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G iven the current alarming situation in the United Kingdom after the new strain of coronavirus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cancelled his visit to India later this month. He was named as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. Johnson had accepted the invitation last month and it was to be his first bilateral visit after the UK parted ways with the European Union in December. Incidentally, his scheduled visit to New Delhi would have been the first such event involving a world leader since the pan- demic broke out. The UK PM announced the decision to cancel his visit hours after his Government ordered a fresh lockdown in England following the new strain of coronavirus affecting a large number of people there. Johnson called off the visit after speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned,” read a statement from his Downing Street office. “In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the Prime Minister said it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus,” it read. “The leaders underlined their shared commitment to the bilateral relationship, and to continuing to build on the close collaboration between our countries, including in response to the pandemic,” it added. Johnson would have become the second British Prime Minister to attend the Republic Day parade as the Chief Guest after his prede- cessor John Major in 1993. “The Prime Minister said he hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK’s G7 Summit that Prime Minister Modi is due to attend as a guest,” his office said. While accepting Modi’s invitation, Johnson had extended an invite to the Indian Prime Minister to attend the UK’s G7 Summit as one of three guest nations alongside South Korea and Australia — with a focus on his declared ambition to work with a group of “like-minded democracies” to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges. T he Covid-19 vaccines cleared by the top drug controller (DCGI) on January 3 is likely to be rolled out with- in 10 days from the date of emergency use authorisation, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday even as it added that the final decision lies with the Government. “Based on the feedback of dry-run, the Ministry is ready to introduce Covid-19 vaccine within 10 days from date of emergency use authorisation,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a Press con- ference here. The country’s drugs regu- lator on January 3 granted restricted emergency use approval to Oxford- AstraZeneca’s Covishield and also to indigenously devel- oped Covaxin of Bharat Biotech. Prior to it, the Government had successfully held dry-run pan India with an aim to test the laid-out mech- anism for the mega vaccination drive and to assess operational feasibility of using Co-WIN application in field environ- ment for planning, imple- mentation and reporting at the block, district and State levels. Bhushan said healthcare workers and frontline workers need not register themselves as their database has been popu- lated in the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner. The Ministry also put forward the CoWIN Delivery Management plan. “There are 4 primary vac- cine stores called GMSD locat- ed in Karnal, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, and there are 37 vaccine stores in the country. They store vaccines in bulk and distributes further,” Bhushan said, adding that the vaccine will further be taken from these stores and taken to sub- centres “via passive equipment like rice boxes.” Bhushan said the Co-WIN app can be used by any coun- try who wants to do so, as the system is made for India and the world. While healthcare and frontline workers will not be required to register themselves, Bhushan said when they would come to the population prior- ity group, the need for regis- tration would come. F ollowing the bad weather in Delhi-NCR, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha on Tuesday deferred their proposed tractor march by a day to January 7 to intensify their protest against the Centre’s new farm laws. Addressing a Press confer- ence at Singhu Border, the epi- centre of the protest, Sanyukt Kisan Morcha leaders said thousands of farmers will take out the tractor march from all protest sites to the Kundli- Manesar-Palwal (KMP) on January 7. “The decision to defer the march was taken over forecast of bad weather condition on Wednesday. The agitation against the three agriculture laws will be intensified in the coming days,” said Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj Abhiyan leader. Talking about their other proposed tractor march to Delhi on January 26, farmer leader Joginder Nain said, “The farmers have decided to send 10 tractor trollies from every village in Haryana. We request people to come — at least one from a house. And a total of 11 women from a village.” Earlier, on January 2, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha had announced their plan of action to intensify and deepen their movement. “A fortnight of nationwide campaign will be started to counter the Government’s pro- paganda called “Desh Jagriti Abhiyan” from January 6 to 20 which will include rallies, con- ferences and dharnas all over the country,” the morch said. “Lohri and Sankarnati fes- tivals will be marked as Kisan Sankalp Diwas by burning the copies of these three laws. On January 18 farmers will be cel- ebrating Mahila Kisan Diwas to underline the role of women farmers while Azad Hind Kisan Diwas will be marked on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary on January 23 by protesting outside Governors’ official residence in all State Capitals,” they had said. The 8th round of talks between the Government and the unions is scheuled for January 8. A s tension continues for the ninth month at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and sev- eral rounds of talks unable to break the logjam, the Defence Ministry has said China tried to forcefully and unilaterally change the status quo in Ladakh. China also ramped up its troop strength in the border region on its side of the LAC leading to stand-off and tension all along the LAC, the Ministry said in its annual year-end review released recently. Unilateral and provocative actions by the Chinese to change the status quo by force, in more than one area on the LAC, were responded to in a firm and non-escalatory way, ensuring the sanctity of our claims in Eastern Ladakh, the report said. “The Indian Army has maintained all protocols and agreements between the two countries while the Chinese escalated the situation by util- isation of unorthodox weapons and amassing a large number of troops,” the report said. The use of orthodox weapons was in obvious refer- ence to the Chinese troops using clubs and nail-studded rods to attack the Indian sol- diers in the Galwan valley on June 15. The bloody brawl left 20 Indians, including the com- manding officer, dead. Scores of Chinese casualties were also reported. The Indian Army with assistance from IAF, mobilised troops, including accretionary forces, in a very short duration including heavy equipment like guns, tanks as also ammu- nition, rations and clothing. On August 28-29, the Indian troops in a precaution- ary step, pre-empted Chinese expansionist designs and occu- pied heights along the southern bank of Pangong Tso. P arliament will be convened for Budget Session on January 29, starting with President’s address and Budget to be presented on February 1. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) on Tuesday recommended con- vening Budget Session in two parts. The first part of the Session will be from January 29 to February 15 and the second part will be from March 8 to April 8. The forthcoming Budget Session is expected to have very heavy legislative business as the Winter Session was cancelled while the Monsoon Session was curtailed. The Covid-19 protocols will be maintained strictly like the previous Session ended in September, said, offi- cials. They said that both Houses will be working four hours daily on separate schedules. Earlier the Rajya Sabha worked in the morning time and the Lok Sabha in the afternoon. This is the first budget of the Modi Government after the year when the economy suf- fered a major shock due to Covid-19 pandemic. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already concluded pre- Budget consultations with the captains of industry. T he Trinamool Congress continues to crumble with exodus as on Tuesday State Sports Minister and former India player Laxmi Ratan Shukla quit the Mamata Banerjee Cabinet in order to, what he said, concentrate more on his game — cricket. The 39-year-old Shukla, former Bengal captain, found an instant supporter in fellow MLA Baishali Dalmiya, the daughter of late BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya who said the former all-rounder had quit because he was not given to work the way he wanted. “He was in chains. He was not allowed to work by vested interests …clearly he was prey of inter- est group politics. This is unfor- tunate,” Dalmiya said. Shukla also resigned as the president of North Howrah district unit of the party. W ith mounting despera- tion, Donald Trump has declared he would “fight like hell” to hold on to the presidency and appealed to Republican lawmakers to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden when they convene this week to confirm the Electoral College vote. Electoral voters won by President-elect Biden are “not gonna take this White House!” he shouted as supporters cheered at an outdoor rally in Georgia on Monday night. Trump’s announced pur- pose for the trip was to boost Republican Senate candidates in Tuesday’s runoff election, but he spent much of his speech complaining bitterly about his election loss — which he insists he won “by a lot.” Earlier, in Washington, he pressed Republican lawmakers to formally object on Wednesday at a joint session of Congress that is to confirm Biden’s victory in the Electoral College, a confirmation of Biden’s November 3 victory. Though he got nothing but cheers on Monday night, Trump’s attempt to overturn the presidential election is split- ting the Republican Party. Some GOP lawmakers backing him are rushing ahead, despite an outpouring of con- demnation from current and former party officials warning the effort is undermining Americans faith in democracy. Detailed report on P8 A day after engaging in a war of words over the efficacy of coronavirus jabs, the vaccine manufacturing firms, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech on Tuesday apparently buried the differ- ences by issuing a joint state- ment in which the duo pledged to work jointly on the vaccine rollout project. “Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech Jointly communicate their pledge towards a smooth rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in India and the world,” read the state- ment signed by SII CEO Adar Poonawala and Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella on behalf of the two companies communicating their com- bined intent to develop, man- ufacture and supply the Covid- 19 vaccines in India and abroad. “Vaccines are a global public health good and have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to eco- nomic normalcy at the earli- est,” said the statement. They said now that two vaccines have been issued EUA (emergency use authori- sation) in India, the focus is on manufacturing, supply and distribution so that popula- tions that need them the most receive high quality, safe and efficacious ones. “Both our companies are fully engaged in this activity and consider it our duty to the nation and the world at large to ensure a smooth rollout of vaccines. Each of our companies continue their Covid-19 vac- cines development activities as planned,” the statement said. They said they are fully aware of the importance of the vaccines for people and coun- tries alike. “We hereby com- municate our joint pledge to provide global access for our Covid-19 vaccines.” New York: Global leaders have lauded India’s leadership in scientific innovation and deci- sive action to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, as the country gets set to begin the world’s largest vaccination drive against the coronavirus. PTI A day after facing major embarrassment, the ruling BJP on Tuesday heaved a sigh of relief following the rejection of nomination papers of rebel councillors Chandrawati Shukla for mayor post. The BJP had a day before saw rebellion in the party after the announce- ment of the candidates for mayoral polls, scheduled to be held on January 8. Few minutes after the announcement of party candi- dates by BJP for polls, a revolt had erupted in the party with councillor Chanderwati Shukla filing nomination indepen- dently for mayor post while another party councillor Bharat Kumar had announced to resign from the saffron party. With majority in the Municipal Corporation house and rejection of nomination of Chandrawati Shukla on techni- cal grounds, the BJP is now set to emerge victorious in mayoral polls. Senior deputy mayor and councillor Ravi Kant Sharma was declared the BJP candidate for the post of mayor and coun- cillors Maheshinder Singh Sidhu and Farmila as the can- didates for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. This year, the mayor post is open for candidates from the general category, unlike last time when it was reserved for female candidates. The new mayor will replace incumbent Raj Bala Malik. The Chandigarh mayor holds a one-year term and is chosen every year from among the elected representa- tives of the General House. A candidate needs at least 14 votes to become a mayor since the current House has a strength of 26 members. Of these, the BJP has a majority with 20 councillors. The Congress has five coun- cillors and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has one councillor. Besides, one vote is that of the Member of Parliament, the ex-officio member of the House. MP Kirron Kher is unwell and is unlikely to vote. On the other hand, SAD has announced to boycott the election. Apart from mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will also be elect- ed on the same day. Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla has filed his nomination for the post of Mayor while the party council- lors Ravinder Kaur Gujral and Satish Kainth have filed papers for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. The Congress had earlier announced to support Chandrawati Shukla in the polls. Chandrawati’s husband Gopal Shukla, who is also a BJP leader while talking to The Pioneer claimed that he has the support of eight BJP councillors and will take a final decision on who to support after holding a discussion with them. As the nomination of my wife is rejected, we will now decide who to support in the polls, he added. Arun Sood, BJP chief Chandigarh however claimed that the party has reached out to Chandrawati and her hus- band and also Bharat Kumar. BJP will win with a huge major- ity and all 20 councillors will vote for the party candidates, he said. I have met Bharat Kumar and he has not tendered his res- ignation. I have also met Gopal Shukla and all party leaders are united now, Sood said. The Congress, on the other hand, is pinning hopes on cross-voting by BJP rebels to win the elections. Chandigarh Congress chief Pradeep Chhabra said that the nomination of Chandrawati was rejected under a conspir- acy hatched by BJP. The saffron party was set to lose in the polls and hence got her nomination rejected, he claimed. Notably, it is not the first time when the BJP has faced rebellion in the mayoral polls. In the 2020 mayoral polls, when Raj Bala Malik was nom- inated, another councillor Heera Negi had criticised the move openly. In 2019 polls, all four Congress councilors had ended up supporting BJP rebel Satish Kainth, who had later joined the Congress before Lok Sabha elections. Councillor Satish Kainth had filed papers against the party’s official choice, Rajesh Kalia, and gave him a tough fight, losing by just three votes. In 2018, the then outgo- ing mayor Asha Jaswal rebelled against BJP candidate Davesh Moudgil, although she later withdrew her nomination.

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Page 1: ˆˇ ˙˘ˇ ˝ ˛˚ ˇ ˘ ˇ ˆˆ...2021/01/06  · their database has been popu-lated in the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner. The Ministry also put forward

����� ��������

Given the current alarmingsituation in the United

Kingdom after the new strainof coronavirus, UK PrimeMinister Boris Johnson hascancelled his visit to India laterthis month. He was named asthe chief guest at the RepublicDay parade.

Johnson had accepted theinvitation last month and it wasto be his first bilateral visit afterthe UK parted ways with theEuropean Union in December.Incidentally, his scheduled visitto New Delhi would have beenthe first such event involving aworld leader since the pan-demic broke out.

The UK PM announcedthe decision to cancel his visithours after his Governmentordered a fresh lockdown inEngland following the newstrain of coronavirus affectinga large number of people there.

Johnson called off the visitafter speaking to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. “The

Prime Minister spoke to PrimeMinister (Narendra) Modi thismorning, to express his regretthat he will be unable to visitIndia later this month asplanned,” read a statementfrom his Downing Street office.

“In light of the nationallockdown announced lastnight, and the speed at whichthe new coronavirus variant isspreading, the Prime Ministersaid it was important for himto remain in the UK so he canfocus on the domestic responseto the virus,” it read.

“The leaders underlinedtheir shared commitment tothe bilateral relationship, and tocontinuing to build on theclose collaboration betweenour countries, including inresponse to the pandemic,” itadded.

Johnson would have

become the second BritishPrime Minister to attend theRepublic Day parade as theChief Guest after his prede-cessor John Major in 1993.“The Prime Minister said hehopes to be able to visit Indiain the first half of 2021, andahead of the UK’s G7 Summitthat Prime Minister Modi isdue to attend as a guest,” hisoffice said.

While accepting Modi’sinvitation, Johnson hadextended an invite to theIndian Prime Minister toattend the UK’s G7 Summit asone of three guest nationsalongside South Korea andAustralia — with a focus on hisdeclared ambition to workwith a group of “like-mindeddemocracies” to advanceshared interests and tacklecommon challenges.

����� ��������

The Covid-19 vaccinescleared by the top drug

controller (DCGI) on January3 is likely to be rolled out with-in 10 days from the date ofemergency use authorisation,the Union Health Ministrysaid on Monday even as itadded that the final decisionlies with the Government.

“Based on the feedback ofdry-run, the Ministry is readyto introduce Covid-19 vaccinewithin 10 days from date ofemergency use authorisation,”Union Health Secretary RajeshBhushan said at a Press con-ference here.

The country’s drugs regu-lator on January 3 grantedrestricted emergency useapproval to Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield andalso to indigenously devel-oped Covaxin of BharatBiotech. Prior to it, theGovernment had successfullyheld dry-run pan India with anaim to test the laid-out mech-anism for the mega vaccinationdrive and to assess operationalfeasibility of using Co-WINapplication in field environ-ment for planning, imple-mentation and reporting atthe block, district and Statelevels.

Bhushan said healthcareworkers and frontline workersneed not register themselves astheir database has been popu-lated in the Co-WIN vaccine

delivery management system ina bulk manner. The Ministryalso put forward the CoWINDelivery Management plan.

“There are 4 primary vac-cine stores called GMSD locat-ed in Karnal, Mumbai, Chennaiand Kolkata, and there are 37vaccine stores in the country.They store vaccines in bulk anddistributes further,” Bhushansaid, adding that the vaccinewill further be taken fromthese stores and taken to sub-centres “via passive equipmentlike rice boxes.”

Bhushan said the Co-WINapp can be used by any coun-try who wants to do so, as thesystem is made for India andthe world.

While healthcare and

frontline workers will not berequired to register themselves,Bhushan said when they wouldcome to the population prior-ity group, the need for regis-tration would come.

����������� ��������

Following the bad weather inDelhi-NCR, the Sanyukt

Kisan Morcha on Tuesdaydeferred their proposed tractormarch by a day to January 7 tointensify their protest againstthe Centre’s new farm laws.

Addressing a Press confer-ence at Singhu Border, the epi-centre of the protest, SanyuktKisan Morcha leaders saidthousands of farmers will takeout the tractor march from allprotest sites to the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) onJanuary 7.

“The decision to defer themarch was taken over forecastof bad weather condition onWednesday. The agitationagainst the three agriculturelaws will be intensified in thecoming days,” said YogendraYadav, Swaraj Abhiyan leader.

Talking about their otherproposed tractor march toDelhi on January 26, farmerleader Joginder Nain said, “Thefarmers have decided to send10 tractor trollies from everyvillage in Haryana. We requestpeople to come — at least onefrom a house. And a total of 11women from a village.”

Earlier, on January 2, the

Sanyukt Kisan Morcha hadannounced their plan of actionto intensify and deepen theirmovement.

“A fortnight of nationwidecampaign will be started tocounter the Government’s pro-paganda called “Desh JagritiAbhiyan” from January 6 to 20which will include rallies, con-

ferences and dharnas all overthe country,” the morch said.

“Lohri and Sankarnati fes-tivals will be marked as KisanSankalp Diwas by burning thecopies of these three laws. OnJanuary 18 farmers will be cel-ebrating Mahila Kisan Diwas tounderline the role of womenfarmers while Azad Hind Kisan

Diwas will be marked onNetaji Subhash Chandra Bose’sbirth anniversary on January 23by protesting outsideGovernors’ official residence inall State Capitals,” they had said.

The 8th round of talksbetween the Government andthe unions is scheuled forJanuary 8.

����� ��������

As tension continues for theninth month at the Line of

Actual Control (LAC) and sev-eral rounds of talks unable tobreak the logjam, the DefenceMinistry has said China triedto forcefully and unilaterallychange the status quo inLadakh.

China also ramped up itstroop strength in the borderregion on its side of the LACleading to stand-off and tensionall along the LAC, the Ministrysaid in its annual year-endreview released recently.

Unilateral and provocative

actions by the Chinese tochange the status quo by force,in more than one area on theLAC, were responded to in afirm and non-escalatory way,ensuring the sanctity of ourclaims in Eastern Ladakh, thereport said.

“The Indian Army hasmaintained all protocols andagreements between the twocountries while the Chineseescalated the situation by util-

isation of unorthodox weaponsand amassing a large numberof troops,” the report said.

The use of orthodoxweapons was in obvious refer-ence to the Chinese troopsusing clubs and nail-studdedrods to attack the Indian sol-diers in the Galwan valley onJune 15.

The bloody brawl left 20Indians, including the com-manding officer, dead. Scoresof Chinese casualties were alsoreported.

The Indian Army withassistance from IAF, mobilisedtroops, including accretionaryforces, in a very short durationincluding heavy equipmentlike guns, tanks as also ammu-nition, rations and clothing.

On August 28-29, theIndian troops in a precaution-ary step, pre-empted Chineseexpansionist designs and occu-pied heights along the southernbank of Pangong Tso.

����� ��������

Parliament will be convenedfor Budget Session on

January 29, starting withPresident’s address and Budgetto be presented on February 1.The Cabinet Committee onPolitical Affairs (CCPA) onTuesday recommended con-vening Budget Session in twoparts. The first part of theSession will be from January 29to February 15 and the secondpart will be from March 8 toApril 8.

The forthcoming BudgetSession is expected to have veryheavy legislative business as theWinter Session was cancelledwhile the Monsoon Sessionwas curtailed. The Covid-19protocols will be maintainedstrictly like the previous Sessionended in September, said, offi-cials.

They said that both Houseswill be working four hoursdaily on separate schedules.Earlier the Rajya Sabha workedin the morning time and theLok Sabha in the afternoon.

This is the first budget ofthe Modi Government after theyear when the economy suf-fered a major shock due toCovid-19 pandemic. FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanhas already concluded pre-Budget consultations with thecaptains of industry.

��� ���� ������ ��� �

The Trinamool Congresscontinues to crumble with

exodus as on Tuesday StateSports Minister and formerIndia player Laxmi RatanShukla quit the MamataBanerjee Cabinet in order to,what he said, concentrate moreon his game — cricket.

The 39-year-old Shukla,former Bengal captain, foundan instant supporter in fellowMLA Baishali Dalmiya, thedaughter of late BCCI presidentJagmohan Dalmiya who saidthe former all-rounder hadquit because he was not givento work the way he wanted.

“He was in chains. He was not allowed to

work by vested interests…clearly he was prey of inter-est group politics. This is unfor-tunate,” Dalmiya said.

Shukla also resigned as thepresident of North Howrahdistrict unit of the party.

���� ��� �������

With mounting despera-tion, Donald Trump

has declared he would“fight like hell” to hold on tothe presidency and appealed toRepublican lawmakers toreverse his election loss to JoeBiden when they convene thisweek to confirm the ElectoralCollege vote.

Electoral voters won byPresident-elect Biden are “notgonna take this White House!”he shouted as supporterscheered at an outdoor rally inGeorgia on Monday night.

