vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com · 2020. 9. 21. · The lockdown to contain the...

The lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak has

disrupted supply chains. One crucial chain is delivery of

information and insight — news and analysis that is fair and

accurate and reliably reported from across a

nation in quarantine.

A voice you can trust amid the clanging of alarm bells.

Vajiram & Ravi and The Indian Express are proud to deliver the

electronic version of this morning’s edition of The Indian Express

to your Inbox. You may follow The Indian Express’s news and

analysis through the day on

indianexpress.com

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

Fromsteelmajor to IPLsponsor,diamondmerchants to thoseunderED,CBIscanner, several Indian individualsandentitieshavebeenreferred insecretreportsbybanks toUSTreasury’sFinancialCrimesEnforcementNetwork

ANEXPRESS INVESTIGATION-PARTONEIncollaborationwith InternationalConsortiumof Investigative JournalistsandBuzzFeedNews

RITUSARIN,SHYAMLALYADAV,JAYMAZOOMDAAR,SANDEEPSINGH&KHUSHBOONARAYANNEWDELHI,MUMBAI,SEPTEMBER20

LAYERBY layer, the secrecy thatshrouds international moneyflowsinvolvingIndianshasbeenunpeeled—beginningwith theOffshore Leaks in 2013, SwissLeaks in2015, PanamaPapers in2016,andParadisePapersin2017,inaseriesofinvestigationsbyTheIndian Express. Now comes theFinCENFiles.The newspaper’s latest, be-

ginning today, examines Indianconnections in a cache of over2000secretdocuments—sose-cretbanksaren’tevenallowedtoconfirmtheyexist—whichhavebeen red-flagged to the top USfinancialwatchdog,theTreasuryDepartment’s Financial CrimesEnforcementNetwork(FinCEN)forsuspectedmoneylaundering,terrorism,drugdealingorfinan-cial fraud.These documents, called

Suspicious Activity Reports orSARs, which constitute theFinCENFiles,arenotevidenceofillegality. They reflect views bywatchdogs within banks,known as compliance officers,reportingpasttransactionsthatbore hallmarks of financialcrime, or that involved clientswith high-risk pofiles or pastrun-inswith the law.In effect, they are crucial red

flags raised by banks that pointCONTINUEDONPAGE10

RITUSARINNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THE FINANCIAL CrimesEnforcementNetwork (FinCEN),theUSregulatoryagency foren-forcingmoney laundering laws,hasuncoveredawebof transac-tionsofaflourishingmoneylaun-deringnetwork runbyPakistaninationalAltafKhananiwhoisalsosaid tohavebeenakey financierfor fugitive terrorist DawoodIbrahim, reveal SuspiciousActivity Reports (SARs) filed by

the Standard Chartered Bank,NewYork, and investigated byTheIndianExpress.These SARs detail transac-

tions of Khanani’s MoneyLaunderingOrganisation(MLO)andtheAlZarooniExchange.Fordecades, Khanani and hisMLOmovedanestimated$14billion-$16billionannuallyfordrugcar-telsandterrororganisationslikeal-Qaeda, Hezbollah and theTaliban.On September 11, 2015,

Khanani was arrested at thePanama airport following a

trans-continental undercoveroperation, and put behind barsinaMiamiprison.HisdetentionendedinJuly2020andhewastobe handed over toUS immigra-tionauthorities fordeportation.ItisunclearwhetherhehasbeendeportedtoPakistanortheUAE.Khanani’s relationshipwith

Dawood Ibrahim was docu-mented by the US Office ofForeign Assets Control (OFAC)whenitissuedthesanctionsno-ticeagainsthimafterhisarrest.IssuedonDecember11,2015,CONTINUEDONPAGE10

SANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THREE DIFFERENT SuspiciousActivity Reports (SARs) filed byDeutsche Bank Trust CompanyAmericas (DBTCA) regardingfundsreceivedandsentbyJindalSteel and Power Ltd (JSPL) red-flaga transactionpatternwhereit sent money to companies

based in Mauritius, Germany,and the UK, and received fundsfromcompanies based inDubaiandSwitzerlandwithinthesameset of days, an investigation byThe IndianExpresshasrevealed.TheSARsshow:■ Between November 24,

2014 and January 28, 2015, JSPLsent$1.799milliontoMauritius-basedTransGlobalMineralsandMetalsCorporation(TGMM)and

alsosent$1.3milliontoGermany-based Oceanwide ServicesGmbH.During the sameperiod,JSPLreceived$1.323millionfromDubai-basedPowerPlantEPCLtd.

■ In a similar set of transac-tions,betweenApril27,2015andJune 1, 2015, while JSPL sent$4.53million to TGMMand an-other $321,209 to Singapore-basedWesternBulkPte Ltd, the

CONTINUEDONPAGE10

DEUTSCHEBANKTRUSTCOMPANYAMERICAS

Revealed: how Jindal Steel sent fundsabroad — and got them in same period

RITUSARINNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

WhataretheFinCENFiles?TheFinCENFilesrefertoaset

ofover2,100“SuspiciousActivityReports” (SARs) (see next ques-tion) filed by banks with theUnitedStatesDepartmentoftheTreasury’s Financial CrimeEnforcement Network, theagencythatservesastheleadingglobal regulator in the battleagainstmoney laundering.

The files identify at least $2trillion in transactions between1999and2017 flaggedaspossi-bleevidenceofmoney launder-ing or other criminalactivitybycomplianceofficers of banks andfinancial institutions.

Sowhat isaSAR?Whenaretheyrequiredtobefiled?SAR or Suspicious Activity

Report is a document filed bybanksand financial institutions

to report suspicious activity toUS authorities, in this case,FinCEN. These are confidential,so secret that banks are not al-

lowedtoconfirmtheirexistence. Indeed,even the accountholder is unawarewhen an SAR is filedrelatedtoatransactionin thataccount.SARsare filedwith

FinCEN in a prescribed format,andaremeanttoredflag,within30 days of the transaction’s oc-

currence: criminal funds or anyform of dirty money; insidertrading; potential money laun-dering; terror financing; anytransactionthatraisessuspicion.These include round-dollar

amounts — for example,$100,000—being sent inmulti-pletransactions;transferswherethere is no apparent economicconnection between the parties(adiamonddealerpayingapizze-ria for computer parts); transac-tions in high-risk jurisdictions

CONTINUEDONPAGE10

Swiss Leaks, Panama Papers, now SARs: bankreports that alert law-enforcement agencies

STANDARDCHARTEREDBANK,NEWYORK

On US radar: Dawood’s financier, hislaundering, funding of Lashkar, Jaish

TOTALNUMBEROF SUSPICIOUSACTIVTY REPORTS (SARS):

2,121TOTAL VALUEOF SUSPICIOUS

TRANSACTIONS :

$2.099 tn

FinCENFiles

TIMEPERIODOFREPORTEDTRANSACTIONS:1999-2017

( )■Keybanksandvalueoftransactions theyflagged

BANKS AMOUNT

DeutscheBankAG $1,310bln

JPMorganChase $514.2bln

StandardCharteredPlc $166.1bln

BankofNewYorkMellon $64.1bln

BarclaysPlc $21.6bln

HSBCHoldingsPlc $4.48bln

NUMBEROFJOURNALISTS:MORETHAN400

Partners include:LeMonde, BBC,NBC,

SuddeutscheZeitung,AsahiShimbun,L’Espresso

NUMBEROF COUNTRIES

88NEWS

ORGANISATIONS

110

Headquartersof FinCEN, thetopUSfinancialwatchdog,inVirginia.

ScillaAlecci/ICIJ

One more veil lifts: Suspiciousbank transactions of Indians arered-flagged to top US regulator

WELLSFARGOBANK

Bank reportedfraud, UK linkof an IPLteam sponsor

JAYMAZOOMDAARNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THE INDIAN Premier League,withitsshowpieceauctionsandbig-ticketsponsors,hassurfacedon the US financial regulator’sradar too— in awebof transac-tions that involve a leading USbank, a little-known UK com-pany,aKolkata-basedsponsorofan IPL team, and allegations offraudand forgery.These are the central ele-

ments of a Suspicious ActivityReport (SAR) filed with the USFinancial Crimes EnforcementNetwork (FinCEN), according torecords investigated by TheIndianExpress.In 2013, KPHDreamCricket,

which runs Kings XI Punjab,wenttocourtagainstteamspon-sor NVD Solar International Ltdfor “cheatingandduping” themof $3million insponsorship fee.The SAR, filed by San Francisco-basedWellsFargoBank,offersaclue towhatwentwrong.In 2013, the bank had re-

ceived “a $2,975,460 SBLC(Standby Letter of Credit) from

CONTINUEDONPAGE10

JOHNSONTABENGALURU,SEPTEMBER20

AN INTERCEPTED phone con-versation between two rela-tives of a key accused in the2017murderof journalistGauriLankeshinBengaluruprovideda Special Investigation Team(SIT) of Karnataka Policewithvital evidence of his involve-

ment in another high-profilecase — the 2015 killing ofKannadascholarMMKalburgi.According to court records,

soon after the July 2018 arrestofGaneshMiskin, 28, the riderof the motorcycle that tookLankesh’sallegedkillerParshu-

ramWaghmore to her home,two close relatives of Miskindiscussed thearrestonphone.One of the relatives, Ravi

Miskin, allegedly told an “un-cle” that his elder brotherGanesh was involved in thetwo murders, records show.Thetranscriptof theconversa-tion has been placed as evi-dence along with thechargesheet in the Kalburgicase to indicate Miskin’s in-volvement inbothcases.In the 190-second call thatCONTINUEDONPAGE2

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

WITHTHECovid-19pandemicpushing the world economyinto its worst recessionaryphase since the GreatDepression, Ruchir Sharma,HeadofEmergingMarketsandChief Global Strategist atMorgan Stanley InvestmentManagement,willbetheguestat Express e-Adda onMondayto discuss how countries cannegotiateitsfar-reachingeffects.Global trade and industry

have suffered heavily withgrowthrates inmostcountriesplunging to record lows and

India,too,registeringacontrac-tion of 23.9 per cent in GDP inApril-June 2020. New York-based Sharma, who is one of

thefinestobserversofcontem-poraryIndianpoliticsandecon-omy,willalsogivenewinsightsinto the functioning of the fi-nancialmarkets and socio-po-litical changes.Sharma’slatestbook,The10

Rules of Successful Nations, isborn of data analysis, on-the-ground research and his deepinterest in contemporary poli-tics and current affairs. Thebook isawake-upcall toecon-omists who failed to foreseeevery recent crisis, includingthe cataclysm of 2008, and aslim primer with insights onthepolitical, economicandso-cialhabitsofsuccessfulnations.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

RuchirSharma

GauriLankeshwasshotdead in2017

PrimeMinisterhails ‘watershedmoment inhistoryofIndianagriculture’,Oppsays ‘historic forwrongreasons’

TMCmemberDerekO’Brienattempts totear theRuleBookduringtheruckus inRajyaSabhaonSunday. RSTV/PTI

Opp submitsunprecedentedresolution: DyChairman hasto be removed

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

IN AN unprecedentedmove, asmany as 12 Opposition partiescametogetheronSundaytosub-mit a no-confidence resolutionseeking the removal of RajyaSabha Deputy ChairmanHarivansh. Themove followeduproar intheHouseoverhisde-cision to extend the session be-yond the scheduled1pmwhileoverruling Opposition pleas tocontinuediscussionsonthecon-tentious farmBills thenextday.“The Deputy Chairman has

violated all the canons of law,procedure, parliamentary pro-cedures, practices and fair play.Today,theDeputyChairmandidnot allow points of order to beraised,didnotallowlargenum-bersofmembersofRajyaSabhafromdiversepoliticalpartiesop-posingtheanti-farmerBill...eventospeak,” the resolutionstated.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Opp, states see new faultline: Centreusurps powers, weakens federalism

MANOJCG&HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

DISMISSING OPPOSITION ob-jections andpleas, thegovern-mentpushed through twokeyfarm Bills in Rajya Sabha onSunday amid unprecedentedscenesofchaos,confusion,andruckus. Agitated Oppositionmembers,protestingtheexten-sion of the House sitting be-yond the scheduled end at1 pm, tore copies of the Bills,broke microphones on the

Chairman’s table, flung a copyof the Rule Book at the presid-ing officer, and then sat on a

dharna in theHouseevenafteritwasadjourned for theday.Neverunsureofitsnumbers

in theUpper House, and giventhat many Oppositionmem-bers have cited health reasonsto stay away, the government,usingitsnumericalstrength,re-jected theOpposition demandtorefertheBills—TheFarmers’Produce Trade and Commerce(PromotionandFacilitation)Bill,2020, and The Farmers(EmpowermentandProtection)Agreement of Price Assuranceand FarmServices Bill, 2020—

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

SEVERALHOT-BUTTON issuestaken up by the governmentthisweek have triggered a de-bate over the federal characterof the polity, with oppositionand regional parties accusingthe Centre of “transgressing

into the powers of the stategovernment on subjects thatare in theconcurrent list”.ThepassageofthefarmBills

has come at the cost of theShiromaniAkaliDal(SAD),oneof the BJP’s oldest allies, walk-ingout of theUnionCabinet—and also threatening an exitfromtheNDA.The Telangana Rashtra

Samithi (TRS),which isconsid-ered friendly to the BJP, hastermed the Centre’s proposedElectricityBill,2020,as“dracon-ian”, andaimedat taking awaypowers of the state. TelanganaChiefMinisterKChandrashekarRaohasaccusedPrimeMinisterNarendraModiofworking“to-wards complete centralisation

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

How 190-sec intercept helped policejoin dots in Lankesh, Kalburgi killings

Crucial farm reforms through,trail of anger, discord inHouse

2 BILLS CLEARRAJYASABHAAMIDPROTESTS

Investor, author Ruchir Sharma cutsthrough Covid fog at e-Adda today

INSIDE

OPPSAYSBILLS AREDEATHWARRANTFOR FARMERS; BJPSAYSBIGREFORMIN PARLIAMENT, PAGE 5

MAKINGSENSEOFTHE FARMBILLSEXPLAINED,PAGE11

NATIONALNETWORK

LACFACE-OFF:CORPSCOMMANDERSTOMEETAGAINTODAYPAGE7

SHASHITHAROORMEMBEROFPARLIAMENT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

PAGE12

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020

Farm reformstoaselect committee forparlia-mentaryscrutiny.AlreadyclearedbyLokSabha,

the Bills, passed by voice vote,will nowgo to the President forassent before becoming law.PrimeMinister NarendraModi,inaseriesoftweetsafterthepas-sage of the Bills in Rajya Sabha,describeditas“awatershedmo-ment in the history of Indianagriculture”whileBJPmemberscalledit“historic...abigreform”.TheOppositionhitback,say-

ing it was “historic for all thewrong reasons” given theman-ner inwhich the “anti-farmer”Billswerepassed.FencesittersBJDandTRStoo

spokeagainsttheBills.WhileTRSopposed the Bill, the BJD joinedthe Opposition in demandingthat they be referred to a selectcommittee. The BJD and TRShavearecordoftakingsideswiththegovernmenton crucial Bills.TheSAD,whichbrokerankswiththeNDAovertheBills,toospokeagainst the legislation. Oppo-sitionmembershadmovedmo-tions disapproving the Bills, de-manding that these be referredtoaselectcommittee.The debate, though heated,

proceeded smoothly till 1 pmwiththeOppositiontearinginto

the government and the treas-urybenches launchingcounter-attacks indefenceof theBills.At1 pm, Deputy ChairmanHarivansh,whowasintheChair,soughtpermissionof theHouseto extend the timeof the sittingtilldisposalof theBills. Thiswaswhen Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomarwas re-plying to the discussion. As iscustomary,ParliamentaryAffairsMinisterPralhadJoshiproposedextension of time, butOpposition members did notagreeandaskedtheChair toad-journ the House and continuethediscussionMonday.ButtheDeputyChairmandid

not end the proceedings andasked Tomar to continue hisspeech. Members of theCongress,Trinamool,DMK,AAPand Left protested, saying therewasnounanimityonextendingthe sitting. Sanjay Singh of AAP,JairamRameshof Congress andDola Sen of TMC came to theWellof theHousetoprotest.LeaderofOppositionGhulam

NabiAzadsaid“if theHouseistobe extended… it is not done onthebasisofnumbers,butonthebasis of consensus. So the con-sensus…most of the politicalparties are saying the timeshould not be extended today,and tomorrow theminister can

reply…morethanrules,thetra-ditionhasbeen thatwhosoeveris in theChair andwhosoever isingovernment,itisalwaysonthebasis of consensus that time isextended,andnotonthebasisofthe strength of the ruling party.My request is not to extend thetime and let theminister replytomorrow.”Oppositionmembers then

beganraisingslogans,askingthegovernment to take back the“anti-farmer", “black” Bills. AsTomar continued his speech,more Opposition memberscame to theWell. This forcedTomar to cut short his reply.WhentheDeputyChairmanbe-gantheprocessforpassageoftheBill, even more memberstroopedintotheWell.TMC floor leader Derek

O’Brien came rushing to theChairman’spodium,wavingtheRule Book. Onemember thenthrewacopyof theRuleBookattheChair,andanotherbrokethemicrophones. Audio telecast ofthe live proceedings was sooncut.At 1.26 pm, the Deputy

Chairmanadjourned theHousefor 15minutes. Andwhen it re-sumed,Parliamentsecurityper-sonnelcreatedahumanwallbe-tweentheOppositionmembersand the Chair. Amid slogan

shouting,clappingandjeeringbythe Opposition, the DeputyChairman began clause-by-clauseconsiderationof theBills.Thestatutorymotions,movedbyseveral members, were nega-tived by voice vote. Oppositionmemberssoughtdivisionontheclauses, but this was turneddownby theDeputy Chairmanwhopointedout thatmemberswere not on their designatedseats.Someofthemembers,AAP’s

Sanjay Singh and Congress’sRajeev Satav, climbed on theSecretaryGeneral’stable.DMK’sTiruchi Siva — along withO’Brien, K C Venugopal ofCongressandKKRageshofCPM,he hadmoved resolutions forsending the Bills to the selectcommittee — tore papers andflung them in the air. Amid themelee,thetwoBillswerepassedbyvoicevote.Oppositionmembers led by

Azadthensatonadharna insidethe House for another 90min-utes.LokSabha,whichwastobe-gin its sitting from both cham-bers at 3 pm, could not startproceedings since OppositionmembersrefusedtomoveoutoftheRajyaSabhachamber.Earlier, in his reply amid the

din, Tomar said theminimumprice or MSP-based procure-

ment of agriculture crops fromfarmerswill continueand isnotrelatedtothefarmBillsthatseektogivecultivatorsthefreedomtomarket theirproduce.

New faultlineof power”. Rao said he was intouchwiththeChiefMinistersofTamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala,and Chhattisgarh to work outjointstrategyagainst themove.“This is unprecedented.

Almost every Bill the govern-ment is coming upwith, has anelement of direct violation offederallaw.Thisgovernmentbe-lieves incentralisationofpowerand after centralising, theywillgiveitawaytocorporates,”DMKleader and former UnionMinister DayanidhiMaran toldThe IndianExpress.The BSP’s Danish Ali said:

“WhenNarendraModi becamePrime Minister everyone ex-pectedthathe,withhis longex-perienceasChiefMinister,wouldunderstandandempowerstates.But the cooperative federalismhehadclaimedtohavechampi-onedinitially,isgoingexactlytheoppositeway.”Theperceptionofoverreach by the Centre, alongwithdeepeningworriesinstatesoverGSTcompensation,hasthepotentialforarealignmentofre-gional parties at the nationalstage.MidhunReddy of the YS-RCP said his party would joinotherregionalpartiesandoppo-sition in their fight for states’shareofGSTrevenues.“Wehavenotcomeoutshoutingsofar,butwewill join other states on thisissue,” Reddy told The IndianExpress.RegionalpartiesliketheBJD, YSRCP, AIADMK, and TRShave so far not joined theOpposition against the BJP-ledcentral governmentonanyma-jor issue.Speeches made by MPs in

Parliament this week reflectedtheconcernsof thestates.During the debate on the

EssentialCommodities(Amend-ment) Act, 2020, Saugata Royand Kalyan Banerjee of theTrinamool Congress asked thegovernment why it wanted totakeawaythepowerof statestoregulatetrade,includingimpos-ingstocklimitsforvariousinter-mediaries. “Youaretakingawaythe power of the state govern-ments.Thisishittingcooperativefederalism...,”Banerjeesaid.TheDMK’sKathirAnandsaid

the“powerof theCentreinagri-culturemanagement has cer-tainly increased through thisOrdinance”. The CPI-M’s A MAriff andTDP’sRamMohanRaoechoedhim.TheNCP’sSupriyaSuleques-

tioned the government over itsclaims that it had consulted thestates before venturing intoamending laws that take awaystates’ rights.The main Opposition

Congresswasmorevocalonthepoint in the Bill that amendedbankingregulations,bringingco-operative banks under the RBI.

“State governments are morethan competent to dischargetheir functions and in a federalpolity, this Ordinance, and theBillwhichseekstoreplaceit, isafrontal assault on the federalstructure of the Constitution.Thiswill have long-term impli-cationsonthedemocraticpolityofIndia,”warnedManishTewari,MPfromAnandpurSahib.Another Congress leader,

TiruvallurMPKJayakumar,said:“Inthe lastsixyears,wearesee-ingthatthisGovernmentisbentuponbringingBills andamend-mentssimplytodiveststategov-ernments of powers. It is bentupon converting state govern-ments into a Tehsildar’s office,wherethis(central)governmentwill remain like a Collector andthe Tehsildar has to do every-thingwithfoldedhands.”KollamMPNKPremachan-

dranof theRSP, oneof themostvocal inLowerHouseonconsti-tutionalandlegalissues,saidtheamendmentswere“encroachingintothepowersof thestategov-ernment in general and the co-operativesector inparticular”.PinakiMishraof theBJDsaid

the Constitution is clear abouttheStateandCentralListswhenit comes to powers. “There hasalways been this sort of dualityofcontrol.Unfortunately,thisdu-ality of control seems to obtaineven under the new (BJP-led)regime.”TheBJD’sAnubhavMohanty

and TDP’s RamMohan Rao tooquestioned the legislative com-petence of Parliament tomakethese laws, as “agriculture andmarkets, and fairsareState sub-jects; trade and commerce offoodstuffs, raw cotton, raw juteetc.,isintheConcurrentList;andinter-state tradeandcommerceis in theUnionList”.

Dy ChairmanItsaidthattheOppositionpar-

ties have “no confidence” in theDeputyChairman,“herebymovethismotionforhisremoval”,andthathe cannot “presideover theHouse”tilladecisionontheirmo-tion is taken. Among thepartiesthatbackedtheresolution,whichwas drafted by lawyer-MPsAbhishekSinghviandKTSTulsi,were the Congress, TMC, DMK,CPM,CPI,RJD,AAP,TRS,SP, IUMLandKeralaCongress(M).Addressingapressconference

later,CongressMPKCVenugopalalleged that BJPMPswere seen“whispering in the ears” of theDeputyChairmananddemandedto knowwhat “conspiracy” hadtranspired.Therulessaythat“amember

holding office as DeputyChairmanoftheRajyaSabhamaybe removed fromhis office by aresolution of the Rajya Sabhapassed by amajority of all thethen members of the RajyaSabha;but the resolution canbemovedonlywhen at least four-teendays’ noticehasbeengivenof theintentionofmoving”.TheOppositionmovewasde-

scribed as “unprecedented” byParliament veterans. “As far as Icanremember,therehasbeennoinstanceof ano-confidencemo-tionagainsttheDeputyChairmanof theRajyaSabha,”PDTAchari,former SecretaryGeneral of theLokSabha,toldTheIndianExpress.TheOppositionmotion said:

“Appropriate precedents in thisregard are available in severaltreatises, including the PracticeandProcedureofParliamentbyMNKaulandSLShakdherseventhedition...and Article 90 of theConstitution.”Theprecedentscitedfromthe

bookby theOpposition includeresolutionsmoved against thefirst Lok Sabha Speaker G VMavalankar in 1951, SpeakerSardarHukamSinghin1966andSpeakerBalramJakhar in1987. Itsays “at the sitting of Lok Sabha,while any resolution for the re-moval of the Speaker or theDeputySpeakerfromhisofficeisunderconsideration,theSpeakerortheDeputySpeaker,asthecasemay be, cannot preside eventhough he is present in theHouse”.Incidentally, the resolution

againstMavalankar cameup fordiscussion in 1954 and wasnegatedbytheHouseafteradis-cussion. The other two resolu-tionswere also discussed andnegatedbytheHouse.Article90dealswith“vacation

and resignationof, and removalfrom, the office of DeputyChairmanamemberholdingof-fice as Deputy Chairman of theCouncilofStates”.Meanwhile, Congress leader

Venugopalsaid, “Withouttakingthe sense of the House, theDeputyChairmanwentforpass-ingtheBills.Wehaven’tseensucha practice before...The Treasurybenches camewith a pre-fixedmind.Theywerenotreadytolis-tentotheagonyofthefarmer,theOpposition voice, theywerenotreadytohaveadivision(ofvotes)."

190-sec intercepttookplaceat11.51amonJuly22,2018, the brother allegedly saidthatMiskin and his associateswere involved “in onemurderoverthereandanothermurder”,accordingtothetranscript.“So theyare involved in two

murders,isit?''askedthe“uncle”inresponsetowhichthebrotherallegedlyreplied,“yes”,thetran-scriptshows.Thecalltookplaceontheday

theSITpickedupMiskinandhisfriendAmitBaddiinHublifortheLankeshmurder, according torecords. As part of the evidencein the Kalburgi case, the SIT ob-tainedandcomparedvoicesam-plesofthetworelativesofMiskinto provide technical confirma-tion of the legally interceptedphoneconversation.A ballistics report from the

KarnatakaStateForensicScienceLaboratory—daysafterthemur-derofLankesh,55,onSeptember5,2017—statedthatthemurderwas linked to the killing ofKalburgi, 77, at his home inDharwad on August 30, 2015.Yet, it was the intercepted con-versation that provided the SITwith new evidence of the link-ages.TheSIT’sinvestigationsinthe

Lankesh and Kalburgi cases re-sulted in the filing ofchargesheets against a group ofactivists linked to SanatanSanstha, a radical Hindutvagroup. The start of the trialprocess in both cases has beendelayed by the Covid crisis thatbeganinMarchthisyear.Asmanyas 18personswere

namedbytheSITintheLankeshmurder, includingMiskin andotherslinkedtotheSansthaandotherradicalgroups,inacharge-sheet filed inNovember2018.Six persons have been ac-

cusedintheKalburgicase,whichwastakenupforinvestigationbythe SIT in 2019 on the orders ofthe Supreme Court following aplea by the scholar’s widowUmadevi.

AchargesheetfiledinAugust2019 names Miskin as the al-leged shooter and PraveenPrakash Chatur, 27, a Belagaviresident, as the rider of themo-torcycle that took him toKalburgi’shome.According to the SIT, Amol

Kale, a key leader of youthslinkedtotheSanstha,plottedandexecutedthemurderofKalburgiinAugust2015.Theyouthswereallegedly inspired by a bookcalledKshatraDharmaSadhana,publishedbytheSanstha,whichcalls for thekillingof “Hindu in-fidels”, theSIT found.“Between January andMay

2015,AmolKale,GaneshMiskinandPraveenChaturmetseveraltimes near the Indira Gandhiglasshouse, Hubli, and plannedthe assassination of Dr M MKalburgi. GaneshMiskin wastasked to shoot and kill DrKalburgi. Praveen Chatur wastaskedwithridingabikeandtak-ing Miskin to and from DrKalburgi’s residence,” the SITsaid.The SIT also found that a

training campwas held for thealleged killers of Kalburgi, andothers, at a rubber plantationnear Dharmasthala in theDakshina Kannada region inearly August 2015 with two“guest trainers''.The investigations in the

LankeshandKalburgicasesalsoledtotheunravellingofthemur-ders of rationalist NarendraDabholkar,69,inPuneonAugust20, 2013, and Leftist thinkerGovindPansare, 81, inKolhapuronFebruary16,2015.

e-Adda todayWhile the economyhas suf-

fered,markets across theworld,including India, have reboundedevenasthepandemicragesoninmost countries, including India.At theE-Adda,Sharma,whowillbe in conversationwith AnantGoenka, ExecutiveDirector, TheIndian Express, and PVaidyanathan Iyer, ExecutiveEditor for National Affairs, TheIndian Express, will navigate theaudiencethroughthefogcreatedby the pandemic and domesticandinternationalpolitics.Withaquartercenturyoftrav-

ellingtheworldasawriterandin-vestor, Sharma’s rules challengeconventional textbook thinkingon what matters — and whatdoesn’t— for a strong economy.Thebookexplainswhy success-ful nations embrace robots andimmigrants, prefer democraticleaders toautocrats,electcharis-maticreformersovertechnocrats,and pay nomind to the debateabout big versus small govern-ment.Sharma’s book also explains

whyrisingstockpricesmatterasmuchormore than foodprices,and themeasure of debt is thebestpredictorofeconomiccrises,andwhynoonenumbercanac-curatelycapturethevalueofcur-rencies.His earlier books include

DemocracyontheRoad(2019),TheRise and Fall of Nations: Forces ofChange in a Post-Crisis World(2016) and Breakout Nations(2012).Sharmawasselectedoneof the “top global thinkers” byForeign Policymagazine in 2012and was named as one of theMost Influential people in theworld in 2015 by BloombergMarkets.Sharma,whostartedwriting

at 17, has been awriter longerthanhehasbeenaninvestor.He’saregularcontributortoseveralin-ternational publications. He ispassionateaboutpoliticsandhascoveredeverynationalelectioninIndia,andmanymajorstatecon-tests, going back to 1998.Sharma’s other interests includeathleticsandhecontinuestotrainfor the 100 and 200 meterssprints.Hehas akeen interest inwildlife and in international cin-emaandattendsmajorfilmfesti-vals.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

Contact for Advt. Booking: M/s Friends Publicity Service

23276901, 23282028 (M): 9212008155, 9212665841.

EXP E S EDU TIONR S CA

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

WhyYogiAdityanath istalkingabout ‘lovejihad’againNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisodeof the ‘3Things’pdocastwelookatwhyUttarPradeshchiefministerYogiAdityanathhasrevivedhisinterest in“love jihad” inthestate

DOWNLOADAPP

MIRANAIR’S A SUITABLE BOY ISWORTHYOURTIMEThebookhasenoughtimeandmoretoget intolong, languid,eloquentdescriptionsof locations,characters,situations; inMiraNairandAndrewDavies'hands,thechop-chopeventuallyovercomesthechoppiness,andbecomesitsowncreature.

VIDEOOF THEDAY EXPLAINED

TOLLPLAZAVANDALISED

ThemishaptookplaceinBetmainMadhyaPradesh’s Indore

WEB

EXCLUSIVE

SCANTHISQRCODETODOWNLOADTHEAPP

THERS500 ‘FELUDATEST’ FORCOVID-19

Ituses indigenouslydevelopedCRISPRgene-editing

■VISUAL STORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS

■ CUSTOMIZABLENEWS EXPERIENCE

IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

New Delhi


THEDELHIPolicewill seekhelpfrom the DefenceMinistry andEnforcementDirectorate for as-sistance in investigation of theallegedespionageracket,wherethree people, including a 61-year-oldstrategicaffairsanalystand author and his two associ-ates,havebeenarrested.OnSaturday, theSpecialCell

claimedthatanalystandauthorRajeev Sharmawas passing in-formation about Indian troopson theNepal andChinabordersto Chinese Intelligence. Policesaid his associates — a Chinesewoman Qing Shi (30) andNepalesenational Sher Singh—were “supplying him a hugeamountofmoneythroughshell

companies”. The twowere ar-rested Saturday while Sharmawas arrested on September 14and has been in police custodyfor six days. His bail applicationwill beheardMonday.After initial probe and inter-

rogation, the Special Cell willwrite to theMinistry of Defenceaboutthedocumentstheyseized

from Sharma’s home onSeptember14.“Weneedtoascer-tainthesourceandverifytheau-thenticityof thedefence-relateddocumentswefoundinSharma’spossession.All thesedocumentswere saved in his email as PDFsand other formats.We need tocheckwhogavethemtohim.Wewill also ask theMinistry to giveus details about the documentsto knowSharma’s connections,”saidaseniorpoliceofficer.The investigating teamwill

also be writing to theEnforcement Directorate toprobe the alleged illegal finan-cialtransactionsmadebytheac-cusedpersons.On Saturday, SanjeevKumar

Yadav,DCP(SpecialCell),saidbe-tween January 2019 andSeptember 2020, Sharma re-ceivedmorethanRs30lakhfrom

amannamedGeorge.Policesaidthat in his confession, Sharmasaid George lives in Kunming,China,andisthegeneralmanagerof aChinesemediacompany.HeofferedSharmaUSD500perarti-cle or for information onDalai-Lamarelated issues in India. Themoneywas sent through QingandSingh’sshell companies,MZPharmacy andMZMalls, policealleged. The Special Cell is alsochecking socialmedia accountsof theaccusedtoexamineinfor-mation that was passed ontoChinese Intelligence.Advocate Dr Adish

Aggarwala,who is representingSharma,questionedthechargesagainst him: “He is a reputedjournalist...Anyjournalistcanbehired by foreign news agencies.HewaswritingforGlobalTimes...It’sanaccreditednewsagency.”

3,812CASES,37DEATHSONSUNDAY

ASTHASAXENANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

OVERTHEpastmonthsinDelhi,thenumberof casesanddeathshas fluctuated considerably -fromcloseto100deathsinafewweeksinJuneto14deathsadayin the first twoweeks inAugustto30deathsonanaveragenow.The case fatality ratio, however,has declined steadilymonth onmonth between July andSeptember.While themortality rate in

July was 3.12%, it had fallen to2.54%bytheendofAugust.Asofnow, it standsat2.04%.Overthelastoneweek,Delhi

hasbeen reporting30-40Coviddeathsperdayandcloseto4,000casesaday.Accordingtoexperts, shift in

admission criteria, aggressivetesting, creation ofmore healthfacilities and advancement intreatment are some of the fac-tors behind the drop in fatalityrateover the last twomonths.Several health experts ex-

plained the correlation be-tween active cases and thenumber of deaths.“Management of patients hasimprovedsignificantly;health-careprofessionalsareusingsev-eral new drugs during treat-ment. Cases where patients

would die suddenly have gonedownconsiderably. If the infec-tion is detected on time, pa-tients isolatedearlyandadmin-istered treatment at the right

time, themortality ratewill bereduced overall. In Delhi, mosthomesnowhaveapulseoxime-terwhichhasplayedan impor-tant role in themanagementof

thedisease.Peoplearemonitor-ing theiroxygen levels athomeand are approaching hospitalsfor treatment, if required,” saidDrSujeetKumarSingh,director,National Centre for DiseaseControl (NCDC).Testingcapacity inDelhihas

also increased manifold. OnSunday, Delhi saw 3,812 newcases,takingthetallyto2,46,711.Thedeathtollmountedto4,982with37newdeaths recorded inthe last 24 hours. Over 52,000testswereconductedinaday."Itisgoodthatthedeathrateis lessthan 1% lately; it used to beabove 3.5-4% for a month ear-lier," Delhi Health MinisterSatyendar Jain had said onFriday.In the first week of June, a

strategy document was pre-pared by a teamof experts - AI-IMS Director Dr RandeepGuleria, NITI AayogmemberDrV K Paul, ICMR chief Dr BalramBhargava and Dr Sujeet KumarSingh fromNCDC - for contain-mentof Covid-19 in thecapital.A topofficial fromtheUnion

Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare explained the rationalebehind the trend.“Presently, we do not have

anyevidencetosayit isbecauseof thenatural cycle of thevirus.Therefore, ithastobeattributedtoproactivesteps.Astrategylaid

downfortheDelhigovernmentby the expert team had threebroadparts.Thefirst focusedonsteps to be taken in contain-ment, surveillance, and contacttracing; the second part dealtwithhowtoensuremonitoringof peopleunderhomeisolationandifneedbe,shiftthemtohos-pitals; the third part was howhospitalisedpatients shouldbetackled. These three parts thenhadvariousspecific instructionsand the whole document wasbasedontheassumptionthatalleffortswithinadistrictwouldbeled by the district magistrates.The implementation of thisstrategy has resulted in a lowermortality rate.”AIIMSmedical superinten-

dent, DK Sharma, meanwhile,saidthatonetheoryisthatmorepeoplewith no co-morbid con-ditionsare testingpositivenow,asopposed toearlier.“Covid-19isknowntoaggra-

vate thecondition in thosewithpre-existingillnesses.Thosesuf-fering from serious ailmentswere the first to get affected bythe disease… now, relativelyhealthierpeoplearetestingpos-itive and are able to fight thevirus. This is one theory. Aswestill donothaveadefinite treat-ment, we cannot say what hashelpedpatientsrecoverjustyet,”hesaid.

