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CHAY PLAYS A HOCKEY PLAYER IN HIS NEXT { Page 12 } www.dailypioneer.com TODAY ALMANAC Month & Paksham: UK returnee ‘tests positive’ for new Covid strain Margashirsha & Shukla Paksha Panchangam CCMB sends report sent to Union Ministry of Health, official confirmation of first such infection likely to be made today Tithi : Chaturdashi: 07:53 am Nakshatram: Mrigashirsha: 05:32 pm PNS n HYDERABAD 5 UK returnees among Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start Covid vaccination dry run is a smooth affair in Krishna district MHA issues fresh Covid any important work) Tests conducted by the Centre Vijayawada: The Krishna district 212 fresh Covid cases for Cellular and Molecular administration on Monday Rahukalam: 03:03 pm – 04:25 pm guidelines over new variant Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad successfully conducted a dry run Vijayawada: Five more people Yamagandam: 09:33 am – 10:56 am on 20 samples of UK returnees of the Covid-19 vaccination who returned to Andhra Pradesh PNS n NEW DELHI "While there has been a Varjyam: 02:25 am – 04:07 am detected the new coronavirus programme by carrying out from the UK and eight of their continuous decline in active strain that was recently discov- contacts tested positive for The Centre on Monday said and new cases, there is a need Gulika: 12:18 pm - 01:40 pm various exercises that go into the ered in the United Kingdom, actual event whenever it begins. Coronavirus as 212 cases were there has been a continuous to maintain surveillance, con- Good Time: (to start any important work) according to well-placed District Collector A Md Imtiaz, reported afresh in the state in 24 decline in the number of active tainment and caution, keeping Amritakalam: 08:03 am – 09:46 am sources in the CCMB. who inaugurated the dry run at hours ending 9 am on Monday. Covid-19 cases in the country in view the surge in cases glob- The caseload in the state is now Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:56 am – 12:40 pm However, CCMB officials the urban primary health centre at but there is a need to maintain ally, and emergence of a new remain tight-lipped on the Prakash Nagar in Vijayawada, said 8,81,273, according to the latest surveillance, containment and variant of the virus in the UK," issue following strict instruc- the (dummy) vaccine was bulletin. caution, keeping in view the the MHA said. VIJAYAWADA tions by the Union Ministry of transported from the central After 410 patients got cured, the surge in the number of cases "Accordingly, containment WEATHER Health not to disclose anything storage facility to cold chain total recoveries went up to globally and emergence of a zones continue to be demar- in public regarding the new points at various places. 8,70,752, the bulletin, released new variant of the virus. cated carefully; prescribed Forecast: Sunny coronavirus strain until it The dry run was carried out in five daily by the State health In a statement, the Ministry containment measures strict- Temp: 31/19 makes an official statement. locations with 25 test beneficiaries department, said. of Home Affairs said it has ly followed within these zones; We have monitored the time simulation," the Collector told Humidity: 64% The Centre is expected to (healthcare workers) for each The state saw four fresh Covid- issued fresh guidelines for su- Covid-appropriate behaviour taken for different processes and reporters. Sunrise: 06:45 am officially confirm the develop- session. "We have recorded this in 19 fatalities in a day, taking the rveillance with regard to Covid promoted and strictly enfo- the logistics involved. Sunset: 05:51 pm ment on Tuesday. the Co-WIN App and sent SMSes overall toll to 7,098. and these will remain in force rced; and the SOPs prescribed This will be used in real-time 2 Current Weather Conditions to the chosen patients. 2 till January 31. followed scrupulously," it said. Updated December 28, 2020 5:00 PM 2 Anantapur does away with caste names for colonies

PNS n VIJAYAWADA the officials not to use words like Dalits, Harijans or Anantapur became the first Girijan in official communi- district in Andhra Pradesh to cations and instead only use do away with caste-based Schedule Caste/Schedule Tr- names of residential areas. ibe to define persons belong- In an important move ing to these communities. towards social transforma- Chandrudu also warned of tion, villages and colonies disciplinary action against with an exclusive population those who violated the of Scheduled Castes in instructions. Anantapur district are being Further he made the dis- renamed after freedom fight- trict panchayat officers to ers and social activists. make all village panchayats Anantapur district collec- pass a resolution seeking a tor Gandham Chandrudu, change of their names form moved by the discrimination the existing Harijanawada that the SC communities or Girijanawada. face in the villages, directed 2 Centre invites 40 farmer unions for next round of talks on Dec 30 PNS n NEW DELHI

The Central Government on Monday invited 40 protesting farmer unions HC orders change for the next round of talks on December 30 on all rel- of investigating evant issues to find a "log- ical solution" to the current officer in impasse over the farm laws. The invite followed a Dr Sudhakar case proposal made by unions last week to hold the talks PNS n VIJAYAWADA on December 29, on agen- da including modalities Expressing its disappoint- for the repeal of the three ment with the report filed by laws enacted in September. the CBI in the Dr K Sudh- In a letter to the unions, akar Rao case, the AP Hi- Agriculture Secretary San- gh Court on Monday dir- jay Aggarwal invited them ected the investigation age- for holding talks at 2 pm. ncy to 'thoroughly' probe The last formal meeting the case and submit a fresh took place on December 5, report by March 31, 2021. in which union leaders The court ordered the demanded a clear 'yes or CBI to change the investi- no' answer from the gover- gating officer and appoint nment on their main de- an additional director-level mand of the repeal of the officer to probe the case. three laws. 2 2 2020, a bumper yr for AP farmers PNS n VIJAYAWADA Nivar relief released While the rest of the world Vijayawada: The State has very few kind words to Government on Monday say for the year 2020, for far- issued orders releasing Rs mers in AP, it was a time to 601 crore to the farmers who reap benefits like never suffered losses due to Cyclone before. Nivar. The year brought good rainfall leading to a bumper Full report on Page 2 crop and in the testing times couldn't have asked for more, of Covid, Chief Minister YS with Rythu Bharosa in three Jaganmohan Reddy gave the timely spells, crop insurance, much needed helping hand input subsidy, soft loans, set- by procuring agriculture pro- ting up of RBKs that serve as duce - even perishable goods a 'one stop shop' for all their - and ensuring MSP while needs - from supply of qual- keeping a check on price fluc- ity seeds to procurement and tuations. marketing facilities. AP farmers probably 2 TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020 02 Modi’s opponents are beginning to see reason behind Farm Laws

ome learn their lessons KCR, Modi does not dictate loss. He also eased the inter- The Centre procured Prices Commission former quickly while others take terms to farmers nor would he In politics, opposing policies of one state trade restric- Punjab paddy by paying chairman Ashok Gulati has Stheir time. It seems Chief leave them in the lurch. government by another political party is tions. Rs 1,000 crore to likened Modi’s reforms to Minister K Chandrasekhar Perhaps the unseasonal natural. The Opposition should realise that Vice- TRULY middlemen last year. the reforms of the PV gov- Rao may have attained wis- rains that caused immense loss President M What is wrong in ernment in 1991. dom rather late, perhaps after to cotton farmers made KCR the ruling party, once voted to power, has Venkaiah SPEAKING Modi’s plan to facil- The BJP might have criti- his Delhi trip. see reason. Now, KCR says the authority to take decisions in tune with Naidu, speaking itate farmers to sell cised the UPA’s policies but it Earlier, KCR had termed that the state government sus- the policies of the country. The Opposition at a book release their produce directly to did not obstruct every deci- the three farm Bills piloted by tained Rs 7,700 crore loss in function in anyone, eliminating middle- sion taken by the then gov- the Centre in Parliament as a procurement of crop at MSP should limit its differences with the Hyderabad, reminded that men? ernment. It also never resort- big loss to the farmers and had and is asking farmers to sell government only up to a certain extent. it was PV who initiated agri- Modi has an objective in ed to a vilification campaign said that agriculture will pass their produce in any market cultural reforms. mind and also proper per- against the government. into the hands of corporates. across the country. In 2005, Agricultural spective and this is the idea In politics, opposing poli- He described the Bills as The PM promised that MSP should be seen as a sign of with foresight and hold con- Y SATYA KUMAR Produce Market Committees behind his declaration that he cies of one government by ‘sugar-coated tablets’ and would continue, food grain rethinking among Modi’s sultations with experts before were scrapped by the would double the income of another political party is nat- exhorted TRS Parliamentary procurement will go on and at opponents. they take decisions. BJP National Secretary Congress. Rahul Gandhi farmers by 2022. In his recent ural. The Opposition should Party leader K Kesava Rao to the same time extensive Now, non-BJP parties like During PV Narsimha Rao went on record declaring ‘Mann ki Baat’, Modi spoke of realise that the ruling party, oppose them in Parliament. opportunities would be pro- BJD, AIADMK, TRS and rule too, several Congress agricultural reforms. that he would scrap APMCs the saffron flowers produced once voted to power, has the During his recent visit to vided for farmers to sell their Janata Dal (S) have changed leaders opposed crucial deci- Thousands of farmers across the country. The in J&K that are much in authority to take decisions in Delhi, he called on Prime crops freely. their views in favour of the sions taken by him. Today, demonstrated on the out- Hooda government in demand in the international tune with the policies of the Minister Narendra Modi and Earlier, Janata Dal (S) leader agricultural laws. the whole nation is enjoying skirts of Delhi when the PV Haryana implemented the market. Modi wants to help country. The Opposition Home Minister Amit Shah HD Kumaraswamy said that We cannot overlook farm- the benefits of PV’s econom- government decided to sign decision. the people by walking in the should limit its differences and this meeting served as an farmers should welcome any ers expressing support to the ic reforms. Surprisingly, some the GATT pact. The farmers It should be kept in mind footsteps of PV and Vajpayee. with the government policies eye-opener for him. change that allows them to new Agriculture Laws and Congress leaders claim them- tore up the draft agreement how the Punjab government, He believes in the idea of only up to a certain extent. Till the other day, KCR wriggle out of the current staging protests on the out- selves to be architects of the papers and made a bonfire. dependent on commission farmers deriving benefits While wisdom has dawned acted like a dictator asking vicious circle. skirts of Delhi. They know reforms. PV then assured Parliament agents and commissions, is only through implementation late on leaders like KCR and farmers to practice only reg- This change of stand by that those who implement They are not aware that the that his government would providing funds and ameni- of agricultural reforms. Kumaraswamy, it is inevitable ulated agriculture. Unlike both KCR and Kumaraswamy reforms in the country act same PV also introduced not allow farmers to sustain ties to the agitating farmers. Agriculture Costs and to dawn on other leaders too. 2020, a bumper yr for AP... HC orders change... Continued from page 1 ULBs set water targets to Continued from page 1 agriculture borewells working in the state. The annual expen- A bench of the High The year has also seen hor- diture for free power is worked Court, comprising Justice ticulture and aquaculture out at Rs 7,065 crore. Rakesh Kumar and Justice farmers getting their due share 'YSR Free Crop Insurance' D Ramesh issued the claim 15th FC grants and unveiling of plans for set- scheme would provide support order for the comprehen- ting up of cold storage units, to the farmers' at all hard times sive report during the godowns, agri labs among without levying any burden of hearing on Monday. SNV SUDHIR Urban Development Ministry. cities and towns is divided State Governments, for the others. premium on farmers. The The next hearing was n VIJAYAWADA The 15th Finance between a 50 percent basic/ grant period of 2021-26. With Polavaram poised for State Government directly adjourned for the first Commission had recommend- untied grant and the remain- Accordingly, a marking completion and other pro- credited Rs 1,252 crore into week of April. It will not be an easy task for ed allocation of Rs 29,250 ing 50 percent tied to meeting scheme has been prepared by jects moving at a rapid pace, the bank accounts of 9.48 The CBI had in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to crore for Urban Local Bodies service level indicators pertain- MoHUA wherein baseline the extent of land under cul- lakh farmers who have lost November informed the claim certain grants from the (ULBs) across the country for ing to water supply and waste indicators and yearly targets for tivation is all set to be total amount being Rs 1,009 their crop during 2019. High Court that it would Centre as recommended by the the year 2020-21. water management and solid 'water supply and waste water increased. Arid and upland crore. Cyclone Nivar com- The State government is submit a final report in the 15th Finance Commission With the aim to accord spe- waste management. management' are intimated to farmers have seen 'Jala Kala' pensation is also being cred- providing input subsidy to Dr Sudhakar case within (FC). ULBs will be assessed cialised focus towards large The Ministry of Housing the Ministry by all ULBs in the with the drilling of bore wells ited on November 29. the farmers to cover the loss- two weeks. The doctor, an under certain criteria whether metropolitans in the country, and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), country. and free power for nine hours The State Government has es in the same crop season. anaesthetist working at the they have achieved the set tar- the Commission divided ULBs is the nodal ministry for "The marking scheme will during the day time has set up 10,641 Rythu Bharosa The state government has Narsipatnam government gets or not. into two categories - 50 administering the 15th Finance be applicable for the period become a reality. Kendras (RBKs) at Village released directly into the farm- hospital in Visakhapatnam ULBs in the state were asked Million-Plus cities / urban Commission grants to the 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Though Jaganmohan Reddy Secretariat level and appoint- ers accounts for the crops district, was suspended for by the Municipal agglomerations, excluding ULBs. MoHUA will release the tied has promised to pay Rs 12,500 ed 10,500 technically qualified damaged during Kharif 2020 allegedly going to the Administration and Urban Delhi and Srinagar and all The Ministry of Finance grants for the year after assess- for four years in the party's staff. RBKs are multidimen- (June to October). An extent media complaining about Development (MA&UD) other cities and towns with less (MoF) has issued the opera- ing whether the ULBs have met manifesto, the amount was sional centres through which of 1.56 lakh hectare was dam- lack of face masks for doc- Department to submit their than one million population. tional guidelines for imple- the targets set," said a senior increased to Rs 13,500 and the farmers will get all the services aged due to heavy rains tors during the height of targets and plans for water sup- The 15th Finance mentation of the 15th Finance official of state MA & UD period extended for five years. of agriculture and allied sec- received during the period the pandemic. ply and wastewater manage- Commission grants were fur- Commission recommenda- department. Accordingly, Rs 7,500 and Rs tors from seed and feed to for which an amount of Rs The CBI, which began ment in their respective areas ther divided into two categories tions. ULBs will be assessed 4,000 would be credited to marketing and beyond. 222.14 crore was released to its probe, submitted its to avail 'tied grants' of approx- - untied (basic) grants and tied In line with the operational under the parameters like each farmer's bank account A majority of the feeders in 3.09 lakh farmers. first report on July 10. imately Rs 632crore for 2020- grants. guidelines issued by the MoF, households covered with before Kharif and Rabi seasons the state have been upgraded Horticulture crops in an extent The latest report was filed 21 as recommended by the The grants for Million-plus the MoHUA has been mandat- piped water supply, water and Rs 2,000 would be given and made available from this of 0.32 lakh hectare were dam- on November 10 in a 15th Finance Commission. cities are tied grants and have ed to recommend disbursal of supplied in litre per capita per during Sankranti. This year, Kharif season to provide 9 aged due to heavy rains sealed cover. CBI counsel After the plans are approved been divided equally between tied grants to ULBs. In order day (lpcd), reduction in Non- Sankranti will set in early as hours quality free power to received during the period sought a two-week dead- by the state MA&UD depart- two components - improving to claim the grants, the ULBs Revenue Water (NRW), the Rs 2,000 is being given on farmers during day time by for which an amount of Rs line for the submission of ment, they would be uploaded ambient air quality and solid should meet the relevant city- household covered with December 29 benefiting 50.47 spending Rs 1,700 crore. This 63.36 crore was released to the final report after the on the City Finance portal waste management and sanita- wise and year-wise targets sewage/ septage services, lakh farmer families and the would be helpful to 18.3 lakh 71,000 farmers. petition was heard. run by the Union Housing and tion. The grant for all other developed in consultation with recycling/ reuse of water. Nivar relief released Centre invites 40 farmer unions for... Anantapur does PNS n VIJAYAWADA Continued from page 1 The last round of talks was the government. While talks have remained held on December 5, while the The date given by the gov- deadlocked between the The State Government on Taking note of the unions' sixth round of talks originally ernment for the next round of Centre and the agitating away with caste Monday issued orders releas- offer to resume talks, Aggarwal scheduled for December 9 was talks is the same day when unions for almost a month ing Rs 601 crore to the farm- said, "The government is also called off a day after an infor- unions have also decided to now, the government has been ers who suffered losses due to committed to finding a logical mal meeting of Home Minister hold a tractor march from meeting various other farmer names for colonies Cyclone Nivar. solution on all relevant issues Amit Shah with some union Singhu Border and Tikri groups that have extended As per an assessment done with a clear intention and an leaders failed to reach any Border to the Kundli-Manesar- their support to the new laws. Continued from page 1 by the Agriculture open mind." breakthrough. Palwal (KMP) highway. The government has alleged Department, 7,53,936 farm- With regard to the pro- The government had, how- It's been over a month now that protesting farmers are Following the resolution, a ers suffered loss in posed agenda by the unions for ever, followed up Shah's meet- that thousands of farmers, misled by opposition parties committee of senior officials 4,21,746.84 hectares due to the meeting, the Secretary said ing with a draft proposal sent especially from Punjab, for their own political gains. was constituted to name the the cyclone. a detailed discussion will take to the unions in which it had Haryana and parts of Uttar Speaking at an event, SC colonies after renowned The aid amount will be place on three farm laws, MSP suggested 7-8 amendments to Pradesh, are camping at Delhi Agriculture Minister Narendra freedom fighters and social transferred to bank accounts caused heavy losses to farm- procurement system as well as the new laws and written assur- borders seeking repeal of the Singh Tomar said a "wall of activists. of the affected farmers ers, particularly in Krishna Electricity Amendment bill ance on the MSP procure- three farm laws. They have lies" has been spread in a Chandrudu ensured that through Direct Benefit and Godavari delta regions. and ordinance to tackle air pol- ment system. threatened to intensify their stir "planned manner" among all the 390 SC colonies were Transfer system. Agriculture Minister lution in and around Delhi. In the December 26 letter in the coming days if their farmers against the new farm renamed in official records. Cyclone Nivar struck at a Kurasala Kannababu, on an However, the government written to the government, demands are not fulfilled. laws, but it will not last long As many as 203 colonies time farmers in the state earlier occasion, had asked letter did not make any specif- farmer unions gave December The government has pre- and protesting peasants will were named after Dr BR were dealing with the damage the officials to submit the ic reference to one key condi- 29 for the resumption of talks sented these laws as major soon realise the truth. Ambedkar, while the others to Kharif crops due to heavy final report of crop loss by tion proposed by the unions while made it clear that the agriculture reforms aimed at Modi, while flagging off the were named after rains during October mid- December 10 and release seeking talks on modalities modalities for the repeal of helping farmers and increasing 100th 'Kisan Rail', also assert- Chandrasekhar, Azad, Netaji, week at the fag end of mon- compensation by December for the repeal of the Acts. three farm laws and guarantee their income, but protesting ed that his government has Gandhi, Nehru, Mother records including the names soon. 31. So far, five rounds of formal for MSP at which the govern- unions fear that these Acts have undertaken historic reforms in Teresa, Vallabhai Patel and of villages and colonies in The Cyclone Nivar- Orders were also issued to talks held between the Centre ment procures crops from left them at the mercy of big the farm sector to boost agri- Gautam Buddha. Another 39 February 2020. induced heavy rains that pay compensation for horti- and 40 protesting farmer farmers should be part of the corporates by weakening MSP culture and strengthen farmers colonies under the Rural He also said that titles such lashed the state for 2-3 days culture crops too. unions remained inconclusive. agenda for resuming talks with and mandi systems. and it will continue to do so. Development Trust were re- as Mala Palle-Madiga Palle named either RDT Colony or were removed that degrades after the RDT's founder the particular community. VIJAYAWADA Vincent Ferror. The names of these colonies BULLION RATES Speaking to The Pioneer, were changed after a proper UK returnee ‘tests positive’ for new Covid strain Gandam Chandrudu said meeting and resolution of GOLD that after verifying the the villagers, later that will be Continued from page 1 of new coronavirus strain was Centre's guidelines issued in informed to the gram pan- ` 51, 280 (10 gm) 5 UK returnees among... detected in the CCMB tests Covid vaccination dry run is a smooth 1982, an order was issued to chayat to officially change the `330 The Union Ministry of and a report to this effect was Continued from page 1 ban the usage of name in the records, he SILVER Health is expected to hold a sent to the Centre on Monday. affair in Krishna district Harijan/Girijan name in all added. ` 72, 600 (1kg) press conference in New Delhi Till the time of filing of this State Health Commissioner ` 1300 on Tuesday and disclose the report, not a single case of new Continued from page 1 test the planned operations Katamaneni Bhaskar said 1,363 details detected in the tests coronavirus strain was report- and the laid out mechanisms people had returned to AP from conducted by CCMB and a few ed in India. All primary health centres, for Covid-19 vaccination in the UK in recent days of whom VANTAGE POINT -NNARSIM CHICKEN other Central agencies. If the Centre so confirms, hospitals, educational the state. It will provide 1,346 were traced and 1,324 RATES `/KG Telangana State govern- Telangana will be the first State institutions and village insights into any gaps or were sent to quarantine. ment's department of health in the country to report this secretariats would be made bottlenecks so that those Among the returnees, 11 tested Dressed/With Skin `148 has been collecting the samples case. vaccination centres once the could be addressed before positive for coronavirus, he said, the commencement of the Without Skin `168 of UK returnees. As many as 1,200 passengers actual begins, he added. adding they were awaiting test Of them, 20 were tested have arrived in Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh is one of the actual drive," state Health results from the National Broiler at Farm `102 positive for Covid-19 till since December 9. The health four states chosen by the Commissioner Katamaneni Institute of Virology, Pune, and Sunday. department already traced Centre to carry out end-to- Bhaskar said. CCMB, Hyderabad, to determine EGG These samples had been nearly 1,000 passengers but 279 end dry run for Covid-19 A report on the dry run if they carried the new strain. RATES sent for analysis to the CCMB could not be tracked so far. vaccination on December 28. listing the issues involved Bhaskar said 5,784 contacts of `/100 and the Institute of Virology, Andhra Pradesh has 1,214 The state government picked would be submitted to the the UK returnees were also Union Ministry of Health and VIJAYAWADA 521 Pune, to ascertain if the infec- returnees of which 1,158 were Krishna district for the dry identified and tested, resulting in tion is due to the new coron- screened and six have been run, where it was carried out Family Welfare besides the 12 positive cases so far. In 24 HYDERABAD 519 avirus strain recently discov- found to be Covid positive. in five locations. State Task Force for hours, Guntur reported 53 new VISAKHAPATNAM 505 ered in the UK. AP is using IT-enabled toll, "The dry run was basically to necessary action. cases, followed by 42 in Chittoor RETAIL PRICE `5. 21 Sources revealed that a case which is using mobile tower signals to trace the travel his- tory of UK returnees. and 32 in Krishna. (IN HYDERABAD)

