DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, , JAIPUR, , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020, KOLKATA SINCE 1932 `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES &ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020

''IMPORTANT'' 15 DEC 1987 Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,itisnot possible to verify its contents. The Indian LNK Udai Lt SM Dutt TA Satyavir Narayan Express (P) Limited cannot be

In fond and ever lasting memory of our heroes, the brave and gallant heldresponsible for such soldiers,who madethe supremesacrifice on 15 Dec 1987 while fighitng the LTTE in “OP PAWAN”. They laid down their lives contents, nor for any loss or in the finest traditions of the VEER RAJPUTSand the Indian Army. Their selflessdevotion and supreme sacrifice will always inspier us. damage incurred as aresult of CO anf All Ranks transactions with companies, 170 Fd Regt "VEER RAJPUT" associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or Publications. We therefore recommend thatreaders make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

GOVT.OFODISHA DELHI JAL BOARD :GOVT.OFNCT OF DELHI OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (EAST)-II RURAL WORKS, CIRCLE, BHAWANIPATNA E-BLOCK :PREET VIHAR :DELHI-110092 O-712 Bid identification No.:- BPT/Online-05/2020-21 Date:10.12.2020 NOTICE INVITING TENDERS FOR ROAD WORKS IN ODISHA “STOP CORANA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene” NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING THROUGH e-Procurement 1. Name of the work : Construction of incomplete Road and Bridges works under State Plan in the District of Nuapada. PRESS NIT No. 22/ E-II (2020-21) 2. No.of work : 1No. S. Name of Work Amount Put Tender Earnest Tender ID No. &Date Last Date/ Time of 3. Location details : Nuapada District No. to Tender Processing Money of Release of tender receipt of tender 4. Estimated Cost : As per NIT. Fee in E-Procurement E-Procurement 5. Period of completion. : As per NIT. Solution Solution 6. Cost of tender paper : Rs.10,000/- per set. 1. Construction of 1.00 ML Capacity Under 2,46,02,218.00 1500.00 4,93,000.00 2020_DJB_197453_1 28-Dec-20 7. Other details. : Ground Water Reservoirat Patparganj 11-Dec-2020 02:00 PM Availability of tender for online bidding Last date &time for seeking tender clarification Date and time of opening of technical bid Industrial Area under DSIIHC (Deposit 06:30 PM From To work) in (AC-59). East-II 17.12.2020 11.00 A.M. 30.12.2020 5.00 P.M. 29.12.2020 31.12.2020 at 11.00 A.M.

Further details can be seen from the web site "www.tendersorissa.gov.in" Further details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in Sd/- Superintending Engineer ISSUED BY PRO (WATER) Sd/- VIJAYSAGAR Rural Works, Circle, Bhawanipatna Advt. No. J.S.V.256/2020-21 EX. ENGINEER (EAST)-II OIPR-25102/11/0005/2021

Yeejle mejkeÀej / GOVERNMENT OF OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, HejceeCeg Tpee& efJeYeeie / DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY v³egefkeÌue³ej He̳etue keÀe@cHueskeÌme / NUCLEAR FUEL COMPLEX R.W.S.&S. DIVISION, NUAPADA. Electrical Projects, 2fnd loor,Sarathi building, ECIL post, Hyderabad-500 062 O-713 1st Corrigendum to Bid Identification No. RWS&S_10/2020-21 NOTICE INVITING TENDER Item rate e-tender in twoPart system are invited on behalf of the President of India by Dy Chief Engineer (CED,EP&PD), address mentioned Remaining unaltered of all terms and conditions, the following changes are hereby made to Bid Identification No. above Phone No. 040-2718-4380 from eligible contractors for the following works. RWS&S_10/2020-21 of the Executive engineer,RWS&S Division, Nuapada by virtue of this corrigendum as Sl. No. Tender Name of work Estimated Cost of the tender/ Tender Document Last Date Last Date mention below: Notice No. Cost (EC) (Rs. transaction fee available on website submission /of As per Original NIT As per Corrigendum in Lakhs) www.tenderwizard.com/DAE uploading submission Date and Time of availability of bid document in the portal: Date and Time of availability of bid document in the portal: for free view &download (for e-tender) of hard 14.12.2020 at 10.00 A.M. 22.12.2020 at 10.00 A.M. of bids copies Last date/Time for receipt of bids in the portal: 23.12.2020 up Last date/Time for receipt of bids in the portal: 29.12.2020 up 1E/611/2020 “Providing of Rs 96.5 Lakhs Rs. 5694/- From :15.12.2020 10.02.2021 16.02.2021 to 5.00 P. M. to 5.00 P. M. (two part AC facility to :10.01.2021 @22:00 hrs @14:00 hrs Date of Opening of bid: 24.12.2020 at 11.00 A.M. Date of Opening of bid: 30.12.2020 at 11.00 A.M. e-Tender) forTube Preparation Sd/- Executive Engineer, Bay at CFFP" RWSS Division, Nuapada at NFC OIPR-25043/11/0004/2021 Hyderabad” Detailed NIT indicating eligibility criteria, method of participation, fees payable and other details is available on website www.nfc.gov.in. Part-1 of e-Tender will be opened on the same day of date of submission of hard copies at 15.00 hrs. Date for opening Part-2 of tender will be intimated subsequently to the qualified bidders. TAMILNADU MEDIcAL SERVIcES coRPoRATIoN LTD. No.417, Pantheon Road, Egmore, -600 008. Phone :28191890 /28190259; Fax: 044–28190636 E-Mail: [email protected] INTERNATIoNAL coMPETITIVE BIDDINg–TENDER EXTENSIoN NoTIcE 1. TheTender due datesare extended as follows: 1) Tender No.PKG3/ICB/TNUHP/JICA/C2/USG/TNMSC/ENGG/2020, dt.04.02.2020 - Ultrasound Machine (5), Ultrasonogram Colour Doppler with 3probes (18) &Portable Ultrasound Machine (6) Central Board of Film Certification 2) Tender No.PKG6/ICB/TNUHP/JICA/C2/OPE-I/TNMSC/ENGG/2020, dt.04.02.2020 - (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting), Govt. of India Multipara Monitor (4), Multipara monitor with IBP (4), Multipara monitor with ETCO2 (18), Films Division Complex, 9th Floor,Phase-I Building, Mumbai -400 026. Deibrillator (15), Anesthesia Work Station with monitor (18), Anesthesia Workstation (20), TelNo. : 022 23510477, Email : [email protected] Operation Theatre fracture Table (with ortho attachment,C-arm compatible) (17) &Operation NOTICE INVITING TENDER Theatre Table (with General Surgery attachment)(10) Sl. No. Sale period Submission of Bids opening of Bids Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) invites proposals for ''Takeover,Hosting and Maintenance of E-CINEPRAMAAN 1Upto 21.12.2020 22.12.2020, 03.00 PM 22.12.2020, 04.00 PM Online Certification Application and Website, Provisioning and 2Upto 22.12.2020 23.12.2020, 03.00 PM 23.12.2020, 04.00 PM Maintenance of Cloud Management System, Revamping of For details visit www.tenders.tn.gov.in and TNMSC website www.tnmsc.tn.gov.in Website, Design, Development and Maintenance of Mobile App, Providing Different Utility Tools". DIPR/ 4647 /Tender/2020 general Manager (Equipment) The Request for Proposal (RFP) document (in three volumes) can be downloaded from http://cbfcindia.gov.in/ and can also be obtained from the office of Chief Executive Officer,Central Board of E-AUCTION Film Certification, Films Division Complex, Phase-I Building, 24, Dr.G.Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai -400 026 during working days SALE NOTICE (10.00AM to 6.00 PM) against non-refundable RFP Documents fees of ` 10,000/- in the form of Demand Draft in favor of "Pay and CIRCLE OFFICE (KHARAGPUR), BE-1, Bidhan Nagar,Station Road, Midnapore, WB- 721101 Accounts Officer,Films Division, Ministry of Information and Tel.- 03222-261205 Broadcasting, Mumbai" payable at Mumbai. The sealed bids in physical form should be submitted to the same SALE NOTICE FOR SALE OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES address as mentioned above. The Last Date and Time for E-AuctionSale Notice for Sale of Immovable Assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act,2002 Submission of Bids is 27th January,2021, 17:00 Hrs. read with proviso to Rule 8(6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement)Rules, 2002. Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower (s) and Guarantor (s) that the below describedimmovable property mortgaged/charged to the CBFC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid without assigning Secured Creditor,the constructive /physical /symbolic possession of which has been taken by theAuthorised Officer of the Bank/ Secured Creditor,will be sold on “As is where any reason. Sd/- is”, “As is what is”, and “Whatever there is” on the date as mentioned in the table herein below,for recovery of its dues due to the Bank/ Secured Creditor from the respective Chief Executive Officer borrower (s) and guarantor (s).The reserve price and the earnest money deposit will be as mentioned in the table below against the respective properties. Central Board of Film Certification SCHEDULE OF THE SECURED ASSETS Description of the A) Dt. of Demand A) Reserve Price (Rs. in Lakhs) U. P. RURAL ROAD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY A) Name of the Branch Immovable Notice u/s 13 (2) of SARFAESI ACT,2002 Details of the Department of Rural Development, Government of B) Name of the Account Properties th th Sl. B) Outstanding Amount B) EMD (Rs. in Lakhs) Date/ Time of encumbrances 4&5oor,Ganna Kisan Sansthan Building, New Berry Road, Lucknow C) Name &Address of the Mortgaged / Ph. No. 0522-2209450, Mob.: 7311189228, E-mail :[email protected] E-Auction known to the No. Borrower/ Guarantors Owner's C) Date of Possession C) Bid increase amount secured creditors Letter No. :2161 /T-252(FDR) /UPRRDA/2020 Date :14.12.2020 Account Name [mortgagers D) Nature of Possession TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITED of property(ies)] Symbolic /Physical / (Rs. in Lakhs) E-Procurement Notice Mondipatti, Manapparai Tk, TrichyDist. -621306, Constructive Request For Proposal Ph: 04332-265102; Email:[email protected] 1. A) PNB- Rupnarayanpur (2599) Residential property Plot A) 25.11.2019 A) Rs. 55.50 lakhs 15.01.2021 NA coRRIgENDUM B) Kurban Mondal No-345,KhatianNo-LR- B) Rs.33,73,058/- + B) Rs. 5.55 lakhs From 11:00 NOTICE INVITING ON-LINE OFFERS FOR SETTING UP OF A Tender Exising Revised C) Mr. Kurban Mondal S/O-Mr.Nowshed Mondal 228/1,RS-228, J.L. No-115, Further interest C) Rs. 1.00 lakhs AM Descripion PMU FOR PREPARATION OF DETAILED PROJECT REPORTS, No. Due Date Due Date (Borrower) Mouza-Amba,Total C)21.03.2020 to 01.00 PM Mr Nowshed Mondal S/O: Khursed Mondal (Co- D) Symbolic TENDER DOCUMENT (BOQ), CARRYING OUT THE E-TENDER 202123 Oxidizing Biocide Programmefor Area=22Dec(Bastu),PS- 16.12.2020 28.12.2020 Borrower &Mortgager), Address: At-Amba, PO- possession 001668 TNPL Unit-II on Packagecostbasis Kharagpur,Dist-Paschim PROCESS, QUALITY CHECK OF ROADS PROPOSED TO BE Shyamraipur,PS-Kharagpur,Dist-Paschim Medinipur- 721301 (WB) TAKEN UP FOR UPGRADATION WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES LIKE Detailed Terms &Conditions, Quantity,Tender Fee, EMD,etc.are Medinipur 721301(WB) Mortgager: FULL DEPTH RECLAMATION AND STABILIZATION UNDER available in the tender document at our websites: www.tnpl.com / Mr.Ajad Mondal S/O: Khursed Mondal Mr.Nowshed Mondal www.tenders.tn.gov.in (Guarantor), Address: At-Amba, PO- PMGSY-III. DIPR/4655/Tender/2020 TNPL -Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper Shyamraipur,PS-Kharagpur,Dist-Paschim Uttar Pradesh Rural Roads Development Agency (UPRRDA), Medinipur 721301(WB) apremier agency of Government of Uttar Pradesh, intends to set up a ANDHRA PRADESHINTEGRATED IRRIGATION AND 2. A) PNB: Mohanpur (069320) Commercial property Plot A) 19.03.2019 A) Rs. 19.00 lakhs 15.01.2021 NA PMU for assisting UPRRDA in preparation of detailed project report, AGRICULTURE TRANSFORMATION PROJECT B) Mr.Sandhi Sankar Barik &Shree Durga no-1379, LR Khatian No- B) Rs.27,91,292.41/- B) Rs. 1.90 lakhs From 02:00 tender document including BOQ, carrying out the process of e-Tender Cloth Store, Prop-Mr.Sandhi Sankar Barik 1024,J.L. No-341, Mouza- +further interest C) Rs. 0.50 lakhs PM (World Bank Aided Project) C) Mr.Sandhi Sankar Barik S/O: Mr.Khagendra Gomunda, Total Area=06 C) 18.06.2019 to 04.00 PM and quality checks especially for roads to be taken up for up-gradation Request for Bids (National Competitive Bidding) Barik (Borrower &Mortgager), At Gomunda, PO Dec, PS-Mohanpur,Dist- D) Symbolic using new technologies like full depth reclamation and stabilization or Tender Notice Nos.25/2020-21 and 26/2020-21, Dt: 08.12.2020 /PS-Mohanpur,Dist-Paschim Medinipur Paschim Medinipur, possession other such technologies under PMGSY-III. The estimated length of The Superintending Engineer, IrrigationCircle,Ongole,Prakasam 721457(WB) 721457(WB). Smt. Durgamani Barik (Guarantor), W/O: Mr. roads to be constructed on above technology is 5000 kilometers. On District, Pin Code: 523001, AndhraPradesh invitesBids from the Mortgager: Khagendra Barik, At Gomunda, PO /PS-Mohanpur, Mr.Sandhi Sankar Barik behalf of the Chief Executive Officer,UPRRDA, Lucknow,invited intending Bidders for various worksof1)RehabilitationofMondi Katta Dist-Paschim Medinipur 721457(WB) online tenders from the reputed consulting firm/agency/company for the Tank -Gadikota CascadeNo.32inGadikota Village in Giddaluru Mandal TERMS &CONDITIONS: said work. The criteria of selection will be Quality cum Cost Based in Prakasam District. Rs.217.90Iakhs, 2) RehabilitationofRalla Vagu The sale shall be subject to the Terms &Conditions prescribed in the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002 and to the following further conditions: Selection (QCBS) with 70% weightage to Technical Score and 30% (Independent) in BurjapalliVillage in Giddaluru Mandal in Prakasam 1. The properties are being sold on ‘AS IS WHERE IS BASIS and “AS IS WHATISBASIS” and “WHATEVER THERE IS BASIS” District - Rs.195.93 lakhs,under “Andhra PradeshIntegrated 2. The particulars of Secured Assets specified in the Schedule herein above have been stated to the best of the information of the Authorised Officer,but the Authorised Officer weightage to Financial Score. The bid is invited on e-procurement Irrigation and Agriculture Transformation Project (APIIATP) -World shall not be answerable for any error,misstatement or omission in this proclamation. portal https://www.pmgsytendersup.gov.in as per details provided in 3. The Sale will be done by the undersigned through e-auction platform provided at the Website https://www.mstcecommerce.com on 15.01.2021 @11.00 AM Bank aidedProject” from14.12.2020toDt. 27.01.2021 upto 3.00PM. 4. For detailed term and conditions of the sale, please refer www.ibapi.in, www.mstcecommerce.com, https://eprocure.gov.in/epublish/app &www.pnbindia.in the document.The last date for submission of bid will be 10.01.2021. For complete details visit us at: www.apeprocurement.gov.in Forqueries Partha Sarathi Dash (Mob: 7797898911), Authorized Officer Date of release of Invitation for RFP through e-procurement: Contact No.8247500435. Date: 14.12.2020 Punjab National Bank, CO: Kharagpur 16.12.2020. Sd/- Superintending Engineer,Irrigation Circle, Ongole. Place: Midnapore Secured Creditor Chief Executive Ofcer DIPR No.499PP/CL/ADVT/1/1/2020-21, Dt.14/12/2020 STATUTORY30DAYSSALE NOTICE UNDER RULE 8(6) OF THE SARFAESI ACT,2002

Kolkata DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2020, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES &ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Govt refines vaccine Jharkhand DISINVESTMENT MOVE shortlisting: states told CM grants AsAirIndiabids to use district data for approval for probe close,Tatasand under-50s with risks into fraud groups to be simultaneouslyvac- consortiumled KAUNAINSHERIFFM cinatedonpriority depending on THE NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 availability of vaccine: 1crore health careworkers; 2crore SCHOLARSHIP THE CENTRE has asked states to frontline workers, including po- SCAM utilise datagenerated at the dis- lice and armedforces; and, about bystaffinfray trict levelduring screening for 27 croreabove the ageof50and Non-Communicable Diseases those less than 50 years with co- ABHISHEKANGAD (NCDs) to identify apriority morbidities. RANCHI,DECEMBER14 Multiple expressions of interest, says group that is expected to receive Under the National Police movedincontainers as additional barriers at Delhi’s Singhu border Monday. AbhinavSaha Covid vaccinations early next Programme forPrevention and CLEARINGTHE wayfor a govt;qualifiedbidderstobenotifiedJan 5 year:those belowthe ageof50 Control of Cancer,Diabetes, statewide probebasedonthe with comorbidities, topgovern- Cardiovascular Diseases and TOMAR MEETS FARMERS WHO BACK 3LAWS findings of an investigation by ment sources told The Indian Stroke (NPCDCS), launchedin , Jharkhand PRANAVMUKUL Express. October 2010,state governments Govt open to talks but not to repeal ChiefMinisterHemant Soren NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 “The basic document will be aremandatedto undertake pop- has “givenhis approval” forthe the electoral roll, whichwill pro- ulation-basedscreening at the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau IN Aboosttoits effortstodisin- vide states with agedetails of district levelfor early detection of laws; farmers hold hunger strike (ACB) to initiateaPreliminary vest stakeinAir India, the Centre beneficiaries. The states will su- of NCDs. Those who come to Enquiry(PE) intothe Pre-Matric said Mondaythat it has received Thesignal perimpose this basic document healthcarefacilities undergo “op- Willing to listen, open fordiscussion, dialogue: Rajnath scholarship scaminwhich poor “multiple expressions of inter- with the NCDscreenings that portunistic screening” fordetec- minority studentswereduped est” forthe debt-laden airline. behindsale theyhaveconducted.The states tion, referral and follow-up for knowofdevelopmentsinKrishi by anexus of middlemen, school These include bids from the Tata can also createtheir ownmech- hypertension, diabetes and select HARIKISHANSHARMA BUSINESSASUSUAL Bhawan. “The door fortalksisal- authorities, stateofficials, and Group and aconsortium com- WHILE MEETINGthe anisms, as health is asubject of cancer categoriess. NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 ways open.” bank staff. prising severalofthe airline’s disinvestment target the state,” sources said. So far, official datashow, 616 BY UNNY On Day19ofthe protests, “The CM (as CabinetMinister employees and aUS-basedin- of Rs 2.1lakh crorefor Lastweek,ahigh-levelex- NCDclinics have been setupat THE -ledgov- leaders of 32 farm unions esca- in charge of Vigilance) has given vestment firm, sources told The 2020-21may be atall pertgroup co-chaired by Dr VK the district leveland 3,827atthe ernmentissaidto have takenapo- lated their agitation by observ- his approvalfor ACBtoinvestigate Indian Express. order —just5%has Paul, Member,NITI Aayog, and Community Health Centre(CHC) liticalcallnottoyieldto theprotest- ing aday’s hunger strikebegin- the MinistryofMinority Affairs- Thedeadlinefor submission been achievedsofar — Union Health SecretaryRajesh level, apartfrom175 Cardiac Care ingfarmers’demandthatthethree ning 8amatthe Singhu border. run Pre-Matric Scholarship Scam. of formal bids closedat5pm asuccessful sale of Air Bhushan, recommendedthree CONTINUEDONPAGE4 laws be repealed—but is willing The police, meanwhile, put up TheACBwill investigatethe irreg- Mondayand the Government India will send astrong to continue talkswith them. shipping containers using cranes ularities in pre-matric, postma- is expected to notify the quali- messageonthe “A repeal is notpossible; and on NH-44tofirm up the barri- tric, merit-cum-means scholar- fied bidders on January5.This seriousness of the SC to see if P8 a0-1 binarywill notwork. The cades already fortifiedwith ship schemes and submit its is the Government’s second at- government’s strategic government has givenan dumpsters laden with sand and initial report,” the Chief Minister's temptatdisinvesting itsstake sale plan. amendment option. It is also barbed wiretoprevent protest- Secretariat said in apress release in the airline afterthe previous feasible willing to changethe wordings ers from entering Delhi. issuedMonday. move in 2018 endedupwith- of the three laws basedon From the Government's side, It said that Soren has also or- out abid. tion of debt. But this time, it to examine farmer concerns,” said atop gov- Defence MinisterRajnath Singh dered all Deputy Commissioners “Multiple expressions of in- plans to divest 100per cent of its THEEXPRESS ernment source who is in the CONTINUEDONPAGE4 to submit areportfollowing terest have been receivedfor equity sharecapital in Air India validity of physical verification of all appli- strategic disinvestment of Air Ltd, whichincludes Air India’s INTERVIEW cantsand schools forthe aca- India. The transaction will now shareholding interestof100per NATIONAL NETWORK demic year 2020-21. “Wewere move to the second stage,” Tuhin cent in Air India Express and 50 Emergency ‘WHERE IS THE UP ‘love jihad’: 22-yr-old waiting forthe order.Now we KantaPandey, Secretary, per cent in Air India SATS Airport CONTRADICTION ASSAMSCHOOLSTO will begin the PE intothe scam,” Department of Investment and Services. BETWEEN DDC, tells court she is major, sources in the ACBtold The Public AssetManagement, According to sources, the Tata EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ASSEMBLYPOLLS?’ REOPENWITHOUT Indian Express. postedinatweet. Group has submitted an official NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 MANOJ SINHA RESTRICTIONS On Saturday, speaking at The Earlier,the Government had expression of interestfor the air- L-G, JAMMU &KASHMIR goes with man’s family PAGE 8 Indian Express IdeaExchange put up 76 per cent stakeinAir line although the bid has not THE SUPREME CourtonMonday CONTINUEDONPAGE4 India forsale along with apor- CONTINUEDONPAGE4 agreedtoconsider whether it is was22and wanted to go with “feasible or desirable” to exam- INSIDE MANISHSAHU his family. ine the validity of the proclama- LUCKNOW,DECEMBER14 Speaking to reporters after tion of Emergency by the gov- the arrest of Rashid, on Saturday ernment of Prime Minister THE WOMAN who wastaken to morning, Pinki, who is three IndiraGandhi 45 years agoin ashelter home in Moradabad by months pregnant, had said the 1975. the Uttar Pradesh Police on twoofthem were going to get ABenchheadedbyJustice S Saturdayafter arresting the man their marriageregisteredwhen KKaulissuednotice to the she waswith under the anti- the police caught them. Rashid's Centreonaplea by a94-year-old conversion lawpassedlast elder brother Saleem, 25, who woman who submitted that she LE CARRE, SPY WHO month, returnedtohis home on waswith them wasalso arrested. and her familywerehoundedby CAME IN FROM COLD Monday. Pinki wasallowedto The police said Pinki had no proof the authorities during the TO WRITE THRILLERS, leave aftershe told amagistrate of the marriage, and that they Emergency,forcing them to DIES AT 89 PAGES 6, 12 that she and Rashid Ali, 22, got were acting on acomplaint by leave India. marriedbackinJuly, and that she CONTINUEDONPAGE4 The petitioner,Dehradun- basedVeraSarin, urgedthe court to declarethe proclamation “whollyunconstitutional”. “This plea arises from the passageoftime. It is (counsel for petitioner) Mr Harish Salve’s submission that...wrongs of his- tory mustbecorrected...We would be disinclinedtoreopen CONTINUEDONPAGE4 104-yr-old in Assam dies a‘foreigner’, hoping ‘CAA will solve all’

Das and his wifelastweek. BiswaKalyan Purkayastha

TORAAGARWALA GUWAHATI,DECEMBER14

ABOUT SIX months ago, Nyuti Das remembers her father Chandrahar Das bending over her brother’s phone, his one good eye—and the rest of him —com- pletely absorbed by avideo of a speechofPrime Minister NarendraModi. Then he looked at Nyuti and said, smiling: “Modi aamar bhogowan (Modi is my god)... He will solve everything. The citizenship lawishere. We will all become Indian.” On Sundayevening, Chandrahar,104,suffering from aheartdisease, who had spent three months in adetention campfor “foreigners” in Assam twoyears ago, diedinhis son’s run-down cottageinBoraibasti CONTINUEDONPAGE4 Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020

DOWNLOADAPP WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

■ VISUAL STORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS EXPLAINED:WHATMAKESTHEGEMINIDSMETEORSHOWERUNIQUE?

