessaverylarge numberaccumu- more lethal or not. When Ijoinedthe CSIRtwo years ago, nei- ariseorwouldyougoforavaccinewhichis CSIR). Today, Delhihas three-fiveinstalla- terms of safetylevel facilities.Weneedto lates simultaneously. The UK strain can therof our37 laboratorieshadawomandi- known to be safeand elicitsaresponse,al- tions of Drishti. have multipleBSL-4(biosafetylevel-4)facil- accumulate17mutations in itsspikepro- ANURADHA MASCARENHAS: Why rector.Today, four of our laboratories are though itsefficacy is notwellknown? We heardthe news of the government ities in the country, where we can take the tein. Avirus has millions of atoms coated don’t we have asingledrug that is fully headedbyfemale directors. It is still apa- See,therehasbeennoadverseimpactof procuring Tejas aircraft. About70% of Tejas infectious organismand assessit. We also aroundasphere,andwe actuallyseeonly 17 effective against Covid-19sofar? theticnumber,andwe areworkingtowards taking the vaccine. Youare notbeing sub- weight is carbon fibre. Who made the car- need to look at zoonosis —manyviruses mutations...Therefore,itisbelievedthatthe Developmentof anydrugtypicallytakes takingitto17-18… jected to anykindofrisk,you arenot going bonfibre?TheCSIR-NAL.TheTejaslandson jumpfromanimalto human.We mustkeep human immune system is sufficientlyca- 10-12years. So,when Covid-19cameup, to developany adversereaction,there isno navalships andtobeabletoland and take samplingvirusesorparasitesinanimalsall pable of gettingrid of even the newstrain. theeasiest strategywastogofor‘repurpos- KAUNAIN SHERIFF M: About 55 lakh serious illness that youare going to de- offfromnavalships,itneedsapreciseland- the time. It is important to have asurveil- ing’.Aspartofthestrategy,drugswhichare doses of the Covid-19vaccine will be velop... Essentially, if the vaccine generates ing and take-offspot. The errorcannot be lancesystemforanimalsandpotentialdis- ESHA ROY: Whether it’s the UK variant alreadyinthemarket andare ‘generallyre- administeredpurelybasedonsafety animmuneresponseagainstthisparticular morethanhalf ametre.How do pilots do easesthat could come from manyofthem. or the SouthAfricanvariant, what is garded as safe(GRAS)’... we can find adif- dataofthe Phase 1and 2trials.We virus,that’sgood.Butevenif itdoesnotelicit that? There’s something calleda‘head-up Lastly, we needtohavesupplychains theIndiangovernment doingto ferentuseforthatparticulardrug.Thereare don’thaveefficacy data forthe Bharat aresponse, youhavenot lostanything per display’ in Tejas aircraftwhich allows the andlogistics ready fordiagnostics, drugs, identifyand stop the spread in the roughlyabout3,000drugswhichare inthe Biotech vaccine.Doyou think the se. Thereisnothing adverse thatyou have pilottomakeprecise take-offand landing. essential equipment,doctors, nurses, so country? Also, what have been the market forhumanconsumption,andmust scientific principle that is being applied done to yourself. Whomade that head-up display? It is the thatifany suchcontingency arises,weare takeaways from genomesequencing be tested forCovid-19... That is how nowissustainable? CentralScientificInstrumentsOrganisation able to cater to anyremote corner of the done so far? Forinstance,are some Favipiravir andthe otherscame up... As for ... We arelosing hundredsofpeople KAUNAIN SHERIFF M: In one of your inChandigarh(oneof theconstituentlabo- countrywithinavery shorttime.

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SIMPLY PUT CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD Rhesus macaque shows Techgiants vregulators promise as model for Google andFacebookhavelockedhorns with Australian govt over laws that propose to makethem pay Covid-19 vaccine studies news organisations forusing their content. The outcome of the fight will have implications forIndia as well.

Consumer Commission Chairman RodSims EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE PRANAVMUKUL&ANILSASI said in an interviewtoReuters. In France too, NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 the competition watchdog FCAhad lastyear issuedstricturestobig tech companies. FCA IN INFECTIOUS diseases suchas PARLIAMENT IN Australia is debating legisla- had deemedGoogle’smovetowithdraw Covid-19, animal studies help scien- tion that would requireGoogle and Facebook news snippets as “unfairand damagingto the tists predict howwellacandidate to enterintopaymentnegotiationswithmedia press sector”, and also likelytoconstitutean vaccine will work.Theyinform scien- companiesforusingtheircontent,withanar- abuse of marketdominance. tists whichimmune cells triggered by biter mandated to adjudicateinthe event an the vaccine areprotective,whether and SouthwestNational Primate agreementcannot be reached. The debateinIndia the vaccine will be viable as ahuman Research Center (SNPRC) evaluated TheInternetcompanieshave pushedback Policymakers in India have so farfocused intervention, and howthe disease three nonhuman primate species — againstthe legislation —and the fightisbeing on the dominance of intermediaries suchas progresses in people with compro- Indian rhesus macaques, African ba- watchedaround the world, giventhe impact GoogleandFacebook,whichare positionedin misedimmune systems. boons and new-worldorigin com- the outcome could have across geographies, away thatserviceproviderscannotreachcus- The rhesus macaque, amonkey mon marmosets —and young and old includinginIndia.Thereisalsorenewedfocus tomers exceptthrough theseplatforms. widelyprevalent in India, is apromis- animals. on atemplatethat has been rolledout with The tussles in Australia and elsewhere ing model forvaccines againstCovid- Theyfound that the macaque and some success in SouthKorea. could have broaderimplications forthe regu- 19,according to twoin- baboon models develop Nearly four years previously, Naver, South lation of the digital economyinIndia in the dependent studies. strong signs of acutevi- Korea’s mostpopular news siteand biggest longerterm. Asubstantial discussion on the In Nature ralinfectionleading to search engine, hadthrashedout an unusual impact of intermediaryplatforms on the Microbiology,scientists pneumonia, and the modelforworkingwithKoreannews publish- Mel Silva,managing director of Google Australiaand NewZealand, appears via a health of news mediaoutlets is yettocom- have recommendeduse non-human primateim- ers —designating some 125outlets as “Naver videolink during aSenateinquiryinCanberra on Friday. AAP Imagevia AP mence in anymeaningful wayhere. of the macaque as a mune system mounts a Newsin-link partners”, and paying them for According to aFICCI-EY report on India’s model to help develop strong response and publishedstories on Naver. Another 500odd mediaandentertainmentsectorfor2020,there vaccines.The study also PAPER clears the SARS-CoV-2 news outletsare unpaid“search partners”.The last week,Googlesaid that News Showcase — publicationsinFrancejusthoursbefore threat- are300millionusersof onlinenews sites,por- found thatthe baboon infection. total payout wasover$40 million in 2017. whichfeaturesstory panels that allowpartic- ening to remove itssearch functions in tals and aggregators in the country—making showedgreater disease CLIP In the Nature Whilethismaynot betheperfectmodel— ipating publisherstopackagethe storiesthat Australia.ThefightinAustraliaisevidentlycen- upapproximately46%of Internetusersand77% development, making it Communications study, news outletshavegenerally been unsatisfied appear within Google’s news products–has tred on howmuchcontrol these companies of smartphoneusersinIndiaattheendof 2019. apotentialoption for NEWRESEARCH scientists at the California with theirshare; also,therehas been contro- on boardmorethan 450 publicationsacross a wouldbeableto retainontheirpayoutprocess With 282 million unique visitors, India is evaluating anti-viral National Primate versyrecentlyoverallegationsthatNaverma- dozencountries,includingLeMonde,LeFigaro, —operational aspectssuchasdeciding the thesecondlargestonlinenews consumingna- therapeutics and co-morbidities such Research Center at theUniversity of nipulated the ranking of articlescritical of and Libération in France; El Cronista and La quantumofpaymentsfor news feed sources, tion afterChina.InIndia,digital advertising as diabetes. California, Davis, infected eightrhe- South Korea’s topfootball association on the Gaceta in Argentina; TAG24 and Sachsische and having to reveal changes in their algo- spends in 2019 grew 24%year-on-year to Rs And in NatureCommunications, sus macaques withSARS-CoV-2virus latter's request—the templateremains oper- Zeitung in Germany; and Jornal do Commercio rithms. The heftyfinesproposedbyCanberra 27,900crore,accordingto EYestimates,andare scientists have reportedthat rhesus isolated from the firsthuman patient ational in anationwherenearly 85 per centof from Pernambuco in Brazil. arebeingseen as an added problem. expected to grow to Rs 51,340 croreby2022. macaques infected withSARS-CoV-2 treated at UC Davis. the population accesses news online. GooglehadannouncedinDecember2020 Thereisnodenying thattoughaction by Globally, Facebook and Google together developedprotectiveimmune re- The researchersfollowedimmune thatitwould“soonstartofferingpeopleaccess regulatorshas been behindthe movesby command61% of the market shareindigital sponses that might be reproduced responses in the rhesus macaques The fight in Australia to paywalledcontentinpartnershipwithselect FacebookandGoogleto launchplatformssuch ad spends, according to EdelweissResearch; with avaccine. over about twoweeks. The animals Google lastweekthreatenedtoremove its news publishers”.Ithadsaiditwouldpaypar- as the proposednews taband Showcase, un- Google leads with 37%. In aseparatenote, In the NatureMicrobiology study, showedall the signs of producingan search engine from Australia.Facebook said it ticipatingpartnersto providelimitedaccessto likeNaver’slargely voluntaryaction in Korea. Edelweisssaiditexpecteddigitalspendsto be scientists at Texas Biomedical effective immuneresponse to aviral could blockAustralian users from posting or paywalledcontent forNewsShowcaseusers. European authorities have specifically further accelerated,led by asubstantialjump Research Institute (Texas Biomed) infection. sharing news linksifthe proposed norms on Last Thursday, Googlesaiditwillpaynews linkedpaymentstocopyright,withoutputting in online activity accentuatedbyCovid-19. royalty paymentswereput intooperation. publicationsinFrance forthe use of their con- aforcingdeviceintotheagreements.Australia’s Other major news aggregators in India are Representativesofthe tech majors ap- tentonline.Thetech majorandAPIG, aFrench code, on the other hand, is almostentirelyfo- Dailyhunt,theparentcompanyofwhich(VerSe INDIA ACTIVE CASES 184,408 peared at aSenatehearing in Canberra last news media group,said in ajoint statement cusedonthebargainingpowerofnews outlets Innovation)hasraisedfundingfromGoogleand Friday. Theyarguedthat the media industry that aftermonths of talks, theyhad agreedon vis-a-vis the tech majors, and has some coer- Microsoft,andtheTigerGlobal-backedInShorts. wasalreadybenefiting from trafficroutedto the principles on whichnews publications cive featuresaswell.Itismoreofacompetition Accordingto aJanuary2020reportbyHarvard themby thedigitalplatforms,andthatthepro- shouldbecompensatedforthedistributionof issueinAustralia,of powerequationsbetween University’s Nieman Lab, publishers were ini- 250,000 posedrules would expose them to “unman- their content on Googleplatforms. traditional news outlets andtechplatforms, tiallypaidbetweenRs5-6lakhmonthlyforcon- ageablelevelsof financialandoperationalrisk”. However, Google’sfirstresponsetoFrance withthequestionof abuseof dominanceby the tenthostedonDailyhunt—buttheystartedgo- 213,027 adopting the EU copyright rules wastostop latter hanging in the balance. ing offthe platformafter terms were changed. 184,408 Firms’ response elsewhere displaying news snippets–until the French Australianregulatorshadinitiallyproposed ThereportnotedthatMalayalaManoramawas Bloomberg and some other media outlets competition regulator steppedin, in October avoluntary code of conduct, but have since one of the firstbig publisherstoexit Dailyhunt have reported that Facebook plans to launch lastyear.Google also pulledthe plug on its steppeduppressure. Australia’s competition in2017.EvenwithouttheconversationinIndia 200,000 itsnews tabfeature(available in the US since GoogleNewsservice in Spain, whichmade regulatorhaswarnedthattheplannedlawsto reachingthepointwhere news aggregatorsare 2019)inthe UK, with likely tie-ups with The paymentstopublishers mandatory. forceGoogle and Facebook to payfor news mandated to makepaymentstopublishers, Guardian,TheEconomist,andTheIndependent. contentwere “likelyjustthestartofmorereg- startups suchasDailyhunt and InShorts areyet AndGoogleisrollingoutitsnews offeringplat- The coreissue ulation fordigital platforms”. to find asustainable revenue model. LAST 10 DAYS form,Google NewsShowcase. Paying fornews feedin itself appears to be “This bargainingcodeisajourney, if we Jan 14 Jan 23 Boththeseplatformsaimto formalisepay- less of an issue forthe tech giants, giventhat see marketpower elsewhere, we can add 150,000 ment pactswith news outlets.Inastatement Google entered theagreement to paynews them to the code,” Australian Competition and EXPERTEXPLAINS will appear tomorrow.

