MEDIA SPECTRUMPage : 4 Page : 8

Tokyo Olympics 2020 :India finishes 48th, best

in four decades

VOL : 19 ISSUE : 5 16-31 AUGUST 2021 DELHI PAGES : 8 PRICE RS. 3 RNI NO. - DELENG/2002/7219

Supreme Court on the 97thConstitutional Amendment

I-Day : PM sets goals for centenary of India’s IndependenceCalls for ‘sabka prayas’ to realise them

New Delhi, (Agencies) : Leadingthe nation into the 75th year ofIndependence from the ramparts ofthe Red Fort on Sunday, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said thetime had come to redefine India andcalled for “sabka prayas” to take thecountry to greater heights.Setting national goals for thecentenary of Independence in2047, a 25 year period he called“amrit kaal”, the Prime Minister in a90-minute address said, “This isthe time, the right time, precioustime for India. Let’s seize it.”Noting that he was no fortune tellerbut a firm believer in the fruits oflabour, the Prime Minister hailed thecurrent generation as a “Can dogeneration”, saying, “Thisgeneration can do anything,achieve anything. I have full faithin the potential of our youth, ourdaughters, our farmers, ourprofessionals...For the next 25years we have to make pledges and

touch the pinnacle of diligence andpersistence to realise them. This is

the time to dream new dreams and Ican state with confidence thatwhoever unfurls the Tricolour in2047 will announce the realisationof the promises we make today,”said the Prime Minister, in the

presence of the Indian Olympiccontingent, invited to I-Day

celebrations as special guests.Adding the phrase “sabka prayas”to the government’s “sabka saath,sabka vikas, sabka vishwas”pledge, the Prime Minister said,“Now we have to move towards the

saturation of all welfare goals — 100pc villages must have roads, 100 pchouseholds must have bankaccounts, 100 pc women must haveUjjawla benefits.”Calling for next generationinfrastructure, world-classmanufacturing and new agetechnology as the pillars for India’sfuture, the PM announced twomajor initiatives that are in theworks—PM Master Plan andNational Hydrogen Mission.“In the near future, India will launchthe Rs 100 lakh-crore PM Gatishakti

Master Plan. We have to enhanceour manufacturing and exports.Few days ago, the first indigenousaircraft carrier INS Vikrant waslaunched for sea trials,” said thePrime Minister, emphasising greenenergy, for which, he said planswere afoot for a National HydrogenMission to ensure India’s energyindependence by 2047.Delineating his vision forIndia@2047, the Prime Ministerurged manufacturers to payattention to the quality of theirproducts saying every item theyexport is India’s brand ambassador.“’Brand India hinges on the qualityof your exports,” he remindedindustry. contd on page-3

‘Deshbhakti’ curriculum to be rolled out ingovt schools from September 27 : KejriwalNew Delhi, (UNI) : Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal onSunday announced that‘Deshbhakti’ curriculum will berolled out in government schoolsfrom September 27 as a tribute tofreedom fighter Bhagat Singh.The chief minister hoisted thenational flag at Delhi Secretariatto mark Independence Day.He also announced that yogaclasses will be started in Delhi’shalls and parks from October 2.“Delhi gave yoga to the entireworld but now it is becomingextinct. Apart from the Interna-tional Yoga Day celebrations onJune 21 that are held every year,there is not much happening foryoga. We will be starting yogaclasses and are preparing a hugeteam of yoga teachers and instruc-

tors. A group of 30-40 people, whowant to learn yoga, can approachus and we will provide yoga

instructors,” Kejriwal said.The chief minister announced therollout of the Deshbhakticurriculum in government schoolsfrom September 27 and said the aimis to instil a feeling of pride in everychild and also to prepare them togive their everything for the nation.

Visakhapatnam, (Agencies) :AIIMS Director Randeep Guleriasaid here on Saturday that thecountry might not see a third wave

of coronavirus disease but itlargely depended on peoplefollowing Covid AppropriateBehaviour.Talking to reporters at the GitamInstitute, where he received theFoundation Day Award inrecognition of his services, Gulerianoted that the only unpredictablepart was how the virus behaved.“But I don’t think that we will see athird wave which will be as bad asthe second wave,” he observed.Referring to apprehensions thatthe possible third wave couldinfect children more, the AIIMSchief pointed out that children

Covid-19 third wave unpredictable :AIIM director Randeep Guleria

would be “more susceptible”because they were not beingvaccinated.“The general feeling is that adults

are getting vaccinated, childrenare not being vaccinated andtherefore if there is a new wave itwill affect those who are moresusceptible. Children will bemore susceptible,” he noted.More than 50 per cent of childrenhave already been infected as perthe sero survey and haveantibodies, Guleria pointed out.But, he added, hopefully there

would be a (anti-Covid) vaccine forchildren also coming up in anothermonth or two.Then children would also startgetting vaccinated.He said the vaccines were stilleffective as far as severe diseasewas concerned. “Vaccines arehelping in preventing severedisease and death from Covid-19.Infections are still happening butthose infected are predominantlythose who have not beenvaccinated. That’s why we aresaying more and more people needto get vaccinated,” he added.“Those getting infected even after

vaccination, what we callbreakthrough infection, arepredominantly getting milderinfection. So vaccines are effectivein giving protection from severedisease,” he noted.Guleria, a renowned pulmono-logist, was presented the GitamFoundation Day Award that carriedRs 10 lakh and a citation. GitamInstitutions chairman M Sri Bharatpresented the award and felicitatedGuleria on the occasion.

Government : 18 Bills passed in haste during UPA ruleNew Delhi, (Agencies) :Launching a counter-offensiveagainst opposition for theirallegation that the government had

rushed through the legislative

business in Parliament during themonsoon session, the governmenttoday released a list of 18 Bills,which were passed in a hasty

manner during the UPA rule

between 2006 and 2014.The Parliamentary Affairs Ministrysaid, “The Opposition questionsover Bills being passed in din.However, it is their refusal to allowdebate that has left no choice. Frommerely shouting, they have shiftedto violence and manhandling staffto disrupt parliamentary process.”It highlighted as how then LawMinister Kapil Sibal hadapologised for passing aConstitution Amendment Bill inhaste in RS.

MEDIA SPECTRUM (DELHI) 16-31 AUGUST 20212NATIONAL

Jessica Lall’s sister Sabrina deadNew Delhi, (Agencies) : SabrinaLall who had fought a long battleto bring the killers of her sisterJessica Lall to book passedaway on Sunday evening, herbrother said.Sabrina, in her early fifties, wasailing for a long time and wassuffering from cirrhosis of theliver.“She was not keeping well andhad been in and out of hospital.Yesterday, her conditiondeteriorated at home and wetook her to hospital. Today, inthe evening, she passedaway,” her brother Ranjith Lall toldPTI over the phone.Last year, in an interview with PTI,Sabrina had spoken about her plansto start a foundation in memory ofher sister to aid women in similarsituations to get justice.Jessica Lall was murdered in 1999at an upscale restaurant in the

national capital.Calling Jessica her closest friend,Sabrina had said she missed her

sister’s presence in her life everyday. “She was jovial and positivein life. It is not just birthdays anddeath anniversaries that I miss her,it is every day. I have lots ofpictures of hers in my home and notthat I need them to miss her, but theyare there to remind me of her,”Sabrina had told PTI.

12 days after Dhruv helicopter crash, body of one pilot retrieved from Ranjit Sagar reservoirChandigarh, (Agencies) : Twelvedays after a Dhruv helicopter of theArmy Aviation Corps that hadcrashed into the Ranjit Sagarreservoir, the body of Lt Col ASBaath, one of the pilots onboard theill-fated helicopter, was recoveredon Sunday evening.“Mortal remains of Lt Col AS Baathretrieved from a depth of 75.9 metreat 1819 hours (6.19 pm) from theRanjit Sagar lake. Efforts to retrievethe mortal remains of the secondpilot continue,” a senior Armyofficer said.The body of the pilot was moved tothe Military Hospital, Pathankot,for post mortem and othernecessary procedures.The search operation, whichcontinued till about 7 pm, willresume tomorrow morning.

