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MONEY 8DISCOMS' OUTSTANDING DUES

RISE 47% TO RS 1.33L CR IN JUNE

ANALYSIS 7SOCIALIST IDEAS AND AN

INDIFFERENT WORKING CLASS

SPORTS 11BAJRANG TIPS WRESTLERS TOWIN 3-4 MEDALS AT OLYMPICS

VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY AUGUST 3, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

}‘I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE

AN IAS OFFICER’

Page 9

{

RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 272*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

5

MSME gives nod for scheme for ‘agarbatti’ production

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4

Farooq Abdullahcalls for probe intoexodus of KashmiriPandits

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated august 2, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Shravana & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Chaturdashi: 09:28 pm

Nakshatram: Purva Ashadha:

06:52 am

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 05:09 pm – 06:45 pm

Yamagandam: 12:22 pm – 01:57 pm

Varjyam: 03:01 pm – 04:39 pm

Gulika: 03:33 pm - 05:09 am

Good Time: (to start any important work)

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PNS n NEW DELHI

With travel restrictions andphysical distancing becomingthe new normal this year, tra-ditional visits to our siblings forRakhi this year are being sub-stituted by virtual Rakhis sentonline.

Major e-commerce sites haveseen massive jump in the num-ber of orders placed for rakhisand e-gifts given the restric-tions and apprehensions abouttravel and social distancing.

Snapdeal saw rakhi ordersjumping three-fold as moreusers have opted to buy or sendRakhis online. Adding to thetrend, Snapdeal’s shoppersmoved to completely digitalsolutions for Raksha Bandhan

this year by choosing E-Giftcards as the topmost Rakhi gift.The platform witnessed a surgein the sale of digital gift cardstwo weeks before Raksha band-

han. It logged an increase of 70percent in the sale of thesecards, vis-à-vis last year, thecompany announced in a state-ment.

Last year, travel accessorieslike go-pro mounts, selfiesticks, and backpacks werewidely picked as RakshaBandhan gifts. Ethnic clotheswere also widely bought as gift-ing. This year, as India contin-ues to be cautious of the virus,digital gift cards saw a big boostin sales.

“The number of Rakhis soldthis year exceeds the number ofRakhis sold in the last twoyears combined. This is pri-

marily due to the shoppersexercising caution and avoid-ing the festival linked travel,”the company said.

Flipkart has also seen a saleof over 1,00,000 rakhis per day.Overall, the platform has seen2x growth as compared to pre-vious year in terms of unitssold.

The North is the largestchunk in the pie, with almost45 percent demand comingfrom the region, followed by

Eastern states with 25 percentshare, the company said.

The top 10 cities generatingdemand are New Delhi,Bangalore, Patna, Mumbai,Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow,Bhubaneswar, Kolkata andGurgaon Ferns N Petals haswitnessed 100 growth in incomparison to the previousrakhi seasons. It has received10,000 rakhi and rakhi giftorders every day, total 300,000orders till Saturday. There havebeen 400-600 orders per dayfor virtual gifts like Guitarist onVideo Call, Personalized Videomessage, and celebrity videomessage. The company is antic-ipating to close this season at1.5 million orders.

Major e-commerce sites have seen massive jumpin the number of orders placed for rakhis and e-gifts given the curbs and apprehensions abouttravel and social distancing

Covid Impact: Raksha Bandhan goes digital this year

State govt issues orderreplacing CRDA with AMRDAPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The State government hasissued an order notifying theAmaravati Metropolitan RegionDevelopment Authority(AMDRA) in place of CapitalRegion Development Authority(CRDA). The government hasissued the order stating that theentire CRDA jurisdiction comesunder the purview of AMRDA.

An AMDRA Committeecomprising 11 officers has beenformed, while the MunicipalSecretary will be the Vice-Chairman of the panel

The Committee comprisesthe Chief Secretary of theMinistry of Finance, theAMRDA Commissioner,Guntur and Krishna DistrictCollectors, the Director TownPlanning and Deputy TransportCommissioners as members.

The government has

appointed P LakshmiNarasimham as theCommissioner of AMRDA.According to the new notifica-tion issued by the governmentas CRDA-2020 repeal wasapproved by Governor BiswaBushan Harichandan, theCRDA Bill, which was pro-posed earlier in 2014, would no

longer exist. It may be recalledthat the Governor on Fridaygave assent to two crucial billsAndhra PradeshDecentralisation and InclusiveDevelopment of all RegionsBill and APCRDA Repeal Billfor developing of three capitalcities. As for the proposal of theState government

Visakhapatnam will be devel-oped as Executive Capital,Amaravati as Legislative Capitaland Kurnool will be the JudicialCapital.

l The government hasappointed P LakshmiNarasimham as theCommissioner of AMRDA

l An AMDRA Committeecomprising 11 officers hasbeen formed, while theMunicipal Secretary will be theVice-Chairman of the panel

l The Committee comprisesthe Chief Secretary of theMinistry of Finance, theAMRDA Commissioner, Gunturand Krishna District Collectors,the Director Town Planningand Deputy TransportCommissioners as members

3 die while travelling to attendlast rites of crane crash victimPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Tragedy struck a family for sec-ond time in 24 hours, as threepersons were killed in an acci-dent in Srikakulam district onSunday while they were ontheir way to Visakhapatnam toattend the last rites of a relative,who was killed in crane crashat the Hindustan ShipyardLimited (HSL) on Saturday.

The car in which they weretravelling rammed into a sta-tionary truck at Kanchili inSrikakulam district. Nagamani(48), who was coming toVisakhapatnam to see for thelast time her son-in-law PBhaskar Rao died in the roadaccident, along with herdaughter-in-law Lavanya (23)and driver Routu Dwaraka(23).

Police said the accident

occurred when the car rammedinto the stationary truck frombehind. Nagamani's sonsIshwar Rao and Rajasekharand another daughter-in-lawPytili were injured and wereinitially shifted to the govern-ment hospital at Sompeta andlater to Srikakulam. The con-dition of Ishwar Rao is stated

to be critical.The family had started from

Kharagpur in West Bengalafter learning that their son-in-law was killed in the cranecrash at HSL. Eleven peoplewere crushed to death when agiant crane came crashingdown at HSL on Saturday.

JANA SENA TO RALLY BEHIND FARMERS

Pawan demands YSRCP,TDP MLAs resignationPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Jana Sena Party chief PawanKalyan demanded that theYSRCP MLAs and TDP MLAsfrom Krishna and Guntur dis-tricts resign in support offarmers, who were left in thelurch, after giving their landsfor the construction of capitalcity in Amaravati.

Pawan recalled the discus-sion he had with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi oncapital issue in 2014, and hereminded that the latter hadreportedly said after Gujaratwas bifurcated fromMaharashtra, it took 25 yearsto construct capital cityGandhi Nagar.

Addressing the PAC meet-

ing attended by its ChairmanNadendla Manohar, PAC Eastand West Godavari districts in-charge K Nagababu and otherparty leaders on Sunday,

Pawan observed a two-minutesilence to mourn the death 11employees at HindustanShipyard in Vizag.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Two committees have beenset up to investigate theVisakhapatnam crane crashincident in which 11 peoplewere killed at the HindustanShipyard Limited (HSL) inVisakhapatnam on Saturday.One committee was set upunder the Director ofShipyard and another com-mittee was established by theDepartment of Engineering,Andhra University. The twocommittees were given adeadline to submit a detailedreport within a week.

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy hasdirected officials to takeimmediate action in the case.The crane crash took place atHSL while conducting a mas-sive crane? trial killing 11

persons. Bodies have beenretrieved in the rescue andrelief operations.

The deceased were identi-f ied as Venkat Rao,Chaitanya, Ramana, PVRatnam, P Naga Devullu,Satt iraju, Shiva Kumar,Kakarla Prasad, Jagan and PBhaskar.

Two panels set up toprobe Vizag crane crash

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The death tolldue to Covid-19 in the Staterose to 1,474with 67 moresuccumbing tothe infection,health officialssaid on Sunday.

The State's tallyof Covid-19 positivecases crossed the 1.58 lakhmark on Sunday with the

detection of 8,555 newinfections. According

to the HealthD e p a r t m e nt ' sbulletin, theoverall case tallyr e a c h e d1,58,764.

While 11 peo-ple died in

Krishna district,eight died in Guntur.

East Godavari andVisakhapatnam districtsaccounted for seven deaths

each, Kurnool and Nelloredistricts six each. Five peopledied in Srikakulam, four inPrakasam, three each inKadapa, Vizianagaram andChittoor and two each inAnantapur and East Godavaridistricts.

Kurnool district remainedthe worst affected with 207fatalities so far while EastGodavari stands second with179 deaths and Krishna thirdwith 175 deaths.

Rs 50 lakhcompensationto crane crashvictims’ kinPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Management ofHindustan Shipyard Limited(HSL) has announced that itwill pay Rs 50 lakh compen-sation to the kin of thedeceased in the crane crashaccident in Visakhapatnam. Italso assured to provide a jobto one of the family membersof the deceased. This comesafter Minister for TourismAvanti Srinivas andGajuwaka MLA Tippla NagiReddy holding talks withHSL management as the fam-ily members and trade unionsraised concern that justiceshould be rendered to thedeceased.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Sunday informedthat he has tested positive forcoronavirus and has beenadvised by the doctors to beadmitted to the hospital.Taking to Twitter, Shah saidthat he underwent coron-avirus test after getting theinitial symptoms of the virus.He also appealed to peoplewho have come in contactwith him in the last few daysto isolate themselves and gettested.

“On getting the initialsymptoms of corona, I gotthe test done and the reporthas come positive. My healthis fine, but I am being admit-ted to the hospital on theadvice of doctors. I requestall of you who have come incontact with me in the lastfew days, please isolate your-self and get your test done,”Shah tweeted.

PNS n MUMBAI

Megastar AmitabhBachchan isheading homeafter testingCovid-19 nega-tive, shared hisson and actorAbhishek Bachchanon

Sunday. “@juniorbachchanmy father, thankfully, has

tested negative on his lat-est Covid-19 test andhas been dischargedfrom the hospital. Hewill now be at home

and rest. Thank you allfor all your prayers and

wishes for him,” Abhishektweeted. Abhishek also

informed his fans that “I,Unfortunately due to somecomorbidities remain Covid-19 positive and remain in hos-pital”.

But he thanked all his well-wishers for “your continuedwishes and prayers for myfamily. Very humbled andindebted. I’ll beat this andcome back healthier! Promise”.

Amitabh tests Covid-19 negative

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Deputy Speaker KonaRaghupati andhis wifewere test-ed posi-tive forCovid-19o nS u n d a y .R a g h u p a t ireleased a selfie video inwhich he said that he was suf-fering from fever, hence, heand his wife went for Coronatesting and were tested pos-itive.

Dy Speaker,wife testpositive forCovid-19

One committeewas set up underthe Director ofShipyard andanother committeewas established bythe Department ofEngineering,Andhra University

3

3

3

3

3

3 67 succumb to Covid-19 in State

Shah testspositive forCoronavirus

Sometimes silence islouder than words,says GajendraShekhawat

CENTRE ASKS STATES, UTS TO ALLOWCOVID PATIENTS USE SMARTPHONES

ICMR PLANS TO SET UP REGISTRY OFHOSPITALISED COVID-19 PATIENTS

Aregistry of hospitalised COVID-19 patients across the country isbeing mooted to collect real time data which will help improve

treatment outcomes, analyse trends in theprogression of the pandemic and calibrateresponse, officials said. The ICMR in collaborationwith the Health Ministry and the AIIMS is planningto set up the National Clinical Registry which willhelp researchers and policy makers understandeffectiveness of investigational therapies, adverseeffects taking place and generate evidence forimproving the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The India Meteorological Department is planning to use artificialintelligence in weather forecasting, especially for issuing

nowcasts, which can help improve 3-6 hours prediction of extremeweather events, its Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said onSunday. He said the use of artificial intelligence andmachine learning is not as prevalent as it is in otherfields and it is relatively new in the area of weatherforecasting. The IMD has invited research groupswho can study how AI be used for improvingweather forecasting and Ministry of Earth Sciencesis evaluating their proposals, Mohapatra said.

The Centre has written to all states and UTs stating that smartphones andtablet devices should be allowed for hospitalised Covid patients so that

they can interact with family and friends through video conferencing, whichwould provide them psychological support. Though mobilephones are allowed in hospital wards, the missive was issuedfollowing some representation from the kin of patients allegingotherwise. DGHS in the Health Ministry Dr Rajiv Garg saidappropriate protocols for disinfecting devicesand allotting timeslots can be developed by thehospital concerned to facilitate contact betweenpatients and their family.

IMD PLANS TO USE AI INWEATHER FORECASTING

AIIB IN DISCUSSION WITH INDIA FORFINANCING HEALTH INFRA SCHEME

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is in discussion with theIndian government for financing a USD 8-billion scheme for improving

health infrastructure at the district level to make the country betterprepared for the future healthcare challenges. The Beijing-based multilateral funding agency had earlier approved afinancial assistance of USD 1.2 billion for India to fight theCOVID-19 pandemic. "The Government of India hasdiscussed about its ambitious scheme of strengthening thehealth infrastructure. It entails building health infrastructurein every district including upgrading of testing facilities withthe ICMR," AIIB Vice President D J Pandian said.

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VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020 vijayawada 02

TDP demands Health Emergency in StatePNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLA Dola BalaVeeranjaneya Swamy onSunday expressed concernover the unchecked rise inCoronavirus cases and fatali-ties in the State in the face ofcontinued negligence of thegovernment in providing bet-ter treatment facilities. Hedemanded that the YSRCPgovernment should declareHealth Emergency immediate-ly so as to according top priority that was required torescue people from the pan-demic.

Opposition party MLA stat-ed that there is an immediateneed to increase beds, venti-lators, ICUs and doctors toprovide timely treatment to

patients. He alleged that thegovernment testing centreswere not doing tests prompt-ly and giving lame excuses topatients as they were askingpeople sometimes to go to pri-vate labs.

He lamented that lack oftimely testing and delayedresults was putting the lives ofmany people in danger. Heurged the government to pro-vide necessary funds and facil-ities to officials in order to

speed up testing.Veeranjaneya Swamy

expressed surprise that thedistrict-level officials werenot answering to the phonecalls of even the MLAs as theywere unable to provide facil-

ities for Coronavirus patientsin the hospitals. He rued ahelpless situation has set inwhere the common publicwere coming to the MLAseven for recommendationsfor beds and test results. Heopined that the governmentshould understand the prob-lems of patients and augment the facilities all overthe State.

Swamy urged the govern-ment to issue district-levelhealth bulletins to make allinformation available to peo-ple on the availability of beds,hospitals, ventilators, testinglabs and so on. He assertedthat transparency was neces-sary for taking everybodyalong in the cause of defeatingthe invisible enemy.

l TDP MLA Dola BalaVeeranjaneya Swamy stated

that there is an immediateneed to increase beds,

ventilators, ICUs and doctorsto provide timely treatment to

patients. He alleged that thegovernment testing centres

were not doing tests promptlyand giving lame excuses to

patients as they were askingpeople sometimes to go to

private labs

l The TDP MLA lamented that lackof timely testing and delayed resultswas putting the lives of many peoplein danger. He urged the governmentto provide necessary funds andfacilities to officials in order to speedup testing

l The TDP leader expressedsurprise that the district-level officialswere not answering to the phonecalls of even the MLAs as they wereunable to provide facilities forCoronavirus patients in the hospitals.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Governor Biswa BushanHarichandan, whose birthdayfalls on August 3, has decidednot to celebrate his birthdaydue to prevailing situation ofCovid-19 pandemic in theState. The Governor hasappealed to people not tocome to the Raj Bhavan towish him on his birthday.

He once again appealed topeople of the State to take allprecautions such as avoidingunnecessary travel by staying athome, maintaining social dis-tance, wearing a face mask andwashing hands with sanitiser orsoap. He said the spread of theCoronavirus can be preventedonly by following all the nec-essary protocols and practicesas advised by the Central andState government authorities.

In the wake of unprecedent-ed situation created by theCovid-19 pandemic, it is decid-ed to not to celebrate RakshaBandhan at the Raj Bhavan on

Monday. He conveyed greet-ings to people on the eve ofRaksha Bandhan and appealed

to them to stay at home andcelebrate the festival duly fol-lowing precautions.

CORONA EFFECT

Governor not to celebrateRaksha BandhanGovernor not to celebrateRaksha Bandhan, his b’day

l The Governor has decidednot to celebrate his birthday,which falls on August 3, dueto prevailing situation ofCovid-19 pandemic in theState. The Governor hasappealed to people not tocome to the Raj Bhavan towish him on his birthday.

l In the wake of unprecedentedsituation created by the Covid-19pandemic, it is decided to not to

celebrate Raksha Bandhan at the RajBhavan. He conveyed greetings to

people on the eve of RakshaBandhan and appealed to them to

stay at home and celebrate thefestival duly following precautions

Mondelezlaunches RakhicampaignPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Mondelez India launchedtheir latest campaign#CloserThisRakhi. Thecompany will further addsparkle to the festivitiesthrough e-Commerce exclu-sive chocolate gift boxes,blurring geographicalboundaries and bringingsiblings closer and strongertogether.

Commenting on the latestRakhi campaign, AnilViswanathan, Director, said,“Over the years, MondelezIndia has come to be anintrinsic part of festivals inthe country with Cadburycelebrations redefining thejoy of gifting. This year, too,in spite of the challengingtimes, we will continue toinspire India to celebratewith their friends and fam-ily. With the focus onspreading happiness andbanking on the propositionof ‘Kuch Achha Ho Jaaye,Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’, thenew campaign#CloserThisRakhi aims todrive positivity and remindpeople to bond with theirloved ones and cherish everysweet moment possible. Therelationship between sib-lings is rather a special oneand like every year, we aimto instill the same joyfulnessthis Raksha Bandhan andfurther strengthen the jovialconnection between a broth-er and a sister.”

HC UPADHYAY nHYDERABAD

Chanakya has said: 'If youare faced with severalenemies, tackle the

strongest one first. 'Considering the present sce-nario, wherein the countryhas been challenged by com-munal forces, extremist ele-ments, terrorists and crest-fallen pigmy opposition lead-ers, besides of course COVID-19 pandemic and China andPakistan on borders, when weapply the philosophy ofChanakya, at any rate Jihadisand anti-national elementspose greater threat than allother enemies.

Recent chest-beating by theleader of former Razakars'party in a bid to become juniorMohammad Ali Jinhah, lashedout at the Prime Minister forthe latter's proposed participa-tion in the foundation ceremo-ny of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.He was chorused by his croniesdeclaring their resolve toreconstruct the erstwhile so-called Babri Masjid at thesame place. Such outbursts

make their nasty intentionsabundantly clear. However,luckily for them, as backlashthe heavy hammer of Hindutvaforces has not yet fallen onthem because the Hindus arecounting the sins of the mod-ern-day Shishupals.

These internal enemiesof the country swear bythe Constitution day inand day out, but havenever bothered to readthe chapter on theduties of a citizenwhich is also apart and parcel ofthe Constitution.Unfortunately, thegovernment of theday is taking the evildesigns of theseanti-national forces lightly.The official statement that thenew Ram Mandir will be opento people of 'all faiths' makesno sense because if other faithsbelieved in Lord Ram, where isthe need to have a Prophet or

a Saviour? The ground realitiescannot be ignored and wemust take note of the fact thatthe very foundation of 1400-year- old Islam and 2000-year-old Christianity is the uttercontempt and total disregardfor Lord Ram, who existed

some 7,000 years ago. Theirvenom engulfs everythingthat is Hindu and they have

never concealed theirintentions.

Coming tothe principles of

democracy, even aschool student knows

that it is the system where-in the wish of majorityprevails over minority andthat has to be honoured.By taking shelter under

the deceitfully inserted 42ndConstitutional amendment, noone can claim that since pass-ing of the said Amendmentovernight a majority of coun-trymen have become 'secular'of their likings. Therefore, let

the subversive forces of differ-ent colours be not under theimpression that by taking shel-ter under this 1976 amend-ment, they can block themajority wish from prevailingover the minority.

The great paradox of thecountry is that with the help ofenhanced military might andfavourable world opinion, thecountry can bravely face theexternal threats, be it fromPakistan, Nepal or China; butthe greater danger is from thefoes within and any patch-work in this regard will domore harm than resolving theproblem.

Indeed, the lasting solutionto this problem is in scrapingthe two contentious wordsnamely 'secular' and 'socialist'from the preamble andunequivocally declaring there-in that Bharat is a HinduRashtra. There is no need to becowed down by the anti-Hinduforces by whatever name, labelor f lag they are known.Needless to say that this is theneed of the hour if the pro-posed Ram Mandir inAyodhya and other places ofHindu worship besides theHindu themselves are to besaved from barbaric forces,such a bold decision has to be

taken at the right earnest. If wemiss the bus now, our futuregenerations would have a validground to blame us.

US Supreme Court restrictsentry of worshippers

The Supreme Court of theUnited States has restricted theentry of more than 50 wor-shipers at a time in churches. Inits judgment dated July 24, itdismissed an appeal filed byCalvary Chapel Dayton Valley(Church), requesting the Courtto increase the limit of partic-ipants in the church, syna-gogue or mosque. The appealwas preferred against the orderof the Governor of the Nevada,along with the averment that allthe precautions shall be com-plied strictly, including socialdistancing order. The Courtrejected this plea observing:"…But churches, synagogues,and mosques are banned fromadmitting more than 50 wor-shippers-no matter how large

the building, how distant theindividuals, how many wearmasks, no matter the precau-tions at all. In Nevada, it seems,it is better to be in entertain-ment than religion."

