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

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2021, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

SCOSUMMIT: INDIADRAWSREDLINES

New Zealand pull out of Pakistan tour:‘security alert, escalation in threat level’EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

MINUTES BEFORE their firstmatchinRawalpindiFriday,NewZealand pulled out of their lim-ited-overs tour of Pakistan be-cause of a “security alert” fromtheir government — a decisionthat comes as a setback to the

host nation,which has not seenmuchinternationalcricketsinceabuscarryingSriLankanplayerswastargetedbygunmenin2009.Soon after New Zealand’s

withdrawal, the England andWales Cricket Board (ECB) saidthey would decide in the next24-48 hours whether theirplanned tour should proceed.The England men's and

women'steamsarescheduledtovisit Pakistan inOctober.New Zealand Cricket (NZC)

saidinastatementthatthey“areabandoningtheirtourofPakistanfollowingaNewZealandgovern-mentsecurityalert”.“ThesidewastoplayPakistan

this evening in the first of threeODIs in Rawalpindi, before

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‘Increasingradicalisationbigthreat, instabilityrisk inregion’

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

FORTHE first time since the fallof Kabul to the Taliban, PrimeMinister NarendraModi raisedquestionsFridayonthe“accept-ability” of the new “system” inAfghanistan and flagged con-cerns that the change of powerthere took placewithout nego-tiations, andwasnot inclusive.In his intervention at the

Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) summit inTajikistan’s capital Dushanbe,Modi called upon the interna-tional community to take a de-cisionon thecriticalquestionof“recognition”ofthenewdispen-sation in Kabul in a “thoughtfulandcollectivemanner”.ThePrimeMinister,whodid

not name the Taliban in hisspeech, said if instability andfundamentalism continue inAfghanistan, it “will lead to ter-rorist and extremist ideologiesall over theworld”.Andthis,hesaid,willencour-

age other extremist groups toseekpowerthroughviolence—a

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SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

ADAYafterChiefofDefenceStaffGeneralBipinRawatmentionedthe“clashofcivilisations”theorytodescribeChina’s growing tieswith the Islamicworldvis-a-visthe West, External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar sought todistance the government fromGeneralRawat’s statement, andtoldhisChinesecounterpartthat

“India had never subscribed toanyclashofcivilisationstheory”.InastatementonJaishankar’s

meetingThursdaywithWangYion the sidelines of the ShanghaiCooperationOrganisation (SCO)gathering in Tajikistan’s capitalDushanbe, the Ministry ofExternalAffairssaidtheMinisterunderlined that Asian solidaritywould depend on the examplesetby India-Chinarelations.Thetwo ministers, the MEA said,

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Jaishankar disagrees withCDS: India doesn’t believein clash of civilisations

Collegium recommendstransfers of High CourtCJs Bindal and Kureshi

APURVAVISHWANATH&ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

THE SUPREME Court collegiumledbyChief Justiceof India (CJI)NVRamanaonFridaymaderec-ommendationstoappointeightnew Chief Justices of HighCourts,andtotransfer28judgesof High Courts, including fiveChief Justices,TheIndianExpresshas learned.Amongthesignificanttrans-

fers recommended by the col-legiumarethoseofCalcuttaHighCourtActingChief JusticeRajeshBindal as Chief Justice ofAllahabad High Court, and ofTripuraHighCourtChief JusticeAkil Kureshi as Chief Justice ofRajasthanHighCourt.

The Supreme Court col-legiumhas not yet formally no-tifieditsrecommendations.The

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GSTCouncil sitsfor firstphysicalmeeting innearly2yrs;noGSTonauto fuelsnow

AANCHALMAGAZINE&MAULSHREESETHNEWDELHI, LUCKNOW,

SEPTEMBER17

RATECUTSforanumberof can-cerandCovid-relatedmedicinesandashift intaxpaymentliabil-ity to restaurantdelivery aggre-gators such as Swiggy, Zomato,and cloud kitchen operators in-steadofrestaurants,weretwoofthe key decisions taken by theGoods and Services Tax (GST)Council in its meeting inLucknowonFriday.The Council, which held an

in-person meeting after 20months, also decided to con-tinue compensation cess levyonlyforrepaymentofborrowedamountsbeyond June2022.A proposal to bring petro-

leum products under the indi-rect tax regimewas discussed,but it was decided to keep theproposaloutof itsambitfornow.

Goingahead,theCouncilwilllookatraterationalisationunderthe inverteddutystructure,andcompliancemeasures throughe-way bill and compositionschemes, forwhich twoGroupsofMinisterswill beconstituted.Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman said the rate-cutCONTINUEDONPAGE2

PMonKabul:Questionsonacceptability, thinktogetheron recognition

ExternalAffairsMinisterS JaishankarwithChineseStateCouncillorandForeignMinisterWangYi inDushanbe.PTI

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

TWO-AND-A-HALF CRORECovid-19vaccinedosesweread-ministered across the countryFriday, thehighest inadaysincethe drive began in India onJanuary16,inapushannouncedtocoincidewithPrimeMinisterNarendraModi'sbirthday.Amajorchunkofthevaccines

were administered in large BJP-ruled states, with Karnataka,Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradeshandGujarataccountingformorethan20lakhdoseseach.“Every Indian would be

proudof today’srecordvaccina-tionnumbers.Iacknowledgeourdoctors, innovators,administra-tors, nurses, healthcare, and allfront-line workers who havetoiled tomake the vaccinationdrivea success,” PrimeMinisterNarendraModi tweeted.As per provisional data till

midnight, 2,50,10,390 vaccinedoses in all were administeredFriday— taking the cumulativenumber to 79.33 crore vaccina-

tions.With Friday’s record vac-cinations, 63% of the estimatedadultpopulationhasreceiveditsfirstdosewhile21%arefullyvac-cinated.Friday’s record wasmainly

theresultof effortsanchoredbygovernment nurses and ASHAworkers, deployed at the blocklevel, for themobilisation andadministration of vaccines. In

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AtavaccinationcampinChikmagalur,Karnataka,Friday.PTI

UnionFinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamanat theGSTCouncilmeeting inLucknowonFriday.Express

ListsnewChief Justices foreightHCs

ACTINGCHIEFJusticeofCalcuttaHCJusticeRajeshBindalhadfoundhimselfincontroversyinthepolit-ical tusslebetweentheBJPandTMC. JusticeAkilKureshi,Chief JusticeofTripuraHC,wasatthecen-treofatwo-year impassewithinthecollegiumoverappointmentof judges.

MostsignificantE●E

XPLAIN

ED

EXPRESSNETWORK

SEROSURVEYSSHOWOVER80%INMUMBAI,CHANDIGARHHAVEANTIBODIESPAGE9

Covid medicines cheaper, fooddelivery firms liable for paying tax

IN PUSH ON PM’S BIRTHDAY, A VACCINATION RECORD

2,50,10,390 jabs in 1 day

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER17

THE ODDS are stacking upagainstTeamIndiacaptainViratKohli.With the tenures of Ravi

Shastri, bowling coach BharatArunandfieldingcoachRSridharcomingtoanendaftertheWorldT20 starting next month, theBCCI is set to approach AnilKumble to take on the role ofheadcoachonceagain,TheIndianExpresshas learnt.Kumble, the former captain

and legendary leg-spinner, washeadcoachoftheteambeforehedecidedtostepdownin2017af-ter reports emerged of seriousdifferenceswithKohli.On Thursday, a week after

theBCCInamed former skipperM S Dhoni as a mentor for theWorld T20 in UAE, Kohli an-nounced that he would stepdown as India's T20 captain,pavingthewayforthecaptaincytobesplit across formats.Four years ago, soon after

Kumble's exit, Kohli had pre-vailed upon the BCCI, governedthenbya committee ledby for-merCAGVinodRai,togetShastrias the replacement. But now,with a new regime at the helmafter the implementation of a

Supreme Court-mandatedpanel's recommendations, it islearntthatwaystobringKumblebackarebeingexplored.

WithKohlisteppingdownasT20 captain soon, the BCCI isconvincedthattheteamrequiresanewcoach. In its press release

Thursday after Kohli’s decision,BCCI secretary Jay Shah hadstated that theboardhasaclearroadmapforTeamIndia.It isbelievedthatBCCIpresi-

dent Sourav Ganguly hadwanted Kumble to continue in2017, despite Kohli's reserva-tions,whenhewasamemberoftheBCCI'sCricket ImprovementCommittee (CIC).With Kumble as coach—he

was appointed in June 2016—Indiareachedthefinalofthe2017ICC Champions Trophy, whichthey lost to Pakistan. He is cur-rently in theUAE as head coachanddirectorofcricketoperationsfor IPLfranchisePunjabKings.Beforedeciding toapproach

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PAGE1ANCHOR

Kumblequit in2017afterreportsofdifferenceswithKohli.File

Four years after bitter fallout with Kohli, Kumbleis back on BCCI radar for job of head coach

GUJARAT

INSTEADOFSOURCINGO2FROMCYLINDERS,TREESBEINGPLANTED,SAYSCM PAGE3

IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL,SEPTEMBER17

THE CABINET Secretariat hasasked theMinistry of Railwaysto act upon a series of recom-mendations including amergerof Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd intoIRCON,ofRailTelintoIRCTC,anda takeover of Braithwaite & CoLtdbyRITES.Theseproposalsarepartof a

reportonrationalisationofgov-ernment bodies prepared bySanjeev Sanyal, PrincipalEconomic Advisor, Ministry ofFinance,afterstudyingthestruc-tureanddistributionofRailways

ministry.Theproposalsarewiderang-

ing, and not restricted to PSUs:bringing 94 schools run byRailways under the KendriyaVidyalaya Sanghatan (KVS), up-grading125RailwayHospitals—mostof themunder-invested—throughaninstitutionalmecha-nism and opening these to thepublicatlarge.Whereverappro-priate, it suggests aPPP (public-private partnership) model forschoolsandhospitalsrunbytheRailways. This will help the or-ganisationfocusonitscorecom-petence of running andmain-taining the railwayservice.

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Centre pushes Rlys toreform, merge RVNL &Ircon, Rail Tel & IRCTC

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT,SEPTEMBER17

FORMER CHIEFminister VijayRupanionFridaysaidthathere-signed from his post "in awhisker", and only BJPworkersfromRajkotcantakesuchastepwithouthesitation.TheBJPMLAfromRajkot(West)alsosaidthathe considered himself equiva-lent to any other party workereven when he was the chiefminister.AddressingagatheringofBJP

workers at thePramukhSwamiAuditorium on Raiya Road,which falls under his con-

stituency,Rupanisaidthathere-mainedacommonman-whichheabbreviatedto'CM'-through-out his five-year tenure as chiefminister.“Hun CM hato, CM nahoto

pehla pan CM hato, CM vakhtepanCMhatoaneajepanCMchhu.Enomatlab,commonman,tama-ramano ek karyakarta, ane akaryakarta ke je party je sopey, jekarvanu hoy te karnvanu chhe.Aneetla jmate,ghadinachhatthabhagmame rajinamu api didhu.Aaetlamate,Rajkotnakaryakartakarishake.(IwasCMbeforeIbe-cameCM, Iwas CMwhen IwasCMandIamCMevennowwhen

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Rupani: Resigned as CMin a whisker, only RajkotBJP worker can do so

SOHINIGHOSHAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER17

A DAY after Additional ChiefSecretary, Health, ManojAggarwal saidat apress confer-ence that Covid-19 vaccines arenot “legally compulsory”,Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation(AMC)onFridayde-clared that fromMonday on-wards, city residents cannot ac-cess public services andamenities without showingtheirvaccinationcertificates..AMC’s Medical Officer of

HealthBhavin Solanki put out avideo statement that said,“AMC-runAMTSbus, BRTSbus,Kankaria Lake, Kankaria zoo,Sabarmatiriverfront,(AMC-run)libraries,gymkhanas,swimming

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AMC makesvaccination mustfor access topublic services

Ahmedabad

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

PM on Kabulclearwarningtotheglobalcom-munity.Underlining that all SCOcountries have been victims ofterrorism,he said theymust en-surethatthesoilofAfghanistanis“not used to spread terrorism inanycountry”.ModiaddressedtheSCOgath-

ering virtually. Pakistan's PrimeMinisterImranKhanwasamongthose in the audience inDushanbe.AlsoatthevenuewereIranianPresident EbrahimRaisi,External Affairs Minister SJaishankar, Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov, andChinese State Councillor andForeignMinisterWangYi.Pointingtoanotherchallenge,

ModisaidthecurrentsituationinAfghanistanmightleadtoan“un-controlled flowof drugs, illegalweapons,andhumantrafficking”.InaveiledreferencetotheUS

leaving behind sophisticatedweaponryinAfghanistan,hesaidthat“alargeamountofadvancedweaponsremaininAfghanistan”and, therefore, therewillbe“riskofinstabilityintheentireregion”.Throughhisstrongly-worded

but carefully-crafted statement,the PrimeMinister articulatedNewDelhi’sredlinesamonthaf-ter the Taliban captured powerand subsequently announced acabinetwithseveralmembersoftheanti-IndiaHaqqaniNetwork,handpickedbyPakistan'sISI.“The first issue is that the

changeof power inAfghanistanis not inclusive, and has takenplacewithout negotiation. Thisraisesquestionsabouttheaccept-abilityof thenewsystem,”ModitoldtheSCO.“Representationofallsections

of Afghan society, includingwomenandminorities,isalsoim-portant.Andtherefore,itisessen-tialthattheglobalcommunityde-cides on the recognition of thenewsystem in a thoughtful andcollectivemanner.Indiasupportsthecentral roleof theUNonthisissue,”hesaid.“Second,ifinstabilityandfun-

damentalism continue inAfghanistan,itwillleadtoterror-ist and extremist ideologies allover theworld. Other extremistgroupsmayalso be encouragedto seekpower throughviolence.We all countries have been vic-tims of terrorism in the past. Sotogetherwemustensurethatthesoil of Afghanistan isnotused tospread terrorism inany country.SCOmember countries shoulddevelop strict and commonnorms on this issue. Going for-ward, these norms can also be-comea template for global anti-terrorcooperation,”hesaid.“These norms should be

basedontheprincipleofzerotol-erance towards terrorism. Theseshouldhaveacodeof conducttoprevent activities like cross-bor-der terrorismand terror financ-ing. And there should also be asystemoftheirenforcement,”hesaid.“Third, developments in

Afghanistan…could lead to anuncontrolledflowofdrugs,illegalweapons,andhumantrafficking.A large amount of advancedweapons remain inAfghanistan.Due to these, therewill be a riskof instability in theentire region.TheRATS (regional anti-terroriststructure)mechanisminSCOcanplayapositiveroleinmonitoringtheseflowsandenhancinginfor-mationsharing.Fromthismonth,India is presidingover the coun-cilofthisinstitutionandhassomeconcreteproposalsinthisregard,”hesaid.Thefourthconcern,Modisaid,

is the humanitarian situation inAfghanistan,whereIndiaisreadytohelpandbepartofanyregionalorglobalinitiativetohelpAfghansociety.TheDushanbeDeclaration,on

which all countries includingIndia,Pakistan,andChinasignedoff, said SCOmember-countriesexpressed their “support forAfghanistan as an independent,neutral, united, democratic andpeaceful State, free of terrorism,

waranddrugs”.“Member States believe that

it is critical to have an inclusiveGovernmentinAfghanistan,withrepresentativesfromallethnic,re-ligious and political groups ofAfghan society,” thedeclarationsaid.

Jaishankar“exchangedviewson the recentglobaldevelopments”.On Wednesday, General

Rawat,speakinginNewDelhionthe changing geopolitical sce-nario, said: “Weareseeingsomekindof a jointmanshipbetweentheSinicandIslamiccivilisations.You can see China nowmakingfriendswith Iran, they aremov-ing towards Turkey…And theywill step intoAfghanistan in theyears to come…. Is that going toleadtoaclashofcivilisationswiththeWesterncivilisation?”China’s rise, the CDS said,

“happenedfasterthanpeopleen-visaged”.“Weareheadingbacktoa bipolar ormultipolarworld…Whatwe are certainly seeing ismoreaggressiononthepartofna-tions. Especially, the one that istryingtogointothebipolarworld,andmakingitspresencefelt,thatisChina.Theyarebecomingmoreand more aggressive and weshare land borderswith them.Therefore, it is timetostart look-ingatourstrategies,astohowweare going to dealwith twobor-ders,whichareaggressiveneigh-bours, adversaries. Pakistan onthewestern front andChina onthenorth,”hesaid.During his meeting with

Wang, Jaishankar, according totheMEA, said India had neversubscribedtoanyclashofcivilisa-tions theory. He said India andChinahadtodealwitheachotheronmeritsandestablisharelation-ship based onmutual respect.“For this, it was necessary thatChinaavoidviewingourbilateralrelations fromtheperspectiveofitsrelationswiththirdcountries.Asiansolidaritywoulddependonthe example set by India-Chinarelations.”OnTwitter,Jaishankarsaid:“It

is also essential that Chinadoesnot view its relationswith Indiathroughthe lensof a thirdcoun-try.”According to the MEA,

Jaishankar“notedthatsincetheirlastmeetingon14thJuly,thetwosideshadmadesomeprogressintheresolutionoftheremainingis-sues along the LAC in EasternLadakh andhad completed thedisengagement in Gogra area.However, therewere still someoutstandingissuesthatneededtoberesolved”.Recalling that Wang had

noted in their lastmeeting that“bilateral relationswere at lowebb” andboth sides had agreedthat“prolongationoftheexistingsituationwasnotintheinterestofeithersideasitwasimpactingtherelationship in a negativeman-ner,”Jaishankar“emphasisedthatthe two sides shouldwork to-wards early resolutionof the re-maining issues along theLAC...whilefullyabidingbybilat-eralagreementsandprotocols”.“In this regard, theMinisters

agreed thatmilitary and diplo-matic officials of the two sidesshouldmeet again andcontinuetheirdiscussionstoresolvethere-mainingissuesattheearliest,”theMEAsaid.

Pakistan tourmovingtoLahoreforafive-matchT20series.However,followinganescalation in the NewZealandGovernment threat levels forPakistan,andadvicefromNZCse-curity advisors on the ground, ithas beendecided theBlackcapswill not continuewith the tour,”thestatementsaid.“Arrangementsarenowbeing

made for the team’s departure,”itsaid.“NZCwillnotcommentonthe

details of the security threat northeupdatedarrangementsforthedeparting squad,” the statementsaid.The Pakistan Cricket Board

(PCB) describedNewZealand’sdecision as “unilateral” and saidthetourwascancelleddespiteanassurance fromPMImranKhan,aformercricketlegend.“PCB and Govt of Pakistan

madefoolproofsecurityarrange-ments for all visiting teams.Wehave assured theNewZealandcricket board of the same. ThePrimeMinisterspokepersonallyto the Prime Minister of NewZealandandinformedherthatwehaveoneof thebest intelligencesystemsintheworldandthatnosecurity threatof anykindexistsforthevisitingteam,”aPCBstate-mentsaid.NewZealand’sPrimeMinister

JacindaArdern toldReuters thatshe thanked thePakistanPMfortaking care of the visiting teambut made clear that she sup-portedthedecisiontoputplayers’safetyfirst.The New Zealand team

landedinPakistanlastweekandtookpartintrainingsessions.Boththeteamsdidn’ttraveltothesta-diumforFriday’sgame.Newly appointed PCB chair-

man Ramiz Raja posted onTwitter: “Crazyday it has been!Feel sosorry for the fansandourplayers.Walking out of the tourbytakingaunilateralapproachona security threat is very frustrat-ing. Especially when it’s notshared!!Whichworld isNZ liv-ingin??NZwillhearusatICC.”NZC chief executive David

Whitesaid“itwassimplynotpos-sible to continuewith the tour”giventheadvicehewasreceiving.“I understand thiswill beablowforthePCB,whohavebeenwon-derful hosts, but player safety isparamountandwebelievethisisthe only responsible option,” hesaidintheNZCstatement.

Collegiumdecisionsweretakeninmeetingsheld on Thursday evening andFriday,sourcessaid.JusticeBindalwas appointed

acting Chief Justice of CalcuttaHigh Court on April 29, just asWest Bengal finished voting forthenewAssembly.Inthepoliticaltusslethatplayedoutincourtfol-lowing the victory of the Trina-mool, Justice Bindal’s decisionscameunderthescanner.OnMay 24, in an unprece-

dented development, JusticeArindamSinha, a senior judgeofCalcuttaHighCourt,wrote a let-tertoalljudgesoftheHighCourt,including Justice Bindal, raisingquestionsover theActingCJ’s in-tervention in transferring theNarada sting case to theHC, andstaying the bail granted to fourleadersoftheTMCbyaCBIcourt.Incidentally, Justice Sinha is

oneof the28judgesrecommen-dedforatransfer.HeislikelytobemovedtoOrissaHighCourt.TheTMCleadershadbeenar-

restedby theCBI onMay17, butwere given bail by a special CBIcourt in Kolkata that sameevening.Theagencyhadthenpe-titioned theHigh Court askingthatthetrialbetransferredtotheHC, theproceedings inthe lowercourt be nullified, and the pro-ceedingsbeconductedafresh.AdivisionbenchledbyJustice

Bindalhadheardthematterafterregularcourthours,acceptedtheCBI'splea,andstayedthedecisionof theCBIcourt.Later, the HC had departed

fromrules to set up a five-judgebenchtohearallcasesconnectedtotheAssemblyelections.BeforehisstintintheCalcutta

HC, JusticeBindal,whoseparentHigh Court is the Punjab andHaryanaHC,was briefly ActingChief Justice of the JammuandKashmirHighCourtinDecember2020.HistenureendsonApril15,2023, if he is not elevated to theSC.Anothersignificanttransferis

that of JusticeKureshi,whowasat the centre of a two-year im-passewithin theSupremeCourtcollegiumovertheappointmentof judges.JusticeKureshi,whoseparent

High Court is the Gujarat HighCourt,didnotfeatureinthelistofnine appointmentsmade to theSupremeCourtinAugustdespitebeingNo.2 in theAll-India listofseniority for judges of HighCourts.Thecollegium’shesitationin recommendinghis namehadledtoanunprecedentedimpasseover the appointments, whichlastedfornearlytwoyears.Former SC judge Rohinton

Nariman,whowaspartofthecol-legium, had insisted that JusticeKureshi’snameberecommendedbefore any other. Aweek afterJusticeNarimanretiredonAugust12, the SC collegium sent ninenamestothegovernment,whichwereacceptedwithintwoweeks.This is not the first time that

thecollegiumhasrecommendedJustice Kureshi to be appointedChiefJusticeofalargeHighCourt.In2019,ithadrecommendedhisappointment as Chief Justice ofMadhya Pradesh High Court;however,thegovernmenthadre-turnedthefiletothecollegiumforreconsideration.Thecollegiumhadthenwith-

drawn its recommendation, andinstead recommended JusticeKureshi for the Tripura HighCourt,aHighCourtwithjustfourjudges.RajasthanHighCourthasa sanctioned strength of 50judges.

JusticeKureshiwasappointedChiefJusticeofTripuraHighCourtonNovember 16, 2019, and histenureendsonMarch6, 2022, ifnot elevated to the SupremeCourt.The eight recommendations

forappointmentasChief JusticesofHighCourtsare:

■ Justice Prakash Srivastava,judge, Madhya Pradesh HighCourt,asChief JusticeofCalcuttaHighCourt;

■ Justice Prashant KumarMishra, Acting Chief Justice ofChattisgarhHighCourt as ChiefJustice of Andhra PradeshHighCourt;

■ Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi,judgeoftheAllahabadHighCourtasChiefJusticeofKarnatakaHighCourt;

■ Justice Satish Sharma, act-ing Chief Justice of KarnatakaHigh Court, as Chief Justice ofTelanganaHighCourt;

■JusticeRanjitMore,judgeofMeghalayaHigh Court (whoseparent HC is Bombay), as ChiefJusticeof thatHighCourt;

■JusticeAravindKumar,jud-ge of Karnataka High Court, asChief JusticeofGujaratHC;

■JusticeRVMalimath,ActingChiefJusticeofHimachalPradeshHighCourt (whoseparentHC isKarnataka), as Chief Justice ofMadhyaPradeshHighCourt.ApartfromJusticesBindaland

Kureshi, the other Chief Justiceswhowere recommended for atransferinclude:

■ Justice Arup Kumar Gos-wami,whowillmovefromAndh-raPradeshHCtoChhattisgarhHC;

■ JusticeMohammadRafiq,whowillmovefromMadhyaPra-deshHCtoHimachalPradeshHC;

■ Justice IndrajitMohanty,fromRajasthanHCtoTripuraHC;

■ Justice Biswanath Soma-dder, from Meghalaya HC toSikkimHC.

KumbleKumble,theBCCIislearnttohavecontacted former Sri Lanka cap-tainandcurrentMumbaiIndianscoachMahela Jayawardenewiththeoffer.However, Jayawardene,who

has guidedMumbai Indians tomultipleIPLtitles,issaidtobein-terested in coaching the SriLankan team and the IPL fran-chise.AnIndiacoachcannottakeup any other cricketing assign-ment as the newBCCI constitu-tiondoesn’tallowanindividualtoholdtwopostsatthesametime.If Kumble agrees to comeon

board,hewillhavetogiveuphisIPL assignments—he is also theheadof the InternationalCricketCouncil’scricketcommittee.WhenKumblewas first ap-

pointedheadcoach,hiscombina-tionwithKohliwas expected tocover all bases for Indian cricket.Thecaptain’sinstinctivenesswastocomplementthecoach’smetic-ulousplanning.Butaftertheearlybonhomie,cracksstartedappear-ing.ItwassaidthatKumble'scon-tinuedemphasisonplanningdid-n’t gowellwith the captainwhowanted his players to “expressthemselves”.In his resignation letter,

Kumbleexpressedsurpriseatbe-ing told that Kohli had reserva-tions about his “style”.“Professionalism, discipline,commitment, honesty, comple-mentaryskillsanddiverseviewsare the key traits I bring to thetable.Theseneedtobevaluedforthepartnership to be effective. IseetheCoach’sroleakinto‘hold-ing a mirror’ to drive self-im-provementintheteam’sinterest,”hewrote.On Kumble's appointment,

Kohli had tweeted: “Heartiestwelcome to@anilkumble1074[AnilKumble]Sir.Lookforwardtoyourtenurewithus.Greatthingsin store for Indian Cricketwithyou.”After Kumble’s resignation,

thepostdisappearedfromKohli'stimeline.

CabSec pushesIn a recent note sent to the

Railways, theCabinetSecretariathas asked Suneet Sharma,Chairman and CEO, RailwayBoard,toupdateitontheactionstakenon the recommendationsinthefirstweekofeverymonth.When contacted, a senior

RailwayMinistryofficial toldTheIndian Express, the report hadbeenhandedover to themjust aweekago. “It hasnowbeen senttoallkeydepartments…alltheserequireseriousdiscussionwithallmembersof theRailwayBoard,”saidtheofficial,whodidnotwishtobenamed.On consolidation of PSUs,

Sanyal’sreportstatedthatbothIR-CON–aspecialisedinfrastructureconstructioncompany,andRVNLwhich implements projects tocreate and augment rail infra-structurecapacityonafast-trackbasis,havesimilarbusinessfunc-tions.Hence,ithassaidRVNLcanbemergedintoIRCON.Highlightingtheoverlapsbe-

tweenRailTel,alargetelecomin-fra provider through optic fibrenetworks along railway tracks,IRCTC, amini ratna,whose coreactivity is internet ticketing, andCRIS, an autonomous society todevelop software for passengerticketing, freight invoicing, pas-senger train operations, etc, thereport recommended that CRISbewoundupafterhandingoveritsworktoIRCTC,andthenRailTelbemergedintoIRCTC.Thereportcalledforsettingup

anewpublicsectorenterprisetohold the three coach factories inChennai, Kapurthala and Rae-Bareli, locomotive units inChittaranjan,VaranasiandPatiala,and two rail wheel units inYelahanka (Bengaluru) andBelain Bihar. All the assetsmay betransferredtothisCPSE,andem-ployeesdeployedtotheproposedenterpriseinaphasedmanner.BetweenRail LandDevelop-

mentAuthority (RLDA), a statu-toryorganisationwithcompletepowers of stationdevelopment,landmonetisation and contractmanagement,andIndianRailwayStations Development Corpo-ration Ltd, a joint venture be-tween RLDA and IRCON, theSanyal report saidoneshouldbeidentifiedasasolefunctioningen-tityandgivenfullresponsibility.

GST Councilrelief given in the previousCouncilmeetingforCovid-relatedmedicines such as Remdesivir,Tocilizumab,AmphotericinB,andanti-coagulantslikeHeparinwillcontinue till December 31.However,theconcessionaltaxformedical equipmentwill end onSeptember30.TheCouncilalsodecidedtore-

moveGSTontheimportofmus-

cular atrophy drugs likeZolgensma andViltepso,whichcostcroresofrupees,Sitharamansaid. TheGST rate for Keytruda,usedfor thetreatmentof cancer,hasbeencutto5percentfrom12percent.Effective January1next year,

theCouncilhasdecidedtomakee-commerceoperators engagedin restaurant services liable forpayment of tax. Thiswill essen-tially shift the responsibility ofpaying the5per centGST to theaggregatorsfromtherestaurants.“Fooddeliveryoperators like

Swiggywhocollect orders fromrestaurants anddeliver (to cus-tomers)...; the placewhere thefoodisdeliveredwillbethepointonwhichtaxwillbecollectedbythe gig groups Swiggy and oth-ers,”Sitharamansaid.RevenueSecretaryTarunBajaj

said,“Thereisnoextratax,thereisnonewtax. The taxwaspayableby restaurants, now instead ofrestaurants, the tax will bepayablebyaggregatorswhichwillalso...preventrevenueleakage.”The Council also decided to

put an enddate of June 2022 tothecompensationmechanism,asmandated in law. The levy ofcompensationcesswillcontinuefromJuly2022onwardstillMarch2026 to service the borrowing,whichhadbeenresortedtoinor-der to bridge the compensationgap in the years 2020-21 and2021-22.Thedebtformakingcompen-

sationpayments to states is esti-mated to be aroundRs 2.7 lakhcrore, a senior FinanceMinistryofficialsaid.Sitharaman said that at the

previousGSTCouncilmeeting, ithad been decided that beyondJuly 2022, the collection of cesswould be for “payment of loanstaken”.“That (compensation to sta-

tes)endswithfiveyears.Thefive-year (period) ends in July 2022.BeyondJuly2022,thecessthatweare collecting, as agreed in the43rdCouncilmeeting,wasforthepurposeofrepayingtheloan.Thatcommences in July 2022, andgoes on tillMarch 2026—onlyandonlyforpayingtheloangiventostatessincelastyear,”shesaid.Stateswereguaranteedcom-

pensationunderGSTfortherev-enuegapbetweenactual collec-tions and theprotected amountbased on 14 per cent com-pounded rate from base year2015-16 for five years after theGSTrollout, until June2022. Lastyear,thegovernmenthaddecidedtoborrowtomeetthecompensa-tioncessdeficitthroughback-to-backloanstostates.For inclusion of fuel under

GST, theUnion FinanceMinistersaidtheCouncildiscussedtheis-sueonlybecausetheKeralaHighCourthadasked it,but felt itwasnot the right time to includepe-troleumproductsunderGST.“ItwillbereportedtotheHigh

Court of Kerala that it was dis-cussed and theGSTCouncil feltthatitwasn'tthetimetobringthepetroleumproductsintotheGST,”shesaid.To correct the inverted duty

structure, GST rate changeswillbemadeforfootwearandtextilessector, but thedecisionhasbeendeferred for implementation tillJanuary1nextyear.TheCouncilalsocutGSTrates

on fortified rice kernels to 5percentfrom18percent,andonbio-diesel for blending indiesel to 5per cent from 12 per cent.Nationalpermitfeeforgoodscar-riagehasbeenexempted.GSTonoresandconcentrates

ofmetalssuchasiron,copper,alu-minum, and zinc has been in-creasedfrom5percentto18percent,andthatonspecifiedrenew-able energy devices and partsfrom5percentto12percent.All kinds of pens will be

chargedan18percentrate,whilemiscellaneousgoodsofpaperlikecards, catalogues, and printedmaterialwill seeGST increasingto 18per cent from12per cent.Therateforcarbonatedfruitbev-eragesandcarbonatedbeverages

with fruit juicewill attract aGSTrateof28percent,pluscompen-sationcessof12percent.IGSTof12percentonimport

of medicines Zolgensma forspinal muscular atrophy andViltepso forDuchennemusculardystrophy, has been waived.ThesedrugscostuptoRs16crore.IGSTexemptionhasalsobeen

given on goods supplied at theIndo-Bangladesh border haats.Importof leasedaircrafthasalsobeenexemptedfromIGST.