The Dhruv helicopter from anArmy Aviation Corps squadronbased at Pathankot had taken off ona routine sortie on August 3, whenit crashed into the reservoir nearKathua in Jammu region. Only apart of the helicopter’s wreckagewas recovered in the initial phaseof the search.Divers from the Navy and theArmy’s Special Forces have beeninvolved in the search operationsusing multi-beam sonars, sidescanners, remotely operatedvehicles and underwatermanipulators which have beenflown in from Chandigarh, Delhi,Mumbai and Kochi.Yesterday, the IAF had airlifted aSubmarine Rescue Unit of theIndian Navy from Vishakapatnamto the crash site to explore the

digitally located wreckage at adepth of approximately 80 - 100metre.Earlier, a small area of 60 metre by60 metre had been localised and

special sonar equipment flown infrom Kochi was employed to enablethe search operations to enter thefinal phase. On August 11, the Army

had stated that the wreckage hadbeen identified at a depth ofapproximately 80 metre from thesurface of the reservoir.The expansive reservoir is 25 km

long, 8 km wide and more than 150metre deep. Besides the Army andthe Navy, other agencies involvedin the search operations include the

National Disaster Relief Force,Ranjit Sagar Dam Authority and thelocal district administration as wellas local residents.Sources said this was the secondincident involving a Dhruvhelicopter from the same squadronin the past about six months.Another Dhruv from a differentunit, also based at Pathankot, madea forced landing in the fields lastweek after suffering an oil leak,sources added.Last week, Neel Joshi, the brotherof the other missing pilot, had takento the social media, highlighting theemotional trauma being faced bythe families of the aircrew withsearch and rescue operationsgetting prolonged and littleinformation emerging throughofficial channels.

PM has been talking of investment ininfrastructure since 2019 : Congress

New Delhi, (UNI) : The Congresson Sunday took a swipe at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi over hisannouncement of Rs 100 lakh crorefor the infrastructure sector, sayinghe has been talking of it since 2019.The Congress also shared hisIndependence Day speeches of2019, 2020, and 2021, where he isheard talking about the Rs 100 lakhcrore investment in infrastructure. ”It has been two years sinceAugust 15, 2019. At least, the 100lakh crore figure could have beenchanged,” Congress chiefspokesperson Randeep Surjewalasaid in a tweet in Hindi while postingthe news of the prime minister’s I-Day speech in 2019. Congress’s social mediadepartment head Rohan Gupta also

shared Modi’s speech of previousyears and tweeted, “Change the

name of the scheme. Keep repeatingthe same amount of fund. Neitherwill the scheme be heard of againnor will be the fund. India can seethrough the lies of Modi

government and have garlandedthe PM with ‘Gold Medal in

Jumla’.” Modi in his speechon Sunday outlined theroadmap for a new andassertive India and announ-ced a slew of developmentprogrammes, including alandmark Rs 100 lakh crore“Gatishakti” initiative toboost infrastructure andemployment opportunities. The Rs 100 lakh croreprogramme will lay thefoundation of the overallinfrastructure in the country

including in transport, reducingtravel time and productivity, hesaid. The initiative will lead to thedevelopment of future economiczones.

PM launches vehicle scrappage policyNew Delhi, (Agencies) : PrimeMinister Narendra Modi launched

the National Vehicle ScrappagePolicy, the voluntary vehicle-fleetmodernisation programme, aimed atmodernising India’s “vehicularpopulation” and removing unfitvehicles from roads in an environ-

ment friendly and scientific manner.Elaborating on its economic and

environmental benefits,the PM said the policywould play a big role inthe modernisation andphasing out the old,polluting vehicles in anenvironment-friendlymanner.“Modernity in mobilitynot only reduces theburden of travel andtransportation, but alsoproves to be helpful foreconomic development.The goal for 21st centuryIndia to be clean,congestion-free andconvenient mobility isthe need of the hour,”

the PM said addressing theinvestors’ summit in Gujarat.The PM said while following theprinciple “Reuse, Recycle andRecovery”, the policy will alsopromote India’s self-reliance in the

auto sector and in the metal sector.He said the aim was to create aviable circular economy and bringvalue for all stakeholders whilebeing environmentally respon-sible. “Vehicles will be scientificallytested through authorised andautomated centres beforescrapping,” the PM added.Citing Alang ship recycling yard, hesaid the auto and metal industrywas set to get a big boost with thepolicy, which would make scrapsteel available locally. The summitis part of the exercise to inviteinvestment for setting up vehiclescrapping infrastructure.Union Road Transport andHighways Minister Nitin Gadkarisaid, “India currently has 10 millioncars without valid fitnessparameters, adding to pollutionand fuel costs. Replacing oldvehicles will benefit theenvironment and generate directand indirect employment for about50,000 people.”

Nashik cops started ‘nohelmet, no petrol’ drive

Nashik, (Agencies) : A ‘no helmet,no petrol’ drive was launched inNashik in Maharashtra by stateminister Chhagan Bhujbal onSunday as part of the75th Independence Daycelebrations here,police said.Inaugurating the driveat Sadbhavana policepetrol pump onGangapur Road here,Bhujbal, who isguardian minister of thedistrict, said peoplemust follow traffic rules,including wearing helmets, as 825people had lost their lives in 782accidents that took place in thecity in the last five years. “Among the 825 who died, 467were two-wheeler riders, and it wasfound that 397 of them had notworn helmets at the time of theaccident,” Bhujbal said, addingthat fuel pumps must install

CCTVs to ensure those floutingthe helmet rule are also fined.Nashik police commissionerDeepak Pandey said fuel pumps

must ensure they do not givepetrol to any person who isflouting the helmet rule, addingthat cooperation from the peoplewould ensure the drive is a modelone for the entire country.On the occasion, Bhujbaldistributed 2,053 helmets amongpolice personnel of thecommissionerate.

16-31 AUGUST 2021 (DELHI) MEDIA SPECTRUM

NATIONAL3

To the farmers, the Prime Minister assured that reforms were for theirbenefits. He spoke of 80 per cent farmers with less than 2 hectare landand said, “The decisions are now being taken keeping small farmers inmind. They were ignored in the past. Our dream is—chhota kisan, deshki shaan”In another major announcement, the Prime Minister promised to openSainik schools to girls soon.He described as historic several recent decisions such as the “abrogationof Article 370 in J&K, peaceful settlement of the Ram Janmabhoomi issue;implementation of GST” to say that 21st century India had the capacityto achieve anything.The Prime Minister also said the delimitation commission was workingin J&K and elections would be held thereafter.“Today India is solving problems that have been pending for decades.Be it the constitutional status to the OBC Commission or block anddistrict council elections in J&K for the first time since Independence,India is consistently displaying its will to realise its pledges,” he said,adding that Jammu and Kashmir, hill states and northeast will becomethe bedrocks for India’s future growth.The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of citizen duties sayingevery Indian must own the national pledges to take the country forwardand added that there was no time to lose.He earlier spoke of the declaration of August 14 as the Partition HorrorsRemembrance Day as a “very emotional national decision.”

FROM PAGE-1 : PM sets goals for centenary of India’s......