All India Bar Examinationpostponed

Due to the current situationof COVID-19 pandemic, theAll India Bar Examination(AIBE), which was to be heldon 16th August, is now deferreduntil the next date, to be decid-ed by the MonitoringCommittee of the Bar Councilof India, headed by a formerJudge of the Supreme Court ofIndia. The Bar Council of India,in its resolution dated July 29,said that the last date to applyfor AIBE has been extended toAugust 31 and the examinationdate shall be notified later.

Cartel to bring economy toknees!

Fraudsters are leaving no

stone unturned to serve asevere blow to the country'seconomy and therefore, thereis a need to curb such effortsof the cartel of fraudsters "withan iron fist so that the con-tours of the fiscal compasscould be extended to theadvantage of the people."These words of caution are ofJustice S.K Panigrahi, OrissaHigh Court.

The court, while hearing abail petition of one AmitBeriwal, who is an accused ina case involving Rs.122.67crore GST fraud by way ofmaking fake and fraudulenttransactions through fakefirms, in its order also noted:"The manner in which theaccused, in collusion withother accused, have been oper-ating would suggest that thereare certain inherent flaws inthe GST system, which isprone to such abuse." Thecourt further observed: "…Itseems a countrywide cartelspecializing in defrauding theGST system is operating tobring the economy to itsknees."

LEGAL

ROUNDUP

The great paradox of the country is thatwith the help of enhanced military mightand favourable world opinion, the countrycan bravely face the external threats, be itfrom Pakistan, Nepal or China

Jihadis and traitors are more dangerous than Chinese-Pakis!

Markets witness highestmonthly jump since 2012PNS n HYDERABAD

Even as China is beating theretreat from Ladakh, the UShas found an opportunity totake pot shots at it, sayingthe former's incursions werenothing but a test to ascer-tain as to how the rest of theworld would react. Thus,acrimony continues betweenthe US and China. Theworld has been watchingmoves from both sides withintense curiosity.Consequently, markets havewitnessed the highestmonthly jump since 2012.New York gold showed anupswing and finally closed atUS $ 1,976.10 (per ounce)while, silver followed suitand closed at $ 24.47(per ounce). Platinumand palladium alsomarched forwardand closed at $900 (per ounce)and $ 1,973( p e ro u n c e )re sp e c -tively.

Other economic parame-ters remained strong. Brentclosed at US $ 43.52 (perbarrel) while Crude MCX oilwas quoted at Rs.3, 023 (perbarrel). Whereas Gold MCXstood at Rs.53,828 (per 10gms). The MCX Silvermoved up and closed atRs.64,984 (per kg), Coppermarched ahead and closed atRs.500.80 (per kg). Sensexand Nifty 50 closed at37606.89 and 11073.45points respectively, followingthe retreat by Indo-Chinaforces on the borders.

Leading foreign curren-cies' exchange rates were: US$: Rs.74.93, British Pound:Rs.98.05, Euro: Rs.88.27,Singapore $: Rs.54.49, SwissFranc: Rs.82.03, Australian$: Rs.53.49, Saudi Riyal:Rs.19.98, New ZealandDollar: Rs.49.67, KuwaitiDinar: Rs.245.16, OmaniRial: Rs.194.63 and UAEDirham: Rs.20.40, JapaneseYen: Rs.0.71, Hong KongDollar: Rs.9.67.

At home, despite thebeginning of the festive sea-son, there is no glitter in

jewellery market. Both theprecious metals moved with-in narrow limits due to pre-vailing divergent trend in theglobal markets. Standardgold (24 carats) zoomed byRs.2,600 and closed atRs.55,830 (per 10 gms).Ornamental gold too movedin tandem and was quotedin the range of Rs.51,160-51,260 on the closing day.Silver (0.999) too appreciat-ed by Rs.3,950 and closed atRs.65,000 (per kg).Considering the prevailinginternational scenario, theprices of precious metalsare unlikely to relent in anear future.

COMMODITIES

The sentiment in princi-pal wholesale commodity

markets in the twin citiescontinued to remain

strong. Rythu Bazarsand the various com-

modity marketslocated inBegum Bazar,Kishangunj,

Mukthyargunj, RisalaAbdullah, Mir Alam Mandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally and GeneralBazar are struggling toresume normal businessactivities.

During the week, com-mon pulses such as tuar dal,masoor dal, moong dal andurad dal and commoditieslike chillies and garlicremained at moderate levels,while staple food grains andcommon edible oils record-ed a marginal appreciation.Common vegetables suchas cabbage, cauliflower,ribbed gourd, snake gourd,lady's finger, cucumber,potatoes, onions, tomatoesand French beans, alongwith leafy vegetables, record-ed appreciation in the rangeof 15% to 32%.

The NECC wholesale egg-price in Hyderabad declinedby Rs.15 and closed atRs.335 (per 100). The high-est price of Rs.450 wasrecorded at Burdwan andMidnapur, while Hospetrecorded the lowest ofRs.315.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

PNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad's Rajiv GandhiInternational Airport (RGIA)has received a UNICEF-fundeda mass fever screening system tofurther enhance the efficacy ofscreening of passengers in viewof Covid-19 pandemic, the air-port operator announced onSunday.

The Union Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare, in coordi-nation with the AsianDevelopment Bank, has provid-ed state-of-the-art thermal scan-ner funded by the UNICEF. Thesystem will be used by the offi-cials of the ministry at the air-port. The new thermal scanneris a ceiling mounted mass feverscreening system capable ofscanning, detecting and trackingfebrile persons with elevatedskin temperature. The systemautomatically adjusts and adaptsto the surrounding ambienttemperature without any humanintervention.

With its Intuitive UserInterface and Dual-Displays(Day camera + Infra-red) itprovides easy identification ofpassengers with elevated temper-ature, while simplifying opera-tions and minimizing handling.

The new thermal scannerimparts more control to the

Hyderabad Airport HealthOrganisation, along with theexisting thermal scanners at theinternational arrivals, said GMRHyderabad International AirportLimited (GHIAL).

The RGIA continues to han-dle the international relief flightsunder the government of India'slargest offshore evacuation pro-gramme of Vande BharatMission (VBM). All internation-al arrival passengers and airlinecrew undergo mandatory healthscreening by the airport healthofficers to identify symptomaticpassengers to contain the spreadof Covid-19 and provide neces-sary medical assistance to suchpassengers.

"We are thankful to theMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfare in having this modernequipment installed at the

Hyderabad InternationalAirport. We are grateful to thesponsors ADB and UNICEFfor this humane gesture. Withthis facility, it makes the task ofthe health officials who serve atthe airport round the clock, a lit-tle more easy," said PradeepPanicker, CEO, GHIAL.

"The new top-end mass feverscanner at HyderabadInternational Airport enhancesour efficiency multi-fold. Withthe help of the intuitive technol-ogy we are able to screen passen-gers effectively. The system alertsus if any passenger is found withhigh temperature, without dis-turbing passenger movementand throughput," said AnuradhaMedoju, Senior RegionalDirector, Andhra Pradesh andTelangana, Health and FamilyWelfare.

Hyd airport gets UNICEF-fundedmass fever screening system

SravanaPournamiGaruda Seva PNS n TIRUMALA

The monthly PorunamiGaruda Seva will be conduct-ed at Lord Venkateshwaratemple in Tirumala on August3 in the auspicious month ofSravana. Keeping in view of theexisting circumstances due toCovid-19, the Sravana MasaPournami Garuda VahanaSeva will be conducted inEkantam at RanganayakulaMandapam on Monday.

As part of it, the ViseshaSamarpana and Samarpanaon Garuda Vahanam atRanganayakula Mandapamwill be conducted between 3pm and 5pm, followed byGaruda Vahana Seva between5 pm and 6 pm.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Gannavaram MLAVallabhaneni Vamsi welcomedthree capitals decision for theuniform development of allregions and opined that thegovernment is not in a posi-tion to spend one lakh crorefunds on Amaravati estab-lishment.

He further stated that cen-tralisation of the developmentwas the cause for theTelangana movement andbifurcation of the unitedAndhra Pradesh. Hence, rep-etition of the same can beavoided with three capitals,which would develop allregions in the State.

Vamsi termed the demandof opposition TDP of seekingfresh Assembly elections onthe Amaravati issue as unnec-essary. He said that if theTDP links Gannavaram by-

election with Amaravati issueas a referendum then he isready to resign to the MLApost and will face a fresh elec-tion. He said that he is readyto accept the bypolls as a ref-erendum on the Amaravatiissue. He said that earlier alsohe informed his readiness forby-election to Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy andaffirmed that he is prepared toface a bypoll at any time.

MLA Vamshi welcomesthree capitals move

IANS n NEW YORK

Adding to the growing evi-dence that early BCG vaccina-tion may be helpful in tamingthe Covid-19 spread, scientistsnow claim that countries withmandatory BCG vaccinationuntil at least the year 2000tended to exhibit slower infec-tion and death rates during thefirst 30 days of the outbreak.

By applying a statisticalmodel based on their findings,the researchers further esti-mated that only 468 peoplewould likely have died fromCovid-19 in the US as ofMarch 29 - which is 19 percent of the actual figure of2,467 deaths by that date - ifthe US had instituted manda-tory BCG vaccination severaldecades ago.

Martha Berg, the study's

lead author from University ofMichigan (U-M) and col-leagues focused on changes inthe growth rates of Covid-19cases and deaths, while con-trolling for variables includingdiagnostic test availability,median age, per capita GDP,population size and density,net migration rate, and various

cultural differences such asindividualism.

Their findings suggest thatnational policies for universalBCG vaccination can be effec-tive in the fight against Covid-19 - an association that mer-its clinical investigation.

"Available evidence demon-strates that BCG vaccination,

typically given at birth or dur-ing childhood to preventtuberculosis, can also helpstrengthen immunity againstvarious other infectious dis-eases - perhaps includingCovid-19," the authors wrotein a paper published in thejournal Science Advances.

To reach this conclusion,Berg and colleagues analyzedthe day-by-day rate of increaseof confirmed cases in 135countries and deaths in 134countries in the first 30-dayperiod of each country's out-break.

Mandatory BCG vaccina-tion correlated with a flatten-ing of the curve in the spreadof Covid-19, the analysisshowed. However, the authorscaution that their results donot portray BCG as a "magicbullet."

BCG linked with slower Covid-19 growth

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020 vijayawada 03

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The family members, includingrelatives, showing reluctance toperform last rites to those diedof Coronavirus forcing themunicipal staff to perform lastrites as orphans. Hence, govern-ment officials and legislators areparticipating in the funerals toallay fears of people.

It may be recalled thatKurnool MLA Hafeez Khantook part in funeral of a Covidvictim on Saturday, and onSunday, Guntur Joint CollectorAS Dinesh Kumar joined in thefuneral procession of a personin Guntur, who died of Corona.

He pointed out that infectionwould be present only for six toseven hours in the body and thereis no harm in performing the lastrites to the seal packed body butsadly family members showingreluctance to give respectableadieu, which is very sad.

A 57-year-old man ofChallapalli in Krishna districtdied of Coronavirus, whileundergoing treatment at theCovid hospital in Guntur butthe family members and rela-tives showed reluctance to per-form final rites. Therefore, offi-cials convinced them and Joint

Collector Dinesh Kumar partic-ipated in the funeral, along withrelatives, on Sunday to clearstigma about performing lastrites to the Corona victims.

Dinesh Kumar said that themedical staff would hand overthe packed body after applyinghypo sodium chlorite with

leak proof cover, hence, peoplecan perform funeral by wear-ing PPE without any hesitation.

He said that the virus will notspread if they view the face ofthe body covered in transpar-ent safety cover without open-ing the plastic shield as the viruswill not spread from the corpseafter six to seven hours.

He said that rejection of thefamily members to take bodiesto their native places is creat-

ing troubles to perform lastrites and said that the relativesshould take bodies to theirnative places without any fearand should perform funeralswith respect at burial grounds.He appealed to people to showhumanity by allowing last ritesin the burial grounds andgraveyards in the villages.

He said that the administra-tion has taken special initiativeto perform funeral or burialwith the support of AmmaCharitable Trust and otherNGOs in Guntur city to thebodies on the reluctance offamily members. He said thatthese NGOs will performfunerals or burial followingtheir customs with the consentof the relatives within 48 hours.He said that last rites to theunidentified bodies also wouldbe performed after completionof revenue and police inquirywithin 48 hours.

Fears of Covid victims’ kin allayedn Guntur Joint Collector

participates in Covidvictims’ last rites

n Joint Collector AS DineshKumar appealed to thekith and kin of those whodied of Corona to giverespectable adieu as thevirus will not spread six toseven hours after death

Vizag has become a havenfor land grabbers: YanamalaPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Opposition leader inLegislative Council YanamalaRamakrishnudu on Sundaymade a scathing attack on theYSRCP government sayingthat there was zero develop-ment in all the three regions-Rayalaseema, Coastal andnorth Coastal Andhra- in thepast 14 months of its regime.He demanded that ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy explain why he couldnot usher in a single develop-ment project in any of theseregions since coming to powerin 2019.

Ramakrishnudu said it waslike the devil quoting the scrip-tures when the Chief Ministerwas speaking of developmentof all the three regions in thename of trifurcation of capitals.

He pointed out thatMedTech Zone and FinTechValley projects were destroyedin Visakhapatnam. Over Rs70,000 crore Adani DataCentre was driven away fromnorth Coastal Andhra. Thesame was the fate of LuluGroup's multi-crore project.The YSRCP rule has reducedthe Port City into a haven ofland grabbers and propertyoffenders with the ordinarypublic feeling unsafe and inse-cure.

He alleged that even inRayalaseema, the YSRCPgangsters used pistols to threat-en the managements of solarpower plants. “In Prakasamdistrict, Rs 25,000 crore paperand pulp industry has goneback. From this, it was clear

how Jagan was running adestructive but not a develop-ment regime. The ChiefMinister was using three cap-itals as a political gimmick forhis selfish and personal agen-da. Violence, demolitions anddestruction were the founda-tion on which the ChiefMinister was building hisempire,” he pointed out.

He deplored that the rul-ing party leaders made it ahabit to destroy the statues ofNTR, foundation stones laidby the TDP rule, houses con-structed in the past and also

to tear capital dream to threepieces.

“The regional developmentauthorities were a good con-cept to develop people in spe-cific regions but even this wasbeing misused. Jagan destroyedAmaravati Capital RegionDevelopment Authoritythough it would benefit all 13districts. At the same time, theChief Minister promotedPulivendula AreaDevelopment Authority tobenefit people of just hisAssembly constituency,” helamented.

n YanamalaRamakrishnududeplored that theruling party leadersmade it a habit todestroy the statuesof NTR, foundationstones laid by theTDP rule, housesconstructed in thepast and also totear capital dreamto three pieces

n “The regional developmentauthorities were a good conceptto develop people in specificregions but even this was beingmisused. Jagan destroyedAmaravati Capital RegionDevelopment Authority though itwould benefit all 13 districts. Atthe same time, the CM promotedPulivendula Area DevelopmentAuthority to benefit people ofjust his Assembly constituency,”the TDP leader lamentedPawan demands YSRCP,

TDP MLAs resignationContinued from Page 1

He blamed the YSRCP gov-ernment for unable to handlethe Corona crisis as morenumber of cases are beingreported everyday and in orderto overcome the failure ofcontaining Covid, the govern-ment has bought the capitalissue to divert the attention ofpeople.

He reminded that the JSPhas no involvement in the

TDP schemes though it hadsailed with the latter in 2014and took both TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu and ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy to task for the plight offarmers. Both the leaders leftfarmers in the lurch for theirselfish motives, he alleged.Hence, both the YSRCP andthe TDP are answerable to thefarmers, he said.

Jagan could not have takena decision to form three capi-

tals if the then Chief MinisterN Chandrababu Naidu didnot delay the construction ofcapital city in Amaravati.

He further stated that peo-ple involved in land scams inAmaravati shall be punishedand justice will be renderedto farmers . But theAmaravati capital issue willnot be resolved soon, hence,farmers should gird up theirloins to fight a long battle, hepredicted.

Raksha Bandhangoes digital thisyear

Continued from Page 1

“More and more customersare shopping online thanbefore, in order to maintainsocial distancing. With thisshift in buying behaviour,we have witnessed a hugesurge in customers who wantrakhis to be delivered inother countries like the US,followed by the UK,Singapore, UAE and a coupleof other countries,” informedManish Saini, COO, ecom-merce, Ferns N Petals.

Dy Speaker,wife testpositive forCovid-19

Continued from Page 1

He said that doctors sug-gested him for home quaran-tine. Therefore, he and hiswife would be in home quar-antine for a week. He exud-ed confidence that he willrecover from Corona andasked leaders, supporters,followers and people to followCorona protocol to contain-ing the pandemic.

67 more succumbto Covid acrossState

Continued from Page 1

During the last 24 hoursending 9 am on Sunday,6,272 people recoveredfrom Covid-19, taking thetotal number of recoveriesto 82,886. The number ofact ive cases stands at74,404. The State conduct-ed 52,834 Covid tests dur-ing the last 24 hours. Thisincludes 19,155 rapid anti-gen tests. With this theState has so far conducted20,65,407 tests.

2 panels setup to probeVizag cranecrash

Continued from Page 1

Out of the 10 deceased fourbelong to HSL, including asupervisor, three from MSGreenfield, two among themwere Lead EngineeringCompany employees, and oneperson is an employee of SquadSeven Company, according toVisakhapatnam DistrictCollector Vinay Chand.According to sources, therewere at least 16 persons work-ing at the accident site in theshipyard when the giant cranecame crashing down. TourismMinister Avanthi Srinivas hasdirected officials to ensure nec-essary treatment for the injuredworkers.

PNS n HYDERABAD

"You give a man a fish and youfeed him for a day. You teachhim to fish and you give himan occupation that will feedhim for a lifetime. Thus goesthe Chinese adage."

Software professionalsindustry body TelanganaInformation TechnologyAssociation (TITA) presidentSundeep Kumar Makthala hasimplemented the same withrespect to Sharadha, the ITprofessional who turned into avegetable vendor after losingher job at software companyVirtusa due to the Coronoviruscrisis, by enrolling her for atechnical course in artificialintelligence and also presentingher with a laptop to do thelearning.

TITA president, after learn-ing about her precarious finan-cial position, wanted to extendher some financial assistance.However, after learning abouttechnical prowess and herintent to slug it out, it had

decided to give her free train-ing in artificial intelligencethrough the training moduleTITA is offering in associationwith University of Texas atDallas (UTD), one of the topuniversities in the US. TITAalso decided to give her a lap-top that will allow her toundergo the certificate coursein artificial intelligence fromher home and while continu-ing to support her family by

selling vegetables.'Sharadha's story is inspiring

in these Covid times where joblosses are not uncommon.However, she took things in herstride and went on to work withthe resources at hand. In doingthis, she has sent a message thattough times do not last buttough people do. We interact-ed with her and learnt that sheis willing to hone her technicalskills. She is one who relies on

hardwork alone. We thought acourse in artificial intelligencewill be of more help in the cur-rent situations. The laptop willallow her to pursue the coursewhile continuing to work athome," said TITA GlobalPresident Sundeep KumarMakthala about the decision tooffer her an opportunity to pur-sue a course with an interna-tional certification and a laptopfree to her.

Commenting on the crisis inthe IT industry, Makthala saidthe industry is not immune tothe changes happening global-ly. However, the IT profession-als should learn to cope with thejob scenarios and should notlose heart. They should use thecurrent times to hone theirexisting skills or learn newskills, which will enhance theiremployability in times to come.TITA has been working onthis front to drive home theneed for learning new skillsconstantly. Last year, there wasan incident where one techieHarini lost her life and that hasshook many in the industry.

Makthala said youngstersshould look at entrepreneurshipas well and not just look for aplacement. Artificial intelli-gence, cyber security,blockchain technologies are thecurrent flavor and promise toprovide job opportunities, hesaid. TITA SpokespersonVenkata Vanam, TITA SportsSecretary Ronith Banda, Iliyas,Harika participated.

TITA reaches out to ‘software Sharadha'TITA decided togive her a laptopthat will allow herto undergo thecertificate coursein artificialintelligence fromher home andwhile continuingto support herfamily by sellingvegetables

PNS n HYDERABAD

While the outflows fromAlmatti and Narayanpur pro-jects in Karnataka have comedown drastically, the week-long rainfall of 54.2 mm and10.3 mm rainfall in the catch-ment areas of major rivers inthe State has helped maintainfairly good inflows into theState’s reservoirs and projectsboth on Krishna and Godavaririvers.

On Sunday the inflows intoAlmatti were 11,158 cusecsand outflows were mere 1,922cusecs. Similarly inflows intoNarayanpur were 67 cusecsand outflows were 4,878cusecs. At the PriyadarshiniJurala Project (PJP) the inflowswere impressive in the range of14,000-15,500 cusecs and out-flows were 12,212 cusecs. ThePJP is catering to Nettempadu

and Bhima lift irrigation pro-ject, powerhouse, the left, rightand parallel canals.

