2^ST aTS U^a Wd\P]Xch 2[X\PcT aT_^ac P[Pa\X]V - Daily ...

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C hairing a high-level United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on “Enhancing Maritime Security — A Case for International Cooperation”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for removing maritime trade barriers, settling maritime boundary disputes peacefully and a roadmap on maritime security. This is the first time that an Indian Prime Minister has presided over a meeting of the UN Security Council. Addressing the meet, Prime Minister said sea is a common heritage and a lifeline for trade but it is facing many challenges and “pirates and terrorists are misusing sea routes.” “Many countries have mar- itime disputes”, Modi said, adding a framework for mutu- al understanding is possible with a “joint effort”. “We want to make an inclusive frame- work on maritime security in our region based on the vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region). This vision is for a safe, secure, and stable maritime domain”, said the Prime Minister. Modi initiated five funda- mentals on maritime security strategy which included removal of trade barriers, peaceful resolution of mar- itime boundary disputes based on international laws, working- out joint strategy against non- State actors and natural disas- ters, responsible maritime con- nectivity, and a roadmap for maritime security. He also called for preserv- ing maritime resources which have impact on climate change. “Oceans are our shared heritage and our maritime routes are the lifelines of inter- national trade. These oceans are very important for the future of our planet,” Modi said at UNSC meeting. “On world Maritime Day last year, the United Nations General Secretary had high- lighted the important role of seafarers in maintaining the global supply chain during the pandemic, I hope the council will advance such ideas fur- ther”, said the Prime Minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and pres- ident of Vietnam attended the meeting via videoconferencing. The UN Security Council has discussed and passed res- olutions on different aspects of maritime security and mar- itime crime in the past. However, this is the first time that maritime security was discussed in a holistic manner as an exclusive agenda item in such a high-level open debate. H uman-induced global heating has arrived with a vengeance and will see Earth’s average temperature reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre- industrial levels around 2030, a decade earlier than project- ed just three years ago, accord- ing to a new UN climate- change assessment published on Monday. In climate-vulnerable India, it means, the heat waves and humid heat stress will be more intense and frequent, while the annual and summer monsoon rainfall will increase and have more variability-- and there will be increased rainfall events and more cyclonic activity, cautions the first part of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) titled ‘Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis’. The report has been finalised by a battery of scientists in collab- oration with 195 Governments. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres called the report “a code red for human- ity,” and said it must “sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet.” The report pointed out that global warming of 1.5 degrees is imminent in the next two decades unless there is a drastic move to eliminate greenhouse gas emission while the crucial threshold of 2 degrees Celsius will be exceed- ed during the 21st century in a “business as usual” scenario. R eacting to the report released by the Inter-gov- ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday said, “The report is a clarion call for the developed countries to undertake immediate, deep emission cuts and decarboni- sation of their economies.” Developed Countries have usurped far more than their fair share of the global carbon bud- get. Reaching net zero alone is not enough, as it is the cumu- lative emissions up to net zero that determine the temperature that is reached, said the Ministry in a statement. T he Supreme Court on Monday said the Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan will monitor CBI probe into the alleged murder of Dhanbad district court judge Uttam Anand, and directed the CBI to submit weekly progress report weekly with the High Court. The Bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Vineet Saran and Surya Kant that passed the order also observed that the report submitted by the CBI on the alleged murder of the judicial official does not indi- cate anything on motive or reason behind the crime. “There is nothing in the sealed cover,” CJI told Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta after going through the status report of the case submitted by the CBI. On this the Solicitor General informed that the CBI in the sealed cover report has reported whatever develop- ment so far has taken place after the agency started inves- tigation. “This is not the issue that we want. The court wants something concrete. The CBI has not indicated anything about the motive or reason behind the crime,” the CJI said. The Solicitor General told the court that two persons, the driver of the auto-rickshaw and his associate who are accused of hitting the judge are in custody. The Solicitor General said that he is not in a position to update the court anything further about the investigation as the interro- gation of the accused is going on. The judge was knocked by an auto rickshaw on the morning of July 28 during his morning walk. The incident had shocked the judiciary and the Bar across the coun- try as even the Supreme Court took cognizance of the death of this young and upright judicial official. The Jharkhand govern- ment recommended a CBI probe of the case and the CBI lodged an FIR and took over the case. During the hearing the court directed that the Dhanbad judicial official death case be tagged along with another writ petition filed before the Apex Court in 2019 related to security of