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`10 lakh, 5 CM tears into TDP for creating acres for kin Clash over arch leaves of murdered woman dead, 7 injured hurdles to housing scheme PNS n woman VIJAYAWADA family members of PNS n ANANTHAPURAM Tension prevailed Mariyamma staged a protest PNS n VIJAYAWADA A clash between two commu- for a while as the with the body demanding The state government on nities in Velagapudi of justice. Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Monday handed an ex gratia Amaravati region over the colony residents A police picket was Reddy on Monday unveiled the of Rs 10 lakh and five acres construction of an arch led to set out to CM deployed in the colony to pylon for the YSR Jagananna of land to the parents of a the death of a woman and left prevent further clashes. Colony besides distributing young woman who was seven people injured late on camp office along Apart from Sucharitha, house site pattas under found strangled and burnt to Sunday. with the body Bapatla MP Nandigama 'Pedalandariki Illu' scheme at death in Ananthapuram dis- Alarmed over the incident, of Mariamma. Suresh, YSRCP MLAs Meruga Urandur in Srikalahasti of trict. A revenue official hand- Home Minister Mekathoti Nagarjuna and Undavalli Chittoor district and tore into ed over the cheque to Sucharitha rushed to the spot Howe-ver, the Sridevi reached Velagapudi the Opposition for creating Snehalatha's mother Lakshmi and managed to bring a sem- police intercepted on Monday morning to hurdles to the project at some Devi this afternoon. blance of normalcy. them at the review the situation. places. "Devi has also been Sucharitha also met the fam- Sucharitha, after meeting Addressing a public meet- appointed as a subordinate in ily members of the victim, Velagapudi the family of Mariyamma, ing, the Chief Minister stated the Registration Office, along identified as Mariyamma on centre. said that the incident was that the government was hand- with grant of five cents of Monday and promised Rs 10 unfortunate and appealed to ing over a plot worth Rs 7 lakh land and another five acres in lakh ex gratia. the people to maintain peace free of cost to the beneficiaries, Bukkarayasamudram in Tension prevailed for a registered and a copy of the and stay united. She assured with a sole intention to create Siddharampuram mandal," while as the colony residents FIR would be given to them. that a comprehensive inquiry an asset for the poor families. would be a continuous process, said the official. Immediately set out to CM camp office According to reports, the would be ordered into the In Chittoor district alone, in he announced that eligible after the crime, the state had along with the body of clash erupted between the two incident. The Home Minister the first phase, 1,78,840 hous- ‘Sadist stalling welfare schemes’ people can still apply for hous- granted a compensation of Rs Mariamma. However, the groups over the construction warned that strict action es will be constructed and 2.50 es. They will be provided house 4.12 lakh to the family. police intercepted them at of an arch for an SC Colony at would be taken against those lakh house pattas will be dis- PNS n VIJAYAWADA that it as Ava lands and brought site within 90 days. Snehalatha, 18, was found the Velagapudi centre. Velagapudi village in Thullur responsible for the incident. tributed. He said that about stay in Rajahmundry. Even in In the first phase, 15.60 lakh murdered on Tuesday night in The Dalit groups have Mandal of Guntur district. As a precautionary mea- 30.75 lakh beneficiaries have Castigating TDP for creating Pulivendula also, TDP leaders houses will be constructed at a a field on the Dharmavaram- lodged a complaint against 29 With neither side refusing sure, Section 144 was enforced been identified across the State. hurdles for the distribution of brought stay from the court even cost of Rs 28,000 crore, while Anantapuram road near people including YSRCP MP to back down, the argument to ensure law and order. About 28.30 lakh houses will house sites and filing PILs a day though the government has been the construction of the remain- Badannapalli village. A sec- Nandigam Suresh. The Dalit intensified into stone pelt- Sucharitha said that a peace be constructed under YSR before the launch, the Chief distributing government lands ing 12.70 lakh houses will be ond-year degree student, she leaders said that they would ing. Mariyamma was among committee would be set up Jagananna layouts in two phas- Minister said: "Opposition leader belonging to APIIC. Citing the taken up from next year. was working part-time at the withdraw agitation only if the several people injured in until normalcy returns. es and another 2.62 lakh ben- Chandrababu Naidu is sadist. He 44th amendment of the Jaganmohan Reddy assured SBI branch in Dharmavaram FIR was registered against all the stone pelting. She also said that Chief eficiaries will be given TIDCO is taking pleasure by stalling the Constitution of India in 1978, the to develop infrastructure for for 15 days before her death. the persons they have men- While the injured were Minister YS Jaganmohan flats. event at some places by moving Chief Minister said that the supplying drinking water, elec- Police have arrested two men tioned in the complaint. admitted to the Government Reddy had directed the While such a welfare scheme courts through PILs. Distribution Constitution has given a legal tricity and drainage facilities for their alleged role in the They further demanded Hospital in Thullur, she suc- YSRCP leaders to meet the is going on, the Opposition is of nearly 10 per cent (3.74 lakh right for the property, but it is sad besides setting up parks, crime, which took on politi- that either the SP or the dis- cumbed while undergoing victim's family and offer deriving vicious pleasure by sites) of the total houses sites to see the opposition stalling the anganwadis, community halls, cal colour as several politicians trict Collector should give an treatment. financial assistance of Rs 10 trying to stall the project by fil- was stalled due to court cases. scheme when the government is village clinics and RBKs flayed the state government. assurance that a case would be Soon after, villagers and lakh as immediate relief. ing PILs against the scheme. In Amaravati, they stalled house trying to provide them their legal depending on the layout area. They deprived many people, site distribution citing right. Deputy Chief Ministers Initially, the government including those from demographic imbalance as the Dharmana Krishnadas, Narayana had decided to provide 224 sq Pulivendula, of getting the reason and got a stay from the Swami, Ministers Peddireddi ft, later it was increased to 340 benefit. God will teach them a High Court. In Visakhapatnam, Ramachandra Reddy, Mekapati sq ft. Govt unveils ‘Restart package’ for tourism fitting lesson, he said. distribution of 1.50 lakh house Goutham Reddy, Cherukuvada The State government want- Reiterating that the State is pattas was stalled due to court Ranganatha Raju, APIIC ed to handover registered pat- PNS n VIJAYAWADA the numbers department has estimated not just constructing houses, cases. Though the government Chairperson RK Roja, MPs, tas to the beneficiaries, but that an amount of Rs. 198.50 crore shall but towns to fulfil future purchased the lands, the TDP MLAs and MLCs were present they have been given D-form State government on Monday released be required towards the working capital requirements, the Chief leaders approached Court stating in the event. pattas due to court cases. Once Restart Package for tourism sector. The with a view to handhold the tourism sec- Minister said that the govern- the legal cases are resolved, land tourism sector representatives and stake- tor. ment had been taking effective deeds will be handed over in the holders had requested the state govern- Government proposed to extend inter- measures for women empow- per cent reservation for women earnings on rents, he observed. name of women beneficiaries. ment to provide support to the sector est subsidy at 50 per cent of the interest erment and supporting them in nominated posts, nominat- He said that the miserable The government acquired which faced severe brunt due to Covid. on the loan for the first 12 months sub- in every possible way. ed works, trust boards and conditions of the poor had dri- 68,361 acres of land worth Rs The Government has examined the rep- ject to a maximum of 4.50 per cent for one In the past 18 months, market advisory boards. ven him to take up this mas- 23,535 crore, not just benefit- resentation in detail and after due consul- year. Amma Vodi, Cheyuta, Vidya The Chief Minister said that sive project and thus promised ing 30.75 lakh beneficiaries but tations agreed for a Restart package to sup- After careful examination, the Deevena and Vasati Deevena he had witnessed the plight of 25 lakh houses. Now, we are covers 1.24 crore population port the tourism sector. The Restart Government approved a package of Rs have been rolled out by direct- the homeless poor during his offering more than what was (with four members per package has been approved with a view to extend working capital loan through 198.50 crore loan for hotels/MICE and ly crediting the amount to 3,648 km padayatra. Majority promised. We are providing house). Listing that three support the tourism sector and to provide commercial banks and provide interest function halls /restaurants and service bank accounts of mothers of of the people were seen living 30,75,000 house sites for the options were given to the ben- some relief. The Government has there- subsidy to operationalise these loans. providers by extending interest subsidy at the kids. either in kacha houses or in poor, he said. eficiaries for the construction fore approved a loan relief package at a cost As per the data collated by various asso- 50 per cent of the interest on the loan for The State government had rented spaces by spending Stating that the distribution of their houses, he said they of Rs 198.50 crore. ciations, registration on trade and tourism 12 months subject to a maximum of 4.50 also made laws to provide 50 almost 35 per cent of their of title deeds of the houses can choose either one. The Government has proposed to portal and subsequent rationalisation of per cent of the loan amount for one year. Varla demands probe into Lokesh deplores government’s ‘callous’ HC allows Ilayaraja garbage dumping at banks PNS n VIJAYAWADA its coercive, arm-twisting tac- attitude towards farmers' suicides to meditate for one tics. The entire incident sur- TDP Politburo Member Varla rounding the garbage dump- PNS n VIJAYAWADA Ramaiah on Monday took ing yet again sullied and hurt day in Prasad studio strong objection to the man- the image of Andhra Pradesh TDP MLC Nara Lokesh on ner in which the YSRCP at the national level. Monday said that the farmers PNS n CHENNAI Government handled the con- Ramaiah asserted that once would not have committed troversy surrounding the again the government made a suicides if the government had The Madras High Court on dumping of garbage in front of Dalit officer scapegoat in the taken timely steps to provide Monday allowed music com- the branches of several banks garbage row once again. compensation to the hapless poser Ilayaraja one day to med- in the State. "The Vuyyur municipal com- farmers. itate in the music room where Terming it unpardonable, missioner, a Dalit officer, was Taking part in 'Rythu he composed his songs for the he said that the government wrongfully suspended and the Kosam' programme in Krishna past 35 years. In return, the cel- was adopting a vengeful atti- people who were actually district, he called on the fam- ebrated composer would with- tude against even the bankers responsible for the incident ily members of the farmers draw cases filed over the denial who play a crucial role in run- were allowed to go scot-free. who committed suicides of his access to the studio in ning the economy. From the beginning, the YSRCP unable to bear mounting debts 2019. The court recorded the He alleged: "By throwing the Government had adopted a and severe losses caused due to settlement between Ilayaraja garbage in front of the banks, step-motherly attitude towards recent heavy rains and Nivar and the proprietors of Prasad At the time of Ilayaraja's entry the AP Government tried its the weaker sections and back- cyclone. Studios where the former had to the premises, only three usual suppressive methods." ward classes," he said. Lokesh interacted with the composed his songs for the past people would be permitted to The TDP leader asserted The TDP leader demanded grief-stricken families and paid 35 years. accompany him - one person- that it was only after the an impartial probe into the tributes to the deceased farm- Justice N Sathish Kumar al assistant and two music Central Government took a whole controversy to bring out ers by garlanding the por- recorded the settlement before assistants. Ilayaraja has told serious note of this issue that the facts about incident and traits. disposing of the suit between the Court that he would with- the YSRCP regime withdrew the persons behind it. Lokesh said the Jaganmohan Ilayaraja and Prasad studios. draw all pending suits before Reddy was not waking up TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh consoling the family members of farmer Krishnam Raju, who committed suicide, in The judge said that the pro- the lower courts against the stu- from his slumber in his Pagolu of Krishna district on Monday. prietors of the studio will dio so that both can bury their Tadepalli palace even as 766 endeavour to see that nobody is differences and end the dispute farmers committed suicide in cultivation. The entire crop season and the farmers suf- fixing smart meters for agricul- present inside the room. The between them. It is under- Pawan vows to fight till just 19 months after he took was damaged due to heavy fered a loss of Rs 10,000 crore. tural pumpsets. room originally used by Ilayaraja stood that Ilayaraja is likely to over reins. rains. Lokesh said that the Chief Lokesh was deeply moved at has been converted into an IT visit the studio on Monday to justice is done to farmers The TDP would continue its He demanded that the gov- Minister chanted slogan 'Rythu the miserable conditions of the room, the court was told. undertake his meditation. fight till justice was done to the ernment must give a compen- Rajyam' before elections, but deceased farmers and instant- The judge said that during The matter reached court PNS n VIJAYAWADA running cement factories, farmers, he avowed. sation of Rs 30,000 per hectare after coming to power he made ly announced Rs 1 lakh assis- the time Ilayaraja is meditating after Ilayaraja was denied access mining companies, media When Lokesh tried to con- for normal crops and Rs 50,000 sure that no farmer could sur- tance each to the families of inside the room, his belongings, to the Prasad studio citing ren- Jana Sena party president organisations and gambling sole the farmer's family per hectare for commercial vive in the state. Sambasiva Rao, Krishnam kept in a separate room at the ovation work in 2019. It is Pawan Kalyan criticised the clubs, why can't I continue in members of Sambasiva Rao, crops like chilli. He warned of a serious back- Raju, Venkata Krishnaiah and same premises, shall be reported that the maestro's YSRCP legislators for failing to politics by acting in films they told him that Rao took Crops in over 50 lakh acres lash from the farmers if the Adi Seshu who committed sui- removed by the defendants offer to lease the premises was cater to the needs of the peo- honestly." five acres of land on lease for were damaged in the kharif government went ahead with cides in Avanigadda area. after an inventory is prepared. also rejected by the studio. ple in the state. Some leaders Addressing a public meet- are under the illusion that we ing in Gudivada, Pawan will run away after suffering Kalyan came down heavily on setback in the elections and Civil Supplies minister Kodali defeat would not deter ambi- Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani). Politics takes temple oath route between YSRCP-TDP tious people from moving for- Gross injustice is being done ward, he said. to the farmers in villages, he PNS n VIJAYAWADA swore before God in Bikkavolu that Ramakrishna spoke about Addressing a gathering dur- alleged. Referring to Nani, Vinayaka temple, along with YSRCP MLA oaths to the media houses ing a roadshow on Monday, Pawan said that Nani was Politics in Andhra Pradesh is their wives, that each of them Gudivada biased towards the TDP but Pawan said that people should good at doing sycophancy taking a divine turn, with lead- was honest and did not indulge Amarnath and did not turn up for the oath question people's representa- (playing chidathalu) to the ers from the incumbent in corruption. challenge. tives if they fail to perform CM. He is dancing to the tunes Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Though both of them swore TDP leader The YSRCP leaders alleged their duties properly. of CM only to safeguard his Congress Party (YSRCP) and an oath, Suryanarayana Reddy Velagapudi that Rama Krishna grabbed Pawan submitted a memo- Minister seat, he added. the opposition Telugu Desam claimed that Krishna Reddy did Ramakrishna the plot during the TDP regime. randum to the Krishna JSP Political Affairs Party (TDP) challenging each not take the oath properly. also challenged The Andhra Pradesh gov- District Revenue Officer seek- Committee (PAC) Chairman other to prove their integrity in In a similar fashion, the rul- ernment has launched a land ing compensation to the farm- Nadendla Manohar participat- the presence of the Gods. ing YSRCP MLA Gudivada each to prove recovery drive, starting with ers who incurred huge losses ed in the tour. Krishna district Following an integrity prov- Amarnath and TDP leader honesty as the Gitam University and extend- due to cyclone Nivar. Pawan leaders from Gudivada and ing swearing-in challenge before Velagapudi Ramakrishna also latter was accused ing to several opposition lead- said that the condition of the Pedana constituencies - Lord Vinayaka in a Bikkavolu challenged each other. of grabbing lands ers in the city. road from Kankipadu to Booragadda Srikanth, Pothina temple in East Godavari district Recently, the state govern- in Vizag Recently, Chief Minister Y. S. Gudivada is very bad and Mahesh, Ammisetty Vasu, between a ruling YSRCP MLA ment got back 225 sq. ft of land Jagan Mohan Reddy launched asked the people to take lead- Akkala Gandhi, Bandreddy and an opposition TDP leader, from Rama Krishna with the a comprehensive land resurvey ers to task. Ramakrishna, Akula Kiran the temple politics have now TDP leader claiming that he did ready to swear in leaders from his party to polit- whose land of 225 sq. ft was project after 100 years, which Replying to questions as to Kumar, Padisetty Naresh, reached Visakhapatnam as well. not encroach on any land and Visakhapatnam East Colony's ically attack him. recovered in Rushikonda," is aimed at updating the south- how he could run politics Pulipaka Prakash, Bathina Recently YSRCP MLA, Sathi the ruling YSRCP government Sai Baba temple that he was "Rama Krishna claimed that mocked Rajya Sabha member ern state's land records, which while acting in movies, Pawan Hariram, Y Ram Sudhir, Suryanarayana Reddy, and was resorting to vengeful tactics innocent but failed to turn up he will resign if it is proved that and senior YSRCP leader V. could lead to the recovery of asked: "When other leaders Chalapathi and others partic- opposition TDP leader against him. for the oath, prompting even a square foot of land was Vijaysai Reddy. several encroached parcels of can continue in politics while ipated in the roadshow. Nallamilli Rama Krishna Reddy Rama Krishna said he is YSRCP's Amarnath and other encroached upon by him but Gudivada Amarnath alleged land. TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020 nation 04 BJP's victory in Bihar shows Shah unveils PM to lay foundation stone Arun Jaitley's people's faith in Modi: Irani statue at DDCA PNS n NEW DELHI for AIIMS Rajkot on Dec 31 PNS n NEW DELHI of the 242 zilla panchayats seats. It also registered victo- A controversial build-up PNS n AHMEDABAD The BJP's success in Bihar ry in over 6,450 village pan- notwithstanding, the Delhi Academic session polls, bypolls and local body chayats, and won the Pasighat and District Cricket Prime Minister Narendra elections in various states since Municipal Council elections Association (DDCA) on Modi would lay the foundation of the first batch September 27, when the farm where the Congress got only Monday unveiled the statue of stone of the upcoming campus of AIIMS Rajkot, bills got President's assent, two seats, the Union minister its former president Arun of All India Institute of Medical of 50 MBBS shows people in rural areas said. Jaitley at its premises in the Sciences in Rajkot in Gujarat have full faith in Prime "The Congress was spread- memory of the late administra- on December 31 through video stu-dents, Minister Narendra Modi's ing the misinformation that tor and former union minister. conferencing, officials said on started on Dec 21 leadership, Union Minister people of rural India do not Union Home Minister Monday. Smriti Irani said on Monday. support the ruling BJP. What Amit Shah unveiled Jaitley's The campus is coming up on from temporary Addressing a press confer- Congress leaders’ better response people in life-size statue, prepared by an area of over 201 acres near cam-pus in ence at the party office, she the rural parts of the coun- 96-year-old renowned sculp- Khandheri village on the out- claimed the Congress was comments that BJP try could have given them tor Ram Sutar, the man skirts of Rajkot city at a cost of Pandit Deendayal attempting to "create an illusion has no reach in the than by blessing the BJP behind the making of the Rs 1,195 crore. Upadhyay that people in rural parts of the rural areas have been with higher seats in local iconic Statue of Unity in "Prime Minister Narendra Medical College country were against the BJP". body elections in the Gujarat. Jaitley, who held key Modi will lay the foundation People have given a suitable responded by public in Congress-ruled Rajasthan?" portfolios of finance and stone virtually of AIIMS Rajkot reply to the Congress in these Irani said. defence in the central govern- on December 31. Gujarat Chief elections, Irani said. polls in Rajasthan, "Their comments that the ment, died last year due to Minister Vijay Rupani, of nine buildings in it have got It was inaugurated by CM phase six of the Pradhan She further said that Kashmir, Arunachal BJP has no reach in the rural multiple health issues. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin tentative approval. Rupani with Union Health Mantri Swastha Suraksha between September 27, when areas, have been responded by Former India cricketer Patel etc are expected to be pre- The academic session of the Minister Harsh Vardhan and Yojana and would be a 750- President Ram Nath Kovind and Hyderabad local the public in the elections in Bishan Singh Bedi had sent at the venue," Deputy first batch of AIIMS Rajkot, Union Minister of State for bedded facility with specialty gave his assent to the farm bills, bodies, says Minister Rajasthan, Kashmir, severely criticised the DDCA Director, AIIMS Rajkot, comprising 50 MBBS students, Health Ashwin Chaubey join- and super specialty depart- and December 22, the BJP won Arunachal Pradesh and for choosing to install the Shramdeep Sinha said. started on December 21 from ing the event through video ments. assembly elections in Bihar, Hyderabad local bodies. This statue of an administrator Sinha said Central PSU its temporary campus in Pandit conference. It would have 125 MBBS and bypolls in 11 states and got In the Arunachal Pradesh proves the confidence of the instead of an inspirational HSCC Limited was construct- Deendayal Upadhyay Medical At the time, Vardhan had 60 nursing seats in due course higher seats in local body elec- local body elections held on public in the leadership of PM cricketer and even demand- ing the campus and drawings College. said AIIMS Rajkot was part of of time, he had added. tions in eight states. December 22, the BJP won 187 Narendra Modi," she said. ed that his name be removed from one of the stands at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground. BCCI President and for- UP Cong leaders mer India captain Sourav Ganguly, India opener stage protests K'taka Health Minister hints at police action against untraceable UK returnees Shikhar Dhawan, ex India opener Gautam Gambhir, as cops stop PNS n BENGALURU Basavaraj Bommai after the it with the education minister. results of Covaxin, he said who is also a BJP MP from cabinet meeting because the UK He stressed that there was no encouraging results were Delhi, BCCI Vice President Sandesh Yatra Karnataka Health Minister Dr returnees could not be tracked, need to panic with the emer- emerging from the third trial as Rajeev Shukla and Union K Sudhakar on Monday hinted have switched off their phones gence of a new strain of coro- well. Minister Hardeep Puri PNS n LUCKNOW at stringent action against those and were not responding to navirus. "There are no adverse effects attended the unveiling cere- returnees from the United requests through media and "We have not yet confronted on 95 to 96 per cent people. mony along with a number of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Kingdom who were untraceable social media. the fear so far. Cases are reduc- Their immunity on the people DDCA officials. Ajay Kumar Lallu on Monday and had switched off their To a question whether police ing and the fatalities have come has also gone up," Sudhakar "Arun was like an elder alleged that police stopped mobile phones. It could even be cases will be registered, he said, down substantially. There are said. brother to me. He was known party leaders and him from police action against them, the "I am compelled to say that I many districts which have not Meanwhile, a report from for his sportsmanship spirit paying tributes to Mahatma minister indicated. will discuss with the Home seen a single death for the past Mangaluru said, the Dakshina in the political circle. He Gandhi at his statue here on "I request the UK returnees Minister and decide the future many days," he added. Kannada Health department remained aggressive in his the occasion of the Congress' to cooperate with us as respon- course of action." According to him, there were had made RT-PCR test manda- speeches but never lowered 136th foundation day. sible citizens. You have to get According to him, till now tion. the uniform protocol designed cases coming up in certain tory for all passengers arriving the dignity of the Parliament," However, Deputy tested. If you don't get tested 1,614 people have been tested. "They are under the supervi- for the entire country. localities of Bengaluru. at the Mangaluru International Shah said in his tribute to Commissioner of Police and switch off your phone, Of them, 26 people have sion of the government and are "If different protocols are "Even the UK returnees are Airport (MIA) and the New Jaitley, who remained DDCA (DCP) Somen Burma said then it's a crime in true sense," tested positive till Sunday getting the best treatment. All adopted in different states then located in Bengaluru only. So, Mangalore Port (NMP). President for 13 years. Congress leader Lallu was Sudhakar told reporters here. evening. Their samples have of them are in good health and it will cause fear among people. it will not affect the schools," the In a release, DK district "Arun always put his own asked to go with only four Official sources said around been sent to the designated lab none of them are suffering To avoid panic, uniform proto- minister explained. health and family welfare offi- interest at the back, never others to pay tributes at the 300 people who returned from in NIMHANS. from any serious ailment. They col is adopted pan India," he said. Regarding vaccines, cer Dr Ramachandra Bairy said sought publicity and rose Gandhi statue in Hazratganj. the UK, where a new strain of Later, the report will be sent do have mild symptoms," Sudhakar exuded confidence Sudhakar said he was expecting a decision to make tests manda- during the Emergency days He did not agree, and since coronavirus has emerged to the ICMR. Sudhakar said. that the reports on 26 people it at the earliest. tory for all passengers at the when he spent 19 months in there is no permission to recently, were yet to be traced. The Minister said all the 26 To a question about delay in may come by the end of the day. He said the Prime Minister MIA and NMP was taken as a jail. His political journey move in large numbers Responding to queries, people have been admitted to getting the reports, the minis- Regarding the opening of was going to offer the best gift precaution against spread of started then. He was multi- because of COVID-19, they Sudhakar said he would hold a the designated hospitals and ter said test lab reports have to schools and PU colleges, to the people of the country. coronavirus variants in the sec- talented and fulfilled a range were stopped, the DCP said. meeting with Home Minister none of them is in home isola- be sent to the ICMR as part of Sudhakar said he would discuss Speaking about the trial ond wave. of responsibilities." Lallu, who sat on a day-long fast at the Congress' headquar- ters over the incident, said, "Workers and leaders were SHORT TAKES trying to take out the 'Congress Online tests for recruitment, Mission CJI urged to end Sandesh Yatra' on the occasion of the party's foundation day Popular Sexpert Dr Mahinder and reach the Gandhi statue, ‘illegal confinement' but police did not allow it." Karmayogi key decisions in 2020 Watsa dead at 96 in Mumbai PNS n NEW DELHI The party alleged that police national recruitment agency umbai's most popular sexpert stopped Lallu and others at the (NRA) which will conduct a MDr Mahinder Watsa died here Congress headquarters from The online common eligibili- common eligibility test (CET) of Pradeep Jain on Monday at 96, his family said. going to Hazratganj. There ty test for majority of govern- for recruitments to govern- PNS n Through his ‘Ask the Sexpert' was also a spat between police ment recruitments and ment jobs," Minister of State JHANSI (UP) Bundelkhand region to high- column published in Mumbai and Lallu, when he asked if the Mission Karmayogi for capac- for Personnel Jitendra Singh light alleged mismanagement Mirror newspaper for the last 15 government would not allow ity building of central employ- said. Senior Congress leader and in 'gaushalas' (cow shelters). years, Watsa educated and him to put a garland around ees were some key initiatives He said this will provide a former Union minister Jhansi Deputy entertained his readers with witty the Gandhi statue, the for the personnel ministry in level playing field for job seek- Pradeep Jain Aditya's son on Superintendent of Police replies. "Dad was a man of many Congress claimed. 2020. ers by avoiding multiple selec- Monday wrote to the Chief (City) Rajesh Kumar had said dimensions. He lived a glorious life and on his terms," read a statement In a tweet, Lallu said, "Was Amid the ongoing COVID- tion tests at multiple loca- Justice of India alleging that earlier that the Congress lead- by his children. In a country where discussing sex openly is still taboo going to offer flowers at the 19 pandemic, the ministry tions. his father has been "illegally ers were stopped from moving for many, Watsa, son of a military doctor, had a sort of fan following. Gandhi statue on the occasion took timely measures to facil- "Further, the government confined in his own house" out of their houses based on Be it erectile dysfunction or middle-aged pregnancy, no query was off of foundation day but the itate smooth functioning of all has also decided to have at least here by the Uttar Pradesh apprehension of breach of the limits for this sexpert. Watsa's unabashed responses to the arrogant UP government the central government offices one or more than one centre in Police since December 25, peace. closeted sexual dysfunctions of our populace were refreshing and stopped me by deploying and provided safe working every district of India so that and sought his immediate In his letter to the CJI, upfront. He was literally what the doctor ordered to give some much police force." "In the country of conditions to over 48 lakh economically disadvantaged release. Gaurav Jain said, "It is submit- needed light-heartedness. "The Sexpert has gone. Mumbai institution Gandhiji, we cannot offer flow- employees. candidates and women candi- "...no reasons for detention ted that the detention is com- Dr Mahinder Watsa is dead. ers on the statue of Gandhiji. The concept of work-from- pension. dates especially, would not have been provided to him.... pletely illegal and in complete What kind of democracy is home necessitated due to the In November, it was decid- have to deprive themselves of We suspect that the District defiance of the rule of law. this. There is an undeclared coronavirus-induced lock- ed by the Centre that postmen such opportunities owing to Administration and their Such arbitrary police actions Assam govt tables Bill to abolish emergency in UP. We will down to stem the spread of the would provide doorstep ser- any difficulty in travelling," political masters are targeting have violated my father's fun- fast," he said. deadly infection besides stag- vice to the central government Singh told PTI. my father due to his political damental rights.... Such high- all state-run madrassas gered working hours and pensioners for submitting their He said Mission Karmayogi affiliations," Pradeep Jain handedness, which is against Police stopped party attendance system initiated by life certificates online. is again going to become a Aditya's son Gaurav Jain wrote the basic tenets of the he Assam government on leaders from paying the personnel ministry ensured "In view of the current pan- path-breaking decision in gov- to CJI S A Bobde. Constitution, is akin to an TMonday tabled a bill to abolish that central government organ- demic, it is a huge relief for ernance by providing constant The Congress has alleged undeclared emergency." all state-run madrassas and tributes to Mahatma isations continued to work. pensioners to submit life cer- upgrading mechanism for gov- that Pradeep Jain Aditya and "It is very unfortunate that convert those into general schools Gandhi at his statue Various steps were also tificates while staying at home," ernment officials. many other party leaders were the State of Uttar Pradesh is with effect from April 1, 2021. announced during the year by a statement issued by the "There will be an online put under house arrest to stop indulging in the action of ille- Despite a united opposition raising on the occasion of the ministry to ensure that Personnel Ministry had said. facility for each official to them from taking out a 'Gai gal confinement and deten- objections against it, Education central government pensioners The government also came acquire capacity building Bachao, Kisan Bachao (save tion. I request your hon'ble self Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma the Congress' 136th do not face any problem in out with a format to file com- whenever he or she takes up a cow, save farmers)' march to take suo-motu cognizance tabled The Assam Repealing Bill, foundation day, says submitting life certificates - a plaints with the anti-corrup- new assignment or whenever from Lalitpur to Chitrakoot of this matter of personal lib- 2020, on the first day of the three-day winter session of the proof required to be submitted tion ombudsman Lokpal. he or she is posted to a differ- from December 26 to 31. The erty and direct the authorities assembly. The bill proposes to abolish the two existing acts -- The UP Congress chief by them to the pension dis- "One of the historical path- ent assignment," the minister party had planned the march to immediately stop the illegal Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1995 and The bursing banks for continued breaking decisions is to have a said. in different districts of confinement," he said. Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation of Services of Employees and Re-Organisation of Madrassa Educational Institutions) Act, 2018. "This bill is not to control and repeal the private madrassas," Sarma said, adding that inclusion of the word "private" in the 'Statement of Objects and Reasons' of the La Nina effect: India sees above normal rains, harsher winter bill was a mistake. He said all madrassa institutes will be converted into upper primary, high and higher secondary schools with no PNS n NEW DELHI December to February are change of status, pay, allowances and service conditions of peak winter months in the 19 states and UTs received the teaching and non-teaching staff. La Nina seemed to have played country. The severe cold day normal rainfall this year, while 9 a critical role in influencing the conditions in parts of north country's weather in 2020 India that began in December states and UTs saw excess rainfall. which was a second consecu- of 2019 also continued in Bihar, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Goa, ‘Amartya being attacked tive year of above normal rain- January this year, India AP, Telangana, TN, Karnataka and fall with below normal temper- Meteorological Department for his views against Centre’ atures in the winter and less (IMD) Director General M Lakshadweep islands recorded occurrence of heatwaves. Mohapatra said. excess rainfall. Sikkim recorded est Bengal Chief Minister The year also saw formation The trend of cold to severe WMamata Banerjee Monday of five cyclones in the seas along cold day conditions also con- large excess rainfall. said Nobel laureate Amartya Sen eastern and western sides. Of tinued later in October, is being attacked by the BJP for the five, four were 'severe November as well December. - cyclonic circulation that orig- Southwest Monsoon arrived ed (90 per cent) deficient rain- August. It caused two-three his views against the Union cyclonic storms' and above. Several parts of north India inates in the Mediterranean over Kerala on June 1, its nor- fall. Generally, the country spells of riverine floods over government. Banerjee last week La Nina conditions played an recorded below normal tem- Sea, traverses across Central mal onset date. The official receives maximum rainfall in Odisha, Telangana, Madhya had written a letter to Sen important factor in having a peratures from October to Asia, and brings non-mon- monsoon season starts from July and August. Pradesh, south Gujarat and expressing her anguish after good monsoon and severe win- December, he said. soon rains to northwest India June 1 to September 30. One of the main features of south Rajasthan. The IMD said Visva Bharati, a central university, had said that Sen's family was in ter conditions in parts of north On the other hand, the sum- during the winters. The country received 109 the monsoon was the rainfall in it was a record rainfall in "illegal" possession of land on the campus. "Amartya Sen is being India. La Nina is associated with mer also saw few instances of This year, the frequency of per cent rainfall of the Long August. The month saw five August 2020, when all-India attacked for his views against the Union government. This is the cooling of the Pacific waters heat waves that affect large por- western disturbances was Period Average (LPA) with low pressure areas (cyclonic rainfall was 127 per cent of LPA. completely unacceptable. Just like, I am being attacked for my -- El Nino is antithesis to it. It tions of the country from April unusually high and continued three of four months -- June circulations) that brought large It was the highest in the last 44 political views," she said while talking to reporters here. Sen has is generally observed that a La to June, Mohapatra added. even during the summer. (118 per cent), August (127 per amount of rainfall over central years, after August 1976 (128.4 written to Banerjee, thanking her for the support, and said her strong Nina year also receives good He attributed the low fre- 2020 was also the third to cent) and September (104 per India. The total number of low per cent) of LPA. It was also the voice is a tremendous source of strength. The noted economist has rainfall and winter temperatures quency of heatwaves to fre- record highest precipitation in cent) -- witnessing above nor- pressure days was 28 against fourth-highest in the last 120 accused the Visva Bharati vice chancellor of acting at the behest of are lower than normal. quent Western Disturbances - the last 30 years. mal rainfall, while July record- the normal of about 15 in years. the Centre "with its growing control over Bengal". TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020 nation 05 ‘Central agencies being misused’ Delhi gets first-ever driverless

n PNS MUMBAI Raut said that the ED action reflected train on Magenta Line Launching a veiled attack on ‘frustration’ of the BJP against him, as PNS n NEW DELHI the BJP-led Central govern- he was instrumental in the formation ment after the Enforcement Inaugurating India's first-ever Directorate summoned his of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) driverless train operations on wife, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay government last year the Delhi Metro's Magenta Raut on Monday said Central Line on Monday, Prime agencies were being used as Minister Narendra Modi said "weapons" against family mem- Sabhaaffidavit. The ED woke MVA government to survive". his government unlike its pre- bers of those political oppo- up to this deal after ten years," The Maha Vikas Aghadi decessors has taken growing nents who cannot be won over. he wondered. government consists of the urbanisation as an opportuni- Raut told reporters that the Raut also suggested that Sena, the NCP and Congress. ty and asserted that metro ED action reflected "frustra- some BJP leaders speaking "I was told that 22 MLAs of train services will be extended tion" of the BJP against him, as against him since December 27 the Congress and the NCP are to 25 cities by 2025 from the he was instrumental in the for- used to frequent the ED office on the radar of Central agen- current 18. mation of the Maha Vikas (in south Mumbai) and "have cies who will be taken in and In his addresss via video- Aghadi (MVA) government taken away some papers from forced to resign. Shiv Sena conferencing, he said the grown from five to 18 now. an all-round strategy, he said. last year and didn't yield to the the office". MLA Pratap Sarnaik (who is launch of the driverless train By 2025, this is going to be The Regional Rapid Transit pressure to make it unstable. He declined to give any under the ED scanner in con- and start of the National extended to more than 25 System (RRTS) between Delhi Shiv sena will respond in the names. "When you can't fin- nection with a money launder- Common Mobility Card, also cities. and Meerut will reduce the dis- equal measure, he said."I have ish off your opponents politi- ing case registered against a inauguarated by him on "In 2014, only 248 km of tance between the two cities to been doing regular correspon- cally, weapons such as the ED firm) is just one such example. Monday, at the Airport Express metro lines were operational in less than an hour, he said, dence with the Enforcement or CBI are being uses blatant- "When nothing envisaged by Line of the Delhi Metro are an the country and today it is adding that for cities with fewer directorate (ED)for the last ly against their family mem- the BJP happened till attempt to make urban devel- about three times, more than passenger numbers, work is one-and-a-half months regard- bers," Raut said. November, which was deadline opment future ready. 