At Srisailam in the down-stream, water level in the reser-voir is 851.60 feet against anFRL of 885 feet. The inflowsare 29,573 cusecs and outflowsare 46,793 cusecs. As a resultNagarjuna Sagar is receiving35,568 cusecs of inflows and

outflows of 2,560 cusecs. Thewater level in Sagar is 549.80feet compared to the FullReservoir level (FRL) of 590feet.

While almost all the projectson river Godavari have satis-factory storage of water, theinflows are less compared tothat of projects on riverKrishna.

NAVEENA GHANATE

n HYDERABAD

The initial expectations aroundHCQ as cure for Covid-19 isdying down as several frontlinewarriors, especially doctorshave stopped taking it as pro-phylaxis.

A government doctor in TSsaid, "I took an initial dose ofHCQ. But studies have beenrevealing that it is interactingwith remdesivir which is areserve treatment for moderatecases of Covid-19. Since thenI stopped, I have been extreme-ly careful and never touchedmy face shield or mask,changed glove multiple times".

However, a group ofresearchers in Indian Journal ofMedical Ethics (IJME) pointedout that the two drugs areshowing similar impact, butthere is a push for expensiveRemdesivir. Dr Amit Dang,founder and CEO of theTelangana-based MarksManHealthcare and his colleagueDr Vallish BN along with DrSumit Dang of the fromUniversity of Kentucky in theJuly-September issue of theIJME wrote an article on"Hydroxychloroquine andRemdesivir (RDV) in Covid-19: A critical analysis of recentevents"

They allege political affilia-tions have come into playbetween remdesivir and HCQ.They write, "While the wide-spread (mostly unsupervised)

use of HCQ for other indica-tions may have contributed tothese unequal levels of scruti-ny, confounders such as polit-ical affiliation, profiteering,and other conflicts of interestcannot be ruled out at thisstage, with the available evi-dence and information".

The researchers state thatHCQ is being more closelyscrutinised when compared tothe lighter treatment given toRDV.

The article says, "Analysis ofvarious studies available at pre-sent does not prove a clear andconclusive efficacy benefit foreither RDV or HCQ in clinicaltrials. It appears that a subtlepush is being given to RDV, thesafety of which is not adequate-ly established; while HCQ isbeing subtly snubbed, despiteboth drugs having similar effi-cacy patterns. This appears tobe in contravention of thebasic ethical principles ofbeneficence, non-malefice-nce,autonomy and justice.”

Remdisivir wins overHCQ, but researcherssmell a rat

Increase hospitals, notcrematoriums: CongressPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) TreasurerGudur Narayana Reddyexpressed deep concern overreports of State Government set-ting up five new LPG-based cre-matoria in Hyderabad in view ofrising number of Coronaviruscases in the twin cities ofHyderabad and Secunderabad.

As per media reports, theLPG-fuelled crematoria are like-ly to be installed at Hindu cre-mation grounds in theCharminar, Khairtabad,Secunderabad, Uppal andKukatpally zones in the next 15days with each having a capac-ity of cremating 12 bodies everyday.

"The Covid-19 death toll inTelangana, as being shown inofficial Media Bulletin neverexceeded 15 on any given day.If the official figures are genuine,then why the State Governmentis making arrangements to cre-mate 60 more bodies in additionto the existing crematoria. Arethe authorities expecting the sit-uation to worsen further or are

they hiding an already worsenedcondition from the people?" heasked.

"Governments which do notestablish hospitals for commonpeople, end up building crema-toria. Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao will beremembered in history as theleader who did nothing to savepeople's lives, but made arrange-ments for their last rites. KCRgovernment has wasted a lot ofprecious time to prevent thespread of Coronavirus. It miser-ably failed to trace and test thesuspects,” he alleged.

Discontinuing M Phil might notdo much damageNAMRATA SRIVASTAVA

n HYDERABAD

The Union Human ResourceDevelopment (HRD) Ministrydecided to discontinue the two-year M Phil from all Universitiesacross the nation last month.Students will now be allowed totake admission in PhD directlyafter post-graduation or a four-year undergraduate degree withresearch. Since the course wasdiscontinued by manyUniversities already, theUniversity lecturers feel thatMPhil doesn't serve much pur-pose and scrapping it would saveone year of the students.

Former Dean of SarojiniNaidu School of Arts andCommunication Prof VinodPavarala said "Masters ofPhilosophy had some utilityfor a long time, as people whohad completed that would get ajob in college. But, for the lastseven to eight years it has lostvalue as most PhD courses haveintroduced mandatory coursework for the research, for aroundone-and-a-half year. This servesthe same purpose as the MPhil.Also, now you need a PhD tobecome have a job at college. So,in today's scenario, MPhil hasbecome redundant."

Many also opine that discon-tinuing MPhil will also dis-courage duplicity and plagia-rism of research work. ShreyasDwivedi, Research Assistantfrom Jawaharlal Nehru

University opines, "MPhil isbasically a waste of time for thestudents. Many students, whoare not serious about researchand apply at the Universitiesonly for the monetary benefitsof being a PhD scholar, actu-ally use their MPhil work, adda point or two and present it astheir PhD work. The PhDresearch is actually an in depthstudy of an issue which providesome solution at the end. In2018, there were approximate-ly 30,000 PhD awarded inIndia, in various fields. If noneof these PhDs were practicalenough to be put to use to solveissues in the country, theyhold no value at all. I believe,scrapping MPhil will givechance to serious researchersand also reduce the load off thelecturers."

Adding to the same, Prof SRamachandram, ViceChancellor of OsmaniaUniversity, states, "I think it's agood thing the Ministry decid-ed to discontinue the course asit served no purpose. It's just aninterim programme for researchstudents."

3 die while travelling to attendlast rites of crane crash victim

Continued from Page 1

Four regular employees of HSL and seven contract workerswere among the deceased. Bhaskar Rao (35) was working forLead Engineers, which was one of the two firms hired byGreenfield Company, to which HSL had outsourced the craneoperations.

Krishna projects continue to receive good inflows

4 detained forbarging intoactor'sfarmhouse PNS n HYDERABAD

The Pahadishareef police onSunday took four persons intocustody for having barged intothe premises of actor M MohanBabu's farmhouse at Jalpally onthe outskirts of the city onSaturday and hurled out threatsto the family members that theywould not spare them.

Around 4 pm on Saturday, agroup of youngsters had enteredinto the premises in a car andwent around, even as the actor'sfamily was inside the house.Anxious family membersinformed the police. On receiv-ing information, thePahadishareef Police reachedthe spot and took up investiga-tion. Based on the footage fromsurveillance cameras in thesurrounding areas, four young-sters, who are residents ofDurga Nagar in Mailardevpally,were traced with the help of theInnova vehicle bearing registra-tion number AP 31 AN 0004.

"Their identities are beingverified. No arrests have beenmade yet. Their call datarecords too are being examinedto check if it was just for fun orhad any malicious intention,"police said.

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020 nation 04

SHORT READS

Rhino calf separatedfrom mother rescuedin AssamGUWAHATI: A new born rhino,separated from his mother, hasbeen rescued by forest guardsin the Kaziranga National Parkamid the floods in Assam, aforest spokeperson said. Thethree-day or four-day old rhinocalf was rescued fromMohpora village in theKaziranga range area thismorning, he said. The babyrhino has been taken to arescue centre at the Centre forWildlife Rehabilitation andConservation at Panbari area ofthe Park.

6 undertrials escapefrom juvenile home inNoida, 5 heldNOIDA (UP): Six undertrialslodged at the COVID-19isolation ward of a juvenilehome in Noida escaped fromthe facility, police said onSunday. While five of themwere later apprehended, one isabsconding, they said. Thejuveniles were brought to thefacility recently and had beenlodged at the isolation centre inview of the COVID-19 outbreak.They tried to escape on theintervening night of Friday andSaturday, the police said. As aprecautionary measure, all newinmates brought to the juvenilehome are lodged at theisolation ward, which has beenset up within the campus, forsome days, according toofficials. The juveniles had"folded the iron sheet of a gate"to sneak out of the facility,located in Phase 2 police stationarea, the officials said. "Three ofthem were held in no time. Ofthe three who did manage toescape, two have beenapprehended and one is stillabsconding," Additional DeputyCommissioner of Police, CentralNoida, Ankur Aggarwal said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The decades-long movementfor building a Ram temple inAyodhya may have beenmarked by political and, attimes, social discord, but thebeginning of its constructionfrom August 5 will foster insociety "brotherhood and har-mony", the values associatedwith Lord Ram, Shri RamJanmabhoomi Teertha KshetraTrust member KameshwarChaupal said on Sunday.

The trust, formed by thecentral government followingthe Supreme Court's ruling inNovember last in favour ofbuilding the temple at the site,has invited Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to lay thefoundation stone of the Ramtemple on August 5.

"This will also be a founda-tion stone of Ram Rajya in thecountry. Ram's life encapsu-

lates the values of social har-mony and brotherhood. Thetemple will foster these valuesin our society," Chaupal said.

Chaupal, a key figure of theRam Janmabhoomi movementand a Dalit member of the trust,told PTI that the BJP political-ly benefitted from the move-ment because the party associ-ated itself with it and even "sac-rificed" its four governments,including in Uttar Pradesh, forthe sake of the temple.

The Congress governmentat the Centre had dismissedfour BJP-ruled state govern-ments in 1992 following thedemolition of Babri mosqueduring a "kar seva" led byHindutva organisations.

"Our movement neverbarred any political party fromjoining it. It was like the gush-ing water of the Ganges, withsome collecting its sacredwater and some not despite theriver flowing near their door,”he said, in an apparent refer-ence to parties like theCongress.

Chaupal, who was associat-ed with the Vishwa HinduParishad and later became aBJP lawmaker in Bihar, shotinto limelight in 1989 after hewas chosen to launch the tem-ple's 'shilanyas', a gestureapparently aimed at sendingout a message of social inclu-siveness of the movement.

PNS n MUMBAI

The Bihar Police team, whichis in Mumbai to investigate acase related Sushant SinghRajput's death, will also probethe alleged suicide of his for-mer manager Disha Salian,and if needed also record thestatements of those Bollywoodpersonalities, who were earli-er questioned by their Mumbaicounterparts, officials said onSunday.

Patna City Superintendent ofPolice (SP), Vinay Tiwari, onSunday reached Mumbai tosupervise the probe being con-ducted by the four-memberteam from the Bihar capital.

Rajput, 34, was found hang-ing at his apartment in subur-ban Bandra on June 14.

Mumbai Police, who areprobing the death case, have sofar recorded statements of

nearly 40 people, includingthose from Rajput's family, hiscook and people from the filmindustry that include film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, film crit-ic Rajeev Masand, director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansaliand filmmaker Aditya Chopra.

The Bihar Police team isprobing a separate 'abetment tosuicide' case on the basis of acomplaint filed by the late

actor's father in Patna.Inspector General of Police

(Patna zone) Sanjay Singh,said, "We are going to inves-tigate the suicide case ofSushant Singh Rajput's for-mer manager Disha Salian,and will also question hisfriend and creative contentmanager Siddharth Pithani,who was staying with theactor for the past one year."

"Our officials are visitingall possible places related tothis case. They had also vis-ited Rajput's residence andrecreated the scene. In thecoming days, more people arelikely to be questioned inthe case," he said. Salian, 28,allegedly committed suicideby jumping from the high-rise building in Malad areahere on June 8.

Earlier Pithani had sent ane-mail to the Mumbai Police,alleging that family membersof the late Bollywood star pres-surised him to give a statementagainst actress RheaChakraborty, an official said.

On Tuesday, Rajput's fatherKrishna Kumar Singh (74)had lodged a complaint inPatna against Chakraborty andsix others, including her fam-ily members, for alleged abet-ment to suicide.

Union Health Ministry issues revisedguidelines for international arrivalsPNS n NEW DELHI

The Union health ministry onSunday issued a set of revisedguidelines for internationalarrivals which will come intoeffect from August 8.

According to the guidelines,all travellers would need to givean undertaking on the onlineportal www.newdelhiairport.inthat they would undergomandatory quarantine for 14days, that is, seven days paidinstitutional quarantine at theirown cost, followed by sevendays isolation at home withself-monitoring of health.

"Only for compelling rea-sons/cases of human distresssuch as pregnancy, death infamily, serious illness and par-ent(s) with children of the ageof 10 years or below, homequarantine may be permittedfor 14 days," the ministry said.

"If they wish to seek suchexemption, they shall apply onthe online portal at least 72hours before boarding. Thedecision taken by the govern-ment as communicated on theportal will be final," it said.

The travellers can also seek

exemption from institutionalquarantine by submitting anegative RT-PCR test report onarrival. This test should havebeen conducted within 96hours prior to undertakingthe journey. The test reportshould be uploaded on the por-tal for consideration, the guide-lines stated.

"Each passenger shall alsosubmit a declaration withrespect to authenticity of thereport and will be liable forcriminal prosecution, if foundotherwise. The test reportcould also be produced upon

arrival at the point of entry atairport in India," it said.

Before boarding the plane orship, the guidelines said the dosand don'ts shall be providedalong with the tickets to trav-ellers by the agencies con-cerned.

All passengers shall also beadvised to download ArogyaSetu application on theirmobile devices, it said.

The guidelines also said thatat the time of boarding the planeor ship, only asymptomatictravellers will be allowed toboard after thermal screening.

“Passengers arriving throughthe land borders will also haveto undergo the same protocolas above, and only those whoare asymptomatic will beenabled to cross the border intoIndia,” it added.

Suitable precautionary mea-sures such as environmentalsanitation and disinfectionshall be ensured at the airportsand during boarding; and atthe airports, all possible mea-sures to ensure social distanc-ing to be ensured, it said.

During travel, those whohad not filled in self-declara-

tion forms on the portal shallfill the same in duplicate in theflight and ship, and a copy ofthe same will be given toHealth and Immigration offi-cials present at the airport/sea-port/land port, the guidelinessaid."Alternatively, such trav-ellers may submit a self-decla-ration form on the online por-tal at arrivingairport/seaport/land port asper the directions of the con-cerned authorities, if suchfacility is available," it said.

The guidelines further saidsuitable announcements aboutCOVID-19, including precau-tionary measures to be fol-lowed, shall be made at air-ports or ports and inflights/ships and during tran-sit. "While on board the flightor ship, required precautionssuch as wearing of masks,environmental hygiene, respi-ratory hygiene, hand hygieneare to be observed byairline/ship staff, crew and allpassengers," it said.

On arrival, the guidelinessaid deboarding should bedone ensuring social distanc-ing.

Skill training by Delhi police comes as a rayof hope for young girls amid lockdownPNS n NEW DELHI

For Manisha, who wanted tobecome a medical profession-al but could not continue herstudies owing to financial prob-lems at home, a skill trainingprogramme launched by Delhipolice has come as a timelyopportunity to fulfil not onlyher passion but also supporther family during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The e-Yuva Skill TrainingProgramme, which waslaunched on July 24 as anonline course, has seen themaximum enrolment fromgirls. Of the 60 people enrolled,nearly 40 are girls, who areeither pursuing their studies orare school dropouts. About 10first-time offenders have alsoenrolled for the programme,Delhi police officials said.

"Though I'm an arts student,I was always interested in pur-suing my career in the medicalfield. Due to financial prob-lems, I could not continue mystudies. When I got to know

about the training course, itgave me a ray of hope," saidManisha, 17.

She said the training willhelp her find employment andfund her studies. After thethree-month course, she hopesto work as a general duty assis-tant to nursing staff.

Manisha lives with her five-member family in PunjabiBasti in Central Delhi. Herfather worked in a factory butlost his job during lockdown.

"We had to depend on rela-tives for financial help. Afterthe lockdown was lifted, myfather did try to find employ-ment but failed, so he took anauto-rickshaw on rent. He paysRs. 400 to the owner daily buthe hardly gets any ride thesedays," she said.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Central) Sanjay Bhatiasaid the programme aims tochannelise the energy of youth,including girls, so that they are

gainfully employed."After completion of their

course, all the candidates willbe required to qualify an examafter which they will be eligi-ble for employment in thehealth sector. The fee for theexamination will be taken careof by the police department,"he added. The programme ini-tially began in March but had

to be discontinued because ofthe lockdown. It was re-launched as an online courselast week by Delhi police incoordination with StarEducation Training InstitutePrivate Limited. Officials saidthey have tied up with firms inthe healthcare sector for place-ment of the candidates.

Several candidates PTI spoketo said they find the classesvery extremely useful. thoughsome of them rued that haveaccess to only one smartphoneat their home.

Sameer Bhati, from StarEducation Training Institute,said 50 candidates are attend-ing the classes and they are try-ing to arrange learning equip-ment for 10 others.

The classes are held in twobatches from Monday toFriday. Aarti Rajput, whocouldn't pursue education afterclass 10 owing to financialissues, said she joined thecourse to become financiallyindependent and support herfamily.

"Though I'm an artsstudent, I wasalways interested inpursuing my careerin the medical field.Due to financialproblems, I couldnot continue mystudies. When I gotto know about thetraining course, itgave me a ray ofhope," said Manisha

Sometimes silence is louder thanwords, says Gajendra Shekhawat PNS n NEW DELHI

The "silence" of senior BJPleader Vasundhara RajeScindia on the political devel-opments in Rajasthan can be a"strategy", her party colleagueand Union Minister GajendraShekhawat said on Sunday.

In an interview to PTI,Shekhawat, who has beenaccused by Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot of try-ing to topple his government,also alleged that it was theCongress leader who hadorchestrated the political“drama” in the state to targethis rivals in the party and out-side.

“He has been unable todigest that I defeated his son inLok Sabha elections and is try-ing everything against me, byhook or by crook to avenge hisdefeat,” said Shekhawat, whorepresents Jodhpur and haddefeated Vaibhav Gehlot in the2019 Lok Sabha election bymore than 2.74 lakh votes.

Underlining that the BJP hasnothing to do with the politi-

cal crisis in Rajasthan,Shekhawat maintained that itis the fallout of the infightingin the Congress involvingGehlot and his former deputySachin Pilot. “With this ongo-ing drama in the state, he(Gehlot) wants to eliminateSachin (Pilot) and others fromthe party. He is blaming theBJP for this entire crisis andtrying to tarnish the image ofits leadership,” Shekhawat said.

When asked about former

chief minister Vasundhara RajeScindia being largely silent onthe issue, Shekhawat said,”Well Vasundharaji's silencecan be a strategy and some-times silence is louder thanwords.” When the Gehlot-Pilotfeud spilled into the open,Raje, a two-time chief minis-ter, maintained a conspicuoussilence though all other BJPleaders from the state werespeaking on the issue andattacking the Congress.

Bihar flood situationworsens, 53.67 lakhpeople affectedPNS n PATNA

The flood situation in Biharworsened on Sunday as waterfrom overflowing rivers inun-dated fresh areas, while a totalof 53.67 lakh people across 14districts were affected, theDisaster ManagementDepartment said here.

No fresh casualty wasreported and the number ofpeople who died in flood-related incidents stood at 13.

The number of peopleaffected by the deluge hasgone up by 4.62 lakh sinceSaturday, though that of thedistrict remained at 14, thedepartment said in a bulletin.

The number of panchayatshit by the calamity, howev-

er, rose to 1,059 from 1,043on the previous day.

It said that an embank-ment of Tirhut canalbreached in the early hoursof Sunday inundating at leasta dozen villages in Muraulblock of Muzaffarpur dis-trict. Two National DisasterResponse Force (NDRF)teams have been deployed atthe site.

With 16.89 lakh flood-affected people, Muzaffarpuris the worst-hit district, fol-lowed by 12.40 lakh peoplein Darbhanga and 8.09 lakhin East Champaran.

More than half of theaffected populace live inMuzaffarpur and Darbhangadistricts.

Punjab liquor tragedy survivors troubled by low visionPNS n CHANDIGARH

I have not been able to see prop-erly ever since I drank spuriousliquor, says Tilak Raj, one of thesurvivors of the Punjab hoochtragedy that has killed 98 tillSunday.

The tragedy has been unfold-ing since Wednesday eveningand has claimed 75 lives inPunjab's Tarn Taran, 12 inAmritsar and 11 in Gurdaspur'sBatala.

Tilak Raj, a contractualemployee of the Batala MunicipalCorporation, says he felt uneasyafter drinking spurious liquor,which he had bought for Rs 60from Triveni Chauhan andDarshana Rani, alias Faujan,outside the Hathi Gate locality in

Batala. Both accused havealready been arrested by police.

“After I drank it, I was not ableto see properly and felt uneasi-ness,” says Tilak Raj.

He survived as his familyimmediately took him to thedoctor.

“Now, I am feeling slightly bet-ter but my vision has not

improved and I am feeling giddy,”says 50-year-old Tilak Raj.

Another Batala survivor, AjayKumar, says he started shiveringafter consuming spurious liquor.

“I am still feeling weakness,”says 32-year-old Kumar, who isadmitted to the local civil hospi-tal. Kumar blamed both Trivaniand Darshana for the supply ofspurious liquor.

Many Batala residents allegedthat illicit liquor was being open-ly sold in the Hathi Gate locali-ty but no action was taken by theauthorities.

Another survivor in Amritsar'sMuchhal village said he feltuneasiness after drinking spuri-ous liquor. He said he could notsee properly after consuming it.