Note: The Jan 23 figureinthis graphisbased on thegovernment update on Jan 24

INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLD TOTAL CASES Why Biden’s exercise bikeset off security chatter 10,654,533 98,861,235 minium and weighs around 60 kg.Users are still be vulnerabilities present. Because of this Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE also required to pay$39 (around Rs 2,895) we arelooking to thesecurity community to Welfare,updatedat11pmonJan24 updatedat11pmonJan24 NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 per month forPeloton’s live and on-demand help us meet this toppriority throughpro- classes. grams likeresponsible disclosure.” IN THE weeksleading up to US PresidentJoe ApartfromBiden, revealedonhis podcast Biden’s swearing-in, cybersecurityexperts thathewas an active user of thePelotonbike The So, will Biden’sPelotonbikebe examinedwhether his Pelotonbike—apiece and had purchasedone during the lockdown Peloton permitted in the WhiteHouse? of exercise equipment—would be permit- to stay active,the Obamas andactress Kate bikehas Cybersecurity experts have reportedly tedinsidethe WhiteHouse. Theyeventually Hudson arealso fans of the bike. Today, the manyfans said that if Biden reallywants to bring his concludedthe bikewas safe,according to company,and itsexercisebikeinparticular, in theUS Pelotonbiketothe WhiteHouse, he can. But media reports from the US. have acultfollowing across the UnitedStates. it will have to be massively strippeddown by the Secret Service and National Security So, what is the Pelotonbike? Whydid it comeunder security security threat, as hackers couldpotentially Agency (NSA)first. Made by the Pelotoncompany,itisan scrutiny? access Biden and the WhiteHouse through “… really, cybersecurity experts say, If Internet-connected,stationary, indoor cy- The Pelotontabletisconnected to the the bike. Biden wantshis bike, he can surelyhaveit, cling bikewith cameras, microphones and Internetand comes fitted with cameras and Adisclaimer on the Pelotonsitereads: "At though it might bear little resemblance to tablets attached, so itsriderscan livestream microphones that allowriders to hear and Peloton, we consider thesecurity of our sys- the off-the-assembly-line version afterthe fitness classesand communicatewith one see eachotheriftheysochoose. Areportby tems and the best interestofour members a Secret Serviceand the NationalSecurity another.Priced at upward of $2,500(around PopularMechanics magazine warnedthatthe toppriority.However, no matter howmuch Agency arefinishedwith it,” TheNew York Rs 1.8lakh), it is made of carbon steel and alu- bikecould be seen by the Secret Serviceasa effort we put intosystemsecurity,there can Times reported. Aclothcalledrisa:partofTripuraculture,settobeanationalbrand

woven. Handloom remainsanintegral part an upper garment, the risaalsohas ahost looms at homes, usuallynot morethan one Pradyot KishoreManikyaDebbarma of DEBRAJDEB of theTripuri household,evenwith the ad- of crucial,social andreligious utilities. or twopieces in amonth. Mostofthis artis the erstwhile royalfamily, too, has wel- AGARTALA,JANUARY24 ventof powerloom-manufacturedgarments. Adolescent Tripuri girls arefirstgiven arisa handeddownthrough generations. comedthe move to promote tribal hand- to wear in an event calledRisa Sormani, at However, many of the designs were lostwith loom products. However, withthe Tripura TRIPURA CHIEF MinisterBiplab Kumar Deb What is the government doing to age12to14. the passageoftime, and onlyafew remain. Autonomous District Council polls coming, and his government have been promoting promote the risa? The risa is usedinreligiousfestivals such branding indigenousclothing should notbe the traditional risa, ahandwoven cloth used Forseveral years, the risa has already as Garia Pujabytribalcommunities, atur- What will branding mean? relegated to political gimmicks,hesaid. by the state’s indigenous communities, as been in circulation as an honorarystole ban by men during weddings and festivals, Tripura’s ruling BJP-IPFT government asignature identity of the state. The risa is among indigenous community leaders and acummerbund over the dhoti, ahead scarf claims that due to apathyofprevious gov- What is being done to support being brandedunder the India Handloom tribal political leaders. ChiefMinisterDeb by young girls and boys,and amuffler dur- ernments, skilledTripuri craftsmen and weavers? Brand, Deb announcedrecently. has been sportingarisaonhis shoulders ing winters. The cloth is also usedasa weavers were notbeing able to sell their The Handloom and Handicrafts ever sincehestarted campaigning as aBJP makeshifthanger to hold an infant on the productsinternationallyand suffered finan- Directoratehas marketedtheir productsin So, what is arisa? MahasamparkAbhiyan convener wayback mother’s backs. Anditispresentedasa cially. expo and industry fairs in Agartala, among The traditional Tripuri female attirecom- in 2015.Today,manyofhis party func- markofhonour to distinguishedrecipients. The current government aims to pro- whomafew represented Tripura in Delhi prises three parts —risa, rignai and rikutu. tionaries areseen with the risa. Risa is commoninalmostall 19 indige- mote risanationallyasTripura’s signature and Guwahati etc. Balai Goswami, chairper- Risa is ahandwoven cloth usedasafe- On Kokborok Day(whichcelebrates the nous tribal communities of Tripura. garment, besides providing uniforms to an- son of the TripuraHandloom &Handicrafts male upper garment, and also as headgear, indigenous language of thatname) earlier However, eachcommunity has itsown de- ganwadi and ASHA workers. Development Corporation Ltd, said The astole,orapresent to express respect. As this month, Deb postedphotosonsocial signs. The government is also focusing on de- government is preparing ateam of weavers an upper garment, it is wrappedaround the media of himself wearing arisa and ap- signs. At atraining camp of handloom to represent Tripuraatthe National torso twice. pealedtoothers to promote tribal crafts- Howlong has the risa been partof Risa is the handwoven clothdraped weavers in Mandai villagelastyear,organ- HandloomExpoinDelhi in Februarythis Rignai is primarily worn as the lower manship. Days later,atthe plenaryofthe Tripura’s traditions? around the upperbody. isedbythe TripuraHandloom and year.The risawith temple designs is setto garmentand literallytranslates into‘to NorthEastCouncil at Shillong, Deb said his The complete Tripuri attireisclaimedto Tribal Researchand Cultural Institute Handicrafts Development Corporation,one be displayedthere. wear’. It canbeunderstood as an indigenous government is emphasising production and have originated even before the time of the handwoven risa had the Tripurasundari As of 2018,Tripurahad 1,37,177 hand- variety of the sari of mainland India. marketing of indigenous handloom and Manikyakings, who ruledTripura forover Temple on it, said Aparna Debbarma, an ex- loom weavers, according to the National Ritukuismainlyusedasawrap, or like handicrafts productstofollow the Prime 500years starting from the15th century. Today, the risa is undergoing changes ecutive of Mandai Handloom Cluster. The Handloom Census, with 60 handloom clus- a‘chunri’ or a‘pallu’ of the Indian saree. It is Minister’s “Vocal forlocal”call. Although the history is contested, Maharaj due to competitionwithpowerloom-man- temple has been the epicentreofthe BJP- ters.Theyreceive benefits from the National also usedtocover theheadofnewly mar- Trilochana, aka Subhrai Raja is said to have ufacturedproductsavailable at cheaper ledgovernment’stourismpolicy;the de- Cooperative Development Corporation. riedTripuri women. Whyisthe risa important? invented nearly 250 designs of rignai during rates. sign wasprovided by WeaversService However, onlyahandful of them work ex- Thesegarmentsweretraditionallyhand- Wovenincolourful designs and worn as his time forhis 250wives. Thegarmentis madein handloomor loin CentreatAgartala. clusively on traditional tribal handloom.

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TOPOFTHE As China-Taiwan tension rises, WORLD TurmoilinNepalrulingpartyas PrachandagroupexpelsPMOli US warships sailinto region REUTERS TAIPEI,JANUARY24 Prachanda-ledfaction wasplan- SHIRISHBPRADHAN ning to file ano-confidence mo- AUSaircraftcarriergroup ledby KATHMANDU,JANUARY24 tion againsthim and introduce the USS TheodoreRoosevelt has an impeachment motion against enteredthe SouthChinaSea to PRIME MINISTER KPSharma Oli President BidyaDeviBhandari. promote “freedomofthe seas”, Alexandria wasexpelledfromthe primary Oli-ledCPN-UML and the US militarysaid on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez membership of the Nepal Prachanda-led NCP(Maoist at atimewhen tensions be- CommunistParty by the splinter Centre) mergedinMay 2018 to tween China and Taiwan have faction ledbyPushpaKamal formtheNepalCommunistParty raisedconcern in Washington. UNITED STATES Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sundayfor following victoryoftheiralliance USIndo-Pacific Command Mancharged allegedanti-party activities,fur- in the 2017 general elections. said in astatement the strike ther intensifying the infighting KPSharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal‘Prachanda’ Afteravertical split in the rul- group entered the South China withthreatening within the ruling party. ing party following the dissolu- Sea on Saturday, the same day The decision wastaken at the tion of the House, both the fac- Taiwan reportedalarge incur- The USS TheodoreRoosevelt. Reuters File to‘assassinate’ Standing Committee meeting of cation, party sources said. Constitution as well as the dem- tions, one ledbyOli and another sion of Chinese bombers and Ocasio-Cortez the faction ledbyformerPrime Oli had been accusedofvio- ocraticrepublic system which ledbyPrachanda,havesubmit- fighter jets into itsair defence Ministers Prachanda and lating party statutebythe splin- has been establishedinthe tedseparate applications at the identification zone in the vicinity the rules-basedorder which has