Trump’s announced pur-pose for the trip was to boostRepublican Senate candidatesin Tuesday’s runoff election, buthe spent much of his speechcomplaining bitterly about hiselection loss — which he insistshe won “by a lot.”

Earlier, in Washington, hepressed Republican lawmakersto formally object on

Wednesday at a joint session ofCongress that is to confirmBiden’s victory in the ElectoralCollege, a confirmation ofBiden’s November 3 victory.

Though he got nothingbut cheers on Monday night,Trump’s attempt to overturnthe presidential election is split-ting the Republican Party.

Some GOP lawmakersbacking him are rushing ahead,despite an outpouring of con-demnation from current andformer party officials warningthe effort is underminingAmericans faith in democracy.

Detailed report on P8

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Aday after engaging in awar of words over the

efficacy of coronavirus jabs,the vaccine manufacturingfirms, Serum Institute of Indiaand Bharat Biotech on Tuesdayapparently buried the differ-ences by issuing a joint state-ment in which the duopledged to work jointly on thevaccine rollout project.

“Serum Institute of Indiaand Bharat Biotech Jointlycommunicate their pledgetowards a smooth rollout ofCovid-19 vaccines in Indiaand the world,” read the state-ment signed by SII CEO AdarPoonawala and Bharat BiotechChairman Krishna Ella onbehalf of the two companiescommunicating their com-bined intent to develop, man-ufacture and supply the Covid-19 vaccines in India andabroad.

“Vaccines are a globalpublic health good and havethe power to save lives andaccelerate the return to eco-nomic normalcy at the earli-est,” said the statement.

They said now that twovaccines have been issuedEUA (emergency use authori-

sation) in India, the focus is onmanufacturing, supply anddistribution so that popula-tions that need them the mostreceive high quality, safe andefficacious ones.

“Both our companies arefully engaged in this activityand consider it our duty to thenation and the world at largeto ensure a smooth rollout ofvaccines.

Each of our companiescontinue their Covid-19 vac-cines development activitiesas planned,” the statementsaid.

They said they are fullyaware of the importance of thevaccines for people and coun-tries alike. “We hereby com-municate our joint pledge toprovide global access for ourCovid-19 vaccines.”

New York: Global leaders havelauded India’s leadership inscientific innovation and deci-sive action to combat theCovid-19 pandemic, as thecountry gets set to begin theworld’s largest vaccination driveagainst the coronavirus. PTI

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Aday after facing majorembarrassment, the ruling

BJP on Tuesday heaved a sighof relief following the rejectionof nomination papers of rebelcouncillors ChandrawatiShukla for mayor post. The BJPhad a day before saw rebellionin the party after the announce-ment of the candidates formayoral polls, scheduled to beheld on January 8.

Few minutes after theannouncement of party candi-dates by BJP for polls, a revolthad erupted in the party withcouncillor Chanderwati Shuklafiling nomination indepen-dently for mayor post whileanother party councillor BharatKumar had announced toresign from the saffron party.

With majority in theMunicipal Corporation houseand rejection of nomination ofChandrawati Shukla on techni-cal grounds, the BJP is now setto emerge victorious in mayoralpolls. Senior deputy mayor andcouncillor Ravi Kant Sharmawas declared the BJP candidatefor the post of mayor and coun-cillors Maheshinder Singh

Sidhu and Farmila as the can-didates for the posts of seniordeputy mayor and deputymayor, respectively.

This year, the mayor post isopen for candidates from thegeneral category, unlike lasttime when it was reserved forfemale candidates. The newmayor will replace incumbentRaj Bala Malik. The Chandigarhmayor holds a one-year termand is chosen every year fromamong the elected representa-tives of the General House. Acandidate needs at least 14votes to become a mayor sincethe current House has a strengthof 26 members.

Of these, the BJP has amajority with 20 councillors.The Congress has five coun-cillors and the Shiromani AkaliDal (SAD) has one councillor.

Besides, one vote is that ofthe Member of Parliament, theex-officio member of the House.MP Kirron Kher is unwell andis unlikely to vote. On the otherhand, SAD has announced toboycott the election. Apart frommayor, senior deputy mayor anddeputy mayor will also be elect-ed on the same day.

Congress councillor

Devinder Singh Babla has filedhis nomination for the post ofMayor while the party council-lors Ravinder Kaur Gujral andSatish Kainth have filed papersfor the posts of senior deputymayor and deputy mayor,respectively. The Congress hadearlier announced to supportChandrawati Shukla in the polls.

Chandrawati’s husbandGopal Shukla, who is also a BJPleader while talking to ThePioneer claimed that he has thesupport of eight BJP councillorsand will take a final decision onwho to support after holding adiscussion with them.

As the nomination of mywife is rejected, we will nowdecide who to support in thepolls, he added.

Arun Sood, BJP chiefChandigarh however claimedthat the party has reached outto Chandrawati and her hus-band and also Bharat Kumar.BJP will win with a huge major-ity and all 20 councillors willvote for the party candidates, hesaid. I have met Bharat Kumarand he has not tendered his res-ignation. I have also met GopalShukla and all party leaders areunited now, Sood said.

The Congress, on the otherhand, is pinning hopes oncross-voting by BJP rebels towin the elections.

Chandigarh Congress chiefPradeep Chhabra said that thenomination of Chandrawatiwas rejected under a conspir-acy hatched by BJP. The saffronparty was set to lose in the pollsand hence got her nominationrejected, he claimed.

Notably, it is not the firsttime when the BJP has facedrebellion in the mayoral polls.In the 2020 mayoral polls,when Raj Bala Malik was nom-inated, another councillorHeera Negi had criticised themove openly.

In 2019 polls, all fourCongress councilors had endedup supporting BJP rebel SatishKainth, who had later joinedthe Congress before Lok Sabhaelections. Councillor SatishKainth had filed papers againstthe party’s official choice,Rajesh Kalia, and gave him atough fight, losing by just threevotes. In 2018, the then outgo-ing mayor Asha Jaswal rebelledagainst BJP candidate DaveshMoudgil, although she laterwithdrew her nomination.

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With the hill state witness-ing decline in COVID-19

cases, Himachal Governmenton Tuesday decided to lift thenight curfew imposed in fourdistricts namely Shimla,

Kangra, Mandi and Kullu in thestate and to restore the six-dayweek schedule in governmentoffices.

The cabinet meeting heldunder the Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur also decided toallow coaching classes in thestate with 50 percent capacity.The State EducationDepartment would issue a stan-dard operating procedure in

this regard. It was on November 23

when the State Governmenthad imposed night curfew inthe four districts in view ofincrease in COVID-19 cases inHimachal.

Till Tuesday evening, thetotal COVID cases in the statestood at 55832 while the deathsreached 938. There were 1478active cases in the state.

A spokesman of the StateGovernment said that in wakeof the COVID-19 scenario inthe state, the cabinet has decid-ed that the makeshift hospitalsat IGMC Shimla, CHCNalagarh and Dr RajindraPrasad Government MedicalCollege Tanda would be madefunctional by outsourcing ofward sisters, staff nurses, DEOsand class-IV for the time being,

whereas medical officers wouldbe arranged through fresh ordirect walk-in-interviews andthe proposal of HLL would bekept in abeyance dependingupon the future COVID sce-nario.

The cabinet also passed aresolution thanking the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andGovernment of India forapproving the Coronavirusvaccine for use in India, by tak-ing a lead amongst the comityof nations in this regard.

The cabinet also thankedthe scientists of the country forsuccessful production of thevaccine as part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat Programme.The cabinet has congratulatedPrime Minister for beingadjudged as best and mostpopular leader worldwide foreffective handling of COVID-19 pandemic in the country byAmerican Data Firm MorningConsult in its recently held sur-vey, the spokesman said.

On the request of the StateElection Commission, the cab-inet has relaxed the condition ofallowing not more than 50 per-sons in an indoor meeting, sothat the Commission couldundertake its election relatedtraining programme effectively.

It also gave approval tostart single window empanel-ment for registration of privatehospitals for effective imple-mentation of AyushmanBharat-Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojana and Him CareYojana and GovernmentMedical ReimbursementScheme in the state, thespokesman added.

During the meeting, a pre-sentation was made by theHorticulture Departmentbefore the cabinet on a sixmonths target till March 2021and next one year’s target fromApril, 2021 to March, 2022.

HP GOVT ISSUES FRESHGUIDELINES RELATED

TO COVID-19Following the Cabinet

meeting, the State Governmenton Tuesday issued fresh ordersrelated to COVID-19 guide-lines in the state. “There will beno restrictions regarding seat-ing capacity in inter-state aswell as intra-state buses.However, all COVID-19 relat-ed safety protocols shall be fol-lowed. Transport Departmentwill issue necessary directionsin this regard,” stated an orderissued by Chief Secretary,Himachal.

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Giving relief to the smalltraders in the State,

Haryana Government hasdecided to provide one per cent(1%) exemption of Market Feeto them with turnover upto Rs5 lakh per annum.An officialspokesman on Tuesday saidChief Minister Manohar LalKhattar has approved a pro-posal in this regard, adding thatfor this, necessary amendmentswould be made in HaryanaAgricultural Produce Markets(General) Rules, 1962. He saidthat any small trader whowould submit final annualreturn in the MarketCommittee on the closure of afinancial year showing that histotal annual turnover fromsale purchase of agriculturalproduce in Haryana was lessthan Rs 5 lakh in the previousyear, would be entitled to claimrefund upto 1 per cent marketfees on the said turnover if hehas deposited any market feesin any market committee of theState on such sale purchase.

The spokesman said thatthe chief minister has alsoapproved to amend Rule 17 ofthe Haryana AgriculturalProduce Markets (General)Rules, 1962 providing for thecriteria for issue of category (iii)licence. According to theamendment, the requirementfor getting this category (iii)license would be exceeding Rs5 lakh and not exceeding Rs 12lakh. With this, the smalltraders with annual turnover ofless than Rs 5 lakh would nothave to get the license requiredunder section 10 and Rule-17.

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In a major breakthrough,Punjab Police’s Cyber Crime

cell on Tuesday arrested sixhackers from Rajasthan andMadhya Pradesh for hackingthe Facebook account of theChief Principal Secretary toChief Minister Punjab, Suresh Kumar.

The arrested persons havebeen identified as Narendra

Singh, Gulaab Singh, BhaagSingh, and Raman — all resi-dents of Rajasthan; besidestwo — Dinesh and Rahul —from Madhya Pradesh. Oneaccused is still at large. Theaccused persons were alsooperating in the states includ-ing Punjab, Haryana and UttarPradesh. The police haverecovered various ATM cards,cash, SIMs and a POS Machinefrom the accused persons.

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The death toll of migratorybirds crossed over 2300 on

Tuesday in Himachal’s Pongwetland due to the outbreak ofdeadly avian influenza- H5N1.

Not only this, the localbirds such as crows have alsobeen found dead in the wetlandarea triggering concerns for thealarming situation in Kangradistrict.

The state Cabinet meetingheld under Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur reviewed the sit-uation arising due to the birdflu in the state.

The cabinet has directedthe Department of Health andDepartment of AnimalHusbandry to ensure adequateavailability of medicines spe-cific to the H5N1 and PPE kitsfor staff. The cabinet has fur-ther directed strict enforcementof restrictions on movementimposed around Pong wet-land by the DeputyCommissioner, Kangra.

A report from NationalInstitute of High SecurityAnimal Diseases in Bhopal,had a day before confirmed thepresence of H5N1 avianinfluenza in the samples of fivedead Bar- Headed Goose foundat Pong Dam in Himachal’sKangra district.

Sources said that all thewetlands including Renukawetland, which hosts migrato-ry birds every year, wildlifesanctuaries and zoos in thestate have been put on alert.Samples collected from migra-tory birds at Renuka Dam havealso been sent for bird flu test-ing. Samples from poultryfarms have also been collected

for testing, said sources.The samples of blood, fae-

cal or throat swab of the birdsare collected for the diseaseinvestigation.

It is for the first time thatbird flu has been reported atthe Pong wetland which isknown as migratory birds’ par-adise as it hosts more than onelakh winged guests during win-ter season.

Sources said that due to thebird flu, the annual avian cen-sus conducted at Pong Dam inJanuary and February will besuspended this year. Given thecurrent situation, the area islikely to remain under surveil-lance and carrying out saniti-zation exercise for about amonth’s time, sources said.

All kinds of human andlivestock activities have alreadybeen banned in the one kmarea around the lake which isdeclared as alert zone (redzone) while the next nine kmarea has been declared a sur-veillance zone.

According to the censusexercise conducted in Januarythis year, as many as 1.15 lakhbirds of 114 species wererecorded at the Pong DamLake.

“More than 2300 migrato-ry birds have died till now. Wehave sounded an alert due tobird flu and all precautionarymeasures are being taken by thefield staff at the Pong Dam,”said Rahul Rohane, DeputyConservator of Forests,Wildlife Division, Hamirpurwhile talking to The Pioneer.

He said that on an average,death of more than 200 migra-tory birds is being reportedevery day at the wetland. TheDepartment is following the

guidelines for burning andburying the carcasses of migra-tory birds.

Maximum fatalities havebeen seen among Bar-HeadedGoose. Fatalities have also beenreported in species namelyCommon Teal, NorthernShoveler, Common Pochard,Tufted Duck, Black-headedGull among others, he added.

As a precautionary mea-sure, sale of poultry productsand fish have been banned inFatehpur, Dehra, Jawali andIndora subdivisions of Kangradistrict till further orders.

The Pong Dam, alsoknown as Pong Reservoir, PongDam Lake and the MaharanaPratap Sagar is a well-knownwildlife sanctuary and one ofthe international wetland sitesdeclared in India by the RamsarConvention. Every year, morethan one lakh migratory birdsof over 100 species from Siberiaand Central Asia descend onPong wetland for their wintersojourn.

Alongside the Covid-19outbreak across the world lastyear, there have been bird fluoutbreaks in several countriesin Europe and East Asia. InIndia, the outbreak of highlypathogenic avian influenza hasalso affected states namelyRajasthan, Madhya Pradeshand Kerala.

Notably, humans can getinfected by H5N1 only uponclose interaction with infectedlive or dead birds, or H5N1-contaminated environments.If infected, humans tend to fallseverely ill and also requirehospitalisation. Oseltamivir, anantiviral medicine is used wide-ly to prevent severity of thevirus and death.

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Taking precautionary mea-sures in view of the death

of thousands of migratorybirds in the Pong Dam ofHimachal Pradesh due to birdflu, Haryana Department ofForests and Wildlife hassounded an alert in the wet-lands of Sultanpur Lake andBhindawas where thousandsof migratory birds havearrived for their annualsojourn.

Talking to ‘The Pioneer’over the phone, SultanpurNational park (wildlife)Inspector Rajesh Chahal saidthat no casualty has beenreported in this part of theregion but the possibility ofthe disease reaching the wet-lands cannot be ruled out.“Nonetheless, teams of theWildlife Department arekeeping round-the-clock vigilat Sultanpur wetlands. In therecent census, around 20, 000migratory birds had arrived atSultanpur wetlands,” headded.

Asked if it could pose athreat to other aquatic crea-tures that survive in waters, hesaid:

“An alarming rise indeaths is concerning andrequires a serious follow-up”.Observing the current situa-tion as quite serious, he saidthat a group of individuals

who provide extra informa-tion about the birds or aquat-ic species and habitat, andlocal riparian residents hadbeen roped in to keep an eyeon any abnormal behaviour ofwater fowls.

“The idea is to keep asmany eyes on suspicious activ-ity as possible. They havebeen told to report back iffresh bird carcasses are found.Our teams have been keepinga watch 24x7 on a rotationalbasis,” he said.

When contacted HaryanaChief Conservator of Forests(wildlife) ML Rajvanshi, said,“So far, we have not detectedmortality among birds inSultanpur and Bhindawas wet-lands. We are on the alert.”

He said that an advisoryhas been issued that all zoosremain alert and vigilant forany symptoms among captiveanimals and incidence, if any,in nearby areas.

Similarly, veterinarianshave been engaged in preven-tive care of the birds.

After the highly infec-tious Asian avian influenza(H5N1) led to the death ofabout 2000 migratory birds inPong Dam wetland in Kangradistrict of Himachal Pradeshbesides 1 lakh poultry birds inHaryana’s Barwala belt inPanchkula district suspectedto be due to the virus, thewildlife officials have beenput on high alert in the State.

He said, “Consideringthis grave situation, we haveasked the officials to take allpossible measures/precau-tions to prevent the trans-mission of disease in otheranimals, birds and humanbeings.

The officials have beenasked to create awareness thatany sighting of a dead bird byvolunteers, bird watchers andothers should be reported tothe nearest forest/animal hus-bandry office.”

Directing the officialsconcerned to remain vigilantfor birds, animals showingsymptoms, another Wildlifeofficial said that staff mem-bers have been asked to wearrubber gloves and protectiveclothing that can be disin-fected or disposed of andprotective eyewear or a faceshield while handling ani-mals.

They should wash handswith soap and water often anddisinfect work surfaces andequipment between sites.Officials have been advised tonot to eat, drink, or smokewhile handling animals.

“All the wildlife officialshave been asked to createawareness about the spread,testing and prevention ofswine flu and we have alsoasked them to ensure thatthere are enough medicines totreat any cases that are beingreported,” he added.

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Unusual death of four lakhpoultry birds has

occurred in the last ten daysin 20 poultry farms with epi-centers near Garhi Kutahaand the other nearby villageJaloli in Barwala area inPanchkula district, an officialof Haryana, AnimalHusbandry and DairyingDepartment said on Tuesday,triggering alarm bells.

“There are a total of77,87,450 birds in poultryfarms in Panchkula districtand the mortality of birdswas 4,09,970. The sampleswere collected and sent toRegional Disease DiagnosticLaboratory (RDDL),Jalandhar from where thereport is still awaited and cur-rently RDDL team hasreached Barwala area for re-sampling of birds.

There are no confirmedreports of Avian Influenza asyet, he added. Among thesuspected diseases can also beRanikhet or Infectious laryn-geo-trachitis.

Elaborating on it furtherhe said that even though themortality in poultry is higheras compared to previousmonths, the department ofAnimal Husbandry andDairying has a standard advi-sory regarding the consump-tion of poultry in case ofAvian influenza. As per theadvisory, the poultry and

poultry products can becooked and consumed asusual with no fear of acquir-ing infection with the avianinfluenza virus.

Listing out the details ofthe advisory the spokespersonsaid that in areas free of thedisease, poultry and poultryproducts can be cooked andconsumed as usual (followinggood hygienic practices andproper cooking) with no fearof acquiring infection with theavian influenza virus. He stat-ed that the avian influenzavirus is sensitive to heat.Moreover, the normal tem-peratures used for cooking inIndia (70ºC for all parts of thefood) can kill the virus.Henceforth, before consumingpoultry consumers shouldensure that all parts of thepoultry are fully cooked (no“pink” parts) and that eggs,too, are properly cooked (no“runny” yolks), he added.

On the things to take careof while food preparation thespokesperson said that duringfood preparation, raw poultryand poultry products shouldnever be allowed to mix withitems eaten raw. Moreover,when handling raw poultry orraw poultry products, personsinvolved in food preparationshould wash their hands thor-oughly and clean and disinfectsurfaces in contact with thepoultry products. Soap andhot water are sufficient for thispurpose, he added.

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Scores of PunjabCongressmen, led by state

unit president Sunil Jakhar, onTuesday marched up to themartyr memorial inChandigarh in protest againstthe Centre’s apathy towardsthe loss of precious 57 farmer lives during theongoing farmer agitationagainst farm laws and placed 57extinguished earthen lamps onground.

“The Modi governmenthas blood on its hands,” saidJakhar adding that this marchand laying of 57 extinguishedlamps by the Congress at abefitting martyr memorial inthe State capital is to tell theGovernment to rise from itsdeep slumber and repeal the three black farm laws at theearliest.

“The sacrifice of thesefarmers will not go in vain.

They are no less martyrs.Punjab and Haryana farmershave led the battle for thenation from the front. TheCentre’s insensitivity towardsthe farmers’ cause will not lastlong,” said Jakhar.

The state Congress chiefsaid that the agitation hascrossed way beyond 100 dayswith farmers being harassedand facing the bone-chillingwinter months out in the open.“If the Government’s intent issacrosanct, the several roundsof talks with farmer represen-tatives would not haveremained inconclusive,” hesaid.

Jakhar said that the MartyrMemorial in Chandigarh is atribute to the brave soldierswho laid down their lives forthe nation.

The Centre should expe-ditiously clear the logjambefore the situation worsens, hemaintained.

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To bring down the fatalitiesin the state from 14 per day

to at least the national averageof seven, the PunjabGovernment has decided toconduct a Crash Investigationof all the major road accidentsin the state.

The proposed investiga-tion would help in ascertainingthe reasons for accidents whichcould have happened due to theengineering fault, lack ofenforcement, vehicle fault,among others, so that remedi-al measures can be initiated.

Besides, the Governmenthas also decided to conduct athird party audit of all vulner-able road stretches in the Stateby an independent agency.