According to a top excise offi-

cial, though the reports of thechemical analysis of the materi-al seized in police raids were yetto come, a superficial checkshowed that the material wasdenatured spirit, generally usedin the paint or hardware indus-try.

Meanwhile, some families ofthe deceased in Amritsar flayedpolice for not taking any actionagainst those indulging in the ille-gal liquor trade.

Charan Kaur, who lost her 65-year-old husband to spuriousliquor in Amritsar's Muchhal,said accused Balwinder Kaur hadbeen selling liquor for morethan two decades in the village.

Whenever police would come,she would hide liquor or throwit away, said Kaur.

5% reservation for morebackward classes inR'than judicial servicePNS n JAIPUR

The Rajasthan government hasapproved five per cent reserva-tion to the 'more backwardclasses', including Gurjars, in thestate judicial service, accordingto a statement. The governmenthas amended the RajasthanJudicial Service Rules, 2010,through the state cabinet on theinitiative by Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot to provide five percent reservation in place of oneper cent, an official statementsaid. Candidates belonging tothe more backward classes have

been demanding amendment inthe judicial service rules for along time so that they can getfive per cent reservation in thestate judicial service instead ofone per cent. The more back-ward classes include Gurjars,Raika-Rabari, Gadiya-Lohars,Banjara and Gadariya.

Morari Bapu’sfollowerspledge Rs 1 crfor Ram templePNS n GHAZIABAD

Ghaziabad and NCR basedadherents of spiritual preach-er Morari Bapu, who isrenowned for his discourseon Ramcharitmanas, wouldcontribute around Rs 1 crorefor the construction of Ramtemple in Ayodhya.

The temple's foundationstone is scheduled to be laidon August 5.The amountwould be deposited online inthe name of his trustChitrakoot Dham located inGujarat, poet and convener ofRam Katha in Ghaziabad RajKaushik told PTI on Sunday.

Five days ago, Bapu hadurged the listeners during hisonline Ram Katha discourseto contribute money towardsthe Ram temple constructionin Ayodhya.

Ram temple to foster brotherhoodand harmony: Temple trust member

Bihar Police to probe suicideof Rajput's former manager

"Each passenger shall

also submit a

declaration with

respect to authenticity

of the report and will

be liable for criminal

prosecution, if found

otherwise. The test

report could also be

produced upon arrival

at the point of entry at

airport in India," it said

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020 nation 05

SHORT READS

‘My good fortune thatRam temple will bebuilt in my lifetime’NEW DELHI: BJP ally and LokJanshakti Party presidentChirag Paswan said on Sundaythat it is his "good fortune" thatRam temple is going to beconstructed in Ayodhya in hislifetime. Paswan also describedhimself as a "descendant" ofShabri who, he claimed,belonged to a deprived sectionof society. "As a descendant ofmother Shabri, who hailedfrom a deprived section, was adisciple of saint Matang andwas an ardent devotee of ShriRam, it is my good fortune thatthe temple is being constructedagain in my lifetime," he said ina tweet. According to the epicRamayan, Shabri had offeredberries already tested by her toLord Ram during his stay in theforest and he accepted herofferings with affection. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi will laythe foundation stone of thetemple at a ceremony inAyodhya on August 5.

Sacred soil, riverwater from Karnatakasent for Ram temple

TN Guv Purohit testspositive for COVID-19CHENNAI: Tamil NaduGovernor Banwarilal Purohithas tested positive for COVID-19, but advised home isolationsince his infection was mild, acity-based private hospital saidon Sunday. The 80-year oldPurohit was on self-isolationsince July 29 after three peoplein the Raj Bhavan testedpositive for the coronavirus. Abulletin issued by the KauveryHospital where the Governorunderwent further tests onSunday said he has beenadvised home isolation and amedical team would monitorhim. Purohit "tested positivefor COVID-19," hospitalExecutive Director DrAravindan Selvaraj said in thebulletin.

BENGALURU: The Karnatakaunit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) on Sunday said waterfrom various rivers and soilfrom religious places inKarnataka have been sent forthe construction of Ram templein Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.The groundbreaking ceremonyfor construction of the templewould take place on August 5and Prime Minister NarendraModi has been invited to theevent. "We have sent the waterand soil from all the rivers andreligious places in the state. Itwill be used for sanctifying thetemple site," VHP PracharPramukh Basavaraj said.According to him, Suttur Mathseer Shivaratri Deshikendrasent water from Cauvery andKapila. DharmasthalaManjunatha DharmadhikariVeerendra Heggade sent waterfrom Netravati river whileSringeri Shankaracharya SriBharati Tirtha collected waterfrom Tunga, Bhadravati.

PNS n JAMMU

Former Jammu and Kashmirchief minister Farooq Abdullahon Sunday demanded a probe byretired Supreme Court judgesinto the exodus of KashmiriPandits from the valley in early1990s.

Replying to questions duringa webinar, Abdullah said he wasof the firm belief that Kashmiris incomplete without KashmiriPandits and that he would sup-port any mechanism to bringthem back honourably.

Nearly 60,000 KashmiriPandit families are registered asmigrants after the onset of mil-itancy in the Kashmir Valley inearly 1990s.

Abdullah, a member of LokSabha and president of theNational Conference, chose toblame then former GovernorJagmohan for the exodus andsaid that he "took them away" onthe false promise of ensuring

their return within three months.During the webinar hosted by

Jammu-based Epilogue NewsNetwork on the theme,"Discerning old order delineat-ing new order – a year after neu-tralization of Article 370 andabrogation of Article 35 A",Abdullah was asked whether hewould support a genocide billbeing floated by the PanunKashmir, a Kashmiri Panditorganisation demanding a sep-arate homeland for the migrants.

He said he would have to gointo the details of the bill first.

Abdullah, a three-time chiefminister, said, "A sincere andhonest judge of Supreme Court,retired judge of Supreme Court,a team of judges...let them inves-tigate and come out with theirreport. It will clear many mindsaround the globe, among theyounger Kashmiri Pandits, thatit was not Kashmiri Muslimswho threw them out. There arestill many Kashmiri Panditswho never left and they are liv-ing here."

The National Conferenceleader narrated many instanceswhere Muslims had stood by thePandit community since 1947and said "do you think we werehappy when they (KashmiriPandits) were taken away," hesaid, adding "we always believethat Kashmir is never going to becomplete unless the Hindubrethren come back and live inpeace with all of us".

Farooq Abdullah calls for probeinto exodus of Kashmiri Pandits

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar onSunday spelled out the initia-tives taken by his governmentfor the empowerment ofwomen, saying providingequal opportunities to themwas a priority.

The CM said this during awebinar attended by womenbelonging to various fields.The participants includedteachers, sarpanches, studentsand those involved in self-help groups.

During the interaction,Khattar was asked a questionon women safety by ArchanaChaudhary from Karnal's

Shamgarh village, who said hehas been living in Californiafor five years and driving atruck there.

He said the governmenthas been laying a lot ofemphasis on women's educa-tion and providing themequal opportunities toprogress.

Providing equalopportunities to womena priority: Haryana CMPNS n CHENNAI

The Centre will not imposeany language on any statethrough the new NationalEducation Policy (NEP) 2020,Union Minister for EducationRamesh Pokhriyal Nishanksaid on Sunday.

Nishanks clarification,through a tweet in Tamil,comes in the backdrop ofopposition to NEP in TamilNadu on the grounds that thepolicy allegedly imposedHindi and Sanskrit. In histweet to former UnionMinister from the state PonRadhakrishnan, Nishank saidhe was looking forward to theguidance of the ex-centralminister in implementingNEP in Tamil Nadu."I once

again like to insist that theCentral government will notimpose any language on anystate," he said. The M K Stalin-led DMK and many opposi-tion parties in Tamil Naduhave opposed NEP and wanta review of the sweepingreforms it has proposed.

HRD Minister clearsthe air on NEP

Union Minister observes fast as BJPseeks to step up pressure on Kerala govtPNS n NEW DELHI

Union Minister VMuraleedharan on Sundayobserved a day-long fast at hisresidence here demanding theresignation of Kerala ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan overthe gold smuggling case.

The fast was part of inten-sifying the BJP's protestsagainst the Kerala governmentover the recent gold smugglinginvolving diplomatic baggage.

The Minister of state forExternal Affairs andParliamentary Affairs allegedthe chief minister had allowedhis office to be used by thosewho indulged in "anti-nation-al activities and betrayed thenation."

"The Chief Minister hasbetrayed the country by givingaway his office to those whoindulged in anti-national activ-ities. He must resign. The NIAtook up the case after theCustoms report that theaccused persons have terror

links," Muraleedharan said.The fast was inaugurated by

BJP national general secre-tary P Muralidhar Rao.

The Kerala government hasfaced criticism after reportsemerged that the former ITsecretary M Sivashankar hadclose links with a few accusedin the case.

The National InvestigationAgency and the Customsdepartment are investigatingthe gold smuggling throughdiplomatic baggage whichcame to the Thiruvanantha-puram International Airport

addressed to the UAEConsulate. The probe agencieshave arrested four, includingtwo former employees of theconsulate.

On July 5, the customsseized around 30 kg of goldworth Rs 15 crore. So far,sleuths have arrested three,including two former employ-ees of UAE consulate SwapnaSuresh and Sarith and sixmore on Sunday.

One more person is yet to bearrested. The probe agencieshave named at least 15 persons.Amid demands by the BJP andthe Congress for Vijayan's res-ignation, the state governmenthad earlier suspended seniorIAS officer Sivashankar as hisname cropped up along withSwapna Suresh and the NIAand the Customs have alreadyquestioned him for over 23hours on multiple occasions.

However, they are yet toname Sivashankar officially inany of the matters related to thecase.

Yogi announcesfinancial aid fortreatment ofAnupam ShyamPNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath hasannounced an assistance ofRs 20 lakh for treatment ofactor Anupam Shyam, whois admitted to the IntensiveCare Unit of a Mumbai hos-pital after being diagnosedwith kidney infection.

The 62-year-old actor,known for his work on theTV show "Mann Ki Awaaz:Pratigya" and in films like"Slumdog Millionaire" and"Bandit Queen", was under-going dialysis at ApexKidney Care in the northMumbai suburb of Malad.But he was shifted to LifelineHospital in Goregaon onJuly 27 after he collapsedduring dialysis.

His last screen appear-ance was on the show"Krishna Chali London",which ended in June.

Kerala goldcase: NIAarrests sixmore people PNS n NEW DELHI

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) has arrestedsix more people and conduct-ed searches at six places inconnection with the Keralagold smuggling case, an offi-cial said on Sunday.

The agency has so fararrested 10 people in thecase of smuggling of goldthrough diplomatic baggageaddressed to the UAE con-sulate in Kerala capitalThiruvananthapuram.

On July 30, two accused —Jalal A M of Ernakulam andSaid Alavi E of Malappuram— were arrested for conspir-ing with the arrested accusedRamees K T, an NIAspokesperson said.

On July 31, two moreaccused, Mohammed Shafi Pand Abdu P T, both residentsof Malappuram, were arrest-ed in the case, he said.

On August 1, the NIAarrested two more persons -- Ernakulam-residentsMuhammad Ali Ebrahimand Muhammad Ali.

‘NEP misses fundamentalgoal of human development’PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Sunday saidthe new National EducationPolicy misses the fundamentalgoal of human developmentand expansion of knowledge,noting that it is high on "catch-words" and "verbosity" butlacks critical finances and acoherent roadmap for imple-mentation.

It alleged that the policy hascircumvented parliamentaryoversight and there has beenno discussion with the acade-mia except the RSS.

Congress leaders MM PallamRaju, Rajeev Gowda andRandeep Surjewala said theNEP seeks to create a digitaldivide between the poor and therich as it promotes privatisationof public education and "this willlead to it going out of reach of

the middle class and the disad-vantaged in the society".

They also questioned thegovernment's intent in raisingspending on education to 6 percent of the GDP, saying the samehas fallen from 4.14 per cent ofGDP in 2014 to 3.2 per cent cur-rently under the Modi govern-ment and is likely to fall further

due to cuts in outlays on accountof resource crunch due to theCovid-19 pandemic.

"The National EducationPolicy 2020, which aimed topave the way for transforma-tional reforms in school andhigher education, is high oncatchwords, gloss, appearanceand verbosity yet lacks a coher-

ent implementational roadmapand strategy, clearly definedmilestones and the criticalfinances necessary to executethis grand vision," they said ina joint statement.

"All in all, the NEP 2020 miss-es the fundamental goal ofhuman development and expan-sion of knowledge," they said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Green Tribunal-appointed Yamuna MonitoringCommittee has recommendedrevisiting the 1994 water shar-ing agreement betweenUttarakhand, HimachalPradesh, Uttar Pradesh,Haryana and Delhi to ensureenvironmental flow in theriver throughout the year.

The two-member panel,comprising retired NGT expertmember B S Sajawan and for-mer Delhi Chief SecretaryShailaja Chandra, made therecommendation on the basisof a draft report on "E-flow forthe Delhi stretch of the river".

The environmental flowrequirement is the "accept-able flow regime required tomaintain the river in reason-able condition or predeter-mined state".

"The Ministry of Jal Shakti,Upper Yamuna River Boardand the riparian states ofUttarakhand, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,Haryana and Delhi reworkthe 1994 water sharing agree-ment to permit release of therecommended E-flow atHathnikund Barrage," thepanel said.

The report prepared by theNational Institute ofHydrology, Roorkee, recom-mended that 23 cumec waterbe released in Yamuna fromthe Hathnikund Barrage inHaryana's Yamuna Nagar dis-trict instead of 10 cumec in

January and February for sus-taining downstream ecosys-tems.

The barrage regulates theflow of the river for irrigationin Haryana and Uttar Pradeshthrough Western and EasternYamuna Canals, and munici-pal water supply to Delhi.

The report said 26 cumec,29 cumec, 34 cumec and 44cumec water should bereleased in the river in March,April, May and June, respec-tively.

Indira Rasoi Yojana to startin Rajasthan from Aug 20PNS n JAIPUR

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlotdirected officials on Sunday tostart the Indira Rasoi Yojana inurban areas of Rajasthan fromAugust 20. Reviewing the prepa-rations for the scheme, namedafter former prime ministerIndira Gandhi, Gehlot said thestate government would spendRs 100 crore per year on it. Hesaid the poor would get qualitynutritious food for just Rs 8.

The chief minister said thescheme should be implementedwith the spirit of public service,transparency and public partic-ipation so that it becomes anexample in the direction of pro-viding food security to the poorin the country. Gehlot directedthat participation of service-

oriented institutions and volun-tary organisations should beensured in the operation of thescheme. He has instructed thedistrict collectors to select suchinstitutions as soon as possible.

The chief minister also direct-ed to constitute a committee at

the state and district levels toensure the quality of food.

Urban Development MinisterShanti Dhariwal, who participat-ed through video conference inthe meeting, said the state gov-ernment would give a grant of Rs12 per plate.

DU meeting likely over4 subjects' syllabusPNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi University is likelyto hold a key meeting thisweek to decide on the syllabusof four courses, as the onlineclasses are slated to beginfrom August 10.

Teachers have said the syl-labus of four courses-- PoliticalScience, Sociology, Historyand English-- for the third andthe fifth semesters was yet tobe finalised. They hadexpressed apprehensionsabout how they would be ableto start the classes.

A row had erupted over thesyllabus of these subjects lastyear, with a right-wing teach-ers' outfit alleging that the cur-riculum was "pro-Left".

The syllabus of the fourcourses for the first semesterwas referred back by the exec-utive council to the depart-ments. It had submitted therevised syllabus to the over-sight committee, which hadpassed the syllabus of the firstsemester.

"We are holding a meetingeither on Monday or Tuesday,"professor Maharaj Pandit,

chairman of the oversightcommittee on syllabi, said.

"The registrar is lookinginto the issue. We have circu-lated it among the deans so weshould be able to reach a con-sensus," Pandit said.

Professors of English andPolitical Science departmentssaid they had sent remindersto the oversight committeeregarding the approval of thesyllabi.

A professor from theEnglish department, request-ing anonymity, said they hadsent the syllabus and have sentreminders to the committeeregarding the approval.

He hoped that the commit-tee would approve the syllabibefore August 10.

"We are writing to them toapprove the syllabi. More thana month ago we had sent thesyllabi," Veena Kukreja, headof Political Science depart-ment, said.

"There was a letter from theuniversity to send the syllabifor approval of the oversightcommittee. I think it should bedone before August 10," sheadded.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The world's highest railwaybridge over river Chenab inJammu and Kashmir will beready by next year, and willconnect the valley with the restof India by train for the firsttime by 2022, officials said onSunday.

The bridge, which has acentral span of 467 metres, isbeing built at a height of 359metres from the bed level. Theheight of Qutab Minar in Delhiis 72 metres and that of theEiffel Tower in Paris is 324metres.

"This is the tallest railwaybridge in the world and themaximum designed windspeed for the bridge is 266kmph," a senior governmentofficial said.

The construction work ofthe bridge was accelerated inthe last one year under thedirect supervision of the topechelons of the central govern-ment, the official said

According to the plans,Kashmir will be connectedwith train by December 2022.

The Udhampur-Katra (25Km) section, Banihal-Quazigund (18 Km) sectionand Quazigund-Baramulla(118Km) section have alreadybeen commissioned.

The last remaining section,the 111 km Katra-Banihal sec-tion is currently under execu-tion. It is targeted for comple-tion in December 2022. The126 km out of 174 km of tun-nels on this section has alreadybeen completed.

There has been a greaterpush in the last one year forimplementation of various pro-jects under the Rs 80,068 crore

Prime Minister's DevelopmentPackage (PMDP) announcedon November 7, 2015, the offi-cial said.

The package is meant forstrengthening socio-econom-ic infrastructure and balancedregional development ofJammu and Kashmir.

The programme touchespractically every sector andprovides for massive invest-ments in basic infrastructure,another official said.

After the reorganisation ofJammu and Kashmir inAugust 2019, the UnionTerritory of Jammu and

Kashmir was left with 54 pro-jects under the PMDP with anoutlay of Rs 58,627 crore.

A total of nine projectswith an outlay of Rs 21,441crore were transferred to theUT of Ladakh.

"The work in the PMDPsince June 2018 and particu-larly in the last one year hasbeen the rapid and unprece-dented," the official said.

The number of completedprojects and substantiallycompleted projects has corre-spondingly shot up fromseven in June 2018 to 17 inJuly 2020.

Chenab rail bridge in J&K to be ready by next year

UP MinisterKamal RaniVerma dies ofCOVID-19PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh MinisterKamal Rani Varun, the onlywoman cabinet minister inthe state, died of COVID-19at a hospital here on Sunday.She was 62.

The Technical Educationminister, who tested positivefor COVID-19 on July 18 andis the first minister in thestate to succumb to the dis-ease, breathed her last at theSanjay Gandhi PostgraduateInstitute of Medical Sciences(SGPIMS).

She had comorbidities,including diabetes, hyper-tension and hyperthyroidism,a senior doctor at the hospi-tal said. Kamal Rani, who issurvived by her daughter,was cremated at the BhairoGhat crematorium here inaccordance with COVID-19protocols."A guard of honourwas given as soon as her bodyreached Bhairo Ghat crema-torium," District MagistrateDr Brahmdeo Ram Tiwarisaid.

NGT panel recommends reworking1994 water pact to revive Yamuna

"The National Education Policy2020, which aimed to pave the wayfor transformational reforms inschool and higher education, is highon catchwords, gloss, appearanceand verbosity yet lacks a coherentimplementational roadmap andstrategy, clearly defined milestonesand the critical finances necessaryto execute this grand vision," theysaid in a joint statement

The bridge is being

built at a height of

359 metres from the

bed level. The

height of Qutab

Minar in Delhi is 72

metres and that of

the Eiffel Tower in

Paris is 324 metres

Edwin A Grosvenor (1845-1936), an American histori-an and author, who for someyears lived and taught inConstantinople — as Istanbul

was still called in the late 19th centu-ry — found that the Turks regardedAya Sofia (Hagia Sophia) with “prideof conquest than affection.” The exquis-ite cathedral was still functioning as amosque when Grosvenor wrote thehistory of the Ottoman capital in twovolumes, Constantinople (1895).Nevertheless, since the end of theCrimean War (1854-56), its groundfloor and the gallery were thrown opento the visitors for payment of a fee. TheChristian characteristics of the cathe-dral were so pronounced that “its struc-tural form has always resisted therequirements of Moslem ritual.”

The Turks, being conscious that“though the mosque is theirs, it is notof them”, had to import two distinctivesymbols connected with the pulpit. Thefirst was a pair of silken flags, “signif-icant of victory of Islam over its par-ent faiths, Judaism and Christianity.”Second, every Friday, when its Sheikh(Imam) climbed the steep pulpit stepsto preach, he held in his right hand anunsheathed sword, indicative of themanner in which the Hagia Sophia wasconquered. “So, would the Moslem for-get the long past of the church?” askedGrosvenor. “He cannot, for the flagsand sword are there” (Constantinople,Vol-II, Pg, 543)

It is speculative whether the flagsand sword would be reintroduced inHagia Sophia, which was recentlyreverted to a mosque. Turkey’sPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan, how-ever, did not re-reclaim Hagia Sophiafor Islam in a manner reminiscent ofSultan Mehmed II in 1453 AD.Erdogan achieved his end through apresidential decree, published in theofficial gazette on July 10. He has, thus,clothed himself in the role of “GazetteGhazi.”

