@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8AMAZON STARTS SELLER REGISTRA-

TIONS, ACCOUNT SERVICES IN MARATHI

ANALYSIS 7NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING

AND MICROFINANCE FOR ALL

SPORTS 11ASHWIN SPINS

OUT ENG

VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

}RAM PICKS N LINGUSAMY FOR HIS NEXT

Page 12

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 94*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

{

VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated february 14 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Magha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Chaturthi: 03:36 am (Next Day)

Nakshatram: Uttara Bhadrapada: 06:28 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 08:12 am – 09:38 am

Yamagandam: 11:04 am – 12:30 pm

Varjyam: NIL

Gulika: 01:56 pm - 03:22 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 01:17 pm – 03:01 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 12:07 pm – 12:53 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 34/19Humidity: 51%Sunrise: 06:42 amSunset: 06:17 pm

Did not forgive,will not forget:

CRPF on Pulwamaterror attack

5

Naidu hails peoplefor turnout, claimsvictory in Phase-II

3

J&K simplifiesnorms for setting

up industries

8

11% of global road accident deaths in India: WB PNS n NEW DELHI

With just 1 per cent of theworld's vehicles, India accountsfor 11 per cent of the globaldeath in road accidents, thehighest in the world, accordingto a report by the World Bank.

The country accounts forabout 4.5 lakh road crashes perannum, in which 1.5 lakh peo-ple die.

"India tops the world inroad crash deaths and injuries.It has 1 per cent of the world'svehicles but accounts for 11 percent of all road crash deaths,witnessing 53 road crashesevery hour; killing 1 personevery 4 minutes," the reportsaid.

In the last decade, 13 lakhpeople died and another 50

lakh got injured on Indianroads, it said.

"Considering the underreporting phenomenon andusing the crash ratios for the

Ministry of Road Transportand Highways crash numbers",the report estimates the crashcosts at Rs 5.96 lakh crore or3.14 per cent of gross domes-tic product (GDP).

The 2019 World Bankreport, titled 'Guide for RoadSafety Opportunities andChallenges: Low- and Middle-Income Countries CountryProfiles', puts the road crashand serious injury cost estimateat 7.5 per cent of India's GDPor Rs 12.9 lakh crore for 2016.It is more than twice the figurecited by the government at 3per cent of GDP or Rs 4.3 lakhcrore, it added.

India tops the worldin road crash deathsand injuries. It has1% of the world'svehicles but acco-unts for 11% of allroad crash deaths,witnessing 53 roadcrashes every hour;killing 1 personevery 4 minutes

PNS n KURNOOL

Tragedy struck a group of pil-grims on their way to Ajmerdargah as 14 of them, includ-ing eight women and a child,were killed and four injured ina road mishap in Kurnooldistrict in Andhra Pradeshearly on Sunday, police said.

The accident occurredwhen a minibus in which thevictims, all relatives and hail-ing from Madanapalle inChittoor district of the state,were travelling collided with alorry at Madapuram around 4am, Kurnool DistrictSuperintendent of Police K.Fakirappa said.

The passengers were ontheir way to the Ajmer Sharifdargah in Rajasthan, he said.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy wereamong those who expressedgrief over the loss of lives.

The Chief Ministerannounced ex gratia of Rs 2lakh each to the kin of thedeceased and Rs 1 lakh to theinjured.

Preliminary investigationsuggested the driver apparent-ly lost control and the bus firstcrashed into the road median,rolled to the other side and hitthe lorry, the SP said.

Only four children survivedthe crash and all had beenadmitted to a hospital where thecondition of one of them wasstated to be critical, he said.

"The accident might havebeen due to over speeding ofthe minibus or its driver mighthave been drowsy. Fourteenpeople died on the spot andanother four (injured) wereshifted to hospital. One of thechildren is said to be in a crit-ical condition," Fakirappaadded.

As parties claim victory,confusion prevails in APCPRADEEP KUMARn VIJAYAWADA

Both the ruling YSRCPand the main oppositionTDP claim that themajority of candidatesthat won the first and thesecond phases of grampanchayat elections aretheir supporters.

The claims by both theYSRCP and the TDP havecreated confusion amongthe people as to which polit-ical party has won moreseats during the two phas-es of polls in the state.

The opposition TDPfailed to show good results inthe elections; the yellow partyfailed to build confidenceamong the cadres though ithas been claiming that itssupporters have won morethan 30 percent of seats.

The rationale behindthis claim is that it wouldbe useful for keeping theparty of the party up in thenext two phases of thepolls while creating a goodimage among the masses.

MARTHI SUBRAHMANYAMn VIJAYAWADA

The debacle of TDP-sup-ported candidates in the localbody polls is attributed tofinancial woes of local TDPleaders, according to an inter-nal analysis of the first andsecond phase panchayat pollresults.

While the ruling YSRCPspent Rs 15 to 25 lakh per vil-lage panchayat, TDP top

leaders washed their handsoff, giving Rs 20 lakh to con-testants in each Assemblyconstituency to meetthe nomination costs,procession expensesand clear their taxdues. This was lim-ited to some con-stituencies.

Seniors blame theprevious Naidu regime forclearing the bills of majorplayers like Shapoorji and

MEGA while withholdingthe TDP leaders' bills.

They are surprised at TDPleadership showing an

empty hand to thecontestants. Inconstituencies,once representedby TDP ministers,

and in faction-rid-den constituencies,

the contestants receivedsome financial assistance,while none was provided in

other constituencies.In Naidu's own Chittoor

district, financial supportwas extended to an extent tothe contestants, it is learnt.

TDP seniors, amidstthreats from YSRCP leadersof false cases, were not able tosupport the candidates finan-cially as the party leadershipfailed to reimburse their pollexpenses, met by borrowingfrom others.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Municipal AdministrationMinister BotsaSatyanarayana on Sundaysaid the victory march offirst phase GramPanchayat polls has con-tinued in the second phasewith YSRCP backed can-didates sweeping the pollsby winning most of theseats.

Addressing the media atthe YSRCP office in Vizagon Sunday, the Ministersaid the party's supportershave won 2,639 of the3,328 panchayats in sec-ond phase elections, whilethe TDP was at a distantsecond with 536 panchay-ats, the BJP won six, theJana Sena 36 and 108 seatsgoing to others.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Saturday was a day full of goodnews for Leela Kanakadurga,who contested for the post ofsarpanch from the Korukallugram panchayat in Kalidindimandal of Krishna district.

Not only Kanakadurga wonthe election, (results of the sec-

ond phase of polling declaringher the winner came late in thenight), she also gave birth toa girl child.

Kanakadurga had earlier inthe day reached the pollingbooth and cast her vote andsoon after, developed labourpains.

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

A day after neighbouringAndhra Pradesh conductedrural polls in some villages"under Odisha territory",Union minister DharmendraPradhan Sunday expressedconcern over the matter andcautioned the state govern-ment that situation may

aggravate if required pre-emptive measures were nottaken to resolve the inter-statedispute.

Pradhan in a statement saidthat though the Odisha gov-ernment has taken legalrecourse to resolve the borderdiscord, it should be taken toa conclusive end.

"We may encounter worse

situations if timely measuresare not taken at proper time,"he said, adding the AP hold-ing panchayat polls in the bor-der villages by including peo-ple of Koraput, Ganjam andGajapati, has certainly creat-ed bitterness between the twostates.

PNS n KOCHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi dedicated to the nationa Rs 6,000 crore petrochemi-cal complex of oil major Bha-rat Petroleum here and Ro-Rovessels of Inland Waterways atWillingdon Islands, assertingthese projects would energiseIndia's growth trajectory.

Modi also inaugurated the

Cochin Port Trust's Interna-tional Cruise Terminal andCochin Shipyard's VigyanaSagar, a campus for MarineEngineering Training Institute.

He also laid the foundationstone of Cochin Port Trust'sSouth Coal Berth and saidthese projects covered a widerange of sectors and will ener-gise India's growth trajectory.

Botsa claimsPhase-II pollsweep for YSRCPsupporters

Leela Kanakadurga relaxes after giving birth to her baby girl late on Saturday.

Candidate gives birth to baby girl,wins Sarpanch seat on same day

‘Poor’ TDP leaders being blamed for party's dismal show

14 dead as minibuscollides with truck

Pradhan cautions Odisha overAP holding polls in ‘its territory’

PNS n AURANGABAD

The rate of petrol with addi-tives has crossed the Rs 100mark for a litre inMaharashtra's Parbhani dis-trict on Sunday morning, anoffice bearer of a petrol deal-ers' association said, even asprices crossed Rs 99/litre inRajasthan, while diesel wassold at Rs 91 per litre after rateswere increased for the sixthday in a row.

After a 28 paise rise onSunday morning, the per-litre

rate of petrol with additives forretail sale crossed Rs 100.

Parbhani District PetrolDealers' Association PresidentAmol Bhedsurkar told PTI,"The rates of petrol with addi-tives in Parbhani has reachedto 100.16 rupees for one litre.The cost of unleaded petrol is97.38 here."

The cost of petrol inParbhani is one of the costli-est in Maharashtra. The cost ishigher due to longer distanceof transportation.

Fuel in Parbhani comes

from Manmad in the Nashikdistrict, which is at a distanceof 340 km.

"We need Rs 3,000 extra forevery tanker if prices go up by10 paise. Hence, the invest-ment in buying fuel has alsogone up," Bhedsurkar said.

The transportation cost forfuel stands at nearly 21 paise alitre now, he added. Petrolprice was increased by 29 paiseper litre and diesel by 32 paise,according to a price notificationof state-owned fuel retailers.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Senior Congress leader andformer defence minister A KAntony on Sunday allegedthat disengagement in boththe Galwan Valley andPangong Tso Lake areasand the creation of abuffer zone was a "sur-render" of India'srights.

Addressing a pressconference, he alsosaid that at a timewhen India was facingmultiple challenges at theborder and was facing a two-front war-like situation, theincrease in defence budgetthis year is meagre andinsignificant and was a"betrayal" of the country.

The government had onFriday emphatically stated that

India has not "conceded" anyterritory following the disen-gagement agreement withChina in Pangong lake areas ineastern Ladakh.

Antony said he was sadthat the Narendra

Modi govern-ment was

not givingp r o p e rpr ior ityto nation-al security

at a timew h e n

China wasgetting belliger-

ent and Pakistan continued topromote terrorism.

He said disengagement wasgood as it reduced tension butit should not be done at thecost of national security.

Disengagement issurrender: Antony

PNS n WASHINGTON

The US Senate has acquitted a defi-ant Donald Trump in his secondimpeachment trial in just over ayear, after the Democrats failedonce again to muster enough votesto convict the former president ona charge of inciting the deadlyinsurrection at the Capitol onJanuary 6.

The Senate voted 57-43 onSaturday to convict Trump on asingle impeachment count incite-ment of insurrection. But thatmajority of all 50 Democrats in theupper chamber of the US Congress,joined by seven Republicans, fell 10votes short of the 67 needed for aconviction, two-thirds of the 100-member Senate.

PM dedicates to nationpetro-chem complex

Petrol breaks psychologicalRs 100/litre barrier in Maha

US Senateacquits Trumpof Jan 6violence

Police officers examine the mangled remains of the ill-fated minibus in Kurnoolon Sunday.

2 22

2

22

2 2

2

2

FASTAG MUST FROM TODAY; TWICETHE TOLL FEE IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT

The automatic toll plaza payment systemFASTag will become mandatory fromtomorrow midnight, the centre said today

in a statement. Those who don't install FASTagin their vehicles or have a tag that does notwork will have to pay a fee equal to twice thefee for the category of the vehicle they aredriving. To ensure smooth transition to theFASTag system, the government said all feelanes in toll plazas on National Highways willbe able to read the tags. "Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways has decided that alllanes in fee plazas on National Highways shallbe declared as FASTag lane,” an order said.

ACTIVIST DISHA RAVI, 22, ARRESTED OVERTOOLKIT, FACES CONSPIRACY CHARGE

A22-year-old student and climate activist fromBengaluru, Disha Ravi, has been arrested bythe Delhi Police in the case involving "Toolkit"

tweeted earlier this month by Swedish teen activistGreta Thunberg to show support for protestingfarmers. The police -- which earlier said "Toolkit"was a Khalistani conspiracy to wage war againstIndia -- have accused her of being a keyconspirator in the document's formulation anddissemination and alleged that she is trying torevive a Khalistani group. "I did not make Toolkit.We wanted to support the farmers. I edited twolines on February 3," Disha Ravi told the Delhicourt where she was produced earlier Sunday.

OMAR ABDULLAH SAYS HIS WHOLEFAMILY ‘LOCKED UP AT HOME’

Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullahtweeted to say he and his family have beenkept locked up" in their home. "It is bad

enough they've locked my father & me in ourhome, they've locked my sister & her kids in theirhome as well," his post read. "This is the "naya/new J&K" after Aug 2019. We get locked up inour homes with no explanation. It's bad enoughthey've locked my father & me in our home,they've locked my sister & her kids in their homeas well," he tweeted. "Chalo, your new model ofdemocracy means that we are kept in our homeswithout explanation but on top of that the staffaren't being allowed in...,” a second tweet said.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION APPOINTSTWO PIO EXPERTS TO KEY POSITIONS

Two Indian-origin experts in public servicehave been appointed by the Biden admin-istration to key positions at AmeriCorps,

the federal agency for volunteering andservice. Sonali Nijhawan has been namedDirector of AmeriCorps State and National,and Sri Preston Kulkarni, 42, was appointedthe new Chief of External Affairs. Despitehaving run for Congress twice unsuccessfullyfrom Texas, Mr Kulkarni was noticed by theleadership in Washington. His appointment,along with Ms Nijhawan and Dan Kohl's,reflects "the Biden administration's commit-ment to diverse leadership", a release said.

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021

With the continued improve-ment in the geo-political situ-ation all over the world, theprecious metals looked up dur-ing the week ended Saturday.However, buoyancy alsoreturned to other segments ofmarket. Consequently, NewYork gold appreciated andclosed at US $ 1824.30 (perounce), while silver followedthe suit and closed at $ 27.35(per ounce). Platinum andpalladium closed at $ 1,246(per ounce) and $ 2,318 (perounce) respectively.Other economic parametersremained moderate. Brentclosed at US $ 62.43 (per bar-rel) and Crude MCX oil wasquoted at Rs.4,331 (per barrel).While Gold MCX stood atRs.47,345 (per 10 gms), MCX

Silver closed at Rs.69,184 (perkg), Copper MCX closed at Rs.640.35 (per kg). Sensex andNifty 50 closed at 51,544.30and 15,163.30 points. Leadingforeign currencies’ exchangerates were, US $: Rs.72.59,British Pound: Rs.100.48,Euro: Rs.87.98, Singapore$: Rs.54.79, SwissFranc: Rs.81.43,Australian $:Rs.56.32, SaudiRiyal: Rs.19.35,N e wZ e a l a n dD o l l a r :Rs.52.54, Kuwaiti Dinar:Rs.239.99, Omani Rial:Rs.188.56, UAE Dirham:Rs.19.76, Japanese Yen: Rs.0.69and Hong Kong Dollar:Rs.9.36.

According to reliable sources,the government has prepareda blue print to provide boost tothe gold monetization scheme.Under the new plan banksincluding the public sectorbanks will be required toencourage the investors toavail this scheme. Jewelers will

be associated to promotethe new plan wherein an

investment of as littleas 10 gms of gold

also will be accept-ed. Accordingto an estimateIndia has over

13,000 tons of gold held by pri-vate entities, including trusts. In local markets, standard gold(24 carats) appreciated byRs.240 and closed at Rs.48,300(per 10 gms). Ornamental gold

too, followed the suit and wasquoted in the range ofRs.44,160 – Rs 44,260 on theclosing day. Silver (0.999)declined by Rs.100 and closedat Rs.73,300 (per kg).

Commodities:The sentiment in principalwholesale commodity mar-kets in twin cities remainedmoderate despite the ongoingfarmers’ protests in the North.Rythu Bazaars and the variouscommodity markets locatedin Begum Bazaar, Kishangunj,Mukthyargunj, RisalaAbdullah, Mir Alam Mandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally, General Bazaarrecorded brisk trading.During the week, commonpulses such as tuar dal, masoor

dal, moong dal and urad daland commodities like chilliesand garlic remainedunchanged at their respectivelast week’s closing levels, whilestaple food-grains and com-mon edible oils recorded amarginal increase.Common vegetables such ascabbage, cauliflower, ribbedguard, snake guard, lady fin-gers, cucumber, potatoes,onions, tomatoes and Frenchbeans, along with other leafyvegetables ruled at the higherlevels.The NECC wholesale egg-price in Hyderabad appreciat-ed by Rs.41 and closed atRs.416 (per 100). The highestprice of Rs.483 was recorded atKolkata, while Ludhianarecorded the lowest of Rs.405.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Govt. readies blueprint for gold monetization scheme

Monday Mirchi Shaken govt to shake upadministration n in TS?

One unavoidable pitfall for administrators,regardless of their individual capabilities andaccomplishments, is that some day or the otherthey will be sacrificed at the altar of efficien-cy. This is done under the mistaken impres-sion that their political bosses are infallible.So, babus do become bakras willy-nilly whenthings go wrong or do not yield expectedresults, with courts/tribunals passing stricturesagainst the government. Following lacunaein the implementation of several initiatives, theTelangana State government, shaken by theHigh Court’s adverse comments, is seriouslythinking of shaking up the administration. TheHigh Court’s rebukes in land registration, reg-ularization, building permissions and the likehave forced the government to step back. Someof the ‘bright’ ideas that babus occasionally getare at times green-lighted by the state govern-ment at jet speed; and, when others down theline do not take it as seriously as the blue-eyedbabu or the enthusiastic political boss whofinds the idea great and implementable; theso-called initiative may become a millstonearound the government’s neck. In TS too,some of the ‘bright’ ideas of beloved babushave caused major embarrassment to the gov-ernment, denting the image of Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao, who, believing in thetransformative power of the idea, started bat-ting for them prematurely. For instances, issuesconcerning Pay Revision and the related back-lash from government employees; Dharaniportal and the bite-back (instead of feedback)from property owners have unnerved the gov-ernment. In several key aspects, the govern-ment was found to be on the wrong track,resulting in widespread criticism from theopposition parties and also the general pub-lic. Following introspection at the top level,the wreckers-in-chief behind some of the failedinitiatives were identified. The powers thatbe are now convinced that ‘thokkalo ideas’given by a couple of officers have pushed thegovernment into a tight spot. Basing on this,an exercise has been launched to change thecomposition of the ‘team’ by bringing in newfaces. A little bird told us that ‘major changes’will take place after the Nagarjuna Sagar by-poll and hinted that heads may roll at top ech-elons of the administration.

Buzz about return of theMishras

Some couples in the civil services hit it offat both central and state levels. Their chem-istry on- and off-site become the stuff of leg-ends in administrative circles. IAS circles inTelangana are abuzz with the indications thatRajiv Ranjan Mishra and Vasudha Mishra,currently on central deputation, are return-ing to Hyderabad. The two officers are cur-rently enjoying ‘very good’ positions in NewDelhi. Yet, top sources hinted, an ‘irresistible’offer has been made to one of them and soboth are seriously considering the locationswitch. In fact, only a few months backVasudha Mishra was made Secretary to theUnion Public Service Commission and thegovernment upgraded her post to the secre-tary cadre. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra is holding acrucial post in the Jal Shakti or Union WaterResources Ministry. Both are having wonder-ful time in their present assignments. Still,there is a felt need in administrative circles andconcurrence among their political bosses that

the Mishras’ services should be utilized for thedevelopment of Telangana. Both of them havebeen in New Delhi for more than seven yearsand have plenty of time for changing thingsin TS before their superannuation. Closefriends of Mishras told us that, given the ‘irre-sistible’ offer made to them; they are weigh-ing the pros and cons of relocating toTelangana once again.

Dashing Das gets well-deserved pat

Given the scale and length of adversarialrelations between the SEC and the AP gov-ernment, babus sandwiched between thetwo have had a tough time for very long. Theirlonging to be in the good books of the ChiefMinister as well as their anxiety not to rub SECon the wrong side have kept them edgy allthese days. Those days seem to be over now.For, Chief Secretary Adityanath Das hasdeftly handled the situation, with visibleresults. Administrative circles aver that he def-initely deserves a pat on his back for almostdefusing the Govt vs SEC crisis. The meetingbetween senior colleagues and the ChiefMinister that he had recently organised toboost the downbeat babus’ confidence levelswas the icing on the cake. The ice-breakingget-together came in for praise at all levels. Thevery fact that CM had lunch with the babussuggested that the jittery babus need not stom-ach any more insults henceforth. Babus are oncloud nine and they can’t stop singing peansto CS. To cap it all, the CM too appreciateddashing Das for organising the meeting. Forpoor Das, the meeting was a small breather.For, ever since he took over as CS, he has beenpreoccupied with the polls for panchayats andgot embroiled in the controversy surround-ing it. Now that SEC is ready to hold polls forurban local bodies as well, Das has his platefull for the next few months.