■ CUSTOMIZABLE TheGeminidsmeteorshower,believedtobethestrongestoftheyear,isactivefromDecember4-December Howanti-slaughter NEWS EXPERIENCE 20,withDecember13and14consideredtobethebestnightsforviewingthesemeteorshowers

WEB laws can be disastrous Indian Express EXCLUSIVE ★★★★★■4.6 fordairyfarmers VIDEOOFTHEDAY TECHREVIEW NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY INDIAN-AMERICAN ON PHILIPS HTL8162 Today, we take alook at the stringent NASA’S MOON MISSION SOUNDBAR REVIEW anti-slaughter lawthat is trying Raja Jon Vurputoor Soundbar on a to implement, and discuss howsuchlaws SCANTHISQRCODETO Chari is agraduateof budget but lacks can impact India’s dairyindustry DOWNLOADTHEAPP the USAF Academy, MIT abit of ‘punch’

MAHARASHTRA FROMPAGEONE

Jharkhand CM pressedsuchahope. Or went to the porch of their home, looked event, Soren said that this news- across the road at Modi’s poster, paper'sinvestigative serieshasled Bids for Air India close foldedhishandsinnamaskar,and to the scrutinyofvarious state bowedhis head. “The lawhas schemesanditsimplementation. been placedthrough itsaffili- concerns and clients”. their members againstthe this debt to aGovernment- come, it has been nearly ayear, “Ihave givendirectionsto various ateairlines, VistaraorAirAsia The bid by the consortium move.Inits latestdisinvest- ownedspecial purpose vehicle, but what has 'God' done?” she departmentstocheckall state India. ATataGroup spokesper- proposes to give 51 per cent ment move,akey changemade Air India Assets Holding would ask him. schemesand getanupdateon son declinedcomment. staketothe group of employ- by the Government in terms of CompanyLtd. The entities that Breaking down, Nyuti adds, whether or notthe schemes are The other confirmedbid ees involved, whichincludes bidding is that it has allowed have submitted expressions of “All he wanted wastodie an reaching the people. We needto has been placedbyaconsor- some boardmembers among potential investors to bid on the interestneedtosubmit physi- Indian...Andwe tried,we ranfrom knowthe status of implementa- tium of Air India employees 219staffers, and 49 per cent to basis of enterprise value, effec- cal bids by December 29. courttocourt, from advocates to tion,” he said. and Interups Inc, according to Interups Inc, whichwill act as tively allowing the bidders to Qualifiedbidders will place social workers, submitted all the The Indian Express investi- Laxmi Prasad, the chairman of the financial partner. determine the debt levelthey bids on the basis of enterprise papers. And justlikethat, he’s gatedentriesacrosssixdistrictsin the US-basedfirm. On itsweb- The plan to include employ- would want to take on. Air India value and the winning entity gone. We arestill ‘foreigners’ in Jharkhand on the National site, Interups says it “is apub- ees wasput in motion by Air had current liabilities and pro- will be decidedonthe basis of the eyes of the law. The Act Scholarship Portal (NSP) and liclylistedcompanyengagedin India’s commercial director visions, including short-term whoeverquotesthe highesten- (CitizenshipAmendmentAct)did matchedthem with beneficiary the business of identifying and Meenakshi Mallik,who wrote loans and trade payables, of Rs terprise value. This entity will nothing forus.” bank accountsinthe Public investing intobusiness oppor- to nearly 20,000 staffseeking 70,686.6 croreand anet debt of then have to payatleast15per TheModigovernmenthasre- BJP MLCGopichand Padalkar beating dhol outside the Finance Management System tunities or transactions either participation in the disinvest- Rs 58,255 croreatthe end of cent of the quoted enterprise peatedly emphasisedthat the Vidhan BhavanonMonday. Express (PFMS) to find howthe pre- directlyoronbehalf of itsstake- ment process. Some employee 2018-19. Thereafter, the Centre value in cash, while the rest can CAAismeant to give citizenship Matricscholarshipfundswere be- holders, affiliates, associate unions, however, had advised transferredRs29,464crore of be takenonasdebt. to people likeDas, largely Hindu ing illegallydiverted. persecuted minorities in their In severalcases, The Indian countries of residence, who mi- Speaker fires asalvo Express found, studentsand grated to India. While the Acthas gullible parentsweregiven a Govt open to talks but not to repeal widespread supportinthe Barak small portion of the scholarship Valley, itisopposedbyotherparts at MVA, two-day money; in others, theywereun- and AgricultureMinister Tomar said the foranopen market and liberal in the living standardoffarm- of Assam, who fear that the grant awarethat bank accountshad AgricultureMinisterNarendra Government is “ready to hold system. If youwant to improve ers”. “The policy and intention of citizenshiprightsto“outsiders” beensetupintheirnamesto avail Singh Tomar calledfor more talks”. “Whenevertheir pro- the condition of farmers, then of the , be- would changethe essential na- winter session starts the scholarship and moneydis- talkstoresolve the deadlock. posal comes, the Government we needreforms...technologi- hind these laws,are good. We tureofthe state. bursedwasbeingwithdrawn.The Tomar also metHome Minister will definitelyhold talks,” he cal reforms, economic reforms have held meetings with farm With the Assam Assembly investigationalsoledtoschoolsin Amit Shah forthe second suc- said. and agricultural reforms.” unions and triedtoconvince elections drawing near,the BJP on astormy note neighbouringBihar,oneinPunjab cessive day. In Gandhinagar,Gujarat, Tomar had lastweek meta them. We wish that theydis- has startedtalking of the CAA and another in Assam. Sources said back-channel Union MinisterofState for similar delegation from cuss (these laws), clause by again. However, as in the case of TheCBIhasalreadyinitiateda talkswereonwith leaders of AgricultureParshottam Rupala Uttarakhand as partofthe clause,” he said. Das, the changehas largely re- of informationobjecting to the PE intothe scam with the agency some of the unions in the ruledout bringing the Government's outreachto Asked if the Government mainedonpaper,withevenrules EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE listing of so manyBills in the cur- all settostart itsinvestigation group of 32. “Some leaders are Minimum SupportPrice under farmers from states other than will invitethe farmers formore of the Actyet to be framed. MUMBAI,DECEMBER14 tailedsession. fromBihar'sGaya,wherethefirst willing to understand the need the legal framework,akey de- Punjab, whichhas emergedas talks, Tomar said: “Their pro- Former Silchar Congress MP Speaking on the issue, Patole FIR wasregisteredbasedonThe forarriving at amiddle path. mand of farm unions. the epicentreofthe protests. grammes aregoing on. We are SushmitaDev,who visited Das's MAHARASHTRA LEGISLATIVE directed the ruling and opposi- IndianExpress'findings.Policein Nothaving discussedpossible Addressing apress confer- In another meeting, Tomar waiting fortheir response.” familyonMonday, says the Actis AssemblySpeaker Nana Patole tion benches to formulateguide- Assamare separately investigat- exit options, theyare stuck ence at the stateBJP headquar- held discussions with BJP MPs The previous five rounds of justa“tool”. “It’s ameans to an on Mondaysaid that atwo-day lines to ensurethat a“regular ingthe scam. with their maximalistposition. ters Shree Kamalam, Rupala and MLAs from Haryana who talkshaveremainedinconclu- end.Andtheendispolarisingthe session of the legislaturewas legislative session can be held The pre-Matric scholarship But asolution maybeinthe said, “When we arethe ones submitted aletterexpressing sive. Hindu Bengali vote. Even if the “notfeasible in democracy”. the next time around.” scheme, launchedin2008, is offing,” the source said with- who introducedit, it is not supportfor the farm laws,and The lastscheduledround, CAAwasineffect,itdoesn’tassure Echoing the line of Opposition Meanwhile, proceedings of meantto helpstudentsofminor- out elaborating. something whichrequires le- raisedanold faultline with on December 9, wascancelled citizenship to anybody.Why has leader DevendraFadnavis, Patole the House beganonastormy ity communities from families Speaking at aFICCI event, galsupport. It is partofthe gov- Punjab: the issue of sharing afterameeting between Shah the BJP nothelpedany of the said, “Justice cannotbegiven to note with an Opposition MLA with annual income belowRs1 Rajnath Singh said: “The recent ernment system that we cre- waterfromthe Satluj Yamuna and representativesoffarm HinduBengaliswhoarestillinde- the issues concerning citizens in trooping intothe well wearing a lakh. In 2019-20, the Ministryof reforms have been undertaken ated,our Modiji created.There Link Canal. unions. tention?” atwo-daysession.” banner and raising slogans Minority Affairs disbursedRs61 with the best interests of is no needtobring it under le- “SYL is the lifeline of The Centrethen extended Sitting Silchar BJP MP Dr He wasaddressing the againstthe Chief Minister croreunder this scheme to India’s farmers in mind... We galframework.” Haryana. Haryana farmers anew setofproposals to re- Rajdeep Royclaims the process Legislative Assemblyatthe start UddhavThackeray-ledcoalition Jharkhand. are, however, always willing to In aparallel move,Tomar have been deprivedoftheir solve the crisis, including a has got delayeddue to the Covid- of the curtailedwinter session of over farmers’ strife. Afterthe rul- To be eligible, studentsneed listentoour farmer brothers, also metadelegation of the All shareof19lakh acre-footof written assurance on continu- 19 pandemic. “I offermycondo- the statelegislature. With offi- ing benches objectedto the man- to scoreatleast50percentintheir allaytheir misgivings and pro- India Kisan Coordination waterfor the last45years. The ation of minimum support lences to the bereaved family, cial business listedonthe ner of protest, Patole orderedthe class exams. StudentsfromClass vide them with assurances. Committee (AIKCC) from Tamil significance of waterfor irriga- price (MSP)-basedprocure- whathashappenedisveryunfor- agenda, the two-daysession will MLAtomoveout of the House 1to5receive Rs 1,000 per year Our Government is always Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra tion is no less than the MSP. ment and parity in transac- tunate, but this pandemic is not end on December 15.While the and instructed marshals to en- and studentsofClass 6to10re- open to discussion and dia- and Bihar and said “theygave Therefore, the 19 acre-footof tions inside and outside inmy hands...Itoohopedthatthe treasurybenches have cited the surethat “no legislator is allowed ceive Rs 10,700 ayear if theyare logue.” alettersupporting the agricul- waterthat is the shareof Agricultural Produce Market rules and regulation with regard ongoing Covid-19pandemic to to enter the House carrying or inahostelorRs5,700ayearif they Describing agricultureas turereform laws”. Haryana farmers should be Committee (APMC) mandis. to the CAAwould have been justify atwo-daysession, the wearing banners henceforth.” areday scholars. the “mother sector forall”, Shetkari Sanghatana leader made available from Punjab, so But the farm leaders re- framedbynow.” Opposition has accusedthe gov- ParliamentaryAffairs Singh said, “Our produce and Gunvant Patil Hangargekar, that 19 lakh acres of land in jected these proposals and said Heunderstandstheanxietyof ernment of “running away from MinisterAnil Paraband Vaccine procurement have been plen- who waspartofthe delega- Haryana can be irrigated.The that theywould escalatetheir Bengali community, adiscussion in the legislature.” Mungantiwar were also locked Units(CCUs) and 214Day Care tiful and our warehouses are tion, told The Indian Express: WaterResource Ministry protests until the laws were re- Royadds. “I belong to the same Beforethe proceedings be- in awar of words, afterthe latter Centres forChemotherapy. full...thereisnoquestion of tak- “Wetold the Agriculture should help in this,” the letter pealed. group, my grandfather migrated gan, Opposition legislators squat- protestedagainstthe govern- Besides, as partofthe ing retrograde steps against Ministerthat we supportthe said. (WITHKRISHNKAUSHIKIN from erstwhile EastPakistan ting on the stairs of the Vidhan ment’s move of disallowing AyushmanBharatinitiative,states our agricultural sector ever,” he three farm laws.Wehavebeen Tomar said the newlaws AND PARIMAL (nowBangladesh) to India.” Bhavanprotested againstthe Opposition leaders from conven- use aCommunity-Based said. agitating forthe last30years areaimedat“bringingchange DABHIINGANDHINAGAR) Daswouldtellhischildrenof- government’s “lackadaisical atti- ing official meetings in the garb Assessment Checklist(CBAC)for tenhow he crossedfromEast tude” towardsvarious citizen is- of Covid-19, alleging that the rul- universalscreeninginthe30-plus PakistantoTripurabecauseof the sues, including farm losses due ing benches were “trying to muz- agecategorytosensitiseandmo- Moradabad Mahila District lated to the claim would be foreign jewellers suchasHarry mentauthoritiesandprivate per- killings there. “This wasinthe to cyclonic storm and unseasonal zle democracy”. bilise the community to avail Hospital, wherePinki wasexam- checked.Thepolicewillalsogeta Winston, Bulgari, sons during the time of 1950sor'60s,”says sonGouranga rains and floods, and the Maratha Therewas drama even out- services forchronic illnesses at ined,saidthefoetuscouldbeseen statement of the girl’s family Kazanjian...werehis regular Emergency”.She“facedinnumer- Das. While howDas made his quotaissue among others. side the House. BJP MLC Health and Wellness Centres clearly in her ultrasound report members and others,” Senior clients”. In the early 1960s, Sarin able challenges and suffered waytoAssam is unclear, “In atwo-daysession, the Gopichand Padalkar triedtoen- (HWCs). and seemedtobefine. "Wehave Superintendent of Police, “openedhis business under the atrocities upon her husband be- Gourangasays itwasatoughjour- government has brought as terthe Vidhan Bhavanbeating The CBAC is designedtocol- decidedtogoinforaTransvaginal Moradabad, Prabhakar name and styleofSarin Gem ingcompelledtoleave herbehind ney, withhisfatherearninghisliv- manyas10Bills. This onlymeans drums and carrying astand on lectdetailsof historyof symptoms UltrasoundScanto getamoreac- Chaudharysaid. HouseinAkashDeep,Connaught with the children”. ing selling moori (puffedrice) that it wantstorush through of- his backwith multiple placards, and includes familyhistory of curatecondition of the foetus,” Place”; he wasappointed jew- Therewould be “nightly ladoos. ficial agenda without anyde- highlighting various pending de- high blood pressure, diabetes, Pathak said. Therehad been re- 94-yr-old elleryappraiser by the govern- knocks”onher door,and police- Then, one dayinMarch 2018, bate,” Fadnavis said. Later in the mands of the Dhangar (shep- heartdisease and presence of ports earlier that Pinki had suf- suchaspects.After45yearsitmay ment, and he evaluated the menandotherofficialswoulden- someofficialscameto theirhome, House, BJP’s Sudhir herd) community.Hewas commonsymptomsforcommon feredamiscarriage, whichwas notbeappropriatetoreopen wealthof royalhousesfortaxpur- terher home and leave her alone took Das away and put him in a Mungantiwar also raisedapoint stoppedbythe police. cancers, epilepsy and respiratory deniedbyofficials. those issues,” the Bench, also poses. “onlyafter she offeredthem left- detention centrefor foreigners in diseases. While Rashid and Saleem comprising Justices Dinesh Afterthe declaration of the overpiecesof valuables”.Sheand Silchar District Jail. “Wehad re- In February2019, the Centre continue to be in jail under the MaheshwariandHrishikeshRoy, Emergency,however, all the herchildrenwere psychologically ceivedafew notices but couldn’t ED case: Sena MLA Sarnaik moves informed Parliament that it had Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of said. Sarins' immovable property disturbed,the petition says – makeittothe hearings fornu- screened1.30croreinthe30-plus Unlawful Conversion of Religion “Wewould, however, be not “came to be seized; the movable “suchwas the indiscriminate, merous reasons, the main being privilege notice for defamation categoryforhypertensionfollow- Ordinance,2020,theMoradabad disinclinedtosee whether prob- property consisting of artefacts, high handed, unauthorized that my father wasold and ill,” ing which9.01lakh were identi- police said theywould seek legal ingsuchaproclamationaftersuch gems, carpets,paintings, tusks, powerunleashedupon the citi- says Gourango. ily,”statedthe Sena legislator. fiedasnewcaseswhile22.69lakh opinion on Pinki's statement, in- along time would be feasible or statues, ivoryworth crores of ru- zens of the countryduring the Das wasgranted bail in June EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE In the lastweek of November, were under treatment. Similarly, cluding that she wasamajor and not,” the courtsaid. pees were also seized, and there said period”. 2018,but the family's case is still MUMBAI,DECEMBER14 ED conducted the searches at the government said it had that the wedding took place be- Vera Sarin submittedthat her has been no restitution of the Now, at an advancedage,she on in court, his children appear- Sarnaik’s residence and offices in screened97.78 lakh fordiabetes fore the newlaw waspassed, to latehusbandHKSarinhadlosthis same till date”, says the plea. “has asimple desiretoseek aclo- ing forhearings. “Therewas a SHIV SENAlegislator Pratap connection with amoneylaun- of which8.90 lakh were new decide what to do. One of the “flourishing business of gold arts, Vera and HKSarin were mar- suretoher trauma and an ac- problem with the authenticity of Sarnaik submitted aletteron dering case. “ED has conducted cases and 12.13lakh under treat- things theywould look intoisif gems, artefactsetc. at Karol Bagh riedin1957, and he passedaway knowledgment to her suffering”, thecertificateofregistrationfrom Mondaytothe statelegislature tworaids at my residence and of- ment. Fororalcancer,breastcan- the conversion followed"legal aswellasatKGMarg,NewDelhi” in 2000. the petition says. Tripura,” says his advocate, secretariat seeking admission of fice and has seizedmanydocu- cerandcervicalcancer,itsaidthat procedures", the police said. following the declaration of the InDecember2014,DelhiHigh Sarin, who wasborn in Souman Choudhry, on the delay, his breachofprivilegenotice mentsbut it has notfound any- over 1crore were screenedof Soonaftershewasbroughtto Emergency. Courthadruledthattheproceed- Moradabadasthedaughterof the adding that Das's children would againstprint and electronic me- thing suspicious. ED also has not which37,768werenew casesand the government-run home in SeniorAdvocateSalve saidthe ings againsther husband under headmasterinamissionary still have to provetheir citizen- dia outlets fordefaming him by saidanythingofficiallyaboutit.So, 4,215 under treatment. Moradabad, Pinki had com- proclamation constituted acon- The Smugglers and Foreign school,receivedaMaster'sdegree ship. publishing stories basedona Iambeingdefamedbypublishing plainedofpain in the abdomen, stitutional abuse of power. Relief ExchangeManipulators in school administration in the Das's familybarelyunder- tweetofactor Kangana Ranaut. the false and baseless news of re- UP ‘love jihad’ and wasadmitted to Mahila wasnot the issue, he said –the (ForfeitureofProperty)Act,1976, United States. She subsequently stands the legal jargon, onlythat Sarnaik,inhis letter,has re- covering aPakistancredit card Pinki's mother that Rashid DistrictHospital.Shewasreleased countrymustknowwhat had “wereinitiatedbereftof anyjuris- taughtatheralmamater,Isabella the label of foreigners continues. questedthePrincipalSecretaryof from my house. ED inquirywill had forciblyconverted and mar- onSundaymorning,butintheaf- happenedtothe fundamental diction and thereforeanullity”. ThoburnCollegeinLucknow, and In his lastfew months, Das the MaharashtraLegislative continue forsome days in future. riedher daughter. ternoon, again complainedof rightsofcitizens. And in Julythis year,the court, atJamiaMilliaUniversityandthe had slippedintodeep dementia, Assemblytoforward thenoticeto So, Iamsubmitting the breachof Additional Superintendent of pain and wastaken backtohos- WiththeBenchappearingun- basedonastatement by the cen- AmericanInternationalSchoolin thefamilysays.Atonelevel,itwas the PrivilegeCommittee of the privilegenoticeagainstsomeme- Police, Moradabad, VidyaSagar pital. On Monday, Pinki was convinced–“we arefindingitdif- tral government had “directed NewDelhi. arelief. “He would eat, sleep and Assemblytoinitiateaninquiryon diaoutletsfordefamingmebased Mishrasaid,“Thegirlinherstate- brought before the magistratein ficultto entertainthis.Whatisnot payment of arrears of rent forthe rarely talk.Whenhedid,hewould it. “Someprintandelectronicme- on the actor’s tweet...” said ment before the magistratesaid themorning,butthehearinghad to happen, happened,” it said – property at K.G. Marg, NewDelhi 104-yr-old talk about howhis case would be dia outlets and some people, mo- Sarnaik.InSeptember,Sarnaik thatshewasbornin1998andthat to be delayedasshe complained Salve arguedthat “thereare cer- to the Petitioner and other legal in Assam’s Cachar district —still solvedbecausetheModigovern- tivatedbypolitical hatred,onso- movedabreachofprivilegemo- she and Rashid held anikah on of uneasiness. She waschecked tain things in history whichwe heirsataspecifiedmonthlyrate”, a“foreigner”. mentwouldhelphim.We didnot cial media rannews about tionagainstRepublicTV’sMDand July24inDehradun.” Pinki said up and brought to courtinthe af- have to revisit and see if the cor- the plea says. Speaking on the phone from have the hearttotell him that it recovering aPakistani credit card Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami shehadconvertedandwantedto ternoonforrecordingof herstate- rect thing wasdone”. This was According to the nonagenar- her home 30 km from Silchar,in had notmoved at all,” Nyuti says. from my residence during the accusinghimof using“derogatory return to Rashid's family, Mishra ment. one suchissue, he said. ianpetitioner,“thevaluablemov- Assam's Hindu Bengali domi- Das wascrematedon Sunday searches conducted by the language” againstChief Minister added. “All details, including Pinki's According to the plea, HK able properties have been si- nated-Barak Valley, Nyuti re- night with onlyhis familyinat- EnforcementDirectorate(ED)that UddhavThackeray andNCPpres- Dr Nirmala Pathak,Acting claim of nikah and conversion, Sarin's “customers were from phonedawayand illegally members the mild annoyance tendance. Gourangofears only ledtothe defamation of his fam- ident Sharad Pawar. Chief Medical Superintendent of wouldbeverified.Documentsre- highstatusfamilies”,and“famous appropriated by manygovern- she felt everytime her father ex- worse is ahead.

