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THE EDITORIAL PAGE HIGHSPENDSCHEMES LIKELY BUDGET:INDIA’S NEWDEALMOMENT Govtlooksat BY SAJJID ZCHINOY PAGE 7 ‘expenditure’

EXPERT EXPLAINS budgettoaid Siraj Hussain FromTheIndianExpresspanel ofspecialists,exclusiveinsight highergrowth ISSUESIN Healthcare,infrastructure, housing INDIAN Protesters walked through the fields to reachthe venue of the ‘kisan panchayat’ at Kaimla villageinKarnaldistrict of Haryana on Sunday. Jasbir Malhi AGRICULTURE sectors identifiedfor higher spending The protest by farmers PVAIDYANATHANIYER BUDGET ’21 has brought to focus a Protesters disruptBJP eventin Khattar hitsback:only NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 range of issues in agriculture in India. One WITH THE UPTICKinthe econ- Karnal, force CM to cancel visit amendments,Govt omybetterthan what most of the country’s leading economists estimated posteas- policy experts provides a ing of lockdown restrictions, the primer on key questions. that severalpersons suffered in- governmentisholding meetings won’t repeal farmlaws Union Finance Ministryisofthe SUKHBIRSIWACH juries duringthe confrontation. with farmer leaders while the viewthat higher spending at this EXPLAINED KAIMLAVILLAGE(KARNAL), On Monday, the Supreme BJP is holding functions to mo- stageofrecovery —ratherthan COUNTDOWN PAGE 5 JANUARY10 Courtisscheduledtohear a bilise support in favour of anti- VARINDERBHATIA earlier —will give abiggerpush clutchofpetitions related to the farmer laws”. CHANDIGARH,JANUARY10 to growth. IN&OUTOFCOVIDSHADOW AROUND 1,000farmprotesters laws,with talksbetween the OnSunday, despite the police Haryana CM According to sources, the stormedthe venue of ahigh-pro- Centreand farmer unions failing launching amild lathicharge,us- FORCED TO scrap his visit to Manohar Lal Prime Minister’s Economic

file “kisan panchayat” organised to make anyheadway despite ing watercannons and tear gas, Karnal Sundayafterfarm protest- Khattar AdvisoryCouncil, Niti Aayogand ED Soonafter by the ruling BJPinHaryana protesters camping on Delhi's and setting up sevencheckpoints, ers took over the venue, Haryana the Chief Economic Advisor’s of- Spend Sunday, forcing Chief Minister outskirts foroveramonth. the protesters managed to reach Chief MinisterManohar Lal fice, have pushedfor an expan- morewhen bail, police Manohar Lal Khattar to cancelhis The panchayatinKaimla, or- the venue through wheat fields Khattar accusedOpposition par- to thevenue of aBJP “kisan pan- sionarybudget to reinforce the E ● growthlow visit to thesiteonthe outskirts of ganisedbylocal BJP MLA surrounding the area. Theytook tiesandstateBKU leaderGurnam chayat” in Karnal's Kaimla village nascent recovery.All have advo- EXPLAIN Kaimla village in Karnal district. Harvinder Kalyan, waspartof over the site, and damaged the Singh Chadhuni of incitingpeo- wascancelled, Khattar said: “The cated the Keynes mantrato pickupPara The incident also sawclashes the party's plan to hold such stageand atemporaryhelipadset ple to disruptlaw and order,and Government is notgoing to re- Finance MinisterNirmala AFISCAL stimulus in between supporters of the BJP meetings to mobilise supportfor up forKhattar's arrival. insistedthat the Centrewill not peal these laws.Itiscertain. Even Sitharamanduringpre-Budget 2021-22 will be mostef- in another event and opponentsofthe the laws.However, the protest- Haryana BKU president repeal itsnew agriculturelaws. if stategovernmentsare to be ex- consultations. fective to spur growth, Centre's newagriculturelaws, ers had warnedthat theywould Gurnam Singh Chadhuni later Addressing apress confer- empted, therewill onlybe British economistJohn particularly with many with leaders on both sides saying blockthe event as “the central CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ence in Chandigarh afterhis visit CONTINUEDONPAGE2 MaynardKeynes had argued parts of the economy terror case that free markets cannotbere- showing clearsigns of a liedupon to fuel GDP growth nascent recovery.Having when thereisarecession, of the preserved itsspending ARUNSHARMA Racism stops play in Sydney as India kindIndia and the world, has power, the government JAMMU,JANUARY10 witnessedin2020 following the plans to spend morein Covid-19pandemic. In 2020, sectors suchashealth- SOONAFTER he wasgranted bail draw hard line on abuse from stands consumer confidence hit anew care, housing and con- by theNIAcourtinacaseof terror low, and theyavoideddiscre- struction-heavy infra- funding,PDP youth wing leader tionaryspending; this ledtoa structure, which Waheed-ur-RehmanPara wasde- Indian pacers JaspritBumrah demand collapse, forcing firms positively impact many tainedagain forquestioning in a MIHIRVASAVDA& and MohammedSiraj said racist to stop investing. In depressing industries. separateterror-relatedcase. SRIRAMVEERA commentsweredirected at CONTINUEDONPAGE2 The Counter Intelligence NEWDELHI,MUMBAI,JAN10 them as theyfieldedonthe wing of Jammu and Kashmir boundaryline. “Wehad decided Police detainedParaimmedi- RACISM STOPPED playatthe Saturdayevening that if some- atelyafter his release from SydneyCricketGround Sunday. thing likethis happens again, we District Jail, Ambphalla, on In line with the recent global will immediately identify them,” Saturdayevening. trend, wheresportspersonsare an Indian team management of- ‘Our cultureis “Wehad receivedamessage starting to draw the line be- ficial told The Indian Express. different.They from Counter tween banter and racistabuse On Sunday, Day4of the Test, (BJP) can’tcreate Intelligence from the stands, the Indian as Bumrah wasabout to start fear of other Kashmir(CIK) cricket team put their foot down running in during the 86th over religions here. to collect Para and ensured that the Test against of Australia’s secondinnings, Siraj It won’tworkin from jail as he AustraliainSydneywas halted walked up to stand-incaptain waswanted for10minutes Sundaytill a AjinkyaRahane, and umpires TN polls’ by themfor group of unrulyspectators were Police remove agroup of spectators afterMohammedSiraj PaulReiffeland PaulWilson. KANIMOZHI questioning in evicted. complainedtoumpires, duringthe India-Australia Test The 26-year-old debutant LOK SABHA MP, DMK connection The break in playfollowedan matchinSydneyonSunday. Reuters from Hyderabad said that a PAGE 8 WaheedPara with FIR No. incident on Saturdaywhen CONTINUEDONPAGE2 31 registered with them in Srinagar,” asenior jail official said. The official expressedigno- Lookingfor lithium Covid curve doesn’t bend in Kerala MaharashtraChief MinisterUddhavThackeray visitsthe rance about the details the FIR. BhandaraDistrict General Hospital on Sunday. PTI While the police's counter intel- ligence wing remainedsilent, toehold, India finds a but why state isn’t overly worried yet sources said the FIR pertains to a the funding of terror. that have threetofivetimes Explosioninradiant “It is an open FIR and deposit in Karnataka AMITABHSINHA P4 fewercases. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 &LIZMATHEW The stategovernmentsays of Karnataka’s Mandyadistrict. PUNE,NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 that unlike many otherplaces, warmer likely started ANILSASI Agovernment official said Kerala had managed to avoida WORLD NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 the AMD is carrying out surface IN THE lastfour months, Kerala “sudden peak”, and that hasen- and sub-surface exploration for has recordedmorethan7lakh suredfewer deaths. Bhandarahospitalfire ALONGSIDE Amove to tapinto lithium in potential geological coronavirusinfections,morethan “In other states, the cases the global lithium value chain, domains of the country. Thefind anyother stateinIndia. Forthe THEEXPRESS went up and have startedto Indiahas initiated aconcerted in Mandya is extremelysmall in last45days,ithas consistently come down, but that resulted in TABASSUM BUSINESSASUSUAL domestic exploration push for quantitative terms, but it marks been the topcontributor of new INTERVIEW higher number of deaths. Our BARNAGARWALA the alkali metal, avital ingredi- some initial success in the at- cases.The statenow hasthe high- main strategy has been to pre- MUMBAI,JANUARY10 BY UNNY ent of the lithium-ion recharge- tempttodomesticallymine the estnumber of active cases in the ‘OUR DAILYTOLL vent the spread to very large able batteries that powerelectric silver-whitemetal by wayof country, comprising almost30 NEVER WENT numbers of peopleall at once, THE FIRE that killed10babies in a DEMOCRATS SEEK vehicles (EVs), laptops, and mo- hard-rockextraction of the ore. per cent of India’s total. BEYOND 25’ and limit the number of deaths,” hospital in Bhandara, Mahara- ANSWERS FROM bile phones. India currentlyimports allits But while Kerala is the worst KKSHAILAJA Kerala Health MinisterKK shtra,early onSaturdaywaslikely Preliminarysurveys by the lithium needs. hotspotofthe epidemicinthe KERALA HEALTH MINISTER Shailaja told The IndianExpress causedbyanexplosioninone of JUSTICEDEPT ON Atomic Minerals Directoratefor The domestic exploration countrynow,whatisremarkable in an interview. theseveralradiantwarmersinthe TRUMP’S ROLE Exploration and Research push, whichalso includes ex- is that the rise in cases has notre- With 3,305 deathsason SickNew-born CareUnit (SNCU), (AMD), an arm of the ploratoryworktoextract lithium sultedin asimilarincrease in the has the fifthhighestcaseload in Saturday(including ones thatthe believe the officials who carried MASSIVEPOWER Department of Atomic Energy,is from the brine poolsofRajasthan numberofdeaths.Infact, Kerala the country. But thereare 11 stategovernment hasassessedto outapreliminaryinspectionatthe OUTAGE LEAVES learnt to have shownthe pres- and Gujarat and the mica belts has one of the lowest death states that have recordedmore have been causedby co-morbidi- hospital on Sunday. PAK IN THE DARK ence of 1,600tonnes of lithium of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, counts among the major states. deaths than Kerala, including ties), Kerala has amortality rate The radiant warmerburstinto PAGE 8 resources in the igneous rocksof comes at atime when India has With morethan 8lakh con- states likeChhattisgarh, Gujarat, of about 0.4 percent, threeand a flames afterthe explosion –the the Marlagalla-Allapatna region CONTINUEDONPAGE2 firmedinfections so far, Kerala MadhyaPradesh, and Punjab, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE 1 ANCHOR LahoretoNYvia India: hisunflinching gaze —and prose

neer of Indian writing in English. Punjabifamily, youngVedlosthis and critic Nilanjana SRoy de- whoconsideredMehtaaprotege, blinking”.SheisconvincedMehta “Mamaji”.“Myprocessofwriting AMRITADUTTA We willremember him forhis vision at the ageofthree. scribed as Mehta’s “needtoset it calledhis "prose style-airy, ele- is blind, until she is corrected by is assembling details, assembling BENGALURU,JANUARY10 keen insight intoIndian society Remarkably forthat time,his fa- all down”. “It waswrittenout of a gant, marvellouslyclear”. someone: “That isn’tVed,that’sV material,” he said. The personal and what it means to bridgethe ther,aLondon-educated public feelingthatIcouldpartlyalleviate Morestrikingly, Mehta’swrit- SNaipaul”. It wasastory that storyalso told alargertale of the IN THE beginning, arguably, was gapbetween the eastand the healthofficer refusedtobelieve alifeofdeprivation by writing ing carriedasurfeit of visual de- Mehtawasknowntorecount,too, north Indian home in pre- VedMehta. Long before writers West,” said Meru Gokhale, pub- thatwasapermanentsetback;he about it,”Mehtawrote. tailthatwouldoftenflummoxhis with awickedchuckle. IndependentIndia, and the big suchasSalman Rushdie, Amitav lisher,Penguin Press, Penguin sent him firsttoaschool forthe In the next twodecades, readers -- and lead to one of the Inthe1970s,achanceconver- subterranean shifts in Indian so- Ghosh and Vikram Seth would Random House India. blindinBombay --andthen,atthe Mehtafoundamentor in The mostinteresting cases of mis- sation with his father,Amolak ciety. becomethe ambassadors of Mehtaleavesbehind are- ageof15, to another blind school NewYorkereditor William takenliteraryidentity.In“The RamMehta, setMehtaoff on the In his subsequentbooks such IndianEnglishwritingto theWest, markable legacy as amemoirist, in Arkansas, US. Shawn, who encouragedhim to WorldisWhatItIs”,thebiography series of books--amillion-plus as “TheStolen Light”, “Upat ayoungmanborn in pre-Indepe- and essayistfor The New Yorker - He wasastudentinCalifornia writeonsubjectsasvariedasthe- of VSNaipaul by PatrickFrench, wordsinall -- that explore and Oxford”, “All forLove” and “The ndent India foundavoice and sp- -and aman who, early on, seized when he beganwriting his first ology and philosophy, RK the author recounts, “A literary document the lifeofhis parents RedLetters”,Mehtahelduphisre- aceintheNew York literaryscene upon his subject: the remarkable book,“Face to Face” (1957) -- the Narayan and Satyajit Ray. In a groupie is searching forVed and family. Writing at atime markablelife--ofamanwholost in the 1960s. On Sunday, Mehta lifeand times of VedMehtaand autobiographyofayoung man in 2009 Idea Exchangeheld in the Mehta, disbelieving that ablind when, as he recalled,“theimage his sight but fashionedarichlife- diedinNew York at the ageof86. his family, which he wrote about, his 20s, who had overcome great Delhiofficeof TheIndianExpress, writer could producesuchvivid of India wasofaleprous beggar --to asteady,unflinchinggaze.To “Weare extremelysorry to over three decades, in his 12-vol- odds, from blindness to thetu- he recalled: “One thing Ilearnt descriptive prose.Findingadistin- crawling along Calcuttastreets”, thedelightandexasperationof his VED MEHTA learn about the passing of Ved ume autobiography, “Continents mult of Partition, to fashion a from The New Yorker wasthe guishedIndian man sittingona heturnedthefocusontheuniver- readers in India and elsewhere, it Mehta.Hewasamasteroftheau- of Exile”. sturdy self-independence.Itwas minuteyou startthinking about 1934-2021 sofa, she waves her hand in front sal experience of home and fam- wasastory that found resonance tobiographical genreand apio- Born in 1934 in Lahoretoa thefirstinstance of what novelist yourreadersyouare lost.”Shawn, of his face while he looks on un- ilyinbookssuchas“Daddyji”and in their own.

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WEB the insurrection in US Indian Express EXC ValleyinHouseofCards,herearesomefineexamplesoftechproductplacementinmoviesandTVshows. ★★★★★■4.6 Capitol Hill INPHOTOS EXPLAINED NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY HARYANA CM’S EVENT COVID-19 VACCINE In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, CANCELLED DRIVE AT AGLANCE we analysethe impact of the violence at Protests turn violent at The scramble forshots the Capitol in Washington DC by SCANTHISQRCODETO rallyvenueinKaimla has accelerated around pro-Trumpprotesters DOWNLOADTHEAPP village the world FROMPAGEONE

Karnal up the tent. abuseisabsolutelyunacceptable”. the metalinthe world. The new Even as the police, ledbyDGP “Havinggonethroughmanyinci- company, KhanijBideshIndiaLtd, referredto the incidentinavideo (Crime)MuhammadAkil,triedto dentsofreally patheticthingssaid wasincorporatedin August2019 messageand said that“we have dispersethem, the protesters re- on the boundarylines,this is the Govt looks at ‘expenditure’ budget by threestate-ownedcompanies, got itdonecertainlybecausethey mained near the venue till 2.45 absolutepeak of rowdy behav- NALCO, HindustanCopper,and (BJP) were holding aprogramme pm to ensurethat the panchayat iour.It’s sad to see this happen on times likethese, Keynes said ernment wasexpected to re- healthcareand construction- glide path forreducing debt MineralExplorationLtd,withthe inKaimlavillageparallelto ourag- wascancelled. the field,” Kohli tweeted. onlygovernmentintervention duce itsfiscal deficit to 3per related activities, be it infra- levels. specific mandatetoacquire itation”. “The BJPsaystheywill Kohli’s side wasatthe receiv- through higherspending can centofGDP in 2020-21. But structureorhousing.Public The RevisedEstimatefor strategic mineral assets such as hold700rallies to breakfarmers' Khattar ing end of racistchantswhen revive demandand restoresta- while presenting the Budget, spending in these activities fiscal deficit forthe current fi- lithium and cobalt abroad. The agitation. We will opposewher- amendments.Aresolutioncanbe India toured Australiain2018. bility. Sitharaman had invokedthe have ahugetrickle down ef- nancial year maybearound 6.5 companyislearnt to be also ex- everBJPholdssuch ralliesbecause reachedafter discussion on cer- Eventhen,fanswere ejectedfrom With additional spending escape clause forhaving devi- fect, and benefit manyindus- percentofGDP.Inmakingpro- ploringoptionsinChile and this agitation is to save the coun- tain points. ButIdon'tthink the theMelbourneCricketGroundon by India in the pandemic year ated from thetargetfor 2019- tries from cement to steel be- jections fornextyear, the gov- Bolivia. try,”hesaid. Governmentisgoingtowithdraw Day1ofthe Boxing DayTest. restricted to less than 1.5per 20 and 2020-21tothe extent sides creating durable jobs,”a ernment maybudget onlynor- MLAKalyansaid seniorBJP theselaws. Iamhopefulthat dis- Afterthe day’s playSunday, cent of the GDP, the govern- of 0.5 per cent of GDP; the governmentsource told The mal increasesindepartmental Hospitalfire leaders on the stage, including cussions aregoing in the right di- whenIndia were 98 fortwo and ment has preserved enough Budget Estimateoffiscal deficit Indian Express. and ministerial allocations firstoftwo loudnoises heardby statepresident Om Prakash rection, that is whythe next date needed309 moreruns to win, gun powder to utilise in finan- for2020-21was 3.5 per cent of With the GDP expected to giventhatcapacities to spend hospital staffthat night –and the Dhankar,Education Minister of meeting has been fixed.” spinnerRAshwinacknowledged cial year 2021-22. “Thereis GDP. postanegative growth of 7.7 cannotimprove suddenly. seven-day-old babyinside “was KanwarPal Gujjar and Sports Askedaboutthelaws,hesaid: thatplayershadexperienced“this good clarity on the economic “The FRBMAct is rigid; it per cent in 2020-21, the gov- Thatbeso, Finance Minister found burnt likecoal”, officials MinisterSandeep Singh, were “Wheneveranewpolicyismade, in the past, especiallyfrompeo- damage inflicted;inhindsight, takesawaythe flexibility of ac- ernment expectsastrongre- Sitharaman is mostlikelyto said. takentoatemplenearby“forse- italways takestimeto seeitsben- ple in thelowertier”ofthe stand thereisafeelingthe govern- tively pursuing acounter-cycli- bound next financial year.But announce some specific high- The babyhad been aban- curity purposes”. efits. Had we waited forsome at Sydney. ment approachofverytar- cal policy,” asourcesaid. A even a14per cent in 2021-22 expenditure schemes or pro- donedonaroadside,andbrought “Those who entered therally time, we would have gone to the “Theyhavebeen quitenasty getedspending duringthe first counter-cyclical policy entails (over2020-21), would mean a grammes forpublic housing, to the hospitalbypolice. This and venuewere anti-socialelements, UnionGovernment andsaid that and hurling abuses as well. But twoquartersof2020-21 ahigherthannormalgovern- growth rate of notmorethan health or other infrastructure. nine other babies were killedin notfarmers. Therewas laxity on therewerediscrepanciesinthese thisisthetimetheyhavegoneone worked.Opening the purse- ment spending when the econ- 5.5 per cent over 2019-20. The resources conserved dur- thefire thatbrokeoutintheSNCU the partofpolice although they laws.Ibelieve we should wait for step ahead and usedracial strings next financialyearwill omyispowering down.“In ex- High spending will mean ing the year and the fiscal re- of BhandaraDistrictGeneralhos- had made arrangements. How at leastone year to seeits bene- abuses...Itisdefinitelynot accept- yield maximum gains,” said a traordinarytimes likethese, the high growth,and this itselfwill straint shown in 2020-21may pital at 1.30 am on Saturday. did they(agitators) reachthe fits.Eventoday, these farm legis- able in this dayand age. source, who did notwish to be government has to make asub- be an antidote to bring deficit give hersufficient elbowroom Whileitissuspected that the venue?” the MLAsaid. lations arenot binding on farm- Sometimes this rootsbacktoup- named. stantial intervention on the ex- down,said asource. While the to go foranambitious expen- fire started afterthe explosion in However, local farm leader ers.Mandisarethere,MSPisthere bringing. This must bedealtwith Towardsthis end, the penditureside, especiallywith combineddebt of the Centre ditureprogramme in the com- the radiant warmer,members of Rajender Arya accused BJPsup- andshallalways bethere.Onlyan an iron fist and (officials must) Finance Ministryisalso consid- acollapse in demand and no and states as apercentageof ing year. the inquirypanel said theywere porters of stone-pelting and at- alternative has been giventothe make surethis doesn’t happen ering areviewofthe Fiscal private sector interesttoin- GDP stood at 72 per cent last Besides, the government yettoreachafinal conclusion. tacking farmers. “The Chief farmers.If theyget MSPoutof the again,”Ashwinsaid. Responsibilityand Budget vest…,” the source said, under- year,itisexpected to touch85 mayalsoconsiderallowing “Inquiryisstill going on.We Ministershouldunderstand the mandi,whywouldfarmersobject The twoincidentsoverthe Management Actinline with liningthe Keynesian economic per cent giventhe shrinking of states to borrowmore. In the will submit thereportinafew feelingsof farmersandavoidsuch to that?Itwill benefit them.” weekend aresymptomatic of the recommendations of the philosophy. the GDP this year,and higher current financial year,under a days.Atthispoint we cannot functions till the matter is re- Referring to the scheduled racismincricket,especiallyinthe NK Singh panel, whichsug- “It will be morean‘expen- government borrowings.Itis special assistance scheme, the comment on howorwherethe solved.Theadministrationshould visittoKarnal, his home con- stands. West Indies legend gested that the debt-GDPratio ditureBudget’than arevenue in this backdrop that the Centrehas already approved fire started.But we will go into have allowedfarmerstostage the stituency, theChief Minister said MichaelHolding voiced his sup- (as opposed to fiscal deficit) be Budget;after consultations Finance Ministrymay an- capital expenditureworth Rs eachand everydetail,” Dr protestnear thevenueinstead of that he “had to makesome an- portforIndia'smove.“Abusehap- takenasthe primary target for with various stakeholders, the nounce making debt-GDP ra- 9,879.61crore and releasedRs Sadhana Tayade, director of the stopping them at the national nouncementsofRs100-crore de- pensbut onceit's racist, it has to fiscal policy.Under the areas wherethe ministryis tio as the primarytargetfor fis- 4,939.80 crore of the total Rs DirectorateofHeath Services highway,whichisseveralkilome- velopmentprojectsatthevillage”. becalledout.Thedays of keeping amended FRBM Act, thegov- keen to increase spendingare cal policy,and provide anew 10,250 croreallocated to states. (DHS), who is heading the six- tres away,” he said. Blamingtheviolenceon“cer- quietaboutracistabuseareover,” member committee,said. KarnalDeputyCommissioner tain unscrupulouselements,” he he told The IndianExpress. Chief MinisterUddhav Nishat Kumar Yadavtold The said: “Wehaveastrongdemo- Recently, asection of the Thackerayvisited thehospitalon IndianExpress:“We haddeployed craticset-upinour country,the crowdinManchesterwas ac- Keralaremains India’s Covid outlier Sundayand metthe familiesof 1,500policemen to maintain law Constitutiongivesalltheserights. cusedofsinging aracistsong the babies who had died. and order during the event.” We have neverstoppedanyone about England fast bowler Jofra half timeslower thanthe na- tible population as well. But it “I offeredmycondolencesto Yadavsaid policehavenot re- fromexpressingtheirviews.Even Archer during aTestmatch tional average. Maharashtra CASECOUNT isverydifficultto explainwhat the parents. Therewill be astrict ceivedany informationaboutany amid Covid-19, we made ade- againstAustralia. Former South has amortalityrateof2.6, exactlyishappening without inquiryintothis incident and we injuries.IGP(Karnalrange)Bharti quatearrangementsfor their Africa cricketers Hashim Amla whilethefigureforDelhiis1.7. looking at relevant data. There will take action againstthose re- Arorawasseenmonitoringsecu- safetyand security.But the viola- and Mkhaya Ntini, too, had com- “InKerala, our daily death Cases Deaths CFR areotherstateswhichreceived sponsible,” theCMsaid. rity arrangements. tion of Constitutionalprovisions plainedinthepastaboutbeingon toll neverwentbeyond35. Maharashtra19,65,556 51,196 2.60% large numbers of internal mi- Hospital sources said the pre- Karnal SP Ganga RamPoonia is unpardonable,” he said. the receiving end of racistabuse And these aremostlyelderly grants, but neverhad sucha mature babywasadmittedinthe Karnataka 9,26,767 12,157 1.31% said policewouldlodgeanFIR Hittingout at the Opposition from spectatorsinAustralia. people or those withco-mor- prolonged surge,”hesaid. “out-born”section and kept in a against71persons for“entering and Chadhuni, Khattarsaid: In October 2007,four specta- bidities. Kerala’sachievement Andhra8,84,6897,128 0.81% Gautam Menon, professor radiant warmer to help maintain the venue with sticks,damaging “These peoplehavedefamed torswere evictedfromMumbai’s has been in limiting the Tamil Nadu 8,25,53712,215 1.48% of physics and biology at hisbodytemperature.Thewarm- governmentproperty,conspiracy, farmers,thiscannotbethebehav- Wankhede Stadium forracially deaths.Evennow, astate with Ashoka University,offered an- ers were lined up in arow in the Kerala 8,06,6043,3270.41% assault on government employ- iour of farmers. Gurnam Singh abusingformer Australiancrick- suchpopulation density, the other plausible explanation. SNCU.Theonethathadtheseven- ees and instigatingpeople”. Chadhuni's video releasedtwo eter Andrew Symonds during a deathrate islessthanhalf aper Delhi 6,29,80110,666 1.69% “This is also just an in- day-old boywas completely gut- Theincidenttriggeredapolit- days ago,whereinheincitedpeo- one-dayinternational match. cent,”Shailaja said. As on January 9, 2021. Includesdeathsthatstates have formedguess, but one of the ted, and the adjoining warmers ical firestorm with Khattar later ple,isresponsiblefortoday'sinci- But while the death rate assessed to be caused by co-morbid conditions. possiblereasons we can think oneithersidewere partiallydam- accusingOppositionpartiesof in- dent. Ibelieve that the Congress Waheed Para hasbeenkeptincheck, rela- is related to Kerala’s urbanisa- aged.Babiesinthosetwo warm- citing the protesters to breaklaw party and the Communists have Waheed's name is notmen- tively speaking, the continu- tion. Because Kerala is nowal- ersalsosufferedburninjuries.The and order,and describing those amajor role to play in suchinci- tioned. Severalof(PDP chief) ing trend of averyhighnum- mostentirelyurbanisedwith other babiesdieddue to smoke behindtheprotestsas“unscrupu- dents. Through these agitations, Mehbooba Mufti's relativesand beroffreshinfectionsinKerala, very high density of popula- inhalation. louselements”. if theythinktheycanspreadtheir aides have already been ques- whenallotherstateshaveseen WHEREKERALASTANDS tion,and thereare hardlyany Staffnursesreportedtwo ma- Congress general secretary wings,theyare highlymistaken,” tioned in this case,” asource said. their numbers declining, is open rural spaces in thestate, jor and multiple minor explo- RandeepSingh Surjewala ac- he said. “ThiscasewasfiledafterWaheed somethingthatisnotverywell thereportingof casescouldbe sions. Officials believe the major 60000 cusedthestategovernmentof re- “People aredyingthere(on wasarrestedbythe NIA,” the explained. Keralahasthefifthhighestcaseload, higher.Inotherstates,amajor- explosionscamefromtheradiant sorting to “event management” Delhi'soutskirts)inthisweather... source added. Since September 1, the 50000 butranks12thinthenumberofdeaths ityof casesaregettingreported warmer and the splitair condi- and organising a“sarkari maha- Iwould suggest that this protest AlokBambroo,anassociateof statehas reportedmorethan 40000 from the urbancentres.There tioningsystem, while the minor 51,138 panchayat”. should end immediatelysothat Para’s counsel senior advocateP 5,500cases everyday on aver- 30000 is areasonable chance that explosionswere fromtheelectri- “If the government wishes to thesefarmerscango backhome,” NRaina,said the docket contain- age. On 70 of these days,the cases emerging in the villages calwiring system. 20000