AMCpools,sportscomplexes,civiccen-tresandentrytoanysuchcorpo-ration buildings will requirecheckingofCovid-19vaccination.Anyonewho is above18yearsofageandhasnottakenthefirstdoseor thosewhohavenot taken theseconddosedespitebeingeligiblefor thesame,will notbeallowedto enter the above-mentionedplaces,startingSeptember20.”Meanwhile,aspartofthevac-

cinationmega drive on Friday,which coincidedwith thePrimeMinister’sbirthday,Gujaratman-agedtoachievealittleover60percentof its target,with22.58 lakhdoses against the 35 lakh-plusdosesithadplannedtoadminis-ter, as per data on the CoWINdashboard,asof10pm.However,somecitiesanddistrictsextendedvaccination hours tillmidnightandsetupboothsatbusandrail-way stations andmalls and BJPpartyevent.Thestatehadadministereda

total of 5.58 crore vaccinedosestill Friday night, of which 1.62crorewereseconddoses.TheAMCconducteditsvacci-

nationdriveacross650sitesdur-ing the day, administering 1.51lakh doses against the targeted2.75lakhdosesandSMCadmin-istered2.05lakhdosesagainstthetarget of 2.42 lakh doses, as ofFridaynight10pm..Thestate,however,managed

toadministerarecordnumberofdoseswith theprevioushighestsingle-day coverage seen onAugust 31with over 8.95 lakhdosesinaday.August31toowasmarkedasadayof‘megadrive’inthestate.

RupaniI am not the CM. That meanscommonman - a partyworkerjustlikeoneofyou,apartyworkerwho will always do whateverwork theparty assigns himandwoulddoonlythat.Hence, I ten-dered my resignation in awhisker. Onlyworkers of Rajkotcandothis),"Rupanisaid.Manyworkersweremovedto

tearsasRupanidirectlyaddressedthemforthefirsttimeafterstep-pingdownas chiefminister andtalked about howhedealtwiththeBJP'snationalleadership'sde-cisiontoreplacehim.Theformerchiefministersaid

itisverydifficulttoleavepositionsof power, but he could do sothanks to values taught bypartyleaders fromRajkot. "Rajkotmaswargasth Arvindbhai, swargasthChimankaka, swargasthKeshubhai,swargasthPravinkaka,Vajubhai…a badhaye apanamasanskarsinchyachhe.Bakichhodvuaghruhoychhe.Eksarpanchnutorajinamumango.Prantuapneetlamatekahiyechhiyekeapnepadnekoimahatvanathiapta.(InRajkot,thelateArvindbhai[Maniyar],lateChimankaka [Shukla], lateKeshubhai [Patel], late Pravin[Maniyar], Vajubhai [Vala] havetaughtus values.Otherwise, it isverydifficult to giveup [power].Dareaskevenasarpanchto ten-derhisresignation.Butwecanbe-causewedon't give importancetoanyposition),"hesaid.The lateArvindManiyarhad

beenamayorofRajkot. Shukla, acloseconfidantofKeshubhaiPatelwhen the latter was CM, waselected to Rajya Sabha. PravinManiyarwasanRSSleaderandaneducationist.Vala,whoservedformanyyearsastheGujaratfinanceminister, had remained unde-feated from the Rajkot (West)Assembly seat and till recently,wastheKarnatakagovernor.

FROMPAGEONE

comparison,Australia, forex-ample,hasadministered2.38crore doses in the entire sixmonths of its immunisationdrive.“Under Prime Minister’s

remarkable leadership thecountry has achieved a newvaccination milestone,”Union Health MinisterMansukhMandaviya said.Top government sources

said that given the suppliesexpected frommanufactur-ers, thetentativeplan is toad-minister 100 crore doses be-fore the second week ofOctober. The priority is tocover as many people withthe first dose as possible,keeping in mind the comingfestive season and the elec-tions due in several states.Bihar was the best per-

formerFriday,with29.38lakhvaccinations counted tillFriday midnight. It was fol-lowed by Karnataka (28.90lakh), Uttar Pradesh (27.15lakh),MadhyaPradesh(26.44lakh),andGujarat(23.37lakh).These numbers were, in-

cidentally, significantlyhigher than their daily aver-age for September (till

September 16): Bihar (4.94lakh doses), Karnataka (3.02lakh), Uttar Pradesh (10.28lakh), Madhya Pradesh (3.98lakh), andGujarat (4.05 lakh).AsonFriday, threeof these

states had covered 75% of thepopulationwithat least a sin-gledoseofthevaccine:Gujarat(84%), Madhya Pradesh (80%)and Karnataka (78.5%). UttarPradesh (51.24%) and Bihar(55.53%) hovered near thehalf-waymark.The non-BJP-ruled states

that administered a highnumberof dosesFridaywereRajasthan (13.05 lakh),Maharashtra (12.33 lakh),and Andhra Pradesh (10.85lakh). This was also muchhigher than their Septemberdaily average (till September16): Rajasthan (3.80 lakh),Maharashtra (6.61 lakh), andAndhra Pradesh (3 lakh).States which adminis-

teredmore than3 lakhdoseswere Assam (7.42 lakh),Telangana (5.20 lakh), WestBengal (3.90 lakh), Kerala(3.88 lakh), and Haryana(3.70 lakh).

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Telecomreliefpackage,Air Indiadisinvestment, andIndia’s firstbadbankIn thisepisode,wediscuss thegovernment’srelief packagefor thetelecomsector.Wealsotalkabout theAir Indiadisinvestmentandgooverdetailsof India’s firstbadbank

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3THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

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WILL COST RS 35,100 CR: GADKARI

‘423KMOFROADBEINGCONSTRUCTED INSTATE’

UnionMinisterNitinGadkariFridaysaidthatinGujarat,423kmofroadisbeingconstructedatacostofRs35,100crore.Gadkari,whomwasinBharuch, addedthatunderthisexpressway,60ma-jorbridges,17 interchanges,17flyoversandeightroadoverbridges(ROBs)willbebuilt inthestate.

CIN: L36998GJ1995PLC028139Registered Office: 4,Sharad Flats Opp-Dharnidhar Temple, Ahmedabad – 380007

Phone: +91 – 98250 31622|Email: shangardecorltd@hotmail.com|Website: www.shangardecor.com

Notice is hereby given that:1. The 26thAnnual General Meeting (“AGM”) of the Members of the Company will

be held on Thursday, 30th September, 2021 at 3.00 P.M. at registered office ofthe Company to transact the ordinary and special businesses as set out in thenotice of AGM.

2. As per SEBI Circular dated 12th May, 2020, Physical Copy of the Annual Reportfor the 26th AGM inter-alia is not required to be sent; therefore Annual Report isbeing sent only through electronic mode to those Members as on 20thAugust,2021, whose email addresses are registered with the Company / Depositories.Members whose E-mail id is not registered / updated can register / update theire-mail address.

3. The Notice of 26th AGM and Annual Report for Financial Year 2020-21 will alsob e m a d e a v a i l a b l e o n t h e C o m p a n y ' s w e b s i t e a twww.shangardecor.comwebsite of stock exchange i.e. BSE Limited atwww.bseindia.com.

4. Notice is hereby further given that pursuant to Section 91 of the Companies Act,2013 read with rules made thereunder and as per Regulation 42 of SEBI (LODR)Regulations, 2015, the register of Members and Share Transfer Book of theCompany will remain closed from Thursday, 23rdSeptember, 2021 to Thursday,30th September, 2021 (both days inclusive) for purpose of 26th Annual GeneralMeeting.

5. As per Section 108 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with rule 20 of theCompanies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 as amended andclause 44 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosures Requirements)Regulations, 2015, the Company is pleased to provide the members the facilityto cast their votes electronically from a place other than the venue of the AGM(remote E-voting) on all resolutions set forth in the Notice, for which theCompany has engaged the services of National Securities Depository Limited asthe E-voting agency. All the members are informed that;A. The Ordinary and Special Businesses as set out in the notice of AGM may be

transacted through voting by electronic means.B. The remote e-voting shall commence on 27thSeptember, 2021at 09:00 A.M.

and shall end on 29th September, 2021 at 05:00 P.M.C. The cut-off date for determining the eligibility to vote by electronic means or

at AGM is Thursday, 23rdSeptember, 2021.D. Any person, who acquires shares of the Company and become member of

the Company after dispatch of the Notice of AGM and holding shares as of thecut-off date i.e Thursday, 23rd September, 2021, may obtain the login ID andpassword by sending a request at evoting@nsdl.co.in. However, if you arealready registered with NSDL for remote e-voting then you can use yourexisting user ID and password for casting your vote.

E. Members may note that a) the remote e-voting module shall be disabled byNSDL after the aforesaid date and time for voting and once the vote on aresolution is cast by the member, the member shall not be allowed to changeit subsequently; b) the facility for voting through ballot paper shall be madeavailable at the AGM; c) the members who have cast their vote by remote e-voting prior to the AGM may also attend the AGM but shall not be entitled tocast their vote again; and d) a person whose name is recorded in the registerof members or in the register of beneficial owners maintained by thedepositories as on the cut-off date shall only be entitled to avail the facility ofremote e-voting as well as voting in the general meeting,

6. The company has appointed M/s.Gaurav Bachani& Associates, CompanySecretaries as the Scrutinizer to scrutinize the E-voting process in fair andtransparent manner.Any Query or grievance connected with the remote e-voting may be addressed

tothe Company Secretary of the Company at E-mail shangardecorltd@hotmail.comor you may refer the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Members and remote e-voting user manual for Members available at the download section ofwww.evoting.nsdl.com or call on toll free no.: 1800-222-990 for any furtherclarification.

Notice of the 26th Annual General Meeting of the Company, Book Closure and E-voting

For, Shangar Decor LimitedSd/-

Samirbhai ShahManaging Director (DIN: 00787630)

Place: AhmedabadDate: 7th September, 2021

SHANGAR DECOR LIMITED

No.Fc/81-1/2021

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF HOME-AFFAIRS

NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE COLLEGE, NAGPUR

ADVERTISEMENT NO-1/TRAINING - 2021

B.E (FIRE ENGINEERING) 7th Batch -2021-22

Applications are invited for admission into B.E

(Fire Engineering) 7th Batch 1st year for academ-

ic year 2021-22 in the prescribed proforma

uploaded in the website www.nfscnagpur.nic.in.

The admission will be purely on basis of JEE

CRL Ranking. For further information, details

are given in the website of

www.nfscnagpur.nic.in.

DIRECTOR

davp 19135/11/0001/2122

NANDAN DENIM LIMITEDCIN : L51909GJ1994PLC022719

Registered Office : Survey No. 198/1 & 203/2,Saijpur-Gopalpur, Pirana Road, Piplej, Ahmedabad-382405

Corporate Office : Chiripal House, Near Shivranjani Cross Roads, Satellite, Ahmedabad-380015

Tel. : 079-267346660/2/3 Website: www.nandandenim.com Email: cs.ndl@chiripalgroup.com

1. Notice is hereby given that the 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Members ofNandan Denim Limited ("the Company") will be held on on September 30, 2021 at 03:00 p.m.through Video Conference ("VC")/Other Audio Visual Means ("OAVM") facility in compli-ance with the applicable provisions of Companies Act 2013 and Rules framed thereunder andthe SEBI (Listing Obligations And Disclosures Requirement) Regulations 2015 read with theMinistry of Corporate Affairs ("MCA") circular dated April 8, 2020 and April 13, 2020, May5, 2020 and January 13, 2021 (collectively referred to as 'MCA Circulars') and Securities andExchange Board of India Circular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2020/79 dated May 12,2020 and SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2021/11 dated January 15, 2021 (referred to as SEBICircular), without the physical presence of the members at a common venue.

2. The Annual Report for the Financial Year 2020-21 and the AGM Notice have been sentelectronically to the Members whose e-mail IDs are registered with the Company / Registrarand Transfer Agent / Depository Participants. The dispatch of Notice of AGM has beencompleted on September 8, 2021.

Pursuant to Rule 20 of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 theCompany hereby informs that:

1. All the businesses as set out in the Notice of AGM may be transacted through remote e-voting.

2. The remote e-voting period shall commence on Sunday, September 26, 2021 from IST 9:00a.m. onwards and shall end on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at IST 5:00 p.m. No Remotee-voting shall be allowed beyond the said date and time. The shareholders of the Companyholding shares as on September 23, 2021, (cut-off date) shall be entitled to cast their voteelectronically according to the instructions mentioned in the AGM Notice to obtain his/herlogin id and password and the instructions on e-voting available in the Notice of AGM.

3. A member may participate in the AGM even after exercising his right to vote through Remotee-Voting, but shall not be allowed / entitled to vote again in the AGM. Once the vote on aresolution is cast by the Member through E-voting, he shall not be allowed to change itsubsequently. In case the member's cast their vote by both the means then voting donethrough remote e-voting shall prevail.

4. The manner of voting remotely for members holding shares in dematerialized mode, physicalmode and for members who have not registered their email addresses is provided in theNotice of the AGM. The details will also be made available on the website of the Company.

5. Members who have not registered their email addresses are requested to register their emailaddresses with respective depository participant(s) and members holding shares in physicalmode are requested to update their email addresses with Company's Registrar and TransferAgent namely Datamatics Business Solutions Limited to receive copies of Annual Report2020-21 along with the Notice of the 27th AGM, instructions for remote e-voting andinstructions for participation in the AGM through VC.

6. In case shareholders/ members have any queries regarding e-voting, they maycontact Mr.Rakesh Dalvi from Central Depository Services (India) Limited, Contact Number:1800225533, Email: helpdesk.evoting@cdslindia.com.

7. The results of voting will be announced within 2 days of the completion of AGM and the sameshall be displayed on the website of the Company, stock exchanges and CDSL.

For NANDAN DENIM LIMITED

Place: Ahmedabad Sd/-

Date : 09/09/2021 Company Secretary

NOTICE OF THE 27th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

AND REMOTE E-VOTING INFORMATION

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, SEPTEMBER17

INAUGURATING A string ofevents on the occasion of 71stbirthday of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, newly ap-pointed Chief Minister ofGujarat on Friday said that thegovernment has undertaken astate-widetree-plantationdriveto ensure that people get oxy-gen “naturally” instead of get-ting it through “oxygen cylin-ders.”"There is a special place for

trees inhumanlives.TheglobalCovid pandemic has taught ustheimportanceofcleanoxygen.Instead of getting oxygenthrough oxygen cylinders, awidespread tree plantationdrive has been undertaken inGujarattohelpplantmoretreesthat will provide oxygen natu-rally," said Patelwhile address-inganeventatBapunagarlocal-ity of Ahmedabad where amedical camp and tree-planta-tion drive was held on Fridaymorning.Reading out a written

speech, he said the JapaneseMiwakai technique was beingused to increase the tree coverinthe"cement-concretejungle"in the cities. "Today is PrimeMinister's71stbirthdayandwe

soweareplanting71000trees,"he said thanking AhmedabadMunicipal Corporation (AMC)officials for the initative.Patel said a total of 375 pro-

grammes are being held acrossthestateonFridaythatistarget-ted at the "poor." Under thePradhanMantriUjjwalaYojana2.0 programme, a total of threelakh gas connections will begiven said Patel while later ad-dressingmediapersons. In thefirst phase of Ujwala, gas con-nections were given to 29 lakhfamilies, he said.

Under the Swach BharatMission (Gramin), works forbuilding toilets and ensuringcleanlinessworth Rs 142 crorewillbeundertaken.Patelsaidthat8,000childrenwholostboththeirparents or their father to Covidwill begivenamonthlyaidof Rs2000 under theMukhyamantriBal Seva. This assistancewill begiventill theageof18.The CM said that sarpaches

of 7,100 villages whowill com-plete100percentCovid-19vac-cination on Fridaywill be hon-ouredwithcertificates.

Instead of sourcingO2fromcylinders, treesbeing planted, saysCM

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT,SEPTEMBER17

GUJARAT REVENUE and LawMinister Rajendra Trivedi onFriday said inititiave thatwoulddo the countryproudhavebeenlaunchedundertheleadershipofPrimeMinisterNarendraModi,andthatthetraditionof thefacil-itating development of Gujarat,whichhadbeencarriedoutbytheprevious Vijay Rupani govern-ment,wouldbetakenforwardbythenewgovernment.“UnderleadershipofModi,the

governmenthastakennumerousinitiativesandhasworkedforwel-fare of the poor and the govern-ment has emerged as the truefriend of the poor. Wewish thePrimeMinister on his birthday.Underhisleadership,8crorecon-nections for cooking gas havebeen given and have madekitchens smokelessbyprovidingclean fuel. Under his leadership,workhas beendone thatwouldmake Indiaproud,”anofficial re-leasequotedTrivediassaying.TrivedivisitedRajkotFridayto

presideoveragovernment func-tionfordistributingaidandassis-tants to beneficiaries of variousgovernmentschemesintheaudi-toriumof BAPS SwaminarayanTemple on Kalavad Road of thecity. Former CMRupani, the BJPMLAfromtheRajkot(West)con-stituency,wasalsoinattendance.Trivedi, who had served as a

ministerinRupani’sgovernmentin 2016-17 before becomingSpeaker, also praised theworkdoneduringtheRupaniadminis-tration.“Numerousinitiativesfordevelopment of the stateweretaken under the leadership offormer chief minister VijayRupani.”Addressingtheevent,Rupani

extendedhis goodwishes to thenew government led by ChiefMinisterBhupendraPatel.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER17

INTHEwakeof71stbirthdaycel-ebrations of Prime MinisterNarendraModi,theGujaratStateCommission for Protection ofChildRights (SCPCR)directed allschoolstoholdanessaycompeti-tiononModi.Inafirstofsucheventsorgan-

isedbythecommissiononModi'sbirthday, the essay competitionon the topic 'My dear PrimeMinisterNarendraModi' for stu-dents of classes 5 to 8of all gov-ernment,grant-in-aidandself-fi-nancedschoolsacross33districtswasheldFriday.The directive issued to all

District primary Education offi-cers (DPEOs) of the state byGujarat SCPCRonSeptember 15mentionsthattheselected71stu-dents and 71 schoolswould beawardedbythecommission."Thereportonnumberofstu-

dentswhohaveparticipatedinto-day'scompetitionisyettobecom-piled butwe have informationthat all 33 districts have partici-pated in the essay competition,"GujaratSCPCRchairpersonJagrutiPandyasaid.The Education Department

declined to have any role in theevent or any directive issued toschools. "The entire event hasbeenorganised, communicatedand coordinated by the SCPCR.Theeducationdepartmenthasnoroleinit.Wehavenotorganiseanyevent today," said DirectorPrimaryEducationMIJoshi.Though the commissionde-

clines that the competitionwascompulsory,thecircularissuedbyDistrictPrimaryEducationofficersmentions thatall schoolshavetoparticipate.

(Clockwise fromabove) FormerVadodaramayorBharatDangarprepareda71-footrangoliofPrimeMinisterNarendraModionhisbirthdayFriday,whichwasdisplayedatamall inVadodara,alongwith971kgcake;StateBJPpresidentCRPaatilvisitedtheRSSoffice inShastriPol inVadodaraonFriday,wherePrimeMinisterNarendraModi livedduringhispracharakdays, tomarkhisbirthdaycelebrations;Womenof thestateBJPminoritycellparticipate inabikerally inSurat,heldontheoccasionof thePM’sbirthday.

CMBhupendraPatelwithformerHomeMinisterPradipsinhJadejaduringPradhanMantriUjwalaYojana2.0programmeatTagorehall inAhmedabadonFriday.NirmalHarindran

MODI'S71STBIRTHDAYCELEBRATIONS

PM’s work makesIndia proud:Rajendra Trivedi

Essay writingcompetitionon PM held instate schools

HanifMalek. BhupendraRana

BhupendraRana

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat BJPon Friday marked the 71stbirthday of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi with severalprogrammes under its 'sewaand samarpan' campaign.Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil

unveiled a 71-foot cut-outmade of vinyl sheets of the PMinRadhanpur inMehsana,withone of the organisers, Pintu

Patel of Rajdhani Foundation,stating that 171 couples willhold prayers to Lord Ram forthe long life of the PM and co-ronawarriorswillbe felicitatedatanevent later in theevening.Paatil also inaugurated a71

feet long rangoli of the PM at amall in Vadodara, while a 182meter long cake was preparedand distributed among the

poor andpersonswithdisabil-ity (PwD) at the same venue.He inaugurated an exhibitiondepicting important events ofPMModi's life andwork at theparty headquarters in Ga-ndhinagar, while a similar ex-hibition was inaugurated atKankaria lake by BJP YuvaMorcha national presidentTejasvi Surya.PTI

Cake, cut-out, rangoli mark BJP celebrations

Ahmedabad

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

GUJARAT

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

4

SAGARRAJPUTMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER17

SEVENMONTHSafter his fatherMohanDelkar,anMPfromDadraandNagarHaveli,allegedlycom-mitted suicide inMumbai citingpoliticalpressure,hissonAbhinavis beingwooedbyalmost all themajorpolitical parties in viewofthe bypolls necessitated by theParliamentarian’s death. TheElectionCommissionisyettono-tify the date for bypolls in theUnionTerritory.Speaking to The Indian

Express, Abhinav said hehas al-ready received feelers from the

NationalistCongressParty(NCP),the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)andtheShivSenarequestinghimto be their candidate in the up-comingbyelections.“Because of the goodwork

thatmy father has done in thisconstituency, everyone knowsthat the people of Dadra andNagarHaveli arewith us. I havealreadyreceivedfeelersfromtheBJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCPwho have approached and of-feredmea ticket," Abhinav said,addinghewould takeacall afterconsultationwithhissupporters.A seven-time MP, Mohan

Delkar hadwon the 2019 elec-tionsasan independent.Hewas

founddeadinsidearoomatHotelSeaGreenSouthinMarineDriveonFebruary22.Policesaidhehadendedhislifebyhanginghimselffromtheceilingfan,andhadalsoleftbehinda14-pagesuicidenote,accusing government officialsandafewprivatepersonsofforc-inghimtotakethestep.OnMarch9,onthebasisofthe

noteleftbehindbyDelkarandaf-ter recording Abhinav's state-ment, a case was registeredagainst administrator PrafullPatel, DistrictMagistrate (DM)Sandeep Singh, superintendentof police (SP) Sharad Darade,deputyDMApurvaSharma,Sub-divisional officerManasvi Jain,

police inspector Manoj Patel,DNH law secretary Rohit Yadav,BJP leader Fatehsinh Chauhanand a man called Dilip Patel(Talathi) atMarine Drive policestationinMumbai.When asked that despite

makingaccusationagainstPatel,who is considered to have closeaffiliation with senior leadersfrom the BJP, he was offered aticket by the saffron party,Abhinav said, “I cannot divulgethe details onwho approachedmebutIwastoldaapkidushmanipura BJP party ke saath tohnahihain, aap apne case ladte rahiyeor election bhi humare saathladiye (you don’t have enmity

with the entire party, right? Youcontinuewith your fight for jus-tice. At the same time, fight theelectionstooforus.)”Abhinavhasalsoraisedques-

tionsontheinvestigationoverhisfather’sdeathbeingconductedbythe Special Investigation TeamformedbytheMumbaipolice.Meanwhile, officials, on the

conditionofanonymity,saidtheyhave so far recorded statementsof around 16witnesses and arefocusedoncollectingevidenceinthecase.“Initially, the investigation in

the case did not progress due tocoronavirusaspeoplefromtheir(suspects’) familywere also in-

fected.Butnow,wearecollectingdocumentary evidence andanalysingthem.Severaltimes,wehavewritten to theofficesof thegovernment officials named inthe FIR, asking for certain docu-ments and they have cooper-ated,"saidaseniorpoliceofficial.When contacted about the

feelers,RajulPatel,coordinatorforSena in Gujarat, said, “I am notawareof thisdevelopment.”NawabMalik, NCPminister

and party’s chief spokesperson,declined to comment onthematter.CR Paatil, BJP Gujarat state

president,didnotrespondtocallsandmessages.

AbhinavDelkar, sonof lateLokSabhaMPMohanDelkar,addressesapublicmeeting inSilvassa. File

7 months after MP Delkar’s death, son being wooed by parties for bypolls

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA,SEPTEMBER17

A DAY after the Cabinet ofMinisters comprising fresh faceswas inducted under newly-ap-pointedGujarat Chief MinisterBhupendraPatel,UnionministerNitinGadkari onFriday said thatthe BJP believed in “removingfaults and honing skills” of themost“ordinarypartyworkers”tomakethem“extraordinary”.Gadkariwas in Vadodara to

participateinthecelebrationsan-nouncedby the BJP tomark the71st birthday of PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi. He said, “Ourparty's neeti (policy) is such thatevenanordinaryworkercanbec-omeanextraordinaryperson.Ourparty believes in developing thegrassrootsworkers by removingtheir faults andhoning their tal-entandskills,whichhelps inde-velopingtheoverallpersonality.“Philosopherssayinpartyand

person,thepersonisbiggerbutinour party, the party ideology isbigger... passed down to us bySyama Prasad Mukherjee,DeendayalUpadhyay,Atal BihariVajpayee and LKAdvani ji...Wehavetospreadthisideologytotheworld... That is theway tomakeIndiaasuperpower... ThatisModiji's dream—tomake themarigi-nalisedpowerful,toliveasustain-ablelifeforanatmanirbharIndia,”Gadkari said. Recalling SwamiVivekananda’sspeechatthe1893World's Parliament of Religions,Gadkari said, “SwamiVivekanandahadsaid inChicagothat the 18th century sawMughalsrulingmanypartsoftheworldwhileinthe19thcentury,it

would be the BritishUnion Jackthatwouldunfurl inmanycoun-tries, and in the 20th, Americawouldbecome theworld super-power,butthe21stcenturywouldbelongtoIndia.Thattimehasnowcome...“Modi is the vishwaguru

(world leader)... Our history andlegacyisveryinspiringandespe-cially the policy,whichwehaveinheritedfromoursocio-religioushistory... is our biggest strength...Thefamilyvalues,educationalval-uesandwayoflife(thatIndiahas),using itwith scientific develop-ments andknowledgewill helpIndia conquer (the world)...NarendraModi has always em-phasisedontechnologyandithasbeen our strength,” the Unionministersaid.Gadkari further said that de-

spite being a powerful nation,Indiahasneverencroachedonthelandsofitsneighbours.“Today,onModiji'sbirthday,wemustpledgetohelpachievethedreamshehasseenforthecountry...Indiawillbe

aworldnumberoneandafinan-ciallystrongcountry...Butdespitebeingsuchapowerfulcountry,wehavenevertriedtoencroachuponthe landsof neighbouring coun-tries.We believe in VasudhaivaKutumbakam,whichmeansthatthisworldiseveryone'shome,”hesaid.Noting thatduringhis tenure

asPM,Modihasnot“foughtbat-tlestogainpower”buttoupliftso-ciety,Gadkarisaid, “Politics is theinstrument of social empower-mentbutunfortunately,ithasbe-comearaceforpower.ButunderNarendraModi, it has been hisspecialitythathedidnotfightthebattles forpowerbut foughtbat-tlesfortheupliftmentofsociety...”Stating that using knowl-

edge of technology and scienceand converting it into wealthwastheaimof thegovernment,Gadkarisaid,“WeareimportingpowerandfuelworthRs12lakhcrorebutweareworkingonbe-coming a country that exportshydrogen...”

BJP believes in removing faultsof ordinary party workers, makethem extraordinary: Gadkari

MARCHING AHEADVadodaracitypoliceorganisedamarchat JubileebaugalongwiththepolicebandaspartoftheAzadiAmrutMahotsavonFriday. Express

PM may push for uniformcivil code before secondterm ends: Tejasvi SuryaSayshundredsofmoviesshowloveatTaj,nowcelebratetemples

VAIBHAVJHAAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER17

LAUDING PRIME MinisterNarendra Modi and HomeMinisterAmit Shah for theabro-gation of Article 370 in JammuandKashmir,BengaluruSouthMPandBharatiya Janata Party YuvaMorcha(BJYM)presidentTejasviSuryaonFridaysaidthePMmightpush for auniformcivil codebe-forehissecondtermends.He also urged filmmakers to

make movies depicting a“Bhartiya narrative” in order to“comeoutofthedeeplyingrainedcolonial consciousness”, andbe-moanedthe“hundredsofmoviesshowcasingloveattheTajMahal”.Suryawas inAhmedabad to

participateatayouthsummitor-ganisedbytheBJYMatKarnavaticlub.Speakingduringaquestion-answer roundof the summit, hesaid,“Ourparty'sgenesiswasourpledge for the abrogation ofArticle 370. The idea of ‘one tax,onenation’andintroducingmorescientificstructuralreforminourtaxationpolicywasa longpend-ing idea. Butnoneof thismovedforwardbecauseofalackofpolit-icalwill.Whatthetwogreatlead-ersfromGujarat[ModiandShah]havebroughttothecountryisthepolitical will needed to makethese changes. Hum jobolte haiwohkarte hai (whatwe say,wedo). That is the change that thecountryiswitnessing.”“Thecom-mitment touniformcivil code isalsoveryimportantandIamsure

thePMwillgivegoodnewsintheremainingterm.”Suryaalsospokeaboutapro-

posal that Indians living abroadshouldbeabletovote.“TherehasalsobeenasuggestionthatIndiancitizensabroadmustalsobegivenan opportunity to vote in India.The Congress partywill opposethis because theyknowthat notonly is the PM loved in India butalso abroad. Imagine themarginofourvictoriesthen.Theseimpor-tantreformswillhavealong-last-ing impact on the cultural, eco-nomical, social and spiritualvibrancyof thecountry,”hesaid.Speakingaboutmovies,Surya

said, “I haveone small request totheyoung filmmakersof India—pleasetellthestoriesthatarethereevery day around the country,whichareintegratedwiththecul-tureofthisland.Howmanymoremovieswill[you]doaboutJodha-Akbar?ShowmoreaboutShivajiMaharaj, Rana Pratap, and thepeopleof thiscountry.“Whenwillweindigenizeour

filmmaking?Whenwillwecomeoutofthisdeeplyingrainedcolo-nial consciousness that is trou-blingallourfilmmakers?Whydowe see hundreds of moviesshowcasingloveattheTajMahal?Whycan'twecelebratethearchi-tecture of the Brihadeshwaratemple or the great temples atHampi?Whycannoteverysinglestory involving a youngboy andagirl be the love stories found inthe lores of the jaanapada tradi-tion and the great songs of thiscountry?”hesaid.Suryaappealedto filmmakers tomake Indianmovies “with a Bharatiya narra-tive in it and the Bharatiyawillloveit.Thepoliciesofthegovern-mentwill support young film-makers to revisit and rethinkfilmmaking.”TheMP also called on film-

makers tomake content similartothatmadebytheirIsraelicoun-terparts, pointing to Fauda, anIsraelispyshow.“OnNetflixandAmazon,you

will find so many new showsthatIsraeli filmmakersaremak-ing...HowmanyofyouhaveseenFauda?...Why cannotwemakesuchmovies telling the great-nessof theIndianArmy,ourcul-ture, our temples and history?Why is it that for every singlemovieshoot,wehavetogotoei-ther Switzerland or Austria?Whycan'twegotoLadakhortheRann of Kutch? I thinkweneedto decolonise ourselves, comeoutofthismindsetwherewetryto ape the stories of theWest,”saidSurya.