The decisions were takenduring the meeting of thePunjab State Road SafetyCouncil (PSRSC), headed bythe state Transport MinisterRazia Sultana, to review theroad safety measures and

action taken by the stakehold-ers on implementation of roadsafety laws in the State.

The Minister issued direc-tions to the officials concernedto implement some major deci-sions, including purchase ofreflectors to cover nearly 50,000stray cattle and rectify all theblack spots by March 31, 2021.

During the meeting, it wasdecided to expedite the pur-chase of equipment for roadsafety like speed guns, breathanalyzers, besides filling up ofvacant posts in lead agenciesand implementation of direc-tions issued by the SupremeCourt Committee of RoadSafety.The Minister advised allthe agencies involved in theroad safety to work in missionmode so that precious lives canbe saved.

“As many as 502 road acci-dents with stray animals arereported in Punjab during thelast three years (2015-2018) inwhich 370 people lost theirlives, 157 seriously injured,

and 59 got minor injuries,” saidan official spokesperson of theDepartment.

Spokesperson said that theproblem becomes more seriousdue to foggy conditions duringthe months of December toFebruary. “The meeting alsodecided that due to intensefoggy conditions in the State,there is a need to put fluores-cent reflectors on stray cattleand for this purpose, theCouncil will incur the expen-diture of nearly Rs 25 lakhs forthe purchase of reflectors tocover nearly 50,000 stray cattlein the state,” added thespokesperson.

Informing about blackspots, the spokesperson saidthat an accident black spot is aroad corridor of about 500-meter-long stretch on whicheither five road accidentsinvolving fatalities and grievousinjuries had been reportedduring the last three calendaryears or 10 fatalities during thelast three years.

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To ensure successful imple-mentation of the COVID-

19 vaccine roll out in Haryana,a ‘dry run’ will be conducted onJanuary 7 in all the districts, onsix sites, including three urbanand three rural sites, from 11am to 1 pm.

Presiding over a meeting ofthe State Steering Committeeand the State Task Force for theCOVID-19 vaccine held withall the Deputy Commissionersthrough video conferencing,Haryana Chief Secretary VijaiVardhan directed the officialsto ensure that all the guidelinesissued by the Union Ministryof Health and Family Welfareare followed at the time of ‘dryrun’.

During the meeting, theChief Secretary gave direc-tions regarding the new strainof the COVID-19 virus foundin people coming from Britain

and said that tracing and test-ing of such people should bedone on priority.

Also, contact tracing ofthese people should be donestrictly, he added.

He directed that it ismandatory to record the detailsof the healthcare workers whoare to be included in the ‘dryrun’ to be conducted onJanuary 7 in the software.

In the meeting, AdditionalChief Secretary, Health andFamily Welfare DepartmentRajeev Arora said that as perthe scheme of Union Ministryof Health and Family Welfare,‘Dry Run’ was conducted onJanuary 2 in Panchkula district.Taking this forward, now onJanuary 7, a ‘dry run’ will beconducted across the state,which aims to practice theentire process of COVID-19vaccine rollout from begin-ning to end so that all the chal-lenges in its implementation

can be identified.Arora said that the plat-

form of the existing universalimmunization programme ofthe State with enhanced capac-ity will be used for providingCovid-19 vaccine.

According to the centralgovernment guidelines, theintroduction of the COVID-19vaccine will start this year withthe vaccination of a number ofgroups and healthcare workers.

Health workers will bevaccinated under category-1.Under category-2, frontlineworkers like municipality andsanitation workers, state andcentral police forces, civildefense and armed forces andrevenue officers will be vacci-nated, while people over 50years of age will be vaccinatedunder category-3, and thosebelow the age of 50 years whoare ill will be vaccinated undercategory-4.

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Fulfilling Punjab Government’spromise to provide technical edu-

cation in the state’s mother tongue, thestate Technical Education Department has translated the booksof 16 different trades into Punjabi and work is underway totranslate books of other 25 differenttrades into Punjabi.

At the same time, the PunjabGovernment has sent a question bankof more than 25,000 questions inPunjabi language to the CentralGovernment’s Directorate General ofTraining (DGT) to send questionpapers in Punjabi to the students of thestate.

“Earlier, the question papers weresent to the Technical Education stu-dents by the Union Government onlyin English and Hindi, which made itvery difficult for the state’s youth tounderstand and solve them,” said thestate Technical Education andIndustrial Training Minister CharanjitSingh Channi on Tuesday.

He said that the State Governmenthas announced the development ofPunjabi language, on InternationalMother Language Day.

“Although it is just a beginning, thecomplete syllabus in reference booksof most of the colleges would be pre-pared and made available to the stu-dents in Punjabi,” he said.

The Minister also announced thesetting up of two state CampusUniversities at Gurdaspur andFerozepur.

“A MoU has been signed with IITRopar to improve the quality of edu-cation in Shaheed Bhagat Singh College

of Engineering and Technology,Ferozepur; and Beant College ofEngineering and Technology,Gurdaspur. IIT Ropar has been madeits mentor and a bill to make these twocolleges campus universities would beintroduced in the assembly in the nextbudget session,” he said.

Channi said that the state-of-art DrBR Ambedkar Institute ofManagement, which will be at thenational level, is being opened at DrIKG-PTU at Kapurthala.

“A Skill University is being set upat Chamkaur Sahib under the firstphase of which IKG-PTU has sanc-tioned Rs 120 crore for setting up ofSkill College. The tender for this workhas been issued by the PWD and theconstruction of this college would becompleted this year by working on awar footing,” he said.

PUNJAB TO START OVERSEASSTUDY, PLACEMENT CELL FROMFEB 15

Punjab government will start a for-eign study and placement cell fromFebruary 15 which would be inaugu-rated by Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh. This cell has beenformed under ‘Punjab Ghar GharRozgar and Karobaar Mission’ for thebenefit of aspirants who wish to studyabroad.

“This cell would be started fromMohali as a pilot project. At this cell,the youth will be facilitated with coun-seling and consultation for study andwork visa. All the formalities have beencompleted regarding this cell andUnion Government has also given itsnod for the formation of this cell,” saidthe state Employment Generation

Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.He said that in the next phase, the

talks are on with foreign universitiesand colleges for required assistance toget study visa.

This cell would be proving bene-ficial for Punjabi youth to get study andwork visa according to their interestsand qualification, he said.

Channi said that PunjabGovernment will provide jobs and selfemployment opportunities to as manyas 10 lakh people under ‘Ghar GharRozgar and Karobaar Mission.

“In this drive, one lakh govern-ment jobs, four lakh private sector jobsand five lakh self-employment oppor-tunities will be provided to youth.Under mission Ghar Ghar Rozgar,more than 15 lakh youth have beenfacilitated with jobs and self-employ-ment during the present governmentregime till date,” he said.

In view of expectations of Japaneseinvestment in Punjab, he said that theDepartment has started Japanese language training coursesunder which 37 master trainers havebeen appointed who would provide200-hour training to youth from 18 to45 years.

‘MISSION RED SKY’ TO SAVEYOUTH FROM DRUGS BYSKILLING THEM

The Department has also launcheda special ‘Mission Red Sky’ followingthe Chief Minister’s directions to savePunjabi youth from drug abuse byskilling them and placements.

Under this, 500 youth from eachdistrict and a total of 11,000 youth willbe given skill development training toprovide employment.

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Haryana on Tuesday report-ed four more coronavirus

deaths, taking the toll to 2927even as 259 fresh cases pushedthe State’s infection tally to2,63,571, a health bulletinshowed

.According to the State healthdepartment’s daily bulletin,

the fatalities were one eachfrom Jhajjar, Kurukshetra,Karnal and Faridabad districts.Among other districts to reportnew cases included Gurugram(35) and Faridabad (29).

The number of active casesin the state were 2,692 while asmany as 2,57,952 people haveso far been discharged afterrecovering from infection. Therecovery rate in the State was97.87 percent.

1 DEATH, 41 NEW CASESIN CHANDIGARH

The COVID-19 positivecases have crossed 20000-markin the union territory ofChandigarh with the detectionof 41 fresh infections onTuesday. The total cases nowstand at 20026 in the city whileone more death has pushed thetoll to 322, according to theChandigarh HealthDepartment’s bulletin.As perthe bulletin, there were 240active cases till Tuesdayevening. A total of 116 patientswere discharged in the last 24hours after they recovered fromthe infection, taking the num-ber of cured persons to 19464.

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To provide permanent relieffrom water-logging and ensure

optimum use of canal water, therelining project of Sirhind feederand Rajasthan feeder would becompleted in two years.

Asserting this, Punjab WaterResources Minister SukhbinderSingh Sarkaria said: “Punjab hascompleted the relining work of 17-km-long section of Sirhind Feederat a cost of Rs 80.51 crore in SriMuktsar Sahib, Faridkot andFerozepur districts.

The remaining work of relin-ing on the canal would be taken upduring the planned canal closurefrom January 18 to February 22,2021.

The total cost of the reliningproject would be Rs 671.478 crore.”

Sarkaria said that the reliningworks of Rajasthan Feeder wouldalso be taken up in two canal clo-sures — 2021-22 and 2022-23 —with proposed length of 47 kmsand 49 kms in each year at a costof Rs 1200 crore.

These projects would preventwater seepage which will resolvethe water-logging problem in thesouth-western districts of the state,besides increasing efficiency ofcanal irrigation, he added.

Apart from this, the WaterResources Department has spentRs 30 crore for cleaning of 7,000kms distributaries or minors dur-ing 2020 to provide the water to thetail-end farmers.

Drains in the length of 2020kms, out of total 8136 kms, werecleaned at a cost of Rs 26 crore and

48 flood protection works wereexecuted at a cost of Rs 24 croreduring 2020.

To give benefits to Doabaregion, a project of rehabilitationof Bist Doab Canal system at a costof Rs 462.57 crore was approvedand the work is likely to be com-pleted in 2021, he said. The workfor distribution system of KandiCanal Stage-II (Hoshiarpur toBalachaur) was executed during2019-20, and now it is 90.53 per-cent completed, said the Minister,adding that after completion, itwould provide the irrigation facil-ities to 29,527 hectares area of 218villages in districts Hoshiarpurand SBS Nagar.

SPECIAL PROJECTS FOR BET-TER IRRIGATION FACILITIES

Sarkaria said that a project forconstruction of field channels onKotla Branch Part-II System at acost of Rs 477.19 crore is inprogress and is likely to be com-pleted by March 31, 2022. With thecompletion of this project, an areaof 1,42,658 hectares would bebrought under better irrigationfacilities.

A project for Installation andRe-energisation of 72 AlternateDeep Tubewells in six blocks offour districts of Punjab at a cost ofRs 30.21 crore, is in progress, andwill be completed by March 31,2021 and would provide assuredirrigation to 3,600 hectares oncompletion, said the Minister.

MINING DEPT TO LAUNCHWEB PORTAL TO ENABLEONLINE BUYING OF SAND,

GRAVELPunjab Government issoon coming up with a web por-tal for online sale of sand and grav-el at fixed rates. Announcing, thestate Mines and Geology MinisterSukhbinder Singh Sarkaria onTuesday said: “For better moni-toring of mining activities, theDepartment is developing a webportal which will be launchedshortly. The portal would enablethe consumers to buy sand or grav-el online from the mining sites oftheir choice at the notified rate ofRs nine per cubic feet.”

“Under ease of doing businessinitiative, the Department has alsomade provisions for onlineissuance of various permissions likepermits for soil excavation in gen-eral as well as for BKOs, and reg-istration of crushers etc,” said theMinister. Sarkaria further said thatthe State Government has alsodecided that desilting of rivers is tobe allotted to the existing con-tractors of respective miningblocks.

The drainage wing of WaterResources Department had iden-tified 78 desilting sites in six blockshaving 274.22 lakhs MT desiltingmining or mineral, he added.

PUNJAB OFFERED RELIEFSTO DEVELOPERS, ALLOTTEES

Punjab Housing and UrbanDevelopment Minister SukhbinderSingh Sarkaria on Tuesday claimedthat the Department continued itsdevelopment agenda by accom-plishing major housing and devel-opment projects across the Stateduring lockdown and COVIDpandemic.

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The Congress on Tuesdaydescribed the Central Vista

redevelopment project as a caseof “misplaced priority by awhimsical autocrat”.

The grand old party hasbeen arguing against the�13,450 crore central redevel-opment project during a pan-demic and economic recession.

Congress’ chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala tweet-ed: “The �13,450 CR CentralVista Project is not a legalisticissue but a case of ‘misplacedpriorities’ of a ‘whimsical auto-crat’ seeking to etch his name inthe annals of history withcement & mortar. Ironical thatIn times of Corona pandemic &economic recession, Delhi has�14,000 cr for Central Vista &�8,000 CR for buying aircraftsfor PM”.

“But the same BJP Govtimposes cuts of �37,530 CR inallowances of 113 Lakh ArmedForces & Central GovtEmployees & Pensioners.PM

must not forget that he hasimposed cuts of �11,000 CR on15 lakh Soldiers & 26 lakhMilitary Pensioners. And thesame BJP Govt at Centre has notime to provide ‘heated tentsand equipment’ to our soldiersbraving brazen Chinese incur-sions in Ladakh,” Surjewalaadded.

Deputy Leader of Congressin Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharmaalso tweeted that he was “sad-dened” by the Supreme Court’sgo-ahead to the project.

In a series of tweets,Sharma said it is time to“reflect” on the State of therepublic. “Saddened bySupreme court endorsement

of Government ‘s misplacedpriorities during Pandemic andclearing the Central vista pro-ject- a unnecessary and colos-sal waste of public money,”Sharma said.

“We are living in strangetimes. No relief for the migrantlabour, no Justice for India’sfarmers fighting for their rightsin bitter cold. Pouring rain, teargas and braving lathis. As weapproach ‘Ganatantra Diwas’need to reflect on state ofRepublic,” he added.

Congress floor leader inLok Sabha, Adhir RanjanChowdhury didn’t directly com-ment on the Supreme Court rul-ing but focussed on “values tobolster democracy”.

“An Atma NirbharParliament isn’t made just bybrick and mortar. It is made bythe spirit of questioning, dis-cussing and debating inside theHouse. It is built by promotingConstitutional values that bol-sters democracy,” he said.

The Congress’ parliamen-tary leaders along with other keyOpposition leaders had boy-cotted the Bhoomi poojan cer-emony by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

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Union Minister HardeepSingh Puri on Tuesday

welcomed the Supreme Courtjudgement giving a go-ahead tothe Central Vista redevelop-ment project, and asserted thatthe Government has alwaysbeen sensitive to environmen-tal concerns.

“Delhi is on course tobecoming a World Class capi-tal city and in the first step bythe time nation completes 75years of its Independence in2022 a new Parliament build-ing will be ready reflecting theaspirations of new India,” Puritweeted.

“We welcome theJudgement of the Hon’bleSupreme Court giving the goahead for the ambitious CentralVista Project. Central Govthas always been sensitive toenvironmental concerns & willcontinue to adhere to the high-est standards during the peri-od of construction,” Puri said.

The Minister also statedthat the Speaker’s office hadcommunicated to Secretary-Urban Development on July 13,2012 highlighting the inade-quacies of the existingParliament building and anurgent need for construction ofa new one. Congress was inpower then. “Sadly, fewCongressmen feign collectiveamnesia today,” he said.

“In 2012, when his partywas in power, Jairam Rameshhad said “We badly need a newParliament building. This onesimply isn’t functional & is out-dated”, Puri tweeted.

Meanwhile, after thesupreme court verdict, theCentral Public WorksDepartment, which is execut-ing the government’s ambi-

tious Central Vista redevelop-ment project, will soon start theconstruction work once it getspermission from the HeritageConservation Committee.

“The CPWD will approachthe committee and seek per-mission before the start ofconstruction work of newParliament building. Other for-malities will also be followed byconcerned agencies,” an officialin the Union Housing andUrban Affairs Ministry said.Another official said that theoutlook of the new buildingwill be similar to the existingone that is why there should beno problem in getting permis-sion from the HeritageConservation Committee

The redevelopment projectof the Central Vista — thenation’s power corridor —envisages a new triangularParliament building, a com-mon central secretariat andrevamping of the three-km-long Rajpath, from RashtrapatiBhavan to India Gate.

According to theGovernment’s latest proposalfor the redevelopment of theCentral Vista, the PrimeMinister’s new residential com-plex will have 10 four-storeybuildings with a maximumheight of 12 metres.

The CPWD has revised theestimated cost from �11,794crore to �13,450 crore.

The new Parliament build-ing will have the capacity to seat888 Lok Sabha MPs while theRajya Sabha will have 384 seatsfor the members. The govern-ment has identified aroundfour locations — in GoleMarket, K G Marg, near AfricaAvenue and near TalkatoraStadium — in central Delhi forthe temporary shifting of officesof various ministries.

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The number of cases of high-ly infectious new Covid

variant found in the UK hascrossed the 70 mark in India tillTuesday, DBT Secretary RenuSwarup said even as the UnionHealth Ministry has put thenumber at 58.

Talking to reporters here ata press conference, Swarupsaid that till date 71 cases of thenew UK variant have beenreported in the country.However she did not give muchdetail about the cases.

On the other hand, a state-ment from the Ministry saidthat a total of 58 people havetested positive for the new UKvariant of SARS-CoV-2 inIndia so far. The new coron-avirus variant found in the UKis said to be 70 per cent moreinfectious than the first one.

Till Monday, a total of 38people were found infectedwith the new strain of thevirus in the country. Amongthem, 11 people have testedpositive with the new strain atCSIR’s Institute of Genomicsand Integrative Biology (IGIB),and eight samples tested atNCDC, both in Delhi.

Dr VK Paul, member ofthe Niti Aayog said that interms of the new UK variant ofSARS-CoV-2, “we have notseen emergence of any unto-ward clusters in the country asof now which is reassuring.”

Later, Swarup also gavedetails on the various vaccinesthat are being developed in thecountry. “The mutations inthe spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 don’t substantially affectthe antibody accessibility asassessed by computer model-ling.

She said that all Indian vac-cines being developed againstthe coronavirus will have to bestored at 2-8 degrees Celsius asthe logistics have been workedout while considering temper-ature as a factor.

Swarup said BharatBiotech’s Covid-19 vaccineCovaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield have

robustly undergoneimmunoassay lab tests.

“(For) all our vaccines, weare looking at right now…..(we)are targeting 2-8 degreebecause our logistics areworked out on that basis andwe are working on that,”Swarup said.

She said the DNA vaccinecandidate being developed byZydus Cadila, and theBiological E’s mRNA vaccinework at storage temperatures of2-8 degrees Celsius.

“Unlike the Pfizer andModerna which requires aminus 70 degree Celsius(cold) chain, this (theBiological E’s vaccine candi-date) is basically at the 2-8degree Celsius,” Swarup said.

The Zydus Cadila candi-date has been grantedapproval to conduct the

phase-3 trial while theBiological E candidate is in itsphase-1 clinical trial stage.

Swarup said Dr Reddy’sLaboratories has partneredwith Russia’s GamaleyaInstitute and a vaccine isbeing developed for India tar-geting storage at 2-8 degreesCelsius.

“They (Dr Reddy’sLaboratories) have startedphase 2/3 trials in the coun-try. They have completed thefirst part of the phase 2 trialon 1,000 subjects and they arenow looking at interim datawhich is to be analysed.

“They also have largeglobal trials , l ike theAstrazeneca and that data isalso being looked at. Whatthey are targeting is for Indiato try and see how it could beat 2-8 degrees,” Swarup said.

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Despite having a well-struc-tured primary healthcare

infrastructure and an impres-sive institutional delivery rate,at least half of the total infantsie one in two babies born inTamil Nadu do not get themuch-needed mother’s milkwithin an hour of their birth,according to a report releasedhere recently online.

“It is puzzling that in aState where 99 per cent ofdeliveries are institutional,both public and private, initi-ation of breastfeeding withinan hour of birth is only at 54.7per cent. There is other dis-turbing data, such as that 34per cent of births are by cae-sarean section.

“This is well above theWHO threshold of 15 percent as well as the rate record-ed in other states,” said formerUnion Health Secretar yKeshwav Desiraju while com-menting on the observationmade in report t it led“Spotlight on infant feeding inTamil Nadu 2020 –trackingpolicies and programmes insupport of women and chil-dren to adopt optimal feedingpractices: from conception to2 years or beyond.”

The first ever report ofassessment of policy and programmes in the State pre-pared by the BreastfeedingPromotion Network of India(BPNi) and its StateBreastfeeding Trends Initiative(SBTi) team was released by JRadhakrishnan, PrincipalSecretar y to the TNGovernment recently.

As per the report, TNscored 64 out of 100 in thefirst assessment of the 10parameters of policy/pro-grammes on breastfeedingand infant and young childrenfeeding practices.

Tamil Nadu is not doingwell particularly in breast-feeding, implementation ofthe Infant Milk SubstitutesFeeding Bottles, and InfantFoods (Regulation ofProduction, Supply andDistribution) Act 1992, andAmendment Act 2003, and onInfant Feeding during disasters, said the report.