judicial officials. In this case notice has already been issued to States and Union of India. C hief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday distributed assets worth 734 crore among two lakh farmers of the State under the KCC and Chief Minister Livestock Distribution Program in honour of Birsa Kisan organised at the Secretariat. The Chief Minister greeted the people of the State on the occasion of World Tribal Day. “The State Government is making continuous efforts to strengthen the farmers of Jharkhand and make them self- reliant. Since the formation of the government, work is being done in the direction of pro- viding economic strength to the farmers here and making them stand on their feet. The people living in the rural areas here are very hardworking. I believe that if such working people are provided with proper guid- ance and help at the right time by the government, then the farmers will be able to move forward towards economic self- reliance. Keeping in mind the coming 25 years, our govern- ment is engaged in giving con- crete shape to the action plans. The farmers of the state will be strong only then the state will be strong,” said the CM. “Today, on the occasion of World Tribal Day, all of us are working to pay respect to the farmers of the State. From today the farmers of Jharkhand will be known as Birsa Kisan. Even before independence, our ances- tors had struggled to save water, forest, land keeping in mind their coming generation. Many brave sons including Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Tilka Manjhi, Sido Kanho, Chand-Bhairava, Phoolo-Jhano sacrificed their lives. Jharkhand has been the land of heroes. We are proud that we have got the guidance of such brave sons,” he added. The CM said that the tra- ditional sources of income have come down in rural areas. Due to deficiencies and lapses, rural farmers gradually gave up their sources of income like forest produce. He said that the production of lac, silk etc is the highest in the State of Jharkhand, but we are not able to get the full benefits of these resources. Our farmer brothers work hard and other people are eating the fruits. Our farmers were financially strong with the things nature gave us in the forests here, but with the pas- sage of time things changed and today we are not able to make the resources from nature as a source of income. He said that the government is engaged in making arrangements for forest produce. Work is being done with a commitment to make available the market and fair price for the forest produce to the farmers. Federations will soon be formed for the expansion of the produce. Soren said that for the farmers and agricultural labour- ers of rural areas, the farm is their bank and livestock is ATM. He said that a large part of the State's population, which is in the form of farmers, makes a living from their agriculture. Animal husbandry and live- stock are the easy means of income for them. Livestock used to be the capital for the rural people till a few years ago, but gradually it is very difficult to understand where this cap- ital has disappeared. There was a time when people used to take herd animals to the villages for grazing, such pictures are not being seen now. To promote the sources of income like livestock, our government has given spe- cial emphasis on animal hus- bandry. Cattle and cattle sheds are being provided to rural farmers and agricultural labor- ers on subsidiaries. “About 40 per cent of the children in the State suffer from malnutrition as soon as they are born. Our government has decided that eggs should be provided to these children 6 days a week. It is our resolve to make the children malnutrition free in the state. The govern- ment is promoting animal hus- bandry, poultry, egg produc- tion, fish production etc. A few years back I had got an oppor- tunity to represent the state for a short time, at the same time I started providing eggs in Anganwadi centers and schools for nutritious food. Our gov- ernment is working with the thought that people can feed their children home-grown food grains and eggs produced at home. Our thinking is how we can secure the coming gen- eration,” said the CM. Soren appealed to the farm- ers present to take full advantage of the schemes run by the State government. He said that today schemes worth Rs 734 crore are being distributed among 2 lakh farmers of the State. Kisan Credit Card is increasing rapid- ly. Farmers are being linked with livestock. He said that in view of the interest of farmers and agricultural labourers, many ambitious schemes are being run. A framework has been pre- pared so that our government can implement these schemes 100 percent among you. All the schemes will also be audited from time to time to know whether the schemes are reach- ing you or not. Agriculture Minister Badal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Rajiv Arun Ekka, Secretary to Chief Minister Vinay Kumar Choubey, Agriculture Secretary Abu Baqr Siddiqui, Director Agriculture Nisha Oraon, Director of Animal Husbandry Shashi Prakash Jha and other officers were present on the occasion. Ranchi: State on Monday vac- cinated almost 85,000 resi- dents against Covid-19 as close to 1000 session sites, including at least 960 Government-run centres, remained operational across the 24 districts, figures released by the State Health Department highlighted. As per provisional data released by the National Health Mission (NHM), the State on Monday administered the first dose of vaccine to as many as 64,529 residents, while the sec- ond jab was administered to 19,966 beneficiaries. At least 60,000 vaccine beneficiaries inoculated on the day fell in the age bracket of 18 years to 44 years, as per NHM. According to figures avail- able on the Co-Win portal, at least 37 session sites opened their doors for vaccine benefi- ciaries in Ranchi on the day and inoculated close to 7000 residents, while 43 session sites remained operational in East Singhbhum and vaccinated more than 8000 residents. In Dhanbad, 16 vaccination cen- tres inoculated close to 2000 residents, the Co-Win portal highlighted. PNS

