BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

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

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MIHIRVASAVDANEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

ITWAS once grazing land. It isnowabreedinggroundforsomeof India’smost talented hockeyplayers.The transformation began

with a disagreement. In 2004,while travelling to Sonepat, for-mer India captain Pritam RaniSiwach spotted a parcel of un-kempt land largeenoughtoplayhockey. One of themainstays ofthe national team, Siwachwasenteringthetwilightofhercareer.For a player whowas rated

highly for her leadership quali-ties and game intelligence,coaching seemed tobe a logicalstep.“So,Iaskedmyhusbandif it

was a good idea to use thatground to trainwomen playersfromtheregion,” Siwachsays.Siwach’s husband Kuldeep,

also a formerhockeyplayer, hadbeenarockof support forher, allthroughher career. But that day,he sounded dismissive. “Hereplied,‘Areyoumad?’Heignoredmyideacompletely,”Siwachsays.“Iwasveryhurt.Atthatmoment,I decided nomatterwhat hap-pens,evenif I’llhavetofightwithmyhusband,I’llworkinwomen’shockey.That’showitstarted.”On Saturday, 17 years later,

Siwach,whohad earlierwon anArjunaAward,receivedthepres-tigiousDronacharyaAward,mak-ingheroneof the fewrecipientsof theNational Sports Award asbothaplayerandnowacoach.And her academy has be-

come one of the key feedergrounds for the national team.

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

PAGE1ANCHOR

Former IndiacaptainPritamRaniatheracademy.Express

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

Dictatorial, norole for House:Opp says SCshould step inMANOJCGNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THEOPPOSITIONquestionedthemotiveandintentionsbehindthegovernment’s “tearinghurry” topromulgate anordinance to en-surethatDirectorsof theEDandCBI could have longer tenures,given that Parliament is sched-uledtomeet later thismonth.CongressLeaderinLokSabha

AdhirRanjanChowdhury,whoisthe oppositionmember in thecommittee that selects the CBIchief, said theordinancewasyetanother “example” of the “dicta-torialattitudeofthegovernment”.

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

NOMOREEXTENSIONSTOEDCHIEF,SCHADSAID

EDDirectorSanjayMishra’s tenureends thisweek;couldbebeneficiary

VIVEKDESHPANDENAGPUR,NOVEMBER14

MILIND TELTUMBDE, a CentralCommittee member of thebanned CPI (Maoist) organisa-tion,wasamongthe26Maoistskilled in Saturday’s encounterwith security personnel inMaharashtra’s Gadchiroli dis-trict, a seniorpoliceofficer said.Teltumbde,58,wasincharge

of the Maoist outfit’sMaharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone, po-licesaid.Hewasalsotheyoungerbrother of former IIT professor,Dalit intellectual and writer,AnandTeltumbde,whohasbeenjailed in connection with the

ElgarParishadcase.According to police, two

otherkeymembersof theoutfitwerealsokilledintheencounter.They have been identified asMaheshaliasShivajiRaojiGota,aresidentofRenadiguttavillageofEtapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli andLokesh aliasMangu Podyam, a

residentof JagargundavillageinChhattisgarh’sDantewada.Both weremembers of the

GadchirolidivisionalcommitteeofCPI (Maoist),policesaid.GotabelongedtotheKasansurdalamand carried a reward of Rs 16lakh for his capture whilePodyamwas a company com-mander andcarrieda rewardofRs20 lakh,police said.However,athirdsenioroper-

ative, identified asDandakaranya Special ZonalCommittee (DKSZC) memberPrabhakar, managed to escapeeven as his bodyguard waskilled, police said. Two body-guards of Teltumbdewere alsokilled.

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

DIRECTORS OF the CentralBureauof Investigation(CBI)andthe Enforcement Directorate(ED)maynowcontinue in theirjobsforuptofiveyearsif thegov-ernmentdesires.Two ordinances signed by

President RamNath Kovind onSundayhavevirtuallyextendedthe tenures of the chiefs of thetwoagenciesforuptofiveyears.Bothpostscurrentlyhaveafixedtenureof twoyears.The Delhi Special Police

Establishment (DSPE) Act andThe Central VigilanceCommission (CVC) Act havebeen amended to give the gov-ernment the power to keep thetwo chiefs in their posts for one

year after they have completedtheir two-year terms.Andthisone-yearextension,

the amendment says, can con-tinue to be given until the

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Top Maoist Milind Teltumbde oneof 26 killed in Gadchiroli: Police

COP26presidentAlokSharmaannouncingtheGlasgowClimatePact.Reuters

COUNTRIES AT the UnitedNations climate change summitadopted the Glasgow ClimatePact late on Saturday after Indiaand China, in a dramatic last-minute intervention, forcedthrough an amendment in thelanguagecallingforaphasingoutof coalandfossil fuelsubsidies.

The pact fell far short of theexpectations of a bold and am-bitiousagreement,butcountriesstillhaileditasanimportantstepforward in the efforts to keepglobaltemperaturesfromrisingbeyond1.5degreesCelsiusfrompre-industrial times.“It is a very small step for-

ward.Thepaceisextremelyslow.We aremoving in incheswhenweneedtogallop inmiles,” saidHarjeet Singh, a senior adviserwith Climate Action NetworkInternational, a largenetworkofenvironmentalNGOs.Hours after the final agree-

ment was adopted, sharpCONTINUEDONPAGE4

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

IN A big boost to India’s air-de-fence capabilities, Russia hasstarted delivery of the muchawaitedS-400missilesystemfordeploymentonschedulethisyear,officialsourceshaveconfirmed.Indiahadboughtthesystem

for overUS$5billion in2018, ina deal that became contentiousamid a threat of sanctions fromtheUSoncountriesengaging indefencedealswithRussia.“Russiahasstarteddelivering

the S-400 Triumf surface-to-airmissilesystemsto India, thede-liveries are going as planned,”Sputnik, the Russian news

agency, reported.“ThesuppliesoftheS-400air

defence system to India havestarted and are proceeding onschedule,” the agency quotedDmitry Shugaev, director ofRussia’s Federal Service forMilitary-TechnicalCooperation,as saying.There was no official word

from the Indian side. The deliv-ery of theweapons systemwasexpectedtobeginbeforetheendof thisyear.Thedeliveryofpartshas already begun through seaandair routes, sources said.Indiahadboughtfiveunitsof

the system in 2018, and hadmadethefirsttrancheofthepay-ment,$800million,ayear later.

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Govt brings ordinance:CBI, ED Directors canhold office up to 5 yrs

Policesaidhewas‘involvedin42encounters’

THEORDINANCEScomeata timewhenbothCBIandEDhavebeenac-cusedby theOppositionof selectivelygoingaftertheir leaders, andof be-ingalliesof theBJP. Thechanged lawopensupspace formanipulation,theysay.

‘Political’useofagenciesE●EX

PLAINED

AMITABHSINHAGLASGOW,NOVEMBER14

EXPRESSATCOP26

India, China join handsto block coal phase-outplan in Glasgow pact

COPENDSWITHSMALLGAINS

India’s air defence gets abig boost, Russia startsdelivery of S-400 missiles

Perceived tobe punitive:Madras Barprotests theCJ’s transfer

ARUNJANARDHANAN&APURVAVISHWANATHCHENNAI,NEWDELHI,NOV14

THEMADRASBarAssociationonSundaypassedaresolutionurg-ing the Supreme Court col-legium to reconsider its recom-mendation to transfer MadrasHigh Court Chief Justice SanjibBanerjee,whichitsaidwas“per-ceived tobepunitive”.“The association is deeply

concernedwith the opaquenesssurrounding the transfers ofHon’ble Mr Justice T SSivagnanam fromMadrasHighCourt to Calcutta andof Hon’bleMrChief Justice Sanjib BanerjeetoMeghalaya. The transfers areperceived to be in violation ofMemorandumof Procedure fortransfer. Such transfers are per-ceivedtobepunitiveanddoesnotaugurwellfortheindependence

CONTINUEDONPAGE4DEBRAJDEBAGARTALA,NOVEMBER14

TWO JOURNALISTS, whowerereportingontherecentcommu-nal clashes in Tripura, were de-tained on Sunday by theAssamPolice. At least two FIRs werefiled against the Delhi-basedjournalists, who have beenbooked under IPC sections re-lated to spreading communaldisharmony and criminal con-spiracy, amongothers.The journalists, SamriddhiK

Sakunia and Swarna Jha, whowere reporting for HW NewsNetwork, were detained at

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Two journalistsreporting onTripura clashesdetained

Behind Drona award, unwanted pieceof land that became hockey hotspot

SPORTS

T20WORLDCUP:AUSTRALIA BEATNEWZEALANDBY8WICKETS PAGE 17

UNION LEADER TOSENIORMAOIST P9

New Delhi

New Delhi

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

0-50 Good

ASHOKVIHARVeryPoor

0 500

352AQIPM10

SIRIFORTPoor

0 500

SHADIPURVeryPoor

0 500 500

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

IHBASPoor

0

294AQIPM10

344AQIPM10

298AQIPM10

FORECAST:Nov15Mainlyclearsky.Shallow foginthemorning.

S K Y WA T C H

MAX: 271.5°Cbelownormal

MIN:112.6°Cbelownormal

Ex-judicial officer held for cheating MPEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THE DELHI Police’s EconomicOffencesWing(EOW)arresteda61-year-old former judicialoffi-cer for allegedly cheating aMember of Parliament (MP) ofRs5crore inDelhi.Police said the accused,

VinodKumarSharma, allegedlycheated the Lok Sabha MP tobuy a property in Bijwasan in2019. The propertywas alreadymortgaged by the accused.However,hepromisedtosellthepropertytotheMPforRs5crore.TheMPwasallegedlycheatedbytheaccusedandhisassociates.Police said they had regis-

tered a case in 2019 and found

the accusedwere in a contractwith the DMRC. R K Singh, ACP(EOW),saidtheallegedpropertywas fetching rent of about of Rs8-9 lakh from the DMRC underthe leaseof contract.Singh said, “Wewere inves-

tigating the matter when wefound that the property wasmortgaged for a loan of Rs 4.12crore.Theaccusedhadliedtothe

MP and took Rs 5.5 crore. Wealso found that theaccusedhadextended the lease agreementwith the DMRC but didn’t tellthem they had already sold theproperty.”On Saturday, police arrested

one of the accused, Vinod, andsaid he is a former judicial offi-cer and lives at PanchsheelEnclave.

ThemovecomesadayafterDelhigovernmentshut itsschools foraweekowingtoseverelypollutedair.AbhinavSaha

HARYANAGOVT ISSUESORDERSFORFOURNCRDISTRICTS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGURGAON,NOVEMBER14

THE HARYANA governmentSunday ordered closure of allschools, government and pri-vate, in Gurgaon, Faridabad,SonepatandJhajjartillNovember17duetodeterioratingairqualityin districts aroundDelhi-NCR. Itbannedall typesof constructionand development activities andprohibitedstubbleburning.Italsoaskedofficestoconsiderallowingemployeestoworkfromhometoreducevehicularcongestion.Themove comes a day after

Delhi government shut itsschools for aweek owing to se-verelypollutedair.After twodays of ‘severe’ air

quality,Gurgaon’sAQIimprovedSunday with a reading of 287(poor) according to the CPCB’sAQI bulletin. Air qualitywas in‘poor’categoryinFaridabad(298)andSonepat (288)onSunday,asperthebulletin.Anorder issuedby theChief

Secretary-cum-Chairperson ofthe Haryana State ExecutiveCommittee said the guidelineswillcomeintoforcewithimme-diate effect and remain opera-tional till November 17. As pertheorder,thedirectionswereis-suedwithanaimtocurbairpol-lutioninfourdistrictsaroundtheNationalCapitalRegionofDelhi—Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepatand Jhajjar.Theordersaid,“Thereshallbe

acompletebanonalltypesofcon-structionanddevelopmentactiv-ities.Mechanisedstonecrushersandhotmix plants used in con-structionactivitiesshallbeclosed.No trash burning bymunicipalbodiesandnomanualsweepingof roadsshallbeallowed.”Itfurthersaidthatallgovern-

mentandprivateoffices aread-visedtoworkfromhome.“Withan aim to reduce 30% plying ofvehiclesonroads,whichwillim-pactvehicularemissionsandalsoreducedust intheair,allgovern-ment andprivate offices are ad-vised to do work from home.Vehicles older than 10/15 years(diesel/petrol respectively) shallbestrictlycheckedwithregardtoemissions and impounded ac-cordingly,” theorderread.Thegovernmentdirectedthe

deputycommissionersofthefourdistrictstoconstitutejointinspec-tion teams to enforce directionsandensureextensivemonitoringandactionagainstviolators.The Commission for Air

QualityManagementinNCRandAdjoiningAreas(CAQM),mean-while, convened ameeting onSunday. It advised states to beready for emergencymeasureslisted under the GradedResponse Action Plan. It askedstate governments of Haryana,RajasthanandUPtoconsiderre-strictionsandregulationssimilarto what the Delhi governmentimposed and now Haryana —namely closing schools and atemporarybanonconstruction.

Dust storm fromThar desert addedto pollution woes

Amid pollution spike, schoolsin Gurgaon shut till Nov 17

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THENORTHcivic body is star-ing at yet another strike withresident doctors of Hindu RaoHospital joining nurses for ahalf-day pen down protestagainst salary delay fromMonday, and theConfederation of MCDEmployees Union threateningto followsuit.Salaries of doctors, nurses,

and other staff of health facili-ties under theNorthMCD, in-cludingHindu Rao, have beendelayed for three months.NursesatHinduRaohavebeenon a half-day strike for aweeknow.Dr Tanuraj Tyagi, president

of the hospital’s ResidentDoctors’Association,said,“FromMonday, we will be holdingprotests from 9 am for three-and-half-hours for the nextthreedays.Oursalaryhasbeendelayed for90days.”Headdedthattheassociationwillbehold-ing talkswith doctors of otherhospitalssoontojointhestrike.Indumati Jamwal, head of

the Nurses’ WelfareAssociationatthehospital,saidthe protest will not end till apermanent solution is foundand added that staff can evengo on a complete strike. Shesaid nurses of other hospitalswill join them in the coming

days.A P Khan, convenor of the

Confederation of MCDEmployeesUnion,which is anumbrellabodyofMCDstaff,saidtokenprotestsarehappeninginhospitals and schools but “wewillsoonuniteandholdacom-binedprotest if the situation isnotresolvedinnextfewdays”.This could intensify the

healthcrisisinthecitywhichisseeingan increase in thenum-ber of dengue patients in thepast onemonth. Nine deathsandover2,700caseshavebeenreportedsofar. TheNorthMCDemploys at least 1,000 seniordoctors, 500 resident doctorsand1,500nursingofficers.The situation also led to a

political slugfest between theAAPandBJP.AAP chief spokesperson

SaurabhBharadwajsaid:“If theMCDmakesBJPleaderspayforhoardingstheyhaveputupforfree, then salary and pensionduescanbegiventoallemploy-ees.TheDelhigovernmenthaspaidtheMCDeverypennyduebut BJP drafting amassiveplottodefameit.”Delhi BJP Spokesperson

Praveen Shankar Kapoor hitback: “There is no doubt thatMCDemployeesarefacingeco-nomichardshipsduetoexces-sivedelaysintheirsalaries,butthey know the Delhi govern-ment withholdingmunicipalfunds is the reason.”

Salary protests rockNorth MCD yet again

NursesatHinduRaohospitalhavebeenonahalf-daystrike foraweek.Residentdocsareset to joinonMonday

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

DELHI’S AIR quality on Sundayimproved to the ‘verypoor’ cat-egory from severe on Saturday.The 24-hour average AQI onSundaystoodat330,against437onSaturday.The Commission for Air

Quality Management in NCRand Adjoining Areas (CAQM)held a meeting on Sunday,whereexperts said that thead-verseairquality scenario in theregionpost-Diwaliwasnot justbecauseofpaddystubbleburn-ing, vehicular pollution, post-Diwali pollution but also be-cause of a “dust stormmovingin from the South-Westerly di-rections of the Thar desert,which brought in huge quanti-ties of dust that further ampli-fiedthePM2.5/PM10levelssig-nificantly”.Duststormsoriginatingasfar

away as Iran are known to ad-versely impact Delhi’s air qual-ity, aswasseen in2017.SAFAR attributed Sunday’s

dipinpollutiontoslowtransportlevel winds from northwestIndia, whichmeans smoke andparticulate matter because offarmfiresinPunjabandHaryanawere not transported to Delhiquickly.Transportlevelwindsaredif-

ferent from local winds. Stronglocalwindshelpindispersionof

pollutants. In Delhi on Sunday,localwinds remainedcalm.According to SAFAR’s fore-

cast, if measures announced bythe Delhi government onSaturdayarefollowed,theAQIisexpected to improve to poor ormoderate category, if the shareof stubble burning does not in-crease.Sunday’s share of stubble

burninginPM2.5concentrationwaspeggedat12%.

Delhi Traffic Policesteps upmeasures tocurb pollutionThe Delhi Police, mean-

while, intensified measures todeal with the pollution crisisand said it will prosecute vehi-cles plying without pollutionundercontrol (PUC)certificates.Over 550 personnel have

beendeployedatmorethan170locationssuchaspetrolpumps,pickets, highways and mainmarkets to stop vehicles andcheck forvalidPUCcertificates.Joint Commissioner of

Police (Traffic) Manish KumarAgarwal said, “Wehad alreadystarted working on the winteraction plan in October. At 170locations, staffwill beatdiffer-entplacestocheckvehicles.Wearealsoadvisingcommuters togetPUCcertificatesat theearli-est.Wewantpeople tobreatheclean air and are working to-wards it.”

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

WhatRaviShastrihasmeant for the Indiancricket team?AsIndiabeatNamibiaat theT20WorldCup,RaviShastri’s tenureas India’sheadcoachcametoanend. Inthisepisode,wediscusshiscareer,his synergywithViratKohli, andwhathebrought totheteam.

DOWNLOADAPP

EXPLAINED: WHYARE TECHSTARTUPSGOING FOR IPOs?

Akeyreasonfor Indianfirmsgoingfor IPOsistheperceptionofalargeappetitefor investmentinIndia’stechcompaniesamongglobal institutional investors.

TECH EDUCATION

GUCCI-XBOX&META’S‘SMART’GLASSES

Fashion-techcollaborationsthatstunnedin2021

WEB

EXCLUSIVE

SCANTHISQRCODETODOWNLOADTHEAPP

ONCEWITHOUTBASICFACILITIES

Udaipurschooltransformedtorankamongworld’s top100

■VISUAL STORIES

■ DAILY BRIEFING

■ PODCASTS

■ CUSTOMIZABLENEWS EXPERIENCE

IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

Dictatorial, says OppThe three-member committee that picks

theCBIDirectorischairedbythePM.“Theydonothaveanyrespect fordemoc-

racy.Theydonotconsultanyone.Whatishap-pening?Dotheywanttocreateapolicestate?Theydowhatevertheywishsayingtheyhavethemandate,thenumbers.Theywillbringanordinance and later get it passed in Parlia-ment,”ChowdhurytoldTheIndianExpress.“Wewill, of course, raise it in Parliament,

butwe can’t domuchbecause thenumbersare heavily stacked in favour of the govern-ment,” Chowdhury said. “The courts are theonly refuge now. I appeal to the judiciary totakenoteofwhatishappening,interveneandreininthegovernment.”AskediftheCongresswouldapproachthe

court, Chowdhury said “civil society, I hope,willsurelydo”.“WhatIamsayingisthattheyare insulting and ruiningdemocracy, parlia-mentarydemocracy.”“It seems the incumbents (in theposts of

CBI and ED chiefs) suit them... lagta hai insekaambanega, unkeman-mutabik kaam insebanega (They feel these officerswill do theirbidding),”Chowdhurysaid.“Tomorrowtheywillbringanordinanceor

a bill to increase the tenure ofModiji for 10years... This canalsohappen.By2024,ModijiwillsaythatIhavelearntfromXiJinping...Iamincreasingmy tenure in the interest of thecountry and for its progress... they have be-comebahumatkebahubali(bulliesof thema-jority),”hesaid.Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha

AnandSharmasaid,“Thegovernmenthasre-peatedly transgressedparliamentaryproce-dures andprinciples and ruled throughordi-nances.Whenthesessionisabouttostart,theycouldhavewaited.Suchdecisionsandactionsshowthegovernment’sdisrespectnotonlyforthe institutionof Parliament but also for theSupremeCourt.Itisuptotheapexcourttotakenoteof thegovernment’sactions.”CPMgeneral secretary SitaramYechury

postedonTwitter:“Parliamentsessionbeginson29th.Toavoiditsscrutiny,CentreonSundaypromulgatesordinancestoextendthetenureofDirectorsofCBIandED.Thisdesperatehurrysmacksofsomethingfishy.”DerekO’Brienof theTrinamool Congress

tweeted: “Modi-Shah care twohoots aboutParliament (session starting in twoweeks)TheypromisedIndiathe‘GujaratModel’…boy,arewegetting there. Theygive awholenewmeaning to the abbreviation BS! BRAZENSHAMELESSslaughterofdemocracy.”TheCabinetCommitteeonParliamentary

Affairs has recommended that theWinterSession should start fromNovember29. Butthe President is yet to formally conveneParliament.RJDleaderManojKumarJhasaidthegov-

ernment’s “modus operandi” shouldworryeveryone.“When theParliament session is going to

startin15days,theyhavetakenthisordinanceroute.Theyaredestroyingall institutionsandinstitutionalframework.Theyhavealmostcre-ated a police state. Suchmoves bypassingParliament shall not godown inhistory verykindly. It should have come in Parliament.Otherwise,whatistheroleofParliament,whatis thevalueof Parliament?Youaremaking anewParliamentbuildingforwhat...to‘museu-mise’ thevery ideaof democracyanddemo-craticfunctioning?”hesaid.BSPMPKunwarDanishAlisaid:“Thisisun-

acceptable. They are signalling that officerswhowillbeloyaltotheestablishmentwillgetextensionafterextension...Alreadytheimpar-tialityofvariousinstitutionsisunderacloud...”

Glasgowdifferenceshadcometo the foreovera refer-ence to the phasing out of subsidies on coalandfossilfuels.India,China,andseveralotherdevelopingcountriesincludingIran,VenezuelaandCuba,objectedtothisprovisionthatcalleduponcountries toaccelerate“efforts towardsthephase-outofunabatedcoalpowerandin-efficientfossil fuelsubsidies”.Thiswasthe first timethataphase-outof

coalhadbeenexplicitlymentionedinanyde-cisionatclimatechangemeetings,anditwasseenasoneoftheprogressiveelementsoftheagreement,especiallybycivilsocietygroups.India’s EnvironmentMinisterBhupender

Yadavarguedthatdevelopingcountriesmustnotbedeniedopportunityfordevelopment.“TheUNFCCC(UNFrameworkConvention

onClimateChange)referstomitigationofGHG(greenhousegas) emissions fromall sources.UNFCCC is not directed at any particularsource... Targetinganyparticularsector isun-calledfor.Everycountrywillarriveatnetzeroemissions as per its own national circum-stances, its own strengths andweaknesses.Developingcountrieshavearighttotheir fairshareof theglobalcarbonbudgetandareen-titled to the responsible use of fossil fuelswithinthisscope,”Yadavsaidatoneof thefi-nalmeetingsinGlasgowonSaturday.“In such a situation, howcananyone ex-

pect that developing countries canmakepromises aboutphasingout fossil fuel subsi-dies?Developing countries have still to dealwiththeirdevelopmentagendasandpovertyeradication. Towards this end, subsidiespro-videmuchneeded social security and sup-port,”hesaid.YadavgavetheexampleofIndia’ssubsidyon fossil fuels,whichwashelpful forbothdevelopmentandhealth.“Wearegiving subsidies foruseof LPG to

low-incomehouseholds.Thissubsidyhasbeena great help in eliminatingbiomass burningfor cooking, and has improved health ofwomenandinreducingindoorairpollution.”

BackedbyChinaandmanyotherdeveloping countries, Indiamovedaproposal to amend this provisionto substitute theword “phase-out”with“phase-down”inthecontextofcoal, andto includearecognitionofthedifferentnationalcircumstancesofsomecountries.The final provision calledupon

countriestoescalateefforts“tophasedown unabated coal power andphaseout inefficient fossil fuel sub-sidieswhileprovidingtargetedsup-porttothepoorestandthemostvul-nerable in line with nationalcircumstances...”.Manycountriesexpressed their

disappointmentatthis“dilution”butgave their consent nonetheless,paving theway for the adoptionoftheGlasgowPactaftertwoweeksofintensenegotiations.An Indian official said it was

wrong to single out oneparticularfossil fuel.“Allfossilfuelsarebadfortheen-

vironment. Singling out coalwith-out talking about other fossil fuelslike natural gas is not the bestwayforward. But India, in the spirit ofcompromise, helped evolve lan-guagethatwasacceptabletoall.Thislanguage takes care of concerns ofmanydevelopingcountries,includ-ingIndia,”theofficialsaid.“India has alwaysmaintained

that it doesnot favour sectoral tar-gets.Wehave taken on economy-widetargets likereductioninemis-sions intensityofGDP.Thisgivesusmore flexibility tomeetmitigationtargets in linewithournationalcir-cumstances and developmentalneeds. Aone-size-fits-all approachisnotthebestwaytoevolveconsen-susonglobalissues,”theofficialsaid.While the tussle over coal

grabbedthemostattentioninthefi-nal hours of themeeting, the 26thConferenceofPartiesoftheUNFCCC,

orCOP26 for short,will alsobe rememberedfor the failure of the developed countries tomeettheir12-year-oldpromiseofmobilisingat leastUS$ 100billion in climate finance tohelp thedevelopingworlddealwith the im-pactsofclimatechange.Thismoneywassup-posed tobe raised every year from2020on-wards, but thedeadlinewaspushed to2023aheadof theGlasgowsummit.TheGlasgowClimatePact noted this fail-

ure “withdeep regret”, and asked thedevel-oped countries todeliver on thepromiseur-gently. It also initiated discussions onquantifying anewtarget for climate finance,upwards of US$ 100billion, to bemobilisedeveryyearfrom2025.Glasgowdelivered some important suc-

cesses aswell. In response to the demandsfromthedevelopingcountries,andinkeepingwiththecommitmentoftheParisAgreement,a newprocess has been initiated to define aglobalgoalonadaptation.TheParisAgreementhas a global goal onmitigation, defined intermsoftemperaturetargets.Itseekstoreducegreenhouse gas emissions in amounts suffi-cienttokeeptheriseinglobaltemperaturestowithin2degreesCelsius frompre-industrialtimes,whilepursuingefforts to limit thisun-der1.5degreesCelsius.Butasimilargoal foradaptationhasbeen

missing,primarilybecauseofdifficultiesinset-tingsuchagoal.Unlikemitigationeffortsthatbringglobalbenefits, thebenefits fromadap-tationarelocalorregional.Thereisnouniformglobal criteria againstwhich adaptation tar-getscanbesetandmeasured.

Top Maoist killed“SurrenderedNaxaliteshaveidentifiedone

ofthebodiesasthatofTeltumbde,”GadchiroliSPAnkitGoyal told The Indian Express. Goyalsaidabout100Maoistswerepresentatthesitewhentheencountertookplace,andthat300C-60commandosledbyAdditionalSPSomenMundecarriedouttheoperation.Thefourpo-licemen injured in theencounter are in “sta-ble” condition and “out of danger”, saidAdditionalSPSameerSheikh.Apartfromarmsandammunition,“about

100bagswererecoveredfromthespot”intheGyarapatti-Kotgul forest innorthGadchiroli,policesourcessaid.“Theencounterlastedover10hoursandwasoneofthebiggestandlong-estinGadchiroli’shistory,”thesourcessaid.AmongtheMaoistskilledweresixwomen.

Fourof them, and sixof themenkilled, havenotyetbeenidentified.“TheyarebelievedtobefromChhattisgarh andMadhyaPradeshandhencecouldn’tbeidentifiedbylocalNaxaliteswhohadsurrenderedearlier,”sourcessaid.Apartfrommembersof theKorchidalam,

the group also hasmembers of Company4,headed by Podyam, and those of KasansurdalamandTipagaddalam.The Gadchiroli policewere focusing on

Company4forsometimenowbecauseithadinflictedseveredamageontheirforcesin2009and2019. "In2009, Company4killed31po-licemenintwoambushesinnorthGadchiroli.In2019,theykilled15policemeninalandmineblast.Weweredeterminedtobreaktheirback,whichwewere able todoonSaturday," saidDIG(Gadchirolirange)SandipPatil.“Itwasanintelligence-basedoperation.We

hadinformationaboutthegathering.Ourmenfacedgunfire initially but retaliated success-fullywithminimaldamage,”SPGoyalsaid.The other slainMaoistswho have been

identifiedare:BandualiasDasluGota,Pramodalias Dalpat Kachlami, Kosa aliasMusakhi(Bastar, Chhattisgarh), Nero (Abujhmad,Chhattisgarh), Chetan Pada (Bastar), Kishanalias Jaiman (Darbha, Chhattisgarh), Sannualias Kowachi (Bastar), Prakash alias Sadhu

BogaandNavluramaliasDilipTulavi.

Madras Barof the judiciary,” the resolution, passed in anemergencysessionof theassociation,said.OnNovember 9, the SupremeCourt col-

legiumheaded byChief Justice of IndiaNVRamana made public that it had recom-mended the transfer of Justice Banerjee at ameetingheldon16September.In that samemeeting, the collegiumhad

also recommended transfer of Justice Sivag-nanam, the second seniormost judge of theMadrasHighCourt,totheCalcuttaHighCourt.The government notified Justice Sivag-

nanam’stransferonOctober11.AsandwhenChief JusticeBanerjee’stransfertoMeghalayaHighCourt is notified, JusticeMNBhandari,whoiscurrentlyajudgeoftheAllahabadHighCourtbutwhohasbeenrecommendedbythecollegiumforatransfertoMadrasHighCourt,will become the seniormost judge of theMadrasHC. By convention, the seniormostjudgeinanHCtakesoverasActingChiefJusticeuntilanappointmentismade.Separately, at least 31 senior advocates of

MadrasHCincludingArvindDatar,PSRaman,V Prakash, Nalini Chidambaram, and SatishParasaranhavewrittena letter requestingCJIRamanaand the collegiumto reconsider thetransferof JusticeBanerjee.The letter says that Justice Banerjee has

spent less thanayear inhisposition, andhas“dischargedhisfunctionsbothinadministra-tiveandjudicialsidetothebestofhiscapabil-itiesbringinghonourtotheofficeheheld”.Hehasbeena “goodadministrator”who

disposedofthousandsofcasesevenduringtheCovid-19pandemic,theseniorcounselwroteintheirletter.Theywere“unabletofathomthereasons for his sudden transfer to anothercourt”, theysaid.JusticeBanerjeetookchargeasChiefJustice

ofMadrasHConJanuary4thisyear.Heisdueto retire onNovember 1, 2023, as per LawMinistryrecords.Accordingtotheletter,theSChassaidinits

judgmentsthatsuchtransferswereneededtoprotect and further the “public interest”, andfor“betteradministrationofjustice”.However,theywereunable to “identify any easily dis-cerniblereasonthatcouldlendcredencetothejustificationthatthistransferhasbeenneces-sitated inpublic interest or for thebetter ad-ministrationof justice”, thecounselsaid.The senior advocates reminded the col-

legiumthat“theseconstanttransfersandpost-ingshavelefttheMadrasHCinastateofcon-stantflux”.“Suchshort-livedtenuresattheapexofthe

court’s hierarchy in a state bodes ill for thehealthof the institutionandthe justicedeliv-erysystem,”thelettersaid.“ItisadvisablethataCJ has a twoyear term inat least the largerHCslikeMadrasHCinordertoenablethemtomakeworthwhile contributions to the im-provement anddevelopment of the institu-tion,” itsaid.As Chief Justice of Madras HC, Justice

Banerjee stayed the provisions of theInformationTechnology(IntermediaryGuide-lines andDigitalMedia Ethics Code) Rules,2021,onthegroundthatitcould“robtheme-dia, both print and electronic, of their inde-pendenceandthedemocraticprinciples”.InMarch, a bench ledby JusticeBanerjee

took serious note of a plea alleging thePuducherryunitoftheBJPhadaccessedvoters’phone numbers linked to Aadhaar, and di-rectedtheElectionCommissiontofileareportonthestepstakentopreventsuchacts.JusticeBanerjeehadalsocomedownheav-

ilyontheElectionCommissionduringthesec-ondwaveofthepandemicfornottakingade-

quateprecautionsduringthestatepolls.HisobservationthatCommissionofficials

must be “booked formurder”made thepollpanelmovetheSC.WhiletheSCobservedthatHCsmustbecautious incensuringofficials, itrefusedtointerveneinthematter.

Tripura clashesNilambazaar inKarimganj district of Assam,close to the Tripura-Assamboundary,whiletheywereontheirwayfromAgartalatoSilcharbyroad.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,Padmanabh

Baruah,SP,Karimganj,Assam,saidtheywereactingonthe“request”of theTripuraPolice.“Wereceivedanofficialrequestthismorn-

ing that the twopeopleconcernedshouldbedetained in connection to a case the TripuraPolice have against them. Based on their re-quest,wehavedetainedthem,”hesaid,addingthat the Tripura Policewould arrive in theevening to take the two journalists back toTripuraforfurtherinvestigation.“AssamPolice has no case against them.

Wehavenot seizedanything fromthem,wehave just held their car back from travellingfurther to Silchar. They are currently inNilambazarPS,”hesaid.Earlier in theday, the Tripura Police filed

twoseparateFIRs—onea suomotucasefiledby the InvestigatingOfficer of a communalclashcasebeingprobedbytheKakrabanpolicestationinGomatidistrict;andtheotherregis-teredatFatikroypolicestationinUnakotidis-trict,where thecomplainant,KanchanDas, aVHPactivist,allegedthatonSaturday,thejour-nalists visited thehomesofMuslims in PaulBazaarareaofFatikroyand“deliveredinstigat-ingspeechagainstHinduandTripuraGovt”.Late Sunday, a release from the office of

TripuraPoliceDirectorGeneralVSYadavsaidapolicepartyfromDharmananagarwomen’spolice station in Tripura was reachingNilambazaar inAssamtobring thedetainedjournaliststoAgartala.The statement said that inher socialme-

dia posts, Sakunia posted a videoof her visitonNovember11 toahalf-burnedprayerhalldamaged“bymischievousfireinthehouseofoneRahamatAliofHurijala,PSKakraban... toclaimthatoneholyQuranwasburned in theincident” on thenight of October 19. “This iscontrary to the findings so far revealed incourseof investigationaspresenceofnosuchdamagedbooks/documentswas brought tothenoticeofinvestigatingofficerandfireserv-icestaffwhoextinguishedthefire,”thepolicestatementsaid.In the Fatikroy case, the journalists have

beenaskedtoappearonNovember21.One of the two journalists, Jha, told The

IndianExpressonphone,"IheardasecondFIRwasregisteredagainstusatGomatidistrictofTripura.Thelocalpoliceheredonothavefur-therdetails.Wedon’thavemuchofanideaei-ther. Formoredetails,wearewaiting for theTripuraPolicetocomehere."A statement fromHWNewsNetworkon

social media said, “HW News NetworkJournalistsSamriddhiSakuniaandSwarnaJhahavebeendetainedbyAssamPoliceon theirwaytoSilchar.AssamPolicehassaidthattheydon’thaveanycaseagainstourjournalistsbutTripuraPoliceaskedthemtodetainthem.”In tweets andvideomessagespostedon-

line, Sakunia and Jha claimed theywere inTripura for a “groundreport”on lastmonth’scommunal disturbances andhad soughtpo-lice permission aswell as protection beforetheysetoff fortheirassignment.In a videomessage Sakunia says, “I am

SamriddhiSakuniaandmycolleagueSwarnaJha iswithme.We came to Tripura for ourground report...Mosqueswere being burnt,

shopsransacked.WewenttoUnakotidistrictyesterday. We had to cover Palbazar andChowmuhani Bazar areas there.Wewent tothepolice stationearlier to seek security.Wewent to informthemthatwecame todo re-porting.WhenwewenttoPalBazarmosque,policewastherewithusduringtheentiretimewewerereportingandatChowmuhaniBazarmosquetoo. WITHTORAAGARWALA

S-400 missilesTheS-400isamongthemostadvancedair-

defencesystemsintheworld,witharangeofaround400km. It is capable of protecting itsair defence bubble against rockets,missiles,cruisemissilesandevenaircraft.ThesystemisalreadyavailablewithChina,

whichhasdeployeditalongtheLineofActualControl (LAC) ineasternLadakhamidthe18-monthmilitarystandoff.Speakingtoreporters lastmonth,Chief of

theAirForce,AirChiefMarshalVRChaudharihadsaidthatthefirstS-400unitwouldbein-ducted thisyear, asper thecontract. ThedealwithRussiahasbeena thorn in the relation-ship between India and the US as severalAmerican officials have, in veiledmessages,raised the spectre of sanctions if India goesaheadwiththepurchase. InJanuary,thethenoutgoingUSAmbassador to India KennethJusterhadraisedissuesof“interoperability”inaveiledreferencetotheS-400deal.India’sExternalAffairsMinistryhadstated

that “IndiaandtheUShaveacomprehensiveglobal strategic partnership” and that “Indiahasaspecialandprivilegedstrategicpartner-shipwithRussia”.