UP 2022 polls would be an effortto save India : Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow, (UNI) : Samajwadi Partypresident and former Uttar Pradeshchief minister Akhilesh Yadav onSunday said that the upcoming

elections in the state would be aneffort to save the country and theyouth should consider the 2022assembly polls as their ownelection.“BJP is playing with theConstitution. Dalits and backwardshave to think whether they have got

the right which they have got in theConstitution,” Mr Yadav said whileaddressing the party workers hereon the occasion of 75th

Inde pende nc eDay.SP patriarchMulayam SinghYadav greetedthe people byhoisting the flagat the SamajwadiParty office in thestate capital onSunday.At the same time,targeting the BJP

government, Akhilesh Yadav saidthat those in power today did notfulfill any promise.Mr Yadav said that caste censushas not been conducted in thecountry after 1931. Those who arein power today creating fightswithin the society on the basis of

caste and dividing the society.“On this day, the governmentshould take the decision of castecensus, so that people shouldknow the number of castes in thesociety. Besides it will help to makedecisions on the basis ofpopulation while making newpolicies,” he said.The SP chief further said that alongwith celebrating the day ofindependence of the country, it isalso a day to remember the martyrsand nation builders who sacrificedthemselves for freedom.“Lakhs of people have sacrificedfor this freedom. Our country isvery vast and people of differentcaste religion live in this country.No other country in the world hassuch diversity,” he said.Akhilesh Yadav said that in the lastfew years there is a conspiracy todestroy the Ganga Jamuni cultureand identity of the country.

Assam CM invites ULFA (I) chief for peace talksGuwahati, (Agencies) : AssamChief Minister Himanta BiswaSarma on Sunday appealed toULFA (I) chief Paresh Barua to cometo the negotiating table. Sarma also expressed his gratitudeto Covid warriors for theirunrelenting fight against thepandemic, and reaffirmed hisgovernment’s commitment to thewar against drugs and humantrafficking.He made 10 ‘requests’ to the peopleof Assam, including taking care ofaging parents and marrying offdaughters not before the age of 21,to mark the 75th IndependenceDay.Speaking at the state functionorganised on the occasion, thechief minister said that Assam is

celebrating Independence Daywithout any bandh called bymilitant groups, including ULFA,for the first time in decades. “On behalf of the people of Assam,I appeal to Paresh Barua to comeforward for dialogue. Let no youthof our state be killed anymore,” hesaid.The ULFA (I), which had beencalling for Assam Bandh onIndependence Day and RepublicDay for several decades, refrainedfrom the practice for the first timefor Independence Day this year. The outfit has also declared aunilateral ceasefire since May thisyear in view of the pandemicsituation. The chief minister hadearlier urged Barua to come forpeace talks after assuming power

in May this year. Sarma thanked all Covid warriors,including doctors, nurses,laboratory technicians andambulance drivers, for workingtirelessly in the pandemic. Notingthat Covid-19 vaccination for alleligible people was progressingwell in the state, he said that 1.5crore doses will be administered inthe next one week.He congratulated boxer LovlinaBorgohain for her Olympic bronzemedal and said that her success isan inspiration for all. Sarma paid tributes to the six AssamPolice personnel killed in violencealong the inter-state border withMizoram on July 26, and conferredthem the ‘Chief Minister’s SpecialService Medal in a Crisis Situation’

posthumously. He said that theAssam government is committed

to resolving the border disputeswithout compromising with thestate’s constitutional boundary. “Iurge the northeastern states toresolve the disputes through talksto keep the ‘soul’ of our region

alive,” he said.The chief minister said that the

Assam Cattle Preservation Bill,2021, which was passed by theassembly on Friday, shows thestate government’s resolve toprotect the cultural ethos of thestate. contd on page-575th Independence Day celebrated with

great fervour, enthusiasm in KashmirSrinagar, (UNI) : The 75th I-Daycelebrations were held acrossKashmir valley with great fervourand enthusiasm on Sunday.An official spokesperson said thatapart from the main function heldat SK Cricket Stadium Srinagar, thecelebrations were held at alldistricts and the Tehsilheadquarters where for the firsttime in the history of Kashmir theDistrict Development Council(DDC) Chairman/ Chairpersonhoisted the tricolour andaddressed the participants.“The main function in southKashmir district of Anantnag washeld at GDC Boys, Khanabal whereChairman District DevelopmentCouncil Anantnag, MohammadYousuf Gorsi unfurled the nationalflag and took salute at the paradepresented by the contingents fromCRPF, J&K Police, IRP, F&ES, NCC

and schools,” he said.On the occasion, colourful culturalprogrammes on patriotic themeswere presented by students andartists of the district. Besides, thetoppers of Online SingingCompetition recited the NationalAnthem.At the conclusion, the participantswho performed excellent andsecured positions in March Past,Cultural items and NationalAnthem Singing Competitionswere awarded trophies andcertificates. Officials, organisa-tions, sports and media personswere also felicitated for commen-dable work in their respective fields.The I-Day celebrations were alsoheld at District Court Complex,GMC, Sub-Divisions, Tehsils,Blocks, Schools, Health Institut-ions and Panchayats of the district.He said the main function in district

Baramulla was organized at DistrictPolice Lines wherein DistrictDevelopment Council (DDC)Baramulla, Chairperson, SafeenaBeigh inspected the parade andtook salute at the march pastpresented by the contingents ofJ&K Police, CRPF, BSF, Fire andemergency services, Home guardsstudents among other bands.Deputy Commissioner BaramullaBhupinder Kumar, DDC members,Officers of judicial administration,DIG North, Officers of Army andPolice, heads of variousdepartments, district and sectoralofficers besides a huge gatheringof people witnessed theiroverwhelming participation.Meanwhile, a variety of culturalProgrammes were presented whichdepicted cultural diversity andheritage of the region.

contd on page-5

Haryana plans to link schoolfee hike with price index

Chandigarh, (Agencies) : Amidprotests by parents against“unprecedented” fee hike byprivate schools in Haryana, thestate Education Department isplanning to link the hike to theConsumer Price Index (CPI).While the department is workingon a formula, the private schoolsmaintain that they will be forced toshut shop in case it is implemented.Mahavir Singh, ACS (SchoolEducation), said, “At present,schools are free to have their ownfee structure. But the rules arebeing amended. We are exploringthe possibility of linking it to theCPI.” No fee hike was allowed lastyear following the intervention ofthe court amid the pandemic. AnilKaushik of the Progressive PrivateSchools Association said, “Sincewe suffered heavy losses last yearand are unable to meet ourexpenses, we increased the fee by15 per cent this year.”On the said proposal, he said, “Thegovernment has no business

regulating the fee charged byprivate schools. We will take legalrecourse. Earlier also thegovernment tried to set up a fee

regulatory authority, but it wasstayed by the court. Moreover, thesalaries are not linked to inflation.We give annual increments to ourstaff.”According to Kanwar Pal Gujjar,Education Minister of the state,school fee hike must be regulated.“The opinion of the schoolmanagements will be consideredbefore taking any decision,” hesaid.

