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12
T he Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday released its man- ifesto promising 24-hour mar- kets on a pilot basis, quality education, health, clean water, 24-hour electricity and “Deskbhakti Curriculum” in Government schools for Delhi Assembly elections. Released in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, Labour Minister Gopal Rai, the manifesto named “28-point guarantee card” also promises doorstep delivery of ration, free pil- grimage to 10 lakh senior cit- izens and 1 crore compensa- tion to kin of a safai karam- chari if he dies on duty, free spoken English course for youngsters and skill training and job opportunities for housewives. Kejriwal said, “The AAP will continue its struggle to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Swaraj Bill to involve the pub- lic in resolving problems through Mohalla Sabhas. It will also continue to fight and struggle for full statehood for Delhi”. The party’s manifesto has taken care of every section of society, Kerjriwal told reporters. Sisodia said the AAP will not only continue all its pro-people policies such as 200 units of free electricity, 20 kilolitres of free water every month, free bus ride for w o m e n , but has also drawn a roadmap to make Delhi a “truly world class city” in the next five years.It also promises world class roads, extension of Metro network up to 500 km. “Our vision for the next five years is to take Delhi to the next level by making it a 21st century Capital, highly advanced and progressive Capital of a developed nation so that the entire nation is proud of it. “This manifesto has been created keeping in mind this idea of a progressive Capital and we cannot do it alone, we need participation and support from the people, from the Centre, and all the agencies in creating a Delhi of our dreams. The manifesto talks about all the communities and sections of the people, including women, traders, contractual workers, sanitation workers, victims of the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, and every other section and community,” said Kejriwal. The party said its vision is to make every family prosper- ous. Kejriwal said, “I want to congratulate the sanitation workers that their outstanding demand has been met. The sanitation workers will be given a compensation of 1 crore in case of any unfortu- nate incident, and regularisa- tion of their employment is also included in our mani- festo.” On extending Delhi Metro’s network to 500 kilo- metres, Sisodia said the party if voted to power will make it one of the world’s largest Metro networks and will connect several new areas such as Burari, Kirari, Bijwasan, Narela, Karawal Nagar, Mangolpuri and others. “Along with reviving the Yamuna river, we will work together with the Central Government to develop a beautiful riverside along the banks of the Yamuna. This will play a big role in main- taining the Yamuna eco-system and in creating a new tourist destination for Delhi,” read the manifesto. Blaming the BJP-led Central Government of not regularising and chang- ing the land-use of unautho- rised colonies, the Deputy CM said, “The AAP will continue to mount pressure on the Central Government to ensure all unauthorised colonies in Delhi get regularised,” he said. The AAP manifesto also promised to make all contractual employees engaged by the Delhi Government permanent. “We will ensure that the findings of the Supreme Court appointed-SIT under Justice SN Dhingra are acted upon promptly and the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom get justice,” he said. The party said it would push for Bhojpuri language to be included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. “This is the first time that any party has given guarantees for the next five years, with no intentions of corruption and fake promis- es,” he added. A ddressing his second elec- tion rally in Dwarka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and said Delhi needs a Government that can give direction and doesn’t resort to blame game. Accusing the AAP for not implementing Central Government’s Ayushman scheme for the poor, Modi said Delhi people are in favour of the BJP and the Opposition parties are having sleepless nights. “The upcoming Delhi elections are the first election of this decade. This decade will belong to India. India’s devel- opment will depend on the decisions taken today. People have seen how the AAP Government practises the pol- itics of hate,” Modi said. Taking a jibe at the AAP Government, Modi said polit- ical differences are common among parties, and questioned “is it fine to block the devel- opment work for the poor due to these differences? This is what the people in Delhi are witnessing today”. Referring to non-imple- mentation of Ayushman Bharat scheme, Modi said, “Suppose a person who goes to Hyderabad for work needs to be admitted to hospital. Will this Mohalla Clinic go there?” He asked, “Why the people of Delhi are deprived of ben- efits of the Central Government’s schemes for housing and health.” The PM said Delhi could not be developed due to poli- tics of vote bank and hate. “One should have intention of serving the poor and take tough decisions to work for development,” the PM said. “People in the Delhi Government raised questions over surgical strikes and Balakot airstrikes by our forces. I have full faith in people of Delhi that they will give reply to such people,” Modi said. “For the last five years, the way the Central Government has been working is unprece- dented; since Independence this has never happened,” said the Prime Minister. W ith the 15th Auto Expo set to open at the India Exposition Mart in Greater Noida on Wednesday, with the first of two media days, the Indian automotive industry wants to put a terrible eighteen months behind it. However, the show this year will have several large companies skip the event, so much so that in the main halls, where the event was spread over two levels only a single level will be used this time. Almost all of India’s leading two-wheeler manufacturers are not taking part; with Hero MotoCorp, Honda Two- Wheelers, Bajaj Auto and TVS all skipping the meet, there has been a lot of speculation about the large-scale withdrawal of the motorcycle and scooter manufacturers with sources inside the companies saying that their launches tend to get overshadowed by those of car manufacturers. But it is not just two-wheel- er companies skipping the show this year, with several major car companies in India, including Honda Cars, Nissan-Datsun, Ford and Toyota all skipping the event as well. With the excep- tion of Mercedes-Benz, most luxury car manufacturers are giving the event a miss. Several of the companies skipping the show are doing so for the first time in their history. The weak economy and lower sales cou- pled with the huge expenditure incurred by companies on the rapid transition to BS6 emission norms have hit home hard. This is also evident in the length of the show, curtailed to just five days, two days for the media on February 5-6, a Business day on February 7 and public days over the weekend on February 8 and 9, although with Delhi going to the polls on February 8, atten- dance could be hit but the new Noida Metro Aqua Line should help those attending make it to from the Capital. And in another blow to the event, the coronavirus outbreak in China has hit the one part of the show that observers were keenly awaiting, the charge of the Chinese carmakers into India. With the shows organis- ers taking several precautions after the Indian Government announced that it will not allow visitors from China, even with valid visas, entry into India. Several Chinese companies were exhibiting at the show, notably Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation through its brand MG Motor and Great Wall Motors which has announced plans to enter India with their Haval brand of Sports Utility Vehicles. The Auto Expo’s organisers, the Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) has issued a statement saying that the Chinese exhibitors have assured that only local representatives will stand at stalls. It is not just doom and gloom though, several compa- nies are going to showcase new products, these include the country’s two largest carmakers Maruti and Hyundai, the latter launching the second-genera- tion of their bestselling SUV, the Creta. Maruti Suzuki plans to outline how they are going down the path of increased electrification of vehicles with their ‘Futuro-E’ concept. The Volkswagen group will also showcase their new identity in India now that they are headed up by Czech brand Skoda and their new ‘India 2.0’ strategy with some new SUV’s. Tata Motors will also show- case several new products and concepts and recent entrant Kia Motors will unveil their new compact SUV for the first time globally. But will all this be enough to save the show? T he Government on Tuesday unveiled several measures to deal with the out- break of coronavirus which has killed nearly 450 persons in China. As part of the new mea- sures, aerobridges will be used at dedicated gates of seven international airports at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Cochin, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai to screen passengers for coronavirus. The decisions were taken at a meeting held by Health Secretary Preeti Sudan to review the preparedness of the States with the Ministries or departments concerned on coronavirus through video- conferencing. Meanwhile, India on Tuesday tightened visa rules by cancelling the existing visas for Chinese and foreigners who had visited China last fortnight. Sudan said screening of passengers was being done at all the 21 airports, interna- tional seaports and border crossings. A total of 89,500 passengers of 777 planes were screened so far at the 21 air- ports, she said. W ith just three days left for the Delhi Assembly elec- tions, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dared the BJP to announce its chief ministe- rial candidate by 1 pm on Wednesday and said he was ready for a public debate with the saffron party’s CM face. Responding to Kejriwal’s challenge, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Kejriwal ji asked us to declare our candi- date for CM post. For this, there is no need to announce a CM face, just tell and time and place, people from the BJP will to take part in debate. As far as the CM goes, our CM is the people of Delhi.” While releasing the man- ifesto, Kejriwal said if the BJP doesn’t announce its CM face, he will meet the Press at 1 pm with his next course of action. “Manifestos of BJP and AAP are out. It is important to have a detailed debate and dis- cussion in a democracy, on the key initiatives addressed by dif- ferent parties in their mani- festos. People in a democracy should be able to ask questions and give opinions on the key poll promises of the mani- festos,” said Kejriwal. A ttacking the BJP and the AAP at a rally on Tuesday, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said both the parties did nothing to create employment but kept indulging in spreading hatred in society. The Congress leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are not inter- ested in providing jobs to youngsters but keen on mak- ing one Indian fight another for staying in power. Addressing an election rally in support for the Congress candidate from Jangpura, Tarwinder Singh Marwah, he slammed Modi for not talking about the econ- omy and unemployment in his poll speeches and said the Prime Minister did not have the guts to do it. Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Rahul said, “Modi promised two crore jobs annu- ally but did nothing to ensure it. He talked about Pakistan but not about providing jobs and improving the economy. Jobs could be created by mak- ing India a manufacturing hub, but not in the manner the Government is working.” Y ashasvi Jaiswal batted like a man among boys while Kartik Tyagi reminded Pakistan of Waqar Younis’ toe-crushing yorkers as defending champions India walloped their arch-rivals by 10 wickets to enter their seventh ICC U-19 World Cup final here on Tuesday. The gulf in class between the two sides was evi- dent as Indian bowlers collectively choked Pakistan to a paltry 172 in 43.1 overs. Left-handed opener Jaiswal then showed his class with an unbeaten knock of 105 off 113 balls, with an equally graceful Divyansh Saxena (59 not out off 99 balls) supporting him in an easy chase completed in only 35.2 overs. “It’s a dream come true for me. To be able to do this for my country is a great feeling. To score a hun- dred against Pakistan in a World Cup semi-final is something I can’t put into words,” Jaiswal, who hit eight fours and four sixes, said after winning the “Player of the Match” award. India thus maintained their supremacy over Pakistan at the age-group and senior level in ICC tour- naments — both men and women. The “Boys in Blue” earlier reached the summit clash in 2000 (winners), 2006 (runners-up), 2008 (winners), 2012 (winners), 2016 (runners-up) and 2018 (winners). RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

Transcript of ˙ˇ +, ˛ˆ ˇ -+././0˙ ˘ $. 1 ˆ˜ ˝!˜˙˙ˆ˝ˇˆ #$˝%ˇ˝%˙& · spoken English course for...

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The Aam Aadmi Party onTuesday released its man-

ifesto promising 24-hour mar-kets on a pilot basis, qualityeducation, health, clean water,24-hour electricity and“Deskbhakti Curriculum” inGovernment schools for DelhiAssembly elections.

Released in the presence ofChief Minister ArvindKejriwal, his deputy ManishSisodia, Labour MinisterGopal Rai, the manifestonamed “28-point guaranteecard” also promises doorstepdelivery of ration, free pil-grimage to 10 lakh senior cit-izens and �1 crore compensa-tion to kin of a safai karam-chari if he dies on duty, freespoken English course foryoungsters and skill trainingand job opportunities forhousewives.

Kejriwal said, “The AAPwill continue its struggle topass the Jan Lokpal Bill and theSwaraj Bill to involve the pub-lic in resolving problemsthrough Mohalla Sabhas. Itwill also continue to fight andstruggle for full statehood forDelhi”.

The party’s manifesto hastaken care of every section ofsociety, Kerjriwal toldreporters. Sisodia said the AAPwill not only continue all itspro-people policies such as200 units of free electricity, 20kilolitres of free water everymonth, free bus ride forw o m e n ,but has also drawn a roadmapto make Delhi a “truly world class city” in the next five years.It also promisesworld class roads, extension ofMetro network up to 500 km.“Our vision for the next fiveyears is to take Delhi to thenext level by making it a 21stcentury Capital, highlyadvanced and progressiveCapital of a developed nationso that the entire nation isproud of it.

“This manifesto has beencreated keeping in mind this

idea of a progressive Capitaland we cannot do it alone, weneed participation and supportfrom the people, from theCentre, and all the agencies increating a Delhi of our dreams.The manifesto talks about allthe communities and sectionsof the people, includingwomen, traders, contractualworkers, sanitation workers,victims of the anti-Sikh riots in1984, and every other sectionand community,” said Kejriwal.

The party said its vision isto make every family prosper-ous. Kejriwal said, “I want tocongratulate the sanitationworkers that their outstandingdemand has been met. Thesanitation workers will begiven a compensation of �1crore in case of any unfortu-nate incident, and regularisa-tion of their employment isalso included in our mani-festo.”

On extending DelhiMetro’s network to 500 kilo-metres, Sisodia said the partyif voted to power will make itone of the world’s largest Metronetworks and will connectseveral new areas such asBurari, Kirari, Bijwasan,Narela, Karawal Nagar,Mangolpuri and others.

“Along with reviving theYamuna river, we will worktogether with the CentralGovernment to develop abeautiful riverside along thebanks of the Yamuna. This will play a big role in main-taining the Yamuna eco-systemand in creating a new touristdestination for Delhi,” readthe manifesto. Blaming theBJP-led Central Governmentof not regularising and chang-ing the land-use of unautho-rised colonies, the Deputy CMsaid, “The AAP will continueto mount pressure on theCentral Government to ensureall unauthorised colonies inDelhi get regularised,” he said.

The AAP manifesto alsopromised to make all contractualemployees engaged by the DelhiGovernment permanent.

“We will ensure that the

findings of the Supreme Courtappointed-SIT under JusticeSN Dhingra are acted uponpromptly and the victims ofthe 1984 anti-Sikh pogromget justice,” he said. The partysaid it would push for Bhojpurilanguage to be included in theEighth Schedule to theConstitution of India. “This isthe first time that any party hasgiven guarantees for the nextfive years, with no intentionsof corruption and fake promis-es,” he added.

��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

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Addressing his second elec-tion rally in Dwarka,

Prime Minister NarendraModi attacked the ruling AamAadmi Party (AAP) and saidDelhi needs a Governmentthat can give direction anddoesn’t resort to blame game.

Accusing the AAP for notimplementing CentralGovernment’s Ayushmanscheme for the poor, Modi saidDelhi people are in favour ofthe BJP and the Oppositionparties are having sleeplessnights. “The upcoming Delhielections are the first electionof this decade. This decade willbelong to India. India’s devel-opment will depend on thedecisions taken today. Peoplehave seen how the AAPGovernment practises the pol-itics of hate,” Modi said.

Taking a jibe at the AAPGovernment, Modi said polit-ical differences are commonamong parties, and questioned“is it fine to block the devel-

opment work for the poor dueto these differences? This iswhat the people in Delhi arewitnessing today”.

Referring to non-imple-mentation of AyushmanBharat scheme, Modi said,“Suppose a person who goes toHyderabad for work needs tobe admitted to hospital. Willthis Mohalla Clinic go there?”

He asked, “Why the people

of Delhi are deprived of ben-efits of the CentralGovernment’s schemes forhousing and health.”

The PM said Delhi couldnot be developed due to poli-tics of vote bank and hate.“One should have intention ofserving the poor and taketough decisions to work fordevelopment,” the PM said.

“People in the Delhi

Government raised questionsover surgical strikes andBalakot airstrikes by our forces.I have full faith in people ofDelhi that they will give replyto such people,” Modi said.

“For the last five years, theway the Central Governmenthas been working is unprece-dented; since Independencethis has never happened,” saidthe Prime Minister.

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With the 15th Auto Exposet to open at the India

Exposition Mart in GreaterNoida on Wednesday, with thefirst of two media days, theIndian automotive industrywants to put a terrible eighteenmonths behind it.

However, the show thisyear will have several largecompanies skip the event, somuch so that in the main halls,where the event was spreadover two levels only a singlelevel will be used this time.Almost all of India’s leadingtwo-wheeler manufacturers arenot taking part; with HeroMotoCorp, Honda Two-

Wheelers, Bajaj Auto and TVSall skipping the meet, there hasbeen a lot of speculation aboutthe large-scale withdrawal ofthe motorcycle and scootermanufacturers with sourcesinside the companies sayingthat their launches tend to getovershadowed by those of carmanufacturers.

But it is not just two-wheel-er companies skipping the showthis year, with several major carcompanies in India, includingHonda Cars, Nissan-Datsun,Ford and Toyota all skipping theevent as well. With the excep-tion of Mercedes-Benz, mostluxury car manufacturers aregiving the event a miss. Severalof the companies skipping the

show are doing so for the firsttime in their history. The weakeconomy and lower sales cou-pled with the huge expenditureincurred by companies on therapid transition to BS6 emissionnorms have hit home hard. Thisis also evident in the length ofthe show, curtailed to just fivedays, two days for the media onFebruary 5-6, a Business day onFebruary 7 and public days overthe weekend on February 8 and9, although with Delhi going tothe polls on February 8, atten-dance could be hit but the newNoida Metro Aqua Line shouldhelp those attending make it tofrom the Capital.

And in another blow to theevent, the coronavirus outbreak

in China has hit the one part ofthe show that observers werekeenly awaiting, the charge ofthe Chinese carmakers intoIndia. With the shows organis-

ers taking several precautionsafter the Indian Governmentannounced that it will not allowvisitors from China, even withvalid visas, entry into India.

Several Chinese companieswere exhibiting at the show,notably Shanghai AutomotiveIndustrial Corporation throughits brand MG Motor and GreatWall Motors which hasannounced plans to enter Indiawith their Haval brand of SportsUtility Vehicles. The Auto Expo’sorganisers, the Society of IndianAutomotive Manufacturers(SIAM) has issued a statementsaying that the Chineseexhibitors have assured thatonly local representatives willstand at stalls.

It is not just doom andgloom though, several compa-nies are going to showcase newproducts, these include thecountry’s two largest carmakers

Maruti and Hyundai, the latterlaunching the second-genera-tion of their bestselling SUV, theCreta. Maruti Suzuki plans tooutline how they are goingdown the path of increasedelectrification of vehicles withtheir ‘Futuro-E’ concept. TheVolkswagen group will alsoshowcase their new identity inIndia now that they are headedup by Czech brand Skoda andtheir new ‘India 2.0’ strategywith some new SUV’s.

Tata Motors will also show-case several new products andconcepts and recent entrantKia Motors will unveil their newcompact SUV for the first timeglobally. But will all this beenough to save the show?

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The Government onTuesday unveiled several

measures to deal with the out-break of coronavirus which haskilled nearly 450 persons inChina.

As part of the new mea-sures, aerobridges will be usedat dedicated gates of seveninternational airports at Delhi,Kolkata, Mumbai, Cochin,Bengaluru, Hyderabad andChennai to screen passengersfor coronavirus. The decisionswere taken at a meeting held byHealth Secretary Preeti Sudan

to review the preparedness ofthe States with the Ministriesor departments concerned oncoronavirus through video-conferencing. Meanwhile,India on Tuesday tightenedvisa rules by cancelling theexisting visas for Chinese andforeigners who had visitedChina last fortnight.

Sudan said screening ofpassengers was being done atall the 21 airports, interna-tional seaports and bordercrossings. A total of 89,500passengers of 777 planes werescreened so far at the 21 air-ports, she said.

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With just three days left forthe Delhi Assembly elec-

tions, AAP national convenerand Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal dared the BJPto announce its chief ministe-

rial candidate by 1 pm onWednesday and said he wasready for a public debate withthe saffron party’s CM face.

