0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding...

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V arious agencies have con- tinued their efforts to reach up to 35 workers stranded in the tunnel of the undercon- struction Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project since the disaster caused by glacier burst and resultant flash flood in the Raini-Tapovan areas of Chamoli district on Sunday morning . The tunnel is about 250 metres long and according to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), about 100 metres of the tunnel’s length has been cleared of the debris. The sludge and debris drying and becoming hard have made it harder for the res- cue teams to clear it. Meanwhile, the death toll stood at 32 with 174 persons still missing as on Tuesday evening. Of the 32 bodies recovered, only seven have been identified so far. The DIG, Law and Order, and the chief spokesman of Uttarakhand Police, Nilesh Anand Bharne informed the media that in addition to per- sonnel involved in the rescue effort, teams of experts and necessary equipment were pre- sent at the tunnel where the workers are stranded. He said that the task of drilling through the debris is difficult but efforts are being undertaken relent- lessly. According to the SEOC, of the 206 persons reported miss- ing initially, the number of missing persons now stands at 174 with 32 bodies having been recovered. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited Chamoli district on Tuesday to meet the resi- dents of the avalanche-hit vil- lages. He said the pace of res- cue operation at the Tapovan tunnel has slowed down due to the flow of slush but efforts are on to reach those trapped inside by drilling through the debris with the help of ropes. “Undaunted multi-agency security personnel are trying hard to make their way through the tunnel. Let us see how many lives we can save,” Rawat told reporters. He reached Tapovan on Monday evening to review res- cue efforts, undertook an aer- ial survey of the affected areas earlier Tuesday and also met 12 workers who were rescued from the tunnel on Sunday evening. Thirteen border villages — Raini Palli, Pang, Lata, Suraithota, Suki, Bhalgaon, Tolma, Fagrasu, Long Segdi, Gahar, Bhangyul, Juwagwad and Jugju — of Joshimath block were cut off following the avalanche in the Rishiganga river on Sunday. Continued on Page 2 S cientists of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) have sug- gested that a rock mass, weak- ened due to years of freezing and thawing of snow, may have led to the creation of a weak zone, triggering its col- lapse that resulted in flash floods in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday. The scientists made this observation after conducting a helicopter survey of the area to find clues as to what led to the deadly flash floods that swept away everything. So far, the flash floods have claimed 32 lives with over 170 people still missing. The crashing rock mass also brought earth and mounds of snow with it. The friction may have resulted in heating, which could have caused the floods, the observations sug- gest. Kalachand Sain, Director of the WIHG, said the glaciers where the incident occurred feeds the Rishiganga river that finally joins the Dhauliganga. “This region has a very steep gradient. Our observa- tions suggest that the rock mass may have weakened due to freezing and thawing. This sometimes leads to the devel- opment of a weak zone and fractures. “As the rock mass weak- ened, the glacier and snow came down crashing, it result- ed in flash floods,” he said. The steep slopes of the mountains in the region further increased the intensity of the crash. Two teams of the WIHG comprising five glaciologists left for Joshimath on Monday to find out the reason behind the incident. An institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the WIHG studies the Himalayan envi- ronment and its geology. Sain said an initial report will also be sent to the DST. In Uttarakhand which has 1,400 glaciers, fewer than 10 are being monitored. Continued on Page 2 A fter more than two months of intense bargaining between the Janata Dal (U) and the BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday car- ried out the expansion of his Cabinet and showed that despite having fewer seats than the BJP, he still calls the shot in the alliance Government. Governor Phagu Chouhan administered the oath of office to the new Ministers — nine from the BJP and eight from the JD(U) — at a function at the Raj Bhavan. Neeraj Kumar Babloo JD(U), who is a five-time MLA from Chhatapur and a relative of deceased Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, also joined the Nitish Cabinet. Of the 17 Ministers induct- ed on Tuesday, the BJP got nine berths, just one more than the JD(U). The JD(U) also grabbed important portfolios like Home, Personnel, Education, Rural Development, Rural Works, Water Resources. Nitish ensured that his bit- ter detractor Sanjay Paswan (BJP) was denied a Cabinet berth along with Nitish Mishra, who had deserted the JD(U) to join hands with Jitan Ram Manjhi and later the BJP. Former Union Minster Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA Jama Khan, who joined JD(U) after getting elect- ed as a BSP legislator from Chainpur. The JD(U) had field- ed 11 Muslim candidates in the 2020 Assembly elections, but all of them lost. However, Nitish didn’t induct even a single Yadav MLA this time around. Of his 13 Ministers, just one comes from the Yadav caste. Nitish also completely ignored the Bhumihar caste in the expan- sion and inducted In the Assembly polls, the BJP won 74 seats and the JD(U) just 43. After the polls, State BJP leaders were putting pressure on the national lead- ership to corner a maximum number of berths. But Nitish made sure that his party is not seen surrendering to the BJP. The BJP has now 16 min- isterial berths and JD(U) 13, but Nitish’s party has grabbed 21 portfolios, just one less than 22 of the BJP. Continued on Page 2 P unjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who was allegedly involved in the vio- lence and vandalism at the Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26 against Centre’s farm laws, was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell late on Monday night and on Tuesday a Delhi court sent Sidhu to seven days police custody. Sidhu was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Prigya Gupta. Police alleged he was one of the main instigators of the violent incidents at the Red Fort. Sidhu’s counsel, however, claimed he had nothing to do with the violence and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. According to Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Special Cell, he was arrested from Karnal Bypass at 10.40 pm on Monday. “Sidhu was wanted in con- nection with the case of insti- gating the crowd at the Red Fort on Republic Day. The Crime Branch will investigate his role in detail,” said the DCP. Asked where he was hiding after the January 26 violence, Yadav said the investigation is in an initial stage. A source said Sidhu was waiting for someone on road when he was nabbed. “Meanwhile, it was also revealed that Sidhu was in contact with a woman friend who lives in California. He used to make videos and send it to her, and she used to upload them on his Facebook account,” said the source. Sidhu kept changing his locations to evade arrest, he added. The police had announced a cash reward of 1 lakh for information leading to Sidhu’s arrest. After the Republic Day 26 violence that had left over 500 security personnel injured and one protestor dead, Sidhu was posting videos on social media. Continued on Page 2 B haratiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Andolan-jivi” (professional protesters) remarks and asked if people like great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh will also be put in that category. Addressing a well-attended Kisan Mahapanchayat at Gumthala Garhu village in Pehowa in this district, a third within a week in Haryana, he said the Government should not be under the wrong impression that the protesting farmers will return to their homes without their demands being accepted. He alleged that attempts were being made to divide the protesting farmers on the lines of region and other consider- ations, and appealed them to reject any such design. “They will try to divide you on Punjab-Haryana lines, as Sikh and non-Sikh, Hindus and Muslims..,” he alleged. “The farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s farm laws is nationwide and not limited to Punjab or Haryana.” “We will win this fight,” he declared. Without naming the Prime Minister or using his “Andolan- jivi” phrase, Tikait said, “In Parliament, they are saying these are parjivis (parasites). Was Bhagat Singh who sacri- ficed his life for this nation a parjivi? What about 150 farm- ers who died during this agi- tation? Were they parjivis too? Had they gone to Delhi to agi- tate and die?” Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the Prime Minister had hit out at those behind the farmers’ protests, saying a new “breed” of agita- tors called “Andolan jivi” has emerged in the country who cannot live without an agitation and the nation should guard against them. He said farmers’ organisa- tions are a united force. Continued on Page 2 C oronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a team of international and Chinese scientists looking for the origins of Covid-19 said on Tuesday, dismissing as an alter- nate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab. A closely watched visit by World Health Organisation experts to Wuhan — the Chinese city where the first coronavirus cases were dis- covered — did not dramatically change the current under- standing of the early days of the pandemic, said Peter Ben Embarek, WHO team leader. But it did “add details to that story,” he said at as the group wrapped up a four-week visit. Continued on Page 2 S even States and UTs have reported no new Covid-19 deaths in the last three weeks. However, Maharashtra and Kerala continue to buck the declining trend, accounting for 71 per cent of the fresh caseload of the week with the latter mak- ing up almost half of the total. “The seven States and UTs — Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep — have reported no new Covid-19 deaths in last three weeks,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. Similarly, 33 States/UTs have less than 5,000 active Covid-19 cases, he added. While Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS director, said to a news agency that the Centre may look into the angle whether mutant variant is the cause of rise in cases in Maharashtra and Kerala, Dr VK Paul, mem- ber Niti Ayog has ruled out the presence of the South Africa variant as of now. South Africa variant of Covid-19 is under the watch. It has come forward that this variant spreads faster, said Paul. However, as of yesterday, this particular variant is not in the country, he added. About the effectiveness of the Covishield vaccine on the South Africa strain, Paul said it is hinted through a study, which has its limitations that Covishield gives minimal pro- tection against mild infection but it still continues to be effective against severe disease and in reducing mortality. “We have no concern at this moment as we have a sys- tem in place for detecting this variant. As of yesterday, this particular variant is not in the country but we are keeping a watch,” he said, adding sur- veillance will be intensified. A ppreciating the growing concern over alleged vul- gar and objectionable content and language in the Over the Top (OTT) platforms, the Government will soon issue guidelines for regulation of the OTT contents, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Minister said in the Zero Hour that many sugges- tions and complaints on the regulation of OTT platforms have been received. “Guidelines and direction are almost ready. It will be soon implemented,” Javadekar said. Earlier, raising the issue Mahesh Poddar (BJP) said the content and language on OTT platforms was discriminatory and offensive. Objectionable content on OTT platforms includes sexual discrimination and abusive language, he said adding that the Government should, without delay, imple- ment the Internet regulations. There are at least 40 OTT platforms, including global ones such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar (Disney Plus), and hundreds of news content websites. Raising the issue of Indians stuck on a ship in the China Sea since last year, Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena) asked the Government to bring them back on priority. Shipping Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya said the issue will be resolved in a short time and the crew will return home. He said 23 sailors on one ship — MV Jag Anand — have already returned home and the Indian Government is in touch with the Chinese authorities for the return of 16 Indian crew on another vessel, MV Anastasia. P rime Minister Narendra Modi became emotional and broke down a couple of times in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while bidding farewell to Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad. He along with three MPs from Jammu & Kashmir will retire in the next few days from the House. The other retiring mem- bers are Shamsher Singh Manhas (BJP), Mir Mohammad Fayaz (PDP) and Nazir Ahmad Laway (PDP). Recalling his long associa- tion with Azad, Modi cried while narrating an incident when they were Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir and Gujarat respectively. Terrorists had killed some tourists from Gujarat while they were travelling in Srinagar and Azad started crying on the phone while informing his counterpart Modi in Gujarat, Modi recalled. “The next day too Azad cried on the phone while talk- ing to me after overseeing that the dead bodies and the injured were flown to Gujarat,” the Prime Minister said. Remembering that con- versation years back, Modi was overwhelmed and paused before breaking down. This happened a couple of times more when the Prime Minister was telling the House about his association with Azad. Azad, in turn, also had tears in the eyes while recalling that incident in his farewell speech later. The veteran Congress leader said he is a proud and lucky “Hindustani Muslim” and wished that terrorism ends from Jammu & Kashmir. Azad also gave examples of Muslim countries in India’s neigh- bourhood and said many of them were at war with each other. Continued on Page 2 D eficiency of a lung-pro- tecting protein in the Caucasian population may have made Europe and North America more susceptible to the spread of a coronavirus variant as compared to Asia, suggests a study by Indian sci- entists which also reveals how mutant forms of the virus may find new ways to infect people. I n a major relief to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists, including Rajdeep Sardesai, the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed their arrest in connection with the FIRs lodged against them for their allegedly “misleading” tweets on the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in the national Capital on the Republic Day. The Supreme Court, in the proceedings lasting only for five minutes, granted protec- tion from any possible coercive action by police of States like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka to Tharoor as also Sardesai, Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath, Vinod K Jose and Anant Nath. Continued on Page 2

Transcript of 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding...

Page 1: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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Various agencies have con-tinued their efforts to reach

up to 35 workers stranded inthe tunnel of the undercon-struction Tapovan-Vishnugadhydropower project since thedisaster caused by glacier burstand resultant flash flood in theRaini-Tapovan areas ofChamoli district on Sundaymorning .

The tunnel is about 250metres long and according tothe State EmergencyOperations Centre (SEOC),about 100 metres of the tunnel’slength has been cleared of thedebris. The sludge and debrisdrying and becoming hardhave made it harder for the res-cue teams to clear it.

Meanwhile, the death tollstood at 32 with 174 personsstill missing as on Tuesdayevening. Of the 32 bodiesrecovered, only seven havebeen identified so far.

The DIG, Law and Order,and the chief spokesman ofUttarakhand Police, NileshAnand Bharne informed themedia that in addition to per-sonnel involved in the rescueeffort, teams of experts andnecessary equipment were pre-sent at the tunnel where theworkers are stranded. He saidthat the task of drilling throughthe debris is difficult but effortsare being undertaken relent-lessly.

According to the SEOC, ofthe 206 persons reported miss-ing initially, the number ofmissing persons now stands at174 with 32 bodies havingbeen recovered.

Uttarakhand ChiefMinister Trivendra SinghRawat visited Chamoli districton Tuesday to meet the resi-dents of the avalanche-hit vil-lages. He said the pace of res-cue operation at the Tapovantunnel has slowed down due to

the flow of slush but efforts areon to reach those trappedinside by drilling through thedebris with the help of ropes.

“Undaunted multi-agencysecurity personnel are tryinghard to make their way throughthe tunnel. Let us see howmany lives we can save,” Rawattold reporters.

He reached Tapovan onMonday evening to review res-cue efforts, undertook an aer-ial survey of the affected areas

earlier Tuesday and also met 12workers who were rescuedfrom the tunnel on Sundayevening.

Thirteen border villages— Raini Palli, Pang, Lata,Suraithota, Suki, Bhalgaon,Tolma, Fagrasu, Long Segdi,Gahar, Bhangyul, Juwagwadand Jugju — of Joshimathblock were cut off following theavalanche in the Rishigangariver on Sunday.

Continued on Page 2

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Scientists of the WadiaInstitute of Himalayan

Geology (WIHG) have sug-gested that a rock mass, weak-ened due to years of freezingand thawing of snow, mayhave led to the creation of aweak zone, triggering its col-lapse that resulted in flashfloods in Uttarakhand’sChamoli district on Sunday.

The scientists made thisobservation after conducting ahelicopter survey of the area tofind clues as to what led to thedeadly flash floods that sweptaway everything. So far, theflash floods have claimed 32lives with over 170 people stillmissing.

The crashing rock massalso brought earth and moundsof snow with it. The frictionmay have resulted in heating,which could have caused thefloods, the observations sug-gest.

Kalachand Sain, Directorof the WIHG, said the glacierswhere the incident occurred

feeds the Rishiganga river thatfinally joins the Dhauliganga.

“This region has a verysteep gradient. Our observa-tions suggest that the rockmass may have weakened dueto freezing and thawing. Thissometimes leads to the devel-opment of a weak zone andfractures.

“As the rock mass weak-ened, the glacier and snowcame down crashing, it result-ed in flash floods,” he said. Thesteep slopes of the mountainsin the region further increasedthe intensity of the crash.

Two teams of the WIHGcomprising five glaciologistsleft for Joshimath on Mondayto find out the reason behindthe incident. An institute underthe Department of Science andTechnology (DST), the WIHGstudies the Himalayan envi-ronment and its geology. Sainsaid an initial report will alsobe sent to the DST.

In Uttarakhand which has1,400 glaciers, fewer than 10 arebeing monitored.

Continued on Page 2

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After more than two monthsof intense bargaining

between the Janata Dal (U) andthe BJP, Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar on Tuesday car-ried out the expansion of hisCabinet and showed thatdespite having fewer seats thanthe BJP, he still calls the shot inthe alliance Government.

Governor Phagu Chouhanadministered the oath of officeto the new Ministers — ninefrom the BJP and eight fromthe JD(U) — at a function atthe Raj Bhavan.

Neeraj Kumar BablooJD(U), who is a five-time MLAfrom Chhatapur and a relativeof deceased Bollywood actorSushant Singh Rajput, alsojoined the Nitish Cabinet.

Of the 17 Ministers induct-ed on Tuesday, the BJP got nineberths, just one more than theJD(U). The JD(U) also grabbedimportant portfolios likeHome, Personnel, Education,Rural Development, RuralWorks, Water Resources.

Nitish ensured that his bit-ter detractor Sanjay Paswan(BJP) was denied a Cabinetberth along with Nitish Mishra,

who had deserted the JD(U) tojoin hands with Jitan RamManjhi and later the BJP.

Former Union MinsterShahnawaz Hussain, who wasin the political wilderness foryears, staged a comeback byfinding a place in the Cabinetas Industry Minister.

The JD(U) too inducted aMuslim MLA Jama Khan, whojoined JD(U) after getting elect-ed as a BSP legislator fromChainpur. The JD(U) had field-ed 11 Muslim candidates in the2020 Assembly elections, but allof them lost.

However, Nitish didn’tinduct even a single YadavMLA this time around. Of his13 Ministers, just one comesfrom the Yadav caste. Nitishalso completely ignored theBhumihar caste in the expan-sion and inducted

In the Assembly polls, theBJP won 74 seats and theJD(U) just 43. After the polls,State BJP leaders were puttingpressure on the national lead-ership to corner a maximumnumber of berths. But Nitishmade sure that his party is notseen surrendering to the BJP.

The BJP has now 16 min-isterial berths and JD(U) 13,but Nitish’s party has grabbed21 portfolios, just one less than22 of the BJP.

Continued on Page 2

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Punjabi actor-turned-activistDeep Sidhu, who was

allegedly involved in the vio-lence and vandalism at theRed Fort during the farmers’tractor rally on January 26against Centre’s farm laws, wasarrested by the Delhi Police’sSpecial Cell late on Mondaynight and on Tuesday a Delhicourt sent Sidhu to seven dayspolice custody.

Sidhu was produced beforeMetropolitan Magistrate PrigyaGupta. Police alleged he wasone of the main instigators ofthe violent incidents at theRed Fort.

Sidhu’s counsel, however,claimed he had nothing to dowith the violence and was at thewrong place at the wrong time.

According to SanjeevKumar Yadav, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Special Cell, he wasarrested from Karnal Bypass at10.40 pm on Monday.

“Sidhu was wanted in con-nection with the case of insti-gating the crowd at the RedFort on Republic Day. The

Crime Branch will investigatehis role in detail,” said theDCP.

Asked where he was hidingafter the January 26 violence,Yadav said the investigation isin an initial stage.

A source said Sidhu waswaiting for someone on roadwhen he was nabbed.“Meanwhile, it was alsorevealed that Sidhu was incontact with a woman friendwho lives in California. Heused to make videos and send

it to her, and she used toupload them on his Facebookaccount,” said the source. Sidhukept changing his locations toevade arrest, he added.

The police had announceda cash reward of �1 lakh forinformation leading to Sidhu’sarrest. After the Republic Day26 violence that had left over500 security personnel injuredand one protestor dead, Sidhuwas posting videos on socialmedia.

Continued on Page 2

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Bharatiya Kisan Union(BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait

Tuesday criticised PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s“Andolan-jivi” (professionalprotesters) remarks and askedif people like great freedomfighter Bhagat Singh will alsobe put in that category.

Addressing a well-attendedKisan Mahapanchayat atGumthala Garhu village inPehowa in this district, a thirdwithin a week in Haryana, hesaid the Government should notbe under the wrong impressionthat the protesting farmers willreturn to their homes withouttheir demands being accepted.

He alleged that attemptswere being made to divide theprotesting farmers on the linesof region and other consider-ations, and appealed them toreject any such design.

“They will try to divide youon Punjab-Haryana lines, asSikh and non-Sikh, Hindusand Muslims..,” he alleged.

“The farmers’ agitation againstthe Centre’s farm laws isnationwide and not limited toPunjab or Haryana.”

“We will win this fight,” hedeclared.

Without naming the PrimeMinister or using his “Andolan-jivi” phrase, Tikait said, “InParliament, they are sayingthese are parjivis (parasites).Was Bhagat Singh who sacri-ficed his life for this nation aparjivi? What about 150 farm-ers who died during this agi-tation? Were they parjivis too?Had they gone to Delhi to agi-tate and die?”

Speaking in the RajyaSabha on Monday, the PrimeMinister had hit out at thosebehind the farmers’ protests,saying a new “breed” of agita-tors called “Andolan jivi” hasemerged in the country whocannot live without an agitationand the nation should guardagainst them.

He said farmers’ organisa-tions are a united force.

