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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2021, PUNE, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM MAJORITY RULING CLEARS DECKS FOR NEW PARLIAMENT Ready for vaccination CentralVistagetsSupremeCourt’s within 10 days of ` 86 per kilo all-clear:2-1verdictsaysnoinfirmity approval: Ministry ` 114 per kilo On Covaxin,officials say‘Phase2data enough in apandemic as per rules ’ ` 140 per kilo Plea wanted us to Justice Khanna dissent: getintoterritory KAUNAINSHERIFFM beyond our Must make intelligible NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 BUSINESSASUSUAL power: Bench THE UNION Health Ministrysaid information public on Tuesdaythat stakeholders at BY UNNY the Centreand states were pre- posedredevelopment of Central paredtoroll out the mass immu- ANANTHAKRISHNANG SOFIAHSAN Vista, ParliamentBuildingand nisation programme against NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 Common Central Secretariat. Covid-19within 10 days of the Avaccine dryrun in Beforepreparation of any vaccines getting approval. LucknowonTuesday. REJECTINGARGUMENTS of pe- HOLDINGTHATpublicpartici- plan and itssubmission to the The decision on rolling out Vishal Srivastav titioners who “enthusiastically pation cannotbeamechanical centralgovernment, the Delhi India’s biggestadult vaccination calledupon us to ventureinto Asketch of thedesign of the newproposedCentral Vista. exercise or formality in adeci- Development Authority (DDA), drivewill, however, be takenby territories that areway beyond Courtesy HCP Design, Planning &Management sion-making process, Justice under law, is required to invite the central government, it said. tual implementation; providing the contemplated powers of a SanjivKhanna, in adissenting objections and suggestions from Twovaccines —Covaxin de- confidence to programme man- constitutional court”, the judgment on the Central Vista the public or anylocal authority. velopedbyBharat Biotech with agers at various levels,” Health Supreme CourtTuesdaygaveits plex, buildings forcentral min- decision, said: “We hold that project matter,Tuesday said that The Authority has to also appoint Indian Council of Medical SecretaryRajesh Bhushan said. go-ahead to the government’s istries, anew enclavefor theVice thereisnoinfirmity in the grant the right to makeobjections and aBoardofEnquiryand Hearing Research (ICMR), and Covishield, “We conducted the dryrun Central Vistaredevelopment President, anew office and resi- of: (a) “No Objection”bythe suggestionswill also includethe (BoEH) forhearing and consid- avariant of OxfordAstraZeneca’s in 286 session sites, and exam- plan,upholding modifications in dence forthe Prime Minister, Central VistaCommittee (CVC); right to have intelligible and ad- eringrepresentations regarding AZD1222 manufactured under inedthe operationalisation of THE EDITORIAL PAGE land use forthe project and envi- among others. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 equateinformation regarding the draftMasterPlan. licence by the Serum Institute of SOPs and protocols. On the basis ronmental clearance recom- In a2-1 ruling while dispos- the proposal. While twojudges on the India—got regulatory approval of this exercise, we areprepared INFARMDEBATE, mendations. ing of aclutchofpetitions which He made thesecomments on Benchupheld the government’s forrestricted use in emergency forarollout of the Covid-19vac- The project in the heartof had raisedobjections, Justices A APPROVALS TAKEN, informationmade available to decision to redevelop the Central situation on Sunday. cine within10days from the THEMISSINGR&D New Delhienvisages construc- MKhanwilkarand Dinesh WORKON: COMPANY the public while invitingobjec- Vista, Justice Khanna, in a “The national dryrun (on dateofEmergency Use BY DEEPAK PENTAL tion of anew Parliament com- Maheshwari, in their majority PAGE 7 tions or suggestions to the pro- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Saturday) looked at four areas: Authorisation granted by the PAGE 8 testing operationalfeasibility of regulator,” he said. Co-WIN (softwareplatform) in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 largescale use; assessing link- ages between planning, imple- mentation, and reporting mech- SERUM,BIOTECH TO Kohli invested in gaming anisms; identifying challenges ‘WORK TOGETHER’ platform firmwhich is and addressing them before ac- PAGE 11 TeamIndia’skit sponsor Shut for 10 months, ASI sites &monumentsinPune NIHALKOSHIE Kohli was NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 namedMPL to open forvisitors today brand IN WHATraisesquestions of po- ambassador tential conflict of interest, Indian in January EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE cricketteam captain ViratKohli PUNE,JANUARY5 had invested in acompanyin February2019, which todayis announcedMPL Sports as the AFTER BEINGclosedfor nearly 10 BCCI’s (BoardofControl for newkit sponsor and officialmer- months due to the Covid-19pan- CricketinIndia) official kit spon- chandise partnerfor the Indian demic, the Pune district adminis- sor and merchandise partner. cricketteam. trationonTuesdayallowedhistor- ViratKohliwas allotted As partofthe three-year ical monuments, memorials and Shaniwar Wada wasamong CompulsoryConvertible agreement, senior Indian men, archaeologicalsitesto openforvis- placesshut formonths. File Debentures (CCDs) forRs33.32 women and under-19teams will itors from Wednesday. Thead- lakh in Galactus Funware sportMPL jerseys.The Indian ministration has asked visitors to Technology Private Limited,a team has been sporting the MPL strictlyfollowsafetyprecautions, Survey of India(ASI),whichare lo- Bengaluru-headquarteredcom- Sports —anarm of MPL —logo failingwhichpenaltieswillbeim- catedinPune circle. pany, whichowns the online duringthe ongoing Australian posedonthem. With the reopening of ASI gaming platform Mobile tour.MPL Sports has theright to Shaniwar Wada, AgaKhan sites,visitors will also be able to Premier League (MPL). Galactus also sell licensedjerseys and THE VERY LONG AND WINDING ROAD Palace, Karla cavesand forts, in- book their ticketsonline. This can is asubsidiaryofM-League Pte other Team India merchandise. cluding Shivneri, Visapur, be done by visiting asipayu- Ltd, acompanyregisteredin Kohli wasnamedbrand am- Trucks on waytoSrinagar stucknear Jammu on Tuesdaywith the national highway shut due to heavy snowfall in the Valley. VishrambaugWadaandRajmachi, money.com and selecting SingaporeinApril 2018. bassador of MPL in January2020. Morethan 4,500vehicles were said to be stranded, withKashmir cut offfromthe rest of thecountry by road as well as air. PTI areamong the manysites operat- Mumbai city. On November 17,2020,BCCI CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ing under the Archaeological CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Outgoing US Ambassador lists In first mention, Defence Nirav’s sister, her husband opt trade, Russia, Atmanirbhar as review says ‘unorthodox’ for pardon, to testify against him

weapons used in Galwan mitted that their personal and friction points: ‘India must choose’ SADAFMODAK professional liveshad come to a Ministryhas officiallymen- MUMBAI,JANUARY5 To give ED “standstill” because of Nirav EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE tionedthe use of suchweapons ‘substantial’ Modi’s “alleged criminal activi- SHUBHAJITROY ED NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 by Chinaduring the eight- FUGITIVE DIAMOND jeweller proof on ties”. Theysought to be exam- NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 Amessage month militarystandoffthat be- Nirav Modi's younger sisterand Nirav Modi inedaswitnessesinthe two PLAIN E CHINAUSED “unorthodox ganinearly May. brother-in-law willbewitnesses cases of money laundering filed ● toDelhi IN Acandid farewell speech, out- EX weapons” and amassedalarge The Ministryhad mentioned against him in twocases filedby by theED, saying they could goingUSAmbassador to India number of troops along the Line China’s “unilateral aggression” the Enforcement Directorate courtstating that theywanted to makedisclosures whichwould Kenneth IJusteronTuesday WASHINGTON’S of Actual Control (LAC)ineast- in itsJunemonthlyreport; how- (ED) afteraspecial courton distance themselvesfromNirav provecritical to establish the facts talked about “frictions and frus- RESERVATIONS on ern Ladakh and escalated the sit- ever,that report, and all other Mondayallowedtheir applica- Modi, and could provide “sub- againstNirav and other accused. trations”onthe Indo-UStrade Kenneth Justeratafarewell India’s economic and uation, the Defence Ministryhas monthlyreports,weretaken off tion forgrant of pardon. stantial and important evidence” Nirav and othersare facing and investment front, expressed eventinDelhi Tuesday. PTI trade policies, as well said in itsyear-end reviewof itswebsitelater. Lastmonth, Purvi Mehtaand relevant to him and his dealings. cases filedbythe CBI and ED for Washington’s misgivings on as defence purchases 2020. The year-end reportsaid the her husband, MaiankMehta, Purvi, aBelgian national, and allegedly committingafraud of Delhi’s decision to buy Russian from Russia, have been This is the firsttime that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 had filedapplications before the Maiank,aBritish national,sub- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 defence equipment, and made a ket access forcertain US goods known in the policy veiledcritiqueofNew Delhi’s and services, “increasing tariffs”, circles and within the Make-in-India and Atmanirbhar “newlimitations” on the free Indian government. But campaigns. flow of data,and a “less-than- the US envoy’s public In an hour-long address at an predictable regulatoryenviron- commentsreveal the event organisedbythe US ment forinvestors”. frustration at atime Embassy and theObserver In aveiledreference to India’s when New Delhiis Research Foundation, Juster, who purchase of the Russian-made S- preparing to engage wasappointed Ambassador in 400air defence system, the with the incoming Joe 2017,commented on the “grow- Ambassador said that in this Biden administration. ing restrictions” by India on mar- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pranab’s-eye view:Arunachal crisis to PM noteban appeal

PAGE 1 closing that Prime Minister ANCHOR NarendraModimet him after announcing demonetisationto seek his “explicitsupport” —the MANOJCG latePresident Pranab NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 Mukherjee’s memoir is both rev- elatoryand observational. FROM TELLINGthe BJP govern- In The Presidential Years, ment in 2016 that he would have Mukherjee says that he refused to dismiss the then Arunachal to travel in thenUSPresident Pradesh Governor JPRajkhowa if Barack Obama’s armoured vehi- he didn’t resign afterthe cle during his visit to India in Supreme Courtpulledhim up, to 2015.Mukherjee asked the advisingDelhi Chief Minister Ministry of External Affairs Arvind Kejriwal to leave his It is the fourth volume of the (MEA) to informthe US author- “penchant” forsitting on dharna former President’smemoirs ities that whenthe US President over “frivolous issues”, and dis- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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WEB pitstopreventanyriskoftransmission. three different IndianExpress EXCLUSIVE ★★★★★■4.6 anti-conversion laws VIDEOOFTHEDAY FULLCOVERAGE NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY EUROPE LOCKDOWN HOW SC CLEARED In the latestepisode of the 3Things HITS GRAPES EXPORTS NEW CENTRAL VISTA podcast, we talk about what’s different UK and other European The project aims to (and common) between anti-conversion SCANTHISQRCODETO countries prizedmarket redevelop 86 acres of laws of UP,MPand Himachal Pradesh DOWNLOADTHEAPP forIndian growers land in Lutyens’s Delhi FROMPAGEONE Justice Khanna followed,” Dr Paulsaid. would have brought backShivraj “India categoricallyconveyed PatilorSushilKumarShinde,con- to Chinathat anyattempt to uni- separateruling, disagreedonas- Pune ASI sites sideringthe dearth of astrong laterallyalter the status quoatthe pectsrelating to public participa- InNovemberlastyear,thedis- Supremeall-clear forCentralVista leaderfromthestate,likeVilasrao border is unacceptable and that tionindecision-making,failureto trict administration had allowed Deshmukh. Idon’tthink Iwould India is determinedtoprotect its takepriorapprovalof theHeritage reopening of fortslocated on the have allowedthe stateof sovereignty and territorial in- ConservationCommitteeandthe outskirtsof thecity.Thedistricthas plan: Majorityrulingsays no infirmity Telangana to be created. Ifirmly tegrity,” the reviewsaid. order passed by the Expert nearly 60fortsspreadacrossBhor, believe thatmy presenceinactive Senior militarycommanders AppraisalCommittee. Velhe, Maval, Mulshi, Khed, (b) “Approval” by theDelhi HeritageConservation case...Whereastheformerfinds source.Thepublictrustdoctrine politics would have ensuredthat from the twosides have met “Mere uploadingof thegazette Ambegaon and Junnar tehsils. Urban ArtCommission (DUAC) Committee would be at liberty amanifestationintheconceptof obligatestheGovernmentto use theCongresswouldn’thave faced eight times looking foraresolu- notificationgivingthepresentand Trekkersfromacrossthestatevisit as per the DUAC Act, 1973;and to alsoundertakethepublicpar- judicial review,the latter is de- the available resources pru- the drubbing it receivedinthe tion to the standoff. China has the proposedland use with plot theseforts everyyear in large (c) “Prior approval” by the ticipation exercise if it feels ap- rivedfromthe well enshrined dentlyandto subservethecom- 2014 generalelections,”hewrites. been asking Indian forces to step numberswas notsufficient com- numbers. Heritage Conservation propriateand necessary.” principle of separation of pow- mon good. The proposeduse is In then Arunachal Pradesh back from the Chushul sub-sec- pliance, but rather an exercise vi- Pune DistrictCollectorRajesh Committee (HCC) under clause The majority decisionof ers.Thepoliticalissuesincluding nottobestowlargesseonprivate Governor Rajkhowa’s case, the torfirst, while India has been de- olating the express as well as im- Deshmukh said all the historical 1.12 of theBuilding Byelaws for Justices Khanwilkarand regardingdevelopmentpolicies persons but forassets creation SupremeCourthadpulledhimup manding status quoante, for pliedstipulations,thatis,necessity monumentsandmuseumsinthe Delhi, 2016.” Maheshwari noted: “We are of the Government of the day andfor public use. Naturally, if in 2016 over thedismissal of the forces from frontlineand depth and requirement to makeade- districtwereclosedsinceMarch The twojudges said “the ex- compelledtowonderifwe, in mustbedebated in Parliament, suchoptimum utilization re- Congressgovernmentinthestate areas across the regionto go back quateand intelligible disclosure,” last year. ercise of powerbythe Central the absence of alegal mandate, to which it is accountable. The quires changing the land use of ayearearlier.Rajkhowa didnotre- to theirpositions as of April 2020. he said, adding that adjudication “There arescores of historic Government under... the DDA can dictatethe government to role of Courtislimited to exam- Government lands, that must sign, despiteanudgebythe cen- Adatefor the next round of talks by courts cannotbeasubstitute monuments,forts and museums (Delhi Development Authority) desistfromspending moneyon ining the constitutionality in- followinpublic interest”. tral government, and in is awaited. forpublicparticipationbefore and in the district. Alarge number of Act, 1957 is justand proper and oneprojectandinsteaduseitfor cludinglegalityof thepolicyand Theyrejectedthe argument September 2016,the President at the decision-making stage. localresidentsdependontourism thus the modifications regard- something else, or if we can ask Governmentactions,”theysaid. thattheCVChadnotactedin“le- dismissedhim. Kohli Observingthat the BoEH had activity that goes on at these ing changeinlanduse of plot thegovernment to run their of- The “righttodevelopment”, gitimate expectations of the “During this crisis,the home He had endorsedthe gaming acknowledgedand acceptedthe places...The Union government Nos. 2to8inthe MasterPlan of fices onlyfromareas decidedby theysaid,is“abasichumanright public” whilelookingintothe minister (Rajnath Singh) metme platform earlier too. lapse andfailure -- afterhearing had already issueddirectives Delhi,2021/ZonalDevelopment this Court, or if we can question and no organofthe Stateisex- tender conditions. Theysaid it and discussedthe developments Kohli wasallotted 68 CCDs people who had expressedreser- aboutreopeningof museumsand PlanforZone-DandZone-Cvide the wisdom of the government pected to become an impedi- wasnot the case of the petition- in the state.Icannotdivulgethe withaface valueofRs10, each is- vations regarding the proposal -- monumentsunder ASI in June impugnednotificationdated infocusingonaparticulardirec- ment in the processofdevelop- ers that no consultationhad details of the discussion because suedatapremium of Rs 48,990 and recommended disclosure, 2020.We have issueddetaileddi- 20.3.2020 stands confirmed”. tion of development. We are mentaslongasthegovernment takenplaceandthestand“isripe it is privileged information; even (Rs 33.32 lakh). These CCDs will Justice Khanna said “intelligible rectives... all the precautionary Theyalso upheld the equallycompelledtowonderif proceeds in accordancewith with ambiguity”. theSupreme Court cannotdirect be converted into equity shares andadequatedisclosure”wascrit- measures should be followedby Environmental Clearance (EC) we canjumptoputafullstopon law”. The twojudgessaid “as Regarding clearance by the me to disclose it. At some point at the end of 10 years, the conver- ical giventhe natureofthe pro- visitors and if theyare seenflout- recommendationfortheproject execution of policy matters in long as thereisfairplayin Heritage Conservation though, Ihad expressedmydis- sion ratio being 1:1,i.e. one equity posal affecting the iconic Central ing rules, they will be penalised,” by the ExpertAppraisal the firstinstance without a Governmentaction,itisnoone’s Committee (HCC) forthe new pleasuretothe home ministeron sharefor onedebenture.Post-di- Vistaandthatitwasnecessaryfor said Deshmukh. Committee (EAC) and grant demonstration of irreparable concern to assail acommercial Parliament building, thejudges the Governor’s conduct. lution,Kohli will have a0.051per authoritiesto putinpublicdomain Aboutallowingvisitorsto pre- thereof by the Ministryof lossorurgent necessity,orifwe transaction by levelling vague pointedoutthat“minutesof the Everybodywantedto waitforthe cent stakeinthe company. the redevelopmentplan,layouts booktickets, an ASI official from Environmentand Forests can guide the government on and unsubstantiated allega- February10,2020DDAmeeting SupremeCourt’sverdict.Iwasex- Records accessedbyThe and other suchdocumentswith Pune said, “We areencouraging (MoEF)as“just,properandinac- moralorethicalmatterswithout tions”. wherein the project proposal pecting, as others were,some in- Indian Express show that at the “justification and explanatory visitorsto pre-bookticketssothat cordancewith law”. anylegalbasis.Inlightof theset- “Judicial time is notmeant wasapproved forfinalnotifica- terim order, but when it didnot same extraordinarygeneral memorandum” relating to the thereisacontroloncrowds atthe Justice SanjivKhanna, the tledlaw,weshould be loath to forundertakingarovingenquiry tion reveal thatShri Kamran come, Ihad to act. The verdict, meeting on February5,2019, needand necessity,with studies ticket counters at the site. We are thirdjudgeonthe benchwho ventureintothese areas.” or to adjudicate upon unsub- Rizvi, Additional Secretary, MO- when it came, indicted the whenKohli wasissuedthe CCDs, and reports. also offering discounted rateson hadadissentingview, toounder- “We needtosay thisbecause stantiatedflaws orshortcoming HUA(MinistryofHousing and Governoronall counts, but Galactus also issued34CCDs The ruling said therewas lack suchonlinetickets.Thisisthefirst linedthat“if we considerandex- in the recent past, the routeof inpolicymattersof Government Urban Affairs)… who is also the Rajkhowa did notquit. Itoldthe worthRs16.66 lakh to of reasonabletimeforpeople,who timethatticketsforthePunesites aminethemeritsofthepleas,we public/socialinterestlitigationis of thedayandpoliticisethesame designated Chairman of the home minister that if the Cornerstone SportLLP. filedobjections and gave sugges- areavailable foronline booking.” would be directlyencroaching beingincreasinglyinvokedto call to appeasethedissentinggroup HeritageConservation Governordidnotact,Iwouldhave Significantly,Cornerstone's CEO tions, to statetheirpoint of view. SinceMarchlastyear,allthese their jurisdiction and exceeding upontheCourtto examinepure of citizens -- be it in theguise of Committee(HCC), waspres- to – in other words, ask the Amit Arun Sajdeh is Kohli’s part- “The citizenryclearly had the monumentswerecloseddue to the powerofjudicialreview”. concernsofpolicyand sorts of civilsocietyorapolitical outfit,” ent… and had unreservedly Governortoquit. Before signing ner in twoother limited liability right to knowintelligibledetails the lockdown and rising cases of Notingthattherespondents generalisedgrievances against theysaid.The petitioners, the joinedintheapprovalof theHCC the presidential proclamation, I partnership firms —Magpie explaining the proposal to partic- Covid-19inPune. However, after (theauthorities)“withoutdoubt the system,” they said. majorityrulingstated,“have not to theproposedchangeinland had consulted legal experts,” VenturePartners LLP and Virat ipate andexpressthemselves,give theMaharashtragovernmentan- doverilybelieve thatredevelop- “No doubt, the Courtsare been able to demonstrateany use”.Othermembersof theHCC Mukherjee writes. Kohli Sports LLP. suggestions and submit objec- nouncedeasingof restrictionsun- ment of Central Vista and new repositories of immense public case of denial of natural justice. had alsoparticipated in the On demonetisation, he says There'sanotherSajdeh-Kohli tions. The proposed changes, un- der ‘MissionBegin Again’, the ASI Parliamentbuildingisanimper- trustandthefactthatsomepub- For, the prescribed procedure, meeting of the Technical Modi did notdiscuss the issue link.Another firm, Cornerstone likepolicy decisions, would be sites located in Sindhudurg, ative necessity…Central Vista lic interestactionshavegener- both by statuteand convention, Committee in December,2019, with him before announcing the Sportand Entertainment Private largely irreversible. Physical con- Raigad and Aurangabad circles requires amakeover,”Justice ated commendable resultsis seemsto have substantiallybeen theysaid. decision on November 8, 2016. Ltd, of whichSajdeh is the direc- structionordemolitiononcedone, were openedfor visitors during Khannacitedproceduralillegal- noteworthy, but it is equallyim- followed”. Despitethis“priorapproval”, “However, afterdelivering his ad- tor, manages thecommercial cannotbeundoneorcorrectedfor the final months of 2020. ities to setaside the final notifi- portantto realisethatCourtsop- Overruling objections to the thejudgessaid,aformalwritten dressto thenation,thePMvisited rightsofKohli and abunchofin- futurebyrepeal,amendment or cationof modification/changeof eratewithin the boundaries de- modificationsmadeto theDelhi “priorpermission” of the HCC meatRashtrapatiBhavanandex- ternational cricketers including modification as in caseofmost land use as well as the environ- finedbythe Constitution. We MasterPlan and Zonal would still be essential, “before plainedto metherationalebehind KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Umesh policiesorevenenactments.They Nirav Modi mental clearance. He directed cannotbecalleduponto govern. Development Plan, the two commencingthe development his decision. Modi outlined three Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep have farmorepermanent conse- over Rs 6,498.20 croreonthe that the process be done afresh. For, we have no wherewithal or judges said the “masterplan it- work on listedheritagebuild- main objectivesofdemonetisa- Yadavand Shubman Gill. quences,” Justice Khanna said. PunjabNationalBankby issuance Justice Khanna, in his order, prowessandexpertiseinthatre- self envisages intensive utiliza- ings/sitesand that stageisyet to tion: tackling blackmoney, fight- When contacted,Sajdeh said He said the question whether of fraudulentLetters of said: “HeritageConservation gard,” theysaid. tionof existingGovernmentland arrive”. In matters of balancing ingcorruptionandcontainingter- therewas nothing wrong with the changes will curtail or restrict Undertaking. Purvi and Maiank Committee would decide all The “constitutionally envis- andutilizationof surpluslandby between competing environ- rorfunding.Hedesiredanexplicit the MPL connection. “Ihavesaid access of common people to the have notbeen namedasaccused contentions in accordance with aged system of ‘checksand bal- the Government as essential mental and development con- supportfrommeasaformer fi- this time and again, Viratand greens and other areas in the by the CBI, but have been named the UnifiedBuilding ByeLaws ances’hasbeencompletelymis- componentsofoptimumutiliza- cerns,the judges said that the nance ministerofthe Cornerstone arefreetoinvestin Central Vista is of particular im- as co-accused in twoEDcases. and the MasterPlan of Delhi. construedandmisappliedinthis tion of Government land re- courthasto be“project-specific”. country…Followingthemeeting, as manybusinesses as theywish portance. The ED gave itsno-objection Iissuedastatement extending to.Thereisnoconflict whatso- to them turningprosecution wit- considering howeffectively one activity” as one of the achieve- hensive trade agreement, in afair takesuchrelationshipsastrueisa supporttotheprincipleof demon- ever as long as Viratisnot in- 10 days nesses in theirindividual capaci- piece of equipment will integrate mentsindefence and security in and reciprocal manner,that en- bit absurd”. Forinstance, he says, etisation,”hewrites,butaddsthat vested in Cornerstone,” he said. “The acceleratedapproval ties but objected to allowing any intoabroader system andstrat- thepastfour years. “Ibelievethat sures accesstobothmarkets." the “perception that India and whileitisdifficulttoassesstheex- Amonthafter CCDswereis- came on January3.Weare pre- companies or entitiesnamedas egy,andwhetheraparticularpur- no countryhas as strong and ro- Ontheachievementsinthere- Japan have become friends since act impact of demonetisation, suedtoKohli andCornerstone, on paredto rolloutwithin10 days af- accusedbeinggrantedsimilarpar- chase todaywill pave the wayfor bustadefenceandcounterterror- lationship duringthe Trump the arrivalofModi as PM is not close to four years afteritwas im- March 21,2019, Galactus allotted terthe approval wasgiven. The fi- don. -- or preclude -- futureacquisi- ismrelationshipwithIndiaasdoes Administration, Justerlisteden- correct.Wehavehad good rela- plemented, one thing that can be 14,285 CCDsof face value Rs100, nal decision will be takenbythe SpecialJudgeVCBarde al- tions of moresophisticated tech- the United States. Simplyput, no ergy to health, and defence to tionswithJapanevenbefore 2014, stated without fear of contradic- eachatapremium of Rs 48,900 government,” Bhushan said. lowedtheir applications forpar- nology. other countrydoes as muchto counter-terrorism. “As democra- and(Shinzo)AbehadvisitedIndia tion is thatthat the multipleob- to Bennett Coleman &Company At the briefing, the firstafter don on condition that theymake “... as systems getmoretech- contributetothe security of cies,our twocountries arecom- before Modi became PM”. jectives, as stated by the govern- Ltd(BCCL)forRs69.99 crore. The theapprovals were granted,the fullandtruedisclosures.Thecourt nologicallyadvanced, countryA Indians and India. Our close coor- mitted to arules-basedorder,as Mukherjee says thesurgical ment, have notbeen met. CCDs will be converted intoeq- Centrerespondedindetailto con- said the pardon wasgranted only thatdoesnot getalongwithcoun- dination has been important as well as to peace and diplomacy... strikesconductedby Indianforces uity shares after10years, with cerns over Covaxin being cleared to them in theirindividual capac- tryB,will be lesswilling to sell Indiaconfronts,perhapsonasus- But we knowthat noteveryone across the border were normal Galwan the conversion ratio fixedat1:1, without phase 3efficacy data. ities. In their applications, Purvi technology that couldpotentially tainedbasis, aggressive Chinese thinksaswedo,andsomechoose militaryoperationsinresponseto “Indian Armywith assistance i.e.,oneequityshare forone CCD. ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava andMaianksaidtheywereunable be compromisedtocountry B,” activity on itsborder,” he said. suicide vestsormilitaryincur- Pakistan’s continuedaggression. from IAF,mobilisedtroops in- Despiterepeatedattempts, BCCL saidstatutoryrulesframedbefore to travel to India duetoCovid-19 Justersaid.“Andso,we haven’thit However, the Ambassador sions. That is whythe United He says therewas “reallynoneed cludingaccretionary forces in a wasunavailable forcomment. thepandemicallowtheregulator restrictionsoninternationaltravel, thatpointyet,butthatcouldcome said, therewerefrictions in the StatesandIndiaarecommittedto to over-publicise them” and ar- very short duration including Atop BCCI official said the to grantrestricteduseapprovalon but were willing to provide their inthefuture...thereare trade-offs Indo-UStradeandeconomicrela- strengtheningourdefenceandse- gues that “we gainednothing by heavy equipmentlikeguns,tanks Indian boardwas notaware that the basis of phase 2datainemer- statementsovervideo-confer- Indiahas to decide (asto) how tionship. "Despitepersistent ef- curitycooperation.Inthewordsof over-talkingontheseoperations.” as also ammunition, rations and Kohli and Cornerstone have a gency situations. ence, including before the magis- muchitmatterstogetthemostso- forts,we were unableto conclude Sardar Patel, ‘cultivating strength According to Mukherjee, the clothing”. It said the Army “res- stakeinMPL. “We cannotbeex- “In apandemic situation”, re- trate. "Theaccusedisatpresent phisticatedtechnology,tobeasin- even asmall trade package." to challengeoppression’." “multiple stated objectivesofde- olutelycounteredadversaries” on pected to trackinvestmentsof stricteduseapprovalisconsidered staying abroad, who shall be di- teroperable as it can be within its He addedthat Washington monetisation” were notmet.He the LACand the Line of Control players,” he told The Indian basedonsafetyand immuno- rected to present herself before technology and potentiallywith wasalso watchingthe Modi gov- Pranab’s view alsosays thathewas “personally (LC) with Pakistanand “carried Express. Another BCCI member genicity datawhile phase 3trials the Court, forwhichpurpose the otherfriendlyforces,andto diver- ernment’s Atmanirbhar cam- travels with the Indian President notenthused”by thescrappingof out relentless Counter said: “He (Kohli) is an influential arestillongoing,DrBhargava said. prosecution shall take necessary sify itssources of procurement... paign, to seehow compatible it inIndia,hewouldhave to trustthe thePlanningCommissionbutdid Insurgency (CI)/Counter Terrorist figureinIndian cricket and such “Immunogenicitydatagenerated steps to facilitatethe approachof (It)could be aconstraint that ulti- waswith the US,and whether it securityarrangementshere. notwishtorakeupacontroversy (CT) operations”. inter-connections aren'tideal for through phase 2clinical trial accusedtoIndiato takepartinthe matelyaffectsthe levelofsophis- leadstohigher tariffand non-tar- The Presidential Years, the by opposing it publicly. “Iperson- On the clashes in Galwan good governance.” serves as asurrogate forefficacy. proceeding as soon as maybein ticationatthehighestendof tech- iffbarriers. “As the US and other fourth volume of Mukherjee’s allyfeel it wasamistake,indeeda ValleyonJune 15,the reviewsaid The Indian board’s constitu- And the clinical trial Rules 2019 the factsand circumstances pre- nology transfer and broader companiesfinditincreasingly dif- memoirs,publishedbyRupa,was blunder,todoawaywith the plan that“defendingthe territorial in- tion doesraise aflag about such provideforconsideringphase2re- vailing currently,"the courtsaid. defence relationship,”the ficult to operateinChina... India releasedtoday. panel,” he says. tegrityofIndia in GalvanValley commercial connections.Itde- sultstoguide approval.” The ED had alleged that Purvi Ambassador said. has astrategic opportunity to be- While he enjoyedgood rela- Thereare somebitterobserva- has been the mostshining exam- fines Commercial Conflict as: Dr VKPaul, who heads the andMaiankwere alsoinvolvedin About the US CAATSA sanc- come an alternativedestination... tions with Modi,Mukherjee tions about the Congress too, in- ple of thevalour of ourforces this “When an individual enters into high-levelnationalcommitteeon money-laundering.Itwasalleged tionsagainstIran,NorthKoreaand Butto fullyseizethisopportunity, makes some critical observations cluding party chief Sonia Gandhi. year in which20brave India sol- endorsementcontractsorother vaccine administration, said that various entities, bank ac- Russia, Justersaid these were the Indian government maywell abouthimandsomeof hiskeyde- Mukherjeesays theCongress’s diers made the supreme sacri- professional engagementswith Covaxin’stechnologywasthekey counts and trusts in Purvi's name “neverdesignedtoharm friends needtotakefurtheraction,"Juster cisions.Hesays thattheModigov- defeatinthe2014 LokSabhaelec- fice”. An undeclared number of thirdparties, the discharge of scientificprinciplethatledtheSEC were used to launder moneyin and allies". said. ernment failedinits “primaryre- tions wasbecause it “had failed Chinese troops haddiedinthe vi- whichwouldcompromise thein- to recommendthe granting of Indiaandabroad.Aredcornerno- Ratherthanthelowest bidder Noting that the MakeinIndia sponsibility”toensurethesmooth miserablytofulfillpeople’sexpec- olent hand-to-hand clashes near dividual’s primacy obligation to emergencyapprovalswithoutef- ticewasissuedbyInterpolagainst fordefence procurement, he pushcomesasIndiais"seekingto and proper functioning of tations and aspirations”. Without Patrolling Point 14 (PP14) – the game or allowfor perception ficacy data. her,while properties in NewYork calledfor “building closer operat- be... an exportertothe world," he Parliamentinitsfirstterm;thathis takingnames,hesays “somesen- “Chinese also sufferedsignificant that the purity of the game stands “...It is avaccine withanexcit- andLondonwere attachedbythe ing relationships with asmaller said, “It willlimit India’s capacity styleofgovernanceduringhisfirst ior Congress leaders’ political casualties”, the reviewsaid. compromised.” ing antibody response, notjustS- ED. In their statementstothe ED circleof trusted,like-mindedpart- to trulyintegrateintoglobalvalue termwas “autocratic”;thatModi’s naiveté and arrogance hurtthe “Lateron28-29 August2020, Phone calls and textmessages proteinbutalsotheadditionalpro- in October,Purviand Maiank had nerstobestpreserve India’s inde- chains and, in the process, raise December 2015 stopoverin fortunesofthe party further.” owntroopsinaprecautionary to co-founder and CEO of the teins...in the face of potential said theywould fullycooperate pendenceof actionwhileprotect- prices forIndian consumers." Lahoretogreet thethen Pakistan “Ibelievethatthe leadership deployment, pre-empted MPL,Sai Srinivas KiranG,about mutations,becausethisvaccineis with the probe. ingitfromcoercion”. “And, with Juster added, "EastAsia’ssuc- Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif on of aparty in times of crisis has to Chineseexpansionistdesignsand Kohli and Cornerstone's invest- awholevirionvaccineandmakes Modi wasdeclared afugitive whichnationsdoesIndiahave the cess wasdrivenbyincreasingly his birthdaywas “unnecessary evolve adifferentapproach.If Ihad occupiedheightsalongsouthern mentsinIndian team's kit spon- antibodiesatmultipletargets... economic offender in 2019 and is best chance of realising itsown openmarketsathomeanddeeper anduncalledfor”giventhecondi- continuedinthe government as bank of Pangong Tso,” the docu- sorsand the possible conflict of ThiswasnoticedbySEC;secondly currentlyfacing extradition pro- ambition of avibrant, indigenous trade relations with the West,es- tions that prevailedinIndia- financeminister, Iwouldhaveen- mentstated.The peaksoccupied interestwent unanswered. in their judgment, theyhavesaid ceedingsinthe UK. defence industrial sector?" pecially the United States... India Pakistanrelations. sured Mamata’scontinuity in the during these operations have Queries to the representativesof this vaccine is to be used in clini- JustercountedIndo-US"coor- shouldseekto lockinthebenefits He also says that Modi “plays coalition. Similarly,Maharashtra giventhe Indian forces adomi- the companythat handles MPL's caltrialmode.Therefore,scientific Ken Juster dination" at atime when Delhi is of itseconomic relationship with up personal equations” with for- washandledbadly, partly due to nating position in the Chushul public relations also went unan- principles and rigour have been security environment, it is worth confronting “aggressiveChinese Americaby negotiatingacompre- eign leaders “toomuch”, and “to decisionstakenby SoniaGandhi.I sub-sector. swered.