Responding to Kejriwal’schallenge, Home MinisterAmit Shah said, “Kejriwal jiasked us to declare our candi-date for CM post. For this,there is no need to announcea CM face, just tell and timeand place, people from the BJPwill to take part in debate. Asfar as the CM goes, our CM isthe people of Delhi.”

While releasing the man-

ifesto, Kejriwal said if the BJPdoesn’t announce its CM face,he will meet the Press at 1 pmwith his next course of action.

“Manifestos of BJP andAAP are out. It is important tohave a detailed debate and dis-cussion in a democracy, on thekey initiatives addressed by dif-ferent parties in their mani-festos.

People in a democracyshould be able to ask questionsand give opinions on the keypoll promises of the mani-festos,” said Kejriwal.

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Attacking the BJP and theAAP at a rally on Tuesday,

former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi said both theparties did nothing to createemployment but keptindulging in spreading hatredin society.

The Congress leader saidPrime Minister NarendraModi and Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal are not inter-ested in providing jobs toyoungsters but keen on mak-ing one Indian fight anotherfor staying in power.

Addressing an electionrally in support for the

Congress candidate fromJangpura, Tarwinder SinghMarwah, he slammed Modifor not talking about the econ-omy and unemployment in hispoll speeches and said thePrime Minister did not havethe guts to do it.

Hitting out at the PrimeMinister, Rahul said, “Modipromised two crore jobs annu-ally but did nothing to ensureit.

He talked about Pakistanbut not about providing jobsand improving the economy.Jobs could be created by mak-ing India a manufacturinghub, but not in the manner theGovernment is working.”

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Yashasvi Jaiswal batted like a man among boys whileKartik Tyagi reminded Pakistan of Waqar Younis’

toe-crushing yorkers as defending champions Indiawalloped their arch-rivals by 10 wickets to enter theirseventh ICC U-19 World Cup final here on Tuesday.

The gulf in class between the two sides was evi-dent as Indian bowlers collectively choked Pakistanto a paltry 172 in 43.1 overs. Left-handed openerJaiswal then showed his class with an unbeaten knockof 105 off 113 balls, with an equally graceful DivyanshSaxena (59 not out off 99 balls) supporting him in aneasy chase completed in only 35.2 overs.

“It’s a dream come true for me. To be able to dothis for my country is a great feeling. To score a hun-dred against Pakistan in a World Cup semi-final issomething I can’t put into words,” Jaiswal, who hit eightfours and four sixes, said after winning the “Player ofthe Match” award.

India thus maintained their supremacy overPakistan at the age-group and senior level in ICC tour-naments — both men and women. The “Boys in Blue”earlier reached the summit clash in 2000 (winners),2006 (runners-up), 2008 (winners), 2012 (winners),2016 (runners-up) and 2018 (winners).

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With four States includingDelhi, West Bengal,

Odisha and Telangana not yetimplementing the AyushmanBharat Yojana, the Governmenton Tuesday said in the RajyaSabha this has deprived thepoor from deriving benefits ofcomprehensive healthcare facil-ities.

Giving this information,Health Minister HarshVardhan said he had personal-ly talked to the Chief Ministersof the concerned States andurged them to implement thescheme for the larger good ofthe needy. He also clarified thatthe Central Government canonly "humbly" request the StateGovernments when some MPs

said if any action can be takenagainst States like Delhi.

"Our Government hasrequested these States and Ihave written and urged theChief Ministers and HealthMinisters of these States, aftermeeting them personally, toimplement the scheme, as thepoor in States like Delhi arebereft of benefits of the health-care Ayushman scheme.

"We will keep on insisting.We again appeal to these fourStates to join the scheme in thelarger interest of healthcare.This will also help reduce theirburden as the CentralGovernment shares the burdenwith State Governments in thescheme," he said.

Fielding questions of thisissue during the Question

Hour, the Minister also saidthere was no such proposal atpresent to implement thescheme through the municipalbodies. In fact, the Govt can-not bypass the StateGovernment, he said adding"We can check whether it istechnically possible," he said.

While the Aam AadmiParty has its Government inDelhi, the BJP is in power inthe MCD in Delhi. The three

other States which have not yetjoined the scheme are alsonon-BJP ruled States.

The Minister also informedthe House that theGovernment is also using tech-nology, including artificialintelligence, to detect fraud ornegligence in various hospitals.

Vardhan said as per the2011 list, there are a total of 10.74crore families who are potentialbeneficiaries under theAyushman Bharat scheme andthe allocation of funds has beendone on the basis of number ofbeneficiaries in each state. Atpresent, more than 80 lakh peo-ple have availed of the benefit.

He also assured the mem-bers that the Govt will notcompromise the interest ofpatients while handing over

district Govt hospitals to pri-vate medical colleges throughpublic-private partnershipmode. Such experiments havesuccessfully been implementedin the last 25 years and evengovernment think-tank NitiAayog has taken note of thisand come out with draft guide-lines, he said during theQuestion Hour.

Responding to a separatequery on dialysis for poorpatients, the Minister said dial-ysis services are provided at dis-trict hospitals for managementof chronic kidney diseasesunder the Pradhan MantriNational Dialysis Programme(PMNDP).ialysis servicesunder PMNDP are providedfree of cost to Below PovertyLine (BPL) patients.

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The issue of delay in hangingof convicts in the Nirbhaya

case figured in the Rajya Sabhaon Tuesday with Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu terming it as“sensitive and serious” andcalled for implementation ofthe judgment at the earliest.

Raising the issue during theZero Hour, Sanjay Singh(AAP)said despite punishmentawarded to the convicts, theirhanging was postponed. Hesaid while the entire countrywas on the streets following theincident in 2012, the culpritswere able to get a new dateevery time to delay the execu-tion. He also lamented thepolitical blame game.

Intervening, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekarblamed the Delhi Governmentfor the delay saying theSupreme Court had awardedthe sentence in 2017 and morethan one and half years passeddue to lack of following the dueprocess by the State

Government.T r i n a m o o l

Congress(TMC)and CongressMPs, who were raising slogansagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act(CAA) andNational PopulationRegister(NPR), stopped sloga-neering when Singh raised thematter. He also urged theChief Justice of India and thePresident to intervene in theissue to get justice. While call-ing for implementation of thejudgment at the earliest, Naidualso said people are agitatedand concerned over the delayadding those in the systemmust fulfil their responsibilities.

Naidu said the convictswere given all legal opportuni-ties and when they wereexhausted, the convicts man-aged to get reprieve on somepretext or the other.

"We cannot allow suchthings to go on in the country...People are getting restive...Itmust be seen that judgement isimplemented at the earliest," hesaid.

���� �*+�,* �-

Even as the Oppositionincluding the Congress and

Trinamool Congress(TMC)raised a din in the Rajya Sabhain the morning session onTuesday, the House func-tioned with as many as 21issues of public importanceraised. Raising slogans for mostpart of the Zero Hour, the TMClater staged a walkout.

The Opposition partieswere protesting against theCitizenship AmendmentAct(CAA) and had not allowedthe House to function onMonday.

Elders from different par-ties on Tuesday including theCongress, meanwhile, high-lighted issues like the spread ofcoronavirus, onion exports,Nirbhaya rape case, and locustattack on crops in some statesin the pandemonium.

Noisy scenes began as soonas the House commenced pro-ceedings and Minister of State

for Finance Anurag Thakurrose to lay the paper listedagainst his name.

The moment his name wascalled, some opposition mem-bers started shouting slogansagainst him. The EC recentlybarred Thakur from cam-paigning for the Delhi assem-bly elections in the wake of acontroversial remark made byhim at a poll rally.

Soon after ChairmanNaidu dismissed notices fromseveral opposition membersto suspend routine business ofthe day and take up issue ofCAA, TMC MP Derek O'Brieninsisted that his notice shouldbe taken up. Naidu said mat-ter could be discussed duringthe debate on Motion of thankson the President's addresswhich had mentioned CAA.

The TMC members, how-ever, did not oblige and someof them trooped into the wellof the House raising sloganslike 'Goli Marna Band Karo.'

���� �*+�,* �-

The controversial remarksmade by BJP MP

Anantkumar Hegde onMahatma Gandhi disruptedLok Sabha proceedings onTuesday with Congress mem-bers shouting slogans andwalking out of the House afteraccusing the ruling party ofdoing "Godse politics" as thelatter retaliated claiming BJPwas the real followers ofGandhi whereas theOpposition party was the dis-ciple of "Nakli Gandhis".

Immediately after theHouse convened at noon afterthe proceedings wereadjourned till 1200 hrs fol-lowing uproar by Oppositionmembers over Hegde'sremarks, Congress leaderAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury saidthe BJP leader has "insulted"Mahatma Gandhi, who isrespected by people across theglobe.

Chowdhury then made aremark against Hegde, whichLok Sabha Speaker Om Birlasaid would not go on record.

The Congress leader said

country-wide protests againstCAA and NRC were peacefulon the Gandhian line.

Opposition membersincluding Congress MPsjumped into the well displayingplacards and shouting slogans.

Despite requests by thespeaker, opposition membersdid not stop sloganeering andlater Congress memberswalked out of the House.

Chowdhury also said thatthey were expecting a responsefrom Parliamentary AffairsMinister Pralhad Joshi on thecontroversial remarks but theyare "helping" people who hateMahatma Gandhi.

"I have no expectationsfrom people who are doingGodse politics," he said.

At an event in Bengalururecently, Hegdge had said thatfreedom fighters, who did notsacrifice anything, made thecountry believe that it attainedIndependence through 'UpavasSatyagrah', Gandhi's preferredmode of agitation, and becameMahapurush (great person).

Mostly members from theCongress, DMK and NCPsought to raise the issue of

Hegde's remarks but theSpeaker did not allow them.

In a riposte to the Congressleaders, Parliamentary AffairsMinister Joshi said members ofthe BJP are real "bhakts" andfollowers of Gandhi while theCongress is a follower of "nakli(fake) Gandhi like Rahul andSonia Gandhi".

Hegde who has notexpressed his regret has said hemade no mention of Gandhiin his speech, which has facedflak for its swipe at the Fatherof the Nation, and controver-sial remarks attributed to himare "incorrect".

���� �*+�,* �-

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said that

people are being misled on theUnion Budget even thoughcritics too now accept that it isthe best Budget under the cur-rent global economic scenario.

Modi, who was address-ing BJP's Parliamentary Partymeeting, welcomed the Bodoagreement to settle the mem-bers of Bru-Reang tribe inTripura, terming them "his-toric" successes of hisGovernment in this decade,according to party sources.

It will usher in an era ofpeace in the North East whichhas suffered decades of blood-shed and violence, he said,adding that his Govt has alsocurbed naxalism and boosteddevelopment in areas hit by theextremist Left violence.

The North East States usedto see frequent blockades and'bandh' that would bring life toa standstill for days but thingshave now changed for the bet-ter, Modi said.

Referring to the UnionBudget, which was presentedby Union Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman onSaturday, Modi said attemptswere made to mislead peopleabout it, sources said. However,people have now realised thatit is a very good budget andeven critics have acknowledgedthat this is the best budgetunder the prevailing globaleconomic scenario, he said.

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar and Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan gave a presen-tation on novel coronavirus, andhow their respective ministry isdealing with the situation.

The meeting was held inthe presence of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, BJP nationalpresident JP Nadda, and UnionMinisters like Nitin Gadkari,Ravi Shankar Prasad, PrakashJavadekar, Ramesh Pokhriya,and Nirmala Sitharamanamong others.BJP MP PragyaSingh Thakur was also presentin the meeting.

This proceeded close onthe heels of BJP's KarnatakaMP Anantkumar Hegde's con-troversial remark aboutGandhi after which many topBJP leaders expressed unhap-piness over his remark, partysources said .

���� �*+�,* �-

Hegde has sent a detailedreply to party president

JP Nadda, and the party's dis-ciplinary committee, whichissued him a show-causenotice to him on Monday, isstudying its content beforedeciding its next course ofaction

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The CBI has booked seniorKarnataka-cadre IPS offi-

cers Hemant Nimbalkar andAjay Hilori, along with threeother police officers and othersin a fresh case in connectionwith the �4,000-crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA)scam, in which gullibleinvestors were allegedly cheat-ed in the name of Islamicbanking.

The move came after theCBI received sanction from theKarnataka Government to pro-ceed with its investigation intothe alleged role of 1998-batchIPS officer Nimbalkar, thenposted as the Inspector General(CID-EOW), and 2008-batchIPS officer Hilori, then postedas the Deputy Commissioner ofPolice, Bengaluru East.

Besides these two IPS offi-cers, the agency has named the

then Inspector M Ramesh and Sub-Inspector GowriShankar, both posted at theCommercial Street police sta-tion in Bengaluru and DeputySuperintendant of Police (CID-EOW) EBSridhara. Others named asaccused in the case include thecompany, IMA, its founderMansoor Khan and three of its other directors-Nizamuddin, Vaseem andArshad Khan.

The agency hadapproached the StateGovernment, seeking permis-sion to proceed against the twoIPS officers, who were in seniorpositions in the Karnatakapolice, and had allegedly helpedKhan in continuing his dubiousenterprise without taking req-uisite action as per law, officials

said.The CBI has alleged that

since 2016, the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) repeatedlyraised red flags on the activi-ties of the IMA group, whichwas allegedly raising illegaldeposits from investorspromising lucrative returns inthe name of Islamic bankingpractices.

Ramesh had also receiveda reference in this regardthrough the DCP, BengaluruEast, but did not conduct aproper enquiry and closedthe case on August 29, 2016,the agency has alleged in itsFIR.

In his comments on clos-ing the reference, Rameshhad mentioned that the com-pany was operating withinthe rules and there were no

deviations. He had also saidthat he could not take anyaction against the companyunder the KarnatakaProtection of Interest ofDepositors in FinancialEstablishment (KPID) Act,2004 in the absence of a com-plaint from any depositor, theFIR says.

The probe report byRamesh was rejected by theRBI and the DCP was asked tore-look into the matter, but heclosed the reference just beforehis transfer, saying it was dealtwith by the CID-EOW, the CBIhas alleged.

Subsequently, complaintswere also made against thecompany and the KarnatakaPrincipal Secretary (Revenue)had also asked the police toprobe the case, but InspectorRamesh, Sub-Inspector GowriShankar and Hilori did not takeany action, alleges the FIR.

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The Government on Tuesdayinformed Lok Sabha that

no decision was taken onnationwide preparation ofNational Register of Citizens(NRC). The Government alsomade it clear that no documentwill be collected during theupdation of the NationalPopulation Register (NPR) andproviding Aadhaar numberduring the exercise is only vol-untary

"Till now, the Governmenthas not taken any decision toprepare the National Register ofIndian Citizens at the nation-al level," Minister of State forHome Nityanand Rai saidreplying to a written questionin Lok sabha.

On December 22, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi saidhis government has never dis-cussed NRC since coming topower for the first time in 2014.It has been discussed neither inParliament nor in the Cabinet,he added.

Rai also said an instructionmanual for the updation ofNPR 2020 for enumeratorsand supervisors has been pre-pared and the people will haveto provide information for theNPR to the best of their knowl-

edge and belief. "No documentis to be collected during theupdation of NPR," he saidreplying a written question.

The Minister also made itclear that during the NPRupdation exercise, no verifica-tion will be done to find indi-viduals whose citizenship isdoubtful. The NPR exercisewill be carried out across thecountry along with the houselisting phase of the Census2021 from April 1 to September30, 2020.

"The NPR updation will beundertaken through house tohouse enumeration for collec-tion of specified particularsrelating to each family andindividual. The respondent hasto provide the informationtrue to the best of his knowl-edge and belief. AadharNumber is collected voluntar-

ily," he said.Rai said population regis-

ter is a register containingdetails of persons usually resid-ing in a village or rural area ortown or ward or demarcatedarea within a ward in a town orurban area. "The NPR wasfirst prepared in 2010 andupdated in 2015. In pursuanceof Sub-rule (4) of Rule 3 of theCitizenship (Registration ofCitizens and Issue of NationalIdentity Cards) Rules, 2003,framed under the

Citizenship Act,1955, cen-tral government decided toprepare and update the popu-lation register during April toSeptember, 2020 throughoutthe country except Assam forcollection of information relat-ing to all persons usually resid-ing in village or town," hesaid.

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The number of suicidecases in the paramilitary

forces has seen an alarmingincrease. Union HomeMinistry on Tuesday informedLok Sabha that in the year2019 alone 128 paramilitaryjawans committed suicide forvarious reasons s ranging frommental trauma to personalissues. In 2018, 96 persons andin 2017, 121 persons commit-ted suicide as per the answergiven by the Union HomeMinistry.

Minister of State for HomeNityanand Rai was replying toBJP's MP Prataprao PatilChiklikar's un-starred ques-

tion in Lok saha on the case ofsuicides in Central ArmedPolice Forces and AssamRifles. "Reduction of stressand improvement of workingconditions of CAPFs and ARpersonnel is a constantendeavour of Ministry," saidthe Minister in response to aquestion as to what steps weretaken in this context by theGovernment.

In a two-page reply, theHome Ministry has detailedthe measures initiated to takecare of the troopers in para-military forces. Rai said vari-ous measures have been takento reduce stress and improvethe working of these forces.

"Some of them are trans-

parent policies pertaining totransfer and leave of CAPFsand AR (Assam Riffles) per-sonnel, hospitalisation perioddue to injuries while on dutyis treated as on duty; choiceposting is considered to theextent possible after the per-sonnel has served in hardarea," he said.

"Other such steps includeregular interaction of officerswith troops to find out andredress their grievances, ensur-ing adequate rest and relief byregulating their duty hours,improving living conditionsfor troops, providing adequaterecreational, entertainment,sports and communicationfacilities among other steps,"he added.

The Government alsoclaimed that series of measureshave initiated to ensure ade-quate rest and regulating dutyhours and improving livingconditions and providingrecreation and entertainmentfacilities. The Governmentalso said measures to providegood accommodation withfamily, crèche facility alsostarted providing in manyremote areas.

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The Government on Tuesdaysaid the term ‘Love jehad'

is not defined under the extantlaws and no case of 'Lovejehad' has been reported by anyof the Central agencies.

Union Minister of State forHome G Kishan Reddy saidthe Article 25 of theConstitution provides for thefreedom to profess, practiceand propagate religion subjectto public order, morality andhealth.

Various courts, includingthe Kerala High Court, haveupheld this view.

"The term 'Love Jihad' isnot defined under the extantlaws. No such case of 'LoveJihad' has been reported by anyof the central agencies," hesaid in reply to a written ques-tion.

The Minister, however,said two cases from Keralainvolving inter-faith marriagehave been probed by theNational Investigation Agency(NIA).

���� �*+�,* �-

The Centre on Tuesdayinformed Parliament that

the mercy petitions by VDSavarkar to the British are notdisplayed at the Cellular JailMuseum at Andaman andNicobar as there is no record ofthem available with theDepartment of Art and Culturethere.

Replying to a query on thedisplay of the petitions by theHindu nationalist leader,Union Culture MinisterPrahlad Patel said no suchrecord was available with theAndaman and Nicobar admin-istration.

"As per the informationreceived from Andaman &Nicobar (Directorate of Artand Culture), such mercy peti-tions are not displayed atCellular Jail since no record isavailable with the Departmentof Art and Culture, Andaman& Nicobar Administration,"he said.