700 kilometers. By the year being done on the MetroLite ing a Rs 50 lakh loan taken by had said on Sunday. then how can BJP leaders say The MP said he discussed set by the BJP for itself to top- He lamented that when 2025, we are working to version. MetroLite version my wife ten years ago from a The officials had said that so?" he asked. the issue with the Sena presi- ple the state government, chil- urbanisation gathered pace a expand it to 1,700 km," he said. would cost 40 percent less than friend to purchase a house," the Varsha Raut has been asked to Raut, the chief spokesperson dent and Chief Minister dren and wives of those who few decades ago, not much The prime minister assert- the normal metro while Metro Rajya Sabha MP said. appear before the federal of the Uddhav Thackeray- led Uddhav Thackeray. were associated with the for- attention was given to the ed these figures are a proof of Neo is being developed in cities He said all the details regard- agency in Mumbai. This is the party, said his wife is a teacher. "The ED is issuing sum- mation of the MVA govern- needs of the future with "half- ease of living in the lives of with less ridership. This would ing this loan had already been third summons issued to her "We are middle-class people. mons...The BJP is targeting ment are being targeted," he hearted" efforts being made crores of Indians and an evi- be built at the cost of 25 per- submitted to the ED during the after she skipped the earlier two My wife had taken a loan from me in its frustration. The Shiv claimed. and confusion persisting while dence of the fulfillment of the cent of the normal metro, he correspondence. on health grounds, they said. a friend 10 years ago to pur- Sena will respond in the equal He said there was no threat the gap between the existing aspirations of the citizens. said, adding that water metro The ED summoned Varsha "When the ED itself did not chase a house. Details have measure," he said. to the state government. infrastructure and needs grew. Metro rail is a great way to would be an out of the box Raut for questioning in the mention that the correspon- been given to the Income Tax Raut said the BJP had been "You send a notice or arrest us, Noting that urbanisation reduce pollution and has taken thinking for cities with large PMC Bank money laundering dence was regarding the PMC (department) and also men- pressurising him since the last the government will remain should not be seen as a chal- thousands of vehicles off roads, water bodies. Modi also case on December 29, officials Bank scam case and HDIL, tioned in my Raya one year "to not allow the stable," he added. lenge but used as an opportu- he said, adding his government emphasised on the importance nity to build better infrastruc- has formulated metro policy as of 'Make in India', a reference ture and enhance people's ease per the needs of a city and its to domestic manufacturing, in of living, he highlighted his working population. laying out metro services, say- INDIA CORNER government's works towards The government formulat- ing this reduces costs, saves for- Lockdown increased chess' this, saying the number of ed the metro policy for the first eign exchange and generates Farah Khan, Vikrant Massey's cities with metro rail has time and implemented it with more employment to people. social media accounts hacked popularity, says Anand Man arrested horeographer-director PNS n CHENNAI the life of an orphaned chess EC gearing up for Farah Khan and actor prodigy who rises to the top CVikrant Massey on Monday "Cruel as it may sound" but the while struggling with drugs for robbing said the security of their social COVID-19 lockdown was a and alcohol, has made chess media accounts has been boon for chess, feels five-time appealing to a younger gener- shopkeeper elections next year compromised and efforts are world champion Viswanathan ation with online searches PNS n NEW DELHI on to restore their profiles. Anand but he hopes the sport's for the sport and its practi- PNS n NEW DELHI Khan said while both her expansion into the online tioners hitting a new high. A 23-year-old man was West Bengal, Twitter and Instagram page space does not spell the end of Reputed chess website arrested for allegedly robbing The Election Commission Kerala, Tamil were hacked, she was able to the traditional board. chess.com declared that it's a shopkeeper after seeking successfully held assembly Nadu, Assam and reinstate the latter thanks to her husband, director Shirish Kunder. In an interview to PTI, the subscriber base shot up sig- change for a Rs 200 note in polls in Bihar, one of India's "My Twitter account has been hacked as of last evening. Please do 51-year-old maestro touched nificantly after the series's southeast Delhi's most populous states despite Puducherry are not click or reply if you get any message from it as it maybe used to upon a variety of subjects, release. Anand said he has Govindpuri area, police said the COVID-19 pandemic and due for elections hack into your account too..." she wrote in a photo message shared including the immense popu- liked what he has seen of it. on Monday. is now preparing to conduct next year on Instagram. Khan, known for directing films like "Main Hoon Na" larity of chess-based Netflix ments taking place. "I think it is pretty good. It The arrested has been polls in states and union ter- and "Om Shanti Om", also asked her followers to remain vigilant. drama 'The Queen's Gambit, Asked if there was a possi- is one experience of a chess identified as Vishal, a resi- ritories as per schedule next "This is true! My Instagram was also hacked and many DMs could his new role of a mentor to bility of it going online com- player. I feel that a lot of the dent of Saurabh Vihar in year, its chief Sunil Arora said have gone from it. Pls be vigilant. I've managed to restore Instagram youngsters and an upcoming pletely, Anand said, "I hope not tournament scenes are very Jaitpur, they said. summing up 2020. civil society organisations and thanks to computer engineer @shirishkunder. Hoping to get Twitter biopic on his remarkable career but I don't know...we will see accurate. The portrayal of According to a complaint The Chief Election individuals, and the support of reinstated too," the filmmaker wrote in the caption of the post. and life. what happens. It would be nice the tournament halls and filed with the police, Vishal Commissioner (CEC) pointed all stakeholders, including "Certainly chess is one sport to grow chess online but it players, a lot of that is very and his associate came to the out that the exercise involved political parties, and above all, Bina’s plea against Lalit's arbitration that has benefited during the would be a pity to move the accurate," he observed. grocery store of Shambhu nearly 7.3 crore voters and the voters themselves," he said. lockdown, cruel as it sounds. other lines." "...it is the biggest series on Kumar in Tughlakabad over 1.06 lakh polling stations. "As I have already men- proceedings maintainable: HC Actually we can build on that "We have to see what hap- Netflix and that tells you Village around 3.30 pm on "We were able to conduct a tioned, it was a leap of faith for and grow the sport," Anand pens once the situation with quite something. Maybe it Saturday and sought change COVID-safe election, with a the Commission, and not a The Delhi High Court has held said. the virus is under control. was the fact that people were for a Rs 200 note, police said. voter turnout of 57.34 per cent, leap in the dark," Arora said, that it has the jurisdiction to As most sporting action Whether it is a long-term sitting at home and somehow Kumar gave them two notes which was higher than the referring to the decision of decide a plea by late shut down because of the lock- trend or a short-term one I they were waiting for some- of Rs 100 in change, they 56.8 per cent turnout record- holding polls as per schedule. industrialist KK Modi's wife down when the pandemic don't know." thing like this. I don't know said. Efforts were on to nab ed during the previous election Some political parties had challenging her son Lalit Modi's spread, chess found new life Not just the lockdown, 'The but it has driven a boom in his associate Rocky, the in 2015," Arora told PTI. earlier urged the EC not to move to initiate arbitration online with several tourna- Queen's Gambit', a drama on chess. police added. This was also an election hold elections amid the pan- proceedings in Singapore over marked by enthusiastic partic- demic. Bihar assembly elec- property dispute of the family. ipation of women voters, who tions were the first full-fledged A bench of Justices Siddharth outnumbered men at the polls to be held amid coron- Mridul and Talwant Singh set AIMIM to tie polling booths, he said. avirus. Over 4 crore of the total aside the judgement of a single judge of the high court which had MP Cong MLAs stage silent The facility of postal ballots over 7 crore voters exercised said that it does not have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the anti- was extended to citizens above their franchise. T o arbitration injunction suits filed by Lalit Modi's mother Bina, his up with BTP the age of 80 years and persons ensure distancing norms, the sister Charu and brother Samir and they are open to take such pleas with disability. Besides this, the EC restricted the number of before the arbitral tribunal in Singapore.The single judge had said in Gujarat protest against farm laws EC also conducted elections voters per polling station to that an anti-arbitration injunction suit does not lie, so the pleas are PNS n AURANGABAD across several states for Rajya 1,000 from 1,200. This led to not maintainable, and dismissed.Bina, Charu and Samir, in two PNS n MUMBAI Sabha seats, and by-elections the increase in the number of separate suits, contended that there was a trust deed between the The AIMIM will contest local for nearly 60 legislative assem- polling stations. Similarly, in family members and the KK Modi family trust matters cannot be bodies' polls in Gujarat in Bhopal, Dec 28 (PTI) Madhya bly constituencies, he West Bengal, where elections settled through arbitration in a foreign country as per Indian laws. alliance with the Chhotubhai Pradesh Congress MLAs led observed. are due along with Kerala, Vasava-led Bharatiya Tribal by state unit chief Kamal Nath "All this was made possible Tamil Nadu, Assam and Party (BTP), the AIMIM's on Monday staged a silent through the zeal, commit- Puducherry next year, the Kerala Cong leaders demand Aurangabad Lok Sabha MP protest against the Centre's ment and dedication of lakhs number of polling stations Imtiaz Jaleel said. He said that new farm laws in front of of officials, security personnel, would go up by nearly 28,000. removal of non-performing DCCs his party planned to make an Mahatma Gandhi's statue in entry into Gujarat's political the Assembly premises here. oncerned over the party's theatre after tasting success The protest began with Nath poor showing in recent with five seats in the Bihar garlanding the statue of Ccivic polls, several Assembly polls, results of Gandhiji amid MLAs holding Congress leaders in Kerala which were declared on placards and toy tractors and have flagged various issues November 10. "We plan to shouting slogans denouncing including, the contest the local bodies' elec- the Centre. Narendra Saluja. "We will con- An earlier plan by the party need to change the working tions in Gujarat in alliance The decision to stage a silent tinue to extend support to the to arrive at the Assembly com- style of the state leadership and with the BTP. We do not have protest was taken since the ongoing farm agitation against plex in tractors was set to face sacking of non-performing a state unit as yet in Gujarat three-day winter session of the Centre's new laws," he hurdles from an order issued district units, ahead of the but there are AIMIM sup- the Assembly, set to begin on added. The winter session got by the district collector ban- assembly elections likely in April-May. Presenting a hordes of porters working in places Monday, was postponed due to postponed after 61 Assembly ning the movement of several complaints and concerns before an All-India Congress Committee like Ahmedabad and the coronavirus outbreak, said staffers and seven MLAs test- types of vehicles within a 5- delegation which was here on Sunday to examine the party's Bharuch," he said. state Congress spokesperson ed positive for the virus. kilometre radius. debacle in the crucial local body polls which the ruling LDF swept, the leaders wanted immediate intervention of the high command to address the issues, party sources said. There was also a general suggestion to give more representation for youth in the assembly polls. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) political affairs J-K youths give up terror path for variety of reasons committee members, state-level office-bearers and DCC presidentswere among those who met the delegation headed by PNS n ANANTNAG (J-K) joined the ranks of terrorists a AICC general secretary (incharge of Kerala) Tariq Anwar. Officials said the Army has been couple of months ago,” an offi- There was the young man who focusing on surrenders and has had cial said. Efforts began to iden- surrendered after he spent a many successful counter-terror tify their families and get their Cross FIRs lodged as farmer, night on a tree to hide from a parents to appeal to them to bear on the prowl and felt his operations in the Valley, especially in surrender. paddy centre in-charge fight in UP militant recruiters had left him south Kashmir "Waghey's elderly father and to die and another, so moved mother made appeals to their ross FIRs have been lodged by the entreaties of his parents son and finally he came out and in connection with a quarrel that he laid down arms right in he encountered the bear. Details of his surrender are not surrendered before the troops. Cbetween two individuals at a the middle of an operation. "The bear ran after me and being divulged, said a senior We requested Mir's parents to paddy purchase centre in the The stories of the 17 recruits I managed to climb a tree. I was official. do the same and he, too, came Puwayan area here, police said to the militant movement who on the tree the entire day and In another incident on out and laid down his arms," an on Monday. A farmer, Charanjit took the decision to surrender night on an empty stomach December 22, troops of the 34 official said. There is a video Singh belonging to Mukimpur, their arms to the Army officials with a grenade in my hand. I Rashtriya Rifles received infor- capturing the moment of has filed a complaint with the this year are varied but their realised that our mentors are mation about the presence of Waghey's parents with their police alleging that when he subtext is the same – the desire year-old from the Valley was said. making fools of us," he is quot- two Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists son. It shows Waghey's moth- went to take the receipt for his paddy at the purchase centre, its in- to return to the mainstream. persuaded to join militancy by The disenchantment set in ed as saying in his interrogation at Tantraypora in Kulgam dis- er kissing him on the forehead charge Ashish Singh beat him up, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Officials said the Army has a local militant Abbas Sheikh. soon after, they said. The youth, report. trict. while the father reassures both Puwayan, Navneet Kumar Nayak said. However, Ashish Singh has been focusing on surrenders He was given a grenade and whose identity is being kept It was a turning point. He The two terrorists were iden- that the Army was there to pro- also alleged that Charanjit Singh assaulted him, he said. Cross FIRs and has had many successful designated a member of The under wraps, spent a night on gave up his arms at a nearby tified as Yawar Waghey and tect them and would take care have been lodged on the complaints of both the individuals, Nayak counter-terror operations in Resistance Front (TRF), a shad- a tree, tired, hungry and fear- Army unit in the interiors of Amir Ahmed Mir. of them. "...Tell them every- said. A video of the incident, which took place on Saturday, where the Valley, especially in south ow group believed to be a sub- ful of a wild bear who lay in south Kashmir. He was "As we launched the opera- thing and you will soon have both the individuals are seen engaged in a heated argument and Kashmir. sidiary of the banned Lashker- prowl. He had been roaming promised that he and his fam- tion, we came to know that meals with us," the father tells thrashing each other, has gone viral on social media, police said. Three months ago, a 24- e-Taiba terror outfit, officials the jungles of Kokernag when ily can now lead a normal life. both were locals who had the son. TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020 op nion 06 www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/ PAPER WITH PASSION The new warriors 2020 turned man into superman. Helming the frontline One nation, one election were our inspirational doctors and healthcare workers t is said that Marvel Comics was working on creat- ing a new superhero team called New Warriors when The EC may be ready for simultaneous polls but the Govt itself is indecisive ICOVID-19 hit the world and ended the Hollywoodian magic spinner’s dream. But without the pandemic, would about it, knowing the difficulties of handling hung Assemblies simultaneously man have discovered that superman was within him? Or that no martial valour could make up for the heal- er’s miracle that just about saved the human race from giving up hope? For fighting the Coronavirus, which has mutated with Frankensteinish zest, was no less than war. And the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who gave back countless lives, weren’t ever trained for a glob- PRIYADARSHI DUTTA al war of this nature. These dedicated and selfless pro- eplying to a private news fessionals were undoubtedly the new warriors this year, ceaselessly fighting a still unknown channel’s query on “one enemy, dying at the frontline and getting back up, living to fight another day. Yet their story nation, one election”, Chief Election was never as lionised as that of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan contracting and recov- CommissionerR (CEC) Sunil Arora ering from COVID-19. We still not do full justice to the doctors, rarely talking about the pithily said that the Election long hours they continue to put in to revive the sick or forget that while we rebel against Commission was ready for it if the legislature (Parliament) carries COVID fatigue, they cannot even afford to slip up for even a moment as the virus recoups out the necessary (constitutional) and attacks in waves. The doctors have no time to regroup; they carry on with extreme amendments. The Election grace under pressure and with depleting numbers as many of their own fall along the Commission was not authorised way. And with a healthcare system that infrastructurally offers little backup, the doctors to decide on it, he clarified. The amendments that the have only showed rare courage under fire. Their stories are an embodiment of human- CEC was referring to were per- ism in cynical times. Some of them have worked non-stop for weeks on end, some have haps Article 83 (2) and 172 of the never seen family for months while others have not stopped reporting for critical care Constitution of India which per- tain to durations of the House of despite having co-morbidities themselves. Doctor-nurse parents have still not hugged their People and State Assemblies, children almost a year after the pandemic as they have not been let off their rotational respectively. At present, they COVID rosters. Worse, overstressed and overworked, most continue to work at almost enjoy a term of “five years from the date appointed for its first 50 per cent pay cuts as a lull in admissions has forced big hospitals to cut costs. And meeting”. At any given time, dif- in a gross travesty of justice, healthcare professionals, who died in the line of duty, have ferent State Assemblies would be left behind kin who are running from pillar to post to get the compensation promised to in different stages of their life cycle. No elected Government them under the Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan package. The wife of a Chandigarh-based would voluntarily like to give up doctor, who succumbed to the deadly disease, committed suicide as she was driven to the term even a day earlier than panchayats and municipalities of the Fifth Lok Sabha was general elections. The Election concluded that simultaneous penury and no relief came to her even six months after the compensation was promised is absolutely necessary. However, also enjoy five-year duration extended until 1977 under Commission has 23.3 lakh Ballot elections are not feasible in the at present, the President of India under Articles 243 E and 243 U, Article 352. Thereafter, the Units, 16.35 lakh Control Units near future. However, citing to her. And how did the society repay its debt? By shunning doctors in their neighbour- under Article 85 (2) (b) can dis- respectively, of the Constitution Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and 17.4 lakh VVPAT machines, that under Sections 14 and 15 hoods as potential carriers of infection, denying rentals and looking at them with suspi- solve the Lok Sabha. The of India. However, there are no Twelfth and Thirteenth Lok including those blocked in elec- of the Representation of the cion. Yet for all the doctors’ discontent and agitations that the media reports, there is their Governor of a State, under Article clear-cut constitutional provi- Sabha were dissolved prema- tion petition cases. A majority of People Act, 1951, the Election 174 (2) (b), can dissolve a legisla- sions to dissolve these local turely. On numerous occa- these were procured over the Commission can notify elec- reassuring companionship and commitment that every COVID survivor acknowledges. tive Assembly. bodies prematurely. sions, various States went under preceding three years. In reply tions to the Lok Sabha and State Sadly, only the affected could see them for what they were. It is, therefore, disconcert- Prime Minister Narendra In 2015, the department- the President’s rule under to another question (vide legislative Assemblies six ing that nobody bothered to champion the concerns of our distressed healthcare givers, Modi’s idea of simultaneous elec- related Parliamentary Standing Article 356, and came out of it unstarred question 5198 dated months prior to the end of their tions is apparently more compre- Committee of Personnel, at different times through fresh July 24, 2019), the Minister natural term, it suggested hold- who should be our national heroes. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has been cru- hensive. The BJP’s election man- Public, Law and Justice had legislative elections. replied that the Election ing elections in two phases. It sading that all doctors who had died, almost 400 at last count, should be given martyrs’ ifesto, “Sankalp Patra-2019”, examined the issue of The committee found that Commission had procured implied that elections to some status. But the Government appeared insensitive when Minister of State for Health Ashwini pitches for simultaneous elec- “Feasibility of Holding seven out of 16 Lok Sabhas 13.95 lakh Ballot Units and legislative Assemblies could be tions to Parliament, State Simultaneous Elections to the elected in 1969, 1977, 1980, 10.55 Control Units between held along with the Lok Sabha Kumar Choubey told Parliament that no data about dead healthcare workers was main- Assemblies and local bodies with House of People (Lok Sabha) 1984, 1996, 1998 and 1999 2016 and 2019 at an estimated polls, and others in the mid- tained at the Central level as health is a State subject. Are we as a nation abdicating our a view to “reducing expenditure, and State Legislative witnessed premature dissolu- cost of `2056.20 crore (exclud- term of the Lok Sabha. The conscience? For, if the IMA is to be believed, no nation has lost as many doctors and ensure efficient utilisation of the Assemblies”. From Report tion. The Anti-Defection Act, ing taxes and transport). Standing Committee recom- healthcare workers as India. It has even quantified their threat levels, saying: “Doctors Government’s resources and secu- No.79 of the Standing 1985, that prevented switchover The Election Commission mended the plan to be initiat- rity forces, and effective policy Committee — tabled in both by breakaway factions in case knows the template of handling ed with effect from November suffer four times the mortality of ordinary citizens and private practitioners suffer eight planning”. The manifesto states Houses of Parliament — on the Government loses majori- simultaneous elections. The 2016. The Government sat over times the mortality on the same scale. To feign that this information doesn’t merit the that the BJP will try to build con- December 17, 2015, it appears ty, has a direct bearing upon the 2019 general elections were the report for more than two attention of the nation is abominable.” sensus on this issue with all polit- that political parties were divid- term of the legislature. held simultaneously along with years before sending it to the ical parties. However, no attempt ed on the subject. In their writ- Putting the clock back to elections to four legislative Law Commission. The Law But they have been an inspiration to ordinary Indians. Consider the funeral service work- at “consensus building” appears to ten submissions, the AIADMK, 1952 might not be easy. But a Assemblies like Andhra Commission’s report has not ers who ensured the dignity of the dead and gave solace to families who were robbed of have been undertaken by it so far. DMDK, Asom Gana Parishad, more important question is, Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal been finalised as of date. In fact, their last farewell. Remember the essential service providers who made the pain of the The Election Commission of the Indian Union Muslim how desirable would it be? The Pradesh and Odisha. However, after the 21st Law Commission’s India’s authority to conduct elec- League and the Shiromani proposal comes with attendant the Election Commission’s tenure ended on August 31, lockdown bearable, rushing supplies in the middle of curfews and sealed borders. Spare tions extends over the House of Akali Dal supported the idea, logistical and expenditure chal- inventory of EVMs and 2018, there is no clarity about a thought for the bankers who enabled seamless processes and online transactions. Or People (the Lok Sabha), Council though with certain riders. On lenges. In terms of numbers, the VVPAT machines, though in the Law Commission itself. those who spearheaded the digital revolution and created a parallel universe for us to retain of States (the Rajya Sabha), State the other hand, the Indian Election Commission of India excess to the requirement for This has recently resulted in a legislative Assemblies, legislative National Congress, Trinamool has Electronic Voting Machines general elections, might be public interest litigation being our sanity and the human connect, if not touch. And a word for the policeman, who apart Councils, the President and the Congress, the NCP, the CPI and (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable quite insufficient for holding filed in the Supreme Court. from wielding lathis to manifest the extra powers he had been invested with during the Vice-President of India and so on. the AIMIM opposed the idea as Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) simultaneous elections all over At present, “one nation, crisis, did turn into the neighbourhood friend . S/he would check on old people, ensure It has been constituted under impractical. machines in excess to the num- India. The older EVMs, which one election” seems more of a Article 324 of the Constitution of The first general elections ber required for the Lok Sabha have outlived their lifespan, rhetoric than a resolution. Even deliveries to the recipients in containment zones and generally see to it that all were secure India. The offices of the Chief to the Lok Sabha and to the elections. In reply to a question have to be retired and replaced. the ruling party knows well that and safe. Perhaps these people inspired common Indians to turn into Samaritans them- Electoral Officers in all States and State Assemblies were held in the Lok Sabha (vide unstarred This would mean (a) signifi- it would be difficult to tackle selves. There are countless stories of groups helping returnee migrants with food and sup- Union Territories are part of the simultaneously in 1952. The question 1911 dated July 3, cant enhancement, if not dou- the situation if simultaneous Election Commission. The elec- practice continued in three 2019), Law Minister Ravi bling, in the number of EVMs elections result in hung plies, community endeavours of feeding the sick and the quarantined and, most signifi- tion to local bodies like panchay- subsequent elections in 1957, Shankar Prasad informed the and VVPAT machines avail- Assemblies in four or five cantly, individuals sharing their resources despite little earnings and joblessness. Interestingly, ats and municipal corporations/ 1962 and 1967. However, the House that 14.88 lakh Ballot able; (b) augmenting storage States simultaneously. people watched the original TV adaptation of Ramayana with great passion through the municipalities, on the other hand, synchrony got disturbed due to Units and 11.3 lakh Control facilities for these during elec- (The writer is an author and are conducted by the State the premature dissolution to Units (constituting an EVM) tions (strong rooms) and per- independent researcher based in lockdown when even Bollywood failed to think of new diversions. In retrospect, could peo- Election Commissions constitut- some legislative Assemblies in and 11.59 lakh VVPAT manently (warehouses). New Delhi. The views expressed ple have been affected by the Hanuman syndrome, the character underrated most of the ed under Article 243K. Moreover, 1968 and 1969. Later, the term machines were used in the 2019 The Standing Committee are personal.) time under the luminescent glow of divinity but crossing all limits to deliver what is need- ed, without being asked? The word Hanuman means killing the “maan” or ego. In times that tested us, a few of us rose to the occasion. And became Corona warriors! S O U N D BITE The first Metro was start- The Opposition has united I read an article about Lal The reason players opt for a ed with Atalji’s efforts. In to rescue Pakistan from the Bihari Mritak years ago and review is because they're 2014, only five cities had inefficient PTI Government. I was touched. I researched unhappy with the on-field Metro services. By 2025, The people of Pakistan about him and felt that his umpire’s decision. The DRS Don’t drink, stay warm we will take it to more must similarly unite to story deserved to be told. I system needs to be thorough- than 25 cities. save the country. wanted to do that myself. ly looked into by the ICC. Why is the Indian Meteorological Department advising North Prime Minister PPP chairperson Actor and filmmaker Former India skipper Indians to not drink? Well, there is some actual science to it —Narendra Modi —Bilawal Bhutto —Satish Kaushik —Sunil Gavaskar t is the season of festive cheer! As we bid adieu to one of the worst years in recent memory, we L E T T E R S T O TH E EDITOR Ishould ideally do so with a peg of rum. But the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is advising Blot on Kerala’s name Indo-UK cooperation North Indians in particular to not drink at all in the SC order favouring flat buyers is welcome Sir — United Kingdom (UK) cold weather as the plains experience the coldest win- Sir — It is really shocking that in he recent verdict by the Supreme Court in favour Prime Minister Boris Johnson, by ter in almost a decade. This is not some crazy pre- an alleged honour killing case, a of apartment buyers is a welcome development. accepting India’s invite to be the young man was murdered by his TApart from the builders to pay to the buyers an annu- chief guest at the next Republic cursor to prohibitionism, but based on actual scien- wife’s relatives in Kerala, and al interest on the flat’s cost for the period of delay in its Day parade in New Delhi, has tific fact. While the story of Swiss ski rescuers with what makes it more horrendous delivery, in addition to the meagre monthly per square pleased a host of nations, and St Bernard dogs with a small case of brandy or cognac is that this crime took place in a foot penalty mentioned in the apartment buyers’ agree- rubbed a few the wrong way. State known for its literacy rate ment, there are many other factors that should be set- That it would be his first on their collars is true, the fact is that alcohol dilates and progressive nature. A simi- tled in favour of buyers. official tour abroad after exiting the capillaries in the body. While that does help in get- lar incident had occurred a year The factors needed to be addressed imperatively the European Union indicates ting some warmth into your fingers and toes, it is actu- ago in the State which boasts of include that the pricing should be on the basis of car- the importance attached by gender and social equality and is pet area and not built-up or super built-up area. Even him to the Indo-UK coopera- ally counter-productive as it takes away heat from the core of your body. If you remem- well known for its political and though RERA has ordered this, there is no transparen- sites, saying that they do not offer loans for purchas- tion. Both nations are tradition- ber your secondary school biology, you will know that the core of the body is what social consciousness. cy. The carpet area should strictly be 25 per cent lower ing units from these builders. ally bound together through has to retain temperature so that your organs can function normally; lose too much Kerala is the birthplace of than the super built-up area. The builders must disclose Additional expenses such as GST, stamp duty, home areas of common interest. one of the greatest reformists our the carpet area and loading factors of all the units on loan processing fee, registration charges and all other Mutual trust has always been core temperature and, no matter how warm your fingers, hypothermia will set in and nation has seen — Sree Narayana their websites as well as on the brochures. charges should be disclosed by the builders. A certifi- the glue that has firmly held your body will slowly shut down. So, yes, the advice to steer clear of too much alco- Gurudev, who devoted his entire There should be no permission granted for any cate should be issued by the builders that they are fol- together the two countries. hol, or alcohol altogether, is based on facts. And, of course, since drinking is in essence life for the uplift of the downtrod- change in the layout once the initial plan is exhibited to lowing the National Green Tribunal’s regulations as well An early harvest deal and a den and put an end to casteism the buyers. The soil quality and topography of the land as ensuring that the buildings are at least 100 metres free trade agreement are expect- a social activity, drinking less also means that you socialise less, which is not a bad and communalism during the on which the houses are constructed have to disclosed away from water bodies and high tension wires. ed to be inked by Johnson and thing especially in these unsafe times of Corona outbreak. early period of the last century to the buyers. Nationalised banks should list the builders Vijay Kumar HK PM Narendra Modi. The Sure, that does not mean that you can’t enjoy a glass of warm rum toddy but if and paved the way for a highly with a bad reputation and exhibit the same on their web- Raichur “Enhanced Trade Partnership” is literate, enlightened and progres- all set to see the light of the day you do drink make sure that you keep yourself warm and do not indulge in drunken sive society which later became Be truly self-reliant if the country with the highest sake of making announcements. as also a decade-long roadmap bravado where you take your jacket or sweater off. It is predicted to be very cold in a role model for the nation. Sir — India is the second most percentage of youth is unable to The unemployment scenario between the two countries. After the coming weeks, and several places in North India are already reeling under mini- Such shameful incidents tar- populated country in the world direct them and offer them is getting worse. If India gets to the pandemic, India and the UK mum temperatures below the 5°C-mark. In such harsh conditions, keeping the body nish the good reputation of the with nearly 1.35 billion people. employment? It seems surpris- use her own youth’s brainpower, seem committed to reinvigorat- State and its people whose pro- Not only after the lockdown but ing that the results of an elec- that would be the true definition ing the badly affected economy warm is essential. Wear warm clothes, drink warm tea and coffee or, better still, hot gressive thinking, passion for before that too, India was a tion pop up everywhere but the of becoming self-reliant rather through each other’s largesse. chocolate besides ensuring that you take your vitamins through the plentiful winter universal literacy and robust wholesale market of unem- results of competitive exams than using the technologies of Ganapathi Bhat fruits and juices. Remembering your basic biology is important; yes, this has been public healthcare system have ployed youth. hardly make it to the news. The other countries and calling it Akola always earned wide praise. This sorry state clearly begs promises of employment seem developed and digital India. a bad year thanks to the Coronavirus but you should not let the year end with you M Pradyu the question, which type of to be made just for adding Aman Jaiswal Send your feedback to: being cold and miserable. Stay safe, stay warm and stay healthy into 2021. Kannur self-reliant India do we wish for beauty to manifestoes or for the Delhi [email protected] TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com analysis 07 FIRSTCOLUMN Many challenges POINTCOUNTERPOINT THE BJP SAYS THAT FARMERS WILL BE ABLE TO SELL COME TO MY OFFICIAL RESIDENCE AND I WILL lie ahead THE CROP OUTSIDE THE MARKET. BUT OUTSIDE IT IS EXPLAIN THE FARM LAWS TO YOU. LET’S DO SOLD AT HALF THE PRICE. HOW IS THIS A BENEFIT? CONSTRUCTIVE POLITICS FOR FARMERS’ BENEFIT. By and large, 2021 is expected to be a mixed bag —DELHI CHIEF MINISTER —BJP MP with some good and some bad news, not only for ARVIND KEJRIWAL MANOJ TIWARI India but also for the world Many a slip... KALYANI SHANKAR It is natural to expect an economic rebound in FY 2021-22. But it is vital to take a pragmatic he famous French astrologer, physician and prophet Nostradamus had predicted that 2021 would be catastrophic, as the pandem- view based on an objective assessment of how the situation unfolds on ground zero Tic would rage on, though many optimists expect it to be better than 2020. When the contagion hit the world, it was most unexpect- ed and many countries, even in the developed world, were unprepared to face the pandemic. One year down the line, governments around the world and the people, too, are much better prepared to face the continued onslaught of the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately, some coun- tries, including India, have come up with vaccines to combat the virus. Nostradamus had predicted that the world economy would col- lapse and “the rich would die many times.” Importantly, the work from home culture will continue in the new year too. It will be a year of challenges, particularly for governments. The biggest challenge for the Narendra Modi Government would be dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. It will not be easy to ensure that the 1.3 billion people of UTTAM GUPTA the country get the vaccine in time. Particularly as India lacks the cold chain infrastructure to keep the vaccine effective and safe for users. he green shoots seen in October, in partic- This gap has to be bridged urgently. Even though the COVID warriors ular the rise in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) by 3.6 per cent, have have done an excellent job till now despite many constraints, they will T prompted agencies to revise their growth assess- face many more challenges in the times to come. ment for the current financial year (FY) from the The second challenge is to find more money to deal with the minus 9.5-10.5 per cent projected earlier to minus Coronavirus in the 2021 Budget as there is an urgent need to improve 7.5-8.5 per cent, now. For the FY 2021-22, when healthcare facilities, particularly in rural areas. the impact of the virus is expected to subside to The third challenge is the sliding economy. Many economists pre- a large extent due to the availability of the vac- dict that 2021 will be a bad year not only for India but also for the cine, it is only natural to expect an economic entire world. The Economist Intelligence Unit predicts that fiscal con- rebound. However, it is necessary to take a prag- ditions are likely to be weak in India in 2021 owing to the strains faced matic view based on an objective assessment of by the banking sector. This will lead the economy to register a dou- how the situation unfolds on ground zero. To begin with, the Gross Domestic Product ble-dip recession. The Reserve Bank of India had also projected that (GDP) growth had already started sliding from the Gross Domestic Product would contract by 9.5 per cent in the the third quarter (Q3) of the FY 2018-19 and con- current financial year amid disruptions caused by the pandemic and tinued all through the FY 2019-20, culminating it may turn positive in the last quarter (January to March). in a low of three per cent during its last quarter Even though credit rating agency Moody’s had said that “India’s ending March 31. During the whole of 2019-20, credit profile is increasingly constrained by low growth, a high debt the growth plummeted to a decade low of 4.2 per burden and a weak financial system”, it expects India’s economic growth cent, down from an average 7.5 per cent record- to rebound to 10.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22 on a strong ed in the previous five years. base effect. A nationwide lockdown in March dwelt a The fourth challenge is to find jobs for the millions who lost their body blow by bringing most of the economic activities to a grinding halt. As a result, there was livelihoods due to the extended lockdown. Added to that is the migrant a precipitous decline in GDP growth by 24 per labour issue as many of those who walked back home after the lock- cent during Q1 of the current FY ending June 30. down are yet to come back to the cities. The fifth challenge is to tack- The slide continued during Q2 ending on GOING and November. These packages inter stimulus package. For instance, `75,000 to come from the Centre and States each le the growing farmers’ unrest. Thousands of farmers from about 11 September 30, though the deceleration was FORWARD, alia targeted MSMEs (micro, small crore under PM-KISAN, `90,000 crore (balance 22 per cent by the private sec- States have marched to Delhi and are protesting since November 26. modest at 7.5 per cent (courtesy the graded exit A BIG PUSH and medium enterprises), NBFCs, to PDCs to enable them to clear their tor). This translates to `8,00,000 crore Modi is facing his biggest challenge from the farmers’ lobby that wants from the hard lockdown). TO GROWTH power distribution companies (PDCs), pending dues to power generators, annually by the Centre and State each. the Centre to repeal the three farm laws passed by Parliament. Politically, However, the crucial point is that even if migrant labour, agricultural credit, the `65,000 crore to clear pending subsidy But there is no blueprint on how these growth rebounds to the seven per cent-10 per cent DURING 2021-22 lower middle class, agriculture infra- dues to fertiliser manufacturers and so resources will be garnered. Even so, the BJP-led NDA will be in a much stronger position in Parliament. It COULD BE HIT BY will provide the BJP the leeway to further its political agenda with greater range, the resultant GDP would have merely recu- structure and farm reforms, structural on. Second, of the total package of given the current financial health of ` CONTINUING ` manoeuvrability and attempt more reforms. However, while such perated to the 2019-20 level or about 14,500,000 reforms in coal, minerals, civil aviation, 30,00,000 crore, the actual outgo by banks with ballooning non-performing crore or $2.1 trillion. The Union Budget for 2020- VULNERABILITIES defence, fertilisers and the Mahatma way of budgetary support is just about assets, they don’t have the wherewith- reforms will support medium-to-long-term growth, in the short term 21 was prepared with an overarching focus on OF BANKS Gandhi National Rural Employment `4,00,000 crore. Out of this, a major al for financing on this scale. weak economic conditions and tensions might continue. making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25, AND NBFCS, Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), health slice of `1,50,000 crore is for providing Put shortly, there is too much A major political challenge will be the Assembly polls scheduled a target that Prime Minister Narendra Modi set OVERLEVERAGED and the State Governments’ resources free food — five kg per person per focus on packaging but too little from in five States amid the pandemic. The poll-bound States include Assam, at the start of his second inning in May 2019. AGENCIES and public sector reforms. Together with month to over 80 crore people covered the Government by way of budgetary West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. Essentially it is the To reach there, the economy needed to grow IMPLEMENTING the RBI’s support, including on-tap under the National Food Security Act support. On the other hand, even as the fight between the BJP and the regional satraps. The stakes are high close to 20 per cent per annum consistently over Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (NFSA) and one kg pulse per household RBI has pumped too much money into PROJECTS SUCH ` for both, the regional satraps and the BJP which wants to capture a period of five years — a rate never seen before AS THE NATIONAL (TLTROs) of 1,00,000 crore to 16 crore households. Being help in the loan tap, with the fundamentals of West Bengal and expand in the South by improving its position in Tamil even in a single year. It was totally unrealistic. announced on October 11, these add to kind, it does not put cash in the hands demand being weak, there are not Now, with the setback of 2019-20 and 2020-21 HIGHWAY a grand total of nearly `30 lakh crore of beneficiaries; hence it does not many takers. Loan sanctions and dis- Nadu and Kerala. Naturally, there will be political regroupings. The polls AUTHORITY OF will decide the fate of the new entrant superstar Rajinikanth in Tamil and India likely to remain stuck at $2.1 trillion or 15 per cent of the GDP. boost demand. bursements have also been affected due during 2021-22, the target of $5 trillion by 2024- INDIA AND THE This is in addition to the demand Third, an overwhelming share of to inherent weaknesses of NBFCs (they Nadu. It will decide the fate of the Congress too, whether it will improve 25 is unrealistic. For now, we need to analyse the INABILITY OF THE boosters announced in the Budget pre- the stimulus is in the form of loan from are mostly into giving loans to MSMEs or slide down even further in political relevance in the country. reason behind the slowdown during these two GOVERNMENT TO sented on February 1. Those included banks and Financial Institutions (FIs). and individuals). Some of the big ones As for foreign policy, Nostradamus predicted that in 2021 there years apart from the COVID-19 impact. The two IMPLEMENT inter alia changes in personal income For instance, `3,00,000 crore to MSMEs such as Dewan Housing Finance would be a possibility of creating a union between India, China, Britain determinants of growth are demand (this includes LONG-PENDING tax to leave more money in the hands or identified stressed sectors under the Corporation Limited, Infrastructure and Russia. As it is, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India private consumption, Government demand and REFORMS of individual assesses, abolition of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Leasing & Financial Services Limited as the Republic Day chief guest in January. But most visits of foreign exports) and investment. Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT), Scheme (ECLGS), loan of `75,000 and so on, have gone bust. dignitaries have been stopped as the new norm is virtual meetings. During 2019-20, thanks to the massive loss concessions for MSMEs (including crore loan to NBFCs, housing finance Going forward, a big push to Despite that, the new year might see fresh strategic tie-ups and trade of jobs and declining incomes, even as private innovative steps for timely payment of companies (HFCs), microfinance insti- growth during 2021-22 could be hit by challenges emerging. New Delhi will continue its diplomatic engage- consumption suffered, an increase in Government their dues and increase in financing tutions (MFIs), `30,000 crore addition- continuing vulnerabilities of banks and ments with more vigour. spending failed to offset this loss. A number of especially through “invoice financ- al emergency working capital (upfront) NBFCs, overleveraged agencies imple- fiscal measures announced by Finance Minister ing”), start-ups, exporters and the real to farmers for crop loans from the menting projects such as the National Engagement with big and small powers will continue in 2021 Nirmala Sitharaman in August/September 2019 estate sector. National Bank for Agriculture and Highway Authority of India and the despite COVID. Indo-US relations will continue to be warm as the new (steep reduction in corporate tax, tax refund to Given the canvas of the Rural Development (NABARD) and so inability of the Government to imple- Joe Biden Administration is expected to be friendly to India. The US exporters, sops for the real estate sector, support reforms/measures and the “seemingly” on. ment long-pending reforms. This would President-elect might ease visa regulations as he had promised that to housing finance companies and so on) besides large quantum of money promised for The impact thereof is only to the include failure to implement land and before the presidential elections. Biden might also address trade-relat- monetary policy support, including reduction in all affected segments, it is only natural extent these facilities are actually availed farm reforms, the inability to make ed issues. The diplomatic strength at the Permanent Mission of India the repo rate by 1.35 per cent, failed to provide to expect a rebound of the economy of. Here, one is reminded of the proverb direct benefit transfers of fertiliser and to the United Nations is being enhanced as India readies to sit in the the required demand boost. after the impact of the pandemic is “there’s many a slip between the cup and power subsidy, enforcement of con- UN Security Council as a non-permanent member this year. India will During 2020-21, both the Reserve Bank of reduced and eventually dissipated. the lip.” Look at these numbers: Under tracts, elimination of bureaucratic red launch year-long celebrations from August 2021 to commemorate India (RBI) and the Centre unleashed their fire- However, it is necessary to make an the ECLGS, `3,00,000 crore was intend- tape, removing bottlenecks in trans- 75 years of Independence with a slew of programmes to showcase power to counter the effect of the virus. While objective assessment of how many of the ed to be loaned to eight million MSMEs. portation and clearances at the ports the former cut the repo rate again by 1.15 per cent above policy announcements and mea- Against this, only about `1,50,000 crore and so on. So, while we must be opti- development, governance, technology, reform, progress and policy and injected mammoth liquidity close to sures have been operationalised on has been given to four million such mistic about the coming year, we have over the years. By and large, 2021 is expected to be a mixed bag `8,00,000 crore besides granting a six-month ground zero. enterprises. Fourth, the Government is to be realistic, too. with some good and some bad news, not only for India but also for moratorium on repayment of banks loans, the lat- First, in several areas, the betting big on investment in infrastruc- (The writer is a New Delhi-based the world. (The writer is a senior journalist. ter came up with stimulus packages announced Government has merely camouflaged ture. Of the `100 lakh crore proposed policy analyst. The views expressed The views expressed are personal.) by Sitharaman in three tranches in May, October expenses on existing schemes under the over the next five years, 39 per cent has are personal.) The media must become the voice of the people again The Fourth Estate in India must attack feudal forces like casteism, communalism, religious bigotry and attempts to polarise society