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 5 WEST BENGAL

BJP releases ‘TMC ‘Duare Sarkar’ AnotherTMCleaderspeaksout: will be TMC’s Fail Card’, minister trump card in AsansoldeprivedofCentrefunds replies even Centre polls: Mamata Pelting stones notBengal’s culture, says Vijayvargiya City notallowedtoget Rs 2K cr under SmartCity project:Mayor JitendraTiwari recognises our feats EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE wrote. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya KOLKATA,DECEMBER14 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Tiwari claimedthe Mamata tweetedthe letter on Monday, Vijayvargiya’s KOLKATA,DECEMBER14 Banerjee government promised and wrote, “Asansol Mayorand EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE BJPWORKER’SKIN CHIEF MINISTER Mamata Asansol that it would provide the funds. TMC MLAJitendraTiwari openly KOLKATA,DECEMBER14 Banerjee arrivedinnorth Bengal cavalcade gets ASANSOL MAYORJitendraTiwari Mayor “But it wasnot done,” he added. accuses MamataBanerjee’s gov- GETRs5LAKHFROM on Mondaytofirm up the party’s has become the latestTrinamool Jitendra The TMC MLArequestedthe state ernment of depriving Asansol of THE BJP on Mondayreleasedare- PARTYDELEGATION strategy in the run-up to next bulletproof car Congress (TMC) leader to speak Tiwari administration to allowthe central funds and impeding its portonthe MamataBanerjee year’s Assemblyelections. out againstthe party’s leadership. Asansol Municipal Corporation to development as aSmartCity.He government’s alleged failures, Kolkata: ABJP delegation on Banerjee, who will address a In alettertostate urban de- receive central benefitsorpay an also calls out ‘Pishi’ forfalse prom- and accuseditoflying to the peo- Mondaymet the familyof rallyinCoochBehar (South) on after attack on velopment ministerFirhad as aresponsible citizen of Asansol equivalent amount as a“rectifica- ises and unfulfilledprojects.” ple of West Bengal about the party worker Saikat Bhawal, Tuesday, asked party leaders to Hakim on Sunday, Tiwari, who is and performing the responsibili- tion of ill deeds on partofthe state Senior TMC leaders denied state’s development. In response, who waskilledallegedly by successfullyimplement the gov- Nadda convoy the chairperson of the Boardof ties of the urban local body of the government”. Tiwari’s allegations, with Hakim the Trinamool Congress (TMC) TMC workers during adoor- ernment’s‘DuareSarkar’outreach Administrators of Asansol mu- city as achairman, mayorand ad- The MLA,who is the president saying, “He has been trappedby said the government’s achieve- to-door campaign at programme,labellingittheTMC’s EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE nicipal corporation, said the ministrator forthe pastseveral of the ruling party’s Paschim the Central Government.” ATMC mentsspeak forthemselves, and Halishahar in North24 “trumpcard”. KOLKATA,DECEMBER14 Centrehad chosen Asansol for years, Iamveryaggrieved. Our Bardhaman district unit, said leader in Asansol said, “This was slammedthe Opposition party. Parganas district on Saturday, Inrecentweeks,theregionhas itsSmartCity Missionproject. As city waschosen by the ministry Asansol would have receivedan waiting to happen.” The “TMC Fail Card” lists al- and handedoveracheckofRs seenaseniorMLAdefectto theBJP FOLLOWINGANattackonBJP partofthe project, the city was of urban development, govern- additional Rs 1500crorefor solid Asked if Tiwari, apowerful leged corruption in the stateand 5lakh to them. The party also while another has criticisedthe national president JP Nadda’s eligible to receive Rs 2,000crore ment of India, under the Smart wastemanagement. "But youand leader in Bengal’s coal belt, is on “ineptgovernance”since the gov- assured ajob to one of the party leadership. convoy on the outskirts of forits development. But “due to City Mission project as aresult of your department have notal- his wayout of the party like ernment came to powerin2011. familymembers of Bhawal. The region will be crucial to Kolkatalastweek,BJP national political reasons, Asansol wasn’t tremendous work of councillors. lowedustoget the benefitsofthe Suvendu Adhikari, AnantaDev BJP leaders Swapan Dasgupta, The 35-year-old worker was theoutcomeof thestateelections. general secretaryKailash allowedtoget the benefitsofthis But, due to political reasons, we central government funds due to Adhikari and others who have Shishir Bajoria and Shamik newlymarriedand had been In 2019,the BJP bagged all eight Vijayvargiya’s security coverhas project by the stategovern- were notallowedtoget the ben- whichIfeel that injustice has criticisedthe party leadership, a Bhattacharya releasedthe cardat actively taking partinBJP’s seatsinnorth Bengal, been upgradedwith the addi- ment”, he added. efitsofthis project [and that is] by been done to the city of Asansol,” senior TMC leader said, “Only anews conference at the party’s door-to-door campaign. andwasaheadof therulingparty tion of abullet-resistant car to his “Being born and brought up the stategovernment,” Tiwari he wrote. time will tell.” office in the city’s Hastings area. Bhawalwho waspresident of in morethan half of the 56 convoy.Vijayvargiyawas partof The Opposition party described BJP's local polling booth level Assemblysegments. the convoy. the government “reportcard” re- committee. Three of the four Afterarriving in Jalpaiguri, The Union MinistryofHome 4BSF officers leasedbythe TMC lastweek as a accusednamedinthe FIR Banerjee metMLAsand senior Affairs (MHA) has issuedanor- “blufftofool the people of the have been arrested. ENS party leaders from Jalpaiguri der directing the Central summoned in state”. and Alipurduar districts. Ananta Industrial Security Force(CISF) to "The TMC's reportcardabout Deb Adhikari also attendedthe include an armoured vehicle in smuggling case itsgovernmentisacomplete bluff knowledgedbythe Union gov- meeting. Vijayvargiya’s convoy and ensure to fool the people of the state. In ernment. We have toppedinpro- Sources in the TMC said he onlytravels in that vehicle. Kolkata: TheCBI hasasked four the last10years, the TMC govern- viding 100days of work.The Banerjee told the senior party The CISF has been providing BSF officers to appear before it at ment failedonall frontssuchas Centrehas said that we have laid leaders to fight the upcoming Z-categorysecurity to Nizam Palace this week in con- economic growth, industry, down the maximum village elections unitedly.She said the Vijayvargiyasince February nection with atrans-border cat- health, education, security of roads. We have ranked firstin partywouldpromote itsdevelop- 2019.His protection detail in- tlesmugglingracket. women and creation of jobs,” said building houses forpoor people ment agenda on the campaign cludes amobile team of about Among the officers sum- Bhattacharya. in rural Bengal. In the MSME sec- trail, and asked the party to suc- six to sevenarmedCISF com- moned, one is aDIG-ranked offi- The stateBJP tweeted, “10 tor, we arealso the topper.So cessfullyimplement the “Duare mandos, and apilotcar and an cer,two areassistant command- years of corruption, 10 years of what will they[BJP] tell in their Sarkar” initiative.“In all the dis- escortvehicle. ers and another is adeputy syndicate, 10 years of tolabaji [ex- failurecardand howwill theyex- tricts, ‘DuareSarkar’ project Afterarriving in the city on commandant. tortion], 10 years of slapping the plain?” he said. should be implemented success- Monday, Vijayvargiyaconfirmed CBI is learnt to have prepared democracy.That’s what TMC’s re- The ministeradded, “Our gov- fully. This project will be atrump the news about receiving an ar- alistofBSF officers who were in portcardisall about. Afailedstu- ernment has deliveredonour cardforusinthecomingelection.” mouredvehicle.“Aspertheorder charge of the India-Bangladesh dentwritinghis ownreportcard, promise of job creation. Narendra Asenior TMC leader from the of the Union Home ministry, I border between 2015 and 2018 that’s what TMC’sreportcardis.” Modi had promisedtocreatetwo region said, “She has asked party have beenprovidedwithabullet- when the smuggling took place. At apress conference at the crorejobs ayear,but unemploy- leaders in the north Bengal dis- proof vehicle,” he told reporters Earlier,BSF Commandant REMEMBERING 1971 TMC headquarters here, state ment in India is at 24%now.In trictstoarrangerallieswithatleast outsidetheNetajiSubhasChandra Satish Kumar wasarrestedby powerministerSobhandeb Bengal, it has reduced40per cent. 20 workers from eachbooth. She Bose International Airport. CBI. His interrogation revealed Artistesperform during VijayDiwas celebrations at Fort William in KolkataonMonday. Chattopadhyayhit out at the BJP. One crorejobs have been created is likelytosend out amessageto On December 10, that other BSF officers were also VijayDiwas marks the Indian Army’s victoryoverPakistaninthe 1971 war. Express “Weneednot sayanything. Our by the MamataBanerjee govern- rebelleadersandboostthemorale Vijayvargiya’s vehicle, which partofthe nexus. ENS achievementshavebeen ac- ment.” of the booth-levelworkers.” waspartofNadda’s convoy,was attackedwith stones during a visit to Diamond Harbour. STATECOUNT Severalvehicles were damaged BJP MP’s call to tweak in the attack. Sources said TOTAL CASES Vijayvargiyaand BJP national national anthem‘narrow’ vice president Mukul Roysus- 523629 tainedminor injuries in the vio- INCREASE DEATHS lence. and ‘divisive’,says Adhir Following the incident, the 1834 9100 MHA calledtoDelhi three IPS of- 493145RECOVERED ficers in charge of providing se- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE curity to Nadda. The stategov- KOLKATA,DECEMBER14 Cong’s Adhir 6455167 SAMPLES ernment, however, refusedto Chowdhury TESTED TILL DEC 14 release them. CONGRESS LEADER in the Lok wrotealetter Later on Monday, Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to PM Modi With close to 3K Vijayvargiyasaid at apublic has called“narrow” and “divi- meeting in Mathurapur in South sive”BJP leader and MP cured, recovery 24 Parganas district that pelting Subramanian Swamy's call for 'Idea of India' reflectspluralism, stones wasnot partofBengal’s replacing some wordsinthe na- humanism, universal brother- rate tops 94% cultureofwelcoming aperson. tional anthem written by hood and respect forreligious Targeting Chief Minister Rabindranath Tagore with the and cultural diversities." Kolkata: Keeping with the trend, MamataBanerjee forcalling BJP one composedand sung by In his letter to Modi, Swamy West Bengal declared more leaders outsiders, Vijayvargiya Subhas ChandraBose. had arguedthat Tagore's ‘Jana Covid-19patientsrecoveredthan said, “MamataBanerjee has “I mayliketodrawyour at- Gana Mana’, whichwas adopted those who tested positive on calledPrime MinisterNarendra tention to aletterwritten by by Indian Constituent Assembly Monday. In the last24hours, Modi and Union Home Minister Subramanian Swamy, aRajya on 24 January1950 as India's na- 2,980 patientswerecured of the Amit Shah outsiders. But are Sabha member.The said letter tional anthem, neither reflects virus against1,834 newpatients, theynot citizens of the country? concerns the replacement of a post-independence Indian real- according to astate Health Aretheyoutsiders? Mukul Roy fewwords in our national an- ity as it contains 'Sindh' (which Department bulletin. This further is from here. Is he tooanout- them ‘Jana Gana Mana’ by afew nowlies in ) nor is it improved the recovery rate to sider? Mukul Royhelped wordscomposedand sung by clear forwhom this waswritten 94.18 per cent and brought down MamataBanerjee come to the LateNetajiSubhas Chandra as the poetcomposeditin1911. active cases to 21,384. So far, power. Now, he will ensurethat Bose and his INAforces," "Swamy's understanding of 4,93,145coronavirus patientsin she goes out of power.” Chowdhurysaid in the letter to ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is toolimited the statehavebeen declared re- The BJP leader said he was Prime MinisterNarendraModi. and narrowashetakes mere covered. confident that the BJP would Chowdhury, who heads the territorial understanding of the As many43people suc- transform Bengal to “Sonar Bengal Congress unit, said, "The present India, and hence he cumbed to the coronavirus since Bangla. “MamataBanerjee letter both in spirit and under- considers 'Sindh' as amisfit in Sunday, taking the toll to 9,100. promisedtoturn the stateinto standing is narrow, divisive and post-1947India. But India is not The 1,834fresh cases took the to- ‘Sonar Bangla’. Can yousee violates thedeepnationalsenti- merelyaterritorial land, it is an talnumber to 5,23,629. The state ‘Sonar Bangla’ after10years of ment that exists on the subject ocean of cultures and ideas has tested64,55,167samples, in- TMC rule? OnlyPrime Minister matter.Italso betrays the ethos with an infinitecapacity to knit cluding 31,671 on Monday. NarendraModi will ensurethat of Indian nationalism that lies together infinitepluralism in Kolkataand adjacent four dis- Bengal becomes ‘Sonar Bangla’,” behind the composition of the perfect harmony,"said trictscontinuedtotakeamajor Vijayvargiyaadded. national anthem. Gurudev's Chowdhury. shareinthe caseload. ENS

HATHRAS ‘CONSPIRACY’ ROW UP opposes bail for journalist over SIMI ‘links’

would go “underground” if intention to destroy public order Kappanduringsearch conducted EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE grantedbailatthisstage,whenin- and tarnish the imageofthe on11.11.2020....Thesedocuments NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 vestigation is still pending. Government by inciting hatred, disclosedcrucial AllegingthatKappanisnotas- contempt and dishonor to the information/journey of the very OPPOSINGAplea by the Kerala sistingtheinvestigation,theState Government. PFI has been in- formationof PFIasareincarnation Union of Working Journalists saidheisnot“disclosinghissocial volvedinanti-national activities of SIMI afterit(SIMI) being (KUWJ),whichhassoughtrelease media accounts, passwords and andkeepinglinkswithterrorout- banned, also that the motive and of itsmember Siddique Kappan, details associated with the same fits likeISIS.” ideologyof bothorganizationsare theUttarPradeshgovernmenthas inorderto concealhismisdeeds”. “Severalcases” areregistered corroborative innature,”thestate sought to link him to the banned The KUWJ's petition stated against PFImembersandactivists, government said. StudentsIslamic Movement of that Kappan has morethan 10 who have also been The affidavit stated that “in- India (SIMI) and has told the yearsof experienceasajournalist chargesheetedinKerala, Delhi, vestigation has revealedthat” Supreme Courtthat he went to and wasonway to Hathras to re- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Kappanandhisco-accused“were Hathras on the “instructions of” portonthe alleged gangrape and otherpartsof thecountry, accord- mobilizedtowards Hathras upon Delhi riots case accusedMd death of aDalit girlwhen he was ingto theaffidavit,filedbySpecial instructionsof Md.Danish,whois Danish. pickedupbyUPPoliceinMathura Secretary, (Home), UP. himself accusedintheDelhiRiots In an additional affidavit filed on October 5. Itstatedthat“asperinvestiga- case”, and that “RaufSherief, in the topcourt, the stategovern- StatingthatKappan“hasbeen tiontilldate,mostmembersof PFI GeneralSecretaryofCFI(Campus ment also questionedthe bona found associated with Popular who areex-office-bearers of Frontof India)wasfacilitatingthe fides of KUWJ, and accuseditof Front of India (PFI)”, the UP gov- “bannedorganization SIMI” have movement”. “trying to trying to coverup/hide” ernmentstatedthatPFI“hasbeen been in close intimacy with CFI members Atiqur Rahman Kappan’s “true identity”. responsible fordisrupting public Kappan. “Severalincriminating (25), Masood Ahmed(26) and It contendedthat thereisa peace of the Statebyprovoking evidence have been found from Alam (26) were arrested along “strong likelihood” that Kappan class and caste conflictswith an thehouseof theaccusedSidhique with Kappan. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020

WORDLY WISE Adesk is adangerous place from which to

6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE viewthe world. —JOHN LE CARRÉ The prospects for recovery

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Government cites lackoffiscalspace forreluctance BECAUSETHE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL to provide adequatesupporttoeconomy. Thisisodd TALKING AND LISTENING Jahangir Aziz That’s what PM said wasspirit of democracy.Invoking imaginary‘anti-national gangs’ of farmers undermines that SOMETIMES WE MISS the forest forthe trees, where female employmentismuchhigher lion fewerjobs today. Afterimproving after and at other times the trees themselvesbe- than in manufacturing. the lockdown, the employment rate has comethe story. That seems to bethe case with While notavoidable, muchofthe income plateauedsince July, consistent with almost TMAY WELL be that the BJP-ledgovernment at the Centreisfollowing ablowhot India’s 3Q20 GDP print. loss could have been mitigated by budgetary 10 million morerural households seeking and coldstrategy on theongoingfarmers’protests on thecapital’soutskirts.While Some have exultedover headline growth income support. But the government chose MGNREGAemploymentper monthsince Union MinisterofState forAgriculture Kailash Choudharyreiteratesthat the gov- printing a“better-than-expected”-7.5per nottoprovide this. And this shows up clearly Augustcompared to ayear ago. And herein ernment is keeping itsdoor open forasixth round of talkswith farmers, his boss, cent rate on ayear-ago basis, while others, in- in the 3Q GDP numbers.Governmentcon- lies the “fallacy of composition” or the IUnionAgricultureMinisterNarendraSingh Tomarmakes asweepingdenunciation cluding the RBI, have lamentedthat this puts sumption declined22per cent on aquarterly “tragedyof commons”problem.Itmaybera- Indiainits firstever“technical recession”. But basis in 3Q. The government’s unusual reluc- tional foreachfirm to cut backemployment or —the three farm bills arebeing opposedby the same castofcharacters, he says,thatprotested neither inference is meaningful.After clock- tance in providing adequatesupporttothe wages, but if all firms do the same,theyare againstthe abrogation of Article 370, the amendedcitizenship lawand the construction in ing -24per cent the previous quarter, printing economyhas purportedlybeen because of the simplyhurting futureconsumption and, thus, Ayodhya of theRam temple. Union LawMinisterRaviShankar Prasad talksabout the pri- agrowth rate that is onepercentagepoint lackoffiscal space. This seems quiteodd. The their ownfuturedemand and profits. macy of dialogue and then invokesthe “tukde tukde gang” and his colleague, PiyushGoyal, higher thanexpected is nothingtowrite private sector’s excesssavings (savings lessin- Thereisanobvious solution to theprob- who sat at the table in the government-farmer negotiations, alleges the protests arebeing home about and, no, India is notinatechni- vestment) is so large that insteadofborrow- lem, but it is notspending on infrastructure “infiltrated by Leftists and Maoistelements”. It maybethat the labelling is partofthe same calrecession. ing from abroad (running current account projectsorreforms as is widelybelieved. As game-plan as the professedopenness to talk.But the government mustknowthat as it is The National BureauofEconomic deficits) as it usuallydoes, India has been in- long as the pandemic persists,mobility will Research (NBER) in the US defines atechnical Over the last five years, India’s vesting abroad, that is, running current ac- remain limited.Sowhile infrastructurespend- seentodip intoits well-wornplaybook fordealing with dissent, it is shrinking itsown room recession to be one wherethe growth rate is currentaccountdeficit count surpluses. ing and reforms arecritical to sustain formanoeuvrevis-a-vis aprotester whoisdifferent from those it has facedbefore. negative fortwo consecutive quarters. But the averaged 1.6per cent of GDP Over the lastfiveyears, India’s current ac- medium-term growth, neither can boost The farmer,the annadata,isanintimateand resonant figurewho will notbeeasily growth rate is measured on aquarter-over- annually.This turned into a count deficitaveraged1.6per centof GDPan- near-term demand. The pandemic is still not Othered. And so far, theprotest ledbythe Punjab farmer,ismaking itself heardinaway quarter, notyear-ago,basis. Almost all large nually. Thisturnedintoasurplusof 4per cent behindusand fornow Indiawill needtohun- surplus of 4per cent of GDP that is restrainedand carefullycalibrated.While the demand maybeall-or-nothing — economies, including , publish official of GDPin2Q20and JP Morganprojectsitto kerdownaslongasittakes forthe vaccinesto protesting farmers want arepeal of the laws and saytheywill settle fornothing less —the quarterly growth numbers. India’s CSO does- in 2Q20 and JP Morgan average1.6 per cent of GDPthisfiscal year. createherdimmunity.Once immunity has n’t. This leavesustoour owndevices. JP Consequently, despitethe apparent lack of fis- been achieved, mobility will normaliseand mannerinwhichitisbeingmade is sober.The protesters have kept the peace,and con- projects it to average 1.6per Morgan’s estimates suggestthat on aquar- cent of GDP this fiscal year. calspaceathome, the RBI has been funding therecoverycanbeginin earnest. Whatneeds sciouslyresistedextraneous or extremistagendas. The joint resolution passedby32 terly basis,India’sGDP plunged25percentin other countries’ fiscal deficits. Since April this to be ensured is that the recovery is notham- farmer unions on Saturday, reiterating that their onlyissue is the repeal of farm laws and 2Q20 andrecoveredby21per cent in 3Q20. Consequently,despitethe year,the RBI has bought $70billion of foreign strung by damaged household and SME bal- nothing else, distancing themselvesfromthe BharatiyaKisanUnion (EktaUgrahan), Indiadid notsuffertwo consecutive quarters apparent lack of fiscal space at assets,presumably mostlyUSgovernment ance sheets becauseofthe extendedloss of whose members waved posters demanding the release of activists in theBhima Koregaon of negative growth, and, therefore, it is notin home,the RBI has been bonds. That’s roughly2.7 per cent of GDP.Put wagesand incomes. This requires extensive case on Human RightsDay on December 10,isanillustration of this. Forthe BJP-ledgov- arecession. differently, while the governmenthas limited income supportnow.Itisnot so muchthat it Butthe astonishing 21 per cent 3Q quar- fundingother countries’ fiscal itssupport to the domestic economy, it has, will help supportdemand this year,but that it ernment to attempt to taintand tarthis protest, forittosee it through itsadversarialand terly growthis alsonotsomethingoneshould deficits. SinceApril this year, via the RBI, invested almost 3per cent of GDP will protect balancesheetsfromthe extensive fetishistic you-are-with-us-or-with-anti-nationals/Leftists lens, is ill-judged. take much comfortin. If the levelofGDP was the RBI has bought $70 in foreign assets justinthe firsthalf of this fis- damagethe pandemic has already signalled What is at stakehereisnot justthe BJP government’s abilitytopush through apolicy. 100in1Q, then it fell to 75 in 2Q and recov- billion of foreign assets, cal year! it will likely leave in itswake. Howthe government handles this agitation will have consequences forreformand change ered to about 92 lastquarter, it is still about 8 Separately, the RBI reportedlastmonth Unliketypical EM crises, the pandemic is presumably mostly US in agricultureand in other sectors as well. Agovernment that has shown formidable skills per cent lowerthan the levelin1Q20. In fact, that profitsofnon-financiallistedfirmssurged notaninstance of afinancial crisis turning into and machineriesofcommunication mustfind the messageand the medium to engage we expectGDPgrowthin FY22to recoverto12 government bonds. That’s (35per centin nominal andabout30 percent aneconomic shock.Instead, it is an economic the anxieties and concerns of farmers. Morename-calling is notanoption, nor is blam- per cent from -9 per cent in FY21, which im- roughly 2.7per cent of GDP. in real terms) in 3Q20. We know that wages shockbrought on by aweak public health sys- plies that six quarters from nowitwill still be and profitsmakeupthe bulk of GDP.SoifGDP temthat can turn intoafinancialcrisis if the ing it on “too muchdemocracy”. It is time the BJP listenedtoits ownPrime Minister, who Putdifferently,while the about 7per centbelowthe pre-pandemic fell by 7.5per cent and profitsoflistedcom- damage to balancesheets is notlimitedbypol- onlydays ago, remindedthe nationthat democracy is, mostofall, about “kuch kehna, path, or roughly$300-billion-a-year of in- government has limitedits panies increasedby30per cent, it stands to icy.Thegovernment,however, haseschewed kuchsunnana”, talking and listening. That’s the only waytoexpand thetableand give comelossesacrosstwoyears,comparedto the support to the domestic reason that wages, employment, and earn- going down this path. And it musthavegood both sides the space neededfor an agreement. pre-pandemic path. Imagine the havocthis economy, it has, via the RBI, ings of SMEs plummeted. The Centrefor reasons fordoing so. But, as discussedearlier, can wreak to household and SME balance invested almost 3per cent of Monitoring the Indian Economy’s surveys the lackoffiscal space isn’t one of them. sheets,toincome inequality, to poverty, and suggestthe employment rate is still morethan to women’s employment, since muchofthe GDP in foreign assets just in twopercentagepointsbelowits pre-pan- The writer is Chief Emerging Markets HUNGER ALARM economic shockhas been borne by services, the first half of this fiscal year! demiclevel,translating into more than10mil- Economist, JP Morgan. Viewsare personal NFHS dataonchild malnourishment presents soberingpicture. Governmentmustgobacktodrawing board, plug holes