Mustafa Kemal Pasha, formerPresident of Turkey, was also known asa “Ghazi” (vanquisher of infidels) for14 long years before he adopted his lastname Ataturk in 1935. This title wasconferred upon him by the newTurkish National Assembly inSeptember 1921, at the height of theGreco-Turkish War (1919-1922) thathe led as the Field Marshal. To manyof his countrymen, especially thosewho never saw him, the title conjureda glamourised image.

Once, when Kemal Pasha “Ghazi”,as biographer Patrick Kinross informs,was visiting a mountainous village inTurkey, he found that an artist haddrawn his portrait from imagination on

a wall. It was that of a formida-ble warrior, with sweepingmoustaches and a seven-footlong sword. The villagers, how-ever, were shocked to discovera clean-shaven Ghazi inEuropean style summer suit, asports shirt open at the neckand a Panama hat. So great wastheir disbelief that they barelymanaged to clap as the Ghaziwalked past his imaginary por-traiture. The conqueror waswearing the costume of the infi-del (Ataturk: The Rebirth of aNation, Pg, 414).

More than his westernattire, Kemal’s westernising pol-icy was likely to scandalise hiscountrymen, who had beendirect subjects of the Caliphatefor 400 years. However, it wasmuch less than what we mightassume. Kemal, by sheer forceof his personality, no less thanthe weight of his achievements,was able to ramrod secularisa-tion in matters of State policyand national life of Turkey. Heabolished the Caliphate, elim-inated religious courts, abol-ished the fez cap, discouragedveil for women, suppressedreligious brotherhood, closedsacred tombs as places of wor-ship, declared the Gregoriancalendar as a national calendar,replaced Sharia with a newcivil code law, introduced Latinalphabets in place of Arabic forwriting Turkish and made theadoption of the last name

mandatory (himself took upAtaturk) among others.

Even the name of therepublic viz, Turkey (whichcitizens called Türkiye), clear-ly revealed its European origin.The term Turk, profoundlyconnected with Islam, had orig-inally been given by theEuropeans in the 11th century.Whether the modernisation ofTurkey could have beenachieved without brazen west-ernisation is a matter of opin-ion. However, through thesemeasures, Ataturk built up aTurkish identity founded onlanguage and territory butdelinked from religion.

“In the imperial society ofOttomans, the ethnic term Turkwas little used and then chieflyin a derogatory sense” saysBernard Lewis, “to designateTurcoman nomads or laterignorant and uncouth Turkishspeaking peasants of Anatolianvillages. To apply it to anOttoman gentleman ofConstantinople would havebeen an insult” (The Emergenceof Modern Turkey, Pg 1-2).Until the 19th century, theTurks had thought of them-selves purely as Muslims.Turkish nationalism could onlyemerge at the expense ofMuslim identity. Ataturk’srepublic, however, was one-party rule. Therefore, he couldenforce his policies withoutany organised opposition. He

did not banish religion from therepublic but controlled its insti-tutions, clergy and instructionsthrough State apparatus.

For the Greeks, by contrast,religion continued to be a deci-sive factor in shaping theirnational identity. The LausanneConvention on the compulso-ry exchange of populationbetween Greece and Turkey(January 30, 1923) defined aGreek as one belonging to“Greek Orthodox religion” andTurk as “Moslem” without anyreference to a person’s mothertongue. Greece’s democraticConstitution (2001) beginscounter-intuitively “in the nameof Holy and Consubstantialand Indivisible Trinity” ratherthan Solon, Clisthenes,Themistocles and Pericles.

The reason for the indissol-uble bond between EasternOrthodox Christianity andGreek identity is two-fold. First,during the Byzantine era (mid-fourth to mid-15th centuryAD) orthodox religion cement-ed spiritual and national unityof the Greeks. The Hellenic pastof the Greeks witnessed conflictof philosophy and religion aswell as extreme political disuni-ty. Second, under the Ottomanrule (mid-15th century to 19thcentury), the Church formedthe nucleus of the Greek nation.Under the millat system, theGreek patriarch based inConstantinople also acted as the

secular head of the Roum mil-let (Roman nation) comprisingall Christian subjects in theOttoman empire. It, thus, func-tioned as a State within theEmpire, whose influence con-tinued to increase as Ottomanpower declined vis-à-visEurope.

The pioneer of the GreekWar of Independence (1821-29)was Germanos, the Archbishopof Patras, who on April 4, 1821,proclaimed the insurrectionagainst the Turks. Several highdignitaries of the OrthodoxChurch, including Patriarch ofConstantinople Gregory IVhimself, suffered martyrdom.Thus, Church and Greek inde-pendence somehow got inter-connected from the beginning.This is a legacy that even 21stcentury Greece continues torespect. However, the Churchand the State were separate evenduring the Byzantine Empire,with no scope for conflictbetween the Emperor and thePatriarch, unlike between thePope and the monarchs inLatin Christendom. The samecontinues to be true in therepublic of Greece, where theChurch has no role in statecraft.Turkey, meanwhile, has dentedits own image by reversion ofHagia Sophia into a mosque.

(The writer is an author andindependent researcher. Theviews expressed herein are personal.)

It is official. India has a major law and order prob-lem on its hands as communal conflicts are ris-ing and are being settled outside the justice sys-

tem. Hate Crime Watch documented 254 criminalattacks targetting religious minorities betweenJanuary 2009 and October 2018, which killed 91people and injured 579 others. And to worsen mat-ters, our police force is inefficient, ineffective anddistressingly complicit in most crimes and atroci-ties that are committed on religious minorities,Scheduled Castes, tribes, backward classes and theunderprivileged. The most recent example of this

chilling indifference and perversion of the law comes from Gurugram where a groupof five cow vigilantes beat up a young man with a hammer in the presence of police-men on the suspicion of transporting beef. Later, it turned out that it was buffalo meatthat the young man was transporting at the behest of his boss, who has been in thebusiness for 50 years. For now, the victim, who was beaten within an inch of his life,is alive, but who is to say what will happen tomorrow? This incident is a throwbackto the Dadri lynching case of 2015 when one Mohammad Akhlaq was killed by cowvigilantes in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly slaughtering a cow and consuming its meat.The Gurugram incident, that occurred on the eve of Eid al-Adha, which is colloquial-ly known as “Bakri Eid”, shows that it was pre-planned and pre-meditated as the cowvigilantes were out to create trouble or even spark off communal disturbance. Justlike the Dadri case, the police was faster at sending the meat to a lab for testing thantaking the half-dead victim to the hospital or catching any of the suspects. This alsoreminds one of the Alwar policemen, who delayed rushing another lynching case vic-tim, Rakbar Khan, to the hospital and were reluctant to take action against the guiltycow vigilantes despite video evidence.

It is obvious that emboldened by political patronage and police inaction, cow vig-ilantes, basically criminals positing themselves as wingmen of Hindutva, are no longerafraid of the proverbial long arm of the law and don’t hesitate to violate it with impuni-ty. What else can explain the fact that assaulters continued to beat the young maneven after dragging him to his village with the police watching in silence? In fact, sobrazen and fearless were the men that they turned on the cops themselves when theyfinally deigned to intervene. This loss of respect for the law and the guarantee of pro-tection for a “majoritarian cause” are the reasons why there has been a surge in kan-garoo courts across the country over the last two months. The vigilantes dispenseinstant justice for what they call “theft”and “selling beef.” This latest incident not onlyshows how cow vigilantism is on the rise again in India but that the politics of oth-erisation is set to be the new pandemic.

If the Delhi Police, being an elite law-keeping forcein the country, is so sure about the impartialityand professionalism of its conduct during the city

riots in February, why does it want its own publicprosecutors to fight related cases in court? Or whyis the Lt Governor, Anil Baijal, as the Centre’s rep-resentative, locking horns yet again with the AamAadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi Government on anissue of propriety? This time Baijal has overturnedthe Delhi Cabinet’s decision that had disbanded thepanel of lawyers suggested by the Delhi Police fromarguing in the Supreme Court and the High Court

in the interest of a fair probe. Not only this, he has invoked Article 239AA(4) of theConstitution and referred the dispute to the President. Under the said Article, the DelhiGovernment is bound to follow the L-G’s orders. The AAP Government, which hastime and again insisted that the Delhi Police is not under its purview and did not opposeit or the Home Ministry to which it reports despite public criticism during the riots,rightly exercised its prerogative to suggest a transparent analysis of events. It arguedthat since the courts had already raised serious questions on the investigations doneby the Delhi Police in the riots case and during students’ protests, the lawyers should-n’t be pro-Government. So against the Delhi Police’s proposal to appoint six seniorlawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and ASG Aman Lekhi, as specialcounsel in the High Court and Supreme Court in 85 cases related to the riots and theanti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, the Delhi Government wanted to field lawyerRahul Mehra and his team. Does this mean that the Centre is trying to dictate the courseof the trial, investigation and public perception? Or is it trying to justify the crackdownon the protesters and label them as seditious? For under no circumstance should theprosecution be linked to one of the parties that is under investigation. Of course, theBJP has launched a counter-charge, saying the AAP was trying to save its MLA TahirHussein, who has been booked for instigating the riots. But there have been far toomuch evidence and reports that show how instead of pursuing the rioters, the DelhiPolice has been harassing victims, activists and acting in a partisan manner. Meanwhile,politicians who incited mobs were neither charged nor arrested. One cannot ignorethe judiciary either, which has called out the non-action or the programmed action ofthe police. Earlier, none other than the Supreme Court had observed that the riots inDelhi could have been prevented if the police had the independence to act. The Benchused strong words: “Unfortunate things have happened, the problem is the total lackof independence of the police.” And on Friday, the Delhi High Court asked SpecialCommissioner of Police Praveer Ranjan to explain the “necessity” of issuing a letterto chiefs of probe teams, which said that arrests of “some Hindu youth” from riot-hitareas had led to a “degree of resentment among the Hindu community.” Justice SureshKumar Kait also asked him to place before the High Court “five such letters” issuedby him or his predecessor as the CrPC does not mandate such instructions and remind-ed that senior officers can just guide their teams but not influence the facts.

The February riots were the worst that Delhi has seen since the targetted killingof Sikhs in 1984. It brought out a rabid kind of communal sentiments and embar-rassingly happened when US President Donald Trump was on his first visit to India,thereby drawing international attention. But then COVID-19 happened and steamrolledall such concerns. Yet, given the sensitivity involved and the excesses of brutality, itis of utmost importance that the rule of law is upheld and the judiciary allowed tofunction independently. Already perceived to be acting under executive pressure, eversince the Narendra Modi Government came to power and emaciated institutional pow-ers, the judiciary should not appear to be “guided” in the riots case. Anyway, the linebetween fact and fiction has blurred with too many ground truths held back from thepublic domain. And disproportionately, the Government narrative of stereotyping theriots as another volatile expression of communal angst has been gaining ground. TheDelhi Police is capable of conducting a sound probe but appears to be under pres-sure to “manage” a certain narrative so that courts have very little to deliberate on.Certainly, nothing could be a bigger travesty of justice. And if the Delhi Police lookstoothless, one would dread to imagine what happens in the State police forces of UttarPradesh and Haryana, where the ruling party sentiment will sit in judgment on theright to protest.

AAP, L-G collide

NEP idealistic

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “New curriculum” (July 31).Coming after a gap of 34 years,the new educational policyunveiled by the Government isstill idealistic. But it is timely con-sidering that in a post-COVID-19 world, the educational patternwill undergo a sea change. Theproposed shift in the existing(10+2) system to (5+3+3+4) willlead to the overall developmentof children. Vast changes willensure universal access to schooleducation, focus on early child-hood care and education, restruc-ture the school curriculum andpedagogy, reform the assess-ment system and invest inteacher training. All of this willsignificantly transform the edu-cational system.

Yet NEP’s success dependson the finer details. It is up to theGovernment to create an atmos-phere, infrastructure and teach-ing resources for the smoothphasing of this transition stage.And it must ensure transparen-cy and accountability. But mostimportantly, it must bring out anaction plan for a pan-Indiaimplementation,

Kirti WadhawanKanpur

Game-changer jets

Sir — The induction of fiveRafale jets will boost the IndianAir Force (IAF)’s airpower andmilitary prowess. The procure-ment of the jets is a very signif-icant development for India,

which is in the midst of a bittermilitary standoff with China ineastern Ladakh and heightenedtensions with Pakistan alongthe LoC.

Technical experts claim thatthe supersonic Rafale can beused for ground and sea attacksand can undertake electronicwarfare, air defence, groundsupport and in-depth strikes.The biggest asset, however, is its

weapon carrying capability andair-to-air missile feature. Beingclaimed as the most potent air-craft in South Asia, the flight isequipped with scalp long-rangemissile and can hit a targetmore than 300 km away. It canalso detect threats well inadvance and neutralise them.

However, in the context ofthe border confrontation withChina, so long as Beijing refus-

es to restore status quo antealong the LAC, the Rafalesshould be used as a bargainingchip or as a contingency tactic.But in the changed securityenvironment, India needs tofast-track the procurement of thesubsequent batches of the jets.Unfortunately, the political sys-tem is always more concernedabout accusations of scandalsregarding arms purchases thanwhat they mean for security.

N Sadhasiva ReddyBengaluru

Where we lag behind

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “New curriculum” (July 31).The NEP offers a lot of hope butthe Government must simulta-neously work on improving thequality of teaching and research.It must also improve its fundingstructure. Due to the lack ofopportunities, researchers prefermoving abroad to pursue PhD.We need to give them job offersand financial security.

Rati AgrawalVia email

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/

op nionVIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020

06

Seeds of conflict

PRIYADARSHI DUTTA

Turkish nationalism could only emerge at the expense of Muslim identity. For the Greeks, by

contrast, religion continued to be a decisive factor in shaping their national identity

I welcome the construction ofthe Ram temple in Ayodhya.The construction of the tem-ple is being carried out withthe consent of every Indian.It’s possible only in India.

Congress leader—Kamal Nath

Even though a lot of horriblethings are being said aboutme on the electronic media, Irefrain from commenting onthe advice of my lawyer asthe matter is sub judice.

Actor—Rhea Chakraborty

I attach great importance to thedevelopment of China-Nepalrelations and I am willing towork with Nepal to push for thecontinued advancement of thebilateral relationship.

Chinese President—Xi Jinping

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

NEP: Challenge lies in implementation

This refers to the editorial, “New curriculum” (July31). The first thing that strikes the eye is the pro-posed Higher Education Commission of India that

dispenses with every other autonomous regulator inthe sector. Notwithstanding its unconcealed proclivi-ty for ideological ascendancy on education per se, theBJP, in the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, hasbut added frills to the 1986 education policy withoutaltering the main motif. The continuity is welcome.

In doing away with rigid separations between arts,commerce and sciences; curricular and extra-curric-ular activities; vocational and academic streams, therehashed policy is akin to converting overnight med-ical clinics to multi-speciality hospitals. Students cannow select subjects across streams. This would expo-nentially drive additional infrastructure, be it of funds,quantity, variety or quality of faculty. Taken together,the management of such involved matrix of matchingeach course to resources would need first-rate pro-

fessional administration. Our education spend is to beboosted. Our enduring incapacity to improve our health-care spend has been mercilessly exposed by COVID-19. One hopes the Government has the will to fundtwo major social sectors simultaneously.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Hate crime, again

He’s (Dhoni) lost a bit of fit-ness and there are youngerplayers coming through thesystem. He’s past his bestreally and he would be theright judge for that.

Former India all-rounder —Roger Binny

Nullifying the Delhi govt order on appointing independentlawyers for riots cases seems to be aimed at influencing courts

Cow vigilantes beat up a young man suspecting hewas transporting beef. Only he wasn’t

Own the hybrid war

LAKHS OF PEOPLE SACRIFICED FOR THE RAM TEMPLE

CONSTRUCTION. BHOOMI PUJAN WILL BE HELD ON

AUGUST 5. THE PRIME MINISTER WILL TAKE PART IN IT.

—INTERNATIONAL JOINT GENERAL SECRETARY, VHP

SURENDRA KUMAR JAIN

ATTENDING BHOOMI PUJAN IN OFFICIAL CAPACITY WILL

BE A VIOLATION OF THE PM’S CONSTITUTIONAL OATH

AS SECULARISM IS PART OF THE CONSTITUTION.

—AIMIM CHIEF

ASADUDDIN OWAISI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The modern military is increasingly becomingtechnology-reliant and, therefore, industry-dependent. Hybrid warfare — the current

flavour of war-fighting — is fast transforming intoa technology-based, non-contact, ambiguous andtransitory model. The rapidity of change comes fromexponential growth in every facet of human life,largely fuelled by computers, generating competi-tion between man and machine as well as combinedman-machine teams. Bursts of concentrated tech-nology innovation periods like these — so produc-tive, so game-changing — move into an entirely newcategory: Industrial revolution.

The military has been constrained to follow andadapt to what technology and the industry providethrough these cycles. Throughout revolutions his-torically, the industry has been just a level ahead ofthe military. Today we are deep into IndustrialRevolution 4.0, marked by data and machine learn-ing (ML). For the military, that means moving ourindustrial platforms and war machines to be runby Artificial Intelligence (AI) engines. The currentsecurity dynamics dictate that the military must dothat, albeit with caution, to finally pull a half-levelahead of the industry.

The armed forces must set the tone for tech-nology-based warfare and create the roadmap sothat they can reach ‘Military 4.5’ as quickly as pos-sible and guide the industry rather than be dictat-ed by it. This is a call for the military fraternity andtheir counterparts in the industry. If a country isinferior in technology, by inference, it would be infe-rior in national security.

Facing an adversary with better technology, youare that much weaker, more porous and behind thecurve. If you are vulnerable, you are also exploitableby nations that are high on research and develop-ment and innovation. That advantage extends wellbeyond military might to the negotiating table, todiplomatic efforts, to trade and financial markets.Overall, security is driven by accelerating techno-logical prowess. For example, China feels comfort-able, as it projects and flexes its muscles, leverag-ing technology and military power in tandem.

Moving the military to 4.5 will represent a majorhurdling of significant obstacles i.e. our cultural aver-sion to swift change. Right now, we have yet to fullysubsume the elements of Industrial Revolution 4.0.We’re frankly closer to 3.5. But who better to deter-mine what is needed and put forth to the industrythan the armed forces, the tip of the spear. We needthe industry to deliver today on the most promis-ing technologies of tomorrow.

Neo-Nanotechnology: Light, small and fast,nanotechnology and miniaturised componentsoffer the military some obvious benefits in termsof portability, protection and connection. But itneeds to go further. We need the military version— neo-nanotech — that’s even smaller, refined forreliable performance, and rugged and hardenedenough to withstand the rigorous demands of fieldoperations.

Human augmentation to match the machine:As systems become more networked and themachines get smarter, the sheer speed and connec-tivity will challenge the human beings they aremeant to serve. They will need to keep up. Fast andcapable, these systems will easily outstrip their oper-ators unless some augmentation technology pairswith the person to prevent fatigue, circumvent rel-atively slower thinking and fuels a better decision-making cycle. This intelligent augmentation is cru-cial to controllable autonomous applications. Forcontext, consider the modern-day flight deck, whichrelies on human input to set up a flight plan. But

the execution of that flight is now under-taken by the onboard flight computer, amachine. Why? Humans are now theweakest link in the chain, vulnerable tolapses in attention, fatigue, even informa-tional, psychological, biological andchemical warfare. Autonomous systemsare much more impervious to suchinfluences.

True network-centric operations:When target acquisition and robotics arebrought together, we will have nearlyachieved the Industrial Revolution forMilitary 4.5. Call it C5ISR-STAR2(Command, Control, Communications,Computers, Cyber, Intelligence andInformation — Surveillance, TargetAcquisition, Reconnaissance andRobotics). It is a substantial name for asubstantial capability, a networked battle-field where decentralised, robotic-initiat-ed decision-making would be the norm.The Command, Control and Surveillancewould largely be linked through space.These assets in space would need protec-tion. How that is achieved is another race.

Imagine, for example, that humanspre-programme a satellite to identify tar-gets in a certain area. AI can enable themto set the parameters by which the targetwould be eliminated autonomously — thesystem would designate the weapon fordoing so and take action if the criteria fits.In another situation, humans mightserve as the final confirmation before theautonomous system locks on to a targetfor action. Another step forward wouldbe to designate pre-sanctioned targets, tobe engaged on appearance.

The Internet of Military Things(IoMT): Network-centric operationswon’t happen without the fusion ofsmaller, smarter sensors, network connec-tivity, signal intelligence devices, aircraft,UAVs and so on. A secure, private net-work is the core layer to communicatingthis data. That will require scalable satel-lite connectivity for narrowband applica-tions plus fibre and microwave links to

support broadband applications. Thesewould ultimately connect millions ofdevices and sensors operating ubiquitous-ly and support data transfer. AI wouldplay a critical role, enabling the IoMT totransition from mostly telemetry andsensing to complete autonomous actionguided by rules defined by individualcountries.

Computer networks are efficient,desirable tools as they can move massivemachine data simultaneously to multiplesubscribers. This can also turn disastrousif disruption is caused through technol-ogy limitations, an incident driven byadversarial action or a simple humanerror. The military has this challenge —it needs its machines and networkssecured and protected against these pos-sibilities. High assurances and strong pro-tection tools will need to be delivered bythe industry. Call it military-grade secre-cy; security protocols would need to bewell-defined.