Transcript of 2^ST aTS U^a Wd\P]Xch 2[X\PcT aT_^ac P[Pa\X]V - Daily ...

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Chairing a high-level UnitedNations Security Council

(UNSC) open debate on“Enhancing Maritime Security— A Case for InternationalCooperation”, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Mondaycalled for removing maritimetrade barriers, settling maritimeboundary disputes peacefullyand a roadmap on maritimesecurity. This is the first timethat an Indian Prime Ministerhas presided over a meeting ofthe UN Security Council.

Addressing the meet,Prime Minister said sea is acommon heritage and a lifelinefor trade but it is facing manychallenges and “pirates andterrorists are misusing searoutes.”

“Many countries have mar-itime disputes”, Modi said,adding a framework for mutu-al understanding is possiblewith a “joint effort”. “We want

to make an inclusive frame-work on maritime security inour region based on the visionof SAGAR (Security AndGrowth for All in the Region).This vision is for a safe, secure,and stable maritime domain”,said the Prime Minister.

Modi initiated five funda-

mentals on maritime securitystrategy which includedremoval of trade barriers,peaceful resolution of mar-itime boundary disputes basedon international laws, working-out joint strategy against non-State actors and natural disas-ters, responsible maritime con-nectivity, and a roadmap formaritime security.

He also called for preserv-ing maritime resources whichhave impact on climate change.

“Oceans are our sharedheritage and our maritimeroutes are the lifelines of inter-national trade. These oceansare very important for the

future of our planet,” Modi saidat UNSC meeting.

“On world Maritime Daylast year, the United NationsGeneral Secretary had high-lighted the important role ofseafarers in maintaining theglobal supply chain during thepandemic, I hope the councilwill advance such ideas fur-ther”, said the Prime Minister.

Russian President VladimirPutin, Democratic Republic ofCongo President Felix-AntoineTshisekedi Tshilombo and pres-ident of Vietnam attended themeeting via videoconferencing.

The UN Security Councilhas discussed and passed res-olutions on different aspects ofmaritime security and mar-itime crime in the past.

However, this is the firsttime that maritime securitywas discussed in a holisticmanner as an exclusive agendaitem in such a high-level opendebate.

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Human-induced globalheating has arrived with a

vengeance and will see Earth’saverage temperature reach 1.5degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels around 2030,a decade earlier than project-ed just three years ago, accord-ing to a new UN climate-change assessment publishedon Monday.

In climate-vulnerableIndia, it means, the heat wavesand humid heat stress will bemore intense and frequent,while the annual and summermonsoon rainfall will increaseand have more variability--and there will be increasedrainfall events and morecyclonic activity, cautions thefirst part of IPCC’s SixthAssessment Report (AR6) titled‘Climate Change 2021: thePhysical Science Basis’. Thereport has been finalised by abattery of scientists in collab-oration with 195 Governments.