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RAIPUR | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2020chhattisgarh 03

A view of drizzle-soaked Jashpur district headquarters on Tuesday. Except for Bastar region, the entire Chhattisgarhrecorded a chilling day on Tuesday. Light to medium rainfall was witnessed in the northern Chhattisgarh and some otherparts of the state. Cloudy and foggy weather is predicted by the regional meteorological centre for Wednesday too and lightshowers are also expected in one or two places. Pioneer Photo

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

With higher priceprovided by the state

government for the mainKharif crop paddy, thenumber of paddy sellingfarmers has increased thisseason. As against 15.71lakh farmers previous year,this year the number offarmers who approachedprocurement centers forselling paddy is around 16lakhs. Notable, February 15is the last date ofprocurement by the stategovernment.

Secretary, Food, DrKamalpreet Singh informedthat the procurement of

paddy at the procurementcenters is going on in fullswing this time and till datethe government hasprocured 68.63 lakh metrictonne of paddy. Against19.52 lakh registered farmers13.2 lakh small farmers havesold their paddy till date, headded.

The central agency FoodCorporation of India (FCI)till January, 2020 taken 3lakh tonne of parboiled riceprepared after milling of pro-cured paddy, Singhinformed.

Similarly the CivilSupplies Corporation of statehas taken 10 lakh tonne ofrice under state pool.

Regarding procurement

of paddy, the official furtherinformed that a total amountof 11,973 crore has been paiddirectly into the bankaccounts of the farmers.

Rice millers of the statehave till date taken 32.6 lakhtonne of paddy for themilling purpose, he added.

Regarding action onillegal transporters, theofficial further informedthat a total of 4,280 cases ofillegal transportation wereregistered and 45,930 tonneof illegal paddy was seized.Actions on 400 vehicleswere done in this regard, headded. Stern actionbenefitted the state farmers,he claimed.

Paddy procurement picksup in entire Chhattisgarh

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The planning,economics and

statistics department,through an order,appointed ministersRavindra Choubey,Premsai Singh andAnila Bhedia as ex-offi-cio members of theState PlanningCommission (SPC).

Notable, ChiefMinister is ex-officio

chairman of thecommission whileminister of theconcerned departmentAmarjeet Bhagat is itsvice chairman.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

An under trial prisonercurrently lodged in Raipur

central jail won Sarpanchelection from Tilda block inBilaspur district.

After the victory hissupporters reached the centraljail and extended solidarity toNarendra Yadav.

Narendra Yadav, a BAMSdoctor hailing from Saddu inTilda block of Bilaspur district,was arrested following his wife’sdeath on May 16, 2018. His wifehad committed suicide, Yadav’sadvocate ND Manikpuri toldmedia persons.

“He was charged withSection 304 (B) of Indian PenalCode (dowry death). He hadfiled nomination paper from jailafter taking permission from theelection commission and turnedout victorious in the third phaseof Panchayat election,”

Manikpuri said.Replying to the query that

who will bear the charge ofSarpanch since Yadav is in jail,Manikpuri elaborated that fortime being an acting-Sarpanchwill be appointed on the behalfof Yadav. Later, when he willcome out of jail Yadav wouldassume the charge.

According to Manikpurithey will approach high courtBilaspur for granting bail in thecase.

Under-trial winsSarpanch election

Narendra Yadav, aBAMS doctor hailingfrom Saddu in Tildablock of Bilaspurdistrict, was arrestedfollowing his wife’sdeath on May 16,2018. His wife hadcommitted suicide

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

State Government has addeda new dimension to Chief

Minister Urban Slum HealthScheme. In addition to the reg-ular camps by mobile medicalteams in slum areas, now spe-cialists of various departmentshave started to provide freemedical treatment to people.

In 13 municipal corpora-tions of the states, services ofthe specialists from 12 differ-ent departments are being pro-vided. To provide specialistmedical services to patients inslum areas, HealthDepartment is associatingmaximum number of special-ists to the scheme.

To provide quality health

services to all the citizens, StateGovernment is providing freecheck-up and treatment facili-ties to people along with theexistent health services.

After providing OPD serv-ices of renowned super-spe-cialists in District Hospitals,State Government has decidedto provide expert medicaladvice to people in slums,under Chief Minister UrbanSlum Health Scheme.

From the time of inaugu-ration to till date, nearly 2 lakh16 thousand people have beenprovided medical treatment at3233 camps held in the urbanareas of the state. HealthDepartment's mobile medicalteam is reaching out to nearly1628 slums regularly toprovide medical treatment.

Private doctors providing free services under Urban Slum Health Scheme

STAFF REPORTER nNAVA RAIPUR

State rurban mission in itsmeeting held on Tuesday

chalked out its roadmap forthe coming financial year2020-21.

State Project Director,Rurban Mission, AbhijeetSingh chaired the meetingheld here at Rural ContactTraining and Research Center(RCTRC), Jhanjh in NavaRaipur.

The director in the meet-ing instructed the concernedofficials to make all the pay-ments through Fund TransferOrder (FTO) in order tomaintain transparency infinancial transactions.

He also reviewedprogress of Public FinancialManagement System (PFMS),Rurban Soft Integration and

Spatial Plan Preparation.Rurban specialists of

Raipur, Bilaspur,Kabeerdham, Dhamtari,

R a j n a n d g a o n ,Mahasamund, Raigarh andJanjgir-Champa attendedthe meeting.

Rurban mission draftsroadmap for FY 2020-21

STAFF REPORTER nKORBA

Amember of ‘HathiMitra Dal (HMD)’

was trampled to deathby lone tusker inKathghora forest division,officials said here onTuesday.

Nathuram (28) waskilled by a lone tusker inKendai forest range ofKathghora division.Nathuram was a veryactive person of HMD andhad rescued several people

who were attacked by wildelephants, forest officialssaid.

Notably, HMD is agroup of locals supportedby forest departmentwhich keeps track of ele-phant movement in theirrespective villages. Theynot only closely monitorthe wild elephant’s move-ment but act as a linkbetween the departmentand villagers.

“We will send the pro-posal for attaching radiosatellite collar to the lone

tusker so that we could trackhis live movement. Thiscould be helpful in restrict-ing the pachyderm’s move-ment towards residentialareas,” Jitendra Upadhyay,DFO Kathghora, said.

Forest officialsinformed that Nathuramalong with villagers anddepartment staff wastracking a herd of wild ele-phants on Monday night,when suddenly a single maleelephant who was hidingnearby caught Nathuramand trampled him.

Tusker kills ‘Hathi MitraDal’ member in Korba

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

As per the orders issued byGeneral Administration

Department, State Song "ArpaPairi Ke Dhaar, Mahanadi HeApaar' has been standardizedto the duration of one minute15 seconds for recitation inpublic programmes. GeneralAdministration Departmenthas issued instructions regard-ing compliance to the afore-mentioned order to ChairmanRevenue Board ChhattisgarhBilaspur, all DepartmentHeads, all the DivisionCommissioners andCollectors.

It is known that StateGovernment has declaredChhattisgarhi Song "ArpaPairi Ke Dhaar, Mahanadi HeApaar' written by Dr Narendra

Dev Verma as State Song.Guidelines have been

issued to sing the State Song inall the government pro-grammes. As per the Cabinet'sdecision, State Song has beenstandardized for singing in allthe public programmes and ithas been uploaded onwww.dprcg.gov.in andhttp://gad.cg.gov.in/notice_display.aspx.

State getsstandardisedstate anthem

State Government hasdeclared ChhattisgarhiSong "Arpa Pairi KeDhaar, Mahanadi HeApaar' written by DrNarendra Dev Vermaas state anthem

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh BJP presidentVikram Usendi comment-

ing on Food and civil suppliesminister Amarjeet Bhagat’sstatement that date of govern-ment procurement of paddy atminimum support price willnot be extended further, saidnow Congress has shown itstrue anti-farmers colour.

It has revealed its ‘true’intention towards the farm-ers by not procuring all thepaddy, he alleged.

State BJP president said thegovernment for all thesemonths have been crying croco-dile tears but giving a toughtime to farmers over these days.The procurement which startedlate by one month, the farmerswere not given the Rs 2500 perquintal promised amount, laterlimits were fixed which were

then lifted and all hindranceswere created in procurement byone after the other orders.

Due to which there hasbeen further delay in procure-ment and lesser procurementhas been done as compared tolast year. Usendi said withannouncement of food ministerit has cleared the intention ofgovernment, which is a sort ofblack chapter in history ofstate towards the farmers.

Raising question, Usendisought reply from the Congresswhether it was waiting for thePanchayat polls process to becompleted to make such anannouncement. Chief Ministerhimself has been speaking ofextending the dates if neededwhile cabinet minister underhim say something else. Hedemanded Chief Ministershould clear this to thefarmers.

True colour of Cong emergesafter Panchayat polls: Usendi

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

In a major reshuffle 25 IFS offi-cers, including one Principal

Chief Conservator of forest(PCCF), and six AdditionalPCCFs were assigned new post-ings on Tuesday.

PV Narsingh Rao who wasposted as Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO) ChhattisgarhState Medicinal Plant Board wasshifted as PCCF (works andplanning) Nava Raipur.

APCCF Chhattisgarh stateforest academy and traininginstitute Raipur, JACS Rao wasappointed as CEO ofChhattisgarh State MedicinalPlant Board.

Likewise, SK Singh who wasAPCCF (wildlife) was shifted toAPCCF (conservation). PCPandey APCCF (conservation)was made director of researchand training institute.

B Anand Babu Executive

Director (ED) ChhattisgarhState Minor Forest Produce(Trading & Development)Co-operative Federation Ltdwas appointed as APCCF stateminor forest produce coopera-tive federation limited.

Further KaushlendraKumar CCF (Eco tourism) NavaRaipur was shifted to APCCFNava Raipur.

25 IFS get fresh postingin major reshuffle

IFS officers,including onePrincipal ChiefConservator offorest (PCCF),and six AdditionalPCCFs wereassigned newpostings

Three ministersinducted into SPC

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The commuters continue toface a hard time on Tuesday

as the app-based cab servicesUber and Ola remained off theroads and only limited vehicleswere available in the city.

While the ChandigarhAdministration convened ameeting with a delegation ofdrivers of cab services toresolve the issue of entry fee,the drivers announced to con-tinue their strike over otherdemands.

The cab aggregators Uberand Ola are in a deadlock withdrivers over payment of the‘entry fee’ being charged by theChandigarh State TransportAuthority (STA). The entryfee is charged from cabs, whichare not registered inChandigarh.

The STA had last weekasked both Uber and Ola to paythe unpaid ‘entry fee’.

The Traffic Police had alsostarted challaning cab drivers

who didn’t have the receipt of‘entry fee’ paid for entering theUnion Territory of Chandigarh.

The strike call given by thecab drivers entered its sixth dayat Mohali on Tuesday.

More than 5,000 cabs areplying in the city, catering tothe tricity commuters.According to the On DemandTransport Aggregators Rules2017, except for about 500

cabs registered in the city, anentry fee of � 1000 per cab hasto be paid every quarter by theaggregators.

The STA had allowed Olaand Uber to offer their can ser-vices in 2017 hence theDepartment is seeking unpaiddues for nine quarters.

During the meeting heldwith association of cab drivers,Manoj Parida, Adviser to UTAdministrator, said that the

pending Government revenuehas to be paid by the drivers ofcabs.

He also said that since theentry fee of Chandigarh is only� 333 per month which ismuch cheaper than the neigh-bouring states, there should beno reason for the default.

It was decided that allstakeholders may be allowed tomake payment of first two

quarters of current financialyear by February 15 while theremaining needs to be clearedby March 31. After this, a spe-cial drive will be started by theTransport and Traffic PoliceDepartment to penalize thedefaulters for non-payment ofentry fee.

After the meeting,Harvinder Singh, president,Cab Operator Social WelfareAssociation, said, “We willcontinue the strike.

We have submitted a mem-orandum of demands to theChandigarh Administrationand will continue the strike tillour demands are met.”

While we have been askedto pay the entry fee by the UTAdministration, it is theresponsibility of the companiesto pay the fee, he said.

Another meeting ofAdministration, representa-tives of cab companies and dri-vers should be organized toresolve our issues.

Only then we will decideover ending the ongoing strike,

he added.He alleged that the cab

aggregators are exploiting theservices of drivers.

Harvinder Singh furthersaid that the drivers’ delegationwill also meet PunjabGovernment to raise theirdemands.

The demands of strikingcab drivers include tax shouldbe same for tricity ofChandigarh, Mohali andPanchkula, base fare for ride (0-5 km) should be reserved as �100 and for further ride � 15per km, it should be given todriver, waiting charges (during jam and others) should be � 5 per minute,daily allowance should be �2000 per day for outstation and should be given to drivers, noparking fee at public places forcabs, parking space should bearranged for cabs at publicplaces, pick up should not begiven more than 2 km, driver insurance should bedone by companies, incrementpolicy among others.

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Haryana Governor SatyadeoNarain Arya on Tuesday

called upon the youth to gettraining of National CadetCorps (NCC) and NationalService Scheme (NSS) to incul-cate discipline and leadershipqualities among themselves.

During the SammanSamaroh organized to felicitatethe NCC and NSS cadets, hesaid, the motto of National

Cadet Corps (NCC), is "unityand discipline", while the mottoof National Service Scheme(NSS) is "not me but you".

As many as 32 NCC cadetsand 9 NSS volunteers, who par-ticipated in the Republic Dayparade in Delhi on January 26,2020 were honored. Among theparticipants were 10 girls cadetsof the NCC, Haryana. Heannounced an additionalamount of � 5,100 to all cadetsand volunteers.

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The Himachal PradeshGovernment is aiming to

increase its forest area by 30 percent by 2030 and to achieve thisgoal initiatives have been takenup, an official said on Tuesday.

Plantation campaigns arebeing carried out by the stateForest Department in identifiedplaces. Last year by involving1,18,932 people, 26,47,146saplings were planted, a gov-ernment spokesperson toldIANS.

This campaign was run forfive days and it was for the firsttime record saplings were plant-ed under a campaign. As aresult of public campaigns, the

Forest Department has suc-ceeded in increasing the greencover.

Quoting a Forest Survey ofIndia report for 2019, the greenforest cover area which was15,100 sq km in the 2017 hasnow increased to 15,433.52 sqkm in 2019.An increase has alsobeen reported in very dense,moderate dense and open forestareas, he said.

The moderately dense for-est area, which was 6,705 sq km2017, has increased to 7,125.93sq km in 2019.

Likewise, between 2017 and2019, the dense forest area of thestate has increased from 3,110 sqkm to 3,112.71 sq km.In orderto connect the forest enhance-ment with livelihood, theHimachal Pradesh Forest Eco

System Management andLivelihood Improvement projectof � 800 crore funded by JICAhas been started in six districts-- Kullu, Mandi, Lahaul-Spiti,Bilaspur, Shimla and Kinnaur.

The main aim of this projectis to improve ecosystem servicesin the forest area for sustainablesocio-economic development.Under the project, 460 com-mittees will be constituted forpromoting activities like forestand environmental protection,biodiversity and organism con-servation and improvement inlivelihood. Through this project,local rural forest developmentcommittees will be empoweredto visit various states and vari-ous training programmes will beorganised to make them awareof about the ongoing schemes in

other states.In addition, theHimachal Pradesh ForestEcosystem Climate ProofingProject of � 310 crore is beingimplemented in the districts ofKangra and Chamba in collab-oration with the German gov-ernment and the GermanDevelopment Bank (KFW).

To make every sectionaware about the rights of girlchild and to bring the idea oflinking them to environmentand to society, the state haslaunched the 'Ek Buta Beti KeNaam' scheme.

Under this scheme, afterSeptember 20, 2019, the ForestDepartment is providing fivesaplings, tri-guards, child's nameplate, 20 kg of earthworm fer-tilizer and technical informationto each daughter's family.

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Reserve Bank of India (RBI)Governor Shaktikanta

Das, who hails from Odisha,has been named the CentralBanker of the Year, Asia-Pacific 2020, by the Bankermagazine, a unit of FinancialTimes.

The award is given to thecentral bankers who have bestmanaged to stimulate growthand stabilise their economy.

The magazine said Daswas honoured for managingIndia’s banking sector that hasfaced a series of challenges

such as nonperforming loansand fraud. Repeated econom-ic slumps saw the RBI cutinterest rates five times during2019 and it was open to cut-ting them again if necessary,said the magazine. It furthersaid Das tried to managebanking issues within thefinancial system, a risky movebut one that would reducedependence on the centralbank.

Jorgovanka Tabakovi ofthe National Bank of Serbiawas adjudged the winner asthe Global Central Banker ofthe Year.

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Five tourists had to be res-cued using a rope when the

cable car they were in devel-oped a technical snag inNainital on Tuesday.

The manager of the cablecar, Shivam Sharma informedthat at about 4 PM, there wassome technical snag related toelectricity in the cable car. Thisresulted in the automatic brakeof the cable car coming intooperation. Due to this, the twocable cars stopped midwaynear each other. The cable cargoing uphill had five passengerswho were stuck midway in thecable car. These five includedtwo local residents and threetourists.

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In an effort to get the real pic-ture of prevalence of Cancer

and its types affectingUttarakhand, a population basedCancer registry is being set up atAll India Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh.Incidentally there is no such sys-tem in place at present in thestate which depicts the actualprevalence of Cancer. TheIndian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) has approveda project to set up the populationbased registry for cancer at theAIIMS Rishikesh. At presentthere are 32 population basedCancer registries in India.

Confirming the develop-ment, the director of AIIMS,Rishikesh, Ravikant said that theproject would soon start in theinstitute.

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Brussels: The EuropeanUnion on Tuesday rejectedUS President Donald Trump’sproposal for securing peace inthe Middle East andexpressed concern aboutIsrael’s plans to annex morePalestinian land.

Trump’s plan, which wasunveiled last week, wouldforesee the eventual creationof a Palestinian state, but itfalls far short of minimalPalestinian demands andwould leave sizable chunks ofthe occupied West Bank inIsraeli hands.

In a statement, EU foreignpolicy chief Josep Borrellunderlined the bloc’s com-mitment to a two-state solu-tion, based along 1967 lineswith the possibility of mutu-ally agreed land-swaps, madeup of the state of Israel and“an independent, democratic,contiguous, sovereign andviable state of Palestine.”

Borrell said the US ini-tiative “departs from theseinternationally agreed para-meters.” “To build a just andlasting peace, the unresolvedfinal status issues must bedecided through direct nego-tiations between both parties.This includes notably theissues related to borders, thestatus of Jerusalem, securityand the refugee question,”Borrell said. AP

Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump, seekingreelection, on Monday coast-ed to victory in the 2020 IowaRepublican caucuses, trounc-ing his two lesser-known rul-ing Republican Party rivals.

While the focus of thisyear’s Iowa Caucus – whichformally kicks off the 2020presidential season – has beenon the tough race among theover a dozen odd Democraticpresidential aspirants, Trump,according to The Des MoinesRegister newspaper, garneredthe support of more than 95per cent of his party votes onMonday night when thereports last came in.

“President Trump recap-tures overwhelming IowaRepublican support,” the localnewspaper reported.

Trump, seeking a secondterm in the White House,won the Republican contestwith 97 per cent of the voteand 8 per cent of precinctsreporting, according to theAssociated Press. FormerIllinois Representative JoeWalsh received 1.4 per cent ofvoters and formerMassachusetts Governor BillWeld garnered 1.2 per cent ofthe votes.

The off icial Twitteraccount for Trump’s campaignreacted on its triumph, tweet-ing that “The RepublicanParty Has Never Been MoreUnited!” AP

Yokohama: Japan has quarantined acruise ship carrying 3,711 people and wastesting those onboard for the new coro-navirus on Tuesday after a former pas-senger was diagnosed with the illness inHong Kong.