Continued on Page 2

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Coronavirus most likely firstappeared in humans after

jumping from an animal, ateam of international andChinese scientists looking forthe origins of Covid-19 said onTuesday, dismissing as an alter-nate theory that the virusleaked from a Chinese lab.

A closely watched visit byWorld Health Organisationexperts to Wuhan — theChinese city where the firstcoronavirus cases were dis-covered — did not dramaticallychange the current under-standing of the early days of thepandemic, said Peter BenEmbarek, WHO team leader.But it did “add details to thatstory,” he said at as the groupwrapped up a four-week visit.

Continued on Page 2

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Seven States and UTs havereported no new Covid-19

deaths in the last three weeks.However, Maharashtra andKerala continue to buck thedeclining trend, accounting for71 per cent of the fresh caseloadof the week with the latter mak-ing up almost half of the total.

“The seven States and UTs— Andaman & Nicobar,Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura,Dadra & Nagar Haveli,Mizoram, Nagaland andLakshadweep — have reportedno new Covid-19 deaths in lastthree weeks,” Union HealthSecretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

Similarly, 33 States/UTshave less than 5,000 activeCovid-19 cases, he added.

While Dr Randeep Guleria,AIIMS director, said to a newsagency that the Centre maylook into the angle whether

mutant variant is the cause ofrise in cases in Maharashtraand Kerala, Dr VK Paul, mem-ber Niti Ayog has ruled out thepresence of the South Africavariant as of now.

South Africa variant ofCovid-19 is under the watch. Ithas come forward that thisvariant spreads faster, said Paul.However, as of yesterday, thisparticular variant is not in thecountry, he added.

About the effectiveness ofthe Covishield vaccine on theSouth Africa strain, Paul said itis hinted through a study,which has its limitations thatCovishield gives minimal pro-tection against mild infectionbut it still continues to beeffective against severe diseaseand in reducing mortality.

“We have no concern atthis moment as we have a sys-tem in place for detecting thisvariant. As of yesterday, this

particular variant is not in thecountry but we are keeping awatch,” he said, adding sur-veillance will be intensified.

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Appreciating the growingconcern over alleged vul-

gar and objectionable contentand language in the Over theTop (OTT) platforms, theGovernment will soon issueguidelines for regulation ofthe OTT contents, Informationand Broadcasting MinisterPrakash Javadekar said in theRajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Minister said in theZero Hour that many sugges-tions and complaints on theregulation of OTT platformshave been received. “Guidelinesand direction are almost ready.It will be soon implemented,”Javadekar said.

Earlier, raising the issueMahesh Poddar (BJP) said thecontent and language on OTTplatforms was discriminatoryand offensive. Objectionablecontent on OTT platformsincludes sexual discrimination

and abusive language, he saidadding that the Governmentshould, without delay, imple-ment the Internet regulations.

There are at least 40 OTTplatforms, including globalones such as Netflix, AmazonPrime and Hotstar (DisneyPlus), and hundreds of newscontent websites.

Raising the issue of Indiansstuck on a ship in the China Seasince last year, PriyankaChaturvedi (Shiv Sena) askedthe Government to bring themback on priority.

Shipping MinisterMansukh L Mandaviya said theissue will be resolved in a shorttime and the crew will returnhome. He said 23 sailors on oneship — MV Jag Anand —have already returned homeand the Indian Government isin touch with the Chineseauthorities for the return of 16Indian crew on another vessel,MV Anastasia.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi became emotional

and broke down a couple oftimes in the Rajya Sabha onTuesday while bidding farewellto Leader of OppositionGhulam Nabi Azad. He alongwith three MPs from Jammu &Kashmir will retire in the nextfew days from the House.

The other retiring mem-bers are Shamsher SinghManhas (BJP), MirMohammad Fayaz (PDP) andNazir Ahmad Laway (PDP).

Recalling his long associa-tion with Azad, Modi criedwhile narrating an incidentwhen they were ChiefMinisters of Jammu & Kashmirand Gujarat respectively.

Terrorists had killed sometourists from Gujarat whilethey were travelling in Srinagarand Azad started crying on thephone while informing hiscounterpart Modi in Gujarat,Modi recalled.

“The next day too Azadcried on the phone while talk-ing to me after overseeing thatthe dead bodies and the injuredwere flown to Gujarat,” the

Prime Minister said.Remembering that con-

versation years back, Modi wasoverwhelmed and pausedbefore breaking down. Thishappened a couple of timesmore when the Prime Ministerwas telling the House about hisassociation with Azad.

Azad, in turn, also hadtears in the eyes while recallingthat incident in his farewell

speech later. The veteran Congress

leader said he is a proud andlucky “Hindustani Muslim”and wished that terrorism endsfrom Jammu & Kashmir. Azadalso gave examples of Muslimcountries in India’s neigh-bourhood and said many ofthem were at war with eachother.

Continued on Page 2

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Deficiency of a lung-pro-tecting protein in the

Caucasian population mayhave made Europe and NorthAmerica more susceptible tothe spread of a coronavirusvariant as compared to Asia,suggests a study by Indian sci-entists which also reveals howmutant forms of the virus mayfind new ways to infect people.

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In a major relief to CongressMP Shashi Tharoor and six

journalists, including RajdeepSardesai, the Supreme Court onTuesday stayed their arrest inconnection with the FIRslodged against them for theirallegedly “misleading” tweetson the violence during thefarmers’ tractor rally in thenational Capital on theRepublic Day.

The Supreme Court, inthe proceedings lasting only forfive minutes, granted protec-tion from any possible coerciveaction by police of States likeDelhi, Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Haryana andKarnataka to Tharoor as alsoSardesai, Mrinal Pande, ZafarAgha, Paresh Nath, Vinod KJose and Anant Nath.

Continued on Page 2

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Page 2: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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They stand ashen-faced insmall clusters near the dev-

astated barrage of the NTPC'sTapovan-Vishnugad hydel pro-ject, waiting for some newsabout their missing relatives.

Camping at Tapovan sincethe glacier tragedy struck inUttarakhand's Chamoli dis-trict on Sunday, the hope ofbeing reunited with their miss-ing kin brings them everymorning to the banks of theDhauli Ganga, half a kilometrefrom Tapovan, where intenseefforts are underway to tracearound 30-35 people trappedinside a tunnel that belongs tothe project.

One of the glum-facedbystanders is Dipak Nagwal ofKanchula village, whose sister'shusband Sateshwar Singh, acontractual mechanic, was atwork inside the tunnel at thetime of the avalanche.

His whereabouts are notknown since the avalanchecaught the workmen inside

the tunnel unaware.The elder brother of

Dipak's brother-in-law andother relatives are also stayingwith him at Tapovan in thehope of hearing some gladtiding about their missing kin.

Every time a uniformedsecurityman comes into view,they run towards him withtheir queries. However, thecluster returns disappointedas there is no news yet abutSateshwar.

Three men of Chamoli'skimana village are also stuckinside the tunnel. Over 40people from the village havebeen camping at Tapovan.

Darshan Singh Bisht, a res-ident of the village, said threeof his relatives -- Arvind Singh,Ramkishan Singh and RohitSingh -- are trapped in the tun-nel. Two months ago, the men,aged 18-20 years, joined a firmnamed Ritik, which worked atthe site on contract for theNational Thermal PowerCorporation (NTPC). Theirparents are waiting for their

return.Standing at the tunnel gate,

waiting to hear about his broth-er DS Bisht, Vijay Singh Bishtof Dak village said his restless-ness and worries about thewell-being of his brother aregrowing with every passingminute.He said advanceequipment should have beenused for clearing the debrisinside the tunnel. That wouldhave expedited the rescue oper-ations, he said.

Bhawan Singh Farswan(60) of Karchaun village hasbeen coming to the tunnel sitealong the Dhauli Ganga riversince Sunday to find out abouta young man from his village,who, he said, is trapped in thetunnel.Two members of hisfamily are also missing fromthe demolished Rishi Ganahydel project site at Raini,Farswan said.

People from different partsof the country have gone miss-ing in the tragedy, including 19from Datunu village of theJaunsar area in Dehradun dis-

trict.Amar Singh of Datunu,

who has come to enquire afterhis fellow villagers, said theentire village is in a state ofshock after the calamity.

"A total of 25 residents ofmy village worked at the NTPCproject site, of whom six had aday off on Sunday and wereluckily saved, but the rest aretrapped inside the tunnel,"Singh said.The scene at Raini,where 46 people went missingat the Rishi Ganga project site,is similar.

People have gathered thereto find out about their relatives.Four bodies were recovered atRaini on Tuesday, State DisasterResponse Force (SDRF) com-mandant Navneet SinghBhullar said, adding that one ofthe bodies was that of a policeconstable.

"The daunting task of clear-ing the debris inside the tunnelat Tapovan is being dealt withby a multi-agency team ofsecurity personnel and we hopeto make a headway," he said.

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At least 70 people from UttarPradesh are feared missing

in the glacier burst at Joshimathin Uttarakhand's Chamoli dis-trict that triggered an avalancheand a deluge in the Alaknandariver system that washed awayhydroelectric stations onSunday, officials said.

Of the 70 people, 34 arefrom Lakhimpur Kheri districtalone.

"As of now, 70 people fromUttar Pradesh are feared miss-ing, including 34 fromLakhimpur Kheri, nine fromSaharanpur and five fromShravasti," ReliefCommissioner of UttarPradesh Sanjay Goyal told PTIon Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath senta team of three ministers toUttarakhand for better coordi-nation with the state in carry-ing out relief works after thedisaster, an official spokesper-son said here.

A portion of the NandaDevi glacier possibly burstthrough its banks inUttarakhand's Chamoli dis-trict on Sunday, leading to anavalanche and a deluge thatripped through the Alaknanda

river system in the upper reach-es of the ecologically fragileHimalayas. Thirty-one bodieshave been recovered so farand around 175 people aremissing.

"The chief minister hasformed a committee of threeministers and sent them toUttarakhand for better coordi-nation with the state.

The ministers are SureshKumar Rana, Vijay Kashyapand Dharam Singh Saini," thespokesperson said.

Adityanath has also con-stituted a team of officers ledby Additional Chief Secretary,Home, Awanish KumarAwasthi to ensure coordina-tion in carrying out reliefworks, he said, adding that acontrol room has been estab-lished at the ReliefCommissioner's office.Control rooms have also beenset up in districts affected bythe tragedy and administra-tion, police and irrigationdepartment employees aredeputed there.

"We will meetUttarakhand Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat andwork will be done in coordi-nation to cremate those wholost their lives in the tragedy,"Rana said.

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Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

on Tuesday sent a team of threeministers to Uttarakhand forbetter coordination with thestate in carrying out reliefworks after the glacier disaster,an official spokesman saidhere.

A portion of the NandaDevi glacier possibly burstthrough its banks inUttarakhand's Chamoli dis-trict on Sunday, leading to anavalanche and a deluge thatripped through the Alaknandariver system in the upper reach-es of the ecologically fragileHimalayas. Twenty-eight bod-ies have been recovered so farand around 170 others aremissing.

"The Chief Minister hasmade a committee of threeministers to visit Uttarakhandfor better coordination with thestate. The members of thecommittee included SureshKumar Rana, Vijay Kashyapand Dharam Singh Saini, whohave left for Uttarakhand onTuesday," he said.

Adityanath also constitut-ed a team of officers led byAdditional Chief Secretary,Home, Awanish KumarAwasthi.A control room hasalso been established at the

Relief Commissioners' office,he said.

Control rooms have alsobeen set up in districts affect-ed by the tragedy and admin-istration, police and irrigationdepartment employees aredeputed there.

Rana said, "We will meetthe Uttarakhand CM TrivendraSingh Rawat and work will bedone in coordination to cre-mate those who lost their livesin the tragedy."

Adityanath had onMonday directed officials toinitiate effective action in col-laboration with theUttarakhand government fortracing people from the statewho have gone missing in flashfloods in the hill state, an offi-cial said.

During a high-level meet-ing convened at his official res-idence on Monday night, thechief minister said that hisgovernment is committed toprovide all possible help tothose affected by the disaster,including its own people as wellas extending all possible help tothe Uttarakhand government,the official spokesperson said.

Adityanath had also talkedto his Uttarakhand counterpartRawat and assured him of allpossible help, the spokespersonsaid.

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The Jharkhand Governmentwill provide all kind of

help to the people of the Statetrapped in the glacier disasterin Uttarakhand, Chief MinisterHemant Soren has said.

He said the JharkhandGovernment's LabourDepartment has opened a con-trol room to help the people ofthe state trapped in the natur-

al disaster in Uttarakhand."Those trapped in the dis-

aster, please contact thehelpline numbers issued bythe State Control Room of theDepartment of Labour. Thestate government will provideall possible help," Soren tweet-ed in Hindi.

The helpline numbers are- 06512490055, 06512490083,06512490037, 06512490058,06512490052, 06512490125.

Those affected can alsosend WhatsApp messages toget help from the Jharkhandgovernment at the followingnumbers - 9470132591,9431336427, 9431336398,9431336472, 9431336432.

Meanwhile, a report fromLohardaga district said ninepersons of the district workingin power projects inUttarakhand could not be con-tacted by their family members

after the disaster struckChamoli district.

The family members ofthe nine persons said they hadlast spoken to them on Sundaymorning before the disasterstruck.

District officials said theyare trying to contactUttarakhand government offi-cials to get news about the ninepersons from Lohardaga dis-trict.

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From page 1On January 26, thousands

of protesting farmers whoreached ITO from theGhazipur border clashed withthe police. Many of them dri-ving tractors reached the RedFort and entered the monu-ment, where a religious flag wasalso hoisted.In the FIR regis-tered in connection with theRed Fort violence, police saidtwo magazines with 20 live car-tridges were snatched fromtwo constables by protesterswho also damaged vehiclesand robbed anti-riot gear.

“The mob later hoisteddifferent flags there. They also

started creating nuisance on therampart. The unruly mob wasasked to come downstairs.They went to Meena Bazar areato enter into Red Fort. Whenthe police tried to take themout of Lahore Gate, the mobbecame violent and attackedpersonnel. The mob thrashedthe police personnel and threwthem in the wells,” police hadsaid in the FIR.

“They damaged a bus, aGovernment gypsy and othervehicles. The mob robbed theanti-riots gears -- cane stick,shields, body protectors, hel-mets etc from the police per-sonnel,” it had also said.

From page 1Jitan Ram Manjhi’s

Hindustani Awam Morcha andthe Vikassheel Insaan Party ofthe Mukesh Sahni has got oneberth each. Hussain -- thebiggest name in the new batchof 17 Ministers -- was given theindustry portfolio in a Statethat hardly has any industry.Deputy Chief Minister RenuDevi was given the disastermanagement portfolio.

From the JD(U) those whogot ministerial berths includeold guards such as ShrawanKumar, Sanjay Kumar Jha,Madan Sahni, and Lessi Singhas well as new faces such asJayant Raj (MLA fromAmarpur in Banka district);former police official Sunil

Kumar (Bhore MLA); SumitSingh, who had won as anIndependent from Chakai inJamui district but later joinedthe party; and Jama Khan, whowas elected on the BSP ticketfrom Chainpur in Kaimur dis-trict but later joined the JD(U).

The BJP list of Ministers isas follow, Shahnawaz Hussain(BJP MLC), Pramod Kumar(BJP MLA, Motihari), SamratChaudhary (BJP MLC), NeerajKumar Singh Bablu (BJP MLA,Chhatapur), Subash Singh (BJPMLA, Gopalganj), Nitin Nabin(BJP MLA, Bankipur), SumitKumar Singh (IndependentMLA, Chakai), Narayan Prasad(BJP MLA, Nautan), AlokRanjan (BJP MLA, Saharsa),Janak Ram (BJP).

From page 1And it allowed the joint

Chinese-WHO team to ruleout one theory on the originsof the virus. The WuhanInstitute of Virology has col-lected many virus samples,leading to allegations that itmay have been the source ofthe original outbreak, whetheron purpose or accidentally.

But experts now considerthe possibility of such a leak soimprobable that it will not besuggested as an avenue offuture study, said Embarek, aWHO food safety and animaldiseases expert.

China had already strong-ly rejected that possibility andhas promoted other theories.The Chinese and foreignexperts considered several the-ories for how the disease firstended up in humans, leading toa pandemic that has now killedmore than 2.3 million peopleworldwide.

Embarek said the initialfindings suggest the most like-ly pathway the virus followedwas from a bat to another ani-

mal and then to humans,adding that would require fur-ther research.

“The findings suggest thatthe laboratory incidentshypothesis is extremely unlike-ly to explain the introductionof the virus to the human pop-ulation,” he said.

T h e m i s s i o n w a sintended to be an initials t e p i n t he pro c e s s ofunderstanding the originsof the virus, which scien-tists have posited may havepassed to humans througha wild animal, such as apangolin or bamboo rat.Transmission directly frombats to humans or throughthe trade in frozen foodproducts are also possibil-ities, Embarek said.

The WHO team’s visitis politically sensitive forB e i j i ng , w h i ch i s c on -cerned about being blamedfor alleged missteps in itsearly response to the out-break. An AP investiga-tion has found that theChinese government put

limits on research into theoutbreak and ordered sci-entists not to speak toreporters.

T h e t e am — w h i c hincludes experts from 10countries who arrived onJanuary 14 — also visitedt h e Hu an an S e a fo o dMarket, the site of an earlycluster of cases in late 2019.The market dealt in frozenseafood and also domesti-cated wildlife, and Embareksaid the team had identifiedthe traders, suppliers andfarms connected to the mar-ket.

L i ang Wan n i an , t hehead of the Chinese side,said the virus appeared tohave been spreading inother parts of the city thanthe market, so it remainspossible that the virus orig-inated elsewhere.

The team found no evi-dence that the disease wasspreading widely any earli-er than the initial outbreaki n t h e s e c on d h a l f o fDecember 2019.

From page 1“Issue notice returnable in

two weeks. In the meantime,there shall be stay of arrest ofthe petitioners,” the benchheaded by Chief Justice S ABobde noted in its order aftersenior advocate Kapil Sibal,appearing for the lawmakerfrom Thiruvananthapuram inKerala, expressed the loomingdanger of danger arrest.

When the bench said it wasissuing notice in the matter,Sibal vehemently pleaded thatan order with an effect that nocoercive action be taken againstthem in the meantime be alsopassed.

“Nothing is going to hap-

pen. Where is the danger,” saidthe bench, also comprisingJustices A S Bopanna and VRamasubramanian.

Sibal objected and saidSolicitor General Tuhsar Mehtais appearing for Delhi Policeand the cops of other statesmight “knock at my doorsand arrest me in the mean-time”.

“Kindly protect us in themeanwhile,” Sibal said, prompt-ing the bench to ask the lawofficer whether the police wasplanning to arrest Tharoor andothers.

Mehta, seeking to argue thecase on Wednesday, alleged:“Horrendous tweets have been

made,” the law officer said,adding, “I can show you whathorrendous effect these tweetshave with such lakhs of fol-lowers”.

The bench asked Mehta,“Are you going to arrest them?”.

The solicitor general said,“I am before your lordships.Please hear it tomorrow”.

The bench then askedMehta whether he was appear-ing for all the concerned states.

“I will appear for all,” hesaid.

Sibal, while arguing thatpetitioners should be protect-ed, said, “What prejudice willit cause if this protection isgiven?”

From page 1Modi said it would be dif-

ficult for anyone to fill theshoes of Azad as he cared notonly about his political affilia-tion but also about the countryand the House.

“I worry that after Azadwhosoever will take over fromhim will have to fill very bigboots because he cared not onlyabout his party but about thecountry as well as the House.This is not a small thing, thisa big thing,” Modi said.

He noted that Azad hadcalled him to ask for an all-party meeting during Covid-19period. “I liked that and alsodid it. This kind of connectionis there because he has the

experience of both being inpower and in Opposition.Twenty-eight-year experiencein all, it is a big thing,” thePrime Minister said.

“Power comes and goes but(only a few know) how todigest it...therefore like a friend,I respect him on the basis of thethings he has done over theseyears,” Modi said while wipinghis tears and saluting Azad.

The Prime Minister said hebelieves that Azad’s concern forhis country will not let him sitand whatever responsibilitieshe takes in the future would bebeneficial for the nation.“At apersonal level, I would requesthim to not believe that he is notin the House. My door is always

open for all of you. I will alwaysexpect and value your inputs,” hesaid. “I will not let you becomeweak,” the Prime Minister toldAzad as he closed his comments.

Earlier, Rajya SabhaChairman M Venkaiah Naidudescribed Azad as a voice ofsanity in public life over fewdecades when he made valu-able contributions while serv-ing both in Government and inOpposition.Azad retires fromRajya Sabha on February 15after being the Leader of theOpposition for over six yearssince June 8, 2014. Naidu saidAzad’s retirement is particularlypainful with the House havinglost Sushma Swaraj and ArunJaitley.