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ACROSS35DISTRICTS Grape export season set to begin, but fresh lockdown Stategearsupfor in UK and other European nations worries growers vaccinationdry per cent of the transaction marketfor Indian grape growers, what will happen,” he said. to them maynot find amarket,” creases, lifewill come backto PARTHASARATHI amount when the provisional giventhe suretyofpayment Exports headedfor super- said Khapre. normal. We do notfeel that there BISWAS invoices areraised, whilethe re- there. Growerssell their produce market chains or organisedre- However, VilasShinde, chair- will be large-scale disruptions in PUNE,JANUARY5 maining amount is paid afterde- to both supermarketsaswell as tailers maynot face anyprob- man and managing director of the markets,” he said. runonJanuary8 livery. wholesale traders,with the for- lems in terms of sales, but the Nashik-basedSahyadri Shinde, however, said the THE FRESH coronavirus-induced Last year,95,000 tonnes of mercornering 60 per cent of ex- unorganisedretailers mightre- Farmers ProducersCompany, cost of shipmenthas increased lockdowninthe UK and some grapes had gone to the European ports. portdisruption, he said. said the present lockdown and that will affect growers. “We will interact with statehealth European countries has casta Union markets, lowerthanthe Jagannath Khapre,president “Similar to what happened would nothaveavery drastic ef- have requestedshipping compa- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ministers on January7todiscuss shadowofuncertainty on India’s 1.25 croretonnes exportedin of the Grapes Exporters during the lockdown in India, fect on exports. “Unlikelastyear, niesnot to increasethe costas PUNE,JANUARY5 the proposedsecond dryrun on grape export, the season for 2018-19. This year,44,000farm- AssociationofIndia, said the re- unorganisedretailers would be vaccines areavailable nowand otherwise, the industrywould January8. whichisset to startnextweek. ers have registeredinthe inforcedlockdown in the United out of business and grapes sold as the rate of vaccinations in- collapse,” he said. ANTICIPATINGArollout within WhileMaharashtraheld the Whileexportorders have been Grapenetprogramme, whichal- Kingdom has put aquestion 10 days of the emergency use au- dryrun across four districtsof received, growers areuncertain lows tracingofthe produce right markatthe startofthe export thorisation of the Covid-19 vac- Pune, Nagpur,Nandurbarand about howthe season would at the farmers' end. season. “The seasonisset to start GANDHINAGARURBAN cine, anation-widelarge-scale Jalna on January 2, with 300ben- pan out as manyparts of Europe UK and other European on January 15 and our members dryrun is being plannedon eficiariesinvolvedinthe trial,the areunder an extendedlock- countries have been aprized have orders, but we do notknow DEVELOPMENTAUTHORITY January8.Union Health Minister January8dryrun will be held down due to thefear of the new Block no. 18, 4TH Floor,Udyogbhavan, Gandhinagar-382011. Dr Harsh Vardhan will hold a across 35 districtsinthe state. coronavirus strain. Ph. 91-79-23249017/18, Fax: 91-79-23249017/18, video conference meeting with The exercise will be ahelpfulone Nearly 80 per cent of Indian E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.guda.gujarat.gov.in statehealth ministers towards to checkwhether systemsare grape exports originatefrom the proposed second dryrun on functioning well. vineyardsinMaharashtra. An opportunity to be in Gandhinagar -Gujarat January7. Pune Divisional Farmers command better prices Alarge-scale dryrun was Commissioner Saurabh Raosaid forexportedgrapes thanthose E-Auction of GUDA Plots conducted in all states and union authorities were prepared for soldindomestic markets. territories on January2with an another suchexercise. Indian exporters arepaid 50 Duration forregistration of the Bidder Date: 06/01/2021 To 05/02/2021 objective to test operational fea- and payment of EMD and Tender Fees Up to 18.00 p.m sibility of the use of Co-Winand Tender fees (Not refundable) Tender feefor each bid in Rs.10000/- field testing. StateImmunisation Officer Tender Details of Plot Plot Upset EMD Date of Dr DNPatiltold TheIndian ID area in Price Rs. in Rs. Auction Express thatthe stategovern- sq. mt. (per sq.mt.) ment has receivedaletter that 1. Commercial Plot in KUDASAN, 12573 80,000/- 1,00,58,400/- e-auction starts states the Union health minister TPS No.6(KUDASAN -at11.00 hrs on SARAGASAN - DHOLAKUVA- Dt.10/02/2021 POR), FP No.127(SFC), Opp.e-auction ends Pramukh Arcade,At&Po. at 12.00 hrs on Kudasan, Ta &Dist. Gandhinagar Dt.10/02/2021 (Google Coordinate: 23.183393, 72.629993) 2. Residential Plot in SARAGASAN, 7186 70,000/- 50,30,200/- e-auction starts TPS No.8(SARAGASAN), FP No. at 15.00 hrs on R-46 (SFR), At &Po. Saragasan, Dt.10/02/2021 Ta &Dist. Gandhinagar e-auction ends (Google Coordinate: 23.189855, at 16.00 hrs on Dayashankar Tiwari 72.621591) Dt.10/02/2021

•For further information about registration and participation please read details on (n)code BJP leader website https://e-auction.nprocure.com or mail on [email protected] or call on toll free number 7359 021 663 Dayashankar •Timeline,specification, updates and other details forthe e-Auction process are available Tiwari is new on the website of www.guda.gujarat.gov.in and https://e-auction.nprocure.com •The Bidder/ Applicants desire to submit their bid have to submit bids on Nagpur Mayor https://e-auction.nprocure.com •Any queries and clarifications sought by bidder maybesent to [email protected] latest by 31st January, 2021. No queries shall be entertained thereafter. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE NAGPUR,JANUARY5 •Individual bid should be submitted forindividual plot offer with individual tender feeand EMD. SENIORBJP leader and corpora- •Jurisdictionfor e-Auction would be Gandhinagar. torDayashankar Tiwari was •Inany circumstances anychange or amendment in auction procedure and timelines,itwill elected the newNagpur mayor be published on GUDAwebsite www.guda.gujarat.gov.in and (n)code website on Tuesday. BJP leader Manisha https://e-auction.nprocure.com forbidder acknowledgement. Dhawade waselectedhis deputy •The bidders are requested to checkthe GUDAwebsite and (n) code website periodically in an one-sidedcontest. during the e- auction process. Tiwari defeated Ramesh Sd/- Punekar of the Congress, who could poll only27votes against Chief Executive Authority Tiwari's 107inthe 151-member No.: GUDA/ESTATE/e-Auction Plot/02/2020-21 Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority, NagpurMunicipal Corporation Date :- 06/01/2021 Gandhinagar (NMC). The BJP,whichisruling NMC forthe thirdconsecutive term, enjoys abrutemajority of 107. Tiwari, atop-notchdebater during his university days who is known forhis great oratorical skills, will be mayorfor thenext 15 months before NMC goes to polls in 2022. Dhawade bagged 107votesagainst26voteswon by Congress' Rashmi Dhurve. The election wasnecessi- tatedfollowing the resignation of Tiwari's predecessorSandeep Joshi on December 21,about a fortnight before his 15-month term wastoend on January6. Joshi had resignedfollowing his defeat in the Nagpur Graduates' Constituency Legislative Council elections lastmonth, and had saidhewas resigning owning moral responsibility forthe de- feat. Joshi's tenurewas marked by controversies suchashis face- offwith former municipal com- missioner Tukaram Mundhe, said to be the reason behind Mundhe's exit from the city within sevenmonths of taking over as civic chief. Accordingtopoliticalpun- dits, therun-in with Mundhe wasone of the factors that went againstJoshi in the Legislative Council elections. AAI meet today to discuss SOP for transporting Covid vaccines

Pune: The AirportsAuthority of India (AAI) hasconvenedameet- ing of various stakeholders in- volvedintheCovid-19vaccination programme on Wednesdayto discussthe standardoperating procedurefor transportation of the vaccine from Punetovarious destinations. Pune Airport Director KuldeepSingh said rep- resentativesoftheSerumInstitute, StateHealth Department, Indian AirForce(IAF),officialsinvolvedin cargo operations and airlines will DGIPR/2020-21/1713 be presentfor the meeting. ENS

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Classroom CHARGES OF EXTORTION AND CRIMINALINTIMIDATION Pharmasalesfirmfilesinjunctionagainst lectures and practicals across Probe againstGirish SIIoveruseof‘Covishield’trademark SPPU colleges to Mahajan &28others start from Jan 11 SII, restraining them from using shifted from Jalgaon to EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE the trademark Covishield or any PUNE,JANUARY5 INNUMBERS other confusingly similar trade- ALIFIYAKHAN mark. Thecompanyhas also PUNE,JANUARY5 Kothrudpolice station ANANDED-BASED pharma sales sought that the SII be ordered companyhas filedaninjunction 7 and directed to paythem profit STUDENTS WILL finallybeseen suitagainsttheSerumInstitute of earnedbyusing the name at collegecampuses from in 2018,hewas forciblytaken to India(SII)attheCommercialCourt Covid-19deathsinPune Covishield and be directed to January11after theadministra- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE aflat in SadashivPethareaand in Puneagainst use of thetrade- district on Tuesday. withdraw the trademarkregis- tion of Savitribai Phule Pune PUNE,JANUARY5 threatenedthat he will be mark'Covishield' forits vaccine, tration application. The suit in University (SPPU), lateon booked in false offences. Patil claiming thatthe companyhad Pune courtwas submittedon Mondaynight, approved re- THE FIR filedinJalgaon district also made allegations of forgery appliedforthetrademarkfortheir 8,862 Mondayand the courthas issued opening of colleges and univer- againstBJP leader and former by some of the suspectsinorder sanitisation productsbeforeSII Toll so farinthe district. anotice to SII seeking itsre- sity departmentsfor classroom stateministerGirish Mahajan to gain control of the Jalgaon- appliedfor it. TheCommercial sponse on our case." lectures and practicals. and 28 others, alleging extortion basedinstitute. CourtinPuneissuedanoticetoSII When asked howCutis Acircular issuedbyUttam and criminal intimidationofthe Assistant Commissioner of on Tuesday, seeking itsresponse 496 Biotech startedusing the trade- Chavan, deputy registrarof office-bearer of acooperative ed- Police (Kothrud Division) to the injunction suit. StaffofDistrict GeneralHospital in Aundh carry Covid FreshCovid-19cases. markprior to itsregistration ap- SPPU,statedthat theory, prac- ucational instituteinJalgaon, has MachhindraChavanconfirmed ThesuithasbeenfiledbyCutis wastefor disposal. Arul Horizon plication getting approved,Soni tical and dissertation work for been transferredtoKothrud po- that the case has been trans- Biotech,asoleproprietorshipcon- said, "There arenospecific rules oddsemesters forstudentsof lice station in Pune forprobe. ferred to Kothrud policestation cern headquarteredinNanded 3,65,519 prohibiting the use of aspecific all undergraduateand post- In the thirdweek of and he has takenoverthe district,and is primarilyaphar- Speakingabouttheinjunction septicanddisinfectantliquid,sani- Totalcases reported in trademarkbeforeits registration graduatecourses from second December lastyear,aFirst probe. "Wehavethe probeinto maceutical and medicinal prod- suit againstSII, advocateAditya tisers and surface decontami- the district on Tuesday. is approved." In itsapplication to year and abovewill startfrom Information Report wasregis- the allegations made by the uctssalescompany. Thecompany AshokSoni,thelawyerrepresent- nants. On December 7, my client the Pune court, the companyhas next Monday. teredagainstMahajan (60) and complainant and have started hadfiledasimilarsuitatacourtin ing Cutis Biotech,told The Indian came across the news that SII has said about the suit filedon The circular statesthat all 28 others,atNimbhorapolice gathering factsofthe case. I NandedonDecember11 lastyear, Express,"Myclient,apharmaceu- appliedtothe Drug Controller morenamesfor theirvaccine. December 11,"The defendant departmentsand affiliated col- stationinJalgaon. The FIR was can't divulge anyother details whichispending. The Covishield tical and medicinal productssell- Generalof Indiaforimmediate ap- Their application is also pending (SII) appeared beforethe court leges will have to followthe basedonacomplaint filedby of the probe." vaccineistheIndianvariantof the ing companyinNanded, applied proval foravaccine named before thetrademark office." in NandedonDecember 18, guidelines of the University VijayPatil, who is alawyerand While Mahajan did notre- vaccine developedbyforthe trademark Covishieldon CovishieldinIndia.Subsequentto He added,"Because our com- claiming it has no jurisdiction on GrantsCommission regarding oneofthe directors of the Jilha spondtocalls seeking hiscom- AstraZeneca and University of April29lastyear,afterathorough that,suppliersofmyclientstarted panyhad notjustappliedbut the relief sought...The said civil reopening. Once the work of Maratha Vidyaprasarak Sahakari ment, he has in thepastdenied Oxford. Pune-headquartered trademarksearch.Theapplication pullingbackdueto thenamecon- also startedusingthe trademark suitisstill pendingbeforethe odd semesters is done, theory Samaaj, acooperative educa- these allegations and has SerumInstituteofIndiahasdevel- is pending before thetrademark fusion.Weagain conducted a prior to SII applying forit, we Nandedcourt." and practical work cancom- tional institute in Jalgaon. The al- termedthem “political opedand manufactured office. Since May30, my client trademarksearch and found that have filedaninjunction suit When contacted,SII didn't mence forevensemesters in the leged offence wascommitted vendetta”. He has also filedan Covishieldunderalicencegranted startedusing the trademark SIIhadappliedforthesametrade- againstthem. We have sought a respond to The Indian Express' offline mode. over aperiod of time between application in the courtfor by AstraZenecaand Oxford. Covishield forproducts likeanti- markonJune 6and also forsome perpetual injunction againstthe questions on the case. As farasfirst-year under- January2018till the time of reg- squashing of the FIR. The IPC graduate andpostgraduatestu- istration of the case. sections underwhichthe 29 dentsare concerned, classes for According to the FIR, as part persons have been booked in- First edition them would startinoffline mode of the criminal conspiracy in- clude 331(voluntarilycausing from January11for studentsen- volving all the accused,Patil was grievous hurttoextortconfes- rolledinnon-professional threatenedand asked to resign sion), 384(extortion), 465 (for- of Ramnadi courses, whose admissions have from his position. Patil has al- gery)and 506(criminal intim- notbeen conducted by the leged that during avisittoPune idation). Festivalto CommonEntrance Test (CET) cell. The dateofcommencement begin on Jan 8 of theoryand practicalexams for Poultry industry steps all firstyear studentsofunder- graduate andpostgraduate pro- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE grammes, whose admissions in to quellbird flu fears PUNE,JANUARY5 have takenplace through CET, willbedeclaredlater by compe- per cent of what the industry re- THE FIRST edition of Kirloskar tent authorities. PARTHASARATHI portedearlier,soany drastic dip Vasundhara'sthree-dayRamnadi BISWAS in sales will nothaveagreatim- Festival, whichwill beginon PUNE,JANUARY5 pact on the prices, said Shetty. January8,will present ascientific Vaccination, At the beginning of the lock- study of the riverRamnadi and THE POULTRYindustryhas down lastyear,the poultry in- aimtocreateawarenessaboutthe scholarships, fee steppedintoaddress fears about dustryhad facedhugelosses af- history,geography and biodiver- apossible threat to theindustry terunsubstantiated social media sity of the river, as well as inspire subsidies, tech from reports of birdflu coming posts linked the spread of the peopleto participateinitsrestora- in from various states. So far, virus with poultrybirds. tion and protection. on SPPU Senate therehas notbeenasingle re- Consumption of chickenand “We formed the Ramnadi portofmortality due to birdflu eggs had tanked,with the indus- RestorationMission (RRM) on meeting agenda in the organisedpoultrysector, tryreporting nearly $1 billion in March 14,2019...Due to the pan- and the reports have been about losses. But now, sale of poultry demic, we couldnot do muchon deaths of crows, migratorybirds has pickedupdue to increased the ground, so we decided to or- ALIFIYAKHAN and geese. consumption,after many doc- ganiseafestivaltobring attention PUNE,JANUARY5 So far, the stategovernments tors insistedonthe importance to thisneglectedriverinthecity. It of Kerala, Rajasthan and of protein in diets. is asad reality that people of Pune Ashopkeeper arranges kites in RavivarPeth, ahead of Makar Sankranti, in Pune on Tuesday. AshishKale THE COVID-19pandemic and Himachal Pradesh have reported Maharashtraisnow report- do notknowabout this river. We the challenges brought in its mortality among birds due to the ing sale of 3-3.25 croremarket- wish to highlight the issues that wake will be on the agenda of virus. While Kerala has reported ready birds per month while theriverfacestoday,likeencroach- the upcoming Senatemeeting of the presence of the virus in the India reports sale of 30 crore mentanddebrisdumping,among Trial run on 2nd Pune Metro Pune Metro and DRDO sign the Savitribai Phule Pune carcass of ducks,the same was birds in the same time, said others.Itis,Ibelieve,theonlyriver University (SPPU), scheduledto reportedfromcrows and migra- Shetty. “As Ipointed out, this is that still can besavedasitisstill in take place on January9and 10. tory birds in the othertwo states. 70 percent of the normal place- abetterstate when compared to route likely in two months MoU for biodigester tech From resolutions on subsi- The stategovernmentshave ment. With asupplyand de- Mula and Mutha,” said Virendra dising exam fees of students, startedsero-surveillance of the mand mismatch, we do notfeel Chitrav,main organiser of the fes- stretchnow.Two stationson to treat sewage at stations vaccinating teachers and staffers, avianpopulationintheir regions. therewould be much effect in tival.Thefestivalhasbeendivided EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE the stretchfromPCMCto providing student scholarships Although therehas been no re- the long run,” he said. intofive'episodes' whichwill ex- PUNE,JANUARY5 Phuegwadi arenearing com- Sciences of DRDO,said human to empowering colleges in tribal portofsimilar cases in poultry Oneofthe side effectsofthe ploredifferentaspectsoftheriver, pletion," Dixit said. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE wasteinanevergrowingproblem areas to gettechnologicallyde- birds,the industryhas expressed Covid-19pandemic has been a suchasits introduction, heritage, AFTER THE trial run on the 6- He also said thatthe Pune PUNE,JANUARY5 in developing countries and im- veloped, severalofthe propos- concern about the effect of such reduction in mortality of birds, health,managementandthemis- km stretchfromPimpri- Municipal Corporation (PMC) properdisposal causesdiseases als the difficulties brought on by news on their sales. according to Prasanna siontoconserveit. Thefestivalwill Chinchwad to Phugewadi in has discussedthe possibility of THE MAHARASHTRA MetroRail due to contaminationofdrinking the pandemic. Vasant Kumar Shetty,presi- Pedgaonkar,general manager featurethe river's origin, memo- the Pune metrorail is com- building Metro-Neointhe city. Corporation Ltd (Maha-Metro) andgroundwaterresources."The Senatemember Santosh dent of the Maharashtrabranch of poultrygiant Venkatesh ries associated and the beginning pleted, the trialrun forthe "The union government has ac- on Tuesday signed an agreement biodigestertechnologydeveloped Dhoremootedaproposal to of PoultryFarmerand Breeders Hatcheries. “Mortality nor- of RRM on itsfirstday. Vanaz to Garware College ceptedMetro-Neo as anational with the Defence Research and by DRDEisanefficient and eco- waivefees of studentsinhostels Association, pointed out that mallyincreases during winter On the second day, the festival stretchonKarveRoad will model. It has lowridershipand Development Establishment nomic on-sitealternative to con- and process refunds if fees have scare of bird flu has impacted the but this year,due to the pan- willshowcaseseveralfilmsfocus- likely begin within two cost-effective solutions forless (DRDE) of the Defence Research ventionalsanitationtechniques.It been takenbesides proposing a industry since 2006. demic, mostpoultryfarms have ing on the river's heritageand months. populated areas,"hesaid, and Development Organisation has proved effective in wide geo- policy to prevent academic loss “However, nowthe con- created abio-safetyzone health, like AJourney of Firstyear’ "The aim is to start com- adding that while buses can (DRDO) to adoptBiodigester climatic conditions by tweaking of studentswho areunable to sumer is notscared but such around them. Movement of and Ramnadi duringcorona pan- mercial operations of Pune transport4,000passengers per technology fortreatinghuman of design. It has been adoptedby take online education. news is usedbythe trade to pull people and material is also re- demic,aswell as talk topics like Metrorail in 2021but the ex- hour and Metrorail 20,000 wasteand recycle watercon- theIndianRailway,leadingto zero Statingthatstudents arecon- down prices. The same might stricted,sochances of anyin- Ramnadi of my Childhood with act datecannotbedecided people per hour,Metro-Neo sumedinPune Metrorail. toiletdischarge ontracks,"hesaid. fusedabout onlineeducation, the happen this time also but unlike fection has reduced,” he said. Nitin Kokate, Lakes of Ramnadi now,"said Brijesh Dixit, man- can transport10,000-12,000 Biodigestertechnology has been The present model helps in principal of an SPPUcollege said other times, the industryisbet- Currently, theindustry is re- withGurudas Nulkar and Health agingdirector,Maha-Metro. peopleper hour at one-fourth successfullyusedinthe Indian recycling water, whichcan be in his proposal that while the terplacedinhandling the situa- porting mortality of around 3 and hygienearound Ramnadi by Work on the Pune Metro the costofMetro rail. Railwaysand Nagpur Metro. usedtoclean floors, washrooms UGC has suggesteda30per cent tion,” he said. per cent, whichisnormally Suresh Mijar.The lastday of the project has been delayeddue to However, the Detailed "TheBiodigestertechnologyis and washing vehicles. "Weare cut in the curriculum and online Production in the sector is 70 around 5per cent. festivalwillfeaturefilms:Ramnadi the pandemic, Dixit said. Project Reportfor thesame aneco-friendly, cost-effective,de- further improving the technol- education to coverupthe rest,in flood 2019 ‘and Activities KVIFF However, therehas been no sig- would be prepared onlyafter centralised,on-sitehumanwaste ogy to getrecycledwater that tribal and remote areas,not even 2020. Thetalk sectionwill focus nificant costincrease, he added. thestate governmentgives its treatment technology thatuses can be usedtowashclothes, the 10 percent of students could ac- Maha ATS and HimachalPoliceto on themes like Ramnadi water- Pune Metroisconducting approval. "It will be thestate anaerobic microbial consortium. ultimategoalbeing to get cess online lectures due to net- shed by JyotiPanse, Importance of the trial runs with coaches government that will take ade- We willbeableto conserve signif- potable water,"Singh said. work connectivityissues or lack jointly probe seizureof34kgcharas Natural Farming by AnilGaikwad from Nagpur Metroasitwill cisiononwhether to optfor icant amountsofwater in astate The Pune metroisestimated of smartphones. Stating that stu- and Lost abundanceofRamnadi getits coaches onlybyMay. Metro-Neo in acity formass wherewaterscarcityisincreasing to have five lakh footfall every dentsare notevenaware of what identsofKullu. withMadhulkar Dalvi.The festi- "Phase one of Pune Metrorail transportincertain stretches everyday,"saidBrijeshDixit,man- dayand the biodigestertechnol- their syllabus is, the principal said EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Subsequent interrogation of valcan be accessedonKirloskar is a31-kmrouteand trial run of the proposed Metrorail aging director of Maha-Metro. ogy will be usedatall Metrosta- if exams areproposedatthis PUNE,JANUARY5 the twosuspectshad revealed Vasundhara's Facebookpage. is underway on the6-km route," he said. AKSingh,directorgeneral-Life tions, Dixit added. stage, it would cause discontent that out of the 34 kg of hashish in studentsand parents. He has THE MAHARASHTRA Anti- theyweretrafficking, 22 kg was proposed setting up acommit- Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken to be distributedinMumbai, 5 teetotakeanobjective review of over the probeintothe seizure kg eachinBengaluru andGoa the situation regarding syllabus of 34 kg of charas by and 2kginPune. CLOUDY SKY DRIVES AWAY WINTER CHILL and examinations instead of con- Government Railway Police Asenior official from the sidering the reports of colleges. from twomen in Himachal Maharashtra ATSsaid, "The pri- PrincipalofModern College Pradesh. The stateATS will probe maryprobe intothe case has Rain, thunder and lightning over Pune on Jan8:IMD and Senatemember Dr Sanjay the case jointly with the brought to light apossible drug Kharathas proposedthatteach- HimachalPradesh Police consid- smuggling racket operating be- weather,the minimum temper- bouring areas, too, reported light is also an inducedcyclonic circu- ited in the nightand morning ersand staffofthe university be ering itsmulti-state connections, tween Himachal Pradesh and EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE aturerecordedacross the state to moderaterain on Tuesday. lation lying over west Rajasthan. hours,"said an IMD official. vaccinated.Aproposal by said officials. Maharashtra. Considering the PUNE,JANUARY5 rose significantly, driving away Sincemostcrops in Pune are The fast approaching western Whilelightrainfallisforecast DadabhauShinalkar seeksa In the thirdweek of multi-state linksofthe case, the the winter chill on Tuesday. either in their flowering or pod- disturbance over extreme north on Wednesday, thunderstorms nominal examination feefor stu- December lastyear,the Pune director general of police of PUNEAND itssurrounding areas Pune recorded19.7 degrees formation stages and require India and itsconfluence withthe areexpected on January7and 8 dentswhile Deshmukh has pro- Unit of theGovernmentRailway Maharashtra has transferredthe will experience lighttomoderate Celsius on Tuesday, whichwas sunlight and warmth, the cur- strong southeasterly winds from over Madhya Maharashtra, in- posedaresolution to provide Police (GRP) had arrested two case to the ATS. Joint probewill rainaccompaniedbythunderand close to 10 degrees above normal rent weather will notbecon- the Arabian Sea will cause pre- cluding parts of Pune and funds in the quality improve- personsfromHimachal Pradesh be conducted by stateATS and lightning on January 8, according forthis time of the year.The ducive,agricultureexpertssaid. cipitation over NorthwestIndia Marathwada. The IMD has is- ment scheme of the university and seizedfromthem 34 kg of Himachal Pradesh Police to to theIndia Meteorological ExtendedRangePredictions in- Strong weather systems are and some parts of Maharashtra sueda'yellow'alert forSatara, forthe empowerment of infor- charas worthoverRs1crore, reachand unearth the supply Department (IMD), Pune. dicatethatthis week willnot see prevailing over NorthIndia, in the next twotothree days, Kolhapur,Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri mation technology facilities in whichwas slated to be sold in and distribution chains of the Cloudy and overcastsky con- muchofwinter chill. whichwill continue to have in- Metofficials said. and Solapur districtsfor affiliated colleges wheretech- Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goaand contraband drugs." ditions, whichhavebeenpre- Manyplaces in Pune district fluence over Maharashtradur- "Due to thewind discontinu- Wednesday. Asimilaralertfor nology is scarce. Pune. The GRP had arrested the Ateam ledbyRajkumar vailing since the startofthis reported light rain on Monday ing the rest of theweek. ityoverthe region, therewillbe January8has been issuedfor One of the proposals seeksto men, identifiedasLalitkumar Shinde, superintendent of police week,may notbeconducive for night with Baramati recording Thereisatrough running be- cloud formation and overcast sky Pune, Akola, Buldhana, shiftthe examination forthe ac- Dayanand Sharma (49), abusi- with the ATS, had recentlyvis- standing crops in Pune and 10.6 mm rainfall till 8.30 am on tween east-central ArabianSea conditions over thestate.Due to Yavatmal,Wardha, Nagpur and ademic year 2020-21toApril- nessman and Kaulsingh ited Himachal Pradesh, the offi- neighbouring areas. Due to such Tuesday. Kolhapur and neigh- and Madhya Maharashtra. There this, thechill factor will be lim- Amravati districts. May2021. Rupsingh(40), adriver, both res- cial added.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 THECITY 5 Petitioner’s lawyer says ED sought papers 14 stray dogs found dead ‘due to poisoning’, copslaunch probe stray dogs due to suspected and Monday, atotal of seven also found dead at the spot. fromconsumptionof contam- of MIDC land deal case against Khadse EXPRESSNEWS poisoning between Sunday stray dogs were found dead, Inspector AjayBhosale of inated food." SERVICE and Tuesday. Police have reg- and twoofthe bodies were Sangvipolicestationsaid,"We TheFIRhasbeenregistered and sought documentsrelated to the Chaudhary. Khadse hasrepeatedly PUNE,JANUARY5 isteredanFIR against an found burnt. An official said have launchedaprobeintothe againstIPCsectionspertaining EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE alleged landdealin2016. deniedthese allegations. unidentifiedperson basedon that sevenmorestray dogs case and the post-mortemre- to killing and poisoning of an- PUNE, JANUARY 5 Acting on orders of the Bombay In May2018, the ACBhad submit- OFFICIALSFROMSangvipo- acomplaintfiledbyananimal were found dead at aspotlo- ports areawaited.Weare try- imals,andrelevantsectionsof High Court, the MaharashtraAnti- tedinaPune courtthat it has found lice station have launcheda loverfromSangvi area. Police catedaroundonekm fromthe ingto ascertainwhetheritwas the Prevention of Cruelty to PUNE-BASED lawyer AsimSarode, Corruption Bureau(ACB) had nothing to substantiatethat Khadse probeintothe death of 14 officials said that on Sunday firstspot. Some crowswere deliberateorthe animals died Animals Act. who is representingactivistAnjali booked Khadse, thethen revenue "misusedhis powerand position as Damania in the Bhosari MIDC land ministerinthe BJP-ledstate govern- aminister" in the case. The ACBhad deal case againstNCP leader Eknath ment, in April 2017 in connection reportedly also ruledout that the Khadse, has said that the with the case. stateexchequer sufferedloss of rev- EnforcementDirectorate(ED) has It wasalleged that Khadse had enue as aresultofthe deal. An inter- sought documentsrelated to the misusedhis powerasaministerand vention application wassubse- case from him. purchasedland in Pune's Bhosari quentlyfiledbyDamania in court, The ED had recentlysummoned area, claimedtohavebeen ownedby whichiscurrentlypending. Khadse, who quit the BJP lastyear to MaharashtraIndustrial Sarodesaid that afterbeingap- join the NCP, reportedly in connec- Development Corporation, at Rs 3.75 proachedbythe ED, he had agreed tion with the case. Sarode told The crore, as againstthe market priceof to provide copies of the documents Indian Express on Tuesdaythat offi- Rs 40 crore, in thename of his wife to ED officials afterverifying their cials from the ED had contacted him Mandakini and son-in-lawGirish credentials. Organs donatedbykin of brain dead woman save 4lives plant coordinator at Jehangir Hospital. strict protocoltonotch the number EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The liverwas transplanted in a33- one slotinthe statefor highestnum- PUNE,JANUARY5 year-old patient at Sahyadri Hospital beroforgan donations. However, at Deccan while one kidneywas trans- thereisaneedfor more organdona- AT LEAST four livesweresaved with planted in a53-year-old man from tionsasthereisalong waiting listof the organs donatedbyfamilymem- Pune and another one in a48-year-old people requiringliver,kidneyand bers of a47-year-old woman, who woman from Nashik. heart,” said Dr Mahajani. diedatJehangir Hospital on January3 Dr SheetalMahajani, secretaryof AartiGokhale,central coordina- of an intracranial bleed. Thetrans- the Pune Zonal Transplant torfor Pune ZTCC, said that lastyear, plantswereperformedonJanuary4. Coordination Committee (ZTCC), said Pune hadtoppedinterms of highest The heartand lungs were har- this wasthe firstmulti-organdona- number of organs donated from 41 vested andflown to Hyderabad, tion in Maharashtrathis year. “The aim deceaseddonors. Thisyear,this is the wherethe transplant surgery wasper- is to promote organdonation.Wehave firstmulti-organdonation in formedona30-year-oldman at KIMS facedchallenges due to Covid-19and Maharashtraand second in the Hospital, said Vrinda Pusalkar,trans- despitethat, the teams followeda country.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 6 MAHARASHTRA