communicatewithfarmers,they Khattar said. ing the court order granting bail statewas the singlebiggest 5 arenot beingreportedinthose The fire melted thecentral 12,153 12,208 10,654 9,902 8,469 10000 7,127

should have done it withthe an- Asked about the violence in to Para wasgiven to jail officials contributor of cases in the 5,437 states. Kerala has no rural ar- oxygenpipethatrunsthroughthe 4,335 3,691 nadata(food providers) who are Kaimlavillage,Khattarsaid:“They around 4pmonSaturday. country. Duringthissametime, 0 3,469 3,30 eas and, therefore, the cases ceiling, and wiring of the SNCU. a a ra sitting at Delhi's borders forthe arenot ourenemies.Theyare also However, theydelayedhisrelease dailynumbersinMaharashtra rh maynot be hidden,” he said. “That wasthe cause of the dense rat ngal desh desh Delhi

past 46 days.Instead of hearing our people. Theyare also of our foranother twohours saying the came down from apeak of Nadu “Wecan see some sup- blacksmoke,” an official said. atak Kerala asht ra Be Punjab Andhr Guja ttisga themout, farmers arebeing bru- state. Peoplehad comethere to documentswerebeingprepared, about 24,000 to about 3,000. Pra porting evidence in the cases District officials saidhospital mil rP Karn talisedand beaten up,” he said. hearmebutcertainunscrupulous untilaninspectorandsomeother AndhraPradesh, TamilNadu, Ta thatare being reported from managementservicesfirmFaber hya Mahar West Chha Senior INLD leader Abhay elementscreated disruption.” policemen from CIKreachedthe and Karnataka,whichatone Utta Mumbai andPune, forexam- Sindoori conducted an equip- Singh Chautala said the opposi- Sundaywas notthe firsttime jailinavehicleandpickedupPara, point were reporting over Mad ple. In these adjoining cities, ment auditatthe SNCU on tionto “BJP'skisanpanchayathas that Khattar had to cancel a Bambroosaid. 10,000 cases aday,are now thenumbershave notreduced September 2, 2020,and foundall sent aclear signal that the anti- scheduledprogramme amid the Bambroo said the policemen findingnew cases in the lower proportion of people who are Christian MedicalCollege, considerablyoverthe lastone equipment working and in good farmerlawswon'tbetolerated". farmprotests.OnDecember9,he told Para theyweretakinghim to hundreds. uninfected,and susceptible.In Vellore, said. month.Ofcourse, theyhavere- condition. In Karnal, the protesters scrappedavisit to Padha village thejointinterrogationcentre(JIC) “Itisintriguing,nodoubt. other states, it happenedinre- DrShahidJameel,directorof duceddrastically from their Abi-annual calibration of startedgatheringatneighbouring inKarnalwithprotestersdamag- forquestioning.“OnSunday, Ivis- And in theabsenceofsero-sur- verse. Alargerproportion of theTrivediSchoolof Biosciences peaks.Butinthelastonemonth, equipment wasconducted on Gharaundatownat9am.Bythen, ingthehelipad.OnDecember22, ited the JIChere, but officials told veydata,itisdifficulttosay what populationgot infectedinitially, at Ashoka University,agreed. these numbers seem to have September 16,and the reports the administration had parked his convoy wasattackedbypro- me that they were still question- exactlyisresulting in these butthatmeanttherewerefewer “Thatcansurelybeapossibility. stabilised. These urban pockets were normal. loadedtrucksonthe road to the testersinAmbala,with the state ing him,” Bambroo said. He said numbers in Kerala. It is possible susceptible people left. But as I Also, thefact thatthe statehas would also have better report- Chief MinisterThackeray told venue to blockthem. Around governmentchargingtheaccused the police did notdisclosethe thatbecauseKeralamanagedto said, this is justaguess. It is not receivedalarge numberof peo- ing of cases comparedto the in- reporters that “It is possiblethat 11.30 am, police used watercan- with attempt to murder. groundsofPara's detentionafter contain the spread in the first basedonany dataorevidence,” ple from other countries. That terior areas, forexample,”Prof some safetyprotocols mayhave nons and firedtear gasshells as thebail order. phase,itisnowleftwithalarger Prof GagandeepKang of might be addingtothe suscep- Menon said. beenneglectedoverthepastyear the protesters, whose numbers Sydneymatch Nearly oneand ahalfmonths since the authorities were busy hadincreasedtowelloverathou- sectionofthe crowdracially afterhewas arrested by the NIA tacklingthecoronapandemic.But sand, remainedfirm on reaching abusedhimwhilehewasfielding foralleged terror links,Parawas nation from Pulwama forthe Lithium resource is the partofaresource ration of large brine pools or by no matter what, if anylapse has the venue. in front of the Brewongle and on Saturdaygranted bail against District Development Council steppedupitseconomicoffensive forwhichquantity,grade and hard-rockextractionof theore.In occurred, those responsible will With all road routes to the Clive Churchillstands—thesame apersonal bond andsuretyofRs elections. He wonthe election againstChina, amajor sourceof mineral content areestimated India,alongside the rock mining notbeallowed to go scot-free.” panchayatblockedbypolice,sev- area of the ground from where 1lakh each. Special JudgeSunit while in custody. lithium-ionenergystorageprod- onlywith alow levelofconfi- at Mandya, thereissome poten- Thegovernment'sinquirywill eral of the protesters walked the racistchantsweremade Gupta said that “offences,partic- LateonSaturdayevening,PDP uctsbeing importedintothe dencebasedoninformationgath- tial forrecovering lithium from be headedbyNagpur Divisional throughthefieldsforalmost7km Saturday. As he pointed to the al- ularly falling under Unlawful chief Mufti postedonTwitter: country. The Marlagalla- ered from locations suchasout- the brinesofSambhar and Commissioner SanjivKumar, to reachthe venue around1pm. legedabusers,alltheplayers—in- Activities Act(UAPA), arenot “DespiteNIA Court grantingbail Allapatnaarea, along the crops, trenches, pits, workings, PachpadrainRajasthan,andRann Thackeraysaid. Soon, clashesbroke out between cludingthe batsmen, Australia primafacie made out againstthe to @parawahid afterthorough Nagamangala SchistBelt, which anddrillholesthatmaybeoflim- of Kachchh in Gujarat. The major “Whoisresponsible,whether agroupof BJPsupporters andthe captain TimPaineand Cameron applicant/accused”. courtproceedings, he has now exposes mineralisedcomplex itedoruncertainquality,andalso micabeltsinRajasthan,Bihar,and anyelectricalequipmenthadmis- protesters. The policeagain used Green —stood together at the Para,who is consideredto been detainedbyCIK in Jammu. pegmatites (igneousrocks), is of lowerreliability. Andhra Pradesh, andthe peg- firedandwhetherrepeatedcom- teargasandlaunchedamildlath- middleofthe ground. have beeninstrumentalinthere- Underwhatlaw&forwhatcrime seen as among the mostpromis- Second, the lithium find is matite beltsinOdisha and plaints about it were neglected, icharge to dispersethe agitators. Playresumedonlyafterpolice vivalofthePDPinsouthKashmir, has he been arrested?This is inggeologicaldomainsforpoten- comparatively small,considering Chhattisgarhapartfrom etc. will be known onlyafter the Withthe protesters refusing evicted six people from the wasarrestedbythe NIA on brazen contempt of court. tial explorationfor lithiumand the size of the proven reserves in Karnataka,aretheotherpotential inquiryiscomplete,” he said. to disperse, agroup of men from ground fortheir actions. Cricket November 25 followingadisclo- Request[Lt GovManoj Sinha] other rare metals, officials said. Bolivia (21million tonnes), geologicaldomains. Also,guidelineswould be the rallyvenuearrived armed Australiasaidtheyhavelaunched surestatement by Hizbul @manojsinha ji to intervene so Thereare,however, two Argentina (17million tonnes), Inthemiddleof lastyear,India, framedfor hospitals to ensure with sticks.But the group soon an investigation intothe incident Mujahideen's Naveed Baba,who that justiceisserved.’’ caveats. First, the newfind is cat- Australia(6.3milliontonnes),and through anewly-floated state- that an incidentsuchasthisdid fledasthe number of protesters “parallelwith the NewSouth had been arrested along with Sources in the NIA said the egorisedas“inferred”, oneofthe China (4.5 million tonnes). ownedcompany, had signedan notrecur,hesaid. swelled and thesituation esca- Wales police”.The International then DySP Davinder Singh on agency would challengePara's three categories intowhichmin- Lithium can be extracted in agreementwith an Argentinian (WITHVIVEKDESHPANDE lated.At1.35pm, theprotesters Cricket Council,too, condemned January11, 2020. bail in the High Court. eral resources aresubdivided, in different ways,depending on the firmto jointlyprospectlithiumin INNAGPUR) rushedtothevenue,damagedthe the incident. Para's arrest had come three (WITHBASHAARAT orderofincreasing geological typeof thedeposit–itisgenerally theSouth Americancountrythat FULLREPORTSON stage, threw out chairs and tore CaptainViratKohlisaid“racial days afterhehad filedhis nomi- MASOODINSRINAGAR) confidence.The‘inferred’mineral doneeither through solar evapo- has the thirdlargest reserves of www.indianexpress.com

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Covid situation, law &ordertobe TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE KarnatakaCMinDelhi,may highlighted in upcoming bypolls, 314 CASES: ACTIVECASES:223,335 says Rajasthan BJP chief DAYSSINCE 10,450,284 DEATHS:150,999 PANDEMIC BEGAN TESTS: 181,096,622 | RECOVERIES: 10,075,950 ratedand Rajasthan has become discusscabinetreshuffle PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA aleading stateincrime. The gov- CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS JAIPUR,JANUARY10 ernment hasfailedtoperform on JAN9 18,645 20119,299843,307 all frontsand peopleare fedup therehavebeen freshmoves THE “MISMANAGEMENT” of the with the Congress rule,” Poonia LIZMATHEW by hisrivalsinthepartyto “un- coronavirus pandemic, lawand told reporters . NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 seat” him. ordersituationandcomplete loan Inthemeeting,thestrategyfor However, thecentrallead- waiver of all farmerswill be the upcoming bypolls in Sahara WITH KARNATAKA Chief ership,sourcessaid,wasofthe among severalissues that the BJP (Bhilwara), Rajsamand and MinisterBSYeddyurappa meet- viewthatthe 78-year-old is willraiseintheupcomingbyelec- Sujangarh(Churu)wasdiscussed. ingtheBJPleadershipSunday, the the best betfor the party as tions to three Assemblyseatsin The sitting MLAs in these seats long-awaitedcabinetreshufflein thereisnoone elseinthe Rajasthan, the party's state presi- (Congress had Saharaand STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES the stateisexpected soon,party Karnataka unit to matchhis dentSatishPooniasaidonSunday. Sujangarh while BJP won ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK sources said. popularity. He said anti-incumbency fac- Rajsamand) diedinthe recent Meghalaya163 27 Yeddyurappa had an hour- Yeddyurappa’s son BY torhas creptinafter twoyears of past. Poonia said winning candi- Daman 36 -6 long meetingwithUnionHome Vijayendraaccompaniedhim the Congress government and dates will be fieldedafter assess- Puducherry 328 -11 MinisterAmitShah,BJPpresident Home MinisterAmit Shah with BJP president JP Nadda and to Delhi.While some of people have rejected the ruling ment of allfactors. “The meeting JPNadda and party general sec- Karnataka Chief MinisterBSYediyurappa on Sunday. PTI Yediyurappa’srivals hadla- party duringthe Panchayati Raj wasorganised to holdinitial dis- STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING retaryin-charge forthestateArun belledhim “super CM”, the elections heldrecently. cussions,becausetheelectionan- ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK Singh during his daylong visitto central leadership has ap- “The party will makecorona nouncement is yettobemade. West Bengal 8,0342,974 the national capital. Sourcessaidthecentrallead- modate some of those who en- pointed him as vice-president of mismanagement and farmers Local workers andleaders will be Rajasthan 6,730 2,065 Afterthe meeting at Shah’s ershipisexpected to inform teredthe Assemblythrough re- stateBJP. complete loan waiver as promi- consulted.After asurvey and as- Uttar Pradesh11,422 1,894 residence,whenaskedaboutthe Yeddyurappaofits decision by cent bypolls. The aspirantsin- Whilehis rivals have been nent issuesinthe upcoming by- sessment, theannouncementof reshuffle, Yeddyurappa told re- Monday. Oncethenationallead- clude BJP MLCs AHVishwanath, mobilisingleaders againstthe polls. Lawand order has deterio- candidateswillbemade,”hesaid. STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES porters, “The party leaders will ershipclearsthenames,theChief RShankar and MTBNagaraj, veteran, he hasbeenplaying his ONJAN9TOTAL give good news soon. Ihavedis- Ministerisexpected to reshuffle whoseresignationasMLAsinthe cards carefully. Recently, when Kerala 5,528 806,604 cussed the political situation in the council of ministers later this previous Cong-JD(S) combine the centralleadershipstalledhis Maharashtra3,5811,965,556 thestate.Thepartyleadersasked month. Thestate,which canhave brought the government down planto grantbackwardcastessta- me to sendalistofparty candi- atotalof 34ministers,has27 now and pavedthe wayfor the BJP tus to Lingayats, the community Uttar Pradesh1,286 592,896 IN PROUD MEMORYOFTHE 36 VEER BIHARIS OF THE dates to BelagaviLok Sabha, and anumber of aspirantsare coming to power, said sources. hebelongsto andhiskeysupport 2ND BATTALION, THE BIHAR REGIMENT,WHO LAID STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS Basavakalyana and Maski waitinginthewings.Besidesrep- Asmanyas11oftheCongress base, the Chief Ministertold the DOWN THEIR LIVES ON 11 JANUARY1948, WHILE ONJAN9TOTAL Assemblybypolls. Iamhappy resentativesfromdifferent fac- andJDSrebelshave alreadybeen mediathathewoulddoitafter ESCORTING AREFUGEE TRAIN FROM PAKISTAN, AND, Maharashtra 58 51,196 withthemeetingwithpartycen- tionsandtheoldguards,theChief inducted in the cabinet. Sources the central leadership givesa THROUGH THEIR SACRIFICE, SAVED THE LIVES OF Uttar Pradesh 24 8,493 tral leadership.” Ministerwouldhavetoaccom- close to the Chief Ministersaid greensignal. 1200 REFUGEES. Capt Gurbachan Singh Grewal,SC, Jem Shyam Bahadur Singh,KC, Kerala 22 3,327 Sep Shankar Hembrom,SC, Nk Rama Pati Singh, L/Nk Sita Ram, DataasonJanuary9,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical Sep Hari Charan, Sep Dharam Nath Singh, Sep Manki Jarika, Sep Researchandstategovernments.Often,thenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays Tryingtoprovidefreevaccine to all: Mamata aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive BarnabasSoy,Sep Pothlu Singh, Sep Junas Dangwar,Sep Ram Autar,Sep Sena Bhadru Singh, Sep Harnand Singh, Sep Bala Din, agement employees would be 19 vaccine,” she added. in atimelymanner,” Banerjee Sep Roen Surin, Sep Ram Raj Singh, Sep Jawahar Singh, Sep Sheo EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE administeredthe vaccine on a India is settolaunchaCovid- added. Charan Birua, Sep Ishwar Dutt Topno, Sep Joseph Tuti, Sep Sani KOLKATA,JANUARY10 priority basis. 19 vaccination drive from Earlier,Kerala Chief Minister Charan Karwa, Sep Jamuna Singh, Sep Budhwa Munda, Sep Sheo Maharashtragovtcuts “I am happytoinformthat January16, with priority given PinarayiVijayan had made a Kumar,Sep Pirthi Singh, Sep Gopi Nath Singh, Sep Sheo Nandan CHIEF MINISTER Mamata our government is making to nearly threecrore healthcare similarannouncement.Kerala Rai, Sep Dwarka Singh, Sep Babuni, Sep Lal Dhari Singh, Sep Sheo Prasad Singh, Sep Ram Prasad, Sep Sudarshan Singh, Sep Banerjee on Sundayannounced arrangementsfor reaching the and frontline workers across the will also go to the polls along Raj Thackeray, Fadnavis Muni Lal, Sep Paika Dhan hergovernment wasmaking vaccine to all people of the state country. withBengal. The Bihar Cabinet arrangementstoprovide free free of anycharge,” the chief Banerjee’sannouncement of has also giventhe nod to pro- Your gallantry will always serve as an inspiration for us. We,the fraternity of The Veer Biharis, salute you. security cover to Y-plus Covid-19vaccine to people in ministerwrote in the letter ad- free vaccination foreveryone videfreevaccines to the state’s the state. In response, the BJP ac- dressedtothe frontlinework- comes months ahead of the residents, apromise the BJP The Bihar Regiment Association MNS chief RajThackeray's se- cusedBanerjeeoftrying to take ers. stateelections that arelikelyto made in itsmanifesto forthe PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA curity coverhas been down- credit forthe Centre’s efforts. Banerjee also expressedher be held in April-May. Assemblyelections held in MUMBAI,JAN10 gradedfrom'Z' to 'Y plus with es- In an open letter,Banerjee gratitude forall suchworkers “Wehaveseenhow you October-November lastyear. cort'. said that “Covidwarriors” or fortheir selfless service to the dedicated yourself to your jobs The BJP,meanwhile, took a THE MAHARASHTRA govern- The security covers of BJP frontline workers suchaspolice people of the state.“The govern- despitethe fear of the pan- dig at Banerjee.BJP IT-Cell chief ment has reducedthe security leaderand formerCMNarayan personnel, home guards,civil ment is taking steps to ensure demic. Keeping that in mind, I Amit Malviyaaccusedthe chief coverofformer chief minister Rane, stateBJP chief defence volunteers, and correc- that everycitizen of the statere- want to assureyou thatyour ministerof“rushing to take DevendraFadnavis and his fam- Chandrakant Patil and senior tional home and disasterman- ceivesfreedoses of the Covid- vaccine doses will be sent to you credit” forthe Centre’s efforts. ily, former UP governor Ram party leader Sudhir Naik and MNS president Raj Mungantiwar have been with- Thackeray,and withdrawnthe drawn. Rane had 'Y-plus' secu- security coverofstate BJP chief rity. Chandrakant Patil. Besides, the securityofstate StateBJP spokesman Keshav LokayuktaMLTahiliani has been Upadhye termedthe action un- downgradedfrom'Z' to 'Y'. fortunateand a"vendetta" of the According to sources, the 'Z- ruling coalition againsthis plus' security comprises abullet- party's leaders. proof car,apolice inspector,two Fadnavis, who is at present assistant police inspectors, two leader of opposition in the state police sub-inspectors, twoescort Assembly, allegedthat the gov- vehicles with six constables in ernment wasnow giving secu- each, and 10 other constables at rity "on the basis of politics", and anygiven point of time,while that this would notimpact his the 'Z' categoryhas asecurity plans to travel and meetpeople. coverof22personnel. However, stateHome The 'Y' categorycomprises a MinisterAnil Deshmukh re- security coverof11personnel, jected the opposition BJP's while the 'X' categoryhas asecu- charge and said the security of rity coveroftwo personnel,the political leaders wasreviewedas sources said. per the prevailing threat percep- The government,asper the tion. notification,has upgradedthe As per agovernment notifi- security of twopersons, down- cation issuedonJanuary8, gradedof11, withdrawnof16, Fadnavis will nowget 'Y-plusse- while 13 newpeople have got se- curity with escort', instead of the curity cover. Prominent among 'Z-plus' cover. The security of his the newpersons to getsecurity wifeAmrutaFadnavis and areSunetra Pawar, wifeofstate daughter Divija has been down- Deputy Chief MinisterAjit gradedfrom'Y-plus with escort' Pawar, andVarunSardesai, sec- to 'X' category. retary of the Yuva Senaand Former Uttar Pradesh gover- nephewofChief Minister nor RamNaik will nowget 'Y' UddhavThackeray's wife coverinstead of 'Y-plus'. Rashmi Thackeray. Umesh Kushwahais new JD (U)Bihar chief

ident has shown that asmall SANTOSHSINGH worker can rise to asenior level PATNA,JANUARY10 in the party structure.” Asked if the party has been BARELYAfortnight afterRajya focusing toomuchonthe Luv- Sabha member RCPSingh was Kush factor,Kumar said: “The JD made the national president of (U) givesrepresentationtoall the JD(U),the party on Sunday sections of society.Thereisno pickedformer MLAUmesh need to read between the lines Kushwaha as itsnew statepres- as the party has leaders from all ident, replacing the ailing caste groups holding prominent Bashistha NarayanSingh. positions in the party and in the The elevation of low-profile government.” Vaishali leader to the postofthe Kushwaha, who won statepresident has come as a Assemblyelections from surprise to many as he wasnot Mahnar in Vaishali in the 2015 counted amongevensecond- elections, losttoRJD's Veena rung JD(U) leaders. Singh in the 2020 polls. Sources With RCPSingh, an OBC said theparty firstdiscussed the Kurmi leader,asthe party na- name of former minister tional president and Kushwaha, RamsevakSingh, also from the an OBC Koeri leader,asthe same caste, forthe state presi- party's state president, the JD(U) dent postbut settledfor appearstobetrying to cater to Kushwaha in the final moments itscoreLuv-Kushsupportbase, at itsstate executive. as the combination of the two Althoughthe JD(U) had full- caste groups has come to be time statepresident in Bashisha known in statepoliticalcircles. NarayanSingh, he wasnot able JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj to look afterday-to-dayaffairs of Kumar told The Indian Express: the party becauseofill-health. “UmeshKushwahahas been a Ashok Kumar Choudharyhad committed partyworker. His el- been functioningasthe state evation to the postofstate pres- president forsometime.