Eight people on the vessel, whicharrived in Yokohama Bay on Monday,have symptoms such as fever, topGovernment spokesman Yoshihide Sugasaid.

Television footage showed severalquarantine officers boarding theDiamond Princess on Monday eveningto check all 2,666 passengers and 1,045crew.

The move comes after an 80-year-oldpassenger who disembarked on January

25 in Hong Kong tested positive for thevirus, which has killed 425 people inChina. The man “did not visit a medicalcentre inside the ship while he was sail-ing with us”, cruise operator CarnivalJapan said in a statement. “According tothe hospital where he is staying, his con-dition is stable and infection was notfound among his family members whosailed with him,” the statement said.

A woman in her twenties on the shipwith her mother told private broadcast-er TBS on Tuesday that all passengers hadbeen asked to stay in their rooms and waitfor tests. The vessel’s departure fromYokohama would be delayed by at least24 hours to Wednesday or later, CarnivalJapan said. AFP

Beijing: The death toll inChina’s coronavirus rose sharplyto 425 with 64 deaths onMonday alone while 3,235 newconfirmed cases were reported,taking the number of thoseinfected with the deadly diseaseto 20,438, Chinese healthauthorities said on Tuesday.

The 64 people who died onMonday were all from theHubei province, the epicentre ofthe virus, China’s NationalHealth Commission said.

Also, 3,235 new confirmedcases of novel coronavirus infec-tion were reported, a bigincrease in a day.

Another 5,072 new sus-pected cases were reported onMonday, said the commission,adding that 492 patients becameseriously ill.

The commission said that2,788 patients remained insevere condition and 23,214people were suspected of being

infected with the virus, a point-er that it is increasingly turningvirulent.

The overall confirmed caseson the Chinese mainland hadreached 20,438 by the end ofMonday, the commission said,noting that a total of 425 peo-ple had died of the disease.

A total of 632 people hadbeen discharged from hospitalafter recovery, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported

As the virus spreads fromhuman to human, 221,015 closecontacts had been traced, with171,329 others still under med-ical observation.

By the end of Monday, 15confirmed cases had beenreported in Hong Kong, eight inthe Macao and 10 in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Belgium hasreported its first case of a newvirus in a person who was repa-triated from the Chinese epi-center of the outbreak.

The Health Ministry saidTuesday the person was ingood health and does not showany symptoms of the disease.The individual was amongnine Belgians repatriated from

Wuhan, China, over the week-end.

The Philippines reportedthe first overseas death from thevirus on Sunday while 148 caseshave been reported from

abroad.India has reported three

cases of the coronavirus. All thethree patients from Keralarecently returned from theaffected Wuhan city. PTI

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Beijing: Three more Asiancountries confirmed coron-avirus infections on Tuesdayamong citizens who had nottravelled to China, as HongKong reported its first deathfrom the disease and millionsmore people in Chinese citieswere ordered to stay indoors.

More than 20 countrieshave confirmed cases of thevirus, prompting the WorldHealth Organisation to declarea global health emergency, sev-

eral Governments to institutetravel restrictions, and airlinesto suspend flights to and fromChina.

But it has continued tospread with Singapore,Malaysia, and Thailand onTuesday reporting new infec-tions that were not importedfrom China.

In a sign of growing con-cern about a spread to otherdensely-populated Chinesemetropolitan areas, authori-

ties in three cities in easternZhejiang province — includingone near Shanghai — limitedthe number of people allowedto leave their homes.

Three districts inHangzhou — including thearea where the main office ofChinese tech giant Alibaba isbased — now allow only oneperson per household to gooutside every two days to buynecessities, affecting some threemillion people. AFP

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Beijing: Three Chinese offi-cials of the Red Cross Societyin the coronavirus-hit Hubeiprovince have been punishedfor improperly dealing withdonations for the preventionand control of the epidemic,according to a media report.

Some officials and work-ers at the branch did notshoulder their responsibilitiesor failed to perform theirduties when receiving andallocating donated suppliesand money during the epi-demic prevention and controleffort, state-run China Dailyreported on Tuesday. PTI

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Karachi: A suspected case ofdeadly coronavirus has beendetected in Pakistan’s Sindhprovince in an engineeringstudent who has been quar-antined by authorities fol-lowing his return fromChina.

Shahzaib Ali Rahuja, apetroleum engineering stu-dent at a Chinese universitysituated around 1,000 kmsfrom Wuhan, the epicentre ofthe coronavirus outbreak,returned to the country fromChina via Qatar, his brotherIrshad Ali said.

“He returned to Karachion Saturday night on ourinsistence and unable to takea direct flight he came via

Qatar on Saturday. Theyscreened him at the airport inChina and also in Karachibut he showed no problems.It was after returning homethat he developed a fever andcough and took some medi-cines but when his nose start-ed to bleed we rushed him tothe hospital,” he said.

The brother posted avideo on social media, show-ing him sitting on a hospitalbed and bleeding from thenose in a government hospi-tal in Pir Jo Goth nearKhairpur. In the video, thebrother claimed that doctorshave locked them up in award and refused to treat hisbrother. PTI

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(����)�� ��&����*����� ��������������+� ����������� Ankara: Turkey’s foreign minister said

on Tuesday that Ankara and Moscowwere trying to keep peace efforts for Syriaalive despite Syrian governmentadvances and a deadly clash betweenTurkish and Syrian forces.

However, Mevlut Cavusoglu alsorenewed a call on Russia to “rein in” theSyrian government forces and reiterat-ed Turkey’s determination to retaliateagainst any future Syrian attack on itstroops.

On Monday, Turkish artillery tar-geted Syrian government forces innorthern Idlib province, responding toshelling that killed seven Turkish soldiersand a Turkish civilian. A Syrian warmonitor said 13 Syrian troops were alsokilled in the clash.

The exchange of fire in Idlib, the lastrebel stronghold in Syria, increased ten-sions between the two neighbouringcountries and threatened to drive awedge between Russia and Turkey,which have sought to coordinate theiractions in Syria. “The Astana and Sochipeace processes have not been completely

destroyed but have lately started to suf-fer and to lose importance,” Cavusoglutold reporters in Ankara, referring toRussian-Turkish peace initiatives thathave also involved Iran. AP

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Beirut: A Russian-backed SyrianGovernment offensive against the coun-try’s last rebel enclave has displacedmore than half a million people in twomonths, the United Nations said onTuesday.

“Since December 1, some 520,000people have been displaced from theirhomes, the vast majority — 80 per cent— of them women and children,”David Swanson, spokesman for the UNOffice for the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs, said. AFP

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In February 2003, an American business-man travelling from China got afflict-ed with pneumonia-like symptoms

while on a flight to Singapore. En route theflight had stopped at Hanoi and the busi-nessman was rushed to a hospital where hesoon died. Many others in the medical staffattending to him also developed the samedisease and an Italian doctor, Carlo Urbani,recognising the severity of the strange viralthreat, alarmed the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) – later, he too suc-cumbed to the mysterious virus. Threemonths earlier, the SARS (Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome) epidemic hadindeed accounted for its first casualty in theGuandong province of China and manymore had followed, but China had delib-erately kept the news under wraps from theWHO and did not announce the outbreaktill the virus and the “bad news” had gonebeyond its controllable borders. The initialChinese cover-up had resulted in a crucialtime-lag that had facilitated the spread ofthe SARS epidemic. Later China apologisedfor its “slowness” but only after 800 liveswere lost in the first global pandemic of the21st century. A local Chinese whistleblow-er doctor, who was among the first to reportabout the mysterious SARS outbreak, wassubsequently demonised as a “bad” citizenand placed under house-arrest as he hadostensibly brought disrepute to the nation!

Seventeen years hence, yet another air-borne virus has broken out in the city ofWuhan with the lessons of the SARS mis-handling remaining essentially unlearnt.What has changed in the last 17 years hasbeen the sure emergence of the new“superpower” China on the global highway,which is even more intolerant to anyone,anything and any news that could applybrakes towards its believed destiny. Chinais not only among the countries with themost restrictive media environment, it isalso the most sophisticatedly controlleddomain that barely allows a squeak to fil-ter out. The recent examples of putting thevirtual media gag on mammoth scalesocietal dissonances like the Uighur “re-education camps” or the Hong Kongprotests are uniquely China, which is for-ever in a state of paranoia against theprospects of any negative news filtering out.Towards this end, it “manages” the mediathrough a variety of means, from brazenbans, coercion, threats to even simply “buy-ing out” silence (usually in the case of vas-sal countries like Pakistan, North Koreaetc). Such an environmental hypersensitiv-ity has only heightened in the recenttimes and all potentially negative news areimmediately slammed as “unpatrioticrumours.”

This militates in the face of undis-putable development that has taken placein the fields of infrastructure, technology,socio-economic parameters and so on.Ironically, the city of Wuhan also hosts one

of the most advanced researchlaboratories in the field of epi-demic research. Such a domi-nating governance instinct putsthe entire credibility of theexact situation, scale and con-trol measures in question as thenews emanating from China issolely from the governmentalagencies and filtered throughlenses.

Reacting to the basic pre-cautionary measures taken bymost countries, the state’smouthpiece Global Times madespace for some irresistiblerealpolitik: “Starting Sunday,the US barred foreigners whohave travelled to China withinthe past 14 days from enteringthe country, far beyond theWorld Health Organisation(WHO) declaration that doesnot recommend travel andtrade restrictions for China.The US was the first country totake such an extreme measure,setting a bad example world-wide.” Meanwhile, Zeng Guang,the chief epidemiologist of theChinese Centre for DiseaseControl and Prevention, hasadmitted to the initial slacknessdue to “lack of scientific recog-nition” and also owing to“probably some executiveissues.” The Chinese govern-ment is still playing down theimpact of the latest outbreak,even though the infectivity ofthis virus has far surpassed thatof the 2003 SARS epidemic.

While the Chinese reactionhas probably been more inten-sive as compared to 2003 SARSin terms of building makeshifthospitals, requisitioning emer-gency medical staff from thePeople’s Liberation Army (PLA)and round-the-clock construc-tion of related facilities, thestrict denial of any foreign oreven independent reportage ofthe outbreak remainsunchanged. China was alreadyreeling under an overheatedeconomy with the lowestgrowths recorded in nearlythree decades. The added chal-lenges of punishing trade-wars with the United States andunending Hong Kong protests,were further taking their toll.Now, estimates abound of addi-tional lost growth of between$60-70 billion or a furtherdrop in GDP by two percent-age points in the first quarter ofthe year. The fear of continuing“bad news” could lead to anunavoidable extension of theLunar New Year holidays, keep-ing the shutters on the factoriesthat would further cripple eco-nomic activity and impact glob-al supply chains.

All in all, the economic,social, diplomatic and strategiccost to China will be verydamaging, but it has thereserves, capacity and where-withal to “pull through” yetanother crisis. What willbecome increasingly difficult

going forward is the ability ofthe regime to continuously“cover up,” should the commonman on the street feel thepinch, post the crisis. China hasits hands full on many frontssimultaneously and its ability toweather the multiple stormswill be tested as its economichealth will not be as robust asit was earlier. China couldutilise the situation to either“open up” itself or furtherclamp down on censorship inorder to sustain a government-fed narrative. More likely thannot, regime-insecurity willensure authoritarian impulsesand preferences. While theauthoritarian system allows forunprecedented mobilisation ofresources, it also fosters a dan-gerous culture of auto-denying“bad news” that allows a prob-lem to prolong itself longer thanit would normally have, had theissue been tabled in all trans-parency. The invocation of“patriotism” to cover uptragedies is the bane of all sin-gle-party regimes. The lessonsof SARS may have been incor-porated in terms of buildinginfrastructural capacities tomanage crises. But the XiJingping era has only worsenedon democratic freedoms andtransparency. The Coronavirussaga exemplifies that.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands)

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Sir — Though he is infamous forhis controversial statements butthis time the Uttara Kannada LokSabha MP, Ananth Kumar Hegde,crossed all lines of propriety bydescribing the Mahatma Gandhi-led freedom struggle as a “drama.”“Some people keep saying we gotindependence because someonesat on satyagraha. The Britishgave independence out of sheerfrustration. On reading historybooks, my blood boils. Such peo-ple are termed ‘Mahatma’ in ourcountry,” he said recently.

Though the BJP high com-mand expressed displeasure atHegde’s comment and issued ashowcause notice to him, but I amsure that what the MP said is“music to the ears” of many in theBJP and the Sangh Parivar. Thatthis is so is evident from the factthat the Karnataka BJPspokesperson and senior partyleader Vaman Acharya remarkedthat the MP’s comments were“thought-provoking.” Maybe thisis the reason why the BJP does-n’t sack Hegde, who is a knownrabble-rouser and hate-monger,but only distances itself from suchseditious remarks by him and

many others in the party whokeep on embarrassing the nationby shooting their mouths of peri-odically. A case in point is therecent hate speech by Union

Minister Anurag Thakur andParvesh Verma at an election rallyin Delhi and many such offensivecomments by Pragya Thakur inthe past. Prime Minister

Narendra Modi must expel Hegdefrom the party but as always hechooses to keep mum. The bigquestion is when Congress leaderRahul Gandhi blamed the RSS for

killing Mahatma Gandhi, theyfiled a suit against him. So whydoesn’t the Congress do the samewhen such vitriol is spewedagainst the Father of the Nation?If not now, then a day will sooncome when Bapu will no longerbe a part of our nation’s history.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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Sir — In India, you can get awaywith any crime you’ve committedas long as you have the moneyand trickery to subvert the sys-tem. This is exactly what the fouraccused in the Nirbhaya gangrapeand murder case are doing. It isjust heartbreaking to see themmaking a mockery of the crimi-nal justice system and exploitinglegal loopholes to keep theirhanging in abeyance. This notonly encourages and emboldenscriminals but also makes law-abiding citizens lose their faith inthe law of the land. It is time thatNirbhaya’s parents got justice,else, people will lose all hope.

Ashmit AaronJammu

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Recently, the WHO declared a Public HealthEmergency of International Concern (PHEIC)pertaining to the coronavirus cases being

reported from China. The virus, with its epicentrelocated in the live animal market of Wuhan city,infected more than 10,000 people in China tillJanuary 31. This is more than the number of peo-ple infected in the 2003 Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome (SARS) epidemic.

Till now, more than 200 people have succumbedto the virus, which is a novel variant of the coron-avirus family (2019 n-Cov infection), which is thesame family as the SARS virus. It also has similarsymptoms like fever, cough and difficulty in breath-ing, which are also typical to the battery of symp-toms a patient displays during pneumonia.

The typical clinical profile of patients has beena spectrum: From common cough and cold to severecases of pneumonia and death. The severity of the2019 n-Cov has not been completely established butit can be safely assumed that the severity will be high-er in people with lower immunity. So in patients withHIV, those on immune-suppressants and even peo-ple suffering from malnutrition, especially older peo-ple, the severity of infection can be assumed to behigher.

While Beijing has quarantined Wuhan and a fewother cities, countries are taking their own measuresto ensure containment of the virus. While nationslike Russia have closed their land borders with China,others are focussing on airports and sea ports.Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan have setup thermal cameras at all airports to ensure screen-ing of passengers with fever. But since the infectioncan be asymptomatic for seven to 14 days, the sys-tem in not foolproof.

The USA, on January 31, took a rather boldstand, releasing the Presidential “Proclamation onSuspension of Entry as Immigrants and Non-immi-grants who pose a risk of transmitting 2019 NovelCoronavirus”, which suspends the entry into the US,as immigrants or non-immigrants, of all aliens whowere physically present within the People’s Republicof China, (excluding the Special AdministrativeRegions of Hong Kong and Macau) during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entryinto America.

The US has 241 suspected cases of which sixhave been confirmed as a lot of Chinese families hadplanned their travel to the USA at this time to cel-ebrate the new year with their families.

The first case in India was reported in Kerala.Since then, the Government has been on high alertand the Government machinery has been preparedto prevent further exposure of the pathogen insideborders as well as contain the current situation.

The National Institute of Virology, Pune test-ed 49 suspect cases, of which only one turned outto be positive. But the fear of the virus hitting Indianshores and exploding into epidemic proportions isreal. If we compare it with the SARS 2003 numbers(a very gross analogy nonetheless), China had 5,327cases and 348 deaths confirmed and India had aboutthree probable cases, 10 suspect cases and no fatal-ities. The global number of infected cases for SARSwere 8,098.

Currently, the number of cases for 2019 n-Covjust in China has exceeded 10,000 and India has onepositive case. Some of the things we do understandis that due to poor nutrition and thus poor immu-nity, the risk of getting infected on exposure to thevirus is high.

The severity of disease on infection is also

expected to be high in such populations.Now in that scenario, imagine the popu-lation density in India and the explosiverate of person-to-person transmission thevirus can achieve. The situation can bepotentially catastrophic, especially consid-ering the fact that the health infrastruc-ture required to manage a large diseaseburden such as this, is not nearly adequate.

India ranks 57 of 195 countries in theGlobal Health Security Index. The index,developed jointly by Johns HopkinsCenter for Health Security, the NuclearThreat Initiative, and The EconomistIntelligence Unit, ranks countries based onpreparedness to handle public healthemergencies.

Countries are assessed across six cat-egories: Prevention of the emergence orrelease of pathogens; early detection andreporting for epidemics of potential inter-national concern; rapid response to andmitigation of the spread of an epidemic;robust health system to treat the sick andprotect health workers; commitment toimproving national capacity, financingplans to address gaps and adhering toglobal norms; and overall risk environ-ment and country vulnerability to biolog-ical threats.

While there are multiple indicatorswithin the same, we must focus on somerelevant to the current threat scenario.India ranks 142 of 195 in public health vul-nerability: This includes access and expen-diture on public health.

This implies that our health infra-structure cannot absorb large shocks. Indiaranks 144 of 195 in cross-border policiesfor public health emergency response. Wehave no recorded measures for interna-tional cooperation or even regional coop-eration for health emergencies.

India ranks 167 in access to commu-nications infrastructure: Which mea-

sures access to internet and the possibil-ity of communicating to the masses, mes-sages regarding public emergencies.

This is contestable given the largemobile penetration even in remote areasbut at the same time the fact remains thatwe do not have a robust system to dissem-inate public emergency messages to themasses in a planned and actionable man-ner. We are ranked 101 in terms of immu-nisation, leaving a vast majority vulnera-ble to infections. Considering these points,it is evident that if the disease is not con-tained, results can be catastrophic for us.

The Indian Government has beentaking good measures to screen for andcontain the virus. Airport HealthOrganisations at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad andCochin are screening passengers comingfrom China. But most of the screening, fornow, is based on self-reporting and symp-tomatic interviews by airport authorities.

The Mumbai airport has reporteduniversal thermal screening by cameras forall flights coming directly from China.Screening is even being carried out at seaports for all personnel disembarkingfrom ships coming from China. There arequarantine centres with 300-bed capaci-ty set up in Manesar, Haryana and 600-bed capacity in south-west Delhi, ready forany confirmed cases.

About 400 Indians are currentlybeing evacuated from the Wuhan area.Since the one case confirmed in India, astudent from Wuhan University, 1,073people have been kept under observationin Kerala while the student is being man-aged in Thrissur Medical College. TheMinistry of AYUSH has also released anadvisory for the management of coron-avirus on the Press Information Bureau.

The Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare has set up a helpline with a 24X7

call centre for coronavirus (helpline num-ber 011-23978046).