IMMUNISATION DRIVE Uddhav’sbigrealestatesoplikely Poor internet connectivity in tribal dists today,onetweakonthecards to pose challenge, officials raise concern

Contending that the lock- the Assembly, Devendra Fadnavishad earlier alleged TABASSUM SANDEEPASHAR down had worsenedthe slow Fadnavis had targettedthe rul- that RR values of certain land BARNAGARWALA MUMBAI,JANUARY5 down and the liquidity crisis in ing coalition forformulating the parcels ownedbyinfluential MUMBAI,JANUARY5 the construction industry, the proposal in amanner that un- builders were loweredunfairly THE MAHARASHTRA Cabinetis department's proposal is to dulyfavouredaselect coterie of in 2020. "The Cabinetwill take a WITH THE upcoming large- likelytoannounce on charge all ongoing and newproj- developers. With the proposal final call on whether the base scale immunisation against Wednesdayadecision on the ects-sanctionedbeforethe expected to significantlycut year forpremium paymentsun- Covid-19depending on an on- much-debated fiscalstimulus December 31,2021-discounted down input costs foraproject, der the sop should be 2019 or line software, severaldistricts forthe real estate sector. premiums of 50 per cent forall the real estate lobbyhas been 2020," asource said. have raisedconcerns about Offering aspecial one-time paymentspaid on or before the "actively"pushing forthe stim- In order to ensurethat the procedures to followinremote paymentwindowfor construc- December-end cutoff. ulus. benefitsofthe sop arepassedon areas with zeromobile cover- tion projectsacross The proposal, in the worksfor According to sources, to theflatbuyers to acertain ex- ageand connectivity. Maharashtra, the ShivSena-led some time, had witnesseda Thackeray had managed to get tent, the government has already In Maharashtramostof urban development department heated debateinthe previous theCongress camponboard. In proposed to makeitmandatory these poor-networkareas fall has proposedlowering of all Cabinetmeeting. WhileNCP is in the backdrop of allegations forbuildersavailing the sop to under tribal beltsofNandurbar, construction premiums by 50 favour of the proposal and is be- raisedbythe BJP,the govern- paythe stamp and registration Palghar,Gadchiroli, per cent till December 31,2021 lievedtohaveinitiatedit, the ment may, however, tweak the feefor sold flatsduring the con- Chandrapur and parts of forall ongoing and newprojects. Congress,whichwas upsetatnot proposal while approving it. cession period. Earlier acommit- Amravati and Nashik. Despiteobjections raisedby being "consulted" on the pro- Builders opting forthe con- tee, ledbyHDFC Chairman At Tuesday's press meet, the BJP and reservations of ally posal, had forced adeferment by cessionmay be asked to make Deepak Parekh, had recom- Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, Congress,sources said that Chief seeking moretime to "study the premium payments on thebasis mendedslashing of construction health ministry, saidthat Co- MinisterUddhavThackeray is set proposal". of ready reckoner (RR) values of premiums as ameasuretorevive WIN, aspeciallydesignedon- to roll out the special package. Later,Leader of Opposition in 2019 instead of the 2020 rates. growth in the sector. line software, will be single point of contact forregistration of beneficiaryatvaccination Eye on polls: GRAM PANCHAYAT POLLS centre, forissuing vaccine cer- tificate, and forreal-time re- StateHealth MinisterRajesh Tope visited aCovid-19vaccination centre in Jalna foradry run BJP focus on HC relief to transgender portingofadverseeventsfol- on January2. Express lowing immunisation (AEFI). rebuilding The softwareisalso linked with mobile application block, both hillyterrain with no Co-WIN software. Across seeking to contestfrom DigiLockertostore vaccine cer- mobile network, have over Maharashtradataof7.58lakh organisation tificateofbeneficiary.The soft- 3,000 health workers.Borke health workers is on it. Once ware has been equippedwith said theyare yettofinalise vac- the healthworkercomes for 19.50lakh at grassroots 12 languages to send sms to cination sites in these regions. vaccination,his or her name TOTALPOSITIVECASES ward reserved for women beneficiaryfor dateand place In heavilyforested willbetallied in the software. INMAHARASHTRA EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE of vaccination and intimation Gadchiroli, eastern tribal dis- Details of whichvaccine is ad- Active Cases 49,067 MUMBAI,JANUARY5 tion form forcontesting the elec- commission, respectively,said forsecond dose. trict of Maharashtra, thereare ministeredand whether ad- OMKARGOKHALE tion from awardreservedfor that theywould notmakesub- In the January2nationwide 10,000 health workers listed. verse event is notedwill be NewCases 3,160 THE BJP plans to strengthen the MUMBAI,JANUARY5 women in general category. missions contrarytothe prece- dryrun in 286 centres across "In four to five blocks in fedintoit. Avaccination certifi- TotalDeaths 49,759 organisation at the grassroots However, theROrejected the dent laid down by the Supreme 125districtsBhushan said only Gadchiroli we will face prob- catewill be generated postvac- New Deaths 64 to take on the ShivSena-NCP- GRANTINGRELIEF to aJalgaon- samestatingthatthepetitioneris Courtinthe 2014 National Legal "minor issues" were found and lem in using Co-WIN software. cination. Congress combine ahead of the based transgender, whose nomi- atransgender and thereisno Services Authority vs Union of addressedaccordingly. We have been discussing pos- Dr Subhash Salunkhe, tech- Quarantined2.43 lakh gram panchayatand municipal nationto contestgrampanchayat reservationforthecommunityin India case, when it had directed In Maharashtra officials said sible solutions to it," said DHO nical advisor on Covid-19to Tested 1.30 crore corporation polls in 2021-22. elections wasrejected by there- village panchayatelections. theCentre andstatestoformulate the mockdrill wasconducted Dr Shashikant Shambharkar. Maharashtragovernment,said At itsmeeting convenedon turningofficer (RO), the Advocate APBhandari,ap- welfareschemesfortransgenders onlyatcentres with good inter- In Palghar,with 16,000 internetremains amajor con- 2,95,525 Tuesday, central BJP leaderin- AurangabadbenchoftheBombay pearing forthe petitioner,while andgranttheirgenderlegalrecog- netconnectivity.The dryrun health workers, hiccups areex- cern and these queries areyet charge of MaharashtraCTRavi HighCourtlastweeksaidthecan- challenging the December 31 or- nition suchasmale, female or washeld in Jalna,Nandurbar, pectedinMokhada, Dahanu to be resolvedbythe central TOTALPOSITIVE urgedstate organisation leaders didatureshouldbeallowedasthe der said that this is the firstocca- thirdgender. Nagpur and Pune. In and Jawahar talukas that house government. Previously, CASESINMUMBAI to shedcomplacency and work person had optedfor thefemale sion wherein the candidatehad Justice Ghugeobserved,"It is Nandurbar,district health offi- tribal population. Dr Dayanand measles and rubella immuni- New Cases 539 with reneweddedication to gender in her nomination form. optedfor the"right to aself-per- quiteapparent that the Returning cer (DHO) Dr Nitin Borke said, Suryavanshi, DHO, said they sation has been done manually, TotalDeaths 11,147 strengthen the party at the Asinglejudge benchofJustice ceivedgenderidentity" and has Officerwashandicappedinsofar "For the dryrun,wechose a plan to ask healthworkers to with beneficiaries givenvac- grassroots. Ravindra VGhugeonJanuary2 selectingthefemalegenderforall astheknowledge of lawwas con- centrewith good network travel long distances to areas cine shots andtheir name New Deaths 9 The day-longmeeting saw passedtheorderonapetitionfiled purposes during her lifetime. cerned, whiledecidingthefate of range. But we also conveyedit where networkrangeisgood. and details noteddownonpa- participationof46state BJP dis- by the42-year-oldcandidatewho Maintainingthathernomina- the nomination form of the peti- to the stategovernment that "Wewill setupvaccination per."This is the firsttime we are trict prabharis (in-charge). seeksto contestfromJalgaon dis- tion form should be considered, tioner." The bench, while quash- severalparts in ourdistrict have centres wherenetwork will not entirelydependentonasoft- allwerevaccinated and adverse Apartfromthese therewere trict. The courtnotedthat the pe- Bhandaritold the courtthat the ing and setting aside the absolutelynonetwork.Westill be aproblem. This strategy will ware forvaccination," Salunkhe events,ifany,will have to be sessionswith various cell in- titioner,"undisputedly"atrans- petitionershallnotswitchoverto December 31 order,ruled, "Since have no clarityhow to handle have to be changed when we said. uploadedlater when the offi- charge.The statecorecommit- gender, wasaggrieved by the the male genderunderany cir- the nomination form of the peti- beneficiariesinthese parts," move to next phase to immu- Maharashtra's immunisa- cial gets network. Thereisno teemeeting will take place on rejection of her nomination form cumstances in the future. tioneris otherwise complete in all Borke said. nisefrontlineworkers and later tion officer Dr DNPatil said in other solution to this," Patil Wednesdaytoevolve apoliti- by the RO through an order on Additional Government respects, the same stands ac- Nandurbar,the northern highrisk population because areas with no network, alistof said. cal and organisational strategy. December 31,2020. Pleader SBPulkundwar and ad- ceptedand she is permitted to tribal district of Maharashtra, their numbers will be much health workers will be printed Meanwhile on January8an- Opposition leader Devendra The petitioner had decidedto vocateABKadethankar,appear- contestthe election from the has 11,860 health workers in larger,"hesaid. from Co-WIN softwareand other dryrun is scheduled Fadnavis and stateBJP president choose the female genderand ing forthe Maharashtragovern- ward and category,which shehas line forimmunisation. Eachdistrict has uploaded physical verification will have across all 36 districtstolook at Chandrakant Patil presidedover hence,hadtenderedhernomina- ment and the stateelection optedfor." Dhadgaon and Akkalkuan dataofhealth workers to the to be done. "Entiredataofwho possible problems. the meeting. Fadnavis told me- dia persons, "The purpose of the meeting wastodeliberateand Malegaon blast address matters relatedtothe Day before legislators organisation. The objective is to case:Pragya put aplan to strengthen the or- meet AICC in-charge, ganisation." Thakur exempted The BJP,whichhas com- from regular pletedone year in opposition, Thorat downplays rift reckons it willhavetodouble appearance itsefforttocounter the ruling fororganising these meetings, combine on policies, plans and EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Thorat had visited senior party Mumbai: BJPMPPragyaThakur, social engineering. MUMBAI,JANUARY5 leaders in Delhi on Monday, anaccusedinthe2008Malegaon The gram panchayatelec- whereheisbelievedto have ques- blastcase, wasonTuesday tions scheduledmid-January ADAY before All India Congress tionedPatil'sdemeanour. granted exemption from regular will be alitmus test forthe BJP. Committee's Maharashtrain But backinMumbai, he appearanceby aspecialNIAcourt. And it will be followedbyase- charge HKPatilmeetspartylegis- glossed over these differences. Thakur,who appearedbefore ries of municipal corporation lators to gauge theiropinion fora "He (Patil) is anice person. His in- thecourtonMonday,hadsubmit- polls later this year.The mother possible revamp of thestate unit, tentionsare good,"Thoratsaidon tedthatshe would notbeable to of allbattleswill be the BMC theCongressdownplayedreports Tuesday. remainpresentfordaily hearings. polls in early 2022. of internal feud over the issue. Thorat currentlyholds three She citedvarious reasons, includ- Aformer BJP ministerwho StateCongress president positions -state party chief, ing threat to herlife, ill health and participated in themeeting re- BalasahebThorat,whoisallegedly Congress Legislative Partyleader her duties as apublicrepresenta- questing anonymity said, "The atuneaseoverPatil'sstyleoffunc- and revenue ministerinthe tive.OnTuesday, Thakur'slawyer, one messagethat came tioning, on Tuesdaydeniedre- Uddhav Thackeray government. JPMishra, filedplea seekingex- through clearly was, everybody ports of anyrift. "Weare working Hemaintainedthathehasalready emption from daily appearances. should shedtheir tagofin- together," he said. offeredtostepdownfromthe He told the courtthat Thakur will charge or leader and become Setting in motion the process party president's postand would appear wheneverrequired or as integraltothe system.The ulti- forareshuffle in the stateunit, willingly do so if asked to. directed.Thespecialcourt,which mategoalistobuild astrong Patil arrivedinMumbai on While severalnames aredo- hadlastMay directedallsevenac- organisation." Tuesdayeveningandisscheduled ingtheroundsasThorat'ssucces- cusedtoremain present at least According to partymedia to meetparty's MLAs and MLCs sor, partyinsidersdidnotruleout once aweek unless thereisaco- cell headVishwasPathak, "The individuallyonWednesday. his continuation, givenhis prox- gent reason,acceptedThakur's organisationalexercise is un- LateTuesday, he held deliber- imity to the Gandhi family. In the COVID CLOUD plea. The defence conducted dertakentobothascertain pre- ations withThorat and former event of his steppingdown, cross-examination of awitness paredness and also motivate chief ministersAshokChavanand Thorat said "a young leader" Rambo Circus reopenedafter the Covid-19 lockdown at Airoli in Navi Mumbai. It is one of the oldestcircusesand also used presentduringpanchnamaof lap- workers to put in greater Prithviraj Chavan. shouldtake overtheparty'saffairs the digital platformduring the lockdown fortheirshow‘LifeisaCircus’. NarendraVaskar topseizedfromaccusedSudhakar efforts." Upsetatnot being consulted in the state. Dhar Dwivedi. ENS HC interim stay on school education Medicalofficersappointed at 18 state collegesdemandpermanent jobs minister’s orderonfive junior colleges have completedmorethan two ficersfromthehealthdepartment EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE years in service. Apart from de- were transferredtothe medical MUMBAI,JANUARY5 mandingpermanentposts forthe education department on depu- an educational trust, seeking a Regulation)Act,2012. TrustatAndheri, Borivali, Sion, as per the MaharashtraSelf 132doctors, the association has tation. "Since 2010,every four EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE stay on aDecember 18 order that Jaiswal sought cancellation Kharghar and Thane. Finance School (Establishment MEDICAL OFFICERSacross 18 alsodemandedmaternity,med- months, our appointment is re- MUMBAI,JANUARY5 granted RaoEducational Trust of permissions granted forstart- Senior counsel Anil Sakhare, and Regulation) Rules, 2020. medicalcollegesandhospitalsrun icaland Covid-19quarantine newed.Medicalofficers,whoear- time till academic year 2021-22 ing suchjunior colleges and appearing forthe petitioner,told On Monday,the bench by thestate governmentarewear- leaves. "Atpresent, no medical lier had permanentjobs, became THE BOMBAY HighCourt on to comply withinfrastructural re- urgedthe courtthat the statebe the courtthat the ministerhad notedthat the Trustisyet to sat- ing ablack ribbon since January1 coverage forself andfamily, nore- contractual doctors," he said. Mondayrestrainedthe state quirementsofjunior colleges. restrainedfromgranting any no authority to pass suchanor- isfy all conditions and granted as amarkofprotest,citingdelay imbursement or no maternity Dr TPLahane,director of school education department Jaiswal raisedconcerns over newpermissionstoself-finance der and it wascontrarytoearlier it liberty to complywith the inmakingtheirpostspermanent. leave aregiven to medical offi- DMER,said,"Wehaveaskedthese from grantingfinalpermission permissions granted to several junior colleges without comply- orders passedbythe HC, re- same. It observed, "Prima facie, The Medical CollegeMedical cers,"the associationsaid. medical officers to applyfor per- to five junior colleges run by the coaching classesfor setting up ing with the provisions. straining the government from we doubt whether aprovisional Officers Association (MCMOA) In 2009, the statehealth sys- manent posts whenever RaoEducational Trusttooperate junior colleges on the ground Earlier,state Education considering anyplea to starta indexnumber could have been has decidedtogoonastrikeon temwasdividedintotwo depart- MaharashtraPublic Service in Mumbai, Thane and Navi that suchinstitutions do not MinisterVarshaGaikwad had di- newschool or granting permis- granted to the Trustbeforeitre- January11iftheir demandisnot ments: hospitals from district Commissionexaminationisheld. Mumbai. complywith eligibility criteria in rected officials to take steps to sion foradditional classes. ceivedthe final permission met. The DirectorateofMedical leveltosub-centrewerepooled But theyhavedemandedtocon- Adivision benchofChief regard to infrastructure. Forex- grant an indexnumber to the In November lastyear,HC from the education minister. Education and Research (DMER) under the public healthdepart- vert their postswithoutexams. It Justice DipankarDattaand ample, suchinstitutions should Trust, so that 672Class XII stu- had modified itsorder and al- We,therefore, direct that the hasindicatedthatitdoesnotplan mentandmedicalcollegesandat- is an exceptional demand." Justice Girish Kulkarni passedan come up on 500sqmplots on dentscan appear forHSC exam- lowedthe statetoconsider410 provisionalindexnumber that to makethese posts permanent. tached hospitals under medical Lahane addedthat most order on an interim application ownership or leasehold basisas inations. Thereafter, aprovisional pleas of existing schools afterthe has been granted shall notbe TheMCMOA,initsstatement, educationanddrugsdepartment. medicalofficers quit withintwo filedbyManju Ramesh Jaiswal, a per the MaharashtraSelf Finance indexnumberwas granted to governmentsubmitted that the acted upon until further orders said therewere560 posts for Anand Bergale, president of MC- years of serviceand have not Mumbai resident and trusteeof Schools (Establishment and five juniorcolleges run by the applications will be dealt strictly of this court." medicalofficers,outof which132 MOA,saidpermanentmedicalof- showndiligence.

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 GOVT &POLITICS 7 ‘During stir, 65 farmers Farmtalksstuck,R-Day Central Vista: SC defineslimits from Punjab died, to its role in acase it took over dozen from other states’ tractorrehearsalJan7 with the project. APURVAVISHWANATH In December2019, afterthe lostlives in accidentswhile on NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 Delhi Development Authority ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABA their waytothe protestsitein held public hearings to bring in JALANDHAR,JANUARY5 the foggy weather. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CLEARINGthe path forthe cen- changes to land use in the Master According to variousfarm NEWDELHI/CHANDIGARH, tral government’s Central Vista Plan,abatchofpetitionswere filed EVENASPunjab recordedafall unions and farmer families, JANUARY5 redevelopment plan, the challengingthemove intheDelhi in the averagenumber of around78deathshavetaken Supreme CourtonTuesdayalso High Court. On February2,2020, monthlyfarmer suicides,barring place during farmers' protestsso ADAY aftertheir talkswith the underlinedthe contoursofjudi- asinglejudgeoftheHighCourtdi- one month in the current finan- far. Out of these, 65 farmers were Centreremainedinconclusive, cialintervention and limitations Central Vistaplan rected the Centretoinform the cial year,the statelostmanyto from Punjab, 10 from Haryana, farmers'unionsprotestingagainst of the courttoreviewcertain courtbeforetakingany steponis- the protests againstthe Centre’s twofromUttar Pradesh and one thenewagriculturelawssaidthey government action. suing apublicnotice. controversial farm laws.While from MadhyaPradesh. would hold a“tractor march”on “Beforewepart, we feel con- The court saidthatitneeded TheCentrechallengedthisor- therewerenearly24farm sui- In Punjab, meanwhile, there the Eastern and Western strainedtonote thatinthe pres- to statethis because “in recent der before adivisionbenchand cides amonth in the statebe- were 220 farmer suicidesin275 Peripheral Expressways on ent case, the petitioners enthusi- past, the routeofpublic/social in- wasgranted an ex-parte stay tween April to December last days (around 24 farmer suicides January7as a“rehearsal” for asticallycalleduponustoventure terest litigation is being increas- againstthe order of the single year,the statewitnessed65 in amonth)ofthe current finan- January26. intoterritories that areway be- ingly invokedtocall upon the judge.Subsequently, thepetition- farmerdeaths during 38 days cial year. Lastweek,Samyukt Kisan yondthecontemplatedpowersof Courttoexamine pure concerns ers movedthe Supreme Courton (between November 26 to Dharminder Singh Pashour, Morcha, the umbrella body of aconstitutional court,” said the of policy and sorts of generalised the limited aspect of thegrant of January3)ofthe ongoing Delhi blockpresident of the Lehra farmer unions camping at the majority opinion. grievances againstthe system”. an ex-partestaywhen the case morcha. This is morethan dou- Gagaunit of the BKU (Ugrahan) gatesofDelhi,hadsaidthatif their In aseparatesection titled This undertone of judicial in- wasalready pending. ble the averagemonthlyloss of who keep athorough recordof demands arenot metbyJanuary Atraining sessionfor the tractor march on the NH-352near “Postlude”, the majority verdict trospection wasalso evident in “Inour opinion, it is justand lifedue to farm suicides in this fi- farmer suicides in the state, said 26, farmers would leada“tractor Khatkar toll plaza of Haryana’s Jind district. Express discussedthe role of aconstitu- the dissent note pennedby proper that writ petitionitself is nancial year. that this year therewereonly16 parade” intoDelhi. tionalcourt and “wondered” Justice Sanjiv Khanna even as he heardbythis Courtinstead of ex- “During farmers’ protestat suicides in the month of April, Addressing the media at about the circumstances in disagreedwith themajority view amining the grievanceaboutthe Delhi border andinthe state, while15farmers committed sui- Delhi's Singhu border,Yogendra permit thetractor march on the TwoPunjab BJP whichacourt“notonlysurpasses on the substantial questions in mannerinwhichthe interim di- around 65 farmers from Punjab cide from May15toJune 20. In Yadav, politicalactivistandmem- expressway.“Our talkswith the boundaries reserved forits the case. rections have been passedand have diedfromNovember26to five months,fromJune 20 to berofthe Morcha, said: “The sev- farmer leaders areon. Afterthat, leadersmeet PM oversightinthe Constitutionbut “Wehavereferredtothe con- then vacatedbythe HighCourt. January3and over adozen from October 19,only93farmers enth round of talksinseven we willtakeacallonthe issue of also provides it an express recog- tentionsof thepetitionersandre- Indeed, this order is notareflec- other states,” said BKU Ekta committed suicide pegging the months with thegovernment permission,”hesaid. on farm issue nition by acknowledginga spondents in some detail but tionontheproceedingsbefore the (Dakunda) general secretary monthlyaverage at 18-19farmer failedastheyhaverefusedtore- Akhap leaderfromHaryana's heightenedreview”. would notcomment on merits. High Court, in anymanner,but in Jagmohan Singh.Hesaid that suicide everymonth in these five peal the three farm laws.Wewill Jind,AzadSinghPalwa,saidfarm- “Weare equally compelledto Thesearecomplexandesotericis- largerpublic interest,wedeem it young farmers in their 40s,even months. HoweverfromOctober go aheadwiththeplanto take out ers will startmoving towards RAAKHIJAGGA wonder if we canjumptoput a sueswhichhavetobeatfirststage appropriatethat the entiremat- in their 20s, aredying due to ex- 20 to November 19,asmanyas atractor march on KMP Delhi from the district's villages LUDHIANA,JANUARY5 fullstoponexecutionofpolicy considered and decidedbythe terpertaining to challengepend- treme cold and unavailability of 73 farmers committed suicide in Expressway on January 7.” early January 26 morning. “It’sa mattersinthefirstinstancewith- specialisedauthorities,” Justice ingbefore theHighCourtisheard timelymedical aid. “These are just31days, he said,adding that He said the tractors would 4-5 hour run fortractors to reach PUNJABBJP leaders SurjitKumar out ademonstration of irrepara- Khanna wroteinhis opinion. anddecidedby thiscourtexpedi- murdersbecause of theindiffer- this happenedasrelaxation to leave from Singhu, Tikri and Delhi from villages of Jind. So we Jayani and Harjeet Singh Grewal ble lossorurgentnecessity,orif Despiteitsobviousreluctance tiously,”the Supreme Courtsaid entattitude of thegovernment,” repayloan installmentswas Ghazipur borders,and Rewasan have suggestedthattheymoveto metPrime MinisterNarendra we can guide the governmenton to look into certain aspectsofthe in itsMarch 6order. he said. withdrawnand banksallegedly in Haryana, forthe Eastern and Delhiearly morning,” he said. Modi in Delhi on Tuesday moral or ethicalmatters without Central Vistaproject, however, it Incidentally,neither the gov- The details procuredfrom startedputting pressure. Western Peripheral InDelhi,Yadavtoldthemedia, eveningonthe issue of ongoing anylegal basis.Inlight of the set- wastheSupremeCourtitself that ernment nor the petitioners had thefarmers' organisations re- From April to December31, Expressways,and meetmidway. “Fromtomorrow, we will begin farmers’ agitation and urgedhim tled law, we shouldbeloath to had transferredthe case to itself movedanapplication seeking a vealedthat mostofthe farmers 2020, therewas a27per cent de- “This maybeseen as arehearsal the fortnight-long Desh Jagran thatthe issue needs to be “re- ventureintothese areas,”the rul- anddecidedtobaranyothercourt transfer of the cases to the had died due to cardiac arrest cline in farm suicidesinPunjab of what will happen on January Abhiyan.” Tractor rallies will be solvedsooner thanlater”. ing said. from hearing pleas connected Supreme Court. and extreme cold while some as compared to previous years. 26,” he said. held across the country to spread Jayani, chairman of the eight- The next round of talksis awareness about farmers’ de- member panel of Punjab BJP scheduledfor January8. mands, he said. leaders coordinating with farm- Over 1,000patrol teams to prevent In Haryana, BhartiyaKisan InHaryana,farmerunionswill ers' unions from the state, told Approvalstaken,Central Vista UnionspokespersonRakeshBains begin an awareness drive from The IndianExpress over phone af- damage to Jio infra: Punjab to HC saidthetractormarch wasearlier January10, in whichtheywillgo terthe hour-long meeting: “The scheduledforWednesdaybuthas to thevillages and appeal to resi- PM is awareofthe entire situa- plan work to pick up pace Chandigarh: ThePunjab govern- to Reliance Jio’s infrastructure. been postponedfor aday in view dentstoparticipateinthe tractor tion. We apprisedhim briefly ment Tuesdayinformedthe The courtwas listening to a of the winter showers. paradeonJanuary26.“Wewillap- about the magnitude of protests Conservation Committee (HCC). landscape architects. Punjab and Haryana High Court plea filedbyReliance seeking di- Haryana DGP ManojYadava pealevery familytosend oneor outside houses of 32 BJP leaders, SHINYVARGHESE Sources told The Indian Express Conservation architect Gurmeet that it has deployed1,019 pa- rections to the Punjab govern- confirmed that thetractor march moretractors and awoman including my house in Fazilka NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 that on January4,the landscape Raihas been advisingHCP Design trolling parties in 27 districtsand ment to take action againstthe has been postponedfor aday.He member forthe January26rally,” district.... We requestedhim that project of Central Vistalawns and and Project Management Pvt Ltd appointed22nodalofficersto en- miscreantsdamagingits network told TheIndianExpress that they saidJoginderGhasidar,amember this issue should be resolved WITHTHESupremeCourtpaving Rajpath were placedbeforethe forParliament restoration. sure nofurtherdamageiscaused infrastructureinthe state. ENS areyet to take acall whether to of BKUfromHaryana. soonerthan later." the wayfor the Central Vistare- HCC by CPWD,the nodal agency Withmorethan250members development plan, work on the forthe project. Design changes fromover15 firmsworkingonthe project willaccelerateinthe com- and alterations have been sug- complex designof theParliament BudgetSession likely from ing weekswith the floatingof gested and the agency has been Building, sources said the design Shah to visit TN on Jan 14 tenders. asked to resubmit the plans. had to be refinedconstantly. “It Sources in the project design Thefirstphaseofthe project wasaprocessof bringingonboard Jan 29, Budget on Feb 1 team told The IndianExpress that includes the newParliament vast amountsofinformation, and all necessarylegal approvals have building,threeCentral Secretariat meeting the demands of all the as BJP plans grand Pongal days,sources added. The govern- been taken. Currently,workon office buildingsand refurbish- users,” said asource familiar with LIZMATHEW ment is expectedtoreach outto the project websiteisunderway ment of theCentral Vista Avenue. the deliberations. “It is nowfinal. party had organisedVel Yatra, NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 opposition leaders before thean- and it should be up within a The IndiraGandhi National Alastminor issue about the un-