From page 1Projecting the 40 farmers

unions spearheading the agi-tation as fully united, he said,“We have said we will neitherchange ‘Panch’ (leader) nor‘Manch’ (stage).”

Kurukshetra is a land of“kranti” (revolution) and ‘nyay’(justice) and that is why the“mahapanchayat” is being heldhere to get justice for the farm-ers, Tikait said.

“We have always said thatif government has to talk thereare 40 representatives they cantalk to them, whatever theseunions decide will be accept-able to us,” he said.

Tikait said the protestingfarmers will divide their timebetween home, fields and theagitation. Every farmer’s fam-ily, he said, is required to par-ticipate in the stir by sending atleast one person at the Delhiborder protest sites while othermembers would continue towork in their fields.

He said the protesters areprepared for a long struggle toget the three laws repealedand would visit other states likeMaharashtra, West Bengal,Karnataka and Odisha to gar-ner farmers’ support for theirstruggle.

He said that a farmer doesnot transfer his agricultureland to even his son during hislifetime, how he can give it tothe corporates.

From page 1Nearly 100 ration kits have

been supplied to the affectedvillages by helicopters to ensurethey face no dearth of essen-tials, officials said.

Talking to reporters, Rawatsaid the priority is to get tothose trapped inside the tunneland save as many lives as pos-sible.Additional heavymachines could be pressedinto service to expedite theprocess of clearing tonnes ofdebris inside the tunnel block-

ing the path of rescue person-nel.

A portion of the NandaDevi glacier possibly burstthrough its banks in Chamolidistrict on Sunday. It appearedto have triggered an avalancheand a deluge that rippedthrough the Alaknanda riversystem in the upper reaches ofthe ecologically fragileHimalayas.Experts, however,are still trying to determine theexact cause of the disaster inJoshimath.

From page 1“Of the total 10,000-15,000

glaciers that are situated inIndia, intense and regular mon-itoring is done for a maximum25 glaciers across the IndianHimalayan Region. A minus-cule percentage of total glaciersare studied but there is constanteffort to increase this number,”SK Rai, a senior scientist withglaciology and hydrologydepartment with WIHGsaid.The glaciers being moni-tored in Uttarakhand by scien-tists from the Wadia Institute ofHimalayan Geology includesGangotri, Chorabari, Dunagiri,Dokriyani and Pindari, hesaid.Sain talked about the chal-lenges of conducting the studywith inaccessibility to the glacialregions being the major one.“Allmapping of glaciers has beendone through satellite data, butglaciers are all in high-altitudeand inaccessible regions, so

monitoring those areas auto-matically becomes difficult.Even if we have large manpowerit is difficult to monitor them,”said Sain.

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Page 3: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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Uttar Pradesh’s (UP)Ghaziabad district on

Tuesday received first batch of‘Covaxin’. The Chief MedicalOfficer (CMO) Dr NK Guptasaid that a total of 14,570 doseshave been received in the firstbatch.

The second consignmentof Covaxin is expected to arriveby 18 February. The Covaxinwill be given to frontline work-ers and vaccination will beheld at 35 centers on Thursdayand Friday.

“The target is to vaccinateover 8,000 frontline workers onboth these days. Apart fromthis, the district currently has28,000 doses of the covishieldvaccine. Covishield will begiven to health workers,” saidDr Gupta.

“The mop-up Round willbe held on 15 February for thehealth workers right now andin addition to that the seconddose of health workers will also

start from the same day,” hesaid.

The CMO said that Covid-19 vaccination of frontlineworkers was started onFebruary 5 across the Stateincluding the district. In thefirst round, only 10 percent offrontline workers were target-ed to be vaccinated.

Around 19,000 frontlineworkers have been identified inthe district. Accordingly, a totalof 1,803 people were targetedto be vaccinated on 5 February.Only 1,037 of them could bevaccinated.

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In a bid to study and combatthe real-time pollution

sources, the Delhi Governmentwill work with the teams ofresearchers to launch 'Real-time Source Apportionment'project in Delhi, along with set-ting up an advanced monitor-ing system of real-time pollu-tion sources.

Delhi Chief Minister,Arvind Kejriwal, has directedthe senior officials to work onthe matter and to submit a pro-posal in front of the Cabinet inthis regard. After the clearancefrom the Cabinet, the work willstart in full swing.

Kejriwal said that IITDelhi, Kanpur and The Energyand Resources Institute (TERI)have developed technology forreal-time source apportion-ment of pollution.

The development cameafter a meeting chaired by theChief Minister with experts ofthese institutes on Tuesday.He said that the Delhi will workwith them to implement thetechnology in Delhi.

Kejriwal tweeted, "IITKanpur, IIT Delhi, and TERIhave developed technology forreal-time source apportion-ment of pollution. Had a meet-

ing with their experts. We willwork with them to implementit in Delhi If we know thesource of pollution on a real-time basis, it will help us takeimmediate action."

The Delhi government willbring the proposal of setting upthese advanced techniques tostudy the real-time pollutionsources in front of the Cabinet.With the implementation of theelectric vehicle policy, the Delhigovernment is working relent-lessly to bring down the pollu-tion levels of the capital.

Kejriwal said, "The Delhigovernment is focusing on thesources of pollution in thecapital and working to curbthese sources. This techniquewill give us a clear idea aboutthe real-time sources of air pol-lution at pollution hotspots inDelhi. This will also help us totake immediate action againstthese sources."

Under this technology, theDelhi government will establisha super site and a mobile site tofind out the sources of pollutionin real-time at a given hotspot.First, the Delhi governmentwill install a super site andmobile site at the pollutionhotspots on a pilot basis to studythe work of these machines.After a month, the DelhiGovernment will study theresults and work accordingly.The Delhi government will befocusing on the hotspot areas inthe pilot project. The entire pro-ject will be carried out under theguidance of Professor MukeshSharma from IIT-Kanpur.

The Delhi government willbe the first government in thecountry to use this technologyto find out real-time sources ofpollution. The Delhi govern-ment has launched several ini-tiatives in the last one year tocurb air pollution. This alsoincludes the electric vehiclepolicy which is considered themost ambitious policy acrossIndia.

It is noteworthy that theDelhi government has also ini-tiated an electric vehicles poli-cy and is also running a 'SwitchDelhi' campaign to encouragecitizens of Delhi to switch frompolluting fuel-run cars to EVs.

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Punjabi actor-turned-activist DeepSidhu's counsel claimed he had

nothing to do with the violence and wasat the wrong place at the wrong time.He who was allegedly involved in theviolence and vandalism at the Red Fortduring the farmers’ tractor rally onJanuary 26 and was arrested by DelhiPolice's special cell late on Mondaynight.

Meanwhile on Tuesday a Delhicourt send Sidhu to seven days policecustody.

Sidhu was produced beforeMetropolitan Magistrate Prigya Gupta.Police alleged he was one of the maininstigators of the violent incidents at theRed Fort.

According to Sanjeev Kumar Yadav,the Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), Special Cell, he was arrestedfrom Karnal Bypass at 10.40 PM onMonday.

“Sidhu was wanted in connectionwith the case of instigating the crowdat the Red Fort on Republic Day. TheCrime Branch will investigate his rolein detail,” said the DCP.

Asked where he was hiding after theJanuary 26 violence, Yadav said theinvestigation is in an initial stage.

A source said that Sidhu was wait-ing for someone on road when he wasnabbed. “Meanwhile, it was alsorevealed that Sidhu was in contact witha woman friend who lives in California.He used to make videos and send it toher, and she used to upload them on his

Facebook account,” said the source.Sidhu kept changing his locations toevade arrest, he added.

The police had announced a cashreward of Rs 1 lakh for informationleading to Sidhu's arrest. After theRepublic Day 26 violence that had leftover 500 security personnel injured andone protestor dead, Sidhu was postingvideos on social media.

On January 26, thousands ofprotesting farmers who reached ITOfrom the Ghazipur border clashed withthe police. Many of them driving trac-tors reached the Red Fort and enteredthe monument, where a religious flagwas also hoisted.

In the FIR registered in connectionwith the Red Fort violence, police saidtwo magazines with 20 live cartridges

were snatched from two constables byprotestors who also damaged vehiclesand robbed anti-riot gear.

"The mob later hoisted differentflags there. They also started creatingnuisance on the rampart. The unrulymob was asked to come downstairs.They went to Meena Bazar area to enterthe into Red Fort. When the police triedto take them out of Lahore Gate, themob became violent and attacked per-sonnel. The mob thrashed the policepersonnel and threw them in the wells,"police had said in the FIR.

"They damaged a bus, a governmentgypsy and other vehicles. The mobrobbed the anti-riots gears -- cane stick,shields, body protectors, helmets etcfrom the police personnel," it had alsosaid.

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The national Capital hasreported no fresh Covid-19

death on Tuesday after a gap ofover 10 months.

However, 100 fresh caseswere registered on Tuesdaywhile the daily positivity ratestayed at 0.18 per cent.

Delhi Health Minister,Satyendar Jain, asserted that'Delhi's collective will is gradu-ally winning over the infection'.

“Today no death has beenreported due to COVID infec-tion. Delhi's collective will isgradually winning over theinfection. I congratulate thepeople of Delhi for takingproper precautions and ourhealthcare and frontline work-ers who have fought this battletooth and nail,” Jain tweeted.

These 100 new cases cameout of the 56,410 tests con-ducted the previous day. Thepositivity rate stood at 0.18 percent, according to a bulletinissued by the Delhi healthdepartment.

The infection tally in thecity rose to 6,36,260, authori-ties said. The active cases tallyon Tuesday dropped to 1,052from 1,096 the previous day,according to the bulletin.

The total number of tests

conducted the previous day,included 31,300 RT-PCR testsand 25,110 rapid antigen tests,it said.

According to the bulletinissued by the Delhi healthdepartment, out of the totalnumber of 6,050 beds inCOVID hospitals, 5554 arevacant. On Friday and Sunday,two deaths were reported in thenational capital, same as onFebruary 2, which was thelowest in the last 10 months.

The number of cases withnot even a single fatality countnow indicate a markedimprovement in the situationsince the third wave of the pan-demic had hit the city inNovember.

The highest single-dayspike 8,593 cases till date wasreported on November 11.

Besides fall in active cases,the count of home isolationcases have also registered a sus-tained fall, dropping to below441 -mark, indicating improve-ment in the COVID-19 situa-tion, as per the bulletin.

The health bulletin furtherstated that 135 beds in COVIDcare centres are occupied bypersons under quarantine,including travellers who havereturned by the Vande BharatMission and bubble flights.

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As part of its continuedendeavour to enhance

commuting experience for itspassengers, Delhi Metro, onTuesday, commissioned 10additional escalators at nineMetro stations including twonew ones at Kashmere GateMetro station, thereby, takingthe total tally of escalators atthis station alone to a record 47escalators for convenient pas-senger movement.

A DMRC official said thatother stations where one addi-tional escalator each has beencommissioned for passengerservice are: - Rithala on RedLine and Uttam Nagar (East),Nawada, Rajouri Garden,Shadipur, Yamuna Bank,Subhash Nagar and R KAshram Marg on Blue Line.These newer, easy to maintainescalators, updated with latestsoftware will provide moreease to commuters especiallyduring peak hours, he said.

Kashmere Gate is the onlymultilayered triple interchangestation of the Delhi Metro net-work which provides inter-change facility between Line-1(Red Line), Line–2 (YellowLine) and Line-6 (Violet Line).With the addition of two moreescalators, it has become India’sonly Metro station having somany escalators facilitatingconvenient passenger move-ment between various levels.

“The station also has one ofthe tallest escalators of thenetwork with a height of 14.5

m, after Janakpuri (West) onMagenta Line which has thetallest escalator with a height of15.6 m. Besides this, there aresix parallel escalators for inter-change between Violet andRed Line and vice-versa, whichis probably a rare and uniqueengineering feat at a stationarea across world metros,” itsaid in a statement.

Delhi Metro is also in theprocess of installing 22 moreescalators at major stationsacross the network includingfive at Kashmere Gate therebytaking the total number ofescalators at this station to 52.The other stations are:-

Red Line: Dilshad Garden,Mansarovar Park, Shahdara,Seelampur, Netaji Subhash Placeand Inderlok. Yellow Line:Model Town and Chhatarpur,Blue Line: Rajouri Garden,Tagore Garden, Jhandewalan,Rajender Place, Laxmi Nagarand Noida Sec-15, Green Line:Ashok Park Main

The installation and com-missioning of these 22 escala-tors for passenger services islikely to be completed withinthe next 5-6 months. Further,Delhi Metro has also plannedto install 32 more escalators atmajor stations such asAdarshnagar, Kirti Nagar,Noida Sec-16, Vaishali,Mundka etc. by March 2022.

Presently, Delhi Metro hasmore than 1100 escalatorsinstalled and commissioned atits stations across the Delhi-NCR network with 389 KMand 285 stations.

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Five people were injuredafter a 70-year-old house

collapsed in the Sadar Bazararea of north Delhi on Tuesday.The North Delhi Mayor JaiPrakash also visited the siteand took stock of the situation.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal also expressedhis concern over the incident ina tweet. “Deeply worried tohear about the collapse of a res-idential building in Sadar Bazararea. The rescue & medicalteams and district administra-tion are present at the spot.Rescue operations are under-way, I am constantly monitor-ing the situation,” the CM saidin a tweet.

According to Atul Garg,the Director of Delhi FireServices (DFS), a call about theincident was received around10.30 Am following which sixfire tenders were rushed to thespot.

“On spot, five people havebeen rescued, of whom threeare in a critical condition.The injured have been shiftedto the Bara Hindu Rao hospi-tal. The rescue operation last-

ed ti l l 2.31 pm,” said Garg.

A senior police official,however, said two injured per-sons -- Naseem (30) and hismother Zarima (60) -- wererushed to Bara Hindu RaoHospital and they had suf-fered minor injuries and werelater discharged.

North Delhi Mayor, JaiPrakash also visited the inci-dent site and said that thebuilding was 70 years. He saidthat no causality is reportedand 4 persons rescued from thespot.

The Mayor also directedthe officials to speed up malbaremoval action and furtherasked the officials to surveyold buildings which needrepair or are dangerous forhabitation.

“Those need repair beasked to repair urgently anddangerous but beyond repair begot vacated and be demol-ished, so that there is no casu-alty. The dangerous building begot cordoned off to isolate theproperty,” said the Mayor.

He said that the officialshave also been directed to bemore vigilant in this regard.

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With an aim to ensurecleanliness in its area

ahead of SwacchhtaSurvekshan-2021, ‘South DelhiMunicipal Corporation’(SDMC's) Najafgarh Zone onTuesday opened 10 more''Garbage Cafe'' where mealswill be provided in exchange ofplastic waste.

Radha Krishan, DeputyCommissioner of the NajafgarhZone said that under this ini-tiative, a person who brings onekg of plastic waste will get a freemeal at a restaurant.

“The new garbage cafes areopened at Diamond Sweets(Dwarka Sector 23), City CentreMall Food Court (DwarkaSector 12), Pacific Mall FoodCourt (Sector 21 Dwarka),

Bikaner Misthan (DwarkaSector 10), Bikaner Sweets (Mahaveer Enclave), MittalSweets (Najafgarh), BikanerSweets Corner ( Palam Colony),Prabhu Sweets & Bakery(Mahipalpur Chowk), BikanerSweets & Dairy (Dwarka Sector22) and Bikaner Sweets (PankhaRoad),” he said.

The deputy commissionersaid that the south corporation

also carried a plastic wasteremoval and special sanitationdrive on Tuesday in NajafgarhZone to ensure cleanliness.“The sanitation drive was car-ried out at markets, publicplaces, schools, parks andvacant areas etc. Under plasticwaste removal drive, focus isgiven to lift the plastic wastefrom green belts of main roads,central verge of main roads and

other vacant plot etc,” he said.Radha Krishan said that

the drive, different stretches ofaround 70 KM were coveredand nearly 250 kilograms ofplastic waste were lifted fromthe green belts falls under thejurisdiction of Najafgarh Zone.

The SDMC’s NajafgarhZone under the leadership of itsdeputy commissioner hadlaunched this innovative con-

cept last month to providemeals in exchange of plasticwaste by a restaurant inVardhman Mall, Dwarka.

According to provisions,the restaurant will offer freebreakfast, lunch or dinner forbringing one kg of plasticwaste. The plastic waste willinclude empty water bottles,cold drink bottles, plastic canesand other such items.

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With upcoming infrastruc-ture projects in Delhi, the

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) onTuesday termed Delhi as aninternational city. Delhi BJPpresident, Adesh Gupta, saidsanctioning of third ring roadproject along with MeerutRRTS and modernisation ofAnand Vihar Railway Stationreflect Centre, the UnionGovernment will transformthe India’s Capital in to worldclass city.

The BJP leader thankedPrime Minister Narendra Modifor sanctioning of �7,715 croreunder urban extension road II(UER) i.e. third ring road inwhich Central Governmentagencies – Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) and NationalHighway Authority of India(NHAI) being involved, theproject will solve traffic prob-lems of Southwest Delhi.

Gupta also welcomed theprojects of modernization &upgradation of Anand ViharRailway Station and start ofwork on 82 km Delhi to MeerutRegional Rapid Transit System.“All three major projects worthover � 15000 crores are a majorboost for Delhi's infrastructureand reflects the CentreGovernment's commitment todevelop Delhi as a internation-al city. These projects in Delhi-

NCR are an answer to ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal’s gov-ernment which often questionsCentre's contribution for Delhibut itself failed to start any newmajor infrastructure project inthe city,” the BJP leader takingjibe on ruling Aam AadmiParty (AAP) .

“The Delhi BJP delegationwill soon meet UrbanDevelopment MinisterHardeep Singh Puri and thankCentral government for itsmammoth contributiontowards growth of Delhi,”Gupta announced in state BJPoffice at Pandit Pant Marg.

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The police have lodged anFIR against Block

Development and PanchayatOfficer (BDPO), Pataudi block,Gurugram, Arun Kumar,Chairman Block CommitteePataudi, Rakesh Yadav, SureshKumar, Mahender and othersfor allegedly siphoning off � 18,000 from Governmentfunds.

According to the police, thecommittee chairman in con-nivance with the officialsembezzled Government grantsallocated for the road develop-ment works in Pataudi block ofGurugram district.

Before recommending theFIR, the deputy commissionerof police (Manesar) had con-ducted an inquiry into thecorruption allegations.

According to the FIR, RoadRollers were to be used to fixthe roads in the villages ofPataudi block but the blockcommittee officials and gov-ernment officials convinced toget the road rollers replacedwith motorcycles in lieu of thisproject, Rs 18,000 was alsowithdrawn from governmentfunds.

RTI activist Naresh Kumarcame to know about thisembezzlement and had askedfor information under RTIfrom the block committee

office of Pataudi in whichthree bills of copies werereceived from BlockCommittee Pataudi, in whichthe date of two bills was28.5.2018 the date of a bill6.3.2018 had been shown andafter checking the Road Rollernumber HR 76C- 4748 inthese bills, this number wasregistered as HondaMotorcycle, and the ownerwas Brahm Prakash.

Kumar complained to thestation house officer (SHO) ofPataudi, on 8 November 2020for action against the guiltybut to no avail. Ultimately, hemade a complaint on CMWindow from there the com-plaint was sent to the SHO by

ACP Pataudi for the investi-gation in which the SHOPataudi found that Motorcycleinstead of Rode Rollow citingit as a human error but laterthe DCP Manesar directed toACP to register his complaintand investigate the matter.

The FIR has been regis-tered under IPC sections 420,409 and 120B at Pataudi policestation.

"We have started a probe inthe matter and further actionwill be taken out in accordancewith the conclusion of theinvestigation report. No arrestshad been made so far," saidKaran Singh, SHO of Pataudipolice station.

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Delhi Police has arrested a25-year-old man in Delhi

for allegedly trying to extortmoney from his formeremployer using death threats ineast Delhi's Preet Vihar area.

The accused has been iden-tified as Ajay, a resident ofTahirpur Sarai in GTB Enclave.

According to DeepakTadav, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), East district, on January4, Jitender, who owns a popu-lar jewellery showroom,informed police that he hadreceived a letter demanding Rs50 lakh and threatening to killhim if he failed to pay up.

"He also told police that theletter was delivered to a guardof the showroom by an auto-rickshaw driver, who hadbrought it on behalf of anoth-er person," said the DCP.

"During investigation,employees of the complainantwere examined, and policezeroed in on Ajay, a formeremployee who had quit lastyear. It was found that he wasunder huge debt. On Tuesday,he was apprehended from nearSDN hospital," said the DCP.