To boost propertytax, SDMC adopts‘carrot-stick’ policy

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

50

40

30

20

10

0

■Dailynumberofcases ■Dailydeaths

1825

1,3583,609

4,0713836

THE TRAJECTORY

Aug31 Sep19 ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

THESOUTHcivicbodywillbeus-inga‘carrotandstick’policytoin-creaseitsrevenuehitbytheCovidpandemic, under which it hascome up with an amnestyscheme for property holders todeposit their pending taxes. Ifthey don’t, demand noticeswouldbeservedtothem.Under the scheme, property

holderswhopaytheiroutstand-ingduesbySeptember30willbeentitled to 100% interest andpenaltywaiverwhile thosewhodeposittaxforthecurrentfinan-cialyear(2020-21)bySeptember30 will get a 15% rebate, saidSouthbodystandingcommitteechairmanRajduttGehlot.In case of unauthorised

colonies,pendingtaxfrom2004-2019will be completelywaivedandpropertyholderscandeposittax for only two financial years -2019-20 and 2020-21 - saidGehlot.In terms of numbers, the

SDMChassofarcollectedRs425crorefromaround3.60lakhprop-erties, which in the correspon-dingperiod last yearwasRs550crore from 4 lakh properties.Seven lakh out of the 12 lakhpropertiesinSouthMCDalonedonot pay taxes. These aremostlyunauthorised colonies and vil-lages. If people still do not paypending taxes, officials said, de-mand noticeswould first be is-sued to commercial establish-ments. "These demand noticeswill have details of the taxes notbeing paid, alongwith interestcalculated, and are legally bind-ingdocuments,"saidaseniorof-ficialofSouthMCD.There are around 50,000

commercial properties in SouthDelhiunderthetaxnet.Later,no-ticeswouldbesenttoresidentialcoloniesaswell,hesaid.

Reacting to the scheme, AAPleaderandSDMCcouncillorVikasGoyalsaidinsteadofaskingtaxesfromunauthorised colonies, thecorporationshouldfocusonpro-viding facilities in these areas."Councillors cannot spend theirfunds in unauthorised colonies,sowhyaretheyaskingfortaxes?Andif theycan,thenaresolutionshould be passed in the housethat corporators can spend theirfundssothat it isclear."Officials, however, said sani-

tation, schools, andhealth facili-tiesareprovidedinthesecoloniesandmore facilities can be pro-videdonlyif thereismoney.

UNTIL LASTyear, theSDMC,whichhasmanyrichneighbourhoodsun-der its jurisdiction,wasthe only corporation thatdidnot have adeficit. Butcorporationofficials saidadeficit is anticipatedthis year if the revenuesituationdoesnot im-prove soon. Corporationofficials blamed theCovid-19 crisis for peoplenot coming forward topayproperty tax, and forthe fall in health trade li-cence fees, advertisingandother fees, as thepandemichashit busi-nesses badly.

Whycash-richSouthMCDisfacingarevenuecrunch

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARModerate

0 500

156AQIPM:10

SIRIFORTModerate

0 500

SHADIPURModerate

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Moderate

0

154AQIPM:10

156AQIPM:10

143AQIPM:2.5

Underthenewscheme,pendingtaxfrom2004-2019willbecompletelywaivedforunauthorisedcoloniesandpropertyholderscandeposit tax foronly two financialyears—2019-20and2020-21.Archive

Coviddeaths fluctuatesinceJune,but fatality rate seessteadydip

Private jet terminalbegins ops at IGIANewDelhi:The firstof itskind in thecountry, theprivatejetterminalatIGIAirportbeganfunction-ing on Sunday afternoon. A private jet by VRLLogistics, flying fromVadodara toDelhi,was thefirst chartered flight to land in the new terminalat2:40pm.AprivatejetbyOrbitAviation,flyingtoChennaiwas the first todepart fromDelhiat6 intheevening.An official of theDelhi International Airport

Limited (DIAL) said, “It was inauguratedThursday. The terminalwas sanitised on Fridayand Saturday. The terminal has been designedkeepingsocialdistanceinmindandregularsani-tisation is taking place.” The terminal sprawlsover an area of 8 lakh square feet. It can handleover 50 passengers every hour and can cater to150private jets inaday.ENS

TOTAL CASES

2,46,711Total Vacant

HOSPITAL BEDS 15,655 8,641VENTILATORS 1,264 488

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsSep19 4,071 4,219 38 61,973Sep20 3,812 3,742 37 52,405Total 32,097* 2,09,632 4,982 25,55,007

*Total active cases

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

Bikersperformstunts,5heldNewDelhi:Ina30-secondvideo thatwent viral onsocial media, a group ofbikers were seen per-formingdangerousstuntson a busy road in VikasMarg at East Delhi’sShakarpur Sunday. Somebikerswereseenstandingon moving bikes whileotherswere performingdifferent stunts whilespeedingnearothertwo-wheelers on the road.None of the bikerswerewearing helmets or anyprotectivegearotherthanface masks. Late onSunday evening, policearrested fiveof themen.

70-year-oldwoman‘killed’byhersonGhaziabad:A70-year-oldwoman was allegedlyshotdeadbyherownsonafter she included herdaughter in the propertyinheritence Fridaynight.The accused HarendraTyagi shot his motherSavitriafteraquarreloverproperty in theirModinagar residence.One accused is currentlyabsconding whileHarendra has been ar-rested,policesaid.

WomanjumpstodeathNoida: A 50-year-oldwomanallegedlyjumpedtoherdeath fromahigh-rise buildingataresiden-tial society in GreaterNoida on Sunday. Policesaid thewoman sufferedfromdepression.ENS

TaxidriverinjuredaftercarcatchesfireNewDelhi: A taxi driversuffered burns after hisvehicle caught fire on aBus Rapid Transit (BRT)track in South Delhi’sMadangir area Sunday,police said. The driver,Deepak, a resident ofSangamVihar,wastakento a nearby hospital bythe PCR van. He sufferedminorburns.PTI

BRIEFLY

Police to work with Defence Ministry, EDto probe ‘espionage’ case against journo

RajeevSharmawasarrestedonSeptember14.PTI

Be cautious ofboth Covid anddengue: CMEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

CHIEF MINISTER ArvindKejriwal Sunday asked Delhiresidents tobecautiousof bothdengue and Covid, and spreadawareness about measures toprevent the vector-borne dis-ease. While inspecting his res-idence at 10 am, Kejriwal saidcollectiveeffortswillhelpDelhidefeat dengue like last year.The government’s dengue

awarenesscampaign,10Hafte10Baje 10Minute, entered its thirdweekonSunday. “Rightnow,wearedealingwiththecoronaviruspandemic, but it is also the sea-sonwhendenguecasesincreasesignificantly.Wehavetobecon-scious about both dengue andcoronavirus,”hesaid.

New Delhi

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

WHILECHILDRENacrossthecitystand to benefit from the DelhiHigh Court's recent ruling thatprivate schools must providegadgets and internet packagesfree of cost to students belong-ingtoeconomicallyweakersec-tion (EWS) and disadvantagedgroups (DG) categories, there isnotmuch of a financial gap be-tweenthemandfee-payingstu-dents in many smaller privateschools.On Friday, the HC had or-

dered private schools and gov-ernment schools like KendriyaVidyalayastoprovidefreegadg-ets and internet packages toEWS/DGstudentstoaddresstheintra-class gap between themandfee-payingstudents,and"toensurelevelplayingfield,andtoremedythisdigitaldivide".At Sant Gyaneshwar Public

schoolinKhampur, forinstance,around 15% of students are notattendingonlineclassesheldviathe Zoom app. According toschoolmanagerMukeshKumarBhatia, these students are fromboth EWS and fee-paying cate-gories.Withamonthlyfeestart-ing fromRs 1,000 and going uptoRs1,600,mostof thefee-pay-

ing and EWS students are fromsimilar backgrounds - farmingfamilies, residents of resettle-mentcoloniesand JJ clusters."The ones who are not at-

tendingarefromfamiliesthatdonothavegadgets.Wehavebeentrying to reach out to them aswell; if there are other studentswho live close to them, we are

sendingvideostothosechildrenandaskingthemtosharethede-viceforsometimewiththechil-drenmissingout,"hesaid.Sushil Dhankar, who runs

Hari Vidya Bhawan School inSangamVihar, said the averagemonthly family incomeofmoststudentsinhisschoolisbetweenRs15,000andRs20,000."In an area like ours, the dif-

ference between EWS and fee-paying students iswho had thenecessary documents in placeandgotthroughthedrawof lots.We have around 10% studentsacrossbothcategorieswhodon'thavesmartphonesatall.Anotherproblem amongmost studentsis that families have just onesmartphone. So inmost cases,classes of the younger childrenare being compromised, whichiswhyweare sendingvideosofthe classes to them so they canwatchthoselater. Inaschoollikeours, I feel like itmightbebettertolookatallfamiliesbelowacer-

tain income level as beneficiar-ies,"hesaid.AtWhite Leaf Public School,

Pooth Khurd, principal SunilSharma said only 50-60% stu-dents are attending onlineclassesduetoasimilarsituation.Theseschoolsalsoraisedcon-

cernsontheprocessofreimburse-mentbythestategovernmentforthe purchase of devices. "I cer-tainly hope therewill be a strictenforcement of a deadline bywhenschoolscanexpecttobere-imbursed.Wealreadydealwithlongdelays in thebasic EWS/DGreimbursementeveryyear.Withthe general lack of fee collectionthis year— less than10 studentshave paid fees inmy school thismonth- itwillbetoolargeabur-denforsmallschoolstobear,"saidHari Prakash Sharma, owner ofNewHappyPublicSchool,whichstartswithafeeofRs800.Thedirectorofeducationdid

not respondtoqueries fromTheIndianExpress.

‘FEWERRAINYDAYS,DRYWIND’

40-yr-old commitssuicide in lock-up,constable suspended

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

WITH REPLICAS of 17 popularmonuments from across thecountry including MysorePalace, Charminar andKhajuraho Temple built fromscrap material, the BharatDarshanPark inPunjabi Bagh isset to be completed this year.Spreadover8.5acresandbuiltatacostofRs14crore,theparkwillbe open to visitors from 2021,said mayor of South MCDAnamikaMithilesh.Themayor said though the

SouthMCD is facing fund con-

straints, money for the projecthad been allocated before theCovidcrisis. “Thecivicbodywillbe able to complete the projecton time,” shesaid.Other replicas of monu-

mentsincludeGatewayof India,Konark Temple, Nalanda ruins,Golden Temple, MeenakshiTemple,HawaMahal,Hampiru-ins, Victoria Memorial, SanchiStupa, Gol Gumbaz, Ajanta andElloraCaves, and JunagarhFort.Thereplicasarebeingbuiltus-

ing parts of vehicles, fans, rods,ironsheets,nut-bolts, etc,whichweregatheringdustinmunicipalstores, said leader of the house,SouthMCD,NarendraChawla.

It will also have a walkingtrackof 1.5km,achildren’splayarea, landscaped waterfalls,fountains,ponds,amphitheatresfor cultural events and a foodcourt offeringmajor cuisines ofIndia, saidChawla.Theprojectwasinspiredbyan

earlierprojectof theSouthMCDcalledthe'WastetoWonder'parkin Sarai Kale Khan, which hasreplicas of seven iconicmonu-mentsfromacrosstheworldandopened to the public lastFebruary.Injustoneyear,thecivicbody had recovered the cost oftheprojectbyearningmorethanRs8crorethroughtickets.Around16lakhpeoplevisited

this park last year,with an aver-agedailyfootfallof4,000to5,000,which doubles to 10,000 onweekendsandpublicholidays.NitenMehta, anarchitect in-

volvedwiththenewproject,saidit ismoredifficult than theSaraiKaleKhanoneasreplicatingtem-ple architecture using iron rodsischallenging.HesaidthereasonSDMC’s earlier project was sosuccessfulwasbecauseDelhi,be-ingalandlockedplace,lacksopenspaceswherepeoplecanwalk.Hesaid,“Mostpeoplearenot

able to visit manymonumentsintheir lifetime,sowearehope-ful that this toowill attract sim-ilar crowds.”

ReplicasofMysorePalace (L)andHampi’s ruinsat theBharatDarshanPark.Express

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER 20

A 40-YEAR-OLD murder con-vict allegedly committed sui-cide inside theSamaypurBadlipolice station lockup. Policesaid a constable has been sus-pended for negligence follow-ing the incident.While Dharmendra’s fam-

ily alleged he was beingbeaten up in custody the lasttime they saw him, senior po-lice officers denied the allega-tions.Deputy Commissioner of

Police (Outer North) GauravSharma said, “We have sus-pended constable Yashveer,whowaspostedonsentrydutyat Samaypur Badli police sta-tion for his negligence.”According to police,

Dharmendra was arrested in2005 in a case of robbery andmurder, and later convicted inthe case. He got parole inMarch this year, which waslater extendeddue to the lock-down.On Saturday, he was ar-

rested forallegedly rapinga14-

year-old girl and was shiftedfrom a police station in OuterNorth district to SamaypurBadli police station, where heallegedlyhangedhimself usinga bedsheet.His lawyer,RakeshKaushik,

claimed: “I still don’t have acopy of the complaint (in therape case.”Police said theyare investi-

gating thedeathandhavepre-served CCTV footage outsidethe twopolice stations for fur-ther enquiry.The man’s nephew Neeraj

claimed they had seenDharmendra being beaten upinsideprison—achargepolicedenied.DCP Sharma said: “Themi-

nor alleged Dharmendra hadentered her house when shewas alone and raped her. Weregistered a case under thePOCSO Act and arrested him.He was then shifted toSamaypur Badli policestation, where he committedsuicide on Sunday morning.We took him to Baba SahebAmbedkar Hospital wheredoctors declared him dead onarrival.”

DOG WHEELSApetdogout forarideonabike inNoidaonSunday.GajendraYadav


TEMPERATURE IN the capitalhas been soaring this monthdue to fewer rainy days anddrywinds, making the averagemaximum temperature inSeptember so far the highest infiveyears.OnSunday,thedaytimetem-

peratureinthecitywas36.8de-greesCelsius,whichwastwode-grees above normal for themonth.Theaveragemaximumtem-

perature for 20 days so farthis month has been 36.1 de-grees and the number ofrainydayswerethree,asperdatafrom the India MeteorologicalDepartment’s (IMD)Safdarjungobservatory,which is represen-tativeof thecity.Inpreviousyears,September

has recorded higher rainy daysandloweraveragetemperatures.Last year, the average was

35.1 degrees Celsius with sixdaysof rain. InSeptember2018,the average was 32.7 degreesCelsius with 14 days of rain. In2017,with seven rainydays, theaverage temperature was 34.5degrees Celsius, and in 2016, itwas 35 degrees Celsius withthreedaysof rain.Only in September 2015 did

the city get as warm as it is atpresent,whentheaveragetem-perature touched 36.1 degreesCelsiuswith twodaysof rain.Moreover, the average read-

ingof36.1degreesCelsius is thehighest mark themercury hasreached for the month ofSeptembersince2011.Kuldeep Srivastava, head of

theIMD’sregionalweatherfore-

castingcentreinDelhi,saidtherewould be some relief aroundSeptember 22-23 when lightrainfall couldbringthemercurydownbyadegreeortwo,butaf-ter that itwouldsoaragain.“Presently, we have dry

windsfromNorthwestIndia,norainfallandclearskies.Allof thisiscausingariseintemperature,”hesaid.

HC ruling on net, gadgets for EWS studentsposes new challenge for small pvt schools

‘Appear or faceaction’: Assemblypanel summonsFacebook V-P

Delhi zoo toget 12 newspecies

ThefinancialgapbetweenEWSstudentsandfee-payingstudents inmanysmallerprivateschoolsarenarrow.Archive

SHIVAMPATELNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THE 13 common effluent treat-ment plants (CETPs) in Delhiwithacombinedcapacitytotreat213million litres per day (MLD)ofindustrialeffluentsarerunningononly20-22%capacity.Inotherwords,only45MLD

ofeffluentsarebeingtreatedandreleasedintothedrainsthatjoinriverYamuna.Moreover, out of 13 CETPs,

only 11weremonitored in July,out of which sevenwere foundto be non-complying, meaningthattreatedeffluentsdischargedfrom theplantswere notmeet-ing theprescribedstandards.The issue was discussed in

August inameetingof aCentralMonitoringCommitteethatwasset up by the National GreenTribunaltomonitor351pollutedriverstretchesinthecountry, in-cluding theYamuna.The director (technical) of

National Mission for CleanGanga (NMCG) also informedthecommitteeduringthemeet-ingthattherewere11industrial

clusters in Delhi which do nothaveanyCETPs installed.The findings fromDelhi and

numerousotherstatesweresub-mitted to theNGT in the secondquarterlyreportofthecommittee.“ED (Tech), NMCG informed

that the issueof CETP isgoingonsincepasttwoyears.DPCChadin-formedthatforupgradationoftheCETPsandtoincreasetheutilisa-tioncapacityof theCETPs,NEERIhadbeen engaged for providingconsultancy, and studies are go-ingon.However,noprogresshasbeenreportedinthisregard,”thecommittee’sreportstates.Itsaid,“Secretary,Ministryof

Jal Shakti, raised concern overthepoormanagementof indus-trialpollutioninDelhievenafterconstruction of CETPs of 213MLD and poor utilisation of theexistingCETP infrastructure.”An official from the Delhi

State Industrial andInfrastructure DevelopmentCorporation (DSIIDC) said thereasonbehind lowutilisationofCETPswasthatmanyindustriesin Delhi were producing rela-tivelylesswetwastethanbefore.He also claimed that the 11

industrial clusters in Delhi thatarenotconnectedtoCETPspro-ducelowquantitiesofeffluents.“Findings from the NEERI

study will give us answers onhow the full capacity of CETPscan be utilised and on how theplantsneedtobeimproved,”theofficial said.Thecommitteewasalsotold

that there has been very slowprogress in development ofsewage treatment plants (STPs)inDelhi.In ameetingheld in July, the

secretaryofDepartmentofWaterResources noted that theInterceptor Sewer Project (ISP)and establishment of STPs atCoronation Pillar, previously ex-pectedtobecompletedby2017-18,havenowbeenrevisedto2021.“Member Drainage, DJB in-

formed that 99% progress hadbeen achieved and onlyminorworks are remaining in ISP,which they are finding difficulttocompleteintheabsenceoflackof manpower due to the pan-demic. Similarly, for CoronationPillar, delay is due to limitedmanpower and funding issues,”thecommitteereportstates.

Therehavebeenonly3rainydays thismonth

THEWEEKAHEADDate Minimum Maximum Conditions

Sep21 26°C 37°C Partlycloudysky

Sep22 28°C 36°C Generallycloudyskywithlightrain

Sep23 27°C 35°C Generallycloudyskywithlightrain

Sep24 26°C 36°C Generallycloudyskywithlightrainordrizzle



At 36.1°C, hottestSeptember in 5 yrs

13 treatment plants runningat 20% capacity: Report


A35-YEAR-OLDman left his 11-month-old twin boys at theDDMAoffice inCivilLinesFriday,saying he couldn’t take care ofthemanymoreashehadnotbeenpaid for threemonths. Theman,Naresh, isaclerkatacooperativehousing society,whose tempo-rary administrator is a seniorDDMAofficial.Heclaimedheap-proachedtheadministratorattheDDMAofficeforhelpwithhispay.Avideoof thetwinscrawling

onthefootpathasvehiclespassedby surfaced on socialmedia onSunday. Police said the twinsweresittingontheroadalonefor10minutes.“Awomanconstablegave themmilk andwater.Wetraced the family and sent thechildrenback.Weareconductinganenquiry,”saidaseniorofficer.Nareshclaimed:“Ihavebeen

workingformonthsbuthavenotreceivedmy salary. I have threeotherchildrenaswell,aged12,7and 5... I went to the DDMA of-fice on Friday but the officersdidn’t talk to me. So, I left mychildrenoutsidetheiroffice,noton the road... Someone putmychildren there,”heclaimed.The senior DDMA official

said, “There are conflicts at thecooperativesocietysohissalarywas delayed by a month. Wehave been trying to help... OnFriday,helefthischildrenontheroad. Guards spotted them andtoldpolice.Hedidn’tcometomyoffice in themorning.” He saidhewas appointed by the coop-erativesocietyasanadministra-tor till elections.


THEDELHIAssemblyPeaceandHarmonyCommittee,which islooking into the role of severalfactors in the Northeast Delhiriots,has summonedFacebookIndia vice-president andman-agingdirectorAjitMohanagainon September 23.This is the second time that

Mohan was summoned as hedidnotappearbeforethepanel,headed by MLA RaghavChadha, previously. Failure toappear, the notice said, will becounted as breach of privilegeof the committee and actionwill be taken.The committee, formed on

March 2, earlier said it had“prima facie found Facebookcomplicit in the Delhi riots ofFebruary 2020 on the premiseof incriminatory material pro-duced on record by the wit-nessesaswell as their scathingdepositions before theCommittee”.Facebook’s trust and safety

director Vikram Langeh sent aletter to Chadha lastweek, ob-jecting to the notice and askedthat it be recalled. He had saidthat regulation of intermedi-aries such as Facebookwas therightof theUniongovernment,that the Parliament’s StandingCommittee on InformationTechnologywasalreadyexam-iningthe issues raised,andthatlaw and order in Delhi comesunder the purview of theCentre and not the state gov-ernment.The fresh summons were

sent to Mohan on Friday.Facebookspokespersondidnotrespond to calls ormessages.A statement issued by the

committeeSunday said, “It ap-peared to the committee thatFacebookisdeliberatelyandin-tentionally trying to evade theprocessof lawaswell as show-ing absolute non-cooperation

in enabling the committee toascertain the genuineness oftheallegationputoutagainst it.He (Chadha) had insisted thatFacebookmusthonourthepro-ceedings taking place underDelhi’s state legislature in thesamemanner as they did for aparliamentary standing com-mittee.”The assembly committee

said that as per a 2018 judg-ment of the Supreme CourtConstitution Bench, the DelhiLegislative Assembly has leg-islative powers, and the Rulesof Procedure and Conduct ofBusiness in the LegislativeAssembly provides the com-mitteepowers tosummonandensure the presence of wit-nesses.“Ithasbeen furtherdecided

that in theeventof subsequentdefault in complying with theordersof thecommittee, it shallbe constrained to proceedagainstFacebookIndia forcom-mitting breach of committee’sprivilege, which shall followconsequent penal jurisdictionof thehouseunder therelevantlawsandrulesandregulation,”the statement said.

Facebook’s trustandsafetydirectorVikramLangehhadsenta letter topanelchiefRaghavChadha lastweek,objectingtothenotice


THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

PUNJABI BAGH

Soon, spot replicas of Mysore Palace, Charminar at SDMC parkNewDelhi: In an exchange pro-grammewith the Chhatbir Zooin Punjab, Delhi’s NationalZoological Park would get 12newspeciesofanimalsandbirdsthis year, including twochinkaras,onejunglecatandfivediamonddoves.In return, the Delhi zoo

wouldgivesevenanimalspeciesto the Chhatbir zoo, includingfour palm civets, two Indianfoxesandtwogoldenpheasants.Theapprovalfortheexchange

was given by the Central ZooAuthority’s (CZA) technical com-mittee in October last year andcommunicated to theDelhi zoodirectorinaletterinJuly.ENS

Not paid dues,man leavestwins atDDMA office


ATOURISTguidewasallegedlygangraped inside a hotel inNew Delhi district on Fridaynight.

Policesaidthewomanluredinto the room she was gan-graped bytwomen,onthepre-text of giving her a loan. Policesaid a case has been registeredagainst sixpersons, includingawoman,ofwhomonemanhasbeen arrested.

Tourist guide ‘gangraped’

New Delhi

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

RAJYASABHAonSundaysawthetreasuryandOpposition benches exchangeheated argu-mentsduringthedebateonthetwofarmBills.The Opposition termed The Farmers

ProduceTradeandCommerce(PromotionandFacilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers(EmpowermentandProtection)AgreementonPriceAssuranceandFarmServicesBill, 2020“deathwarrants”forfarmersandaskedthegov-ernmenttoreferthemtoaselectcommittee.Opening the debate, Congressmember

Partap Singh Bajwa said the Bills are “com-pletely ill-conceived” and “ill-timed”. “TheseBills are against the farmersof India, particu-larlyPunjab,HaryanaandWesternUP.Beingasonof a farmer, Iwant tosaywewillnot signthefarmers’deathwarrantsinanycondition.”Defending the legislation, BJP MP

BhupenderYadavsaid,“TheOppositionshouldstopdoingpolitics andmisleading the farm-ersonthisissueasthegovernmenthasbroughtabigreformtoimprovetheruraleconomy.”“Weare in the government till 2024, the

MSPisgoingtobeannouncedatleast8timesfor the rabi andkharif crops. Each timeyourfalsehoodwillbeexposed,”hesaid.TMC’sDerekO’Briendemanded that the

legislationbesenttotheselectcommittee.SPmemberRamGopalYadavsaidthereis

a compulsion due towhich the ruling partydoesnotwanttodebateanddiscuss.“TheyarerushingthroughtheBills,”hesaid.YSRCongressMPVVijayasaiReddyreferred

totheCongress’spromisetorepealAPMCactinitsmanifestoforthe2019LokSabhapollsandsaidthe“hypocrisy”shouldbeexposed.Supporting the Bills, JDUmember Ram

ChandraPrasadSinghsaidthelegislationwillbenefitagriculture.CPMmemberKKRageshsaidthereshould

be aprovision in the legislation for declaring

MSPforallagriculturalproduce.RJDmemberManoj Jha said if theHouse

passestheseBills,itwillbewritingthe“obitu-aryofIndianfarmers”.“Farmershaveissuedawhip. It is not going to stop in Punjab andHaryana.ItwillgotillBihar,”Jhasaid,referringtofarmers’protestsagainstthelegislation.TheBJD’sAmarPatnaikaskedwhetherthe

legislationisonlyforbigtraders.ShiromaniAkaliDalMPNareshGujralde-

mandedthattheBillbesenttotheselectcom-mittee.HarsimratKaurBadal,hasresignedasthe loneminister fromSAD in theNDAgov-ernmenttoprotesttheBills.TamilMaanilaCongress leaderGKVasan

supportedtheBillsbutaskedthegovernmenttoclearapprehensionsaboutsomeprovisions.Expressing concerns about provisions of

the Bills, TDP member KanakamedalaRavindra Kumar said, “As per the Bill, with-outpayingthemarketfee,thecorporatesec-

torwillpurchaseagricultureproduceoutsidethemarketthroughbrokersaccordingtotheprice fixed by themand required quantity...Farmerswillhavetodependonthemercyofthecorporatesector.”NCPmemberPatelsaidthatitwouldhave

been better if the government had broughttheseBillsafterdiscussionwithfarmers’lead-erssuchasSharadPawar.BSPmember SatishChandraMisrawon-

deredthatiftheBillsarehistoric,whyarefarm-ersprotestingagainstthem.Shiv Senamember SanjayRaut sought a

clarificationon the continuationofMSP sys-tem.AAP’sSanjaySinghallegedthat thegov-ernment has always tried to snatch powersfromstates.Republican Party of India leader and

Minister of State for Social Justice &Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said hispartysupportsthelegislation.


THETRSandtheBJD,whichhaveoftensidedwiththegovernmentandbackeditoncrucialbills, sprangasurpriseonSunday.While the TRS opposed the farm Bills,

calling thema“directbrutalassault”ontherightsof statesandtheConstitution,theBJDdemandedthattheybesenttoaselectcom-mittee. YSCRP, another party which hasbacked the government on key legislationearlier, backed theBills.TRSMPKKeshavaRaoaccused thegov-

ernmentof havingchanged the“verychar-acter”of thecountry.“Acountrywhosecul-ture is agriculture is now being sold to acorporate... …you are saying that freedomto sell is given to farmers. The freedom tosell is given, freedom to fix the price is notgiventofarmers…Doyouthinkthathewillgo and sit with traders on equal terms andwillhavethesamelevel-playingfieldascor-porate in fixingup theprices?”“I would treat this Bill as a direct brutal

assault on the rights of States and theConstitutionas such,”he said.BJD’sAmarPatnaik said there are struc-

tural issues in Indian agriculture whereabout 63 per cent farmers are small andmarginaland86perof thelandholdingsarewith small andmarginal farmers. Arguingthatbuyers arekey to theagriculturalmar-ket, he said “…Iamnot sure if theBill is go-ing to bring buyers into themarket whichanyway is not happening and therefore,

there is apossibilityof cartelisation.”“Thesmall andmarginal farmersdonot

even have the opportunity to get a mini-mum support price. So, is the Bill only forthe big traders? It is a commerce and tradeorientedBill?...There isahugemiscommu-nication in the field, particularly in thefarmer’s procurement areas. So, I wouldstrongly urge the Government to considersending these two Bills to the SelectCommittee…,”he said.YSRCP’s V Vijayasai Reddy backed the

Bill. He said by allowing contract farming,thefarmerisassuredof thesalepriceforhisproduceat apredetermined rate.“Secondly,theBill freesfarmersfromthe

coercion of the licensedmiddlemen as thefarmers could till now sell only to the li-censed middlemen and the middlemenfound it easy to form cartels and controlthese markets and offer low prices to thefarmers.... This ends the monopoly of theAPMCsystem,”he said.Hitting out at the Congress, he said the

“hypocrisy” of the Congress is clear as itsmanifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha electionshad promised that if voted to power, itwould repeal the Agricultural ProduceMarketCommitteesAct.“This iswhatexactly theGovernment is

doingnow.Whatisthishypocrisy?Whyarethey opposing this Bill? There is no reasonfor the Congress Party to oppose this Bill.Theirobjective isonlyone….todayall thosewho support the Bills are pro-farmers andthose against it are pro-middlemen. Theyarepro-middlemen,”he said.

If govt had the numbers, why didn’tthey allow the vote to happen: Derek

Protestingoppositionmembers inthewellof theHouseonSunday.PTI

What happenedin RS shameful,says RajnathLIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

FOLLOWING THE Opposition’s uproar inParliamentonSundayaccusing theCentreofbeing“anti-farmer” for itsmovetopushcon-tentious farmBills, the government and theruling BJP asserted that the Bills would “in-crease the incomeof farmers and free themfromtheclutchesofmiddlemen”.The government also reiterated that

MinimumSupport Price (MSP) and APMCyardswouldremaininplace.WhileDefenceMinisterRajnathSinghad-

dressedapress conference, alongwith six ofhisCabinetcolleagues,toreassurefarmers,BJPpresidentJPNaddacriticisedtheCongressandotherOppositionpartiesandsaidthenewleg-islationwould“doublefarmers' incomes”.Condemning the stir , Singh said, “What

happenedintheRajyaSabhatoday(Sunday)isunfortunate, saddening and shameful.” Headded,“Oppositionistryingtomisleadfarm-ers and there is amisinformation campaignwhichisnotagoodsignofhealthydemocracy.”Earlier,BJPchiefNadda said:“TheMSPwas

offered to farmersbefore, is in forcenowandwill remain in force. Procurementwill con-tinue.Thesepiecesoflegislationwillplayacru-cialroleinfulfillingPMModi’svisiontodoublefarmers’ incomes...”HehitoutattheCongresssaying“Itneither

had the time, nor thewill, to help farmers.Misleadingfarmersandthepoorisanage-oldhabitoftheCongress.Farmersareawareofitsduplicityandwillnotbeswayed...”

RAJYASABHADEBATESFARMLEGISLATION

Oppn says farmBills deathwarrantsfor farmers, BJP calls thembig reform


HOURS AFTER the government pushedthrough the farmbills in Rajya Sabha amidfierce protests by theOpposition, TrinamoolCongressMPDerekO’Brien,whowasamongthosewho led the charge, said the govern-ment“bulldozed” theBillsprobablybecausebecause it did not have thenumbers as par-ties liketheBJD,TRSandtheShiromaniAkaliDalhadcomeouttoopposethelegislation.O’Briensaidhedidnot tear the rulebook

as is being saidbut added, “Iwish Ihad torntherulebookbecausetherearenorules.”Hesaidtherightofmemberstoseekvot-

ingwas“takenaway”today.Thegovernmentand theOppositionhad

been holding back-channel talks for somedays on the Bills. TheOpposition, includingtheCongressandTMC,wantedtheBillstobereferredtoaselectcommittee.TheOppositionhad conveyed to the government that itwillseek voting on statutory resolutionsmovedbyMPsdisapprovingtheBillsandthemotionsmovedbyO’Brien andDMK’s Tiruchi Siva tosendtheBills totheselectcommittee.Speaking to The Indian Express, O’Brien

saidtheOppositionwantedthediscussiontobe continuedonMondaybecause itwanteddivision, inotherwordsvoting, on the statu-toryresolutionsandmotionsforreferenceoftheBills totheselectcommittee.“Wewere going to ask for a vote on each

oneof them.Andvotingoneachoneof them

would have taken at least half an hour.BecausetheMPsaresittinginthreedifferentplaces..there are people sitting in Lok Sabhachamber, Rajya Sabha chamber and RajyaSabha galleries. Itwould have taken amini-mumtwohours,”hesaid.“Anymemberhasarighttoaskforadivi-

sion. Just a voice vote wouldn’t do.Unfortunately,thatrightwastakenawayandasmuchaswetriedandtried...they justkeptbulldozingandbulldozing.AseniormemberlikeDMK’sTiruchiSivahadtostandonhisfeettotryandsaythatIamhereandIamaskingforadivision,”O’Briensaid.“Wehadmoved the resolutions to send

theBilltoaselectcommittee.Allweaskedwasallowus our right to have our vote.Win the

voteif youhavethenumbers,”hesaid.“Did the government actually have the

numbers? If they had the numbers, theycouldhavedonethevote…Idon’tbelievethegovernmenthadthenumbers.Iftheyhadthenumberswhydidtheyhavetoputaknifeintothe stomach of parliamentary democracy?ThisistosendtheBilltoaselectcommittee.Ifthegovernmenthadthenumberswhydidn’ttheyallowthevotetohappen?”heasked.O’Briensaiditisbeingsaidthathetorethe

rulebook. “Ididnot tear therulebook.Thereis no footage. If anyone can showme thefootage, Iwill resign immediately as anMP.However, Iwish I had torn the rule bookbe-causetherearenorules.ButIdidnotteartherulebook,”hesaid.

TMCMPDerekO’Brien inParliamentonSunday.PTI

With govt on key past Bills,TRS, BJD spring a surprise

“If theyarereallyconcernedaboutfarmers, theyshouldsendthese

Bills... for scrutiny.”

AHMEDPATEL, CONGRESS

“He(PM)shouldexplainwhythishurry...”

HDDEVEGOWDA, JDS

“There isahugemiscommunication inthefield...

AMARPATNAIK, BJD

“DidanAkaliDalMinisterresignonthebasisof rumours?”

SANJAYRAUT, SHIVSENA

F R O M T H E D E B A T E

SEEKINGCLARITY

“Wehave introducednewageagricultureBills fornewgenerationfarmers.”

BHUPENDERYADAV,BJP

“Farmerswillgetbenefits fromtheseBills.Thereshouldbenopolitics...”

RAMDASATHAWALE,RPI

“Biharwasthefirststate toendAPMCsystem…itwasadenof corruption.”

RAMCHANDRAPRASADSINGH, JDU

FOR

“ThisBill... saidtobeintendedtosavefarm-ers is tosell farmers”

TIRUCHISIVA, DMK

“I request theMinister, if statementabouttheMSPis true...heshouldmoveanofficialamendment...

BINOYVISWAM,CPI

“Theyarerushingthroughthebills.”

RAMGOPALYADAV,SAMAJWADIPARTY

“It isnotgoingtostopinPunjabandHaryana.ItwillgotillBihar.”