UnionMinisterNitinGadkariattendstheeventat theSayajiNagarGruhTowninVadodaraonFridayBhupendraRana

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT,SEPTEMBER17

MORTAL REMAINS of HamirHamza,aPakistaninationalwhohaddied in June this yearwhilebeingheldinadetentioncentreinBhujafterbeingheldforallegedlycrossingovertotheIndiansideoftheIndo-PakistanborderinKutchin 2017, was handed over toPakistan authorities onWednesday,policesaid.The repatriation of Hamir’s

body comes around twoweeksafter anothermanwhowas be-lieved to be a Pakistani nationalandwasheld inBhujwasburiedinJamnagaronAugust27afterhisnationality could not be ascer-tained even after his death inJanuarythisyear.Hamir,whowasinhis50s,had

succumbed to an illness on June13thisyearwhilebeingtreatedatGKGeneralHospital inBhuj, thedistrictheadquartersofKutch.Hisbodywas taken toGuruGobindSingh Government GeneralHospital (GG hospital) inJamnagar for a forensic post-mortem.ButasthemorgueintheGGhospitalwasfull,Hamir’sbodywasbroughtbacktoBhujandwaskept inGKGeneralHospital, po-liceofficerssaid. “Afterhisnation-alitywasverified,Hamir’smortalremains were handed over toPakistan authorities onSeptember15atWagahborderinPunjab,”anofficerofKutch(west)policetoldTheIndianExpress.PolicesaidthatHamirwasde-

tained by the Border SecurityForce after he allegedly crossedovertotheIndiansideoftheIndo-Pakistanborderin2017.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESURAT,SEPTEMBER17

UNIONMINISTERforCommerceand Industry Piyush Goyal onFriday said that hallmarking ofjewelleryisnecessarybutassuredthat its implementationwill begradual,andthatnoactionwillbetaken against trade bodies tillNovember30.Goyal’s statementcamenearly amonth after jew-ellers’ associations in Gujaratjoinedaone-day symbolic strikeas part of nationwide protestcalledbyjewellersagainstthe“ar-bitrary implementation” of thehallmarking process by theBureauof IndianStandards(BIS).Speaking at an event organ-

ised by the Southern Gujarat

Chamber of Commerce andIndustry in Surat, Goyal said,“Manypeoplepurchasejewelleryitems, and for assurances of theproduct,hallmarkingisnecessary.Itwillbeimplementedgradually,asthetradebodiesshouldalsobe-comehabitualtoit...Ihavespecif-ically instructedofficials that tillNovember30,noactionshouldbetaken on trade bodies for hall-marking. Slowly peoplewill behabitual... Till November, the oldstocks in the jewellery itemswillbe finished and then if yougo totheshopsyouwillfeelsafeandgethallmarkjewelleryitemswiththecorrectquality.”Healsoappealedtoindustries

to make maximum use of theProductionLinkedIncentive(PLI)scheme, stating, “If wewant to

competeattheinternationallevel,wehave to createmorepressureon thequality of our products. Ifbigindustriescomeup,goodqual-ity of machinery is used in themanufacturingsector,ourqualityof productwillmatch interna-tional standards. Keeping all thisin mind we have made a PLI

scheme.IfRs100croreismoreforindividuals, they shouldmake agroup of five partners and availbenefitsof it.”OnademandbyPlasticindus-

trialAssociationpresidentKishorVaghaniforaBISstandardforex-ports, the Unionminister said,“Weare firm that second-gradegoods should not bemanufac-turedor imported andexportedin India. If somebody comes upwith theproposal of a BISmark,wearereadytohelpthemandwewillalignwithworldstandardssothatyourproductmatchesinter-nationalstandards.”He also said that the govern-

ment is currently innegotiationswith countries like the UK andUAE for a free trade agreement(FTA). “FTA is two sides andnot

one side. We ask the industryplayers what are our require-ments in termsof rawmaterialsfor getting imported from theother countries, andwewill ne-gotiatewiththem,”hesaid.When the topic of under-in-

voicingwas raised,Goyal saidhewill talk to officials at theDirectorate General of ForeignTradeofficials,adding,“Ifirmlybe-lieve that eachandeverypersonstaying in our country is honestand heworks honestly. Due tosomecircumstances,fewofthemchangetheirtracksandindulgeintheunethicalwayof doingbusi-ness,andtheycreateproblemsforothers.Itisourresponsibilitythatif anybodyworks in thewrongway, we should stop him andstepswillbetakenonthem.”

Piyush Goyal bats for hallmarking of jewellery

Rajkot:Acardriverandarickshawdriver of Jetpur who had gonemissingwhilebeingsweptawayinfloodedriversonTuesdaywerefound dead Friday. ShyamgiriGoswami (21), a driver of busi-nessman Kishan Shah, was re-portedmissingsince thecarwassweptawaywhile tryingtocrossafloodedcausewayTuesday. Gos-wami’sbodywasfoundbyateam

of firemen.Harun Amdani, a rickshaw

driver,wasalsoreportedmissingsince Tuesdaywhen he and hisrickshawweresweptawaywhileattempting to cross a floodedcauseway across Bhadar river.Amdani’s bodywas recoveredfrom the river downstream thecausewaybyhisfamilymembers,policesaid.ENS

Mortal remainsof Pak nationalwho died in Bhujrepatriated

TejasviSuryaduringtheBJYMyouthconclave inAhmedabad.NirmalHarindran

Rajkot: Car, rickshaw driversswept away in flood found dead

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER17

COURTSINGujaratquashedthemost number of criminal casesin2020,accountingfor68.55percent of the total criminal casesquashed across the country, ac-cording to a recent report re-leased by the National CrimeRecordsBureau (NCRB).The NCRB Crime in India

2020 report has revealed that2,666 criminal cases under theIPC were quashed by courts inGujarat, against a total of 3,889cases quashed across the coun-try. A total of 3,951 cases werealsodisposedoffbycourtswith-out trial, asper the report.Gujarat also recorded the

highest number of cases with-drawn from prosecution (871),accountingformorethan50percent of the cases withdrawnfrom prosecution across thecountry.Thereportfurtherstatesthat

in 2020, courts in Gujarat had

14,10,144 cases on trial, makingitthirdhighestinthecountrybe-hind courts in Maharashtra(19,43,789) and West Bengal(14,69,004).Amongthecasesontrial inGujaratcourts,10,44,732caseswere pending from 2019,while 3,65,412 new caseswereputon trial in2020.Whenitcametoconvictions,

courts in Gujarat fared poorly,with convictions in only 13,871cases, lagging behind Kerala(74,884 cases), Uttar Pradesh(69,997) Tamil Nadu (49,222),Madhya Pradesh (43,587)Andhra Pradesh (39,517)Maharashtra(32,275)Rajasthan(31,171),Telangana(22,207)andKarnataka (20,725).CourtsinGujaratalsogaveac-

quittals in19,417cases in2020.Theoverallconvictionrateof

Gujarat courts stood at 40.7 percent, compared to the nationalaverageof58.4percent.Gujaratcourtsalsohadahighpendencypercentageof97.3percent,com-paredtonationalaverageof93.9percent.

NCRBREPORTFOR2020

Gujarat courtssawmaximumcases quashed

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER17

BJYM PRESIDENT Tejasvi Suryaon Friday hailed the BJP as theonly democratic political partyin the country, claiming thatotherpoliticalpartiesdonotbe-lieve in democracy, internal orotherwise.Speaking during a visit to

PrimeMinisterNarendraModi’sbirthplace of Vadnagar inMehsana, Surya, who is theBengaluru South MP, said,“There are somanyother polit-ical parties in the country thatdonotbelieveindemocracy, in-ternal or otherwise. Due tofamilism,allpartieshavedriftedfarawayfromdemocracy.Thereisonlyonepoliticalparty,which

is political party of PrimeMinisterNarendraModi,whereeverysingleworker, irrespectiveof birth, money he has or sur-name he carries, can aspire tothe highest office of this coun-try and that is our party — theBhartiya JanataParty.”Speaking of Modi, Surya

said, “Thepersonwhoisborninaverynormal family, soldteaattherailwaystation, thatperson,in the world's largest democ-racy becomes its PrimeMinister. This is a victory forIndia's democracy.”“Wehave comehere on this

daybecauseVadnagarisnotonlyavillageand its railwaystation isnot like other railway stations...Vadnagar and its railway stationwillinspirethecountry'syouthasareligiousplace,”headded.

Newcases:25

Cumulativedeaths:

10,082

Totalcases:8,33,966

Cumulativedischarge:

8,15,466

Ahmedabad

Amreli

Anand

Aravalli

Banaskantha

Bharuch

Bhavnagar

Botad

ChhotaUdepur

Dahod

Dang

DevbhoomiDwarka

Gandhinagar

GirSomnath

Jamnagar

Junagadh

Kheda

Kutch

Mahisagar

Mehsana

Morbi

Narmada

Navsari

Panchmahal

Patan

Porbandar

Rajkot

Sabarkantha

Surat

Surendranagar

Tapi

Vadodara

Valsad

Otherstates

2,28,866 3,411 11

10,885 102 0

9,635 49 0

5,468 79 0

13,659 162 0

11,449 118 0

21,716 301 0

2,217 42 0

3,398 38 0

9,590 38 0

866 18 0

12,937 82 0

20,841 205 0

8,548 67 1

36,608 478 1

20,481 271 0

10,393 48 0

12,529 145 1

8,313 72 0

24,285 177 0

6,502 87 0

5,978 15 0

7,174 24 0

11,742 70 0

11,623 129 0

3,852 19 0

58,681 725 0

9,338 157 0

1,43,665 1,958 8

8,120 136 0

4,445 23 0

77,854 788 3

6,240 49 0

148 3

Places Confirmed Deaths Newcases

Firstdosetakerstilldate

3,96,22,044

COVIDCASE TRACKER

Fullyvaccinatedtilldate

1,62,47,659

Surya says BJP is the onlydemocratic party in India

PiyushGoyal

Ahmedabad

No.: EE(GNR)/E-Proc/004/2021-22 Date: 17.09.2021

Oice of the Executive Engineer, Gandhinagar

Division, Bashyam Park, South Central Street,

Bengaluru-560020

The Executive Engineer, Gandhinagar Division, BBMP invites

tenders from eligible tenderers for the construction of works

detailed in the table below.

Two Cover System (KW-4) (Shot Term Tender Notiication)(Through GOK e-Procurement Portal only)

invitation for tender

Sd/- Executive Engineer (Gandhinagar) Division, BBMP

Calendar of Events: (1) Tender documents may be

downloaded from e-procurement portal of Government of

Karnataka from 30.09.2021 (2) Prebid meeting will be held on

04.10.2021 at 4:00 p.m. in the Oice of the Chief Engineer

(West). (3) Tenders must be submitted online through

e-procurement portal on or before 4:00 p.m. on 07.10.2021

and the opening of the tenders will be as per the e-procurement

portal guidelines. (4) Technical bids will be opened on the

website https://eproc.karnataka.gov.in in the Oice of the

Executive Engineer, Gandhinagar Division on 11.10.2021 at

12:30 p.m. Further details may be obtained from the above

oice during oice hours or website https://eproc.karnataka.

gov.in

Sl.No.

Name of the WorkEMD (Rs.in Lakh)

1

Comprehensive development of Roads,

Drains, Pedestrian path, culverts and other

developmental works in Ward - 94, 95 and 120.

15.71

U.T. ADMINISTRATION OF DADRA & NAGAR

HAVELI AND DAMAN & Diu

DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM,

INFORMATION & PUBLICITY, DIU.

No. 4-13/DT-ADM/Golf Cart/2020-21/272 Dated:- 16/09/2021

E- TENDER NOTICE (3rd Call)

On behalf of the President of India, the Additional Director

(Tourism), Diu invites sealed e-tenders for operation and main-

tenance of Golf Cart from sightseeing i.e. 1. Diu Fort and 2.

Khukri hill/park on license basis for the period of one (01) year

and further extendable annually upto two (02) years on satis-

factory performance for the period and terms and conditions.

The details is available on Govt. Website www.diu.gov.in. & e-

Tender ID: 2021_DIUDT_1855_1

Sd-

Additional Director (Tourism), Diu

Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertisingcopy, it is not possible to verify its contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot be held responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as a resultof transactions with companies, associations orindividuals advertising in its newspapers or Publications.We therefore recommend that readers make necessaryinquiries before sending any monies or entering intoany agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting onan advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

‘‘ IMPORTANT ’’

PERSONAL

Classifieds

CHANGE OF NAME

I have Changed My Old

Name From ZUBEDA

IQBAL PATEL to New

Name ZUBEDA

IQBALMOHMED PATEL

Kindly Note The

Same.Sd/- ZUBEDA

IQBALMOHMED PATEL

Address : B-44,Bharucha Musl imSoc ie ty, JambusarRoad, Bharuch -

392001

OFFICE OF THE

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER :

RWSS DIVISION:

BERHAMPURNear JaradaBunglow, Pin – 760004,

Ph. 0680-2296344

eerwss_bam@nic.in

rwssbam@gmail.com

Government of Odisha

“e” Procurement Notice

NATIONAL COMPETITIVE

BIDDING

2nd Corrigendum to Bid

Identification No.

EERWSSBAM- 16/ 2021-22

No. Dated

The tender ID- EERWSSBAM-

16/2021-22 consisting of total 02

nos. of works is hereby cncelled.

All other terms and conditions

remain unaltered.

Superintending Engineer

RWS&S Division, Berhampur

OIPR-25035/11/0009/2122

O-710

Government of Gujarat

Revenue Department

Sachivalaya Gandhinagar

(The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in

Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act,

2013) (30 of 2013)

District : Vadodara

No : AM-2021-427-M-LBN-1219-2464-GH

Dated: 13/09/2021

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of

section-11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and

Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation &

Resettlement Act, 2013 (No.30 of 2013) (hereinafter referred

to as "the Act''), the Government of Gujarat hereby declares

that the land/Iands mentioned in the Schedule annexed

hereto is/are required for the purpose of acquisition for the

public purpose of Mumbai-Ahmedabad National High Speed

Rail Project;

2. It is notified that, -

1) The area of land/lands required for the above project is

151 Sq.mtrs. and is at Village Gorwa, Taluka (Vadodara

City (North), District; Vadodara.

2) The public purposes involved in the above project is con-

struction of the infrastructure project of ''Mumbai-

Ahmedabad National High Speed Rail Project''

3) The reasons necessitating the displacement of the

affected persons are –

Due to acquisition of land, specified in SCHEDULE for

public purpose of construction of the infrastructure proj-

ect of ''Mumbai-Ahmedabad National High Speed Rail

Project''

4) Under Section 10A of the act of 12 of 2016, exemption is

given under section 10-A of the Act vide Revenue

Department, Government Notification No. AM-2021-

293-M-LBN-1219-2464-GH, Date: 13/07/2021 it is not

required for the summary of the Social lmpact

Assessment Report

5) The particulars of the Administrator appointment under

section 43 of the Act are as under –

Prant Officer Vadodara city, Prant office Vadodara

(city), "C" block, 6th Floor, Narmada Bhavan,

Vadodara.

3. All the persons interested in these lands are hereby noti-

fied not to obstruct and disturb any Surveyor or other staff

to enter upon and survey the land. Any transactions in

respect of whole or part of these lands in whatsoever

manner including by sale, lease, mortgage, change of

name, exchange entered into after the date of this

Notification made without permission of the Collector

shall not be taken into consideration by the officer

assessing the compensation under section 27 of the Act

for a particular portion of the land as may be finally

acquired.

4. The Government of Gujarat, if satisfied about acquisition

of the land for aforesaid public purpose, may publish final

declaration under section 19 of the Act in this regard in

the manner and timeframe so prescribed under the Act.

In case the acquisition is dropped partially or entirely, such

facts shall be notified in a proper manner as provided under

the Act.

5. In exercise of the powers under clause(g) of section 3 of

the Act read with Revenue Department's Government

Resolution No NMK-102017-1238-D.1 Date: 29/12/2017

the State Government is pleased to designate Prant

Officer Vadodara (city) to function and discharge the

duties as Collector under the provisions of the Act, in

respect of these lands.

6. Objection to the acquisitions, if any may filed by the

person interested within 60 (sixty) days from the date of

publication of this notification as provided under section-

15 of the ACT before the collector or Competent

Authority.

SCHEDULE

Village : Gorwa, Ta.: Vadodara City (North)

Dist.: Vadodara

No. City Survey No. T.P./ F.P. Area Sq.mt.

1 4474 T.P.13, F.P.5 151

Total 151

By order and in the name of Governor of Gujarat,

Sd/-

(H. J. Rathod)

Under Secretary to

(INF-VAD-714-21-22) Government

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021 GUJARAT

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER17

A 35-YEAR-OLDman allegedlykilledhimselfandhistwodaugh-tersby jumping in theNarmadacanal at Gandhinagar’s Kaloltaluka,policesaidThursday.The victimshavebeen iden-

tified as Bhavesh KumarPrajapati and his daughtersHansy (5) and Pansy (3). Policesaid the deaths occurred onemonth after Bhavesh’s wifeManisha committed suicide byconsumingpoison.Accordingtopolice,Manisha

onAugust 17 consumedpoisonand was rushed to hospital,where she died during treat-ment. They said that after herdeath, Bhavesh had been in a“disturbedstateofmind”.A police officer at Kalol

Taluka police station said,“Bhavesh was in a disturbedstate of mind after hiswife hadcommitted suicide due to un-known reasons... We have alsorecovered a note fromhis bodywhere he has stated the reasonbehind him taking the extremestep as death of Manisha. As ofnow, bodies have been sent forpost mortem and given to thefamilymembers.”

Month after wifetook own life,Gandhinagarman kills self,two daughters

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERAJKOT,SEPTEMBER17

FOUR MEN belonging to thesamefamilywerekilledas theircar overturned after hitting acrash-barrierandthenrammingintotheroaddividernearSikasavillage onNational Highway 51inPorbandaronFriday.Police said the incident took

placeataround6amwhenthecar

inwhichfivemenweredrivinghitthecrash-barrierintheapproachto a river bridge on thehighwayand then rammed into the roaddivider.Policesaidthecarturnedturtle due to the crash, killingdriverKishanChandravadiya,hisyoungerbrotherMayurandtheircousinGhelubhaionthespot.OthercousinsRajuandVajshi

were seriously injured in thecrashandtheywererushedtoagovernment hospital in

Porbandar town.However,Rajusuccumbedtohis injurieswhileundergoing treatment.All five were residents of

KhajuriyavillageofKhambhaliyataluka inDevbhumiDwarkadis-trict, police said. “Prima facie, itappears that thedriver lost con-trolofthevehicleduetowetroadandhit the crashbarrier,” PareshJadav, in-chargepolice inspectorofNaviBandarMarinepolicesta-tioninPorbandarsaid.

4 of family killed in Porbandar accident

Ahmedabad

6

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DEBT WEIGHTBadbankwillhelpcleanupbalancesheets,butcredit culture

mustchange forhealthier financial system

ONTHURSDAY, FINANCEMinisterNirmala Sitharamanannounced that the

governmenthadapprovedextendingaguaranteeofRs30,600croretothe

NationalAssetReconstructionCompanyLtd(NARCL)—colloquiallyreferred

toasthebadbank—tohelpclearstressedloansworthRs2lakhcrorefrom

thebalance sheets of banks. As the buyer of these bad loans, NARCL, through its opera-

tionalentity, IndiaDebtResolutionCompany,willbetaskedwiththeresolutionof these

assets. Thismay perhaps lead to better outcomes as consolidating loans frommultiple

banks intoasingleentitymay lead toamoreeffective, and timely resolutionprocess.

Underthis framework,Rs90,000croreof loans,whichbankshavefullyprovidedfor,

willbetransferredinthefirstphase.NARCLwillpurchasetheseloansinan15:85format

—15per cent of the valuewill be paid in cash,while security receiptswill be issued for

the balance amount. The upfront cash paymentwill aid cash flows of banks. But the

process of pricediscovery— theprice atwhichNARCLbuys these loans fromthebanks

—mightprove tobechallengingeven though the transaction involves thepublic sector

asbothbuyerandseller.Banksthoughwillhavethefreedomtosellthesecurityreceipts.

Fromtheperspectiveof investors,totheextentthatthereceiptsareguaranteedbythegov-

ernment, their downside is protected. But towhat extent a secondarymarket for such

securities evolves isdebatable.On itspart, thegovernment ispushing for a time-bound

resolution of the assets by giving a five-year period for the invocation of the guarantee.

Butconsideringthattheseloanshavebeenwrittendownbybanks, it isdifficulttogauge

what thiswill yield. The absence of buyers as reflected in the IBCprocess, the extent to

which financial creditors have had to take haircuts on their admitted claims, all raise

questions over themarket appetite onboth sides of the transaction. To be effective, the

resolutionprocesswillneedtobemanaged inatimelymannerbycapablepersonnelas

delayswillonly leadtovaluedestruction.Resolutionisafterallpreferabletoliquidation.

Fromthegovernment’s perspective, the security receipts guaranteedby it are a contin-

gent liability. If the proceeds from resolution of these bad loans exceed the guaranteed

amount, then therewill benooutflowfromits side.

The creationof abadbank couldhelp cleanupbankbalance sheets— though in the

absence of a successful resolution itmay endupbeing a repository for bad loans. But it

doesnot inanywayaddresstheunderlyingcauseof thebadloanprobleminIndia—the

creditculturethatexistsatpublicsectorbanks.Onlybyreformingthebankingsystemin

India,especiallythepublicsectorbanks,canthefinancialsystembemademoreefficient.

NEW HORIZONS

AUKUSsetsanewcourse in Indo-Pacific, rattlesChina,buys

moretimefor India toenhancemaritimesecurity

AUKUS,THESECURITYpartnershipbetweenAustralia, theUnitedKingdom

andtheUnitedStatesannouncedonSeptember16, isa landmarkcoalition

formanyreasons. Forone, in theaftermathof theAfghan rout, it is apow-

erful signal from the US that it is still in the game as themost important

world power, that it is notwithdrawing into a domestic shell, and that the traditional

Anglo-Saxon alliance that has fought severalwars on the same side for over a hundred

years,isinrobusthealth.AUKUSjoinstheANZUSandFiveEyes,twoothersecurityalliances

in the Indo-Pacific. Two, with the agreement for the transfer of nuclear-powered sub-

marines (different fromnuclear-armedsubmarines) toAustralia, thisalliance,quiteun-

like theQuad, is a clearly stated security/military alliance in the Indo-Pacific. Three, like

theQuad,AUKUS is aimedatprotecting thepartners’ strategic interests in a region that

spanstwooceansand38countries,whereChina’sambitionsandassertivenessarechal-

lengingtheexistingstatusquo.Four, itmarksanewlowinAustralia-Chinarelations,and

the ripples of thiswill be felt across the region. China isAustralia’s biggest tradingpart-

ner,witha two-waytradeof nearlyUS$200billion, the largestbuyerof its ironore,nat-

uralgasandcoal.Andfive, theUSdecisiontotransfercloselyheldmilitarynuclearcapa-

bility toAustralia isnot justexpandingnuclearco-operation forstrategicobjectives, it is

alsoamessage toChina thatWashingtoncouldonedaydothesameforothercountries

in the region.Beijing ismore rattledbyAUKUSthanbyQuad.

ForIndia,Australia’swillingnesstotakeontheroleof theUS/West’sswordarminthe

region—anAmericanmilitary base onAustralian soil tomaintain and service the sub-

marinesisnowinevitable—isawelcomedevelopmentasthisisamovetocontainChina.

As the only country in the Quadwith a long, and recently turned hot land borderwith

China, India nowhas a little less toworry about on themaritime frontwith AUKUS in

play. It alsobuysDelhimore timetobeef up thecountry’sownnaval capabilities.

France has rightly felt let downbyAustralia, at the altar, as itwere, of signing a sub-

marinedeal. Thedealwas important forFrance’seconomyand itsownconsiderable in-

terests intheIndo-Pacific. Its foreignministerhasdescribedAUKUSasastabintheback.

But France can take consolation that the objectives of AUKUS are no different from its

own. India,whichhas a supportive friend in France andapartner inAustralia, is certain

toavoid takingsides in this tiff. That is thebest course.

PERFECT STROKE

AnunburdenedViratKohli,Kohli thebatsmanathisabsolute

peak, is crucial toTeamIndia’sworldconquest

INHISQUEST forbatting liberation,ViratKohli has renouncedapart of hiswork-

load. Post the T20World Cup inNovember, hewouldno longer leadhis country

intheshortestformat.Thedecision,ontheapparent,smacksofhisdoggeddesire

tobecomethebattingcolossusthathehasbeenforachunkofhisglitteringcareer.

In the past couple of century-less years, his longest droughtwithout a century, Kohli’s

battingprowesshaddiminished,notimmenselybutincrementally.Nowthathe’s33,on

thebrinkofenteringthefinalstretchofhiscareer,hewantstobewhathewasandwhat

he alwayswanted to be. The best batsman across formats, andhe perhaps sees leader-

shipdutiesasahindrance to it.

Butthepuzzle,sincehementionedworkloadasthemaincontributortohisdecision,

remainswhether quittingT20I captaincywould indeed reducehis burden.Hadhequit

theformataltogether,shedwhite-ballcaptaincy,steppeddownascaptainofhisIPLfran-

chise Royal Challengers Bangalore, it would have strengthened the argument that he

wants to give all hehas to Test cricket in the comingyears. As it is now, it’s unlikely that

hisworkloadcouldbereducedconsiderably. For, after theWorldCup, internationalT20

gameswouldfizzleoutof relevance,continuetobeasinconsequentialasithadbeenbe-

fore, fixtures that are forgotten as soon as thematch is over, until the nextWorld Cup.

Besides, it’s the least frequentlyplayed format ina tour.

Bethatas itmay, if thedecisionwouldhelphimretracethesteps tohisbattingpin-

nacle, itcouldturnouttobeamasterstroke.For, therecouldbeasgoodleadersasKohli,

likeSharma,orKLRahul inthis format,ornewleaderscouldbegroomed,butthereare

few better batsmen than Kohli not just in his country but in theworld. To launch the

world conquest, Indianeededa liberated, unburdenedKohli, Kohli thebatsmanathis

absolute peak.

MaheshVyas

AnuRaghunathan

Risingunemployment isyet toreceive theattention itdeserves fromgovernment

BREAKING THE GLASS WALLSImplicit biaseskeepwomen inSTEMfromfulfilling theirpotential

INDIA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE in Augustwas8.3per cent. Thiswashigher than the7per cent recorded in July. But it was betterthanthe9.2percentof Juneand11.8percentof May 2021. Themonth-to-month varia-tionsnotwithstanding,theseareallveryhighunemployment rates.InMay2019,whenaftermuchresistance,

thegovernmentfinallyreleasedthePeriodicLabour Force Survey (PLFS) results, most ofthe fracas pertained to the historically highunemployment rateof 6.1per cent in2017-18(July to June). Itwasata45-yearhigh.Tillthen, Indiawasused to recordinganunem-ployment rate of around 3 per cent. Today,anunemploymentrateof7-8percentseemstobe thenormand such levels donot seemtomatter. Theunemployment rate isnotaninput intopolicymaking.A high and rising unemployment rate is

evidentlynotapotentpolitical tool in India.Between inflation and unemployment, thetwoeconomicindicatorsconjoinedtheoret-icallybythePhillipscurve, it is inflationthatwieldspoliticalpower.Inflationhurtsalmostthe entire population. Equally importantly,high inflationratescanupset financialmar-ketsthatinturnexertpressureonregulatorsto keep inflation in control. The unemploy-mentratedoesnothavesuchaconstituency.Unemploymentdirectlyimpactsonlythe

unemployed,whodon’tcountmuch.A7percentunemploymentrateimpactslessthan3per centof thepopulation.Worse still, soci-etyperceivesbeingunemployedasan indi-vidual shortcoming, andnot anoutcomeofamacroeconomicmalaise. The victim suf-fers the ignominy, not the system. The un-employed are seen as inadequately edu-cated,awkwardornotsmart. Implicit inthisthinking is the fallacious belief that if thesepeopleweretoworkharderandbesharper,theycouldall find jobs.Whileunemploymentcannotbeapolit-

ical tool, employment can be one, and thispotentialmanifests in the formof demandsfor jobsreservations.Thedearthof employ-mentopportunities,ofcourse,lendspotency

toreservationsasapolitical tool. Lackof ad-equate jobs is an economic problem thatmeritsmoreanalytical andpolicy attentionthan thepolitical attention it gets in India.The unemployment rate is not themost

importantlabourmarketindicatorforacoun-try like India. The unemployment rate is ameasure of the economy’s inability to pro-vide jobsonly for thosewhoseekwork.But,inIndia,veryoftenpeopledonotlookforjobsin the belief that none are available.Technically, this shows up as a low labourforceparticipationrate(LFPR).India’sLFPRisataround40percentwhentheglobalrateisclose to 60per cent. It is important that thisbelief inthefutilityofajobhuntisovercomebyanexplosivecreationofnewgoodqualityformal jobs. Goodquality formal jobs are sofewthatnothingshortofexplosivegrowthintheir numberswill help overcome the cur-rentotiosity.Inacountryofoverabillionadults, there

arelessthan80millionsalariedjobs.Wherewould the remaining 920million go to findemployment?Morethanhalfopttonotseekanywork.Theremainingareself-employedas farmers,daily-wage labourersandentre-preneurs of all kinds. For the farmer or thedaily-wage labourer or the small entrepre-neur,thestatusofbeingunemployedoropt-ing not to seekwork is dynamic and evenfuzzy. When jobs start to become scarce,does the daily-wage labourer become un-employedordoesshedropoutof thelabourforce?Thisisastateofthemindthatisajum-ble of hope, effort andennui. Seen fromthelens of this often-blurred status, interpret-ing the unemployment rate is challenging.Employment can be real if we don’t reduceitsmeaning intoa laughably relaxeddefini-tion as the official systemdoes. You are de-claredemployedifyouareengagedinsomeeconomicactivity for justonehour inanyofthepast sevendays.Ausefullabourmarketmetricforacoun-

try like India is the employment rate. Thismeasures the proportion of the populationover14yearsofagethatisemployed.Weuse

CMIE’s definition of employment that re-quires a person to be employed for a betterpartof aday toqualify.India’s record inproviding employment

to its people has been abysmally poor. In2016-17, only 42.8 per cent of theworkingage population was employed. This fell to41.7 per cent in 2017-18 and further to 40.2percentin2018-19,andthento39.5percentin2019-20.Intheyearofthepandemic,itfellto 36.5 per cent. It didnot recover from thislowlevel inthefirst fivemonthsof2021-22.Thecountoftheemployedwas408.9mil-

lionin2019-20.InAugust2021,employmentwasmuch lower at 397.8million. India stillprovides9.2millionjobslessthanitprovidedbeforethepandemic.And,employmentcon-tinues to fall. It fell by nearly 2million from399.7million in July 2021. A reversemigra-tion is underway. People aremoving awayfromfactoriesasmanufacturingjobsshrink,to farms that provide shelter largely in theformofdisguisedunemployment.InAugust,even the farms could not absorb the excesslabourspillingoutfromfactoriesandoffices.Labourmoved to providing odd services tothehouseholdsectorandintoretailtradepre-sumablyasdeliveryboys.Withduerespecttoall formsof labour, it

cannotbethedesireofanationtomovepeo-pleawayfromhighproductivity,betterqual-ity jobs inmanufacturing to lowproductiv-ity employment in agriculture or asgardeners or security guards in the house-holdsector.Employmentopportunitiesneedtoexpandinareaswherelabourisdeployedtodeliverhigherproductivity forenterpriseandhigher returns to labour. This is not thedirectionwesee.A largepartof the solution to this lackof

adequate jobs is in increasing investments.For this, the investmentclimateneeds tobebusiness-friendlyandgovernmentinterven-tionsmustshiftawayfromsupply-sidesup-port to spurringdemand.