They are encouraging all people whohave travelled back from China afterJanuary 1 to self-report symptoms and fol-low up on care. Complete ban on travelis not practical and in the absence of thatfrom all countries, people who have a trav-el itinerary which (in part) includedChina, are now travelling from a differ-ent country, can be carriers.

The challenge also is that the diseaseis airborne can be asymptomatic for oneto two weeks, making it extremely diffi-cult to detect early. At the same time heavyscreening and observation of all passen-gers can be cost-intensive.

In the light of the same, measuresneed to be taken to establish screeningcentres at a minimum four ports ofentry, with the relevant manpower andtechnology for screening and quarantine.Then mandating all flights from China tobe routed through these airports only.

Passengers must be informed inadvance that this will increase their trav-el time and based on screening results theymight be referred to a local health set upfor quarantine, leading to additionaldelays. The passengers might also have todeclare two weeks’ voluntary isolationbased on screening results. With thesechecks in place, only extremely importanttravel can be filtered and borders can bemanaged skillfully.

To maintain foreign sentiments, anearnest declaration should also be madeby the state leadership that this is notbecause we have low confidence to theChinese measures already being taken butadditional measures are being taken in theinterest of national security.

(The writer is an EngagementManager, Health, International InnovationCorps, University of Chicago Centre, Delhi)

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One year after her dramaticentry into politics, theCongress is still waiting for

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s magic tosurface. When she was inducted lastyear as AICC General Secretary, theparty believed that she was their“Brahmastra (divine weapon)” andwould restore the party to its oldglory. After the passage of one year,many Congressmen feel that she hasnot delivered as much as the partyexpected.

Priyanka is not new to politics,as she had grown up in a distin-guished political family. Because ofan unwritten pact in the family, she

had taken a back seat allowing herbrother Rahul Gandhi to remain inthe limelight for the last two decades.In any case, Sonia Gandhi pre-ferred her son to succeed her, insteadof the daughter. After taking chargeof the Uttar Pradesh (UP) unit, shebegan well with a mega 17-km-longroadshow in Lucknow. Priyankaaccompanied Rahul when he visit-ed the Pulwama victims and she alsovisited the families of the victims ofthe Sonbhadra massacre, Unnaorape case and violence during theanti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) protests, taking the UP ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath head on.

Before the Lok Sabha polls, shevisited the Bhim army chiefChandrashekhar Azad in hospital,creating ripples in political circles.During the elections, till the lastminute Priyanka kept up the sus-pense whether she would contestagainst Prime Minister NarendraModi from Varanasi, or not.

Unfortunately, these moves arenot enough. Despite all the hype, in

2019 the Congress won only one seatas Sonia managed to retain RaeBareli, while Rahul lost in the fam-ily bastion Amethi. In 2014, theCongress secured just two seats —those of Sonia and Rahul. TheCongress leaders, who were bettingon the Priyanka magic are unable toexplain why, though at one level, shehas many things going for her.

Priyanka has the family name, a pre-sentable personality, charisma, anuncanny resemblance to her grand-mother Indira Gandhi, articulationand many more positives to heradvantage. But obviously these arenot enough. Why is Priyanka unableto capitalise on these obvious advan-tages that she has? Is it because of thelack of backing from the family? Is

it sibling rivalry? Is the Old Guardresisting her rise? At least threeopportunities came her way in thelast one-year. The first was whenRahul resigned after the party lostin the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Shecould have easily succeeded him asthe party chief and no one wouldhave opposed her. Ultimately the OldGuard prevailed on Sonia to comeback as the interim party president.

The second was when the anti-CAA protests started picking up.Though Priyanka had tweeted insupport of them, had visited the vic-tims in hospital and taken the leadin sitting on a dharna with studentsat the India Gate, many feel that shecould have done more on behalf ofthe party, particularly in UP as it isone of the States which had faced theworst impact of the Governmentcrackdown on the anti-CAA move-ment. Priyanka will get anotheropportunity to lead the party whenher mother takes a back seat again.Sonia is said to have conveyed to herclose aides (read the Old Guard) that

they should choose a new party chiefin view of her deteriorating health.When they suggested the name ofPriyanka, they got the hint that shewould prefer Rahul to come back asthe president.

Sadly, Priyanka’s performance inher one year in office is not veryimpressive but there are many rea-sons for that. First of all, PGV asPriyanka is called within the party,was deployed very late. Had she beeninducted ten years ago, she wouldhave matured politically. Also herentry was at the wrong time. Theparty was in a disarray, losing oneState after another post its miserableperformance in the 2014 generalelections, where it got just 44 seatsas the Rahul-led Congress had notbeen able to provide an alternativeto Modi.

Second, the Gandhi name nolonger holds the magic, which thefamily refuses to recognise. No onein the present generation is in aweof the clan. The unfortunate thingis that while Modi has found a way

to connect with the voters, theGandhis are still to find their narra-tive. While Rahul has at lease someelectoral wins, PGV does not evenhave that, though she is consideredmore articulate and charismaticthan her brother.

Third, Priyanka might becomea good leader in times to come butfor that she should become a votecatcher. Looking back, it is not clearwhat is Priyanka’s brand of politicsexcept for her sporadic activities.She must work out a strategy for the2022 Assembly polls. For this shemust hold the flock together and alsobring in new faces. But if she has thespirit of Indira Gandhi, Priyanka tooshould become a street fighter andbe seen more on the ground than ontwitter. If she has to lift the Congressfrom its present decline in UP,Priyanka has to build the organisa-tion at the grassroot level andbecome a 24/7 politician as 2022 isnot very far.

(The writer is a senior journal-ist)

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West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Tuesdayhit out at BJP leaders for theirrecent "goli vs boli" remark dur-ing campaigns for the upcom-ing Assembly elections in Delhiand said that the saffron partywas firing bullets because it isaware that it will lose the poll.

She said that a country hasa bleak future when its leaderstake to the streets holdingguns.

Hitting out at the saffronparty from speeches at theborder towns of Bongaon andRanaghat Banerjee said a coun-try slips into anarchy for surewhere its leaders openly spon-sor gun culture.

“What can lie ahead of acountry where the Ministerscome openly on the streets ask-ingtheir supporters to take upguns and shoot their oppo-nents?” the ChiefMinister saidwondering if the trend contin-ued they “I don’t know whatliesahead of us.”

Predicting a sure loss forthe BJP in the comingAssembly elections inDelhi,Banerjee said “as they areexpecting a defeat in Delhi elec-tions they are sending theircadres to the streets with guns.They are saying that ‘boli nahinchalega. Goli chalega (gun andnotdialogue will rule the roost)… but truth to be told it is only‘boli’(talks) and not ‘goli’ (bul-lets) that will finally hold theground.”

Apparently referring toPrime Minister Narendra Modiwho calls himselfa Chowkidar(watchman of the country)said “she looks after the peo-pleof her State throughout theyear unlike those who callthemselveschowkidar and sur-faces before the people onlyduring the elections.”

She said that she wouldnever side with those whospread hatred forpolitical gains.“I don't belong to a group thatspreads hatred amongmasses. Itis due to instigation by the BJPleaders, that theincidents of fir-ing took place near ShaheenBagh and Jamia,” Banerjeesaidadding the BJP was dividingthe masses and terrorizingthem towin elections.

Speaking on the contro-versial CitizenshipAmendment Act Banerjeeaskedthe people not to showtheir documents and defeatthe very purpose ofthe Act.

“The CAA is an instru-

ment to divide the society. ButI ask you not toshow your doc-uments… remember that theCAA won't grant youcitizen-ship. Rather it will turn you intoa foreigner… They are seekinginformation about three gen-erations who lived before you.Whowill be able to providesuch information? And if youcannot do thatyou will becalled a foreigner. So don’tbelieve in them and don’tshowyour documents.” Banerjeeadded.

Meanwhile, for the firsttime the legal fraternity onTuesday took outa big rally inKolkata condemning the CAA

and National RegisterforCitizens.

About a thousand lawyersof Calcutta High Court as alsolaw studentsfrom various col-leges joined the rally mainlytaken out by the LeftFront andthe Congress. Condemningthe CAA on “grounds of equi-ty”member of All IndiaLawyers Union SrinjaySengupta said, “todaythelawyers are out on thestreets, tomorrow professionalsfrom allsectors will be there todenounce and reject the dra-conian CAA, NRCand NPR…CAA is not a law but fascistvenom with legislative coating.”

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Tamil Nadu BJP is on theverge of an explosion as

senior leaders are speaking of amassive exodus from the party.Things have reached a point ofno return and the national lead-ership has summoned some ofthe senior leaders like SV Sekharto New Delhi for consultations.

Pon Radhakrishnan, for-mer Union Minister of State forSurface Transport who lost hisseat from Kanyakumari in theApril 2019 election and his fol-lowers are being portrayed as thevillains by senior leaders whohave been with the BJP since theday it was formed.

What brought things to anexplosive level is the admissionof Sasikala Pushpa Ramaswamy,

the sensational and controversialAIADMK member of parlia-ment to the BJP. Sasikala Pushpa,who has been ousted from theAIADMK by no less a personthan former Chief Minister JJayalalithaa for bringing disre-pute to that party is being seenin Tamil Nadu politics as anuntouchable entity for her per-sonal life about which the yellowpress in the State had a field dayduring 2015 and 2016.

The MP was in the news in2018 when she divorcedLingeswaran, her husband for 24years and married Ramaswamy,another controversial person.“It seems Tamil Nadu BJP hasbecome a haven for item girls ofTamil cinemas and other polit-ical parties,” said UmaAnandhan, a senior leader inTamil Nadu BJP. Though she

refused to elaborate further , itwas possible that she was refer-ring to Namita, a popular itemdance actress in Tamil films, join-ing the BJP.

Though many leadersdeclined to come out and reactto the latest developments, polit-ical commentators likeGovindarajan Satyamurty andSam Rajappa were of the viewthat Tamil Nadu’s rendezvouswith a Third alternative may takesome more time.

“There was a time in 2014when people were of the viewthat the BJP may emerge as analternative to the AIADMK andthe DMK. Not any more. Withpeople like Pon Radhakrishnanat the helm of affairs, it is surethat BJP would not make anyimpact in Tamil Nadu politics,”said Satyamurthy.

It is alleged by a section ofthe leadership that PonRadhakrishnan and PMuraleedhar Rao (the centralobserver ) are responsible for thepresent state of affairs. “Rao’sinfatuation with the glitteringstars of Kodambakkam has dam-aged the prospectus of the BJP,”said a senior leader.

Uma was blunt in her state-ment: “If they feel that the BJPin Tamil Nadu could be run onlyby leaders from other parties sobe it. We will look out for otheralternatives,” she said.

Though the BJP is weak inTamil Nadu, there has been nodearth of groupism in the party.Recently , a woman involved ina murder case was admitted tothe party-based on the recom-mendation made by the miningbaron of south India.

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Twenty-five people havebeen arrested till Tuesday

evening from various districtsof Tamil Nadu in connectionwith irregularities and fraudu-lent means deployed in theTamil Nadu Public ServiceCommission RecruitmentExamination held in 2017 forselecting candidates to variousGovernment departments.

Those arrested include per-sons who were working asassistants in the departments ofHome and Registration. TheTamil Nadu Public ServiceCommission scam which cameout in the open last month hasbeen designated as the State’sown Vyapam with apprehen-sions that crores of rupeeshave been exchanged hands toclear the TNPSC examinationfor appointment inGovernment departments.

The investigation andarrests are the fall out of theTNPSC which handed overthe probe to the Crime Branch-CID of Tamil Nadu Policeearly this month following

social media posts about wide-spread corruption and mal-practices in the recruitmentexamination held by theagency.

The Crime Branch wing ofTamil Nadu Police is in the lookout for S Jayakumar, believed tobe the kingpin behind thescam. Candidates seekingemployment in Governmentservices approach Jayakumarwho directs them to whichexamination centre to chooseand how to fill up the answersheets.

“The candidates are told toattempt the questions only ifthey were fully confident of theanswer or to leave the answersheets blank otherwise ,” saida police official in the teamprobing the scam.

He said the answer sheetsare tampered with while theyare taken back to the TNPSCand the Crime Branch have col-lected documentary evidencesof such illegal activities.“Amount ranging from �8 lakhto �15 lakh has been collect-ed from each candidate appear-ing for the Group II examina-tion and they get posting in the

departments of registrationand revenue. No wonder, ourrevenue and registration officesare beehives of corruption,”said the official . What is sur-prising is that those arrestedinclude a policeman who paidmoney to the scamsters to gethis wife a job as an assistant inthe revenue department.

The police has arrestedmost of the persons who wereworking as agents ofJayakumar, the master brain.Jayakumar has been operatingwith impunity and is allegedlyclose to many senior officials inthe Government departments.He has been absconding and amanhunt is on to nab him. OnTuesday, the police got all hisbank accounts frozen. “Since heis not using mobile phones orotjher digital means, we arefinding it tough to locate hishide out but we are sure hewould be nabbed in days tocome,” said the Crime Brachofficial.

A similar investigation wason into the recruitment driveby TNPSC for selecting lastgrade employees toGovernment offices.

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Taking a cue from Pakistan,the Ashok Gehlot

Government has urged PrimeMinister Narendra Modi todeclare the locust attacks as anational calamity since 12 dis-tricts are affected.

The issue of locust attack inRajasthan was raised by BJPMP Hanuman Beniwal duringzero hour in the Lok Sabha onMonday and demanded apackage for farmers who havelost their crop due to locustattack.

Rajasthan shares its inter-national border with Pakistanand the State Government fearsthat the locust calamity in theneighbouring country couldfurther impact the agriculture

economy of the State. Theattacks in the 12 districts haveimpacted large swaths of agri-culture land. In spite of carry-ing out countermeasures over3.5 lakh hectares, the attackshave continued.

Earlier, Rajasthan RevenueMinister Harish Choudhary

wrote to the PM seeking imme-diate help in containing thepestilence and compensationfor farmers who have lost theircrop due to locust attack. Asmany as 12 bordering districtsof the state have been underattack of locust. Farmers arefacing locusts attacks since

March 2019. "The attacks couldalso spread in the neighbour-ing states," the letter read.Locust swams have been seenin several districts in the stateon Monday and destroyed rabicrops.

In the Lok Sabha, BJP MPfrom Nagore, HanumanBeniwal raised the issue duringzero hour and highlighted thecrops damaged by locusts in274 villages in the state anddemanded a package for thefarmers. Beniwal said that mas-sive damage of crops have beendone by these locust in Punjab,Gujarat and Rajasthan. "Theissue was raised at the all partymeeting and NDA meeting inthis regard. He has also raisedthe matter with PM Modi,"Beniwal said.

Replying to Beniwal,Minister of State ArjunMeghwal assured that a centralteam has been formed to assessthe damage of crops. Heassured that compensation willbe given to farmers after theassessment of crops damage.

The Locusts WarningOrganisation (LWO) of theMinistry of Agriculture esti-mated that around 3.50-4 lakhhectare crops in various dis-tricts of Rajasthan, Gujarat,Punjab and Uttar Pradesh havebeen affected in 2019-20. Thedamage caused by locustattacks in 2019-20 is believedto be one of the worst in India.Crops of mustard, cumin andwheat have been devastated inRajasthan and Gujarat, affect-ing lakhs of farmers.

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Ranaghat: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onTuesday called BJP a "party ofDushasanas" while a saffronparty MP dubbed the TMCGovernment as 'shikhandi', asthey invoked the epicMahabharata in the politicalfight over the amended citi-zenship law.

Alleging that the BJP wastrying to forcibly implement theCitizenship AmendmentAct(CAA), the National Registerof Citizens(NRC) and theNational Population Register(NPR), Mamata said these stepsare like "black magic" and shewould stop this "anyhow".

"The NPR, NRC and CAAare like black magic", she said,and urged the people of thecountry to unite to save thenation.

"We (TMC) are not a partyof Dushasanas like the BJP.They are the offsprings of

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq andpeople must unite to save thecountry from them," Banerjeesaid while speaking at a publicrally at Ranaghat in Nadia dis-trict.

Dussasana is the thebrother of Kaurava princeDuryodhana in the'Mahabharata' whileMuhammad-bin-Tughlaq" wasthe Sultan of Delhi from 1325-1351 and known for his eccen-tric decisions.

Banerjee also wonderedwhether the Modi governmentwould throw her out of thecountry because she do nothave her mother's birth cer-tificate.

The chief minister saiddespite her assurances over 30people have so far died in thestate because of the panic overthe proposed implementationof the citizens register.

PTI

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Even as the farmers’ agitationin protest against the three

Capitals proposal of the StateGovernment entered the 49thday on Tuesday, TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu partici-pated in a padayatra in Tenaliof Guntur district.

He began his padayatra atNarakoduru at about 3 pm andreached Angalakuduru andfrom there he proceeded toMunicipal Market where heexpressed solidarity with theprotesters taking part in a relayhunger-strike.

Elsewhere in theAmaravati region, farmersstaged dharnas at Mandadamand Tullur and took part inrelay hunger-strike atVelagapudi.

Meanwhile, Amaravati JACleaders met Vice-President

Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhion Tuesday morning andexplained to him their prob-lems. They demanded that jus-tice be done to the farmers whohad parted with lands for theCapital project under the landpooling system. They expressedconcern over alleged harass-ment by the government espe-cially the police in the Capitalregion during the agitation.

The JAC leaders urged theVice-President to use his goodoffices to impress upon theCentre to intervene in the mat-ter and do justice to farmers bynot allowing the State govern-ment to shift the Capital fromAmaravati.

The said, “We shall alsomeet Union ministers RajnathSingh, Nirmala Sitaraman andsenior BJP leaders apart fromAICC top brass Sonia Gandhiand Rahul Gandhi.

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In yet another tragic incident,a farmer named Edupuganti

Bullabbayi (73) due to heartattack at Peda Vadlapudi inMangalagiri mandal of Gunturdistrict on Tuesday.

Family members saidBullabbayi had been sufferingfrom bouts of depression sincethe controversy surroundingthe Capital shifting came tothe fore.

They said he had partedwith his half-acre of land atKuragallu. He had been active-

ly participating in the agitationlaunched by the AmaravatiJAC until the end came.

Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt on Tuesday set aside anorder of a special court reject-ing the bail plea of AreebMajeed, who has been bookedunder terror charges, anddirected the court to hear theplea afresh.

Majeed was arrested inNovember 2014 on charges ofallegedly travelling to Iraq andSyria to join terror groupIslamic State (IS). He is in jailsince then.

A division bench of JusticesB P Dharmadhikari and N RBorkar was hearing an appealfiled by Majeed challenging theSeptember 19, 2019 orderpassed by a special court refus-

ing him bail.Majeed in his plea in HC

claimed the special court, whilerefusing his bail plea, had failedto take into consideration thechange in circumstances, onthe basis of which he was seek-ing bail.

According to Majeed, hehad sought bail from the spe-cial court on the ground thatthe trial against him wasdelayed, and that the NIA didnot have jurisdiction to inves-tigate an offence which alleged-ly took place in Iraq and Syria.

Majeed on Tuesday toldHC that presently only 45 wit-nesses have been examined bythe special court out of the 187

cited in the charge sheet."Out of the witnesses

examined, several have turnedhostile and have even testifiedthey were coerced into givingfalse statements by the probeagency," Majeed told the court.

The bench, after hearingbrief arguments, set aside theSeptember 2019 order anddirected the special court tohear his bail plea afresh.