MANOJJHA, RJD

AGAINST


INPARLIAMENTMonsoonSession


COVID-19 DEBATE IN LOK SABHA: OPPN TARGETS GOVT FOR ‘ABRUPT ANNOUNCEMENT’

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

LOKSABHASpeakerOmBirlawasinforsomeunexpected praise from theOpposition onSundayafterheobligedto itsdemandforad-journment of the House. The request wasmadeasseveralOppositionmemberswereona sit-in protest in Rajya Sabha,whichwouldhavemeantthatMPsallocatedseatsthereonaccount of social distancing protocolwouldnothavebeenabletotaketheirplaces.“Youcouldhaverejectedourdemand.But

youobligedtoitwhichshowsyourrespectfortheOppositionandyourattempts to run thishouse taking everyone along. It will berecordedinthehistoryofthishouse,”CongressleaderAdhirRanjanChowdhurysaid.BirlaadjournedtheHouseforanhourun-

til4pmduetounavailabilityof seating forallMPsamid theRajyaSabha ruckus, evenaftertheUpperHousewasadjournedataround1.30

pmafterthepassageofcontroversialfarmbills.SomeoftheRajyaSabhaMPsfromtheop-

position were sitting inside the House inprotestagainstdeputychairmanHarivansh'sdecisiontoextendthehouse,whichtheysaid,wasmadewithout taking the “sense of theHouse”.The request fromChowdhury added to

several firsts in thehistoricMonsoon sessionbeingheldamidtheCovid-19pandemic.EitherHousedoesnotdiscussthedevelop-

mentsthattakeplaceintheother.Butnow,LokSabhaMPsarebeingseatedinthechamberoftheRajya Sabha for the first time in order tomaintainsocialdistance.WhentheLokSabhametat3pm,Congress

MPs stood up and Chowdhury asked theSpeaker to adjourn the proceedings till the“stalemate” in theRajyaSabha isended.Birlainitially saidhewould adjourn theproceed-ings if both the chamber and the galleries oftheLokSabhaarefull.ButuponChowdhury’sinsistence,headjournedproceedingstill4pm.

PM prepared the nation for lockdown through Janata Curfew: MinisterDEEPTIMANTIWARY,LIZMATHEW&RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

HEALTH MINISTER Harsh Vardhan onSunday told Lok Sabha that the announce-ment of lockdown was not sudden andPrimeMinisterNarendraModihadpreparedthe nation for it through the Janata CurfewonMarch22.“BetweenMarch16and23,severalstates

had imposed lockdown. PM prepared thecountry for lockdown through the JanataCurfew. Five different studies have spokenabouthowmanylivesweresavedduetothelockdown,”hesaidinreplytoadebateonthepandemic.He also informed Lok Sabha that while

theworldwasworking on 145 vaccines forCovid, threevaccines in Indiawereatanad-vanced stage and that the governmentwasalreadyworkingonadetailedstrategyofdis-tributing and administering the vaccineonce it isout.“Thereare145vaccinecandidates in the

worldofwhich35areunderclinical trial. In

India, three vaccines are in the advancedstage.Detailed strategyof how it is going tobe administered andwhowill get it first isalso being worked. We are also studyingviruses.We have already done genome se-quencingof2,000viruses.Wearecoordinat-ingwith theWHO in all our efforts and fu-tureplanning.”On criticism of the government over a

sudden lockdown andmismanagement ofthe situation, theminister said, “If the lock-

downwasnotusedproperlyandthingswerenotmonitored, the dedicated 17,000 covidfacilities would not have come up. Todaythereare1,773labs.Thereisalabeverythreekminthecountrytoday.Wehaveconducted6.37 crore tests andonly yesterdaywehavedone12lakhtests.Wehaveachievedourtar-getsbefore time.”Hesaidthegovernmentstartedworking

fromJanuary8andadvisorieshadbeensenttoallstatesbyJanuary17.Hesaiddoctorsandparamedicshadtobetrainedwhilethepan-demicwasonandwhenreportsof thembe-ingattackedcame,thegovernmentbroughtinanordinance toprotect them.HesaidtheCentrehadprovided1.5crore

PPEs,3.5croreN95masks,30,000ventilatorsand1lakhoxygencylinderstostates.HesaidPMCaresFundhadgivenRs893croreforven-tilators and 64 lakhmigrant workers hadbeen helped through train and bus servicestoreachtheirhomesduringthe lockdown.During thedebate, theOppositioncame

downheavilyonthegovernmentforits“fail-ure to adequately recognise the scale andcomplexityof theproblem”and“theabruptannouncementof the lockdown”.

“Insteadofmature andproactive gover-nance,wehavecollectivelywitnessedafun-damental breakdown in governmentma-chinery these past fewmonths, instead ofclearly communicated protocols and com-prehensivestrategies,wehavecollectivewit-nessedanalarminglackof clarity, readinessand preparedness to tackle the virus,”CongressMPShashiTharoor said.Congress leader in the House Adhir

RanjanChowdhurysaid,“Nocountryhaslostasmanydoctors orhealthworkers as India.The government is not ready to accept thatthere is community transmission. If therewas awell laid-out strategy, wewould notsee thisday.”Quoting from Thirukkural, DMK's

Dayanidhi Maran said the King should al-ways have good advisers. “You should havestoppedhim..Butnoonehadthecouragetotell him what he was doing was notright,”hesaid.BJP’s Kirit Solanki, however, questioned

Tharoor why Rahul Gandhi did not stay inIndia for takingup issues inParliament.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

HealthMinisterHarshVardhaninLokSabhaonSunday.PTI

Oppn praise for Speaker Birla

■FormerPMHDDeveGowda,whotookoathasamemberofRajyaSabhaSunday,wasgoingtospeakwithoutamask.WhileparticipatinginthedebateonthefarmBills,DeputyChairmanHarivanshrequestedhimtoputonamaskbeforespeaking.Earlier,whenhetookoath,ChairmanVenkaiahNaiduwelcomedhimsaying, “AgoodadditiontoourHouse.”

THEPANDEMICEFFECT

NOQUESTIONHOUR:MYQUESTIONS

■ PMModi laid thefoundation stone forAIIMS at Thoppur inFebruary 2019 but nowork happened after 18months, whenwill itstart functioning?MANICKAMTAGORE,CONGRESS

House Diaries

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

II,,AAttiiqqaaBegum is legallyweddedspouseofNo:-12984411F, NKMohdSadiqGujjar presently residingatBatpora, District Kupwara. Ihave changedmyname fromRafiqeAkhter toAtiqaBegum(DoB- 12-01-1988) due tocorrection for all purposes.

0020411240-1

II,, SonuS/OChetram,R/O4Rampura Jhajjar, 123103Haryana , have changedmyname toAdityaYadav for allpurposes. 0130016963-1

IIHARMEETSINGHSETHI S/OHARDEVSINGHSETHI R/OH.NO-WZ-546, GroundFloor,Gali No-21, ShivNagar, NearJail Road, Janakpuri B-1,WestDelhi, Delhi-110058havechanged thenameofmyminor daughter JANISHASETHI aged 17 years and sheshall hereafter be knownasJANISHAKAURSETHI.

0040549175-11

II,,RRaakkeesshhKumar,S/O-DeepRam,R/O-C-124,First Floor,MillenniumApartment,Sector-18, Rohini,Delhi-110089,have changedmyname toRakeshKukreti S/ODeepRamKukreti.

0040549205-1

II,,PPuurraann SinghServiceNo.-2990456LRankNAIKS/o-Sh.Kawar SinghR/o-Village/Post-Bhatera, Tehsil/Distt.-Jhajjar(Haryana),havedeclarethat,inmyservice-recordmydaughter namewronglymentionasTanu instead,ofher correct nameTannu.In,future shewill knownasTannu for,all purposes.

0040549169-3

II,,Manveer SinghS/oGovindSingh, R/oB-267, StreetNo 8-C,Turkmirpur ExtDelhi-110094have changedmyname toBalbir Singh for all purposes.

0040548991-1

II,, Janki DeviW/oRavinderGuptaR/o FlatNumberB-6,PlotNumberB-115, ShalimarGardenExt-II, Ghaziabad, UP-201005, have changedmyname to Janki Gupta.

0070714728-1

ClassifiedsPPEERRSSOONNAALL

Dr. B.R. AMBEDKAR STATE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCESSector -56 Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali), Punjab

RREECCRRUUIITTMMEENNTT NNOOTTIICCEEWWAALLKK--IINN IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW

No. AIMS/2020/ Dated:

Online applications in the prescribed Proforma areinvited for hiring Faculty(with new selection criteria) forthe following posts:1. Retired Professors as Professors (04 posts) on

Re-employed basis.2. Associate Professors (16 posts) on deputation/

Re-employed basis.3. Assistant Professor (23 posts) on deputation basis.

The details of Application Form and selection criteria etc. areavailable on the website www.punjabmedicaleducation.org./Mohali1. Last Date of applying 24.09.2020 till 12:00 Midnight.2. Walk-In Interview will be on 26.09.2020 at 1:30 PM.

Sd/- (Dr. Manjit Kaur Mohi)Director-Principal

AIMS Medical College & Hospital, Mohali, Punjab

Mob. 9878098181, 9855200011 email- [email protected]

OFFICE OF THE SUPRINTENDING ENGINEER RURAL ENGINEERINGDEPARTMENT,

ALIGARH CIRCLE ALIGARH.PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY)

Address :- DHANIPUR BLOCK ROAD NEAR CANARA BANK TRAINING CENTER,DHANIPUR, ALIGARH.

Letter NO: 528 /RED/Tender/PIU-Etah /File No Lekha- 03/ Bond Clerk/2020-21 dated:16-09-2020E-Procurement Notice-2

1. The Superintending Engineer, Rural Engineering Department, Circle, Aligarh on behalf of Governor ofUttar Pradesh invites the Percentage rate bids in electronic tendering system for Renewal of roadsconstructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the district of Etah for Groups No. UP21/06R, including their after maintenance for five years. The eligible and approved Contractorsregistered with UP PWD/UP RED, in appropriate class (A,or B as per limit) or equivalent category inCPWD/ MES/ P&T/ Railways and other State Govt. and Central Govt. Departments.

2. Date of release of Invitation for Bids through e-procurement 22/09/20203. Availability of Bid Documents and mode of submission:a. The bid document shall be available online from 22/09/2020 to 13/10/2020 and should be submitted

online in http://pmgsytendersup.gov.inb. The bidder would be required to register in the web-site which is free of cost. For submission of the

bids, the bidder is required to have Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from one of the authorizedCertifying Authorities.

c. The bidders are required to submit ,(1) Original demand draft towards the cost of bid document ,(2) Original bid security in approved form and(3) Original affidavit regarding correctness of information furnished with bid document as per provisionsof Clause 4.4 B (ii) of ITB with Superintending Engineer, Rural Engineering Department, Circle, Aligarh,on a date not later than a working day after the last date and time for receipt of bids through e-procurement of the Bid, either by registered post or by hand, failing which the bids shall be declarednon-responsive. Bidder shall write only the bid-id-number (generated through e-tendering web site onsubmission of bid on-line) on the envelop containing the documents mentioned above in para 3-c andthe package number for which they have bid. Bidder SHALL NOT WRITE their own names or name oftheir firm on this envelop in order to ensure confidentiality of the bid.

d. Last Date/ Time for receipt of bids through e-procurement: 13/10/2020 upto 12:00 Noon and thetechnical qualification part of the bid shall be opened the same day from 1:00 PM in the Office ofSuperintending Engineer, Rural Engineering Department, Circle, Aligarh. For further details please logon to http://pmgsytendersup.gov.in

Sd/-Superintending Engineer,

Rural Engineering Department,Aligarh,Circle, Aligarh

UPID-155198 Dt. 19.09.2020www.upgov.nic.in

CORRIGENDUMPublic Auction Notice

It is for the information of general public that thevehicle bearing registration no. DL01LP5775 belongs toSh. Mahesh Chand S/o Sh. Bharat Singh H.No. 202/3Nurses Complex, Shri Niwaspuri, New Delhi and goodsloaded in it i.e. Mens round neck cotton T-shirt, Quantity-19200 will be put to public auction on 29.09.2020,Tuesday at 12 PM in the O/o Dy. Excise & TaxationCommissioner, Bikrikar Bhawan (Excise & TaxationOffice), Near Sports Complex, Faridabad by the order ofthe Collector-Cum-Dy. Excise & Taxation Commissioner,Faridabad (West) u/s 79 of the Goods and Service TaxAct 2017. The details of conveyance and goods are asmentioned below:-1. Conveyance- Registration No. DL01LP5775 Closed

body Eicher Centar Mfg. EicherMotors Limited Engine No.E483CDDE531890 Chassis No. MC263ERCOBE224407 Model-2011

2. Goods- Mens round neck cotton T-shirt HSNCode-61091000 Quantity-19200Pieces Value of Goods- 19682880

You all are cordially invited in the auction.Terms & Conditions:-The successful bidder has to deposit 25% on the spot onacceptance and remaining amount i.e. 75% in sevendays.After total payment the ownership will be transferred bythe competent authority and the necessary certificate willbe issued.

Sd/-Proper Officer (GST)-Cum-Excise & Taxation Officer,

Faridabad (West)82901/HRY

IItt is notified for the informationthatmyOriginal Grade sheetcumcertificate of performanceofmainSecondary schoolExaminationof year 2012 andRoll no. 5119435 issuedbyCBSEhasbeenactually lost. Name:SANAURRAHMANAddress: B-149, First floor, ZAIDI GALI, GALINO. 9,MANDAWALI FAZALPUR,DELHI-110092.Mobile:8510088299. 0040549138-1

IItt is notified thatmyOriginalSchoolMarksheet andAllPassingCertificate of PoorvMadhyamaDvitiyaVarsh , 2006Roll No. 300808andUttarMadhyamaDvitiyaVarsh, 2008Roll No. 560762 issuedbyUPMSSPhasbeen lost. RajSinghRajput, FIRNo.584628/2020Address -C-2/6 ,Sector-16 , Rohini, Delhi-110089,return if found. 0040549173-1

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

CONDOLENCE NOTESASEXTERNALAffairsMinisterSJaishankarSaturdayinformedthathismotherSulochanaSubrahmanyamhadpassedaway,condolence messages poured in from all over the world.Prominent among themwere from IranianForeignministerJavad Zarif, Afghanistan leader Abdullah Abdullah and SriLankan Sports and Youth Affairsminister Namal Rajapaksaamongothers.

CAUGHT UNAWARESAMIDTHEunrulyscenesinRajyaSabha,theaudiofeedonthelive telecast snapped.While thevideo feedwason, thecam-eraswere showing onlyDeputy ChairmanHarivansh. Someof theMPs–atleasttwofromtheTMC—realisedthatanddidtheunthinkable.Theytookouttheirphonesandstartedvideorecording. So by the end of the day, thereweremany videoclips ofwhat transpired. One showedmarshals liftingAAP’sSanjay Singh, presumably after he climbed on the SecretaryGeneral’sTable.OneclipshowedanMPpushingaparliamen-tarysecuritystaffandTMC’sDerekO’Brienstoppinghimandoneshowedhowthesecuritystaff createdahumanwallbe-tweentheoppositionandtheChairman’spodium.

VISA DENIEDPAKISTAN HAS denied visa to Indian diplomat JayantKhobragade,whowasproposedasthenextactingheadoftheIndianmissioninIslamabad,onthegroundthatheistoosen-iorforthepost.KhobragadehasearlierservedinIslamabadasapolitical counsellor. This refusal is seenasanewflashpointbetweenthe twocountries.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGANDHINAGAR,SEPTEMBER20

ONTHEeveof thefive-daymonsoonsessionof theGujaratAssembly,fourMLAs–oneoftherulingBJPandthreeof theOppositionCongress–testedpos-itiveforCovid-19duringthemandatorytestingforthesessiononSunday.Followingthis,thefourMLAswill not be able to attend the session that is beingheldwith several precautionarymeasures put inplaceby theSpeaker.According to the Chief Whip of Congress

LegislativeParty,AshwinKotwal,thethreeCongressMLAs who tested positive for Covid-19 areNathabhai Patel fromDhanera, Punabhai GamitfromVyara andVirji Thummar fromLathi. Kotwaladded that two other CongressMLAs – JashubhaiPatel from Bayad and Kalubhai Dabhi fromKapadvanj–hadalsorecentlytestedCovid-19pos-itive in their respective constituencies, followingwhichthey,too,willnotbeabletoattendthemon-soonsession.BJPMLAsKanuPatelfromSanandconstituency

alsotestedpositiveforcoronavirusonSunday,saidBJPChiefWhipPankajDesai

New Delhi: The ElectionCommissionwill host an inter-nationalwebinaronMondayonthe challenges of conductingelections amid the Covid-19pandemic.The webinar is expected to

be attended by 121 delegatesfrom45countries, .ECishostingthe event on the completion ofitsone-yearchairmanshipof theAssociation of World ElectionBodies.Presentations will bemade

byby Fiji, theRepublic of Korea,Mongolia, Taiwan, SouthAfrica,Indonesia, Bangladesh, andMalawi,besides India. ENS

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER21

THE CENTRE Sunday told LokSabha that the absence of 4Gnetwork in Kashmirwas not animpediment to e-learning as allsuch apps of the governmentwereaccessibleon2Gnetwork.Minister of State (Home) G

Kishan Reddy said in awrittenreply: “The 2Gmobile internetspeed is not an impediment incovid controlmeasures includ-ing dissemination of informa-tiontothegeneralpublicaswellashealthworkers.Also,e-learn-ingappsandeducation/e-learn-ingwebsitesof theGovernmentof India/Governmentof J&Kareaccessible over 2G internet fordownloadinge-booksandotherstudymaterial.”Reddy also said the lack of

high-speed internetwas not anobstacleintheadministrationofjustice.

Domicile certificatesIn a reply to another ques-

tion, Reddy said a total of21,13,879 people have appliedfordomicilecertificatesinJ&Kofwhom16,79,520 have alreadybeengranted thesame.

PROTESTSAGAINSTFARMBILLS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER20

THESHIROMANIAkalDal,acon-stituent of the NDA, Sundayurged President Ram NathKovind not to give his assent tothe farm Bills passed by RajyaSabha, asking him to returnthemtoParliamentforreconsid-eration.“Democracyisnotaboutma-

joritarian oppression but aboutconsultation, conciliation andconsensus.All threedemocraticvirtueswere ignored in today’sproceedings.Thisdistortioncanonly be corrected with aPresidential intervention,” SADchiefSukhbirSinghBadalsaidinaplea to thePresident.“Please stand by the belea-

gueredandtoilingfarmers,farmlabour,mandi labour andDalitsin their hour of need. They arefacing exploitation and look uptoyoutoexerciseyourdiscretionas the highest executive in thecountry and come to their res-cue bynot signing these Bills sothat they do not acquire the fi-nalityof anAct, "hesaid.

Badaladdedthat“failingthis,the poor and the beleagueredclasses and their future genera-tionswillnever forgiveus”.

Will take BJP, allies tocourt: AmarinderThePunjabgovernmentwill

taketheBJPanditsallies, includ-ing the Shiromani Akali Dal, tothe court over the “unconstitu-tional, undemocratic and anti-farmer”lawsof theCentre,ChiefMinister Capt Amarinder SinghSundaysaidandvowed“tofighttill his last breath to protect theinterestsof thestate's farmers”.“Wewillmovethecourtand

fight the draconian legislationsassoonastheygetthepresiden-tial nod and become the law oftheland,”theChiefMinistersaid.Amarinder expressed shock

at the way the BJP-led Uniongovernment “brute-forced” theBills throughtheHouse.


DESCRIBING THE farm Billspassed in Rajya Sabha as “anti-farmer”, Congress said Sundaywouldberememberedasablackday for democracy. The party isnowplanningtolaunchprotestsacross thecountry.A high-level committeewill

meetallAICCgeneralsecretariesandstatein-chargesonMondayto finalize the plan for a nation-wideagitation.PartychiefSoniaGandhiisnowabroadforamed-ical check-up.The Congress hit out at the

government for pushingthrough the Bills amid stormyscenes. “Today’s entire episodewasaconspiracybuiltbytheBJPleadership.Theywantedtobull-doze these anti-farmer lawswithoutanydelay.TheCongressandtheotheroppositionpartiesarenotgoingtoleavethisissue,”said AICC general secretary incharge of organization K CVenugopal.


INDIAHASprovideda$250-mil-liongranttotheMaldivestohelpit mitigate the Covid-19 pan-demic'sdevastatingeffectonitstourism-based economy. Thesum, around Rs 1,825 crore asper the current exchange rate,wasprovidedviaTreasuryBondsale to State Bank of India (SBI),Male with a tenure of 10 yearsfor repayment, the Indian em-bassy inMalesaidSunday.This came after a request by

Maldives President IbrahimMohamed Solih to PrimeMinisterNarendraModi.“TheIndia-Maldivespartner-

ship is unique and theCovid-19pandemic has highlighted this.India will continue to stand bythe people and Government ofMaldives during these difficulttimes,” the embassy said in astatement. A handover cere-monywas held at theMaldivesForeignMinistryonSunday.Indiahadprovided substan-

tial assistance to theMaldivesduring thepandemic.A team of doctors and spe-

cialists visited the country inMarch toassist inCovid-19pre-paredness.Aconsignmentof5.5tonnes of essential medicineswas donated in April, anotherconsignment of 6.2 tonnes ofmedicines was airlifted fromfour Indian cities to Male, and

580 tonnesof foodaidwaspro-vided inMay.India also lifted export re-

strictions onmedical consum-ables,respiratoryapparatus,andtesting kits and reagentsthroughoutthepandemictoas-sistMaldivesinitsbattleagainstCovid-19.On the request of the

Maldivesgovernment,Indiawillalsosenddoctorsandnursesre-cruitedonshort-termcontractsto reinforce itshealthsystem.NeezaImad,MinisterofState

for Economic Development ofMaldives,hassaidthatCovid-19has had a “devastating impact”on the country’s economy, par-ticularlytoSMEsthataccountformostof thetourism-relatedem-ployment.Tourismconstitutesathird of theMaldives’ nationalrevenue. The InternationalMonetary Fund has projectedthat thecountry’seconomywillcontractby8.1percent in2020.Maldives Foreign Minister

AbdullaShahid,FinanceMinisterIbrahim Ameer, HighCommissioner Sunjay Sudhirand CEO, SBI, Male BharatMishrawerepresentatthehan-doverceremony.

LALMANIVERMADEHRADUN,SEPTEMBER20

THEUTTARAKHANDAssembly'sBusiness Advisory CommitteeSundaydecidedtocutdowntheduration of the forthcomingMonsoonSessiontoonedayandremove theQuestionHour. ThiscameasseveralMLAs, includingthe Speaker and Leader ofOpposition, tested positive forCovid-19,Speaker Prem Chand

Aggarwal tested positive justhours before the BAC and all-party meetings on Sunday. Hehas isolatedhimself.The state cabinet hadearlier

proposed a three-day sessionfromSeptember23.Leader of Opposition Indira

Hridayesh tested positive onSaturday. CongressMLAHarishSingh, too,has testedpositive.

SukhbirBadal

Black day fordemocracy, willhit streets acrossnation: Congress

EC webinar onpolls amid Covid

Assembly sessionduration reduced,Question Hour out

UTTARAKHAND

4 MLAs test positiveon eve of session

GUJARAT

DEEPTIMANTIWARY&LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THEOPPOSITIONonSundayop-posed the Foreign ContributionRegulation (Amendment)(FCRA) Bill to incorporatemorestringentmeasuresforreceivingforeign funds, alleging that it ispart of the government’s “at-tempts to target its critics”.The government, which in-

troducedtheBill inLokSabhaonSunday, maintained that theproposedchangesinthelegisla-tion were not to take anyone’srights.CongressleaderinLokSabha

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury andhis party colleague ManishTewarisaidBillwouldgivemorepowers to the government to“muzzle the voices of dissent”.Alleging that the treasurybenches were trying tomalignfirst PrimeMinister JawaharlalNehru, Chowdhury said, “If youcan prove that Nehru had doneany financial irregularitieswiththePMReliefFund,Iamreadytogiveupmypost.”Opposing the clause in Bill

thatmakesAadhaarmandatory,he cited a Supreme Court judg-

ment that prevents the govern-ment fromdoingso.AccordingtoTewari,thesitu-

ationinwhichtheActwasmadein 2011 has changed. “Nowwehaveseentheprovisions...(have)increasingly been used againstthose who speak against thegovernment,”hesaid.TMC’s Sougata Ray termed

the Bill as the “Big Brotherwatching” and said the govern-ment is trying to block foreigncontributionstoanumberofso-cial organisations, includingthosewhoworkintribalandru-ral areas.Minister of State for Home

Affairs Nityanand Rai saidclausesintheBillwerenotnotin

violation of the Supreme Courtjudgment.The Bill to amend the FCRA

proposes to include“public ser-vants”intheprohibitedcategoryfor accepting foreign contribu-tion,decreaseadministrativeex-pensesthroughforeignfundsbyan organisation to 20 per centfrom50%earlier,makeAadhaarmandatory for registration andgivegovernmentpowerstostoputilisationof foreignfundsbyanorganisation through a “sum-maryenquiry”.The Foreign Contribution

Regulation (Amendment) Bill2020saystheneedtostrengthentheActhasarisenduetoseveralorganisations misutilising or

misappropriating the funds.“The annual inflow of for-

eign contribution has almostdoubled between the years2010and2019,butmanyrecip-ients of foreign contributionhave not utilised the same forthe purpose for which theywere registered or grantedpriorpermissionunder thesaidAct. Many of them were alsofoundwanting in ensuring ba-

sic statutory compliances suchas submission of annual re-turns and maintenance ofproperaccounts.Thishas ledtoa situation where the CentralGovernmenthad tocancel cer-tificatesof registrationofmorethan19,000recipientorganisa-tions, including non-Governmental organisations,during the period between2011 and 2019,” says the Bill’sstatement of objects and rea-sons.“The criminal investigations

also had to be initiated againstdozens of such non-Governmental organisationswhichindulgedinoutrightmis-appropriationormis-utilisationof foreigncontribution,” itadds.The government has said

there isaneedtostreamlinetheprovisions of the Act by“strengthening the compliancemechanism, enhancing trans-parency and accountability inthereceiptandutilisationof for-eign contributionworth thou-sands of crores of rupees everyyear and facilitating genuinenon-Governmental organisa-tions or associations who areworking for the welfare of thesociety”. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

E●EXPLAINED

Consistentcrackdownon‘erring’NGOs

THEFCRA(Amendment)Bill seeking tomake theActmorestringent is in linewith thegovernment’s consistent crack-downon“erring”NGOs. In its first term,a reportby theIntelligenceBureauhadsaid thatactionsofNGOshad ledtoa lossof 3percentofGDP.Since then, therehavebeenactions initiatedby thegovernmentagainst severalNGOs,including top internationalNGOssuchasFordFoundationandAmnesty International.

Atractorrallybyprotesting farmersat thePunjab-HaryanabordernearAmbalaonSunday. JasbirMalhi

■ The Lok Sabha SundaypassedtheRashtriyaRakshaUniversity Bill, 2020whichproposestoestablishamulti-disciplinaryuniversitytoen-hance the capability of thesecurity establishment.AnnouncedearlierbyHomeMinisterAmitShah, theuni-versity will come up inGujarat.■ It also passed a bill toamend the FactoringRegulation Act, seeking tohelp micro, small andmediumenterprisesbypro-vidingadditionalavenuesforgettingcredit facility.

OTHERBILLS PASSEDIN LOKSABHA

Bill to amend FCRA is an attempt bygovernment to target critics: Oppn

2G no bar toe-learning inJ&K: Govt toLok Sabha

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,SEPT20

Protesting against the agri Bills,farmers Sunday blocked roadsand highways in Haryana andburnt effigies of PrimeMinisterNarendraModi inPunjab.Onacallfrom17farmunions

inHaryana,farmersblockedpor-tions of roads and highways atseveralplacesbetween12and3pm. Arhtiyas (commission

agentsatmandis) too joined in.Heavy police force was de-

ployed on the highways. TherewasnoblockadeontheAmbala-Delhi road. In Ambala, HaryanaPolice used a water cannon attheborder tostopPunjabYouthCongressworkersfromenteringthe district and travelling toDelhi aspartof a “tractor rally”.Farmers at several places in

PunjabburnteffigiesandcopiesoftheBills,claimingthelawswilldestroy their livelihood.

Haryana roads blocked,effigies burnt in Punjab Theaidwasprovided

afterarequestbytheMaldivesPresidenttoPMNarendraModi.

Don’t sign farm Bills,Sukhbir tells President

India extends grantof $250-million toCovid-hit Maldives

New Delhi

JOHNSONTABENGALURU,SEPT20

AUS court has lifted a stay im-posedlastJulyonproceedingsinacasewhereBengaluru-basedsta-rt-upDevasMultimediaLtd sou-ght compensation to the tuneof$1.1billion fromthe ISRO’s com-mercialarmAntrixCorporationforcancellingasatellitedealin2011.IntheSeptember17order,the

federal court for the WesternDistrict ofWashingtonhas citedlackof progress in the resolutionof disputes pending in Indiancourts as a reason for lifting thestay imposedon July10, 2019onDevas’sdemandforconfirmationofthecompensationaward.In itspetition in theUScourt,

Devas has sought to enforce acompensation awardof $ 563.4million and interestmadebyanInternationalChamberofComm-ercearbitrationcourt in2015 forcancellation of the satellite dealinked in 2005. TheUS court de-cidedtoproceedwithhearingthepleaafterobservingthat“sincethestaywas enteredmore thanoneyearago,therehavebeennonewdevelopmentsintheIndiancourtsonthejurisdictionalissueoronthemeritsoftheproceedings”.In its July10, 2019 stayorder,

imposedtillApril15,2020toallowlegal proceedings to conclude inIndia,theUScourthadexemptedAntrix fromdepositing thecom-pensationbutobservedthatitisli-able under US laws to face thecompensationconfirmationcase.In its September17order, the

UScourthassaidit“givesconsid-erableweighttotheprotractedna-tureofthiscase—thatmorethanfive years havepassed since theAwardwasissued,andnearlytenyearshavepassed since the con-tract dispute arose”. It hasnotedthatproceedingsrelatedtoDevas

MultimediaversusAntrixCorpor-ationcompensationdisputehaveproceeded inFrance, theNether-lands,Switzerland,andtheUnitedKingdom“despitetheongoingju-risdictionaldisputein India”.USdistrictjudgeThomasSZilly

haspostedthecaseforOctober14toheararguments.Devashas been trying to get

AntrixCorporationtopaythecom-pensationplusinterestawardedbyan ICC tribunalbygetting the tri-bunal’sordersconfirmedininter-nationalcourts liketheUSfederalcourt. Thecase in theUShaspro-ceededevenasCBIandEDarepur-suingcasesagainstDevasandfor-mer ISROofficials in India overalleged irregularities in the2005deal. The agreement betweenDevasandAntrixCorporationwasannulledbytheUPAgovernmentin2011againstthebackdropofthe2Gcaseandallegationsofasweet-heart deal in the allocationof S-bandspectrumtoDevas. AftertheNDAcametopower, theCBIwasaskedtoprobethe2005deal.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com


SUDARSHANNEWS,thechannelwhose “UPSC jihad” showwasstayed by the Supreme CourtSunday,saiditwillabidebyallthelawswhile airing the rest of theepisodes andpointed out that aTVchannel had in thepast airedshowson“Hinduterror”.Inanadditionalaffidavitfiled

in the top court, the channel’sEditor-In-Chief SureshChavhanke said, “I will strictlycomplywith all lawswhile air-ing the remaining episodes of

‘Bindas Bol’ program series onthe subject of UPSC Jihad. In theaffidavit, Chavhanke furtherstated that he will abide andcomply by the programmingcode and directions of theMinistry of Information andBroadcastingstrictly.The Supreme Court on

September 15 stayed thebroad-castof theremainingepisodesofthe showsaying, “prima facie, itappears...that the object, intentandpurposeoftheprogrammeistovilifytheMuslimcommunity...”.The court is scheduled to

hear the matter again onMonday.

EXPRESSNETWORK 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHIOFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR

LOK NAYAK HOSPITAL: NEW DELHI-110002ESTABLISHMENT-III

No. F.40/4704/E-III/LNH/2014 2226-29 Dated: 02.09.2020

ORDERWhereas, Ms.Komal Bhagat (Roll.No 02002196), Staff Nurse/Nursing Officer, ID.NO151116, has joined this Department on 01.7.2014 (F/N) and after that she was unauthorizlyabsent from his duty w.e.f 06.8.2014. Memo was issued to the official to join dutyimmediately vide no. F.40/4704/E-III/LNH/128-29 dated 8.1.2016 and Show Cause NoticeF.40/4704/E-III/LNH/2558 dated 01.6.2016 respectively.Whereas, Ms.Komal Bhagat (Roll.No 02002196) was initially appointed on 01.7.2014 andwas on probation period from 01.7.2014 to 30.6.2016. And was governed by C.C.S (TS)Rules. However, she did not complete her probation period.Whereas, Memos dated 8.1.2016 & S.C.N dated 01.6.2016 for unauthorized absente w.e.f6.8.2014 after working about one month, she has neither joined her duty nor gave anycorrespondence/information to the department.Whereas, advertisements also published in four newspapers (two in english & two in hindion dated 04/8/2020 i.e The Hindu & The Indian Express in English and Rashtriya Sahara& Amar Ujala in Hindi and directing her to join duty within 15 days from the publication dateof advertisements but she neither joined nor made any correspondence till date.Whereas, on account of the above said facts & circumstances, it is apparent thatMs.Komal Bhagat (Roll. No 02002196) had remained unauthorized absent from dutyduring the period of her probation when Central Civil Services (Temporary Services) Rule1965 had been in force.Now, therefore taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case, I, Dr.Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, Lok Nayak Hospital after having consciously gonethrough the all the records and reaches the conclusion that temporary service of Ms.Komalbhagat (Roll. No 02002196), Staff Nurse/Nursing Officer to be terminated.In pursuance of sub-rule (1) of rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Temporary Services)Rule 1965, I, Dr. Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, LNH hereby give notice to Ms.KomalBhagat (Roll.No 02002196), ID.NO 151116, that her services shall be stand terminatedwith effect from date of expiry of a period of one month from the dated on which this noticeis served on or, as the case may be tendered to her.

Sd/-(Dr. Suresh Kumar)

DIP/Shabdarth/0308/20-21 Medical Director, LNH Hospital

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHIOFFICE OF THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR

LOK NAYAK HOSPITAL: NEW DELHI-110002ESTABLISHMENT-III

No. F.40/E-III/LNH/2222-25 Dated: 02.09.2020

ORDERWhereas, Smt. Swati Singh (Roll.No 02025756), Staff Nurse/Nursing Officer has joinedthis Department on 02.07.2019 (F/N) and after that she was unauthorizly absent from herduty w.e.f 05.07.2019. Show Cause Notice & final Notice was issued to the official to joinduty immediately vide no. F.40/E-III/LNH/3119 dated 29.08.2019 and F.40/E-III/LNH/4769-70 dated 20.11.2019 respectively.Whereas, Smt. Swati Singh was initially appointed on 02.07.2019 and was on probationperiod from 02.07.2019 to 01.07.2021 and was governed by C.C.S (TS) Rules. However,she did not complete her probation period.Whereas, Show cause notice dated 29.08.2019 & final Notice dated 20.11.2019 forunauthorized absente w.e.f 05.07.2019 after working about three days, she has neitherjoined her duty nor gave any correspondence/information to the department.Whereas, advertisements also published in four newspapers (two in english & two in hindi)on dated 04/08/2020 i.e The Hindu & The Indian Express in English and Rashtriya Sahara&. Amar Ujala in Hindi and directing her to join duty within 15 days from the publicationdate of advertisements but she neither joined nor made any correspondence till date.Whereas, on account of the above said facts & circumstances, it is apparent that Smt,Swati Singh had remained unauthorized absent from duty during the period of herprobation when Central Civil Services (Temporary Services) Rule 1965 had been in force.Now, therefore taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case I, Dr. SureshKumar, Medical Director, Lok Nayak Hospital after having consciously gone through the allthe records and reaches the conclusion that temporary service of Smt. Swati Singh(Roll.No. 02025756), Staff Nurse/Nursing Officer to be terminated.In pursuance of sub-rule (1) of rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Temporary Services)Rule 1965, I, Dr. Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, LNH hereby give notice to Smt. SwatiSingh (Roll. No. 02025756) that her services shall be stand terminated with effect fromdate of expiry of a period of one month from the dated on which this notice is served onor, as the case may be tendered to her.

Sd/-(Dr. Suresh Kumar)

DIP/Shabdharth/0307/20-21 Medical Director, LNH Hospital

( )

KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

MORETHANaweekafterIndianand Chinese foreign ministersreached an agreement inMoscow on a five-point ap-proach to resolve the militarystandoff in eastern Ladakh, thesixth round of the CorpsCommander-level talks will beheldonMondaymorning.Sourcesinthedefenceestab-

lishment confirmed that thedelegationwill, forthefirsttimesinceMay, includeajointsecre-tary-level officer from theMinistry of External Affairs, asreported by The Indian ExpressonSeptember17.Aseniorgovernmentofficial

had told The Indian Express lastweek that the decision to in-clude an official from theMEAwasbeingconsideredbythetopbrass.The last twomeetings, since

mid-July, had failed to achieveany breakthrough in resolivingthe situation.The two sides have been

stuck in a stalemate since earlyJuly when troops from bothsides hadmovedback from thefriction points in the region.While Chinese troops hadmoved back to their side of theLAC from Patrolling Point 14(PP14) inGalwanValley,asmallgroup continued to remain onthe Indian side of the LAC atPP15 in Hot Springs and PP17AinGograPost area.Also, though the Chinese

troopshadmovedfromthebaseof Finger 4 to Finger 5 on thenorthbankofPangongTso,theydidnotvacatetheFinger4ridge-line, which is 8 km west ofFinger8, the feature thatmarkstheLACaccording to India.Talks between XIV Corps

Commander Lieutenant

GeneralHarinderSinghandhiscounterpartMajor General LiuLin, Commander of the SouthXinjiangMilitaryRegion, failedto achieve a breakthroughin July.Seniorsourcesinthesecurity

establishmentsaidtherewasre-alisationearlierthattheChinesewas trying to delay discussionsinthesituation,butthatchangedtowardstheendofAugustwhenIndian troops outmanoueveredChinese soldiers to occupy keyheights in theChushul sub-sec-tor ineasternLadakh.ThenewIndianpositionson

theheightsallowthemtodom-inate the area, offering them aclear view of the strategically-important Spanggur Gap andtheChinesegarrisonatMoldo.