MEDIA SPECTRUM (DELHI) 16-31 AUGUST 20214OPINION

Thoughts on Our Free NationThe 75th anniversary of India’s independence naturally turns one towardsthe idea of freedom. On August 15, 1947, India became politically free ofcolonial rule and set out with dreams of political, economic and social freedom,visions of equality, brotherhood, and justice for all. No one will deny thatsome progress has been made in the direction of achieving those dreams, butmuch too much remains unrealised.We do have periodic elections to choose a government, a sign of democracyand freedom of choice at work. But when a certain government is elected,increasingly, those in the opposition have resorted to denigrating every moveit makes. The government, on its part, chooses to retreat into a shell, thinking,arrogantly perhaps, that its actions will speak for themselves. A mistakennotion, for actions can be misinterpreted in the absence of authoritativeclarification; visibility and audibility of the right kind is necessary to keep intouch with the people. Press conferences with the prime minister arenecessary, even if the press seems to be hostile. That is a mark of freedom inaction.Parliament seems to have become dysfunctional, with debate and discussionbeing replaced by chaos and hooliganism, with ‘honourable’ members jumpingon tables, shouting abuses, tearing up papers, and jostling with marshals, inthe presence of a helpless chairperson. That seems to be one interpretationof freedom. The freedom of the opposition in a democracy to work towardsembarrassing the government at all costs. Given their low numbers and theirlack of skill at cornering the government in legitimate ways through thepresentation of intelligent and cogent views, they think the best way is tostall the work in the Houses of Parliament.The treasury benches think that,in the circumstances, they are fully justified in getting the work done withoutdiscussion (after all, it is the opposition’s fault!) and push through legislationson the strength of numbers. The monsoon session was curtailed by a coupleof days, but important legislations having a direct impact on people’s rightswere passed in a matter of minutes without discussion.Who loses in the end? We, the people. We, who pay directly or indirectly forelections to be conducted and for Parliament to work, but do not have thefreedom (the right) to intervene directly and tell our ‘representatives’ tobehave.The Pegasus issue is, no doubt, of some importance, with the associatedserious implication of the violation of the right to privacy. But there is acivilised way to go forward to make the government answer. Also, the actualevidence seemed to be lacking. Even the published reports said ‘may’ haveused. No government would anyway admit to using the spyware. And therewere other important matters to discuss, all of which were sacrificed in theinterest of quickly catching the eyeballs on television and disrupting legitimateparliamentary business.We have a long way to go in our quest for freedom from poverty of the worstkind, in which families do not have even one square meal a day, leave alonethe access to health care. The ratio of medical personnel to the population isabysmally low. The lack of good health care facilities was shown up glaringlyin the recent months of the COVID-19 pandemic. How many people wereinfected and how many died? Numbers are elusive. Statistics are unreliable.Not least because the real cause of death seems not to have been investigated.How many deaths were actually caused by COVID alone? No one quiteknows. Where is freedom of information?On the social front, though it may be an unpopular view to take, the state ofthe downtrodden has improved, though slowly and not to the extent onemay desire. They have, over time, gained a voice and a certain amount ofinfluence in the political arena. The unspeakable practice of ‘untouchability’has reduced, if not completely eradicated. Here, there is legislation that‘prohibits’ the practice, but we all know that legislation alone cannot workin the absence of social will. It rears its ugly head, especially in the rural areas.There are still reports of higher caste politicians not willing to sit beside oreat with Dalits. There is, obviously a long way ahead to achieve true equality.Again, to take an unpopular view, the minority religious communities in Indiacontinue to enjoy the freedom to practise and even propagate their religion.There may be instances of murders on communal lines, but these are not, assome media portray them to be, the norm of the day. There is a concertedeffort to create an impression that under the ‘right wing’ BJP-led government,the minorities have a bad time. Facts do not, however, support this.On theother hand, when we see reports of how the minorities are treated in ourneighbouring countries, the minorities in India are not so badly off. Yes, muchmore can and should be done on this front, especially as we are a secularcountry.On the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence, we, the people, haveto take a pledge of living up to the ideals of the Preamble. The government weelect with so much hope should take steps to provide the basic essentials atleast to its people, especially in the form of health care, so that avoidabledeaths need not happen, mothers and children get the nutrition they require,migrant workers need not leave their place of work at the slightest hint ofdisaster, women can be relatively safe, and oppression of all kind getsdrastically reduced. Above all, the law enforcers should be sensitised to thecommon people’s needs, so that the ordinary person is ready to approachthe police without fear or cynicism in the event of a crime, sure that they willbe given a fair deal.

– Kalpana Rajaram

EDITORIAL Supreme Court on the 97th Constitutional Amendment

On July 20, 2021, the SupremeCourt gave its decision on theunion government’s appealagainst the verdict of the GujaratHigh Court in the matter of theConstitutional (97th Amendment)Act of 2011.The Constitution (97th Amend-ment) Act, 2011 related to cooper-atives and was enacted toencourage economic activities ofcooperatives which in turn help inprogress of rural India. Theamendment was expected to notonly ensure autonomous anddemocratic functioning ofcooperatives, but also accounta-bility of the management to themembers and other stakeholders.The act amended Article 19(1)(c)by inserting, after the words ‘orunions’, the words ‘or cooper-ative societies’. The amendmentalso inserted Article 43B in Part IVof the Constitution as ‘the stateshall endeavour to promotevoluntary formation, autonomousfunctioning, democratic control,and professional management ofthe co-operative societies’. AfterPart IXA, a new part, Part IXB, wasinserted in the Constitution. PartIXB extends from Article 243ZH toArticle 243ZT.Gujarat High Court Decision : Theconstitutional validity of theamendment act was challenged inthe Gujarat High Court through apublic interest litigation (PIL) byRajendra Shah of the ConsumerProtection Analytic Committee(CPAC) on the ground that theUnion of India has no legislativecompetence to enact law forcooperative society which isexclusively a state subject as perEntry 32 in List II of the SeventhSchedule of the Constitution ofIndia.According to the writ petition, acareful reading of Part IXB wouldshow that the unrestricted powerof state legislatures prior to theamendment had been restrictedby Part IXB in several instances,particularly for example, fixation ofthe maximum number of directorsof cooperative societies;reservation provision containedin 243ZJ; duration of the term ofoffice of elected members of theboard of cooperative societies;and besides conditions related toconduct of elections, time periodof audits, filing of financialaccounts:It was challenged on the groundsthat a direct inroad had been madeinto Article 246(3) and Entry 32 ListII by the Parliament; as such, theamendment would have to bestruck down for want ofratification. Article 246(3) saysthat the Parliament has power tomake laws with respect to anymatter for any part of the territoryof India not included in a statenotwithstanding that such matteris a matter enumerated in the State

List. However, as per Article368(2), ratification of one-half ofstate legislatures is required for anamendment which makes changesto an entry in the State List.In deciding whether the inclusionof Part IXB in the Constitutionneeded ratification by half of thestates under the proviso to Article368(2), the Gujarat High Court in2013 declared that the saidamendment inserting Part IXBrequired the requisite ratificationunder Article 368(2) provisobefore being enacted. Therefore,the high court held that theamendment, to the extent itintroduced conditions for statelaws on cooperative societies, wasliable to be struck down as it waspassed without the ratification.Besides the provision ofratification by states in Article 368(2), another limitation on the powerof the Parliament developed in thecourse of cases that brought theSupreme Court and the Parliamentinto conflict. The Supreme Court,as the arbitrator in constitutionalmatters, laid down variousdoctrines or rules with regard tochecking the validity/legality of anamendment, the most famousamong them being the basicstructure doctrine as spelt out inthe case of Kesavananda Bharativs. State of Kerala.The Gujarat High Court, in thelight of the basic structuredoctrine, held that certainprovisions of the amendmentviolated the concept of federalismas provided by the Constitution.It noted that the insertion of PartIXB was problematic as itintroduced many conditionsrestricting the scope of statelegislatures on aspects related tocooperative societies. Part IXBalso laid down several mandates,from which the state legislaturecould not deviate. The high courtsaw this as a clear case ofParliament’s encroachment intothe domain of state legislatures.As the ‘cooperative societies’ arein List II of the Seventh Schedule,Parliament by enacting anamendment without complyingwith the provisions of Article 368(2) of the Constitution, had in anindirect way shifted the subject ofcooperative societies to the UnionList or Concurrent List from theState List. A constitutionalauthority cannot do indirectlywhat it is not permitted to dodirectly, the court remarked, andstruck down the entire Part IXB asultra vires the Constitution.Central Government’s Stand : TheCentre challenged the verdict ofthe Gujarat High Court in theSupreme Court. It defended theConstitution (97th Amendment)Act on the basis that it was not adirect or substantial attack on thepower of states to enact a law withregard to cooperatives. The union