UN secretary-generalAntonio Guterres called thereport “a code red for human-ity,” and said it must “sound a

death knell for coal and fossilfuels before they destroy ourplanet.”

The report pointed outthat global warming of 1.5degrees is imminent in the nexttwo decades unless there is adrastic move to eliminategreenhouse gas emission whilethe crucial threshold of 2degrees Celsius will be exceed-ed during the 21st century ina “business as usual” scenario.

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Reacting to the reportreleased by the Inter-gov-

ernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC), UnionEnvironment MinisterBhupender Yadav on Mondaysaid, “The report is a clarioncall for the developed countriesto undertake immediate, deep

emission cuts and decarboni-sation of their economies.”

Developed Countries haveusurped far more than their fairshare of the global carbon bud-get. Reaching net zero alone isnot enough, as it is the cumu-lative emissions up to net zerothat determine the temperaturethat is reached, said theMinistry in a statement.

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The Supreme Court onMonday said the Jharkhand

High Court Chief Justice DrRavi Ranjan will monitor CBIprobe into the alleged murderof Dhanbad district court judgeUttam Anand, and directed theCBI to submit weekly progressreport weekly with the HighCourt.

The Bench of ChiefJustice NV Ramana andJustices Vineet Saran andSurya Kant that passed theorder also observed that thereport submitted by the CBIon the alleged murder of thejudicial official does not indi-cate anything on motive orreason behind the crime.

“There is nothing in thesealed cover,” CJI told SolicitorGeneral of India Tushar Mehtaafter going through the statusreport of the case submitted by

the CBI.On this the Solicitor

General informed that the CBIin the sealed cover report hasreported whatever develop-ment so far has taken placeafter the agency started inves-tigation.

“This is not the issue thatwe want. The court wantssomething concrete. The CBIhas not indicated anythingabout the motive or reasonbehind the crime,” the CJIsaid.

The Solicitor General toldthe court that two persons, thedriver of the auto-rickshawand his associate who are

accused of hitting the judgeare in custody. The SolicitorGeneral said that he is not ina position to update the courtanything further about theinvestigation as the interro-gation of the accused is going on.

The judge was knockedby an auto rickshaw on themorning of July 28 during hismorning walk. The incidenthad shocked the judiciaryand the Bar across the coun-try as even the SupremeCourt took cognizance of thedeath of this young and upright judicial official.

The Jharkhand govern-ment recommended a CBIprobe of the case and the CBIlodged an FIR and took overthe case.

During the hearing thecourt directed that theDhanbad judicial officialdeath case be tagged alongwith another writ petitionfiled before the Apex Court in2019 related to security ofjudicial officials. In this casenotice has already been issuedto States and Union of India.

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Chief Minister Hemant Sorenon Monday distributed

assets worth �734 crore amongtwo lakh farmers of the Stateunder the KCC and ChiefMinister Livestock DistributionProgram in honour of BirsaKisan organised at theSecretariat. The Chief Ministergreeted the people of the State onthe occasion of World TribalDay.

“The State Government ismaking continuous efforts tostrengthen the farmers ofJharkhand and make them self-reliant. Since the formation ofthe government, work is beingdone in the direction of pro-viding economic strength to thefarmers here and making themstand on their feet. The people

living in the rural areas here arevery hardworking. I believethat if such working people areprovided with proper guid-ance and help at the right timeby the government, then thefarmers will be able to moveforward towards economic self-reliance. Keeping in mind the

coming 25 years, our govern-ment is engaged in giving con-crete shape to the action plans.The farmers of the state will bestrong only then the state willbe strong,” said the CM.

“Today, on the occasion ofWorld Tribal Day, all of us areworking to pay respect to the

farmers of the State. From todaythe farmers of Jharkhand will beknown as Birsa Kisan. Evenbefore independence, our ances-tors had struggled to save water,forest, land keeping in mindtheir coming generation. Manybrave sons including BhagwanBirsa Munda, Tilka Manjhi,

Sido Kanho, Chand-Bhairava,Phoolo-Jhano sacrificed theirlives. Jharkhand has been theland of heroes. We are proudthat we have got the guidance ofsuch brave sons,” he added.