Commenting on thereport’s observation, Dr.Radhakrishnan said, “…TamilNadu is doing fairly well inmost of the indicators and thatwith focused attention onthose areas where we havesome gaps, we can certainlybridge them to improve thestatus of IYCF practices in theState”.

The report attributed dis-mal breastfeeding rate to bar-riers such as women’s percep-tions of ‘not enough milk’,breast conditions like sore

nipples, engorgement andmastitis leading to use ofinfant formula, which isunnecessary.

All these common reasonsfor women to give up breast-feeding can be overcome with proper coun-selling and skilled support tothe women and family in theState which has a large num-ber of women work force, itsuggested.

Dr Arun Gupta fromBPNi pointed out that optimalfeeding includes early breastfeeding within one hourof birth, exclusive breastfeeding for the first sixmonths and continued breast-feeding for two years orbeyond along with adequateand appropriate complemen-tary feeding after six months.

According to healthexperts, breastfeeding pre-vents diarrhoea, pneumoniain children and provides long-term benefits againstnon-communicable diseases.It also reduces risk of breastand ovarian cancer in themothers and protects themfrom diabetes.

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Global leaders have laudedIndia’s leadership in sci-

entific innovation and decisiveaction to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, as the countrygets set to begin the world’slargest vaccination driveagainst the novel coronavirus.

The Drug ControllerGeneral of India on Sundayapproved the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manu-factured by the Serum Instituteand indigenously developedCovaxin of Bharat Biotech, forrestricted emergency use in thecountry, paving the way for amassive inoculation drive.

“It’s great to see India’sleadership in scientific inno-vation and vaccine manufac-turing capability as the worldworks to end the COVID-19pandemic,” Bill Gates, co-chairof the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, said in a tweet onMonday, tagging the Prime

Minister’s Office.Director-General of the

World Health OrganizationTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesustweeted that India “continuesto take decisive action &demonstrate its resolve to end#COVID19 pandemic”.

“As the world’s largest vac-cine producer, it’s well placedto do so. If we #ACTogether,we can ensure effective & safevaccines are used to protectthe most vulnerable every-where,” Ghebreyesus said andtagged Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in his tweet.

A day after India’s drugregulator approved two vac-cines for restricted emergencyuse, Prime Minister Modi saidthe world’s biggest inoculationdrive against coronavirus wasset to begin in the country.

Praising the scientists andtechnicians for the ‘’Made inIndia’’ vaccines, he said thecountry was proud of them.

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The National InvestigationAgency on Tuesday filed a

supplementary chargesheet inthe Hizbul Mujahideen (HM)narco terror case before theNIA Special Court, Mohali,Punjab against alleged narco-terrorists Jaswant Singh ofGurdaspur and Gursant Singhof Tarn Taran, Punjab.

Both the accused personswere charged for criminal con-spiracy, impersonation, usingforged documents as genuineand destruction of evidenceunder the Indian Penal Code(IPC) and relevant provisionsof the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act and NarcoticDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances Act.

The accused persons wereinvolved in collection, distrib-ution and selling of heroinsmuggled from Pakistan asalso in collection and chan-nelization of proceeds gener-ated for furthering the activi-ties of the banned terror groupHizbul Mujahideen.

“Accused Gursant Singhwas one of the important mem-bers of the terrorist gang and asa close associate of primeaccused Iqbal Singh alias Sherawas responsible for safe move-ment of heroin and proceeds to

various places/unknown per-sons,” the NIA said in a state-ment.

Investigation has alsobrought out that he has pur-chased many immovable prop-erties and luxury cars to beused as hide outs and for trans-portation of drugs and pro-ceeds, it said.

Earlier, a chargesheet wasfiled on October 20 last yearagainst ten accused personsincluding arrested Hilal AhmedShergojri of Pulwama, BikramSingh of Amritsar (arrested),Maninder Singh (arrested),Ranjit Singh (arrested),Gagandeep Singh (arrested),Iqbal Singh, all from Amritsar(absconding), Ranjit Singh(arrested) and Jaswant Singh(arrested), both fromGurdaspur, Zafar Hussain Bhatof Anantnag, presently inPakistan (absconding) andRiyaz Ahmed Naikoo ofPulwama (killed).

They charged various IPCsections and provisions of UA(P) A and NDPS Act besidesthe Indian Passports Act.

This case arose out ofPolice Station Sadar, AmritsarCase No. 135 dated April 25,2020 pertaining to arrest of oneHilal Ahmed Shergojri andrecovery of Rs 29 lakh from hispossession, by Punjab Police.

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The Supreme Court onTuesday asked the Punjab

Government to place on recordthe charge sheet filed in thefresh FIR lodged against formerDGP Sumedh Singh Saini inthe 1991 disappearance andmurder of a junior engineerBalwant Singh Multani.

The top court had alreadygranted anticipatory bail toSaini.

A bench of Justices AshokBhushan, R Subhash Reddyand M R Shah also asked thetrial court to postpone its sched-uled hearing of January 22 as thetop court is hearing this matter.

The bench is hearing Saini’splea seeking to quash the freshFIR lodged in the case in May2020.

“Gopal Subramanium,senior counsel, for the Stateseeks time to place the chargesheet and additional documentson the record. Let him do with-in two weeks. Counsel for thepetitioner submits that matterbe listed in the month ofFebruary, 2021. List in the sec-ond week of February, 2021”, thebench said.

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The Supreme Court onTuesday asked the Centre

to consider issuing directions toensure adequate use of anti-smog guns and make setting upof smog towers a “mandatoryrequirement” during con-struction of development pro-jects involving Governmentbuildings, townships or othermajor private projects.

The apex court said thattime has come to advance theintent behind improving airquality a mandatory feature formodern buildings and moreparticularly during the phase ofconstruction of major projects inthe cities most affected by airpollution.

The top court said this in its2:1 majority verdict by which itpaved way for the ambitiousCentral Vista Project, coveringa three-km stretch fromRashtrapati Bhavan to IndiaGate in Lutyens’’ Delhi.

“We deem it fit to call uponthe respondent MoHUA(Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs) to consider issuingappropriate general directions soas to ensure that adequate use ofsmog guns during the con-struction of development pro-jects and setting up smog tow-ers is made a mandatoryrequirement, particularly involv-ing government buildings, town-ships or other major private pro-jects,” said Justice A MKhanwilkar, writing the 432-page majority judgement forhimself and Justice DineshMaheshwari.

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The Kochi unit of theNational Investigation

Agency (NIA) on Tuesday sub-mitted the first part of thecharge sheet in the gold smug-gling scam that rocked theKerala Government.

The chargesheet whichruns into hundreds of pageslists 30 persons includingSwapna Suresh, Sarith asaccused. Sandeep Nair, whowas arrested along wothSwapna and Sarith has turnedapprover in the sensationalcase.

The NIA was expected tofile the chargesheet with thespecial court hearing the casewithin 180 days of the firstarrest. Radhakrishna Pillai, theinvestigation officer, handedover the first part of thechargesheet before the dead-line. Though the contents inthe chargesheet are yet to bereleased, sources in the NIAsaid that the accused had beenslapped with section 16, 17 and18 of the Unlawful ActivitiesPrevention Act which wouldmake it difficult for the accusedto come put on bail in the nearfuture.

Though there are 30 per-

sons listed as accused in thegold smuggling scam, the NIAcould arrest only 21 persons tillnow. Out of this, seven personsare in judicial custody while 12managed to get bail. Some ofthe persons who have beenidentified as accused by theNIA are absconding. ThoughFazal Fareed, a Dubai basedsmuggler who is the masterbrain behind the entire scamhave been caught by the UAEPolice, Indian law enforcingagencies are yet to get himextradited to India.

The NIA officials remainedtight-lipped when askedwhether M Sivsankar, the for-mer principal secretary of ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan hasbeen included as an accused inthe case.

The gold smuggling scamburst out when a diplomaticconsignment meant to the UAEConsulate inThiruvananthapuram evokedsuspicion in the minds of thecustom officials who held backthe baggage for further inspec-tion in the last week of June2020. This resulted in a pletho-ra of telephone calls from theChief Minister’s Office to theCustoms Department atThiruvananthapuram airportarousing suspicion about theinvolvement of persons inhigher places in the case.

Following the cracking ofthe gold smuggling scam,names of the Speaker of KeralaLegislative Assembly PSreeramakrishnan, Kerala’sMinister for Higher EducationKT Jaleel, Tourism MinisterKadakampalli Surendran and CM Raveendran, additional pri-vate secretary to the ChiefMinister too started figuring inthe scam.

The NIA which took upthe case in July 2020 followingthe demand made by PinarayiVijayan to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for investiga-tion by a central agency, wasjoined by EnforcementDirectorate and CBI.

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Taking a serious view of thecrematorium roof collapse

incident in Muradnagar thatclaimed 24 lives, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathon Tuesday directed officials toinvoke the stringent NationalSecurity Act against theaccused.

Twenty-four people, mostof them attending a funeral,were killed and 17 othersinjured when the roof of a shel-ter at the cremation ground inMuradnagar collapsed onSunday.

In a statement issued here,the UP Government said,“Chief Minister YogiAdityanath has directed thatthe National Security Act beslapped against the accusedpersons. He also directed thatloss of public money during theconstruction work be recoveredfrom the contractor and engi-neers.”

He also announced that afinancial assistance of Rs 10lakh be provided to each of thekin of the deceased, and home-less affected families be pro-vided a home.

The contractor wanted inconnection with incident wasarrested from a village near theborder of Meerut andMuzaffarnagar districts of Uttar

Pradesh, police said onTuesday.

Contractor Ajay Tyagi,who went into hiding afternews of the collapse spread, wasnabbed near the Ganga canal

bridge of Sathedi village by ajoint team of Muradnagar andNiwari police.

The Ghaziabad Police hadon Monday arrestedMuradnagar Nagar PalikaExecutive Officer NiharikaSingh, Junior EngineerChandra Pal and SupervisorAshish as they were involved inthe tendering process for build-ing the structure. They weresent to judicial custody for 14days.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Tuesday attached shares worth�452 crore of ILFS Tamil NaduPower Company Limited(ITPCL) held by a Singapore-based shell company.

“The ED has provisionallyattached assets totaling to �452crores belonging to AS Coal PteSingapore, a Singapore-basedshell company owned by aBritish National Jaimin Vyasunder Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)in a case relating to fraud,” theagency said in a statement.

The attached assets are inthe form of 8.86 per cent sharesof ITPCL presently wortharound �452 crore, it said.

The ED had initiated inves-tigation under PMLA on thebasis of FIR registered by EOW,Delhi against IRL, ITNL(Group companies of IL&FS),its officials and others.

Investigation was also con-ducted by the Serious FraudInvestigation office (SFIO) andcriminal complaint has beenfiled by SFIO against IL&FSFinancial Services (IFIN) andits officials invoking sections ofCompanies Act, 2013.

“Investigation under PMLArevealed that there was a wellplanned conspiracy to defraudIL&FS and Indian Banks byJaimin Vyas in connivance withofficials of IL&FS and one

Chinese EPC Contractor name-ly SEPCO III. The company’sright to select the EPC con-tractor was illegally delegated toJaimin Vyas, violating the termsand conditions of SharePurchase Agreement,” it said.

Jaimin Vyas thereafternominated SEPCO as EPCcontractor and got kick back inguise of fees for consultancyservices. The same money wasrouted as equity investment inITPCL. Subsequently, ITPCLpaid SEPCO III the amount(paid earlier by SEPCO toJaimin Vyas) by inflating thevalue of the contract and pay-ments were also made in theguise of early completion of theproject, the agency said.

Further, investigations alsorevealed that Jaimin Vyasreceived illegal gratification fromNoble Coal in lieu of awardinga coal supply contract (toITPCL) at an inflated rate, it said.

Earlier, ED had attachedmovable and immovable prop-erties of committee of directorsof IFIN worth �126 crore, andmovable and immovable prop-erties of two defaulter loaneesof IFIN namely SIVA Groupand ABG Group worth �1,400crores. Arun Kumar Saha, oneof the former members ofcommittee of directors of IFINand Karunakaran Ramchand,former MD of ITNL werearrested and prosecution com-plaint has been filed underPMLA against the duo, it said.

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The Madhya PradeshGovernment on Tuesday

apprised the ElectionCommission (EC) of the actioninitiated against three IPS offi-cers and others whose allegedrole in the use of black moneyduring the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls came to the fore after theI-T Department raided formerchief minister Kamal Nath’sclose aides.

Chief Secretary Iqbal SinghBains informed that the StateEconomic Offence Wing hasregistered a PE (preliminaryenquiry) in the matter. He alsosought two weeks’ time toapprise the ElectionCommission (EC) of furtheraction in the matter. AdditionalChief Secretary (Home) RajeshKumar Rajora was also presentat the meeting. In December,the EC had decided to call topofficials of the Madhya Pradeshgovernment to apprise it of itsorders to lodge “criminal

action” against the three IPSofficers and others.

The poll body also askedthe Union home secretary toinitiate “appropriate depart-mental action” against the IPSofficers and asked the MadhyaPradesh chief secretary toundertake a “similar action”against a state police serviceofficer. Election Commissionsources identified the threeIPS officers as SushovanBanerjee, Sanjay Mane, VMadhu Kumar and state policeservice officer as Arun Mishra.

The EC had said it was rec-ommending action after it“deliberated” upon a reportsent to it by the CBDT (CentralBoard of Direct Taxes) inti-mating it about the Income TaxDepartment’s “search opera-tions in Madhya Pradesh andits findings of extensive use ofunaccounted cash during the2019 general elections”.

An EC statement had saidthe CBDT report informedthe commission about certain

entities and individuals whowere engaged in “unautho-rised and unaccounted cashcontributions to individualson behalf of a certain politi-cal party, which was reportedto be corroborated duringsearches against persons bythe tax department”. While theEC did not name the party, ithas been widely reported thatthe CBDT report referred tothe Congress.

It said the EC has directedto forward the copy of theOctober 28 CBDT report “tothe Chief Electoral Officer,Madhya Pradesh, to lodgecriminal action before desig-nated authority, which is theMadhya Pradesh economicoffences wing, against the con-cerned for the violation as perextant electoral and other rel-evant laws”.

The tax department hadconducted raids at 52 locationsin Madhya Pradesh and Delhiin April last year and thosesearched included Nath’s for-

mer officer on special duty(OSD) Pravin Kakkar, adviserRajendra Miglani, AshwaniSharma, executives linked tohis brother-in-law’s firm MoserBaer, a company of his nephewRatul Puri and others.

The CBDT, on April 8 lastyear, had said in a statementthat tax sleuths recovered Rs14.6 crore “unaccounted” cashand seized diaries and com-puter files of suspect paymentsafter the raids. It said thedepartment detected a trail ofRs 20 crore suspect cashallegedly being moved to the“headquarter of a major polit-ical party in Delhi”.

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The Government on Tuesdayannounced a national-level

voluntary online exam on ‘gauvigyan’ (cow science) to be heldon February 25, in a bid to gen-erate interest among studentsand the general public aboutthe indigenous cow and itsbenefits.

Announcing the first-everexam of this kind, RashtriyaKamdhenu Aayog (RKA)Chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiriasaid this exam will be heldannually.

Students of primary, sec-ondary and college levels andgeneral public can take part inthe ‘Kamdhenu Gau-VigyanPrachar-Prasar Examination’without any fee.

“For raising mass aware-ness about the indigenous cowsamong young students andother citizens, the RKA decid-ed to conduct a national examon cow science,” he toldreporters.

The Aayog has prepared astudy material on cow science.

The exam will infuse thecuriosity into all Indians aboutcows and make them aware ofthe unexplored potential andbusiness opportunities a cowcan offer, even after it stops giv-ing milk, he added. Further,Kathiria said there will beobjective-type questions, andthe syllabus will be recom-mended on the website of theRKA. The exam results will bedeclared immediately and cer-tificates will be given to all.Meritorious candidates will be

given prizes and certificates, headded.

The RKA chief also men-tioned that it has received goodresponse from varisities forsetting up a chair and researchcentres on cow and relatedissues. The RKA, which comesunder the Ministry of Fisheries,Animal Husbandry andDairying, was set up by theCentre in February 2019, andis aimed at “conservation, pro-tection and development ofcows and their progeny”.

New Delhi: RashtriyaKamdhenu Aayog (RKA)Chairman VallabhbhaiKathiria on Tuesday claimedthat 800 Covid-19 patientshave been cured through‘panchgavya and ayurveda’treatment in a clinical trialconducted in four cities acrossthe country. Kathiria said theclinical trials were conductedon 200 patients each in Rajkotand Baroda (Gujarat),Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) andKalyan (Maharashtra)between June and October2020 in partnership with stategovernments and someNGOs. The treatment entaileddoses of ‘panchgavya’ granules(mixture of cow urine, cowdung, milk, ghee and curd),herb ‘Sanjeevani booti’ andherbal concoction ‘khada’, hesaid. PNS

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The DMK which launchedits campaign for the 2021

Assembly election has madethe contentious farm laws 2020and allegations of corruptionagainst Tamil NaduGovernment as its mainweapons. MK Stalin, the DMKchief, cautioned the peopleagainst the continuation of theNarendra Modi Government atthe Centre and the EdappadiPalaniswamy Government inthe State even for one day.

“The Narendra ModiGovernment has taken awaythe rights of the farmers to cul-tivate in their own fields. Thethree farm legislations enactedby the Modi regime are againstthe farmers in the country.Hereafter the farmers will notbe allowed to cultivate in theirown lands. The Mandis and vil-lage markets operating all overIndia are being shut down.Even if the farmers cultivate intheir fields, the crops would betaken away by corporates withthe support of the Centre andState governments,” warnedStalin while addressing GramSabhas in Tiruvarur andCuddalore districts on Mondayand Tuesday.

The Grama Sabhas whichsaw unprecedented crowds,mainly poor and marginalfarmers, sat in rapt attention asthe DMK chief told them aboutthe traps laid by the Centre andState governments to ‘dispos-sess them of their lands’. Hesaid the BJP and the AIADMKwere working exclusively tosafeguard the interests of big-

time businessmen and corpo-rate houses.

But farm experts in TamilNadu feigned ignorance aboutthe possibilities listed out by theDMK president in his speech.“Though I read the new legis-lations threadbare and dis-cussed about its pros and conswith our lawyers, I did not findanything in the new laws whichsubstantiate the allegations ofStalin,” said R V Giri, president,CIFA (Confederation of IndianFarmers’ Associations), anumbrella organization of farm-ers’ unions in the country. Giri,himself a farmer, cultivatingsugarcane in his ten-acre farmin Virudachalam, said that withthe President signing the newBill, he felt he was freed of theshackles of controls and regu-lations. “Till now I could sell thesugarcane only to sugar facto-ries which were handpicked bythe Government. Now, I am atliberty to sell the crop to thebuyer of my choice. Moreover,Tamil Nadu has no Mandis tospeak about and I do not knowwhat Stalin meant by thesecharges,” Giri told The Pioneer.

Farmer-turned-farm leaderPon Vijayaraghavan describedStalin’s words as a bunch of lies.“He is spreading canard andfalsehood. These were the samelegislations which were underthe consideration of theCongress for decades but theleaders were reluctant to getthem converted into laws.Stalin has political intentionsand that is why he is engagedin distorting the laws,” saidVijayaraghavan, former TamilNadu chief of Kisan Morchcha.

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The Jammu & KashmirPolice has further strength-

ened its highway patrol gridwith the induction of CCTVfitted Highway patrol vehicles.

Director General of J&KPolice Dilbag Singh on Tuesdayinaugurated Highway PatrolVehicles CCTV network mon-itoring lab and reviewed func-tioning of modern nakas andother naka points in the JammuZone.

On the occasion, DGP alsodirected that the HighwayPatrol and Naka Grid be fur-ther augmented with the bul-letproof bunker vehicles andQuick Reaction Teams (QRTs)on the highways so that no timeis lost in reacting to situationsbefittingly.

Jawans of the Jammu andKashmir police have played acrucial role in preventing ter-rorist strikes by timely detect-ing their infiltration fromacross the International borderand tracking them while theywere proceeding towards theKashmir valley in mobilebunkers.

DGP said that theseHighway Patrol Vehicles will bevery helpful in surveillanceand speedy response to inci-dents. He said that these vehi-cles will be complementingthe Naka Network alreadyestablished on the Highwaygrid.

A total number of 33 suchvehicles have been deployedacross Jammu division to keepa track on the movement ofvehicles along the highway. InJammu Samba Kathua range 14

vehicles have been deployed, 9in Doda Kishtwar Rambanrange, 4 in Udhampur Reasirange and 6 in Rajouri Poonchrange.

These Highway patrolvehicles are equipped with twocameras, one each at front andrear of the vehicle, the vehicleis equipped with NetworkVideo Recorder (NVR), two-way audio transmission device,a touch screen and an alert but-ton.

These patrol vehicles willprovide live streaming from theincident site. It will make livetracking of the vehicles alongthe route possible. The vehiclescan be monitored from PCRJammu and district PCRs.

The DGP was briefed byIGP Jammu Zone MukeshSingh and SSP PCR KulbirSingh about the working andvarious modern functions ofthe Highway patrol vehiclesdeployed at 33 places acrossJammu Zone.