‘T 20’ in AP

If all goes well, one can expect a thrilling‘T 20 match’ involving Chief MinisterJaganmohan Reddy and his team, which gota pep talk from the boss who is now in form.Team captain Jagan recently used themetaphor of the nail-biting pace of a T 20match to drive home his point succinctly.Senior bureaucrats who recently got fromJagan tips and parallels drawn from the crick-eting field are still in awe of the captain’s sagac-ity. During a review with secretaries of all thegovernment departments, Jagan emphasizedthe importance of teamwork. He appreciat-ed them for putting in their best, which heasserted was behind his success in the last 20months. He compared the past 20 months withthe opening overs. The team had played anexcellent innings in the opening overs, heplaced on record. But the team should notrelax, he cautioned, pointing to middle overs,which he underlined, were as important as theopening ones. He conceded that the captainalone could not win matches and that team-work counted. That said, he said he was for-tunate to have the ‘best’ team. After the meet-ing, babus realized that the captain has taskscut out for them. In the coming days, theChief Minister will monitor the babus’ per-formance against the ambitious targets he hadset keeping in mind the next polls. Polls aremore than three years away; yet, the captainhas sounded the bugle early. The match is on!

Your’s truly

HC UPADHYAY

n HYDERABAD

The ongoing tusslebetween the BarCouncil of India (BCI)

and the consortium of lawuniversities over regulation ofLLM course is, to say the least,unwarranted. The statutoryregulatory body BCI has beenempowered by the AdvocatesAct,1961, not only to regulatethe legal profession, but alsoto see that the law educationin the country reaches newheights. On the other hand,the consortium comprising22 law schools and universi-ties also have been concernedwith the promotion and excel-lence of legal education in thecountry.

It is unfortunate that augustbodies, entrusted with thecommon task of achievinghigher standards of legal edu-cation have locked horns overLLM course. In fact, the dis-pute if any, stemmed from theego of the respecting laworganisations rather thanfrom any substantial or seri-ous matter of dispute. The real

issue seems to be establishingthe supremacy and this willdecide that in future who willcall the shots.

Going by the statute, theAdvocates Act 1961, whichgives teeth to the BCI is abun-dantly clear that section 7(h)gives an apprehend to theBCI. Section 7(h) reads as fol-lows, “To promote legal edu-cation and to lay down stan-dards of such education inconsultation with the uni-versities in India impart-ing such education andthe State Bar Councils”.Thus, the BCI is fullyempowered toembark upon acourse for achiev-ing excellence inhigher education,particularly thelegal education. Theposition of the uni-versities is of con-sultative nature. Therefore,there is no question ofmonopolising higher educa-tion imparted by the univer-sities.

This legal position has beenfurther clarified by the factthat the BCI has jurisdiction

over the universit ies to‘inspect the colleges impartinglegal education and recog-nise’ the degrees awarded bythem. This position furtherreinforces the mandate givento the BCI for recognising for-eign qualifications and organ-ising events in the field of law.

Therefore in the interest oflegal profession and future ofjudiciary it is desirable that

both the statuary bodiesnamely BCI and the uni-versities should cooper-ate with each other and

supplement eachother’s effortsrather thanindulging in

unnecessary acrimo-ny.

No right toprotest anytimeand everywhere:

SC Dismissing the review

petition against the ShaheenBagh judgment, the SupremeCourt has stated that right toprotest is not absolute andunlimited and there is noright to protest anytime ineverywhere.

A three judge bench com-

prising Justice Sanjay KishanKaur, Justice Niruddha Boseand Justice Krishna Murariheld, “We have consideredthe earlier judicial pronounce-ment and recorded our opin-ion that the constitutionalscheme come with a right toprotest and express dissent,but with an obligation to havecertain duties...there may besome spontaneous protestsbut in case of long dissent orprotest, there cannot be con-tinued occupation of publicplace affecting rights of oth-ers.”

Hike in alimony if hus-band’s income increases

In a judgment delivered onFebruary 9, the Punjab andHaryana High Court hailedthat the wife is entitled to anincrease in alimony if the hus-band’s salary increases evenafter the divorce.

Dismissing a petition filedby a husband, Varun Jagota,Justice H.S.Madan upheld theorder of the family courtincreasing wife’s interimallowance from Rs.20,000 toRs.28,000 consequent uponan increase in the salary ofhusband from Rs.95,000 to

Rs.1,14,000.

Action against AP MPdemanded

The Rajya Sabha memberKanakamedala RavindraKumar in a letter addressed tothe Chairman of the RajyaSabha has expressed anguishover the allegations made byV.Vijaya Sai Reddy, anotherMP against the Chairman ofthe House on February 8;“This came as a shocker to allthose who respect our parlia-mentary democracy and holdthe presiding officers in thehigher esteem”, said Mr.Kumar.

In his five page letter,Mr.Kumar came down heavi-ly on the arm-twisting tacticsallegedly adopted by the pre-sent government in AndhraPradesh. Stating that theJudges of the High Court ofAP were being subjected toinsult and abuse as severalunsustainable orders of thestate government have beenoverturned by the Court, theMember of Parliament addedthat the state government hadbrazenly removed the StateElection Commissioner, a con-stitutional functionary after he

called off the elections to localbodies. It was only after theintervention of the High Courtthat the SEC was reinstated.

Mr.Kumar vehementlydemanded immediate actionfor the misconduct againstand termination of member-ship of V.Vijaya Sai Reddy inthe House on February 8,resulting in the denigration ofthe august office of theChairman.

MP High Court rejects stayplea against ‘Tandav’

The Madhya Pradesh HighCourt on February 8 disposedoff a plea seeking direction tostop streaming of the web series,entitled ‘Tandav’ from theAmazon’s OTT platform, PrimeVideo, hearing the plea of oneAditya Tiwari, by the DivisionBench comprising Chief JusticeMohammad Rafiq.

SC on injunction

In a significant affirmation ofMadras High Court judgement,the Supreme Court recentlyheld that even a trespasser, whois in established possession ofthe property could obtaininjunction.

LEGAL

ROUNDUP

Tug of war between BCI and Universities will lead us nowhere

‘Poor’ TDP leaders blamedfor party's dismal showingContinued from Page 1

As the seniors were not in aposition to repay the loans, thelenders are not coming forwardto give them fresh loans.

Therefore, they had to con-fine themselves to makingstatements on the media.

According to sources, theyhad borrowed between Rs 3crore and Rs 5 crore and theBJP government at the Centreclosed all other avenues ofmobilising funds.

This forced the party to askcontestants to raise funds local-ly, with the promise that theywould be reimbursed later.

What is surprising to manyin the party is the fact that theTDP is not even able to pay for

advertisements in the run-upto the polls.

Inaccessibility of the TDPleadership or putting the mat-ter of finances on the back-burner has led the seniors toconclude that they wouldn't getany funds from the leadership.

But as a matter of prestige,they were forced to field con-testants in panchayat polls.The seniors are not able to givemore than Rs 2 lakh to partysupported contestants per con-stituency.

In faction-ridden Kurnool,Anantapur and Kadapa dis-tricts, the party seniors havebeen providing up to Rs 20lakh to panchayat poll contes-tants in a constituency.

The seniors criticise the

leadership for not clearing thebills of village-level workswhen in power and for intro-ducing grandiose schemes.This weakened the rural lead-ers, they feel.

The YSRCP has been black-mailing contestants to with-draw from the race to cleartheir pending bills, they said.Given the fact that the TDPheld sway over national andstate politics, the seniors arenot ready to buy the argumentthat the party's coffers areempty.

They demand the leadershipto clear the poll expenses duesof last Assembly elections.

Seniors point out that theTDP never faced such a mis-erable condition under the

administration of Naidu, whowas known to spend moneylike water in elections. Henever compromised on elec-tions for want of money, theyobserved.

They recall the instances ofNaidu chiding the party lead-ers who tried to save on elec-tion expenses contributed tothem by the leadership.

They also recalled how YSRajasekhara Reddy raised aneyebrow over the TDP spend-ing on panchayat poll when itwas in opposition.

They party circles feel thatfiscal management is now notin the hands of Naidu and thisis why the party supremo isforced to take decisions afterweighing the pros and cons.

Continued from Page 1

In the first phase of elections,the TDP lagged behind theruling YSRCP, though itclaimed it has emerged as thewinner in 38 per cent seats. Itcontinued with this strategy inthe second phase also claim-ing that it has won 39.52 percent of the seats.

On its part, the ruling partyhas come up with facts andfigures, claiming that a major-ity of seats have been won byYSRCP backed candidates.

These claims and counter-claims are now resembling apolitical war between theYSRCP and TDP and con-tributing to the confusion isthe absence of party symbol.

While the YSRCP has start-ed a website that providesdetails of the results to stakeclaim to victory (it even dis-plays the candidate's photo-graph and other details), theTDP has nothing of this sort.

As parties...

14 dead as minibus collides with truckContinued from Page 1

Kurnool Collector GVeerapandian said the adminis-tration would also examine ifthere was any defect in the vehi-cle.

A tweet posted on PMO Indiahandle said: "The road accident inAndhra Pradesh's Kurnool dis-trict is saddening. In this hour of

sadness, my thoughts are withthose who lost their loved ones.I hope that the injured recover atthe earliest: PM."

Expressing sorrow over the lossof lives, the Chief Ministerinstructed the officials to providenecessary medical help to theinjured as he wished them aspeedy recovery.

He conveyed his condolences

to the bereaved families, an offi-cial release said.

Veldurthi police station sub-inspector Peddaiah Naidu saidthey received information aboutthe accident from a local personand the personnel immediatelyrushed to the spot.

"Only four children survivedand all of them are being treatedin hospital," he said.

Botsa claims Phase-II...Continued from Page 1

He reminded that YSRCP sup-porters had won 2,637 out of3,244 panchayats in the firstphase of elections in whichTDP won 508 and 99 seatswent to others.

To show authenticity of theclaim, the party has displayedphotos of first phase winnerson its official website andwould do the same with thesecond phase results therebynegating the false claims by theopposition, Botsa said.

He added that results of firstand second phase of pollsfavoured the YSRCP as Chief

Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has fulfilled everypromise and reached morethan twice the people's expec-tations through various wel-fare schemes.

"In spite of TDP's politicalconspiracies and atrocities,the state government has sup-ported SEC in conductingelections smoothly and peace-fully," the Minister said,emphasising that the YSRCPhas asked to postpone theelections earlier in the wake ofpandemic and not for anyother reasons.

He thanked the people fortheir support to YSRCP.

Candidategives birth to...Continued from Page 1

The election staff and thepolice personnel at thepolling booth rushed her tothe Kaikaluru GovernmentHospital, where she gavebirth to a healthy baby girl.The doctors declared bothmother and daughter safe.Her family members rushedto the hospital and congrat-ulated her.

Later in the night,Kanakadurga was declared tohave defeated her nearestcandidate by a margin of689 votes.

Petrol breaks...Continued from Page 1

This pushed retail rates, whichdiffer from state to statedepending on incidence oflocal sales tax or VAT andfreight charges, to their high-est level.In the national capital, petrolclimbed to Rs 88.73 a litre anddiesel soared to Rs 79.06, thenotification showed.

Rajasthan, which levies thehighest VAT on fuel in thecountry, had the highest petroland diesel prices.

In Sriganganagar town of thestate, petrol soared to Rs 99.29and diesel jumped to Rs 91.17

per litre. The Rajasthan govern-ment had late last month cutVAT on petrol and diesel by 2 percent. Despite this, the state hasthe highest VAT at 36 per centplus Rs 1,500 per kilolitre roadcess on petrol. On diesel, the statelevies 26 per cent and Rs 1,750per kl road cess.Branded or pre-mium petrol at Sriganganagarwas priced at Rs 102.07 a litre andsimilar grade diesel at Rs 94.83.

The main differencebetween regular and premiumfuel grades is the octane num-ber. Regular fuel has a loweroctane number -- 87, whilepremium fuel generally gets a91 octane rating or higher.

Disengagement is surrender: AntonyContinued from Page 1

"Both disengagements inGalwan and Pangong Tso area surrender," he alleged, addingthat it amounted to surrender-ing of areas traditionally con-trolled by India.

"We are surrendering ourrights," he alleged, noting thatGalwan Valley as Indian terri-tory was never a disputed landeven in 1962.

"Disengagement and bufferzone means surrender of ourland at the moment," he

alleged, while warning thatthe government is not under-standing the importance of thisdisengagement and creation ofthe buffer zone.

He warned that China canplay mischief anytime by help-ing Pakistan in Siachen.

PM dedicates to nation...Continued from Page 1

Referring to the PropyleneDerivative PetrochemicalProject (PDPP) located closeto its Kochi Refinery that willproduce Acrylic Acid, Oxo-Alcohol and Acrylates, whichare predominantly imported,at present, he said it wouldsave considerable foreignexchange every year.

Besides, a wide range ofindustries would gain, andemployment opportunitieswill be generated, he noted.

According to BPCL, theseproducts have applications inpaints and coatings, solvents,adhesives, water treatmentchemicals, construction indus-try and super absorbent poly-mer among others.

Speaking on the two newRoll-on/Roll-off vessels,deployed between Bolgattyand Willingdon Island onNational Waterway-3, Modisaid a distance of almost 30km on road would become 3.5km through waterways, lead-ing to less congestion andmore convenience, commerceand capacity-building.Asserting that the

Centre was undertaking manyefforts to improve tourismrelated infrastructure inKerala, Modi said the inaugu-ration of Sagarika, theInternational Cruise Terminalin Kochi is one example ofthis.

Sagarika Cruise Terminalwill cater to over one lakhcruise guests, he said.

The Prime Minister notedthe rise in local tourism due topandemic related restrictionson international travel.

"This is a great opportuni-ty for added livelihood tothose in the local tourismindustry and deepening ofconnection between our cul-ture and our youth", he said.

Modi exhorted start-ups tothink about innovativetourism related products.

Noting that the tourismsector in India has been grow-ing well in the last five years,the Prime Minister said Indiahas risen from 65th to 34thposition in the World TourismIndex ranking.

He said capacity buildingand future ready infrastructureare two important factors fornational development.

Continued from Page 1

Ignoring opposition from theOdisha government, AP onSaturday conducted gram pan-chayat polls in Kotia area ofKoraput distric.

Even though district magis-trate of Koraput Abdaal

Akhtar had written a letter tohis Vizianagaram counterpartrequesting not to hold elec-tions in the disputed region asthe matter is sub-judice in theSupreme Court, AP set uppolling booth at Potu Senariand voting was held underthick security cover.

Pradhan cautions Odisha over...

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC Nara Lokesh onSunday slammed YSRCPMPs and Ministers, accusingthem of not making genuineefforts to stop privatisation ofthe Visakha Steel Plant.

Lokesh doubted the sincer-ity of YS Jaganmohan Reddyand wondered whether theChief Minister really sent aletter to the Prime Ministerseeking withdrawal of theprivatisation plan as there hasbeen no response from theCentre till now.

Lokesh visitedVisakhapatnam andexpressed solidarity to TDPformer MLA Palla SrinivasaRao who has begun a fastunto death at GajuwakaJunction.

Later, addressing themedia, Lokesh said that it was

only with the support of theJaganmohan ReddyGovernment that the Centrewas going ahead with the pri-vatisation of VSP. “Fifteenyears ago, the zinc factorywas also privatised and thenit was closed in the port citylimits. There were doubtsthat the Visakha Steel Factory

would also meet with thesame fate. Over 30,000employees would suffergreatly if the steel plant wasallowed to be neglected now,”the MLC said.

Stating that there wasample scope for the steelplant recovery, Lokesh saidthat the VSP was in factmaking profits in the past fiveyears. “There were someinvestments made in the fac-tory modernisation becauseof which some losses werereflected on the balancesheet,” he said.

“In the past, former CMChandrababu Naidu and for-mer MP K Yerrannaidustopped VSP privatisationplans. Now Jagan and his 28MPs should not do injusticeto the State with their secretdeals on the VSP privatisa-tion,” Lokesh demanded.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Industries Minister MekapatiGautham Reddy on Sundaysaid that the results from thefirst and second phase of grampanchayat polls is proof of theefficacy of the YSRCP’s two-year rule and also a guide forthe remaining three years ofthis term.

It was a celebration time forGautham Reddy who arrivedin Nellore on Sunday. TheMinister invited all the YSRPCbacked sarpanch candidateswho won the panchayat elec-tion and congratulated themon their victory and offered theparty scarf on the occasion.

From 11 am onwards, theMinister met all the 112sarpanch candidates who wonthe polls. He was joined at thecelebrations by senior leaderMekapati Rajamohan Reddy.

The Minister described theperformance in the gram pan-chayat elections as a collectivevictory and expressed satisfac-tion over the results.

The party office was flood-ed with leaders and activists tocelebrate the victory. GauthamReddy said that the victoryreflects the good governance ofChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy.

In a few panchayats likeMarripada, Anantasagaramand Atmakuru Rural mandalsin the constituency it was alandslide victory for theYSRCP supported candidates.The YSRCP backed candi-dates won with a huge major-ity in the Minister’s hometownand also a few key villageswhere the opposition party hasa stronghold.

Lokesh doubt’s CM’s sincerityon privatisation of steel plant

Results reflect efficacy ofYSRCP rule: Mekapati

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Leader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu onSunday hailed the recordedvoting percentage of 81.67 inthe phase-II of gram pan-chayat polls as against 81.66percent in the first phase as avictory for democracy in vil-lages of Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu asserted that the ruralpeople have fought backagainst the flagrant poll codeviolations by the ruling YSRCPand thereby have shown theirunfailing trust in the right toself-rule for the local bodies.“The voters should display thesame enthusiasm in theremaining phases in order tosave their villages from slippinginto the hands of the rulingparty goondas and criminals,”the former chief minister said.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP chief saidthat in the just-concludedcounting of voters for phase-II, his party has won 1,033 ofthe 2,778 panchayats, whichcame to 37.67 percent. Othershave won 65 panchayats,which came to 2.37 percent.Overall, the TDP supportedcandidates won 1,098 seats

that came to 39.52 percent,Naidu said. The TDP wouldhave shown far better perfor-mance if the YSRCP and theofficial machinery did notcommit poll irregularities, hesaid.

The TDP chief said that theYSRCP leaders, in collusionwith counting officials andthe police, were committingmurder of democracy at mid-night by adopting a newmodus operandi. “They delib-erately delayed counting of

sarpanch votes at Polukondatill midnight. Then, they sentout the TDP candidate's agentby force and manipulated theresult. Though the TDP wonthe seat, the counting officialsdeclared it as having beenwon by the YSRCP. The erringofficials would be dragged tocourt,” he said.

Naidu said that the SEC hasordered setting up of CCTVcameras or videography at allthe counting centres. “But,the district Collectors, Joint

Collectors and ReturningOfficers were not strictly fol-lowing the SEC orders,” theTDP chief said, slamming thepoll panel for not using itspowers to ensure a free and fairpoll as per the orders of theHigh Court.

The court has clearly saidthat the SEC has got extensivepowers to ensure a transparentpoll but the ElectionCommission was still keepingsilent on many violations, hesaid.

Naidu hails people for turnout,claims victory in Phase-II

“YSRCP leaders, in collusionwith counting officials and the police, were committingmurder of democracy atmidnight by adopting a newmodus operandi. “Theydeliberately delayed countingof sarpanch votes atPolukonda till midnight. Then,they sent out the TDPcandidate's agent by forceand manipulated the result.”

Sleuths of the Special Enforcement Bureau pose with the arrested accused andseized gutka packets worth Rs 13 lakh at Naidupet on Sunday.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Government Advisor andYSRCP general secretary SajjalaRamakrishan Reddy on Sundaysaid that results of the secondphase of gram panchayat are onexpected lines since they main-tained the streak of 80 percentof sarpanch seats going toYSRCP supporters like in thefirst phase.

This, he said, reflects theoverwhelming response toChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy’s governance. Sajjalaadded that the trend will con-tinue the next two phases whilecoming down heavily on TDPfor its false claims and fudgingof figures only to prove its exis-tence and relevance.

Speaking to the media here,Sajjala said that the gover-nance of Jaganmohan Reddywhich is carried out in satura-tion mode has sunk in deepand people have been acknowl-edging it, going by the mandatein gram panchayat polls. “Thisis while the TDP has beenresorting to all its old trickswith the support of its friend-ly media to put up a brave face,distorting the facts and manip-ulating the results to show thatit is still relevant in the polity,though the reality is otherwise,”he said.

Sajjala said: “We have proventhe authenticity of first phasefigures by posting the photos ofthe victorious candidates who

are our party supporters. Yet,the TDP’s false claims contin-ue even in the second phasethat it has won 39 per cent seatswith no substantial evidence orproof.”

“We will be uplinking the

names and photos of our sup-porters who won in the secondphase in a couple of days. TDPhas brought out a fake websitewith common key words andhas been posting its own ver-sion of the results with no

authentication. We have com-plained about the issue andaction will be taken,” he said.

TDP is only showing itsbravado in tandem with itsfriendly media that has beenpropagating false stories withno basis and N ChandrababuNaidu has been resorting to hischeap tricks of spreading lieslike the YSRCP supporter inCivil Supplies Minister KodaliNani’s home town has lost.

“In reality the Minister hailsfrom Gudivada and he had togive clarification that the villagementioned by TDP is not hisnative place. In the constituen-cies of Paritala Sunita andmany others, our supportershave won with good marginsbut we do not want to go intothe micro details,” he said.