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Unnao rape victim’s Maharashtra ‘Dailytollneverwentbeyond25...Kerala’s MLAbooked for nephew still missing, obtainingflats achievementhasbeenlimitingdeaths’ under scheme police file charges for poor KERALAHEALTH Minister KK elderly people or those with co- masks? did notblame the state... Severalpolice teams have been SHAILAJA speaks to LIZ morbidity.Kerala’s achievement No matter howintense our In the meetingonvaccine, I PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA MANISHSAHU formedand searches arebeing MATHEW on whythe stategov- has been limiting deaths. Even awareness campaign is, asmall told them that Kerala should get NAGPUR,JANUARY10 LUCKNOW,JANUARY10 carriedout, sources said. Awrit ernment is notworriedabout the now, astate with suchpopula- sectionofpeople willalways it on an emergency basis. Ialso petition seeking adirection to high number of active cases be- tion density,the death rate is half flout protocols. We cannot expect demandedthat keeping the pop- ABJP MLAfromMaharashtra's POLICE HAVE filedachargesheet transfer the investigation to the ing reportedfromthe state. per cent. 100per cent compliance in any ulation and itsvulnerability in Chandrapur district has been againstfivepeople arrested in CBIispending in the High Court. society.With widespread and in- mind, the stateshould getmore booked by the police foral- connection with the alleged kid- “The reportofapolygraph Kerala has the highest Kerala’s surge startedin tense campaign, 80 per cent of vaccines. Iinformedthem the legedly obtaining twoflatshere napping of asix-year-old test conducted on the accusedis number of active cases, it is September and the festival thepopulationstarted wearing stateisready forvaccine distri- under ascheme meant forthe nephewofthe Unnao gangrape awaited.Wehavebeen sending reporting the maximum season of Onam and some masksand using hand sanitisers. bution andwaiting. Therewas no homeless by theNagpur victim who wasburnt to death letters to theForensic Science number of cases everyday, political activities were Otherwise, thestate would have denial from their side, nor was Improvement Trust(NIT) on the in 2019. LaboratoryinLucknow to send almostone fourth of the blamed. Other states also had been worse than Maharashtra. thereanassurance. Ithink we orderofalocal court, apolice of- All five accusedare family us the polygraph test report,” national tally. Whyare the festivals likeDiwali and We have good health facilities, willget priority. ficer said on Sunday. members of those arrested in SHO Singh said. numbers notcoming down? Chhath etc, but no other state THEEXPRESS but we have three big challenges The FIRswereregisteredin connection with the gangrape The boy, aClass Istudent, Kerala has been making asys- facedthis kind of asituation. –populationdensity,the high Has the outbreak of other Imambada and Sakkardarapo- and murderofthe 23-year-old went missing on October 2last tematic effort to control the pan- INTERVIEW number of old agepopulation, diseases likebirdflu or lice stations in Nagpur against woman who wasset on fire year while he wasplaying out- demic. In apandemic, therewill Actually, therewas no such andlifestyle diseases. mutated strains complicated Chimur legislator Kirti Kumar WITH while she wasonway to courtto side his house withfriends. In be apeak, no matter howwetry rise in the festival season. In a the state’s efforts? aliasBunty MiteshBhangadia, KKSHAILAJA attend ahearing in her case. her complaint to the police, the to control it...And ourstrategy pandemic, it gets spread to max- The stategovernment has Kerala’sterrain is fertile forin- the officer said. KERALA HEALTH MINISTER Although the boyisstill miss- rape victim's sisteralleged that hasbeendelayingthe peak,to imum number of people and requestedthe Centretogive fectious diseases. It is our effec- The offences were registered ing, sources said the policefiled twolocal residentshad seen the avoid asudden peak which then comes down. In other states, Kerala priority in providing tive health system and the state afteranorder wasissuedby the chargesheetas90days of boylasttime with the accused. would lead to crisisinhospitali- cases went up and startedcom- guilty at all. But we did notwant the vaccine. What is its government’s effort that prevent Judicial MagistrateFirstClass un- stipulated timefromthe dayof Afterthe boywent missing, sation and arise in the number ing down, but resulted in more anydeaths to happen. However, response? gravecalamities in the state. The dersection156(3) of the Criminal the arrestswas ending. Unnao three police constables, who of deaths. With our tracing-quar- deaths. Our main strategy wasto in anormal year,wehavemany The Centre pointsout Kerala number of waterbodies in Kerala ProcedureCode. Superintendent of Police were deployedfor the security antaine-break thechainpro- prevent the spread to maximum deaths due to infectious diseases. still has the highestnumber of attractalot of migratorybirds The complaint againstthe SureshraoAKulkarni said the of the rape victim’s family, were gramme,wedelayed thepeak number of people at once and In fact, the number of deaths in cases. But thereisanother issue and the statebecomes prone to MLAwas lodged by Tarun chargesheetwas filedonthe ba- suspended. whichhelped us to improveour limit the number of deaths. We Kerala in 2020 is less than that of -- the reporting system. It will get diseases likeavianflu. Parmar,aresident of Nagpur. sis of circumstantial evidence Although the accusedwho health system –morebeds, more neverfacedacrisis withhospital the previous year.That’s what the exposedsoon. While we were Thereisalso an issue -- asin- “Bhangadia submitted false againstthe accused. have been arrested in connec- ICUs, oxygen flowetc. We got bedsorshortageofhealth work- statistics till November showed. told about other states whichdo gledeath in Kerala is reportedna- affidavitswith theNIT to obtain “The accused arelodgedin tion with the rape-murder case that time. In some states like ers... We arewaiting forthe December notproject the actualnumber of tionallyand internationally. twoflatsinImambada and jail and we filedachargesheet were also questionedinconnec- Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,the tally. Onceitisdone, we will pub- cases, Kerala’s reporting system Some other states had so many Ayurvedic Layout areas between underIPC Section 364(kidnap- tion with the kidnap, theyde- peak camequitefastand the Areyou satisfiedwith the licise the data. is reallyeffective.Wedonot leave deaths, but it nevergot suchat- the years 2007 and 2009. The ping or abducting in order to niedany involvement, the police number of deaths went up... But resultsofyour efforts? asingle case unnoticed.The tention from the media… scheme wasaimedtoprovide murder)lastweek. Efforts said. in Kerala,our daily deathtoll We have takenmaximum Arepeoplefollowingsocial Centreisaware of it also.Evenin FULLINTERVIEWON shelters to homeless,” the police arebeing still made to trace The 23-year-old woman was neverwentbeyond 25 -- mostly care and efforts. Idonot feel distancing and wearing Thursday’s meeting, theCentre www.indianexpress.com said in arelease. the boy,”said Santosh Kumar rapedinDecember2018but the Singh, Station House Officer of case wasregistered in March Bihar Police Station. 2019.OnDecember 6, 2019,she Land mafia ArewardofRs1lakh has also diedinaDelhi hospital, aday af- Want Nepal-Indiatiesto been announcedfor anyinfor- tershe wasset ablaze on wayto leaderstroubled mation on the missing boy. court. about demolition reach new heights: Oli 146years,”hesaid. Birdflu outbreak in 8states, drive, says Yogi YUBARAJGHIMIRE “Somepeopleblame me for KATHMANDU,JANUARY10 the downslide in Nepal-India re- lations. Do Ihavetoseal my lips authorities putout norms EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE NEPAL PRIME MinisterKPOli on and maintain silence on issues?” LUCKNOW,JANUARY10 Sundaysaid the countryisdeter- he said. dayinarow,alarge number of minedtobring backthe 370sq- “I believe allpendingissues EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE dead poultrybirds were found IN AN apparent dig at his prede- km area of Kalapani- should be settledthrough dia- LUCKNOW,PUNE,LUDHIANA, dumpedbythe side of the cessor and Samajwadi Party (SP) Limpiadhura-Lipulekatthe logue as Iwant Nepal-India rela- SHIMLA,JANUARY10 Chandigarh-Shimla highway in president Akhilesh Yadav, Chief trijunction of Nepal-India and tions to reachanewheight, and Solan district on Saturday. A MinisterYogi Adityanath on China (Tibet)under itsposses- things aremoving in that direc- Abird-flu outbreak has been number of crowshavebeen Sundaysaid leaders of the land sion through dialogue with tion,” he said. confirmedineight states. found dead in different parts of mafia were troubledthat land India. Oli addressedthe 59-mem- The Centre’s Department of thestate over the lastfew days. belonging to thepoor and Addressing the Rastriya berUpper House amid the boy- Animal Husbandryand Dairying In Maharashtra, whichlast traders wasbeing freedbyhis Sabha, the Upper House of Nepal cott by 23 members from the ri- put out astatement on Sunday, reportedcases of avian Influenza administration. Parliament, Oli said the issue valCommunist PartyofNepalin confirming the outbreak in in 2006,Animal Husbandry On Friday, would be raisedduring the protestagainstthe dissolution of sevenstates--Kerala, Rajasthan, Commissioner said orders have Yadavhad said Foreign Affairs MinisterPradeep the House of Representativeson Madhya Pradesh, Himachal been issuedfor cullingbirds that the govern- Kumar Gyawali’s visit to India December 20. Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and within 1kmofthe epicentrein ment’s drive to starting January 14 and hoped The issue is being fought in Uttar Pradesh. Parbhani and Latur.“A10-km demolish ille- that the issue will be resolved the Supreme CourtofNepaland Lateinthe evening, surveillance zone has been cre- gallycon- peacefullythrough negotiation. Oli has assertedthat the House Maharashtra’s Animal ated and we arekeepingvery structed houses ON ARRIVAL He said the area that has cannotbereinstated by the HusbandryCommissioner strict watchonthe situation,” he Yogi and buildings been “under possession of India court. Oli has been criticisedby Sachindrapratap Singh told The said. Adityanath seemedlikeac- Passengers who arrivedfromthe UK undergo Covid-19tests at Kempegowda International during thelast58years belongs his political opponentsand the Indian Express that samples from The Uttar Pradesh animal tion targeting AirportinBengaluru on Saturday. ANI to Nepal”. “It wasunder Nepal’s civil societyoverthe dissolution the statehavetestedpositivefor husbandrydepartment is put- politicalrivals. possession during the previous of the House. the avian influenza virus. Results ting in place severalprecaution- He warnedthat the party that of samples from Delhi are arymeasures,while urging peo- comes to powerinnextyear’s awaited. ple to avoid going to zoos and stateelections would take simi- On Sunday, as manyas215 birdsanctuariesand coming in lar action againstthose in power migratorybirds were found dead contact with anykind of bird. at present. OVER 5000 DOGS IN SERVICE in Pong Dam Lakewildlifesanc- Authorities have been asked Respondingtothe SP chief tuaryinHimachal Pradesh, tak- to ensurethat anyunnatural while inaugurating the ing the totalnumber of migra- deathofabirdisreported. ‘Mukhyamantri ArogyaMela’ in From busting terrortosniffing out Covid and tory waterbirds suspected to Twored jungle-fowls found Farrukhabad district, Adityanath have died of birdflu to 4,235, of- dead at Kanpur Zoological Park said those whousedtospread ficials said. earlier this week tested positive fear among people were now Meanwhile,for the fourth forthe influenza. visiting police stations with plac- cancer, Govt wants security dogstodomore ards around their necksand beg- TAMIL NADU geNerATIoN AND DIsTrIbUTIoN CorPorATIoN LTD. ging formercy while bulldozers raze down the properties of “Dogs areagreat forcemulti- handler’s radio device voice expression of Interest Notice :TANgeDCo/PP-01/2021 mafiosos and their henchmen. DEEPTIMANTIWARY plier with aproventrack record recognition by the K9sand fur- TANGEDCOinvites Expression of Interest (EoI) from the eligible consulting firms across He added, “Earlier,the mafia NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 over centuries. Somehowwe ther ease to deployK9s with K9 the nation to indicate their interest in providingassistance/support to TANGEDCOfor the effectiveload forecasting,suggesting schedule of power, optimizing purchase/sale of power used to capturethe land of the have notfocusedonthemas Vision System and Canine and Deviation SettlementMechanism. The prescribed formatofthe application form, EoI poor and businessmen. Today, FROM RECEIVINGinstructionson muchasweshould. Arecent Remote Deployment System documentand anyother details required maybedownloadedfromTANGEDCOwebsite when bulldozers arerunning radio frequencysets and walking BureauofPolice Researchand (CRDS),” the Police K9 Journal (www.tangedco.gov.in) from 11.01.2021 /12:00 hrs. Lastdate forsubmission of eoI: 10.02.2021 before 15:00hours. overthe chests of theseland alone intoterrorsituations, to de- Development (BPR&D) report says about the newtechand DIPR/ 112 /Tender/2021 Chiefengineer/PPP,TANgeDCo mafiosos, the criminals have run tecting infection with the novel said we need35,000 moredogs. training. away buttheir ‘rehnuma’ [lead- coronavirus andthe onsetofcan- At the same time, our training fa- Col (Dr) PK Chugh, who ers] arefeelingtroubled... They cer,the government is looking at cilities, modules and care-giving headedthis training programme arehavingproblemswhen the utilising the potential of security has notfixed even thebasics. So at the NSG and is currently properties of the poor and farm- dogs formuchmorethansniffing we aretrying to createanecosys- Consulting Director at the Police ers arefreed from suchcrimi- and tracking. temwherethings getstandard- K9 Cell, said the innovationwould nals… because their henchmen Following the establishment ised, and we canbecome world- go along wayinnot onlysaving aretodaybegging fortheir lives.” of a“Police K9 Cell” in the Police class,” asenior Ministryofficial soldier’s lives, but would alsopro- Afterthe Home Ministryset up a‘Police K9 Cell’, an exercise Modernisation Division of the said. vide crucial information about has begun to expand the role of dogs. Express Home Ministry, the government The country’s elitecounter- thelocation of terrorists orexplo- has begun an exercise to bring ex- terror force, the National Security sive devices inside avenue. isting capabilities of dog squads Guard(NSG), has already trained “If we look at precedence, capabilitiesofits dog squads by tection of cancer,hypertension, up to international levels, and to itsdogs to walk alone intoanon- mostsoldierdeaths happenin the settingbenchmarks,trainingpro- seizures and nervous disorders. helpthe animals acquirenew ca- going terror attackorhostage sit- firstburstoffirewhen we arenot tocols,and guidelines so thatthey Theyhavebeensuccessfullyde- pabilities suchasmedical disease uation, and relayinformation awareofthe situationinside a become the best in theworld; tected by dogs. We will certainly diagnosis, wildlifeprotection, and backtocontrol room and to sol- building or hideout. In thiscase, a also so that squads across the catchuptothatstandard in the anti-traffickingworkinthe long diers preparing to storm the traineddog with aradio setcan countryhavethe same capabili- long run,” Chugh, who is alsoa run. scene. AMotorola radio setpouch go in with his handler passing on ties. This,theysaid, will help in- member of the InternationalK9 Home MinisterAmit Shah re- is fixedonthe dog’s collar to con- directions. The dog can relayback teroperabilityand sharing of re- Working Group forCovid centlylaunchedthe first“Police veyvoice commands when it is audio-visuals and crucial recon- sources, whereone forcecan use Detection Dogs, said. K9 Journal” in whichbestprac- farand out of itshandler’s sight. naissance information suchas another’s dog forits securityop- Everydisease has aspecific tices and innovative ideas forim- “This hashelpedinsetting the whichareaisclear to move,tothe erations. volatile organiccompound (VOC) proving dog squads will be dis- foundation forgetting ac- control room or even wristde- “Weare also lookingatdevel- associated with it. The VOCs give cussed. quainted/familiarizedwith the vices of soldierswho can then oping dual purpose dogs. aspecific odour to body fluids, storm the place.Ifaterrorist is Currentlymostforces have two whichcan be detected by dogs. sighted,the dog can even be in- sets of dogs—sniffersandattack- Currentlythis is being done inter- structed to attackhim,” Col. ers. But thereare breeds suchas nationallythrough sweat and Chugh said. German shepherdand Belgian urine. In the case of Covid, due to During the 26/11attacks,one malinois, whichhavebothcapa- administrative difficulties of col- of the challenges that security bilities and can be usedfor both lecting urine, body odour is being forces facedwas theenormityof purposes,” Chugh said. reliedupon. the TajPalaceHotel, and theab- In thelong run, theMinistry Sources said the Ministrywill sence of information onthe loca- also plans to develop capabilities organiseannualseminars and tion of terrorists and IEDs. Maj. suchasdisease-detection dog continue publishingthe journal, Sandeep Unnikrishnan of the squads. “It is already happening and moreresources would be Indian Army, then serving in the in certain western countries. It is made available as and when re- NSG,hadlosthislifewhilestorm- still anew concept. In the long quired.Thereare over 3,000 ing the hotel. run, as the requirement arises, dogs with statepolice forces, and Home Ministrysources said these capabilities of dogs will be around2,100with central armed the government is currentlyfo- tapped. Amodel is being devel- police forces (CAPFs) in the cussedonimproving the security opedinternationallyforeven de- country.

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EXPLAINED AGRICULTURE GaspipelinefromKochi to Mangaluru:hurdles Issues in Indian agriculture crossed,and whyitmatters The protestbythousandsoffarmers at Delhi’s borders have brought to focusarange of issues in agriculture THETWOBRANCHES in India. One of thecountry’s leading policy experts provides aprimer on some important questions. MANGALORE BENGALURU Farmerscannotbeleftentirelytothemercy TerminalpointofMainLine EXPERT of market forces. Farmers growing non-MSP (phaseII):542.45km crops,especiallyfruitsandvegetables,have ex- EXPLAINS periencedhugevolatility in prices over the years. The price deficiency paymentscheme KARNATAKA KANNUR Siraj did notsucceedinMP. So, direct income sup- portistheonlyway to shieldthemfromsuffer- Hussain ing hugelosses. Apredictable trade policycan AREEKODE also help in attracting privateinvestmentin PIPELINEROUTE: From TheIndian Express panel MainLine(phaseII) the agriculturechain whichcan act as ashield of specialists, exclusive insight againstvolatility.Option contractsthrough Malappuram TheBengalururouteisnearing FPOscanalsobringstability, butmostfarmers completion.Itbranchesoffat arenot educated enoughtodealwith future GAIL’sKochi- KoottanadinPalakkad,andenters angalurunaturalgas markets,sotheyneedsupportand guidance pipeline(444km) Koottanad TamilNadu,goingtoCoimbatore THE FARMERS’ agitationonDelhi’s border is from the government. wasopenedbyPM beforereachingBengaluru. now45days old,andthegovernmentappears lastweek to have made up itsmind that it will neither Can procurement be abolished? What will KERALA TAMIL NADU put on hold nor repeal the three laws hurried happen to PDS then? KOCHI passedbyParliamentinSeptember 2020. The procurement system in India serves Government ministers have been explaining twopurposes —purchases on MSP supports the beneficial provisions of thelaws, andso- Tractor rallyagainstfarmlawsonDelhi’s outskirts. AbhinavSaha farmers, and subsidiseddistribution of pro- Delays since 2007 cial media is full of stories about howfarmers cured grains underPDS supports India’s eco- SHAJUPHILIP in Punjab have been “exploiting”the system nomicallyvulnerable.Asper recent National THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JAN10 In 2009, the then CPM-ledgovern- of procurementofcropsatminimumsupport Arewheat and rice the onlycrops for areabletoget only asmall amountofthese FamilyHealthSurvey(NFHS)dataonmalnour- ment headedbyVSAchuthanandan price(MSP).WhilePunjab and Haryana have whichfarmers receive MSP? subsidies. ishment in India, malnutrition indicatorsfor ON TUESDAY,PrimeMinisterNarendra gave single-windowclearance to the becomethefocusof thefarmers’agitation,the WhilethegovernmentdeclaresMSPfor23 Anumberofsubsidies meant foragricul- women and children have worsenedoverthe Modi dedicated to the nation the project, which should have been com- currentscenarioinagricultureisnot veryhope- crops, onlywheat and paddy (rice) arepro- turealsoflowtobusinesses,e.g.,grantgivento years.Withthisinfocus,thePDSsystemislikely Kochi-Mangalurunatural gaspipeline pletedin2013. However, protests took ful in otherstatestoo.Some important issues cured in largequantities as theyare required food processingunitsand cold chain projects. to stay inthecomingyears.Butthegovernment of the GailAuthority of IndiaLimited place as localpeople wantedthe align- arediscussedbelow. to meet therequirementof PDS,whichisabout will do well to preparea10-year roadmap of (GAIL).The keyinfrastructureproject ment along asea routerather than 65 milliontonnes. Then whyisitsaid that Indian farmer are PDSto 2030sothatonlytherequiredquantities has come about afterovercoming through inhabited areas;theyfelt the What is the current situation of land in nettaxed? of wheat and rice areprocured. protestsinKerala,misconceptions pipelinewas aticking gasbomb. agriculture? Is it onlythe farmers of Punjab and AspertheICRIER-OECDreport,despitethe about safety, and along delay. AftertheCongress-ledgovernment Areaunderagriculture hasbeenshrinking Haryana who benefitfromprocurement? plethoraofschemes run to supportand sub- Is thereagenuine fear of higher consumer headedbyOommenChandycameto —itreducedfrom159.5 million hectares (mn In2019-20,Punjabprocured92.3%of itsrice sidiseIndianfarmers,becauseof regressive poli- prices due to changesinthe Essential The terminal,since 2013 powerin2011, the CPM, then in oppo- ha) in 2010-11to157 mn ha in 2015-16—but production. Haryana procured 89.2%, while cies on the marketing side (both domestic and Commodities Actand the entryoflarge The pipeline will deliverliquefied sition,chose to standwith theprotest- the number of operationalholdings has been Telangana procured 102% of itsproduction. In international trade policies) and the deficit of corporates in the food businessthrough e- natural gas(LNG) sourced from ater- ers.Whenevenlocalleadersoftherul- rising (increasedfrom138.3 million to about thecaseofwheat,Punjab procured 72%ofits basic infrastructure forstorage,transportation commerce and modern retail? minalin Kochibuilt by PetronetLNG in ing UDF joinedthe agitation, the 146million).Thisreflectsinthefallingaverage production this year,while Haryana and MP etc.,Indianfarmerssufferednetlossesandthus Incaseof high-valueagriculturalcommodi- 2013 at acostofRs4,500.However,for government suspendedthe survey. landholdings’sizeof farmers,whichhascome procured62% and 66%respectively. emergedtobenettaxeddespitereceivingsub- ties in whichIndia is in deficit or has onlymar- want of pipelineconnectivity,itcould GAIL toosuspended all contracts. The down from 1.2hatoabout 1.08 ha. sidies. Between2014and ginal surpluses (likepulses), thereisagenuine notbeutiliseduntilnow. Theterminal’s governmentevenpulledupthenChief Intheabsenceof anestimateofthenum- Which other crops are 2016,Indianfarmers were fear of stocking by corporates, especiallythose objective isto supplynaturalgasfordo- SecretaryJijiThomsonfor having said beroffarmers in the country, thenumberof protected by the onaveragenettaxedtothe whichare in modern retail and e-commerce. mestic and industrial use in Kerala and the pipeline would be laid at anycost landholdings is takenasits proxy. Thismeans government through THEEXPERT tune of 6%. Thegovernmentmustmakeitcompulsorythat SouthIndia.ItisSouthIndia’sfirstLNG- and the protestors would be arrested. thatIndiahasabout146million—orabout14.6 various measures? theykeep theirstock in Warehousing receiving,regasificationandre-loading During the UDF regime, only48kmof crore—farmers. About 86% of them have an Since2015-16,thegov- SIRAJHUSSAIN, IAS (retd), What is the levelof DevelopmentandRegulatoryAuthority-regis- terminal with acapacity of five million the 444-km pipeline could be laid. averagelandholding size less than 2hectares; ernmenthasbeenprocur- has dealt with issues agricultural subsidies in teredwarehouses only, so that the private metric tonnes per annum. The pipeline was planned at an es- theyare referred to as India’s smalland mar- ing largerquantities of related to Indian other countries? stocks areknown to thegovernment. timated costofRs2,915 crorein2009. ginal farmers (SMF). The SMFs operateon pulses through National agriculture formostofhis As per the same Phases and sections Dueto thedelays,its costwentuptoRs about 47.35% of the total agri-area.Morethan Agricultural Cooperative career.Hewas Secretary, ICRIER-OECDreport,while What role should stategovernmentsplay Theproject,conceivedin2007, en- 5,750 crore. half of India’sfarmersresideinthefive statesof Marketing Federation of MinistryofFood Indian farmers were net in getting farmers fair prices? visages pipelines from Kochito UP,Bihar,Maharashtra, MP,and Karnataka. India(NAFED) and Small Processing, and Secretary, taxed(i.e., receivednega- If India has to move away from procure- Mangaluru and to Bengaluru. In the Expedited by Vijayan Farmers’ Agri-business MinistryofAgriculture, tive support), farmers in ment-basedsupport, at present restrictedto firstphase, a44-kmline waslaid in While in opposition, the CPM had Is fragmentation of land aproblem? Consortium (SFAC)for and Chairmanand thefirstworldcountriesof certain cropsonly, amoreattractive income Kochi, linking the terminal withlocal stood with the agitators. But, afteras- Smaller landholdingsproduce smaller maintainingabufferstock Managing Director of FCI. Norway,Switzerland, supportschemehasto beconceived.However, industrial users, includingBharat suming office in 2016,ChiefMinister pocketsofproduce, aggregation of whichbe- of 2milliontonnes.Cotton Sinceretiringfromthe Japan,Korea,UnitedStates, it has to be coupledwith muchhigher invest- Petroleum Corporation Limited.To Pinarayi Vijayan placed the GAIL comesessential forevenatrolley-load to be is procured by Cotton IAS, he has been aVisiting and Australia received the ment,bothpublicandprivate,inagri-infrastruc- take natural gastodomestic con- pipelineinhis 100-days projects. As carriedtoanagriculturalproducemarket com- Corporationof India,while Senior Fellowatthe highestpositive support. ture. The RashtriyaKrishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) sumers,Indian OilCorporation (IOC) Vijayanhad the party under his firm mittee(APMC)mandioranearbymarket.Due groundnut is procured in Indian Councilfor EvenfarmersinIndonesia incentivisedthe states, whichincreasedtheir enteredintoapact with Adani Gas Ltd. control, no one in the CPM or Left to small holdings causedbyfragmentation, some states likeGujarat. ResearchonInternational receivedmuchhigherpos- expenditureonagriculture.TheCentre’sassis- The second phase of the pipeline Democratic Front questionedhis deci- small and marginal farmers areforcedtosell Some horticultural Economic Relations. itive support.Ukrainewas tance forsuchstatesshould be higher. passesthroughsevendistrictsofKerala sion, and local leaders steppedback their produce at farm gate itself. This is espe- productsare alsoprocured another countrylikeIndia SeveralDecentralised Procurement (DCP) to carry natural gasfromKochi to from their protest.The Centretoo ciallysoinstatesthat have aweak networkof in asporadic manner, e.g., thatemergedtobetaxing states likeOdisha and Chhattisgarhclaimthat Bengaluruvia Palakkad, with another wantedKeralato give toppriorityto the APMC mandis. apples in J&K in 2019-20 itsfarmers. theyincur losses in procurement operations leg taking it to Mangaluru. The Kochi- project as the LNGterminal in Kochi and onioninMaharashtraalmostevery year. and these arenot fullyreimbursedbythe Mangaluru line (444 km)has been wasincurring hugelosses. What% of the country’s workforceis Sugarcane is notprocured by the govern- What arethe subsidies enjoyed by the Centre. However, precise data on lossesin- openedwhile the Bengaluru leg is To winoverlandowners,Vijayanin- engaged in agriculture?Dothe workers ment but itsfarmers areassuredofFair and middle classesand therich? Areother curredbythem is notinthe publicdomain. nearing completion, officials said. creasedthe compensation amount for needtobeweaned out? How? Remunerative Price(FRP) paid by sugar mills. sectors of the economyalso subsidised? Already 2,750 domestic gascon- theacquired land, and reducedthe As per recent estimates from the Labour In some states, the government declares State The EconomicSurvey of 2014-15devoted What should the government do over the nections have been giveninKochi and widthof thelandto beacquiredwasre- Bureau, 45% of India’s workforceisemployed AdvisedPrice whichishigher than the FRP. asectiontosubsidies enjoyedbythe middle next five years to make Indian agriculture work forsupplyofnatural gasinother duced. Afterlaying the pipeline, farm- in agriculture.According to Census2011, 55% Juteisanother crop protected by thegov- classes. These include higher interestrates on morecompetitive? towns is going on. The pipeline sup- ers were allowedtocultivate,except of theagri-workforce comprises agri-labour- ernmenteventhough it is notdirectlypro- savings,incometaxexemptions,railways,elec- SeveralstatesofIndia have already plies 3.8 millioncubic metres of gasa deep-rootedcrops.Althoughrightwing ers,i.e.,thosewhodonotownlandandwork for cured.UnderJutePackagingMaterial(JPM)Act, tricity,LPG, gold, and aviation turbine fuel achievedproductivity levels seen in devel- daytoindustrial and residential cus- MuslimoutfitsSocialDemocraticParty wagesonthe land of others; less than 45% are 1987,the Government has decidedthat 100% (ATF). Higher education in government insti- opedcountries. But thereare also states that tomers in Kochiand is settocross 4 of India (SDPI) and WelfareParty of “farmers” who ownand cultivate land. Indian of foodgrainsand20%of sugarshallbemanda- tutions is highlysubsidised. Thegovernment have lowproductivity.Focusedresearch on million cubicmetresinthe city itself. India (of Jamaat-e-Islami)led protests agriculture cannot support such a large popu- torilypackedindiversified jutebags. alsoprovidesprotection to industry by wayof crops growninlow-productivity states can Menagaluru has apotential of 2.5 mil- inmanyplaces,andtheproteststurned lation through growth in agriculturealone. productivity-linked incentive schemes, high deliverbetterseeds, whichcan withstand lion cubic metres per day, Thecapac- violentinKozhikodedistrictin2017,the If horticultureand dairyare more importtariffs,and regulatorytweaks. the challengeofhigher temperaturedue to ity utilisation of the LNGterminal will government ensured that work pro- Is rice the onlywater-guzzlingcrop? profitable, whyare farmers notgiving up climatechange.Drought-tolerant varieties go up to 25-30%. ceededunder policeprotection. It is said that 1kgofsugar requires about MSP crops and switching to these? Whyare farmersagitating when the of seeds arealso neededfor crops grownin 1,500-2,000 litres while 1kgofrice requires Milkproducersandfarmersgrowingfruits governmentsaysthe newlawswill help rain-fed areas.Good quality seedscan en- 5,000litres.Thereare variationsacross states. andvegetablesareequallyproneto fluctuation them?And whyare Punjabfarmers at the hance productivity by 15-20%. Recent suc- Akgofsugar producedfromcane cultivated in market prices. Except fordairycooperatives forefront of theagitation? cesses in higher productivity vegetables and in UP consumes1,044 litres of water, while in in Gujarat, the milk federations arefundedby The farmers of Punjab, Haryana and other maize provethis. Maharashtraittakesdoublethat—2,086litres. state governmentsthrough various means. states that have robustAPMC mandis and an In 2018,aworkinggroup of Niti Aayog, In Maharashtra, sugarcane is cultivatedon4% efficientsystemof procurementaremorefear- chaired by Dr Parmod Kumar,publisheda of thecultivablelandbutconsumesmorethan What arethe subsidies givento ful of the three laws.Theyfear that these laws study,‘Demand supplyprojections towards 70%ofirrigationwater. Duetothehighreturns agriculture in India? signalthebeginningof theendofopen-ended 2033’, whichpointed out that Indiawillstill on sugarcane compared to other crop combi- Farmers in India areprovidedsupporton procurement of wheat and paddy.Theyfear have surplusinwheatandrice.Incoarsegrains nations and assured marketing, the area un- both the input and output side. On the input that the success of these states in creating the thedomesticrequirementwillbelargely met, der sugarcane has been going up even in wa- side,anaverage Indianfarmerreceivessubsi- infrastructurefor procurement maynow be- buttherewillbeadeficitof 5-7milliontonnes ter-stressedregions. dies on fertilisers, seeds, farm machineryand come the reason forwithdrawal of supportof in pulses. Amassive deficit of morethan 50 ThethreeActspassedbyParliamentdonot equipment, electricity,logistics,etc. On the the Centre. milliontonnesisprojectedforoilseeds.To meet touchthesugarsector.InPunjab,sugarisgrown output side, the MSP regime offers supportin this gapinoilseeds, India will needthe best onlyon1.2% of gross croppedarea. So theydo states having robustprocurement infrastruc- Can farming be left entirelytomarket agricultural practices of Punjab and Haryana. notbenefit from policies favouring sugarcane. ture. However, small and marginal farmers forces? NationwidepoweroutageinPakistan:cause&effect,previoushistory