Hockey hotspotThree players in India’s TokyoOlympics

squad—NehaGoyal,NishaWarsiandSharmilaDevi—begantheircareersatthemodestfacil-ity inSonepat, justoff theGrandTrunkRoad.Siwach’ssonYashdeep,whotoolearnttheartfromhermother, has been selected for theJuniorWorldCup,whichwillbeheldinBhuba-neswarfromNovember24toDecember5.“Iamgettinggoosebumps.It’sbeenanun-

believable year. First, itwas theperformanceof thewomen’s teamat theOlympics, thenYashdeep’sselectionfortheJuniorWorldCupteamandnow, theDronacharyaAward,” shesays.“Toomanygoodthingsarehappeningatonetime,itwouldhavebeenniceif itcameininstallments. But asmyhusband says, this istherewardforyearsofhardwork.”The longwait is ironic, given thatmost

thingshappened“tooearly” forher. “Igot theArjunaAwardwhen Iwas very young. I gotmarriedveryearly,at23.IgavebirthtomyfirstchildwhenIwas26.Myfirst‘retirement’cameearly...”Siwach,47,says.The “first retirement” came in 2004, the

yearwhenSiwachandherhusbandhadthatdisagreementoverher idea to coachwomenplayers inHaryana. Kuldeep, Siwachadmits,hadapoint.Sonepatatthetimeonlyhadmen’shockeyandafewfromtheregionhadgoneontoplayinternationally.Her feistiness,a trait thatmadeheroneof

thebest players of her generation, prevailed.ButKuldeep insisted that she get a coachingdiploma fromtheNational Instituteof Sport,Patiala. “Ididn’t seetheneedfor it. I thought Ihadenoughknowledgehavingplayed for somanyyears.Butmyhusbandsaiditwouldbebeneficial in the long term, andhewas right.Education is crucial for both players andcoaches,”shesays.Ayearlater,Siwachmadeacomebackinto

thenational teambut thework at her acad-emy continued. Along with some of hertrainees, she raised funds to build changingroomsandtoilets,requestedpeopleinthevil-lage tosponsorawater cooler, putupa fencearound thegroundwith thehelpof local au-thoritiesandturnedtheareainto“somethingthatwouldpassoffasahockeyground”.But itwasn’t smooth sailing always. On

mostdays, theplayers themselveshad tocutthegrasstolevelthefield.Andontherareoc-casionwhenanearby sports school that hadan artificial surface allowed them to train,Siwachsaystheywouldnotprovidebasicfacil-ities likedrinkingwater “todeter them fromcomingagain”.Then,therewasthebickeringwiththedis-

trict administration. In 2006, the authoritiestriedtoconvertthegroundintoapublicpark.“For years, noone cared about theplace andafterweworked hard to set up somethingmeaningful there, theywanted to convert itinto apark.We fought a lot andasked them,‘wherewouldthegirlsplayif thisgroundwassnatchedaway fromthem?’Ultimately, theyrelented,”shesays.Help,though,pouredinfromseveralquar-

ters--family,formerteammatesandcoaches.“Iwasawaymostof thetimeandmyin-lawstookcareofboththekids.Myhusbandhelpedwithalltheoff-the-fieldthingsrequiredfortheacademyand(formercoach)MKKaushiksiroftendroppedintogiveadvice,”Siwachsays.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

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

(M): 9212665841, 9212008155

EXP E S EDU TIONR S CA

Ordinance on CBI and ED chiefsofficerscomplete fiveyearsasthechiefsoftheagencies.The CBI is governed by TheDSPEAct;

TheCVCActlaysdownthetermofofficeoftheDirectorofEnforcement.The ordinance comes days before the

extended tenure of ED Director SanjayKumarMishra isscheduledtoend.MishraissupposedtostepdownonNovember19afterthreeyears inthepost.Mishra was appointed ED chief on

November 19, 2018. Days before his fixedtwo-yeartenurewastocometoanend,thePresident,onNovember13,2020,modifiedhis previous order and grantedMishra atenure of three years. The ordinance nowopensthedoorforafurtherextensionofhistenure.In September, the SupremeCourt had

heldMishra’stenureofthreeyearstobele-gal, but had asked the government not toextenditanyfurther.Inapetitionchallengingtheextensionof

Mishra’s tenure, the court haddeclined tointerferewiththegovernment’sorder,say-

ingthattheprovisioninTheCVCAct,2003thatchiefsoftheEDshallholdofficefor“notless than two years”, could not be read tomeannotmorethantwoyears.Thebenchof Justices LNageswaraRao

andBRGavai had, however, said that “nofurtherextensionshallbegranted”toMishrabeyondNovember2021.“Weshouldmakeit clear that extensionof tenuregranted toofficerswhohaveattainedtheageofsuper-annuationshouldbedoneonly in rareandexceptionalcases,”thebenchhadsaid.Mishrareachedtheageofsuperannua-

tioninMaylastyear.Sourcessaidtheordi-nanceappearstohavebeenbroughttotideoverthedirectiveof theapexcourt. “Itwillalso give the government room to decidehowlongaCBIorEDDirectorwillcontinuebeyondhisfixedtenure,”aseniorCBIofficersaid.Sources saidevenwhile givingMishra

an extended tenure in 2020, the govern-menthadtogotheextramilelegally,sinceTheCVCActissilentonextensionoftenure.Thatiswhythegovernment,insteadofex-

tending Mishra’s tenure, had got thePresident tomodify the appointment or-der itself, thesourcessaid.The incumbent CBI Director, Subodh

Kumar Jaiswal,was appointed to the postonMay25 thisyear, andwill completehistwo-yearterminMay2023.TheordinanceissuedonSundaysaidthe

followingprovisosshallbeinsertedinsec-tion4B(1)of theDSPEAct,1946:“Providedthattheperiodforwhichthe

Director holds the office on his initial ap-pointmentmay, in public interest, on therecommendationof theCommitteeundersub-section(1)of section4A(thecommit-teeledbythePrimeMinisterandleaderofOppositionandCJIasmembers)andforthereasons to be recorded inwriting, be ex-tendedup tooneyearat a time... Providedfurther that no such extension shall begrantedafterthecompletionofaperiodoffiveyearsintotalincludingtheperiodmen-tionedintheinitialappointment.”Section 4B(1) of theAct dealswith the

fixedtwo-yeartenureof theCBIDirector.

New Delhi

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

New Delhi

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

WHILEWORKonachunkof theInternational Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre at PragatiMaidanisstillongoing,theIndiaInternational Trade Fair (IITF)kickedoffonSundayattherede-veloped parts of the ‘NewExhibitionComplex’.There are 3,000 exhibitors

fromIndiaandabroadparticipat-ing in IITF 2021which is beingheldinatotalareaof70,000sqm,almostthreetimesthespaceusedin 2019. The fairwas not held in2020duetothepandemic.Amajorityof thefair isbeing

held at the new complexwhilesmaller parts are in other areassuchashallnumber7.Foodstallshave been set up in the open.Entry for visitors is from gatenumber 4 and 10. Traders andcargovehiclesenteredthecom-plex fromspecificgates.Inside the new complex on

Sunday, stallswerebeing setupby traders at revamped exhibi-tionhalls2,3,4and5.Theysaidthere ismorewalking space forvisitorsas thehall isbigger.Atraderandcraftsmanfrom

Assam,whosellscaneandbam-boo products, said he had lastcomein2019andsetuphisstallinanopenspace.Sincetherewasno trade fair last year due toCovid,hesaidbusinesshadbeenbadly hit. He hoped the fairwouldbeginhis recovery.Similarly, for Suman Saini

(46), who is originally fromUPand has a bag business, the lasttwoyearshadbeenparticularlydifficult.Shesaid,“Eversincethe

pandemic, competition has be-comestiffer.” Likeother traders,she applied on the PragatiMaidanwebsite,hopingforboth‘business leads and sales’. Shesaid there is a selection proce-duresincenotall thosewhoap-plywill geta space toexhibit.The fair was inaugurated by

Piyush Goyal Sunday, who saidthatIITFhasreturnedafteraoneyeargapinits40theditionpow-ered by ‘Aatmanirbharta’ &‘AzadikaAmritMahotsav’.Delhi Deputy ChiefMinister

ManishSisodia inauguratedtheDelhiPavilion,whichreflectstherevamped Chandni Chowk. HesaidDelhiiswritinganewchap-ter in the progress of the coun-try through its work in educa-tion, health, public transport,industry, environmentetc.Healsoappealedtopeopleto

visit the Delhi Pavilion, whichfeatures stalls by governmentdepartmentssuchasHealth,DJB,Transport, amongothers.

The health department hassetupastallwithon-sitetestfa-cilities, tomakepeopleawareofmohalla clinics. Teams of doc-tors will be present to providebasic facilities such as bloodpressure,BMItests,bloodsugarlevels etc. Other departmentstoo showcased their recentachievements.ThefairwillgoontillOctober

27. Till November 18, the fair isintendedtoattract ‘businessvis-itors’,withachargeofRs500perperson, after which, it will beopen to the general public at anominalentrancefee.Ticketsareavailable online aswell as at 65DelhiMetrostations.When completed, the IECC

will have a convention centre,morerevampedexhibitionhalls,a basement for parking, an ad-ministrative block, 3.7 acres fora star hotel, ticketing plaza andgatehouses,andaskywalkfromPragati Maidan Metro stationamongother things.

MALLICAJOSHINEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

‘Girlsperformbetterthanboys’isalmost a staple headline at thispoint—afterall,overthepast15years, girls inDelhigovernmentschools have consistently donebetterinClassXIICBSEboardex-ams. But a closer look at datacouldthrowlightonwhatcouldbe putting boys at a disadvan-tage— attending schools in theeveningshift.Owing to shortage of land

andinfrastructure,Delhihasbothmorningandevening schools—while the former are co-educa-tional, girlsonlyorahandfulex-clusively forboys, the latter takeinonlyboysasstudents.A plan to convert 92 double

shiftschools intoasingleshift—drawnup in2019butdisruptedbythepandemic—isnowbeingimplemented, with the educa-tion department identifyingsuitable school buildings afterconstructingnewclassrooms.Out of 1,053 Delhi govern-

mentschools,297oraround30%runintheeveningshift.Thetim-ings of these schools are from1pm to 6.30 pm. Amorning shiftschoolrunsinthesamebuildingearlier in theday.

‘A historicalmistake’Databetween2010and2018

shows that the difference be-tweenpasspercentagesofmorn-ing and evening schoolswas asmuchas10percentagepoints. Itdropped to 5 percentage pointsin2019.Thenexttwoyears,2020and 2021, were an anomaly asBoardexamsweredisrupteddueto the pandemic, allowingschoolstocollateresults.Thedif-ference then reduced to around1percentagepoint.

Equally significant is thequalitativeindex(QI)—anaver-ageofmarks scoredbychildreninaparticular category.In2019(consideredbecause

itwasthelastBoardexambeforethe pandemic), the QI of morn-ing schools was 310.67. It was23.46 points lower in eveningschoolsat287.21.Between2010and2019,thedifferenceintheQIwas in the25-30point range.Withschoolshavingasignif-

icantsayinhowmuchastudentscored in the 2020 and 2021Board exams, the differenceclosed in to about 9 points,but evening schools still lagged(seebox).It’s no surprise then that

since 2010, boys’ schools haveperformedworsethangirls-onlyand co-ed schools in terms ofpasspercentageandQI score.Deputy Chief Minister

Manish Sisodia told The IndianExpress that starting eveningshiftschoolsforboyswasa“his-toricalmistake” necessitated atthetimebyaninfluxof childrenandnospace.“Alargechunkofourschools

run in evening shifts. Whatshould have been a temporary,makeshiftarrangementbecamepermanent. It isahistoricalmis-take. Having children go toschool in theevening isnot cor-rectasitgoesagainsthowthingsarounduswork. Iwouldcall it alossof childhood,”hesaid.Explainingwhy this system

putsstudentsatadisadvantage,principals say several boyswhostudyineveningschoolsenduphaving towork during the day,and since most do not haveeducated parents, their educa-tion lags.“The students do not have a

conduciveenvironmentathome.Parents cannot help themwith

studies and someof themworkduringtheday.For themtothencome to school and show gen-uineinterestbecomesverydiffi-cult. Some students overcomethese hurdles to do well, but

these are only about 10%-15%oftheschoolstrength,”saidaprin-cipalof anevening-shift school.

At a disadvantageSeveral studies have shown

that boys lag behind girls inschool—aproblemexacerbatedby evening schools in the na-tional capital.According to a study con-

ducted by researchers at MIT,

whencompared to their sisters,boys fromdisadvantaged fami-lieshavehigherratesofdiscipli-nary problems, lower achieve-ment scores, and fewer highschool completions.

“Evidence supports this is acausaleffectofthepost-natalen-vironment;familydisadvantageisunrelatedtothegendergapinneonatal health,” the paper,Family Disadvantage and theGender Gap in Behavioral andEducational Outcomes, con-cludes.Forthestudy,researcherslooked at birth certificatesmatchedtoschoolingrecordsforFlorida children born in 1992-2002andassessed if familydis-advantage disproportionatelyimpedesdevelopmentof boys.Several countries, including

Jamaica, Brazil andGhana, haveover the past decade started toconverteveningschoolsintoreg-ularshifts. InGhana,anincreaseinmarksscoredbychildrenwhowerepreviouslyineveningshiftswasobserved.The second question before

the government is if theseschools will continue to teachonlyboys.Accordingtoofficials,it isunlikely.“The idea is to convert these

schoolsintoco-ed—datashows

the best outcomes are seen insuch institutions. Studying inthese schools provides childrenwith interactions and experi-encestheywouldhaveinnormalday-to-day life. Parents need apushinthisdirectionsincesomeofthemarehesitant,butworkison to hold discussions withthem,”saidaseniorgovernmentofficial.Thatbothboysandgirlsper-

formbetterinco-edschoolswasevident in thegovernment’s re-sult analysis in 2008. The passpercentage of boys in boys’schools was 79.8%. In co-edschools, itstoodat90.9%.Thedif-ference inQIwas30points. Thepass percentage of girls in girls’schools was 88.3%, while in co-ed schools, it stood at 92.42%.TheirQIwashigherby8points.Thisdatahasnotbeenmade

available since.“Theresultsandour interac-

tionswithstudentsandteachershavemade it clear that co-edu-cational institutions are betterfor all children. We have farfewer co-ed schools as com-pared to single-gender schools,whereas the best learning out-comesareseeninco-edschools.This is abig loss,” Sisodia said.Still, thechallengetoconvert

300-odd evening schools intomorning shift boys’ schools orco-ed schools is significant. InDelhi, inter-agencydisputesandmultiplicityof resourcesmeansland isnoteasilyavailable.WhileDDAis the land-own-

ingagency,educationcomesun-der the ambit of the Delhi gov-ernment.Overthepastsevenyears,the

Delhi government has workedonbuildingnewclassroomsandbuildings at existing locationswhere landwas available. Thegovernment is now exploringthe opportunity to converteveningshiftschoolstomorningshift schools using these build-ings insomecases.A circular sent to education

officers by department officialslast week says that since con-structionof additional rooms inschools is nearing completion,schools that run both shiftsshould look at the possibility ofmerging them and running aregularmorningshift.“This is a long exercise and

will take time, but we are keenon converting themall. The de-velopment of adequate infra-structureforallschoolswilltaketime,”Sisodia said.

‘Virtual’bookfairheldforgovtschoolsNewDelhi: A first-of-its-kind “virtual”mega bookfair was organised forDelhigovernmentschools,Sunday.Thebookfair,in-augurated by EducationMinisterManish Sisodiavia video conference, en-ables schools to selectbooks for their librariesonline. Asmany as 8,000books and titles from apanelofover220publish-erswill be showcased inthe fair till December 1.“It’sforthefirsttimeinthecountrythatallschoolsofastateareparticipatinginsuchavirtualbook fair...,”a statement quotedSisodiaassaying.PTI

7arrestedformurderNew Delhi: Seven menwere arrested for al-legedly killing a 44-year-oldmanduring a fight inOuter Delhi. Police said aman, Sanjiv, was on hisbikeandhadallegedlyhitawoman and herminorson. An argument brokeout between them. Later,thewomancalledherrel-ativesandwenttoSanjiv’shouse. Police saidhewasallegedlybeingbeatenby7-8 persons when hisbrother-in-law, Manoj,cametosavehim.Theac-cused allegedly stabbedManojandfled.ENS

BRIEFLY

Nearlya thirdofDelhigovernment’sschools run ineveningshiftsandteachonlyboyswhich,goingbyhistoricaldata, leaves themata

disadvantage incomparisonto thoseinregularmorningshiftsaswellasthose inco-ed institutions.TheDelhigovernment’splantoconvertall

eveningshift schools tomorningonescouldchangethat

INGOVTSCHOOLS,ASHIFTCHANGE

AMILBHATNAGARNOIDA,NOVEMBER14

AN ANXIOUS Sanjeev Kumar(33) sat on a bench at Noida’sShilpHaat to fill out a job appli-cation on Sunday. As he wrotedownhisdetails,healsokeptaneye on the crowd to see howmanypickedup the same form.Sanjeevwas among 4,500 per-sonswhosubmittedtheirappli-cationsontheseconddayof thejobfair.Unemployedforthe lastyear after losing his job duringthe Covid lockdown, he ex-pressedhopeabouthisvisit.The2-day ‘RozgarMela’was

organisedbytheNoidaAuthorityalongwithYamunaExpresswayIndustrial Authority, GreaterNoida Industrial Authority, andindustrialassociations.Several large andmid-scale

companies such as Vivo, Oppo,Haier, industrial organisations,handloom companies, NoidaApparelCluster,andotheragen-cieshavesetupstalls toprovideemployment opportunities tolocals,saidofficials.Thefirstdaysaw 3,300 persons submittingtheir applications.Sanjeev, who hails from

Bulandshahr, said heworked asapurchasemanagerforamanu-facturing firm in Noida andearned Rs 18,000 a month.Followinglossessustainedbythecompany, hewas laid off beforeDiwalilastyear.Despite7.6yearsof experience in the industry,hehasbeenunableto finda job.“The previous company I

workedwith used to carry outmanufacturingforanelectronic

company. Many people werelaid off following Covid. I triedapplyingto5-6companiesinthelast year but there are no jobs.Most companies arenotwillingto take anyone. It is a desperatetime for us. I came to know ofthis job fair and I am tryingmyluckhereaswell,”hesaid.Sanjeevshiftedhis family to

Bulandshahr so his child couldstudy without disruptions. Inthepastyear,hereliedonearn-ingsfromhisfieldstosustainhisfamily.For Aligarh resident Rohit

Sharma(22),ajobinthecurrentscenario seems likeadream.“Due to some issuewith ex-

traleaves,Ihadtoresignfromthemanufacturingunitof aChinesemobile phone company. It hasbeenmore than 1.5 years, and Ihavenotbeenabletofindajob. Istayed at home all this while,working on the farm. I came forthis fair fromAligarh, but I don’t

thinkIwillgetajob.Everywhereyou go, they turn you away be-cause there are somany peoplefora fewjobs,”hesaid.Rohit lives with his parents

and relies on the family incomewhich comes through dairyproductsand farming.Jobseekersclaimedthatdue

totheeconomicslowdown,sev-eralcompanieshavedoneawaywith incentives.“My company makes us

work for longhourswithout in-centives. TheyhadearliermadeusresignduringCovidsotheydonothavetogiveusanyemployeebenefits. When cases camedown, theymade re-joinwithanewcontract. Since it is a toughtime, we don’t havemany op-tions,” said Jitendra (28), an op-eratorforamanufacturingcom-pany inSector63.Jitendra said he is married

butthecouplehavenochildren.After hewas laid off, hewent to

his hometown in Etah to savemoney. However, most of hissavings have been exhausted inthe lastoneyear.Also at the fair was Rohit

Kumar (23), a second-year BAstudent from Ghaziabad, whowas looking for an internship.Due to financial constraints, hesaid he has been relying on en-try-leveljobsthatpayRs10,000-Rs 12,000 amonth to fund hiseducationwhich sufferedmas-sively following thepandemic.“I used towork in the distri-

bution department of a localmedicine supplier. Iwas able topaymyfeesandalsosponsormycollege expenses. As the firstwavebegan,Iwasaskedtoleave.I have askedmany people andthere isnowork,”hesaid.Most companieswere offer-

ing operator-level jobs orworkrequiringadiplomadegree.On-the-spot registrationswere be-ing carried out and companieswill shortlist candidates as pertheir requirements. Employerswill give preference to locals ofGautamBuddhNagarandthoseassociatedwith agricultural ac-tivitiesintheregion,saidofficials.GNIDA CEO Narendra

Bhooshanvisited the job fair onSunday and stated that invest-ment worth nearly Rs 3,000crorehasbeenbroughtinthere-gion and training centres set upundertheKaushalVikasschemewill create jobs.Lastyear,theUPgovernment

launchedMissionRojgartopro-videemploymentopportunities.CMYogiAdityanathclaimed4.5lakhgovernmentjobshavebeengivensofarinthelastfouryears.

Girls Boys Co-ed Girls Boys Co-ed Girls Boys Co-ed Girls Boys Co-ed Girls Boys Co-ed

2017 2018 2019 2020** 2021**

CLASSXII BOARDRESULTSCATEGORY OF SCHOOLS Pass percentage:■ Girls ■ Boys ■ Co-ed ■ QI*

92.75%

294.41

264.74

297.72 300.06272.20

308.54 314.44289.42

320.64343.38

332.75356.94 353.22 341.97

364.52

80.90%91.82% 94.13%

84.33%93.80% 96.3% 90.58% 95.72% 98.57% 96.89% 98.07% 99.99% 99.90% 99.94%

SHIFT-WISE

Pass% QI*2010Morning 91.2% 296.29Evening 82.61% 266.232011Morning 90.87% 279.56Evening 79.03% 243.272012Morning 90.96% 274.69Evening 79.96% 241.022013Morning 92.06% 277.72Evening 80.51% 242.64

Pass% QI2014Morning 91.80% 286.11Evening 81.08% 255.092015Morning 91.14% 296.92Evening 79.86% 269.022016Morning 91.97% 293.24Evening 81.50% 267.022017Morning 91.85% 290.65Evening 79.89% 262.58

Pass% QI2018Morning 93.12% 296.59Evening 83.62% 270.502019Morning 95.55% 310.67Evening 89.69% 287.212020**Morning 98.36% 340.42Evening 96.53% 3312021**Morning 99.98% 350.31Evening 99.88% 340.18

*QI:qualitative index, anaverageof themarksscoredbyall students

**In2020,onlya fewboardexamswereheld. In2021, studentsweremarkedbyschoolsbasedontheir results in theClass10Boardexams,Class11 final exams,andClass12 internal testsandexams

6THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Outof1,053govtschools,297schoolsoraround30%(only forboys) runintheeveningshift.Archive

3,000exhibitors fromIndiaandabroadareparticipating inIITF2021.Workonthe InternationalExhibition-cum-ConventionCentre is stillongoing. PremNathPandey

Thetwo-day jobfairatShilpHaat, Sunday. Express

3,000 exhibitors, more space:IITF kicks off at Pragati Maidan

At Noida Rozgar mela, those laid offduring pandemic hope for a new start

CLASS APART

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 13,580 13,401ICU BEDS 2,792 2,755

Cases Recoveries Deaths TestsNov13 56 66 0 58,483Nov14 36 47 1 54,161Total 349* 14,14,981 25,094 3,00,84,879

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *T

otalactivecases

TOTAL CASES

14,40,424VACCINATIONS INLAST24HOURS

1,13,420

New Delhi

GOVT&POLITICS 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

Jaipur: Children took over theRajasthan Vidhan Sabha for anhouronSunday,holdingamockAssemblysessionthatcapturedthe spirit of the real thing – in-cluding the odd disruption andanOppositionwalkout.Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla

waspresentattheevent,organ-ised tomark the birth anniver-saryof JawaharlalNehru.Insteadofthe200MLAs,chil-

drentookpartinthe“specialses-sion”.Somesoughtreplies from“ministers”, and “OppositionMLAs”protestedintheWelloverdrugtrafficking. PTI

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THE PRESIDING officers of LokSabhaandRajyaSabha,aswellassenior ministers, were absentfromanofficial function to com-memorate thebirth anniversaryof India's first PrimeMinister,JawaharlalNehru,atParliament’sCentralHall, triggeringapoliticalcontroversy.“Extraordinaryscenetodayin

Parliamentatthetraditionalfunc-tiontomarkthebirthanniversaryofthosewhoseportraitsadorntheCentral Hall. Speaker Lok Sabhaabsent.ChairmanRajyaSabhaab-sent. Not a singleMinisterwaspresent.Canitgetmoreatrociousthan this?!” Congress leaderJairamRameshtweeted.“Nothingsurprisesmeanymore. This dis-pensation is destroying India’sgreat institutions, including#Parliament oneday at a time,”saidTMC leaderDerekO’Brien.Sources in the RS secretariat

saidChairmanMVenkaiahNaiduusuallydoesnotattendsuchfunc-tions at theCentralHall. Sourcesin Lok Sabha SpeakerOmBirla’sofficesaidtheSpeakerattendsthefunctioneveryyear.TheypointedoutthatBirlawaspresentin2019and 2020. In 2018, the then LSSumitraMahajan attended theevent.“But this year, the Speaker is

attending a Children’s Sessionprogramme organised by theRajasthangovernmentinthestateAssembly... Whenever theSpeaker is in Delhi, he nevermissespayingtributestothelead-ers,”saidasourceintheSpeaker’soffice.While Ramesh said not asingleministerwas present, theLS Secretariat, in a customarypress release issued,mentionedthe name of Minister of StateBhanu Pratap Singh Verma asamongthosewhopaidtributes.In2019,ParliamentaryAffairs

Minister Pralhad Joshi and thethenMinister of State PrahaladPatelhadattendedthefunction.In 2018, the then Union

MinisterVijayGoelwaspresent.In 2017, UnionMinister RajnathSinghwasamongthosewhopaidfloraltributes.

CongresschiefSoniaGandhipaystributetoJawaharlalNehruonhisbirthanniversaryatShantiVana. PremNathPandey

ATEVENTTOMARKNEHRU’SBIRTHANNIVERSARY

In mock Housesession, kidsstage walkout

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

CHIEF JUSTICE of India N VRamanaonSunday spoke abouttheroleofconstitutionalcourtsinawelfareState,andsaidit istheirability“tofunctionwithabsoluteindependence” and “necessaryboldness inthefaceof adversity”that defines the character of theIndianjudiciary.Thereisnothingmoreimpor-

tant than to “preserve, protectandpromote"theindependenceof the judiciary at all levels”, theCJIsaidinanaddressatthevale-dictory ceremony of the Pan-India Legal Awareness andOutreach Campaign by theNationalLegalServicesAuthority(NALSA) at Vigyan Bhawan inNewDelhi.The CJI told the gathering of

Chief Justices and judgesof vari-ousHighCourts that “our abilityto uphold the Constitution sus-tains our impeccable character”andthat“thereisnootherwaytoliveuptothefaithofourpeople”.“Together,wehavebeenhan-

dling the responsibilities en-trusted tousby theConstitutionwithutmost sincerity and com-mitment. The immense trust re-posedbythepublicatlargeuponthe judiciary, as a last resort ofhope, stands testimony to thisfact,”hesaid.Pointingoutthat“independ-

entIndiainheritedadeeplyfrag-mentedsociety fromitscolonialpast”, Justice Ramana said “the

stark divide between haves andhavenotsisstillareality”,and“nomatterhowmanycherisheddec-larationswe successfully arriveat,inthefaceofpoverty,inequityanddeprivations, itwillall seempointless”.“Despiteourbeingapartofa

welfare state, benefits are nottrickling down to the intendedbeneficiaries at the desired lev-els. People’s aspiration aboutleading a dignified life are oftenmet with challenges. One ofthem,primarily, beingpoverty,"he said, stressing that this iswhere theNALSA campaign as-sumesgreatsignificance.Healsospokeabouttheroleof

courtsinenablingawelfareState.“The history of this country is awitness as to how the constitu-tional courts, keeping theprinci-ples of awelfare constitution intheir heart, have strived to standup for themarginalised in thiscountry...TheIndianjudiciaryhasalwaysremainedintheforefront

in shaping thiswelfare state. Thedecisions of the constitutionalcourts of this country have en-abledsocialdemocracytothrive.”TheChief Justiceemphasised

theneedforarobustjusticedeliv-erysystematthegrassrootslevel,sayingthatonecannotimagineahealthy judiciary without it.“Therefore, nothing ismore im-portant than topreserve, protectandpromote the independenceandintegrityofthejudiciaryatalllevels,”hesaid.He underscored the need to

write judgments and orders in“simple and clear language” as“ourdecisionshaveahugesocialimpact”.UnionMinister forWomen

and Child Development SmritiIrani, secondmost senior judgeof the top court JusticeUULalit— who is also the NALSAExecutiveChairman—SC judgeAM Khanwilkar and AttorneyGeneral K K Venugopal were inattendanceat theevent.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,NOVEMBER14

THETRINAMOOLCongressonSunday shared an audio clipon socialmedia, alleging thatstate BJP president SukantaMajumdar was providingparty tickets to candidates inexchange for Rs 1 lakh for theupcomingcivicpolls.Majumdar, however, said

theallegationwasintendedtomalignBJP’s image.Intherecordingofaphone

call, an unidentified man ispurportedlyheardtalkingtoa“local BJP worker”, whosename flashes on the phonescreen as Pritam Sarkar. “TheBJPworker” purportedly tellsthe caller that he could be-comeapartycandidate inex-change forRs1 lakh.The person then says that

the poll victory for some BJPcandidateswill be ensured inarrangementwith theTMC.The Indian Express could

not verify the authenticity ofthe audio clip, posted by theTMCon itsTwitteraccount.The TMC tweeted,

“@BJP4Bengal is demanding

one lakh for each candidate.@DrSukantaBJP, is this howyou collect funds for yourpropaganda?SHOCKING!”TMCsecretarygeneraland

state Minister ParthaChatterjee also shared thevideoandsaid, “The total lackof credible faces in@BJP4Bengal ismaking themselldemocracyinBengalatthecostofRs1lakhpercandidate.Utterly shameless for a groupthat has been outrightly re-jectedinBengalandwillbere-jected timeandagain.”Speakingontheallegation,

Majumdarsaid,“HasanypartypostholderoftheBJPsaidsuchthings?Will you believe it ifsomerandompersonsaysthatSukanta Majumdar will en-sure a job forme if I give himmoney.“This is as foolish as it can

get.Andonecannotdecidethecandidature of any person intheBJP.Itisdecidedbyourcol-lective leadership. This is aplanningoftheTMCtomalignour party’s image bymakingupsuchanaudioclip.Eventheperson who is speaking as aBJP worker was earlier withtheTMC.”

After acquittal, UPex-minister D P Yadavbooked in new case

OPPOSITIONPARTYDENIESCHARGES

BJP selling ticketsfor Rs 1 lakh ahead ofcivic polls, says TMC

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

DAYS AFTER UttarakhandHigh Court acquitted formerUP minister D P Yadav in amurder case, theMoradabadpolice on Saturday registeredan FIR against him and fiveothers on charges of kidnap-ping, extortion and cheating.Former MLA Vijay Yadav isalso named as one of the ac-cused in theFIR.The case has been regis-

tered on a complaint filed byMordabad-based business-man Anil Tomar inwhich healleged that Yadav and fiveothers were involved in hiskidnappingandextortion.“ThecaseagainstDPYadav

and fiveothers, including for-mer MLA Vijay Yadav, hasbeen lodged on a court direc-tive. We are yet to record astatementof thecomplainantin the case,” said SHO (CivilLines)RPSingh.No one has been arrested

in the case so far, he added.Tomar alleged that one of theaccused,identifiedasHariOmSharmawhoworkedinhisof-ficetill2017,withdrewmoneyfrom his firm’s bank accountusing fake signatures, andhecametoknowabout it later“Tomarclaimedaftercom-

ing to know about the fraud,he decided to take actionagainst Hari Om Sharma, butsoon he started receivingthreatsaskinghimtonot takeany action against Hari OmSharma,” police said, addingthat the businessman also al-leged that bankofficialswerehand in glove with the ac-cused.Tomarinhiscomplainttold

policethatonOctober17,whenhewas passing through CivilLinesinMoradabad,miscreantsarmed with weapons kid-nappedhim, and formerMLAVijayYadavmadehimspeaktoDPYadavoverthephone.“DPYadav threatenedAnil

TomartopayRs10crorebeforeDiwali, otherwise his familywouldbekilled.Tomarallegedthatbeforereleasinghim,VijayYadav took his signature on afewblankpapersongunpoint,”addedpolice.OnWednesday, theHCac-

quittedDPYadav in the 1992murderoflegislatorMahendraSingh Bhati. Yadav was sen-tencedto life imprisonment inthecasesixyearsago.

Must preserve, protect, promoteindependence of judiciary: CJI

CJINVRamanaandJusticeUULalitgreetUnionMinisterSmriti IraniatVigyanBhawaninDelhi.PremNathPandey

Oppquestions absence ofRSChairman, LSSpeaker

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

WITHTHECongress set to raisethePegasussnoopingallegationsin Parliament again, UnionMinisterMukhtarAbbasNaqvionSundayaskedwhatisthepointofdisrupting theHouseover issuesthatare“notbasedonfacts”, andasserted that the Oppositionshouldavoid linking theupcom-ingWintersessionwithAssemblypolls.The deputy leader of Rajya

Sabha said the government isreadytodebateonallissuesonthebasisofthedecisionofthechairinLokSabhaandRajyaSabha.Naqvi also hit out at the

Congressoverdisruptionsinpre-viousparliamentarysessions,say-ing that in the last seven years,PrimeMinister NarendraModihas established that “democracydelivers”and“dynastydisturbs”.AskedaboutOppositionunity

during the last session ofParliament,hesaidtheBJPandPMModibelievethatthereshouldbea“mazboot(strong)”not“majboor(helpless)” Opposition. TheCabinetCommitteeonParliamentAffairshasrecommendedthattheWinter Sessionof Parliamentbeheld from November 29 toDecember 23, according tosources.“Tillwhenwilltheydragtheir

stories and tales about spying.There is no point of raising it.

Theseareissuesthatarenotbasedonfactsorlogic.So,ifyouwanttodisrupttheHouseoverillogicalis-sues, it isuptoyou,”theMinorityAffairsMinister said. He added,“Pegasus has been discussedmany times and theyhavebeenexposedeverytime.”Lastmonth,aftertheSupreme

Court order appointing a three-memberpanelofexpertstoprobethe Pegasus allegations, formerCongresschiefRahulGandhihadsaidthatthepartywilltrytohaveadebate inParliamenton the is-sue.If like the previous sessions,

theOpposition links the sessionwithassemblypolls, then justicewillnotbedonetoparliamentaryresponsibilities,hesaid.“What we have seen tradi-

tionally is thatOppositionraisesissues,thereisanall-partymeet-ing and there is a business advi-sorycommitteemeetingonit todecide, but unfortunately evenlast time, Parliament sessionhappenedclosetoassemblypollsandthistimealsoitiscloserto4-5 assembly polls. If we see thesession by linking it to pollswewill not be able to do justice toour parliamentary duties,” theMinistersaid.

