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

���

����������������������

�������������������������������������������������� !�����"�����������������#������"���

����������$��������������������%��������&�������'��%&(�����������������������������

#�

������������������������������������������ %�����$�����

)��������"

���������������

��������

�"����������������*�����+�����������������������������������

������������,���"��������������������������"�������

�-���$��"����!�������������������

������"���������������.���"������������"�/#�

�������

����� 012��1345

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday affirmedthat his Government’s propos-al to suspend implementationof the farm laws for 18 monthsstill stands as negotiations withagitating farmers to resolvethe deadlock continue.

In the all-party meet thathe chaired before the presen-tation of the Union FinanceBudget on Monday, the PrimeMinister reiterated AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar’s comment that “he is aphone call away for the talks.”

Even as the Governmenthas offered to put the new lawsin abeyance for 18 months, adominant section of protestingfarmers and Opposition partiesare adamant on their repeal.

The nine rounds of talkshave failed to provide a break-through in the ongoing 56-daysfarmers’ protest on the outskirtsof Delhi. The Budget Sessionmay have heated discussion onfarm laws, military face-off withChina on the Line of ActualControl in Ladakh and eco-nomic situation post-Covid-19.

On the “unfortunate vio-lence” in the national Capitalon January 26, Modi was quot-ed by Parliamentary AffairsMinister Pralhad Joshi that“law will take its own course”.

As the Government heldout the offer, a number ofOpposition parties demandedmore discussion on the laws.

Joshi also said theGovernment is ready for dis-cussions on a range of issuesthat the Opposition wants. Hesaid discussion will be taken upin the second half of the BudgetSession.

“During the all-party meet,PM Narendra Modi assuredthat GoI (Government ofIndia) is approaching the farm-

ers’ issue with an open mind.The PM said GoI’s stand issame as it was on January 22 -the proposal by the AgricultureMinister still stands,” theParliamentary Minister saidafter the meeting.

“He (the Prime Minister)reiterated what (AgricultureMinister Narendra Singh)Tomarji said — that he (theAgriculture Minister) is aphone call away for talks,”Joshi added. The meeting tookplace a day after 20 Oppositionparties underlined their sup-port of the protesting farmers— by boycotting the President’saddress to a joint sitting ofParliament — and included adiscussion on the RepublicDay violence and, in particular,the incident at the Red Fort.

Opposition parties con-demned the violence but also

demanded an investigation intohow “outside elements” had infil-trated the farmers’ movement.Joshi said the Prime Ministerreaffirmed the importance ofsmooth functioning ofParliament and comprehensivedebates on the floor of the House.

He added that “frequentdisruptions mean smaller par-ties suffer as they can’t expressthemselves adequately.”

Modi said that it is for thebigger parties to ensureParliament functions smooth-ly, there are no disruptions andthus, the smaller parties areable to voice their views inParliament. He highlighted therole India can play to furtherglobal good in a many sectorsand referred to the skills andprowess of “our people, whichcan be a force multiplier toglobal prosperity,” said Joshi.

�������������� 012��1345

While agitating farmers’unions boycotted talkswith the Supreme Court-appointed committee, as manyas 17 farmers’ organisationsfrom 11 States and UnionTerritories participated in thedeliberations over the farmlaws and the minimum supportprice. These groups are not thepart of the ongoing protests by41 unions at Delhi borders.This was the second round ofdeliberations between farm-ers’ organisations and the com-mittee members.

The organisations fromAndhra Pradesh, Gujarat,Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Odisha, Tamil Nadu,Telangana, Uttarakhand and

Uttar Pradesh gave their frankviews and detailed suggestionson the farm laws.

According to the commit-tee, the farmers’ unions par-ticipated in the deliberations,given suggestions in detailsand expressed their viewpointsover the three laws. The thirdround of deliberations withfarmers’ organisations will beheld on February 3. The com-mittee has also invited com-ments, views and suggestionsfrom the public and all stake-holders engaged in the agri-culture activities includingdairying and fisheries on thethree laws by February 20.

The committee comprises

agricultural economists AshokGulati and Dr Pramod Joshi,and Shethkari Sangathana pres-ident Anil Ghanwat. Anothermember BS Mann had recusedfrom the committee followingthe pressure of farmers unionsin Punjab.

The Supreme Court had onJanuary 12 set up the commit-tee to give a report to the courton the farm laws following con-sultations with all stakeholders.The Supreme Court had alsostayed the implementation ofthree farm laws.

The Sanyukt Kisan Morchacontinues to protest at Delhi’sborders — Tikri, Singhu, andGhazipur.

Noida: Peeved over develop-ments at the Ghazipur bordersite of farmers’ protest, theBharatiya Kisan Union (LokShakti) on Friday re-launched itsstir over the new farm laws, justa day after it had announcedwithdrawing its protest in Noida.

BKU (Lok Shakti) chiefThakur Sheoraj Singh Bhaticalled on the union’s support-ers, who were camping at theDalit Prerna Sthal in Noida, tonow reach Ghazipur border,where BKU members are stay-ing put. PTI

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

���������������������

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

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

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

��������������� ��!�"��������������"������#��$�!�������������������%�������������������� ��������!

"�����#�����#��������#����������������� 012��1345

Farmers protesting at the threesites on Delhi borders held aday-long fast, between 9 am and5 pm, as they observed“Sadbhavna Divas” to mark thedeath anniversary of MahatmaGandhi. Meanwhile, hundredsof farmers stayed put at theGhazipur Border on Saturdaymorning, as more supporterspoured in at the protest site onthe Delhi-Meerut Expresswayin Ghaziabad following whichDelhi Police shut down NH-24highway and all roads leadingto Ghazipur border.

Union Home Ministry

��� %&��-&5

BJP national president JPNadda on Saturday saidhis party’s alliance with theAIADMK would continue forthe Assembly elections, due inTamil Nadu in a few months.

Both parties would face thepolls together, he said, address-ing a public meeting, his firstin the run up to the Assemblyelections expected in April orearly May. He said PrimeMinister Narendra Modi facil-itated projects like the defencecorridor for Tamil Nadu whilethe state was “ignored” duringthe Congress-led United Progressive Allianceregime.

$%&!�'��(���������'�������

����������!���������)����

����������������!���������!��&���������������#��$�!���������%��'��������!���( )*+

temporarily suspended internetservices in Singhu, Ghazipur,Tikri borders and their adjoin-ing areas from 11 pm of 29

January to 11 pm of 31 Januaryto “maintain public safety andaverting public emergency”amid the farmers’ protest.

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

63�������� ��� �7�!!"� 8 6&���)��"������1*�������&����"�$��

�!#$%��!��&�'()* ��������������������������������������������������������������

###$%��&'��($)��

"&�*��+9�:&-&�-5)1)�50�1)��-&0�50)

,�*-��.�&0513�91&-3,)�%�-�1-;��)

)11�)�&���?-

���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./., ����������

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��!��"����#����$����#�������%�&'((���)(�*+%��,*�����-.(&+(+,,', ������������� ��������������������!�"#"$��#"%����&��'������������(������� ���)����*�����+�����������',� ,�#�,-*��,��$�..*��+�������,�����/�����0��!����+���+1���+����2�����

������+/�3����2�������������+��������(����4�����+!��%�/�����-��

/�0�� /�������5����3�!�0(����"$$...6������+.$$"7.$$.788�������������4�����+9":$�������%�!4'(��-���/���!3�"6.$:.$� ��������+.$6."7;���9����!�����������=������9�����Q�)�����������������������>������A������)����������������#�

<���������

�����������������������������������������������������"��������""�����������������"���#��������������$���� ������"��������#�

���������;����:������������: E��������������������������������

"������!���������������������������#1�����������"��������"��������������#��������������������������������������

��������"���������������������������&���>����!�������)�����������0�����#��

���������������"��� E��)

��1�����������������

N��������������������������%�����%���&' $�������������������������

�� E��������������������$�����"���$��&���>����!�������)�����������0�����#

����������*���

��&�����!������$����������

����������� �#�#�4�����������"������������

�������

��$����,�����"�������������"����������&����>���������������������"���,����������������#�&����>����������

����������$�������������"�����������������������������%��,����� ���������"������������������������������"�#�)������

����

��������%����������$��������$������������������������#��0��

�����������������������������������"������������"��������$��+���������������������!��

�������#�)���������������������������"�����������$��+��$�������������������"����$���#�����+��������������������$���$������������"�#

&����>���������;�.>���������������������������"���"�����

"�����

��������������������!���������

������������"�����$�"���������#�>����������"��������

�$���������������������������"����#/

�����0���

�����!����!���,�%���������-��%

���������

������*�����������������,�,��.��� ��!��.���*���!���/���0�11��,�$����1,#2���1�#,�%�� ���������"��%�� �3���,����1- ���1����. �%���4��1��5�����1��6���7�1-�,����%��898'()

People in India will find it difficult to find a connection here ifyou don’t know anything about Hawaiian way of life. Still FindingOhana is interesting to watch since the locales are beautiful andit is about treasure hunt even though it is of a different kind — notabout money but about what the Hawaiian culture, values, traditionand folklore is about. Those who love to know about different cultures,this one is right up alley even though it is told from the perspectiveof kids and teenagers.