these stirring words: “In the First Founding Fathers saw so clearly. In bat feudalism, religious bigotry and social harmony and the unity of our Lakmé Fashion Week in which the Arab Emirates and so on. Some of Amendment, the Founding Fathers revealing the workings of the superstitions. people. It should stop diverting models wore cotton outfits. This them were apparently infected with gave the free Press the protection it Government that led to the Vietnam Thus, the media was of great attention from real issues and focus- event was covered by over 500 the virus, without being aware of it. must have to fulfil its essential role war, the newspapers nobly did pre- help in transforming European ing on relative non-issues like the fashion/lifestyle journalists while the But to say that they knowingly in our democracy. The Press was to cisely that which the Founders society from the feudal to the mod- lives of film stars and cricketers (e.g. farmers who produced that cotton brought the disease with them to serve the governed, not the gover- hoped and trusted they would do.” ern age. India’s national aim is to the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput, were committing suicide just an spread it in India, as propagated by nors. The Government’s power to Historically, the media arose in transform itself from an underdevel- allegations made by Kangana hour’s flight away, in Vidarbha. No certain sections of the media, was censor the Press was abolished so England and France in the 17th and oped to a highly developed and Ranaut, Kareena Kapoor’s second one covered those suicides except patently false (as indeed the court that the Press would remain forev- 18th centuries as an organ of the highly industrialised country. If we pregnancy and Virat Kohli’s decision for a few local journalists. has now found). er free to censure the Government. people against feudal oppression. At don’t do so, we will remain con- to take paternity leave and so on), Many TV anchors forget their Another example of the parti- MARKANDEY KATJU The Press was protected so that it that time all the organs of power demned to massive poverty, record petty politics, astrology, among oth- journalistic ethics and just indulge san behaviour of the “godi media” could bare the secrets of the were in the hands of the feudal unemployment, appalling level of ers, and instead focus on the real in propaganda. To give an example, is the way they have characterised oday a large part of the Indian Government and inform the people. authorities (kings, aristocrats and so child malnourishment, almost total issues, which are mainly socio-eco- some time ago an organisation the ongoing farmers’ agitation as a media has lost its voice and Only a free and unrestrained Press on). Hence, the people had to cre- lack of proper healthcare and good nomic. This includes the problems called the Tablighi Jamaat was lam- movement of Khalistanis, Pakistanis, Tthe trust of the people, too. It can effectively expose deception in ate new organs which would repre- education for the masses, among of unemployment, malnourishment, basted by the media as spreaders of Maoists and anti-nationals. has become a “godi media.” Instead Government. And paramount sent their interests and the media other things. lack of healthcare, price rise, the the Coronavirus. They were even Countless examples of this kind of of being the Fourth Estate and among the responsibilities of a free (apart from the Parliament), was one Our media must play an impor- agrarian crisis and so on. given despicable names like “Corona biased reporting can be given. serving the Indian people, it has Press is the duty to prevent any part of these new organs. In Europe and tant role in this historical transfor- For years, the Indian media jihadis” and “Corona bombs.” I One can only hope that the largely become part of the First of the Government from deceiving America, it represented the voice of mation, as the European media turned a Nelson’s eye to the large made a personal investigation into Indian media will some day get over Estate, as stated by eminent journal- the people and sending them off to the future, in contrast to the old, feu- did. But for that it must stop behav- number of farmers’ suicides in our this and found that the allegations its sorry plight and emerge as a ist and Magsaysay Award winner distant lands to die of foreign fevers dal organs which wanted to preserve ing like a mouthpiece and serve the country, until a brave journalist, P against the Tablighi Jamaat were champion of the people instead of Ravish Kumar. This brings us to the and foreign shot and shell. In my the status quo. governed, not the governors (as Sainath, revealed the sad truth false. The Tablighi Jamaat is a reli- being, to use US President Donald key question: What is the role of the view, far from deserving condemna- Great writers like Voltaire, Justice Black said in his judgment). through his persistent reporting. It gious organisation which meets at Trump’s words, “an enemy of the media? tion for their courageous reporting, Rousseau, Thomas Paine and so on The Indian media must attack feu- was only then that the rest of the its Markaz in Delhi once or twice a people.” Only then will it earn the This was explained by Justice The New York Times, The used the media (which was then dal forces like casteism and commu- media began reporting the agrari- year, where Muslims come from sev- people’s respect. Hugo Black of the US Supreme Washington Post and other newspa- only print media and that, too, not nalism, condemn religious bigotry an distress in the country. eral countries. This year, too, many (The writer is a former judge of Court in The New York Times vs. US, pers should be commended for in the form of regular newspapers and attempts to polarise our society. Some years ago, a fashion show people came from Indonesia, the Supreme Court of India. The 1971 (the Pentagon Papers case) in serving the purpose that the but pamphlets and leaflets) to com- It must promote scientific ideas, was held in Mumbai during the Malaysia, Kazakhstan, the United views expressed are personal.) TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020 Money 08 India to benefit from shifting of Telecom industry financially stressed; seeks govt support on key challenges global supply chains from China PNS n NEW DELHI The telecom industry, which facilitated wide-spread digital PNS n NEW DELHI lent'. of the surveyed firms said adoption during the pandem- “The results of the survey are moving forward, they will use ic, continues to be financially India could benefit from the encouraging and highlight the a mix of travel and virtual stressed and seeks govern- likely shift in global supply ongoing industrial and eco- meetings even after the situa- ment support on issues like liq- chains from China to other nomic recovery. This momen- tion becomes normal. uidity, rationalisation of levies, economies in the aftermath of tum needs to be built upon and The results of the December AGR and spectrum pricing, the COVID-19 pandemic, now all eyes are on the upcom- 2020 survey also indicate that according to COAI. according to a survey . ing Budget," Ficci President there has been a further The Cellular Operators' The Ficci-Dhruva Advisors Uday Shankar said. improvement in the perfor- Association of India (COAI), Survey conducted this month He observed that the context mance of companies compared in its outlook for 2021, said 5G covered more than 150 compa- of this Budget is completely dif- to the situation in August. launch is expected in the later nies in India. ferent due to an unprecedent- With improvement seen in part of the year. "Another major outcome of ed social and economic chal- the economy, nearly 40 per cent The technology is poised to COVID-19 is the likely shift in lenge, exuding confidence that of the surveyed firms are oper- open up a plethora of possibil- global supply chains away from the government will take bold ating at a capacity utilisation ities in the context of business COAI said these relate to liq- ness and individuals adopted China to other economies. steps to respond to these chal- level of over 70 per cent, vis-a- models, better education, uidity, rationalisation of the digital ways, telecom industry Nearly 70 per cent of the sur- lenges. vis 30 per cent of the compa- healthcare, smart cities, smart regulatory levies, Adjusted emerged as a "saviour". vey participants have said India According to the survey, nies in August 2020. manufacturing, and intelligent Gross Revenue (AGR) issues, Many telecom players have could benefit from this move COVID-19-induced travel Other indicators of improv- logistics, S P Kochhar, Director spectrum pricing, Right of benefitted from a surge in the and they expect a fair share of cant positive impact on their address the immediate pain restrictions have limited the ing business performance in General of COAI said in a Way (RoW) rules, and cell traffic of data and voice, due to manufacturing to shift from business once the vaccine is points of the economy as well ability of companies to under- the recent survey are related to statement. "However, industry tower radiation. which the telecom sector is China to India in the near made available, the survey as steps to improve India's take business operations effi- order books and exports. continues to be financially "COAI has been pressing the performing well as compared future," said Ficci on the find- revealed. manufacturing competitive- ciently, as 74 per cent of the Nearly 50 per cent of the stressed and we seek the sup- government and TRAI to other infrastructure sub-sec- ings of the survey. However, to capitalise on the ness. respondents have validated companies have reported see- port of the government in (Telecom Regulatory Authority tors, he said. Moreover, the prospect of opportunities that could come These measures have been this. ing an increase in their order enabling the industry to truly of India) on these," Kochhar In the first quarter of this fis- introduction of a vaccine India's way, there is need to well received by the industry, To overcome this challenge books and about 40 per cent play its role as an enabler of added. Like any other sector, cal year through June, cus- against COVID-19 early next strengthen its manufacturing with 45 per cent of the sur- and maintain business opera- said their exports have horizontal growth and a boost the telecom industry too was tomer spending on voice and year has improved the confi- ecosystem. Under the veyed companies rating the lat- tions, companies have lever- increased. In the August 2020 to the nation's economy," impacted by the pandemic data services increased 16.6 per dence level of businesses, with Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, est set of announcements made aged digital tools for commu- survey, the corresponding fig- Kochhar said. Listing out the with a sharp fall in the num- cent year-on-year, amounting almost 74 per cent of the par- the government has intro- under Aatmanirbhar Bharat nication. Given the benefits of ures were 44 per cent and 30 top challenges faced by its ber of subscribers in March to Rs 35,642 crore (USD 4.80 ticipants foreseeing a signifi- duced several measures to package 3.0 as 'good to excel- use of technology, 64 per cent per cent, respectively. member telecom companies, and April. However, as busi- billion). NTPC declares Dulanga MCX launches futures Gold rises MONEY MATTERS Rs 185, silver AICTPL's USD bond issuance coal mine operational trading in natural rubber jumps by PNS n NEW DELHI oversubscribed 10 times PNS n NEW DELHI Rs 1,322 dani International State-owned power giant PNS n NEW DELHI Container Terminal Pvt Ltd NTPC on Monday said its Leading commodity bourse A(AICTPL) on Monday said Dulanga coal mine is commer- MCX on Monday launched Gold prices gained Rs 185 its maiden USD 300 million cially operational from futures trading in natural rub- to Rs 49,757 per 10 gram in bond issuance witnessed 10 October 1, 2020. ber. the national capital on times oversubscription. "...based on achievement of At present, four contracts of Monday, in line with the AICTPL, a JV between Adani approved norms and due rubber futures that will expire rally in price of the precious Ports and Special Economic approval; Dulanga Coal Mine in January, February, March metal globally, according Zone (APSEZ) and Terminal (in Odisha) of NTPC Limited, and April of 2021 are made to HDFC Securities. Investment Ltd (TIL), is a having an ultimate peak rated available for trading. In the previous trade, container terminal operating company based out of Mundra, having annual capacity of 7 Million The launch of rubber the yellow metal had an annual capacity of handling over 3.1 million TEUs (twenty foot Tonnes Per Annum, is futures comes after strong closed at Rs 49,572 per 10 equivalent units). "AICTPL settled its first USD 300 mn public USD declared commercial opera- demand from physical partic- gram. bond issuance on 21st December 2020. The issue witnessed large tion from October 1, 2020, a annum from these mines ipants including small-mid Silver prices also participation from marquee real money investors with interests BSE filing said. when all the mines reach the sized producers/consumers jumped Rs 1,322 to Rs coming from around 220 accounts leading to approx.” The central government has peak-rated capacity. and large physical side corpo- 68,156 per kilogram from allocated nine coal blocks -- Out of 10 blocks, three rate houses. Rs 66,834 per kilogram in Pakri-Barwadih, Chatti- mines, Parkin-Barwadih, "Given the huge market size the previous trade. Sebi to auction properties of Bariatu & Chatti- Bariatu Dulanga and Talaipalli are in for natural rubber in India in the rubber of ‘Ribbed Smoked of sales/GST with delivery In the international (South), Kerandari, Dulanga, operation -- about 27.2 MMT terms of production and Sheets4 (RSS4)' quality for a centre at Palakkad, Kerala. market, gold was trading Talaipalli, Banai, Bhalumuda, of coal has been produced imports, and its global price minimum lot size of 1 tonne. MCX rubber futures are with gains at USD 1,885 Sunheaven Agro on Jan 18 Mandakini-B and Badam -- from these mines (till linkages and volatility, the The rubber futures are of available for trading from 9 am per ounce, while silver arkets regulator Sebi will directly to NTPC. November 2020). launch of rubber futures on the compulsory delivery logic con- to 5 pm on weekdays. was also quoting in the auction properties of Banhardih coal block, allo- Two mines -- Chatti-Bariatu exchange holds significance tracts. They would finally be The new rubber futures at green at USD 26.32 per MSunheaven Agro India Ltd on cated earlier to the Jharkhand and Kerandari -- are in for industry stakeholders as an settled at expiry on the last the exchange aims at providing ounce. January 18 at a reserve price of Rs government, is now being advance stage of development. efficient hedging tool for man- business day of the contract a fair and transparent price dis- "Gold prices gained 9.4 crore in order to recover developed by Patratu Vidyut NTPC is in the process of aging price risk,” MCX CEO month. covery mechanism that reflects amid dollar decline. investors' money. Sunheaven Agro Utapadan Nigam Ltd. obtaining various and Managing Director P S The tick size (minimum fundamentals in the physical Concerns over the new had garnered funds from more than PVUNL is a joint venture approvals/clearances in the Reddy said in a statement. price movement) for the con- market, both domestic and strain of coronavirus and 7,700 investors through issuance of company of NTPC and the remaining five mines. Acumen Capital Market tract is Rupee 1. Pegged at a global, to the rubber value lockdowns have also lifted redeemable preference shares without complying with public issue Jharkhand government. The power giant has incor- made the first trade in MCX minimum initial margin of 10 chain participants including gold prices," according to norms. In a notice on Sunday, the Securities and Exchange Board of NTPC is planning to pro- porated NTPC mining Ltd, a rubber contact. per cent, the price to be quot- growers, traders, exporters, HDFC Securities Senior India (Sebi) said it will auction two properties of the company at a duce about 103 million metric wholly-owned subsidiary, for The futures contract enables ed will be for 100 kg as per the importers and end-users like Analyst (Commodities) reserve price of Rs 9.4 crore. The auction will be conducted online tonnes (MMT) of coal per its coal mining business. market participants to trade in ex-warehouse rates, exclusive the tyre industry. Tapan Patel. on January 18, 2021 between 10:30 am to 11:30 am. The properties to be auctioned are land parcels and a building in Kolkata. Mamta Binani, insolvency professional, has been engaged by Sebi to assist it in the e-auction and e-Procurement Technologies Limited has been Cottonseed oil appointed as the e-auction service provider. In October 2015, the Business as usual for markets watchdog asked Sunheaven Agro and its directors to refund DPIIT sends proposal for LEDs, the money collected from investors along with 15 per cent annual cake futures interest. ACs to expenditure fin committee fall on soft Indian IT, pharma PNS n NEW DELHI boost its exports", the official demand Hero Electric ties up with added. PNS n NEW DELHI firms post-Brexit The Department for The scheme would help startup eBikeGO Promotion of Industry and India become self-reliant, Cottonseed oil cake prices on PNS n BENGALURU So, we don't think that is Internal (DPIIT) has sent a boost manufacturing as well as Monday declined by Rs 35 to going to drastically change ero Electric on Monday said it proposal for providing incen- enhance exports. Rs 1,967 per quintal in The United Kingdom leaving post-Brexit", the Partner and has tied up with e-mobility tives to ACs and LED lights The government in futures trade as participants the single European Union Chairman of Exfinity Venture Hstartup eBikeGO to supply under the PLI scheme to the November approved the PLI reduced their bets tracking a market would have no adverse Partners said. over 1,000 bikes to transform last expenditure finance commit- scheme for ten key sectors, weak trend in spot market. impact on India's information "Earlier also, on Visa, they mile deliveries. eBikeGo will tee for appproval, an official including telecom, automo- Analysts said sell-off by technology and pharmaceuti- had to deal with the U.K. and procure these Hero Electric bikes has said. biles and pharmaceuticals, tak- participants at existing levels cal companies and it would be Europe separately". through the next financial year In November, the Union ing the total outlay for such amid subdued trend in mar- business as usual for them Executive Chairperson of with the first batch of 120 already Cabinet had approved Rs 6,238 incentives to nearly Rs 2 lakh ket mainly weighed on cot- post-Brexit, say key industry biotech major, Biocon Ltd, delivered to the startup, the crore outlay for these two sec- LED lights to the expenditure crore over a five-year period. tonseed oil cake prices. veterans. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said company said in a release. Through the partnership, the companies tors, air conditioners and LED finance committee (EFC) for The final proposal of the PLI On the National There won't be any mater- Indian Pharma is a key play- will further transform the last mile deliveries from petrol to electric lights, under the production their approval," the official scheme for individual sectors Commodity and Derivatives ial impact because the er in the U.K. market. with their expertise in EV technology and internet of things (IoT) linked incentive (PLI) scheme, said. would have to be approved by Exchange, cottonseed oil U.K.already has a good Visa "I believe that post-Brexit, enabled operations, it said. "At Hero Electric, we've always believed which aims at making Indian Significant jump in capaci- an empowered finance com- cake for January delivery fell regime for Indian techies, for- India has an opportunity to that to solve last mile delivery connectivity, the best option is to go manufacturers' competitive ty addition in the LED sector mittee and Union Cabinet. by Rs 35, or 1.75 per cent, mer Chief Financial Officer of strengthen its bilateral trade in electric. In the endeavour to drive the same, we have many partners globally. has helped the industry to The departments concerned to Rs 1,967 per quintal with Infosys Limited, V several key areas, pharma who help not only busines-ses but also consumers with an "The department has sent cater to the domestic markets would have to implement the an open interest of 65,390 Balakrishnan, told PTI on being one of them", affordable and efficient solution. "With this partnership, we look the proposals for ACs and and "now there will be focus to scheme. lots. Monday. "So also Europe. Mazumdar-Shaw said. forward to leveraging the reach eBikeGO brings to further transform the space and bring more electric vehicles on road," said Naveen. Maritime piracy cause of concern for 2L Indian seafarers Fund raising via equity issues PNS n NEW DELHI ers supplying nations to the napping reported in the Gulf of Indian nationals were kid- jumps 116% to Rs 1.78 lakh- cr world maritime industry," MUI Guinea, compared with the napped recently from a Concerned at rising incidents said in a statement. same period in 2019. Marshall Islands-flagged oil he devastating pandemic failed of piracy during the COVID- It said the West Coast of Pirates armed with guns tanker vessel MT Duke off to dampen the primary and 19 pandemic, maritime body Africa comprising Benin, and knives are abducting big- Lome, Togo in West Africa. Tsecondary capital market MUI on Monday said it has Angola, Equatorial Guinea and ger groups of seafarers at fur- The vessel was attacked and issuances with the year closing with become a major cause of worry Ghana are the current hot ther distances off the West boarded by six pirates some the highest ever fund raising from for over two lakh Indian seafar- spots of maritime piracy. African coast, MUI said quot- 115 nautical miles southeast of the equity markets, that grew at 116 ers. "It has become a political ing the report and added that Lome. These Indian seafarers per cent to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in The Maritime Union of issue unfortunately as govern- it details 132 attacks since the were recruited by London- IPOs, OFS and other market India (MUI), India's oldest ments of certain countries are start of 2020, up from 119 inci- headquartered V Group issuances, according to a report. union of merchant navy offi- unable or not willing to extend dents in the same period last through its ship management Despite the entire 2020 being overshadowed by the pandemic, an all- cers, said there is around 26 per their control over various year. company operating in India. time high fund raising through public equity markets at Rs 1,77,468 cent increase in maritime pira- groups of pirates who manage In the first nine months of MUI said billions of dollars crore. This was 116 per cent higher than Rs 82,241 crore was raised cy due to the pandemic, which to procure arms and ammuni- 2020, seafarers reported 134 are paid every year by ship in 2019, according to Pranav Haldea, managing director at Prime has shut down many business- tion without much difficulty,” cases of assault, injury and owners or ship management Database. The previous highest amount raised in a calendar year es and job opportunities said Amar Singh Thakur, threats, including 85 crew companies worldwide to sea was Rs 1,60,032 crore in 2017. Strong retail participation in IPOs, around the world. General Secretary MUI. members being kidnapped and pirates towards ransom huge listing gains and highest-ever amount raised through QIPs and "The menace of maritime "The temptation of a little 31 held hostage onboard their amount for securing the safe InvITs/REITs were the key highlights of the year, he said While IPOs piracy is a major cause of con- quick money has led many res- ships. release of abducted seafarers fetched Rs 26,770 crore, which was 40 per cent higher than cern for over two lakh Indian idents of the underdeveloped izens," said Thakur. indicates a rise in piracy and A total of 112 vessels were and added that these compa- collected in 2019, FPOs netted Rs 15,024 crore, followed by OFS seafarers as India now provides countries to choose such an A global piracy report pub- armed robbery on the world's boarded and six were fired nies ironically solicit services (offer for sale) at Rs 21,458 crore and REITs/InvITs/QIPs at Rs around 9.35 per cent of the illegal path which continues to lished recently by the United seas in the first nine months of upon, while 12 reported provided by kidnap-for-ran- 84,501 crore, shows the report. Of the last category, REITs/InvITs global seafarers and ranks third terrorize millions of seafarers Kingdom-based The ICC - 2020, with a 40 per cent attempted attacks. som consultants based in constituted Rs 29,715 crore, totalling the entire equity capital raising in the list of the largest seafar- globally, including Indian cit- International Maritime Bureau, increase in the number of kid- The body said twenty developed countries. at Rs 1,77,468 crore in the year. 9

