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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES &ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 50,000 &still counting: MEETING WITH GOVT TODAY liquidity pushes markets, Farmersdraw all eyes on Budget now hardline,reject SANDEEPSINGH US, &GEORGEMATHEW vaccines, NEWDELHI,MUMBAI, E ● recovery JANUARY21 EXPLAINED Centre’soffer

THE BENCHMARK Sensex THE 70%-SURGE since Thursdaybreachedthe 50,000- April 2020 is on the back markfor the firsttime before re- of global liquidity,vac- tostaylaws treating to close at 49,624, afall cine hopes, US elections of 167pointsor0.34per cent and domestic recovery. over Wednesday’s closing. Futuremomentum will Dividewithin on turningdownproposal; The rise and rise of markets depend on government’s over the lastfew months has spending (Budget); dura- police saynotoR-Daytractor rallyinDelhi been drivenbyacombination of tion of RBI stimulus and external factors: global liquidity, checkoninflation. RAAKHIJAGGA, BUSINESSASUSUAL vaccine hopes, US election out- LIZMATHEW come, alongside the growing &JIGNASASINHA BY UNNY strength in the domestic recov- EXPLAINED LUDHIANA,NEWDELHI,JAN21 ery. But market experts said that YOUR MONEY the factors shaping itsfuturemo- DRAWINGTHE hardline to press mentum will be the natureof WHATNEXTFOR forthe repeal of the newagricul- the government’s spending pro- INVESTORS turelaws, farmer unions gramme to be unveiledinthe PAGE 11 Thursdayrejected the Centre’s CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Some staffmembers of the Serum InstituteofIndia afterthe fire brokeout in one of the buildings in Pune on Thursday. PTI offertokeep the laws in abeyance for18months and form ajoint committee to ad- For cricket stars, new dress grievances. Five killed in Serum Institute fire, The unions, scheduledtore- turn to the talkstable Friday, test: 2kmin8.30 mins Covishield production unaffected CONTINUEDONPAGE2 DEVENDRAPANDEY Pause or repeal: Govt MUMBAI,JANUARY21 Building has rotavirus, BCG labs; Covid Migrant worker from UP CITINGTHE “growing physical vaccine unitsonnearbySII campus may have to go back demands of international raised alarm, among dead cricket”, the Indian cricket board novelcoronavirus disease. to SC or Parliament has introducedmandatory2-km ANURADHA SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told notmakeit,” said Sudhanshu, time trials to measurespeedand MASCARENHAS The Indian Express that thefire ANURADHA one of the survivors in Thursday's The laws,passedby endurance levels in itstraining &SUSHANTKULKARNI had caused“lots of damage”. MASCARENHAS fire at Serum InstituteofIndia's APURVAVISHWANATH Parliament in September last programme fortop players, The PUNE,JANUARY21 Poonawalla, who is currently &CHANDANHAYGUNDE campus in Pune. &LIZMATHEW year,werenotifiedinthe official Indian Express has learnt. abroad, had earlier said the fire PUNE,JANUARY21 Saroj, amigrant worker from NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 gazetteonSeptember 27 after It will nowbemandatoryfor FIVE PEOPLE were killedafter a had notimpacted the produc- UP,was among the five who died President RamNath Kovind gave the BCCI's contracted players major fire engulfed the three tion of Covishield, the Oxford- BIPIN SAROJ, who wasworking in the blaze. The other four have AS FARMERS reject the govern- his assent. While Parliament can and those vying foraplace in the upper floors of anewly- AstraZeneca Covid-19vaccine on the fourth floor,was among been identifiedasRama Shankar ment’s proposal to keep the repeal the law, thereisnovocab- Indian team to clear this trial, constructed six-storeybuilding CONTINUEDONPAGE2 the firsttonotice the fire. from UP,Sushil Kumar Pandey three contentious farm laws in ularyinthe Constitution or apartfromthe yo-yotest, to be MohammedSiraj at his inside one of the campuses of “Bhaago, aag lagi hai (Run, thereis from Bihar,and Mahendra Ingle abeyance for18months, experts Parliamentaryprocedurefor pickedinthe squad. father’s graveinHyderabad Serum InstituteofIndia (SII), afire), we heardhim shout. We and Pratik Pashte, both residents have raisedquestions over the keeping alaw in abeyance. “The Boardfelt that the on Thursday. PTI whichisakey playerinthe global MORE REPORTS ranout to save our lives. Later,we of Pune district. legislative options the Speaking to The Indian Express, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 RELATEDREPORTS,PAGE14 supplies of vaccines againstthe PAGE 2 realisedthat Bipin himself could CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Government has going forward. CONTINUEDONPAGE2

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WEB probes Sikhs forJustice; Indian Express EXCLUSIVE VicePresidentoftheUnitedStates. ★★★★★■4.6 death aftervaccine TECH ENTERTAINMENT NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY MICROSOFT ‘SURFACE AMIT SADH ON ‘JEET Making sense of the latestdevelopmentsin LAPTOP GO’ HANDS-ON KI ZID’ the farmers’ protests;NIA probes Sikhs for 48 hours with the ‘I feel lucky that Igot Justice; and aTelangana health worker dies SCANTHISQRCODETO ‘iBook G4’ of this to portray areal-life aday aftervaccine shot. DOWNLOADTHEAPP generation hero’ FROMPAGEONE

Eyes on Budget Modivisitedlastmonth,whenhe came to see Serum's vaccine- Budget,the duration of RBI’s Farmers draw hard line, reject Centre’s offer making processes. monetarystimulusandthecheck Fire Brigadeandpoliceofficers on inflation. were virtuallysplit down the the Morchasaid farmers were general secretaryofBKU Outer Ring Road. said the fire became big by feed- TheSensex,whichsurgedtoa middle at ameeting to discuss uniting in Karnataka, many (Dakaunda), said: “Wehad a Theunionsare scheduledto ingoninflammable material on high of 50,184, finallyclosedthe the Centre’s offer. parts of Kerala, Chhattisgarh, meeting of 32 farmer unions of meetthe Centreagain Friday. the upper floors. “Therewas alot dayat49,624.76, aloss of 560 Sources told The Indian Bilaspur and Rampur in Punjab in whichwedecidedto Severalfactorsappearedto have of air conditioning material, in- pointsfromthe day’s high level. Express thatofthe 32 unions Uttarakhand. “Farmers, labour- rejectthegovernmentproposal forcedthegovernmentto make cluding insulation material and If the near 70-per-cent rise in fromPunjab,morethanadozen ers and common people under to stay these laws forone-and- the offertoput the laws on hold objectsusedforfabrication.There marketssince April 1, 2020 has were in favour of accepting the theleadershipof MazdoorKisan a-half years. Asimilar consen- and end the protests. were objectsmade from PVC, come despitethe economycon- offer, but the majority votecar- Shakti Sangathan arereaching sus wasreachedatthe meeting Sources pointed to the acrylic, plastic, plywood, and At the hospital wherebodies of the five workers were brought tracting and being caught in the riedthe resolution to reject the Shahjahanpur border.Protests of the SKM as well in the Supreme Court's move to stay wood,”aFireBrigadeofficialsaid. forapost-mortem. PavanKhengre pandemicquicksand,market par- offer. againstneo-liberal policies are evening.We camefortherepeal theimplementationof thefarm MaharashtraChief Minister ticipantsremain optimistic over Astatementonbehalf of the being conducted through pup- of thefarmlaws andwillnotset- laws forthe time being, the sig- Uddhav Thackeray is scheduled the flowoffunds intoIndian eq- SamyuktKisanMorcha,theum- pets shows and songs,” it said. tle foranything less.” nalfromtheRSSforanearly res- to visit the Serum campus on SERUM INSTITUTE FIRE uities by foreign portfolio in- brella body of organisations Ahead of the meeting of the ButaSinghBurjgill,president olution -- RSS Sarkaryawah Friday. vestors. Between April 1and spearheading the protest, re- Morcha,theKisanEktaMorcha, of BKU (Dakaunda), said: “We Suresh‘Bhaiyyaji’Joshi’,inanin- The fire beganatsome time January21, theFPIshave invested leasedbyDarshan Palof in aTwitter post, had said “jis discussedmanyaspects. What terviewtoThe Indian Express, between1.45pmand2.15 pm,ac- anet of Rs 2,41,021crore into Krantikari Kisan Union, stated: kaam ke liyeaayethhe, usko if thegovernmentisaskedto in- calledfor“sensitivity”indealing cordingto policeandFire Brigade Police probe Indian equities, the highestever “In afull general body meeting poorakiyebina wapas nahi crease the duration of the stay with the farmer agitation and officials, and wasbrought under in anyyear. of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha jayenge (wewill notgobacktill on these laws from one-and-a- said a“middle ground mustbe controlby 4.30pm.At leasttenfire Rashesh Shah, chairman and today, the proposal put forthby we complete thework forwhich half yearsto aminimum4years, foundandbothsidesmustwork tenders, four additional water CEO,EdelweissGroup,saidthatif the Government yesterdaywas we had come)”. so that theycannotimplement to find asolution” –and the re- tankers,andotherequipmenthad asmooth transition in the US has rejected.Afull repeal of three Rakesh Tikait, president of them during this term? What if alisationwithintherulingparty to be deployed. Morethan 70 fire possibility of been abig positive,the bounce- centralfarmactsandenactinga BKU (Tikait) and one of the this government returns to nottogiveissues that could personnel were involvedinthe backindomestic economyhas legislation forremunerative spokespersons forthe Morcha, poweragain?Theselaws willbe unitetheOppositionduringthe operation. Intense smokecould beenverystronggiventheuptick MSP forall farmers were reiter- said:“We came here to getthe hanging likeasword…Itwill Budget session. be seen coming out of the build- in steel, cement, auto,real estate atedasthependingdemandsof laws repealed. Afterlong delib- notbesoeasy to startanother Moreover, severalBJP party ingfromseveralkilometresaway. negligence and in broader consumption. the movement.” erations, we came to this con- farmer movement suchasthis leaders have said that there “Thefire startedonthefourth Arguing that the economyneeds The Morcha, the statement clusion that we will notreturn soon,sonothinglessthanrepeal could have been moredeliber- floor of abuilding namedSEZ-3 supportforatleastonemoreyear said, “pays homagetothe 143 tillthelaws arerepealed.We can of theselaws isacceptableto us.” ations on thefarm Bills or these and spread to the fifthfloor.Ina before it can take offonits own, farmers who have been mar- stay hereforsixmoremonths,it Leaders of unions said their couldhave beensentto aHouse phasedmanner,wedeployed or foul play Shah said: “For the next 12-18 tyredinthismovementsofar… hardlymatters to us. People focus nowisonthe tractor pa- panel once objections were overadozenfire tendersandwa- months, the government needs Theirsacrificewillnotgoinvain have trustissues with the gov- rade plannedfor January26. raisedsince that would have tertankers,hydraulicliftsetc,and to spendandtheyhavegot thelib- andwe willnotgobackwithout ernment. What if theyimple- Earlier in the day, Delhi Police weakenedtheoppositionto the initiallysucceededinrescuing Assistant Commissioner of erty to spend because of Covid; the repealing of these farm ment these laws again aftera asked farmer leaders to recon- laws. nine persons from the building. SUSHANTKULKARNI Police KalyanVidhateof eventheRBIneedsto maintainits laws”. stay forashortperiod? We, sider the proposedrouteofthe The Supreme Court's stand All of them were workers em- PUNE,JANUARY21 Hasapsar Division said, “Initially, liberalism. Spikeininflation and Itreferredto ameetingwith therefore, decidedtoreject the tractor parade. that Delhi Police should decide ployedwithacontractorwhowas acase will be registeredwherein early tighteningof monetarypol- DelhiPoliceofficersearlierinthe proposals of the government.” Police suggestedthat the ontheentryofprotestingfarm- workingatthebuilding,”Prashant FOLLOWINGTHEmajorfire atthe details of accidental fire and ac- icy by RBI arethe biggestrisksfor dayandsaidwhilepolicehadre- “On MSP,wewill tell them tractor parade be held at the ers intoDelhi on Republic Day Ranprise, the chief fire officer of SerumInstituteofIndia(SII)cam- cidental death will be recorded, now.” questedthe farmers nottocon- to makeanAct to assuremini- protestsitesatSinghuorTikrior wasalso afactor that prompted Pune Fire Brigade, said. pus in Pune on Thursdaythat pending probeintocauses. The Thereisabroader sense that ductatractorparadeinDelhion mum supportprice forthe pro- on the Eastern and Western arethink.Butthereare othersin “Because of the smoke, it was killedfivepersons and causedse- investigation teams will record withthegloballiquiditycontinu- Republic Day, theyhad reiter- duce of farmers. Regarding the Peripheral Expressways. the party who think that a initiallydifficult to locatethe rious property damage, Pune statementsofthe persons in- ingandanadditionalUSstimulus ated that theyintend to go RepublicDaytractorparade,we Farmerunionssaidtheywill climbdown is abad precedent. source of the fire.The fire was Police have launchedaprobe volvedinthe work -- the work- on itsway,the marketsare likely ahead with their plan of apa- will be meeting Delhi Police notgotowards Rajpath, the “Once youtakeaU-turn on a brought under control around while the stateand central intel- ers, contractor,companyoffi- to continue with their upward rade on the Outer Ring Road of again on Friday, though they venue of the Republic Daypa- major reform, therewill always 4.15 pm. This wasfollowedbyan ligenceagenciesarecloselymon- cials, supervisors etc. Forensic movement fornow. Delhi. have denieduspermission for rade, and will restrict them- bepressureagainsteverymove. extensive cooling operation, in itoringthedevelopments,consid- analysis of the samples collected “Overall, we expect the up- Maintaining that their theparadeonOuterRingRoad,” selvestothe Outer Ring Road. If yougiveuponce, youwill be whichwaterisusedtoreducethe ering the company's role in the mayalso be done if the probe ward journeytocontinue on the protestwas becoming a“peo- he said. Theysaidtheywillholdtherally forced to do so on other issues temperatureofthepremises.The country's Covid-19response. calls forit. The probewill tryto backofhealthycorporateearn- ple'smovement…nationwide”, Jagmohan Singh Patiala, on a16-17kmstretch on the as well,” aparty leader said. coolingoperationensuresthefire Pune police officials said that determine whether negligence ings, strong liquidity,positive de- does notstart again,” he said aprobe will be conducted in the on anyone's partled to the fire velopmentsonthe vaccine front, The bodies were discovered case, in whichpossibilities of and loss of life, if adequatepre- broad-basedeconomic recovery onlyafter Fire Brigade personnel criminal negligence leading to cautionary measures forsafety and lowinterestrates,” said Pauseorrepeal: Govt mayhavetoreturntoSC were able to enter the building. death will be probed,along with were taken, and even the possi- Motilal Oswal, MD&CEO, Motilal VivekPradhan, factoryman- that of the fire being adeliberate bility it being adeliberateact will Oswal Financial Services. “Buzz aUnion Ministersaid that one Sabha. “I have notseen sucha ment can undo the act of the were notifiedin2016. ageratSII,saidthebuildingwhere actof sabotage.Intheinitialstage, be probed.Accordingly,anof- aroundtheupcomingBudget has optionwastoissueanotification situation wherethe govern- Parliament by simplybackdat- However, once the rules are the fire brokeout housedaro- the Crime BranchofPune City fence might be registered.” also addedstrength to the mar- cancellingtheearliergazetteno- ment itself wantstokeep alaw ing anotification, then what is notified, Acharysays –ashas tavirus laboratoryfacility.“There Police will conduct aparallel When asked whether there kets.” tification. in abeyance afteritisgiven ef- the point of having a happenedwith the farm laws - is no stockofCovishield at this probealong with the team from willbeaprobeto ascertainif there Whilethegainof 5,000points “Weare waiting forthe re- fect,” Kashyapsaid. “Bills have Parliament,” Acharysaid. -the onlyoptions before the place. The work of electric and Hadapsar police station, which wasfoulplaybehindthefire,Pune in Sensexhas come in around 32 sponse from the farm unions to been withdrawn, enforcement While the government can- government aretoask the pipe fitting wasgoing on in the has jurisdiction over the area. Police Commissioner Amitabh trading sessions, Deepak Jasani, decideonournextstep,”hesaid. of laws has been delayedbynot notstayalaw,itcandelayitsim- Supreme Courttocontinue its building in the upper floors,” he Deputy Commissioner of Gupta said, “Everypossible angle Head of Retail Research,HDFC “Oncethenotificationof alaw is notifying them and laws have plementation before rules are stay order or take the laws back said. Police NamrataPatil said, “After willbechecked.We arenot ruling Securities, said that this reflects already done, another notifica- been repealedbut keeping it in notified. to Parliament. The Parliament Deputy Commissioner of everysuchmajor incident of fire, out anything at this stage.” the expectations of aturnaround tion cancelling that can be is- abeyance afterthe legislative Forexample,theCitizenship can either amend or repeal the PoliceNamrataPatilsaidaninves- an investigation is conducted.It Meanwhile,sourcesfromstate intheeconomypost-Covidvacci- sued. It justneeds an executive process is over has neverhap- Amendment Act, passedby laws. tigation would be ordered to as- willhappeninthiscasetoo.There and central intelligence agencies nations and continuedFPI in- order,itdoes nothavetogoto penedbefore.” both Houses in December 2019 The Parliament’s powers to certain the cause of the fire. is loss of lifeand damagetoprop- said their teams were keeping a flows.“Afterthe Budget,wemay Parliament.” The government’s proposal wasnotifiedinthe official repeal laws come from Article “Afterevery suchmajor inci- erty on twofloors of the building. closewatchonthedevelopments witness atemporarybrake to the That’seasiersaidthandone, to keep the laws in abeyance is gazetteinJanuary2020. 245oftheConstitution,thepro- dent of fire,aninvestigation is As partofprocedure, acase of ac- unfolding at the SII campus. uptrend and further up move saidformerSecretaryGeneralof distinct from the January12 Parliamentaryproceduredic- vision whichempowers it to conducted.Itwill happen in this cidental death -- pending probe “Because of itsimportance to from hereon will depend on the Lok Sabha, PDTAchary. Supreme Court’s stay on the tatesthat the rules forthe legis- makelaws. case too. Thereisloss of lifeand intocauses -- will be registered. thecountry’sresponseto thepan- pace of economic and corporate “In my view, the lawcannot laws whenthecourt,inparallel, lation aretobenotifiedwithin Laws arerepealedwhen damagetoproperty on the two We will decide the course of legal demic, Serum Instituteisasensi- earnings growth and the trajec- be put in abeyance by the gov- constitutedacommitteeto hold six months from the dateof theyhaveserved their purpose floors of the building. As partof actionaftergettingthefindingsof tive installation. Various agencies toryof inflationandinterestrates ernment. Once alaw is passed talkswithallstakeholders.That publication in the gazette. and have no further reasons for procedure, acase of accidental this preliminaryprobe.” aremonitoring the fire incident in India and the world,” Jasani by Parliament…the govern- stay ordercanbevacatedby the However, thegovernmentisyet theirexistenceor,insomecases, death, pending aprobe into Explaining the possible se- and arecoordinating with local said. ment is onlythe implementing courtonce the committee sub- to notify the rules forthe lawto to remove inconsistencies. causes,willberegistered.We will quence of probeinthe case, police,” asource said. Significantly, thesurge hasnot authorityanditcannotstiflethe mitsits recommendations, ex- be implemented. Generally, when newlawsare decide the course of legal action beenrestrictedto afew stocksand law,”hetoldTheIndianExpress. pected in eight weeks. Similarly,the Benami enacted,theoldlawonthesub- aftergetting findings of this pre- sectors. If the Sensexhas risen by This is echoedbySubhash “Onlythe Supreme Court Transaction (Prohibition) Act, ject is repealedthrough by in- liminaryprobe,” she said. 68percent,themidandsmallcap Kashyap, another former has the powertostayalaw,not 1988 wasnot implemented for serting aspecific repealing Adar Poonawalla: BCG, indices at BSE areup80per cent SecretaryGeneral of the Lok the government. If the govern- almost28years till the rules clause in the newlaw. Migrant worker and93percentrespectively inthe Police arestill collecting key Rotavirus vaccine, too same period. Among sectoral in- detailsof thosekilledastheirfam- dices, while Auto indexhas current fitness standardplayeda Fornow,the Boardhas made resulted in them being excluded at the building, whichhad been ilies areyet to reachthe hospital. jumped117 percent,metalandIT hugerole in getting our fitness to anexemptionforthosewhowere from the squad. completedrecently. Twoofthem All of them were working for many products damaged indicesarealsoupby 110percent the next level. It is important to partoftheTest seriesinAustralia. Intheyo-yotest,twoconesare were fromUttarPradesh,andone Suvidha Engineers, the firm car- and 105per cent respectively. take our fitness leveltoanother However, those who areincon- placed20metresapart, and the wasfromBihar.The other two ryingoutair-conditioningwork at Covishield, avaccine forCovid- Technology,capital goods and levelnow.The time trial exercise tention forthe white-ball series athlete has to run between them workers were local people. None the newlyconstructed building. ANURADHA 19,asmultiple buildings had healthcare, banking and con- will help us to compete even bet- againstEngland will have to un- whenthebeepgoesoff.Thebeeps of them wasanemployeeof Sarojandhisyoungerbrother MASCARENHAS been kept reserved to deal with sumerdurableindices,too,areup ter. The Boardwill keep updating dergo thistest.Itwillalsobeakey become morefrequent afterone Serum India. Avinash were among the nine PUNE,JANUARY21 suchcontingencies at SII. by over 60 per cent. the standards everyyear," aBCCI criterion in selection forthe T20 minute, and if the athlete fails to “Weweredoing the work of people on the fourth floor,en- “Thiswasanew buildingatthe Indices include better-run official told The Indian Express. WorldCup, whichwill be held reachthelinewithinthattime,he AC insulation on the fourth floor gagedinweldingwork andfitting SERUM INSTITUTE of India (SII) SpecialEconomicZonecampusat firmsandsotheriseinalsoreflec- According to the newnorm, later this year. isexpectedto catchupwithintwo when we suddenlysaw smoke air-conditioners.“Weweredoing CEO Adar Poonawalla, who is not Manjri.Itwasonthevergeofcom- tive of the fact that good and thebenchmarkforfast bowlersis The test -- the criteria will be morebeeps. The test is stoppedif rising. Within afew seconds, the the work of AC insulation on the in the countryatpresent, ex- pletionandthefacilitywasbuiltto strongcompanieshave donewell. 8minutes and 15 seconds. For updatedlater--willbeheldinthe the playerfails to catchupbefore smokebecame so dense that we fourthfloorwhenwe noticedthe pressedshockoverthe fire manufactureextraquantities of Investors have to be cautious batsmen, wicket-keepers and presenceof astrengthandcondi- the beeps run out. were unable to see anything. We smoke.Withinafew seconds,the mishap at the institute’s build- BCGandRotavirusvaccines.We do while venturing intorandom spinners, the standardwill be 8 tioningmemberfromtheBCCIor rantowards the windowand smokebecame so dense that we ing on Thursdaythat claimed notknowthe cause of the fire and stocks in the mid and small cap minutes and 30 seconds. The National Cricket Academy. Serum fire jumpedout. Iwas badlyhurtbut were unable to see anything. We five lives. “Not in amood to will assess the extent of the dam- space. Waqar Naqvi, CEO, Taurus minimum yo-yolevel forall re- Former India team trainer that Serum is manufacturing un- Imanaged to save my life,” said rantowards the window, and speak.BCG, Rotavirus vaccine, agesoon,” Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Mutual Fund, said the rallyin mains at 17.1. Ramji Srinivasan says atime trial der licence. 21-year-oldAvinashSaroj,whose jumpeddowntoalowerfloor. toomanyproductshavebeen chairman and managing director, banking, PSU,metals, auto and IT To placethenewnorminper- isbetterthantheyo-yoand“most “I would liketoreassureall brother Bipin Saroj wasamong Therewas debris lying thereand damaged in the fire,” Poonawalla SII,whowasatthefacilitytoldThe sectors helpedSensextouch spective,eliteathletesare ex- effective”test. "It is morefunc- governmentsand the public that the five dead. we got hurt,butwe randownthe told The Indian Express. Indian Express. 50,000.“If midcapstocksjointhe pected to complete 2kmin tional towardscricket.This will therewould be no loss of The lowerfloors of the build- steps and out of the building,” The mishap took place at one Informedsources said Prime party,whichisahigh probability, around 6minutes, and amateurs test speed, threshold zones, how Covishield production due to ing have laboratoryfacilities for Avinash said. "I kept shouting for of the under constructionbuild- MinisterNarendraModi had vis- on the backofthe vaccinations in 15 minutes. youplan your running pace. And multiple production buildings SII's rotavirus and BCG vaccines. my brother,andwe allwaited,but ings at the Special Economic ited the building at the SII’s and anticipated announcements The contracted players were youcan't cheat as this is time- that Ihad kept in reservetodeal The upper floors wherethe fire Bipin nevercame,” he said. Zone at SII’s Manjri plant on Manjri plant on November 28. in the central Budget to boostde- informedabout the newmark, based,” he said. with suchcontingencies...,” brokeout were unoccupied. The Exactlyone month ago, on Thursdayafternoon. Poonawalla, Dr Poonawalla told The mand, the stockmarketsshould whichhasbeenapprovedby BCCI The BCCI had introducedthe Poonawallasaidinatweet before productionunitsandlaboratories December 22, Bipin had come to who said afew floors of the Indian Express that thecom- continueto dowellintheforesee- president Sourav Gangulyand yo-yotestafew years ago, and it the five bodies were discovered. forthe Covid-19vaccine arelo- Pune to work with his brother, building have destroyed in the panywill offeracompensation ablefuture.Fromthislevel,minor secretaryJay Shah, in Australia. became akey parameterfor se- He subsequentlytold The Indian cated on another SII campus who had arrivedinthe city two fire,took to Twitter to reassure of Rs 25 lakh to eachofthe fam- ups and downs arenot going to TheyweretoldthattheBoardhas lection to the national team. Express that he wasina“stateof nearby. months earlier and wasable to all governmentsand common ilies of the fire victims, in addi- bother investors," he said. created three windows to carry Players likeAmbati Rayudu, shock” because of the deaths. Incidentally, the affected earn Rs 10,500amonth. The people that the mishap would tion to the mandated amount out the test this year:February, Kedar Jadhavand Sanju Samson All the five dead were doing building waspartofthe facilities brothers, and Rama Shankar,be- notaffect the production of as per the norm. For cricket stars June and August/September. had failedthe test before,which weldingandair-conditioningjobs that Prime MinisterNarendra long to UP's Pratapgarhdistrict.