The bench said the specialcourt shall hear and decideMajeed's plea within a periodof six weeks.

Majeed's bail pleas wererejected on two more occasionsin the past.

PTI

Mumbai:Maharashtra Environment MinisterAaditya Thackeray on Tuesday set a target ofMay 1 for complete ban on single use plastic inthe State.

He issued orders to this effect to collectors,and municipal body chiefs after chairing a meet-ing in Mantralaya which was attended by manyofficials via video conferencing.

A state government release said Thackerayasked officials to submit an action plan by

February 20."Single use plastic is more dangerous to our

environment. We need to curb its use and pol-lution caused by it," he said.

"The May 1 deadline is set so that alterna-tive measures can be made available by that time.We want to plan in detail and then go in for itsimplementation," an official of the state envi-ronment ministry said.

PTI

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Palghar: A brick kiln owner inPalghar has been booked forallegedly raping a tribal womanemployee, police said onTuesday. The accused has beenidentified as Shashi WamanPatil, a Manor police stationofficial said. “The woman (22)worked at the brick kiln alongwith her husband. The accusedwent to the woman’s home onJanuary 29 when her husbandwas not around and raped her.No arrest has been made andprobe is underway,” Palgharpolice spokesperson said. PTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the TamilNadu government’s response on a DMK petition, which hasalleged the assembly speaker did not act on a plea seeking dis-qualification of 11 AIADMK lawmakers who voted against ChiefMinister E Palaniswami during a 2017 confidence vote.

The 11 lawmakers included Deputy Chief Minister OPanneerselvam.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde took note of thesubmission of senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for DMKthat the disqualification plea was moved before the Speaker inMarch 2017, but even after a lapse of three years no action hasbeen taken by the speaker.

“Tell us whether you are going to take action. If yes, thenwhen and how,” the bench comprising Justices B R Gavai andSurya Kant asked the law officer representing the Tamil Nadugovernment.

The Bench then fixed the plea for hearing on February 14when the State Government will have to respond. PTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Tuesday said the issue relat-ed to implementation of its 2018verdict allowing live streaming ofcourt proceedings of cases ofconstitutional and nationalimportance has to be dealt withby the Chief Justice of India onthe administrative side.

While refusing to pass anyjudicial order on the issue, athree-judge Bench headed byJustice Arun Mishra said itwould be appropriate for the CJIto deal with the issue on theadministrative side.

Additional Solicitor General

Madhavi Divan, appearing forthe Secretary General of the SC,informed the Bench that theprocess of implementing the2018 verdict has already started.

Attorney General KKVenugopal told the Bench, alsocomprising Justices Vineet Saranand M R Shah, that the SecretaryGeneral has started the processof installing infrastructure for livestreaming. “There cannot beany command on the adminis-trative side of the SupremeCourt. The CJI has to take a callon the administrative side on thisissue,” the bench said. PTI

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Tuesday asked aDelhi BJP leader to approach itsmentioning officer for urgentlisting of his plea seekingremoval of hundreds of anti-citizenship law protestors occu-pying a stretch of road inDelhi’s Shaheen Bagh area.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde was urged bylawyer Shashank Deo Sudhi,appearing for BJP leader NandKishore Garg, that the plea belisted for an urgent hearing

considering the difficulty facedby residents due to the nearly-two-month-long protest on aroad connecting Delhi andNoida.

“You go to the mentioningofficer,” said the bench whichalso comprised Justices B RGavai and Surya Kant.

Later during the day, thelawyer mentioned the matterbefore the mentioning officerwho assured urgent listing ofthe PIL, provided defects arecured.

The plea also said that var-ious other arterial roads ofDelhi have been facing trafficcongestion due the protest atShaheen Bagh.

Restrictions have beenimposed on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch andOkhla underpass sinceDecember 15, when hundredsof women sat on a protestagainst the amended law.

Saying that the lawenforcement machinery hasbeen “held hostage to the

whims and fancies of the pro-testers,” the plea has sought lay-ing down of guidelines forprotests leading to obstruc-tion of public place.

“It is disappointing that thestate machinery is muted andsilent spectator at hooliganismand vandalism of the protest-ers who are threatening theexistential efficacy of thedemocracy and the rule of lawand had already taken the lawand order situation in theirown hand,” said the plea.

New Delhi: Saying the matterhad been adjourned many timesand will have to heard someday,the Supreme Court on Tuesdayfixed April 14 for hearing a pleaby Zakia Jafri, wife of slain MPEhsan Jafri, challenging theSIT’s clean chit to then GujaratChief Minister Narendra Modiin the 2002 riots.

A Bench comprisingJustices A M Khanwilkar andDinesh Maheshwari posted thematter for hearing in April afterZakia’s counsel sought anadjournment and urged thecourt to post it after the Holivacation.

When advocate AparnaBhat, appearing for Zakia Jafri,told the court the issue in thematter is contentious, the benchsaid, “It has been adjourned somany times, whatever it is, wewill have to hear it someday.Take one date and make sureyou all are available.”

Her counsel had earlier toldthe apex court that a noticeneeds to be issued in the plea asit relates to an alleged “largerconspiracy” from February 27,2002 to May 2002.

Ehsan Jafri was among the68 people killed at GulbergSociety on February 28, 2002, aday after the S-6 Coach of theSabarmati Express was burnt atGodhra killing 59 people andtriggering riots in Gujarat. PTI

Lucknow: India’s biennialDefExpo will kickstart inLucknow on Wednesday withthe aim to showcase the poten-tial of the country to become aglobal defence manufacturinghub.

Defence Minister RajnathSingh said delegates from 70countries and 172 foreign mil-itary manufacturers will attendthe five-day mega exhibition.As many as 856 Indian defencefirms will also showcase theirproducts at the event.

“We want to make India ahub of defence manufacturing.The DefExpo is a step in thisdirection,” Singh said.

“The participation of alarge number of foreign firmsin the DefExpo reflects India’sgrowing stature,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath saidhis government has beenencouraging defence manu-facturing in the state. He saidtwo Dornier aircraft of aero-space major HindustanAeronautics Limited will be

used by the state governmentfor civil purposes on tworoutes.

It will be for the first timethat the 19-seater aircraft willbe used by a state governmentfor civilian purposes.

Singh said India cannotcontinue to rely on imports fordefence platforms and thecountry has to create its defencemanufacturing space.

“By end of this decade, Iam confident that India will beamong the top three economiesin the world. The indigenousdefence production will con-tribute significantly in takingIndia’s economy forward,”Singh said. PTI

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Aday after a 24-year-oldlady lecturer was set ablaze

by her spurned suitor near hercollege at Hinganghat inMaharashtra’s Wardha district,the badly burnt victim battledfor her life at a Nagpur hospi-tal on Tuesday, even as the talu-ka town erupted in anger andthe victim’s aggrieved parentssaid that the accused deservedto be burnt alive.

The victim woman, whowas initially rushed to aPrimary Health Centre atHinganghat and later shifted tothe specialized Orange CityHospital & Research Institute(OCHRI) at Nagpur after herOxygen levels went down inher blood, is currently on aventilator. Doctors attendingon her at OCHRI described hercondition as “very critical”.

The victim woman suf-fered nearly 40 per cent burnsafter the accused Vicki Nagrale(27) -- who was laying in waitfor her near college atHinganghat – took out petrolfrom his two-wheeler andpoured it on her and set heron

fire, at around 7.30 am onMonday. After she shrieked forher, the bystanders doused theburning victim woman withwater and extinguished thefire. By then, she had beenbadly burnt.

“The woman has suffereddeep burns on her face, scalp,neck, right shoulder, left hand,upper back, eyes and respira-tory system. She has suffered 35to 40 per cent Grade III deepdermal burns with respiratorydistress and inhalationalinjuries with related complica-tions,” OCHRI Director AnupMarar said.

The victim woman under-went a tracheostomy, debride-ment, escharectomy and burnsdressing on Monday. “She isvery critical. She is holdingonto her vital parameters withintensive care and oxygen sup-port of five litres per minute.Next 72 hours are very crucialfor her. It is only after that willbe able to speak in certainterms about her health. Ourexpert doctors are monitoringher condition,” Dr Marar said.

In a related development,thousands of people — includ-

ing women, school childrenand senior citizens —took outa morcha to local revenueauthorities’ office at Wardha onTuesday morning to demandthat the accused be hanged

forthwith. Leaders of all polit-ical parties had joined theprotest.

“The man, who burnt mydaughter and reduced her tosuch an unbearable state she is

in today, should be burnt alive.He should undergo the agonythat my daughter is currentlyundergoing,” the victimwoman’s mother said.

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The Motion of Thanks onPresident’s address saw

exchange of bitter accusationsand allegations between theruling the treasury andOpposition benches of RajyaSabha on Tuesday.

Hitting out at the Congressand the Aam Adami Party(AAP) for giving “moral sup-port” to Shaheen Bagh stir, theruling BJP said that youngminds were “poisoned throughhate-filled speeches” in thename of freedom of expressionduring anti-CAA protests,while Congress said theGovernment has created these“destructive” issues to divertattention from key challengeslike economic slowdown, farmdistress and unemployment.

Initiating the debate onMotion of Thanks on

President’s address in theUpper House, senior BJP leaderBhupender Yadav also laudedthe Government for multipleinitiatives to take India aheadglobally while being rooted toits values whether on digitalfront, agriculture, health ornational security.

Yadav said “Congress andAAP are giving moral support”to the agitation and the “mindsof small children are being poi-soned”.

Yadav quoted a statement

by Trinamool MP Derek ‘OBrien on how his relatives whowent to Pakistan had to migrateand how those who came toIndia prospered. “We have gotthe citizenship law so thatO’Briens remain O’Briens andare not forced to convert toother religions,” Yadav said.

Participating in the debate,Leader of the OppositionGhulam Nabi Azad expressedthe hope that the Governmentwould soon realise its “mistake”of bifurcating Jammu &

Kashmir into two union terri-tories and bring a bill in thissession to restore its state-hood. He was of the view thathad the Government broughtconstructive proposals, theopposition would have sup-ported them all through.

“Triple Talaq, CAA, NPRissues are being talked about byyou to divert attention on keyissues of unemployment, blackmoney, slow GDP growth. Yourideas or proposals are not con-structive but destructive,” Azadsaid.

Responding to BJP’s alle-gations, Azad retorted:“Shaheen Bagh is your creation.You want to run the Govern-ment, and at the same time playrole of Opposition and comedown on streets also to protestagainst all issues.”

He held the Governmentresponsible for not holding ofdiscussions on issues like GDP

growth slowdown, rising infla-tion and recent hike in levies onproducts like refrigerator, TV,AC, medical equipment, auto-mobiles, tyres etc.

He said that theGovernment cannot keep onabusing neighbouring coun-tries and needs to modernisethe defence.

Trinamool Congress MPSukhendu Sekhar Ray accusedthe Government of hiding thereal picture of the economy andcriticised its disinvestment pol-icy, saying it is on a mission of“beecho (sell) India”.

The Government is sellingPSUs along with LIC, which areproperties of the people andsteps are being taken withoutinviting any suggestions frompolicy makers and employeesunions, he said while partici-pating in the debate on Motionof Thanks on President'saddress in Rajya Sabha.

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The project-affected people onTuesday staged a massive

protest and forcibly stopped theongoing work on the construc-tion of Navi MumbaiInternational Airport (NMIA) atWadavli village in Pavel taluka ofRaigad district.

The activists owing alle-giance to the Akhila BharatiyaKisan Sabha (ABKS), who havebeen holding peaceful protests atWadavli since January 23, uppedthe ante on Tuesday, after thepolice detained some of theirleaders, including ABKS’ Raigaddistrict president RamchandraMahtre and the chief of theNMIA project-affected actioncommittee Anil Patil.

After a confrontation withthe employees engaged in thework, the activists forced theauthorities from continuing withthe work at the project site.

The agitators have beenclaiming that the City and

Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (CIDCO), which isthe nodal agency appointed bythe the Maharashtra govern-ment to oversee the implemen-tation of the project, had “cheat-ed” them as part of the rehabil-itation of the project-affectedpeople.

Among other things, theprotesters have been demandingthat all the affected people, whohave been declared as ineligiblefor the benefits, be given fullpackage, fishermen be givencompensation as per the currentlaws, the youths in ten project-affected villages be given prior-ity in jobs at the proposed airportand the compensation to theproject-affected people be fromRs 1,000 per sq foot to Rs 2,500per square foot for the land takenfrom them.

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At the first-ever VolkswagenGroup media night in India

in the lead-up to the Auto Expothat is being held at GreaterNoida, the German carmakershowcased the latest productsthat will come to India undertheir ‘India 2.0’ strategy.

The company whichannounced the strategy twoyears ago with an investment ofEuro One Billion (�8,000 crore)and changed the leadership ofthe company, whose strategy willnow be driven by Czech brandSkoda Auto believes that theycan reach sales of over 1,00,000

units annually in India by 2025according to Bernard Maier,Chairman of the Board, SkodaAuto. Speaking to The Pioneer,Maier said that the sales targetwas a ‘realistic’ one despite thefact that the Indian automotivesector is expected to reach threemillion units by 2025, “we donot want to overpromise andunder deliver, we believe thatwith our new product strategyunderpinned by the made forIndia MQB-A0 platform wecan easily achieve this target.”

The first vehicles madewith the new platform, theupcoming Volkswagen Taigunand the Skoda Vision In con-

cept, the latter will be made intoa production car soon wereshowcased at the event. Bothvehicles are expected to go onsale in India before the end of2020. Jurgen Stackmann, BoardMember, Sales, marketing andAfter-sales, Volkswagen AGtold The Pioneer that the moveto SUV’s was a global one, “afterall people like the high seatingposition and now thanks toimprovements in constructionthe fuel penalty for SUV’s isminimal.” He added that he didnot feel that shared mobilitysolutions such as app-based

taxis will make a huge impactin India and as for electric vehi-cles while Violkwagen willlaunch some cars in India, thecountry also needed to ‘cleanup’ its energy production andbuild charging infrastructurefor a lasting impact.

However, Stackmann didmake clear that VolkswagenGroup’s future in India will bediesel-free as the costs associ-ated with clean diesel enginesunder the BS6 norms cominginto force in April 2020. Mostof Volkswagen and Skoda’snew vehicles will be poweredby petrol engines, between 1-litre to 1.5 litre.

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The Indian rupee moved upby 13 paise to close at

71.25 against the US dollar onTuesday as forex market par-ticipants gauged improved sen-timent in global markets amidefforts to contain deadly coro-navirus. The Indian currencywas also supported by Brentcrude prices at lower levels andforeign fund inflows intodomestic equities.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 71.24.During the day, the local unitsaw a high of 71.09 and a lowof 71.29. The Indian rupeefinally settled at 71.25, up 13paise over its previous close.

Analysts said after a lack-lustre budget last weekinvestors are focussing on othermarket moving factors likeupcoming RBI policy andquarterly corporate results.

They added that efforts tocontain the deadly coronavirusin China also helped improveinvestor sentiment.

The Reserve Bank of India’smonetary policy outcomecould be the next trigger for thedomestic unit, as its commen-tary on inflation and growthforecast will be followed closely by theinvestors, they added.

The RBI is scheduled toannounce the outcome of itssixth bi-monthly monetarypolicy statement for 2019-20 onFebruary 6.

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Market gauge Sensex onTuesday shot up 917

points to clock its best day inover four months, recoupinglosses incurred in a brutal sell-off on Budget day, as investorsglobally seemed gathering con-fidence amid efforts to containcoronavirus.

Rising for the secondstraight session, the BSE bench-mark closed at 40,789.38, up2.30 per cent or 917.07 points.This was the biggest single-dayrise for the Sensex sinceSeptember 23, 2019.

Likewise, the broader NSENifty settled at 11,979.65, surg-ing 2.32 per cent or 271.75points — gaining the most ina single day in over fourmonths.

Giving a thumbs down tothe much-awaited UnionBudget, the Sensex took a mas-sive plunge on last Saturday tomark its worst session in over a decade as theGovernment failed to meetmarket expectations.

But the benchmark indicesgaining for the last two sessionsshows investors have shruggedoff Budget disappointment andfocussing now on other marketmoving factors like corporate earnings and macro-economic data.

Investors cheered the

country’s manufacturing sectoractivity climbing to a neareight-year high in January,helping domestic stocks end higher on Monday—the very first session after Budget.

On Tuesday, Titan was thebiggest gainer in the Sensexpack, rallying 7.97 per cent, fol-lowed by ITC, HDFC, BajajFinance, and Tata Steel.

On the other hand, BajajAuto and HUL were on the los-ing side.

All sectoral indices endedwith gains with BSE consumerdurables, metal, oil and gas, energy realty andfinance indices rallying up to3.52 per cent.

Broader BSE midcap andsmallcap indices advanced upto 1.37 per cent.

“Indian markets witnessed astrong rally on the back of rallyin global markets. The Indianmarkets have wiped off all thelosses incurred on the budget dayto close almost at the pre-bud-get level. Investors have shiftedtheir focus back on earnings andare finding solace in healthy mar-gins reported by many compa-nies,” Hemang Kapasi, PortfolioManager — Equity InvestmentProducts, Sanctum WealthManagement, said.

Brent crude oil futuresadvanced 0.96 per cent to USD54.97 per barrel.

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The Government is workingon a proposal to allow 100

per cent foreign direct invest-ment in Air India as it moves ahead with disinvest-ment of the national carrier,according to sources.

Currently, FDI in Air Indiais capped at 49 per centthrough the governmentapproval route while 100 percent FDI is permitted in sched-uled domestic carriers, subjectto certain conditions, includingthat it would not be applicablefor overseas airlines.

Allowing 100 per cent FDIin Air India would allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) toinvest up to 100 per cent.Currently, they can acquireonly 49 per cent in the nation-al carrier.

Sources told PTI that thecivil aviation ministry has askedthe Department for Promotionof Industry and Internal Trade

(DPIIT) to remove the clause which restricts FDI in Air Indiato 49 per cent.

A draft note has been cir-culated on the issue seekingcomments from different min-istries, they added.

In the case of scheduledairlines, 49 per cent FDI is per-mitted through automaticapproval route and any suchinvestment beyond that levelrequires approval.

Under the SubstantialOwnership and EffectiveControl (SOEC) framework,which is followed in the airlineindustry globally, a carrier thatflies overseas from a particularcountry should be substan-tially owned by that country’sGovernment or its nationals.

Making a second attemptin as many years to divest loss-making Air India, the govern-ment came out with thePreliminary InformationMemorandum (PIM) for 100per cent stake sale on January

27. Besides, Air India’s 100 percent stake in budget airline AirIndia Express and 50 per centshareholding in AISATS, anequal joint venture withSingapore Airlines, have alsobeen offered.

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New Delhi: Telecom operatorBharti Airtel on Tuesday post-ed a consolidated loss of �1,035crore for the three monthsended December 31, 2019, asthe AGR-hit telco provisionedfor interest component of itsstatutory dues.

December Q3 scorecardmarked the third straight quar-ter of losses for the company,which had logged a net profit of�86 crore a year ago. The com-pany also said the previouslyreported material uncertaintyon the group’s ability to con-

tinue as a going concern “nolonger exists” after the recent�21,502 crore fund raising by it.“The net exceptional charge of�10,500 million (�1,050 crore)during the quarter endedDecember 31, 2019 comprisesof a charge on account of inter-est on the provision of licensefee and spectrum usage chargesrecorded in the quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019, of �10,481million pending disposal ofthe modification applicationbefore the Supreme Court,”Airtel said. PTI

New Delhi: Mahindra Logisticson Tuesday reported a 19.13 percent fall in consolidated netprofit to �15.67 crore for theDecember 2019 quarter.