govt argued that Parliament’spower to amend the Constitutionis not restricted by the allocationof legislative entries as per Article246 read with the SeventhSchedule. The govt justified itsstand on amending the law oncooper-atives, stating that it wasnecessary to inject profession-alism and autonomy into thefunctioning of the cooperativesocieties as lack of accountabilityby the members had led to poorservices and low productivity.Ruling of the Supreme Court : TheSupreme Court gave its decisionin July 2021.Majority Judgment The SupremeCourt, by a majority of 2:1, upheldthe judgment of the Gujarat HighCourt to a large extent. Themajority judgment (formed byJustices R.F. Nariman and B.R.Gavai) did not, however, strikedown the entire Part IXB, as theGujarat High Court had done, butstruck down provisions forcooperative societies registeredor deemed to be registered underany law related to cooperativesocieties in any state on theground that it lacked theratification by half of the states asrequired by Article 368(2). The court pointed out that byinserting Part IXB, consisting ofArticle 243ZH to 243ZT, theamendment significantly andsubstantially impacted theexclusive legislative power ofstates over their cooperativesector under Entry 32 of the StateList. Article 243ZI, moreover,asserts that a state may only makelaw on the incorporation,regulation, and winding up of asociety subject to the provision ofPart IXB of the 97th amendment.The court mentioned that anysignificant addition or curtailmentto the List II of the SeventhSchedule of the Constitutionwould amount to a ‘change’ and,therefore, the amendment requiredratification by at least one-half ofthe state legislature as per article368 (2) of the Constitution.The majority judgment said, “It isclear that by curtailing the widthof Entry 32, List 2 of the 7thSchedule, Part IX-B seeks to effecta significant change in Article246(3) read with Entry 32 List 2 ofthe 7th Schedule inasmuch as thestate’s exclusive power to makelaws with regard to the subject ofcooperative societies is signifi-cantly curtailed thereby directlyimpacting the quasi-federalprinciple contained therein. Quiteclearly, therefore, Part IX-B, insofaras it applies to cooperativesocieties which operate within astate, would therefore requireratification under both sub-clauses (b) and (c) of the provisoto Article 368 (2) of theConstitution of India.”Part-2 to be continued in next edition.

This Article will be published as two part series.

16-31 AUGUST 2021 (DELHI) MEDIA SPECTRUM

INTERNATIONAL5

He said that the government is committed to eradicating poverty throughpopulation control and will carry on its war against drugs, humantrafficking and other social menaces. Sarma said his government will fulfil its pre-poll promises includingproviding one lakh government jobs and waiving loans taken by womenfrom micro-finance institutions. “We want to do away with red-tapismin bureaucracy,” he said.The chief minister announced that freedom fighters’ pension issued bythe state government will be increased to Rs 36,000 at par with the centralremuneration and state honours will be accorded to all these formerrevolutionaries during their last rites. He made 10 ‘requests’ to the people of the state and urged them to complywith these to build a better Assam.Sarma urged people to observe birth and death anniversaries ofVaishanvite preachers Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhabdeva asopportunities to emulate their teachings. He called on people to make ita tradition to begin all programmes with a rendition of the state song andconclude those with the National Anthem.Urging people to take care of their aging parents, the chief minister saidthat his government will sanction seven days leave per year for itsemployees to visit their parents and requested other employers andbusinessmen to follow suit. To improve the work culture, he requested government employees tospend an extra hour at the office and leave no work pending. He appealedto people to stop using single-use plastics and do at least one ‘gooddeed’ this year like giving free tuition to needy students or organisinghealth camps. Sarma urged people not to marry off their daughters till they attain theage of 21, and cooperate with police to fight drugs and human trafficking.

FROM PAGE-3 : Assam CM invites ULFA (I) chief for peace.....

At the conclusion of the function, a prize distribution ceremony washeld during which various functionaries were felicitated for showingexemplary and extraordinary services in their respective fields.At Sopore, the Additional Deputy Commissioner Parvez Sajad hoistedthe Tricolour at Police Lines Khushal Stadium Sopore and took saluteon the march past presented by the contingents of District Police, IRP,CRPF, Home Guard and school children, he added.

FROM PAGE-3 : 75th Independence Day celebrated with great......

Pakistan writes to UK on moving India from red to amber Covid travel listIslamabad, (Agencies) : Pakistan’stop health official has written to theUK’s health secretary highlightingthe “discrepancies” in the Britishgovernment’s policy to retainPakistan on the Covid-19 travel redlist while moving India to the amberlist.Pakistan was placed on the red listin early April and India on April 19but unlike Islamabad, New Delhiwas moved to the amber list onAugust 5 along with some othercountries, prompting an uproaragainst the government’s decision.“The UAE, Qatar, India andBahrain will be moved from the redlist to the amber list. All changescome into effect Sunday, August 8,at 4 am,” UK Transport SecretaryGrant Shapps tweeted.In the letter to UK’s Pakistani-origin Health Secretary Sajid Javid,Pakistan’s Special Assistant onHealth Faisal Sultan juxtaposed the

country’s pandemic statistics withthose of other countries in theregion. The letter has been shared

by Human Rights Minister ShireenMazari on Twitter.Sultan said a three three-prongedapproach should be used to stopthe infected people from traveling.It includes a “valid proof of havingreceived a WHO (World Health

Organisation) approved Covid-19vaccine, a PCR (polymerase chainreaction) test (72 hours prior to

departure) and arapid antigen testat the airport, pre-departure.”Comparing Covid-19 statistics ofPakistan withthose of India, Iranand Iraq, Sultansaid Pakistan’sdaily cases permillion people,daily deaths permillion people andtotal deaths per

million people were the lowest in theregion, while daily vaccinations per100 people were the highest. Healso said the tests being done inPakistan constituted a largeenough sample size to be anaccurate barometer of the epidemic.

Sultan said in the letter that whilesurveillance data, on which the UKsays its decision is based, was“undeniably important”, thecountry’s overall track record ofmanaging the pandemic held moresignificance.He, however, admitted thatPakistan lagged behind the UK inthe area of genome sequencing, butadded that using genomicsequencing as a performancemeasure and citing it as a reason todeny travel was unnecessary.It “appears to introduce anunnecessarily larger metric,whereas disease security can bereliably achieved via somewhatmore targeted measures,” he said.Pakistan was bothered by the UKgovernment’s decision as a largecommunity living in the UK hasroots in Pakistan, and theyfrequently travel to meet theirrelatives in Islamabad.

The UK’s red list allows entry onlyto British residents and somestudent visa holders, subject to acompulsory quarantine at agovernment-mandated hotel for 10days at the passenger’s own costof 1,750 pounds each.A downgrade to amber meanspassengers are exempt for such agovernment-run quarantine butmust fill in the compulsorypassenger locator form to providean address where they would beundergoing the 10-day self-isolation.Pakistan registered over 4,800 newcoronavirus cases on Wednesday,taking the total number of activecases in the country to 84,177. Thecoronavirus death toll crossed the24,000-mark in Pakistan after thecountry reported 86 fresh deaths,the National Command andOperation Centre said onWednesday.

Bus blast kills two, injures 17 insouthwestern Russian city : TASS

Moscow, (Agencies) : Anexplosion on a bus killed twopeople and injured 17 in thesouthwestern Russian city ofVoronezh on Thursday evening,TASS news agency reported,and counterterrorismofficials were coordi-nating investiga-tions into the blast.The cause of theexplosion, whichtook place near a busstop when about 30people were on boardthe bus, was stillunclear.Video footage publis-hed online showedthe blast tearing thevehicle apart from the inside, withwindows and debris sent flying in

all directions.Specialists of the FSB securityservice were studying materialsfrom the site, the NationalAntiterrorism Committee said in astatement, adding it was looking

for those responsible for theincident.

China sentences Canadian to 11 years onspying charges in case linked to HuaweiDandong, (Agencies) : A Chinesecourt has sentenced CanadianMichael Spavor to 11 years onspying charges in a case linked toHuawei.Spavor was detained in 2018 afterhis government arrested anexecutive of the Chinese techgiant.The verdict on Wednesday is thelatest indication of how Beijing isstepping up pressure on Canadaahead of a court ruling on whetherto hand over the executive, MengWanzhou, to face US criminalcharges.Spavor and another Canadian weredetained in China in what criticslabelled “hostage politics” after theexecutive’s 2018 arrest inconnection with possibleviolations of trade sanctions onIran.On Tuesday, another Chinesecourt rejected the appeal of a thirdCanadian whose prison term in adrug case was abruptly increasedto death following the executive’sarrest.Canadian Ambassador Dominic

Barton was present at the hearingin the city of Dandong, about 210miles east of Beijing on the North

Korean border. No word has beengiven about a trial date for formerCanadian diplomat MichaelKovrig, who was also detained inDecember 2018 and charged with

spying.Meng, the chief financial officer ofHuawei Technologies Limited and

daughter of thecompany’s foun-der, was arrested onDecember 1, 2018, inVancouver on UScharges of lying tothe Hong Kong armof the British bankHSBC aboutpossible dealingswith Iran inviolation of tradesanctions.