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Abhishek hasasked NEW CONTENDER Three BJP workersheld for Suvendu to apologise within ‘goli maro’ slogan in Hooghly 36 hours FurfuraSharifclericlaunches ko....” (shootthe traitors of strong feeling that theywerenot Abhishek sends EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Bengal) slogans. TMC workers but outsiders.” KOLKATA,JANUARY21 According to the police, they StateBJP president Dilip legal notice to party:‘Wanttobekingmaker’ took the suo moto congnisance Ghosh on Thursdayquestioned THE HOOGHLYBJP youth wing of the slogans raisedinthe BJP police action againstthe party Suvendu for chief and twoother party work- rallyafter verifying videosal- workers. “TMC's 'golimaro, ers were arrestedon Thursdayfor legedly showing some workers bomb maro...' is acceptedbut if allegedly raising “Desh ke gaddaro instigating people. an over enthusiastBJP worker graft allegation ko goli maaro...” (shoot thetrai- Adhikari had ledthe rally says something,heispickedup tors) slogans at aparty rallyin from TaldangainChandannagar at 2:30 am at midnight,” he said. Chandannagar on Wednesday. to JyotiMore. RajyaSabha mem- “TheTMC calledit'peace EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE “Three BJP activists,including berSwapan Dasgupta,Hooghly rally', but it witnessedrampant KOLKATA,JANUARY21 Hooghly districtyouth wingchief MP Locket Chatterjee, vandalism and tearing of BJP flags Suresh Sahu, have been ar- BarrackporeMPArjun Singh and and posters. Slogans suchas'Goli TRINAMOOL CONGRESS MP rested,” said an officer from other local BJP leaders also joined maro...' were heardintheir ‘peace Abhishek Banerjee has sent ale- Chandannagar police. the rally. Thearrestedaccused rally’ in SouthKolkata.Isthis galnotice to BJP leader Suvendu The other twoarrestedwork- were allegedly following the Pishi’sdefinition of 'peace'?This Adhikari and sought an uncon- ers have been identifiedas truckcarrying the BJP leaders. is howthe TMCislettingdown ditional apology from him Prabhat Gupta,presidentofthe Soon afterthe Chandannagar the City of Joy,”the BJP stateunit within36hours forlevelling cor- Bandel Mandal Youth Front, and incident, the BJP had shared a tweeted. ruption allegations againsthim. Robin Ghosh, the convener of the video on their official Twitter TMC seniorleader Subrata Adhikari had made “vile, un- BJP's health cell. handle allegedly showing TMC Mukherjee said, “If anyTMC couth, false, malicious, and The arrested workers had al- workersraisingthe slogan. worker has raisedany suchslo- defamatory” statementsagainst legedly shoutedthe provocative Reacting to this, stateUrban gan, he will be punished." the Diamond Harbour MP dur- slogan in the rallyled by party Affairs MinisterFirhad Hakim on TMC MP SaugataRoy said, ing aBJP meeting at Khejuri on leader Suvendu Adhikari. Thursdaysaid, “Theparty does- “The issue is notabout the BJP or Tuesday, read the notice. In acounter rally, theTMC n't supportsuchslogans. There the TMC. The policehavetaken “Engulfed in egotism and ar- had takenout apeacemarch aresome over-enthusiastic action wheretheyfelt necessary. rogance, youseem to have for- from TollygungetoHazra where youngsupporters in everyrally. We all knowBJP's AnuragThakur gottenabout your manycrimes itsworkers also allegedly It is aBJP slogan that aCentral has also raisedthis slogan. Why committed againstthe public,” mouthed “Bengalkegaddaro ministerhad raised.Wehave didn't the BJP arrest himthen.” the notice read referring to the Saradha chit fund scamand the Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui at the launchofhis party —Indian Secular Front —inKolkataonThursday. Shashi Ghosh Narada sting probe. “In the event youfail to com- Young vs Old: BJP factions clash, plywith the same, my client Says opentoform alliance with Left &Cong; planning to contestall 294seats shall be constrainedtoinitiate appropriateproceedings against Rejecting the charge that his vandalise party office in Burdwan you, both civil and/or criminal, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE party would enable the division in accordance withlaw,without KOLKATA,JANUARY21 NED WhyPirzada’sentry of Muslim votes in the state, anyfurther notice," stated the upendsthepollrace Siddiqui said, “So manypolitical EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE notice. AHEAD OF the Assemblyelec- E parties arethere. ManylikeAAP KOLKATA,JANUARY21 ● Adhikari wasnot available for tions in West Bengal, Pirzada EXPLAI arecoming to Bengal. Some of comment. Abbas Siddiqui,the 34-year-old THE ENTRYofPirzada AbbasSiddiquiintothe electoral arena them will getHindu or Muslim TWOMINItruckswere setonfire Earlier this month, Banerjee cleric of FurfuraSharif in of West Bengalhas upendedthe West Bengal polls, largely in votes. Whydoyou saythat our and BJP’sparty office in East had sent alegal notice to Union Hooghlydistrict, on Thursday theMuslim-dominated seatsofsouthBengal. Siddiqui's im- party will divide Muslim votes.” Burdwandistrictvandalisedafter MinisterBabulSupriyofor mak- launchedanew political party - portance lies in notonlyasone of the Pirzada of the second- “If thereare some who have twofactionsofthe partyclashed ing corruption allegations. -Indian Secular Front –and said mostimportant Sufimazar of the country, but his influence problems with my outfit, they during ameeting on Thursday, The noticehad read, “Being that his party plans to contestall in partsofsouth Bengal. Interestingly,the Muslim votes in the should think about whatneeds sources said. The twogroups also aggrieved with your defamatory the 294seatsinthe statewith al- region have till nowgone to the Trinamool Congress. With to be done. It is notmyjob to hurledstones at eachother. and false statements, my client liance partners. the Assemblyelection settobeacloseone in the three-cor- worryabout the TMC’s poll LocalBJP leaders said one had instituted asuit fordefama- His 26-year-old brother nered contest –between Trinamool, BJP and Left-Cong al- prospects,” Siddiqui told re- group wasled by party’sold tion and injunction before the Nausad Siddiqui has been liance-- it is to be seen if the Hooghly-based Muslimcleric, in porters. timers who felt sidelineddue to Twominitruckswereset on fire outside the BJP office in Learned3rd Bench, City Civil namedchairman of thenew alliancewith Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, dentsTrinamool's Accusing Chief Minister the entryofyoung leaders from EastBurdwan district on Thursday. PTI CourtatCalcuttawhen the party and Simul Soren the pres- chances and endsuphelping the BJP.Also, as Congressand Mamata Banerjee of failingto other parties. LearnedCourtwas pleasedto ident of the party's working CPI(M) have sentfeelers to Siddiqui, it is notclearyet what deliver, Siddiqui blamedthe “Wehad come here to com- grant an ad-interim order of in- committee. will be the final shapeofthe newpoliticalfront. Trinamool Congress for“allow- plain that some of the old timers situationundercontrol. tack their partyoffices?Don’t we junction on December 8, 2017, “Weannouncedour party to- ingBJP to getintoBengal” of thepartyarenot giventheirdue BJP leadersalleged that the have anything else to do?" restrainingyou from making any day. Now, we willsit fortalks "Wesupported herand she respect.Theyare beingsidelined. TMC wasbehind the incident, Meanwhile, in Asansol in derogatorycomment or defam- with other parties, including said: "CPI(M)and Congresslead- testing the elections,saying that came to powerinBengal. But Instead of listening to us, party while the ruling party deniedthe West Burdwan district, two atorystatement againstour AIMIM (of Asaduddin Owaisi), ers have sent feelers to us. Both he would liketobethe “king- then her government failedto workers startedmisbehaving charge and claimeditwas fallout groups of BJP workers entered client.” and then we will makeclearon the parties suggestedthat we maker”. deliver. So manyunemployed with us,” said alocal BJP leader. of infighting. “If anymember of intoascuffledduring ameeting It added, “On 30 November howmanyseatswewillcontest firstlaunchour political platform. "I want to be the kingmaker. youths areinBengal.Itwas TMC The clash occurredwhen aparty our party is involved in theinci- attendedbyUnion minister 2017,you had made false and in this election. Fornow,weare Letuswait and see." Iwillnot contestthe electionbut whichfacilitated communaldis- meetingatthe office, whichwas dent thenactionwill be taken Babul Supriyoand BJP leader defamatorystatementsina considering to contestall the 294 “The party will startworking will do everything possible for cordand allowedBJP to come virtuallyinaugurated by BJP na- againsthim.Butwe believe itwas ArvindMenon. This forced the press conference at Asansol link- seats," Abbas Siddiqui told me- from Republic Day. Thereafter, the party.Wewill work forthe here. BJP is enemyofthe coun- tional president JPNadda, wasin the handiworkofTMC leaders to party to close the party office. ing our client to an illegalcoal diapersons at apress conference we willannouncefurther pro- betterment of Muslims,Dalits, try,"Siddiqui added. progress. malignour image,” said state BJP Supriyotold reporters,“Alot of mafia and accusing himofille- in Kolkata. grammes.Wealso plan to hold tribals, and the poor.Our party is FurfuraSharif is the second Membersof onegroupleftthe presidentDilip Ghosh. people had alot of things to say. gitimatelyprofiteering from the Statingthat his “doors are rallies including one in brigade forall," said Siddiqui, one of the mostprominent Sufimazaror meetingmidway andtorchedtwo TMC Birbhum district presi- As theystarted interacting with smuggling of coal in West open” foranalliance with the Left parade ground,"headded. descendants of Pir Abu Baqar shrine in the countryafter Ajmer minitrucks,parkedoutsidetheof- dentAnubrataMondalsaid,“Two me and Arvind Menon ji today, Bengal.” Front and the Congress, Siddiqui He, however, ruledout con- Siddiqui. Sharif in Rajasthan. fice. Theyhurledstones at the of- factions of the BJP —old and new everyone wanted to speak at the fice, breaking windows.Ahuge —are fightingagainsteachother.... same time. Thereisnothing contingent of police brought the Whywould we go thereand at- wrong to speak to your leaders.”

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 5 WEST BENGAL

Won’t let eviction AT ALL-PARTY MEETING Governor, wife donate `5 lakh of refugees from BSFforcingpeopletovoteforBJP for Ram temple construction

Centre’s land: CM EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE inborderareas,TMCleaderstellEC KOLKATA,JANUARY21

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar KOLKATA,JANUARY21 and his wifeonThursdaydo- DON’TDEPLOYCIVICANDGREEN nated Rs 5,00,001 forconstruc- CHIEF MINISTER Mamata POLICEFORELECTIONDUTY:EC tion of the RamTemple in Banerjee on Thursdaysaid that Ayodhya.Astatement issuedby her government would notallow the RajBhavansaid the dona- "forcible eviction" of anyrefugee Kolkata: The fullbenchofthe Election tion wasmade in their personal from the Central government's Commission (EC) on Thursdayasked the state capacity. land in West Bengal. CM MamataBanerjee at police to notdeploycontractual Green and Asignedcheque to Shri Ram Addressing mediapersons at the statesecretariat on Civid policeduringthe upcoming Assembly Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra statesecretariat,Banerjeesaidthat Thursday. Express elections. The decision wastaken afterall par- washandedovertoateam of hergovernmentwouldhandover ties exceptthe TMC alleged that these contrac- the VHP and RSS ledbyAlok pattas(landcertificates)to allsuch tual personnel were misusedbybythe ruling Kumar,the working president refugees. to the stateonJanuary 30 when party to influence voters. of the VHP,who had flown to “Wehavegot informationthat he is scheduledtoaddress the The EC also directed the statepolice quickly KolkatafromDelhi on Thursday atsomeplacesinBankuradistrict, Matua community in dispose of non-bailable FIRs. morning. Ashoknagar and HabrainNorth Thakurnagar. It warnedofstrict action againstpolice per- Terming the construction of 24 Parganas district, the Central sonnel who arefound guilty of dereliction of the RamTemple in Ayodhya as government'sorganisationshave DuareSarkar extended, BJP and TMC leaders aftermeeting the Chief Election Commissioner in KolkataonThursday. Shashi Ghosh duty.The ECI is also mulling the option of de- an “epochal development”, the putupevictionnotices.However, fifthphase from Jan 27 ploying around 25 per cent moresecurity per- Governor in astatement said: we willnotallowany forcibleevic- sonnel than those usedinthe 2019 Lok Sabha "The fact that it is in pursuance tion of anyrefugee. We will give The Cabinetextendedthe dura- BSF says allegation ‘baseless and farfromtruth’; BJP alleges election, PTI news agency quoted an election to the unanimous verdict of the them dalil (official document) in tion of ''DuareSarkar'' (govern- official. highestcourtofthe largest accordance with their merit," ment at doorsteps) initiative,cit- Rohingyarefugees addedtovoters’ lists in some areas ThefullbenchofEC, whichisonathree- democracyinthe world, is a Banerjeesaidafterchairingacab- ing “overwhelming response”. dayvisit to the state, on Thursdaymet police tributetorichness and re- inetmeeting. The drive,whichhas reached Chatterjee; CPI-M leaders Rabin Deb statement.“The BSF is aprofessional officers, including ADG (lawand order) and silience of our age-old ethos "Weare clearly saying that to at leasttwo crorepeople so far, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE and Samik Lahiri, and CPI leader Prabir Border Guarding Force, whichhas in representativesofall parties. and civilisation. The intent and suchevictionswillnotbeallowed. will berenewedfor itsfifth phase KOLKATA,JANUARY21 Deb; Congress leader Soumya Aich the past, and also in the present, On Friday, the EC will meetDirector spirit of donation, rather than Refugees who have been staying for14days,startingJanuary27, the Roy; and BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh, guardedour international borders General of Police Virendra. ENS the amount, is all on those lands forseveral years government said. WESTBENGALUrban Development Mukul Roy, Shishir Bajoria and with total sincerity and dedication. important." will receive the pattas. Matuas Thefourthphaseisscheduled and Municipal Affairs MinisterFirhad Swapan. We have actively checkedonillegal (Bangladeshi refugees) have al- to end on January25. Hakim on Thursdayalleged that the “It is the duty of the Election infiltration and smuggling and readybeengivenpattasandthose “With so manypeople taking Border Security Force(BSF) waster- Commission to ensurethat people brought criminals to book... The state- whohave notreceivedthemsofar partinthe initiative and some rorising people in the border areas into votewithout fear.Itisimportant the mentsgiven by Sh Partho Chatterjee, will getthem soon," she added. have come to knowabout it later voting forthe BJP in the upcoming Central forces aredeployedheresoon. Hon'ble Education Minister, and Mr Shesaidher government has on, we have decidedtoextend it AssemblyElection. We arecertain that the names of Firhad Hakim, Ruraland regularised213 refugee colonies forfifth phase,whichwill start The TMC government raisedthe is- Rohingyahavebeen includedinthe Development MinisterofState of overthelasttwo yearsandissued from January27and continue till sue with the Election Commission voter lists in border areas. This should West Bengal, leveling allegations 2.79lakhpattas.Banerjeealsoan- February8,” the Chief Minister (EC) during an all-party meeting at be looked into,” Ghosh said afterthe againstthe BSF is without anybasis nouncedthatthestateCabinethas said. The Cabinetalso sanctioned Grand HotelinKolkataon meeting. and farfromany truth. The BSF stands givenitsnodto grantfreeholdland old ageand widowpension forat Thursday. He said the Election firmlycommitted to itsmotto ‘Duty rightstotheunauthorisedinhab- least15lakh applicants. The dis- BJP statepresidentDilip Commission had arrived Unto Death’ at all times,” read the itantsofKolkataMunicipal bursementprocesswillstartfrom Ghosh alleged that in some ar- with itsentireteam to en- statement. Corporation's ward number 109. Friday. eas, the names of Rohingya surethat people in the state CPM leaders Rabin Devand Samik "Not asinglecolonywillbeleft TheCM,meanwhile,launched refugees had been addedtothe can freelyexercise their vot- Lahiri also claimed: “Manyfalse names out. We aredoing it foreveryone anew initiative under whichthe electoral rolls and asked Chief ing rights. areinthe listpublishedbythe Election -- bethose living on stategovern- stategovernment will transfer Rs Election Commissioner (CEC) DECISION Replying to Ghosh’s Commission.So,thecommissionshould ment land,onprivate property or 10,000 to bank accountsofnine SunilAroratolookintotheissue. 2021 Rohingyaremarks,Hakim properly auditthelistbeforefinalisingit. on land belonging to central gov- lakh studentsofClass 12 in gov- “The BJP says lakhs of WEST said the allegation wasanin- We also stressedonapeaceful and fare ernment organisations, likethe ernment schools and madrasas Rohingyahaveentered the vot- BENGAL sult to the EC and claimed election, and the Central forces should railways.All refugee colonies in forpurchasing smartphones or ers’ list, but the listhas been that the BSF wasforcing vot- be properly usedduring election." the state, including those in tablets."The moneywould be prepared by the EC. This means the BJP ers to favour acertain political party. CEC Aroraarrived in West Bengal Jadavpur,Behala,Dhakuria, transferreddirectlytodesignated is accusing the election body.Wetold “The BJP is sending the BSF to vil- aftervisiting Assam on Wednesday. Sonarpur,Ballygungeand bank accountsinseven days. the EC to checkthe BJP’s effortsto lages in border areas in West Bengal Election Commissioners Sushil Beleghataareasof thecitywillget Studentscan purchase tabletor spread communal hatred in Bengal,” and terrorising people intovoting for Chandraand RajivKumar arealso as- suchrights," she said. smartphones of their choice and said Hakim. them. This is my allegation. The sisting Aroraastheyreviewedprepa- The announcement from continue theironlineeducation," The meeting wasattendedbyTMC Election Commission said we would rations forthe elections. Aroraand Banerjee came ahead of Union she said afterinteracting with leaders Hakim, SubrataBakshi, cross-checkit,” Hakim said. his team also metCentral and state Home MinisterAmit Shah's visit some of the studentsvirtually. SubrataMukherjee and Partha The BSF deniedthe allegation in a officials.

Vaccination drive in Bardhaman ADVERTISEMENT suspended after four AEFI cases Sportsand Youth Services Department, Government of Mizoram &SportsAuthority of mallyexpected and provethat India (SAI), invites application from eligible EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE STATECOUNT the surveillance system is func- citizens of India for filling up the post of (a) KOLKATA,JANUARY21 TOTAL CASES tioning well, and no major side effectswerenoticedafter more High Performance Manager (b) Head THE COVID-19vaccination drive 566898 than 43,000doses. This is ahuge Coaches-3 (c) Young Professionals and wasonThursdaysuspededin success and will help us in confi- the Bardhaman-Durgapur belt INCREASE DEATHS dence building... We arelikelyto (d) Masseur grade II-2 for Khelo India State afterfour persons reportedad- 416 10089 receive morevaccine doses,” said Centres of Excellence, Aizawl, Mizoram (at verse event following immuni- 550244 RECOVERED an official. sation (AEFI). Meanwwhile, West Bengal Rajiv Gandhi Stadium). The last date for the While no health officials con- 7751669 SAMPLES on Thursdayreported416 coro- submission of application is 10th firmedthe incident, sources said TESTED TILL JAN 21 navirus cases and and nine February 2021. the four persons were under ob- deaths attributed to the virus. servation at ahospital in Mondays,Tuesdays,Fridays and With these, the total caseload All information regarding qualifications, pay Durgapur. Saturdays,some centres aread- reached5,66,898and the toll Sources said one of them had ministering the vaccine on other 10,089. As manyas517 Covid pa- and application forms are available in Sports high blood pressureand the rest days too. tientsweredischargedinthe last &Youth Services website www.sys. had no major health problems. On Wednesday, total 2,000 24 hours, taking the total to mizoram.gov.in. The stateHealth Department is frontline workers were vacci- 5,50,244.The brought down ac- yettoconfirm the reason behind nated againstTuesday's 13,693. tive cases to 6,565 and improved Sd/- LALSANGLIANA their illness and if therewas any Sources said the Centre's CoWIN the recovery rate to 97.06per Director co-relation with the vaccination. application wasworking slow cent. Total28,293 samples were According to Health Department and encountered some glitches. tested in the last24hours, tak- Sports&Youth Services sources, though the vaccination “The AEFI rate is still less than ing the cumulative figureto IPR No. 242 Dated 21.01.2021 drive in the stateisconductedon one in thousand, whichisnor- 77,51,669 Wanted TMC Rlys ferries 1,771 leader’s brother quintal of rice grilled in 2cases to Bangladesh

Kolkata: The Central Bureauof Kolkata: The Eastern Railway Investigation (CBI) interrogated transported42wagons of rice, Vikash Mishra, brother of TMC weighing 1,771quintals, from leader VinayMishra, on Tarakeswarto Darsana in Wednesdayand Thursdayin Bangladesh) on Tuesday. connection with an illegal coal Officials said theyare hopeful mining case and acow smug- that transportation of rice to gling racket. Bangladesh will encouragelocal Vikash, who visited the CGO farmers to sell their produce out- complexinSalt Lake, wasques- side. tionedfor about four hours on “The basic objective behind Wednesday. Notsatisfiedwith this effort of Business hisanswers,the CBIwanted to Development Unit is to export interrogate him further,sources farm produce to augment farm- said. ers' income. Indeed, it is not The Central agency has is- merelyafreight business but the suedseveral summons to Vinay, dream became true of carrying the West Bengal Trinamool the produce of the farmers to the Youth Congress general secre- neighbouring Bangladesh. It will tary,inconnection with the two beregular trafficfor Bangladesh," cases, but he remains untrace- astatement issuedbyRailways able. Alook-out notice has been said. The Business Development issuedagainsthim. Units, headedbysenior officers, Sources said the brothers' have been created at headquar- role came up during investiga- ters and Divisions forattracting tion. The agency also wantsto newtraffic and increasing rail question afew police officials to shareinthe existing stream of getmoredetails. ENS traffic, the statement added. ENS Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 WORDLY WISE It’s notdoing whatisright that’shard for aPresident.It’sknowing whatisright.

6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE —LYNDON JOHNSON Shots in the dark

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Dismissing criticism of vaccinesinnationalist BECAUSETHE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL languagedoesn’t help in building trust

LAWSONPAUSE Anand Krishnan

This is exactlywhat the Opposition had asked for— and the TRANSPARENCY AND TRUSTare twomajor high percentage, though afive-point decline India(DCGI)and theircapacityhave comeun- —and interrelated —pillars of public policy from thepreviousyear.However, in an appar- der scrutinyand thereisageneral feeling Government rejected.This should help farmers come to the table decision-making. Transparency is the princi- entparadox, Indiansdonotreallytrustthe ca- among scientists andpublic that these institu- HE NARENDRA MODI government’s offertosuspend theimplementation ple of allowing those affected by decisions to pacity andfairnessof public institutionsin do- tionshave notperformedtheir role appropri- knowabout the outcomeandthe processthat ing things the right way. ately. Onlyposterity will judgehow well these of itsthree agricultural reform laws foratleast18months marks asignifi- ledtothose decisions. Transparent gover- Letusreviewthe decisions regarding the institutionsperformedtheir role—or, at least, cant departurefromits stated let’s-keep-talking position in the deadlock nance means that government officials act in vaccine through these twoprisms. The regu- when we have travelledsome distance from with agitating farmer unions. It, effectively,amountstoarepeal of thelaws, anopen manner,with citizensbeinginformed latoryapproval has been faulted on allthe the pandemic. However, questions about their T in their current form, as the unions aredemanding. Coming afterthe gov- of the decisions theyare making. three countsoftransparency,butprimarilyon competence and autonomyare notgood for ernment—and the party’s —insistence that all criticism wasmotivated and political, this is Transparencyhasmanycomponents—avail- the firstcriteria —the one relatedto the avail- generatingpublictrustinthe interim.Itis dif- an unequivocal admission of the lackofstakeholderconsultation andhaste that marked ability of all relevant information in the pub- abilityofdataonsafetyand efficacyof theap- ficult to sayhow muchofthe current vaccine lic domain, apublic discourse or debatebased provedvaccines in public to enable afreeand hesitancy can be attributed to lackoftrans- the passageofthe legislation. Unlikethe Labour Code bills referred to the Parliamentary on this information and afinal decision by the fair discussion among all stakeholders, and parency and trust, though undoubtedly,they Standing Committee or the Personal DataProtection Bill nowbeing scrutinisedbyajoint government, whichacknowledgesand ad- notjustscientists and experts.The evidence have contributed to it. housepanel, the farm laws were enacted through the ordinance routeinJune. The Modi dresses the issues raisedduring the debate. regarding at leastone of the vaccines had not The importance of transparency and trust government,evenatthe time of their introduction in Parliament, refusedtoheedthe Trustisthe foundation upon whichthe yetbeenvettedby peersandtherewas no de- ingovernanceisto ensurethatthereisno“un- Opposition’srequesttoplacethebillsbeforeaSelectCommittee.Instead,itgot thempassed legitimacy of public institutionsisbuilt and bateinthe public. The Subject Expert due” influence in the governmentdecision- in September with hardlyany debateorinformeddiscussion. This wasdespitethese laws, is crucial forthe success of public policies Committeeprobablyhad agood discussion, making —politicalorcommercial. In some by the government’sowncontention,beingas game-changingforIndianagricultureasthe that depend on behavioural responses from but itsdetails arenot in the public domain. ways,the decision on the vaccine has become the public. Trustisearnedbykeeping the Finally, the decision wasitself couchedin less of ascientific one and moreofacommer- 1991 reforms forindustry, servicesand the external sector. promises made and, perhaps, is nota“uni- terms whichwas notunderstood by large sec- cial and political one,especiallywith India The proposal to put the farm laws on hold and constituteacommittee to come outwith tary”entity.Agovernment could be trusted tions of people, including public healthex- wanting to lead the worldinvaccine supply. amutually-agreedresolutionbasicallysubstitutesforworkthatshouldhavebeenParliament’s to do some things rightand it cannotbere- perts.Eventhough the government issueda Such opaqueness has also ledtoconcerns remit. Had the bills gone to aselect or joint committee that wouldhaveinvited comments liedoninsome other respects. Forexample, clarification, the fact that it wascompelledto aboutthecostofvaccination.Theresponsesof andsuggestionsfromagricultureexperts,farmersandotherstakeholders,itmaynot have cre- trustinpolice services maybedifferent than, Theevidence regarding at do so says something —this situationwasem- some ministers that seem to be heavy on vac- atedthesituationof distrustmanifestedintheongoingprotests atDelhi’sborders.TheModi say, in thejudiciary, andwithin the judiciary, inentlyavoidable. cinenationalisttoneshave nothelpedmatters. therecould be adifference betweenthe least one of the vaccines had We reallydonot have adequateplatforms Onecould arguethatincases of emergen- governmentclearly underestimatedthestrengthoftheagitationandislookingforaface-saver lowerand higher judiciary.Itisinfluenced not yet been vetted by peers to have an open dialogue and debateonany cies likethe COVID-19pandemic, these val- shortofanoutrightrepeal of thelaws. One hopesthe unions,too, step backfromtheir hard by theintegrity of the people and system, the and there wasnodebate in public matterand that shouldbeworrying. ues can becompromised.However, one could repeal-or-nothing-else line, acceptthis offerand join the committee that, unlikethe parallel perceivedfairness and openness of these in- the public. TheSubject The media is, perhaps,the onlysuchspace also argue that these situations call formore SupremeCourt-appointedpanel, should have representation from both votaries and critics stitutions. The robustnessofinstitutional available and it plays acritical role —byhold- rigour in holding to these values. Expert Committee probably of the laws.This is as good as the legislation being repealed, redraftedand reenacted. mechanismsdepends on checks and bal- ing publicinstitutions to account, ithelps build It is in national interestthat we promote While the Modi government mustshoulder the blame forramming through the farm ances. If the autonomyofinstitutions is com- had agood discussion, but trust in them.While in general, the media has transparency and trustingovernance. This is promised, trustisweakened. askedtheright questions on the vaccineissue, notoptional.We desperatelyneedtocultivate laws andalsomishandling of the protests thatensued, onecannot,however, find faultwith its details are not in the Theresponsibility of maintaining trans- public domain. Finally,the theyhavealso contributed to erosion of trust public spacesforhealthydialogues,whereall the reforms themselves. Dismantling the monopolyofstate-regulated mandisinagricul- parency is with the government and giventhe by the tone and tenor of these questions —tel- opinionsare respected.Doweexpectgovern- tural produce marketing, doingawaywith stocking restrictions and allowing processors, or- fact that “trust” has to be earned, the respon- decision wasitself couched evisionis moreculpablethan theothers. It has mentstopay only lip service to these values ganisedretailers and exporters to enter into contract cultivation agreementswith farmers sibility of the government is again moreim- in terms whichwas not oftenfailedtomaintain the thin line separat- and notfollowtheminpractice?Anopen and areall steps in the rightdirection. The fundamentalreality todayisthat India has transi- portant. Indians arebrought up to trusthigher understood by large sections ingresponsiblejournalismof questioning the measurable accountability framework for tionedfrombeing astructurallydeficit to asurplus farm producer.That, in turn, presentsa authorities, including parents, and question- of people,including public government on itsdecision and hounding or governance in health is theneedofthe hour. newchallengeoffinding marketsbothwithin and outside the country, whichonlythe pri- ingthemis consideredrude.Thus,mostIndian eulogising the government —botherode trust. We have enough theoretical frameworksfor governmentsstartoffwith anadvantage; they health experts. Even though Public trustiscritical forgreater compli- them but little operationalisation. It is time we vate sector can address. The government’s job is to be an enabler,asitdid forother sectors must work hardtolose that trust. This has the government issued a ance with government guidelines during bring it up as apriority public health agenda. in the firsttwo decades of reforms. Agriculturehas waited toolong and itsreforms call for been repeatedly confirmedbythe global trust clarification, the factthat it emergencies,beitCOVID-appropriatebehav- deftpoliticalmanagement.Hopefully, the deadlockwithfarmershashelpedthe government surveyswhereIndia has always rankedhigh in wascompelled to do so says iour or the acceptance of vaccination institu- The writer is aprofessor at Centrefor realise that to effect meaningful change, 300-plus seatsinthe Lok Sabha also needs some trustofgovernment. Forexample,inthe 2018 tions. The offices of Indian Council of Medical Community Medicine at theAll India Institute humility and awillingness to listen. Edelman GlobalTrustSurvey,70per cent of something —this situation Research (ICMR), National Centrefor Disease of Medical Sciences, NewDelhi. Views the publichad trustinthe government —a waseminently avoidable. Control (NCDC),Drugs ControllerGeneral of expressed arepersonal BIDEN’SBURDEN The challengebeforethe newUSpresident is to reunite America and redefine itsrole in the world AFTER THE OFFER LETTER