Sajjala credits Jagan for YSRCP streak

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Government Advisor SajjalaRamakrishna Reddy on Sundayreiterated that there are nopersonal differences between ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyand his sister YS Sharmila Reddy,who has decided to take a plungeinto active politics in Telangana.Sajjala, a top aide of JaganmohanReddy and also ruling YSRCP’sGeneral Secretary told reporters

that he planned to take legalrecourse against a media housewhich has been peddling falsenews about the deceased YSRajasekhar Reddy’s family. Sajjalahad on February 9, the day whenSharmila made her intentions clearin Hyderabad, told the media thatthere were no personal differencesbetween the brother-sister and itwas only a difference of opinionon launching a political party inTelangana. He had added that

YSRCP has nothing to do withSharmila’s political ambitions andin fact Jagan had persuaded hernot to start any new political entityin Telangana which may jeopardisethe relations between the twostates and also the interests ofpeople in Andhra Pradesh. Sajjalafound fault with a story publishedin a section of media stating that itwas objectionable and also hurtthe sentiments of fans andfollowers of YS Rajasekhar Reddy.

No differences in YSR family, reiterates Sajjala

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Special Enforcement Bureausleuths on Sunday arrested twopersons at Naidupet andseized gutka packets worth Rs13 lakh.

The SEB and the policepersonnel were conductingchecks on the NH-16 atRajupalem village of Ozilimandal and while checking amini truck they found thebanned gutka packets packedin gunny bags.

Additional SP K Srilakshmisaid that while conductingvehicle checks, they detecteda mini truck carrying bannedgutka packets and chewingtobacco products.

The two accused, namely Sk

Ameer Firoz (driver) and SyedAshfaq Ali, both fromTelangana State were takeninto custody. The banned gutkasachets, packed in 50 gunnybags were seized worth Rs 13lakh as per MRP. The marketvalue of the seized material isapproximately Rs 25 lakh.

A mini lorry bearing num-ber TS 15 UE 0647 was seized,said the Additional SP.

She further said that thematerial was loaded atTumkur industrial area,Tumkur district, Karnatakaand was being transported toTara Tarani Agencies,Kakinada, East Godavari dis-trict AP. A case was registeredand an investigation has beenstarted.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Hearing of Minister Kodali SriVenkateswara Rao’s (Nani)House Motion petition againstthe orders or the State ElectionCommission to register a caseagainst him has beenadjourned to Monday.

On Saturday, the Ministerhad filed the House Motionpetition, with his lawyer argu-ing that the poll panel hadimposed restrictions on himwithout proper reason.

Counsel for the SECinformed the court that anorder may be passed afterwatching video footage of theMinister’s press conference.

The court questionedwhether video tapes wereattached to the petition, towhich counsel replied thatthey were not. The courtadjourned the hearing till 2:15pm on Monday on the groundthat there were no tapes. The

High Court directed both thelawyers to submit the tapes.

Earlier, the State ElectionCommission had taken thealleged derogatory remarksagainst State ElectionCommissioner NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar, and sent theMinister a show-cause notice.Not satisfied with theMinister’s response, the pollpanel ordered a gag on him.Not satisfied with the reply bythe minister on the derogato-ry remarks, the SEC orderedthe SP, Krishna (Rural) toregister cases against theMinister.

HC to hear Nani’s HouseMotion petition today

The Ministerdescribed theperformance in thegram panchayatelections as acollective victory andexpressed satisfactionover the results.

2 held, gutkha worth Rs 13 lakh seized

Hyderabad-based digitalmarketing company

Brightcom Group reported a netprofit of Rs 138.60 crore for Q3FY 2020-21, a decrease of 3.64per cent year-on-year. Thecompany's revenue for the thirdquarter of FY 2020-21 amountedto Rs 878.55 crore, an increase

of 2.21 per cent per year. Revenue from digital marketing segmentfor third quarter of FY 2020-21 was Rs 796.13 crore, an increase of6.24 per cent while the revenue from software developmentsegment for the same quarter was Rs 82.42 crore. The company'sEBITDA for third quarter of FY 2020-21 stood at Rs 250.78 crore,an increase of 4.24 per cent on annual basis. The company said thatit has set up a new European office in Berlin during the quarter.

CITY LIGHTS

The insurance sector regulator,Irdai, has asked the insurers

to issue digital policies to theirpolicyholders and also tell themhow to use these documents.The regulator has reasoned thatthe step will not only bring downthe cost but also help speed up

claim settlement process. In its circular issued to all insurersexcluding GIC Re, Lloyd's (India) and FRBs (foreign re-insurancebranches), Irdai said that Digilocker will drive reduction in costs,elimination of customer complaints relating to non-delivery ofpolicy copy, improved turnaround time of insurance services, fasterclaims processing and settlement, reduction in disputes, reductionin fraud and improvement in customer contactability.

Irdai asks insurers to issueDigilocker to policyholders

Brightcom Group's third quarter net profit drops PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The number of interruptionsin the 24/7 power supply in thestate have dropped signifi-cantly in the 2020-21 fiscalwhen compared to the sameperiod in the previous fiscalyear 2019-20.

According to the dataaccessed from the state powerutilities, , the number of inter-ruptions in 24x7 power supplyreduced by1.37 lakh in 2020-21. The interruptions in 2019-20 were around 3.91 lakhwhich decreased to 2.54 lakhin 2020-21 in the purview ofAPSPDCL, APCPDCL andAPEPDCL.

The drop in the interrup-tions has been attributed to thecontinuous measures takenby power utilities as per direc-tions of the state governmentwhich had accorded highestpriority to quality 24/7 powersupply.

As part of this, the utilitieshave laid special focus onstrengthening of power infra-structure to avoid interrup-tions in supply. Up-gradationof electricity substations,strengthening of distributionnetworks, especially in ruralareas and providing addition-al infrastructure for agriculturesupply during day time aresome of the measures taken bythe government to strengthen24x7 power supply.

Similarly, AP Transco devel-oped and deployed the coun-try's first day-ahead ElectricityDemand Forecasting modelthat would help to take theright decisions on electricitydemand and will immenselyhelp to provide 24x7 powersupply.

"The objective of the gov-ernment is to supply highquality power without inter-ruptions to every household inthe state. Consumer satisfac-tion is the ultimate for the gov-ernment.

PNS n HYDERABAD

In an attempt to do away withthe existing archaic laws tomeet the present day require-ments, the Department forPromotion of Industry andInternal Trade (DPIIT) hasdirected the StateGovernments to review thevarious laws pertaining toseven departments - labour,legal metrology, factories, boil-ers, electricity, municipalityand commercial taxes andsubmit a report.

The Central Governmentofficials have directed the stateofficials to conduct the byMarch 31 and upload the con-cerned reports on DPIIT web-site.

As the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is keen onmaking changes to the existinglaws, DPIIT has asked thestates to conduct a comprehen-sive study of the existing laws.

Taking cue from the Centre,Chief Minister KChandrsekhar Rao hasinstructed the officials to studythe laws of all departmentsinvolving civic services and notto confine the study to justseven departments.

As per the instructions ofKCR, officials of 25 depart-ments of the state govern-ment, participated in the work-shop organised by the DPIITon Friday and Saturday inHyderabad to chalk out themodalities for simplifying andamending the existing laws.

The officials of industriesdepartment said that the work-shop shed light on removingthe red-tapism in deliveringservices to the customers,besides identifying the flaws inthe laws.

Centre keen on amendingarchaic laws of 7 depts

DPIIT WORKSHOP

K VENKATESHWARLU

n HYDERABAD

All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen chief AsaduddinOwaisi's tendentious remarks inthe Lok Sabha on Friday that theBJP-led NDA governmentwould convert Hyderabad,Chennai, Bengaluru andLucknow cities into UnionTerritories created a flutteramong political circles, apartfrom stoking fears among somesections of people.

Asad's comments irkedTelangana BJP leaders in partic-ular. Member of Parliamentfrom Secunderabad and UnionMinister of State for HomeAffairs G Kishan Reddy con-demned the comments ofAsaduddin and made it clear theCentre had no such plans. BothMIM and TRS leaders had thehabit of 'spreading lies and dis-torting facts', he said and imme-diately left the House after con-

cluding his speech. BJP legislator from

Goshamahal Raja Singh ventedhis ire at Asaduddin for his"baseless allegations against theCentral government". Asad wasmaking provocative statements,instead of speaking on develop-ment, he decried. He assertedthat the Centre had no plans for

making Hyderabad a UnionTerritory. He reasoned thatAsaduddin was making suchcontroversial statements to ben-efit TRS in upcoming MLCGraduates constituency elec-tions. Senior Congress leader VHanumantha Rao declared thathis party would fight against theBJP should it try to make

Hyderabad a UT.It may be recalled that

Asaduddin Owaisi had submit-ted, before bifurcation, a mem-orandum to the Sri KrishnaCommittee suggesting thatHyderabad could be made aUnion Territory should TS getstatehood. Surprisingly, he seemsto be opposing the idea of mak-ing Hyderabad a UnionTerritory now.

According to political ana-lysts, there is more to it thanmeets the eye in the MIM MP'sstatement. In fact, his statementhas become a hot topic of discus-sions among the general public.They feel that Hyderabad, withits heritage monuments galoreand Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, hasalways been in the spotlight forthe right reasons. It was onlyduring the peak of the Telanganamovement that people fromAndhra Pradesh wanted theCentre to make Hyderabad aUnion Territory.

Asad remarks on Hyd as UT stir a hornet's nestn TS BJP leaders irked; Centre has no such idea, says Kishan Reddy n Congress says it will fight any such move

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy addresses a Graduate’sConstituency MLC Election Preparatory Meeting in which Khairtabad Assemblybooth in-charges and karyakartas participated.

Powerinterruptionsdrop significantly

VIJAYAWADA : Andhra Pradesh reported fresh 55 Covid-19 cases,taking the tally to over 8.88 lakh, the government said on Sunday.No death was reported and the toll remained at 7162.The state also reported 117 more recoveries in 24 hours ending 9am on Sunday, a health department bulletin said.With 28,788 clinical examinations, the total number of testsconducted so far in the state stood at over 1.35 crore. The totalconfirmed positive Covid-19 cases were 8,88,869 while therecoveries stood at 8,80,972, it said. The active cases stood at 735.Visakhapatnam district and West Godavari accounted for the mostnumber of cases with nine each.

AP reports 55 fresh Covid cases

n The people of Telangana would notbelieve the national party leaders, whosubserve the interests ofthe rulers, said Ministerfor Finance T Harish Rao

n He asked the partyleaders to compete withone another in enrollingmembers. He askedthem to ensure thatpeople from all sectionsof society are registeredas members of the party

Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi giving a bouquet to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in Hyderabad on Sunday

MAYOR GGREETS GGOVERNOR

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021 telangana 04

WARANGAL RURAL: RouthuManohar (90), former secre-tary of the CPM Parakala divi-sion died at his residence inParakala on Saturday night.He was born on June 5, 1930at Issipeta village in theMugullapelli zone. He servedas the CPM taluka secretary,CPM taluka committee mem-ber for five years andMugullapelli zonal secretaryfor two terms, led land strug-gles in several villages in thezone, actively participated inthe peasant labour movementand worked to increase thewages of agricultural labour-ers in 1996. He is survived bythree sons and a daughter.TRS MLA Challa DharmaReddy, Library chairmanBochu Vinay, CPM leadersRangaya, CPI leadersNedunuri Rajamouli, TRSKVdistrict leaders NakkaChiranjeevi and others paidtributes to the departed leader.

CAPSULE

PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC working president andMalkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy has shot another letterto Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao urginghim to conduct enumerationto identify the eligible for thepensions as lakhs of personswere not getting pensions forthe past two years though thegovernment has decreasedthe age limit from 60 years to57 years. He alleged that theChief Minister assured in thisregard in 2018 Assembly elec-tions, but in vain.

Revanth Reddy, who is onRajeev Raithu Bharosa Yatrain Mahabubnagar district,alleged that elderly personsand lonely women are notgetting pensions though theyare eligible. On the otherhand, the government isgranting old-age pension onlyto one member of a familythough two are eligible. Thegovernment is not extendingthe pension to the eligible sec-ond one even after the deathof the pensioner.

He demanded that theChief Minister initiate stepsand ensure the eligible getpension. He urged the gov-ernment to grant a pension totwo persons in a family if theyare eligible.

PNS n HYDERABAD

CLP leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka alleged thatChief Minister KChandrasekahr Rao hasbrought Zamindar’s rule inthe State in the name of‘Bangaru Telangana’.

Unfortunately, vultures aregrabbing the lands of Dalitsin the State, he lamented.

It is painful that Dalits aresubjected to fears, insults andmurders in separateTelangana state, he alleged.Addressing the gathering atKamalapur in Nizamabad dis-

trict on Sunday as part of hisface-to-face with farmers,Bhatti alleged that once againDoras have been suppressingthe democracy in the State.Instead of giving three-acre toDalits, the TRS leaders aregrabbing the lands of Dalits,he alleged.

PNS n MEDAK

Minister for Finance T HarishRao has exhorted the partyleaders to compete with oneanother to enrol new membersas the TRS upon voted topower is competing with otherStates to develop the State.

He was addressing anextended meeting of the TRSactivists at VenkateswaraGardens here on party mem-bership drive on Sunday.Undivided Medak district in-charge and MLC and ChiefWhip Venkateswarlu presidedover the meeting.

He handed over the partyactive membership to MLAsPadma Devender Reddy,Madan Reddy, MLC SeriSubhash Reddy, IFFCO direc-tor Devender Reddy andMunicipal chairmanChandrapal Yadav.

Addressing the gatheringon the occasion, he asked theparty leaders to compete withone another in enrolling mem-bers. He asked them to ensurethat people from all sections ofsociety are registered as mem-bers of the party. TRS activists,who agitated for Telangana,would salute the people.

The people of Telangana

would not believe the nation-al party leaders, who subservethe interests of the rulers, hesaid.

On the padayatras beingundertaken by Congress lead-ers, he said that the objectiveof the yatra was to grab power,but not to protect the interestsof the farmers. The party lead-ers, who heckled the farmerssuicides as the ones done withan eye on compensation, arenow undertaking padayatrafor farmers, he commented.

He accused the Congress of

shedding crocodile tears onwoes of farmers. He pointedout how the TRS governmenthas been providing 24x7 qual-ity power to the agriculturesector.

He accused the Congressand BJP as the parties who sub-serve the interests of the Delhileadership.

On the occasion of ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao’s birthday on February17, he exhorted the party work-ers to plant saplings as a markof birthday gift.

Earlier, MLAs PadmaDevender Reddy and MadanReddy spoke. They exudedconfidence of surpassing themembership in undividedMedak district enrolling moremembers this time comparedto those enrolled in the lastdrive.

Medak MP Kotta PrabhakarReddy, ZP chairpersonHemalata, vice-chairmanLavanya Reddy, Municipalchairman Chandrapal andothers were present on theoccasion.

Minister for Finance T Harish Rao hands over membership from to MLA PadmaDevender Reddy in Medak on Sunday

‘Cong leaders embark onpadayatras to grab power’ PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC chief N Uttam KumarReddy alleged that the TRSgovernment has deceived allsections in the State. The BJPwas indulging in politics in thename of religion, but not car-ing for the unemployed youth.He alleged that Chief MinisterK Chandrasekahr Rao andPrime Minister NarendraModi the deceived unem-ployed youth as the former hadassured one lakh jobs while thelatter two crore jobs.

Both the State and Centralgovernments have failed inproviding jobs to the youth. Healleged that the BJP, which isstating that it will constructRam temple at Ayodya, is notdoing anything for the devel-opment of the Bhadrachalamtemple.

While participating in theGraduate MLC elections

preparatory meeting held atGandhi Bhavan on Sunday,Uttam alleged that the Stategovernment in the PRC reportstated to reduce the houserent allowance where houserents are increasing across theState.

Advising the Congress socialmedia activists to take up anextensive campaign strategical-ly, Uttam said that the youthwill get jobs only if they defeatthe TRS and the BJP candi-

dates in Graduate MLC elec-tions.

He said that the party hasgiven a ticket to Ramulu Naikis based on social justice. Heasked the party leaders towork actively in the two con-stituencies. The TRS govern-ment deceived the unem-ployed assuring that it will givean unemployed allowance.The BJP has never spoken forTelangana and not fulfilledthe promise of establishingthe Bayyaram Steel Plant,Kazipet Coach Factory andTribal University.

He alleged that TRS MLCcandidate Palla RajeshwarReddy is trying to buy thevotes. Congress MLC candi-dates Ramulu Naik and GChinna Reddy, important lead-ers from two Graduate MLCconstituencies, DCC presi-dents and others participatedin the meeting.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Union Minister of State forHome Affairs G Kishan Reddyhas exuded confidence that theBJP will win two GraduateMLCs. The government hasannounced filling up of vacan-cies keeping graduate MLCelections in view, he allegedquestioning the Chief Minister

to tell as to why the latter hadfailed to fill the vacant teacherposts in the last seven years.

While participating in theHyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahbubnagar Graduate MLCelections preparatory meetingheld at Khairathabad con-stituency on Sunday, alongwith party MLC NRamchander Rao, Kishan

Reddy said that the TRS haswon the Mayor post with thesupport of MIM.

Later participating in formerUnion Minister late SushmaSwaraj birth anniversary cele-brations at State BJP office,Kishan Reddy said thatSushma Swaraj had strivedfor the formation of separateTelangana.

PNS n PEDDAPALLI

Minister for Welfare KoppulaEswar has said that TRSpresident K ChandrasekharRao took the membershipdrive programme so that theparty leaders at various lev-els approach the people andtake part in the activity vig-orously.

He was the chief guest at theparty 11th membership drivehere on Sunday on the occa-sion of the TRS 20th anniver-sary. MLC Baswaraj Saraiah ,membership drive in-charge,was also present on the occa-sion.

Koppula Eswar said thatthe party activists are thestrength of the TRS and the

onus of protecting the partyrested entirely on the shoul-ders of the activists. He laidemphasis on building theparty from the grassroots levelto the State level with the helpof the membership drive. TheTRS implementing insurancecover for the party activists. Hewanted the party rank and fileto take part in the membership

drive, a party programmelaunched after 11 months,with more enthusiasm.

He said that the party wouldsupport the committed partyworkers. During the past sixyears, unprecedented develop-ment and welfare schemeswere implemented inTelangana, he said. The Stateis marching ahead in all sec-tors of activity under the lead-ership of KCR. He warned theOpposition parties to consid-er the goodness of the TRSleaders as a sign of weakness.

He appealed to all partyleaders and activists to remainunited under the umbrella ofthe TRS. He told the gather-ing that all committees wouldbe constituted by March.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The local body MLCs have metat Nizamabad MLC KalvakuntlaKavitha’s residence here onSunday. They have decided tomeet Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and Ministerfor Panchayat Raj ErrabelliDayakar Rao to submit amemorandum after one, or twomeetings to request the latter toallocate funds to the ZPTCs andMPTCs in the coming budget.The local body MLCs--PatnamMahender Reddy, Bhanu Prasad,

Naradasu Laxman Rao,Damodar Reddy, PochampallySrininvas Reddy, SatheeshKumar, Thera Chinnapa Reddy,Kasireddy Narayana Reddy,Shambipur Raju, Balasani LaxmiNarayana-- attended themeeting. It is learnt that theMLCs have discussed theproblems of the ZPTCs andMPTCs and also solutions. TheZPTCs appealed to thegovernment to allocate a roomin the mandal offices. The MLCsalso discussed the constructionof mandal offices and Zilla

Parishad offices in the newlycreated mandals across theState. According to sources, theMLCs would invite Zilla Parishadchairpersons to participate inthe next meeting to know theirproblems further. After the finalmeeting, the MLCs would meetthe Chief Minister andPanchayat Raj Minister tosubmit a memorandum. It maybe recalled that the ChiefMinister had a meeting with theZP chairpersons after the TRSState executive committeemeeting held on February 7.

Local bodies constituencies MLCs to meet CM

Challa pays tributes toCommunistleader

TRS deceived all sections,alleges Uttam Kumar

Injustice meted out to Dalits: Bhatti

Revanthdemandsenumeration of pensioners

Kishan Reddy exudes confidenceof BJP winning Graduate MLC polls

Take part in membershipdrive, Koppula tells workers

n Koppula Eswar said thatthe party activists arethe strength of the TRS and the onus ofprotecting the partyrested entirely on theshoulders of theactivists

KAMAREDDY: In all, 13 peoplewere injured, four of themseriously when Telangana StateRoad Transport Corporation(TSRTC) bus in which theyweretravelling lost control andoverturned at Tekrial in thedistrict on Sunday, said police. The TSRTC bus with 36passengers was proceeding toHyderabad from Nanded,Maharashtra when the accidentoccurred, The injured wereshifted to the GovernmentHospitalhere for treatment. Fourpeople who injured seriouslywere shifted to Hyderabad forbetter treatment.A case hasbeen registered and aninvestigation is underway,policeadded.

PNS n MEDAK

Minister for T Harish Rao onSunday directed the authoritiesof Sri Vana Durga Bhavani tem-ple at Edupayala to install 50CCTV cameras for increasedsurveillance during the annualJatara, which is slated fromMarch 9.

The Minister, who held areview meeting with officialsand elected representatives at thetemple, said devotees wereexpected from Nagasanpallyand Kulcharam this year, andthese areas, too, needed to be putunder surveillance. He gave afiat to the officials to completeall the development worksundertaken in and around thetemple at a brisk pace.

Stating that the influx of

devotees has been increasingevery year, Harish Rao said theturnout of devotees this year wasexpected to touch 10 lakhs dur-ing the seven day utsavamscommencing on March 9, twodays ahead of the auspiciousMahashivarathri. He asked themto complete the 100-feet roadworks on the precincts of thetemple on a war-footing besidescompleting the works of foursheds.

Advising the irrigation offi-cials to release water fromSingur to Ghanpur anicut dur-ing the Jatara, Harish Rao direct-ed the temple officials to installbarricades along the Ghanpuranicut to prevent any unto-ward incident.