ARLYDATAFROMthe firstphase of the National FamilyHealth Survey (NFHS) (2015-2019)tellsagrim story. The proportion of stuntedchildrenhasrisen in SURGICAL MIS-STRIKE severalofthe 17 states andfiveUnion territories surveyed,putting India at Erisk of reversing precious gains in child nutrition made over previous decades. Worryingly,that includes richer states likeKerala,Gujarat,Maharashtra,Goa Standards mustnot be loweredtocertify Ayurveda postgraduates surgeons andHimachal Pradesh. The shareofunderweight and wasted children has also gone up in the majority of the states. Between 2005-6 (NFHS-3) and 2015-16(NFHS-4), India had re- markable success in reducing stunting from 48 per cent to 38.4per cent. Notonlyisitex- ShailajaChandra ceptionallyraretosee amajor economyand democracy undoing suchgains, but these fig- ures come aftermassive government programmes that sought to addressissues crucial to ATHREE-DECADE-OLD wrangle betweenthe than question asurgeon’s qualifications. geries under supervision. In over 400Ayurvedic allopathicandAYUSHfraternitieshasbeenres- The statutoryregulatorybody forAYUSH hospitals,itisreportedthat,perhaps,only10have healthandnutrition,from thebigpushtoendopendefecationby the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan urrected following arecent clarification on a education is the Central Council of Indian attachedallopathichospitals.Surgicalskillsareby to access to clean cooking fuel and drinking water. 2016 notification. This time, the clash is not Medicine(CCIM). Over the last20years, it has no means impossible to learnbut theybecome Though moregranular dataisneededtoparse the reasonsfor this unexpectedsetback, abouttheAYUSHpractitioners’rightto treatus- become aclone of the erstwhileMedical difficulttomasterwithout continuoustraining therehavebeen severalindicators of the slowing down of economicgrowth andemploy- ingallopathicdrugs,buttheir“right”to conduct Council of India. Fordecades, stalwarts of and supervision.Due to the paucityofpatients, mentdistress,whichare bound to have an effect on hungerand nutrition. The 2017-18 surgeries. Ayurvedahavelamented that CCIM has only limited scope fortraining and access to gaining NSSO report, forinstance, showedadip in consumption expenditure forthe firsttime in Threeimportantgroupsaffectedby thisor- promotedwhat private college managements hands-onpractice, it is hazardous to allowall decades, but the government eventuallydecidedtowithholdit. But the problem of child der have this to say: TheAyurvedic fraternity demand,propelled, in turn, by students’ need Shalya andShalakyapostgraduates to under- maintainspostgraduatesinShalya andShalakya to earn astableincome as medical profession- take surgical procedures. malnourishmentisahardone preciselybecause it is tangledinseveral deep-rootedprob- (twosurgicalstreamsamong14post-graduate als.Inthis misplacedzealtogivebetterearn- Ironically, even an MS Surgery (allopathy) lems,and is notjustafunction of growth. The gender skew in Indian societies, whichleads courses)aretaughtprocedureslistedinthecur- ings to theAyurvedic vaidyas, CCIM has side- orasurgeonwhohaspassedoneof theworld’s to poor education, lack of reproductive choice and inadequatenutrition from childhood, riculum; that the oldest-known surgical spe- linedmanyskills that Ayurvedacould have toughestexaminations to become afellowof perpetuates avicious legacy of under-nutrition. In recent years, the culturewars over non- cialist was, in fact, an Ayurvedic surgeon/sage included, whichare relevant even today. theRoyalCollegeofSurgeons(FRCS)isnotper- vegetarian food habitshavealsoled severalstatestoknockoff eggs —one of the cheapest Sushrut (600BC) who wrotethe Sushrut Even the Ayurvedic fraternity lamentsthat mitted to conduct even comparatively simple sourcesofproteinfor children —off mid-day meal and anganwadi menus. Samhita—aprofoundexpositiononconducting the statutorybody that sets standards for operations liketonsillitis.Inthe lastthree human surgery whichcontinues to receive Ayurvedic education has subjugated thecur- decades, specialisation has excludedgeneral That these arepre-pandemic figures givesmorereason fordisquiet. The COVID-19out- worldwide acclaim. Surgery waspractisedby riculum to nurturemoreand morereplicas of surgeonsfromperformingwhatwasoncecon- break —and the lockdown to contain itsspread whichleftmillions stranded andhungry Ayurvedic surgeons long before the advent of Twofacts makethe case for doctors of modern medicine. Thereby, an an- sidered routine. Forexample, only an ENTsur- —has sent incomes intoatailspin, with the economyyet to recoverfromthe shock.Thepan- westernmedicine. Ayurvedic surgeon-vaidyas cient, time-honouredsystemand itswealth of geoncanperformatonsillectomy. Therefore,to demic has also sharpenedthe edge of all inequalities, and rippedapartfragile welfarenets. Allopaths question the logicofthis claim. weak.When it comes to empirical knowledge has been substituted by notifythatAyurvedic postgraduatesinsurgery So, the real-time deprivations of hunger areboundtobefar moreacute, withserious im- CanSushrut’smillennia-oldpre-eminencebe- teachingstudentsto imbibeasmuchallopathy canperformomnibus operations runscounter plicationsfor generations to come —aswell as fornational aspirationsofprosperity. The stow theright to practisemodern surgery?Do surgery, it is not knowledge as possible. Thishas killedthe knowledge,pu- to the norm in India and in other countries. these Ayurvedic surgeons knowthe hidden rity and goodness of classicalAyurveda, which Inperformingsurgery,theonlybenchmark government mustundertakeurgent assessmentsofnutrition status during the pandemic but rigorous training and risksofevery surgical procedureand howto continuous practice which ironically is the Ayurvedainhigh demand in shouldbethedurationof hands-ontrainingre- and go backtothe drawing boardtoplug the holes. surmountsudden mishaps? Europe, Russiaand America. ceived—counted by surgeries undersupervi- TheMinistryof AYUSHjustifiesitsnotifica- makes forperfection. Until now, the debatewas rivetedon sion,and being judged through external eval- tion on thegroundthat notall vaidyasbut only Allopathic students of Ayurvedicvaidyasusingallopathicdrugstotreat uation.Every surgeon’s skills and competence LE CARRE’SPEOPLE postgraduates qualifying from twosurgical surgerylearn first by symptoms. But nowithas expandedtoencom- mustbetestedbyapplying exactlythe same streams have been authorisedtoperform se- watching and then passsurgery.And twofactsmakethe case for standards before she/he can operate. This co- lected surgeries. Andnone of this is new. But Ayurvedicsurgeon-vaidyasweak.Whenitcomes nundrum of different standards forsurgical He elevatedthe espionagenovel to literature. His protagonists the mootpointiswho decideswhether performing scores of tosurgery, itisnotknowledgebutrigoroustrain- trainingmustbesolvedbecausepatient safety Ayurvedic surgeons possesssufficient profi- surgeries under supervision. ingandcontinuouspracticewhichmakesforper- is farmoreimportant than the career progres- were all toohuman, andborecostofideologically-drivenbattles ciency to conduct these surgeries safely? By Most Ayurvedic hospitals do fection. Both requireclinical material and most sion of Ayurvedic postgraduates. what standardare their skills judged?Surgical Ayurvedichospitals do nothaveafraction of the N2011, WHENJohn Le Carre (born David Cornwell), who diedonMondayat89, not have afraction of the proficiencycannotbejudgedby differentstan- surgicalpatientsfoundinallopathicgeneralhos- The writer is former secretary,AYUSH wasnominated forthe Booker Prize, it took just45minutes forhim to issue a dards in one country—particularly whenless- surgical patients found in pitals. Allopathic studentsofsurgery learn first GovernmentofIndia, andhealthsecretary, statement saying,“Idonot compete forliteraryprizes and have thereforeasked educated patients would rather save money allopathic general hospitals. by watching and then performing scores of sur- Delhigovernment Iformyname to be withdrawn”. Le Carre’s withdrawal wasasnub to theEnglish literaryworld, whichhad long enforcedacaste system between literaryfiction and genrefiction. Yes, he wroteabout espionage, but he wasnoIan Fleming, and George SmileyisnoJames Bond. Le Carre spent his early career,tillthe phenomenal successofThe Spy Who Came in from DECEMBER 15,1980, FORTY YEARS AGO theCold (1963), as aspy.While he neverbroke the silence that his erstwhileprofession demanded, the air of authenticity in his work is oftenattributed to his days at MI6. What FRESH STIR IN ASSAM As aconcession to neighbouring states, the the next dayitself, December 22. makes his work literarilysignificant arethe themesheexplored.For over 50 years, Le AGITATORS ARE SET to intensify the strug- agitators will permitthe transportofply- Carre wroteoffathers and sons (Single&Single), of love and longing (TheNight Manager) gleagainstforeignersinAssam from wood from those areas through Assam. CLAMOUR FOR RAJIV December 18 afterending the 46-day-old LEADERS OF THE Youth Congress (I) made and howthose on the frontlinesofideologically-drivenbattles arethe ones who end up gherao of state legislators. The AASU and MAHARASHTRATALKS fervent appeals to RajivGandhi to join poli- makingthe greatestmoral compromises. AAGSP leadership issuedastatement firmly THE MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT agreed tics and “lead them” at afunction held in Afterthe end of the ColdWar,manythought that Le Carre’s best wasbehind him. After rejecting anymovebythe newly-installed to negotiatewith the representativesofthe Delhitomarkthe 34thbirth anniversaryof all, partofwhat made the mild-mannered,portly, cuckold George Smiley,the protago- stategovernment to hold negotiations on the Shetkari Sanghatana, including itsleader, Sanjay Gandhi. PM , however, nistofthe Trilogy — Tinker,Tailor, Soldier,Spy;The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People foreigners’ issue. It said the present govern- Sharad Joshi, on their demands forremuner- turneddowntheirpleas by denouncingthe —soappealingwas theinevitable dissonance between the high-mindedrhetoric of the ment had “neither anyauthority nor wasitin ative prices foragricultural produce. craze forsearching aleader.“All of youare ColdWar and the compromises and costs of fighting it. But Le Carre definitively established aposition” to settle the foreigners’ issue. The Consequently, theShetkari leaders sus- leaders and shoulddevelop theleadership newagitation, starting on Thursday, is ex- pendedtheiragitation till next Sunday. The withinyou,” she said. The rallywas organ- with AbsoluteFriends, whichdealt with terrorism, and TheConstantGardner (onthe cor- pected to go on till December 30, according government informedthe Sanghatana lead- isedbythe Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress (I). ruptions of the globalpharmaceuticalindustry), that the end of the Cold Warwas not to thetwo organisations. It will take on the ers that it waswilling to hold talkswith them. It wasattendedbymostmembers of Mrs theend of history,and certainlynot of his literature. Perhaps, mostimportantly, in the form of masssatyagrahainfront of theof- Joshi said thatifthe negotiations“fail to con- Gandhi’s cabinet, Haryana Chief Minister ageofultranationalistic pride, his characters establishedfirmly thatpatriotism, in artand fices of the deputy commissioners and sub- cede our demands by next Sunday”,the sec- Bhajan Lal and Youth Congress (I) president in government,isfar more complexthan “mycountry, right or wrong”. divisionaland blockdevelopmentofficers. ond phase of the agitation would commence Ghulam Nabi Azad, among others. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 WHATTHE OTHERS SAY “Whether or not the We st cancurb horrorsagainst UighursinChina,itmust not profitfrom them,nor encourage those who do. Companies should, likeBarcelona 7 THE IDEAS PAGE forward Antoine Griezmann, looktotheir consciences.” —THEGUARDIAN Indiaand anew tech order Seeds of a

The Bidenpresidency is likelytopromote issue-basedalliances fortransfer of emerging technologies. revolution Delhi mustactively participateinthese coalitions to secureits geopolitical interests Old model of agricultureisadragonthe economy, rural living. Newfarm laws offeraway out

ers. Soon, rest of thecountry’s farmers fol- lowedthe lead of their brethren in Punjab. Aftermorethan 50 years,now therehas been some movement worthappreciating in the farm sector.The lateststeps initiated RAJAMANDALA by the Modi government could again usher in revolutionarychangesinIndia’sagricul- turesector. By CRajaMohan When India openedupits market to the worldin1991, ManmohanSingh bid adieu AS THE US formallydeclares Joe Biden as the Shesh Narayan to JawaharlalNehru’spolicyof economicde- next president, one important legacy from Singh velopmentbasedonsocialisticprinciplesand Donald Trumpislikelytoendure. It is the broughtthecountryonthepathto economic proposition that“like-mindedcountries” development. At that time, he had talked mustcome together to cope with emerging FARMERSAREPROTESTINGattheDelhibor- about major changes in the farm sector but globalchallenges, including the governance der.Mostofthe leaders arefromPunjab and could notmove ahead due to coalition poli- of emerging technologies that arereshaping Haryana.Agroupof large landholdingfarm- tics. Today, NarendraModi is also talking relations within and among societies. India ers from western Uttar Pradesh is also part about reforming the agriculturesector.The traditionally reliedonmultilateral approaches of the protests.The farmers aredissenting Congresspartyisagainstthereformsimple- to govern advancedtechnologiesorchoseiso- againstthe three newfarm laws. mented by the Modi government.Thereis lation when the rules did notsuit it. The time Inits2019electionmanifesto,theBJPhad alsoasectionof farmerswhoareopposedto is nowripefor Delhi to consider coalition- promisedtocreateacountrywidemarket for the laws.Althoughthis is political,itisperti- CRSasikumar buildingasamajor tool of itstech-diplomacy. the selling and purchasing of foodgrain and nentto understandthesociologicalandeco- The discourse on technologicalcoalitions includedthe idea of developing trusted Europe and America. Earlier this year,France other agricultural produce. Theselawsare a nomic aspectsbehind farm sector reforms. is nottaking placeinapolitical vacuum, but global supplychains that arenot vulnerable and Canada launchedthe Global Partnership cruciallink in thatdirection. Thelatestfarmpolicyreformsof thegov- amidstthe growing apprehensionsabout to Beijing’s weaponisation of economicin- on Artificial Intelligence to promote respon- It would be apttodiscuss the historic ernment arealso calledagrarian transition China’s use of newlyacquired technological terdependence. sible development and use of AI. India was needtohavetheselawsforthebettermentof development and were implemented in muscleinsupportofits expansionistaims. Trumpactively mobilisedUSallies and among the 15 founding members. the farm sector in the country. Forthe rich Europe and the US early on. Today, around Technology issues arenow quitecentral to partners to shun China’s telecom companies Thereare other initiativesthat India is not farmers of Punjab, Haryana and western 45 per cent of the country’s workforceisin- the current contestation between the US and in the rollout of 5G or “fifth-generation” wire- yetpartof—forexample, the group calledthe Uttar Pradesh, things aredifferent;but for volved in agriculture. When India attained China. Reducing economicand, especially, less technology and promotedthe idea of a “DigitalNations”thatwasfoundedin2014by croresof smalllandholdersinUttarPradesh, Independence, the contribution of agricul- digital dependence on China has also be- coalitionof “clean networks”that wouldshun Britain, Estonia, , South Koreaand New Bihar,Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West turetothe country’sGDP washuge, which come an important objective forIndia, as harmfulsoftwareand appsfromChina.Trump Zealand. The group wantstomobilise digital Bengal,Odisha,etc.,itisnowpossibleto feed todayhascomedownto around15 percent. Delhi navigates the deeplytroubledrelation- expandedthe ambitofthe Anglo-American technologies to enhance the quality of lifefor their families. Theold modelhas been adragonthe econ- ship with Beijing. intelligence-sharing alliance calledFiveEyes their citizens. Landholdings in manystateshave omyaswell as the villages. India has figuredquiteprominentlyinthe (US, UK, Canada, Australia and NewZealand) India is also notpartofthe “Artemis shrunk.Ineastern UP,the cultivators are To have asustainable farm economy, US and Western discourse on building new by initiating consultation with Japan and India Accords” that were launchedinOctober by largely marginal farmers now. Generally, about 20 percent of theagriculturework- coalitions to promote andregulateadvanced on addressing the tension between encryp- the Trumpadministration. These agreements farmers withless thananacreofarable land forcemustfindbettermeansof employment technologies.The sizeof India’smarket aswell tion, privacy and lawenforcement. outline aset of principles forthe cooperative areidentified as marginal farmers.Small in cities. Ideally,theyshould be absorbed in as itstechnological capabilities make it an at- Biden has promisedtoreverse Trump’s and transparent exploration of outer space. It farmers arethose with landholdings be- the industrial sector.Today,India’sservice tractive partner intheeffortto build“technol- decision to walk out of the 2015 Paris Accord is basedonthe recognition that the structure tween 1acreand 2.5 acres. In my village, all sectorisabigemployerandthese20percent ogy coalitions of the capable and willing”. on climatechangeonhis firstday at the White of space activities is undergoing profound thefarmersexcepttwo familiesaremarginal of farmers can be absorbed there. We can- Delhi, whichwas getting drawnintothese House. If global warming demands acollec- transformation and the Outer Space Treaty farmers. It is difficult forafarming familyto notallowsuchahugechunkofthe popula- conversations with Washington during the tive approach,thereare areas whichdemand negotiated in 1967 andthe Moon Treatyof sustainthemselveswithjustanacreofarable tion to be dependent on farming becauseif Trumpterm, must nowget ready to engage adifferent framework.Biden has promised 1979 needtobesupplemented.The founding land. The farmer will have to explore other suchapractice continues, the number of the incoming Biden administration. But is the to rebuild alliances and partnerships with members of the ArtemisAccords areAustralia, avenues to improvehis financialposition. poorwillcontinueto rise.Therefore,itistime Biden team interested? On the face of it, the like-mindedcountries in addressing the Canada,Italy, Japan,Luxembourg,UnitedArab AfterIndependence, therewas no con- to develop models of contract farming. It is differences between Trumpand Biden are threatsfromChina. This is wherewemight Emirates, United Kingdom, and the US. creteefforttoupliftthe farm sector foral- anavenuetodevelopanorganisedcorporate real. Trump’scoalition-buildingwas rooted seesome overlap between the strategies of Delhi needs to appreciatethe value of is- mosttwo decades. Afterthe China war, modelofagricultureinthe country. This, in in scepticism about theefficacyofmultilat- Trumpand Biden. sue-basedcoalitions in producing morepro- when India wasstanding at the precipice turn, will speedupurbanisation in the vil- eral institutions likethe WorldTrade Trump, forexample, had invitedIndia, ductive outcomesinthe technological arena. of economic destruction, Pakistan attacked lagesandthedevelopmentof industriesand Organisation and WorldHealth Organisation Australia and South Koreatothe G-7 summit Suchcoalitions will complement India’s tradi- India. Therewas an acutescarcity of food- theservicesectorthere.Thesesectorswillbe in dealing with arising China. Restoring mul- that wastobeheld in the US this year,before tional focus on multilateralism. In the lastfew grain in the country. The then Prime able to absorb the excess workforceinthe tilateralism, on the other hand, is among the pandemic compelledits postponement. years, India has takenthe lead in promoting Minister, LalBahadurShastri, asked his farm sector. Biden’s toppriorities. Themembers of theGroup of Sevenare the the International Solar Alliance and the agriculture minister,CSubramaniam, to do Variousviews arecirculatingwithrespect This difference is likelytobeless impor- US, Canada, United Kingdom, France, CoalitionforDisasterResilient Infrastructure. something. Subramaniam, with the help to contractfarming,butitisimportantto un- tant when we look at Washington’s longer- Germany, Italyand Japan.Biden’s plans forthe India is also nowamember of the Wassenaar of MSSwaminathan, invited scientist derstand itsstructureand potential. Forin- term record. The US has workedwith multi- G-7 summit areyet to be announced. Biden Arrangement that regulates the flowofdual- Norman Borlaug to India, who had brought stance, if avillagehas athousand farmers ple formatstoachieve itstechnological also promisedtoconvene a“Democracy Biden has promised to use technologies and the Missile Technology arevolutionary change in the farm sector in who have an acre of arable land,then, objectives. In the nuclear arena, forexample, Summit” early on in histenurethat would deal reverse Trump’sdecision to Control Regime. Mexico with his semi-dwarf varieties of throughcontractfarming,someonecansow the US negotiated arms controlagreements with multiple objectives, including the pro- walk out of the 2015 Paris Thescopeof technologygovernanceis ex- rice and wheat. crops on theentire1,000 acresofland. The with itsmainrival, the SovietUnion,during motion of human rightsand protection of Accord on climate change on panding rapidly. In the digital domain alone, Borlaug analysed the farm sector in landcontinuesto belongto thefarmer,while the Cold War. At thesame time, Washington democracies from newdigital technologies. the emerging issues include cyber-security, Punjaband concludedthat production can ontheotherhand,he/shewillearntheprofit workedinmultilateralforumsto producethe Meanwhile, Britain has been discussing his first dayatthe White righttoprivacy,integrity of political processes, be doubled. But none of the farmers was from the sale of produce generated from Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and exclu- the meritsofa“Democracy Ten” that brings House. If global warming contentmoderationonsocialmedia, prevent- ready to use hismethods of farming. Then, his/herpartofthelandholding.Thisalsofrees sive groupings like the Nuclear Suppliers India, SouthKorea and Australia with the G-7 demands acollective ing tech monopolies,digital tradeand taxa- Subramaniam promisedthe farmers that if him/her to pursue other employment op- Group to regulatethe flows of civilnuclear to buildtelecomproductstoreduce the cur- approach, there are areas tion, trans-border dataflows androbotic theyimplementthenewfarmingtechniques, portunities. technology.Inotherwords,theform depends rent global reliance on China. The US strate- weapons. Thereare noagreedanswers within the central government will compensate The Green Revolution changed the face on the function. gic community is debating variations on the whichdemand adifferent or among democraciesonthese difficult is- them.Thisschemewasinitiallyimplemented of India’sagriculturethrough seeds, irriga- Even as he trashedtraditional alliances idea of an alliance betweentechno-democra- framework.Biden has sues. New digitalrules willemerge out of con- in around 150farmholdings with the assis- tion and fertilisers.The next revolution — likethe NorthAtlantic Treaty Organisation, cies —orplural societies with strong techno- promised to rebuild alliances sultation and cooperation among like-minded tance of PunjabAgriculture University, Green Revolution 2.0 —will come through Trumpdevoted muchenergy to theconsol- logicalcapabilities. and partnerships with like- countries. At this fluid digital moment, Delhi Ludhiana.Thusbeganthe“GreenRevolution”. in-depth research,betterinvestment op- idation of the Quad, or Quadrilateral Security AfterBiden’selection, the European Union can secureits economic, political and security Farm producemorethandoubled, and, sub- portunities and access to the market.The Framework,that brought Australia, India, has offeredtorebuildthetransatlanticalliance minded countries in interests through active participation in the sequently, all the farmers in Punjab and three farm laws arearevolutionarystepin Japan and the US together.Trumpalsosought with aspecial focus on technological cooper- addressing the threats from newtechnology coalitions. Haryana joinedthe programme. The Green that direction. to develop the idea of a“QuadPlus”that ation. Amidstthe growing recognition of the China. This is where we Revolution worked on three fronts—better brought additionalcountries ranging from danger of China-ledglobal regimes on tech- The writer is director,InstituteofSouthAsian seeds, irrigation and optimum use of fertilis- The writer is aformerjournalist BraziltoSouthKorea and Vietnam and Israel nology,Brussels has offeredwhat has been might see some overlap Studies, National University of Singaporeand to NewZealand to discuss thecoordination described as aonce-in-a-generation oppor- between the strategies of contributing editor on international affairs for of national responses to thepandemic. This tunity to transform the relationship between Trump and Biden. The IndianExpress LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

WELCOMEDATABASE IDEAS Six months, six crore later THISREFERS TO theeditorial, ‘Counting workers in’ (IE, December). Acompre- hensive database of allthose workingin ONLINE the unorganisedsector,not just the case wasusedtocreatemass hysteria, amounting to nothing floating population, has long been over- ONLYINTHE EXPRESS due.The pandemic-inducedlockdown in March-April and the consequenttra- ● FROMCOALTO Nalini Singh vails of the migrants has onceagain RENEWABLE: brought the issuecentrestage. A GIREESHSHRIMALIAND SIX MONTHS AGO, on June14, actorSushant the maths: From mid-June to mid-August, Rs 6crore.The costsborne by the AIIMS’foren- and their commanding officer in Galwan, plethoraofgovernment schemes canfa- ABHINAVJINDAL Singh Rajput wasfound dead, hangingfrom about 100personnel eachofthe Mumbai and sics team would add to this estimate. Ladakh. Yetmostofour “patriotic” media con- cilitatethisendeavour givingnot only the ceiling fanofhis bedroom in Mumbai. The Patna police forces were engaged24x7 in their As asearing counterpoint, recallthat the tinuedthesaturationcoverageoftheSSRstory, an identity butalsoasocial security net ● INVITINGINVESTMENTS: city police quickly(tooquickly?) concluded separate investigations. In July,ateam of about LSRBSc Mathematics (Hons) student anddemotedthetreacheryoftheChinesePLA to this otherwise “faceless” section of GOPALJAIN that he had diedbysuicide. Tearing at this 20 ED personnel wasdetailedtohooverthe AishwaryaReddy committedsuicide because downthenews schedulerun-order,whichad- society. tragedyimmoderately, manyTVchannels and angle, and in August, the shecould notaffordafunctioning second- mittedly wastheir privileged right. VijaiPant, Hempur www.indianexpress.com social media commentariat piecedtogether NCBdeployedatleast 20 of itspersonnel to hand laptopand internetconnectiontocon- APIL in the Supreme Courtmightnudge “evidence” and equallyquickly suggestedthat sniff out thedrugs angle. By the time the CBI tinue her studiesonlineathome. CBIto expediteitsreportonSSR’sdeath.Butfor THISREFERSTOthe editorial, ‘Counting SSR’s deathwas afoul murder with the paw- got itsmandate, the mediahad sluiced the Two, despiteSSR’s family’s high-decibel inspiration,theCBIcouldturntotheabruptdis- workers in’ (IE, December). Data is im- marks of topShivSena politicians. country’s attentiontothe “murder theory”. A social media campaign,including regular appearance of Australia’sPrime Minister portant and abetterdatabase always en- hierarchy, deriving sanction from scrip- While this theorywas turning into“fact” CBIofficialadmitted that political and public posts of the sisters’ wedding and birthday Harold Holt 50 years agooverthe Christmas hancesthe quality of work.The contin- tures like Manusmriti.So, if aShudra is rapidly, SSR’sfatherissuedaringingaccusation pressurecausedthe agency to deployadis- videos, the familyhas notdisclosedthe name weekend. The debonair Holtentered the wa- uedlockdownsbring out the poor upsetabout hisdegradedand ostracised inPatnathathissonhadbeenmurderedby the proportionately large and high-powered of the suspectwho siphonedoff crores from ters at abeachonthe southernAustralia coast humanresource management in our social status, thereisnoremedy other actor’s live-in girlfriend, actor Rhea team, alsotoallow fordrop-outsdue to SSR’s accounts. Neither hasthe ED so fares- foraswim, with his glamorous girlfriend countryaswell as thepathetic condi- than leaving the Hindu religion, whichis Chakraborty,who he alleged had helpedher- COVID-19. This eliteteam had investigated tablishedmoney-laundering chargesagainst Marjorie watching himfromthe escarpment, tion of labour.However, thegovern- what BRAmbedkar did in October 14, self to Rs 15 crorefromher partner’s account the VijayMallyaand Augusta Westland cases. Rhea Chakraborty.The familyhas notshared andhewasneverseenagain.Manyconspiracy ment’s decision to work on abetter 1956, by converting to Buddhism. andsalteditawayinherownfamily’saccounts. So, on August 20, when theCBI team swept publiclythe modus operandi or the identity theorieswere advanced,includingthathewas database foremployability of the work- LRMurmu, Delhi The countrywas riveted. An extraordinary intoMumbai,itcomprisedsenior officers of of money-laundering suspects, who must aChineseagentandthathewillinglyentereda forcemay benefit the masses.Moreover, spectacle of knock-down-drag-outfights un- the rank of JointDirector, DIG, ASP,SPetal. have been very closetoSSR since, presum- waiting Chinese submarine with statesecrets, this Aadhaar-linked database will en- THIS REFERSTOthe report, ‘, foldedbetween the Mumbai and Patna po- About 25 CBIpersonnel have been engaged ably, they had access to his accounts.And the orthathehadcommittedsuicide.Butaftertwo able the government to createasocial Kshatriyas don’ttakeoffence, why liceforceswhen thelatter launchedits own in this casefor thelastfour months. familydoes notappear to have been publicly days of intensivesearches by divers and heli- security architecturefor workers in the Shudras, says Pragya Thakur’ (IE, investigation in Mumbai. Chargesofmoney Takentogether,the stateand Central gov- fullyforthcoming on the seemingly cavalier copters,the Australian government officially unorganisedsector. December 14). One does notneedthe laundering anddrug abuse gave atoehold to ernment personnel have devoted nearly 460 manner in whichtheyforwarded aforged ended itssearch, sentits condolencestoMrs Sonit Kumar Goswami, Delhi wisdom of Solomontoanswerwhy a twoDelhi-based central agencies—the person-months ontheSSRinvestigation sofar. prescription of mind-altering drugs to a Holt,announcedthePM’sdeathandproceeded Shudrahates to be calledso. BJP MP Enforcement Directorateand the Narcotics Since the staffmembers rangefromjoint di- brother theyknewwas in afragile mental with governance. No further enquiries were PRAGYA’SIGNORANCE PragyaThakur Singh could knowthe an- Control Bureau—tojet down to Mumbai. The rectors to head constables,an averagemonthly state. Neither is it clearwhy asisterlefthim mounted.Hisbodywasneverfoundandspec- swer justbyputting herself in aShudra’s Supreme Court taskedthe CBI to take over the per person compensation of Rs 1lakh totsup in hisapartment in that precariousstate,two ulations continue to this day. THIS REFERSTOthe report, ‘Brahmins, shoes. Clearly,Shudras fear that once case from the , an order which to asalary-plus-DAbill of about Rs 5crore,con- days before hisbody wasfound. Our government agencieswould do well Kshatriyas don’t take offence, why theydisclose their identity,theywill not washailed as avictoryfor thePatna police. servatively calculated. Addtothis the costof Three, the “nationalist”media, whichhad to rememberthat speculations have an infi- Shudras, says Pragya Thakur’(IE, be greetedequallyorwith respect by Sixmonthslater,whatisthe tallyinthe logistics support, legal advisors, public prose- blitzedthe SSR “murder” story, has neither nitelife, but probes have afiniteremit,and the December 14). She attributed this to people of other castes. SSR case?Three factsstand out. cutors, banking resources, dataprocessing, apologisednoracknowledgeditsownmotiva- gulf between them is calledcredibility. Shudras’ ignorance of the caste-based TarsemSingh, Mahilpur One, that the SSR investigation has so far translators and other technical staff, andthe tions. Recall thatone dayafter SSR’s death, the costtaxpayers Rs 6crore at theleast. Here is officialexpenditure alreadyincurredisalmost Chinesebrutallykilled20ofourvaliantjawans The writer is asenior journalist