ARUNJANARDHANAN ED whichwas to celebrate Tamil de- nouncement. However, the month, whichwill have elaborate Centrefor theArts(IGNCA)will derground transit access to the CHENNAI,JANUARY5 BJP’s ityLordMuruga. THE BUDGET Session of budget will have to bepresented explanations with drawings and be the firstofthe existing build- building has receivedsecurity long-term ConfirmingShah'svisit,asenior Parliament is likelytobeginon on February 1, theyadded. renderings. ings that will be demolishedto clearance, and work will begin RAJINIKANTH'S decision to abort PLAIN E plans BJPleadersaid,“Naddaalsomaybe January29and the Union Budget Although the budget sessionis Whilegivingthe go-ahead on makeway forthe three Central soon,” the source said. ● hispoliticalentrymay have come EX reaching Tamil Nadu to attend a will be presented on February 1. meant to be businessheavy,itis Tuesday, Justices AMKhanwilkar, Secretariat office buildings. For FULLREPORTON asasetbackfortheBJP,whichwas Jallikattu event. Our national lead- The morethan two-month-long unlikelytobeasmoothaffairfor DineshMaheshwariand Sanjiv the CentralVista Avenue, experts www.indianexpress.com looking to gain from division of THE BJP's week-longpro- ers from different states,including sessionwitharecessof 20days is the government as the opposi- Khanna setafew riders,includ- areworking at multiple levels, in- votesinthe upcoming stateelec- gramme forPongal, afes- nationalgeneralsecretariesCTRavi expected to be heldalong with a tion is gearing up to bring up a ing approval from the Heritage cluding Shaheer Associates as tions, but the national party's tivalthat celebrates Tamil andBLSanthosh,arealsoscheduled numberof precautionsand curbs number of issues, the farmers' plans to increase itsvisibility in cultureand peasants, may to attend the Pongal celebrations. in viewofCovid-19, sources said. protestbeing the mostpromi- Tamil Nadu is backontrack,with be muchmorethana Thelistofotherleadersareyettobe Although the Cabinet nentamong them. STEMWATER DISTRIBUTION & INFRASTRUCTURE CO. PVT. LTD.,THANE high-profile visitsand agrand strategicmove aheadof confirmed.” Senior party leader Committeeon Vardan Commercial Complex, 9thFloor, MIDC, Road No. 16, Wagale Industrial Estate, Thane (W)-400 604. statewide programme forPongal the Assemblyelections in Khushboosaiditwasimportantthat ParliamentaryAffairs IT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (ITDA) Tender Notice No. 4for 2020-21 (1st Extention) Department of Information Technology Expression of Interest for Internal Auditor of STEM. celebrations. May. It appearstobepart apartysuchasBJPcelebratesPongal (CCPA), whichmet on Government of Uttarakhand E-EOI for 2020-21 IT Bhawan, Plot No. IT-07, IT Park, Sahastradhara Road, Dehradun Topparty leader and Union of the party's long-term asitisnotamerefestivalbutitisalso Tuesday,decided to ITDA STEM water Dist. &Infra. Co. Pvt. Ltd.; Invites from C.A. Firm office base in Telefax: 0135-2608330 Email:[email protected] Thane/ Mumbai City/ Kalyan/ Dombivali/ Panvel for the work of Internal Audit work Home MinisterAmitShah will plans to gain acceptance in aboutthecultureandlifestyleofthe hold the firstpartof e-Tender with Audit Management, supervision and full back office support as per duties & Tender Notice No.26/ITDA-432/2020 dated 05/01/2021 responsibility narrated in NIT. visitthestate–forthesecondtime astate that has been ruled people. “I am glad that we arecele- the session from Request for Proposal (RFP) for Selection of Service Provider for Providing Technical Manpower for State Election Commission Pre-Qualification Criteria : The Chartered Accountant's firm must have minimum in twomonths –onJanuary14, largely by Dravidianpar- brating it in abig way,”she said. January29toFebruary RFP (Request for Proposal) is being issued by ITDA, Department of IT, Uttarakhand, Dehradun for period of 3continous year audit experienceout of which 1year experience in Govt. inviting proposals for Selection of Service Provider for Providing Technical Manpower for State Election Company/ Semi Govt. Company/ Deemeed Govt. Company as aStatutory auditor whenthestatecelebratesPongal. ties. It is also significant During his visit, Shah will at- 15,tobefollowedby Commission. or Internal auditor. The RFP document can be downloaded from www.uktenders.gov.in from 05/01/2021 (1600 Hrs). The Besidesthis, sources said,BJP na- since, as the ruling party at tend the anniversary function of another month-long tender document fee of Rs 5000/- (Rupees Five Thousand Only) through demand draft (non E-EoI documents will be available for view downloading on authorised web site refundable) favouring “Director, ITDA” payable at Dehradun should be submitted along with the Bid. The https://stem.abcprocure.com from 06.01.2021 to 15.01.2021 up to 1500 Hrs. tionalpresidentJPNaddamayat- the Centre, the BJP wasat Tughlaq magazine of lateCho session from March 8, parties willing to participate in the bidding will have to apply through the Electronic Tendering Procedure Last date online submission of E-EoI dtd. 15.01.2021 up to 1500 Hrs. Received (e-Tendering) as per the guidelines issued by Government of Uttarakhand available on the above tend aJallikattu eventnear the receiving end of the Ramaswamy, whichiscurrently afinal announcement mentioned web site under the link “Bidders Manual Kit”. E-EoI will be opened on dtd. 15.01.2021 at 1500 Hrs. in presence of all bidders or The amendments in RFP in future, if any, would be published in the website www.uktenders.gov.in his representatives. Right to reject any or all the tenders without assigning any only. No other notification would be published separately. Madurai, possiblyonJanuary15, Jallikattu protests in the being run by RSS ideologue S is expectedintwo Director ITDA reserves the right to cancel the tender at any point of time, without assigning any reason reason thereof is reserved by the undersigned. thereof. Sd/- aday afterShah’svisitto Chennai. stateduring 2017 Pongal. Gurumurthy, whowasaccusedof DIRECTOR Managing Director The week-longPongalcele- The move,however, may orchestratingarevolt and split in bration programme –“Namma comeasasurprise forthe AIADMKafterJayalalithaa’sdeath Ooru Pongal” –isthe BJP's latest Dravidian parties as Pongal and credited forinfluencing move to shed itsimageinTamil is considered apeople's Rajinikanth in favour of BJP. Nadu of being anorth Indian festival,and therewereno Multiple sources in the BJP party.InNovemberlastyear,inan visible effortsinthe pastto said Shah mayalso be meeting effort to be seen as relating to capitalise on it politically. Rajinikanth to seek hissupportin Tamil cultureand symbols,the the election. Misplacedprioritiesofwhimsical autocrat: Cong

nameintheannalsof historywith BJP government during the pan- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE cementand mortar". demicand the colossal wasteof NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 SeniorCongressleaderAnand publicmoney. Sharma said AS THE Central Vistaredevelop- he wassad- ment project got thego-ahead dened that fromtheSupremeCourt,themain theapex opposition Congress on Tuesday courthad said the project wasnot a"legal- “endorsed” istic issue" but acase of "mis- the mis- placedpriorities" of a"whimsical placedprior- autocrat" seeking to "etchhis ities of the

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 WORDLY WISE Thelabourmovement helped securemuch of what we take forgranted —40-hour

8 THE EDITORIAL PAGE work week, minimum wage —BARACK OBAMA In farm debate, missing R&D

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA India needslow-input,high-output agriculture. This BECAUSETHE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL cannotbeachievedwithoutscienceand technology

LETTER & SPIRIT Deepak Pental

On Central Vistaproject, SC is mindful of itsrole and limits. IN THE CURRENT debateonagricultural re- yield protection by breeding varieties and hy- losses in the mainfood security hotspots for forms, an important aspect has been forgot- brids resistant to pestsand pathogens has five majorcrops showedsignificant losses to Government mustheedits messageontransparency ten—the role of agricultural R&D in support- made thesecrops stable high yielders. Maize pests —onaverage forwheat21.5per cent, ing the farming systems. Supposing farmers canbeareplacementforrice—however, maize rice 20 per cent, maize 22.5 per cent, potato HE SUPREME COURT’S approval, on Tuesday, has cleared thedecks forthe in Punjab, Haryana and western UP,who are is usedaslivestock and poultryfeed. Due to 17.2percent,andsoybean21.4percent.Losses Union government’sambitious Central Vistaproject. The courthas been in the forefront of the current agitation, had lowpurchasing poweramongstthe poor,the in the lowyield areas aremoreasfarmers can- sober and circumspect in limiting itself to thelegality of the case: “Political alternative crops that couldreplace rice and demand formaize is notasextensiveinIndia notaffordthe costofpesticides. issues including regarding development policies of the Government of the wheat or both and were as remunerative as as in the western worldand eastAsia. Ihave Indiaisoneof thelowest usersof pesticides. T the twocereal crops,wouldtheybebraving oftenheardenvironmentalistssuggestreplac- In 2014,comparative use of pesticides in kilo- daymustbedebated in theParliament, to whichitisaccountable. The role the cold and COVID-19? The answer is they ing rice with coarsegrain crops —millets, gramsperhectareinsomeselectcountries/re- of the Courtislimitedto examining their constitutionality.” At thesame time, the judgment would have already movedon. sorghumetc.Currently, thesecropsarepushed gionsisasfollowing:Africa0.30,India0.36,EU delivers importantmessages. A2-1 split verdict, it mustbereadin itsentirety. For, the main Thecurrent debates aremainlyonmini- to the mostmarginaldrylandareas. However, countries3.09,China14.82,andJapan15.93.A verdict by Justices AMKhanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari as well as the dissenting note mum supportprice, reducing farmers’ debt theyieldsofthesecropsarenot comparableto study conducted to estimatethe yield losses by Justice SanjivKhanna direct the project proponentstoimportant imperatives: Respect liabilities, reducingpost-harvestlosses, cash those of wheat and rice even when protective to weedsbetween 2003-2014bythe All India forenvironmental and heritagenorms and the salience of consultative processes. Indeed, transfers to keep farming viable forthe small- irrigation is available. These cropshaveaseri- Coordinated Research ProjectonWeed as JusticeKhanwilkar,writingfor himself and JusticeMaheshwari,pointsout:“Thechallenge holders,andmarketingreforms.Verylittleat- ous R&D deficit leading to lowyield potential Management has revealedlossesbetween 14 tention is being giventoreducing the natural as well as losses to pests andpathogens. and 36 per cent,with soybeanand groundnut (tothe project) waspremisedonhigh principles of democracy and notlimited to merein- resource inputs—mostcriticalbeingwater— This leavesuswith pulses and oilseeds. In showingthehighestlosses—morethan30per fringement of statutoryprovisions”. As government agencies, planners and architectsgive and agricultural R&D. India and manyother the 2017-18fiscalyear,Indiaimportedaround cent.Estimatedyieldlossesdueto weedsalone shape to anew Central Vista, Tuesday’s verdict underlines the sanctity of “participative partsofthe worldwith entrenchedpoverty Rs 76,000 croreworth of edible oils. Three arearound Rs 80,000croreannually. processes” and “transparency in public institutions”. requirelow-input, high-output agriculture; oilseedcrops (mustard,soybean,andground- Amorebenign method fordealing with The courttalksaboutthe government’s needfor arevampedenclave to housethe coun- lowinput in terms of both natural resources nut) arealready grownveryextensively. pestsisthroughbreeding.TheGreenRevolution try’s highestlegislative body and an integrated administrative blockfor ministries and de- andmonetaryinputs.This cannotbeachieved Soybeanand groundnutare legumecropsand technologieswere basedontheeffective useof partments. Butitis alsoalive to thechallengessuchdevelopmentposesto theenvironment without science and technology. fixtheir nitrogen.Allthree cropsnot only pro- germplasm and strong phenotypic selections. Agricultureinputsthatcanbeestimatedin vide edibleoils butarealso an excellentsource Astounding developmentsinmolecular biol- —the two, it notes, “arenot sworn enemies of eachother”. It asksfor the creation of smog monetarytermsare irrigation, tilling and har- of protein-richseedorseedmeal forlivestock ogyintheearly secondhalf of the20thcentury towns and deployment of smog guns to mitigatethe pollution from construction materi- vesting, fertilizers, agrochemicals and seeds. andpoultry. Unfortunately,yieldsofthethree and their translation intorecombinant DNA als and directsthat wastemanagement at the sitebesubjectedto constant monitoring.But Indiareceives around 4,000 billion cubic me- crops arestagnating in Indiaat around 1.1tons technologiessincethe1970shavebroughtforth beyond these measures, it spells out the guiding principle: “Development ought to be sus- ters (bcm) of rainfall, but alarge partofitfalls per hectare, significantlylower than the global unprecedented opportunities forgenetic im- tainable with the idea of preservation of the environment forpresentand futuregenerations”. in the east. Moreover, most of the rain is re- averages. Even if we grow these crops in provementof crops.Since2000,genomesof all Ecologyis arecurringconcerninJusticeKhanna’sdissentingnote aswell, though he dis- ceivedwithin 100hours of torrential down- Punjab,Haryana,andwestern UP,diseasesand themajorcropshave beensequenced.Morere- pour,makingwaterstorage andirrigationcrit- Investments in R&D in pests tend to negatively impact anyyieldgains. cently, primarygermplasm and the wild rela- agrees withhis fellow judges on the credibilityofenvironmental clearances obtainedby icalforagriculture.Indiahasoneof thehighest In evolutionarybiology,the interaction be- tivesofthe major crops have also been se- the project.QuotingtheSupremeCourt’s 2019 verdict inHanuman Laxman Aroskar vUnion general are low. Over the last waterusages foragricultureinthe world—of 20 years, India has been tween pests/pathogens and their hosts at the quenced. The big challengeisinthe effective of India, Justice Khanna notes, “Public consultation is notamere formality… Decisions the total 761bcm withdrawals of water, 688 geneor theorganismlevelhasbeendescribed utilisationoftheenormoussequencedatathat whichaffect livesofpeople mustfactor in their concerns”. He returns to the theme while bcm(90.5percent)goesintoagricultureleav- spending between 0.7 to 0.8 as the great “arms race”. The hostevolvesde- is available. India’s effortsinall three areas are referring to heritage-relatedconcerns—Delhi’sHeritage ConservationCommitteewasnot ing 17 bcm (1.2 per cent) forindustry and 56 per cent of its GDP on R&D, fences againstapathogen, whichgoesunder half-hearted. Thereiscurrentlyavirtual paral- consulted while framing plans forthe revamped enclave,hesays. “The primarygrievance bcm formunicipal use. In comparison, China way belowthe percentage of intense selection pressurefor the emergence ysisontheuseof geneticengineeringandgene uses 385.2bcm (64.4 per cent) outofthe total of amechanismthatwould overcomethe host editing technologies. of the petitioners,” the dissenting note pointsout,is“the lackofinformation and details”. withdrawalsof 598.1bcmforagriculture.Their GDP spent by the defences. Just as human beings arevulnera- InvestmentsinR&D in general arelow. That the majorityverdict toounderlines thesignificanceoftransparency— “unlesscomplete per-unitlandproductivityintermsof croppro- developing countries and ble to some majorpests and pathogens, every Over the last20years, India has been spend- and relevant information… is placedinpublic domain, the public would beill-equippedto ductionisalmost twotothree timesmore. Asia’srapidly growing crop hasenemies —viruses, bacteria, fungi, ing between 0.7 to 0.8 per cent of itsGDP on engagewith the Government in ameaningful manner” —should beakey takeaway forthe The total estimated groundwater deple- economies. There are oomycetes, nematodes, insectsand large her- R&D,waybelowthe percentageofGDP spent government as it embarks on “this historic and iconic project”. tion in India is in the rangeof122-199 bcmas bivores, weeds, even parasitic plants. One way by the developing countriesand Asia’srapidly calculated from theobservation wells (1996- structural issues likelackof is to letthe “arms race” run itscourse. The growing economies. Thereare structural is- 2016)and satellitedata(2002-2016). The de- competent human resources otherway, ahallmarkofthe humanspecies,is sues likelackofcompetent human resources pletionishighest inPunjab,Haryana,andwest- and lack of policy clarity. to useaccumulated knowledge. and lackofpolicyclarity.However, the biggest ern UP.Why arefarmers from these regions However,the biggest Pests and pathogens can be best tackled impediment to agriculturalR&D has been THE SYSTEM WORKS still insisting on continuing with the wheat- by agrochemicals or by geneticinterventions. overzealous opposition to the newtechnolo- ricecycle?Thefactisthatagriculturalresearch impediment to agricultural Totalpesticide consumptionatthe globallevel gies from ideologues of the leftand right. Episode of Trump’s latestimpropriety underlines amessage: has neither providedalternative,equallyre- R&D has been overzealous hasincreasedfrom2.4milliontonnesin 1990 Maybethe present crisis would lead to a munerative crops nor farming systems that opposition to the new to about4million tonnes in 2011;thereafter, greater appreciation of the needfor strong Institutional checks and balances in US arealive and kicking would reducenaturalresource inputs. technologies from the consumption is steady.The flattening of public supportedR&D in agriculture. Wheat and rice areexceptionallyhigh- the curvereflectsthe use of some newgener- NHIS LAST fewweeksasUSPresident —President-elect Joe Biden is settotake yieldingcrops, the thirdbeinghybridmaize. ideologues of the left ationofmolecules that areeffective in lesser The writer is aformer vice-chancellor of the theoath on January20—DonaldTrump has onceagain underminedhis office. Yearsof intenseresearch onyieldincreaseand andright. quantities. Arecentgloballevelstudyoncrop University of Delhi Earlier this week,inaleakedtelephone conversation between Trump, Georgia ISecretaryof StateBradRaffensperger and lawyer forthe Secretary,RyanGermany, the US President appearedto cajole and intimidatehis fellowRepublicans to over- turn Biden’svictoryinthe state. Yet, forthoseoutside America as muchasfor itscitizens, the key point is notthat apresidentwho lostanelectioninthe world’s oldestdemocracy asked an official to “find” 11,780 votes (he lostby11,779votes). Or that he vaguelythreat- THAT JANUARY enedRaffenspergerand Germany, saying that notreporting completely unproven inci- dents of voter fraudwas a “criminal offence”. In the drama that has followedthe US elec- tion resultsinNovember last year,what has stood out, againand again, is the resilienceof Twenty-eight years have passed sincethat datebut Icannotforget the country’s institutions in the face of an onslaught by the highestexecutive office. Multiple stateand federal courts,includingthe US Supreme Court, have dismissedor ruledagainstTrumpand his allies in the Republican Partyinlawsuitsseeking to changethe Sameera Khan election results. This is all themorecommendable giventhat three of the nine justiceson the Supreme Court were nominatedbyTrump, and sixinall areseen to be conservative, JANUARYISWHEN my friend’s home was of us but Irecall my mother calling up the wounds. My eyes settledonmymother’s red if notRepublican, in their outlook. Earlier,inthe immediateaftermath, stateofficials who burnt down, all her baby photographs forever buildingsecretaryand asking mostdeco- chillipowder bottle. Iseizedit.Wrappeditin destroyed.This wasinCharniRoad. She once rouslyhow thiswas allowedtohappen. ashirtand put it in my knapsack. Perhaps, it conducted thepolls—both Republican and Democrat —stood by the decision,and the openedupabout it and since then has main- When youare theonlyones, youkeepyour evokedthe memoryofSmita Patilusingchilli sanctity of the electoral process. While Trumpand some of his supporters did notacknowl- tainedsilence.January waswhenweleft voice low. One morning a chand-sitara (moon powderagainstanoppressor to greateffect in edge Biden’s victory, manyinthe Republican party went againsttheir leader in doing so. home. Letmerephrase that. Januarywas and star) wasscrawledinchalkonthe wall Mirch Masala. Manyyears later,itstruckme In democracies with “strong” leaders and governments, it is easy to seesimple actsof when we felt forced to leave ourhome. In an next to our door.Wehad been marked. that we onlyusedmild Kashmiri chilli pow- propriety,doing one’s job,asextraordinary. It would be difficult and remarkable in such apartment blockinSouth Bombay. It was Soon after, one night, my father said, “It’s der,not particularly notedfor itsfieriness. systems foramember of the ruling party to tell the leader that “thedatayou have is Bombaythen. The year was1993. time to go.TomorrowIwill come home from Twenty-eight years have passedsincethat Afterthe Babri Masjid demolition on office. Afterlunch, we willleave.Carry one datebut Icannotforget. wrong”, or dissent publiclyoverthe government’s decision. That’s what Raffenspergerdid December6,1992, Bombay, likemanyother small bag each, no suitcases.” We packeda Howweleftthat afternoon. Wherewe when Trumpclaimedthat the election wasfraudulent and repeated social media ru- parts of the country, had experienced riots, fewclothesandbooks.Myparentsbundledup went. Howwespent time.What went mours as though theywerefacts. The lesson from Trump’s latesttantrum and itsfallout violence and curfew.Christmas and NewYear ourpassports andbankbooks.Theylockedup through our minds and hearts.Why we re- is this: Institutional integrity,arobustsystemofchecks andbalances, mostlymeans that passed uneasily. Therewas alingering air of otherimportantdocumentsintheGodrejcup- turnedsome weekslater to that same flat in peopledotheir jobs. Forthe mostpart, it doesn’t requireheroism or bravery. gloom and disbeliefatwhathad happened. Howweleft that afternoon. boardintheroomfurthestfromthefrontdoor. that same building.How we continuedtolive But we believedthe worstwas over. Where we went. Howwe Iwondered.Would the maraudersget to that in the city we had calledhomesince before We firstheardabout the election lists cir- last? Would theybecaught before they my birth. These arestories foranother day. culatinginneighbourhoods with Muslim spent time. What went reachedthere? Our namesnever againappeared on the names conspicuouslyidentified. The news- through our minds and It struckmethat Ishould carry the rough name-boardonthe ground floor. My father GOOGLERS UNITE papers reported on mobsenteringbuildings hearts. Whywereturned draftofthe essayIwaswriting foradmission retiredfrom the job that gave us the flat to stay. and pulling residentsout. Manyresidential some weekslater to that to acollegeabroad. And maybeaweapon of My voice still trembles when Irecount to The firstworkers’ union in Silicon Valleyframes amoment of buildingsremoved the boards listing names some sort. Abidri envelope opener? The someone, usuallyveryrarely, thatmonth and of flat owners. Some even had residents pa- same flat in that same metalknuckledusterthat had proved useful thosedays. Sometimes, tears Ithought Ihad scepticism about the big tech utopia trolling the grounds. Our apartment building building. Howwecontinued againstharassers in the bus? More. longleftbehindappearinthe corner of my HE NEWESTADDITION to thecoolestworkplace in the worldisnot another decidedtotakeout only ournames from the to live in the citywehad Something more. Iwent to thekitchento eye. That wasBombay, India, January1993. zanyfoosballtable or amicro-kitchen to supplyGooglers with kombucha boardbelow. The onlyMuslim residentsofA- called home since before my search.Iignoredthe knives, thoughthinking It might have been yesterday. wing. The B-wing had no suchproblem: back theyshould have been my firstportof and snackbars —itisaworkers’ union.Over400engineers and workersat TherewerenoMuslimsliving there. My par- birth. These are stories for call.But the newspapersbythen had been The writer is aMumbai-based journalist, Googlehaveorganisedthemselvesintothe Alphabet WorkersUnion, after ents triednot to getupsetaboutthis in front another day. sickwith news aboutstabbingand gun-shot researcher and co-author of WhyLoiter Tyears of unofficial activism. Howdid things come to suchapass? This is Silicon Valleyafter all, the latecapitalistutopia wheretechnology has afix forevery solu- tion, whereindividual ambition runsthe world, and wheregenerous pay-cheques were supposedtohavemade collectivebargaining as relevant as arotarydialtelephone. The Google workers’ union comes afterseveral face-offs between employees and the JANUARY 6, 1981, FORTY YEARS AGO companyoverthe ethics of collaborating with repressive governments, of settling sexual harassment suitsbypaying offthe accusedwith millions of dollars and controversial fir- BAGHPAT INQUIRY AASU STANCE accepted,” he said. It is notcertain whether ings of dissenting employees, mostrecently of aleading artificial intelligence researcher THE BAGHPAT JUDICIAL Inquiry PROSPECTS OF Atripartitemeeting between Mrs Gandhi will send the letter to thestate —and one of the fewBlack women in an industrythat is overwhelmingly whiteand male. Committee has rejected the theoryofen- Centralgovernment,agitation leaders and chief ministerGundu Raofor forwarding to Googleisnot alone. Over the years, Silicon Valley’s messianic zeal fortechsolutionismhas counter advancedbythe policeand held Opposition parties to find asolution to the the governor.The formality,considered a comeupagainststaunchcritiques—fromthe inside.Whistleblowers at both Google and them responsible forthe injuries suffered issue of foreign nationals in Assam have im- meretechnicality,might take aday or two, by Maya Tyagi in the June 18 incidentlast provedfollowing ashiftinthe stand of the unlessMrs Gandhi asksthe stategovern- Facebookhavetaken ahardlook at the impact of the work they do, whether it is in the year.Ten personnelofthe Baghpat police All Assam StudentsUnion. It has indicated ment to expeditematters. transmission of fake news or in fanning hateacross the worldorturning working-class station have been suspendedpending the itswillingnesstoparticipate in suchadiscus- jobs moreprecariousthan ever before.Ithas found an echo in the political pushback completion of investigation by the CID and sion. LalitRajkowa,adviser to AASU, said that MP MINISTER’S DEMAND againstbig tech companies, whichhaveadisproportionateinfluence in human life, from submission of the chargesheet against the outfit changed itsstance following sup- ASENIOR MEMBER of the Arjun Singh cabi- jobs to hiring platforms and elections. them in light of the commission’s report. portfromOpposition parties. net, Jhumka Lal Bhendia, has written to the With great powerought to comesome accountability.But individuals,eventhoseas The Uttar Pradesh cabinetdiscussedthe MadhyaPradeshCM demandingthat the gov- broad findings of the commission headed BANGARAPPA RESIGNS ernment stop advertising in media that does talented as Googleengineers, do find it hardtoseek answers alone or bend apowerful cor- by PN Roy. It directed the CID to complete THE KARNATAKA AGRICULTURE ministerS nothighlightstatementsbyministers. Hesaid poration towardsjustice. Forthat, one needs to return to the firstthing that the makers itsinvestigation and ordered the Inspector Bangarappa submitted his resignationfrom newspapers areexpectedto publicisepolicies of this technological utopia thought theyhad banished—politics. As afew Googlers of the General of Police to take action againstthe the statecabinettothe Congress(I) President of government “because theytakeadvantage worldunite, what do theystand to lose but their illusions —and free snacks? indicted policemen. Indira Gandhi. “Ifeel the resignation will be of us in theform of advertisements”.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “The bitterreality, however,isthat the state haslong abandoned the Shia Hazaras. It decidedtoturn ablind eye to violent extremists’ depredations against the community as long as they also served to counter the Balochinsurgency. 9 THE IDEAS PAGE As aresult,nowhere in Balochistan are the Hazaras safe.” —DAWN The child in India The university,

The next big welfareinitiativeofthe governmentshould focus on thewell-being of the child beyond left and right (and the mother), from the womb to thefirstfiveyears ThechoicebeforeJNU is notbetween Nehru and Vivekananda, but between apluralityofthought TABLE.NATUREANDNUMBEROFCHILD FIGURE1.OUTCOMESSHOWINGIMPROVEMENT HEALTHINDICATORSINNFHS (Percentofchildren;scalesinverted) and the psychology of revenge Category Outcomes Inputs/ Total ■ U5MR ■ IMR ■ Neo-natal ■ Wasting 80 to saythat despiteits academic excellence interventions ■ Severelywasted Mortality30363.75 and cultureofprotest,there were some problems. Possibly, as an island,itbecame Diarrhea 13447.5 Abhishek Anand, increasinglyinsulated from theperiphery; Vaccinations/ 0121231.25 it evolvedsomesortofintellectual snob- Vikas Dimble and Vitamins 15 bery and lostits connectedness with local Arvind Subramanian Post-natalcare 022 intellectuals and diverse knowledge tradi- Deliverycare 077

2012 tions. Moreover, at times, itsradicalism be- 2016 1998 2018 2014 2010 Avijit Pathak 2002 2006 2008 2004 Acuterespiratory 112 2000 IMR and U5MRare infant and under- came somewhat intolerant, or suspicious THE RECENTLYreleasedfifth round of the illness(ARI) of all thosewho sawthe worlddifferently. 5mortality rates, respectively NationalFamily HealthSurvey (NFHS-5) pro- Feeding 066 AS Imovearound theJNU campus, Ioften Forinstance, Ihavenohesitation in say- vides newand reliable evidence to assess Nutrition 505FIGURE2.OUTCOMESSHOWINGDETERIORATION ask myselfaquestion: What does it mean to ing that the ideas of Gandhi, Tagore and some dimensions of micro-development per- Anaemia 101 look at the statuesofJawaharlal Nehru and Aurobindo didn’t getadequateimpor- formance before COVID struck. The survey Total 11 31 42 (Percentofchildren;scalesinverted) Swami Vivekananda, and then enter the Dr tance; and anyreference to textslikethe covers health,nutrition(of motherandchild) ■ Overweght ■ Severelywasted ■ ARI ■ Diarrhoea BRAmbedkar Central Library? Possibly, this BhagavadGitaorthe Upanishads wasof- and the overall quality of lives. ■ Anaemia(rt.axis) ■ Stunting(rt.axis) question has acquired itssignificance be- tencondemnedas“Brahminical”. In other In arecentpieceonthese pages (‘New wel- 22.5 75 cause we live in an extremelypolarised words, we were losing the artoflistening. farism of India’s Right’, IE, December 22) we worldwiththe dominant imageries of “left” This broken communication, Ifear,led had arguedthat the dataillustratedsignificant 18 65 and “right”: Aworld wheresome might fear manytostigmatiseJNU as “elitist” and gains achievedbythe government in respect 13.5 a “Hindu” Vivekananda cannotcoexistwith even “anti-national”. to itsdistinctive approachtoredistribution 55 a “subaltern”Ambedkar or a “secular” The university needs honestself-reflec- and inclusion that we calledNew Welfarism. 9 Nehru.Or, giventhe dominant political dis- tion. This means going beyond “left”and This involved the subsidisedpublic provision 4.5 45 course prevalent in the country, some might “right”. This is to cultivate the spirit of epis- of essentialgoodsandservices,normallypro- 0 35 think that the unveiling of the statue of temological pluralism, and to encouragethe videdbythe private sector.Accesstobanks Swami Vivekananda at the JNU campus is artoflisteningasanintegral componentof accounts(especiallyfor women), clean fuel justabeginning; it is astepto“purify” the reflexive pedagogy.And this is fundamen- 2012 2016 1998 2018 2014 2010 2002 2006 2008 2004 forcooking, toilets and powerhad increased 2000 “Left-Ambedkarite” university,and bring it tallydifferent from the uglypracticeof and at asignificantlyfasterpace since2015 ARI is acuterespiratoryillness; stunting and severe wasting closer to our “nationalist” aspirations. blame game (you “leftists”havedominated relatetochildren under 5years than before. CRSasikumar However, as ateacher/wanderer with some so far; and nowitisour turn; youspokeof Here, we provide preliminaryevidence sortofintellectual and emotional affinity Marxand Ambedkar;and nowwewill val- on thehealth and nutrition of the child in with the campus, Iseek to reflect on the orise Savarkar and Golwalkar; youcele- India. Since the latestround onlyhas data tion because trends on wasting move contrary slopedupwards from 2005-2015). ideal of auniversity beyond the much-used brated gender studies and peasantstrug- for17statesand five Union territories, our to thoseof“severe wasting” even from 2005. Severalfactors probablyplayaroleinex- prism of the “left” vs “right” discourse. gle;and nowwewillintroduce Sanskrit, findings coveronly54per cent of India’s Thereisalso one indicator we have ignored, plaining these outcomes. As already noted, To begin with, it is important to ac- yoga and Ayurveda). In fact, auniversitycan population. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, since it is difficult to classify:Underweight, implementation capacity of individual states knowledge threedistinctive features of the be healed onlyifasstudents, teachers and Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu areno- wherethereweremarginalgains,butaslow- probablyplayedanimportant role. Sector-spe- Jawaharlal Nehru University.First,with its administrators, we acquirethe courage to table exclusions. Another point to empha- down relative to the past. cificfactors suchaschangingdiets arealso im- galaxy of professors and bright students break this vicious cycle, and see ourselves siseisthis: TheNew Welfarism wascon- Now, forthe results, whichcan be sum- plicated.But the fact of abroader deteriora- from alloverthe country,the university as seekers and wanderers, continually sciously drivenbythe Centreand it could, marisedas: India continues to be successful tion in outcomes hints at thelikelihood of a succeededinnurturing afairly developed learning and unlearning with openness, therefore, reasonablyclaimcredit forits suc- in preventing child deaths, but the health and commonfactor,namely themacro-economic critical mind: Amind well-versedwith ma- fearlessness and adialogic spirit. cess. In contrast, manyofthe child-related nutrition of the surviving, living child has de- growth environment,whichdetermines em- jor debates in humanities and social sci- It is in this contextthat the question with outcomes arealso determinedbystate-level teriorated,somewhat worryingly. ployment, incomes and opportunities. At the ences,oramind that canraise newques- whichIbegan this article becomes alive implementation, thereforeneithersuccess Of the 10 outcomes, therehavebeenim- least,itissafetoconjecturethatsomeof these tions, and contribute to the domainof once again. Ilook at Nehru’sstatue and re- nor failurecan be attributed to one source. provementsinfour(Figure 1). It is readilyap- outcomes areinconsistent with the narrative knowledge.Nowonder,radical thinkers call his Discovery of India —the way “mod- With those caveats, we explain the dataand parent that India continuedtomakeprogress of arapidly growing economy. likeAntonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser, ernist”Nehru sought to understand the vi- then present our results. in preventing child-relateddeaths(neonatal, We mentioned earlier that We mentionedearlier that the NFHS pro- Ranajit Guha and Eric Hobsbawm, Judith brancy of an old civilisation, and at the same The NFHS has 42 indicatorsrelated to infantsand under-5). That said, the pace of the NFHS provides dataon vides dataonchild-relatedinputs. These need Butler and Michel Foucault occupiedthe time wanted to fight the “dead weight of child’shealth and nutrition(thereisone indi- improvement in child mortalitysloweddown child-related inputs. These to be examinedtoo. Suppose it turns out that consciousness of generations of students the past”, and regenerateanew nation.It cator on school enrolment whichfalls outside relative to the previous 10 years. Forexam- the Centreand the states have done agoodjob and teachers. wasrooted, yetcosmopolitan. And then, I thescope of this analysis). Indicators fall into ple, between 2005 and 2015,the infant mor- need to be examined too. in improving the quality and quantity of in- Second, the dissemination and trans- look at Swami Vivekananda. Ibegin to hear nine categories and eachofthese can be di- tality rate came down by nearly 2percentage Suppose it turns out that the putsthatgointothe child,thentherewouldbe actionofknowledge were notseparated themarvellous speech he deliveredatthe vided into outcomesand inputsasthe table pointsper year while between 2015 and2019 Centre and the states have areal puzzle:Why do outcomes and inputs from the process of political churning. Chicago Religious Congress —the shows.For example, neonatal, infant and un- that pace halvedto1percentagepoint per done agood job in improving diverge? Indeed, as we showedinour earlier Amongst studentsand even teachers, Upanishadic messageoffundamental one- der-5mortalityratescanbethoughtof asout- year (post-2015,the mortality lines areflatter piece,thegovernmenthas made great strides therewas an inherent scepticism towards ness amid differences; Isee his passionate comes.Similarly,allthenutritionindicators— than before in Figure1). Whether some slow- the qualityand quantityof in providing anumber of basicneeds to house- the statusquo. Be it the anti-Emergency plea for “practical Vedanta”, aradical reli- stunting, wastage, excess wastage, ing should be expected because India is now inputs that go into the child, holds suchastoilets,cleancookingfuel,power struggle or the recent protestagainstthe giositytoservepeople.Yes, Ilaugh at those underweightand overweight —aswell as the close enoughtothe desirable benchmarkis then there would be areal and bank accounts. Those developments CAA, JNUbecame amajor siteofstruggle who think thattheycan fool me by saying prevalence of diarrhoea, acute respiratoryill- an open question. would also servetoaggravatethe puzzle of and critical voices. In this sense the uni- that Vivekananda wasachampion of mili- ness(ARI)andanaemiacanalsobeclassifiedas Figure2shows the six indicators where puzzle: Whydooutcomes whythe health and nutrition of the child in versity acquired a “political” character. tant Hindu nationalism. Finally, with outcomes.Incontrast,thepost-natalcareindi- outcomeshave deteriorated. Theseall relate to and inputs diverge? Indeed, India has deteriorated. And third, unlikewhat happens in atra- Ambedkar,Iopen my eyes, and give my cators relating to visitsmade by health work- what happens aftersurvival: The health as we showedinour earlier As discussedinChapter5ofthe Economic ditional/conservative society,the cultural consent to theproject of annihilating caste. ers,the provision of vaccinations and Vitamin (anaemia, diarrhoea, and acute respiratoryill- piece,the government has Survey of 2015-16, perhaps the next big wel- landscape of JNUwas filledwith experi- And Ifeel that auniversity should bean ideal A,andthe extent and natureoffeeding forthe ness (ARI)) and nutrition (stunting, and over- fare initiative of the government, building on mentations, openness and newpossibili- place to encourage studentsand teachers child can be classifiedasinputs(details of the weight) of the child deterioratedbetween made great strides in theconsiderablesuccessof itsNew Welfarism, ties. From protestsongs to radical theatre, to engagewith this plurality of visions,and NFHS questionsare available online). 2015 and 2019.Innone of these casesisthe providing anumber of basic should be amission-modefocus on the well- and from endless addas to colourful posters even live with philosophic ambivalence. Theinputindicatorsarenot easyto aggre- aggregatedeteriorationdrivenbyoutliers,that needs to households suchas beingofthe early child (andofcourse the conveying the messages of Phule and Andhence,Iimagine astudent studying gate in easy or obvious ways,soweleave that is, by one or twostates. toilets, clean cooking fuel, mother), from the womb to the firstfiveyears, Ambedkar,Marxand Che, one hears the Lokayata as well as Vedanta, Franz Kafkaas as material forfutureresearch.Instead, we Moreover, the absolutedeterioration in whichresearch shows is critical forrealising echo of Marxism, Ambedkarism, feminism, well as Kalidas, Gandhi as well as Foucault present some findings on the 11 child out- health and nutrition indicators mustbeseen powerand bank accounts. itslong run potential as an individual. and postmodernism all around. without shame and anxiety,orsnobbery comesbelow. First,though,somenuances.We againstthe fact thattheyreversedthe historic Those developments would These vibrations of the university en- and instrumentality. scorewasting (weightfor height of children) trendsofsteady improvements. That is par- also serve to aggravate the Anand is graduatestudent at Harvard richedus. And one neednot be a “leftist”to This requires freedom —anenviron- as an improvement because even though the ticularly true of the prevalence of diarrhoea puzzle of whythe health and Kennedy School, Dimble is deputy director, learn from the spirit of critical pedagogy, ment that respectsstudentsand teach- gains were marginal, theyreversedanegative and anaemia and to alesser extent of stunt- Ashoka Centrefor Economic Policy,and enrichedsocio-politicaldebateand high- ersand allows them to unfold their po- trend between 2005 and 2015.However, the ing and acuterespiratoryillness (post-2015, nutrition of the child in India Subramanian is former Chief Economic quality scholarly activities. Formanystu- tential. However, instead of the wasting outcome mustbetreated withcau- the lines slope downwardswhereas they has deteriorated. Adviser,Government of India dents, including those who chose to join the development of this ideal, we arewit- Indian civil services, the university became nessing aprocess of systematic destruc- alife-transformative experience, notjusta tion of the very soul of auniversity place from whereone acquires merely ade- through the psychology of revenge. gree or acertificate. Not by digital alone However, it wouldnot beentirelywrong Avijit Pathak is professorofsociology at JNU