Secure Chips, Quantum Technologyand IP concealment (ie, no IP Address)would essentially form this baseline.None of the above will be possible if theindustry cannot pin down the fundamen-tal, base-layer PME (Power, Materials, andElectronics) capabilities. Military superi-ority will come from innovations that candeliver lighter, more sustainable power,perhaps delivered through nuclear, renew-ables or rechargeable through motion.

It will come from lighter, stronger,self-healing materials designed to max-imise survivability for the war-fighter andbear up under temperatures that span theextremes of heat and cold.

It will come from next generationelectronics that are tiny, light and pro-grammable. It will come from develop-ing the technological mechanisms thatmake it possible for humans andmachines to partner in powerful newways. PME would expand the possibili-ties for a single fighting machine to per-form operations in all three spheres — air,

ground and water — with almost equalefficiency and sustainability. The AIengines would enable them to be net-worked as swarms and self-assign targetsbetween machines. Networks will makeit possible to build H-M2M-H (Human-Machine to Machine Human) interfacesto bring battles to be planned, regulatedand controlled from manned war rooms,yet fought by machines in the field. Thegroundwork has clearly been laid. Wehave data, advanced computing, newmaterials and engineering methods thatare translating into the fastest evolutionof physical systems in human history.

We can process data in seconds andrun experiment after experiment basedon the evolving results. Even small com-panies can better innovate at scale becauseit’s cheaper and faster to do so. There aresimply no excuses for failure.

If the industry can deliver on this con-siderable potential, the military candeliver and fulfil its prime directive:Ensuring national security that underpinsall else. We can do it while preservinghuman life and outsourcing the truly dan-gerous jobs to robotics and autonomoussystems. Military 4.5 is not a holistic war-fighting solution but a concept to guidethe industry to push the envelope beyond4.0.

For all actors, elements of war-fight-ing (ethical, unethical and ambiguous) arecoming together in a new technology-enabled paradigm — hybrid war — thatwill challenge us to be more thoughtful.The Grey Zone is expanding, stitchingnon-State and State actors as legitimateparticipants of the hybrid war. The con-ventional battles are subsuming the sub-conventional. Technology is the commondenominator but it needs ethical militaryguidance along the way.

(The writer is a military veteran andformer Deputy Chief of Integrated DefenceStaff of India. He raised the Defence SpaceAgency, Defence Cyber Agency and SpecialOperations Division.)

The armed forces must set the tone for tech-based warfare and create a roadmap so that theycan reach ‘Military 4.5’ quickly and guide the industry rather than be dictated by it

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

A search forsome answers

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

One wonders if people are suffering more frombeing infected by Corona or from almost drivingthemselves over the edge by the fear of the virus

PJS PANNU

FACING ANADVERSARY

WITH BETTERTECHNOLOGY,

YOU ARE THATMUCH WEAKER,MORE POROUS

AND BEHIND THE CURVE. IF YOU

ARE VULNERABLE,YOU ARE ALSO

EXPLOITABLE BYNATIONS THAT ARE HIGH ONRESEARCH &

DEVELOPMENT ANDINNOVATION.

THAT ADVANTAGEEXTENDS WELL

BEYOND MILITARYMIGHT TO THENEGOTIATING

TABLE, TODIPLOMATIC

EFFORTS, TO TRADE AND

FINANCIALMARKETS.OVERALL,

SECURITY ISDRIVEN BY

ACCELERATINGTECHNOLOGICAL

PROWESS

One is living almost cocooned in an equilateral triangle. Onearm of the triangle is the terrifying COVID-19 situation, thesecond arm of the triangle is an economy in a tailspin, with

little understanding of how deep the dive is going to be or how itcan be brought under control. The third arm of the triangle is madeof the travails and trials of an ordinary life. The COVID age — forwant of a better phrase — that the world is currently passingthrough, is known to have just as much of an impact on the psy-che and lifestyles of people as the Coronavirus has on the humanbody. How long can one survive in a bottomless pit of anxiety isa question to which there can be no definitive answers. Even his-tory is silent on this very vital issue of human endurance.

One wonders if people are actually suffering more from beinginfected by the virus or from almost driving themselves over theedge by the fear of being infected by COVID-19. The governanceprocess itself seems to be in a trial and error mode with a hands-on situation. A few weeks ago, a locality of a major district of animportant State was claimed to have no place in the listing of con-tainment zones issued by the District Commissioner’s Office. Yet,when the police department was contacted, they claimed it wasstill in the containment zone. Similarly, a Chief Minister asked thepeople to come out in large numbers and promote the economy.He said the weekly bazaars and hotels would open and much,much more lay ahead. The Lieutenant-Governor negated the instruc-tion and the hapless citizens struggled to understand what thecontent of Unlock 3.0 was.

There are millions of questions about the virus that remainunanswered. To what extent is surface transmission of the dis-ease real? Do the envelopes received in the mail pose a risk? Oneformer director of a major national medical institute says he keepsthe mail and packages in the sun, for a while, before opening them.He didn’t have an answer on what to do when it rains. A doctorfrom England advised the use of gloves while opening envelopesreceived through an agency, or at least sanitising the hands afteropening the mail. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO),in an advisory says that it is safe to receive a package from anyarea where COVID-19 has been reported. So, who does one believein a situation like this?

Then there is the case of newspapers. Epidemiologists saynewspapers are safe while others have their doubts. It is difficultto identify which is an authoritative source of information in somany aspects of the so-called COVID-era. And then, what hap-pens to currency notes? The packaging of the kitchen ingredi-ents which any household would need? Or the milk packets broughtfrom the dairy?

As noted above, one side of the triangle is that of one beingcurrently caught up in the actual experience of acquiring theCoronavirus infection. The other side of the triangle is the kind ofcollateral experience when trying to live a normal life through apandemic. Even if one forgets about the vaccines, the high andmighty of the medical profession are still not unanimous on thenature, extent and the reality of the actual infection.

If one is not clear there, one can only keep washing hands,sanitising surfaces, not go out of the house beyond a certain pointand hope for the best. Therein comes the third arm of the trian-gle. The ways of earning, while staying at home, (the ordinarylife) are limited by class and profession. The circulation of the ser-vice class is so large and unstructured that contact tracing cansometimes become like trying to put together a ten thousand-piecepuzzle.

Add to it the travails of real life. The other realities don’t dis-appear because the COVID-era is in focus. Where does one finda safe dentist? In the rainy season one will contract cold becauseof change in weather. How does one find out whether it is thefirst stage of the Coronavirus or an overheated imagination? Oneof the estimates says that over 16 lakh Indians have fallen ill inthe last three months of the pandemic from the Coronavirus. Isthere any figure available of how many people fell ill from diseasesother than the Coronavirus, in the same period?

During the same period, the number of unemployed rose by10 crore. Even milk registered a lower availability by 30 per cent.One of the news channels ran a random survey, where 11 percent of those surveyed were found to be suffering from mild depres-sion and another six per cent from depression. Reportedly, in aParliamentary Committee proceeding, there has been referenceto an addition of 12 crore to the number of people who have, fur-ther, sunk below the poverty line. The auto sector has registeredloss of jobs to the tune of 30 per cent and the retail sector up to60 per cent.

More statistics can be quoted. The relevant part is at leastto ask whether the Coronavirus is the bigger malaise or the col-lateral damage done by it? For a solution in either case, a scien-tific method and its comprehensiveness will be the acid test.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant)

An acquaintance associated withan advertising firm once relat-ed a rather telling anecdote.

Two years ago, his firm prepared acampaign for a food company ownedby a gentleman from Faisalabad. Theowner of the company was a self-made-man who, decades ago, hadbegun his career as a worker in a fac-tory after arriving as a teenager froma village.

He had passed his matriculateexams but because of his family’s dete-riorating economic situation, he couldnot attend college. However, this did

not stop him from diligently workinghis way up. From a factory worker, hebecame a foreman and then, yearslater, with some money borrowedfrom a friend, he first set up a grocerystore and then a small food company.The business was a success and by2006, he was a rich man.

The campaign that the advertis-ing firm presented to him was basedon phrases and antics popularised byarchetypal Punjabi films. After thefirm was done presenting, the ownerbegan giving his feedback. He told theagency’s executives that he wouldnever want to use the campaign.

He then explained: “For years,Punjabis like me have been strugglingto eliminate this image of us as peo-ple who look and do things like SultanRahi in Punjabi films.” The business-man was disappointed that a group ofeducated executives from Karachicould not visualise his company as amodern entity as they would do for amultinational.

This was a case of how superficial-ly sometimes members of urban mid-dle-classes perceive people from hum-bler backgrounds. The advertisingexecutives had been told by “insiders”in the company about the owner’srural origins. So, in a bid to appeal tothis aspect of his personality, theyassumed that Punjabi films wereaccurate depictions of the province’srural life and, therefore, such imagerywould suffice to get the owner’sapproval.

In the early 1990s, Imran Aslam,playwright and former editor of anEnglish daily where I worked as areporter, told me that when he was ayoung man and “experimenting” withcommunism, there used to be a trendamong communists from well-to-domiddle-class families to “prove theirsocialist credentials” by taking up“working class vocations.”

Imran said that he once joined agroup of labourers working at a con-struction site but the workers simply

refused to let him work. This was notbecause his presence threatened them.In fact, according to Imran, it actual-ly amused them no end. They justcould not figure out why a person witha good education, spacious home andthe potential to bag a lucrative jobwould leave all of it to lift bricks witha group of men who would rather havea good education, spacious homes andthe potential to bag lucrative jobs.

According to Imran, his young,idealistic self had sketched a roman-ticised picture of how working classpeople think. He believed they wouldbe pleased to see a member of a moreprosperous class join them in doingwhat they did for a living. Imran saidthat, eventually, some of the labour-ers told him that one day they wouldlike their children to have the kind oflife he had before he arrived at the con-struction site. Imran went back home.

In 2015, at that year’s KarachiLiterature Festival that I attended asa speaker, I bumped into a relative of

the late communist leader HasanNasir. Nasir, who hailed from an aris-tocratic family in India, was associat-ed with the Communist Party ofPakistan. He was arrested by the AyubKhan dictatorship in 1960, torturedand killed. His relative is married toone of my mother’s cousins. He (therelative) told me that Nasir was arrest-ed from a shanty town in Karachi.When I asked him if he was hidingthere, the relative smiled and said, “No,he was living there.” He said that Nasirwas constantly at odds with his priv-ileged background and made sure hechallenged it by residing in areas whereworking-class people lived, in theirhuts and tiny apartments.

As I showed my appreciation, therelative smiled again and said, “Butthey (the poor) always treated him dif-ferently. He was never accepted as oneof their own. All they were interestedin was whether he could get them bet-ter jobs or a better education for theirchildren. All else they understood as

just talk by a young man.” This is interesting because, as a

student leader, during my involvementin a campaign for a political party forthe 1988 elections, I remember thatwhen we used to visit low-incomeareas, the people there would nod,smile and applaud the fiery speechesthat the party’s younger cadres deliv-ered. But they were far more interest-ed to meet the candidate and talk tohim about whether he was capable ofproviding them jobs or schools, orhow the candidate planned to resolvethe area’s infrastructural issues.

Finally, one day, I asked the can-didate how he was able to engage withthe voters in such areas where our rev-olutionary speeches about solidaritywith the poor were failing to attractsimilar traction. He replied: “Theydream about becoming what youare. They don’t want to see anotherthem. They want to see themselvesbecoming you, or at least believe thattheir children can. That’s what I

promise them. Things and tools to bet-ter their lot.”

In his 1937 book, The Road toWigan Pier, George Orwell writesabout his experiences living as asocialist among coal miners and fac-tory workers. According to Orwell, thepoor were simply interested inimproving their lives with better payand conditions. They had no interestin the theoretical aspects of any ide-ology. Orwell believed that the reasonthe socialists failed to fully engage withthe workers was because the socialistsbring with them people who preachcomplex political and cultural ideasthat have everything to do with upperand middle-class discourses and noth-ing to do with the realities and aspi-rations of the working-classes. Insome cases, this may also mean usingideological rationales to keep thepoor from even thinking about anyupward mobility because that wouldbe “beneficial to capitalism.”

(Courtesy: Dawn)

Socialist ideas and an indifferent working classComplex political and cultural ideas that stem from upper and middle-class discourses often mean little to the working class looking for upward mobility

NADEEM PARACHA

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Bengal takes Rs 1,022-cr loanfrom Centre KOLKATA: West Bengal hastaken a Rs 1,022-croretransition loan from the Centreto help its power distributioncompany tide over liquiditystress amid the Covid-19pandemic.The loan is part ofthe central government's Rs90,000-crore 'AtmanirbharBharat Abhiyan' package toassist stressed distributioncompanies. The WBSEDCLhas been facing financial woeswith minuscule collections inApril and May resulting in anover Rs 2,000-crore shortfall,officials said. With a consumerbase of about two crore,WBSEDCL caters to the entirestate except Kolkata and a partof its adjoining districts. "Wehave taken a Rs 1,022-croreloan to clear dues ofvarious Central and stateentities," Minister SobhondebChattopadhyay said.

FPIs net buyers for2nd month in Jul;invest Rs 3,301 crNEW DELHI: Foreign portfolioinvestors (FPI) remained netbuyers for the secondconsecutive month in July bypumping in Rs 3,301 crore inIndian markets amid hopes ofa coronavirus vaccine.According to the depositoriesdata, a net sum of Rs 7,563crore was invested in equitieswhile Rs 4,262 crore werewithdrawn by FPIs betweenJuly 1-31. The net investmentduring the month stood at Rs3,301 crore. In the previousmonth, FPIs put in a net Rs24,053 crore in Indianmarkets. Some factors that ledto investment in July includesurge in markets whichprovided FPIs good profitbooking opportunity,improvement in sentiment onthe back of rising hopes of acoronavirus vaccine, saidHimanshu Srivastava,associate director - managerresearch, Morningstar India.

Lupin recalls35,928 bottles ofantibiotic drugNEW DELHI: Drug majorLupin is recalling 35,928bottles of a generic antibioticdrug in the US marketfollowing unfavourable resultin retention samples, the UShealth regulator said in areport. As per the latestEnforcement Report of the USFood and Drug Administration(USFDA), the Mumbai-basedcompany is recalling Cefdinirfor oral suspension USP, 250mg/5mL, packaged in 60 mlbottles. The lot has beenmanufactured at Lupin'sMandideep (Madhya Pradesh)manufacturing facility, andthen supplied to company'sBaltimore-based arm, LupinPharmaceuticals, Inc, whichhas initiated the country widerecall on July 2.

Discoms' outstanding dues rise47% to Rs 1.33L cr in JunePNS n NEW DELHI

Power producers' total out-standing dues owed by distri-bution firms rose over 47 percent year-on-year to Rs 1.33lakh crore in June 2020, reflect-ing stress in the sector.

Distribution companies (dis-coms) owed a total of Rs 90,655crore to power generationfirms in June 2019, accordingto portal PRAAPTI (PaymentRatification And Analysis inPower procurement for bring-ing Transparency in Invoicingof generators).

The portal was launched inMay 2018 to bring in trans-parency in power purchasetransactions between the gen-erators and discoms.

In June 2020, the total over-due amount, which was notcleared even after 60 days ofgrace period offered by gener-ators, stood at Rs 1,20,041crore, as against Rs 72,362crore in the year-ago period.

According to the latest dataon the portal, total outstandingdues in June has increasedover the previous month. In

May 2020, the total dues of dis-coms stood at Rs 1,26,963crore. The overdue amount inJune 2020 also increased fromRs 1,13,869 crore in May 2020.

Power producers give 60days to discoms for paying billsfor the supply of electricity.After that, outstanding duesbecome overdue and genera-tors charge penal interest onthat in most cases.

In order to give relief topower generation companies(gencos), the Centre enforceda payment security mecha-nism from August 1, 2019.Under this mechanism, dis-

coms are required to open let-ters of credit for getting powersupply.

The central government hadgiven some breathers to dis-coms for paying dues to powergenerating companies (gen-cos) in view of COVID-19-induced lockdown. The gov-ernment had also waived thepenal charges for late pay-ment of dues in the directive.

In May, the governmentannounced Rs 90,000 crore liq-uidity infusion for discomsunder which these utilitieswould get loan at economicalrates from Power Finance

Corporation and REC Ltd.This was an initiative of thegovernment to help gencos toremain afloat.The governmentreportedly is in the process toincrease liquidity infusionpackage to Rs 1.25 lakh croreafter it received requests fromsome states in this regard.

Discoms in Rajasthan, UttarPradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Tamil Naduaccount for the major portionof dues to power gencos, thedata showed.

Overdues of independentpower producers amount to34.78 per cent of the total over-due of Rs 1,20,041 crore of dis-coms in June. The proportionof central PSU gencos in theoverdue was 36.58 per cent.

Among the central publicsector power generators,NTPC alone has an overdueamount of Rs 19,298.77 croreon discoms, followed by NLCIndia at Rs 6,280.76 crore,Damodar Valley Corporationat Rs 5,570.99 crore, NHPC atRs 3,518.97 crore and THDCIndia at Rs 2,551.32 crore.

RBI's MPC meets next weekamid urgency to revive growthPNS n MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank's rate-set-ting Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) will meetnext week to decide on the pol-icy stance amid the urgency torevive the coronavirus-hiteconomy and increaseddemand for one-time loanrestructuring by industrychambers.

Experts are, however, divid-ed over the possibil-ity of anotherrate cut by theRBI in itsforthcomingpolicy argu-ing that one-time loanrestructuringwas more essen-tial at this juncture totide over the COVID-19 situ-ation.

The MPC, headed by RBIGovernor, is scheduled to meetfor three days beginningAugust 4 and announce itsdecision on August 6.

The central bank has beentaking steps proactively tolimit the damage to the econ-omy caused by the COVID-19pandemic and subsequentlockdowns. It is to be notedhere that a fast-changingmacroeconomic environmentand the deteriorating outlookfor growth necessitated "off-cycle meetings" of the MPC –first in March and then again

in May 2020. SBI's researchreport 'Ecowrap' said with the115 basis points (bps) reduc-tion in repo beginningFebruary, banks have alreadytransmitted 72 bps to the cus-tomers on fresh loans in theinterregnum which is perhapsa milestone in terms of thefastest policy rate transmissionin India. Large banks havetransmitted as much as 85basis points."...we believe an

August rate cut is unlikely," itsaid.It believes the MPC couldnow well debate what furtherunconventional policy mea-sures could be resorted to inthe current circumstances toensure financial stability iscontinued to be addressed.

However, several experts,including from banks, haveopined the RBI may go for yetanother reduction in repo rateof at least 25 bps on August 6.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Private equity (PE) investmentin warehousing and industrialspace segment plunged 92 percent to USD 102 million(around Rs 750 crore) duringthe first six months of this yearas investors turned cautiousbecause of COVID-19 pan-demic, according to ColliersInternational.

Investment and leasingactivity are likely to remainmuted over the next year dueto slower decision-making byinvestors because of the pan-demic, but the long-term out-look for the segment remainspromising, ColliersInternational said in a report.

PE Investment in India'sindustrial and warehousing

segment fell to USD 102 mil-lion in January-June from USD1,250 million (about Rs 9,300crore) in the year-ago period,the consultant's data showed.

"Since 2017, the sector hasattracted investment inflows of

Rs 27,800 crore (USD 3.7 bil-lion). Between 2017 and H12020, the sector garnered aconsiderable 17 per cent shareof total private equity realestate investment," the reportsaid.

The consultant noted thatthe industrial and warehousingsector has attracted significantinvestor interest since 2017owing to the reforms intro-duced by the government.

These reforms includeimplementation of the Goodsand Services Tax (GST) regime,accordance of infrastructurestatus to the sector, creation oflogistics park policy and devel-opment of multimodal infra-structure, among others.

"The warehousing sectorthat was characterized by frag-mented sheds and godowns inthe past is now becoming moreorganized, buoyed by the gov-ernment policies," Colliers said.

To capitalize on the growthpotential of the reorganizedsegment, the sector has attract-

ed significant investor interest."This segment's share of

total private equity real estateinvestment in India has beenincreasing year-on-year since2017, signifying the increasingattractiveness, " the report said.

During 2019 through H12020, the industrial and ware-housing segment garnered thethird highest share of PEinvestments after office andretail.

The investment capital camefrom foreign investors such asthe Abu Dhabi InvestmentAuthority, Canada PensionPlan Investment Board(CPPIB), Ivanhoe Cambridge,Ascendas and Blackstoneamong others.

"Investment activity may bemuted for the next one year

due to slower decision-makingby investors because of theongoing pandemic.

"However, we expect theinflow from both foreign anddomestic funds to grow overthe next 2-3 years as existingparticipants expand their port-folio and new players enter themarket," the report said.

The consultant expects thewarehousing segment tobounce back quicker thanother segments of real estate,driven by robust demand frome-commerce and other con-sumer-led occupiers. US-basedColliers International is a lead-ing global real estate servicesand investment managementcompany. It has operations in68 countries, with 14,000 work-force.