AKINGCHARGEOFtheUnitedStates,amidstwhathecalleda“winterof peril and promise”, Joe Biden celebratedthe restoration of American democracy Getting topforeign universities to open campusesrequires moreinstitutional autonomy and issuedastirring call forunity in thedeeplydividednation. Referring in- Tdirectlytothe questioning of the election resultsbythe outgoingpresident, Anamika Donald Trump, who skippedthe swearing in of Biden, and his incitement of amob attackonthe US capitol earlier thismonth,Biden declared that Americandemocracy hasbeentested,butprevailedintheend.Bidenpointedto themultiplechallengesconfronting THE NATIONAL EDUCATION Policy-2020 existing research and academic collaborations here, and in amuchgreater measurecom- (NEP-2020), the fourth since Independence, between foreign and Indian institutions pared to the science and business-oriented the nation—the COVID-19 pandemic whose toll is approaching nearly halfamillion, deep- wasrolledout in July2020 and has ledtoin- would facilitatethe entryofIBCs in India. courses, foreign institutionsdemand more eningdomesticinequality,entrenchedracism,climatechangeandnewquestionsaboutthe tense discussiononschool andhigher educa- To explorethe potential of thepolicyof autonomyinframing and changingcurricu- American role in theworld. Dealing with these simultaneous challenges, Biden argued, de- tion.The mostchallengingaspect of the pol- branchcampuses and gauge themood of top lum, dailyfunctioning of the institution, the mands an end to the“uncivil war” thathas envelopedAmerica. icy is the implementation of even those universities’interestinIndia, aseries of con- freedomtosay no to industries,and even in Biden’s soaring sentiment on reuniting the nation wasrightly rootedinrealism. More aspectsonwhichthereissome sortofcon- versations have been held with experts,aca- the manner the institution is branded. The than70million voters chose Trumpand alarge section of them continuetobelievethe elec- sensus. The earlier education policies (1968, demic administrators and global heads of for- favourablyinclined foreignuniversitiesalso 1986 and the 1986 revisedin1992) were eign universities. The discussions throw up expect to be treated on par with Indian insti- tionwasunfair.Biden’scallforunitywasnot onlydirectedatTrump’ssupporters,butalsohis laudedasdocumentswith clear vision. interestingpoints.Topforeignuniversitiesare tutions in matters of governmentfunding and ownparty,manyofwhomare itching forpolitical revenge. It will notbeeasy,however, for However, thesepoliciescould notyieldmuch willingto respondpositively providedthereis scholarships. In return, theyare willing to im- him to translatethe soaringsentiment to reunite the nation intoconcreteoutcomes. Many due to faultyimplementation. sufficient clarityinareas essential foropera- plement the Indianpolicyofsocialinclusion of hisfirststepsatreversingTrump’spolicies—onimmigration,climatechange,andAmerican Thereare manyprovisionsinthe policy tionalisation of branchcampuses in India. in highereducationintheirIBCs. participationinmultilateralinstitutions—touchdeeplycontesteddomesticpoliticalterrain. forimproving thequality of higher education. Interestingly,suchuniversitiesarenot looking Arelated aspect of internationalisation of Biden’s economic agenda on minimumwages and raising taxesruns intointense opposi- Forthe firsttime, internationalisation of There are manyprovisions forwardtostate sponsored infrastructure of highereducationis India’skeeninterestonin- higher education has been highlighted as an the kind that the Dubai Knowledge Hub has creasing theinflow of foreign students. The tionfromthebusinessgroups, includingthebig tech companiesof SiliconValley, thatrallied objective.One such provision is to invite the in the policy forimproving offered—ready to move in campus, office Study in India programme waslaunchedin roundhimintheelection.Healsohasto dealwithaCongressthatissoevenlydividedbetween top100 WorldClass Universities to openin- the qualityofhigher space, and otherfacilities. Acloserlook at the April 2018 with generous scholarships. Top Democratsand Republicansand is notamenable to productivelegislative action. ternational branchcampuses (IBCs) in India. education. Forthe first time, IBCs suggests thatthese campuses aredriven universities encouragetheir students to go Fouryearsagoathisinaugural,Trumpset thedarktoneforhispresidencyby talkingabout The underlying assumption is to raisethe internationalisation of by thedesiretoaccumulate profit in the man- abroad forasemesterorayear.Exposureto an“Americancarnage”thatwasdevastatingthenation.Biden,incontrast,haschosento raise standard of research and teaching to interna- ner of businessenterprises.This implies that multiple cultures, subjectsand pedagogies is hope by reminding America that its“better angels” had prevailedin the crises thatcame be- tional levels and slowdownthe out-bound higher education has been Indiawillhavetoallow IBCs to repatriate in- deemedtobeanassetand partofcultural cap- fore.With his nearly five decades-long political career in Washington, he is probablybetter mobility of Indianstudents. Thebiggestchal- highlighted as an objective. come.Theoutflowofthemoneymay notnec- ital. India is no doubt apotentialdestination lengewould be the inclination of topuniver- essarilybe100percent of whatthese univer- forsuchstudy abroad experiences although placedthan his peers in navigating dangerous political waters. Arecord of ideological flexi- One suchprovision is to sitiestoestablishacampus in India. Notmany sities earn in India, but it will have to be a it must be admitted that it is nothappening bility and the ability to reachacross the political aislegives Bidenthe opportunity to rebuild suchuniversities have suchpolicies in place. invite the top 100 World significant amount. As of now, theredoesnot on alarge scale. The establishment of IBCs in abipartisanpolitical centrethatcan produce long overdueeconomic,political and social At the same time, many universities are ClassUniversities to open seem to be aviable model to balance the Indiawouldgelwell with the Indian questfor changethatissoessential forAmerican unity and renewal. yearning to turn trulyglobal and hold insti- international branch ploughingbackoftheresourcesearnedinIndia thein-bound mobility of studentsand schol- tutionalmobilityasaprerequisite. campuses (IBCs) in India. and cash remittances to the parent university. ars. The internationalstandards maintained Internationalisation of higher education Akey issueinthe internationalisationof by the IBCs wouldbeattractive enoughfor in- in India has apre-history.Manytop foreign Theunderlying assumption higher education is the preference forsub- ternational studentstoexploreand experi- universitiescollaboratewith Indian highered- is to raise the standard of jectsand the areas of research consideredre- ence Indian education and culture. SLAYING THE DRAGON ucation institutions suchasIITsand central researchand teaching to warding.Socialsciences and humanities do universities forresearch andknowledge trans- international levels and slow notgenerallyfigure in the imagination of de- The writer is Deputy Adviser,Unit for Kamalam is abeginning.Moregoodies fer. Thecollaboration has been strengthened cision makers —theyare notseen as prof- International Cooperation, National Institute await renaming by government’s schemes suchasGIAN and down the out-bound itable ventures. Theredoes seem to be a of Educational Planning and Administration, SPARC. Conventional wisdom dictates that the mobilityofIndian students. hearteningchange in this respect.However, NewDelhi. Viewsexpressed arepersonal SITTURNSout,GobiManchurianwasnotthebiggestblowthatIndiacould have dealttoChinesenationalpride.No,thatcouldonlyhappenby renam- ing dragon fruit because, according to Gujarat CM VijayRupani, the com- Amon Englishname makes one think of China —astrict no-no givencur- JANUARY 22, 1981, FORTY YEARS AGO rent geopoliticalcircumstances. And, so, the fruit withthe spiky,fuchsia peelwillhenceforthbeknownas“kamalam”,thankstoitsresemblanceto ournationalflower. Anytip of thehat to acertain political party is purelycoincidental. KARNATAKA VIOLENCE mandedajudicial inquiryintothe police WHO TRAINS COPS? But whystopatdragonfruit which, as amatter of fact, is of Central American origin? AT LEASTFIVE people were killedinthe po- firing and calledonworkers to observe THE POLICETRAINING institutionsin Consideringhowfarback Indo-Chineserelationsgo,thereare plentyof otherthingsto rename, lice firings at the HAL in Bangaloreand in January 25 as ablackday. Punjab and Haryana, responsible fortrain- starting with whitesugar aka cheeni.Itwould beverynon-atmanirbhar of us to notcome up Chintamani, Kolar district, Karnataka. Three ing “the guardians of the law” and “friends studentswerekilledwhen the police MADRAS CJ RESIGNS of the public” seem inadequatelyequipped withourownnameforit.Andwhataboutchai,whichoriginatesintheChineseword for tea, openedfiring in Chintamani, about 70 km THECHIEFJUSTICE of the Madras High to discharge theirfunctions. Theyare staffed cha?Wealsopropose that Malayalisshould hereafterstopreferring to their karahis as from Bangalore.InBangalore, twopeople Court, MMIsmail, is resigning in protest by “condemned”and “shelved” police cheenachattibecausethatword isaclearreferenceto thewok’sChineseantecedents.Nobler were killedwhen the police openedfireto againsthis transfer to Kerala “without” his personnel, an investigationbythisnewspa- minds have already suggestedthat foods of Chinese origin shouldbebanned, so there’s no quell ariotous mob during the bandh called “consent”. Sources close to him said thata per has revealed. These institutions also point repeating it, although it would be remissofustonot point outthat chowmein and by thestriking employees of the public sec- straightforward and honestjudgeopposed have inadequatefacilities and arerun ac- manchowsoupprobablyhavemoretodowith Surat than Suzhou. torunits.The police openedfireafter their to anyformofauthoritarianism had no cording to adated curriculumframedin attempt to disperse the stone-throwing otheralternative but to tender his resigna- British times. Of course, at some point, we’ll remember thatnoaspect of culture remains static, espe- mob through lathicharging and teargassing tion.Theysaid thatIsmail wasnot opposed ciallyinaninterconnectedworldasours.To useametaphorfromChinesecuisine(forgive us), failed. In fact, the mob snatcheda to the transfer per se but the manner in HOOCH TRAGEDY it’s abit likethe brothinahot pottowhichvariousingredientsare added—thinly-sliced constable’s rifle and setfiretoapolice whichitwas imposedonhim. He sat on FIVE PERSONS DIED afterdrinking illicit chicken,maybesomebeansprouts,followedbynoodlesand,perhaps,shrimpballsandfried officer’s motorcycle and afew cycles. The courtonJanuary21and is likelytosit on liquor in Jaipur district of Rajasthan. Two tofu —until it becomes farricher and moreappetising than it would have been on itsown. forum of publicsector employees de- January 22 as well. others were admittedtohospital.

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “Saner media outlets and moderate politicalelements in Indianeedtoaddress this unhealthytrendbefore brinkmanship, fuelledbyapliant,cheerleading 7 THE IDEAS PAGE media,leads to apotential disaster in South Asia.” —DAWN,PAKISTAN The case for Rahane For Super Gabba win provokes the question:Does India need ViratKohli thegreat batsman or ViratKohlia Middlemen mediocrecaptain?Inthe larger interestofIndian cricket,Rahane should leadinTests Centre’s farm laws transgress Constitution’s federal structure. Theywill createmonopolies in agricultureproduction and trade, hurtfarmers

and wasrejected.Brajeshwar Prasad pro- posedanamendment arguing that “agricul- tureisavitalsubject…buthereIamonlysay- ingthatthepowertolegislateonthissubject Bishan Singh Bedi mustremain exclusively in the hands of the Centre.”Krishnamacharirejectedthissaying, that “agriculturehappenstobethe principal IMUSTCONFESS Iamstill in astate of inebri- industryinthiscountry, andpracticallyoneof ationaftertheIndianflagflutteredonTuesday Dushyant Dave the main functions of the State, and beyond evening at the Gabba. Idid in fact tell my wife, takingcertain powers forthe purpose of co- that it wasall so orgasmic! ordination,Idonot thinktheCentreisatallca- Aplace farawayfromhome,anintimida- THECONSTITUTIONof Indiaisa“fundamen- pable of handling this vast problem...” toryarena,andanAustralianfortressnowfeels taldocument”, as declaredby BRAmbedkar The twofarmlaws, ostensibly meant to so desi, so Indian, afuture touristattraction on September 17,1949during the createanecosystemwherefarmersand wherecricket-loving Indiansfromall over the Constituent Assemblydebates. To him, this traders enjoythe freedom of choicerelating worldwill take their kids and say, “Look,feel, documentdefinedthepowersandfunctions to thesaleandpurchaseof farmers'produce, savour,hereiswhereour cricket team swag- of the three organs of the state—the legisla- containextraordinaryprovisionsopposedto geredwiththeirbrokenbodiesandunearthed ture, executive andjudiciary: “…in fact, the theregulationof markets by statesforthesale thatintangiblequalityof characterandearned purposeofaConstitutionisnot merely to cre- andpurchaseof agriculturalproduce.InM.C. respect.” atethe organs of theState but to limittheir V. S. ArunachalaNadar EtcvsThe StateOf MyTwitterhandleexplodedasIstruggled authority because if no limitation wasim- Madras &Others,the SC, speaking through J to come to termswith the awesomeness of it posedupontheauthorityof organs,therewill Subba Rao, asserted“that cultivators suffer all.Themediawentto towntryingtheirbestto be complete tyrannyand oppression… it from many handicaps: to beginwith he is il- describetheBrisbanegoosebumps.Socialme- would result in utter chaos.” literateand in generalignorant of prevailing dia, however, wasmiles ahead, devouring The Farmers (Empowerment and market prices especially in regard to com- everybit of eachand everyplayer’s family Protection) Agreement on PriceAssurance mercial crops… Theestablishment of regu- members, who understandablythoroughly CRSasikumar andFarmServicesAct,2020(Act20of 2020), lated marketsmustformanessential partof enjoyedtheir reflectedsunshine. cricket.Heinfusedinusathrillingsenseof be- WatchinghimhandovertheglitteringBorder- Farmers' Produce Tradeand Commerce anyorderedplanof agriculturaldevelopment However, Ididn’tunderstandoneparticu- ing together in this ride. GavaskarTrophy to TNatarajan,arookieonhis (Promotionand Facilitation)Act, 2020 (Act in this country.”The Courtobserved:“The lar aspectinthiscelebration. Idon’t quiteget Mind you, when Tigerwas thrownatthe firstawaytour,would have had the cricketing 21 of 2020)and theEssentialCommodities aforesaid observations describe the pitiable the needtooveremphasise the modestback deep end,his biggestqualification washis Godslookingdownathimwithkindeyes.This (Amendment) Act(ECA), 2020 (No. 22 of dependenceof themiddle-classandpoorry- storiesofplayers. Someone being arickshaw royalupbringing,the very thingthat could formewas pureand simple leadership at its 2020),have beenenactedby Parliament,and otsonthemiddlemenandpettytraders,with driver’s son has nothing to do withhis cricket: have jeopardisedhis and our chances.The honestbest. seeminglystepbeyonditsauthority, creating the result thatthe cultivators arenot able to On asporting field all areequals. Those adjec- countryhadchosendemocracy,reducingthe The great Richie Benaud famouslysaid, chaos. find marketsfor their produce wherein they tives,intendedpraiseperhaps,seemlikeslurs. kingsand queens to mythology,tochildren’s “Captaincy is 90 per cent luckand 10 per cent Letusexaminethem from aconstitu- can expect reasonablepricefor them.” If youngsters arecompeting on equal terms games.Tigerneverflauntedhisregalheritage skill.But don’t tryitwithout that 10 per cent.” tional perspective.The Supreme Court (SC) The newfarm laws,far from providing thenwhere’stheneedtoindulgeinpityofany and got intohis groove fairly soon to leave a Rahanehasboth,thoughwithaminorchange hasconsistentlyheldagriculturetobeastate regulated markets, purporttoleave cultiva- sort?Iget thatthepeoplewantto highlightthe stamp of utterselflessnessandhumility —the in proportion. He has 50 per cent luckand 50 subject. Aconstitution benchinITCLtd. v. tors to themercy of the free market.Afarm- hardshipsinvolvedinthejourneytotheIndian soul of leadership. Ifind allthese qualities in per cent skill. AgriculturalProduceMarketCommittee(2002) ing agreement forone or five years, provid- team forinspiration. But the wayitplays out Rahane and he is aseasonedcampaigner un- IhopeI’m notgiving the impression of held: “The Constitution of India deservesto ingforvariousfacetsof thesupplyofproduce, on social media andWhatsApp forwards, it’s likePatuadi,who had to find his wayinthe bendingmybacktobuild acase forRahaneto be interpreted, languagepermitting, in a includingtime,standardsandpriceandother strippedoff thosenuancesandcomesacrossas captaincy maze. take over as Test captain. If anything my sin- manner that it does notwhittle down the relatedmatters,thepowerofinspectionand insensitive. I’veobservedRahaneprettyclosely onthis cereaim is to prolongVirat Kohli’s battingca- powersof theStateLegislatureandpreserves rejectioncancreateserioushurdlesfortheil- Another of my peeve is thehypingtag of tour.The hallmarkofany captain is hisability reer forthe country. Shared responsibilities in the federalism while also upholding the literateand ignorant cultivator.State laws do “the greatestwin ever”.Itreduces some of the to handlethebowlingresources.Thisiswhere cricketare different from corporate/political Centralsupremacy,”holdingthatParliament notapplyonceafarmingagreementhasbeen trulygreat memories of the pastasmerefoot- yourstrulyhasbecomeanabsolute“mureed” fieldswhenceindividualsarealmostvyingfor is incompetent to legislateonagriculture. entered intoand no stocklimit applies to note-moments. Ihavetriedtoget to the bot- of Rahane. Three Testsisgood enoughtime to cut-throat glory. In sports,especiallycricket, By Act22, Parliament has virtuallymade quantities of farming produce purchased tomofthisphenomenonandhave concluded assessacaptain’sbowlingchangesandfielding captains can be seen swimming or sinking the ECA, 1955, redundant.Central and state thereunder, notwithstanding theECA.The thatMother Naturedoesn’t allowustokeep placements. Itriedhardbut Icouldn’t find a withthe teams theylead. governmentscannowcontrolthesupplyand freedom to carry on inter-stateorintra-sate ourmemorybankburstingwithadistantpast. single Rahane move which could be ques- Another ticklish thought popsupinmy priceof essentialcommoditiesonlyinexcep- tradeandcommerceinfarmproduceisnow Onlyrecent memoriesstayalive and kicking. tionedbyarmchair critics likeme. mind: Does India need Virat Kohli the great tional circumstances. Farfromsub-serving absolute. No levy or feecan be levied under Theycall it recency bias. And amomentous Letmekeepmy viewsawayfromthecon- batsman or ViratKohli amediocrecaptain in the“interests of thegeneralpublic”,interests the stateAPMC Actorany other lawofthe event likethe Gabba gloryturns intoinstant text forawhileand lend an ear to Chappelli thelongrun?Providencehasprovideduswith of large businesseswill be served. state. gratification —the needtoglorify the present (IanChappell),someonenot inahabittobeap- an instant option.Rahane can lead in Tests ActNo. 20 and21of2020, enacted by The farm laws areclearly aimedatcreat- endsupinerasureofthepast.Thepastrecedes preciative of foreigncaptainsonAustraliansoil. while Kohli and Rohit Sharma can sharethe Parliament areclearly referable to Entry14 ingtradinggiantsinagriculturalproducewho intoadistance,almostoutof realmsof reality; Actually, mostof theAustralianmediaispretty dutiesinwhite-ball cricket.Iamcertain none andEntry28ofListII,whichinclude“agricul- can control agriculturalactivity.These laws this is purelyapsychological ploytoprocess notoriouswhenitcomesto trulycompliment- I’ve observed Rahane pretty of the selectors would want to ownupthis re- ture”and“markets”.TheConstitutiondistrib- create“super middlemen” to replace the ex- the present. ingtheleadersof thevisitingteams.However, closely on this tour.The sponsibility.MaybeKohlicanoffertomakean utesinScheduleVII,subjectsormattersto be isting smaller middlemen, hurting the culti- The contextofthe pandemic, whichbe- Rahane came in forraving praise from honourable wayfor Rahane to take over dur- legislatedthus:ListIforParliament,ListIIfor vators even more. The availability of regu- came the backdrop of this great achievement, Chappelliandallandsundryinprintaswellas hallmark of anycaptain is his ing the series againstEngland at home. Ican state legislatures, and ListIII forconcurrent latedmarketsand the hope forfairprices alsohasaddedfurtherlayers.InIndia,we have electronic media. abilitytohandle the bowling assurenobad blood would be causedwhen exercise by both,subject to limitations. standshattered.Farmlaws runcounterto the hadto copewithman-madedisastersalso.So, Formepersonally, it wasmoreimportant resources. This is where we ensurethatthelargerpictureonthecanvas Clearly,the Constitution-framers wanted state’spolicy,inter-alia,to distributematerial this cricket series wasplayedinanenviron- thattheIndianbowlersthrivedunderRahane’s yourstruly has become an is Indian cricket. states to deal exclusively with matters relat- resources to sub-servecommongood, a ment of doom and gloom. AjinkyaRahane & quietbutwatchfuleyes.RavichandranAshwin Postscript: NotforamomentamIsuggest- ing to agriculture. Directive Principle. Co. have worked wonders to bring smiles to isnoteasilysatisfiedwithhimself orevenwith absolute ‘mureed’ of Rahane. ing that givenanopportunity to lead Indian TTKrishnamachari, member of the Inits2019electionmanifesto,theBJPhad our drab faces. Forthat we can’t be grateful the man at the helm. But it washeartening to Three Tests is good enough Test side, Rahane will notcommit ablunder. DraftingCommittee,madethefollowingper- made 12 promisestofarmersdeclaring, “at enough, appreciative enough. seehimatpeacewithhimself andalsothecap- time to assessacaptain’s Farfromit. Having playedthis game long tinentpoint in the Constituent Assemblyon theverybeginningofourcurrentterm,Prime Personally,Iamflooredwith the way tain. Youcould see him all-involvedinthe fi- enough Ican safelyconfide that crickethas a June 14,1949: “I am one of those who be- MinisterModi embarkedonamission to Rahane conjured magicfrombrokenbodies nalTest evenwhenhewasn’tintheplayingXI. bowling changes and fielding greatknack of bringingdownahaughty head lieves, andbelievesveryfirmly, that wher- doublefarmers’income.We willmakeallef- around him.The wayhehandled his meagre The obvious sign of adisgruntled dressing placements. Itried hard but I withathud. Chances of Rahane meeting with ever we assignafield to the provincesin fortstoachieve this goal by 2022.” So,what resources reminds me of TigerPataudi, who roomaresulkingfacesof thosecarryingdrinks. couldn’t find asingle Rahane thatfate areslender—becausehedoesn’tseem whichtheycan act we mustleave that made it take acomplete U-Turn? And whyis throughouthiscaptaincytenurewaswoefully Even to acriticaleye,itwas pleasingtosee move whichcould be to possess ahaughty head, notyet anyway. province in sole charge of that field...” the PM notwilling to keep up his promise? shortofawell-roundedunitbuthisleadership acaptainwhowasunperturbed,unruffledand ShibanlalSaxenamovedanamendment We will neverknow. alone gave Indian cricketfresh legs.Itwas leastdemonstrative.What sealedmyvotefor questioned by armchair The writer captained the Indian cricketteam seeking “...thatagricultureand landrevenue Pataudi who definedan“Indianness” in our him washis gestureatthe end of the Test. critics likeme. in the1970s systemsalloverIndiashouldbeamenableto The writer is asenioradvocate and former planning on an all-India scale”. This amend- president of theSupreme Court Bar ment wasnot acceptedbyKrishnamachari Association