A live demonstration of theworking of these HighwayPatrol vehicles was given andsenior officers interacted withthe personnel on duty withthese vehicles at different loca-tions.

Speaking on the occasion,the DGP congratulated andappreciated the efforts ofJammu Zone senior officers forworking towards further mod-ernization.

He said that communicat-ing/directing the personnel onthese vehicles on a real-timebasis from Police ControlRooms is going to be very use-ful in prevention and checkingof crimes on the highways.

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An eight-member NationalConference delegation on

Tuesday met Lt GovernorManoj Sinha here and drew hisattention to alleged attemptsbeing made to mutilate themandate of the people byencouraging horse-trading ofthe recently elected DDCmembers, the party said.

The NC stressed the crucialneed of ensuring neutralityand impartiality of the admin-istration in establishment ofDistrict Development Councilsand said this is imperative forrespecting the mandate andupholding people’s faith in thegrass-roots level democraticinstitutions which holdpromise for transforming rurallandscape in Jammu &Kashmir.

The delegation was by ledby party’s Jammu provincialpresident Devender Singh Ranaand included former ministersAjay Kumar Sadhotra, SurjeetSingh Slathia, Syed MushtaqAhmed Shah Bukhari and for-mer legislators Javed Rana, STarlochan Singh Wazir, RattanLal Gupta and Sheikh BashirAhmed, the party said in astatement here.

“During their meeting withthe Lt governor at Raj Bhavan,the delegation drew his atten-tion to the attempts beingmade to mutilate the mandateof the people by encouraginghorse-trading of the recentlyelected Councillors which isnot good for democracy,” itsaid.

The People’s Alliance forGupkar Declaration (PAGD)comprising of seven main-

stream parties, including theNC and the PDP, swept theDDC polls by winning 110seats and accused the BJP and Apni Party of forcingelected DDC members to shift their loyalties to control the post of DDC chairman.

“The people’s mandate hasto be respected. This is actu-ally the message sent out bythe electors, loud and clear.They lauded the efforts of theLt Governor in ensuringpeaceful conduct of the polls,”the delegation said, addingthat the promise of upholdingdemocratic values has to bekept by foiling the “machina-tions of reversing the will ofthe people”.

“This is imperative for thelarger interests of democracy,”the senior leaders said.

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The National InvestigationAgency has filed a charge-

sheet against three persons fortheir alleged involvement intrafficking Fake IndianCurrency Notes (FICN) pro-cured from Bangladesh, anofficial said on Tuesday.

The supplementary chargesheet was filed on Mondayagainst Jasim of Thane’sMumbra, Radhakrishna and athird person, both fromKarnataka’s Chikkaballapura, ina special NIA court in Mumbaiin under multiple sections ofthe Indian Penal Code. Thecase pertains to the seizure ofFICN having a face value of�82,000 from the house ofJasim, an NIA spokespersonsaid.

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In a major bureaucraticreshuffle, the Rajasthan

Government has transferred288 officers, including 77 fromthe IAS and IPS cadre.

The reshuffled bureaucratsalso included 28 officers fromthe Indian Forest Service and183 belonging to the theRajasthan AdministrativeServices.

The government changedthree collectors, SPs in 14 dis-tricts and five range InspectorGeneral of Police late onMonday night while the RASofficers were reshuffled on

Tuesday. Sudhansh Pant, a 1991-

batch IAS officer, has beenappointed the Additional ChiefSecretary, Public Health andEngineering Department.Mugdha Sinha has been giventhe charge of the Science andTechnology Department inaddition to art and culture.

P C Kishan has beenappointed the Secretary,Panchayati Raj, according tothe transfer orders issued by theDepartment of Personnel(DoP).

The collectors of Churu,Baran and Jhalawar were alsochanged.

Coimbatore: A 20-year-oldmale elephant died of electro-cution after coming into con-tact with an illegal electricfence erected around a paddyfield at a village on the city out-skirts early Tuesday. Residentsof Semmedu village alertedforest department officialsabout the elephant in the areafalling under BoluvampattiForest range, they said.

Electricity board officialswho also arrived at the scenefound high voltage electricitywas illegally connected to thefence erected around the fieldof Durai alias Aruchamy, whois absconding, the officials said.

PTI

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Ahead of the upcoming elec-tions to local bodies in

Gujarat, the Congress onTuesday launched a campaignto reach out to urban voters ofsix municipal corporations,which are currently ruled bythe BJP.

Under the campaign titled“Hello”, residents ofAhmedabad, Bhavnagar,Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat andVadodara can raise civic issuesby calling up a dedicated num-ber or sending messages onWhatsapp, party leaders toldreporters.

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Apprehensions have beenexpressed that the BJP’sideology will get mixedup, if not downright viti-

ated, by the entry of politiciansbrought up in alien thought process-es. The probability of such confu-sion is very low for the simple rea-son that most of the new membersjoining the BJP happen to beHindus. There would, therefore, beno contradiction between theirown private lives and what shouldbe projected in their public life andpolitical expression. In contrast, ifa person like me were to join, say,the Revolutionary Socialist Party(RSP) at the age of 50, for a year ortwo, I would not know whether Iam coming or going; it would besomewhat traumatic.

I have been brought up in thebelief of karma and, in the RSP, Iwould need to switch over and starthaving faith in a PermanentRevolution as preached by LeonTrotsky, Vladimir Lenin’s favouritenumber two until he lived. Thisfavourite leader wanted to go onwith the revolution until he hadconverted the whole world to com-munism. If I read the Das Kapital,the Bible of Marxism, I would comeacross the foundational tenet: Fromeach according to his ability, to eachaccording to his need. These wordsare simple but the message behindthem could take an average politi-cian some exercise in mental diges-tion.

A similar challenge had facedBR Ambedkar who had resolvedthat he would not like to die aHindu. In that case, the questionarose, which religion should he andhis many followers convert to?Babasaheb adopted the thinkingmethod of reductio ad absurdum.First, he took up Christianity andrejected it because it was of a for-eign origin; it would, therefore, havea denationalising effect on his fol-lowers. Moreover, by having moreChristians, Ambedkar felt that theywould add to supporters of theBritish rulers. Islam also had a for-eign origin; more Muslims couldmean greater support to the creationof Pakistan. Thus reasoning, hiseventual choice fell on Buddhism.

For politicians, joining the BJPis like coming home; what theyshould have politically believed in,and are now believing in. If they arecommitted to secularism, they cancontinue down that path. The ques-tion of Church and State being sep-arate or otherwise does not arise inthe case of the Temple. Virtuallyevery temple can follow its own rit-ual of worship; how can it theninfluence the Government? In any

case, Hinduism has never had ahabit or tradition of dabbling inpolitics. State governance was theexclusive function of the ruler.But the fact is that since the earlysun rose in the mists of time, theIndic ethos has been Hindu (orcall it Sanatan or Vedic). Thatcame through in the reasoning ofAmbedkar as discussed above.

Traditionally, in the West,especially in America, the com-mon folk identified all Indians asHindus and then enquiredwhether one was a HinduMuslim or Hindu Christian orHindu Hindu! To them, thesound of the word “India” firstrang the bell of the American RedIndian. Some Nehruvians mighthave been embarrassed but, mostof the time, the identity of Indiahas been Hindu. The birth ofPakistan intensified this trend.

The Hindu Mahasabha wasfounded in 1915, incidentallyafter the Muslim League was created by Lord Curzon in Dacca(now Dhaka) in 1906 after induc-ing Nawab Salimullah of Daccawith a loan of £1,00,000. TheBharatiya Jana Sangh came intobeing under the leadership ofSyama Prasad Mookerjee in1951. The RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS)helped him with some full-timeworkers. In 1977, to fight the gen-eral elections immediately afterthe end of the Emergency, theJana Sangh — like several otherparties — merged with a newcombine called the Janata Party.In 1980, the Jana Sanghis left this party to form the BharatiyaJana Sangh; to start with, its manifesto was based aroundGandhian Socialism.

The centre point of theparty’s ideology is “nation aboveall else”. It is the anti-thesis of the

supranationalist communism.The Islamic supremacy of theummah above the nation is sim-ilarly disapproved. Care as muchas possible but even socialism isnot favoured as it contradicts thefaith in karma as the decisiveinfluence in life. The Hinduview of life sees a contradictionbetween liberty and equality;the latter causes levelling downof liberty to achieve it. How can

one control anyone’s betterkarma? Welfare for all, yes, butforced equality, no.

Imperialism and theexploitation of other countries arewrong. It is equivalent to robbery.Collective unity of one’s own peo-ple in order to dominate othersis wrong. Instead, the Hindublessings are with those whostrive to actualise themselvesand, thus, bring out the best inthemselves. Killing of animalsand birds is not desirable and theJains, in particular, are sensitiveto the destruction of even vege-tation that is grown below theground. The worship of thepeepal tree is symbolic of theHindu respect for ecology. Mostof the ills that one sees are theresult of centuries of rule by oth-ers over Hindustan.

There is not a great deal ofpolitical or ideological literature.Nevertheless, Veer Savarkar firstdefined Hindutva or Hindunessin a single volume. It is valuablefor those who wish to study thetheoretical aspects of the ideol-ogy. After that, there is a volumecalled The Saffron Book and, it isreported, a book called TheGrammar of Hindudom is underpublication. It is noteworthy thatit is the only ideology which isAsia’s own, unlike all other polit-ical theories which are foreign orrather European.

Ideology is essentially aWestern phenomenon, just aspolitical science is a Europeanpreoccupation. In sharp contrast,we in India have so far to ourcredit only two theses on this sub-ject: One, the famousArthashastra written more than2,500 years ago; and the second,published only two years ago,titled Krishna Rajya. Hindu Indiahad only one history book,

Rajatarangini, by Kashmiri schol-ar Kalhana, which again wasmany centuries ago.

On the other hand, theEuropean political parties areguided by their ideologies, whichare many; beginning with com-munism on the extreme Left, towhat is understood as fascism onthe extreme Right. Take Britain,for example; only recently, JeremyCorbyn was an extreme socialist.Earlier, there was Aneurin Bevan,who incidentally designed andimplemented Britain’s famousNational Health Service. HaroldWilson, who was the PrimeMinister, had the reputation ofbeing a Leftist. Comparatively,Clement Attlee was a middle-of-the-road politician while hiscontemporary Hugh Gaitskellwas looked upon as a liberal. Yet,all these men belonged to theLabour Party.

On the Conservative Partyside, Sir Anthony Eden was aRightist and went to war againstEgypt in 1956 over the SuezCanal. Yet earlier, there wasEnoch Powell who declared that“rivers of blood will flow in England as a result of immi-gration”. Later, Margaret Thatcherwas a Right-winger and anti-socialist. Even fascism, consid-ered Right extremism, did notspare British politics. Sir OswaldMosley, a son-in-law of LordCurzon, openly admitted tobeing a fascist. Despite all thesedifferences in ideology, leaders —even eminent ones — occasion-ally did change their parties.Winston Churchill, who waslooked upon as a dire conserva-tive, had for a few years crossedover to the Liberal Party.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author. Theviews expressed are personal.)

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����������� ��� �Sir — The approval for emer-gency use of COVID-19 vaccineshas been given only on the basisof safety data which have not yet-been made public. Any doubtsregarding the safety and effica-cy of the vaccines will adverselyaffect the proposed large-scalevaccination programme.

Such doubts regarding thelack of transparency and reason-ing in the approval process haveraised many eyebrows. Theminutes of the meeting of theSubject Expert Committee arealso not in the public domain.In such a situation, people areapprehensive because of thehurry and opacity in rolling outthe vaccine when data from thephase III trials are perhaps nomore than a few weeks away.

In other countries, toppolitical leaders, including theUS President-elect and the VicePresident-elect, have taken thejab in public to inspire confi-dence among people. Similarly,our Prime Minister should alsoinstill confidence among thepeople by taking the dose of theCovaxin in its approved trialmode.

Shovanlal Chakraborty Kolkata

�������������������Sir — It is heartening to knowthat all the players involved inthe restaurant episode havetested negative for COVID-19.The Indian cricket team hasbeen under scrutiny of theAustralian media ever since avideo surfaced of five Indianplayers dining inside aMelbourne restaurant on Friday.

Team India is already facingmany problems with injuries toits bowlers like MohammedShami and Umesh Yadav, whohave been declared unfit toplay the rest of the Test series.

Virat Kohli, who was onpaternity leave after theMelbourne Test, is also notavailable for the remainder of theseries. There is already a lot of

hue and cry regarding the fourthTest and quarantine rules havebeen imposed in Brisbane.Already, much of the sportingactivity has been lost to the pan-demic. Hence, it is the respon-sibility of all the players to actmore responsibly and not breachthe bio-secure bubble.

V Nagendra Kumar Hyderabad

����������������Sir — It is really heart-wrench-ing to see the pictures andvideos of hundreds of birdslying dead on the roads andpavements of Rome, Italy. Thedeaths occured due to fireworkdisplays on New Year’s eve.

Animal rights groups havecalled it a massacre. Many are ofthe opinion that the birds diedafter getting knocked against oneanother or they hit the electriclines and windows out of fear.

Not only in Rome but evenin India and elsewhere, we seeanimals and birds panickingand running haphazardly dur-ing such displays of firework.

The birds are an integralpart of the food chain and foodweb and their mass destructionwill disrupt the balance ofnature. Once disturbed, thisbalance is hard to restore.

Animal rights organisationsand Governments across theglobe must take urgent measuresto prevent such incidents infuture and should create moreawareness among citizens.

M PradyuKannur

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As we step into the new decade, the woes ofthe last decade seem to have spilled overinto the new one, especially where the

beleaguered banking sector is concerned.According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s)estimates, the Gross Non-Performing Assets(GNPAs) of banks may increase from 8.5 per centin March 2020 to 12.5 per cent by March this year.For public sector banks (PSBs), the deteriorationis estimated to be more problematic and theGNPAs could be anywhere between 11.3 to 15.2per cent under the “baseline scenario.” SomeCassandras warn that the situation could be worse.Their relentless scaremongering could potential-ly hurt economic revival that requires a majorincrease in bank lending.

In December 2020, scheduled commercialbanks had total outstanding deposits of�145,91,773 crore while their outstanding loansand advances added up to only �105,04,536 crore.A bank’s primary function is to lend againstdeposits and earn enough to make profits afterservicing deposits. Data show that banks haveenough money to lend more and they must behelped to give more loans. However, a lot of goodborrowers are out of the banking net. Banks nodoubt face certain risks especially in the prevail-ing situation due to the pandemic but there is noneed to panic. But first, we need to answer thequestion, what is an NPA? For a bank, an NPAis the amount of loan or an advance for whichrepayment of any due instalment of principal ordue amount of interest is not cleared within 90days of the “due date.” Interestingly, for agricul-tural loans it is “within two crop seasons for shortduration crops” or within “one crop season forlong duration crops.”

If default of payment continues beyond oneyear of the due date, the NPA is called“Substandard Assets.” If a NPA default continuesbeyond two years of the due date the NPA is called“Doubtful Assets.” If auditors find that the NPAis due to an incurable default, they classify it as“Loss Assets.” Does anyone expect a business toalways make a profit? The answer is an emphat-ic “no.” Because this is an unrealistic expectationand every business will face a loss or just aboutbreak even, many times in its years of existence.This is because how a company makes its moneydepends a lot on external factors. Likewise, lend-ing is also a business and a bank always runs therisk of a loan or a part of it or the interest not com-ing in. A bank hoping to lend money only to safeborrowers will not run for long because 100 percent safe borrowers generally don’t need to takeloans or are disinclined to do so.

Past efforts for resolution of Stressed Assetsseemed to be showing results because, after reach-ing a peak of 11.5 per cent at the end of March2018, the GNPAs of scheduled commercialbanks came down to 8.5 per cent by the end ofMarch 2020. So the first thing to note beforeresorting to scaremongering is that more than 90per cent of bank loans and advances are being ser-viced with a delay of 90 days at the most. It doesnot mean that the remaining bank loans wheredebt servicing is delayed beyond 90 days are adead loss for banks because they have enoughsecurities to cover most of these balance loans suf-fering from problems in debt servicing.

As a pandemic relief measure, all borrowerswhose loan accounts were classified as standardas on February 29, 2020, were allowed a mora-

torium till August 31. This was done toensure that this period was not count-ed in the 90 days’ default period and wasnot classified as an NPA account.

The Supreme Court had inSeptember 2020 directed that no bankaccount should be declared an NPAuntil the disposal of pleas seeking anextension of the moratorium period.The final verdict on this is expectedsoon.

What perhaps escapes attention isthat the concerns regarding NPAs or badloans in popular parlance are exagger-ated due to the conservative approachof the RBI. Banks are told to classifyloans as performing or non-performingonly on the basis of timely repaymentsof loans and interest, even when thereis no erosion in the availability and valueof the security or net worth of the bor-rower/guarantor.

The 90 days’ default rule to tag aloan account as an NPA is a rough andready, easy to implement, blunt regula-tory tool. It indicates an income impair-ment of the borrower or liquidity riskbut certainly not solvency risk. The“income impaired” borrower may ormay not be “asset impaired.” Therefore,if we create a new subclass of NPAsbased on the 90-day rule, with an assess-ment of solvency risk, then it should bepossible to refine capital adequacynorms and evolve a differential capitaladequacy requirement for NPAs whereunderlying securities are not material-ly impaired. Betting on the banking sec-tor’s NPA level once the loan morato-rium is lifted amounts to betting on theextent of the pandemic’s impact on eco-nomic growth and on the incomes ofborrowers. Such betting is not econom-ics or mathematics but politics.

If the banks have enough securitybehind the loan they have given out(house, vehicle, gold, shares, bonds and

so on) and the borrowers are not allcrooks, the loans will be serviced.There might be some delay, some re-scheduling or loan restructuringrequired, but eventually the bank willget its money back, with interest. Thereis no need to press the panic button.Heavens will not fall merely becausesome loans, interest or equated month-ly instalments (EMIs) are not paid with-in 90 days of the due date.

The Government and the RBI haveto take some steps to see that the loansand advances of good borrowers areproperly restructured and the debtrecovery process becomes efficient interms of time and value recovered.Banks need to raise additional capitalto meet regulatory requirements,depending upon what kind of NPAsemerge. Banks also need liquidity sup-port to service the deposits during theperiod the borrowers face liquidityproblems but have sufficient assets tocover their loan liability.

Every code and every rule book hasenabling clauses to deal with exception-al situations. Rules of normal times don’tapply in abnormal times. The pandem-ic is the time to invoke these exception-al powers to fine-tune the regulatorypolicy on recognition of a bad loan andthe level of additional capital needed bybanks to cover definite loss fromirrecoverable loans due to the lack anderosion of underlying securities.

The impact of the contagion on theeconomy is temporary and low inflationhas softened what would have otherwisebeen a harder blow. Assessments andperceptions about population segment-wise distribution of pain may varyaccording to commentators but it isabundantly clear that at an aggregatelevel, the nation will recover from thecrisis fast enough. A high recovery andlow fatality rate, fast resumption of eco-

nomic activity in several sectors, bothformal and informal, as evidenced byseveral high frequency indicators, arevery good signs. Hence, loan servicingwill happen albeit with some delay.

By and large, Indian banks are pret-ty conservative and most of the loans areheavily secured, backed by good valu-able securities. The problem comes inenforcing the security because the legalsystem does not allow it so easily. Whatwe need is a system of vigilance and dili-gence on the assets mortgaged for theloans and advances. The genuinenessand continued existence of assets mustbe watched and digital tools can bedeployed for this.

There is no harm in giving borrow-ers providing adequate security anextended moratorium. But what weneed is a system that will protect thebanks’ securities during the moratori-um period so that these are not dilut-ed or alienated or encumbered further.We require a robust system of oversighton these securities. This is particularlyso for small borrowers below �2 crorewho have been helped by theGovernment based on the RajivMehrishi Committee report.

In India, the credit-to-GDP ratio isjust 50 per cent. Many good borrowerslike households and businesses dependon informal channels of finance. Indianbanks are not lending enough and theyare being far too risk-averse. Banks needto use modern digital tools to improveloan surveillance and lend more byusing digital technologies to improvecredit product design, pre-sanctionappraisal and post-sanction oversight onend use. This will help boost the econ-omy of the country in the long run.

(The writer is former SpecialSecretary, Ministry of Commerce and

Industry. The views expressed are personal.)

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The Uttar Pradesh (UP)Government’s decision toinclude a khadi fashion show in

UP Day celebrations is recognition ofthe sector’s role in inclusive develop-ment and its employment potential.Khadi and handloom fabrics are asintegral to our cultural heritage as zariis to a trousseau. The Rigveda, theMahabharata and the Ramayanaexpound upon the art of spinning andweaving. Woven cloth, bone needlesand spindles were found in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Block-printedfabrics, mainly of Gujarati origin, dis-covered in Egyptian tombs, exhibit thedemand of Indian cotton textilesabroad and their export since the 19th

century B.C. This tradition of excel-lence has been preserved by genera-tions of skilled artisans and weavers.Today, the khadi-handloom sectoremploys over four million weavers andallied production workers. The textilesector is the second-largest employerafter agriculture in India. However, the2010 Handloom Census revealed thatthe number of weavers was decliningat a rate of seven per cent per annum,the count of handlooms was dwindlingand a weaver earned a meagre �3,400per month as against the all India aver-age of �4,500 per month for any otherworker. With the next generationbeing sceptical and disinterested in thecraft, the Indian handloom industryis on the verge of becoming extinct.

