€¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and...

12
S ix States on Friday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against its deci- sion to allow holding of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) despite the coronavirus pan- demic. The States are repre- sented by four Opposition par- ties — Congress, Trinamool Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Shiv Sena. The Congress also held countrywide protests on Friday. Party president Sonia Gandhi and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi expressed soli- darity with the students and asked the Centre to postpone the entrance tests. Cabinet Ministers from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have sought a review of the August 17 judgment of the SC on JEE Main and NEET 2020. Addressing a Press confer- ence after approaching the court, the parties said they were not for cancelling the exams but wanted them to be deferred till November so that the Government is able assure the safety of the students. The decision to move the Supreme Court was taken dur- ing a meeting convened by Sonia with seven Chief Ministers two days ago. Sonia and Rahul continued to target the Government and said the safety of students should not be compromised due to the “failures of the Government”. The Union Government has made it clear that they will be held as per schedule with due precautions. In a video statement, Sonia said, “My dear students, I feel for you because you are now facing a very difficult situation. The issue of your exams, of when they should be held and where, is the most important issue not only for you but your family too. You are our future. We depend on you to build a better India. Therefore, if any decision has to be taken regard- ing your future, it is important that it is taken with your con- currence. I hope the Government listens to you, listens to your voices and act upon your wishes. This is my advice to the Government. Thank you. Jai Hind.” Rahul also shared a video statement over the issue and said safety should not be com- promised. “NEET-JEE aspi- rants’ safety should not com- promised due to the failures of the Government. The Government must listen to all stakeholders and arrive at a consensus,” Rahul tweeted, along with a video of his mes- sage to the student communi- ty as well as the Government. “What I don’t understand is why you should be held responsible and why further pain should be imposed on you... So why should the Government force anything on you? It’s important that the Government listens to the stu- dents,” he said. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday wrote to the Union Education Minister requesting him to postpone JEE and NEET. “Each these aggressive examinations are extraordi- narily important within the profession of a scholar because the success or in any other case in these examinations would resolve the course of their future life. Each examinee would thus attempt to put his finest foot ahead and, due to this fact, this can be very important to make sure that they take these examinations in surroundings of well being security and psychological peace,” Soren wrote. Senior TMC leader and Rajya Sabha member Derek O’ Brien said the petitioners do not want the students to lose the academic year and the petition aims to ensure better safety and security measures for the students. Continued on Page 2 A ctress Rhea Chakraborty found herself in the dock in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case on Friday as the CBI grilled her for nearly eleven hours over the issues that the investigations into the actor’s death have thrown up in the case, even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya for questioning on August 31 in an alleged money laun- dering case. Rhea, who has been accused by Sushant’s family of abetting Sushant”s death, reached the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)’s guesthouse at Santa Cruz’s Kalina area for ques- tioning at 10.15 am. Her ques- tioning went on for nearly eleven hours. Rhea walked out of the DRDO guesthouse at 9 pm after questioning. From there, she reportedly headed to Sanata Cruz police station to lodge a complaint against some jour- nalists who had tried to enter her Juhu residence. While there was no confirmation yet, it is quite likely that she may be re- summoned for questioning on Saturday or Sunday. Rhea’s brother Showik, late Sushant’s flatmate-friend Siddharth, cook Neeraj, house manager Sammuel Miranda and his other associates were also questioned all through the day. Friday was the second day when Showik was grilled by the CBI in connection with the case. On Thursday, Showik had been questioned by the investigators for nine hours on Thursday. Continued on Page 2 A s the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains tense, the coming days will see a flurry of activities beginning with the Corps Commanders of India and China Armies holding sixth round of talks to resolve differences. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are also likely to travel to Moscow to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave. Both the leaders may meet their Chinese counterparts there. These high-level dialogues will take place against the back- drop of China not withdrawing its troops from the “friction points” and further ramping up its infrastructure like 5G net- work all along the LAC. Reports indicated fresh Chinese construction in terms of temporary huts and bunkers have taken place in the Pangong Tso (lake) zone. It is one of the four “friction points” where the stand-offs are on and the Chinese have intruded more than five km into India. On the 5G network, sources said the Chinese engi- neers were seen laying fibre optic cables and installing relat- ed equipment along the LAC in the Demchok region. Continued on Page 2 I n an apparent attempt to keep dissenters in the party in check, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has appointed several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- lowing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting early this week after 23 party leaders wrote a letter to the party chief expressing concern about the state of affairs and demanding appointment of a full-time president. Sonia, who continues to be the interim chief of the Congress, appointed Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi as deputy to legislature party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu as the whip. Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, another dissi- dent and a signatory of the let- ter to Sonia has been down- graded despite being much senior to Gogoi in the party. Also ignored was Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, one of the signatories. “Both Tewari and Tharoor have lost out because they were signatories to the letter,” said a party leader. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of the signatory of the letter to Sonia, and AlCC general secretary (organisa- tion) KC Venugopal, who made his debut in the Upper House recently, have been made part of the new five-member deci- sion-making group. Both Gogoi and Venugopal are con- sidered close to former party chief Rahul Gandhi. Jairam Ramesh has been appointed the Congress’ chief whip in the Rajya Sabha. The five-member group in the Rajya Sabha includes Azad, Venugopal, Anand Sharma, Ahmed Patel and Ramesh. The move to constitute a five-member group in the Rajya Sabha is also seen as an attempt to sideline Azad and Sharma. Continued on Page 2 T he Ministry of Civil Aviation has permitted the airlines to serve pre-packed snacks, meals and beverages on domestic flights and hot meals on international flights. It has also said airlines could put a passenger on the no-fly list if s/he refuses to wear a face mask — considered a vital safeguard against the coro- navirus on board. Passengers can only remove face masks if absolutely neces- sary for “legitimate reasons”. The Ministry has also issued a standard operating procedure for this. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in-flight meal ser- vice was not permitted on domestic flights since their resumption on May 25. On international flights, only pre- packed cold meals and snacks were being served depending on the flight duration since May this year. In an order issued on Thursday, the Ministry said, “Airlines may serve pre-packed snacks/meals/pre-packed bev- erages on domestic flights depending on the duration of flight.” Airlines and charter flight operators can “serve hot meals and limited beverages” on international flights “as per the standard practices”. The Ministry said only single-use disposable trays, plates and cutlery should be used while serving food or bev- erages in domestic and inter- national flights. “Crew shall wear a fresh set of gloves for every meal/beverage service.” The Ministry also permit- ted the aircraft operators to let passengers use the in-flight entertainment system on inter- national as well as domestic flights wherever available. Continued on Page 2 J apan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said on Friday he is stepping down because a chronic health prob- lem has resurfaced. He told reporters that it was “gut wrenching” to leave many of his goals unfinished. Abe has had ulcerative col- itis since he was a teenager and has said the condition was controlled with treatment. Concerns about his health began this summer and grew this month when he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups. He is now on a new treatment that requires IV injections, he said. While there is some improvement, there is no guarantee that it will cure his condition and so he decid- ed to step down after treatment Monday, he said. “It is gut wrenching to have to leave my job before accom- plishing my goals,” Abe said on Friday, mentioning his failure to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia and a revision of Japan’s war-renouncing constitution. He said his health problem was under control until earli- er this year but was found to have worsened in June when he had an annual checkup. “Faced with the illness and treatment, as well as the pain of lacking physical strength... I decided I should not stay on as prime minister when I’m no longer capable of living up to the people’s expectations with confidence,” Abe said at a news conference. In a country once known for its short-tenured prime ministers, the departure marks the end of an unusual era of stability that saw the Japanese leader strike up strong ties with US President Donald Trump even as Abe’s ultra- nationalism riled the Koreas and China. Continued on Page 2 Chennai: Congress MP from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu H Vasanthakumar died of Covid-19 at a hospital here on Friday, the party said. The 70- year old first time MP, who was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on August 10 after he tested positive for coronavirus, succumbed to the illness, a party spokesperson told PTI. Earlier, in a statement, Apollo Hospitals said the MP was in critical condition and treated by a team of doctors for severe COVID pneumonia. Vasanthakumar was a two- time MLA and elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2019 elec- tions. President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday con- doled the death of H Vasanthakuma. A n India T20 specialist is among multiple members of the Chennai Super Kings contingent who have tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the IPL franchise to extend its quarantine period in Dubai and causing upheaval ahead of the event starting September 19. The franchise is yet to issue a formal statement but a league source told PTI that the number of positive cases could be between 10 and 12. “Yes, a right-arm medium fast bowler, who has recently played for India in white-ball cricket, along with a few staff members have tested positive for Covid-19. The number could be as high as 12,” the senior IPL source said on con- ditions of anonymity. The development has forced the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side to extend the quarantine period till September 1. Detailed report on P12 L ok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday said that all MPs have to undergo Covid-19 test for the forthcoming Parliament Session starting September 14. All staffers and Ministers’ staffers and media personnel will also be checked and no vis- itors will be allowed this time, said Lok Sabha Secretariat in a statement. The MPs attending the Session has to undergo the Covid-19 test 72 hours before and would be allowed to speak while sitting in their chairs. The Speaker said all preparations based on expert advice will be undertaken to ensure smooth conduct of the Session and pre- vent spread of infection. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi: In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, IIT- Delhi has appealed to its students and alumni to help those appearing for the JEE-Advanced next month with transport to reach their exam centres. T he Supreme Court on Friday said that States and universities cannot promote students without holding final year exams by September 30. Upholding the UGC deci- sion to hold final year exams, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said if any State feels they can’t conduct final year examinations by that date amid the coronavirus pan- demic, they must approach the UGC for new dates to hold the exam. The bench also comprising justices RS Reddy and MR Shah, said States are required to hold final year exams as per UGC guidelines and for any exemption they will have to seek permission. “States can postpone final year exams under Disaster Management Act but fresh dates have to be fixed in con- sultation with UGC,” it said. Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, is one of the petitioners in the apex court and has questioned the UGC’s directive to hold exams amid the coronavirus pandemic. The UGC had earlier said that the July 6 guidelines are based on recommendations of experts and have been made after due deliberation and it is wrong to claim that it will not be possible to conduct the final examinations in terms of the guidelines. Assailing the decisions of some states like Maharashtra and Delhi to cancel final year examinations, the UGC had said that such decisions direct- ly affect standards of higher education and will be an encroachment on the legislative field of coordinating and deter- mining the standards of high- er education that is exclusive- ly reserved for Parliament under Schedule VII of the Constitution. New Delhi: Taking strong objection to the coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case by many media outlets, the Press Council of India on Friday said the media should adhere to the norms of jour- nalistic conduct in covering cases under investigation and is advised not to carry out its own “parallel trial”.

Transcript of €¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and...

Page 1: €¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and hot meals on international flights. ... abducted years ago by North Korea, ...

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Six States on Friday filed areview petition in the

Supreme Court against its deci-sion to allow holding of theNational Eligibility cumEntrance Test (NEET) andJoint Entrance Exam (JEE)despite the coronavirus pan-demic. The States are repre-sented by four Opposition par-ties — Congress, TrinamoolCongress, Jharkhand MuktiMorcha and Shiv Sena.

The Congress also heldcountrywide protests on Friday.Party president Sonia Gandhiand former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi expressed soli-darity with the students andasked the Centre to postpone

the entrance tests. Cabinet Ministers from

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Maharashtra, Punjab,Rajasthan and West Bengalhave sought a review of theAugust 17 judgment of the SCon JEE Main and NEET 2020.

Addressing a Press confer-ence after approaching thecourt, the parties said theywere not for cancelling theexams but wanted them to bedeferred till November so thatthe Government is able assurethe safety of the students.

The decision to move theSupreme Court was taken dur-ing a meeting convened bySonia with seven ChiefMinisters two days ago.

Sonia and Rahul continued

to target the Government andsaid the safety of studentsshould not be compromiseddue to the “failures of theGovernment”.

The Union Governmenthas made it clear that they willbe held as per schedule withdue precautions.

In a video statement, Soniasaid, “My dear students, I feelfor you because you are nowfacing a very difficult situation.The issue of your exams, ofwhen they should be held andwhere, is the most importantissue not only for you but yourfamily too. You are our future.We depend on you to build abetter India. Therefore, if anydecision has to be taken regard-ing your future, it is importantthat it is taken with your con-currence. I hope the

Government listens to you,listens to your voices and actupon your wishes. This is myadvice to the Government.Thank you. Jai Hind.”

Rahul also shared a videostatement over the issue andsaid safety should not be com-promised. “NEET-JEE aspi-rants’ safety should not com-promised due to the failures ofthe Government. TheGovernment must listen to allstakeholders and arrive at aconsensus,” Rahul tweeted,along with a video of his mes-sage to the student communi-ty as well as the Government.

“What I don’t understandis why you should be heldresponsible and why furtherpain should be imposed onyou... So why should theGovernment force anything

on you? It’s important that theGovernment listens to the stu-dents,” he said.

Jharkhand Chief MinisterHemant Soren on Friday wroteto the Union EducationMinister requesting him topostpone JEE and NEET.

“Each these aggressiveexaminations are extraordi-narily important within theprofession of a scholar becausethe success or in any other casein these examinations wouldresolve the course of theirfuture life. Each examineewould thus attempt to put hisfinest foot ahead and, due tothis fact, this can be veryimportant to make sure thatthey take these examinations insurroundings of well beingsecurity and psychologicalpeace,” Soren wrote.

Senior TMC leader andRajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said the petitioners donot want the students to losethe academic year and thepetition aims to ensure bettersafety and security measuresfor the students.

Continued on Page 2

��������������� �0�!28

Actress Rhea Chakrabortyfound herself in the dock

in the Sushant Singh Rajputdeath case on Friday as the CBIgrilled her for nearly elevenhours over the issues that theinvestigations into the actor’sdeath have thrown up in thecase, even as the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) summonedGoa-based hotelier GauravArya for questioning on August31 in an alleged money laun-dering case.

Rhea, who has beenaccused by Sushant’s family ofabetting Sushant”s death,reached the Defence Research& Development Organisation(DRDO)’s guesthouse at SantaCruz’s Kalina area for ques-tioning at 10.15 am. Her ques-tioning went on for nearlyeleven hours.

Rhea walked out of theDRDO guesthouse at 9 pmafter questioning. From there,she reportedly headed to SanataCruz police station to lodge acomplaint against some jour-nalists who had tried to enterher Juhu residence. While therewas no confirmation yet, it is

quite likely that she may be re-summoned for questioning onSaturday or Sunday.

Rhea’s brother Showik, lateSushant’s f latmate-friendSiddharth, cook Neeraj, housemanager Sammuel Mirandaand his other associates werealso questioned all through theday. Friday was the second daywhen Showik was grilled by theCBI in connection with thecase. On Thursday, Showikhad been questioned by theinvestigators for nine hours onThursday.

Continued on Page 2

��� 9:��9;8

As the Line of ActualControl (LAC) remains

tense, the coming days will seea flurry of activities beginningwith the Corps Commandersof India and China Armiesholding sixth round of talks toresolve differences. DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh andExternal Affairs Minister SJaishankar are also likely totravel to Moscow to take partin the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) conclave.Both the leaders may meettheir Chinese counterpartsthere.

These high-level dialogueswill take place against the back-

drop of China not withdrawingits troops from the “frictionpoints” and further ramping upits infrastructure like 5G net-work all along the LAC.Reports indicated freshChinese construction in termsof temporary huts and bunkershave taken place in thePangong Tso (lake) zone. It isone of the four “friction points”where the stand-offs are on andthe Chinese have intrudedmore than five km into India.

On the 5G network,sources said the Chinese engi-neers were seen laying fibreoptic cables and installing relat-ed equipment along the LAC inthe Demchok region.

Continued on Page 2

��� 9:��9;8

In an apparent attempt tokeep dissenters in the party

in check, Congress presidentSonia Gandhi has appointedseveral leaders to new positionsin the party. This comes fol-lowing the Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) meetingearly this week after 23 partyleaders wrote a letter to theparty chief expressing concernabout the state of affairs anddemanding appointment of afull-time president.

Sonia, who continues to bethe interim chief of theCongress, appointed Lok SabhaMP Gaurav Gogoi as deputy tolegislature party leader AdhirRanjan Chowdhury andLudhiana MP Ravneet SinghBittu as the whip.

Anandpur Sahib MPManish Tewari, another dissi-dent and a signatory of the let-ter to Sonia has been down-graded despite being muchsenior to Gogoi in the party.Also ignored wasThiruvananthapuram MPShashi Tharoor, one of thesignatories.

“Both Tewari and Tharoorhave lost out because theywere signatories to the letter,”said a party leader.

Leader of Opposition inRajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi

Azad, one of the signatory ofthe letter to Sonia, and AlCCgeneral secretary (organisa-tion) KC Venugopal, who madehis debut in the Upper Houserecently, have been made partof the new five-member deci-sion-making group. BothGogoi and Venugopal are con-sidered close to former partychief Rahul Gandhi.

Jairam Ramesh has beenappointed the Congress’ chiefwhip in the Rajya Sabha. Thefive-member group in theRajya Sabha includes Azad,Venugopal, Anand Sharma,Ahmed Patel and Ramesh.

The move to constitute afive-member group in theRajya Sabha is also seen as anattempt to sideline Azad andSharma.

Continued on Page 2

��� 9:��9;8

The Ministry of CivilAviation has permitted the

airlines to serve pre-packedsnacks, meals and beverages ondomestic flights and hot mealson international flights.

It has also said airlinescould put a passenger on theno-fly list if s/he refuses to weara face mask — considered avital safeguard against the coro-navirus — on board.Passengers can only removeface masks if absolutely neces-sary for “legitimate reasons”.The Ministry has also issued astandard operating procedurefor this.

Due to the coronaviruspandemic, in-flight meal ser-vice was not permitted ondomestic flights since theirresumption on May 25. Oninternational flights, only pre-packed cold meals and snackswere being served dependingon the flight duration sinceMay this year.

In an order issued onThursday, the Ministry said,“Airlines may serve pre-packedsnacks/meals/pre-packed bev-erages on domestic flightsdepending on the duration offlight.” Airlines and charterflight operators can “serve hotmeals and limited beverages”on international flights “as perthe standard practices”.

The Ministry said onlysingle-use disposable trays,plates and cutlery should beused while serving food or bev-erages in domestic and inter-national flights. “Crew shallwear a fresh set of gloves forevery meal/beverage service.”

The Ministry also permit-ted the aircraft operators to letpassengers use the in-flightentertainment system on inter-national as well as domesticflights wherever available.

Continued on Page 2

� �� �<7=<�

Japan’s longest-serving PrimeMinister, Shinzo Abe, said on

Friday he is stepping downbecause a chronic health prob-lem has resurfaced. He toldreporters that it was “gutwrenching” to leave many ofhis goals unfinished.

Abe has had ulcerative col-itis since he was a teenager andhas said the condition wascontrolled with treatment.Concerns about his healthbegan this summer and grewthis month when he visited aTokyo hospital two weeks in arow for unspecified healthcheckups. He is now on a newtreatment that requires IVinjections, he said. While thereis some improvement, there isno guarantee that it will curehis condition and so he decid-ed to step down after treatmentMonday, he said.

“It is gut wrenching to haveto leave my job before accom-plishing my goals,” Abe said onFriday, mentioning his failure toresolve the issue of Japaneseabducted years ago by NorthKorea, a territorial dispute withRussia and a revision of Japan’swar-renouncing constitution.

He said his health problemwas under control until earli-er this year but was found tohave worsened in June when hehad an annual checkup.

“Faced with the illness andtreatment, as well as the pain oflacking physical strength... Idecided I should not stay on asprime minister when I’m nolonger capable of living up tothe people’s expectations withconfidence,” Abe said at a newsconference.