Necessary, not essential LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

Need to control prices of certain commoditiesishistoricallycontingent AMERICAN MESSAGE IDEAS THIS REFERS TO the report, 'America Bibek Debroy afresh' (IE, January21).Democracy has ONLINE returnedtoAmerica. As Joe Biden his TIMESCHANGEandeconomiesevolve.Ifone production, supplyand distribution of, and pressurestoves, paper, paraffin wax, petro- isashortage.Just becauseanitemlikefootwear Inaugural Address he said, "This is ONLYINTHE EXPRESS hangsontopoliciessimplybecauseofahistor- trade and commerce” in footwear.Atleast leum products, plants, fruitsand seeds, pulses isindispensable,thereisnocallforthegovern- America’s day… This is democracy’s ical legacy,that will be an inferior response. that’s what mostpeople will think now. and edible oils, groundnut oil, rice, salt, sugar ment to intervene in the market. The an- day.”And, “Wecan do this if we open ● MIGRATION:ACOMPULSION, Therewas anAir CorporationsActof1953, re- However, if we castour minds back,in 1973,a and sugarcane, synthetic rubber,tea, textiles, tecedentswerebecause of war-relatedshort- our souls instead of hardening our NOTACHOICE: pealedin1994.Itisunlikelyanyonewillwant Planning Commission “Committee on tractors, two-wheelers, tyres and tubes, veg- ages. The subsequent shortage wascreated hearts”. That wasamessagenot just for SANTOSHKOSHYJOY the pre-1994monopolyofIndian Airlinesand Essential Commodities and Articles of Mass etable oil,wheat. TheECA hasaschedule through industrial licencing. Licencing ledto America but forall nations of world. Air Indiasimplybecausethis wasperceived Consumption” concludedthat the following (Section2)ofwhat is “essential”and if anitem entrybarriers and shortages. Shortages ledto Melville XD'Souza, Mumbai ●DISCOM AS DATA to be important in 1953. The Essential were essential items —cereals, pulses, sugar, is in that schedule, it is axiomatically“essen- price controls and government intervention. CUSTODIAN: NARENDRA PAI Commodities Act(ECA), dated1955,isroughly gur and khandsari; edible oils and vanaspati; tial”. Beforeliberalisation, therewerearound In 1973,the PlanningCommission also recog- LAW NEEDED AND ADITYA CHUNEKAR of the same vintage.That’s notquitecorrect milk,eggs and fish; common clothing; stan- 80 Union government-level orders and nisedthis:“Assuredsupplyofspecificessential —ECA’s antecedentsare of an earlier vintage. dardfootwear; kerosene oil and domestic fu- around 150state government-levelorders de- commodities and articles of mass consump- THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Legal www.indianexpress.com It goes backtowar-time shortagesand the els; common drugs and medicines; bicycles, creeingvarious items as “essential”.Notethat tion at reasonablystableprices will notbea loophole'(IE,January21).Since Defence of India Act, 1939. When WorldWar bicycletyres and tubes;matches, drycellsand if an item is notinthe schedule,under that practicalpropositionif domesticavailabilityof WhatsApp issuedits newprivacy pol- II wasover, therewas no possiblejustification hurricane lanterns; soaps and detergents; same Section2, whencircumstanceswarrant, these items does notexpand in line with the icy,ithas been atopicofdiscussion forthat particular Defence of India Actand it textbooksandstationery. Hence, it felt,“Inthe it can beputbackonthe schedule, sometimes growing demand.” But, in that dayand age, it among millions of users in India.The tant athing to be leftjusttothe prac- wasrepealed. However, there wasjustifica- urban sector the requirement would be to foralimited period of six months. didn’t recommend an endtolicencing. consequences of notaccepting the pol- tices of acommercial enterprise. It will tion forgovernmentcontrol over “essential” makeavailable one or twocommon types of The progressivetightening of theECA Whendelicencingoccurred,therewas no icy wasclearlymentioned—apossible be reassuring if it is guaranteedbya commodities, “essential” being defined as footwear—called“Janta”shoesor chappals– manifested itself through moreand more longer anyshortage of manufactured prod- deletion of the account. The language strong law. necessaryand indispensable. at reasonable prices.” The distribution of items being addedtothe schedule. In addi- uctsand severalitemshave progressively been and the natureofthe consequence is of- SSPaul, Nadia Accordingly,therewas firstanordinance “common clothing, standard footwear and tion, offences were made non-bailable and removedfromthe essential itemsschedule. fensive to WhatsApp's largest market and then an Actin1946, the EssentialSupplies soaps and detergentsmay beentrustedto the therewerespecial courts.For example, in Whyare people upsetthat cereals, pulses, in the world. The root cause is that India WELCOME BIDEN (TemporaryPowers) Act. The preamble and NationalCooperative ConsumersFederation”. 1974,anamendment noted, “The hoarders, oilseeds, edibleoils, onionsand potatoes have doesn't has apersonal data[rotection title indicated thiswas meant to be tempo- Over time, in addition to those listedby black-marketeers areplaying hell with the been removedfromthe schedule? If neces- law, whichhas been in the pipeline for THIS REFERS TO the report, 'I will be rary.Meanwhile, we hadthe Constitution and Planning Commission,theessentialproducts livesofmillions of people in the country.” sary, theycan always be put back, hopefully years. President forall Americans: Joe under Article 269, theUnion governmenthad listincludedaluminium, artsilk textiles, ce- Hence, offences were made non-bailable. We temporarily. More importantly, thereisanis- Ayushi Singh, Agra Biden’(IE. January21). Biden's wordsare powers to enact laws foritems on the State ment, cinema carbon, coarse grains, coconut shouldn’t forget the Essential Commodities sue of de-seasonalising prices of agricultural asolace forevery American. That soci- List,asiftheywereontheConcurrentList.But husks, coir retting, cold storages, collieries, (Special Provisions) Actof1981orthe 1980 commodities, oftensubject to cycles. Butthe THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Legal ety, rivenbyhis predecessor Donald onlyfor five years “from the commencement copper,cotton, drugs, drybatteries, electrical Prevention of BlackMarketing and ECAdoesn’t solve that problem. It is solvedby loopholes' (IE, January21).WhatsApp’s Trump’s racistwords and actions, of the Constitution”. That took us to 1955 and appliances, electrical cables andwires, ethyl Maintenance of SuppliesofEssential ensuring storageand processing, allowing decision to delaythe update of itspri- neededthis moment. Biden is so un- we can skip thedetailsofhow Entry33inthe alcohol, fertilisers, food grains, fruit, furnace Commodities Acteither. marketstofunction, notthrough limiting vacy policy is an implicit acknowledge- happy withTrump’sdiscriminatory Concurrent Listwas amendedso that the ECA oil, electric lamps, diesel oil, household elec- Hoardinghas anegative nuance attached them. ment of the increasing role playedby policies thathesignedasmanyas17ex- permanentlyentered the statutebooks. tricalappliances,cars, maize, insecticides,iron to it, thoughhoarders oftenperformauseful perceptions about privacy in the con- ecutiveorderstonullify them on his Footwear maybeessential, in thesense of and steel, juteand jutetextiles, kerosene, functionof reducingpricevolatility.Incontrast, The writer is chairman, Economic Advisory tinuedwell-being of apopular service. firstday. being indispensable. That doesn’t necessarily linoleum, LPG, lubricating oilsand grease, black marketing has auniformlynegative nu- Council to thePrime Minister. Privacy of abillioncitizens is tooimpor- Tarsem Singh, Mahilpur mean the government should “control the meat, molasses, mustard oil, newsprint, oil ance.Butblackmarkets existonlywhenthere Viewsare personal

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“IMPORTANT” Natioanl Innovation Foundation-India Whilstcare is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,itisnot possible to verify its contants. The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot Grambharti, Amrapur, Gandhinagar- Mahudi be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as aresult of Road, Gandhinagar,Gujarat -382650 transactionswith companies, associations or individuals adversing in itsnewspapers or Publications. We therefore recommend that Notice Inviting Tender No. NIF/2021/ADM/001 readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an Tender No. NIF/2021/ADM/001 -Sealed advertisement in any manner whatsoever. tenders are invited for Supply of Machines, Equipment’s, and Software’s for Workshop. Last date &time of bid submission is 12.02.2021 at 10:00 Hrs. davp 36118/11/0001/2021 S/D Director GREATER CHENNAI CORPORATION Mechanical EngineeringDepartment M.E.D.C.No.M1/2138/2020 Government of Gujarat E- Tender No�ce N.W.R.W.S.AND K. DEPT. E-Tender is invited forthe following work as per tender condi�on Last date and �me E-TENDERNOTICE No. (7) of 2020-21 RefNo. Name of Work On behalf of TheGovernor of Gujarat state online tenders for following works are of submission invitedbythe Executive Engineer,Irrigation Mechanical Division No.3,BlockNo. Supply of 15 Nos. of Truck Mounted 24.02.2021 9, 9th Floor,New Sachivalay,Gandhinagar -382010. MobileToilet @3.00 P.M Appx. Value EMD Tender opening M1/2138/2020 1 Name of Work Repairing &strengthening of skin place top portion &dis- of Work Date and �me mantling, providing and fitting new components in CDU 25.02.2021 and providing new stop log sets (08 Tire) with testing at Rs. 5.4 CroreRs. 5,40,000/- @3.15 P.M site of Radial Gates size -49' x37' -12Nos.ofDharoi Project as per drawings and specifications.AtDharoi, ForTender details: h�p://tntenders.gov.in Dist. Mehsana (Estimated Cost Rs. 2,50,000,00/-) DIPR/440/Tender/2021 Superintending Engineer (Mech/Br) 2 Date of Online 08/02/2021 to08/03/2021 Tender submission Government of Odisha “e” Procurement Notice 3 Dates of submission 09/03/2021 to 16/03/2021 WORKS DEPARTMENT of physical documents Bid Identification No. S.E.K.C., Keonjhar No. 20/2020-21 4 Office Name & Executive Engineer,Irrigation Mecanical Division No.3, B-657 e-mail :[email protected] Address Block No.9,9th Floor,New Sachivalay, Letter No. 191 dt.13.01.2021 Gandhinagar -382010 (Phone No.079-23220740). 1. No. of the work :- 07 Number of Building Works Any kind of amendments will be published only on online &will be final & 2. Estimated cost :- Rs. 226.84 Lakhs to Rs. 578.58 Lakhs 3. Period of completion :- 09 (Nine) Calendar Months to 11 (Eleven) Calendar Months binding to all. Forfurther details contact to this office during office hours. 4. Date and Time of availability of Bid document in the portal :- From 11.00 Hours of 27.01.2021 to 16.00 Hours of 08.02.2021 Detailed Tender Notice can be also seen on www.statetenders.com 5. Last date /Time for receipt of bids in the portal :- 16.00 Hours of 08.02.2021 and www.nprocure.com. 6. Date of opening of Bid from Portal :- 12.00 Hours on 09.02.2021 INF/1819/20-21 7. Name and address of the officer inviting Bid :- Superintending Engineer,Keonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar-758001. Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal “http://tendersodisha.gov.in” Sd/- A.N. Das Superintending Engineer Keonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA, “e”-PROCUREMENT NOTICE OIPR-34033/11/0022/2021 WORKS DEPARTMENT B-654 E-mail- ceworldbankprojects@gmail.com NOTICE INVITING BID Bid Indentification No. CE-W.B.P.(O) -21/2020-21 NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDINGTHROUGH e-PROCUREMENT 1. The Chief Engineer (World Bank Project), Odisha on behalf of OFFICEOFTHE ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF, REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) Governor of Odisha inviting percentage rate bid in double cover O-937 system in ONLINE MODE firm eligible contractors for construction RURAL WATER SUPPLY &SANITATION, No. 436 Dtd. 18.01.2021 JAL “O” PARIMAL BHAWAN, UNIT-V, BHUBANESWAR-751001, ODISHA of Road &Bridge works as detailed in the table below : O-929 Tel: 0674-2395734, FAX: 0674-2394946, e-mail: [email protected] The Engineer-in-Chief, RWS&S, Odisha, Bhubaneswar on behalf of the Governor of Odisha invites proposals for Consultancy Services for engagement of Authority's Engineer (AE) for supervision of Mega Piped Water Supply projectsonthe basis of National Competitive Bidding for the works detailed in 2. Nature of work : Bridge works CORRIGENDUM the table given below.The firm is advised to examine carefully all instructions in the RFP Document. indianexpress.com 3. No. of work : 02 nos. Tender for execution of Mega PWS to 72 villages under 11GPs of S Name of the Rural Water Bid ID No. Assignment Availability of Bid Documents No Supply Project Period (months) for Online Bidding 4. Tender cost : Rs. 10,000.00 Nischintakoili block of Cuttack district including 5year o&M on From To EPC contract_ invited in Request for Proposal RFP No. 359 dated 5. Class of Contractor : Super Class Contractor 1 RFP for Consultancy Services for Authority Engineer (AE) Services for EIC, RWSS 24 months (Twenty 17.00 hours of 17.00 hours of 13.01.2021. Mahanga Block of Cuttack district. 12/20-21 Four Months) 18.01.2021 18.02.2021 6. Available of bid document : From 10.00 AM of 22.01.2021 to 2 RFP for Consultancy Services for Authority Engineer (AE) Services for EIC, RWSS 24 months (Twenty 17.00 hours of 17.00 hours of in the website 5.00 PM of 22.02.2021 No. 645 dated. 20.01.2021. Kasinagar &Gummablock of Gajapatidistrict. 13/20-21 Four Months) 18.01.2021 18.02.2021 Due to typographical error,the following amendment to the RFP.359 3 RFP for Consultancy Services for Authority Engineer (AE) Services for EIC, RWSS 24 months (Twenty 17.00 hours of 17.00 hours of 7. Pre-Bid meeting : Dt. 29.01.2021 at 11.30 AM dated 13.01.2021, is hereby authorized under intimation to all Bhogoraiblock (Phase-II) of Balasore District &GBNagar &saraskana 14/20-21 Four Months) 18.01.2021 18.02.2021 Block of Mayurbhanj District. 8. Date of opening of Bid : Dt. 23.02.2021 at 11.30 AM concerned. Iget the inside The Bid Identification No. as mentioned against Pkg-II i.e. “Mega 4 RFP for Consultancy Services for Authority Engineer (AE) Services for EIC, RWSS 24 months (Twenty 17.00 hours of 17.00 hours of 9. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only.Further Malkangiri &Koraput Districts. 15/20-21 Four Months) 18.01.2021 18.02.2021 information and get PWS to 72 villages under 11GPs of Nischintakoili block of Cuttack details can be seen from the website : Name &Address of officer inviting RFP: district including 5year O&M on EPC contract may please be read inside the information. https://tenderodisha.gov.in.Any addendum /corrigendum/ ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF,RWS&S as "EIC, RWSS-19/20-21”, as against existing entry i.e. “EIC, JAL OPARIMAL BHAWAN, UNIT-V, Inform your opinion with cancellation of tender can also be seen in the said website. RWSS-18/20-21”. BHUBANESWAR-751001, ODISHA, Tel: 0674-2395734, FAX: 0674-2394946 investigativejournalism. Sd/- All other details mentioned in the RFP remain unaltered. E-mail: [email protected] Chief Engineer, Sd/- Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal https://tenderodisha.gov.in Engineer-in-Chief, RWSS Sd/- Engineer-In-Chief World Bank Project, Odisha RWS&S(O) OIPR-34003/11/0030/2021 OIPR-25040/11/0009/2021 OIPR-25040/11/0012/2021 NOTICE BOARD CORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY APPOINTMENTS,MOVEMENTS,CELEBRATIONS,HONOURS

FOOD CORPORTAION OF INDIA, BASANTAKUMAR BARUAH PRESENTED ANOTHER THRILLING RAAS LEELAATKALAKSHETRA. REGIONAL OFFICE, WEST BENGAL REGION Once again the BB CREATION has thrilled the audience the auditorium of Food Corporation of India celebrated its 57th foundation day Kalakshetra through celebrating their 12" Year's Rass Leela on ama- on 14th January. FCI started its operations in 1965 from jestic style under the aegis of Cultural Affairs Department, Government Tamilnadu on the auspicious occasion of "MakarSankranti". of Assam which was held on 19" and 20 December Srimanta Hon'ble Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Sankardeva International Auditorium, Kalakshetra. BB Creation is acul- (MoCAF&PD), Govt. of India, ShriPiyushGoyal graced the tural Organisation established at Guwahati in 2009 has been playing api- celebratoryoccasion as aChief Guest at FCI Head Quarter, oneering role in bringing this traditional performing artformhaving New Delhi and addressed the employees of the corporation strong spiritual flavor from the rural setting of the Saints to the modern throughout Indiain an online mode. On this occasion, Shri Goyal also inaugurated the Office Building of FCI Divisional Office stage without compromising in way its spiritual essence, aesthetics Mysuru. and elegance since last Twelve years. This year,they have complete In his address he congratulated the corporation for its exemplaryjourney so far and specially appreciated the efforts taken their Twelfth year's celebration of their Raas Leela under the skilled direc- tion of Basanta Kumar Baruah Although he has started "Co-ordination by FCI throughout the lockdown period during Covid-19 pandemic. He also reiterated the commitment of FCI in its role of MUKHAROCHAK -EXCLUSIVE OUTLET AT Raas Leela" in the year 2011 and already assimilated seven different ensuring food security to the nation and acting as bridge between the farmers as well as consumers. He also emphasized SANTOSHPUR on importance of continued development, transparency,and digitization process in the corporation. Janagosthi like Karbi ,Bodo, Deuri, Mishing, TeaTribe, Nepali and Mukharochak ahousehold name in Chanachur and Rabha Janagosthi through organizing Raas Leela in their own dialects Snacks has recently opened their new exclusive outlet at which is now considered as agreat endeavor on the partofBaruah for Santoshpur,Kolkata with wide range of sweets made culture Integration of the indigenous Tribes of Assam, but this year he re- GRSE SIGNS CONTRACT FOR PASSENGER &CARGO FERRYVESSEL from pure ghee and mouth watering snacks. Inaugu- frained from celebrating their eight years Co-ordination Raas Leela due FOR REPUBLIC OF GUYANA ration of the outlet was done by Chairman of Borough to theprevailing situation. It was ahuge boost for the exportinitiatives of GRSE, when the Harbour Department, MinistryofPublic Works, Govt of no. 11, Mr.Tarakeswar Chakraborty and Ward no. 103 Guyana signed the contract with the shipyard on 13 Jan 21, to build an Ocean-Going Vesselat acost of 12.7 MUS$. The councilor Mrs. Nandita Chakraborty.Mr. Pratik Chandra 1700 tons(appx) vessel is to be used on the Coastal and Riverine Areas of Guyana, and shall be equipped with two (4th Generation of Mukharochak) was also present at Caterpillar Marine Diesel Engines coupled with Twin Disc Reduction Gear Boxes to achieve 15 knots speed. the opening ceremony.Here, customers will get 35 dif- GRSE hasthe capability to construct 20 ships concurrently,spread across its three production locations and having ferent varieties of sweets like Soanpapri, Gulab jamun, IWON’T JOIN POLITICSASICAN’T CHANGE MY PERSONALITY:KAPIL DEV modernized its infrastructure with Modular Integrated Facility.This Project shall further consolidate GRSE's position as a kaju barfi, kalakand, darbesh, rosogolla and many Iwon’t join politics as Ican’t change my own personality for politics. Ididn't join politics because Ihad learnt that it was unique shipyard with all roundcapability to design and build warships and vessels for exportwith State-of-the-ArtTech- more. Dhokla, samosa, kachori and other snacks will notpossible to air an opinion contrasting with the party chief.Idon’t want to curb my own, natural way of thinking,” nology.GRSE in the recent past has delivered 14 Warships in 42 months which clocks an average of adeliveryeverythree also be available here. Customers from all over India said India’s first World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev,atasession of Ek Mulakat Visesh organized by Prabha Khaitan Foun- months, anomean feat. can order packed items through online. Mukharochak dation of Kolkata and presented by Shree Cement. The lively session was introduced by Ruhi Syal in which the ace plans to open few such exclusive outlets in different cricketer was in conversation with Archana Dalmia of Ehsaas Woman of Delhi with hundreds of guests joining in from parts of Kolkata in coming months.