ED Tensionsrise Dallas: A34-year-old MadhavKumarNepal at tergroup. countrythrough sevendecades Election Commission claiming of the Pratas Islands. daysinto allowedusall to prosper,” Texasman hasbeenar- Parisdanda in Koteshwor after There is aprovision of disci- of struggle by the people. that their faction is the genuine The US militarysaid the car- Verissimo said in the statement. Biden rested forallegedly taking Oli failedtogiveexplanation to plinary action in party's MadhavNepal,who last party and asked to provide them rier strikegroup wasinthe South PLAIN E The announcement comes ● partinthe storming of the his recent movesassought by Constitutionincase of public ac- month replacedOli as the chair- the electionsymbol of the party. China Sea, alarge partofwhichis EX presidency justdays afterJoe Biden was US Capitol this month and party leadership, said Ganesh tivities against the party's prin- man of the party by Prachanda- However, theElection claimedbyChina,toconduct sworn in as US president. posting violent threats, in- Shah, asenior standing commit- ciples, programmes, policies and ledfaction, said that the Commission is yettodecide the routine operations “toensure CHINAVIEWS democrat- Biden’s nominee forsecretaryof cludingacalltoassassi- teemember of the party. legal system, factionalism and Constitution has notgiven rights matter. freedom of the seas, build part- icallyruledTaiwan as its state, Antony Blinken, told his nateDemocraticRep. Earlier in December,the conspiracy within the party,vio- to the primeminister to dissolve In December,China sent a nerships that foster maritime se- ownterritory, andhas in Senateconfirmation hearing on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez splinter group had removed68- lationofparty decision, lack of Parliament. four-memberhigh-leveldelega- curity”. the pastfew months in- Tuesdaythere was“no doubt” of New York.GarretMiller, year-old Oli, one of the two loyalty and trustinthe party, Nepal plunged into apoliti- tion to Nepal to preventasplit “Aftersailing through these creasedmilitaryactivity China posed the mostsignifi- who is from the Dallas chairmen of the ruling party,as breachofconfidentiality,accord- cal crisis on December 20 after within the NCP. The team -led by waters throughout my 30-year nearthe island. cant challengetothe US of any suburb of Richardson, was theco-chair.MadhavNepal was ing to party sources. Oli, known forhis pro-China aVice minister of the Chinese career,it’s great to be in the The US, likemost nation. arrested on Fridayafter namedasthe party's second The latestpolitical develop- leanings, in asurprise move dis- CommunistParty,Guo Yezhou - South China Sea again, conduct- countries, has no formal China has repeatedly com- being namedinafive- chairman. Prachanda is the first ment came twodays afterthe solvedParliament, amidstatus- held separatemeetings with ingroutine operations, promot- diplomatic ties with plainedabout US Navy ships get- count federal complaint. chairman of the party. NCP’s splinter faction ledamas- sle forpower withPrachanda. severaltop NCPleaders before ing freedom of the seas, and re- Taiwan, but is bound by ting close to Chinese-occupied Authorities sayhecalled The Prachanda-ledfaction on sive anti-government rally, say- His move to dissolve the275- returning home without much assuring allies and partners,” lawtoprovide the island islands in the South China Sea. forviolence in online January15soughtclarification ing the “unconstitutional”disso- member Housesparkedprotests success in itsmission. Rear Adm. Doug Verissimo, com- with the means to de- The Theodore Roosevelt is posts,including atweet from Oli alleging that he wascar- lution of the Parliament by Oli from alarge sectionofthe NCP Indiahas described Oli’s sud- manderofthe strikegroup, was fend itself. Joe Biden was being accompaniedbythe that simplyread rying out activities that go has posedserious threatstothe ledbyPrachanda,also aco-chair den decision to dissolve quoted as saying.” sworn intooffice only on Ticonderoga-class guided-mis- “AssassinateAOC,” aref- againstthe party’s policies. The country's hard-earnedfederal of the ruling party. Parliament and call forfresh With two-thirds of the Wednesday.His admin- sile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, and erence to Ocasio-Cortez. faction decidedtoremove Oli democratic republic system. Oli, who is the chairperson of electionsasan“internal matter” world’s trade travelling through istration says itscommit- the Arleigh Burke-class guided- AP even from the ordinarymem- Prachanda lastweeksaid afaction of the NCP, has said he and said thatitisfor the country this very important region, it is ment to Taiwan is “rock- missile destroyers USS Russell bership of the party afterhe that by dissolving the House, Oli wasforcedtodissolve theHouse to decide as per itsdemocratic vital that we maintain our pres- solid”. and USS John Finn, the US state- chosenot to furnishany clarifi- has dealt ablowtothe afterknowing that the processes. PTI enceand continue to promote ment said. THE NETHERLANDS ‘Asia’sElChapo’ Eleven trapped miners arrestedin Biden administration to Amsterdam unveil more climate policies rescued in China after Amsterdam: Dutch police said on Saturdaytheyhad 14 days underground arrested thealleged climateenvoy,said arecent leader of asprawling REUTERS pledgebyChina, the world’s top Asian drug syndicate who WASHINGTON,JANUARY24 greenhouse gasemitter,was is listedasone of the “not good enough.” In AUSTINRAMZY world’s most-wanted US PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s ad- September,Chinese President Xi HONGKONG,JANUARY24 fugitivesand hasbeen ministration next week will re- Xingping setagoalfor his coun- compared to Mexican lease morepolicies it believesare trytobecome carbon neutral by TWOWEEKSafter an explosion drug lordJoaquin “El neededtotackleclimate change 2060, 10 years afterthe 2050 leftagroup of miners trapped Chapo” Guzman. TseChi Awoman casts her ballotinLisbon. Reuters and is urging China to toughen time frame favoredbymost 2,000 feet belowground in the Lop, aChinese-born one of itstargets on greenhouse countries, while also pledging a Chineseprovince of Shandong, Canadian national, was gasemissions, his topclimate moreambitious short-term goal at least11werefound alive and detainedonFridayatthe advisers said on Saturday. Joe Biden on emissions. liftedtothe surface on Sunday. requestofAustralian po- Portugal holds polls Gina McCarthy, the White As secretaryofstate under The firstrescuedminer was lice, who ledaninvestiga- House’s national climateadviser, former President BarackObama brought to thesurface at 11.13 Rescuers carry aminer who tion thatfound his organ- amid apandemic surge did notsay what policies would Biden, aDemocrat who took in 2015,Kerry helpedbring am Sunday,accordingtoofficials wastrappedinaminein isation dominates the $70 be released. Amemoseenby office on January20, quicklyis- China to the table at the U.N. cli- in Yantai, acity near the small China'sQixia City. AP/PTI billion-a-year Asia-Pacific Reuters on Thursday showed sued executive orders canceling mateconference in Paris. Now, town where themine is located. drug trade, Dutchpolice Biden will unveil asecond round the Keystone XL pipelinethat the Biden administration has be- Rescue personnel applaudedas spokesman Thomas BARRYHATTON SPAINMILITARY of executive orders as soon as Jan. would importtar sands oil from gun to applydiplomatic pressure he wasbrought to the surface, eyecoverings forprotection af- Aling said. REUTERS LISBON,JANUARY24 COMMANDERSKIPS 27 that include an omnibus or- Canada and rejoining the 2015 on countries to work harder on according to videobroadcastby tersuchaprolonged period der to combat climatechange do- Paris climateagreement. climate, said Kerry. Xinhua,the state-run news without sunlight. Some were NIGERIA PORTUGAL HELD apresidential VACCINELINE, mesticallyand elevatethe issue Both of those movesreversed Tackling climatechangedid agency.The miner wasliftedinto carriedout, but others appeared election Sunday, withthe mod- FORCEDTOQUIT as anational security priority. former President Donald notmean adiminishment of an ambulance and immediately to be in better health and able to Pirateskidnap15 erateincumbent candidate “We’vealready sent signals Trump’s policies. During his four lifestyle,suchasdrivinglessornot takentoahospital. He was“ex- walk with assistance. sailorsinattack strongly favoredtoearnasecond Madrid: Spain'stop military on the things that we don’t like years in office, Trumprolledback beingableto eatmeat,hesaid.The tremelyweak,”the Yantai city The January10blast at the five-year term as adevastating commander has been forced that we’regoing to roll back, but about 100regulations on climate Bidenadministration,mayorsand government said on an official Hushan gold mine near Yantai onTurkishship Covid-19surge grips the to resign afterheand other this week you’regoing to see us and the environment as he pur- other local leaders will have to social media account. trapped22miners. Anote sent Istanbul: Pirates off European Union nation. high-ranking officers vio- move forwardwith what’s the suedapolicy of “energydomi- persuadeAmericansthatcurbing In the afternoon, rescuers up by theminers said that 11 Nigeria’scoastkidnapped The head of stateinPortugal lated establishedprotocols vision of the future,” McCarthy nance” to maximize output and climatechange“can bethe great- continuedbringing miners to were trappedinone section, one 15 sailors from aTurkish hasnolegislative powers, which and receivedthe Covid-19 told avirtual meeting of the U.S. exports of oil, gasand coal. esteconomic transformation in the surface in groupsoftwo or in another and 10 were unac- containership in the Gulf lie with parliament andthe gov- vaccine ahead of time. Conference of Mayors. JohnKerry,Biden’sspecial globalhistory,” Kerrysaid. three. The later groups also wore counted for. NYT of Guinea on Saturdayin ernment, but is an influential Spain's defense ministry abrazenand violent at- voice in running of the country. confirmedtoThe Associated tack that wasfarther from Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 72, Press on Saturdaythat Russia: US comments on protests support law-breaking Ageing dams in shorethan usual. One is regarded as the clear front- MinisterMargaritaRobles sailor waskilledinthe runner amongseven candidates. had acceptedthe resigna- India, US, other raid, an Azerbaijani citi- He is an affable lawprofessor tion of Chief of StaffGen. icismSunday, aday afterprotests Departmentstatement calling othercities. Peskov,however, zen, while those kid- and former television personal- Miguel Angel Villarroya. AP ASSOCIATEDPRESS took place across the countryde- forNavalny's release. dismissedthe turnout as in- nations pose nappedare from Turkey, ity who as president has consis- MOSCOW,JANUARY24 manding the release of jailedop- Peskov saidthe statements significant. “Now many will say according to the respec- tentlyhad an approval rating of position leader AlexeiNavalny, “indirectlyconstituteabsolute that manypeoplecame outfor growing threat: tive governmentsand a 60 per cent or more. tions and deaths, according to a THE SPOKESMANfor Russian Putin's mostwell-known critic. interference in our internal af- the illegal actions.No, fewpeo- crew listobtainedby To win,acandidate mustcap- tallybyJohns Hopkins President Vladimir Putinsaid the During the protests,embassy fairs” and are“directsupportfor ple cameout;manypeoplevote UN report Reuters.Turkish President turemorethan 50 per centofthe University,and thepublic health US Embassy's statementsabout spokeswoman Rebecca Ross the violation of the lawofthe forPutin,” he said. TayyipErdogan’soffice vote. But aseveresurge in coron- system is under hugestrain. the nationwide protests,in said on Twitter that “the US sup- Russian Federation, supportfor Navalnywas arrested on YOSHITASINGH said on Sunday he wasor- avirus infectionscould keep the Prime MinisterAntonio whichmorethan 3,500people ports the right of all people to unauthorisedactions.” January17when he returnedto NEWYORK,JANUARY24 chestrating officials in the turnout lowand perhaps lead to Costa,inatweet, urgedpeople reportedlywerearrested, inter- peaceful protest, freedom of ex- The protests attracted thou- Russia from Germany, where “rescue of kidnapped aFebruary14runoffbetweenthe to turn out forthe ballot, saying fere in thecountry's domestic af- pression. Steps being takenby sands of people in Russia's ma- had been recovering from severe OVER Athousand large dams in ship personnel”. twotop candidates. that“unprecedented planning” fairs and encourageRussiansto Russian authorities aresup- jor cities, including an estimated nerve-agent poisoning that he India will beroughly50years old REUTERS Portugal has the world's had gone intoensuring that the break the law. pressing those rights.” The em- 15,000 in Moscow, anddemon- blames on the Kremlin and that in2025andsuchagingstructures highestrates of newdailyinfec- votecan take place safely. AP DmitryPeskov made thecrit- bassy also tweetedaState strationsoccurredinscores of Russian authorities deny. across the worldpose agrowing threat, according to aUNreport whichnotes that by 2050, most people on Earth will live down- ArabSpring exiles look back 10 yearsafter Egypt uprising stream of tens of thousands of dams built in the 20th century. The report, titled‘Ageing wa- nalists and other intellectuals “I begantofeel,bydegree, years forwhichfigures areavail- false news.Others remain in in- terinfrastructure: An emerging SYLVIAHUI has, along with aclimateoffear, morefear and threats,” able. But it’s impossible to tell definitepretrial detentions. global risk’ and compiledby LONDON,JANUARY24 hobbledany politicalopposition. Aboelgheit said. Friendswere economic migrantsfrompoliti- El-Sissi maintains Egyptis United Nations University's Dr MohamedAboelgheit jailed, his writings critical of the cal exiles. holding back Islamic extremism Canadian-basedInstitutefor THE EGYPTIANS who took to the wasamong those jailedinAssiut government drew attention,and TheyrelocatedtoBerlin, Paris so it doesn’t descend intochaos Water, Environment and Health, streetsonJanuary25, 2011,knew in 2011 afterjoining calls forre- “I wasn’t going to wait until it and London. Egyptians also have likeits neighbors. says mostofthe 58,700large what theyweredoing. They volt againstpolicebrutality and happenedtome,” he added. settledinTurkey, Qatar, Sudan “Sissi wantsnot onlytoabro- dams worldwide were con- knewtheyrisked arrest and Mubarak.Releasedamid the Afterel-Sissi came to power, and even Asian countries like gate therightsofthe opposition structedbetween 1930 and 1970 worse. But as their numbers chaos, he reveledinthe atmos- Aboelgheit leftfor London, Malaysia and South Korea. and to preventany critical voice with adesign lifeof50-100years. swelledinCairo’s central Tahrir phereofpolitical freedom in the wherehe’s publishedinvestiga- Human RightsWatch esti- from being uttered,Sissi doesn’t It said at 50 years, alarge con- Square, theytastedsuccess. Arab world’s mostpopulous tive reportsonotherparts of the mated in 2019 that therewere actuallybelieve,not onlyinthe crete dam “would mostproba- Police forces backedoff,and country—protesting,working Arab world. 60,000 political prisoners in opposition, but he doesn’t be- blybegin to express signs of age- within days,former President as ajournalistand joiningacam- At his former home in Egypt, Egypt.The Committee to Protect lieve in politics,” said Khaled ing.” Ageing signs include Hosni Mubarak agreedtode- paignfor amoderatepresiden- national security agentsasked Journalists ranksEgyptthird,be- Fahmy, an Egyptian professor of increasing cases of dam failures, mands to step down. tial candidate. But it did notlast. about him. When Aboelgheit’s hind China and Turkey,indetain- modern Middle Eastern History progressively increasing costs of But eventsdidn’t turn out the Interim militaryrulers fol- Egyptians celebratethe fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime at wife lastreturnedtovisit rela- ing journalists. at CambridgeUniversity. dam repair and maintenance, in- waymanyofthe protesters en- lowedMubarak.In2012, Cairo’s Tahrir SquareinFebruary2011. AP File tives, she wassummonedfor El-Sissimaintains Egypthas Agovernment press officer creasing reservoir sedimenta- visioned. Adecade later,thou- MohamedMorsi, amember of questioning about his activities. no political prisoners. The arrest did notrespond to arequestfor tion, and lossofadam's func- sands areestimated to have fled Egypt’smostpowerful Islamist The messagewas clear. of ajournalist or arightsworker comment on targeting and in- tionalityand effectiveness, abroad to escape the govern- group, the Muslim Brotherhood, military—led by then-Defense group.” Acrackdown on dissent Datafromthe WorldBank makes news roughlyevery timidating Egyptians —either The analysis includesdam ment of PresidentAbdel Fattah waselected as the firstcivilian Ministerel-Sissi —removed ensued, and el-Sissi wontwo shows an increase in emigres month. Manypeoplehavebeen abroad or at home —based on decommissioning or ageing case el-Sissithatisconsidered even president in the country’s his- Morsiin2013, dissolvedparlia- terms in elections that human from Egyptsince 2011.Atotal of imprisonedonterrorism their work as journalists,ac- studies from the US, France, moreoppressive.The significant tory.But his tenureproveddivi- ment and eventuallybanned the rightsgroups criticized as unde- 3,444,832 leftin2017—nearly charges, forbreaking aban on tivists or academics, or forex- Canada, India, Japan, and Zambia lossofacademics, artists,jour- sive.Amid massive protests, the Brotherhood as a“terrorist mocratic. 60,000 morethan in 2013,the protestsorfor disseminating pressing political opinions. AP and Zimbabwe. PTI