In a country once knownfor its short-tenured primeministers, the departure marksthe end of an unusual era ofstability that saw the Japaneseleader strike up strong tieswith US President DonaldTrump even as Abe’s ultra-nationalism riled the Koreasand China.

Continued on Page 2

Chennai: Congress MP fromKanyakumari in Tamil NaduH Vasanthakumar died ofCovid-19 at a hospital here onFriday, the party said. The 70-year old first time MP, who wasadmitted to the ApolloHospitals on August 10 after hetested positive for coronavirus,succumbed to the illness, aparty spokesperson told PTI.

Earlier, in a statement,Apollo Hospitals said the MPwas in critical condition andtreated by a team of doctors forsevere COVID pneumonia.

Vasanthakumar was a two-time MLA and elected to theLok Sabha in the 2019 elec-tions.

President Ram NathKovind and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Friday con-doled the death of HVasanthakuma.

���� 9:��9;8

An India T20 specialist isamong multiple members

of the Chennai Super Kingscontingent who have testedpositive for Covid-19, forcingthe IPL franchise to extend itsquarantine period in Dubaiand causing upheaval ahead ofthe event starting September 19.

The franchise is yet toissue a formal statement but aleague source told PTI that thenumber of positive cases could

be between 10 and 12. “Yes, a right-arm medium

fast bowler, who has recentlyplayed for India in white-ballcricket, along with a few staffmembers have tested positivefor Covid-19. The numbercould be as high as 12,” thesenior IPL source said on con-ditions of anonymity. Thedevelopment has forced theMahendra Singh Dhoni-ledside to extend the quarantineperiod till September 1.

Detailed report on P12

��� 9:��9;8�

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birlaon Friday said that all MPs

have to undergo Covid-19 testfor the forthcoming ParliamentSession starting September 14.All staffers and Ministers’staffers and media personnelwill also be checked and no vis-itors will be allowed this time,said Lok Sabha Secretariat in astatement.

The MPs attending theSession has to undergo theCovid-19 test 72 hours beforeand would be allowed to speakwhile sitting in their chairs. TheSpeaker said all preparationsbased on expert advice will beundertaken to ensure smoothconduct of the Session and pre-vent spread of infection.

Continued on Page 2

New Delhi: In view of theCovid-19 pandemic, IIT- Delhihas appealed to its students andalumni to help those appearingfor the JEE-Advanced nextmonth with transport to reachtheir exam centres.

���� 9:��9;8

The Supreme Court onFriday said that States and

universities cannot promotestudents without holding finalyear exams by September 30.

Upholding the UGC deci-sion to hold final year exams,a bench headed by JusticeAshok Bhushan said if anyState feels they can’t conduct

final year examinations by thatdate amid the coronavirus pan-demic, they must approachthe UGC for new dates to holdthe exam.

The bench also comprisingjustices RS Reddy and MRShah, said States are required tohold final year exams as perUGC guidelines and for anyexemption they will have toseek permission.

“States can postpone finalyear exams under DisasterManagement Act but freshdates have to be fixed in con-sultation with UGC,” it said.

Yuva Sena, the youth wingof the Shiv Sena, is one of the

petitioners in the apex courtand has questioned the UGC’sdirective to hold exams amidthe coronavirus pandemic.

The UGC had earlier saidthat the July 6 guidelines arebased on recommendations ofexperts and have been made

after due deliberation and it iswrong to claim that it will notbe possible to conduct thefinal examinations in terms ofthe guidelines.

Assailing the decisions ofsome states like Maharashtraand Delhi to cancel final yearexaminations, the UGC hadsaid that such decisions direct-ly affect standards of highereducation and will be anencroachment on the legislativefield of coordinating and deter-mining the standards of high-er education that is exclusive-ly reserved for Parliamentunder Schedule VII of theConstitution. New Delhi: Taking strong

objection to the coverage ofthe Sushant Singh Rajputcase by many media outlets,the Press Council of India onFriday said the media shouldadhere to the norms of jour-nalistic conduct in coveringcases under investigationand is advised not to carryout its own “parallel trial”.

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Page 2: €¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and hot meals on international flights. ... abducted years ago by North Korea, ...

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Mumbai: The Congress inMaharashtra on Fridaydemanded that the "BJP angle"in the Sushant Singh Rajputsuicide case should be probed.

The state BJP, however,rubbished the Congress'demand and allegations.

State Congress spokesper-son Sachin Sawant claimedthat the CBI was going toquestion Sandeep Singh, whowas producer of the biopic

"PM Narendra Modi", withregard to the drugs aspect ofthe case.

"There is a definite BJPangle to it. CBI will investigateproducer of PM Modi's biopicin drug dealing. This is veryserious," Sawant tweeted."Is that why there was a hurryto bring in CBI into the probe.When there are several topproducers in Bollywood, whywas Sandeep Singh chosen to

helm the project?" he said."The Chief Minister,

Home Ministershould probethe nexus between Bollywood,drugs and BJP," he said."The links between BJP andBollywood is well known. Wasthe demand for CBI pursuedto save somebody?Maharashtra governmentshould probe this angle,"Sawant said.

Vijay Gutte, producer of

the film "Accidental PrimeMinister" which tried to"defame" former prime min-ister Manmohan Singh, wasalso embroiled in a criminalcase, he said.

State BJP spokespersonKeshav Upadhaye rubbishedSawant's demand and posteda link to a 2015 article whichsaid Smita Thackeray, daugh-ter-in-law of Bal Thackeray,was planning to produce a

biopic on the late Shiv Senasupremo in association withSandeep Singh.

"Do your home work. Willyou find a link in this too,"Upadhye asked.

BJP leader Ram Kadam, ina letter to Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray,has demanded a discussion onthe `Bollywood-drugs nexus'in the coming legislature ses-sion. PTI

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From Page 1This will enhance com-

munication capabilities of theChinese Army thereby posingfresh challenge to India. Theinstallations included modernequipment for the latest spec-trum bandwidths to greatlyimprove cellular transmissionin the strategically importantarea.

Similarly, the Chinese wereputting up more huts and tem-porary bunkers in the PangongTso region, they said. The firstface-off took place here inearly May when the Chineseintruded and obstructed anIndian army patrol. It led to

fisticuffs between the soldiersof the two Armies leaving sev-eral injured.

China has so far refused towithdraw its troops from thisregion and have occupied theheights around the lake. Theyhave also tried to stop theIndian army patrols betweenFinger 4 and Finger 8 areasbesides engaging in fresh con-struction activities, sourcessaid.

This issue is likely to figureprominently during the sixthround of talks between theCorps Commanders of the twoArmies early next week, theysaid. The two commanders Lt

General Harinder Singh andMajor General Liu Lin havemet five times since the face-offs started and agreed tomutually disengage from theconfrontation sites. They alsoagreed to thin out the addi-tional troops brought closer tothe face-off positions in the lastfew weeks. The two comman-ders had last met on August 2.

However, China has notpulled back its troops from thePangong Tso and the DepsangValley forcing India to alsoboost its troop strength alongwith deployment of heavy gunsand armour.

In this backdrop, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh is like-ly to visit Moscow in first weekof September for the SCOmeeting. Defence Ministers ofnearly 20 countries, includingChina and Pakistan, are alsolikely to be there. However, aone on one meeting betweenRajnath and his Chinese coun-terpart is not yet decided,sources said.

Similarly, Jaishankar will bein Moscow a few days later andmay hold talks with ChineseForeign Minister Wang Yi onthe LAC issue, sources said.The two leaders will also takepart in a virtual meeting inearly September as part of the

Brazil, Russia, India, Chinaand South Africa(BRICS)for-eign ministers conclave, it waslearnt.

Notwithstanding the con-tinuing stand-offs at the LACand frosty ties with Pakistan,the Indian Armed forces willtake part in a multi-nationmilitary exercise includingChina and Pakistan in Russiafor a fortnight startingSeptember 15. These drills areunder the aegis of the SCO andIndia had taken part in such anexercise last year too along withChina and Pakistan. More than20 nations will take part in thisyear’s prestigious event. A200-strong contingent of Indiawill be there, officials said.

From Page 1“The charge here is poor

planning; what can one expectfrom a Government whoimposed a 21-day lockdownwith merely four hours notice,”O’ Brien remarked at the jointPress conference with Sorenand Senior Congress leaderAbhishek Manu Singhvi.

Singhvi, who represented allthe six petitioners, said theGovernment needs to keep inmind that together the peti-tioners represent 30 per cent ofthe Indian population.

Citing Bihar as an example,Singhvi said out of 38 districtsin the State, there were NEETcentres only in two districts andIIT JEE centres only in seven.

Addressing the virtual Pressconference, Soren said theGovernment’s insistence onholding the two exams show its“stubbornness”.

“Not a single day goes bywhen a death due to Covid-19doesn’t occur. Who will beresponsible if any student ortheir family gets infected becauseof appearing in the exam?”,Soren said adding that he is yetto get response on his letter writ-ten to Education Ministry.

JEE Main, which is theentrance examination for entryinto undergraduate engineeringprogrammes, will be heldbetween September 1 and 6.NEET 2020, the examination forentry into undergraduate med-ical programmes, will be held onSeptember 13.

The petitioners said theAugust 17 SC order does nottake into account the safety and“Right to Life” of those appear-ing for JEE Main 2020 andNEET 2020. It also said there areteething logistical difficulties inconducting the examinationsat the proposed dates.

It also added that the SCorder did not balance the com-peting but equally importantaspect of student safety andconducting exams. The six StateCabinet Ministers have filedthe petition in their individualcapacity.

On August 17, the SupremeCourt dismissed pleas to directNTA to postpone JEE Main andNEET due to the coronaviruspandemic.

SC said the postponementof the exams would put students’careers in peril. Justice ArunMishra said if exams were notheld, students would lose anacademic year. He also addedthat life should go on duringCovid-19 and questioned howexams could be stopped.

From Page 1While he pulled Japan out

of recession, the economy hasbeen battered anew by thecoronavirus pandemic, andAbe has failed to achieve hischerished goal of formallyrewriting the US-drafted paci-fist constitution because ofpoor public support.

Abe said he achieved astronger Japan-US securityalliance and the first visit by aserving US President to theatom-bombed city ofHiroshima. He also helpedTokyo gain the right to host the2020 Olympics by pledgingthat a disaster at the Fukushimanuclear plant was “under con-trol” when it was not.

Recently, “The coron-avirus’s impact on the economywas a blow to Abe, who wasstuck at home and lacking anopportunity to make anyachievement or show off hisfriendship with Trump, andwas pushed into a corner,” saidKoichi Nakano, an interna-tional politics professor atSophia University in Tokyo.

Abe continued to bolsterJapan’s defense capability torespond to America’s needs,Nakano said. “For those whobelieve the Japan-U.S. allianceis paramount, that was hismajor achievement,” he said.But Abe bulldozed his expand-ed defense policy and othercontentious issues through par-liament, repeatedly neglectingpublic opinion, Nakano said.

Abe is a political blue bloodwho was groomed to follow inthe footsteps of his grandfather,former Prime MinisterNobusuke Kishi. His politicalrhetoric often focused on mak-ing Japan a “normal” and“beautiful” nation with astronger military and biggerrole in international affairs.

Abe, whose term ends inSeptember 2021, is expected tostay on until a new party leaderis elected and formallyapproved by the parliament, aprocess which is expected totake several weeks.

Abe became Japan’syoungest prime minister in2006, at age 52, but his overly

nationalistic first stint abrupt-ly ended a year later because ofhis health.

In December 2012, Abereturned to power, prioritisingeconomic measures over hisnationalist agenda. He won sixnational elections and built arock-solid grip on power, bol-stering Japan’s defence role andcapability and its securityalliance with the US. He alsostepped up patriotic educa-tion at schools and raisedJapan’s international profile.

Abe on Monday becameJapan’s longest-serving PM byconsecutive days in office,eclipsing the record of EisakuSato, his great-uncle, whoserved 2,798 days from 1964 to1972.

But his second hospitalvisit Monday accelerated spec-ulation and political maneu-vering toward a post-Aberegime.

Ulcerative colitis causesinflammation and sometimespolyps in the bowels. Peoplewith the condition can have anormal life expectancy but

serious cases can involve life-threatening complications.

After his recent hospitalvisits were reported, top offi-cials from Abe’s Cabinet andthe ruling party said he wasoverworked and badly neededrest.

His health concerns cameas his support ratings plungeddue to his handling of thecoronavirus pandemic and itssevere impact on the economy,on top of a stream of politicalscandals, including his own.

There are a slew of politi-cians eager to replace Abe.

Shigeru Ishiba, a 63-year-old hawkish former defenceminister and Abe’s archrival, isa favorite next leader in mediasurveys, though he is less pop-ular within the governing party.A low-key former foreign min-ister, Fumio Kishida, DefenseMinister Taro Kono, ChiefCabinet Secretary YoshihideSuga, and economic revitalisa-tion minister YasutoshiNishimura, who is in charge ofcoronavirus measures, arewidely mentioned in Japanese

media as potential successors. Abe was often upstaged in

dealing with the coronaviruspandemic by Tokyo Gov.Yuriko Koike, a former gov-erning party conservative whois seen as a potential primeminister candidate by some.But she would have to first beelected to Parliament to be inthe running for the top job.

Analysts say no majorchange of policy is expectedwhoever succeeds Abe, thoughJapan may return to an era ofshort-lived leadership.

The end of Abe’s scandal-laden first stint as the PM wasthe beginning of six years ofannual leadership change,remembered as an era of“revolving door” politics thatlacked stability and long-termpolicies.

When he returned to officein 2012, Abe vowed to revitalisethe nation and get its economyout of its deflationary dol-

drums with his “Abenomics”formula, which combines fiscalstimulus, monetary easing andstructural reforms.

Perhaps Abe’s biggest regretwas his inability to fulfill a long-cherished goal of his grandfa-ther and himself to formallyrewrite the pacifist constitution.Abe and his ultra-conservativesupporters see the U.S.-draftedconstitution as a humiliatinglegacy of Japan’s World War IIdefeat.

He was also unable toachieve his goal of settlingseveral unfinished wartimelegacies, including normalizingties with North Korea, settlingisland disputes with neighborsand signing a peace treaty withRussia formally ending theirhostilities in World War II.

Abe said he will focus onhis treatment for now and“continue his political activityand support a new adminis-tration as a lawmaker.”

From Page 1A day after she laid bare

her side of the story in theSushant Singh Rajput’s deathcase through interviews givento a few television channels,Rhea -as was anticipated in thewake of the grilling that Showikwas subjected to by the inves-tigators -was summoned forquestioning by the CBI in themorning.

By the time Rhea reachedthe DRDO’s office, the otherkey witnesses Siddharth, Neerajand Sammuel Miranda werethere to answer questionsposed to them by the CBIsleuths. After a few hours ofquestioning, Siddharth wastaken to the CBI’s Mumbaioffice at the Bandra-KurlaComplex (BKC) where he wasquestioned once again foranother five hours before hewas brought back to the DRDOGuest House where the visitingCBI team has been campingever since their arrival fromNew Delhi a week ago.

It was not immediatelyknown if Rhea was broughtface to face with Siddharth orother key witnesses like herown brother Showik, Neeraj orSammuel Miranda and theactor’s other associates at anypoint of time on Friday.

During the course of herday-long questioning, Rhea isunderstood to have been ques-

tioned by the CBI on issues likeher relationship with Sushant,bouts of depression reported-ly suffered by the actor, on whyshe left the actor’s flat on June8, whether she was adminis-tering medicine and if yes thenwhether the drugs given to theactor were prescribed by doc-tors, about the psychiatrists,doctors and spiritual healerswhom she had taken Sushantto, whether she was takingdecisions in the actor’s finan-cial & professional matters,whether she supplying drugs orgiving drugs mixed in liquidsto the actor, whether she hadreceived any money from theactor, what transpired in theirtrip to Europe and about herstrained relations withSushant’s family members.

Rhea was questioned aboutthe events that followed the dis-covery of Sushant’s body in hisclosed room at his sixth floorduplex flat in “Mont Blanc”building at Bandra’s CarterRoad area in north-westMumbai.

Rhea, who stayed awayfrom the actor’s funeral, isreported to have been ques-tioned about her covert visit tothe Cooper Hospital’s mortuaryto have the last glimpse ofSushant.

During the course of 11hours that she spent at DRDOguest house, Rhea was posed

several sets of questions. Afterevery two or three sets of ques-tioning, she was given a breakbefore resuming questioning.

Sources said that the inves-tigators would co-relate theanswers of Rhea with those ofother eye witnesses, includingSiddharth and Neeraj, whohave been questioned for overa week by the CBI, before theysummon her back for ques-tioning once again.

In a related development,the Enforcement Directorate(ED) officials served summonsto Goa-based hotelier GauravArya, whose name has figuredin drug-related issues involvingSushant, Rhea and others, toappear before it for questioningon August 31 (Monday)

It may be recalled that theED, which has registered amoney laundering in Sushant’sdeath case, had retrievedwhatsApp messages Rhea hadwith others in which allegedprocurement and usage ofdrugs like MDMA, marijuana,LSD and Cannabidiol had fig-ured. The ED had shared theWhatsApp messages to theCBI and Narcotics ControlBureau (NCB), prompting thelatter to register a case undersections 20, 22, 27 and 29 of theNarcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances) Actand booked Rhea Chakraborty,her brother Showik

Chakraborty and others underit.

On Friday, the ED officialsvisited Hotel Tamarind at Goa’scoastal village Anjuna. Seeingthe hotel shut, they stuck thesummons paper on the door ofthe hotel. Hotel Tamarind hasbeen shut since March this year,because of the lockdownrestrictions

Among other things, theED notice stated that Aryawill have to meet Rajiv Kumar,assistant director, ED, at 11 amin Mumbai on Monday in con-nection with a case registeredunder the provisions of thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA), 2002.The ED had registered anEnforcement Case InformationReport (ECIR) on July 31.

It may be recalled that EDhad questioned Rhea, Indrajeetand her brother ShowikChakraborty on August 10.

On Thursday, the ED offi-cials questioned Rhea’s talentmanager Jaya Saha. On thesame day her father IndrajeetChakraborty was also sum-moned by the ED to access thefamily’s bank accounts in con-nection with the alleged moneylaundering case registered by it.The same afternoon, the EDofficials took him to the Vakolabranch of the Axis Bank tocheck the bank accountdetails.

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From Page 1“Parliament must function

and infection must not spread,he said. The Speaker chaired ameeting with senior officersand experts of Health Ministry,AIIMS, ICMR, DRDO, andthe Health Department ofDelhi Government on Friday togive final shape to preparationsrelated to the Monsoon sessionof Parliament. The Session willbe conducted with all necessary

health safety arrangements inParliament House Complex.

Speaker also asked theMinistries to reduce the entryof their Staffers in theParliament complex and thoseenter must be tested. Along

with this, there is a proposal torestrict the number of mediapersons, both from Lok Sabhaand Rajya Sabha. COVID (RT-PCR) test will be mandatory forall media persons,” said thestatement.

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�����������999From Page 1

Raising his voice one moretime against the constantdecline of Congress, Azad reit-erated to a TV news agency,that the party must hold elec-tions to the CWC and keyorganisational posts of Statechiefs lest it continues to “sit inthe Opposition for the next 50years”.

In the Lok Sabha, a similarfive-member group has beenformed, comprisingChowdhury, Gogoi, chief whipK Suresh, Bittu and ManickamTagore, who is close to Rahul.