Thewriter isManagingDirector&CEO,Centre forMonitoring IndianEconomy

PICTUREASCIENTIST,adocumentarydepict-ing the groundswell of women scientistsworkingtofurthergenderequityinSTEM,isgoing viral. Its goal is to potentially act as acatalystforreflectionanddiscussionandfos-terdiversity,equity,andinclusioninscience.If thereisinequityinscience,afieldthatpre-cludesbiasanddiscriminationbydesign,wecan only imagine the state of inequality inspaceswheregendermatters.Genderequality isamoral,businessand

an intellectual imperative. It is undebatableand independentof professionoraffiliationorgender.Genderequalitybenefitsbothmenandwomen. Barriers for womenmust beknockeddownatevery level.Feminismisthenotionthateachindivid-

ual should be free to develop their own tal-entsandnotbeheldbackbyman-madebar-riers. Amongst theotherhurdles in thewayofwomen’sempowermentareimplicitbiasandgenderstereotypes.Stereotypesrelatedtogenderbrillianceorgender-based intrin-sicaptitudeordomestic responsibilitiesareinstances of implicit bias, revealing auto-matic associations that people cannot or, atleast, do not report holdingwhen askeddi-rectly. Implicit biases generate inequitywhichremainsunnoticed.Due todeep-rootedbiases, it is difficult

forwomentoaccessmanyexperiencesandnetworks that areeasily accessible tomen.Personal barriers include notions of com-promise and sacrifice that are ingrained inwomen—anotherreflectionof cultureandsociety. This feeds into howwomen pres-

ent themselvesandtheopportunities theytake advantage of and also shape the re-sponsibilities they are entrusted with.External barriers relate to the subtle, andoften unspoken, societal and cultural cueswhich reinforce how men and women“ought” to behave.Our socio-cultural con-structs reflect absolute patriarchal en-trenchment, causing even women to besceptical about their abilities, toaccept theroles set for them in the household and totrade empowerment formale protection.Thereisgendersegregationinhigh-level

jobswithmoremen in strategic functionsand women in support functions. These“glass walls” occur through a combinationof unconsciousbiases incareerandrecruit-ment processes, benevolent sexismwherewell-intendedmen can inadvertently “killcareerswithkindness”,andsocialisedmas-culine behaviourswhich dissuadewomenfrom certain occupational choices. It is es-sential to create awareness of inherent in-justice and biases. There has been a verygradualchangeintherepresentationandthestatus of women globally. Incrementalchanges, although realistic and necessary,areintangibleandgopartiallyunnoticed.Therate of change definitely needs to increasebyseveralordersofmagnitude.The problem in India in STEM is quite

different from the problem in theWest inthat many girls in India study STEM sub-jects but the number of womenwho stayon andpursue higher degrees and then goon to higher positions are fewer. In such

cases of gender disparity, whatmatter arethedecisionsofmarriageandchildbearing,andthefact thatawoman’swell-beinganddignity are not necessarily in her hands.Gender sensitisation involves being cog-nisantofbiologicaldifferences, recognisingthe needs of either sex and creating safespaceswithout gender bias.The issue ofwomen’s empowerment in

India contains a strange paradox. There arewomeninpowerfulpositionsinmanyfieldsbut, at the same time, severalwomen haveminimalrights.Inthecapital,NewDelhi,andinthepoliticalrealm,therehavebeenmanypowerfulwomen.However, thehighrateofcrimes against women, includingmurder,rape, and female infanticide, in thenation’scapitalshowsthatpoliticalpowerandintel-lectual presence are not transferred.Untanglingthisparadoxandfosteringequal-ityrequiresovercomingsocial,economicandcultural barriers, and implicit biases at thegrassroots.Thereisthusaneedforamajorupheaval

inmindsets about gender in India, a socialand cultural change inwhat is perceived asright andwrong for women. Policies thathelpwomenadvanceinscienceandsocietygloballyareneeded.Theworldcannotaffordtomissoutonwhatwomenhave tooffer.

Thewriter is seniorprincipal scientist inthebiological engineeringunitof thechemical engineeringandprocess

developmentdivision,CSIR-NationalChemical Laboratory, Pune

The count of the employedwas 408.9 million in 2019-20.In August 2021, employmentwas much lower at 397.8million. India still provides9.2 million jobs less than itprovided before thepandemic. And, employmentcontinues to fall. It fell bynearly 2 million from 399.7million in July 2021. Areverse migration isunderway. People are movingaway from factories asmanufacturing jobs shrink,to farms that provide shelterlargely in the form ofdisguised unemployment.

There is gender segregationin high-level jobs with moremen in strategic functionsand women in supportfunctions. These ‘glass walls’occur through a combinationof unconscious biases incareer and recruitmentprocesses, benevolent sexismwhere well-intended men caninadvertently ‘kill careerswith kindness’, andsocialised masculinebehaviours which dissuadewomen from certainoccupational choices. It isessential to createawareness of inherentinjustice and biases.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021WORDLYWISE

The bat is not a toy, it’s aweapon. It givesme

everything in life,whichhelpsme todo

everything on the field.— ViratKohliTHEEDITORIALPAGE

A job to do

PM HITS BACK

PRIMEMINISTER INDIRA Gandhi has saidthatwhile she agreeswith theobjectives ofthetrustfloatedbyARAntulay,shehadtoldhimtonotusehernamewithit.Shesaidthather government stood for the highest stan-dardsinpubliclife.Replyingtoa10-hourde-bate on the no-trust motion by theOpposition against her government, thePrime Minister who was in a aggressivemood,saidthat thefrustratedleadersof theOpposition were trying to create despairamongstpeople.TheHouserejectedthemo-tionby194to83votesafterastormyand,attimes, tumultuousdiscussion.

RAO’S ASSURANCE

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER P VNarasimha Rao assured theMP’s consulta-tivecommitteeforhisministrythatthegov-ernment was fully aware of the develop-mentsinIndia’sneighbourhood.SeveralMPshad expressed concerns after Pakistan hadreportedlyexpressed itswillingness topro-videmilitarybasestotheUS.RaosaidIndia’sforeignpolicywasgearedtomeetthedevel-opments in theneighbourhood.

SOS FROM FARMERS

THE ENERGYMINISTER has asked states

wherethemonsoonhasbeenbelownormaltoincreasepoweravailabilitytothefarmsec-torsothat thestandingcropcouldbesaved.GhaniKhanChowdhurysaidhehadreceivedSOS from farmers in Punjab, Haryana,RajasthanandWesternUP.

BLASTS IN LEBANON

A POWERFUL BOMB blast at the PalestineLiberation Organisation’s headquarters inSidon in Lebanon killed at least 20 peopleand left another 75 injured. Another blastwrecked a cement factory in the Lebaneseport cityof Chekkaatalmost the sametimekilling10employeesandwounding10.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1981, FORTYYEARSAGO

Ahmedabad

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“While many herald AUKUS as a momentous step, this is not a treaty but astatement of intent, with even the details of the submarine agreement18 months away.” —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Perhaps the biggestdrawback of the plan is thatit fails to articulate thereasons for public sectorinefficiency in assetmanagement. If it ispersonnel-related, thenprivatising management maybe the right answer. If theinefficiency is related toconstraints on pricing andbill collection, then the rootsof the problem are unlikelyto be addressed by leasingout their management toprivate operators. The NITIAayog would do the policylandscape a big service byfollowing up the proposalwith a white paper thataddresses some of theseefficiency-related issues.Without that, themonetisation plan, whileintriguing, is incomplete.

THE SEARCHES conducted by income taxauthoritiesonthepremiseslinkedtoactorSonu Sood and by the EnforcementDirectorateonthepremiseslinkedtoHarshMandercompelmetowrite thispiece.I am clearly of the view that lawmust

be enforced, but itmust be enforced uni-formly.Idonotsupportviolationsof lawbyany citizen, whatever his social status.Citizensmustobeythelawsandwhentheybreachthem,thestatehastherighttoiniti-ateactionagainst them.Sofarsogood.Butapatternemergingoverthelastsevenyearsshowsthatonlyasectionofcitizensisbeingacted against by the state. They belong totheOpposition and theminority commu-nity,orareactivists,dissentersandthelikes.It is not being suggested that they shouldbespared if theyhaveviolatedthe laws.But thepattern reveals that the state is

merely interested in targeting themwith-outcredibleevidenceandgivingwidepub-licity to itsactions,unconcernedwithulti-materesults.Overtheyears,alargenumberofsuchpersonshavebeenfoundtobeinno-cent by the competent courts. But atwhatcost? These innocent citizens have spentlongperiods inprison,havesufferedmen-tally,socially,economicallyandtheirdigni-tieshavebeentakenaway.Thesolepurposein targeting a select group of citizens ap-pears tobetonameandshamethem.A section of themediawhich is eager

todamnthesecitizensasanti-national,cor-rupt and terrorists rarely covers the even-tualhonourabledischargeofthesecitizens.Thestateendsupachievingitsobjectiveofcreating fear and punishing innocents toprevent them from challenging the state.Themedia coverage of the NizamuddinMarkaz events is a classic example of theentireminority community being vilifiedbyasectionof themedia.Thousandsof in-nocentcitizensendedupspendingmonthsinjailsandthecasesagainstthemdragon,whilethousandsresponsibleforspreadingCovidduringelections,ortheKumbhMelaandother events havenot evenbeenpro-ceeded against. Thousands of innocentshavebeenarrestedinconnectionwiththeanti-CAA-NRC protests, while thosewhoopenly encouraged violence, resulting inthe deaths of innocents, have not beenactedagainst.The recent decisions by courageous

judgesof subordinate courts and thehighcourts have exposed these illegalities instateactions.Thisdoesnotaugurwellforademocracy like India.“Rule of law” is the basic rule of gov-

ernance of any civilised state. TheConstitution of India is founded on theruleof law. “Beyoumayhowsoeverhigh,the lawisalwaysaboveyou” isaprinciplethat theSupremeCourthasaffirmativelylaid down.

Every statehasaconstitutionalobliga-tiontoprotectthelifeandlibertyof itsciti-zens. There cannot be any deviation fromthisbecauseofextraneousfactorslikecaste,creed,religion,politicalbeliefandideology.The constitutional principle of equality isconcernednotmerelywith the lawbut itsenforcementandapplication.Aruleof lawcan only be said to have been achievedwhen laws are applied equally, free of anybiasandwithoutirrationalconsiderations.When“asectionofthesociety”isbeing

actedagainstbythestate inthismanner, itleaves the citizens completely vulnerable.Justiceeludesthem.Evenaday’swrongfulconfinement or even an embarrassingsearchorraidagainstthemviolatesconsti-tutional guarantees and takes away theirlifeandliberty inonemanneror theother.For ensuring supremacy of the rule of

law, the Constitution has assigned a spe-cial task to the judiciary. It is only throughcourts that rule of lawunfolds its contentandestablishes its concept.Yet, the state is unstoppable. Because

the courts, which are enjoined by theConstitution to ensure compliance of theruleof law,arenotactingasauthoritativelyas the Constitutionmandates. Or are act-ing too slowor too late. As a result, a “fearpsychosis”isallowedtoprevailinthecoun-try to prevent citizens from raising theirvoices and standing up against illegal, ar-bitrary andunjust lawsor actionsor inac-tionsby thegovernment. The fewwhodomustercouragetostandupandspeak,thestatepreysonthem.Thejudiciarymustin-tervenewithstrongandfar-reachingjudg-ments tostop this trend.Tofightterrorismwhichhasnoreligion,

it is not necessary tomalign a community.Theinvestigatingagenciesandthepolicearequick to identify the religionof thepersonsactedagainstandroutinelyleakinformationtoselectmediatoenablethemtoamplifythesame.Resultantly,animpressionisbeingcre-atedthatthelaw-breakersinthiscountrybe-longonlytoacertainsectionof thesociety.Ambedkar hadwarned, “To diehards

whohave developed a kind of fanaticismagainstminority protection Iwould like tosaytwothings.Oneisthatminoritiesareanexplosive forcewhich, if iterupts, canblowupthewhole fabricof theState... TheotheristhattheminoritiesinIndiahaveagreedtoplacetheirexistenceinthehandsofthema-jority…Theyhaveloyallyacceptedtheruleofthemajority,whichisbasicallyacommu-nalmajorityandnotapoliticalmajority.”Equally,SardarPatelhadnoted:“Itisfor

uswhohappentobeinamajoritytothinkabout what theminorities feel, and howwe in their position would feel if we aretreated in themanner theyare treated.”The Supreme Courtmust remind the

state to act constitutionally, lawfully andjustly inevery caseacross the country, es-peciallyinsensitivemattersinvolvingthosewhoopposethepartyinofficewithpeace-fulmeans.Letushopethatthestaterealisesitsdu-

tiesandobligationstotheConstitutionandletushopeandpraythattheSupremeCourtremindsthemsternly intimestocome.

Theauthor isa senioradvocateatSupremeCourt

ernmentuses fornewinfrastructure invest-ment. Inasmuch as private bidders financethemselves by borrowing, this amounts tothe private sector borrowing and handingover the funds to the government to investin infrastructure. This could enhance effi-ciency in infrastructure investment only ifthegovernmentfaceshigherinterestratesincapitalmarkets than theprivate sector. Butthis is not true.Perhaps the biggest drawback of the

plan is that it fails to articulate the reasonsfor public sector inefficiency in assetman-agement. If it ispersonnel-related, thenpri-vatisingmanagementmaybe the right an-swer. If the inefficiency is related toconstraints on pricing and bill collection,then the roots of the problem are unlikelyto be addressed by leasing out their man-agement toprivate operators.The plan document also fails to outline

whethertheidentifiedbrownfieldassetsarethe public sector’s highest cash flow assetsor the relatively under-performing ones. Ifthe private sector is indeedmore efficientin running infrastructure assets, the mostefficient strategywould be to lease out theworst-performing assets rather than thebest performingones.The NITI Aayog would do the policy

landscape a big service by followingup theproposalwithawhitepaper thataddressessome of these efficiency-related issues.Without that, themonetisationplan,whileintriguing, is incomplete.

Thewriter is Royal Bank researchprofessor of economics,

University of BritishColumbia

EASE OF BUSINESSTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Takingthecall’(IE,September17).Thegovernment’sbelatedendeavour tobringthetroubledtelecomsectoroutoftheICUisawelcomestep. The question is: Can it indeedbe amagicwand?Vodafone-Idea andAirtelhavealmostreachedapointofnoreturn.In themajority of sectors, small playersarebeinggobbledup, resulting inamo-nopoly/duopoly.Thegovernmentoughtto introspectwhy it isnotable to inspireconfidenceamongstextantandpotentialplayers.Businessfriendlymeasuresoughtto go hand in hand with being even-handed.Thisshallbegetthecreativityandnoveltyneededforenterprise.

DeepakSinghal,Noida

NO TO NEETTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Thewronganswer’ (IE, September 17). The Bill in-troducedbyTamilNaduopposingNEETis in conformity with the democraticprinciplesof thelegislaturefulfillingthepeople’smandate.Thedeterminationofstandardsintheinstitutionsofhighered-ucationisonething,butblockingtheen-try of poor people by prescribing anexamwhichhasnot beenhithertoheldis another. Through theNEETexam, thestate governments have been denudedof theirpower.

SSPaul,Nadia

CASTE AND RAPE

THISREFERSTO theeditorial ‘Hathras, ayear on’ (IE, September 16). The gang-rapesperpetratedinBhagana(Haryana),Badaun and Hathras (Uttar Pradesh),Khairlanji(Maharashtra)andmanymore,areatestimonytohowcasteaddstoper-secution of women. At least 10 Dalit

women are raped every day, and theirvulnerabilitytorapehasincreasedby44per cent in the last 10years (NCRB2020data). Rape is used as an instrument to“discipline” communities who daretransgress the socially-ordained castestipulations.Thesituationisexacerbatedbyaprejudicedcriminaljusticemachin-ery.Thegovernmenthasmadethepun-ishment for rapemore stringent, how-everitisnottheseverity,butthecertaintywithwhich it is executed,which deter-minestheefficacyofanylaw.

VinaySaroha,Delhi

RURAL DISTRESS

THISREFERSTOthearticle, ‘Democracyof producers’ (IE, September 16). As pertheWorldBank’sdata,India’sGiniIndexwas 35.7 in 2011. There isn’t muchchangeevennow.This indicatesthat in-comeinequalityinIndiaisanissuetobeaddressed forthwith. The index can beimprovedonlybyalleviatingtheincomedistress of the rural population.Economicpackageswon’tdomuchhere.Skill-basedtrainingprogrammes,entre-preneurship development, building in-cubation centres should beundertakenbythegovernmenttouplift thepoor.

MelvinThomas,Bhopal

SEXIST ATTITUDE

THIS REFERS TO the editorial ‘League ofmen’ (IE,September16).TheIUMLlead-ers’ recent response to the harassmentcomplaintmade by the leaders of thewomen’s wing of its student outfit ishighlydeplorable. This kindof discrimi-natory approach is responsible for thewomen’sreservationBillremainingstuckdespitebestefforts.

RaviMathur,Noida

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

TelanganamustacknowledgesacrificesmadeduringHyderabad’sliberation

An inconvenient truth

GKishanReddy

GOI’sassetmonetisationplanmighttriponlowrevenuepotentialandefficiencyhurdles. Itmustaddressthese issues

The partisan stateApatternofthegovernmentusinglawtotargetcriticsandminoritiesgrowsclearerbytheday.

Judiciarymustintervene

DushyantDaveAmartya Lahiri

Assets and liabilities

THE GOVERNMENT OF India recently an-nounced an asset monetisation plan,wherein existing public assets worth Rs 6trillionwouldbemonetisedbyleasingthemouttoprivateoperators for fixedterms.Theidentifiedassetsareprimarilyconcentratedin roads, railways, power, oil and gas, andtelecoms. The lease proceeds are expectedto be used for new infrastructure invest-ment which, in turn, will contribute to thegovernment’s ambitious Rs 111 trillion in-frastructure investment plan.The plan has generated a lot of print,

so it isworth discussing its pros and cons.Though there are many important issuesraised by the plan, due to space con-straints, I will confine the discussion totwo issues: (a)Howmuch should thegov-ernment expect to raise fromtheplan? (b)Is theplan likely to increase the efficiencyof the economy?In deciding the amount to bid for leas-

ingrights,bidderscomputethepresentdis-countedvalueof theannual cash flowfromthe asset for the duration of the lease. Thebiggest uncertainty in this calculation sur-roundsthecashflowonthesepublicassets.Rates of return estimates on public capitalin the US have been estimated to be up-wards of 15 per cent. However, this is Indiawithitsmyriaduncertaintiesregardingpric-ing, bill collection, asset quality, regulatoryframework as well as policy reversals.Consequently, the risk-adjusted returns onpublic assets in India are likely to be lowerthan theUSestimates.To get a sense of the potential revenues

atstake,note thatwitha10percentannualreal return for30yearsanda5percent realdiscount rate, the discounted cash flow onRs6 trillionpublic assets is Rs 9.6 trillion. Adesired cumulated100per cent profit overthe 30 years would imply that investorswouldbidaroundRs4.8trillionforthe leas-ing rights. Small variations in the assump-tions underlying the calculation can pushthe estimated revenue down to Rs 1.5 tril-lion or up toRs 7 trillion.Thisrangeof revenueestimatessuggests

that there is significantuncertaintyregard-ing the revenue potential of the plan. But,crucially, even in the most optimistic sce-nario, revenue generatedby theplan is un-likely to exceed 5 per cent of the govern-ment’s overall infrastructure investmenttarget of Rs 111 trillion. Hence, its revenuepotential is limited.Thesecondquestioniswhethertheplan

willenhancetheefficiencyof theeconomy.TheNITIAayogbelievesthattheprivatesec-tor is better atmanaging andoperating theidentifiedpublicassets thanthepublic sec-tor. There is certainly scope for efficiencygains. However, there are significant effi-ciency impediments too.One set of efficiency issues surrounds

usage fees. Can the lessee freely choose theprice of the services from the asset? If so,couldweendupseeingsignificant increasesin prices?Asecondfactorrelatedtoefficiencyisthe

effect of theplanoncompetition. Could theplaninducethecartelisationofkeysegmentsof the infrastructure landscape?The identi-fiedassetsbelongtocoresectorsof theecon-omy spanning transport, energy and com-munication.Sectors liketelecomsandportshave already seen rising concentration ofownership in recent years. An accelerationand extension of this trend to other seg-mentsof theinfrastructurelandscapewouldbe seriously worrying. While some of thiscouldwell be rationalised through the stip-ulation of rules for the allocation of leasingrights, theplan is silenton this.A third set of efficiency-related issues

surrounds the financingof the leasebids. Ifbidders finance their bids using domesticsavings, there is a clear opportunity cost ofthe plan since these savings would other-wisehavebeeninvestedinalternativeproj-ects. Moreover, the bidding for scarce do-mesticsavingsbyprospective investorswillalsoraisedomestic interest rateswhichwillput downward pressure on domestic pri-vate investment. Itwouldalsobeworth re-minding ourselves that the last round ofPPP-based infrastructure funding routedthrough banks ended up with a heap ofNPAs inpublic sector bankbalance sheets.The way around this is to welcome

foreign investors to bid for the assets. Butthis will require serious political willsince entrenching foreign influence onIndian public assetswill generate contro-versy. On this aspect too, the announcedplan is low on details.More generally, the monetisation plan

envisages the private sector paying an up-front fee to thegovernmentwhich thegov-

CRSasikumar

LASTMONTH,adaybeforeIndiacelebratedits 75th IndependenceDay, PrimeMinisterNarendraModi announced that August 14would henceforth be observed as PartitionHorrors RemembranceDay.Whilemakingthe announcement, the Prime MinisterstatedthatthepainsofPartitioncouldneverbe forgotten and the day should remind usof the need to remove the poison of socialdivisions and disharmony and strengthenthe spirit of oneness, social harmony andhumanempowerment.The PrimeMinister’s decision to com-

memoratethehorrorsofPartitionhasalargermessage— that the inconvenient truths ofhistory cannot be brushedunder the carpetbecauseoftheperceiveddiscomfortofapar-ticular community. In fact, if thewounds ofthepastneedtoheal,oneneedstoengageinan open and honest conversation. In suchcases, sunlight is the best disinfectant forcompletereconciliation.Giventhisbackground,oneneedstolook

againataneventofhistory thatoccurredonSeptember 17, 1948, butwhich hardly findsmentioninourbooks.WhileIndiagotherin-dependence fromBritish rule onAugust 15,1947, and large swathes of the country joy-ouslycelebratedasthenational flagwasun-furled, not everyonewas so fortunate. TheerstwhilestateofHyderabad,whichwasun-der the autocratic rule of NizamMirOsmanAliKhan,hadtowaitanadditional13months

before it could achieve freedom. The libera-tionofHyderabadrequiredthepoliticalnousof India’s first home minister SardarVallabhbhai Patel and the tactical brillianceof JNChaudhuri. Itwas theresultant “policeaction”throughOperationPolothatsecuredthe liberationofHyderabadstate.Why is it, then, that when parts of

Maharashtra and Karnataka celebrate thisday asMarathwadaMukti SangramDiwasandHyderabad-KarnatakaLiberationDay,re-spectively, allweget is aneerie silence fromthe Telangana government? In the case ofMaharashtra, only theMarathwada regionwas under theNizam and in Karnataka thenorth-eastern districts of Bidar, Kalaburagiand Raichur were part of the erstwhileHyderabad state. On the other hand, all ofpresent-day Telangana came under theNizam. While leaders such as SwamiRamanand Tirtha, P H Patwardhan,GovindbhaiShroff,andVijayendraKabraarecelebratedbyotherstates,Telanganarefusestoacknowledge theheroicsandsacrificesofleaderssuchasKomaramBheem,ShoebullahKhan, “VandeMataram”Ramachandra Rao,NarayanRaoPawarandChakali Ilamma.This downright refusal to acknowledge

thepastissteepedintheinexplicablelogicofcommunal appeasement. The state govern-ment is protecting its ally, the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (MIM), and its inglori-ous past. TheMIM’s leader at the time of

India’s independence,QasimRizvi, believedin establishingHyderabadDeccan as an in-dependentnationandsupportedtheNizambyprovidingabout1,50,000MIMvolunteersto augment the Nizam’s regular army of24,000. These became the Razakars whowould later unleash carnage in the princelystate.TheRazakarswereinstrumental inex-ecutingtheNizam’sorderstoestablishanex-ploitativeregimeandtosuppressthepeopleofTelangana.Theyplunderedandraidedvil-lagesandkilledthosewhoprotestedagainstthetyrannical ruleof theNizam.TheMIMfearsthatthecommemoration

of TelanganaLiberationDaywouldbring toeverybody’s notice their ideological rootsand their ghastly actions. In an attempt tohidethistreacherouspast, theMIMisequat-ing the September 17 celebrationswith in-sultingtheNizamand,byextension,anger-ing the Muslim community. Thisappeasement streak is so strong that thestategovernment forgets thecontributionsof journalists,suchasShoebullahKhan.Afterworkinginaneditorialcapacityat theUrduweekly Taj and the daily Rayyat, Khanfoundedadaily, Imroze, thatwholeheartedlysupported themerger of Hyderabadwiththe Indian Union. On August 22, 1948, hewas killed by Razakars on his way homefromChappalBazaar.OrdinaryIndianswereat the forefront of the agitation and werekilledforadvocatingamergerwithIndia.By

not celebrating this historic day, wewouldbeturningablindeyetothesacrificesmadeby the bravemen andwomenwho foughtso that they could see their land be inte-gratedwith the IndianUnion.Buryingourhistory,especiallyinconven-

ient truths such as the struggle for the lib-eration of Hyderabad, is nothing but a per-verted form of appeasement that willneitherserveapurposenorbenefitanyone.In the 75th year of India’s independence, alarge number of ordinary citizens are par-ticipating invariousprogrammesbeingor-ganised under the 75-week long Azadi KaAmritMahostav.TheMahotsavisalsoiden-tifying unsung heroes of movements suchas the liberationofHyderabadtogive themthe recognition they trulydeserve. Like thegovernments of Karnataka and Maha-rashtra, the Telangana government mustalso acknowledge the sacrificesmade andobserve September 17 as TelanganaLiberationDaybysettingupamemorialho-nouring the brave who fought for the re-gion’s liberation. This will ensure that thepresent and future generations know thecontributionsandsacrificesthatourforefa-thersmade forour today.

Thewriter is theUnionMinister forCulture,TourismandDevelopmentofNortheasternRegionandrepresents the

Secunderabadparliamentaryconstituency

Ahmedabad

EXPRESSNETWORK8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

Tender Enquiry No. 131/2021-22

For Procurement of 5400 KG Silica Gel blue for Oil Conservator Tank of PowerTransformers 1. Last date & time for downloading of tender-14/10/2021 upto 03.00 PM.2. Last date & time for submission of tender- 14/10/2021 at 03.00 PM. 3. Date & Timefor opening of tender 19.10.2021 at 03.00 PM.

Detailed NIT/specification may be downloaded from Punjab Govt. e-ten-dering website https://eproc.punjab.gov.in/nicgep/app. Corrigendum, ifany will not be published in newspaper, As such the website may be vis-ited regularity for updates.

Sr. Xen/Procuement Ludhiana

PUNJAB STATE TRANSMISSION CORPORATION LIMITEDRegd. Office: PSEB Head Office,The Mall, Patiala-147001Corporate Identity Number: U40109PB2010SGC033814

CE/P&M, PSTCL, Ludhiana. Tel. No. 0161-2457704,E-mail: ce-pm@pstcl.org

NOTICE INVITING E-TENDER

8007/Pb

SARDAR SAROVER NARMADA NIGAM LIMITED(A Wholly owned Govt. of Gujarat Undertaking)

Online Tenders (E-Tendering) for following work of Sardar Sarovar (Narmada)Project are publicly invited by Executive Engineer N.P.P.H.C.C.Div.4, KevadiaColony from the contractors registred in approprite class.

Works under the Chief Engineer, Dam & Vadodar, SSNNL, VadodaraTender Notice No.03 of 2021-22.

Tender ID No. 481938

(i) Name of work: AERIAL LIDAR SURVEY BY DRONE FOR DATAACQUISITON AND MAPPING OF PHYSICALFEATURES OF AREA UNDER SOUADTGA INTHE STATE OF GUJARAT

(ii) Estimated Amount Rs. 55.88 Lacs

(iii) Last Date /Time of online Up to date 24/09/2021 upto 18:10 Hrs.Bid Submission

(iv) Class of Contrator: Class 'D' and above

For further delalls please visit website www.ssnnl.nprocure.comINF/Narmada/213/2021-22

ON LINE TENDERING Road & Building Department

Government of Gujarat.

TENDER NOTICE No SK 02 OF 2021-22

In the name and on behalf of Governor of Gujarat State the

Executive Engineer, (R&B) Division, Rajpipla Dist. Narmada.

Phone No. 02640-222939 invites online tender Sr. No. 01 Tender in

B-1 Form in From R&B Dept. & NWR & WS Dept. registered con-

tractors. Estimated cost of the work is Rs.150.00 Lac.

The Bid documents will be available on web site

https://rnb.nprocurc.com. And also on information Department

website: www.statetendrs.com further particular please visit above

mentioned website up to 18.00 hours on Sr.No.01 works dated 25-

09-2021. Scanned copy of Demand Draft for Tender fee, F.D.R. for

EMD, EMD Exemption certificate copy, BANK SOLVANCY & REG-

ISTRATION CERTIFICATE shall have to be submitted online as

per the e-tender notice para 5.1 to 5.5 otherwise tenders shall be

considered non responsive. While true copies of of these docu-

ments are to be submitted for work no.01 to the Executive

Engineer, Rajpipla (R&B) Division, Rajpipla from Dt: 26-09-2021 to

Dt.: 02-10-2021 by R.P.A.D./ Seed post.

INF/Narmada/212/2021-22

Telangana Foods invites Tenders for procurement of S-30 Grade Sugar.Bengal gram Dall and Skimmed milk Powder. For details please visit websiteh t t p s : / / t e n d e r . e p r o c u r e m e n t . g o v . i n a n d w e b s i t e :https://tfoods.telangana.gov.in from 1 8-09-2021 at 11.00AM onwards. Bidssubmission closing date is 01-10-2021 at 12.00 PM.

Sd/- Managing DirectorR.O. No.: 2156-PP/CL-AGENCY/ADVT/1/2021-22

Tender Notification No. TF/GG/Tender/365/Raw Materials/ 2021-22 ,Dt. 17-09-2021

TELANGANA FOODSIDA, NACHARAM : HYDERABAD-500076. Ph: 27152207, 08 & 09

SARDAR SAROVER NARMADA

NIGAM LIMITED

(A wholly owned Government of Gujarat Undertaking)

Works under the Executive Engineer, Narmada Project

Canal Dn No.10, Vadodara. (S.S.N.N.L).

Tender Notice No.09 of 2021-22.

Tender I.D.No...............

(i) Name of Work:

Tender for the work Servicing of gates installed on all

HR/CR/Escape structure of Vadodara Branch Canal (ch

0.0 to 67.44 km) Kundhela Branch Canal (ch 0.0 to 44.20

km), Jambusar Branch Canal (ch 0.0 to 24.00 km) and var-

ious distributories under Block No. 9A1, 9A2, 9A3, 9A4,

9A5, 981, 9B2 and 9C1.

(ii) Estimate Amount: (1) Rs. 15.46 lakhs.

(iii) Last Date/Time of Online bid submission:

Dt. 30.09.2021. Up to 18.10 hrs.

For further details please visit website

https:www.ssnnl.nprocure.com (INF-VAD-718-21-22)

Dakshin Gujarat Vij Co. Ltd.

CIN U40102GJ2003SGC042909ISO-9001-2015 Certified.

INDUSTRIAL DIVISION OFFICE,DGVCL CAMPUS, OPP. ONGC WORKSHOP, ANKLESHWAR-393001.PH.NO.02646-245252, 247950, Toll Free Email: eeank.dgvcl@gebmail.com

DGVCL Toll Free No. 19123(or 1800 233 3003)Install MCB/ELCB/ RCCB & Prevent Electric Shocks/Electrical Accidents

Tender Notice

Tender Notice No. ANK/IND/EXP/21-22/12449 Adv.No. 7

Tender are invited ARC for Erection & Maintenance of HT/LT

lines & T/C line work at various sub division & ARC for Painting

& pole Numbering work under the jurisdiction Ankleshwar

Industrial Division. Details are available on www.gseb.com and

http://dgvcl.nprocure.comExecutive Engineer (IND) Ankleshwar.

Consumer Redressal Committee meets:Every month on 10th at Division Office and on 20th at Circle Office

GUJARAT WATER SUPPLY & SEWERAGE

BOARD, GANDHINAGARTender Notice No. 05 Year 2021-22

(2nd Attempt)

(Phone no.02832-252310) (Mob.No. 99784 06871)

Online tender have been sought through e-tendering system

for the following works under the purview of the said office.