powerdistribution system has notkeptpace “Ithadwhatwecalla‘cascadingeffect’and ators in their homes,CNN reported. paybillsorto stoptheftandwastage,thehigh did managetobring in some reform includ- RAHELPHILIPOSE with powergeneration or demand.Outages shut down the powersystem, choking about Internet connectivity in the countrycol- priceof oilallcontributedto thegovernment's ing augmenting powergeneration capacity, NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 occur frequently, and have even triggered 10,320megawattsof electricity,”heexplained. lapsed.Connectivitywasat“62percentof or- inabilitytopay thesubsidyto private andpub- but the distribution system has notbeen im- massive public protests in citiessuchas Urging people to remainpatient, he later dinarylevels”,accordingto Netblocks,anNGO lic powergenerating companies,whichin provedforuptakeofadditionalpower.Hence, CITIES AND towns across Pakistan, including Lahoreand Karachi. tweetedthat he waspersonallyoverseeing whichmonitorsinternetoutages.Meanwhile, turn meant thesecompanies could notpay the demand-supplygap remains,leading to Islamabad, were plungedintodarkness for restoration efforts. “Our teams arestill work- #Loadshedding and #PakistanBlackOut oil and gassuppliers to keep up generation, frequent tripping, and as it happened yester- severalhours on Saturday night followinga What happenedonSaturdaynight? ing in the Guddu area to investigatethe rea- quicklystartedto trendonTwitter,withthou- leading to “intersectional debts” and disrup- day, a“cascading” failureupthe chain. massive nationwideelectricityoutage.Power Shortlybeforemidnight,massive power sonsthatcausedthefault,buttheheavyfogis sandssharingimagesof theircitiesandlocal- tions, according to a2015United States Whileoutages arefrequent, especiallyin supplywas restored by Sundaymorning in outageswere simultaneouslyreportedby res- making their job difficult,” the ministersaid. itiesshroudedinnear-complete darkness. InstituteofPeace report(Rashid Aziz and thesummer,nationwidefailuresarerare.The themaincities,andaninvestigationlaunched identsofallmajorurbancentres inthecoun- Somesocial media usersevenwondered MunawarBaseer Ahmed). The paper esti- lastonewasin2018,whenpowersupplywas to determine the cause of the outage. try, including Lahore,Islamabad, Karachi, What wasthe impact? whether the outagewas aprelude to amili- mated thatthe energy crisis wasshaving off partiallydisruptedforoverninehours.Before “The system is stable nowand electricity Rawalpindi and Multan, as well as several In the midstofthe ongoingcoronavirus tary takeover or war. about 2% from the GDP annually. that,in2015, around 80% of the countrywas supplyhasbeenrestoredinmajorcitiesof the smaller towns and cities. pandemic, manyfeared thatthe blackout Between 2008 and2015, therewas talk leftwithoutelectricity afteranalleged mili- country,”Pakistan’s Energy MinisterOmar Addressing an early morningpress con- would cause major disruptions at hospitals. Howcommonare powercutsin on and offabout howIndia could export tantattackonasupplyline.Anoutagesimilar Ayub told reporters on Sunday, warning that ference in Islamabad, Energy Minister Ayub However, since mosthospitals rely on back- Pakistan? powertoPakistan, but thatremained talk as to the one on Saturday took place in 2013. it could take hours forelectricity to return said powersupplysnapped at 11:41pmdue up generators, therewerenoimmediatere- Pakistanbegan to experience frequent bilateraltensions took centrestage. Beforethat,in2006,aneight-hournationwide everywhere. to a“technicalfault"attheGuddupowerplant ports of anysuchadversities. powercutsin2009, when the Pakistan The energy crisis became ahugeelection blackout triggered rumours that then The nationwide blackout wasthe worst inSindhprovince.Theblackoutwastriggered In Karachi, peopleclaimedtohaveseen People'sPartywasinpower. Thepoliticalde- issue in 2013,and one of NawazSharif'smain President Pervez Musharraf had been un- thecountryhasexperiencedinrecentmem- by asudden drop in the frequency of the long queues at gasstations in the city as peo- termination to keep powertariffs belowthe campaign promises wastorectifythe situa- seated in acoup at atime he wasawayona ory, but it is by no means the first. Pakistan’s powertransmission system. plequeueduptobuy petrol to powergener- costofsupply, inability to getconsumers to tion.InhisabruptlyshortenedtenureasPM,he 18-daytourabroad.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY11,2021 WORDLY WISE Those who favour freedom and deprecate agitation want crops without ploughing

6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE the ground —FREDERICK DOUGLASS India’s new deal moment

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Givendemand uncertainties, budget is opportune BECAUSETHE TRUTHINVOLVES US ALL moment foralarge physical and social infrastructurepush

OWNINGTHE CRISIS Sajjid ZChinoy Solution to impasse on farm laws lies primarilyinpolitical domain —morewith government than court INDIA’S ECONOMIC RECOVERYisbeing char- substitution effect as muchasthe pace of the sustain. With manufacturing utilisation rates acterisedbythree distinct forces that needto recovery.Greater scaleand formalisation un- below70per cent pre-COVID, an investment bedisentangled.First,Indiahasbrokenthelink doubtedlyaugurwell formedium-term pro- revival,inturn,willdependcruciallyonthede- HE NARENDRAMODIgovernment,itseems, is turningtothe Supreme Court between virus proliferation and mobility ear- ductivity but could increase near-termlabour mand dynamics. Exports shouldbenefitfrom to extricateitselffromthe political mess arising from the farmers’ protests lierandmoresuccessfullythanmanycountries. market frictions and boostpricing power. strengthening global growth as the worldgets againstits agricultural reform laws.AtFriday’s failedtalkswith the farm Rising mobility and normalising economicac- Allthis, therefore, increases prospectsofa progressively vaccinated and the Georgia-in- unions, the government side is reported to have suggestedthat the farmer tivity,rather than sparking another wave of in- K-shaped recovery from COVID, aphenome- ducedbluewaveresultsinmoreUSfiscalstim- T fections, have coincidedwith COVID cases nonplayingoutglobally. Householdsatthetop ulus. But willthis be enough to stokeaprivate unions can go to the court, whichcan be requestedtohold dailyhearings falling by 80 per cent since September.India’s of the pyramid arelikelytohaveseen their in- investment revival? Or willfirms lookthrough to decideonthe constitutionalvalidity of the three laws.Onthe face of it, nothingwrong cumulative deathtoll per millionisnow less comes largely protected, and savingsrates thenextfewquartersandremaincautiousgiven —courtsare the onlyplace where anylaw can be challenged.But this lobbing of the ball than halfthe emergingmarket average,andan forcedupduringthelockdown,increasing“fuel the stillelevateduncertainty? to the court—with theUnion AgricultureMinister, NarendraSingh Tomar,saying that the order of magnitude belowdeveloped in the tank” to drive futureconsumption. It’s againstthisbackdropthatthe upcom- apexcourt has the right to examine legislation enactedbyParliament—is fraught.More economies. Consequently, the progressive re- Meanwhile,householdsatthebottomarelikely ingbudget presentsIndiawithitsNew Dealmo- so with the unions claiming theyaren’t interestedinthe court’s intervention in what is a turn towardspre-COVID activity levels has oc- to have witnessedpermanent hitstojobs and ment. An unprecedented infrastructure push “policymatter”. In astrangereversal of roles, thegovernmentisthe one seeking judicial curredmuchsooner than expected.Activity incomes. These cleavagesare already visible. undertheNewDealin1935 createdmillionsof review whereas the purportedlyaffected party insists on an out-of-courtresolution. jumpedbackupto95per cent of pre-COVID Passengervehicle registrations (proxying up- jobsandregeneratedregionaleconomicdevel- levelsby October,andhasbeeninchingupsince. per-endconsumption)have grownabout4per opment in the US.India mustseek inspiration What the current standoffclearly reflects is apolitical failureonthe part of thegov- Thisisbeingcomplementedbythe much- cent since Octoberwhile two-wheelers have from this. Giventhe prevailing demand uncer- ernment beginning with the unseemlyhaste with whichthe three laws were passed, awaitedpick-upincentralgovernmentspend- contracted 15 per cent. tainties, thebudget representsanopportune firstvia the ordinance routeand then in Parliament, with littledebateand no proper ing,whichsurgedinNovemberandisexpected What arethe macroimplications of aK- momentfortheCentre,inconjunctionwiththe stakeholder consultation duringdrafting and then the badmouthingofcritics as rogue el- to remain strong forthe rest of the year.These An unprecedented shapedrecovery?With the top10per cent of states, to embarkonalarge physicaland social ements. The laws,ofcourse, arewell-intended. Allowing crop purchases outside state-con- dynamics should reduce the full-year growth infrastructure push under India’s householdsresponsible for25-30per (healthandeducation)infrastructurepush.The trolledmandis, creating alegal framework forcontract farming agreementsand remov- contraction to 6.5 per cent,lessthan the NSO’s the NewDeal in 1935 centoftotal consumption,one couldargue benefitsare self-evident. This will simultane- advance estimateof7.7per cent and muchless consumption would getaboostasthis pent- ouslyboostnear-term aggregatedemand, ing stockholding and movement restrictions on produce aremuch-neededreforms for than previouslyfeared. created millions of jobs up demand expresses itself. But it’s important crowdinprivate investment,createjobstosoak Indian agricultureinthe 21st century. The ultimatebeneficiariesofthese reforms, which These areveryhopeful developments but, and regenerated regional nottoconflatestockswith flows,and levels up the unemployed, and improvethe econ- address the reality of the country’s transition from astructurallydeficit to surplus producer, juxtaposedwith astronger-than-expected re- economic development in with changes. Upper-income households have omy’s external competitiveness. Job creation, arethe farmers themselves. The government’s readiness to discuss thefarm laws “clause- covery,isconfirmation of labourmarket scar- the US.India must seek benefitted from higher savingsfor twoquar- health and education,inturn, will be astart to by-clause” with the unions, and even to undertake amendments, could well have been ring. CMIE’s labour market survey still reveals ters. What we arecurrentlywitnessing is a help mitigateCOVID-inducedinequalities. inspiration from this. Given shown at the time of introducingthe bills.Equallyironicalisthe Supreme Court nowpro- 18 millionfeweremployed(about5percentof sugar rush from thosesavings beingspent. The question is: Howwill this befinanced? thetotalemployed)comparedto pre-pandemic This is, however, aone-timeeffect. To the ex- With the consolidated fiscal deficit projected posingan“independent” expertpanel to break the impasse —overthe same bills that the prevailing demand levels. The employment rate gradually im- tent that households at the bottom have ex- above 11 per cent of GDP,gradual near-term the government refusedtorefer forscrutinytoParliament’s ownselect committee. A uncertainties, the budget proved till September but has weakenedsince represents an opportune perienced apermanent loss of income in the consolidationcoupledwithacrediblemedium- court-appointed panel sittingonjudgment on alaw passedbyParliament has itsown then, even as the economy has progressively forms of jobs and wage cuts, this will be are- term fiscal plan willbekey to anchoringthe consequences,intendedand unintended. openedup. This also shows up in the PMI sur- moment forthe Centre,in curringdragondemand, if the labourmarket bond marketand underscoring an adherence The situationatDelhi’s borders is taking amountingtoll. The Centre’s strategy to tire veys whereemploymentislaggingactivity,and conjunction with the states, does notheal faster. to macro stability. Howthencan public invest- out the protesters does notseem to be working. With Republic Dayapproaching and in demand forMGNREGAjobswhichare still to embark on alarge physical Second, to the extent that COVID has trig- ment increase meaningfullyifthe headline Parliament convening forthe Budget session,the images of protesting farmers, already 50percenthigherthanthepreviousyear.These geredaneffective incometransferfromthepoor deficit mustcome down? Onlyifthe public in- labour marketpressures increase risks of and social (health and to therich,thiswillbedemand-impedinginthe vestment push is financedbyaggressiveasset braving winter nightsout in the open, areespeciallydisquieting. Theyalso send out dis- medium-term economic scarring, and arenot education) infrastructure steadystate,becausethemarginalpropensityto sales (strategic sales, disinvestment, land and turbing signalsinthe midst of the world’s biggestanti-COVID-19drive.The government incompatible with asharper near-term re- push. Thebenefits are self- consume at the bottom is higher than that at infrastructure monetisation).Inthismanner, mustfind apracticalsolution —whichcan onlybepolitical. And it should do this quickly. bound because the recovery appears to be led evident. This will the top, justasthe marginal propensity to im- expenditure to GDP can actuallyrise next year Hoping forthe courts to do it is notpolicy. by capital and profits, notlabour and wages. portatthe topishigher than at the bottom. —generatinganexpansionaryfiscalimpulseto Even within labour,blue-collar workers are simultaneously boost near- Third, if COVID-19reducescompetition or the economy—while automatic stabilisers (a likelytohavebeendisproportionatelyimpacted term aggregate demand, increasestheinequalityof incomesandoppor- normalisation of taxrevenues next year) are vis-à-vistheir white-collar counterparts. crowd in private investment, tunities, it could impingeontrend growth in usedtoreduce the headline fiscal deficit. Athirdphenomenonislarge firmshave en- create jobs to soak up the developingeconomiesby hurtingproductivity India’sfaster-than-expectedreboundisvery TOWARDSRECONCILIATION dured thecrisisbetterand aregaining market and tightening political economyconstraints. encouraging.Butgivenlabourmarket pressures shareattheexpenseof smallerfirms.To theex- unemployed,and improve Policy will,therefore, needtolook beyond and prospectsofaK-shapedrecovery around Suspension of hostilities by Qatarand Arab Quartetcould be tent thereisamigration of activity from the in- the economy’sexternal the next fewquarters and anticipatethe state the world, the economywill needtobecare- formal/SMEfirmsto largerfirms,taxcollections of themacroeconomypostthe sugarrush.The fully nurturedandstoked.Thebudget presents firststepinending heightenedconflict among Gulf kingdoms competitiveness. Jobcreation, and Sensex/Nifty earnings should getaboost, health and education, in turn, key, of course, is whether the private sector acrucial opportunity to makeabig down pay- even holding the economic pie constant. It’s, starts re-investing and re-hiring, and thereby ment towardsthis end. T IS NOT yetareal reconciliation, but Qatar and itsGulf Arab neighbours have therefore,importantto interpret thedatacare- will be astart to help mitigate sets the economyontoamorevirtuous path. agreedlastweek to suspend three years of intense hostilities. Nudged by the fullybecause some variables will reflect this COVID-induced inequalities. Barringthat,thelabour-market hysteresiscould Thewriter is Chief IndiaEconomistatJPMorgan UnitedStates and local mediation from Kuwait, the Arab Quartet—Bahrain,Egypt, Saudi Arabia, andthe United Arab Emirates —liftedtheir unsuccessful blockade IagainstQatar at the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The agreement to nor- malise relationswas part of thesharedcommitment to “solidarity and stability”. Pessimists saythe agreement to normalise relationsbetween theArabQuartet and Qatar merelypa- pers over deepening mutual distrust. Optimists would hopethatisthe firststepinending THE SAVARNA GAZE adestructivephase of internecine conflict among the Gulf kingdoms. Qatar,once deferential to Saudi political guidance,has in recent years carved out an in- dependent regional path. Doha’s dalliance with Iran, Turkey,and the Muslim Brotherhood Whycan’t mainstream filmmakers imagine Dalits as people, notstereotypes? —all of whomarelockedinintenseideological and political conflictswiththe Arab Quartet —had steadilybuilt up regional resentment. The negative coverage of the Arab Quarteton thepopularAl Jazeera TVchannel,ownedby Qatar, addedinsulttoinjury.Ledby an irateUAE Rehnamol Raveendran andtheimpetuous Saudicrownprince,MohammedbinSalman,theArab Quartetactedde- cisively in 2017 to cut offdiplomatic ties with Doha and enforce ablockade. The Quartet THE POSTER OF Richa Chadha’s upcoming prejudices and stereotypical attitudes against broom norcan the valour of the Battle of also issuedalistof13conditions forending the siege. Theyincludedanend to Al Jazeera’s movie, MadamChief Minister, stands out for marginalisedcommunities. By reducing Dalit Koregaon be underminedbyuntouchability itscrudity in aworld of politicalcorrectness. identity to abroom,the makers of Madam imposedonMahars. Theportrayal of aDalit hostile propaganda, downgrading of diplomatic ties with Iran and ending of militaryco- The movie apparentlynarratesthe storyof Chief Minister proveRajamani right. character in Pa Ranjith’s Kaala displays the in- operation with Turkey.Qatar rejected the allegations, refusedtoimplement the demands, an “untouchable” woman, who becomes the In contrast, mainstream filmmakers rep- trepidity of the hero. In filmssuchasRanjith’s and found ways to dodge the blockade with the support of Iran andTurkey. But as the costs chief ministerofastate.The filmmakers de- resent upper-caste protagonists bereft of any Pariyerum Perumal and Nagraj Manjule’s of theconflictsmountedand the geopoliticallandscapeofthe regionbegantochange,Qatar cidedtocommunicatetheir theme of aDalit caste prejudices and stereotypes, and as fig- Sairat,bothstories of Dalit-savarna love,you and the Quartet have recognisedthe urgency of ending the standoff. woman’s success in the posterbydepicting TheDalit imagination of ures with authority and agency.That’s nota will neverfind Dalitsdepicted with degrad- With the Joe Biden administrationdeterminedtorestore relations with Iran, the Arab the protagonistholding abroom with the coincidence.Itisbecausecaste consciousness ingsymbols. tagline “untouchable, unstoppable”. The their ownidentity, conspicuouslyshapes the imagination. Case Moreimportantly, the upper-caste imagi- Quartetsaw the importanceof restoring ameasureofGulfunity.Qatarmightbepleasedthat posterhas arousedthe indignation of many undoubtedly,isdifferent in point:The Brahmin heroofthe movie Article nation appears to promote acultureof ithassuccessfully stood upto pressures,butitcan’tafford apermanent conflict with itsGulf foramplifying astereotypical portrayal of from howthe upper castes 15. Similarly,the posterofabiopic on former gaslighting Dalit voices. It is unfortunatethat Arab neighbours. India,whichhas hugestakesinthe bilateral relations with all Gulf coun- Dalit identity. perceive them. They seek Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterJJayalalithaa, Chadha dismissedthe criticism againstthe tries and morebroadlyinthe stabilisation of aregion,was quicktowelcome the movesto- The cognitive structures of upper-caste Thalaivi, depictsthe subject of the biopic with casteistposteras“cancel culture”. Instead of wardsregional reconciliation. The Gulf hosts morethan 8million Indian migrants, who filmmakers, unfortunately, butunsurpris- their identities in the respect and authority. defendingthe stereotypicalportrayal of ahith- send homebillions of dollars in remittances everyyear.The Gulf is also one of the biggest ingly,seem unable to think beyond abroom portrayal of gallantry, The Dalitimagination of their owniden- ertomarginalisedcommunityandgaslighting as afundamental symbolofDalitidentity. tity,undoubtedly,isdifferent from howthe the voices of criticism,the actor and others as- marketsfor Indian goods and is the mostimportant supplier of hydrocarbonstoits econ- virtuousnessand sacrifices The usageofthe word “untouchable”inthe of Dalit leadersand assertive uppercastesperceive them.Theyseek their sociated with the movie mustcommit to a omy. Whilethe dangersofinstability have easedfor the moment, Delhi needs to sustain posterhintsnot onlyatthe moral bank- identities in the portrayal of gallantry, vir- genuine introspection. the current intense levels of political engagement with the Arab Gulf. ruptcy of the overrepresented upper-caste symbols of resistance. Badri tuousness, and sacrifices of Dalit leaders and The content of the postercan’t beinsulated folk in the showbusiness but reveals the Narayan’s2006 book, assertive symbols of resistance. Badri from criticism citing the transformative con- marketing strategy as one that sells dehu- Wo menHeroesand Dalit Narayan’s 2006 book, Women Heroes and tent of the movie. The DiscreetCharm of manising wordsfor profit. Dalit AssertioninNorthIndia, Culture, Identity Savarnas could serveasareferenceforallthose The posterhas onlyvindicated the prem- AssertioninNorth India and Politics, exploredhow Mayawati’s im- who ventureintocreative spaces, to unlearn Freeze Frame EPUnny iseofRajesh Rajamani’s TheDiscreetCharmof explored howMayawati’s ageasaDalitleader wasbuilt up by identi- their preconceivednotions. Toni Morrison’s Savarnas,asatireonupper-caste prejudices image as aDalit leader was fying her with alongline of historical Playing in theDark: Whitenessand theLiterary againstDalits. In the shortfilm,the characters built up by identifying her women figures known fortheir valour,like Imagination should bemandatoryreading for embarkonadesperatesearch foranactor Jhalkaribai, Udadevi, Mahaviridevi, filmmakers. who “lookslikeaDalit” and, thus, fits intotheir with along line of historical Avantibai Lodhiand Pannadhai. imagination of a“Dalit”. Rajamani’s film calls women figures known for In anyofthe Dalit imaginations, Udadevi The writer taught political science at Delhi out the deep-rooted, oftennormalised, caste their valour and Jhalkaribai cannever be seen witha University