“As chairperson of theCongress Parliamentary Party,I have decided to constitute thegroups to facilitate and ensurethe effective functioning of

our party in both Houses ofParliament. These groups willmeet daily during the sessionand can meet during the inter-session periods as well whereParliament issues are con-cerned. Joint meetings can beconvened as and when needed,”Sonia stated in her announce-ments after affecting thechanges.

Two days ago Jairam wasappointed as convener of the 5-member committee to takenote of key ordinances of theGovernment. Former FinanceMinister P Chidambaram,Digvijay Singh, Dr Amar Singhand Gaurav Gogoi are its othermembers.

The letter written by 23Congress leaders to SoniaGandhi said there has been a“steady decline of the party”, aswitnessed in the 2014 and

2019 Lok Sabha elections, butno “honest introspection” hasbeen done to analyse the rea-sons for these massive defeats.

The letter added thatCongress workers on theground are demoralisedbecause of the uncertainty overthe leadership.

The Congress is yet toappoint a full-time presidentsince Rahul resigned followingthe 2019 Lok Sabha electiondebacle.

�����"����� ������������� �� "999 From Page 1“Disposable earphones or

cleaned and disinfected head-phones will be provided topassengers at the start of thejourney,” it noted.

Meanwhile, a senior offi-cial of the Directorate Generalof Civil Aviation (DGCA)said, “A passenger who refus-es to wear a face mask can beput on no-fly list by the air-line.” The official said no neworder has been passed in thisregard as the airline and itscabin crew are sufficientlyempowered under the existingDGCA rules to take action.

As per the DGCA rules,an airline can choose to put anunruly passenger on its no-flylist after internal delibera-

tions. Subsequently, other air-lines may follow suit inputting that passenger ontheir no-fly lists.

Scheduled internationalpassenger flights continue toremain suspended in Indiasince March 23 due to thecoronavirus pandemic.However, special internation-al flights have been operatingunder the “Vande BharatMission” and bilateral air bub-ble arrangements that havebeen signed with variouscountries. Domestic flightsresumed in India on May 25after a gap of two months inview of the pandemic.However, airlines are allowedto operate 45 per cent of theirpre-Covid domestic flights.

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Page 3: €¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and hot meals on international flights. ... abducted years ago by North Korea, ...

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The initiatives taken byIndian Railways in tariff

and non-tariff fields to boostfreight operations has yieldedpositive results as freight load-ing recorded 4.3 per cent high-er compared to last year for thesame month.

In the month of August2020 (till 27th August 2020) thetotal freight loading was 81.33million tonnes which is higherthan last year for the samemonth (77.97 million tonnes),the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that theinitiatives taken in tariff fieldincludes discount on loadedcontainers, moisturised ash(open wagon), withdrawal ofsurcharge of two point/minirakes (for cement, iron, steel,food grains, and fertilizers),round trip traffic policy, longlead concession and short leadconcession.

It said that discounts rangefrom 5to 50 per cent. In Spite of

Covid related restrictive chal-lenges, freight loading in themonth of August 2020 (till 27thAugust 2020) is 4.3 per centhigher compared to last year forthe same month.

Utilizing Covid period as anopportunity Indian Railwayssubstantially increased the speedof freight trains in the year 2020-21 as compared to last year.

Among the measures takenby the railways to boost freightoperations are setting up busi-ness development units at divi-sions, zones and board level,putting restrictions on co-use ofprivate sidings removed - 1,079private sidings allowed tobecome private freight terminalseffectively, opening up of exporttraffic to Bangladesh for parcels,containers and automobile andlinking train from Kolhapur toManmad

������� ������ 9:��9;8

Two persons were injuredafter the car they were dri-

ving fell off a flyover in WestDelhi’s Vikaspuri area onThursday night.

The injured have beenidentified as Anuj (29), a resi-dent of Karala and Vijay (29),a resident of Begampur inDelhi.

According to DeepakPurohit, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), West district, a policecontrol room (PCR) callregarding an accident onVikaspuri-Peeragarhi flyoverwas received at around 11:06PM following which anEmergency Response Vehicle(ERV) was dispatched for thespot.

“On enquiry it wasrevealed that a Honda Citygoing towards Peeragarhi hadhit the Endeavour from rearside and thereafter Honda Cityfell from the Vikaspuri flyover.The injured Anuj and Vijay,who were sitting in Honda Citycar, were rushed to Deen DayalUpadhyay (DDU) Hospital andSehgal Hospital where theyare undergoing treatment,” saidthe DCP.

������� ������ 9:��9;8

The South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) and

Northern Railways on Fridayflagged off a mosquito termi-nator train from New DelhiRailway Station. Insecticidewill be sprayed from a powersprayer mounted on a truckplaced over the train to sub-stantially mitigate the threatof vector borne diseasesincluding chikungunya and

dengue in 50 to 60 meter areaon both sides of railwaytracks.

Under the joint initiative ofthe SDMC and the NorthernRailway the insecticide will besprayed on the both sides of railtrack in Delhi with an aim toeliminate the menace of mos-quitoes.

"This preventive measurewill go a long way in protect-ing thousands of people fromChikungunya and dengue. This

will not only eliminate larvaebut also neutralize mosqui-toes," a senior SDMC officialsaid.

The move will also providedesired relief to large numberof residents putting up in JJclusters along rail tracks whereby road approach is not possi-ble for spray, he said, addingthat the efforts of the SDMChave been helpful in bringingdown the cases of dengue inlast few years.

Explaining about it further,the official said that a truckmounted with power sprayerprovided by SDMC that isloaded on a special kind ofRailway wagon called DBKMwhich has a low flat surface toaccommodate the truck.

"The special train on runon different dates will sprayinsecticide to sanitize the waterbodies along the tracks fromNew Delhi Railway Stationcovering Hazrat Niazamuddin,Lajpat Nagar, Sewa Nagar, LodiColony, Delhi Safdarjang, PatelNagar, Delhi Kishanganj, Sadar Bazar, Sarai Rohilla,Barar Square, InderPuri,Mayapuri, Dayabasti, DelhiCantt., Palam, Behta Hazipurhalt, Noli, Delhi Shahdara andback to New Delhi RailwayStation," he said.

The terminator train willmove at a speed of 20 km/phcovering a distance about 150km in each cycle. Apart fromwater bodies, the train spraysinsecticides over depressioncreated on both sides of railwaytracks, where chances of mos-quito breeding remain highafter rains.

The south Corporationconduct similar drive annual-ly as a precautionary measureto minimize mosquito breed-ing alongside railway tracks.

������� ������ 9:��9;8

Delhi Congress held dharnaoutside the education min-

istry at Shastri Bhawandemanding deferment of theNEET-JEE exams consideringthe spread of the Corona virus.

Congress president AnilKumar said that the Covid-19pandemic cases have been wit-nessing a record spike acrossthe country and it would not beprudent to hold these examsnow.

Prominent among thosewho participated in the dhar-na included former MPKrishna Tirath, party vice pres-idents Jai Kishan and MuditAgarwal and former DelhiMinister Professor Kiran Walia.

Kumar said that studentsare the greatest asset of thecountry and if their lives are putto deanger, it will affect the

future of the country. "India isnow ahead of all other coun-tries in terms of the number ofnew recorded Covid-19 casesper day close to 70,000 in mid-August," he said.

The Modi Government atthe Centre seems to be leastbothered about the riskinvolved and the inconve-

niences the students wouldface if they are forced to appearin exams, he said.

Further, many studentswho want to take part in theNEET-JEE exams are either inthe containment zones, flood-affected areas or remote placesand it would be very difficultfor them to attend the exams,

he said, adding that not onlythe Congress party but othershave also expressed their con-cern and opposition to holdingof the NEET-JEE exams.

He said that the Congresshas also started an online cam-paign #SpearkUpForStudentSafety” demandingpostponement of the exams.

������� ������ 9:��9;8

In a major reshuffle, 11 IndianPolice Service (IPS) officers of

Delhi Police were transferredand given new responsibilities inthe National Capital.

According to orders issuedby Delhi’s Lieutenant Governoron August 28, S K Gautam, IPS1989 batch who was posted atSpecial Commissioner of Police,Headquarters has been trans-ferred as the Special CP, Security.Meanwhile, Nuzhat Hassan, IPS1991 batch and Special CP,Women Safety, SPUWAC andSPUNER has been given addi-tional charge as Special CP ofGeneral Administration.

IPS, 1994 batch, AnandMohan has been posted asSpecial CP, Training and IPS1996 batch Jaspal Singh, hasbeen made as the Joint CP, NewDelhi Range while IPS 1998batch, N S Bundela, who wasposted as the Joint CP, Traffic hasbeen transferred as Joint CP,Central Range.

Dr Ajit Kumar Singla, the

Additional CP, Crime has beenposted as the additional CP, traf-fic. Monika Bhardwaj, theDeputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), North district has beentransferred as the DCP, Crimewhile Anto Alphonse, the DCP,Dwarka has been given thecharge as DCP, North district.

Santosh Kumar Meena, theDCP, Security has been madethe DCP, Dwarka. BijendraKumar Yadav, the additionalDCP, Northwest district hasbeen transferred and given thecharge as DCP, Traffic whileVikram Harimohan Meena, theDCP, Traffic has been given thecharge as Additional DCP,Northwest district.

Delhi, Andaman andNicobar Islands, Lakshadweep,Dadra and Nagar Haveli andDaman and Diu Police Service(DANIPS), Rajesh Deo and DrRam Gopal Naik, the DCsP,Crime have been transferred asDCP, Legal Cell and DCP,Traffic. Anita Roy, DANIPS,the DCP, Traffic has been giventhe charge as DCP, Security.

������� ������ -0G0-G2�

The district health depart-ment detected 126 fresh

Covid-19 cases on Friday,including 10 NSG commandostaking the total number of casesto 11,555. Of this, 10,450 peo-ple have recovered. The Covid-19 toll has reached 132 in thedistrict.

“Gurugram now has 973apctive cases, including 845 in-home isolation. Remaining 128patients are admitted in private,government and Covid carecenters in the district while 90patients were recovered onFriday," Gurugram CivilSurgeon Dr. Virender Yadavsaid.

The health department saidout of 132 deaths 93 died due tocomorbidities and the remain-ing 39 without comorbidities.

Meanwhile the districtrecovery rate from Covid-19 hasincreased to 91 percent whilethe death rate has come downto 1.15 according to data sharedby the district administration.

“Covid testing has beenincreased in the district to pre-vent the spread of corona infec-tion. The department is sam-pling 1 lakh per million tests aday. Which includes both types-Rapid Antigen Test and RTPCRTest. Those patients have been

done on propriety. Patients arebeing treated based on theirsymptoms,” Yadav said.

The health official alsoinformed that a rate of Rs 8,500has been set for the plasma. Sofar, 40 persons had come for-ward to donate plasma in it, outof which 19 persons were donat-ed plasma. These produced 80units of plasma, of which 34units of plasma have been givento the needy.

Gurugram has 21 such con-tainment zones where infectionrate was high. “We have initiat-ed door to door screening inthese zones to identify sus-

pects. We are using the rapidantigen kit to test suspects," hesaid.

He further informed thatanother initiative has beenadopted by the district admin-istration in view of the facilityof Plasma Donor.

As part of this initiative,"Plasma Donor is being pro-vided with a pick and drop facil-ity. Under this procedure anti-bodies are tested in the body ofthe person who donates theplasma. If antibodies haveformed in a person's body, theplasma is taken only after it isconfirmed,” said Yadav.

� ��������� 9:��9;8

In a sudden development,Principal Secretary ( Home )

Bhupinder Singh Bhalla andVikram Dev Dutt, the PrincipalSecretary (Health ) of DelhiGovernment have gone onleave amid war on corona test-ing between Ministry of HomeAffairs and the DelhiGovernment.

According to sources inDelhi administration, both theofficials were under pressure of

the Centre to not to escalateCorona testing in the NationalCapital while Health MinisterSatyendra Jain had alreadyspoken about pressure tacticsby the Union Government bywriting a letter to secretary,Union Home Minister, AjayBhalla.

Interestingly, at timeswhen the MHA has clarifiedthat the allegations of puttingpressure on Delhi governmentofficials on Corona testingwere baseless, an official order

of August 26,2020 with ThePioneer stated that ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwaldesired that testing may bescaled up in terms of numbersfrom the current levels andmay be doubled.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that during the reviewmeeting which was held onabove mentioned day, bothtop officials Principal Secretary( Home ) and secretary (Health ) were present.

Sources in Delhi govern-

ment said amid this situation,the State ( Health) Departmentof Delhi government is fullyprepared for increasing testing.

“More testing is the strat-egy to tackle corona spread.The administration is preparedas discussed and guided byChief Minister Arvind Kejriwalon August 26 during the reviewmeeting,” said a senior gov-ernment official.

Further, as per the orderssigned by Vikram Dev Dutt,Principal Secretary, Health and

Family Welfare, Delhi govern-ment, stated further guidancemay kindly be sought from theexpert committee/ MHA onCorona testing.

“In light of the currentCovid -19 , situation and tra-jectory of cases in Delhiwhether scaling up of testingnumber is to be done and if so,to what extent,” quoted theorder.

It further stated: since thetesting strategy of Delhi gov-ernment has always been con-

gruent with National TestingStrategy, the direction would beessential in ensuring that suchcongruence is ensured on acontinuous basis. “Submittedfor kind info and furtherorders, the above has beencommunicated separately toMHA and Dr V K Paul ,Member, NITI Ayog,” quotedas mentioned in orders.

Meanwhile, Delhi reported20 deaths in past 24 hours withfresh 1808 corona positivecases.

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��� 9:��9;8

To better prepare doctors forchallenges posed by pan-

demics like Covid-19, thecountry’s apex medical educa-tion regulator, the Board ofGovernors of the MedicalCouncil of India (MCI), is inthe process of including pan-demic management along withits social, legal and otheraspects as part of the MBBScourse for medical aspirants.

The BoG said it is expect-ed that the pandemic manage-ment module extending fromfoundation course to the finalyear undergraduate pro-gramme will help in ensuringthe creation of an Indian med-ical graduate “who will servehumanity as doctor, leader andhealer in bleak times such asoccurrence of a pandemic”.

The move aims to preparedoctors for challenges posed byemerging diseases like Covid-19.

The document containingdetails of the module to beadopted by colleges has beenput together by a team ofexperts and the academic cell

of the MCI.“This pandemic manage-

ment module is designed toensure that MBBS studentsacquire competencies in han-dling not only the illness butalso the social, legal and otherissues arising from such diseaseoutbreaks.

“The emergence ofCovid-19 and its rapid spreadacross the globe has furtherunderlined the need to devel-op these skills in our gradu-ates,” Dr V K Paul, the chair-man of the BoG said in theforeword.

The BoG has preparedrevised regulations onGraduate Medical educationand Competency basedundergraduate curricula,accompanied by detailedguidance for its implementa-tion.

One of the desirable out-comes of the competencyderived education programmeis to enable the Indian med-ical graduate to be preparedfor the unknown — to be ableto understand, investigate,treat and prevent new andemerging diseases as clinician,community leader and schol-

ar, stated the foreword.It further said that, “pan-

demic or disease outbreakcalls in to play all the five roles

envisages for the Indian med-ical graduate viz clinician,communicator, leader andmember of the healthcare

team, professional, life-longlearner and committed toexcellence, is ethical, respon-sive and accountable to

patients”The competency-based

undergraduate curriculumwas designed to enable the

Indian medical graduate to beprepared to meet new chal-lenges - to be able to recog-nise, diagnose, investigate and

treat newly emerging diseasesas a clinician and communi-ty health leader.

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��� 9:��9;8

Lack of social interactionduring the Covid-19 pan-

demic has taken a toll on peo-ple’s mental health which isalready a neglected issue giventhat more than 75 per cent ofthose with mental, neurologi-cal and substance use disordersreceive no treatment for theircondition at all, the WorldHealth Organization (WHO)has cautioned.

Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, said,“For many people, the lack ofsocial interaction caused by thepandemic has had a profoundeffect on their mental health.”

Sharing his views at a vir-tual press briefing fromGeneva, the WHO chief saidthat people in long-term facil-ities such as care homes andpsychiatric institutions are atan increased risk of infection.

He added that mentalhealth professionals havethemselves been infected withthe virus, and some mentalhealth facilities have beenclosed to be converted intotreatment facilities for people

with Covid-19.He recalled that mental

health was already “a neglect-ed health issue” globally beforethe pandemic, with close toone billion people living witha mental disorder. Yet relativelyfew people have access to qual-ity mental health services.

“In low and middle-income countries, more than75 per cent of people withmental, neurological and sub-

stance use disorders receive notreatment for their condition atall,” Tedros noted.

He declared that for thisyear’s World Mental HealthDay, which falls on October 10,the WHO, together with itspartner organizations, Unitedfor Global Mental Health andthe World Federation forMental Health, would call fora massive scale-up in invest-ments in mental health.

234���������������������, ����������� ��������+ �����56-

��� 9:��9;8

India is on course to have an“approved” vaccine within

the first quarter of next yearand Pune-based SerumInstitute of India (SII), theworld’s largest vaccine manu-facturer by volume, is wellplaced to deliver the first vac-cine, according to a reportfrom Bernstein Research, atop Wall Street research andbrokerage firm.

“Globally, there are fourcandidates that are close to anapproval by the end of 2020 orearly 2021. Through partner-ships India has access to two ofthose - AZ/Oxford’s viral vec-tor vaccine and Novavax’s pro-tein sub-unit vaccine withAZ/Oxford’s vaccine ahead bya quarter,” said the Bernsteinreport, according to a newsagency.

“With their existing capa-bilities and capacities SII isbest positioned to commer-cialise one or both of the part-nered vaccine candidatesdepending on approval tim-ing, capacities and pricing.”

Data from Phase 1 andPhase trials look promising

for both these candidates “interms of safety and the vac-cines ability to elicit animmune response”. The waythings look now, the reportindicates that both vaccinecandidates “will require twodoses to be administered21/28 days apart”.

The SII, the report said,could supply 600 milliondoses in 2021 and 1 billiondoses in 2022, out of which400 to 500 million “should beavailable in India in 2021” inthe context of the company’scommitments to Gavi, TheVaccine Alliance and lowerand middle income markets.

The report estimates thatvaccine volumes will be split55:45 between the

Government and privatemarket.

“We believe theGovernment channel willhave first access to the capac-ities but also believe there willbe a sizable private market. Interms of funding, manpowerand delivery infrastructurethe Government wil l struggle to shoulder the bur-den on its own and we expectthe private market to step inand supplement.”

Apart from SII, the reportlists at least three other Indianpharma companies - Zydus,Bharat Biotech and BiologicalE - which are working ontheir own vaccine candidates and are currentlyin Phase 1 and 2.

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India on Friday breached itsown previous day record of

single-day spike of over 75,000cases, by registering anunprecedented 77,266 freshcoronavirus infections in 24hours, taking the Covid-19tally to 33,87,500. As the testrate has increased, the countryhas now added almost 4 lakhcases in five days. In fact,India’s journey to over 33 lakhcases took precisely six monthsand 28 days since the emer-gence of the first case in thecountry on January 30.

The toll surpassed 60,000to touch 61,529 mark with1,057 more fatalities on Friday,

said the Union Health Ministry.India though the third

worst-hit at present, after theUS and Brazil, has been report-ing the highest number ofdaily coronavirus cases in theworld for the last three weeks.No other country has reportedsuch continued surge since thepandemic surfaced in China’sWuhan city in December 2019.

The recovery rate in Indiawas recorded at 76.28 per cent,while the Covid-19 case fatal-ity rate has further declined to1.82 per cent.