Given that our world us shrinking, knowing and being aware ofother folklore besides our own is good. The fact that they have used aquest for long lost and buried treasure keeps one interest once you startwatching it.

For those wanting to know what Ohana means — it means family.There is plenty of fun with a mix of adventure, comedy, heartwarmingfamily moments, and a bit of teen romance. It is a movie about howfamily sticks together whatever the odds even if it means to shift fromone city to another. ,�������������

� How did you come on board forPrem Bandhan?

As it works for the others, I had toaudition for the role. For me, to get thisproject was tough. It was not easy for meto get into Balaji Productions even thoughI have done so many shows before. Onedoesn’t know where your audition will go.Will it get into the correct hands? But Iam lucky that my creative reached theright place since during the lockdown, onehad to give the audition from home andsend it. I got short-listed and was calledfor a mock shoot. I came on board. It has

been a dream come true.�How is it to work with Ekta Kapoor?

When I was finally offered this role,I was very excited to be part of the

production house. I was lookingforward to working with the teamand Ekta (Kapoor) ma’am. At thesame time, I was nervous. I hadheard so much about thisproduction house. There waspressure on me to give it my best.But once I joined, I found thatthe atmosphere is so relaxed.The team is so good. I just wantpeople to know that there isnothing to be scared of if onewants to work with them. I amblessed to be part of theteam.� What is the best part ofplaying Janki Singh?

The show is set inDarbhanga, Bihar. I too amfrom Patna. I can find aconnection with the role.There are way too manysimilarit ies betweenJanki and Chhavi. Takefor example, the wayparents raise their kidsin small towns –teaching relationshipsvalues, how tocompromise andsacrifice for others.To be able toidentify with Jankiwas not difficultand I could relatewith her. I loveplaying her.� How did youget into acting?

I actuallywanted to be asinger andcame toMumbai topursue acareer inthis field.

But as we know, fate had something elsein store for me. It all started with a realityshow that I was part of — India’s GotTalent Season 1 with my sister. At thattime, Sonali Bendre told me that since Ihad a nice face, why didn’t I try acting.This stuck with me. I thought to myselfthat if I managed to make a mark inacting, I could make a career as a singerlater. But I kept getting back-to-backshows as a lead. Slowly, I took to actingand now love playing different characters.� Is there a role that you loved playing?

It was that of Tara in Ek Boond Ishqon Life OK. Here, I played a tom boy andI loved it. Then there was one morecharacter, that of Prarthna Kashyap inLadies Special that aired on SonyEntertainment Television. I loved doingthis as well.� How did you get your first break?

My first break was for Ek Boond Ishq.It was co-produced by Saba Mumtaz. Itwas well-received and my lead characterwas appreciated.� What are your future plans?

I would like to be part of web shows.The OTT platforms are the future. As anactor one wants to grow. While I do getto play diverse roles, but if you get stuckhere, it becomes tough to break themould. I would love to do films as well. Iam hoping that I get the right roles to playhere. One doesn’t know; maybe Balaji maygive me an opportunity if they like mywork. But let’s see what the future holds.

:��1�#���,��!#2����,�2����������;�""�!#�$�%&'(�����������)������&�����*!+�$��������������

�����"��#%#��,'%���-������������������-��������������-����������������������������������������������'����,�����

������������������� ��������!��"�!��#�������� �

� ���!����� �"����$�%�� ��$����$����& ��"�'!��������&��

������(���� � ���)������(���&��

��%��!� �)����%�������&!���� �����!�������"������������������

���������

���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./., %�������*

The times have never beenbetter than now for thefisheries, seafood processingand aquaculture sector in India.It’s less than an year after theFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced a finan-cial package of �20,000 croreunder the Pradhan MantriMatsya Sampada Yojana(PMMSY), to help address thecritical gaps in the fisheriesvalue chain and for the inte-grated, sustainable, inclusivedevelopment of the marineand inland fisheries and aqua-culture sector- both develop-ment initiatives of wide impactand significance.

Of the total allotment, theminister explained that Rs11,000 crore will be exclusive-ly for activities in the marine,inland fisheries and aquacul-ture and �9,000 crore for devel-opment of infrastructure offishing harbours, cold chainand markets etc.

What was strikingly dif-ferent about this relief measurewas that the funds set aside foraquaculture industry were esti-mated based on the sector’slong-standing needs: new tech-nology and research-based pro-duction, higher quality breed-ing stock, modernisation of theinfrastructure and relateddevelopment aspects.

Finally, someone did stopto hear the cries that arose fromthe hearts of the thousands ofmarine and inland aquaculturefarmers, investors and theirlarge workforce of hardworkinglabourers, who were togetherseeking and praying for a lis-tening ear of the powers-that-be at the Centre for quite sometime. Not surprisingly, themeasures were received as a bigrelief by the stakeholders whowere struggling to survive afterthe devastating effect of Covid-19 pandemic which had rav-aged the country for nearly thewhole of 2019, with consider-able unemployment and reces-sion.

The special PMMSY fundsflow has since been hailed as amajor boost for the industrywhich is now fast-gearing upfor a quantum leap into capac-ity expansion, diversifiedgrowth and for creating a larg-er footprint in the export mar-kets of the world with its rangeof processed sea foods andfreshwater aquaculture spe-

cialities. As an indicator of the

importance that theGovernment is extending tothis sector, Sitharaman alsoannounced in her speech theformation of a separateMinistry of Fisheries, AnimalHusbandry and Dairying head-ed by a Minister of Cabinetrank, and backed by a specialbudget of �3,737 crore for itsformation. With this Ministryin operation, under the ableleadership of Giriraj Singh,there’s a huge potential forgrowth coming in the fisheriesand allied industries and theGovernment’s target of dou-bling the farmers’ income by2022 would move closer toreality, given favourable cir-cumstances to follow.

Singh is perfect for headingthe ministry considering his indepth knowledge of the fieldand also his past performancein this sector as a minister inBihar.

As one leading manage-ment expert on industry point-ed out, “Bringing allied sectorssuch as fisheries in focus canhelp the development of fish-ing communities and fisheriesas an occupation.” Indeed, it’snot business as usual that’shappening, here. Quite truly,the flagship developmentmodel of the Modi govern-ment- Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyan, is acting as a power-

ful catalyst to the country’s BlueRevolution, which continues tobe a national agenda.

India ranks second in theworld in fish production witha capacity of about 9.6 milliontonnes per annum. Thisamounts to over 10% of theglobal fish diversity and muchof it’s credited to the country’sinland fisheries and aquacul-ture infrastructure.

With an employment baseof 145 million individuals thefisheries industry contributes1.07% of the nation’s GDP,generating an equivalent of�334.41 billion in export earn-ings. It is estimated that thepresent production capacity inthe industry of 9.6 millionmetric tonnes per annum(FY20) would attract a quan-tum leap over the next twoyears to meet the estimateddemand of nearly 11.80 mil-lion metric tonnes by FY21.

Of the total fish produc-tion in India, the share offreshwater aquaculture is at55% and the major contribu-tor to this segment is thesmallholder inland fish farm-ers, supported by the culturefisheries institutions.

The announcements madeby the Minister for Fisheriesand Animal husbandry high-lights the Centre’s recogni-tion of the several concernsfaced by the industry, espe-cially over the multiple chal-

lenges of the biodiversity andgeographical conditions thataffect the industry. It is esti-mated that only 10 to 15 per-cent of Indian freshwater fishhave been brought under feed-based farming and the major-ity of freshwater aquaculturestill has scope for convertingto this system, which if prop-erly addressed will contributemore to resource savings andat the same time increase fishproduction in the country.Modernisation also meansadequate improvements in thecold chain and distributionsystem in the country and thishas been recognised as a pri-ority area for investment, andattracted new budget alloca-tion.