Raipur: With a jump of over20,000 Covid-19 cases over thepastweekinthestate,severaldis-tricts including Raipur have an-nouncedaweek-long lockdownfromMonday. The state capitalhasalsobeendeclaredacontain-mentzonetillSeptember28.The number of cases in the

staterosefromaround63,000onSept13toover86,000onSept20.In view of the sharp rise in

cases,CollectorsofRaipur,Bilaspur,Durg,Raigarh,and6otherdistrictsdecided to impose a completelockdown. Few districts likeJanjgir-Champahavedeclaredpar-tiallockdowns.Accordingtoanor-derpassed forRaipur, vehiclesofthose found violating the lock-downwill be confiscated. Onlypharmacieswillbeallowedtostayopen.Storessellingmilkcanoper-atefortwohours.ENS

SAGARRAJPUTMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER20

ASECOND-YEARLLB student, caught at a policenakabandiinWadalafornotwearingamask,wasbookedfor“spying”undertheOfficialSecretsActafterhetriedtovideographthepolicestationonhismobilephone,police said.ConstableShantaramKhade,acomplainantin

thecase,inhisstatementtopolice,saidablockadehadbeenputupatWadalabridgetochecktrafficviolators and those drivingwithout amask onSeptember 17. Around 4pm, oneMukesh Singh(31), whowas riding amotorcyclewithManojShukla (30) as pillion,was stopped at the naka-bandifornotwearingafacemask.Singhwasalsofounddrivingwithoutalicenseonhim,policesaid.Singhallegedlymisbehavedwiththeon-duty

policepersonnelatthenakabandiandwastakentoWadalapolicestationforregistrationofacaseon charges of flouting lockdown norms, policesaid. At theWadala police station, police added,Singh tried to videograph the stationhouse andthepolicepersonnelonhismobilephone.Senior Inspector Shahaji ShindeofWadala

police station said as Singhwas caught shoot-ing a video and his cell phonewas seized anda section of Official Secrets Act was added tothe FIR.

Ten Chhattisgarh districts to gounder lockdown from today

Jaipur:Amidrisingcasesofcoro-navirus, the Rajasthan govern-ment has imposed prohibitoryordersunderCrPC144in11dis-trict headquarters, includingstatecapital Jaipur.The decisionwas taken at a

Covid reviewmeetingchairedbyChiefMinisterAshokGehlot lateonSaturday. Asper theorders, agatheringofmore than fiveper-sonshasbeenrestrictedatpublic

places indistrictheadquartersofJaipur,Jodhpur,Kota,Ajmer,Alwar,Bhilwara,Bhilwara,Udaipur,Sikar,Pali andNagaur. The concerneddistrictcollectorsweredirectedtoissueordersinthisregard.Inthemeeting,itwasalsode-

cided to prohibit social/politi-cal/sports/entertainment/aca-demic/cultural and religiousfunctionsandcongregations tillOctober31.ENS

Rajasthan imposes Section 144 in11 district HQs including Jaipur

Caught for Covidcurbs violation,student bookedunder OSA

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPTEMBER20

THENATIONALInvestigationAgency,whichar-restedninesuspectedalQaedaoperatives fromWest Bengal and Kerala, Sunday told a courtthat others too are also involved in the allegedconspiracy tocarryout terror strikesacross thecountry.The three persons arrested from Kerala's

Ernakulamwereproducedbeforeamagistratecourt in thetwon,whichremandedtheminthecustody of NIA.The probe agency has to produce thembe-

fore the special NIA court in New Delhi onSeptember 22.All three arrested from Kerala——Murshid

Hassan, IyakubBiswasandMosarafHossen—aremigrantworkers fromMurshidabad.Hassan had been living with six other mi-

grantsat suburbanEloornearKochiwhileothertwowere residingat Perumbavoor, amajorhubofmigrantworkers.Hossenhasbeenlivingwithhis family for the last sevenyears.

More persons involved inal Qaeda conspiracy: NIA

Will abide by all laws, saysSudarshan TV Editor-in-chief

ThiswillbethesixthsoundofCorpsCommander-leveldiscussions.Thelasttwosessions,sincemid-July,hadfailedtoachieveabreakthrough.

202DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Andhra■TamilNadu■UttarPradesh■Delhi

7 DAYS EARLIER:

1.65NOW:

1.61

7 DAYS EARLIER:

8.45NOW:

8.48

DETECTED TODAY

92,605RECOVERED TODAY:

94,612

TOTALCASES11,88,0156,17,7765,36,4773,48,5172,42,899

DOUBLINGTIME**36.9248.8165.6938.2239.53

SURGEIN24HOURS20,5198,2185,5695,7294,071

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*1.95%1.48%1.10%1.88%1.82%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:54,00,619TESTS: 6,36,61,060 | DOUBLING RATE: 39.19**

RECOVERED:43,03,043DEATHS:86,752

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonSeptember19, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbersincludedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITY RATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

LACSTANDOFF

CorpsCommandersmeettoday,MEAofficial in India teamEXPRESSNEWSSERVICE

MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER20

ADAYafteranactoraccusedfilm-makerAnuragKashyapof sexualmisconduct,the48-year-olddirec-toronsocialmediasharedapressstatement by his lawyerwhichsaidhehasbeen"fullyadvisedofhisrightsandremediesinlawandintends to pursue them to thefullest extent". Earlierduring thedayonSunday,Kashyapinaseriesof tweetshasdenied thechange,termingit“baseless”andcallingitanattemptto“silence”him.PriyankaKhimani, Kashyap's

lawyer,inherstatementsaid:“Myclienthasbeendeeplypainedbythefalseallegationsofsexualmis-conduct thathavebeensurfacedagainst him. The allegations arecompletely false,malicious, anddishonest.”Actor PayalGhosh, in a tweet

onSaturday,saidKashyap“forcedhimself” on her and “extremelybadly”. She tagged the PrimeMinister and his office in hertweet,requestingthemtotakeac-tionagainsthim.Inaseparatevideo interview,

Ghosh—whohas acted in a fewTelugufilms,madeherHindifilmdebutwithPatelKiPunjabiShaadi(2017)— said that the incidenttookplacein2014-2015whenshehad gone to meet Kashyap forwork.Sheaddedthatafterspeak-

ing out, she has requestedMumbai'sCommissionerofPoliceandtheCentreandstategovern-mentsforprotection.Hours later, Kashyap re-

sponded in a series of tweets inHindisayingherallegationswereanattemptto“silencehim”.“Suchalongtimewasintry-

ing to silenceme. Nevermind.(But)Whileshuttingmeup,youliedsomuchthat in spiteof youbeing a woman, you draggedotherwomenalso into it. Pleasemaintainsomedignity,madam.All Iwill say is that all your alle-gations are baseless,” Kashyaptweeted.“...Ihaveneverbehavedlike this, nor do I tolerate such abehaviouratanycost,”thedirec-toradded.TakingnoteofGhosh’s accu-

sations,NationalCommissionforWomen chairperson RekhaSharma sought a detailed com-plaint fromGhosh and assuredthe 30-year-old actor that shewould look into it.A number of film personali-

tiessuchasactorsSwaraBhasker,Tisca Chopra, Taapsee Pannu,MohdZeeshanAyyub cameoutinsupportofKashyap.

UNDERTHE2005deal, ISROwas supposed to lease twocommunication satellites for12 years at a cost of Rs 167croretoDevasMultimediaLtd.The start-upwas to providemultimediaservicestomobileplatforms in India using thespace bandor S-band spec-trumtransponderson ISRO’sGSAT6and6AsatellitesbuiltforRs766crore.

Whatwasthedeal?

AnuragKashyap

Sexual misconductcharge: Kashyap saysmay take legal remedies

DEVAS-ANTRIXCASE

US court lifts stayon Devas plea forcompensation forcancelling deal

New Delhi

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

BULLY & PULPITFarmbillsusherinneededreformbutbybulldozingOpposition,governmentdoes disservicetoreformandParliament

ASTWOOFTHREEimportantfarmbillsthatseektoderegulatethesaleofagriculturalproducewerepassedinRajyaSabhaonSunday,afterallthreewereclearedbyLokSabhaearlier intheweek,thestorysofar:Scenesofuproar and chaos amid anOpposition protest inside theUpperHouse,streetagitationsbyfarmerswhoaredefyingrestrictionsimposedbythe

pandemicinPunjabandHaryana,awalkoutbythesoleministerofoneof theBJP’soldestpartners, SAD, from theNDAministry.What should have been amoment to pause andprepareformovingtowardsamuch-promisedreform,isnowonethatrangestheintendedbeneficiariesagainstit,alongsidethegovernment’spoliticalopponentsandanally.Andforthis disfigured and disfiguringmoment, the government cannot blame theOppositionalone.While the opposition partiesmay be seizing the visible unrest in sections of thefarmers toscoreapoliticalpoint, the fact is that thegovernmenthaswieldedabludgeonwhen it could have used the subtle powers of Parliament. In fact, the forcible rammingthroughofthefarmbills,thestubbornrefusaltoconcedeanyelbowroomtotheOpposition,be it a discussion, a division of votes or a reference to a select committee, underlines asoberingmessage—thisgovernmentmaybeinitssecondterm,but itdoesnotappeartohaveasyetunderstoodthe importanceofParliament,andofplayingby its rules.InParliament,andoutsideittoo, itoftenseemsthatthegovernmentbelievesthatthe

winnertakesall. Inaconstitutionaldemocracy,however,thereare,theremustbe,checksandbalances, spaces for thepoliticalopponentandrespect for theminority.Theremustbeanattempttomoderatedifferencesandforgecommonground—andthegreateronusforthisisonthegovernment.Already,amidthepandemic,parliamentaryscheduleshavebeen truncated. But if the government uses the abbreviated timeonly to push throughlegislation— be it the consequential and crucial farm bills or The Industrial RelationsCodeBill, 2020,whichcouldwaterdownthe rights andprotectionsofworkers in smallestablishments—giving short shrift to the need to listen to the suggestions of the peo-ple’s representativesoranswertheOpposition’squestions, itwouldbereducingthena-tion’s highest deliberative forum to amere clearing house. In an unprecedented pan-demic, amidaneconomicdownturn likenoother, andwith agrave face-offwithChinaontheborder, this short-circuitingof debate, anddenialof theopportunity forMPsandOpposition tohave their say, shrinks thepossibilitiesof democracy to findawayout.Of course, the farmbills do notmerit the fears they appear to have stoked. Only the

monopoly of the APMCs is sought to be dismantled, not theMSP regime. In any case,amidthepandemic,governmentwillcontinuetobetopprocurerofagriculturalproduce,thebillswill onlyput inplaceanenablingarchitecture for a latermuch-needed reform.This simplemessageneeds to be communicated. But for it to beheard out, the govern-mentwill firsthave toshowthat it iswilling to listen.

TOWARDS TOLERANCEThere isaslowbutcertainshift in theArabGulf.SouthAsiamust recogniseandsupport it

ASTHEWORLD’SJewishcommunitiescelebratedRoshHashanah,thetra-ditionalNewYear,overtheweekend,greetingscamefromanunexpectedquarter—theArabGulf.Theforeignministersof theUnitedArabEmiratesand Bahrain—which recently normalised tieswith Israel under the so-called Abraham Accords — tweeted their best wishes in Hebrew and

English.ThissimplegesturemarksanimportantmomentintheMiddleEast.Theregion’stoleranceofnon-Islamicfaithshasseenasharpdeclineinrecentdecadesamidsttheriseof radical political Islam that threatened theArabGulf kingdoms.ManyGulf rulers ap-peasedtheIslamistsbyadoptingpartoftheiragendaathome,lettingthemexportextrem-istideologytotherestof theworld,adoptinganuncompromisingattitudetowardsIsraeland lendinga religiousdimension toconflicts aroundtheworld involvingMuslims.TheArabGulf, however,hasbeguntosendaverydifferentmessage. Since thesigning

oftheAbrahamAccordslastweekinWashington,officialGulfmediahasbeenrecallingthehistoryofpeacefulcoexistencethroughthemillenniabetweentheArabsandJews.Oneofthemost significant recent statementson religious tolerance came fromthe Imamof theGrandMosqueinMecca.Earlier thismonth, ImamAbdulRahmanal-Sudaisofferedadis-courseontheIslamicteachingsthatemphasisedrespecttowardsnon-MuslimsanddweltonProphetMohammed’spositiveengagementwiththeJews.Manyhavereadthissermonas signalling Saudi rethink on tieswith Israel. Restrictions on religious freedomare thestrongest inSaudiArabia.AdefinitivechangeinSaudiArabiamaybesomedistanceaway,butthesignsaremorehopefulthanatanytimeinrecentmemory.TheslowbutcertainshifttowardsreligioustolerancehadindeedprecededtheAbraham

Accords.SaudiArabia’scrownprinceMohammedbinSalman,forexample,hastakensmallstepsathometoreducetheholdofreligiousorthodoxy.Themostvisibleexpressionof thenewthinkingwas in theUAE,wherepromoting religious tolerancehasbecomeanactivestate policy. It has allowed the construction of aHindu temple inAbuDhabi, hosted thePope,andisnowlettingtheJewspractisetheircultureandfaith.TheUAEisconstructingacomplexinAbuDhabicalledtheHouseofAbrahamthatwillhostasynagoguealongwithachurchandamosque.Inrecentdecades,fewregionshavebeenasdamagedbytheextrem-ist ideologiesemanatingoutofArabiaastheSubcontinent.Oncetheexemplarofpeacefulreligiouscoexistence,theSubcontinentisnowitselftornbyreligiousandsectarianintoler-ance. Supporting theArab turn to tolerancewill hopefully help SouthAsia to reclaim itsowntraditionof religiouscoexistenceandharmony.

VivekKatju

SearchfordurablepeaceinAfghanistanwillnotsucceedunlessallpartiesrelinquishentrenchedthinking

THEENORMITYOFthechallengesconfrontingintra-Afghan talks that commenced inDohaonAugust 12 canonlybe appreciated if theyare placed in the context of the turmoil thathascontinuedinAfghanistanforoverfourandahalf decades. For the first time, far-reachingchanges involving the polity are being at-temptedthroughdialoguewithoutthegunbe-ingthesolearbiter.Thecountryhaswitnessedtheoverthrow

of themonarchy, a nationalist dictatorship,communist rule, themujahideen era, theTaliban’s Islamic Emirate and the currentIslamic Republic. It has also experienced al-mostthreedecadesofthepresenceof foreignforcesandoutsideinterference,especiallyfromPakistan. The balance of Afghan society andpolity,shakenin1973withthemonarchy’sde-parture, has never been restored. Instead,sharpening ethnic divides, extremist ideolo-giesandtheologies,largemigrationtoforeignlands, internal displacement, spreadof nar-coticsandviolencehavebecomeendemic.Atthesametime,overthepast15years,asectionof Afghan urban youth linked to theworldthrough the socialmediawantsmore opensystemswithinanIslamicframework.Negotiators representing theTaliban and

therestof theAfghanpoliticalestablishmentandtheirmastersbearinlargeorsmallmeasu-rethepsychologicaland,insomecases,physic-alscarsofthispainfulhistory.Hence,thesearchfordurablepeaceandstabilitywillnotsucceedunlessallpartiesand,insomecasestheirforei-gnpatrons, especially Pakistan, arewilling tosubstantiallyrelinquishentrenchedthinking.If they fail todo so, the talkswill fail too. Thismayresultinacollapseofexistingpoliticalstr-uctures,splinteringoftheAfghanarmedforcesandhigherlevelsofviolenceandcriminality.Asthetalksbegin, theTalibanis inaposi-

tionofstrength.IftheKabul-basedAfghanpo-liticalclasshadsucceededinconsolidatingtherepublicandhadkepttheTalibanconfinedtoa small area, it would have had the upperhand.Thathasnotbeenso.Indeed,theTalibanwithPakistanisupporthasshownremarkableresilienceandhasgainedgreatconfidence. Ithas inflictedastrategicdefeaton theworld’spre-eminentpower.Toeffectivelytacklethem,American troopswould have had to enterPakistan territory and carry out a sustained

operation.That,noneof thethreepresidentswho had to dealwith the Taliban after 9/11werewillingtodo.While the Taliban is largely cohesive, the

Kabulpoliticalclassisnot.The2019presiden-tial electionwasdeeply flawed. Thedeclara-tionoftheincumbentpresident,AshrafGhani,asvictorwasdubious.Ghaniwasforcedtoac-cept his rival Dr Abdullah as the head of thePeace and Reconciliation Council, implyingthathewouldhavetoshareauthorityindeci-sion-making in thepeacenegotiations. Also,othermembersof theKabul teamrepresentcivil societyandotherpolitical forces includ-ingtheHizb-e-Islami.Thiswillgiveopportu-nities to theTalibanandothers to createdis-unity intheirranks.Themostsignificantissueinthesenegoti-

ationswill relate to the nature of Islam inAfghanistan. The constitution of the IslamicRepublic, adopted in 2004, beginswith theIslamicshahadaandcommitsthestatetothe“HolyreligionofIslam”.Italsoseekstoupholdtheuniversaldeclarationofhumanrights.TheTaliban acceptHanafi jurisprudence like themajorityofAfghansbutbelievethattheIslamicshariainitsextremeDeobandiinterpretationalongwithdistortedPashtunsocialcodesmustbeuncompromisingly followed. Thatmani-festsitselfintheapproachtootherfaiths,otherIslamicmazhabs,genderissues,socialconductandapparelandevenfacialhair.It is almost impossible to predict how

commongroundcanbefoundtoaccommo-datefiercelyheldbeliefsonallsidesontheis-sues of religious interpretation and socialcodes. Goodwill among the negotiators andleaders buttressedwith creative Islamic ju-risprudence and scholarship would beneeded.AtthesametimetheTalibanleader-ship and Pakistanwould be aware that de-spite its strategic defeat and desperation towithdraw,theUSretainsthecapacitytodenythem the fruits of “victory”. Also, the thirddecadeof this century innot the lastdecadeof the lastmillennium; theworld has beentransformed.Towhatextentwillallthismakethe Taliban flexible is an imponderable. TheKabulelitewouldalsohavetomakeconces-sionsonpolitical issuesandsocialcodes.However laudable itmaybe, itwouldbe

unrealistic to expect theTaliban to agree to a

ceasefirethoughtheymaycalibrateviolenceasthetalksprogress.TheTalibanwouldfearthatif cadres are not used, theymay just fritteraway. Also, Kabulwouldnot take themseri-ously if it lost theabilityto inflictdamage.Forthemovement, power sharing, especially attheCentre,whilesignificant,maynotbeasim-portant as gaining chargeof someprovinces,aprospectKabulwillbecharyabout,irrespec-tiveof thefactsontheground.At itscoretheTalibanisPushtun. Itstreat-

mentofnon-PushtunAfghanethnicitiesdur-ing its rule generatedhatredand fear amongthem.Since then ithas tried toput forwardapan-Afghanimageandhassucceededinmak-ing someheadway ina fewnon-Pushtunar-eas.However,old fearsremainstrongamongmanynon-Pushtunespecially in the cities. Itwillhavetoaddresstheseconcerns.Howis IndiaplacedinAfghanistanas this

dialoguebegins?Clearly, Indianpolicy-mak-ersrefusedtomodifytheirAfghanapproachesevenasitbecameincreasinglyevidentthattheTalibanhadgainedgroundinthecountryandwas getting international legitimacy. EvenwhiletheKabulauthoritiesweretryingtoper-suadetheTalibantothenegotiatingtable,Indiacontinued to shun it. It saw the situation inblackandwhitetermsbecauseof theTalibanconnectionanddependenceonPakistan.Thisresulted in Indiaputting itself intoacorner. Itcould have continued to strengthen its tieswithKabulandatthesametimeopenedlinkswith the Taliban. Diplomatic contradictionshave tobemanaged.All othermajor powersweredoing so. In India’s case, thiswas espe-cially needed because the Talibanwas sig-nalling that itwasnot aPakistani proxy. Thatassertionshouldhavebeentested.External AffairsMinister Jaishankar cor-

rectly emphasised that the talks should beAfghan owned and led. In addition, Indiashould also stress that in the interests ofAfghanistanandtheregionthetalksmustsuc-ceed, that their failurewouldbecatastrophicfor theAfghanpeopleand the region. Finally,that Indiawouldcontinuewithitstraditionalpolicy of fostering close tieswith any legiti-mateAfghangovernment.

ThewriterisformerIndianAmbassadortoAfghanistan

As the talks begin, theTaliban is in a position ofstrength. If the Kabul-basedAfghan political class hadsucceeded in consolidatingthe republic and had keptthe Taliban confined to asmall area, it would havehad the upper hand. Thathas not been so. Indeed, theTaliban with Pakistanisupport has shownremarkable resilience andhas gained great confidence.It has inflicted a strategicdefeat on the world’s pre-eminent power. Toeffectively tackle them,American troops wouldhave had to enter Pakistanterritory and carry out asustained operation. That,none of the three presidentswho had to deal with theTaliban after 9/11 werewilling to do.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020WORDLYWISE

Discord is thegreat illofmankind; andtolerance is theonlyremedy for it.

— VOLTAIRETHEEDITORIALPAGE

Freeze Frame E P Unny

ASSAM TALKS LIMBOTheUniongovernment ishopefulof apack-age solution to the problem of foreign na-tionals incorporating some of the pointssuggestedbythehomeministryandothersmooted by the Assam agitation leadersduring the four-day talks. The minister ofstate of home affairs, Yogendra Makwanasaid that there will be a package deal “ac-ceptable to them and involving give andtake on both sides”. But the Assamgroupsdo no share this optimism. Both the AASUand the AAGSP continue to maintain thattheNRCandthe1952electoral rolls shouldform the basis of determining nationality.The home minister, however, suggested

that all electoral rolls since 1952 andall Census reports should be taken intoaccount.

POLISH WORRIES FOR USTHE US SECRETARY of State, EdmundMuskiesaid that theUSAismonitoring thesituationregardingthemovementof Soviettroops in the western parts of the SovietUnion and East Germany. Washington isplainly nervous about possible Sovietmoves into Poland. Any such incursionwould evoke sharp reaction from the USwhich has not recovered from theSovietmove intoAfghanistan. Though theSovietshavealwayshadmoreof apresence

in Poland as compared to Afghanistan,the current situation is Warsaw isdifferent given that the Polish tradeunion leader Lech Walesa shared aplatform with the Republican leaderRonald Reagan.

CHAPPALS FOR RAOCHAPPALS WERE HURLED at KarnatakaChief Minister R Gundu Rao as he arrivedto inaugurate a community hall in GadaginHublidistrict.Oneof themissileshit thechiefminister. The JanataPartyhadorgan-isedablack flagdemonstrationagainst ris-ing prices and inadequatewater supply inthe region of Gadag.

SEPTEMBER 21, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Leela Samson

SCHOLAR AND ARTISTKapilaVatsyayansought theworldsof scholarshipandpracticewithequalpassion

THE DIVIDE BETWEEN scholarship in theartsandthepracticeitself, runsdeep.I imag-ine that it isn’t just an Indianphenomenon.Butitcaneasilytipoverinacountrylikeoursbecause of the existence of a large numberof ancient texts on every subject under thesunincludingdramaturgy;becausepracticecontinuestothisdayinvariousformsandisliving proof of the survival of these ancientpractices, be they religious, artistic, craft orcustoms; and because of our diversity,whichallowsforoppositeandcontrarywaysof practising the forms. Many artists whofancifullytriedtostraddlethesetwoworldshave found themselves ostracised by bothscholars and gurus. In India, a local motor-mechanicwho is perhaps formally unedu-cated is called ustad or dada for his under-standingof theheartbeatofanengineandisgivenall therespectawardedtoaguru.Suchis the respect for apractitioner.Kapila Vatsyayan straddled both these

worlds and sought themoutwith an equalpassion and vigour. In the last fewdecades,she includedanevenwiderdiscourse in thesocial sciences and art — in social, politicalandeconomictheories,astheyinfluencedso-cietiesandtherelationshipbetweenindivid-uals. Anthropology, archaeology, iconogra-phy,humangeography,linguisticsandsocialhistory—she sawhowthese roadsmet andlinked them in away few can. The buildingand subsequent support of art institutionswas a cause she believed in. She thought of

herself asanartist, adancer.Unfortunately,when you live a long and

fruitful life as she did, your disappointmentinmenandmattersincreaseswitheachpass-ingyear.Andthatisnotmerelybecauseyoureyesight or hearing is failing you, especiallyin the auditoria of our timewhen themusiccanbeloudandjarring.Itisbecauseyouhave,in your youth, been fortunate to have seenthegreatgurusperformintheremotestcor-nersofIndia,inthehumble,yetaestheticsur-roundingsoftheirthatchedhomes,localtem-ples, gurukulas, courtyards, inmonasteries,inforestsandonthesand-dunes.Thatisartofanother hue. One that is not self-conscious.One that is given freely, not to an audience,thoughtheremaybeone,butbecauseitisanofferingtothehighestsenses.Kapilajiwasatallpersonandshefrowned

quiteabit.Youknewthatshewascaughtupinaworldofthoughtandphilosophy.Shehadlittletimeforthemundane.Yetshewasgen-tlewhen she thought you needed her goodcounsel. Thenshe lookedyoustraight in theeyeandaskedpertinentquestions. Sheusu-ally knewwhatwasworrying you. She hadseentheofficesandcorridorsoftheMinistryof Culture. She had worked underKamaladevi Chattopadhyay in the SangeetNatakAkademi. Shehadseen thegreatmu-seums in theWest, visited themonumentsofartacrosstheSubcontinentandmostofall,interactedwith the sharpest intellects andphilosophersacross theglobe. If shehadnot

metthem,sheknewoftheirwritingsandhadabsorbedtheir theories.Young artists like me, who had been

trained in the old gurukulams orwith thestalwart gurus of the early decades afterIndependence,buthadstartedourperform-ing lives in Delhi, oftenmet her scrupulouseye.Herlectureswereriveting,butalsowentoverourheads.Shewasseenatfunctionsandperformances, but despised “the front rowsyndrome”ofDelhi.Instead,evenattheIndiaInternationalCentre,shewouldslipintoaseatat the back row and leave atwill. It was al-waysaprivilegetohaveherdropyouacom-mentorcriticism, later, inprivate.Once at a Natya Kala Conference in

Chennai, Sadanam Balakrishnan, a greatKathakaliexponent,haddemonstratedastoryin abhinaya. Peopleweredeeplymoved, sheamongst them.Shecameonstageandaskedthe audiencewhether theyunderstoodhowhehadproduced the rasa. Theobvious reac-tionwasheperformedabhinayaor facial ex-pression, augmentedby an elaborate use ofhastamudrasandthustoldthestory.Shedis-agreed. She said that to produce the rasa hehadusedhis breathand thathehadbroughtcolour andexpression tohis face throughhisverybreath.Andthatiswhatanaudiencemustappreciate.Suchasharpandsensitivemindisunlikelytobeseenforgenerationstocome.

Thewriter is formerdirector,Kalakshetra,andchairperson, SangeetNatakAkademi

Kapilaji was a tall person,she frowned quite a bit. Youknew that she was caught upin a world of thought andphilosophy. She had littletime for the mundane. Yetshe was gentle when shethought you needed hergood counsel.

The opening in Doha

New Delhi


WHATTHEOTHERSSAY“Trouble with politicians, arguments about impartiality — these have dogged theBBC from the beginning.” —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE


In the post-pandemic worldorder, relentless pursuit ofefficiency will take a backseat as other considerationssuch as resilience andreliability take precedence.And this, along with theaccelerating trend of de-globalisation, could reducereliance on supply chains inthe current form. Fordeveloping countries such asIndia, the hit to globalsupply chains may limit theopportunity ofindustrialising through thisroute.

A slippery slopeFreedomsexercisedbyallmediumsdisseminatingnewsarethecornerstoneofourrepublic.Theyhaveonerousresponsibilitiestodischarge

ATLAST,Arayofhope.OnSeptember16,theSupremeCourt granted interim stay, pre-ventingSudarshanTVfromfurthertelecast-ingtheprogramme“UPSCJihad”.Asthemat-ter is sub-judice, it would not be fair tocommenteitheronthecontentorthequal-ity of the programme. TheCourt analysedtheprogrammeinthecontextofourconsti-tutionaledificefoundedonvaluesofco-ex-istenceof communities, Indiabeingamelt-ingpotof diverse civilisations andcultures.Thepetition, seeking toprohibit its broad-cast,wasmovedby five distinguished citi-zenswhoalsohopedtopersuadethecourttodrawup standards for programmes in theelectronicmedia.Thisrayofhopewillbere-alised if the SupremeCourtmandates thesetting-upofCitizens’PanelforTVchannelstoascertainwhethertheprogrammesbeingviewed conform to the standards that thecourtmayprescribe andevolve in the con-text of our constitutional values. The roadahead is a slippery slope.Whilewecherishthe freedomof speech as a constitutionalright,thosewhoexerciseit,havealsotocon-formtotheirconstitutionalresponsibilities.The parameters for such standardswhichdealwiththerighttofreespeechandthere-sponsibilities involved in exercising it havetobecarefullyengrafted,ensuringthatoneisnoteclipsedbytheother.Thegovernment’ssubmissionsinthisre-

gardweretelling.Itwascontendedthatanyguidelinesframedwouldaffectthefreedomof the press, leading to disastrous conse-quences, amounting to exercising controlover themedia. For this government to es-pousethecauseoffreedomofthepressandpretend to be its votary is ironic, given theperception that thepresent establishmenthassoughttosilenceandcontrolthemediafartoooften,andthattoounabashedly.We know thatmainstream electronic

mediacanbecontrolled,disregardingexist-ing statutory guidelines. The fourth estatewas conceived to act as awatchdog of thethreeorgansofthestate.Inrecentyears,sig-nificant players inmainstreamelectronicmedia, insteadofdischargingtheirrespon-sibilitiesaswatchdogs,havepassedthetestof being lapdogswith flying colours. If thefourthestate functions in tandemwith theideologyoftherulingclass,extollingvirtuesof itspoliciesandtakingforwarditsagendathroughslangingmatchesonscreen,wheretheanchoractsasavotaryof the rulinges-tablishment’s policies and positions, suchan outcomehas certain unsavoury conse-quences. First, thevoiceofdissent isnotal-lowed any space inmainstreamelectronicmedia. It is silencedwhenever a contrarypoint of view is expressed. Second, theshoutingbrigade,singingthetuneofthean-chor, is givenundue space and timewhichleadstoabiasedoutcome.Third,theblood-bathonsuchchannels, leads toan increaseinTRPs,enrichingthebusinesshousesfund-

ing these channels. Fourth, is the reach ofsuchmainstreammediawhose salaciousappetitesarewhettedbydisplayofdiatribespollutingminds, therebyserving thecauseofaparticularideologicalmindset.Fifth,theincreaseinTRPsresults in increasedadver-tisement revenues,which again fuels suchbloodbaths for yet another encounter.Opposition to setting standards for pro-grammesintheelectronicmediaasthatwillimpact“freedomofthepress”,infact,meansthat the government does not wish theCourttoregulatethewar-criesofideologicalmindsetspollutingyoungmindsandserv-ingdesiredpoliticalobjectives.Democratic freedoms exercised by all

mediumsdisseminatingnewsare the cor-nerstone of our republic. However, suchmediumshave onerous responsibilities todischargetowardsthefollowingoutcomes.First,theyensurethatallpointsofviewsareheard for the public to be informed— theessence of freedom of speech. Second, itsaves youngminds from being polluted.Third, no ideologicalmindset iswantonlyservedthroughthemedia.Fourth,anchorsdonotfuelagendas,whichstrikeattherootofourdemocraticvalues.Thatapart,itisimperativethatthestruc-

ture ofmedia, which allows for such out-comesisalsolookedatinthecontextofourconstitutional freedoms. Perhaps, freespeechisnotalways“free”sinceitisfuelledby commercial interests. Free speech istaintedifbusinesshouseswhowishtopro-tecttheirempiresarewillingtocompromisewithgovernments.Wehavemovedfarbe-yondtheagewhenprintmediawouldfunditself through contributions so that inde-pendentopinionscouldbeshared.Ourna-tional leaderswouldwriteeditorials toen-sure that independent voices of thoseseeking freedomareheard. But in the 21stcentury,oftenthevoicesofthoseseekingtosilencefreespeech,particularly intheelec-tronicmediaareheard.Theshifthastakenplacebecausetorun

aTVchannelrequiresenormousresources.While the voices that pollute are part of asignificant section ofmainstreammedia,thosewhohavenoplatform for exercisingfree speech are nowpart of the socialme-dia. That is yet anotherproblemwhich theCourtwill have todealwith in thenear fu-ture.Thenatureofsocialmediaissuchthateven there, armies are employed to servepartisan ends: Independent voices aresought to be silenced. But socialmedia isperhapsevenmorepowerfulbecausecon-tentistransmittedatbreakneckspeed.Fakenews,imagesthatchurnstomachs,havere-sultedinmayheminthedigitalworld.Whilethe printmedia is regulated by law, socialmedia platforms epitomise lawlessness.They cannotbe regulatedasmanyoperateunderthemaskof anonymity.Globalplay-ersmakemoneywhilethevictimsofsocialmediahavenorecoursetolaw.It is timeforthestatetoensurethatour

republic is not defaced and damaged byshrill voices and agendasmasquerading inthe name of free speech. It is time for thecourtstostandupandholdthescalesofjus-tice, making sure that they are balancedevenly. Otherwise, the tiltmay endangerfreedomitself.

Thewriter, a seniorCongress leader,isa formerUnionminister

GOINGBYTHEflurryofrevisionsinforecastssincetheNationalStatisticalOffice(NSO)an-nouncedthatgrossdomesticproduct (GDP)intheApril-Juneperiodhadshrunkby24percent, amuch deeper hit to Indian economythis fiscalappearscertainnow.We, for one, have revised our real GDP

growthforecastforIndiathisfiscalto(-)9percent from (-) 5 per cent projected earlier inMay.Thisrevision,however, isnotpremisedonfirstquarterdata—ourprojectionat(-)25percentwasanywayclosetoNSO’sestimate—asmuchasontheunfetteredspreadoftheCOVID-19 infectionsand the inadequate fis-calstimulusconvulsingtheeconomy.Besides,unless inflation climbs down below 6 percent,theReserveBankofIndiawouldbecon-strainedfromcuttingrates.As things stand, till the time a vaccine is

found andmass distributed, forecasting theeconomic environment, and as a conse-quence,decision-making,willbedominatedbywhat JohnKay andMervin King, in theirrecentbook, refer toas“radicaluncertainty”— a situation inwhichwe know somethingbut not enough to actwith confidence. Andthat toowhen the stakes are high. If the ex-perienceof thelast fewmonthsisanyguide,it will indeed be a very complicated transi-tiontowhatweregardasnormal.High-frequencyeconomicindicatorstill

August-end show a recovery vis-à-vis thefirst quarter. But they remain in contrac-tionaryphase, indicatingthattheeconomiccontraction will continue in the secondquarter, though not as severe. We expectthe economy to contract by 12 per cent inthesecondquarter. If thepandemicweretopeak out by October, GDP growth couldmoveintomildlypositiveterritorytowardsthe endof this fiscal.Aswas the case in the deepdownturns

in the past, 2021-22 could see a sharpme-chanical lift from the deep trough this fis-cal. Milton Friedman’s “Plucking Model”could be used to explain if such a recoverydoestakeplacenext fiscal in theabsenceofa notable fiscal push. Friedman comparesaneconomytoastring instrument—whilerecessionspluckthestringdown, itbouncesback thereafter. This has been used to ex-plain the economic recovery in parts ofEuropepost theglobal financialcrisis (“The‘PluckingModel’of recessionsandrecover-ies”byGregoryClaeysandThomasWalsh).Quite in sync, we see India’s growth re-

boundingto10percentin2021-22,onaveryweakbaseandwithsomehelp fromtheris-ingglobal tide thatwill lift all boats. Thekeyassumptionhereistheavailabilityofvaccineinearly2021,intheabsenceofwhich,allbetsareoff.Evenso,realGDPwillmerelycatchupto the 2019-20 level in 2021-22. The econ-omywill suffer a permanent loss of 13 percent of GDPwhichworks out to Rs 30 lakhcroreinnominalterms.Soasharprecoveryin2021-22canbehighlymisleading.