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 MarketWatch FPISINVEST `18,456 CR IN JAN SO FAR NewDelhi: Foreign portfolio investors(FPIs)remained net buyersto thetuneofRs18,456 crore from January1-22, as global liquidityled to 15 ECONOMY continued investmentinemerging markets. As per depositories data, FPIs pumped in Rs 24,469 crore into equities. PTI

UNLIKEINPREVIOUSTWOQUARTERS,MOSTCOMPANIESSEEREVENUEGROWTH INTERVIEW WITHCHAIRMAN, EDELWEISS GROUP Q3:IndiaIncpostsgoodreportcardon ‘Govt spending actuallyhelps middle &lower class, so fiscal festiverush,risingcommodityprices stimulusismoreimportant’

At Ultratech, volumes were up 14 Auto,for instance reporteda27 arecovery.AtShoppers’Stop,foot- THESENSEXhasseenasharprally investmentby wayofnow taking ENSECONOMICBUREAU per centy-o-yonthe back of de- STEEPFALLIN per cent y-o-y increase ebitda as fallswere down50percenty-o-y to 50,000andwhilesomearerais- careofdividend and capital gains NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 mandfromruralandurbanhous- REVENUESFORRIL it optimizedfixed cost and spent resultinginafallinrevenuesof 32 ingconcernsovervaluation,there tax. Andthirdisprivatisationand ing and government-ledinfra- less on employeecosts.Thanks per cent y-o-y althoughmanyof areothers who feel that markets disinvestment. The government FESTIVE FERVOUR, asharp risein structure. BajajAutocashedinon partlytobettercostcontrols the restrictions had been eased. arediscountingfuture earnings shouldembarkona4-5yearplan ■ Theheadline commodity prices, abase effect an 8per centy-o-yimprovement Avenue Supermarts wasableto TheITpackputonaspectacu- thereisstrong liquidity flow. forprivatisation to raiseRs10-15 numbers,for asample and stupendous performances innetaverage sellingprices.Again, expand EBITDA margins by 2bps lar showposting strong revenues RASHESHSHAH, chairman, lakh croreand shouldspend it. of 184companies from IT majors have combinedto volumes at Asian Paintsjumped y-o-y.Withexpenditurecontract- andmarginsonthebackofrobust Edelweiss Group told SANDEEP Ifeel that by the end of 2021, (excluding banksand makefor agoodQ3FY21report an astonishing33per cent y-o-y, ingmorethan thefallinrevenues spendingby clients,arampingup SINGHthatIndiaiswitnessingre- investment will start. financials) though, are card.Earningsseasonthusfarhas pushinguprevenuesby nearly 27 operating profit margins forthe of large dealsand what analysts versalof long,mediumandshort- skewed by thesteep been full of surprises with most per cent on-year on the backof sameexpanded500bpsy-o-y.To arecalling a‘budget flush’. termdowncyclesandequitymar- What arethe challenges to this 22% year-on-year fall in companies beatingStreetesti- bothpent-upandfestivedemand. besureabigjumpinotherincome Managementssound confi- kets arewitnessingthe same. opportunity? therevenues of mates. UnlikeinQ1and Q2, this Again,severallargerorganised also boostedprofits. dent theycan keep up the good Stating that India is at the same The big challenge is to have a Reliance Industries timearoundalmost allcompanies sector companies were able to Retailers were among the work giventhe big deal wins stagewhereitwasin2004,hesaid broad-basedandinclusive recov- have growntheir revenues take away business from smaller worsthit postthe pandemic but, they’ve seen.Infosyshas raised the government needs to spend Rashesh Shah ery, otherwise it willnot sustain. smartly, someby pushingthrough playerswhosesupplychainswere withstoreoperationsnearingnor- FY20-21revenueguidanceto 4.5- over the next 12-18months and Therehasto beliquidityandcredit biggervolumesbut manybytak- disrupted.Eventhoughtheycame banksand financials) though, are malcy,AvenueSupermarts 5per cent from 2-3 percent ear- ensurethatthegrowthisinclusive availabilityforcompaniesthatare ingprice increases to pass on the offalowbase,revenuesatHavell’s skewed by the steep 22 per cent bouncedbacktopostagood in- lier;CEOSalilParikhsaidthecom- andbroad-based.Editedexcerpts: Ifind India at the same point. We beyondAAArated.Whiletopguys higher cost of inputs. rose aremarkable 39 per cent y-o-y fall in the revenues of crease in revenues of 10 percent panywasgainingmarket sharein had tough years between 1996 have accesstoany amount of Thankstorising steel prices y-o-yasthecompanygainedmar- Reliance Industries (RIL) . y-o-y with demand forgeneral agrowing pie. In aquarterin What factors justifythisbig and2004,therewerescamsinthe fund,if yougodown,theliquidity globallyand apick-up in local de- ketsharefromsmaller players. Evenasrevenuesrose,compa- merchandisepickingup. whichittookwagehikes, TCSre- surge in markets? market,Asianfinancialcrisis,eco- isnotthereforthem.So,onemain mand,JSWSteelreporteda21per Theheadlinenumbers,forasam- nies continuedtocut costs and Discretionaryspends, however, portedstrong EBIT margins of Strangely, India’sturnaround nomic sanctions because of the piece will be credit growth. If it is centyear-on-yearriseinrevenues. ple of 184companies (excluding thataidedmarginexpansion.Bajaj don’tseemtohaveseen as sharp 26.6 per cent. FE hasbeenverysharp.Eventhough Pokhran blast, the tech bubble between5-8 per cent there will the government did notspend burstand then therewas 9/11 at- beinequality,butwhenitis13-14 muchmoney, ithasbouncedback tack in the US and governed per cent then it is available to SECTOR WATCH verywell.Therisehasbeenallacr- changeinIndiain2004.So,we did largerpartofthe economy. ‘December quartersees Distribution of initial osswithsectorssuchasauto,steel, notsee anycapexinthose eight The government needs to ELECTRONICS public offers (IPOs) cement,real estate amongothers years, PSU bank NPAs rose up to bring the confidence back. It has during Q4 2020 bounding back. Idid notexpect 18 per cent between 2001 and doneGSTandgoneaftertaxevad- 19 IPOsworth $1.84billion’ ■ Main markets: 10 this to happen so soon andthou- 2003 and the SARFAESI lawwas ers and now, fornext3-4 years ghtthat we were still ayear away. then brought in to handlethis. therehas to be lotoftrustbuild- ■ SME (Small and Reflecting strong momentum, India witnessed 19 IPOs Therewas also NBFC crisis in ingandconfidenceboostingbeca- IT Min invites bids worth$1.84 billion in thefourthquarterof2020 and market Medium Enterprises) segment: 9 But what has changed that periodand real estate prices use Indiawillbeongrowth path. sentiment remains positive, according to an EY report significantly? halvedbetween 1998 and 2003. Youcan’t keep cleaning all day. Therewerethree downcycles The RBI cut repo ratesfrom8per Thirdpieceisspending.Ithink for impact study $869 million: Issue size of —long-term,mediumandshort- cent to 4per centbetween 2002 fornext12-18months,governm- largest IPO in the country term—playingoutinIndiaandall and 2004,because the economy ent needs to spendand it has got during December quarter, i.e. threedowntrendsarereversingat had sloweddownconsiderably. the liberty to spend due to Covid. on multi-function by Gland Pharma the same time. The long term Even nowweare seeingsimi- downtrendstartedin2012-13and larthings.Now thereisIBCequiv- What is moreimportant: $4.09 billion: Amount raised wasonaccount of the scams, alentto SARFAESI,we hadNPA cri- monetary stimulus or fiscal? display business by 43 IPOs in 2020, which NPAs, overcapacity,taper-tant- sis, we sawreal estate crash, repo While both should continue ranks India ninth globally in rum; the medium-term down rate cutsbyRBIandnocapexover forthe next 12-18months, Ithink Italsoaimsto give someincen- terms of the number of IPOs trend wasled by IL&FS crisis and the last8-10years. So in asense, fiscal stimulus brings moreequi- AASHISHARYAN tivestocompanies that man- last year impacted banks, NBFCs and cor- 2021islike2004. Whilethings table growth and so it is impor- NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 ufacturesmall electronics porates;and then therehas been changedsignificantlyforthenext tant. When RBI loosens the mon- equipment liketransistors, GLOBAL TREND: thisshort-termdowntrendonac- five years in 2004,Ithink that it etarypolicy,italways benefitsthe THE MINISTRYofElectronics diodes,thyristors,resistors,ca- Increase in global count of Covid-19. willseeasimilarchangenow and upper tier as the moneygoes to and Information Technology pacitors and nano-electronic 19%IPO volumes in Ithink all three have played with the changeinUS, the global bank and from thereitmostly hasfloatedanexpressionof in- components suchasmicro 2020 over previous year, out and Iamveryconvinced that trade will also pickupagain. goes to AAA ratedentities.So, RBI terest (EoI)seeking bids from electromechanical systems. i.e. at 1,363 while we did notsee capexover loosening onlyfavoursthe haves’ agenciesforconductinganim- LastDecember,the MeitY thelast8-10years,itwillstartnow So is this abig inflection point? and notthe have nots’. However, pact study on the business of had decidedtocome up with ASIA-PACIFIC PICTURE: Year-on-year rise in and people have startedthe in- Yes.Itisalsobecauseofthesize government spending actually refurbished, repaired, second apolicyaimedatpromoting Increase in volumes Year-on-year rise 29%proceeds from vestment cycle. So, all three of India’s economy now. India’s helps middle and lowerclass. So, hand or unregisteredmulti- 3D printingonanindustrial 20%last year over 45%in proceeds in global IPOs in 2020, i.e. $268 downtrendsare reversing at the progressandgrowthislikegravity, to addressinequality,fiscalstimu- function displays (MFDs). scaleand helping domestic 2019, i.e. at 822 2020, i.e. $136.2 billion billion sametimeandthatiswhatwe are youcanonly