Considering reasonabletime for the relief package totrickle down to the grassrootsan enhanced production of 70lakh metric tonnes of farm-fresh fish can be estimatedwithin the next five years.The expansion in fisheriesindustry would attract directand indirect employment inthe region of 55 lakh jobopportunities while the exportpotential would touch �1.0lakh crore by the end of thecoming half decade, say indus-try analysts.

There is no reason todoubt that our seafood andfreshwater fish farm industrycan usher in revolutionary

transformations in growth andcontent performance in thecoming decade consideringthe major improvementswhich the country has alreadyachieved in the fields of infra-structure, technology, man-power quality and with theopening up of the world mar-kets as the gateways for addi-tional performance.

It is estimated that onlyabout 10% of the 2.36 millionhectares of available land withits water bodies suitable foraquaculture is being actuallyput to good freshwater aqua-culture farming, matchingindustry standards.

The land offers immensepotential for growth in thisindustry which is highly prof-itable if managed well and withprudence.

Digital is the new frontierin the fisheries sector. Muchhas been discussed about thearrival of digital technology inthe agro-farming industriesand fisheries development.Today, the time is ripe to shiftgears and move into mod-ernisation of the farms withthe hi-tech. Smart technology-related software includingArtificial Intelligence, Internetof Things and Big Data areheavily being researched uponin this sector, and as reportslast came in, the day is not farwhen even the small holderfish farm worker shall be

equipped with infrastructurefacilities and training to utilisethe research benefits as a wayof life. Organic farming is thethird platform for develop-ment of the sector.

This technique is also fasttaking over as part of goodfarming practices. So muchwork has already gone into thisarea, with awareness of climatechange, pollution and effectsof water-table contaminationthat right from the fish feedsto maintaining the water qual-ity and soil preservation hastaken precedence in the indus-try. Many progressive aqua-culture projects have switchedto organic feeds and farminginputs which again has openedavenues for biofertiliser as aby-product out of fish wastewhich is direct boost for farmsto multiply their organic veg-etables and crop production.

The InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) hasnow projected an impressive11.5 per cent growth rate forIndia in 2021, making thecountry the only major econ-omy of the world to register adouble-digit growth this yearamidst the Covid pandemic.

While this projection is forthe entire economy of thecountry, it is safe to assumethat the marine and freshwa-ter aquaculture sector shallalso receive reasonable buoy-ancy with the rising of the

overall verticals. With the latest projec-

tions, India regains the tag ofthe fastest developingeconomies of the world. “Whatwe see is that transition, com-bined with policy support,seems to have worked well,”according to the IMF chiefwho has assessed that India is“almost where we were beforeCovid …meaning that eco-nomic activities have beenrevitalised quite significantly”.With all this and more hap-pening, the starry-eyed hope-fuls of the seafood and theinland aquaculture domainare watching and waiting - for,it’s curtain-raiser time to begina whole new colourful perfor-mance in production capaci-ties and financial revival - à lathe f ishing industry!Aquaculture industry todayis at the same growth stagewhere IT industry was 20years ago. The industry iswaiting with bated breath forthe new budget where a slewof measures are expected togive further momentum tothe growth to fulfill its truepotential. As a sign-off, themuch-favoured slogan of theentertainment world comesto memory- let the showbegin!

(The writer is the chairman& managing director of KingsInfra Ventures Ltd, Kerala)

�!�+�,��(�-�!$

�$��$��.��%���� �/���

���� ���0��$���������1������#��23

����� �14-&��0

Physical school classes forclasses VI to XII will beginin the state from February 8.The standard operating proce-dures for this will be releasedby the education department.In addition to this the regula-tions for the ban on polythenebags and polystyrene dispos-ables have also been made inthe State. These and otherdecisions were taken in themeeting of the cabinet presidedover by the chief ministerTrivendra Singh Rawat onSaturday.

Informing the media aboutthe cabinet decisions, cabinetminister and state governmentspokesman Madan Kaushikinformed that the cabinet dis-cussed 17 points in its meeting.

Regarding the plastic ban,he said that single use plastic isalready prohibited inUttarakhand but now the reg-

ulations have been made. Alltypes of plastic carry bags irre-spective of their dimensionswill be prohibited in the state.Disposable crockery madefrom polystyrene (thermocol)and plastic cutlery will also bebanned.

If the banned items arefound to be used in single usefood products packaging con-tainers, the manufacturer canbe penalised � 5 lakh, while �2 lakh penalty will be levied onthe transporter, �1 lakh on thevendor and �100 on the con-sumer.

In another important deci-sion, the cabinet gave itsapproval to provide 50 addi-tional work days to MNREGAjob card holders who complete100 days.

There are about 20,000

such families which have com-pleted 100 work days. Thestate will presently incur anexpenditure of �18.09 croreexpenditure on providing 50additional work days to thesefamilies and the expenditure isexpected to rise in a fewmonths. Kaushik furtherinformed that the cyber crisismanagement plan (CCMP) forcountering cyber attacks andcyber terrorism in Uttarakhand2020, is also being implement-ed in the state.

The CCMP was basicallyprepared by the Government ofIndia and is now being imple-mented in the state, he added.The cabinet also approvedamendment in the excise pol-icy following which allotmentof licensed liquor shops for twoyears will be done through e-tendering and the applicationfee has been raised from�40,000 to �50,000.

Further, the sale of beerwill also be allowed in countryliquor shops. The Cabinet alsotook a decision regarding pro-viding the amount for benefi-ciaries under the girl childeducation incentive (free cycle)scheme through direct benefittransfer (DBT).

*� ��1���1���������,#�0���,

���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./., $���$��;

����� �4&0�5&-4

Terming the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) leader TarunChugh remarks on his “Armybackground” as reprehensible,Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Saturdayquipped, “what does the BJP orits leadership know of Armyhonour or the grace of thenational flag, in which thebodies of our Punjabi brotherscome wrapped from the bor-ders every second day?”

“We in Punjab know thepain of seeing the bodies of oursons and brothers, wrapped inthe national flag, come homeevery second day,” he said,adding the BJP clearly has noempathy or sensitivity towardsthe soldiers losing their lives toprotect India’s honour andintegrity. Neither Chugh norhis party could relate to theanguish of those very soldierson seeing their farmer fathersand brothers being beaten upand tear gassed while fightingfor their rights, said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Ministerslammed Chugh for deliber-ately spreading lies on an issuerelating to the honour of thebrave Indian soldiers fightingfor the safety and security of thenation at the borders.Lambasting the BJP nationalgeneral secretary over hisremarks on the ‘Republic Daygrace’, he said the BJP, whichhad systematically ripped theConstitutional fabric apart overthe past 6 years and mostnotably over the draconianFarm Laws, had lost all moraland ethical right to talk of thehonour of the R-day.

“What was wrong in mystatement that “maligning thefarmers (for the Red Fort vio-lence) could cause the moraleof the armed forces, 20% ofwhich is from Punjab, to godown? How does that amount

to insulting the Republic Daygrace and my own Army back-ground?” asked CaptAmarinder, hitting out atChugh for misleading the peo-ple with baseless allegations.

“What happened to thegrace of the R-day when theCentral Government, whichthe BJP leads, trampled overthe federal and Constitutionalrights of the states to unilater-ally bring in the FarmOrdinances without consultinganyone? Where is the grace inletting the poor farmers, whoare feeding you along with thebillion plus people of Indiaevery day, shiver out in the coldon the roads, with many ofthem dying out there?”, CaptAmarinder asked.

Reacting to Chugh’sunfounded accusations that hehad backed those who hadinsulted the tricolour at the RedFort, Capt Amarinder pointedout that far from supportinganyone involved in the RedFort violence in any way, “I wasamong the first to outright

condemn the violence and thedishonour to the symbol ofindependent India.”

Reiterating, however, thathe did not believe it was thefarmers who created the trou-ble, the Chief Minister point-ed out that it was miscreants,including BJP’s own supporters,who were seen inciting thetrouble at the historic Red Fortin the national Capital on theRepublic Day. He reiterated hisdemand for a thorough probeinto the incident to expose theconspiracy and unveil the role,if any, of any political party orany third country.