UnionMinisterMukhtarAbbasNaqvi

No point in Oppositionraising Pegasus row inWinter Session: Naqvi

DPYadav,acquittedininamurdercaselastweek

New Delhi

8THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

THE DIRECTOR of IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT)Gandhinagar,ProfessorSudhirKJain,hasbeenappointedthenewvice-chancellor(V-C)ofBanarasHindu University (BHU) inVaranasi,UttarPradesh.InanorderdatedNovember

13 received by the registrar ofBHU, theMinistry of EducationsaidJainwasbeingappointedfora term of three years from theday he attains office, or till heturns70yearsold.Jain, 62, told The Indian

Express on Sunday evening thathewouldtrytocreateanatmos-phere of efficiency and inspira-tion at theuniversity duringhistenureasV-C.“There are some basic prin-

ciples for running any educa-tion institute. They remain thesamewhetheryourunauniver-

sity or an IIT. One of the princi-ples is that youbring top talent– high-quality students, staff,teachers.Secondisthatyougiveopportunities, funding, facilitiesand infrastructure.Third is thatyou create an atmospherewhere people are able to func-tion efficiently, people get in-spired and encourage eachother.Thescalemightbediffer-ent,but theseprinciplesarethesameateveryeducational insti-tute,” he said.Jain is a civil engineer by

qualification and has been thedirectorof IITGandhinagarsince2009. He was awarded thePadma Shri in 2020 for distin-guished service in the field ofScienceandEngineering.

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

CONGRESS GENERAL secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra visitedBahujanSamajParty(BSP)pres-identMayawatiatherresidenceinNewDelhionSunday tooffercondolencesfollowingthedeathoftheformerUttarPradeshchiefminister’s mother the day be-fore. Later on Sunday, theCongress leader hit out both attheBSPandtheSamajwadiParty(SP), claiming that unlike herpartyneitherof themwasfight-ing for the people of UttarPradesh.Dismissingtalksofanalliance

withtherivalOppositionparties,Priyanka told Congress office-bearers and workers inBulandshahr that the partywould contest every seat in theupcomingAssemblyelectionsonits own, and said itwas time for

theparty to either “door die” inUttarPradesh. Shewasaddress-ing the party’s “PratigyaSammelan-Lakshya2022”event.Targeting the rival

Oppositionparties,theCongressleader said workers of the BSPandtheSPhadfailedtoreachoutto those in need in the past twoyears, be it in Umbha, Unnao,Hathras or Lakhimpur Kheri. Incontrast,18,700Congresswork-ers, including itsstatechiefAjayKumar Lallu, had been arrestedsincetheCovid-19pandemicbe-gan for questioning the BJP-ledstategovernmentinpublicinter-est, Priyanka said. No BSP or SPleader went to jail during thistime, shesaid.This,theCongressleadersaid,

wasananswertothoseclaimingthat thepartydoesnothaveanyorganisational presence in thestate.TheyshouldbetoldthattheCongress has cadre till the nayapanchayat level, sheadded.

“NeithertheSPnortheBSPisfighting [the BJP]. Only theCongress is in this fight. Whydoesn’t the BJP attack the SP orBSP the sameway it challengesthe Congress? They launch allkinds of attacks on us. It is be-cause only Congress is fightingthe battle and not SP or BSP.When people were struggling,Congress workers were on theroad,notSPorBSP.”The Congress general secre-

taryasked if theSPandBSPhadfought for the victims in theUnnao,Hathras,andLakhimpurKheri incidents.Priyankasaiditwasthetime

of “karoyamaro [doordie]” fortheUPCongress. “TheCongressoncehadaslogan, ‘karoyamaro[do or die]’. I want to invoke itagain. This is [a]do-or-die [situ-ation]forusnowandthereisnoplace for cowardice. Above ourpersonalselves,itistimetothinkabout thecountry.

Unlike BSP and SP, Cong isfighting for people: Priyanka

LALMANIVERMALUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

UTTAR PRADESH BJP chiefSwatantraDevSinghonSundayurgedpartyworkersfromOtherBackward Class (OBC) and up-per-caste communities to havetea and lunch with Dalits, andconvince them to vote for thepartyintheupcomingAssemblyelectionsonthe issueofnation-alism.Singhmade the appeal here

at the party’s OBC SamajikPratinidhi Sammelan [SocietyRepresentativesofOBCs]andtheVaishyaVyapari Sammelan.At the second gathering, the

stateBJPchieftoldtheaudiencetohaveteawith10to100Dalitfam-iliesintheirneighbourhoodsandvillages. “...And persuade themthat voting is not done in thenameofcaste,regionandmoneybutvoting isdoneinthenameofrashtravaad[nationalism].”Earlier, at the Samajik

PratinidhiSammelanorganisedby the party’s OBC Morcha,Singh said, “I amappealingyou.You go among your communi-ties. But also have tea at leastonce in over a thousandhousesof Dalits, the exploited and thedeprived families. If you are of-feredteathere, thatmeansyourstature is okay. If he offerscashewwith tea, itmeans yourstature has grown. And if he of-fers lunchalongwithtea, thenitis confirmedthat the familyhasgotassociatedwiththeBJP.Ifyouvisit ahomefor10daysandyouare not offered tea and drivenaway,thenkeeptryingtogetteaoffered there.Youhave tovisit athousand times. Your visitswillmakethepartystrongerandyouwill alsobecomeatall leader.”

DIVYAGOYALGOPALLUDHIANA,NOVEMBER14

BOLLYWOODACTORSonuSoodSunday announced that hisyounger sister, Malvika SoodSachar,wouldmakeherpoliticaldebut by contesting the Punjabelectionsnextyear.Addressing themedia at his

residence in Moga, Sood saidthat they were yet to decidewhatpartySacharwouldcontestfromandthatitwillbe“revealedat the right time”.

The announcement ofSachar’sentryintopoliticscameafter Sood’s meeting withPunjabChiefMinister,CharanjitSingh Channi on Friday. Soodhadshotintothelimelightforhisphilanthropic work during theCovid lockdown,whenheoftenarrangedtransport formigrantstrying togethome.Sachar, who lives in Moga,

worksoneducationandhealth-care via the “Sood CharityFoundation”,which thesiblingsrun in thememory of their de-ceasedparents.

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THE CENTRE has set inmotionthe process of creating theNational Interlinking of RiversAuthority (NIRA), an independ-ent autonomous body for plan-ning, investigation, financingand the implementation of theriver interlinkingprojects in thecountry.NIRA, to be headed by a

Governmentof IndiaSecretary-rank officer,will replace the ex-isting National WaterDevelopment Agency (NWDA)andwill functionasanumbrellabodyforallriverlinkingprojects.The new body will coordinatewith neighbouring countriesand concerned states and de-partments and will also havepowers on issues related to en-vironment, wildlife and forestclearances under river linkingprojectsandtheir legal aspects.According to sources, a pro-

posalfortheconstitutionofNIRAwas deliberated in ameeting of

the Special Committee forInterlinkingofRivers,chairedbyJal Shakti Minister GajendraSinghShekhawatonFriday.Themeetingwas attended by statewater resourcesministers, sen-iorCentralofficials andexperts.Asourceprivytothedeliber-

ationssaid,“Itwasdiscussedandagreed upon in themeeting ofthe Special Committee forInterlinking of Rivers. However,theminutes of themeeting areyettobefinalised. Itmaytake3-4days.”Theministrywill soon send

a note to the Union Cabinet forapproval, the source said.“ConstitutionofNIRAthroughanotification of approval by theCabinet would be a preferredroute for its early constitution,”the source said, adding that theMinistry of Law and Justice hasalreadygivenitsgreensignalforthe establishment of the newbody.The Task Force for

InterlinkingofRivers(TFILR)hasalready deliberated on the pro-posal of the constitution of theNIRAonOctober22.

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

AT LOGGERHEADSTHERE IS no end in sight to the rancour between leaders ofWest Bengal BJP unit. On Sunday, formerMeghalaya andTripuraGovernor TathagataRoy tweakedhis Twitter profilebio, adding thewords “latelywhistleblower”, hintingmorefireworkswereontheanvil.Royhasbeenatloggerheadswithanumberofpartyleaders, includingBJP'sformerBengalchiefDilipGhosh,who isnowtheparty'snational vice-president,anditsnationalgeneralsecretaryandstatein-chargeKailashVijayavargiya. Indicating that hewas in nomood to acceptGhosh's suggestion toquit theparty,Royalsoadded“BJP” inhisbiodescription, “so thatpeopledon’t get ideas”.

NOBLE GESTUREVICE-PRESIDENT M Venkaiah Naidu’s granddaughter,Sushma,who isgettingmarriednextmonth,hasdecided tocut the cost of herwedding so that her parents and grand-parents can instead contribute Rs 50 lakh for treatment ofchildrenbelongingtotheeconomicallyweakersections,whoare suffering fromheart ailments. She announced that thechequewasgiventoHyderabad-basedHrudaya–CureaLittleHeart Foundation in the presence of UnionHomeMinisterAmit Shah at Nellore on Sunday. Shahwas on a visit as thechiefguestofthe20thanniversarycelebrationsoftheSwarnaBharatiTrust,whichisrunbyNaidu’sdaughterDeepaVenkat.Thetrustworkstowardsempowermentof ruralwomenandyouth.Shahcomplimentedthebride-to-beandherparents,HarshvardhanandRadha, for thegenerouscontribution.

UNEXPECTED PRAISEAfter the bypoll results, there have been rumours in BJP cir-cles that Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakurmay face tough questions and that the national leadershipmayconsiderachangeofguardinthestate,whereassemblyelectionsare tobeheldnextyear. ButonSunday, Thakur re-ceived some unexpected applauds. Mallika Nadda, wife ofBJP national president J P Nadda, praised the chief ministerfor hiswork in the state. During the celebrationof SwarnimHimMahotsav,ontheoccasionof50thyearof thestate’scre-ation,Mallika Nadda “lauded the sincere efforts of presentchiefminister”, saidastatementissuedbyHimachalBhavanin Delhi. Mallika, daughter of BJP veteran fromMadhyaPradesh JayashreeBanerjee, also appealed to allHimachalistouniteandwork forbuildingastrongsociety, stateandna-tion, thestatement said.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

UTTARPRADESHChiefMinisterYogi Adityanath on Sundayclaimed that ChandraguptaMaurya, who founded theMauryankingdom,haddefeatedAlexanderofMacedonia,andyethistorians did not describe himas“great”.Alexander died in 323 BC, a

few years after his Indian cam-paign. There is some debateamong historians over whenChandragupta came to power,butitisgenerallybelievedtohavebeenafterAlexander'sdeath.“History never termed

Emperor Ashoka orChandraguptaMauryagreat,butit termed Alexander, whowasdefeated by ChandraguptaMaurya, great. Historians are

silent on such issues. However,once the countrymen learn thetruth, India will change,”Adityanath said at a “SamajikPratinidhiSammelan”organisedby theBJP’sOBCMorcha.Adityanath attacked the

Samajwadi Party (SP), saying

people “bringing up Partition”were in a way supporting theTaliban.SP ally OmPrakash Rajbhar,

the chief of the SuheldevBharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP),hadonThursdayblamedtheRSSfor Partition, a day after he saidIndia would have remainedunited had Mohammad AliJinnahbeenmadethecountry’sfirstprimeminister.Lastmonth,SPchiefAkhilesh

Yadav had equated the founderof Pakistan with MahatmaGandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel andJawaharlalNehru.“Those who are speaking

about Partition are in away ex-tending support to the Taliban.Youwould have seenwhen theTaliban entered Afghanistanagain, a number of voiceswereraised in its support. Thesevoicesgotquietonlywhenstrin-

gent action was taken.Supporting the Talibanmeanssupporttoanti-humanityforcesand insult to women and chil-dren. Supporting the Talibanmeans supporting apower thatworks against Lord Buddha’smessageof ‘maitri [friendship]’.Certain people are moving inthatdirectionandweneedtobeawareof them,”thechiefminis-ter toldBJPworkers.Adityanath claimed that

Oppositionpartieslackedissues,andwere insulting Sardar Patelby supporting Jinnah. WhileSardar Patel was India’s “rash-tranayak [hero of the nation]”Jinnahwouldalwaysbea“khal-nayak [villain]”, said the chiefminister. “They support Jinnah,we support Sardar Patel,” headded, and asked the crowd iftheywould support thosewhoglorified Jinnah.

MANAMANSINGHCHHINACHANDIGARH,NOVEMBER14

A DELEGATION of Punjab BJPleaders met Prime MinisterNarendraModi inNewDelhionSunday and submitted amem-orandum requesting him to re-open the Kartarpur Corridor toPakistan.Themove has fueled specu-

lationonwhetherthecorridor’sreopening was already on thecards to coincide with GuruNanak’s birth anniversary onNovember19,withtheBJPlook-ing to takecredit for it.AmongthosewhometModi

on Sundaywere state BJPpresi-dent Ashwani Sharma, seniorleader Harjeet Singh Grewal,party’s national general secre-tary Tarun Chugh, state in-chargeDushyantGautam,partyspokesperson RP Singh, seniorleader from Amritsar RajinderMohan Singh Chhina and BJPleader from Delhi TejinderBagga.Speaking to mediapersons

after themeeting, Grewal saidthe PM has been requested toconsider the opening of theKartarpur Corridor, which hasbeen closed sinceMarch 2020due to the Covid-19 pandemic.“We are quite hopeful that thePMwill consider our requestpositively so that some goodnews comes on the birth an-niversaryofGuruNanakDev.Weareallsoldiersof thePMandweare quite sure hewill do some-thing good for the followers ofGuruNanak,”headded.Askediftheissueofthefarm-

ers’ protest had been broachedwith the PM, Grewal said thatstate BJP president AshwaniSharmawill brief the press onthesubject.Sourcessaytheissuecame up for discussion and thePMlistenedtothecommentsofthe leaderson thematter.There has beenwidespread

speculationthattheBJPmayre-solve the imbroglio over thefarmlawsbeforetheelectionsinPunjabandUPearlynextyear.BJP national general secre-

tary Tarun Chugh said the PMhadtakenseveralpro-Sikhdeci-sionsinthepastwhichincludedjustice forthe1984riotsvictimsandtakingoffnamesof individ-uals fromthe ‘black list’.Ashwani Sharma also said

that thePMhasbeen requestedto open the corridor beforeNovember 19 birth anniversaryof Guru Nanak so that lakhs ofdevoteesof theGurucould takeadvantageof it.WithPunjabheadedtopolls

inFebruary2022,thereopeningof the Kartarpur Corridor is anemotivesubjectinthestate.Thecorridor had been operationalforonlyashortdurationof timeafter its opening in November2019aspandemicstruckandallinternational travel got sus-pended.State BJP leaders also met

party national president J PNadda and are slated to meetHomeMinister Amit Shah. Theupcoming Assembly elections,state of internal affairs of thepartyonPunjabandthecontin-ued impact of farmers’ protestson theBJP’s chances in thepollsare likely tobediscussed.

BJPdelegationurgesPMtoopenKartarpurcorridor

ThePunjabBJPdelegationwithPMModionSunday.PTI

UP CM’s claim: Chandragupta defeatedAlexander, but isn’t called ‘great’

UP BJP chief toworkers: Havetea, lunch withDalits, ask themto vote for us

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,HYDERABAD,NOVEMBER14

INDIA’SDEVELOPMENT cannotbeimaginedwithoutthecrucialcontribution of the southernstates,HomeMinisterAmitShahsaidSundayasheaddressedthe29thMeeting of the SouthernZonalCouncilinTirupati,AndhraPradesh.Themeeting of the Council,

comprising Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala,Telangana, Puducherry,Lakshadweep, and AndamanandNicobarIslands,washostedby Andhra Chief Minister JaganMohan Reddy and attended byCMsandtopofficialsof states.At themeeting, Shah asked

states to speed up the pace ofseconddosevaccination.He also said the Union gov-

ernment respects local cultureand language. "TheModi gov-ernment respects all of India’s

regionallanguagesandthereforeat today’s Southern ZonalCouncil meeting, facilities fortranslation into all languages ofthe states that are in theSouthern Zonal Council havebeenmade," Shahsaid.Zonal Council meetings are

avenues to sort out issues be-tween Centre and States and

among States.MHA said 40 outof 51 pending issues were re-solved inSunday'smeeting.While the AP CM, CM of

Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai,and Chief Minister ofPuducherry N Rangaswamy,were present, Telangana, TamilNadu and Kerala had sent theirrepresentativesastheirCMshad

commitments. Andaman andNicobar lieutenant governorAdmiral DK Joshi andLakshadweeplieutenantgover-norPrafulPatel alsoattended.At the meeting, CM Reddy

sought full Central funding forPolavaramproject.HesoughtitscompletionbytheCentreinlinewith the letter and spirit of theprovisions of Andhra PradeshReorganizationAct,2014.HealsorequestedShahtoaccordSpecialCategoryStatus to thestate.TheChiefMinister saideven

aftersevenyearsofbifurcation,amajority of the commitmentsremainunfulfilled.Shah, during the meeting,

laudedthecooperationofstatesin fighting thepandemic.Healsosaid:“Theancientcul-

ture, traditionsandlanguagesofthe states of Southern India en-rich India’s culture and ancientlegacy.India’sdevelopmentcan-not be imagined without thevery important contribution ofthestatesof SouthernIndia.”

SOUTHERNZONALCOUNCIL MEET

Southern states key contributorsto country’s development: Shah

Lucknow: In a riposte to HomeMinister Amit Shah’s “JAM”salvo, Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav on Sunday saidtheBJPstandsfor“arrogance,liesand inflation”.Yadav’sresponsecameaday

after Shah's speech inAzamgarh, inwhich he termedthe Samajwadi Party (SP) as aparty that stands for “Jinnah,Azam Khan and Mukhtar(Ansari)”, giving the outfit theacronym ‘JAM’.Prime Minister Narendra

Modihasinpastused“JAM”asashorthandtopublicisehisvisionof getting a “Jan Dhan Bank ac-count,Aadhaarcardandmobilephone” to every person in thecountry.“For BJP, J stands for jhooth

(lies),Aforahankaar(arrogance)andMformahangaai(inflation),"the SP chief said at a press con-ference inKushinagar. PTI

E●EXPLAINED

Broadermandatethanexistingbody

NIRAWILLhave thepower to raise fundsandactasarepositoryof borrowed fundsormoneyreceivedonde-positor loangivenon interest. Besides, itwill alsohaveamandate tocoordinatewithneighbouringcountries “asdi-rected”by theMinistryof Jal Shaktior theMinistryofExternalAffairs. Itwill alsohave thepower tosetupaSpecialPurposeVehicle (SPV) for individual linkprojects.

Centre proposes setting up newbody for river-linking projects

HomeMinisterAmitShahat theSouthernZonalCouncilmeeting inTirupationSunday.PTI

Prof SudhirKJain

IIT Gandhinagar Directorappointed new BHU V-C

Adityanath inLucknowonSunday.PTI

BJP stands forlies, arrogance,inflation: SP chief

Sonu Sood says sister willcontest Punjab elections

Congressgeneral secretaryPriyankaGandhiVadrameetsBSPchiefMayawati toofferhercondolencesafter thedemiseofhermother.PTI

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

VIVEKDESHPANDENAGPUR,NOVEMBER14

MILINDTELTUMBDE,whowasamong the 26 Maoists killedSaturdayinanencounterwithse-curity forces inMaharashtra'sGadchiroli,wasaunion leader inthe 1980swhowent on to be-come a key operative of thebannedCPI(Maoist)organisationwitharewardofRs50lakhforhiscapture,accordingtocurrentandretiredseniorpoliceofficers.In a note on Teltumbde re-

leasedSunday,thepolicesaidthatthe58-year-oldwasallegedlyin-volvedin42incidentsofencoun-ters,sevencasesofmurderofcivil-ians,fourofmurderofpolicemen,

twoofarsonandoneofdacoity.Formanyyears,policeofficers

said,Teltumbdewasthesecretaryof Maharashtra unit of CPI(Maoist).Overthepastfewyears,hehadbeenaCentralCommitteeMemberandin-chargeoftheout-fit's Maharashtra-MadhyaPradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC)zone,theysaid.Oneoftheofficerssaidhewas

alsoaseverediabeticandsufferedfromknee pain. “Whilemovingaround in thehills of Abujhmad(in Chhattisgarh), he had to betaken on a horse as he couldn'twalkonthatterrain.Hemadesev-eralattemptstogethiskneesop-erated on but couldn't succeed.Thismaywellhavebeentherea-sonwhyhe couldn'tmanage to

escapeSaturday'sencounter,”theofficersaid.“Hewasalso active inNashik

and other places in westernMaharashtraforafewyears,”theofficersaid.Accordingtoaretiredpoliceof-

ficer, Teltumbde turned to theMaoistmovementinthe1980saf-

ter a spat with a manager ofWestern Coalfields Ltd inChandrapur,wherehewaswork-ing as a technician after his ITIcourse.Followingtheincident,hewasaccusedofattempttomurder.“Asworker,hewasactive ina

union calledAkhilMaharashtraKamgarUnion. He steadily rosethroughtheranksofCPI(Maoist),”theformerofficersaid.In 2011, Teltumbde's wife

Angelawasarrested inThaneoncharges linked to allegedMaoistactivities. Shewas later releasedonbail.Last year, Teltumbde was

named in a supplementarychargesheetfiledbytheNationalInvestigationAgency in theElgarParishadcaseasanaccusedalong

with sevenothers, includinghiselderbrotherandformer IITpro-fessorAnandTeltumbde.Referring to Milind

Teltumbde's alleged role in theElgarParishadincidentthreeyearsagoinBhima-KoregaonnearPune,anotherofficerdescribedhimasthe “main financier of the pro-gramme”.Theofficerclaimedthat“hiscommunicationswiththeor-ganisers under the nicknameDeepakarepartofpolicerecords".According to the retired offi-

cer, in the 1980s, MilindTeltumbdewas part of the thenPeople'sWarGroup(PWG)ledbyKondapalliSitaramayya.“Butdueto some serious differences, theentire Maharashtra unit wasthrown out of the party by

Sitaramayya.Teltumbdeandoth-ers thenformedaseparateoutfitcalledMaharashtra PWGbut hewaslatertakenbackintothefoldin1992,”theformerofficersaid.The police release onMilind

Teltumbdealsoliststhree“impor-tantincidents”--allinGadchiroli.Theyincludeablast“triggeredbyNaxalites” that killed 15 police-menatJambhulkhedavillageMay1, 2019, and an encounter inKoparshi on May 17, 2020, inwhichtwopolicepersonnelwerekilled.Listing the third incident, the

release said: “On13/11/2021, hehas beenkilled in the encounter(that) tookplacebetweenpoliceandtheNaxalitesintheforestsofMardintola...”

From union leader to senior Maoist operative

MilindTeltumbde

Bihar: Burnt body ofRTI activist found,family claims murder

CHURACHANDPURATTACK

Manipur CM pays tributeto victims of ambush

Forwarded Jhiram Valleyreport to govt, didn’t readit: Chhattisgarh Governor

ManipurCMNBirenSinghhascalled for theperpetrators tobearrestedandpunishedasper theruleof law. PTI

JIMMYLEIVONIMPHAL,NOVEMBER14

MANIPUR CHIEF Minister NBiren Singh on Sunday paidhomage to the victims of theChurachandpur ambush, a dayafter an Assam RiflesCommanding Officer, his wifeand their five-year-old son, andfourotherpersonnelwerekilledbymilitants.46AssamRiflesCOColViplav

Tripathi, his family and fourQuickReactionTeampersonnelwere killed in an ambush onSaturdayatChurachandpurdis-

trict’s Behiang village, near theIndia-Myanmarborder.The banned People’s

Liberation ArmyManipur andManipur Naga People’s Front(MNPF) have claimed responsi-bility for theattack.OnSunday,Singhledtoppo-

lice and paramilitary officers inlayingwreaths at the bodies ofthevictimsattheBirTikendrajitInternational Airport. The CMstrongly condemned the attackand said he has instructed thestate Home Department andparamilitaryforcestoarrestandpunish the perpetrators as perthe ruleof law.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPATNA,NOVEMBER14

THE BURNT body of a 23-year-oldRTIactivistandlocaljournal-ist was found in Benipatti townofMadhubani district on Fridaynight,policesaidSunday,addingthat his family members havelodged a complaint alleging hewasmurdered.Policeidentifiedthedeceased

asBuddhinathJha,aliasAvinashJha,andsaidhewasmissingfromhisresidencesinceNovember9.According to sources, the post-mortemreportsuggestedhewasfirst strangulated and his bodywassetonfire later.Buddhinath's brother,

Chandrashekhar Kumar, wholodgedanFIRinBenipattipolicestationonNovember11,named10 nursing homes in his com-plaint suspecting their involve-ment due to his brother'swork.Police had lodged case of kid-napping and criminal conspir-acy, which is now converted tokidnapping,criminalconspiracyandmurder.Kumar told The Indian

Express:“MybrotherBuddhinath

usedtorunanursinghomethreeyears ago. He had to close hisnursing home because of pres-surefromlocaldoctorsandnurs-ing home owners. He startedrunningalocalnewsportalcalledBNNnewsandalsostartedfilingRTI applications. In the past,some19clinicshadtofaceactionbecauseofhisRTIqueries.”Benipatti SDPOArunKumar

SinghtoldreportersthepolicehaddetainedsomepeopleassociatedwithnursinghomesnamedintheFIR. “Ten nursing homes arenamed.We are quizzing them.We are also waiting for post-mortemreport,”hesaid.Kumar saidBuddhinathhad

announcedthathewouldreporton more nursing homes onNovember15.AskedifBuddhinathtargeted

other clinics because he closedhis own nursing home, Kumarsaid: “Buddinath had been stillrunningalabandchildcarecen-tre. But hewas nowmore of anRTI activist and reporter whowouldexposedishonestyinpri-vate sector heathcare.” He fur-ther alleged that the police hadnotbeentakingadequateactionin thematter.

JAYPRAKASHSNAIDUAMRAVATI,NOVEMBER14

SHOPSOWNEDby theminorityMuslim community were tar-geted for arson anddestructionduring abandh calledby theBJPin this city, 150kmfromNagpur,officialstoldTheIndianExpress.InKotwaliarea,wherethevi-

olence tookplace, police officialssaidtheywereoutnumberedbyamassive gathering of activists ofthe BJP, Bajrang Dal, VHP andMaharashtraNavnirmanSena.“They gathered at Rajkamal

Chowk. A section of this crowdturnedviolent, burnt two shops,damagedsomeothershops,burntvehicles.Almostallthevictimsarefromtheminoritycommunity. Itappears that the violence hadbeenplannedadayinadvanceinretaliation for the violence onFriday by somemembers of theminoritycommunity,” saidapo-liceofficial.On Friday, amassive protest

marchcalledbyRazaAcademy,aMuslimorganisation,against theanti-Muslimviolence in Tripura,hadpassed through theKotwaliarea and stoneswere thrownatthehouseoflocalBJPleaderPravin

Pote,breakingawindow.Oneper-sonwasinjuredinthestone-pelt-ing elsewhere. By police esti-mates, some 25,000 peopleparticipatedinthisprotest.The BJP called Saturday’s

bandhinresponse,and,accordingto local police estimates, around6,000workersofthepartyandal-liedorganisationscameouttoen-force the closure,which iswhenthe violence erupted. Potewasseen in avideourgingBJPwork-erstogatheratRajkamalChowk.He also instructed that there

shouldbenoviolence.In all, the police have regis-

tered 26 FIRs, 15 of them forSaturday’s violence and 11 forFriday’s incidents, at variouspo-licestationsacrossthecity,andar-rested60people.“Allthoseinvolvedhavebeen

booked for both Friday’s andSaturday'sviolence,”aseniorpo-liceofficial inAmravatisaid.A senior police official in

Mumbaisaidtheforcewastakenby surprise by theviolence. “Butwearesendingoutastrongmes-

sage that this cannot happenagain,”hesaid.Several top police officers

were senthere fromMumbaionSaturday as the situation threat-enedtospinoutofcontrol.Despitetheheavypolicepres-

ence,therewereminorclashesonSaturdaynight too between thetwocommunitiesnearKholapurigate, where stone-pelting tookplace.ButSunday, the firstdayofcurfewand Internet suspensioninAmravati city, passedwithoutincidents.“The situation is completely

undercontrol.Wetookouta flagmarchonSundayinthecity,”saidRajender Singh, additional DGP,law and order, who was inAmravatitotakestockofthesitu-ation.TheKotwaliarea,wherethearson andattacks on shops tookplace, isbeingheavilypoliced.This is the first incident of

communal violence in recentmemory in Amravati. “The lasttime aminor violencewaswit-nessed in Namuna was in the1990s,” said Asif Khan, 54,whoruns an automobile repair busi-ness and has been born andbroughtuphere.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Security forces inAmravationSaturday.Express

Minority-ownedshops targetedinAmravati bandh,60held: cops

Bilaspur: Amid a row over thesubmissionofajudicialcommis-sion's reportonthe2013JhiramValley Maoist attack to her,ChhattisgarhGovernorAnusuiyaUikey on Sunday said the panelshould be askedwhy it gave itsfindings toher.Talkingtoreportershere,the

Governorsaidshehadacceptedthereportas itwashandedoverto her, and after taking a legalopinion itwas forwarded to thestategovernment.“Ifanyjudicialreportisbeing

giventotheGovernor,thenthereis no issue in it. I haven't gone

through the report as it is in tenvolumes and runs into 4,184pages. Fromme, the reportwasdirectly forwarded to the stategovernment but how it wasleaked (as alleged by Congress),you only tell...,” she said, whenaskedabouttherulingCongress’sobjectionoverthesubmissionofthe report toher rather than thestategovernment.“..If the report was given to

me, should I not consult a legaladvisor on this?... After theiropinion, I forwarded the reportto the state government,” sheadded. PTI

New Delhi

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

HOLES IN METAVERSEFacebookpapersrevealcompany’sdisregardforsocialconsequencesofmisinformationinnon-Westernmarkets

THEDOCUMENTSABOUT the internal functioning of Facebook, nowMeta,from the cache accessed bywhistleblower FrancesHaugen, submitted totheUS Congress and examined by The Indian Express, outline two sets ofvoiceswithin the company. Onone side, are staffmemos and internal re-portsthatflagissuessuchasmisinformation,particularlyaboutminorities,

by politicians during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign, hate speech, andposts thatcouldbeseenasincitementstoviolence.Ontheotherside, isMeta’s leadershipseeminglyeitherbrushingtheseconcernsasideorinsistingthatithasdoneenoughtodealwiththem.Giventheclearsocialandpoliticalharmcausedthroughand,perhaps,byMetaanditsprod-ucts, it isunfortunatethattheleadershipseemstowinthedaymoreoftenthannot.Between2018and2020,staffmemoshighlighteda“constantbarrageofnationalisticcon-

tent”, “misinformation” and content denigratingminorities in India. InWest Bengal, asmanyas40percentofpostsactuallyviewedbyuserswerefoundtobe“inauthentic”.AfterthePulwamaterrorattack inFebruary2019,atestaccount(whichfollowednopages,hadno “friends”)was inundatedwith content aroundnationalismand themilitary. Yet, a re-viewmeetingwithChrisCox,thenvicepresident,Facebook,concludedinessencethattherewasnoreasontoworry.However,asrecentlyasthe2021Assamassemblyelectioncampaign,HimantaBiswaSarma—whosubsequentlybecamechiefminister—wasflaggedforbeinginvolvedinspreadingrumoursabout“MuslimspursuingbiologicalattacksagainstAssamesepeoplebyusingchemicalfertiliserstoproduceliver,kidneyandheartdiseaseinAssamese”.Heishardlytheonlypoliticianorpoliticaloutfittobemarkedforsuchbehaviour:AccountslinkedtotheBJP,RSSandTrinamoolCongress tooweresimilarly flagged.Yet, ashatecon-tentspikedinIndia,Metashrunkthebudgetfor itsreviewteam.Ahostoftechnical,managerialandpoliticalreasonscanaccountfortheegregiousinac-

tioninFacebook'sbiggestmarket:ThecompanylacksthecapacityorhasnotinvestedinAIandmanpowertotacklemisinformationin“vernacular”languages;Metacontinuestotakeits ethical responsibility inWesternmarketsmore seriously; India lacks both the regula-tionandpoliticalwilltoclampdownonpolarisingandfalsepoliticalspeech.However,thefundamentalproblemhighlightedbyHaugen’srevelationsisthatMetacontinuestoseeitsprimemandateasmaximisingviewsandscreentime.Forit,concernforthesocialandpo-litical consequencesof thisdrive seemssecondary.Meta'sAIneeds to factor inethics andsocial impact in its operations. Having said that, amature constitutional democracy can-notmerelyplace theblamefor theerosion in thestandardsof itspolitical andpublic con-versationonthealgorithmsofamultinationalcompany.Politicalparties,so-calledculturalorganisations, and thosewhoseekandholdconstitutionalofficemustnotuse socialme-diaplatformsforpoliticalgainthroughpolarisation,because it takesa largertoll.Aheadofacrucialroundofassemblyelections, this isanimportantnoteof caution.

HEAVY WEATHERCOP26completedsomeunfinishedtasks.But it failed tosecure fundingcommitments fromdevelopedcountries

AFTERTHEDEBACLE at COP25 inMadrid in 2019, questionswere askedabout the relevanceof theUNFCCC’sprocesses. TheUNclimateagencyhasmanagedtoredeemitselfsomewhatatCOP26.Theconference,whichconcludedinGlasgowonNovember13,resolvedthelong-pendingissueofcarbonmarketsthathadheldbackthefinalisationof rulesfortheim-

plementationoftheParisPact.InamajorconcessiontoIndia,ChinaandBrazil,theGlasgowAccordallows countries to carry forward theKyotoProtocol’s carboncredits earnedafter2012.Atwo-yearprogrammetodefineaglobalgoal foradaptationtoclimatechangecar-ries thepotential to removeanother stickingpointof theParisAccord—framinguniformcriteria for adaptation initiatives is difficult because their benefits are local, unlike globalwarmingmitigationefforts thatcanbringuniversalbenefits.But thedealhasprecious lit-tle for vulnerable nations desperate for funding todealwith climate vagaries. Developedcountrieshavedefaultedonthe2020deadline,setin2009,todeliver$100billionannuallyinclimatefinance.TheGlasgowDeclaration’smildadmonitionthatonly“urgesdevelopedcountrypartiestourgentlyandsignificantlyscaleuptheirprovisionofclimatefinance”leftthevulnerablecountriesandemergingeconomiesdisappointed.COP26stretchedintoextratimebecauseIndia,China,Iran,VenezuelaandCubarejected

aclauseaskingfor“phasing-outunabatedcoalpowerandinefficientfossil fuelsubsidies”.ThefinaldeclarationcarriesanamendmentmovedbyIndia,andbackedbyChina,inwhichthephrase,“phasing-out”isreplacedby“phased-down”.This“dilution”disappointedsev-eralcountries,buttheygavetheirassent,nonetheless,signalingDelhi’sgrowingheftincli-matediplomacy.AtGlasgow,Indiaupscaleditsrenewableenergy(RE)ambitions,pledgedtoreducethecarbonintensityof itseconomyby2030andannouncedthat itwillbeanet-zeroemissionseconomyby2070.Delhialsotookasteptowardsbuildingbridgeswithcli-mate-vulnerablecountriesbylaunchingTheOneSun,OneWorldGrid—thefirst interna-tionalnetworkof solarpowergrids.Delhiwould,however,dowelltoreadthelast-minutechangeintheGlasgowDeclaration’s

languageasareprieve.If thehistoryofclimatenegotiationsisanythingtogoby,pressureonIndiatocutdownfossiluseis likelytomount.Thecountry’sREprojectionsarebasedonin-stalledcapacity—meetingtheenergyneedsofpeoplethroughrenewableswillrequiretech-nologicalupscalingandadministrativereforms.Whilesteppingupeffortstomeetthesechal-lenges, Indiamustcontinuetopress thedevelopedcountries tomeet theirclimate financecommitmentsandresistpressuretocutdownitsowndevelopmental imperatives.