Themanufacturing sector is likely to re-cover faster than serviceswith face-to-facecontact (tourism, hospitality, and sports),which continue to be restrained by regula-tory restrictions and a likely persistence ofrisk-aversebehaviourofconsumerstillavac-cine ismass distributed. Countries such asChina,whichhavealreadyemergedfromthepandemic, bear this out—demand for suchservicesthereistepidevenafteropeningup.ThisisalsoreflectedinIndia’smanufacturingPMIrising faster thanservices inAugust.Theruraleconomy,representingalmost

half of theIndianeconomy,appearstohaveheld up somewhat better than its urbancounterpart largelybecauseofnormalagri-cultural performance and the rural tilt ofgovernment’ssupport.Thisshowsupinde-mandforproductswithruralfootprintssuchas tractors, motorcycles and fast movingconsumergoods.Butruralwagesremainde-pressed and remittances are likely to havebeen hit due to reverse-migration.Moreover, the pandemic’s rapid spread torural areas canchallenge the rural story.The critical question now is what hap-

penstomedium-termgrowthprospectsaf-ter thenext fiscal.Datatill the1990sshowsthatinmostin-

stances,growthin Indiahasrebounded,andthat themedium-term average growth hasnot gonemajorly off-trackevenafter adeephit to theeconomy.During theglobal finan-cialcrisis,however,medium-termgrowthdidslipto6.7percentperyear from7.9percentin the preceding five years. But, world GDPgrowth also slowed by a similarmagnitudeto3.7per cent fromthepre-crisis rateof 4.9percent.Thepre-crisisphasewasanindeedanabnormalonefortheworldeconomyandtheexcessiveleverage-drivenfilliptogrowthcouldnotbesustainedwithmanyeconomiesexpandingathalf thepacepost thecrisis.Thecurrentcrisis,however,hasnoparal-

lelandbringswithitmassiveuncertaintyandlingeringbehaviouralshiftsnotexperiencedin independent India. India is facing this cri-sis on aweakwicket, with growth slowing,

investments falling, and a stressed financialsector—ithasbeenhitthehardestamongitscontemporary.Themanufacturing sector has been in

recessionsincethesecondquarterof thelastfiscal, long before the pandemic struck.Consequently, the share of manufacturingin gross value added fell from18.1 per cent2018-19 to 17.4 per cent in 2019-20. Giventhatinvestmentsarelikelytotakeasubstan-tial hit, with the government’s ability andthe private sector’s willingness and abilityto invest impaired, medium-term growthpotential is likely to trend lower in thebasecase scenario. That said, India’s medium-termgrowthtrajectorywillbelargely influ-encedbydomestic factors as theglobal en-vironmentwill be less favourable.The receivedwisdom is that in thepost-

pandemicworld order, relentless pursuit ofefficiencywill take aback seat as other con-siderations such as resilience and reliabilitytakeprecedence.Andthis,alongwiththeac-celeratingtrendofde-globalisation,couldre-ducerelianceonsupplychainsinthecurrentform.FordevelopingcountriessuchasIndia,thehit toglobal supply chainsmay limit theopportunity of industrialising through thisroute.Indiawillhavetoswimagainstthetideto capture the shrinking pie of global trade.Thisrequiresfast-trackingreformstoimprovethe investment climate and attract invest-ments, relocatingawayfromChina.Policymakers will need to take more

steps to address the current painby raisingspendingtosupportvulnerablehouseholdsandsmallbusinessesandservicesthathavebeendebilitatedbythepandemic.Thiswillstrengthen the recovery process andmayalsohelpcontainthedamagetotheproduc-tivecapacityof theeconomy.Togetherwithaccelerated efficiency enhancing reforms,this can create conditions for a sustainablepush to growth over the medium run.Fingers crossed.

Thewriter ischiefeconomist,CRISILLimited

ANGRY FARMERSTHISREFERSTOthereport, ‘Harsimratwillquitministry toprotest farmBills,Sukhbir tells Lok Sabha’ (IE,September 18). Union Minister FoodProcessing IndustriesHarsimratKaurBadal’s resignation is clearly due topressure from farmers from the stateofPunjab.Thiswillbethefirstchink inthe Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA)government’sarmourvis-a-visthe ongoing protests over its threeagriculture-related bills. This chinkwill surely widen further if the topBharatiya JanataParty(BJP) leadershiprefuses to come down off its highhorse to find an amicable solution tofarmers’anger.This isbecausefarmersfrom other states including Haryanaare also up in arms over these bills.They all feel that the proposed lawswill leave them at the mercy of un-scrupulous traders.

TarsemSingh,Mahilpur

LAW FOR DATATHIS REFERS TO editorial, 'DataInsecurity’ (IE, September18).Thefor-mation of a committee to probe themonitoringofover10,000Indian indi-viduals by a Shenzhen-based infor-mation technology firm is a stepworthapplauding.But thenewsof themonitoring of Indian citizens is dis-turbing. The action by the big-dataChinese firm further underlines theneed for a strong Personal DataProtection Bill in India. As digitalisa-tion is touchingnewheightseachday,it becomes essential to preserve and

protect the data of Indian citizens. Alargepercentageofpeople in Indiaarenot even aware of digital and cyber-security and how to protect them-selves.Aproactiveapproachby intro-ducinga strongDataProtectionBill isneeded.

AyushiSingh,Agra

REGULATING TECHTHIS REFERS TO the article, 'Faith inthe machine' (IE, September 18). Asthe importance of technology hasbeen on the rise, wemust be vigilant— it can be biased and harmful if notmonitored effectively. With such atremendous rise in technology, wewill needeffective laws to curtail andprevent any possible misuse or ma-nipulationbyany individualororgan-isation.

DakshSolanki,viaemail

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

COVID-19 took very little time to spreadacross the world economy. Internationaltradehasbeen constricted andglobal sup-ply chains have, by and large, been dis-rupted.Eachnationhasbeenleft to fendforitself. India’s dependence on other coun-trieshasbeenexposedinseveralareas.Thecountry should now refocus onmanufac-turing, andbe self reliant.PrimeMinisterNarendraModigaveacall

tofellowIndianstobe“VocalforLocal”inMay.Thisessentiallymeans,asPMModiexplained,notonlytobuyanduselocalproducts,buttoalsotakeprideinpromotingthem.TheCentreannounced awell-considered programme,theAtmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (ANBA), aspart of the post-pandemic economic revivalpackage.Rs20lakhcrore(10percentofIndia’sGDP)wasearmarkedforthepurpose.I seeself-relianceasasynonymforself-

esteem.Onlyaself-reliantnationcanservethediverseneedsof itspopulationandpro-vide themwith choices. A content nationcan also contribute to thewelfare of othercounties with a sense of self-pride. TheCOVID-related pressures and the unfortu-natebordertensionswith its largest importpartner, China, present a rare opportunityfor India to reinvent itself, economically.Thereare,however,seriousapprehensions

keeping in view the country’s $65 billionworth of imports fromChina alone.Most oftheseimportsareofessentialitems—rawma-terials, components and intermediates re-quiredinproducingfinishedgoodsbyalargenumberofenterprisesacrossseveralsectors,

includingMSMEs.Forexample,thepharma-ceuticalssector importsnearly70percentofitsrawmaterialanddrugintermediates.Thereisthusthejustifiablequestion:Isthe

thoughtofrevivingthelocalbornoutofunre-alistic enthusiasm?Of course, itmaynot befeasible to replace all Chinese imports in thenearfuture.Itmayalsobedebatableiftheendgoal is to replace the entire chain of importsfromacountry.Moreover,assomeeconomistsapprehend, a populist demand for dumpingall that isofChineseorigin,maybe forgottensoon.Nevertheless,expertsandindustrialistsdoassertthattheANBAisanexcellentinitia-tive and gives India the opportunity to em-barkontheself-reliancedrive .AmajorpartoftheVocalforLocalmission

rests on theMSMEs. Theseenterpriseshave,byandlarge,beenseenas strugglingforsur-vival. But the reforms announced as part oftheANBA—collateral free credit, expandingthescopeofthesector,anonlinemarketplaceexclusively for it, the proposal that govern-mentswillpickupequitystakesinenterprisesthat show growth potential — should putthemonastrongerfooting.Oneimmediatefalloutofthesemeasures

willbecreationoflargescaleemploymentop-portunities forboththeskilledandunskilledworkforce.Astrongermanufacturingbasewillalsoleadtopositivespinoffsrelatedtothesup-ply-purchaseoflocalrawmaterialandcapac-itybuildingofalliedmanufacturingunits.Therearemanyotherthingsgoingforthe

ANBA. It has a well-defined charter. Theschemehasmetwithlittlecriticism.Indeed,

a number of Opposition leaders includingchief ministers of a few states have sup-ported it. There seems to be no shortage ofpolitical will to execute themission. Even,then implementing the reformswould re-quire innovative ways to overcome day todayobstaclesandchallenges.Here I offer a few broad suggestions to

takethemissionforwardsystematically,andinaspiritofaccountability.First,anumbrellaaction plan should be drawn by the NitiAayog listing all possible categories of tar-getsunder theANBAandtheVocal forLocalMission. Amonitoring agencywill reviewandsuggestcoursecorrectiontoensurethatnodelay isallowedtobuild.Second,eachstate/UTwilldevelopanac-

tion plan in consonancewith the umbrellaplan—with a similar agenda and a robustmechanism.Aseparateorganisationcreatedbyeachstatewillberesponsibleforthe imple-mentationof the actionplan, aswell as run-ningallrelatedoperationsonaday-to-dayba-sis. It will also conduct regular studies toidentifylocalandglobalmarkettrendsandin-vitecompetitivesolutionstomeetmarketde-mands.Third,eachdistrict (oragroupofdis-tricts)will work out amore detailed actionplan,andcharterofresponsibilitiesforgroundlevelofficersanddepartments.The district action plan should incorpo-

rate thesettingupof certainbodies/groups.First,anautonomousauthoritytobeheadedbyanadditionalDMoratechnocrattoman-age and pilot the implementation of thelistedmeasuresonground,andbesolelyac-

countable for timely delivery. Its other im-portant targets will include scaling up andsettingupofacertainnumberofcompanies/industries/manufacturingunitsovera fixedtimeperiod. Theauthoritywill also setupa24X7 facilitation centre to help the existingand the newcomer companies and resolvetheir doubts and disputes. This agencywillalsoberesponsibleforcreatingpublicaware-nessamongstall stakeholders.Another group in the district authority

willbetaskedtolayoutdetailednormsandguidelines on safe working conditions ineach sector. It will be responsible for mat-tersrelatedtoworkers’ familieswelfare,par-ticularly inrespectofhealth,education,anddecent civic conditions.The state/ UT and district authorities

shouldbeheadedbyafewhand-pickedoffi-cers.Thiscanalsobedoneby invitingvolun-teers fromamongst the eligible officers. Thestategovernmentwillfacilitateregularinter-actionsamongstdistrictauthoritiesandhelpdevelopsector-specistrategies.The ANBA is amission to empower the

peopleof India. It is likea“yagya”, tobeper-formedinthatspiritofpurity,notonlybytheexecutivemachinerybutalsoby thepeoplein placing their faith in the spirit andman-date of thismission. It will in all likelihoodbecomeabenchmark of howgovernmentsand their variousorganisations canwork inamissionmode.

Thewriter isanIASofficer.Viewsexpressedarepersonal

ActionplansshouldbepreparedtoensuresuccessofAtmanirbharBharatproject

Self-reliance for self-esteemDurga Shakti Nagpal

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●PROBLEMATICQUESTFORTANGIBLE

ASSETS:CHINMAYISHALYA

●●DIETDILEMMAS:SHEILAVIR

www.indianexpress.com

Dharmakirti Joshi

CR Sasikumar

Indiawillhavetoswimagainst the tide tocapture theshrinkingpieof global trade.This requires fast-trackingreformsto improvethe investmentclimateandattract investments

Emerging from the abyss

Kapil Sibal

New Delhi


INVESTIGATIONWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FincenFilesIN COLLABORATION WITH INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUMOF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS AND BUZZFEED NEWS

FROMPAGE1law-enforcement agencies to further inves-tigation. (See Explained, right). Indeed, theDepartmentofJusticeintheUShaslaunchedinvestigations and secured convictions incases thatarerelatedtoSARs.The IndianExpress, alongwith109media

organisations in 88 countries, including LeMonde(France), Asahi Shimbun (Japan),SuddeutscheZeitung (Germany),Aftenposten(Norway),NBC (UnitedStates), theBBC, andthe Australian Broadcasting Corporation,teamed up with the InternationalConsortiumof InvestigativeJournalists(ICIJ)andBuzzFeedNewstotracethe Indianenti-tiesandbanksnamedintheseSARsfiledwithFinCENbetween1999and2017.Morethaneightofevery10oftheseSARs

were filed by Deutsche Bank, Bank of NewYorkMellon (BNYM), Standard CharteredBank,Citibank,andJPMorganChase.Theto-tal value of transactions covered in theseSARs:$2trillion.The SARs provide a rare peek into how

businessmen, politicians and their compa-nies utilise banking channels around theworldtomovetheirwealthacrossbordersortotaxhavenstoavoidtaxationordetection.Overthreemonths,TheIndianExpress in-

vestigatedalltheSARswithanIndiatrail,fur-therlookingintothosealreadyunderscrutinyin India for alleged financial irregularities.Indeed,akeyfindingisthatinmanycasestheveryfactthat individualsandcompaniesarebeingprobedbyIndianagenciesispartoftheSARflaggedtoFinCEN.Thus, transactions of Indian entities

named in scams such as the 2G scam, theAgustaWestland scandal, the Rolls Roycebribery case, and the Aircel-Maxis case be-sidesthose involvedinothercorruptionandduty-evasion cases have all been hot-listedwiththeFinCEN.Significantly,thesecasesarealsobeingin-

vestigatedbyagenciesliketheCentralBureauofInvestigation,theEnforcementDirectorate,andtheDirectorateofRevenueIntelligence.The Indian Express investigation has re-

vealed transactionsof a rangeof individualsand companies: a jailed art and antiquesmuggler, a global diamond firmowned byIndian-born citizens named in several off-shoreleaks,apremierhealthcareandhospi-tality group, a bankrupt steel firm, a luxurycardealerwhoallegedlydupedseveralhighnetworthindividuals,amultinationalIndianconglomerate,asponsorofanIndianPremierLeague (IPL) team, an allegedhawala dealerwho became the reason for amassive fightwithintheEnforcementDirectorate(ED),andakeyfinancierofanIndianunderworlddon,amongothers.Inthemajorityofcases,domesticbranches

of Indianbankshavebeenutilised to receiveor remit the funds; in some cases, bank ac-countswithforeignbranchesof Indianbankshavebeenusedtocarryoutthesetransactions.Asmanyas44 Indianbanks figure in the

FinCENFilesprimarilybecausetheyare“cor-respondent banks” to the foreign bankswhich have filed these SARs. Key in this listare PunjabNational Bank, KotakMahindra,HDFCBank,CanaraBank,IndusIndBankandBankofBaroda,amongothers.There are a total of 3,201 transactions

whichhavebeenlistedas“suspicious’’ inna-tureandtheseaddto$1.53billion—butthisis only those where complete Indian ad-dresses linked to different entities (senders,banks,beneficiaries)areavailable.Theseareattachedasspreadsheets ineachSAR.Over and above are thousands of other

transactions, also linked to Indian entities,where senders or beneficiaries have ad-dressesinforeignjurisdictions.Thesearecon-tained intheSARsthemselves.Among themajor global revelations, the

investigation traced a Rhode Island drugdealer’s dollars to a chemist’s lab inWuhan,China; explored scandals that crippledeconomies in Africa and Eastern Europe;tracked tomb raiders who looted ancientBuddhistartefactsthatweresoldtoNewYorkgalleries; surveyedVenezuelantycoonswhosiphonedmoney frompublic housing andhospitals; and scrutinized theMiddle East’slargestgoldrefinery,thesubjectofasprawling,never-revealed,USmoney-launderingprobe.Dozensofpoliticalfigureswhofeaturein

the documents include PaulManafort, theformer Donald Trump campaignmanagerwhowasconvictedof fraudandtaxevasion.JPMorganprocessedmore than$50mil-

lionoveradecadebetweenManafortandhisassociates’ shell companies — at least $6.5million of that over 14months after he re-signed from the campaign amid charges ofmoneylaunderingspawningfromhistiestoRussian-connectedUkrainianofficials.Earlierthismonth,anticipatingthisinves-

tigative series, FinCEN issueda statement inNewYork that “theunauthorizeddisclosureofSARsisacrimethatcanimpactthenationalsecurityoftheUnitedStates,compromiselawenforcementinvestigations,andthreatenthesafetyandsecurityoftheinstitutionsandin-dividualswhofilesuchreports”.FinCENsaidit had referred this to theUSDepartment ofJustice and the US Department of theTreasury’sOfficeof InspectorGeneral.Respondingtothis,ICIJsaidthereporting

for the FinCEN Files is lawful and appropri-ate. “Our reporting exposes howbanks andregulatorshavefailedthepublicbyallowingtheflowofdirtymoneytogouncheckedde-spiteasystemthatissupposedtopreventit.”

FROMPAGE1Deutsche Bank AG in London” with KPHDreamCricketasthebeneficiary.TheSBLCfornearly$3millionwassoughtbyAerocomUKLtd,anairtubesmanufacturer, withnoappar-entlinkstotheteamorthesponsor.TheSBLCsaidthat“incaseof failureof the

obligator,NVDSolarInternationalLtdofDhaka,Bangladesh,wastopaytheamountdueasperthetermsof thecontract”.However, according to the SAR filed by

WellsFargo,theSBLCturnedouttobe“fraud-ulent”andwas“declined”.WellsFargo’sSBLCunitfoundthatnoneof

thecompaniesnamedintherequest—appli-cant AerocomUK, beneficiary KPHDreamCricket,warrantorNVDSolar—wereon thebank’s customer rolls. It concluded that the“SBLC is believed to be bogus, as a search ofWellsFargoelectronicmessagingsystemdoesnotshowreceiptofthistransaction”,accordingtotheSAR.Meanwhile, an investigation byWells

Fargo’sTradeFinanceInvestigationsunitcon-

cludedthatasignatureofoneofitsofficersontheelectroniccopyoftheSBLCwasforged,ac-cordingtotheSAR.Italsofoundthatanemailsenttothebank’s

InternationalWholesaleBankingunit,usingaWellsFargoemployee’s internaladdress,wasfraudulentandthatnobusinesspurposecouldbeestablishedtosubstantiatetherequest.The owner of Aerocom (UK) Ltd, John

Hughes,didnotrespondtomultiplecallsandemails from The Indian Express seeking com-mentonhis links toNVDSolar. Incorporatedin2000,Aerocomisapneumaticengineeringcompany that deals in air tube systems andcarriers.In2013,theNottingham-basedcom-panydeclaredanetassetofGBP0.6million.NVD Solar did not respond tomultiple

emails from The Indian Express seeking com-ment. InAugust 2019, a CalcuttaHighCourtorderonacaserelatedtothecompanynotedthatNVDSolar’sdirectors“couldnotbefound”.Set up inKolkata in 2003,NVDSolar Ltd

launchedoperationsinBangladeshin2012.In2015, regulator Sebi ordered the attachment

of NVDSolar’s bankaccounts for recoveryofRs1,000 crore after the companymissed thedeadlinetorefundRs594croreithadallegedlyraised illegally fromthepublic. Thecompanyisinliquidation.KPHDreamCricketdeclinedtocomment.

But company sources told The IndianExpressthattheduesfromNVDSolarareyettobere-covered.AccordingtoaPTIreport inOctober2013,

KXIP co-ownerNessWadiahadalleged thatthe team received only Rs 42 lakh from thesponsorshipdealforRs14.3croreandthatNVDSolar gave “fake accounts of DeutscheBankLondon,WellsFargoBankNewYork,CommonSuisseBankLimited, fakeSwiftmessage, fakenamesofofficials,evensentusmailsfromfakeIPaddresses”.Whencontacted,aWellsFargospokesper-

sonsaid:“WellsFargohasrobustanti-moneylaunderingpolicies andprocedures inplace,andwefollowallapplicablefinancialcrimes-relatedlawsandregulations.Weareunabletoprovideanyfurthercomment.”

FROMPAGE1(offshorehavens,conflictzones);transactionsto/byPEPs(politicallyexposedpersons)and,finally,adversemediareportsontheparties.

WhocanfileSARs?Banks, of course, but now that list has

beenexpandedtoincludemoneyexchanges,securitiesbrokers,casinos.Non-filingofSARscan trigger hefty penalties. In recent years,Deustche Bank, HSBC and StandardChartered Bank, among others, have beenslappedwithhuge fines for improper over-sight.Creditcardsystemsarenotrequiredtofile SARs and all filers are required to keeprecordsof SARs for fiveyears.

But isSARevidenceof criminality,illegality? Ifnot,what’s its significance?AnSARisnotanaccusation, it isawayto

alertregulatorsandlawenforcementtopos-sible irregular activity and crimes. FinCENshares SARswith law-enforcement author-ities including FBI, US Immigration and

Customs; theyareused todetect crime, butcannot be used as direct evidence to provelegal cases. In theworld of international fi-nancewheremoneymoves under severallayers to escape or avoid taxation, SARs arethe first red flags.

Is thereanequivalentof theSARinIndia?Yes. The Financial Intelligence

Unit-India(FIU-IND)performsthesamefunctionsasFinCENintheUS.Under the FinanceMinistry, thiswas set up in 2004 as the nodalagencyforreceiving,analyzinganddisseminatinginformationrelatingtosuspect financial transactions.The agency is authorised to obtain cash

transaction reports (CTRs) and suspicioustransactionreports (STRs)andcross -borderwiretransferreportsfromprivateandpublicsector banks every month under thePreventionofMoneyLaunderingAct(PMLA).ItismandatoryforbanksinIndiatofurnishamonthly CTR to the FIU on all transactions

overRs10lakhoritsequivalentinforeigncur-rencyoraseriesofintegrallyconnectedtrans-actionsthatadduptomorethanRs10lakhoritsequivalent in foreigncurrency.The STRs and CTRs are analysed by FIU

and suspicious or doubtful transactions aresharedwith agencies like the EnforcementDirectorate, the Central Bureau of

Investigation, and IncomeTax.

HowdoesFinCENFilesbuildonPanamaPapers,ParadisePapersandtheseriesofoffshore leaks?Countries keep their bank

transactionalertswithintheirbor-ders.FinCENFilessignalsthataftertheseriesofdisclosuresandleaksofoffshoreholdingsin taxhavens, the veil of confidentiality canbe liftedeven frombankandwire transfers.One benchmarkwas the publication of

thePanamaPapersin2016andastheICIJcal-culated last year, the total tax collected fol-lowingtheglobalmediainvestigationwas$

1.2billion.In India, figures given by the Central

Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is not for taxcollectedbutundeclaredtaxcollected,whichtillmid-2019stoodatRs1,564crore.

What leadscouldFinCENfilesgiveinvestigators in India?Theclearmessageforagencies in India is

thattheircasesoffinancialfraudandcorrup-tion are being flagged by theworld’smostpowerfulregulator.For,theFinCENFilescon-tainSARwhich,inmanycasesof Indianenti-ties and individuals,mention their financialhistoryofallegedirregularities.Therearede-tails of banking transactions that indicateround-tripping,money laundering, or deal-ingswith shell-like entities. For the Indianbankingsector,theFinCENFileshighlightthedangers correspondent banking pose, andraise the question: were the thousands oftransactions red-flaggedbyFinCENalsored-flagged by banks to the FIU here, especiallysince 44 Indian banks have been named in

thesecretdata?

HowdidthesefilescometoICIJandTheIndianExpress?These records were gathered by

Congressional committees investigatingRussian interference in the 2016 US presi-dential election. BuzzFeed News obtainedthese records and shared themwith theInternational Consortium of InvestigativeJournalists. ICIJhaspartneredwithateamofnewsorganisationsto investigate thesecretworld of banks andmoney laundering. TheIndianExpress is itspartner in India.BuzzFeedNewsreferredtotheseSARsin

2018torevealsecretpaymentstoshellcom-panies controlled by PaulManafort, who isnow serving a federal prison sentence athomeinacasebasedlargelyonthesetrans-actions. A former US Treasury Departmentofficial, NatalieMayflower Sours Edwards,hasbeenchargedwithconspiringtounlaw-fully disclose documents to Buzzfeed.Buzzfeedhasnot commentedon its source.

After Swiss Leaks, Panama Papers, comes SARs

US bank flagged fraud and forgery,UK link of an IPL team sponsor

FROMPAGE1thenoticestated:“TheKhananiMLOexploitsits relationshipswith financial institutionsto funnel billions of dollars across theglobeon behalf of terrorists, drug traffickers andcriminal organisations... Altaf Khanani, thehead of the Khanani MLO, and Al ZarooniExchange have been involved in themove-ment of funds for the Taliban, and AltafKhanani isknowntohavehadrelationshipswithLashkar-e-Tayiba,DawoodIbrahim,al-Qaidaand Jaish-e-Mohammed.”The arrest of Khanani was seen as a

breakthrough by Indian intelligence agen-cies given the Dawood Ibrahim connectionand the fact that Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed had been specificallymen-tioned by the OFAC as terror organisationsfundedbyhim.Incidentally,ayearaftertheoriginalsanc-

tion notice, the OFAC, on October 10, 2016,sanctionedanotherlistof individualsanden-titiesfortheir linkstotheKhananiMLO.Theindividuals includedmembersofKhanani’sfamily,mostlyoperatingoutofPakistan,andseveral entities “supporting” the moneylaunderingnetwork.The list of entities is led by Mazaka

GeneralTradingLLC,basedinDubai,andfouryearsafter the sanctionswere imposed, the

FinCEN Files expose the extent of financialinfiltrationoftheKhananiMLOviathiscom-pany aswell as others linked towhat is re-ferred toas “MoscowMirrorNetwork”.Mirrortradingisan“informalvaluetrans-

fermechanismthroughwhichanindividualorbusinesspurchasessecuritiesinonejuris-diction and sells them in another with noeconomicgain,therebyconcealingthefundsoriginal sourceand finaldestination”.The FinCEN Files contain a 20-page “in-

telligence assessment” on themirror net-workandlist54shellcompanieswhich,theysay,movedbillionsof dollarsannually fromRussiathroughEuropeansecuritiesmarketsto other jurisdictions beginning as early as2011.FinCEN’sintelligencereportsaysMazaka

GeneralTradingLLCreceived$49.78millionfrom fiveMoscowMirror Network entitiesbetween March 2013 and October 2016.MazakaalsoreceivedfundsfromSingapore-based Ask Trading PTE through themirrortrades.Significantly,Mazakawassanctionedby

OFAC for having “materially assisted, spon-sored, or supported the Khanani MoneyLaunderingOrganisation,whichlaundersil-licit funds for terrorists, drug traffickersandcriminalorganisations...”

ThisisalsowhereIndianlinksemergedinthe functioning of the Altaf Khanani laun-dering operation. Besides JPMorgan ChaseBank(NewYork)andUnitedOverseasBank(Singapore),recordsshow,theDubaibranchofBankofBarodawasbeingusedbyMazakaGeneral Trading LLC for transactions withAskTradingPTE.Besides this, ascrutinyof transactionsof

MazakaGeneralTradingshowittradedwitha New Delhi-based company, RangoliInternational Pvt Limited. This company,dealing inwholesale tradeandgarmentex-ports,wassetup in2009.The FinCEN Files have around 70 trans-

actions listed for Rangoli International,mostlywithUAE-basedentitieswiththere-mittances being routed through severalIndian banks: the Punjab National Bank,Central Bank of India, Oriental Bank ofCommerce, Corporation Bank, Vijaya BankandBankofMaharashtra.Thereare17originatorsof thesetransac-

tionstotalling$10.65million.Amongthemisa transaction dated June 18, 2014 withMazaka General Trading for $136,254 sentvia thePunjabNationalBank.Records of the Registrar of Companies

(RoC) show that Rangoli International wit-nessed a sharp deterioration anddecline in

profitability in the year endingMarch 2014and incurred a loss of Rs 74.87 crore over asales revenue of Rs 339.19 crore. The com-pany has not held an annual shareholders’meeting since 2015, the year it filed its lastbalancesheet.Several banks have put out alerts on

Rangoli’s default. The Bank of MaharashtralistedRangoli aswilful defaulter as recentlyas February 2020. The Union Bank of Indiaputoutanotice fore-auctionof immovableassetsinJuly2020forpartrecoveryofdebts.The Corporation Bank put out a public no-ticeforauctionofthecompany’simmovablepropertyforloanrecoveriesinOctober2019.The Punjab National Bank listed the com-panyfore-auctionsofmortgagedpropertiesin November 2019 and April 2016. TheAllahabad Bank listed the company asamong their top 50NPAs (non-performingassets) inMarch2015.When contacted, Mel Black, lawyer for

Altaf Khanani, told ICIJ media partnerSüddeutsche Zeitung: “Mr Khanani has pledguiltyandservedalengthysentence,duringwhichhisbrotherdiedandhewasseparatedfromhis family.He is in badhealth.He is fi-nancially destitute and his ability to earnmoney isdestroyedbyhisbeingblockedbyanOFACdesignationand the freezingof his

accounts. He has not been involved in anybusinessactivitiesof anykind for fiveyears.He looks forwardtomovingahead inasim-ple law-abiding life.”Contacted, Luv Bhardwaj, Managing

Directorof Rangoli International, said:“Wehave been in the business of export

of readymade garments and receiving pay-mentstowardstheproceedsofthesaleofourexportedgoods isasroutineas it canget...Onyourspecificqueryofa18thJune2014receiptin our Punjab National Bank account, wewould like to formally confirmour bank ac-count(morespecifically,theonewithPunjabNationalBank)hasnoreceiptsonthesaiddatethatyoumention...However,wehavereceiveda remittance of USD 1,36,280 on 20th June2014andthatpertains toour invoice...toM/sMideast Star Impex FZE. The consignmentcontainingreadymadegarmentswasshippedout after customs clearance on 17/9/13. Ourbankhas received this remittance; towhichithasacknowledgedValueDateas16th June2014.AfteradjustingwithourLClimit,itcred-ited thebalance toouraccounton20th June2014,”Bhardwajsaid.“Wehavenobusinessoperationsorrela-

tions with the said M/s Mazaka GeneralTradingand/orMrAltafKhanani,norareweacquainted,”hesaid.

STANDARDCHARTEREDBANK,NEWYORK

Dawood’s financier, laundering, funding of Lashkar, Jaish

FROMPAGE1companyreceived$2.48millionfromDubai-basedPowerPlantEPCwithin thesamepe-riod.

■A year later, a similar transaction pat-ternwas seen. Between June 23, 2016 andOctober 26, 2016, JSPL sent $9.48million toTGMM; $1.83million to Singapore-basedCBMM Asia Pte Ltd between May andSeptember2016;$1.52million toNavalmar(UK) Ltd betweenMay 31 and October 24,2016. And JSPL received $16.8million fromSwitzerland-basedTransGlobalAGbetweenJune27and July21,2016.IntheSARsfiledwithUSFinancialwatch-

dog FinCEN, one common name across alltransactionsisMauritius-basedTransGlobalMineralsandMetalsCorporationwhich,ac-cording to the SARs, is a company incorpo-ratedinCyprusin2006witharegisteredad-dress inMauritius.Although transaction details related to

TGMM say the payments were made for“Handling charges, Commission, andPayment towards (cargo ship) Vessel MVEIPIS,”thecompany’sbanker,StandardBankMauritius, told DBTCA that themain busi-ness activity of TGMM is investment hold-ing, internationalconsulting&internationaltrading.Whilethebankconfirmedthattheowner

of the company is an Indian, Amit Gupta,with regard to a previous investigation, thebanksaid thatTGMMhadabroker-investorrelationwith its clients and “thepurpose ofpaymentinstructionswasinvestmentof idlefunds inAustralianstockmarket”.Thisdoesn’tsquarewithJSPL’sclaimthat

its transaction was for payments towardsVesselMVEIPIS.In fact, in the 2016 SARwhere TGMM is

reportedtohavereceived$9.48millionfromJSPL, the bank pointed out that “no line ofbusinesswasnoted”.Another companywith a similar name

wasSwitzerland-basedTransGlobalAGfromwhich JSPL received $16.8million in 2016,AccordingtotheSAR,TransGlobalAGisen-gaged in “Whole Farm Product RawMaterials”. Asked if therewas any relation-shipbetweenTGMMandTransGlobalAG,aspokesperson for JSPL said, “We are notaware about relationship between thesecompanies.”“Theseare completely separate transac-

tions...amount received from Trans GlobalAGwas against export of IronOre Pellets tothemandamountsenttoTGMMwasagainst

ship charting and coal purchase,” thespokespersonsaid.While JSPL receivedaround$3.8million

fromDubai-basedPowerPlantEPC,thebanknoted that while no line of business wasfound, itwas alsonot able todeterminede-tails of the firm. It said it had not been ableto confirm the commercial purpose of thetransactionsthroughindependentresearch.WhileAmitGuptahasbeennamedasthe

ownerofTGMMbyitsbanker,StandardBankMauritius, an individual by the same namealsoheadsJindalSteelandPower’sOmanof-fice. JSPL, initsresponse,said:“WeenquiredfromMrAmitGuptaandheconfirmed thathewas not the owner of TGMMduring theperiod2014-2016.”InatleastfiveSARsfiledwiththeFinCEN

between November 2014 and November2016, DBTCA reported that an aggregate of$79.6millionwassentandreceivedvia359transactionsbythird-partyoriginator/bene-ficiary Jindal Steel andPowerLtd.While filing its SARs, DBTCA also stated

that the SAR had been filed because “nega-tive information” was found regardingNaveenJindal,chairmanof JSPL,whowasontrial on charges of criminal breach of trustandconspiracyinacaseof inappropriateal-location of coal block in Jharkhand in 2008.NaveenJindal isalsoconsideredapoliticallyexposed person, having been aMember ofParliament.It said that“duetotheongoingconcerns

aboutNaveenJindal,DBTCAisfilingthisSARoutof anabundanceof caution. In addition,mostof the transactionswereprocessedonconsecutive, alternating or closely groupeddays throughhighrisk jurisdictions.”TheJSPLspokespersonsaid:“Themoney

senttoM/sTransGlobalMineralsandMetalswasforoceanfreightanddemurrage&otherrelatedchargesonlyandnotunderanyotherhead. The Company has submitted all rele-vantdocumentstotheconcernedauthoriseddealer banks at the timeof sending respec-tive remittance as per extant regulatoryguidelines.As per our understanding, TGMM, dur-

ingthatperiod,wasinbusinessofshipchart-ing/coaltradinganddidnothaveanybroker-investor relationwithus. JSPLhadnodirectrelationshipwith TGMMand our transac-tions with TGMM are purely commercialtransactions.Wehad receivedmoney fromM/sPowerPlantEPCagainstsupplyof fabri-cated steel structures/ Steel/ Machineryequipment.”

DEUTSCHEBANKTRUSTCOMPANYAMERICAS

Bank flags how Jindal Steelsent funds abroad — andgot them in same period

Suspicioustransactions ofIndians arered-flagged toUS regulator

New Delhi

C VID-19VACCINETRACKER

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

NEW RESEARCH hascompared health out-comes between strokepatients who also haveCovid-19 and thosewho do not. It foundthatstrokepatientswhoalso have Covid-19showed increased sys-temic inflammation, amore serious strokeseverity and a muchhigherrateofdeath.Theresearch, fromUniversity of Alabama atBirmingham, is published in thejournalBrain,Behavior&Immunity–Health.It was a retrospective, observa-

tionalstudyof60ischemicstrokepa-

tients admitted to UABHospital between lateMarch and early May2020. All patients weretested for Covid-19 atadmission.The researchers

minedmedical recordsfor data on thepatients’age, gender and race;clinical variables; labo-ratory data, includingcomplete blood counts,bloodchemistryandco-

agulation tests; and outcomes, in-cludingdeath, lengthofhospitalstayand condition at discharge.