"During interrogation, theaccused disclosed that whileworking at the showroom, heand the store manager fell inlove with each other, and whenthe owner came to know aboutthis, he fired the store manag-er. Ajay got angry at this andquit.

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Page 4: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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After meeting stakeholdersof private mandis and State

Agriculture Marketing Boards,the Supreme Court-appointedthree-member panel onTuesday held its deliberationswith 18 industry bodies includ-ing Amul, ITC, Rice MillerAssociations, TractorManufacture Association andexporter bodies, engaged inagriculture and its allied sectorsand sought their comments onthe three farm legislations.This is the sixth meeting thepanel has held so far.

The meeting was held bothvirtually and in person onTuesday. The committee mem-bers will hold talks with stategovernments’ representativeson February 11. The commit-tee will also take view pointsfrom professionals and acade-micians on the issue.

Sources said that industri-al bodies including AgroProcessing Industries, FoodProcessing industries and theagencies, dairy sector, ricemiller association engaged inthe agriculture sector hailed thethree farm laws during theirdiscussions and also suggestedsome points. The committee

members have requested theparticipants to give their viewson the three farm laws.

“In total 18 different stake-holder organisations’ such asAmul, ITC, FCI, Sugna Foods,Horticulture ProduceExporters’ Association,Venkateshwara Hatcheries,Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII), Federation ofIndian Chambers ofCommerce & Industry ( FICCI), Agricultural and ProcessedFood Products ExportDevelopment Authority(APEDA), Seafood ExportersAssociation, India Rice MillerAssociation, All India RiceExporters Association, TractorManufacture Association,Cotton Association of India,Fertiliser Association of India,India Pulses and GrainAssociation of India and AllIndia Poultry Feed Associationof India participated throughVideo Conferencing in thedetailed deliberations with thecommittee members over thefarm laws,” the ministry ofagriculture said.

“Representatives of theMarine Products ExportDevelopment Authority(MPEDA) participated in themeeting in person. All thestakeholder participants gave

their detailed views and valuablesuggestions on the three farmlaws,” the committee said in astatement.

During the previous meet-ing held on Friday, the com-mittee held consultations withthe heads of state marketingboards, private mandi operators

and food parks from 10 statesincluding those of Kerala. Thecommittee has also sought com-ments from all stakeholdersthrough online in its website.

The three-member com-mittee appointed by theSupreme Court has been hold-ing consultations with stake-

holders both, online and in-per-son and this was the fifth meet-ing of the panel so far. TheSupreme Court had set up thefour-member panel on January11, but one of them, BhupinderSingh Mann, recused himselflater after questions were raisedby the agitating farmer unions

about the views expressed by allmembers in the past in support

of the contentious laws, againstwhich thousands are protesting

on Delhi borders for almost twomonths now.

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Samajwadi Party leaderAkhileshYadav Yadav on

Tuesday attacked theGovernment saying theMinimum Support Price(MSP) was not available evenin the districts in Uttar Pradeshfrom where President, PrimeMinister and Defence Ministercome from and that it was“unrolling red carpet for thecorporates”.

Participating in the dis-cussion on the vote of thankson President’s address, the for-mer Chief Minister wonderedas why Government do nottake back laws if those forwhom there are meant foropposing them.

He said though theGovernment is insisting thatMSP would always be there,the farmers in the districts ofPresident, Prime Minister andDefence Minister have notreceived MSP price for theirproduce .

Yadav said hisGovernment constructed sev-eral ‘Mandis’ for farmers and

even gave 500 acre to GuruRam Dev for establishing a‘Mandi’. By now, he said kisan‘mandis’ are not being estab-lished in the state.

He alleged thatGovernment has unrolled “redcarpet” for corporates whileneglecting farmers.

Taking a swipe at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi fordescribing agitators as“andolanjivi”, the former UPChief Minister asked the rul-ing party members”Are you notChandajivi ?”.

His apparent reference tocollection for Ram temple wasobjected to by BJP MP andMinister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyotiwho said “people not only inIndia but world over are donat-ing with devotion..”.

Earlier, addressing thehouse, former J & K ChiefMinister Farooq Abdullah alsoasked government to talk tofarmers and carry everyonetogether so that countryremains united.

The National Conferencepresident alleged that thoughlocal district elections inKashmir were successful nowan attempt is being made tobuy elected representatives indistrict bodies with moneybags”.

In an emotional speech,Abdullah who was in the pre-ventive detention followingthe abrogation of article 370,said “we have to take all togeth-er... I am a HindustaniMuslim,..Allah and Bhagwan issame, Ram is for everyone,Quran is for all, Bible is forall..take everyone together”, hesaid.

BJP woman MP fromnHaryana, who spoke after him, however, said that Abdullahhad said altogether differentthings when government hadannounced annulment of arti-cle 370 on August 6, 2019.

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The Ministry of Agriculturehas said that the Indian

Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) has devel-oped a total 838 high yieldingand trait specific field crop vari-eties, of which 578 are climateresilient, 41 short duration and47 bio-fortified varieties in thelast three year. Besides, Indiahas developed only 63Integrated Farming System(IFS) in 18 States so far andthese models are suitable to 26States and Union Territoriesand have the potential toincrease the income of farmersby 2 to 3 times or more vis a visexisting systems/practices in aperiod of 3 to 4 years. TheIndian Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) 345 varietiesof different crops were devel-oped in 2020.

In a reply to the Lok Sabha,Union Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar saidthat ICAR has developed a total838 high yielding and traitspecific field crop varieties, ofwhich 578 are climate resilient,41 short duration and 47 bio-fortified varieties in the lastthree year. “A total 77 machinesand processing equipment weredeveloped to promote mecha-

nisation of small farms &amp;reduce postharvest losses. Total101 technologies for processingand on farm value additionwere also developed. In fish-eries, ICAR developed breed-ing and seed production tech-nologies of 9 food fishes and 12ornamental fishes, demon-strated cage culture in reser-voirs and open sea, developedseveral cost-effective feeds forfish and shell fish,” he said.

Interestingly, the publicspending on agricultureresearch and educationin Indiais only 0.62 percent of its totalgross domestic products. TheCentre has proposed Rs8513.62 crore for agricultureresearch and education in thebudget 2021-22 as compared toRs 7762.38 crore revised bud-get allocation for the year 2020-21. Of the total budget, Rs968.00 allocated for crop sci-ences.

Replying to a questionasked by Rajya Sabha MPSushil Kumar Gupta Tomarsaid ICAR has developed 63integrated farming systemswith the participation of farm-ers in 18 States.

“Most of the IFS modelshave the demonstrated poten-tial of increasing the farmers’income by 2-3 times or moreand have been included in

State Plans by Government ofBihar, Karnataka, Kerala,Jammu & Kashmir and TamilNadu for up-scaling. As manyas 31 bankable projects suitablefor 22 states have also been pre-pared by ICAR for supportingthrough medium and short-term credit for scaling upthrough schemes of States andCentral Government,” Tomarsaid.

According to the agricul-ture ministry, 31 bankableprojects suitable for 22 stateshave also been prepared byIndian Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) for support-ing through medium andshort-term credit for scaling upthrough schemes of States andCentral Government. Tomarfurther stated that at least 18IFS models, 14 bankable pro-jects on IFS and organic farm-ing packages for 22 croppingsystems were developed duringlast three years.

Total foodgrain produc-tion in the country is estimat-ed to be a record 291.95 mil-lion tonnes, according to thesecond advance estimates for2019-20.

In reply to another ques-tion, the minister said thatICAR has also developed 51organic cropping systems suit-able for adoption in 12 States.

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As many as 197 people aremissing while 20 people

have died due to floods inUttarakhand, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah told RajyaSabha on Tuesday.

In a separate tunnel in theNTPC project, it is estimatedthat around 25 to 35 people arestuck inside, he said, adding“rescue operation to evacuatethese persons is going on a warfooting and all-out efforts aresimultaneously being made forsearching missing persons”.

Making a statement in theHouse “regarding an avalanchein Chamoli District ofUttarakhand”, the Union minister said these inputs werebased on the informationreceived till Monday 5 pmfrom the state government.

Noting that an avalanchehad occurred in the uppercatchment of Rishiganga river,a tributary of Alaknanda rivenin Chamoli District ofUttarakhand, which led to sud-den rise in the water level of

Rishiganga river, he said as perinformation, a total of 197persons are reported missingwhich includes 139 are fromthe under-construction NTPC project, 46 people working on Rishi Ganga pro-ject and 12 villagers.

He said in the financialyear 2020-21, �1041 crore hasbeen allocated to the State ofUttarakhand under the State

Disaster Risk ManagementFund (SDRMF)and the firstinstallment of the central shareamounting to �468.50 crore hasbeen released to the StateGovernment.

The State Government hasreported that there is no dan-ger of downstream floodingand the rise in water level hasbeen contained, he said, addingthe Centre and the StateGovernment have been keep-ing a strict vigil on the situa-tion.

“It is observed from thesatellite data (Planet Lab) of 7thFebruary, 2021 in catchment ofRishi Ganga river at the ter-minus of the glacier at an alti-tude of 5,600m a landslide triggered a snowavalanche covering approxi-mately 14 sq.Km area andcausing a flash flood in thedownstream of Rishi Gangariver,” he added.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah on Tuesday denied in

the Lok Sabha allegation thatduring his visit to West Bengalhe had sat on the chair ofRabindranath Tagore saying“the window seat” he occupiedwas also used by likes ofJawaharlal Nehru, PranabMukherjee and Rajiv Gandhi.

“I asked Vishwabharti Vice-Chancellor to clarify and he saidno such incident took place”,said Shah in the house reject-ing Congress MP Adhir RahanChowdhury’s allegations.

Shah said he sat on a win-dow seat “where everybody isallowed to sit”.

Shah said Nehru, PranabMukherjee and Rajiv Gandhitoo occupied the same seat.

The home minister askedmembers to do some researchbefore sourcing their state-ments from the social media.

Shah also denied com-ments attributed to the BJPpresident JP Nadda during lat-ter’s visit to West Bengal.

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The Union Health Ministryhas asked States and Union

Territories to conclude the firstdose administration to allfrontline workers by March 6even as 62.6 lakh beneficiarieshave been vaccinated againstthe pathogen since January 16when the mega vaccinationdrive was launched.

The states and UTs havealso been directed to concludemop-up rounds latest by March6. Earlier, the Health Ministryhad asked all states and UTs tocomplete the administration ofthe first dose of Covid vaccinesto their healthcare workers byFebruary 20 and concludemop-up round by February 24.

Union Health SecretaryRajesh Bhushan said during apress briefing that the aimshould be that no willing ben-eficiary is left behind and forthat, states and UTs are free toconduct as many mop-uprounds they want.

“They can do multiplerounds depending on theirstrength. The aim of the mop-up rounds is to ensure thatthose healthcare and frontlineworkers, who could not comeduring their scheduled vacci-nation sessions, will then beavailed an opportunity afford-ed by the mop-up rounds to gettheir dose of vaccination,” hesaid.

However, Bhushan alsosaid that those healthcare andfrontline workers, who fail toappear even during the mop-up rounds, will be relegated toage specific appropriate vacci-nation rounds.

“Those who would notcome forward even during themop-ups, will receive vaccinedoses when the age specificvaccination rounds will roll outfor the general public. There,they will be provided vaccineson the age group they fall,” headded.

He said that India was thefastest country to reach 6 mil-lion vaccination doses ofCovid-19 in 24 days.

Bhushan said within thecountry also some states haveperformed well, while othersneed to improve their vacci-nation coverage. “There are 12states and UTs that have vac-cinated more than 65 per centof the registered healthcareworkers. These states are Bihar(78.1 per cent), Tripura (77.1per cent), Madhya Pradesh(76 per cent), Uttarakhand(73.7 per cent), Odisha (72.4per cent), Mizoram (69.9 percent), Himachal Pradesh (68.7per cent), Uttar Pradesh (68

per cent), Andaman andNicobar Islands (67.9 per cent),Rajasthan (67.2 per cent),Kerala (66.9 per cent) andLakshadweep (66.7 per cent),”he said.

On the other hand,Bhushan said, there are 11states and UTs that have vac-cinated less than 40 per cent ofhealthcare workers. These arePuducherry (15.4 per cent),Manipur (21.3 per cent),Nagaland (21.5 per cent),Meghalaya (24.3 per cent),Chandigarh (28.7 per cent),Punjab (34.1 per cent), Dadraand Nagar Haveli (34. 5 percent), Ladakh (35.8 per cent),Jammu and Kashmir (37.5 percent) and Delhi (38 per cent).

Bhushan said a meeting ofthe National AEFI Committeewas held on February 5 wherediscussions were held on 8AEFI cases following COVID-19 vaccinations.

“Out of these 8 cases,causality assessment of 5 cases(2 deaths and 3 hospitalized)was conducted. Among hos-pitalised cases, all three weredischarged. Two have beendiagnosed as anaphylaxis; clas-sified

as vaccine-product relatedreactions (known and expect-ed reactions following vacci-nations) and one case diag-nosed as syncope: classified asimmunisation triggered stressresponse (anxiety reaction),” hesaid.

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In a first for the country, theIndian Army is using its

dogs for quick detection ofCOVID-19 to cut down timedelays associated with regulardiagnostic techniques.

The canine members of thearmed force are known fortheir pronounced olfactorycapability and have earlierhelped in explosive and nar-cotics detection, search and res-cue operations, and other chal-lenging tasks. Now, they haveanother job.

Two dogs – two-year-oldcocker spaniel Casper and one-year-old Jaya, a ‘chippiparai’,which is an indigenous breedfrom Tamil Nadu – have beentrained to detect COVID-19 bysniffing samples of sweat andurine, senior Army officialssaid.

A demonstration of theirskills using real samples washeld on Tuesday

on the premises of the 48Military Veterinary Hospital atDelhi Cantonment. Their han-dlers were wearing full PPEkits.

Lt Col Surinder Saini,instructor at the Dog TrainingFacility of the RemountVeterinary Corps (RVC)Centre in Meerut, said thesedogs are “pioneering canines”of not just the Army, but ofentire India.

“Countries like the UK,

Finland, France, Russia,Germany, Lebanon, the UAEand the US have alreadytrained dogs for detection ofCOVID-19.

Dogs have been previous-ly used abroad to detect malar-ia, diabetes and Parkinson’sdisease, but this is the first timecanines have been used formedical detection in India,” hetold reporters.

To a question on where thedogs are being deployed, Sainisaid that after their training inSeptember, the dogs weredeployed at the Army’s transitcamp in Delhi in November.From December, they are beingdeployed at the transit camp inChandigarh from where troopsmove to large areas, includingthe Ladakh region, under theNorth Command.

Army dogs were success-fully trained on specific bio-markers emanating from urineand sweat samples of positivepatients.

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The Enforcement Directoratehas issued a Provisional

Attachment Order attachingassets worth �34.36 crore ofViva Holding (a company ofViva Group) in Bank FraudPMLA case of RakeshWadhawan and SarangWadhawan, promoters of HDILand others.

The attached assets are in theform of two commercial assetsadmeasuring 15,000 sq. mtrsarea in Kaledonia building,Andheri East located at Mumbaivalued at Rs 34.36 crore.

The ED had initiated probeagainst Rakesh Wadhawan andSarang Wadhawan and others onthe basis of an FIR registered byCBI (ACB), Mumbai underIndian Penal Code Sectionsrelating to criminal conspiracy,cheating and criminal breach oftrust and under relevant provi-sions of the Prevention ofCorruption Act for siphoning offthe loan to tune of Rs 200 croresanctioned by Yes Bank to MackStar Marketing Pvt. Ltd., byshowing it for fictitious purpose.

ED has already initiatedinvestigation under PMLAagainst Housing DevelopmentInfrastructures Ltd. (HDIL),Rakesh Wadhawan, SarangWadhawan, and Joy Thomas,CMD of PMC bank Ltd and oth-ers on the basis of FIR registeredby Economic Offences wing ofMumbai Police.

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Page 5: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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An action packed drama isunfolding in Tamil Nadu’s

political landscape as the mainprotagonists launched accusa-tion and counter-accusationby Tuesday. Leaders of theAIADMK, AMMK and theDMK were heard terming eachother as the B-team of eitherthe BJP (which has no base inthe State) or the DMK, themain Opposition party.

This provided the ambi-ence as VK Sasikala, the for-mer aide to late J Jayalalithaa,strode into Chennai in thewee hours of Tuesday after a 23hour car ride from Bangalore.

Sasikala was released fromParappana Agrahara CentralJail on January 27 where sheserved a four-year jail term inconnection with the dispro-portionate asset case. She set onher return journey to Chennaiat 9.30 am on Monday and wasaccorded a warm welcome by

thousands who had gatheredalong the road from Bangaloreto Chennai.

Sasikala, who was electedgeneral secretary of theAIADMK on December 29,2016, went to RamavaramGardens in a Chennai suburb,the residence of party founderlate M G Ramachandran andpaid obeisance in front of hispicture and a life-size statue. “Ihave been enslaved by theTamil people and hence Iwould continue to be in activepolitics to fight for them,”Sasikala said while reading outfrom a prepared statement.

By the time Sasikala leftBangalore for Chennai, ChiefMinister EdappadiPalaniswamy had ordered theclosure of JayalalithaaMemorial at Marina Beach.Though the Government ver-sion was that the Memorial hasbeen closed for maintenanceworks, it was to preventSasikala from offering homagesto her Amma (Jayalalithaa).

Though the Tamil NaduPolice ordered Sasikala toremove the AIADMK flag fromthe car in which she was trav-elling, she ignored the diktatand continued to travel in a carowned by a AIADMK func-tionary , who was later sus-pended by the party.

Wherever she addressedparty cadre, in a style resem-bling Jayalalithaa, Sasikalaexhorted the cadre to defeat thecommon adversary DMK. ButD Jayakumar, fisheries minis-ter, who is also the spokesmanof Palaniswamy and theAIADMK termed her andTTV Dhinakaran as the B-team of the DMK. This ledKanimozhi, step-sister of DMKchief M K Stalin to retaliate bycalling the AIADMK as the B-team of BJP.

Political commentators dif-fer in their opinion about thefuture of the AIADMK with theentry of Sasikala. “There aremany MLAs and ministerswho owe their position to

Sasikala who only handpickedthem at the time of 2016assembly election. They willcross over to the Sasikala campin days to come,” said SamRajappa, veteran scribe andcommentator.

Meanwhile the StateGovernment has started takingpossession of properties ownedby Sasikala, her close relationsIlavarasi, Suchakaran andDhinakaran in various parts ofthe State as part of the 2017Supreme Court order uphold-ing the Special Court verdictsentencing Jayalalithaa, Sasikalaand others in theDisproportionate Asset Case.

On Tuesday, the districtcollector of Thanjavur tookpossession of immovable prop-erties owned by TTVDhinakaran in the districtwhile the collectors ofKancheepuram andChengalpettu seized the prop-erties owned by him, Sasikala,and their relatives in these dis-tricts.

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The war of words intensifiedbetween the BJP and Trinamool

Congress with Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee attack-ing the saffron outfit for destroyingIndia with its divisive politics whileBJP president JP Nadda slammingthe Chief Minister and his nephewAbhishek Banerjee for degradingBengal’s rich culture by mountingpersonal attacks on adversaries.

Flagging off the second leg ofParivartan Yatra from pilgrim townof Tarapeeth in Birbhum andLalgarh in Jangalmahal Nadda onTuesday alleged how the MamataBanerjee Government had notonly institutionalised corruption,criminalized politics and politicizedthe police but also it has defiled theState’s once rich culture by hurlingslangs at the opposition leaders.

“When I started the tour ofBengal she prefixed invectivesagainst my name,” Nadda said in an

apparent reference to how Banerjeehad alluded to him as “Nadda,Chadda, Gadda, Fadda …” fromone of her rallies.

And then he reminded how theChief Minister’s nephew publiclyattacked the dignity of BJP leaderSuvendu Adhikari’s father SisirAdhikari a veteran politician, a for-mer Union Minister and a sittingMP.

“While Pisi (aunt) abused me,the Bhaipo (nephew) did the sameto a Suvendu Adhikari’s fatherwho is a senior politician,” he saidasking “is it the way you preservethe rich culture of Bengal?” He said“The Chief Minister is accusing theBJP of soiling Bengal’s culture …now it is for the people to decidewho is soiling the culture ofBengal,” adding the “this is the rea-son why the real Poribartan(change) is required in Bengal andwhy the people have decided tobring in the real Poribartan bybringing the BJP to power.”