There are 7,42,023 activecases of coronavirus infectionin the country which com-prises 21.90 per cent of thetotal caseload, the data stated.India’s Covid-19 tally had

crossed the 20-lakh mark onAugust 7 and went past 30lakh on August 23. On July17, the country had logged 10lakh cases, which then dou-bled in 20 days on August 7,and added another 10 lakh onAugust 23. According to theICMR, a cumulative total of3,94,77,848 samples havebeen tested up to August 27with 9,01,338 samples beingtested on Thursday.

In India the fatality rate,which is the proportion ofpeople who die from the dis-ease among individuals diag-nosed, has dropped to 1.81per cent, the Health Ministrysaid. The positivity rate,which is the percentage ofs a m p l e scoming out to be positiveout of the tests conducted,stands at 8.5 per cent.

The overall number ofglobal coronavirus cases hastopped 2 crore 43 lakh, whilethe deaths have increased toover 8,29,000, according toJohns Hopkins University.

The US accounted for theworld’s highest number ofcases and deaths at 58,63,363and 1,80,595 respectively.Brazil came in the secondplace with 37,61,391 infec-tions and 1,18,649 deaths.

��� 9:��9;8

Despite coronavirus pan-demic and incessant rain-

fall, farmers have sowedkharif crop in an area of1082.22 lakh hectare which ismore than the 1009.98 lakhhactare of the correspondingperiod of last year. There hasalso been a substantialincrease in planting of paddyin many States that receivedbountiful rains so far. This isdespite dozens of States reel-ing under floods.

According to the IndiaMeteorological Department’s(IMD) latest forecast, Indiawitnessed 9 percent morerainfall so far this monsoonseason. It has received749.6mm rainfall as against thenormal of 689.4 mm.

As per the Ministry ofAgriculture’s data released onFriday, the kharif crops areasacreage went by 7.15 percentso far while kharif plantationis still going on in severalparts of the country.

The data showed that thetotal area under paddy so faris 389.81 lakh hectares, near-ly 35.40 lakh hectare morethan the 354.41lakh hectares

covered in the same week lastyear.

There has been a sub-stantial increase in planting ofpaddy in many States likeTelangana, which has sownpaddy over an additional10.06 lakh hectare, MadhyaPradesh (5.23 lakh hectare),Bihar (5.22 lakh hectare) andJharkhand (5.05 lakh hectare).Among the other States thathave planted paddy in morearea are West Bengal (4.48lakh hectares), Odisha (3.16lakh hectares) and Karnataka(2.18 lakh hectares) com-pared to same period lastyear.

Surprisingly, the paddyarea in Punjab has comedown by 1.78 lakh hectaresfrom the last kharif season.Punjab, Nagaland, Tripuraand Jammu and Kashmirreported less plantation.

As far pulses are con-cerned, there is nearly 134.57lakh ha area coverage underpulses as compared to 128.65lakh hectare during the cor-responding period of lastyear.

Thus 5.91 lakh ha morearea has been covered com-pared to last year.

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Defence Minister RajnathSingh will formally induct

the newly arrived five Rafalefighter jets into the IAF onSeptember 10. His Frenchcounterpart Florency Parly isalso likely to be part of theevent besides holding bilateraltalks on further enhancingdefence ties between the twocountries.

The first batch of fiveRafale jets, manufactured byFrench aerospace majorDassault Aviation, arrived atthe Ambala air base on July 29.The jets are yet to be formallyinducted into the IAF. DefenceMinister, Chief of Defence StaffGeneral Bipin Rawat and theentire top military brass of thecountry will attend the event atthe Ambala air base, sourcessaid here on Friday.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement withFrance in September 2016 forprocurement of 36 Rafalefighter jets at a cost of aroundRs 58,000 crore.

Out of the 36 Rafale jets,30 will be fighter jets and sixwill be trainers. The trainerjets will be twin-seater andthey will have almost all the

features of the fighter jets.While the first squadron of theRafale jets will be stationed atthe Ambala air base, the sec-ond one will be based at the

Hasimara base in West Bengal.All the 36 jets will be in theIAF by 2022.

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��� 9:��9;8

The next edition of the pres-tigious international aero-

space exhibition ‘Aero India2021’ will be held at its tradi-tional venue Bengaluru. The

event will be held fromFebruary 3-5, sources saidhere. The Defence Ministrytook the decision to hold thebiennial event as scheduled fol-lowing inputs from the domes-tic defence industry and glob-al aerospace majors.

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��� 9:��9;8

The Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF) has

created an in-house mobileapp “Pensioners Corner” onandroid platform for pension-ers of the Force.

The latest digital initiativehas been undertaken underthe guidance of CISF DirectorGeneral Rajesh Ranjan and theapp will help the Force to get intouch with the pensioners andto bring them on to the digital

platform. “Pensioners Corner will be

available in both web andandroid platforms with thefacility for pensioners to accesstheir data on the move. Withthe launch of this new digitalinitiative, pensioners will getconnected to the CISF unitsspread across the geographicalstretch of the country. SMS invi-tations will be sent to pension-ers on important occasionshappening in the nearest CISF

unit,” the CISF said in a state-ment on Friday.

Apart from an inbuilt griev-ance redressal mechanism, allimportant circulars like jobopportunities and benefits per-taining to pensioners can alsobe accessed using this App.

To tackle the unforeseenCovid situation and ensure thecontinuity of the functions inthe offices, CISF had recentlyalso launched web application“e-Karyalay”.

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New Delhi: The Delhi HighCourt on Friday restrainedSudarshan TV from telecastingits programme titled ‘BindasBol’, whose latest promoclaimed that the channel was allset to broadcast a ‘big exposeon conspiracy to infiltrateMuslims in Government ser-vice’.

The show was scheduled toair tonight at 8 pm.

Justice Navin Chawlaissued notice and soughtresponses of CentralGovernment, the Union Public

Service Commission,Sudarshan TV, and its Editor-in-Chief, Suresh Chavhankeon a petition filed by formerand present students of JamiaMillia Islamia.

The high court listed thematter for further hearing onSeptember 7.

The plea contended thatthe proposed broadcast soughtto defame, attack and incitehatred against Jamia MilliaIslamia, its alumni, and theMuslim community at large.

PTI

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��� 9:��9;8

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) has con-

ducted searches at the houseof a suspect in Defence/ISIUP espionage case, RajakbhaiKumbhar of Mundra districtof Gujarat.

This case arose out of UPATS case registered onJanuary 19 this year at GomtiNagar, Lucknow, pertaining to

the arrest of accusedMohammad Rashid, ofMughal Sarai in Chandolidistrict of UP.

The NIA subsequentlytook over the case and theprobe has revealed thatRashid was in touch withDefence/ISI handlers ofPakistan.

NIA reregistered this caseon April 6 this year underIndian Penal Code section.

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Veteran Gandhian and anti-cor-ruption crusader Anna Hazare

on Friday rejected Delhi BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) president AdeshGupta’s recent invitation to come andlaunch an agitation against the AamAadmi PartyGovernment along thelines of a Lokpal agitation he undertookin 2011.

Reacting to a statement issuedrecently by Gupta to the media invit-ing Hazare to co-operate with the BJPby coming to the national capital andlaunching an agitation like the Lokpalstir he had undertaken in 2011, Hazaresaid:,“I felt bad reading your letter. YourBharatiya Janata Party has been rulingthe country for the past six years. Yourparty has a maximum number ofyouths as members. Your party claimsas the biggest party in the world thathas a largest number of members”

“Anna Hazare is an 83-year-old

man who lives in a 10 feet X 12 feetroom located in a temple. He does nothave money. Nor does he have prop-erty or power. It is rather unfortunatethat you are calling such a man tolaunch an agitation in the national cap-ital against the AAP government,”Hazare wrote in his letter.

“You have your government at theCentre. Many of the matters relating tothe Delhi government come under thepurview of your government. Youhave CBI, ED, Vigilance and the Delhipolice are under your control. ThePrime Minister repeatedly claims thatthe Centre is taking stringent steps toeliminate corruption in the country.That being the case, if it thinks that theDelhi government has indulged in cor-ruption, why is the BJP-led governmentnot acting against the Arvind Kejriwalgovernment? Or is its claim of elimi-nating corruption failed,?, Hazareasked.

Maintaining that he had been cru-

sading against corruption in the stateand at the Centre during the last 22years and undertaken 220 fasts duringthe period, Hazare said that he hadundertaken the Lokpal agitation in2011 as the people across the countrywere fed up with rampant corruptionprevalent in the country. There wasunrest in the country.

At such a juncture, Anna Hazarehad undertaken the agitation. Realisingthat Anna Hazare was agitating forthem, the people had taken to streetsthen. Subsequently, your governmentcame to power at the Centre afterpromising corruption-free govern-ment”.

“But, after your party came topower at the Centre, the problems ofpeople remain as before. What we arewitnessing is one party blaming anoth-er party. I feel that a political partyshould indulge in self-introspection andspeak about the faults within its ownset up”.

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What the Opposition BJPcalled her rattling of the

sabre in public a “routine pre-election exercise” Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onFriday dared Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to shun his“Bhashan” (speech-making)arranged before a “pre-deter-mined tutored audience” andface the genuinely concernedstudents appearing for theNEET/JEE and other suchexams in his “so called” Mannki Baat programme.

Banerjee who was speakingat the foundation day pro-gramme of TrinamoolCongress Chatra Parishad —the students’ arm of the rulingTrinamool Congress — came

down heavily on the CentralGovernment for its “insensi-tivity” towards the impendingcorona crisis and “pushinglakhs of students to grapplewith the risks of the pandem-ic.”

Stopping short of namingModi, the Bengal ChiefMinister said “there are somepeople who offer big Bhashan(tall speeches) in Man ki Baat…. I ask them to face the aspi-rants of the NEET/JEE andother exams in the Man ki Baat… and the tutored ones whoare employed for the purpose,”Banerjee said.

On the Supreme Courtorder she however said that herState had no problem holdingthe final exams anytimebeyond September.

Kolkata: If all goes well for thefans then heartthrob of millionsSunny Leone could be sittingalongside many of her admir-ers in a Kolkata classroom or ina classroom of a college some30 miles down the Hooghly.

The Bollywood cine starhas “bagged” the numero unospot in prestigious AshutoshMukherjee College in SouthKolkata. The actor however isnot so lucky in striking it so bigin the second college, this timein the Budge Budge region ofSouth 24 Parganas where hername has appeared in the 151stplace --- both in BA EnglishHonours stream, sources said. PNS

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The joint teams of security forces onFriday gunned down one of the top

commanders of Al-Badr terror outfitalong with three other terrorists in abrief encounter in Kiloora area of South Kashmir's Shopian dis-trict.

The encounter took place in thearea barely hours after the recovery ofthe dead body of a slain Panch fromKhonmoh area of Srinagar.

According to police, Nisar AhmadBhat , an elected Panch, had gone miss-ing since August 19.

His dead body was recovered aftersome locals in the Dangam area raisedan alarm.

The dead body, with marks of bul-let injuries, was buried in an orchard in Dangam area of Shopian.

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Aday after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declaredKerala as the globally safest region vis-à-vis coron-

avirus, the State diagnosed 2,543 positive cases on Friday,the highest number of patients to be confirmed on a sin-gle day till date. Seven persons died in the State becauseof the pandemic, according to a press release by theDepartment of Health.

The death tally announced on Friday is the numberof fatalities confirmed by the National Virology Institute.Details about deaths in other parts of the State are to beconfirmed by the Institute in coming days before officialannouncement.

The disease is spreading fast in Kerala. In yet anoth-er proof of community transmission, 2,260 persons con-tracted Covid-19 through social transmission/contact. Arecord number of 229 patients failed to furnish the sourcefrom which they contracted the disease.

On Friday, 2,541 persons diagnosed with the pandemicwere admitted to hospitals. The State has increased thenumber of persons who are being tested on a daily basis.On Friday, 41, 860 persons were tested.

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Congress leaders and work-ers in Kerala stand “solid-

ly” behind party chief SoniaGandhi and former party pres-ident Rahul Gandhi, said seniorparty leaders in the State.

“For party workers andleaders in Kerala, Congressmeans Sonia Gandhi andRahul Gandhi. There is noneed to think about any changeof leadership in the party,” saidK Muraleedharan MP whowas former KPCC president.He said it was unfair and an actof indiscipline to speak againstparty leadership when the chipsare down.

Kodikkunnil Suresh MPand former union minister,said that Congress workersand leaders from Kerala areunited in their support forSonia Gandhi and RahulGandhi. “The KPCC hasexpressed its unanimous desireto have Rahul Gandhi as thepresident of the party,” saidSuresh while speaking toreporters at the capital city onFriday.

Both the leaders(Muraleedharan and Suresh)disapproved the kind of dissi-dence being shown by SashiTharoor MP who was one ofthe signatories of the letter sentby a group of veteran leaders tothe party’s High Command.

“Tharoor is a GlobalCitizen and had joined theCongress hardly a decade ago.It would be better if he focussedmore on Global issues than thatof Congress affairs. There aremany leaders and workers inthe Congress who have dedi-cated their lives to the partyand the Nehru-Gandhi clan,”said Muraleedharan.

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Upset with Hathras MP Rajveer Diler, Gram Pradhanof Daurau Chandpur gram panchayat Ashok Azad

and his elder brother Ram Gopal have claimed for reli-gious conversion along with their family. On Thursday,Ram Gopal has asked permission for religious conver-sion in a written letter to the District Magistrate.According to Gram Pradhan Ashok Azad, ladies of thehouse already removed all the idols of Gods from thehouse and all 20 members of the family will accept Islamsoon after getting permission.

According to Ashok Azad and Ram Gopal, HathrasMP Rahveer Diler is a native of gram panchayat DaurauChandpur. In 2015, his wife Rajni Diler contested for thepradhan election against him but faced defeat, since thenHathras MP Rajveer Diler continuously harassing andimplicating the family in false cases.

Ashok Azad said that four-five months ago, on MPinstruction, his house was demolished after beingshowed that it was constructed on the land of GramPanchayat.

The matter is under consideration in court. I own aland in Gata number 86 and there also boundary has beenmade.

It is alleged that the nephew of the MP's relation hasfiled a false case of a deadly attack against six people ofhis family. Ashok Azad said that he is compelled to con-vert his religion along with his family members.

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Despite of the High Court'sorder and complaints of

inhabitants of the city, the ille-gal animal slaughtering hasnot stopped yet.

It is a common practice inMuslim populated areas likeSarai Rehman, Sarai Mian,Makdoom Nagar andShahjamal to slaughter ani-mals. Animals are slaughteredhere in the open every morn-ing.

The animal body partsspread foul smell in the sur-rounding areas and the bloodof slaughtered animals flows inthe colony drains.

Those people, who are notaccustomed to animal slaugh-ter, undergo a harrowing expe-rience while passing throughthese areas and their feelingsare hurt. The illegal animalslaughter if not checked canplunge the hypersensitiveAligarh in an unwarrantedcommunal clash anytime.

Surprisingly, the NagarNigam and the Aligarh districtadministration are turning ablind eye towards this provoca-tive issue. No preventive mea-sures have been taken by them.

A related problem is themushrooming of several meatshops in the entire town againstnorms.

These shops have comeup near schools, colleges, tem-ples and other public places,much to the dislike of residents.In these shops, old andunhealthy goats and buffalo arebeing slaughtered, which maygive disease to the consumers.

The contractor of the gov-ernment slaughterhouse andthe health department staffare also involved in the illegalslaughtering racket.

KOCHI: Despite the NIA andED failing to make any progressinto the gold smuggling scamprobe, the CPI(M)-led KeralaGovernment has lost a lot ofsheen.

Friday turned out to beanother shocker for the LDFGovernment as it was disclosedthat the LIFE Mission apart-ments being built in Thrissurdistrict with financial assistancefrom Red Crescent of the UAEdoes not have the mandatoryapproval from the Centre.

When Pinarayi Vijayan wasappointed as the Secretary of theCPI(M)’s Kerala wing in 1998,journalists asked V SAchuthanandan, the thenstrongman of the party why theformer who was hardly 53 waselected to the post overlookingother veterans. “It is a longterm investment for the party,”replied VS.

VS was proved right as theCPI(M) grew from strength to

strength over the next twodecades under the watchful eyesof Vijayan. Till three monthsago, the CPI(M) in Kerala wasinvincible and looked like itwould break a jinx haunting theruling parties in the State. Recenthistory has never seen the rul-ing party returning to power inthe next election because ofstrong anti-incumbency wave.Though the CPI(M) had earnedthe wrath of the Hindu votersduring the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tion on account of its mishan-dling of the Sabarimala Templeissue, the party had recoveredthe lost ground by winningthree of the six assembly seatswhich saw by-elections.

Though there were noshortages of corruption chargesagainst the CPI(M), theCongress-led UDF had failed tocapitalise on them and all alle-gations got washed away onaccount of a pro-CPI(M) mediain the State. PNS

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Taking advantage of the inclementweather conditions prevailing

along the line of control in the fron-tier districts of Rajouri and Poonch,the Pakistan Army is desperatelylooking for an opportunity to launchits Border Action Teams (BAT), com-prising the Pakistan Army regularsand terrorists, in order to inflictmaximum casualties on the IndianArmy.

According to the ground reports,“the alert Indian jawans have beenregularly recording suspicious move-ment of heavily armed infiltratorsacross the line of control near someof the notorious Pakistan Army postsin Poonch and Rajouri sector”.

Some of the recent intelligencereports also suggested that thePakistan Army is desperately tryingto target some of the forward Indianposts and attempting to launch its

Border Action Teams (BAT) to inflictmaximum casualties on the Indianforces. In the recent months, thePakistan Army has suffered extensivedamages in retaliatory action by theIndian Army in the region. Due toheightened alert along the LoC thePakistan Army has failed to push alarge number of infiltrators throughtheir traditional routes of infiltration.

Official sources on ground zerorevealed the Pakistan Army isattempting to mislead the alert Indianjawans by way of resorting to crossLoC firing at different locations at thesame time.

“In some of the cases the Pakistanarmy is attempting to provide coverfiring to the small groups of heavilyarmed infiltrators, stationed acrosslaunch pads in Pakistan OccupiedKashmir (PoK) to infiltrate inside theIndian territory”, official sourcesclaimed.

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Uttar Pradesh BJP presi-dent Swatantra Dev Singh

has appointed regional presi-dents for six regions in the state.

According to an officialrelease on Friday, MohitBeniwal will be the regionalpresident for west UP,Rajnikant Maheshwari will bein charge of Braj region andManvendra Singh will hold charge of Kanpurregion.

Shesh Narain Mishra hasbeen named the head of Avadhregion, Mahesh Srivastava will

be in charge of Kashi regionand Dharmendra SinghSainthwar will be the head ofGorakhpur region.

According to party sources,the six regional presidents havebeen appointed to mobilisethe party cadres for the 2022Assembly polls and also thepanchayat elections that will beheld next year.

“The appointees willensure that the achievements ofthe Modi and Yogi govern-ments reach down to the grass-roots levels and the partymachinery remains well-oiledtill the village level,” said a partyfunctionary.

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In a clear pointer to the fact thatit is still not out of the woods in

terms of the continued spread ofCovid-19, Maharashtra on Fridaywitnessed 14,361 infections, while331 more people succumbed to thepandemic in various parts of thestate.

With fresh infections and fatal-ities, the total number of infectedcases in the state jumped to7,47,995, while the number ofdeaths mounted to 23,775.

Of the 331 fatalities reportedon Friday, Pune topped the list with58 deaths, while there were 32deaths in Thane, 30 in Mumbai, 29in Nashik, 24 in Sangli, 22 inKolhapur, 21 in Nagpur, 13 inJalgaon and 12 inAurangabad.