PE investment in warehousing segment falls 92%

MSME gives nod for schemefor ‘agarbatti' productionPNS n NEW DELHI

MSME Minister Nitin Gadkarihas approved an employmentgeneration programme pro-posed by Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission tomake India self-reliant in agar-batti production.

The programme named'Khadi Agarbatti AatmanirbharMission' aims at creatingemployment for unemployedand migrant workers in differ-ent parts of the country whileincreasing domestic agarbattiproduction substantially, theMSME Ministry said.

"The proposal was submittedto the Ministry of MSME forapproval last month. The pilotproject will be launched soonand on full-fledged implemen-tation of the project, thousandsof jobs will be created in theagarbatti industry," the min-istry said. The programmeaims at handholding artisansand supporting the local agar-batti industry. The currentconsumption of agarbatti in thecountry is approximately 1,490MT per day but local produc-tion is just 760 MT.

There is a huge gap betweenthe demand and the supply andhence, immense scope for jobcreation, said the ministry.Under the scheme, KVIC will

provide automatic agarbattimaking machines and powdermixing machines to the arti-sans through the successfulprivate agarbatti manufacturerswho will sign the agreement asbusiness partners.

KVIC has decided to pro-cure only locally-mademachines by Indian manufac-turers. The Centre earlier tooktwo major decisions by placingthe agarbatti item from “free”trade to 'restricted' trade in theimport policy and enhancingthe import duty from 10 percent to 25 per cent on 'roundbamboo sticks' used for man-ufacturing of agarbatti for thebenefit of the domestic indus-try.

KVIC Chairman VinaiKumar Saxena said the two

decisions of the central govern-ment created a huge employ-ment opportunity in the agar-batti industry. "In order toencash the huge employmentgeneration opportunity, theKVIC designed a programmenamely 'Khadi AgarbattiAatmanirbhar Mission' andsubmitted to the Ministry ofMSME for approval,” Saxenasaid.

KVIC will provide 25 percent subsidy on the cost of themachines and recover theremaining 75 per cent of thecost from the artisans in easyinstalments every month.

Under the scheme, the busi-ness partner will provide rawmaterial to artisans for makingagarbatti and pay them wageson job work basis.

Akshaya Patra raises$950,000 in US PNS n HOUSTON

An Indian nonprofit organi-sation Akshaya Patra hasraised USD 950,000 througha virtual event hosted by itsTexas chapter in the US tofeed mid-day meals to schoolchildren in India.

The event, Virtual Gala -Technology for Change, wasattended by over 1,000 busi-nesses, non-profits, govern-ment officials and philan-thropic leaders from aroundthe world, supporting theorganisation's dual mission ofaddressing childhood hungerand promoting education forunderserved children inIndia. The Texas gala, hostedby the cities of Austin, Dallasand Houston, was held onJuly 25. The evening celebrat-ed volunteers and chapterteams from Austin, Dallas,and Houston who continueto work towards alleviatingclassroom hunger.

The event included conver-sation with Narayana Murthy,co-founder of software giantInfosys, by Siva Sivaram,president of Western Digital,who was recently appointedChairman of Akshaya PatraFoundation USA along withVice Chairman SrivatsanRajan.

Sebi to set upvirtual museumof securitiesmarketPNS n NEW DELHI

Regulator Sebi is planning toset up a virtual museum ofsecurities market to highlightachievements and milestonesin the Indian capital market.

In a notice, Sebi has invit-ed Expression of Interest(EoI) from agencies to devel-op the virtual museum.

The museum is intendedto be a visual online organ-ised collection of history ofevolution, achievements andmilestones in the Indiansecurities market over thedecades in terms of marketinfrastructure, regulation andenforcement, among others,Sebi said.

The achievements will betold through photos, videos,articles, media clippings,interactive display like quiz,paintings, drawings, dia-grams, graphs, newspaperarticles, transcripts of inter-views and numerical databas-es, among others.

RBI policy, cos' earnings todecide market courseNEW DELHI: The domes-tic equity market in thiscoming week will be dri-ven by a host of key devel-opments like RBI mone-tary policy, macro-eco-nomic data release and

corporate earnings,analysts said.

At the startof the week,the marketwill also takecues f rom

July auto salesnumbers which

signal a recoveryin the sector hit hard

by COVID-19.With most parts of the

country in unlock phase,the automobile industry

has performed better inJuly over the previousmonth in terms of salesand is now marchingtowards normalcy in termsof production as well.

On the macro data front,market participants willbe keenly awaiting PMImanufacturing and ser-vices sector numbers thatare scheduled to bereleased in the first half ofthe week.

On the earnings side,Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel,Lupin, Titan, Voltas ApolloTyres, Canara Bank, AdaniPower and M&M, amongothers, will announce theirquarterly numbers duringthe week.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Six of the 10 most valued com-panies witnessed a combinederosion of Rs 1,38,839.83 crorein their market valuation lastweek with Reliance Industriesand HDFC Bank emerging asmajor losers.

During the last week,Sensex fell 522.01 points or1.36 per cent.

The market valuation ofReliance Industries Limited(RIL) plunged by Rs 50,239.78crore to Rs 13,10,323.21 crore.

HDFC Bank's valuationtanked Rs 46,374.63 crore toRs 5,67,877.74 crore.

The market capitalisation ofICICI Bank eroded by Rs22,631.74 crore to Rs2,24,659.85 crore and that ofHDFC dipped Rs 10,078.06crore to Rs 3,09,254.09 crore.

ITC's valuation declined byRs 6,815.12 crore to Rs2,38,660.74 crore and that ofBharti Airtel dipped Rs 2,700.5

crore to Rs 3,02,701.60 crore.In contrast, the market val-

uation of Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS) jumped Rs47,054.91 crore to Rs8,56,463.05 crore.

Infosys added Rs 18,591.83crore to its valuation thatstood at Rs 4,11,554.51 crorewhile Kotak Mahindra Bank'sm-cap rose by Rs 3,481.72crore to Rs 2,70,600.52 crore.In the ranking, RIL retained thenumber one position followedby TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL,Infosys, HDFC, Bharti Airtel,Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITCand ICICI Bank in that order.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian steel market hasstarted showing signs of recov-ery after being hit hard by theCOVID-19 pandemic and sub-sequent lockdowns,ArcelorMittal Nippon SteelIndia Chairman Aditya Mittalhas said.

Aditya, son of steel baronLN Mittal, said that opera-tions at ArcelorMittal NipponSteel India's (formerly EssarSteel) Hazira plant in Gujaratare running at full capacity.

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic severely dis-rupted domestic demand, in

particular during the monthof April; however, there is arecovery visible in the mar-ket.

"We are seeing the domes-tic market recover and that's

a reason why our operationsare running at full capacity(at Hazira in Gujarat)," hetold PTI on a query pertain-ing to the domestic demand.

Aditya Mittal, who is alsopresident and CFO of parentcompany ArcelorMittal, wasappointed chairman ofAM/NS India, while DilipOommen was appointed asthe CEO.

ArcelorMittal posted a netloss of USD 559 million forthe second quarter endedJune 30, 2020 amid COVID-19 disruptions and termedthe quarter as the most diffi-cult period in its history.

Indian steel market showingsigns of recovery: Aditya Mittal

6 of 10 most valuedcompanies lose Rs 1.38 lakh crore

GOQii plans expansion toJapan, SE Asia by yr-endPNS n NEW DELHI

Healthcare platform GOQii isplanning to expand its opera-tions to international mar-kets like the UK, Japan andSoutheast Asiancountries, takingits smart wear-ables and ecosys-tem of offerings tothese countries,by the end of theyear, a top compa-ny official said.

The company,which has launched two newdevices featuring temperaturemonitor and integrated pulseoximeter in the past few

weeks, said it has seen a mas-sive jump in sales amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.

"...there are plans to go out-side of India, and we are talk-ing and looking at Southeast

Asia, UK and Japan.Our key goal was tofocus on India...International markets,we are hoping (to enterby) end of the yearbecause we are waitingfor the lockdowns andtravel restrictions to

get over," GOQii CEOVishal Gondal told PTI.

He added that COVID-19 isbringing in a long-termchange in people.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Not satisfied with responsessubmitted by Bharti Airtel andVodafone Idea on priorityplans, regulator Trai has shot offadditional "technical" queries toboth the telcos and asked themto explain their stand onAugust 4, a source said.

The Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India (Trai) wantsthe two companies to substan-tiate their claims that the con-tentious priority offerings,which are under the regulator'slens, have neither deterioratedexperience of other networkusers nor violated any norms.

Another source said thatBharti Airtel has been askedover two dozen questions,including if limits for dataspeeds have been set for plat-inum and non-platinum users,and about the levels ofthroughput for platinum users.

Trai sent out fresh set ofquestions to both Bharti Airteland Vodafone Idea on July 31,and the operators have beenasked to respond to the ques-tions on August 4.

Emails sent to Bharti Airteland Vodafone Idea did not

elicit a response. Trai has saidit is desirable that pointsraised in the questionnaire becovered in a presentationscheduled on the issue on thesame day. The regulator hasasked the companies to backtheir claims via data, thesource said.

A Trai official said that theprevious responses receivedfrom companies were "vague"and gave no real assurance toaddress regulator's concernsover whether network prefer-ence to specific customersresulted in deterioration ofservices for other non-premi-um subscribers.

Trai poses more questions to Airtel, VodaIdea on priority plans; seeks explanation

MondayAugust 3, 2020

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CelebratingWith everybody, including

celebrities promising andadvocating staying at home as

much as possible during thepandemic, they're definitelystumped over not being able

to meet their siblings tocelebrate Raksha Bandhan.But they thank the internet

for keeping them going, findsThe Pioneer's RACHEL

DAMMALA, while talking tothem about their plans.

t’s Raksha Bandhan,a festival that cele-brates the bond ofsiblinghood. Sisterstie a rakhi aroundthe wrists of their

brothers by symbolically shar-ing with them the responsibil-ity of their care and protection

and receiving a gift in return.The festival, which is the

first of the several festivals tocome in the second half of theyear, usually has brothers andsisters, moving even across theglobe, to visit their siblings tocelebrate the day.

This year, however, since peo-

ple have been asked to travelonly when necessary, movingcities or even across cities is abig no-no.

But everybody’s sure puttingin their best efforts to maketheir siblings smile. Here’s howour dear celebrities are makingtheir siblings’ day.

I

THIRUVEERThe actor who wowed fans and critics alike with his performances in George Reddy, Palasa and Sin, isgrateful he's staying with his sister at his home around this time, unlike most people who miss meeting

their siblings in person this year. “We're under the same roof currently, so we'll be celebrating it like we doevery year — the traditional tieing of the Rakhi and gifting,” shares Thiruveer.

RUSK RAGHUThe actor, author, and director, who's a household name now, has strictly been following rules laid by thegovernment, to stay indoors, but will still connect with his sister who's studying in Ohio, via a video call.Raghuram shares, “She has something planned for the day. I'm looking forward to it, I miss her, but willstay home and definitely not go anywhere.”

RAKSHABANDHAN

PRIYADARSHIThe actor's Rakshabandhan this year is quiet but definitelyhappening. “My sister, Nagaja and I, although live in the samecity, aren't going to meet for safety reasons. She'd probably sendme a Rakhi. I'll connect with, wish and celebrate her via a phoneor video call,” shares the Pelli Choopulu star about his plans.

MANNARA

CHOPRAThis actress, who made us allfall for her in the film Seetha, isstaying at home, safe with herfamily in Delhi. “My sister's withus too. We'd be having a sweetcelebration at home. We don'thave a brother, we're enough foreach other. Our parents broughtus up teaching us that we don'tneed to look for a guy to get usout of trouble. We love, respect,and protect each other, and thisyear's celebrations will be insidethe safety of our home,” the Zidactress says of her bond withher sister.

NANDINI

REDDYThe director of Ala

Modalaindi and Oh!Baby fame says heryounger brother hasbeen busy now that

restaurants in the cityhave opened up. Butthat won't stop herfrom celebratingRaksha Bandhan.

“We'll probably followthe tradition via a

video call and talk ourhearts out from ourhomes, staying safe

indoors and protectingeach other that way,”says Nandini Reddy.

SEJAL

KUMARThe YouTube personality

and video blogger withmillions of subscribersand fans will miss her

brothers this year,who're away from thecountry. “We will have

the traditional Rakhiceremony over a video

call with both mybrothers who're

currently living abroad.I'm going to miss them

this year, but we hope tomeet soon,” Sejal Kumar

tells us.

More and morewomen are takingup sports as acareer choice,thanks to severalwomen winningand making thecountry proud atseveralchampionships.One suchsportswoman thatmany girls lookup to is Indiancricketer MithaliRaj. The star talksabout her journey,playing forpassion,qualifying for theWorld Cup andmore, finds K RAMYA SREE

‘I always wanted to be an IAS officer’omen have emergedto be the frontrun-ners of India’s suc-cess at the Olympics,CommonwealthGames and World

Championships across allsports. Andhra Pradesh andTelangana have been at the cen-ter of all the action contributingto the maximum number ofwomen World Champions. Tocelebrate these champions andinspire a generation of sportslovers, Star Sports 1 Telugu nowpresents a brand-new show GirlPower-Sarileru Manakevvaruthat will feature the tales of suchwomen champions through aspecial series dedicated to oursportswomen.

Mithali Raj who has paved apath where no cricketer hasgone before spoke about thechallenges in women’s cricket onthe launch day. In a career thatspanned 20 years, Mithali Raj isthe highest ODI run-scorer inthe world with 6,808 runs. Shealso holds records for the high-est number of centuries, maxi-mum ODIs played, and theplayer to play for the longesttime for the Indian team. She isthe only player to have played inmore than 200 ODIs in theworld. She is also the first playerfrom India (both male andfemale) to score 2,000 runs inT20Is.

Right from the beginning ofher career, Mithali chalked outher goals and pursued them.Speaking about her career choic-es and goals, the cricketer said,“Honestly cricket happened tome. It didn’t come by choice. I

didn’t choose to get into cricket.You can see, my teammates,those who have different stories,played with their brothers andsome of them were inspired bytheir brothers. They played inthe streets. But for me it wasnothing like that. My dad tookme to the academy and I wasstraight away into a full-fledgedacademy for girls. I was tooyoung to make a choice. If at thattime somebody could ask a 10-year-old Mithali, ‘what you wantto become, I would have saidthat I wanted to become an IASofficer’. Not a sportsperson, not adancer. I always felt I had it inme to be an IAS officer.”

Mithali Raj has faced manychallenges in her career. TheIndian women’s team has gainedimmense popularity in the lastfew years. Playing for India since1999, she has seen the shift inperception and support forWomen’s cricket. She was a partof the team when it transitionedfrom WCI to BCCI.

Speaking about the challengesinvolved in women’s cricket, shesaid, “Women’s cricket cameunder BCCI at the time of 2006-07. I feel if it had happened fiveyears before that, it would havebeen better. Many talented play-ers at that time, because of lackof money and financial instabili-ty through this game, had toshift to different fields. Afterturning 23-24, parents ask ‘whatis next?’ So, as a woman crick-eter what can you tell parents? ‘Idon’t earn money, I am playingfor passion?’ Nobody’s going tolike it. If BCCI happened to usearlier, they would have added

an extended career and wewould have more pool of playersin women’s cricket.’

Mithali is the only Indianplayer (both male and female) tohave captained in more than oneWorld Cup final, doing it in2005 and 2017. The next worldcup is scheduled in 2021. Sohow is she preparing for theWorld Cup? “In 2013, whenIndia hosted the world cup, wedidn’t even qualify for the supersix stage. I was hurt and quitedisappointed. I thought ‘let megive it a try in the 2017 WorldCup’. Then I really worked hardfor the World Cup. As a player,as a captain, I did a lot of home-work. I thought, when we werein the finals, if we win the finals,then I will retire. After playingfor so many years, probably Ihad everything, except that oneWorld Cup. So, we were therunners up in 2017 and nowI think, in 2021, I’m going togive it another try, hopeful-ly with everybody’s wishesand God’s blessings,should be able to crackit.”

The show marksalso the debut ofRashmi Gautamwho rose tofame withcomedyshow

Jabardasth. She willanchor her first pro-gramme in sportsthrough the show.Rashmi will be seen inconversation with femalesporting legends fromAndhra PradeshandTelangana.

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from miles away

10

what’s brewing?Vijayawada Monday August 3 2020

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

HEALTHY DRINKS TO REPLACE

YOUR MORNING TEAA balanced diet plays an important part in strengthening your immunity. Duringsuch unprecedented times, make sure you are not missing out on essential vitaminsand nutrients. A good start could be by replacing your morning cuppa with healthyjuice and tonics. Here are a few immunity boosting juices to refresh you and keepyou ongoing. Start your morning with these drinks and note the changes yourself.

oni fruit(Mortita citri-folia), alsoknown as theIndianMulberry, is a

popular fruit that hasbeen used in the Indianhouseholds for over2,000 years. This nativefruit has had its fairshare of mention inancient texts for itsAyurvedic properties.

Noni has a substantialamount of phytonutri-ents and medicinal prop-erties that can prove tobe helpful in curing ail-ments and diseases, espe-cially in times of thispandemic. The fruit isrich in antioxidants,Vitamins C, A, B andminerals like calcium,potassium, phosphorusand iron, that help boostoverall well-being, fightinfections, reduce risk ofallergies, revitalize cellsand tissues and also helpin detoxifying the body.

Modicare Limited thathas Noni JuiceConcentrate with the

goodness of Kokumunder its Health andWellness brand 'Well',explains some key healthbenefits:

Revitalize cells and tis-sues: Helps to absorbmore nutrients at the cel-lular level for properbody functioning.

Helps to boost immu-nity: Supports theimmune system's naturaland powerful ability tofight infections and dis-eases.

Boosts energy and sta-mina: Noni Juice hasbeen known to help com-bat general body weak-ness, boost energy levelsand improve the overallphysical well-being of thebody. Also, it helps inrelieving stress andfatigue.

Supports healthy well-being: Regular use ofNoni may help to inducepositive effects on thegiven health conditions -liver health, cardiovascu-lar health and diabetes.

Decreases stress level:Along with daily exercise,

the intake of this juicehelps in reducing elevat-ed stress levels and keepsthe mind relatively calm.

Relieves pain andinflammation in joints:Various studies suggestthat regular use of NoniJuice may help in reliev-ing pain and inflamma-tion in joints.

In short, Noni is'Nature's Own Nutrition'that is known to have150+ nutrients. It is anideal choice for all thosewho want to maintain anactive and balancedlifestyle while facing thechallenges of modernlifestyle, especially dur-ing these dire times ofthe pandemic.

Suggested usage byModicare Limited: 5 mltwice daily for first 3days, 10ml twice daily forthe next 3 days, 15-30 mltwice daily from the sev-enth day onwards. Drinkon an empty stomach, 30minutes before the meal.Can be taken as is ordiluted with water or asdirected by the physician.

NONI JUICE: Thehealth-giving drinkfor greater immunity

N

LEMONADE

Having a glassof warm lemonwater daily is agreat way torevv up yourmetabolism andboost immunity.You can havecool lemonadeanytime troughthe day toquench yourthirst, as well asto fight againsttheCoronavirus!Make refreshingpineapple gin-ger lemonadewith pineappletidbits, mintleaves, water,grated ginger,fresh lemonjuice, and ice-cubes; you caneven have it thefirst thing in themorning.

ALOE VERA JUICE

Beat the COVID-19 scare andwith Aloe Vera juice whichprovides natural support tothe immune system. Drinkingone glass of Aloe Vera juiceearly in the morning can helpin keeping the body immuneto infections and diseases.

ACE JUICE

A 100 percent mixedfruit juice fortifiedwith Vitamins A-C-E filled with anti-oxidants that willhelp you boost yourimmunity. VitaminA enables in normalfunctioning ofImmune system, Cprotects you frominfections andVitamin E helpsblood cells to func-tion efficiently. DelMonte's ACE juicecan be consumed bythe whole family.

BEETROOT AND

CARROT JUICE

A combination ofcarrot and beet-root is a power-house of vitaminA, C and E with agood dose of ironand calcium. Thisjuice will helpboost immunityand fight inflam-mation as well.Start your daywith a glass ofbeetroot and car-rot juice to keepyou energeticthroughout theday!

WATERMELON

JUICE

Watermelon juiceis a very healthyfruit drink. Notonly does it helpyour immune sys-tem but it alsoreleases musclesoreness. Make adelicious andhealthy smoothiewith fresh water-melon chunks,bananas, ripemangoes and DelMonte cranber-ries, enjoy it as abreakfast smooth-ie or snack!

11VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | AUGUST 3, 2020

AP n SOUTHAMPTON

Opener Jonny Bairstowsmashed 82 off 41 balls as

England beat Ireland by fourwickets in the second one-dayinternational to take an unassail-able 2-0 series lead.

England overcame a middle-order wobble to finish on 216-6 in32.3 overs in reply to Ireland's 212-9 at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

After Adil Rashid had taken3-34 to reach 150 ODI wickets,Bairstow equaled the record forthe fastest 50 in this format by anEnglishman off 21 balls.

Bairstow, Eoin Morgan andMoeen Ali were dismissed asEngland lurched from 131-3 to137-6, before an unbroken 79-runstand between Sam Billings andDavid Willey helped the hosts totheir target with more than 17overs to spare.

The pair had been the stand-out performers in Thursday'sopener and came to the rescuehere, Billings finishing on 46 notout while Willey followed up his2-48 with an unbeaten 47 in theevening sunshine.