Why Glasgow disappoints

Shyam Saran

IntheClimatePact, thereismoreambitiontotackleclimatechangebutlittle intermsofconcreteaction

THEGLASGOWCLIMATE Pactwas adoptedonSaturdayand,aswastobeexpected, it isamixedbagofmodestachievementsanddis-appointed expectations. The achievementsincludeatacitconsensusonatargetofkeep-ing global temperature rise down to 1.5 de-greesCelsiuswiththeParisAgreementtargetof 2 degrees being no longer appropriate tothe scale of the climate emergency. The no-tional targetof 2degreesremainsbut the in-ternationaldiscourseisnowfirmlyanchoredinthemoreambitioustargetandthisisaplus.ThePactisthefirstclearrecognitionofthe

need to transition away from fossil fuels,thoughthefocuswasongivingupcoal-basedpower altogether. The focus on coal has thedownsideofnotaddressingother fossil fuelslike oil and gas but a small window hasopened. The original draft had contained apledge to "phase out" coal. India introducedanamendmentatthelastmomenttoreplacethisphrasewith"phasedown"andthisplayednegativelywithboththeadvancedaswellasalargeconstituencyofdevelopingcountries.This was one big "disappointment”. Thisamendment reportedly came as a result ofconsultationsamongIndia,China,theUKandtheUS. The phrase "phase down" figures inthe US-China Joint Declaration on ClimateChange, announcedonNovember10.As thelargest producer and consumer of coal andcoal-based thermal power, it is understand-ablethatChinawouldpreferagradualreduc-tion rather than total elimination. Indiamayhavehadsimilarconcerns.However,itwasin-eptdiplomacy for India tomove theamend-ment and carry the can rather than let theChinesebellthecat.Thestigmawillstickandwasunnecessary.Thereisawelcomerecognitionoftheim-

portanceofAdaptationandthereisacommit-ment todouble thecurrent financeavailablefor this to developing countries. Since thisamountiscurrentlyonly$15billion,doublingwillmean$30billion.Thisremainsgrosslyin-adequate.AccordingtoUNEP,adaptationcostsfor developing countries are currently esti-matedat$70billionannuallyandwill rise toan estimated $130-300 billion annually by2030.Astartisbeingmadeinformulatinganadaptationplanandthisputstheissuefirmlyon the Climate agenda, balancing the over-whelmingfocushithertoonmitigation.On the critical issueof finance, therewas

littletocheerabout.TheParisAgreementtar-getof$100billionperannumbetween2005-2020wasnevermetwith theshortfall being

more than half, according to some calcula-tions. There is nowa renewed commitmenttodeliveringonthispledgeinthe2020-2025periodandthereisapromiseofanenhancedflowthereafter.Butinapost-pandemicglobaleconomic slowdown, it is unlikely thesepromiseswill bemet. In any event, it is un-likely that Indiawill get even a small slice ofthe pie. As long as ambitious targets are notmatchedbyadequatefinancing, theywillre-mainephemeral.Thesameappliestotheissueofcompen-

sation for loss and damage for developingcountrieswhohavesufferedasaresultofcli-matechangeforwhichtheyhavenotbeenre-sponsible.Thisisnowpartof themultilateraldiscourseandtheUShasagreedthatitshouldbeexaminedinworkinggroups.Thatisastepforward but is unlikely to translate into ameaningful flowof fundsanytimesoon.Two important plurilateral outcomes

couldpotentiallydevelopintomoresubstan-tialmeasures.Themostimportantisanagree-ment among 100 countries to cutmethaneemissionsby30percentby2030.Indiaisnota part of this group.Methane is a significantgreenhousegaswithamuchhighertemper-ature forcing quality than carbon—28 to 34timesmore—butstaysintheatmospherefora shorter duration. Cuttingmethane emis-sions,whichisgeneratedmainlybylivestock,is certainlyuseful but there is amuchbiggermethaneemergencyaroundthecornerastheearth'spermafrostareasinSiberia,Greenlandand the Arctic littoral begin tomelt due toglobalwarming thathasalready takenplaceandwillcontinuetotakeplaceinthecomingyears. There arewarnings that as the per-mafrostmelts huge volumes of carbon andmethanewouldbegeneratedbytheplantandanimalmaterial that has lain trappedundertheice.Anothergroupof100countrieshasagreed

to begin to reverse deforestation by 2030.SincethegroupincludesBrazilandIndonesia,whichhave largeareasof forests thatarebe-ingravagedbylegalandillegal logging, thereishopethattherewillbeprogressinexpand-ing one of themost important carbon sinkson the planet. However, Brazil has subse-quentlyclarifiedthatitscommitmentonlyap-plies to illegal logging. India did not join thegroupduetoconcernsoveraclauseonpossi-bletrademeasuresrelatedtoforestproducts.Going beyond theGlasgow summit and

climate change, a noteworthydevelopmentwas the US-China Joint Declaration on

Climate Change. This was a departure forChina,whichhadheld thatbilateral cooper-ation on climate change could not be insu-latedfromotheraspectsoftheirrelations.TheNovember 10 declaration implies a shift inChina'shardlinepositionbutthismaybere-latedtocreatingafavourablebackdroptotheforthcoming Biden-Xi virtual summit onNovember 15. US Climate Envoy JohnKerryandChina'sseasonedclimatenegotiator,XieZhenhua, were seen consultingwith eachother frequentlyon thesidelinesof thecon-ference. It appears both countries aremov-ing towards a less confrontational,more co-operativerelationshipoverall. Thiswillhavegeopoliticalimplications,includingforIndia,which may find its room for manoeuvreshrinking.PrimeMinisterNarendraModihadtaken

centrestageatGlasgowduringitsearlyhigh-level segment thanks to the absence of XiJinping. His commitment to achieving net-zero carbon by 2070 compared favourablywith China's target date of 2060. His an-nouncementsofenhancedtargetsforrenew-able energywere alsowelcomed.However,thefavourableimageworethinbytheendoftheconferencewithIndiadecliningtojointheinitiatives onmethane and deforestation.India's ill-considered amendment on thephasingoutofcoalpushedthepositivesof itspositionoff theradar.Howshouldoneassess theGlasgowout-

come? There ismore ambition in the intentto tackle climate changebut little to show interms of concrete actions. These have beendeferred to future deliberations. EnhancedNationallyDeterminedContributions(NDCs)are expected to be announced at ameetingnext year and further deliberations areplanned on the other pledges related toAdaptationandFinance.Therearenocompli-anceprocedures, only “nameand shame” toencouragedeliveryontargets.As in thepast,the can has been kicked down the road, ex-ceptthattheclimateroadisfastapproachingadead-end.Whatprovidesaglimmeroflightis the incredible andpassionate advocacy ofurgent action by young people across theworld. This isputtingenormouspressureongovernments and leaders and if sustained,maybecomeirresistible.

Thewriter isa formerForeignSecretaryandSeniorFellow,CPR.HewasPM'sSpecial

SpecialEnvoyandIndia'sChiefNegotiator forClimateChange2007-10

Prime Minister NarendraModi had taken centrestageat Glasgow during its earlyhigh-level segment thanks tothe absence of Xi Jinping.His commitment toachieving net-zero carbon by2070 compared favourablywith China's target date of2060. His announcements ofenhanced targets forrenewable energy were alsowelcomed. However, thefavourable image wore thinby the end of the conferencewith India declining to jointhe initiatives on methaneand deforestation. India’s ill-considered amendment onthe phasing out of coalpushed the positives of itsposition off the radar.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

WORDLYWISEMenargue.Natureacts.

— VOLTAIRETHEEDITORIALPAGE

Freeze Frame E P Unny

RajeshRajamani

AN AMBEDKARITE STORYByupholdinghopeembodied inConstitution, ‘JaiBhim’ frameshisprinciples

THASEGNANAVEL’S Tamil film Jai Bhimhasnotonlybeenwell-receivedbythepublicandcritics,buthasalsobeenapplaudedbypoliti-calactivistsinTamilNadu.Ithasbeenpraisedfor drawing attention to the lives and strug-gles of the Irulas, a Scheduled Tribewhosepopulationinthestateisjustaroundtwolakh.Based on a real life case from1993, han-

dled by formerMadras High Court judge KChandru,whowasthenalawyer,thefilmnar-rates the story of the custodial death ofRajakannu, an Irulaman, andhiswife’s fightfor justice.While the importanceof the film’s social

commentaryhasbeenacknowledged,itspro-longedanddetailedtorturesceneshavebeenquestioned on ethical andmoral grounds astheyareseenascompromisingthedignityoftheverypeopleforwhomthefilmattemptstospeakup.Additionally,namingthe filmaftertheAmbedkarite slogan “Jai Bhim”hasbeencriticisedinseveralquartersasthestoryseemstohavebeenpredominantlytoldfromacom-munistperspective.Infact,asuperficiallookatthefilmandits

promotionalmaterialdoesmakeonewonderaboutthechoiceoftitle.Thefilmisfilledwithimagesoftheredcommunistflagandphotosof KarlMarxandbustsof VladimirLeninap-

pear during several keymoments. Inducingmoredoubt is the fact that the imagesof BRAmbedkarappearonlyafewtimesinthefilm.Further,KChandruishimselfaformermem-beroftheCPM.TherapidcommodificationofAmbedkarite anti-caste politics in pop-cul-ture, particularly since the demise of RohithVemula,hasadditionallymadeseveralcriticsscepticalof thechoiceof title.However, ifwe ignore thevisual imagery

of the film and focus on its core narrative,whichisaboutawomanfromamarginalisedandvulnerablecommunityaccessingjusticethroughconstitutionalmeans,wecanseethatJaiBhim isessentiallyanAmbedkaritefilm.In his last speech to the Constituent

AssemblyonNovember25,1949,Ambedkarsaidthatinordertomaintaindemocracy,notonlyinformbutalsoinfact, it is importanttohold fast to constitutionalmethods in ourstruggle to achieve our social and economicobjectives.Hearguedthatwhentherewasnoway left for constitutionalmethods to pro-ceed,therewasagreatdealofjustificationforunconstitutionalmethods.Butwhereconsti-tutionalmethods are open, there can be nojustificationforunconstitutionalmethods.Hecalled these unconstitutionalmethods the“grammar of anarchy” and insisted that

soonertheyareabandoned,thebetter forus.Whilemost anti-caste films, particularly

in Tamil, have focussed on theAmbedkariteprinciplesofsocialtransformation—educate,agitate,organise—theimportanceof relyingonconstitutionalmethodshasremainedun-touched.ItisinthisaspectthatGnanavel’sfilmstandsout.Atnopointdoesthefilmoranyofitscharactersromanticiseorresorttouncon-stitutionalmethodsinseekingjustice.Evenamongoppressedgroups,thosewith

a sizeable population have the advantage oforganising themselves and pressurising thestatefortheirrightsorjustice.However,inthecase of groupswhose population isminus-cule,aswiththeIrulas,eventhisoptionisnotavailable.ItisonlytheConstitutionanditspro-visionsthatcansafeguardtheirrights.Bynarratingthestoryofoneofthelongest

habeas corpuspetitions in the history of theMadrasHighCourt, the film firmly reiteratesthe hope that the Constitution offers to themostoppressed,vulnerableandmarginalised.ByadheringcloselytothewordsofAmbedkar,thefilm’scorenarrativebecomesundoubtedlyAmbedkariteinnature.Andtherecannotbeamoreappropriatetitleforitthan JaiBhim.

Thewriter isaChennai-basedfilmmaker

While most anti-caste films,particularly in Tamil, havefocussed on theAmbedkarite principles ofsocial transformation —educate, agitate, organise —the importance of relying onconstitutional methods hasremained untouched. It is inthis aspect that Gnanavel’sfilm stands out. At no pointdoes the film or any of itscharacters romanticise orresort to unconstitutionalmethods in seeking justice.

REPOLL CANCELLEDTHE CHIEF ELECTION Commissioner S LShakdherorderedthecancellationof there-poll in the Garhwal parliamentary con-stituency, scheduled for November 22. Theordercameinthewakeof theUttarPradeshgovernment’s plea that itwould not be in apositiontoholdandpeacefulre-pollbecauseof the strike by jail employees and otherthreatenedagitations.While Shakdher saidhewas satisfied by the arguments put for-ward by the state government, theOpposition candidate H N Bahuguna saidthattheCEChadbeenledupthegardenpath.TheElectionCommissionhadfaileditscon-stitutionaldutyandsuccumbedtothepres-

sureoftherulingparty,healleged.Leadersofthe Opposition partieswill meet PresidentNSanjivaReddytoprotestagainsttheorder.

RESIGNATION IN KERALAMGOPALAMENON, adviser to the Keralagovernorhasresigned.Menon,formerKeralachiefsecretary,hadassumedchargeasoneofthe three advisers to the Governor onNovember5.Butheneverattendedthesec-retariat. The resignationcameafter awran-gleoverquestionsofseniorityandallocationof portfolios to the three advisers. Menonwantedtoberankedseniortotheothertwoadvisers.Hewasalsonothappywiththede-

partmentsallotted tohim.

TARAPUR IMPASSEWITH THREE SHIPMENTS of fuel fromTarapuroverdueandnoprogressinthetalkswithWashington, India’s Atomic Chief HNSethnaandtheExternalAffairsSecretaryEricGonsalvestoldreporters,“Wedonotproposetodivulgewhatwearegoingtoreportbacktothegovernmentatthisstage”.ButSethnasaidthatIndiawasreadytodowithamixedoxideof plutonium and natural uranium. SethnasaidthatTarapurwasoperatingat80percentcapacity. Thiswould not be affected if therewasagradualswitchedtomixedoxide.

NOVEMBER 15, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

New Delhi

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

‘‘Another reason to stay away from the ecosystem of genetically engineeredproducts is that GMO seeds are not reusable, which makes the farmers fromNepal... who have for generations learnt to preserve seeds for the future,dependent on corporations.’’ —KATHMANDUPOSTTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Much has been said aboutculture not being stagnant,that it is an evolving concept.Of course, evolution is notfiltering out. Evolution isworking towards harmonyand some semblance ofequality. If Kodavas havebeen well-educated,reasonable with theirassertion of identity, andrelatively peaceful thus far, itis time we realised that it isbecause of our openness tochange and not because weharped on purity, a gift that acaste-based society hasbestowed on us.

THE DRAFT TEXT of the just concludedCOP26 is certainly a disappointment.However, onedid not really havehigh ex-pectations after seeing the statementwhichwasissuedaftertheG20summit inRome.The textof theG20summitdidnotgobeyondmakingafewperfunctorystate-ments related to the Paris agreement andthedevelopmentassistanceof$100billionperyearfrom2020forfiveyears.Regardingthe target set in Paris, the text just men-tionedthatoneremainedcommittedtotheParisAgreementgoaltoholdtheglobalav-erage temperature increasewell below2-degreecentigradeandtopursueefforts tolimititto1.5-degreecentigradeabovepre-industrial levels. The point is: Could it beanything different once it was alreadyagreedtoinParisin2015?Similarly,ontheissue of concessional finance of $ 100 bil-lionayear,allthatwasmentionedwasthatthe G20 countries recall and reaffirm thecommitmentmade.As was expected, the draft text of the

COP26meetinghas again shown that thedevelopedworldisnottookeentoaddressthe issue of concessional finance of $ 100billion per year which was to be madeavailableby2020. Italsoseemstobesilentontheissueof thedevelopedworldreach-ingnet-zerowellbefore2050consideringthat their carbon emissions peaked longback. The text also mentions that fossil-fuelsubsidieswillbe“phasedout”thoughitseemsthat ithasnowbeenagreedtore-place“phaseout”by“phasedown”,appar-ently at India’s insistence. A major gain,however,asfarasIndiaisconcernedisthatold carbon credits earned after 2013 un-der the Kyoto Protocol can be traded atleast till 2025.Oneneedstobepracticalonhowtodeal

with this climate crisis. Insteadof creatingabrouhaharegardingwhohasemittedhowmuch in thepast, oneneeds towork out asolution on how to allocate the availablecarbonspacehenceforth.Asfarastheavail-able space is concerned, there are severalestimateswhichvary inquantum, thoughthere is no disagreement across the boardthat available space is limited. To estimatethe available space, one has to go throughseveral calculations and there arevagariestodealwithateverystage.To beginwith, gross emissions calcu-

lations arenot reliable because it is notedthatsomecountriesunderreporttheir fig-ures,which, inanycase, are calculatedona normative basis. Thereafter,we need tocalculatenetemissionsforwhichweneedto deduct the emissions absorbed byforestsandtheoceans.Ballparkfiguressaythatabout50percentof theemissionsareabsorbed, though there is no definite fig-ure. Next,weneed to know the quantita-tive relationshipbetween carbondioxidedeposits intheatmosphereandtherise intemperature on the earth’s surface.Unfortunately, thereareseveralestimatesfor this and tomake things worse, some

studies have even questioned the direc-tion of causality, that is, whether carbondioxide emissions cause temperatures toriseor is it theotherwayaround.To come back to the issue of available

space, developed countries have alreadyusedupmuchof thespace inthepastandareatreasonablyhighlevelsofenergycon-sumption, at least in per capita terms. Incontrast, developingcountries (includingIndia) consumemuch less in per capitaterms and it is only natural that they toogettheopportunitytoenhancetheirstan-dard of living whichwould entail higherenergy consumption.Onthe issueof concessional financeof

$100billionperyear,thecalculationsweremadeway back in 2009 during COP15 atCopenhagen. The requirement today,therefore, ismuchhigherandestimatedat$ 600 billion per year from 2020 to 2050just to decarbonise the energy sector. TheOECD, incidentally, states that about $ 80billion was made available in 2019 andabout$78billionin2018.Thesefiguresarecontested since they include all types oftransfersgiventodevelopingcountriesthathavenothing todowithclimatechange.It may be further added that all this

moneywasmostly cornered bymiddle-income countries rather than the verypoor African states and that they wereused to finance “mitigation” projectsratherthan“adaptation”projects.Therea-son is that it is easier to do a cost-benefitanalysis of mitigation projects. This addscredencetothetheorythatall thesetrans-fers were more commercial in naturerather than developmental. The shortpoint isthatthedevelopedworldrenegedon its commitment to transfer $ 100 bil-lionperyearby2020.Notwithstanding the stand taken by

developed countries, India has made aboldstatementatCOP26which, inter-alia,states thatwewouldbecomenet-zeroby2070.Alongwithothertargets likereduc-ing emissions intensity by 45 per cent by2030 compared to 2005, it was also an-nouncedthatIndiawouldreduceabsoluteemissions by one billion tons betweennowand2030.Howthiswillbemadepos-sible is not clear, but perhaps, the inten-tion is to undertake intensive forestationand/or adoption of technologies like car-boncapture,utilisationandsequestration(CCUS). Thingswill get clearer once Indiarevises its nationally determined contri-butions (NDC).This bold action by India has to be

backed by commensurate action on theground andwhat we need is a sector bysector approach. Let’s take the case of so-lar generation. Ifweare lookingat amas-sive expansion of solar generation, wecan’t have states reopening power pur-chasing agreements, browbeating solargenerators to back down, orwithholdingtheir payments formonthsaltogether.Wealsoneedtomovewithalacrityon

areas, like,greenhydrogenwhereweseemto have fallen silent after announcing theHydrogenMissionacoupleofmonthsago.Unless we take concrete action, we willonly add to the list of 100 odd countrieswhohave expressed the desire to go net-zero, buthavedonenothingbeyond that.

Thewriter is senior visiting fellow, ICRIERand former,memberCEA

I HAVEBEEN teaching, reading andwritingonculturefornearlytwodecades,butIhaveneverbeencertainastohowoneshouldun-derstandandexplainculture. Indeed,whatis culture?Deliberations on culture by a whole

range of scholars seem literally worthlessrightnow.Everywhere“culture”isthemostused and abused concept — a realm intowhichno liberal thought seems tohaveac-cess.Everyoneisclearastowhat“their”cul-ture is andwhat the culture of the “other”is.Thisclaritycomesacrossassodisturbingandviolentthatitunsettlesallacademicnu-ancesof thinkingabout culture.I have been thinking about how an ad-

vertisementthatcelebratesJashn-e-Riwaazcanmake or break somebody’s fragile cul-ture.Butwhat spurredme intowriting thisis the decision of the Kodava Samaja inPonnampete (a taluk in Kodagu district inKarnataka) to ban the cutting of cake anddrinkingof champagne inKodavaweddingceremonies held in the premises of theKodavaSamaja.TheVirajpetKodavaSamajahas followedsuit.CoorgorKodagu, as it is officially called,

is a tourist’s darling.Kodavas, anethno-lin-guistic minority that operates outside thepractices of Hindu culture and is thedomi-nantcommunity inKodagu, is at thecentre

of this issue.IamaKodavaandamneitheracakecut-

ter nor a champagne drinker. But can ourculturebepureoncewefilteroutcake-cut-tingandchampagne-drinking?Howmuchcanwe filter? Until when canwe keep fil-teringandtryingtoreturntoapureculture?Until thenot-so-distantpastofKodavaprac-tices that revolvedaroundhunting-gather-ing?Or,shouldwereturntotherecentpast,where theeconomyandculturewasbasedonasemi-feudalpaddyeconomythatmostKodavas have given up on because it is ex-tremely challenging?To the comingof cof-feesome150yearsagoviatheBritish,whichsawanimmensespurtinKodagu’seconomyin the last 30 years but has remained stag-nant after 2005 or so, which has made usturn into a homestay-based tourist econ-omy?What exactly is culture in all thesetransformations we have seen in our ownlifetimes?Much of what Kodavas understand as

culture is from the settled times of paddycultivation,combinedwithresiduesofhunt-ing and gathering aroundwhich our clan-based patrilineal cultures, rituals, cere-monies and festivals arebased. Is there anyway togetback to that time?What is this pure cultureweaspire for?

Where is this anxiety for pureness comingfrom?At times, I am able to come to termswiththeminority’sanxietyaroundlanguageand their practices, which are increasinglythreatened by, and assimilated into, thedominantHinduculture.Therefore, thereisa need to assert, and this assertion forKodavashasbeenpossible becauseof theireducation (thanks to a history of Europeanadministration andmissionaries) and be-cause of their relative prosperity. But then,dowealsopurgeourselvesof thiseducationthat is not “ours”? Do we let go of coffee

brought in via Europe? Dowe let go of ourancestor-natureworship,meediKombares,kaimadas,andbringinHindugodstonewlybuilt rooms? Dowe stop having weddingceremoniesatKodavaSamajassince“tradi-tionally”weddings tookplaceat thebride’sand the groom’s houses for five days? Itbothers me becausemost of my extendedfamily in Kodagu, small-scale farmers, findit difficult to make ends meet with theirpaddyandcoffeecultivation,butdonottakethisupasmuchastheytaketoculture,afactevenmoretruefor theout-of-Kodagu,city-based families.Muchhasbeensaidaboutculturenotbe-

ingstagnant,thatit isanevolvingconcept.Ofcourse, but evolution is not filtering out.Evolutionisworkingtowardsharmonyandsomesemblanceofequality. IfKodavashavebeenwell-educated, reasonablewith theirassertionof identity,andrelativelypeacefulthus far, it is timewe realised that it is be-causeofouropennesstochangeandnotbe-causeweharpedonpurity,agiftthatacaste-based societyhasbestowedonus.Thereisalsoanotherproblemthatseems

unresolvabletome.All theseaspectsof cul-ture are of the extraordinary, not of theeveryday.Borrowingthistermfromthelatesocial scientist MSS Pandian, what is ordi-nary,what isday-to-day,seemsbeyondourcomprehension of culture. Can culture berestrictedtooccasionalcelebrations, festiv-itiesor isoureverydaypartofourcultures?Whatisoursonaday-to-daybasisandwhatis not? Once the wedding ceremony —where the cake has not been cut and thechampagnenotserved—isdone,canwegoback home and bake cakes and say cheersandrevelinourcultures?Well, Iamnotsure.

Thewriter isprofessor,UniversityofHyderabad

SomitDasgupta

SowmyaDechammaCC

WhetherintheangeragainstaFabindiaad,orthebanoncuttingcakeatKodavaweddings,ananxietyaboutpurityisshrinkingoursocialandculturalspaces

Let them have cake

How to walknet-zero talkBoldannouncementsbyIndiaatCOP26needtobebackedbyconcretesteps

CR Sasikumar

FALSE EQUIVALENCETHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Shashi&Kangana’ (IE, November 13). Referringto the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi,CongressMPhasrightlysaidthathehasdone nowrong bywishing L KAdvanionhisbirthday,whileopposinghimpo-litically. Bollywood actress KanganaRanaut,supportedbythegovernment,propagatesapoliticalagendatotarnishtheimageof thenationandtodisgraceour freedomfightersandsoldierswhosacrificed their lives to get the nationliberated from the British. PrimeMinister NarendraModi should breakhis silence and tell the nation if he en-dorsesherviews.

SSPaul,Nadia

DIVERSITY & NEHRUTHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘DearNehruji’ (IE, November 13). India is anationwhosevery identity isweddedtogether intheageoldadageof “unityindiversity”,unlikemanyof theothercountrieswhichconsistofmonolithiccultures, to the extent of declaring areligion as the official religion of thestate. The immigrants, pouring intothis vast all embracingmotherland ofours, have uniquely added to its richculturalandsocial fabric.Forexample,theethnicweddingattire inthenorth-ern parts of India owes a great deal tothe Kushans who stepped on its soilaround 2,000 years ago; or the culi-

nary diversity which has been con-tributed to by the travellers fromCentral andWestern Asia; or the ar-chitectural luxuriance brought aboutboth the foreigners (like Taj Mahal)and the indigenous rulers (like theDravidianandNagaratemples). Itscor-nucopia of eclectic faiths and tradi-tionshasalwaysbeenapointofattrac-tionfor thescholarsandambassadorswho visited India and have writtentomes exemplifying its grandiose. Totryandstripthese layers isbothafollyand is impossible. Our leaders shouldfocus on preserving our rich cultureand showcasing it abroad rather thantrying to subjugate it.

VinaySaroha,Delhi

THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘DearNehruji’(IE, November 13). Thewriterhasverycogentlydescribedthesystem-atic assault in “new India” on the fun-damental rights of people, so dear toJawaharlal Nehru, first Primeministerof thebiggestdemocracyof theworld.Hewasa libertariantothecoreandsetstore by unity in diversity. Nehru alsohatedchauvinismandfundamentalismand that is why he was considered astatesmanbyworldleaders.Hisloveforthe country and its peopleoozed fromhispriorityofhavingIITs,damsandAI-IMS. To his credit, unlikemost of theleaders,hewasneitheracharlatannorapedagogue.

TarsemSingh,Mahilpur

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

AS INDIA CELEBRATES Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav, one name stands tall among thegalaxyof starswho fearlesslyworked for thefreedomofthemotherlandagainsttheoppres-siveBritishRaj—BhagwanBirsaMunda.BirsaMunda lived a short — just 25 years— butvaliantlife.Hislifestory,fullofgallanteffortstofight injustice and oppression, represents astrongvoiceofresistanceagainstcolonialism.BornonNovember15,1875,inUlihatuvil-

lageinpresent-dayJharkhand,BirsaspenthischildhoodinabjectpovertyinatribalMundafamily.ThiswasthetimewhentheexploitativeRaj started penetrating the deep jungles ofCentralandEasternIndia,disruptingtribalsliv-ing inharmonywithnature.TheBritisher in-troduced a feudal zamindari system in theChhotaNagpur region, destroying the tribal“Khuntkatti”agrariansystem.TheRajbroughtintheoutsiders—moneylendersandcontrac-tors, aswell as feudal landlords—whoaidedtheBritishintheirexploitation.Theunrelent-ingmissionaryactivitycontinuedwiththeac-tivesupportof theRaj, insultingandinterfer-ingwiththereligious-culturalethosofAdivasis.YoungBirsagrewupwatchingallthisand

begantounderstandhowthesecolonialforcesand the dikus (outsiders, enemies)workedagainst the interests of the local people. Thisfirmeduphisresolvetofightthisunholynexus.Duringthe1880s,Birsacloselywitnessed

the Sardari Laraimovement in the region,

which demanded the restoration of tribalrights through non-violent methods likesendingpetitionstotheRaj.However,theop-pressivecolonialregimepaidnoheedtothesedemands. The zamindari system soon re-ducedthetribalsfromthestatusoflandown-ers to that of labourers. The feudal setup in-tensifiedtheforcedlabour(vethbigari) intheforestedtribalareas.Theexploitationof trib-alsnowreachedabreakingpoint.This culminated in Birsa taking up the

causeofAdivasis.Heshednewlightonthere-ligiousdomain.Hestoodfirmagainstmission-arieswhowere belittling tribal life and cul-ture.Atthesametime,Birsaworkedtorefineand reform religious practices, discouragedmany superstitious rites.Hebrought innewtenets, prayers andworked to restore tribalpride.Birsa impressedupontheAdivasis theimportanceof “sirmare firun raja jai” or “vic-torytotheancestralking”—thusinvokingthesovereignty of the tribals’ ancestral au-tonomouscontrolovertheland.Birsabecameamass leaderandbegan tobeconsideredasBhagwanandDharatiAbabyhis followers.Birsaknewwhotherealenemywas—in

additiontothedikus,itwastheoppressiveRaj.Hewasclearthat“abuarajsetarjana,maharanirajtundujana”(letthekingdomoftheQueenend and our kingdom be established).Bhagwan Birsa ignited the minds of themasses. TheMundas,Oraons, otherAdivasis

and non-Adivasis responded to his call andjoinedthe“Ulgulan”orrevoltagainstthecolo-nial masters and exploitative dikus. Birsaasked thepeoplenot topayanyrent, andat-tackedtheoutpostsoffeudal,missionaryandcolonial authorities.With traditional bowsandarrows,thetribalsofCentralandEasternIndiawaged an effective armed resistanceagainsttheBritish.Indoingso,however,Birsawascarefulthatonlytherealexploiterswereattacked, and the commonpeoplewere nottroubled. Birsa became an image of vitalityanddivinity.Soon,hewascapturedbyBritishpoliceandlodgedinjail,wherehediedincap-tivity on June 9, 1900. But Bhagwan BirsaMunda’s spirited struggle did not go in vain.ItcompelledtheBritishtotakecognisanceoftheplightandexploitationoftribals,andbringintheChhotaNagpurTenancyActof1908fortheirprotection.ThisActrestrictedthetrans-feroftriballandtonon-tribals,givingAdivasisahugerelief andbecamealandmarklegisla-tion for the protection of tribal rights. TheBritishregimealsotookstepstoabolishVethBigarior forcedlabour.Bhagwan BirsaMunda continues to in-

spiremillions of Indians, 121 years after hisdeath. He is an icon of valour, courage andleadership. Hewas a leaderwho took greatpride in his rich culture andgreat traditions,but at the same time, didnot shyaway fromreforminghisownfaithwherevernecessary.

He is one of the tallest icons of our free-dommovement. India’s freedom strugglewas strengthenedby several tribal commu-nities such as Mundas, Oraons, Santhals,Tamars,Kols,Bhils,Khasis,KoyasandMizos,tonameafew.Therevolutionarymovementsandstrugglesorganisedbytribal communi-tiesweremarkedbytheir immensecourageand supreme sacrifice and inspired Indiansallover thecountry.However,establishedhistorianscouldnot

do justice to their immense contribution toIndia’sfreedomstruggle.OurvisionaryPrimeMinister Narendra Modi appealed to allIndianstocelebrateAzadiKaAmritMahotsavand to study andunderstand the valour andsacrifice of many such unsung heroes inIndia’s freedomstruggle.Underhisdynamicleadership, for the first time, tribalprideandcontributionsarebeinggivenafittingtributeby celebrating Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, onNovember 15 — the birth anniversary ofBhagwanBirsaMunda.On this JanjatiyaGauravDivas, let us re-

member and recognise the efforts of India’stribalpeopleforthepreservationoftheircul-turalheritageandthepromotionofIndianval-uesofvalour,hospitalityandnationalpride.

Thewriter isMinisterofState for InformationandBroadcasting;andFisheries,Animal

HusbandryandDairying

LMurugan

The legend of BirsaMundaOnhisbirthanniversary,let’srememberAdivasicontributiontofreedomstruggle

New Delhi

ddkk;;kkZZyy;; vvff//kk’’kkkkllhh vvffHHkk;;UUrrkkee//;; xxaaxxkk uuggjj ffuueekkZZ..kk [[kk..MM++&&0099

llaaHHkkyybbZZ&& iizzkkssDD;;kkssjjeessUUVV vvYYiiddkkyyhhuu ffuuffoonnkk llwwppuukk ll aa[[;;kk&& 0022@@vv00vv00@@eexxuuffuu[[kk&&0099@@22002211&&2222egkefge jkT;iky mRrj izns’k dh vksj ls v/kksgLrk{kjh }kjk fuEufyf[kr dk;Z dh vkWu ykbu izh&DokyhfQds'ku@VsDuhdy ,oa QkbusfU'k;y fcM htpp://etender.up.nic.in ds ek/;e flapkbZ foHkkx esa oxhZd`r Js.kh esa iathd`rBsdsnkjksa ls fn0&24-11-2021 dh iwokZUg 10%00 cts rd vkeaf= dh tkrh gSaA ;g fufonk fnukad % 19-11-2021 dksiwokZUg~%&10%00 cts ls ffnnuukkaadd %% 2244--1111--22002211 iiwwookkZZUUgg%%&&1100%%0000 cts rd mijksDr oSclkbV ij viyksM dh tk ldrh gSAizh&DokyhfQds'ku@VsDuhdy fcM fnukad% 24-11-2021 dks vijkUg 3%00 cts eq[; vfHk;Urk] e/; xaxk ugj ifj;kstuk]flapkbZ ,oa ty lalk/ku foHkkx] m0iz0] vyhx<+ }kjk xfBr lfefr }kjk vkWu ykbu [kksyh tk;sxhA dk;kZy; cUn gksusvodk'k gksus dh fLFkfr esa ;g fcM vxys dk;kZy; fnol esa mlh le; [kksyh tk;sxhA izh&DokyhfQds'ku fcM esa DokyhQkbZ?kksf"kr fufonknkrkvksa dh QkbusfU'k;y fcM [kksyus dh frfFk ,oa le; osclkbV ij Mky nh tk;sxh ,oa mlh ds vuqlkjQkbZusfU’k;y fcM vkWuykbZu [kksyh tk;sxhA

;g fufonk@fcM htpp://etender.up.nic.in ,oa m0iz0 ljdkj dh csolkbV htpp://up.gov.in rFkkflapkbZ foHkkx dh osclkbV http://www.idup.gov.in ij miyC/k gSA fu;e ,oa krsZa flapkbZ foHkkx ,oabZ&VasMafjx dh oSclkbV ij ns[kh tk ldrh gSA

vvff//kk’’kkkkllhh vvffHHkk;;UUrrkkee//;; xxaaxxkk uuggjj ffuueekkZZ..kk [[kk..MM&&0099

llEEHHkkyy

yykkVVllaa00

ddkk;;ZZ ddkk ffoooojj..kk ddkk;;ZZ ddhhvvuuqqeekkffuurr yykkxxrr¼¼yykk[[kk ::ii;;ss eessaa½½

//kkjjkkssggjj//kkuujjkkff''kk

¼¼yykk[[kk ::00 eessaa½½

ddkk;;ZZ iiww..kkZZddjjuuss ddhhvvooff//kk

ffuuffoonnkk iizzii== ddkk eewwYY;; iiaatthhÑÑrrJJss..kkhh

11 22 33 44 55 66 771 eqckjdiqj ekbZuj ds fd0eh0 1-

100 ij oh0vkj0ch0 dk fuekZ.kdk;Z

5.80 0.58 60 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

2 eqckjdiqj ekbZuj ds fd0eh0 2-328 ij oh0vkj0ch0 dk fuekZ.k

dk;Z

6.40 0.64 60 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

3 Vsy ekbZuj ds fd0eh0 1-150 ijoh0vkj0ch0 dk fuekZ.k dk;Z

12.86 1.29 90 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

4 Vsy ekbuZ j ds fd0eh0 1-530 ijoh0vkj0ch0 dk fuek.Z k dk;Z

7.60 0.76 60 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

5 Vsy ekbuZ j ds fd0eh0 1-980 ijoh0vkj0ch0 dk fuek.Z k dk;Z

11.96 1.20 90 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

6 Vsy ekbZuj ds fd0eh0 2-400 ijQkWy dk fuekZ.k dk;Z

3.50 0.35 60 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

7 eqckjdiqj ekbZuj ds fd0eh0 1-628 ij oh0vkj0ch0 dk fuekZ.k

dk;ZZ

7.30 0.73 60 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

8 NNSjk ekbZuj ds fd0eh0 0-020ls fd0eh0 0-800 rd ugj

fuekZ.k dk;ZZ

8.80 0.88 60 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

9 pUnkSlh ’kk[kk ds fd0eh0 47-259 ls fd0eh0 47-382 rd ugj

fuekZ.k dk;ZZ

17.80 1.78 90 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

10 gSnjiqj jktokg ds fd0eh0 4-400 ij QkWy dk fuekZ.k dk;ZZ

10.74 1.08 90 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

11 gSnjiqj jktokg ds fd0eh0 2-800 ij oh0vkj0ch0 dk fuekZ.k

dk;ZZ

11.51 1.16 90 fnol 300-00 $ 18 izfr’krth0,l0Vh0 $ 500-00

LVs’kujh pktsZt

“C”,oa mPprj

AfSX.Aû. Àfa£¹ff-169727 dQ³ffaIY-12/11/2021

www.upgov.nic.in

vf/k'kklh vfHk;Urk] izkUrh; [k.M] yks0fu0fo0] gkFkjlbZ&fufonk vkea=.k lwpuk

vfr vYidkyhu fufonk lwpuki=kad% 2285@11A fnukad & 08-11-20211 egkefge jkT;iky egksn;] m0iz0 dh vksj ls m0iz0 yksd fuekZ.k foHkkx ds ,] ch] lh] Mh Js.khds ik= iathd`r fufonknkrkvksa ls bZ&Vs.Mfjax ds ek/;e ls uhps n'kkZ;s x;s dk;Z gsrq fufonk vkeaf=rdh tkrh gSA