Howover-relianceontechworsensfinancialexclusioninruralIndia LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

Rajendran Narayananand SakinaDhorajiwala CRITICAL NEED THIS REFERS TO the article, IDEAS REMEMBER THE early days of theinternet, offerbanking services through theAadhaar To understand some-lastmilechallenges, updatetheir passbooksatbanks. Some ‘Communicating the vaccine’ (IE, when it took severalminutes to connect to EnabledPayment Systems (AePS). Subject LibTechIndia recentlyreleasedaresearch re- workers getcharged(45 per cent in January5). The needfor convincing ONLINE the webthrough adial-in modem? Or when to networkconnectivity and electricity,ben- portbasedonasurveyofnearly 2,000MGN- Jharkhand) fortransacting at CSPs/BCs which communication about the COVID-19 youhad to wait in line at an STDbooth to eficiaries can perform basic banking trans- REGAworkers across AndhraPradesh, is meant to be free. vaccines has become morecritical be- ONLYINTHE EXPRESS makeanoutstation call? Sincethen, we have actions suchassmall depositsand with- Jharkhand,and Rajasthan. The surveyat- Thereare just14.6 bank branches per 1 cause of other contextual factors also. made massive strides in digital technologies. drawals at these kiosks. temptedtounderstand experiences of work- lakh adultsinIndia. This is sparser in rural Pushing the application of Bharat ● FORFARMERS,AGENCY Improvementsininternetbanking mean that While thereare some meritsofonline ers in obtaining wagesinhand aftertheywere India. Despitehardshipsofaccess, most Biotech’s Covaxin foremergency use MEANSCHOICE: abuffetofproductsare available at the fin- payments, the process of transition from credited to their bank accounts. Ruralbanks workers preferredtotransact at the banks. (evenasPhase 3trialsare notover) and VIKASBIRHMA gertips of consumers.But imagine if one had oldersystems and the APBS technology it- areshort-staffed and tend to getover- Using bank branchdata, Robin Burgess and AstraZeneca’s Covishield(when Phase to travel milesand wait forseveral hours to self needs morescrutiny. Workershavelit- crowded. Forty-twoper cent of people in Rohini Pande demonstrated that branchex- 2and 3trials on Indian cases areincom- ● THEPROLETARIANISATION makeone banking transaction. This is areal- tleclue about wheretheir wageshavebeen Jharkhand and 38 per cent in Rajasthantook pansion into rural unbankedlocations signif- plete)isabolddecision of the govern- OFTEACHERS : ityfor thevastmajority of the rural populace. credited andwhat to do whentheir pay- morethanfour hours to accesswages from icantly reducedpoverty.With technological ment.So, apprehensions about their JYOTI DALAL In rural India, an over-relianceondigital tech- mentsget rejected,often duetotechnical banks. This wasjust2per cent in AP.Overall, advances, the costs of running rural banks “hasty” introduction arealready being nologyalone has widenedthe distance be- reasons suchasincorrect account numbers an estimated 45 percent had to makemulti- will also belower. When the outcome is asig- “highlighted”bysomepoliticalleaders. www.indianexpress.com tween the rightsholder and their entitle- and incorrect Aadhaar mapping with bank ple visitstothe bank fortheir lasttransaction. nificant reduction in poverty, additional in- Quickand fact-basedcommunication ments. This is exemplifiedinthe pursuit of accounts. While some attention is being paid CSP/BCs appeared to be aconveniental- frastructurecosts should beimperative from by credible communicators is required financialinclusion. by some stategovernmentsinresolving re- ternative to banksdue to theirproximity. apolicy perspective. to ensurevaccine acceptance. The Direct Benefits Transfer(DBT) initia- jected payments forMGNREGA, thelackof However, an estimated 40 per cent of them While we awaitthe days when rightsof YGChouksey, Pune THE OTHER SIDE tive is atechnologyinducedstepinimprov- anyaccountability forAPBS and AePS and had to makemultiple visitstowithdraw from the marginalisedattain primacy over tech- THIS REFERS to thearticle, ‘New India, ing financialinclusion amongother stated absence of grievance redressal would con- CSPs/BCsdue to biometric failures.Ingeneral, nological quickfixes, returning to basics WELL-FOUNDED FEAR NewDalit’ (IE, January0). As a goals. Although DBT has been operational tinue to impact all DBT programmes. forMGNREGAworkers, avisit to thedisburse- might provevaluable. This wouldminimally spokesman of his party,the writer since2011, it has become synonymous with Moreimportantly, the workers/benefici- ment agencyimplies that theydon’tget to do entail understanding that the right to work THIS REFERS to the editorial, ‘What seems to have selectively quotedthe the Aadhaar PaymentsBridgeSystems aries have rarely been consulted regarding that day’s work andthereforelose that day’s also includes the righttoaccessyour own farming doesn’t need’ (IEJanuary5). BJP-ledNDA government’s announce- (APBS) since2015. their preferredmode of transacting. Lackof wages. The averagetravelcostfor onevisit to moneyinatimelyand transparent manner. The ongoing farmers’ protest hasbe- ment to allotRs50,000crore forthe Various government programmes such adequatechecksandbalances,absence of any abank in JharkhandisRs50whichbecomes These rights mustbeprotected through hinditthe genuine fear regarding the post-matric scholarship forSCstudents as maternity entitlements, student scholar- accountability framework forpayment inter- Rs 100for twobankvisits. Adding the lost strengtheninggrievance redressal processes implications of the agriculturalreforms. forfour years and conveniently forgot- ships, wagesfor MGNREGAworkers fall un- mediariesand ahurriedrollout of this tech- dailyminimum wages(at Rs 171) fortwo visit and settingaccountabilitynorms forall pay- It is notmerespeculation that corpo- tentomentionthe heinous case of mur- der the DBT initiative wheremoneyistrans- nical juggernaut have put the already vulner- days,itbecomesRs342 andadding amod- ment intermediaries.Atechnological inter- rate housesstand to gain from these re- der and rape of aDalit girlafew months ferred to the bankaccountsofthe respective able at higher risk of being duped. This has estRs25for food, this becomes Rs 392. vention musthaveagovernance framework forms. This sortofderegulation means back in UP ruledbyhis party.Regarding beneficiaries. But the beneficiaries face created newforms of corruption as has been Effectively,aworkerinJharkhand has to in whichprotection of rightsmustbefunda- lesser bargaining powers with the their being at the bottom of the socio- manyhurdles in accessing their money. recentlyevidencedinthe massive scholar- spendmorethan athirdofher weeklywages mental and whichprovides morechoices to farmers as compared to the corporates economicpyramid, all parties aretobe These arereferredtoas“lastmile chal- ship scam in Jharkhand, wheremanypoor justtowithdrawher weeklywages. the marginalised. entering the agricultural markets. blamedfor this situation. lenges”. To deal with these, banking kiosks studentsweredeprivedoftheir scholarships Theonlyway forrural bank users to keep Sarachana Sisodia, Delhi Tarsem Singh, Mahilpur known as Customer Service Points(CSP) and owingtoanexusofmiddlemen,government trackoftheir finances is through their bank Narayananteaches in AzimPremji University, Banking Correspondents (BC)werepro- officials, banking correspondentsand others. passbooks. However, morethan two-thirds Bengaluru and is with LibTechIndia. moted. These areprivate individuals who These exclusions aredigitallyinduced. of time workers were deniedthe facility to Dhorajiwala is aresearcher at LibTechIndia

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SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD Antibodies target different Reading Central Vista verdict parts of coronavirus in mild and severe cases: study In asplit decision, theSupreme Courthas cleared the Central Vistaproject.Alook at the groundsonwhich the project waschallenged,how the majorityverdict ruledonthese, andwhat the dissenting judgesaid ANTIBODIES AGAINSTCovid-19pref- samples and blood from the patients. erentiallytargetadifferent partofthe Finally, theyassessedtheeffectiveness virus in mild cases and adifferent part of the antibodies in preventing the in severe cases, according to anew spikeprotein from bindingtothe hu- APURVAVISHWANATH study by researchers at Stanford man protein ACE2 in alaboratorydish. NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 Medicine. The study is publishedinthe “Wefound that the severity of the journal Science Immunology. illness correlates with the ratio of an- THE SUPREMECourtonTuesdaygaveits nod SARS-CoV-2 bindstohuman cells tibodies recognising domains of the to theCentral Vistaredevelopmentproject in via astructureonits surface calledthe spikeprotein compared withother a2:1 verdict. Abatchofpetitions had chal- spikeprotein.Once inside, the virus non-protectiveviral targets. Those lengedtheplanfordemolitionofoldstructures sheds itsouter coat to reveal an inner people with mild illness tendedto and newconstruction, includingabrand new shell encasing itsgenetic material. have ahigher proportion of anti-spike Parliament,onapproximately86acresof land Soon, thevirus createdmultiple copies antibodies,and those who diedfrom in thenational capital. of itself, whichare then releasedtoin- their diseasehad moreantibodies that fect other cells. recognizedother partsofthe virus,” What wasunder challenge,and what has Antibodies that StanfordMedicine the court held? recognise andbindto the quoted pathologist Boyd Broadly, thechangeinland use and the spikeprotein blockits as saying. manner and procedureadoptedfor making The Central Vistaproject seekstoredevelop86acres of land in Lutyens'sDelhi. Express Archive ability to bind to the hu- The findings raise thechangesintheCentralVistaprecinctswere man cell, preventing in- concerns about whether challenged.The petitionersarguedthat there fection. On the other peoplecan bere-infected, were irregularitiesintheprocessthatinvolved sicidentityof theplanorforthatmatter,ofthe VistaCommittee and thereforeall the ap- sincethesectoralimpactwasnot presentedto hand, antibodies that tar- whether antibody teststo approval of design, clearance on monetary al- zoneconcerned.Theeffectisnegligibleincon- provalsgrantedby the body.Theyarguedthat the EAC. However, thecourtheld that the case getother viral compo- PAPER detect prior infection may locations and the tendering processes, and trasttothe expanse of the zone”. the CVCwas setuptorushthe approvalsand on hand doesnot involvemulti-sectoral com- nentsare unlikelytopre- underestimatethe other regulatoryclearances on environment The court’s viewisbasedonthe under- that theofficials who were proponentsofthe ponents to itasitisa“simpliciterconstruction vent viral spread. CLIP breadth of the pandemic and from local municipal bodies. standing that the changes will have to be central vistaprojectwerealsoentrustedwith project.” It also said that the petitioners had The researchersstud- and whether vaccina- In its2:1 verdict, the court hasheld that lookedatkeepinginmindthewholeplanand the CVCand therewas an apparent conflictof failedtosubstantiatetheir apprehensionsby ied254 people with NEWRESEARCH tions mayneedtobere- thereare no infirmities in the approvals notjustthezonesinwhichthechangeswillbe interest. placing material on recordtothe contrary. asymptomatic, mild or peated at regular inter- granted.Justices AMKhanwilkar and Dinesh effected.For example, the proposed new APPROVALBY DUAC: Thepetitionershad severe Covid-19. Twenty-fivepeople vals to maintain aprotective immune Maheshwari held that the central govern- Parliament is settocome up in PlotNumber 2 arguedthattheconsultationwithDelhiUrban What doesthe dissenting opinionsay? in the study diedofthe disease.They response, StanfordMedicine said in a ment’schangeoflandusefortheprojectinthe of theCentralVista precinctswhichiscurrently Commission (DUAC)had to be completedat Justice Sanjeev Khanna, the thirdjudgeon found that people with severe Covid- media release. MasterPlanof Delhi2021isalsoalawfulexer- apark. Thelanduse forthe plotwas changed the plan conception stageitself. Theyargued the Bench, penned anote of dissent. His dis- 19 have alower proportion of antibod- “This is one of the mostcompre- cise of itspowers. from recreation to government use. that in the absence of acomprehensive con- agreementfromthe majority verdict prima- ies targeting the spikeprotein usedby hensive studies to dateofthe antibody However, thecourttooktheviewthatsince sultation,theapprovalswere grantedwithout rilyrelatestothe issue of changeinland use in the virus to enter human cells than of immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in Howwas theMasterPlan modified? theparkhasanyway beenclosedtothepublic properapplicationof mind.However, thegov- the MasterPlan of Delhi. antibodies targetingproteinsofthe peopleacross the entirespectrum of The central government and the Delhi forsecurityreasons,thechangeinlandusewill ernment has statedthat consideringdifferent Justice Khanna wasofthe viewthat the virus’s inner shell. diseaseseverity, from asymptomatic Development Authority aregiven thepower nothaveany actualreductionof areaavailable stagesfordifferentcomponentsof theproject, changeinland use mustbestruckdownon The research analysedthe levels of to fatal. We assessedmultiple time to modifytheMasterPlanof Delhithatwasno- forpublic use. The ruling also notedthat to DUAC approvalregardingtheParliamentproj- both procedural and substantialgrounds. On three types of antibodies —IgG, IgM pointsand sample types, and also tifiedin2007toguidethedirectionof develop- compensatethischange,theproposedchange ect has been obtainedwhereas the approval procedure,thejudgenotedthatitwasinitiated and IgA —and the proportions thattar- analysed levels of viral RNAinpatient ment of the NationalCapital Territoryuntil in land use provides forrecreationalspace at forrestofthe Central Vista precinctsshall be withoutaconsultationprocess.“Mereupload- getedthe viral spikeprotein or the nasopharyngeal swabs and blood 2021. This wasmodifiedinMarch 2020toin- threedifferentlocationsintheneighbourhood. takenasand whenthe development activity ingof thegazettenotificationgivingthepresent virus’s inner shell as the disease pro- samples. It’s one of the firstbig-picture cludetheCentralVista project.Sectionsof land Thepetitionershighlightedthatthewhole thereatisproposed in future. and the proposedland use with plotnumbers gressedand patientseither recovered looksatthis illness,” Boyd wasquoted areassignedforspecificpurposessuchasrecre- process involvingmultiple local bodies was HERITAGE APPROVAL: The petitioners wasnot sufficientcompliance,butratheranex- or grew sicker.Theyalso measuredthe as saying. ation, government, publicand semi-public, completedinjustthree months —between hadarguedthatthegovernmentfailedtocon- ercise violating the express as well as implied levels of viral genetic material in nasal Source: StanfordMedicine whichweremodifiedtoaccommodatethe December 2019 andMarch 2020—during sultHeritageConservationCommittee,which stipulations,thatis,necessityandrequirement Central Vistaproject. The petitioners argued whichpublicconsultationwasheld,objections isanexpertbodyinmattersinvolvingheritage to makeadequateand intelligible disclosure.” thatchangeinlandusewasnotreallya“mod- were invited, considered and overruled. The structuresand ought to have been consulted He held that the centralgovernment did INDIA ACTIVE CASES 231,036 ification”andalsoraisedconcernsontheman- courtheldthat“takinglegitimatesteps/actions from the stage of conception of theproject, notgiveadequatethought to the concernsof ner in whichthe permissions were granted. swiftlyandasperthetimelinesbecauseof the even before thedesign is agreedupon. the publicand notenough time forthosewho natureofthe proposal cannotbetermedas ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE: The raisedobjections to maketheircase. He said 300,000 Howhas the court ruledonthis? havingbeen done in haste”. petitioners had arguedthat the Expert that the permissions givenbythe CVCappear Thecourtsaidthechangeisa“acaseof mi- Appraisal Committee (EAC) had no mandate pre-determined. normodification”and“itisincomprehensible What were the processes challenged? to grant clearances because the Central Vista JusticeKhannaalsodisagreedwiththema- as to howthe proposedchanges could be NO OBJECTIONBYCVC: The petitioners project wasmulti-sectoral and that the body jorityviewthatthemodificationwassubstan- 278,690 231,036 termedassubstantial enough to alterthe ba- hadchallengedthecompositionof theCentral had no expertise to deal with suchaproject tial and nota“minorchange”. 250,000 On Nile, aGrand Dam dividesAfrican nations LAST 10 DAYS Dec 26 Jan 4 of the river's waters. When Ethiopia had an- Sudan and Egypttook place through video- 200,000 NEHABANKA Mediterranean nouncedin2019that it plannedongenerat- conferencedue to thepandemic, with South KOLKATA,JANUARY5 Sea ing powerusingtwo turbines,Egypthad ob- Africa observing the proceedings in itsrole Note:The Jan 4figure in this graph is based on thegovernment updateonJan 5 jected.Egyptproposed alonger timeline for as the current head of the African Union's ro- MONTHS AFTER negotiations startedamong AFRICAASIA the project over concerns that the waterlevel tating council, in addition to other interna- INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLDTOTALCASES Ethiopia, Sudan and Egyptconcerning the of the Nile coulddramatically drop as the tional observers. controversial Grand Renaissance Dam hy- Egypt reservoir fills with waterinthe initial stages. Despitepreviousroundsoftalks, the 10,356,844 86,003,887 dropowerprojectinthe Horn of Africa, the Saudi Sudan's location between Egyptand point of contention hasn't changed:Egypt Red three countriesresumedtalksonSunday. Arabia Ethiopia has causedittobecome an inadver- and Sudan areconcernedabout the filling

Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, This latestround of talkscomes six weeksaf- Sea tent partytothis dispute. Sudan tooiscon- and the operation of the dam. Ethiopia con- Welfare,updatedat11pmonJan5 updatedat11pmonJan4 terSudan had boycottedthe negotiations. Nile cernedthat if Ethiopiaweretogaincontrol tinues to insistthat the dam is required to over the river, it would affect the waterlev- meetthe needs of itspopulation and has said Sudan Blue What is the disputeabout? Nile els Sudan receives. thatdownstream watersupplies will notbe The Nile has been at the centreofa WhiteNile adverselyaffected. decade-long disputeinvolving severalcoun- WhydoesEthiopia want thedam? But this has done little to pacifyboth tries that dependonits waters. At the fore- GrandEthiopian Ethiopia's goal is to secureelectricity for Egyptand Sudan, withthe formersaying the South front of the disputeare Ethiopiaand Egypt, RenaissanceDam itspopulation anddevelop itsgrowing man- dam would cut itswater supplies —concern- Sudan with Sudan having found itself dragged into Ethiopia ufacturing industry.Itestimates that the dam ing foracountrythat depends on the Nilefor theissue. when complete willgenerateapproximately approximately97% of itsdrinking waterand SpearheadedbyEthiopia,the Grand 6,000 megawatts. irrigation supplies. According to aDWreport, Uganda KenyaSomalia Renaissance Dam will be Africa’s biggestat Researchers believe that in addition to its Sudan believesthat the dam will reduce 145metrestall. Construction beganin2011 domestic requirements, Ethiopia maybe flooding, but is concernedabout the path for- on the Blue Nile tributarythat runsacross one tentlyobjected to the construction, saying it hoping to sell surplus electricity to neigh- ward if the negotiations end at astalemate. partofEthiopia. The main waterways of the will impact waterflow. International ob- bouring nations likeKenya,Sudan, Eritrea Sudan's WaterMinistryannouncedina Nile run through Uganda, SouthSudan, Sudan servers fear that the disputemay increase and South Sudan,which sufferfromelectric- statement that this week's negotiations are and Egypt, and itsdrainagebasin runs conflict between thetwo nations andspill ity shortages. crucial, "for the resumption of tripartitene- through severalcountries in EastAfrica, in- out intoother countries in the Horn of Africa. gotiations on Sunday, January10inthe hope cluding Ethiopia wherethe dam is being built. Giventhe dam's location, it would poten- What is happening now? of concluding by the end of January”, the re- Egypt, whichisdownstream, has consis- tiallyallowEthiopia to gain control of the flow The latest roundoftalksamong Ethiopia, portsaid. FromCSIRlabs,freshevidenceandadviceonairborneCovidspread

these twocities,foundthat the risk of ex- term presence of COVID positive patients likelytobesafe. If one needstotravellonger, ANURADHAMASCARENHAS posureinclosedrooms through airborne in an enclosedspace maycontributetoa the journeymay be broken in to parts to PUNE,JANUARY5 transmission washigher if thereweremore significant increase in aerosol burden in the mitigatethe risk.For example, if the jour- infected people present,but thatinnormal air,” the study said. neyfrompoint AtoBis foranhour,itcan ANEW study by laboratories in Hyderabad circumstances the viruswas notfound The study alsofound that in “neutral” be broken down in to twojourneys of half and Mohali has found fresh evidence that morethan four feet from theinfected per- conditions, with no particularair flowdirec- an hour each. the risk of airborne transmission of the novel son. The study has said that demarcating tion, the virus did nottravelmuchinthe air. CAUTION ON PUBLIC TOILETS: coronavirusisquitelow if sufficient physical Covid andnon-Covid areas in hospitalswas “Virus couldnot be pickedupatadis- Flushing has the potential to generate distance is maintainedand prolongedinter- agood strategy,and that maskswerestill tance of even 4feetwhen COVID positive aerosols whichcan stay longerinthe air and actionwith an infected person is avoided. very effective. individualsspent ashorttime (20 minutes) the virusisknown to be excreted in stool. The transmission of SARS-CoV2 wasini- “Notthatwedid notknowthese things, in the room. This indicates that shortdura- Masksshould be always kept on while us- tiallythought to be happening mainly but we have been able to generatemore tion of exposuretoaCOVID positive indi- ing these and if possible, the same toilet through contact and droplets coming out datawhich validateitfromascientific per- vidualmay notput oneatasignificantlyin- should be reusedonlyhalf an hour afterthe duringspeech, coughs or sneezes. But sev- spective,” said ShekharMande, Director creasedrisk.The samples collected at 8feet previous use.Pictorial instructions should eral studies later reportedtransmission GeneralofCSIR. and 12 feet subsequentlywerealso nega- be stuckinthe toilets regarding cleaning among people who were suitablydistanced tive,” it said. them afterutility.This should be followed but had shared enclosedspaces, likea Sampling &findings by adequate hand hygiene. closedroom or vehicle. That suggestedthat The scientists collected 64 air samples Takeaways &recommendations HOME&HOSPITAL: Spendingmore the virus possiblytravels in air to fargreater from different locationsinsix hospitals in Travelling in aMetro or abus forashortduration is likelytobesafeifadequate Basedonthis study,and also the find- time in closedspaces can be risky even if distances than the twotothree feet that was these cities, and another 17 from closed precautionsare taken, researchers sayinadvisory. Express Archive ings from some other studies, the CSIR has social distancing is maintained. Open, well- originallyconsidered the zone of risk. rooms occupiedbyinfected people who issuedanadvisory ventilated spaces carry lessrisk of infection. Scientists at twolaboratories of the were without masks and asked to talk on PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Exposuretoa In afamily, if aperson testsCovid-19-posi- CentreofScientific &Industrial Research the phoneorwith one another.Foursam- evidence that the strategy of separating were higher in the room… Apoint to be Covid-19-positive individual forashortdu- tive and is advised by the doctor to be (CSIR), the Centrefor Cellular and Molecular ples takenfromCovid areas of hospitals, and hospital premises intoCovid and non-Covid highlighted from the hospitalexperiments ration (30 minutes)whenadequateprecau- home-quarantined, he/ she should be iso- Biology in Hyderabad, and Instituteof one from the closedroom were found to care areas is effective,” said the study,which wasthat in three-fourth of the samples tionsare being takendoes notsignificantly lated in aseparateroom to preventthe in- Microbial Technology in Chandigarh, have contain the virus. is currentlyonapreprint server. whichwerepositive,the sampler wasat increase the risk of contracting the disease. fection spreading to other familymembers. studiedthe extent of transmission through “The virus could notbedetected in any “Thepositivity rate wasfoundtobe least10feetawayfromthe nearestpa- Taking this intoconsideration, short-dura- His/her toiletshould be separatefromthe air.The study, conducted in hospitals in of the non-Covid areas, providing objective higher when the number of COVID patients tient…this maybeanindicator that long tion travel in Metro/local trains or busesis toilet(s) usedbyothers.