The TMC is trying to dividethe people by invoking “insider-outsider” politics which is not theculture of Bengal. “This State isknown for the culture of SwamiVivekananda, Vidya Sagar, BankimChandra Chattopadhyay,Rabindranath Tagore and not theculture that is being preached by thePisi and Bhaipo and their partymen,” he said adding only the BJPcan restore to its original glory.

The TMC's slogan of “'Maa-Mati, Manush'” (motherland andpeople) has been reduced to “dic-tatorship, tolabaji (extortion) andappeasement,” he said, alleginghow “police have been politicized,politics has been criminalized, cor-ruption has been institutionalizedby the TMC Government.”

Banerjee on the other handslammed the BJP for unleashing adivisive and destructive politics inIndia. “After unleashing divisivepolitics in other States they havecome to Bengal to divide the peo-

ple and destroy the State … the BJPwill destroy everything,” Banerjeewho held a number of rallies atMalda, Murshidabad and Kalnasaid adding “the people of UttarPradesh who had brought thisparty to power are now regrettingtheir decision

Attacking the saffron outfitfor its alleged anti-farmer policiesshe said that “the farmers will be leftwith nothing if the BJP comes topower … they will loot the farm-ers and take their lands… Farmerswill sow and reap their crops andthey will take away everythingfrom them.”

Slamming her former trustedcolleagues Suvendu Adhikar, RajibBanerjee and others who hadrecently left the TMC to join theBJP, Banerjee said “it is good thatthe black sheep have left the party… I will request others who wantto quit to do so now,” adding howthe turncoats had betrayed herwhen she needed their service the

most. “A mother rears her childrenwith utmost care … but what willyou call them if they leave thatmother after when they grow up …particularly when she is in trouble,”Banerjee said in an apparent emo-tional note.

Meanwhile, a senior IPS offi-cer Humayun Kabir who quit hisservice the last month on Tuesdayjoined the TMC in presence of theChief Minister saying he had beeninspired by her developmentalworks. Kabir was theCommissioner of Police atChandannagar when he orderedthe arrest of some BJP workers whoraised the provocative “GoliMaaro...” slogans from the rally ofSuvendu Adhikari.

“Mamata Banerjee has broughtdevelopment to Bengal. I haveworked under her and I have seenher stand by people. I have beeninspired by her. A party from out-side is trying to win here by spread-ing division.

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T h i r u v a n a n at h apu r am :Kerala's Opposition Congressand BJP on Tuesday took on theCPI-M over a “suspected” dilu-tion in the ruling party's standon the entry of women agedbetween 10 and 50 to theSabarimala temple.

Even as the issue is beforea seven member bench of theSupreme Court, the Congresslast week said that if it wins thecoming Assembly polls, it willbring legislation on women'sentry to the hilltop temple.

In a reaction, CPI-MCentral Committee memberM.V. Govindan, indirectly refer-ring to the issue, said that “it wasimpractical to implementdialectical materialism in a soci-ety which was not even ready toaccept materialism”.

This statement fromGovindan was seen as a bid towin back the Hindu votes andthen came the statement fromCPI-M Politburo member M.A.Baby saying that a fresh affidaviton this would be given in theapex court. However, soon hebacktracked and said what hemeant was that once the verdictcomes, there will be a detailedtalk with all sections to decidethe way ahead.

Soon after the apex courthad allowed entry of all womeninto the temple a couple of yearsago, Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan had moved the imple-ment the verdict, and evenwent to the extent of heraldinga “renaissance movement”.

But the issue had sparkedoff strong protests and led toconfrontations between hard-core believers and the police. Atone point, two women in thehitherto banned age group wereable to get darshan, with astrong police force accompany-ing them.

The CPI-M's stand came tohaunt it as the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls, Vijayan and the CPI-M,who were expecting to win 19out of the state's 20 seats, had to

remain content with one. Thegeneral belief was it was a hugebacklash by the Hindu voters,which decided to teach Vijayanand the CPI-M a fitting lessonfor trying to dilute the traditionof Sabarimala.

Following the CPI-Mleader's statements, BJP's statePresident K. Surendran saidthat it is not for people like Baby“who are sidelined in the party”to come out with such state-ments and instead Vijayanshould come clean on what theirstand is.”The need of the houris Vijayan should apologise tothe believers for their wrongstand that they took and thendecide on a fresh affidavit.Baby's statement means noth-ing, as he is only an 'outsider' inthe party,” he said.

Leader of Opposition andCongress veteran RameshChennithala expressed surprisein the dilly-dallying of the CPI-M on the issue, asking if Vijayanhas laid down his position as theleader of the renaissance move-ment. State Congress presidentMullapally Ramachandran saidall these are nothing but a tac-tical move by the CPI-M andthey should first discuss with allconcerned before, they makeany move.

Hitting back, state Cultureand Devasom Minister andsenior CPI-M leader A.K. Balansaid the Congress and others aretrying to rake up passion forsecuring votes in the upcomingAssembly polls.

Joining issue was the pow-erful Nair Service Society, thesocio-cultural body of theHindu Nair community, whoseGeneral Secretary SukumaranNair, in a statement on Tuesday,blamed all the three politicalfronts for trying to score polit-ical points with the electionsround the corner and pointedthat each of these political out-fits had time to work towards forupholding the interests of thebelievers. IANS

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Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh): Ina shocking incident, a manstrangled his tailor to deathbecause the shirt he hadstitched was ill-fitting.

The victim's son, AbdulNaeem Khan, claimed that hisfather, Abdul Majid Khan, 65,was allegedly strangled by oneSaleem on Sunday night.

Saleem was reportedlyenraged over the poor fitting ofthe shirt that Abdul MajidKhan had stitched for him.

According to reports,Saleem was overcome withrage after the two entered intoa heated argument over theissue.

Rae Bareli SP, ShlokKumar, said that the post-mortem examination of AbdulMajid Khan could not revealthe exact cause of death.IANS

Kolkata: A bus carrying BJP activistswas attacked by unidentified miscreantsin West Bengal's West Midnapore dis-trict on Tuesday. The BJP supporterswere going to join the rally of BJPPresident J.P. Nadda at Lalgarh, a placeonce known as a dreaded Maoisthotbed. The incident took place nearJhitka forest area when heavy stoneswere pelted at the vehicle, breaking itswindshield. BJP workers alleged that themiscreants also opened fire at the busfrom the forest area. No one wasinjured in the incident.

However, local Trinamool Congressleaders denied their involvement in theLalgarh attack.

Nadda also held a grand road show

(Rath Yatra) in Birbhum district'sTarapith where he attacked West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjee'snephew Abhishek Banerjee for hisobjectionable comments on BJP leaderSuvendu Adhikari and his parliamen-tarian father and former Union minis-ter Sisir Adhikari. IANS

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ArrayAmaravati: The first phaseof the panchayat elections inAndhra Pradesh kicked off on apeaceful note on Tuesday asvoting began at 6.30 am in 18revenue divisions, official said.

The revenue divisions inwhich polls will be held in thefirst of the four phases areSrikakulam, Tekkali, Palakonda,Anakapalli, Kakinada,Peddapuram, Narasapuram,Vijayawada, Tenali, Ongole,Kavali, Nandyal, Kurnool, Kadiri,Jammalamadugu, Kadapa,Rajampeta, and Chittoor.

Except Vizianagaram, elec-tions have been scheduled in allthe districts in the first phase.

As many as 3,249 villageswill go to polls, comprising32,504 wards.

Of the 12 mandals in Kadirirevenue division, there are 169village panchayats, in which sixpanchayats have opted for unan-imous elections. For the remain-ing 163 villages, 462 candidatesare in the fray.

Likewise, 715 of the 1,714wards have gone in for unani-mous elections, even as theremaining 984 wards will see acontest between 2,030 candi-dates. IANS

+�������� ��������+�����#������������� ����� Jaipur: A day after the Supreme

Court issued a ruling for par-ents to pay cent per cent schoolfees during the pandemic peri-od, many parents in Rajasthanrecalled how they had to droptheir children from privateschools and get them admittedto Government schools due toreduced source of income, andwondered how did the apexcourt fail to take into accountthe job losses and salary cutsbefore pronouncing its judge-ment in favour of the schools.

One parent said that shehad to withdraw the admissionof her son who was studying ina private school as they wereexhausted with their funds andwere in huge debt.

“I was working as a con-tract employee in an educa-tional institute while my hus-band had a furniture businessin partnership. But the lock-down brought a real harshtime for us, as I lost my job andmy husband who had juststarted the business afterputting all his savings into ithad nothing to earn. So wedecided to shift our son to agovernment school after whichhe went into depression. We arenow seeking medical assis-tance to cure him, all with bor-rowed money,” she said. IANS

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��3 /��� � ## �(�� � ������ ��'���� � ����� ��� ��JAUNPUR: Six people were killed and 11 oth-ers injured in a two-vehicle crash on theVaranasi-Jaunpur highway in Jalalpur area ofUttar Pradesh's Jaunpur district on Tuesday,police said. All the 17 people were travelling ina jeep after attending a cremation in Varanasi,they said.

The injured have been admitted to a localhospital, where condition of three is stated to beserious, police said.

Those killed were identified as AmarBahadur Yadav (58), Ram Singar Yadav (38),Munnilal (38), Indrajit Yadav (48), Kamala

Prasad Yadav (60) and Ramkumar (65), they said.Additional Superintendent of Police (City)

Sanjay Kumar said 112-year-old Dhanadei Devi,a resident of Jalalpur village in Sarai Khwaja area,had died and her son-in-law Lakshmi ShankarYadav went to Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasialong with 17 people from his village to cremateher.

Local police reached the spot after gettinginformation about the accident and were joinedin by rescue personnel.

The truck driver escaped from the scene afterthe incident, the ASP said. Agencies

Page 6: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

alies in defence spending prob-ably because it is anti-nationalto question it, especially whenthe BJP Government — veryvocal on defence and nationalsecurity — makes hollow fundallocations. On Budget day,the armed forces would attractthunderous applause from thelawmakers for their sacrificeswhen the Finance Minister,after announcing the defenceallocation, would predictablyadd: “More funds would beprovided, if needed.” Since2019, there is deafening silenceon defence on Budget day.Surprisingly, the oversight wasquestioned this year by many.The aggregate defence budget,revenue and capital heads; allthree reflected a decline in theallocation as compared to theprevious year’s revised esti-mates (RE). The allocation fordefence modernisation, whichis at the heart of deterrence andcapacity building and whichwas acclaimed by DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh as thehighest increase of 19 per centin 15 years, was actually �2,700crore less than in the RE of2020-21. Even as GDP percent-age, defence has declined to 1.5per cent from 1.6 per cent theprevious year.

What we do not know iscommitted liabilities underthe modernisation head of

the three services though wedo know that last year, the AirForce, the highest recipient thisyear, was allotted nearly �3,000crore less than committed lia-bilities, leaving no money fornew projects. Other negativesthis year in the Budget arelower GDP, higher rupee todollar rate, higher fuel costs,higher internal and externalinflation and substantial addi-tional costs for maintaining theadditional 50,000 troops inLadakh along with costs for re-balancing of forces followingthe belated recognition ofChina, which spends thricemore than India on defence, asthe primary threat.

It is mystifying that evenafter yielding ground on theLAC, now convoluted by GenVK Singh’s not-so-usefuladmission on transgressions,Singh has made lofty claims toIndia’s deterrent actions, CDSGen Bipin Rawat waved themilitary option, Army chiefGen MM Naravane warned(the PLA) not to test India’spatience and the Chief of AirStaff, Air Chief Marshal RKSBhadauria, noted that theRafale had unnerved theChinese. These are undoubt-edly signs of resolve but with-out capability backup to restorethe adverse situation created bythe PLA. Equally intriguing

was Singh last week at theIndian Ocean Region DefenceMinisters’ Conclave, referringto India as a net securityprovider when it has formida-ble security challenges on twofronts. Singh also made exag-gerated claims about raisingdefence exports to a staggering�35,000 crore in 2024 from theexisting �10,000 crore.

Taken together, China sep-arating the border issues frombilateral relations and India’sfailure to accelerate Defencemodernisation amount toBeijing’s continued bullying ofIndia and its rapidly-expand-ing PLA Navy posing a secondfront in the Indian Ocean.Zhao’s blunt response toJaishankar’s missive of interde-pendence of border and bilat-eral relations indicates China’shardline posture will stay till atleast July next year, the comple-tion of 100 years of the ChineseCommunist Party. Withoutboosting combat capacitiesdovetailed in a Defence strat-egy factoring the primacy ofChina threat, New Delhi willkeep shadow-boxing.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander,IPKF South, Sri Lanka, andfounder member of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

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������������ ��������������Sir— It is very unfortunate that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi has used the word“andolan-jivi” for protesters. The questionwhy is our Prime Minister so afraid ofprotests and demonstrations? The PM mustunderstand that these are indispensablerights and a healthy democracy cannot sur-vive without these. However, Modidescribed a group of people who tend tohijack every protest or movement that hastaken place in the country in the recentpast. Even if he referred to those who hijackevery protest and not every protester,doubts arise over whether he really meantwhat he said.

It is strange that Modi who began hispolitical journey through “NavnirmanAndolan” or Navnirman movement fromGujarat is now targeting the protesters.Even in America, the United Kingdom,Germany and other democracies, protestsare very common and help keep rolling thewheels of democracy. These are like checksand balances and remind the Governmentof any unpopular or wrong policy decision.The protest acquires more importancewhen there is a weak Opposition, like inIndia, which is not capable of pushing thepopular viewpoint or public opinion con-trary to the wish of those who are in power.Instead of blaming the protesters, theGovernment must strive to resolve theproblem.

N Nagarajan | Secunderabad

�� �������������������������Sir —The coup by the military in Myanmaris dangerous for democracy and a threatto civilians, who voted Aung San Suu Kyi’sparty to power in the November polls. Theinternational community, especially Indiabeing its next-door neighbour, needs tostep up and engage with all stakeholdersso as to restore normalcy and democracyin the erstwhile Burma before it gets toolate.

American President Joe Biden has alsoexpressed concern with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on the issue. It’s high timefor India to take some concrete measures

and mature diplomatic steps and putpressure on Myanmar’s Junta, or militaryregime, to vacate the power corridors.Merely issuing statements by the Ministryof External Affairs (MEA) won’t suffice orserve any purpose. The coup has given agreat opportunity to China and the Westto enter the South Eastern nation. The for-mer is already calling it merely a “Cabinetreshuffle”. Bridging the rift between Suu Kyiand military may not be an option forMyanmar’s civilians, who appear to resistthe coup. India, America and other glob-al powers should work together to ensurethat the tenets of democracy are protect-ed and strengthened in countries like erst-while Burma.

Nischai Vats | Sultanpur

�� ��������� ��������� ������Sir — It’s good news that the number ofpeople who have recuperated from theCoronavirus surged to 1,05,34,505 push-ing the national COVID-19 recovery rateto 97.20 per cent, while the fatality rate

stands at 1.43 per cent.The Health Ministrystressed that more than 70 per cent of thedeaths occurred due to comorbidities.

With the vaccination process in fullswing, we can flatten the curve and therewill be a remarkable recovery rate, whichaugurs well for a huge country like ours.Even though there were adverse commentsfrom the Opposition about handlingCOVID-19 cases, both State and CentralGovernments did their best to keep peo-ple safe by imposing strict rules and pro-tocols. All were made to follow precautionslike wearing face masks and sanitisinghands.

The inoculation has already started andwe are also supplying vaccines to nationsacross the globe. India is emerging as aglobal leader and will soon play a lead rolein world economy, defence and other sec-tors.

CK Ramani | Chennai

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#������ ������ �������China’s pithy, almost dis-

missive, response toExternal Affairs MinisterS Jaishankar’s connect

between the border and bilateralties has escaped notice. In reply toJaishankar’s multiple complaintsabout China’s erratic behaviour inaltering the status quo along theLine of Actual Control (LAC) inbreach of existing protocols andviolations of peace and tranquili-ty, Beijing simply repeated itsmantra that Indo-China relationshave to be de-coupled from theborder dispute. At the all-India con-ference on China Studies in NewDelhi last month, Jaishankar sum-marised his various commentsacross eight months on the borderissue into three “mutuals”:Recognition of mutual respect,mutual sensitivity and mutualinterest; and eight broad principlesas key to mending Indo-China rela-tions. He emphasised that a peace-ful border was the pre-requisite forstable relations. Chinese ForeignMinistry spokesperson Zhao Lijiansaid: “We have noted MinisterJaishankar’s remarks and appreci-ate the importance India attachesto ties with China. But we stress theboundary issue shall not be linkedwith overall bilateral relations.”

At one stroke, China segre-gated its aggression along theLAC from bilateral relations andbracketed its territorial encroach-ments to outstanding claims to allof Ladakh, not just the 300 kmspread of intrusions. China’sclaim to Ladakh was articulatedin 2008 through its denial of itswestern border covering Jammuand Kashmir with China andexcising 1,597 km of the 3488-kmLAC. When this was pointed outto an MEA mandarin at the time,he responded: “They can dowhat they like but we have troopson the LAC.” What happened inmid-May last year was a failure ofthe institutional memory ofChinese intent. If the way for-ward, as noted by Jaishankar, isthe Sumdorong Chu route, it willcost India dearly both opera-tionally and financially.

Last week, India missed alegitimate opportunity to repairthe frail defence budget unfit tomeet the Pakistan-China dualthreat despite aggression inLadakh. Few point out the anom-

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Page 7: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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The Chief Justice of India (CJI) recently saidthat January 28 must be celebrated as theSupreme Court Day to mark the occasion

when the highest court of Independent India firstassembled in chambers, then situated in theParliament complex in 1950. The Supreme Courtwas established on January 26, under Article 124of the Constitution, however, its first sitting was heldon January 28. Several media reports from that dayshow how this institution was remarked upon as the“guardian of liberty” and one that would exerciseits powers without any influence, bias, fear or favour.

The apex court, which is often regarded as themost powerful top court in the world, took up thisrole of the “sentinel of human rights” in a new demo-cratic India and it exercised its powers to deliver sev-eral landmark judgments upholding the basic fun-damental rights of citizens against the State’s arbi-trary, unfair and unjust actions. The court also ush-ered in an era of “constitutional dynamism” whichhelped the Constitution evolve with society and itschanging circumstances.

Whether it was the ruling in the Maneka Gandhivs Union of India case, where the apex court heldthat not just procedural due process but also sub-stantive due process had to be followed by the Stateand that its actions must pass the “just, fair and rea-sonable test”, or the ruling in the KeshavanandaBharati vs State of Kerala case, wherein the top courtrestricted the power of the Parliament to amend theConstitution and held that the “basic structure ofthe Constitution” could not be abrogated even bya constitutional amendment.

When the 39th Constitutional Amendmentsought to place the election of the President, thePrime Minister, the Vice-President and the Speakerof the Lok Sabha beyond the scrutiny of constitu-tional courts, it was the Supreme Court that struckdown the law, thereby upholding the basic struc-ture doctrine. In cases like Olga Tellis, BandhuaMukti Morcha, Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan,Common Cause vs Union of India, NALSA vsUnion of India, Navtej Singh Johar, Joseph Shineand the Sabarimala judgment among others, theSupreme Court time and again reiterated its com-mitment to the goal of building a “just society”, onewhere every individual irrespective of their caste,creed, sex, religion or place of birth has the rightto live with dignity and freedom. The court has hada glorious history of making positive interventionsand initiating revolutionary changes in India’s demo-cratic culture. Celebrating its foundation day isindeed a step in the right direction.

But right when you thought that all is good withthe courts in India, there’s a caveat. First, deliver-ing justice isn’t a duty solely entrusted to the judi-ciary and second, it cannot be conducted in isola-tion. The justice delivery mechanism is dependenton several factors and cooperation among the threemajor organs of the State: The executive, legislaturesand the judiciary along with certain non-State actorsas well. Unless all these institutions collaborate toachieve a common goal, delivering justice willremain a distant dream.

The India Justice Report, an initiative of TataTrusts and several others does a commendable jobin highlighting the gaps and areas that needreform within our justice delivery system. The reportassesses the performance of our institutions basedon four pillars i.e., police, judiciary, legal aid soci-

eties and the prison system. It interalia highlights several glaring prob-lems in these institutions. It states thatwomen make up just 29 per cent ofsitting judges in India, whilst in HighCourts (HCs) their strength is just 11per cent on the Bench. Moreover, atleast five HCs are functioning with-out a single woman judge. Sadly,vacancies of judges in our HCsstand at 33 per cent. Even though 80per cent of our population is entitledto receive legal aid, only 1.5 crorepeople have received it since 1995.Our prison occupancy is at 119 percent and two-thirds of our prisoninmates are undertrial prisoners andover four crore cases are pending inseveral courts across the country.