Earlier, Ireland overcameanother poor start after winningthe toss and being reduced to 91-6 before Curtis Campher led therecovery. Campher, in only his

second ODI, scored an 87-ball 68 with eight foursbefore being dismissed byseamer Saqib Mahmood (2-45).

Campher shared twokey partnerships late in theinnings - a seventh-wicket60-run stand with SimiSingh (25) and 56 runs forthe eighth wicket with AndyMcBrine (24).

Players again took aknee to support Black LivesMatter before the game.

The three-match series,which is being played withno fans present, marks thestart of the ICC CricketWorld Cup Super League.

The third ODI is onTuesday.

AP n SYDNEY

Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the US Openbecause of concerns over the coronavirus and

in honor of the “hundreds and thousands ofAmericans” who have died from COVID-19.

Kyrgios said in an Instagram post on Sundaythat he had no problem with the United StatesTennis Association proceeding with its plans tohold the tournament from August 31 toSeptember 13.

But he cited health and safety concerns amidthe coronavirus pandemic as he joined fellowAustralian and world No. 1 Ash Barty in optingout of the Flushing Meadows Grand Slam tour-nament.

“I will not be playing this year at the US Open.It hurts me at my core not to be out there com-peting in one of the sport’s greatest arenas, ArthurAshe Stadium,” Kyrgios said in the video.

“But I’m sitting out for the people, for myAussies, for the hundreds and thousands ofAmericans that have lost their lives, for all of you.It’s my decision.”

“We can rebuild our sport and the economy,"Kyrgios adds, “but we can never recover lives lost.”

Kyrgios also criticised players who have con-tinued to play exhibition tournaments in the pastseveral months, chastising them for “dancing ontables, money grabbing your way around Europe,trying to make a quick buck hosting an exhibi-tion.”

There have been a number of exhibitionevents held, the most high-profile one organisedby No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic. It was held inseveral countries and photographs of spectatorsat the events showed poor social distancing.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Ajinkya Rahane would want hiswife and daughter to be around

during the IPL in the UAE but mind-ful of the risk it poses amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, he wouldn'thave an issue if the BCCI bars play-ers' families from the event.

The IPL is all set to be played fromSeptember 19 to November 8 in theUAE, a move forced by the risingCOVID-19 cases in India.

Rahane, who has changed base toDelhi Capitals from Rajasthan Royals,said health should be top priority.

“As an individual, you takeCOVID-19 situation aside, you wouldwant your family to travel with you,but because of this situation, safety isimportant, safety of your wife, fami-ly and daughter, obviously safety ofyour teammates is really important,”Rahane told India Today's show‘Inspiration’.

“Right now, I feel first health andthen cricket is really important. Wehad a good 4-5 months with our fam-ily (during the lockdown).”

“As I said, safety of our family,safety of our players and safety of eachand every individual is important. Thedecision is completely up to the fran-chises and the BCCI.

“But as I said, there is still coro-na around, you got to think about eachand every individual, think about your

family especially about my wife anddaughter. Safety is really important,”he said.

Rahane moved to Delhi Capitalsin the lead up to the upcoming IPLedition and the 32-year-old right-han-der said he is looking forward to work-ing with the “exciting bunch of play-ers” and head coach Ricky Ponting.

“I am really excited to play forDelhi Capitals. I got an opportunity.Last year when I was playing forHamphsire, Delhi Capitals asked meif I was interested in playing for them.

“I took my time and I thought it'san opportunity for me to learn some-thing new. To take my game forward,to take my T20 game forward,” hesaid.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Mahendra Singh Dhoni atthis year’s IPL can be a

talking point but the tournamentcannot be a selection trial for theenigmatic former India cap-tain, reckons former pacerAshish Nehra.

Dhoni has retired from Testcricket and has not played forIndia in the limited overs formatsince last year's World Cup,where India ended semifinalists.

His comeback and retire-ment has been a matter ofintense speculation. His much-awaited comeback is expected tobe with Chennau Super Kings atthe upcoming IPL, set to be heldin the UAE from September 19.

“For me, MS Dhoni’s gamenever came down,” Nehra saidon Star Sports’ show ‘CricketConnected’. “He knows how torun the team, he knows how topush youngsters forward and allthese things I don’t need torepeat again and again but I don’tthink this IPL makes any differ-ence in MS Dhoni’s stature or hisaura as a player,” added the 41-year-old Nehra, who played 17Tests and 120 ODIs.

“I don’t think a tournamentlike the IPL should be MS

Dhoni’s selection criteria, it'sprobably just a talking point,"

“As far as MS Dhoni’s inter-national career I don’t think thisIPL has anything to do with it.If you’re a selector, you’re a cap-tain, you’re a coach and MSDhoni...If he is ready to play, hewill be my number one name onthe list,” he said.

The former left-arm pacersaid players will have to behaveresponsibly during the IPL toavoid protocol breaches likethat by England’s Jofra Archerduring the recently concludedEngland-West Indies series.

PTI n NEW DELHI

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday saidthe Women’s IPL or the Challenger series, as it

is better known, is “very much on”, ending specu-lation about the parent body not having a plan forHarmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men’s IPL will be held between September19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be lockedin) in the UAE due to the surge in COVID-19 casesin India. The women’s IPL will also be fit in to theschedule, according to the BCCI chief.

“I can confirm to you that the women’s IPL isvery much on and we do have a plan in place forthe national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead ofthe IPL Governing Council meeting later onSunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a SupremeCourt verdict on waiver of the cooling off periodto continue in the position, did not divulge detailsbut another senior official privy to the developmentsaid that women’s Challenger will be held during thelast phase of IPL like last year.

“The women’s Challenger series is likely to beheld between November 1-10 and there could be acamp before that,” the source said.

The former India captain also said that the cen-trally contracted women players will have a campwhich has been delayed due to the prevailing situ-ation in the country.

“We couldn’t have exposed any of our cricketers— be it male or female to health risk. It would havebeen dangerous,” Ganguly said.

“The NCA also remained shut because ofCOVID-19. But we have a plan in place and we willhave a camp for women, I can tell you that,” headded.

AP n LONDON

The only time Pierre-Emerick Aubameyanglooked uncertain was

when it came to collecting the FACup.

Two goals from the for-ward had turned around the finalfor Arsenal, sealing a 2-1 victo-ry over Chelsea on Saturday inthe first cup final to be stagedwithout fans.

The coronavirus restrictionsalso meant there was no PrinceWilliam at Wembley Stadium tohand over the silverware in the

royal box. So Aubameyang hadto pick up the cup himself on thefield as captain. Taking the baseas well, no wonder Aubameyangdropped it.

“I saw him walking with thebottom bit attached," Arsenaldefender Rob Holding said, “andI was like, 'You need to take thatoff!'”

The cup was soon raisedaloft, with gold streamer show-ering the Arsenal squad in amostly-empty 90,000-capacitystadium after the 139th final ofthe world's oldest football com-petition.

“He needs more experiencewith trophies, we can get himmore used to that,” Arsenalmanager Mikel Arteta said.

“He knows what I thinkabout him. I want to build thesquad around him. I think hewants to stay and it is just aboutgetting the deal done.”

That is no certainty, withAubameyang yet to commit tostaying beyond the end of hiscontract next year.

“I am really not thinkingabout this,” he said.

Winning the record-extend-ing 14th FA Cup does at least

give Arsenal a spot in the EuropaLeague, after missing out onqualifying through the PremierLeague after an eighth-placefinish.

“The journey has been long,”Aubameyang said. “But today weenjoy it.”

A competition that began onAugust 9, 2019, featuring teamsfrom ninth and 10th tiers, endedlater than it had ever donebefore - two months after thefinal was scheduled.

Never before had the FACup final been staged in August.And never before without fans.

IANS n MUMBAI

Asian Games Gold medalistBajrang Punia is confi-

dent of Indian wrestlers per-forming well and winningmedals at the Tokyo Olympicsnext year.

The star grappler believesIndia’s performances at theWorld Championship showsthey are in good form.

“I think we will win threeto four medals from wrestlingin the Tokyo Olympics. TheWorld Championship is atougher tournament than theOlympics but we performedwell there. So I think Indianwrestlers are in top form whichmakes them strong contendersfor a medal haul in Tokyo,”Punia said during the 17thepisode of budding interna-tional paddler Mudit Dani’sonline live chat show 'In TheSportlight’ on Saturday night.

The Olympic Games,which were initially sched-uled to take place in 2020, havebeen postponed by a year dueto the COVID-19 pandemic.Along with Punia (Bronze,65kg), Deepak Punia (Silver,86kg), Vinesh Phogat (Bronze,53kg) and Ravi Kumar Dahiya(Bronze, 57kg) also wonmedals at the 2019 WorldWrestling Championship in

Kazakhstan and secured anOlympic berth in the process.

During a freewheeling chatwith Dani, 26-year-old Puniasaid he would have lived a nor-mal village life if he had notpursued wrestling. He alsorated his first WorldChampionship medal as the

most memorable accolade ofhis career so far. The Haryanaboy had an impressive outingat the 2013 WorldChampionship where he wonbronze at the age of 19.

The online live Instagramchat series ‘In The Sportlight’,that 21-year-old Dani has

begun with the sole purpose ofdelivering inspiration to otheryoung athletes and fans, hasseen champion athletes likeAbhinav Bindra, Leander Paes,PV Sindhu, SathiyanGnanasekaran and UnionSports Minister Kiren Rijijuparticipate, among others.

Talking about the compe-tition in his current weight cat-egory 65kg, Punia said: “I feel65kg is the toughest categoryin the world. There is nowrestler who has successivelywon world championship titlesor Olympic gold medals. Thereis always a new champion inevery edition. There are strongwrestlers in this category whocan beat anyone on their day.”

The grappler furtherpraised government and sportsfederations for organisingevents such as Khelo India. Ithas provided a much-neededplatform for young athletes toshowcase their talent.

“The way we have beenorganising events at the grass-root level such as Khelo India,a lot of youngsters are gettingmuch-needed support from itwhich was not there earlier.And if they keep getting thiskind of support, not only inwrestling, India will winmedals in every sport at theOlympics,” he concluded.

14 DELIVERS 14

We are going ahead withwomen’s IPL on time: Ganguly

Eng beats Ireland by 4 wickets

IANS n SOUTHAMPTON

England captain Eoin Morganhailed the depth in his squad

after they beat Ireland by fourwickets at the Ageas Bowl inSouthampton to claim a 2-0 leadin the three-match series. Englandare playing with a side that hasnone of the players from the Testteam that played the West Indies

in a three-Test series in July.“We have a lot of guys who

can change the match with the batat the top of the order, they havethe potential. These guys take thegame away from the opposition,”said Morgan in the post-matchpresentation ceremony.

“I was going to bat at 4 andthen we changed it. I am morethan happy to give guys opportu-

nities. It’s difficult with two bub-bles, obviously Test match is pri-ority. We are trying to fit the bestXI in the white ball format.”

“Today was a challenge butwe always wanted to play withintent. We lost wickets but cer-tainly looking at the way the guysplayed, particularly Jonny at thestart and then Sam and David fin-ished well,” said Morgan.

Trying to fit the best XI in white ball format: Morgan

IPL can't be selectioncriteria for MS: Nehra

Rahane won't mindfamily's absence in UAE

Kyrgios won’tplay US Open

Bajrang tips wrestlers to win 3-4 medals at Olympics

Auba’s brace help Arsenal sink Chelsea in FA Cup final

The COVID-19 scare still continues to loom over the people.Every single day, items are sanitized or kept in quarantine in

order to remove the infection on their surfaces. Many also try towash it off with the help of water. . While some can still surviveafter being drenched, for some it is the end of the road. Thelatter took place for a person living in Seoul in South Korea.According to The Associated Press, a person whose gender isunspecified had put around 50,000 won(around Rs 3137) into a washingmachine. This was done to makesure the notes were 'disinfected'from the coronavirus infection. Theamount of money that was givento him or she was basicallycondolence money given byrelatives and friends during a familyfuneral. However, the results werenot desirable. Most of the notes lookedextremely damaged after one spintherefore they were unusable. Then, the person reached out tothe Bank of Korea to help her out. Due to the 'considerable'damage caused to the wad of cash, it became impossible for thebank to exchange it for the newer notes. Bank official Seo JuneWoun told the news agency that the 50,000-won bill wasexchanged at the half value of 507. However, they do not knowthe exact amount that was 'laundered' in the washing machine.The damage is considered to be severe.

In the wake of the novelCoronavirus pandemic,

a restaurant in Jodhpurhas introduced twocorona-themed dishes aspart of its menu. Vedic, avegetarian restaurant thatserves traditionalRajasthani and NorthIndian cuisine, is also

selling Covid Curry and Mask Naan. Yes, you read that right. In apost on Twitter, Vedic tweeted pictures of the two preparations.Naans were made in the shape of face masks. Covid Curry isbasically a gravy dish with a rich sauce and koftas made in theshape of the deadly virus. Vedic, in their post, said that the aim ofintroducing the two particular dishes is to spread awarenessabout the novel coronavirus. "Overcome the fear of corona withworld's first ever invented in corona pandemic. Covid Curryserved with Mask Naan. We are super proud of being world's firstinventor of this unique concept. The motto behind this dish is tobring awareness about #corona," Vedic said in the caption of theirpost. Pictures of the dishes went viral on Twitter as netizensshared funny reactions. In April, a shop in Kolkata made headlines for selling coronavirus-shaped sweets, labeled asCorona Sandesh. India has recorded over 17 lakh novelcoronavirus cases so far. The death toll has surged past 37,000 inthe country.

In a spine chillingincident, a cobra

made its way to aman's pants while hewas sleeping. Aftercoming to knowabout the situationhe kept standing forseven hours so thatthe snake could be

retrieved. Fortunately enough, the poisonous reptile did notbite the man. According to a report published in Times Now,the incident took place in Sikandarpur village in UttarPradesh's Mirzapur. A man named Lovekesh Kumar wassleeping with other labourers after dinner. The group oflabourers had been at the site for installing some electricitypoles and wires. On coming to know that the venomous reptilehad slithered in his pants, Lovekesh stood at a spot for sevenhours, while the locals managed to find a snake catcher. In afew hours, locals, police, snake catcher all had come to theplace of the incident. The video of the rescue operation hasbeen shared by a user on Twitter. In the clip, one can see thesnake catcher cutting the man's pants so that the snake canperhaps make its way out. Captioning the over two minuteslong video, Koushik Dutta said, "cobra snake enters youngman jeans pant while sleeping man stands for 7 hours holdinga pillar at Mirzapur up."

Man loses penis, has newone built on his arm

Man washes cash to removeCovid traces, suffers loss

NEW

S

MostRead A

man from the UK, wholost his penis to a

severe blood infection,has become the world'sfirst to have a new onebuilt on his arm. MalcolmMcDonald, a mechanicby profession, suffered along-term perineuminfection in 2014 thatturned into sepsis to turn

his fingers, toes, and genitals black. The infection becomes sosevere after a point that he lost his manhood, according to TheSun. For a while, he found it very difficult to cope with the tragedy,He turned into a recluse and began drinking heavily. Malcolm saidhe felt a 'shadow of a man' for two years after losing his penis. "Iknew deep down it was gone and I was going to lose it, then oneday it just dropped off on to the floor. Because I had been throughthe devastation of knowing I was going to lose it, I just picked it upand put it in the bin," he said. "My life really fell apart because I hadno self-confidence. I drank too much. I didn't see family andfriends - I just didn't want to have to face up to it," he added. Butthen, Malcolm found a phallus expert who once created a 'bionicpenis' for a person who was born without one. Professor DavidRalph of London's University College Hospital told Malcolm aboutthe so-called 'penis master'. Ralph told Malcolm that an arm-graftprocedure needed to be done.

This restaurant sellsCorona-themed dishes

Man wakes up findingcobra inside his jeans!

n some good newsfor film buffs andfans, the makers ofAgent Sai SrinivasaAthreya are set tomake it a trilogy,

by taking up more such mys-terious cases. News about theTelugu Sherlock Holmesmovie was announced on thebirthday of film producerRahul Yadav Nakka.

The film that was both abox office hit and appreciatedby critics, will soon beginshooting the second part ofthe trilogy soon. The wait is

until director Swaroop RSJfinishes shooting his currentfilm.

Meanwhile, the film isgoing to be remade inHindi, Tamil andMalayalam soon. Kannadaremake rights too, are soonto be bought. Apart fromthis, Japanese dubbed ver-sion of the film will gracethe theaters on 11th ofSeptember. Notably noTelugu film in recent timeswas remade in so manylanguages which is a bigachievement.

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tollywoodVijayawada Monday August 3 2020

‘IT IS NOT THE FILMINDUSTRY BUT THE FILM THAT MATTERS TO ME'

Agent SaiSrinivasaAthreya tobe a trilogy

The most recent installment of the #GreenIndiaChallenge was startedby Rajya Sabha MP Joginapalli Santosh Kumar and there has been nostopping celebrities and commoners since then. Every day has several

celebrities accepting the challenge and planting saplings and nominatingtheir friends, colleagues, and fans to do the same. Music director Jeevan Babu accepted the challenge on Sunday and plantedsaplings at his residence. He said that everyone must plant trees so as tobe able to have enough greenery and oxygen left for future generations.He further nominated Rahul Sipliganj, composer Arun Chiliveru amongothers to take up the challenge and nominate others too.

Comedian Ali too accepted the challenge by the Rajya Sabha MP andnominated others to do the same.

Mallesham fame actress Ananya Nagalla too planted saplings in a parkat Jubilee Hills as part of the challenge nominated by Dinesh Teja, andasked her colleagues, fans, and family to take up the initiative andspread it further.

T-town inspires fans to takeup #GreenIndiaChallenge

hen everybodythought 50 millionviews was a greatfeat, Nee Kallu NeeliSamudram song hasnow attained an

incredible accomplishment.The melodious romanticsong from Uppena hasbreached 100 million views.

Nee Kallu song has beencontinuing to mesmerizemusic lovers for last fewmonths and it helped a lot inhiking prospects on the film.

It’s Javed Ali’s vocals thatmakes the Qawwali songworth listening again andagain. Vaisshnav Tej andKrithi Shetty made goodimpression on debut withtheir charismatic expres-sions. Lyrics for the song arepenned by Shreemani andRaqueeb Alam.

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Uppena's Nee Kallu

Neeli Samudram...

MARKS

ANOTHER

MILESTONE

ollywood actorKarthi’s Kaithi(Khaidi inTelugu) directedby LokeshKanagaraj and

produced by SR PrakashBabu, SR Prabhu,Thiruppur Vivek underDreamWarrior Pictures,

has scored a blockbusterattaining a cult statusamong the audiences.

Fans of the Angry Herowere overjoyed upon learn-ing that the film 'Khaithi'has been selected for screen-ing at the InternationalIndian Film Festival whichwill be held in Toronto from

August 9th to August 15th,2020. Kaithi will be screenedon August 12th from 6:00PM onwards. Elated makersof the film expressed theirhappiness about Kaithibeing selected for officialscreening at IIFFT andthanked the entire team ofKaithi.

‘KAITHI' TO BE SCREENEDAT IIIFT IN TORANTO

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Dil Raju wins ‘dils' online

ours after Bollywoodactor Sonu Soodannounced on Twitterthat three orphanedkids whose parentsdied in Yadadri dis-

trict of Telangana would be hisresponsibility, Tollywood pro-ducer Dil Raju offered to adoptthe trio.

Sonu Sood saw the plight ofthe children via a tweet andimmediately said he’d take careof them. Following this, statePanchayat Raj Minister ErrabelliDayakar Rao, who came to knowabout the children’s plight, gottheir details from ruling TRSMLA Gongidi Sunita MahenderReddy, in whose constituency

their village Atmakur is located.Meanwhile, it is said that film

producer Dil Raju had calledup the minister and offered totake care of these children. DilRaju said the children would beadopted and taken care ofthrough the ‘Ma Palle’Charitable Trust established byhis family.

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diti Rao Hydarihas appeared inseveral SouthIndian films overthe past couple ofyears but her

release count in Bollywoodhas been rather low. Theactress insists says it is notthe language or film indus-try, but the film that mattersmost to her.

“More than often I amtold that now I am focusingon my career in South andhave left Mumbai. But I havenot gone anywhere. Scriptsand opportunities took me everywhere. Why shouldI say no to a film if the story is exciting? I think weare a generation of actors for whom the length of therole does not matter but substance does,” said Aditi.

In Telugu, the actress was last in Antariksham 9000 KMPH. Around 2018,where Aditi had twoBollywood releases in sup-

porting roles, has done fivefilms down South, acrossTamil, Telugu andMalayalam languages.

Her upcoming Hindi filmis The Girl On A Train, star-ring Parineeti Chopra, whileshe has two Tamil and oneTelugu film lined up forrelease.

“I look for something inwhich I am artistically chal-lenged while trying outsomething new. Forinstance, look at my role inthe film Padmaavat. WhenSanjay (Leela Bhansali) sircalled me, he told me thatamong all the four charac-ters in the film, my rolewould be smallest. ‘But hepromise you, the story willbe incomplete without yourcharacter’, he added.Eventually, when I startedreceiving good words for thecharacter of Mehrunisa, Iwas happy. For me, theimpact of my character mat-ters,” she claimed.

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