The need of the hour is to segre-gate the sector into subsectors andwork on the strengths of each. Indiaoccupies an enviable place in the worldas 85 per cent of the global handloomproduction occurs in the country.Other handloom producing nationslike Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh,Cambodia and Indonesia manufacturea very limited range of products,

which is mainly for domestic use. Indiahas the capability to meet the demandfor handmade products across theglobe due to its demographic advan-tage and cultural heritage. We need toalign our rich legacy with the demandsof the modern era by incorporating lat-est designs. A Benarasi or Chanderiweaver can earn more if s/he contem-porises the sari and diversifies intoexportable accessories like stoles,scarves, ties, belts, bags and so on. Thisproduct development calls for a strongcollaboration between weavers anddesigners. Another crucial dimensionin the value chain is marketing, thatneeds to be understood, appreciatedand exploited. Premium handloomproducts like the Patan Patola,Baluchari, Jamdani, Ikat and Kanineed to be projected as niche products.With their unique designs and distinctweaving techniques, they should betargeted only at the affluent so thatweavers get high returns.

However, this strategy is intend-ed only for highly skilled weavers withwhom designers associate. They con-stitute only 20 per cent of the hand-

loom weavers who produce 80 per centof the high-value items. The remain-ing 80 per cent of the weavers wouldneed to be dealt with differently.

Handloom textiles face a seriousthreat in the marketplace when pow-erloom cloth is clandestinely sold ashandloom. As a layman cannot distin-guish a powerloom product fromhandloom, the Handloom Mark is aguarantee to the buyer that the prod-uct is genuinely handwoven. However,there is a need to generate awarenessamong the people about theHandloom Mark. Something as sim-ple as a one-line commercial duringthe daily soaps on television could beinstrumental in enlightening the tar-get group. Plus, only products carry-ing the Handloom Mark should beexhibited at Government-sponsoredexhibitions in India and abroad. Apartfrom raising awareness, this would alsoensure that only genuine handloomweavers derive benefit from the salesat such expos and Governmentschemes.

However, we must not lose sightof the fact that the sector provides

direct and indirect employment to overfour million people, all of whom can-not be trained immediately to makeintricate, high-end products. They arethe durrie makers, the gamchha andtowel manufacturers. They needGovernment support of a differentkind. Apart from reservation of arti-cles for production only on hand-looms, they need subsidised yarn andcredit. Credit is available to the sectorat six per cent interest rate. If imple-mented in earnest, this can provide themuch-needed working capital to spin-ners and weavers, apart from helpingthem in putting up facilities for dye-ing, processing and finishing of hand-spun and handwoven fabric. TheHank Yarn Obligation makes itmandatory for spinning mills to pro-duce certain percentage of their yarnin the hank form required for hand-looms. The need is to strengthen theimplementation machinery and ensureeffective enforcement in the field sothat every producer who manufacturesyarn for powerloom or mill consump-tion, packs at least 30 per cent of thatin hank form.

If small units in the sector have totake up spinning and weaving on acommercial scale, this would requiremodification of the workstations.They should be ergonomicallydesigned to produce more and betterquality threads and fabrics at a fasterpace. They should be modular, easy toassemble and transport. A solar pow-ered spinning wheel is the need of thehour. A semi-automatic loom could bea good solution wherein the motivepower is provided by the weavermanually and various other motionsare synchronised to obtain betterspeed and productivity. These couldalso be coupled with an automatictake-up and let-off mechanism.Technological innovations can createnew possibilities for design develop-ment and the production process.There is a strong need for focusedincentive schemes towards khadi andhandloom research.

For both couture and mass pro-ducers, there is a need to generate asense of pride with the occupation.Hand spinning as well as weavingneeds to be treated as a modern pro-

fession. As a first step, professionalinstitutes like Industrial TrainingInstitutes, polytechnics, the NationalInstitute of Fashion Technology(NIFT) and the National Institute ofDesign (NID) can start impartingtraining in khadi and handloom clus-ters. A NIFT or NID certificate willinstill a sense of pride apart fromupgrading skills of weavers and spin-ners. Acquiring these standardised,employable and marketable skills willearn them due recognition in the jobmarket and society. In a world increas-ingly inclined towards standardisationand mass production, khadi and hand-loom provide a refreshing changebecause of their uniqueness, flexibil-ity and versatility. The sector representsthe country’s traditional craft that hasbeen patronised and promoted sincetimes immemorial. We must never for-get that the sector has been sustainedby transferring skills from one gener-ation to another and it is crucial to keepGen Next in the profession.

(The writer is Additional ChiefSecretary, UP Government. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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Page 8: ˆˇ ˙˘ˇ ˝ ˛˚ ˇ ˘ ˇ ˆˆ...2021/01/06  · their database has been popu-lated in the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner. The Ministry also put forward

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Beijing: The former head ofstate-owned China HuarongAsset Management Co Ltd wassentenced to death on Tuesdayfor bribe taking in one of theharshest punishments for eco-nomic crimes in recent years.

Lai Xiaomin, 58, was alsofound guilty by the SecondIntermediate People’s Court ofTianjin of lesser charges includ-ing corruption and bigamy.

Life sentences and sus-pended death sentences com-muted to life after two years arefrequently handed down in cor-ruption cases, but death sen-tences without the chance ofreprieve have become rare inrecent years. Such sentences areautomatically appealed toChina’s highest court.

Lai was placed under inves-tigation by the rulingCommunist Party’s corruptionwatchdog in 2018 and expelledfrom the party later the sameyear. In its ruling, the Tianjincourt cited the “especially enor-mous” size of the bribes Laiaccepted, saying they exceeded600 million yuan ($93 million)in one instance.

In total, it said Lai collect-ed or sought to collect 1.79 bil-lion yuan ($260 million) over adecade in exchange for abusinghis position to make invest-ments, offer construction con-tracts, help with promotionsand provide other favours. AP

Dalton (US): With mountingdesperation, Donald Trumphas declared he would “fightlike hell” to hold on to the pres-idency and appealed toRepublican lawmakers toreverse his election loss to JoeBiden when they convene thisweek to confirm the ElectoralCollege vote.

Electoral voters won byPresident-elect Biden are “notgonna take this White House!”he shouted as supporterscheered at an outdoor rally inGeorgia on Monday night.

Trump’s announced pur-pose for the trip was to boostRepublican Senate candidatesin Tuesday’s runoff election, buthe spent much of his speechcomplaining bitterly about hiselection loss — which he insistshe won “by a lot.”

Earlier, in Washington, hepressed Republican lawmakersto formally object Wednesday ata joint session of Congress thatis to confirm Biden’s victory inthe Electoral College, itself aconfirmation of Biden’s nation-wide victory November 3.

Though he got nothing butcheers Monday night, Trump’sattempt to overturn the presi-

dential election i s splitting theRepublican Party.

Some GOP lawmakersbacking him are rushing ahead,despite an outpouring of con-demnation from current andformer party officials warningthe effort is underminingAmericans faith in democracy.

All 10 living former defensesecretaries wrote in an op-edthat “the time for questioningthe results has passed.”

Its unclear the extent towhich GOP leaders in Congresswill be able to controlWednesdays joint session,which could drag into the night,though the challenges to theelection are all but certain to

fail. Trump himself is whippingup crowds for a Wednesdayrally near the White House.

Vice President Mike Pence,who is under pressure to tip theresults for Trump, will be close-ly watched as he presides in aceremonial role overWednesdays joint session.

“I promise you this: OnWednesday, well have our dayin Congress,” Pence said whilehimself campaigning inGeorgia ahead of Tuesdaysrunoff elections that will deter-mine control of the Senate.

Trump said in Georgia: “Ihope that our great vice presi-dent comes through for us. Hesa great guy. Of course, if hedoesnt come through, I wontlike him quite as much.” Headded, “No, Mike is a great guy.”

One of the GeorgiaRepublicans in Tuesday’s runoff— Sen. Kelly Loeffler, whofaces Democrat RaphaelWarnock — told the crowd shewill join senators formallyobjecting to Bidens win. Theother Republican seekingreelection, David Perdue, whois running against DemocratJon Ossoff, will not be eligibleto vote. AP

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Washington: He has beenPresident Donald Trump’s mostloyal soldier, dutifully backingthe unpredictable leaderthrough one chaotic situationafter another.

Now Vice President MikePence finds himself in themost precarious position of histenure as he prepares to pre-side over Wednesday’s con-gressional tally of ElectoralCollege votes, the last front inTrump’s futile attempts tooverturn President-elect JoeBiden’s victory in theNovember election.

Seated on the House ofRepresentatives’ rostrum,Pence will bear witness to theformalisation of Trump’s — andhis own — election defeat, astellers from the House andSenate record states’ electoralvotes.

At the end of the count, itwill be his job to announce whohas won the majority of votesfor both president and vicepresident.

But Pence, whose pro-scribed role is largely proforma, is under intense pres-sure from the president andlegions of supporters who wantthe vice president to use themoment to overturn the will of

the voters in a handful of crit-ical battleground states.

“I hope Mike Pence comesthrough for us, I have to tellyou,” Trump said at a rallyMonday night in Georgia forcandidates in two Senate runoffelections.

“Of course, if he doesn’tcome through, I won’t likehim quite as much,” Trumpadded, drawing laughs. He saidPence was “going to have a lotto say about it. And you knowone thing with him, you’regoing to get straight shots.He’s going to call it straight.”

Pence has spent hours hud-dling with the president, staffand the Senate parliamentari-an. His office declined to dis-cuss his plans heading intoWednesday’s count. But peopleclose to the vice presidentstressed his respect for institu-tions and said they expect himto act in accordance with thelaw and hew to theConstitution.

“I think he will approachthis as a constitutionalist, basi-cally, and say, ‘What’s my rolein the Constitution as presidentof the Senate?” said DavidMcIntosh, president of theconservative Club for Growthand a Pence friend. AP

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Al-Ula (Saudi Arabia): Qatar’sruling emir arrived in SaudiArabia and was greeted with anembrace by the kingdom’scrown prince on Tuesday, fol-lowing an announcement thatthe kingdom would end itsyearslong embargo on the tinyGulf Arab state.

The decision to open bor-ders was the first major steptoward ending the diplomaticcrisis that has deeply divided USdefense partners, frayed societalties and torn apart a tradition-ally clubby alliance of Arabstates.

The arrival of SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al Thani tothe kingdom’s ancient desert cityof Al-Ula was broadcast live onSaudi TV. He was seen descend-ing from his plane and beinggreeted with a hug by SaudiCrown Prince Mohammed binSalman.

The emir is in Al-Ula for anannual summit of Gulf Arableaders that is expected to pro-

duce a détente between Qatarand four Arab states that haveboycotted the country and cuttransport and diplomatic linkswith it since mid-2017 overDoha’s support for Islamistgroups and warm ties withIran.

The diplomatic break-through comes after a final

push by the outgoing Trumpadministration and fellow Gulfstate Kuwait to mediate anend to the crisis. It wasn’t untillate Monday that the major stepto ending the spat wasannounced. AP

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Brussels: The European Unionsays it will redouble its effortsto save the Iran nuclear agree-ment despite what it callsTehran’s “important breach” ofcommitments made in the2015 deal by starting to enrichuranium to new levels.

EU spokesman Peter Stanosaid that Iran’s actions “willhave serious implications whenit comes to nuclear nonprolif-eration.”

Stano said it was in every-one’s interest to rescue the dealand said the 27-nation bloc“will strengthen” its attempts tomake sure all adhere to thecommitments made in thelandmark deal.

Iran began enriching ura-nium Monday to levels unseensince its 2015 nuclear dealwith world powers. The deci-sion appeared aimed atincreasing Tehran’s leverage

in the wan-ing days inoffice for USP r e s i d e n tD o n a l dT r u m p ,whose unilat-eral with-drawal fromthe atomic accord in 2018began a series of escalatingincidents.

Increasing enrichment atits underground Fordo facilityputs Tehran a technical stepaway from weapons-grade lev-els of 90 per cent. IranianForeign Minister MohammadJavad Zarif said the action was“fully reversible” if other part-ners in the deal fully compliedtoo, without elaborating. Iraninformed the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency of itsplans to increase enrichment to20% last week. AP

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Beijing: Chinese President XiJinping has asked the militaryto strengthen training to honeits combat skills and remain onhigh alert as the new reviseddefence law expanding thepowers of the armed forcescame into force from this year.

The 67-year-old leader,who also heads the rulingChinese Communist Party(CCP) besides the CentralMilitary Commission (CMC) -- the overall high command ofthe two million strong military-- signed the commission’s firstorder for 2021, which listed pri-orities in the training of thePeople’s Liberation Army(PLA) and the People’s Armed

Police Force (PLAF), officialmedia here reported onTuesday.

The order instructed thearmed forces to stick to XiJinping Thought on Socialismwith Chinese Characteristicsfor a New Era as their guidingprinciple and uphold Xi JinpingThought on Strengthening theMilitary as well as militarystrategies in the new era.

It said the CCP willenhance its guidance over themilitary’s training, urging thearmed forces to focus onimproving their combat readi-ness and continuing to reformtheir training system, state-run China Daily reported.

The first such order wasissued in January 2018, whenXi addressed a massive train-ing and commencement cere-mony at a shooting range innorthern China.

According to the HongKong-based South ChinaMorning Post, Xi said the PLAmust be ready to “act at any sec-ond” as the armed forces kickedoff the year’s military trainingand exercises on Monday.

“(The PLA must) increasethe integration of new equip-ment, new forces and newcombat realms into trainingand combat systems,” thereport said, quoting theChinese president. PTI

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Islamabad: Pakistan’s SupremeCourt on Tuesday ordered theEvacuee Property Trust Board(EPTB) to start reconstruc-tion of a century-old Hindutemple that was vandalisedand set on fire by a mob inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa provincelast week, saying the attack hascaused “international embar-rassment” to the country.

The apex court, which tooknotice of the attack and orderedthe local authorities to appearbefore the court on January 5,also directed the board to sub-mit in court details of all func-tional and non-functional tem-ples and gurdwaras acrossPakistan, Dawn newspaper

reported.The attack on the temple in

Terri village in KhyberPakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Karak dis-trict on Wednesday by mem-bers of radical Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (Fazal ur Rehmangroup) drew strong condem-nation from human rightsactivists and the minorityHindu community leaders.

During the hearing onTuesday, a three-memberbench headed by Chief JusticeGulzar Ahmed also directedthe EPTB to clear encroach-ments from temples across thecountry and take action againstofficials involved in theencroachments. PTI

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Moscow: Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and GermanChancellor Angela Merkel dis-cussed the possibility of joint-ly producing coronavirus vac-cines in a phone call, theKremlin said on Tuesday.

“Issues of cooperation incombating the coronaviruspandemic were discussed withan emphasis on the possibleprospects for joint productionof vaccines,” the Kremlin saidin a statement.

The Kremlin added that anagreement was reached to “con-tinue contacts on the issue”between the two countries’health ministries and spe-cialised agencies.

The two leaders also dis-cussed the settlement of theconflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatist forces ineastern Ukraine, that has large-ly remained at a standstill sincepeace accords were signed in2015.

Both Russia and Germany

have recently started mass vac-cination drives at home tocurb the spread of the coron-avirus and avoid reimposingnationwide lockdowns. AFP

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Colombo: Sri Lanka is all setto finalise an agreement tosecure Covid-19 vaccine viathe United Nations-backedCOVAX facility, which sub-sidises the shots for 92 lowand middle income coun-tries.

The COVAX or COVID-19 Vaccine Global Accessprogramme is run by Gavi,the Vaccine Alliance, andthe World HealthOrganisation (WHO) in part-nership with developed anddeveloping country vaccinemanufacturers. PTI

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Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich,DG NCC, formally inaugu-

rated the National Cadet CorpsRepublic Day Camp - 2021 atDelhi Cantt on 04 January2021. The inauguration cere-mony started with "SarvDharam Pooja".

1000 cadets, including 380girl cadets with 500 supportstaff drawn from 17 StateDirectorates covering all theStates and Union territories ofthe country are participating in

this camp which will culminatewith the Prime Minister’s Rallyon 28 January 2021.

Speaking on this occasion,Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich, DGNCC, welcomed the cadetsand congratulated them ongetting selected for the mostprestigious camp of the NCC.He advised the cadets to displaythe highest qualities of charac-ter, maturity and selfless serviceas well as the highest standardsof discipline and conduct.

Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi will dedi-

cate to the nation the 306 KmNew Rewari - New MadarSection of the WesternDedicated Freight Corridor(WDFC) on 7th January 2021at 11 AM via video conferenc-ing. Prime Minister will alsoflag off the world’s first DoubleStack Long Haul 1.5 Km longContainer Train hauled byelectric traction from NewAteli -New Kishangarh duringthe event. Governors and ChiefMinisters of Rajasthan andHaryana along with UnionMinister Shri Piyush Goyalwill also be present at theoccasion.

New Rewari - New Madar

Section of WDFCThe New Rewari - New

Madar section of the WesternDedicated Freight Corridor issituated in Haryana (approx. 79Km, in Mahendragarh andRewari districts) and Rajasthan(approx. 227 Km, in Jaipur,Ajmer, Sikar, Nagaur and Alwardistricts). It consists of ninenewly built DFC stations inwhich six are crossing stationsviz. New Dabla, New Bhagega,New Sri Madhopur.

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Equity benchmark Sensexdefied gravity for the 10th

straight session to close at afresh lifetime high on Tuesdayas robust buying in financialand IT stocks offset lacklustreglobal cues.

Persistent foreign fundinflows supported the bench-marks, though a weakeningrupee capped the gains, traderssaid. Despite opening on anegative note, the 30-shareBSE index pared all losses andstaged a smart recovery to end260.98 points or 0.54

per cent higher at48,437.78. It touched an all-time high of 48,486.24 duringthe day.

The Sensex has closed atrecord highs for seven ses-sions on the trot. The broaderNSE Nifty rose 66.60 points or0.47 per cent to settle at a newpeak of 14,199.50. It scaled arecord intra-day high of14,215.60.

Axis Bank was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying 6.31 per cent, followed by

HDFC, IndusInd Bank, TCS,Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Titanand ICICI Bank.

On the other hand, ONGC,Bajaj Finance, NTPC, M&Mand Reliance Industries wereamong the laggards, tumblingup to 2.06 per cent.

"Domestic equities saw abrisk recovery from today’slow mainly led by sharprebound in banking and ITstocks.

Continued improvementin COVID-19 recovery ratesalong with likely commence-ment of vaccination driveshortly and sustainedimprovement in key econom-ic data defied weak globalmarkets.

"IT stocks witnessed strongbuying ahead of TCS’ 3Q FY21numbers...Key economic datafor Dec’20 have been quiteencouraging, which along withlikely commencement in vac-cination drive in India havebolstered investors’ confidence.Hence, domestic equities arelikely to remain in buy on dipsmode," said Binod Modi, HeadStrategy at Reliance Securities.

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Approval of the long-await-ed Covid-19 vaccine pro-

vides strength to the optimismon health and economic fronts,the Finance Ministry said in itsmonthly economic report.

"The effective manage-ment of COVID-19 spreaddespite the festive season andonset of the winter season,combined with sustainedimprovement in high-fre-quency indicators and V-shaped recovery along witheasing of lockdown restric-tions distinguish Indian econ-omy as one riding against theCOVID-wave," the report said.

The new year, it said, hasdawned with the approval ofthe long-awaited COVID-19vaccine and initiation of vac-cination drives in various coun-tries.

"This gives strength to theoptimism on both health andeconomic fronts despite con-tinuing surge in global casesand the potential challenge ofa mutant strain," the Monthly

Economic Review forDecember said.

India, the report said, "hasbeen successful in bending theCOVID-curve till now, withreducing weekly/daily infec-tions, rising recovery rate (nowat around 95 per cent) and oneof the world’s lowest case fatal-ity rates".

The downside risk, how-ever, remains due to the spreadof the UK variant and fatiguefrom social distancing guide-lines, it said, adding the empha-sis on continued observation of‘COVID appropriate’ behaviourwith the due exercise of cautionand surveillance needs to besustained.

Sharing improvement insome of the high-frequencydata, the report said the sus-tained spurt in commercialand industrial activity was fur-ther corroborated by continuedgrowth in PMI manufacturing,power demand, persistentimprovement in E-way billsgenerated and highway tollcollection rising above pre-COVID levels.

Monthly GST collectionsattained their record levels inDecember.

The gross GST revenuecollected in December 2020was Rs 1,15,174 crore, thehighest since the introductionof Goods and Services Taxfrom July 1, 2017.