Asking them to provide allthe facilities to those coming to

the temple, the ministerinstructed them to place tempo-rary toilets besides providingdrinking water available at allcorners. He suggested the pan-chayat officials to depute work-ers from neighbouring pan-chayats at the temple to keep thepremises clean.

He asked the health depart-ment officials to place five healthcamps to attend to the sick devo-

tees besides spraying the bleach-ing powder all over the place.Asking them to carry out fog-ging to control the mosquitomenace, he has suggested thehealth department to keep threeambulances ready at the templeduring the Jatara.

He has also instructed theRTC authorities to operate fiveshuttle services from Medak busstation to temple located at

Nagasanpally in Papannapetmandal to provide safe trans-portation. The Minister suggest-ed the Police, Fire, Endowmentofficials and other wings of thedistrict administration to keeptabs on the movement of thedevotees to avoid any untowardincident. He has also suggestedthat they take all precautionarymeasures to prevent the spreadof Covid-19.

MP Medak Kotha PrabhakarReddy, Collector Medak SHarish, Superintendent of PoliceChandana Deepthi, MLC SheriSubhash Reddy, MLAs MedakM Padmadevendar Reddy,Naraspur C Madan Reddy,Deputy CommissionerEndowments Ramakrishna Rao,Temple Executive Officer SaraSrinivas and others were present.

Elaborate arrangements for Edupayala Jataran Harish Rao said the

turnout of devotees thisyear was expected totouch 10 lakhs during theseven day utsavamscommencing on March 9,two days ahead of theauspicious Mahashivarathri

n He asked them tocomplete the 100-feetroad works on theprecincts of the temple on a war-footingbesides completing the works of four sheds

CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka pays a visit to a farm in Kamalapur village in Nizamabad district on Sunday as part of hisface-to-face with farmers

Renowned writerVasala Narsaiahpasses awayPNS n KARIMNAGAR

Renowned writer and KendraSahitya Akademi awardeeVasala Narsaiah passed awayhere on Sunday. He was 80.He breathed his last in theearly hours of Sunday due toprolonged illness.Born onJanuary 26, 1942 atChavulamaddi village in erst-while Karimnagar district,Narasaiah won the presti-gious Bal Sahitya Puraskar in2017. The Kendra SahityaAkademi announced theaward recognising his contri-bution to children’s literaturein Telugu. Narasaiah wonseveral awards, including theState Bala Sahitya Puraskar in2009, constituted by Potti SriRamulu Telugu University.

He was drawn to literatureat a younger age and startedhis literary work at the age of12. Besides continuing his lit-erary journey, Narasaiah alsofelicitated children’s authorsthrough ‘Vasala NarasaiahBala Sahiti Puraskar’ since2009, in a bid to encouragemore writers to take up chil-dren’s literature. He retired aspostal superintendent in 2002.

13 injured asbus overturns

PNS n HYDERABAD

Out of the 98.3 per cent deliver-ies that take place in governmentand private hospitals across thecity, 59.7 per cent of the deliver-ies are conducted throughCaesarean. Furthermore, amajority of the deliveries con-ducted through C-section arebeing done in Hyderabad.

The private hospitals, on tech-nical grounds, have been ‘threat-ening’ expectant mothers andtheir relatives of adverse conse-quences unless deliveries areconducted immediately throughsurgery. These hospitals havebeen accused of discouraging the

expectant mothers to undergonatural delivery and promotingC-section deliveries for money.

There were instances ofwomen frequently sufferingfrom stomach pain, over weight,menstrual cycle-related prob-lems after the delivery throughsurgical means.

Majority of women, who havehealth insurance, are incliningtowards delivering babiesthrough caesarean section. Aswomen consider Mondays andFridays as auspicious to deliverbabies through surgery, major-ity of C-section deliveries areconducted on these days. Thenumber of such deliveries con-

ducted on Sundays is meagresince doctors would avail theirday off.

As the delivery date nears,expectant mothers would under-go anxiety neurosis. There wereinstances of them suffering fromhigh blood pressure and diabetes.They are reportedly giving pri-ority to delivering through C-section for the second time also.

Gynaecologist Dr Sangita saysthat the delivering babiesthrough C-section leads towomen suffering from long-term health problems in spite ofdelivery through surgical meansprovides temporary relief tothem.

Private hospitals promoteC-section deliveries in Hyd

Minister for Welfare Koppula Eswar addressing the 11th membership drive in Peddapalli in on Sunday

PNS n NEW DELHI

The All India Muslim PersonalLaw Board has moved theSupreme Court against a pleaseeking laying down of "genderand religion neutral" uniformgrounds to award maintenanceand alimony in matrimonialdisputes as per internationalconventions and Constitution.

The Board has opposed theplea filed by advocate and BJPleader Ashwini KumarUpadhyay which also seeksdirections to the government totake appropriate steps to removethe prevailing anomalies in thegrounds of maintenance andalimony, and make them uni-form for all citizens without dis-crimination.

"The applicant would like tosubmit that the expression and'Custom and Usage' in Article 13of the Constitution does notinclude faith of a religiousdenomination embedded in per-sonal laws," the All India MuslimPersonal Law Board (AIMPLB)plea said. "The constituentassembly was aware of the dis-tinction between personal law'and the 'Custom and Usage' andchose advisedly to exclude per-sonal law and include Customand Usage in Article 13 of theConstitution," it said while seek-ing impleadment in the petitionfiled by Upadhyay.

The AIMPLB opposedUpadhyay's plea on the basis thatpersonal laws cannot be testedon the anvil of Articles 14, 15, 21and 44 of the Constitution. Thetop court on December 16 lastyear had issued notice to theCentre on the plea filed by

Upadhyay. Upadhyay's petition,filed through advocate AshwaniKumar Dubey, said that despitethe eloquent provisions in theConstitution, the central govern-ment has totally failed to provideeven gender-neutral, religion-neutral uniform grounds ofmaintenance and alimony for allcitizens.

Maintenance and alimony isthe only source of livelihoodhence discrimination on thebasis of religion, race, caste, sexor place of birth is a direct attackon the right to life, liberty anddignity, guaranteed underArticle 21 of the Constitution,it said.

"Even after 73 years ofIndependence and 70 years ofIndia becoming a socialist sec-ular democratic republic, lawsrelating to maintenance andalimony are not only complexand cumbersome but alsoagainst the constitutional man-date of being equal, rational andjust," the plea said.

"Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs,Jains are governed by the HinduMarriage Act 1955 and the

Hindu Adoption &Maintenance Act 1956.

Muslims are dealt as per sta-tus of valid marriage & prenup-tial agreement and governedunder the Muslim Women Act1986. Christians are governedunder the Indian Divorce Act1869 and Parsis under the ParsiMarriage & Divorce Act 1936,but none of these laws are gen-der neutral," it said.

The PIL stated that discrimi-natory maintenance and alimo-ny reinforce patriarchal andstereotypical notions aboutwomen and thus any provisionthat perpetrates or reinforcesdiscriminatory stereotypes againstwomen is manifestly arbitrary.The plea has sought directions todeclare that the discriminatorygrounds of maintenance andalimony are violative of Articles14, 15, 21 of the Constitution.

It has also sought directions tothe Law Commission to exam-ine domestic and internationallaws and prepare a report on"uniform grounds of mainte-nance and alimony" within threemonths.

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021 nation 05

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) that lost 40troopers in the 2019 Pulwamaterror attack said on Sundaythat the country "did not for-give" and "will not forget" thesupreme sacrifice made by thepersonnel.A wreath-laying ceremony washeld at CRPF camp in Lethporain Jammu and Kashmir tomark the second anniversary ofthe deadly attack.

Senior officers of the para-military based at its headquar-ters in Delhi participated in theevent in the virtual mode,CRPF spokesperson deputyinspector general (DIG) MosesDhinakaran said. "Did notForgive, will not Forget: Saluteto our brothers who made thesupreme sacrifice for the nationin #PulwamaAttack. "Indebted,we stand with the families ofour valiant Bravehearts," theforce said in a Twitter post.Soon after the Pulwama attack,the Indian Air Force had car-ried out an airstrike inPakistan's Balakot on February

26, 2019, targeting terroristcamps. CRPF Director GeneralA P Maheshwari also unveileda video book dedicated to the40 personnel killed in the lineof duty. "We have inheritedbravery which flows like bloodin our veins," he was quoted assaying by the spokesperson.

"The video book has a con-

tent of 80 episodes and 300minutes. A copy of the bookwill also be sent to the familiesof each of the personnel killedin the Pulwama suicide bomb-ing attack," Dhinakaran said. ACRPF bus in the fifth positionof a 78-vehicle convoy was tar-geted by a Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) suicide bomber who

detonated his explosives-ladenSUV near it on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwamaon February 14, 2019. Theconvoy was ferrying over 2,500personnel and all 39 in the ill-fated bus and a sub-officer sta-tioned on the ground, as partof a road sanitisation party,were killed in the blast.

CRPF Assistant SubInspector (ASI) Mohan Lal, 50,who had "chased and fired" atthe explosives-laden car, wasnamed for the highest policemedal for bravery, thePresident's Police Medal forGallantry (PPMG), thisRepublic Day.

The around 3.25 lakh-per-sonnel-strong force is theworld's largest paramilitarywith about 65 battalions orabout 70,000 personneldeployed in the Kashmir Valleyfor undertaking counter-ter-rorism operations and ren-dering law and order duties.

As per official data, a total of2,224 CRPF personnel havebeen killed in action till now.

The force was raised in 1939as the Crown Representative'sPolice (CRP) during the BritishRaj and was re-named theCentral Reserve Police Force adecade later in 1949.

Did not forgive, will not forget:CRPF on Pulwama terror attack

PM MODI PAYS TRIBUTES TOPULWAMA MARTYRSCHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modion Sunday paid tributes to the CRPFjawans who were killed in the terrorattack in Pulwama district of southKashmir in February, 2019. "No indiancan forget this day. Two years ago, thePulwama attack happened. We payhomage to all the martyrs. We are proudof our security forces and their braverywill continue to inspire generations," hesaid at a function here. He said thecountry's armed forces had shown timeand again they were fully capable ofprotecting "our motherland".Forty CRPF personnel were killed in theterrorist attack carried out by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammadin Pulwama on February 14, 2019.

FILM PERSONALITIES PAY TRIBUTES Mumbai : Several Bollywood actors,including Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan andRajkummar Rao on Sunday paid tributes tothe martyrs of the Pulwama terror attackand said the country will forever remainindebted to the bravehearts.Forty CRPFpersonnel were killed in the terrorist attackcarried out by Pakistan-based terror groupJaish-e-Mohammad in Pulwama onFebruary 14, 2019 Kumar took to Twitterand shared a picture of the martyrs."Remembering our bravehearts of#PulwamaAttack, we will always remainindebted for your supreme sacrifice," the 53-year-old actor tweeted.Dhawan shared thesame image on Instagram and captioned"Jai Hind".Actor Kartik Aaryan prayed for thefamilies of those who were killed in theterrorist attack.."

VENKAIAH NAIDU PAYS RESPECTS

TERROR PLAN AVERTED

IN JAMMU ON PULWAMA

ATTACK ANNIVERSARY

New Delhi: Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Sunday paid tributes to the martyrsof the Pulwama terror attack, saying hestood in solidarity with the families who losttheir loved ones in the incident. Two yearsago on this day, Pakistan-sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out the dastardly attackon a CRPF convoy of 70 vehicles resulting inthe death of 40 jawans."I join the nation in paying my humbletributes to the CRPF personnel who weremartyred in the dastardly Pulwama terrorattack. The grateful nation will alwaysremember their patriotism & supremesacrifice," the Vice President Secretariattweeted quoting Naidu. "My solidarity withthe families who lost their loved ones in theattack," the vice president said.

PNS n JAMMU

A major terrorist plan to setoff an explosion at a crowd-ed place here on the secondanniversary of the Pulwamaattack was scuttled with therecovery of a powerful IEDfrom a nursing student whowas arrested along with threeothers, a top police officersaid on Sunday. InspectorGeneral of Police, JammuRange, Mukesh Singh alsosaid six pistols and 15 smallImprovised ExplosiveDevices (IEDs) were seizedfrom Samba district in a sep-arate operation.

"Over the past four days wewere on high alert becausethere was general intelligenceinput that terror groups wantto trigger a major blast inJammu city on the secondanniversary of the Pulwamaattack. The security aroundall important locations werestrengthened and checkingintensified," he told reportershere. Singh, who was alsoflanked by Director Generalof Police Dilbag Singh, said ayouth was found moving insuspicious manner along witha bag in the general busstand area and it led to therecovery of nearly seven kg ofIED which was, however,not activated as yet. The IGPidentified him as SuhailBashir Shah, a resident ofNewa village of Pulwama,who was pursuing nursingcourse in a college inChandigarh and was assignedthe task to plant the IED inJammu by his Pakistan-basedhandler affiliated with Al-Badr terror outfit.

Accusing the BJP and RSSof dividing Assam,Congress leader Rahul

Gandhi on Sunday said thathis party will protect everyprinciple of the Assam Accordand will never implement theCitizenship (Amendment) Actif voted to power in the state.Addressing his first public rallyin Assam ahead of theassembly elections due inMarch-April, Gandhi said thatthe state needs its "own chief minister" who will listen to the voice of thepeople and not one who listens only to Nagpur and Delhi. "The Assam Accordhas brought peace and it is the protector of the state. I and my party workerswill protect each principle of the Accord. There will not be a single deviationfrom it," he said. Gandhi said illegal immigration is an issue in Assam andexuded confidence that the people of the state have the capability to resolvethe issue through dialogue. Alleging that BJP and RSS are trying to divide thestate on the issue of Assam Accord, he said, "If Assam is divided, then PrimeMinister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah will not beaffected, but the people of Assam and the rest of India will be affected."

A50-year-old farmer herehanged himself afterallegedly being slapped by

Electricity Department officialsand served an inflated power bill,according to the victim's family.The incident took place atSunaira village in Atrauli tehsil onSaturday when the officialsturned up at Ramji Lal's houseand handed over a power bill of Rs 1,50,000. In protests against theincident, people placed the body in front of the local ElectricityDepartment office and refused to proceed with the last rites until a case isfiled against the SDO and junior engineer, who allegedly had gone to thevictim's house.They had allegedly slapped the victim in front of his familymembers after he explained to them that he did not have the money topay the inflated bill. Police assured the protesters that action will be takenafter necessary procedures. The victim's nephew, Ramcharan, and otherfamily members complained at the Barla police station that the amount ofRs 1,500 had erroneously been shown as Rs 1,50,000 in the bill. Sincethe past several days, Ramji Lal has been running from pillar to post toget the bill rectified but in vain, they said.

INDIA CORNER

Four persons werekilled and six othersinjured in a collision

between a van and atruck here, police said onSunday. The accidenttook place Saturday nightnear Baghidarh on theGorakhpur-Azamgarh,they said. The van wascarrying labourers fromGorakhpur to Varanasi,police said. Three persons died on the spot, while the fourthsuccumbed to injuries at the district hospital, Circle officer, Sagri,Ajay Yadav said. The six injured have been referred to Varanasi fortreatment, he added. The deceased included truck driver VipinChauhan, a resident of Deoria, and three labourers. While the twolabourers have been identified as Sukhu and Ramesh, the identity ofthe third is yet to be ascertained, Yadav said. The victims were in theage group of 40-45 years, police said.

Cong will never implement CAA ifvoted to power in Assam: Rahul

4 killed in van-truck collision

Farmer hangs himself overinflated power bill in Aligarh

PNS n DEHARADUN/TAPOVAN

Eight bodies were recovered onSunday from the flash flood-ravaged hydel project sites inTapovan and Raini ofUttarakhand's Chamoli dis-trict, taking the toll in thecalamity to 46, even as searchand rescue operations wereintensified.

Five bodies were recoveredfrom the intake adit tunnel ofthe NTPC's 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project. These arethe first bodies to be recoveredfrom the site where muck-clearing and drilling operationshave been underway on a war-footing since last Sunday. Threeothers were recovered fromRaini, where a 13.2 MW hydelproject along the Rishigangawas destroyed in the calamity.

The recoveries take the tollin the disaster to 46, while 158people remain missing, officialssaid.

The bodies have been kept ata temporary mortuary built inTapovan, they added.

Two of the bodies have been

identified. One hails fromNarendra Nagar in Tehri dis-trict and another from Kalsi inDehradun district, ChamoliDistrict Magistrate Swati SBhadauria said.

She said a helicopter hasbeen kept ready at the site toprovide medical help to sur-vivors, if any.

The NTPC's Tapovan-

Vishnugad hydel project hadsuffered extensive damage inthe flashflood, which alsodemolished the Rishigangahydel project.

Rescue teams continuedwidening a hole into the SiltFlushing Tunnel at the projectsite in Tapovan where around30 people are believed to betrapped.

Eight bodies recovered fromTapovan, Raini hydel project sites

PNS n NEW DELHI

With over 150 per centgrowth in daily active users(DAUs), photo-messagingapp Snapchat has seen itsuser base cross the 60 mil-lion-mark in the country,a top company executivesaid.S

Snap Inc ManagingDirector (InternationalMarkets) Nana Murugesansaid the company aims tocontinue building on thegrowth momentum acrossproduct development,partnerships and the aug-mented reality experience.Snap is the parent compa-ny of Snapchat. The appallows users to share pho-

tos and videos with friendsfor a specific time periodafter which the contentgets deleted.

It offers filters and lens-es, many of which are aug-mented reality-enabled.Globally, Snapchat had 265million daily active users inthe December 2020 quar-ter. Over 5 billion 'snaps'were created daily on aver-age by users on the plat-form. "2020 was a reallystrong year for us and weare thrilled with themomentum we're seeing.We reached more than 60million users in India in Q420, with strengtheninggrowth throughout theyear, and see our commu-

nity engaging across allparts of Snapchat -- fromchatting to Discover con-tent, using our Cameraand getting creative withLens Studio," Murugesansaid. He added that aug-mented reality (AR) is rev-olutionising how people

communicate, are enter-tained, learn and experi-ence the world. "...we seethis evolution accelerat-ing. For example, our com-munity played withDiwali-themed Lensesmore than 500 milliontimes. This year, we're

excited to keep on buildingon the variety of experi-ences available on Snapchatfor people in India. Fromexclusive content to games,product development,partnerships and of courseAR, we have lots in store,"he said.

Murugesan noted thatthe company is focussed onmaking Snapchat feel localto its user community inIndia. Snap's team in Indiafocuses on developing cul-turally relevant products,community engagementand partnerships. Citingexamples of engagement inthe country, Snap said morethan 70 million people hadwatched Shows in India in

2020, while Diwali-themedLenses were used morethan 500 million times --more than eight times theengagement of DiwaliLenses in the previousyear.Indian creators arealso active in developinglenses and over 6,000 ARexperiences had beendeveloped in November2020.

The 'Smoke Flare Lens'by OLC Vivek Thakur wentviral in India and acrossSoutheast Asia, garneringbillions of views onSnapchat.Snap is also close-ly engaging with brandpartners for drivingengagement on the plat-form.

Snapchat crosses 60 mn users milestone in India

AIMPLB moves SC on uniformgrounds of maintenance, alimony

PNS n JUNAGADH Ahead of local body pollsinGujarat, police have seized107 bottles of liquor wortharound Rs 62,000 sent toJunagadh from Uttar Pradeshthrough a courier service, an offi-cial said on Sunday.

Gujarat is a 'dry' state wheremanufacture, sale and consump-tion of liquor is banned, andbootleggers are now using anew strategy of bringing in liquorthrough inter-state courier ser-vices, the police said. Acting ona tip-off, the local crime branchand B- division police conduct-

ed a raid on a courier service firmon Saturday and found 107 bot-tles of Indian-made ForeignLiquor (IMFL) worth around Rs62,000 packed in eight parcelssent from Bahadurgarh in UttarPradesh, the official said. Theparcels were to be delivered to

two persons - Firoz Baloch andWahid Qureshi - in Junagadh, theofficial from B-division police sta-tion said. An FIR has been registeredagainst three persons under pro-visions of the Prohibition Act, hesaid.The police are keeping aclose watch on cases of violationof the prohibition law ahead ofthe local body polls in the stateas the model code of conduct isin force. The local body elections arescheduled to be held in two phas-es on February 21 and 28 inGujarat.

Over 100 liquor bottles sent viacourier seized in ‘dry' Gujarat

PNS n MUMBAI

A 32-year-old man having 19criminal cases against him hasbeen arrested following seizureof mephedrone, a banneddrug, worth Rs 21 lakh fromhis possession in Mumbai, apolice official said on Sunday.

The accused, Abdul AzizAbdul Hamid Shaikh, wasnabbed on Saturday from 90Feet Road in Dharavi areawhen he started running awayafter seeing officials of thepolice's anti- narcotics cell(ANC) patrolling there, hesaid.

Sleuths of the ANC's Worliunit caught him and seized 210gm of mephedrone wortharound Rs 21 lakh from hispossession, the official said.Mephedrone, also known as

MD, is a synthetic stimulantand banned under the NarcoticDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances (NDPS) Act.During a probe into the mat-ter, the police came to knowthat Shaikh already had 19cases registered against him inMumbai, including for murder,robbery and under theProtection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Act,the ANC official said.

The accused had also beenexterned from Mumbai thrice,he said. A case has now beenregistered against him underthe NDPS Act, he added.