Terming Chugh’s unfound-ed allegations as a clear attemptto cover up his own party’s rolein the incident, and also in thesubsequent developments,including yesterday’s attack onpeacefully protesting farmers atthe Singhu border, the ChiefMinister said the BJP, in its des-peration to divert public atten-tion from the genuine plightand struggle of the farmers, wasresorting to all kinds of the-

atrics and lies.The Chief Minister also

came down heavily on the BJPleader over his remarks on thelaw and order situation in thestate. For months, the farmersagitated peacefully in Punjab,where some of them are evennow sitting in protest, withoutany trouble, he pointed out,adding that the BJP wanted tosee trouble in the state with aneye on next year’s Assemblyelections. “Why else wouldthey try to undermine thegrowing Pakistan and Chinathreats, and the increasingnumber of incidents ofweapons being smuggled intoPunjab through drones,” heasked, warning the ruling partyagainst compromising thenation’s safety and security forits own petty political gains.

SAD DEMANDS CENTRELAUNCH CRIMINAL

CASES AGAINST POLICEOFFICIALS AND

BJP GOONS WHOATTACKED FARMER

CAMP AT SINGHU

The Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) on Saturday demandedthe Central Governmentlaunch criminal proceedingsagainst Delhi Police officials aswell as BJP goons who indulgedin State terrorism by attackingthe farmer camp at the Singhuborder in Delhi besides beatingup Sikh youth mercilessly andinsulting their articles of faith.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, party senior leaderBikram Singh Majithia alsodemanded that since the DelhiPolice and BJP goons accom-panying them had committedhuman rights violations, chiefminister Capt AmarinderSingh should also registerappropriate cases against themand take follow up action. Hesaid the SAD would submit aformal complaint in this regard

to the chief minister and thatin case the latter still did nottake appropriate action in thematter it would be clear that hewas hand in glove with the BJP.

Majithia also announced athree member committee oflawyers, including AS Dharni,DS Sobti and Harry Bajwawould assist farmers whosehuman rights violations hadbeen violated and also releasedthree telephone numbers —98150 00026, 99145 91011 and78144 00060 to contact thelawyers for needed assistancefree of cost. He also announcedthat senior leader Jathedar TotaSingh had visited families oftwelve youth missing fromDharamkot and thatJeetmohinder Singh Sidhu andParambans Romana had visit-ed families of eight youth miss-ing from Talwandi Sabo. “Wewill render all needed assis-tance to these families alsobesides opening legal servicescells at Singhu and Tikri bor-ders”, he added.

Majithia also pointed outthat no action had been takenagainst Deep Sidhu and LakhaSadana besides a Kisan leaderwho had jointly played into thehands of the central govern-ment on Republic Day. TheAkali leader asserted that farm-ers were following democratictraditions to exercise their con-stitutional right to hold apeaceful agitation against thethree hated Agricultural laws.He said it was unfortunatethat the central governmentcould not stomach this agita-tion and tried to defame it bycalling farmers’ naxals, terror-ists, China and Pakistan spon-sored elements and now final-ly had started supporting phys-ical attacks on them. He saidfarmers would not be intimi-dated by such tactics and thatthe Kisan Andolan wouldemerge even stronger in thecoming days.

����� �4&0�5&-4

Congress MP in the RajyaSabha, Partap Singh Bajwaon Saturday urged PunjabChief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh to use allavailable sources to trace over100 farmers who have been“missing” since the January 26tractor rally in Delhi.

Citing some media reports,Bajwa wrote to CaptAmarinder, saying “over 100farmers from the state havebeen missing since the incidentsthat occurred on January 26 inDelhi”.

����� �4&0�5&-4

Reacting to the BJP attemptsof suppressing the ongoingfarmers’ movement with thehelp of their aides and ‘goons’,the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)taking a serious note of the mat-ter has demanded from thePunjab government to providepolice security to the strugglingfarmers, who had been facingthe heat of the BJP Government.

Addressing the media,AAP’s national spokespersonand Punjab unit co-inchargeRaghav Chadha said that theBJP ‘goons’ had been continu-ously attacking the farmers ofthe country from last few daysin a bid to intimidate them tovacate the protest sites. He saidthat earlier the miscreantsbacked by BJP had threatenedand attacked the farmers withsticks at Ghazipur border andyesterday also, the BJP-RSSgoons, including several localBJP leaders, attacked the farm-

ers, who had been protestingpeacefully from over last twomonths and pelted stones onthem at Singhu border in broaddaylight.

He said that through someof the photographs and videosthat had gone viral, the peopleinvolved in these incidents cameout to be office-bearers, coun-cillors, local leaders and MLAsof the BJP, who along withtheir associates and goons hadattacked the peacefully protest-ing farmers, which was intoler-able and unjustifiable. “Thecontinuous attacks on our‘annadatas’ from the last fewdays and the unfortunate inci-dent that occurred at the RedFort on January 26 has estab-lished the role of the BJP of sup-pressing the farmers’ move-ment. It has also proved theintention of the BJP, that theywill attack the farmers, intimi-date them and create distur-bance in the farmers’ move-ment.

���������������4&0�5&-4 With Himachal’s Pong wet-land witnessing a sharp

decline in mortality rate of

birds due to outbreak of avianinfluenza-H5N1, State’s ForestDepartment has decided to go

ahead with the two-day longannual waterfowl count startingFebruary 1 at the water body.

As many as 4,986 migra-tory birds have fallen victim tothe deadly virus till now atPong wetland in Kangra dis-trict. A large number of nativebirds like crows and pigeonshave also died.

Following the detection ofbird flu at Pong Dam onJanuary 4, all kinds of humanand livestock activities werebanned in one km area aroundthe Pong lake which is declaredas alert zone (red zone) whilethe next nine km area wasdeclared a surveillance zone.

Earlier it was decided tosuspend the annual waterfowlcount for this year at PongDam but the Department will

now undertake the two-daycensus exercise with the help ofits own field staff on February1 and 2.

Notably, the bird flu hasbeen reported for the firsttime at Pong Lake, which hostsmore than one lakh wingedguests every winter season.The migratory birds fromCentral Asia and Siberianreach Pong Dam every year byOctober for their wintersojourn and stay till March.

“The daily fatality report-ed at Pong Lake due to the birdflu is three-four birds now. Thesituation is under control butconsidering the bird flu alert,the Wildlife division of the

Forest Department has decid-ed to conduct the annual water-fowl count through its ownstaff this year. The wildlifeexperts from the state or out-side will not be involved in thetwo-day exercise,” said RahulRohane, Deputy Conservatorof Forests, Wildlife Division,Hamirpur while talking to ThePioneer.

He said that the area of wet-land is divided in 26 sections forthe census exercise and differ-ent teams would be deputed.The field staff would take all theprecautions. Earlier in mid-December, around 56000migratory birds of more than 50species were counted by the

field staff at the Pong Lake.”Giving details of fatalities

due to bird flu at Pong, Rohanesaid that the total fatalities in38 species of migratory birdsstood at 4986. Of them, 90 per-cent deaths have been report-ed among Bar-Headed Goose,he added.

According to the censusexercise conducted in January2020, as many as 1,15,701birds of 114 species wererecorded at the Pong DamLake. The figure included1,04,032 migratory waterfowlsof 60 species, 10,377 residentwater birds of 30 species and1,292 birds of 24 other localspecies.

�2��������������$7*;����!��

� �����������=���������:�����9�����'=:9(��������������������������

�����.&����$�"�����/�������������$��!�9�+�$�������%�����������&��������)����

�)���������������!�.�������������=:9����������������������&�����

������������"�����������

�������!�����"������$����������9�+�$��$�������"������������������$��������������"

�����M/

� -���������!�������!���������������$����������������������������

"��������������$��!�����������%������������������������������"�����!��"������=:9,�������������!��������������"�����������$����������������"�-���?������������

�����������

����-���$��"����#�4�������������������������������������$���������"��������*��������"

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

���&�1)���2���!�&��1����!�����!�"������������&�������

-������������;��������������������"����������������������$�����

"������4�����5���������������-��������������������1�������������������

���#������%����>�/����������:1,������1 ;�2����%4����!�2,�%���6�,���1�

����%������*�������!2�1,�%�#���������������������>,!��������

3����4�567��&�����(�

�������!����/8%�����)��&��/)����"���(��!�����������"�!�����������

����� �14-&��0

In a major achievement, SatlujJal Vidyut Nigam Limited(SJVN) has been allotted 679MW Lower Arun HydroElectric Project in Nepal aftera competitive bidding. TheInvestment Board of Nepal inits meeting on 29 Januarychaired by Prime Minister ofNepal, K P Sharma Oli award-ed the Project to SJVN.

Nand Lal Sharma,Chairman & ManagingDirector, SJVN met the PrimeMinister of Nepal, K P SharmaOli, in Kathmandu. In his inter-action with Nepalese PM,Sharma expressed his deepestgratitude to the Prime Ministerfor awarding the Lower ArunHydro Electric Project to SJVNand assured the Prime Ministerthat project will be completedin a time bound manner.