PNB MD& CEO SHRI CH. S.S. MALLIKARJUNA RAO VISITS KOLKATA ZONE WEST BENGAL KHADI MELA Shri CH. S.S. Mallikarjuna SAHIR LUDHIANVI CONVEYED DEEP Under the guidance &inspiration of Mamata Banerjee Hon’ble C.M. of West Bengal is to informyou that West Bengal Khadi Rao, MD &CEO of Pun- PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS IN SIMPLE TERMS: &Village Industries Board is going to organize “State Khadi Mela –2021” at E.E.D.F.Hospital Ground, Taltala Maidan, jab National Bank visited NASREEN MUNNI KABIR 432, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata –700045 on and from 22.01.2021 to 08.02.2021 with the view to provide mar- Kolkata Zonal Office on keting supporttoall Khadi institutions &V.I. units under the fold of WBKVIB &KVIC with aview to promote the marketing 14.01.2021to review the Sahir Ludhianvi’s song from the golden era `Man re tu and sales of the Khadi &V.I. product. business growth after IT kahe na dhir dhare’ captures our life’s realityand spirit integration of all branches during the Covid times. Sahir had amasteryover Hindi of erstwhile United Bank and Urdu and conveyed deep philosophical ideas in of India. simple terms,” said UK-based television producer,direc- He interacted with Circle tor and author,Nasreen Munni Kabir,inconversation NEEPCO has synchronized the 150 MW unit-3 of Kameng Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh on 14.01.2021. Heads, MCC Heads, with ace journalist and film critic, Namrata Joshi, at an With this, the three units of 150 MW each has been completed. The fourth unit of 150 MW is planned to be RAM/iRAM Heads,and online session of Tete-a-Teaseries organised by Prabha synchronized by end of this month. It is to mention that NEEPCO had earlier commissioned two units totaling 300 MW other vertical Headsand Khaitan Foundation of Kolkata. The year 2021 marks during lockdown in June/July 2020 amidst all odds. The 600 MW Kameng Hydro Electric Project will generate 3353 asked to focus on growth the birth centenaryofpoet-songwriter Sahir Ludhianvi. million units of energy.Shri V. K. Singh, CMD, NEEPCO with his vast experience of working in hydro sector for over 34 with control.He expressedconfidence in the outlook of the economy.Hecongratulated the field functionaries and the staff years has led the project team from the front to accomplish the most difficult hydro project having two concrete for successfully handling Business, Cultural and IT integration of the amalgamating banks. gravitydams of height 69m &24.5m and 14.5km head race tunnel (HRT). Total underground HRTand penstock The special focus of the visit was on increasing credit off take, MSME, Retail and Investment credit in agriculture in addi- exceeds 16km. This plant is located in Gondwana zone with extremely poor young Himalayan strata. tion to ongoing lending under KCC. Shri Ashwini Kumar Jha, Zonal Head and CGM informed that the zone is focusing on Self DIVERSION OF TRAIN DUE TO KISAN Help Group(SHG) advances. Loans to 128191 SHG have been sanctioned and 720.28 Cr have been disbursed so far.Itis AGITATION IN PUNJAB also planning to set up 50 Digihuts in identified urban and semi urban areas.The Bank has also extended the Festival Bo- Reliance Jewels, India's leading and trusted brand of jewellerytakes pride in its legacy and has been aforerunner in nanza Scheme till 31.03.21and renamed it as PNB New Year Bonanza 2021. Processing charges have been waived In connection with Kisan agitation in Punjab, 03005 retail leadership and product innovation.With the New Year kicking in full-swing, Reliance Jewels is back with yet during this period on Housing Loan, Car Loan and myPropertyLoan. Howrah-Amritsar Special train journey commencing on another fresh and trendy range of diamond jewelleryfor party&cocktail wear.Diamonds are agirl's best friend and The bank has also introduced verticalization across the countryfor reducing the turnaround time and better customer ser- 18.01.2021 will be diverted via Beas Jn.-Tarn Taran Jn.- everywoman desires adiamond piece in her trousseau. Reliance Jewelshas just the kind of remarkable diamond vice. Amritsar instead of Beas Jn.- Jandiala-Amritsar route . jewellerythat can make you lookelegant and stylish.Reliance Jewels fulfills the distinct needs of everywoman by Kolkata Zone is the largest zone among the 24 Zones of the Bank and has ten circles, anetwork of 751 branches and acus- Passengers are requested to plan their journey accord- offering an enthralling collection with intricately crafted pieces, which are trendy and will glam up your outfit in no time. tomer base of 1.60 Cr. ingly.Inconvenience is regretted.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 9 GOVT &POLITICS SCpanel:Gotideas Told by NIA PM to distribute over not to appear 1lakh land papers to DELHI CONFIDENTIAL for now: toimprovelawrollout Khalsa Aid indigenous people Panel holds itsfirstmeetwith farmer bodies from 8states KAMALDEEPSINGHBRAR in poll-bound Assam AMRITSAR,JANUARY21 HARIKISHANSHARMA PM Modi NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 THE NATIONAL Investigation ABHISHEKSAHA will arrive Agency (NIA) has put appear- GUWAHATI,JANUARY21 in Sivasagar ADAY afterthe Centreoffered to ance of international NGO district on keep the newlyenacted farm Khalsa Aid's representativeson PRIME MINISTER Narendra Saturday laws in abeyance for18months hold fornow in twoofthe three Modi will distributemorethan to end the farmer protests at the notices. Significantly, the agency 1lakh land documentstopeople gatesofDelhi, the Supreme is also notstrict about others from indigenous communities because it washerethat the 17th- Court-appointedexpertcommit- who areintentionallynot ap- of poll-bound Assam in centuryAhom princess Joymoti tee, already rejected by the pro- pearing on the givendates. Sivasagar district on Saturday. wassaid to have been tortured IN POLL MODE testers, held itsfirstinteraction The NIA had issuednotices to Assam is expected to go to and killedbyher brother-in-law with farmer organisations from Khalsa Aid, farmer union leader polls in April and this will be fornot revealing the where- AT Atime when thereisastrain in ties between the Congress eight states and said it had re- BaldevSingh Sirsa, Punjabi actor Prime MinisterModi’s firstvisit aboutsofher husband. and DMK in Puducherry,Rahul Gandhi on Thursdayhad a ceived“suggestions to improve Deep Sidhu along with journal- to the stateinthe run-uptothe The alleged encroachment of meeting with Chief MinisterVNarayanasamyand Pradesh implementation of the Acts”. ists,radio hostand mostlySikh election.The distribution of the land by "doubtful citizens" is a Congress Committee president AVSubramanian to review Committee members Anil Farm leader AjayAnmol afterthe meeting of the Supreme activists in relation with an FIR land documentsisinline with the pivotal issue in Assam politics, preparations forthe forthcoming assemblypolls. AICC in GhanwatofShetkari Sanghatana Courtcommittee in NewDelhi on Thursday. AbhinavSaha registeredagainstbannedoutfit promise made by the Sarbananda and the BJP had campaigned charge Dinesh Gundu Raoalso attendedthe meeting. While and agricultural economists Sikhs ForJustice under the Sonowal-ledgovernment when strongly on this plank during the the DMK issue did come up fordiscussion, the party decided Parmod Kumar Joshi and Ashok Unlawful Activities Prevention it came to powerin2016— to pro- 2016 elections. to go ahead with poll preparations. Partyleaders sayitisget- Gulati held discussions Thursday to getthe views of all stakehold- CJI Bobde took serious objection ActonDecember 15,2020. The tect “jati, mati and bheti (commu- But in 2019,the BJP facedop- ting feelers from manyleaders of the opposition All India NR with 10 farmer organisations via ers on the farm laws,the com- to “name calling” and “branding” Indian Express has at least 28 nity,land and hearth)”. position to the Cirizenshp Congress, aregional party formedbyNRangaswamyafter video link to seek their views on mittee has to submit areport of members of the committee. suchnames who were issued “It is forthe firsttime that Amendment ActinAssam over breaking away from the Congress. At leastone leader claimed the newlawsthat Punjab farm- within twomonths. “Howcan youplaywith people's notices in the same case. landless indigenous people will concerns that it wasdetrimen- even Rangaswamyiswilling to return providedheisoffered ers want repealed. It wasconstituted as afour- reputation likethis? We have se- All those who have received be freshlyallotted land and given taltothe interests of the indige- the chief ministership but arguedthe party cannotmakesuch In astatement afterthe member committee on January rious objections to them being notices areactive in the farmer pattas,” Chief Minister nous people. Twonew political apromise. meeting, the committee said 10 12 by the benchofChief Justice calledbiasedand in saying that agitation over three farm laws. Sarbananda Sonowalsaid on the parties—the Assam Jatiya farmers organisations from 8 of India SABobde and Justices the courthas an interest. You Khalsa Aid is present at Delhi occasion. Beneficiaries will also Parishad and the Raijor Dal— states--Karnataka, Kerala, AS Bopanna and V malign people according to ma- borders helping the protesters. include those who were allotted owe their genesis to the anti- Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Ramasubramanian. jority opinion?... The Supreme "Wehavereceivedatotal of land earlier,but will nowbe CAAprotests. Both aretalking NEW ASSIGNMENT Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu But on January14, hours be- Courtappointsacommittee and three notices. One of our trustees given pattas. about an alliance againstthe BJP and Uttar Pradesh -- participated fore the panel wastohold itsfirst their reputation is torn to had appeared before NIA last The beneficiaries—overone forthe coming elections. THE GOVERNMENT on ThursdaynamedJayant NKhobragade, in the discussions. virtual meeting, one of the shreds,” CJI Bobde said, while Friday. Theyhavenot asked for lakh people across the state— On the other hand, this week, an IFS officer of 1995 batch, as India’s next Ambassador to The farmer unions, it said, members, Bhupinder Singh hearing apetition by the Kisan reappearance. Theyalso told us have been identifiedbythe sub- the Congress and five other par- ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta.Khobragade, who is ajoint secre- “gavetheir frank opinion includ- Mann, president of BKU (Mann) Mahapanchayatwhichsought nottoappear in the other two divisional land advisorycom- ties —the CPI, the CPI(M) and the tary rank officer,was expected to go to Islamabad to be India’s ing suggestions to improvethe and chairman of All India Kisan reconstitution of the committee. notices fornow.NIA told us that mittees in the districts, a CPI(ML); the AIUDF and the envoy,but the Pakistangovernment refusedtoaccepthis implementation of Acts”. Coordination Committee, re- Meanwhile, the Supreme theywould call us if needed. This government official said. Anchalik Gana Morcha(AGM) — nomination since he wasconsidered toosenior forthe posi- Opening the discussion, cusedhimself. Courtcommittee has created a communication wasbeforethe The Sonowal-ledgovern- officiallyannouncedtheir pre- tion of acting High Commissioner.Islamabad had come up committee members requested Farmer unions protesting at websitetoseek feedbackfrom latestfarmer union meeting ment has already allotted 1.10 poll ‘grand alliance’. The alliance with this reason, afterbothsides agreedtodowngrade their farmer leaders to give their the borders of Delhi, the major- stakeholders about the farm with the government. NIA asked lakh pattas over the lastfour- is silent on who will be their ties and stoppedhaving full-time High Commissioners. views “frankly” on the three agri- ity from Punjab, refusedtoap- laws and legal guarantee for about our projectsand source of and-a-half-years, the official chief ministerial face. culturelaws--The Farmers’ pear before the committee, say- minimum supportprice. funding," saidAmarpreetSingh added. “Having apattaisvery Home MinisterAmit Shah, Produce Trade and Commerce ing itsmembers were in favour The text of the laws as well as of Khalsa Aid. important and is useful forsev- who soundedthe poll bugle in TALKING OF PARDONS (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, of the farm laws. the Supreme Courtjudgment He said, "Wehad called eral other purposes as well. It Assam lastmonth, had said that 2020; The Farmers On January19, the commit- has been uploadedtoit. It seeks farmer unions afterseeing their will also allowthem to secure the newlyformedpolitical par- DURINGTHE hearing on RajivGandhi assassination case con- (Empowerment and Protection) teesaid it would “trytocon- feedbackand suggestions in the press release following bank loans againsttheir land,” ties in Assam were trying to help vict AG Perarivalan’s plea forpardon and release from jail in the Agreement on Price Assurance vince” the protesting farmers form of questions like: “Areyou Wednesdaymeeting. We told the official said. the Congress win. BJP president Supreme CourtonWednesday, Tamil Nadu Additional and Farm Services Act, 2020; while seeking views of other awareabout the implications of them that we have also received The distribution will take JP Nadda, addressing arallyear- AdvocateGeneral Balaji Srinivasan said that agentlemen is and, EssentialCommodities farmer organisations and the legalizing MSP?” and “Will you notices. Farmer union represen- place at historic Jerenga Pothar lier this month in Assam, said the furiouslysigning pardons elsewhereand it would have been (Amendment) Act, 2020. government. be affected with the provisions tative told me to send acopyof (field) in Sivasagar.The field holds party will always protect good if the same could have been done in India too. The appar- Tasked by the Supreme Court On Wednesday, the benchof of the Act?” notices...” significance in Assamese history Assam’s culture. ent reference wastoformer US President Donald Trumpgrant- ing severalpardons on his lastday in office. The messagewas notlostonthe Bench, whichrespondedthat it would have savedthe courtalot of trouble too. Perarivalan has contended TN Guv to decide on pardon for that the Tamil Nadu Governor wasyet to take adecision on the statecabinet’s September 2018 recommendation to grant remission and release him forthwith. Perarivalan in 3-4 days: Centre

It had asked Perarivalan's awaiting areportfromthe CBI. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE counsel Senior AdvocateGopal However, Justice Raohad Procedures holding NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 Sankaranarayanan if it could ex- said to this that the "largercon- ercise powers under Article 142 spiracy" onlydealt with whether ACALL on the Tamil Nadu gov- of the Constitution--whichal- other people were involvedand defence modernisation ernment’s recommendation to lows the Supreme Courttopass notwith those already convicted pardon RajivGandhi assassina- anyorder necessarytodo“com- and in prison. The Benchhad tion convict AGPerarivalan will pletejustice” in anycase -- to re- also notedthat the "largercon- hostage: Army chief be takenbythe Governor within questthe Governor to decide on spiracy" probehad been pend- three-four days,Solicitor General the matter.“Youplease tell us ing foryears now. our owninterpretation of rules,” Tushar Mehtatold the Supreme what... the Courtcan do in such Arrested at the ageof19in KRISHNKAUSHIK he said. CourtThursday. cases. Can we ask the Governor the case, Perarivalan had been NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 But he addedthat in the past Mehtatold aBenchofJustices to do that, as has been done in sentencedtodeath in May1999 fewyears, “wehavetriedtore- LNageswaraRao, SAbdul Nazeer earlier cases?” the Benchsaid. on the charge of purchasing an STRESSINGONthe needfor self verse this trend, by boosting in- and Indu Malhotra, hearing a Sankaranarayanan said 8-volt batteryusedbythe assas- reliance in defence production, digenisation and focusing on plea by Perarivalan seeking re- while the matter wasthe prerog- sins to trigger the belt bomb that Chief of ArmyStaff General MM dual-purpose high-end technol- lease, that he had receivedanin- ative of the Governor,inseveral killedRajiv Gandhi. In 2014,his Naravane on Thursdaysaid India ogy”. struction to communicatethat instances, the Courthad exer- sentence and that of twoothers, had made some advances in this This approach,hesaid, “will Governor Banwarilal Purohit will cisedpowers under Article 142. Murugan and Santhan (both Sri area over the pastfew years but notonlyensureself-reliance, it decide the matter “as per the The Benchhad then said, “We Lankans), wascommuted to life. procedural bottlenecks were will also hold good during times Constitution" in acouple of days. don't want to exercise our juris- Soon after, the AIADMK govern- holding defence modernisation of contingency”. Adding that ty- Recording the submission, the diction at this stagebut we are ment in Tamil Nadu had ordered “hostage”. ing to plug everyloophole was Benchadjournedthe matter by nothappythat arecommenda- the release of all the sevencon- Speaking at an event organ- causing delays in the process, four weeks. tion made by the government is victsinthe case. isedbyCII and the Society of Naravane said it, “resultsinthe In his plea, Perarivalan had pending fortwo years." While apardon request Indian Defence Manufacturers, acquisition process being tiedup AT THE DOORSTEP said the Governor wasyet to take While informing the Court movedbyPerarivalan in 2015 General Naravane said, “There in knots”and “what has hap- acall on arecommendation by about Tamil Nadu's decision of wasnot considered by the arecertain procedural lacunae in penedisthat the processes and AndhraPradesh Chief MinisterYSJagan Mohan Reddy on Thursdaylauncheddoorstep the stategovernment on September 2018 recommending Governor,aSupreme Courtor- the procurement process, which procedures have become para- delivery of rice to ration cardholders by flagging offafleetof2,500mobile dispensing units September 9, 2018,togrant him release of all sevenconvictsin der on arelated petition in primarilyarise due to the over- mount rather than the product from Vijayawada. The Chief Ministersaid he wasmoved by the plight of elderly and the remission and release him forth- the 1991 RajivGandhi assassina- September 2018 clarifiedthat bearing natureofour rules and and these areholding hostage differently-abledwho had to wait in long queues to getration supplies. The distribution will with. Hearing the matter in tion case, AdvocateBalaji the Governor was“deemedfit” guidelines in trying to ensure defence modernisation.” be done using the villageand ward volunteers system. Eachbag of rice is sealedand tagged November lastyear,the Supreme Srinivasan, representing the to decide on the pardon. Within zeroerror.” He addedthat the FULLREPORTON with aunique code to prevent adulteration. Courthad made clear itsunhap- state, had arguedthat the mat- three days,the AIADMK govern- problem “is also aggravated by www.indianexpress.com piness over the pendency of the terinvolveda"largerconspir- ment had recommendedthat all requestfor over twoyears. acy" and said the Governor was sevenconvictsbereleased. BSY rejigs portfolios, some ministers skip meet Houses for all homeless farmers,

thethreeministersareallnewen- forthe meeting had excused EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE trantstotheBJPalongwithAnand themselves. “Following the labourersifre-elected: TN CM BENGALURU,JANUARY21 KarnatakaCMtries Singh. Theywereamong 17 Cabinetexpansionandchangesin abalancingact CongressandJD(S)MLAswhode- portfolios, the CM has spoken to houses, it is our keypromise. Our geting DMK's firstfamily, has CHIEFMINISTERBSYediyurappa E fected to BJP in 2019 to help manyoftheministers.Theminis- ARUNJANARDHANAN farmers and working class pop- been making repeated state- ● on Thursdayhandedout portfo- EXPLAINED Yediyurappa come to power. ters have spoken what is on their CHENNAI,JANUARY21 ulation should be living with dig- mentsabout his ownhumble lios to sevennew ministers who WITH DISCONTENTbrewing among coremembers over his The BJP government played minds and the CM is looking at nity.Fromrural areas to cities, all background, saying he studiedin were inductedintohiscabineton choices forthe Cabinet, Chief MinisterBSYediyurappa has at- down concerns of dissidence . howthese things can be ad- THE AIADMK government will those who arehomeless will get government schools unlikehis January13, and effected changes temptedtobalance interests of coreparty members and new Anand Singh, whose forest dressed...” he said. build concretehouses forall concretehouses,” he said. political arch-rivalStalin, son of to portfolios of 10 ministers, trig- entrantsfromthe Congress and JDS, who helpedthe BJP come portfolio has gone to BJP veteran “Madhuswamywas in homeless farmers, labourers and Palaniswami’s speeches dur- lateMKarunanidhi. gering immediatedisgruntle- to power. The allocation indicates Yediyurappa is notkeen on Arvind Limbavalli, said on Tumakuru. Some others also the poor if it returnedtopower ing the rallythat coveredseveral On Thursday, he asked if mentamongsomeinhisCabinet. relinquishingcontroloversomemajorministriessuchasenergy Thursday: “The CM spoketome sought permission and stayed in the upcoming elections, Chief towns, including Thiruporur and Karunanidhi ever travelledto In the biggestchanges, Forest and Bengaluru development. The offerofsuchportfolios in fu- about the changeinmyportfolio. away.Thereisnoquestion of dis- MinisterEdappadi K Cheyyar, mainlytargetedthe op- Delhi forthe cause of Tamil Nadu andEnvironmentMinisterAnand turecould also be usedtocontrol dissidence in the Cabinet. Iagreedand said Ihavesome ex- gruntlement... Thereisnodiffer- Palaniswami announcedon position DMK and itschief MK or Tamil people. “All his trips to Singh–anaccusedinaCBIcaseof perience in the tourism ministry entiation done on basis of Thursdayduring aroadshowin Stalin's gram sabha model cam- Delhi were made to ensure illegal mining and violations of and cited it as apreference. The whetherMLAsarecoreBJPmem- northern Tamil Nadu. paign programmes. powerand position forhis son forest laws –was divested of the council lastyear when the BJP ductee MTBNagaraj,who is re- tenureasforestministerwas an bers or newentrants,” he said. Addressing party cadres at Terming mostofthe DMK ac- and daughter and his close rela- forest portfolioandgiventourism triedtooustthe Congress chair- portedlyunhappywiththeexcise opportunity to learn about anew Among the sevennew minis- Cheyyar near Chengalpet, cusationsagainst theAIADMKas tives...,” he said. The CM said, while senior ministerJC man. The lawand parliamentary portfolio,andKGopalaiah,whois ministry.”Afour-time MLAand ters inducted on January13, Palaniswami also said that his “uncivilised”, Palaniswami also “You see, everyother DMK Madhuswamy, whowasincharge affairs portfolio has been givento leftwith horticultureafter being businessman with mining inter- Murugesh Nirani has been given government is in the process of targeted Udhayanidhi Stalin, son leader is amultimillionaire. And of lawand parliamentaryaffairs, Home MinisterBasavaraj divestedof thefoodandcivilsup- ests,Singh wasappointed forest the mining portfolio, CP collecting dataabout crop dam- of the DMK chief, who heads the DMK is acorporatefirm, nota wasdivestedofhis entireportfo- Bommai. plies portfolio. ministerinFebruary2020despite Yogeshwar has been givenminor ageinthe recent heavy rainfall opposition party's youth wing. political party.” lioandgiventheminorportfolios Madhuswamywas among a Soonafterthenewallocations being accusedofillegal mining irrigation, party veteranSAngara and promisedthat compensa- He said: “Udhayanidhi Stalin is Amid reports of atussle be- of medical education and bunchofseemingly unhappy were announced, Nagaraj, andforest crimesin15 casessince the fisheries and ports ministry, tion and relief will be giventothe threatening police officers in tween him and Deputy CM O Kannada and culture. ministers who did notturn up for Gopalaiah and another unhappy 2012,including CBI cases. Arvind Limbavalli the forest min- farmers soon afterthe process is public. What will happen if such Panneerselvaminspiteofa Madhuswamy’s changeof aCabinetmeeting called ministerKSudhakar,whowasdi- NewLaw MinisterBommai, istry, RShankarmunicipaladmin- completed. people come to powerinthis party mergertwo years ago, portfolio is being seen as alikely ThursdaybyYediyurappa. The vested of the medical education whoconductedthepressbriefing istration, Nagarajthe excise min- “Farmers, labourers and poor state?” Palaniswami defendedhis fallout of the unprecedented other ministers who gave the portfolio, held ameeting to dis- afterthe Cabinetmeeting, said all istryand Umesh Katti the food people who arehomeless in ru- In the recent past, party colleague from the oppo- ruckusinthe statelegislative meeting amiss were newin- cuss their concerns. Incidentally, theministerswhodidnotturnup and civil supplies ministry. ralareas will getconcrete Palaniswami, while mostlytar- sition. Kolkata THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 10 EXPRESS NETWORK