Drugs worth 21 lakh seizedfrom man having 19 cases

PNS nNEW DELHI

The Trinamool Congress(TMC) on Sunday allegedthat Dinesh Trivedi, whoresigned from Rajya Sabhaon Friday, took the "Housefor a ride" and was "allowed"to use the floor of the Housefor his "devious politicalends".

In a letter to theChairman of the RajyaSabha, party's chief whip inthe House Sukhendu SekharRay said the TMC had rec-ommended only two namesas speakers for the discus-sion on Union Budget 2021-22, but Trivedi was notamong them.

The TMC's allotted time

on the discussion wasexhausted after both thespeakers spoke on their des-ignated days, Ray said as hequestioned why Trivedi wasallowed to speak despitethis.

"At about 1.25 pm on 12February 2021, when theHon'ble Finance Ministerwas about to give reply to theBudget discussion, onemember of AITC, SriDinesh Trivedi, sinceresigned, was allowed tospeak for about four minutesfrom 1.25 pm to 1.29 pm,although his name was notrecommended by the AITCas speaker in the Budget dis-cussion and no time was leftfor the party," he said.

‘Dinesh allowed to useHouse for his political ends’

PNS nGHAZIANAD

One person was arrested follow-ing a gunfight with police onSunday for allegedly slaughter-ing cows in Masuri area ofGhaziabad district, a senior offi-cial said. The accused Shanu, 26,opened fire along with hisaccomplice on the police teamand sustained a bullet injury inhis right leg in retaliatory firingby the police personnel,Superintendent of Police (Rural),Ghaziabad, Iraj Raja said. Hesaid that on Friday carcasses ofcattle were noticed by residentsof Kazipura industrial area ofMasuri and Avantika colony inKavi Nagar police station juris-diction, following which someanti-cow slaughter outfits creat-ed a ruckus.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The IMA on Sundayannounced a mass petitionmovement from February15-March 31 against aCentral Council of IndianMedicine notification thatauthorises post-graduatepractitioners in specifiedstreams of ayurveda to per-form general surgical proce-dures. The doctors' body alsosaid that this notification willlead to "mixopathy" anddemanded its immediatewithdrawal. The IndianMedical Association (IMA)had held a pan-India relayhunger strike from February1-14 on the issue.

One held after gunfight with cops

IMA announcespetition movement

therefore, had to enter theAssembly. He could haverequested an MLA to give uphis seat. But instead of doingthat, he chose not to disturbanyone; there was a VidhanParishad seat vacant which heused to become an Assemblymember. In 2001, whenNarendra Modi was in a sim-ilar situation in Gujarat, hecould not do the same. Therebeing no Vidhan Parishad inhis State, Modi had to getelected from an Assemblyseat vacated by an MLA.

Having been a memberof the Rajya Sabha, I foundthat the level of debates anddiscussions was, on thewhole, more sober andmature than in the LokSabha. Generally, the speak-ers in the Upper Houseensured that they had stud-ied and reflected on the sub-ject they spoke on whereas,in the Lok Sabha, moremembers spoke off the cuff;most of them had spent timein their constituencies overthe weekend. Many of themregularly left Delhi on Fridayafternoons, if not onThursday evenings, to returnon Monday mornings. TheRajya Sabha members couldafford to spend the weekends

in Delhi and read up beforespeaking the following week.

The Communist partieshad a commendable system;most of their Upper Housemembers spent the weekendsin Delhi. They not only stud-ied the contemporary sub-jects but also collected theBills coming up for debateand passed on their notes totheir Lok Sabha colleagues. Ioffered to organise a smallsecretariat at my cost for allmy party members so that allof us could be better preparedfor discussions. Being inpower after long and with alenient leadership, the gener-al mood in the party was oneof overconfidence. Littlewonder then that the 2004general election was lost ona manifesto which projected“India shining”. To everyIndian shining, there werecitizens not shining.

In India, our constituen-cies are large and the votersare much more varied than,say, in western countries.Moreover, our diversitymakes it useful for theMembers of Parliament andeven Assemblies to knowother parts of the country.The Upper House memberswould have the leisure to do

this kind of work during theweeks when the House doesnot sit. The Lower Housemembers cannot normallyhave much leisure; their focushas to be on their own voters.If the legislators do not taketheir knowledge side seri-ously, they would yield help-lessly to the dominance of theExecutive or the Ministers.

It is for the political parties to realise and decidewhether they wish to makeserious use of the UpperHouse or exploit it for theirconvenience. But, truly, these chambers can be usefulas knowledge-cum-wisdombanks for the parties as well as for the country. Theycan help raise the quality of politics.

Getting elected by lakhsof people is related to popu-larity or, at least, acceptabil-ity whereas knowledgedepends on education andexperience. Both are neces-sary virtues; the Lower Housemore for the party while theUpper House more for thecountry in the long run, ifused wisely.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

One calamity leads to another and if it is a man-made disaster it most certainly will,unless extraordinary steps are taken to forestall the impending danger. What is hap-pening in Uttarakhand is a case in point, if aerial surveys are anything to go by.

The debris accompanying the deluge earlier this week has blocked a stream that joinsthe Rishi Ganga river, forming a temporary lake which if it breaches can cause furtherdevastation. With the threat still looming, if authorities fail to take timely and adequateprecautionary measures, the loss to life, property and flora and fauna may be colossal.

Due to (often illegal) rampant construction, mining andblasting activity in the hills — to most of which thecomplacent babus and their political masters turn ablind eye — the fragile local ecosystem is facing anexistential crisis. We might pompously bellow aboutour sustainable development goals but the reality isto the contrary. In our quest for development, we havemessed up the region’s biodiversity and pushed manyexotic and indigenous varieties of plants and animalsto the verge of extinction.

Not only that, we have been quite an ignoramuspeople with respect to the importance of knowledgeas passed down by the local generations. The vil-lagers and tribals have traditional wisdom to fore-

see any catastrophe by studying the signs of nature, changes in the behaviour of domes-tic and wild animals, insects, change in wind speed and direction and so on. This begsthe question as to how many times have successive Governments made serious attemptsto tap this traditional knowledge base as a means of forewarning against natural orman-made disasters? But, more importantly, what should be done for now? Should theauthorities work on a contingency rehabilitation plan, or should a safety valve be drilledto drain out the water from this temporary lake? Are the authorities in a position at allto regulate the flow? Or will the Government leave the people to their fate, only to announcecompensations later? These and other such questions will keep crossing our mind.According to a report by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, an autonomousresearch institute under the Department of Science and Technology, the assessmentof the actual magnitude of risks involved due to this impoundment of water requiresa detailed survey. However, the scientists, NGOs and the Government must put theirheads together and work out an action plan before it gets too late.

India has begun the second round of its phase one COVID-19 vaccination drive. The firstround that began on January 16 saw 58,65,813 healthcare workers and 19,00,506 front-line workers being inoculated till February 12. Once India administers both the shots,

the vaccination process for the first lot of chosen people will be complete. Thankfully, fromthe time the venture got underway, the number of infections and casualties has seen adownward spiral. According to the Union Health Ministry, on February 11 the country report-ed 12,923 new infections in 24 hours, taking the number of those infected to 10,871,294.There are 142,562 active cases and 10,573,372 recoveries as India’s death toll stood at155,360 with 108 deaths during the same period. India is witnessing a consistent decline

in the number of infections reported daily since thepeak in mid-September 2020. This has earned theGovernment a pat on the back from the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), as has the fact that over sevenmillion people have been inoculated since the world’slargest vaccination drive began in January. “It’s thefastest rate of vaccination happening,” Roderico Ofrin,the WHO’s India representative, has said. However,despite its relative success, the first round was notwithout challenges. For instance, there was the issueof procuring enough vaccines, which still remains.AstraZeneca’s Covishield, which is the main vaccinebeing administered, is given in two doses, four weeks

apart. This means that India needs 60 crore shots for the first phase.The Serum Institute of India (SII), which makes Covishield, has said it has a stockpile

of five-seven crore doses and aims to produce 50 crore shots by July 2021. So, by theSII’s own admission, there will be shortages in the first half of 2021. However, this short-age will ease when other vaccines are cleared for use. But other issues like inadequatecold storage facilities will continue to haunt the system in the second round too. The factthat more than 52 per cent of the country’s 29,000 cold chain points and 40 per cent ofthe equipment are concentrated in just six States doesn’t help. As the drive speeds up,the Government will have to increase the number of cold chain facilities, keeping in focusthe States without an adequate infrastructure. Plus, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, the otherapproved vaccine, can be kept at room temperature for at least a week. So the Governmentneeds to ensure that going forward the campaign has a healthy mix of both the vaccines.But, for that to happen, the people’s hesitation in using Covaxin needs to be overcome byreleasing its efficacy data. Also, with the registration process being mostly electronic tillnow, the Government should ensure some amount of “on-the-spot” registration as not every-one has a mobile phone and internet connection in a poor country like ours. With Indiansdeveloping antibodies faster than the Government can get the jabs, there is hope for thecountry. But for a lot of people, as for the economy, it would have come a bit too late.

Halfway through

INDIA CANNOT BE A SURVEILLANCE STATESir— The Union Home Ministry’s call forcitizens to become “cyber volunteers” andidentify, flag and report illegal, unlawful and“anti-national” online content is perhaps themost brazen and dangerous sign of anattempt to turn our democratic and freesociety into a “surveillance State”.

Though vigilante activities directedagainst individuals, social groups and com-munities have increased in the past fewyears and the Government has ignored andsometimes even patronised these, it wasnot expected of it to move towards settingup a virtual vigilante force. The pilot pro-ject is to be implemented in Jammu andKashmir and Tripura, and then extendedto other States. This will have dangerousconsequences for citizens, as it will cur-tail their rights and will jeopardise free-dom of society. It is illegal as it violatesthe basic tenets of the Constitution whichguarantee freedom of speech and privacyto every individual.

These volunteers will act like secretpolice service agents reporting to theGovernment and its machinery about anypost or comment which they dislike or disp-prove of. Where we are moving? It’s reallya matter of great concern. A time will comewhen these volunteers will dictate terms tothe common man and will assume the roleof courts. They will pronounce judgmentson social media and will lynch anybodythey feel like without any fear. We are build-ing a “Taliban” State.

Shovanlal Chakraborty | Kolkata

FUEL PRICE RISE WILL HIT POOR FARMERSSir —In March 2020, international oilprices were raised due to the COVID-19pandemic. The Central Government is nottaking immediate steps to reduce taxes onoil or petroleum. The retail petrol anddiesel rates are governed by internation-al prices. India is 85 per cent dependenton oil imports to meet its needs. Of course,it is well known that Central and Statetaxes account for about 60 per cent of retailprices. But the Union Budget includedpetrol and diesel among those products,

on which a new agricultural structure anddevelopment cess has been imposed.

Fuel prices are increasing time to timein Pakistan and Nepal but in India, rela-tively high rates will trouble the oil con-sumers or end users. By increasing therates of petrol and diesel, the Central andState Governments will generate more rev-enue from taxation. But this will onlyenrage the common people as the pricesof commodities would increase. The oilexpenditure of a farmer who operates var-ious agricultural apparatus and machineslike diesel pumps, generators and so on,will increase but the income will not riseproportionately. Hence the Centre and theState Governments should reconsiderrelaxing the prices keeping in mind theinterests of marginal farmers and commonoil consumers.

Yugal Kishore Sharma | Faridabad

DON’T IMPOSE MORALITY ON CHILDREN Sir — Parents must stop telling their chil-dren that the attraction they feel towards

the opposite gender is merely infatuationand love has nothing to do with it. Bydoing so they are suffocating their chil-dren, demoralising their spirit and alsodoubting their sense of judgment. Most ofthe parents do it because they think thatin this way they would prevent the youngminds from getting distracted. They areunaware of the fact that by imposing sanc-tions and unnecessary high moral princi-ples on their children, they are actuallymaking them weak from within.

Gradually and slowly, such children willstop discussing their problems with theirparents. The distance between them willincrease which will have adverse conse-quences for the family. Adolescents whohave reached the age of puberty need to beconvinced that their love is real and that ifthey marry for love, then they will have agreat deal of parental support.

Srinivas Reddy |Hyderabad

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021

06

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Foolhardy actsUttarakhand’s fragile ecosystem is being abused bythe builders’ lobby in cahoots with babus and netas

Political parties need to realise and decide whether they wish to make

serious use of the Upper House or exploit it for their convenience

PICTALK

Wreckage at the scene of a bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia AP

THE UPPER HOUSESHOULD BE USED

TO ACCOMMODATELEADERS WHOWOULD MAKE

COMPETENTMINISTERS AND

HAVE TO GETELECTED WITHIN

SIX MONTHS OF THEIR

APPOINTMENT BY THE PRIME

MINISTER OR ACHIEF MINISTER

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

PRAFULL GORADIA

Round one of first-phase COVID-19 vaccinationdrive over, India gets its act together to accolades

The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool

Congress is shaken to its core as many big

leaders are leaving the party to join the BJP.

The recent jolt came on Friday when Rajya Sabha

MP and former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi

announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha

on the floor of the House. It is no secret that these

defections are fanned by the BJP leaders who

are making all-out efforts to weaken the TMC

when State Assembly elections are round the cor-

ner. These will likely prove a grave setback to

the TMC and will diminish its prospects of mak-

ing to the power corridors in one of the most

politically sensitive State.

The BJP, which enjoys power at the Centre,

knows that winning the battle of West Bengal

is easier said than done. However, if the old

guard and most trusted lieutenants of Chief

Minister Banerjee are leaving the party’s fold

at such a crucial time, it indicates that some-

thing is not well internally. The fault lines are

now apparent. Not to mention, these leaders

are disgruntled by the party leadership and the

alleged dictatorial manner of Didi who is the

party supremo.

These defections will also be a setback to

the BJP's image in the long run as the saffron

party is already infamous for creating rifts and

fanning defections in opposite camps.

Yash Pal Ralhan | Jalandhar

TMC is shaken to the core

Upper House: Tobe, or not to be?

As expressed in thisjournal, others havevoiced, from time totime, doubts about

the utility of the Upper Houseof legislature whether in theStates or at the Centre. Thecause of these doubts is the not-so-infrequent misuse of theRajya Sabha as well as theVidhan Parishads. As SanjayGandhi’s influence grew in the1970s, many of his friendswere lifted into the Rajya Sabha.Fortunately for them, the elec-tion rule-framers prescribedthe minimum age for suchcandidates as 30. Hence, likethe minimum age of 25 yearsfor the Lok Sabha, anyone whowas over 30 years was eligiblefor the Upper House. In manyways, this was the first reasonof misuse.

The Upper House wasnever meant for the youngwoman or man to get into.They, being young and fit,should cultivate the commonfolk, broaden the party baseand, in due course, contest aLok Sabha seat. The youngand raw individuals reflectedon the House discipline as wellas the quality of debates andtheir contribution toParliament. The purpose ofthe Upper House, whether atthe Centre or in States, was theexact opposite: Older, matureindividuals, preferably welleducated who could devotetime to study issues and thenspeak on them in an informedmanner. They may or may notrelate to the common folk of aconstituency, nor perhaps maythe mass voters relate to suchmembers.

The Upper House shouldbe used to accommodate lead-ers who made competentMinisters and had to get elect-ed within six months of theirappointment by the PrimeMinister or a Chief Minister.

One recent example is thatof Yogi Adityanath. He was inthe Lok Sabha when the UttarPradesh Assembly electionswere held in 2017 and he hadnot contested from any con-stituency. Yet he was selected tobe the Chief Minister and,

SOUNDBITEI request village pan-chayat representa-tives to identify andmake a list of allunused Governmentland in their respec-tive areas. We can restore and renovate them.

GOA CM—Pramod Sawant

The overriding priorities of 2021are to defeat thepandemic, acceler-ate the country'seconomic recovery,

implement economic reforms andfight corruption.

South African President—Cyril Ramaphosa

I'm truly overwhelmed

with the love that I'm

receiving from the

people here in the

Northeast. I have met

all those who have been kind enough

to come to our sets to wish me luck.

Actor—Ayushmann Khurrana

The reign of suppression and ter-ror in Kashmir is theunvarnished andunpalatable truth thatGovernment of India wants to hide from the rest of the country.

Former J&K CM

—Mehbooba Mufti

It is disappointingnot to get 100 but Ihave been workinghard on my batting.There will be other

opportunities for me to get that score.Cricketer

—Joshua Da Silva

Need for affordable housingand microfinance for all

NOT JUST DINESH TRIVEDI, WHOEVER WANTS TO DO

HONEST WORK CANNOT STAY IN THE TMC. IF HE

WANTS TO JOIN THE BJP, WE WILL WELCOME HIM.

—BJP NATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARY

KAILASH VIJAYVARGIYA

I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO THE BJP AND ITS SENIOR

LEADERS. I WAS TOLD THEY HAVE SAID THAT I AM

WELCOME. BUT LET ME SETTLE DOWN FIRST.

—FORMER TMC MP

DINESH TRIVEDI

Among the many challenges that needurgent attention, more so after the COVID-19 pandemic invaded our lives, is housing.

This vital segment needs a scientific and creativeintervention to make it a sustainable proposition.Lack of proper housing is one of the reasons, apartfrom loss of jobs, that led to the mass migrationof labourers from cities to the villages, during theinitial days of the countrywide lockdown. Hence,expanding access to affordable housing is essen-tial not just for equitable development but alsofor social stability.

Looking at the gravity of the issue, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budgetspeech announced the extension of the tax hol-iday on affordable housing projects for one moreyear. The Government has done this to ensureaffordable housing for migrant workers. Theaffordable rental housing projects are part of the‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).’

While we continue to record improvement indealing with poverty, homelessness has eliciteda poor response from our policymakers.Consequently, slums constitute 17 per cent ofurban households in India and in Mumbai theymake up 42 per cent of the households. Theseslum clusters lack necessary amenities like privatetoilets and potable water. A high population den-sity and a weak public healthcare system meanmore susceptibility to COVID-19 and other dis-eases and epidemics. Necessary precautions likesocial distancing to stay safe of the Coronaviruscannot be practised under such deplorable livingconditions that prevail in slums and jhuggi jho-pri clusters.

Human health and well-being depends on arange of interconnected social, economic andphysical factors that impact the environment inwhich we live and sustain ourselves. The key togood housing is to ensure that residents haveaccess to transportation, affordable healthcare,jobs, education as well as other essential services.A decent habitat and shelter can contribute in notjust individual or societal well-being but also havethe potential to catalyse overall economic growth.It is, thus, critical to recognise housing investmentas a basic, fundamental building block of econom-ic activity.

Housing is not a standalone issue and is close-ly intertwined with other factors and lack of sus-tainable housing is often the cause of a slew ofhealth and developmental problems. Poor ven-tilation and the inability to maintain basichygiene are major causes of poor health. Fragilebuilding structures undermine safety and increasevulnerability to disaster. Lack of lighting and spacelimits the ability of children to study. Inadequateprivacy and lack of sanitation contribute to a hostof diseases, hence perpetuating poverty.

For many people in the developing world, theland on which they live is their only asset. If thatproperty is not recognised as legally theirs, theylose out on several social benefits. Land owner-ship is often the bedrock of other developmentinterventions. Owning land boosts nutrition, edu-cational outcomes and gender equality. The con-verse is equally true. Where land security is absentor weak —when men and women do not haverecognised legal rights to their land and can thusbe easily displaced — all other development efforts

go in vain and conflict arises.Many who live in slums have

little or no control over the owner-ship of the property they live upon.The lack of official land titles is amajor impediment to the acquisi-tion of housing finance. People donot have documentary proof ofbeing owners of the land on whichthey live and are, therefore, legallyinsecure.

Many low-income villagershave owned their land for genera-tions but lack formal ownershipdocuments. Hence, they do nothave access to formal financialservices. Once their inhabited landgets formally titled, they couldobtain access to several public ben-efits, including loans.

Traditional housing financehas not been able to offer much helpto people in the low-income group.But a range of financial institutionsare applying good microfinancepractices, thus promoting housing.The increased provision of housingmicrofinance has resulted in safeand healthy housing conditions formillions. Successful housing micro-finance providers have marriedthe core principles of micro-cred-it — peer-based borrower selectionand repayment enforcement, closefollow-up on repayment and so on— with the technical expertiserequired to investigate land owner-ship and other classical housingfinance principles.

This model has been highlysuccessful wherever Governmentsare offering long-term tenancies

and shared-ownership housing.But the sector is still in need of moresustainable business models to getlegitimacy in mainstream finance.

Housing micro-finance caninclude a range of financial servicesthat support improving or upgrad-ing housing such as home repairand expansions, additional cookingspace, water and sanitation services,energy efficiency upgrades, thepurchase of inhabitable land or per-manent structures and the con-struction of new housing.

The demand for housingmicro-finance is high. The clientsare already channelising a goodportion of micro-enterprise loansfor home improvement; micro-entrepreneurs also use their homesas productive assets for generatingincome. A home can be a place tostore inventory, produce goodsand run a business. A home is alsoa personal asset that usually appre-ciates in value over time. Homeimprovement, thus, not onlyenhances living conditions but isalso an investment.

The Government also needs touse creative approaches for makingrental housing a safe option forhouse owners. Its share in overallhousing has been steadily declining.There is clearly a need to replace thecurrent rent control laws withmodern tenancy laws, so as to givefull freedom to tenants and ownersto negotiate the rent and the lengthof the lease.

Rules with respect to evictionalso need to be reformed to restore

the balance between the rights oftenants and the owners.