In addition, there were 9 deathseach in Dhule, Solapur and Satara,8 each in Latur and Amravati, 6each in Palghar and Raigad, 5 inBeed, 4 each in Sindhudurg,Ratnagiri and Parbhani, 3 each inAhmednagar, Nandurbar and

Hingoli, 2 each in Osmanabad,Yavatmal and Washim and onedeath each in Jalna, Nanded andBuldhana.

There was a spurt in numberof deaths in Nashik, Sangli andKolhapur districts, while six dis-tricts in the state reported zerodeaths.

The number of deaths is drop-ping steadily in Mumbai. After itrecorded 20, 22 and 30 deathsrespectively on Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursday respec-tively, Mumbai witnessed 30 freshdeaths, tasking the toll in themetropolis increased from 7,535 to7,565 while the number of infect-ed cases increased by 1,217 to touch142,108.

Pune district with 1,65,592infected cases continued to be theworst-affected city in Maharashtra.The number of deaths in Puneincreased from 3,916 to 3974.

Thane district remained on thethird spot --after Pune andMumbai – with 128,685 total cases,while the pandemic toll rose from3,677 to 3709.

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Page 6: €¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and hot meals on international flights. ... abducted years ago by North Korea, ...

Taiwan has been at thecentre of a global supplychain in recent monthsnot only for its effectiveresponse in handling the

Coronavirus pandemic but alsofor providing medical aid to othercountries and helping them fight thevirus. Simultaneously, there hasbeen increased military and defenceengagement between Taipei andWashington, DC, even as China isincreasingly heaving down on theformer.

Taiwan has also gainedunprecedented attention in India’sforeign policy discourse during thepandemic period. Several expertshave advocated enhanced bilateralties as part of India’s comprehensivestrategy to deal with China, follow-ing the recent military clash betweenthe two countries in eastern Ladakh.Even two BJP MPs — MeenakshiLekhi and Rahul Kaswan — attend-ed Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s swearing-in ceremonythrough video conference in May,indicating a change in the ModiGovernment’s approach.

However, the idea of expandingbilateral relations with Taiwan is notnew. In fact, domestic, regional andglobal factors had led the NarasimhaRao Government to establish an“unofficial relationship” in the1990s, with the establishment of theIndia-Taipei Association (ITA).Ever since, the relationship betweenthe two nations has seen very lim-ited cooperation. But recent devel-opments have underscored theneed for India and Taiwan to trans-form their “unofficial engagement”into a comprehensive partnership.

In doing so, it is imperative forNew Delhi and Taipei to identifytheir shared strategic, economic,regional and other interests as alsocommon means to achieve theirgoals. One such shared interest is,of course, to deal with China’sassertive posturing effectively. Therecent border standoff between theIndian and Chinese armies in east-ern Ladakh once again under-scored the fact that deception anddenial have been the hallmark ofChina’s India policy. Thus, as Indiacontinues to explore diplomatic,political and other channels torestore status quo ante along theborder, New Delhi must also weighin other options to fight back theChinese threat.

While the China factor isresponsible for the transformedrelations between India and the US,

improved ties with Taiwan can beequally beneficial for us. This canbe gauged from the fact thatTaiwan also faces an existentialthreat from the Chinese. More so,it has a better understanding ofChina’s strategic depth because ofits proximity to it. Both nationsalso share linguistic and cultur-al ties. Indeed, Taipei can helpNew Delhi comprehend China’sstrategic thinking in a better way.But for this to happen, Indianeeds to foster military andsecurity engagement at theGovernment level and increaseinteraction between think-tankson both sides.

With Taiwan and Indiabeing the two strong pillars of theTrump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, India can take astep ahead to include Taiwan inthe Quadrilateral SecurityDialogue, which now consists ofthe US, Japan, India andAustralia. This move will helpIndia strengthen its counter-Chinese strategy and at the sametime boost Taiwan’s independentidentity. It will also help it ensurethe freedom of navigation in theSouth China Sea through which50 per cent of India’s trade takesplace. At the same time, Indiaalso has an interest in ensuringthe uninterrupted exploration ofoil and gas in the said region.

Ties with Taiwan shouldnot be solely viewed throughChina’s lens. Sure, the econom-ic relationship has been thelynchpin of the unofficial rela-

tionship between India andTaiwan, with the volume of bilat-eral trade having reached to$7.5 billion in 2019. In fact, sev-eral initiatives have been taken toinstitutionalise the economicrelationship between the twosides. In 2014, the IndiaElectronics and SemiconductorAssociation and the TaipeiComputer Association signed amemorandum to promote localmanufacturing in the field ofsemiconductors and electronics.In August 2015, Hon HaiPrecision Industry Co, alsoknown as Foxconn, one of thelargest hardware manufacturersin the world, announced aninvestment of $5 billion in India.

The first Taiwan Expo washeld at Pragati Maidan, NewDelhi, from May 17 to May 19.The Institute for InformationIndustry has joined India’s Centerof Excellence in Wireless andInformation Technology todevelop 4G broadband wirelesstechnologies and other products.Over the past 10 years, Acer, D-Link Corp and Transcend haveinvested about $1 billion in Indiaand China Synthetic Rubber hasexpressed its desire to investabout $330 million in the Stateof Andhra Pradesh. Further,China Steel has also proposed tomake a $180 million investmentin India. CPC Corp, Taiwan, hasproposed a $6 billion investmentin India, which would surelyboost the Make in India pro-gramme in the petrochemical

industry.Despite these investments,

it is true that the two sides are stillfar off from realising the fullpotential of economic coopera-tion. It will be in India’s interestto expand economic and socio-cultural ties. Given its expertisein the fields of hardware manu-facturing, construction, infra-structure, mine exploration, elec-tronic manufacturing, logistics,automobiles, food processingand others, such avenues must beutilised optimally. Taiwan canplay a vital role in the success ofthe Modi Government’s Make inIndia, Digital India and SkillIndia initiatives. It is also a hubof high-tech manufacturing.

Similarly, India, too, shouldexplore the possibility of coop-eration in the fields of artificialintelligence and medical equip-ment. In fact, Taiwan hasreceived global appreciation forsuccessfully controlling the pan-demic.

New Delhi and Taipei needto institutionalise their cooper-ation in the technology sector soas to achieve their shared inter-ests. At the same time, by provid-ing a big market, India can sig-nificantly reduce the deepeningeconomic ties between Chinaand Taiwan, a stated goal of theTsai administration as part of herNew Southbound Policy.Meanwhile, with the use ofTaiwan’s agro-technology, Indiacould transform its agriculturesector as well. Since the Modi

Government has attached hugeimportance to soft diplomacy aspart of India’s foreign policy toachieve its national interests,promoting tourism with Taiwancould also be an attractive way ofcementing ties between the twonations, given that Buddhism isthe religion of the majority ofTaiwanese and India is its home-land.

As the Indian Governmenthas decided to review local chap-ters of Confucius institutes inIndia, agreements betweenIndian and Chinese institutes asalso several MoUs regarding theChinese language programme,New Delhi can strengthen tieswith Taiwan to run the Chineselanguage programme in thecountry. But these efforts wouldbe more effective in cementingties between the two sides onlywhen the Indian leadershipdecides to institutionalise therelationship in an effective form.In this regard, India can take acue from the US’ adherence toimproving ties with Taiwan,despite accepting the “One ChinaPolicy.” It remains to be seen ifIndia and Taiwan succeed intransforming their bilateral coop-eration or the relationship con-tinues to be hostage to the shad-ow of the Dragon.

(SP Shahi is principal, ANCollege, Patna and Sumit Kumaris ICSSR Post-Doctoral Fellow,New Delhi, and former TaiwanFellow, National ChengchiUniversity, Taipei)

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Sir — This refers to the edito-rial, “Strapped for cash” (August28). The Reserve Bank of India’sbleak report on the state of theeconomy only reinforces thatthe COVID relief package hasproved hollow. In this huge dis-ruption to the supply-demandequilibrium, normal financialtools alone are inadequate.Borrowing becomes a must toaddress the health interventioncosts of the virus and for sus-taining an idle economythrough the downturn. Thepost-COVID era belongs toinnovative economies that arecommitted to growth and notshackled by fiscal purity.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Rot within, threats without”(August 28) by Ajoy Kumar.Media and psychic violencehave brought out the sad state ofaffairs in a world which wasonce the hallmark of the truth,but has now become a mediumof promoting and reporting

anything but truth just for TRPs. The owners and anchors of

prominent media channels seemto be guided by political and reli-gious leanings that have plunged

their respectability to a newlow. The media coverage of theSushant Singh Rajput case is allbut repulsive. Television chan-nels are now airing “never-

before-seen” pictures of theactor’s lifeless body, interviewingRhea Chakraborty’s watchmanand deciphering her WhatsAppchats. The so-called “exclusives”

have taken an even uglier turn.The Indian media has hit an all-time new low. This is not whatwas expected of the fourth pil-lar of democracy.

ShishirVia email

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Strapped for cash” (August28). It seems the stage is set fora major confrontation betweenthe Centre and the States overgoods and services tax (GST)compensation. The Governmenthas made it clear that in the cur-rent scenario, it is impossible forit to compensate the States. Onthe other hand, State leadershave contended that the Unionis legally bound to send themoney. Putting the blame-gameaside, what is needed right nowis that the Government mustborrow more. The Reserve Bankof India, too, must work withStates to help them raise moneyto compensate for a shortfall inGST collections.

S ReddyHyderabad

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When patriarchy in the Koraga tribe, a tra-ditionally matrilineal society, began tomanifest itself in myriad ways, including

domestic violence, it sparked a quiet revolutionamong the women. Instead of waiting for someoneelse to make the difference, the women decided totake matters into their own hands. It was theircourage to question the personal laws of the com-munity and demand concrete mechanisms to dealwith the problem of violence that led to the insti-tution of a community court. With the court mem-bers being chosen by the community after beingtrained and vetted by the district legal aid author-ity, the women were satisfied that justice would bedone to reinforce the gender equality that tradition-ally existed in the matrilineal system.

It was this resurgence of women against the dis-regard of matrilineal values that gave those impact-ed by violence the self-assurance to plead their casesbefore the court. The collectivisation also reaffirmedself-belief in many women that they always had theright to take their own decisions. This is whenManjula realised that she had not done herself anygood by keeping quiet about the mental and phys-ical torture by her husband. The support of otherwomen gave Manjula the confidence to finally leaveher violent husband. She has remarried since thenand is happy she was able to take the decision tochange her life.

In fact, when the going gets tough, it is theKoraga women who get going. This is exactly whatMamta Koraga did when she saw her husband slid-ing into indebtedness and poverty because of hisalcoholism. Although alcoholism is a common prob-lem among men of this Karnataka-based particu-larly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), Mamtadecided it was time for a change. She encouragedhim to join a de-addiction camp. Mamta came toknow of the camp through an awareness andempowerment campaign run by the KoragaFederation, a community organisation, in collabo-ration with the Samagra Grameena Ashrama andActionAid India, two non-profits working for themarginalised. Then, once he successfully complet-ed the treatment, she joined him in cultivating jas-mine as a livelihood rehabilitation option.

However, Mamta did not stop there. Sheensured that they had equal decision-making pow-ers in keeping with the progressive values of thematrilineal system and also shared householdexpenses. A major part of the profits that her hus-band makes from selling the jasmine is ploughedback into improving cultivation. The rest is con-tributed towards household payments.

Mamta, too, contributes an equal share from theincome that she earns from selling costume jewellery.She used the training given by the Government’sIntegrated Tribal Development Programme tolearn how to make and sell costume jewellery afterthe jasmine cultivation venture stabilised. While apart of her income is earmarked for the household,Mamta deposits the remaining into her bankaccount. With both working and sharing expens-es, the couple no longer needs to take loans to maketwo ends meet.

Assertions of gender equality also came fromyounger girls and women of the community.Susheela always wanted to pursue academics but waspersuaded by her father to agree to marriage.However, when realisation dawned that she would

no longer be able to study if she got mar-ried, Susheela, then a student of Class VIII,called off her engagement. She knew shewould be going against traditional soci-etal norms and the diktat of her father. Butso strong was her aspiration for educationthat she was willing to risk her father’swrath. Her gamble and determinationpaid dividends. As the first girl in her vil-lage to acquire a postgraduate degree,Susheela is a role model for many othergirls in the community. She doesn’t con-sider marriage the ultimate goal. It is pos-sible to be single and happy, she tells othergirls in the community as women in amatrilineal society have freedom of choicein all matters.

Manjula, Mamta and Susheela arepart of larger groups of women who reg-ularly meet to discuss how to preservetheir culture, traditional practices and wayof life, especially within the matrilineal sys-tem. They strategise ways to return to thepractices which valued girls and whichwere an inherent way of life for them.

They want equal representation ofwomen in the Koraga Federation, thenodal organisation comprising commu-nity members that takes key decisions.They see it as one way to sustain theprogress achieved by their campaign forgender equality.

In fact, when Gowri Kenjur was elect-ed the first president of the KoragaFederation, it provided a big fillip to theirmovement. A vocal campaigner, Kenjurpressed for greater participation of womenfrom the community and encouragedthem to stand up for their rights. She moti-vated self-help groups (SHGs), formedwith the assistance of Samagra GrameenaAshrama, to take control of their resourcesand fight for their rights.

So inspired were the groups that whenlocal Government authorities overlooked

their concerns while formulating plans forlocal development, over 42 women SHGmembers staged a sit-in protest. They saton the dharna until the heads of the localGovernment agreed to develop an actionplan in accordance with the suggestionsgiven by the women regarding educationand drinking water for the children.

The torch for gender equality lit byKenjur was carried forward by SushilaNada who became a household name notjust in Nada, her village in Udupi district,but also in all districts in Karnataka wherethe federation works.

This was not just because she was anarticulate and innovative federation pres-ident but also because Nada used her pow-ers to promote gender equality. Concernedthat the traditional matrilineal values ofthe Koragas were being eroded by patri-archal attitudes, Nada organised rallies onevents like Women’s Day and theInternational Day for the Elimination ofViolence against Women to sensitise thecommunity.

She also represented the communi-ty at national and international fora toshare how gender equality was an integralpart of their matrilineal system. TheKoragas celebrate the birth of a girl childunlike the practice in other parts of India,including the Koragas’ home State ofKarnataka, where girls are usually killedbefore birth because of the preference fora son. In fact, in Karnataka, the sex ratioat birth declined by 108 points between2007-2016 according to the Office of theRegistrar-General of India.

Incidentally, the sex ratio forScheduled Tribes in Karnataka is 990females per 1,000 males, which is higherthan the national average of 964 forScheduled Tribes as well as the State over-all average of 973 girls per 1,000 boys.

Another big difference is that there is

no system of dowry among the Koragas.So no Koraga woman was killed for bring-ing a poor dowry or for the lack of it. Infact, being a matrilineal society, the girldid not leave her natal home to live in hermarital home after marriage. It was herhusband who left his house to live withher. This system gave Koraga women eco-nomic and social empowerment.

However, the Koragas are the mostbackward of all tribal groups in southernIndia. Nada and the federation havefought hard for the restoration of prideamong the community and to end thepractice of anjalu in which Koragas are fedleftovers by upper castes to ward off evilspirits.

Plus, being considered untouchablemeant that Koraga children were deniedadmission to Anganwadis. Awarenesscampaigns by Nada, also an Anganwadiworker, and the federation, facilitated theentry of Koraga children to Anganwadis.Mamta Koraga was among the first tosend her daughter to the Anganwadi inher village. Although her daughter was theonly Koraga child there, she didn’t haveto face any discrimination thanks to theenabling environment created by womenof the community. Even older women whohad dropped out of school because of dis-crimination have been inspired to restarttheir education.

What makes their movement laudableis that even while pushing for genderequality within, the Koraga women havebeen equally vociferous in drawingGovernment attention to the plight of theentire community. They have been at theforefront of the community’s struggles toreclaim their right to traditional land, evencourting arrest by the police. They are thetrue beacons in the fight for gender equal-ity.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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Cultural diversity is a fact ofmodern life and it exists nowin practically all countries of

the world. In addition to convention-al elements such as race, religion andlanguage, cultural diversity is accen-tuated by new factors, includingglobalisation, the breakdown of thetraditional moral consensus, theemphasis on individual choiceregarding issues like the place of reli-gion in public life, family discipline,relations between parents and chil-dren and so on.

Yet cultural diversity is at the rootof most conflicts, tension and uncer-tainties in the contemporary world.Some have attributed the present“international insecurity” to theclash of civilisations while others

advocate dialogue of religions andcultures to prevent such conflicts andbitterness. In 2001, the UnitedNations General Assembly (UNGA)adopted the Global Agenda forDialogue among Civilisations and theUnited Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) endorsed theInternational Declaration on CulturalDiversity.

A common assumption inspiresboth covenants. A multi-culturalsociety needs to find ways andmeans to accommodate diversitywithout losing its cohesiveness andunity. Two approaches are rejected.Assimilation which requires minori-ties to abandon their own distinctiveinstitutions, cultures and values tomerge into the prevailing culture isto be avoided.

This way is sociologically unlike-ly to succeed and is morally unten-able in view of people’s deep adher-ence to normative values such as reli-gion. Similarly, unbounded multi-culturalism, which entails giving upthe concept of shared values andidentity in order to privilege ethnicand religious differences, presumingthat a nation can be replaced by a

number of diverse minorities, isunacceptable. Such a course of actionusually results in undemocratic back-lash, support for extremist parties,populist leaders and anti-minoritypolicies. It is morally unjustified asit does not accept the values and insti-tutions upheld by society at large.

Regions that break away fromdemocratic societies hoping toachieve a larger measure of self-gov-ernment are not likely to enhanceself-government and may ratherweaken it.

Cultural pluralism values diver-sity and implements policies of inclu-sion that cater to the requirements ofall groups. The sensitivities of theminorities as well as of the majorityneed attention. Fundamental rightsand fundamental freedoms of all areto be protected. The rights of theweaker sections are particularlyimportant in a society that respectscultural pluralism.

Inter-cultural dialogue is neces-sary both at the national and at theglobal levels so that contentiousissues are resolved amicably. Themore a nation harmonises differencesat home, the greater is its ability tocontribute to dialogue at the interna-

tional level. The stronger the coop-eration and goodwill among nations,the lesser the need to spend hugeresources on arms and militarystrategies.

Education has a crucial role toplay in providing ethical and spiri-tual value systems that facilitateunderstanding of other cultures andcivilisations. The UNESCOConstitution begins with the words,“Since wars begin in the minds ofmen, it is in the minds of men thatthe defences of peace must be con-structed.”

Education ought to promote tol-erance, respect for diversity andfriendship among peoples andnations. Educational institutionsmust be provided with a learningenvironment which contributes totolerance, understanding and respectfor diversity. They should be protect-ed from teachings that promoteextremism, intolerance and violence.

The State of Goa has made sig-nificant progress in the field of edu-cation over the last 50 years. This ismainly due to Government-aidedand private institutions. Governmentschools themselves are in anappalling condition. Attendance at

several Government primary schoolswhich I visited over the last few yearswas almost 100 per cent but in thecircumstances in which most ofthem function, there is not muchlearning to be done.

Four classes are often taughtsimultaneously in one classroomand in some cases, eight classes intwo languages. There are no black-boards or they are not repaired. Ricebags (for the mid-day meal), discard-ed furniture, school record and so onare all bundled together in the sameclassroom along with the children.

The teachers in Governmentschools are as hard-working and thestudents are as bright and intelligentas their counterparts in privateschools. What is lacking is the min-imum infrastructure. As a result allthose who can afford it enrol theirchildren in private schools.