experienceitbutwill lus is moreimportant. MFDs aresmall cathode companies“overcometechni- seeing in the equity marketstoo. neverbeabletoexplainit. Iwould saythat the govern- ray tubeorliquid crystaldis- cal and economicbarriers” so ment shouldkeep fiscal deficit playscreens usedinprinters, thattheycanbuildsupportive Why is it important: According to EY’s India IPO Trends Report: Q4 2020, Source: EY/PTI So is the market rallyjustified What do youthink the FM can concernsaway fortheshort-term. photocopiers,cameras,aircraft and ancillaryfacilities for IPO activityproved resilient to theimpact of the Covid-19pandemic last at some level? do to utilise the opportunity in At thesame time,theymusten- or other information display worldleaders in the technol- year, supported by low interest rates and expansionary monetary policies Market’s work is to discount the forthcoming Budget? sure that theyare able to pull it systemsandhave softbuttons ogy,suchasthe US and China. futureearnings. It discountsthe Forone year,release the fiscal backafter1-2years.In2009,they whichcan respond to user 3D printingoradditive long-term outlook whichkeeps constraint and spend moneyas were notabletopull it backand it queries. manufacturing uses com- on changing. Ialso see abig simi- that will be the real fuel to the continued till 2012,resultingin “The selected agency will puter-aideddesigning to laritybetween2004andnow and economy. Secondisto incentivise hugespikeininflation. have to furnishallthesedetails makeprototypes or working Irdai panel recommends within 120daysofthe ap- modelsofobjects by laying proval of their bid. The raw downsuccessivelayersof ma- dataand the findings of the terials suchasplastic, resin, separate payments for cost of survey will be scrutinisedby thermoplastic, metal, fiberor the ministrybeforethe final ceramic. With the help of a reportisplaced in public do- software, the model to be main,” asenior official said. printed is firstdeveloped by a vehicle, insurancepremium The impact study,tobe computer,whichthen gives conducted by the IT Ministry instructions to the3Dprinter. automotive dealerandmakesthe across 18 major statecapitals Apartfrom3Dprinting, ENSECONOMICBUREAU In June 2019,the paymentthroughasinglecheque. and 18 tier-2 andtier-3cities, the ministryhas also floated NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 As the MISP makes payment aims to checkseveral factors anEoIto invitecompaniesthat Insurance Regulatory to theinsurance companyfrom suchastheir viability in India, can assistinrecycling and re- THOSE BUYINGanewvehicle and Development his ownaccount, “thecustomer the presence of refurbished furbishing of end-of-life mayhavetopay costofvehicle Authority of India had doesnotknowtheinsurancepre- displays in tier-2 and tier-3 lithium-ion batteriesaswell andinsurancepremiumviasepa- mium being paidasitissub- towns, theglobal innovation as printed circuit boards rate cheques,if therecommenda- setupapanel to review sumedinthe costofthe vehicle”, ecosystem, and the e-waste (PCBs).Theaimof thelithium- tions of acommittee to review the MotorInsurance the committee said. beinggenerateddueto import ionbatteryrecyclingprojectis MISP guidelines areacceptedby Service Provider It suggestedthat this lackof of MFDs.Apartfromthese,the to contain the importofraw the insurance regulator Irdai. transparencyisnotintheinterest ministryisalsolookingtoesti- materials usedfor their man- TheInsuranceRegulatoryand guidelines of the policyholders’ as the true mate theexportandimportof ufacturing of suchbatteries Development Authority of India costofinsurance is notknown to MFDs from tier-2 andtier-3 and PCBs, as well as contain (Irdai) had issuedthe Motor the customer. towns and the employment thee-waste generatedby elec- InsuranceServiceProvider(MISP) The committee has submitted its “The customer maynot be suchbusinesses generate. tronics gadgetsusing these guidelines in 2017,intending to reportwithvarious recommen- awareofthecoverage optionsand The impact assessmentis components. At present, the streamlinethe processand bring dationsfororderly conductof mo- discountsavailableintheprocess. apartofthe ministry’s um- Centredoesnothaveany facil- thepracticesof vehicleinsurance, torinsurance business through Thecustomeralsocannotnegoti- brella plan to develop asup- ityforprocessing,recycling,or beingsoldby automotive dealers, MISP channel. atewith the MISP to getthe best portinginnovationandmanu- refurbishing of end-of-life under the provisions of the Among the issues examined coverage at the optimal price.” facturingecosystemaround lithium-ion batteries or Insurance Act, 1938. by thepanelaretheexistingprac- Thepanelalsorecommended FOR SAMARITANS OF ROAD SAFETY mobile manufacturingunits. printed circuit boards. MISP refers to an automobile tice of collectingpremium pay- that the customer should make The Production-Linked India produced2.6 kg e- dealerappointedby theinsureror mentfromthecustomerwhileso- paymenttothe insurerdirectly From left; Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport&Highways and MSME Incentive scheme,notifiedon wastepercapitain2019,while theinsuranceintermediarytodis- licitingthemotorinsurancepolicy. whichisfacilitatedbythe MISP. MinisterNitin Gadkari present the National Road SafetyAward 2020 in the NGOCategoryto April 1lastyear,aimstogive it has around 312authorised tributeand/or service motorin- Thepanelsaidunderthepres- “MISP shall notcollectthe insur- Simran Virk of Western India Automobile Association,during theinauguration of the incentivesof4-6 per cent to e-waste recyclers,asper data surance policies of vehicles sold entsystem,thereisalackoftrans- ancepremiumamountinitsown National Road SafetyMonth at Vigyan Bhawan, NewDelhi, on January18. Also presentatthe electronics companies which fromGlobalE-WasteMonitor, through it. parency in the costofinsurance accountand thentransfer the programme were MinisterofState forRoadTransport&Highways GeneralVKSingh and manufacturemobile phones. releasedinJuly2020. InJune2019,Irdaihadsetupa premium when acustomer buys same to the insurance company,” NITI AayogCEO Amitabh Kant. panel to reviewthe MISP norms. avehicleforthefirsttimefroman it said in itsreport. BRIEFLY UK Prime Minister presses How decriminalisation of offencesunder `660crorefor MadhyaPradesh Biden for new trade deal LLP Act could helpunclog judicial system NewDelhi: The Finance recommendedfor fornon-compliance, provisions of the LLP Act. Ministrysaid Sundayithas States would rejoin the Paris cli- pandemic under control and KARUNJITSINGH decriminalisiation? insteadof fineswhich allocated an additionalRs AAMERMADHANI mateaccordand the World pressing Congress to pass the NEWDELHI,JANUARY24 Severaloffences areimposed aftera Who benefitsfromthe 660crore to Madhya Prad- WASHINGTON,JANUARY24 Health Organization, according president’s $1.9 trillion coron- related to timelyfil- partner or the LLP is permissionfor LLPs to esh forcapital expenditure. to astatement from Downing avirus relief plan. THE COMPANY LawCommittee ings,includingannual found guilty of mis- issue NCDs? BRITISH PRIME MinisterBoris Street. JanetYellen, Biden’sTreasury (CLC), headedbythe Corporate reports andfilings on conduct by acourt. The CLChas alsorecom- Johnson made clear to United The UK regainedcontrol over secretarynominee, also sig- Affairs SecretaryRajeshVerma, changes in partner- The reportnotes mendedthat LLPs whichare cur- Reliancespins States President JoeBiden on itsnational trade policy at the nalledduring her confirmation has recommendedthat 12 of- shipstatusofthe LLP, that thereisarisk of a rentlynot allowedtoissue debt offO2Cbiz Saturdaythathe’s eager to forge startofthe month following the hearing earlier this week that fencesunder the LLP Actbede- notrelatedto fraudhavebeenrec- convicted person being disqual- securities be permitted to issue anew US-UK trade deal. endofapost-Brexit transition Biden wasn’t eager to negotiate criminalisedand that LLPs be al- ommendedfordecriminalisation. ifiedorbecoming ineligible for non-convertible debentures Mumbai:MukeshAmbani’s The push foranewdeal came period. newtrade deals. “President lowedtoissueNCDsto raisefunds While none of these provi- various posts in thecaseoffines (NCDs) to facilitateraising of cap- RelianceIndustrieshascom- in abroad-ranging call between WhiteHouse press secretary Biden hasbeen clear that he will withtheaimof improvingeaseof sionsrecommendedfor decrimi- imposedby courts, whichwould ital and financingoperations. The pletedspin-offofthe firm’s the twoleaders that touchedon Jen Psaki had said on Fridaythat notsign anynew free trade doing business forlimited liabil- nalisation in theCLC reportcur- notbethe case forpenalties im- move is likelytobenefitstartups oil-to-chemical (O2C) busi- the global response to the coro- the administration had no time- agreementsbeforethe US makes ity partnership (LLP) firms. rentlyhaveprisonterms as a posedby an appropriateauthor- andsmallfirms in sectors which ness intoanewunit, the navirus pandemic as well as the line forforging anew trade deal major investmentsinAmerican possible punishment, the panel ity.The Registrar of Companies requireheavycapitalinvestment. companysaid. PTI Biden administration announc- as Biden’s attentionislargely fo- workers and our infrastructure,” Whichoffences underthe LLP has recommended that compa- would have theauthority to levy Fullreport on ing this week that the United cusedongetting thecoronavirus Yellen said. AP Acthas the committee nies be required to paypenalties penaltiesforanycontraventionof www.indianexpress.com