Ta. Mandvi Providing, Supplying, Lowering, Laying & Jointing

various dia D.I. & PVC pipeline, Construction & designing of

Storage at various Mandvi Part-1 village pumping machinery

for mandvi part-1 RWSS augmentation scheme (under Nal se

Jal Programme-2020-2021 Mandvi Part 1)

Estimated Cost Rs.179679506-91 E-Tender ID No.481415

More information about price sheets can be obtained on the

above phone number. Tender can be downloaded after

Dt:09/09/2021 last date of online submission is till

Dt:.11/10/2021 at 18:00 Hours. Further details are available on

the website http//www.gwssb.nprocure.com

Regarding the problem of drinking water in rural water supply

scheme, it is requested to contact the helpline no. 1916/1800

200 1400 of Gujarat water supply & Sewerage Board,

Gandhinagar (DDI-KUTCH-603-2021)

Uttar Gujarat Vij Company LimitedCIN – U40102GJ2003SGC042906

Regd. & Corporate Office- Visnagar Road, Mehsana-384001

E & P Dept: GEB: http://guj-epd.gov.in

TENDER NOTICE

Invitation for Tender Notice No. 1) UGVCL/SP/I/1089/SMC

LTDB is put up for online tendering on www.ugvcl.com &

www.ugvcl.nprocure.com. Interested Vendors are requested to

locate the same from above mentioned websites.

Note: Be in touch with our web site till opening of tender.

(V. M. Shroff)

Chief Engineer (P)

''UGVCL Customer Care Centre 24x7 Toll Free No.19121 or 1800 233 155 335''

Regd. Office.: PSPCL Head Office, The Mall, PatialaCIN: U40109PB2010SGC033813; Website: www.pspcl.in

(Contact Number. 96461-47777)

SHORT TERM OPEN TENDER ENQUIRY No TSQ-1123/TD-III Dated, 16.09.2021

SE/TL (Design) B-1 Shakti Vihar Patiala invites E-tenders for Design, manu-facturing Supply, Testing, Laying & Commissioning of 66 KV single core XLPE(Copper)U/G Cable along with accessories on Turnkey Basis for the works ofpackages A as per PSPCL Specification No. TSQ-1123/TD-III/2021-22.

For detailed NIT & Tender Specifications, please refer to https://eproc.pun-jab.gov.in from 17.09.2021 from 02.00 hrs onwards.

Note:- Corrigendum and addendum, if any, will be published online athttps.//eproc.punjab.gov.in

C-337/21 7971/Pb

Revenue Department

Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar

Notification

(The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013 (No. 30 of 2013)

District : Kheda Date:- 13/09/2021

No. AM-2021-434-M-LK-1217-1804-GH

Whereas it appears to the Govrenment of Gujarat that, the land

specified in the 'SCHEDULE' annexed hereto, is likely to be

required to "National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd, Vadodara

(NHSRCL) (hereinafter referred to as “The Requiring Body”) for the

public purpose for the purpose of construction of infrastructure

project of “Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project.”

(hereinafter referred to as “The public purpose Project”).

(1) Now whereas, the Government of Gujarat, Revenue

Department has, in exercise of the powers conferred, by sec-

tion-10A [inserted by section 3 of The Right to Fair

Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,

Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amedment) Act,

2016 (Gjarat Act No. 12 of 2016)] of The Right to Fair compen-

sation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilation and

Resettlement 2013 (30 of 2013) (hereinafter referred to as

''The Act'') exempted, in public interest, by Notification No. AM-

2020-769-M-LK-12-2017-1804-GH dated 24/12/2020 pub-

lished in the Extraordinary Gazette of Gujarat Government

dated 24/12/2020 the below mentioned Scheduled area of

land to be acquired for the infrastructure Project of The

Palanpur-Samkhiali Rail Doubling Project, from the application

of the provisions of the powers, II and III of The Act, and

(2) Now whereas, in exercise of the powers, conferred by sub-sec-

tion (1) of section 43 of The Act. The Government of Gujarat

has appointed, by Notification No. AM-2021-175-M-LK-1217-

1804-GH dated 22/04/2021 The Special Land Acquisition

Officer, Kheda as the Administrator of Rehabilitation and

Resettlement in respect of the scheduled land to be acquired

for construction of the captioned infrastructure project, and

(3) Now whereas, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sec-

tion (1) of section 11 of ''Right to Fair Compensation and

Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and

Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013) (hereinafter referred to as

the Act), the Government of Gujarat, has notified, vide their

Notification No. AM-2021-175-M-LK-1217-1804-GH dated

22/04/2021 that the said Scheduled land is required for the

public purpose specified here above.

(4) And whereas, the Government of Gujarat is satisfied after con-

sidering the report made by The District Collector, Kheda

under sub-section (2) of section 15 of the Act, that the said

land is needed to be acquired for ''The Public Purpose Project''

specified in the schedule hereto, and

(5) Now therefore, in exercise of the power conferred by sub-sec-

tion (1) of section 19 of The Act the Government of Gujarat

hereby declares that the said scheduled lands is required for

the public purpose specified in the schedule hereto.

(6) In exercise of the powers conferred by clause(g) of section-3 of

The Act, the Goverment of Gujarat hereby appoints,

Competent Authority & Special Land Acquisition Officer,

Kheda to perform the functions of a Collector, for all proceed-

ing hereinafter to be carried out under The Act, in respect of

the said scheduled lands.

(7) The Plans of scheduled lands can be inspected at the Office of

The Competent Authority & Special Land Acquisition Officer,

Kheda.

SCHEDULE

Village : Davda, Taluka : Nadiad, Dist : Kheda

Sr. Old Survey/ After Resurvey Area of Land to be

No. Block Number New Survey/ acquired

(Whole) Block Number Ha.Are.Sq.mtrs.

1 2 3 4

1 551 - 0-07-82

2 552 - 0-13-21

Total :- 0-21-03

by order and in the name of the Government of Gujarat.

Sd/-

(I. D. Chaudhari)

INFO/NAD/334/2021-22 Deputy Secretary to Government

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,

SEPTEMBER17

ADIVISIONbenchofKeralaHighCourtonFridayrejectedaPILchal-lenging the decision of theLakshadweep administration toclosedowndairyfarmsanddropmeat fromthemenuofmid-daymealsforschoolstudents,givingaboosttoreformsbeingpushedbythe Administrator of theUnionTerritory,PrafulKPatel.A slew of reforms that have

beenproposedand,insomecasesintroduced,inLakshadweepsinceJanuary this year, had created afurore in the islands aswell as inmainlandKerala.InJunethisyear,actingonthe

PILmovedbyaresidentof theis-

lands, Ajmal Ahamed, theHighCourthadtemporarilystayedtwoordersoftheadministration:onepertainingtotheclosureofdairyfarms;theotheronthechangeinthemenu of mid-daymeals inschools. The court lifted the in-terimstayaftertheadministrationfiled a counter-affidavit, askingthatthePILberejected.Senior standing counsel for

the Lakshadweep administra-tion,SManu,saidinthecounter-affidavitthattheadministrationhadbeenincurringa lossofRs1crore annually on account ofrunning the dairy farms. Thedaily production of milk is only170 litres on the Kavaratti andMinicoy islands, and caters toonly300-oddcustomersamongthearound20,000populationofthe two islands,hesaid.

Regarding the menu of themid-daymeal,theadministrationsaid insteadofmeat, othernutri-tious items, including fruits, havebeenaddedtothemenu.Thegov-ernmenthasevery right tomakethemenuvegetarian, if required,aslongasitmetthestipulatednu-tritional requirements, he said.Counsel for the administrationproducedthevegetarianmenuofWestBengal,Goa,Puducherry,andAndamanandNicobarIslands.Thepetitionhadwantedthat

theAdministrator should desistfrom implementing any reforms“infringingtheethnicculture,her-itage,foodhabitandaffectingtheserene and calmatmosphere intheLakshadweepIslandsandalsoinfringingtheconstitutionalrightguaranteedunderArticle 19and300AoftheConstitutionofIndia’’.

In boost to Lakshadweep admn,HC rejects PIL against reforms

E-auction of PM mementos: sportsgear of Olympians get highest bids

DIVYAANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

OLYMPIC BRONZE medalistLovlina Borgohain’s boxingglovesandgoldmedalistNeerajChopra’s javelin are among theitems that have received thehighest bids at an e-auction ofgiftsandmementosreceivedbythePrimeMinister.Thegloves,withabaseprice

ofRs80lakh,receivedabidofRs1.92 crore. Chopra’s javelin,which had a base price of Rs 1crore, received a bid of Rs 1.5crore.Thebid forParalympicsgold

medalist Sumit Antil’s javelin,which also started at Rs 1 crorelikeChopra’sjavelin,hasgoneuptoRs1,00,07,000,aspertheoffi-cial auctionwebsite.On the block are asmany as

1,300items.Theseincludethet-shirt worn by paralympicshooter Avani Lakhera (with abase price of Rs 15 lakh), a stolebearing the signatures of TokyoOlympicplayers(basepriceofRs90lakh),thesabreusedbyfencerBhavani Devi, the hockey sticksof the the women’s andmen’sOlympic teams, and an auto-

graphed racket which P.V.Sindhu used towin the bronzemedal.Besides sports gear and

equipment Olympians andParalympians, thememorabiliaalso include a replica of theAyodhyaRamMandirpresentedbyUttar Pradesh ChiefMinisterYogi Adityanath, a woodenreplica of the Chardham pre-sentedbyUttarakhandTourismMinister Satpal Maharaj, areplica of the RudrakshaConvention Centre in Varanasi,and amemento of the VictoryFlame presented by GeneralBipinRawatcelebrating20yearsof theKargilWar.Theproceedsfromthee-auc-

tionwillgotowardstheNamamiGange Mission aimed at con-serving and rejuvenating theGanga.Alsoupforauctionaremod-

els of prominent buildings,

sculptures, paintings and sou-venirs that the PrimeMinisterreceivedfromvisitingdignitariesandduring important functionsover the last twoyears.Within a few hours of the

auctionopening,theracquetthatNoida DM and paralympianSuhasLYpresentedtothePMre-ceived a bid of Rs 10 crore. Soonafter, theMinistry removed theexaggerated bid for the objectthathasabasepriceofRs50lakh.At the last such auction, in

September 2019, as many as2,770 objects went under thehammer. These includedpaint-ings, sculptures, shawls, jacketsand traditional musical instru-ments. The proceeds were do-nated to the Namami GangeMission.Even as therewas aphysical

displayof limiteditemsfromthelot at the National Gallery ofModernArt in2019,officialssaytheauctioniscompletelyvirtualthistimeevenasitisbeingman-agedbyNGMA. Individuals andorganisations can participatethrough the website pmme-mentos.gov.intillOctober7.Afterthe auction ends, theministrywill notify the highest biddersthroughemail.

Proceedsfrom

e-auctionwillgo

towardsNamami

GangeMissionaimedat

conservingtheGanga

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,

SEPTEMBER17

INWHATwilladdfiretotherag-ing controversy over claims of"lovejihad"and"narcotic jihad"targetingtheyouthofKerala,theruling CPMhas now cautionedits cadres about attempts beingmadeoncampusofprofessionalcolleges to "lure" educatedyoungwomentoextremism.TheCPMflagged the issue in

apamphletdistributedtospeak-ersatmeetingsof itsbranchandlocal-level committees whichbegan on Thursday, cautioningagainstIslamistextremistoutfits,"supportfortheTaliban",andthe"trend of communal influence"amongChristians.Thenotesaid:"At professional college cam-puses, there are deliberate bidsto distract educated youngwomen to extremism and fun-damentalism.Thestudentfrontsand the youth front should payspecialattentiontothis issue."AstheCongressandBJPboth

seized on the note to attack the

CPM, party state secretary AVijayaraghavandefendedit,say-ing communalism could comeinmany forms. "Communalismwill operate in many ways. Itdoesnothaveanyframework. Itwill work inmany disguises, atvarious places. Our party willfiercelyfightagainstcommunal-ism,’’ he said.TheCPMnotesaidtheactivi-

tiesoftheRSShavecreatedinse-curity amongminorities, andthatMuslimextremistoutfitsaretryingtoinfiltratecommunityor-ganisations and foment trouble."It should be seriously viewedthat discussions supporting theTaliban are emerging in Kerala,contrarytothestandadoptedbyamajority of theMuslim com-munitiesacross theworld."AbouttheChristiancommu-

nity, the note said, "Normally,Christians are not found suc-cumbingtocommunalthought.However, the recent trend ofcommunal influence among asmall section of the Christiansshould be viewed seriously.Therearedeliberateattemptstodrive the Christian segment

againsttheMuslims.Itshouldbeaddressed seriously and shouldbe checked. Such approacheswill ultimately benefit majori-tarian fundamentalism."With Kerala having a long

history of bloody political vio-lence between CPM and RSScadres, the CPM note added:"We should realise that unnec-essary political violencewouldalienate the masses from theparty.Astandagainstpoliticalvi-olence is necessary to bringmorepeople to theparty fold."On Friday, CPM leader and

state cooperationminister V NVasavan visited Catholic BishopJoseph Kallarangatt, who hadtalked of "love jihad" and "nar-coticjihad"aimedatyouthofthestate, specifically non-Muslimwomen on campuses. The firstmember of the Pinarayi Vijayanto visit the Bishop since his re-marks,Vasavanlatersaidthecon-troversywasaclosedchapter."TheBishopisaneruditeper-

son,hehasin-depthknowledgeof theQuranandBhagavadGita.Ihavewatchedhisspeechesandshared daiswith him. Congress

and BJP leaders visited theBishopwith ulterior motives. Icame for a friendly visit,"Vasavansaid.Whileboth theCPMandthe

opposition Congress had criti-cised the Bishop's remarks, theBJP had supported him, sayingwhathehadsaidwasa reality.The Catholic Bishops

Conferenceof Indialaitycouncilsecretary, Advocate V CSebastian,welcomedtheCPM'sparty note, saying it "attestswhat Bishop Kallarangatt hadstatedaboutextremism".TheCongressaskedtheCPM

to give proof for its "serious" al-legation. "The CPM leadershipshouldrevealwhetheranycaseshad been registered in this re-gard or whether they have anydata to prove their charges. Theparty and its government havethemoralresponsibilitytorevealthis,"VDSatheesansaid.BJP state president K

Surendransaid:"TheCPMleafletonminorityandterrorismattestswhattheBJPhasbeensayingforat least adecade.Youngwomenhave been trapped in love jihad

andused for extremism.Why istheCPMnotreadytoopenlyad-mitthat,atleastnow?WhenPalaBishop spoke about it too, theCPM denied it. It shows theparty'sdoublestandards."It has been the Sangh

Parivar's long-standing claimthat Kerala is emerging as a re-cruitmenthub for terrorism.Incidentally,seniorBJPleader

and former state president C KPadmanabhanonFridaysaidtheBishop's remarks should not betakenseriously,norshouldfunda-mentalismbe attached to a reli-gion."Duringasermonatchurch,thewordjihadwasadded.Idon’tfindanythingelseseriousregard-ingthatstatement.Itisnotappro-priatetofoistsuchthingsonapar-ticularreligion,’’hesaid.The Catholic Bishops

Conference of India said it hadwarned several timesabout thepresenceof extremistoutfitsoncampuses."Now,theUDF(ledbythe Congress) and other partiesare bound to make clear theirstand on the issue after aban-doning their communal ap-peasement tactics."

Kerala CPM lendsweight: Attempt to‘lure’ collegewomen to extremism

ATRIMITRAKOLKATA,SEPTEMBER17

ATA time theentireOppositionistryingtoformananti-BJPfrontbefore 2024 General Election,Trinamool Congress's partymouthpiece in West Bengal,Jaago Bangla, has sparked a po-tential stormbysuggesting thatCongress leader Rahul Gandhihas failed toemergeas analter-native to Prime MinisterNarendraModi, and thatWestBengal Chief MinisterMamataBanerjeeshouldtakethatspace.OnFriday,theheadlineinthe

lead report of the newspaperstated: “Rahul Gandhi paren-ni,Mamata-i bikolpomukh (RahulGandhicouldnot,Mamataisthe

alternative face)”.While the report, aswell as

TMCspokespersonKunalGhosh,clarified that the party does notwanttodiscardtheCongressandis only saying that theTMCchiefcouldbethepossibleOppositionface to counterModi, the stateCongresshitbackandsaidthiswillonly help BJP and that the party“stronglyopposes”thisstand.Calling it an instance of bar-

gaining by TMC, state Congresspresident Adhir RanjanChowdhury said: “MamataBanerjeesaysalloppositionpar-ties should be unified. On theother hand,without consultinganyparty,sheishumiliatingotherparties. She is asking (TMC) towrite in the partymouthpiecethat shewants to be the Prime

Minister.Thisisunfortunate....Wearestronglyopposingthisstand.”The report in Bangla stated:

“Congress-ke baad diye aamrakokhonoi BJP-birodhi bikolpobolchhi na. Kintu Rahul GandhiekhonoNarendraModi-r bikolpomukhhoyeuthte parenni. Desherbikolpo mukh MamataBandyopadhyay. Aamra bikolpohishebe jono-netrir mukhshaamne rekhei gota desheprochar shuru korbo (We areneverdiscussingananti-BJPfrontwithouttheCongress.ButRahulGandhi isyet toemergeasanal-ternativetoModi.Banerjeeisthealternative face for the country,andwewill start campaigningacross the country by keepingthe mass leader (Banerjee) asthatalternative)”.

Rahul has failed, Mamata shouldlead Opp: TMC mouthpiece

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR,SEPTEMBER17

BJPMLA fromMalpura in Tonk,Kanhaiya Lal, on Friday alleged“land jihad” by Muslims inMalpura.SpeakingintheAssembly,Lal

said thatMalpura is a sensitivetown and has constantly wit-nessed communal incidentssince 1950 which have led todeathsofmorethan100people.Hesaidthe“Muslimcommu-

nityisrunningacampaignwheretheypurchasehousesandlandofHinducommunityat rateswhichareseveraltimesoverthestategov-ernmentspecifiedrates.Theystartlivinginthesehomespurchasedil-legallyandinanunauthorisedwayand then fightwith theirHindu

neighbourseveryotherday”.Lal said that “upon seeing

Hindudaughtersandsisters,theystart doing objectionable actsandobjectionableconversations,whichhasledtoaninsecureandfearful environment,which hasledtoexodusby600-800Hindufamilies fromthesebastis”.Listing nine wards, the BJP

MLA claimed that most Hindufamilies from thesewards havemigratedastheseareadjacenttotheMuslim locality. Listing twootherwards, he said that thesehave Jain templeswhile accus-ingMuslimsofthrowingleftoverbonesalong theway.TheMLA claimed that some

peopleapproachedtheMalpuraSDM and tried to hand over amemorandum,butherefusedtoevenaccept it.

Now, BJP MLA claims ‘landjihad’ in Rajasthan town

Ahmedabad

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

EXPRESSNETWORK

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,CHANDIGARH,SEPT17

THE LATEST SEROSURVEYS inMumbai and Chandigarh indi-cate thatmore than 80 percentof the population of the twocitiesnowhasantibodiesagainstthecoronavirus.While the BMC survey, be-

tweenAugust12andSeptember8 this year, found antibodies in86.64percentofMumbai's adultpopulation,intheChandigarhsur-vey, held in July, the figure stoodat80.2percent.In the last serosurvey in

Mumbai, conducted inMarch --before the secondwave -- only36.3 percent of population hadbeenfoundtohaveantibodies.TheBMCthistimecoveredthe

vaccinatedpopulation aswell inthe serosurvey. Antibodieswerefound among 90.26 percent of

thosepartiallyorfullyvaccinated,and79.86percentof therest.Therewasonlyamarginaldif-

ferenceamongtheslumandnon-slumpopulationasperthesurvey,thatcoveredover8,674peopleinthemetropolis.While seroposi-tivitywas 87.02 percent amongslum-dwellers, itwas86.22per-cent innon-slumareas. The seroprevalence amongwomenwashigher(88.29percent)comparedtomen(85.07percent).Itwasthefirstserosurveythat

showedthegapamongslumandnon-slumareas tobebridged. IntheMarchsurvey,whiletheslumshadseropositivityof41.6percent,itwas only 28.5 percent in non-slumareas.Thenewfiguresareinlinewith the infection trends. Inthefirstwave,slumshadbeenaf-fectedmorethannon-slumareas.However,duringthesecondwave,BMC data for April showed 90percentofthe87,000activecases

atthetimeconcentratedinhigh-risebuildings.“Overall, the seroprevalence

inslumandnon-slumareasinthecity of GreaterMumbai ismuchhigher as compared to the lastserosurvey,”thecivicbodysaidinastatement.Thisisthefourthserosurveyin

all by the BMC, apart from oneconducted among those belowthe age of 18. “The results are inlinewithwhatwehadexpected,”DeputyExecutiveHealthOfficer,BMC,DrDakshaShahsaid,notingthat thehigherrateof antibodiesamongthosevaccinatedshowedthe need to boost the immuisa-tiondrive. Dr Shah also stressedtheneed to followCovid-appro-priate behaviour as antibodieswereknownto"startdecliningaf-teramonthof theinfection.”TheBMCsaidthesamplesize

includedparticipants above theageof18acrossall24wardsofthe

city. Of the total participants, 20percentwerehealthcareworkers.Seroprevalenceamongthemwasfound to be only slightly higherthan the general population, at87.14percent.TheBMChadreleasedresults

ofitsfirstserosurveyinJuly2020,inwhich16percentof thepopu-lation in non-slumareas and57percent in slumswas found tohaveantibodies.Theresultsofthesecondsurvey,inAugustthatyear,showedseroprevalence tobe18percentfornon-slumsand45per-centforslums.ByMarchthisyear,the figures stoodat 28.5percentand41.6percentrespectively.The paediatric serosurvey

heldinMumbai,ofasamplesizeof 2,176 between the ages of 1and 18 years in June this year,had found antibodies in 51.18percent of them, withmost ofthemremainingasymptomatic.Thenumberof thoseinfectedin

the different age groups didn’tvary much, ranging between47.33 percent (5-9) and 53.43percent (10-14).The Chandigarh serosurvey

collected1,200samples fromur-ban, rural and rehabilitationcolonies, including those vacci-nated. Seropositivitywas foundin 84.1 percent of the urban, 69percentoftherural,and77.8per-cent of the slum rehabilitationcolonies.Chandigarh incidentally is

among theUTs or states to havedelivered at least one dose ofCovid vaccine to 100 percent oftheeligiblepopulation.“Theoutcomeisencouraging

but should not lead to compla-cency,”DrJasbinderKaur,DirectorPrincipal, GMCH-32, that con-ductedthesurvey,said.“Thepos-sibility of newoutbreaks cannotberuledoutandonemustfollowCovidprotocolsstringently.”

Surveyheld fromAug12toSept8 inMumbai; slum-nonslumgapnarrows

‘A LOSS BEYOND REPAIR’

HC orders probein rape-murdersuspect’s death

Serosurveys showmore than80% inMumbai, Chandigarh have antibodies

VANDANAKALRANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

THENATIONALGalleryofModernArtFridayhostedartistsofvariousstyles and eras as itmarked the75thyear of independencewithanevent to establish a “cohesivecreativevision”ontherolethatvi-sualarts canplay in thedevelop-mentof thenation.Director General Adwaita

Gadanayaksaid ‘Anantam’wasagatheringwhere people could“participateinacreativedialogueontheroleofartinnationbuildingandsustainabledevelopment”.“Theideaistolinkupasmany

artistsaspossibleacrossthecoun-tryandtalkaboutrelevantissues,”added Gadanayak, as he wel-comedmodernists and contem-poraries, artists exploringvariedmediums and experimentingwithdifferentgenres. It includedrecognised names such as JatinDas, Raghu Rai, Samit Das andKanchan Chander as well asemergingartistsandartstudents.Several of themwere in the

lawns,paintingliveanddiscussingtheir art with curious viewers.“We are trying our best for theNGMA to open up again, withCovidprotocols,andmorepeopleto come in.Wewant groups ofyoungstudentstocomehere.Weare organising curatedwalks forthoseinterestedinlearningaboutart... Events such as this give aboost, especially during the cur-rent times to artists impactedbyCovid,” saidChander, amemberofNGMAAdvisoryCommittee.

More than 1,000 artists andfacultymembers of art institu-tionsalsojoinedtheeventduringaday-longvirtual interaction.The institution has planned

year-long events celebratingIndia’s75yearsofindependence.Several cultural programmeswere alsoheld in recentmonthsas part of Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav, including perform-ancesbysantoorplayerDivyanshShrivastava andChhaudancebyartistsfromPurulia.

Top artists at NGMA to discussrole of art in nation building

Artistsat the ‘AzadikaAmritMahotsav’ celebrationheld inthe NationalGalleryofModernArtonFriday.PraveenKhanna

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICESRINAGAR,SEPTEMBER17

A POLICEMAN and a civilianwere shot dead by suspectedmilitantsonFriday in twosepa-rate attacks across Kulgamdis-trict, J&Kpolice said.According to a J&K police

statement on the attack involv-ingthepoliceman:“Preliminaryinvestigation has revealed thatterrorists had fired indiscrimi-nately upon police personnelBantuSharma,sonofTrilokinathSharma resident of Wanpoh,Kulgam.”Sharma sustained bullet in-

juries and was moved to thenearest hospital for treatment,wherehesuccumbedtoinjuries.On the second incident, po-

lice saidmilitants fired “indis-criminately” upon labourerShankar Kumar Chowdhary, aresidentofBihar,atNihamaareaof Kulgam. “He had sustainedgrievousbullet injuriesandwasimmediately shifted to hospitalforthetreatment,however,doc-

torsdeclaredhimbroughtdead,”said J&Kpolice.InspectorGeneral(Kashmir)

J&KPolice,VijayKumar toldTheIndian Express, “Terrorists andtheir handlers in Pakistan arefrustratedwith recent elimina-tion of top commanders of ter-roristsandthepeacefulenviron-ment after death of separatistleader SAS Geelani. That iswhythey have killed one unarmedpoliceman(PSI)recentlyandoneunarmedpolicemanandonein-nocentlabourertoday(Friday)inKulgamdistrict.”Policehave registereda case

under relevant sections of law.“Investigationis inprogressandofficers continue towork to es-tablish the full circumstancesofthis terror crime. Area has beencordoned off and search in thearea is going on,” J&K policestated.PDP president Mehbooba

Mufti, former chief ministerOmar Abdullah and People’sConferencechairmanSajadLonecondemned the attack on thepoliceofficial.

Policeman, civilian killedin separate attacks in J&K

Mumbai: The EnforcementDirectorate(ED)onFridaymovedcourt against formerMaharashtrahomeministerAnilDeshmukh, stating that he hasnot appeared before the agencydespitesummons.The EDplea seeks directions

fromthecourtunderSection174of the Indian Penal Code,whichhasprovisionsforactionagainstapersonnot obeying a summons,notice, order or proclamationfromanylegallycompetentpub-licservant.Deshmukh has been sum-

monedby the ED in connectionwith allegedmoney-launderingof bribe collected from bars,

restaurants andother establish-mentsinMumbai.The ED filed a prosecution

complaint lastmonthagainst 14people, including Deshmukh'ssecretaryandprivateassistantaswell as a trust and companieslinkedtohim.The central agency did not

name Deshmukh in the com-plaintstatingthat ithasbeendif-ficult toprobethecase,ashehadnotappeareddespitebeingissuedsummonssinceJune. ENS

AnilDeshmukh

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,SEPTEMBER17

THANUPADMANABHAN,oneofIndia’s best-known theoreticalphysicistswhomade importantcontributionsinthefieldsofgrav-ity,quantumtheoryandinunder-standingthestructureof theuni-verse, passed away Fridaymorningafteramassiveheartat-tack.Hewas64.Padmanabhan, who did his

initial work at Mumbai’s TataInstitute of FundamentalResearch, was based at Inter-UniversityCentreforAstronomyand Astrophysics in Punesince1992.“I expected him to be an ac-

tiveworker for at least 10moreyears. Itpainsmeasateacher to

see one of his finest studentspassaway,”saidProfessorJayantNarlikar who wasPadmanabhan’s PhD guide atTIFR. “I still remember himas astudentintheearly1980s.Hehadappeared for an interviewat theTIFR.IwasnotpresentduringtheinterviewbutlaterIwastoldthatonbeing askedabout his expec-tations from the institute,PadmanabhanhadsaidhewouldonlyjoinTIFRifhewasallowedtoworkwithNarlikar,” the83year-oldcelebratedastrophysicist,whotoo is based at IUCAA, told TheIndianExpress.“Hewas a very good teacher

and he wrote excellent bookswhichwereofpedagogicalnaturepublishedbyCambridgeuniver-sitypressandhavebeenveryuse-ful,” Narlikar said, recalling thatPadmanabhanhadnot required

muchguidancefromhimduringhisPhDdays.“Hehadalotof ideashimself

andwas very popular with thestudents. Apart from that hehimself was a perfectionist,”Narlikarsaid.Prof Rohini Godbole, noted

physicistfromtheCentreforHighEnergyPhysics,IndianInstituteof

Science,BengalurutoldTheIndianExpressthatshestillremembered“Paddy”asthebubbly,youngandverysharppersonwhohadjoinedTIFRasastudent.“That was the same year I

had joined as a visiting fellow.We were both ‘new boys’ to-gether as itwere. His extraordi-nary abilitieswere quite appar-ent to all and no one wassurprisedat thequickstrideshemadeintheworldofgravityandcosmology,”Godbole said.AmongPadmanabhan’smost

striking contributionshavebeendiscoveringnewconnectionsbe-tweenthermodynamicsandgen-eral theory of relativity. “He stillhadsomuchmoretodoandoffer.Thisisagreatloss,”Godbolesaid.Besides numerous other

awards, Padmanabhanwas alsohonouredwith the Padma Shri

andtheinauguralInfosysPrizeforphysicalsciences.“This loss is beyond repair,”

IUCAA director SomakRaychaudhurysaid.“I hadknownPaddy for over

35 years and he had been mymentor and friend. He wasdeeplyengagedinalllevelsofac-ademicprogress.Notonlydidhecarryoutpathbreakingresearchinmany branches of science, hehadadeepinterestinandunder-standingofthescientificthoughtprocess,”hesaid.The IUCAA director also re-

calledthathehaduncompromis-ingstandardsinscientificengage-ment and innovation. “Hewasdeeply committed to trainingyoungpeople.HewasalsodeeplyinterestedinthelongtraditionofIndian science andwrote abookonthesubject”.

THANU

PADMANABHAN

1957-2021

Theoretical physicist Thanu Padmanabhan dies at 64

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,SEPTEMBER17

SERUM INSTITUTE of India (SII)CEOAdar Poonawalla on Fridaysaid theywere building a facil-itytomakemRNAvaccines,evenas SIIwas scalingup its produc-tionofCovishieldvaccines fromthe present 160million dosesmonthly to 200million dosesfromOctober.While the facility formRNA

vaccines will take two years tobecompleted,thisinfrastructurewillbeavailablefortwocompa-

nies — Serum Institute LifeSciences Limited (SILS) andBiocon Biologics Limited —whichhaverecentlyenteredintoa long-termpartnership.Poonawalla and Kiran

MazumdarShaw,executivechair-person, Biocon and BioconBiologics(BBL)addressedavirtualmediaconferenceonFridaytoan-nouncetheirstrategicalliance.As part of this alliance, BBL

will have access to 100milliondosesofvaccinesannuallyfor15years and commercialisationrightsof theSILSvaccineportfo-lio for globalmarkets. SILSwillreceive approximately a 15 per

centstakeinBBL,basedonaval-uationof about$4.9billion.“Thisalliancewillallowusto

combineourstrengthsinbiolog-ics and vaccines for making ameaningful impact in fightinginfectious diseases. In additiontovaccines,thealliancewillalsodevelop antibodies targetingseveral infectious diseases likedengueandHIV,”Shawsaid.On their paediatric Covid

vaccine, Covovax, Poonawallasaid that trials are underway.“Several volunteers have beeninjectedandthetrial isgoingonsmoothly.Areviewwillbedoneby theendof theyear,”hesaid.