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BRIEFLY KERALA GOLD SMUGGLING CASE Minutes show howpanel TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE DELHI UKstrainfound 309 CASES: ACTIVECASES:2,31,036 NIAcharges changed mind on Covaxin DAYSSINCE 1,03,56,844 DEATHS:1,49,850 PANDEMIC in5morepeople BEGAN TESTS: 17,65,31,997 | RECOVERIES: 99,75,958 forthe panel to recommend re- efficacy datafromnon-human NewDelhi:TheUKstrainof PRABHARAGHAVAN stricted emergency use approval. primatechallengestudy where CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS 20,Pinarayi’s Covid-19has been de- NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 OnJanuary2,however, thecom- the vaccine has been found to be JAN4 16,375 20129,0918,96,236 tected in five morepeople mitteerecommendedapproval,cit- safeand effective.” inthecapital,takingtheto- WITHIN 24 hours lastweek,an ing efficacy datafromachallenge Theysay:“Asalreadynotedby talnumber to 13.Ofthese expertcommittee of the national study on non-human primates. the committee, this vaccine is ex-principal newpatients, four areres- drug regulator changed itsdeci- “The datagenerated so far InactivatedWhole Virion, idents of Delhiwho have a sion on whether BharatBiotech's demonstrates astrongimmune CoronaVirus Vaccine having po- travel history from the UK Covid-19vaccinecandidatecould response(bothantibodyaswellas tential to target mutated coron- while one is acontact of a be recommendedfor approval Tcell)andin-vitroviralneutraliza- avirus strains. secynotnamed positivepatient.“Eight withoutproof of itsefficacyinhu- tion. The ongoing clinical trial is a “Inviewofabove,afterdetailed flierstestedpositiveforthe mans,theminutesof thecommit- large trialon25,800 Indian sub- deliberation, the committee rec- STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES variantearlierandnowfive tee'smeetings held on January1 jectsinwhichalready22,000sub- ommendedfor grant of permis- ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK “The NIA investigation hitherto morehavebeen found to and 2show. jectshavebeenenrolledincluding sion forrestricted use in emer- Jharkhand1,528 -54 DEEPTIMANTIWARY hasrevealedthattheaccusedhad have thestrain.Of these13 The Subject Expert subjectswithcomorbidconditions gency situation in public interest Assam 3,090 -236 NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 knowingly conspiredsince June patients, onlyone is acon- Committee (SEC) recommended as well whichhas demonstrated asanabundantprecaution,inclin- Odisha 2,047 -258 2019,raisedfunds and smuggled tact of apositive patient restricted use approval for safetytilldate,”sayminutesof the ical trial mode, to have more op- KEY ACCUSED in the Kerala gold from UAE, between November whilethe rest have atravel Covaxin on January2.The candi- SEC's meeting of January1. tionsforvaccinations,especiallyin STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING smuggling case Swapna Suresh 2019 and June 2020, around 167 history to the UK,” said a datewas approvedfor restricted “However, efficacy is yettobe caseof infectionby mutantstrains. ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK and her associates had smuggled kg of gold, through the import senior official. emergencyuseby DrugController demonstrated,” theminutes say. Further,thefirmshallcontinuethe Maharashtra48,8018,358 inover167kggoldthroughdiplo- cargo addressed to diplomatsat Thedepartmenthasso General of India (DCGI) Dr VK The minutes showthat after“de- on-goingPhaseIIIclinicaltrialand West Bengal 9,6713,490 matic cargo between November theConsulate GeneralofUAE in farsent 115samples to the Somani the following morning. taileddeliberation”, the SEC asked submit dataemerging from the Chhattisgarh9,766 3,196 2019 andJune 2020,the National Thiruvananthapuram. Signif- NationalCentreforDisease Bharat Biotech chairman and Bharat Biotechto“trytoexpedite trial as and when available.” Investigation Agency (NIA) has icantlythemainaccusedhadalso Control forgenome se- managingdirector Dr Krishna therecruitment”ofvolunteersinits Inrequestingapproval,Bharat STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES told aspecial courtinErnakulam. plannedtosmuggle more gold quencing.Officials said re- Ella had hit backatcritics of the ongoing phase 3human trials. The Biotech hadpresented “updated ONJAN4TOTAL The agency on Tuesdayfileda fromcountrieslikeBahrain,Saudi ports of 24 patientshave emergency approval on Monday, panelalso recommendedthat the data”and“justification”,themin- Maharashtra4,875 19,47,011 chargesheetinthecaseagainst20 Arabia and Malaysia.” beenreleased,outof which asking whydatafromglobal tri- companyshould carry outan“in- utessay. Theminutesdonot,how- Kerala 3,0217,78,874 accused.Notably, whilethename The case pertains to the 13 have tested positive for als of AZD1222, avariant of the terim efficacyanalysis forfurther ever,record thenatureofthisdata of Kerala CM PinarayiVijayan’s seizureof30kggold, valuedatRs Uttar Pradesh 1,4485,88,882 the strain. Atotal of eight Covishield vaccine producedby consideration”ofitsapplicationfor and justification. former principal secretaryM 14.82 crore, on July5lastyearat patients with thenew Pune-basedSerum Instituteof restrictedemergencyuseapproval. At his virtualbriefing on STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS Sivasankar had croppedupinthe air cargo of Trivandrum strain areadmitted in Lok India, wasnot being questioned On January2,however, the Monday, Dr Ella said in response ONJAN4TOTAL case, and he had even been ar- International AirportbyCustoms NayakHospital,whichwas similarly. SECrecommendedrestrictedap- to aquestion by TheIndian Maharashtra2950,849 rested by the Enforcement (Preventive)Commissionerate, the firstinthe citytobe On January1,the SEC looking proval “in clinical trial mode” af- Express:“We have notsubmitted Uttar Pradesh 26 8,413 Directorate(ED), he has notbeen Cochin, from adiplomatic bag- designated as atreatment into BharatBiotech's requestfor tertheHyderabadfirmrequested anyinterim efficacy dataatall. named in thechargesheet. gage that arrivedfromthe UAE. West Bengal 25 9,817 facilityforpassengerswith approval notedthat Covaxin had considerationofits proposal“in What we have done is, we have Sivasankarwasremovedfrom The agency initiallyarrested the newstrain. Overall, the “potential”totargetmutated thewake of incidenceof newmu- produced(data on the) highest DataasonJanuary4,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical hispostinthewake of thecontro- Sarith PS,Swapna Suresh and Researchandstategovernments.Oftenthenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays thereare 49 patientswho coronavirus strains –however, tatedcoronavirus infection”. antibodyresponse,long-termim- aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive versy.“Our investigation is being SandeepNairevenasitmadetrips have testedpositive forthe datapresentedby the firm at that The SEC minutessay,“...(The) munogenicity and howneutrali- conducted under the Unlawful to the UAEtoinvestigatethe case. virus at the hospital. pointwasnotconvincingenough firm haspresentedthesafetyand sation protection is there.” ActivitiesPreventionAct(UAPA),” Till date, the agencyhas arrested ENS an NIA officialsaid. “Wehaveas 21 accused. Swapna wasalleged yetnot foundenoughevidenceto to be associated withSivasankar, Covishield price yet to either arrest or chargesheet who reportedlyhad got herajob Serum, Bharat Biotechsay Sivasankar in the case...” with thegovernment. ODISHA be finalised: officials The NIA had questioned ThechargesheetnamesSarith Fourheldfor Sivasankarinconnectionwiththe PS and Swapna Prabha Suresh ‘misunderstanding’ is over as well as Bharat Biotech. “When caseinSeptember lastyear.A from Thiruvananthapuram; murderoflocal PRABHARAGHAVAN we startwith the processofpro- month later,the ED arrested him Ramees KT,Mohammed ShafiP, people and countries alike, we some people had gone to the ex- NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 curement, theywill give us the forallegedmoneylaunderingas- SaidalaviE,Abdu PT, BJPleader,aide ANURADHA herebycommunicateour joint tent of alleging that Covaxin was price quotation,” the officialsaid. sociated with the case. It also Sharafuddeen KT,Mohammed MASCARENHAS pledgetoprovideglobalaccessfor notavaccine at all. EVENASSerumInstituteofIndia Whenaskedhowthegovern- startedprobing severalflagship ShafeeqA,HamzathAbdulsalam, Bhubaneswar: Police on PUNE,JANUARY5 our COVID-19vaccines,” Bharat In atelevision interviewear- (SII) plans to initiallyprovide ment plannedtodivide itspro- stategovernment schemesthat HamjadAliK,AbdulHameedand Tuesday arrestedfourper- Biotech managingdirectorDr lier,Poonawallahadsaidthatonly Covishield to the Indian govern- curement of Covishieldand had been approved when Aboobacker P(all residentsof sons, including the prime ADAY afterthe head of Bharat KrishnaEllaandAdarPoonawalla three vaccines –developed by ment at Rs 200($2.73) adose, Covaxin,thefirstofficialsaidthose Sivasankarwas part of the CMO. Malappuram); Samju TM, Jifsal accused, in connections Biotech complainedaboutalleged of SII said in the joint statement. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and the price at whichthe govern- details were yettobefinalised. In itschargesheet, the NIA has CV,MuhammedAbduShameem withthe murder of alocal unfair criticism of his company's Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, and Oxford-AstraZeneca–hadproven ment will actuallyprocure the SIIChief Executive Officer claimedthat the accusedhad KV,and Shamshudeen BJP leader and his associ- Covid-19vaccine candidate, in- Covishield,theIndianvariantof the efficacy againstthe novelcoron- Pune firm’s Covid-19vaccineis Adar Poonawalla has maintained plans to use diplomatic cargo for (Kozhikode);andJalalAM,Rabins ateinCuttackdistrict. “The cluding the fact that it had been Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that avirusinfection,andtherest were yettobefinalised, The Indian that the vaccine would beoffered smuggling from other countries Hameed,MuhammedaliEbrahim murderweapon–asword described as “water”, he issued a is being tested andmanufactured “likewater”. Express haslearnt. to the government at a“veryspe- as well. The chargesheetstates: and Muhammedali. –hasbeenrecoveredfrom joint statementwith the CEO of under licence in India by SII, have Whywas no onequestioning Asenior governmentofficial cial” price of Rs 200adose forthe theaccused.Fiveteamsare Serum InstituteofIndia (SII)say- both been approved forrestricted the Oxford-AstraZeneca data, Dr told TheIndian Express thatthe first100 milliondoses. He had tracing the other accused ingthe twocompanies respected emergency use by theregulator. Ella had asked.DataonCovaxin government hasnot announced also said that the two-shotvac- as well,” said Cuttack eachother'swork,andwere com- At avirtual mediabriefing on hadbeenpublishedinatleastfive anything. “It is SII (thathas an- cine would be sold forRs1,000a Indore court denies (Rural) SP Jugal Kishore mittedto supplyingtheirvaccines Monday, Dr Ella had lashedout at reputedjournals,hehadsaid,and nouncedaprice),sowe arenot re- dose to the general public once Banoth. BJP’s Salipur in- to India and the world. those who had criticisedthe ac- insistedthat BharatBiotech's sponsible forwhat they say... We the firm receivedapprovals to sell charge and former “Both companiesrespectthe celerated emergency use autho- productwas notjusta“backup”. have notannouncedany priceso it in the private market.Inre- bail to comedian Mahangablockchairman great work beingcarried out by risation (EUA) accordedto Intheirjointstatementissued far, thatiswherewestand,”theof- sponse to emailedqueries by The Kulamani Baral (75) and eachother and put behind us the Covaxin,saying“Idon'tknowwhy onTuesday, SIIandBharatBiotech ficialsaid. “Once we fixit(price), Indian Express on Tuesday,the his associateDibya Singh miscommunication and misun- Indiancompaniesaretargettedby said the moreimportant task be- we willdefinitely share it.” firm confirmedthese prices. Munawar Faruqui Baral (80) were attacked derstanding causedduring the everyone in the world”,and “We fore themwastosavethelivesand Another senior official said Bharat Biotech Managing whiletheywereonway to pastweek. We arefullyaware of don't deservethat.” Withouttak- livelihoodsof populationsinIndia the government waswaiting to Director Dr Krishna Ella did not their villageNrutang on the importance of vaccines for ing names, Dr Ella had said that and the world. receive price quotations from SII announce aprice forCovaxin. PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA Saturday night. ENS INDORE,JANUARY5 Munawar Faruqui WESTBENGAL AN INDOREcourtonTuesday de- BJP leader’s death not Shukla quits Bengal Cabinet;will niedbail to stand-up comedian Gangulytobe MunawarFaruqui and another area of IndoreonJanuary1.The dischargedfrom political murder: Bengal accused, who were arrested last complaint wasfiledagainstthem continue as MLA, says Mamata week for“indecent” remarks by EklavyaSingh Gaur (36), son of hospitaltoday againstHindu deities made dur- localBJP legislator Malini Laxman cops to Supreme Court ing ashowheldinthe city.The ar- Singh Gaur. Kolkata: BCCI president nation under Article 21 of the EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE restsweremadeonthe com- Anshuman Shrivastava,the Sourav Gangulyis“doing EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Constitution. It is further denied KOLKATA,JANUARY5 plaint of aBJP MLA's son. lawyer forFaruqui and Yadav, said well” and would be NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 that thereisinvolvement of state Afterhearing arguments of on Tuesdaythat the allegations dischargedfromthe machineryagainstpeople hav- WESTBENGALMinister of State both the sides, AdditionalDistrict againsthis clientswere“vague” hospital on Wednesday, DENYINGALLEGATIONS that the ing different political ideology...,” forYouth Servicesand Sports and Sessions CourtjudgeYatindra in nature. He allegedthat the two Woodlands Hospital MD death of Debendra Nath Roy, a Dy SP CID, Malda zone, said in an LaxmiRatan Shukla on Tuesday Kumar Guru rejectedthe bail plea were bookedunderpoliticalpres- &CEO Dr Rupali Basu told CPM MLAwho joinedthe BJP in affidavit filedinthe courtinre- resignedfromhis post, and of Faruqui and Nalin Yadav. sure.Hesaid Faruqui and Yadav mediapersons on 2019,was a“political murder”, sponse to aplea that also sought steppeddownasHowrahdistrict On January2,the courtof were actorsanddidnotmakeany Tuesday. “Mr Sourav the West Bengal Police has told transfer of the trial from West president of the Trinamool Chief Judicial Magistraterejected comment that hurtthe religious Ganguly... is doing well, as the Supreme Courtthat aCID Bengaltoacourt in NewDelhi. Congress (TMC). thebail plea of Faruqui, Yadavand feelings of anyperson. Opposing clinically expected by all probewas conducted and there The plea came up forhearing SourcessaidShuklasenthisres- MAMATA STANDSINQUEUE: West Bengal CM Mamata three other arrested persons. the bail plea, prosecution lawyer of us. He sleptwell, he wasnoneedtotransfer the case on Tuesday before abenchcom- ignation letter to Chief Minister Banerjee stands in queue to collecther ‘Swasthya Sathi’ card Faruqui, aresident of Gujarat, Vimal Mishrasaid both the ac- had his breakfast, he to the CBI or NIA. prising Justices Ashok Bhushan, MamataBanerjee, and maileda in Kalighat area of Kolkata. ‘Swasthya Sathi’ is ahealth cover wasarrestedonSaturdayalong cusedparticipatedinthe eventfor spoke to us and he is seen “It is deniedthat the incident RSReddy and MRShah. copytoGovernor Jagdeep scheme launchedbythe TMCgovernment. StateBJP chief withtheothersforallegedly mak- whichnopermission wastaken by his team of doctors. Dr [death of Roy] wasapolitical The petitioner wasseeking Dhankhar.The minister’s resigna- Dilip Ghosh dubbed themoveas‘puredrama’. Partha Paul ing indecent remarks against from localadministrationamidst Devi Shetty is hereand he murder or that the statemachin- transfer of the case to acentral tion came almostafortnight after Hindu deities and againstUnion the pandemic.Hesaidindecent has notonlyspent his erywas usedorwas an accom- agency onthe basis of statements statetransportministerSuvendu Home MinisterAmit Shah during remarks were made against time with Sourav,but he pliceorinvolvedinany manner made by Roy’s wifeChandima Adhikari leftthe ruling party and Nadda’svisittothestatethismonth. terthat he wantstoconcentrate ashowheld at acafein56Dukan Hindu deities at the event. has spent his time with in causing such death and it is and certain others, the affidavit joinedthe BJP.The former Indian However, MamataBanerjee moreoncricket.Hewill continue our doctors physically deniedthis wasashame on soci- said,adding“thesestatements do cricketer’sdecisionsparkedspecu- dismissedspeculationthatShukla as MLA. Do nottry to speculate. I today,”DrBasu said. ENS etyand violated theright to life notallegefoul playbyany state lation that he would join the BJP would alsoquitthe TMC. “He is a welcome his decision and Iwish Battling virus surge, UK guaranteedtothe citizens of this personnel or the police...” ahead of BJP national president JP verygoodboy. Hewroteinthelet- him allthe best.” PM calls off R-Day visit; MP Cong leader on donation To ‘educate students on cows’, govt to no call on new guest yet drive for Ayodhya temple the sources said. hold national cow science examonFeb 25 SHUBHAJITROY India has to nowlookfor an al- KshetraTrustfor the temple's NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 ternative Chief Guestfor the IRAMSIDDIQUE construction. Khandelwal main- Husbandry andDairying. basedonmultiple choice ques- urine, milk,curd, ghee –and Republic Daycelebrations, which BHOPAL,JANUARY5 tainedthat while he has begun HARIKISHANSHARMA On the needtoexplore“cow tions (MCQs), andstudents can ayurvedic concoctions. BRITISH PRIME MinisterBoris may, however, be truncated on the donation drive in his personal NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 science”, Kathiria said, “Cowis take theone-hour exam on mo- Coronavirus patientsfrom Johnson on Tuesdaycalledup account of the pandemic. MONTHS AFTER former capacity, the move hasthe party's full of science…. If we talk about bile phone or computer,Kathiria Rajkot,Varanasi, Vadodaraand Prime MinisterNarendraModi Lastyear's Independence MadhyaPradesh chiefminister consent. “Theinitiative is in sync IN AN effort to “infuse curiosity” the $5-trillion economy, we have said. He said online registration Kalyan(Maharashtra) were and expressed“regret”that he Daycelebrations had been scaled and stateCongress president withthe party’s stand, as our among people aboutthe impor- 19.42 croregovansh (cattle) in is open from January14to giventhis and theywererid of would notbeabletovisit India down as well. Kamal Nath welcomedthe con- (state unit) presidentKamal Nath tance of cows,and to “sensitise our country, whichcan playan February20, and resultswill be the virus between five and 14 to be Chief Guestfor the An invitationto beChief Guest struction of Ramtemple,and has himself held apuja and wel- and educate” themabout the important role in it (growth of declared on February25itself. It days without experiencing any RepublicDay celebrations. at India'sRepublicDayisaspecial senior party leader Digvijaya comedthe Supreme Court's deci- bovine species,the government the economy). Even if acow does will be conductedinHindi, complications, Kathiria said. Johnson took this decisionin honour foravisiting foreign dig- Singh said even former PM Rajiv sion (in favour of the temple plans to conduct anationwide notgivemilk,its urineand dung English and 12 regional lan- In astatement, the Union viewofthe fresh national lock- nitary. New Delhi has been weav- Gandhi wanted thetemple to trust).” voluntary online examination on is still precious; if we use those, guages. Kathiria also said MinistryofFisheries, Animal down in his country, as his gov- ing strategy with hospitality be built in Ayodhya, astate Asked whether the Congress cowscience next month, it was notonlywill cows be saved, the Kamdhenu chairs will be setup Husbandryand Dairying said, ernment respondedtothe new, while deciding on the Chief Congress office-bearer is now plans to emulatethe fund collec- announcedonTuesday. entireeconomywill be on track.” in universities across the coun- “Certificates will be giventoall. morecontagious mutant strain Guest. The choice is dictated by a collecting donationsfor the tion driveacross thestate,and The examination – Kathiria said: “The exam will trytogenerateinterestabout in- Successful meritorious candi- of the novelcoronavirus. number of factors —strategicand temple's construction. whether it is the official party Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar- be conducted in four categories: digenous cowand their benefits. dates will be givenprizes and Indian government sources diplomatic, business interests, MP Congress secretary Vivek line, Nath replied, "Noit’s not Prasar Pareeksha –will be held primarylevel (up to class VIII); Kathiria, who lastyear un- certificates...” said Modi “conveyedhis under- and geopolitics. Khandelwal said he has collected true." StateCongress spokesper- on February25, Rashtriya forstudentsbetween classesIX veileda“chip” made of cow Theministrystatedthatthe standingofthe exceptional situ- Astatement by 10,Downing Rs 70,000over the lastthree days. sonBhupendraGupta said, “This Kamdhenu Aayog(RKA) chair- and XII; athirdcategoryfor col- dungand claimedthat it reduces Union education minister, chief ation and hopedthatthe UK Street —the British PM’s office — He said the drive willcontinue is notadrive undertaken by the man Vallabhbhai Kathiriasaid. legeand university students; radiationfrommobilephone ministers, stateeducation min- would overcome Covid chal- said, “The Prime Ministerspoke until the end of January, when he party or (being done) officially. It The exam will be conducted and the fourth will be open to all, handsets significantly, on isters, chairpersons of GauSeva lenges successfully”. to Prime MinisterModi this plans to travel to Ayodhya and is being done by Khandelwal in by RKA,anagency established in whichnot onlyIndian citizens Tuesdayclaimedthat 800Covid- Aayogs of all states and others Both leaders reaffirmedtheir morning, to express his regret donatethe collected amountto his personal capacity as aRam forprotectionofcowsunderthe but anyone can appear.” 19 patientshavebeen curedby will be involved“in this mam- commitment to working towards that he will beunable to visit India Sri RamJanmabhoomi Teerath bhakt.” Department of Animal The examination will be panchgavya–cow dung,cow moth exercise”. deepening bilateral relationship, later this month as planned.”

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TOPOFTHE WORLD Britonsorderedtostayathome asthirdnationallockdownbegins

REUTERS DUTCHPM:CAUGHT LONDON,JANUARY5 Julian Assange OFFGUARDBY BRITAIN BEGAN itsthirdCovid- PFIZERAPPROVAL 19 lockdown on Tuesdaywith Saudi Arabia's CrownPrince Mohammedbin Salman with MEXICO citizens under orders to stay at Amsterdam: The Dutchgov- Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Reuters Assangeoffered home and the governmentcall- ernment wascaught off ing forone lastmajor national ef- guardbythe approval of the asylumafter fort to stem the virus before Pfizer-BioNTechvaccine by mass vaccinations turn the tide. EU regulators in December Eyeing Gulf detente, USextradition Finance ministerRishi Sunak and has been unabletostart bidthwarted announcedanew packageof vaccinating due to logistical businessgrantsworth 4.6billion problems, Prime Minister Saudi Arabiaopens Mexico City: Mexican pounds to helpkeep peoplein MarkRuttesaid. The President Andres Manuel jobsand firms afloat untilmeas- Netherlands has hundredsof LopezObrador on Monday ures arerelaxed gradually, at the thousands of Pfizer vaccine summit withcall to offeredpolitical asylum to earliestfrommid-Februarybut doses in cold storage,but will WikiLeaksfounder Julian likelylater. notgiveafirstshotuntil Assange,amovethat could Britain has been among the Wednesday, in alimited roll- counter Iran ‘threat’ anger the United States, countries worst-hit by Covid-19, out to health careworkers. whichisseekinghisextra- with the second highestdeath Rutte’sgovernmenthasbeen dition. Celebrating adeci- toll in Europe and an economy criticisedfor allowing the sion by aBritish judgeon ED Reconciliation that sufferedthe sharpestcon- Workers paint social distancing signs in London as Britain begins itsthirdlockdown. Reuters Netherlands to be the last REUTERS withQatar Mondaytodenyarequest traction of anyinthe Group of countryinthe EU to begin AL-ULA(SAUDIARABIA), farfrom to extraditeAssangetothe Sevenduringthe firstwaveofin- vaccinating. REUTERS JANUARY5 PLAIN E United States, Lopez ● fections lastspring. cinateall elderly carehome res- Germany to extend curbs EX guaranteed Obrador saidhewanted Prime MinisterBoris Johnson idents and their carers, everyone MEXICOAPPROVES SAUDI ARABIA’S CrownPrince his foreign ministertoask announcedthe newlockdown over the ageof70, all frontline ASTRAZENECA Mohammedbin Salman opened IN 2017,Saudi Arabia, the Britain if it couldrelease lateonMonday, saying the health and social careworkers, as daily deaths mount aGulf Arab summit on Tuesday UAE, Bahrain and Egypt AssangesoMexico could highlycontagious newcoron- and everyone who is clinically COFIDVACCINE by taking aimatIranand laud- severeddiplomatic, trade offerhim asylum. avirus variant firstidentifiedin extremelyvulnerable,bymid- settoexpireJanuary10. ing adeal towardsendingalong- and travel ties with Qatar “Assangeisajournalist and Britain wasspreading so fast the February. ASSOCIATEDPRESS Merkel's meeting with the NewYork: Mexico approved running disputewith Qatar. over allegations Doha deserves achance,” he said. National Health Service risked Senior ministerMichael BERLIN,JANUARY5 governors on Tuesdaywill de- theOxford-AstraZenecacoro- PrinceMohammedembraced supports terrorism, a “We’ll give himprotec- being overwhelmedwithin 21 Gove said thepace of inocula- cide howlong the lockdown navirus vaccine foremer- Qatar’semir,Sheikh Tamimbin charge it denies. tion.” REUTERS days. tions would accelerate in the GERMANY’S DISEASE control should go on and to what extent gency use on Monday, the Hamad al-Thani, on the airport Whilethe Saudi deci- In England alone, some coming weeks, but struckacau- center on Tuesdayreported944 schools will reopen.Another country’stopepidemiologist, tarmacinthehistoricSaudicityof sion to end the embargo 27,000 people areinhospital tious tone about when that more Covid-19deaths, fuelling topic high on the agenda will be HugoLópez-Gatell, an- al-Ula, an important signal of marks amilestone to- with COVID, 40% morethan dur- might translate intoaneasing of expectations that Chancellor addressingcriticism of the coun- nouncedMonday evening.It hopestoburyaconflict between ward resolving the spat, NEPAL ing the firstpeak in April. restrictions. Angela Merkeland the country's try's vaccination program amid is the fourth countrytoap- major US allies in the Middle East the path toward full rec- Nation’sfounder “The weeksahead will be the “We’ll be able to reviewthe 16 stategovernors will extend frustrations over itsgradualstart. provethe vaccine. Mr.Ebrard twoweeksbeforePresident-elect onciliation is farfrom hardestyet butIreally do believe progress that we’vemade on the the country's lockdown until the Vaccinations in Germanyand celebrated the approval as Joe Bidentakes office. guaranteed--the other commemorated that we areentering the last 15th of February... andwehope end of the month. the rest of the 27-nation “very good news,” tweeting Leaders of the Gulf countries three states areyet to phaseofthe struggle, because that we’ll be able to progressively Germany's latestlockdown European Union startedovera thatitwould allowthe coun- signedadocument, although the comment on the issue, byArmy with everyjab that goes intoour liftrestrictionsafter that, but took effect December 16 aftera week ago. In Germany, anation trytostart production “very contentswerenot immediately though aUSofficial said Kathmandu: Forthe sec- arms, we aretilting the odds what Ican’t do is predict, nobody partial shutdown starting in of 83 million, nearly 265,000 soon.” Britain, Argentina and released. “it's our expectation” ond year in arow,the againstCOVID and in favour of can predict with accuracy what early November failedtoreduce vaccinations had been reported Indiaare the other countries Ahead of the gathering, theywould also join and Nepal Armyhas takena the British people,” said Johnson. we willbeable to relax and thenumber of dailynew coron- by Monday, the Robert Koch to approvethe vaccine. NYT Kuwait had announcedthat that Doha will suspend proactive role in com- The government aims to vac- when,” he said on SkyNews. avirus infections. It wasinitially Institutesaid. Saudi Arabia, whichalong with lawsuitsrelatedtothe memorating the birth an- allies boycottedDoha in mid- boycott. niversaryofformer 2017,wouldreopen itsairspace The riftbetween Abu monarch, the lateKing and borders to Qatar.Asenior US Dhabi and Doha has been Prithvi Narayan Shah, on With US Senate at stake, Pak top court orders official said the deal would be deepest, with the UAE January11, afteranappar- signedinthe presence of White and Qatar at sharp ideo- ent reluctance by the KP House senior adviserJared logical odds. Oligovernmentto observe Trump raging, Georgia votes reconstruction of Kushner. the same. On Tuesday, the Kushner,tasked by US Army beganasix-dayvic- President DonaldTrump, his fa- and Islamic unity and stability,” tory trail from Gorkha to vandalised temple ther-in-law, to work on theGulf Prince Mohammed,the king- Kathmandu,followingthe REUTERS rift,was seen in the room in tel- dom’s de factoruler,saidwith- same routethat the for- ATALANTA,JANUARY5 “causedinternational embar- evisedfootage as Prince out elaborating on the deal. mer ruler,who is credited SAJJADHUSSAIN rassment to Pakistan”. Mohammeddeliveredthe open- He said the threat posedby as the founderofNepal, CONTROL OF the US Senate-- ISLAMABAD,JANUARY5 The court also directed the ing speech. Iran’s nuclear and ballistic mis- took in the 18th Century and with it the ability to blockor EPTB to clear encroachments “These efforts... ledtothe al- sile programmes and it’s “sub- when he beganhis unifi- advance Democratic President- PAKISTAN'S SUPREME Courton from temples across the country Ula agreement whichwill be versive anddestructive plans” cation campaign, bringing elect Joe Biden’s agenda -- was Tuesdayordered authorities to and take action againstofficials signedatthis blessedsummit necessitated “serious action” by together smaller fiefsand on the line in apair of runoff startthe reconstructionofacen- involvedinthe encroachments. and whichconfirmsGulf,Arab the global community. kingdoms. Although the elections in Georgia on Tuesday tury-old Hindu temple that was The EPTB is astatutoryboard governmentunderpublic afteradizzying campaign that vandalisedbyamob in Khyber that managesreligious proper- pressureobservesJanuary shattered spending and early Pakhtunkhwalastweek and in- ties and shrines of Hindus and Nepal top court to begin 11 as 'Unity Day', it has re- turnout records. structed them to recoverthe Sikhs who had migrated to India fusedtomarkitapublic Republican Senators David moneyfor the restoration work following the partition. holiday. ENS Perdue and KellyLoeffler aretry- from the attackers whose acthas Justice Ijazul Ahsan ques- hearing pleas challenging ing to holdoff Democratic chal- caused “international embar- tionedInspector General of VIETNAM lengersJonOssoff,adocumentary Donald TrumpatarallyinDalton,Georgia. Reuters rassment” to the country. Police SanaullahAbbasionhow filmmaker,andRaphaelWarnock, The apexcourt, whichtook the attackcould have happened House dissolution today Journalistsjailed apastoratahistoric Blackchurch notice of the attackand ordered when therewas apolice check mendation of the Nepal Bar for‘propaganda’ in Atlanta, in astate Biden nar- Georgia,” Trumpsaid, ticking off the localauthorities to appear be- postnexttothe temple. “Where YUBARAJGHIMIRE Association and the Supreme criticalofstate rowly carriedonNovember3. along listofunfoundedconspir- FEARINGVIOLENCE, fore the court on January5,also were your intelligence agen- KATHMANDU,JANUARY5 CourtBar Association. The tumultuous contest’s fi- acy theories about election WASHINGTONCALLS directed theEvacuee Property cies?” the judgeasked. The hearing begins three Hanoi: AcourtinVietnam nal days have been dominated fraud. TrustBoard (EPTB) to submitin Abbasi told thecourt that 109 THE NEPAL Supreme Courton days afterBhandariand Oli, Tuesdaysentencedthree by President Donald Trump’s The winners areunlikelytobe INNATIONALGUARD courtdetails of all functional and peopleinvolvedintheattackwere Wednesday willbegin itshear- along with House Speaker Agni freelance journalists continuedefforttosubvert the knownonTuesday, and perhaps non-functionaltemples and gur- arrested.Hesaid92policeofficials, ing on 13 different petitionschal- Sapkota, responded to ashow- known fortheir criticism election results. On Saturday, he fordays,asstate officials arenot Washington: Bracing forpos- dwaras across Pakistan. including the superintendent of lenging the dissolution of the cause notice by the courtthat of government to be- pressured the state’s Republican permittedtostart tallying early sible violence, the US capital The attack on the temple in policeanddeputysuperintendent House of Representativesby had asked them to submit the tween 11 and15years in secretaryofstate to reverse votes until afterthe polls close. has mobilizedthe National TerrivillageinKhyber of police were suspended. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari PM's recommendation and the prison, finding them Biden’s victory, claiming massive Opinion surveyshaveshown Guardahead of planned Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district on ChiefJusticeAhmed saidthat on the recommendation of President'sresponse to theno- guilty of spreading anti- fraud, contrarytoevidence. both races areexceedinglytight. protests by President Donald Wednesdaybymembers of rad- “suspensionwas notenough”. Prime MinisterKPOli on confidence motion submitted statepropaganda. Pham Illustratingthe high stakes, Nearly halfabillon dollars in ad- Trump's supporters in con- ical Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party The judgealso pulledupthe December 20. before theParliament secre- Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong both Trumpand Biden cam- vertising has blanketed the nection with the congres- (Fazal ur Rehman group) drew EPTB chairman, saying he should All 13 petitions have chal- tariat, all in original. Thuy and Le Huu Minh paignedinGeorgia on Monday, state’s airwaves, as dozens of in- sional voteexpected strong condemnation from hu- “notsit on the chairman's seat lenged the move,claimingthat While Oli has informedthe Tuan were convicted of Trumpinthe state’s northwest dependent political groups have Wednesdaytoaffirm Joe man rights activistsand the mi- with government mentality”. the Constitution of Nepal does courtthatheexercisedhis "pre- “making, storing, spread- and Biden in Atlanta. descendedonGeorgia. Biden's election victory. nority Hinducommunityleaders. The court orderedthe EPTB to re- notallowthe Prime Ministerto rogative"inrecommending the ing information,materi- Trumpcalledthe November The campaignhas seenbitter Trump's supporters are During the hearing on coverthe moneyfor the temple dissolve the House until and un- dissolution of the House since he als, items forthe purpose 3election “rigged”and falsely attacks,with Loeffler and Perdue planning to rallyTuesday Tuesday, athree-memberbench restoration from the attackers. less all possibilities of forming an wasnot givencooperation by the of opposing the state” at claimedhewon the stateon characterizing the Democrats as and Wednesday, seeking to headedbyChief Justice Gulzar The courtsaid adetailed alternativegovernment have leaders of his party,the aone-day trial in Ho Chi Monday,asheusedhis speech “radical socialists”and Ossoff bolsterunprovenclaims of Ahmedordered theEPTB to start judgement would be released been triedand exhausted. President's office has takenthe Minh City. REUTERS to air grievances about his defeat. and Warnockcalling the incum- widespread voter fraud. AP the reconstruction work.Hesaid later and adjourned thehearing Chief Justice Cholendra stance that she cannotgoagainst “Thereisnoway we lost bentsdeeplycorrupt. the attackonthe temple has fortwo weeks. PTI Shumsher will head afive-mem- the advice of the executive. berconstitutional benchhearing Sapkota, however, has as- the case, and givenits complex- sertedthat the dissolution was ity, the courtwillbeguidedby notproper,and done without SKorea’s population declines, posing threat to economy five amicus curieonthe recom- consulting the Speaker.

—abad signal forreplenishing the declining birthratebyoffer- President Moon Jae-in, offering RICKGLADSTONE the labor forceand caring forre- ingfinancialincentivesfor cou- monthlyallowances of 300,000 NEWYORK,JANUARY5 tirees and other older people as ples to have morechildren. won, or about $274,for every Will redouble efforts to theybecome alargershareofso- But agrowingnumberof newborn and infantuptothe age THINK OF major threatstoSouth ciety.The newdatafromSouth young SouthKoreans arestill of 1starting in 2022. Expectant save Iran nuke deal: EU Korea, and itsnuclear-armed Korea, while notasurprise, were choosing to remain single. When couples would geta2million neighbor NorthKorea maycome nonetheless concerning fora theydomarry,theyare doing so woncashbonus starting next strengthen” itsattemptstomake to mind. But asubtler risk to countrythatinrecent decades later in life and usuallyhaveonly year,along with increasedmed- ASSOCIATEDPRESS sureall adheretothe commit- South Korea’s futurewell-being has become one of Asia’s eco- one child, or noneatall.The trend ical and other benefits. BRUSSELS,JANUARY5 mentsmadeinthelandmarkdeal. lies within itsborders: ashrink- nomic and cultural dynamos. is rootedinaneconomic down- OthertrendsinSouthKorea Iran beganenriching ura- ing and rapidlyaging population. The census datafromthe turn that has disproportionately strongly discouragebirths. They THEEUROPEAN Unionsaid it nium Mondaytolevels unseen The concern wasunder- MinistryofInteriorand Safety affected SouthKorea’s young include rising opposition among will redouble itsefforts to save since its2015nuclear deal with scoredthisweekend with the re- showedthatSouth Korea’s pop- adults, who saytheyare intimi- women to child-rearing expecta- the Iran nuclear agreement de- worldpowers. The decision ap- lease of censusdatathat showed ulation totaled51,829,023 as of dated by unaffordable housing tions by men in what remains a spitewhat it calledTehran's “im- peared aimedatincreasing South Korea’s population fell in December31, down 20,838 from and rising unemployment. patriarchal society. Morewomen portant breach” of commit- Tehran's leverage in the waning 2020 forthe firsttime on record. the end of 2019.Therewere Lee Sang-lin, aresearcher at in South Korea, rebelling against mentsmade in the 2015 dealby days in office forUSPresident Adeclining number of new- 275,815 births, down 10.65 per- Ashopping district in Seoul, South Korea. AP the government-fundedKorea the country’s deeplyembedded starting to enrichuranium to Donald Trump, whose unilateral borns wasexceededbyagrow- cent from 2019,and 307,764 Institutefor Healthand Social sexism, areforegoing marriage newlevels. withdrawal from the atomic ac- ing number of deaths, according deaths, up 3.1percent from 2019. Affairs, said that young South andmotherhoodin pursuitof ed- EU spokesman Peter Stano cordin2018began aseries of es- to census datareleased by the The ministryexpressedalarm It wasunclear to whatextent demicwouldexert“anegative im- Koreans “have no confidence ucationand professional careers. said that Iran's actions “will have calating incidents. South Korean government. about the implications, saying thecoronaviruspandemicmay be pactonthenation’smarriage and that their liveswill getbetterin “In short, our countryisnot a serious implications when it Increasing enrichment at its Foryears, population experts that “amid the rapidlydeclining exacerbatingthe population birthrate, leading to an accelera- the future.” good place to live in, so passing comes to nuclear nonprolifera- underground Fordofacility puts have warnedthat demographic birthrate, the government needs problem.ButtheBankof Korea,in tion of aging in the population.” The latestpackageofgovern- down the burden to our children tion.” Stano said it wasinevery- Tehran atechnical step away trends in South Korea, likethose to undertake fundamental aregulareconomic appraisal re- Successive SouthKoreangov- ment inducementswas intro- is notpreferable,” The KoreaTimes one's interesttorescue the deal from weapons-grade levels of 90 in Japan,showdeclining growth changes to itsrelevant policies.” portedlastweek,said the pan- ernmentshavesought to counter ducedjustafewweeksago by said in an editorial. NYT and said the 27-nation bloc “will per cent.