BRIEFLY PMtointeractwithbeneficiaries, SC issues notice on petition vaccinatorsinVaranasitoday against web series ‘Mirzapur’ Singh said Mirzapur was EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The petition wasfiled foundedinAD1700and wasat Modi, other elected representativesmay take jab in phase 2 4.3 lakh frontline NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 on September 22 last one point in time the greatest trading centreinnorthern India. railway staffers THESUPREMECourtonThursday year,seeking aban on It is famous forits brass ware and KAUNAINSHERIFFM issuedanotice to Amazon Prime the second season, carpetindustry, he said. Besides &LIZMATHEW to get shots Video and Excel Entertainment, whichwas due for theVindhyachalTemple,whichis Havildar Nirmal Singh NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 themakersof ‘Mirzapur’,onaplea one of the 108Shaktipeethas, the seeking aban on the second sea- release in October placeisalsohometoKantitSharif WITH NEARLYone million health AVISHEKGDASTIDAR son of the webseries on the Dargahand Ashtabhuja Temple. ArmyHavildar workers getting the firstdose of NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 groundthatit“hascompletely tar- Also, it wasthe workplace of the Covid-19vaccine, Prime nishedthe historical and cultural According to the petition, the RashtraKaviNirala,wholitaflame killedinPak MinisterNarendraModi will MORETHAN4.3lakhrailway em- imageofthecity/district”.Thepe- webseries “has shown everyres- of revolution againstthe British, firinginPoonch Fridayspeak with some of these ployees have been selected to re- tition also sought setting up of a ident of Mirzapur as goon, Singh said in his petition, among beneficiaries on their inoculation ceive the coronavirus vaccine as pre-screeningcommitteeforpro- vagabondandadultererinfrontof other things that makeMirzapur Jammu:AnArmy experience in order to boostcon- partofthe country’s frontline grammes directlylaunchedon the country”, so muchsothat its famous.Allthisnotwithstanding, Havildar waskilledon fidence among the people. work force. Theyinclude station online platforms. residents“feel shyand hesitant” the series portrays “that the Thursdayafter Pakistani “The world’s largest vaccina- masters, engine drivers, security AbenchheadedbyChief when people outside Mirzapur city/district belongs to the goons troops resortedtounpro- tion drive is underwayinIndia. Aconsignment of Covishield vaccines sent by India arrives personnel, ticket checkers and Justice of India SABobde also look at them with suspicion after only”. Itshows thedistrictadmin- vokedceasefireviolation Our frontline warriors aregetting in Dhaka on Thursday. India on Thursdaydeliveredtwo trackmen. soughttheresponseof thecentral watchingtheseries.Itisfullof “nu- istration and judiciarybowing along the Line of Control vaccinated across the nation. At million doses of Covishield to Bangladesh and one million Afterdiscussions with the government on the petition filed dity,vulgarity... and abusive lan- downto goons,thepetitionersaid, in Jammuand Kashmir’s 1:15PMtomorrow, 22nd doses to Nepal, while commercial supplyisexpected to start HealthMinistry, Railways started by SujeetKumarSingh,a38-year- guage”, the petition said. addingthatwomenareshownas Krishna Ghati sector of January, Iwould interact with on Fridaywith shipmentstoBrazil and Morocco. PTI compilingalistofitsfrontlinestaff. old farmer from avillageinUttar Suchshows “areclear viola- promiscuous and in some cases Poonchdistrict. beneficiaries and vaccinators of Morethan 30,000 railway em- Pradesh’s Mirzapur. tionof thedictumof theSupreme incestuous. Identifying the soldier as Covid vaccination drive in ployees have so farcontracted RudraVikram Singh, the peti- Courttoblockthe publication or Thepetitionurgedthegovern- Havildar Nirmal Singh of Varanasi, via video conferencing,” the world’s largest vaccination on January16and four days later Covid-19and around 700have tioner’s lawyer and younger transmissionof obscenematerial ment to ban the show’s sequel, 10 Jammu and Kashmir Prime MinisterModi tweeted. drive,” the Prime Minister's Office suffered from intracranial hem- diedfromit. brother,said he had notmoved containingsexuallyexplicitactor 'Mirzapur 2', and to makecertifi- Rifles, an Udhampur- Sources in the PMO indicated said in astatement. orrhageand wasadmitted to an With freight train operations against‘Mirzapur 1’ as it had al- conduct and also publishing or cation mandatorybeforereleas- basedArmyPRO said he that as another step towardscre- On the demand by several Udaipur hospital. in full swing and passenger train ready been released. The petition transmitting of material contain- inganywebseries,movieorother wascriticallyinjured and ating vaccine confidence, the states, including BJP-ruledBihar, On Thursday, Odisha services getting backtopre-lock- wasfiledonSeptember 22 last ingsexuallyexplicitactorconduct programmes on anyonline plat- later succumbed to his in- Prime Ministerand other elected that elected representativesbe (26,558), Telangana (26,441), down levels, it wasdecidedtoin- year,seeking aban on the second and also publishing or transmit- form. Petitioner SujeetKumar juries. Indian troops had representativeswill likelytake includedinthe firstpriority Karnataka (16,103) and Bihar sulatethe critical staffofthe na- season whichwas due forrelease tingmaterialdepictingchildrenin Singh,38,isafarmerfromPasaiya responded“strongly’’ to the vaccine in the second phase, group, Modi during his interac- (15,798) recordedthe maximum tional transporterengaged with in October.Itcame up forhearing sexuallyexplicit act or conduct Dagmagpur villagewho grows the enemyfire, he added. when the priority group above tion with Chief Ministers had vaccinations in the country. public interface work as well as on Thursday. forthwith”, it said. wheat and mustard crops. Havildar Nirmal Singh the ageof50will be inoculated. earlier said: “...This is my per- Meanwhile, on Thursday, the backroom operations suchas wasabrave,highlymoti- “The PM also is likelytotake sonal suggestion. Firstare the co- Health Ministryunveiledan maintenance from the virus. vatedand asinceresol- the vaccine. In the firstphase, it rona warriors, second arefront- “Information, Education and The majority of the shots will dier,hesaid, adding that wasmeant forhealth workers line workers. The people’s Communication” campaign to be receivedbycommercial staff After ‘Tandav’, another UP police team the nation will always re- and frontline workers. Now, it representativesare notincluded address vaccine hesitancy and associated in public interface main indebted to him for will notbeout of turn forpolitical in this category.” misinformation. “Letusput a work suchasticket checking. lands in Mumbai to probe ‘Mirzapur’ FIR hissupreme sacrificeand leaders,” said asource. The Health Ministrysaid that stop to these falsehoods...All em- Around 36,000 station workers, devotion to duty. ENS The Union Health Ministry on Thursday, 4,041 vaccination inent doctors of well-known including station masters, areon Thecomplainanthasalsosaid idential addresses of persons Thursdaysaid the cumulative sessions were conducted across hospitals have takenthe vaccine the list. Morethan 70,000 arein- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE theshowpromotedsocialenmity, namedinthe FIR and we have number of vaccinatedhealthcare the countryand 1,92,581bene- and praisedthe exercise forits spectors, ticket checkers and oth- MUMBAI,JANUARY21 showcasedabusive content and helpedthemwiththat,”anofficer workers had touched9,99,065 ficiaries were vaccinated till 6 desired end,” Dr Harsh Vardhan, erswhoareontrainsandstations. presentedthedistrictinpoorlight said. MAHARASHTRA till 6pm. The Prime Ministersaid pm. “187 Adverse Events Union MinisterofHealth & Around 70,000 arefromthe ANOTHERTEAMof UttarPradesh and even showedillicit relations The team from Lucknow, Govt:Canmove the virtual interaction “would Following Immunization (AEFIs) FamilyWelfare, said during the Railway Protection Force, while police arrivedinMumbai on on screen. meanwhile, is settoleave forUP give first-hand opportunity to have been reportedtill 6pmon launch. “..Theparadoxisthat 41,000 loco pilots and 44,000 as- Thursdaytoinvestigateintoacase The FIR has namedshowpro- on Fridayasitcould notfind any- VaravaraRao to hear their experiences as well as the sixth dayofthe vaccination countries across the globeare sistantlocopilots willgetthevac- againstmakers of webseries ducers Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan one affiliated with ‘Tandav’. feedback” on vaccination. drive,” the ministrysaid. asking us foraccess to the vac- cine. This apart, 8,000 trackmen ‘Mirzapur’.OnWednesday, ateam Akhtar and Bhaumik Gondaliya Inspector Anil Kumar Singh said, JJhospitalward “The interaction follows con- The Health Ministrysaid one cines while asection of our own and around 6,000 shunters have from Lucknowhad landedin under sections 295A (deliberate “Wewent to the residential ad- tinuousdialogueand discussion hospitalisation following immu- is fomenting misinformation...,” also been identified. Healthcare Mumbaito probeacaseregistered and malicious acts, intendedto dressesof directorAliAbbasZafar Mumbai: Prison authori- by the Prime Ministerwith sci- nization has been reportedfrom Vardhan said while urging staffofthe Indian Railways will againstmakers of ‘Tandav’. outragereligious feelings of any and writer Gaurav Solanki in ties told the BombayHigh entists,political leaders, officials Rajasthan—however, the event everyone to seek correct infor- also be insulated.Around 32,000 Senior officials from the classby insultingitsreligionorre- Andheri(West),buttheywerenot CourtonThursdaythat and other stakeholders to proac- was“notrelated to vaccination”. mation from credible and au- healthworkersandaround5,000 Mumbai Police said UP police ap- ligious beliefs), 504(intentional at home. While we even visited Telugu poetVaravaraRao, tively ensuresmooth conduct of The beneficiarywas vaccinated thentic sources. contractual staffare on the list. proachedofficialsfromtheBandra insult with intent to provoke producer Himanshu Mehra’s of- who is an accusedinthe police station on Thursday, seek- breachofthe peace) and 505 fice address in Andheri, it seems Elgaar Parishad case, can ing help with the investigation (statementsconducing to public that he vacated that office two be movedtothe prison intothe FIR registeredatKotwali mischief) of the IPC along with years ago.” ward of the state-run JJ TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE Dehat police station of Mirzapur. sections of the Information Officials said as the UP police Hospital.Thestategovern- The FIR wasregisteredona Technology Act. could notfind them, theywere ment also submitted that complaint lodged by Arvind Asenior official from the unable to servenotices to them. Rao’sfamilymemberswill NUMBER OF Chaturvedi, who alleged that the Mumbai Police said theywill co- Singhfurtheraddedthattheywill be allowedtovisit him VACCINATIONS show“has hurthis religious operatewith the UP police. “They starttheir journeyfor UP basedonhospital proto- (JAN 21) sentiments”. needhelpingettingofficeandres- on Friday. cols during the Covid-19 2,12,223 pandemic. Adivision benchwas hearing aplea Total:7,86,842 KUTCH VIOLENCE filedbyRao’swife,seeking Akbar to court: Ramani hisbailongroundsof poor NUMBER OF ADVERSE 36 arrested for health. ENS EVENTS AFTER destroyed evidence by IMMUNIZATION ExpelledAIADMK leader VKSasikala being takento rioting, probe TELANGANA 187 Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday. PTI deleting Twitter account into migrant Mansetssonon Total:1,253 firefordelayin Sasikala tests positive for Additional Chief Metropolitan death continues CASES: ACTIVECASES:1,92,308 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MagistrateRavindraKumar gettingbeedis 325 NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 Pandey. Her rebuttal could notbe DAYSSINCE 1,06,10,883 DEATHS:1,52,869 PANDEMIC Covid, condition stable completedand will be heard EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Hyderabad:A10-year-old BEGAN TESTS: 18,93,47,782 | RECOVERIES: 1,02,65,706 FORMER UNION MinisterMJ again on January23. RAJKOT,JANUARY21 boy, whowasallegedly set ing treated in the ICU forSevere Akbar,who has filedacriminal Luthratold the court, “This CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS ablazeby hisfatherforde- JAN20 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE AcuteRespiratoryInfection. defamation case againstjournal- strangeargument that this THREEDAYS aftertwo groupsbe- layingetting beedis from 15,223 151 19,965 7,80,835 CHENNAI,JANUARY21 Sourcescloseto herfamilysaid istPriyaRamani over allegations Twitter account, the courtdidn’t longingto differentcommunities ashop, diedatahospital some familymembers were al- of sexualmisconductandharass- tellmeto save soIdidn’t.Howcan clashed,leavingamigrantworker here, police said on Thurs- STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES VKSASIKALA, the close aide of lowedtovisit her and that her ment, told aDelhi courtthrough one take adefence likethis?” deadandseveralinjuredinKidana day. He wasset on fire on CASES(JAN20) TOTAL lateJJayalalithaa, tested positive conditionisstable.Amedicalbul- his lawyers on Thursdaythat she Luthratold the courtthat villagenearGandhidhamtownin the night of January17as Kerala 6,815 8,64,196 forthe Covid-19onThursday letin from Victoria Hospital on “deliberately, intentionally, mali- Ramani knewtherewas acrimi- Kutchdistrict, ‘B’ Division police his father wasalso angry Maharashtra3,015 19,97,992 night. Ahead of her release from Thursday, before theCovid-19test ciously” destroyed evidence by nal complaint pending against station of Gandhidham has ar- with him fornot focusing Chhattisgarh594 2,94,949 the BangaloreParappana resultcamein,saidshewasbeing deleting the Twitter account. her.“These areall tweets.They rested 36 people forrioting even on his studies, police said. AgraharaCentral prison on treated forSevereAcute Akbar has suedRamani over were all primaryevidence. Can asafourthFIRhasbeenregistered The boy, who suffered90 STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS January27, whereshe wasacon- RespiratoryIllness with antibi- allegations of sexual misconduct she destroy evidence... another in connection with that incident. percentburns,wasshifted DEATHS(JAN20) TOTAL vict in adisproportionateassets otics, an antiviral, besides insulin, and harassment. With several criminal case can be made out... “Wearrested36people yes- to ahospital and succum- Kerala 1183,672 case, Sasikala wastaken to steroids and other supportive otherwomenmakingsimilaralle- Allevidencewhichwaspartofthe terday inconnectionwiththecase bedto injuriesWednesday Maharashtra6351,795 BowringHospitalWednesdayaf- measures. Sasikala wasreport- gations againsthim, Akbar re- trial... deliberately, intentionally, of rioting registeredafter the vio- night, apolice officer said. Chhattisgarh103,585 tershecomplainedofbreathless- edly unwell at her prison cell for signedasMinisterofState for maliciouslyhasbeendestroyed...” lence in Kidana. Those who have Thefather,analcoholic,al- ness. aboutaweekandshewasshifted External Affairs in October 2018. Luthratold the court. beenarrestedarethepeoplewho legedly sethim on fire af- DataasonJanuary20,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical Followingherfamily’srequest, to hospital aftershe developeda The submissions were made ShetoldthecourtthatRamani were roundedupafter the vio- Researchandstategovernments.Oftenthenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays terpouring turpentine oil, aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive she wasshiftedtoVictoria high temperatureand com- by senior advocateGeeta Luthra said “therewas no overtphysical lence,” Mayur Patil, police said. He wassubse- HospitalonThursday. Shewasbe- plainedofbreathlessness. on behalf of Akbar before attack”. Superintendent of Police, Kutch quentlyarrestedand is (east), said. currentlyunder judicial Those arrested belong to the custody,police said. PTI both the groups that clashedin Milk prices defy seasonal trendassupplypressures build Kidana villageonJanuary17dur- PUNJAB ing VishwaHindu Parishad’s (VHP) rath yatratocollect funds 53,000poultry $3,243 per tonne, the highest flowing from their udders, gen- mand mismatch,” Rahul Kumar, forthe proposedRam temple in birdstobeculled HARISHDAMODARAN since the $3,264of erallybegins from September. CEO of the Frenchmultinational Ayodhya.“Forus, who belongs to NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 August5,2014. That is when temperatureand Lactalis India, whichowns what group is notimportant. All atMohali In the domestic market,too, humidity levels drop, alongside Prabhat DairyinMumbai and that matters is that theywerein- VEGETABLE PRICES have cooled dairies areselling SMP at Rs 245- improved fodder-cum-straw Thirumala Milk ProductsPvt. Ltd volvedinthe offence,” the SP Chandigarh:About 53,000 with the usual winter-time in- 255per kg,asagainstRs180-190 availability from the monsoon in Chennai, told The Indian added. birds of twopoultryfarms crease in suppliesofcarrots, cau- in September and the Rs 140-150 rains and harvesting of the kharif Express. The FIR, the basis, on which in Punjab’s Mohali areto liflower, cabbage, radish, cap- lows touchedinJuly. Even more crop. The calvings peak in the The above mismatchcould the arrestsweremade, said vio- beculledafter some sam- sicum and peas. Even onions and striking is the recovery in milk winter and continue till March- increase in the coming days due lence startedwhen leaders of the ples from theretested tomatoes aren’t on fire likethey fatprices. According to Ganesan April before the onsetofsummer. to three reasons. The firstisthat rathyatrastartedraisingreligious positive foravian flu, a were onlyacouple of months Palaniappan, aleading Chennai- Theunseasonalsupplycrunch very fewdairies –GCMMF, slogans loudlywhen the rath senior official said on ago. baseddairycommodities trader, being seen at present is basically Karnataka Milk Federation and reachedMasjid Chowk. Thursday. The reports of That isn’t happening though ex-factoryrates of cowbutter alagged effect of the Covid-19in- Tamil Nadu’s Aavin –are today Intheclashes,ArjunSovaiya,a samples takenfromtwo in milk,whose production also and ghee areruling at Rs 305- ducedlockdown that forced the holding enough stocks of pow- 30-year-oldmigrantworkerfrom poultryfarms at Behravil- tends to rise during winters 310and Rs 400per kg,respec- The unseasonal supplycrunchbeing seen at present is closureofhotels,restaurants,hos- der and fat. The second is inter- Jharkhand,wasallegedly stabbed lageinDeraBassi were re- when calvings by buffaloes peak. tively.These areupfromtheir basicallyalagged effect of the lockdown. Express file telsandcanteens,apartfromcan- national prices, whichmakeex- to deathandtheautorickshawhe ceivedfromNational Dairies arenow paying morefor corresponding levels of Rs 260- cellation of marriages and other ports moreviable than imports. wastravelling in wasset on fire. InstituteofHigh-Security milk during the current “flush” 270and Rs 340-350/kgin publicfunctions.Thedemandde- The thirdreason has, again, to The murder charge is in the FIR Animal Diseases lab in season (October-March), even as September and Rs 200-225 and six-year high is good forIndian butter wastradedatanaverage struction and price crash from it do with Covid. The lockdown lodged by the auto driver Bhopal on Wednesday. prices of dairyproductshave Rs 280-290 in July. farmers. It also opens up export of $4,735.That latter worksout resultedin farmers underfeeding made it difficult forfarmers to ac- Nurmamad Chavda at the same “The culling of around firmedup. And if international All this is reflected in milk possibilities, especiallyofwhite to around Rs 346per kg,whichis, their animals. cess artificial insemination serv- police station . 53,000 birds will either market trends areany indication, prices as well. Maharashtra butter and ghee,” said RSSodhi, in fact, above the Rs 305-310 be- “The impact of that is playing ices.Thereweresupplychain is- Patil,however, saidnoonewas starttodayevening or to- theylook settoclimb further. dairies areprocuring cowmilk managing director of Gujarat ing realisedbyIndian dairies on out justwhendemand is return- sues –beitofliquid nitrogen arrested in connection with the morrow,”said VKJanjua, On Tuesday, skim milk pow- (with 3.5% fatand 8.5% solids- Cooperative Milk Marketing domestic sales. ing. Hotels and restaurantshave containers, frozen semen straws murder.“Investigationisgoingon Additional Chief der (SMP) prices at Global Dairy not-fat content) at Rs 27-28 per Federation (GCMMF). Hardening of milk prices is already reopened, weddings are or technicians. Notbeing able to but we arecollecting moreevi- Secretary(Animal Husba- Trade (GDT), the fortnightlyauc- litre, compared to Rs 24-25 in Anhydrous milk fat(ghee) prices nevertheless unusual at this taking place, and schools, col- inseminateontime could, in dence. We areanalysing CCTV ndryand Dairy). ENS tion platform of NewZealand’s September and Rs 18-20 in July. soared 17.2% to $5,398per tonne time. The calving season forani- leges and hostels arealso restart- turn, translateintofurther de- footageand video clips recorded Fonterra Cooperative,averaged “Global prices at morethan in the latestGDT auction, while mals, when moremilk starts ing. So, we have asupply-de- layedcalvings. in phones,” said the SP. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 @ieExplained #ExpressExplained 11 If thereare questions of current or contemporaryrelevancethat youwould like E EXPLAINED explained, please [email protected]

FROM 40,000 TO 50,000 IN AYEAR AND AHALF, LAST 5,000 IN AMONTH AND AHALF

JUNE4,2019 NOV27,2019 NOV9,2020 NOV10,2020 NOV18,2020 DEC4,2020 DEC9,2020 DEC28,2020 JAN4,2021 JAN11,2021 JAN21,2021 40,000 41,000 42,000 43,000 44,000 45,000 46,000 47,000 48,000 49,000 50,000 On hope of RBI Optimism around Pfizer announces Vaccine hope lifts Strong FPI inflows RBI said GDP will Hope of vaccine, UK-EUannounced SEC gave approval Hope of mega Joe Biden takes cutting repo rates signing of first high efficacy of its marketsfurther and more vaccines contractby7.5%for stimulus package Brexit deal and to twovaccines stimulus by Biden oath as US in itsforthcoming phase of US-China vaccine CLOSINGVALUE: cominginfray the year as against and FPI inflows Donald Trump between Jan 1and administration as Presidentand calls monetary policy trade deal CLOSINGVALUE: 43277.0 CLOSINGVALUE: itsprevious CLOSINGVALUE: gave go ahead to Jan 2lifting he calledfor forunity,peace statement amid CLOSINGVALUE: 42597.0 44180.0 projection of 46103.0 Covid relief investor spending spree in and growth. Dow subduedinflation 41020.0 —9.5%. CLOSINGVALUE: sentiment. trillionsofdollars Jones hitsall time CLOSINGVALUE: CLOSINGVALUE: 47353.7 CLOSINGVALUE: CLOSINGVALUE: high. 40083.5 45079.0 48176.8 49269.3 CLOSINGVALUE: 49,624.76 EXPLAINED YOUR MONEY 50000 Sensex @50,000, what next for investors

The non-stopbull rallyonthe stockmarketshas takenthe benchmark over themilestone of 50,000.But severalquestions loom over themarket horizon: Is therallyfor real? Whyisithappening? Will thebullrun continue?

likelytokeep global markets at elevatedlev- tion,analysts expect to seearestarting of in- the virus, and theeffectiveness of vaccines levels, marketsare vulnerable to corrections,” els fornow. vestment by the corporate sector over ape- againstthem. VKVijayakumar,chief investmentstrategist 40000 Analysts expect the combination of riod of 12 months from now. Manyfeel that the duration of the stimu- at Geojit Financial Services, said. strong capital inflows,low interestrates, Whilethe lowinterestratescenario is lus programme will be key. If thecentral leaner corporate balance sheets,and steps likelytocontinuefor sometime both on the banksdecide to pull the plug earlier than ex- Should youbook someprofits now? takenbythe government, to quickenthe domestic and global fronts, thereistalk of a pected, then the marketscouldsee correc- It won’t be abad idea to book some prof- pace of economic recovery in India. GDP, fiscal stimulusinthe Budget on February1, tion as economies needtocome back on itsoninvestmentsthat have achieved their whichcontracted by 23.9% in the June quar- whichcouldprovide afillip to the economy trackbeforethe stimulus is rolledback. targeted growth, and forinvestors who need Sandeep Singh & ter, is expected to rise by 0.1% in the andmarkets.Manysee the Budget exercise “As of now, liquidity is pushing up the to go forassetallocation. However, one hasto George Mathew December quarter. In the firsthalf of 2021- as an opportunity forthe government to market. When the liquidity tapcloses, there be clear on the newinvestment destination, 22, the economywill grow at 14.2%, accord- showcase itsagenda forreforms andgrowth could be some correction. The RBI can’t keep as booking profitstoreinvest when markets ing to aReserveBank of India study.Apart of the economygoing forward. on pumping liquidity intothe system as it fall, maynot pan out as expected. Howhas the Sensexmoved and changed from robustFPI inflows, abig reason forthe Finally, the soothing wordsfromPresident will push up inflation. Some marketmen also It mustalways be remembered that over time? rallyhas been the impressive corporatere- Biden at his inauguration have broughthope feel fundamentals arebeingignored.Retail while investmentsshould be made in areg- LaunchedonJanuary2,1986(base sultsinthe second and thirdquarters. of improvement in the globaltrade environ- investors should notblindlyput moneyin ular and disciplinedmanner,redemption or year:1978-79 =100), the country's firsteq- ment, and arebuilding of trustand better stocks.Retail investors have burnt their fin- profit-booking mustbe 30000 uity indexhas risenfrom124 in April 1979 Is the rallybroad-based, or limited to trading relations betweencountries. gers severaltimes in the past,”aveteran stock plannedand executed to 50,000 today, acompoundedannual onlyafewstocks? broker PawanDharnidharka said. when the marketsare on a growth rate of 15.9% over 42 years. From The Sensex, whichfell by 36% between Doesthis mean the market will continue Theaspectof inclusivityhas been flagged. high, or when the expected 1990, when it hit 1,000,the CAGR of the S&P Februaryand March 23, 2020 –when it to rise? Smallbusinesses and individuals at thebot- gains have been achieved. BSE Sensexis13.5%. closedat25,981–has risenby68% sinceApril As of now, the bulls seem energetic –and tomofthe pyramidwere worsthit by the pan- Experts sayitisbetterto Thirty-fiveyearsago,therewerenoIT 1. On Thursday, it hit an all-timehighof barring temporaryblips, marketsare likely demic, but the recoveryso farremains largely pull out from individual companies and banking stocksin the bench- 50,184, before retreating to close at 49,624. to remain at elevatedlevels, andrise further. limitedto large andmedium corporates. “The stockinvestments,and markindex; it nowhas 9stocksfrombank- While this has been the gain forthe 30-stock While the transition in the US is comforting government's fiscal supportwill have to take to allowthe mutual ing and finance, and 4informationtechnol- index at BSE, the broader marketstoo have formarkets,thereisexpectationofaddi- careofthis, because if growth is notinclusive, funds to play out be- ogy companies. Only five companies that been partofthe rally. tional stimulus, some of whichare likelyto itwillnotbesustainableinthe longterm,”the cause mutualfund in- were initiallypartofthe indexretain their Over the same period, the BSE mid cap find itsway into Indian equity markets. CEO of aleading mutual fund said. vestmentsare diversi- place —Reliance Industries, HUL, ITC, L&T, indexhas risenover80%, and the small cap Thereishope that the worstofthe pandemic Analysts saythat the rise in fied and less risky. and M&M. indexbyover95%. Almostall major sectors is over,and that rapid vaccinationwill bring inflation, tightening of mon- Feb2014to have participated in the rally–the auto in- confidence and define the pace of recovery etarypolicy,and increase 20000 What is behind the unhindered rise of dexhas jumped117%; and metaland IT in- in the economy. in interestrates will also Jan2015 the market? diceshaverisen 110% and 105% respectively. The Indianrally has been drivenbythe be critical forthe mar- The Sensexrises sharply The continuous rallythat followedthe The technology,capital goods and health- hugeliquidity in global markets, andFPIs are kets. If the US decides to from levels of 20,000to crash triggeredbythe Covid-19pandemic in care, banking andconsumer durable indices expectedtobring more fundsintoIndian eq- increase rates, money 29,000,oraround 45%, with Februaryand March 2020,was drivenbyfor- have risen by over 60%; the oil and gasindex uities in the coming financial year as global willstartflowing back the surge beginning amid eignportfolio investors (FPIs);since April 1, by 47%; and the telecom and FMCG indices interestrates remain lowand India's eco- from emergingmar- expectations of victoryofthe 2020, inflows have hit arecordRs2.41lakh by 46% and 24%respectively. nomic fundamentals makethe countryan ket equitiestoUS BJP-ledNDA under the crore. The system is flush with liquidity, attractive investment destination. treasuries, and leadershipofNarendraModi. whichisone reason forthe non-stoprally. At this point, is thereoptimism about that mayresult The latestspikethat has pushedthe the future? Arethereany concerns, and reasons to in acorrection. Sensexpast50,000is primarilyonaccount of Thereisoptimism forseveral reasons.The be cautious? “Investors thesmooth transitionofpowerinthe United sharp decline in Covid-19numbers and the While investors want the rallytocon- should notget States afterthe deadlyJanuary6siegeofthe beginning of mass vaccination have raised tinue,theyknowthat the markets aretrad- carriedaway Feb2006 to Dec 2007 Capitol. As President Joe Biden offeredhope hopes fornormalisation of the economy, and inginanexpensive zone, and adose of neg- by the 10000 –promising to take all Americans along and the strong showing by companies in thethird ative news mayjustpull the trigger fora euphoria The Sensexdoubles from 10,000to hinting at improving relations with the rest quarterhas been apositive sign. correction. Vaccines have been great news of this bull 20,000.The is drivenbyhigh economic of the world–market sentiments were lifted. With the uptickindemand forsteel, ce- formarkets sinceNovember 2020, but some run. At activity,highGDP growth ratesand Biden’sproposed $1.9 trillion stimulus is ment, and real estate,aswell as in consump- concerns remain overnew mutant strains of high strong inflowfromforeign portfolio investors. July 1991 to April 1992 Jan2004toDec 2005 The Sensexalmosttrebles from levels of The Sensexrises sharplyfromlevels of around 1,500to4,500, following the around 6,000to 9,000,led by lowinterest hugelyreformistbudget presented by ratesinthe economy, high pace of then Finance MinisterManmohan Singh infrastructuredevelopment andarevised in July1991. GDP growth rate for2005-06. 0 3-Apr-19794-Jan-1982 2-Jan-1985 4-Jan-1988 2-Jan-1991 3-Jan-1994 1-Jan-1997 3-Jan-2000 1-Jan-20032-Jan-2006 1-Jan-2009 2-Jan-2012 1-Jan-2015 1-Jan-2018 1-Jan-2021 Trump’s presidency, reflected in his golf

erty at Bedminsterbydoubling the initiation tionchargesthatwouldhelpBroidy’sfinancial SHIVANINAIK feeto$200,000(whichwentupto $450,000by interests in2017.Thoughtheoutingneverhap- MUMBAI,JANUARY21 2019).Apressdetailalways accompaniedhim pened, Broidy,who pleadedguilty to undis- to hisproperties;POTUS would even plug his closed lobbying later,receivedone of the 74 IT WON’T quitemakethe second impeach- properties in UN speeches. And the Secret Presidential pardons announcedonTuesday. mentdossieramidthelitanyofotheroffences. Servicespent$150,000ingolf cartrentals(their ButcaddiescantestifythatoutgoingPresident largest spending) to tail and protect Trump, His eccentricities Donald Trumpkilledtrees on agolf course. USATodayreported in 2018. While acquiring aScottish golf course (one Hewouldcarryacanof redspray paintinhis Lobbyistshad figuredthat the President of 18 he owns on either side of the Atlantic, golf cart. “Wheneverhis ball hit atreethat he could beeasilyaccessed(andflattered)witha Dubai and Indonesia), intending to rebuild it, CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD didn't think wasfair, he;d go up and paint abig casual membership of his club —where they Trumpdeclared the surrounding wind farms Xonit,”RickReillywrites in Commanderin could “run into”him. “stupid” because theyspoilt his view. Buthis Cheat: HowGolf Explains Trump in 2019.“The But it wasthe companyofthe pros that cheatingonthecoursefilledupanentire Reilly nextdaythetreewasgone,”acaddytoldReilly Trumpsought —fromTiger Woods to Dustin book.Hecould bumpupscores because they INDIAACTIVE CASES 192,308 of Trump;s whims on the golf course, which Johnsonand Bryson DeChambeau. Annika “soundedbetter” to those he gloated to later, turnedoutto beamicrocosmof hispresidency. Sorenstamand GaryPlayerwerereceiving hetamperedwiththemwhenwriting,blamed 250,000 When the Professional Golfers’ Association At TrumpNationalGolf Club in Virginia PresidentialMedalsof Freedomaday afterthe an opponent fordistracting, made rules as he (PGA) of Americarevoked hosting rightsofthe in November 2020. The NewYork Times January6storming of the Capitol. went along and movedthe balltomask his 2022PGAchampionshipof theBedminstergolf Trumphostedheads of statesuchasthe wretched chipping game. Caddies would call 216,558 courseheowned,Trumpwassaidtobefurious. Chinese premier and Japanese former PM him ‘Pele’ forkicking the ball intofairwaysout 192,308 Talkof impeachmenthadalreadyincensedhim, spent the dayplaying golf. Worse than Carter,” ShinzoAbeatMar-a-Lago.ThethenAustralian of bunkers. And he rationalisedcheating: but afterthe PGA's dumping, he is said to have he said in 2014. PMhadto leaninongolf legendGregNorman “Opponentcheats.Sooneneedsto cheatto beat workedupanaltogetherdifferentleveloffrenzy. If elected,hepromised, he’d have no time forTrump’scell number,while the New them.Ifit’sallthesameandeverybody’scheat- 200,000 It is no secret that Trumpconsistently foraround. But in hisfirstyear itself, Trump Zealand premier wasasked by Trumptopass ing, then it's no cheating at all.” sought refugeingolf. Thegrass wasalways made between 87 and 94 trips to the golf on afanboy-messageand requestameeting He claims his handicap is 3; caddies sayit greener on that side. Though, when it wasn;t course.HisMar-a-LagogolfpropertyinFlorida withthe1963BritishOpenchampBobCharles, could be 8or9—including afew who cheated —likeatPinehurstone year —heraged about becamethe‘WinterWhiteHouse’.Bedminster 80,who quipped that he might be arareNew on his behalf. “He’s always got four balls in his LAST 10 DAYS turtlebacks on the course: “Disgraceful... ugly wasWhiteHouse forsummers. Zealander Trumpactuallyknew, solelyonac- pocket. He foozles [botches] his ball on every Jan 11 Jan20 .... burnt... justtosavewater.” In 2017, Newsweek reportedthat agiant count of golf. hole.All 18.Ipromise you. Everyhole,” Rilley 150,000 “I wouldmakegolf aspirational, instead of whitebox truckblockedcameraviews of pho- But diplomacytook asinister turn whena wastold by caddies. At times, he simplyself- tryingto bringeverybodyintogolf,peoplethat tographerswhowouldclicktheidentifiablered couple of former PresidentsofColombia improvedscoresfrom78to 72 asthedaywore Note: The Jan 20 figureinthis graphisbased on thegovernment update on Jan 21 arenever gonna be abletobethereanyway.” capfrombehindhedges.ThiswasGolfgate.The turnedupatTrump’sFloridagolf clubandmet on, gloating to different people. US Secret Service had to release astatement him unofficially, persuadinghim that apeace Justlikehis “club championships” had INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLD TOTAL CASES Obama shouldn’t play saying: “The USSS is in the businessofprotec- processunderwaywithrebelsbackhome bulged to 18.“WheneverIopen anew golf Whentryingto winthepresidencyin2016, tion and investigations notincommissioning would best be scuttled, accordingtoareport course,” Rilley quoteshim, “I playthe official 10,610,883 97,008,069 Trumpgot stuckintoincumbent Barack vehicles to blockthe media’s viewofthe by mcclatchydc.com. opening roundand then Ijustcall that thefirst Source: Ministry of Health &Family Source: Johns Hopkins University, Obama;sgolfing,tweetingaboutit27 timesbe- President’s golf swing.” Trump’s golf diplomacy emboldened club championship.” Welfare, updated at 11 pm on Jan 21 updated at 11 pm on Jan 21 tween2011and 2016, SB Nation counted.“Can Republican fundraiser ElliotBroidytotry and “I'mawinner,”hewouldcrow abouthisgolf youbelieve that, with all of the problems and Golf anddiplomacy setupa“golf date” withTrumpfor aformer titles, at Presidentialcampaignsin2016. Alie difficulties facing the US, President Obama Trump’s presidency had milked the prop- Malaysian PM to lobbyfor resolving corrup- thatbookendedhis term, as it turnedout.