JANUARY 11,1981, FORTY YEARS AGO

ANJAIAH ACTS and members of Parliament from the state. been worked out, thevisiting monarch said. THE ANDHRA CHIEF MinisterTAnjaiah has He had formal talkswith the PM and infor- asked his entirecabinettoresign to help him CHINALAUDS PM mal discussions at adinner hostedbyher. reconstitutehis ministry. He will consult the CHINAHAS WELCOMED the statement of high command before finalisinghis team. Prime MinisterIndiraGandhithat India and POLISH WORKERSSTRIKE This is in line withthe thinkinginthe high Pakistanshouldstand togetherratherthanget MILLIONSOFPOLISH workers defiedthe gov- command that his team is oversizedand re- embroiledinthe big powerrivalryinthe ernmentand stayed offworkdemandinga quires pruning. He has started consultinghis IndianOcean. “It’s hardfor others to guess five-day, 40-hour week.Small shops, depart- cabinet colleagues about the process. The what she meantby ‘getting embroiled’ but the ment stores and some other offices remained CM’s decisioncomes afteranassurance from necessity doesexist forthe subcontinentalna- open in Warsawand othercities. But in other the high command that no dissident activ- tions to stand together,” notedthe Xinhua. major enterprises, including shipyardsand ity will be tolerated if some of the ministers steel-making units, the workers heededthe aredroppedinthe pruning process. Anjaiah AIRLINK WITH BHUTAN call by the independent union Solidarity and himself is nothappywiththe size of his cab- BHUTAN AND INDIA will soon be linkedby joinedthe strike. Labour MinisterJanusz inet,the constitution of whichowesalot to air,Bhutan’s king Jigme Singye Wangchuk Obodowski warnedthat workers who had the suggestions of former CM Chenna Reddy said. The outlines of the proposedlink have abstainedfromworkwill lose aday’s pay.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY11,2021 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “The crisis theUSiscurrently facing cannot be resolved through violence,but 7 THE IDEAS PAGE only through peaceful, legal and democratic means.” —THEDAILYSTAR America’s broken democracy Theopen

To heal itself, it will needtointrospect about howanarcissistic leader wasable to expose classroom the fragilityofits institutions and push themtothe brink The pandemic is an opportunity to reimagine schools as places forcommunitylearning, where childrenofall backgrounds can study together

public schools, or hand over their precious land and managementstoprivate organisa- tions.Whyisthegovernmentgoingheadlong with this privatisation? Doesn’t it knowthat inAmerica,England,JapanandFinland--the Peter Ronald mostadvancedcountries —the best schools aregovernment schools?The digitaldivide deSouza betweentherich andpoorhasalsowidened. The poor do nothaveaccesstomobiles,lap- tops and internetconnectivity. ONE IS TEMPTEDtosee the bizarrerioting Arvind Gupta In suchascenario, one can tryand con- in the US Capitol by thousands of Donald ceive of neighbourhoodlearningspaces.The Trumpsupporters seeking to stall pandemic forced millions of adultstowork President-elect Joe Biden’scertification by THECRITIQUEOFschool as an institutionhas fromhome.Manypeoplerealisedthatanof- Congress as aone-off event, aunique de- developedand growninthe pasthalf acen- fice is notneededtodoproductivework. In scentintomadnessbyanessentially robust tury. Education theoristEverett Reimer the process, some have realised the boring democracy.Suchareading is fundamen- wrote School is Dead in the 1960s. Danger natureofroutine office and factoryjobs and, tallywrong. The mobs storming the hal- School, aclassic publishedbyBrazilian edu- simultaneously, discoveredtheirownpoten- lowedprecinctsofAmerican democracy,on catorPaulo Freire’s group in the late1970s, tial. Manyhaveleftbusy, polluted cities,and January6,werenot an exceptional lapse but captured through scathing cartoons the returnedtosmall towns and villages. were,infact, asymptom of asickdemoc- harm whichschools inflict on our children. We muststrive formoreneighborhood racy.American democracy is critically ill. It Mostschools arecaged jails, whereanalien learning spaces as we reimagine the school. suffers from five disorders. curriculum designed by some “experts” is Large housingsocietiesalreadyhave commu- The firstmalady, and perhaps the one thrustdownachild’s gullet. nity halls. Smaller ones caneasilyallocatea mostdifficult to treat, is the breakdown in Today, manyschools aregargantuan dedicatedspace,whereadultscansharetheir the cultureofbipartisanshipthat wassoin- corporateenterprises with thousands of skillsandexperienceswithyoungones.Every trinsic to American politics. It kept the sys- CRSasikumar children on their rolls, and forall practical housingsocietyshouldhave an“activitiescen- temworking. Difference and consensus, in- purposes theyare run likefactories, or bet- tre”, wherechildren can makeand do things. tense competition and compromise, all “winner takesall”stake since defeatisfor los- discourse. Muchhas been written about terstill likemini-armies. The websiteofa Inthe1960s,Englandhadalot of commu- producedapolitical pragmatism that wasat ers. In suchapolitics,institutions getenfee- elitecapture of institutions, so letmedwell private school in Lucknowboasts of nitycolleges. Here, anyone who had anyskill the heartofAmerican democracy.This has bled, democraticconventions getignored, hereonthe captureofdiscourse. Gaetano 56,000 students, forinstance. couldofferacourse.Andanyonewhowanted nowbeen abandoned. The speeches deliv- and the locus of powershifts from the office Mosca, the Italian theoristofelites, referred Butprogressive thinkershavealwaysen- to learn askill or subject could join in. No de- ered by Republican senators on the floor of to the politicalleader.Officials,seenas to it as “political formulas”. These areargu- visioned“freeschools”forchildren.Thegreat greeswere required.Thecourseswere wide- the house, minutes afterthe assault on the Wilhelm Reich’s “little men”, develop an at- mentsand explanationsusedbyelites to Russiannovelist,LeoTolstoy,foundedaschool ranging,fromhaiku,Chineseart,limerickwrit- Capitol, were hostile and unyielding. Instead titude of complicity with the leader.In getthose overwhom theyrule to accept forthechildrenof poorpeasantsathishome, ing, potterytobicycle repairs! We needto of closing ranksand accepting the logic of Trump’s America, the little men have come their ideas and arguments. Political formu- Yasnaya Polyana,withoutanystrictschedule, reimagineschools–asplacesforcommunity defeat, of embracing the national interest to the centreofgovernment. las give legitimacy to eliterule. American homework or physical punishment. Maria learning.Schoolshave averynarrowvisionof whichtheir leader MitchMcConnell had ear- The thirdpolitical illness, whichthrives democracy todayisatextbook illustration MontessoriwasthefirstItalianwomanto be- ateacher—someonewithaBEddegree.How lier in the dayarticulated,alarge number of in tandem with the above two, is the debili- of howthe political formula of neo-liber- come adoctor;she went on to work out the aboutenvisioningtensofthousandsof retired Republican Congressmen chose to pander to tation of institutions. Institutions arethe life alism has been usedbycapitalistelites to “stagesofdevelopment” in children which professionals as teachers? Theywill bring the President’s narcissistic delusion of a and soul of ademocracy.Theycheckthe ex- notjustaccumulate wealth but to makethe became the basisfor hereducationalphilos- years of practical experience to learning. stolen election. Partisan interestgot mor- cesses of power, socialiseelectedrepresenta- non-elitefeel that suchaccumulation is in ophy, which tooemphasisedchildren’s free- The government canuse thepandemic phedwith the national interest. Forthem, tivesintothe do’s and don’tsofdemocratic the public interest. From the World dom and choice. Tagore’s critiqueofrote to better itsown schools. First, by improving the enemywas the Democratic party and not politics. Theyembody the rules and conven- Economic Forum to the humble corridors learningisarticulated in the classic tale The the infrastructureand makingthe schools the mobs,the electoralsystemand notthe tions that maintain thebalance betweenpri- of Niti Aayog, the “political formulas” of Parrot’s Training (Totaakahini). Asmall pro- morewelcoming.Cleantoilets,drinkingwa- hooligans who were undermining it. vate andpublicinterests.Trumptoreinto neo-liberalism economics rule.AsJean Paul gressive school in Japanrun by avisionary ter, library,atinkering lab, and aplayground Bipartisanship in America is dead, killedby these checks and balances.When his chiefs Satrewould have said,Davos speaksand principal has beenimmortalisedinthe best- will help. Second, by making learning fun. an ideologicalchauvinism thatsees competi- of staff, andseveral of his secretaries opposed Niti Aayogprovides the echo. Trumpisneo- sellingTottochan.Perhaps,thelongestlasting Instead of segregatingchildren by agethey tors as theenemy within. This is amindset his views,hejustreplaced them.When the liberalism’s loudestspokesperson. libertarianschoolintheworldisSummerhill. can have classes with mixedagegroups. The that is difficult to treat. It is built on apsychol- mainstream media, suchasCNN, TheNew The above maladies have gainedalife, and It wasfoundedin1921, ahundred years ago children can also learn at their ownpace. ogy of hatethat residesdeep in the soul of its York Times and The Washington Post,wrote becomepossible, becauseofthe fifthmalaise in England, by ASNeill with the belief that Third, locatethe champions —the “heroes” proponents. It is incapableofcompromise about his transgressions, he mocked them Themore appropriate term in American society —its increasing inequal- school shouldbemadetofit the child rather within the government system —and use and challenging to cure. describingthem as purveyors of “fakenews”. is to see Trump not as a ity.Itprovides the soil forTrumpianmobilisa- than the other wayround. them as effective resourcepeople.Without The second maladyfeeding the first, and In his drive to dominateinstitutions, Attorney tion. This increasing inequality of American Usually,governmentschoolshitheadlines anycashincentives,simplybybringinginno- perhaps dependent on it, is the rise of the General WilliamBarrbecamehis bulldog. populist leader but as a capitalism needed aspokesman and acover, forall the wrong reasons —awall cavesin, a vatorsto thefore,manyteacherswillfeelmo- plebiscitaryleader.The moreappropriate The leader of the Senate, MitchMcConnell, plebiscitaryone. A to convert alie into atruth. Trumpprovided roof collapses,orchildrenfallsickafteramid- tivated.Fourth,by invitingestablishedNGOs term is to see Trumpnot as apopulistleader becamehis praetorian guardand Lindsey plebiscitaryleader speaks both. He changed the vocabularyofpolitics, daymeal. But theAAP government in Delhi to help bring in best practices from all over. but as aplebiscitary one. Aplebiscitaryleader Graham his dancing cheerleader.Mark directly to his followers over making it respectable to mock, deride, de- vowedtomakegovernment schools better During the pandemic, 1.5millionpeople speaksdirectlytohis followers over the Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefsof nounce and heap scorn on one’s political ad- thanprivate ones.Theyachievedthissuccess logged into archive.org everyday.Itisthe heads of institutions that aresupposedto Staff, who accompaniedTrumpfor aphoto- the heads of institutions that versaries. Attention had to bedistractedfrom by improving infrastructure(no stinky toi- largest repositoryofbookswith 28 million constrain him but have,asshown, little op to achurch in Washington, afterithad are supposed to constrain the real challengeofincreasingequality. lets), giving dignity to teachers, constituting booksfor free downloads. We needtobuild powertodoso. Arelationship of devotion been forciblycleared of protesters, apolo- him but have,asshown, little Trumpmade vigilantepolitics, especially of school management committees and by in- suchafreearchive forIndian languages. The develops between the leader and followers gisedfor this compromise. the Whitesupremacistvariety,alegitimate volving many good NGOs forinnovating recent announcement that the government that is unmediated by the institution’s tem- One has, over the lastfouryears, watched powertodoso. A aspect of American politics. It is worrisome learning methods. In 2015,therewereonly will buy bulk subscriptions of scientific jour- pering logic. The leader provides the follow- with horrorand disbeliefasthe custodians relationship of devotion thathis model of politics is nowavailable for 17,000 classrooms. In justthree years, AAP nals so that everyone can access them is a ers with meaning, with aviewofthe world of America’s democratic institutions suc- develops between the leader other plebiscitaryleaders. Withhis politics of added another 8,000 classrooms; 11,000 step in the right direction. that speakstotheir anxieties and insecuri- cumbed to the narcissism of their plebisci- and followers thatis hate, in this climateofinequality, it is little moreclasses areunder construction. Once We needschools where children with ties. Thisisessentially Max Weber’s thesis tary leader.Evensmall conventions, although wonder that the masterofvituperative social completedtherewill be 36,000classrooms. different backgrounds —class, caste,reli- on the charismatic personality.Trumpfitsit symbolicallysignificant, that establishedthe unmediated by the media posts brought the Capitol under siege. InIndia,schoolshave always beendeeply gions, abilities —can studytogether and learn to aT.Hebuilt his constituency with phrases principle of conflict of interestwerecast institution’s tempering logic. To heal itself, American democracy will need segregated.The 1966 Kothari Education to careand empathise. In DavidHorsburgh’s and slogans suchas“makeAmerica great aside by Trumpwhen he appointedfamily Theleader provides the more than justthe replacing of Trumpwith Commission’s recommendation foracom- Neel Bagh School in Kolar,Karnataka, chil- again”,“drain the swamp”,“lockher up”, members to high office and refusedtore- followers withmeaning,with Biden. It will need to examinewhy anarcis- monschoolsystemwasneverimplemented. dren could learnattheirown pace. They “stopthe steal”, that created apartisancon- lease his income taxreturns as had been the sistic leader,with plebiscitarypower, wasable Today, which school achild goes to depends could study Class VTelugu, Class III English stituency both in the street andwithin the convention with previous presidents.Trump aview of the world that to expose the fragility of itsinstitutions and onhersocio-economicstatus.Thepandemic andClassVII math allatthe sametime. They elected chambers. It waswilling to walk with took asledgehammer to institutions. They speakstotheir anxieties and push them to the brink. has furthered and exacerbated this divide. learnt to work with people with different him to the ends of the earth. Social media were unabletocorralhim. He exposedthe insecurities. This is COVID-19hit parentseconomically. Many skillsandabilities.Theyalsolearnt coopera- aided theprocess of partisan constituency fragility of their checks andbalances. Biden essentially Weber’sthesis on The writer is DDKosambi Visiting Professor were unabletopay school fees. Some re- tion, group work,compassion, human dig- formation. It exaggerated the feeling of griev- will have to work hardtorepairthem. at Goa University.Hehas justpublished with movedtheir children from private schools nity and plurality of opinions. anceand promisedthatthe leaderwould ad- The fourth malaise is the elitecapture the charismatic personality. Rukmini Bhaya Nair abook titled Keywords andputthemingovernmentschools.Butthe dress the problem. Trumpwas playing fora of notjustinstitutions but of the political Trump fits it to aT. forIndia. Viewsexpressed arepersonal governmentistryinghardtowithdraw from Arvind Gupta is atoymaker and educator Areform for the future LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR US TRUMPED IDEAS Newfarmlawsare meantto usherinmodernpracticesinagriculture THISREFERSTOthe article, ‘Theattack on America’ (IE, January8).The audacity ONLINE of Donald Trump-inspired goons to be- Syed Zafar Islam siegethe US Capitolplaces an indelible ONLYINTHE EXPRESS stain on the world’s oldestdemocracy. THE LATESTROUNDoftalksbetween the gov- forms forthe benefit of his allegedcapitalist bone of India’s economy, contributes amas- erations.PMModi’s vision should be seen in True to his name,hedid trumpthe ● SMARTTESTS ernment and farmers’ representativeshas friends. But nothing can be farther from the sive 55 per cent while the shareofindustries thisbackdrop. democracy.The countrywhich is con- MUSTGOON: once again concludedwithout an agreement. truth. PM Modi has launchedthese reforms is 26 per cent. The twotogether makeup In fact,it’s notall doomand gloom. We sidered abeacon of light forother AMARPATNAIK The good news is that the twosides have forthe benefit of the farmers and their future muchofthe GDP but the populationdepend- have bits of everything going in the farm sec- democracies nowmustbeitselfgroping agreedtomeetagain on January15. Let’s hope generations. The newlawsare meant to take ent on them is justabout 40 per cent. tor, largely due to market forces. Forexample, in the darktoknowwhy this has hap- ● REDEFINING AGRI the farmers from the country’s northern states notjustthe farm sector forwardbut benefit Year afteryear,the GDP contribution of big private players already operateinthe pened. The answer is notfar to seek.The MARKETS: showflexibility in understanding whythe the entirecountry. agricultureand allied services is going agriculturesector.The ITC’s annualfarming country, rivenbycontradictionsandcon- SHIRISH JOSHI government hasundertakentoreform the Even if the Modi government had not down. We should have arrested the decline sector turnoverisRs7.5 thousand crore. They flictsonvarious issues, did nottakeno- agriculturesector. framedthese newlaws, Iwould have de- along time ago. The UPAgovernment never have been doing contract farming of sorts tice of the shadows being castby www.indianexpress.com Time is non-partisan and it judges us ruth- manded reforms in the farm and alliedsec- did so.The NarendraModi government has through the “E-Choupal”scheme that has Trump’sdemonic demagogy and ac- lessly. If we do notembarkonreformsinagri- tors. We need reforms because muchofour done that. brought 40 lakh farmers under it. The com- tions. This assault is also amessagefor cultureand alliedsectorsnow,wewill have agricultural practices aretrappedinthe past. Consider thisaswell:Onlythe US has pany aimstohit the one croremarksoon. other countries, wherehis counterparts failedthe future generations. Theywill not The production of crops is lopsidedand dis- morecultivablelandthan us. But we produce Thereare privateplayers in agro-businesses aretrumpeting him as arole model. BEHOLDENTOOPTICS forgiveuswhen theylook backattoday’s tribution is even moreskewed. We produce four times less crops than the US. China has tooand thus farit’s been ahappy relation- Tarsem Singh, Mahilpur THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,‘Discomfort stubborn but misguidedopposition to the muchmorewheat and rice than we need. But less arableland thanusand yet, as agriculture ship betweenthe twosides —cases of ex- zones’ (IE, January7). The quantifiable newfarm laws. our fruit, lentils and vegetable production is expertAshok Gulati says,itproduces three ploitation, if any, arenegligible. BUILDERS’HOUSE achievementsinthe India-US relation- The needfor reform has been felt forthe muchless than our requirement. We do not timesmorecrops than us. Afew start-ups areusing newtechnolo- ship duringthe Donald Trumpadminis- lastthree decadesand that’s whythe MS find muchuse forscience, modern machines Fortyper cent of our arable land is afflicted gies suchasdrones and satelliteimages to THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘A House tration wasthe outcome of astrongbi- Swaminathan Committee wasset up to come and satellite imagesfor data analysis and are with degradation and infertility.Itproduces analysethe quality of soiland seedsand deter- fornew India’ (IE, January8). While lateral partnership built over years. This up with solutions to address the malaise in notimaginative aboutirrigation. The sector is fewernutrient crops and at less than itsca- mine howmuchwater aparticular crop needs the GDP is likelytocontractby7.7 per administrationhas narroweddownthe thesector. Youneedhugepolitical will and starved of capitaland bereft of start-ups. pacity.Deforestation is chipping away at cul- at whattime. cent this financial year and 1,663“ma- scope of this engagement to atransac- courage of conviction to initiatereforms in Thepaddy andwheat farmersappear to tivable land. Monsoon rains bring floods and But the development is unevenand not jor projects” worthRs25.47 lakh- tionalrelationshipthatisveryhigh onop- agriculture, on whichnearly 60 per cent of have little or no regard forthe demand and deficient rainfall causes drought. Our water spread across the country.Itneededgovern- croreare pending foryears(as per the tics, alignedtoservedomestic political the country’spopulation is dependent.The supply cycle in the market because theyknow management system is outdatedand uses a ment intervention. It neededtobegiven a latestMoSPI report), what explains interests.Contrarytothe submission twoUPA governmentshad neither anyinter- that the government will buy their produce, lotofthe underground water, causing the wa- direction. Hence the newfarm laws.Infact, the logic —and the hurry —behind made by Ambassador Justerthat US estinthe welfareoffarmers nor the political demand or no demand.This is notanideal tertable to deplete fast. we needmorereforms.This should justbe splurging Rs 20,000 croreonanew CAATSA sanctionswerenever designed will to implementthe Swaminathan farm practice. China beganits farm reforms in 1980. the beginning. Hopefully, the entireagricul- Parliament andother buildings unless to harm friends,theyhavedirectly im- Committee report. Justimagine this: The farm and alliedsec- Agriculturescientists believe it takesmore tural system is remodelledtoservethe farm- it’stoappeasethe builders? pacted India’s strategicinterests. If Prime MinisterNarendraModi had so tors contributeonly17per centtoour GDP, than 30-40 yearsoratleast twogenerations to ing community. Varin Dhir, Ahmedabad Sudip Kumar Dey, Kolkata desired,hecouldhaveeasilylet things drift. while theyconstitute60per cent of the coun- enjoythe fruitsofreform. If we startnow,we He is being accusedofinitiating these re- try’s population. The services sector,the back- will bedoing agreat service to our futuregen- ThewriterisaBJP MP

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8 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY11,2021 IDEA EXCHANGE Newsmakersinthe Newsroom KANIMOZHI, LOK SABHA MP & SECRETARY, WOMEN’S WING, DMK ‘ Our culture is different. They (BJP) can’t create fear of other religions here.Itwon’t work in TN polls

The‘DMK leader talksabout fighting polls without Karunanidhi, says DMK is at forefront of fighting BJP’s polarising tactics in TN,claims Rajinikanthwould nothave been afactor,and rules out anytension with the Congress over seat-sharing talks. The session wasmoderated by National Editor (Mumbai) Nirupama Subramanian

NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN: Youhave happens on social media. And, it’s politi- The needs, the problems, the issues, alreadystarted campaigning in the cal parties likeuswho still take to the everything changes,and everyparty has to westernand southern districtsof streetsand meetpeople. Nobody is keep reinventing and adapting to changes. Tamil Nadu. This willbethe first againstlearning another language, That cannotbedenied... The DMK is a