The children in Governmentprimary schools come from thepoorer sections of society and theirparents are usually illiterate. Thesestudents require special attention buton the contrary they get no attentionat all. Government primary schoolshave suffered from what might becalled a “social attention deficit”, a

sheer lack of attention and concernby the community at large, includingpolicymakers at all levels.

India is home to diverse lan-guages, religions, races and lifestyles.It is a vast country where questionsof unity and diversity interplay. Yet,India emerges with an excellentrecord at managing diversity. Thismakes it possible to survive as anation and to move ahead as thelargest democracy in the world.

The Constitution of Indiaensures that all citizens have equalrights and equal opportunities. Inparticular, the principle of secularismenshrined in our Constitution is thebest method to accommodate reli-gious diversity and could be emulat-ed across the globe.

In a multi-cultural society, theState cannot be identified with anyreligious or cultural group and itshould either be neutral or even-handed in its approach to all suchgroups. Unity in diversity is the high-est possible civilisational attainment.It is made possible through respectfor choice in an atmosphere of mutu-al trust.

(The writer is a former UnionMinister)

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Beijing: Chinese ForeignMinister Wang Yi, on a rarevisit to Norway, warned Osloagainst granting the NobelPeace Prize to Hong Kongpro-democracy activists muchon the lines of awarding theprize to China’s human rightsactivist Liu Xiaobo and Tibetanspiritual leader the Dalai Lamain the past, causing strains inbilateral ties.

Wang, who is currently ona tour of European Unioncountries to shore-up supportfor China in the face of theincreasing pressure mountedby the US, is the first ChineseForeign Minister to visit Osloin 15 years.

Relations between Chinaand the US are at an all-time lowover the coronavirus pandem-ic and strained trade ties. Thetwo countries also recentlyclosed each other’s consulates inHouston and Chengdu.

Wang’s visit comes in thebackdrop of Norway preparingto take up a rotational seat onthe United Nations SecurityCouncil, of which China is apermanent member.

Wang also held talks withNorwegian Foreign Minister

Ine Eriksen Soreide onThursday.

Later, when asked duringmedia interaction on howChina would react if the Nobelprize would go to Hong Kongprotesters in future, Wang said“I would only say one thing: Inthe past, today, and in future,China will firmly reject anyattempt by anyone to use theNobel Peace Prize to interferein China’s internal affairs”.

“China is rock firm onthis principle. We don’t want tosee anyone politicise the NobelPeace Prize,” the Hong Kong-based South China MorningPost quoted him as saying.

He called on Norway tocherish the current relation-ship, saying “If we can contin-ue to respect each other andtreat each other as equals …

our bilateral relationship cancontinue to develop in a sus-tained and sound manner, andthe political foundation of thebilateral relationship can befurther consolidated.”

Both officials stressed thatthis was the first visit toNorway by a Chinese foreignminister in 15 years – a subtlereference to the previouslyfrozen diplomatic relationshipbetween 2010 and 2016, afterthe Oslo-based Nobel PeacePrize committee awarded theprize to Chinese dissident Liu,the Post report said.

China was also cut up withthe Nobel Peace Prize to theDalai Lama in 1989.

Till 2012, the Nobel Prizewas viewed with contempt byChina and its official media asit was awarded to the DalaiLama for his peaceful strugglefor the betterment of Tibetansand to Liu.

However, Beijing wel-comed the Nobel Prize for lit-erature to Chinese writer MoYan in 2012, saying that Mo’s“victory reflects the prosperi-ty and progress of Chinese lit-erature, as well as the increas-ing influence of China”. PTI

Minneapolis: After a Blackman fatally shot himself on apedestrian plaza in downtownMinneapolis, rumours ofanother police shooting in thecity still reeling from the deathof George Floyd began spread-ing quickly on social media,sending concerned residentsand activists to the area —many of them anxious andsome of them misinformed.

Tensions and anger havebeen running high inMinneapolis since Floyd’s May25 death, and some activists saycommunity members aremobilizing more quickly asincidents occur — refusing towait for explanations from acity police department theydon’t trust.

But others say the unrestthat unfolded Wednesday —

which damaged multiple busi-ness and resulted in more than130 arrests — had nothing todo with anger, but was due toopportunists intent on com-mitting crimes.

“I just think that thingshave reached a boiling pointand people are fed up,” saidcommunity activist NekimaLevy Armstrong. “Now we’re ata breaking point where there isno tolerance for even a hint ofpolice abuse or police murder.”

Emotions have remainedraw over the death of Floyd, ahandcuffed Black man whodied after a white Minneapolispolice officer pressed his kneeagainst Floyd’s neck for nearlyeight minutes. Floyd’s deathsparked protests worldwide,including several nights of vio-lence in Minneapolis. AP

Islamabad: Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan has saidthat allowing former premierNawaz Sharif to leave thecountry for medical treatmentin the UK was a “mistake” andhis government “regretted”the decision.

Sharif, 70, was allowed toleave for London in Novemberlast year after the Lahore HighCourt granted him a four-week permission to go abroadfor treatment.

The three-time premierhad submitted an undertakingto the court to return toPakistan, citing his record offacing the law and justice,

within four weeks or as soonas he is declared healthy andfit to travel by the doctors.

In an interview with ARYNews on Thursday, Khan saidit was a “mistake” on his partto al low Sharif to leavePakistan. He said his govern-ment “regretted” the decisionto lift a ban on Sharif.

“Now we feel embarrassed.Now he (Nawaz) has starteddoing politics [from] there aswell and, when you see him, itseems like there is nothing(wrong) with him,” Khan said.

In May, a fresh picture ofSharif having tea at a Londoncafe along with his family

went viral on social media,sparking a debate on his healthwith the ruling PakistanTehreek-i-Insaf membersdemanding his return to facecorruption cases.

In the picture, he was seensitting at a roadside cafe withhis granddaughters. He sport-ed a blue shalwar kameez anda cap and apparently looked inbetter health.

The government cameunder criticism when last weekSharif ’s photos surfaced,showing him strolling in astreet, prompting calls fromwithin the ruling party tobring him back. PTI

������!�������!����%�����$�� ��$��.�����<-�� ������� Washington: Seeking another

four years in the White House,US President Donald Trumphas slammed Democratic rivalJoe Biden’s record as a “shame-ful roll call of the most cata-strophic betrayals” and said hisvictory will endanger thenation and destroy theAmerican greatness.

Speaking from the SouthLawn of the White House,Trump, 74, said that no one willbe safe under a Biden admin-istration.

Launching a blisteringattack on his November chal-lenger, Trump said: “Joe Bidenis not the saviour of America’ssoul.” “He is the destroyer ofAmerica’s jobs, and if given thechance, he will be the destroy-er of American greatness.”

“Biden’s record is a shame-ful roll call of the most cata-strophic betrayals and blundersin our lifetime. He has spent hisentire career on the wrong sideof history,” Trump said in hisacceptance speech after theRepublican Party re-nominatedhim as its presidential candidate.

Trump and Vice PresidentMike Pence are being chal-lenged by Biden and hisIndian-origin running mateSenator Kamala Harris in theNovember 3 election.

“Biden voted for the

NAFTA disaster, the singleworst trade deal ever enacted; hesupported China’s entry into theWorld Trade Organisation, oneof the greatest economic disas-ters of all time. After thoseBiden calamities, the UnitedStates lost 1 in 4 manufacturingjobs,” Trump alleged.

During the 2016 campaign,Trump had pledged to replacethe North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA). Trumplater replaced it with the UnitedS t a t e s - M e x i c o - C a n a d aAgreement (USMCA).

Trump said that despite allof the American greatness as anation, everything that the UShas achieved is now endangered.

“This is the most impor-tant election in the history ofour country. At no time beforehave voters faced a clearerchoice between two parties,two visions, two philosophies,or two agendas,” he said. PTI

Washington: Indian-originSenator Kamala Harris, theDemocratic Party’s vice-presi-dential candidate, has blastedPresident Donald Trump forfailing to protect the Americanpeople from the deadly coron-avirus pandemic by being “fix-ated on the stock market” andcaving in to China.

In a blistering speech hoursbefore Trump delivered hisacceptance speech to theRepublican NationalConvention from the SouthLawn at the White House,Harris alleged that the presi-dent’s policies have been “areckless disregard” for the dan-ger a pandemic would pose toAmerican lives.

“Donald Trump has failedat the most basic and importantjob of a President of the UnitedStates. He failed to protect theAmerican people. Plain andsimple. Trump showed whatwe, in the legal profession,would call a reckless disregardfor the well-being of theAmerican people,” Harris said.

With the Republican lead-ers attending the four-day con-vention largely downplayingthe impact of the COVID-19pandemic, which has killedover 180,000 people and infect-ed over five million others inthe US, Harris pointed out thatTrump’s failure to address thehealth emergency more aggres-sively is emblematic of a tweet-driven presidency.

“Here’s what you have tounderstand about the nature ofa pandemic: It’s relentless. Youcan’t stop it with the tweet,” the55-year-old Senator fromCalifornia told Trump.

Instead of rising to meet themost difficult moment of hispresidency, Trump froze andwas scared. And he was pettyand vindictive, she said.

She said Trump “doesn’tunderstand the presidency” andbelieves it is “all about him.”

The Republican conven-tion is designed for one pur-pose: To soothe the president’sTrump’s ego, to make him feelgood, Harris said. PTI

2��� ���������� �� $�� ���$������ % �������� ������ � 3�.����� Washington: Describing

Donald Trump as the “people’spresident” and listing out hisadministration’s “people-friendly” policies during hisfirst term, his daughter IvankaTrump delivered a fiery speechin support of her father’s re-election bid.

“America doesn’t needanother empty vessel who willdo whatever the media and thefringe of his party demands.Now more than ever, Americaneeds four more years of awarrior in the White House,”38-year-old Ivanka said in heraddress to the RepublicanNational Convention onThursday from the SouthLawn of the White House.

“Tonight, I stand beforeyou as the proud daughter ofthe people’s president. He’s ourcommander-in-chief, cham-pion of the American workers,defender of common senseand our voice for the forgottenmen and women of this coun-try. He is our president, and myfather, Donald J Trump,” shesaid amidst loud cheer fromthe Republican Party support-ers. PTI

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Beirut: The office of Lebanon’spresident said Friday that bind-ing consultations with mem-bers of Parliament to designatea new prime minister willbegin early next week.

Monday’s consultationswill coincide with a visit byFrench President EmmanuelMacron to Lebanon, a formerFrench protectorate. He willoffer French support after the

devastating Aug 4 port explo-sion but also ensure that mil-lions in international aid go tothose who need it.

Prime Minister HassanDiab’s government resigned onAug. 10, six days after nearly3,000 tons of ammoniumnitrate exploded at Beirut’s portwhere they had been stored forsix years. The blast, the mostdestructive single incident in

Lebanon’s history, killed morethan 180 people and left near-ly 300,000 people homeless.

Lebanon is also mired in itsworst economic and financialcrisis in decades and Westernnations have said they will nothelp the tiny country beforeserious reforms are carried outbecause corruption and mis-management are widespread.

AP

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Torrential rains and flashfloods have claimed 39

lives in several areas ofPakistan with its financial hubKarachi pounded by heavyshowers that submerged roadsand underpasses, paralysedbusiness activities and broughtnormal life to a complete halt.

At least 16 people, includ-ing a woman and two children,were killed and eight othersinjured due to flash floodscaused by torrential rains innorthwest Pakistan’s KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KPK) district, a

disaster management officialsaid on Friday.

Eight people died in UpperKohistan district, six in Swatand two in Shangla district ofthe province due to the floodson Thursday night, an officialof the Provincial DisasterManagement Authority(PDMA) said, adding that 40houses were damaged in theseareas.

The flood water inundat-ed houses in Shahgram andTeerat area of Swat districtfrom where six deaths andinjuries to eight people werereported.

Cairo: Egyptian police arrest-ed a high-level leader in the out-lawed Muslim Brotherhood athis hiding place in Cairo, anInterior Ministry statementsaid Friday.

Investigators recentlylearned that Mahmoud Ezzat,the acting Supreme Guide ofthe country’s oldest Islamistorganisation, was hiding in anapartment on the outskirts ofCairo, the statement said.

After searching the apart-ment, the police found com-puters and mobile phones withencrypted software that allowedthe 76-year-old Ezzat to com-municate with group mem-

bers in Egypt and abroad, thestatement said.

Documents bearing thegroup’s “destructive plans” werealso found, according to police.The statement did not say whenthe raid took place.

It wasn’t immediately clearif Ezzat had an attorney.

Ezzat had been at largesince the summer of 2013, afterthe military removed Egypt’sfirst democratically electedpresident, Mohamed Morsi,who hailed from the ranks ofthe Muslim Brotherhood.Morsi’s short-lived rule proveddivisive and provoked massprotests nationwide. AP

Port Louis:At least 40d o l p h i n shave myste-riously diedin an area of Mauritius affect-ed by an oil spill from aJapanese boat, officials andwitnesses said on Friday, as awitness described the momentone mother dolphin died infront of him.

Residents who had ven-tured out in a boat alertedReuben Pillay to a mother dol-phin swimming around herdying baby. He sped off to tryto find them; the baby had diedby the time he arrived, he said,but the mother initially lookednormal.

“But in a few minutes shewent on her side, one fin in thewater, and one out of the waterand then she started flappingher tail really really rapidly,”said Pillay, a professional droneoperator and environmentalistwho is providing video toReuters. AGENCY

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Page 9: €¦ · several leaders to new positions in the party. This comes fol- ... domestic flights and hot meals on international flights. ... abducted years ago by North Korea, ...

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���� 9:��9;8

India has been ranked a lowly72nd among 106 countries in

terms of the average wage permonth, while Switzerlandtopped the chart, according toa global ranking of averagewages prepared by Picodi.Com.

With an average monthlywage of �32,800 (USD 437),India has been ranked a lowly72nd among 106 countriessurveyed by Picodi.Com, aninternational e-commerce plat-form which provides discountcoupons.

Switzerland, where theaverage wage converted intorupees amounts to �4,49,000(USD 5,989), topped the rank-ing, while in Cuba the average

wage is the lowest at �2,700(USD 36), it said.

Switzerland was followedby Luxembourg and the UnitedStates, whose citizens on anaverage earn �3,00,900 (USD4,014) and �2,64,900 (USD3,534), respectively.

Others in the top ten listinclude Denmark (USD 3,515),Singapore (USD 3,414),Australia (USD 3,333), Qatar(USD 3,232), Norway (USD3,174), Hong Kong (USD3,024) and Iceland (USD2,844).

India, with the averagewage of �2,800, outrankedcountries such as Kazakhstan(�32,700), Brazil (� 26,000), orEgypt (�16,400), the reportsaid.

���� 9:��9;8

The income tax departmentwill soon start sending out

intimation to assessees under-going scrutiny that such caseswould now be handled underfaceless assessment, a tax offi-cial said on Friday.

CBDT AdditionalCommissioner Jaishree Sharmaalso said that domestic trans-fer pricing cases too will becovered under the facelessassessment mechanism.

Asked whether the previ-ous notices still stand valid,Sharma said, “Previous noticeswill not become redundant.First, an intimation would besent out that your case wouldnow be assessed under facelessassessment scheme and if theAssessing Officer of theAssessment Unit feels that heneeds some more informa-tion, he will send fresh (notice)under 142(1).” A Section142(1) notice is sent to anassessee to inquire about detailsand documents before makingassessment under the IncomeTax Act. Speaking at a webinarorganised by industry body

PHDCCI, Sharma saidreassessment cases would alsobe part of the faceless scheme.

“So all the 148 cases thatwere going on, they have beentransferred to the facelessassessment scheme and NeACwill be sending out intimationin all such cases which wouldnow be assessed under thefaceless assessment scheme. Soby September 15 or before that,you can expect an intimationfrom NeAC,” Sharma said.

The Central Board ofDirect Taxes (CBDT) had ear-lier this month notified theNational e-Assessment Centre(NeAC) at Delhi for all com-munication with taxpayersunder the faceless assessmentscheme. Since August 13, allincome tax returns picked upfor scrutiny, except those relat-ing to search and seizure andinternational tax, are beingassessed under faceless assess-ment. Under faceless scrutinyassessment, a central comput-er picks up tax returns forscrutiny based on risk para-meters and mismatch and thenallots them randomly to a teamof officers.

���� �0�!28

The rupee on Friday surgedby 43 paise to close at

73.39 to the US dollar, its bestclosing level in nearly sixmonths, buoyed by sustainedforeign fund inflows and weak-er greenback against key rivals.

At the interbank forexmarket, the domestic unitopened on a flat note but soongained strength and finallyended 43 paise higher at 73.39against the American curren-cy - the best closing level sinceMarch 5.

During the day, the localunit touched an intra-day highof 73.29 and a low of 73.87.

Also, this was the thirdconsecutive day of gains for therupee.

During which it advancedby 94 paise. On weekly basis,the Indian currency appreciat-ed by 145 paise against the USdollar.

Foreign institutionalinvestors were net buyers in the capital market as they pur-chased shares worth ��1,004.11 crore on Friday,according to exchange data.

���� 9:��9;8

The country’s largest lender StateBank of India (SBI) on Friday

said it has got global recognition forits HR initiative ‘Nayi Disha’ whichover the course of 1.5 years hastouched more than 2.40 lakh employ-ees.The bank has won three BrandonHall Excellence Awards, also knownas the Academy Awards of Learning& Development, SBI claimed in astatement. It recognizes the bestorganizations that have successfullydeployed programs, strategies,modalities, processes, systems, andtools to achieve measurable results,it said. Through Nayi Disha, SBIappreciated the workforce for itscommitment towards customer ser-vice excellence while serving with thesame rigour in even the remotest cor-ners of the country, SBI ChairmanRajnish Kumar said.

“Our belief that Nayi Disha willinfuse a fresh sense of optimismamongst our valuable employees,has been proven right, and we willendeavour to engage our human cap-ital in best possible manner at alltimes,” he said.

���� �0�!28

Equity benchmarks defiedgravity for the sixth straight

session on Friday followingsmart gains in bank andfinance stocks, while globalmarkets were mixed despite theUS Fed outlining a moreaccommodative stance.

A sharp jump in the rupeeand unabated foreign fundinflows further bolstered sen-timent, traders said.

After touching an intra-daypeak of 39,579.58, the BSESensex ended 353.84 points or0.90 per cent higher at39,467.31.

The NSE Nifty surged88.35 points or 0.76 per cent toclose at 11,647.60.

During the week, theSensex soared 1,032.59 pointsor 2.68 per cent, while the Niftyadvanced 276 points or 2.42 percent.

IndusInd Bank was thetop gainer in the Sensex packon Friday, spurting 8.43 percent, followed by Axis Bank,ICIC Bank, Sun Pharma, SBIand Kotak Bank.

On the other hand,PowerGrid, Infosys, NTPC,Asian Paints, HUL, M&M and

Tata Steel were among themajor laggards, shedding up to1.24 per cent.

Global equities weremixed after US Federal ReserveChairman Jerome Powell saidthe central bank will remainaccommodative and shift to amore relaxed approach oninflation. However, lack ofspecifics disappointed mar-kets, analysts said.

“Global markets were trad-ing uncertain following theUS Fed Reserve’s policy shift tofocus on economic growth andless on inflation.

However, the indicationthat the US Fed would contin-ue to let interest rates remainlow and expectation of morestimulus to follow, boosted theIndian markets.

“The stimulus and theassociated liquidity are impor-tant to our markets since thathas been one of the drivers forthe current stock market run.As per NSDL, FPI net invest-ments into equity, as a whole,have been around Rs 45,000crore, which makes it one of thebest months for net inflows,”said Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices.