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 12 THE WORLD

TOPOFTHE WORLD On1stfulldayinoffice,Bidenfocuses onCovid,requiresmaskusefortravel Initiates strategy to ramp up vaccination, open schools; Fauci announces renewedUSsupporttoWHO

RICARDOALONSO- Rescuers drillanew ZALDIVAR At the site of the bomb attackinBaghdad on Thursday. AP channel to reachthe WASHINGTON,JANUARY21 miners. AP DEEP IN the deadliestcoron- avirus waveand facing worri- 32 dead in Baghdad CHINA some newstrains,President Joe Trappedminers Biden will initiateanational Covid-19strategytorampup suicidebombings mustwait15 vaccinationsand testing, reopen schools and businesses and in- moredays crease the use of masks—in- WORKERS TRAPPED in a cluding arequirement that SAMYAKULLAB& ED Firstbig gold mine in China since Americans mask up fortravel. QASSIMABDUL-ZAHRA attackin January10may have to Biden also willaddress in- BAGHDAD,JANUARY21 PLAIN E ● 3years wait another 15 days be- equitiesinhard-hitminoritycom- EX fore theycan be rescued munitiesashesigns10 pandemic- TWIN SUICIDE bombings ripped because of ablockageon related executiveorders on through abusy market in the WEDNESDAY’S BLASTina their intendedescape Thursday, hisfirstfulldayinoffice Iraqi capital Thursday, killing at crowdedmarket in Baghdad route, officialssaid as the Commander-in-Chief. least32people and wounding wasthe firstmajor suicide at- Thursday. Atotal of 22 Biden has vowed to take far dozens, officials said. tack in thecity in 3years. The workerswere trappedun- moreaggressivemeasuresto con- The rare suicide bombinghit Islamic Stategroup,which derground afteranexplo- tain the virusthan his predeces- theBabal-Sharqicommercialarea wasdrivenawayin2017from sionattheHushanminein sor,startingwithstringentadher- President Joe Biden,flanked by Vice PresidentKamala Harris and other officials,signs documentsinthe President’s Room at in central Baghdad amid height- allterritoryitheldinIraq, car- Qixia, amajor gold-pro- enceto publichealthguidance.He theUSCapitol afterthe Inauguration. AP enedpolitical tensions over riedout ablast in Baghdadin ducing region under the faces steep obstacles, withthe plannedearly elections and ase- 2018 that killed 27.For 3years administrationof Yantaiin virus actively spreading in most vere economic crisis. Blood was since then, it hadnot suc- Shandongprovince.Oneis states, slowprogressonvaccina- Clinton, Bush, splatteredonthepavementof the ceededincarrying out ama- confirmedtohavedied, tionandpoliticaluncertaintyover China strikesoptimistictone busymarketamidpilesofclothes jor attackinthe Iraqi capital. while 11 areknown to be howwilling congressional Obama record andshoes as survivors took stock But experts sayWednesday’s alive.Theremaining10 are Republicans will be to help him of the disarray in the aftermath. attack bearsthe marks of an missing.Rescuers were passa$1.9trillioneconomicrelief with Biden administration rare jointvideo No oneimmediatelytook re- IS strike, raising fears thatthis drillingnewshaftsto reach and Covidresponsepackage. sponsibilityfortheattack,butIraqi could signal are-activation of 10 of themen in the mid- Biden’stopmedicaladviseron Washington:Former US presi- militaryofficials said it wasthe the IS in the area. dle section of the mine, Covid-19, Dr AnthonyFauci, also Twitter locks dentsBillClinton,George WBush work of the IslamicState group. over 600metresfromthe announcedrenewed US support CATECADELL andBarackObamarecordedarare Iraq’s Health MinisterHassan entrance. REUTERS fortheWorldHealthOrganisation BEIJING,JANUARY21 Chinese accountofBeijing’s joint video through whichthey Mohammedal-Tamimi said at said the firstsuicide bomber afteritfaced blistering criticism govt spokes- embassy in US senttheir wishes to PresidentJoe least32people were killed and criedout loudly that he wasill in from the Trumpadministration, CHINASTRUCKanoptimistic person Hua Bidenwhilerootingforhissuccess 110werewoundedinthe attack. the middleofthe bustling mar- laying out newcommitmentsto tone towardsUSPresidentJoe Chunying Shanghai: Twitter haslockedthe in leading the countryout of the He said some of the wounded ket, prompting acrowd to gather RUSSIA tackle the coronavirus and other Biden’snew administrationon account of China’s US embassy challengesfacedbyit.Inthevideo, were in serious condition. Iraq’s around him —and that’s when Webfirmstoldto globalhealth issues. Fauci said Thursday,saying “kind angels can foratweet thatdefendedChina’s whichwas aired on Wednesday military previouslyput the num- he detonated his explosive belt. early Thursday that the US will triumph over evil forces” and forthe democratic islandthat policytowards Muslim Uighurs night,the three former com- berofdead at 28. The second detonated his belt stoppromoting jointheUNhealthagency’sefforts playing down early irritants as the Beijingclaims as partofChina. in Xinjiang,whichthe US social manders-in-chief also talked Maj. Gen. Tahsin al-Khafaji, shortlyafter,hesaid. to bring vaccines, therapeutics result of an atmospherepoisoned Also on Wednesday, the new media platform saidviolatedits about the significanceofapeace- spokesman forthe Joint “This is aterroristact perpe- Navalnyprotests anddiagnosticstopeopleinneed, by DonaldTrump’sterminoffice. Biden administration criticized stand against“dehumanising” ful transition of powerand Operations Command, whichin- trated by asleeper cell of the tominors whether in richorpoor countries “I believe if both countries China’smove to imposesanctions people. The Chinese Embassy ac- said the Inauguration signalled cludes an arrayofIraqi forces, Islamic State,” al-Khafajisaid. AP and willresume full funding and put in the effort,the kind angels on former Trumpadministration count, @ChineseEmbinUS, a“tradition of apeaceful transfer RUSSIA HAS asked social staffing supportfor WHO. can triumph over evil forces,” officialsincludingPompeoas“un- postedatweetthis monththat of powerthatisovertwo networks,includingvideo- The US mask order fortravel foreign ministryspokeswoman productive andcynical”. said that Uighur women had centuriesold”. PTI sharingappTikTok,tostop being implemented by Biden Hua Chunying said on Thursday. Asked about both, Hua de- been emancipated and were no At least 15 killedinfire at thespreadof postsencour- willapplytoairports and planes, Taiwan’s de factoambassa- fendedthe sanctions and reaf- longer “baby-making machines”, aging minors to take part ships, intercity buses, trains and dor to Washington attended firmedChina’s opposition to any citing astudy reportedbystate- Praise forBiden’s Ukraine nursing home in unsanctionedrallies on public transportation.Travellers Biden’s inauguration with an of- officialcontact between the backednewspaper ChinaDaily. Saturdayinsupportof from abroad mustfurnishaneg- ficial invitation, afirstthat indi- UnitedStatesandTaiwan.Shesaid The tweetwas then removedby speech written by jailedKremlincriticAlexei ativeCovid-19 test before de- catedthat the newpresident’s Chinawouldfightbackagainstany Twitter and replacedbyalabel Indian American REUTERS Navalny. Navalny, partingfor theUSand quaran- administration wouldcontinue movesthat undermine itssover- statingthat it wasnolonger KYIV,JANUARY21 PresidentVladimirPutin’s tine upon arrival. AP with Trump’s increasedsupport eignty or interests. REUTERS available. REUTERS Washington: US President Joe mostprominentcritic,was Biden’s inaugural speech, AT LEAST15peoplewerekilled detainedatthe weekend penned by VinayReddy,has re- and 11 injuredinafireina and later jailedfor alleged ceivedglowing tributes forits nursing home in the eastern parole violations afterfly- After oath, Harrishighlights ‘Americanaspiration’ emphasis on the importance of Ukrainian town of Kharkiv, the ing backtoRussia forthe democracy,unity and hope. Ukrainian stateemergency firsttimesince being poi- sworn in as the firstfemale, first and then we plant our flag on it. She also highlighted how Reddy —anIndian American service said on Thursday. sonedbyamilitarygrade LALITKJHA blackand firstAsian-American We arebold, fearless and ambi- Martin Luther King Jr fought for from Telangana —has been The fire brokeout in the af- Firefighters at the nursing nerve agent. He accuses WASHINGTON,JANUARY21 US vice president. The former tious. We areundaunted,inour racial and economic justice. praisedfor his “calming” and “in- ternoon on the second floor of home in theeastern Putin of orderinghis mur- senator wassworn in justbefore belief that we shall overcome, “In the middle of the civil spiring” words. the two-storeybuilding. There Ukrainian town of Kharkiv. der,something the INHERfirstremarksto thenation Biden took the oath of office to that we will rise up. This is rights movement, Dr King fought Michael Beschloss, apresi- were 33 people inside, the serv- Reuters Kremlindenies.REUTERS as US Vice President,Kamala become the 46th US President. Americanaspiration,” Harris said forracialjusticeandeconomicjus- dential historian, described ice said. Harrishashighlighted“American “In manyways this moment outside the Lincoln Memorial. tice.American aspiration is what Biden’s inaugural speechas The service publisheda USA aspiration” and underlinedthat embodiesour character as ana- She cited theaccomplish- drovethe women of this nation, “modest, austere, grave, calming, photo of the building with bars take charge of an inquiryinto 3dieinNational President Joe Biden has sum- tion. It demonstrates who we mentsofPresident Abraham throughout history,todemand cleansing” and “inspiring” in a on the windows of the first the incident. monedthepeopletolookbeyond are, even in dark times. We,not Lincolnduring the CivilWar,who equalrights,”Harrissaidaddress- tweet, while other commenta- floor.Smokecould be seen bil- The Ukrainian prosecutor Guardhelicopter crisis and aspire to unite. onlydream, we do. We notonly “sawabetterfutureand built it ing ‘Celebrating America’, a tors and media columnists said lowing out of broken windows general said authorities had Harris, 56, made history on seewhat has been, we see what with land grant colleges, and the primetime special that wrapped the President “gavethe speech of the second floor. launchedacriminal investigation crashinNY Wednesdaywhen she was can be.Weshootfor theMoon, transcontinentalrailroad”. up Inauguration Day. PTI the moment demanded”. PTI Ukraine’s President and the preliminarycause of the ANEW York Army Volodymyr Zelenskiy urgedthe tragedywas the“careless han- National GuardBlack interior ministertoopen and dling of electricheating devices”. Hawk helicopterona routine training mission crashedinarural area Lanka opens to tourists after 10 months south of Rochesteron Row after EU diplomats don’t get full status in UK Wednesdayevening, leaving three Guard Foreign Office wasrefusing to been granted astatus equivalent Under newprotocols to pre- surfaced. members dead, the au- REUTERS grant the same diplomatic sta- to that of diplomaticmissions of ASSOCIATEDPRESS vent the spread of Covid-19, Tourism is avital economic thorities said. It wasnot LONDON,JANUARY21 tus and privileges to EU ambas- states, and Britain waswell COLOMBO,JANUARY21 tourists must be tested forthe sector forSri Lanka,accounting immediatelyclear what sador Joao Vale de Almeidaand awareofthe fact. virus in their country72hours forabout 5% of itsgross domes- causedthe aircraft, aUH- BRITAIN IS resisting an EU de- his team as it givestoenvoys of “Granting reciprocaltreat- SRI LANKA reopenedtoforeign prior to their flight,when they tic product and employing 60 medical evacuation mand that it grant full diplo- countries, on the basis that the ment basedonthe Vienna tourists Thursdayafter anearly arrive at their hotelinSri Lanka 250,000 people directlyand up helicopter, to crash. matic status to thebloc’s ambas- EU is notanation state. Convention on Diplomatic 10-month pandemicclosure and again sevendays later.They to 3million indirectly. SheriffTodd K. Baxter of sador in London, causing arow João Vale de Almeida, EU’s The Foreign Office did not Relations is standardpractice be- that cut deeplyintothe Indian muststayina“travelbubble” SriLanka had fewerthan Monroe County said that between the recentlydivorced ambassador to London. AP immediatelyrespond to are- tween equal partnersand we are Ocean island nation’s lucrative designated in 14 tourism zones 4,000 cases of coronavirus in- people had called911 and parties thatspilledout intothe questfor comment. confident that we can clearthis travel industry. without mixing with the local fection until Octoberwhennew reportedseeing aheli- open on Thursday. The European Commission, issue with our friends in London Full operations also resumed population. clusters startedemerging.Asof copterflying very lowbe- Britain, an EU member for46 out of the bloc on Dec. 31,when the 27-member bloc’sexecutive in asatisfactorymanner,” said Thursdayatthe island’s twoin- The government closedthe Thursday, it has confirmed fore the crash. NYT years, voted to quit in 2016 and Brexit fullytook effect. body,said the EU’s 143delega- Peter Stano, the commission’s ternational airports,accommo- countrytotourists lastMarch morethan 55,000 cases with completedits tortuous journey The BBC reportedthat the tionsaroundthe worldhad all spokesman forforeign affairs. datingthe commercial flights. when an outbreak of the virus 274fatalities. Italian mafia crackdown THE LIST OF PROFESSIONS THAT RUSSIA BARS WOMEN FROM TAKING UP HAS BEEN SHORTENED nets centrist politician Russian women in driver’s seat as ban on some jobs lifted moretieswithbusiness and pol- CRISPIANBALMER itics,” said prosecutor Nicola ROME,JANUARY21 Gratteri, who lastweek launched from acollegethat trains public Constitutional Courtin2012, but one of Italy’s biggestmob trials. ANASTASIAADASHEVA transportation workers, Scores of professions women remainedbarredfrom ITALIAN POLICEarrested50peo- Among those placedunder MOSCOW,JANUARY21 Dorofeyevaeagerly awaitedthe still remain out of reach operating metrotrains. ple on Thursday andplaceda investigation wasLorenzo Cesa, startofthe year to become an “I understood that it would prominent centristpoliticianun- head of the small UDC party, MUSCOVITE SOFIADorofeyeva assistant train driver. forRussian women be alongprocess,” Klevets told derinvestigation in acrackdown who wasinthe national spot- had alwaysbeen drawntothe “All of us women who Reuters. “But of course Ididn’t on the ‘Ndrangheta mafia that light lastweek afterherejected trains travelling across the vast wanted to getthis job had been womentohaveaccesstoprofes- think it would take 10 years.” prosecutorssaylaysbareits efforts overtures from Prime Minister expanses of her native Russia waiting foraverylong time,” sionsdeemedtoo demanding or Klevetshas been pleasedto to laundercashandbuyinfluence. Giuseppe Contetojoin the rul- but until this year she and her said the 21-year-old,who for hazardous by the statebegan see her legal battlestirdebate, The ‘Ndrangheta is basedin ing coalition,whichhas lostits female compatriotshad been years had been sketching long before Dorofeyeva’s time. even though scores of profes- the southern region of Calabria, absolutemajority in Parliament. barredfromoccupying the dri- anime-likeillustrationsoftrains In 2009, Anna Klevets,astu- sions, including some that re- the toeofItaly’s boot, and has Gratteri said Cesa wassus- ver’s seat. and female conductors, fore- dent in St.Petersburg, re- quireexposuretoexplosivesand surpassedSicily’s morefamous pected of offering to procurecon- This month,Russiashort- shadowing her profession. spondedtoanadvertisement on chemicals,remainout of reach Cosa Nostra to become the most tractsforthe‘Ndranghetainreturn ened the listofjobs it bars “Atfirstwecouldn’t believe the metrocalling on men to ap- forRussianwomen. powerful mafia group in the forfavours.Cesa,whoisamember women from holding because of it, but then of coursewefelt plytobecome assistant metro “Everythingshould be avail- country—and one of the largest of theEuropeanParliamentrepre- their physical demands or haz- great joyaswell as asense of drivers. able” to women, Klevetssaid. crimegangs in the world. senting southern Italy, deniedthe ardous nature, allowing them to calm. Instead of fighting, we When her application was “Because awoman candecide “This investigation makes accusation, but said he would re- become metrodrivers, train could finallyjusttakethis job af- rejected because of her gender, on her ownwhat to chose, clearwhat we have been saying signasheadof theUDC“giventhis conductors and lorry drivers. terpassing our exams.” At arallytosupportwomen's rights in St Petersburg. Reuters file Klevets took her case to court. It wheretogo, whotobeand what fordecades. The‘Ndrangheta particularmoment our countryis Aftergraduating in 2020 The battle forRussian eventuallyreachedthe to do.” REUTERS shoots less and has moreand going through”. REUTERS

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Internationalmarket data till 1900IST SKILL DEVELOPMENT AMAZON HAS OPPOSED THE PROPOSED DEAL 2019 PRIVATISATION OF SIX AIRPORTS PROFESSIONAL COURSES Exchangesgivegoaheadto 32 bids received ‘Hybrid roles, the from 10 entities: new norm: IELTS, Future-RelianceRetaildeal AviationMin Azure, software itsassets or issueany securities ment from the Ministrynoted

ENSECONOMICBUREAU ED to secureany funding from are- ENSECONOMICBUREAU that both these agencieswere MUMBAI,JANUARY21 Approvalskey stricted party. NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 represented in theEGOS,where Sebi has cleared theFuture- theissues were deliberated.The testing in demand’ AIN fordealtobe AFTER MARKET regulator RIL deal with some riders. Sebi THE MINISTRYofCivil Aviation concession agreement forJaipur, Securitiesand ExchangeBoard PL completed has asked FutureGroup to said Thursdaythatthe 2019 pri- Guwahati andThiruvanan- of India (Sebi), stockexchanges specificallymention the litiga- vatisation of six airports — thapuramairports, the Ministry

EX E● MOSTSOUGHTAFTER have giventheir approval to tion pending before theDelhi Ahmedabad,Mangalore, said, wassignedonJanuary19, INDIASINGAPORE AUSTRALIA FutureRetail’s Rs 24,713 crore SEBI HAS also givenago-ahead to FutureGroup’s scheme High Court and arbitration pro- Lucknow, Jaipur,Guwahati and 2021and notSeptember 2020, MicrosoftAZ-900Storytelling MicrosoftAZ-900 deal to sell itsretail assets to of arrangement and sale of assets to RIL. Amazon had ceedings by Amazon contesting Thiruvananthapuram —was when the Letter of Awardfor Softwaretesting Design thinking API testing Reliance Retail, partof written to the Sebi asking the regulator to stop the deal, the deal to the shareholders and conductedina“competitive and these three airportshad been is- Reliance Industries Limited,with saying that the Futuregroup had violated certain agree- the NCLT. transparent” manner,with 32 suedbythe Airports Authority IELTS Business English MicrosoftTeams certain riders. ment with the US firm. The market regulator has also bids havingbeenreceived from of India. The BSE and the NSE, in their Approvals from the Sebi and bourses aremandatory directed FutureGroup to ensure 10 different entities during the The Indian Express replies: ing, storytelling,business separate reports,havestatedthat forthe deal to be completed. that suitable disclosureabout the bidding process. As stated in the news report, ENSECONOMICBUREAU English, listeningskills and the commentsonthe draft latestfinancials of the companies Responding to The Indian the objectionsraised by the DEA NEW DELHI,JANUARY21 personal productivity. scheme of arrangement are“sub- involvedin the scheme beingnot Express reporttitled“Finance and Niti Aayogwererecorded in In Australia, the topfive ject to the outcome of anyofthe morethansix months old are Ministry and Niti Aayoghad the minutes of the meeting of the COURSES PERTAININGto courses in demand were ongoing litigations/ arbitration/ made by Amazon.com NV also asked Futuretoensure made before filing the same with raisedred flags before Adani’s Public Private Partnership Microsoft’s cloud platform MicrosoftAzure’s AZ-900 legal proceedings involving the Investment Holdings LLC shareholders areinformedthat the NCLT. clean sweep of six airports”, pub- Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) Azure, software testing, course, API testing, draftschemeand/ or thedecision (Amazon), the submissions of 74.2 per centofthe business In August2019, Amazon had lishedonJanuary15, the Ministry dated December 11,2018and it English languagetestIELTS, MicrosoftTeams,Drawing by anycompetent authority/ FutureRetail Ltd and the counter value of the FutureEnterprises agreedtopurchase 49 per cent said thatthe assertion made in is these interventions were re- MicrosoftCertifications and and Google Cloud. competent courtinthis regard”. submissions of Amazon are Ltd, postamalgamation of all of one of Future’s unlistedfirms the articlewas “factuallyincor- producedinthe January15news e-mail etiquettes were the The reportadded that the Sebi has also givenago- brought to the notice of the share- the transferor companies, is —Future Coupons Ltd —with rect”. On the objections raisedby report. The reportdulyacknowl- mostsought afterprofes- slowbut steady shifttore- ahead to FutureGroup’s scheme holders of the listedentities in- getting transferred to Reliance the righttobuy into the flagship both Ministryof Finance and Niti edgedthe decisiontaken by the sional skills in India, accord- mote work over the lastfew of arrangement and sale of as- volvedinthe scheme while seek- Retail VenturesLtd and FutureRetail afteraperiod of 3 Aayogabout the bidding process, EGOS pertaining to the specific ing to the 2021Workplace years has already calledfor a sets to RIL. US-basedAmazon ing their approval. RelianceRetailand Fashion to 10 years. FutureCoupons the Ministrysaidthat an point flagged by the DEA about Learning Trends Reportpub- rangeofnew behaviours and had writtentothe Sebi asking Companiesinvolvedinthe Lifestyle Ltdand that these two holds7.3 percent equity in the EmpoweredGroup of Secretaries restricting the number of airports lishedbythe open online skills. But in 2020,leaders the regulatortostopthe deal, scheme areadvised that anyfu- companies would notbeseek- BSE-listedFuture Retail, which (EGOS) “took aconscious deci- to be awardedtothe same bid- course providerUdemy. across everyindustrywere saying that the Futuregroup had turedisputes, complaints, regula- ing listing postthe scheme of operates popular supermarket sion nottoput anyrestrictions on der,and those raisedbythe Niti The reportisbasedon forced to quicklyprioritise violated certain agreement with tory actions or proceedings, or arrangement. and hypermarketchains likeBig the number of airportstobebid Aayogabout stipulating prior ex- datafromthe global compa- solutions that enable en- the US firm. Approvals from the orders issuedtherein involving In October,the Singapore Bazaar,through convertible or to be awardedtoasingle en- perienceasone of the biddingre- niesusingthe Udemyfor tirelydistributed teamsto Sebi and boursesare mandatory the draftscheme, if any, shall be International Arbitration Centre warrants. tity” giventhatthe six airports quirements. The news reportalso Business platform and asur- collaborateeffectively. forthe deal to be completed. brought to thenotice of share- passedaninterim awardin Amazon had dragged Future handledonly9.5% of the passen- notedthe PPPAC’s response on veyofmorethan500 learn- “COVID-19has reallyac- The stockexchanges, in their holders prior to theapproval by favour of Amazonwithasingle- GrouptoarbitrationatSIAC, ar- gertraffic. On the issue of ignor- Niti Aayog’s objectionthat the ing and developmentpro- celerated the shiftfrom‘re- reports dated January20, have the National Company Law judge benchofVKRajah barring guing that Futureviolated its ing the recommendations of EGOS had already decidedonnot fessionals. mote-accessible’ to ‘remote- advisedFuture Group to ensure Tribunal (NCLT). FutureRetailLtd from taking any contract by entering intothe deal Department of Economic Affairs having prior airportexperience “In the spirit of agile proj- first’ thinking in that the details of the complaints The stockexchangeshave step to dispose of or encumber withrival Reliance. (DEA)and Niti Aayog, the state- as aprerequisitefor bidding. ect management,many collaboration design,” says technical teamsare moving Sprintkickfounder and employees away from single Udemyinstructor Evan domain expertise. Instead, Kimbrell. Collaboration was financialcrisisof2008-09andis RBI: Costofgreen bonds hybrid roles arebecoming amajor priority throughout ‘Lockdown boosts household stillgrowingandisgranularand the norm. Leaders areen- the APAC region, taking the broad-based,andnotconcentrated couraging employees to topspotfor year-over-year savings to 20-year high’ inthehandsoftherich build expertise in morethan growth in India, Singapore, issuancehigh in India one subjectrelatedtotheir and Indonesia. Household savings, whichhad been falling between 2014 THEBREAKDOWN: job function. The technical Professional skilldevel- and mid-2019,havescooped up $200billion in extrasavings, Bankdepositsand Green bonds constituted only skills related to this trend, opment platforms thatoffer a20-year high, amid thelockdown, as per aUBS report insurance/pensionsform14percent ENSECONOMICBUREAU Green bonds constituted 0.7percentof allthebondsissued likesoftwaretestingand in- courses and certifications eachofthetotalhouseholdsavings, MUMBAI,JANUARY21 0.7% of all bonds issued inIndiasince2018,andbanklend- frastructurearchitecture, online likeUdemyand 58% 32% CASHISKING: while19percentconstituteclaims ing to the non-conventional en- sawsizeable growth in coun- Courserahavebeeninhigh household Corporates Avastportionofthissavingsisin ongovernmentandawhopping135 THE COST of issuing green bonds in India since 2018 ergyconstitutedabout7.9percent tries across the APAC region demandinthe post-Covid savings cashonly,whichsoaredbya percentareinhardcurrency has generallyremainedhigher of outstandingbankcredit to the —includingover5,200per era. Indian startups offering whopping135percentduringthe than other bonds in India, largely than or equal to 10 years, the powersector, as of March2020, cent year-over-year growth higher education courses GROSS lockdownmonths Savings flowingintoequity due to asymmetric information, coupon rate was, howeverlower the RBI study said. CAPITAL in Japan,” the reportstated. have also attracted virtual FORMATION marketshavepickedup,but aReserveBank of India (RBI) than thecorporatebonds, it said. “Highborrowingcosthasbeen Compared to the skills eyeballs. Slowdown inspendingbythe remainlessthan5percentofthe study said. “The averagecoupon It maybementionedthat mostof perhapsthemostimportantchal- being sought in India, those Higher education edtech householdsthroughthelockdowns totalsavings.Butthis5percentis rate forgreen bonds issuedsince thegreenbondsinIndiaareissued lengeand our analysis indicates in demandindeveloped platform upGrad, forexam- hasresultedin$200billionextra muchhigherthantheFPIinflowsin 2015 with maturities between 5 by thepublicsectorunits17 orcor- that it could be duetothe asym- Asianeconomies like ple, sawits customer base netsavingsinfinancialassets, thepasttwoyearscombined, to 10 years have generallyre- porates with better financial metricinformation,”itsaid.There-