Assemblyelection that the party will whether it is Hindi, Malayalam, German cadre-basedparty and we reachout to peo- contestwithout your father and or anything... We aresaying don’t impose ple directly. Now, of course, with modern formerDMK chief MKarunanidhi. alanguageonus. Don’t take away our technology,and we know that the BJPuses Howdifficultwill this election be for right to choose. You social media... we also the party as youtakeonthe AIADMK don’thavetomake have to adoptsocial that has the BJP’ssupport? the choice forus, It’snot even twoyearssince ‘ media to reachout. We have already facedthe Lok Sabha WHY whether we have to Lok Sabha elections... As We have to make it election without him (M Karunanidhi), learn Hindi or partofour election under the leadership of MKStalin. He KANIMOZHI Sanskrit. If people time goes by,Opposition process... Thisisone steered the party to an amazing victory. justwant to learn thingwe have to keep Exceptfor one seat, Theni, we wonevery- he DMK’sfacein onlytwo languages, will come together and workingat. This elec- thing else. The difference in votes between Delhi, Kanimozhi has theyhavethe right to work out howtodeal with tion, investment and the winning and the losing candidates T choose… Ithink we ‘ employment arethe wasinlakhs. So, Ithinkwehavealready emerged as a still believe in social issues facing the nation mostimportant is- proven that we can win... Our founding prominentwoman leader in justice. That is the sues in Tamil Nadu. leaders have made sure that the coreide- coreofthe Dravidian We have to talk to ology of the party is very firm in the minds Tamil Nadu in recent years. As ideology.Idon’tthink people about it and of the cadreand all the leaders... It is well- we have movedawayfromthat. give them the confidence that Tamil Nadu established... Our present leader has been the state gearsfor polls, the will be put backonthe growth path. in the party formanyyears, he knows how Thoothukudi MP has begun MANOJ CG: Do youthink the Congress to guide us in these elections.Wehave has failedtoprovide leadership for NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN: The DMK faith in his leadership. campaigning,raising the Opposition at the nationallevel? is focusing alot on women’s rightsin Of course,thereare going to be chal- employment,women’s issues All the opposition parties have to come itscampaign. AfterJayalalithaa’s lenges. The AIADMK is going to com- together to work towardscreating a death,thereisnobig woman leader in pletely depend on moneyfor votes. The strong Opposition. We can’t expectonly Tamil Nadu politics. Do yousee BJP, we all know, nevershies away from one party to do that... Ithink it (the yourself taking thatplace? using anything to win an election. So that Opposition coming together at the na- I’vealwaystaken up women’s and hu- will be achallenge. They(the BJP) will use tional level) will happen as time passes by man rightsissues…Thereisaneedfor their usual techniques of polarisingvot- because it has notevenbeen twoyears morewomen’s participation in politics, ers, bringing in religion, whichhas never since the Lok Sabha elections. Parties are and that is whythe DMK has been insist- happenedinTamil Nadu... This is notjust also concentrating on stateelections. We ing on 33 per cent reservation for achallenge in theseelections, it is alarger have elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and women… Idon’t understand whythe BJP, issue that the entirecountryhas to deal in West Bengal... As time goes by,the whichmade it apart of itsmanifesto,is with. The DMK will be at the forefront of Opposition will come together more refusing to bring it in. working againstit. strongly and work out strategies on how Idosee women coming in largernum- What Ihaveseen duringcampaigning bers forour election campaign because is that people arequitefed up with the thereare alot of issues whichhavenot AIADMK. Theyalwaysgiveintowhat the been addressed. The self-help groups, for Centrewants, theynever stand up forour example, had created asolid base for rights. Take the farmers’ issue. Even manywomen, especiallyinrural areas, though thereare no protests in Tamil and enhancedtheir social participation. Nadu,when youspeaktofarmers individ- But because the SHGs arenot getting loans ually, theyfeel very letdownbecause of and supportfromthe government, they the AIADMK government’s support to the arenot functioningasbefore. Thishas farm Bills. People aredisillusionedwith takenawayempowerment from these the AIADMK government, and theybe- women and theyare quitedisillusioned. It lieve that aDMK governmentisthe an- is amajor issue in this election. swer... Employment is ahugeissue in these elections and whenthe DMKcomes PVAIDYANATHAN IYER:InDecember backtopowerwewill bring in invest- 2018,Stalin had proposedRahul mentsand industrysothat thereismore Gandhi as the prime minister employment.Administration will alsobe candidatefor the 2019 Lok Sabha muchbetterunder aDMK government. elections. Since then,therehas been a lotofconfusion about the UPA LIZ MATHEW:Sofar it seems that in alliance. Do UPAmembersmeet? the Tamil Nadu elections youare The UPAinTamil Nadu is very strong going to followthe Bihar formula, and we areworking together.Wedo wherethe DMK will contesttogether meet... We shared the stageinsupportof with the Congress and the Left.But the farmers protestinginDelhi. Our leader giving the Congress moreseats in hadinvited leadersfromall partiesto Bihardidn’t work very well forthe come and be partofit. As farasTamil Opposition’s alliance. Will youkeep Nadu goes, Idon’t think there’s anyconfu- that in mindduring seat-sharing sion. We work together and thereare reg- talks? ular meetings. At thenational level, in Idon’t think therewill be anyissue Delhi, leaders meetwhen thereisaneed over allocationofseats. Thereisagood to... When Parliamentisinsession, we understandingbetween theleadership of have regular meetingsabout howweare the Congress and the DMK. We willbe going to respond to aBill etc. able to work around it (the seats) to every- body’s satisfaction. Everybody under- Illustration: Suvajit Dey NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN: Recently, stands thatitisanimportant election for MKStalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin the statealso. lem here... They(the BJP) will notbeable ARUN JANARDHANAN:But do you ARUN JANARDHANAN: Where do you to deal with the issues facing the nation. waselevatedtostarcampaigner.He to createfear of other religions... That is think the BJP has made parties place Kamal Haasan in Tamil Nadu has also become the secretary of the LIZ MATHEW:The BJP wastryingto whattheyplaywith, and that will not such as the DMK and the CPM in politics, giventhat an alliance with his AMRITH LAL: Tamil languageand youth wing of the party.Are these woosuperstarRajinikanth. Will his work in Tamil Nadu. Kerala morecareful while talking party doesn’tseem likely? cultureusedtobeaveryimportant signs of aleadership progression in decision to exit the poll fray before about religion? With Kamal Haasan or without him, aspectofthe Dravadian movement the DMK? even enteringitaffect the BJP’s PVAIDYANATHAN IYER:The BJP has the DMK is winning this election. If and Dravadian assertion. Now, Idon’t think we should be discussing prospectsinthe state? found resonance among some NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN:Also, how Haasan wantstoworkwith the DMK or increasingly, both theDMK and the leadershipright now. We have aleader Mr Rajinikanth has givenastatement sections in Tamil Nadu. Over the next do yourespond to the charge by the the latter withhim, it is adecision that the AIADMKgenerallytend to speak more and everybody is focusing on his leader- saying thathewill notenter politics, and five years, do yousee the party BJP,and by manyothers on social leadership has to make.Wedid very well about governance.The emphasison ship. This whole election is about the DMK

whyitisnot right and fair to do it nowand emerging as an importantplayerin mediaplatforms, that the DMKisan in the Lok Sabha elections without any cultureand languagehas reduced… coming backtopower. Our election cam- getothers involvedand then letthem the state? atheistparty in astate wherepeople newadditions to the alliance. So, who When the Jallikattu protests happened, paign is completely focusedonour CM down... Idon’t know Theywould want arequitereligious. They arereligious comes in and goes everyone asserted candidate,MKStalin. if they(the BJP) can to become apromi- in anon-communal way, but people out is the party lead- thatitisanimportant find anybody on a nent party (in Tamil in Tamil Nadu arereligious... ership’s decision. partofour culture. So, NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN: The CBI ‘ par withhim. Can’t denythat BJP has Nadu), and it cannot Whyshould someone be chargedfor Whyshouldwedefend ‘ nothing has changed hasappealed againstthe acquittals in Also, even if he grown in the state... But, be denied that they being an atheist? It’s notacrime. Why HARISH being atheists?... TheDMK whenitcomes to pro- the 2G case.Will it become an issue in (Rajinikanth) had areworking towards should we defend it? Idon’t thinkthereis DAMODARAN: Do tecting our culture the election campaign? comeintopolitics, I not growth that should it. And,Icannotdeny aneedtodefend it. Iamanatheistand I youthink Tamil is not against Hindus... and language...See, We have all been acquitted.Nobody don’t think it would the fact that the BJP am very proud of it. The DMKhas athe- politicshas gone Tamil is notbeing wasconvicted.The judgehas very clearly have made adiffer- worryus... And, despite all has morecadres and ists,but our leader MKS(Stalin)has said beyond the We stand against caste, threatenedtoday. said that thereisnoevidence... Howcan ence in this election. the confusion, AIADMK leaders nowinthe that 90 per cent people in the party are Dravidian identity? untouchability... We believe Even if the Central they use this againstthe DMK? ‘ state. But Idon’tthink Hindusalso.So, it is notlikethe DMK is Periyar (E V ‘ government and the PVAIDYANATHAN will sort themselves out it has had asignifi- againstHindus.WehaveMuslims,we Ramaswamy) in social justice BJP aretrying to im- NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN: IYER: As somebody cant growth that have Christians, agnosticsand atheists. statue being pose Hindiindiffer- Following Rajinikanth’sdecision to who has been a should worryus. We arenot sayingthat we areaHindu vandalisedwould ent ways,Tamil (lan- notenter politics, do youthink the partofTamil Nadu Theyare working to- party or an atheistparty.When Anna (C N have been guage) is in avery spacefor film stars in politics has politicsfor manyyears, howdoyou wardsit... And, despiteall the confusion Annadurai) startedthe party he said there unimaginableonce. Do youthink the comfortable space. It’s notbeingthreat- reduced? look at the attemptsatpolarisation in within the AIADMK, eventuallytheywill is one God, thatGod can be anything to politicsisnow moreconservative? enedinany way. Thereisnoneedtotalk Iwill notsay that. Who youare,what the statethatyou mentioned? How be able to sortthemselvesout. anybody.Or, youdon’thavetohaveaGod. Periyar’s statuewas vandalisedbe- about preserving the languageassuch. If youstand for, and what youare capable doesitimpact the state’s secular Idon’tthinkwehavetodefendourselves cause of the weak,backbone-less govern- thereisathreat to ourcultureand it has to of is what is going to decidewhat yoube- fabric? ARUN JANARDHANAN: The BJP seems forbeing atheists. ment that we have.The policeshould have be protected,it’s notjustpolitical parties... come in politics. Just becausesomebodyis Fortunately, the BJP, at themost, tries to be working to aplan. Theyare (On being careful) They(the BJP) are takenaction but they arescared to do so. thepeople alsoreact... The DMK has to talk apopularstar... If you’retalkingabout to paint the DMK as an anti-Hindu party tryingtobecome the main opposition saying that the CPM and the DMK are But in one way, Ithink,attacking Periyar about governance and development be- somebody likeMGRamachandran, he or somethinglikethat...Theyhaven’t been party in Kerala and Tamil againstthe majority,sowehavetogivean ideologicallyand even vandalising his cause we have had zerogovernanceand wasnot justastar. He came from the able to sayanything againstthe minori- Nadu by 2026.Doyou seethat explanation. We have to saythat we are statues... it has brought in moreyouth development in the past10years. Dravidian movement and he worked for ties in Tamil Nadu. And, theyalso under- happening?And, can yousay that the notagainstthe majority. If we will fight who areinterestedinfinding out about the DMK formanyyears. He hadabase stand thateventhe Hindus in Tamil Nadu DMK will neverallywith the BJP in forthe Muslims, we willfight forthe Periyar andhis ideology.You cansee on VANDITA MISHRA:You said that and that is what made him what he was. arenot likethat (communal). Ithink,even the future? Hindustoo...The DMK does notwant to social media platforms thatnow thereis religiondoesn’tplaythe same role in So, Iwill notsay that no other film star can in Kerala, people will notaccept divisions ... The DMK is one of the mostvocal take away the right to believe from any- astrong presence of people defending the Tamil Nadu as it might in the ever makeitinpolitics... Youcan come on religious lines.Wehaveall livedto- parties againstmanyofthe things that body.But of course, we stand againstthe Dravidian ideology.Theyare notapartof northern states. But apart from from anyfieldbut youwill have to under- gether comfortably... Even caste-wise... the BJP stands for. Idon’t see the possi- caste system, againstuntouchability, the AIADMK or DMK. So, Idon’t think it religious mobilisation, the BJP putsa stand the kind of hardworkthat is Therehavebeen no issues in living with bility of an alliance with the BJP againstanybody who takesawayothers’ has become negotiable. People aredoing lotofenergy intoconstantly needed. This doesn’t happen overnight people from other religions, or atemple because we stand fortwo different rightsonthe basis of caste or religion. We it (defendingthe ideology)fromthe com- manufacturing some kind of because youare aface whicheverybody being built... It’s adifferent kind of culture things completely... Ireally believe that believe in social justice. We arenot saying fortsoftheir homes on social mediaand mobilisationamong people on likes or youhavebeenpopular in films. here. People don’t feel threatened. They in Tamil Nadu and Kerala politics, you everybody should become an atheist. We notonthe streets. That is the change. And, different issues. Howcan regional People mayrecogniseyou morethan any- areverycomfortable. Idon’tthinkpolar- cannotdivide people on religiouslines don’t forceitonanybody.Being an athe- Covid-19also has contributed to it. parties reinvent themselvestoface body else, butyour face doesn’t mean that isation on religious lines would be aprob- very easily. istalso is notwrong in our party. Mostofthe exchangeofideas now this challenge? people will acceptyou as aleader.

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TOPOFTHE STORMING OF THE CAPITOL: CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY INTENSIFY Pompeo lifts curbs WORLD DemsseekanswersfromJusticeDept on US-Taiwanties IDREESALI& DAVIDBRUNNSTROM onTrumproleamidimpeachmentthreat WASHINGTON,JANUARY10 SECRETARYOFState Mike Pompeo on Saturdaysaid he was TopGOP Senator says Trumpcommitted impeachable offences; Pence to attend Bideninauguration lifting restrictions on contacts Christine Aschbacher between US officials and their Taiwanese counterparts, amove THENEWYORKTIMES likelytoanger China and in- US SecretaryofState AUSTRIA JANUARY10 crease tensions between Beijing MikePompeo Ministerquits and Washington in the waning DEMOCRATS HAVE asked lead- days of President Donald ED overallegations ers of the US Justice Department Trump’s presidency. ofplagiarism formoreinformationabout China claimsdemocratic and Lockingina what the department is doing to separately ruled Taiwan as its E ●toughstance AUSTRIA’S LABOUR investigateand prosecute the at- Trumphas been blamed for ownterritory. EXPLAIN MinisterChristine tack on the Capitol, includingthe inciting the mob that While the US, likemostcoun- Aschbacherhasresignedaf- role that President Donald stormedthe Capitol tries, has no officialrelations THE REVERSAL of this long- terallegations that she pla- Trumpplayedinthe attack. with Taiwan, the Trumpadmin- standing policy justdays be- giarisedsomeof heruniver- Five peoplediedinthe riot, istration has ramped up backing fore the inauguration of a sity work,but deniedany including apoliceofficer, and offences”.Toomey alsobecame forthe island country, with arms newadministration in theUS wrongdoing andsaid she dozens have been arrested. the second Republican senator sales and laws to help Taiwan is suretoanger the Chinese wasstepping down to pro- “We write to request an im- to call for Trump to resign, deal with pressurefromChina. government, and is seen by tect her family. Aschbacher, mediateand urgent briefing on telling hostChuckToddon In astatement, Pompeo said analysts as an effort to lockin amember of the conserva- the steps the Federal Bureau of NBC’s “Meetthe Press”: “I think that forseveral decadesthe State Trump’s tough stance on tive AustrianPeople’sParty, Investigation is taking to inves- the best wayfor our country, Departmenthadcreatedcomplex China. It will be politically allegedly copiedatleastone tigateand pursue forprosecu- Chuck, is forthe Presidenttore- internal restrictionsoninterac- tricky forBiden to undo this fifthofher doctoral disser- tion the instigation, planning, sign and go away as soon as tionswithTaiwanesecounterparts largely symbolic deepening of tationfromothersources,as and executionofthe deadlyter- possible.” Lastweek,Senator CLASHES IN SANDIEGO: San Diego police clash with protesters on Saturday. Supporters of by Americandiplomats, service ties with Taiwan, making it all wellaspartsofherdiploma roristattackonthe United States Lisa Murkowski, aRepublican US President Donald Trumpclashedwithcounter-protesters in San Diego, California,on members and other officials. the moredifficult forthe new thesis,saidacademicStefan Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by from Alaska, had also calledon Saturday, prompting police to declarethe gathering an unlawful assemblybecause of actsof “The United States govern- government to attempt to im- Weberwho specialises in President Donald Trump, his the Presidenttoresign. violence. Officers were hit with rocks, bottles andeggs, police said, and thecrowd directed menttooktheseactionsunilater- proveUS-China relations. plagiarism.Aschbachersaid supporters, and outside groups,” Lawmakersplan to formally pepper spray at them. AP ally, in an attempttoappease the she had written her disser- Democratic leaders said in alet- introducethe proposal to im- Communistregime in Beijing,” tationandthesis“tothebest teronThursday to Christopher peachonMondayinthe House. Pompeo said in astatement. comedthe move.“Decades of of her knowledge and be- Wray,director of the FBI. Democratic RepJames “TodayIamannouncing that discrimination, removed. A lief”.Shesaid“thehostility... AJustice Department Clyburnsaid the vote on the im- Rioters seeninviral posts arrested Iamlifting all of these self-im- hugeday in our bilateral rela- andthe insultsare unfortu- spokesman saidSaturdaythat peachment could happen as posedrestrictions,”headded. tionship.Iwill cherish everyop- natelybeing unloadednot the departmenthas receiveda soon as Tuesday.But, he said the Man held forthreatening Nancy Pelosi Amazon &Apple An official with Biden’s tran- portunity,” Hsiao Bi-khim, onlyonme, but also on my separaterequest from Congress Democratic leadershipacknowl- sition said that once Biden was Taiwan’s de factoambassador in children, and with unbear- forinformation related to the riot edgedthat atrial in theSenateis tured prominentlyonsocial me- alsocut offParler in office he would continue to Washington, tweeted. able force”. REUTERS and is working to fulfill it. unlikelytobecompletedbefore RICHMCKAY dia wearing horns, afur pelt, face support “a peaceful resolution of OnSunday, state-runmediain Trump’s role in the carnage Trumpleavesoffice on Jan 20. JANUARY10 paint and brandishing aspear PARLER, Asocial networkthat cross-strait issues consistent China sharplycriticisedPompeo, underpins the articles of im- Clyburnsuggestedthat Speaker adornedwiththe US flag, turned pitches itself as a“free speech” al- with the wishes and best inter- accusing himof“seeking to mali- peachment that House Nancy Pelosi wasconsidering FEDERALAGENTS arrested two himselfintopolice. ternative to Twitter andFacebook ests of thepeople of Taiwan”. ciouslyinflictalong-lasting scar” AFGHANISTAN Democratshavedrawn up, ac- impeaching nowbut notsending moreCapitol Hill rioters whose Agentsalso arrested Adam and has hostedmillionsof Taiwan’s governmentwel- on bilateral ties. REUTERS Roadsidebomb cusing the Presidentofinciting the article to the Senatefor trial images had gone viral, of one car- ChristianJohnson,whosephoto as President DonaldTrump’s sup- an insurrection. forweeks. rying offthe House Speaker’s hesmiledandwavedwhilecarry- porters,wastakenoffApple’sApp kills3inKabul The Democrats’ bid to quickly Meanwhile, US Vice lectern and another who wore ing offHouse Speaker Nancy Storehours afterGoogle made a US,Canada, Australia, AROADSIDE bomb ex- impeach Trump has gained sup- President Mike Pence will attend horns and afur pelt. Pelosi’s lectern also went viral. similar move.Later,Amazon told plodedinAfghanistan’s port, and atop Republican said Biden’sinaugurationonJan 20, Dozens of people have been Another man, Cleveland Parler it would bootthe company capital Sunday, killingat the President’s role in the deadly an aide said on Saturday, asplit chargedfollowing the storming Meredith,wasdetainedinconnec- from itsweb-hosting service on Britain condemn Hong leastthree people in ave- riotwas worthy of rebuke. with Trump’sdecision nottogo. of the Capitol on Wednesday, tion with makingthreatstoPelosi Sunday.Theactionswere partofa hicle.Itwasthelatestattack Republican Senator Pat Pence had always been likelier to with the FBI asking the public to afteranFBI agent read aJan 7text widercrackdownby tech compa- to take placeasgovern- Toomey, of Pennsylvania,said attend the inauguration than help identify participants. messages in whichMeredith niesonTrumpand some of his Kong arrests of activists ment negotiators in Qatar Saturday he believedTrump Trump, whowas an almostcer- Jacob AnthonyChansley, also talked about “putting abulletin mostextreme supporters after resume peace talkswith had committed “impeachable tain to skip the ceremony. known as JakeAngeli, who fea- hernogginonLive TV”.REUTERS Wednesday’s riot. NYT the Taliban. Tariq Arian, REUTERS Hong Kong police had spokesmanfortheinterior MELBOURNE,JANUARY10 arrested morethan 50 minister, saidaspokesman Gunman kills 3, injures4 democracy activists forthe ministry’s public FOREIGN MINISTERS from the protectionforces—asecu- United States, Canada, Britain following dawn raids rity force—was oneofthe in Chicago shooting spree and Australia condemnedlast on Wednesday three killedinthe attack. week’s arrest of over 50 democ- One other personwas Theshooter, 32-year-oldJason racy activists in Hong Kong in a woundedhesaid.Noone ASSOCIATEDPRESS Nightengale,then“justrandomly” joint statement on Sunday, call- and Chinese central authorities immediatelyclaimedre- CHICAGO,JANUARY10 walked intoanapartment build- ing on China to respect the free- to respect the legallyguaranteed sponsibility.The Islamic ing ablockaway, whereheshota dom of the people on the island. rightsand freedoms of the peo- Stategrouphasclaimedre- AMAN killedthree people and 46-year-old security guardand a HongKong police made the ple of Hong Kong without fear of sponsibilityformultipleat- woundedfourothersinaseriesof 77-year-old woman, Brownsaid. arrestsonWednesdayindawn arrest and detention.” tacksinthecapitalinrecent shootingsoverroughlyfourhours The guarddiedand the older raids, the biggestcrackdown Hong Kong’s mostpromi- months. AP that started on Chicago’sSouth woman washospitalisedincriti- since China imposedasecurity nent pro-democracy advocates Side and endedwithhis death in cal condition, the Chicago Tribune lawin2020, which opponents were arrested as authorities said BRITAIN ashootout with police. reported. Nightengale then went sayisaimedatquashing dissent lastyear’sunofficial voteto Investigators aretrying to de- to aconveniencestore and fired in theformer Britishcolony. choose opposition candidates in Harry,Meghan termine amotivefor the attacks, shots,killing a20-year-old man “It is clear that the National city elections waspartofaplan whichbegan Saturdayafternoon and wounding an 81-year-old Security Lawisbeingusedto to “overthrow”the government. toquitsocial with the killing of a30-year-old woman.Heshotandinjureda15- eliminatedissent and opposing On Thursday, US Secretaryof media:report Vehicles’headlightsare the onlylightsseen on aroad in Rawalpindi on Sunday. AP university student who wasshot year-oldgirlafterleavingthestore. political views,” the foreign min- StateMikePompeo said in the head while sittinginhis car, Hethendrove16kmandshot isters said in the joint statement Washington maysanction those PRINCEHARRYand wife Chicago policeSuperintendent andinjured another woman in a issuedbyAustralia’s Foreign involved in the arrestsand will MeghanMarkle,theDuke David Brownsaid. He didn’t re- restaurant.Soonafterthat,hewas MinisterMarise Payne. send theUSambassador to the and Duchess of Sussex, Massive power outageleaves lease anyofthe victims’ names. killedinashootout with police. “Wecallonthe Hong Kong United Nations to visit Taiwan. have reportedly decided to quit social media as theyfocus on their roles in large parts of Pakistaninthe dark the US away from front- Indonesialocates black boxes of crashed jet line British royalty. later Sundaythat powerhadbeen to arestoration of powerinthe According to The Sunday ZARARKHAN restored to muchofthe country. rest of thecountry in phases. boxeshad been identified. Times,the couple who had ISLAMABAD,JANUARY10 The blackout wasinitiallyre- Ayubsaidinanews conference FRANSISKANANGOY& “Hopefully, we canretrieve announcedtheir decision portedonsocial media by resi- Sundaythat the Guddu power BERNADETTECHRISTINA them soon,” said militarychief to step backfromofficial AMAJOR technical fault in dentsofmajor urban centres, in- plant in southern Sindh province JAKARTA,JANUARY10 Rescuersfinddebris Hadi Tjahjanto, withoutgiving royalduties to relocate Pakistan’s powergeneration and cluding Karachi, Lahore, developedafault at 11.41pmthat of the Sriwijaya Air an estimated timeframe. with their one-year-old distributionsystemcausedamas- Islamabad and Multan. The min- triggered the shutdownofother INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES on passengerjet in the Therewerenoclues yetasto son Archie lastyear willno sive poweroutagethat plunged isterandhisspokesmanthentook powerplantsinseconds. Sundaylocated theblackboxes Java Sea Sunday. AP what causedthe crash, the first longer use platforms such thenationintodarknessovernight, to Twitter to updatethe country. Later,aspokesman forthe of the Sriwijaya Airjet that major aircrash in Indonesia since as Twitter and Facebook. the energy ministersaid. Ayub urgedpeople to be pa- MinistryofEnergy,said the crashedintothe sea soon after 189passengers and crew were The duo arereportedly re- Hours afterthe lateSaturday tient. He said the cause of the Tarbela and Warsak plants, both taking offfromthe capital passengers and crew was minutes aftertake-off. killedin2018whenaLion Air jecting social media as outage, Energy Minister Omar poweroutagewas being investi- in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Jakarta,ashuman bodyparts headedonadomestic flight to IndonesiaNational Transport Boeing 737Max in 2018 also partoftheir new“progres- Ayub said on Twitter that power gatedand work wasbeing done province, had come backonline and pieces of the plane were Pontianak in West Kalimantan SafetyCommittee (KNKT) chief plungedintothe Java Sea soonaf- sive role” in America. PTI wasbeing restored in phases, to fire up Pakistan’s main Tarbela and powerwas being restored to retrieved. on Saturdaybeforeitdisap- SoerjantoTjahjono said the loca- tertake-offfromSoekarno-Hatta starting with Islamabad. He said powerstation, whichwould lead the transmission system. AP The Boeing 737-500with 62 peared from radar screens four tionsofFlight SJ 182’s twoblack International Airport. REUTERS