SJVN CMD informed thatSJVN has obtained the Projectthrough InternationalCompetitive Bidding, aftercompeting with various inter-national companies including

from China. Sharma furtherstated that the Projects beingdeveloped by SJVN in Nepalwould result in overall devel-opment and boost mutual eco-nomic growth in India & Nepal.

�09%���&��7�5�1:������3�!�/(����;�"��"�)��2"����%���

����� �14-&��0

The National ThermalPower Corporation(NTPC) will provide Rs 25crore under corporate socialresponsibility for variousreconstruction works anddevelopment of facilities inKedarnath. A memorandumof understanding to this effectwas signed in New Delhibetween the state’s tourismsecretary Dilip Jawalkar andNTPC CSR executive directorMSD Bhattamishra.

It should be mentioned

here that MoUs worth morethan �100 crore have beensigned in the past betweenleading public centre enter-prises and the Shri KedarnathDham Charitable Trust.

Jawalkar informed thatthe �25 crore to be contributedby NTPC to the charitabletrust will be used on con-structin of Astha Path alongthe Mandakini river, queuemanagement, constructin ofseating arrangements and rainshelters for pilgrims, con-struction of water ATM nearSaraswati river and construc-

tion of a rain shelter at thetemple plaza among otherworks.

The corporation will pro-vide the money to the trust ininstallments.

So far MoUs have beensigned for Indian OilCorporation providing �27.96crore, ONGC providing Rs26 crore, Rural ElectrificationCorporation providing � 23.52crore and Power FinanceCorporation providing �25.6crore under CSR to the char-itable trust for reconstructionworks in Kedarnath.

0�9������������87�"���������)-���������������"

����"��

����� �14-&��0

The University of Petroleumand Energy Studies (UPES)announced the appointment ofNalin Mehta as School ofModern Media dean,Gurvinder Singh Virk asSchool of Engineering deanand professor PriyadarsanPatra as School of ComputerSciences dean. In their newroles they will be responsiblefor driving academic excel-lence, faculty development andengagement, industry outreach,among others.

Welcoming the new deans,the UPES vice chancellor SunilRai said,“We are delighted tohave Nalin Mehta, GurvinderSingh Virk and professorPriyadarsan Patra joining us inour journey towards holisticdevelopment of our students,overhaul of pedagogy, leadingto academic excellence. Theirextensive experience and pas-sion for their respective indus-tries will benefit the studentsimmensely by way of on-cam-pus and off-campus experi-ences, future-oriented cur-riculums, and meaningfulindustry outreach.”

�91)���������������������

����� -

��$��� ���>���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./.,

����� 012��1345

The Centre is going to tablea Bill in the Budget Sessionof Parliament banning all pri-vate cryptocurrencies such asBitcoin in India and to dealwith the creation of a legislativeframework for an official dig-ital currency. The Reserve Bankof India (RBI) is exploring theoption of issuing a digital ver-sion of the rupee, which couldserve as the Central BankDigital Currency (CBDC).

The Bill, ‘TheCryptocurrency andRegulation of Official DigitalCurrency Bill, 2021’ is to betabled in the Lok Sabha Sessionas per the papers placed beforethe Parliament bulletins.

“To create a facilitativeframework for creation of the-official digital currency to beissued by the Reserve Bank ofIndia. The Bill also seeks toprohibit all private cryptocur-rencies in India, however, itallows for certain exceptions topromote the underlying tech-nology of crytptocurrency andits uses, said the purpose of theBill in the papers placed beforethe bulletins.

For the past six-sevenyears, including India manycountries were looking for theintroduction of the digital cur-rencies, when Bitcoin like cryp-to currencies started floodingin the World and their tradesbecame proffered in many sec-

tors. The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) is also exploring theoption of issuing a digital ver-sion of the rupee, which couldserve as the Central BankDigital Currency.

The proposed bill will pro-vide the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) with the necessary legalpowers to develop a centralbank-backed digital currency(CBDC), according toParliament Bulletin on the newBills to be placed before LokSabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Government wants topromote the use of blockchainacross various use-cases, thisbill is expected India’s entry theglobal race of digital currenciesor CBDCs while at the sametime banning “private” crypto-currencies like Bitcoin andEthereum among others.Recently China also bannedprivate operators in this field byregularising the governmentoperation on digital or crypto

currency.The Government’s deci-

sion to introduce TheCryptocurrency andRegulation of Official DigitalCurrency Bill, 2021 comes aweek after the RBI said it hadbegun exploring the possibili-ty of issuing and developing adigital currency or digitalRupee.

This is a reversal of theRBI’s position. Back inDecember 2019, RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das said that it wasvery early to speak on CBDCs.“Some discussions are goingon. Technology has yet not fullyevolved. It is still in very incip-ient stage of discussions and theRBI we have examined it inter-nally,” Das said. Indian cryptofounders are taken aback bythis news, but still hope that theGovernment will work with theindustry to ensure that there issome legality to their opera-tions going forward.

���������,��� 012��1345

Agroup of women weaversfrom Tharu tribe in thenorthern buffer of DudhwaTiger Reserve in the Terairegion of Uttar Pradesh areweaving their dreams on loomsto churn out magnificentcolourful carpets (cotton dur-ries) and an array of grass-woven products.

Under the banner of TharuHath Karga Gharelu Udyog –a Self Help Group (SHG) ofthese tribal women fromLakhimpur Khiri district inUttar Pradesh have recorded asignificant increase in revenuesfrom sale of cotton carpets andhandmade wares made oflocally available Munj grasssuch as baskets for chapati,planters, fruit baskets, jew-ellery containers, table mat,paper weight, coasters, etc.

In 2019-20, they recordeda sale of Rs 2.08 lakhs with a netprofit of 80,000. However, thiswas not possible till a fewyears ago when these womenwere struggling with the tradi-tional looms which due toexcess moisture caused byflooding of the area duringmonsoons affected their outputand quality.

Timely technological inter-vention and funding supportfrom the Science for Equity,Empowerment andDevelopment (SEED) Divisionof the Central Department ofScience & Technology (DST)under the Union Science andTechnology Ministry has comeas a boon for the SHG, scalingup the production and ensurequality.

The World Wide Fund(WWF) implemented the tech-nology, reducing the inconve-nience caused to the womenand also increased the effi-ciency of operations with qual-ity production through a num-ber of ways.

It has also set up a centrefor production in terms oftechnological interventions,modification, and improvisa-tion.

WWF provided financialaid, implementing the tech-nology, fixing the base of thelooms. It also added a secondset of pedals in them, makingthem operable by two weavers,thereby reducing the produc-tion time of the durries and

weaving complex designs.Wooden shuttles used tra-

ditionally were replaced withfiberglass shuttles, which arelighter and more efficient.

Two pulley based designs -Garrari system and Rope rollersystem were designed to avoiddisruption of work continuitywhile adjusting the threadroller and durrie roller of theloom for getting a blank threadpanel to weave, said an officialfrom the Ministry.

Arti Rana, President ofthe Tharu Hath Karga GhareluUdyog at Gabroula village,said “We used to work in amakeshift structure earlier andwere never able to work dur-ing the rains.

Now with the productioncentre in place, the number ofworking days and our pro-ductivity has increased.”

As earnings had beengood, strength of the group hasswollen from a meagre ten topresent 2,600 women, major-ity of them hailing from near-by villages such as Goubrolla,

M a n g a l p u r v a ,Chandanchowki, Balera,Bendari and Dhusia in theLakhimpur Khiri district in UPamong 42 villages inside thetiger reserve.

They had been tradition-ally engaged in these handi-craft work which has nowbeen channelised commer-cially, augmenting their liveli-hood.

Though Carona inducedlockdown adversely impactedthe income, things have start-ed looking up again with mer-chandise worth of Rs 42,000already sold from November2020 to January 2021. Arti (42)said that TRIFED, a depart-ment of the Union TribalAffairs Ministry is their regu-lar buyer.

For its part, theGovernment has recognisedtheir work. The SHG was felic-itated by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2016 andwas awarded the RaniLaxmibai Veerta Purankar ofthe State Government.

,�$��1,���2!���,6�#� ���,���%��������

:������������*���!�/�������&�#����!���(�&�����������������!��������) )���������

3����

��$�(��?���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./.,

Thiruvananthapuram:CMPinarayi Vijayan will inaugu-rate on February 1 a three-dayvirtual global conclave thatseeks to lay down the roadmapfor Keralas long-term devel-opment by factoring in per-spectives from top economists,industry leaders, administra-tors and planners amid achanged world order due toCOVID-19.