BSE bankex, telecom,finance, oil and gas, energy andrealty indices rallied as much as4 per cent, while auto, utilities,IT, FMCG and metal closedlower.

In the broader markets,the BSE mid-cap index rose0.55 per cent, while the small-cap gauge fell 0.23 per cent.

Strong foreign fundinflows, led by high global liq-uidity and decline in US dollar,also fuelled the markets, traderssaid.

Foreign institutionalinvestors bought equities wortha net �1,164.32 crore onThursday, exchange datashowed.

The rupee soared 43 paiseto end at 73.39 against the USdollar on Friday.

In rest of Asia, bourses inShanghai, Hong Kong andSeoul ended with gains. Japan’sNikkei tumbled after PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe resigneddue to health reasons.

Stock exchanges in Europewere trading on a mixed notein early deals.

Global oil benchmarkBrent crude was trading 0.35per cent lower at USD 45.44 perbarrel.

���� 9:��9;8

Industry body Solar PowerDevelopers Association

(SPDA) on Friday pitched forpostponement of imposition ofbasic customs duty on solarcells and modules.

The body is of the viewthat the imposition of basiccustoms duty (BCD) canseverely slow down the plan ofhaving 100 GW solar energy by2022. In June, Power MinisterR K Singh had indicated aboutimposition of BCD on solarcells, modules and invertorsfrom August to discouragedumping and encourage thedomestic industry.

SPDA, a national associa-tion representing India’supcoming solar power gener-ators and developers, said in astatement that the governmentmust reconsider its decision ofimposing BCD on solar cellsand modules.

The implementation ofsafeguard duty on cells andmodules has been extended bya year recently, hence settingadditional tariff barriers at thisstage is not appropriate as it willdamage the sector’s prospects,

it noted. SPDA recommends that

the imposition of BCD bepostponed by 18 months so

that financial burden on thealready bid out projects ofcapacity around 50 GWs can beavoided, it stated.

���� 9:��9;8

Housing and Urban AffairsSecretary Durga Shanker

Mishra on Friday hailed theMaharashtra government’sdecision to reduce stamp dutyon registration of propertiesand advised other states to dothe same to boost demand inthe real estate sector.

Addressing a webinarorganised by industry bodyPHDCCI, he assured theindustry that the ministrywould examine its variousdemands, including oneregarding need for a change inincome tax law to enablebuilders reduce their sellingprices of apartments.

The secretary said aninvestment of �9,300 crore hasbeen approved from the�25,000-crore stress fund,which was set up to completethe stalled housing projectsacross the country.

On the demand for stampduty reduction to boost slug-gish sales during this COVID-19 pandemic, Mishra said, “Wehad given suggestions to all thestates to reduce it. TheMaharashtra government hasdone it. We will pursue withothers (states). It’s a good stepby the Maharashtra govern-ment. It will have a positiveimpact on cost reduction.”

On Wednesday, theMaharashtra governmentdecided to slash stamp duty onsale deed documents by 3 percent from September 1 toDecember 31, 2020, and by 2per cent from January 1, 2021to March 31, 2021.

Currently, the rate is 5 percent in urban area and 4 percent in rural area.

Stamp duty is the transac-tional tax, collected by thegovernment on property pur-chases. It is one of the majorsources of revenue.

Bhattacharyajoined NTPC

in the year 1984as Ninth Batch ofE n g i n e e r i n gE x e c u t i v eTrainees and wasinitially posted atNTPC Korbawhich was then situated in MadhyaPradesh. He is an Electrical EngineeringGraduate from Jadavpur University,Kolkata. He has also completed his PGDiploma in Management from MDI,Gurgaon.

Bhattacharya started his career inGreen Field Project Construction, fol-lowed by working in the areas of PowerPlant Operation & Maintenance,Renovation & Modernization,Environment Management and TechnicalServices at NTPC Farakka (1600 MW) inWest Bengal. After serving in Farakka invarious departments, he moved to NTPCTalcher Thermal (450 MW) in Odisha, anold and underperforming asset, taken overfrom State Electricity Board.

��� -2R82!2�

Till now you must haveheard about the incidents

of theft of various types of valu-ables, but the GhaziabadMunicipal Corporation is cur-rently in a dilemma about thecase of mobile toilets, 28installed by the MunicipalCorporation at various placesin the city. Six of the mobile toi-lets have disappeared. The costof a mobile toilet is stated to befive lakh rupees Each. Recently,newly appointed MunicipalCommissioner MahendraSingh Tanwar conducted sur-prise inspection, the mattercame to light. The city com-missioner handed over theinvestigation in this regard toAdditional MunicipalCommissioner RN Pandey onThursday and directed to sub-mit the inquiry report withinthree days. The special thing isthat a few months ago underthe Swachh Bharat Mission,these mobile tiles were pur-chased.

���� 9:��9;8

The Banks Board Bureau(BBB) on Friday recom-

mended SBI’s senior-mostmanaging director DineshKumar Khara as the next chair-man of the country’s largestlender.

Khara will replace SBIChairman Rajnish Kumar,whose three-year term comesto an end on October 7.

Members of BBB, the head-hunter for state-owned banksand financial institutions, inter-viewed four managing direc-tors of State Bank of India (SBI)on Friday for the upcomingvacancy.

“Keeping in view their per-formance in the interface andtheir overall experience, theBureau recommends...DineshKumar Khara for the vacancy

of Chairman in State Bank ofIndia (and) Challa SreenivasuluSetty as the candidate on theReserve List for the said vacan-cy,” BBB said in a statement.

As per convention, the SBIchairman is appointed from apool of serving managingdirectors at the bank.

���� �0�!28

The issue price for the sixthtranche of the Sovereign

Gold Bond Scheme has beenfixed at �5,117 per gram, theRBI said in a statement onFriday. The Sovereign GoldBond Scheme 2020-21 seriesVI will open for subscriptionon August 31, 2020 and closeon September 4, 2020.The issueprice for the bonds (series V),which were open for subscrip-tion from August 3 to August7, was �5,334 per gram ofgold.“The nominal value ofthe bond based on the simpleaverage closing price for gold of999 purity of the last three busi-ness days of the week preced-ing the subscription period, i.E.August 26 – August 28, 2020,works out to �5,117 per gramof gold,” the Reserve Banksaid.It further said the govern-ment, in consultation with theRBI, has decided to offer a dis-count of �50 per gram less thanthe nominal value to thoseinvestors applying online andthe payment against the appli-cation is made through digitalmode.

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On April 4, 1984, the thenPrime Minister IndiraGandhi had asked our first

cosmonaut and Squadron LeaderRakesh Sharma, Upar se Bharatkaisa dikhta hai aapko?” When heanswered, “Main bina kisi jhijhakke keh sakta hoon, Saare Jahan SeAchcha,” our national song hadfound a new meaning. Not just that,India herself had found a new iden-tity. For the first time afterIndependence, while Russia and theUS were competing in the spacerace, our country was achieving itslandmark mission of sending thefirst Indian man to space.

India’s passion to reach the starsis that of grit and glory, and at thecentre of that story lies the inspir-ing tale behind the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO),established in 1969. From launch-ing small rockets to heavy-liftlaunchers, from conducting humanspaceflight projects to carryingout communication satellites,ISRO’s journey has stories of greatchallenges but, above all, of evengreater achievements and peoplelike Vikram Sarabhai, HomiBhabha and Aryabhatta.

Documenting the ‘rags-to-Mars’ 60-year-old history andbringing some of these stories tolife, Spotify has launched MissionISRO, a podcast hosted by cricketcommentator Harsha Bhogle.Talking about the iconic conversa-tion between Gandhi and Sharma,he says, “I was 23 when this hap-pened. I had just started out as acommentator at the All India Radioin Hyderabad. Like millions of myfellow Indians at that time, Iremember reading about this con-versation in the newspaper, feelingcompletely exhilarated, even a lit-tle emotional. India’s space aspira-tion had gained its enduring sym-bol. An Indian had finally managedto break free from the glass of gravity.”

Well, as a journalist once said,

“When Harsha Bhogle begins totalk, you cannot but sit and listen!”Excerpts:

�Why do you think talking aboutISRO and India’s space missionsis important?

I think it is very important toknow and celebrate the work ofsome great Indians who achievedoutstanding things with very littleor whatever was available to them.They had this fire of doing good forIndia and putting the country onthe right path. It shows us what ispossible and the benefits havebeen there for everyone to see rightfrom the first site education pro-gramme.

Through this podcast, we havealso tried to bring forward the storyof Vikram Sarabhai, who was unde-terred by the insufficient trainingand basic facilities and a limitedbudget. The team set out to assem-ble and launch their very firstsounding rocket into space!

�Do you think there is also a needto inform the youth about howIndia’s space history has evolvedwith time and what it still lacks?How does the series address this?

Without doubt, yes. It’s impor-tant to make them aware of how lit-tle India had and that what they areenjoying today is a result of the pio-neering work of those who camebefore; to remind them that in theearly years of Independence, Indiahad its priorities right and weshould never forget that. The pod-cast addresses this by celebratingnot just the achievement of thespace programme but the incredi-ble, very romantic stories of someriveting characters like Bhabha,Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan and APJAbdul Kalam, of heartbreakingfailures, and the success of anagency that powered modernIndia’s space fantasy.

�Being a cricket commentator,how did you adapt to narrating

stories of a completely differentsubject — space? Did it come outwith the same level of excitementwhich you have while comment-ing on cricket?

Cricket commentary is one ofthe things I do. I have an enjoyablelife outside it and have alwaysenjoyed the audio format. I washoping someone would ask me totell a story that must stand by itselfwithout the crutch of pictures toembellish it. A good story can besimply told and this is one of those.Yes, it was exciting because it wasbeautifully written and the dramabuilds up. Telling a story is differ-ent from live sport because it buildsup. I hope this works on that front.

�You have recalled a memory inthe podcast that you were 23when you heard about the firstIndian man making it to space...

Yes. I feel it was uplifting to bean Indian because it was still a timeof scarcity and we were still recov-

ering from the plunder of colonial-ism. This news had thrilled me. Itwas wonderful.

�In today’s world of enhancedvisual effects, why do you think apodcast will turn out better forstorytelling?

Well, both have their place.One doesn’t have to be better thanthe other. As long as it tells the storyand takes it to people, it shouldn’tmatter. Also, in many ways, audiois a more intimate narrative. It feelslike you are listening to a friendnarrating a story and that is some-thing that the world of visualeffects cannot do. It does its job dif-ferently but it wows, it doesn’tsoothe as well as a simple voicedoes.

�Why do you think podcasts aredominating the media landscapetoday?

Honestly, I don’t know but theyaren’t easy. The rigour in Mission

ISRO was an eye-opener. I still thinkthese are early days for podcasts inIndia but just remember, our story-telling tradition is quite old.

�What was your research work forthe podcast? How much did youlearn in the process?

To be fair, the research wasdone by the team from all thingssmall. They did a fantastic job andmade it much easier for the narra-tor of the story. In effect, they wrotethe story, and I am telling it.

�Any anecdotes that you’d like toshare.

Just simply that, when I wasgrowing up, scientists were lookedat as heroes and it is good to havereal heroes being talked aboutagain — simple people who didtheir job proudly and put into it allthat they had.

(The first season will have 12episodes, with one episode releasingevery Friday on Spotify.)

�What’s the concept of the show,Funhit Mein Jaari?

It is basically a breather for theviewers. It is going to take the audienceon a two to three-minute-long laugh-ing spree, every weekend. The adbreaks are going to get very interest-ing now as we will bring some funnygags for them, based on a few topicsfrom around the world. It is not a showthat you need to sit and watch for halfan hour altogether. These small gagswill come in between the shows onweekends and will give you the much-needed laughter break. I am sure theviewers are going to enjoy the idea somuch that they will actually findthemselves waiting for ad breaks tocome so that they can enjoy hilariousgags.

�What made you be a part of thisshow?

It is always exciting to be working

with Bharti (Singh). Our camaraderieis on a different level. So, when I wasoffered this show, I was told that I willbe working with Bharti, I didn’t eventhink twice to say yes. The concept ofthe show is very interesting and differ-ent from what I have previously done.It’s basically an attempt to bring hap-

piness in people’s lives during thesechallenging times.

�How does it feel to be a part of theSony SAB family as this is your veryfirst show?

It is a lovely experience workingwith the channel. Since the time I have

started doing television, I have been apart of the Sony family. I have previ-ously performed and hosted the SABke Anokhe ke Awards.

But this is the first time I am doinga show for SAB, it is a very excitingfeeling for me that I cannot express inwords.

�How has the experience been so farworking with the entire cast?

It is really fun shooting for theshow. The entire cast and crew wouldlaugh so much while shooting the gagsthat sometimes our cameras wouldalso shake because of people laughing.Bharti and I enjoyed a lot while play-ing so many different and interestingcharacters for various gags. I hope ourviewers enjoy them too.

�Were you skeptical about shootingin these unprecedented times?

It was very different in the begin-ning and was a little difficult too as wewouldn’t understand who my make-up man or hair dresser is becauseeveryone would be in masks and PPEkits (laughs). However, it wasn’t thatchallenging as we all were more excit-ed to be back shooting after sitting athome for four-five months. Everyonewas very cautious and we all main-tained proper distance and followed allthe safety protocols while shooting.Although it was a bit of a differentexperience, we were more excitedbecause we love doing comedy andentertaining our viewers.

�Any favourite gag that you’d shoot?It’s actually quite difficult to choose

one because all of them are packedwith equal punch and deliver the rightkind of entertainment to the audience.However, for me, my favourite is theBaahubali gag — The Adventures ofRajmata. Its interesting thing is that thelooks have been worked upon so nice-ly and with detail that it actually bringsin the entire vibe of the film.

Actor Ali Fazal has been ona roll lately. After the mas-

sive announcement of Death ofthe Nile last week, the muchawaited Mirzapur’s second sea-son is ready for release. Withthe show’s final edit underway,it’s being said that the show willbe delivered to theplatform by the endof this month. It’sindeed a doublecelebration forthe actor and hisfans. Well, both theprojects arrivetogether onOctober 23.

A l isaid, “Ia mh ap pyt h a tt h eworldw i l lget tos e etheset w ov e r ydiffer-ent cin-e m a t i ce x p e r i -ences ofmine inthe sameyear. Andgiven the fact

that Death on The Nile will beone of the first films to releaseworldwide in theatres, I feel itwill be a fresh change for theaudience across the board. Ifonly there was a panel sittingsomewhere watching my work,they’d see the range I am aim-ing for. Both the releases have

their audiences and certain-ly are two different

ends oft h espec-trum.T h e

oppor-tunities

presentedin front of me

have opened upthis range. And for

an actor, it is nectar.Right now, I am justhoping that Death OnThe Nile gets a the-atr ical release inIndia.”

The first seasonof Amazon PrimeOriginal’s Mirzapurended on acliffhanger and thesecond one promis-es an unseen kindof bhaukaal withAli’s GudduBhaiyya, a centralf igure in thescheme of things.

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Once upon a time, ashow like Star Trek —based in the twenty-

third century — was a fascinat-ing thought. Where would weend up, many of us as kidsasked, our imagination run-ning free and wild. There wereonly trees to climb, so we hadplenty of time for dreaming.Now when we hear that theside-tilting selfie is keepingmany a doctor in business, fix-ing endless instances of cricksin the neck, we know we havereached somewhere “whereno man has gone before” — toborrow the phrase from theoriginal series of the 1960s.Now we have kids lookingalmost robotic, online identi-ties merging into one another,days flowing into nights…This is a generation of childrenthat has an entire galaxy offriends and yet, they could nothave been on a lonelier plan-et...”

Journalist and authorJyotsna Mohan Bhargava pensthese lines in the context of thechanging landscape of theworld of teenagers today. Herbook, Stoned, Shamed,Depressed, is a narrative oftoday’s school life in urbanIndia and an insight into thelives of teens. It attempts toinvestigate and chronicle thelives of children as theyembark on a confused journeyto adulthood — a road that isfull of temptations and easyadventure, where the bound-aries get blurred and wherewhat happens today can haverepercussions for years tocome. Excerpts:

�The book subtly looks attopics like the impact of socialmedia, body neutrality, trustissues, anxiety and morewhile talking of journey toadulthood. How did you con-ceptualise it?

I have written articles onsome of these issues for sever-al publications over a period oftime and the deeper I went, themore I realised that I was onlytouching the tip of the iceberg.Controversial incidents likethe Bois Locker Room disap-pear from public memory aftera news cycle. Yet in the back-ground it all continues to playout. A person I have a lot ofrespect for suggested that I col-late all my work into a holisticnarrative and I realised that itwas indeed the best way to geta reality check on issues thatour urban teenagers are con-stantly facing, away from theoccasional limelight.

�What was your first point ofresearch? How long did it taketo complete the book?

I finished writing the bookin a year but my research start-ed almost two years prior to thatwhen I started writing blogs andopinion pieces on bullying,body shaming and the normal-

isation of the word ‘rape’ in theteenage vocabulary. My sourcesand interviews were made eas-ier because it was already a workin progress when I started onthe book.

�When you began yourresearch, the idea revolved

around late teenage. However,it now speaks broadly aboutmiddle school battlegrounds...

Yes, I would say that wasone of the startling revelationsI made as I went along. Ithought I would be tackling theissues of 17 to 18-year-olds,instead social media and its

repercussions seem to be moreprominent in urban India’s mid-dle schools. In fact, a schoolprincipal told me that whileclass XII is out of her hands, sheis putting all her energy into sav-ing students of classes VI to IX,which are now considered theepicentre of social media use.Today, kids, whose ages are noteven in double digits, are behav-ing the way teens did 10 yearsago. Their exposure is differentand so are the expectations.

�As a society, it seems thatanything uncomfortable is toosensitive to debate or question.But if there’s no conversation,there will be no answers. Howdoes the book aim to initiatea conversation around thiswithout being preachy?

This book is a reflection ofwhat is happening in real timewith children we all know orassociate with. It is not limitedto the rich and the elite and isinstead a narrative across townsand cities. I believe it will res-onate among many families forthe pervasive nature of socialmedia and even addiction.Through the stories of childrenin the book, I hope familiesmake informed decisions goingforward because no two fami-lies may have the same issues.They have to ultimately decide

what works for their childrenand themselves.

�What does the title, Stoned,Shamed, Depressed, signify?

The title reflects the rangeof realities of modern day urbanIndian teens and the issuesthey face, which are not alwayssomething we are willing to faceas a society. For instance, whenit comes to mental health andchildren, it is so far down ourradar that we forget accep-tance, we are not even ready toconfront it. Similarly, bodyshaming is also something wedismiss as a phase that schoolchildren may face. But thesedays, because of social mediacompulsions and desperation,even girls’ behaviour towardseach other is an eye opener.

�Why do you call it “secretlives” of urban teens?

A lot of what this book nar-rates is through stories andcase studies of children whichhave been seconded by coun-selors and school authorities.But as we always say, the fami-ly learns about things the last.In some cases, though they doknow what their child is up to,there is denial. This generationis also very good at hidingthings, whether it is the weedthey are smoking, theirInstagram accounts beinghacked or the sexual bullyingepisodes they may have faced.Many parents will tell you thatfor this generation what theirpeers say is sacrosanct. Most ofthe issues that I covered are noteasy to uncover if you aren’tlooking for them or are aware.

�As children learn to navigatethrough the online and theoffline world, the paths lead-ing to adulthood might be tax-ing and confusing. What’syour take on this?