Access to institutions of justiceremains skewed for the entirety ofour rural population even today. Thereport also shows how the judiciaryhas not been able to efficiently utilisefunds that were allocated to it by the13th and 14th Finance Commissions.The 13th Finance Commission, forinstance, allocated �5,000 crore to thejudiciary, out of which only 20 percent was utilised.

These data point at uncomfort-able trends in our justice administra-tion and towards intersectional issuesof institutional failure and perpetra-tion of oppression for every stake-holder. We all remember when the43rd CJI, TS Thakur, cried beforePrime Minister Modi in 2016, dur-ing a public conference, while high-lighting several issues plaguing thejudiciary. He had said that judges areforced to work in pitiful circum-

stances and stressful conditions withminimum infrastructure.

The Attorney-General of Indiaalso recently called for setting up ofa “Court of Appeals” to reduce theworkload of the apex court. The IndiaJustice Report also makes several sug-gestions to interrupt the status quo.Ensuring doorstep delivery of justiceby making it an essential service,enforcing a planned budgeting mech-anism, upskilling legal aid and Nyayapanchayats, prioritising cases basedon their urgency and impact andmeasuring public satisfaction are fewof the suggestions. Justice MadanLokur, a former Supreme Courtjudge, during the release of thereport said that a cost-benefit analy-sis and continuous social auditing iskey to ensuring institutional andadministrative efficiency.

However, there is a silver liningtoo. According to the report,Chhattisgarh has emerged as a trend-setter. It began with a notificationreleased by the Chhattisgarh HC in2017 which required the lower courtsto dispose cases pending for morethan five years on a priority basis. Amonitoring committee headed by asitting judge was set up at the HClevel. For district-wise monitoring,respective District Courts were askedto form their monitoring committeesand a weekly review of the progresswas mandated. All compoundablecases where parties were willing tocompromise in Lok Adalats were dis-posed-off. For this purpose, LokAdalats were organised daily afterregular court hours. The monitoring

committee at the District Court-levelwould conduct meetings with the dis-trict and police administration reg-ularly to ensure timely enforcementof summons and warrants issued bythem. New Magistrates were assist-ed and trained by senior judges toensure fair trial and adherence to lawsand procedures. To incentivisejudges, appropriate units were award-ed to them for disposing off casesbefore five years. Bail petitions weredealt with within a week and casesof undertrial prisoners were decid-ed in a time-bound manner.Infrastructural development wasensured by building new court-rooms in major districts like Raipurand Durg. All this cumulatively ledto a decline in the percentage ofpending cases, from 10 per cent in2019 to four per cent in 2020.

The apex court might certainlyhave a past worth glorifying, but itscredibility isn’t going to remain forlong if it sells its history as a sooth-ing balm for the damages done by itand other organisations in currenttimes. India ranks 69th in the Ruleof Law Index, 139th in the GlobalPeace Index, 112 in Global GenderGap Report, 51 in Democracy and142 in World Press Freedom Report.

We are forced to ask: Has justicebeen delivered or is it a myth in thetimes we live in? This question war-rants the attention of all citizens ofIndia. Losing hope in the judiciaryisn’t a solution, as in the words ofRabindranath Tagore: “Faith is thebird that feels the light and singswhen dawn is still dark.”

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Given the socio-econom-ic impact of the pan-demic, all eyes were on

the Finance Minister (FM) andher handling of the twin chal-lenges of stimulating demandand supply, amid falling rev-enues. Since monetary stimu-lus has not been effective inboosting investment demand,the onus of recovery is nowmore on fiscal measures andsupply-inducing reforms. A V-shaped economic recoveryrequires promoting demand insectors such as infrastructureand the rural economy. Whileagriculture and rural develop-ment have understandablybeen given a big push in theUnion Budget, rather regret-tably education has notreceived the same priority.

This is despite the fact thatthe education sector wasseverely impacted by the pan-demic, too. The contagionhampered the teaching-learn-

ing processes across all agegroups as pedagogy wentonline. As per the AnnualStatus of Education Report(ASER), 2020, though the per-centage of rural children own-ing a smartphone went upfrom 36.5 per cent in 2018 to61.8 per cent in 2020, nonethe-less it indicates that a large dig-ital divide still exists.

Similarly, schools and col-leges remain deficient inInformation Technology (IT)-enabled infrastructure. Withhybrid teaching-learningexpected to be the new normal,undoubtedly enormous expan-sion in digital technology isenvisaged. Additionally, to avertthe possibility of India’s demo-graphic dividend becoming adevastating catastrophe,imparting quality educationremains important. The newNational Education Policy(NEP), 2020, reinforces theviewpoint.

With the evolving future ofwork, human potential for life-long learning has assumedgreater importance. Skilling,reskilling and upskilling hasbecome mandatory for theexisting workforce.Undoubtedly, investment ineducation is crucial for humancapital formation. Despitebeing a merit good, necessitat-ing Government provision andactive intervention, the educa-tion sector has been largelyneglected. For the financialyear (FY) 2021-2022, there hasbeen a 6.13 per cent decline inallocation of funds towards it ascompared to the BudgetedEstimates (BE) of 2020-21.However, compared to theRevised Estimate (RE) of 2020-21, there has been a 9.5 per centincrease in allocation for 2021-22. Of the total allocation of�93,224 crore to the sector,�54,874 crore is allocated to theDepartment of School

Education and Literacy (a dropof 8.31 per cent) and theremaining �38,350 crore tohigher education (a drop of2.83 per cent in comparison tothe BE of the previous year).Further, the RE for expenditureon education for 2020-21 wit-nessed a decline of 14.32 percent vis-à-vis the BE.

Additionally, while theNEP had strongly propagatedexpenditure on the sector to beat least six per cent of the GDP,the same has been betweenthree-four per cent in India.For comparison, expenditure

on education relative to theGDP is six per cent or more inAustralia, Chile, Israel, NewZealand, Norway, the UK andthe US. It lies between three-four per cent in the CzechRepublic, Hungary, Ireland,Italy, Japan and the RussianFederation. The average for theOrganisation for EconomicCo-operation andDevelopment (OECD) coun-tries is 4.9 per cent. For OECDcountries, it is about11 per cent.For Chile, Brazil, Mexico,Switzerland, New Zealand,Korea, and Denmark, it is ashigh as 17 per cent.

With hybrid education setto become the new normaleven in a post-Corona world,simply investing in technologyis not sufficient. A technologyroad map needs to be designedfor planned action to enableinstitutions to evolve from thestage of “doing digital” to“being digital.” Despite its

importance, the Budget doesnot promote digitalisation perse. In fact, allocation to IT andthe telecom sector declined asa proportion of the total expen-diture from 1.95 per cent(2020-21 BE) to 0.93 per cent(2020-21 RE). However, forDigital India e-learning, thefunds earmarked have gone upby over 100 per cent and standat �645 crore. Further, underthis scheme, ‘National Missionon Education Through ICT’ aswell as Massive Open OnlineCourses envisaged an over-whelming rise of over 200 percent and 167 per cent respec-tively and stand at �150 croreand �200 crore each.Nonetheless, a greater thrustwould be required in the yearsahead. In addition to alloca-tions, both total and composi-tional, what matters for produc-tivity is governance. In terms ofpolicy reforms, the proposal toamend the Apprenticeship Act

is commendable and can gen-erate opportunities for employ-ability and financing of highereducation. The Government’sfocus on increasing collabora-tion with foreign institutions inJapan and the UAE for skilltraining partnerships is alsopraiseworthy. Additionally, set-ting up of a single higher edu-cation regulator to streamlinegovernance structures in high-er education is commendable.Also, the allocation of �50,000crore over five years willencourage research, develop-ment and innovation.

To impart holistic develop-ment, new models of engage-ment such as learning consor-tiums and coalitions compris-ing of diverse stakeholdersneed to be established for scal-able, sustainable and inclusiveblended education. Hopefully,an enabling policy environ-ment shall make this a realityin the years to come.

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Tiwary is from theNational Law University,

Visakhapatnam, and Dewangan is from the

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Page 8: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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Kabul: A string of attacks onTuesday in Afghanistan killedfive government employeesand four policemen, officialssaid. No one immediatelyclaimed responsibility for theattacks.

In the capital, Kabul, gun-men opened fire in the Bagh-e Daud neighborhood andkilled four employees of theministry for rural develop-ment, according to FerdawsFaramarz, spokesman for thecity’s police chief.

Hours after the attack, the

presidential palace in a state-ment said the target was ReyazAhmad Khalil, the actingprovincial director of thedepartment for rural develop-ment of Maidan Wardakprovince. He was among thefatalities in the attack. AP

Tehran: Iran’s intelligence min-ister has warned the West thathis country could push for anuclear weapon if cripplinginternational sanctions onTehran remain in place, statetelevision reported Tuesday.

The remarks by MahmoudAlavi mark a rare occasion thata government official says Irancould reverse its course on thenuclear programme. Tehranhas long insisted that the pro-gramme is for peaceful pur-poses only.

A 1990s fatwa, or religiousedict, by the country’s SupremeLeader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

states that nuclear weapons areforbidden.

“Our nuclear programme ispeaceful and the fatwa by thesupreme leader has forbiddennuclear weapons, but if theypush Iran in that direction,then it wouldn’t be Iran’s faultbut those who pushed it,” Alaviwas quoted as saying.

“If a cat is cornered, it mayshow a kind of behaviour thata free cat would not,” he said andadded that Iran has no plans tomove toward a nuclear weaponunder current circumstances.

The 81-year-old Khamenei,who has the final say on all mat-

ters of state in Iran, on Sundayurged the United States to lift allsanctions if it wants Iran to liveup to commitments under its2015 nuclear deal with worldpowers. However, President JoeBiden has said the US won’t bemaking the first move.

Following the killing lastDecember of an Iranian sci-entist credited with spear-heading the country’s dis-banded military nuclear pro-gramme, Iran’s parliament hasapproved a law to block inter-national nuclear inspectorslater this month — a seriousviolation of the accord. AP

Yangon: Police cracked downon demonstrators opposingMyanmar’s military takeover,firing warning shots and shoot-ing water cannons to dispersecrowds that took to the streetsagain on Tuesday in defiance ofrules making protests illegal.

Water cannons were used inMandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, where witnesses saidat least two warning shots werefired to try to break up thecrowd. Reports on social mediasaid police arrested more thantwo dozen people there. Theyalso used water cannons in thecapital, Natpyitaw, for a secondday and fired shots into the air.

Police were widely report-ed to have also shot rubber bul-lets at the crowd in Naypyitaw,wounding several people.Photos on social media showedan alleged shooter — an officerwith a short-barrelled gun —and several injured people.

Unconfirmed rumours cir-culated widely of shootingswith live rounds and deathsamong the protesters, with thepotential of sparking violentretaliation against the authori-

ties, an outcome proponents ofthe country’s civil disobediencemovement have warned against.

The protesters are demand-ing that power be restored tothe deposed civilian Govt andare seeking freedom for thenation’s elected leader AungSan Suu Kyi and other rulingparty members detained sincethe military took over andblocked the new session ofParliament from convening onFebruary 1. AP

Beijing: Chinese authoritiesare blocking access toClubhouse, a social media appthat allowed users in China todiscuss sensitive topics withpeople abroad includingTaiwan and treatment of thecountry’s Muslim minority.

The move adds Clubhouseto thousands of websites andsocial media apps to which theruling Communist Party blocksaccess in an effort to controlwhat China’s public sees andreads. AP

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AHong Kong court onTuesday denied bail for

government critic and news-paper publisher Jimmy Laiwho is facing charges under asweeping new national securi-ty law.

The ruling by the Court ofFinal Appeal comes amid heavypressure from the Chinese gov-ernment and state media tokeep Lai in custody, arguingthat Lai’s crimes against thestate are particularly egregiousand that he possesses the

means to f lee the semi-autonomous southern Chinesecity.

Lai was arrested in aDecember sweep against pro-democracy activists accusedover their involvement in 2019anti-government protests. Firstrefused bail, Lai was laterreleased on appeal, leading toeditorials attacking HongKong’s judiciary in the pages ofthe ruling Communist Partynewspaper People’s Daily. Hewas returned to jail on NewYear’s Eve ahead of a newhearing.

United Nations: Reiteratinghis concern over the situationin Myanmar, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres hasbeen reaching out to regionalleaders in Asia to call for col-lective and bilateral action tocreate conditions for the recentmilitary coup in the country tobe reversed, the UN chief ’sspokesperson has said.

Myanmar’s military lastweek toppled the governmentand seized power for one year,detaining top political figures,including de facto leader AungSan Suu Kyi.

The military accused SuuKyi’s government of not inves-tigating allegations of voterfraud in recent elections. Suu

Kyi’s party swept that vote andthe military-backed party didpoorly. The state election com-mission has refuted the allega-tions.

“The Secretary-Generalcontinues to follow the situation in Myanmar closelyand with grave concern. He and his Special Envoy have been reaching out to key international actors, includ-ing regional leaders, in callingfor collective and bilateralaction to create conditions for the recent coup inMyanmar to be reversed,”Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric saidat the daily press briefing onMonday. PTI

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Washington: Donald Trump’shistoric second impeachmenttrial is an undertaking like noother in US history, the defeat-ed former president charged bythe House with inciting the vio-lent mob attack on the USCapitol to overturn the electionin what prosecutors argue is the“most grievous constitutionalcrime”.

Trump’s lawyers insist asthe Senate trial opens Tuesdaythat he is not guilty on the solecharge of “incitement of insur-rection,” his fiery words just afigure of speech, even as heencouraged a rally crowd to“fight like hell” for his presi-dency.

The Capitol siege onJanuary 6 stunned the world asrioters stormed the building totry to stop the certification ofPresident-elect Joe Biden’s vic-tory.

No witnesses are expectedto be called, in part because thesenators sworn as jurors, forcedto flee for safety, will be pre-

sented with graphic videosrecorded that day. Holed up athis Mar-a-Lago club in Florida,Trump has declined a requestto testify.

The first president to facecharges after leaving office andthe first to be twice impeachedfor high crimes and misde-meanours while in office,Trump continues to challengethe nation’s civic norms andtraditions even in defeat.

Security remains extreme-ly tight at the Capitol. Whileacquittal is likely, the trial willtest the nation’s attitude towardhis brand of presidential power,

the Democrats’ resolve in pur-suing him, and the loyalty ofTrump’s Republican alliesdefending him.

“In trying to make sense ofa second Trump trial, the pub-lic should keep in mind thatDonald Trump was the firstpresident ever to refuse toaccept his defeat,” said TimothyNaftali, a clinical associate pro-fessor at New York Universityand an expert on RichardNixon’s impeachment saga,which ended with Nixon’s res-ignation rather than hisimpeachment.

“This trial is one way ofhaving that difficult nationalconversation about the differ-ence between dissent andinsurrection,” Naftali said.

White House press secretaryJen Psaki said Monday thatBiden will be busy with the busi-ness of the presidency and won’tspend much time watching thetelevised proceedings. “He’llleave it to his former colleaguesin the Senate,” she said. AP

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Wellington: New Zealandannounced the suspension ofhigh-level military and politicalcontacts with MyanmarTuesday, the first major inter-national move to isolate thecountry’s ruling junta followinga coup.

Unveiling the measures,Prime Minister Jacinda Arderncalled for the international com-

munity to “strongly condemnwhat we’re seeing happen inMyanmar”. “After years of work-ing hard to build a democracyin Myanmar, I think every NewZealander would be devastatedto see what we’ve seen in recentdays led by the military,” she toldreporters.

“Our strong message is wewill do what we can from here

in New Zealand.”Ardern said the measures

would include travel bans onsenior military figures.

Myanmar’s military lastweek detained civilian leaderAung San Suu Kyi and dozensof other members of herNational League for Democracy(NLD) party, ending a decadeof civilian rule. AFP

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Dubai: A spacecraft from theUnited Arab Emirates was setto swing into orbit aroundMars in the Arab world’s firstinterplanetary mission onTuesday, the first of threerobotic explorers arriving at thered planet over the next weekand a half.

The orbiter, called Amal,Arabic for Hope, traveled 300million miles in nearly sevenmonths to get to Mars with thegoal of mapping its atmospherethroughout each season.

A combination orbiter andlander from China is closebehind, scheduled to reach theplanet on Wednesday. It willcircle Mars until the rover sep-arates and attempts to land onthe surface in May to look forsigns of ancient life.

A rover from the US named Perseverance is set to join the crowd nextweek, aiming for a landingFebruary 18. It will be the first leg in a decade-long US-European project to bring Marsrocks back to Earth to beexamined for evidence theplanet once harbored micro-scopic life. AP

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!� �������%���������������������>� ������ ��� ����Warsaw (Poland): A Warsawcourt is due to deliver a verdicton Tuesday in a closely watchedlibel case in which one side seesPolish national pride at stake andthe other the future indepen-dence of Holocaust research.

Two prominent Polishscholars, Barbara Engelking andJan Grabowski, are being suedby the 81-year-old niece of awartime village elder who arguesa book they co-edited defamesher deceased uncle’s memory bysuggesting he had a role in thedeath of Jews.

The uncle is mentioned ina brief passage of a 1,600-pagehistorical work, “Night WithoutEnd: The Fate of Jews in SelectedCounties of Occupied Poland.”

The woman, FilomenaLeszczynska, is backed by thePolish League AgainstDefamation, a group that fightsharmful and untruthful depic-tions of Poland.

It argues the woman’s uncle,Edward Malinowski, was a herowho helped save Jews during

World War II and accuses thescholars of research errors thatresulted in Malinowski appear-ing as someone who betrayedJews to the Germans.

Malinowski was acquitted in1950 of being an accomplice tothe killing by Germans of 18Jews in a forest near the villageof Malinowo in 1943.

The anti-defamation groupsays the authors slandered aninnocent man and deprived theniece of her rights, including theright to pride and national iden-tity. The plaintiffs are suingGrabowski and Engelking for100,000 zlotys ($27,000) in dam-ages and a published apology.

Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian history professor atthe University of Ottawa, andEngelking, founder and directorof the Polish Center forHolocaust Research in Warsaw,are among Poland’s most promi-nent Holocaust researchers.They were among several whoresearched and wrote parts ofthe two-volume work. AP

Page 9: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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The Government has placedorders for 1 crore addi-

tional doses of Covishield fromSerum Institute of India and 45lakh more doses of Covaxinfrom Bharat Biotech, officials ofthe two vaccine makers said onTuesday.

India’s Covid-19 vaccina-tion drive was launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modion January 16.

Serum Institute hasreceived another order fromthe Government for 10 milliondoses of Covishield, a compa-ny official said in response toa query.

The government had ear-lier placed a purchase orderwith Serum Institute of India

(SII) for 1.1 crore doses ofAstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield.

When asked, a BharatBiotech spokesperson said,"The company has received aletter of comfort from theGovernment of India to supplyanother 4.5 million (or 45lakh) doses’’.

The spokesperson alsoadded that Bharat Biotech willalso be exporting its Covid-19vaccine, Covaxin, to Brazil andthe United Arab Emirates.

The company is also like-ly to export the vaccine to thePhilippines and other SouthAsian countries, the spokesper-son said. The government hadearlier placed an order for 55lakh doses of Covaxin fromBharat Biotech.

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Indian Railways achieved thehighest ever freight loading

in January 2021 clocking a fig-ure of 119.79 MT and sur-passing its previous record ofloading 119.74 MT of freight inMarch 2019, the ministry saidon Tuesday.

Indian Railways’ freightloading figures for the last fewmonths have been crossing thelast year’s figures for corre-sponding months and the

cumulative freight loading fig-ure this year is expected to sur-pass the last year’s freight load-ing figure, a statement by theministry said.

As per the statistics tillFebruary 8, Indian Railwaysloading was 30.54 milliontonnes which include 13.61MT of coal.

4.15 MT of iron ore, 1.04MT of foodgrains, 1.03 MT offertilizers, 0.96 MT of mineraloil and 1.97 MT of cement(excluding clinker).

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Snapping their six-sessionwinning streak, equity

benchmarks Sensex and Niftyended marginally lower onTuesday following fag-endprofit-booking in IT, FMCG,finance and auto stocks.

After rallying 487 pointsto touch its lifetime intra-dayhigh of 51,835.86, the 30-shareBSE Sensex pared all gains toend 19.69 points or 0.04 percent lower at 51,329.08.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty slipped 6.50 points or0.04 per cent to 15,109.30. Ittouched a record peak of15,257.10 during the day.

M&M was the top drag inthe Sensex pack, shedding 3.62per cent, followed by BajajFinance, ITC, Sun Pharma,Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv andTCS.