Singapore, Japan, South double to 1million between ` whichisasapercentageofGDPis whichjumped25percenton-year mainedhigherthan thecorporate health. “It is evident from the fact fore,developingabetterinforma- Koreaincludeddesign April and December 2020. closetothepeakseenpost-global in2020 Source: UBI/PTI and government bondswith sim- that the private sector issuers of tionmanagementsysteminIndia thinking, marketing strat- During 2019-20,the com- ilar tenure,” the reportongreen greenbonds,onaverage,reported mayhelp in reducingmaturity egy,informationsecurity, panyreportedRs230 crore Peaked in 2020: UBS’ real-time tracker shows that the overall quantum of savings has been rising since bonds said. lowerdebt-to-assets ratiocom- mismatches,borrowingcostsand leadership, machinelearn- in revenues. mid-2019 and surged in 2020 (peaked in June 2020 but still running higher than pre-pandemic level) FortheUSdollar-denominated pared to the non-issuers of green leadtoefficientresourceallocation green bonds with tenureofmore bond,” the RBI reportsaid. in this segment,the study said. BRIEFLY CRUDE &NATURAL GAS ZydusCadila starts RBI withdraws ‘Fintechs seespike in ComMinforduty Covid, lack of key 3circulars on onChinachemical enrolment for late excess pension delinquent accounts’ NewDelhi: The Commerce infra, lower offtake Ministryrecommendedim- recovery ENSECONOMICBUREAU At 43%,fintechs had 8 posinganti-dumping duty stage vaccinetrial MUMBAI,JANUARY21 times moredelinquent onChinesechemical‘Aniline’. hurt outputinDec ENSECONOMICBUREAU WITH Ahugespikeindelinquent accounts than private lowercrude output. PRABHARAGHAVAN TRIALSITES MUMBAI,JANUARY21 accountspostthe pandemic, fin- banksfor whom the BandhanBank ENSECONOMICBUREAU ONGC’scrudeproductionwas NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 techshaveseenasharpdeteriora- comparable figurewas Q3profitfalls NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 down 2.75per cent, compared to ■ Thetrials are THERESERVEBankofIndia (RBI) tion in theirportfolios. At 43 per the year-agoperiod, while output LATESTAGEhumantrialsof Zydus expectedto take place on Thursdaywithdrew threecir- cent, fintechs had eight times 5% forAugust,2020, NewDelhi:BandhanBankon INDIA’SCRUDEoilandnaturalgas by privatesectorplayerswasdown Cadila’sthree-dose Covid-19vac- at five sites across four culars on recovery of excess pay- moredelinquent accountsthan TransUnion Cibil said Thursday reported13.5per productionfellby 3.6percentand 11.6 per cent, compared to cine begun in the countrythis cities —Surat, Nashik, mentsmade to pensioners as the private banksfor whom the com- cent fall in netprofitatRs 7.1per cent, respectively,in December 2019. week,with the enrolmentand Jaipur and Ahmedabad. documentsdidn’t followguide- parable figurewas 5per cent for 632.6 crorefor thirdquarter December on the backoflower Naturalgasproductionduring vaccinationof participantsunder- lines and courtorders. August2020,TransUnionCibilsaid of income,whilealsoleveragingli- endedDecember 31,2020. production by state-ownedOil the month was2,424.9 million way, The Indian Express has learnt. In acircular issuedonMarch in ajoint reportwith the Digital ability base to acquirepersonal and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd metric standardcubic meters This putsthe Ahmedabad-head- ulatoryauthorities of theplace 17,2016, the RBI had said as soon Lenders’ Association of India . loans. “Atthe same time, fintechs andprivate sectorplayers,accord- (MMSCM),compared 2,610.4 quarteredcompanyright behind wherethe clinical trials will take as theexcess paymentmade to a Thereisaneedfor fintechs to have onboarded consumers with PwCIndiatax ing to thegovernment datare- MMSCM in December 2019, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in the place, following whichclearance pensioner comes to thenotice of place greater focus on collections lowcreditscoresand leveraged suggestion leasedonThursday. whichwasimpactedbyloweroff- pipelineof vaccinesthatthecoun- is giventoenrol and vaccinate the paying branch, the branch in light of heighteneddelinquen- morealternativedata.” India’s total crude oil produc- takeof naturalgasfromcustomers trymay be adding to itsarsenal participants. shouldadjustthesameagainstthe cies and ariskier customer base, Theriseindelinquentaccounts NewDelhi: The government tion in December stood at 2,556.7 aswellasdelays inoperationalisa- againstthevirusthathaskilled1.5 Queriessentto ZydusCadilaon amount standing to the credit of saidthereport.“Comparedto peer callsfor acloser look at portfolios could look at providing de- ThousandMetric Tonnes (TMT), tion of newgas discoveries due to lakh and infected over acrore. Wednesdayremainedunan- the pensioner’saccountto theex- members, the hugevolumes and emphasises the needfor bet- ductions forexpenses in- down 3.6 per cent from produc- Covid-19. Crude oil processing in “Enrolmentbegan (atsome of sweredby presstimeonThursday. tent possible including lumpsum sourcedbyfintechs were largely tercollectionstrategies,thereport curredbysalariedemploy- tionof 2,650.8TMTintheyear-ago December wasup0.9 per cent, the sites) this week,” said aper- The trials areexpected to take arrears payment. small-ticketloansandfromriskier said.Inthecurrentsituation,asthe ees while working from period.ONGCreportedthatlackof comparedtothe year-agoperiod, son close to thedevelopment on place at five sites across four cities If the entireamount of over segments,”thereportsaid,adding moratoriumhasended,morecon- home in the upcoming availability of keyinfrastructure, with Indian refinersprocessing condition of anonymity. —Surat, Nashik,Jaipur and paymentcannotbeadjustedfrom that in contrast, bankshavegen- sumers will enter delinquency Budget as it lookstoboost includingmobileportableoffshore 21,024.4 TMT of crude in Accordingto another,someother Ahmedabad, according to infor- the account, the pensioner would erallybeenlending to consumers buckets andmakethe collection demand,PwCIndiasaid.PTI unitsand implications of the December,compared to 20,829.8 trialsites arestillinthe processof mation from the ClinicalTrials beaskedto payforthwiththe bal- in primeand above risktiers and process even morechallenging, Covid-19pandemic, had ledto TMT in the year agoperiod. siteinspections —acheckbyreg- RegistryofIndia. ance amount of over payment. those with arelativelystable flow the report said. FE ECBstaysputbut warnsaboutCovid Govt planningtoopen up coal Frankfurt: TheECB warned FRAMEWORK UNDER WHICH US TECH GIANT WILL PAY FOR CONTENT ONLINE therecentsurgeininfections posedarisktoeurozone’sre- marketing to streamline process covery and reaffirmedits Google inksdeal withFrench news publishers pledgetokeepborrowingco- COALINDIA’SSHARE previousfiscal.CoalIndiaaccounts stsatrecordlows. REUTERS Alphabet-ownedGoogle and NewsShowcase, is another new ENSECONOMICBUREAU forover80per cent of domestic REUTERS LICENSINGDEALS the Alliance de la presse d’infor- productithasdevelopedwhichal- NEWDELHI,JANUARY21 production. “It’s about time that MorganStanley, PARIS,JANUARY21 mation générale (APIG) said in a lows publishers to curate their 80% coalmarketingwasopenedup.All ■ The move pavesthe statementthe framework in- owncontentonline.Itissofaronly THEGOVERNMENTisconsidering theknots,whichhavetiedupcoal LEAPIndiadeal GOOGLEANDaFrenchpublishers’ wayfor individual cludedcriteria suchasthe daily available in Braziland Germany. opening up coal marketing, Coal linkages,PPAs, FSAs and bidding lobbysaid on Thursdaytheyhad licensingagreements for volume of publications, monthly Google and APIGdid notsay SecretaryAnil Kumar Jain said on ■India producedabout 729 have to be openedup,” said the NewDelhi: MorganStanley agreedacopyrightframework un- Frenchpublications. internettrafficand “contribution howmuchmoneycould be dis- Thursday. Currently, productionby million tonnes of coal and secretary, addingthefreeingupof andLEAP(LeadingEnterprise der whichthe US tech giant will to political andgeneral informa- tributed to APIG’s members, who Coal India is allocated through a importedabout 248million coal marketing would give an as- in AdvancedPooling) have paynews publishers forcontent tion”.Googlehassofaronlysigned include mostFrenchnational and number of different methods,in- tonnes lastfiscal. Coal India suranceto buyersthattheywillbe announcedthat Morgan online, in afirstfor Europe. declines in print circulation. licensing agreementswith afew local publishers. And detailson cludingmultiplesector-basedauc- accountsfor over 80 per cent ableto gettheproduct,if theywant StanleyIndiaInfrastructure Themove pavesthewayforin- The deal, whichaims to pro- publications in France, including howthe remuneration would be tions and coal linkages basedon of domestic production. it, without havingtogothrough has madeaninvestment of dividual licensing agreementsfor videasustainablewaytopay pub- national daily newspapers Le calculated were notdisclosed. recommendationsbythe Union multiple processes. Rs180croretoacquireastake Frenchpublications, some of lishers, is likelytobeclosely Monde and Le Figaro. Thedealfollowsmonthsofbar- government, andFuel Supply Thegovernment,inJune2020, in LEAP. ENS whichhaveseenrevenues drop watchedbyplatforms such as Google’s vehicle forpaying gaining between Google, French Agreements(FSAs). lion tonnesofcoal and imported openedupcoal mining forcom- with the rise of the Internet and Facebook,alawyersaid. news publishers, calledGoogle publishers and news agencies. Indiaproducedabout729mil- about 248million tonnes in the mercial use. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,JANUARY22,2021 CITY’S AGUERO TESTS POSITIVE

Manchester Citystriker Sergio Aguero has tested positive forthe coronavirus, saying Thursdayhehas 14 experienced some symptoms. TheArgentine had alreadybeen self-isolating after being identified as a SPORT close contactofsomeone infected."I had some symptoms and I'm following doctor's ordersfor recovery. Take care,everyone," Aguero wrote on Twitter. AP

Stokes, Archer to return for Heroes come home India tour India’s heroes from Australia return to arousing welcome from families, friends and neighbours

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA SHAMIKCHAKRABARTY The Indian team’s Mumbai- LONDON,JANUARY21 JANUARY21 basedcricketers have been Explosive all-rounder Ben Stokes and pacer ‘AJINKYA AALAre, aala (Ajinkyaishere)...’ peo- granted ‘special exemption’ JofraArcher on Thursdayreturnedtoa16- ple sang. It didn’t have the grandeur of from the mandatory14-day member England squad namedfor the first Shammi Kapoor’s ‘Govinda aala re,aala’, but twoTests of the upcoming four-matchseries to paraphrase AjinkyaRahane’s former quarantine rule afterreturning againstIndia. Mumbai Ranji team mateVinayakSamant, from overseas. TheEnglandselectorsalsonamedsixtrav- the people in and around W-54 housing com- ellingreservesforthefirstandsecondmatches, plexinMatungarevelledintheir Amol to be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium Palekar-likedown-to-earth affinity.India’s Siraj told reporters, adding: “The umpires of- in Chennai from February5. (stand-in) captain-fantastic returnedhome feredustoleave thegamebutRahanebhaisaid BothStokesandArchermissedtheongoing on Thursdaymorning, and his neighbours we won’t leave the game. ‘Wedid no mistake, two-matchTestseries in Sri Lanka as partof and fans rolledout the redcarpet. so we will play’. The abuses whichIfacedin England'spolicyto rest theirall-formatplayers, Rahane has been playing Test cricket since Australia made me mentallystronger.Ididn’t while Rory Burns wasathome forthe birth of 2013.Never before in his lifehad he returned letthem affect my game.” India lodged an of- his firstchild. home from an overseas tour to suchahero’s ficial complaint with ICC matchreferee David The team will continue to be ledbyJoe welcome. Then again, neverbeforeinthe his- Boon and Cricket Australia offeredanunre- Root.Surrey'sOlliePopewilltravelto Indiaand toryof Indian cricket had the Gabbatoir been served apology forthe incidents. will be addedtothe squad when passedfit. breachedand adepletedIndia bouncedback Popeisrecoveringfromashoulderinjurysus- so spectacularly to conquer Australia in their Natarajan rides achariot tainedinSeptember during the Test series ownbackyard. As the captain, Rahane DownsouthinSalem,TNatarajanwasput againstPakistan. All-rounder Moeen Ali, who presidedoverthe turnaround. on achariot, as hundredsgathered on the wastheonlycricketerto returnCOVID-19pos- The Mumbai contingent in the Indian streetstocelebrateone of the mostheart- itive onarrivalinSriLanka,hasfullyrecovered team –Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Shardul warming stories in Indian cricket.For some- and wasincludedinthe team. Thakur,Prithvi Shawand head coachRavi one from Chinnappampatti, avillage36kilo- The national selectors have providedrest Shastri –landedinthe Maximum City in the metres offSalem in Tamil Nadu, it’s been a to Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Curranand Mark morning. The Mumbai Cricket Association fairy-taleriseforthe29-year-old.Hishardship Wood. The three players, who arecurrentlyin (MCA) officials were present to receive them as achild and teenager and howwithout his Sri Lanka, were on Thursdaynamedinthe at the airport. Acakewas cut thereitself to exceptionalcricket skills,hecouldhave ended playing XI forthe second Test againstthe is- celebratethe achievement. up as aweaverlikehis father have been well landers but will head home afterthat. At the housing complexinMatunga, documented.Natarajan went to Australia as a "Thisisconsistent with the selection pol- whereRahane lives, his fellowresidentshad netbowler,made aseamless progression to icy of finding ablockofrestfor all multi-for- organisedaspecial reception. The man of the white-ball internationals and returnedhome mat players at some point during post- moment didn’t forget to wear amask.Heheld as aTestcricketer afterplaying at the Gabba. Christmas winter schedule," the England and his two-year-old daughter Aaryaand wasac- His team matefromTamil Nadu, Washington Wales Cricket Board(ECB) said in arelease. companiedbywifeRadhika. Rose petals were Sundar,would be latetocheckin, scheduled InWood'sabsence,OllyStonehasbeenre- showeredonthe boy-next-door hero, while to return home in the early hours on Friday. tainedinthe squad to provide captain Root the sound of dhols filledthe air. with asecond genuine pace option after At the ground floor of his apartment, a Quarantine relaxation Archer.WithArcherandStokesreturning,and special boarddisplayedRahane’s Test record Meanwhile, the Indian team’s Mumbai- subject to fitness of the rest of the squad, as captain –four wins and adrawinfive (Captions clockwise from top) Frenzy awaited India fast bowler TNatarajan when basedcricketershave beengranted‘specialex- Somerset'sCraigOvertonwillreturnhomeaf- Tests, and three Test series victories. The 32- he returnedtohis villageChinnappampatti, south of Salem. Aspecial procession emption’fromthemandatory14-dayquaran- terthe Sri Lanka series. year-old stood in front of the specially-de- wasalso arranged from the bus stop to his house; India Test skipper Ajinkya tine rule afterreturning from overseas. The Thefast bowlingdepartmentwillbespear- signedboard, as camerashutters went into Rahane arrivesatthe Mumbai airportwith coachRaviShastri on Thursday; stipulationincludesaseven-dayquarantinein headedbyveteran James Anderson in the overdrive. Cheteshwar Pujarawith his family. ahotelprovidedthein-boundpassengerstest companyofhis seasonedteammateStuart Three years ago, Rahane wasdropped negative at the airport. Broad, Archer and Chris Woakes. from the Test XI in South Africa despitehav- But the home Test series againstEngland English players travelling from Sri Lanka ing the best overseas batting averageinthe ‘Wewill play’ is commencing on February5and the players will flytoChennai on acharterflight afterthe group at that time. Cricket is agreat leveller. Upon his arrivalinHyderabad, turn home, but Siraj chose to stay and ended matchofficials had allowedthe Indian team will have to reportinChennai on January27. conclusion of the second Test in Galle. About 100kilometres away,firecrackers MohammedSiraj headedstraight to his fa- upbeingthemostsuccessfulIndianbowlerin the liberty to leave the game following the in- Afteraboutsixmonthsinvariousbio-bubbles, AfterChennai, the action will shiftto greetedShardul Thakur’s homecoming at ther’s gravefromthe airport. Siraj’s father, theTest series–13wicketsfromthreematches. cident, but Rahane turneddownthe offer. fortheIndianPremierLeagueandinAustralia, Ahmedabad's Motera,currentlythe largest Palghar.Thakur’s sevenwicketsand 67 runs MohammedGhouse, breathedhis laston In Sydney, he and Jasprit Bumrah were al- “I facedabuses in Australia. The case is go- theywillenteranotherbubbleforthenextse- cricket stadiumintheworldwithacapacityof in the firstinnings in Brisbane proved to be November 20. The Indian team management legedly raciallyabusedbysomefans.Duringa ingon,let’sseewhetherIget justiceornot.My ries.Familytimewouldbeshort,butthat’show 110,000. game-changing. gave the option to the 26-year-old pacer to re- pressconferencelaterintheday, Siraj saidthat job wastoreportthe incident to the captain,” it is in aCovid-affected world. SHARDUL THAKUR INTERVIEW Satwik-Ashwini put up aflawless ‘We knew Australia hadn’t rested their show in Thailand

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA bowlers and they could be getting tired’ BANGKOK,JANUARY21 THE MIXED doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa made it It's very tough. Everyone can't gettheir Iwas abit nervous in the firstinnings be- to the quarterfinals of the Toyota Thailand DEVENDRAPANDEY familyonthe foreign tour.Ilefthome on cause Iwas playing aTestmatchafter agap Open with astunning 22-20 14-2121-16win MUMBAI,JANUARY 21 August19for IPL and from therewewent to of twoyears. My firstTestmatchlastedfor over worldno. 17 German duo of Mark Australia. It wasone of the longesttours and tenballs, it wasthe second Test matchbut Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrichinamatchthat THE FLIGHT from Brisbane to Dubai to due to the bio bubble we can't go out. We it wasasgood as the debut game. In the last lastedclose to an hour.Satwiksairaj also Mumbai suddenlyseemedlonger for were totallydisconnected with the outside three years, Ihaven't playedmanyfirstclass paired up with Chirag Shetty in the men's Shardul Thakur.Pride in winning the Test world. The onlysource of information was games. Iwas moreconcernedabout my doublestonotch up an upset21-1823-21 series in Australia jostledwith desperation social media. Manyhotels didn't have abal- rhythm but with wicketscoming, Igained win over seventh seeds Korean combination to finallygohome. It had been five months cony, so we didn't getfresh air fordays. some confidence. In the second innings I of Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae. since he'd seen his parents, the longesthe Staying in ahotel wasachallengebut at the said if Ican getwicketsinfirst, whynot in "Weserved and receivedpretty well, that had been away from home. same time we were lucky to playcricket in second. Iwas high on confidence. made the difference forus. Overall, we are Cricket during Covid-19had throwna times of Covid. Did youget carriedawaywhile bowl- getting backtothe waywewereplaying in newchallengeatcricketers. Reaching home ing to Cummins, youkeptbowling him 2019," said Chirag. at Palghar,Thakur spoketoThe Indian Didn't youget frustrated,wasn't the bouncers? Satwik said he was"very happywith the Express abouthis crucial67runs in the first waiting game taking atoll on your We knewinthe second innings that their performance." "Wewant to playour game. innings at Gabba, and the 7-wkt matchhaul. mind? lowerorder would trygetting quickruns. We want to be our best on the day. We were Idid, tell me who wantstosit out but at The boundaries arebig, so it wasaplan that lacking in service and returns in our last EXCERPTS: the end of the dayonly11can play. Ihavesat if Cummins goes to pull, thereisachance for match. We didn't want to makethe same out before fortwo series and waited too. I'm acatch. mistakesinthis match," he said. Has the win sunk in? human and Idoget demotivated. Ilook out Prannoy, however, failedtocross the sec- No,weare still on ahigh. It's abig victory formymotivation. Be it carrying drinksor Howdid the dressing room react to your ond round hurdle, going down 17-2118-21to forus. Everyone is talking about it from the cheering, Ikeptbusy in these activities. batting, Ashwin compared your strokes Malaysia's Daren Liew, aday afterbattling stadium to the airport, till Ireachedhome, I to VivRichards? through pain to upstage Asian Games cham- wasonlyhearing praises. Beating Australia Youhad aterrible Test debut in 2018 He said jokingly,hecame and said that pion Jonatan Christie in agruelling three- and winning agame at Gabba wassospe- whichlastedten balls? Did it ever cross afteralong time he sawabowler,hitting such game match. cial. It wasayoung team and everyone put your mind? agreat coverdrive.Heappreciated it, many Also bowing out of the competition their hands up and delivered. Be it bowling Formeitwasabaglamauka kab knewIcould bat, so it wasnot surprising. were MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila afterlos- or batting, somebody stood up, it wasacol- aayega?That wait between twoTests has ing 9-2111-21toEnglish pair of Ben Lane lective effort. changed me as aperson. Thereweretwo op- Howdid youcounter sledging? and Sean Vendy. tions, either Icrib and say, yaar yehagla Theydid, but Ididn't listentothem. They Did it ever cross your mind that the last India all-rounder Shardul Thakur’s mother receiveshim at their residence in mauka kab aayega or justgothereand keep wantedto disturb my concentration but Ijust Big guns fire Test could be slipping away from the Palghar,Maharashtra, on Thursday. Express working. Keep working wasthe onlyoption. ignored them. The onlytime Icouldn't un- Indian shuttlers PVSindhu and Sameer team? My father is afarmer and all our lifeweare derstand Australia players waswhen they Verma stormedintothe quarterfinals of Never. We all went forawin. As the game taught to keep trying. Keep working hard, passedahumorous comment, it's hardtopick the Toyota Thailand Open afterregistering got closer and closer we knewwewould pull could sense that theyweregetting tired.The specialists regularly in the Indian team nets, keep pushing. Agar ek saal kheti kharaab ho whether it wasjustacomment, or sarcasm. straight-game wins but HS Prannoy it off. Ithink the onlytime we all had adoubt moretheygot tired the easier it would get. so am usedtoplaying pace. jayega iska matlab yehnahi ke next time I bowedout of Super 1000 tournament here wasinthe firstinnings when we had lostsix And it happened, their bowlers did gettired. won't do farming. Same is in cricket,Iwill What did youmiss mostmostinfive on Tuesday. wicketsfor some 180runs. When Iand We had to justapplyour mind and backour Being atailender,you looked so again try. months? Howdid your familyreact? Olympic silvermedallistSindhu expect- Washington Sundar batted and crossedthe instincts. comfortable in your batting? Imissedmyfamily, my home cooked edly outclassedMalaysia's worldno. 92 300run-mark, we both sawthe scoreboard Since school days Iusedtoplayasanall- Did youspeak to anyone during this food, my bed.When Icame todaymy Kisona Selvaduray 21-1021-12inalop- and felt the lead wasnot that big. We can Youlooked in total control in your rounder.Ialways enjoyedbatting and Ial- long gapbetween twogames? mother said ki kitna patlaa ho gaya hai tu. sidedsecond-round contestthat lastedjust pull this game offinsecond innings if we get batting? ways want to showcase my talent with the IspoketoRavi bhai (Shastri) one day. I Khane ko nahi miltatha kya? It's aline which 35 minutes. She will face either Thailand's them out sooner. Itold myself that if Ican hang around for bat. Imight bat lowerdownthe order but asked him that sometimes Iget onlyone anymother says.The daythe series ended, Ratchanok Inthanon or Korea's Sung Ji twohours, Ihaveall the shots to play. Ial- my mind workslikeabatsman. game per series, Ialways feel pressureon Iwas justhoping that Iwill reachhome soon. Hyun next. When youwalked out to bat what was ways enjoyplaying fast bowlers, Ihavenever me when Iplay. What should Ido? He Suddenlythe flight seemedverylong, the Worldno. 31 Sameer also continuedhis running through your mind? been scared of speed. Am notscared to face Did youknowyou will playthe fourth replied, if yousee this opportunity as pres- drive home took very long too. Ijustwanted impressive run, stunning worldno. 17 Our batting coachVikram Rathour came even 145kmphplus. Maybeit's because of Test? sure, then Iwill certainlyfeel pressureinmy to reachhome ASAP. Rasmus Gemke21-1221-9 in just39min- and said playthe ball as per merit, don't play howmycricketing career started. We have Therewas confusion due to alot of in- game. But if youfeel that youwant to win, utes forhis thirdvictoryoverthe Danish anysillyshot. Itold Sundar that let's hang aground in my villagewheremyfirstfew juries in the team. Iwas told to be prepared then exceptthe game pressure, therewon't What has been moretough foryou, player. The Indian, who had shocked around because their bowlers were getting years of cricket were playedonmatting but it wasonthe dayofthe game before the be anyadd-on pressure. getting aseat on the crowdedDahanu Malaysia's eighth seedLee Zii Jia in the open- tired.Australia hadn't givenresttoany of wickets. The pitchinPalghar had uneven toss Iwas told that Iwill be playing. shuttle,orfacing Australia attack? ing round, will face thirdseedAnders their seamers in the entireTestseries, it was bounce, so handling bounce came naturally Youmustbepleasedwith your Getting aseat in atrain, it requiredskill and Antonsen of Denmark, who receiveda the same bowling attackplaying and we to me. At the same time Ifacedthrowdown Howtough is lifeinabubble? bowling? Took sevenwicketsinagame? timing. Facing fast bowlers is mucheasier. walkover,inthe quarterfinals.

R.N.I. No.WBENG/2005/20789 VOL. XVI No.260 Printed by V.Srinivasan and PublishedbyV.Srinivasan on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Ltd and Printed at Saraswati Print FactoryPvt.Ltd, 789, Chowbhaga(West), Kolkata-700105and PublishedatThe Indian Express (P) Ltd JL No.29 &30, N.H.-6, Mouza -Prasastha & Ankurhati, P.O. -Salap, P.S.-Domjur,Howrah-711 409. Ph: (033)66043800Fax: (033) 66043825 &66043847.Chairman of the Board:ViveckGoenka, Chief Editor :Raj Kamal Jha, Editor :Unni Rajen Shanker,Editor (Kolkata): Rakesh Sinha* (*Responsible forselection of news under 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 ®

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