��� 012��1345

SpiceJet on Saturday said itwill start 20 new domesticflights, including 16 servicesthat will be connecting Jaipurto various cities of the country.

The remaining four flightswould be on the Kolkata-Pakyong route and Delhi-Dehradun route, said the airline’s press release.

All 20 new flights wouldbe started in February, it stat-ed.

Jaipur would be connect-ed through 16 new flights tovarious cities such asDehradun and Surat, it said.

Shilpa Bhatia, ChiefCommercial Officer, SpiceJetsaid, “There can’t be a bettertime to launch multiple flightsto connect this picturesqueand historical city with othermajor cities owing to the per-fect weather conditions fortravel and tourism.”

����� 012��1345

Pause on price hike of petroland diesel continued onSaturday for the third day in arow after rising consecutivelyon Tuesday and Wednesdayincreasing pump prices forboth auto fuels by 60 paisa perlitre in Delhi.

With price on hold, petrolcontinued to be available atnew record high of Rs 86.30 alitre in Delhi while diesel wasat Rs 76.48 per litre.

Across the country as wellthe fuel prices remained atWednesday’s level. In Mumbai,petrol is priced at Rs 92.86 alitre while in Chennai its is atRs 88.82/l and in Kolkata Rs87.69/l. Diesel on the otherhand is at Rs 83.30 a litre inMumbai, Rs 81.71 in Chennaiand Rs 80.08 in Kolkata.

Though firm global crude

and product price is the reasonfor the increase in retail priceof petrol and diesel.

it is interesting to note thateven though crude has beenhovering just over $55 a barrelfor some time now, OMCshave gone in for both a pausein price of auto fuels as wellincrease in its retail prices onconsecutive days.

Informed sources said thatoil companies may be buildingbuffer on retail price of petroland diesel to prevent any sharpprice increase of governmentdecided to further raise exciseduty on the two products tomobilise addition al revenue.

Crude price have remainedfirm for last few weeks in wakeof unilateral prod uction cutsannounced by Saudi Arabiaand a pick up in consumptionin all major economies globally.

����� )45%3&

Public sector Satluj Jal VidyutNigam Ltd (SJVNL) onSaturday said it was awardedanother mega hydropower pro-ject in Nepal through interna-tional bidding, includingChinese companies.

SJVNL Chairman andManaging Director Nand LalSharma said that the Nepalesegovernment has allotted 679MW Lower Arun HydroElectric Project located in theSankhuwasabha and Bhojpurdistricts.

It will generate 3,561 mil-lion units per annum.

The Investment Board ofNepal at its meeting on January29, chaired by Prime MinisterK.P.Oli, awarded the project tothe SJVNL.

Expressing deepest grati-tude to the Prime Minister,Sharma said the project would

be completed in a time-boundmanner.

He said the projects beingdeveloped by SJVNL in Nepalwould result in overall devel-opment and boost mutual eco-nomic growth in India andNepal.

Earlier, SJVNL was award-ed the construction of 900MW Arun III hydroelectricproject and 217 km long 400kV associated transmissionsystem.

With addition of the LowerArun Hydro Electric Project,SJVNL’s portfolio now stands at8,960.5 MW.

SJVNL’s present installedcapacity is 2,016.51 MW andaims to be 5,000 MW compa-ny by 2023 and 12,000 MWcompany by 2030, a company’sstatement said.

The company also has apresence in the field of energytransmission.

����� 012��1345

The BSE has become thecountry’s first exchange tocomplete deliveries of Goldmini contracts under BSE-BISIndia Good Delivery Standardon its commodity derivativesplatform on January 29, 2021.

Even though the BSE hadlaunched India’s first ‘options ingoods’ contracts on gold miniand silver kg based on spotprices in June 2020, these con-tracts were delivered using ser-ial-numbered gold barsapproved by the LondonBullion Market Association(LBMA). The Gold mini‘options in goods’ contractsdelivered on Saturday weredelivered based on BSE-BISIndia Good Delivery Standardsin alignment with “Make inIndia” and “AtmanirbharBharat” initiatives.

Commenting on this mile-stone, Sameer Patil, ChiefBusiness Officer, BSE, said,“The deliveries and acceptance

of Indian refined gold in allBSE gold contracts will encour-age greater involvement bydomestic market players andwiden the array of acceptablegold for delivery of Bullion.”

The exchange executeddelivery of Gold mini to thetune of more than Rs 49 lakhsin the Gold mini ‘Options inGoods’ framework at theexchange designated vault inAhmedabad, Gujarat. Therefined gold delivered on theexchange platform was pro-duced by Parker PreciousMetals LLP.

In addition to these refiner-ies, M D Overseas Pvt. Ltd.,Augmont Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.and Sovereign Metals ltd. arealso empanelled by BSE todeliver serial-numbered goldbars on the exchange plat-form.The BSE’s ‘options ingoods’ contracts have provedextremely beneficial and costefficient for jewellers, bulliondealers and other physical mar-ket participants.

����� 012��1345

The Centre has lined up anintensive legislative agendawith over 20 bills for the BudgetSession of Parliament whichbegan on January 29.

A major portion of the leg-islative agenda would includeintroduction and passage ofseveral economic bills that aimat carrying the reform agendaof the government.

Among the bills lined upfor consideration during theBudget session of Parliamentinclude legislation’s coveringdelicensing of country’s elec-tricity distribution sector,amendments to CompetitionCommission of India andPFRDA legislations, creation ofnew development financialinstitution, ban on privatecryptocurrencies.

These would be besides theFinance Bill 2021-22 thatwould form part of bulk ofbudget proposals made byFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on February1.Among the economic legis-lations is the CCI Amendment

Bill that aims to carry out cer-tain essential structural changesin the governing structure ofthe CCI including expansion ofCCI activities across India byopening Regional Offices.

The other bill to be intro-duced during Budget Sessionwill be the Pension FundRegulatory and DevelopmentAuthority (Amendment) Bill,2021 that proposes to amendPFRDA Act allowing for sep-aration of NPS Trust fromPFRDA while also strengthen-ing the institution.

The government will alsointroduce the National Bankfor Financing Infrastructureand Development (NaBFID)Bill, 2021 to set up a newDevelopment FinancialInstitution (DFI) as a provider,enabler and catalyst for infra-structure financing and as theprincipal financial institutionand development bank forbuilding and sustaining a sup-portive ecosystem across thelife-cycle of infrastructure pro-jects.

Another bill would beCryptocurrency and

Regulation of Official DigitalCurrency Bill, 2021 that willcreate a facilitative frameworkfor creation of the official dig-ital currency to be issued by theReserve Bank of India.

The Bill also seeks to pro-hibit all private cryptocurren-cies in India, however, it allowsfor certain exceptions to pro-mote the underlying technolo-gy of cryptocurrency and its

uses.The government will also

introduce the Mines andMinerals (Development andRegulation) Amendment Bill,2021 that would carry forward

reforms in the sector allowingfor better regulations thatattract investment and removedcumbersome processes andclearances.

Yet another economic leg-

islation would be introductionof the much delayed Electricity(Amendment) Bill, 2021 thatproposes to de-license the dis-tribution business and bring incompetition, appointment of

member from law backgroundin every Commission,strengthening of APTEL,penalty for non compliance ofRPO, prescribing Rights andDuties of Consumers.

��>,���1,�,#�1����������,����,�2��1,���%���%�%!�����$!%����4����,�

����� 012��1345

Industry body PHDChamber on Saturday saidit looks forward to a growth-oriented budget for FY22which ensures demand gen-eration. According to SanjayAggarwal, President, PHDChamber of Commerce andIndustry, “Going ahead welook forward to a vibrantgrowth-oriented budget whichensures a great support todemand creation in the econ-omy with lower interest ratesfor consumers and business-es.”

Besides, Aggarwal saidthe industry body expects thebudget to reduce compliancesfor Micro, Small, and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs) vis-a-visease of doing business at theground level.

He also cited the need forthe budget to lower the taxregime to increase personaldisposable income whichwould be instrumental inrejuvenating the economicgrowth trajectory in the com-ing times.

Earlier, on last Friday, theEconomic Survey 2020-21suggested that economic

recovery would be supportedby a supply-side push fromreforms and easing of regula-tions, push to infrastructuralinvestments, boost to themanufacturing sector throughproductivity-linked incentiveschemes, recovery of pent-updemand for services sector,increase in discretionary con-sumption subsequent to roll-out of the vaccine and pick upin credit, given adequate liq-uidity and low interest rates.

Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman wouldpresent Budget 2021-22 inParliament on Monday.

������������������-���������������������������������6�$"&�����-��

��� 012��1345

Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian onSaturday said the countrywould witness revival of ‘ani-mal spirits’ of private enter-prises with the economy stag-ing a ‘V-shaped’ 11 per centgrowth in the next fiscal yearbeginning April.

The Economic Survey2020-21 presented inParliament on Friday expectsthe growth rate to reboundsharply from an estimatedrecord contraction of 7.7 percent in the current financialyear on account of the impact

of the COVID-19 pandemic.“I think next year with an

11 per cent growth rate, that isanticipated. Private sectormoves in when they seeopportunities,” Subramaniansaid when asked about therevival of ‘animal spirits’ in pri-vate investment.

The expression ‘animalspirits’ was coined by cele-brated economist JohnMaynard Keynes to refer toinvestors’ confidence in takingaction in terms of investment.

Subramanian, the leadauthor of the EconomicSurvey, also made a case forstrong counter-cyclical mea-

sures to encourage privateinvestment. Observing thatthere are business cycles in theeconomy and there are peaksand troughs, he said, when theeconomy is doing really well,private sector is also doingvery well and it’s time for thegovernment to step back andconsolidate its fiscal position.

“But when the economy isnot doing well, it’s in a trough,the private sector therefore isnot doing very well, the voidthat is left on consumption,investment etc, the govern-ment moves in and fills thatvoid,” he told PTI in an inter-view.

�������������������� ��!""#��� �!������$����������%��&�����������

��;�"���������;�"���&�����"!����@�����:������������

pti n Mumbai

ICICI Bank on Saturdayreported a 17.73 per centjump in its December quarterconsolidated net profit to Rs5,498.15 crore, helped by ajump in core income butexperienced a surge in badassets from its retail loans.

On a standalone basis, thesecond largest private sectorlender by assets showed a19.12 per cent rise in the post-tax profit to Rs 4,939.59 crorefor the reporting quarter, upfrom Rs 4,146.46 crore in theOctober-December 2019period.

Its core net interestincome grew 16 per cent to Rs9,912 crore, on the back of a

13 per cent growth in domes-tic advances, while the the netinterest margin came at 3.67per cent as against 3.57 percent in the precedingSeptember quarter and 3.77per cent in the year-ago peri-od.

The non-interest incomeexcluding the treasury incomecame at Rs 3,921 crore asagainst 4,043 crore.

The reported gross non-performing assets ratio was at4.38 per cent.

But would have been 5.42per cent if not for theSupreme Court order askingbanks not to classify non-pay-ing loan accounts as NPAsafter the end of the loanrepayment moratorium.

#�#�#�����72����8���

�1������������������������%$������

1���(��-�'�(��������@��(���������1����

�� ����A���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./.,

Houston: A federal appealscourt on Friday ruled that theUS Government could resumeexpelling immigrant childrenwho cross the southern borderunaccompanied by a parent.

The US Court of Appealsfor the District of ColumbiaCircuit’s stay of a lower courtruling allows President JoeBiden’s administration toresume expulsions begun byformer President DonaldTrump under a public healthpolicy citing the Covid-19 pan-demic.

The appeals court issued astay that had been requested bythe Trump administration inNovember shortly after a fed-eral judge barred the practice.

All three judges on thepanel that issued Friday’s orderwere nominated by Trump,who enacted newly restrictivemeasures on immigrationthroughout his presidency. Thejudges are Gregory Katsas,Neomi Rao and Justin Walker.

Trump’s Republicanadministration institutedexpulsions early in the pan-demic, saying it had to restrictborder crossings to preventthe spread of the virus, thoughpublic health officials later saidthey were told to issue anorder allowing the expulsionsby former Vice President MikePence. Border agents conduct-

ed more than 180,000 expul-sions in just the last threemonths of 2020.

Immigration agencies havecontinued expelling most bor-der crossers — adults as well asparents and children together— in Biden’s first days. TheDemocrat has signaled he willroll back other Trump admin-istration policies restrictingimmigration, but his advisershave also said they are con-cerned about allowing allmigrants to cross the borderimmediately. It’s unclearwhether Biden will implementexpulsions of unaccompaniedchildren now.

At least 8,800 children wereknown to have been expelledprior to the federal court order.They included children asyoung as 9 who were deniedthe chance to request asylum orother protections under USLaw. Many children, including

some babies with their parents,were detained in hotels in bor-der states before being placedon deportation flights beforeanother judge barred that prac-tice.

The US Department ofHomeland Security did notimmediately comment, nor didthe US Department of Justice.

American Civil LibertiesUnion lawyer Lee Gelerntcalled the appeals court’s rulinga “temporary setback.” “Wewill continue to litigate this caseon behalf of these vulnerableunaccompanied children, whoare in need of protection andlegally entitled to apply for asy-lum,” Gelernt said in a state-ment.

“But we hope the Bidenadministration will not makeongoing litigation necessaryby rescinding this illegal poli-cy created by the Trumpadministration.” AP

'����������

����3"����4���������������������

��������""�!���

��(�����)���������'���)���-���!����"�������2&)450�Berlin: Germany says drug-makers will deliver at least 5million doses of coronavirusvaccines to the country in thenext three weeks.

The Health Ministry sayson Twitter that Germany hasalready received 3.5 milliondoses in the past five weeks andadministered 2.2 million shots.

Health Minister JensSpahn says the new figures fordeliveries from Pfizer,Moderna and AstraZenecawere “good news after a diffi-cult start.” Germany has giventhe first shot to about 2.2% ofits 83 million population.Nearly half a million peoplehad received both shots bySaturday. It’s recommendedthe second shot be given 21 to28 days after the first. AP

5��������4����6��#�����������������4��7������

Washington: As the Bidenadministration considerswhether it should pull remain-ing US Troops out ofAfghanistan in the comingmonths, some fear for the fateof an American who could beleft behind: an abducted con-tractor believed held by aTaliban-linked militant group.

On the one-year anniver-sary of Mark Frerichs’ abduc-tion, family members and othersupporters are urging the Bidenadministration not to withdrawadditional troops without theNavy veteran being releasedfrom captivity. Frerichs wasabducted one year ago Sundaywhile working in the countryon engineering projects. U.S.Officials believe he is in thecustody of the Haqqani net-work, though the Taliban havenot publicly acknowledgedholding him.

“We are confident that he’sstill alive and well,” his sister,Charlene Cakora, said in aninterview with The AssociatedPress. “We don’t have anythinking that he’s dead or that

he’s injured.” For U.S.Diplomats, Frerichs’ captivity isa piece of a much larger geopo-litical puzzle that aims to bal-ance bringing troops home,after a two-decade conflict,with ensuring regional peaceand stability.

Biden administration offi-cials have made clear that theyare reviewing a February 2020peace deal between the UnitedStates and the Taliban, con-cerned by whether the Talibanare meeting its commitment toreduce violence in Afghanistan.

The Trump administra-tion, which had made therelease of hostages anddetainees a priority, endedwithout having brought homeFrerichs, who is from Lombard,Illinois. He is one of severalAmericans the Biden adminis-tration is inheriting responsi-bility for, including journalistAustin Tice, who went missingin Syria in 2012, as well as USMarine Trevor Reed andMichigan corporate executivePaul Whelan, both of whom areimprisoned in Russia. AP

�����������������

����������������3������������� Washington/New Delhi:Unknown miscreants havevandalised, broken and ripped

from the base a statue ofMahatma Gandhi in a park inthe US state of California,evoking a strong responsefrom India which sought athorough investigation andappropriate action againstthose responsible for the“despicable act.”

The 6-ft tall, 650-pound(294 kg) bronze statue ofGandhi, in the Central Park ofthe City of Davis in NorthernCalifornia, appeared to havebeen sawed off at the anklesand half its face was severedand missing, local DavisEnterprise daily reported.

The vandalised statue ofMahatma Gandhi was foundby a park employee in the early

hours of morning of January27, the police said.

The statue is beingremoved and will be stored ina safe place until it can be eval-uated, said Davis City coun-cilman Lucas Frerichs.

Investigators are stillunsure of when exactly thestatue was torn down or whatthe motive may have been, TheSacramento Bee reported. PTI

1�������#���������!�@������������C�+���������������������"�����&����������������

���� �4&�&

Bangladesh’s Governmentsent a fourth group ofRohingya Muslim refugees toan island in the Bay of Bengalon Saturday, ignoring callsfrom human rights groups fora halt to the move.