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 8 EXPRESS NETWORK ‘OurforcesfoughtPLA ‘Where is the contradiction withutmostbravery’ between DDC, Assembly elections’

influence over China to an ex- IN JUSTOVER four months since Waving the listinthe public the Commission’s reportis KRISHNKAUSHIK tent that before the 1949 revo- he took oath as the Lieutenant domain has been selective ready,then it is the job of the NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 lution, almost80per cent of Governor of the Union Territory and manypoint out it was Election Commission, and the China’spopulationfollowed of Jammu and Kashmir on timedwith the DDC elections, Prime Ministerhas said it as well. CHINAINDULGED in “unpro- Buddhism”. August7,MANOJ SINHA has vis- to taint those belonging to Whichstate doesn’t have a vokedaggression” in eastern Quoting Chinese thinker Hu ited all 10 districtsinKashmir mainstream political parties. DDC, be it in south India or north. Ladakh but Indian troops Shi, Singh said, “India has cul- and six out of 10 in Jammu. His The High Courtdeliveredthe And Assemblyelections arealso demonstrated “exemplary turallydominated and con- effort in this period has been to judgment on October 9. It has held. So, whereisthe contradic- courage” and “forcedthem to go trolledChina formorethan ensurethat government pro- been very difficult to preparethe tion? Arewescared anew lead- back”, Defence MinisterRajnath Rajnath Singh 2,000 years without sending a grammes and services reach list. This has nothing to do with ership is being created? Singh said on Monday. single soldier across the bor- people within specifiedtime the DDC elections. We areimple- Speaking at an event organ- der”. This statement,headded, limits. Simultaneously, he kick- menting the High Court’s order Over the years, the gulf isedbyFICCI, Singh said that be proud of what our forces “underlines the fact that India startedthe political process by and as and when lists arecom- between the twodivisions of “the unprovoked aggression on have managed to achieve this as acivilisational statehas been facilitating elections to the piled, these arebeing releasedon Kashmir and Jammu, has our Himalayanfrontiers is are- year.Wheneverthereisasitua- inspiring and influencing the District Development Councils the websitewithout anybias or onlygrown. minder of howthe worldis tion at the LAC, the mostobvi- worldthrough itscultureand (DDCs). He spoketoP prejudice. This will continue. Ithink people mustponder changing, howexisting agree- ous outcome is acomparison softpowerfor centuries”. VAIDYANATHAN IYER on a over the reasons forthis. But Ibe- mentsare being challenged, between India and China’s mil- “Due to itslocation, size, rangeofissues from the unrav- All mainstream leaders have lieve that Kashmir and Jammu howpowerisbeing asserted itarystrength. But Idon’t want population and economy,”the eling of the now-annulled suchasFarooq have occupied been releasedbut then the areour twoeyes. Samaan bhav notjustinthe Himalayasbut to dwell on that. Therecan be a defence ministerstated, India Roshni Acttothe timeline for Abdullah, large tractsofland government restrains seydono kayvikas kayliye across the Indo-Pacific, and how serious debateonwho owns has “always been at the strate- Assemblyelections and restora- Mehbooba Mufti along the same Mehbooba Mufti from humein kaam karna hai aur uncertain the futureofthe re- moremilitarymight but when gic forefront of global security”. tion of 4G services. or Sajad Lone? THEEXPRESS lines as those who stepping out of her residence dono milkayhee iss UT ko aage gion and worldcould be in this it comes to softpowerthereis “Wehavebeen victims of Ihavemet the have bought a or from holding apress badha saktehai (Wehaveto backdrop”. no scope of ambiguity.India is cross-border terrorism, yethave Basedonyour four months as ex-MLAs and minis- INTERVIEW kanal of land with- conference. Why? work towardsthe development He stated that “thereisbig farahead of China when it fought the scourge alone even L-G, what givesyou ters of mostparties. out knowledge? Thereisnorestraint. On the of these tworegions equally, and WITH build-up of armedforces” at the comes to leading the world when therewas no one to sup- confidence? Ihavenot met Can we equate dayofpolls, will the government theycan take the UT ahead only MANOJ SINHA Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. with ideas.” portusbut later,theyunder- Over the lastfour months, I Farooq Abdullah, wrongdoing by the provide security to her or con- together). Ithink,ifthe adminis- J&K LT GOVERNOR “In these testing times our The Defence Ministersaid stood we were right about am convincedthat people in J&K Mehbooba Mufti twocategories of duct elections? This is India, a tration’s intentions areclear,and forces have shown exemplary the “entireeastAsia from Pakistanbeing the fountain- have anew belief… common and Omar Abdullah. people? We have democracy,and freedoms arefor the government is notfavouring courageand remarkable forti- Burma to Thailand to Indonesia head of terrorism. And now people feel theywill be heard Ihavespoken twice with Farooq requestedthe High Courtthat all. Hence youcan saywhatever one over the other,then there tude. Theyfought the PLAwith and Malaysia, even Japan, there again our braveforces arethere well, and theywill get Sahab over the phone. Idonot we intend to bring alaw on this youwant. She is aprotectee, an will be no opposition. utmostbravery and forced is ahugeIndian cultural impact in the forefront fighting icy justice…The DC and SPs have have anyhesitation talking with and allowownership of land to ex-Chief Minister, and she wants them to go back. The coming on all these countries” and winds to guardour borders and been directed to meetthe com- anyone. Ihaveheardthem with the latter categorybasedonto- to step out on apolling day. How Union Home MinisterAmit generations of this nation will “Buddhism had amonumental to fulfill their responsibility.” mon man from 10.30 am to 11.30 intent, and triedtoimplement day’s prices. The High Courthas can we allowit? We have notre- Shah refers to the am on all days,except their constructive suggestions. to decide. Is this wrong? strainedher from holding apress mainstream political parties Wednesdays and Sundays.Iam conference ever. in the region as ‘Gupkar CDS LAUNCHES FIRST PROJECT 17A STEALTH FRIGATE happythat in about 16 districts, Howhas the Roshni Actand The High Courthas asked the Gang’. Doesn’t it hurtthe about 95 -96 per cent saturation itsannulment by the High CBI to look intothe cases. But Therehas been ademand for political process? —onworks suchasupdation of Courtunravelled? the UT government is not 4G across the UT.Your This question needs to be put High levels of preparation under ration cards with Aadhaar,Prime The Finance Minister’s keen on that as well. predecessor GCMurmu too to the Home Minister. But all Minister’s Awas Yojana, pension, speechof1990 said those who We will provide CBI the nec- said the UT did nothavean mustunderstand that the Home etc—has been achieved... have illegal occupation of gov- essaryassistance. But we have objection to restore4G Ministerisalso aleader of a way on land, sea and air: Rawat We have institutionaliseda ernment land will be givenown- requestedthat the UT govern- services. Whyisitstill not party.Asaleader of aparty,he ‘grievance redressal mecha- ership by paying an appropriate ment be allowedtoconstitutean being restored? has everyright to issue apolitical tion in Ladakh and basedonthat nism’, the firstsuchanywhere price. In 2001,2004and 2007, SIT (Special Investigation Team); The issue is with the statement. If leadersinapoliti- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE thereissome development ac- whichissynchronisedwith the this wasextended. Forowner- and letitbemonitored by the Supreme Court. It has been re- cal party can give certain state- KOLKATA,DECEMBER14 tivity whichhas been ongoing in Government of India. ship of land in 2001,the rate pre- High Court. What’s wrong with stored in twodistricts. The gov- ments, then others also have the TibetAutonomousRegion of Complaintsmade by people vailing in 1990 wastaken; in this? ernment has also assured that it freedom to speak their mind. CHIEF OF Defence Staff(CDS) China. Everynation will con- with the Centreare immediately 2004 too, the rate of 1991 was will be restored graduallyin Constitutional posthum hold General Bipin RawatonMonday tinue to preparefor ensuring its directed to us... fixed. The doctrine or theorybe- The government wantsACB other districts. Giventhe sensi- kar rahein hain, humkoiss say said that “high levels of prepara- security basedontheir strategic hind natural resources, be it air, to continue with cases which tivity of the region, and the mat- matlab nahi (I hold a tion areunderwayonland, sea interest. Iwish to assureyou that What wasyour impression water, forests, and government name manygovernment terpending in the Supreme Constitutional post, and Iamnot and air” as “China attemptsto we arefullyprepared forany when youfirsttook charge? land, is these cannotbeanyone’s officials. Unwillingness to Court, Idonot think Ineedto concernedabout it). Ineednot changethe status quoonLine of eventuality,” he said. Iwas abit disappointed.For personal property at whatever hand these cases over to CBI give an opinion on this issue. We comment on this. Actual Control (LAC)along the “P17A ships will be the most example, the number of govern- price. But these can be usedfor has raisedquestions whether will move as per the govern- northern border”. GRSE chairman and MD advancedstate-of-the-art ment employees heremoreor public purposes, or forthe gen- the government wantsto ment’s affidavit in the Supreme With the changeinland laws, TheCDS wasspeaking at the Rear Admiral (retd) VK GuidedMissile Frigates, 149-m- less matches that in Bihar.But if eral public. shield these officials. Court. thereisconcern that people launchofthe firstProject 17A Saxena with CDS Bipin long,withadisplacementofap- youlook at the population of the The High Courthas givenits Thereare just19cases where from outside will come and stealth frigate‘Himgiri’, an ad- Rawatatthe launchin proximately6670Tand having two, thereisahugedifference judgement basedonthis theory. the Anti Corruption Bureauhas Thereare fears here settle here? dition to the might of the KolkataMonday. Partha Paul an advancedCODOG propulsion (J&K: 1.25 crore, Bihar 9.9 crore). Iwelcome it, and itsorders are already filedachargesheetoris Assemblyelections will be Thereisnotreatment for Indian Navy,built by the system enabling speedofover If youlook at the Budget too, J&K being implemented despitedif- in the process of doing so. put on the backburner after imaginedfears. Give me asingle Garden ReachShipbuilders and 28 knots.These complex has abudget of about Rs 1lakh ficulties. Ibelieve this is the tip of Transferring these to CBI will DDC polls. example of anyoutsider having Engineers Limited (GRSE), in General Rawatsaid the weapon platforms areequipped crore, and is comparable with the iceberg. onlylead to delays.And justice In his August15speechfrom bought land here. Since August5, Kolkata. Indian armedforces will leave no with apowerful weapon and manyother states. Giventhese delayedisjustice denied. And as the RedFort, the Prime Minister 2019,tell me asingle name. I The PSU wasawarded acon- stone unturnedtosafeguardthe sensor packagecapable of neu- statistics, Ifeel resources have But howdoyou differentiate farasthe integrity of the ACBis had talked about it. And every- challengeanyone to name one tract, amounting to over Rs nation againstany eventuality tralising threatsinall three di- notbeen put to good use. between the richand concerned, Iwill sayitwith ut- one knows the fact that the person from outside who has 19,293 crore, forconstruction of and Himgiri will be amajor mensions, air,surface and sub- influential, and poor and mostresponsibility... that none Delimitation Commission is at bought land here. This is baseless. three stealth frigates under boosttonaval prowess. surface,” read astatement Have youmet leaders of landless? should doubt itscredibility. work,not justinJ&K, but four FULLINTERVIEWON Project 17A. “Weare in astandoffsitua- by GRSE. mainstream political parties Should we treat those who Northeastern states as well. Once www.indianexpress.com Assam Non-Gulf NRIs likely to be first to get voting rights TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE manpowerneededatthe India lotpaperonthevoter’sbehalf and diasporaabout facilitating voting theConductof ElectionRules1961. CASES: ACTIVECASES:3,52,586 schools to RITIKACHOPRA& missionsabroadto facilitatepostal hand it over.The overseas elector through postalvotes since travel- The proposal comes ayear af- 287 SHUBHAJITROY voting forNRIs. can then markher preference at ling to India forelections wasa tertheBillthatproposedtoextend DAYSSINCE 98,84,100 DEATHS:143,355 PANDEMIC resume NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 The poll panel has also indi- the mission, getthe self-declara- “costlyaffair”. proxyvoting to overseas Indians BEGAN TESTS: 15,45,66,990 | RECOVERIES: 9,388,159 cated to the MEA the countries tion form attestedbythe desig- The EC informedthe govern- lapsedwiththedissolutionof the THEELECTIONCommission’s(EC) whereitwouldliketohavepostal nated officers and hand backthe mentthatitis“technicallyandad- 16th Lok Sabha. Currently, voters CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS from Jan 1 proposal to grant postalvoting votingintroducedonapilotbasis. ballotpaperanddeclarationform ministratively ready”to extendthe residingabroadcanonlycasttheir 27,071 33630,695 8,55,157 rightstoNon-Resident Indians Fornow,Gulf countries arenot in asealedenvelope to the mis- ElectronicallyTransmitted Postal votes in their respective con- (NRIs)mayget implementedfirst partofthe proposedpilotgiven sion, whichwill then dispatchall BallotSystem(ETPBS) to voters stituencies.Thisregulationisseen ABHISHEKSAHA forvotersbasedintheUS,Canada, thereservationsearlierexpressed the envelopes to the election offi- abroad forelections next year in as restrictive as onlyalittle over a GUWAHATI,DECEMBER14 NewZealand, Japan, Australia, by the ministryoverseeking per- cer concerned. Assam,WestBengal,Kerala,Tamil croreIndianslivingoverseashave Germany, FranceandSouthAfrica, mission in non-democratic na- AsfirstreportedbyTheIndian Nadu and Puducherry. registeredasvoters, the maxi- The Assam government on The Indian Express has learnt. tions to facilitatepostalvoting for ExpressonDecember1, theECap- Under ETPBS, whichiscur- mum being from Kerala. Mondayannouncedthatstarting The EC and the Ministryof India citizens living there. proachedthe LawMinistrylast rentlyonlyavailabletothoseinthe AccordingtotheCommission’s January1,allstaterunschoolswill External Affairs (MEA) held a According to sources, in the monthto permitNRIsto casttheir defence services, the postalballot proposal,any NRIinterestedinvot- function in aregular waydoing meeting lastweek in whichthe meetingheldlastweekwithMEA, votesoverseasthroughpostalbal- isdispatchedelectronicallyandre- ing through the postalballotinan STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES away with Covid-related restric- latter,sources said, agreedtothe theECislearnedtohaveproposed lots.TheCommissiontoldthegov- turnedviaordinarymail.To extend election will have to inform the ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK tions imposedasofnow. proposal,ontheconditionthatthe that adesignated officer in the ernment that it had receivedrep- this facility to overseas voters, the Returning Officer (RO) at leastfive Uttarakhand 7,256 1,178 At present, Classes 6and on- Commission should arrangethe Indianmissiondownloadthebal- resentations from the Indian government onlyneeds to amend daysaftertheelectionnotification. N/A --wardshavebeen functioning in a N/A --staggeredfashioningovernment- runschools.Aspertheannounce- STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING ment, classes from nurseryto Stan Swamy’s bail ‘Alarming’ trend of very high ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK Class 6will reopen on January1. Karnataka17,409 7,972 Assam Education Minister Delhi 16,785 7,908 HimantaBiswaSarma told re- plea opposed by NIA C-section births, says survey porters, "FromJanuary1,all re- Maharashtra74,1045,975 strictionsonschoolswillbewith- prison. Swamyhas been lodged Public healthcareexperts tion surgery is abodilyinterven- STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES drawn.Regularclasseswillbegin. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE in Taloja Central Jail in Navi UDITMISRA,NUSHAIBA suchasSakthivelSelvaraj, tion, and it can have conse- ONDEC13 TOTAL Onlymask will be required and MUMBAI,DECEMBER14 Mumbai since his arrest in IQBAL&ANURADHA Director,Health Economics, quences suchasanaesthesia Kerala 4,9686,69,330 social distance norms will be fol- October.The courthas asked the MASCARENHAS Financing and Policy,atthe Public complications, blood loss, infec- Maharashtra3,717 18,80,416 lowed. All classes will start, end- THE SPECIAL National authorities to replytothe plea. NEWDELHI,PUNE,DEC14 Health Foundation of India, say tions and injurytoothervital ing the pattern of staggered West Bengal 2,580 5,21,795 Investigation Agency (NIA) court Swamysubmitted to the court India’s numbers aremuchhigher structures. Crucially, it is the classes we were following till will consider an application by that anysuchtransfer should be DATA FROM the latestNational than other countries. “At60.7 per mother who bears the risk in STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS now."AdetailedStandard Elgaar Parishad accusedFather done onlyafter intimating the FamilyHealth Survey shows an cent, Telangana has an alarmingly mostofthese interventions. ONDEC13 TOTAL OperatingProcedure(SOP)inthis Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old courtand giving Swamyanop- “alarming” trend of very high high proportion of C-section de- Thereare severalreasons why Maharashtra7249,307 regard is expected soon from the Jesuit priestand tribal rightsac- portunity to argue in that. “births deliveredbycaesarean liveries compared to global stan- C-section deliveries maybepre- West Bengal 47 9,057 education department. tivist, seeking clone copiesof Special Public Prosecutor section” across moststatesand dards,” he said. ferred.The first, of course, is when Sarma said the decision was Delhi 33 10,014 dataretrievedfromelectronic Prakash Shetty forNIA however Union Territories that were SeveralIndian states already doctors believe thereisathreat to takenconsidering that Assam’s equipment that wasseizeddur- opposedSwamy’s bail plea along mappedinthe firstphase. had high levels of C-section de- the lifeofthe pregnant woman. DataasonDecember13,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical Covid cases have been consider- Researchandstategovernments.Often,thenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays ing his arrest.This came after with other applications and said Acaesarean delivery (C-sec- liveries in NFHS-4 (2015-16). But it is also afact that many aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive ablylow in the recent past. counsels representing Swamy that the investigation agency has tion) is asurgical procedureused Preliminarydatafor the latest women ask foritthemselves. told the courtthat ahuge takenonlyrelevant dataand has to deliverababythrough inci- round —2019-20 —shows that Dr Bharati Dhorepatil, vice- amount of datawas collected givenacopyofthe same to the sions in the abdomen and uterus. in moststatesthis number has president of the Federation of CHHATTISGARH from him, yetthe amount of data applicant. Afterthe courtasked According to the World gone up further.For instance, in Obstetric and Gynaecological clonedand providedtohim was NIA to give acopyofall the data Health Organisation, areason- AndhraPradesh it is 42.4 per Societies of India, pointed to yet 2chariots to trace Ram’s route during his exile only8Terabyte(TB). it had taken, Shetty sought time able percentageofbirths by C- cent, in Kerala it is 38.9 per cent, another reason. “Marriages are Moreover, Swamy’s counsel to take instructions on the extent section is between 10-15per in Goa it is 39.5 per cent and in happening late. The pelvis can ment in the statecompletedtwo siteofthe onlyKaushalya tem- also informedthe courtpresided of datarecovered. cent. At this levelofuse, C-sec- J&K it is 41.7 per cent. getrigid during pregnancy,and EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE years. ple in the world. over by special judgeDE Moreover, advocates Sudeep tion reduces maternal as well as “Therehas also been arise in due to safer techniques available RAIPUR,DECEMBER14 The chariots will trace the “During the exile period, Kothalikar of the replyreceived Pasbola and Sharif Shaikh for newborn mortality rates. the number of institutional de- now, thereisalso apressurefrom RamVan Gaman Path, or the LordRam had entered from the jail authorities on the Swamymoved another applica- However, in India, according liveries, and the fall out could be families to getaC-section done,” TWOCHARIOTS, carrying sym- routethat Ramtook during his Chhattisgarhvia Sitamadi- possible transfer in viewofhis tion seeking Swamy’s bag that to NFHS-5 datareleasedlast an increase in the C-sections,” Dr she said. Adisaggregated data bolic images of Ram, Laxman exile, and will coveracollective Harchauka area in Koriyadistrict various ailmentsand age. Swamy wasallegedly seizedbyNIA dur- week,several states have C-sec- KSJames, director of Mumbai- analysis will also help under- and Sita, were flagged offfrom 1,575km. Theywill meeton and his lastvisit in Chhattisgarh had movedaplea seeking oppor- ing his arrest and also raisedap- tion between 30-40 per cent. In basedInternational Instituteof stand whether these deliveries Chhattisgarh’s Koriyaand December 17 at Chandkhuri – statewas at Ramaram area of tunity to be heardifadecision is prehensionregardinghispossible Telangana, this number is over Population Sciences, said. arehappening in public facilities Sukma districtsonMonday-- considered the birthplace of Sukma district,” an official state- takentotransfer him to anyother transfer to another jail. 60 per cent. According to doctors, aC-sec- or private facilities. the daythe Congress govern- Ram’s mother Kaushalya and the ment said. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 9

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 @ieExplained #ExpressExplained 10 If thereare questions of current or contemporaryrelevancethat youwould like E EXPLAINED explained, please [email protected]

SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD New evidence why pet cats Farm reforms —inIndia, China (and possibly lions) are so At atime whenfarmers areagitatinginDelhi againstthe newagriculturelawspushedbythe government, vulnerable to coronavirus alook at howChinahad approachedreforms differently—agriculturefirst—and howithelped growth