We need a differently struc-tured and more professional mar-ket rental sector. A model Rent Actis needed to promote rental hous-ing. There should be mutual agree-ment between the landlord and thetenant for a stipulated lease periodprior to which the tenant can’t beevicted and after the expiry of thelease period, the tenant will not bepermitted to continue in the hous-ing unit.

However, rent control laws givetenants so much security that land-lords worry that they may notregain possession of their proper-ty at the end of the lease period.People often leave their propertiesvacant until they get a tenant theyare comfortable with.

It is time the Government putsrental housing to use. Its share inoverall housing has been steadilydeclining. There is a need forreplacing current rent control lawswith a modern tenancy law, whichwould give full freedom to tenantsand owners to negotiate the rentand the length of the lease.

Policymakers, financial institu-tions and housing experts alsoneed to evaluate their current poli-cies, cultures and ways of working.With a thoughtful approach, theycan be better prepared to tackle thishumongous problem. TheGovernment will have to changecourse and shift away from the lega-cy mindset before the problem getsout of hand.

While India continues to record improvement in dealing with poverty,homelessness has elicited a poor response from our policymakers

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

MANY LOW-INCOME

VILLAGERS HAVE OWNED

THEIR LAND FORGENERATIONS

BUT LACK FORMAL

OWNERSHIPDOCUMENTS.HENCE, THEY DO NOT HAVE

ACCESS TOFORMAL

FINANCIALSERVICES.

ONCE THEIRINHABITED LANDGETS FORMALLY

TITLED, THEYCOULD OBTAIN

ACCESS TOSEVERAL

PUBLIC BENEFITS,

INCLUDING LOANS

Each social grouping has its mythology. The sense in which thephrase social groupings is being used in this text refers to humanaggregations popularly clubbed as a category, such as “the rich”,

“the poor”, “the professional”, “the sailor” and so on. The rich havea sub-category that is derisively referred to. This sub-category is called“the nouveau riche,” which is supposed to be loud in its display ofrecently-acquired wealth. Whether as a characteristic this is true ornot has never been empirically tested, however it is believed to betrue. Similarly, many professional groups such as engineers, doc-tors, et al look down upon history as a discipline. A professional his-torian is neither taken seriously nor referred to with the mellownesswhich any “serious” professional would have been. So be it!

Applying this yardstick of traits to the profession of energy spe-cialists, the same kind of syndrome can be found. Unexplained pro-fessional myopia prevents many of them from recognising that theneed for green energy is not a first energy shift that has ever touchedthe human civilisation. Energy shifts are as old as humanity. Whenthe physical energy of human beings was used to break down aggre-gations of natural material, such as branches or boulders, the sub-stitution of physical human energy by power of draft animal energywas a major energy revolution. For any kind of traction or movementbeing substituted with the use of animal energy, there was an equal-ly big revolution.

Ostensibly human beings took a long time to recognise that theyneed not walk to move from one point to another but they could insteadride an animal. This too was nearly as big a revolution as any. Lionsremained untameable, elephants lost on speed what they gained onbulk. The horse was the clear winner and its popularity became somuch that horse power became the unit of measurement and eventoday the strength of an engine is explained in terms of how manyhorse powers it represents. The message is simple. Each source ofenergy was a process which had its era of dominance. The shift fromone era to another was as fundamental, drastic and dramatic as theshift one talks of today for an aspirational or needed change fromfossil fuel to green energy.

Be that as it may, any such shift needed a change in technolo-gy. Other collaterals followed in the process of evolution: Size of thecircle (often referred to as the wheel) and the concomitant size ofthe case which would contain the machinery (called the equipment).This meant change in the service industry and indeed the full gamutof ancillary skills. Hence, to understand green energy and the era inwhich many front-edge communities are locked in today, in a mod-ule of learning, is a complicated process. In the prevailing dominantsocial culture of “fast food”, few have the time to pause and con-sider the nature of the problem.

There isn’t any serious dissertation available on how long anyera lasted before it gave way to the next era of energy usage. To recog-nise and change this framework of reference to a more holistic oneis the need of the hour. The present obsession with one form of greenenergy or another, be it solar, wind, hydro, oceanic or biomass isproving good almost only for talking shop and the industry. There isa clear need to get our perspective right on the significance of power,per se. Energy is the underpinning of human civilisation. Its charac-terisation determines the periods of history. Understanding the meth-ods of transition in the past, from one energy era to another, will helpus to find solutions to the current energy concerns better.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant of international repute. The views expressed are personal.)

It seemed innocent enoughat the start: Just a surge inthe number of boys com-

ing to school with notes fromdoctors saying they wereexcused from playing contactsports. But pretty soon highschools all over China werehaving trouble findingenough willing young men tomake up a football team. Itwas around the same timethat attendance at the com-pulsory classes in Marxist-Leninist-Xi-Jinping-Thoughtcrashed. Even when boysstarted talking about theirfeelings and trying to looklike K-Pop stars, people triedto laugh it all off and dubbedthem “little fresh meats.” Butsome far-sighted peopleunderstood that the nation’ssoul was at stake here.

As early as last June, SiZefu, member of the StandingCommittee of the 13thChinese People’s Political

Consultative Conference’sNational Committee andchairman of Harbin ElectricCorporation, was warningthat many of China’s youngmales had become “weak,timid and self-abasing.” Fromnot playing football to notwanting to be an “army hero”is a short, slippery slope.

This “feminisation”, Siharrumphed, “wouldinevitably endanger the sur-vival and development of theChinese nation unless effec-tively managed.” And even ashe spoke, limp-wristed youngmen with flowers in their hairwere spotted lolling about inthe street outside.

Just as Oscar Wilde her-alded the fall of the Britishempire and hippie “peaceand love” caused the US tolose the Vietnam War andstart its long decline, so too,young Chinese men wearingmake-up....Stop! Are you sure

that the Party wants you to godown this particular rhetor-ical road?

Well, okay, maybe notexactly those examples. Butwhat would the veterans ofthe Long March say aboutthese effeminate young girly-men? You can’t turn theminto proper soldiers. Chinawill be easy meat for the firstmanly country that comesalong. Harrumph!

China has a very bigbureaucracy, so it takes awhile for an issue to come tothe top of the pile but by earlythis year it had arrived. It’s notclear if President-for-Life XiJinping took a personal inter-est in the issue but his enthu-siasm for football as a symbolof national strength and man-liness is well-known, so thepolicy-makers knew theywere on a safe track.

The Education Ministrytook the lead, with the pub-

lication of a policy docu-ment last week entitled,‘Proposal to Prevent theFeminisation of MaleAdolescents’. No, really, I swearI’m not making this up.Check it out online.

The document claimsthat China needs to hiremore male teachers to serveas role models (at present fourout of five teachers in urban

areas are women) and “vigor-ously develop” sports likefootball to “cultivate the stu-dents’ masculinity.”

The official Chinese newsagency Xinhua instantly tookup the cause, condemning“androgynous” young men as“slender but weak as wil-lows,” and there was a suspi-ciously instant chorus of sup-port on social media for thenotion that traditional formsof masculinity are the foun-dation of national militarystrength.

It probably sounds freshto an adult generation ofChinese who don’t even knowtheir own country’s real his-tory. To people elsewhere, itsounds like a bunch of early20th Century Englishmen inwing collars declaring that“the battle of Waterloo waswon on the playing fields ofEton.” (No, it wasn’t. It waswon when Blücher’s Prussian

army joined the battle in theafternoon after a forcedmarch.)

It sounds like a bunch oflate imperial claptrap, becausethat’s what it is. Playing foot-ball sometimes makes youbetter at playing football. Itdoes not make you better atdominating foreigners orfighting wars — and why doyou want to do that anyway?It’s, therefore, pleasing toreport that the response inChinese official and socialmedia was far from unani-mously enthusiastic.

“Is feminisation now aderogatory term?” one Weibouser asked and received over200,000 likes, and the People’sDaily, no less, published anopinion piece arguing thatdiversity and tolerance shouldbe encouraged among femi-nine and masculine menalike.

There is probably no

country on Earth where thegenerational divergence ofopinions, especially amongthe male half, is greater thanit is in China. From an almostentirely hierarchical society aslate as the 1980s(Confucianism reinforced bythe ‘democratic centralism’ ofCommunism) to a youngergeneration that is egalitarianand gender-fluid (at least inthe big cities) is one hell of aleap.

It will eventually beresolved, as these things usu-ally are, by the magic of gen-erational turnover. The youngwill outlive the old andbecome the majority. Andhere is the authentic voice ofthe young, summed up in asingle tweet: “There are 70million more men thanwomen in this country. Nocountry in the world hassuch a deformed sex ratio.Isn’t that masculine enough?”

This will eventually be resolved, as these things usually are, by the magic of generational turnover. The young will outlive the old and become the majority

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021

07

www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMN

UNDERSTANDINGENERGY CONCERNS

A grasp of the methods of transition in the past, fromone energy era to another, is important

MOIN QAZI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a well-known developmentprofessional. The viewsexpressed are personal.

China in a tizzy to prevent ‘feminisation’ of male adolescents

GWYNNE DYER

Gwynne Dyer’s new bookis ‘Growing Pains: The

Future of Democracy andWork.’ The

views expressed are personal.

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Taking a leaf out ofReliance Industries Ltd's

playbook, state-owned Oiland Natural GasCorporation (ONGC) isforming a new subsidiaryfor gas business that couldbe used to bid and buy gasfrom the firm's own fields. The board of ONGC at its meeting onFebruary 13 approved creation of a new wholly-owned subsidiarycompany for gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) business valuechain subject to necessary approvals, according to the firm's thirdquarter earnings announcement. "The company is being formed withthe objective of sourcing, marketing and trading of natural gas, LNGbusiness, Hydrogen enriched CNG (HCNG), gas to power business,bio-energy/ bio-gas/ bio methane/ other biofuels business, etc," itsaid. ONGC may use the new subsidiary to buy any new gas that thefirm produces from fields such as KG-D5 in the Krishna Godavaribasin, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Thegovernment had in October 2020 allowed affiliates of gas producersto buy the fuel in open auction. This policy change allowed Relianceto buy two-thirds out of the additional 7.5 million standard cubicmetres per day of gas it along with partner BP plc of UK plans toproduce this year from the new fields in KG-D6 block.

ONGC takes leaf out of RIL book,floats subsidiary to buy own gas

Increasingcommodity

prices, speciallythose of rhodiumand palladium,which are used incatalysers to meetstrict emissionnorms, are puttingcost pressure onautomobile makers,according to asenior official of

Maruti Suzuki India.The company, which had hiked prices of itsvehicles in January, however is not planning to pass on theburden to consumers in the near future although it is keeping aclose eye on its cost structure.With the supply ofsemiconductors becoming a challenge for the automotiveindustry, Maruti Suzuki is also watching the situation closelyalthough it will have normal supply this month.In commodities,prices have gone up dramatically this year, especially that ofsteel, and rhodium and palladium, which are used in catalysersof BS-VI vehicles. "Demand across the world has gone up butits mining happens only in Russia and South Africa. There, themining was much lesser because of the pandemic," MarutiSuzuki India Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) ShashankSrivastava told PTI.

Maruti monitors cost structureamid rising commodity prices

ArcelorMittal SouthAfrica, a subsidiary of

Lakshmi Mittal's globalsteel empire, hasbounced back from the632-million rand lossesrecorded in 2019, to postprofit of 37 million randfor the year 2020, despitethe coronavirus outbreak. "Despite a difficult year in which busi-nesses had to adjust to the impact of Covid in an already weakeconomy, ArcelorMittal South Africa was able to return to prof-itability in the second half of the year, as the benefits of substantialcost reduction initiatives and the implementation of an optimisedasset footprint review over the past two years are showing posi-tive results," CEO, AMSA, Kobus Verster said on Friday, after thecompany's financial results for the year ending December 31,2020 were posted by the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.AMSA was struggling in the beginning of 2020 when the govern-ment appealed to Mittal to reconsider plans to shed 1,000 jobs aspart of cost-cutting measures. "I believe the business is now well-positioned to participate in the improvements in manufacturingactivity and the anticipated positive demand spin-offs from theeconomic recovery plans of both government and South Africanbusiness, Verster said. While the company recorded a loss in thefirst half of 2020, when almost all its operations were stopped forthe first time in the company's history due to the Covid nationallockdown, gains were recorded in the second half of the year.

ArcelorMittal SA records 37million Rand profit for 2020

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Finance Ministry willinfuse Rs 3,000 crore capitalinto state-owned general insur-ance companies during thecurrent quarter in a bid toimprove their financial health.

Last year, the Union Cabinetheaded by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi cleared propos-al to provide capital support toNational Insurance, OrientalInsurance and United IndiaInsurance. The cabinet hadalso decided to increase theauthorised share capital ofNational Insurance CompanyLimited to Rs 7,500 crore andthat of United India InsuranceCompany Limited (UIICL) andOriental Insurance CompanyLimited (OICL) to Rs 5,000crore each to give effect to thecapital infusion decision.

Recently, the governmentsought Parliament nod forgross additional expenditure ofRs 6.28 lakh crore for 2020-21as part of second and finalbatch of supplementarydemands for grants.

This included Rs 3,000 crorefor providing additional fundstowards recapitalisation ofinsurance companies.

The infusion will be doneafter the supplementarydemands for grants is passedby Parliament which willreconvene on March 8. Thecapital infusion will enable

the three public sector gener-al insurance companies toimprove their financial andsolvency position, meet theinsurance needs of the econ-omy, absorb changes andenhance the capacity to raiseresources and improve riskmanagement.

Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman in the Budgetannounced privatization oftwo public sector banks andone general insurance compa-ny in 2021-22 beginning April.In 2017, state-owned compa-nies New India AssuranceCompany and GeneralInsurance Corporation of Indiawent public.

FinMin to infuse Rs 3k-cr in general insurance firms

PNS n NEW DELHI

The commerce and industryministry is organising asmany as 45 sector-specificwebinars to promote quali-ty and productivity in theIndian industry. TheDepartment for Promotionof Industry and InternalTrade's (DPIITs) initiative,Udyog Manthan, began onJanuary 4 and will continuetill March 2 this year.

The department has saidthe webinar series, compris-ing 45 sessions, is coveringvarious major sectors inmanufacturing and servicesincluding pharmaceuticals,textiles, toys, tourism, furni-ture, renewable energy, auto-mobiles and set-top box.Udyog Manthan is identify-ing challenges and opportu-nities; draw upon solutionsand best practices, it added.

The exercise is enablinglearning across industriesand sectors for enhancingquality and productivity topromote 'Vocal for Local'and realising the vision of

'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', it said. Commerce and Industry

Minister Piyush Goyal hasstated that the UdyogManthan would be a harbin-ger of change in the way

"we work, in our mindsetand will truly be rememberedfor the base that it will set forIndia to engage as a globalplayer with high productiv-ity and high quality". Theexercise is being organised inassociation with the QualityCouncil of India, theNational ProductivityCouncil, and industry bodies.

DPIIT Joint SecretaryVandana Singh said UdyogManthan is the first of itskind comprehensive brainstorming exercise led byindustry and facilitated bygovernment to discuss qual-ity and productivity issuesacross all major sectors ofIndian industry.

"Industry is enthusias-tically coming forward forhelping formulating stan-dards and capacity buildingfor productivity and qualityimprovement," she told PTI.

DPIIT focuses onpromoting quality,productivity

PNS n NEW DELHI

As the hospitality industryfights for survival after suffer-ing huge losses due to COVID-19 last year, hotels are incorpo-rating a combination of cut-ting-edge technologies toimprove customer confidence,and mitigate losses incurredduring the pandemic A studypublished in November byresearchers at StanfordUniversity and NorthwesternUniversity, US, stated thatreopening of restaurants, gymsand hotels carries the highestrisk of further spreadingCOVID-19.

While people who wish tovisit hotels and restaurants areconcerned about catching thevirus, the hospitality industry isinfusing new technologies intoits operations to safeguard both

guests and employees. Technology features origi-

nally intended as novelties arebecoming necessities duringtimes when some people arewary of even stepping outsidetheir homes.

According to the authors ofa research article published inthe journal InformationTechnology & Tourism, thepandemic will eventually cometo an end, but the hospitalityindustry will never return tothe "old normal".

"Traditionally, many luxuryhotels emphasise person-to-person contact at every point

in the guest journey. However, after COVID-19,

all of these methods and pro-cedures may have to change,"the authors noted.

Hotel guests, they said,expect much higher standardsof hygiene, and show a signif-icantly greater appreciation forcontactless services.

"During such a period of

uncertainty, hoteliers have arare opportunity to invest intechnology and processimprovements to gain compet-itive advantage in the longrun," said the authors. to thepandemic, India's hospitalityand tourism sector sufferedthree quarters of economicwipe out estimated to be up to15 lakh crore.

According to Vibhas Prasad,Director Leisure Hotels Group,COVID-19 has affected mostsectors across the globe, andthe hospitality industry isamong the hardest hit.However, Prasad noted thatthe players are optimistic toregain the lost vibrancy in thelatter half of 2021 and arebanking on efforts to improvecustomer confidence and'revenge travel' as the pandem-ic is controlled.

Hotels use tech to boost traveller confidence

PNS n NEW DELHI

E-commerce major Amazonon Sunday said sellers will beable to register on theAmazon.in marketplace andmanage their online businessin Marathi, a move aimed atenhancing the sellers' experi-ence on the platform.

The development will ben-efit over 85,000 existingAmazon sellers and lakhs ofnew sellers from locationsincluding Kolhapur, Nashik,Satara, Aurangabad, Solapur,Nagpur and Jalgaon amongmany other cities inMaharashtra.

This is a major step towardsbreaking the language barrierfor lakhs of Indian entrepre-neurs, micro, small and medi-um enterprises (MSMEs), local

shops and retailers and helpthem benefit from e-com-merce, a statement said.

The launch in Marathi is fol-lowed by the recently launchedseller registrations and accountmanagement services in Hindi,Kannada and Tamil, which sawover 50,000 new Amazon sell-ers sign up on the Amazon.inmarketplace in a language oftheir convenience, it added.

"Language is a prominent

barrier that Indian MSMEsface when they seek to lever-age e-commerce to expandtheir business. As we move toenable more micro, small andmedium enterprises toembrace e-commerce, weremain committed to strength-ening our vernacular, voiceand video powered initiatives,"Amazon India Director-MSME and Selling PartnerExperience Pranav Bhasin said.

PNS n JAMMU

To revive the business sectorand boost investor confidencewith a business-friendly envi-ronment, the Jammu andKashmir administration hasapproved a series of measuresfor simplifying business estab-lishment process, an officialspokesman said on Sunday.

As per the decision taken bythe Administrative Council,which met under the chair-manship of LieutenantGovernor Manoj Sinha hereon Saturday, the pre-requisite'no objection certificates' orapprovals have been relaxedfor setting up of a businessunit, the spokesman said.

He said the Udyog Aadhaarmemorandum as per the con-dition of the GoI would be theonly requirement for a busi-ness unit to be set up. Earlier,as many as 15 NoCs or clear-ances were required for abusiness unit to be estab-lished, which have now beenreduced to a bare minimum.

"These bare minimum NoCs

shall be required for which twosets of single-window commit-tees have been established onefor business units coming upwithin industrial estates andanother committee for unitsoutside the industrial estates,"the spokesman said. He saidthese committees would ensuretime-bound issuance of theNoCs or approvals pertaining topower connection, water con-nection and building plan asper specified timelines on acase-to-case basis.

Further, the spokesman saida divisional-level committeehas been approved, whichwould periodically monitor theworking of the committees andaddress issues, if any, related toissuance of NoCs or approvals.

"No pre-requisite approvalsshall be required as a generalrule except for NoCs/approvals from departmentslike pollution control board(CTE/CTO), NoC from fireand emergency department,change of land use from rev-enue department, etc, wherev-er applicable, " he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Seven of the top-10 most valu-able companies together addedRs 1,40,430.45 crore in marketcapitalisation last week, in linewith a bullish broader markettrend with Reliance Industriesemerging as the biggest gainer.

During the week, the BSEbenchmark surged 812.67points or 1.60 per cent.

The companies that wit-nessed gain in their valuationinclude Reliance Industries,

Tata Consultancy Services,Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank,State Bank of India and BajajFinance, while HDFC Bank,Hindustan Unilever and KotakMahindra Bank's market cap-italisation declined.

The market valuation ofReliance Industries jumpedby Rs 74,329.95 crore to Rs12,94,038.34 crore, the mostamong the top-10 companies.

ICICI Bank added Rs22,943.86 crore to Rs4,47,323.82 crore in its valua-

tion and Infosys witnessed ajump of Rs 15,888.27 crore toRs 5,57,835.85 crore. The mar-ket valuation of HDFC ralliedRs 12,439.33 crore to Rs5,02,316.66 crore and that ofTata Consultancy Servicesgained Rs 12,420.4 crore to Rs11,97,442.25 crore.

Bajaj Finance added Rs2,274.77 crore to take its valu-ation to Rs 3,36,032.83 crore andState Bank of India's marketcapitalisation gained Rs 133.87crore to Rs 3,50,915.73 crore.

PNS n MUMBAI

Mortgage lender IndiabullsHousing Finance is looking toraise Rs 5,000 crore throughthe securitisation route infourth quarter of the currentfinancial year, according to asenior company official.

In the three months endedDecember 31, 2020, it hadraised around Rs 2,000 crorethrough the route. Securit-isa-tion is the process of poolingand repackaging of homoge-nous illiquid financial assetsinto marketable securities thatcan be sold to investors.