1. I f¹fÊ ´fc¯fÊ I S³fZ I e AUd²f ¸fZÔ U¿ffÊ F °fb ·fe Àfd¸¸fd»f°f W`Ü2. d¶fO Of¢¹fc¸fZ³M ¶fZ¶fÀffBM http://etender.up.nic.in ´fS dQ³ffÔI 22.11.2021 ÀfZ 29.11.2021 °fI C´f»f¶²fW` þû dI dQ³ffÔI 29.11.2021 I û Àf¸f¹f 12.00 ¶fþZ °fI A´f»fûO dI ¹fZ þf ÀfI °fZ W `ÔÜ BÀfI e °fI ³feI e d¶fOdQ³ffÔI 29.11.2021 I û Àf¸f¹f 12.30 ¶fþZ Jû»fe þf¹fZ¦feÜ

3. d³fdUQf ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°f Ad²fI þf³fI fSe ¶fZUÀffBM http://etender.up.nic.in ´fS C´f»f¶²f W`Ü4. d³fdUQfQf°ff õfSf QSmÔ þe0EÀf0Me0 SdW°f AÔdI °f I e þf³fe W` ·fb¦f°ff³f IZ Àf¸f¹f »ff¦fc QSûÔ ´fS þe0EÀf0Me0 QZ¹f Wû¦feÜ5. CØfS ´fiQZVf ¦fif¸f Àf¸´fI Ê ¸ff¦fÊ A³fbSÃf¯f ³fed°f, 2013 IZ A³fbÀffS ¸ff¦fÊ I e A³fbSÃf¯f AUd²f (dOR ¢M »ff¹fd¶fd»fMe´fedS¹fO) 2 U¿fÊ W`Ü

6. VfZ¿f Vf°fZË Me-1 IZ A³fbÀffS ¸ff³¹f WûÔ¦feÜ7. d¶fMcd¸f³f I e Af´fcd°fÊ dU·ff¦f õfSf ÀfÔ»f¦³f dVfOg¹fb»f Àfe IZ A³fbÀffS d³f²ffÊdS°f I e þf¹fZÔ¦feÜ8. d³fdUQfAûÔ I f °fI ³feI e ¸fc»¹ffÔI ³f ´fiWS e ÀffgµMUZ¹fS IZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ dI ¹ff þf³ff W `Ü BÊ-d³fdUQfhttp://etender.up.nic.in ´fS EUÔ VffÀf³ffQZVf ÀfÔ0 14/2020/879/23-7-2020-176(Àff0)06 Dt.25.08.2020 IZ Ii ¸f ¸fZÔ ´fiWSe ÀffµMUZ¹fS (http://wms.uppwd.gov.in/Prahari) ´fS Àf·fe UfÔdL°f Ad·f»fZJûÔI û A´f»fûO dI ¹ff þf³ff Ad³fUf¹fÊ W `Ü

9. VffÀf³ffQZVf Àfa£¹ff-16/2020/E-1-10 ·ff0Àf0/QÀf-2020 dQ³ffÔI 29.12.2020 IZ ´fifdU²ff³f »ff¦fc WûÔ¦fZZ EUÔ°fQгfbÀffS d¶fO dÀf¢¹fûdSMe/²fSûWS ²f³fSfdVf d³fdUQf IZ Àff±f QZ¹f ³fWeÔ Wû¦feÜ d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂfûÔ IZ Àff±f ÀfÔ»f¦³f ´fifø ´f ´fSd¶fO dÀf¢¹fûdSMe dO¢»fZS ZVf³f (Vf´f±f´fÂf) d³fdUQfQf°ff õfSf Afg³f»ffBʳf A´f»fûO dI ¹ff þf¹fZ¦ffÜ

10. VffÀf³ffQZVf ÀfÔ£¹ff-16/2020/E-1-10 ·ff0Àf0/QÀf-2020 dQ³ffÔI 29.12.2020 IZ A³fbÀffS ´fSR ûS¸fZ³ÀfdÀf¢¹fûdSMe ³¹fc³f°f¸f d³fdUQfQf°ff õfSf A³fb¶f³²f »ff¦f°f ´fS 3 ´fid°fVf°f I e QS ÀfZ þ¸ff I S³fe Wû¦feÜ

(SXfþZVf d³f¦f¸f)

Ad²fVffÀfe Ad·f¹f³°ff´fif³°fe¹f J¯O, »fû0d³f0dU0,

Wf±fSÀf

ØØ00llaa00

ffttyykk

ddkk;;ZZ ddkk uukkee vvuuqqeekkffuurryykkxxrr

¼¼yykk[[kk ::00eessaa½½

//kkjjkkssggjj//kkuujjkkff””kk¼¼yykk[[kk

##ii;;ss eeaassaa½½

ffuuffoonnkk iizzii== ddkkeewwYY;; ¼¼::00 eessaa½½

ddkk;;ZZ iiww..kkZZddjjuuss ddkkllee;;

ddkk;;ZZddkkjjhhvvff//kk00vvffHHkk00ddss ddkk;;kkZZyy;;ddkk iirrkk

vv//kkhh{{kk..kkvvffHHkk;;UUrrkk ddssddkk;;kkZZyy;; ddkk

iirrkk

eeqq[[;;vvffHHkk;;UUrrkkddkk;;kkZZyy;;ddkk iirrkk

BBssddssnnkkjjkkssaaddhh JJss..kkhh

11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 1100 1111

1 ³fcS´fbS ÀfZ ¦½ffSD ¸ff¦fÊ´fS d½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f I fI f¹fÊÜ

16-80 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

2 ÀffÀf³fe ªf»fZÀfS ÀfZSOf½f»fe ¸ff¦fÊ I e d½fVfZ¿f¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊÜ

13-75 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$225¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$41¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 766-00

30 fnu

3 ´fe.¶fe. ¸ff¦fÊ ÀfZ QfQ³f´fbS¸ff¦fÊ IZ dI .¸fe.1(300) E½fa 2(100)I e d½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f I fI f¹fÊÜ

24-00 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

4 Wf±fSÀf ½ffMS½f¢ÀfÊ ÀfZPI ´fbSf ¸ff¦fÊ I e d½fVfZ¿f¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊÜ

15-00 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

5 E³f.E¨f. 93 ÀfZ ´ff´fSe¨f³ýi¦fPÞ e ªf`³fe ¸ff¦fÊdI .¸fe. 4(350) ¸fZÔd½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f I fI f¹fÊÜ

23-80 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

6 »ffJ³fc ÀfZ ´fbSf ÀMZVf³fWû°fZ WbE ´fbSfÊJbQÊ ¸ff¦fÊI e d½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f I fI f¹fÊÜ

17-70 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

7 »ffOÞ´fbS A¸¶fZOI S ´ffIÊÀfZ ³fWS IZ ´fb»f °fIAf¶ffQe ·ff¦f ¸fZÔ d½fVfZ¿f¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊÜ

18-25 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

8 ¶fS°fSJfÀf ¸ff¦fÊ ÀfZVfZS´fbS ¸ff¦fÊ I e d½fVfZ¿f¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊÜ

13-30 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$225¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$41¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 766-00

30 fnu

9 Af»f¸f´fbS d»fWf½ffdªfQ´fbS (I ´fdÀf¹ff)ÀfZ ³f¦f»ff I »fbAf ¸ff¦fÊI e d½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f I fI f¹fÊÜ

17-40 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$300¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$54¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 854-00

30 fnu

10 Wf±fSÀf ªf»fZÀfS ¸ff¦fÊ ÀfZdM´fSÀf ¸ff¦fÊ I e d½fVfZ¿f¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊÜ

10-50 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$225¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$41¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 766-00

30 fnu

11 »ffJ³fc ÀfZ ³f¦f»ffJbVff»fe ¸ff¦fÊ IZ dI .¸fe.1, 2, 3(040) ¸fZÔd½fVfZ¿f ¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊ

11-50 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$225¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$41¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 766-00

30 fnu

12 dJªfS´fbS ÀfZ ³f¦f»ffI ûNe ¸ff¦fÊ I e d½fVfZ¿f¸fS¸¸f°f I f I f¹fÊÜ

11-25 0-00 500¼LVs0pktZ½$225¼fu0iz0 ewY;½$41¼th0,l0Vh0½¾:0 766-00

30 fnu

AfSX.Aû. Àfa£¹ff-169663 dQ³ffaIY-12/11/2021

www.upgov.nic.in

Wf±fSÀf

iizzkkUUrrhh;;

[[kk..MM

]]yykkss00ffuu00ffoo00

]]ggkkFFkkjjll

vv//kkhh{{kk..

kkvvffHHkk;;UUrrkk

vvyyhhxx<<++

oo`̀RRrr]]

yykkss00ffuu00ffoo00

]]vvyyhhxx<<++

eeqq[[;;

vvffHHkk;;UUrrkk

vvyyhhxx<<++

{{kkss==]]

yykkss00ffuu00ffoo00

]]vvyyhhxx<<++

,,]]cchh]]llhh]]

,,ooaaMM

hh¼¼ffuu

;;eekkuuqqllkkjj½½

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

Wf±fSÀf

E-Auction are invited on behalf of Cantonment Board, Agra from the eligible Individuals/Agencies/Organization/Firms etc. for e-auction for utilisation of space for revenue generation under build operateand transfer scheme, GLR SY. No. 131/400, motor road, Namnair, Agra Cantt. Manual bids/ offers will notbe accepted. The interested contractors/firms may look up the website (https://eauction.gov.in/eauction).No conditional bid shall be accepted. The Board/CEO reserves the right to cancel or withdraw the bidwithout any notice and the Boards/CEO decision in this regard will be final. Terms/Conditions, eligibilitycriteria and connected details can be seen in the auction document published in the website -(https://eauction.gov.in/eauction). Clarification needed, If any may be enquired/clarified in pre-bidmeeting or from the office on any working day from the office of CB Agra telephonically (0562-2227379).

CANTONMENT BOARDAGRA

-SD-Chief Executive OfficerCantonment Board Agra

NOTICE INVITING E-AUCTION

Activity Date Time in IST

ii)

vii)viii)

Sl.No.Date of PublicationStart Date and Time for downloading of auction documentsSubmission Start date and timeSubmission End date and time

Auction Start DateAuction End Date

i)

iii)iv)

15/11/202115/11/202115/11/202107/12/2021

10/12/202110/12/2021

At 14:00 HRS

CANTONMENT BOARD AGRAE-AUCTION FOR GRANT OF LICENCE FOR UTILISATION OF SPACE FOR

REVENUE GENERATION UNDER BUILD OPERATEANDTRANSFER SCHEME,GLR SY.NO. 131/400,MOTOR ROAD.NAMNAIR.AGRA CANTT.

v)vi)

Payment/Approval Start Date and timePayment/Approval End Date and time

07/12/202109/12/2021

At 16:00 HRSAt 13:00 HRSAt 14:00 HRSAt 17:00 HRSAt 10:00 HRSAt 17:00 HRS

The biddermay download the "Auction Document” and other terms and conditions as available onthewebsite of agra.cantt.gov.in or https://eauction.gov.in/eauction/.

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

SSIITTUUAATTIIOONNVVAACCAANNTT

II,, GirijanandSinghS/oRamBrikshSinghR/o-S-15/486,Block-D, JJ Camp,Okhla Phase-2, Delhi-110020have changedmyname toGirija Singh.

0070761240-1

II sanjeevalias sanjeevdalal S/oRaj SinghR/oHN1426NearDAVSchool Sector-6 BahadurgarhJhajjarHR-124507 havechangedmyname to sanjeevdalal. 0050187123-1

II,, Aanchal PopliW/OAshishKumarR/OWZ-S-221/18,VishnuGarden,NewDelhi-110018AfterMarriagehavechangedmyname toAanchalArora for all Purposes.

0040591394-1

ClassifiedsPPEERRSSOONNAALL

IInnddiiaannMNC requiresretired/VRS/Housewife/CharteredAccountant above 45 yrsSouthDelhi - Variable/PF/ESIContact-8285118751

0050186948-1

II,, SureshChandRathor S/o LateSh. RamJi Lal LostmyOriginalREGISTRYLetter issuedbyDDAforHouseNo.26, Pocket-10,Sector-20, Rohini, Delhi. FIR hasbeenLodged inCrimeBranch,Delhi vide LRNo.920776/2021dated 12.11.2021. Founderinformat 9650990822

0040591835-1

EXPRESSNETWORK12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD,NOVEMBER14

THE ANDHRA Pradesh govern-menthasannounced that itwillbeginpurchasingelectricityfromthe Solar Energy Corporation ofIndia (SECI) starting 2024, andwill supply it to over 18 lakhfarmersacross the state forninehoursadayfreeof cost.The agreement was com-

pleted after approval from theAndhra Pradesh ElectricityRegulatoryCommission,officialssaid. The Andhra governmentcurrentlypurchasespoweratRs4.36 per unit and provides it to18.37 lakh farmers free of cost.

Tomake thismore sustainable,thegovernmenthadplannedtosetupa10,000MWsolarpowerproject through the state-runGreen Energy CorporationLimited (GECL) to get power atRs 2.49 per unit for the next 25years.However, SECI offered to

provide Andhra Pradesh withpoweratthesamecostunderitsmanufacturing-linkedinitiativefrom2024,resultinginthestategovernment dropping the ideaof settingup a solar park exclu-sively for power supply to thefarmsector.State Energy Secretary N

Srikant said procuring solarpowerfromSECIwouldbemore

affordabletotake for-ward theinitiative toprovide theagriculturalsector freepower forninehoursaday for thenext 25

years on a sustainable basis.According to officials, the tariffsproposedbySECIarethe lowestin the country and the transac-tionswouldbe transparent as itis a Central Public SectorUndertaking. Since Septemberthis year, neighbouring TamilNadutoohasbeenbuyingpowerfromSECIatRs2.69perunit.Officials said that the change

of laws in Power PurchaseAgreements (PPA), and statetransmissioncharges,andCentraltransmissionchargeswouldaffectthestate’s solarproject initiative.ButbypurchasingpowerthroughSECI,thestatecouldsaveaboutRs2,260crore, including the cost ofpowerevacuationinfrastructure.To supply freepower to farm

sector, the state had upgradedagriculture feeders for Rs 1,700crore.Withtheupgrade, thenet-workwill be able to handle thesupplyforthenext30years—theperiodforwhichthegovernmentwants to extend the free powersupply scheme. Free powerwasprovidedto18lakhfarmersinthekharif andrabiseasons.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHENNAI,NOVEMBER14

AFTERTHEarrestof a teacherofa Coimbatore-based privateschool in connection with thedeathbysuicideofa17-year-oldstudentwho he allegedly sexu-ally assaulted, the police onSunday arrested the school'sprincipal fromBengaluru.The principal had allegedly

helped the accused when thevictimhadfiledasexualharass-ment complaint against the ac-cused.A seniorofficer investigating

the case said the principal wasalsobookedundertheProtectionofChildrenfromSexualOffences(POCSO)Act for failure to reporttheharassmentcomplaintbytheclass12studentwhodiedbysui-cideonThursday.After the post-mortem, the

victim’sfamilyhadrefusedtore-ceive the body, demanding thearrestof theprincipal.Followingher arrest on Sunday, the familyreceivedthebody.

Coimbatore teensuicide: Schoolprincipal held

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

INDIA’SDRUGregulatorwilltakeafinalcallonapprovingCovaxinforminors after examining the“voluminous additional data” ithasrecentlyreceivedonadverseevents following immunisationreported in the vaccine’s paedi-atric clinical trials, The IndianExpresshas learnt.Topgovernmentsourcestold

The Indian Express that theDrugControllerGeneralofIndia(DCGI)had sought additional informa-tion on two specific areas ofCovaxinpaediatricclinical trials:the number of children and thedisaggregated age groups; andwhat the adverse events follow-ing immunisationwere amongthesegroups.Inresponse,BharatBiotechhas“recently”submittedthevoluminousdata to thedrugregulator,sourcessaid.DCGI receiveda recommen-

dation from the Subject ExpertCommittee on October 12 tograntemergencyuseauthorisa-tionfortheBharatBiotech-madevaccine for the2-18agegroup.“The information is volumi-

nous. The regulator is studyingand scientifically scrutinising it.Afterthis, theregulatorwilltakea final decision on the grant of

EUAforBharatBiotech’sCovaxinfor theagegroupof 2-18years,”one source said. The NationalTechnical Advisory Group onImmunization (NTAGI) willmake recommendations to thegovernment for use of Covaxininminorsinthenationalimmu-nisation drive only after a finaldecisionistakenbythedrugreg-ulator, sources said.NTAGIistheadvisorybodyon

immunisation. It provides guid-ancetothegovernmentonvacci-nationbyundertaking technical

reviewsofscientificevidenceonmattersrelatedtoimmunisation.TheSubject Expert Committee’semergencyuse authorisation isamong the first expert approvalsintheworldforaCovid-19vaccineforthe2-18agegroup.Unliketheotherapprovalsfor

Covid-19 vaccines, however, thedrug regulator did not immedi-atelyapproveCovaxinontheba-sis of the recommendation.Instead, it is independently con-ductingadetailedscrutinyof thedataofthepaediatricCovaxintri-als. “Thescientificbodieswillnotrushtheprocess.Thefinalcallbetakenwith extremecaution andcare,”asourcesaid.Inparallel,thestandingtech-

nical sub-committee of theNTAGI, sources, said, is in the fi-nalstagestorecommend“if andwhen,vaccinationforchildrenisrolled out,whether it should begradedbasedonageorwhetheritshouldbegradedbasedonco-morbdities”.NTAGIis inthefinalstagesof

its deliberations to recommendZydusCadila'sthree-doseCovid-19 vaccine forminors. Sourcessaidthatbesidesdeliberatingonchild vaccination, the sub-com-mitteeof NTAGI is also examin-ing two other issues: the needfor a booster dose; and vaccinemixing.

AFTERRECOMMENDATIONBYEXPERTPANEL

IT HAS beenmore than amonth since the subjectexpert panel recom-mended the drug regula-tor to grant emergencyuse authorisation forCovaxin to be adminis-tered in the age group of2-18 years. However, thedrug regulator is exercis-ing extra caution—and isindependently scrutinis-ing data on adverse reac-tions before giving a finalapproval.

Taking itslowE●EX

PLAINED

Regulator to study Covaxindata before nod for minors

Andhra to buy solar power fromSECI, supply to farmers for free

New Delhi

13THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

EXPRESSNETWORK

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

AVISITtotheNationalMuseuminthecapitalfeelsdecidedlydif-ferentthisfestiveseason. India’slargest museum, which show-casesmore than 2 lakh objectsdatingbackacross thousandsofyears, has quietly leaped to theageof immersivedigitaltechnol-ogy—a first in thecountry.Now, visitors don’t just have

to view an inscription of a pre-historic cave, read about it on adisplayandmoveontothenextobject.They get a 270-degree digi-

tally-projectedexperienceofac-tually being in that cave aswellaslearningaboutthatera,thanksto an augmented reality (AR)projectionsystem.A 17th-century Ragamala

painting, meanwhile, now tells

its own story through 3D holo-grams and transparent organicLED screens with audio, videoandanimation.There are also digital touch-

walls in various galleries thatprompt visitors to scan and

download an app, which be-comes a virtual guide thatchanges depending on whereyou are in the museum, andwhichwallorwhichinstallationyou interactwith. The 3D holo-grams dotting the installations,

some even walking alongsidethe visitor, inform and educateinawaythestoliddisplaywrite-upsnevercould.There is also the Rotoscope,

where eight different stories ontheBuddha comealive throughdigitally immersivetools;an in-teractive digital lotus pondwhere visitors can “dip theirfeet”;“flipbooks”wherevisitorscanwave their hands and jumptoturnpagesandlearnnewsto-riesofhistory;and“timetravel”,where one can digitally placethemselves in any historic age,installationorpainting.The entire project has been

completedatacostofRs5crore.“This is the first suchexperi-

ence in amuseum in India, anditcouldalsobeafirstforthispartof the world where so manykindsofdigitaltechnological in-terventionshasbeenputinplaceto augment themuseum expe-

rience for the visitor,” SubrataNath, Additional DirectorGeneral of National MuseumtoldThe IndianExpress.Theexperience is “live”now

for visitors after trials started inOctober,hesaid.Indianmuseums, including

the National Museum, havebeen slow in embracing digitalaids, saidNath.“But the pandemic just

forcedus to thinkon these linesandacceleratedthedigital tran-sition inabigway.”If and when the National

Museummakesway for the re-developedCentralVistaproject,thedigitalapparatuscanalsobesimply unplugged, transportedandpluggedinagainelsewhere,says Himanshu Sabharwal,whose company, Tricolor IndiaSchauspiel, has implementedthe digital project over the lastfivemonths.

Kerala rain: IMDsounds red alertfor Ernakulam,Idukki, Thrissur

Anexhibitat themuseum. Express

Holograms, AR and touchscreens: immersive digitalexperience now greets National Museum visitors

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI,NOVEMBER14

THE NCB Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) that took over sixcases for further investigationfromNCB’sMumbai unit, afterthe uproar over alleged proce-dural irregularities by zonal di-rector SameerWankhede, hasnowdroppedthreeof thecases.HeadedbyanIG-rankofficer,

theSITwillnowbeprobingonlythe Cordelia drug raid case, thecase involving NCP leaderNawab Malik’s son-in-lawSameer Khan in which achargesheet has already beenfiled,andtheoneinvolvingactorArmaanKohli.AseniorNCBofficial toldThe

IndianExpress, “TheSITwillnowonly be probing these threecases. While initially six caseswere transferred to the SIT, itcame to light that no foreignlinkageswerepresent in the re-maining three cases and theywere dropped from the NCB

probe.”The three cases that were

dropped did not have anywellknown person among the ac-cused.Allthreewerecasesregis-tered inMumbai, pertaining tosmall drug seizures inMumbra,Jogeshwari andNagpada.Itnowappears theSITprobe

is focussed on the Sameer Khanand Cordelia drug bust case. Sofar the SIT has already recordedthe statement of Karan Sajnani,who was arrested along withSameerKhaninJanuarythisyear.Further,theNCBhasmadean

applicationbeforeacourt togetvoicesamplesofKhantofurthertheirprobe.Agencysourcessaidthat they had found voice sam-ples between Khan and Sajnaniduring forensic analysis andhence they wanted his voicesample toconfirmthesame.When asked that the

chargesheet had already beenfiled in the case, an NCB officialsaid, “There is provision in thelaw that an investigation cancontinue following the

chargesheet. If we find furtherevidence we can file a supple-mentary chargesheet in thecase,” theofficial added.Sources said the NCB will

soon summon Sameer Khan torecordhis statement inconnec-tionwiththecase.Khanwasre-leased on bail in September bytheSpecialNDPScourt.IntheCordeliacase,NCBoffi-

cials have recorded the state-mentsofsomeoftheaccusedin-cludingAryanKhan,sonofactorShah Rukh Khan, and ArbaazMerchant. An official said theNCB SIT will be filing thechargesheet in thecase.The NCB SIT will also file a

chargesheetintheArmaanKohlicase. Kohli was arrested by theNCB in August this year for al-legedpossessionof 1.2gramsofcocaine.Apart from Kohli, a few al-

leged drug peddlers too hadbeen arrested in the case.Sources said the NCB SIT willsummon the accused to recordtheir statements.

DROPS3CASES

NCBSIT to probe onlyMalik son-in-law,Aryan and Kohli cases

20 INDIAN FISHERMEN RELEASED BY PAKPakistanauthorities released20IndianfishermenfromtheLandhidistrict jailonSundayafter theycompletedtheir four-yearprisontermsforallegedly fishing illegally inPakistaniwaters.The fishermenwillbehandedover to Indianauthoritiesat theWagahborderonMonday,officials said.AP

RajnathSingh

IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL,NOVEMBER14

PRIME MINISTER NarendraModiwillonMondayinaugurateBhopal'sHabibganj railway sta-tion, which has been renamedafter Rani Kamlapati, the firstGondqueenof Bhopal.The newname, intended to

honourthebraveryandlegacyofRaniKamlapati,wasannouncedby Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhanaheadofModi'svisittoBhopal on Janjatiya GauravDiwasorTribalPrideDay.Accordingtohistoriansfrom

Bhopal, the stationwas namedHabibganj after Habibullah, thegrandson of Nawab ShahjahanBegum.“Inthosedays,ameasureoflandwasgiventoroyalsastheir'dughkharch'.Anvillagewasset-tledinShahpura,thelandthatwasgiventoHabibullah.Whenarail-way linewas built through thearea in 1874-76, a small stationcame up. In 1969 the family ofHabibullah gave land andRs 15lakhtodevelopthestation.Hence,

itcametobeknownasHabibganjafterHabibullahhimself,” histo-rianRizwanuddinAnsarisaid.The decision to rename the

station, developedat a costof Rs440croreonaPPPmodel,reflectsan attempt by the BJP to regainsome of the ground that it lostamong tribal and ScheduledCastevotersintheAssemblyelec-tions of 2018. The Gonds, whonumbermore than1.2 crore, areIndia's largesttribalgroup.

In September, the state gov-ernment named a university inChhindwara after tribal iconsShankar Shah and RaghunathShah,andisbuildingamemorialto them. Amemorial to TantyaMama has been established inKhandwa, and one to BhimaNayak inBarwanidistrict.Chief Minister Chouhan on

Sunday announced the RajaSangram Shah annual award ofRs 5 lakh tobe given in the field

of tribal art andculture.TheoppositionCongresshas

accused theBJPof playingvote-bankpolitics, andremindedtherulingparty that Chouhanhim-self had earlier demanded thestation be named after formerPrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee.Twodays before the renam-

ing of the station, Bhopal MPPragyaSinghThakurhadtweetedThursday: “The arrival of thePrimeMinisteron15/11/2021...isagoodomenforBhopal.IamsureModijiwillannouncetherenam-ing of Habibganj railway stationafterVajpayeejiandfulfillmyoldrequest.”Leader of Opposition Kamal

Nathsaid,“It'sfineifyouhavere-namedthestationinmemoryoftheGondqueen,butwhatabouthermahal inSehorewhichis ly-ing in ruins?”

PMNarendraModiwilldedicate tonationtheredevelopedRaniKamlapatiRailwayStation inBhopalonMonday. PTI

Rajnath: After2014, thingschanged... India’ssoldiers givingright message

LALMANIVERMALUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

AMID THE ongoing row over aPentagon report onChinabuild-ing a civilian village inside “dis-puted territory” between theTibet Autonomous Region andArunachal Pradesh, DefenceMinisterRajnathSinghonSundaysaid that after 2014, India’s sol-diershavebeensuccessfulingiv-ing its neighbours “themessageitwassupposedtoget”.Addressing the silver jubilee

celebrationsoftheAkhilBharatiyaPoorva Sainik Seva Parishad inLucknow, Rajnath said, “Peopleare talking about the develop-ment of a village at ArunachalPradesh border. I don'twant todiscuss its status here...If I saysomethinghere,thatwillbecomeinternationalnews.Butwearenoless than anyone.Ab itni baat topakkihogaihai, chahe jokuchbhiho, jawabdenge (One thing is forsure,whateverhappens,wewillgiveabefittingreply).”Rajnath said India has a his-

toryofneverattackinganyothercountryandhasneveroccupiedlandof anyothernation.After targeting Pakistan over

its linkswith terrorists, Rajnath,without taking the name ofChina, said, “Wehave onemoreneighbour. No need to take itsname... Considering its growingpower,many nations didn't op-poseitsactsastheyshouldhave.Earlier our situation was thesame. Earlier, India also didn'tprotest the action of that neigh-bour but after 2014, things havechanged...Oursoldiershavebeensuccessfulingivingtheneighbourthemessageitsupposedtoget.”

In renaming Bhopal’s Habibganjrly station, BJP’s tribal outreach

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAPATHANAMTHITTA, IDUKKI,NOVEMBER14

WITH HEAVY rains in parts ofthe state since Saturday night,the India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) on Sundaydeclared a red alert in centralKerala districts of Ernakulam,Idukki andThrissur for theday.Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayan, in a Facebook post,asked everyone to be vigilantabout the risk of landslides andother potential hazards due tounseasonal rainfall.He said that people living in

landslide-andflood-proneareaswill have to relocate to saferplacesornearby relief campsasthere is a possibility of wide-spreadrains.Thecleanlinessof thecamps,

availabilityof foodandascreen-ing system for diseases shouldbeensured,hesaid.Later, in a press release, the

Chief Minister said that in ameetingofdistrictcollectorsandofficials it was decided to limitthe number of pilgrims to LordAyyappa temple at Sabarimalainthenextthreetofourdaysduetoheavyrainfall.The ritualistic bathing in the

riverPampawill notbeallowedas its levels were dangerouslyhigh, the releasesaid.Theheavy rains led towater

levelinvariousdamsinthestaterising to the red alert mark,prompting the government toopen one of the shutters ofCheruthonidamof Idukkireser-voir in theafternoon.Addingtothis,theTamilNadu

governmentonSundaymorningannouncedthatthewaterlevelintheMullaperiyar dam reached140feet,indicatingthelikelihoodof its shuttersbeingalsoopenedif thewater continues to rise. Asa result, people living on bothsides of the Periyar river shouldbe extra vigilant, the Idukki dis-trictadministrationsaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,NOVEMBER14

MUMBAIPOLICEhaveregistereda case of cheating, criminal in-timidation and conspiracyagainst actor Shilpa Shetty, herhusbandRajKundra,andKashiffKhan,directorof SFLFitnessPvtLtd, for allegedly duping a 25-year-oldman from Pune to thetuneof Rs1.5crore.According to police officials,

the complainant, identified asYashNitinBarai, toldpolice thatthe persons named in the FIRaskedhimtoinvestintheircom-pany by promising heavy re-turns. “They toldhimto takeupa franchisee of the fitness com-panythattheywishedtoopeninPune, on the pretext of whichtheytookmoneyfromthecom-plainant'sfather,”saidanofficer.Theallegedincidenttookplace

betweenJuly2014andMay2015.The complainant told police

thatasamarkofprocedure,repre-sentatives of the company hadvisited their site at Indraprasth,Hadpasar in Pune, where theyweretostartthefranchiseeofthecompany.Subsequentlythecom-plainantandhisfatherpersonallymetthemandpaidtheamount.“But later, despite paying

Rs 1.5 crore, Khan and other di-rectors of the company did notinitiate anyprocessof startingabusiness in Pune, due towhich

he sensed something amiss,"saidanofficer.The complainant and his fa-

ther then inquired with Khanwhen he promised to start thefranchiseeontheirplotandsub-sequently, as he failed to do so,heclaimedthathewouldreturnthemoney.However, later,Khanallegedlystartedthreateningthecomplainantandhisfatherwhentheyaskedfortheirmoneyback,due towhich they submitted acomplaint application again atBandrapolicestation.On Sunday, Shilpa Shetty

tweeted,“WokeuptoanFIRregis-tered in Raj and my name!Shocked!! To set the recordstraight, SFLFitness (is) aventurerun by Kashiff Khan... All dealswerestruckbyhimandhewassig-natory inbankingandday todayaffairs.Wearenotawareofanyofhistransactions... Itpainsmetoseethatmynameand reputation isgettingdamagedanddraggedsoloosely.Togeteyeballs...”Khan did not respond to re-

quests for comment.

MANISHSAHULUCKNOW,NOVEMBER14

MORETHANaweek after UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath visited familieswhowere allegedly forced out ofKairana in Shamli district be-tween2014and2016,andprom-isedthemcompensationand“se-curity”,theDistrictMagistratehassaidthattheyaregoingtostartanexercise to prepare a list of peo-ple“whohadleftKairanabecauseofthelawandorderproblemandhavenowreturned”.“Afterconductingthesurvey,

wewill prepare a list of peoplewho left Kairana town in 2013-14followingthelawandorderis-sueandhavenowreturned.Thelistwill also includepeoplewholeft Kairana because of financiallosses they suffered due to thelaw and order problem. A team

of Revenue Department willidentify such families and pre-parealistwiththehelpoflocals,”DistrictMagistrate(Shamli)JasjitKaur toldThe IndianExpress.Thelistpreparedbythedistrict

administrationwillbeverifiedbythe local police unit to avoid anyconfusion,theDMadded.In 2016, former BJP MP

HukumSingh had claimed thatclose to350Hindushad leftun-der threats fromcriminals fromKairana, oneof the townshit bythe2013riots.Followingthis,theShamli district administrationhad then conducted a surveyandsaidthatonlythreefamilieshad left their homes followingallegedextortion threats.OnSunday, ShamliDMJasjit

Kaur said that they would gothroughthelistofHukumSinghandtheinquiryreportpreparedby the district administrationthen. “The current survey will

lookbeyondthelistpreparedbyHukumSingh,” saidKaur.LastMonday,thechiefminis-

terhadmet someof the familiesnowback in Kairana, includingthreewho lostmembers to at-tacksbycriminals.“Ihavesoughtareportfromthedistrictadminis-tration about the familieswhichwereharmedandtheirmemberskilled,”theCMhadsaid.The three families are of

RajendraKumarGarg, his cousinShiv Kumar Singhal and VinodKumar Singhalwhoweremur-deredin2014inseparateincidentsinKairanaforallegedlynotpayingextortionmoneytocriminals.Rajendra Kumar Garg and

Shiv Kumar Singhal used tojointly run a shop, while VinodKumarownedagroceryshop.While the two families — of

Rajendra Kumar Garg and ShivKumarSinghal—havesettled inneighbouringMuzaffarnagardis-

trict, the third family of VinodKumarSinghal—hasreturnedtoKairana.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Shiv Kumar Singhal’swife Anusaidthatafterherhusband’smur-dershemovedtoMuzaffarnagaralongwithherthreechildrenandhas been living therewith thefamilyofherbrother-in-lawsincethen. “Initially, I stitched clothesfor a living, but now, I havestoppedit.Mysonisemployedinaprivatefirmandrunsthehouse.Mytwodaughtershavegotmar-ried,”saidAnu.Rajendra Kunar Garg’s wife,

Rekha, said that she too used tostitch clothes for a living aftershifting toMuzaffarnagar. “Myson is doing a job in a privatecompany and running thehouse... Aftermeeting the chiefminister, I’meagerlywaiting forthe compensation the govern-mentdecided forus,” shesaid.