Goa govt appealagainst Tejpalacquittal to beheard virtually

PMLA case: ED movescourt against Deshmukh

SII to ramp up Covishield productionto 200 mn doses monthly from Oct

TELANGANA

Hyderabad:TheTelanganaHighCourt on Friday ordered a judi-cial inquiry into the death ofPalakonda Raju, 30, the suspectin lastweek's rape-and-murderof aminor girl in Hyderabad, aday after his body was founddead on the railway tracks atGhanpurstation inWarangal.The High Court directed the

3rdMetropolitanMagistrate ofWarangaltoconducttheinquiryand present the report withinfour weeks. A bench of ActingChief JusticeM S RamachandraRao and Justice T AmarnathGoud passed these orders afterhearingaPIL.The PIL was filed by Civil

Liberties Committee-Telanganastate president GaddamLaxman, who sought a judicialinquiry into Raju’s death, de-scribing it as a “meticulouslyplannedand calculatedmurderby thepolice”. ENS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

SUPREME COURT on Friday al-lowedKeralatoholdtheClass11exams in the offlinemode, ex-pressing satisfaction over thearrangementsputinplacebythestate government for the con-duct of the exam amid theCovid-19pandemic.A two-judge bench headed

by Justice AMKhanwilkar dis-missedanappeal filedby advo-cate Rasoolshan A against aKeralaHighCourtorderrefusingto interfere with the state gov-ernment’s decision to hold ex-ams inofflinemode.The bench also comprising

Justuce C T Aravi kumar said:“Wetrustauthoritieswilltakeallprecautionsandnecessarystepsso thatnountowardsituation isfacedbystudentswhoareoften-der age and appearing for theproposedexamination.”On September 3, the top

courthadstayed thedecision tohold the offline exams, sayingthe Covid-19 situation in thestateis“alarming”andthat“chil-drenof tenderagecannotbeex-posed to risk”.

Satisfied withprotocols, SCallows offlineClass 11 in Kerala

Journalist held, anotherbooked in Ambala overerror in news report

Panaji: The Chief Justice ofBombayHighCourt has allowedthe Goa government’s appealagainsttheacquittalofformered-itor-in-chief of ‘Tehelka’, TarunTejpal, in a2013caseof rapeandsexual assault, to beheard in thevirtualmode. The appeal is ex-pected to be heard by theHighCourt of Bombay at Goa onSeptember20.This will also mean that

Solicitor General TusharMehta,whorepresentedtheGoagovern-ment in the appeal proceedings,cancontinuetoarguethematterbeforetheHighCourt.Hehadear-lier expresseddifficulty inphysi-cally appearingbefore theHC inGoaafterthecourtresumedphys-icalhearings.Tejpal was accused of sexu-

ally assaulting a then colleagueinanelevatorofahotelinGoaonNovember 7, 2013 andNovember8,2013. ENS

SUKHBIRSIWACHCHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER17

AJOURNALISTof ‘DainikBhaskar’wasarrestedby theAmbalapo-lice on Friday andanFIR lodgedagainstanotheronthechargeof“mentioning (the)wrong placeofarrestofasuspectedterrorist”.Police have lodged an FIR

against Sunil Brar and NewsEditor Sandeep Sharma at theAmbalaCanttPoliceStationun-der Sections153 (wantonlygiv-ing provocation with intent tocauseriot), 177(furnishing falseinformation), 504 (intentionalinsult with intent to provokebreachof thepeace)and505(2)(statementscreatingorpromot-ingenmity,hatredor ill-willbe-tweenclasses).ConfirmingBrar’sarrestona

complaint by a sub-inspector,the SHO of the police station,Inspector Vijay Kumar, told TheIndian Express: “Hewill be pro-duced before a court onSaturday.Thematterisunderin-vestigation.”Opposition leaders attacked

theBJP-ledHaryanagovernmentover the arrests, saying policehad even brought Sharma’s 70-year-old father tothepolicesta-tion on not finding the journal-ist athisoffice.“Sharma’s father was re-

leasedonlywhenjournalistsob-jectedtohisdetention,”HaryanaCongress leader Rohit Jain,whojoined journalists at the police

station inprotestagainst thear-rest, said. INLD leaders led byPrakash Bharti also held aprotest.Police, however, denied any

informationregardingSharma'sfather'sdetention.Thecaseagainstthejournal-

ists relates toareportcarriedby‘DainikBhaskar’onThursday,ona man arrested by the PunjabPolice the previous day fromAmbala, over an alleged tiffinbombplot.Whilethesuspectedterrorist,partof anallegedgangof four,wasarrestedfromvillageMardonSahibvillageofAmbala,the newspaper headline said,‘Punjab Police ka dava – Canttmein IOC depot ke nazdeek sepakda gaya aatanki (PunjabPoliceclaimsarrestofterroristatCantt fromnear IOCdepot)’.The report also said the

Ambala Police had denied anyinformation on thematter, say-ing “nobody sought any assis-tance fromus”.On Friday, the newspaper

publishedacorrectionregardingthelocationfromwherethesus-pected terroristwasarrested.However, Sub-Inspector

RadheyShyamfiledacomplaintsaying: “... Sunil journalist pub-lishedthenewswithoutanyau-thentication.JournalistSunilandin-chargeSandeepSharmahavecreated fear in the masses bypublishing false news. Becauseof it, there is an atmosphere ofpanicandterrorinsociety,whichmay lead tocaste riots.”

PUNJAB

Publicviewing

resumesfor

flagceremony

Amritsar: TheBSFhas re-sumed the public view-ing of the daily flag low-eringretreatceremonyatAttari-Wagah border inPunjab with limited re-strictions,overayearandhalf after it was sus-pended due to the Covidoutbreak, the force onFridaysaid.BSFwillallow300visitorsinthespecta-torsgalleryfortheoveranhour-long daily eventagainst its capacity toac-commodate more than25,000. Thepublic view-ing was suspended byIndia onMarch 7 to con-tain the spread of thecoronavirus. Sources inadministration,however,fearthatitwillnotbepos-sibletorestrictthetouristgathering to300. ENS

UTTARPRADESH

4journalists,3

copsheldfor

extortion

Lucknow: TheMathurapolice have arrested fourjournalists and three po-liceofficialsonthechargeof extortingmoney fromabusinessmanbythreat-ening to implicatehim ina false case. The accusedwere arrested onThursday, and producedin a court that sent themto judicial custody. Thepolicearelookingfortwomorelocaljournalists,andcollectingthebackgroundinformationofthefourar-rested.SuperintendentofPolice (SP) Dr GauravGroversuspendedthepo-licemen from Farah sta-tionwhowere arrested.One of them is a SubInspector and the othertwoareconstables. ENS

MAHARASHTRA

Artistgetsbail

aftersixyears in

jail for ‘murder’

Mumbai:Nearlysixyearsafter artist ChintanUpadhyay was arrestedfor allegedlymurderinghis estranged wife andartist Hema Upadhyayand her lawyer HareshBhambhani,theSupremeCourtFridaygrantedhimbail. “The petitioner hasbeenincustodyfornearlysix years. The trial is inprogress and 28 wit-nesses have been exam-inedand12witnessesareyet to be examined.Having scrutinised therecord and after hearingthe learned counsel forthe parties,we are of theopinion that the peti-tioner is entitled forbail...,” the bench com-prising Justice LNageswara Rao andJusticeBRGavaisaid.ENS

BRIEFLY

565DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE

NEWCASES: 34,615ACTIVE CASES:3,40,573TOTAL VACCINATION: 77,24,25,744

DAILY DEATHS285

TOTALDEATHS4,44,533

WEEKLY CFR0.75%

OVERALL CFR1.35%

TESTS TODAY: 16,62,696 | TOTAL TESTS: 55,08,91,845

WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 1.94% | OVERALL POSITIVITY: 6.07%

STATESREPORTINGMOSTCASES

STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTAL

CASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION

■Kerala 23,260 1,89,416 16.96% 3,29,03,543

■Maharashtra 3,586 48,451 2.38% 7,06,52,757

■TamilNadu 1,669 16,843 1.06% 4,08,98,263

■AndhraPradesh 1,393 14,797 2.32% 3,57,11,603

■Mizoram 1,121 13,344 13.95% 10,29,245

STATESREPORTINGMOSTDEATHS

STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALL

DEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR

■Kerala 131 23,375 0.48% 0.56%

■Maharashtra 67 1,41,940 1.09% 2.19%

■Karnataka 18 37,573 1.22% 1.27%

■TamilNadu 17 35,288 1.57% 1.35%

■Assam 9 5,788 1.52% 0.98%

Note:DataasonSept17;vaccinationnumbersasofSept16.Deathsincludethosefrompreviousdays.

Dehradun: A day afterUttarakhandHighCourt lifted itsstayonCharDhamYatra,thestategovernmentonFridayissuedthestandard operating procedure(SOP) for the yatra, making itmandatory for pilgrims to eitherhave certificate of both doses ofthe Covid vaccine or a negativeCovid test report toobtain thee-pass for the yatra. The yatrawillstartfromSaturday.Pilgrims from Kerala,

MaharashtraandAndhraPradesh

will have to produce both -- thevaccination certificate of twodoses aswell as negative Covidtestreport–toobtainpermissionfortheyatra.Portals of Kedarnath shrine

openedonMay17, BadrinathonMay18,YamunotrionMay14andGangotrionMay15.Onadailybasis,1000pilgrims

willbeallowedtovisitBadrinath,800inKedarnath,600inGangotriand400inYamunotri.

LALMANIVERMA

Uttarakhand govt issues SOPsfor Char Dham Yatra pilgrims

Ahmedabad

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

TOTALVACCINATED IN INDIA (at least one dose)

58,26,06,905

DOSESONSEPT1667,08,607

SEPT15:68,04,860 (1st doses: 39,89,496;2nd: 28,15,364)

■Firstdose ■Seconddose

COVISHIELD

88.3%COVAXIN

11.6%TOTALDOSES

77,24,25,744

(Sputnik V's 8,67,700dosesnot represented in pie)

INDIAACTIVECASES 3,39,506

INDIATOTALCASES3,38,81,728Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonSept 17

Note: TheSept16 figures in thesegraphsarebasedon thegovernmentupdatesonSept17

Sept7 Sept16LAST 10 DAYS

3,39,5063,91,256

Sept7 Sept16

1,00,00,000

50,00,000

0

LAST 10 DAYS (daily)

39,60,154

27,48,453

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

PAROMITACHAKRABARTINEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

“POETS,especiallyAsianAmericanfemalepo-ets,don’tdreamaboutbeingontheTime100List. But it happened and I’mon the cover,”tweetedCathyParkHongonThursday,aboutherinclusionintheglobalcelebritiesinTimemagazine’s annual list of 100most influen-tialpeopleof theyear,publishedthisweek.The45-year-oldKoreanAmericanpoet’s

searingexplorationofraceandminorityiden-tityinacollectionofessayspublishedlastyear

evokedaconversationontheexperiencesofpeopleofcolourintheUS.

Hong’spoetryA facultymember in thedepartment of

EnglishatRutgersUniversity,Hongfirstburstonto the literary scene in2002withherpo-etry collection, TranslatingMo'um, thatwonheraPushcartPrize,anannual literaryprizeawardedtothebestinindiepublishing.Sincethen, Hong has published Dance DanceRevolution (2007),whichwon the BarnardWomenPoetsPrize,andEngineEmpire(2013).A sense of alienation is pervasive in her

poetry,inwhichHongexploresthedualityofher identity. In the poem ‘A Wreath ofHummingbirds' from Engine Empire,Hongwrites,“Isufferadifferentkindoflone-liness./ In the trilling ringtones of singing/wrens, cries of babies andballadmedleys,/my ears, already inured by buds,/ turn tobrass.”InDanceDanceRevolution,Hong’spo-ems assume the formof transcriptions ofimaginaryinterviewsconductedbythenar-rator ina fictionalwaystationcalledDesert,where the flux of visitors births a languagethatdrawsfromover300dialectsandotherlanguagesources.

In 2018, Hong won the Windham-CampbellPrize.Sheistherecipientofseveralother awards including a GuggenheimFellowship(2015).

MinorFeelings“It is auniquecondition that isdistinctly

Asianinthatsomeofusareeconomicallydo-ingbetterthananyotherminoritygroupbutwebarelyexistanywhere inthepubliceye,”writesHong in anessay inMinor Feelings: AReckoning on Race and the Asian Condition.Publishedlastyear,thebookisacollectionofseven essays that were sparked off after

watching the standup comedian and actorRichardPryorspeakaboutraceonstage.Partmemoir,part interrogation,MinorFeelings isHong’sfirstattemptatnon-fictionthatexam-inesracialtraumaandlivingonthemargins.Asamemberof acommunityoftenheldupasan immigrant success story, shewritesofhaving to contendwith perceptions aboutAsianpeopleinAmericaandstrugglingtofindherselfmirroredinthem.Thebook,whichwontheNationalBook

CriticsCircleAwardintheautobiographycat-egory,wasalsoafinalistatthisyear’sPulitzerPrizeinthegeneralnon-fictioncategory.

10

JAYMAZOOMDAARNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

ATEAMofscientistshasresolvedthegeneticmystery of Simlipal’s so-called black tigers.Led byUmaRamakrishnan andher studentVinay Sagar from the National Centre forBiological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, thestudyfoundthatasinglegeneticmutationinthese tigers caused black stripes to broadenorspreadintothetawnybackground.Tigers have a distinctive dark stripe pat-

ternonalightbackgroundofwhiteorgolden.Ararepatternvariant,distinguishedbystripesthatarebroadenedandfusedtogether,isalsoobserved in bothwild and captive popula-tions. This is known as pseudo-melanism,whichisdifferentfromtruemelanism,acon-ditioncharacterisedbyunusuallyhighdepo-sitionofmelanin,adarkpigment.While trulymelanistic tigersareyet tobe

recorded,pseudo-melanisticoneshavebeencamera-trapped repeatedly, and only, inSimlipal, a 2,750-kmtiger reserve inOdisha,since 2007. Launched in 2017, the studywasthefirstattempttoinvestigatethegeneticba-sis for thisunusualphenotype (appearance).Throughwhole-genomedata andpedigree-basedassociationanalysesfromzootigers,thestudyfoundthatpseudo-melanismis linkedto a single mutation in TransmembraneAminopeptidaseQ (Taqpep), a gene respon-sibleforsimilartraits inothercatspecies.

Whyblack tigers are rareMutantsaregeneticvariationswhichmay

occurspontaneously,butnotfrequently,inna-ture.Black tigersightingshavebeenclaimedsporadically at least since 1773when artistJames Forbes painted awatercolour of oneshotinKerala.SimilarclaimsweremadefromMyanmar (1913)andChina (1950s). In1993,aconfiscatedblacktigerskinofunknownori-ginwasdisplayedatDelhi’sNationalMuseumofNaturalHistory.Unfortunately, individualsofunusualap-

pearanceweresoughtoutasanoveltybytro-phyhuntersuntil recently, andprobably fewsurvivedlongenoughtoestablishbloodlines.Besides,pseudo-melanismiscausedbya

recessive(hidden)gene.Acubgetstwocopiesof eachgene frombothparents, andareces-sivegenecanshowuponlyintheabsenceofthe dominant one. So, two normal-patterntigers carrying the recessive pseudo-melanism genewill have to breed togetherforaone-in-fourprobabilityofgivingbirthtoablackcub.But recessive genes are rare and it is un-

likely that twounrelatedtigerswill carry thesameoneandpassitontogethertoacub.Inanideal tigerworld,where far-ranging individ-uals are never short of choices for partners,thatmakessuccessionofblacktigersararity.Underexceptionalcircumstances,ablack

tigermaysucceedaspartofaverysmall(say,up to five individuals) founding populationthat is forced to inbreed in isolation for gen-erations,offeringtherecessivegenefrequentchances to showup. As it turned out, that iswhathappenedatSimlipal.

The SimlipalmutantsLongbefore threeblack tigerswerecam-

era-trapped in 2007, Simlipal furnished thefirst confirmedrecordof themutant in1993whenatribalyouthkilledapseudo-melanis-tic tigress in self-defence. In 2018, three ofSimlipal’seighttigersturnedoutblack.Pseudo-melanistic tigersarealsopresent

in three zoos in India — Nandankanan(Bhubaneswar),ArignarAnnaZoologicalPark(Chennai)andBhagwanBirsaBiologicalPark(Ranchi)—wheretheywerebornincaptivity.

All of themhave ancestral links to one indi-vidual fromSimlipal.The closest breeding tiger population to

Simlipal is around 800 kmaway, a distancemuchlongerthantheaveragehomerangeofBengal tigers (20-110 km) and their averagedispersal distance (78-124 km). Dispersalslonger than500kmhavebeendocumented,thestudynoted,buttheyareveryrare.Whilepreviousstudiesdetectedthreema-

jor genetic clusters within Indian tigers—Central India, South India, and NorthwestIndia— the present one found that Simlipaltigersaregeneticallydistinctfromothercen-tralIndianpopulationsanddisconnectedatadispersal thresholdof200km.The conclusion: Simlipal’s small and iso-

lated tiger population led to inbreeding andthe anomalous phenotype characterised by

wide,merged stripes. The loss of genetic di-versityisevidentfromthelowheterozygosity— chances of inheriting different forms of aparticulargenefromeachparent—inSimlipal(28%) compared to Central India (36%).Consequently, mean relatedness betweenSimlipalindividuals(38%)ishigherthanthoseinCentral (9%)orSouthIndia(13%).

What about natural selectionNatural selectioneliminates theweakest

froma gene pool, and the traits of themoresuccessfulgetpassedon.Nichemodelling,thestudy said, shows higher frequency ofmelanisticleopardsindarkertropicalandsub-tropical forests than in drier open habitats.Likewise,darkercoatsmayconferaselectiveadvantage in both hunting and avoidinghuntersinSimlipal’stropicalmoistdeciduousand semi-evergreen closed-canopy forest,witharelativelydarkerunderstory.While the present study did not have

enough data to test the hypothesis, it ob-servedthatthedisappearanceofblacktigersfrom across India, where populationsmaybelargerandhenceselectionmoreeffective,backedthepossibledeleteriouseffectsof themutation.

The takeawaySimlipalisnottheonlyexampleof“intense

founding bottlenecks” in endangered tigerpopulations due to human-inducedhabitatfragmentation.Whilethedangersof thisiso-lated,depletingpopulationmanifestdramat-ically inphenotypic evolution, invisible timebombsmaybetickinginotherislandreserves.“Whiletigershaverecoveredinsomeparts

ofIndia,severalpopulationsremainsmallandisolated.Wepredictthatsuchpopulationswillbesubjecttogeneticdrift(chanceevents),in-breeding and inbreeding depression (de-creased survival). Overall, such populationshaveahighchanceofextinction.Ithasbeenafascinating journey to understand pseudo-melanisminSimlipal.Hopefully,suchstudiesand the insights theyprovidewill help safe-guardthefuturesofendangeredspecies,”saidRamakrishnanofNCBS.Fortunately, introductionof freshgenesin

anisolatedpool,dependingonthenumberofmigrants, frequencyof influxandpopulationsize,canreversethedamageovertime.Whileairlifting tigers appears to be the solution ofconveniencethesedays,thereisnoalternativetorestoringormaintainingnaturalconnectiv-itybetweentigerforestsinthelongterm.Meanwhile, India’s northwestern tiger

population shows highermean relatednessbetween individuals (46%) and lower het-erozygosity (22%) than even Simlipal (38%and 28%).While Ranthambhore has been ageneticislandfordecades,tigersiblingswerehandpicked from this inbredpopulation forrepopulatingSariska.Thatisanotherstudyintheoffing.

Unpacking the telecom reforms packageSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

ON SEPTEMBER 15, the Union Cabinet ap-provedasetofninestructuralandproceduralreforms to address the short-term liquidityneeds aswell as long-term issuesof telecomcompanies.While the companies havewel-comedthemove,analystsarescepticalaboutthesurvivalofathree-playertelecommarketunlessthereisasubstantiveriseintariffs.

Howwillthereformsimpacttelcos?Amongall themeasures, oneof themost

crucialandtimely,whichanalystssaywillpro-videshort-termrelieftodebt-ladenVodafoneIdea andBharti Airtel, is a four-yearmorato-riumonpayment of dues arising due to theSupremeCourt’sSeptember1,2020judgmentonadjustedgrossrevenue(AGR).Anotherfour-yearmoratoriumonpayment of spectrumpurchased inpast auctions, barring the2021auction, isalsolikelytoproviderelief.Although thegovernmentwill charge in-

terestifthecompaniesoptforthemoratorium,analystsfeel itcouldprovidethetelecomsec-tor abreather of roughlyRs45,000 croreper

yearforthenextfouryears.Measuressuchasstreamliningoftheauc-

tioncalendarandremovalofthespectrumus-agecharges(SUC)fromauctions,too,arelikelytobringdown theduesoutgo,whilehelpingtelcosplantheirauctionpurchase.Forthetel-costobenefitfromthereducedSUC,however,theywill have to buymore spectrum inup-comingauctions,analystssaid.

HowfarcanthemeasuresbeexpectedtohelpsaveVodafoneIdea’smarket?Although the government insists these

measureswouldbeforeveryone,itisVodafoneIdea,withanetdebtofclosetoRs1.9lakhcrore,thatwill benefit themost in thenear future,expertssaid.Thecompany,however,willneedtoraiseadequatecapitalurgently,andgoforasizeablehikein4Gtariffforprepaidcustomers.“The onus nowshifts to the company to

successfullycompleteitslong-delayedcapitalraise,acceleratenetworkinvestments,stemitssubscriberlosses,and(eventually)raiseARPUs(averagerevenueperuser),allofwhichcomewith their fair shareof challengesanduncer-tainties,”CitiResearchsaidinanote.VodafoneIdeawillalsohavetofendoff in-

creased competition from Reliance Jio

InfocommandBhartiAirtel,whichhavemorebreathing space andmanageabledebt situa-tion.“Theoptionofmoratoriumisopenforall.WhileVodafoneIdeafocusesonrevival,whichis a possibility now, Reliance Jio and BhartiAirtel can go back to beingmore aggressivewhether it is in termsof offering better net-work and services or extremely competitivetariffsandadd-ons,”anindustryveteransaid.

Howdothereformsimpactthegovernment'sfinances?Thegovernmenthasinsistedthatsinceall

themoratoriumofferings are donewithnetpresentvalueprotected, itwill facesomerev-enuelossinthenextfourfinancialyearsevenif twoof thethreeprivateplayersoptforit.For thecurrent financialyear, thegovern-

menthadestimatedreceiptsofRs53,987crorefromspectrumusagecharges,licencefeeleviesandotherlevies.Thebulkofthis,however,willhavetobeforgoneforfourfinancialyearsoncethetelcosoptforthemoratorium.At theendof themoratoriumperiod, the

governmentwillhaveprovideanoptiontothetelecomplayertopaytheinterestarisingoutofthedefermentof paymentbywayof equity,andattheoptionofthegovernment,toconvert

thedueintoequity.This,expertssaid,willbeachallenge for the government to offload thestakelaterifmarketconditionsdonotimprove.

Buthowdidthefinancialconditionofthetelcosdeteriorate?Itstartedbyandlargewiththedifferingle-

gal interpretationofAGR.Tounderstandthis,onemust goback to1999,when thegovern-mentdecidedtoshiftfromafixedtoarevenue-sharingmodelforthetelecomsector.TelecomplayerswouldpayacertainpercentageoftheirAGR, earned fromtelecomandnon-telecomrevenues,aslicenceandspectrumfee.Theeasingofthisregulatoryenvironment

ledtoanumberofplayersenteringthefray.Atits highest, India hadmore than14nationalandregionaltelecomserviceproviders.In2003,theDepartmentofTelecom(DoT)

raisedthedemandforAGRpayments.Itsaidallrevenueearnedbytelcosasdividendfromsub-sidiaries, interestonshort-terminvestments,moneydeductedastraderdiscounts,discountforcallsandothers,whichwasoverandabovetherevenuefromtelecomservices,wouldbeincludedforcalculationofAGR.The telcos approached the Telecom

Disputes SettlementAppellate Tribunal (TD-

SAT),whichinJuly2006ruledthemattermustbesentbacktotheregulatorTRAIforfreshcon-sultation. TDSAT rejected the government’scontention, and the Centre moved theSupremeCourt.Whilethecasewasstillongo-ing,in2012,theSupremeCourtcancelled122telecom licences in the 2G scam case. Thispromptedarevamp,withspectrumnowallo-catedthroughauctions.

WhatwastheSupremeCourtverdict?In 2019, the SupremeCourt gave the first

verdict in the case, holding thatDoT's defini-tionof AGRwas thecorrectone, and that thetelcosmustpaytheAGR,interestandpenaltyonnon-payment.Thejudgmentcanewhenthetelecomsec-

torwas reeling under stress due to intensecompetition fromReliance Jio Infocomm,whichmadeitsentryin2016.JioInfocomwasleftwithdues ofmore thanRs58,000 crore,whichhasnowballoonedtoRs62,000crore,whileAirtel had topaymore thanRs43,000crore as AGRdueswhen the judgmentwaspronouncedin2019.Thoughbothplayershavepaidsomeof this totheDoT, theystillneedtoraise funds topay the rest eithernow,or fouryearslaterif theyoptforthemoratorium.

TheCabinethasapprovedasetofninemeasurestoaddresstheissuesfacedbythetelecomsector.A lookatthereforms,andthechallengesstillahead.

E EXPLAINED

Dominant trait

Recessive trait Pseudo-melanistic

Regularstripes

Unrelatedindividual

26,38,239

58,42,003

(Top)Acaptivepseudo-melanistic tigerandits regularsiblingatNandankananBiologicalPark; (above)arepresentationshowinghowinbreeding(left ingraphic)expressesrecessivetraits,unlikebreedingwithanunrelated individual (right).Photo:RajeshKumarMohapatra/NBP; illustration:Express

Why ‘black tigers’ sound a warningTheyare foundonly inSimlipal.Astudy findsoutwhatgives themtheirdarkerstripepattern—howthis is theresultof inbreedingwithinSimlipal’s smalland isolatedtigerpopulation.

HOW INBREEDING EXPRESSESRECESSIVE TRAITS

CathyParkYoungontheTimecover.Reuters

In poet Cathy Park Hong’swork, an influential statement for people of colour in US

5,00,000

2,50,000

0

KEYANNOUNCEMENTS

Moratoriumonpayments:OnAGRanddeferredspectrumpayment.Bothpayments, if telcosopt for it,willhavetobedonefouryears later.

RationalisationofAGR:The legacypainpointof telcos,whichwastheinclusionofnon-telecomrevenuesforcalculationof adjustedgrossrevenue,hasbeendoneawaywith.

100%FDI throughautomatic route:This liberalisationmakes iteasierfor telcos to findglobal investors.

Rationalisationof spectrumecosystem:Afixedcalendar forauctions,doingawaywiththeneedforbankguarantees.

Chargesonspectrumremoved:Governmentdoesawaywithadditional0.5%SUCthatwaschargedonspectrumsharing,whilealsoallowingtelcostoholdthespectrumfor30years, insteadof20.

TELLINGNUMBERS

EDUCATION

Twoof the25ministers inGujarat’snewlyconstitutedCabinetarewomen,sevenhavedeclaredcriminalcasesagainst themselves intheirelectionaffidavits, andover3 inevery4arecrorepatis.A littleunderhalf of theministersaregraduates,and13arebelowtheageof50,accordingtoananalysisof theiraffidavitsbytheAssociationforDemocraticReforms(ADR)andtheNewElectionWatch.

New Gujarat Cabinet: 11 of 25 aregraduates, 2 women, 19 crorepatis

Totalministers 25Facingcriminalcases 7Womenministers 2Crorepatis 19Averageassets Rs3.95cr

1Literate

Source:ADR

13VIII-XII

11Graduate&above

Ahmedabad

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

THEWORLD

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

HUNGARY

STATUEHONOURSMYSTERIOUSBITCOINFOUNDER

AnimposingbronzestatuewasunveiledinHungary’scapitalonThursdaywhichitscreatorssayisthefirstintheworldtopayhomagetotheanonymouscreatoroftheBitcoincurrency.ErectedinabusinessparkneartheDanubeRiverinBudapest,thebustsitsatopastoneplinthengravedwiththenameofSatoshiNakamoto,thepseudonymofthemysteriousdeveloperofBitcoin.

SOUTHAFRICA

Topcourt

upholdsZuma’s

jailsentenceSOUTHAFRICA’S highestcourt on Fridaydenied anapplicationbyformerpres-ident Jacob Zuma to re-scind his sentence of 15monthsinjailforcontemptof court ina rulingviewedasa stern testof thecoun-try’sresolvetoholdpower-ful figures to account. TheConstitutionalCourt judg-mentuphelditsownrulingthat Zuma should go toprisonforrefusingtotestifyatacommissionof inquiryintowidespread corrup-tion ingovernment andatstate-owned companieswhile hewaspresident ofSouth Africa from 2009-2018. Zuma, who wasforced to resign as presi-dent in2018amidcorrup-tionallegations,stillhassig-nificantsupportinpartsofSouthAfricaandwithintheruling African NationalCongressparty. AP

JacobZuma

TOPOFTHEWORLD

NEWZEALAND

Womancharged

withkilling3

younggirlsA 40-YEAR-OLD womanwas charged Fridaywithkillingthreeyounggirlsinacrime that has shockedNewZealand.Policedidnotimmediately identify thewomanbut theStuff newsagency said she was thegirls’ mother, LaurenDickason,adoctorwhohadjustmovedtoNewZealandfrom South Africa alongwith her daughters andhusbandGrahamDickason,an orthopedic surgeon.Emergency services saidwhentheyrespondedtoanincident at thehome theyfoundawoman,whowashospitalisedinstablecondi-tion.Policesaidthewomankilled twin2-year-oldgirlsMayaandKarlaandtheir6-year-oldsisterLiane. AP

USA

Pelosicautions

UKoverNIrish

peacedealUSHOUSESpeakerNancyPelosicautionedBritainonFriday that there could beno post-Brexit trade dealwiththeUSiftheNorthernIreland peace agreementwasdestroyed.TheUShasexpressed grave concernthatarowbetweenLondonandBrussels over the im-plementation of the 2020Brexit treaty couldunder-mine theGood Friday ac-cord.“IfthereisdestructionoftheGoodFridayaccords,they [are] very unlikely tohaveaUK-USbilateral,”shetold a Chatham Houseevent. REUTERS

JAMESDOBBINS,EILEENSULLIVAN&EDGARSANDOVALDELRIO,SEPTEMBER17

THOUSANDSOFmigrantswerecrowdedunderabridgeoutsidethebordercommunityofDelRioon Thursday, part of amassivesurgeinmigrationacrosstheRioGrandethisweekthathasover-whelmed the authorities andcausedsignificantdelaysinpro-cessing thearrivals.TheUSBorderPatrolsaidthat

morethan9,000migrants,mostlyfromHaiti,were being held in atemporarystagingareaundertheDel Rio International Bridge as

agentsworkedasquicklyas theycouldtoprocessthem.The temporary camp has

grownwith staggering speed inrecentdays,fromjustafewhun-dredpeopleearlier in theweek.Theauthoritiesandcityofficialssaid they expected thousandsmore to cross the ankle-deepriver betweenMexico and DelRio incomingdays.The Border Patrol said it

would sendmore agents to theregion,“toimmediatelyaddressthe current level ofmigrant en-counters and to facilitate a safe,humane and orderly process.”The shaded area under thebridge, the Border Patrol said,was to “prevent injuries from

heat-related illness” whilemi-grantswerewaiting tobe takenintocustody.