“Our securitisation pipelineis strong. We should be able toraise almost Rs 3,000 crorefrom the wholesale book andanother Rs 2,000 crore from

the retail in this (Q4 FY21)quarter,” the company's DeputyManaging Director AshwiniKumar Hooda told PTI.

He said already securitisa-tion transactions worth Rs2,000 crore have been done sofar in Q4. "Fourth quarter iswhen most of the securitisationtransactions get bunched up.We had a lot of transactions forDecember that got carried for-ward to January," he said.

Securitisation constitutes25 per cent of the non-bankfinancier's overall borrowingand on an average, it raisesaround Rs 2,500 crore perquarter through the route.Overall, in 2020-21, it hasraised a total of Rs 28,119 crorethrough equity, bank lines,bonds and loan sell-downs.

Indiabulls Housing to raise `5K cr from securitisation

Amazon starts seller registrations,account services in Marathi

PNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman is scheduled toaddress the post-Budgetmeeting of the RBI's cen-tral board on Tuesday andhighlight key points ofUnion Budget 2021-22,including the fiscal consol-idation roadmap.

Fiscal deficit -- theexcess of governmentexpenditure over its rev-enues -- is estimated to hita record high of 9.5 percent of the gross domes-tic product (GDP) in thecurrent fiscal endingMarch 31 due to theCovid pandemic.

FM to addressRBI Boardmeeting onTuesday

M-cap of 7 of top10 valuablefirms jump over Rs 1.40 lakh-cr

PNS n NEW DELHI

GST officers will immedi-ately suspend registrationof taxpayers whose salesreturn or GSTR-1 formsshow "significant differ-ences or anomalies" fromthe return filed by theirsuppliers, a move aimed atcurbing tax evasion andsafeguarding Revenues.

The CBITC has issued aSOP for suspension of reg-istration of a person onobservance of such discrep-ancies /anomalies whichindicate violation of theGST Act. The registration ofspecified taxpayers shall besuspended and notice forcancellation of registrationin form GST REG-31, con-taining the reasons of sus-pension, shall be sent tosuch taxpayers on their reg-istered e-mail address.

The registration wouldbe suspended in caseswhere a comparison of thereturns furnished by a reg-istered person with thedetails of outward suppliesfurnished in form GSTR-1,or the details of inwardsupplies derived based onthe details of outward sup-plies furnished by his sup-pliers in their GSTR-1,show 'significant differ-ences or anomalies', indi-cating contravention of theprovisions of the GST Act.

Registration to besuspended foranomalies inGST sales return

J&K simplifies normsfor setting up industries

Hotels areincorporating acombination ofcutting-edgetechnologies toimprovecustomerconfidence andmitigate lossesincurred duringthe pandemic

PNS n KOCHI

Kerala Travel Mart (KTM),a popularB2B tourismmeet in the country, hasinvited domestic and for-eign buyers to interact with700 sellers across the worldduring its five-day virtualevent next month in a bidto stimulate the sector inthe post-COVID scenarioin the state.

Buyers, media, visitorscan register online for the

virtual meet of the 11th edi-tion of KTM to be heldfrom March 1.

The event, which willshowcase the excellenceand alluring products ofthe sector, seeks to give ahuge impetus to recoveryof tourism from the throesof the pandemic that hasconsiderably dulled thesector for a year now butnow in a rebound mode, aKTM release said here onSunday.

Kerala Travel Mart meetto be virtual this year

Non-life insurers’ premium

rises by 6.7 pc in JanPNS n NEW DELHI

Non-life insurance companiesregistered a 6.7 per centincrease in their gross directpremium collection in Januaryat Rs 18,488.06 crore, accord-ing to the Irdai data.

ll non-life insurance compa-nies had underwritten directpremium of Rs 17,333.70 crorein the same month last year.Among these, 25 general

insurance companies wit-nessed 10.8 per cent increasein their collective premium inthe first month of 2021 at Rs16,247.24 crore as against Rs14,663.40 crore in January2020, according to Irdai data.

Five pure-play or standaloneprivate sector health insurers,however, posted a marginaldecline of 1.34 per cent in theirpremium underwriting at Rs1,510.20 crore.

arvelStudios hascast actorZaweAshton toplay the

antagonist in BrieLarson-starrerCaptain Marvel 2.The film, to bedirected by NiaDaCosta, is a sequelto Larson’s 2019blockbuster CaptainMarvel. MeganMcDonnell, a storyeditor on the DisneyPlus seriesWandaVision haspenned the script,reported Deadline.

The details ofAshton’s characterare not yet knownbut sources told theoutlet that it will bethe main villain.Iman Vellani, whoheadlines the

upcoming Ms.Marvel series, andTeyonah Parris, whocurrently star asMonica Rambeau inWandaVision, willbe reprising theirrespective charactersin the movie. CaptainMarvel 2 is scheduledto be released in the-atres worldwide inNovember 2022.Ashton is bestknown for featur-ing in Netflix’smovie VelvetBuzzsaw andTom Ford-directedNocturnalAnimals. Theactor wasrecently seenon Broadway inthe revival ofBetrayal oppo-site TomHiddleston.

alman Khan has revealed thathe will start shooting for Pathan,starring Shah Rukh Khan, oncehe wraps up the shoot for thereality TV show Bigg Boss, whichis currently in its 14th season.

Billed as an action-thriller and producedby Yash Raj Films (YRF), Pathan is beinghelmed by War director Siddharth Anandand marks Shah Rukh Khan’s first film after2018’s Zero, in which Salman Khan also hada cameo. There were reports that Pathanwill have an extended cameo of SalmanKhan. On the Weekend Ka Vaar episode ofBigg Boss, which comes to an end nextweek, the Bharat star confirmed his line-upof upcoming films, including the thirdinstalment of Tiger franchise and Kabhi EidKabhi Diwali.

“Life goes on, show goes on. When thisshow ends, we will move to Pathan, thenTiger (3) and later to Kabhi Eid KabhiDiwali,” Salman Khan said on Saturdaynight. The actor, who hosts Bigg Boss, alsosaid the Colors TV show will return foranother season. “After eight months, BiggBoss 15 will be back and you all will be backtoo, that’s a guarantee," he added.

While Pathan went on floors inNovember last year, the third instalment ofTiger franchise is gearing up to start pro-duction next month. Previously, SalmanKhan also had a guest appearance in the1998 blockbuster Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in

which Shah RukhKhan was theleading man. Thefilm markedKaran Johar’sdirectorial debut.

He laterappeared inShah Rukh’s lastfilm, Zero. ShahRukh Khan, too,has made specialappearances inSalman Khan’sfilms, includingTubelight (2017)and Har Dil JoPyar Karega(2000).Meanwhile, theyet-to-be-titledTiger 3 is the nextchapter in the action-thriller franchise, alsobacked by YRF, will seeSalman Khan andKatrina Kaif reprise theirroles as spy agents Tigerand Zoya. The film will alsostar Emraan Hashmi as theantagonist, a source close tothe film’s production told anews agency earlier thisweek.

9

Vijayawada Monday February 15 2021what’s brewing?

unger and food crisis have beenlongstanding issues that haveplagued the world. Addressingthe cause of food conservation,actor Rasika Dugal and MukulChadda headline a powerful

video campaign for The Robin HoodArmy, a zero-funds volunteer organisa-tion that works to get surplus food fromrestaurants and communities to servethe less fortunate. This video releases onValentine’s Day, a day that witnessed astaggering amount of food wastage. Forthe special day of love, The Robin HoodArmy has envisaged the cause of#SpreadLoveShareFood.

Interestingly, the thought-provokingvideo has been conceptualised byMukul’s 14-year-old nephew, NeelMenon. The video was made by theyoung filmmaker as part of a school pro-

ject dealing with the United Nations’sustainable development goal of zerohunger. Featuring Rasika and Mukul, thevideo conveys that one-third of the foodproduced globally is wasted. Rasika andMukul jointly say, “We live very privi-leged lives and it is, therefore, ourresponsibility to give back to societywhenever we can. The underlying mes-sage of the video campaign is to spreadthe word about food conservation andthe hunger crisis. It is commendable thatNeel at his age ideated such a thought-provoking concept. Our best wishes toThe Robin Hood Army for the workthey are doing to eliminate the hungercrisis.” On the work front, Rasika andMukul have collaborated with each otherfor a short film entitled Banana Bread,and their upcoming feature film Fairy Folk is currently under production.

isney CEO BobChapek has saidthat the companystill intends torelease BlackWidow in the-

atres. However, he added thatthe studio is also considering

whether “that strategy needs tobe revisited”. The Hollywood

Reporter quoted Chapek as sayingduring an investors call, “We arestill intending for it to be a the-atrical release. We are going to bewatching very carefully to seewhether that strategy needs to berevisited.”

Black Widow, which featuresScarlett Johansson in the lead role,is currently scheduled to be

released on May 7, 2021. This ismore than a year later than itsoriginal release date, May 1, 2020.Like a large number of filmsintended for the big screen lastyear, Black Widow was delayed aswell due to the coronavirus pan-demic. The Cate Shortland direc-torial is based on the only femalesuperhero in the old guard of theAvengers. Since, NatashaRomanoff/Black Widow is nowdead after her sacrifice inAvengers: Endgame to acquire theSoul Stone, this film is set in thepast. Black Widow takes placeafter the events of 2016’s CaptainAmerica: Civil War in which shefinds herself on the run from thelaw thanks to her aid to SteveRogers and Bucky Barnes.

The movie also stars FlorencePugh, Rachel Weisz, DavidHarbour, Ray Winstone andOlivier Richters.

Disney still intending for BlackWidow to be a theatrical release

S

H

MRasika Dugal, Mukul Chadda talkabout wasting food on V-Day

Captain Marvel 2 gets its villain in

Zawe Ashton

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

Salman to shootfor Pathan postBigg Boss 14

D

aving a heartfeltconversation isthe essence of agood relation-ship and withthe same objec-tive, the ‘Yellow

Diary’ band is herewith their new song, acollaboration with thepopular Bollywoodsinger Shilpa Raonamed Roz Roz. Withlove in the air given theValentine mood, thislatest song is going toset the doldrums forsome harmony andaffection around!

Diving deep into thecomplexities, one of theband members, RajanBatra explains that the

song is all about howimperative it is to holda conversation in agrowing relationship.“Roz Roz will lead youto a turnover whereinthe couple has explod-ed and then looks toapproach each other,but are hesitant to. Thisis a reality-checkthough, as it’s the usualsituation for a couple toact like this. While wewere looking to give afemale touch to it, wefound singer ShilpaRao and her voice didthe rest of the magic,”he adds.

Talking more aboutthe beautiful blend oftwo novel genres,

Himonshu Parikh says,“We loved Shilpa Rao’svoice! She’s blessed theproject with such heav-enly vocals that what-ever the genre, sheaccommodates herselfaccordingly.”

Roz Roz describingthe abstract longing tochatter with your lovedone also has the rightkind of backgroundmusic which is aptlycapturing the state ofaffairs that goes on intoa relationship as perguitarist Vaibhav Pani.He also emphasises theentire lockdown situa-tion about how thepublic needed a breakfrom all of this and

with all the tensedmoments between acouple, this song can bea relaxing minute forthem.

Incarcerating all thesanity and explainingthe spirit of love, theYellow Diary band ismeticulous in decodingdown the chemicalcode of love and hasmapped it down wellwith the lyrics.Concluding it on along-lasting note,instrumentalist Rajansays the song encom-passes somethingbeyond love, about howone can uphold a con-nection, and that’s thecrux of it!

Loving requires more than just thosefeelings, and demands efforts — totalk, listen, accept and be willing towork on things. Talking about this

very important need for clearcommunication is the band Yellow

Diary's new drop Roz Roz incollaboration with singer Shilpa Rao.

They talk to The Pioneer's SHIKHA DUGGAL about theirsong, the collab, and the future.

momentous loveRoz Roz, a melody about

h

riticallyacclaimed actorAbhay Deol hasjoined theAdvisory Boardof Bandra Film

Festival (BFF 2021), acollaboration between‘Filmkaravan’ andYoutube.

Abhay Deol whoalong withFilmkaravan has pro-duced the film WhatAre The Odds? onNetflix is elated to beon the Advisory Boardof the Bandra FilmFestival. Talking aboutit, Abhay said, “It hasalways been difficultfor independent filmsand documentaries toreach out to the mass-es, even though thingshave evolved now inthe content space withso many digital andOTT players enteringthe market. I think thisfestival will be a fabu-lous platform for inde-pendent filmmakers toshowcase their workand reach out to awide audience base. Iam happy to be onboard withFilmkaravan, who Ibelieve have beenpushing the envelopewith a wide range ofnarratives. Theirapproach towardsbacking a good storyand striving for inclu-siveness is commend-able. As for me, I havein my way too triedbacking the underdogsand the unconvention-al.”

A platform to show-case films made byprolific filmmakers inthe past years, the filmfestival appreciatesemerging talent andinnovative content cre-ators of the modernera.

Furthermore, thefestival has tied upwith Milaap to extendfinancial support tofilms and filmmakersin these challengingtimes.

Abhay went on tosay, “BFF is strivingtowards an eco-systemthat enables growthnot just in spirit butalso in form. The plat-form is designed tobring together a widearray of subjects fromaround the world andallow filmmakers toshowcase their work.”

The three broadcategories in which thefilms will be slotted atthe Bandra FilmFestival are‘Undiscovered Gems’, acategory that willshowcase films whichwere made ahead oftheir time, which wentunnoticed and eventu-ally got buried, ‘OffThe Beaten Path’ thatwill enlist titles that areessentially experimen-tal, unapologetic andnon conforming andthe third category is‘New Discoveries’ thatattempts to find freshfilms, concepts, mak-ers and delve deep intounravelling these com-ing of age titles.

C

Abhay Deol tocontinue

backing the‘unconventional'

hy homemakers you ask,can we just say why not?Homemakers have adesire to be respected, tobe financially indepen-dent and above all, to be

recognised. From their previousexperience of running a family andthe household, they also are blessedwith the ability to multitask, man-age time, show tremendousresilience, grit, intelligence and‘jugaad. To help such women and

guide them to become a collectiveforce to reckon with, NishthaYogesh started ‘Hunar’, (meaningskill) an online learning platformbased out of Hyderabad which aimsat empowering women across thecountry by helping them learn newskills and become financially inde-pendent.

An entrepreneur with a dream touse technology and education toempower women across the coun-try, Nishtha Yogesh, coming from aChartered Accountancy and busi-ness background, was determinedto utilise her skill set for what shehad always believed in —Empowering Indian women

through education to earn recogni-tion, respect and financial indepen-dence. She started interning prettyearly on in life at local enterprisesand started working in her lateteens. That’s when she understoodwhat the sense of independenceskills can bring to any Indianwoman. They have a wide variety offashion design courses such as gar-ment making, fashion illustration,fashion styling, embroidery, fabricdesigning, bag making, home decor,jewellery designing and boutiquemanagement caters to the creativeside of every individual and helpsthem grow.

The startup has trained more

than 10,000 women (paid users) tofurther aid their students to becomeindependent, after completing acourse.

Speaking about what inspired herto start Hunar, Nishtha explains,“With funds from friends and fami-ly, the startup formally launched itsoperations in May 2018 and hastrained more than 10,000 women,with more than 10 lakh users exper-imenting with the app through freetrials. The inspiration for Hunarcame from watching my mothereducate numerous women with cre-ative skills. When I was younger, Iwatched how these women changedthe course of their lives with thehelp of these skills. With Hunar, wewanted to make learning creativecourses accessible to the entirecountry.”

“Being a creative educator forhomemakers, our biggest challengeis helping our potential studentsovercome years of self-doubt andinertia to re-skill. Most of our stu-dents are Indian homemakers(some students and professionals),hailing from tier 2 and tier 3 citiesof India. While they have a deepdesire to be independent, build ahome business or gain recognition,they have their fears of learningonline and lack self-belief. Butthrough our success stories, itencouraged, motivated and inspiredwomen of all ages to believe inthemselves more and turn theirdreams into reality with simple andsmall steps. Today, with over 5 lakhapp downloads and thousands ofstudents who’ve learnt a certifiedskill, started their own home busi-nesses and gained financial inde-pendence, we have learnt that with

our product and the right guidancehave given a choice and chance toall of these women who have thepotential and desire to learn andcreate. Our dream is to be able toprovide re-skilling opportunities toevery homemaker in our countryand help them gain financial inde-pendence,” says Nishtha.

For Hunar, the pandemic had asilver lining: women now had thetime to take a step back and thinkabout all that they’ve wanted tolearn and achieve, just like so manyother people who were caught up inthe drudgery of daily life. “Duringthe pandemic, we supported ourstudents in learning the most out oftheir courses and encouraged otherstudents to start building skills too.The outcome was amazing as a lotof our students learnt garmentmaking, started creating their ownsupply of masks, for both commer-cial and charitable purposes. If youhave staunch conviction in yourvision and are ready to go the extramile to the make the difference inthe world that you want to, every-thing else will fall into place.”

Explaining to us the need torecognise and encourage homepre-neurship, Nishtha says,“Homepreneurship has seen a surgein the last few years, especially in2020, due to the pandemic. It’sempowering and progressive in theway that it makes an individual feelconfident enough to create anenterprise without excessive capitalinvestment and more importantly,build it to scale with much moreease. In the age of social media andgeneral public awareness, homebusinesses are thriving and aidingour country’s economy."

homemakers' haven Homepreneurships:

When the worldshut down duringthe pandemic, manywomen faced atough timemanaging work-lifebalance or finishingfurther highereducation whilehandling increaseddomesticresponsibilities.However, women inboth, urban andrural areas aredetermined andwilling to learn andwork. Also, post-pandemic, manyrealised theimportance ofactively contributingto householdfinance, writes ThePioneer's K RAMYA SREE.

W

MondayFebruary 15, 2021

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2021

BAYERN MUNICH SNAPS UP UPAMECANO Munich: Bayern Munich is signing French defenderDayot Upamecano from Bundesliga rival Leipzig in itsfirst transfer for next season. The Bavarian powerhousesaid in a statement on Sunday that the 22-year-oldUpamecano had agreed a five-year deal through June2026 effective from July 1. Bayern is making use of a42.5 million euro ($51.5 million) buyout clause inUpamecano's current contract at Leipzig, which wouldotherwise have run to 2023.

ANKITA RALLIES TO WIN TOUR OPENER Melbourne: Indian tennis player Ankita Rainarecorded her first victory in the singles main draw of aWTA Tour event with a three-set win over ElisabettaCocciaretto at the Phillip Island Trophy here on Sunday.Ankita came from behind to beat the Italian 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round of the $235,238 hard courttournament. The two-hour and 11 minutes win will takeAnkita to her new career-high singles rank of 156 from181. If she goes deep, then she will ensure her place intop-150.

ASIAN RECORDS FOR PRAVEEN, NISHAD Dubai: Teenaged high jumpers Praveen Kumar andNishad Kumar produced their personal best efforts totake a Gold each and set new Asian records as thecurtains came down on the 12th Fazza InternationalWorld Para Athletics Grand Prix here. Praveen's andNishad's Gold medal-winning efforts were the highpoints for India who also had three Silver and a Bronzeon Saturday, to end their campaign at thechampionships with 23 medals. At the end of thecompetition, India were among the top finishers in themedal tally with Thailand returning home with 34medals, while Turkey, Kenya and India finished with 23each.

SPEZIA STUNS SERIE A LEADER AC MILAN Spezia: AC Milan missed the chance to extend its leadin Serie A when it lost 2-0 at Spezia, which was playingits first match under new American owners. GiulioMaggiore and Simone Bastoni scored their first Serie Agoals as Spezia dominated and stunned Milan in thesecond half on Saturday. Milan did not even have a shoton target. The Rossoneri remained two points clear ofsecond-placed Inter Milan, which could leapfrog its cityrival on Sunday with a win at home to Lazio.

MAN UTD TITLE PUSH LOSES STEAM West Bromwich: Manchester United squandered achance to put pressure on Premier League leadersManchester City as Bruno Fernandes' equaliser sparedtheir blushes in a 1-1 draw at struggling WestBromwich on Sunday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side wererocked by Mbaye Diagne's second-minute opener forAlbion at the Hawthorns. Portugal midfielder Fernandeslevelled just before half-time with his 19th goal of theseason in all competitions. But United were unable tofind a break down second-bottom Albion again and hadto settle for a third damaging draw in their last fourleague matches. They moved above Leicester intosecond place, but sit seven points behind City, whohave a game in hand. Agencies

SINGLES

PTI n CHENNAI

India took command of thesecond Test after an exhilarat-ing day two when 15 wickets

fell on a rapidly deteriorating pitchwith star spinner RavichandranAshwin ensuring a massive firstinnings lead for the hosts with his29th five-wicket haul, here onSunday.

Resuming the day at 300 forsix, Rishabh Pant took India to329 in their first innings with anunbeaten 58 before running outof partners.

Ashwin (5/43) and companythen bundled out England for 134on a pitch that is getting morevicious by each passing session.The 34-year-old picked up his sec-ond five-wicket haul of the seriesby uprooting the stumps of num-ber 11 Stuart Broad.

By close of play, India were 53for one in the second innings,extending their lead to 249 runs.

Wickets fell in a heap onSunday but it was by no means anunplayable surface, as demon-strated by Rohit Sharma on theopening day and with 25 off 62,he was going strong even bystumps on day two. CheteshwarPujara (7 batting off 18) was at theother end.