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Office OF Municipal Commissioner, Nagar Nigam, HARIDWAR PH: 01334-227006 Email: [email protected] Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) Office of Municipal Commissioner,Nagar Nigam, HARIDWAR on behalf of “Governor of Uttarakhand” invites following re- KARNATAKA FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD., tender under two bid system through E-tendering Process. (A Government of Karnataka Enterprise) Detailed eligibility criteria, EMD, ITB, and other terms & Regd. Office: Hoige Bazar,Mangaluru -575 001. Ph.No: (0824) 2421281/ 82 Fax: (0824) 2424560 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kfdcfish.com conditions of the tenderdocument can be seen at No. KFDC/ FJetty /Mangalore/TENDER/6/2020-2021 Dated: 02.01.2021 https://uktenders.gov.in.Any amendment in future against SHORT TERM e-TENDER NOTIFICATION (E-Procurementportal only) the tender shall be uploaded on https://uktenders.gov.in Tender invitedthrough e-procurementportal fromthe reputed Dates supplying Vehicles and machinery Company/firm shall have experience in Construction of Concrete for collection &transportation of Floating Jetty related projects on turnkey basis with their competitive rates. solid waste at Haridwar during e-Tender No.KFDCL/2020-21/OW/Work Indent99 Dt. 02.01.2021 Maha Kumbh 2021. Name of the Work: “Construction of Concrete Floating Jetty at Mangalore Document Download Start 06.01.2021 at 1000 hrs Fishing Harbour,Dakshina Kannada District” EMD Rs.1,00,000/- (through e-procurement portal). Tenderers are requested to submit tenders only Date through e-procurement portal. GovernmentofKarnataka: Proposal Due Date 12.01.2021 up to 1200 hrs http://www.eproc.karnataka.gov.in cost of document: as per e-portal Opening of Technical Bids 12.01.2021 at 1500 hrs norms. Tender documents can be downloaded from e-procurement portal Cost of Tender Document INR 5900/- from 02.01.2021 to 02.02.2021 upto 4.00 PM.Last date for uploading tender is 02.02.2021 upto 4.00 PM.Technical Bid of tender opening date: Municipal Commissioner,Nagar Nigam Haridwar 04.02.2021 upto 11.00 AM.Commercial Bid of tender opening date: 06.02.2021 at 11.00 PM.Tenderers who have not registered with e- procurement portal may get registered immediately and participate the tender. DIPR/ADM/MCA/741/20-21 dt. 5.1.2021 Sd/- Managing Director GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER SOUTHERN CIRCLE, RURAL WORKS, SUNABEDA O-837 E-Procurement Notice No. 11 Date: 1.1.21 1. Name of the work :Construction of Roads under State Plan (02 Nos) Periodical Maintenance of 5Years Completed PMGSY Road (1 No) 2. Class of contractor :"B'", "A" Special Class of (Odisha PWD) or relevant class of other licensing authority 3. Estimated cost: :Varies from Rs.132.60 Lakhs to Rs. 304.23 Lakhs (Approximately) 4. Details projectsasper Annexure attached. : Procurement Officer Bid Identification No. Availability of Tender Online for bidding Last Date &Time of Date &Time of opening of tender From To Seeking Tender Clarification Thechnical Bid Financial Bids 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Superintending Engineer, Rural Works Southern Circle, Sunabeda SERWSCSBD -Online -03/2020-21 08.01.2021 at 11.00 A.M. 25.01.2021 up to 5.00 P.M. 22.01.2021 up to 2.00 P.M. 27.01.2021 at 11.00 A.M. To be intimated separately 5. Further details can be seen from the website www.tendersodisha.gov.in 6. Any Corrigendum/Addendum will be displayed in the above e-tender web sites. Sd/- Superintending Engineer, Southern Circle RW: Sunabeda. OIPR-25045/11/0004/2021 DELHI JAL BOARD :DELHI SARKAR OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH)-II JAL SADAN :LAJPAT NAGAR: NEW DELHI- 110024 AspireHome Finance Corporation Limited NIT No. 39/S-II/2020-21 Motilal Oswal Tower,Rahimtullah Sayani Road, Opposite ST Depot, Prabhadevi, Mumbai-400025. Press Tender Email :- [email protected]. CIN :- U65923MH2013PLC248741 STOP CORONIA: “Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain hand Hygiene” DEMAND NOTICE S. Name of work Reserve Date of release of Last date and time for No. price tender in e download &RTGS through e NOTICE UNDER SECTION 13 (2) OF THE SECURITISATION AND RECONSTRUCTIONOFFINANCIAL procurement solution procurement solution ASSETS AND ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTEREST ACT.2002 01 Improvement of sewerage system of Bhagwan Item rate 2020_DJB_198210_2 16.01.2021 upto 2.00 PM Under Section 13(2) of the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and enforcement of Security Interest Nagar by trenchless technology method from Ring 02.01.2021 Act. 2002 (the said Act) read with Rule 3(1) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) rules. 2002 (the said Rule) In exercise Road trunk sewer upto nearby H. No. 142 under of powers conferred under Section 13(12) of the said Act read with Rule 3ofsaid Rule, the authorized oicer has issued EE(S) II (AC-41) Jangpura) Demand notices under Section 13(2) of the said Act, calling upon the Borrower(s) /Co-borrowers, Guarantor/s to repay the Further details in this regard can be seen at govtprocurement delhi gov.in loan amount mentioned in the respective demand notices issued to them. In connection with above notice is hereby given ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) Sd/- (S. Ghuam Sajjad) once again to all the parties to pay within 60 days from the publication of this notice, the amounts indicated herein below, together with further interest from the date(s) of Demand Notice till the date of payment. The detail of the Borrower(s) Advt. No. J.S.V.295/2020-21 EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH) II amount dues on date of Demand Notice and Security ofered towards repayment of loan amount are as under:- Loan Agreement No./Name of the Demand Notice Description of secured asset(s) Borrower(s)/Co-Borrower(s)/ Date and Amount (Immovable Property/ies) Co-Applicant Name /Guarantor Name LXPUN00417-180054421 22-Jun-20 /Rs. 573178/- SNo60, Hiss No 2/2A 2/3, Sai Nagar, Milind Chokha Dolare (Rupees Five Lac Seventy Lane No 12, Near Salve Garden, Mauje - Panchsheela Milind Dolare Three Thousand One Hundred Kondhwa Bk, Haveli, Pune, Maharashtra Seventy Eight Only) -412307 LXCHA00116-170022886 22-Jun-20 /Rs. 1118064/- Flat No A-711, 7th Floor,AWing, Rajyog Sachin Sharad Salve (Rupees Eleven Lac Eighteen Residency,Gat No 18/9, Varulwadi, Sharad Bhaskarrao Salve Thousand Sixty Four Only) Narayangaon, Police Station, Ambegaon, Pune, Maharashtra -412406 LXHAD00116-170024749 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1160253/- Flat No 689, Building No -L43, 1St Floor, Anis Akbar Shaikh (Rupees Eleven Lac Sixty Ambai Co-Op Housing Society Ltd, Near Soiya Anis Shaikh Thousand TwoHundred Fifty Luminia Garden, Village Yerwada, Haveli, Three Only) Pune, Maharashtra -411006 LXCHA00116-170039731 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1313973/- Flat No -1,Ground Floor,Irshad Heights, CTS Shreedhararao Bhiksham Karra (Rupees Thirteen Lac Thirteen No. 464, Pimple Gurav,Pune, Maharashtra - Jyothi Malyadri Thousand Nine Hundred 411033 Seventy Three Only) LXPUN00316-170048392 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1926571/- Flat No-201, 2nd Floor,Green Squre Rajesh Chhagan Shukla (Rupees Nineteen Lac Twenty Sambhaji Chowk, Manchar,Pune, Poonam Rajesh Shukla Six Thousand Five Hundred Maharashtra -413103 Seventy One Only) LXPUN00116-170026137 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1111357/- Flat No -104, 1st Floor,Sai Angan, Phase - Tanaji Barkya Kawade (Rupees Eleven Lac Eleven I, SNo105/5/2, Jadhavnagar,Raikar Mala, Rupali Tanaji Kawade Thousand Three Hundred Fifty Dhayari, Pune, Maharashtra -411041 Seven Only) LXPUN00116-170022992 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 546667/- Plot No -06, Ganga Nagar,SrNo-215, Karveer Jotiba Manjare (Rupees Five Lac Forty Six Hissa No -16, Near Kanifnath Mandir, Nirmala Karveer Manjare Thousand Six Hundred Sixty Fursungi, Pune, Maharashtra -412307 Seven Only) LXLAT00115-160017229 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1955270/- Flat No -404, 4th Floor,Ghar-Mane Height, Anup Madhavrao Ghodke (Rupees Nineteen Lac Fifty Plot No 61,62,63, Sr No -19/3, Kanheir, Bharatibai Madhavrao Ghodke Five Thousand TwoHundred Latur,Maharashtra -413512 Seventy Only) LXPUN00416-170030423 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1632744/- Flat No -10, 2nd Floor,BWing, Laxmi Vihar, Sujeet Dnyaneshwar Tope (Rupees Sixteen Lac Thirty Two Gat No -2395, Yashwantnagar,Aishwarya Dnyaneshwar Dagadu Tope ThousandSeven Hundred Forty Angan, Chakan, Khed, Pune, Maharashtra Four Only) -410501 LXPUN00415-160019654 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1801494/- Plot No -56, Uruli Devachi, S.No -221, Near Santosh Vishnu Pawar (Rupees Eighteen Lac One Z.p School, Haveli, Pune, Maharashtra - Rekha Santosh Pawar Thousand Four Hundred Ninety 412308 Four Only) LXPUN00116-170037075 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1522146/- Flat No -202, 2nd Floor,Rehman Heights, Dolly Deepak Pillay (Rupees Fifteen Lac Twenty SNo-45, HNo-1/16/11, Near Kumar Deepak Muthuswamy Pillay TwoThousand One Hundred Pruthvi, Kondhawa KH ,Pune, Maharashtra Forty Six Only) -411048 LXPUN00316-170030621 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1183311/- Flat No 507, 5Th Floor,Shashikant Heights, Swanand Mohan Bharati (Rupees Eleven Lac Eighty SNo9,Hissa No -1/2, Near Sinhgad Dhanashri Swanand Bharati Three Thousand Three Hundred College, Mauje Ambegaon Bk, Haveli,Pune, Eleven Only) Maharashtra -411046 LXPUN00316-170030623 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1644476/- Flat No 501, 5th Floor,Shashikant Heights S Swanand Mohan Bharati (Rupees Sixteen Lac Forty No -9,Hissa No 1/2, Mauje Ambegaon Bk, Dhanshri Swanand Bharati Four Thousand Four Hundred Haveli, Pune, Maharashtra -411046 Seventy Six Only) LXPUN00316-170034909 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 870737/- Flat No 103, 1st Floor,Shivshrushti Mahavir Suganchand Gour (Rupees Eight Lac Seventy Heights, SNo-23/2, Village Narhe, Pune, Heralal Suganchand Gour Thousand Seven Hundred Maharashtra -411041 Dattatray Ramchandra Agalawe Thirty Seven Only) LXWAG00117-180058401 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 805409/- Plot No -9B, Survey No -13, Hissa No -4K, Vishal Sukhadev Kapure (Rupees Eight Lac Five Thousand Manjari BK, Pune, Maharashtra -412307 Anita Vishal Kapure Four Hundred Nine Only) LXWAG00317-180053692 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1919360/- Flat No -101, Ground Floor,S.No. -133, Hissa Dada Shivaji Harapale (Rupees Nineteen Lac Nineteen No -1B/2/A/1/1/1/1, Kamthe Ali, Sant Narmada Vidya Bhanudas Kalbhor Thousand Three Hundred Complex, Fursungi, Pune, Maharashtra - Sunil Balasaheb Tambe Sixty Only) 412308 LXPUN00317-180054247 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1028876/- Flat No -205, 2nd Floor,Mariyam Heights, Mubarak Kadar Shaikh (Rupees TenLac Twenty Eight Lane No -12A, Sayyed Nagar,Survey No Heena Mubarak Shaikh Thousand Eight Hundred -75/29/2, Hadapsar,Pune, Maharashtra - Seventy Six Only) 411028 LXPUN00115-160006349 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 1050564/- Flat No -308 &309, 3rd Floor,A.S.Heights, Shamsheer Ahmed Khan (Rupees TenLac Fifty Thousand Yewalewadi, Pune, Maharashtra -411048 Shabaz Ahmed Khan Five Hundred Sixty Four Only) LXPUN00116-170048037 07-Dec-20 /Rs. 523234/- Plot No -10, Brown Gold, Gat No.355, At - Jitendra Pralhad Dhumal (Rupees Five Lac Twenty Three Pandharewadi, Duand, Pune, Maharashtra Ranjana Pralhad Dhumal Thousand TwoHundred Thirty -413801 Four Only) LXNAG00116-170025057 10-Dec-20 /Rs. 1924843/- Plot No. -27, Mouza -Bramani, PH.No. - Anis Babbu Sheikh (Rupees Nineteen Lac Twenty 19, Mouza No -152, KH.No. -369/3, Katol Babbu Rahemattulla Sheikh Four Thousand Eight Hundred Road, Kalmeshwar,Nagpur,Maharashtra - Forty Three Only) 441501 If the said Borrowers shall fail to make payment to AHFCL as aforesaid AHFCL shall proceed against the above secured assets Under Section 13(4) of the Act and the applicable Rules, entirely at the risk of the said Borrowers as to the cost and consequences. The said Borrowers are prohibited under the Act from transferring the aforesaid assets, whether by way of sale, lease or otherwise without the prior written consent of AHFCL. Any person who contravenes or abates contravention of the provision of the said Act or Rules made there under, shall be liable for imprisonment and /orpenalty as provided under the Act.

Sd/- Place :Pune Authorized Oicer, Date :06.01.2021 (Aspire Home Finance Corporation Ltd.)

Pune WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 14 CALENDAR THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry&TLewis CROSSWORD4320 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept 24 -Oct 23) Today's stars Severalfactors continue yesterday’s seem to be making mostimportant it easier foryou to trends, including a makeupyour mind. tendency to buryyour head in One could be increased the sand.Idoubt if you’ll supportfromfamilymembers. succeed,though. Your It’s probablymostuseful advantageisthat in any to ask formoral support, situation youcan look beyond rather than practical the immediateconsequences assistance. That way, you towardsthe next stage. preservethe freedom to actas youwish. TAURUS (Apr21-May21) Theprofessional SCORPIO (Oct24-Nov22) situation is still quite Costseemstobethe clear,and this is an major factor,and excellent moment romantic plans may CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson forall ambitious types to both be inhibited by aim forpromotion and to what youcan and can’t afford. encourageveryclose relatives This could be agood time to to do thesame. Social prospects take agamble, in whichcase veer towardsthe unusual, by emotional risksare as likelyas the way, so youshould be financial. Remember that old prepared forafew surprises saying,’neverfight abattle you ACROSS DOWN over the coming days. can’t win’. 1Deficiency of days in autumn? 2Itbeatstodeath (9) (5) GEMINI (May22-June 21) SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec 22) 8Window giving different view 3What asnakemay do to make Youshould tryto The financial of the Loire(5) one nervous (6) discoverwhy situation should 9Flier in aflat spin 4Justtreatment forhonestcard colleagues or nowhaveeased, but (7) players (4,4) associates want to onlytemporarily. 10 Continental ingredient of a 5Idle baker? optout of agreementsand Use all and anynew-found fricassee (6) (6) commitments. It maybethat confidence to getyourself on a 11 Dolt is exceptionallyunmoved 6The lowest,though over fifty, they instinctively knowbetter newand muchmore (6) is still the lowest (7) than youwhat the real situation profitable path. What’s more, 12 Intrude by chance or accident 7Straight thinking on what is. Afinancial question should youmay put your foot down at (8) decongestantsdo be answered by the end of home. On the other hand, 15 Presumablyhewas happy (5,4) the week. there’s no guarantee that whilepainting 11 Indicatewheretofind atourist partners will obey. MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 -July23) (8) attraction (9) Youreallyshould CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) 18 Dancedand swam 13 Dog goes mad forfruit devotealittlemore Youmay keep all (6) (8) attention to sorting significant secrets 20 Do theykeep to the beaten 14 Wartime leader gains weight outrelationships at to yourself fora track? (6) (7) work.Ideally,you should be little while longer, 21 Formic solution to 16 Birddisease operating as partofateam, co- but youshould have your story indigestion? (7) (6) operating with colleagues ready justincase someone 22 Manypieces of wood made to 17 Leave aide gets in full almostasifthey’repartofyour elsespills the beans. Your last? (5) (6) family. Hopefully youwon’t romantic hopes might just 23 Clowning about in aWestern 19 HeatherispartAmerican argue likeyou have done with involve youinadditional cost, film? (9) (5) nearestand dearest. so youshould be prepared to shell out. LEO (July24-Aug 23) SolutionsCrossword4319:Across:1Fastens,4Scrum,7Urns,8Location,10 Partners seem to AQUARIUS (Jan 21 -Feb 19) Tailor-made,12Sherry,13Movies,15Astonished,18Larboard,19Game,20Sided, hold the advantage, Therehavebeen 21Leaflet.Down:1Fault,2Sentinel,3Storms,4Standtowin,5Raid,6Menaces,9 but that shouldn’t be delays,but no matter Correspond,11Highball,12Strolls,14Corral,16Dwelt,17Bred. anybar to you what area of your life enjoying yourself. In fact, the has temporarily best fun youcan have is by stalled, youcan bring in other following other people’s lead people to help out. Withthe and joining in with whatever right tone of voice, youcan even JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel5s they suggest.You might actually getthem to do your dirty work Instructions find that youenjoysomething foryou, which is no mean feat. Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, that you’dalways avoided. Youmight have to return the favour,later. therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4343 VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23) theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe Hewhois___inacageyearnsforthecage.-YevgenyYevtushenko(9) Do listencarefullyto PISCES (Feb 20 -Mar 20) nineverticalcolumns,in what partners are This is the time to eachoftheninehorizontal saying, and if you’re press ahead with DGEEO RECCOS 4344 rowsandineachofthe at all telepathic, try supreme nineboxes. and work out what they’re confidence. The

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I Raisa Faiyaj Shaikh Old NameMustak spouse of no-15561852A Abdulkadar Shaikh. HavShaikhFaiyaj New Name is Mustaque Hasan change my name Abdulkadar Shaikh as from RaeesatoRaisa per Gazette No. (P- Faiyaj Shaikhvide 202855)0090280062-2 affidavit no 11/2021 dated04/01/2021 Old NameSuraj Kumar 0090280047-1 Shaha New Name Suraj ShilendraShahaasper My old name Shutarupa Affidavit No. B25/2021 SujaiBaraokar Changed My old name Artiben 0090280062-3 BUSINESS I, ArmyNo. JC331998H to new name as Rupa Ashishbhai More Rank-SUB MAJ, Name SujaiBaraokar vide Siddique Mohammed POULTRY Changed to new name MoreDilip Haibati Adhar CardNo Shaikhchangd to Siddiq as ArtiAshish Moreas declares my wife’s 334056844918 Dated Mohammed Shaikh per Aadhaar CardNo. wrong name 10/02/2013. 90280064-2 Adhar 4857 4320 2442 7688 3313 8765 Dnyaneshwari 0090280051-1 0090280064-7 corrected to My old name Nita Raju Dnyaneshwari Dilip Nair Changed to new My old name Manas I, RUPALI spouse of No. name as Ritu Raju Nair Morevide Affidavit No. Deepak Khadechanged JC 383458Y, Rank SUB vide Adhar CardNo 09 date 4jan 2021 to new nameAmitaabh Name SANKPAL 267966697199 Dated 0090280056-1 SANJAYKUMAR 22/12/2020 Aryagazette no. 020125 SAMPATRAOpresently I have changedmyold 0090280064-3 0090280041-1 residing at Village - name Miss. Ujwala I ArmyNo. JC383458Y, My old name wasKetan Murum, Post. Hiralal AwatadetoMrs. Rank SUB, Name : Ramesh Thakker and my Sakharwadi,Tal. Sandhya Sanjay SANKPAL new name is Ketan Phaltan, Dist.Satara. Lawand, resi. 49, sai SANJAYKUMAR RameshThakkarvide StateMaharashtra, Pin bungalow, plotno. 35, SAMPATRAOR/at. 3 affidavit B3833/ 2020 -415522.have changed new vikasnagar, Khed, Military Training Regt. My old name wasSonal my name from RUPALI tal &dist. Satara. Both C/o56APO.hereby to RUPALI names aresame. declares that in my Ketan Thakkerand my NECC suggested farm- SANJAYKUMAR Affidavit no. 8465, Service Recordmy new name is Sonal Ketan gateprice for 100eggs SANKPAL vide Affidavit 09.03.2020. 90280067-1 daughter’s name has Thakkar vide affidavit on 06.01.2021 in Pune No. 2301-2020 dated been wrongly entered B3832/ 2020 without tray is Rs.530/- I have changedmyname 29/12/2020 before as “SAKSHI” my (FiveHundred and from Rani Kashinath I, Mukta Roy,wife of JC- Notary.Govt. of India, daughter’s correct No. 25232762, 9922220985. ThirtyRupees Only) Sapkal to Vinaya Nitin 340036A SubedarMajor DehuRoad, Pune. name is “SAKSHI BANDGARDEN RD - Phone:NECC24270724, Dalvi vide aff 2922-21 Sunil Kumar Roy c/o ADVERTISEMENT 0090279933-4 SANKPAL”Vide Aff. No. Apex Advtg, 26336377, Dealer: dated 05.01.2021 CME, Pune-411031 2303-20 dated DEPOTS Mapadan Firlosh, OfficeNo26- 24332689,24455130, My old name Kishor 0090280059-1 29/12/2020. changemydateofbirth 6-7-8, AshokaMall, Opp. Sun & 24265787. 090272256-1 Kumar Uprade Changed AUNDH- 0090279933-3 from 21/07/1977 to to new name as Kishor I armyNo8032753X Ex- Suyog Enterprises, Sand Hotel, Bandgarden Rd, Pimpri Chinchwad 29/07/1979 vide affidavit Yavakraj Uprade vide NK B.B.Raosaheb, I have changed my old C/oSandeep Book Stall, Swajas Pune. Broilers Traders no. 26/2021. Adhar CardNo residing at 119/8 name from Madhuri Complex, Parihar Chowk, Ph. No. 8975758860. Association Rate On 775512099914 Dated Sambhaji nagar, chintaman Nawathe to My old name Neeta Aundhgaon,Pune-7. Mob. BHAWANI PETH - 06.01.2021 ForLiveBig 9422011181. 23/07/2018 arangaonroad, Barshi. new name SnehaSunil PadmakarSupekar Globe Enterprises, Birds Rs.108/- Live Chordia Communications, 0090280064-4 Post-Tehsil -Barshi, Salvekar as per aadhar changed to new name Tanveer Rehman Shaikh, 718, small Birds Rs.123/- Al_ Arshad Ajit Chordia. 17/18, Dist- Solapur, State- cardno223787158369 Achala Ajeet Pathak Bhawani Peth, Poona College Taqdeer Broiler(Siraj Aundh Gaon, opp. laneof I, No. JC 352763K (AWW) Maharashtra declare 0090280064-5 Road, Pune-1. Shaikh 9822931357 , gazette no.P-2039485 Cosmos Bank,Aundh, Pune-7. Rank SUB Name that my wife name in M. 9890073883. 7720080489. 90279428-1 My old name Ashishbhai Tel: 25886118, 9960111123. Mohammad Shahim my service record BHOSARI - NarayanMoreChanged Shraddha Ads, Mrs.Ujwala Pune Broilers Traders’ Khan declares my son’s wrongly mentioned as to new name as Ashish EDUCATION Kotbagi, 'A' wing, Vastu-sunder, Samvad Ads., Association Rate On wrong name Fahim Suwarna Balachandra NarayanMoreasper Near Kumar Classic, Pune-7. Tel. Near Gawli uilding, 06.01.2021 ForLiveBig Ahmedcorrected to her correct name is Aadhaar Card No 7500 YOGA 9371055799. Pune Nashik Highway,Bhosari, Birds Rs.108/- Live Fahim AhmedKhan vide Suvarna Bhalchandra Pune 411039. 4285 4447.0090280064-6 Meditation-112 different San Ads, Tandoori Birds Rs.122/- Affidavit No. 05 Dated 04 Bone Affidavitno308. waystomeditate find Anurag, Plot No. 10, near Kobe CHINCHWAD - Momin Poultry (Asif Jan 2021. 0090280056-2 Date 31/12/2020 My old name Sunita what best suits your Silzler Cave,Aundh-411007. Tel: Impex Advertising, Momin) 26336349. 0090280042-2 PradhanChanged to I, No. 14814186X, Sep, personility &lifestyle 25881302/3/4. Mr. Ashfaque A. Shaikh, C-25, 0090279855-1 new name as Sunita APPA BALWANT CHOWK - Nalavade Shashikant I armyNo8032753X Ex- call or msg Manoj MIDC Comml. Building No.1, Nr Subas Lenkavide Adhar M/s V. V. Medhi, Sheetal Agro Traders Hanumant, Name of My NK B.B.Raosaheb, Gokhale B.E.COEP, I.B.M.R. College, hinchwad, CardNo255744492081 Varun Medhi, 153, Budhwar Today’sEx-Shop Son Changed From 25yrs. experience You Pune-411019. Ph. no. 27470282/ residing at 119/8 Dated17/12/2020. Peth, Near Jogeshwari Temple, delivery for livesmall Adarsh to Adarsh tube-Parth Yuva 9822792583. Sambhaji nagar, 0090280064-1 Opp.GanrajBooks, Above DTDC birds sizebetween1.3 to Shashikant Nalawade. arangaonroad, Barshi. Gurukul what’sapp - Mayureshwar Enterprise, 1.5 rate at PuneRs.128/- Old Name Iram Courier, 2nd floor, Pune-2. Ph. Affidavit No. 279. Post-Tehsil -Barshi, 9823046273. 90279969-1 Latish Balkawade,Chaphekar per Kg.7776024132, Farooque Shaikh. New No. 9028967505, 8793647505, 0090280050-2 Dist- Solapur, State- Chowk, Chinchwadgaon, Pune. 7588532184. 90274713-1 Name is Siddiqua Abdul (020) 24492149. Maharashtra declare BIBVEWADI - Ph.no. 9422082164. I, Manjushree,Spouse of Aziz Sufi as per Gazette SITUATION VACANT Simra Trading rates for that my son’s name in Ad Services, Raka Advertising, No. 3005574Y,Sep, Kale No. (P-1725587) 100 eggs. Selling price AmolNalawade, Mrs. Vimal Bafna, Raka Sachin Chandrakant, my service record 0090280062-1 MANAGER Rs.538/- Contact Resident-Satara, Have wrongly mentioned as Sr. No.659/28, Rajiv Gandhi Chambers, Bombay-Pune Road, Wanted Manager for Atur 9922117736. Changed My Name Deepak Bhalchandra Old Name Survase Nagar, Upper Last Bus Stop, Chinchwad Park CHS,Mangaldas Bibvewadi, Pune-17. Mobile 0090273863-1 From Manjushree To Bainbone his correct Hrushank Nilesh New Station, Pune-19.Ph. no. Name PalHrushank Road, Pune-1, Working 9420729914, 9021851460 Vencobb today’s ex- Manjushri SachinKale. name is Bone Dipak 27475055/ 27472250. Davinder as per time 9am to 2pm Akash Advtg, shop delivery rate at Affidavit No.5682 Bhalchandra. Affidavit CAMP - Affidavit no. preference will be given C. S. Sawar, 645/1, Shop No.4, Pune Rs.86/- per kg. 0090280050-1 no 306.Date 31/12/2020 Ad India, B21212/2020 to the candidate Rasakar Campus, Bibawewadi Contact (9522) 0090280042-1 Office No. 102,1st Floor,Sterling I, Gangawati, Spouse of 0090280062-4 residing within 5kmand MainRoad, Bibawewadi, Pune- 22872417,Pune (9520) Centre, Opp. Hotel Aurora No.JC-181892H,EX I Rajni Rawatw/o Deepak 37. Tel: 9922221261. 24269414. 0090272255-1 I, Vidya,spouse of No. having 2wheeler, age Towers, M.G. Road,Pune-1. Ph. Subedar Major &Hony Singh Rawatresident of 45- 50yrs Similar Ganesh Advertising, 15565567Y HAV/ ARTSN Mr. VijayDeshmukh,S.no. No. 26131993,26135659, Mo: LT,Gaikwad NCO Qtr 129/3 NDA, experience is amust pls CHANGE OF NAME (C)Dinkar Sarjerao 672/2a /2b, Ganesh Complex, 9422083670. Vishwanath Vithal, Pune-411023 have send Biodata on Mohite, R/O120 Engr Shop No.3, Bibvewadi, Pune-37. Hindustan Advertising Agency, My old nameGagandeep Resident- Khandala, changed my name from Regt, CME, Pune - whatsapp 9130039575 Ph.no. 24219660,9822841930. Mr. Hiroo Surtani, 7, Gitanjali Jasbirsingh Ahidi Have Changed My Rajni RawattoRajani 411031 have changed and on email: BAJIRAO ROAD - Kunj, changed to new name as Name From Gangawati Rawatvide Affidavit No. Gagandeepsingh my name from Vidhya [email protected] Sri Ganesh Advertising, Opp. Nehru Memorial Hall, to Ganga Vishwanath 584/2020 dated 28 Dec Jasbirsingh Ahidi as per to VidyaDinkar Mohite mContact:Ram R. Nirmala, R. Ravi, 'Remedy', Ambedkar Road, Pune-1. Ph. No. Gaikwad. Affidavit No. 2020 beforenotary Aadhaar CardNo6634 vide affidavit no. Keswani, Hon. secretory 1929, Bajirao Road, Opp. 26138113, 26133510, Fax: 12428. 0090280050-3 pune. 0070726162-1 2873 4908. 0090280022-8 6523/202090280091 0090280011-1 Telephone Bhavan, Pune-30. Ph. 26131487.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 15 ECONOMY GOLD RUPEE OIL SILVER `50,969 `73.17 $53.24 `69,693

Note:Gold,silverrates at Delhi spotmarket;gold per 10 g, silverper 1kg; Brent crude as of 0000IST SENSEX: 48,437.78 ▲ 260.98 NIFTY: 14,199.50 ▲ 66.60 NIKKEI: 27,158.63 ▼ 99.75 HANG SENG: 27,649.86 ▲ 177.05 FTSE: 6,565.55 ▼ 6.33 DAX: 13,672.29 ▼ 54.45