CRYPTOCURRENCYROW

We never had Bitcoins, hackerdeceived us: Bengaluru police

SANJANABHALERAOMUMBAI,NOVEMBER14

MAHARASHTRA FOREST de-partment, which has been re-buffedbyGujaratandKarnatakafor the past three years for thetransferofAsiatic lions fromGirand Bannerghatta nationalparks, has now received a posi-tiveresponsefromTelangana,toincrease the lion population atSanjay Gandhi National Park(SGNP) inBorivali,Mumbai.TheTelangana forest depart-

menthasagreedtoexchangetwopairs of lions from the NehruZoologicalParkinHyderabadwithpairs of breeding rusty-spottedcats fromSGNP. Under existingrules,animalshavetobebarteredbetween zoos. The Central ZooAuthority (CZA) regulates theex-changeof animals of the endan-gered category listed underSchedule I and II of theWildlifeProtectionAct,1972,amongzoos.The Telangana-based park

has 15 lions, including twoAfrican cubsborn inApril 2020.“Wehavereceivedapositivere-sponsefromTelangana.Nowwearelookingfortherusty-spottedcats which can be exchanged,”saidSunilLimaye,principalcon-servatorof forests (wildlife).EndemictoIndia,SriLankaand

areasalongtheIndo-Nepalborder,the rusty-spotted cats are thesmallestwild cat species in theworldprotectedunderscheduleIoftheWildlifeProtectionAct,1972.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,NOVEMBER14

FACEDWITHquestionsoverthe“disappearance” of 31 Bitcoins,the Bengaluru police now saythey had been deceived by thealleged hacker SrikrishnaRamesh into believing — andpubliclyannouncing—thattheyhad seized the cryptocurrencyworth Rs 9 crore from his per-sonalelectronicwallet.The police’s central crime

branchunitissuedthestatementonSaturdaynight in thewakeofsuspicions of corruption in han-dling the Bitcoins supposedlyfoundwiththehackerinJanuary.Theseallegationshaverocked

theBJPgovernmentinKarnatakaoverthelast fewdays.The oppositionCongress has

demanded answers on thewhereaboutsofmorethan5,000Bitcoins linked to the allegedhackerandaccusedthepoliceofcarryingoutamassivecover-up.The Bengaluru crimebranch

police stated in an official note

that an “account claimedby theaccusedashispersonalaccount”with31Bitcoinsinitwasactuallya “livewalletof anexchange” forwhichRamesh,aliasSriki,didnothaveaprivatekey.Thepolicesaidthey then realised that the 26-year-old hadmisled them intobelieving they had seized 31Bitcoins.“It is stated that neither any

Bitcoinswere transferred fromthe account of Ramesh, nor anybitcoinwaslost.Itisafactthatforthe purpose of investigations ofcryptocurrency,itwasfeltneces-sary to open a Bitcoin account.Accordingly,agovernmentorderdated 08.12.2020 to open aBitcoin accountwas obtained,”thepolicestatementsaid.“Duringtheprocessofseizing,

the accused, Ramesh showed aBTCwalletwhichcontained31.8BTC. Thewallet passwordwaschangedinthepresenceofcyberexperts, government panchana-mas and the entire procedurewasrecordedundermahazarandsubmittedtocourt,” itsaid.“Subsequently,courtpermis-

sionwasobtainedtousethepass-wordtotransferthesaidBitcoinsto a policewallet account. UponreachingthesaidwalletshownbytheaccusedSrikrishna,itshowed186.811Bitcoins” (instead of theseized31Bitcoins),policesaid.“On enquiry, cyber experts

opined that the said accountclaimedbytheaccusedashisper-sonal account,was in fact a livewalletofanexchangeandtheac-cuseddidnot have aprivate keyfor this. Hence, the said accountwasleftuntouchedandasaresult,noBitcoinsweretransferredtothepolicewallet,”policesaid.Rameshwas arrestedby the

BengalurucrimebranchpoliceinNovember2020 inacaseof buy-ingdrugsfromthedarknetusingBitcoin.Afterthearrest,hetoldthepolice that he was a hacker. InJanuary,thepolicehadannouncedthe seizure of 31 stolenBitcoinsfromRamesh’spossessionbuttheseizurewasnotshownwhenmul-tiple chargesheetswere filed inFebruaryagainstthehacker.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

ActorShilpaShetty,herhusbandRajKundra

Shilpa, Raj Kundraamong 3 booked for‘Rs 1.5 crore fraud’

Telangana agreesto transfer twopairs of Asiaticlions to Mumbai

2014 ‘exodus’: Shamli DM orders survey toidentify Kairana families who have returned

RELATED REPORTPAGE 15

EXPLAINED

New Delhi

LIZMATHEW:ThefirstCovidcase inthecountrywasreportedinKerala inJanuary2020.Whathavethechallengesbeensincethen?Wedevelopedaprotocolmuchbefore

theWorld Health Organisation came upwithone,andourstrategyhasbeentode-lay the peak (of the Covid curve). Theul-timateaimwas tokeep the totalnumberof patients below themaximum thresh-old capacity.Wewent through the firstwaveandthepandemicislikeanendemicnow;thenumberof infectionsarereduc-ing each day. OnMay 12,we had 42,000new cases and since then, the numbershaveplateauedandarenowreducing.Weeasedthelockdownrestrictionsandnowalmostallsectorshaveopenedup,includ-ingschoolsandcolleges.Kerala’sCovidfa-talityrateisoneof thelowestinthecoun-try— 0.6 per cent....We are scientificallyanalysingthenumberofbreakthroughin-fectionsandre-infections.Thepopulationdensity of Kerala, from Trivandrum toKasargod, is860persons/sqkm,which isdouble the national average of 430 per-sons/sqkm.Thereahugeageingpopula-tion and a high number of people withlifestylediseasesinKerala... Ifyouanalysethedata,therewasn’tasinglepersonwhodied due to the lack of oxygen, hospitalbedorICUsupport.Thiswaspossibleduetoour strategyof keeping thenumberofpatientslowerthanthemedicalcapacity.Evennow,whenwearereporting6,000-7,000 casesperday, thehospital and ICUoccupancy is very low. The pandemicneverhitKerala likea tsunami.

LIZMATHEW:Youarethethirdwomanhealthminister inarowfortheCPI(M)—beforeyou, therewasKKShailajaandPKSreemathi.What isthesignificanceof thatrecordforastate thathasearnedkudosfor itsachievements inthehealthsector?Also,youtookoveratatimewhenthestatewasbeingcriticisedafterbeingcongratulatedforthesteps it initiallytooktocontainthepandemic.Abouttheportfolio, Idon’thavetosay

anything;it istheparty’sdecision... IntheCPI(M),I’veneverseenanydiscriminationonthebasisofgender. It justsohappenedthatwomenwereappointedhealthmin-isters.Aboutthecriticismonourhandlingof the pandemic, let’s look at some data.One, the fatality rate and the second, theundercounting factor. According to theICMR’s (IndianCouncil of MedicalResearch) data, theundercountingfactorofKeralaisthelowestin the country. TheICMRdatastatesthatout of six cases, onecaseisbeingreportedinKerala,whereaswehave other stateswhere one in 100 or120cases isbeingre-ported. If you look atthestate’spopulationdensity, houses arevery close to eachother. Therefore,there were highchances of the virusspreadingeasily.Thiswould have led to asharp rise and fall,leading to moredeaths. However,wecouldcontrolthedeathrate.Wetrytore-port every single case and our data ismaybe not perfect but is the best in thecountry,which the ICMRstudyreveals.

LIZMATHEW:YourpredecessorKKShailajawasmuchseniortoyouinthepartyandgovernmentandunderher,Keralawonalotofpraise for itshandlingof thepandemic.Didthatputyouunderpressurewhenyoutookover?I took charge during the peak of the

pandemic... Iwasnotunderanypressurebut I had towork hard because ShaialajaTeacherhadsetaverygoodexampleandI had toworkhard to rise to the expecta-tions of my party and the people.CMPinarayiVijayanhasbeenholdingreviewmeetings every week but earlier, whenthecaseswerehigh,hewouldholdthesemeetingsonadailybasis.Thanks to our vaccination drives —

amongbed-riddenpatients,peopleabovethe age of 60, tribals living in the coastalregion and even a special drive for preg-nant women—wewere able vaccinate95%of thepopulationabovetheageof18withthefirstdoseand56%withboththedoses.

LIZMATHEW:SinceOctober,a largenumberofpreviouslyunaccounteddeathshavebeenaddedtothetotaldeathtoll.Doesthat takethesheenoff the ‘Keralamodel’ insomeway?The fatality ratewas 0.45-0.5... From

June 14, 2020, we started reporting thedeaths online. So a doctor working in a

hospital that wit-nessedaCoviddeathcanuploadthedeathbulletin and theDistrict MedicalOfficer(DMO)woulddeclare the numberof deaths at the dis-trict level. Weanalysed the unre-ported deaths. Tocount a death asCovid death, youneed an RT-PCR orsimilar test. Whenthe doctors starteduploading thedeathbulletininJune,theymay not have hadthe proper docu-ments at that time.Now, we have col-

lected the appeals, examined each caseanddecidedtoaddthemtothedeathtoll.The government was particular thateverythingshouldbe transparent.

LIZMATHEW:YoumentionedthatKeralasawnodeathsduetothe lackofoxygen,hospitalbedsor ICUsupport.Whatelsewouldyouhighlightasyoursuccess?InKerala,evenifapersondiesathome,

we ensure that they are tested for Covid.If found positive, wemark it as a Coviddeath.Keralaisastatethatfollowsallpro-tocols. Themedia here is very vigilant.Today, all the cases and deaths are beingreported and still our fatality rate is thelowest in thecountry.

KAUNAINSHERIFFM: Inthefirstwave,Keralawas laudedfor itshomeisolationandcontact tracingprotocolbutduringthesecondwave, thechiefofNationalCentreforDiseaseControl(NCDC)pointedoutthathomeisolationwasnotbeingcarriedoutwell.Howwouldyouexplainthat?WehaveRapidResponseTeamsatthe

ward-level, comprisingASHAworkers, awardmember, police personnel, socialworkers, etc. Theyhave been taking careof thosewhoare in quarantine.Wehavecall centres at the panchayat anddistrictlevels where peoplewho are in quaran-tineorhave testedpositive cancall... Ourhomeisolationwasprettygood;itisquiteevidentfromtheICMRdata. ICMR’ssero-prevalence survey revealed that theseropositivityrateof thestatewas42per

cent in June. From there, to reach 82 percentwaspossibleonlyduetovaccination.Allthesethingsshowedthatwedidprettygood.Wealsotriedtoexecutetherecom-mendations given by the Central teamsthatvisited thestate.

KAUNAINSHERIFFM:Oneof theCentral teamsthatvisitedthestateafter thesecondCovidwavepointedtoadatasubmittedbythedistrictmagistrateofPathanamthittathatspokeofbreakthroughinfections.Hasthestateabletounderstandthemagnitudeofbreakthroughinfections?Yes, definitely. When a person tests

positive, our district surveillance teamcontacts them and prepares the data insuchaway that itmentions if thepersonwas vaccinated, the number of doses heorshegot,dayssincethevaccination,etc.Breakthroughinfectionsarethosethatoc-cur two weeks after the second dose.When the district collector ofPathanamthittasharedthedatawiththeCentral team,myPrincipalSecretaryandI asked if this kind of data is available inother states.Wewere informed that noother state had it.We looked at the dataon breakthrough infection from othercountries such as the UK and saw that itwasthesameasKerala’s.Sothere’snoth-ingtoworry.Morethan94percentofouradult population has been vaccinated sotherearechancesofnatural infectionbuttheseverityofthediseasewillbeveryless.Hence,thehospitalandICUoccupancyatthispoint isvery less.

KAUNAINSHERIFFM:Hasthestatediscussedvaccinationsforchildren?Our schools have opened as biobub-

bles—one teacher for amaximumof 20students.Wehavedividedeachclassintotwoorthreegroups.Wearecloselymon-itoringthesituation.Wekeepa‘symptomregistry’ in every class and one doctor isalways made available in the school...Regarding vaccination of children, I my-self have written to Honourable UnionHealthMinisterMansukhMandaviyajitotake a quick decision on vaccinating ourchildren.Andalsoaboutreducingthepe-riodbetweenthefirstandseconddose(ofCovishield)..Nowitis84days.Butwehaveasked the Central government to reducethe period because, as you know, KeralaisastatewherewehavemanyNRIs.Manyof our people work abroad and if theycomehere and take the first dose of vac-

cine, itwillbedifficultforthemtostayfor84 days to take the second dose. So wehave asked for the gap to be reduced. Ihave received a letter from the UnionHealthMinister that the Central govern-mentwill consider it.

KAUNAINSHERIFFM:Anotherconversationthathasbeenunfoldingoutside India isofboosterdoses.TheCentral teamsthatvisitedKeralahaveredflaggedthat30percentof thepopulationisco-morbidandtheinfectionrate increaseswithdiseaseslikediabetes.Haveyoutakeuptheissueof theboosterdose,especiallyfor thisco-morbidpopulation?I have alreadywritten a letter to the

Union (health)minister, seeking a quickdecisionon thebooster dose also. I thinktheCentralgovernmentwillbeconsider-ingit.MyprincipalsecretaryhastakenuptheissuewiththeSecretary,UnionHealthMinistry. And I havewrittentotheminis-ter.We are awaitingtheirdecision.

KAUNAINSHERIFFM:Whatdoesyourowndatasayabouttheneedforaboosterdose?Haveyoulookedatsusceptibility tothediseaseposttheseconddoseamongthestate’sco-morbidpopulation?We have more

number of peoplewith lifestyle dis-eases — diabetes, hypertension, etc.WehaveanalysedCovid-19deathsanditwasmoreinpeoplewiththesecomorbidities.It isgoodthattheygetaboosterdose.Thisis why we have decided to request theCentralgovernmenttotakeadecisionongiving booster doses. Again, it is not ourdecision, the experts have to decide onthat. And the Centrewill have to take anopinion from experts and I hope a gooddecisionwill be takensoon.

ANURADHAMASCARENHAS:Kerala isthediabetescapitalof thecountry. IsCovidtriggeringneworearlyonsetofdiabetes?Whathaveyourfindingsbeen?Also,at least inMaharashtra,post-Covid, therewerea lotof casesof

thefungal infectionmucormycosis.WhatwasKerala’sexperience?If adiabeticpatientgets infectedwith

Covid, we have observed that their dia-beteslevelsshootupfastandthatmayre-sult inmucormycosis. So far, Kerala hadaround 114 cases, of which 70% patientswere cured, which, I think, is a good fig-ure. And the cost of medicines is quitehighbutasyoumayknow,theKeralagov-ernmentgivesfreetreatmentforCovidinall government hospitals. We also haveempanelled private hospitals and theykeptasidesomebeds for free treatment.

ANURADHAMASCARENHAS:There isa lotof talkofaOne-Healthapproach.Consideringtherisingthreatofzoonoticdiseases likenipah,zikaandconsideringthat theepidemiccurvealwaysstarts inthesouthernstates,howdoyoulookatOne-Health?Whatwillyoursurveillancestrategy

be?On One-Health,

the state is holdingdiscussions amongthe Health, AnimalHusbandry,Agriculture depart-ments etc. Also, wehavestartedanAnti-MicrobialResistance(AMR) campaign. By2023,weaim tobeacompletely AMR-lit-erate state.We havegiven special orderstomedicalshopsnotto give antibioticswithoutmedicalpre-scription. With thecooperation of other

departments, we are aiming to domoreprogrammesonOne-Health.

ANURADHAMASCARENHAS:Ondiabetescontrol,whataretheinterventionsyouare lookingat?Forearlyintervention,wearestarting

apeople’scampaign. Ineverypanchayat,wehaveauthorisedASHAworkerstovisiteach andeveryhouse and collect data toanalyse risk factors for all people above30.Wehaveagoodnetworkof laborato-riesinthestate,especiallyafterweimple-mentedtheAardramMission.Wewilltestall thoseabove30andkeepahealthcardforeachof them.Aspartofourcampaign,wewilltakethemessageofgoodhealthtopeople, ask them to consider changing

theirfoodhabits.Wearealsogoingtoim-plement public gymnasiums in everypanchayat to encourage exercise etc.Wehaveagoodplan, a goodnon-communi-cable diseases teamandwe areworkingonthat.

LIZMATHEW:Didthefloodsaffect thepandemicsituationinanyway?We had a plan in place before the

monsoon. We hadspecial (flood relief)camps for those inquarantine, thosewith symptoms andthose positive weretaken to CFLTCs(Covid First-LineTreatment Centres),CSLTCs (Covid First-Line TreatmentCentres) or DCCs(Domiciliary CareCentres). So we didthe separation at theinitial level itself,when those affectedby the floods weremoved from theirhouses to thecamps.We gave special at-tention to childrenand senior citizens.Also, antigen testswere done and peo-

plewereallowedtoenterthecampsonlyaftertheyweretested.Sothereliefcampsdidn’t affectourCovidcases.

MANOJCG:OntheAnupamacase, theCPI(M)machinery’sdelay inresolvingher issueforcedhertositonadharnaoutsidethesecretariat.Nowsheisbackonstrike.Howdoyouseetheparty’shandlingof thecase?(AnupamaSChandran,anSFI leader,andherpartnerAjithhadfiledacomplaintallegingthat theirbabywas illegallyputupforadoptionbyherfamily,allegedly incollusionwithCPI(M) leaders).Asaministerof theWomanandChild

Development department, I haven’t re-ceived any complaint. I came to knowofthe case fromaTV report. I askedmydi-rectorandprincipalsecretarywhattheis-suewas and that’s when I got to know. Iwas not in Trivandrum then, I was inPathanamthitta.... I askedmy principalsecretarytoorderaninquirywithoutanyformal complaint. That was October 20.The government order (on an inquiry)was issued on October 21 or 22. I got toknowthat familycourtwashandling theadoption case and I discussedwithChiefMinister.Afterthat, Itooklegaladviceandgot to know that court has put aside thecase for finalorders. Sowehadvery littletimetoact.Thatday,weauthorisedanad-vocatetofileastatementbeforethefam-ily court. That was crucial because thecourt postponed the order and themat-terisundertheconsiderationofthecourt.

SHUBHAJITROY:Accordingtoyou,whichstatesmanagedtheCovidsituationwellandwhichonesdidn’tmanageaswellasKerala?Also,werethere lessonsyoulearnt fromotherstates?Kerala’s demography and geography

are quite different from other states. Sowe always try to have our own strategy.AsIsaidinthebeginning,weissuedCovidguidelinesbackin2020,evenbeforeWHOissuedthoseguidelines.Wefollowedourstrategyandthathelpedustokeepthefa-talityonthe lowerside. Thishelpedus toensuretreatmentforthosewhorequiredit.

UMAVISHNU:Thedecision-makingapparatus intheCPI(M), like inmostotherparties, is still largelymaledominated. Is thereapushfromwithintheparty’swomenmemberstochangethat insomeway, tobeheardmore?Asamemberof theparty, Ihavespace

toraisemyvoice,myopinionisalsoheard.Theparty’s standonwomen reservationand empowerment is very clear. As youallknow,wehavethreewomenministersnow.Sothepartywillbegivingmoreim-portance to women leaders andwe areorganisingmore progragrammes on thesame.

LIZMATHEW:OnceyouhavetackledCovid,whatwouldyourprioritybeforthehealthsectorandforWCD, theotherdepartmentthatyouarehandling?Weopened post-Covid clinics every-

where,includinginmedicalcolleges,aftertheDeltavariantcausedthesecondwaveof Covid in Kerala. Also, we nowhave toexpectaviralera...newviruses,newvari-ants.TherearenowreportsintheUKandIsrael of newvariants of the coronavirus.The Kerala governmentwill focusmoreonnon-communicablediseasesbecauseit’s very important.

‘

We now have to expect a viral era... Kerala tries to reportevery Covid case. Our data is the best in the country

VEENAGEORGE,HEALTHMINISTER,KERALA

‘14

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

IDEAEXCHANGE Newsmakers in theNewsroom

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

‘ ‘In Kerala, there wasn’t asingle person who died due

to the lack of oxygen,hospital bed or ICU

support. This was possibledue to our strategy of

keeping the number ofpatients lower than the

medical capacity

Illustration: ShyamKumarPrasad

Kerala’sHealthMinisterVeenaGeorgesaysthestate’sCovidstrategyhasalwaysbeento“delaythepeak",pointsoutthatdespitethecases,thestate’sfatalityrateisamongthelowestincountry,andexplainswhyshehasreachedouttoCentreonboosterdoses.ThesessionwasmoderatedbyDeputyPoliticalEditorLizMathew

‘ ‘

I have written a letter to theUnion (health) minister,

seeking a quick decision onthe booster dose... We have

more number of peoplewith lifestyle diseases —

diabetes, hypertension, etc.We have analysed Covid-19deaths and it was more in

people with thesecomorbidities. It is good

that they get a booster dose

WHYVEENAGEORGE,45

Veena George took over asHealth Minister in thePinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala

government at the peak of the secondwave of the Covid pandemic.A journalist-turned-politician, Georgesucceeded K K Shailaja, who haddrawn international attention for thestate’s pandemic management.With Kerala still reportingaround 6,000-7,000 casesa day, the new ministerhas had a tough task ofconvincing critics thatthe ‘Kerala model’ ofdelaying the peakhas worked effectively

‘ ‘

We developed a protocolmuch before the World

Health Organisation cameup with one, and our

strategy has been to delaythe peak (of the Covid

curve). The ultimate aimwas to keep the totalnumber of patients

below the maximumthreshold capacity

New Delhi

What COP26 achieved, didn’tSIMPLYPUT

TheGlasgowclimatemeetinghasendedwithapactweakerthanmanyhadhopedfor.Amongitssuccesses,aglobalpledgetoreducemethaneemissions,andresolutionof thecarbonmarketdeadlock.

AMITABHSINHAGLASGOW,NOVEMBER14

AFTER TWOweeks of negotiations, the an-nualclimatemeetinginGlasgowcametoanendonSaturdaynightwith the adoptionofa weaker-than-expected agreement, theGlasgowClimatePact.Whilemost countries insisted that the

agreementwasanimportant,thoughsmall,step inkeepingalivehopesof achieving the1.5°Cgoal,observersandcivilsocietygroupsviewitlargelyasamissedopportunitytoen-hanceglobal climateaction.

The contextTheGlasgowmeetingwas the 26th ses-

sion of the Conference of Parties to the UNFrameworkConventiononClimateChange,or COP26 in short. These sessions deliveredtwo international agreements, the KyotoProtocol(1997)thatexpiredlastyear,andtheParis Agreement (2015), which now formsthe architecture for actions to be taken totackleclimatechange.Themain task for COP26was to finalise

therulesandproceduresfortheimplemen-tationof theParisAgreement.Mostof theserules had been finalised by 2018, but a fewprovisions, like the one relating to creationofnewcarbonmarkets,hadremainedunre-solved. However, due to clear evidence ofworseningof the climate crisis, theeffort inGlasgowwas topush for anagreement thatcould put the world on a 1.5°C pathway,rather thana2°C trajectory that is themainobjectiveof ParisAgreement.Hence,morethan100headsofstatesand

governments were invited to the Glasgowmeeting.Manyofthemannouncednewandenhanced climate actions. The final agree-ment,however,wasamixedbag.

The deliveriesMITIGATION: The Glasgow agreement

has emphasised that stronger action in thecurrentdecadewasmostcriticaltoachievingthe1.5°C target.Accordingly, ithas:

■ Asked countries to strengthen their2030climateactionplans,orNDCs(nation-ally-determinedcontributions),bynextyear

■ Establishedaworkprogrammetour-gentlyscaleupmitigationambitionandim-plementation

■Decided to convene an annualmeet-ing of ministers to raise ambitions of 2030climateactions

■ Called for an annual synthesis report

onwhatcountriesweredoing■RequestedtheUNSecretaryGeneralto

conveneameetingofworld leaders in2023toscaleupambitionof climateaction

■Asked countries tomake efforts to re-duceuseofcoalasasourceof fuel,andabol-ish “inefficient” subsidieson fossil fuels

ADAPTATION:Mostcountries,especiallythe smaller andpoorer ones, require aid fortheir adaptation activities. The GlasgowClimatePacthas

■ Asked the developed countries to atleast double themoney being provided foradaptationby2025from2019levels.In2019,about $15 billion was made available foradaptation, whichwas less than 20% of thetotal climate finance flows.

■Createdatwo-yearworkprogrammetodefineaglobalgoalonadaptation.Unlikethe2°Cgoalonmitigation,asimilarglobalgoalonadaptation has beenmissing, primarily be-causeofthedifficultyindefiningone:theben-efits fromadaptationarelocalorregional.

FINANCE: It is now estimated that tril-lions of dollars are required every year tofund the climate actions necessary.Developedcountriesareunderanobligation,duetotheirhistoricalresponsibilityinemit-ting greenhouse gases, to provide financeand technology to developing countries tohelpthemdealwithclimatechange.In2009,developed countries had promised tomo-bilise at least $100 billion every year from2020; the Paris Agreement asked them toscale this up from 2025. The $100 billion

promisehasnotyetbeenmet;thedevelopedcountries have now said theywill arrangethisamountby2023.The Glasgow agreement has asked the

developed countries to arrange the prom-ised$100billionurgently,andeveryyeartill2025. It has initiated discussions on settingthe new target for climate finance, beyondUS$100billion, for thepost-2025period.

LOSSANDDAMAGE:Theworstaffectedby climate disasters are the poor and smallcountries, and the island states. There is noinstitutional mechanism to compensatethem, or providehelp in relief and rehabili-tation.ThelossanddamageprovisionintheParis Agreement seeks to address that.Introduced eight years ago inWarsaw, theprovisionhasn’t receivedmuchattentionattheCOPs.Thanks toapush fromavery largenum-

ber of countries, substantive discussions onlossanddamagecouldtakeplaceinGlasgow.Oneof theearlierdraftsincludedaprovisionforsettingupafacilitytocoordinatelossanddamage activities.However, the final agree-ment,whichhasacknowledgedtheproblem,has only established a “dialogue” to discussarrangements for funding of such activities.This isbeingseenasamajor let-down.

CARBONMARKET:Suchamarketallowscountries,orindustries,toearncarboncred-its fortheemissionreductionstheymakeinexcess of their targets. These carbon creditscan be traded to the highest bidder in ex-changeformoney.Thebuyerscanshowthe

emission reductions as their own and usethemtomeet their targets.AcarbonmarketexistedundertheKyoto

Protocol. A new market under the ParisAgreement is yet to become functional.Developing countries like India, China orBrazil have large amounts of carbon creditsleft over because of the lack of demand, asmany countries abandoned their emissionreduction targets. The developing countrieswanted their unused carbon credits to betransitioned to the newmarket, but the de-velopednationshadbeenopposingthis,andquestioningwhetherthesecreditsrepresentactualemissionreductions.Thedeadlockthishad been holding up the finalisation of therulesandproceduresoftheParisAgreement.The Glasgow Pact has offered some re-

prievetothedevelopingcountries. Ithasal-lowed these carbon credits to be used inmeetingcountries’ firstNDCtargets,butnotsubsequent NDC targets. Most countrieshave presented climate targets for 2025 intheir first NDCs, whichmeans a developedcountrycanbuythesecreditsuntil 2025.The resolution of this deadlock is one of

themajor successesof COP26.

Parallel processesAlotofsubstantialactioninGlasgowhap-

pened in parallel processes that were notpartof theofficialCOPdiscussions.Thesein-cludetheannouncementsbyPrimeMinisterNarendraModi about increasedclimate ac-tion fromIndia.

■IndiaannouncedaPanchamitra(amix-ture of five elements) of climate actions. Itraised the targets for two of its existing cli-matetargets,announcedtwonewones,andpromisedto turnnet-zerobytheyear2070.

■Brazilsaiditwouldadvanceitsnet-zerotargetyear from2060to2050.Chinaprom-isedtocomeoutwithadetailedroadmapforits commitment to let emissions peak in2030, and also for its 2060 net-zero target.Israelannouncedanet-zerotarget for2050.

■Over 100 countries pledged to reducemethane emissions by at least 30% frompresent levels by 2030. This pledge, ifachieved, is estimated toprevent a temper-atureriseofabout0.2°Cbythemiddleof thecentury.ThisisbeingseenasoneofCOP26’sbiggest successes.

■Over100countriespromised toarrestandreversedeforestationby2030.

■Over30countries signedontoadecla-rationpromisingtoworktowardsatransitionto100%zero-emissioncarsbytheyear2040,at least intheworld’s leadingcarmarkets.

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THENAME of Bhopal’s Habibganj railwaystation has been changed to RaniKamlapati station. The BJP government ofMadhya Pradesh proposed this lastweek,and theCentre has cleared it. OnMonday,PrimeMinister NarendraModi will inau-guratethestation,whichhasbeenredevel-oped at around Rs 100 crore with privateparticipation.

WhowasRaniKamlapati?She was the widow of Nizam Shah,

whose Gond dynasty ruled the thenGinnorgarh,55kmfromBhopal, inthe18thcentury. Nizam Shah built the famousseven-storeyedKamlapatiPalaceinBhopal.Kamlapaticommittedsuicidebydrowningherself in theBhopal lake in1723.According to the state government,

Kampalati showed great bravery in facingaggressors during her reign after her hus-bandwaskilled.ChiefMinisterShivrajSingh

Chouhan has said Kamlapati was the "lastHinduqueenofBhopal"whodidgreatworkin the area of watermanagement, and setupparksandtemples.The Gond are one of the largest tribal

communities in India spread across MP,Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Bihar andOdisha. Therailwaystationisbeinginauguratedonthebirthanniversaryof the19th-centurytribalfreedomfighterBirsaMunda.

Whydoesarailwaystation’snamechange?Inmostcases,thenameofarailwaysta-

tion is the same as the name of the placewhere it is located. However, changingnames is not new, although it is not com-moneither.There are times when state govern-

mentshavegoneforanamechangetorep-resentalong-standingpopulardemand,orevenhistory.Forinstance, in1996,thecityofMadras

was officially rechristened Chennai to un-derline history and local sentiments. The

name of the railway station, too, changedfromMadras toChennai asa result.Since 2014, a number of stations have

got new names. The most notable wasMughalsarai Junction, which becamePandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction in2018 to honour the right-wing ideologuewho was found dead in Mughalsarai in1968.Thesameyear,Allahabadwasrenamed

Prayagraj, restoring an ancient name thatexistedaround440yearsago.TheManduadihstationinVaranasiwas

renamed Benaras to reflect the colloquialnamebywhichthecityisknown.Thelargerstation representing the city is alreadycalledVaranasi Junction.Again this year, on Diwali, Faizabad

Junction next to Ayodhya was renamedAyodhyaCantonmentstation.In most cases, the government of the

dayhaschangednamesof places (stationsincluded) forpolitical reasons.

Howdoesthechangeofnamehappen?While Indian Railwaysmay own a sta-

tion, the business of naming it is left to thediscretion of the state government con-cerned. Change of station names is a statesubjecteventhoughRailwaysbelongstotheUnion government. The state governmentsends the request to the HomeMinistry,which then gives its approval, keeping theRailwaysMinistry in the loop. Usually, it ischeckedthatnootherstationwiththepro-posednameexistsanywhere in India.

Whathappenswhenanameischanged?Oncethechangeofnameofaplaceora

stationisnotifiedbythestategovernment,Indian Railways steps in. A new station“code” for railwayoperationsmayneed tobe invented. For instance FaizabadJunction’scodeusedtobe“FD”,butthenewcode is “AYC”; for Rani Kamlapati station,the code changes from “HBJ” to “RKMP”.Thechangeisthenfedintotheticketingsys-tem so that the newname alongwith thecodeisreflectedonticketsandreservation,and train information.Railways also physically changes the

nameatthestation,andinitscommunica-tionmaterial.

Howarethe languagesandspellingsonthesignboarddecided?This aspect is governed by the Indian

RailwayWorks Manual, which codifieseverythingrelatedtocivilengineeringcon-struction works. Traditionally, stationnames were written only in Hindi andEnglish. Over time, it was instructed thatthelocal language,too,shouldbeincluded.Eventhen,Paragraph424oftheManual

saysRailwaysshouldobtainapprovalof thestategovernmentconcernedonthespellingof thenames(inallthreelanguages)beforeputting themon its signboards.“Thestationnamesshallbeexhibitedin

the following order: Regional Language,Hindi and English, except for Tamil Naduwhere theuse of Hindiwill be restricted toimportantstationsandpilgrimcentresasde-termined by the Commercial Department.Where the Regional language is Hindi, thenameboardswillbeintwolanguages,HindiandEnglish…,”theManualsays.

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.com

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

ESHAROYNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

THEPEOPLE’SLiberationArmy(PLA)andtheManipur Naga People’s Front have jointlyclaimedresponsibilityforSaturday’sambushof an Assam Rifles convoy in Manipur’sChurachandpurdistrict that killed seven, in-cludingCommandingOfficer46AssamRiflesViplavTripathi,hiswifeandnine-year-oldson.

WhoarethePLA?It was founded on September 25, 1978,

under the leadershipofNBisheshwar, afterits members broke away from the UnitedNationalLiberationFront(UNLF).In1979,thePLA's political wing Revolutionary People’sFront (RPF) was set up. Like the UNLF, andmany other splinter groups thatwould fol-low, the PLAwas fighting for secession ofManipurfromIndia.WhilethePLAcalledforKukiandNagainsurgentstojointheirranks,it remains dominated by Imphal valley-

basedMeiteiHindu insurgents.LikeotherMeiteiundergroundgroups,in

its initial years, PLA cadreswere trained byNagaland’s NSCN and they followMarxistideology. Itspoliticalwing,RPF,campaignedagainst drug abuse, and banned alcohol inManipur, often using violent means.Considered one of the strongest groups inManipur, the PLA has beenworking out ofMyanmar, alongwith otherMeitei groups.WithnoceasefireagreementwiththeIndiangovernment, these groups have not ex-pressedany intentof peace talks.

Arethesegroupsusuallyactive inChurachandpur?Experts have noted that Saturday’s am-

bushmarks a departure on several counts.Over a number of years, attacks on securityforces have taken place in Chandel district,which like Churachandpur bordersMyanmar. For example, in 2015, insurgentskilled18 soldiers of theDograRifles and in-jured16others inamajorattackinChandel.

Since the Army’s Operation All Clear in2003-04,manyinsurgentshavebeendriveninto Myanmar, especially fromChurachandpurwhichhasremainedlargelypeacefulsince,withSuspensionofOperationagreementsinplacebetweentheCentreandover20Kuki, Paitei andZomigroupsValley groups do not operate from this

district. InBahiangvillage,where theattacktookplace, thegroup thatwields local cloutis the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), andthe question being asked is how the PLAcouldhaveoperatedherewithouttheZRA’s“permission”.ChurachandpurdistrictneighboursChin

state inMyanmar, fromwhere there havebeenreportsofhumanrightsviolations.ThePeople’s Defence Force, the armedwing oftheNationalUnitygovernmentinMyanmar,isbelieved tohavepushed Indian insurgentgroups towards theborder.

Whatelsewasdifferent intheattack?In the 1990s, there were reports of

womenandchildrenbeingattackedduringclashes between the Nagas and Kukis inManipur.Sincethen,thisisthefirstattackinwhich a security officer’s family has beenkilled.Whileclaimingresponsibility,thePLAandMNPF said they had not known thatthe officer was being accompanied by hisfamily.The PLA used to be one of themost ac-

tivegroups,buthadbeenquietforfiveorsixyears. Leaders in other groups said that thePLA used to shun even social programmesorganised by insurgent groups, such asanti-drug campaigns, or anti-AFSPAprotests.Theambushmarkedasuddenandviolent revival.Therearesixmainvalleygroups–UNLF,

PLA,KCP,KYKL, PREPAK,MPLF–apart frommany splinter groups from each. All thegroups operate out of Myanmar and raisefundslargelythroughextortion.Theiractiv-ity, however, has dwindled over the years,with recruitment having stalled, and thegroups facingpressure insideMyanmar.

Manipur valley insurgents: dormancy and revival

RaniKamlapatistation,beinginauguratedonMonday. Twitter/PIB

KAMOÒ’ALEWA

IN 2006, the PanSTARRS telescope inHawaii spottedaquasi-satellite—anear-EarthobjectthatorbitstheSunandyetre-mainsclosetotheEarth.Scientistsnamedit Kamo’oalewa, aword that is part of aHawaiianchant,andalludestoanoffspringthat travels on its own. The asteroid isroughlythesizeofaFerriswheel–between150and190feet indiameter–andgetsascloseasabout9millionmilesfromEarth.Becauseof itssmallsize(about50me-

treswide),thisquasi-satellitehasbeendif-ficult for scientists to study, and littlewasknownabout it so far.Now,a study in thejournal Communications Earth andEnvironmentoffersinsightsintowherethissatellitecouldhavecomefrom.One possibility is that Kamo’oalewa

was apart of theEarth’sMoon, the studysuggests. It couldhavebrokenaway from

theMoondue to a possible impact, andgone on to orbit the Sun rather than theEarthlikeitsparentdoes.When scientists compared its spec-

trumwithalunarsamplethatwasbroughtbacktoEarthduringtheApollo14mission,they found striking similarities betweenthetwo.AmissiontocollectKamo’oalewa’ssampleshasbeen scheduled for a launchin2025.AnotherpossibilityisthatKamo’oalewa

was captured in its Earth-like orbit fromthe general population of Near EarthObjects.Athirdpossibilitycouldbethat itoriginated froman as-yet undiscoveredquasi-stable populationof Earth’s Trojanasteroids (Trojansareagroupof asteroidsthatshareanorbitwithalargerplanet.

Source:UniversityofHawaii,UniversityofArizona

THISWORDMEANS

Anartist'simpressionofKamo’oalewaneartheEarth-Moonsystem.AddyGraham/UniversityofArizona

TELLINGNUMBERS

SCIENTISTS HAVE reconstructedEarth's climate since the last ice age,about24,000yearsago.Thestudy,pub-lished inNature, suggests that currenttemperatures are unprecedented in24,000years.Ithasthreemainfindings,accordingtotheUniversityofArizona:

■ It verifies that themaindriversofclimatechangesincethelasticeageare rising greenhouse gas concentra-tionsandtheretreatof the icesheets.

■ It suggests a general warmingtrend over the last 10,000 years, set-tlingadecade-longdebate thepaleo-climatology community about

whether thisperiod trendedwarmerorcooler.

■ Themagnitudeandratewarm-ing over the last 150 years far sur-passes the magnitude and rate ofchangesover the last24,000years.The team createdmaps of global

temperature changes for every 200-yearintervalgoingback24,000years.They combined two independentdatasets–temperaturedatafromma-rine sediments and computer simu-lations of climate – to create amorecompletepictureof thepast.