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 16 CALENDAR THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4336 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES(Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) The Sun, symbol of It's alwaysdifficult to life, sends plenty of leave the past surprises. There's one behind but, for simple forecast: various reasons, you expect the unexpected. If Iwere probablyfeel prepared to bid you, I'd getout my day-to-day farewell to one close survivalkit and work through the association. Isuspect this is next week with my headdown. because somebody has given Partners will be in aforthright yousucharough ride, that mood and deftfootworkwill be you'll be happytosee the back necessaryifyou aretocome of them. It's time to stickto through unscathed. your guns. TAURUS (Apr. 21 -May 21) SCORPIO (Oct. 24 -Nov.22) Familypressures are Hope springs certainlystirring eternal, and with so things up, but justfor manyplanets CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson nowIimagine that presenting a significant developments are mysterious face, that is bubblingawaybelowthe preciselywhatyou need. Or, surface. Getonand keep up to perhaps, Ishould saythat you datewithroutinechores, could use afew good ideas. otherwise youmay lose control. With the right movesyou may Actually,there's no time likethe also give hopetoothers, and ACROSS DOWN present fortaking on fresh thereisnobetterway to use 1One leftright outbychoice 2Light entertainment to repeat responsibilities. your current planetary energy. rather than necessity? (5) all over the place (8) 8Aweather-beaten bird(8) 3Trade using former coins GEMINI(May22-June 21) SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 23 -Dec. 22) 9Writerreceives this French (8) Afew quickquips at Sociallyyou should money(5) 4Affected astylish greeting someone else's be on awinning 10 Bill is leadingthe priest to be (6) expense maybeyour streak or,atleast, precise (8) 5Complete setofnotes (5) idea of fun, butI'm youwill be if you 11 The lastrunners trytobefirst 6Learn anew about kidneys notsureifthat's thebestway to stop worrying about things like in thisrace (5) (5) exploit Mars' sharp and moneyand howmuchlifeis 12 Look foracause of inflation (3) 7Colour forputting on (5) uncompromisingpower. Alittle costing. The chances fora 16 Coaches will be seen in the 12 It playedits partinCleopatra’s generosity would suit youwell. dreamy, soft-focus encounter street before long (6) poisoning (3) Afterall, youhavenothing to reallyare splendid. But passions 17 Threatentoget money 13 Erected by salesman fear.You'ddobesttotakeacool, arealso rising and colleagues practicalapproach, by the way. could be argumentative. (6) (3) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong 18 Fruit seedisonthe cards(3) 14 Asailor in the castisnaturally CANCER (June 22 July23) CAPRICORN (Dec. 23 -Jan. 20) 23 Manyrelaxatthe summit(5) agoodmimic (8) You'vepushedyour Youare backto 24 Apartner placedinside is cut 15 Exertforce on achap to be owninterests in the thinking that off(8) journalist(8) past and there's nobody lovesyou, 25 Some projected amusements 19 Eager to be camping? (6) nothingwrong with butthis is very far (5) 20 Memorial foratype of terrier that. Nowyou mustgoout in a from the case. Let's lookatthe 26 Encircledallystaging a (5) very wholehearted wayto positivefaces of your solar revival? (8) 21 Upsettomakelight of (5) impress familymembers and chart, starting withthe fact 27 Factor eliminated by direct 22 Checks foundation garments anyone elseyou live with. that worldlyambitionsare dealing (5) (5) Formulateyour planstodayand abouttotakeaquantum leap be prepared to implement them forward. But firstyou have to withinabout forty-eight hours. complete anumberof SolutionsCrossword4335:Across:1Ringleader,6Gaga,10Loser,11Eucharist,12 fundamental arrangements. Cardgame,13Islam,15Onguard,17Sleight,19Transom,21Outworn,22Rusty,24 LEO (July24-Aug. 23) Noticing,27Guerrilla,28Rogue,29Tale,30Malefactor.Down:1Rule,2Nostalgia,3 Agreat deal of your AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb.19) Lurid,4Abelard,5Etchers,7Ariel,8Automatons,9Manifest,14Forthright,16 legendarycharm Although your own Assayers,18Goodnight,20Manilla,21Outrage,23Swell,25Circa,26Year. relies on the intentions maybe location of that above reproach, graceful sign, Libra, in your don't criticise others solar chart. According to your whosestandards seem to slip. current patterns and Remember the old teaching JUMBLEDWORDS DifficultyLevel5s alignments, your sales pitchis aboutthrowing stones. Instructions about to reachanall-time Neverbethe firsttothrow one Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, peak.Now is the time to unless youare absolutely

therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4362 persuade reluctantpartners. blameless. In other words, don't theanswerforthegivenquip. criticiseothers when youare mustappearineachofthe VIRGO (Aug. 24 -Sept. 23) Themostdangerouscreationofanysocietyisthemanwhohas______.-JamesBaldwin nineverticalcolumns,in equallyresponsible. (7,2,4) Youare in areally eachoftheninehorizontal good statetotakea PISCES (Feb. 20 -Mar 20) 4363 NZEOO IOSLNT rowsandineachofthe leap intothe Entrepreneurial and nineboxes. unknown. Iknowit's self-employedtypes

SUDOKU notinyour nature to throw areonanupwave. All cautiontothe wind, but do try! of youare likelyto FIOST ATUGHN Youhavenoideawhat will benefit from windfalls. I'm not

DifficultyLevel ION happen unless youopen yourself saying you'llbeshoweredwith

SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; to the newand untried. One gold from heaven, but youmust 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; word of advice,though:before end the week with future

5s=VeryHard;6s= youtakeagamble, youhaveto prosperity in your sights. Take in Baldw James .- e los

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IYf¹ffÊ»f¹f ´fi²ff³ff¨ff¹fÊ, EÀf.E³f. ¸fZdOXIY»f IYfg»fZªf, Af¦fSXf-282002 Classifieds fufonk lwpukla[;k&,l-ih-,l-@2020&21@320&23 fnukad& 16-01-2021 ´fb³f: BÊ-d³fd½fQf Àfc¨f³ff foRrh; o"kZ 2020&21 ds vUrxZr fuekZrk@izfrf"Br@vuqHkoh ,oa ekU;rk izkIr vf/kd`r QeksZ ls ,l0,u0esfMdy dkWyst vkxjk esa fofHkUu foHkkxksa esa midj.kksa ds Ø; gsrq iqu% fufonk;sas bZ&Vs.Mj dh vf/kd`r osclkbV etender.up.nic.in ds ek/;e ls vkeaf=r dh tkrh gSA fufonk fnukad 25-01-2021 vijkUg~ 06-00 cts ls 01-02-2021 vijkUg 02-00 cts rd viyksM dh PERSONAL tk ldrh gSA fnukad 02-02-2021 ds 02-00 cts fufonkvksa dh rduhdh fcM [kksyh tk;saxhA fufonk [kksyus ls iwoZ lkfj.kh I , N I T I N S/O-SUBHASH esa vafdr Vs.Mj Qhl ,oa c;kus dh /kujkf'k dh iksLV vkfQl dh ,u0,l0lh0@jk"Vªh;d`r cSad ls cuh ,Q0Mh0vkj0 tks CHAND,R/O-J-56,BANDER WALI iz/kkukpk;Z] ljkstuh uk;Mw esfMdy dkyst] vkxjk ds i{k esa cU/kd gks] v/kksgLrk{kjh dk;kZy; esa izkIr gks tkuh pkfg,A KHUI RAMESH-NAGAR fo'ks"k ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa fufonk frfFk esa ifjorZu Hkh fd;k tk ldrk gSA vU; tkudkjh bZ&Vs.Mj dh vf/kd`r osclkbV RAJOURI-GARDEN https://etender.up.nic.in ,oa ,l0,u0 esfMdy dkWyst] vkxjk dh osolkbV www.snmcagra.ac.in ij ns[kh tk ldrh WEST/DELHI-110015,HAVE gSA CHANGE MY NAME,FROM NITIN ;fn fu/kkZfjr frfFk esa dksbZ dk;Zfnol ij vodk'k ?kksf"kr gks tkrk gS rks vxys dk;Zfnol dks fcM [kksyh tk;saxhA iz/kkukpk;Z TO NITIN,ALLFUTURE dks fcuk dkj.k crk;s fufonk Lohdkj vFkok vLohdkj ,oa LFkfxr djus dk vf/kdkj gksxkA midj.kksa dh la[;k ?kVk;h ,oa PURPOSES. 0040561176-5 c<+k;h tk ldrh gSA fdlh Hkh fookn dh fLFkfr esa U;kf;d {ks= vkxjk] m0iz0 gksxkA I,Rahul Anand,S/oSh.Partap S. No. Name of Equipment Qty. Required Tender Fees with GST Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) Singh,R/o-C-48-C,Old DDA- 1 ICU Ventilator 02 No. 1180.00 64,000.00 Flats,Paschim-Puri 2 Upper GI Endoscope 01 No. 1180.00 20,000.00 Chowk,New-Delhi-110063,want 3 Cystoscope Resectoscope 01 No. 1180.00 20,000.00 PUBLIC NOTICE to inform that father’s name in 4 Microdebraider with accessories 01 No. 1180.00 50,000.00 My clientsSh. Ashok Kumar son some of my documents UPID NO. 159322 DT. 23.01.2021 iz/kkukpk;Z] of Sh. Dharampal @Prabhu and wrongly-written as Pratap Smt. Indu Singh wife of Sh. Ashok Singhinstead of Partap Singh. WWW.upgov.nic.in ,l0,u0 esfMdy dkWyst] vkxjkA Kumar both resident of 1237, near M.V.N. School, Sector-17, 0040561176-7 Faridabad, Haryana-121002, do hereby disown/ debar their son I,Laxmi D/oGangaPrasad,W/o Mr.Mirnank Singh fromtheir Late Jai Ram R/o-House.No- immovable and movable properties and severe all relations 50,SindiyaPottery,Sarojini- with him as he is continuously Nagar,South/West Delhi- extending threatstolife and property of my clientsaswell as 110023,have changed my he has become disrespectful, Name to Urmila. blunt and disloyal towards my clients. 0040561176-6 It is advised that any person dealing with him in any manner I, RanbirSukh Manoj Nandwani will do so at his/her own risk, cost S/oSh.Manoj ghanshyamdas and consequences and my clients Nandwani R/o-Flat.No.607-B, shall not be liable for the same in Government of Union TerritoryJammu &Kashmir any circumstances whatsoever. Hamilton-Court,DLF-Phase.4, Furthermore, Mr.Mirnank Singh is Gurgaon,Haryana.Have OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER MECHANICAL HOSPITAL AND CENTRAL residing illegally in the property of Changed my name to Ranbir my clientsand they have initiated HEATING DIVISION SRINAGAR the legal action against him for his Sukh Nandwani --Telefax:- 0194-2496089, Email ID:- [email protected] of e-tender--- expulsion from their property. 0040561141-2 Sd/- ARUN KUMAR NIT No: MHCHD/TS /2020-21/255/e-tendering (Advocate) I,SUNILA GOIL W/oAnil Kumar Ch. No. 72-A, Western Wing, Dated:-22.01.2021 TisHazari Courts, Delhi-54 Goel R/o-26B,HIG E-tendersare invited from Original Equipment Manufacturersortheir Authorized dealers/ Complex,Swarnim Vihar,Sec- Representatives forthe belowmentioned work: ''IMPORTANT'' 82,Noida, Dist.-GautamBudh Nagar,UP-201304,have Whilst care is taken prior to changed my name to SUNILA Name of Work Est. Cost Cost of Time of Position of acceptance of advertising GOEL,for all purposes. (Rs. in Lacs) copy,itisnot possible to verify 0040561176-2 T/Doc. completion AAA/funds its contents. The Indian (In rupees) (in months) Express (P) Limited cannot be held responsible for such 1235 6 contents, nor for any loss or Turnkeypackage forDesign, damage incurred as aresultof EDUCATIONAL Supply, Installation, Testing , transactions with companies, National Central council of Commissioning of 1000 LPM PSA 143 3000 03 months Available associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers Vocational Training invited technology based Oxygen or Publications. We therefore application for start Training Generating Plants with recommend thatreaders and Study Centre Maintenance forThree yearspost makenecessary inquiries www.nccvt.in Commissioning at Govt. Children before sendingany monies or Mob.7499647774/ 9823647194 entering into any agreements Hospital, Bemina, Sgr with advertisers or otherwise 0090280356-1 AAA accorded Vide No:-HME/acctts/LP/14/2019 Dt:-19.08.2020.Technical sanction videL.No:-MHCHD/TS/2398-2400 Dt:-24.08.2020 acting on an advertisement in 1. Downloading of Bids:- The NIT Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of any manner whatsoever. terms and conditionsofcontract and other detailscan be seen from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in from 23.01.2021(18.00 hrs) and can be downloaded from 23.01.2021 (18.00 hrs). 2. Uploading: The bidders shall deposit their bids in electronic format on the above website from 27.01.2021 (10.00 hrs) to 11.02.2021 (15:00hrs )intwo (02) covers. 3. Opening of Bids :- The bids received upto due date and time shall be opened on 12.02.2021 at 14.00 hrs or anydate convenient to the department in the office of ExecutiveEngineer MHCHD,Sgr. Sd/- MHCHD,Srinagar,No: MHCHD/TS/8913-18, Dated:20.01.2021 dipk-12201/20 ExecutiveEngineer,