The company had clocked aprofit of �19.34 crore in the year-ago period, according to a BSEfiling. Its total income declinedto �909.94 crore during thequarter, against �982.67 crore in

the corresponding period a yearago. The firm’s total expensesdeclined to �888.60 crore in theOctober-December 2019 periodas against �951.80 crore in theyear-ago period.

“Q3 FY20 (third quarter of2019-20) revenue from non-Mahindra non-auto supply chainbusinesses grew by 12 per centover Q3 2018-19. While despite

seasonal improvement indemand, overall demand envi-ronment remains soft in the autoindustry,” the company said in astatement. The firm said it wasstrong quarter for e-commercevertical, driven by higherdemand during festival peakand added it will continue toexpand value-added services fore-commerce customers. PTI

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Punjab National Bank (PNB)on Tuesday reported a

standalone net loss of �492.28crore for December quarter2019-20 as provisioning forbad loans was raised substan-tially. The state-owned lenderhad posted a net profit of�246.51 crore for the sameperiod a year ago. In Septemberquarter 2019-20, the banklogged a profit of �507.05 crore.

Total income during thequarter under review was at�15,967.49 crore as against�14,854.24 crore in the year-ago same period, PNB said ina regulatory filing.

The bank hiked the provi-sioning for bad loans to�4,445.36 crore for the quarterunder review against �2,565.77crore parked aside for the year-ago period.

On consolidated basis, thelender reported a net loss of

�501.93 crore for the quarterunder review. However, therewas a net profit of �249.75 crorein the same period of 2018-19,the bank said.

Income was at �16,211.24crore, up from �15,104.94 croreearlier. Provisioning for badloans was up at �4,471 crore forDecember quarter from�2,636.09 crore in year-agosame period.

Consolidated results ofPNB include earnings from itsfive subsidiaries, seven associ-ate companies and one jointventure.

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Tata Global Beverages onTuesday reported a 25 per

cent growth in net profit for thequarter ended December at�135.85 crore.

The company’s net profitstood at �108.86 crore duringthe corresponding quarter of2018-19, Tata Global BeveragesLtd (TGBL)said in a releasehere. Its revenue grew 4 percent to �1,962 crore during thequarter under review as com-pared with �1,912.58 crore ayear ago.

“We had a good quartermainly driven by better costmanagement, lower commod-ity prices and higher spend onadvertisement. This was alsoaided by lower tax rate andimprovement in the perfor-mance of associates and jointventures,” Tata GlobalBeverages Executive Directorand Group CFO LKrishnaKumar told PTI here.

New Delhi: Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman on Tuesdaysaid the industry needs to “shunhesitation” and make invest-ments to drive the country’s eco-nomic growth. At a post Budgetinteraction at a CII event here,Minister said the Governmentwas there to facilitate the indus-try. “I don’t think in today’s con-dition it can be just Governmentspending which can pull econ-omy towards growth.

“I strongly believe industrytoday will have to come out ofhesitation which you have..,”Sitharaman, who presented theUnion Budget 2020-21 in

Parliament on Saturday, said.Sitharaman on Saturday had

slashed income tax for individ-uals, abolished dividend tax forcompanies and announcedrecord spending in agricultureand infrastructure sectors topull economy out of its worstslowdown in more than adecade. Budget 2020-21 drewmixed responses from India Inc,with a section of industry lead-ers saying “big bold” reformsneeded to kick-start economicgrowth are missing while othersacknowledged that the FinanceMinister had “little room” tomanoeuvre. PTI

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The Government on Tuesdayintroduced a Bill in the Lok

Sabha to amend the Aircraft Actwherein the fine amount for vio-lations will be hiked from �10lakh to up to �1 crore.

A few other provisionswould also be made part of thelaw that will also help in com-plying with the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization’s(ICAO) requirements.

The Aircraft(Amendment) Bill, 2020 alsoprovides for keeping “aircraftbelonging to any armed forcesof the Union, other than naval,from military or air force out-side the purview” of the

Aircraft Act, 1934.Once the amendments are

passed, the Government wouldhave the power to issue direc-tions to review, if necessary inpublic interest, any order passedby Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA), Bureau ofCivil Aviation Security (BCAS)and Aircraft AccidentInvestigation Bureau (AAIB), asper the bill’s Statement ofObjects and Reasons.

A key proposal is toincrease the fine amount from�10 lakh to �1 crore for viola-tions. Other proposals includeempowering BCAS or anyauthorised officer to issuedirections, having designatedofficers for adjudging penaltiesand introducing a provision forcompounding of offences.

Generally, compoundableoffences are those which can besettled by paying certainamount of money.

Further, the Bill seeks to

empower the CentralGovernment to constituteDGCA, BCAS and AAIBunder the Act as well as spec-ify their responsibilities.

It would also bring regula-tions of all areas of air naviga-tion services under the Act. TheAct has provisions for securingthe safety of aircraft operationsin India and carrying out civilaviation operations as per stan-dards, procedures and prac-tices laid down by ICAO.

As per the statement, ICAOaudits, conducted in 2012 and2015, have indicated a need toamend the Act to give properrecognition to the regulatorsunder the Act. Among others,the audits had suggestedenhancing the “maximumquantum of fines and toempower the departmental offi-cers to impose financial penal-ties on individuals or organi-sations involved in violations ofthe legal provisions”.

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India’s No 1 PrajneshGunneswaran stamped his

authority at home with a sensa-tional straight sets victory againstGermany’s Yannick Maden in thesingles opening round match atthe third edition of Tata OpenMaharashtra at MhalungeBalewadi Stadium in Pune onTuesday.

The Indian star Gunneswaranheld his nerves throughout thematch as both the sets went intotie-breakers before the Indianwrapped up the hard-fought con-test 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) to beginhis campaign on a winning note.

In the other singles openinground match local boy ArjunKadhe suffered a straight-set 6-2,6-4 defeat at the hands of JiriVesley. Playing in front of homecrowd, Kadhe, who received a wildcard entry into the main draw,tried to make a comeback into thematch with some good fight in thesecond set but it was too late as the26-year-old Czech player wrappedup the match convincingly.

India’s Rohan Bopanna andSumit Nagal will be key attractionon the third day of the tourna-ment as they will begin theirquest for the doubles title onWednesday. The defending cham-pion Rohan Bopanna, who willpartner alongside Kadhe, as theIndian duo will take on Frenchpair of Benoit Paire and AntonieHoang. While, Nagal and hispartner Egor Gerasimov of

Belarus will face Indian pair ofRamkumar Ramanathan andPurav Raja in the opening roundmatch.

Just a day after gett ingknocked out in the singles open-ing round, India’s rising star Nagalwill be back in action in Pune ashe included in the doubles maindraw following the withdrawal ofPeter Gojowczyk due to injury.The 22-year-old Nagal will replacethe German pair of Gojowczyk-Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the maindraw.

The Australian star JamesDuckworth marked his arrivalwith a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5), 6-4win over Gojowczyk.

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Confident Indian women’shockey team registered a 1-

0 win against Great Britain inAuckland on Tuesday in theirfourth match. Having wontheir first match in the NewZealand tour 4-0 against thehosts Development Squad,Indian women’s team hadlost the following twomatches 2-1 and 1-0respectively to the NewZealand national team.

However, onTuesday, the Indianwomen’s team led byRani played with fullgusto and a structureddefence with tight passingensured little room forGreat Britain to counterattack or create chancesto score.

“We createdenough chances andnow we need to keep work-ing on converting thosechances but our defence

stood strong through the matchwhich was a good thing,”expressed chief coach SjoerdMarijne after the match.

Ending the first half in a 0-0 stalemate, India made anoth-er PC attempt in the third quar-ter but could not make theopportunity count. The team

however kept up a goodline of defence and con-tinued to carry onaggressive attack. Itwas not until the 47thminute when SkipperRani created space in

the circle, netting apowerful shot past GreatBritain’s goalkeeper.

The 1-0 lead put seri-ous pressure on Great

Britain who eventually couldnot recover, thus conceding the

loss. “Towards the end of the

match, we were under pressurebut the team handled it welland even ensured a goal.

The win is good for a moraleboost,” Marijne stated.

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Diego Demme and EljifElmas scored their first

Serie A goals as Napoli fol-lowed up last weekend's winover champions Juventus witha 4-2 victory at Sampdoria onMonday.

Gennaro Gattuso's sideclaimed back-to-back leaguewins for just the second timethis season to move 10th, twopoints off the Europa Leagueberths.

But a return to theChampions League remains adistant hope as Napoli, whoalso dumped holders Lazio outof the Italian Cup last month,remain nine points behindfourth-placed Atalanta andRoma.

"We're back," declaredcaptain Lorenzo Insigne fol-lowing a hard-fought game inwhich Sampdoria came fromtwo goals down to level at 2-2.

"We're giving continuity tothe work we do during theweek with the coach. This is avictory for the group.

"The Champions League isfeasible but we have to thinkgame by game. We've done alot of damage, but now wehave to recover and get ourseason back on track."

Arkadiusz Milik struckearly for the visitors, noddingin the first after just three min-

utes off a cross from fellowPole Piotr Zielinski, as a flareon the pitch in Genoa distract-ed the Sampdoria defenders.

North Macedonia interna-tional Elmas tapped in a sec-ond after quarter of an hourfor his first goal in Italy's topflight.

But Sampdoria halved thedeficit with FabioQuagliarella's powerful volleyon 26 minutes.

Gaston Ramirez had theball in the back of the netbefore the hour mark with aspectacular overhead kick, butVAR ruled that ManoloGabbiadini's arm touched theball in the build-up.

Gabbiadini pulledSampdoria level from thepenalty spot with 15 minutesto go after Kostas Manolastripped Quagliarella in thebox.

Demme, who arrived lastmonth from RB Leipzig,restored Napoli's advantageseven minutes from time withDries Mertens sweeping thefourth into an empty net deepinto injury time.

Claudio Ranieri 'sSampdoria sit four pointsabove the relegation zone.

"We must continue tobelieve," said Ranieri.

"Quagliarella is playingwell. We hope to see othersimilar pearls to his goaltoday."

��,� ������ North EasternWarriors edged the ChennaiSuperstarz 4-3 to grab the topspot in an exciting face-offbetween two of the most in-form teams at the Star SportsPremier Badminton League atthe GMC Balayogi IndoorStadium in Hyderabad onTuesday. With both having qual-ified for the semi-finals, it wasthe final league match for bothas they looked to boost theirconfidence ahead of the knock-out stages.

With the two teams beingtied on 22 points, North EasternWarriors inched ahead by virtueof having 13 wins while Chennaihas 10 wins against their name.

For the Warriors, 2020Indonesia Masters semi-finalistLee Cheul Yiu, KaushalDharmamer, and the mixeddoubles pair of Lee Yong Daeand Kim Ha Na contributed the

wins to take them to victory.With the two locked at 3-3

in the overall score, it was leftto the former Olympic cham-pion Lee Yong Dae to do theneedful for the North EasternWarriors along with formerWorld No 1 Kim Ha Na. Thetwo did not disappoint as theycame back from 4-6 down inthe first game to grab a 15-11,15-9 win against Chennai’sDhruv Kapila and SanjanaSantosh. PNS

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Olympic medal hopeful and formerworld champion Mirabai Chanu on

Tuesday bettered her own national recordby lifting a total of 203kg to win the 49kgGold in the National WeightliftingChampionships.

The 25-year-old Manipuri, repre-senting Railways, lifted 88kg in snatch inher second attempt and 115kg in clean andjerk for a total of 203kg.

Mirabai’s previous best of 201kg hadcome at the World Championship inThailand in September last year, where shehad finished fourth.

Tuesday’s effort has put her in fourthplace in world rankings behind ChineseJiang Huihua (212kg) and Hou Zhihui(211kg) and Korean Ri Song Gum(209kg).

Mirabai was targeting 207kg but losther balance in the final attempts of boththe snatch and clean and jerk.

“I still have some time left for theAsian Championships and I hope to getthere (210 kg) before the Olympics,”Mirabai told reporters.

“Everything is going according to ourplan. Everyday, we are getting in there.Our target is to achieve 206-207kg at theAsian Championships. It’s all about mak-ing some technical adjustments andpower-strengthening now.”

With all focus on Mirabai, it was theunheralded 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu,N Ajith, who produced the biggest stun-ner of the tournament, upsetting defend-ing champion and CommonwealthChampionship Gold medallist AchintaSheuli with national record performance.

Ajith lifted 140kg in snatch and170kg in clean and jerk for a total of 310kg,which was 4kg more than the defendingchampion and local favourite Achinta whoachieved his personal best in both snatch(138kg) and clean and jerk (168kg) for atotal of 306kg.

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappensays he can beat Lewis

Hamilton to the Formula Onetitle if his car is good enough,insisting Britain’s six-timeworld champion is “not God”.

The 22-year-oldDutchman could proveHamilton’s closest challengerthis year, following Red Bull’sstrong finish to the end of lastseason.

Hamilton has dominatedF1 in recent years, winningfive of the past six champi-onships, and will this yearequal Michael Schumacher’srecord haul of seven titles if hesecures another triumph.

But asked if he could beatHamilton over the course of aseason, Verstappen said: “Yes.Of course, it is very car-dependent in Formula One.Lewis is very good. He is def-initely one of the best out

there. He is not God, maybeGod is with him, but he is notGod.

Verstappen, speaking at aRed Bull media event, resist-ed the lure of a move to eitherMercedes or Ferrari by com-mitting his long-term futureto Red Bull with a four-yearcontract extension.

Hamilton’s next move isuncertain, with his Mercedes

deal set to expire at the end ofthe year.

“It is a good thing myfuture is sorted because ittakes away any doubt,” saidVerstappen, who won threetimes last year and finishedthird in the championshipbehind Hamilton and hisMercedes teammate ValtteriBottas.

“There are no questionmarks any more. When yougo into a season and your con-tract is up at the end of theyear, at one point it is going tobe a bit awkward. I didn’t wantto have any of that.

“This is the right place. Isee the motivation and hungerto fight for victories and achampionship. Looking at thisyear we want to mount achallenge to Mercedes and Ithink we can do that.”

The first race of the sea-son takes place in Australia onMarch 15.

����� �*+�,* �-�

All-rounder Kunwar Bidhuri and the talent-ed Himmat Singh struck fighting half-cen-

turies to rescue Delhi from a precarious posi-tion as the hosts reached 270 for 6 againstGujarat here on the first day of their group Aencounter.

Delhi at one stage were staring down thebarrel at 136 for 5 with only opener Hiten Dalal(69 off 130 balls) looking comfortable againstthe Gujarat attack.

However, Himmat (56 off 153 balls), whomade a comeback into the senior side alongwith Kunwar (78 batting off 133 balls) rescuedDelhi with a 134-run sixth wicket stand.

Pacer Arzan Nagaswalla (3/54 in 18overs) was the pick of the Gujarat bowlerswhile seasoned Axar Patel (1/60 in 18.3overs) did the most important job of dismiss-ing Himmat off the last ball of the day.

The right-hander, who showed tremen-dous patience during his 153-ball stay went fora drive but the edge landed in Rujul Bhatt’shands in the slip cordon.

This was after he had hit eight fours anda six during his knock. Kunwar, whoscored his maiden half-century, was moreattacking of the two, with 11 fours and asix to his credit.

ASSAM OUT FOR 97���� ���Haryana gained the upper hand onan eventful opening day of their Group Cmatch against Assam, taking a 101-run leadafter bundling out their opponents for 97 inthe first innings.

Haryana finished the day at 198 for 9.Captain Harshal Patel’s decision to bowl

after winning the toss paid dividends as he andleft-arm spinner Tinu Kundu (5/35) wreckedthe Assam batting line-up, making good useof the conditions. Medium-pacer Patel, whohas been key for Haryana this season, finishedwith 4 for 32.

In reply, Haryana looked in trouble hav-ing lost half the side for 65 before a defiant 76-run partnership between Chaitanya Bishnoi

(46) and R P Sharma (59) sparked a revival.Later, the skipper Harshal Patel (28)

smacked three fours and two sixes to helpHaryana extend the lead.

SAURASHTRA REDUCE MUMBAI TO 249/8� 2����� Saurashtra left arm spinnerDharmendrasinh Jadeja snared five wickets toleave Mumbai teetering at 249 for eight in EliteGroup B game.

Had Sarfaraz Khan yet again not rescuedMumbai after they suffered a top-order col-lapse with his 78, the 41-time Ranji champi-ons would have been in more trouble in what

is a must-win game for them.Jadeja (5/90) rattled their top-order and

among his wickets were Jay Bista (43), BhupenLalwani (25), Siddesh Lad (13) and rival skip-per Aditya Tare (10).

Struggling at 88 for four, Sarfaraz (78 off126 balls; 9x4 and 2x6) and all-rounderShams Mulani (59 not out off 171 balls; 6x4;2x6) steadied the ship with their 109-run standfor the fifth wicket. They ensured that thedomestic giants took lunch and tea without los-ing any further wickets.

Sarfaraz, who took his team out of trou-ble in the last two matches, again played amatured and responsible knock.

However, after doing all the hard work, hefell on 78 after being cleaned up by KamleshMakwana. Sarfaraz’s unbeaten run thus endedin first-class cricket after amassing 605 runsfrom three innings. Aditya Tare (10) was dis-missed cheaply as he became Jadeja’s fourthvictim. Mulani held one end and completed

� ��� .�����* *�

Admitting that Serena Williams' approach is notworking anymore, coach Patrick Mouratoglou

feels the former World No.1 needs to rethink her strat-egy after her latest bid to win a record-equalling 24thmajor at the Australian Open failed.

Serena was beaten by China's Wang Qiang in thethird round. "We have to accept the fact that it's notworking," Mouratoglou told the BBC. "We have to facereality, but she's positive that she can make it, other-wise she probably wouldn't be on a tennis court any-more. She believes she can and I believe it too. She'snot that far, but we have to change a few things.

"Maybe come back with a different angle, strat-egy and goals so she can make it. She does feel pos-itive, she feels negative too because it's a failure whenshe doesn't win a Grand Slam."

Mouratoglou also conceded that Serena is run-ning out of time.

"She had everything to retire, 23 Grand Slam titles... it's difficult to know how many chances she'll have,I don't know how long she's going to be able to play,but being able to reach four Grand Slam finals saysa lot about her level.

"Her level is good enough but we have to under-stand what's going on, why she's not able to win.There's a big difference between reaching a final andwinning one," the coach explained.

���� 7�-,�*�.+�

The West Indies on Mondaydropped key batsmen Evin Lewis

and Shimron Hetmyer for theirupcoming one-day international seriesagainst Sri Lanka, saying the pair failedto meet new "minimum fitnessrequirements".

They have been left out of the 15-man squad for the three ODIs, withDarren Bravo and Rovman Powellearning recalls.

"Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyermissed out due to the fact that theycame up short in the fitness test," saidCricket West Indies selector RogerHarper.

"They will be missed, Lewis wasthe team's best batsman in the recent...ODI series against Ireland where hebatted with great composure andproved the bedrock for the team'sseries win.

"Hetmyer appeared to be gettinghis act together and was an integralpart of the team's batting group."

The Windies take on Sri Lanka in

the first ODI in Colombo on February22, before further games inHambantota and Kandy.