Source:UniversityofArizona

How the climate has warmedover the last 24,000 years

E EXPLAINED1522

,000

20,000

18,000

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

750

500

250 0

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

Age(years before1950CE)

GlobalTem

perature(°C)

1850-2019temperatures

LessLikely MoreLikely

10-1

GlobalTem

perature(°C)

Above:Globalaveragesurfacetemperatureatdifferentperiodsgoingback24,000years; left:temperaturesincethe lasticeage.MatthewOsmanviaUArizona

Habibganj to Rani Kamlapati: How a railway station’s name is changed

24,000yrBP 18,000yrBP 12,000yrBP 6,000yrBP

10

0

-10 Temperature(°C)

COP26presidentAlokSharma(seated) andotherdelegates inGlasgowonSaturday,whenthemeetingconcluded.Reuters

New Delhi

16THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEANWHILE

THAISMARCH FORROYALREFORMSThousandsofThaistooktothestreetsofthecapitalonSundaydemandingreformsofthemonarchy,defyingacourtrulingthatsuchdemandsareaveiledattempttooverthrowtheinstitution.Youth-ledproteststhatbeganlastyearbycallingfortheremovalofPMPrayuthChan-ocha,66,aformercoupleader,havebecomethebiggestchallengeindecadestothemonarchywhichisconstitutionallyenshrinedtobeheldin“reveredworship”.

JAPAN

FormerprincessleavesforlifeinUSwithhusbandA JAPANESEprincesswhogaveupher royal status tomarryher commonercol-legesweetheartleftforNewYorkonSunday,asthecou-pleleftbehindanationthathas criticised their ro-mance. The departure ofMakoKomuro, the formerPrincess Mako, and KeiKomuro, both30,wascar-riedlivebymajorJapanesebroadcasters, showingthem boarding a planeamid a flurry of cameraflashesatHanedaAirportinTokyo.KeiKomuro,agrad-uateofFordhamUniversitylaw school, has a job at aNewYork lawfirm.Hehasyettopasshisbarexam,an-otherpieceofnewsthatlo-calmediahaveused toat-tack him, although it iscommontopassaftermul-tipleattempts. AP

MakoandherhusbandKeiKomuroatTokyoairport.AP

TOPOFTHEWORLD

SUDAN

Al-JazeerasaysbureauchiefdetainedTHEQATAR-BASEDsatel-lite news network Al-JazeerasaidSundayitsbu-reau chief in Sudanwasdetainedbysecurityforces,a day aftermass protestsacrossthecountryagainstlastmonth’smilitarycoup.The network said onTwitter that Sudaneseforces raided thehomeofEl Musalmi El Kabbashianddetainedhim.Thede-velopmentcomesafterse-curity forces firedliveam-munition and teargasSaturday todispersepro-testers denouncing themilitary’s tightening griponthecountry. AP

WESTASIA

Israelirightsgroup:SettlerviolenceatooltoseizelandISRAEL HAS been usingsettler violence as a “ma-jor informal tool” todrivePalestiniansfromfarmingand pasture lands in theoccupiedWest Bank, anIsraeli rights group saidSunday. A report by thegroup B’Tselemdetailedthe takeover of nearly 30square km of farm andpasture land in the terri-tory by settlers over thepast five years. B’Tselemalso challenged repeatedclaimsbythegovernmentthat violence againstPalestinians iscarriedoutby a fringe and securityforcesaredoingtheirbesttostopit. AP

JIMHEINTZMOSCOW,NOVEMBER14

FOR MOST of his 27 years asBelarus’authoritarianpresident,AlexanderLukashenko’srepres-sions and truculent statementsfrequently offended theWest.Thisyear, thatbelligerenceisdi-rectlyaffectingEurope.Hisgovernmentforcefullydi-

vertedanairlinerflyingbetweenGreece and Lithuania that wascarryingapoliticalopponent.Asthe European Union imposedsanctionsforthataction,Belarusresponded by easing its bordercontrols for migrants from theMiddleEastandAfrica,allowing

themtoheadfortheEUfrontier.ThathasforcedPoland,Latvia

andLithuaniatodeclareastateofemergencyintheirborderzonesto halt illegal crossings.Warsawhas sent thousandsof riotpoliceand troops to bolster security,leadingtotenseconfrontations.Lukashenkohassince raised

the stakes by threatening to cutoff natural gas shipments fromRussia that transit Belarus — apotentially severe blow toEuropeaswinter settles in.Themovesareadramatic es-

calationforLukashenko,whobe-came president in 1994 whenBelaruswasacountrythathadex-istedlessthanthreeyears.His disdain for democratic

normsandthecountry’sdismalhuman rights record hasmadeBelarus a pariah in the West,bringing him the sobriquet of“Europe’s lastdictator”.The67-year-oldLukashenko

prefers tobestyledas“Batka”—“Father” or “Dad”— a stern butwisepatriarch.Althoughhehasmadeocca-

sionalmovestowardrapproche-ment with the West,Lukashenko abandoned concil-iationaftermassivedemonstra-tionsroseupagainsthimin2020following an election to a sixthterm as president. The opposi-tion, andmany in theWest, re-jected theoutcomeas rigged.Tensof thousandsofprotest-

erswerearrested,manyof thembeaten by police;main opposi-tionfigureseitherfledthecoun-

try orwere jailed; foreign jour-nalistsweredrivenout;andordi-narycitizensreportedlywerear-

rested for “unauthorisedmassgatherings,” that included evenbirthdayparties.By suppressing opposition

throughsuchharshactions,alongwith keepingmuchof the econ-omyunder state control, Belarushasbecomeaneo-Soviet outlier,waryof its thrivingNATOandEUneighbours.Healternatelyquar-reledwithandcozieduptoRussia.He’s noted formercurial ac-

tionsandprovocativestatements,whichaleakedUSdiplomaticca-bleassessedasoutright“bizarre”.In 2006, he threatened pro-

testers by saying he would“wring their necks like a duck.”He also attracted uneasy noticethis year in a Christmas season

TV interview when he let hisfluffylittledogwalkonthetableamongthe festivedishes.His draconian dramatics

spikedinMay,whenheorderedaLithuania-boundRyanairjetlinerdiverted toMinsk and arrestedself-exiled opposition journalistRaman Pratasevich, who wasaboard. Belarusian authoritiessaid the actionwas taken after abomb threatwasmade againstthe plane, butWestern officialsdismissedthatasapreposterousattempt to disguise what theycalledanactofpiracy.The strapping Lukashenko

presentsatough-guyimagebyfre-quentlyplayingicehockey,includ-ingaspring2020outingwherehe

dismissedthecoronavirusbyask-ing a TV reporter if she sawanyviruses “flying around” in thearena.HealsoadvisedBelarusiansto“killtheviruswithvodka,”gotosaunas andwork in the fields toavoid infection, saying “Tractorswillcureeverybody!”Once well-regarded by his

countrymenasananti-corruptionleader,Lukashenkolosttheirtrustthroughdecadesof jailingoppo-nents,stiflingindependentmediaand holding elections that gavehimtermafterterminpower.Protestshadbrokenoutafter

someoftheballoting,butnotsiz-ableorsustainedenoughtolongwithstandclub-swingingpoliceandmassdetentions. AP

THE BELARUSIAN LEADER HAS PREVIOUSLY OFFENDED WESTERN POWERS, NOW HIS ACTIONS ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTING THEM

Lukashenko, ‘Europe’s last dictator’, raises the stakes with the West

BelarusPresidentAlexanderLukashenkowithariflelastyear,whenthousandstooktothestreetsinprotestagainsthim.AP

DAVEPHILIPPS&ERICSCHMITTNOVEMBER14

IN THE last days of the battleagainsttheIslamicStategroupinSyria,whenmembersoftheonce-fiercecaliphatewerecorneredina dirt field next to a town calledBaghuz, aUSmilitary drone cir-cled high overhead, hunting formilitary targets. But it sawonlyalarge crowdofwomenand chil-drenhuddledagainstariverbank.Withoutwarning,aUSF-15E

attack jet streaked across thedrone’s high-definition field ofvisionanddroppeda500-poundbomb on the crowd. Then a jetdropped one 2,000-poundbomb, thenanother.ItwasMarch18, 2019.At the

USmilitary’s busyCombinedAirOperationsCentreatAlUdeidAirBase inQatar,uniformedperson-nelwatchingthelivedronefootagelookedoninstunneddisbelief.“Whodroppedthat?”acon-

fused analyst typed on a securechatsystembeingusedbythosemonitoring the drone. Anotherresponded,“Wejustdroppedon50womenandchildren.”An initial battle damage as-

sessmentquicklyfoundthatthenumber of dead was actuallyabout70.TheBaghuzstrikewasoneof

the largest civilian casualty inci-dents of the war against theIslamic State, but it has neverbeenpublicly acknowledged bythe USmilitary. The details, re-portedbyTheNewYorkTimes forthefirsttime,showthatthedeathtollwasalmost immediatelyap-parenttomilitaryofficials.Alegalofficerflaggedthestrikeasapos-siblewar crime that required aninvestigation.Butatnearlyeverystep, themilitarymademovesthat concealed the strike. Thedeath toll was downplayed.Reportswere delayed, sanitisedand classified. US-led coalitionforces bulldozed the blast site.Andtopleaderswerenotnotified.The US Defence

Department’s independent in-

spectorgeneralbegananinquiry,but the report containing itsfindingswasstalledandstrippedof anymentionof thestrike.Thedetailsofthestrikeswere

pieced together by TheNewYorkTimes overmonths from confi-dential documents anddescrip-tionsof classified reports aswellas interviewswithpersonnel di-rectly involvedandofficialswithtopsecretsecurityclearanceswhodiscussedtheincidentonthecon-ditionthattheynotbenamed.TheTimes investigationfound

thatthebombinghadbeencalledinbyaclassifiedUSspecialopera-tionsunit,TaskForce9,whichwasinchargeofgroundoperations inSyria. The task force operated insuchsecrecythatattimesitdidnotinformevenitsownmilitarypart-nersofitsactions.InthecaseoftheBaghuzbombing,theUSAirForcecommandinQatarhadnoideathestrikewascoming.Afterthestrike,analarmedAir

Forceintelligenceofficerintheop-erationscentercalledoveranAirForce lawyer in charge of deter-miningthelegalityofstrikes.Thelawyer ordered the F-15Esquadron and thedrone crew topreserve all video andother evi-dence. Hewent upstairs and re-ported the strike to his chain ofcommand, saying itwas apossi-ble violationof the lawof armedconflict—awarcrime—andreg-ulations requireda thorough, in-dependentinvestigation.Butathorough,independent

probeneverhappened. NYT

REUTERSADEN,NOVEMBER14

YEMEN’S WARRING sidesclashedsouthoftheRedSeaportcity of Hodeidah late onSaturday, after Iranian-backedHouthifightersmovedintoterri-tory ceded by forces allied to aSaudi-led coalition, militarysourcesandwitnesses said.Yemeni forcesbackedbythe

United Arab Emirates had onFridayannouncedtheywerere-deployingfromaroundYemen’smain port in the west, a movewhichaUNmonitoringmissionand the government said theyhadnoadvancenoticeof.The Saudi-backed govern-

ment and the Iran-alignedHouthis, who hold Hodeidahcity,hadin2018agreedaUnitedNations-sponsored pact for atruce in Hodeidah that largelyheld and a troopwithdrawal bybothsides, stalledsince2019.Coalitionwarplaneslaunched

airstrikes on the Al Faza areasouth of Hodeidah as Houthifighters battled UAE-backedforces untilmidnight, twomili-tarysourcesandresidentssaid.AlFazais15kmfromcoalition-

held Al-Khokha, towhich hun-dredsof Yemenishave fled aftertheHouthiadvance.

GONZALOSOLANOQUITO,NOVEMBER14

A PROLONGED gunbattle be-tweenrivalgangsinsideEcuador’slargestprisonkilledatleast68in-mates and wounded 25 onSaturday,whileauthoritiessaidittookmostofthedaytoregaincon-trol at the Litoral Penitentiary,whichrecentlysawthecountry’sworstprisonbloodbath.The killing erupted before

dawnat theprison in thecoastalcityofGuayaquil inwhatofficialssaidwas the latest outbreak of

fighting among prison gangslinkedtointernationaldrugcartels.Videoscirculatingonsocialmediashowedbodies, someburned, ly-ingonthegroundinsidetheprison.The shooting lasted around

eighthours,officialssaid,andthennewclasheswerereportedinpartof theprisonintheafternoon.PresidentialspokesmanCarlos

Jijónfinallyannouncedafternight-fallthat“thesituationiscontrolled

throughout thepenitentiary.”Hesaidabout900policeofficershadtakencontrolofthesituation.In the initial fighting, inmates

“triedtodynamiteawalltogetintoPavilion2tocarryoutamassacre.Theyalsoburnedmattressestotrytotodrown(theirrivals)insmoke,”saidthegovernorofGuayas,PabloArosemena. “We are fightingagainst drug trafficking,”Arosemenasaid.“Itisveryhard.”The bloodshed came less

than twomonths after fightingamong gangs killed 119 peopleat the prison, which housesmore than8,000 inmates. AP

UShidairstrike inSyria thatkilleddozensofcivilians

AtRaqqa,Syria.ManySyriancitiesandtownsenduredwitheringcoalitionairstrikesandfightingbetweenISISandSyrianforces.NYT

ASSOCIATEDPRESSCAIRO,NOVEMBER14

THESONandone-timeheir ap-parent of late Libyan dictatorMoammar Gadhafi announcedSunday his candidacy for thecountry’s presidential electionnext month, Libya’s electionagencysaid.Seif al-Islam submitted his

candidacy papers in the south-ern town of Sabah, the agencysaid inastatement.Gadhafi’ssonwascapturedby

fighterslatein2011,theyearwhenapopularuprisingtoppledhisfa-ther aftermore than40years in

power.MoammarGadhafiwaslaterkilledamidtheensuingfight-ingthatwouldturnintoacivilwar.Inavideoreleasedbytheelec-

tions officewherehe registered,Seif al-Islamaddressed the cam-era said thatGodwill decide therightpathforthecountry’sfuture.HeworeatraditionalLibyanrobeandturbanandspectacles.Seif al-Islamwas released in

June 2017 after more than fiveyears of detention, and in JulytoldTheNewYorkTimes inanex-clusive interview that he wasconsidering a run for the coun-

try’stopoffice.LibyaissettoholdpresidentialelectionsonDec.24,afteryearsofUN-ledattemptstousher in amore democratic fu-tureandbringthewartoanend.The long-awaited vote still

faces challenges, including un-resolved issues over electionlaws and occasional infightingamongarmedgroups.Otherob-stacles includethedeeprift thatremains between the country’seast andwest, split for years bythe war, and the presence ofthousands of foreign fightersand troops.

Prolonged gunbattle battle among Ecuadorprison gangs leaves at least 68 inmates dead

Relativesofinmates intheLitoralpenitentiarywaitoutsidethe jail inGuayaquil,Ecuador.AP

Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, announces hiscandidacy for Libyan presidential election

Seif al-Islamin2011.AP

ManyAustriansarescepticalaboutvaccines.Reuters

Lockdown inAustria for thosenot vaccinatedagainst CovidVienna:Austriaisplacingmillionsof people not fully vaccinatedagainst the coronavirus in lock-downasofMondaytodealwithasurgeininfectionstorecordlev-els, Chancellor AlexanderSchallenbergsaidonSunday.Europe has become the epi-

centreoftheCovid-19pandemicagain, prompting somegovern-ments to consider re-imposingunpopular lockdowns.Roughly65%ofAustria’spop-

ulationisfullyvaccinated,whichisoneofthelowestratesinwesternEurope.ManyAustriansarescep-tical about vaccines, a viewpro-motedby the far-right FreedomParty, the third biggest inparlia-ment.While theNetherlands isdealingwithitssurgeininfectionsby imposing apartial lockdownthatappliestoall,Austria’sgovern-mentsaysitwantstoavoidimpos-ingmorerestrictionsonthosewhoarefullyvaccinated. REUTERS

ATalibanmilitaryparade inKabulonSunday.Reuters

REUTERSGLASGOW,NOVEMBER14

THEPRESIDENToftheCOP26cli-mate conference, Alok Sharma,said Saturday he was “deeplysorry”forhowthegatheringcon-cludedwithchangesontheword-ingaboutcoal.Hisvoicebreakingwithemo-

tionafterhearing fromvulnera-ble nations which expressedtheir anger over the changes, hesaid: “May I just say to all dele-gates Iapologiseforthewaythisprocess has unfolded and I amdeeplysorry.”“I also understand the deep

disappointment but I think asyouhavenoted,it’salsovitalthatweprotect thispackage.”He said he wished he had

been able to preserve the origi-nally agreed language on phas-ing out coal power in theGlasgowclimatedeal.“OfcourseIwishthatwehad

managed to preserve the lan-guageoncoalthatwasoriginally

agreed,”hetoldreporters.“Nevertheless, we do have

language on coal, on phasedown,and Idon't thinkanyoneat the start of this processwould have necessarily ex-pected that that would havebeen retained.”

COP26 presidentoffers emotionalapology for changesto climate agreement

THEWARinYemenhasledtowhattheUNdescribesastheworsthumanitariancrisisintheworld,andtheblockadeofHouthi-heldportsbytheSaudi-ledmilitarycoalitionhasbeenamajorfactorinpre-cipitatingthiscrisis.Hodeidahisthemainentrypointforim-portsandaidintoYemen,andcontroloverthisportisessen-tialforaccesstosupplies.

WhycontrolofHodeidahisimportantE●EX

PLAINED

Clashes in key Yemeni cityas pro-coalition forces cedeground to Houthi rebels

May I just say to alldelegates I apologise fortheway this processhasunfoldedand I amdeeplysorry... it’s also vital thatweprotect this package.”

ALOKSHARMAPRESIDENTOFTHISYEAR’SCLIMATECONFERENCE

Reuters

GIBRANNAIYYARPESHIMAMKABUL,NOVEMBER14

TALIBANFORCESheldamilitaryparadeinKabulonSundayusingcaptured American-made ar-moured vehicles and Russianhelicopters in a display thatshowed their ongoing transfor-mation from an insurgent forcetoa regular standingarmy.The Taliban operated as in-

surgentfightersfortwodecadesbut have used the large stock ofweaponsandequipmentleftbe-hindwhentheformerWestern-backedgovernmentcollapsedinAugust tooverhaul their forces.Theparadewaslinkedtothe

graduationof250freshlytrainedsoldiers, defence ministryspokesman EnayatullahKhwarazmisaid.Theexerciseinvolveddozens

ofU.S.-madeM117armouredse-

curityvehiclesdrivingslowlyupand down amajor Kabul roadwithMI-17helicopterspatrollingoverhead.Many soldiers carriedAmericanmade-M4assaultrifles.Most of the weapons and

equipmenttheTalibanforcesarenowusingarethosesuppliedbyWashington to the American-backedgovernmentinKabulinabid to construct an Afghan na-tional force capable of fightingtheTaliban.

Those forces melted awaywith the fleeing of AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani fromAfghanistan-leavingtheTalibantotakeovermajormilitaryassets.Taliban officials have said

thatpilots,mechanicsandotherspecialists from the formerAfghan National Army wouldbe integrated into a new force,whichhasalso startedwearingconventionalmilitaryuniformsin place of the traditionalAfghanclothingnormallywornby their fighters.Accordingtoareportlatelast

year by the Special InspectorGeneral for AfghanistanReconstruction (Sigar), the USgovernment transferred to theAfghan governmentmore than$28billionworthofdefencear-ticles and services, includingweapons,ammunition,vehicles,night-vision devices, aircraft,and surveillance systems, from2002 to2017. REUTERS

Taliban hold military paradewith US-made weapons in Kabul

Membersof Talibansitonamilitaryvehicleduringtheparade.ReutersUK: 1 dead in car explosion

outside Liverpool hospitalLondon:Counter-terrorismpolicein Britainwere investigating anexplosionatahospitalSundayinthe city of Liverpool that killedonepersonandinjuredanother.Policewere called to reports

of a blast involving a taxi atLiverpoolWomen’sHospital onSundaymorning.Policesaidtheexplosionhadnotbeendeclaredaterrorist incident,butcounter-terrorism police were leading

theinvestigationasaprecaution.“So far we understand, the

car involved was a taxi, whichpulledupat thehospital shortlybefore the explosion occurred,”MerseysidePolice said.One person died and aman

was being treated for non life-threatening injuries. Police saidthey were “keeping an openmind” about what caused theexplosion. AP

New Delhi

17THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Market WatchM-CAPOF6OFTOP-10VALUEDCOS JUMPSNew Delhi: Six of the 10 most valued companies together addedRs 1,18,383.07 crore in market valuation last week, with majorcontribution coming in from RIL. During the last week, the30-share BSE benchmark jumped 619.07 points or 1.03 per cent.PTI

REGULATORCOMINGUPWITHAN INVESTORCHARTER

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,NOVEMBER14

SECURITIESANDExchangeBoardofIndia(Sebi)ChairmanAjayTyagion Sunday cautioned investorsagainstgetting luredbyunrealis-tic returnsandpromises that are“toogoodtobetrue”.“Investors should be careful

againstgettingcarriedawaybythelureofunrealisticreturnsinthese-curitiesmarket,”TyagisaidwhileaddressingtheIndiaInternationalTradeFair.Sebi iscomingupwithanInvestorCharterforprotectionofinvestors’interestsintheIndiansecuritiesmarkets,hesaid.Stockmarketvaluationshave

already touchednewpeaks andcompaniesareliningupwithIPOstoraisefundsfrominvestors.“Manyatime,undesirableele-

ments take advantage of thegullible investors by makingpromises that are ‘toogood tobetrue’. Investors are advised tobecautious of such offerings,” theSebiChairmansaid.According to him, the first

thingtheinvestorsneedtounder-stand is that any financial invest-mentcomeswithasetofrisks.So,it is important that the investorsarecognizantoftherisksinvolvedin theproduct theyare investinginandoftheirrisk-takingability.Iftheyarenotabletoassessthesuit-ability of a particular financialproduct, itmight bewiser to re-mainawayfromitthangoingthewrongway,hesaid.In addition to the Investor

Charterof Sebi, separate investorchartershavebeendevelopedbyregistered intermediaries, regu-latedentities andassetmanage-

ment companies, he said. “Theseinvestor charters aim to createawarenessamonginvestorsaboutdifferent servicesbeingprovidedtothem,timelinesrelatedtovari-ousserviceslikeinvestorgrievanceredressalmechanism,theirrightsand responsibilities anddos and

don’ts of investing in securitiesmarket,”Tyagisaid.FromaroundRs120lakhcrore

attheendof2016-17,marketcap-italisationhasnowalmost dou-bledtoRs230lakhcrore.Turnoverintheequitycashmarketandde-rivativesmarketalsowitnessedasignificantjump.Averagemonthlyequity cashmarket turnover in-creased fromRs 8 lakh crore inFY2019-20 tomore thanRs15.5lakhcrorethisFYtillOctober2021,hesaid.Ontheequityderivativesside,

the corresponding turnover fig-ures based on premium valuewereRs19.0lakhcroreinFY2019-20,which increasedtoaroundRs28.4 lakh crore in this FY tillOctober2021.TheAUMofmutualfundindustryhasalmostdoubledfromRs21lakhcrorein2017-18toRs37lakhcroreasonOctober31,

2021.Tyagisaidparticipationofre-tailinvestorsinsecuritiesmarketshas seena significant rise, espe-ciallyinthelasttwoyears,whichisevidentfromtheincreaseinnum-ber of demat accounts,mutualfundfoliosandnumberofSIPs. In2019-20,onanaverage,4lakhnewdemat accounts were openedeverymonthwhich increased toover26lakhpermonthinthecur-rentfinancialyear,hesaid.“Ifwe lookatnumberofmu-

tualfundfolios,inthebeginningofFY2019-20,totalnumberoffolioswere8.25crore,which increasedto 11.44 crore as onOctober 31,2021,”hesaid.WithregardtoSIP,while on an average around 52lakhSIPswere addedduring thelast two financial years, alreadyaround75lakhshavebeenaddedduringthefirstsixmonthsof thisfinancialyear.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

FOREIGN PORTFOLIO in-vestors (FPIs) were net sell-ers in the domesticmarketstothetuneofRs949croreinthe first half of November.As per the depositories

data, they pulled out Rs4,694crorefromequitiesbe-tweenNovember1-12.At the same time, they

pumpedRs3,745croreinthedebt segment.This translated into

total net withdrawal ofRs949crore.InOctober,FPIsremained

netsellersatRs12,437crore.FPIs have been worried

about higher valuations ofIndian equities, which con-tinue to trade near all-timehigh levels, said HimanshuSrivastava, associate direc-tor-manager research,Morningstar India.Additionally, concerns

over the global inflationarypressure and slowdown insome of the developedeconomiesarealsocauseforconcern, he said.FPIs sitting on profit,

would have chosen to bookthe samewhich is reflectedintheflowtrendoverthelastfewweeks, he said.“It appears that FPIs are

exiting on valuation con-cerns. The important pointto note is that the old sce-nariowhere FPIs represent-ing smart money dictatedmarket trends isover for thepresent...We are in a periodof uncertainty,” said VKVijayakumar, chief invest-ment strategist at GeojitFinancial Services.

For debt segment,Srivastava said, “The flowtrendhaslargelybeendrivenbythedirectionofdollarandUStreasuryyields. FPIs tendto park their investments inIndian bonds for short termwhen they adopt a wait-and-watch approach to-wards Indianequities.”FPI flows in November

were positive so far forIndonesia, the Phillipines,South Korea, Taiwan andThailand to the tune of $78million, $47 million, $203million, $1,565million and$59 million, respectively,noted Shrikant Chouhan,head of equity research re-tail, KotakSecurities.Going forward,Chouhan

said FPI flows may remainvolatile in the emergingmarkets on account of thesharp increase in global en-ergyprices andprospects ofelevatedpricesmayposean-othersourceof risktoglobaland domestic inflation.WITHPTI

MARKETSWATCHFOREIGNPORTFOLIO INVESTORS

Future Retail toCCI: Amazonmisled regulator

‘FTAs to helpprovide moremarket accessto Indian goods’ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

TALKSFORtheproposedfreetradeagreements(FTAs)withcountries,includingAustralia,theUKandtheUAE,aremovingatafastpaceandthesepacts,when implemented,wouldhelpprovidegreatermar-ket access to domestic goods,CommerceandIndustryMinisterPiyushGoyalsaidonSunday.Goyal said that talks for such

pactsaregoingonwithAustralia,UAE, GCC (Gulf CooperationCouncil), EuropeanUnion, Israeland theUK.When these agree-mentswouldbefinalised,itwouldprovide “greater access to ourmanufacturedgoodsastherewillbelessorzerocustomsduties,”theminister said at Vaishya SamajSammelan.Goyaladdedsaidtheeconomy

waswitnessingabounceback inevery sphere, and the country iswellontracktoachievehistoricalhighs in goods and services ex-ports.HesaidIndiaisoncoursetoachieve$400billionofmerchan-diseexports in thecurrent finan-cialyearendingMarch.“Also,ontheservices(exports)

side,wearewellontracktogouptoa$150billion,”hesaid.WITHPTI

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,NOVEMBER14

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS ofFutureRetail (FRL) have shot offanother letter totheCompetitionCommissionof India (CCI), alleg-ingthatAmazon’ssubmissionstothewatchdogwere completely“contradictory”toitsearlierinter-nal correspondence and state-mentsgiventocourts.Thedirectors reiterated their

plea for revocation of approvalgivenbyCCIforAmazon’s invest-ment in FutureCoupons PrivateLtd(FCPL)twoyearsago.“Inspiteofthefactthatintheir

mind, the rights acquired byAmazonover FRLwere strategic,Amazonhas chosen to representtheserightsas‘investmentprotec-tionrights’toCCI,”thedirectorsofFRL stated in the letter datedNovember10.In the latest letter, the inde-

pendent directors alleged thatAmazon’s representation that itdoesnothaveanydirect or indi-rect shareholding in FRL is alsocontradictedbytheirowninternalrecords.Theyquotedaletterwrit-

tenbyAmazonIndialegalheadtoAmazonCEO,mentioninga25percent premiumover regulatorypriceofFRLwasbeingpaidonac-count of the strategic rights andcalloptions.Originally,Amazonwasto in-

vest directly in FRL through theForeignPortfolioInvestment(FPI)route, but due to restrictions inIndianforeigninvestmentlawsthecompanydecidedtousea“twin-entityinvestment”structure.That is,Amazonwasto invest

inFCPLandFCPLwouldacquirea9.82 per cent of FRL, the letteradded.Theletter,acopyofwhichwas

sent toBSEandSebi, alsoallegedthatAmazongavedifferent andcontradictory reasons to courtsandCCIfortheinvestments.FE

INDIA INCEARNINGS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,NOVEMBER14

IT’SBEENasplendidearningssea-sonwith surprises outnumber-ing disappointments andprompting analysts to upgradeearningsestimatesforafairnum-ber of companies. On a roughreckoning, brokerages haveupped FY22profit estimates foratleast50percentofthecompa-niestheytrack.That’snotsurpris-ing becausemanagement com-mentary on demand has beenreasonably optimistic; orderbooks are filling up, hotels andmallsareopenandtravelhasre-sumed. In all this, inflation re-mainsabigconcern.The trends that are comfort-

inganalystsincludethebighiringplansofITfirms,thestrongprop-ertysales,thepick-upinvolumesatFMCGfirmsandtherobustin-creaseinhomeloans.Indeed,therebound in real estate is goodnewsfortheeconomy.

Theconcernsaretheshortageof keycomponentsplaguing theauto sector, the rising cost of en-ergy,inputinflationingeneralandthe high attrition at IT firms.Whiletherevivalinconsumerde-mandhasbeen fairly strong, notall companies have been able topassonthehighercosts;thathaspressuredmargins.Several companies have

talkedof theneed to raisepricesto be able to pass on the highercostof inputs.Revenues in the September

quartergrewwell,albeitwiththe

helpofalowbase;forasampleof1,853companies(excludingbanksand financials), theywereup33per cent y-o-y, a good part of ithelpedbycommodityinflation.Atthesametimerealisations

improved for a range of goods.Net standalone revenues atMahindra &Mahindrawere up15percenty-o-yonthebackofagoodASP(averagesellingprice).However,risingrawmaterial

costs caused some damage, up430 bps y-o-y; operatingmar-gins for the sample contracted57bps.FE

THE SEBI Chairman’sstatementcomesatatimewhenstockmarketvalua-tionshavealreadytouchednewpeaksandcompaniesare lining upwith IPOs toraisefundsfrominvestors.

ValuationsatpeaksE●EX

PLAINED

Sebi Chairmancautions investorsagainst ‘lure of unrealistic returns’

Govt to enhancefunding undersolar PLI to`24K cr: SinghNewDelhi:Thegovernmentwillsoonenhance the fundingundertheproduction linked incentive(PLI)schemeforthedomesticso-larcellsandmodulemanufactur-ingtoRs24,000crorefromtheex-istingRs4,500croretomakeIndiaanexportingnation.“Webrought thePLI scheme

(forsolarcellsandmodules)worthRs4,500crore.Weinvitedbidsandwegot54,500MWmanufactur-ing capacity of solar equipment.Weaskedthegovernmenttosanc-tionRs19,000croremoreunderthePLI,whichwasapproved (in-principle).NowwewouldhaveaPLIofRs24,000crore,”PowerandMinisterRKSinghtoldPTI.PTI

‘USTR to visitthis month, eyeon investment’NewDelhi: India and theUSwilldiscusswaystopromotetradeandinvestments besides increasingcooperation inagriculture sectorand intellectual property rightsduringameeting thismonthbe-tweenUSTradeRepresentativeKatherine Tai and CommerceMinisterPiyushGoyal, anofficialsaid.Thetwo-daymeetingwillbe-ginfromNovember22.TheUSTradeRepresentative

(USTR)isvisitingIndiatorevivetheTradePolicy Forum(TPF),whichhasnotmetforthelastfouryears,theofficialsaid.Themeetingisalsoimportantas the12thministerialconference of theWorld TradeOrganization(WTO)isscheduledfromNovember30 toDecember3inGeneva.PTI

FPIs remain netsellers in Nov sofar as valuationsin expensive zone

TheBSE,Mumbai.Asperthedepositoriesdata,FPIspulledoutRs4,694crorefromequitiesbetweenNovember1-12.File

BRIEFLYCEAoneconomyNewDelhi: Economy isex-pectedtoseeadouble-digitgrowthin2021-22andbe-tween6.5-7percent inthenext financial year, outgo-ingchief economicadvisorKVSubramaniansaid.

MarutiCNGNewDelhi: Maruti Suzukiplans todrive inmoreCNGtrims, said senior executivedirector (sales andmark-eting)ShashankSrivastava.

AmazonunitNewDelhi:Amazonhas in-fusedcapitalofRs1,460croreinto one of its India units,AmazonSellerServices.PTI

INTERVIEWWITH INDIGOCEO

WHILECOVIDwas theworstpe-riod for airlinesglobally in termsofthelossofbusiness,itwasalsoatime that changedbehavioursofbothconsumersandmarkets.Oneof the views echoed the mostacross theairline industry is thattravellers are increasinglyprefer-ring to flynon-stop routeson thefear of catching the virus. CEOof low-cost airline IndiGoRONOJOYDUTTA,who spoke toPRANAV MUKUL, expects thistrendtostay,andsaidthecarrierislookingtocapitaliseonthisbyex-panding into new internationalmarketsasthesolenon-stopserv-ice.Healsotalkedabouttheavia-tion industry shapingup in con-text of a revitalised Air India.Editedexcerpts:

Festivalseasonsawsomestrongpassengernumbers.Isthismomentumlikelytosustain?It’s beenavery strongDiwali.

Wehit87percentloadfactorinacoupleofdays.Oursystemcapac-ity ononeday—November 8—washighestever,evenpre-Covid.So, there are some good thingshappeningon capacity and rev-enue.It’sbeenastrongseasonandweareoptimisticgoingforward.

InthecontextoftheaircraftdeliveriesthatIndiGoisawaiting,areyoulookingatgoingdeeperintoyourexistingmarketsorgoingwideandcreatingnewones—bothintermsofdomesticandinternational?Wedefinitelywanttogrowin-

ternationalinabigway.Pre-Covid,internationalwas25per cent ofour capacity.Wewant to growbothdomestic and international,butIwouldguessthatinabout5-6 years fromnow, internationalwillbeabout30-40percentofourcapacity. Internationalwill growfaster than domestic. DuringCovid,wehaveexpandeda lot intier-2 and tier-3 stations and thegoodnews is that thedemand inthemetro-to-metro segments isalso coming back. Once this airbubbleisexpandedintoaregularschedule, there are a lot of newmarkets we want to fly to —Moscow,TelAviv,Milan,Nairobi,Bali.ButofcoursewehavetowaitforCovidrestrictionstogoaway.

Whatisthestrategybehindtheplanyouhavechartedforinternationalexpansion?The thought process is that

thereisdemandinthosemarketsand the passengers from thosemarkets are not able to come toIndia non-stop. So,whether it isNairobiorDusseldorf,theyallstopatDoha,AbuDhabi,Dubai,etcandsimilarly fromBali andManila,theystopatSingaporeorBangkok.So it’s all one-stop.We’ll look atmaking these connectionsnon-stop,whichisagoodthingfromacustomer’s point of view and a

competitor’spointof view.That’swhyweareveryoptimisticaboutthesemarketsbecausethereisnonon-stop competition in thosemarketsatall.

Thereseemstobeaviewthatcustomersarepreferringnon-stopflightsoverone-stopbecauseofCovid. Isthistrendlikelytocontinueinthelongterm?Absolutely. This non-stop vs

one-stophasbeena repeat issuein the industry for a long time. Ihavetriedvariousnon-stopsfromtheWest—atAir Canada, I trieddoingToronto-Delhi,atUnited,wedidaChicago-DelhiandthenatAirSaharaalso,wetriedLondon.Theproblem is that these non-stopflightsfacealotofone-stopprob-lems.BetweenDelhiandLondon,wecounted thereare22waysofgetting there— throughOman,Dubai, Amsterdamand peopleneverpaidpremiumforthenon-stop.Butthathaschanged,andasaresultyou’reseeingUniteddoingSan Francisco to Bangalore, andAmericandoingSeattle toDelhi.These thingswere unthinkable.ButnowIbelieve it’shere to stayandthatworksforus.