The 1,466 Rohingya whohad been living in the sprawl-ing refugee camps of Cox’sBazar were sent Saturday toBhasan Char, an island specif-ically developed to accommo-date 100,000 of the 1 millionRohingya who have fled fromneighbouring Myanmar. Thatfollows 1,776 refugees whomade the trip on Friday.

The relocations began inDecember and have been crit-icised by human rights groups,who say many of the refugeesare being forced to moveagainst their will.

Prime Minister SheikhHasina and her government

have denied that and said therelocations will continue.

Bangladesh has said that ultimately it is up toMyanmar to take the refugeesback and has called on theinternational community toput pressure on Myanmar’sGovernment to ensure theirsafe return.

More than 1 millionRohingya have fled waves ofviolent persecution in theirnative Myanmar and are cur-rently living in overcrowded,squalid refugee camps in Cox'sBazar district.

“My people and relativescame here earlier. They said itis better here. So, we came,”Aman Ullah, a Rohingyarefugee, said Saturday after hisarrival on Bhasan Char.

Another said he came vol-untarily. “We were asked tocome. And we came here at ourown will,” said MohammedNuruddin.

�;���������������������,����:������������������

�� ��7���������*������ *�"����� +,-�./.,

��� 012��1345

The BCCI will not be con-ducting its premier first-class domestic tourna-ment Ranji Trophy for thefirst time in 87 years as the par-ent body opted for the VijayHazare Trophy as per the wish-es of majority of the stateunits.

The BCCI will also hostthe U-19 National One Daytournament for the VinooMankad Trophy and theWomen’s national 50-overtournament as per a letter sentby BCCI secretary Jay Shah tothe state units.

While BCCI president

Sourav Ganguly and secretaryShah were keen to have theblue riband tournament thatpays the maximum match fee(Rs 1.5 lakh per game approx)for the players, it is understoodthat a two-month long bio-bubble even for a truncatedtwo-phased Ranji Trophy intimes of the COVID-19 pan-demic wasn’t feasible.

“I am extremely happy toinform you that we are goingto conduct the Senior Women’sOne Day tournament simulta-neously with the Vijay HazareTrophy and follow it up withVinoo Mankad Trophy Under-19. This has been decidedafter having received your

feedback on the domestic sea-son 2020-21,” Shah wrote a let-ter to state units, which is inpossession of PTI.

It is understood that BCCIwill probably follow the samegroupings and bio-bubble forthe Hazare Trophy that willstart next month.

The BCCI during its AGMhad decided that players will becompensated in case there is atruncated season and withplayers missing out on RanjiTrophy match fees, treasurerArun Dhumal clarified that thepremier domestic cricketersof the country will be takencare of financially.

Agreeing with his secre-

tary's view, Dhumal said thatthe decision to cancel RanjiTrophy this season was takenafter taking every stakeholderinto confidence.

“We took feedback fromthe players, selection commit-tee, state associations. It wasfelt that 2020 is already goneand rather than having twoRanji events in the same calen-dar year, it is better to go forwhite-ball cricket,” Dhumalsaid.

“That way we could havesomething for junior cricketand women considering theimportance of of Women’sWorld Cup and U-19 WorldCup next year.

“Rather than having onetournament, we thought tohave events in different cate-gories,” said Dhumal, addingthat players will be duly com-pensated for not playing RanjiTrophy this season.

Shah in his letter alsospoke about how difficult itwas to plan out the domesticcalendar for the season in thepost COVID world.

“As you are aware, we havelost a lot of time and conse-quently, it has been difficult toplan the cricket calendar onaccount of the precautionsthat are necessary for the safeconduct of the games,” Shahwrote.

��� &4%1�&=&�

Aformidable Tamil Naduteam with oodles of experi-ence in its rank and file will havea head-start over an unherald-ed Baroda which shrugged offthe off-field controversies to setup a promising grand finale ofthe Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tour-nament on Sunday.

The Tamil Nadu side withright blend of youth and expe-rience under Dinesh Karthik,has hardly looked in any sort oftrouble since their group stageencounters with dominatingvictories while chasing.

Baroda, under their battle-hardened stand-in captain KedarDevdhar, had won some one-sided matches but also a cliff-hanger against Haryana in thequarter-final where VishnuSolanki hit a last-ball helicoptershot to win the match.

Baroda’s performance ismore praiseworthy after theirpremier batsman DeepakHooda stormed out after his dif-ferences with skipper KrunalPandya, who also had to leaveafter his father's death.

Tamil Nadu was also in aspot of bother in the quarterfi-nal against Himachal Pradeshbut some big-hitting byShahrukh Khan and a com-posed knock by Baba Aparajithsaw them through.

Veteran K B Arun Karthikthen played a beautiful knock of89 against Rajasthan to take hisstate to the final.

Opener N Jagadeesan (350runs) tops the run-scorers listwhile his opening partner CHari Nishaanth's form hastapered off after a bright start.

Skipper Karthik hasn’tplayed a big knock but hasbeen a stabilising influence inthe middle-order during trickyrun-chases.

Shahrukh will be eager toimpress talent scouts in what willeffectively be his last chancebefore the IPL auctions nextmonth.

Lanky left-arm spinner RSai Kishore (8 wkts so far) willhave to play a big role on Sundayalong with leggie M Ashwin andAparajith, who has been morethan useful with his off-breaks.

M e d i u m - p a c e r s

Mohammed Mohammed and RSonu Yadav have played theirparts but Tamil Nadu think-tankmight be tempted to drop a mis-firing Aswin Crist, who came infor Sandeep Warrier and bringG Periyasamy into the playingXI

For Baroda, a title tri-umph will mean their thirdnational trophy in shortestformat.

And for that to happen,burly opener Devdhar, thehighest run-getter for the teamwith 333 runs. Will have toscore big again.

Apart from Devdhar,Baroda will relay on one-downSolanki, who pulled off a lastover heist against Haryana inthe quarter final. He, however,failed to make an impact onthe semi-final and will be keento add to his tally.

The Baroda team man-agement will be more thanhappy that Kartik Kakade hasroared back to form and that

gives the middle order a stronglook. They can continue toopen with Ninad Rathva, sothat he can put pressure onTamil Nadu bowlers, with SmitPatel coming down the order.

Also, Babashafi Pathan,will be another important cogin their wheel, with both thebat and ball

Baroda’s impressive paceduo of Atit Sheth and LukmanMeriwala, will try to makeearly inroads. Meriwala pickedup three wickets in the semi-final but conceded some runstowards the end, something hewould be keen to change.

However, the duo wouldbe up against a formidable TNbatting line up, and hence thechallenge would be muchmore.

The role of the spin trio ofleft-arm spinners BhargavBhatt, Ninad Rathva and offieKartik Kakade, will also bevital in the middle overs and indeciding the match’s fate.

+���-�������"���!��(�"��"������������������6��(���C����+���������/�$��������������!�������

%9�:�%)#�.9:�0;0� *%�������������������13�����

*�+��������,�����(������ ��=&5

Virat Kohli remained thehighest-placed Indian bats-man at fourth position even asCheteshwar Pujara rose a rung

to sixth in the latest ICC Testrankings issued on Saturday.

Apart from Kohli (862) andPujara (760), Test vice-captainAjinkya Rahane (748) is theother Indian batsman in the top-

10, hanging on to the eighthspot.

Pujara moved up one placeto sixth, while wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and staropener Rohit Sharma remained

static on the 13th and 18th spotsrespectively.

New Zealand captain KaneWilliamson (919) continued tolead the batting charts, with theAustralian duo of Steve Smith

(891) and Marnus Labuschagne(878) rounding up the top threewhile England skipper Joe Root(823) retained the fifth spot.

Among the bowlers, veter-an spinner RavichandranAshwin (760) and pace aceJasprit Bumrah (757) retainedtheir eighth and ninth spotsrespectively.

��������-���

��3������������1�,/%�������,��

2020 was not an easy year. The Covid-19 pandemic was devastating, andvery frustrating for all of us. We wereall mostly stuck at home and whilethat was inconvenient, there is nodoubt that it was absolutely necessary at thatpoint. The year is behind us now. That saidthings are not really in the clear still, as thescare and the threat are both strong. So goingforward we must hold on to some valuablelessons that 2020 has taught us and learn tonavigate life keeping those close.

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

Instead of relying on highly processedfoods that are stripped of nutrients, tradition-al diets celebrate eating home cooked food.With home cooked food we rarely g