EIGHTSPECIESANDTHEIRINFECTIONRISK the rural economy, forlivelihood,” the au- UDITMISRA TWOECONOMIES,SIXDECADES thors clarify. Chicken Duck Mouse Rat Pig Dog Ferret Cat Civet NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 ■China ■ India So what wasthe keydifference between THE ONGOINGfarmer protests in Delhihave the twostrategies? forced the government to rethink itsnew Agriculture,forestry,andfishing,value GDP(constant2010US$)-China.India “The Chinese policymakers firstcreated farm laws by proposing amendments. added(constant2010US$) the incentivesand institutions required by 11.53 tn However, the impasse continues. Forthe the marketeconomyand then, in the mid- 800 793.89 bn 12 mostpart, theprotestshavebeen ledby 2.23 tn 1980s,theybegan to slowlyopen up mar- 700 10 Affinity farmers from Punjab and Haryana —which kets,bywithdrawing central planning and NonSusceptible 600 873.35 bn areIncidentally the twostatesthatbenefited 1978: 381.56 bn 8 reducing the scope of procurement while ex- Susceptible 500 themostunder the previous policy regime. 400 138.55 bn 6 1978: 2.964 panding the role of private trade and mar- Inferred In the contextofIndia’s push forfarm re- 300 119.274bn 293.62 bn tn kets,” the authors find. Billion Trillion 4 200 forms, China presentsastudy in contrast. A 392.24 2 292.24bn “Of course, it is no one’s case thatIndia 2008 paper publishedinEconomic and 100 215.41bn bn couldhavesimplyreplicatedthe China model. HumanAffinityThreshold Political Weeklyunderlineshow different re- 0 0 It is crucial to note that China had more 5 5 5 9 15 10 75 70 95 85 05 60 90 80 Source: Centrefor GenomicRegulation form routes —China, unlikeIndia, startedoff 00 favourable initialconditions —evenin1970, 197 19 19 1970 196 1965 1995 19 20 201 2019 201 1985 19 19 19 1960 1990 20 2010 1980 19 20 2005 2000 with reforms in the agriculture sector —have 20 China had asignificantedgeoverIndia be it Vulnerability to coronavirus infection, compared to humans. Based ledtodifferent economic trajectories forthe World Bank national accountsdata, and OECD National Accountsdatafiles health, education, moreegalitarian access to on the binding affinity of each species’ ACE2 receptors with SARS- twocountries. land,andgrowth of the powersector.And that CoV-2 spikeprotein. Source: Centrefor Genomic Regulation explains “why, despitethe private and eco- What arethe reasons forthe farmer economic aspects. made it morecompetitive.Besides, prosper- nomic restrictions imposed on the Chinese protests in India? ity in agriculture favoured thedevelopment rural population, the countrycould achieve a REPORTS AT various stages during the elling to test this. Theyalso compared Thereare twoaspects to the current im- Could things have been different? of adynamic rural non-farm (RNF) sector,re- sustainedgrowth even before the reforms”. pandemichaveshown that domestic the “codon adaptation index” -which passe. One iswhether thesereforms will ben- The Economic and Political Weeklypa- garded as one of the main causes forrapid cats, as well as lions and tigers, can be isameasureofhow efficientlythevirus efit farmers or not. This is aquestion of eco- per of 2008 mentionedearlier —titled‘The povertyreduction in China as it providedad- What arethe takeaways forIndia? infected with the novelcoronavirus. replicates afterentering thecell. nomics. The government’s argument is that Dragon and TheElephant: Learning from ditionalsources of income outsidefarming,” Seen in thisperspective,the whole issue Newresearch has providedevidence Theyfound that the mostvulnera- opening up the farm sector to marketforces agricultural and rural reforms in China and the authors write. of minimum supportprices (MSPs) is essen- forwhat makes petcatsvulnerable, ble species next to humansare ferrets, will notonlyreduce the stress on itsfinances India’ —byShenggen Fanand Ashok Gulati “The rapid development of the RNF sec- tiallyabout flawedincentives. addingto thefindingsof previousstud- followedbycats,civetsanddogs.These butalsohelpfarmersby makingfarmingmore (both associated with the International Food toralso encouraged the governmenttoex- Notwithstanding the economic logic that ies—and the general un- species tickedbothboxes remunerative.Farmers argue that interaction Policy Research Instituteatthattime) is pandthe scope of policy changes and put greater playoffreemarkets will improveout- derstanding—thatfelines —bindingaffinity and withprivate playerswillruinthemfinancially. quiteinstructive. pressureonthe urban economytoreform as comes forfarmers, it is unreasonable to ex- aresusceptible because colon adaptation index. The second aspectismorepolitical and “Despitesimilar trends in the growth well, sincenon-farm enterprisesinrural ar- pectfarmersofPunjabandHaryanato give up their cellular structurefa- BIGCATS: Beforethe relates to howthe concernedlawswereleg- rates, the twocountries have takendifferent eas had become morecompetitive than the on the safetyofMSPs overnight. cilitatescoronavirusinfec- BarcelonaZoolions,seven islated.The government says it has gone reform paths; China startedoff with reforms state-ownedenterprises(SOEs). Reforms of What the government could have done tion. The latestresearch tigersandlionshadtested through the required duediligence before in the agriculturesector and in rural areas, the SOEs,inturn,triggered macroeconomic is to build up thecase formarketsground up comesfromtheCentrefor positive at New York's turning itsideas intolaws. Farmers, on the while India startedbyliberalising and reform- reforms, opening up the economyfurther,” andthenallowed farmers the time to adjust Genomic Regulation PAPER Bronx Zoo earlier.Does other hand, stridentlycriticise the lackofde- ing the manufacturing sector.These differ- theywrite. to marketforces. It is also noteworthy that (CRG) headquarteredin the reasonwhy domestic batebeforethe laws enacted. ences have ledtodifferent growth ratesand, Between1978and2002,therate of growth severalother policy choices by the govern- Barcelona —incidentally CLIP cats arevulnerablealso The firstone indicatesadeep-seated mis- moreimportantly, differentrates of poverty inagriculturenearly doubledcomparedto the ment -- providingproduction linked incen- the same city wherefour applytobig cats? trustinthe wayamarket economy functions. reduction,” theywriteatthe startofthe paper. 1966-1977period, and this wasthe mainrea- tivestothe manufacturing sector,import zoolions were found pos- NEWRESEARCH “Wehavenot looked Amarket economy essentially refers to asys- son whypoverty in China came down from bans, higher importduties,not joining the itive forcoronavirus last at the genome of big fe- temwherethepricingandsupplyofgoodsand Howdid it helpthatreforms in China 33%ofthe population in 1978 to 3% in 2001. Regional Comprehensive Economic week.The paper is publishedinthe lines,”CRG Director Luis Serrano, sen- servicesarepredominantlydeterminedbythe startedwith the farm sector? In starkcontrast, the twoauthors found Partnership (RCEP) trade pact, goingslowon journal PLOS ComputationalBiology. ior author of the study,said by email, free andvoluntary interactionofpeople and “By making agriculturethe starting point that in India, the mostrapid povertyreduc- the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code imple- THE MECHANISM: Thecoron- “but Iassumedthat sincecatscan be firms in the marketplace. of market-oriented reforms, asector which tion occurredfromthe late1960s to the late mentation —are essentially about shielding avirusinitiatesinfectionusingthespike infected,thereisabig chance that li- The second one reflectsadeepening dis- gave majority of the peopletheir livelihood, 1980s. This was, however, notbecause of re- constituentsfrommarketforces. protein on itssurface. On the surfaceof ons and tigers will as well, since they trustinthewaythegovernmentisfunctioning. Chinacould ensureawidespread distribu- forms,butratherdueto strongpolicysupport Datashows that thebulk of farm produce thehumancellareproteinscalledACE2 will be very close in sequence.” As it turns out, both strains of suspicions tion of gains and build consensus and polit- to agriculture. wastradedprivately even before these laws receptors.Thespikeproteinbindswith PREVIOUSFINDINGS: Earlier this areintertwinedand that is what makes the ical supportfor the continuation of reforms. “India still continueswith statefood pro- came into force. The keyconcern forIndia theACE2receptor, theninvadesthecell year,alargerstudyhad compared the current deadlockaquestion of political econ- Reform of incentivesresulted in greater re- curement and distribution, mainly because shouldbethecreation of incentivesand insti- and goes on to replicate. The same vulnerability of over 400studies (The omyand notjusteconomics. That is whyit turns to thefarmers and in moreefficient re- it is seen as affirmative action forovertwo- tutions foramarket economytofunctionbe- mechanism takesplace in coronavirus Indian Express,September 1). It was is reasonabletoexpect that the eventual so- source allocation, whichinturn strength- thirds of the population, including the poor- cause therein lies the onlysustainable solu- infection of other species, too. basedonananalysis of amino acids in lution would likelyhavebothpolitical and enedthe domestic production base and est, who aredependentonagricultureand tion to allaying deep-setsuspicions. WHAT'S NEW: The newresearch the ACE2 receptor. That one found cats looksattheACE2receptorsof 10 differ- and Siberian tigers at medium risk, entspeciesandcomparestheiraffinity behind humans, some other primate forbindingwiththevirusspikeprotein. species,and dolphins. The researchers usedcomputer mod- KABIRFIRAQUE What’s driving civic movement in Cuba

Thecollective beganatatime when many who were inside, claiming that one of the International. INDIA ACTIVE CASES 352,586 OMMARATHE Cubansweregetting access to the Internetfor protesting members, ajournalist, had broken In many countries,membersofthe Cuban NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 the firsttime in acountrywherethe govern- Covid-19protocols. These arreststoo were diasporaare holding rallies supporting MSI. ment controls all modes of communication. recordedoncell phones and postedtosocial Facedwithpublicanger,the Cuban gov- 420,000 ACAMPAIGNby artistsandactivistsdemand- Thishappenedthankstoa2015 dealbetween medianetworks. Foranhour afterthe raid, ernmentreleasedaprominentpolitical dissi- ing greater freedom of expression in Cuba, a Cuba and the US, one provision of whichwas Facebook,YouTubeand Instagram went down dent, Silverio Portal Contreras, on December countrywhere an authoritarian communist that the Cubanregimeshould allowits peo- all overthe country, as per The Economist. 1. However, it continuestoderide theMSI,call- regime has been ruling foroversix decades, plegreater Internetfreedomsin exchangefor Aday later,inarare showofdefiance, ing it an agent of “Yankee imperialism”. 409,689 352,586 has been earninginternational attention. opening bilateral relations. around 300protesters,includingMSIsupport- Twoyearsafteritbeganasaprotest against When the MSI demonstrated outside ersaswellasactivistsfromothermovements, Has greater access to Internetinfluenced 370,000 statecensorship of artistic works, the Cuba’sparliamentagainstDecree349,thegov- demonstrated outside the CultureMinistry, recent activism? Movimiento San Isidro, or the San Isidro ernment,usuallyswiftincrushinganydissent, demanding dialogue with the Vice-Minister, Since December 2018,when Cuba firstal- Movement (MSI), has become aplatform for agreedtosuspendenforcementof thedecree. who subsequentlymet with them forfive lowedaccess to the webonmobile phones, Cubandissidentswithinandoutsidethecoun- hours, surroundedbysecurity forces. itsuse has become morewidespread. The LAST 10 DAYS trytospeak outagainstgovernmentexcesses. Whyare artists protesting again? New York Times reportedthat about two- Dec 4Dec 13 Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel has It wastriggeredby the arrest of amember Howhas the international community thirds of the population nowenjoys some kind 320,000 brandedthe movement “an imperialistreal- of the MSI, Afro-Cuban rapper Denis Solís, on responded? of Internetaccess, giving them the chance to ity show to destroy ouridentity&subjugate November 9. He livestreamedthe arrest on Days afterSolís’sarrest,USSecretaryofState rallyaround causes using social media. Note:The Dec 13 figureinthis graphisbased on thegovernment updateonDec 14 us again” and calledfor it to be “crushed”. Facebook from his mobile phone, recording a MikePompeo expressedsupportfor the MSI, Local activismthathas sprungupdue to policeofficerentering hishousewithout per- saying,“We urge theCubanregimeto ceaseha- this has already forced the government to What is MovimientoSan Isidro? mission. Twodays later,hewas sentencedto rassment of San IsidroMovement protestors budgeonacouple of occasions.In2018, the INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLDTOTAL CASES It startedinSeptember 2018,when the eight months in prison for“contempt”, and and to release musician Denis Solís, who was regime had to ease rulesthat would have re- 9,884,100 72,417,335 Cuban government sought to enforceDecree wassent to amaximum-security facility out- unjustlysentencedtoeight months in prison. strictedentrepreneurstoonelineof business, 349, alaw that would have givenpowers to side Havana, whereheremains incarcerated. Freedom of expression is ahuman right. The aftermembers of the tourism sector threat- Source:MinistryofHealth&family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, the CultureMinistrytorestrictcultural activ- MSI members beganahunger-and-thirst United States stands with Cuba’s people.” enedastrike. In 2019,after authoritiestriedto Welfare,updatedat11pmonDec14 updatedat11pmonDec14 ity that it did notapprove. In protest,artists, strike,andlockedthemselvesinside theirSan Afterthe November 26 crackdown, the clampdownonaprivate intranetusedby poets,journalistsand activists gatheredinSan Isidroheadquarters. Thestrikecontinuedun- Netherlands and the CzechRepublicvoiced gamers, calledSNet, dozens gathered in Isidro, aBlack-majority locality that is partof til November 26, whengovernment agents concern forhuman rightsinCuba, as did var- protest. ThegovernmentallowedSNettocon- the Old HavanaUNESCOWorld HeritageSite. brokedownthe door and arrested 14 people ious activistrightsgroups, suchasAmnesty tinue, albeit under surveillance. JohnleCarré’slegacy:spieswhowerehumanratherthanglamorous

ance giveslittle clue to hissharp intelligence Schoolboy (1977), APerfect Spy (1986), The directed TheSpy Who Came in from theCold PAROMITACHAKRABARTI and emotional depth. WhileSmileyinves- Tailor of Panama (1996)and The Constant (1965), featuring RichardBurton; The Looking NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 tigateswhat appears to be acase of suicide Gardener (2001). In acareer that spanned Glass War (1970), directed by Frank Pierson and the murder of aschoolboyrespectively John le nearly 50 years and 25 books, le Carré’s later andwith AnthonyHopkins,Christopher ASHORT, pudgy,unkempt spyinthe lead in the firsttwo novels, it is with le Carré’s Carré, novelsbecamemorepolitical,offeringveiled Jones and Ralph Richardson in the cast; The might notsound likethe best advertise- thirdand mostwell-known novel, The Spy authorof commentaryonthefalloutsoftheuseof force LittleDrummer Girl(1984),byGeorgeRoy Hill, ment foranespionagenovel, but British who Came in from theCold (1963),that the TheSpy Who to combat insurgency and terrorism, by the and featuring Diane Keaton; Fernando writer John le Carré,who revolutionised the novels move intoanew direction. Came in US andthe UK in particular.His bookswere Meirelles's The Constant Gardener (2005),fea- genre, knewwhat he wassigning his read- FollowingWorldWarII,uneasypeacehad from the oftensituatedintroubled conflict zones, in- turing Ralph Fiennes; and Tinker Tailor Soldier ers up forwhen he introducedGeorge markedrelationsbetween the US and the Cold,diedon cluding in Chechnya,Rwanda and Israel- Spy (2011), directed by Tomas Alfredson. Smileytothem —adeep dive intothe moral thenSovietUnion,andtheirallies.Espionage Saturday. Palestine.HislastnovelwasAgentRunningin Although he wroteseveral semi-autobi- ambivalence that characterises the world and covert propaganda played abig role in AP/File the Field,published in Octoberlastyear. ographical accountsinhis books, le Carré of secret service. Le Carré, 89, diedon foreignaffairsuntilthefallof theUSSRin1991. wasdismissive of the idea of memoirs and December 12 in Cornwall, UK. CornwellhadhimselfservedintheBritishfor- Resoluteagainstawards autobiographies. “I’m horrifiedatthe notion eignoffice,inMI5 and MI6. In fact, it wasthe JamesBondnovels.LeCarré’sspies—Smiley, pressedtheir emotions to carry out the vi- Throughout his career,leCarré refusedto of autobiography, becauseI’m already con- Early life&works objection of the ForeignOffice to lethim use Alec Leamas who fronts The Spy Who Came sion of governmentsfor what theybelieved allowhis bookstobesentforawards. He was structing the lies Iamgoing to tell,”hefa- Born on October 19,1931, as David John hisname forhis writing career,that ledhim infromtheCold,andtheotherswhofollowed would be forthe greater good but often equallyresoluteabout notaccepting state mouslysaid in an interview. But his fictional MooreCornwell, the writer had an unsta- to adoptthe pseudonym John le Carré. —werethe antithesis of Bond, acharacter le turnedout to be notquite—that upended honours. But his contribution, especiallyhis universe offers aglimpse of the truths that ble childhood, especiallyhis father’s fre- Carré termedas“an international gangster”. establishedhierarchies and came to be the humanisation of the espionagesystem, did mattered.InanessayinMarch 1992, le Carré quent run-ins with the law, whichgavehim Spies minus the glamour His men spent their livesfightingloneliness, benchmarkofagood espionagenovel. notgounrecognisedbyhis readers or his wrote, "All fictional characters areamal- auniqueunderstandingofhuman nature In The Spy Who Came in from theCold,le bureaucratic redtape and moral dilemmas While ablurb from novelistGraham peers. British novelistPhilip Roth declared gams; all spring from muchdeeper wells and itsfailings. Carréfirstcreatedamurkymoraluniverseof justasany other person, but oftenwith Greenetermedhis1963bookas“thebestspy his autobiographical novel, APerfect Spy,fea- than their apparent counterpartsinlife. All, He wrotehis firstnovel Call forthe Dead British secret service operations that wasfar deeper personaland political fallouts. storyIhave ever read”, The Spy Who Came in turing adouble agent, Magnus Pym, as the in theend,likethe poor suspects in my files, in 1961,followedbyAMurder of Quality from theprevalent notion of spying as an act It wasthis worldthathecreated —peo- from theCold wasonlythe starting pointofle “bestEnglishnovelsincethe war”. Cinematic arerefitted and remoulded in thewriter's (1962). Here, he introducedSmiley, an un- of glamorousdaredevilryintheserviceof the pledby men who did notalwaysunderstand Carré’s manysuccesses, that include Tinker translations of his novels acquiredidentities imagination,untiltheyare probablycloserto prepossessing man, whose drab appear- nation—anideaestablishedbyIanFleming’s the implications of their actions, who sup- Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), The Honourable of theirown. These include the Martin Ritt- his ownnaturethantoanybody else's."

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 11 ECONOMY GOLD RUPEE OIL SILVER `48,371 `73.55 $49.85 `62,469

Note:Gold, silverrates at Delhispotmarket;gold per10g,silverper 1kg; Brent crudeasof2300IST SENSEX: 46,253.46 ▲ 154.45 NIFTY: 13,558.15 ▲ 44.30 NIKKEI: 26,732.44 ▲ 79.92 HANGSENG: 26,389.52 ▼ 116.35 FTSE: 6,570.39 ▲ 23.64 DAX: 13,275.75 ▲ 161.45

Internationalmarket data till 1900IST PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS NARASAPURA FACTORY VIOLENCE Apple to send extra teams to Divestment,fiscaldeficit,infrapush assessWistron unit damage featureinFMmeetingwithindustry Facility to remain shut until ‘detailedinvestigation’ over AASHISHARYAN NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 the government’sfiscal position ingMSMEsandIIFCLforfinancing ENSECONOMICBUREAU as well as the policy approachto infrastructure. FOLLOWINGUNRESTat NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 provide an impetus to theecon- Ficci suggestedthe Budget Wistron’s Narasapuraunit near omythat has been in technical re- mustprioritise growth-oriented Bengaluru, Apple said it will send FINANCE MINISTER Nirmala cession and recordedthe worst measures and fiscal considera- additionalteams and auditors to Sitharaman heldher firstpre- contractionin April-Junequarter tions should besecondary, as the the factorytoassess the situation Budgetmeetingwithtopindustri- postthe economic lockdown. needfor further fiscalstimulus re- and extent of damage,and inves- alists on Mondayamid expecta- Contraction has since slowed mains.Itsuggestedascheme like tigatethe conditions that ledto tionsofthe government down with expectationsaposi- MGNREGAfor urbanpoor,higher the workers’outrage. presenting “growth-oriented tive growth in fourth quarter. interestsubvention on housing In response to queries sent by The WistronfacilityinNarasapuranearBengaluru. Reuters Budgetto boosteconomicactivity Along with Finance Minister, loans, and utilising aportion of The Indian Express,the company recovering from effectsofCovid.” Finance SecretaryAjayBhushan foreign exchangereserves($15or said it had sent teams on the The meetings with industry Pandey, Departmentof Economic $20 billion) forsetting up afund groundandwaslaunchinganim- chamberswillbefollowedbytwo- Affairs SecretaryTarun Bajaj,Chief forlending subsidisedlending to mediate“detailedinvestigationat dayconsultationswithstakehold- Finance MinisterNirmalaSitharaman and other officials during Economic Advisor Krishna- Indian industryataround 6per Wistron’s Narasapura facility”. How worker issues ers of financial sector and capital ameeting with industrialists in New Delhi on Monday. PTI murthySubramanian and other cent fornew projects. “Appleisdedicated to ensur- markets. Aggressive disinvest- senior officials attendedthe It said the government can ingeveryoneinoursupplychainis ment of state-ownedcompanies, meeting via avideoconference. raise revenuesbypledgingPSU treated with dignity and respect. led to the violence government reducing itsstake in growth, and alongsidelook at fis- ment should bring down itsstake Sources said therewerelot of shares to theRBI, by issuing long- We have teams on the ground mostpublic sector banks(PSBs) cal management from a3-year inPSBsto below50percentviathe suggestions forsteppingupinfra- term pandemic bonds and ...Weare alsodispatching addi- hasbeenproducingiPhoneSE below50per cent, managing the perspective.Aggressive disinvest- market routeoverthe next 12 structureinvestmentsignificantly through aggressive divestment tionalAppleteam members and AASHISHARYAN models since 2017.The flag- fiscal deficit over athree-year pe- ment and monetisation of assets months, exceptfor 3-4large PSBs asithasamassive multipliereffect. and monetisation of non-core auditors to thefacility.Our teams NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 shipiPhones producedatthe riod were among the suggestion can augment government rev- suchasState Bankof India,Bankof Fundingforthiscouldbefacilitated state-ownedassets. areinclose touchwith the local Narasapura andPeenya units presented by Confederationof enuesatatimewhentaxrevenues Baroda and Union Bank. through aDevelopment Finance Suggesting needfor conver- authoritiesandwe’reofferingour APPLE’SCONTRACTmanufac- arealso exportedtoother IndianIndustry(CII)to theFinance have fallen sharply,”said Uday IndustrychambersCIIandFicci Institution(DFI).CIIsuggestedthat gence in GSTrates, Ficci said: “... fullsupporttotheirinvestigation,” turerWistronIndiahasseena countries across the world. Ministry. Itsuggestedmeasuresto Kotak, president, CII. The Budget alsosuggestedtheneedtostepup DFIs could be establishedonthe The government should consider the companysaidinastatement. riseinits disagreementwitha reduce taxlitigationand pitched proposalsshouldalsoaddresstwo expenditureonhealthcareandin- lines of KfW Germany, Brazil converging the existing band of The Narasapurafacility,lo- sectionofits contractworkers Whydid the violence start? fortheneedto extendtheVivadse criticalareasof boostingprivate in- frastructuresectors significantly Development Bank,and Korea GSTrates to three, in line with in- cated on theoutskirtsof over alleged non-payment of The violence eruptedon Vishwas tax disputeresolution vestmentsand providing support forasustainablegrowthtrajectory. DevelopmentBank,andthiscould ternational standards. This will Bengaluru,islikelytoremainshut salariesand dues. Saturdaywhensomecontrac- scheme till December 31,2021. foremploymentgeneration. The Union Budget 2021-22, be achievedbyinfusing equity in helpresolveinterpretationissues, until adetailedinvestigation by tualworkersallegednon-pay- “CII has suggestedthat the Stressingtheneedforfinancialsec- whichwill be presented on NABARDforfinancingagriculture reduce complexity and probabil- the stateauthorities as well as What does the ment of regular and Budget proposals shouldfocus on torreforms,Kotaksaidthegovern- February1, will provide clarity on andrural sector,SIDBI forfinanc- ityofdisputes.” Appleiscompleted,sourcesclose Wistronfacility overtime dues. to thedevelopmentsaid. Apple is makefor Apple? Thesaid workers alsolikelytoinvestigate the com- Likeother con- startedpeltingstones plaintsofnon-paymentof duesby tract manufacturers as well as damaged Nov:Wholesale,retail COVID-19 IMPACT OVERALL INCREASE Wistronand whether the com- of Apple, Wistronis some vehicles inside IN GROSS LOANS panyhadviolatedanylabourlaws also involved in pro- the factory. ‘Higher credit loss, provision NBFCs HFCs of the state, sources added. ductionof itsflagshipiPhones. Additionally, according to re- inflation divergeagain 7.63% 2.44% “It will be difficult to put a ThefactoryinNarasapuranear ports,the iPhones manufac- timelineof whetheritwillremain Bengaluru is anew unit from tured at the unit and kept for Wholesale inflation at 9-monthhigh coverage rateslikelyfor NBFCs’ shutfor twodays or one week or whereithadstartedassembly exportwerelootedbywork- of 1.55%; retail inflation eases to 6.93% Hit by thecoronavirus pandemic, non-banking financial whatever,” an Apple executive of the iPhone SE (2020). The ers.WhileWistron said that it companies (NBFCs) areexpecting higher credit loss as well said, asking nottobenamed. originaliPhoneSEwasthefirst had followedall thelawsand whileWPI inflationwas 1.48 per as an increase in provision coverage rates, an EY study said Wistron, acontract manufac- iPhoneto bemadeinIndiaand wassupporting the authori- ENSECONOMICBUREAU cent in October. turer forApple, had startedthe nowthereare fourmodelsbe- ties in their investigation, NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 The divergence between the RiseinECL NBFCs,including14 NarasapurafacilityinJulyatacost ing producedhere, including Apple said it had “immedi- foodcomponentof wholesaleand 33%allowanceofNBFCs 42housingfinance of Rs 3,000 crore. Whilethe the iPhone11. atelylaunchedadetailedin- RETAIL AND wholesale inflation retailinflationroseto afive-month asonMarch31,2020,against companies(HFCs),whose ECLallowance:Arisewasseen Narasapuraunit has about 2,000 Beside this 43-acreplant, vestigation at Wistron’s continuedtodiverge inNovember. high of 5.5 per cent in November. yearendedMarch31,2019 standalonefinancial inexpectedcreditloss(ECL) regular employees working on Wistronhas another unit in Narasapurafacility”. Wholesaleprice-basedinflation Food items suchasprotein- statementsforFY20were allowanceonstage1andstage2 Apple’s phones and the rest are Peenya,locatedintheoutskirts Fullreport on rateroseto a9-monthhighof 1.55 richitems suchasegg and meat Overallrisein analysedfortheEYstudy assetsby56%,and25%inECL contractual,theoldPeenya unitin of Bengaluru, from whereit www.indianexpress.com per cent in November on costlier witnessedhigh inflation at the 26%provisioncoverage ‘Expectedcreditlossanalysis allowanceonstage3assets employs around 3,500people. manufactureditems,evenasfood wholesale level. At retail level, ofNBFCsasonMarch31, fornon-bankingfinancial Apple also has Foxconn and pricescooled,whileretailinflation however, food inflation easedto 2020,asagainstatFY20-end companies’ Source: EY/PTI Pegatron as major contract man- Rs 7,000croreoverthe next three Pegatron Technology India easedto6.93 per cent on softer 9.43percentinNovemberfrom11 ufacturers formaking of flagship years to expandthe existing unit. Private.PegatronCorporationwill food prices, but remainedabove per cent amonth ago. In WPI, in- Why is it important: NBFCs analyse co-relation of awide range of factors with their default iPhones, iPads and other devices. Apple’s other contract manu- put in the funds raisedfully medium-term target of theRBI. flation in non-food articles was patterns and shortlist the factors relevant to their respective businesses to take into account Foxconn has aunit at facturerPegatronCorporation’s through itsinternal resources as Retail inflation basedonthe higher at 8.43per cent in Novem- the impact of forward-looking information. ECL estimates are then adjusted to consider the Sriperumbudur,intheoutskirtsof board of directors had lastmonth partofits“longterminvestment”, Consumer Price Index(CPI) had ber, while in fuel andpowerbas- impact of these short-listedfactors Chennai, . The com- approved an investment of Rs the companyhad said, without stood at 7.61 percent in October, ket it was(-) 9.87per cent. panyhas pledged to invest up to 1,099.8 croreinIndia via itsarm elaborating those plans. Jio says peers Ola to invest `2,400 cr to set up ‘Pushing India Wistron claims`437 cr in damages running ‘divisive to surpass campaign’ against theviolence. of production work at thefactory e-scooter factory in Tamil Nadu China in mobile EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Threeof thepolicecomplaints premises since Saturday. it over farm stir BENGALURU,DECEMBER14 have been filedbyemployees of Prashanth TD,asenior execu- “We are excited to worldtosustainable mobility so- thefirm itself, while anotherhas tive in the administration depart- NewDelhi:RelianceJiohasalleged ENSECONOMICBUREAU announce our plans to set lutionsacross shared and owned manufacturing’ FOUR SEPARATE policecom- been filedbythe police over an ment at the WistronInfocomm that industry peers Bharti Airtel CHENNAI,DECEMBER14 up the world’s largest mobility,” Ola chairman and plaintshavebeen lodged by the attackonthem when the firstde- facility,statedinone of thecom- andVodafoneIdeaarerunning“vi- groupCEOBhavishAggarwalsaid. Kolar police over the worker ram- ployment reachedthe factory. plaintsthat hundredsofcontrac- ciousand divisive campaign” RIDE-HAILINGPLATFORMOla scooter factory.” Olasaidtheplantwillhelpcut ENSECONOMICBUREAU pageonDecember 12 in the fac- Violence brokeout at the fac- tualworkersat the companyand against it and making preposter- said Mondayithas inked an BHAVISH AGGARWAL importdependenceinakeysector NEW DELHI,DECEMBER14 tory of WistronInfocomm torySaturdayfollowing adispute severalunidentifiedpersons ous claims that migrating Jio mo- agreement withthe Tamil Nadu likeelectricvehicles, boostman- Manufacturing India Pvt Ltdin over unpaidwagesbetweencon- were involvedin the violence and CHAIRMAN &GROUP CEO, OLA bile numbers to theirnetworks government to invest Rs 2,400 ufacturing, createjobs and im- INDIA AIMS to replace China as Narasapura, including one by tract workers and officials of the arson that brokeout at the factory would be an actofsupportto croreforsettingupitsfirstelectric provetechnicalexpertiseinIndia. the manufacturing hub formo- companyofficials claiming dam- firm resultinginrioting andarson during ashiftchangearound farmers’ protests. scooterfactoryatHosur in the “Weare excited to announce Earlier this year,Ola had an- bile phones and other electronic ages to the tune of Rs 437crore in whichhas forced the suspension 6amonSaturday. The operator in alettertoTrai state. Upon completion, the fac- our plans to setupthe world’s nouncedplanstohireover2,000 equipment by attracting the hassoughtstrictactionagainstthe torywillcreate nearly 10,000jobs largest scooterfactory.Thisisasig- people forits electric business. It major global companies to the twocompanies. Bharti Airteland and will be the world’s largest nificant milestone forOla and a also ropedinGeneral Motorvet- country, Information Tech- Vodafone Idea have termedthe scootermanufacturing facility, proudmomentforourcountryas eran Jose Pinheirotohead its nology MinisterRaviShankar Unpaid bills lead to poor access complaintas“baseless” andre- withaninitialannualcapacityof 2 we rapidlyprogresstowardsreal- global manufacturing and opera- Prasad said on Monday. futed thecharges. PTI millionunits,itsaidinastatement. ising our vision of movingthe tions forits electricbusiness. FE Addressing awebinar at the annual general meeting of in- to electricity &outages: Study dustrybody FICCI, Prasad said BRIEFLY that the newproduction linked customers receivedonaverage Pakistanand South Korea, the re- Health data management policy getsnod incentive(PLI) schemes were ENSECONOMICBUREAU about 17 hours of electricity aday. searchers found this wasindica- pected to actasa“guidance doc- dataretention and archival pol- designedwithanaim to invite NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 “Moststrikingly, areas that tive of abroader trend,” it added. BurgerKing ENSECONOMICBUREAU ument” across the National icy and anyotherpolicy which all big global players to India, paid moredidn’t necessarilyget The root of the problem may zooms131% NEWDELHI,DECEMBER14 Digital Health Ecosystem maybeissuedfor theimplemen- and to those who were looking UNPAID ELECTRICITYbills have morepowerelectricity,”statedthe lie in the fact that society “too of- (NDHE), setting out the mini- tation of the NDHM,”statedthe to shifttheir production units ledtopooraccessto electricity,in- Energy Policy Instituteatthe ten”views electricityasarightthat Mumbai: BurgerKing’s THE HEALTH Ministry Monday mum standardfor dataprivacy National Health Authority,which out of China. cluding issues likewidespread Universityof Chicago(EPIC),which doesnotneedtobepaidfor, itsaid. shares, sold at Rs 60 apiece, approved apolicy under the protection. is implementing the scheme. “WewantedIndia to be- outages and rationing of power, conductedthe study in collabora- Theresearchersinvolvedinthe openedwithapremiumof92 National Digital Health Mission “Thispolicyistoberead along The policy wasapproved“af- comethe second largest mobile suggests anew study. tion with the London School of study have suggestedsolutions percentatRs115.35ondebut (NDHM) to protect and manage with, and notincontradiction to, teroveramonth”ofsoliciting manufacturer in the world. The study drawsupon micro- Economics and Political Science spanningremovalofsubsidies,in- andclosedatRs138.40,again personal dataofpatientsusing anyapplicable law, or anyinstru- feedbackfromvariousstake- NowIampushingIndia to sur- datafrompoor,rural or small- and Yale University. troducing consumer incentives of 130.67 per cent. the digitalservices of the scheme. ment having the effect of anylaw holders and the general public, pass China. That’smygoal and I towncommunitiesinBiharwhere “In combining this datawith and changes to thebill collection The healthdatamanagement together with the Blueprint, the according to NHACEO am very clearlydefiningit,” the link between payment and observationsfromseveralfieldex- process as well as technology- Aonbuys49% policy under the scheme is ex- informationsecuritypolicy,the Dr Indu Bhushan. Prasad said. supply had been severed. In 2017, perimentsincountries likeBrazil, basedreforms likesmartmeters. inMurthyfirm Mumbai:Aonhasre-entered Big Tech turns its lobbyistsloose on Europe, alarming regulators Indianinsuranceintermedi- arymarketbybuying49%in Narayana Murthy’s Anviti listing US officials againstthe eral and state officials accused $23 million, equal to what they captureall the spending on law Despitethe lobbying, the in- Insurance Brokers. ENS ADAMSATARIANO& European policy,according to a Facebook of illegallycrushing haddeclaredforallof 2019 andup firms,academicpartnershipsand dustryhas had fewmajor suc- MATINASTEVIS-GRIDNEFF copy reviewedbyThe NewYork competition. In October,the from€6.8millionin2014,accord- activitiesinindividual countries. cesses. European leaders like NEWYORK,DECEMBER14 Times and confirmedbyGoogle. Justice Departmentaccused ingto TransparencyInternational, While the spending is less Margrethe Vestager,who over- UdayShankar Formanyofficials in Brussels, Google of illegallyprotecting its agroup that monitors EU lobby- than in the United States,the sees digitalpolicy,havecalledthe Ficcipresident ALEAKED document joltedthe the document confirmedwhat monopolyoversearch. ing.Thespendingishelpingtode- growing influence industry is companies threatstodemocracy European Union capital of theyhad long suspected: Google In Europe, the companies are liveraccess; the companies and alarmingEuropeanUnionofficials and anticompetitive andhave NewDelhi: Media executive Brussels in October,laying out in and other American tech giants spending morethan ever,hiring their alliesreported hundredsof who believe that Big Tech is con- takenseveral steps to rein them UdayShankarhastakenover painstakingdetailplansbyGoogle areengaged in abroad lobbying formergovernmentofficials,well- meetings with officialsatthe tributing to aWashingtonization in. Amazon, Apple, Google and asFiccipresidentfor2020-21. to underminenewlegislationthat campaign to stop stronger regu- connectedlawfirmsandconsult- European Commission and the of Brussels, givingmoneyand Facebook either areunder an- could severely damage itsdigital lationagainstthem. ing firms.Theyfundeddozens of European Parliament. connections an upper hand over titrustinvestigation or have al- advertising business. AstheEuropeanUnionhasbe- thinktanksandtradeassociations, “Thebudgetsare reallyunri- the public interest. ready been penalizedbillions of GSTNlaunches “Academic allies” would raise comethegloballeaderintech reg- endowedacademic positions at valed—we’veneverseenthiskind Google, Amazon, Apple and dollars.Inrecentyears,theEUhas taxpayerfacility questions about the newrules. ulation,thesecompanieshave in- topuniversities across the conti- of moneybeingspent by compa- Facebook declinedtocomment. adoptedindustry-opposedlaws Googlewould attempt to erode creasingly focused on Brussels in nentandhelpedpublishindustry- niesdirectly,”saidMargaridaSilva, In public statements, all have ex- on issues including privacy and NewDelhi:GSTNetwork said supportwithin the European hopes of choking offevenstiffer Tech giants arefocusedonthe friendlyresearch by other firms. aresearcher at Corporate Europe pressedadesiretoworkwith online copyright. it has launched“communi- Commission to complicatethe rules before they spread. European Union in hopes of Inthefirsthalfof2020,Google, Observatory, agroup that tracks European officials, while voicing But the industrydoes not cationbetween taxpayer” policymaking process. And the Americanlawmakersandregula- chokingoff even stifferrules Facebook,Amazon, Apple and lobbyinginBrussels.Thetotalsare concerns that the proposed laws seem deterred,evenasitfaces featureonits portal. PTI companywouldtry to seeda tors have already become much before theyspread. Reuters Microsoftdeclared spending a probablymuchhigher,shenoted, could harm innovation and the what manybelieve will be its trans-Atlantictradedisputebyen- moreaggressive. Lastweek,fed- combined€19 million, or about because disclosure rules do not European economy. toughestfightyet. NYT Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 12 THE WORLD