For this generation, thereare too many temptations andmany counselors admit thatwe adults would perhaps not beable to multi-task the way thesechildren do. We are also send-ing them conflicted signals. Onone hand, you give them freeuse of a gadget and on the otherhand, you have left them opento the repercussions withoutmonitoring their use. As fami-lies we need to sit down and

Even though over the years wehave all witnessed our favourite

film stars play some extremelydiverse roles, there are some char-acters which have not really fadedaway in the Hindi cinema. Speakingof which, we have had variousBollywood actors portraying therole of taxi drivers in some cult films.Right from veteran Dev Anand inTaxi Driver to perfectionist AamirKhan in Raja Hindustani, everycharacter has touched cinegoers init’s own special way, which is whythese films continue to remain trulyiconic.

Meanwhile, in today’s modernera, we now have A Suitable Boyactor Ishaan Khatter who’s current-ly gearing up for his next Khaali Peeli

that features him playing the role ofa young taxi driver. As much excit-ed we are to see him, below we listdown Bollywood’s truly unconven-tional on-screen taxi drivers. Take alook..

.����������������������

One of the most loved films of

Dev Anand is Chetan Anand’s TaxiDriver. Released in 1954, the filmsaw the actor playing the role of arough and tough taxi driver, Mangal,whose rustic side gets charmed byMala (played by Kalpana Karthik) inthe romantic drama. He rescuesMala when two thugs try to molesther. They fall in love with each other,

but Mangal’s affinity towards a clubdancer drives Mala away.

�"������������������� �����

Directed by Ravi Tandon,Khuddaar comes with an ensemble starcast of Amitabh Bachchan, ParveenBabi, Sanjeev Kumar, Prem Chopra,

Mehmood, Vinod Mehra, Tanuja andBindiya Goswami in the lead. The 1982release starred Big B playing the roleof a taxi driver and marked his last pro-ject with the late actor Sanjeev Kumar.

��"������������������� �����

This Dharmesh Darshan directo-rial starring Aamir Khan and KarismaKapoor is the story of a super-richheiress falling in love with a lowlyguide and driver. Portraying the roleof a taxi driver, Aamir shared a greatchemistry with Karisma. His perfor-mance in Raja Hindustani is consid-ered to be one of the finest in his morethan two decade long career. PardesiPardesi continues to be one of the mostpopular songs of Hindi cinema tilldate.

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Helmed by Maqbool Khan andproduced by Ali Abbas Zafar, themasala entertainer features Ishaanplaying the role of a taxi driver for thevery first time. Starring oppositeAnanya Panday, Ishaan has alreadybeen making headlines with hisrugged avatar and tapori dialect in thefilm. The teaser of Khaali Peeli hasalready gone viral and we sure can’twait to see him driving his yellow andblack taxi around the city of dreams— Mumbai, and take us on a thrillingroller-coaster ride.

take the time to really talk to ourchild and teach them how tomake their way through theonline maze. A lot of these temp-tations like vaping, gaming, socialmedia are not going anywhere.Many of the online actions are adirect reaction to what happensoffline and we have to normalisetheir existence without normal-ising their use. For that, ourgeneration first needs to confrontthese issues.

�The virtual world is usuallylooked at under a bad light forteenagers. However, you seemedto balance it with the offlineworld and equally emphasisedits merits...

I am not a fan of kids and thevirtual world, but I also know thatit is an integral part for this gen-eration. COVID-19 has exagger-ated that use, whether it is onlinestudying or gaming excessivelywith no outdoor outlet. I feel theonly solution lies in how respon-sibly we harness its use by ourchildren. I see no reason for a six-year old to be gifted an iPad, nordo I understand why an eight-year old has a smartphone. If weare looking to ease our lives, wemay have a lot to answer in time.There is already a lot of angst andaggression amongst some oftoday’s school children and in bet-ter times, I can’t emphasiseenough the importance of a childplaying a sport.

�How do you think school-leveleducation in India can maketeenagers reflect on their choic-es? What does it lack now?

I think schools have to gobeyond traditional teaching andembrace a wider canvas of learn-ing. It can no longer just be aboutwhat is in the books, we have toteach them about issues like con-sent, misogyny, slut shamingamong others. A classroom is nolonger a place where a childcomes, studies by the textbookand goes home. Social media has

ensured that schools are now aplaying field for many otherthings and just like our society,schools too need to accept thatthings are happening. Recently, Iheard about how a girl questionedher school in the Bois LockerRoom and the school tried tohush it down and clamped downon the girl instead. Sex education,counselors on campus — theseare the issues that schools need tostep up on. From what many chil-dren say, it is still at a nascentstage.

�What do you think socialmedia is — a good or a badinfluencer?

It all depends on how you asa family embrace it. A twelve-yearold may be the smartest kid inclass and yet be outplayed by theanonymity of social media. Theage that you use it at, how you useit, the amount of freedom given,all adds up. I see girls as young aseight and nine constantly makingvideos, I wonder why their par-ents allow it? The thrill for thisgeneration to be online is enor-mous. If they have one upload onInstagram, they will stare at thelikes for the next 24 hours. It isextremely unhealthy and I canonly hope that the older the childis, the more equipped s/he is tohandle its pressure. I have spokento many people in their twentieswho are doing brilliant thingsthrough social media.

�Parents constantly face thedilemma of giving in to theirchild’s demands versus what’sright for them. Does the bookaddress parents’ concerns overcertain challenges they facewhile handling teenagers?

It is not a parenting book butone that highlights the lives thaturban Indian teens are currentlyexperiencing. It attempts to por-tray the true story of a section ofa generation and then hope thatparents can make an informedchoice going forward. As they say,knowledge is power. I sadly feelthat with such intense peer andsocial media pressure, the fairytale is over before its time for thisgeneration.

(The book, published byHarperCollins, releases onSeptember 3.)

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World number one NovakDjokovic’s path to a 2020

US Open title could include asemi-final against StefanosTsitsipas or Alexander Zverevunder the tournament drawunveiled on Thursday.

The 33-year-old Serbianstar, a 17-time Grand Slam win-ner who has captured five of thepast seven men’s singles Slamcrowns, begins his quest for afourth US Open title against107th-ranked Damir Dzumhur.

Austrian second seedDominic Thiem, who pushedDjokovic to five sets beforefalling in this year’s Australian

Open final, was placed on theopposite end of the bracket, set-ting up the possibility of arematch in the championship

match on the Flushing Meadowshardcourts.

With fellow Big Three play-ers Rafael Nadal and Roger

Federer absent, Djokovic has aprime chance to close the gap onhis record rivals in a field of 128that is missing several standouts.

The tournament begins onMonday in a spectator-lessquarantine bubble at the USNational Tennis Center inNew York, with Covid-19testing and other measuresdesigned to safeguard playersfrom the deadly virus that forcedWimbledon to be called off.

Djokovic would meet eitherBritain’s Kyle Edmund orKazakhstan’s Alexander Bublikin the second round with US16th seed John Isner a potentialfourth-round foe. His highest-ranked possible quarter-final

opponent would be Belgian sev-enth seed David Goffin.

The other draw quarter inthe upper half of the men’sbracket has Greek fourth seed

Tsitsipas and Germany’sfifth-seeded Zverev aspossible quarter-finalopponents.

In the women’s sec-tion, third seed Serena Williamshas tricky path in search ofrecord 24th Slam.

Serena could see plenty offellow Americans in her recordquest, including AustralianOpen champion Sofia Kenin ina semi-final match.

She could meet 2017 USOpen champion Sloane

Stephens in the third round and2017 US Open runner-up andseventh seed Madison Keys in aquarter-final before a chance atKenin in the semis and poten-tially Czech top seed KarolinaPliskova in the final.

And that’s not even count-ing a possible fourth-roundmatchup against Greek 15thseed Maria Sakkari, who oust-ed Williams from this week’s USOpen tuneup event in New

York.Williams lost in the US

Open and Wimbledon finalseach of the past two years, andwith the England grass eventwiped off the schedule by thepandemic, the US Open marksa chance to break through andclaim a seventh title on the samecourts where she captured herfirst Slam crown in 1999.

Top seed Pliskova will openagainst Ukraine’s Anhelina

Kalinina with France’s CarolineGarcia or Italy’s Jasmine Paoliniawaiting if she makes the secondround. Croatian eighth seedPetra Martic could await in thequarter-finals.

Japanese fourth seed NaomiOsaka, the 2018 US Open and2019 Australian Open champi-on, could face Czech sixth seedPetra Kvitova in the quarter-finals and Pliskova in a semi-final.

�D���������" � LewisHamilton will not boycott thisweekend’s Belgian Grand Prix insympathy with American sportsprotests following the shootingof Jacob Blake in the UnitedStates, but said he felt unifiedwith their cause.

The world championshipleader and six-time championtold reporters via an official

video news conference that hewas impressed by the athletestaking action, which had led tothe postponement of events.

“I stand unified with themand trying to do what I can overhere (in Europe),” he explained.

“I don’t really know how notdoing the race...it will still go on,but I will speak to Formula Oneto see what else we can do tocontinue to raise awareness andcontinue to push.”

A number of athletes in the

United States led boycotts ofsporting events this week inprotest of Blake’s death.

Hamilton added it was“incredible what many out therein the States are doing withintheir sports all the way down tothe people that are hosting —commentators, for example.

“But that is America and Idon’t know really if me doing ithere will have any affect. We’rein Belgium. We’re not in theUnited States.” AFP

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Jurgen Klopp said onThursday there is “no chance”

of Liverpool signing LionelMessi, but the German admitsthe unsettled Barcelona starwould be a great addition to thePremier League.

Messi has told Barcelona hewants to leave after growingunhappy with the club’s prob-lems on and off the pitch.

The Argentina forward hasbeen linked with a move toManchester City, where hecould link up with his formerBarca boss Pep Guardiola.

Paris Saint-Germain, InterMilan and Juventus have alsobeen mooted as potential des-tinations for Messi if he gets hiswish to quit the Camp Nou.

Klopp insisted he wouldlove to have Messi, but madeit clear the 33-year-oldwould not end up atAnfield.

“Interest? Yeah, who does-n’t want Messi in their team.The numbers are absolutelynot for us. We don’t evenstart thinking about it. Nochance! But... good player,”Klopp told reporters.

Liverpool f inished 18points ahead of second placedCity last season as they won theEnglish title for the first timesince 1990.

And Klopp concededLiverpool’s bid to retain thePremier League crown wouldclearly be under threat if Messijoined City.

But the former BorussiaDortmund boss believes itwould be a significant coup for

English football to have one ofthe world’s greatest ever playersin the Premier League.

“It would make it evenmore difficult to beat them(City) which was already verydifficult,” Klopp told a newsconference ahead of Saturday’sCommunity Shield clash withFA Cup winners Arsenal atWembley.

“For the Premier League, itwould be great having the bestplayer in the world in theleague. I’m not sure the PremierLeague needs a boost but itwould be.

“It would be interestingtoo because Messi has neverplayed in another league apartfrom Spain. I would like to seeit but I’m not sure if I will.”

Klopp confirmed centreback Virgil van Dijk is fit to faceArsenal after recovering from ahead injury sustained duringLiverpool’s pre-season friendlywith RB Salzburg.

Jordan Henderson is alsoset to play but Trent Alexander-Arnold may miss out because ofinjury. “Trent’s very close butwe have to make a decisionabout him tomorrow,” Kloppsaid.

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Cricket Australia (CA) hasrestricted its players from

using sweat from the head,face and neck to shine the ballduring the upcoming limitedovers tour of England in a bidto reduce the risk of Covid-19transmission.

The ICC has banned theuse of saliva on the ball asan interim health safetymeasure in the wake ofthe pandemic. However,a player is still permittedto use sweat from any-where on thebody and rub iton the ball.

But CAis taking ac aut i ou sapproacht or e d u c eany riskof transmissionof the novelcoronavir us .Based on med-ical advice theboard hasasked its play-ers to not use

sweat from near the mouth ornose, according toCricket.Com.Au.

This leaves players withoption of using sweat fromeither their stomach or back,during the white-ball seriesagainst England, startingSeptember 4 in Southampton.

The team’s premier pacerMitchell Starc feels the regu-

lation will not have muchaffect in the limited oversformats.

“It’s probably notsomething that’s too rel-

evant in white-ball crick-et. Once that new ball

starts to go, you’retrying to keep itdry anyway. It’smore of a ques-tion for red-ballcricket,” Starcsaid.

“No doubtwe’ll find out what

it’s like in thesepractice games andif we need to revis-it some planning

around it, I’m surewe’ll have a chat beforethe series gets under-way,” he added.

�� �� �0G8

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldoon Thursday said that his “spir-

it and ambition were as high asever” as he strives to “break recordsand conquer the world” next sea-son. The Portuguese forwardwon his second Scudetto withJuventus, but despite his dou-ble against Lyon the Italiangiants exited the ChampionsLeague to the Frenchclub in the last 16.

“As I’m gettingready for my thirdseason as aBianconero, my spir-it and ambition areas high as ever,” the 35-year-old wrote onInstagram.

“Goals. Victories.

Commitment. Dedication.Professionalism.

“With all my strength andwith the precious help from myteammates and all of the Juventusstaff, we work once again to con-quer Italy, Europe and the World!Breaking records.”

“Overcoming obstacles,” con-tinued Ronaldo of his ambitionsfor next season which starts onSeptember 19.

“Winning titles and achiev-ing personal goals. To do moreand better once and again.

“To reach higher and tosucceed in all challenges thatmay come our way.”

“We are Juventus! We arethe Champions! We are backand stronger than ever! Weare counting on you! Alltogether! Fino Alla Fine!”

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An India T20 specialist isamong multiple members of

the Chennai Super Kings contin-gent who have tested positive forCovid-19, forcing the IPL franchiseto extend its quarantine period inDubai and causing upheaval aheadof the event starting September 19.

The franchise is yet to issue aformal statement but a leaguesource told PTI that the numberof positive cases could be between10 and 12.

“Yes, a right-arm medium fastbowler, who has recently played forIndia in white-ball cricket, alongwith a few staff members have test-ed positive for Covid-19. Thenumber could be as high as 12,” the

senior IPL source said.The development has forced

the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-ledside to extend the quarantineperiod till September 1.

While there is panic in theBCCI’s rank and file after this butit is understood that for the timebeing, there is no imminent threatto the league, shifted out of Indiathis year due to the pandemic.

The scheduling conventionfollowed in the IPL is two finalistsof the previous year playing theinaugural game which would have

been Chennai Super Kings anddefending champions MumbaiIndians this season.

However, it’s still not clear ifCSK would be ready for theSeptember 19 league opener.

The source revealed that allCovid-19 positive results cameduring day 1, 3 and 6 of testingafter the contingent’s arrival inDubai.

“As far as we know, one of thesenior-most officials of the CSKmanagement, an official’s wife, andat least two members of their social

media team are also Covid-19 pos-itive,” he said.

According to the BCCI’sStandard Operating Procedure(SOP), all those who test positiveare mandated to go through anadditional seven-day quarantine.

They can enter the bio-securebubble only after returning nega-tive in tests to be conducted afterthe extended isolation.

It is understood that all themembers of the jumbo contingent,who tested positive, are “largelyasymptomatic”.

The biggest challenge will betracing those who came in contactwith these contingent members asit is understood that most of themcontracted the virus in Chennai,where the team had a short train-ing camp before heading to Dubai.

“If you see, they all had test-ed negative for Covid during thetwo RT-PCR tests conducted inChennai ahead of their departure.Had they been positive, theywouldn’t have been able to boardthe flight in the first place,” theleague source stated.

It is understood those whohave tested negative will be allowedto enter the bio-bubble. However,the IPL source believes that thelikelihood of the team’s campstarting on September 1 is slim.

“I don’t think they can start thecamp from September 1. It willtake at least till September 5before they can even think ofresuming the camp,” he said.

In the BCCI corridors, therewas bewilderment over the team’sdecision to have a camp inChennai before boarding the flightto Dubai. Tamil Nadu has record-ed more than 4 lakh cases so far.

“CSK practised three days inChennai out of the five days. Wasthere any tangible gain achievedfrom that camp?” a BCCI officialsaid.

It remains to be seen what pro-tocols will be followed for allthose players who will be arrivinglate after the conclusion of theCaribbean Premier League and theEngland vs Australia limited-overseries.

It couldn’t be immediatelyconfirmed whether the BCCI willbe coming out with an officialrelease on the issue confirming thename of the player and the staffmembers.

�����0�!28�

Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach DineshLad expects nothing less than a World

Cup-winning performance from his protegein the 2023 edition at home following hisstellar show in the 50-over showpiece eventlast year, when he smashed five hundreds butIndia lost in the semifinals.

Rohit was recently announced as one ofthe winners of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnaaward, India’s highest sporting honour.

“Getting the Khel Ratna is a greatachievement. I should not say this but if apoor boy has talent and he justifies it andhas luck, then that boy canreach the sky and a livingexample of it is RohitSharma.

“All that he has earneddue to his hard work andtalent. My expectationis that the forthcom-ing 50-over WorldCup, Rohit shouldwin it for India onhis own ability,”Lad, a popularcricket coach inMumbai circles,said on Marathicricket chat showCoffee Cricket AniBarech Kahi.

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Manchester United cap-tain Harry Maguire

defended his actions inGreece that led to him beingcharged with assaulting apolice officer and attemptedbribery, saying that hethought he was being kid-napped and feared for hislife.

Maguire was convictedand handed a suspended21-month sentence by aGreek court on Tuesday butwas granted a retrial afterlodging a successful appeal.

Maguire made his firstpublic comments about theincident on the island ofMykonos in an interviewwith the BBC, saying plain-clothed police officers pulledhim and a friend out of aminivan they were travelingin and started hitting them.

“My initial thought, Ithought we were gettingkidnapped.

We got down on ourknees, we put our hands inthe air, they just started hit-ting us,” Maguire said.

“They were hitting myleg saying my career’s over:

‘No more football. You won’tplay again.’

“And at this point Ithought there is no chancethese are police or I don’tknow who they are so I triedto run away, I was in thatmuch of a panic, fear, scaredfor my life. All the waythrough it.”

Maguire claimed thatincident took place outsidea police station after heattempted to take hisyounger sister Daisy to ahospital because sheappeared to be losing con-sciousness having beenapproached by two menduring a night out.

The 27-year-old centerback denied attempting tobribe the police.

When asked about that,he replied: “No, for sure. Assoon as I saw that statement,it’s just ridiculous.”

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<������������8��%����:$%���������������?��������������������+�������Bahrain will host its twoFormula One races on separatetracks later this year. TheBahrain race on Nov 29 will beheld as usual on the 5.4-km cir-cuit that usually hosts races. Thenext race on Dec 6 will beknown as the Sakhir GP andheld on a smaller, 3.5-km outer

circuit which has never beenused before for internationalracing. The smaller track willrequire 87 laps to be complet-ed to ensure the minimum dis-tance of 305 km is covered.Quick lap times are expected tobe about 55 seconds in qualify-ing and 60 for the race. AP

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India’s Sumit Nagal will takeon United States’ Bradley

Klahn in the first round of themen’s singles draw at US Open.

Prajnesh Gunneswaran,who was among the alternatesand flew to New York, missedthe main draw by one spot and

will not be part of the bio-secure bubble. Due to the newrules, a doubles player will getin the draw now if a singlesspot opens up.

Nagal, ranked 122 in theworld currently, takes on Klahn(world No 128) and should heovercome his opponent, facesa daunting task in the second

round. Second seed DominicThiem, who takes on world No104 Jaume Munar, will face thewinner of Nagal versus Klahnin the round of 64.

The Indian No 1 was thelast man to receive direct entryinto the field of 128, which wasdetermined using the latestATP rankings.

Covid