Source: University of Alabama atBirmingham

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

AFTERMODERNAreleaseda135-pagedocument onThursdaygivingdetailsaboutongoingphase-3trialsofitscoro-navirus vaccine candidate, Pfizer hasnowcomeoutwith similar informa-tion,releasingthefullroadmapofhowthe trials are being con-ducted.Thetwodocumentscon-

tain information about thecriteriausedforselectingtrialparticipants,howtheyarebe-ingmonitored and the evi-dence that will be used to assesswhetherthevaccineiseffective.Suchinformationisusuallyshared

bycompaniesonlyaftertrialsareover,

butthemovebythesetwodevelopersseemtohavebeenpromptedbyaper-sistent scepticismabout coronavirusvaccines because of the speedwithwhichtheyarebeingdeveloped.Initsdocument,Modernahassaid

itexpectedtoknowabouttheeffectivenessofitsvaccinebyDecember. Pfizer has earliersaidthat itexpectseffective-ness data to be available bytheendofOctober.Bothvaccinesareunder-

goingphase-3trialsintheUnitedStatesright now, and are expected to beamong the first vaccines to be readyandmadeavailableforpublicuse.

After Moderna, Pfizer releasesdetailed information on trials

In stroke patients, outcomesfor those with/without Covid

INDIAACTIVECASES 1,010,824

WORLDTOTALCASES30,859,069

Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonSept20

INDIATOTALCASES5,400,619

Source:MinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfare,updatedat11pmonSept20

Note: TheSept19 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonSept20

11,00,000

10,00,000

900,000Sept10 Sept19

LAST 10 DAYS

943,480

1,010,824

11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected]

UDITMISRANEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

ONSUNDAY, Rajya Sabhapassed twoof thethreefarmreformsBills thathaveseenwide-spreadprotests in recentweeks, particularlyinHaryanaandPunjab,where the rulingBJPhas lost its ally Shiromani Akali Dal. PrimeMinisterNarendraModi has reiterated thatfarmerswill benefit from the changes, firstmentionedaspartoftheAtmanirbharBharatAbhiyanpackage.TheBills replacedthreeor-dinancespromulgatedearlier.

WhatdotheBillsdo?Thefirstthingtodoistosimplifythenames

of theseordinancesasagricultureeconomistSudhaNarayanan(of theIGIDR)hasdone.So, think of “The Farmers Produce Trade

andCommerce (Promotion andFacilitation)Ordinance, 2020” as the APMC BypassOrdinance.Treat“TheEssentialCommodities(Amendment) Ordinance, 2020” as “TheFreedomof FoodStockingbyAgribusinessesOrdinance”,and“TheFarmers(EmpowermentandProtection)AgreementonPriceAssuranceand FarmServices Ordinance, 2020” as theContractFarmingOrdinance.Onpaper,whatthefirstoneattemptstodo

isallowfarmerstoselltheirproduceatplacesother than theAPMC-regulatedmandis. It iscrucialtonotethattheideaisnottoshutdownAPMCsbuttoexpandafarmer’schoices.So,ifafarmerbelievesabetterdealispossiblewithsomeotherprivatebuyerthenhecantakethatoptioninsteadofsellingintheAPMCmandi.ThesecondBillproposestoalloweconomic

agentstostockfoodarticlesfreelywithoutthefearofbeingprosecutedforhoarding.The third Bill provides a framework for

farmers toenter intocontract farming—thatissigningawrittencontractwithacompanytoproducewhatthecompanywantsinreturnofahealthyremuneration.The ideawithall threeBills is to liberalise

thefarmmarketsinthehopethatdoingsowillmakethesystemmoreefficientandallowforbetterpricerealisationsforallconcerned,espe-cially the farmers. The central concern, pre-sumably,istomakeIndianfarmingamorere-

munerativeenterprisethanit isrightnow.

Howhavetheybeenreceived?Therearetwodiametricallyoppositeways

tolookatthesechanges.Oneistobelievethattheplanonpaperwill

operationaliseperfectlyinreallife.Thiswouldmeanfarmerswillgetoutoftheclutchesofthemonopoly of APMCmandis and evade therent-seekingbehaviour of the traditional in-termediaries(calledarhatiyas).Afarmerwouldbeable topickandchoosewhotosell to, andatwhatprice,aftermakinganinformeddeci-sion. And that,most crucially,whenhedoesthis,moreoftenthannot,hewillendupearn-ingmorethanwhathetypicallydidinthepastwhenhe sold his produce through the “ex-ploitative”arhatiyasintheAPMCmandis.Thepolaroppositeviewpoint,fromthepro-

testers,isthatthismovetowardsgreaterplayoffreemarketsisaploybythegovernmenttogetawayfromitstraditionalroleofbeingtheguar-antorofminimumsupportprices (MSPs). Tobesure,MSPswork in the formally regulatedAPMCmandis,andnotinprivatedeals.Farmers,especiallyinPunjabandHaryana

whereMSPsaremoreprominentlyemployed,are suspiciousofwhat themarketswill offerandhowthe“bigcompanies”will treatthem.Farmerscaninfluencethemostpowerfulgov-ernmentsthroughtheelectoralprocessbutvis-a-visbigcompanies,theyareexposedasminorplayers,incapableofbargainingeffectively.

Whichviewiscorrect?Therearenoeasyanswersapartfromsay-

ingthatwhilebothhavesomevalidpoints,nei-therviewisfullycorrect.For instance, the new laws are not shut-

tingdownAPMCmandis,noraretheyimply-ingthatMSPswillnotbefunctional.Moreover,it is true that— across several sectors of theeconomy— liberalisation has expanded thesizeofthepieandimprovedwellbeingacrosstheboard.Why should a farmer not have more

choices?Iftheprivatedealisnotdistinctlybet-ter, a farmer can carry onasbefore. If corpo-rate farming doesmanage toweaken theAPMCmandisystem,itwouldonlybebecausehordesof farmerschosecorporatefarmingorsellingoutsideexistingmandis.Coulditbethe

case that thearhatiyas andexisting elites aretheoneswhoarethreatenedbythisreform?Moreover, there is anunwarranted fasci-

nationwithMSPsinIndia.ThelastAgricultureCensus(2015-16)showedthat86%ofall landholdingsweresmallandmarginal(lessthan2hectares);seeChart.Thesearesuchsmallplotsthatmostfarmersdependentonthemarenetbuyersoffood.Assuch,whenMSPsareraisedtheytendtohurtthefarmersthemost.Thisisnotwithstandingthedatathatshows

moreandmorefarmproduceisbeingsoldtoprivateplayers— insteadof the governmentviaMSPs—already.On the other hand, one can understand

whyfarmersaresoscepticalaboutmarkets.Agood example iswhat happenedwhen thegovernmentenforcedabanononionexports.Indoingso,thegovernmentprioritisedthein-terests of the consumers over the interest ofthefarmers(theproducers).This is not the first time. There are innu-

merable past exampleswhen the govern-ment’sdecisiontoprotecttheconsumersfromhigher prices have resulted in farmers beingrobbedofthehigherpricesafreemarketcouldhaveprovidedthem.Infact,theMSP,itcanbeargued, istheembodimentof thisdistrust.Anotherunderlying structuralproblemis

the lack of informationwith farmers,whichinhibitstheirabilitytomakethebestdecisionfor themselves. For instance, howwill an av-erage farmer figureout the rightprice forhisorherproduce?Similarly,intheabsenceofadequateinfra-

structuretostoretheirproduce, farmersmaynot have the capacity to bargain effectivelyevenif theyknewtherightprice.

Whereisallthisheadingto?Intheend,whatwilldeterminetheresults

ofthislatestsetofreformswillbetheirimple-mentation.If farmersfeelrobbedandexploitedwhen

theyparticipatemorefullyinthemarket,theywill blame the politicalmasters. But, if theytastesuccessviabetterreturnsonasustainedbasis—higherprofitsthatallowthemtoaffordbetterstandardsofliving—thenseverallong-standingdoubts andmisgivings aboutmar-ketsandthesereformswillmelt.

ON SUNDAY, the government pushedthroughtwocrucialagricultureBillsinRajyaSabha, rejectingOpposition demands thatthey be referred to a Select Committee ofRajyaSabha.ProceedingsweredisruptedastheOppositionprotestedagainstthefactthatneitherBillhadbeenscrutinisedbyaparlia-mentarycommittee.

What isaparliamentarycommittee’srole inpassageofaBill?Parliament scrutinises legislative pro-

posals(Bills)intwoways.Thefirstisbydis-cussing it on the floor of the twoHouses.This is a legislative requirement; all Billshave to be taken up for debate. The time

spentdebating thebills canvary. They canbepassedinamatterofminutes,ordebateand voting on them can run late into thenight. Since Parliamentmeets for 70 to 80days in a year, there is not enough time todiscusseveryBill indetailontheflooroftheHouse. Plus debate in the house ismostlypolitical anddoesnot go into the technicaldetailsof a legislativeproposal.Thesecondmechanismisbyreferringa

Bill to a parliamentary committee. It takescareof the legislative infirmityofdebateontheflooroftheHouse.WoodrowWilson,be-forehebecameUSPresidentin1885:“... it isnotfarfromthetruthtosaythatCongressinsession is Congress on public exhibition,whilst Congress in its committee rooms isCongress atwork”. But referring of Bills toparliamentarycommitteesisnotmandatory.

Andwhat isaSelectCommittee?India’sParliamenthasmultipletypesof

committees. Theycanbedifferentiatedonthe basis of theirwork, theirmembershipandthelengthoftheirtenure.Firstarecom-mittees that examine bills, budgets andpolicies of ministries. These are called de-

partmentallyrelatedStandingCommittees.Thereare24suchcommitteesandbetweenthem,theyfocusontheworkingofdifferentministries.Eachcommitteehas31MPs,21fromLokSabhaand10 fromRajyaSabha.When theywere being set up in 1993,

Vice President K RNarayanan said, “... themainpurpose,ofcourse,istoensuretheac-countability of Government to Parliamentthroughmore detailed consideration ofmeasuresinthesecommittees.Thepurposeisnottoweakenorcriticisetheadministra-tion but to strengthen by investing inwithmoremeaningfulparliamentarysupport.”Departmentally related Standing

Committeeshaveatenureofoneyear, thenthey are reconstituted and theirwork con-tinues throughout the termof a Lok Sabha.Ministersarenotmembers;keycommitteeslikethoserelatedtoFinance,Defence,HomeetcareusuallychairedbyOppositionMPs.Then there are committees constituted

for a specific purpose,withMPs frombothHouses. The specific purpose could be de-tailed scrutiny of a subjectmatter or a Bill.These are Joint Parliamentary Committees(JPC). In 2011 the issue of telecom licences

and spectrum was examined by a JPCheadedbyCongressMPPCChacko.In2016,theCitizenship(Amendment)BillwassenttoaJPCchairedbyBJPMPRajendraAgarwal.Andfinally, there isaSelectCommittee

onaBill.Thisisformedforexaminingapar-ticularBillanditsmembershipislimitedtoMPsfromoneHouse.LastyearRajyaSabhareferred the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill,2019toaSelectCommitteeof23of itsMPsfromdifferentparties. ThecommitteewasheadedbyBJPMPBhupenderYadav.Sinceboth the JPCs and Select Committees areconstituted fora specificpurpose, theyaredisbanded after their report. Both thesetypes of committees are chaired byMPsfromtherulingparty.

WhendoesacommitteeexamineaBill?Bills are not automatically sent to com-

mittees for examination. There are threebroadpathsbywhichaBillcanreachacom-mittee.Thefirstiswhentheministerpilotingthe Bill recommends to theHouse that hisBill be examined by a Select Committee ofthe House or a joint committee of bothHouses.LastyearElectronicsandITMinister

RaviShankarPrasadmovedamotioninLokSabhareferringthePersonalDataProtectionBill to a Joint Committee. If theministermakesnosuchmotion,itisuptothepresid-ingofficeroftheHousetodecidewhethertosend a Bill to a departmentally relatedStanding Committee. During the last LokSabha,VenkaiahNaiduasChairmanofRajyaSabhasenteightBills todepartmentally re-latedStandingCommittees.Andfinally,aBillpassedbyoneHousecanbesentbytheotherHouse to its Select Committee. In 2011, theLokpalBillpassedbyLokSabhawassentbyRajya Sabha to its Select Committee. In thelast Lok Sabha,multiple Billswere sent toRajyaSabhaselectcommittees.SendingaBill to anycommittee results

in two things. First, the committee under-takes a detailed examination of the Bill. Itinvitescommentsandsuggestionsfromex-perts, stakeholders and citizens. The gov-ernmentalsoappearsbeforethecommitteetopresent itsviewpoint.All thisresults inareportthatmakessuggestionsforstrength-ening the Bill.While the committee is de-liberatingonaBill,thereisapauseinitsleg-islative journey. It can only progress in

Parliament after the committee has sub-mitted its report. Usually, parliamentarycommittees are supposed to submit theirreports in threemonths, but sometimes itcan take longer.

Whathappensafter thereport?The reportof thecommittee isof a rec-

ommendatorynature.Thegovernmentcanchoosetoacceptorrejectitsrecommenda-tions.Veryoften thegovernment incorpo-rates suggestions made by committees.SelectCommitteesandJPCshaveanaddedadvantage. Intheirreport, theycanalsoin-clude their versionof theBill. If theydoso,theministerinchargeof thatparticularBillcanmoveforthecommittee’sversionoftheBilltobediscussedandpassedintheHouse.In the current Lok Sabha, 17 Bills have

been referred to committees. In the 16thLok Sabha (2014-19), 25% of the Billswerereferred to committees, whichwasmuchlowerthanthe71%and60%inthe15thand14thLokSabharespectively.

(ChakshuRoyistheHeadofLegislativeandCivicEngagementatPRSLegislativeResearch)

EXPERTEXPLAINSChakshuRoyFromThe IndianExpresspanelof specialists, exclusive insight

HARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

ONMANYoccasions, it isn't thelawbutwhatitappearstoconveyandthecontextinwhichitisframedthatholdsrelevance.Thiscertainlyis the casewith the Farmers’ Produce TradeandCommerce (Promotion andFacilitation)Bill that is set tobecomelawwith itspassageinbothHousesofParliament.This lawnowhere states that the current

systemofminimum support price (MSP)-basedprocurementof foodgrains (essentiallywheat andpaddy) by government agencieswouldend.Aplainreadingof theBillsuggeststhat suchpurchases in state-regulatedAPMC(agriculturalproducemarketcommittee)man-diswillcontinueasbefore.TheAPMCswould-n't stop functioningeither; nothingpreventsfarmers fromselling theirproduceor tradersandprocessorsfrombuyinginthesemandis.All the lawdoes is provide farmers an al-

ternativeplatformtosell. This couldbea fac-tory premise/processingplant, produce col-lectioncentre,coldstorage,warehouse,silooreventhefarmgate.Transactionsinsuch“tradeareas”willnotbechargedAPMCmarketfeeorcess.Theseleviesshallapplyonlyintradesthattakeplacewithintheboundariesof theregu-latedmarketyardsormandissetupunderthe

respectivestateAPMCacts.

Farmers’ perceptionYet, that’snothowfarmers—especially in

PunjabandHaryanaandprobablyalsoMPandChhattisgarh—perceivethenewlaw.Thegov-ernmenthas sought toproject the legislationas“creatinganecosystem”wherefarmerswillenjoythe“freedomofchoice”toselltoanyone,anywhereinthecountry.Neitherfarmersnortraders,processors,retailersandexporterswillhenceforthbeforcedtosellorbuyonthephys-icalpremisesofAPMCmandis.Butthefarmers,atleastfromthesaidstates,

seemleastinterestedinthepromisedfreedom.For them, the threat to the existing system,whichhasworkedreasonablywellwithallitslimitations, iswhatmatters.In 2019-20 alone, government agencies

procured201.14lakhtonnes(lt)ofwheatand226.56 ltof paddyfromPunjabandHaryana.That, at their respectiveMSPsofRs1,925andRs1,835perquintal,wouldhavebeenworthRs80,293.21crore.Andallthesepurchasesweredoneinthemandis.Thepresent“ecosystem”benefitsnot just

farmers. Government agencies procurethrougharhatiyasorcommissionagents.Thegrainbrought to themandis is unloadedandcleanedattheplatformsinfrontoftheirshops,beforebeingauctioned,weighed,baggedand

loadedonto rail rakes or trucks. For all theseservices, theychargea2.5%damiorcommis-sion feeon topof theMSP. Thearhatiyas alsomakemoney by financing farmers, who inturn,selltheirproducethroughthem.For farmers,arhatiyas (manyof thembig-

ger farmers)and labourers in themandis, thegains from “freedom” are theoretical. Thelosses fromAPMCsbeing renderedunviable—which canhappen if trademoves outsideandthegovernmentstopsbuyinggradually—arepracticalandreal.What if theneighbour-ingmandi doesnot earn enoughmarket feeandturnsintoaBSNLvis-a-visaJioorAirtel?“Forcorporates, the firstyear ischatti (loss

making),thesecondyeariskhatti(breakeven)andthethirdyearishatti(profitmaking). Ifal-lowedtobuydirectly,theywillfirstensurethatthemandis closedownwithout the govern-ment doing it,” said PritamSinghHanjra, afarmerfromUrlanaKhurdvillageinPanipat.

WhatnextButthequestionstoaskis:Willthedisman-

tlingofAPMCmonopolyactuallyleadtotheirbecoming redundant? Secondly,would theyresultincorporateagri-businessesestablishingdirectconnectionwithfarmersandeliminat-ingmarketintermediaries?A clue to the answer to the first question

liesinBihar.ThestaterepealeditsAPMCActin

2006,yettheGulabBaghmandiinPurneadis-trict handles anestimated5-6 lt ofmaize ar-rivalsannually.Thatmakes italmostasbigasthemorefamousKhannaorRajpuraAPMCofPunjab. Even today, thebulkof Bihar's 30-40lt maize production is bought throughtraders/aggregatorsdoingbusinessformulti-nationalcommodityfirmsandfeedmills.There are further established APMCs in

specific commodities—Unjha inGujarat forjeera,GunturMirchiYardinAndhraforchilli,Lasalgaon andNarayangaon for onions andtomatoesinMaharashtra—thatareunlikelyto face any existential threat in the near fu-ture.Thesimplereasonisthattheyarepatro-nised equally by farmers and buyers. Forthem,creatingparallelmarketinginfrastruc-ture forproduce isnoteasy.As regards the secondquestion,milk is a

produceneithertradedinmandisnorcoveredunderAPMClaws.Yet,mostorganisedprivatedairiesprocureitthroughbulkvendorsratherthandirectlyfromfarmers.Aggregatorsandin-termediarieswill remain in the farmmarket-inglandscapeevenifAPMCsceasetoexist.Evenbig corporateswill prefer toprocure throughthemandnotdealdirectlywithfarmers.ForfarmersinPunjabandHaryana,though,

thestruggleisforbothAPMCsandgovernmentprocurementtoremain.Andthatisworthevenbarteringone’s freedom.

Bill on farm trade: actual text vs perception

Making sense of the farm Bills

Select Committees and other parliamentary panels: role, limitations

Twoof thethreecontentiousfarmBillshavebeenpassed.Whatdotheyseektoachieveonpaper,andwhatarethefearsof thoseprotesting?Alookatdifferingperspectives,andwherethiscould leadto

SIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

1,20,000

1,00,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0

1970-71

1976-77

1980-81

1985-86

1990-91

1995-96

2000-01

2005-06

2010-11

2015-16

Marginal (below1hectare)Small (1-2hectares)Semi-Medium (2-4hectares)Medium (4-10hectares)Large (10-20hectares)

NUMBEROFOPERATIONALHOLDINGS: TRENDS

Source:AgriculturalCensuses

E EXPLAINEDTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020

New Delhi

MANOJCG:Parliamentisinsessioninthemiddleofapandemic.Whathastheexperiencebeenlike?All theMPs are facing a tremendous

number of challenges…The abolition ofQuestionHourhasbeenaseriousirritationandsetbackbecausethatwastheonlyrealoccasionwhereyoucouldelicitunscriptedresponses fromministers... Another con-straint,which isa littlemoresurprising, istheunwillingnessofthegovernmentsofartodiscussveryseriousissues.TheobviousexamplebeingtheChinaconflict...Backin1962,whiletheChinawarwasraging,AtalBihariVajpayeehadaskedforaParliamentsessionandgotit,andthegovernmentwashauled over the coalswhile thewarwasactually goingon. Itwas anextraordinaryphenomenon...Butsadly,nowwearefind-ingthatIndiandemocracyhasactuallybe-comeastep-childofthegovernment’sun-willingnesstoconfrontthematter.

LIZMATHEW:Wehaveseenalotofconflict inParliamentarycommitteesrecently.Howdoyouviewthesedevelopments?It isadisturbingevolutioninourprac-

tice. Frommyown experience, it startedwith theBJP’s unprecedenteddecision totaketheExternalAffairsCommitteechair-manship for itself…Iamsorry tosaythatthegovernmenthasputmoreimportanceon limiting the discussion... Despite theChinacrisis,thepresentchairmanhastoldtheExternalAffairsCommitteethatitcan-notbediscussedbecauseitpertainstona-tionalsecurity.Well,youmayaswellwindup the External Affairs Committee if youcan’t discuss national security. I find thisattituderatherperplexing.When it comes to the Standing

CommitteeforInformationTechnology,weare currently in a hiatus so I don’t knowwhether I will be chairman tomorrow. Ihavenotbeen toldofficiallywhatmy fateis…but even the Speaker has concurredthatIwasfullywithinmyrightsinindicat-ingthatanagendarelevanttotheFacebookissue had already been adopted by the ITcommitteeat thebeginningof theparlia-mentary year —wewere appointed inSeptemberandinthatverymonthin2019,we adopted the agendaunanimously... Inthat, we had adopted an item about themisuseofsocialmedia,cybersecurity…Infact,theagendaitemhadactuallybeencar-ried on from the previous committee,chaired by the BJP’s Anurag Thakur,whohadsummonedanumberof socialmediafirms includingFacebookandTwitterun-derthatveryagenda.So...sincewehadsuchanagenda,IthoughtthecommitteewouldundoubtedlywanttohearfromFacebook,andthentosendaninvitationwasentirelyappropriate. The objection fromonepar-ticularmember, rather obstreperouslybrandishedonsocialmedia, that Ihadex-ceededmyauthority,was completelyoutofline.(TheCommitteeheadedbyTharoorhad called representatives of Facebook tohear their views “on the subject of safe-guardingcitizens’rightsandpreventionofmisuse of social/online newsmedia plat-forms”).The politicisation of the committee’s

workings is extremely unfortunate... Youwouldall remember thatwhentheques-tionof televisingParliamentcameupun-der SomnathChatterjee, an explicit deci-sionwasmadenot to televise committeemeetings, not only to preserve confiden-tialitybutalsotopreventthekindofgrand-standing for the cameras that politiciansfeel obliged todo... Theywanted it to be aconstructive, fo-cussed exercise ofcommittee delibera-tions, and that wasthe reason for keep-ingcamerasout.Iftheruling partywere torespect that spiritthrough which thecommittee systemwas devised... thenthere would be nocause for complaintandcontroversy.Alotofthesecontroversiescouldhavebeenavoided.

SANTANUCHOWDHURY:WhatistheCongress’spositiononthegovernment’sresponseinParliamentthatitdoesnothavedataondeathsofmigrantworkerscausedduetothelockdown?TheCongress party has raised themi-

grants’ issue since the beginning,when itwasmassively apparent that one conse-quenceofthelockdowndecisionwouldbethefactthatthegovernmentdidnotleavepeopleanytimetomakeanysortof alter-native arrangements... (It) was an act ofgreatirresponsibilityconductedoutofthesamefondnessforshockandawethatgaveusthedisastrously ill-considereddemon-etisation decision, and the very botched

andhastyroll-outoftheGSTforwhichtheentire systemwasunprepared…This is agovernment that has boasted about digi-talIndia,thisisagovernmentwhoseintru-sive entry into the lives of Indian citizenshas been rightly commented upon bythosewho fear theonsetof a surveillanceState.Moreandmorewearebeingobligedto download apps that give the govern-mentallsortsofaccesstoourinformation,our location, our address andmore.With

thegovernmenthav-ingsuchdataatitsdis-posal, what is theprobleminbeingableto account for them(themigrants). I findthispuzzlingandper-hapsmorean indica-tion that the govern-ment is unwilling toconfrontreality.

SHUBHAJITROY:Howdidyoudecideonwritingthe

letterseekingsweepingchangesintheCongress?Secondly,aftertheletterbecamepublic,whywasthereastudiedsilenceonyourpart?(Ontheletter)ThisisnotanissueIwant

to engage on verymuchnow. I think it iswidely known that the letterwaswrittenverymuchinthespiritofstrengtheningtheIndianNationalCongress, notdividing it...Unfortunately,thewayinwhichthisentireexercise played out at the WorkingCommitteeandbeyond…Ithoughtexac-erbatingtheissuethroughadditionalcom-mentswouldservenopurpose.Thepresi-dentof thepartyhastakenituponherselfattheWorkingCommitteetofindwaystomove forward... There is talk of the AICCsessioninthefirstquarterofnextyear...Allofusconcernedabouttheparty justwant

to see some constructivemovement andwewillwait forthat.Weknow that the BJP has been thriv-

ingonusingthemediaasaweaponofmassdistraction. It’s having eyeballs shiftingaway from unemployment, from eco-nomic failure, from the China crisis,mis-managementofCovid-19, towards thingslike Sushant Singh Rajput and KanganaRanaut’sofficedemolition... Ididn’t feelasacommittedCongressworkerandMPthatIshouldcontributetodistractingthemediafurtherawayfromtheBJP’sastonishingfail-ingsofthistimebyspendingallmyenergytalking aboutmy party.When the timecomes, and I judge it appropriate, I willspeak. But right now, to speak openly onthis issuewould be playing into the BJP’sdistractionagendaandtheBJPwillnotfindmeobligingthem.

MANOJCG:IfRahulGandhistandsforthepostofpresidentatthenextAICCsession,willsomebodychallengehim?I don’t want to comment on that... In

any case, all our concerns are for the fu-ture of the party andwhoever is able tomake a contribution to be a part of thatfuturehastobeembraced.Let’sbehonest,thisparty is theonlyviablealternative tothemisgovernance thecountry is suffer-ingnow.

VANDITAMISHRA:Inthepast,someofyourstatementshavebeenconstruedasbeinginpraiseofMrModi.Yourresponsehasbeenthat,one, ifyoudon’tpraisehimwhenheneedstobepraised,yourcriticismwillalsonotbeheard.ThesecondpointyoumadeisthattheCongressneedstounderstandwhythepeoplevotedforMrModi.WhydoyouthinkpeoplevotedforPMModi,notoncenowbuttwice?There are a number of factors. One is

perception.TheperceptionaboutMrModiisthatheisaselfless figurewithnofamilytomakemoney for and no agenda otherthanthenation’sbetterment. That imagehasmanaged to appeal to a lot of peoplewhoarenotevenideologicallycommittedtotheBJPtothinkofhimasagoodperson.Secondly, people have also voted for

(Modi), ondifferentoccasions, becauseofcircumstances of that time. Certainly, forexample,weintheSouthunderestimatedthe impact ofPulwamaandBalakoton the sensibilitiesoftheNorth Indianvot-ers in2019. Similarly,wefailedtorealisetheimpact of buildingtoilets without run-ningwater... What’sinteresting is thatweassumed that voterswould say that this isjust for appearancesand it has made nopracticaldifferencetoour lives, but instead, people said at leasthehasdonesomethingforus.Thiskindofperceptionmanagementwas also bril-liantly executed by theBJP on their socialmedia, on televisions debates, onWhatsApp...TheIndianvoterchosetovoteonthebasisoftheirperceptionofMrModi,ratherthanintheirowneconomicself-in-terest. That is a very paradoxical issuewhich nodoubt psephologistswill studyforsometime.

PRANAVMUKUL:Inhandingovertheoperationofthe ThiruvananthapuramairporttotheAdanigroup,arethereconcernsthatacompanywithoutanyexperienceofrunninganairportcouldbeproblematic,especiallywhenthestategovernmentisofferingtorunit?

When the Central government an-nouncedthatitwasplanningandpropos-ingtotenderlicensingoftheseairports,sixairports by name, the state governmentcouldat thatpointhavedecidedthat theydidnotwantTrivandrumairportincludedin that exercise…Kerala chose to partici-pate in the tender.Not theKerala govern-ment per say but as an SPV (SpecialPurposeVehicle)setupbytheKeralagov-ernmentwhichtheKeralaStateIndustrialDevelopmentCorporationwassup-posed to front. Thebizarre thing is thatthe KSIDC has neverrun an airport ei-ther… Whatever itmay be, they negoti-atedwiththeCentralgovernment that iftheir bidwaswithin10 per cent of thewinningbid,theywillhave the right tomatchthewinningbidandtaketheairportfortheirSPV.TheCentralgovernment,inaremarkableshowofflexibility,saidyes.Buttheycameinwithabidwhichwassome-thinglike19%lowerthanthewinningbid,whichhappenedtobebyMrAdani.Now,the tender termswere publicly known,theydidnot requireyou tohaveprior air-port experience…Wealready know that

for the other airportsMrAdani haswonhehassignedanoperat-

ingcontractwithsomeEuropean air-

port operatorwho is going to come in ashis partner and do it.We also know, be-cause there is no secret about it, that theKeralagovernment’sformulawasintendedto be to hand over a decent chunk of theSPV to a favoured capitalist who theywoulddealwith.Soitwasnotthatthegov-ernmentwas going to run the airport. Sothe ideological objection also seemed, tobeputtingitbluntly,opaque...ManyintheCongresspartyandthoseon

thelefthandsideofthespectrumdon’tlikethe company thathappened towin it. Iamcompletelyagnos-ticonthat.Icantellyouthat I would havetakenthesamestandonKeralagovernmentif insteadofMrAdaniit hadbeenMrYusufAli orMr Ravi Pillai or forthatmatteraGMRorGVK or any of theseother companies iftheyhadthewinning

bid, but they didn’t. It happened to beMrAdani.

DIPANKARGHOSE:Giventhatthereisagrowingintersectionbetweenthedigitalspaceandpolitics, ifyouwereingovernmenttoday,howwouldyouapproachorregulateit?...The process Iwouldwish to embark

uponif IwereinRaviShankarPrasad’sjob,wouldbetoencouragethesesocalledso-cialmediaintermediarieslikeFacebooknottoshelterpurelybehindtheterminterme-diary…Theyaremorelikeapublisherwhohas to stand by the content of what theyhavepublished…Now, howdowe strikeabalance? I thinkthis iswherewecanre-quireself-regulationbutthroughaconsul-tativeprocessthattakesintoaccountthe...

stakeholders,whoarenotonlythegovern-ment.WemustcreatemechanismswhereordinaryInternetusers, journalists,politi-cians,governmentofficialsandothers, in-cludingperhaps retired judges, couldcol-lectively constitute the stakeholderswhowould be officially empowered, perhapsby legislation, toworkasan independent,neutral,non-governmentdominatedbodyto engagewith these platforms. And, likemany of the broadcasting standards au-

thorities around theworld,beinapositionto issue advisoriesand even criticismsbut without thepowertoactuallyen-force laws againstthem. Because onceyou give some insti-tution the power toregulateandtakeen-forcementaction,youare opening up thespacetogovernment

controlof freedomofexpression.

NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIAN:Howdoyouviewperceptionsofyoubeingasoft-HindutvapersonwhoisconstantlytryingtopreparefortheeventualitythatyoumayhavetojointheBJP?AndwhatdoesitdotoyourownstandingwithintheCongress?OnthequestionofsoftHindutvaaspo-

litical positioning, I am the onewho hassaid that if you go for Hindutva lite, likeCokeliteorPepsizero,youwillendupwithCongress zero. Andmy entire argumentgoesbacktomystudyofAmericanpoliticswhen Harry Truman famously told theDemocrats, “If youoffer voters the choicebetween theRepublican Party and apaleimitationoftheRepublicanparty,theywillgofortherealthingeverytime.”It’sexactlythe same logic I have consistently arguedin India. I have been a sustained voiceagainst softHindutva inside theCongressparty…IhavesaidthatwhenRahulGandhigoestoatemple,heisactuallyadvertisinghis respect for his own faith andhis ownbelief.Heisnotmakingastatementagainstanyoneelse.AndinThiruvananthapuram,I gowith equal respect tomosques andchurchesasIdototemples.

AAKASHJOSHI:Hasforeignpolicybecomingapartofdomesticpoliticalrhetoricaffectedourtieswithourneighbours?Whathas sadlyhappenedwith this

presentgovernment is thatapanderingtodomesticconstituencieshasunfortu-nately takenprecedenceover the sensi-tivities of our neighbours. We saw thiswithNepal on theentirebusinessof theMadheshis... TheBJP’spolicieshavesuc-cessfully alienated much of the Nepalipolitical establishment. OnBangladesh,wehave seen this business of theHomeMinister talking about Bangladeshi mi-grants as termites and threatening tothrow them all back…On Pakistan, theless said the better. Undoubtedly, thereis blame togoon thePakistani side.Andthen,wehad thePrimeMinister saying,again for domestic consumption, thatChina has essentially not transgressed,whereas all the evidence and the state-ments of the Defence Minister and theArmysuggestedotherwise.Sotheques-tion of domestic politics above all israther frustrating for thosewhose prin-cipal concern is India’s international re-lations, its internationalcooperationanddiplomacy. Out of control rhetoric, tar-getingdomesticaudienceshasmadethejob of our diplomats so much harderthan it shouldbe.

KRISHNKAUSHIK:HowdoyouseethecurrentstandoffwithChina?DidwefailtoreadChina’sintentionovertheyearsorintherecentpast?If Iwere to look at the specific actions

of the last fewmonths, my impressionseemstobethattheyhaveadvancedtheirpositionalongtheareasoftheLACthattheycovet. They seem to be eyeing construc-tionsonourside.Theywant tobe inapo-sitiontothreatenwhentheywantto... Allofthesethingsworrymeverygreatly,par-ticularly in the context of the long-termstrategyofChina.YouallknowthatBeijingkeepssayingthatthebordershouldbeleftto futuregenerations tosettle…TheywillconsolidatetheLACwheretheywantandwhen they are ready for an eventual bor-dersettlement,maybe20yearsfromnow,it has to take these new realities into ac-count. Border incidents occur to keep theIndiansoffbalance.Beijingisdemonstrat-ingtotheworldthatIndiaisnotcapableofchallengingChina, letaloneofferingsecu-ritytoothernations.Whattheyhavedoneis absolutelybeyonda shadowof adoubtan extremely clever and hostile strategy,whichisdesignedtocutIndiadowntosizeandputusinourplace.

‘

BJP usingmedia as weapon ofmass distraction,shifting eyeballs fromCovid, China, economy...

SHASHI THAROOR,MEMBEROFPARLIAMENT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

‘‘

‘Many don’t like firm (Adanigroup) that won bid for

Trivandrum airport. I amagnostic on that. I would

have taken same stand hadit been any other company


IDEAEXCHANGE Newsmakers in theNewsroom


‘

‘Beijing is demonstrating tothe world that India is not

capable of challengingChina, let alone offering

security to other nations...It’s to cut India down to size ‘

‘(In 2019) The Indian voterchose to vote on the basis oftheir perception of Mr Modi,

rather than in their owneconomic self-interest. That

is very paradoxical

TheCongressleadersaysabolitionofQuestionHourisa“seriousirritation”,calls“politicisation”ofworkingsofHousepanels“unfortunate”,sayssocialmediarequiresself-regulationbutvia“consultativeprocess”,andassertsCongistheonlyviablealternativetoBJP.ThesessionwasmoderatedbyDeputyAssociateEditorManojCG

WHYSHASHITHAROOR

Writer, diplomatand MP, Tharoorwas among the

23 leaders who recentlysought changes within theCongress. Earlier this month,as head of the StandingCommittee on IT, hesummoned Facebook, whichresulted in a clash with a BJPmember on the panel. Morerecently, he has writtenTharoorosaurus, a book withunusual words from everyletter of the alphabet

Illustration: SuvajitDey

New Delhi


THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEANWHILE

LOSTUSWWIISUBMARINEFOUND INSEASIAIn the murky waters of the Strait of Malacca, about 90 miles south of Phuket, Thailand,four divers discovered a World War II submarine that was scuttled 77 years ago, nowteeming with marine life. The wreckage is believed to be the USS Grenadier, an Americansubmarine known to have sank six ships before it was bombed by a Japanese plane.

BELARUS

Hackers leakpersonaldataof1,000copsamidprotestsANONYMOUSHACKERSleaked the personal dataof1,000Belarusianpoliceofficersinretaliationforacrackdown on streetdemonstrations againstveteran PresidentAlexander Lukashenko,as protesters geared upfor anothermass rallyonSunday. “As the arrestscontinue, we will con-tinuetopublishdataonamassive scale,” said astatement that was dis-tributed by the opposi-tionnews channelNextaLive on the messagingapp Telegram. “No onewill remain anonymouseven under a balaclava.”The government said itwould find and punishthose responsible.