TOPOFTHE TREASURY,COMMERCE DEPTSTARGETED WORLD Londontobeonhighestalertasnew Russian hackers coronavirusvariantidentifiedinUK broke into federal agencies: US officials Newvariant found in over 1,000Covid-19cases, likelyassociated withfasterspread: minister

ADITIKHANNA DAVIDESANGER Journalist Ruhollah LONDON,DECEMBER14 DECEMBER14 Zam wasexecuted by Iran lastweek BRITAIN’S CAPITAL will be THE TRUMP administration ac- placedunder the highestlevel of knowledgedonSundaythathack- coronavirus restrictions from ers acting on behalf of aforeign EUROPE Wednesdayamid a“very sharp” government —almost certainlya France,others spikeinCovid-19cases in Russianintelligenceagency, ac- The US Commerce Dept London and itssurrounding ar- Ambrose Dlamini cording to federal and private ex- acknowledgedthat one of withdrawfrom eas and anew variant of coron- perts —broke into arangeofkey itsagencies had been avirus being identifiedasre- government networks,including targeted,withoutnaming it Iranforumover sponsible forthe “fasterspread”, EswatiniPMdies in the Treasuryand Commerce the UK government announced departments,andhadfreeaccess execution of coronavirus ED in Parliament on Monday. to theiremail systems. 2014-15 Paris:FrancesaidonSunday Health SecretaryMatt Johannesburg:The govern- Officials said ahuntwas on to hacklikely itsambassador to Iran Hancocktold MPsinthe House ment of Eswatini has an- determine if other parts of the PLAIN E ● settone would notparticipateinan of Commonsthat“swiftand de- nouncedonTwitterthatPrime governmenthadbeenvictimised EX online business forum in cisive action” wasneededasthe MinisterAmbrose Dlamini has by what looked to be one of the Tehran this week,ina doubling rate of thedeadlyvirus diedafter testing positive for mostsophisticated,and perhaps IF THE involvementofRussia growing rowbetween Iran has hit justseven days in many Covid-19. The 52-year-old amongthelargest,attacksonfed- behind the latesthacking inci- andEuropean nations over of these areas. Dlamini, who had been prime eralsystemsinthepastfiveyears. dentisconfirmed,itwouldbe theexecutionof Iraniandis- Tier-3restrictions,thehighest ministersince 2018,an- Severalsaidaseriesof nationalse- the biggestRussiantheft of US sident journalistRuhollah levelinEngland’s three-tier sys- nouncedinNovemberthat he curity-relatedagencies were also government datasincea Zam. Otherenvoys from tem, meananear-complete lock- had tested positive forthe SandraLindsay, anurse at Long Island Jewish MedicalCenter,isinoculatedwith the vaccine affected,though it wasnot clear months-long effort in 2014 Germany, Austriaand Italy down, with people allowedto virus and wasbeing treatedat in NewYorkonMonday. Reuters whether the systems contained and 2015 during whichoper- were also cancelling their meetthose theydonot live with ahospital in neighbouring highlyclassifiedmaterial. ativesinMoscow gainedac- involvementinthe Dec. 14 only in outdoor settings and hos- South Africa.The Eswatinigov- In public, the Trumpadmin- cess to email systems at the event, the Frenchforeign pitalityvenuesdirectedto shutex- ernment said he diedon istrationsaidlittle aboutthe hack, White House. At thetime, ministrysaidonTwitter.At ceptfortakeawaysanddeliveries. Sundayafternoon. AP US health care workersget whichsuggestedthat while the President Obamadecidednot the foot of itstweet,the “A newvariant of coronavirus government wasworriedabout to publicly statethat Russia ministryran thehashtag has been identifiedinthe UK, clears Russian intervention in the 2020 wasresponsible forthe #nobusinessasusual. In a whichmay be associated with election,key agenciesworkingfor breach. Many, including from separatestatement,organ- Pfizer vaccine first shotsofCovid vaccine the faster spread in the southeast the administration —and unre- his ownadministration, now isersofthe Europe-Iran of England,” saidHancock. Singapore:Singaporehas ap- latedto theelection—wereactu- believe that wasamistake business forum said “Wedonot knowtheextentto provedPfizer-BioNTech’snovel on Mondaymorning, shortlybe- thorisationof thePfizer-BioNTech allythe subjectof asophisticated and that the lackofaction theywerepostponing the whichthis is becauseofthe new coronavirus vaccine and ex- THENEWYORKTIMES fore theshotwas giventoSandra vaccineonFridaynight,andasthe attackthat theywereunaware of takenthen emboldened the event. REUTERS variantbutnomatteritscause,we pectstoreceive shotsbyyear- DECEMBER14 Lindsay, acriticalcarenurseatthe US coronavirus death toll ap- untilrecent weeks. Russianstohackthe have to take swiftanddecisive ac- end, Prime MinisterLee Hsien centre.Stateofficialssaidtheshot proaches 300,000,with asteady The motive forthe attackon Democratic National tion whichunfortunatelyisab- Loong said on Monday, adding THE FIRSTshots were givenin wasthefirsttobegivenoutsideof surge in newcases daily. the Treasuryand Commerce de- Committee duringthe 2016 solutelyessentialtocontrol this that he plannedtobeamong the American mass vaccination avaccinetrialintheUnitedStates. On Sunday night,Trumpsaid partmentsremains elusive,two election campaign, and po- WESTASIA deadlydiseasewhilethevaccineis theearly vaccinerecipients.The campaign on Mondaymorning, Lindsay, who hastreated pa- he would delayaplan forsenior people familiar with the matter tentially thenewly discovered Explosives-laden rolledout. We must act nowto city-state of 5.7 millionpeople opening anew chapterinthe tientsthroughout the pandemic, White Housestaffmemberstore- said.Onegovernmentofficialsaid breachonfederal agencies. shiftthecurve,becausewhenthe expectstohaveenough vac- battle againstthe coronavirus said that she hopedher public ceive the coronavirus vaccine in it wastoo soon to tell howdam- boathitsfuelship virus movesquickly, we must cines foreveryone by thethird pandemic, whichhas killed vaccination would instill confi- the comingdays. agingtherecentattackswere and move quicklytoo,”hesaid. quarterof2021andwillmakeit morepeople in the United States dence that the shots were safe. The shiftcame justhours af- howmuchmaterial waslost. At thetime,theNSArefusedto atSaudiport The ministersaid that ex- free forcitizens and long-term than in anyother country. “I have seen thealternative, ter The NewYorkTimes reported The revelation came lessthan give further details of what SAUDI ARABIA said on perts had identifiedover1,000 residents, Lee said. REUTERS Shortlyafter 9am(local time) and do notwant it foryou,”she that the administration wasrap- aweek afterthe National prompted the urgent warning. Monday that afuel trans- cases with the variant, predom- on Monday, thefirstknown clin- said. “I feel like healing is com- idlyplanning to distributethe Security Agency,whichisre- Shortlyafterward,FireEye,alead- portship anchored at a inantlyinthe south of England. ically authorised vaccination ing. Ihope this marks the begin- vaccine to itsstaff.“People work- sponsible forbothbreaking into ing cybersecurity firm, an- Jeddah terminal wasat- He addedthat the World other 67 local authorities getting took place in LongIsland Jewish ning of the end of averypainful inginthe WhiteHouse should re- foreign computer networks and nouncedthathackersworkingfor tacked by an explosive- HealthOrganisationhad been community testing this week to Medical Center in Queens. The time in our history.” ceive the vaccine somewhat later defending the federal govern- astate had stolensome of its ladenboat, aftershipping notifiedabout the variant and helpareas “move down tiers” pandemic has scarred NewYork US President Trumpposted in the program, unless specifically ment’s mostsensitive national prizedtools forfinding vulnera- firm Hafnia said that one of that it wasunlikely to cause a and return closer to normal life. Stateprofoundly, leavingmore on :“FirstVaccine necessary,”Trumptweeted.“I security systems, issuedawarn- bilities in itsclients’systems, in- itsoil tankers, the BW moreserious disease than other In reference to the Pfizer- than 35,000peopledead and se- Administered.Congratulations have asked thatthis adjustment ing that “Russian state-spon- cludingthefederalgovernment’s. Rhine, had been hit by an variantsofthe coronavirus. BioNTechvaccinerolloutcurrently verely weakeningthe economy. USA! Congratulations WORLD!” be made.Iam notscheduled to sored actors” were exploiting Thatinvestigationalsopointedto- unidentified“external He stressedthat mobile test- underway, Hancocksaid that “I believe this is theweapon The vaccinations startedafter take thevaccine,but lookforward flaws in asystemthat is broadly ward SVR, one of Russia’s leading source”. ASaudi energy ing and communitytesting were thankstoscience “help is on its that will end the war,”Governor the Food and Drug to doing so at the appropriate usedinthe federal government. intelligence agencies. NYT ministryspokesman, in a also being expanded, withan- way”, but “this isn’t over yet”. PTI Andrew Cuomo said at the event Administration’s emergency au- time. Thank you!” statement carriedonstate media, didnot mention the Report: Leak reveals China’s nameofthe vesseloriden- Britain to ease tify who wasbehind the at- Electors meet to choose Biden as next president tack.Hafnia said therewas rules on blood ruling party members work an explosion and afire usual this year because President whilethe BW Rhine was MARKSHERMAN Donald Trumphas refusedto donations by gay, in global firms, consulates dischargingatJeddahport. WASHINGTON,DECEMBER14 concede the election and contin- Theship’screw put outthe ues to makeunsupported alle- bisexual men The leak hasexposeddetails fire andno-one wasin- PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS coast gationsoffraud. NATASHACHAKU of 1.95millionCPCmembersafter jured,itsaid. REUTERS to coastare casting the votesthat Therehavebeenconcerns MELBOURNE,DECEMBER14 being extracted from aShanghai will formallychooseJoe Bidenas aboutsafetyfor the electors,vir- LIVIAALBECK-RIPKA server by whistleblowers. JAPAN the nation’s next president. tually unheardofinprevious DECEMBER14 AMID SIMMERING tensions be- An investigation by The In Nevada, the firstbattle- years. In , lawmakers tween Canberra andBeijing, the Australian has foundthatat Spaceagency ground statewon by Biden that from both parties reportedre- BRITAIN ANNOUNCED on Australian media on Mondayre- least10consulatesinthe east- confirmsasteroid votedonMonday, Democratic ceiving threats. Mondaythat it would loosen re- portedamajor dataleak con- ern Chinese metropolis electors gave Biden and Vice Legislative offices therewere strictions on blood donation by taining official records likeparty Shanghai have CPCmembers soilisincapsule President-elect Kamala Harris closedMondayoverthreatsof gayand bisexual men beginning position,birthdate,nationalID employedassenior political JAPAN’SSPACEagencysaid the state’s six electoral votes in a Members of Vermont’s Electoral Collegecasttheir votes. AP violence. The 16 electorswereto next year,ashiftinpolicy called number and ethnicity of nearly and government affairs special- Mondayithas confirmed session held via Zoombecause meetinthe Senatechamberina “landmark” by the government twomillion members of the ists,clerks, economic advisers the presence of blacksoil of the coronavirus pandemic. ceremonyheadedbyand hailedbyactivists who have Communist PartyofChina (CPC) and executive assistants. samples inside acapsule Mondayisthe dayset by law District of Columbia to casttheir over whichVice President Mike Democratic Governor Gretchen longfought rulestheydescribed who arepurportedlyliving and It has further revealed79,000 that the spacecraft forthe meeting of the Electoral ballots.The resultswillbesent to Pence will preside. Whitmer.Biden wonthe stateby as discriminatory. working across the world. branches, manyofthem inside Hayabusa2 brought back College. In reality,electors were Washington and talliedina The electors’ votes have 154,000votes, or 2.8 percentage The changewill take effect The data leakobtainedbyThe companies, universities and from adistant asteroid last meeting in all 50 states and the January6jointsessionof Congress drawnmoreattention than points, over Trump. AP next summer afterthe recom- Australian newspaper has re- even government agencies. week.The pan-shaped mendations of ahealth commit- vealedhow theallegedCPCmem- The leak has allegedthat the capsule, 15 inches in diam- teethat said ablanket ban on sex- bers areemployedwith some of rulingCPC has infiltratedthe eter,was droppedby US sanctions Iran officials over ‘abducted’ FBI agent ually active gayorbisexual men the world’s biggestcorporations Australian, British and US con- Hayabusa2 from space donatingbloodshouldbelifted. intheareasof defence,banksand sulates in Shanghai. ontoaspotinasparsely TheTreasuryDepartmentsaid volvement in what theycalled The government acceptedthese pharmaceutical giants manufac- TheAustralian journalistSharri populated Australian MICHAELCROWLEY in astatementthat it wasimpos- Levinson’s abduction, but they recommendations. turingcoronavirus vaccines. Markson said it was“worthnot- deserton December6.Itar- DECEMBER14 ing sanctions on twoofficials in wouldnotprovidefurtherdetails. “Thislandmarkchangeto Among the companies iden- ingthat there’sno suggestion that rivedinJapan lastTuesday Robert Iran’sInterior Ministry, Levinson, who wouldbe72 blood donation is safeand it will tifiedashaving alleged CPC these members have committed forresearchthatwillhope- THE TRUMP administration an- Levinson Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad years old, disappeared under allowmanymorepeople, who members as their employees are espionage—but theconcern is fullyprovide insightsinto nouncedsanctions on two Khazai,whoitsaidwere “involved mysterious circumstances off have previouslybeenexcludedby Boeing and Volkswagen, phar- over whether Australia or these the origins of the solar sys- Iranian officialsfor theirinvolve- in the abduction,detentionand Iran’sKish IslandinMarch 2007. donorselectioncriteria,to take the maceutical giantsPfizer and companies knewofthe CCP temand lifeonEarth. AP ment in the 2007 disappearance the firsttime the US government probabledeath of Levinson”.US The Iranian government has opportunity to help save lives,” AstraZeneca, and financial insti- members andif so have anysteps and presumeddeath of the for- has officiallyimplicated Iran’s officials said theyhad obtained neveradmitted arole in his dis- Britain’s health secretary, Matt tutions including ANZ and HSBC, been takentoprotect their data mer FBI agent Robert Levinson, government in Levinson’s case. newinformationabout their in- appearance. NYT Hancock, said on Monday. NYT according to the reports. and people”. PTI

HIS COLD WAR NOVELS EXPLORED THE MORAL COMPROMISES OF AGENTS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE IRON CURTAIN John le Carré, authorwho turned the spy novel into high art, is dead at 89

whichGraham Greene called Ledbyhis greatestcreation, love,the lie thatisasortoftruth, 19,1931, hehadaragged,destabi- In his books, the Secret SARAHLYALL “the best spystory Ihaveever the plump, ill-dressed,unhappy, goodmenservingbadcausesand lizingchildhooddominatedby his Intelligence Service, otherwise LONDON,DECEMBER14 read”, the fictional model forthe brilliant, relentless George bad men servinggood.” father,Ronald, an amoral, flam- knownasMI6, wasthe “Circus”, modern British spywas Ian Smiley,leCarré’s spies arelonely, Some critics took le Carré’s boyant, silver-tonguedcon man. agents were “joes,” operations in- JOHN LE Carré, whoseexquis- Fleming’s JamesBond—suave, disillusionedmen whose work messagetobethat the twosys- The boys’mother,Olive (Glassey) volving seduction were “honey- itelynuanced, intricatelyplotted urbane, devotedtoqueen and is drivenbybudget troubles, bu- tems, East and West,weremoral Cornwell, walked out of the fam- traps” and agentsdeeplyembed- ColdWar thrillers elevatedthe country. With his impeccable reaucraticpowerplays and the equivalents,bothequallybad. ilyhouse and intothe arms of an- dedinside the enemywere spynovel to high artbypresent- talentfor getting out of trouble opaque machinations of politi- But he did notbelieve that. other man whenDavid was5. “moles”, awordheiscredited ing both Western and Soviet while gettingwomen intobed, cians —men who areaslikelyto “Thereisabig difference in David went to Switzerland at with bringing intowide use if not spies as morallycompromised Bond fedthe myth of spying as a be betrayed by colleagues and working forthe West andwork- age16and enrolledatthe inventing it. cogsinarottensystemfull of glamorous, excitingromp. lovers as by the enemy. ing foratotalitarian state,”he University of Bern to study mod- In 2011,anew movie adap- treachery, betrayal and personal Le Carré —the pen name of Smileyhas acounterpartin told an interviewer,referring to ern languages. Therehewas re- tation of his Tinker,Tailor, tragedy, diedonSaturdayin David Cornwell —upendedthat the Russian masterspy Karla, his John le Carre wasthe penname of David Cornwell his ownworkasaspyinthe cruited by aBritish spyworking Soldier,Spy —the firstinthe Cornwall, England. He was89. notionwithbooksthatportrayed opposite in ideology but equal in 1950s and early ’60s. undercoverattheembassy,andso Karla trilogyand the accountof His death wasconfirmedon Britishintelligence operations as almostall else, an opponent he Le Carré refusedtoallowhis his lifeofspying began. Exceptfor Smiley’s painstakingunmask- Sunday by his literaryagency, cesspoolsofambiguity in which studies as intimatelyasalover ning denouement that is as subject is notspying,” Timothy books to be entered forliterary twoyearswhenhetaughtatEton, ing of aKim Philby-esqe Soviet the Curtis BrownGroup. right and wrong aretoo closeto studies his beloved. The end of much abouthuman frailty and GartonAsh wroteinThe New prizes.Butmanycriticsconsidered England’s premier secondary mole working at the Circus — BeforeleCarré publishedhis call andinwhichitisrarelyobvi- Smiley’s People,the lastinaseries the deep loss that comes with Yorker in 1999. “It is the endlessly hisbooksliterature of thefirstrank. school,leCarré wasaspy of some brought renewedinterestinle bestselling 1963 novel TheSpy ous whether the ends,evenifthe known as the Karla Trilogy, winning as it is about anything. deceptive maze of human rela- Born David John Moore kindfor16years,forbothMI6and Carré’s work and sent backlist Who Came in From the Cold, ends areclear,justifythe means. brings them together in astun- “Thematically, le Carré’s true tions:thebetrayalthatisakindof Cornwell in Poole, Dorset, on Oct. itsdomesticcounterpart, MI5. sales soaring. NYT