Internationalmarket data till 1900IST WEB ACCESS FINANCE MINISTRYREPORTONPOST-VACCINATIONGROWTHPATH PM: Working to boost ECONOMIC IMPACT ‘Recoverytobankoneconomic gas connectivity at an ‘India lost $2.8 bn activities,increasedmobility’ unprecedented level in 2020 to Internet ENSECONOMICBUREAU NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 sumptionineconomicactivityand generatedandhighway tollcollec- shutdowns;over ENSECONOMICBUREAU DOWNSIDERISK increasedmobilityareexpectedto tion rising above pre-Covid levels. PRIMEMINISTERNarendra Modi NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 leadtowards apath of economic MonthlyGST collections at- on Tuesday inaugurated GAIL’s ■The downside risk recovery in theaftermath of the tainedtheir recordlevelsin 450-km Kochi-Mangaluru natu- double of 20 others’ AFTER THE vaccination forthe remains due to the Covid-19pandemic,” it said. December.GrossGSTrevenuecol- ralgaspipeline,withacapacityto Covid pandemic, resumption in spread of the UK variant India has been successfulin lected in December 2020 was transport12millionstandardcu- Prime MinisterNarendra economic activity and increased and fatigue from social bending the Covid curvetill now, Rs 1,15,174 crore, the highestsince bic meters of natural gasper day. Modiinaugurates the PRANAVMUKUL mobility areexpected to lead to- distancing guidelines, with“reducingweekly/dailyinfec- itsrollout on July 1, 2017. Constructed at acostof Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 wardsapath of economic recov- the reportsaid. tions, rising recovery rate (nowat Theliquiditysituationremains Rs3,000crore,hesaidthepipeline pipeline via video link. PTI ery, theFinanceMinistrysaidinits around95percent)andoneof the comfortable as the accumulation is part of the government’s One INDIA SUFFERED the biggest monthlyeconomic report. world’s lowest case fatality rates”. of dollarsalongwiththegrowthof NationOneGasGridprogramme, economic impact in the world Approval of the long-awaited indicatorsandV-shapedrecovery The downside risk,however, re- currencyincirculationareenhanc- aimedatboosting the shareof growth of these twostates,” the in 2020 due to Internetshut- Acostlyexercise Covid-19vaccineprovides alongwitheasingof lockdownre- mains due to the spread of the UK ingliquidityinthebankingsystem natural gasinIndia’s primaryen- Prime Ministersaid. He added downs, adding up to 8,927 strengthto theoptimismonhealth strictionsdistinguishIndianecon- variantandfatiguefromsocialdis- despitethe averagedailynet ab- ergybasket from6.3percentcur- that the countrywas nowwork- hoursand $2.8 billion losses. WITH INCREASING de- and economic fronts,itsaid, omyasone riding againstthe tancing guidelines, it said, adding sorptions by the RBI risingin rentlyto15per cent by 2030. ing towardsboosting connectiv- Of the 21 countries that pendence on theInternet, adding prospectsoffasterrecov- Covid wave,” the reportsaid. theemphasisoncontinuedobser- December,comparedtothe pre- Thepipelinewouldreduceen- ity, “whether it is highway con- curbed Webaccess lastyear, especiallyinthe aftermath eryinemerging economiesand The approval of the vaccine vation of ‘Covid appropriate’ be- ceding month, the reportsaid. ergy costs forthe poor,middle nectivity,railway connectivity, as per areport by the UK- of the Covid pandemic, potentialgrowthprospectsdriven andinitiationof vaccinationdrives haviour with due exercise of cau- The credit growth improved classandindustry, helpsupply gas metroconnectivity,airconnectiv- basedprivacy and security re- shutting of services even in by vaccine availabilityhavebol- in countries givesstrengthtoop- tion and surveillance needs to be sharplyasreflectedinstrongnon- to city gasdistribution systems, ity,waterconnectivity,digitalcon- search firm Top10VPN,the small regions hitsaccess to steredmarketsentimentandvac- timism on both health and eco- sustained. Citing pickupsome of foodcredit rise and overall credit boostdevelopmentof CNGtrans- nectivity or gasconnectivity, “at economic impact seen in services suchaspayments, cine prospectsare expected to nomic fronts despitecontinuing the high-frequencydata, the re- growth, thankstothe Emergency portation in manycities, supply an unprecedentedlevel. India wasmorethan double healthcare, commerce, edu- boostoil demand in the country. surge in global cases,the Monthly portsaidthe sustainedspurtin Credit Line Guarantee Scheme low-costenergy to fertiliser,che- Addressing the event, Chief the combinedcostfor the cation, etc—adding up to “Theeffective managementof Economic Review forDecember commercial and industrial activ- (ECLGS), whichcontinues to sup- mical and petrochemical plants MinisterPinarayiVijayansaidthe next 20 countries in the list. economic losses. Covid-19spread despitethe fes- said.“Theapprovalof thevaccines ity wasfurther corroborated by portrobustcredit disbursements beside reducing pollution in both completion of the pipeline wasa The reportaddedthat the tive seasonandonsetofthewinter across the worldhas ignited opti- continuedgrowth in PMI manu- to MSMEs,withRs2.05lakhcrore Kerala and Karnataka,Modi said. promiseby hisgovernmentto the actualeconomic impact for season, combinedwith sustained mismforeconomicrecoveryinthe facturing,powerdemand,persist- sanctionedto80.93 lakh borrow- “Thepipeline will have apos- people of Kerala. WITH INPUTS India maybeevenhigher than Netblocks and Internet improvement in high-frequency newyear.Post-vaccination,there- ent improvement in e-way bills ers under ECLGS 1.0. itive impact on the economic FROMTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM the $2.8 billion figure—which Society,whichuses the itself wasdouble the losses on BrookingsInstitution Method. account of Internetshut- Regional shutdown costs downs in 2019,with busi- were calculatedby determin- COVID-19 IMPACT RBI fines Bajaj Finance for nesses in 2020 anyway hit ingtheregion’seconomic out- due to the Covid lockdown. put as aproportion of itsna- Share of US violating recovery practices “As in previous years, India tional gross domestic product. ‘Inbound M&As fall 7% to $73.6 bn in 2020’ 79.7%investments, continuedtorestrictInternet The reportdefines an Overall inbound mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in 2020 failed to notchupthe previous i.e. worth $3.5 billion, in Mumbai: The Reserve Bankhas as partofits debt collection ef- access morethan anyother Internetshutdown as “an in- year’s tally,withthe value falling 7% to $73.6 billion lastyear,asper aRefinitivreport overall outbound M&As imposedapenaltyofRs2.5 crore forts” and therebyfailing to ad- country—over 75 times in tentional disruption of on BajajFinance forviolation of heretothe directions issuedby 2020. The majority of these Internetorelectronic com- ~$23 BILLION: Worth of inbound M&A deals 11.5%: Fall in volume of code of conduct in outsourcing of the RBI, the central bank said. shortblackoutswerehighly munications,rendering them Value of equity investment over last three years outboundM&As in 2020, financialservicesandfairpractices “Therewerealsopersistent targeted,affectinggroups of inaccessible or effectively un- deals accounted for by 2019 2018 2017 compared to 2019 code pertaining to collection and repeat complaintsabout re- villages or individual city dis- usable, foraspecific popula- Reliance Group alone in 2020, $79.13 $132.2 $58.3 methodsbyrecovery agents. covery and collectionmethods tricts, and so were notin- tion or withinalocation, often with $16 billion into Jio and $36.8 billion: Value of The action wastaken forits adoptedbythe company,”itsaid. cludedinthis report, which to exertcontrol over the flow over $6.4 billion into billion billion billion domestic M&As, falling failureto“ensure thatitsrecovery Anoticewasissuedtothefirmad- focuseson largerregion-wide of information”. Reliance Retail Source: Refinitiv/PTI 12.4% from 2019 agentsdid notresorttoharassm- vising it to showcause as to why shutdowns,” it said. An e-mail querysent to entorintimidation of customers fine should notbeimposed. ENS The reportmade asepa- the MinistryofElectronics rate mention of the extended and Information Technology curbs on Internetuse in had notelicited aresponseat SC agrees to Kashmir, withsuspensionof the time of going to press. Future Retail, Amazon agree services lasting from August While restrictions in J&K 2019 —whenJ&K’sspecial accounted forthe highest hear DoT status wasscrapped—to shareofInternetblackoutsin on 3-member SIAC panel March 2020,andstill remain- the country,localisedshut- challenge on ing severely throttled, with downs were seen in regions only2Gaccess available. in Arunachal Pradesh, in- licence fee AASHISHARYAN The arbitration process is Calling it “thelongestInternet cluding LowerSubansiri, NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 slated to startoverthe next shutdown in ademocracy”, Upper Subansiri,Lower the reportsays, “Therestric- Dibang Valley, Lohit, Tirap, exemption THE ARBITRATION tussle betweene-com- fortnight and both the parties tions have negativelyim- Changlang, Itanagar Capital mercegiantAmazonandKishoreBiyani-led expect it to be over within the pacted the distributionof Region, Papum Pare,Tawang, FutureRetailmovedastepaheadwithboth next 45-60 days,asource said medicine, businesses and EastKameng, West Kameng, ENSECONOMICBUREAU the parties agreeing to thenames of the schools.”Accordingto thelat- EastSiang, West Siang, NEWDELHI,JANUARY 5 three arbitrators required for the process, estTelecom Regulatory Leparada andUpper Siang, in sourcesintheknowofthedevelopmenttold lawfirm Hanotiau&van den Berg, and Authority of India data, as of November,and in severalre- THE SUPREME Courton The Indian Express.The arbitration will be Professor Jan Paulsson, foundingpartner at October 31,therewere11.70 gions of Meghalayain Tuesdayagreedtohear the held at the Singapore International London-based lawfirm Three Crowns LLP, million wireless subscribers February. Department of Telecomm- Arbitration Centre(SIAC). according to thesources. in the J&K circle. “Dependence on the unications’ (DoT) challengetoa The three-member arbitration panel The arbitration process is slated to start While the economic im- Internethas increasedand, Telecom Disputes Settlement willbeled by Michael Hwang, aformerju- over the next fortnightand boththe parties pact due to Internetcurbs therefore, when ashutdown Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) dicial commissioner of the Supreme Court expect it to be over within the next 45-60 surgedinIndia in 2020, glob- happens, access to anumber October 2019 judgmentin of Singapore. Hwang, currentlyanarbitra- days,one of the sources said. Detailed ally, at $4.01 billion,thiscame of essential services is re- whichthe appellatetribunal tor, focusesoninternationalarbitrationand queries sent to Amazon andthe Future downby50percentfrom2019. stricted... Therewas asix-day- had setaside the DoT’s demand mediation.The othertwo co-arbitrators in Group seeking confirmation on the names As per the report, the long ban in Hooghlynear of including revenue from pure the panelare Professor Albert Janvan den of thearbitratorsorthetimelineof thearbi- worldsaw 93 major shut- KolkatainMay,and this was internet services in theadjusted Berg, afounding partner at Belgium-based trationremainedunanswered. downs during the pandemic- whenthepandemicwasatits gross revenue (AGR) forlevyof strickenyear.Apartfrom peak.People lostemploy- licence feeonthe internetserv- India, the reportfeatures ment, lawyers could notat- ice providers. Belarus, Myanmar, Yemen, tend hearings, people who The apexcourtwill hear the PIDF scheme operationalised Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, dependedononline pharma case in April. It has meanwhile Syria, Iran, Tanzania, stores could notorder medi- asked both theparties to main- Venezuela and Somalia. cines and therewerestudents tain status quoonthe issue. ENSECONOMICBUREAU LEI mandatory for Countries suchasChina and who couldn’t attend online In itschallengetothe TDSAT MUMBAI,JANUARY5 transactions over `50 cr North Korea, whichare classes... Also, thereisnosolid judgmentof2019, the DoTsaid known to restrict accesstothe methodology forcalculating thatthe tribunal’s judgment THERESERVEBankof Indiahasoperationa- Mumbai: The RBI has decidedtoin- Internet, arenot in the list pre- the full impact of an Internet would cause “graveloss to the lisedPaymentsInfrastructureDevelopment troduce the Legal Entity Identifier pared by Top10VPN. shutdown, becauseinIndia, exchequer” as manyservice Fund(PIDF)Scheme,fromJanuary1.Itaims (LEI)systemforallpaymenttransac- To calculate the economic the shutdowns arehyper-lo- providers who claimtobe to subsidisedeploymentof paymentaccept- tions of value Rs 50 croreand above costofInternetshutdowns, calised,” said Prasanth “pure”internetservice ance infrastructureinTier-3 to Tier-6 cen- undertakenbyentities(non-individ- the firm usedthe “Costof Sugathan, legal director providers have approached tres with special focus on North-eastern uals) using theRBI-run Centralised Shutdown Tool” from at SFLC.in. seeking either exemption or re- states and envisages creating 30 lakh new PaymentSystems. ENS fund of licence feefromDoT. touchpointseachyearfordigitalpayments. BRIEFLY IL&FS TAMIL NADU POWER COMPANY STAKE SALE World Bank RoDTEPreportin ED attaches shares sees global nextfewweeks NewDelhi:Apanelto fixceil- worth `452 cr held output up ingratesunderadutyrefund scheme RoDTEP forexport- 4% in 2021 ers is expectedtosubmit its by Singapore firm reportinnextfew weeks, FinanceSecretaryAjayBhu- violation of the terms and condi- REUTERS shan Pandeysaid. KHUSHBOONARAYAN tionsof thesharepurchaseagree- WASHINGTON,JANUARY5 MUMBAI,JANUARY5 ment.“JaiminVyasthereafterno- minatedSEPCOasEPCcontractor THE GLOBAL economyisex- RBIpaperonrate THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate and got kickbackinguiseoffees pected to expand 4per cent in cuttransmission (ED) has provisionallyattached forconsultancyservices.Thesame 2021after shrinking4.3 per cent sharesworthRs452crore,or8.86 moneywasroutedasequityinve- in 2020, the WorldBank said on Mumbai: Ariseincreditmay per cent stake, in IL&FSTamil stmentinITPCL.Subsequently, IT- Tuesday, although it warnedthat notfind itsway towardsin- NaduPowerCompanyLtd(ITPCL), PCL paid SEPCOIII the amount rising Covid infections and delays vestmentsasbusinessesmay allegedly heldby ashellcompany (paid earlier by SEPCO to Jaimin in vaccine distribution could limit usecreditlinestofinancelia- basedinSingapore,ASCoalPte,in Vyas) by inflating the value of the the recovery to just 1.6per cent bilities,saidanRBIpaper.PTI connectionwithitsongoingprobe contractand paymentswerealso this year. intothe InfrastructureLeasing & madeintheguiseof early comple- The WorldBank’s semi-an- FinancialServices(IL&FS)collapse. tion of project,”the ED stated . nual forecastshowedthe col- Sleepwellhealth OwnedbyJaimin Vyas, aBrit- TheIndian Express had repor- lapse in activity due to the coro- initiative ishnational,ASCoalPteisaccused tedthat Grant Thornton had rai- navirus pandemic wasslightly of defrauding IL&FS and Indian sedconcernsoverthetransaction less severe than previouslyfore- NewDelhi:Sleepwellcondu- banksallegedlyinconnivance underlying the sale of ITPCL’s cast, but the recovery wasalso cteditsthird‘RunforHealth’ with the officials of IL&FS and a shares to AS Coal. It found that moresubduedand still subject to marathon on January3am- Chinese EPC contractor SEPCOIII. SEPCOallegedly providedfinanc- considerable downside risk. “The ong itsemployees to prom- TheEDhasallegedthatITPCL’s ialassistanceof aboutRs800crore near-termoutlookremains otefitness and health. ENS right to select theEPC contractor to entities associated with Vyas, highly uncertain,” the Bank said wasillegally delegated to Vyas in foracquisition of ITPCL shares. in astatement.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,JANUARY6,2021 ISL: MUMBAI BREEZE PAST BENGALURU Mumbai CityFCextended their unbeaten run in the Hero Indian Super League with acomfortable 3-1win over Bengaluru FC at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday. Goals from Mourtada Fall (9'), Bipin Singh (15') and Bartholomew Ogbeche (84') helped the Islandersremain unbeaten in their last eight games and climb to the SPORT top of the table. Sunil Chhetri(79') scored late but it wasn't enough to rescue BFC,who have nowsuffered 16 PTI three straight league defeats forthe first time ever since they joined the elite tier of Indian football.

Shuttlers face quarantine Saini, triedand tested challenge Pacer’s coachand contemporaries believe he will rise to the occasion if handedadebut in Sydney

SHIVANINAIK VISHALMENON MUMBAI,JANUARY5 NEWDELHI,JANUARY5 How Rahul’s injury helps OLYMPICCHAMPION CarolinaMarinposted NAVDEEP SAINI is yettomakehis Test de- her quarantine videowhereshe usesaresist- but, even though he has riseninthe ranks anceband,achair&atowelinsideherBangkok over the lasttwo seasons to become one of Vihari’s prospects hotelroom.Wrappingupanimprovisedwork- India’s mostpromising white-ball bowlers. out of planks, burpees, upper body stretches The injurytoUmesh Yadavhas put thespot- and sit-ups,she is leaning on Colombian light on Saini ahead of the thirdTestin Achangeatthe topofthe batting order beckons both sidesinSydney. Aback-from- crooner Maluma's hitSpanish number 'Parce' Sydneythat begins on Thursday. Does the injury Rohit Sharma is settoreplacethe struggling Mayank Agarwal, while not-a- to makepeace with lifeconfinedtofourwalls. scrawny pacer from Taraori, Haryana, with fully-fit David Warner will be hurried backtosolve Australia’s opening trauma. On another floorofthe hotel, Chinese Taipei's awhippybowling action possessthe skillset TaiTzu Ying is using herassignedcrate of wa- and technical nous to survive therigours of Therecould be apair of debutants too, Navdeep Saini anear-certainty as theinjured terbottles forweight training. Test cricketinAustralia? Yadav’s replacement while thehosts could hand out theBaggy Green to Will Badminton'ssecond returninpandemic His teammates and coaches from Delhi, Pucovski, should they plan to push MatthewWade down theorder. season forathree-tournament clusterat who have watchedhim makethe seamless Thailand, is witnessing one of the strictest progression to international cricket,believe KL’s wristniggle ensures Vihari’s longevity quarantine regulations imposedoninterna- he has what it takestomakeaninstant im- tionalathletes.Starvedof world-classcompe- pact with the redKookaburra ball. Brute KL Rahul’s wristsprain has endedspecula- tition however, shuttlersare finding newer pace, marriedtothe ability to extract re- tion on him displacingHanumaVihari from ways to getthrough the confinements. Using verse swing, theysay,are some of the at- themiddle order.The Andhrabatsman, de- socialmediato set'bio-bubble'trends,TaiTzu's tributes that notonlymakethe 28-year-old spiteapromising starttohis career,has fal- proposedone-kneefitnesschallengeofclutch- amouth-watering proposition, but also the teredsofar in theseries. Three outings have ingtheanklebehindthebackandstandingup ideal candidatetofill in the void createdby fetchedhim only45runs, whichtriggered while balancing on one foot,has takenoff in Umesh’s absence. the possibility of Rahul’s Test comeback. individual Bangkok rooms to much gleeful “There’s no doubt that he will relish bowl- Therewas also the possibilityofRahul open- posts on Instagram as pillows andslippers are ing in Brisbane, but Ialso believe that he will ing the innings with Sharma batting at No 5. fashionedtocushion kneesfromgrazing. be equallypotent in Sydney.Eventhough it’s Navdeep Saini’sDelhi teammates feel the bowler’sbrutepace,marriedtothe ability Butthe injury he sustainedduring practice India's SainaNehwal afterposting an in- apitchthat tends to getabrasiveand assist to extract reverseswing, makehim an ideal candidatefor the SydneyTest. Express has ruledout the options, and with no other candescent selfie, howeverrevealedher dis- spinners,the resultant footmarks will pro- middle-order alternatives in the squad, pleasureatsome rules. In aseries of tweets, vide Navdeep with the opportunity to getre- Vihari is settofeature in both Tests, irrespec- she said: "The physios and trainers cannot verse swing. He is devastating when the ball helped him improvehis fitness levels dra- urallydangerous againstleft-handers. tive of form. meetusduring the entiretourafter all of us begins to reverse,” SanjeevSharma, who was matically. He is moremuscularnow and it “The worldhas seen his pace in ODIs but have tested negative ?How is it possibleto Delhi’s bowling coachwhen Saini made his has played aroleinhis evolution. Youwill his biggeststrength is howhecombines that maintain ourselves." She also addedthat the First-Class debut sevenyears ago, tells The neversee Saini dropping his pace. Whether pace with heavy balls. And he used to pro- stipulated onehour dailypractice and gym Indian Express. it’s his firstspell of the dayorlast, he is con- duce that on Indian tracks,not easy.Tall, slim Warner acertainty,not so Saini favouritetodebut "was notenough to be in perfect shape." She “Getting the ball to reverse at 130kmph sistentlyoverthe 140kmphmark. Woh and easy action -you don’tevenrealise how his partner continuedthather preparation washam- is afutileexercise. It’s when bowlers begin kabhithaktanahin (He doesn’t gettired),” quickhecan be,asitfeels he bowlswithin Navdeep Saini, touted as the future strung without help from physios. to reverse it consistentlyat145kmph that it Sangwanexplains. himself and yetisveryquick,”Fazal feels. “If So desperateare Australia to ad- pace spearhead of his country, has She howeverhad misread the rules and instils fear intobatsmen. Saini has perfected he plays the next Test,Ican see him troubling dresstheir opening woes that they come close to debuting in acouple of jumpedthe gun,for it wasonlyfor the first this, whichmakes him dangerous.” Banking on speed the left-handers. His natural ball movesaway would readilygreet David Warner, instances. This time, though, he looks three days of the quarantine that noone was Saini’s Delhi teammatePradeep The left-arm seamerbelievesthat since from them and he can also bowl it from though he is notfullyfit.Interesting closerthan ever before to realising his permittedtostepoutside their rooms till the Sangwan concurs. He cites the example of there’s hardlyany movement in the air in round the stumps. And he is disciplined, though would be theidentity dream. test results came in. Also, allcountries were the2017Ranji Trophysemifinalagainst Australia, it’s imperative forfastbowlersto doesn’t spray theball around, and will build of his openingpartner. He’s notwithout chal-

permittedtwo 1-hr slots on courtinmorning Bengal in Pune to emphasise his point. “I have that extrayardofpace to trouble bats- up pressure.” MatthewWade has not ED lengers though. and evening. clearly remember the wayhebowledinthe men. He believesthat Saini, being essen- Sharma believesSainiisripe forTest done all toopoorly,but is nota Shardul Thakur,who BWFclarifiedthatthesamerulesappliedto second innings of that match. Delhi had tiallyahit-the-deckbowler,willthrive in cricketnow. specialistopener.And has playedaTest AIN everyone:"The Prospect clearly states thatall gaineda100-run lead and when theycame suchconditions. “In contemporarycricket, it’s all about Australia neednot push him againstWestIndies, is athletesandpersonnelmust stay intheirroom out to bowl,Saini justlet it rip. The pitch “On pitches that do notoffer anymove- current form. Ayear back,Isaw Siraj bowl- intodoing odd jobs, as they PL the closestcontestant until practice commences on 6January. It is a wasworn out and it looked likeour spin- ment in the air,you needtohavesomeone ing in aRanji Trophymatchfor Hyderabad have twospecialistopeners in while left-armseamer

EX E● conditionof entrythateveryonefollows this." ners would come intoplay. But he got four bowling reallyquick.Thankfully, despitelos- againstArunachal in Chandigarh, and he the squad —Marcus Harris and TNatarajan is an out- BWFconfirmedreceivingarequest from wickets, all bowled,and allbyreverse- ing Ishant Sharma, MohammedShami and made no impact whatsoever. But look at Will Pucovski. sider in the three-horse race. SainaNehwalto seeherphysioafterwhichshe swingingdeliveries. He took Delhi to the Umesh Yadav, India have threequality pacers himnow…hewas givenanopportunity The latter waswidelyexpected to But Saini’s pace and ability to hit a wasinformedthatthereisaprocedureinplace final on the backofthat performance.” in Jasprit Bumrah, MohammedSiraj and and had the confidence to perform on the debut in Adelaide but forthe concus- hardlength, twoinfluential factors on to allowathletes to see their physios in their Saini, who notonlybowlquick, but can also big stage. Similarly,Idon’t think Saini’s past sion he sustainedduring atour game. Australian decks,should tilt the scales roomsonlyoncepracticecommences."Aspe- Long hours at the gym sustain pressure,” he notes. performances matters. He has been with Nowthat he’s fullyfit, he stands a in his favour. cialprocedure/appointmentisstillneededfor Sangwansays Saini is also blessedwith It’s notjusthis teammates who rave the Indian team forsome time now, and great chance to makehis Test debut. Besides, he has been touring withthe anypersonnel to leave theirroom," the BWF indefatigable energy,aresultofthe hard about Saini but opposition batsmentoo. Faiz knows what is expected of him. Maybe, It means Wade could move down national team as areservebowler spokesperson added. yardsatthe gym and monitoring his diet Fazal, Vidarbha’s Ranji-winning captain and (head coach) Ravi Shastri and (bowling the order,knocking offeither Travis sincethe 2018 tour of South Africa.. Thailand has seen aspike in casesand the closely. “He hasbeeninvolvedwithsome opener,remembers Saini in particular forthe coach) Bharat Arun have picked up some- Head or Cameron Green. SANDIP G capital very stern restrictions on movement, very good people offthe field who have “heavy balls” he delivers, and howheisnat- thing watching him bowl in thenets.” shortonlyoflockdown. Onlytwo personsareallowedperelevator tripand cleaning staffare sanitizing the liftaf- terevery run. Players can leave theroom only Williamson’s double EPL records 40 new COVID-19 cases if their activities aredeclared in advance and granted permission.For thefirst14days of quarantine, three packedmeals will be lefton hundredflattensPakistan Reguilon afterthe trio breachedCOVID-19 tables outside theroom, and theywillbeal- REUTERS The league, whichisnow protocols to attend aChristmas party. lowedtoorder from outside onlyafter two LONDON,JANUARY5 conducting teststwice per Pictures on social media showedthe weeks. Room service can be orderedpostthe ing he hadonlyahandful of overs to reach three Spurs players together at aparty along initialquarantine,viamessangerappsLINEand ASSOCIATEDPRESS his hundred. THE PREMIER League said on Tuesday that a week,did notname the people withWestHam United midfielder Manuel WhatsApp. International athletesnotorious CHRISTCHURCH,JANUARY5 He was93when he came to thefifth over total of 40 individualstestedpositive for who tested positive but said they Lanzini. Under British government guide- forleavingassortedparaphernaliaonunkempt whichWilliamson indicated waspositively COVID-19, the highestnumber of cases in a lines setonDec. 19,those living in Tier 4re- hotelbedsforhousekeepingto pickafterthem, KANE WILLIAMSON scored 238, thefourth the lastofthe NewZealand innings. With a week this season, in tworounds of testscon- will self-isolate for10days. gions suchasLondon, wherethe twoclubs while theygoout to conquerchampionships, double-century of his career and his second single, apair of twos andaboundary, he ducted lastweek. arebased, were notallowedtomix withoth- willnow beobligatedtomaketheirown beds of the summer, as New Zealand declared reachedhis centuryfromthe fifthball and Since the newseasonkickedoff,171 indi- and Tottenham Hotspur were calledoff due ers outside their ownhouseholdover andleave noitemonit,if theyexpectthelinen with a362-run lead over Pakistanonthe wasleft102 notout. viduals in the English top-flight have tested to aCOVID-19outbreak at the west London Christmas. to be changed. thirdday of the second cricketTest. Pakistanopeners Shan Masood and Abid positive forthe novelcoronavirus in 19 club, while ManchesterCity’s matchat “We areextremelydisappointed and Williamson's nine-hour innings and a Ali came to the crease at 6.30 p.m. in gloom rounds of testing. The league, whichisnow Everton wascancelleddue to fresh COVID- strongly condemnthis imageshowing some 369-run fourth-wicketpartnership with liftedalittlebyHagleyOval's newfloodlights conducting teststwice per week,did not 19 cases reportedatthe Etihad club. of ourplayers with familyand friendsto- HenryNicholls, who made 157, propelled whichwereswitchedonfor the firsttime name thepeople who tested positive butsaid The United Kingdom has recordedmore gether at Christmas,” aSpurs spokesperson New Zealand 659-6onTuesdayinreplyto justbefore4p.m. on aday of darkovercast theywill self-isolatefor 10 days. than 2.7 million confirmedCOVID-19cases said in astatement released to British media Pakistan's 297beforethe declaration at 6.18 andshowers in Christchurch. "The Premier League... can todayconfirm and morethan 75,000 deaths, as per a on Saturday. p.m. local time,with 11 overs remaining in Theyhad been in the field for158.5 overs, thatbetween Monday28December and Reuters tally. “The rules areclear,thereare no excep- the day. Williamson brieflydelayedhis dec- almosttwo full days,and the task of facing Thursday31December, 1,311players and Prime MinisterBoris Johnson announced tions, and we regularly remind all our play- laration to allowallrounder Daryl Mitchell, New Zealand'sfresh attackbeforestumps club staffweretestedfor COVID-19. Of these, anew national COVID-19lockdown on ers and staffabout the latestprotocols and son of former All Blacksrugby coachand cur- wasadaunting one. Masood fell foraduck therewere28new positive tests," the league Mondaydue to surging infections in the their responsibilities to adhereand setanex- rent England assistant coachJohn Mitchell, to in the eighth over andPakistanwent to said in astatement here. country caused by anew variant of the virus, ample. The matter willbedealt with inter- reachamaiden test century. stumps at 8-1,still 354behind. “Between Friday1Januaryand Sunday3 but the Premier League willbeallowedto nally.”Reguilon wasnamedamong the sub- Star playerSaina Nehwal took to social Mitchell put on 133with Williamson for BRIEF SCORES: Pakistan297 and 8for 1 January, 984players and club staffwere continue. Earlier,this season's Top5team stitutes for Spurs’ Premier League game at mediaonTuesdaytoexpress her NewZealand's sixth wicket. He was69not (Abid 7*, Abbas 1*, Jamieson 1-1) trail New tested forCOVID-19and of these, therewere Tottenham Hotspur hadcondemnedthe ac- home to Leeds United on Saturday,while displeasurewith certain restrictions. out when teawas takenlateafter arain-af- Zealand 659 for6decl (Williamson 237, 12 newpositives.” tions of itsmidfielders Erik Lamela and Lamela and the injured Lo Celso were both fected secondsession and returnedknow- Nicholls 157, Mitchell 102*) by 354runs Lastweek,Fulham’s games at Burnley Giovani Lo Celso and defender Sergio leftout of the squad.

MEET AND CHEAT Wine &dine with Indian cricketers scam busted, tickets sold at Rs 31K

hadbeen conned. dines at the restaurant,the restaurant is a “The policeluckilycaught the guy and SHAHIDJUDGE Deep Gujral,general manageratManjits quality fine-dine Indian establishment, the he’s in lockup,” Gujral adds. “Nowhe’ll have MUMBAI,JANUARY5 Wharf, toowas takenfor aride by the pro- stars aligned forthis guy to trythisscam,” to startpayingbackfor everything he’s moterofthe event that neverhappened, he says. “Our good name has come intodis- done.” Gujral says that theyhavebeen de- “MEETAND Greetwith the Indian Cricket who has been arrested. reputebecause of this guy. livering meals to the cricketers regularly. Team.”Fliers with this messagehavebeen Speaking to The Indian Express from “We look afterthe catering of the Indian seen at stadiums all through the India- Sydney, Gujralsaid that the alleged fraud- Reality check team wheneverthey’reinSydney. And every Australia ODI and T20 series. For550 ster got in touchwith him in September. “He On Tuesday, the restaurant wasforcedto second daywehaveplayers over here, even Australian dollars(Rs 31,083) per head, got in touchwithusquiteafewmonths break the disappointing news to those who (Virat) Kohli, who is vegan. We have an out- therewas apromise of “amazingfood, beer, back, which is notunusual. Since ours is a clutchedthefake ticketsasaprizedpossession. door section, whichisreserved forthem. The wine and softdrink,fantastic interviews Michelin starredand chef hatted restaurant, “Naturally, nobodywas happy. And we players have my number,sotheycall and tell andQ&A’s”. atable fortwo willtakefourweeks on the empathise and sympathise with them,” me if they’recoming or if theywantsome- The event wastobeheld at the Manjits waitlist,” Gujral said Gujral says. thing delivered,” he says. Wharf restaurant in SydneyonJanuary5, “The depositfor bookingthe entirerestau- “Since it’s apremium restaurant, and as “Right nowwesend food to thehotel, be justwhen the IndianTestsquad wastoland rant is AUD75,000,but he paid onlya1,000 he claimedthe Indian team wascoming, he it their morning Upma or Pongal, or some in Sydney. upfront. When we approachedhim forthe could justify the costinthe scam. Basically of the North Indiandishes. So we have a On Tuesday, closeto200 ticket-holders rest of the deposit we got no answer.Sowe the intention wastosellasmanyticketsas good tie (up) with the team. And they’rethe were expected to land at the venue with the knewhis eventwasn’t going to happen.” possible and run away withthe money. And ones whogavemethe information that this hope of spending an eveningwithIndia's He said since his restaurant wasoften Close to 200ticket-holders were expected to land at thevenuewith the hope of since therestaurant wasalready booked out scam is going on. It’s been over amonth cricketstars. Theyweretobegreeted by the frequented by the cricketers, it wastargeted. spendinganevening with India'scricketstars. we couldn’t letthe people hoping to meet since we informedthe police, who have local police, who informedthem that they “The Indian team anyway frequently the cricketers come in to dine.” nowcaughtthe guy.”

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