Howmuchisyourgrowthstrategybeingdictatedbythesingle-fleetstrategyandtheproductthatyouhavetooffer?The good thing about the

AirbusA320 family (A320,A321,A321XLR) is that theyhavecom-moncockpits.ThesamepilotwhocanflyanA320canflyanA321andcan flyanA321XLR.So there’snofleet complexitybut theproductat theback isdifferent.Therefore,wearenotgettingintofleetcom-plexity. We have ATR planes,which is admittedly a differentfleet, but all this analysis thatwehave done at different airlinesshowsthatbeyond20-25planes,itdoesn’tmatter.Ifit’slessthan25planes — meaning if you haveeightofonefleetand14ofanother,you have big trouble. But if youhave50ofoneand60of another,itdoesn’tmatter.Thatwasalsoourthinking inCFMvsPratt because

ourfleet issobignowthatevenifwehavetwoenginetypes,theyarelarge enough innumberswherethecomplexityisnotthere.

InlightofAirIndia’sdisinvestmentandAkasacomingup,howareyoulookingatcompetitionshapingup?Firstofall, letmetellyouthatI

amvery happywith disinvest-mentofAirIndia.Itisgoodforthecountry,theaviationindustryandalso IndiGo, and I’ll tell youwhy.Havingacompetitor,whowasnotdrivenbybasiceconomicsbutbypoliticsandhavingataxpayerasacushionwasnothealthy forus. Italsogota lotofunfairadvantages— if slotsweremadeavailable inMumbai,theyalwaysgotfirstpref-erence.All those thingsevenoutand,therefore,Ithinkthat’sagoodthing for the industry.Will therebemore competition? Sure. ButthereissomedegreeofseparationbetweenVistaraandAir Indiaontheoneside,andus.Theyarefull-servicecarriers,wearenot.They’llflywide-bodiedaircrafttoLondonandNewYork,wewillflynarrow-bodiedplanestoa6-7hourrange.

DuringCovid,IndiGodidalotofcharterflights.Doesthishavethepotentialtotranslateintoapermanentbusinessstrategyfortheairline?Chartershavebeenapositive

surpriseand, I think, it’saperma-nentchange.Letmegiveyousomeexamples—wedidchartersforre-ligious groups toNairobi,wedidthreecharters for studentgroupstoTashkent,wehavedonechar-ters for shipping companies allover the world, we have donecharterstoMale,andnowPhuket.Wehave done a lot of weddingcharters.Itisagoodsolidbusiness,andinadditiontopassengers,weare also doing cargo charters—Singapore,Yangon,Hanoi.Weseechartersasapermanent revenuestreamforus.Arewealsolookingat scheduled services to thesecities?Of course,weare. I didn’tknowtherewassomuchdemandinthesecities.

‘Looking at non-stopflights to a lot of newinternational markets’Wantto fly toMoscow,TelAviv,Milan,Nairobi,Bali:Dutta

REUTERSBENGALURU,NOVEMBER14

TESLACEOElonMuskhassaidtheresultofhissaleofnearly$7billionworth of Tesla shares thisweekwas “closer to taxmaximisationthanminimisation.”Musk was responding to a

Twitter commenter who saidMuskwould endupwithmoreTesla shares if he soldoptions in-steadofshares.“Acarefulobserverwouldnote

thatmy(lowbasis)sharesaleratesignificantlyexceedsmy10b(high

basis) option exercise rate, thuscloser to taxmaximization thanminimization,”hesaidinatweet.

Musk: Stock saleimpact closer totax maximisation

ELONMUSKCEO, Tesla AP file

‘Institutional investors place moreemphasis on ESG performance’Asignificantpercentageof investorsgloballyarepayingmoreattentiontocompanies’ environmental, socialandgovernance(ESG)performancewhenmaking investmentdecisions,asperthe2021EYGlobal Institutional InvestorSurvey

74%OF INSTITUTIONALINVESTORS NOW

MORE LIKELY TO “DIVEST”BASED ON POOR ESGPERFORMANCE, THANBEFORE THE COVIDPANDEMIC

Methodology The report, now in its sixth year, canvassesthe views of 320 institutional investors across 19countries, including 15 respondents from India

Source:EY/PTI

92%of investors saidthey havemade

decisions over the past 12months based on the potentialbenefits of a “green recovery”

Covidpandemichas spurredinvestors to placemore emphasis onESGperformance

RonojoyDutta

(% chgy-o-y)

Net sales(% chgy-o-y)

Total expenditure

Q4 Q1

(bps, chg y-o-y)OPM

FY21 FY22Q2Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2Q3

FY21 FY22 FY21 FY22

0.8

17.65 59

.15

33.53

-2.96

5.38

48.7

34.46

318.87

971.9

6

579.16

-57.3

Sampleof1,853companies(excludingbanks&financials) Source:Capitaline

Upgrades aplenty, butmargins a concern

ThedirectorsreiteratedtheirpleaforrevocationofapprovalgivenbyCCIforAmazon’sinvestmentinFutureCouponsPrivateLtd2yearsago

New Delhi

SPORT/CALENDER 18WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

REUTERS&AGENCIESNOVEMBER14

KYLIANMBAPPEcontinuedhismeteoric riseonSaturdaywithanother jaw-droppingper-formance as France qualified for next year’sWorld Cup with an 8-0 demolition ofKazakhstan.The Paris StGermain striker became the

first player to score four goals for France in asingle game since Just Fontaine againstSwedenatthe1958WorldCup.Five weeks before his 23rd birthday,

Mbappehasscored23internationalgoalsfrom52caps—betteringthemarksofLionelMessiandCristianoRonaldoatthesameage.“Itwasagreatnightforhimintermsofef-

ficiencybuthe’s had somanybefore,” coachDidierDeschampssaid. “His statsarealreadysoimpressive.He’sslowlystartingtogetgoodwithheadersaswell.Heismakingthemetresgocrazy.”Mbappe’sdisplaywasall themoreimpressive ashe also set upKarimBenzemafor the fourthgoal, earningaperfectmarkof10fromFrenchsportsdailyL’Equipe.“I want towrite history,”Mbappe told

FrenchTVchannelTF1onSunday.“Maybeonedayakidwho’sbeenwatchingmeonTVwillbeatmyrecords.I’vealwayshadthisdetermi-nationtoleaveamarkandIwanttocontinuetodoso.”“He can do anything,” said Deschamps,

whoalsopraisedtheforward’sapproachtothegame. “I alsowant to salute hismindset. HecouldhavescoredafifthgoalbutheletAntoine(Griezmann)take(andscore)thepenalty.”Onaperfectnightfortheworldchampions,whohave not lost a game except on penalties intheir last26, itwasalsoMbappe’sassociationwith Benzema that caught the eye, with

Griezmannprovingtheidealcomplementfortheexplosiveduo.“SinceBenzema’s comeback(beforeEuro

2020),ithasbeengettingbetterandbetter.Weespecially saw the understanding betweenMbappeandBenzema,” formerFrance inter-nationalMaximeBossistoldL’Equipe.With Benzema, Francewere still elimi-

nated in the last 16 at Euro 2020 bySwitzerland, but in retrospect, it seems thatDeschamps’smistakewas to recall the RealMadridforwardtoolate.

Belgiumbook their spotBelgium was less spectacular beating

Estonia 3-1 at homebuthas anunassailablefivepoint-leadoversecond-placeWales,whichbeat Belarus 5-1 in Cardiff and has a three-point leadovertheCzechRepublic foraplay-offspot.ChristianBentekesteppedinandputhissideaheadagainstEstoniaafter11minutes.AaronRamseywasevenquicker,takingthreeminutestoputWales1-0upandLiverpoolde-fenderNecoWilliamsdoubledtheleadinthe20th.Ramsey'spenaltymadeit3-0shortlyaf-terthebreak.YannickCarrascoandThorganHazardnet-

tedsecond-halfgoalsforBelgium,whilegoalsfromBenDaviesandConnerRobertscappedafinenightforWaleswhichnexthostsBelgium.

One eye on historyMbappehat-trick leadsDidierDeschamps’France intoQatar2022WorldCup

KylianMbappescoredfourgoals forFrance. (Above)AntoineGriezmanndedicatedhisgoal to thevictimsof aterroristattackfromsixyearsago.

Bosnia 1 3 FinlandNorway 0 0 LatviaTurkey 6 0 GibraltarBelgium 3 1 EstoniaWales 5 1 BelarusFrance 8 0 KazakhstanMontenegro 2 2 Netherlands

K E Y R E S U L T S

ISSF increasesAsia'sOlympicquotaplacesfrom38to48NewDelhi: In a highly beneficial move forAsian countries, the International ShootingFederation (ISSF) has increased thenumberof Olympic quota places for the continentfrom38 to 48.This is expected to come intoeffect from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games,the qualifications forwhichwill begin fromnext year. The 2020 Tokyo Games had 38quota places on offer. "The Asian ShootingConfederationreceivedaletterfromISSFcon-firming that the Olympic Quota Places forAsiaisincreasedfrom38to48QuotaPlaces,"the sport's continental body (ASC) said in astatementonTwitterandFacebook."TheASCexpresses its gratitude to the ISSF and allmemberswho contributed to this achieve-ment," the ASC added. India were repre-sented by a record 15 shooters at the TokyoOlympics but the country returned empty-handedfromtheJapanesecapital. PTI

Turin:WorldnumbertwoDaniilMedvedevcame from a set down to power past ATPFinals debutant Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 and get his title defence off to awin-ning start in Turin on Sunday.Russian Medvedev, who won the U.S.

Open title in September for his maidenGrand Slam crown, allowed his Polish op-ponent to take the early advantage in theseason-ending event following a tighttiebreaker but responded in style.The 25-year-old fired 15 aces to

Hurkacz's 12 and converted two breakpoints on a fast court to seal victory in theRedGroupaheadofpotentially trickychal-lengesagainstGermany'sAlexanderZverevand Wimbledon runner-up MatteoBerrettini."It was a very tight match," said

Medvedev, looking to become the first

back-to-backATPFinalswinner sinceSerbNovak Djokovic claimed four between2012-15, in his post-match interview."One good shot and the point is over."I

think a lot of matches are going to be likethis because the courts are super fast. Theonly two games I had break points I man-aged to break and thatwas the key."Medvedev showed glimpses of the

form that helped him beat Djokovic, RafaNadal and Dominic Thiem en route to thetitle on London last year, as hewent up 3-0 in the second set after an early break.He raised his level in the third set to

close out thematch, hittingmore than 30winnersandnot facingasinglebreakpointin a clash lasting a little more than twohours.Olympic champion Zverevwill faceItalian Berrettini in the second Red Groupmatch later on Sunday. REUTERS

Medvedev fights back to sinkHurkacz inATP Finals opener

Shiv Kapur prevails overRashid Khan in playoffChandigarh: Shiv Kapur prevailed overRashidKhan in aplayoff at theRs. 1.5 croreJeevMilkha Singh Invitational 2021 to reg-ister his first everwin at a PGTI event, hereonSunday.Thetournamentwasdecidedina playoff for the fourth year in succession.TheDubai-basedKapur(64-68-67-70),whohails fromDelhi and Khan (65-67-69-68),another Delhi golfer, were in a deadlock at19-under 269at the topof the leaderboardafter regulation play having shot finalrounds of 70 and 68 respectively at theChandigarh Golf Club. Olympian UdayanMane(69-68-67-67) tookthirdplaceat17-under27.Shiv,asixtimeinternationalwin-ner,whoalsohas twopreviouswinsontheIndiandomestic tour tohis name, cameupwithabrilliant secondshot fromthe roughto make a two-putt for par on the playoffhole (18thhole). PTI

DaniilMedvedev inactionduringhisgroupstagematchagainstPoland’sHubertHurkacz. AP

CROSSWORD4586

ACROSS1 Isn’t involvedwithchangebenefiting fromcorrection(10)

6 Eatnothingonreturn fromwork(4)

10 Idealgrouptoplayaneightsomereel? (5)

11 Aburningromancesomehowholds itback(9)

12 Oliverseeswormwriggling inretreat (8)

13 Somewhotelephone foraccommodation(5)

15 Takesariskwith theodds (7)17 Cocktailforafellowtraveller?(7)19 Iris lendscolour to it (7)21 Parsoncrazedwith love forahighlyvocal female (7)

22 Directions toprosecute follow(5)

24 MasterfulmanIdon’thavetoreplace (8)

27 I’msotakenbackby it inanydisplayof illwill (9)

28 Swimbeforeonecanwalk (5)29|Abitof a teaserbutnorealdifficulty (4)

30 Won’t livestockbesoldby it?(4,6)

DOWN1 Dogfood?(4)2 Showingunusual talentare totaketurns (9)

3 Add ‘emupandget this figure(5)

4 Uncle isout togetus; that’s theheartof thematter (7)

5 Unnecessary lossof apointirritates (7)

7 Theessentialpartof decimals(5)

8 One’shotelaccommodation(6,4)

9 Depositedontheshore-orontherocks (6,2)

14 Increase therate (10)16 Guardofhonour (8)18 Itsmemberswereboundtoworkunderstrict supervision(5,4)

20 Fearof redundancydrovehimtobreakingpoint (7)

21 Breedofdogthatwill changesomeday(7)

23 Heaven’sabove! (5)25 Pearl’smamaisseen innorthernarea (5)

26 Boringnote (4)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Thefirstpriorityistolookaheadtotheendoftheweek.Yousee,Venusisemergingfrom

itsrelativeseclusionintothefullglareofpublicattention,encouragedbyitsrelationshipwithoptimistic,jovialJupiter.Whenitdoes,yoursecretswillatlastbemadepublic.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Mercuryand theSunare set firmlyonacollisioncourse,eachwith itsown

priorities, a sure sign thatmisunderstandingswill be rife.Amusinglyenough, youmaybetheunwitting sourceofmisconceptions,mistakesandanyrumours thataredoing therounds.Whatyou’vegot todois figureout justwhyargumentsarise.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Noonecandenythat youhavekeptyour emotions incheck, but tobe sorestrainedmaynot

be inyourbest interests.Ontheotherhand,withMercury,yourpersonal ruler, still in suchanawkwardmood, thereseems tobe little youcanrealistically do to explainyourself at themoment.Hangona littlewhile longer.

CANCER(June22- July23)There isnoneedtodreadMonday.Thefact that theMoonbegins theweek

inahelpfulposition,getsyouoff toa flyingstart.Asuddenobstacleshouldnotputyouoff,as longasyouareprepared.Self-controlandself-discipline,inotherwords, are thekeystosuccess.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Notall isas it shouldbe.Or is it?The fact isthat, foras longastheMoonholds itscurrentposition, the

factsare likely tobeconcealedbyaveilofwateryemotionandrawsensitivity.Actually, it’sgoodto temperyourself-centredgoalswithadoseofselflesscompassion.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)There iseverythingtobegained fromindulging insociableactivities, especially

if youare takinganorganisational role. In fact, ifyoudon’t lookafter thepracticaldetails, otherpeoplemaybe left completelyandutterlyhelpless.Yousee,someone is relyingonyou.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)AmagnificentrelationshipbetweentheSunandseveralotherplanets

isexcellent forallof you inthepropertymarket, justas longasyoukeepyourcool.Domesticspendingof all shadesandhuesis recommended,mainlybecauseyouseemtobeable topickoutagoodbargain.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)I knowtherehavebeentimeswhenyou’vehadaroughride. If there’sone

thingyouareentitled tonow,it’sa fairhearingand,with theSunso intriguinglyalignedwithUranus, that’s justwhatyoucanhopefor. In fact, I’d say that theresultscouldconfoundyourexpectations.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)I ampleasedtoreport thataftermonthsof decidedlywobbly financial

indicationsyourstarsarenowmoving inadefinitivelyprosperousdirection. If lastweek’s lunarpatternsdidn’tdemonstrate thismuch, thisweek’s fascinatingSolarrelationshipswill.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Sometimesyoucanrelyonpartners tostandbyyou.Sometimesyoucan’t.Bothathome

andatworkrivalsarechangingtackandtheopposition isbeginningtocrumble.However,todayyouwillhavetouseallyourwiles if youare togeteverythingthatyouwantoutofclosecolleagues.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Battle-lineshavebeendrawn, thoughnotveryclearly. Infact, thegoalpostsseemtobemoving

andIdoubtverymuchwhethereitheryouoranyoneelsewillbeable tobringdifferencesofopiniontoasuccessfulconclusion.Youknow, itmaybeokaytodisagree.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Socialandcreativepossibilitiesarebright indeed,althoughI thinkyou

willbedrawntopeoplewhocanofferyouasenseof security.Olderpeoplemayfoot thebill,and friends fromthepastwillbepreparedtostep inandhelpout. In theendyou’llhaveanincreasingsense thatyouaregenuinelyneeded.

SUDOKU4655

DifficultyLevel4sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4654

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Toooftenweenjoythecomfortofopinionwithoutthediscomfortof___.-JohnF.Kennedy(7)

SOLUTION:CLOTH,OUTDO,SHEATH,ACTINGAnswer:Toooftenweenjoythecomfortofopinionwithoutthediscomfortofthought.-JohnF.Kennedy

CHLOT HEATHS

DOOTU ACINTG

SolutionsCrossword4585:Across:1 Nomadic,5Reaps,8Downright,9Sue,10Rift,12Famished,14Nieces,15Letter,17 Subjects,18Acid,21Era,22Enclosure,24Godly,25Spinner.Down:1Nadir,2Mew,3Dora,4Cognac,5Retailer,6Aesthetic,7Spender,11Freeboard,13Cemetery,14Nestegg,16Stocks,19Drear,20Gobi,23Urn.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

THEYMIGHThavefloppedattheEurosthisyearbutFrancehaveshowndur-ingthequalifyingcampaignthattheywillremaintheteamtobeatinQataralittlemorethanayearfromnow.LesBleusputonadominantshowinRussiathreeyearsagobuttheglowofthatWorldCuptitledidnotlastlongaf-tertheylosttoSwitzerlandintheRoundof16attheEuros.Internalis-suesbetweentheplayers,aswellaslackoftrustoncoachDidierDeschampssawtheteamimplode.ButDeschamps,whosejobcameunderin-tensescrutiny,seemstohaveidentifiedtherightformula.Thefrontthree--KylianMbappe,KarimBenzemaandAntoinneGriezmann--havestartedtoclickandaremakinglifetoughforsomeofthetopteams,asBelgiumandSpainexperiencedintheNationsLeague.Theirspeedywing-backshaveprovidedahefttotheattacksinthe3-4-3system,whichDeschampshasem-ployedrecently.N'GoloKante,PaulPogbaandAdrianRabiotprovidethemuch-neededstrengthandbalanceinthecentre,makingFrancelooklikeacompleteside.Ofcourse,alotcanchangeinayearandlikeFrance,Braziltoohavelookeddangerous.ButifFrancedonotimplodeinternally,liketheydidatEuros,andtheirkeyplayersremainfit,they'llbetheteamtobeat.

France is theteamtobeatE●EX

PLAINED

Very luckyto be alive,says CairnsPRESSTRUSTOF INDIANOVEMBER 14

WHEELCHAIR-BOUND former NewZealand all-rounder Chris Cairns says he is"very lucky tobealive", threemonthsaftera medical emergency left him on life sup-port.The51-year-old iscurrentlyrecovering

fromaspinal strokethat lefthimparalysedwaistdown, followingseveralcomplicatedsurgeries."We don't knowwhat happens going

forward. I don't know if I'll walk, I don'tknow if I'll stand. But I may stand. I maywalk. The only option is to keep going. Thething is I'mnotevenjust luckytobe(alive).I'm very lucky," Cairns was quoted as say-ingbyCanberra Times.As he opened up on his life post the

scare, Cairns was flanked by his wifeMelanie.SonofLanceCairns,whowasalsoanall-

rounder for the New Zealand team in the1970sand80s,Cairns juniorhadsufferedamajormedical emergency -- an aortic dis-section -- inAugust andwas transferred toa specialist hospital in Sydney, where hehad undergone a life-saving emergencyheart surgery before facing more compli-cations in thewakeof the spinal stroke.Aortic dissection is a serious medical

conditioninwhichatearhappens inthe in-ner layer of thebody'smain artery (aorta).He has been cleared to start "using his

chest and arms for the first time in threemonths as he continueshis recovery"."Theamazingthinggoingthroughthis is

just theperseverance tokeepgoing in caseit comes back. You've got to be prepared,"Cairns said.Oneof thebestall-roundersofhis time,

Cairns played 62 Tests, 215 ODIs and twoT20Is for New Zealand between 1989 and2006.HiswifeMelanie said, "Chris didn't just

have a stroke one day and (was gone), hehadtwoweeksof beingsoclose to (death).Sowestart fromaplaceofgratefulness,andeverybitwegetbackafter that is justanex-tra."He's here, he's still him. Yes there are

physicallychallenges,but inthegymhesaid(to the staff) you showme the bar and I'mgoing to smash it down."He's super motivated to get back out

on the tennis court with our daughter,whether that's running around or in awheelchair.He'sstillgoingtotrytobeather,that'swho he is. Thatmotivation puts himina really goodplace to try to tackle some-thing like this."

New Delhi

Vol XC- 4 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I. No.506/57. Printed and Published by R.C.Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida -201301 and D B Corp Ltd, Dainik Bhaskar VillageUnan Tola, Near Danapur Cantt, Shivylya Road, Post Khagaul, Shahpur, Patna (Bihar) and Published at The Indian Express (P) Limited,Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9&10, Bahadur Shah ZafarMarg, NewDelhi 110002. Editorial office: The Indian Express (P)Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9&10, Bahadur Shah ZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Phone: 0120-6651500. Advertising office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, B1/B, Sector-10, Noida-201301. Phone:01206651291. Chairman of the Board: Viveck

Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor (Delhi): Rakesh Sinha ** ** Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in anymanner, electronic or oth-erwise, inwhole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express®

19THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

SPORT ICCT20WorldCup

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Making Australia Great AgainMarsh,WarnerpowerAussiestofirstT20worldtitle,addingtothefive50-overWorldCuptriumphs

KANEWILLIAMSON’S innings deserved theCup. But aMitchellMarsh-ledAustralian as-sault ensured that theNewZealandbowlersblewitup.Imperiously,themeninGreenandGoldchaseddownthevictorytargetof173atthecostofjusttwowicketswithsevenballstospare. The Blackcaps suffered another finalheartbreak,thistimetoabetterteam.NewZealandactually lost the T20World

Cupfinalinthefirst10overs,whentheyscored57/1,battingfirst.Afifth-gearswitchinthenext10oversmadetheirtotalverychallenging.Butonabeautyof a surface, befitting aT20 final,theywerestillabout20runsbelowpar.AaronFinch’s customary toss win meant thatAustraliawerebatting second,when theballwas coming evenmorenicely on to the bat.And although a couple of deliveries fromMitchell Santner turned, DavidWarner andMarsh were unperturbed in pursuit ofAustralia’s first T20world titlewhichadds totheir trophy cabinet containing five 50-overWorldCuptrophies.Finally,morethanadecadeafterDeanJones

hadmade the prediction,Marsh chose theworldstagetorisetostardom.Untilthisgame,the30-year-oldhasbeena fine allrounder, autilityman,withupsanddownsinhiscareer.Belatedly, hebecameamatch-winner to an-chorAustraliatothetitle.His50-ball77notoutwasworthyofthePlayeroftheMatchaccolade.ItrattledtheKiwisforitsaudacity.Asixfollowedbyback-to-back fours off AdamMilne gave

Australia thepsychological upperhandovertheirtrans-TasmanrivalsearlyintotheirchaseapartfromtriggeringaPowerplayrun-rateup-surge.Australiacarriedthatadvantageuntilthelastballofthegame,whenGlennMaxwellre-verse-lappedTimSoutheetobreakintoawardance,Marshintow.“ThiskidisthenextsuperstarofAustralian

cricket, no doubt,” the late Jones had said in2010.Butaninjury-pronecareer,thelatestset-backbeing anankle injuryduring the IndianPremierLeaguelastyear, tooktimetofulfil its

potential.Jonesdidn’tlivetoseeMarsh’sfinesthour.Farafield inPerth,his fatherGeoffmustbeaproudman.“Idon’t reallyhavewords,whatanamaz-

ing sixweekswith this group. Love them todeath,”Marshsaidafterthematch.ForWarner, itwasatonement. ForMarsh,

itwas carrying forwardagreat family legacythat boasts threeBaggyGreenholders. A92-run secondwicket partnershipbetween thetwothatslammedthedoorshutontheKiwis,revelledinitspower-punchasalsotacticalbril-liance.MarshattackedSantner,whileWarnertookonIshSodhi,whobowledsomeordinarydeliveriesunderpressure.Oncethespin-chokewas cancelled out, JimmyNeeshamwas thelastmanstandingforNewZealand,bowling-wise.MarshsenthimafewrowsbackoverthedeepfinelegboundaryandWarnerjoinedthefunwithanothermaximum.NewZealandranoutofoptions.

Working in syncForMarsh, it was about facing theNew

Zealandbowling.Warnerhadtheaddedchal-lenge to silence the naysayers. Only about amonthago,thesunseeminglywassettingonhisT20career.OnSunday,hemadehaywhilethemoon shone in theDubai sky.Marshal-lowedWarnertogrowintothegameanditwasimportant.Forthe35-year-oldleft-hander,thistournamentwasa lotmore than just turningupforAustraliaandscoringruns.Thiswasaboutreturningtoglobalprominenceyetagainfromthedesolationrowof the IPL.A flat-bat sixoffNeeshamtobringupa34-ballhalf-centuryhadaboutofanger,attestedbythebat-speedandtheferocityoftheshot.Anaggregateof289runsfromsevenmatchesearnedWarnerthePlayeroftheTournamentaward.NewZealandbowledsomeloosestuffand

Sodhiwasn’ttheonlyoffender.Bereftofswing,Southeechoseback-of-length,becominginef-fectiveintheprocess.TrentBoultwastheonly

savinggrace inNewZealandbowling,buthis2/18fromfouroverswasn’tenough.DroppedcatchesofMarshmademattersworse.Australiabossedthegamefromstarttofin-

ish,savethe10oversduringNewZealand’sin-nings,whenWilliamsonpainted a picture.From21offasmanyballsatonestage,theNewZealandcaptainexploded,capturingtheatten-tionofasparseturnoutthatsortofreluctantlywalkedthroughtheturnstiles.SomefanshadIndia facepaints, a fewshouted for Pakistan.Williamsonmadethemwatchcricket.AMitchellStarcovertriggeredtheacceler-

ation.AdroppedcatchbyJoshHazlewoodcon-tributedtothefirstboundary.Acoupleoffoursfollowed,includingoneoffano-ball.Maxwellcame, andWilliamsonwentone-handed fora six. Another six next ball tookhim to a32-ballhalf-century.Williamsonuppedtheante,takingStarc to thecleaners inhisnextover. Itwas culturedaggression, utterly bewitching.A century beckoned, but a leg-cutter fromHazlewoodendedWilliamson’sinningson85(48balls),ashedepartedtoastandingovation.Finchranacrossfrombackwardpointtogiveapatontheback.Hazlewood,meanwhile,madeup forhis droppedcatchwith figures of 3/16fromfourovers;anoutstandingperformanceonafeatherbed.Looking back though,Williamson and

MartinGuptillwouldprobablyruetheirslowburn,whentheycrawledat lessthansixrunsperover.Leavingtheattackfora little too latedidn’t augur well for the Kiwis. Yes, theAustralianbowlerswereexcellenttostartwith,cutting down the angles andbowling to thefield. But inWilliamson and Guptill, NewZealandhadenoughqualitytocounterthatbyembracingadventurism,especiallyonagoodpitch.BRIEF SCORES: New Zealand 172 for 4(Williamson 85, Hazlewood 3-16) lost toAustralia173for2(Marsh77*,Warner53)byeightwickets

Wobbles, Wade, WicketMatthewWade, theman whodoesn't lovewicketkeep-ing,droppedacatch fromDarylMitchell,off GlennMaxwell. Butaover later,hehad his re-demptionandlunged forward to removeMitchell, offJoshHazlewoodthistime.Mitchellhadshapedforacut,offMaxwellandgotaninside edge and it did dip and not easybut we have seen better keepers takethat.Wadehadhiseyesoff theball.Notsurehowhehasbeenoff thefieldinthenightsbefore thegames in this tourna-ment,butwhenhewaskeepinginTests,by his own admission he would be anervouswreck. "The night a game be-fore Iwouldbe stressed about keeping–for10yearsIdidthat,”Wadehadoncesaid. Luckily for him,Mitchell gave an-other chance which he grabbed. Thenerveswouldhaveeased.

Mitch PerfectMitchellMarshhadboth thepedigreeand performance to be a match-win-ner. Being the son of Geoff Marsh andbaby brother of Shaun had its pitfalls,but also perks. He got a longer rope.You thought twice before droppingMarsh.Having ledAustralia to theun-der-19WorldCup title in2010, hehadproved that the apple hadn't tumbledawaytoofar fromthetree.Asexpectedhe graduated to the senior team in2011. Injuries did play a role butMitchell couldn't cement his place inthe side. Theold jokeabouthimbeingthe "third best" batsman in his familywas repeated so often that it lost itssting. For more than a decade, theAussies waited for him to turn into atleast Shaun, if not Geoff. Just lastmonthheturned30.Mitchell savedhisbest foragamethatAustraliawasdes-perate to win. Always the teamman,Mithchell till veryrecentlywas famousas the team's vlogger. Hewouldmovearound with his camera in the dress-ingroomspeakingtothestarperform-ers. At Dubai on Sunday, there was aqueue to interview the man of themoment.

Was it KaneWilliamsonorLanceCairns, circa 1983?Chris’s father Lanceand his one-handedsix with his famousExcalibur bat offDennis Lillee is partof folklore in NewZealand. Kane did itoff far more gentlerpace of GlennMaxwell. Itwas floatedonthe legstumpline and Williamson went for the bigheave-ho and took his top hand off the

handle and flung theball over midwicketboundary. Just likeLance did 38 yearsago. Of late, RishabhPanthasbeenpopularwith the one-handedsix.NowKane joins in.He had already a one-handed four - thatdrop catch by JoshHazlewood - andnow

a stunning six.

Photos: AP, Reuters

UnFinching success at toss

EMOTIONALROLLERCOASTERHot heads, calmminds and everything in between at the game

AaronFinch’s toss luckhas tobehisrivals’ envy and Australia’s pride.Winning six out of seven tosses in atournament where batting secondhas offered a distinct advantage,cancelsout luck factoranddefies theprobability theory. No wonder, theAustralia white-ball captain lookedhappy after winning the toss in thefinal andhis Kiwi counterpart KaneWilliamson opted for indifference.

Williamson had to take Finch’s tossluckwith a pinch of salt. TheAussieskipper reckoned that the pitch forthefinalwasa“bitdrier thantheonefromtheothernight (semifinal)”andhopedthat itwould“skidon”(later).Phlegmatically, Williamson admit-ted that he would have chosen tofieldaswell. “Whoknowsabout thedew,but importantwefocusonthattask at hand,” he said at the toss.

Kane’s or Cairns? Two men, one-handed 6s

How Hazlewood upskilled to become craftiest T20 pacer Down UnderSANDIPGNOVEMBER 14

FOR THREE-AND-A-HALF years, fromMarch 2016 to December 2019, JoshHazlewood didn’t knowwhat it is to bowlin a T20 game. But in these three-and-a-half years, he learnedhow it is tobowl in aT20 game.Fromanoutlier, hehas emergedasone

of themost lethal in thebusiness,wieldingmore influence inAustralia’sWorldCuptri-umph than Pat Cummins and MitchellStarc, thedesignatedwhite-ballwreckers.It beganwith a realisation that his red-

ball methods of success were untranslat-able intowhite-ball realm. “That top of off(stump), challenging thebatsman(philos-ophy) is still important. That time doesn’tlastvery longbeforethey'rerunningatyou,and lapping, all this sort of thing.”Often his brain would begin to scram-

blewhenbatsmenstarted resorting to theoutlandishstuff. The firsthalf of hisT20ca-reer, spanning justsevengames,hadplentyof such instances. Thrice in those games,he ended concedingmore than10 runs anover, including 50 runs from fours oversagainst South Africa. “Something had to

change. You've definitely got to try and beone step ahead asmuch as you can be andtry and predictwhat the batter is going todoeachdelivery.”he toldaustralia.com.au.He turned to state-mate and friend

JamesFaulkner, the forgottenheroof 2015World Cup, a white-ball virtuoso. “He hasplenty of variations and I used to pick hisbrains all the time, not only to learn aboutthe variations, but how to use them, andobviously I practised a lot in the nets andinmymind.He toldme, 'Youneed to havenot just one, but two or three',” he said.

VarietySo he developed not just the routine

rollingthefingersovertheseamslower-ball,but the cutters, cross-seamers and theknuckle ball too. Cutters he developedwatchinghisidolsGlennMcGrath,whousedthe variations abundantly in white-ballcricket towards the end of his careerwhilethe knuckle ball he learned fromobservinganotherAustralianAndrewTye.Afterdevel-opment came mastery, something thatcomes intrinsically to him. His one-timeclub-mateBenMiddlebrookhadtoldthispa-perofhismeticulousworkethics.“Hewouldpractice at the club in themorning, then gohome and practice, andwhenwe are back

for the evening session, hewould be theresometimesbowlingalone in thenets.”Thoughemboldenedby thenewbagof

tricks, he knew his biggest strength still

was the oldest strength, hitting hard-lengths, top of off-stump or thereaboutsand bending the ball both ways with un-bendingcontrol. That’shisAgame, therest

are justsupportacts.He iswarytonotover-use his variations, and with the new ball,he almost always sticks to orthodoxways.Another piece of advice from Faulknerwouldhum inhis ears. “Use thevariationsat the rightmoment.”Butwhat then is the rightmoment?It’susually judgedwith thegiftof hind-

sight. For Hazlewood, it’s when the teamneeds a kiss of life, a momentum-shiftingmoment. Like when Daryll Mitchell andMartin Guptill were accelerating omi-nously.Hazlewoodproduceda leg-cutter—without a change in his arm-speed, a fea-ture that makes him difficult to decode —that gripped the surface and reluctantly

brushed the out-stretchedbat ofMitchell,whowasprematurelysucked intotheshot.New Zealandwere then 28/1 in 3.5 overs.For thenext33balls, theycouldhita singleball to the fence anddawdled to57/1 in10overs on a perfectly fine batting surface.

Match-definingHis match-defining moment, though,

was yet to come. Kane Williamson andGlenn Phillips, with a mixture of fortuneanddaring, hadpropelledNewZealand to144/2 in 17.2 overs. Hazlewood dialled hisknuckle-ball that quivered and wobbledbefore it shrivelled off Phillips’ bat to thefielder atmid-wicket.Williamsondishev-elled him with a rare scoop, but he out-foxedhimwithaside-of-the-handleg-cut-ter, as he charged down the track andmishit to long-off. New Zealand’s chargewas clipped, and were restricted to 172,when they looked destined for 180-plus.It’s not a coincidence that upon his re-

turn to T20 cricket, he hadpicked three ti-tles in just a year—the Big Bash 2019-20,IPL 2021 and theWorld T20—and had in-fluenced each of his teams with his re-tooled repertoire.His lostyears, ina sense,turned out to be his biggest gain in a for-mat hewas once considered an outlier.

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYDUBAI,NOVEMBER14

EXPRESSATT20WORLDCUP

JoshHazlewoodtookthreewickets for16runs inthefinal.Reuters

MitchellMarshscoredthefastest fifty inaT20WorldCupfinal (31balls),breakingKaneWilliamson’s record(32)set inthefirst innings.Reuters

DavidWarner (53) putona92-runstandwithMitchellMarsh.AP

OLD FOX, NEW TRICKS

Thoughemboldenedbythenewbagof tricks,heknewhisbiggeststrengthstillwastheoldeststrength,hittinghard-lengths, topofoff-stumporthereaboutsandbendingtheballbothwayswithunbendingcontrol.

I can't believepeoplewrote (DavidWarner) off a couple ofweeks ago.That'swhenheplayshis best cricket.It's like poking thebear.”

AARONFINCH, AUSTRALIACAPTAINONWARNER,WHOREGAINEDHIS FORMDURINGTHETOURNAMENT

New Delhi

For more information, please contact: +91 97792 14455 / care@torquepharma.com

Get dazzlingGlamour with...

N ot h i n g ma ke s a wo ma n mo re beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful. This belief paves the way to real beauty inside which reflec ts outside. No Scars beauty soap helps making your skin look soft and radiant. The components of No Scars make it a wonder ful moisturizer & provides nourishment to all the skin types.

Long Lasting Premium Quality Soap

100%Pure

Vegetarian

Soap

PREMIUM QUALITY SOAP

don’t bother forscars any more.

To get blemish free skin use

NO SCARS. It helps to reduce

and remove, scars and marks.

FaceWashALOE VERA

For more information,please contact :+91 97792 14455,+91 73199 35154 (Whatsapp)

care@torquepharma.com

20 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,NOVEMBER15,2021

New Delhi