On the other hand, Asian

Paints, ONGC, Titan, L&T,Axis Bank and UltraTechCement were among the gain-ers, climbing up to 3.70 percent.

"The market failed to holdon to its upward rally to closeflat due to heavy selling towards

the close, mirroring the weak-ness seen in the Europeanmarket and outflows in equitymutual funds. Most of the sec-tors ended hitting rough weath-er with auto, pharma andmedia stocks being the worstaffected.

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The Government will soonbring a bill on crypto cur-

rencies as existing laws areinadequate to deal with issuesconcerning them, Minister ofState For Finance AnuragThakur told Rajya Sabha onTuesday.

Replying to a question inthe Upper House, Thakur saidregulatory bodies like RBI andSebi do not have any legalframework to directlyregulate

crypto currencies as they arenot currencies, assets, securitiesor commodities issued by iden-tifiable users.

"The existing laws areinadequate to deal with thesubject," he said.

The government hadformed an Inter-MinisterialCommittee which has given itsreport on issues related to vir-tual currencies.

There was also a meeting ofthe Empowered TechnologyGroup.

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An expert committee set upto develop the criteria for

identifying significant comor-bidities present in a person,which would make that personpriority individual for Covid-19 vaccination, will finalise itsreport in the next few days, NitiAayog Member (Health) VKPaul said on Tuesday.

Apart from Oxford-AstraZeneca ‘s Covishield vac-cine and Bharat Biotech’sCovaxin vaccine, there areother vaccines that are in thepipeline, Paul stated.

"The criteria (to identifypeople with comorbidities) hasbeen developed by a commit-tee.

We are expecting the finalreport in the next few days," hetold PTI.

Paul, who is also thechairman of the NationalExpert Group On VaccineAdministration for Covid-19(NEGVAC) said this commit-tee has gone deeply into it andlooked at which comorbidities-- the presence of two or morediseases or medical conditionsin a patient -- should be keptin mind.

"They are also looking athow to ascertain this, whowill certify it, where will theperson has go to get the pri-ority vaccine," he said, addingthat so the procedural andprocess issues have also beendiscussed.

"In this regard, not onlythe expert committee has met,but also we have had discus-sions with the state govern-ments," Paul said.

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Amid domestic traders com-plaining alleged violations

of FDI norms by foreign onlineplayers, Commerce andIndustry Minister Piyush Goyalon Tuesday said the govern-ment is considering to comeout with certain clarificationsto ensure that the e-commercesector works in the "true spir-it" of the law and rules.

He said the current FDIpolicy for the e-commerce sec-tor is robust and well-designed.However, there are certaincomplaints from consumersand small retailers about cer-tain practices of the e-com-merce companies, which areunder investigation, he added.

"We have sought severalinformation, they are being

looked into. We are also con-sidering certain clarifications toensure that the e-commercesector works in the true spiritof the law, of the rules that havebeen laid down for e-com-merce," Goyal told reporters.

He added that the e-com-merce companies are supposedto provide an agnostic platformso that buyers and sellers cantrade with each other.

The online platform shouldnot become part of the tradingtransaction, "should neither befunding it, should neither behaving algorithms which givepreference to one or the other,should neither be promotingtheir own products." But, itshould provide all data that isrequired for a rational choice,and the choice should be a freechoice of the consumer, Goyal

added.The buyers and sellers

should be given an opportuni-ty to trade with each other asthe platform only is a serviceprovider, he said.

"Those who break that lawwill certainly have to respondto our concerns and correcttheir business practices at theearliest," the minister added.

Recently, the ministry hasforwarded representations bythe Confederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) of alleged vio-lations by Amazon and Flipkartto the Enforcement Directorateand the Reserve Bank of Indiafor "necessary action".

CAIT has time and againalleged that the e-commerceplayers violated the ForeignExchange Management Actand FDI rules.

Amaravathi: Signing ceremo-ny of Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) betweenthe VIT-AP School of Law(VSL), VIT-AP University andCentre for Human SecurityStudies (CHSS) was held atVIT-AP School of Law, VIT-AP University on 09 February2021. Ch. Dwaraka TirumalaRao IPS, Director General ofPolice (Railways) (AndhraPradesh Cadre) graced theoccasion and witness the cer-emony as a Chief Guest.

Chief Guest Ch. DwarakaTirumala Rao said that "9February 2021 marks as animportant day in the history ofthe VIT-AP School of Law(VSL), VIT-AP University andfor the Centre for HumanSecurity Studies (CHSS) byentering into MoU to workcommittedly for the causenational security.

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New Delhi:Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onTuesday said the stock marketshave received the UnionBudget 2021-22 with "positiv-ity" with an 11 per cent increasein equity indices over the pastweek. She said the Budget,which was presented inParliament on February 1, hasset the tone for greater play ofthe private sector.

Mumbai:The rupee gained10 paise to settle at 72.87(provisional) against the USdollar on Tuesday on the backof sustained foreign fundinflows and weak Americancurrency.

However, surging crudeprices and subdued domesticequity market hit the rupeesentiment and restricted thegain, traders said.

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Ahmedabad: Over 100 womenentrepreneurs from across thecountry attended “Vagyo reDhol”, an annual interstatemeet organised by FICCILadies Organisation (FLO),Ahmedabad Chapter. The meetwas inaugurated by FLOnational president JahnabiPhookan. FLO FIAIR, an exposhowcasing the local art andculture, was also organised.“Our endeavour is to developthe wisdom to lead, comingtogether as strong voice for andby women,” said Jahnabi.

The highlight of this eventwas “Gujarat Garvi Awards”,which was awarded to the 12women entrepreneursacknowledging their contri-bution in various fields.Bollywood actress AmeeshaPatel, Deepti Bhatnagar, andPooja Batra attended the meet.

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Page 10: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

The year 2020 was a toughdeal. With countries fac-

ing negative growth leading toloss of lives and livelihoodsowing to the pandemic, therewere a lot of expectationsfrom the Budget 2021. Thepresentation of the Budgettherefore was a challengingand probably a unique exer-cise.

Delhi School of Businessorganised an on-line discus-sion on the Union Budget2021 inviting academicians,scholars and industry expertsfrom within and outside thecountry to understand andunfold the nuances of thebudget and its implications foroverall growth and health ofthe economy, including wel-fare of its citizens.

In his welcome address,Dr Rajiv Ranjan Thakur,Director-Delhi School ofBusiness said that the currentbudget was seen a ray for hopeall stakeholders in the econo-my amidst the gloom of pan-demic faced by the nation. Hedid also mention about thevaried sentiments expressedon the budget, ranging fromit being a grand and visionaryone to a totally disappointingexercise. He expressed thedeliberations on the budgetwill ease out confusion.

The ball was set rolling byDr SC Vats, Chairman,Vivekananda Institute ofProfessional Studies (VIPS)hailing the budget presentedunder extraordinary pan-demic situation, expressinghis hope and confidence aboutthe country’s renewed capa-bility of tackling the menace,boosted by production of twoindigenously developed vac-cines and its roll out as well asincrease in health expenditure.He also touched upon theundesirable social and eco-nomic impact of the pro-longed farmers agitation inthe country.

The ensuing discussionsby the eminent panellistsmoderated by Prof SiddharthMishra, an eminent journalistand Chairman, VJMC, VIPS,reflected on the age-old debateof diverse opinion of any eco-nomic situation, especiallythe budget. The Government’sroad map for managing the

growth and welfare in thecountry is highlighted in theannual budget is often debat-ed among various stakehold-ers in various forums, pro-viding their own rationaleabout its efficacy on the over-all direction of the economy,budget balance sheet and itsimpact on the multifarioussections of the society andeconomy.

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Voicing his reservations ofthe Government not gettingits macro-economics right,Prof Arun Kumar, MalcomAdiseshiah Professor, Instituteof social Sciences, opined thatpresent capital intensiveexpenditure strategy is notgoing to result in nominalgrowth of 14.4 per cent aspromised in the budget. Thecurrent off icial negativegrowth figures of minus 7.7per cent do not include that ofthe unorganised sector, facingnegative growth rate of 29 percent, leading to high job loss-es. According to him, follow-ing capital intensive supply ledgrowth will not generate high-er employment and cause

delay in boosting the econo-my. He also elaborated thatmuch required budgetary allo-cation such as transfer for wel-fare programmes, includingemployment generatingschemes addressing the woesof the unorganised sector hasnot been adequately addressedin the budget.

Allaying the concerns ofthe high fiscal deficit in thebudget 2021 which is tolera-ble under the current eco-nomic situation, Prof.Priyaranjan, Professor ofEconomics, University ofCalifornia, Irvine USA how-ever, lauded the thrust of thebudget on the increase inspending on infrastructure,although lopsided and some-what politically motivated.Infrastructure spending islikely to have a higher multi-plier effect, impacting thegrowth and has the potentialto create jobs in future. Healso did express use of pro-duction subsidy as a mucheffective path to integratedomestic producers with theglobal economy than currentpolicy of discretionary pro-tectionist tariff. He also out-lined that the problems facedby the informal sectors hasnot been fully addressed.

Dhananjay Sinha,Director & Head InstitutionalResearch, Systematix Group,spoke about the consolidation

expected with Budget 2021 todrive efficiency, productivity,better capital allocation andcredit growth. “We believethe Government is telling usthat while it is has takenexpedient measures to get theeconomy back on track, theeffort is also to reinforce thesentiment that it is also takingstructural reform measures,”he added.

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The policy prescriptionsof the Government on thedivestment, revenue genera-tion, structural and institu-tional reforms and welfaremeasures in the budgetopened up a pandora’s box ofmarket or mixed approach thecountry should be followingin the future. The role andbusiness the Government is innow and it should pursue infuture in the medium and

long term through its publicsector entities was debated atlength in the Union 2021 dis-cussion.

Prof. Shiv Kumar, Ex-MDSBBJ during his addresspraised the initiative whichwill attract private investmentin the countr y, mainly,increasing FDI in insurancefrom 49 per cent to 74 percent, revenue generationthrough divestment of Banksand Air India, new institu-tions such as Asset recon-struction company,Development FinancialInstitution for long termfinancing, faceless assessmentand relaxation of disputedtax assessments to instil con-fidence in the business com-munity. He concluded that itis high priority for theGovernment to decide onwhat it needs to focus on andcontribute to its overall strat-egy of minimum governmentand maximum governance.

Elaborating on his opin-ion on the need for prudentspending of taxpayers money,Vijay Sardana, Techno-legalexpert- advocate, opined thatGovernment should refrainfrom undertaking populistmeasures and direct its effortsin improving efficiency to

face global competition, usingtechnology to build skills andpromote innovation in thecountry and help in achievinggrowth in the medium term.The policy shift of privatisa-tion as envisaged in the bud-get is an appropriate measure.He also hinted at the need foruse of new technologies tosupport basic needs pro-grammes, especially in edu-cation, to improve its effec-tiveness and skilling new gen-eration in the remote areas.

Prof Rattan Sharma,Professor Emeritus, DSB gavea dif ferent view of therequired role of Governmentin an economy. Highlightingthe supporting role playedthe Government during finan-cial crisis in 2008 and mostrecently during the pandem-ic situation. Governmentinvolvement, even in a limit-ed way, should be in publicand welfare interest.

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SC Vats on the protests by thefarming community whichgot the similar attention in therecent past in the media, pan-ellists also gave views of thepast and present agricultur-al policies and investments inthe country. According toVijay Sardana, the currentagricultural policies such asthe MSP is a self-defeatingphenomena which has pro-moted inefficiency in pro-duction and distribution sys-tem, taxing the exchequer.The upshot is country is ladenwith high expenditure inmanaging FCI, which couldbe invested in other sectors,capable of generating employ-ment and higher returns. Adetailed study of current sce-nario of agricultural produc-tion and marketing thereforeis required to understand theground realities and addressthe malaise

Echoing the same senti-ments, Dhananjay Sinha,Director, Systematix Goupsaid that reforms are wel-come in the agricultural sec-tor to address the discordbetween the decrease in con-sumption of cereals vis-à-visits increase in cereal produc-tion and consequent its pro-curement by the Governmentleading to drain of resources.He also touched at length onthe progress made in thefinancial sectors and reformsthat has been highlighted inthe budget 2021. With high-er retail participation andmore transparent bonds anddebt market, it is movingtowards a more vibrant finan-cial sector. Prof. RattanSharma discussed on the insti-tutional reforms such as devel-opment financial institutions,asset reconstruction companywill help to ease the stress oncurrent banking system andcan propel growth in the econ-omy

The allocation in the socialsector and the informal econ-omy was touched upon by allthe panellists, complimentingincrease in health expenditureby 137 per cent for fightingCOVID situation and buildinghealth infrastructure. Somecriticisms of the stagnant oreven lower budgetary alloca-tions for the employment gen-eration schemes to support theinformal and unorganised sec-tor and in education has beenhighlighted by Prof ArunKumar and Prof RattanSharma.

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cussion of the Union Budget2021, the Government hasgiven a new direction for theachievement of the vision ofAtmanirbhar Bharat. The dis-agreement on either allocationor policy shifts envisaged inthe budget evident during thediscussion reflects the healthydebate in a democratic coun-try which we follow and prac-tice. We as a nation willalways strive collectively forgrowth, prosperity and equi-ty, and hope this budget willshow us the light at end of thedark tunnel of pandemic peri-od faced by the world.

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The 21st century digital businessclimate demands a constantreassessment of erstwhile skills

and abilities. Paraphrasing the thoughtsof the famous Austrian managementconsultant, educator, and author, PeterDrucker, “Only those skills will be rel-evant in the 21st century that con-tributes towards the gaining of newerskills and abilities pertaining to the dig-ital realm”. The modern managementpioneer’s opinion is spot-on when itcomes to gauging the evolution of theskill-based ecosystem in the moderneconomic milieu.

Even those skill sets that were hith-erto considered indispensable are nowbeing rendered useless in the presentbusiness vista. Constant upskilling hasbecome the present-day norm with theevolution of the technological land-scape. Even more so, for professionalsbelonging to the all-permeating branchof UX design that operates continuouslyat the meeting point of next-gen tech-nologies and human experience. Withthe advent of voice technology, AI, AR,the learning trajectory for UX design-ers is slated to get steeper.

As per a report released by OxfordUniversity, the average shelf-life of aprofessional skill has dropped radical-ly from thirty years to five yearsbetween 1984 and 2014. Furthermore,a survey initiated by the global staffingfirm, Robert Half International revealedthat employers are far more inclined tohire professionals who exhibit theeagerness to learn and develop newskills through advanced training andexposure.

Under such a shape-shiftingpremise, the need for UX designers tostay at par with the contemporary techtrends is paramount. Here are some ofthe top essential skills for ambitious UXdesigners to grow and stay relevantwithin the current tech scape:

Developing a sense of empathy: Itis an unspoken rule in the UX indus-try that designs exist for the sake of theuser, and not the other way round. Fora design to be successful and pertinent,it must be shaped as per the sensibili-ties of the end-user. The central mostfactor integral to creating user-centricUX designs is a sense of deep empathyin the designer. While a decent design-

er is one who can understand the con-sumer, an extraordinary designer canempathise with the lives, challenges,troubles, and expectations of a user. Asense of empathy enables designers theopportunity to zero in on untappedpain-points. This intellectual skill isresponsible for catalyzing much of theinnovation that is witnessed in theindustry. It allows designers to createlasting and powerful user-based expe-riences, which later translate into busi-ness excellence and greater returns.

The art of storytelling: Making abrilliant design is merely half of the mat-ter. The designer must also be able tomarket, evaluate and create a storyaround their designs. The art of greatstorytelling is central to the longevityand impact of any design. The abilityto build a narrative around the designwhich is empathetic to the end user isan essential skill for every aspiring UXprofessional as it marks the fine linebetween a good designer and a brilliantone. Besides having an imaginative fac-ulty and communication skills, a soundknowledge of PowerPoint and videopresentations is also helpful in mar-

keting a design. Teamwork is key: We are cultur-

ally habituated to think of designers likesolitary philosophers who come up withideas in moments of lonely brilliance.This however, is far from the truth. Oneof the most important skill sets in thedesigners’ toolkit is team work and col-laboration. In fact the creative processitself is iterative and collaborative innature. Great ideas and successful exe-cution comes with teamwork. In thereal world a UX designer must collab-orate with business folks, technologyfolks, researchers, partners and more tosuccessfully deliver a project.

Knowledge & application ofDesign frameworks: Design is aprocess. Every process needs frame-works to implement it effectively. Thereare many design frameworks that areused in UX design to help designersbetter understand users and their lives,design strategies and build the rightexperiences. Some important designframeworks that are used in the indus-try include Personas, customer jour-neys, empathy maps, card sorting andtask flow design. These are all easy

frameworks for designers to learn andimplement in their projects and design-ers wishing to learn them can do sothrough many online courses includ-ing the UX Jumpstarted by ImaginXP.

Skilled in design tools: Althoughpen and paper will always be themightiest tools for a designer to ideate,iterate and bee agile, it is also equallyimportant to be able to translate yourthoughts from paper to digital. Thereare many design tools available todayfor wireframing, visual design andprototyping. All designers should beproficient in at least some of these soas to effectively deliver UX design.Some popular design tools includeSketch, Adobe XD, Figma and Axure.

That said, designing is an ongoingprocess demanding constant learningand up skilling. This makes it crucialto open your horizons and be pas-sionate about learning new skills.Remember that the entire world is yourteacher and you need to stay abreastwith the changing pace of the industry.If you love digital designing, then UXdesigning is the destination for you.

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After the successful launch of Kinderuniversity in English andGerman, the Goethe-Institut, has launched the Digital

Kinderuniversity in Hindi. This innovative project shall help stu-dents aged eight to twelve satiate their curiosity about science-related questions through exciting educational content andaccompany them in learning the German language during theprocess.

The Digital Kinderuniversity, a free online learning platform,shall contribute significantly towards making education moreaccessible to the public and ensuring development in childrenfrom an early age. Currently, Kinderuniversity is offered in Hindi,English, and German. While no prior knowledge of German isrequired to enroll at Kinderuniversity, students can familiarisethemselves with the language, combined with an independentand playful pursuit of science.

At Kinderuniversity, children attend lectures and completeexercises based on STEM + Arts i.e. STE(A)M subjects. Theylearn from ‘Humans’, ‘Nature’ and ‘Technology’ and are exposedto elements of gamification throughout the course. Students cancollect badges that help them advance through levels rangingfrom Bachelor, Master, Doctorate to Professor. To further incen-tivise students, certificates can be downloaded anytime and fromanywhere.

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE IN UXDESIGN YOUR FUTURE IN UX

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The coronavirus pandemic already had a devastating impacton the academic calendar. Further to that, all competitive

examinations like NEET, JEE, etc were delayed which we can sayis opportunity for some and pressure for others.

Although, the official announcement in regards to NEET PG2021 dates have been made. NEET PG 2021 is to be held on April18, 2021 which is delayed by three months. The registrations forNEET PG will begin from second week of February.

The constant postponement and delay have put the candi-dates in a tough spot. The main reason for stress of the aspirantsis that NEET PG 2020 was taken late. The counseling of the NEETPG 2020 was done till last week of September. So, the studentsgot less time for studying and they were also burdened with thepressure of the pandemic. The preparation time students havegot was also less. The reason behind the mental pressure is jobs,pandemic and delay in the examination but the positive thingis that the aspirants have got extra time for their preparation.

Commenting on this Gaurav Tyagi, Founder — Career Xpertsaid: “Students should stay calm and focus on the syllabus theyhave command on. They should once go through the previousyear exam papers and also the guidelines of the exams. My bestwishes to all the aspirants.”

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It's a widely held belief that a post grad-uate degree in management is essen-tial if one has pursue a career in the

corporate sector. What is less known,however, is that some new, innovativeundergraduate courses have recentlymade their advent which have started giv-ing the MBA courses a run for theirmoney. In particular, the Bachelor ofBusiness Administration (BBA) course isemerging as the passport to success in amanagerial or entrepreneurial career. So,after finishing 12 years of schooling, ittakes just 4 more years of undergraduatestudy with a global business school andyou are well on your way to launching intoa career in management.

But you need to do some advanceplanning to maximise the opportunitiesprovided by a world-class BBA pro-gramme and the first step is to chooseyour college wisely. Unfortunately, thenumber of institutions offering a goodundergraduate degree in India are virtu-ally non-existent.

But recent entry of a few private insti-tutions offers hope to students aspiring fora high-quality undergraduate education.Not only do these institutions employworld class faculty and an international-ly recognised curriculum, they also pro-vide global learning.