Policedetainaprotester inMinsk.AP

TOPOFTHEWORLD

ITALY

ItaliansvoteinregionalcontestsshapedbyCovidITALIANSINsevenregionsheadedtothepollsSundayfor two days of votingshaped by the Covid-19pandemic.Voterswerere-quiredtowearmasksandmaintainsocialdistancingas they cast ballots in re-gional contests originallyscheduled for the springbut delayed due to thepandemic.Italy’soutbreakhas claimed more than35,600 lives and stricken296,500 people sinceFebruary.Forthefirsttime,voters over 65will havepreferentialaccessandwillbe guided to the front ofany line by volunteersfromItaly’scivilprotectionagency.

GERMANY

PublicsectorworkerssettogoonstrikePUBLIC SECTORworkersin Germany will startstaging strikes after thelatest round of wage ne-gotiations failed to pro-duceanagreement, theirunion said Sunday. TheVer.di union, which rep-resents around 2.3 mil-lionfederalandlocalem-ployees, said strikes willstartTuesday.Itdidn’tan-nouncewhereandsaiditwould providemore in-formationMonday. Theunion didn’t rule outkindergarten teacherstaking part in the strike,which could cause diffi-culties forparents.

CHRISTOPHERFLAVELLESEPTEMBER20

CALIFORNIAISoneofAmerica’smarvels.Bymovingvastquanti-ties of water and suppressingwildfires for decades, the statehas transformed its arid andmountainouslandscapeintotherichest, most populous andbounteousplace in thenation.Butnow,thosesamefeatshave

givenCaliforniaanewandunwel-comecategoryofsuperlatives.This year is the state’sworst

wildfireseasononrecord.Thatfol-lowsitshottestAugustonrecord;a punishing drought that lastedfrom2011tolastyear;andoneof

itsworst flood emergencies onrecord three years ago, whenheavy rains caused the state’shighestdamtonearlyfail,forcingmorethan180,000peopletoflee.The same manufactured

landscapes that have enabledCalifornia’stremendousgrowth,building the state into a $3 tril-lion economy that is home toone in 10 Americans, have alsoleft it more exposed to climateshocks, experts say.And those shocks will only

getworse.“There’ssortofthissensethat

we can bend the world to ourwill,” saidKristinaDahl, a seniorclimatescientistinSanFranciscofor the Union of Concerned

Scientists.“Climatechangeisex-posing the vulnerabilities in thesystemsthatwe’veengineered.”Those systems include some

of thegreatestaccomplishmentsinAmericanpublicinfrastructure:Transporting huge amounts ofwater fromthemountainstothecoast and fromnorth to south.Creating almost 1,500 reservoirsto store that water until it’sneeded. Subduing the fires thatare part of forest ecosystems,makingmorelandlivableformil-lions but stocking those forestswith fuel in theprocess.Buildingdensecitiesalongashorelinesus-ceptibletoerosionandflooding.Thoseaccomplishmentsre-

flect the optimism that defines

California,accordingtoRJisungPark, an assistant professor ofpublic policy at the University

of California, Los Angeles. Butlike so much that underpinsmodern American life, they

weren’tdesignedtoaccommo-date the increasingly harsh ex-tremes of climate change. “Theshocksareoutside therange, inmanycases,ofhistoricalexperi-ence,” Park said.Park, likeother experts inter-

viewed,notedthatCalifornia’sen-gineered landscapes are not theonlyfactorbehinditshigh-impactdisasters.Thestate’ssizeandgeo-graphic diversity expose it to anunusuallywiderangeofextremeclimateevents.Anditslargepop-ulationmeans thatwhendisas-tersdostrike, theyarevery likelytoaffectlargenumbersofpeople.Still, themanufactured sys-

temsthatsupportthestate’spop-ulationandeconomyhaveleftthe

state especially vulnerable. Thewildfiresareonlythelatestexam-ple of how climate change cancause engineered landscapes togo awry. Those blazes are partlytheresultofhotter temperaturesanddrierconditions,scientistssay,whichhavemadeiteasierforveg-etation to ignite, causing fires tobecomebiggerandmoreintense.Buttheintensityofthosefires

alsoreflectsdecadesofpolicyde-cisionsthatalteredthoseforests,accordingtoRobertBonnie,whooversaw the US Forest Serviceunder President BarackObama.Andthecostofthosedecisionsisnowcomingdue.In an effort to protect homes

andencouragenewbuilding,gov-

ernmentsfordecadesfocusedonsuppressing fires that occurrednaturally,allowingthebuildupofvegetation thatwould providefuel for futureblazes.Officials re-mained reluctant to reduce thatvegetation through prescribedburns,waryofupsettingresidentswithsmokeorstartinga fire thatmightburnoutofcontrol.That approach made

California’sforestsmorecomfort-able for theestimated11millionpeople who now live in andaroundthem.Butithasalsomadethemmore susceptible to cata-strophicfires.“We’vesortofbuiltup this fire debt,” Bonnie said.“Peoplearegoingtohavetotoler-atesmokeandrisk.”NYT

THE ENGINEERING AND LAND-MANAGEMENT THAT ENABLED THE STATE’S GROWTH HAVE LEFT IT VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE SHOCKS

How California has become Ground Zero for climate disasters in US

NEWYORKTIMESSEPTEMBER20

EVENASAmericanscontinued togathertopaytributetoJusticeRuthBaderGinsburg—withstirringeu-logies often followedby stridentcalls topreserveher legacy—USPresidentDonaldTrumpandhisrival,JoeBiden,plannedhowtheircampaignswould navigate theemergenceofaSupremeCourtva-cancy soclose to thepresidentialelectiononNovember3.“I will be putting forth the

nomineenextweek; itwill be awoman,”Trumpsaidatarallyatan airport in Fayetteville, NorthCarolina. “I actually likewomenmuchmore than I likemen.”Republicanshavebeentrying

to shore up support after theirslimmarginintheSenate(whichthey control 53-47) appeared tonarrow, with Senators LisaMurkowskiandSusanCollinssay-ing theywereopposed to votingonanomineebeforetheelection.But Trump’s push to move

quickly has received pledges ofsupport fromMitchMcConnell,the Senatemajority leader, andSenator Lindsey Graham,whocontradictedremarkshemadein2016whenhesaidhewouldop-pose any effort to fill a SupremeCourtvacancyinanelectionyear.While Democrats have few

tools at their disposal to block avoteonaSupremeCourtnomina-tion, theywarned Republicansthatnothingwouldbeoffthetableif theconfirmationwentahead.The Biden campaign’s plan

onaddressingtheissueoftheva-cancywill focusonhealthcare.Bidenhasspentmonthscon-

demningTrumpasafailedstew-ard of the nation’s well-being,framingtheelectionasavoteonthehishandlingof Covid-19.Now, confrontedwith amo-

ment thatmanybelievewill up-end the2020election, theBidencampaignisstickingtowhatitbe-lieves is a winning strategy.Campaignaides said theywouldseektolinktheSupremeCourtva-cancy to the health emergencygripping the country and the fu-tureofhealthcareinAmerica.

MUJIBMASHAL,FATIMAFAIZI&THOMASGIBBONS-NEFFDOHA,SEPTEMBER20

VIOLENCECONTINUEDunabatedacrossAfghanistanonSaturdayasnegotiators from the warringsides remainedboggeddownbydisagreementsoveraframeworkfor talksaweekafterhistoricne-gotiationsbeganinDoha,Qatar.More than a dozen civilians

werefeareddeadinoneairstrikebyAfghanforcesintheNorth.Thedeathscameasaweekofdiscus-sions still had not finalised therules for negotiations over con-tentious issues, like a cease-fireand the formof a future govern-ment. Theslowpacehighlighted

howcomplicatedtheefforttoendtheAfghanwarwill likelybe.Officials fromboth sides said

thatwhiletheyhadresolvedmostissues on how the negotiationsshouldbe conducted, theywerestuckonwhich school of Islamic

thoughtshouldbeusedforresolv-ingdisputesinawaythatrespectsminoritysectsinAfghanistan.CitingUnitedNationsfigures,

Roland Kobia, European Unionspecial envoy for Afghanistan,said theviolence levels over the

past five weeks had been “thehighest in the last fiveyears”.ThebloodiestattackSaturday

occurredintheKhanabaddistrictof northern Kunduz province.Local residents said the AfghanforceshadcarriedoutanairstriketargetingaTalibangathering,withfewinitialcasualties.Butwhenlo-cal residents gathered to extin-guishtheresultingfireatanearbyhouse,theaircraftreturnedforan-otherstrikethatkilledmorethanadozencivilians.AlsoSaturday,insoutheastern

Paktikaprovince,adeputypolicechief was killed in an explosionwhile delivering support to hisforces.Andinthesameprovince,aweddingconvoystrucka road-sidebomb,wounding19people,includingthebride.NYT

REUTERSBANGKOK,SEPTEMBER20

OPENLY CHALLENGING themonarchy of Thai King MahaVajiralongkorn, thousands ofprotestersmarched in Bangkokon Sunday to present demandsthat include a call for reforms tocurbhispowers.Protesters have grown ever

bolder during two months ofdemonstrations againstThailand’s palace andmilitary-dominatedestablishment,break-

ingalongstandingtaboooncriti-cisingthemonarchy—whichisil-legalunder lesemajeste laws.Theking,who spends a lot of

timeinEurope,isnotinThailand.Themarcherswere blocked

byhundreds of unarmedpolicemanningcrowdcontrolbarriers.Protest leaders declared vic-

tory after handingpolice a letterdetailing their demands.PhakphongPhongphetra,headoftheMetropolitan Police Bureau,saidonavideobroadcastfromthescene that the letter would behandedtopoliceheadquartersto

decidehowtoproceed.Atthebiggestdemonstration

in years, tens of thousands ofprotesters on Saturday cheeredcallsforreformof themonarchyas well as for the removal ofPrimeMinister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, andanewconstitutionandelections.Protesterscementedaplaque

neartheGrandPalaceinBangkok.It reads, “At thisplace thepeoplehaveexpressedtheirwill:thatthiscountrybelongstothepeopleandisnotthepropertyofthemonarchastheyhavedeceivedus.”

German womandies in 1st knownfatality froma cyber attack

MELISSAEDDY&NICOLEPERLROTHBERLIN,SEPTEMBER20

THE FIRST known death from acyber attack was reported lastweek after cybercriminals hit ahospitalinDüsseldorf,Germany,with so-called ransomware, inwhichhackersencryptdataandhold it hostage until the victimpaysa ransom.Theransomware invaded 30

servers at University HospitalDüsseldorf last week, crashingsystemsand forcing thehospitaltoturnawayemergencypatients.As a result, German authoritiessaid, awomanina life-threaten-ing conditionwas sent to a hos-pital20milesawayinWuppertalanddiedfromtreatmentdelays.The attack is the first re-

ported death from a cyber at-tack. Hospitals have been a fre-quent target for cybercriminals,particularlyransomwareattacks,because the need to accesshealth records and computersystemscreatesurgencythatin-creases the likelihood that vic-timswillpaytheirextortionists.The most aggressive re-

ported attack on hospitals isNorthKorea’s2017“WannaCry”ransomwareattack,whichfrozeBritishhospitalsandforceddoc-torstocancelsurgeriesandturnpatientsaway.NYT

REUTERSLONDON,SEPTEMBER20

BRITAIN IS at a tippingpoint onCovid-19, healthministerMattHancocksaidonSunday,warningthat a secondnational lockdowncouldbe imposed if peopledon’tfollowgovernmentrulesdesignedtostopthespreadofthevirus.Covid-19 cases have risen

sharply in recentweeks tomorethan4,000perday.PrimeMinisterBoris Johnsonhas called it a sec-ondwaveand stricter lockdownmeasureshavebeenintroducedinareas across the country—withLondonpossiblynextinline.“The nation faces a tipping

point and we have a choice,”Hancock told Sky News. “The

choice is either that everybodyfollows the rules... or we willhave to takemoremeasures.”Hancock later told the BBC

thatasecondnationallockdownwaspossibleoption.“I don’t rule it out, I don’t

want tosee it,”hesaid.

Johnson announced fines ofup to £10,000 ($12,900) onSaturday for people in Englandwho break new rules requiringthem to self-isolate if they havebeen in contact with someoneinfectedwithCovid-19.Inaddition to tighter ruleson

socialgatheringsacrossthecoun-try, several cities and regions inBritainhavehad‘locallockdowns’imposed, limiting even morestrictly when, where and howmanypeoplecanmeetupsocially.HancockwasaskedonTimes

Radio about the possibility ofLondonersbeingtoldtoworkfromhome,andsaid:“Well, Iwouldn’truleitout.”OppositionleaderKeirStarmer said hewould supportwhatevermeasures the govern-mentbringsforward.

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD,SEPTEMBER20

FORMERPAKISTANprimemin-ister Nawaz Sharif on Sundaystaged a political comeback bycriticising the powerful ArmyandsaidtheOppositionwasnotagainst PM Imran Khan, butagainst those who brought an“inefficient”mantopower.Hewas addressing the All-

Parties Conference (APC)hostedby the Pakistan Peoples Party(PPP) via a video link aimed atlaunching a protestmovementagainst the Khan-led PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf(PTI)government.Sharif, 70, the Pakistan

MuslimLeagueNawaz (PML-N)supremo, has been living inLondon since last November af-tertheLahoreHighCourtgrantedhimpermission to go abroad forfourweeksfortreatment.Addressing the APC, Sharif

criticisedthePakistan’spowerfulestablishment for allegedly sup-portingKhan.“Ourstruggleisnotagainst Imran Khan. Today, ourstruggle is against thosewho in-stalledImranKhanandwhoma-

nipulatedelectionstobringanin-efficientmanlikehimintopowerandthusdestroyedthecountry,”he said. Sharif said that the fore-mostpriorityshouldbetoremove“this selected government andthis system”, adding that “if thechangeisnotbrought,itwillbringirreversiblelosstothiscountry”.He called on the powerful

Armytostayawayfrompolitics.Sharif pointed out that for-

mer PMYusuf Raza Gilani oncesaid therewas “a statewithin astate” in Pakistan. “It is sadden-ing that the situation has esca-lated to a state above the state.Thisparallelgovernmentillnessis the root-cause of our prob-lems,”headded.PTI

RACE FORTHEWHITE

HOUSE

Political battle heatsup over newvacancyin USSupremeCourtTrumpsayswillpickawoman,GOPseeksquickconfirmation;BidentofocusonCovid, linkfutureofhealthcarewithSCseat

TrumpatacampaignrallyatFayetteville,NorthCarolina,onSaturday.ThePresident tookthestagetohissupporters’chantsof “fill thatseat”, a referencetothevacancy intheUSSupremeCourtafter thedeath JusticeGinsburg.AP

Envelope withdeadly poisonricin addressedto White HouseinterceptedREUTERSWASHINGTON,OTTAWA,SEPTEMBER20

ANENVELOPEaddressed to theWhiteHouseandinterceptedbyUS authorities contained a sub-stance identified as ricin, adeadly poison that appeared tohavebeensentfromCanada,theRoyalCanadianMountedPolice(RCMP)saidonSaturday.An RCMP spokesman con-

firmed“ithasreceivedarequestfor assistance from the FBI inconnectionwithasuspiciouslet-ter sent to theWhiteHouse.”TheRCMPadded“theFBIcon-

ducted an analysis on the sub-stancefoundintheenvelope.Thisreport indicated thepresence ofricin, a toxic substance.” RCMPsaid itworkingwith the FBI butdeclinedtodiscussfurtherdetails.The envelope was inter-

cepted at a government mailcentre before it arrived at theWhiteHouse.Ricincancausedeathwithin

36to72hours fromexposuretoanamountassmallasapinhead.Noknownantidoteexists.

RULESFORNEGOTIATIONSOVERCONTENTIOUS ISSUESNOTYETFINALISED

Violent attacks plague Afghanistan aspeace talks with Taliban slow down

TalibandelegatesatthestartofthetalksinDohaonSept12.AP

Pro-democracyprotesters linkarmsduringamassrally, inBangkokonSunday, tocall forreformsinthemonarchy.Reuters

Protests in Thailand escalate asthousands challenge monarchy

Nawaz Sharif addresses Pak Opp meet,launches scathing attack on Army, govtSays ‘parallelgovernment’ inPakistanisrootcauseofproblems

NawazSharif

MattHancockwarnedthatasecondnational lockdowncouldbe imposed inBritain

Finesofupto£10,000 for thosebreakingself-isolationrules

UK is at Covid tipping point: health ministerUS sets recordwith 1 milliontests in a dayTHEUNITEDStatessetaone-dayrecordwith over 1million coro-navirus diagnostic tests beingperformed,butthecountryneeds6million to 10million a day tobring outbreaks under control,accordingtovariousexperts.Thecountryperformed1,061,411testson Saturday, according to datafromTheCovidTrackingProject,avolunteer-runefforttotracktheoutbreak.Therecordcomesaftertesting had fallen for severalweeks.TheUStestedonaverage650,000peopleadayintheweekendedSept.13,downfromapeakin late July of over 800,000peo-pleaday.REUTERS

Thisyear isCalifornia’sworstwildfireseasononrecord.Reuters

CONFIRMINGAnomineefortheSupremeCourt requiresjustasimplemajority intheSenate,andtheGOPcur-rentlyholds53of the100Senateseats.But twoGOPsenatorshavealreadysaidtheywon’tbackanomineebeforetheNov3election,andmorecould follow,mak-ingthedecisionofwhentoholdaconfirmationvoteahardoneforGOPleaders. Insuchasituation, it ispossiblethat thepartybeginstheprocessof confirmingTrump’snominee inorder togetconservativesexcitedaheadof theelection,andthenholdavoteafter theelectionwhenCongressusu-allyconvenestowrapupun-finishedbusiness.

AquestionofnumbersE●EX

PLAINED

New Delhi


ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Market WatchFPIS INVEST`3.9K CR IN SEPT SO FARNew Delhi: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have put in Rs 3,944crore so far on a net basis in domestic markets in September, withparticipants seem heading to “attractive” investment destinationslike India for potential better returns. PTI

SOMESTATESYETTOMAKETHEIRCHOICEAHEADOFGSTCOUNCILMEET LOWERINGOFUSOFCOMPONENTTO3%MAY,HOWEVER,BECONSIDERED

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

AHEADOF the 42ndmeeting oftheGoodsandServicesTax(GST)Council onOctober 5, 21 stateshave opted for Option 1—bor-rowingofRs97,000crorethroughanRBI-facilitatedspecialwindowtomeetthisyear’scompensationdeficit of Rs2.35 lakh crore. This,asperFinanceMinistryofficials,isa countmore than the requirednumber of 20 states and unionterritoriesincasetheissuegoesinforavotingintheGSTCouncil.While21states/unionterrito-

ries, namely Andhra Pradesh,ArunachalPradesh,Assam,Bihar,Goa,Gujarat,Haryana,HimachalPradesh,Jammu&Kashmir,Karn-ataka,MadhyaPradesh,Manipur,Meghalaya,Mizoram,Nagaland,

Odisha, Puducherry, Sikkim,Tripura, Uttarakhand andUttarPradeshhaveopted for option1,Opposition-ruled states/unionterritories such as Jharkhand,Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi,Punjab,Rajasthan,Telangana,andWest Bengal, as well as TamilNaduareyettodetailtheirchoiceto the central government,FinanceMinistryofficialssaid.Theofficials said that if other

statesdonotsubmittheiroptionsbeforeOctober 5, thedate of thenextmeetingof theGSTCouncil,thentheywillhavetowaittillJune2022 to get their compensationduessubjecttotheconditionthattheCouncil extends the cess col-lectionperiodbeyond2022.Around15stateshadsubmit-

ted their choice for Option 1 bySeptember 15.Manipur, whichhadearlier opted forOption2—

whichinvolvesborrowingtheen-tirecompensationdeficitfromthemarket — has now shifted itschoicetoOption1.Several non-BJP ruled states

havebeenatloggerheadswiththeCentreforaskingthemtoborrowto bridge the compensation

deficit.Chiefministersofnon-BJPruledstatesofWestBengal,Kerala,Delhi, Telangana, ChhattisgarhandTamilNaduhavewritten totheCentre opposing theoptionswhichrequirestatestoborrowtomeet shortfall andhave insteadaskedtheCentretoborrow.StateshavealsoraisedconcernsthatthedistinctionofrevenuelossforGSTimplementation and Covid-19pandemicwasunconstitutional.The Centre has, however,

statedthatitisunlikelytoborrowgiventheimpactitwouldhaveonyieldsofitsgovernmentsecuritiesandalso indicated that since therepaymenthas tobemade fromcompensation cess receipts, itcannot borrowsince cess is a re-source dedicated to states.CompensationpaymentstostateshadstartedgettingdelayedsinceOctober last asGST revenuesbe-

gantoslowdown,agapwhichhaswidenedduetothepandemic.GSTcompensationpayments

tostateshavebeenpendingsinceApril,with thepending amountforApril-July estimated at Rs1.5lakhcrore.TheGSTcompensationrequirement is estimated to bearoundRs 3 lakh crore this year,while the cess collection is ex-pected to be around Rs 65,000crore - an estimated compensa-tionshortfallofRs2.35lakhcrore.In the lastGST councilmeet-

ingonAugust 27, theCentrehadproposedtwooptionstostates:toeither borrow Rs 97,000 crore(shortfall onlyonaccountof GSTimplementation) froma specialwindow facilitatedby theRBI orthe complete shortfall of Rs 2.35lakhcrore(includingRs1.38lakhcrore shortfall due to Covid-19pandemic)fromthemarket.

BRIEFLY‘IndiaInc’sbizsentimentrecovers’NewDelhi: India Inc’s busi-ness sentiment has im-proved during July-September quarter as thegovernment gradually un-locked the economy andbusiness activity resumed,according to the latest CIIBusinessConfidenceIndex.

Noemployeelaidoff,saysVistaraCEONewDelhi:Vistara, whichhas implemented variouscost-savingmeasuresamidthe coronavirus pandemic,will review salary cuts inJanuarybut hasnot laid offanyof its nearly 4,000 em-ployees,accordingtotheair-line’schief executiveofficerLeslieThng.

8.45lakhnewenrolmentsinJuly:EPFONewDelhi:Net newenrol-mentswithretirementfundbodyEmployees’ProvidentFundOrganisation (EPFO)roseto8.45lakhinJulyfrom4.82lakhinJune2020,asperitslatestpayrolldata. PTI

REUTERSWASHINGTON/NEWYORK,SEPTEMBER20

US PRESIDENT Donald TrumpsaidonSaturdayhe supportedadealinprinciplethatwouldallowTikTok to continue to operate intheUnited States, even as it ap-pearedtoconflictwithhisearlierorderforChina’sByteDancetodi-vestthevideoapp.ByteDance was racing to

avoidacrackdownonTikTokafterthe US Commerce DepartmentsaidonFridayitwouldblocknewdownloads and updates to theappcomeSunday.US officials had expressed

concernthatthepersonaldataofas many as 100 millionAmericans that use the appwasbeing passed on to China’sCommunistPartygovernment.Trump signed an executive

order on August 14 givingByteDance90daystosellTikTok.ThedealannouncedonSaturday,however, is structured as a part-nershipratherthanadivestment.TikTok will be owned by a

new company called TikTokGlobalandheadquarteredinthe

United States, possibly in Texas,theUSPresidentsaid.Oracle Corpwill take a 12.5

per cent stake in TikTok GlobalandstoreallitsUSuserdataonitscloudtocomplywithUSnationalsecurity requirements, the com-paniessaid.RetailgiantWalmartInc said it would take a 7.5 percent stake in TikTokGlobal. Theimplied valuation for TikTokGlobalasaresultof theseinvest-mentscouldnotbelearned.While Oracle andWalmart

said that TikTok Global will bemajority-ownedbyUSinvestors,thisisthecaseonlyifByteDance’s

investor base is taken into ac-count, according to a source fa-miliarwith thematterwho re-questedanonymitytodiscussthedeal’s structure. This is becauseByteDancewill own80per centofTikTokGlobal, thesourcesaid.Given that US investors cur-

rently own about 40 per cent ofByteDance,theWhiteHousewillcountthattowardshowmuchofTikTokGlobalisownedbyUSpar-ties,thesourceadded.Asaresult,Oracle, Walmart, andByteDance’s US investors willown,directlyor indirectly, about53 per cent of TikTok Global, a

secondsourcesaid.Beijing-basedByteDancedid

notimmediatelyrespondtoare-questforcomment.WalmartandOraclealsodidnotoffermorein-formation on TikTok Global’sownershipstructure.Itwas not immediately clear

whatspurredtheWhiteHousetocompromise on its push for anoutrightsaleofTikTok.However,thedealcomeswithpledgesthatcater to Trump’s “America First”policyagenda.Italsoavoidsalien-atingTikTok’syoungusersaheadof theNov.3USelection.ByteDance agreed to create

25,000newUSjobsatTikTok,upfrom a little over 1,000 now.Trump, who had previouslycalled on companies such asOracle andWalmart to pay theUnitedStatesa“fee”toparticipatein the TikTok deal, said therewouldalsobea$5billionUSed-ucationfundaspartof thedeal.“I said,youknow,domeafa-

vor, could you put up $5 billioninto a fund for education sowecaneducatepeopleas to therealhistory of our country, not thefakehistory,”Trumptoldarallyofsupporters in Fayetteville, NorthCarolinaonSaturday.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

DIGITALFINANCIALservicesfirmPaytmonSunday charged inter-net giant Google of “arm-twist-ing”andforcingittorollbackaUPIcashbackcampaignwhichislegalinIndia.Googlesaidthatofferingcash-

backsandvouchersalonedonotconstitute a violation of GooglePlaygamblingpoliciesandincaseof repeat violation itsmay eventerminateGooglePlaydeveloperaccounts.Paytm in a blog alleged that

GooglePayhasbeenrunningsim-ilarcricket-basedpromotions“buta different set of rules apply toGoogle’sownapps”.GooglehadblockedPaytmon

itsPlaystorefollowingapolicyup-date on September 18, ahead oftheIPLcrickettournament,todis-allowapps that support anyun-regulatedgamblingbut restoredthemobile appafter a fewhoursafteritrolledbackthecampaign.Paytmsaid that itwas forced

tocomplywithGoogle’smandateto remove theUPI cashback andscratchcardscampaigntogetre-listedontheAndroidPlayStore.“OfferingbothislegalinIndia,

andcashbackwasbeinggivenfol-lowing all rules and regulationsset by the government,” Paytmsaid.When contacted, a Google

spokesperson said that offeringcashbacksandvouchersalonedonot constitute a violation of ourGooglePlaygamblingpolicies.

Paytm allegesarm-twistingby Google

REUTERSWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER20

AUSjudgeearlySundayblockedthe Trumpadministration fromrequiringAppleIncandAlphabetInc’sGoogle to removeChinese-ownedmessaging appWeChatfordownloadsbylateSunday.USMagistrate Judge Laurel

Beeler inSanFranciscosaid inanorderthatWeChatuserswhofileda lawsuit “have shown seriousquestions going to themerits ofthe First Amendment claim, thebalance of hardships tips in theplaintiffs’ favor.”Her22-pageor-deradded theprohibitions “bur-den substantiallymore speechthanisnecessarytoservethegov-ernment’s significant interest innationalsecurity,especiallygiventhelackofsubstitutechannelsforcommunication.”LastFriday,theUSCommerce

Department had issued a ordercitingnationalsecuritygroundstoblocktheappfromUSappstores

ownedbyTencentHolding’sandtheJusticeDepartmenthadurgedBeelernottoblocktheorder.Ten-cent and the JusticeDepartmentdidnotimmediatelycomment.Beeler’s preliminary injunc-

tion alsoblocked theCommerceorder that would have barredother transactionswithWeChatintheUSthatcouldhavedramat-icallydegradedthesite’susabilityforcurrentUSusersorpotentiallymade it unusable. The USCommerceDepartment did notimmediatelycomment.WeChathashadanaverageof

19milliondailyactiveusersintheUnited States, analytics firmsApptopiasaidinearlyAugust.It is popular amongChinese

students, Americans living inChinaandsomeAmericanswhohave personal or business rela-tionshipsinChina.The JusticeDepartment said

blocking the orderwould “frus-trateanddisplacethepresident’sdeterminationofhowbesttoad-dressthreatstonationalsecurity.

US judge halts CommerceDept order to removeWeChat from app stores

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

TOIDENTIFYnon-compliantcor-porateentities,thegovernmentisplanningtousedataanalyticsandartificialintelligenceforcorporateprofiling, behaviour analysis aswellasfraudanalysisandalerts.Various technical capabilities

willbeusedtokeepatabonnon-compliant entities through theCorporateAffairsMinistry’s por-talMCA21. In awritten reply toLok Sabha,Minister of State forCorporate Affairs Anurag SinghThakursaidMCA21version3en-visagesvariousareaswhichshallutilisetechnicalcapabilities.These include “data analytics

and Artificial Intelligence andMachineLearning(AI/ML)forcor-porateprofiling,behaviouranaly-sis and fraud analysis and alerts,

toidentifynon-compliantcorpo-rateentities,”hesaid.

MCA21 is theportal throughwhich companies and LLPs sub-mit various regulatory filings totheministry,which implementsCompaniesAct,2013andLimitedLiabilityPartnershipAct,2008.Under theAct, all companies

are required toholdAGMseveryyearandfilefinancialstatementsaswell as annual returnswithintheprovidedtimelimitandinpre-scribedformsafterholdingAGMs.Inthefirstandsecondversions

ofMCA21,throughartificialintel-ligence,theministryhasbeendis-playingthemasterdataofallcom-panies. It discloses filingpositionof the saiddocuments, includingthe date of holding AGMapartfromotherdetailsofthecompanyandalsowhetheracompanyisac-tive compliant company or not,theministersaid.Therearearound12lakhreg-

isteredcompaniesinthecountry.

MCA plans corporate profiling, behaviouranalysis to identify non-compliant entities

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER20

WITHTHEendof Customsdutyexemption onopen cell— a keycomponentinTVpanelmanufac-turing--fromOctober1,TVman-ufacturers are expected to startmakingtheproductinIndialead-ingtoareductioninimportsoftel-

evision parts that are Rs 7,500crore a year, Finance Ministrysourcessaid.Theopencellwillat-tract5percentfromnextmonth.This exemptionwas given a

year ago to the industry as it hadsoughttimetobuilddomesticca-pacity foropencell.However,TVmakers have said that domesticmanufacturing capacity isn’t ad-equateyettocurballimports,and

the prices of TVs is likely to risewiththe5percentcustomsduty.While the industry has esti-

matedpriceescalationbyRs600-Rs 1,200 per unit depending onthe size, sources in the govern-ment have said that the impactwouldn’tbemorethanRs200foraTVset.ThesourcesalsosaidthatdomesticTVmanufacturerswereusingthe5percentcustomsduty

onopencellasanexcusetoreviseprices upwardsby claiming thatmanufacturingcapacityisstillnotavailablewithinthecountry.Governmentsourceshavealso

arguedthatsuchexemptionscan’tcontinuewhendomesticmanu-facturersarealreadyprovidedad-equateprotectionof importwith20percentCustomsdutyonTVssinceDecember2017. FE

From Oct 1, 5% duty on import of key part for making TVs

REUTERSBENGALURU,SEPTEMBER20

THEEUROPEANUnionwants toarmitselfwithnewpowerstope-nalisebigtechnologycompanies,the Financial Times reported onSunday. The proposed plan in-cludesforcingtechgiantstobreakuporsellsomeof theirEuropeanoperations if theirmarket domi-nance is deemed to threaten theinterestsofcustomersandsmallerrivals, thenewspapersaid.

Thecommissionisset topro-posenewrules called theDigitalServicesActbytheendoftheyear,whichwillincreasesocialmedia’sresponsibilities and liability forcontentontheirplatforms.EU Internal Market

CommissionerThierryBreton, inan interviewwith the FinancialTimes, said the proposed reme-dies,whichwouldonlybeusedinextreme circumstances, also in-clude the ability to exclude largetechgroupsfromthesinglemar-

ketaltogether.Brussels is also considering a

rating system thatwould allowthepublicandshareholderstoas-sess companies’ behaviour inar-eas such as tax compliance andthe speedwithwhich they takedownillegalcontent,theFinancialTimessaid.Bretonwas quoted as saying

activitiessuchascompaniespre-ventingusersfromswitchingplat-formsorforcingcustomerstouseonly one service could lead totoughersanctions.

‘European Union seeks new powers to penalise tech giants’

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THEBANKSBoardBureau(BBB)has recommended to the gov-ernment names of 13 generalmanagers of variouspublic sec-tor banks (PSBs) for appoint-mentasexecutivedirectors.BBB, the headhunter for

state-runbanksandfinancialin-stitutions,interviewed28candi-

dates over a period of two daysforvacanciesof executivedirec-tors. The list of selected candi-dates would be sent to theDepartment of FinancialServices to get theAppointments Committee ofCabinet (ACC)approval.“TheBanksBoardBureauin-

terfaced with 28 candidatesfromvariouspublicsectorbanksfor 13 clear vacancies ofExecutiveDirectorsinPSBs,”the

Bureau said in a notification onSunday.The Bureau recommended

the names of Swarup KumarSaha, Debadatta Chand, KSatyanarayana Raju, NiteshRanjan, Sangram KeshariMohapatra, Monika Kalia,Swarup Dasgupta andKarthikeyanM, IshraqAli Khan,Vivek Wahi, S Srimathy, BVijayakumarAandRaghavendraVKollegal.

BBB recommends 13 names for appointmentas executive directors in state-run banks

Ningbo(China):TikTokownerBytedancesaidinasocialme-diapostSundaythatitwasthefirst time it hadheard in thenewsitwassettingupa$5bil-lioneducationfundintheUS.US President Donald

Trumpsaidhehadapprovedadeal,whichincludeda$5bil-lion education fund, to allowTikToktocontinuetooperate

intheUnitedStates.“The company has been

committedtoinvestingintheeducation field, andplans toworkwithpartnersandglobalshareholderstolaunchonlineclassroomprojects basedonAI and video technology forstudents around theworld,”ByteDance said on its officialaccountonToutiao.REUTERS

Not aware of $5 bn educationfund in TikTok deal: ByteDance

ByteDance gets Trump nod to avoid TikTok shutdown

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THEDEPARTMENT of Telecom-munications(DoT) isunlikelytoaccept the TelecomRegulatoryAuthority of India (Trai) recom-mendations on lowering the li-cence fee of telcos from 8 percentto6,accordingtosourcesinknowof thedevelopment.TheDoTmay, however, con-

siderloweringthecomponentofuniversalserviceobligationfund(USOF) to 3 per cent from5 percent of revenue, sources said.The lowering of USOF compo-nentispossibleasthefundscol-lectedby the telecomoperatorshave been lying idle for quitesometimenow,anofficial said.“Close to Rs 50,000 crore is

lyingidleinthat(USOF).Mostofit is used for improving servicesintheruralareas,whichhaveei-ther stopped or are going slowforonereasonorother,”theoffi-cialsaid,askingnottobenamed.In its recommendations in

2015, thetelecomregulatorhadsuggested lowering the licencefee of telcos to 6 per cent fromthe current 8 and suggestedchanging the definition of ad-justedgross revenue (AGR).Trai had then said that in-

comefromnon-telecomsourcesshouldnotbe considered tode-

fineAGRof telcos.The DoT, however, may not

alterthedefinitionofAGRasde-manded by the telcos after theSupremeCourt verdict, anotherofficial said.In June, the then Cellular

Operators Association of IndiadirectorgeneralRajanMathewshadsaid that theDoTshouldre-vise thedefinitionof AGR for allfuturepurposestoavoidanyfur-therburdenonthesector.The definition of AGR, now

settledbyaSupremeCourtver-

dict, had been the biggest boneof contention between regula-torsandtelcos.Alltelecomcom-panies that operate in India payapartoftheirrevenuesaslicencefeeandspectrumchargestotheDoT for using the spectrumownedbytheCentre.In its definition of AGR, the

DoT had said that telcos mustcover all the revenue earned bythem, including fromnon-tele-comsources suchasdeposit in-terestsandsaleofassets.Thetel-coswereopposedtothisandhadchallengedthisdefinitioninsev-eral forums, including theSupremeCourt.On October 24, 2019, the

apexcourtupheldtheDoT’sdef-initionofAGRandsaidsincethelicensee had agreed to themi-gration packages, theywere li-abletopaythedues,thepenaltyon dues, and the interest onpenalty due to delay in pay-ments.Thismonth,thetopcourtasked the telcos to pay the AGRdues in thenext tenyears.Theseyearlyinstalmentswill

have tobemadebyMarch31ofevery succeeding financial yearand a compliance report by thecompaniesaswellastheDoThastobefiledbyApril7of thatyear,a three-judge Bench headed byJustice ArunMishra had said inits judgment,bringingaclosetothenearly20-yearold issue.