They have not yet named theirsquad for the following two-match T20international series.ODI team: Kieron Pollard (capt),Shai Hope (wkt), Fabian Allen, SunilAmbris, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase,Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, AlzarriJoseph, Brandon King, Keemo Paul,Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell,Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh

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G��-����'���� ���1� ���!���������J����his fourth fifty after tapping Jadejafor a single.

However, Mulani ran out ofpartners with Vinayak Bhoir (21)and Shashank Attarde (0) alsofalling in quick succession asSaurashtra took honours on day 1.

For the hosts, Jadeja was ablysupported by Mankad (2/30) andMakwana (1/46).

Earlier, the Saurashtra CricketAssociation felicitated senior speed-ster Jaydev Unadkat for taking 300scalps in first-class cricket. Unadkat,however, missed the game due toniggle.

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-�������������������/8)�� ����,� ������ Former India opener WasimJaffer has now added another feather to hiscap as he on Tuesday became the first bats-man to register 12,000 runs in Ranji Trophy.

Jaffer achieved the milestone in theongoing Ranji tie between Vidarbha andKerala. Jaffer who started off with Mumbaiin first-class cricket now plays for Vidarbha.

Before the start of the 2019-20, Jaffer hadamassed 11,775 runs in the premier domes-tic tournament.

Jaffer made his debut in the domesticcircuit in the 1996-97 season and has bro-ken multiple records. He had become thefirst cricketer in the history of the tourna-ment to go past 11,000 runs in 2018.

Featuring for India, Jaffer played 31Tests, accumulating 1944 runs, averaging34.10 and also hit five centuries and 11 half-centuries. IANS

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Gunning for an Olympic Gold,World Championship

Bronze medallist Ravi KumarDahiya says his main priority willbe to stay injury-free and put upa good show at the AsianWrestling Championships to pre-pare for the Tokyo Games.

"I am aiming for a gold at theOlympics and the AsianWrestling Championships willhelp me prepare better ahead ofTokyo. I plan to keep workinghard and not be a victim of anyinjury," said the former U-23World Championship silvermedallist.

The Asian WrestlingChampionships will be held inthe national capital fromFebruary 18 to 23 and Dahiyasaid he is working on his legdefence ahead of the tournament.

"I am practising hard on aregular basis. I am concentratinghard on basic techniques andwatching videos of otherwrestlers, which I believe will helpme improvise and develop newstrategies," said the 23-year-oldDahiya, who won a gold in the61kg at Rome Ranking series.

"I am having some draw-backs in my leg defence and I amworking especially hard in thatarea. I need to be stronger on mylegs, which will help me defeat myopponents easily."

Talking about his opponents,Dahiya said: "Iran's RezaAhmedali Atrinagharchi will bea strong opponent to look out.Apart from Iran, Japan,Uzbekistan, and Korea will alsobe tough. In the Tokyo Olympics,Russia's Zavur Uguev will be atough contender."

He is currently training inRussia under coach MuradGaidarov.

"In Russia, I am doing prac-tice and training with better andstronger wrestlers. Each day I amfighting new wrestlers, and I amlearning a thing or two every day,"he said.

"Coach Murad is trainingme in every way possible. He isputting new challenges before meevery day and it's making mestronger as a wrestler andimproving my techniques."

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In the nets on Tuesday,Manish Pandey batted alongwith Kohli and Iyer, ahead ofShivam Dube, Rishabh Pant andKedar Jadhav.

If Pandey plays, the lowerorder will be a curious mix withDube, Jadhav and RavindraJadeja vying for the all-rounder’sspot.

In the bowling department,three pacers will probably be thenorm once again.

Kuldeep Yadav, who satout the entire T20I series, is slat-ed for a comeback given his per-formance against Australia athome.

New Zealand will havesome re-think before finalisingtheir playing eleven too.

Tom Latham will lead theside ahead of Tim Southee who

was stand-in skipper during thelast two T20Is. In Williamson’sabsence, they will look towardsRoss Taylor for batting leader-ship.

The Black Caps will berejuvenated though with theinclusion of all-rounder JimmyNeesham while Colin deGrandhomme returns to thesquad as well. Ish Sodhi is onlythere for the first ODI and thehosts could opt for a two-spin-ner attack given the slower sur-face at Seddon Park.

Keeper-batsman TomBlundell and lanky pacer KyleJamieson are the only oneswho don’t have an ODI cap totheir name.

TEAMSIndia: Virat Kohli (capt), PrithviShaw, Mayank Agarwal, KL

����� ���- �.�

Injuries to key players has opened thedoor for exciting youngsters such asPrithvi Shaw to make an impression in

the Indian line-up against a low-on-con-fidence and depleted New Zealand in thethree-match ODI series starting at SeddonPark here today.

This is India’s third ODI assignmentafter the World Cup last year, having pre-viously beaten West Indies (away) andAustralia (at home).

The Black Caps, on the other hand,play their first ODI since that infamous lossat Lord’s in the World Cup final againstEngland.

The last time these twosides met in the 50-over for-mat, New Zealand hadknocked India out of theWorld Cup with an 18-runwin over two days in the second semi-finalat Manchester.

In the current context, stakes aren’t thathigh as both sides prepare for the T20World Cup later in Australia this year. Infact, the upcoming two-Test series later thismonth bears more significance than thisODI clash.

In the ODI series, neither side will beat full strength as a string of first-team play-ers will be missing due to injuries.

India were dealt a major blow whenRohit Sharma was ruled out of the remain-der of this tour owing to the calf injury hepicked up in the final T20I. The Men inBlue are already missing Shikhar Dhawan,Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar andDeepak Chahar.

For New Zealand, inspirational skip-per Kane Williamson has joined the longlist of injured along with the likes of TrentBoult.

Skipper Virat Kohli outlined that theywill stick to the strategy adopted againstAustralia in Rajkot, where KL Rahul keptwickets and batted at number five.

Kohli had more or less confirmedShaw’s ODI debut in that scenario, and nowIndia will probably have two openersdebuting.

The last time such a situation arose was2016, when KL Rahul and Karun Nairopened for India on their debuts inZimbabwe.

Sunil Gavaskar and Sudhir Naik (1974)against England and Parthasarthy Sharmaand Dilip Vengsarkar (1976) against NewZealand are the other previous instances.

Such a move would set up India’s bat-ting line-up with Kohli at number three andShreyas Iyer at number four.

������������������ ���������� � �!"!" �� �����

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Opener Prithvi Shaw on Tuesday made acomeback into the Indian Test team for the

two-match series against New Zealand whileMayank Agarwal replaced injured RohitSharma in the ODI squad. Shaw, who lastplayed for India in October 2018, returns to theTest side after Rohit was ruled out of the seriesdue to a left calf muscle strain. The two-Testseries begins in Wellington on February 21.

“Vice-captain Rohit Sharma sustained a leftcalf muscle strain during the fifth T20I againstNew Zealand at Tauranga on Sunday.

“He underwent an MRI scan in Hamiltonon Monday. The opening batsman has beenruled out of the upcoming ODI and the Testseries and will be referred to the NationalCricket Academy for further management ofhis injury,” said the BCCI in a statement.

Shaw, who had made a century on Testdebut against the West Indies in October 2018,had last month received a maiden ODI call-upfor the New Zealand series.

After serving an eight-month doping banlast year, Shaw showed no signs of rustiness andwas instantaneously amongst the runs indomestic cricket with the double hundredagainst Baroda being the highlight.

Shaw has already been in New Zealand formore than two weeks with the A side andsmashed a 150 against New Zealand XI in hisfirst innings on the tour.

His India U-19 teammate Shubman Gill hasexpectedly retained his place in the Test squadfollowing a match-saving double hundred forIndia A against New Zealand on Sunday.

Both Shaw and Gill are openers but the for-mer is expected to open alongside Agarwal inthe first Test at Basin Reserve. Gill, whosmashed the double ton batting at number four,can also make the eleven as a middle-order bats-man.

Gill, who has played two ODIs, was partof the Test squad in the home series againstSouth Africa and Bangladesh but did not geta game.

Kuldeep Yadav, who did not make theeleven in the five T20s against New Zealand,has been dropped from the Test squad with theselectors going for two specialist spinneroptions in Ravindra Jadeja and RavichandranAshwin.

K L Rahul, who played his last Test in theWest Indies in September, was ignored despitea prolific run in limited overs cricket.

Among the pacers, Navdeep Saini has madehis way into the Test side following impressiveperformances in limited overs cricket. Saini hadreceived his maiden Test call-up for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in 2018 but is yetto make his debut. However, he has gone onto play three ODIs and 10 T20s for India.

Senior pacer Ishant Sharma, who hadtwisted his ankle during a Ranji Trophy gamelast month, has kept his place in the side buthis participation in the series is subject to fit-ness.Test squad: Virat Kohli (captain), MayankAgarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-cap-tain), Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha(wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keep-er), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja,Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami,Navdeep Saini, Ishant Sharma (subject to fit-ness clearance).

����� ���- �.��

India captain Virat Kohli onTuesday said that his team is

not looking to strengthen itsT20 World Cup preparations inthe ODI series against NewZealand as the upcoming IPL isthe “right platform” for it.

However, head coach RaviShastri had last month saidthat the ODIs India play againstNew Zealand and South Africa(in March) could be a prepara-tory ground for the T20 WorldCup in Australia in October-November.

“We have had five T20salready, it’s not that we don’thave a lot of T20 cricket. Wehave IPL as well which is goingto be a month and a half of T20cricket. So we will probablyutilise that, I think, because lastyear (for ODI World Cup) youdid not have much opportuni-ty to prepare yourselves apartfrom the games that were infront of you,” said Kohli on theeve of the first ODI.

“But T20s is very different,as I said. IPL is probably themost competitive tournamentyou can ask for as a collectiveand guys will look to get intothat frame of mind in thattournament and not this earlyin a 50-over format because youdon’t want to play in a differentmanner.”

The skipper feels it isimportant to give equal respectto each format.

“You have to respect the for-mat, you have to play accordingto the pace of the 50-over gameand as I spoke of the combina-tion as well. It’s about guys get-ting settled in their roles and

repeating that game after gameso that they know I played thisin this format, I have to play thisin T20s or similarly in Testcricket.

“These things are all aboutcreating good habits for differ-ent formats and then beingable to switch between them. Sono, we are not looking at thisseries as preparation for T20World Cup. IPL is going to bethe right platform for that.”

India go into the three-match series high on confi-dence, having whitewashed theBlack Caps 5-0 in the T20series. Kohli’s team had alsobeaten New Zealand 4-1 inODIs last year before goingdown in T20s.

“The last time around,when we played here, we dom-inated the first three games. Lostthe fourth and came back in thefifth one again. We felt we hadmore time to work out our plansin the ODIs actually. The T20format was something that suit-ed New Zealand more as theycould play some explosive crick-et and really did come after ourside but in one-day cricket, wehave played some really hard-fought series.”

He expects New Zealand tobounce back strongly followingthe drubbing in T20s.

“That’s something that weneed to be wary of, that we keepbelieving in our own plans andride those pockets of pressureand eventually turn the situationaround for ourselves. That’ssomething that we’ve alwaysknown with the New Zealandside that they’ll not give up andkeep finding a way to come backinto the game,” he said.

����� ���- �.�

New Zealand’s stand-in skip-per Tom Latham is banking

on fresh faces to turn aroundthe fortunes of his injury-hitside against a seeminglyinvincible India in theODI series.

Latham said theBlack Caps, playingtheir first ODI sinceWorld Cup final, arehopeful of bouncingback.

“We have playedIndia a lot over thelast couple of years. So,there shouldn’t be toomany surprises...For us itis about trying to focuson the series,” he said.

New Zealand are bat-tling an injury crisis,which includes regularskipper Kane Williamson.The Black Caps will, how-ever, be rejuvenated by theinclusion of all-rounder

Jimmy Neesham and Colin deGrandhomme in the ODI squad.

“The T20 results were disap-pointing for the T20 side. (But)

It is nice that a slightly newgroup has come in for thisone-day team, a few newfaces and a different for-mat,” he said.

“So it is importantthat we don’t try andreinvent the wheel to

try and change ourstyle ofplay...Obviously it is

hard but as I saidthere is a new group now.Fresh faces in a different for-mat, which will pose chal-lenges in a different way.

“So, fingers crossed andwe can switch into One-day

mode and start getting thoseresults,” he added.

Talking about reversing theresults after the T20 whitewash,Latham said, “Winning can be ahabit. Unfortunately we havebeen on the wrong side of those

results, which has been disappoint-ing.”

“As I have said earlier, it is a dif-ferent format, which is probablyrefreshing for the guys. There are new

faces, who were not involved in theT20 series. We have been in thosepositions in the T20 series to win thegame. Now we can start winning andgoing across the line,” he signed off.

����* 7.0��*

Australia has recalled allrounderMitch Marsh and Glenn Maxwell

for the ODI and T20 tour of SouthAfrica.

Marsh last featured in anAustralian side in the Ashes series lastSeptember. He he hasn’t played anODI since January 2018 or a T20Isince October 2018.

Maxwell last played for Australiain October before taking a break from

cricket, citing mental health issues. Hereturned to action in the BBL for theMelbourne Stars.

On Tuesday, Marcus Stonis wasnamed the Big Bash League’s domes-tic player of the tournament, but hewas left out of both squads.

“Marcus Stoinis is a stand-byplayer for each squad and was unluckyto miss out due to the make-up of thecurrent top order,” selector TrevorHohns said in a statement on Tuesday.

“It is terrific to have a back-upplayer of his caliber in such goodform.”

Pacemen Sean Abbott and JhyeRichardson were named in the T20squad and Matthew Wade was includ-ed in both.

Australia will play three T20sagainst South Africa - on Feb 21, 23and 26 - before three one-dayers onFeb. 29, March 4 and March 7.ODIs: Aaron Finch (captain), AlexCarey, Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar,Josh Hazlewood, MarnusLabuschagne, Mitch Marsh, GlennMaxwell, Kane Richardson, SteveSmith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade,David Warner, Adam Zampa.T20: Aaron Finch (captain), AlexCarey, Pat Cummins, Sean Abbott,Ashton Agar, Mitch Marsh, GlennMaxwell, Jhye Richardson, KaneRichardson, Steve Smith, MitchellStarc, Matthew Wade, David Warner,Adam Zampa.

� ��������� � �*+�,* �-

Cameroonian forwardDipanda Dicka has taken

I-League 2019-20 season bystorm scoring eight goals forPunjab FC so far and is alsothe leading goal scorer of thetournament and team’s expe-rienced centre-back AnwarAli is happy about his team-mate spectacular form.

“Dicka is a very chilledout striker but on the givenchance he can score spectac-ular goals and that’s his spe-ciality in the ground. He isvery good in front of the D.He took his time to find hisnatural form and now we cansee his free-scoring run,”Anwar said about his starteammate.

However at the sametime, former Indian interna-tional Anwar also expectsother offensive players tostep up if the team wants tochallenge for the title

“But in terms of a biggerpicture, we as a team wantour other players to find thename on the score sheet aswell. Because a team which isfighting for championshipcan’t just remain dependent

on one player. If Dicka is scor-ing it’s a good thing but if he’snot able to convert chancesthen the winger or the mid-fielders should be able to con-tribute,” he added.

2017-18 champion isplaying under a new name(formerly Minerva Punjab)this time and is currently atthe second spot in the pointstable with 17 points from 10games, six points behindleaders Mohun Bagan, whothey will play next in theaway tie after playing 1-1draw in the home fixture on

January 14.In terms of the stand-

ings, upcoming game atKalyani on Sunday is impor-tant for Punjab to narrow thegap with Kolkata heavy-weights and this is the moti-vation for the players for themarquee clash.

“It is an important gamefor us because a win againstBagan in their home turf willnot only give us an addedmomentum but also will nar-row the game between thetwo sides.”

The team is doing well

after making a horror start totheir campaign when theyhost 0-3 against ChurchillBrothers but since then wonthree and played a draw in sixgames. A couple of which(against East Bengal andMohun Bagan) could easilyhave been in favour if theyhaven’t conceded in finalminutes.

Speaking about thedefence, Ali said: “All thegoals that we have concededtill now is because of our ownmistakes. It’s not like that anyopposition players havescored after beating thedefence and destroying it.Four-five goals were scoredafter we failed to clear the ballproperly. So I don’t think thedefence has been a cause ofworry instead some individ-ual errors punished us.However it is not a seriousconcern,” he concluded.

Anwar also spoke high-ly about Minerva School ofSports Excellence for provid-ing a good sporting environ-ment to young kids whooften compete with the seniorteam players during pre-sea-son games and has also madeit to the senior set up.

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�������%������� �������� India are set to field twodebutant openers, Prithvi Shaw andMayank Agarwal, in the first ODIagainst New Zealand here today afterskipper Virat Kohli confirmed that K LRahul will continue to bat in the mid-dle-order.

Rahul will keep wickets and bat atnumber five like he did during theAustralia series, Kohli said on Tuesday.

“Prithvi’s definitely going to start andwhoever the replacement is, we’ll ask foran opener (which has already beendecided with Agarwal replacing Rohit).KL will bat in the middle-order. We wanthim to get accustomed to that role andkeep as well,” said Kohli.

Kohl said Rohit’s absence doesn’thamper the team’s preparations as thereare not many ODI series lined up in theyear of T20 World Cup.

“I understand it’s an unfortunate sit-uation that Rohit can’t be a part of thisseries. When you talk about one-daycricket and T20 cricket and Test crick-et now, he’s one guy who’s always on thelist first. But the thing is that we don’thave any one-day tournaments to lookforward to.

“It’s if anything an ideal time for himto go away and rectify this as soon as hecan and come back. He played the T20Iseries, so from the team’s balance pointof view heading into the World Cup year,it doesn’t really hamper the combinationas far as the T20s are concerned,” he said.

Kohli said injuries to Dhawan andRohit are a good opportunity for Shawand Agarwal.

“Rohit’s injury is unfortunate butsomeone who steps in, it’s a chance forthat guy to experience this kind of pres-sure & expectation, and for us to see whoare the guys that cope with it.” PTI

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��������������>����������,� ������� New Zealand skipperKane Williamson has been ruledout of the first two ODIs againstIndia as he continues to battle aninflamed AC joint in his left-shoul-der and has been replaced by MarkChapman.

“Kane has had an X-ray scanwhich cleared him of anythingserious, but it’s best for his recov-ery that he avoids aggravating thejoint for the next few days,” teamphysio Vijay Vallabh was quoted assaying by New Zealand Cricket.

“He will continue his fitnesstraining sessions throughout theweek and will start batting again onFriday with the prospect of beingavailable for game three next

Tuesday.”Selector Gavin Larsen con-

firmed in-form Auckland Aces left-hander Mark Chapman would jointhe squad in Hamilton on Tuesday.

“It’s hugely disappointing forKane, but with so much importantcricket still ahead this summer wemust take a safety first approach,”Larsen said.

“It’s great to welcome Markback into the one-day unit off theback of consecutive centuries forNew Zealand A against a strongIndia A side.

“Mark’s a versatile player whocan cover multiple batting positionsand his fielding is a real upshot tohave in the squad.” IANS

Rahul (wk), Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant,Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja,Kuldeep Yadav, Chahal, Shami, JaspritBumrah, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini.New Zealand: Tom Latham (capt and wk),Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Colin deGrandhomme, Jimmy Neesham, ScottKuggeleijn, Tom Blundell, Henry Nicholls,Mitchell Santner, Hamish Bennett, IshSodhi, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, MarkChapman.