Tuesday December 29 2020 what’s brewing? Quiet birthday Alia Bhatt-starrer for Salman Khan Gangubai Kathiawadi alman Khan celebrated Bhai, Salman said, “It will release his 55th birthday as when it will release. We were quietly as he could, committed to release it Eid this with his family. year. Now we’re committed to S While entering his release it next Eid. If conditions lands in legal trouble house, the star said to improve we will release it. God the paparazzi, “This forbid if we release it and year there is no birthday celebra- someone dies, or someone falls lia Bhatt-starrer Queens of Mumbai tion. Just me with my family. We ill. This won’t be good for any- Gangubai by author Hussain didn’t want to celebrate because one.” Kathiawadi has Zaidi - are defama- this year has gone very badly for Later Salman spent the A landed in a legal tory in nature. The everyone. I hope the next year evening with his immediate soup. petition further proves a good one for everyone. I family. A close friend says Reportedly, a case stated that it hope everyone has a good 2021. there was no room for any has been filed infringes upon I hope everyone is healthy happy partying this year. against Alia, direc- Babuji Rawji Shah’s and safe. I urge everyone to wear “Bhai didn’t want any tor Sanjay Leela right to ‘privacy, lib- masks, wash their hands with sani- crowds. He is remaining Bhansali and writer erty and self- tizers, and maintain social distanc- locked down until the pan- Hussain Zaidi by respect’. ing.” When asked about the release demic blows over” said the Kathiawadi’s adopt- Shah has stated of his Radhe - Your Most Wanted friend. ed son Babuji Rawji that he is being con- Shah. stantly ridiculed by In his complaint, the members of his Shah alleged that locality ever since the movie and its the first poster of source material - the movie was the book Mafia released. Vijay meets TN CM on Master release

s the much-awaited movie Master, of actor Vijay is expected to release for A Pongal, he met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami seeking the government’s help. SpongeBob SquarePants' The Kollywood actor met the Chief Minister on Sunday night, urging Tamil Nadu government’s help ahead recently reopened theatres and allowed of the release of his next movie. The 50% seating capacity by following animator passes away movie starring Vijay Joseph, Vijay physical distancing norms post com- Sethupathi, Andrea Jeremiah, plete lockdown due to the spread of Malavika Mohanan and Arjun Das, coronavirus. uck Tucker, the veteran ani- son, brother, and uncle,” wrote Bailey boarding on some of the most iconic directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and pro- Master’s release was also postponed mator who worked on popu- Tucker on Facebook. titles in animation including the 1989 duced by Xavier Britto, is slated to be due to the lockdown induced by the lar series such as SpongeBob “We know he was loved by all of Disney feature The Little Mermaid. the biggest release in Tamil post the coronavirus spread. T SquarePants and Hey Arnold!, those whom he met. In lieu of visita- In the TV space, he worked on pandemic. Vijay’s contemporary Suriya chose passed away. The animator tions, if you have memories of Tuck Nickelodeon’s Rugrats as well as The According to reports, Vijay asked an OTT release for his movie Soorarai was 59. you would like to share on his time- Simpsons. Tucker was a storyboard the CM to allow 100% seating capacity Pottru. However, it’s been known from According to Deadline, Tucker’s line, the family would greatly appreci- director for Hey Arnold! between at the theaters. In a private meeting at the beginning that Vijay wanted only a family posted the news of his passing ate reading them.” 1996 and 1999 and also directed the the Chief Minister’s residence, the theatrical release for his movie. on Facebook. Tucker was born William Osborne many years. “He gave and gave. I miss actor along with others from the Master is expected to hit the screens “It is with a heavy and broken heart Tucker III on August 20, 1961. He him already, my heart is broken. Rest movie’s team requested the Chief on January 13 ahead of the Pongal fes- that the Tucker family announces the worked on the 1987 film Pinocchio in power, Tuck Tucker,” said Craig Minister increase the capacity as tival. The movie was earlier scheduled death of Tuck Tucker, father, husband, and the Emperor of the Night before Barlett, creator of Hey Arnold! against the current capacity of 50% to release in April 2020 and the delay seating at theaters. has already affected the production of The Tamil Nadu government other movies under the banner. FUN

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Rules l Each row and column can contain each number (1 to 9) exactly once. l The sum of all numbers in any row or column must equal 45. 10 Follow us on @TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/ Tuesday December 29 2020 dailypioneer

Indian artist Aryaana G For all tastes teamed up Marriage with multi- platinum and moods rapper O.T. or avid readers confined to homes and nature in her precise and spare rendition of certain deprived of opportunities of external traumatic facets of the human conditions such as pain Genasis to Fsources of leisure, it was a dream and loss — both personal and public — but also longing of melodies! opportunity to work through pending piles and self-realisation, while the Booker went to debutant and acquire fresh material. Here’s an insight Scottish-American writer Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain, release into reading habits of 2020: a semi-autobiographical story of a young boy maintain- With a microscopic organism upending life ing a fraught relationship with his alcoholic mother. third collaboration as we know it, the realm of books was among The world of literature was also left poorer with a Stockholm ever in life, so it’s the few which held its own, operating near galaxy of veterans bidding adieu including controversial just been great normally in this tumultuous year. The flow of English philosopher and writer Roger Scruton, 75, Syndrome. overall. Aryaana new titles, across all genres, continued British academician Christopher Tolkien, 95, the son of has a great song unabated and provided readers a safe haven the great fantasy novelist JRR Tolkien and the one who and we are doing a for a troubled psyche. For avid readers, con- drew the maps for The Lord of the Rings, American The rapper’s video together, it’s fined to homes and deprived of opportuni- Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark, 92, Clive amazing. You know ties of external sources of leisure, it was a Cussler, 88, known for the Dirk Pitt series of marine forthcoming she’s from the other dream opportunity to work through pend- adventures, Urdu poet Rahat Indori, 70, Hindi poet side of the world and ing piles and acquire fresh material. Manglesh Dabral, 72, Soviet/Russian writer and satirist standout I’m from somewhere But amid the host of autobiographies Mikhail Zhvanetsky, 86, British spy novelist John le else and it’s amazing to and biographies, examinations of political Carre, 89, and Urdu author and literary critic Shamsur fuse these synergies. partisanship and their social effects, new Rahman Faruqi, 85, known for his penetrating analysis collaboration The song speaks for looks at history and more as well as a of the poetry of Mir Taqi Mir. itself, my verse talks wide array of fiction for all tastes and Some of the year’s notable offerings included former will mark his about all these relation- moods, the worst health crisis the US President Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, an ship problems but I kept it world faced in over a century found account of his eventful first term, J.K. Rowling’s non- fresh. I hope to come to its own niche. Harry Potter world The Ickabog, a cautionary fairy tale debut innings India soon, once this virus While there is no shortage of about inept leadership and demonisation of the ‘enemy’, calms down. I remember books on Coronavirus, some repre- Hari Kunzuru’s The Red Pill and the irrepressible Moni in the Indian coming to India last sentative ones could include physi- Mohsin’s The Impeccable Integrity of Ruby R, but there November and I love the peo- cian and evolutionary biologist was much more. While it is virtually impossible to ple, they’re really cool and gen- Frank Ryan’s Virusphere: Ebola, make a list of books that could even approach a repre- music uine, they’ve shown me a lot of AIDS, Influenza and the Hidden sentative section let satisfy each palate, some sugges- hospitality and been very warm. World of the Virus, which tions/recommendations in various genres can be landscape and Make sure you listen to Aryaana, explains why epi- attempted. to OT, live life!” demics are In non-fiction, there is astro- O.T. Genasis has enjoyed a fair inevitable and physicist Janna Levin’s Black will see him share of successful collaborations their benefits, Hole Survival Guide, which not in the past with the list featuring science journal- only seeks to demystify one of featuring in names like Lil Wayne, T-Pain, ist Sonia Shah’s most perplexing celestial Future, Yo Gotti, Charlie Wilson, Pandemic about objects, but also shows the 21-year-old Young Thug, Snoop Dogg, and the interplay of unflattering role of humans in Chris Brown, Postcard, Dax, history, politics the cosmos, Tim Harford’s How Afrojack, DJ Esco, D Black, Busta and science in to Make the World Add Up: Ten Mumbai born hirty two-year-old multi- ity. The song featuring both the artists Rhymes amongst others. tackling the Rules for Thinking Differently platinum American rapper in the slick video narrates a story of A self-taught musician, Aryaana scourge of dis- About Numbers, an engaging singer- and songwriter O.T. Genasis how everybody can at some point G was musically inclined from a ease, and John guide to avoid getting bamboo- t needs no introduction. The become hostage to their negative attrib- very young age and started learning Barry’s The zled by statistics, and Michiko Times Square native has an utes and defends their dark side some- to play the piano at the age of eight. Great Influenza: The Story of Kakutani’s Ex Libris, a personalised introduction to 100 songwriter incredible catalogue of hits; times to the extent of falling in love Being averse to the concept of for- the Deadliest Pandemic in key books, old and new, for those without everything he drops has to be high-fly- with it. Aryaana who recently shifted mal education, she embarked on History, which not only inclination/opportunity to read the originals in full. Aryaana’s ing from the record to the visual to the her base from Mumbai to Los Angeles her journey as a digital creator chronicles how the Spanish flu On the humanities side, Richard Eaton’s India in the overall vibe. Giving something fresh to and signed up with Collabtribe to focus right after her schooling and of 1918-20 devastated a world Persianate Age: 1000-1765 seeks to show how the coun- the listeners, his forthcoming standout on her music career says, “I have always opted out of college. already laid low by years of try’s pre-colonial history was not a binary construct as maiden music collaboration will mark his debut in the been an ardent fan of OT Genasis since Over the last couple of years, war, revolutions and other long politically propagated, Anne Appelbaum’s self- Indian music landscape and will see as far as I can remember. I was over the she has garnered a consistent fol- upheavals, but also shows how explanatory but disturbing Twilight of Democracy: The single. The him featuring in 21-year-old Mumbai- moon when he finally agreed to jump lowing amongst the millennial the political handling is as Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends, and the born singer-songwriter Aryaana G’s onto my debut single. I penned this community for her urban important as the medical mea- very vital Bad News: Why We Fall for Fake News by Rob maiden music single titled Stockholm song when I was 16 and I am finally lifestyle-inspired digital con- sures. A contemporary look at Brotherton, whose earlier Suspicious Minds explained duo talks to Syndrome! launching it five years later with my tent. Before shifting base to this aspect can be found in leg- why conspiracy theories have a receptive audience. The new culture of collaborations dream collaborator. I met up with the Los Angeles early last year, endary journalist Bob Woodward’s In fiction, consider Curtis Sittenfeld’s Rodham: What The Pioneer's has become the new normal certainly. duo Almost Famous during the lock- she interned with film score Rage, his second book on the mav- if Hillary hadn’t married Bill? exploring this tantalising The smashing tune in which Aryaana down earlier this year and they helped composer Rohit Kulkarni erick presidency of Donald Trump. premise, Mieko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs, an SHIKHA G’s dreamy vocals and soulful melodies me breathe life into the project. I am for a little over a year. An Indian perspective is provided account of the female life experience (and commodifi- are accentuated by Genasis’ rapid-fire looking forward to much more exciting When it comes to music, by The Coronavirus: What you Need cation thereof), and former ISI chief Lt Gen Asad bars and Almost Famous duo’s sublime collaboration in 2021.” she fluently shuffles to Know about the Global Pandemic by Durrani’s Honour Among Spies, about the dangers of DUGGAL production will be available on all Describing himself as young, wild, between various gen- Dr Swapneil Parikh and Maherra Desai, asking inconvenient questions about issues the estab- streaming platforms. The track which truant, happy, humble and high off life, res including clas- and Till We Win: India’s Fight Against The lishment would prefer to be forgotten. about their was shot in Los Angeles finds the Genasis is all about turning up and liv- sic rock, dub- Covid-19 Pandemic by Dr Chandrakant For aficionados of whodunnits, two authors take Indian native showcasing an unapolo- ing life to its fullest. Though currently, step, country Lahariya, Dr Gagandeep Kang, and AIIMS them to places which were long ripe for the genre — getic perspective on the dichotomy of he is taking this downtime in quaran- and R&B. Director Dr Randeep Guleria. Mark McCrum in The Festival Murders (literary festi- music, the human nature. tine to explore the theme of self-intro- But with the virus mutating into new variations vals) and Kiran Manral in The Kitty Party Murder. For a Accompanied by lucid visuals, the spection. He says, “Stockholm Syndrome and universal vaccination still a long way off, the last rarely-invoked locale, there is Sujata C. Sabnis’ Blood on single and uninhibited warehouse scene sets the is special for me because I don’t do word on coronavirus is still to be said. But some sign- the Sands, set in Kutch. If Rick Riordan, whose finale to flawless high-intensity stakes as the music with a lot of women and it’s posts can be found in Fareed Zakaria’s 10 Lessons for the Trials of Apollo series came out or even Roshani record metaphorically takes inspiration been a great experience doing a Post-Pandemic World and the prolific Kiran Manral’s Chokshi’s Aru Shah series (third out now) are not to more from the psychological phenomenon of song with her. This is Raising Kids with Hope and Wonder in Times of a your taste, Anuja Chandramouli, who has a penchant capture-bonding while it navigates probably my sec- Pandemic and Climate Change. The coveted Nobel Prize for a lyrical but contemporary refashioning of Indian around the theme of the contrasting ond or for Literature was won by American poet Louise Gluck, mythology, had Mohini:The Enchantress. elements of negativity and positiv- who draws on classical mythology, family life and We can only hope 2021 is as abundant. Fashion lessons of 2020 With a tough year ate and valued the importance of to connect virtually. They were doing Indian crafts a significant part of glob- being a responsible consumer.” video calls, asking for images and al fashion and with the e-store, we can coming to a close, “I can only say about myself and I sending queries on Instagram, which see that happening sooner or later. We did learn the entire above very well made us do something we never also want to market our textiles dig- a few fashion and also changed a few things of how thought i.e. starting an e-store. We itally and make it reach to a larger I look at my work now. Being an started working on it in June and by audience. The time we got was after designers share ardent lover of craft, especially Indian July end, we completed it with all the five years of no holiday and this made handmade textiles, I was worried old images. Yes, the use of technolo- us also realise the potential, the col- about what would happen to it as the gy does help and now we are able to laborations and the relationships we their biggest weddings and occasions were getting bridge a gap between us and the con- have made which we can leverage out. confined and due to social distancing sumer, irrespective of the location,” The emergence of the new possible takeaways both the demand was surely going to take shares she. Now, they are able to get market has also made us develop a hit. We did speak to a few clients, in touch with their old clients who designs which are not geographical personally and especially whose weddings were due stopped coming due to location issues. bound and the creative team is rejoic- in 2020 and took feedbacks. The This step also made designers learn ing more,” adds the designer. professionally response was mix and lot of weddings marketing better. “‘Student for life’ is For designer Leena Singh, the pan- that were scheduled for April hap- something I always live by and is hap- demic came as a teacher. “We have pened in July with restrictions. The pening now in a big way. We realised begun to appreciate the smallest he year has overturned our next dates were in November and how there is a demarcation of prod- blessings. The biggest lesson I learnt lives in the most unforeseen everyone was clueless as to how many uct and price with different age was to live in the present and not Tmanner. There were numerous weddings will happen and of what groups, how a millennial engages on worry about the future. Today, every- difficulties to survive and tough nature,” adds she. social media and how a mother of the thing is so terribly in the air and no lessons to be learned; we can at least Once the lockdown got over and bride still prefers to wear the saree one knows when will we find normal- find a bit of solace in the knowledge clients started coming, Asha realised ding wear irrespective of what hap- before buying. The phrase ‘quarantine cy again. This year, I also came up with that these challenging times have led that at least some weddings will hap- pens in the global fashion scene,” she wedding’ has changed the pattern of my new collection Umme Rabab, to personal growth. Below, a few fash- pen. One takeaway came from the adds. Though the demand was pick- ornamentation and use of textiles as which is a tribute to karigars who were ion designers share their biggest take- shopping pattern where many fami- ing up but it was nowhere near and well. The magic of a NRI bride doing struggling and trying to cope with the aways from this unusual year. lies preferred heritage pieces than there was still a lot of sluggishness. a video call, seeing the entire collec- changes this pandemic has brought to Designer Asha Gautam says, “This FAD’s and it was a delight to see the “Then we started to introspect as to tion, taking suggestion and also all our lives. Our brand Ashima year will always be remembered in his- value heirloom pieces still have on what all can be done. No inter-state approving designs is really amazing. Leena tried to support them in every tory for various reasons. We can’t ever Indian consumers. “Though we travel was happening, no NRI clients The digital integration also helped us possible way and stands in solidarity take the pain, suffering and losses that always believed in it but the response coming, plus limited gathering was in expanding our design portfolio as and in gratitude towards them. As we people across the globe suffered due was reassuring. This is not only a take- making a huge impact. This made us we introduced our prêt collection of face challenges, we are also given an to COVID-19 and at the same time it away but a lesson for life that no mat- go back to the drawing board and kurtas which was overdue,” Asha opportunity to re-invent, re-imagine also taught us a lot of things. We start- ter what, our roots will always play an think as to how to connect with more says. “The response has been phenom- new and improved ways of working.” ed valuing life more, we spent more important role in our life. Similarly clients. We always had a reservation enal and now we are adding more Well, certainly, this year estab- time with family, we valued environ- our Indian textiles (handmade) will of luxury selling on e-commerce but affordable segments keeping intact our lished itself as a teacher to the entire ment more, we all became tech liter- also make an important role in wed- slowly we realised that the clients want love for crafts. Our vision is to make world. sport 11 TUESDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2020 Kohli named ICC Male India close in on series-parity Cricketer of the Decade