USPresidentDonaldTrumpduringacampaignevent inFayetteville,NorthCarolina,onSaturday. Reuters

432 infra projects show costoverruns of `4.29 lakh crore

1,670: TOTALPROJECTSWORTHRS150CROREANDABOVEMONITOREDBYTHEMINISTRYOFSTATISTICSANDPROGRAMMEIMPLEMENTATION(MoSPI)

945: PROJECTSWHOSENEITHERYEAROFCOMMISSIONINGNORTENTATIVEGESTATIONPERIODHASBEENREPORTED

■ Delays in land acquisition, forestclearance and supply of equipment

■ Fund constraints

■ Geological surprises■ Geo-mining conditions■ Slowprogress in civil works

Reasons for time overruns, as reported by implementing agencies:Source:

MoSPI/PTI

`20,58,193.26crore:Total original cost ofimplementation of the 1,683projects

`24,87,361.54crore:Anticipated cost ofimplementation of all projects

`11,51,222.81crore:Expenditure incurred on allprojects till June2020,46.28per cent of anticipated cost

505Numberofprojectsthatreportedtime

escalation,ofwhich:■ 120: delayed by one to 12months■ 118:delayed by 13 to24months■ 157: delayed by25 to60months■ 110:delayed by61monthsand above■ 43.49months: Averagetime overrun of all projects

■ Shortage of labour■ Inadequatemobilisation by contractor■ ROU/ROW(right of use/right ofway) problems

Asmany as 432 infrastructure projects have been hit bycost overruns of over Rs 4.29 lakh crore owing to delaysand other reasons, theMoSPI report for July 2020 said

`4,29,168.28CRORE:OVERALL COSTOVERRUNS, I.E.20.85 PER CENTOF ORIGINAL COST

THEDOT’S reluctance tolower licence feeandal-terAGRdefinitioncouldarise fromthegovern-ment’sunwillingness tolower its finances.Analysts indicate thatde-spiteall thechallenges,most telcoshaveman-agedtoraise the funds tomakeAGRpayments,whichhassenta signal tothegovernment thatthingsmaynotbeasbadas thecompanieshadprojected it tobe.

NotallmaybebadfortelcosE●EX

PLAINED

DoT unlikely to agree on lowerlicence fee recommendedby Trai, alter AGR definition

OfficialssaidthatifstatesdonotsubmittheiroptionsbeforeOctober5,theywillhavetowaittillJune2022togettheircompensationduessubjecttotheconditionthattheCouncilextendsthecesscollectionperiodbeyond2022

FY21GSTcompensationdeficit:21states&UTsonboard`97,000-crborrowingoption

AsperaFinancialTimesreport, theproposedplanwill forcetechgiants tobreakuporsell someoftheirEuropeanoperations if theirmarketdominancecouldthreateninterestsof customers

NewDelhi: The RBI has notaskedbanksandnon-bank-ing financial institutions toraise capital to brace for apossible pile up inbaddebtinthecomingmonths,Mini-sterofStateforFinanceAnu-ragThakurtoldRajyaSabha.However, he said,

“banks andnon-banking fi-nancial institutions are re-quiredtomaintaincapitalasper prudential capital ade-quacynormsonanongoingbasis.” PTI

‘Banks need tomaintain capitalas per norms’

New Delhi

CALENDAR15 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,SEPTEMBER21,2020

CROSSWORD4229

ACROSS1 Sortof viewsmonksaren’tallowedtohave(5)

8 Again,but for the last timepresumably (4,4)

9 Strangetalesaboutwhatmaybeontheroof (5)

10 Surprisedeventhoughofbroadvision(4-4)

11 Goodpersontocensurecorporalpunishment (5)

12 Agree it’sputonbackto front(3)

16 Gardeningaccessory that’soldhat (6)

17 Rent free (6)18 FirstpersonGregorytakes toheart (3)

23 Actasapaid informer(5)

24 Whyanotegoesastray intransit (2,3,3)

25 Waiterdropsonedrink(5)26 Givingnorashdiagnosis? (8)27 Letoutas theminimum(5)

DOWN2 Theconverseof indolence(4,4)

3 Becharmingcoming in(8)

4 Colour Iassociatewithwrongdoing(6)

5 Theumpire ishesitant topassthematteron(5)

6 Youth leader tookout foreigncapital (5)

7 Justonesideof thecoin (5)12 Bornandevenbriefly raised(3)

13 Anactof duplicity? (3)14 Inthemain it’s thecheapestwayto travel (8)

15 Nutsgowellwithcheese (8)19 GreekcentrereplacedbyFrench inPolishport (6)

20 Small creaturewithnothingto thinkabout (5)

21 Abenchtoput in thesun(5)

22 Giveeveryoneahand(5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Thebeginningof theweek isboundtobedominatedbyquestionsofmoney,

andwhatyoucanandcan’taffordwillbe theoverridingissueof thetimes.Don’texpecteverythingtobecompletedtoday, for thereare furtherchangeswaiting in thewings.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Abuild-upof livelylunaralignments isalreadysendingemotional ripples in

yourdirection.Thewatersoflifemaysoonbea littlechoppier thanyouwould like,butyoumayuseanychangesinyourroutineasanopportunity forself-reflection.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Youmaybeconcerned firstwithhow toputyour ideas into

practice, and secondlywithhow toprevent certain otherpeople fromknowing exactlywhat you’re planning. Taketrusted individuals into yourconfidence sooner ratherthan later, and you’ll stand abetter chance of gettingyourway.

CANCER(June22- July23)Thinkahead.Youmaybeconcernedwiththeneedtofulfil immediate

responsibilities,butyourdaywillbeall themoresuccessfulif youhavea long-termstrategy.This, yousee,willenableyouto identify theunderlyingpatterns inyouraffairs.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Theheart of allcurrent questionsconcerns yourambitious desire to

’be somebody’. If you fail tomake any effort in thisdirection youwillbring frustrationuponyourself. Ultimately, it doesn’tmatterwhether yousucceed or fail, just as longas you try.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Athomeandinyourprivate lifeyoushouldexpectafairdegreeof

confusion.This is tobewelcomedasasignthatchange isbeing forceduponyou,givingyoutheopportunity tomakewhateverimprovementsyoufeelarenecessary.Try to ensure thateveryoneshares inthebenefits.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)There is still agreatdeal togain frombeingasgenerousaspossible.Remember

all thosewisesayingsaboutnot livingbybreadalone,andrealise thatmoney is there tobeused,nothoardedaway.Yourhighhopeswill cometonothingunlessyouactuallygetonanddosomethingabout them.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)This isa fairlypowerfulperiodemotionally,but inmanyways less

intense thanyouhavecometoexpectat suchmoments.Thecausecelebreof thedaycouldbemoney,and if you’rewondering justwhat isgoingon,giveyourself a littlemoretime.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Getoff toanefficientandorganisedstarttoday.There isno

timeforearlymorningblues.Giventhat theremaysoonbeabrief, stormyperiodatwork,it’s inyour interests tobe fullyprepared. In fact, you’dbeadvisedtostealamarchonpeopleathomeaswell.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Itmaybeanoverstatement tosaythat this isamoment for

unrestrainedpleasure,but it iscertainlya fine timetogive thehighestpriority toyourpersonalcreativityanddesireforself-expression.Anddon’tlet someonedentyourenthusiasm,howeverhardtheytry.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Get back to basicstoday. For someofyou this couldmean that home

and family affairs takeup somuch time that youneveractually get going on anythingelse. Atwork, try as best youcan to create a cosyatmosphere.Make sure thatcolleagues know they can relyon you.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Youareverycertainof yourplans,butless sureaboutwhichof them

should takepriority. It isstrange indeedhowyoucanatoncebesosureof the future,yet so typicallyundecided.Auseful startwouldbetocheckoutwhatyoucanactuallyafford.

SUDOKU4238

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius

SOLU

TIONSUDOKU4237

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.The____oflifeisalifeof____.-RobertByrne(7,..,7)(samewordtwice)

SOLUTION:DARER,DISCO,UPLIFT,KEEPERAnswer:Thepurposeoflifeisalifeofpurpose.-RobertByrne

DREAR FILTPU

CDIOS EEEKRP

SolutionsCrossword4228:Across:1Stalagmite,6Four,10Saved,11Rollingup,12Oneortwo,13Actor,15Deadend,17Florist,19Feeling,21Maestro,22Lilts,24Artistic,27Outhouses,28Idaho,29Saps,30Assessment.Down:1Sash,2Advantage,3Audio,4Merited,5Telloff,7Ought,8Reparation,9Pinafore,14Oddfellows,16Emission,18Intricate,20Glasses,21Matisse,23Litup,25Slips,26Port.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Government of IndiaDepartment of Atomic Energy

TENDER NOTICE NO. BRIT/ES/2020-2021/02Chief Executive, BRIT, Vashi Complex, behind APMC Fruit Market, near Govt. Ware House, Turbhe,Navi Mumbai - 400703, for and on behalf of The President Of India hereby invites sealed tendersfrom eligible contractors on the approved list of Central/State PWD, MES, Railway and others for thefollowing work.Description : Annual Contract - Shifting, Loading and Unloading of materials, handling

of scrap etc. at Vashi Complex for the year 2020 – 2021.Estimated cost : Rs. 48,00,000 (Including 18% GST)Earnest money : Rs. 96,000.00 (This deposit should be either in the form of Demand Draft

or deposit at call Receipt issued in favour of Pay &Accounts Officer, BRIT)Completion Period : Twelve Months (One Year).Security Deposit : 5% Performance Guarantee + 2.5% Security DepositTender documents will be available at the office of the Assistant Personnel Officer, BRIT, VashiComplex, behind APMC Fruit Market, near Govt. Ware House, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai-400703,and can be purchased on any working day between 10.00 hrs. To 15.00 hrs. (excluding Sundays,Mondays and public holidays) from 22.09.2020 to 03.10.2020 on payment of Rs. 1000 + G.S.T @18% = 1180/- (Total rupees One thousand one hundred eighty only) per set in cash (non-refundable)against written application and on production of (a) Bank solvency certificate of minimum valueRs.19.20 Lakhs (b) Latest income tax clearance certificate (Last 3 years), (c) List with evidenceof similar works (Shifting, Loading and Unloading of materials, handling of scrap etc) in hand andcompleted in last seven years indicating agency for whom the work has been carried out, Value ofwork, stipulated and actual completion period, Present status.(The cost of work 40% of 3 similar works,60% of 2 similar works or 80% of 1 similar work) (d) Performance / completion certificates,(e) Listof Technical staff and administrative staff available(f) Annual Turnover during last five years (g)Proof of GST registration and (h) PAN Card.After examining these documents, blank tender forms shall be issued only to the firm prima facie foundcompetent to carry out the tender job. Sale of tender/ opening of tender do not imply acceptance/approval. Tenders will not be sent by post. The tenders will be issued only after the verification ofcertificates with the originals.Tenders duly filled in should be placed in sealed cover, prescribed with the name of work, should bedeposited in the box provided at Security counter, Vashi Complex, behind APMC Fruit Market, nearGovt. Ware House, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai-400 703, upto 14.00 hrs. On 06.10.2020 and will be openedby Senior Manager (Engineering Support), BRIT, in his office at 15.00 hrs. On 06.10.2020 in thepresence of such contractors who desires to attend.Acceptance of tenders will rest with the Chief Executive, BRIT, Vashi Complex, who does not bindhimself to accept the lowest or any other offer and reserves to him the right to reject any or the entireoffer received without assigning any reason whatsoever.Offers which do not fulfill all or any of the above conditions and incomplete in any respect are liableto be summarily rejected.For further details regarding eligibility of contractors, conditions please visit www.britatom.gov.in

Senior Manager (Engineering Support)For and on behalf of The President Of India

Board of Radiation and Isotope TechnologyENGINEERING GROUP

Vashi Complex, Navi Mumbai 40070321.09.2020

MADHYA PRADESH TOURISM BOARDLILY TRADE WING, 6TH FLOOR, JEHANGIRABAD, BHOPAL - 462008

Phone : 0755-2780600, E-mail : [email protected] No. : 933/168/IP/MPTB/2020 Dated : 16.09.2020

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALUnique opportunity for investment in Tourism Sector

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is pleased to offer the following Lands to the potential investorson unique locations to set up tourism project as mentioned below on DBFOT basis :

District Land Details and Area

Sheopur 1. Resort at Tiktoli Near Palpur Kuno wild life area (4.734 Hect.)(Tah.-Karahal)

Mandasaur Resort/Hoteland other tourism project at Gandhi sagar Near Gandhi(Tah.- sagar damBhanpura) 1. Block No. 03 Halka No. 01 (0.910 Hect.)

2. Block No. 03 Halka No. 01 (1.390 Hect.)3. Block No. 03 Halka No. 01 (2.200 Hect.)

Umariya 1. Resort at Tala Near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (3.642 Hect.)(Tah.-Manpur) 2. Resort at Tala Near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (4.07 Hect.)

Alirajpur 1. Resortand Adventure Activities at Jhandana Narmada River area(Tah.-Sondwa, (2.432 Hect.)Katthiwada) 2. Resortand Adventure Activitiesat IndalavatNarmada River area (4.680 Hect.)

Burhanpur 1. Resort/Hotel at Rahipura Near Burhanpur, A Heritage City (5.000 Hect.)(Tah.- 2. Resort/Hotel at Fatehpur Near Burhanpur, A Heritage City (4.790 Hect.)Burhanpur)

Betul (Tah.- 1. Resort at Gurgunda Near Satpura National Park Range (7.932 Hect.)Shahpur, 2. Resort/Wellness Centre/Fixed Tenting Units at Khapa on bank of SapnaMultai) Dam (01.00 Hect.)

Jabalpur 1. Resort/Hotel/Wellness Centre at Nanhakheda Near Bargi Dam (4.840 Hect.)(Tah.- 2. Resort/Hotel at Nanhakheda Near Bargi Dam (0.405 Hect.)Jabalpur) 3. Hotel Cum Convention Centre or 4-5 Star Hotel at Mehgavan Near Jabalpur

airport (4.510 Hect.)

Hoshangabad 1. Resort at Chirrai Near Pachmarhi (6.098 Hect.)(Tah.-Pipariya) 2. Resort at Chakar Near Pachmarhi (2.230 Hect.)

3. Resort at Chakar Near Pachmarhi (7.859 Hect.)

Sidhi 1. Resort/Camping at Chamaradol Near Sanjay Dubari National Park(Tah.-Majholi) (1.290 Hect.)

2. Resort/Camping at Chamaradol Near Sanjay Dubari National Park(1.200 Hect.)3. Resort/Camping at Budaritola Near Sanjay DubariNationalPark (2.400 Hect.)4. Resort at Parsili Near Sanjay Dubari National Park (3.420 Hect.)

Satna (Tah.- 1. Resort at Kolgadh On bank of Bansagar Dam (4.338 Hect.)Ramanagar)

Chhindawada 1. Resort at Jamatara Near Pench National Park (4.048 Hect.)(Tah.-Chand, 2. Resort at Thotamal Near Pench National Park (5.000 Hect.)Bichhua, 3. Resort/Camping at Jamatara Near Pench National Park (2.971 Hect.)chorai) 4. Hotel/Water Sport Activities at Palatawada Near Pench National Park

(4.779 Hect.)5. Hotel/Water Sport Activities at Sihora Bissala Near Pench National Park(1.315 Hect.)

Damoh 1. Resort/Hotel at Bandakpur Near famous tample of Lord Shiva (5.669 Hect.)(Tah.-Damoh)

Indore 1. Resort/Adventure Project and Water sports at Rampuriya Near Choral(Tah.-Choral, Dam (5.000 Hect.)Bhichouli 2. Wellness Centre at Mundladostdar Near Indore city (2.540 Hect.)Hapsi)

The RFP documents can be downloaded from website www.mptenders.gov.in RFPdocuments can also be seen at www.tourism.mp.gov.in.M.P. Madhyam/98481/2020 MANAGING DIRECTOR

Chief Executive, BRIT/Senior General Manager, Engg& CP, BRIT,Vashi Complex, Sector 20, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400703, hereby invitessealed tenders on behalf of the President of India for item rate tenderfor following work.

For detail NIT, kindly visit website https://www.britatom.gov.in

Tender Notice No. BRIT/CNM/ENGG/WC/2020/0827/01Name of Work Supply, Installation, commissioning and training

of the Video Conferencing (VC) facility with 3-yearonsite comprehensive warranty at Board Room, BRITVashi complex, Navi Mumbai as per cable layout andsystem architecture given in Annexure-II.

Estimated cost(Incl. GST)

Rs. 12,60,000/- (Rupees Twelve lakh SixtyThousand Only) including GST.

Earnest money deposit Rs. 25,200/-(Rs Twenty Five thousand two hundred only)(This deposit should be either in the form ofdeposited on call receipt or Demand Draft issued infavour of Pay and Accounts Officer, BRIT payable atTrombay or the amount paid to the Reserve Bank ofIndia and receipted Challans. (The same should beenclosed separately in a sealed envelope to besubmitted with the tenders technical and Price bid).

Completion Period Two MonthsSecurity Deposit 5% Performance Guarantee + 2.5% Security DepositCost of Tenderdocuments

Rs. 590/- (Rupees Five Hundred& Ninety only)including 18% GST

Sale of Tender documents 22-09-2020 to 06-10-2020Date of submission &opening of tender

Up to 14:00 hrs or before on 13/10/2020 andwill be opened by him/her in his/her office at15:00 Hrs. on 13/10/2020.

Government of IndiaDepartment of Atomic Energy

Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology

Manager, CNM, BRIT

MADHYA PRADESH TOURISM BOARDLILY TRADE WING, 6TH FLOOR, JEHANGIRABAD, BHOPAL - 462008

Phone : 0755-2780600, E-mail : [email protected] No. : 935/168/IP/MPTB/2020 Dated : 16.09.2020

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALUnique opportunity to develop Heritage Hotels

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is pleased to offer the following unique Heritage BuildingSituated near tourist destinations to the potential investor to develop Heritage Hotels on DBFOTbasis :

S.No. Village Tehsil District Area in Hect.

1. Kyoti Fort (Near Kyoti waterfall) Rewa Rewa 2.213

2. Singhpur Mahal (Near Chanderi) Chanderi Ashoknagar 0.805

3. Baldevgarh Fort (Near Orchha) Gwalsagar Tikamgarh 5.204

4. Vijayraghavgarh Fort (Near Katni) Katni Katni 3.246

5. Benazir Palace (In Bhopal) Bhopal Bhopal 0.798+0.694

The RFP documents can be downloaded from website www.mptenders.gov.in RFPdocuments can also be seen at www.tourism.mp.gov.inM.P. Madhyam/98480/2020 MANAGING DIRECTOR

New Delhi

VolLXXXVIIINo.270Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05

R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.MalhotraonbehalfofTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedandPrintedatTheIndianExpress(P)LimitedPress,A-8,Sector-7,Noida-201301andPublishedatTheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Editorialoffice: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited,B1/B,Sector-10,Noida-201301.Phone:0120-6651291.ChairmanoftheBoard:ViveckGoenka,ChiefEditor:RajKamalJha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker,Editor(Delhi):RakeshSinha** **ResponsibleforselectionofNewsunderthePRBAct.Copyright: TheIndianExpress(P)Limited.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninanymanner,electronicorotherwise,inwholeorinpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermissionisprohibited.TheIndianExpress®


SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MANE’STWIN STRIKES SINKCHELSEATwo goals from Sadio Mane just after halftime eased champions Liverpool to a 2-0 winover 10-man Chelsea in the Premier League season's first heavyweight clash at StamfordBridge on Sunday. REUTERS

EMOTIONALROLLER COASTERHot heads, calmminds and everything in between at the game.

It’s all happening in DubaiCollapses,surges,momentumswings,ashortrun,tiedscoresandSuperOverlater,DelhibeatPunjabinatextbookT20match

SANDIPGSEPTEMBER21

SYNOPSIS: IcemanStoinisendsAgarwal’snightontragicnote

Helter-skelter endTHE INDIANPremier Leaguemighthavebe-gunonSaturday,butithitthegroundrunningonlyonSundaywithatextbookT20matchthatdrained the full range of emotions. Itwas astrangeslow-burningmatchthatexplodedto-wards the final stretch. Then itwasall a blur,twistsandturnsspringingfromeverycorner.Delhi had thematch in their grasp until

MayankAgarwal cut loose. But justwhenheseemedtosteerPunjabtoafamouswin,heheldouttiresomely,eventuallytakingthematchtosuper-over,whichturnedouttobeanon-event.Punjabmadethelowestscoreinapowerplay,whichDelhisurpassedwithoutfuss.Addtotheintriguearunthatwascalledshort—thethirdballof the19thoverinPunjab’sinnings.Itwashelter-skelter, exhaustive stuff by the timeRishabhPantseizedvictoryoffthethirdballofthe Super Over. But the real story is how itreachedtheSuperOver.

Iceman StoinisOnatopsy-turvynight,itwasMarcusStoinis

whoimpartedthedecisivetwisttothematch.Defending13offthelastover,heconceded12offhisfirstthree,butthenmanagedadotballwithawideshortdelivery,beforetakingoutAgarwalandChris Jordanoff the last twoballs.Bothofthemwerearguablyboundaryballs,butStoiniscoulddonowrongonthenight.AndhowStoinistrustedhimselfandhadfun.WheneverStoinisstridesouttothefield,he

hearshis father’svoice insidehishead: “Havefun, trust yourself.” Itwashis late father’s ad-viceonthemorningofhisT20debutfiveyearsago. The advice ismore sentimental to himthesedays,ashisfatherdiedin2018afteralongbattlewithcancer.But livinghis father’swordsonthefield in

international crickethasnotbeenas straight-forward.Foreverytimehewalksontoafield,itseemsas if anunbearableburden is thrustonhis square shoulders. Too many thoughtschurningandspinninginsidehisheadperhaps,drowning out his father’s voice. As a conse-quence, hisAustralia careerhas so far swungbetweenuncertainty and instability. SohavebeenhisIPLstints, intohisfifthyearwithneg-ligible credentials. “I don’t knowwhat goeswrong,”heonceconfessedtoaustralia.com.au.Thenhebegan listeningto thepodcastsof

feted industrial designer Elon Musk andAmericanmarathonrunnerDavidGoggins,be-sidesconsultinganotedSydney-basedsportspsychologistDaveDiggle.Soonherealised:“It'smoreaboutmindset.It'smoreabouttheenergyyou'vegottogetreadytoperform,it'saboutfol-lowing theprocessandkeepingaclearmind,moresothantakingabigfrontstepforward.”Gradually,hedetoxedhismind,andashis

fatherhadcounselled,hebegan to trusthim-self andhavemore fun.AshedidonSunday,single-handedly liftinghis side toa competi-tive totalwithawhirlwind21-ball 53.Anon-side favouredplayer, hebeganhis carnagebysmearing Jordan’s off-cutter over long, justwaitingonhisback-footandbludgeoningthedelivery.Astrokethatwasallmuscleandbot-tomhand.Soonhebeganshufflinginthecreasetodishevel thebowlers’ lengths, a recent im-provisationtohisgamethatresultedinajack-potBBL—heregisteredarecord705runsfrom17matchesataphenomenalaverageof54.23.

“Iwasmorewillingtomovearoundthecreasealittlebit(duringtheBBL)andcreateafewop-tions andchange thedynamicof thegame,"StoinistoldreportersinEngland.Butevenwhenhe’smoving,hisheadisstill

and thebodysupremelybalanced, so thathecanmakelateadjustmentslikewhenherealisedthataJordandeliverywasshorterthanhehadanticipated.Hewasalreadybendingdownfortheramp,buthefrozeinhismovement,waitedforthedeliveryandglideditoverfine-legwithnuclear-tippedprecision.Hisbattingwasaper-fectstormofpowerandingenuity.PoorJordan,whowasathiswits’endincontaininghim,es-peciallyinthelastoverwhereinheplundered24runsoff his first fivedeliveries, toyingwithhislengthsas if hewere first-termrookieandnotanexperiencedT20speedmerchant. The57runsthatDelhiamassedinthelastthreeoversturnedouttobethedifferenceintheend.And36cameoff11ballsStoinisfaced.

TragicheroMayankIf IPLwas theoneuntickedboxoff his ca-

reer—thelasttwoyearshavebeenaboutprov-inghimself in the longest format—MayankAgarwaldemonstratedwithaknockof uttercallousnessthatthismightbetheeditionthatwouldseehisemergenceasaT20player.As remarkable ashis stroke-playwashis

serenity. KingsXI Punjabwere in strife from

timetotime,therequiredrun-ratewasshoot-ingover the roof, the support batsmenwererunning,hisownstrike-ratewasmiddling,butheremainedunflustered,egginghimselfonbe-

tween every delivery andwiping the thickbeadsof sweatdrippingdownhisbrows.HisknockwasalmostMSDhoni like in rendition—scoringjustaboverun-a-ball,bidinghistime,assessinghisbowlers, surveyingthegapsandweighinguphisoptions.Hewas38off39atthe16thover,Delhi requiring53off 24deliveries,withjustlower-orderforcompany.Andthenheembracedbeastmode,spank-

ingAndreNortjeforabraceofdeliciousbound-aries, first a chipovermid-off and thena slapbehindpoint, twoof hismost staple strokes.NextwasMohitSharma’sturntobearthefuri-ous brunt of his batting. Aggarwal probablysensedaweak-link inhimandwent full pelt,massacring17runs.Rabada’snextoveryielded12runsandKingsweresniffingthevictorybe-foreamaniclastover. Agarwalsmacked12offthefirstthreeballs,butperishedonthepenul-timatedeliverywithhis side just a runawayfromthe target. The tie took thematch to theSuperOver,whichDelhiCapitalwon.Adiscon-solateMayankwouldbewonderinghowasin-gle run turnedhimfromapotential hero toatragichero.BRIEF SCORES:Delhi Capitals: 157/8 and3/0 (Marcus Stoinis 53, Shreyas Iyer 39,Mohammad Shami 3/15; Sheldon Cottrel2/24)defeatKingsXIPunjab:157/8and2/2(Mayank Agarwal 89; Ravi Ashwin 2/1;MarcusStoinis2/29) in theSuperOver.

‘You can overeat, lose motivation, be on social media to run away from the experience’SANDEEPDWIVEDINEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER20

THEMIND guruwho helped Indiawin the2011 cricket World Cup, South AfricanPaddy Upton, is worried about thementalhealth of players dealing with long-spellsof isolation in the bio-bubble and fluctua-tionsintheirperformancesonthefielddur-ing theongoing IndianPremier Leaguebe-ingplayed in the timeof thepandemic.With the experience of coaching five

teams in IPL, Australia’s Big Bash andPakistanSuper Leaguebehindhim,Uptonsays that following the restrictive COVID-19protocols formore than twomonths inan alien land can get “mentally exhaust-ing”. This fragilemental state, theMastersin Sports Science infers, can further resultin players pulling out of the tournamentor allowing the trauma to take a “toll ontheir mental health”. Raising a red flag,Upton gives a subtle but serious warningby saying “it remains to be seenhowhardit is going to get”.Themost vulnerable group, according

tohim, are thosewho can’t afford towalkout of thismulti-million league andmissout on a hefty pay cheque. “I feel mostsorry for thoseplayerswhoarenot finan-cially well off. They have to dig deep andrealise that ‘I have to be here to makemoney’ and itwill takea toll on theirmen-

tal health,” he says.Paintingadepressingpictureof aplayer

finding it difficult to cope with isolationwithout the option of flying out home,Uptonsaysnothingcouldhavepreparedthecricketers for thisunprecedentedsituation.“There will be those who wouldn’t be

abletomanagethesituationverywell.Theycanlosemotivation,self-disciplineandstopexercising.Theycanovereat,getuplateandput on weight. It also can be toomuch in-ternet, TV, or social media in an effort tonumbthemselvesandtrytorunawayfromthe experience.”Hesaysonlya “lucky” fewcanejectout

of the bio-bubble. “As for the few luckyplayers who will have the financial re-serves, theycanafford tosay that this is re-ally notworking, ‘I want to get out of hereand return to a little bit of normality,’” hesays. Upton says some pull-outs have al-ready taken place and more will follow.“Youwill seemoreplayersgoinghomeandjust saying ‘I can’t handle this and it is get-ting toouncomfortable. And it is affectingmymental health.’”The one-time Rajasthan Royals coach

says this season could turn out to be “ex-tremely difficult” for foreign players andthose who don’t find a place in the play-ingXI. “Forplayerswhoarenot in theplay-ing XI, IPL is very difficult even when it isbeing played in India because they don’tget playing time for two-and-a-half

months. The foreign internationals whennotplaying in thepastyearswhen in India,they would go and see their friends inother teams.Now, they cannot socialise, itis going to be a very long and tiring andmentally exhausting IPL for them.”But virtually every player is in the

same boat, Upton quickly adds. “Most oftheseplayers (Indians) have alreadybeenin lengthy isolation at home during thedomestic lockdownexperience.Andsome

players like the Australians and theEnglish have been in bio-bubbles duringtheir series in England. So, these playershave already gone through isolation fa-tigue and it is only going to get worse inthe IPL because everyone is in a foreigncountry. No one is at home. Even the tel-evision channels areunfamiliar, so I thinkit is going to be very difficult.”Fresh fromthe success of his best-selling

biography-cumself-helpbook,BarefootCoach,

Uptonhassomeremediesthatcanhelpplay-ersdealwiththetediumofstaringatthesameroof lyinginbedforcloseto80days.He suggests that in case the cricketers

wanttotaketheirmindsawayfromthefail-ureonfieldor theclaustrophobic feelingofbeing indoors for longhours, they “need tohaveaproductive,proactivebuildingblockin their life that is away from cricket.” Hesuggests learning a new skill, taking up anonlinecourse,orevensomethingassimpleas “putting on the video to learndancing”.Though,hedoesaddadisclaimer.“What

is so important is they find activities awayfromcricketwhere they canget a goodex-perience. It couldbesomesuccessor learn-

ing. But by it, I don’t mean getting good atPlaystation and XBox or spending moretimeon socialmedia.”There are a couple of aspects about the

bio-bubble that puzzle Upton. For one, hecan’t understand why players aren’t al-lowed to invite teammates to their rooms.This, he says, is a rule that throws upmoreproblems than solutions. And secondly, hecan’tget the logicof teamswhohaveoptedtostayinhigh-risehotels incitycentresandnot some resortwith aprivate beach.“I find it quite remarkable that some

teams have actually known that they aregoing to a bio-bubble but have procured ahigh-rise in the middle of a city. It is cer-tainly going to work against their playersand teams at the back end of the tourna-ment.Someteamshavebookedthemselvesin resort- type hotels that have their ownbeacheswhere a person can go and swim.I know it is hot there so they can’t spendmuch time out but it is going to get cooler.The teams that have got outdoor facilitieswillmanagealotbetterandlongerthantheteams in high rises or a city centrewith noopen spaces,”Upton says.Anything he would do in case he was

coaching an IPL team this time? “I wouldstart talking to the England and Australiaplayerswho have been in a bio-bubble foralongtime.Thoseexperiencescanbetrans-lated immediately. Those learnings can bebrought into the IPL.”

Most of theseplayers (Indians)have alreadybeen in lengthyisolation at homeduring thedomestic lockdownexperience.And someplayers like theAustralians and theEnglish havebeen in bio-bubbles during theirseries inEngland.So, theseplayershave alreadygone throughisolation fatigue and it is only goingtogetworse in the IPLbecauseeveryone is in a foreign country.”

PADDYUPTON

PADDY UPTON ON IMPACT OF ISOLATION ON PLAYERS

Afterastellar rescueactwiththebat,DelhiCapitals’ all-rounderMarcusStoinis struck inthefinal twodeliveriesof theKXIPinnings tosendthematch intotheSuperOver. BCCI

SportspsychologistPaddyUptonexplains the ‘mentalexhaustion’ fromstaying inabio-bubble fora longtime. Express

Ashwin’s cryof painandruffleof comfortAMAGICAL overwhere he grabbed twowickets to spin the gamehis team’swayended in pain and tears for RAshwin. Themedical prognosis is awaited but the fearis theDCbowlermight have dislocatedhis shoulder as he fell, trying to stop theball thatwas rolling away at quite a dis-tance to his right.Almost immediately, he clutchedhis

left shoulder and grimaced in severepain. And by the time the physio rushedto the ground, Ashwinwas in tears. DeanJones reckoned that hemight be out ofaction for at least amonth in aworst casescenario. Not tomention it cost him threeovers today as thematchwas tiedWhat a contrast itwas to the sheer joy

he had experienced in the first five ballsagainst his old teamKingsXI Punjab. Hisstint as a captain last yearwith that teamwasn’t all that pleasant andhe struckwith his first deliverywhenhe foxedKarunNair into top-edging a forcefulswat. A classic Ashwinmoment cameupin the fifth ball.Itwas the ball that he releases as if he

is turning the door-knob and slips itthroughhis thumband index finger andthe ball skids on straightwith the anglefrom round the stumps. The left-handedNicholas Pooran has a reputation of beinggood against spin butwas clueless here,pushing outside the line, playing for thespin, and losing his stumps.Now, Ashwinwas against his old rival

GlennMaxwell; both have been going ateach other for a fewyears now.Wewillperhaps not knowwhether itwas thescent of the battle against the old rivalthat propelled him to run after a ball thatwas at a fair distance fromhimorwas itjust the adrenalin after taking twowick-ets but he shuffled across and threw in afairly innocuous dive that had no chanceof stopping the ball. As he fell, somethingjarred in his shoulder. The experienced

physio Patrick Farhat,whoworkedwiththe Indian team for years until the lastworld cup, had one look at the injury andimmediately decided the best course ofactionwas to get hismanout of there.Therewas onemoment of tenderness inthis pensivemoment. As a teary eyedAshwinwalked off, the coachRickyPontingwalked over to ruffle his hair.Pontingmust have realised the pathos ofthemoment.Formonths now, the cricket tragic

Ashwin has been talking on the gameontwitter andYouTube. He has spokenwithcricketers to performance analysts aboutvarious intricate aspects of the game, andevenposed a few tough questions toPonting about his views onmankading.Just six balls into the tournament, five ofwhich provided himunadulterated ela-tion, his dreamwas threatening to turninto a nightmare.

Chris Jordan’s emptinessHOW BADLY can a game of cricket turnout for you? Don’t tweet out that ques-tion to Chris Jordan. He was looted for30 runs by Marcus Stoinis and co. inthe final over that pushed DelhiCapitals past 150, a total that lookedhardly possible at one stage. Were thecricketing gods done with him yet?Nope. The poor man had go throughmore trauma. He was deemed to haverun a run short in the 19th over by theumpire though replays suggested hisbat was inside the line. He was left toface the final ball of the chase. Heneeded just a run and Stoinis actuallyrepaid his earlier largesse with a fulltoss on the legs but his nightmare re-fused to go away. He scooped itstraight to square-leg, dragging thematch into Super Over where his teamtamely surrendered.

SRIRAMVEERA

RishabhPant’s stubbornnessIT’SNOTthatRishabhPantdoesn’twanttolearnbutheisamanwhoisconfidenthedoesn’tneedtochangehisgame.TheteenagedIPLdebutantRaviBishnoiwouldn’thavemindedPant'sbull-headednessfrankly.Bishnoikeptslidingtheballacrosstheleft-handerwhokepttryingtodragittotheonside.BishnoiseemedtoharnessRashidKhaninhisstyleandPantwasjustbeingPant.Heaveandmiss.Pantwouldthentellhispartnerthatitwasagoogly. Ofcourseitwas;notthathechangedhisshotasheyetagaintriedtoslogagainstthespin.Notoncedidhetrytogowiththeturn.Finally,agoo-glyricochetedoffaninsideedgeofanat-temptedslogandfellonthestumps,trigger-ingawondrousscreamof joyfromtheyoungsterforhisfirstwicketonthebigstage.

RAshwin’s immediate futurewiththeDelhiCapitalswasput indoubtafterheleft the fieldwithashoulder injury.

THESUPEROVERKINGSXI: 2/20.1:RabadastraysontoRahul’spads;flickedtodeepsquare-legforabrace.0.2:Rahulslicesashort-pitchedRabadadeliverytoAxaratdeepsquare-leg.0.3: Pooran’s stumpsaredismantledbyafieryRabadayorker.

DELHICAPITALS: 3/00.1:Pantgoes foramightyslog,missesawidishdelivery fromShami;norun.0.2:Shamibowls itdownthe leg-side;widesignalled.0.3:Pantworks it to fine-leg forabrace.

RESULT:DCwinthe1overeliminator.

New Delhi

vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com · 2020. 9. 21. · The lockdown to contain the...

Documents

Transcript of vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com · 2020. 9. 21. · The lockdown to contain the...