The scene—of densecrowdssleepingondirtormillingaboutintriple-digit heat amidconditions

ofdeterioratingsanitation—drewcondemnations from local offi-cials.Gov.GregAbbottofTexasor-dered police and the NationalGuardtoassistborderagentsinDelRio, saying the federal responsehadnotbeenenoughtoquell thesurgeincrossings.“TheBidenadministrationis

incompletedisarrayandishan-dlingthebordercrisisasbadlyasthe evacuation fromAfghanistan,” he said, referringtoPresidentJoeBiden’sdecisiontoendAmerica’s longestwar.The Southwest border has

been inundated in recentmonthswithasurgeinunautho-risedcrossingsnotseeninmorethan two decades. More than

200,000 people crossed lastmonth,bringingthetotalthisfis-calyeartomorethan1.5million.Butinrecentdays,theswelling

crowds inDel Rio, a townabout150mileswestofSanAntoniothatissurroundedbyranchland,acresof thorny brush and toweringmesquite trees, have created anewhumanitarianchallenge.Bruno Lozano, the city’s

mayor, described on Thursdaysqualid conditions under thebridgethatmoresoresembledashantytown,withlittleaccesstocleanwater and food and just afewportabletoilets.Thevastma-jority of thosewho arrived ap-peared to be fleeing Haiti, localofficials said. NYT

TEMPORARY CAMP IN DEL RIO HAS GROWN WITH STAGGERING SPEED IN RECENT DAYS

Thousands of migrants huddle under Texas bridge

Migrantsgatheredunder theDelRio InternationalBridgeastheywaitedtoturnthemselves intotheUSBorderPatrolandseekasylum.NYT

REUTERSBEIJING,SEPTEMBER17

CHINA’S PRESIDENT Xi Jinpingurged “relevant parties” inAfghanistantoeradicateterror-ism and promised to providemore help to the war-torn na-tion, statenewsagencyXinhuasaid on Friday.China shares a land border

with Afghanistan, where theTalibannamedanewgovernmentthismonth. The Islamistmilitantgroupretookcontrol inAugustasUS-led foreign forcesendedtheir20-yearpresencethere.Afghanistanshouldbeguided

tobemoreopenandinclusive,andpursuemoderate domestic andforeignpolicies,Xi toldameetingof leaders of the ShanghaiCooperationOrganisationandan-other regional grouping, theagencysaidinareport.“Certaincountries”shouldas-

sume their due responsibilitiesforAfghanistan’sfuturedevelop-mentas “instigators”of the situ-ation, Xi added, in an apparentreferencetotheUSanditsallies.Experts say Afghanistan’s

economy is in crisis and a hu-manitarian disaster looms.Western nations have been re-luctant to provide funds to the

Talibanwithoutassurancesthatitwill upholdhuman rights, es-pecially thoseofwomen.China,whichhaspledgedaid

and Covid vaccine doses to

Afghanistan, has said theUnitedStatesanditsallieshaveadutytosupply thewar-tornnationwitheconomicandhumanitarianaid.China is also known to be

worriedaboutmilitantsfromitsfar western region of Xinjiang,some of whom are based inAfghanistan, where they havelongbeenalliesof theTaliban.The Shanghai Cooperation

Organization groups China,India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan andUzbekistan. Afghanistan is anobserver state.

ALASDAIRPALSEPTEMBER17

WORKERSINtheAfghancapitalKabul replaced signs for thecountry’s women’s ministrywith those for the Taliban’smoralpoliceonFriday,asfemaleformeremployeesofthedepart-mentsaid theyhadbeen lockedoutof thebuilding.A sign for the building was

covered by a replacement in amixtureofDariandArabic,read-ing “Ministries of Prayer andGuidance and the Promotion ofVirtue and Prevention of Vice”on Friday, according to photo-graphsandReuterswitnesses.Female employees said they

hadbeentryingtocometoworkforseveralweeksonlytobetoldtoreturntotheirhomes,accord-ing to videos filmedoutside thebuildingseenbyReuters.The gates of the building

werefinallylockedonThursday,oneof thewomensaid.“I am the only breadwinner

in my family,” said a secondwoman, who also said sheworked in the department.“Whenthereisnoministry,whatshouldanAfghanwomando?”Talibanspokesmendidnotre-

spondtorequestsforcomment.WhentheTalibanwerelastin

power, girlswerenot allowed toattend school andwomenwerebannedfromwork.During that period, its

Ministry for Promotion ofVirtue and Prevention of Vicebecame known as the group’smoral police, enforcing a strictdress code and public execu-tions and floggings. REUTERS

Washington: Australia and theUnited States announced ex-pandedmilitarycooperationonThursday, including rotationaldeployments of all types of USmilitary aircraft to Australia, aday after announcing a subma-rinedealdenouncedbyChinaasintensifyingaregionalarmsrace.Speaking aftermeetings be-

tweentheUSandAustralianfor-eign and defence ministers,Australian Defence MinisterPeterDuttonsaidtheywouldbe“significantly enhancing ourforce posture cooperation, in-creasing interoperability anddeepening alliance activities inthe Indo-Pacific.”“Thiswill include greater air

cooperation through rotationaldeployments of all types of USmilitary aircraft to Australia,”Dutton told a joint news confer-ence inWashington. “We’vealsoestablished combined logisticssustainment and capability formaintenance to support our en-hancedactivities,includinglogis-ticsandsustainmentcapabilityforoursubmarinesandsurfacecom-batantsinAustralia.” REUTERS

RODMCGUIRKCANBERRA,SEPTEMBER17

PRIMEMINISTERScottMorrisononFridayrejectedChinesecriti-cism of Australia’s new nuclearsubmarine alliance with theUnited States and said he does-n’tmindthatPresidentJoeBidenmighthave forgottenhisname.China reacted angrilywhen

Biden,MorrisonandBritishPrimeMinisterBorisJohnsonusedavir-tualnewsconferencethisweektoannounce a trilateral defense al-liance thatwill provideAustraliawith a fleet of at least eight nu-clear-poweredsubmarines.ChineseMinistry of Foreign

AffairsspokespersonZhaoLijiansaiditwas“highlyirresponsible”for the US and Britain to exportthenuclear technology.Morrison said Australia

wanted to boost peace and sta-bility in the Indo-Pacific region.“Everythingwe’vedonewith

the United States is consistentwith the partnerships and rela-tionshipsandallianceswe’veal-ready had with the UnitedStates,”Morrisonsaid.Australia’snearestneighbour

after Papua New Guinea,Indonesia,was“deeplyconcernedoverthecontinuingarmsraceandpowerprojection in the region,”the Indonesian Ministry ofForeignAffairssaidinastatement.

Newsofthealliancereceivedapositive response in Singapore.Thecitystate’sPrimeMinisterLeeHsien Loong toldMorrison in aphone call hehoped thenucleardealwould“contributeconstruc-tivelytothepeaceandstabilityofthe region and complement theregionalarchitecture,”Singapore’sMinistryofForeignAffairssaid.French leaders and the

EuropeanUnionareangeredatbe-ingexcludedfromthealliancethatscuppersacontractwithFrancetobuild12conventionaldiesel-elec-tricsubmarinesforAustralia.ObserverssayBidenappeared

tohaveforgottenMorrison’snameduring Thursday’s news confer-ence,whichwas televised fromthreecountries.Thepresidentre-ferredtotheAustralianas“pal”and“thatfellowDownUnder.”Morrison laughed off ques-

tions regarding this, saying,“Usually when we speak pri-vately,hereferstomeas‘pal’”.AP

CHINA ASTRONAUTS RETURN FROM SPACE STATION

AtrioofChineseastronautsreturnedtoEarthonFridayaftera90-daystayaboardtheirnation’s first spacestation inChina’s longestmissionyet.NieHaisheng,LiuBomingandTangHongbolandedintheShenzhou-12spaceship justafter1.30pmafterhavingundockedfromthespacestationThursdaymorning.TheChinaMannedSpaceAgencysaidthemission,whichwasto finishconstructingthecountry’s first spacestation,wasasuccess.AP

ALEXANDERMARROW&TOMBALMFORTHMOSCOW,SEPTEMBER17

OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS inRussia accused Alphabet’sGoogleandAppleofcavingintoKremlin pressure on Friday af-ter they removed an anti-gov-ernment tactical voting appfromtheirstoresonthefirstdayof aparliamentaryelection.The app, devised by allies of

jailed Kremlin critic AlexeiNavalny, gives people detailedrecommendations on who tovoteforinanefforttothwarttheelectoral chances of the rulingUnited Russia partywhich sup-portsPresidentVladimirPutin.Membersoftheupperhouse

of parliamentmet Google andApplerepresentativesintherun-uptotheelectiontotell themto

remove the app or face seriousconsequences including finesandcriminalprosecution.

JohnSullivan, theUSambas-sador to Russia, was also calledinto the foreignministry beforethevotetohearcomplaints thatthe companies’ behaviouramounted to US meddling inRussia’s internal affairs.A court outlawed Navalny’s

political movement as extrem-ist in June, backing complaintsfromMoscow's prosecutor thatitsactivistsweretryingtodesta-bilise Russia, a ruling con-demnedbytheWestatthetimeasablowagainst freedom.Leonid Volkov, an ally of

Navalny, accused Google andAppleof bucklingunderwhathedescribedasKremlincampaignofblackmail.“Thisshamefuldaywilllive long in thememory,”VolkovsaidontheTelegramservice.AppleandGoogledidnotim-

mediately respond to requestsfor comment. REUTERS

Washington:The InternationalMonetaryFundhassaid itsen-gagementwithAfghanistanwillremainsuspendeduntilthereisclaritywithintheinternationalcommunityontherecognitionof the government led by theTaliban. The IMF said it wasdeeply concernedwith eco-nomic conditions inAfghanistan,urgingtheinterna-tional community to take ur-gentstepstostalla“loominghu-manitarian crisis” in thecountry.“OurengagementwithAfghanistan has been sus-

pended until there is claritywithin the international com-munity on the recognition ofthe government,” IMFspokespersonGerry Rice toldreportersatanewsconferencehere on Thursday. “We’reguided by the internationalcommunity in terms of therecognitionof thegovernmentin Afghanistan andwe don'thave that. So, the IMF pro-grammetherehasbeenputonhold; and... the country cannotaccessIMFresources,SDRs,andsoon,atthispoint,”hesaid.PTI

IMF suspends Afghan engagement

China’s Xi urges Afghanistan tostamp out terror, vows more aid

China’sPresidentXi Jinping

Taliban replaceAfghan women’sministry withministry ofvirtue and vice

Australian PM rejects criticismof nuclear submarine agreement

AustraliaPrimeMinisterScottMorrison

Australia agreesto increased USair deploymentsafter sub deal

Google, Apple remove Navalny appfrom stores as Russian polls begin

UK eases rules for vaccinated travellers, India to benefitADITIKHANNALONDON,SEPTEMBER17

THEUKgovernmentonFridayan-nounceda relaxationof interna-tional travel rules for vaccinatedpeople coming in and out ofEngland,withlong-haulroutesbe-tweenIndiaandtheUKtobenefit.FromOctober 4, the current

traffic light systemof red, amberandgreencountriesbasedonlev-els of Covid riskwill be scrapped

andreplacedwithoneredlistonly.The scrapping of an amber

list, which is what India is cur-rently on, means reduced costburden for travellers related tocompulsoryquarantinesandPCRtests. FromOctober 4, travellerswill also no longer need to takepre-departurePCRtestsfortrav-elling intoEnglandfromabroad.“Today’schangesmeanasim-

pler,morestraightforwardsystem.Onewith less testing and lowercosts, allowingmore people to

travel, see lovedonesor conductbusinessaroundtheworldwhileprovidingaboostforthetravelin-dustry,” said UK TransportSecretaryGrant Shapps. “Publichealthhasalwaysbeenattheheartof our international travel policyandwithover44millionpeoplefullyvaccinatedintheUK,wearenowable to introduce apropor-tionateupdatedstructurethatre-flectsthenewlandscape.”In the latestupdate,Pakistan,

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are

amongeight red listdestinationsmovedoff thetravelbanlist fromnextWednesday.FromtheendofOctober,fully

vaccinatedpassengersfromnon-redlistcountrieswillbeabletore-place the current compulsoryday-two PCR test requirementwith cheaper lateral flow tests.Anyonetestingpositivewillneedtoisolateandtakeafreeconfirma-toryPCRtest,whichwouldbege-nomically sequenced to helpidentifynewvariants. PTI

Woman sues for right tofreeze her eggs in BeijingHUIZHONGWU&EMILYWANGFUJIYAMABEIJING,SEPTEMBER17

AFTER ALMOST two years, anunmarriedwomansuingfortherighttofreezehereggsinBeijingisgettinghercaseheardincourtFriday in a rare legal challengeagainstthecountry’srestrictionsonunmarriedwomen in repro-ductivehealth.Teresa Xu has beenwaiting

since December 2019 for hersecondhearingattheChaoyangPeople’s Court in Beijing. She issuing Beijing Obstetrics andGynecology Hospital at CapitalMedicalUniversity,apublichos-pital that forbid her from freez-inghereggs,citingnational law.Xu’s victory couldmark an

important step for unmarriedwomeninChinawhowanttoac-cesspublicbenefits.UnlikeintheUS,though,court judgementsinChinadonotrelyonprecedence.“From 2018 until now, it’s

been three years, andmy eggsare getting older withme, andthe deadline ismore andmorepressing,”Xu,33, said.Hercase isgettingheardafter

thelatestcensusdatashowedthatpopulationgrowthwas slowing,while the proportion of elderlypeoplewasgrowing.Thenumberofnewbornshadfalleneveryyearsince2016.Nationallevelstatisticsshowed that 12million babieswerebornin2020,down18%from14.6millionin2019.Beijinghasrespondedbyal-

lowing families to have a thirdchild. AP

ASSOCIATEDPRESSISTANBUL,SEPTEMBER17

THE TALIBAN’S educationmin-istry says all male studentsgradessixto12andmaleteach-ersshouldresumeclassesstart-ingSaturday.The statement Friday pub-

lished on Facebook did not in-clude girls of that age, and thelack of guidance highlightedongoing concerns that theTaliban might impose restric-tions on girls and women. TheTalibanpreviouslyallowedgirlsin grades one to six to resumetheir classes.In the past, the hardliner

groupthattookoverAfghanistanlast month had forbidden girlsand women from attendingschoolandwork.In some of the provinces,

women still are not allowed tocontinuetheirwork,withexcep-tions for women who haveworked in health departments,hospitals andeducation.THEREMOVALof theappde-

velopedbyopponentsofPutinraisesfurtherquestionsaboutSiliconValleyleaders’approachtofreespeechandopeninternet,andaboutwhethertheywillbeabletobalancetheseidealswiththeirpursuitofprofitaswellastheircommitmenttothesafetyof theiremployeesincountriesthatthreatentotakeactionif theydonotim-plementcensorship.

RaisingmorequestionsfortechfirmsE●E

XPLAIN

ED

Taliban order male students to school

ERICSCHMITTWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER17

THEPENTAGONacknowledgedonFridaythataUSdronestrikeinAfghanistanonAugust29thatof-ficials saidwasnecessary topre-ventanattackonAmericantroopswasatragicmistakethatkilled10civilians,includingsevenchildren,anAmericanmilitary official fa-miliarwiththeinvestigationsaid.The explosives themilitary

claimedwereloadedinthetrunkofawhiteToyotasedanstruckbythedrone’sHellfiremissileweremost likelywater bottles, and asecondaryexplosioninthecourt-yardinadenselypopulatedKabulneighborhoodwhere that attacktookplacewasprobablyapropaneor gas tank, the official said. Inshort,thecarposednothreatatall,investigatorsconcluded.

Theofficialalsoacknowledgedthat thedriver of the car, ZemariAhmadi, a longtimeworker for aUS aid group, hadnothing todowith ISIS, asmilitaryofficialshadpreviouslyasserted.Ahmadi’sonlyconnection to the terrorist groupappeared tobea fleetingand in-nocuous interactionwithpeople

inwhatthemilitarybelievedwasanISISsafehouseinKabul,anini-tial link that ledmilitaryanalyststomakeonemistaken judgmentafter another while trackingAhmadi’smovements ina sedanforthenexteighthours.“Itwasamistake,”theofficial

said in a briefingwith three re-

porters before the Pentagonmadetheresultsofamilitaryin-vestigationpublic.Thefindingsoftheinquiryby

themilitary’sCentralCommandmirroredaNewYorkTimes inves-tigationofvideoevidence,alongwithinterviewswithmorethanadozenof thedriver’s co-work-ers and family members inKabul. The Times inquiry raiseddoubts about the US version ofevents, including whether ex-plosiveswerepresent in theve-hicle, whether the driver had aconnectionto ISIS, andwhethertherewasasecondexplosionaf-ter themissile struck thecar.Military officials cited the in-

vestigationbyTheTimesandoth-ers as providing valuable visualandotherevidencethatforcedthemilitarytoreassessthejudgmentsthat led it to believe, falsely, thatthesedanposedathreat. NYT

Pentagon admits Kabul drone strikewasmistake that killed 10civilians

AhousedestroyedbyadronestrikeinKabulonAug29.Reuters

Ahmedabad

12SENSEX: 59,015.89 ▼ 125.27 (0.21%) NIFTY: 17,585.15 ▼ 44.35 (0.25%) NIKKEI: 30,500.05 ▲ 176.71 HANG SENG: 24,920.76 ▲ 252.91 FTSE: 7,044.05 ▲ 16.57 DAX: 15,642.79 ▼ 8.96

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

ECONOMY

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD

`45,207

RUPEE

`73.48

OIL

$73.36

SILVER

`60,183Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asof September16

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

TOPREVENTrevenueleakagefromthetaxpayablebyrestau-rants in the country, theGSTCouncilFridayapprovedapro-posal tomake food-deliveryplatforms like Zomato andSwiggyresponsibleforcollect-ing anddepositing the 5percent GST applicable on foodwiththegovernment,effectiveJanuary1.Even as the move may

push tax collections fromrestaurants,itmaycauseanin-crease in complianceburdenfor restaurants aswell as thefood-aggregators.Mostsignif-icantly,taxexpertspointedout,themovemayresultinrestau-rantshavingtokeeptwosepa-ratebooksof accounts—onefor theirnormalbusinessandone for what they supplythroughonlineplatforms.Particularly,themovemay

impact restaurantswith an-nual turnover less thanRs20lakhandwerenotliabletopayGST. “In essence, the compli-ance burden is likely to beshifted to food aggregators.Fromaconsumerperspective,thereshouldnotbeamaterialchange because consumerwillstillpay5percentGSTonfood.Smallrestaurants,whichhave less than Rs 20 lakh ofturnover,areexemptfromGSTbut if food-aggregators aremade responsible, perhapsGSTwill be applicableon thesmallerrestaurantstoo,”PratikJain,partner,PriceWaterhouse&Co,LLPsaid.Thepandemicprovedtobe

ashot in thearmfor food-de-liveryplatformsandthedeliv-ery segment for restaurantswiththeordervolumesforag-gregators like Zomato andSwiggysurgingto120percentofpre-covidlevelstowardstheendoflastyear,aftertheinitial

lockdowns.Thisalsotranslatedinhigherdeliverybusinessforrestaurants.AGurugram-basedexecu-

tive said the food-deliverycompanies are likely to seekmeetings with the govern-ment in the comingweek togetclarificationsoncertainis-sues like how the input taxcredit will be applicable.However, thebiggest red-flagin the process will be forrestaurantsoptingforthecom-position scheme, throughwhichsmallerplayerscangetridofGSTformalities.“Whilefooddeliveryserv-

iceswouldconstitutee-com-merceservices,sufficientsafe-guards need to be taken insubjectingthemtoGSTtoen-sure that smaller foodoutletsareprotectedandconsumersdonot enduppayingmore,”MS Mani, Senior Director,Deloitte India said. A seniorFinanceMinistryofficial said:“Withrespecttoaggregator, itdoesnotmatterwhether it iscompositionornot. Itwill getexcludedfromtheturnoveroftherestaurantandaggregatorwillpay”. “Actuallyevenwhentheywere supplying throughSwiggy/Zomato, they shouldhave registered as Swi-ggy/Zomato to deduct 1 percent TCS, but itwasnot hap-pening. Theseplatformswillhavetomakechangesintheirsystems. Itwill require sometime,”theofficialadded.

TAXATIONWATCH

GOODS&SERVICESTAX

PROJECTSALREADY INPIPELINESLOWINGDOWN:REPORT

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER17

INDIAINC’Sinvestmentplanstooka severebeatingwhen theCovidpandemicragedacrossthecoun-tryin2020-21withthenumberofnewprojects sanctioneddwin-dling andprojects already in thepipelinealsoslowingdown.Data on phasing plans for

2021-22relatingtoprojectsinthepipelinepoint topersistingnear-termrisks tothe investmentout-look,theReserveBankofIndiasaidinareport.Inall,banksandfinan-cial institutions sanctionedonly220project proposals of thepri-vatecompaniesduring2020-21,arecordlowintherecentyears.Thetotal cost of projects sanctioned

toodeclinedsharplytoRs75,558crorein2020-21fromRs1,75,830crorein2019-20,theRBIsaid.Altogether, investmentplans

of576projectsweremadeduring2020-21aggregatingtoRs116,603

croreasagainst827projectswithinvestmentintentionstotallingRs271,374crorein2019-20.Asmanyas 344 companies raised anamountofRs40,382crorethroughECBsandFCCBsanddidnotavailofanyfinancingfromthebanksandFIs.Further,12companiesdidnotavail of anybank financeorECBsandFCCBsbutraisedRs663crorefortheircapexneedsthroughdo-mesticequityissues.The freshsanctionof projects

in the firsthalf of 2020-21dwin-dled to68projects, a record lowcompared to 137projects sanc-tionedduringthefirsthalfof2019-20, clearly indicating the role ofCovid,theRBIsaid.ThemajorityofbanksandFIs reported ‘Nil’ proj-ectsduring the firsthalf of 2020-21,whichpoints toverysubdued

investmentclimateofprivatecor-poratesectorowingtopandemicinduceduncertainties.“The secondhalf of 2020-21

showedsomesignsofrecoveryinterms of number of projects,which got financial assistancefromthebanksandFIs,thoughtheinvestmentclimateremainedsub-duedintermsoftotalcostofproj-ectssanctionedbytheseentities,”itsaid.AccordingtotheRBIreport,thesize-wisedistributionofproj-ectsshowedanoticeabledecreaseinthenumberofmegaprojects(Rs5,000crore&above) fromfive in2019-20 toone in2020-21alongwith adecrease in its combinedshare in the total project cost.Similarly,thenumberoflargeproj-ects of size Rs 1000 crore-5000croredeclined from36 (in2019-

20)to24in2020-21.Therelativeshareofsuchproj-

ectsalthoughincreasedto53.5percentin2020-21from37.4percentin2019-20,whichindicateshigherrelativepresence in the small co-hort of projects sanctioned in2020-21,itsaid.Data for the last five years

(2016-17 to 2020- 21) revealedthatmorethanhalf(52.3percent)of theprojectswere takenup infivestates—Gujarat,Maharashtra,Karnataka,AndhraPradesh, andTamilNadu.In2020-21,RajasthanandGujarateachaccountedforthehighestshare(17.1percent)inthetotalcostofprojectssanctionedbybanks/FIs followed by AndhraPradesh (15 per cent), UttarPradesh (13.7 per cent) andMaharashtra(8.5percent),itsaid.

DELHI JAL BOARD: GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

OFFICE OF THE EX. ENGINEER (SOUTH) III

A BLOCK GREATER KAILASH I NEW DELHI-48

“STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene”

N.I.T. No. 18/S-III/(2021-2022)

Further details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in

Sd/- (L L MEENA)

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SOUTH)III

S.

No.

Name of work Estimated

Cost

Date of release of

tender in

e-procurement

solution

Last date/ time of

receipt of tender

through e-procurement

solution

1. P/L of 100/150 mm dia D.I. water line from A-block C.R. Park UGR to

M-block market Greater Kailash-II for taking the T/well water into UGR

under EE(South) III (AC-50).

4752161/- 2021_DJB_208460_1

16.09.2021

04.10.2021

upto 3:00 PM

2. Replacement of old/rusted water lines by 100 mm dia D.I. water lines in

Shivalik Apartments under South-III (AC-50) (Re-invited).

2681023/- 2021_DJB_208460_2

16.09.2021

04.10.2021

upto 3:00 PM

3. Replacement of defective sewer line of block No. 20 Dakshinpuri Extn.

under EE(South)-III (AC-47).

3486782/- 2021_DJB_208460_3

16.09.2021

04.10.2021

upto 3:00 PM

ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)

Advt. No. J.S.V. 402(2021-22)

MAJORITYOFbanksandFIsreported‘Nil’projectsduringfirsthalfof2020-21,whichpointstoverysubduedinvestmentcli-mateofprivatecorporatesectorowingtopandemicinduceduncertainties.

CovidhittoinvestmentsE●E

XPLAIN

ED

India Inc’s dwindling investmentplans: RBI flags near-term risks

AANCHALMAGAZINE&PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

THEWORLDBankThursdaysaiditwoulddiscontinue thepracticeof issuingDoingBusiness reportfollowing an investigationpromptedby internal reports of“datairregularities”inits2018and2020 editions (released in 2017and2019,respectively)andpossi-ble “ethicalmatters” involvingbankstaff.According toan investigation

conductedbyWashington-basedlawfirmWilmerHale,WorldBankstaffmembers changeddata onChina to improve its ranking ontheeaseofdoingbusiness,underpressure from the office of thethen-World Bank president JimYongKimand the then-chief ex-ecutiveKristalinaGeorgieva andoneofheradvisers.GeorgievaisthecurrentMDof

theInternationalMonetaryFund.The reportswere flagged by

theWorldBank for certain “im-properdatachanges”madeincaseof four countries — China,Azerbaijan, SaudiArabia and theUAE—atthebehestofseniorexec-utivesatthebank.“After data irregularities on

Doing Business 2018 and 2020were reported internally in June2020,WorldBankmanagementpaused thenextDoingBusinessreportandinitiatedaseriesof re-viewsandauditsofthereportanditsmethodology. In addition, be-cause the internal reports raisedethicalmatters,includingthecon-duct of formerBoardofficials aswellascurrentand/orformerBankstaff,managementreportedtheal-legations to theBank’s appropri-ateinternalaccountabilitymech-anisms,”theWorldBanksaidinastatement.Notably, in three reports, re-

leased in 2017, 2018 and 2019,India ranked among the top 10economiesshowing“themostno-tableimprovement”.Thelatestre-

port, published inOctober2019,placed India at 63rd in DoingBusiness, comparedwith77th in2018and100in2017.Of the 79 positions in the

Bank’sDoingBusiness rankingsthat India gainedbetween2014and2019,67rankimprovementshappened2017onwards,withthebiggest30-rank jumphappeningintheDoingBusiness2018report,releasedinOctober2017.The reportpublished in2019,

whichmentionedIndiaandChinabeingamongthetop10improvers,stated that the leaders of thesecountries adopted the DoingBusinessindicatorsasacorecom-ponentof their reformstrategies.The scores for India used to bebased on coverage of just twocities, withMumbai carrying aweightof 47percentandDelhiaweightof53percent.An e-mail query sent to the

World Bank on the specifics onthe data irregularities did notelicit a response at the time of

going topress.According to the report re-

leased in October 2019, India,alongwithother top improvers,had implemented59 regulatoryreformsin2018-19,accountingfora fifth of all reforms recordedworldwide.During2018-19,Indiahadimplementedreformsacrossparameterssuchas‘startingabusi-ness’, ‘dealingwith constructionpermits’, ‘tradingacrossborders’,and ‘resolving insolvency’. Thegovernment’s goal was to beamong the top50economiesby2020. In a statement, theWorldBankhadsaidatthetimeofreleasethat“specialfocusgivenbythetopleadershipofthecountry,andthepersistenteffortsmadetodrivethebusinessreformsagenda,notonlyat thecentral levelbutalsoat thestatelevel,helpedIndiamakesig-nificantimprovements”.China, forwhichirregularities

werenotedforthereportreleasedonOctober31,2017,heldthe78thrank despite a member of theDoingBusinessleadershipapprov-ingandauthorisingsubmissionofthefinalreportonOctober16thatyear inwhichChinaranked85th.ThechangeinChina’srankinghap-penedafterinterventionfromthebank’s top executives and theirstaffers,aspertheinvestigationre-port.In the caseof SaudiArabia, in

the report released in October2019, initially the countrywasplacedsecondinthelistoftopim-provers for thatyear, followedbyJordan. However, the DoingBusinessteamwasinstructed“tofind away to alter thedata suchthatJordanfellfromitsfirst-placepositioninthetopimproverslist”,theinvestigationsaid.Theparam-eterthatwasalteredtopushSaudiArabia’s score also impacted theUAE’sscorebecausetheyfollowedasimilarsystem.ForAzerbaijan, involvement

fromWorld Bank staffers is be-lievedtohaveresultedinthecoun-try’sscorefallingcomparedtopre-viousyears.

World Bank to stop ‘ease ofdoing business’ report asprobe finds ‘data juggling’

IMFREVIEWSREPORTONGEORGIEVAROLE

Washington:Theexecutiveboardof theInternationalMonetaryFundisreviewinganindependentreportpreparedfortheWorldBankabouttheactionsof IMFchiefKristalinaGeorgievainherpreviousseniorroleattheWorldBank, IMFspokesmanGerryRicesaidonFriday.REUTERS

AP file

Investments via P-notes standat `97,744 crore till August

While concerns over global growth due to recent rise in Covid cases in the worldcontinue to persist, underlying strength of domestic market remains intact

Source:

Sebi/PTI

Value ofP-note investmentsin Indianmarkets—equity,

debt and hybrid securities—

was atRs97,744crore in

August-end compared toRs

85,799crore in July-end

Equity inflows remainedrobust in August and

September is also

looking positive

Inflows should remainrobust for the rest of the

calendar year

Of the totalRs97,744croreinvested through the route till

August, Rs89,844crorewas

invested in equities, Rs 7,586

crore in debt andRs315crore

in hybrid securities

Investment levelwas atRs92,261 crore in June-end,

Rs89,743crore inMay-end,

Rs88,447 crore at April-end

andRs89,100crore in

March-end

What areP-notes?P-notes are issued by

registered foreign portfolio

investors (FPIs) to overseas

investorswhowish to be part

of the Indian stockmarket

without registering

themselves directly

Investments indomesticcapitalmarketsthroughparticipatory

notes(P-notes)wasatRs97,744croretillAugust-end,asper

SecuritiesandExchangeBoardof India(Sebi)data

Fooddeliveryplatformswillberesponsible forcollectinganddepositing5%GSTonfood. File

Delivery apps to payGST for restaurants,compliance burden ofsmall players may rise

BRIEFLY

PFRDAbaseNewDelhi:ThePFRDAsaidsubscriberbaseunderitsflag-shippension schemes roseby24percentinAugust.PTI

LICPRAGATIMumbai:LIChasunveiledanewmobile app ‘PRAGATI’forexclusiveuseof itsdevel-opmentofficers.ENS

ChinatradepactBeijing: Japan said itwouldhave todetermine if Chinameets“highstandards”oftheComprehensive andProg-ressiveAgreementforTrans-PacificPartnershipafter thelatterapplied.REUTERS

Apple CEO talksimmigration,India retail planwith employeesSanFrancisco:AppleIncchiefex-ecutive Tim Cook told an all-handsmeetingofemployeesonFridayheplanned todiscussUSimmigration policy with USDepartment of HomelandSecurity, according to a sourcefamiliarwith themeeting.During the meeting, Cook

also told employees that Appleplans to have a physical retailpresence in India. He also toldemployeesthatarecentUScourtdecision in an antitrust casebrought by “Fortnite” creatorEpic Games hand resulted in avictory for Apple in nine out of10counts. REUTERS

New Delhi: The last date forexporters to submit onlineapplications to claim theirdues under differentexport promotion schemeswillbeDecember31, accordingto a Commerce Ministrynotification.For claiming pending re-

funds under merchandise ex-ports from India Scheme(MEIS) exporters can submitapplications for exports madein the period July 1, 2018 toMarch 31, 2019 and fromApril1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 andfrom April 2020 to December31, 2020.PTI

Applicationsfor dues: Dec 31deadline forexportersENSECONOMICBUREAU

NEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

THE GOVERNMENT on Fridayextended by six months tillMarch2022 thedeadline to linkPANwithbiometric IDAadhaar.In a statement, the Central

Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)said to address the hardshipbeing faced by variousstakeholders on account of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the time-line has been extendedwhichwilleasecompliance.“Time limit for intimation of

Aadhaar number to the Incometax Department for linking ofPANwith Aadhaar has been ex-tended from 30th September,

2021to31stMarch,2022,”itsaid.Also,theduedateforcomple-

tion of penalty proceedings un-dertheI-TActhasbeenextendedfrom September 30, 2021 toMarch31,2022.Further, the time limit for is-

suance of notice and passing oforder by the AdjudicatingAuthority under the ProhibitionofBenamiPropertyTransactionsAct, 1988 has been extended toMarch2022.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 17

IDFC group has decided to di-vest itsmutual fundbusiness—IDFC Asset ManagementCompany (IDFCAMC) Ltd.

IDFC AMC’s assets undermanagementwere Rs 1,26,070crore as of June2021.“The board of directors of

IDFC Ltd and IDFC FinancialHolding Company Ltd (IDFCFHCL)consideredandapprovedtoinitiatestepstodivest itsmu-

tual fund business subject torequisite regulatory approvals,

as applicable,” IDFC said in astock exchange filing. “Theboardshaveauthorisedrespec-tive strategy and investmentcommittees to take necessarysteps, includingappointmentofan investment banker for thesame,” it said.