GOVT.OFODISHA OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER NORTH EASTERN RURAL WORKS CIRCLE, KEONJHAR O-944 Identification No. PMGSY Online NCB No. 286 NO. 200 /Date: 19.01.2021 1. Name of the work :- Construction of Road &CDworks under PMGSY Programme. 2. Total No. of Packages :- 15 Nos. individual packages 3. Estimated Cost of individual packages :- Varies from Rs. 239.80 lakh to Rs. 764.93 lakh. 4. Period of Completion :- 12 calendar months for works above Rs. 5.00 Cr. &11calendar months for works below Rs. 5.00 Cr. upto Rs. 3.00 Cr. and 9calendar months for works below Rs. 3.00 Cr. as specified in DTCN. 5. Other details :- Procurement Officer Bid No. of Packages Availability of tender On-line for bidding Identification No. From To 1 2 3 4 5 Superintending Engineer, North Eastern Rural Works, Circle, Keonjhar. PMGSY Online NCB No. 286 15 Nos. 27.01.2021 at 11.00 A.M. 10.02.2021 up to 5.00 P.M.

•Further details can be seen from the website: www.pmgsytenders.gov.in Sd/- Superintending Engineer,N.E.R.W.Circle, Keonjhar OIPR-25048/11/0014/2021

New Delhi WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY25,2021 NINE ACTIVE CASES AT AUS OPEN

One case of COVID-19among those in quarantine ahead of the 17 Australian Open has been reclassified,local health officialssaid on SPORT Sunday, leaving nine active cases in the group of playersand support staffisolating in Melbourne hotels. AP

BRIEFLY OVER54%OFTEAM’SRUNS Maddisonstarsfor Warningsignsinneighbourhood DURINGTHE course of this series, Leicester,Abraham JoeRootwentpastthe aggregate Test run tallies of GeoffreyBoycott, hattrickforChelsea Kevin Pietersen and David Gower. Ahead of seriesversus India, EnglandskipperJoe Root scores2nd centuryinasmanyTests in Sri Lanka He is nowfourth in thelistof London: TammyAbraham scoreda England’s mostprolific batsmen hattrickasChelsea beat second-tier with 8,238 runs. OnlyAlastair side Luton 3-1 to reachthe fifthround REUTERS Cook (12,472), Graham Gooch of the FA Cup on Sunday. The striker GALLE, JANUARY 24 (8,900) and Alec Stewart(8,463) took histally on the season to 11 by areabove Root. netting twice in sevenfirst-half min- JOE ROOT became the firstEnglandbats- utes.Jordan Clarkprofitedfromthe man to scoreover150 in consecutiveTests ROOT SCORED 54.15 per cent of struggling Kepa Arrizabalaga's latest in 16 years as he tormented Sri Lankaand England’s first-innings runs in the goalkeeping errortoreducethe deficit ledhis side to 339for nine in theirfirstin- firstTest(228out of 421). So farin to 2-1 on the half-hourbefore nings at the close of playonday three of the firstinnings of the second Test, Abraham struck again in the74th the second and final Test in Galle. he has scored 54.86 per cent of the minute.LeicesterCity's James However, the tired and cramping runs (186 out of 339/9). Maddison setupone goal and goton England captain wasdismissedinthe final ROOT,PLAYING his99th Test,has the scoresheetinasecond-half come- over of the dayfor 186, run out afterclip- 19 hundreds–level withLen backastheybeatsecond-tier ping the ball to shortleg Oshada Fernando. Hutton. Thereare nine Brentford3-1 away in theFACup Root's weariness sawhim struggle to get Englishmen ahead of him. fourth round on Sunday.The Foxeswill backintohis crease having pushed forward hostfellow Premier League side afterplaying the stroke. ROOT’S DOUBLE centuryinthe Brighton &HoveAlbion in the next England still trail by 42 runs and will firstTestagainstSri Lanka washis round.Championship side Brentford seek to wipe out the deficit with JackLeach firstton since another double took the lead in the seventh minute and James Anderson at the crease on the hundred –226 –againstNew from aset piece when the ball took fourth morning,although Sri Lanka spin- Zealand in Hamilton in Nov. 2019. twodeflections before Danish centre ner Lasith Embuldeniyahas been excellent THERE HAVE been justtwo other backMadsBechSorensen stabbed with career best figures of 7-132. Root fol- 50-plus scores by England home his firstgoal in English football loweduphis 228 in the firsttesttomatch batsmen in the series so far. Root from close range. AP the feat of Marcus Trescothick, who scored has scored 415runs in the series so 194and 151 in consecutivetests against far, 305 morethan the second- Bangladesh in 2005. His innings wasagain highestinEngland ranks–Jonny FourPalmasplayers, built around the impressive useofthe Bairstow(110). Prezkilledincrash sweep shot, whichhehas wagedtotake the attacktothe Sri Lanka bowlers. OF HIS threedismissals in the Sao Paulo: The presidentofPalmas "It wasanamazing innings," Root's series so far, twohavebeen run- football club and four of itsplayers team mateJos Buttlertold reporters. "To Joe Root plays theswitch hit en routeto186 at Galle. In the firstTestatthe same venue he scored228. Sri Lanka Cricket outswhile the thirdwas caught – were killed on Sundaywhenasmall backuphis double hundred in the firstTest in thedeep going forquickruns in plane taking them to aBraziliancup wasachallengebothphysicallyand men- firsttestbut made justthree as he edged the companyofthe No.11. game crashedontake-off.The fourth tally, and it has been amasterclass in bat- EmbuldeniyatoLahiru Thirimanne at slip. tier club said president Lucas Meira, ting againstspin. "It’s agreat education for At 132for four,England were teetering, Disrespectful to India if best XI not fielded: KP IF HE had scored 14 moreruns in along with players LucasPraxedes, all of us, Notjustthe tactical and technical but Root and Buttler (55) put on afifth- the firstinnings of the second Test, Guilherme Noe, Ranule and Marcus aspects, but also the concentrationtoap- wicketstand of 97 before the latter trieda NewDelhi: Lambasting JonnyBairstow's The 40-year-oldsaid awin against Root would have become justthe Molinari, all died. The pilot, named plyhimself forsolong. "There were some reverse sweep that went straight intohis omission from the England squad for India is similar to avictoryagainst arch- second Englishman afterWalter onlyasWagner,was also killed.“The amazing shots that showthe confidence bootand bouncedtoshortleg, providing a TestsagainstIndia, former skipper Kevin rivals Australia and urgedthe selectors to Hammondtohit double hundreds plane took offand crashedatthe end and skill level. He even playedalatecut firsttestwicketfor debutant spinner Pietersen said that it will be disrespect- playbothStuartBroad andJames in twosuccessive Tests. of the runwayatthe Tocantinense left-handedtoday.Everybody canlearn a Ramesh Mendis. Sam Curran(13)was out ful to the hostteam if visitingteam does Anderson. Aviation Association,” asmall airfield lotfromwatching Joeplayspin." in the final over of the afternoon session, notput on field itsbestXIinthe marquee “Big debateonwhether ENGhave near the city of Palmas, the club said. caught at slip, before Dom Bess (32) put on series.Not onlyBairstowbut all-rounder pickedtheir best team to play India in the 55.62 “Weregret to reportthereare no sur- Embuldeniyaonsong avital 81 with Root forthe seventh wicket. Sam Curranand pacer MarkWood have 1stTest. WinningINIndiaisasgood a vivors.” The plane washeading to The tourists resumedthe dayon98for Bess and Mark Wood (1) were both also also been leftout of the squad. feeling as winning in Aus. It's disrespect- In Asia, Root has scored1,613 Goiania, around 800km(500miles) twohaving lost theiropenerscheaplyfor caught at slip by Thirimanne off Bairstowhas been rested forthe first ful to ENGfans &also @BCCItoNOT play runs in 16 Testsatanaverage of away,where Palmasweredue to play the thirdtime in as manyinnings in the se- Embuldeniya, the firsttime aSri Lanka twoTests as partofthe England and your best team. Bairstowhas to play! 55.62 with 4tons .Heaverages Vila Nova on Mondayinthe last16of ries. JonnyBairstownever lookedsettled fielderhad takenfivecatches in an innings. Wales CricketBoard's (ECB)playerman- Broad/Anderson have to play!" Pietersen 71.55 in Lanka, 53.09 in India – the Copa Verde, atournament re- and fell on 28, an inside edge onto his pad BRIEF SCORES: England 339for 9(Root 186, agement policy,whichstressesongiving tweeted. In another tweet, Pietersen said whereEnglandplaynext–and servedfor teams outside the tradi- offthe dangerous Embuldeniyalooping to Buttler 55; Embuldeniya 7-132) trail Sri adequateresttoevery English cricketer the best players wouldn't want to miss 57.40 in the UAEvs. Pakistan. tional powerhouses of southern and Fernando at shortleg. Lanka 381(Mathews 110, Dickwella 92, in apackedcalendar year,whichincludes the opportunitytoplayagainstanin- However, in 2Tests in Bangladesh northeastern Brazil. REUTERS Dan Lawrence wasimpressive on his Perera 67,Chandimal 52; Anderson 6-40)by 17 Testsand the ICC T20 WorldCup. form Indian team at home. PTI he averages just24.50. debut in England’s seven-wicket win in the 42 runs. Hazard scoresas Realclosegap Reluctant wrestler Rohit crowned champion in Bajrang’scategory Barcelona: Eden Hazard scored and setupKarim Benzema forhis firstof that he wouldn’t be able to continue “He has good speed, whichishelpful in mat coach, says. twogoals as Real Madrideased to a4- MIHIRVASAVDA wrestling,” Rohit, 19,says. wrestling, andoverthe years, hasdeveloped Challenging Bajrangfor aplace in the na- 1victoryatAlavesinthe Spanish NOIDA,JANUARY24 Forafamilyofnine –Rohit is sixth of agoodtechnique, especiallyinlaunchingleg tional squad, though, isn’tonRohit’s mind league, ending awinlessrun in a sevenbrothers –the income from herding attacks,anessential element in freestyle right now. “He(Bajrang) is aworld medal- matchthat coachZinedine Zidane ROHIT SINGH confesses he wasn’t destined cattle wasn’t enough to run the household. wrestling,” former India coachKuldeep list; averybig wrestler.And Ihavejustwon missedafter he contracted the coron- to be awrestler.Itwas because of his “So, out of compulsion morethan anything, Singh, who recruited Rohit forthe Navy's anational title,” he says.“I’ll take one step a avirus. Hazardgrazedalongpassto brother’smisfortune, father’s wish and des- Ijoinedawrestling school,” he says. wrestling team, says. time and see wheredestinytakes me.” redirect the balltoBenzema, who peration to earnalivelihoodthat ledhim to “I wasrelieved when he took that deci- He became cadetnational champion be- doubledthe lead forMadrid in the an akhara. sion,” says Rohit’s father Dalel Singh. fore baggingthe junior crownand ultimately SAIseeksreportfromWFI 41st afterCasemirohad headedinthe On Sunday, Rohit wascrownednational Dalel did notimpose anydecision on his the senior title. Rohit’s win in 65kgopens up The Sports Authority of India, on Sunday, 15th-minuteopeneronSaturday. champion in the 65kgcategory, oneofthe sons but wascertain of one thing –noneof an interesting race forthe future. At present, sought areportfromthe Wrestling Belgiumforward Hazardscored just toughestweight classes in India. Representing them would be cattle herders. “There’s so theweight class is dominated by India’s top Federation of India over the violation of his thirdgoalofthe season in first-half Haryana, he staged adramaticcomebackin muchcattletheftthese days…too much freestyler Bajrang Punia, amultiple-time Covid-19protocols that took placeonthe first injurytimetobuild a3-0 lead at the the lastthree minutesofthe final against headache,”hesays.So, on the advice of a Worldand Asian medallist. dayofthe National Championships on break.Toni Kroos had recoveredpos- Services SportsControl Board’s Shravan, eras- neighbourhood wrestler,Bholu Pehelwan, Having already wonaquota forthe Tokyo Saturday. SAIsaid in astatement:“We have session in midfield and setup ingaseven-pointdeficit to win 12-8. Rohit he introducedall his sons to wrestling. Olympics, Bajrang wasexemptedfromthe takenupthe matter with the Wrestling Hazard's run behind adisordered de- impressedthe national coachingstaff with In Haryana, the respect even ahalf-de- National Championship this weekend. He is Federation of India and impressedupon fensiveline. Joselu Matopulledone his speedand temperament, but honing cent wrestler commands is the reason many nowinMichigan(USA), preparing forthe them thatthe SOPfor competitions has to be backfor Alavesonthe hour-mark. these qualities –and winninganational title arelured to the sportinthe firstplace. Rohit Rohit Singh, the 65kg winner,started Games. On Sunday, collegesports activity in adhered to strictly. We have also sought are- Benzema made it abrace in the 70th –was neverhis ambition or interest. Instead, had witnessed that firsthand with his his career in dangals with acash award the Americanstate washalted afteraCovid- portfromthe Federationonthe allegedvio- afterLuka Modric playedhim clear on as an 11-year-old,hewas just happytobein brother,but also realisedthe need formoney of Rs 50. Express 19 outbreak,but Bajrang wasabletocontinue lation, by Monday. Thefederation has as- the break.The French strikercut back the companyofhis elder brother,anemerg- to sustain acareer in wrestling. histraining. In Bajrang’s absence, the audi- sured compliance of protocol.” insidethe lastdefender before firing ing wrestler,and cook roti sabzi forhim. So,hebegan to take partindangals across tion to find his successor wasunderwayin The situation on Sundaywas onlymar- in his 10th goal in the league this cam- In his free time, Rohit helpedout his fa- Haryana thathad cash rewards as lowasRs struggledtoearnmoneybycompeting in Noida, whereRohit emergedontop. “In the ginallybetter. While no one exceptwrestlers paign. Second-placeMadrid reduced ther,acattle herder,bytaking the livestock 50. Foralmostayear,hecrisscrossedacross dangals. Iwasn’table to beat the main guys lastfew years, Rohit has dominated this wasallowed on the field of play, therewas the gaptoleader Atletico Madrid to forgrazing. “But then, one daymybrother Haryana and travelledasfar as Kolhapur in to earn enough cashprize,” he says.“In 2015, weight categoryacross all age-groups. By no distancing in the stands, wherehundreds four points. REUTERS sufferedaninjury. Iwas cooking his meal and Maharashtra, wherethe prize moneywas IturnedtoOlympic-style wrestling.” winning the senior championship, he has of spectators, mostofthem without masks, whenIsaw his condition, it wasapparent slightlyhigher,toearnalivelihood. “But I Success on the mat came relatively easier. proven hispotential,” Kuldeep, also the Navy sat in close proximity. CONTROVERSIAL PICK Why Court receiving Australia’s highesthonour is an unpopular decision