FOR YEARS,SHE WORKED ANONYMOUSLY WITHIN THE AGENCY TO HELP SCIENTISTS INTENSIFY STUDIES OF ACHANGING PLANET Inside the CIA, scientist Linda Zall becameaspy for planet Earth

is allowedtotalk about —and ad- Theaccumulatedriches included were fast becoming hotspots of then aDemocratic senator from Zallthen focusedonhow WILLIAMJBROAD mirersarepraisingherhighlyclas- up to sixdecadesofprimedataon global warming and melting ice. Tennessee and nowaleading cli- Earth’s changing environment JANUARY10 sifiedstruggle to put the nation’s planetary shifts in snowfalland “It gave us thefirstreal meas- mateactivist,wrotealetterasking would mostlikelypromptsecu- spysatellites ontoaradical new blizzards, sea ice and glaciers. urementsoftheicebudget—how the agency to examine whether rityissuesandcrises.Inlate2009, LINDAZALLplayedastarringrole job: environmental sleuthing. “Noneof thiswouldhave hap- muchloss youhavefromseason the nation’s spyfleetmight ad- theCIAsetupaCenteronClimate in US science that ledtodecades “It wasfun,” she said of her CIA penedwithouther,” said Jeffrey K to season,” said DJames Baker, dress environmental riddles. The Changeand National Security.Its of major advances. But she never career.“It wasreally alot of fun.” Harris,whoworkedwithZallasdi- whodirectedtheNationalOceanic agencyputZallontothequestion. mission wastohelp US policy- described her breakthroughson Zall’s programme, established rector of the National and Atmospheric Administration Quickly, shesawhow thenation’s makersbetterunderstandtheim- television, or had bookswritten in 1992, wasakind of wayback ReconnaissanceOffice,whichruns from 1993 to 2001 and served on archiveofsurveillance observa- pact of floods, risingsea levels, abouther, or receivedhighscien- machine that looked to as long the nation’s fleetoforbital spies. Zall’s CIA advisorypanel. tions could alsoserveto populationshifts,state instabili- tifichonours. Onedatabaseof sci- agoas1960.Insodoing, it pro- The top-secret images that In normal science, wherecol- strengthenassessmentsofEarth’s ties and heightenedcompetition entific publications lists hercon- videdanewbaseline forassess- Zall succeededinrepurposing Linda Zall at her homeinClermont,Florida. NYT laborators sharecredit, Zallmight changing environment. fornatural resources. Newsre- tributionsasconsisting of just ing the pace and scopeofplane- forenvironmental inquiries have beenlistedonpapersasaco- By October 1992, theCIA was portsannouncingtheprogramme three papers,withaconspicuous tary change. Ultimately, it ledto came from satellites that were author or even alead author.But so confident in the ability of spy again made no mention of Zall. gaprunningfrom1980to2020. hundredsofpapers, studiesand some of Washington’s crown cence plate. lites orbit on north-southpaths notinatwilightzone wheresci- satellites to solve environmental She retired from the CIA in The reason is that Zall’s reports—some classifiedtop se- jewels. The spysatellites would An accident of fate letthe fleet that pass close to the poles. encewaspartopen,partsecret.For mysteries that it establisheda 2013.Medeawasneverthesame. decadesof serviceto sciencewere cret,some public, some by the zeroinonsuchtargets as deadly assess atop environmentalcon- Spieshad littleuse forsweep- decades, hers wasahidden hand. large task force. Zall wasput in The agency shut it down in 2015, done in the secretivewarrens of NationalAcademyofSciences, weapons and render imagesthat cern—theextentto whichvastex- ing Arctic and Antarctic images. Zall’s environmentalism for charge andrecruiteditsmembers, and the Trumpadministration the CIA.Now,at70, she’stelling thepremier scientificadvisory in some cases were said to be panses of Arctic and Antarctic ice But they dazzledenvironmental- the CIA beganin1990 when for- mainly Earth scientists.She madesuretherewasnorevivalof her story—atleast the parts she group to thefederalgovernment. good enough to showacar’s li- were retreating. Manyspy satel- ists because the Earth’s poles mer US Vice President Al Gore, namedher group Medea. the programme. NYT

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY11,2021 MarketWatch FPISINVEST `5,156 CR IN EQUITIES NewDelhi: Foreign portfolio investors(FPIs)havepumped Rs 5,156 crore into Indian capital markets in the first six trading 10 ECONOMY sessions this year amid expectations of strong third-quarter earnings and areformist budget. PTI

INSURANCE WATCH PASSENGER VEHICLE SALES SLIDE OVER LAST FIVE YEARS ED CHARGESHEETON`7,000-CRORE FRAUD PAPERLESS POLICIES Automakersseekreliefonnew ‘Kapoor directed ‘Challengesexist, Yes Bank not to but e-insurance fuelefficiency,emissionnorms recover loans from

said Srivastava,pointing thatad- accountsseeing SANDEEPSINGH herence to newnorms lifts the Cox and Kings’ NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 Pandemicdisruption: costofacquisition. Seekingmoretime WhileIndiahasahugepoten- found that “the bonding and in- 100%growth’ EVEN AS pent-up demand lifted tialforgrowthofPVsales,experts KHUSHBOONARAYAN terdependence” between Kerkar passengervehicle(PV)salesinthe pointtoaslowdown in thepace MUMBAI,JANUARY10 and Khandelwal was“eyecatch- thirdquarterafter it got derailed fortransition of growth of first-time buyers. “If ingandinseparableinallrespect”. GEORGEMATHEW ‘MOSTPOLICIES inthefirstandsecondquartersfol- thepaceof first-timebuyerspicks THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate “InitiallyPeter Kerkar,Anil MUMBAI,JANUARY10 VIAeIAINFUTURE’ lowing the pandemic and lock- SHIFTINGTOCAFE-2and BS-VI stageIIwouldnot onlybe- up, it will lead to higher replace- (ED)hasallegedthatRanaKapoor, Khandelwal andNareshJainand down announcement in March, come moredifficult forthe auto industryamid the pan- mentdemandandadditionalpur- formerchairmanandco-founder other associates were working in THEINSURANCEsectoriswit- theautoindustrycontinuesto lan- demic-leddisruption but also raise costofacquisition. In the chase,” said an industryinsider. of YesBankLtd, instructed bank tandem and usedtodivertthe nessinga100percentgrowth ■Madhusudhan ML, guish on the growth front. current sales scenario, industryinsiders sayafurther rise in As of now, while first-time officials to notrecoverloans of moneyfromthe companyfor year-on-yearinnewelectronic MD &CEO of NDML, Terming the recent growth in PV acquisitioncosts forconsumers could add to the concerns. buyersaccount foralmost50per Rs3,642crorefromCox andKings their personal use. Around 2018, insurance accounts (eIA),or said in the future, salesasafalseeuphoria,theindus- centoftotalsales,24 percentisre- Ltd, even though the defaulting the group startedfacingfinancial dematting of insurance poli- mostpolicies would tryhasnowrequestedthegovern- placement demand and the re- travel firm had raised Rs 4,387 difficultiesandinvestigatingagen- cies in the paperless format. be issued only via an mentto defertheimplementation maining26percentisdemandfor crorefromselling itsUKfirm ciesandregulatorybodiesstarted The number of people open- e-insurance account of fuel efficiency norms and sec- numbers, industry insiders say sumer,ittakes up the acquisition additional car purchase. HolidayBreak Education, in interveninginthematterof finan- ing newstockbroking ac- ■ An e-insurance ond stageofemission normsto thatPVsaleshave suffereddespite costsignificantly. Besides,hightax “Weare stillintheinitialphase January2019, according to the cial irregularities. Once the inves- countsand buying insurance account, or eIA,isthe April2024,inabidto keepthecost adecent GDP growth rate. ratesandrisingservicetaxandin- of economic developmentand statements given by two senior tigating agenciesstarted investi- policies online has soared portfolio of insurance of acquisition stable. “The primaryreasonfor that surancecosthasalsotakentheac- there ishugepotentialforgrowth YesBank officials to the agency. gation,theystartedblamingeach eventhoughmostofficeswere policies of a Industrydatashows that has been the sharp rise in costof quisition costhigher forcus- but we needtoconvert potential These statementsare apartof other to save themselves...,” said non-operational duetothe policyholderheld in while the compoundedannual acquisitionof carsinIndia.Almost tomers,” said Srivastava. intorealityand the costofacqui- theprosecutioncomplaint(charg- the ED complaint. lockdown in the wake of an electronic form growth rate (CAGR) of PV sales 50 per centofthe carbuyers in Assalessuffer, theindustryhas sitionhasto betakencareof,”said esheet)filedbyEDintheRs7,000- The ED has arrested Kerkar, Covid-19pandemic. with an insurance stood at 12.9 per cent forthe five- Indiaare first-time buyersand nowmadearepresentationto the Srivastava.Hefurther said that crorebankfraudpertainingto the Khandelwal and the company’s “Iforeseeinthenearfuture repository yearperiodbetweenMarch 2005 since price elasticity forcar pur- governmenttodefer the imple- companiesare doing their bit to nowbankruptCox andKings.The internal auditor Naresh Jain in wheremostofthe policies andMarch 2010,itfellsharply to a chase is high in India, it is amajor mentation of CorporateAverage reduce the acquisition costbyin- EDhasallegedthatCoxandKings connectionwiththemoney laun- wouldbeissuedonlythrough CAGR of 1.3per cent forthe five- factor forslowdown in growth,” Fuel efficiency (CAFE-2) regula- creasing localisation and becom- sold Holiday Break Education for dering case. It has also been ar- an e-insurance account and thepolicyisnotissued’kindof year period between FY15and saidShashankSrivastava,ED,sales tions and BS-VI stageIInorms to ingmoreefficientandproductive, £460 million afterdefaulting on restedKapoorforallegedly taking we areworking with afew of uncertaintyinmindsofcusto- FY20.BetweenFY10andFY15,the and marketing, MSIL. April2024. As of now, theCAFE-2 however, “anotherfactorthatwill loan repaymentstoYes Bank and kickbacksinlieuof grantingloans the largerinsurance compa- mers. While suchchallenges sales rose by 5.9 per cent. If rising costofraw materials normsthataimtomakecarsmore lead to costreduction is econom- “siphoned”the saleproceeds. to severalcompanies that have nies in this direction,” said exist,we seetremendoussco- In fact, the CAGR forPVsales is afactor, insiderssay that high fuel efficient areset to come into iesofscale andthatwillcomein Coxand Kings owes Rs 5,500 nowdefaulted on repayments. MadhusudhanML,MD&CEO, pefortheconceptandaresee- between 2000 and 2010 stood at taxrates and shiftfromBS-IV to effect in 2022 and BS-VI stageII once we see volume growth.” croretobanks and financial insti- Kapoor,whoisinjudicialcustody, NSDL Database Management ing over 100per cent growth 10.3 per cent andthat between BS-VIinaquicktimehasliftedthe norms areset to comeintoforce Manyinthe industry feel that tutionsanditisoneof thetopbor- has deniedtheseallegations. Ltd(NDML),apartof National year-on-yearintheadoption,” 2010 and 2020 has been 3.6 per acquisition cost. “In European beginning April2023. besides lowercostofacquisition, rowers of YesBank.The listed The ED probealso found that Securities DepositoryLtd the NSDL chiefsaid. cent. So, clearlythe growth rate markets,thetransitionfromEuro “Becauseof pandemicleddis- alargerbaseof carbuyerswillde- travelfirmwassentto bankruptcy between 2004 and 2019,Kerkar (NSDL),thenation’slargest se- He added that Irdai has has sloweddownoverthe last 4toEuro6took 9years,but in ruption, we have requestedthe penduponsustainedhighgrowth courtinOctober 2019,after it de- allegedly diverted Rs 426 crore curities depository. mandatedthe issuance of on- decadeand moresooverthe last India the shifthappenedinjusta governmenttodefer theimple- of the economyasthat will bring faulted on payments. and Rs 71 crorefromCox and The capital market popu- line policies through IR and five years. Though carsalesare period of threeyearsand since all mentation of both Cafe-2 norms in morepeople into the job cycle TheEDcomplaintagainstCox Kings to itsgroup companies larisedthe dematerialisation currentlyallpoliciessoldthro- closelyrelated to GDP growth the costispassedontothe con- and BS-VI stageII, to April2024,” who will generatedemand. andKingsanditsarrestedpromo- V-HotelLtd and Tulip Star Hotel of stocks in thetwo decades ughinsurancecompanies’on- terAjayAjit PeterKerkar has alle- Ltd, respectively. andimmenselybenefittedthe lineportalsareissueddigitally gedthat the topthree customers Asperthechargesheet,Kerkar entireecosystem including throughIRs.“Insurancecomp- of CoxandKings—AKTravel,Hol- has allegedly transferred at least users to seamlesslytransact. anieshave understoodtheim- AMID COVID idayBreakTravelandWorldwide $15.34millionoutofthesalepro- “Similarly,the Irdai has taken portance and convenience of Travels —operated from the resi- ceedsof HolidayBreakEducation the initiativetowards thecre- eIA and have adoptedvarious 25-30:Numberofpeoplewho Practices that need to be denceofoneof thedirectorsof Liz to KuberInvestment Mauritius ation of an e-insurance ac- strategies to drive adoption. ‘Cities hit worst, but keyto migratetothecitiesfromrural adopted to realise potential TradersandAgentsPvtLtd,acom- PvtLtd, aMauritius-basedfirm countwithanidea to help Thisproactivenon-regulatory areaseveryminute of cities: panyownedbyKerkar. controlledbyhim.According to users easilyaccessand man- initiative fromafew of thepro- The agency has alleged that the agency,Khandelwal and Jain post-pandemic growth’ Using data to help manage agetheirmultiplepolicies,”he gressive insurancecompanies 25million:Numberof ■ Kerkar,alongwiththefirm’schief have directlysiphonedRs275 cities and direct emergency told The Indian Express. hasyieldedimmediategainin Cities have borne thebrunt of thevirus outbreak,but will be households,i.e.35%ofallurban financial officer Anil Khandelwal, crorefromCox and Kings to com- operations eIAistheportfolioof insur- terms of operational efficien- keytopost-pandemic growth as they account fornearly 70% households,whichcannot indulged in circular trading by panies controlledbythem. Empowered and capable ancepoliciesof apolicyholder ciesandreductioninprintand of theGDP,astudy by WEF withIDFC Institutesaid affordhousingatmarketprices ■ “purchasingairticketsfromother In April 2019, The Indian heldinanelectronicformwith dispatchcost.” governance group companies of Coxand Express, in aseries of stories, re- an insurance repository(IR). Hsaid all physical policies Doubleblowforvulnerable ■ Investment in transport and Kings and selling it to another portedthataforensicauditfound This will help an eIA holder canbeconvertedto electronic populations:Vulnerable infrastructure to fuel groupcompany EzeegoOne Coxand Kings did related party keep trackofinsurance poli- formatandapolicyholdercan populations,including productive urban economies TravelsandToursLtd,to inflatethe transactions worthRs21,000 cies (lifeaswellasnon-life) addtheirexistingpoliciesheld low-incomemigrantworkers, ■ Rethink of outdated booksofaccounts”.“Thepurchase croreoverfouryears(2015-2019) acrossmultipleinsurersinone in physical form to an eIA.“All havesufferedthedualblowsof planning norms and of ticketsfromCox andKings by to siphon offfunds. It also found place. The Insurance Regulat- apolicyholder hastodois lostincomeandweak regulations EzeegowasaroundRs2,000crore that the travel firm had falsified oryandDevelopmentAuthor- openaneIAandsharethepol- social-protectioncoverage and sale to Coxand Kings was records, bookedsales worth ity of India (Irdai) has allowed icy details likepolicy number duringthepandemic Source: World Economic Forum/ around Rs 400-500crore,” said Rs 9,000 croretoover160 cus- four entities to carry out IR andinsurername.Thisiscom- IDFC Institute/PTI the Directorateinits complaint. tomers who arebogusordonot business:NSDLNationalInsu- pletely apaperlessprocessfor The ED said itsprobe has existand inflated bank balances. rance Repository(NIR), CDSL thecustomeranddoesn’ttake Insurance Repository, KARVI morethan afew minutes. As Insurance Repositoryand the insurance policy is issued INTERVIEWWITHCFO, TCS CAMS Insurance Repository. in electronic form the hassles FY21: Currency in circulation ‘Apple, While the benefitsofhav- associated with theprocess- ‘Growth momentum inganonlineaccountareobvi- ing of claims forphysical poli- Hyundai ous,somefactorsareaffecting cies likeavailability of docu- up 13% in firstnine months the adoption of eIA in India. ments to thenominee, loss in “Awareness about the eIAas a transit,authenticity,mutilated IntheApril-Decemberperiod TheRBIinitsannualreportfor will sustainasdeal settoagree product and itsbenefitstakes document,etc. areelimi- ENSECONOMICBUREAU of FY2020,ithadgrownbynearly 2019-20,releasedinAugust2020, thetopspotasthemajorfactor nated,”Madhusudhanadded. NEWDELHI,JANUARY10 6per cent. hadalsomentionedthatdemand affecting the adoption. Each Currently, 2.9 million cus- AccordingtoCareRatings forcurrencystartedto increasein pipeline is healthy’ EV tie-up’ stakeholderwillhave to take a tomers managetheir insur- THE CURRENCY in Circulation Chief EconomistMadanSabnavis, the wake of heighteneduncer- step towardseducating their ance policies withNIR. “The (CiC) grew by around13per cent thegrowthincurrencyincircula- tainty causedbythe COVID-19 TATA CONSULTANCYServices respectivecustomers on the eIA helps insurers in saving inthefirstninemonthsof thecur- tion so farinthe current fiscalhas pandemic. (TCS) has reportedastellar setof REUTERS features andbenefits of eIA,” costs by eliminating the re- rent fiscalaspeople preferred been high as people were accu- The central bank also took a numbersfortheDecember quar- SEOUL,JANUARY10 Madhusudhansaid. quirementof printinganddis- holdingonto cashasaprecaution- mulating morecash to meetany series of measures in order to ter, the strongestgrowth in last The other challengethat patching thecomplete policy arymeasureamidtheuncertainty exigency duringthe lockdown. meetthe enhanceddemand. nine years. VRAMAKRISHNAN, HYUNDAI MOTORand Apple Inc usuallycomesupisthepercei- kit to the customerthrough causeddue to the Covid-19pan- “Wheneverthereisacrisis- During the calendar year CFO, TCS, tells SHUBHRA TAN- plan to sign apartnership deal on vedloss of customer owners- physical means either by post demic. likesituation, thereisatendency 2020,CiCgrew 22.1percent,orRs DONinaninterviewthatthereare autonomouselectric cars by hipby thedistributionecosys- or courier.Acost-benefit CiCgrew by Rs3,23,003crore, forhouseholdsto latchontocash. 5,01,405 crore, to Rs 27,70,315 indicators to suggestthe growth March andstart production temasissuance of apolicy analysis conducted by NIR for or 13.2 per cent, to Rs 27,70,315 That is the reason therehas been croreasonJanuary1,2021. is sustainable. Edited excerpts: around 2024inthe UnitedStates, digitallyisseenasonelessop- one of the largest insurance croreasonJanuary1,2021from an increase in demand forcash. CiC includes banknotesand VRamakrishnan localnewspaperKoreaITNews re- portunity to interactwiththe playersshowedareductionof Rs24,47,312 croreasonMarch 31, Whatyouseeisnothingelsebuta coins. At present, RBI issues notes Despitesalaryhikes being portedonSunday. The reportfol- customer.“Thenistheissueof printanddispatchcostbyover 2020,accordingto recentdatare- precautionarymotiveover- in denominations of Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs rolledout, margins were lows astatementonFridayfrom ‘unless Isee aphysical copy, 70,” he said. leasedbythe ReserveBank of whelming everything,” Sabnavis 10,Rs20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs strong... sign their products, services and Hyundai that it wasinearly talks India (RBI). said. 500and Rs 2,000.WITHPTI Thebiggestfactordrivingmar- supplychain etc. So,itisongoing withAppleafteranotherlocalme- gins is growth whichwas seen and as important as areasofcost dia outletsaid the companies across verticals. But moreimpor- optimisationanddrivingefficien- aimedtolaunchaself-driving BRIEFLY tantly, theabilityof peopletowork cies.Also,decisionsonbudgetsare electriccarin2027, sendingHyun- Co-operative banks must fearlessly face fromanywhere alsoincreasedthe madethroughtheyear.However, dai shares up nearly 20 per cent. fungibility.So,if youare drivingef- wherever theyfollowthe calen- Hyundai Motordeclinedto `6,657-crore ficiencies,theytranslate intogains. dar year as the financial year,itis comment on the reporton inflowingold competition from private ones: Gadkari Also, we continuedtobedisci- onlyinthe next fewmonthsthat Sunday, and reiterated Friday’s plined in other areas of discre- budgetswill be finalisedand dis- commentsthatithasreceivedre- ETFsin2020 tionaryspending. Currency also cussed,soitisaearly to comment. quests forpotential cooperation wasbenigninthe quarter, which fromvariouscompaniesondevel- NewDelhi:Economicdown- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE is important. The Indian market grew opingautonomousEVs.Apple turndueto coronaviruspan- MUMBAI,JANUARY10 sharply during the quarterat had no immediatecomment. demic and weakness in the Will this margin growth about 18 per cent. What were An updated version of the IT US dollar encouraged in- IN ORDER to bolster theco-oper- sustain in the coming quarters the levers forthis growth and news reportremoved details, in- vestorsto infuseawhopping ative sector,therewillbenoforced as well? is it sustainable? cluding productionlocationand Rs 6,657crore in gold ex- privatisation of co-operative We areseeingthegrowthmo- One has to look at the growth capacityand the timeframe for change-tradedfunds (ETFs) banks, Union Road Transport& mentumandbelieve thiswillsus- number on the backofanear 25 signing the agreement and in2020.Incomparison,anet Highwaysand MSME Minister tain since the deal pipeline is per cent decline in Q1 and 5per launching the pilotvehicles. inflowofjustRs16crore was Nitin Gadkari said at theLoksatta healthy. Thepotential is visibleas cent or so in Q2. So, when you Thepreviousversion saidthe seeninthe entire2019. PTI Urban Co-operative Banking multiple industries arefortifying have had suchatrough, there- companies plannedtobuild the (UCB) e-conclave,onJanuary7. Union MinisterNitin Gadkari at the LoksattaUrban and reiterating the benefitsof bound is expected to be sharp. cars at Kia Motors’ factoryin Gadkari, who wasthe chief Co-operative Banking e-conclave,Mumbai. Ganesh Shirsekar technologyadoption.Adoptionof Also,businessesinIndiaaremore Georgia, or invest jointlyinanew Niolaunches guestatthe e-conclave,saidthat cloudtoreimagine processes project-drivenand arealways factoryintheUnitedStatesto pro- firstelectric as arepresentative of the Centre withinthecompanyanddrive ef- lumpy.Moreimportantly, some duce 100,000 vehicles around andalsoasarepresentative of the omyofthe countryand the state. to the BankingRegulation Actin TITLE PARTNER ficiencies isalso ontherise, so the of the transactional-based serv- 2024. The full annual capacity of sedanmodel people,hewouldact as abridge Gadkarifurthersaidthatwhile September2020,bringingco-op- WorldWebSolutions margins should remain resilient. icesliketechnology-basedassess- the proposedplant would be between the co-operative banks privatisation of co-operative erative banks under the supervi- SUPPORTED BY ments formultiple competitive 400,000vehicles.KiaMotorsisan Shanghai: Chinese electric in Maharashtraand the Finance bankshas been discussedsince sion of theRBI. ■ SaraswatCoOpBankLtd. Has the pandemic had an examinations were nothappen- affiliateofHyundai Motor. vehicle(EV)makerNioIncis Ministry, RBI, NABARD and the 1996, neitherthe centralgovern- Afterthe amendment, in an- ■ UsmanabadJantaSahakariBankLtd. impactonthe IT budgetsof ing in the lastfew quarters as ex- The reportalso said Hyundai taking on conventional stategovernment.Headdedthat ment nor the ReserveBank of other circulartoall banks, the ■ AbhyudayaCoOpBankLtd. clients? Arethereany ams were held backdue to the and Apple plannedtorelease a gasoline premium au- co-operative banksmust compete India (RBI) has ever forcefullyim- bankingregulatorsstatedthatitis ■ TheComo’sCoOpBankLtd. cutbacks? lockdown. That has come back. “betaversion” of the Apple cars tomakers from BMW to withprivate bankstomakeanim- poseditonthe banks. He added imperative thatbankscontinueto ■ ThaneBharatSahakariBankLtd. Technology is in suchaplace Otherprojectslikeprocessing of next year. Reuters reported last Audi further,launching on pression on lawmakers in Delhi. that co-operative banksmust conservecapital to supportthe ■ DombivaliNagriSahakariBankLtd. thatitisnolonger justanITsolu- passports etc, whichislinkedto month that Apple wasmoving Saturdayits firstsedan The minister said that co-op- fearlesslyfacetheincreasingcom- economyand absorb losses. tionbutabouthelpingcompanies transactions,theactivityhascome forwardwith autonomous car model as it eyes agreater erative banks have enabledthe petitionfromprivate sectorbanks. With the aim of providing a find uses. Firms likeusprovide back.Theopportunitiesarereally technologyandaimedtoproduce shareofthe world’s largest commonman to have thefinan- Inamoveaimedatprotecting platform to discuss the issue, Heads,chairmen,CEO’sof various thosetechnology-ledsolutionsfor good and seeingthe uptickinthe apassenger vehicle that could in- carmarket. REUTERS cialbackingto beself-reliant.This, the interest of depositors, the Loksattaorganizedthe‘UrbanCo- UCBs from across Maharashtra business problems,reimagining businessactivity,weare quiteop- clude itsown breakthrough bat- he said, has supported the econ- Parliamentpassedamendments Operative Banking e-Conclave’. were part of this e-Conclave. businessmodels,theway theyde- timisticongrowth. FE tery technology as early as 2024.