Here is a snapshot of the curriculumof four-year global BBA course run:Foundation courses in Management,Marketing, Business Communication,Economics and World Cultures. Secondyear: Advanced courses In ResearchMethods, Finance, Organization Behavior,Operations, Finance & Accounting andthe Decisions Sciences. Third and fourthyears: Elective courses in your area of cho-sen specialisation.

While pursuing the academic cur-riculum, live projects are part of the cur-riculum in every international campus. Sonot only do students learn the theory ofbusiness but also its practice. And thisgives them the necessary insights tostart up a new business not only in Indiabut in virtually every part of the globe.Add to this the numerous internshipopportunities available in the differentcountries during academic breaks, andyou have a formula for turning out a busi-

ness-ready and global-savvy candidate injust four short years after leaving school!

An UG programme is not just aboutacademics — the top colleges also offeryou opportunities to develop your per-sonality. Interacting with peers from dif-ferent countries will hone your cross-cul-tural team skills. Participating in debateswill further enhance your public speak-ing skills and confidence.

Take advantage of the in-house coun-selling services provided by the great col-leges. Not only do they provide careeradvice but also put you through a batteryof tests to improve your soft skills.Personalized, one-to-one consultancysessions can be a great away to improveyourself in multiple dimensions.

Go for exchange programs - manycolleges offer exchange program whereyou could spend a semester in anotherschool in Europe, USA and other parts ofthe world. A great opportunity to exposeyourself to different methods of teachingand take subjects not offered in your homeuniversity.

Therefore, if you choose your collegewisely, a BBA degree can give you glob-al exposure, broaden your horizon andput you firmly on the path of becominga future leader.

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������������������Several measures have been

taken by the Government tosafeguard the weaker and

impuissant sections of the societyparticularly during the pandem-ic. Education and employment arethe two major factors that werekept in mind while structuring theBudget. There were many impor-tant announcements made.

The Government has alsocommitted to take several steps inorder to reform assessments,including reforms in Board exam-inations and conceptual learning.While introducing the Budget2021-22 Minister for Finance andCorporate Affairs NirmalaSitaraman announced that theexisting National ApprenticeshipTraining Scheme (NATS) will berealigned with a fund of over�3,000 crore.

The NATS was launched in2016. It was launched by theGovernment of India in whichthere were a number of skills anddevelopment programmes to ben-efit the students of India. It is atremendous initiative throughwhich the students can upgradetheir skills to seek better employ-ment opportunities.

This scheme has beenrealigned in the 2021-2022

Budget, in order to enhanceapprenticeship opportunities forthe youth. Under the scheme,�3,000 crore will be provided totrain graduates and diploma hold-ers in Engineering.

Under the scheme, trainingwill be offered by the top notchcompanies. The scheme will workas a bridge between employer’srequirements and a pool of stu-dent's talent. This prioritisation ofskilling will make students job-ready, in their respective domains.

.�������������� It’s a one year programme

open to all degree/diplomaholders.

�This is a flagship programmeintroduced by theGovernment of India to skillup youth of the nation.

� It provides technical educa-tion by giving practicalknowledge and skills in therespective domain.

�This is served by the organi-zation (Central, State orPrivate) at the workplaceonly.

� Industry experts wellacquainted with trainingmodules will ensure the per-formance of apprentices.

�The apprentices get a stipendof whose 50 per cent amountis reimbursed by theGovernment of India.

�A certificate of proficiency bythe Government , is issued tothe apprentice which vali-dates his employment expe-rience.

Meanwhile other majorannouncementsmade in theBudget involved:

Collaboration for strength-ening the education system: TheUnion Budget 2021 stresses on theimportance of the need to col-laborate with foreign institutionsto strengthen and drive notableprogress in the education system.The collaboration of India withUAE would benchmark assess-ment, skill qualification, certifi-cation, and to keep our skills upto date with respect to globaltrends.

There is a collaborativeTraining Inter TrainingProgramme (TITS) in collabora-tion with Japan that will be facil-itating transfer of knowledge,techniques, industrial and voca-tional skills of Japan. This initia-tive will be taken forward withmore such countries in future. Toencourage improved academic

collaboration with foreign insti-tutions for higher education a reg-ulatory mechanism would put inplace to allow dual/joint degrees,twinning arrangements and moresuch mechanisms.

Set up of new institutions toedify the education system: Setup of a New Central University inLeh, to uplift higher education. Setup of 100 Sainik schools will takeplace in partnership with states,NGOs, and private schools. Intribal areas, 750 Eklavya Modelresidential schools will be set upto create a robust education facil-ity for tribal students.

Amendments to enlightenschool education: The Budget2021 primarily focuses on skilldevelopment. Its emphasis ontransforming the learning frame-work from a traditional approachto an advanced and evolved ped-agogical approach for K12 stu-dents.

The presentation of the NewEducation Policy (NEP) has addi-tionally been filled in as a chargefor the deep rooted instructivefoundation in India and we areoptimistic that the Governmentwill continue getting fundamen-tal corrections in the future also. �����������;3-��-������%��������

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=$F�����'���������>$$The signing ceremony of

Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU)

between the VIT-AP School ofLaw (VSL), VIT-AP Universityand Centre for Human SecurityStudies (CHSS) was held atVIT-AP School of Law, VIT-APUniversity on February 9, 2021.Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao IPS,Director General of Police(Railways) (Andhra PradeshCadre) graced the occasion andwitness the ceremony as a ChiefGuest.

Chief Guest Ch DwarakaTirumala Rao said: “February09, 2021 marks as an importantday in the history of the VIT-APSchool of Law (VSL), VIT-APUniversity and for the Centrefor Human Security Studies(CHSS) by entering into MoUto work committedly for thecause national security. I amsure both the organisationswould share the common val-

ues and common ideas to pro-tect the nations from varioussecurity threats.

Threats ranging from cybersecurity, health security, costalsecurity and mostly internalsecurity to be addressed anddealt with clear policy and legalaspects. Without having clearpolicy and legal guidelines it isdifficult for the forces to dealand provide protection to thepeople of this country. TheVIT-AP University and CHSSshould bear in mind that thesechallenges have to be addressedin clear and focused manner.

VIT-AP University shouldguide and provide inputs to thepolicy and law makers in deal-ing with the various challengeswhich are posed by the growingsecurity threat. “The CHSS ishaving almost 10 years of expe-rience in dealing and organis-ing various activities to createawareness among the people of

Andhra Pradesh and Telanganawith regard to prevailing andgrowing security threats. It is theneed of the hour that educa-tional institutions like VIT-APshould come forward to workwith the Governments and be inthe think tank to disseminateand create awareness about thesecurity challenges,” he added.

Dr SV Kota Reddy, Vice-Chancellor of VIT-APUniversity, in his address high-lighted the university's contri-bution for the empowermentand promotion of the educationand advised the law studentsand faculty to work towards thebetterment of the society. Hehighlighted that the universityis committed to create a Centreof Excellence in Cyber Securityand Law. This center will workholistically to provide bettersolutions to the society and hehas informed the importance ofthe center and its scope.

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Page 12: 0 · Shahnawaz Hussain, who was in the political wilderness for years, staged a comeback by finding a place in the Cabinet as Industry Minister. The JD(U) too inducted a Muslim MLA

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TENDULKAR TO BE BACK IN ACTIONMumbai: ���,��� ������������������������� ,�@���������%���=���2������������� ����%� ��,��������� �����������������N/�������.�������� 1� �� ������ �O�K� ����� ����%�� ��� .�����������O����O8&�������������������������������%�� ���������������������������88� ������������ ��'���8Q� �������&� ���� �������� ��� ��������������� ���� � ���� �������� ������� %� � #�� ���� ��� ���� ��% ��#�� �� RE����� ������� ������@���0���������3�������� �����������.���&

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Veteran James Anderson’sartistic spell of reverseswing trumped Virat Kohli’s

show of grit as England decimat-ed India in the opening Test by acomprehensive 227-run marginhere on Tuesday.

A target of 420, with 381 left ona fifth day worn out Chepauktrack, was always a tough askgoing by cricketing logic andAnderson’s mid-morning burstblew away the Indian middle-order. In the end, the hosts couldmanage only 192 in 58.1 overs.

That spell ensured that therewasn’t a Sydney like heist or themagic of Brisbane final day whichmany had hoped for despite theworld record target.

Kohli (72 off 104 balls) seemedlike a lonely general standing on aburning deck as he showed his col-leagues how to bat on a difficulttrack.

He covered the swing andshuffled towards the off-stump tocounter Anderson, ran purposeful-ly and scored his runs against spin-ners.

But there was that one ball thatwas always going to keep low andhe got that from Ben Stokes.

DOUBLE ALIKE BLOWCourtesy Anderson (11-4-17-

3), the match became a mismatchwithin an hour and India now needto win two out of the next threeTests to qualify for the World TestChampionship final in June. Theplayer of the match honours wentto England skipper Joe Root for hismatch-defining double hundred inthe first innings.

It was left-arm spinner JackLeach (26-4-76-4), who after hisfirst innings humilation at thehands of Rishabh Pant, finishedwith the best figures but the effortpaled in comparison to the effectthat Anderson had on the psycheof the Indian team.

Anderson sowed doubtsamong rank and file of the homeline-up, whether they had thetechnique to play the moving ballwhich swings the other way round.Kohli can but can his colleagues doit will be the big question going

forward.The man from Burnley, in his

19th Test match season, showed hisartistry with a semi-new ball, on afifth day track and sappingChennai heat, far removed condi-tions from the grey skies and coolbreeze that Old Trafford giveshim.

But then Anderson is a devo-tee and best practitioner of Testmatch ethos and doesn’t need totake refuge in conditions becauseof his supreme control over hiscraft.

ANOTHER FIFTY FOR GILLGill (50, 83 balls) once again

looked dazzling till the time he wasat the crease. The sinewy wrists werein play as he hit seven fours and asix, dealing with spinners comfort-ably.

Even Cheteshwar Pujara’s (15 off38 balls) dismissal off Jack Leach’s“peach” didn’t unfaze the young manfrom Punjab as he along with Kohlicalmly went about their business.

It was the 27th over whenAnderson first came into the attackand the second ball was a perfectreverse inswinger which had Gill ina daze as the off-stump went for awalk.

The way the shiny part on theinside tailed in was a sight tobehold.

Rahane (0), for all the appre-ciation coming his way, was in verypoor form for the better part of theAustralia series, save a hundred atMCG where he was droppedthrice.

The first ball he faced onTuesday was another one thatcame back a shade and it was hit-

ting the middle of the middlestump with the Umpires’ Call sav-ing the vice-captain of what lookedlike a plumb leg before.

The wily Anderson realisedthat an out-of-form Rahane’s feetare not moving.

The next time he just went ashade wide off the crease anddelivered another reverseinswinger. Rahane knew that therewas no comeback. Pant (11) hashad three great knocks but he was

facing a bowler with supremegame awareness and immaculateunderstanding of conditions.

Against a left-hander, he pre-dictably came round the wicketand angled a few in with a busyPant hitting a boundary.

By then, Anderson had gaugedthat Pant could be hurried on thedrive.

So the master changed his tac-tic and bowled a slower one entic-ing Pant to go for a drive.

Pant tried his best to check itbut the bowler had asked his skip-per Joe Root to specifically standat short cover for that particularshot.

From 92 for 2, it was 110 forfive and Kohli cut a lonely figureat the other end.

Washington Sundar (0) wasthen picked by Dom Bess with theone that turned away leaving Indiain complete tatters.

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Bayern Munich advanced to theClub World Cup final after

goals in each half by RobertLewandowski sealed a 2-0 victoryover African champions Al Ahly inMonday’s semi-final.

The European champions faceTigres in the final on Thursdayafter the Mexican club saw offBrazilian giants Palmeiras inSunday’s other semi-final.

“It was a very good matchand we’re ready for the final,”Lewandowski said.

He gave Bayern thelead with just 17 min-utes gone at theAhmad Bin AliStadium, a hostvenue for the 2022World Cup inQatar.

The Polandstar then headedhome a pinpoint LeroySane cross four minutes

before the whistle to book Bayern’splace in the final. Lewandowski, theBundesliga’s top scorer, has nowscored 29 goals in 27 club matchesthis season.

Bayern are bidding to becomeonly the second team after Barcelonain 2009 to win all six domestic andinternational titles up for grabs inone season. The German giants lift-

ed the Bundesliga, German Cup,Champions League, GermanCup and UEFA Super Cup tro-phies in 2020.

“We want to claim anothertitle — title number six during

this season,”Lewandowski added.

“This is a WorldCup, which isalways somethingspecial.

“I hope wecan play evenbetter in thefinal and that we

will have moregoalscoring chances.”

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Rafael Nadal’s injured back didn’t slow his bidfor a record 21st Grand Slam title on Tuesday,

as women’s world number one Ashleigh Bartyromped to a 6-0, 6-0 ‘double bagel’ at theAustralian Open.

On a day when women’s champion SofiaKenin also reached round two, but two-time win-ner Victoria Azarenka lost after breathing prob-lems, Nadal and Barty were the headline acts atthe coronavirus-delayed Slam.

Spanish great Nadal, who pulled out of lastweek’s ATP Cup with back problems, beatSerbia’s Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and52 minutes on a sun-kissed Rod Laver Arena.

“It’s been a tough 15 days for me,” said the2009 champion, whose back stiffness first flaredduring an exhibition match last month.

“I needed to survive today and that’s what Idid. I’m happy to be through and I think I did agood job today. Straight sets is what I needed.”

Nadal, 34, is attempting to outstrip his old rivalRoger Federer, who is out with injury, and takesole ownership of the all-time record for GrandSlam titles.

After world number one Novak Djokoviceased through late on Monday, Russia’s DaniilMedvedev extended his winning streak to 15matches with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victoryover Canada’s Vasek Pospisil.

The 2019 US Open finalist is raising hopesof a maiden Grand Slam title with his unbeatenrun, which includes winning the Paris Masters,ATP Finals and last week’s ATP Cup with Russia.

Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev also con-tinued his winning start to the year with a straight-sets victory over German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

And Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipasmade short work of French veteran Gilles Simon,winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in 92 minutes.

BARTY STARTEDBarty also outclassed Montenegro’s Danka

Kovinic, losing only 10 points as she raced intoround two in just 44 minutes.

With the win Barty, last year’s semi-finalistwho sat out most of the 2020 season, ramped uphopes of a first Australian women’s winner in 43years.

Women’s champion Kenin was less convinc-ing and she audibly vented her frustrations dur-ing her 7-5, 6-4 win against Australian MaddisonInglis, who is ranked outside the top 100.

Two-time major-winner Garbine Muguruza,who was stunned by Kenin in last year’s final, hadlittle trouble beating Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan6-4, 6-0.

But there were distressing scenes as an ailingAzarenka, the 2012 and 2013 champion, went outto Jessica Pegula.

Elsewhere, fifth seed Elina Svitolina waspushed hard by Czech Marie Bouzkouva beforecoming through 6-3, 7-5 (7/5).

She will next play 16-year-old American CocoGauff, who beat Venus Williams and NaomiOsaka last year and enjoyed a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann onTuesday.

Madrid: Atletico Madrid slipped upin La Liga for the first time in ninegames on Monday as Celta Vigosnatched a late equaliser to delivera ray of hope to Barcelona and RealMadrid. Luis Suarez scored twice atthe Wanda Metropolitano to over-turn Santi Mina’s opener for Celta,with Atletico on course to restoretheir 10-point lead at the top of thetable. But Facundo Ferreyra slid into score in the 89th minute to earna deserved 2-2 draw for the visitors,meaning Atletico’s advantage at theend of the weekend is reduced toeight, still with a game in hand. AFP

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Melbourne: India’s Sumit Nagal exited theAustralian Open with a first-round defeat, strug-gling to cope with the power-packed game ofLithuanian Ricardas Berankis, here on Tuesday.

Nagal’s challenge deflated in a matter of min-utes as Berankis’ powerful ground strokes provedto be too good for the Indian, who lost 2-6, 5-7,3-6 in two hours and 10 minutes.

Nagal had lost to the world number 72 in thelast week’s tune-up event too.

The 23-year-old Nagal reeled off four straightgames in the second set in his bid to stage a come-back but the initial dominance by Berankis large-ly dictated the outcome of the match.

India’s singles challenge is over and now alleyes will be on doubles players — RohanBopanna, Divij Sharan and Ankita Raina. PTI

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England have set a benchmarkfor themselves with their mon-

umental victory against India inthe first Test, gushed captain JoeRoot while admitting that com-peting on spin-friendly tracks inSri Lanka prepared them nicelyfor this tour.

England inflicted on India ahumiliating 227-run defeat to go1-0 up in the four Test series butthe visiting skipper has no doubtthat the home team has the kindof players who can exact revenge.

“I'’m very proud of the waywe’ve played this week. We haveset a benchmark now, we’ve gotsomething to work for to compareourselves. Still there are areas wecan improve on. We can still getbetter,” Root said at the post-match press conference.

“We know that India are anextremely good team, especially inthese conditions. And they’re avery proud nation as well. They’vegot some exceptional players sothey’ll come back hard.”

The skipper, who made abrilliant 218 which was the cor-nerstone of England’s massivefirst innings total, mentioned therole played by the Sri Lanka seriesahead of India assignment.

England had won that series2-0 with Root leading from thefront with his big hundreds.

“It certainly served us well,coming out here, having faced thevolume of spin that we have,having the confidence of winning.And playing on a similar kind ofwicket, wasn’t the same by anystretch, but the tempo of thecricket that you play in the sub-continent I think served us real-ly well coming into this game.”

“The pleasing thing for me

was to set a big first innings run,and we delivered it. We said weneeded to be smart about howwe’re going to take 20 wickets, andwe delivered it.”

Root said the challenge beforethem now is to repeat the magnif-icent performance.

“Can we replicate that, can wego one better, can we keep look-ing to improve as a team and canwe take it on individually thatmakes a difference.”

About not declaring and notaccelerating the scoring duringthe second innings on day fourwhich drew criticism from somequarters, Root said the idea wasto not give the home team anychance of winning the game

“I wanted to make sure thatmore than anything there wereonly two possible results. It wouldhave been damaging had we lostthis game.

“I knew that the way that itdeteriorated the last three days inparticular that coming into todayit was gonna happen even quick-er again. All we needed to do, berelentless with the areas we werebowling.

“Put the ball in good areas fora long period of time and thewicket will do the rest. It was justabout holding on,” Root added.

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Dubai: India on Tuesday slipped tofourth position in the World TestChampionship rankings after their227-run defeat to England in theopening Test as the visitors kept alivetheir hopes of making the final of theinaugural event.

New Zealand have already qual-ified for the WTC final, to be heldat Lord’s later in the year, winning70.0 per cent of their matches (withno other series scheduled).

The victory at Chepauk liftedEngland to first place and 70.2 per-centage points on the table and theyhave improved their chances of

securing one of the three seriesresults in their favour that could seethem through to the final — 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0. India grabbed the top spotafter their incredible series winAustralia last month.

India, who have slipped to fourthposition with 68.3 percentage points,will now be looking to win at leasttwo of the remaining three matchesto secure a 2-1 or 3-1 result and aplace in the final.

Australia will get to feature in aTrans-Tasman summit clash if theIndia-England series is drawn or ifEngland win 1-0, 2-1 or 2-0. PTI

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India’s underwhelming battingperformance in the first innings

gave England the decisive advan-tage, skipper Virat Kohli said onTuesday and defended the deci-sion to play rookie left-arm spin-ner Shahbaz Nadeem instead ofa more experienced KuldeepYadav.

After losing the first Test,Kohli admitted that the teamwas always under the scoreboardpressure after England’s mam-moth first innings total of 578 butalso said that he has no regretsabout picking Nadeem overKuldeep.

“I think, Test probably shift-ed in their favour when we bat-ted in the first innings. We werelooking to bat better but I don’t

think there was enough applica-tion shown by us as a battingunit,” Kohli said at the post-match press conference refer-ring to India’s 337 all out firstessay score.

“Even if someone got a hun-dred in either innings, still we werepretty much behind in the game.There’s not one way to play thegame and we understand thatquite well and our endeavour in thefuture games is going to be longpartnerships,” said Kohli.

Kuldeep’s absence was a talk-ing point through the Test butKohli gave his reasons as to why hewouldn’t like to revisit his decision.

“...When you are playing two

off-spinners, Kuldeep more or lessbecomes a similar kind of spinner(bringing it into the right-han-ders). So, we needed variety. Wewere quite clear what combinationwe wanted to play, and there areno regrets whatsoever.”

However he hinted that themanagement could rework thecombination in the comingmatches. The second Test is alsoscheduled to be held here fromFebruary 13.

“Moving forward, we willlook at combinations, that bringus variety in the bowling attackand not (be) one-dimensional,where the ball is only turningaway from the bat.”

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