China’s government hasdenounced the arrest as part of USefforts to hamper its technologydevelopment and demandedMeng’s immediate release.

Russian firefighting plane crashes in Turkey; 8 killedIstanbul, (Agencies) : A firefigh-ting plane from Russia crashedSaturday in a mountainous areain southern Turkey, killing theeight crew members andemergency workers aboard,Russia’s Defence Ministry said.The Russian ministry said fiveRussian and three Turkish citizenswere on the amphibious BerievBE-200, which crashed whiletrying to land in Turkey’s Adanaprovince. A team to investigatethe accident was dispatched tothe Kahramanmaras area, Turkishstate media said.Turkish Foreign Minister MevlutCavusoglu tweeted he was greatlysaddened by the deaths and said

their “heroic sacrifices” would notbe forgotten. Turkey has foughtsome 300 wildfires in the last 16days that have killed eight otherpeople, consumed forests andhomes & sent thousands fleeing.Kahramanmaras governor OmerFaruk Coskun told Anadolu that awildfire had begun after lightningstruck trees.“We had dispatched a plane to thearea but we lost communi-cationwith the plane a while ago and itcrashed. The situation is very new.We dispatched many units to thearea where the plane crashed,” hesaid.The Be-200 is a two-engineamphibious aircraft used in Russia

and other nations to fight forestfires. It is capable of dropping upto 270 metric tons of water inmultiple runs during a singlemission. Wildfires in Turkey’sMediterranean region began inlate July and have incineratedthousands of acres of forests,mostly in the seaside provincesof Mugla and Antalya. The firescame as Turkey and the wholeMediterranean endured aprolonged heat wave.Climate scientists say there is littledoubt climate change from theburning of coal, oil and natural gasis driving more extreme events,such as heat waves, droughts,wildfires, floods and storms.

MEDIA SPECTRUM (DELHI) 16-31 AUGUST 20216TECHNOLOGY

Traffickers using socialmedia to prey on schoolgirlsNew Delhi : With her schoolclosed for over a year and little todo at home, 15-year-old Shahida(name changed) startedspending more time onsocial media.Soon, the teenager was in arelationship with a 24-year-old man, Aadil, whocontacted her on a socialmedia site. He told her thathe would send her to a goodschool and look after herwell if she married him.Eventually, he managed topersuade the girl to elopewith him.With her family strugglingfinancially since her father lost hisjob during lockdown, Shahida wasexcited about the good life thatAadil promised to give her.At the end of May, when Aadilcame to take Shahida with him,child representatives of the VillageChild Protection Committeealerted a social worker whostopped the wedding in time.“Aadil made me believe that Icould go to a good school if Imarried him. He said that wouldalso make my school admissioneasier,” said Shahida, who liveswith her family in West Bengal’sSouth 24 Parganas district.“I agreed to his proposal as Ihoped to have one square meal aday. I never thought that theremight be danger lurking for me,”she said.Rita Paramick, a frontline childprotection worker with Save theChildren, who stopped Shahida’s

wedding, said Shahida’s is one ofthe many cases of traffickersusing social media to target

children, who are spending a lotmore time online as schools areclosed and they can’t even go outto play.“These days, traffickers havechanged their modus operandi.Social media is one platformthrough which they trap youngchildren like Shahida,” she said.“Children have been out of schoolfor more than a year now and girlslike Shahida, who are living inextreme poverty, are always softtargets for predators,” she added.Mamata Sardar, a youth advocatefor Save the Children in WestBengal, said girls are increasinglybeing lured into marriage on socialmedia.“As most children are now at homeand attending classes online,they’re glued to social media,”she said.Sardar said she has stepped upvigilance as parents of manychildren have lost their jobsduring the pandemic, leading to an

increased possibility of childtrafficking.She said she has counselled at

least three girls who werealmost ready to marry menwho contacted them onsocial media.“Since the second wave ofthe pandemic, I haveintervened to stop fivechild marriages andconvinced the girls’parents to let them finishtheir education before theymarry them off,” sheadded.

In one such case, the unemployedfather of a 15-year-old girl fixed hermarriage so that he would haveone less mouth to feed. He didn’teven consult his wife.When the girl’s mother found out,she informed a frontline childprotection worker of their villagein South 24 Parganas. Thefrontline child protection workermade the girl’s father understandthat marrying her before the age of18 was illegal and that he shouldlet her continue her studies.Anindit Roy Chowdhury, director-Programmes and Policy, Save theChildren, said child marriageshave risen sharply during thepandemic and are even being heldin villages that have not seen anyin years.“Child marriage is extremelyharmful to girls. Not only does itmean that they are unable tocontinue their education but alsoposes danger to their physical andmental health,” he said.

British-Sikh engineer’s low-cost washing machines to head to IndiaLondon : A London-born Indian-origin engineer’s project to supplylow-cost washing machines tocountries such as India, wherehandwashing of clothes remainsa time-consuming exercise, hasgot off to a good start followingfield research in camps in Iraq.Navjot Sawhney, who set up hisWashing Machine Project threeyears ago to provide energyefficient manual washingmachines to low-income regions,has been working with volunteersand partners to conduct researchahead of supplies.The organisation has alsolaunched a crowdfunding appealon Just Giving to raise 10,000pounds to aid the deliveryprocess. ”At the Washing MachineProject, we believe in the power ofinnovation to empower lives. Thatis why we have developed an off-grid, manual washing machine,which saves 60-70 per cent of timeand 50 per cent of water, for peoplein low-income and displacedcommunities,” notes the charity’sfundraising drive.

”This idea was born out of afriendship. Nav, our founder, wason a sabbatical in rural South India

, making clean cook stoves whenhe met his neighbour, Divya. It wasthrough their conversations at theend of each day that Nav came torealise the significant burdenunpaid labour places on women,”

it notes.Sawhney was on a sabbatical fromhis engineering career in the UK

when the idea of a hand-crankedwashing machine struck him. ”While in Tamil Nadu, I lived in asmall village called Kuilapalayam.The community had limited accessto continuous electricity, and

water was switched on twice aday,” recalls Sawhney. ”My next-door neighbour Divya

and I becameexcellent friends.While we talked,she would handwash her clothes. Iwas always soshocked at how longand how mucheffort it would taketo conduct therelatively unpro-ductive task,” hesaid.This led to himcoming up with the“Divya 1.5” model ofhis manual washingmachine, inspiredby a simple saladspinner. Now 30 ofthe Divya 1.5 will beused at Mamrashan

Refugee Camp in Iraq with the helpof the charity Care International.It is expected to positively impact300 people and save up to 750hours annually per household,equivalent to two months of

daylight hours. Sawhney plans tohead to Iraq at the beginning ofSeptember to help distribute themachines.Later this year, the WashingMachine Project aims to fulfilorders to refugee camps in Jordan.Eventually, the plan is for thesemachines to be shipped to otherparts of the world, including Indiaand Africa.“It is not just Divya who bears thisburden. We have spoken towomen and communities in 11different countries around theworld, including Lebanon, thePhilippines and Cameroon. Inthose communities we have metchildren as young as 6 who havebegun helping with this task. Thisis detrimental not just to theireducation but also to theirchildhoods; to being children,”notes the project.“There are many health risksassociated with hand-washingclothes, notably contractinginfections and water-bornediseases from direct contact withcontaminated water sources,” itadds.