However, barring Ben Foakes(42 not out), England batsmenhad no answers to the challengeposed by the Indian bowlers.The sweep shot that came to theirrescue in much easier conditionsin the previous Test, broughttheir downfall including Root.

So far, the script has playedout perfectly for India, who wonthe all important toss on theopening day and put up a decentenough total on a dustbowl intheir bid to level the series.

Ishant provided the first

breakthrough for India when hehad left-handed opener RoryBurns LBW for a duck with a ballthat nipped back and beat his

defensive push.The other opener Dom Sibley

(16) was the next to go, caught byVirat Kohli at leg-slip off Ashwin,

which was given by the thirdumpire after India chose to reviewas the on-field umpire turneddown the appeal for a catch.

The big wicket of captain JoeRoot (6), who tormented thehost bowlers in the first Test, wastaken by debutant Axar Patel

when the England captain’sattempted sweep against the turnlanded safely in the hands ofAshwin at short fine-leg.

Ashwin then struck at thestroke of lunch, having DanLawrence (9) caught at short-legby Shubman Gill reducingEngland to 39 for four.

India claimed another four inthe post-lunch session to leaveEngland gasping at 106 for eightat tea.

Ashwin added two morescalps to his tally whileMohammed Siraj (1/5), who wasintroduced as late as in the 39thover, debutant Axar Patel (2/40)and Ishant Sharma (2/22) also didthe damage.

Ashwin got the big wicket ofBen Stokes in the sixth over afterlunch. The left-hander missed anattempted clip off a beauty thatdrifted in and lost his off-stump.

Ollie Pope (22), who lookedassured against the spinners, wasbrilliantly caught by a divingRishabh Pant when he tried toglide one down the leg-side, togive Mohammed Siraj a wicket offthe first ball he bowled in Tests inIndia.

Foakes, who impressed withhis keeping skills when Indiabatted, showed his abilities infront of the wickets too. He bat-ted with poise against the spin-ners, who were looking to makethe most of a helping pitch.

Moeen Ali, coming in atnumber eight, fell when his edgehit Pant’s thighs and rebounded toAjinkya Rahane who took a finecatch diving forward.

Earlier resuming the day at300 for six, India added 29 runsto their overnight score. Theaggressive Pant scored 25 of thoseruns, hitting two fours and twosixes to remain unbeaten.

For England, pacer Olly Stonefinished with 3 for 47 in his firstgame in India. Off-spinner Ali (4for 128) picked up four wicketsbut proved expensive.

AFP n MELBOURNE

Gutsy Naomi Osaka saved twomatch points to outlast Garbine

Muguruza in a tense comebackwhile Serena Williams was pushedto a decider but prevailed againstAryna Sabalenka in a thriller onSunday and reach the AustralianOpen quarter-finals.

Hsieh Su-wei swept into her firstGrand Slam quarter-final after 16years of trying becoming the oldestplayer to make a last-eight debut inthe Open Era. Also, Simona Halepfought back from a set down to beatFrench Open champion Iga Swiatek3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Third seed Osaka as on the vergeof elimination at 3-5, 15-40 on herserve in the third set before rattlingoff four points in a row.

She then twice broke the serveof the two-time Grand Slam winnerMuguruza to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 inone hour and 55 minutes of grippingaction on an empty Rod LaverArena.

She will now have an all-Asianquarter-final against Chinese Taipeiveteran Hsieh Su-wei, who upset19th seed Marketa Vondrousova 6-

4, 6-2 in the fourth round.The 35-year-old overwhelmed

Vondrousova, a player 14 years herjunior. Hsieh got a early break in the

opening set and never looked trou-bled in win over the 19th seed, aplayer she also toppled in an AbuDhabi warm-up event in January.

SERENA SURVIVES ONSLAUGHTSerena Williams outlasted big-

hitting Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller to make Australian Openquarter-finals.

The American withstood a bar-rage from the seventh seed to pre-vail 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours andnine minutes and set up a mouth-watering clash with world numbertwo Simona Halep.

Williams, 39, had never beforeplayed the Belarusian, who has col-lected more trophies than anyoneelse since last year French Open butnever reached the quarter-finals ofa Slam. Sabalenka, who has spokenabout modelling her big-hittinggame on Williams, showed off herpower with blistering serves andgroundstrokes in the high-octanecontest.

A composed Williams, watchedby older sister Venus in the stands,counter-attacked superbly in theearly stages and broke Sabalenka’sserve in the 10th game to win the

opening set.Sabalenka, who was born four

months after Williams made herGrand Slam debut in 1998, wasunperturbed and stepped up herassault to dominate Williams’ usu-ally reliable serve.

The 22-year-old admonishedherself before drawing level bypouncing on Williams’s falteringfirst serve, which she landed just 36%of the time in the second set.

Williams regrouped and raced toa commanding 4-1 lead in the thirdset as a frustrated Sabalenkaslammed her racquet to theground as the match began toslip away.

Sabalenka won threestraight games to get back onterms but Williams’s experience sawher through as she maintained herunbeaten run since emerging from14-day quarantine in Australia.

Halep exacted revenge onSwiatek with a comeback three-setvictory, which set up a blockbusterquarter-final with Serena Williams.

The world No 2 was thrashed bythe 19-year-old at Roland Garros,winning just three games, but turnedthe tide in Melbburne.

AFP n DHAKA

The West Indies beat Bangladesh by 17 runs inthe second Test on Sunday to complete a 2-0

series sweep.Rahkeem Cornwall claimed 4/105 and com-

pleted a superb catch at first slip to end the matchas the tourists bowled out Bangladesh for 213 inthe second innings on the fourth day, 18 runs shortof their victory target.

While Cornwall took centerstage, KraiggBrathwaite (3/25) and Jomel Warrican (3/47)grabbed the remaining wickets as Bangladesh werebowled out for 213 on the fourth day.

The West Indies made 409 and 117 runs intheir two innings and Bangladesh were all out for296 in their first innings. The tourists had wonthe first Test by three wickets. which was anoth-er thriller with debutant Kyle Mayers scoring arecord-breaking fourth-inning double century.

Cornwall took centrestage as spinners pickedup all 10 wickets in a famous win.

Mehidy Hasan hit two sixes and three fourslate in the day to add drama after the hosts losttheir ninth wicket but the West Indies kept theircool to deny them a come-from-behind win.

“I would say this is a team effort. The one-day team didn’t do well. But we had some plansand came on top,” said skipper Kraigg Brathwaite.

The West Indies had lost the ODI series 3-0.“Coming over here with all the protocols in

place, it is huge,” he added.“Very thankful for this opportunity. I’m very

proud of the boys. It means everything backhome.”

PTI n CHENNAI

Give Rishabh Pant a“break” from constant

comparisons and let him gofrom strength to strength, hissenior India teammateRavichandran Ashiwn sug-gested on Sunday.

Be it for his keeping orbatting, be it with one ofIndia’s greatest or any otherplayer, Pant needs a breakfrom all sorts of comparisons,expressed Ashiwn, who hasbeen keeping the youngstumper on his toes withdeliveries that look like fetch-ing their team wickets everynow and then.

“He was constantly com-pared with the great MSDhoni for a long time. Now hegets compared for his wicket-keeping with (Wriddhiman)Saha, this that and all that,sometimes it’s just better togive a break and let peoplebuild on confidence,” Ashwinsaid at the end of the secondday’s play during which hecollected his 29th five-for inTest cricket.

On his swashbucklingw i c k e t k e e p e r- b a t s m a n ,Ashwin continued, “Withrespect to Rishabh’s keeping,

the name of the game is con-fidence right, he has beenbatting well, he has beenworking incredibly hard onhis keeping as well...

“And sometimes, whenyou are constantly being com-

pared to someone who hasdone well for years, it can bereally hard, I really do feel forRishabh, on a lot occasions,when I am watching gamesfrom home where he is play-ing the white-ball format.

“He has definitely got theability, that is why he is here

and I have no doubt he will gofrom strength to strength.”

After playing a key role inIndia’s incredible series win inAustralia last month, Pantsaid the comparisons withDhoni are flattering but addedhe wants to carve his ownidentity in the game.

AFP n LAHORE

Pakistan clinched a four-wicket vic-tory over South Africa in the third

and final T20I with eight balls to spareat the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore onSunday to clinch the series 2-1.

South Africa were all at sea anddespite heroics from David Miller,who scored an unbeaten 85, andTabraiz Shamsi’s career-best of 4-25,Pakistan were too good for the visitorsas Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawazclubbed 20 runs off the penultimateover, bowled by Andile Phehlukwayo(2.4-0-37-0), to clinch the game and theseries with some space to spare.

Babar Azam had won the toss andhad asked Heinrich Klaasen’s men to batfirst. South Africa had slumped to 48for six and 67 for seven before Miller’sexploits pushed the South Africaneffort to a respectable 164 for eight.

Miller clubbed five boundariesand seven sixes, four of which came inthe final over of the innings, bowled byFaheem Ashraf (3-0-38-0), in his 45-ballinnings after the entire South Africanbatting order had been caught like adeer in the headlights.

In reply, Shamsi had bamboozledthe Pakistan top-order to leave SouthAfrica with hope of clinching a victo-ry from the jaws of defeat but a lack of

support proved the difference asPakistan reached 169 for six with stilleight balls remaining in the match.

The only support Miller received inthe South African effort was from open-er Janneman Malan. The Cobras manstruck three fours and a six from 17 ballsbefore being trapped leg before fromdebutant legspinner, Zihad Mahmood(4-0-40-3).

For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan,who scored a century and a fifty in thefirst two games, along with new part-ner Haider Ali (15), gave the home sidea good start with an opening stand of51 from just 37 balls.

AFP nMELBOURNE

Atired-looking Dominic Thiembecame the highest seed to fall

at this year’s Australian Open whenthe US Open champion was senttumbling out in straight sets byGrigor Dimitrov in the fourthround on Sunday while ailing worldNo 1 Novak Djokovic battled pastMilos Raonic to keep his titledefence alive.

The night match’s schedulinggave Djokovic the maximum

amount of time to recover froma midriff muscle injury sus-tained in his five-set winover American Taylor Fritz

late on Friday. And not oper-ating at his best, Djokovic

dropped a set but won 7-6(4), 4-6,6-1, 6-4 in a bruising battle. It wasthe Serb’s win No 300 in Grand Slamevents.

Earlier, Thiem, the Austrianthird seed and last year’s losing final-ist, appeared to lack energy after ral-lying to beat Nick Kyrgios over fivegruelling sets on Friday in front ofa raucous crowd. He struggled tomatch the intensity of the 18th-seed-

ed Bulgarian on a silent, fan-freeRod Laver Arena and slumped out6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in 2hr 1min.

Former world No 3 Dimitrovwill now play giant-killing Russianqualifier Aslan Karatsev in thequarter-finals after he stunned 20thseed Felix Auger-Aliassime over fivesets. The power-hitting 27-year-old,a virtual unknown before the tour-nament started, battled back fromtwo sets down to upset the Canadian

3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on MargaretCourt Arena.

Also, Alexander Zverev tottedup his 50th Grand Slam win whenhe beat Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic instraight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

The German sixth seed wastested in the first two sets butfound it easier in the third, sealinghis 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory withan ace.

ASHWIN SPINS OUT ENGIndia take firm control of 2nd Test after Ashwin & Co wreak havoc on Chepauk track

CHENNAI: With apologies toHarbhajan Singh, R Ashwin onSunday cherished surpassing hisformer India teammate’s numberof Test wickets in the country.

With 266 scalps, Ashiwn isnow only behind spin legendAnil Kumble’s 350 wickets inhome Tests. Ashwin went pastHarbhajan, who took 265 wicketsin India at an average of 28.76, bydismissing Ben Stokes with aperfect off-spinner on the second

day of the second Test.“When I was watching the

2001 series where Bhajju Pa(Harbhajan) was playing, I didn’teven imagine that I would go outand become an off-spinner for thecountry.

“I was still a batsman for mystate, trying to accelerate a careertowards batting and playing forthe country, I wasn’t sure whetherI would go on and become a play-er for the Indian team,” Ashwin

said at a post-day conference.The 34-year-old Ashwin, who

has so far taken 391 wickets from76 Tests at an impressive averageof 25.26, was not aware of his featuntil he had come for the mediainteraction at the end of the day’splay.

According to Ashwin, a lot ofhis teammates, when he wasyoung, would make fun of him ashe used to try bowling likeHarbhajan.

“Lot of my teammates fromthat age, from that generation, youknow, used to make fun of me,because I used to bowl like BhajjuPa, my action, I used to try andbowl like him and all that.

“So, from there on to comeone and actually break the recordof something that he possesses,has to be incredibly special. I did-n’t know of it, now that I do knowof it, I feel happy. Sorry, BhajjuPa...,” said Ashwin. PTI

Sorry Bhajju pa: Ashwin after breaking Harbhajan's record

2nd Test. Day 3Live from 9:30am ISTSTAR SPORTS 1 NETWORK

Pant needs break from constant comparisons: Ash

CHENNAI: It is an incrediblychallenging surface, saidEngland assistant coachGraham Thorpe as Indiatook upper hand after dis-missing England for 134 intheir f irst innings onSunday.

“It is a very challengingsurface that is what I amgoing to say. In terms of mecommenting on the pitch Ithink that is for someoneabove me to look at.

“It was incredibly chal-lenging on that surface forus on day two. Theirs isobviously a very skilled spinattack as well on their ownconditions. And it was avery good toss to win,”Thorpe said at press confer-ence.

Decisions by the third

umpire have come in forcriticism in the match so farand on Sunday there was anissue over Rohit Sharmabeing ruled not out onreview after he was ruled outby the on-field umpire.

However, Thorpeoffered straight bat, saying“we have to accept the deci-sion.”

“We have to trust thetechnology...That’s really allI can say,” the formerEngland batsman said to aquestion if there was a senseof frustration with theDecision Review System.

Asked how the Englandbatsmen would need to baton a tricky pitch like the onehere, Thorpe said the bats-men had plans but could notexecute. PTI

‘Chennai pitch is incredibly challenging’

Caribbeans pull offanother thrilling win

Osaka, Serena prevail in three-setters 300th Slam win for Djoker

Pak hand Proteas fourthstraight T20 series loss

s a composer, Gantadi Krishna’s bonafides include Sampangi, Six Teensand Sriramachandrulu among othersin the noughties and now he hasgone behind the camera to direct andproduce a film titled Inka Edho

Kavali, featuring new faces Sandeep Ashwa,Tarun Sagar, Arjun Thakur, Vishwesh, SanyaSinha, Zoya Zaverie in the lead roles.Speaking to us, he informs us that the filmfalls under the genre of Six Teens but is not asequel. “It’s a beautiful story and as it was mybrainchild, I decided to direct it. It’s a musi-cal-based film and tells the story of four guysand two girls. The male lead woos two girlssimultaneously and how he realises theimportance of love forms the crux,” the direc-tor, who has also composed the soundtrack,shares. Krishna adds that he enjoyed the expe-rience of directing the film and he will directmore if he comes across stories that resonatewith him. However, he maintains that his pri-mary love remains music. He has also remixed

the hugely popular Devuduvaramandisthe number fromSix Teens for Inka EdhoKavali, repeating originalsinger Kumar Sanu. “I’vesigned him on because Iwanted to jog the audience’smemory once again. Generallyfor a remix, the beats are addedwith an increase in the tempo. Forthis song though, I’ve changed thetune completely,” he notes, adding thathe has completed the talkie portions ofthe film and he intends to shoot a coupleof numbers in Bangkok pretty soon.

Krishna is not busy as a composer rightnow as when he burst on to the scene twodecades ago. He insists such fluctuationsare common in the industry. “We don’tbe the way the industry wants us to be,and vice-versa with the industry aswell. Success determines your nextmoves here,” he signs off.

12

tollywoodVijayawada Monday February 15 2021

ith an eye on consoli-dating his mass imagefurther and at thesame time exploringthe actor in him;Ram has been having

talks with multiple filmmakersover the last six months for hisnext. Some of the directorswith whom he held discussionsinclude Venky Kudumula andRT Neason. But it looks like theactor has finally picked his next

director. According to a well-placed source, he will be col-laborating with Tamil directorN Lingusamy up next. Thedirector is familiar to Teluguaudiences as his films likePandem Kodi, Run and Awaara— all dubbed from Tamil —have performed reasonably wellhere. While his last two Tamilfilms — Sikander and PandemKodi 2 — might have failed tolight up the box-office, his

cracker of an idea sealed thedeal for Ram.

The source informs, “Ram’ssearch for his next filmmakerended with Lingusamy after thedirector shared an interestingstory idea, as it ticks all theboxes the actor was looking for.He has asked the director toflesh it out further.Discussions are underwaywhether to make it as a Telugu-Tamil bilingual. With Ram

being a popular face inthe north market, cour-tesy his Telugu dubbedmovies into Hindi, itcannot be ruled out ifthe makers considerthe project as a pan-India affair.”

The source adds thatU Turn and Seetimaarrproducer Srinivasaa Chitturiwill be shepherding the projectunder his Srinivasaa Silver

Screen. “The filming is likely tobegin in March or April,” thesource concludes.

Ram, who has been in a fixover his next for a long time,has finally chosen Tamilfilmmaker Lingusamy for hisnext. Seetimaarr producerSrinivasaa Chitturiis attached to theproject as aproducer. It will roll insummer, finds NAGARAJGOUD

Ram picks N Lingusamy for his next

W

eleased amid great expec-tations, Uppena on Fridaycollected a share of Rs 9.3crore, setting a positiveprecedent for the week-end. The impressive con-

tent aided by a super hit sound-track meant that the film consoli-dated on his positive word-of-mouth on the second day as well,registering a share of 6.9 crore.Overall, the first two days collec-tions stand at Rs 16.2 crore. Thenumber is quite impressive for afeature starring debutants.

At this rate, most of the distrib-utors will see profits fromMonday, while the producers havealready made profits before

release. With the industry goingthrough a crisis for almost 10months due to COVID-19,Uppena’s revenue has proved thatthe audiences are ready to getback to the cinemas if they aredelivered good content.

Directed by Sukumar’s assistantBuchi Babu Sana, Uppena tells thestory of a fisherman’s son Aasi(played by Vaisshnav Tej) fallingin love with the daughter (KrithiShetty) of an influential manRayanam (Vijay Sethupathi) whocomes from an upper caste. Theprice Aasi pays over it forms thecrux. The film’s climax, especially,received great plaudits from thepeople who’ve watched it so far.

an-India star Prabhas onSunday dropped theglimpse of his next, RadheShyam, giving a peek intothe fairytale world thatdirector Radha Krishnacreated for the period

romantic drama. The teaser openswith Prabhas searching for his loveinterest in a crowded European rail-way station, trying to make animpression. When he is askedwhether he considers himself as

Romeo by Prerana who is playedby Pooja Hegde, he replies, “I

am unlike him. He diedfor love; I won’t.”

“Celebrate theday of

love with a Glimpse of#RadheShyam..#ValentinesWithRSReleasing in cinemas on 30th July2021 (sic),” Prabhas wrote, whileusing the occasion to even reveal thefilm’s anticipated release date simulta-neously in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil,Kannada and Malayalam.

The date assumes significance asthe same month witnesses other pan-India releases lined-up. While AdiviSesh’s Major (July 2), backed bysuperstar Mahesh Babu and SonyPictures, will kick off the July compe-tition, KGF: Chapter 2, with sky-highexpectations around it, opens on July16.

Two weeks after Radhe Shyamstorms into the cinemas, Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa is set to release.

p

Radhe Shyamin July-end

Gantadi Krishna remixes DevuduVaramandisthe for his directorial debut

roduction house MatineeEntertainments onSunday revealed the titleof its next with SreeVishnu and AmrithaAiyer as Arjuna Phalguna.

Directed by Teja Marni of Johaarfame, the film is a rural comedyand has gone to floors inDecember. The makersannounced that 75 percent ofthe film’s shooting has beenwrapped up.

Speaking about the EastGodavari-set project, Teja toldus that it is about five friendswho stand for each other dur-ing their testing times.

“It is a caper comedy andthere is a social issue we aretrying to address sensitively.

People who have taken croresof loans from banks are let go

off easily while farmers who oweRs 1- 3 lakh bore the brunt of the

banks. The film revolves aroundmoney. It is in contrast to my firstfilm, in that it will be humorous,”he had said.

Featuring Naresh, Sivaji Raja,Subba Raju, Devi Prasad,Rangasthalam Mahesh and RajKumar Chowdary in supportingroles, the film is a PriyadarshanBalasubramanian musical.

Sree Vishnu’snext titled

Arjuna Phalguna

p

A

R

Uppena clocks great numbers

Jakes Bejoy music for Maruthi-Gopichand film

s reported by us earlier, film-maker Maruthi has cho-sen PakkaCommercial as thetitle for his nextwith Gopichand.

A joint production venturebetween UV Creations andGA2 Pictures, the film waslaunched in Hyderabad onSunday. This is the firsttime that Gopi isjoining forceswith GeethaArts, whilehe workedwith UVearlier forJil.Initially,Ravi Tejawasattachedto theproject asa lead butwith theproduc-

tion houses not meeting his feedemands, he exited it. Maruthi imme-

diately pitched the same story toGopi and got his nod.

The principal photographyof the film will commencefrom March 5 in Hyderabad.

Gopi will be seen as acriminal lawyer in the film,an action-drama laced withhumour. Maruthi will be

working withMalayalam com-

poser JakesBejoy for thefirst time,whileRaveendarwill head theart depart-ment.RaashiKhanna istipped tobe thefilm’s lead-ing lady.

A