The liquidity situationremains comfortable as theaccumulation of dollars alongwith the growth of currency incirculation are enhancing liq-uidity in the banking systemdespite the average daily netabsorptions by the RBI rose inDecember compared to thepreceding month, the reportsaid.

The credit growthimproved sharply as reflectedin strong non-food credit riseand overall credit growth,thanks to the EmergencyCredit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS), which continues tosupport robust credit dis-bursements to MSMEs, with Rs2.05 lakh crore sanctioned to80.93 lakh borrowers underECLGS 1.0.

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Surge in prices of steelproductsThat are used in the

construction sector has anadverse impact on the realestate companies as these enti-ties are now not in a positionto pass the additional cost ontheir buyers and may witnessshirking of margin by 4-6 percent, realtors said on Tuesday.

The steel prices haveincreased at a time whendemand for property is slowlygetting back on the track withthe government measures andlow interest-rate regime, theysaid.

Price of construction steelor TMT bars had recentlytouched Rs 45,000 a tonne insome markets, which was atleast 30-40 per cent higherthan the rate in the pre-COVIDperiod.

"The steel price rise is hurt-ing the real estate companies asthe property prices are underpressure. The additional costwill result in a shrink of grossmargin by 5-6 per cent," BengalPeerless Housing DevelopmentCompany CEO KetanSengupta told PTI.

Real estate industry bodyCredai Bengal president NanduBelani said the spurt in steelprices will reduce the marginby 4-5 per cent, which is quitehigh for the sector.

Presently, only the resi-dential sector has seen a revivalof demand, while the com-mercial and industrial seg-ment is still reeling under pres-sure, and the high cost will dis-courage builders to delay thelaunch of new projects, the offi-cials said.

We are not planning tolaunch new projects due tomarket condition and willreview the situation by theend of the fiscal and then takea call," Sengupta added.

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Toll collection in December2020 through FASTags

reached �2,303.79 crore inDecember 2020, recording anincrease of �201 crore over thepreceding month, the NHAIsaid on Tuesday. Similarly, tolltransactions through FASTagsrecorded significant growth of1.35 crore in December 2020.The increased revenue comesafter the Governmentannounced mandatory rolloutof FASTag from January 1,2021, though it has allowedhybrid lanes on NationalHighways till February 15 toavoid inconvenience to peo-ple."Toll collection throughFASTag in December increasedsignificantly by over �201 croreto �2,303.79 crore, as against �

2,102 crores in November2020," the National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI)said in a statement.

The monthly transactionsthrough FASTag increased sig-nificantly by 1.35 crore inDecember. "FASTag recorded13.84 crore transactions inDecember, which is 10.83 per-cent more as compared to12.48 crore transactions inNovember 2020. Similarly,With more than 2.30 croreFASTag users, it contributesover 75 per cent of the total tollcollection," the statement said.

It said the dedicated effortsof NHAI, receptive approach ofhighways users and other stake-holders has led to stupendousincrease in adoption of digitalmode of transaction at tollplazas.

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The Government on Tuesdayannounced a national-level

voluntary online exam on ‘gauvigyan’ (cow science) to be heldon February 25, in a bid to gen-erate interest among studentsand general public about theindigenous cow and its bene-fits.

Announcing the first-everexam of this kind, RashtriyaKamdhenu Aayog (RKA)Chairman Vallabhbhai Kathiriasaid this exam will be heldannually.

Students of primary, sec-ondary and college levels andgeneral public can take part inthe ‘Kamdhenu Gau-VignyanPrachar-Prasar Examination’without any fee.

"For raising mass aware-ness about the indigenous cowsamong young students andevery other citizens, the RKA

decided to conduct a nationalexam on cow science," he toldreporters.

The Aayog has prepared astudy material on cow science.The exam will infuse thecuriosity into all Indians aboutcows and make them aware ofthe unexplored potential andbusiness opportunities a cowcan offer, even after it stops giv-ing milk, he added.

Further, Kathiria said therewill be objective-type ques-

tions, and the syllabus will berecommended on the websiteof the RKA. The exam resultswill be declared immediatelyand certificates will be given toall.

Meritorius candidates willbe given prizes and certificates,he added.The RKA chief alsomentioned that it has receivedgood response from varisitiesfor setting up a chair andresearch centres on cow andrelated issues.

New Delhi:Singaporean bar-rister Michael Hwang hasjoined the three-member arbi-tration tribunal at the SingaporeInternational ArbitrationCentre that is looking into theAmazon and Future Groupdispute over the latter’s Rs24,713-crore deal with RelianceIndustries, according to sources.The other two members of thetribunal -- Albert van den Bergand Jan Paulsson -- were namedby Amazon and Future. Thesources close to the develop-ment said that with the appoint-ment of Hwang as the presid-ing arbitrator, the tribunal isexpected to meet soon and

begin the arbitration proceed-ings between Amazon andFuture. The process could take6-9 months before a decision ismade, they added. E-mails sentto Future Group did not elicita response.An Amazonspokesperson said the SIACRegistry has informed the par-ties that the arbitral tribunal hasbeen constituted.Amazon haddragged Future to arbitration atthe SIAC after the indebtedKishore Biyani group firmsigned a pact to sell retail,wholesale, logistics and ware-housing units to billionaireMukesh Ambani’s Reliance inAugust last year. PTI

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Shares of mortgage firmHDFC Ltd on Tuesday

gained nearly 3 per centafter the company said itsdisbursement in the indi-vidual loan category grew 26per cent during the thirdquarter ended December2020.

The stock jumped 2.78per cent to close at Rs2,651.15 on the BSE. Duringthe day, it gained 3 per centto Rs 2,658.55 -- its recordhigh.

At the NSE, it climbed2.84 per cent to close at Rs2,651.85.In volume terms,2.40 lakh shares were trad-ed at the BSE and over58.70 lakh units at the NSEduring the day.

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The rupee depreciated by15 paise to settle at 73.17

against the US dollar onTuesday, in tandem with mostAsian currencies as freshlockdowns in Europe andrising geopolitical tensions inthe Middle East sapped riskappetite.

However, unabated for-eign fund inflows and weak-ness of the American cur-rency in the overseas marketrestricted the rupee’s fall,forex dealers said.

At the interbank forexmarket, the domestic unitopened flat at 73.02 againstthe greenback. It swungbetween a low of 73.27 and ahigh of 73.02 during the ses-sion.

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Jaipur: The State Governmenthas issued a separate notifica-tion amending the RajasthanSenior Sanctioned JournalistSamman Yojana 2020,Rajasthan Journalist andLiterary Welfare Fund Rules2001 and Rajasthan StateSanctioned Journalist MedicalFacilitation Scheme 2005.

C o m m i s s i o n e r ,Information and PublicRelations Shri Mahendra Soniinformed that after theseamendments, Rajasthan SeniorSanctioning JournalistSamman Yojana (Amendment)2020, Rajasthan Journalist andSahitya Kalyan Kosh(Amendment) Rules 2020 andRajasthan State Sanctionedand Paid Non-ApprovedJournalist Medical FacilitationScheme ( Modification) will be2020. He said that the aboveamendment rules will comeinto force with immediateeffect.

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It’s no rocket science to figure outthat behind every successful ven-

ture, there is an extraordinary groupof leaders. But you don’t become aleader within a day. Great leaderscome from varied walks of life. Theyseldom follow any specific pre-determined path to attain leadership.While some are ‘born leaders’, the restof them overcome obstacles and fail-ures all along the way to become one.Leadership skills are intrinsic quali-ties that are hugely tough to cultivateand requires a struggle to develop.

Gone are the days where the bossgives instructions and expects hissubordinates to follow them blindly.Modern leaders not only instruct butalso listen, collaborate, encouragegrowth, and help the team members.These leaders work tirelessly eachpassing day to scale, empower, anduphold the prestige of their organi-sations. During a crisis, leadersremain at the forefront while direct-ing their organisations to overcomethe crisis. They take the responsibil-ity and ownership of the organisationand do what is best for their organ-isations. They commence every-thing by changing their attitudes andbuilding strength.

The significance of leadership inorganisational development is sim-ply unparalleled. Below listed aresome of the fundamental waysthrough which leaders can supportand uphold their organisations-

Leaders create leaders: Manypeople believe that leaders need fol-lowers. But the truth is that real lead-ers create more leaders and not fol-lowers. Modern leaders no moremeasure their influence by the num-ber of followers they have. In stable

times, aligning the organisationaround the vision of a single leaderseems focused and convenient.Everything can be controlled by a sin-gle hand in the right direction, rightspeed, and at the right time. But indifficult times, the ability to adaptbecomes predominant. The ability tochange is limited to an organisationof followers. Led by a single leader,the team might find difficulty inadapting to new customer needs, newtechnologies, economic environ-ments, competitions etc. On thecontrary, leaders who create moreleaders can quickly adapt to thechange. In this way, the workload getsreduced on the leader. Increased pro-

ductivity, growth, and confidence isbuilt assuring the well-being andgrowth of the organisation.

Visionary leadership: Leadersinspire and encourage team membersin visionary leadership to achievecrucial yet rewarding goals andobjectives. These leaders empowertheir teams so profoundly thatemployees figure out themselves theway to accomplish their unifiedgoals. If a team is committed, theycan accomplish incredible work. Butif the team isn’t heading in the rightdirection towards organisational suc-cess, they will be viable. Without set-ting the objectives or involving themin the process, no team can succeed.

Furthermore, leaders must assistindividuals to associate their visionof the organisation and work accord-ing to the objectives of the team.

Leaders listen, defend and help:The most important skill a leader hasto master is listening. It signals thefoundation of good relationshipswith employees as it clearly articulatesthat leaders truly care for them. Thequality of listening determines lead-ers’ quality of influence. Although itsounds easy, listening is a tough skillto master. Another significant skill isstanding up for team memberswhenever they need help. By defend-ing people, a long-term commitment,trust, credibility, and loyalty can beestablished that further boost theconfidence levels of the team mem-bers.

Teamwork: Exceptional team-work is the sole aspect that hugelycontributes to an organisation’s suc-cess. Leaders begin by forming a teamof skilled people who perform thetask like a pro. The second step thatleaders ought to do is to make theirexpectations known. Assuming thateach team member knows whatexactly needs to be done is wrong.The most important step the leadershould do is to encourage teamwork.

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JK Business School (JKBS)has opened its application

for PGDM programme2021-23. Candidates arerequested to fill the applica-tion form in online formatlatest by January 30, 2021.

It is India’s first B-Schoolto have introduced businesssimulation gaming as animportant criterion with aweightage of 20 per cent inthe upcoming PGDMadmission. It gives an oppor-tunity to students to get

into the shoes of businessprofessionals and analysetheir analytical skills, think-ing and problem solvingapproach across variousfunctional areas of businessprocesses. While up untilnow the section criterion ofPGDM course was based ongeneral aptitude tests, withthe advancement in tech-nology it is also about assess-ing the business acumen ofcandidates.

Candidates can visitapply.jkbschool.org/pg formore information.

The year 2020 has been a significant yearfor the education sector. Though everyindustry across the globe has undergone

a substantial transformation due to COVID-19,the way it has disrupted education and bene-fitted ed-tech makes it worth to call 2020 awatershed year for the education sector.

To start with, the year saw an increased focusof education fraternity and governments on e-learning and the recognition that technologyintegration is vital to make education easilyaccessible, affordable, and personalised.Additionally, 2020 has been remarkable for ed-tech as it continues to disrupt the way educa-tion is delivered and consumed. There has beena significant increase in online courses, e-learn-ing platforms, upskilling programs, and videoconferencing tools.

Consumer behaviour is evolving withincreasing preference for personalised, round-the-clock, and customised content that ed-techplatforms offer for the child’s sustainablegrowth. As we enter a new year, let us dig deepinto significant education system changes so farand expectations from 2021.

COVID-19 impact on education industryE-learning is easily accessible, flexible,

time-saving, convenient, and the best way to

educate the masses. The benefits of e-learning,its potential, and its approach are known toeveryone now as both seekers and providersswitched to the safe confines of e-learning dur-ing the sudden outbreak of a pandemic. Insteadof buckling under the uncertainty of the pan-demic’s impact, the educational fraternity cre-ated a new space on the back of this unprece-dented situation.According to NASSCOM, e-learning companies have benefitted immense-ly, and the industry is expected to reach $3.5 bnby 2022. This is a significant rise from the ear-lier expected range of $2.8- $3.2 bn.

Emerging ed-tech a boon for learners andeducators

In 2021, the ed-tech entrepreneurs’ prima-ry expectations revolve around improving theaccessibility to education - covering a large num-ber of masses from remote areas and promot-ing digital versions of textbooks that are cheap-er to purchase. As e-learning can deliver edu-cation even to the outlying areas, it can help over-come challenges related to accessibility to edu-cation. Additionally, the ability to tailor tech-nology as per individual needs is revolutionaryfor those with disabilities.

Further, the lack of teacher supervision dur-ing home tests is an issue of concern for par-

ents and educators. However, ed-tech can effi-ciently handle this challenge by helping teach-ers analyse data on how digital textbooks areconsumed and enhance the teaching and learn-ing methodology accordingly. Some apps letteachers conduct quizzes and generate imme-diate results, allowing them to monitor every stu-dent effectively and evaluate their progress.

Tech trends in education industryWith the incorporation of Augmented

Reality and Virtual Reality in the education sys-tem, the traditional classroom learning experi-ence has undergone a tremendous change. Itmakes learning an immersive experience andincredibly useful to explain complex subjects;for example, it helps students view enhanced ver-sions of the objects on their tablets, unlike handson experiments in the lab. AR and VR are mak-ing unexpected changes in the education systemby helping students experience somethingwhile reading about it. It will be interesting tosee the advancements it infuses in 2021.

Further, gamification technology’s adoptionwill gain popularity because of its unique andinnovative concepts like incentive-based learn-ing, likes, level advancement badge, etc. It willenhance the learner experience and drive userengagement by designing a more customised

offering.Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud-

Based Learning are other significant trends rul-ing the education industry. Every learner has adifferent learning capacity, rate, interest, and tac-tics for grabbing information. The ed-tech indus-try is continuously and rapidly adapting to thelearner’s evolving behavior by analysing, under-standing, and developing custom content andtests using big data and artificial intelligence.They will play a more prominent role in thefuture and help ed-tech form strategic associa-tions with educational institutions. Additionally,cloud technology allows access to resourcesstored in a virtual environment, anytime andanywhere, from various forms of web-enableddevices. To offer enhanced access to learningresources, more and more ed-tech companieswill incorporate cloud technology.

Summing upThe trends mentioned above will together

help the education industry deliver the most rel-evant content and resources. Further, as morepeople stay glued to e-learning, 2021 is expect-ed to be a year of exponential growth for the ed-tech industry.

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Given today’s rapid technolog-ical innovation, the semicon-ductor industry can look for-

ward to growth. The semiconductorindustry has been a pioneer in digi-tisation since its inception, offeringdigital services and pursuing newdigital business models. Today, otherindustries, notably automotive, haveclearly outpaced the semiconductorindustry in terms of digitisation.That’s ironic, given that automakers’own success in digitisation has beenlargely supported by the productsmade by the semiconductor indus-try. Now, artificial intelligence willlikely be the catalyst that will driveanother decade-long growth cycle forthe semiconductor sector.

Many employers prefer thatsemiconductor processors have anassociate’s degree in a field such asmicroelectronics. These programmesare usually offered at community col-leges. Students should take scienceand engineering courses, such aschemistry, physics, and classes inelectronic circuits. ESSCI havedeveloped many Qualification Packsin the field of Embedded System, IoT, VLSI Design & Verification Enggwhich can help the candidate in gain-ing the appropriate knowledgerequired as per industry demand.

There is an emerging trend ofemployers preferring semiconductor

processors to have a bachelor’s degreein engineering or a physical sciencebecause of the increasing complex-ity of the manufacturing plants.

New semiconductor processorsneed on-the-job training from onemonth to one year. During thistraining, a processor learns how tooperate equipment and test newchips. Manufacturing microchips isa complex process, and it takesmonths of supervised work tobecome fully proficient. Becausethe technology used in manufactur-ing microchips is always evolving,processors must continue to betrained on new techniques andmethods throughout their careers

While there are a number ofcareer opportunities throughout thesemiconductor industry, here are afew types of positions that we typi-cally recruit for within the industry.

Field Service Engineer: As aField Service Engineer, you will beresponsible for quality machineinstallation and maintenance serviceof complex electro-mechanical sys-tems; analytical troubleshooting oftechnical problems to componentlevel; and performing completeinstallation, maintenance services,and technical reporting.

Equipment Technician: In thisrole, you will perform electrical andmechanical troubleshooting andpreventative maintenance on semi-conductor manufacturing equip-ment.

Test Technician: TestTechnicians are responsible formechanical and/or electrical testingof materials, devices, and productsas well as test fixturing and generaltest equipment maintenance.

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Mahindra University’s e-Hub incubatede-Learning start-up Widhya, is now a

part of the fastest growing startup and inno-vation ecosystem in India, T-Hub. Widhyais an e-learning platform for students to getindustrial experience without having towork at a company.

Widhya partners with various organ-isations, takes projects from them and putsit out for its learners to solve. What is inter-esting is that, this isn’t traditional video-based approach that has been adopted bya large number of the e-learning players.Widhya is India’s first real gamified plat-form for e-learning.

“We are happy that a start-up incu-bated by us at Mahindra University is win-ning accolades and is now being mentoredand fast-tracked by T-Hub. We atMahindra E-hub help students bring outproof of concept, mentor the students andshowcase their strengths and opportuni-ties to industry experts, mentors andinvestors. We work closely with startupsto bring them to a critical mass at the betaphase with testing and trials, so that theycan take off with ease once they get to thestage of formal launch. We are glad thatin a short time, we’ve been able to helpmany startups and each success story moti-vates us to go far”, says Dr. Yajulu Medury,Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University.

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Amrita VishwaVidyapeetham, ranked

the fourth Best OverallUniversity in India in NIRF2020, has inked an MoUwith Esri India, the marketleader in GeospatialInformation Systems, toestablish a Centre ofGeospatial Excellence onSpatial Analysis andModeling with dedicatedfacilities for research, devel-opment and testing.

The Centre would pro-

mote development of spe-cific skills and technicalknowhow among acade-micians, students and theindustry around geospatialtechnologies and latesttoolkits like ArtificialIntelligence (AI), MachineLearning (ML) and geospa-tial Big Data Analytics. Itwould conduct certificateand diploma courses, train-ing programs and work-shops, particularly aroundgeospatial technologyapplication areas tostrengthen multi-hazard

risk reduction and com-munity resilience.

Talking about theMoU, Dr ManeeshaSudheer, Dean ofInternational Programs andUNESCO Chair onSustainable Developmentand Innovation, AmritaVishwa Vidyapeetham,said: “This partnershipaims to enhance researchand capacity developmentin Geoinformatics, SpatialAnalytics, and Modelling.The collaborative initia-tives will work towards sus-

tainable development toaddress quality education(SDG 4), gender equality(SDG 5), sustainable com-munities (SDG 11), andclimate action (SDG 13) byengaging faculty, bache-lors, masters, and PhD stu-dents. They will helpenhance the existing cur-riculum and educationalmaterial, as well as developnew educational approach-es for effective teachingand learning of sustain-ability initiatives using spa-tial geoinformatics.”

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EXPECTATIONS20212021

The SRM Institute ofScience and Technology,Kattankulathur, (earlier

known as SRM University)begins the online registrationprocess for its BTech entranceexam, SRMJEEE (SRM JointEngineering EntranceExamination). Qualifying inSRMJEEE provides entry to allthe campuses ofSRMISTlocated atKattankulathur (MainCampus), Vadapalani,Ramapuram, and Delhi-NCR;SRM University, AndhraPradesh; SRM University,Sonepat — Haryana and SRMUniversity, Sikkim. For furtherdetails visit www.srmist.edu.in.

Admissions to BTech pro-gramme is only through thecommon entrance exam, SRM-JEEE 2021, which is scheduledto be held in the second weekof April, 2021 in 127 Indiancities and five countries (Dubai,Doha, Muscat, Bahrain, andKuwait). Last year, there was anoverwhelming 1.52 lakhs ofcandidates who participatedto gain entry to India’s No.1multi-stream university.

Entrance examination dateand joint counselling dates willbe announced in due course asper AICTE, UGC andGovernment notifications.

Candidates applyingshould have secured a mini-mum aggregate of 50 percent inMathematics, Physics,Chemistry/Biology for all cam-puses except for SRMUniversity,Andhra Pradeshwhich requires the minimumaggregate of 60 per cent inPhysics, Chemistry, andMathematics in Class 12 orother equivalent qualifyingexaminations. The admissionwould be based on SRMJEEErank, subject to the eligibilitycriteria.

Indians and non-residentIndians can apply for SRMJEEE2021. NRI candidates whoqualify in SRMJEEE 2021 andthosewho also go through reg-

ular counselling will be treat-ed as domestic applicants for allthe four years. NRI candidatesappearing for SRMJEEE 2021can switch to direct admissionunder International Categoryin case of being unable tosecure the desired course in thejoint counselling by payingInternational fee. NRI candi-dates also have the option ofdirectly applying under theInternational AdmissionCategory to get admission toany program without takingSRMJEEE 2021 by paying theinternational tuition and otherfees.