482 insectivorous birdsidentified under agricultural

ornithologist projectNew Delhi : A total of 482 insectivorous birds useful in the predation ofdifferent crop pests have been identified under the All India NetworkProject (AINP) on Agricultural Ornithology initiated by the Indian

Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) at five centres.The programme, which is now part ofthe All India Network Project onVertebrate Pest Management, workson the role of insectivorous birds insuppressing crop pests along withmain objective of monitoring ofdepredatory birds (in relation to cropand the extent of crop damage) andtheir management in agriculturallandscape. The centres engaged in theprogramme are: Telangana StateAgricultural University, Telangana,Punjab Agricultural University,Punjab, Anand AgriculturalUniversity, Gujarat, AssamAgricultural University, Assam and

Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala.Replying to a question asked by Congress member K C Venugopal andSamajwadi Party member Sanjay Seth in the Rajya Sabha, AgricultureMinister Narendra Singh Tomar also added that study on breeding andbiology of 36 insectivorous and seven raptor species was also beingconducted under the project. It was found that the identified birds andtheir nestlings predominantly feed on insects, including crop pests. Tomar said 15 per cent of Rs 1.15-crore fund allotted to AINP on vertebratepest management has been allocated to the programme on role ofinsectivorous birds in suppressing crop pests. C K Borad, ornithologist on the faculty of Anand Agricultural University,Gujarat, said that most birds survive on insects and only a handful prefergrain. “Even those which eat grain feed insects to their young ones sothat the chicks can have a high protein diet. By eating insects harmfulfor crops or by gorging of crops – either way birds do not make muchimpact on the yield”, Borad said. Borad said that focus of agriculturalornithology should be conservation of birds. “Agricultural fields arehabitats for many bird species which are endangered. The rampant useof insecticide by farmers and certain other agricultural practices arethreatening the existence of these birds”, he said.

16-31 AUGUST 2021 (DELHI) MEDIA SPECTRUM 7EDUCATION

EDII to conduct 6 days online training programmefor CBSE teachers on entrepreneurship teaching

Entrepreneurship Develop-mentInstitute of India (EDII),Ahmedabad in association withCBSE will be conducting a six-day

online training programme forteachers of CBSE- affiliatedschools on entrepreneurshipteaching. The teachers will betrained on the various aspects ofEntrepreneurship Idea Generation,Business OpportunityIdentification, Feasibility Studies,Business Plan Preparation, ProjectPlanning & Development.They would also be guided onmentoring students aboutentrepreneurship as a career. Thefirst batch of the programme, whichshall be attended by 1,000 schoolteachers, will commence from

August 16, 2021 and continue tillAugust 21, 2021. Three morebatches of 1,000 teachers each shallsubsequently be imparted training

on teaching Entrepreneurship.After the completion of theprogramme, an online test will beconducted and based on thatparticipants will be awarded acertificate of successfullycompleting the ‘Training onEntrepreneurship Teaching.’Interested participants can registerby writing to Department of SkillEducation, CBSE atskedu_ap1@cbseshiksha.in and/or Dr. Lalit Sharma, Faculty-EDII atlalit@ediindia.org.Entrepreneurship plays animportant role in the economic

growth and development of thecountry. It has emerged as asignificant career option for thestudents in the present scenario.Thus, there is a need to sensitise thestudents so that they learn andunderstand the basic ideas andconcepts of Entrepreneurship andadopt this discipline as a career. Inthis regard, CBSE andEntrepreneurship DevelopmentInstitute of India (EDII) have joinedhands to promoteentrepreneurship training. Theonline training programme forteachers is a part of theircollaboration.

EDII is a National ResourceInstitute in the field ofentrepreneurship training,teaching, education, research andinstitution building.In the sphere of education, theInstitute offers two flagshipprogrammes - the Post-GraduateDiploma in Management –Business Entrepreneurship(PGDM-BE) and Post GraduateDiploma in Management –Innovation, Entrepreneurship andVenture Development. EDII alsooffers pioneering doctoral level‘Fellowship Programme inManagement’ (FPM) with focus on

preparing thought leaders inentrepreneurship.EDII has sought to put in placeinterventions that aid in bolsteringentrepreneurship across India andat the global level, and has beenworking in close association withvarious departments/ Ministries ofthe Govt. of India and stategovernments. Its involvement inthe various schemes of theGovernment to give a fillip toentrepreneurship, such as; the‘Start Up India, Stand Up India’,‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’among others, have led to severallandmark milestones.

Karnataka Pre-Universityexams to begin from August 19

Bengaluru : The Karnatakaeducation department has decidedto conduct the supplementaryexaminations for Pre-Universitystudents from August 19 toSeptember 3.As many as 18,414 students from5,546 colleges across the state haveapplied for the supplementaryexaminations, Primary andSecondary Education MinisterB.C. Nagesh said on Saturday.The exams will be held at 187

centres across the state and theminister has directed the districtauthorities to completethe preparations byAugust 17. Theresponsibility to ensuresmooth conduct of examshas been given to theDeputy Commissionersof districts.The students who arenot satisfied with themarks or those who were

absent have been given anopportunity to write supplemen-

tary exams. Thereshould be nodiscrepancy inthe conduct ofexami-nationsand it will be heldunder themonitoring ofDeputy Commis-sioners, Nageshelaborated.

Indian students see record entries to UK universities as travel rules easedA record number of 3,200 studentsfrom India have been accepted forUK university and highereducation courses through thecountry’s centralised applicationsystem in 2021, marking anincrease of 19 per cent over theprevious year.The Universities and CollegesAdmissions Service (UCAS)acceptance figures, released onTuesday, come days after India wasmoved off the Red List COVID-19travel ban on to Amber.This would have a big impact onIndian students planning to travelto Britain to take up their coursesas they no longer need toquarantine in a government-managed facility for 10 days atconsiderable additional cost.Instead, they can quarantine for therequired 10 days at a chosendestination, which for many will betheir university accommodation, ora friend or family home address.“UK universities are preparing togive a warm welcome to Indianstudents this autumn. Studentshave shown a great amount ofpatience and resilience in stickingwith their plans to study overseasand we look forward to welcomingthem, and welcoming them back, toour campuses and universitycommunities,” she said.India was moved off the Red List at4 am local time on Sunday and underthe Amber List rules, all vaccinated

travellers must fill in thecompulsory passenger locatorform to provide an address wherethey would be undergoing the 10-day self-isolation.

All Amber List arrivals will need tohave a negative COVID-19 testbefore travelling, as well as take aCOVID test on Day 2 and Day 8 oftheir quarantine. In England, thereis the option of paying for a test onDay 5, which if negative, will allowstudents to end their quarantineearly.“We welcome the news that for oneof our largest international markets,India has been moved from theUK’s Red to Amber List,” said KerryLaw, Chief Marketing &Engagement Officer at theUniversity of Leicester – which hasa large Indian student population.“The move to the Amber List isgreat news for our large number ofIndian students and means that

alongside no longer needing toquarantine they also won’t haveany delays to arrival and canengage and adapt to life oncampus,” she said.

“To ensure we welcome studentsand give them a great experience aswe have extended our welcome byan additional week and havedeveloped online transitionsupport for all new starters,” sheadded.The National Indian Students andAlumni Union (NISAU) UK hadbeen raising the plight of Indianstudents facing additionalcompulsory hotel quarantine costsof 1,750 pounds under the Red List.It led to Serum Institute of IndiaCEO Adar Poonawalla settingaside Rs 10 crores to assist Indianstudents who may face additionalcosts as Covishield – the India-made Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine– does not fall within the UK-

approved vaccines ambit forquarantine-free travel to the UKunder the Amber List.“We are absolutely thrilled to seethe numbers of Indian studentsaccepted onto courses via UCASgo up by nearly a fifth as part of theoverall significant increase in thenumbers choosing to come to theUK to study,” said NISAU UKChairperson Sanam Arora.“The UK now offers a wonderfulproposition for Indian students –

world-class education, a great post-study work offer, and throughNISAU a home away from home forIndian students, which I canproudly say is a distinct offering forIndians going abroad to study,”she said. The UK’s new post-study or Graduate route visa,which came in force in July, offersstudents the chance to stay on fortwo years after completing theirdegree course to be able to gatherwork experience.