PTI n DUBAI lone player to be named in Bowlers leave Aussies reeling at 133/6 in second innings after taking 131-run lead teams of the decade across for- ndia captain Virat Kohli on mats and was named captain of 2nd Test. Day 4 IMonday headlined the ICC the Test all-stars. Live from 5:00am IST top honours for the decade, win- On being also named the SONY TEN 1, 3 & SIX ning the Sir Garfield Sobers ODI Cricketer of the Decade, award for the best male cricketer Kohli added: “ODI cricket is cause for concern as Umesh of the past 10 years. something that I took to very hobbled off the field after suffer- Kohli was also picked for early. I came to the ODI team ing a calf injury in the innings’ the ODI Cricketer of the Decade first and then, I made my Test eighth over. award. debut a couple of years later. Bowling his fourth over, the Former India skipper M S “So, I got the understanding pacer had complained of pain in Dhoni won the ICC Spirit of of my game pretty soon, pretty his calf and had been taken for Cricket Award of the Decade, early. And as I mentioned scans after being assessed by the chosen by fans for his gesture of amassed 12040 runs in ODIs, before, my only intention and BCCI medical team. calling back England batsman 7318 runs in Tests and 2928 mindset was to make winning Earlier, riding captain Ian Bell after a bizarre run out runs in T20Is, averaging more contributions for the team and Ajinkya Rahane’s classy hundred in the Nottingham Test in 2011. than 50 across formats. Kohli I just tried to do every game that and Ravindra Jadeja’s 15th half- The International Cricket was also part of the World I play. century, India managed enough Council made the announce- Cup-winning India squad in “I never focussed on stats runs on the board to put ments via Twitter, bestowing the 2011, something he will cherish and numbers along the journey Australia under pressure despite top honours on Kohli, who for life. at all and those things just losing their five remaining wick- scored 66 out of his 70 interna- “Firstly, it’s a great honour become the by-product of what ets for only 49 runs after resum- tional hundreds, in the ‘ICC for me to receive this award. The you do on the field and those for ing the day on 277 for five. Awards’ period. moments I hold closest to my me, just end up being milestones Jadeja (57) added 123 runs In the same period, he was heart in the last decade definite- that you cross on the way to the for the sixth wicket with skipper also the batsman with most ly has to be the World Cup win path to victory.” For the ODI Rahane, whose vigil came to an fifties (94), most runs (20396) in 2011, the Champions Trophy honour, Kohli was the only when he was run out, his first in besides having the maximum win in 2013 and winning the player with 10,000 plus runs in Tests, after making a classy 112 average (56.97) among players series in Australia in 2018,” the ICC Awards period includ- with the help of 12 boundaries with 70 plus innings. said Kohli in a statement. ing 39 hundreds and 48 fifties in 223 balls. Overall, the 32-year-old has On Sunday, Kohli was the at an average of 61.83. Pak avoid follow on in 1st Test n Indian players walk from the field at the close of play on day three of the second cricket test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground AP AP MOUNT MAUNGANUI

PTI n MELBOURNE only two runs at close of play. Labuschagne (28 off 49 balls) series continued as he was ew Test captain Mohammad “This game is not over yet, with a slider that went straight bowled by Jasprit Bumrah (1/34) NRizwan made 71 and Faheem ndia marched towards a we still have to get four more with the angle. round his legs when the ball Ashraf 91 to help Pakistan weather dominant series-levelling vic- wickets,” India skipper Ajinkya Ashwin let one slide across clipped the bails of the off-stump a top-order collapse, then fight back Itory after their formidable Rahane, whose hundred on the and with the batsman looking to after the batsman had shuffled on a day punctuated by lashing rain bowlers scythed through the second day set the tone for the defend. The ball went the other too much. and hail to reach 239 before their last Australian batting, relentlessly side, said at the end of day’s play. way and took an outside edge on Wade, looking the best wicket fell in the last over on Monday pressing home the advantage of “Credit to the bowlers, they its way to Rahane at first slip. among Australian batsmen, was on the third day of the first Test a sizeable first-innings lead on bowled in the right areas,” he Matthew Wade (27 batting, trapped in front of the wicket by against New Zealand. 1st Test. Day 4 the third day of the second Test, added. 89 balls) and Steve Smith (6 bat- Ravindra Jadeja (2/25) at 98 for Rizwan came to Live from 3:30am IST here on Monday. Seeking to wipe out the ting, 20 balls) survived the four. the crease when FANCODE APP Australia were wobbling at deficit, Australia began their sec- remaining overs prior to the tea And while the score Pakistan was 52-5 dur- 133 for six at stumps on the third ond innings on a disastrous note break, which they took at 65 for remained the same, Australia ing a morning session in which they day of the Boxing Day Test at the as Joe Burns (4) not only got out two. At that break, the hosts lost another wicket in Travis lost four wickets for 32 runs. He left magnificent Melbourne Cricket for a poor score, but also wast- trailed India by 66 runs. Head a couple of overs later. when they were 186-7 in the final ses- played some elegant shots, some Ground. ed a review after pacer Umesh More misery awaited There was no encore of sion, having done as much as a cap- streaky to accumulate 15 fours and Aiming to exorcise the Yadav (1/5) opened him up Australia in the final session skipper Tim Paine’s battling tain can to rescue his team from a six and ensure Pakistan avoided a ghosts of being bowled out for with the one that swung away when they lost four wickets for knock in the first Test as he was imminent peril. follow on NZ likely would not have a lowest ever 36 in the series- very late. the addition of 68 runs, taking caught behind off the bowling of With Faheem, who made his enforced late in the day. He carried opener, the visitors had put up Introduced early into the India closer to an equaliser in the Jadeja. highest Test score and was the last Pakistan past the follow-on mark of 326 on the board for a 131-run attack, seasoned off-spinner four-match series after the Australia could have been man out, Rizwan put backbone into 231 with a four from the bowling of lead in reply to Australia’s first- Ravichandran Ashwin (1/46) humiliating defeat in the open- seven down had Pant held on to DDCA President Rohan Jaitley presents a memento to BCCI President Sourav the Pakistan innings as they replied Wagner 15 minutes before stumps innings total of 195 all out. once again showed his class er at Adelaide Oval. a Pat Cummins edge off Ashwin. Ganguly after unveiling the statue of former union minister late Arun Jaitley at to New Zealand’s first innings of 431. which also took him past his previ- Australia were ahead by when he bamboozled Marnus Smith’s horror run in the However, India too have a Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday Ranjan Dimri | Pioneer Faheem outlasted Rizwan and ous highest test score of 83. It’s just been very poor batting Still feel the hundred at Du Plessis’ 199 so far from Australia: Ponting Lord's is my best: Rahane puts SA on top PTI n MELBOURNE “It’s been one of the reasons, I think, that they've eventually got themselves out, AP n CENTURION here were no demons in the MCG playing rash shots. They haven't been able PTI n MELBOURNE of a series-levelling win by Tpitch but very very poor batting by the to tick the scoreboard over on a regular reducing Australia to 133 for six af du Plessis fell for 199 to miss out on a first career Australian batsmen, said the legendary enough basis. Pressure builds. When pres- jinkya Rahane produced a in their second innings. Ftest double-century but that was the only disap- Ricky Ponting, lashing out at the home sure builds, bad shots come,” Ponting said. Amaster-class after taking Asked about the match, he pointment for South Africa as it took complete con- batters for playing rash shots against the “I talked about it in first innings as over the reins at a low point for preferred to stay cautious. trol of the first test Monday against a Sri Lanka team Indian bowlers in the second Test. well particularly with the way they played his team but when it comes to “This game is not over yet, battered by injuries. India are marching towards a domi- Ravi Ashwin. They weren’t proactive his best knock, the stand-in still have to get four more Du Plessis’ career-best score sent South Africa nant series-levelling victory after reduc- against him. Yes, it's been good bowling, India skipper Monday placed wickets.” to 621 all out at SuperSport Park on Day 3 and a 225- ing Australia to 133 for six at stumps on but sometimes against the best bowlers his century at Lord’s ahead of Leading the team in the run first-innings lead. the third day. The hosts are ahead by just you have to take more risks as a batsman. the latest effort, against absence of Virat Kohli, Rahane Sri Lanka's tough position was exacerbated by two runs with only four wickets in hand, For the sheer fact they’re not going to bowl Australia. came into the match after los- the fact that it has had five players injured in the open- going into the penultimate day. bad balls.” Rahane’s classy 112 paved ing seasoned pacer ing three days of the test, with three of them ruled And Ponting minced no words in crit- He went on to praise the display of the the way for India taking a sub- Mohammed Shami and he was out for the rest of the game. icising the Australian batsmen. Indian bowling attack. stantial 131-run first innings also held responsible for run- Du Plessis’ big hundred, and half-centuries from “You can’t blame the pitch. The “The lesser skilled bowlers you can lead in the ongoing second ning out Kohli in Adelaide. four other South African batsmen, wiped out Sri pitch has been absolutely perfect sit on all day because you know you're Test against Australia, who However, on Monday it Lanka's early advantage. The tourists made 396 in today. It’s a little bit of spin, yes, but going to one or two scoring opportu- were in all sorts of trouble at was Rahane who found himself their first innings - their best total in South Africa - you’d expect that. Day three of a nities an over, but Bumrah, Ashwin, the close of play on the third at the receiving end after what and were feeling good about their chances after the Test Match. Very little on offer Jadeja, even Siraj to a cer- day. Ajinkya Rahane bats during play on day two of the second test match AP seemed like a needless call by first day-and-a-half in Centurion. for the fast bowlers, but it’s just tain degree in this game, “It was really special. Ravindra Jadeja, which led to Those positive Sri Lankan vibes disappeared by been poor batting. Very, very they don’t make many Getting a century always is. the Indian team’s tour of placements at Melbourne. his dismissal. the end of Day 3. poor batting so far,” Ponting mistakes. “They’ve actual- Still feel that my hundred England in 2014. “Captaincy is all about Asked about his run out, The South Africans also made inroads in the field was quoted has saying by ly forced the Australian against England at Lord's is my Leading the side just days backing your instinct. You’ve Rahane said, “I initially thought in the 12 overs they bowled before stumps as Lungi Seven. batsman into making mis- best," Rahane said after the after a humiliating defeat in got to back your gut feeling. I was in. I told him (Jadeja) not Ngidi struck twice in the space of two overs late in The former skip- takes. When you're just sit- day’s play. the series-opener at Adelaide Credit to the bowlers, they to worry about my run out and the day. per believes the ting there waiting for good The unassuming Indian Oval, Rahane earned praise bowled in the right areas,” he to do keep doing well.” Sri Lanka was 65-2 in its second innings and still Australians were not bowlers to make mistakes, entered the Lord's Honours from the cricket fraternity for added. Jadeja went on to score his 160 behind when Dinesh Chandimal (21 not out) proactive enough against the you're basically are a sitting Board when he struck an ele- the manner in which he han- After his effort with the bat, 15th Test fifty but got out after limped off at stumps alongside Kusal Perera (33 not Indian bowlers in this match. duck,” Ponting said. gant 103 off 154 balls during dled his bowlers and his field his bowlers put India in sight reaching the milestone. out). Chandimal reached the edge of the field before being picked up by a medic on a golf buggy and car- ried away, the latest Sri Lankan worry in what might be the worst run of injuries for a team in a test. Hitting one area consistently is key to get Aussies out: Siraj Umesh suffers injury, Allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva and fast bowlers Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara were definitely PTI n MELBOURNE in future too,” he said. ruled out for the rest of the game, Flower said, while What helped Siraj perform taken for scans legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga and Chandimal ndia’s debutant pacer impressively with the red kook- would be assessed overnight. IMohammed Siraj on Monday aburra is his experience of play- back to the dressing room. De Silva was injured while batting on the first said that the MCG track has ing for A team in New Zealand “Umesh Yadav complained day, Rajitha went off after bowling just 13 deliveries slowed down considerably and to earlier this year. of pain in his calf while bowl- on the second day, and the other three all got wipe off the Australian tail, they “The SG seam is more pro- ing his 4th over and was injured on Monday. will have to hit one area consis- nounced and the kookaburra assessed by the BCCI medical Flower said it’s probable that Sri tently. seam flattens quickly like it has team. He is being taken for Lanka’s lack of any four-day cricket in the The Indian bowlers, despite happened now. I bowled well in scans now,” BCCI media team buildup to this two-test tour because of Umesh Yadav’s injury early into New Zealand during A tour and released a statement. the coronavirus pandemic meant the the second innings, reduced the that experience helped me a lot. Umesh had dismissed players were out of condition. It was home team to 133 for six. The "Actually, if you see there is opener Joe Burns with a peach unclear how many Sri Lankans hosts have just a two-run lead not much difference as to how of a delivery in only his sec- might be able to make it out on the with four wickets remaining in you perform in Ranji Trophy and ond over earlier. Debutant field to bat on the fourth day. the second Test. at this level. Yes, performances at pacer Mohammed Siraj complet- Flower said all that was left now “The track on the first day the Test level has its own value ed what was the eighth over of was for the fit players to show some was very helpful for bowling but but the basics don’t change,” he the innings. grit. it has become very slow today. said. India are already missing the He wasn't the only one to cash in. Not much is happening and He is indebted to Indian services of seasoned pacers Dean Elgar made 95 and Aiden there wasn’t much swing on team's bowling coach Bharath Mohammed Shami and Ishant Markram 68 in their 141-run open- offer. The key is to remain patient Arun, who was also his mentor PTI n MELBOURNE Sharma and the latest injury would ing stand on Sunday. Temba Bavuma and hit one area consistently,” dot balls and there should be first-class level. when he first came up the ranks add to the visiting team’s woes in the hit 71 in a 179-run stand with du Siraj said during the virtual equal focus on each ball,” the 26- “During lockdown, I had for the Hyderabad Ranji side. ndia fast bowler Umesh Yadav hob- four-match Test series. Plessis, and then tailender Keshav media conference. year-old Hyderabad pacer said, worked very hard on my fitness “I have always said about Ibled off the field after suffering a calf With updates awaited on Maharaj added to the pain for the Sri His senior pace bowling having already got three wickets and that's paying off well. I did Arun sir's contribution in my muscle injury during the third day of Umesh’s injury, India’s decision to Lankans with his best test score of 73. partner Jasprit Bumrah told him in the match including that of well for India A in red ball for- career. When he was Hyderabad the second Test against Australia play five bowlers at the Melbourne It seemed du Plessis’ double- that the only way to get wickets Travis Head in the second mat and that really helped and coach, he would tell me, “The here on Monday and has been taken Cricket Ground might help their century would top off the day for the on a flat deck is to build pressure innings. after my good performance with kind of quality you have, you can for scans. cause. South Africans but, needing one run with a lot of dot balls. Siraj’s elevation as a Test the white ball in this year's IPL, get any batsman out in world Umesh, 33, was in the middle of Having bowled out Australia for his 200, he tried to hit over the “Jassi bhai told me that don't bowler has happened in the I got confidence that I can do well cricket. Same here before my Test a fine spell when he experienced pain for 195 in their first innings, top and lobbed a catch to Sri Lanka try anything different. Bowl in wake of some great performances for senior team also and hopeful- debut, he gave me a lot of encour- in his left leg and called for immedi- India put up 326 for a substan- captain Dimuth Karunaratne at one are and create pressure with for Hyderabad and India A at the ly, I will keep up the good work agement,” he said. ate medical attention. He later limped tial lead of 131 runs. mid-on. 12

Vijayawada Tuesday December 29, 2020 tollywood Chay plays a hockey player in his next In his next, Thank You, with Vikram Kumar, Naga Chaitanya Akkineni will be seen as a hockey player in some portions. While the film is not a sports drama, Chay, on his part, prepped for the part by getting trained under a coach for a week, finds NAGARAJ GOUD

Dil Raju joins Oh My fter playing a segment forms a minor part schedule and now are gearing cricketer whose of the film, which is primari- up to commence the second hopes of making ly a well-packaged commer- schedule from January 4 in a it to the national cial entertainer in tune with Hyderabad. team are dashed Vikram Kumar’s sensibilities, Vikram is directing Thank after his love Chay, being a perfectionist You from a story of writer- Kadavule remake story fails in Shiva Nirvana’s that he is, took the game seri- director BVS Ravi. Speaking Majili — a project which ously. He trained in hockey to us some time back, the ended his poor run at the under a Hyderabad-based former said that it’s a story he Telugu remake phone for the remake as BVSN Prasad’s new untitled cash counters — Naga coach for a week before that needs to be told now. “It of Tamil film Oh well. The muhurat clap was production which marks the Chaitanya will now be seen beginning filming. While like would resonate with the T My Kadavule was given by Dil Raju, while directorial debut of lensman as a hockey player in Vikram any game, it was hard to get audience at various levels. launched at pro- BVSN Prasad switched on Vidyasagar. Kumar’s next, Thank You. it right in just a matter of That said it’s not a message- ducer PVP’s the camera. Tharun A fantasy comedy, Oh My The SVC production, which week’s time, he did ensure oriented film but has an office in Hyderabad on Bhascker, who has penned Kadavule remake centers on went to floors early last week that he got the basics and undercurrent of something Monday. Leading producer the film’s dialogues, directed the story of a young man (to in Hyderabad after being in body language right. Vikram which is wonderful. It got me Dil Raju has also joined the the honorary first shot. be played by Vishwak) who development for over six shot the hockey portions last connected to the story in the film, featuring Vishwak Sen, Vishwak will begin shooting marries his best friend. months, will see him as a week and was pleased with first place. It has got all as a presenter. Ashwath for the film from mid When his life gets compli- sportsperson in some por- the effort that Chay put in.” mainstream elements — Marimuthu, who wrote and February. cated, he receives a ‘golden tions. The source adds that humour, drama, romance directed the original, is on He will be juggling between ticket’ that facilitates him to A source close to the unit Vikram and team are happy and a little bit of action,” the board to wield the mega- the sets of this film with rewrite his fate. tells us, “While the hockey with the footage of the first director had said. My first priority is choreography: Jani master Set to face the klieg lights as an actor for the first time, Jani said he agreed to front the project as an actor 20 minutes into the narration. A romantic-action entertainer, Hippi girl Digangana Suryavanshi will be seen as his romantic interest in the untitled venture Monal Gajjar to shake eading supervising a song on (Yevadu), Cinema a leg with Sreenivas choreograph- Siva Karthikeyan in Choopista Maava (Race er Jani’s Chennai and I had to Gurram) and Sundari L maiden film postpone it to noon (Khaidi No 150) among looded with offers after her initiated talks with Monal, who as an actor (Monday) to attend the others, said. stint in reality show Bigg has developed a great following was launched muhurat. Initially, I said He added that there Boss, actress Monal Gajjar among youngsters courtesy the in Hyderabad on I won’t attend it but the were many people F seems to have signed her recently concluded Big Boss. Monday, with VV producer insisted. including his wife who first Telugu project. She was more than happy to Vinayak sounding the Murali was after me for were concerned about According to reports, it isn't, have said yes to it, reports indi- clapper-board for the the past 45 days as I his decision to act, however, an acting assignment but a cate. An official announcement is first shot. was busy with my work. especially with his dance one. The Gujarati beauty, it is awaited. Being made under Suji When I finally wanted choreography career said, has given her consent to perform Subrahmanyam Gorrela is Visuals by Vizag-based to know what he want- going great guns. for a special number in Bellamkonda bankrolling Alludu Adhurs, a Devi Sri Venkata Ramana, the ed from me, he said he “Initially, I was Sreenivas-starrer Alludu Adhurs, which Prasad musical, under Sumanth Movie film, a romantic-action was looking to intro- scared to begin with but on Sunday confirmed its big screen roll Productions Banner. Nabha Natesh entertainer, marks the duce me as a hero. I instead of attending TV out for Sankranti. and Anu Emmanuel are the leading directorial debut of told him, ‘I’m more shows when there are Reports have it that the makers ini- ladies, while the likes of Prakash Raj, Murali Raj Tiyanna, interested in choreogra- no choreography tially planned to sign on Bollywood Sonu Sood, Vennela Kishore Srinivas while Digangana phy and direction than assignments, I decided bombshell Mouni Roy for the number Reddy, Sathya, Kadambari Kiran, Suryavanshi plays the acting’. He pleaded with that I would shoot for but as she couldn’t commit due to Chammak Chandra and Duvvasi female lead. me to allot five minutes the film. That’s it,” he scheduling conflicts, they immediately Mohan are playing supporting roles. Speaking after the of my time to hear the pointed out in a modest muhurat formalities, story. He narrated it in tone. Jani said that he even 20 minutes and I liked Digangana pointed doesn’t have an answer it immensely,” the star out that the untitled on why he is making choreographer, whose film has a brilliant the transition to acting. bona fides include Mee script and she is excited “My first priority is Intiki Mundhu (from about Jani master’s choreography. I was Julayi), Freedom debut. -NG AR Rahman bereaved areema Begum, of music legend A R Rahman have seen the divine, but we mother of Oscar has passed away,” Palaniswami are created through our par- winning composer said in a tweet. ents. If we have a sound and K AR Rahman, The chief minister con- love in that life where we get passed away in veyed his condolences to the nurturing of a mother and Chennai on Monday due to Rahman and the bereaved a father, I think we are stable age related ailments. family. in mind,” he said. Mourning her demise, Rahman was very close to “I had this in my mind on Rahman, posted a photo of his mother and often spoke how to crack it because I was her on his verified Twitter about her. Earlier this year, very objective about it, think- account on Monday after- while remembering the patri- ing whether patriotism will noon. otic song Maa Tujhe Salaam work or not. So, I was like, Commenting on his tweet, from the 1997 album Vande forget about the country, let’s celebrities from the world of Mataram, Rahman spoke do it as a personal song — music and cinema expressed about his relationship with his like singing a song for one’s condolences. mother, Kareema Begum, and mother. That’s how it was cre- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister how she has been pivotal in ated,” Rahman added. K Palaniswami and DMK defining his success — espe- Kareema Begum is survived President M K Stalin con- cially the particular song. by her daughters AR Reihana, doled the death. “Sad to know “In all lives, the common Ishrath Qadri, Fathima that Kareema Begum, mother factor is, not many people Shekhar apart from Rahman.