SRMIST has an enviabletrack record of 8500+ job offerswith a top salary of �41.6 LPA,the highest pay by any univer-sity for the graduating batch2019-20. Around 625+ Top-notch companies, includingMicrosoft, Amazon, IBM,CISCO, Siemens, PayPal,Accenture, Capgemini, HewlettPackard, TCS, Infosys,Cognizant, Wipro, ABB, L&T,Ford, TVS, Schneider, RenaultNissan, Cerner, GT Strategies,Ford, Bioclinica, and Zifoamong many others, visitSRMIST every year to recruitour students.

The university offers awide range of scholarships tothe tune of �35 crores makingstudying in the universityaffordable to all. To apply andfor more details, kindly visitwww.srmist.edu.in.

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EXPECTATIONS

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�What is the future of edtech sectorin India?

There are certain truths that won’tlikely change for the next 10-20 years.Core education will continue to beoffered in schools but schools will lookand act very different. There will be fargreater permeation of systems and tech-nology to make schools run effective-ly. Till about 12 years of age, mediatedlearning (learning assisted by a trust-ed adult) will continue thus teacherswill continue to play an important roletill high school but they will need to beenabled by technology. Going for-ward, learning will become more andmore personalised. This personalisationwill happen on the dimension of speedof understanding, interest in differentsubjects and language of instruction.�How do you see the new academicyear for students?

The new academic year will signalreturn to normalcy in terms of time-lines. Schools in North and CBSEschools can go back to beginning theiracademic year in April 2021 whereasschools in West and South can start aca-demic year in June. But when schoolsre-open, there might be still some par-ents who are hesitant to send their chil-dren to school. Schools should imple-ment hybrid systems that enable bothin-school and at-home learning, bothin-class and online learning.�What is something that schoolsshould do/ can be done when schoolsreopen post covid?

Before opening, there has to be amassive confidence building and aware-ness building drive among parents andthe wider community. Schools shouldput in place measures for student safe-ty, student well-being and hybrid learn-ing. These should be communicated toparents via a dialogue. Parents shouldbe given a choice and those whochoose to keep their students at home,should have an option for at-homelearning while understanding the lim-itations of this choice.�What can be done to curb the anx-ieties of the parents of class 10th stu-dents who will be writing their boardexams?

The way our education system iscurrently structured, Class X still playsa disproportionate role on a child’sfuture. Thus it is necessary that over the

next three months schools and parentsenable children to focus, practice andenable closer teacher assistance wherethere are gaps�What does the future look likewith regard to NEP?

It is very important that we revivethe development and growth agenda ineducation as soon as possible. India hasto not only bring back all the studentswho have suffered massive learninglosses in 2020, it also has to ensure itstays focused on improving the quali-ty of learning outcomes in its schools.It will be easy to get busy with survivalbut true leadership would be to aimhigh, and bring back students to a new,better normal and not regress to 5 yearold levels of poor access and poor out-comes.�What were some of the edtechtrends observed in 2020?

Schools woke up to the reality thatthey are sitting ducks to any disruptive,unforeseen situation because they havebeen stuck with an age-old technolo-gy - paper. Parents woke up to realisethat they had been paying for day-carewhen they thought they were paying foreducation. Online supplemental hasrushed in to fill the value gap. Tuitionswere always prevalent in India from theneighbourhood tutor. Online learningas replacements for tuitions, as replace-ments for physical or centre-based testprep has taken off like a rocket.

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The National Centre for thePerforming Arts (NCPA)has consistently worked

towardsince 2009, in partneringwith Citi has been offering schol-arships to the young promisingstudents who seek advancedtraining in the field of Hindustanimusic. This year, scholarships arebeing offered for vocal — khay-al/dhrupad and percussions —tabla/pakhawaj. The entries arelimited to the age group of 18 to 35years.

Eligibility: Candidate’s bio-data will be considered as his/herapplication for this scholarship.There is NO separate form to befilled. Age limit: For khayal/per-cussions - 18 to 30 years of age (asoff 1st March 2021). For dhrupad— 18 to 35 years of age (as onMarch 1, 2021)

Candidates who are benefi-ciaries of other scholarship/grant inthe field of music during April 2021to March 2022, are not eligible toapply. Candidates who are full-time/part-time working professionals atany company cannot apply.Professional musicians includingthose with A'grade from All IndiaRadio are not eligible to apply

How to apply: In order toapply, candidates must send in theirapplication (bio-data on musiceducation) via an email [email protected] received in hardcopies through courier will not beaccepted. Only the applications

received on email id mentionedabove will be considered.

Application deadline: It isJanuary 15, 2021.

The National University ofIreland Galway invites applica-tions for the UG merit awards forthe academic session 2021/2022.

An undergraduate degree pro-gramme in any subject field offeredby the university.

Eligibility: You must be aNon-EU candidate, Must havereceived an offer to study at NUIGalway commencing September2021 will be considered for theseawards.

Supporting documents: Pre-qualification degree; Copies ofacademic transcripts and award;Certificates of English languageproficiency; A statement; A copy ofpassport.

Admission requirements:Entry requirements may varyfrom course to course. Please gothrough this page to get moreinformation in this regard.

Language requirement: Theminimum level of English lan-guage ability acceptable for entryto a full UG or PG is IELTS andTOEFL.

How to apply: Candidateswill be required to submit a per-sonal statement (MS Word, 500words max) covering: Your inter-est in studying in NUI Galway;How you foresee your relationshipwith NUI Galway developing in thefuture. How you will promote linkswith NUI Galway, both duringyour scholarship tenure and asalumni.

Application deadline: It is

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�����������������Given our present situation,

the future of education isn’tas dramatic nor so dark to

predict. However, before we diveinto the future, it is imperative torevisit how education has evolvedover time.

Even before the transition intothe industrial revolution, educationhas always been delivered withinclosed quarters. Initially, due to thelack of access to formalised school-ing and higher education institu-tions, patriarchs transferred allknowledge and skills to their kin,while values and culture weredelivered by religious figure heads.

To this effect, the family-sir-name evolved, attributed to thekind of work a family or a com-munity did for a living. Thus, asocial routine — a belief, culture,and value; was established.

Next came the IndustrialRevolution — the age of mecha-nisation; involving machines,processes and men, advocating towork in a controlled environment,in a controlled way determined bythe factory-settings. Industry resetthe status quo as it demanded afresh new outlook and skill-per-spectives.

Industrial needs was the brain-child and revolutionised the con-cept of schools. With each keyadvancements toggling the reset

button - from mass manufacturingto automation to the present data-revolution. Each of them havechanged the way education is con-sumed and assimilated.

Integration of digital tech isjust one amongst the many weavesthat constitute the future-educa-tion-package. The future-educa-tion is global, dynamic and in-syncwith space and time, involvingcomplex predictability, triggered byunpredictable rapid changes thathappen without interruption andnotice.

Future-education-continuumwill need to account for anticipa-tion and adaptability implement-ed at scale with speed.Incorporating these two attribut-es is really going to be the corpo-rate-view on education. For exam-ple, educational institutions whichcould anticipate and predict volatil-ity due to COVID19 and imple-ment a digital first transformationstrategy are leading in terms ofthreat mitigation due to the fol-lowing social distancing and lock-down measures.

We predict the present modelof classroom style engagementand knowledge delivery will resetto the performing-theatre-stage-model configuration, powerfullynetworked and synced digitallywith data and holographic projec-

tions wherein video led commu-nity interactions to enable seam-less training, skilling, exposureand learning experiences.

Futuristically speaking, stu-dent and teachers' age-bar mayvanish as there has been a hugeimpetus on lifelong learning.Teaching will continue to extendbeyond classrooms and institutionsglobally. A complex combinationof students and teachers belongingto multiple specialities at multiplelevels jointly affect education deliv-ery standards.

As the delivery of education isportioned, in terms of knowledge,skills, and behavioural-experi-ences, and the fact that not all canbe best taught by an individualteacher nor within the premises ofa fixed located classroom; the stu-dents will need to be exposed to awide ranging mentor network tofulfil the total education-compe-tency requirements. Thus teachingmethodology is distributed and soare institutions, universities andteachers.

Heavy investments are nowbeing considered to accelerate vir-tual classrooms aided by AR andVR tech which fulfils these needs.There is also a huge scope of devel-oping AI assisted teaching assis-tants which will aid faculty to deliv-er educational content more effec-

tively, thereby augmenting teach-ing methodology.

Social scientists and tech entre-preneurs also need to be roped-inso as to bring-in bilateral thinking,self and team management, andtechno and economic-managerialconcepts amongst learners and tosensitise them to the unique needsof the education sector and simu-lating genuine faculty-student rela-tionships which are at the core ofadvancing an individuals learningoutcomes.

Most universities will imple-ment technological solutions to bedeeply linked, networked and insync to offer a more robust futureand industry ready student, whichconsidering current circumstancesand uncertainty is required morethan ever.

Universities will integrate andlink with industries, research insti-tutions and digital platforms tooffer courses and programmes —offering in a phased wise flexiblegraduation timelines that happenthrough credit accumulation.Universities, industries andresearch institutions will jointlydesign and offer courses and pro-grams and share human and otherresources (labs, equipment andinfra) to enable delivery.

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Page 12: ˆˇ ˙˘ˇ ˝ ˛˚ ˇ ˘ ˇ ˆˆ...2021/01/06  · their database has been popu-lated in the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner. The Ministry also put forward

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The Indian team manage-ment is weighing itsoptions for the third

pacer's slot with ShardulThakur and Navdeep Saini incontention but Rohit Sharma iscertain to replace MayankAgarwal at the top of the orderagainst Australia in the thirdTest starting here on Thursday.

While Agarwal's axing wasonly a matter of time afterseven failures in last eight Testinnings, the choice for thethird pacer's slot has got a bittricky with divergent opinionsemerging on who could fit therole best in absence of aninjured Umesh Yadav.

A few days back, Mumbaiseamer and useful lower-orderbatsman Shardul Thakur wasconsidered a favourite but it islearnt that there are somesenior players, who feel thatSaini, India's fastest bowler bya distance, could be used tounsettle the wobbly Australianbatting line-up with his rawpace.

The Indian team had a netsession at the overcast SydneyCricket Ground on the day andall eyes were on Rohit Sharma,who looked pretty comfortableagainst both pace and spin.

The decision on the thirdpacer has been primarilydelayed because on Tuesday,the SCG centre strip was cov-ered due to overcast conditions.

On Wednesday, a look atthe strip and the conditions willprobably help them make adecisive choice.

If the conditions are over-cast and there is bit moremoisture on the strip, thenThakur is expected to be pre-ferred.

If the track is on the flatterside, Saini, with his pace andability to reverse the old ball,could prove to be a handfulagainst a batting order that isstruggling to put up even 200runs on the board.

If Saini plays, it will be hisdebut in the longest formatwhile for Thakur, it would belike a debut as he couldn't even

finish his first over when it wasofficially his debut two yearsback.

There is a third angle tothe pacer's debate and that isThangarasu Natarajan, whohas had a meteoric rise in thepast four months and is readyto be handed the red cherry inwhites as his tweet afterMonday's photo-shoot sug-gested.

Natarajan has 20 first-classgames to his credit and his lastlonger format appearance wasin January, 2020 againstRailways on a rank-turner atthe Chepauk where Railwayswere all-out for 76 and 90largely due to the exploits ofspinners Ravichandran Ashwinand R Sai Kishore.

Natarajan bowled a total of11 overs in that game withthree wickets. WhetherNatarajan is ready for thearduous bump and grind ofTest cricket is the biggest ques-tion.

India Expected Squad

(from 12 in batting order):Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya

Rahane (captain), HanumaVihari, Rishabh Pant (wk),Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran

Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj,Jasprit Bumrah, ShardulThakur/Navdeep Saini.

VVS EXPECTS CENTURY FROM ROThe Australian wickets suit

Rohit Sharma’s batting style andif he can see off the pacers withthe new ball, the Indian vice-captain can conjure a big centu-ry in the Sydney Test, reckonsformer India batsman VVSLaxman.

An injury during the IPLforced Rohit to miss a major partof the Australia tour, whereIndia lost the ODI series, wonthe T20 assignment and the Testseries is locked at 1-1.

“The Indian cricket teamwill be very pleased to haveRohit Sharma back, especiallywhen Virat is not there. Youwant more experience in theIndian dressing room, becausenow is the perfect opportunityfor us to go 2-1 in Sydney andthen probably win 3-1," Laxmansaid on Star Sports' show CricketConnected.

"Rohit Sharma himselfwould like to showcase his talent,because I always feel that his styleof batting and talent is very suit-ed for the Australian wicket.

"So, if he gets his eye in, ifhe sees through the new ball, I'msure that a big hundred is on thecards as far as Rohit's batting isconcerned," he added.

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A'warrior' that he is, DavidWarner has done every-

thing to be ready and is likely tocompete in the third Test againstIndia, Australia head coachJustin Langer said on Tuesdayand assured that lack of four-daycricket for the opener in the lastfew months is not a concern.

Langer also announced thatyoung batsman Will Pucovskiwill make his Test debut onThursday.

Both Warner and Pukovski,who was primed for Test debutin Adelaide, missed the first twoTests of the series due to a groininjury and concussion-relatedissues respectively.

"Very hopeful that Davidwill be ready to go (for the thirdTest), he is a bit of a warrior, isn'the? I have said this since day onethat he is doing everything pos-sible to be ready," Langer said ata virtual media conference.

"He is moving pretty well.He is very determined to play.He loves the competition and heloves playing Test cricket. Wewill get some final eyes on himat training this afternoon and wewill make a discussion on that.But I would say, he (Warner) islooking very likely to play theTest match," he added.

Langer also announced that22-year-old Pucovski, who washit on the head during thewarm up game against India A,has been cleared to play.

"He has been cleared by allthe medicos. He has beencleared and that will be veryheartening for him and for hisfamily and everyone involved init," Langer said.

Langer sought to allay con-cerns that Warner hasn't playedfour-day cricket for about 12months, saying the immenseexperience that is behind theopener will help him jump intotraditional format without anyfuss.

"He has played a lot ofwhite-ball cricket recently, a bitlike Steve Smith. Davey hasn'tplayed any four-day cricket forabout 12 months but he is a mas-ter of the game. He has playeda lot of cricket, his experience

will help him, no doubt aboutthat," said Langer.

The coach said they willkeep Warner in the slips to helphim save energy though he mayfeel some discomfort while field-ing.

"He is going to play withpain though and it is not somuch in the muscle but in thetendon area. Like (a) lot ofcricketers, who play through dif-ferent levels of pain, he is will-ing to take that on and hopeful-ly won't hamper him too much,"he added.

Warner had himself lastSaturday said he was "highlydoubtful" about attaining full fit-ness ahead of the third Test,though he would possibly dorespond to a desperate selectionand team management's call.

However, Langer assuredthat if the Australians felt thatthere was any risk of re-injuringWarner, then they would havecertainly not rushed his return.

"He has had a good rehab,as I said he might be littlerestricted in the field, he mightget that area little-bit fatigued,because he hasn't played Testcricket for a while but we would-n't take that risk if we thoughthe would re-injure himself,"said Langer.

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Dimuth Karunaratne’s centu-ry could not prevent South

Africa from completing a 2-0series win on the third day of thesecond Test against Sri Lanka atthe Wanderers Stadium inJohannesburg on Tuesday.

South Africa won by 10wickets after Sri Lanka werebowled out for 211 in their sec-ond innings. Set to make 67runs to win, the hosts sealedtheir victory half an hour afterlunch.

Karunaratne, the SriLankan captain, made 103 afterstarting the day on 91. His dis-missal started a collapse inwhich Sri Lanka lost their lastsix wickets for 35 runs. LungiNgidi took 4/44 and fellow fastbowler Lutho Sipamla rippedthrough the tail to take 3/40.

Karunaratne and NiroshanDickwella started brightly afterSri Lanka resumed on 150/4.Karunatne went to a 123-ballcentury with two successiveoff-side boundaries off AnrichNortje but an attempted pull offthe same bowler looped off a top

edge to backward square leg.Ngidi followed up with the

wicket of Dickwella in the nextover when a leading edge car-ried to mid-off and there wasminimal resistance from the restof the batting.

Aiden Markram battedaggressively at the start of thefinal innings but escaped whenhe edged a loose drive againstVishwa Fernando with his scoreon 14 in the last over beforelunch. Kusal Mendis dived for-ward from second slip andappeared to take a good catch

but a television review showedhe had taken the ball on thebounce.

Markram finished on 36not out while Dean Elgar fol-lowed up his 127 in the firstinnings with 31 not out. Playerof the Series Elgar made 253runs in the series and was onlydismissed twice.

It was South Africa’s firstTest series win since they defeat-ed Pakistan 3-0 in South Africain 2018/19. A surprise 2-0 homedefeat against Sri Lanka in thesame series started a sequenceof three successive series losses.

Sri Lanka were hit hard byinjuries in South Africa. Fourplayers were injured during thefirst Test and could not play inJohannesburg, while leadingfast bowler Suranga Lakmaland opening batsman OshadaFernando were unable to play ineither match because of injuries.

Captain Quinton de Kockhailed South Africa’s first serieswin in almost two years andpraised a young bowling line-upwho kept Sri Lanka under pressure for most of the twomatches.

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India batsman K L Rahul wason Tuesday ruled out of the

remaining two Tests againstAustralia after sustaining awrist injury during training inMelbourne, the BCCI said.

Rahul had not played anymatch of the ongoing series inwhich the third Test starts onThursday.

"KL Rahul sprained his leftwrist while batting in the netsat the MCG during TeamIndia's practice session onSaturday," the BCCI said in astatement.

"The wicketkeeper-bats-man will not be available forthe remaining two Tests of theBorder-Gavaskar Trophy as

he will need about three weekstime to recover completelyand regain full strength," it

added.It has been learnt that the

stylish right-hander suffered a

sprain while facing one of thethree throwdown specialists atthe nets and had to call off histraining session.

For the time being, hewill not be able to add to his36 Test matches although ViratKohli, before the start of theTest series, had stated that theywere looking at Rahul as amiddle-order batsman.

Rahul had accompaniedthe squad to Sydney and onTuesday left for India.

He will head to theNational Cricket Academy inBengaluru for rehabilitation.

The injury also puts himin doubt for the four-matchhome Test series againstEngland, which beginsFebruary 5.

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Jurgen Klopp admittedLiverpool are suffering a

“rusty moment” after a 1-0defeat at Southamptonextended the defending cham-pions’ winless run in thePremier League to threegames.

Danny Ings’s stunningsecond-minute goal earnedthree points which movedSouthampton into sixth and

led to Saints manager RalphHasenhuttl breaking into tearsof joy on the final whistle.

Liverpool remain top ofthe table on goal differenceover Manchester United, buthave now played a game morethan the Red Devils, whothey face in their next leaguegame at Anfield on January17.

“That’s a rusty moment wehave to admit it,” said Klopp,whose side last failed to win inthree straight Premier Leaguegames back in May 2018.

A first league defeat inthree months may hastenLiverpool’s search for a centre-back in the January transferwindow.

Without the injured Virgilvan Dijk, Joe Gomez and JoelMatip, Klopp started two ofhis first-choice midfieldersfrom their title-winning cam-paign, Fabinho and JordanHenderson, together at theheart of his defence.

Southampton had notscored in their last threegames to temper their hopesof a push for European foot-

ball, but took just two minutesto break the deadlock in stylethrough former Liverpoolstriker Ings.

Trent Alexander-Arnolddid not deal with James Ward-Prowse’s angled free-kick intothe box and Ings perfectlyhooked his shot over AlissonBecker into the far corner.

Southampton had keyabsentees themselves withgoalkeeper Alex McCarthymissing due to a positive testfor coronavirus, while OriolRomeu, Jannik Vestergaardand Che Adams were outinjured.

Fraser Forster was makinghis first Saints appearancesince May 2019, but the for-mer England internationalwas rarely tested to earn hisclean sheet.

The visitors could easilyhave found themselves 2-0down before the break whenSouthampton substituteNathan Tella was inches awayfrom his first senior goal.

If Klopp’s men were toopassive in the first-half, theystarted the second-half with

the intensity they have madetheir trademark in recent sea-sons as Southampton werepinned inside their own half.

Sadio Mane was the visi-tors’ biggest threat on hisreturn to St Mary’s as JackStephens made a last-ditchchallenge to block his route togoal before Kyle Walker-Peterswas lucky to escape withoutconceding a penalty forobstructing another burstfrom the Senegalese into thebox.

Thiago Alcantara wasmaking just his secondLiverpool start since a much-anticipated move from BayernMunich, but even theSpaniard’s range of passingcould not cut throughSouthampton’s determineddefence.

“I started believing wecan do it in the 92nd minute,not earlier,” said Hasenhuttl.“They are so strong in frontyou always believe somethingcan happen. We had to have aperfect gameplan today andluck. Without luck againstsuch a team you cannot win.”