Chandigarh : Even as the state government has reopened schools forclass VI and above, the inoculation of teaching and non-teaching staffremains a concern for the Education Department. Only 14 per centemployees in state government schools are fully vaccinated.Official data show that of the total 1,03,886 teaching and non-teachingemployees, 14,790 are fully vaccinated, while 26,763 have taken the firstshot.Certain districts have “very poor” vaccination record. These includeBhiwani and Panipat (7 per cent), Kaithal (8 per cent) and Charkhi Dadri(11 per cent). Gurugram (25 per cent), Panchkula and Karnal (24 per cent),and Rewari (20 per cent) have slightly better vaccination record thanother districts.Taking strong exception to the poor performance on the vaccinationfront, the Directorate of School Education has now told field-levelofficials, including district education officers and district elementaryeducation officers, to coordinate with chief medical officers to organisespecial inoculation camps for the school staff.After the number of Covid-19 cases started dropping recently, the stategovernment last month decided to reopen schools for classes IX to XII.Later, schools were thrown open for classes VI to VIII also.

Schools reopen, but only14% govt staff fully jabbed

Printed and Published by K.K.Padmanabhan on behalf of Spectrum India and Printed at Ajanta Printers, WZ-26, Tihar Village, Subhash Nagar, New Delhi-110018 andPublished at A-1/291, Ist Floor, Janakpuri, New Delhi-110058, Editor : Kalpana Rajaram

MEDIA SPECTRUM (DELHI) 16-31 AUGUST 20218OLYMPICS 2020

Tokyo Olympics 2020 : Indiafinishes 48th, best in four decades

India finished 48th on the medal tally in Tokyo, its highest ranking in over four decades (if onewere to go by the total number of medals, India would have actually finished 33rd. However,ranking is done primarily based on gold medals won). The previous best in this period was the51st rank finish at Beijing in 2008, when India won three medals, including Abhinav Bindra’sgold.India has finished significantly higher in the era in which it used to win gold in hockey, but thattime is not really comparable both because of the dozens of countries that have come intobeing since then and the expansion in the number of sports and hence medals. In Moscow, forinstance, India finished at 23rd rank but with just a solitary medal, the hockey gold. A repeatof that at Tokyo would have placed India at joint 63rd, a measure of how different the two erasare.In London 2012, India had finished 57th despite winning more medals than in Beijing becausethe medal table ranks countries by gold, silver and bronze in that order and India didn’t win agold in London. In Rio in 2016, the medal tally crashed to just two and so did the ranking to67th. From there, it’s now gone up nearly 20 places.SEVEN SAMURAI : 1 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze - India produced it’s richest-ever medal haul andthe finest performance of all time at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which ended on Sunday. Hereare the men and women of steel and thunder who made India proud and gave the nationsomething to cheer about in these dark timesof a deadly pandemic.GOLD – NEERAJ CHOPRA (Athlete) :There were bigger names with better recordsin Tokyo. But while most succumbed to thepressure of the big stage, the 23-year-oldboy from Haryana’s Panipat district relishedand revelled in the moment. Following hisgolden throw, millions became emotional onhearing the national anthem at the Olympicsfor the first time since Beijing 2008. A fittingclimax to the story of Neeraj Chopra, whochanced upon the sport while trying to loseweight and who overcame a clutch of injuries to give Indian athletics its greatest moment onthe world’s biggest sporting stage

SILVER – SAIKHOM MIRABAICHANU (Weightlifter) : Much was expectedfrom Mirabai Chanu at Rio 2016. She flopped,failing to make a single clean and jerk lift. Thepressure to deliver was crushing at Tokyo 2020.But coached by Vijay Sharma, the amiable 26-year-old from Manipur made light work of theheavy weights to clinch a silver with a smile inthe 49kg category. Redemption had never beenmore satisfying and sweeter for the woman whopicked up logs to gather winter fuel for her familyas a child

RAVI KUMAR DAHIYA (Wrestler) : He was ranked worldno. 4. But in the run-up to the Olympics, the focus was hardlyever on the 23-year-old Olympic debutant from Sonipat.Unmindful, Kumar produced a performance of stunningaudacity and endurance while trailing 2-9 against opponentNurislam Sanayev in the semis. Desperate to get out of hisiron grip, the Kazakh bit him badly in his forearm but Dahiyawouldn’t let go till the tide was turned. Dahiya fought hardbut lost in the final to become India’s second silver medal-winning wrestler after Sushil Kumar. A fiercely determinedathlete, he could well improve upon his medal colour in 2024BRONZE – MEN’S TEAM (Hockey) : None of them wasborn when India last won an Olympic medal in hockey. Butnothing, not even a potentially morale-sapping 7-1 loss toAustralia, could stop captain Manpreet Singh’s boys fromtheir tryst with the podium. The defeat spurred them to

deliverone superlative performance afteranother, resulting in a bronze playoff.The match against Germany was for theages. You can keep watching India’s 5-4triumph for the rest of your lives. But thisteam holds the promise of many morewins to comeBAJRANG PUNIA (Wrestling) : Hewas carrying a knee injury. And theopponents knew it. They attacked hislegs. But in the battle for third spot, the27-year-old from Haryana’s Jhajjardistrict produced a stellar medal-winning

performance against Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov, a wrestler who had beaten him earlier.The scoreline 8-0 tells a winner’s story scripted against hard physical odds.

PV SINDHU (Badminton) : In the earlystages in Tokyo, she looked below herbest. But like a finely-tuned precisioninstrument, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu hit theperfect notes as the tournament peaked.She simply swatted aside Chinese He BingJiao 21-13, 21-15 in the bronze medal playoffto add a second Olympic medal in her kitty.When it’s PV Sindhu, once is not enoughLOVLINA BORGOHAIN (Boxing) :Covid-19 affected her preparation. But thetall pugilist from Assam tried to make thebest of the situation. She lifted LPGcylinders, worked in the paddy fields to keepfit. In Tokyo, Lovlina showed the world shecould fearlessly box with the best. Five

feet, nine inches tall, she used her long reach to devastating effect to fashion an amazingmedal story

AND OTHER HEROES OF TOKYO 2020

WOMEN’S TEAM (Hockey) : Some came from the Maoist-infested interiors of east India,others from the patriarchal villages ofHaryana and Punjab. But trained byDutch coach Sjoerd Marjine, the girlsdeveloped unlimited self-belief andplayed with passion, singeing three-time Olympic medal winners Australiain the quarters. They narrowly missedout on a medal, losing 3-4 to GreatBritain in a humdinger. But few sportslovers will forget captain Rani Rampal,Gurjit Kaur, Grace Ekka, VandanaKatariya, Savita Punia and Salima Tete.This was the real Chak De India story,only betterKAMALPREET KAUR ( Athlete) : The 25-year-oldfrom Kabar Wala, Punjab showed tremendous self-confidence to claim the sixth spot in women’sdiscus. It was a world-class performance from thesix feet, one inch tall athlete who works as a railwayclerk. With age on her side, Kaur will only be fitterand stronger, and throw further in Paris 2024. Ascricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar rightly tweeted,“Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn. Hard luck,Kamalpreet. We are proud of you for giving yourbest & representing India at such a big stage. Thisexperience will only make you a stronger athlete inthe future”DEEPAK PUNIA (Wrestler) : The talented 22-year-old from Haryana’s Jhajjar district displayedhis class and commitment in the 86kg category butwas unlucky to go down in the dying seconds of his bronze medal bout. His disappointedforeign coach, unfortunately, crossed a line and was rightly expelled from the GamesADITI ASHOK (Golf) : Of all the memorable performances in Tokyo, hers was the most

serendipitous. Not manyIndians, barring sportsfans, were aware of AditiAshok. But the 23-year-old from Bengaluruforced everyone,including global golfexperts, to sit up and takenotice as she matched theworld’s best, putt for putt.She stayed in the medalhunt on all four days andmissed a podium finish bya single heart-breakingstroke. Aditi Ashok didn’tbring back a medal, buthas set a high benchmarkfor every golfer in India.