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER17

THEAGREEMENTonAgricultureattheWTOwasriddledwithdeepimbalances,whichfavourthede-veloped countries, CommerceMinisterPiyushGoyalhassaid.He said that historical asym-

metriesandimbalancesmustbecorrectedtoensurearule-based,fair and equitable order. GoyalsaidthiswhileaddressingtheG-33 Virtual InformalMinisterialMeeting. It was organised byIndonesiaonThursdaytodiscusstheagriculturalpriority issuesofG-33andthewayforwardforthe12thMinisterial Conference oftheWorld Trade Organization(WTO),scheduledtobeheldfrom

November30toDecember3,anofficial statement said onFriday.Of a total of 47 G-33members,representatives from 21 coun-tries, including India, took thefloor tomake thebrief interven-tion.Goyal saidG-33muststrivefor positive outcomes on a per-manentsolutiontopublicstock-holding for food security pur-poses, which is of utmostimportance,finalisationofaspe-cialsafeguardmechanismquicklyand a balanced outcomeondo-mesticsupport.TheMinister“highlightedthat

AgreementonAgricultureat theWTOwasriddledwithdeep im-balances,whichfavourthedevel-opedcountriesandhavetiltedtherules againstmany developingcountries”, thestatementsaid.

Goyal: WTO agri agreementtilted against developing nations

Asof June2021, IDFC

AMC’sAUMwere

Rs1,26,070crore

IDFC to sell mutual fund business

NewDelhi:Atwo-dayvirtualmeetingofG-20Sherpas,at-tended by CommerceMinisterPiyushGoyal,delib-erated on the draft ‘RomeDeclaration’aheadofthean-nualsummitofthegroupingnextmonth. ENS

CommerceMinisterPiyushGoyal. File

Sherpas’ meet

Linkingtimelinehas

beenextendedfrom

September30,2021to

March31,2022

PAN, Aadhaar linkingdeadline extended

Ahmedabad

Paralympics medal that wasn’tstill torments Vinod’s familyANDREWAMSANNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER17

IT’S BEEN over a week since Vinod Kumarlost his Paralympic discus throw (F52)bronze but his daughter still believes herfather is a Paralympicmedallist. Sakshi, 7,watched her father finish third on the livestreambut isn’t awareyetof the fiasco thatfollowed.“She still thinks her father got home a

medal fromTokyo,” saysAnita,Vinod’swifeThere’s nomistaking the air of grief and

anguish at the rented accommodation inRohtaktheKumarscallhome.They’vegonethrough an emotional roller-coaster thesepastfewweeks.Firsttherewasthejoyof the41-year-old setting a career best attempt of19.91m to earn him bronze in the F52 clas-sificationof themen’sdiscuseventinTokyo.But the resultwas put onhold for a classifi-cationreview.Andafter theassessment thefollowingmorning, thepanel foundhimin-eligible for theF52category.“We had already distributed sweets to

our neighbours and were celebrating hiswin,” Anita recalls. “We thought our lifewouldchangeafter themedalbut later thatnightmyhusbandcalledmetoandsaid theresultswereputonhold.”Vinod’s call came as their home was

swarmingwithcelebratingfriendsandrela-tives. Theymuted the festivities, but still re-mainedhopeful. But thenext day, Vinod, intears, called Anita to inform her that hewouldnot returnwithamedal.“Nomatterhowtoughyouareattheend

of the day, you are human. I am still shat-tered,” saysVinod.Themomenttheinitialresultscameout,

Vinod thought his lifewould take a turn forgood.“IthoughtIwouldfinallybeabletobuya house formy children. I thoughtmy loaninstallmentswouldbesortedandIcouldalsoreturnthemoney Ihaveborrowedfrommysister,”headds.

‘No source of income’He claims the loans, including interest,

amounttoaroundRs10lakh.Thesmallgro-cerystoretheyranneartheRohtakstadiumtoo has been vacated and the family cur-rentlyhasnosourceof income.“Idon’twanttositandthinkalldayabout

themedal thatslippedfrommyhands,but Iwant to train for Paris. I desperately needsomesupportorelseIwouldbeforcedtoquitsports.Rightnow,it’sastruggletoeventakecare of my family's expenses. Howwill I beabletocompetewhenIhavenosourceof in-come?”saysVinod.In 2002, while trainingwith the Border

Security Force (BSF) in Leh, he fell off a cliff.He requiredmajor surgery to both legs andremainedbedridden foralmostadecade.

“Aftermyfather’sdemise,thefamily’sre-sponsibilitiesgrewonme.IknewIhadtodosomething.Ipushedmyselfduringmyphys-iotherapy sessions and slowly developedsomestrength inmyupperbody,”hesays.

Partner and cornerstoneIn 2010 he gotmarried to Anita who is

been his cornerstone ever since. “Withouther, I wouldn’t have been able to become aprofessional athlete,” saysVinod.TheRohtakresident’sforayintoathletics

thoughwasquiterecent. Itwasonlyafterhecame across a newspaper article about RioParalympic silvermedallist DeepaMalik in2016 that the familywas introduced to theworldof para-sports.“We had no clue that differently-abled

peoplecouldtakepartinsports,”saysVinod.

He wanted to knowmore about para-sports and running a small store nearRohtak’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium helpedhis case.Archery coach Sanjay Suhag, who used

tofrequenthisstoreguidedhimthroughtheprocess initially. Vinod started training fordiscus at the stadium andwould later rushtothestoresohiswifeAnitacouldgetalittlebreak.Theregimencontinueduntil lastyearwhentravelled toBangalore for treatment.HewastwiceinfectedwithCovid-19and

briefly lost his voice after his first boutwiththevirus. "Itwasnoteasy to comebackandresume training after Covid. I haveworkedreallyhardintherun-uptoTokyobutunfor-tunately,thisissuehappened.ButIdon’t livein thepast. I neverhave,"Vinodconcludes.Nowhe looks towardsParis2024.

DiscusthrowerVinodKumarwithwifeAnitaanddaughtersat their rentedaccommodation inRohtak,Haryana. AndrewAmsan

E●EXPLAIN

ED

Whyparasportsclassificationisacomplexprocess

For participating in international para sports events, classification by theInternational Paralympics Committee (IPC) ismandatory. It is done by a panelcomprisingmedical doctors, analysts, physiotherapists and other experts. Fordomesticmeets, classification is conducted by the Paralympics Committee ofIndia panel, says chairperson Satyanarayana. Classification in certain cate-gories, especially for thosewith visual impairment,may change. “Sometimes,vision improves or deteriorates. There have been caseswhere an athlete’sclassification changed as their condition improved after an accident.Classification is a very complex process. Even a seasoned coach cannot tell bylooking at an athlete. In fact, even athletes can’t say for surewhich class theybelong to.”

SHAHID JUDGEMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 17

THEREWAS no urgency in his walk to thebaseline.No signofworry either,whenhewas facingasetpoint– instead therewasawry smile on Otto Virtanen’s face. Hismovement, even during long rallies, waslanguid.Heworeabaseball capbackwardsto add to the nonchalant demeanour. Hewas the underdog,with nothing to lose.Ranked 419 in the world, up against

Prajnesh Gunneswaran, ranked 165,Virtanen was playing the opening matchforFinland in theWorldGroup1DavisCuptie against the Indians. Serving at 5-6, 30-40 – set point for Prajnesh – in the secondset,Virtanen,with thesameairof noncha-lance, walked to the baseline and ham-mered downhis ninth ace of thematch. Afewminutes later,heclosedout thematchfor a shock 6-3, 7-6(1)win.In their first-ever tie against the Finns,

Indiawashanded a tough challenge at theEspoo Metro Areena, around 30 km fromHelsinki. ThehostshaveWorldNo.74EmilRuusuvuori, the highest-ranked singlesplayer in the tie. So the visitors were tar-geting20-year-oldVirtanen,playing inonlyhis secondDavisCup tie, for twooutof thethree points they need to advance.Italsohelpedthe Indiancausethat their

No.1wouldplayVirtanen first in thehopethat a win could put scoreboard pressureonRuusuvuori in the secondmatch.But theaggressiveyoungster, thesonof

former Finnish Davis Cup player PasiVirtanen, came up with an early surprise.HebrokePrajnesh’s serve inthesixthgameof the match and never let go of the leadthereon. Itwas theonlybreakof thematch,but Virtanen did have another seven op-portunities to break serve again. Five ofthoseweresavedwhenPrajneshwasserv-ing at 4-4 in the second set.

Rising to the occasionOn his own serve, Virtanen faced just

two break points –saving both, includingthebig flat acewidewhen facingsetpoint.“Itwasacombinationofhimcomingup

withthegoods inthebigmoments,andmenot doing enough,” says Prajnesh after thematch.“It was a pretty goodmatch fromOtto.

He served pretty well today, didn’t giveaway any free points. Played pretty wellwhenhehad the lead.”India did have a slight advantage from

the draw with Prajnesh playing first. Butthey were always running the risk of theleft-hander not being at his best. The 31-year-old fromChennai has struggledwithwrist injuries throughout this season, andit has affected his formaswell.“I’mnotplayingmysharpest, consider-

ing the fact that I’ve had injuries and not

played too much. But every player goesthrough that at some point. That’s not anexcuse for not being able to find away to-day,” he says.

Failing to capitalise“Ididn’tdowhat Ineededto today. Few

loosegameshereandthere. I feel like Idid-n’tconvertonsomeof theclosesituations.”Virtanen though, held his own rather

well.Hehada73percentfirstservepercent-age(55/75)–including10aces-comparedtoPrajnesh’s58percent(40/69).Hisservicere-mainedunbrokenthroughoutthematch,in-cludingthetie-breakerhewentontowin7-1–wherePrajneshcommittedfourunforcederrors. InonlyhisthirdDavisCupmatch,theyoungster fromHyvinkaahaspickedupthebiggestwin in his career over a player oncerankedashighas75 in theworld.The Indianshadhopedtoget theopen-

ing point of the tie, which the Finns haveclaimed. World No. 187 RamkumarRamanathanwasupagainstRuusuvuori inan attempt to even things up before thesole doubles rubber and reverse singlesmatches on Saturday.

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,SEPTEMBER17

SHE'S BEEN on American talk shows, at-tendedtheMetGala,tickedoffa"bucketlist"item by visiting the New York StockExchange, and chatted to Formula OnechampionLewisHamilton—amajordealforabigmotorsports fan.AsfortopsoccercoachJurgenKlopp,who

manages Premier League teamLiverpool, hehasdescribedherasthe"talentofthecentury."Emma Raducanu's life has been turned

upsidedownsincewinningtheU.S.Openti-tle as an 18-year-old qualifier and, nearly aweeklater,she'sstillstrugglingtogettogripswithwhathashappened."Sometimes,"shesaidFriday,"I justhave

randomburstswhere I think, 'OhmyGod, Ijustwon theU.S.Open,' and then I go aboutasnormalas if nothinghashappened."Watching the final for the first timeon

Thursday—thedayshereturnedtoBritainafter a whirlwind few days in New York ,and trying to relive a few of themomentsfromher6-46-3winoverCanadianoppo-nentLeylahFernandezmade it all sink inabitmore. Almost.

Victory yet to sink in"When Iwaswatching it, it almost feels

likethatthat'snotmewhoisplaying,whoispullingoff someof thoseshots,"shetoldtheBBC.Herwin on Saturday turnedher into asuperstarovernight, puttingher indemandin theUnitedStates.Everyone wanted a piece of her, with

Chanel inviting her to theMet Gala, whereshe joined a throbbing crowd of celebritiesandfashiondesignersinNewYork.Thatwasherhighlightof thepastfewdays,especiallysinceshemetHamilton there."He is suchagreat inspiration," shesaid.The same can nowbe said of the down-

to-earth Raducanu, who had taken 18months off from tennis to finish her highschooleducationbecauseherparentswantedher tohavesomethingto fallbackon.Oneof thesubjectsshestudiedwaseco-

nomics and her parents work in finance,explainingwhythe trip to theNYSEmeantsomuch.Themessage shewants to get across is:

Dream big andwork hard, nomatter whatyourbackground is."Even if it's not tennis, even if it's other

dreams like in school and being a doctor oranything like that?dreambigandanythingcan happen," she told Sky Sports. "And fortennis, I justwant togetacrossyoucanbeanormalkid,gotoschool,haveall thenormalthings andstill achieve results."

Young Finn Virtanen stingsPrajnesh in Davis Cup opener

OttoVirtanenbeatPrajneshGunneswaran(inpic) 6-3,7-6(1) intheWorldGroup1DavisCuptie. PTI

CROSSWORD4538

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LEO(July24-Aug23)Aboutofextravaganceandself-indulgenceshouldbewell-deserved,sodon't

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LIBRA(Sept24-Oct23)Staybusyandmakesure thatotherpeoplearequitehappywithyour

everymove. There seemtobeoneor twochoreswhichhaveunfortunatelybeen leftundone, andwhicharenowamatterof urgency.Romantically, itwill doyougood tobeclosetedalonewitha lovedone.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)Never imagine thatprivateandpersonalchangesareover,justbecause the

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SUDOKU4598

DifficultyLevel3s

Instructions

TosolveaSudokupuzzle,

everydigitfrom1to9

mustappear ineachofthe

nineverticalcolumns, in

eachoftheninehorizontal

rowsandineachofthe

nineboxes.

DifficultyLevel

1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;

3s=Medium;4s=Hard;

5s=VeryHard;6s=

Genius SOLUTIONSUDOKU4597

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto

therespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget

theanswerforthegivenquip.

Wishnotsomuchtolive__astolive___-BenjaminFranklin(4,.,4)

SOLUTION:COUPE,HOLLY,SOLEMN,JIGSAWAnswer:Wishnotsomuchtolivelongastolivewell-BenjaminFranklin

CPUEO EMOSLN

HOYLL AIJSGW

SolutionsCrossword4537:Across:Letdrop,5Incur,8Transport,9Neb,10Pack,12Roundoff,14Daniel,15Medals,17Skipping,18Stun,21Apt,22Redbreast,

24Ruddy,25Secrete.Down:1Litup,2Tea,3Rash,4Proton,5Intended,6Consonant,7Rebuffs,11Convicted,13Henparty,14Despair,16Anodes,19Nitre,20Eric,23Awe.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

SPORT/CALENDAR13 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

A red carpetwelcome asRaducanuback in Britain

In their first-ever tie against the

Finns, Indiawashandeda

toughchallengeat theEspoo

MetroAreena, around30km

fromHelsinki. Thehostshave

WorldNo. 74EmilRuusuvuori,

thehighest-rankedsingles

player in the tie.

Ahmedabad

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SATURDAY,SEPTEMBER18,2021

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SPORTRACIST CHANTS COMPLAINT

AC Milan filed a complaint with the Italian Soccer Federation’sprosecutors office on Friday over racist chants from Lazio fansduring last weekends win over the Roman club. AP

Bidhuribeatenby

SachininfirstroundBellary:Formerworldchampionshipsbronze-winnerGauravBidhuri(57kg)bowed out after a first-round loss inthe men's National BoxingChampionships here on Friday, up-staged by Haryana's Sachin. Sachinwas up against one of the strongestcontenders for the title in Gaurav(Railways Sports Promotion Board)and came out triumphant by a 4-1margin. AnotherHaryanapugilistandSouth Asian Games champion AnkitKhatanamadehisway into the75kgquarter-finals after he out-punchedHimachal Pradesh's Dharm Pal inunanimousvictory.Telangana'sSavioDominic Michael (54kg) and Goa'sAshok Patil (67kg) too progressed tothe last-eight stagewith identical 4-1 victories. While Savio defeatedJharkhand'sKrishna Jora,AshokPatilgot the better of Himachal Pradesh'sMohan Chander. Chandigarh'sKuldeep Kumar (48kg) and Sachinwereamongtheotherboxerstomakeprogress on the third day of theChampionships. PTI

Parulwinssecond

goldatOpenNtlsWarangal:ParulChaudharyofRailwayswonher second goldmedal beatingMaharashtra's Komal ChandrakantJagdaleinthewomen's3000msteeple-chase final in the60thNationalOpenAthletics Championships at theJawaharlal Nerhu Stadium inHanamkondahereonFriday. ThoughRamBaboo (UttarPradesh)was cred-ited with the only national record-breakingperformancewhenhewonthemen's35kmracewalkin2hours46minutes and 31 seconds, it was thewomen's 3000m steeplechase thatmade forgreat viewing for thegoodlycrowd that turned up. Railways' BAishwaryaclaimed thewomen's longjumpcrownwith anopening leapof6.52mthatpropelledheramongthetopjumpers in the country. For someonewhose previous best effortwas over6.25monJanuary3,2020andthebestthis seasonwas6.16min theRailwaystrials, the24-yearoldwill havepleas-antlysurprisedfansofathletics.PTI

ReliefforAustralian

swimmerShaynaNew Delhi: Australian swimmerShayna Jackwas clearedThursday toresume her competitive career aftera doping case that forcedher tomissthe Tokyo Olympics. The Court ofArbitration for Sport said it rejectedappeals by theWorld Anti-DopingAgencyandSport IntegrityAustralia,whocalledforafour-yearban insteadof the twoyears she finished servingin July. Jack had "on the balance ofprobabilities,establishedthatshedidnot intentionally or recklessly con-sume the prohibited substance," thecourt said in a statement. Jack testedpositive for the anabolic agent ligan-drol ahead of the 2019world cham-pionships.The22-year-oldswimmer,a four-timemedalist in relays at the2017 worlds, denied doping andblamedacontaminatedsupplement.AnAustraliansportstribunalhadrec-ommended a four-year ban beforeshe took the case to a previous CASprocesstoresolve.Thateventualtwo-year banwas challenged by the twoanti-dopingbodies."Aftera2yearand3monthbattle, Ihavefinallyreceivedmyfinaldecisionthatmyappealcasehas been dismissed by the Court ofArbitration," Jacksaid.AP

BRIEFLY

MATTSTEVENSSEPTEMBER17

IN THE final episode of “The Queen’sGambit,” thewildly popular Netflix series,an announcer delivers chess play-by-playandcommentarywhile theshow’s fictionalheroine,portrayedbyAnyaTaylor-Joy,com-petes inaclimactic tournament inMoscow.“Theonlyunusualthingabouther,really,

is her sex, and even that’s not unique inRussia,”theannouncerintones,asawomanwatching the match comes into focus.“There’s NonaGaprindashvili, but she’s thefemaleworldchampionandhasneverfacedmen.”Theseries is fiction,but there isarealpi-

oneering chess champion named NonaGaprindashvili,thefirstwomantobenameda grandmaster. Now80years old and livingin Tbilisi, Georgia, shewas pained to learnthat the television show had erased hermanysuccessesagainstmaleopponents. (A

1968headlineinTheNewYorkTimes,forin-stance, reads, “Chess: Miss GaprindashviliBeats7Men inaStrongTourney.”)SoonThursday,Ms.Gaprindashvili filed

a lawsuit against Netflix in Federal DistrictCourtinLosAngeles,seekingmillionsofdol-lars indamages forwhat the suit claims is a“devastating falsehood, undermining anddegrading her accomplishments before anaudience of manymillions” and calling forthe line about her not facingmen to be re-moved.“They were trying to do this fictional

characterwhowasblazingthetrail forotherwomen,wheninrealityIhadalreadyblazedthe trail and inspired generations,” Ms.Gaprindashvili said in a recent video inter-view arranged by her lawyers, speaking inGeorgian, whichwas translated to Englishbyhergrandson. “That’s the irony.”Netflix said that it greatly respectedMs.

Gaprindashvilibutthatitbelievedherclaimwaswithoutmerit. “Netflixhasonly theut-mostrespect forMs.Gaprindashviliandher

illustrious career, butwe believe this claimhasnomerit andwill vigorouslydefend thecase,” thecompanysaid inastatement.As the 25-page complaint details, Ms.

Gaprindashvilidid,infact,playagainstmanyhighly skilled male champions over thecourse of her career, including before theepisode in question takes place. The suitclaimsthatthelinethatshehad“neverfacedmen” caused professional harm to Ms.Gaprindashvili, who continues to competeinseniorchess tournaments, andnotes that“TheQueen’s Gambit”was viewed inmorethan62millionhouseholdsinthefirstmonthafter its release.“This was an insulting experience,”Ms.

Gaprindashvili saidduring thehourlong in-terview,when she could not resist at timesenthusiasticallyrecountingsomeofhermostmemorable chess matches and victories.“This ismy entire life that has been crossedout, as though it isnot important,” shesaid.ThelawsuitallegesthatNetflix“brazenly

anddeliberately liedaboutGaprindashvili’s

achievementsforthecheapandcynicalpur-pose of ‘heightening the drama’ bymakingitappearthatitsfictionalherohadmanagedto do what no other woman, includingGaprindashvili, haddone.”Thecomplaintaddedthat“inastorythat

wassupposedtoinspirewomenbyshowingayoungwomancompetingwithmenatthehighest levelsofworldchess,Netflixhumil-iated the one real woman trail blazer whohadactually facedanddefeatedmenontheworldstage in thesameera.”“TheQueen’sGambit,”basedonthe1983

novel byWalter Tevis, becamewhatNetflixdescribedasitsbiggestlimitedscriptedseriesever.TheserieswontwoGoldenGlobesear-lier this year and has garnered 18 EmmyAwardsandnominations;thereareplansforittobeadaptedintoastagemusical.And,justas Ms. Gaprindashvili has been doing foryears through her game play and example,theserieshas inspiredmorewomentotakeupchesswhilealsorenewingconcernsaboutsexismin thegame.NYT

A chess pioneer sues, saying she was slighted in The Queen’s GambitFALSIFYING FACTS

In thepopular fictional series, anannouncersays thethenworldchampionNonaGaprindashvilinever facedmen,whichtheplayersays is false.

SANDIPGSEPTEMBER17

AUSSIESTARRINGFORSINGAPORE

TimDavid, 25COUNTRY: SINGAPORE

Allrounder (RCB)

Repeatedly snubbed by hishome state,Western Australia,Davidchosetoplayforthecoun-tryofhisbirth,Singapore.Hebe-came a spontaneous superstar

with his big-hitting prowess, which didn’tescapetheeyesoftheBigBashLeaguescouts.Sobeforeplayingasingle first-classorListAgame,David fetchedaPerth Scorchers con-tract.More lucrativedeals followed; LahoreQalandars, St. Lucia Kings, HobartHurricanes, Southern Brave (the Hundredchampions), and now Royal ChallengersBangalore. In between, he bargained a lim-ited-overs cricket dealwith Surrey. Heem-bodiesall thevirtuestheshortest formatre-quires: Theknack to teeoff fromtheget-go,the ability to sustain momentum and astrongandaccuratethrowingarm.Heboastsa T20 strike rate of 154 in 61 games and anaverageof36,whichmeanshehitswellandscoresconsistently.

90MPH,SHORTRUN-UP

GeorgeGarton, 24COUNTRY: ENGLAND

Bowling allrounder (RCB)

Aside-onfreeze-frameofhisfol-low-through resembles that ofSouth Africa’s left-armwrist-spinner Paul Adams. ButGarton’sanythingbutaspinner,

someone who consistently clocks above90mph from an explosive leap from a rela-tively short run-up. Hewas earmarked forTest cricket, andpicked as a standby for theAshes2017-18,butforasidestrain,hepickedwhen lifting his cricket kit from the airportcarousel.Helosttwoyearsofprogressionbutreturnedrevitalisedandwithaneyeonfran-

chisecricket.Garton joined the T10 league,where he

emerged as the highest wicket-taker. Hethrewhishat intheHundredring,wheretoohe was in irrepressible form, propellingSouthernBravetothetitlewithhis10wickets.Whilehehasnotlostanyofhisspeedandtherare gift to seam theball back into the right-hander, the Sussex man has added morestringstohisbow,theveritableT20staplelikeslowbouncers and cutters. But it’s pace thatthrillshim,and it’s thepace thatcouldbehisUSPonthedeadtracksof theUAE.

TEACHER’SHELP, YORKEREXPERT

NathanEllis,26COUNTRY:AUSTRALIA

Pacebowler (PunjabKings)

He produced a six-for on hisSheffield Shield debut, a five-for on Marsh Cup debut,before plucking a hat-trick inhis first game forAustralia in a

T20 International against Bangladesh.Before the big break, he persistedwith

cricketbydoingpart-timejobsasalabourerinHobart,asafurnitureremovalist,andthenas a teacher’s help in a school for boyswithlearning difficulties. It was then thatTasmania coach AdamGriffith spotted himduring a club game and invited him for tri-als.HewasimpressedbyEllis’ supplewristsandtheability toswingtheKookaburraballon hard, dead tracks of Australia. He addeda pinpoint yorker and a cleverly-disguisedback-of-the-handslowerball,shedhispace-heightinferioritycomplexandbeganhisrealcricketing journey.

JACKOFALLTRADES

GlennPhillips,24COUNTRY:NEWZEALAND

Wicketkeeper-batsman (RR)

DanielVettori calls hima totalcricketer. A post-modernstroke-maker, a polishedgloveman, an acrobatic slip-fielder and an efficient off-

spinnerwho could bowl flat and skid theball off the surface, a skill both hisfranchise and country would look toharness over the coming months in theUAE. But it’s Phillips’ batsmanship that isexpected to make headlines. He hasarrived in thedesertwitha springof runs.In a Caribbean Premier Leaguematch, hecuffed nine sixes (and two fours) on hisway to anunbeaten80 from just 39balls.His boundary-hitting instinct is immense—every fifthball he faces is struck for a sixor four in T20 cricket, in which hebrandishes a strike rate of 144.

LANKA’SRASHID

WaninduHasaranga,24COUNTRY:SRI LANKA

Spinbowling-allrounder (RCB)

When Hasaranga was growing up, he

wantedtoturntheballaspreco-ciously as his idol MuttiahMuralitharan. Buthe chose leg-spinandevolvedintoamodern-day,shorter-formatexponent.A

leg-spinnerintheRashidKhanmould,swap-pingflightandturnforflatness,control,skidandvariations, confoundingandfrustratingbatsmenwithchangeofangles,paceandre-leasepoints.Themethodsareworking,asheissecond

to Tabraiz Shamsi in the ICC T20 bowlers’rankings. Like Rashid, Hasaranga can openthe bowling, apply the squeeze in themid-dle overs and stifle batsmen at the death.WithaT20economyrateof 6.39andanav-erage of 15, it’s amysterywhy he had goneunsold in theauction.It took his three-wicket burst against

IndiainJulytocatchtheeyesof thefranchise—thereapparentlywasa four-waytussle toavailhis services.

MASTERATSECONDGUESSING

BenDwarshuis,27COUNTRY:AUSTRALIA

Seamer (DC)

Earlier, itwashis surnamethatcaught the attention, then hismoustache, and now it’s hisbowling that’s garneringadmiration.

Notanexpressbowler,heismostreputedfor his accuracy and cleverness, his yorkerand cutters, the innate ability to second-guess a batsman’s mind, serenity underduress, andwicket-takingknack.OnlyDanielSamshas takenmorewick-

ets thanDwarshuisover thepast threeBBLseasons,onlySamshas takenmorewicketsat the death, and his economy rate of 6.62in the Powerplays is the best during thatperiod. Andallof these,hedoeswithacou-pleofscrewsandwireswrappedaroundhisbackafterasuccessionofstressinjuries.Likethe other Dutch-Australian cricketer, DirkNannes, he isdeliberating to turnup for thecountry of his origin, if thewait gets longerforanAustralia cap.

Hidden gems

■ NewZealandpulledoutof their limitedovers tourofPakistan, justminutesbeforethefirstODI inRawalpindi,afterasecurityalert.

■ TheseriescomprisedthreeODIsandfiveT20Internationals.TheEnglandandWalesCricketBoard isreconsideringsendingteamsnextmonthtoPakistan.

■ PCB’snewly-appointedchairmanRameezRaja, theformerbatsman,hitoutatNewZealandCricket fornotgivingoutmoredetailsaboutthesecurity threat.

Somehaverawtalent,othershail fromcricketingoutposts;alookatsomenewcomerswhocansparkleinIPL-13

‘HARDESTHITTER’

LiamLivingstone, 28COUNTRY: ENGLAND

Batting allrounder (RR)

Hecouldbowlbothleg-breaks and off-breaks,dependingonwhetherthe batsman is left orright-handed, but it’shis destructive batting

that hasmade Livingstone a covetedfranchise-cricketentity.Hefirsthittheheadlines—at21,daysafterdroppingoutofuniversity,sayinghecannotfo-cus on academics because of cricket—whenhepillaged350off 138balls(34foursand27sixes)inaclubgame.Thereon,heclimbedtherungsof thegame swiftly, eventuallymaking hisEnglanddebut lastyear,despitetheirriches of all-round quality in theshorter formats.AndyFlowerisconvincedthathe’s

thehardesthitterof thecricketballhehadever seen.

REUTERSSEPTEMBER17

BARCELONA,RealMadridandAthleticBilbaoallannouncedonFridaythattheywerechal-lenging LaLiga's private equity investmentdealwithCVC.'Boost LaLiga', which was ratified last

month by 38 of 42 clubs across Spain's toptwodivisionsandisworthareported2.2bil-lioneuros ($2.58billion),meansCVCwouldreceive11%ofrevenuefromtelevisionrightsoverthenext50years inexchangeforpour-ingmoney intoLaLiga.Thefourthclubtorejectthemeasurewas

second division side Oviedo, however theyhave since changed their stance and comeonboardwith theproject.Thevastmajorityof thecashistobegiventoclubstospendonnewinfrastructureandmodernisationproj-ectsaswellasincreasinghowmuchtheycanspend on players."Athletic Club, F.C.Barcelona and RealMadrid C.F. wish to an-nouncethattheyhavecontestedtheresolu-tion adopted by the LaLiga Assembly on 12August2021, inrelationtothedealbetweenLaLigaandCVC,"a joint statement read."The agreement violates the provisions

of the applicable regulations (and inpartic-ular,theRoyalDecree-Law5/2015)anditwasadoptedwithin the framework of a proce-durethatisgrosslyirregularanddisrespect-ful totheminimumguaranteesrequiredforthese purposes, especially in a deal of suchimportanceandscope."Real lastmonth announced theywould

launchcivilandcriminallawsuitsagainstthepresident of La Liga, Javier Tebas, and thechiefofCVCCapitalPartners, JavierdeJaimeGuijarro over the proposed deal.Barca of-fered a further explanation of their stance:"TheClub'sEconomicCommitteepresentedastudythatconcludedtheagreementmadeno sense for Barcelona, not for its cost, northe remuneration it would receive, the du-ration or the kind of obligations that it en-tails," a separate statement read."It'ssurprisingthey'rechallengingsome-

thingthatdoesn'tactuallyaffectthem.TheywouldonlybenefitfromthegrowthofLaLigain the coming years," a LaLiga spokesmantoldReuters."LaLigahasthesupportfortheagreement

from 39 of the 42 clubs that make up theleague.Wewill continueworkingwithCVCon this project, which we are confident isgoodforLaLigaandtheclubs."Thechallengedemonstrates that these three clubs are at-tempting to prevent growth for the otherclubs in the league."

Juve’s $247mn lossNetlossatJuventusmorethandoubledin

its2020-21financialyearto209.9millioneu-ros($247million),itshighestonrecord,asrev-enueplummetedduetoclosed-doormatchesamid the coronavirus crisis, the soccer clubsaid.InastatementonFriday, Italy's Juventusadded itwould finish the 2021-22 financialyear,whichwillstillbeheavilyaffectedbythepandemic,witha"significant loss"."The group's economic performance is

expected to improve significantly startingfrom the 2022-23 financial year," the clubsaid.Controlled by Exor, the holding com-panyoftheAgnellifamily, Juventusreporteda 16% revenue fall to 480.7million euros inthetwelvemonthsendingJune30.Operatingcosts at the Turin-based club rose to 449.3million euros comparedwith 414.1million,whilefinancialdebtstoodrosemarginallyto389.2million euros from 385.2million eu-ros thepreviousyear.Last month Juventus agreed to sell 36-

year old soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo toEuropeanrivalsManchesterUnited,aspartofan effort to curb costs and rejuvenate itssquad.Ronaldo'sdeparturecappedatumul-tous year for Juventus, which promoted afailed attempt to set a breakaway Superleaguewithother topEuropeanclubs.

Trouble brewingin La Liga overinvestment deal

14

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