at Melbourne Park,the venue forthe one thinglongerthan the listofMargaret Courtwrote inanarticle:“(It)iswithsadness player, andaracistand ahomophobe.” SHAHIDJUDGE AustralianOpen. Nowthere’s been afresh Court’stennisachievements:it’sherlistofof- that Isee thatthis baby has seeminglybeen MUMBAI,JANUARY24 backlash afterthe news that the country’s fensive and homophobic statements.” deprivedofhis father.” What has she been doingafter retiring highesthonourwill be conferredupon her. Herunpopularstancehashadthelikesof In2017,whentheAustraliangovernment from tennis? FORSOMEONEwhoholdsaworldrecordfor greatslikeMcEnroe,MartinaNavratilova and waspoisedtolegalise same-sexmarriages, Courtwas ordained as aPentecostal 48years and counting, one would think it’s a What have Australian government BillieJean Kingspeak up againstthe “crazy Courtgaveaninterview to 20Twenty Vision ministerin1991. Four years later,she fairdecisionby theAustraliangovernmentto officials said about the decision? aunt” (as McEnroe dubbed her) of tennis. ChristianRadio.Shetalkedabouthowtennis foundedthe Pentecostalchurch in Perth, awardMargaretCourtthe country’s highest PrimeMinisterScottMorrisonhasrefused At the Australian Open lastyear,when is“fullof lesbians”andhowtransgenderchil- calledVictoryLifeCentre. honour. Indeed,onJanuary26, the78-year- to talk about the issue. Courtwasfelicitatedonthe50thanniversary dren were theworkof“thedevil.” oldformertennis player will beawardedthe “Ican’tcommentonanawardthatisdone of herwinningthe Calendar Grand Slam(all WhenQantasAirlinestookastandto sup- Wheredoher achievementsstand Companion in the General through an independent four majors in asingleyear)in1970, the cer- portsame-sexmarriages, she declared that today? Divisionof theOrderof Australia process that hasn’t been an- emonyatRod LaverArena wasasubdued shewouldnotusetheairlineasmuchaspos- Alongwithherrecord24GrandSlamsin- (AC). But it’s adecision that has nouncedorIhavenoofficial event. At that sametournament, aftera sible. As reportedbyThe West Australian, gles titles, Courtwon 19 women’sdoubles notgone down well with many knowledge of thosethings,”he MargaretCourthas always been vocal Legends exhibition match, McEnroe and Courtdismissedthe existence of racism in majorsand 21 mixed doubles crowns. She’s people. reportedlysaid. about her anti-homosexual views. Navratilova walked in at the Margaret Court SouthAfrica and expressedher support for among onlythree players –along with Court’s all-time record of 24 “Those announcements Arenaholding abanner saying “Evonne Apartheid. Navratilova andAmerican playerDoris Hart Grand Slam singlestitles keeps will be made on the appropri- Goolagong Arena,” asking forthe stadium to “Evonne (Goolagong) and Iwent in –tohaveachievedaGrand Slam BoxedSet herontopintermsof tennissta- ateday (AustraliaDay). It is a jorityof peopleacrossournationthatseepeo- berenamedaftertheseven-timeGrandSlam thereand played forthe blackpeople. I (winningallfourGrandSlamsinsingles,dou- tistics,but her views relating to system that recognises ple,particularly fromtheLGBTQIcommunity, winner. have 35 culturesinmy church and Ilove bles and mixed doubles). But she’s the only the LGBTQI (lesbians, gays,bi- Australians from right across asequalanddeservingof dignity,respectand them all,” she said. In the samereport, playertohavedoneittwice.Currently, Serena sexuals,transgenders, queers and intersex) thefullspectrumof achievementinthiscoun- safety,”hesaid. “I don’t believe she shares What have been Court’s statements that Navratilova wasquotedsaying about Williams, on 23 Grand Slam singles titles,is communityhas rendered her an infamous try. So,Ican’treallyofferacommentonsome- thoseviews andIdon’tbelieve sheshouldbe have causedoutrageoverthe years? Court’s pro-Apartheid stance: “Saying that theonlyplayeranywherecloseto overtaking figureamong alarge groupoffans andfor- thing that is speculative.” honoured because of that.” Courthasbeenquitevocalaboutheranti- South Africa dealt with the ‘situation’ Court’s mark. “Please wintwo more Grand mer players. ButVictoriaStatePremierDanielAndrews homosexual views. (racial segregation) muchbetterthan any- Slams,” McEnroesaid, in amessageto Forafew years, therehavebeen calls to has hitout at the decision. WhyisCourt so unpopular? Backin2013, when2011FrenchOpen whereelse in the world, particularly the Williams, on Eurosport, “so we can leave have her name removedfromthe Margaret “Idonotsupportthat.Idonot believe that AsJohnMcEnroeputitina‘Commissioner mixed doubles champion CaseyDellacqua’s US: what exactlydid she mean? “It is clear MargaretCourtandheroffensive views inthe CourtArena –the second-largest stadium shehas views that accordwith the vast ma- of Tennis’segmentforEurosport,“there’sonly partnerAmanda Judd gave birth to ason, exactlywho Courtis: an amazingtennis pastwhere she belongs.”

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