Jaipur WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY11,2021 SPORT 11 Badminton fixing row: Players tanked Fightforspaceattheheart at Hong Kong, Macau and Lucknow ofCummins-Pujaracontest SHIVANI NAIK JANUARY 10

EIGHT INDONESIANS were sanctionedthis By exploring angles around offstump, pacer has testedthe Indian’s technique week formatchfixing and betting, in what is known in badminton doubles circles as “nyabon”. In apanel Integrity Unit investiga- SRIRAM VEERA Though he has pace, Cummins tion reportbythe Badminton World JANUARY 10 doesn’t blowawaythe batsman. Federationthat concludedafter eventsdat- ingasfar backas2015, the kingpin of this se- THE ENTIRE battle between PatCummins He alters their reality.Ball by ries of fixed matches was named as Hendra and Cheteshwar Pujarahas narroweddown ball. He is notanoverwhelming Tandjaya (HT). to the smallestrealestateoftrouble around forcebut acounterintuitive A32-year-old doublesfloater on the the offstump. Unlikemostbatsmen,Pujara lowercircuit, Hendratold investigators has near-total control over hishands. He explorer of angles, a bowler who “nyabon” meant “playing amatchtofix a doesn’t chase balls (the shotinthe has made Pujarafeel notfear, particular result.” Melbourne chase wasanaberration), does- ‘Nyabon’ is inspired either from the n’t stab at them, doesn’t let his hands wander but doubt. hornedtabby cat of the videogame ahead or away.The bat is tuckedin, held Bloodstained, lurking in wait to settle a softlytospongeout the venominamisbe- grudge, or simplymeans “sink (a game)” in having ball and is also the lastline of defence when he is slightlywider on the crease. He Sundanese languagefromwestern Java. In the interviewsconductedwith kingpin HendraTandjaya by investigators, ‘nyabon’ in case it tiltsintowards the offstump. The combines it with his release angle. He then But in the interviews conducted with worth95million rupiah were revealedacross 10 fixedmatches. Representational method has been his childhood friend, but sprinklesinsomefingermagic. Unlikesome Hendrabythe investigators, “nyabon” worth Cummins is nowforcing it to betray him. bowlers whose fingers slide down the seam 95 millionrupiah (INR 4lakh96thousand) Though he has pace, Cummins doesn’t moreoften than not, Cummins’s fingerprints were revealedacross 10 fixedmatches, and A32-year-old doubles floater on tigation states: “HT namedand discussed7 blowawaythe batsman. He alters their real- lead one to the wondrous worldof 4playerapproaches were turneddown, re- the lowercircuit, Hendratold other players (notthe subject of this hear- ity.Ballbyball.Heisnot an overwhelming MohammadAsif. Theycut the ball in. They portedbywhistleblowers.Hendra admitted investigators “nyabon” meant ing) with whomhehad engagedinactualor forcebut acounterintuitive explorer of an- rip it out.Significantly, theycan rip it out from to making “20 million rupiahinbetting” con- attemptedmatchfixing with him and oth- gles, abowler whohas made Pujarafeel not awider angle of release. vincing compatriots to lose. “playing amatchtofix a ers, or that he knewhad betting accounts.” fear,but doubt. Cummins’ is alabour of crick- It’s notanillusion. The ball actuallydoes Four players neverrespondedtosum- particular result.” ‘Nyabon’ is Sometimes afix would fall through -like eting intelligence, amatter of working out come in the air from thatangle. Pujaraplays moningbythe investigation panel, includ- with Aditiya Dwiantoro(AD). “HT had prom- barelyvisibleflaws in Pujara, causing inter- the line. The pastpredictsbad news about ing 41-year-old Ivandi Danang(ID), who inspired either from the horned isedhim money, but therewas notagood nal injuryrather than mere body blows. thefuture. Buthecan’t abandon his child- Hendracalled“boss” in the interviews after tabbycat of the videogame market,” the reportreads. At other times, los- It’s notaset-up. It isn’t about slippingin hood method, now. So, he presses forward confessing to be ropedintofixing by him. Bloodstained, lurking in wait to ing needednoeffort. In his doubles matchat asurprise deviator from the norm;it’s not cautiously, peering across ever so carefully. Danang wasactive on thecircuitin2010, Vietnam, Dwiantorowas told “toplaynor- about slanting afew balls in and then taking He knows theball will tail out but can’t be went AWOL in 2013,and resurfacedin2016, settle agrudge, or simplymeans mallybecause Hendra knewADwouldlose, one away.Pujaraismade of sterner stuffthan absolutelycertain of it. That angle of release at Hong Kong and Indonesia, whereHendra “sink (a game)” in Sundanese and HT had betonhim to lose.” Prior to the that. The king of patience doesn’t getdis- means the ball can justwaftinalong with is supposedtohavepulledoff twoofhis ear- languagefromwestern Java. tournament, Dwiantorodid notknow tracted so easily. Thatwas the attempt in the the line and knockthe pad or the offstump liestfixes. Hendra. “AD neededthe moneybecause his lastseries in Australia. Lessons have been if he isn’t alert. Approaches to the whistleblower(WB) father had died.” learnt. PatCummins has dismissedPujara Cummins adds one final layertothis. He at Scottish Open in November 2015,atNZin Mixed doublesplayerFadilla Affni’s (FA) Pujara’s method has one ‘flaw’. The need four timesthis series —caught behind keeps it backoflength to tryand upset August2017and US in July2017, were re- line with Mitra.dotand Temanjudi, wherehe grief waspreyed upon. “She washis mixed to hold the batinside theline,onthe off- thrice and at gullyonce. AP file Pujara’s balance. Pujarahas ashortforward buffedand reportedtothe authorities. The held accounts. Hendra(HT) himself had doubles partner in the ChineseTaipei Open stumpline. It’s the fulcrum, the soul of his press and justfreezes therewhen the ball investigation said, “They(whistleblower) slowlybeing lured.“At firstIDhad asked HT 2017 who wasinfinancial difficulty because technique. The bat is on that line; aball out- is shortoflength. It’s notfreezing out of have knownHTsince 2011 through junior to fixhis ownmatches, but HT had declined herparentshad died. He had manipulated a side it is allowedtofly pastthe edge duetohis tilt. He then layers it with counterintuitive shockbut an attempt at stillness to holdhis badminton.InNovember 2015,during the because he did notwanttolet down his matchbut hadmiscalculated the score.He abnormal control over his hands. Theydon’t deceptions. balance.When the ball straightens or comes early rounds of theScottish Open, theyre- sponsors. ID setupanonlineaccount to had asked hertoscore17inthe second set, jerk.The deviating ball can’t land akiss. in, he can tapthem away without much ceivedtextmessages from HT in whichhe transfer moneytoHT. The account allowed but his bet was for 18 in the second set, and Pujaradoesn’t leave as manyballs as M Straight line, latecurve fuss.But Cummins’wider angle means the offered3000 (currency unknown) to lose HT to receive cash from an ATM. He also re- he had lostthe bet. As aresult, FA wasonly Vijaydid in his pomp. He likes to feel bat on Conventionally, bowlers come close to straightening is actually aleg cutter in many their firstmatch. The WB declinedand asked ceivedcash from ID in person whichwas paid expenses, but wanted more money.” ball, preferring to spongeout trouble rather the stumps when theywant to take the ball ways. HT to nevercontact them again.” usedtobet on badminton (and other sports), Agrippina PrimaHarmantoPutera, son than outright rejection. He has built atech- away.It’s notonlyeasiertobend them away The betrayal starts now. The hip can and he usedtobet with ID. HT also received of former Indonesia coachSigit Pamungkas, nique around that basic urge.His game is to from there, but it also makes it curvelate threaten to open up. The hands starttoitch. Invitation to manipulate moneyintohis ownbank account,” the in- receivedasix-year ban and afine of USD playthe line and his carefully-constructed from astraight line. But Pujara’s methodis Pujara presses hardtokeep them in line.But At theUSOpeninJuly 2017,Hendraoffered vestigation reveals of their conversationson 3000.Agrippina hadbetting accountsand technique allows him to do that. It lets him builttohandlethis. Thebat will be held in the finger-magic from that angle takesthe AUD3000 to lose their firstmixed doubles Line app. Hendraadmitted he had betap- had asked Hendra forinformation about tapthem away,and hold his bat in line when line, and the ball can dink away,and lateat ball justabout away forthe fatalcollision match. ThereafterHendrawouldinundate proximately20million rupiah (1 lakh INR) bets.Healso claimedtohaverefusedtomess the ball swings or seams away.Itletshim that. No problem. withthe edge.IfCummins had bowled this themwithmessagesrequestingthesamema- in his firstinterview. with amatchresult. push short-of-length balls to gullyorpoint. Cummins usuallycutsthe ball in when from closer to the stumps, the ball would nipulation.“Inparticular,HTinvitedtheWBto Hendra’s biggestsnarewouldbethe 2017 Agriprinnawas at the Cipayung National It lets him nourish his urge to playthe line, he goes close to thestumps. Mostbowlit comfortablycut away.Ifhedidn’thavethose secure ascore“under 14 14”atareducedoffer Hong Kong SuperSeries, whereheinduced Training Center and had wontwo titles with withoutdanger.Untilnow. wider from the stumps and as batsmen it’s Asif-fingers, it would have been blunted by of AUD2500.” At the NewZealandOpen, partner Androw Yunantototank his opener current WorldNo.1Marcus Gideon from Some have magic in their fingers, some easier to playthat angle, but whenithap- the bat on the off-stumpline. Pujarawould Hendra“invitedtheWBto manipulateamatch for10million rupiah (aroundINR 50,000). A 2011-3. Howeverhis career drifted. “My mis- areintelligent;bowlers who combine cere- pens from the stumps, the inward move- still have takenhis batawayfromdanger if by winning21-16, 21-17.” fixatMacauwould fetchYunanto close to take is notreporting. HowdoIreport? He bral and physical magic arerare. Cummins’ ment starts late and the angle is tough to play. notfor Cummins’pace. There is no time to During the investigation, Hendrawould INR 73,000.The duo would land up at Syed asked formatchfixing, Idon’t want to.Ithink game is built around making the batsmen Pujara’s game can still handle this, thoughhe getout. Thereisnowheretogo. Pujara’s real fess up that while he setbetswith compa- Modi tournament in Lucknowand makeINR it’s justenoughtoleave it at that,itwon’tbe think theballisgoing to come in with the will keep short-leg and the leg-side fielders estate of troublemight be reallytinybut nies, he would receive paymentsfrom 36000 eachfor athree-setloss. this big,” Agrippina told Bola Sports,adding line. LikeJasprit Bumrah, to an extent. His an- ever alert. Cummins’ arthas allowedhim to take over Danang or recoverhis outlaybybettingon- In what points to adeeper rot,the inves- he would appeal. gled release point suggests ahint of inward Cummins usuallygetsthe ball to go away the property. OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4324 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES(Mar21-Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept24-Oct 23) MayIadvise youto In your personal life, keep aclose watch you'reonthe scent on your financial of anew romantic dreams? Today's adventure. major planetarypatterns will Unexpected developmentsat have an amazing rangeof work have notundermined consequences over the coming your confidence or weeks, but the impact on your commitment. Farfromit. If your emotional and material security professional or worldly seems to be greatest. If ambitions have been dented,I competing foraprize, go suspectthat the real cause lies forbroke. elsewhere, perhaps in your own refusal to take the lead. TAURUS (Apr21-May21) Today's planets push SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 22) youforward with Today's lunar increasing speed. alignmentsare CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson Your chances for about the most personal success arenow the intriguing they've best foravery longtime indeed. been foraverylong time. The Press on with establishedplans news will be exciting, even for by all means, but avoid those of youwho areenjoying anything that maylead to placid times. It'sall doubly ACROSS DOWN confrontation or smacks significant if youhavebig, 1Had an aversion to death throes 2Surprise shots in amelee of dishonesty. ambitious plans on the go. (5) (8) Youchoose. 8Preserved meat makes sailor 3Sensethere’s agreement GEMINI (May22-June 21) grumble (4,4) among rowing men (8) Youmay imagine SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 -Dec 22) 9Might be coldyet good 4Hardy,no; evergreen, yes that youknowwhat All the quite tempered (5) (6) is going on, but you extraordinary 10 Distraught wanderer 5Storestohaulonboard areprobably planetary activity approached(4,4) (5) mistaken. Neverhaveyou been nowtaking place 11 It can turn intoquitealark 6Show; notacelebration (5) so likelytopickupthe wrong must be harnessedand usedto (5) 7Blazing withaloud anger end of the stick. Please take channel your noble, virtuous 12 Somereligiousbiblical (5) proper advice in all legal, andselfless instincts. Youhavea character (3) 12 Time to bend an ear (3) foreign and travel matters, and clear choice whether to go all 16 There’s achangeofname here 13 Aclingingfemale? (3) that does mean double and out forpersonal interestorto (6) 14 What the investment produces even treble checking. realise that material security is, 17 Anumber finish with an is of some concern in the grand scheme of things, MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 -July23) alternative seller(6) (8) purelytemporary. Jupiter and Venus 18 Girlmay appearconfused 15 Task fordomestic science areasbenevolent a CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) (3) students(8) pair of planets as you It'sadayof 23 Possiblyrenew, making more 19 Repair or mend to getupto could wish to have significant planetary modern (5) date(6) watching over you. Generosity configurations, but 24 Confiscates one thousand 20 Very close to being drunk on your part willwin friends whether youare sterling (8) (5) and impress people, protecting directlyinvolvedindramatic 25 Some lifelong criminal (5) 21 Some time takentoform words youinthe present and gaining events, or merelyapassive 26 They’reworn with one’sarms (5) youfirm and loyalallies forthe observer,isuptoyou. Itakethe inside (8) 22 Very quietperhaps future. In other words, view that the latter is more 27 Post the prize money(5) (5) selflessness and self-interest likely. In other words, you'll be arethe same thing. looking, listening and learning. SolutionsCrossword4323:Across:1Lion’sshare,6Rand,10Sadly,11Nefarious, 12Freewill,13Nadir,15Reredos,17Sleeves,19Insists,21Attache,22Incur,24 LEO (July24-Aug23) AQUARIUS (Jan 21 -Feb 19) Abortive,27Establish,28Three,29Stye,30Shoreleave.Down:1Lass,2Order With so much Theapproaching arms,3Style,4Hankies,5Raffles,7Aloud,8Distressed,9Transept,14Artificers,16 planetaryactivity lunarpatternsare Describe,18Viceversa,20Slavish,21Another,23Cathy,25Total,26Here. taking place today, among themost you'd do very well to striking to hit your take centrestage.Watchout for signfor agood fewmonths. If flying missiles, though, and you'renot knockedslightlyoff duckifanything comes in your course there'll be something JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel5s direction.Preparefor ashiftin wrong, foritmeans that you're Instructions emotional gear and, while notdirectlyintune with your Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, you'reatit, getintouch with stars. You'll be back in the someonewho is waiting to hear saddle by the end of the week. therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4348 theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe from you. Whobeginstoomuch____little-GermanProverb(12) PISCES (Feb 20 -Mar 20) nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23) Ahelpful eachoftheninehorizontal Iamsurethat you relationship RSAEO CALTIC 4349 rowsandineachofthe have been put out, between the Sun and

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SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; complain about the world major mysterytosolve.The 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; being unfair. Instead, it's the answers will come next month,

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Jaipur WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,JANUARY11,2021 SPORT 12 BCA to write BRIEFLY to BCCI Adrenalinerushendsminiclassic Serena,Osakatojoin about Hooda’s topmeninAdelaide Rohit looked in total control in second innings, before a moment ofindiscretion brought about his downfall Sydney:SerenaWilliams andNaomi Osaka will join Rafa Nadal and Novak ‘misconduct’ Djokovic in playing apre-Australian SANDIPG SCORECARD Open warm-up exhibition in Adelaide JANUARY10 afterserving their quarantine in the AUSTRALIA VS INDIA DEVENDRAPANDEY South Australian city,Tennis Australia MUMBAI,JANUARY10 LESS THAN 15 minutes and three overs be- SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND (TA) said on Saturday.The “A Dayat fore stumps, Rohit Sharma lethis instinct Toss: Australia, chose to bat the Drive”event will take place at the BARODA ALL-ROUNDER Deepak Hooda has conquer his reasoning. He wheeledawaya AUS1ST INNINGS 338 city’s Memorial Drive TennisCentre been pulled up for'misconduct' and 'walking pull shotintothe deep shadows on his leg- IND 1STINNINGS 244 on Jan. 29, aweek before the delayed away from responsibility' by the CEO of the side, wherepouncedMitchell Starc, seem- AUS2ND INNS 312/6d (o/n 103/2) Grand Slam gets underwayat statecricket association on Sunday. Aday ear- ingly out of nowhere, to complete acatch, MLabuschagnecsub(Saha)bSaini 73 Melbourne Park. lier,Hooda hadwritten to the Baroda Cricket sliding on his knees, to end the Indian (118b,9x4) Association (BCA) to inform them about his opener’s most fluent outing outside Asia till SSmithlbwbAshwin 81(167b,8x4,1x6) unavailabilitybecause captain Krunal Pandya date. The latewicketpushedIndia to 98/2 at MWadecsub(Saha)bSaini 4(11b,1x4) 80%wantOlympics had repeatedly abusedhim in front of other stumps, afterAustralia had setthem adaunt- CGreencsub(Saha)bBumrah 84 cancelledordelayed: playersandstoppedhimfromtraining.Hooda ing 407for avictory. (132b,8x4,4x6) has steppedout of the bio-bubble since. Itwasacruelendto aknockthatpromised TPainenotout 39(52b,6x4) Japanesesurvey In an email to Hooda, BCAchief executive so muchmore. Sharma wasinutter control ■ Extras (b1,lb4,nb3) 8 officer (CEO) Shishir Hattangadi said the issue fromthemomenthestrodeout.Hisdiscretion ■ FoW:1-16(Pucovski,5.5ov),2-35(Warner, Tokyo:About80%of peopleinJapansay of Hooda walking out of the team,though he and judgement stood out;therewereno 9.2ov),3-138(Labuschagne,46.1ov),4-148 this year’sTokyoOlympicsshould be wasvice-captain,andgoingto themediawould fringesof extravaganceorindulgence,nothing (Wade,48.6ov),5-208(Smith,67.4ov),6-312 cancelledordelayedasworriesmount betakenupwiththeBoardofControlforCricket outrageous or out of the world, nothing that (Green,86.6ov) about arecordsurge in coronavirus in India and the IPL governing council. troubledhim even fleetingly.But in the mid- ■Bowling:JBumrah21-4-68-1;MohdSiraj25- casesacrossthecountry, aKyodoNews "Thereisnoteam that doesn'thavediffer- dle of this dreamyknock, kickedinmomen- 5-90-1,NSaini16-2-54-2,RAshwin25-1-95-2 poll showedonSunday.The survey ences but to walk away and talk to the media tarymisjudgement,orasplit-secondstreakof found35.3%wanttheGamesto becan- givingonlyyour sideofthe storyisacase of carelessness. When instinct overpoweredac- INDIA 2ND INNS 98/2 (Target407) celled and 44.8% favoured another de- seekingunwarrantedpublicityandputtingself quired wisdom without anyapparent tussle. RSharmacStarcbCummins 52 lay. The world’s biggestmulti-sports before the game," Hattangadi wroteinthe The pull is to Rohit Sharma what afore- (98b,5x4,1x6) event,postponedlastyear, isscheduled email to Hooda.The CEOalso mentionedthat handchip is to RogerFederer.Hecould play SGillcPainebHazlewood 31(64b,4x4) to be held from July23-Aug. 8inthe he had had awordwith the IPL team Hooda the stroke with his eyes blindfoldedorlegs CPujaranotout 9(29b,1x4) Japanese capital. Prime Minister plays for(Kings XI Punjab). boundinchains.Pat Cummins’ shortball ARahanenotout 4(14b) Yoshihide Sugadeclared astate of "Ihave hadachatwithyourfranchiseeand pausedinthe air afterlanding on middle and ■ Extras (lb1,nb1) 2 emergencyforthegreaterTokyoregion Ihaveenough reasontodecipher that we will leg as if imploring Sharma to pullitintothe ■FoW:1-71(ShubmanGill,22.1ov),2-92(Rohit on Thursday andcouldextend the makesurewewritetothe BCCI of your mis- shadows in thefine-leg region. Sharma Sharma,30.2ov) measuretoother areas as Japan strug- conduct...After thefeedbackfromthe team swayed his body atrifle, got underthe ball ■Bowling:MStarc6-0-27-0,JHazlewood8-3- gles to containasurgeininfections. management(andothers)Ihavereasonto be- and swivelled. Everything aboutthe stroke 11-1,PCummins9-1-25-1,NLyon9-3-22-0,C Suga’ssupportratehas tumbledsince lieve we will take up this matter as seriously wasprecise,exceptfor the placement. Green2-0-12-0 he took office in September. REUTERS withintheassociationaswe willwiththeBCCI Sharmagaveadisbelievingstare.Whenhe Beforegetting out for52, Rohit Sharma wasuntroubledinhis 98-ball sojourn. AP Day5: LiveonSonySportsNetwork,5am and the IPL GoverningCouncil." walkedback to thepavilion,hewouldhave re- Hooda'scommitmenttotheteamwasalso playedthatshotseveral times in his head and Messi,Griezmann questioned in the email. cursedand cussedhimself. At the untimeli- abit and de Villiers took asliding catch, run- Those were momentswhen Sharma balls in the corridor. The bounce wasvari- netfourforBarca "By walkingawayfromaresponsibility of nessofthe stroke,atthe imprecisionofthe ningnearly 20yards.Butherehehadonlyhim- could have stamped his undisputed quality able, so he ditched his stapleon-the-rise vice-captaincyandleavingtheteambecauseof shot, at the sheer consequence of the stroke, self to blame. Forthe Cummins’delivery had on matches, stabilisedhis role in the side, and drives, and instead leant intofuller deliveries. Barcelona:Lionel Messiand Antoine adifference youhavesent outamessagethat or at theinconsequenceofthat delivery.He little zip or zing, and Starchad to make only a silencedthe critics. Yet, thoseknocks ended Starcwas treated to abrace of gorgeous cover Griezmanneachscored twice as youholdyourself above theteamandthatem- had time to duck, space to leave,orhecould couple of steps. It wasneither aloose ball,nor up as case studiesofself-inflicteddoom. drivesinanover. The firstwas ahalf-volley BarcelonathrashedGranada4-0 away bodiesyourattitudeandcommitmentto your have glideditfiner,asheoften does,hecould aloose shot. It wasjustthe wrong shot at the Thereissomething inherentlytragic about a outside off-stump, whichhejustcoaxed on Saturdaytowin athirdconsecutive team," the email stated. have rolledhis wrists over it and kept it along wrongtime.Inthatsense,Sharma’sdeparture batsman consistentlydefeating himself, through the covers. Forthe next, his front- La Ligagamefor the firsttimethis sea- "As an association and being custodians of the ground. He couldhavedoneanything but seemedpredestined. when his owninstinctsconspirehis down- foot glidedout, before his hands justbrush- son. Griezmann openedthe scoring in thisgame,wewillfollowazero-tolerancepol- flayitstraight into the handsofthe fielder.An fall. Thereisnoallure to failure. strokeditthrough extracover.Inthe next the 12th minutewhile Messi struck icy on issues," Hattangadi, aformerMumbai opportunitytoascertain his overseas creden- Instances of indiscretion Yet, Sundayatthe SydneyCricketGround over,SharmaemphaticallypulledCameron twicebeforethe break to make it four batsmanfurther,wrote. tials slippedthrough his hands. Such fleetingmomentsofindiscretion wasanother moment when it seemedthat Green forasix. The brutal and the graceful, in goalsinhislasttwo matchesandgo top OnSaturday, inanemailsentto BCA,Hooda It wasnot the firsttime though that his define his overseascareer.Hecould rattleout no one else but Sharma could defeat Sharma. the space of sevenballs. of the league's scoring charts with11 madeaseries of allegations againstPandya. favouritestrokehas forsaken him in acrucial quiteafew suchinstances.The return catch Forhewas utterly untroubled in his98-ball Gill’s departuresaw Sharma embrace a goals. Frenchforward Griezmann "Atthis moment, Iamdemoralised, de- hour of his career or amatch. Memoryrolls to Nathan Lyon in Adelaide 2014.The at- sojourn. He, or his opening partner Shubman moredefensive approach.Apartfromthe scoredasecondgoalafterhalftime.The pressedandunderpressure...atleastfromlast back to themorningoftheCenturionTest three temptedslash offShane Watson in Brisbane, Gill, wasundaunted by the monstrous score flickedfour offLyonthat ushered in hishalf- win put Barcelona four pointsbehind couple of days,myteam captain Mr Kurnal years ago, when he wasbattingfluidlyon47, the under-edged sweep in Sydney, or the Australia had setthem to chase, striking a century, he kept risksaloof. He seemedin- leadersAtleticoMadrid.Second-placed Pandiyahas been abusinglanguagetomein chasing 287, and attemptedtohook Kagiso mosthideousofall, the heave offLyon, in- fine balancebetween attackand defence. clinedtobat outthe dayand had he man- Real Madrid were one point behind front of my teammates and also other states' Rabadaandendeduplobbingacatch to ABde tendedtoplungeintothe Torrens riverout- Sharmahad lotoftime to hang back at the aged it,India would have sparked faint hopes Atletico afterbeing heldatOsasuna to teams who have comefor participation at Villiers at fine-leg. At least, he could console side the Adelaide Oval but nestledinthe crease and defend. His footwork wasprecise, of afourth-innings heist. But that wasnot to 0-0. AFP Reliance stadium Vadodara," Hooda wrote. himself thinkingthatRabadahadhurriedhim hands of mid-wicket, in 2018. hands soft, and he did notreachout forthe be,ashis instinct conquered his reasoning.

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