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 13 SPORTS/CALENDAR THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020

BRIEFLY SHORTSTORIES Australia add

Barcelona-PSG Immersivetales of eagerrookies and established headliners waiting to swallowupTestgloryDownUnder Henriques to rematchhighlightof [] CLRound-of-16draw squad, injured Nyon: Barcelona will face Paris Saint- Abbott ruled out Germain in the Champions League Tinkerman’s big Test round of 16 in arematchoftheir clas- sic encounter at the same stagefour PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA seasons ago. Defending champion SYDNEY,DECEMBER14 Bayern Munichwas paired with Lazio. RAshwin will take at least 20 wickets in the series, says South Africa’s performance analyst Atalantawill host13-time champion ALL-ROUNDER Moises Henriques wason Real Madrid, and Liverpoolisaway MondayaddedtoAustralia's injury-hitsquad firstagainst Leipzig. Cristiano Ronaldo SRIRAMVEERA He will bowl alot more overspin in forthe opening Test againstIndia whilepacer will return to his native Portugal with DECEMBER14 Australia this series, according to Sean Abottwas ruled out of the match due Juventus forthe firstleg againstPorto. me. In Australia, the order of traits to acalf strain. Hereare the other pairings: Borussia “CRICKETISafailuresport,” RAshwin tells needed by aspinner is as follows: Henriques, who had missedthe three- Monchengladbachvs. Manchester agroup of schoolkids hunchedonthe Trajectory, length, speed, and line. daysecond practice game due to alow-grade City;AtleticoMadrid vs.Chelsea; and ground in Chennai. “Even Sachin Tendulkar hamstring strain, cleared the fitness Test on Sevilla vs BorussiaDortmund.The had just30per cent success rate.” He later The ideal length is six metres from Mondaytoreturn to theTestsquad aftera roundof16isspread over four mid- correctsitto35. the batsman, full enough to make gapoffour years. The opening game, aday- weeks. First-leg games arescheduled It’s asobering introduction to theworld him feel he can drivebut just nighter,begins on December 17 in Adelaide. February16-17and 23-24. of frustrationsbut seems an aptmessage about dipping short.” "All-rounder Moises Henriques has been to engageapotentialspinner among those addedtoAustralia's squad forthe first 10-year olds. Another video, another kid – PRASANNA AGORAM VodafoneTestagainstIndia afterthe hosts' MessihelpsBarca this one seems even younger,and has the PERFORMANCE ANALYST, SOUTH AFRICA campcontinues to be hit with injury,"are- endlosingstreak ball in his hands when Ashwin questions portincricket.com.au. said. him about his field. The kid shyly states his “Overspin in Australia isn’t going to Abbott became the latestAustralian player Barcelona: Facing another setbackin case and moveshis friends. Ashwin probes makethe ball spin as muchasinIndia but to jointhe injury listafter being picking up the an already difficult season, Lionel further,“whichside is tougher to hit?” Off, it will help youbeat the batsmen in the air,” strain during the second warm-up game here Messifoundhis finishing touchto says the cutie and Ashwin pointstothe on- says Agoram. Acrucial element in Australia whichendedinadraw.Heis, however, ex- save Barcelona from falling further side and goes,“thenuse one morefielder would be bat-pad catches. The extra pected to be available forthe second Test in behind in the Spanish league. Messi's here,no. If he hitsthrough the offside, you bouncecoupled with the angles will result Melbourne, which begins on December 26. lategoalsecured ahard-fought 1-0 can clap forhim.” in hesitant prods. Abbott, who had takenthree wicketsinIndia's home victory over Levanteon In those twoYouTubevideo chunks, Even his open-chestedrun-up has been firstinnings, will nottravelwith the team to Sundaytoend atwo-game losing morethan anyconversations with adults, tweaked towardsthis effect.Inrecenttimes, Adelaide. "Fastbowler Sean Abbott will not skidfor Barcelona. Messi firedaleft- Ashwin captures the inner worldofaspin- Ashwin has already tinkered with his action travel to Adelaide with Henriques and the re- footedshotoff the farpostand into ner,and in particular his ownart of off-spin. (no longer do his arms kickinasmuchas maining Australia squad members from the nettoget Barcelona's break- In England in 2018 andAustralia in 2019, theyusedto) and hisrun-up tooisfairly Sydneytoday afterpickingupacalf straininthe through in the 76th minuteafter hestarteddreamilyatEdgbastonandAdelaide, straight as the focus is on loading up in front day-night tour match at the SCG on Saturday." Levantehad withstood the hosts before his body betrayed him. “If Icould, I of his face. That load-up helps him stay up- Henriques last played aTestmorethan with tenacious defending. Barcelona would have pulled my soul out and killedthis rightatrelease whichtogeneratemoreover- four yearsago in . He made acome- areeighth with nine pointsbehind body,” he told Cricbuzz about that phase. spin. He varies the pace with the revolutions backtothe national set-up afterthree years by the leaders Real Sociedad, whom “He will take 20 wickets in thefour Tests on the ball, but also positions his body featuring in the limited-overs seriesagainst theyface on Wednesday. this series,” says Prasanna Agoram, South To be successfulinthe four-Testseries, RAshwin will have to makeAustralian smartlyfor extraeffect. At times, he leans India. He is the secondplayerafter Marcus Africa’s performance analystwho has batsmendrive,feelsSouthAfrica’sperformanceanalyst Prasanna Agoram. File front at release if he wantstobowlslower Harris to be added latetothe Test squad. worked withAshwin in theIndian Premier but doesn’t give toomuchtime in the air to Harris wasincludedinthe squad forthe 10-manJamshedpur League and Tamil Nadu Premier League. the batsman. Or drop his arm sideways a opening Test following aspateofinjuries, in- holdMumbaiCity It wasAustralian spinner Mitchell finger,with the ball claspedbetween these himfeel he can drive but justabout dipping touchtoflatten thetrajectory. When he cluding David Warner and opener Will Swepson who nailed Ashwin’s secret couple twospread-out fingers. Ashwin is different. short. The idealline is fourth stump–nottoo wantsmoreflight, turn, and dip,hewill arch Pucovski being ruledout of the firstgame Bambolim: Aflurry of missedchances of years ago. “The batsmen have to watchhis The middle finger curls in and stretches faroutside offastheywill drill youthrough backafter loading andfinishthe action in an due to agroin injury. Cameron Green and sawtable-toppers Mumbai City FC hands closelywhichgives them less time to alongside the seam rather than cutting it, the off, and nottoo straight as theycan eas- exaggerated way. Harry Conwayhad sufferedconcussions dur- settle fora1-1 draw against move andtheysortofstayinthe crease abit. whichmeans theball restsonthe knuckle ilyworkyou to thelegside,”says Agoram. “In the Pink-ball Test on aslowAdelaide ing the second warm-up game, while Jamshedpur FC in the HeroIndian It (the watching) cutstheirreaction time and –imparting morerevolutions on the ball. He places trajectoryontop as aspinner track, youmight see him tryevenleg-spin Jackson Birdendedupwithacalf injury. Super League at the GMC Stadium that’s probablyhis biggestasset.” Another Unlikeother off-spinners, Ashwin’sthumb has to beat the batsman in the air in Australia. and carromballs,” Agoram says.“It’s nothis hereonMonday. Owen Coyle's men Australian,batsman Matt Renshaw, detailed tooistuckedinbeside the seam, pointing to- Youcan’t be toofastordropittoo shortin T20 game coming in but it would be acalcu- Starcready to makeamends took the lead through Nerijus Valskis the effectsonthe mind. “Workingout what wardsthe indexfinger,almosttouching it. Australia because youcan be cut or heaved lated move as the pink Kookaburra has a Mitchell Starcsaid he is ready to make (9') before Mumbai hit backthrough he is trying to do is probablythe biggest When he wantstoimpartsidespin to get away as thereisnofear of variable bounce or blackseam whichcan getdifficult to pickin amends forthe previous series, terming it a BartholomewOgbeche (15'). Ared (challenge) and howishetrying to getyou moreturn, his indexfinger does cut that alarming turn, unless thereisgenerous rough lightsinthe lastsession, and can be exploited chance to "rectify" that. Under Kohli's cap- cardfor Aitor Monroy around thehalf- out, what fields areinplay–the mental side seam. When he wantsoverspin, he cocks it in the second innings. by wristspinners.” taincy,India humbled hosts Australia 2-1 in hour marksaw Jamshedpur reduced is the biggestthing as abatsman.” in, towardshim, beside the seam, likeahook, “Ashwin usuallybowls at 82 kmph and Ashwin's Australia campaign won’t be 2018-19for their firstseries win Down Under to 10 men but some dogged defend- and the extremelysupple wristturns likea it’s quitegoodfor Australia –ifhecan varythe easy.“Can't Bowl toostraight, can’t bowl too afterseventy years of trying. ing and anumber of missedchances ■■■ doorknob to send the ball up and over. pace in the 80s with the occasional quickone wide, got to makethem drive,” Agoram says. "You neverwant to lose aseries andyou forMumbai, sawthe former getaway “He willbowlalot moreoverspin in or areal slowone, and focus on overspin, he “Therewill be lots of dotballs in Australia but certainlynever want to lose one in Australia," with adraw. Mumbai remain on top Ashwin doesn’t place the fingers on the Australia this series, according to me,” says can beat the batsmen in the air,” Agoram says. also lots of fours as Aussies can cut or play Starctold ESPN's The CricketMonthly."India of the table with 13 pointsfromsix ball, he wraps them around. It’s asight to see Agoram.Ashwinwillhave to adapt,andhewill, Ashwin had burnt his fingers on his first that pick-up flickshotonthe leg that theyall were justbetterthan us throughout the matches while Jamshedpur, who have him demonstrating his grip to kids; he as he has the “experience and intelligence”. visit to Australiain2011-12when Michael look foragainstoff-spinnersastheycan trust (2018-19) series with bat and ball. Sure, we sevenpoints, aresixth. On Tuesday, would pick,lift, and fold his fingersintopre- “In Australia, the order of traitsneeded Clarke kept driving him en routetoatriple the bounce and turn. Youhavetoget it per- haven't hidden away from that.Weneeded East Bengal will face Hyderabad. ferred spaces. by aspinner is as follows:Trajectory, length, hundred in Sydney. “Hedrove me through fect forlong periods to succeed,but Ithink to be better in all facets of thegame and this PTI/AP Formostoff-spinners, the indexfinger speed, and line. The ideal length is six me- the covers reallywell,Iwasn’t putting any Ashwin has the skill and the heartfor it. My summer's certainlyachance to rectify that," cutsacross the seam and so does the middle tres from the batsman, full enough to make speedonthe ball and Ikepttossing it up.” betisthat he will take at least20wickets.” the pace ace added.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry&TLewis CROSSWORD4302 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 -Oct 23) Mostofwhat At timeslikethese, planetary activity when planetary thereistakes place pressures arefew, in public-reaches of youshouldbegin to your solar chart, suggesting notice Jupiter’s benevolent that your worldlyambitions movementsinyour emotional shouldoccupyfirstplace. life. Remember,though,that Private concerns maybeput on ‘good luck’ oftenhas strange the backburner,evenifonly results. Today’s blessings temporarily. Hopefullyfriends might bring tomorrow’s and lovers will wait their turn. problems, so leave nothing to chance. TAURUS (Apr 21 -May 21) Younow have a SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 23) chance to prove Youmay have had to justhow astute, enduresome sortof sympatheticand abreak or CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson self-protectiveyou can be, separation. Don’t althoughnobody should blame other people, and don’t doubt justwhat youhavehad blame yourself,either! Rather, to go through to reachyour trytosee what underlying current stateofself- purpose mayhavebeen knowledge! Onlyyour closest served.Evenanunexpected friendsreallyunderstand rejection could pave the way ACROSS DOWN howyou feel. forsomething muchbetter. 1Book by whichone’ssimply 1Diana madlyinthe swim instructed (7) (5) GEMINI (May22-June 21) SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 -Dec 5When knockedout of course it 2It’s notmade still but it’s still Reassuring 22) should be replaced(5) made (6,7) planetary aspects Although youstill 8Refusing to compromise Irene 3Oriental up lateperhaps is signify that you needtochoose your can’t sign anyway carriedshoulderhigh mayprocrastinate wordswith care, (13) (7) to your heart’s desire. In fact, youshould insistontelling the 9New or old slaver 4Mysetsmethodicallyarranged thereisnothing like truth as yousee it. The crux of (5) (6) putting thingsoff until the matter is notwhat yousay, 10 Yethestill plays Shylock 5Sortoflead mother will follow tomorrowtorestore your but who yousay it to:some (7) in principle (5) belief that youare in control people understand you, others 11 Charge backupintime 6Screen an Italian is unable to of your ownlife. Mind you, do not. Youmight have to learn perhaps (6) see (8,5) youcan’t put the inevitable the difficult artofpatience. offforever. 12 Still good advice to the excited 7The morecomplicated MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) (6) mathematical proposition CANCER (June 22 -July23) Youmustnot be 15 Jams and preserves (7) The financial drawnintoany (7) 11 Is in the wayofprogress outlook is becoming further unnecessary 17 Newbales of fur (7) brighter.The one arguments, (5) 13 Take aliberty? (7) thing youcan be especiallyifyou have no 19 Cheating by giving twocards 14 Remarks players ignoreasthe sureofisthat planets aligned personal emotional interestin instead of one (6-7) team comes in (6) with your solar house of the people with whom you 20 Measures ladder 16 Still producing cheerful tunes moneyare doing their best. disagree. It would be better to (5) (5) Your long-term security is enjoythe little pleasures that 21 Slight point to one who makes 18 Keen section of the agerange thereforenot at issue, but if arenow coming your way, and advances (7) (5) you’retempted to take arisk leave thoughtless individuals youmight want to leave it fora to fend forthemselves. fewdays. SolutionsCrossword4301:Across: 1Slums,8Fandango,9Avail,10Sedative,11 AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) Edits,12Lad,16Endive,17Aspire,18Dim,23Group,24Lacrosse,25Sighs,26 LEO (July24-Aug 23) At work it is all a Terriers,27Leash.Down:2Lovedone,3Maintain,4Valeta,5Ideal,6Snail,7Nobel, Youshould, by question of leastsaid, 12Led,13Dam,14Sportive,15Crouches,19Insert,20Flute,21Score,22Toxin. rights, fare better soonestmended. than mostthese One thing youcan days,for youare rely on is that employers or under asortofinfallible colleagues will eventually celestial protection. The return to the same question,like JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel5s important planetary aspects some sortofbrokenrecord. Instructions aresetting up apattern Whydon’t youtry and lead Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, extending over twoorthree everyone intothe future?

therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4322 years, so their effectswill notat PISCES (Feb 20 -Mar 20) theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe firstbeobvious. Ifyoufelldownyesterday,____today.-H.G.Wells(5,2) Your romantic feelings should nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sep 23) nowbeonthe eachoftheninehorizontal Sometimes you upward, optimistic 4323 EPUAS EFNODU rowsandineachofthe have to stand up, be phase of your nineboxes. counted and be true emotional cycle.

SUDOKU to your beliefs. Don’t Youshouldthereforepackyour become complacent or social diaryasfull as youcan, TOONS EMPRUP DifficultyLevel imagine that others will step in ready forthe next great to save the day. Onlyifyou rely opportunity.Iknowthat you SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; on your ownskills and talents sometimes needmore 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; can youbesurethat youwill confidence, but youmay just

5s=VeryHard;6s= win through and achieve have to dive into public events

ls el .W .G -H y. da to up and st y, da er st ye wn do ll fe ou fy :I er sw An Genius your goals. whether you’rereadyornot.

SOLUTION

R MPE PU E, DU ON ,F OOT SN E, US PA SOLUTION:

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,TUESDAY,DECEMBER15,2020 EX-FRANCE MANAGER HOULLIER NO MORE Gerard Houllier,aFrenchman whowon three titles in one seasonasmanagerof English club Liverpoolfollowingadisappointing spell as the coachofFrance's na- tionalteam, has died. He was73. Liverpool and the Frenchfootball federationan- SPORT nounced thedeath Monday. French sports daily L'Equipe said he died at homeon 14 AP Sundayfollowing heart surgeryinFrance. NZ inflict innings defeat on Letterofhope Windies, clinch series2-0

Bahrain childreachesout to F1championHamilton,seekshelp forreleaseoffather ASSOCIATEDPRESS ED WELLINGTON,DECEMBER14 WhyNZwinputs PLAIN E ● pressureonIndia NEW ZEALAND achievedthe firstobjective of EX SHAHIDJUDGE Ramadhan’s father Mohammed, the domestic summer when it sweptthe MUMBAI,DECEMBER14 asecurity guard, wasallegedly West Indies in atwo-testseries to join NEW ZEALAND 2-0 win over West Australia atop worldcricket's test rankings. Indiesmakes them acontender to FORMULA ONE worldchampion Lewis arrested in 2014 forthe death of Afterwinning the firsttestinHamiltonbyan makethe final of the WorldTest Hamiltonhas been achampion of severalso- apoliceman, and subsequently innings and 134runs, NewZealand wonthe championship and also has them cial,politicalandhumanitariancausesinrecent second at the Basin Reservebyaninnings snapping at India's heels.With times. Ever since he secured hisseventh title sentencedtodeath and 12 runs insidethe firsthour of the fourth cricket series being cancelledbe- lastmonth,makinghimthejoint-recordholder morning on Monday. cause of thepandemic, the percent- withMichael Schumacher,the 35-year-old The West Indies resumedtheir second in- ageofpointswon is the criteria in- BritonhasbeenreceivinglettersfromBahraini issueinsomanyofthe places that we go to is ningsat244-6,trailingNewZealandby 85runs stead of total points. Australia tops citizens seeking his help and influence. aconsistent and amassive problem.Weare afterbeing forced to follow-on 329 behind. with82.2per cent, followedbyIndia However, one particular letter -from11- probablyone of the onlyones that (go) to so Wicketkeeper JoshuadaSilva (57) provided 75 per cent and then NewZealand year-oldAhmedRamadhan askinghim to manydifferent countries and Idothink as a some late resistance, achievingahalfcentury 62.5per cent. NewZealand plays help save his father from adeath sentence - sportweneedtodomore.” inhisdebuttest,beforethetouristswere allout Pakistaninatwo-Testseriesathome, Hamilton claimed, “really(hit) home.” for317, theirhighestinnings total of the series. starting withaBoxing DayTest. If Formula One’s stance The series win liftedNew Zealand level theysweep that series, the percent- An appeal forhelp In astatement, theF1claimed it had been with Australia on arating of 116pointsinfirst agepointstable couldlook very dif- BahrainInstituteforRightsandDemocracy vigilantregardingsocial injustice around the place on the ICC worldteststandings, the first ferent. At thesame time,India will be (BIRD),anadvocacygroupinLondon,saidthat world. “Wehavealwaysbeen clearwith all time in itshistoryit has achievedthat ranking. playing Australia away from home. the letter,accompanied by adrawn pictureof race promoters and Governmentswith NewZealand also movedpastEngland into Australia aretoplaySouth Africa Hamilton’s race car,said: “Lewis, please save whichwedeal worldwide that we take vio- thirdplace in the worldtestchampionship sometime in February afterthe India my father.When Iwas drawing the car,Ifelt lence, abuse of human rightsand repression standings,amorepressing objective as it at- series. Kohli's side will hostEngland hopethatitmight save my father's life.” very seriously.”However, there have been tempts to claim aplace in next year'sfinal at in afour-Test match series on return. “I reallyhope Lewis Hamilton delivers my constant protests by activistsahead of the Lord's. Aclean sweep of Pakistaninatwo-test Which waytheseresultsgowill de- messagesomydad cancomebackhome,” annual Bahrain Grand Prix, seeking the race series starting later this month will give New terminewhichtwo teams makethe Agence France-Presse reported. Ahmed MohammedRamadhan holds his drawing of Lewis Hamilton's racing car to be cancelled in light of the government’s Zealand achance of competing with Australia final at Lord'snextyear. ENS Ramadhan’s father Mohammed, asecu- withhis appeal forhelp in savinghis father from execution. AP/Reuters alleged human rightsviolations. and India foraplace in the June final. rityguard,was allegedly arrested in 2014 for The ICC test championship started last the death of apoliceman, and subsequently Bahrain government’s take year and involves nine teams eachplaying effort theseguyshaveput in time and time sentencedtodeath. Humanrightsgroups, The Bahrain Grand Prix has been aregu- Hamilton’s activism Ever since Bahraini citizens –bothcur- six series forpointsonahome-and-awayba- again over the lastcouple of years," Latham however, have claimedthat confessions that laronthe F1 circuit since the firstracein2004. The Mercedes driverhas been vocalinhis rent and former political prisoners-started sis, with the toptwo meeting in the final. said. "We'vegot another test series starting ledtothe conviction were forced through It’s also the country’sbiggestsporting event. supportfor the BlackLives Matter movement to appeal to Hamilton to supporttheir cause, Australia and India aremeeting in afour-test (soon) and so the focus nowwill turn to that." torture. Ahead of the AbuDhabi Grand Prix that gainedsteam in Mayafter the death of the government of the countryhas claimed series starting Thursday. New Zealand is now The secret of NewZealand's success is an lastweekend, Hamilton addressedthe letter Covid interrupts meeting African-American George Floyd at the hands thatitrespects freedom of expression and unbeaten in itslast15testmatches at home, open one. It has an extremelysolid batting at apress conference. Hamilton claimedthat he had hopedto of the police. In fact, Hamilton has also been the right to protest. “Noperson is arrested or giving it one of the mostformidable home lineup, especiallywith Williamson in his reg- “I think the saddestthingfor me was meet Bahrain’sCrown Princeand Prime critical of the F1’s apparent lackofrespon- prosecuted forthe peacefulexpression of advantages in worldcricket. "Looking at the ular place in the toporder.But it is the work that thereisayoung man on death rowand MinisterSalmanbin Hamad Al Khalifatoad- siveness whenitcomes to addressing hu- their opinion, and all persons arrested (re- worldtestchampionship, it's nice to getthe of the bowlers whichisthe key ingredient: it’s notclear… when his son writes me a dressthe issueofsocial injustice prevalent in man rightsissues, especiallyincountries gardless of the charge)benefit from full due full pointsfromthis series," NewZealand NewZealand's four-pronged seam attack, led letter,that reallyhitshome. All livesmatter. thekingdom. whereraces take place. process safeguards, includingthe right to captain TomLatham said. by TimSouthee and TrentBoult and with Ithink there’s definitelyworktobedone He had hopedtoattend the meeting while “Werealisewe’vegot to faceandnotignore representation and the right to fair trial be- Latham took over the captaincy forthe Kyle Jamieson nowakey member,isrelent- in the background,” he said. in the Middle-Eastern countrythat hosted the human rightsissues in thecountries that fore Bahrain’s independent judiciary,”read second test from Kane Williamson, who less and givesbatsmen very little respite “I definitelywon’t letitgounnoticed. back-to-back Grand Prix on November 29 and we go to,not just20years, 30 years from now, astatement reportedbyThe Guardian. missedthe test because his wifeisexpecting from pressure. When Iget some time now, Iwill definitely December6. but now,”hehad said aftersecuring hissev- The statement also addressedthe claim their firstchild, and NewZealand showed BRIEF SCORES: NewZealand 460 beat tryand speak to those (people) and see However, Hamilton tested positive forthe enth worldtitle afterwinning the Turkish aboutthe use of torture in Ramadhan’s case. depth in itsability to win in Williamson's ab- West Indies131 &(f/0) 317(Campbell68, howIcan positively impactthat(race) coronavirus at thetime, andwas forced to Grand Prix in November.InAbu Dhabi, “Further,the claims of tortureand/or retri- sence. "As farasthe worldrankingsgo, it's Holder 61,daSilva 57,Wagner3-54, Boult 3- weekend (in future).” miss the second race. Hamiltonadded:“Naturally, thehumanrights bution arecategoricallydenied.” nice to go therebut that's aby-product of the 96) by an innings and11runs

R.N.I.No. WBENG/2005/20789 VOL. XVI No.227 Printed by V.Srinivasan and PublishedbyV.Srinivasan on behalf of The Indian Express(P) Ltdand PrintedatSaraswati Print FactoryPvt.Ltd,789,Chowbhaga(West), Kolkata-700105and PublishedatThe IndianExpress(P) LtdJLNo.29&30, N.H.-6,Mouza -Prasastha & Ankurhati, P.O. -Salap, P.S.-Domjur,Howrah-711 409. Ph: (033)66043800Fax: (033) 66043825 &66043847. Chairmanofthe Board :ViveckGoenka, ChiefEditor:Raj Kamal Jha, Editor :Unni Rajen Shanker,Editor(Kolkata): Rakesh Sinha* (*Responsible forselectionofnewsunder the PRB Act)Copyright :The Indian Express (P) Limited.All rightsreserved.Reproduction in anymanner,electronic or otherwise,in whole or in part,without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express(R)

Kolkata