The CM said that the tra-ditional sources of incomehave come down in rural areas.Due to deficiencies and lapses,rural farmers gradually gave uptheir sources of income likeforest produce. He said that theproduction of lac, silk etc is thehighest in the State ofJharkhand, but we are not ableto get the full benefits of theseresources. Our farmer brotherswork hard and other people areeating the fruits. Our farmerswere financially strong with thethings nature gave us in theforests here, but with the pas-sage of time things changedand today we are not able tomake the resources from natureas a source of income. He saidthat the government is engagedin making arrangements forforest produce. Work is being

done with a commitment tomake available the market andfair price for the forest produceto the farmers. Federationswill soon be formed for theexpansion of the produce.

Soren said that for thefarmers and agricultural labour-ers of rural areas, the farm istheir bank and livestock isATM. He said that a large partof the State's population, whichis in the form of farmers, makesa living from their agriculture.Animal husbandry and live-stock are the easy means ofincome for them. Livestockused to be the capital for therural people till a few years ago,but gradually it is very difficultto understand where this cap-ital has disappeared. There wasa time when people used to takeherd animals to the villages forgrazing, such pictures are notbeing seen now. To promote thesources of income like livestock,our government has given spe-cial emphasis on animal hus-bandry. Cattle and cattle sheds

are being provided to ruralfarmers and agricultural labor-ers on subsidiaries.

“About 40 per cent of thechildren in the State sufferfrom malnutrition as soon asthey are born. Our governmenthas decided that eggs should beprovided to these children 6days a week. It is our resolve tomake the children malnutritionfree in the state. The govern-ment is promoting animal hus-bandry, poultry, egg produc-tion, fish production etc. A fewyears back I had got an oppor-tunity to represent the state fora short time, at the same timeI started providing eggs inAnganwadi centers and schoolsfor nutritious food. Our gov-ernment is working with thethought that people can feedtheir children home-grownfood grains and eggs producedat home. Our thinking is howwe can secure the coming gen-eration,” said the CM.

Soren appealed to the farm-ers present to take full advantage

of the schemes run by the Stategovernment. He said that todayschemes worth Rs 734 crore arebeing distributed among 2 lakhfarmers of the State. KisanCredit Card is increasing rapid-ly. Farmers are being linked withlivestock. He said that in viewof the interest of farmers andagricultural labourers, manyambitious schemes are beingrun. A framework has been pre-pared so that our governmentcan implement these schemes100 percent among you. All theschemes will also be auditedfrom time to time to knowwhether the schemes are reach-ing you or not.

Agriculture Minister Badal,Principal Secretary to ChiefMinister Rajiv Arun Ekka,Secretary to Chief MinisterVinay Kumar Choubey,Agriculture Secretary Abu BaqrSiddiqui, Director AgricultureNisha Oraon, Director ofAnimal Husbandry ShashiPrakash Jha and other officerswere present on the occasion.

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�������01&� ��+��� ������ ������������Ranchi: State on Monday vac-cinated almost 85,000 resi-dents against Covid-19 as closeto 1000 session sites, includingat least 960 Government-runcentres, remained operationalacross the 24 districts, figuresreleased by the State HealthDepartment highlighted.

As per provisional datareleased by the National HealthMission (NHM), the State onMonday administered the firstdose of vaccine to as many as64,529 residents, while the sec-ond jab was administered to19,966 beneficiaries. At least60,000 vaccine beneficiariesinoculated on the day fell in theage bracket of 18 years to 44years, as per NHM.

According to figures avail-able on the Co-Win portal, atleast 37 session sites openedtheir doors for vaccine benefi-ciaries in Ranchi on the dayand inoculated close to 7000residents, while 43 session sitesremained operational in EastSinghbhum and vaccinatedmore than 8000 residents. InDhanbad, 16 vaccination cen-tres inoculated close to 2000residents, the Co-Win portalhighlighted. PNS

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In a major breakthrough, dis-trict police arrested a rebel

belonging to PLFI, a bannedoutfit in West Singhbhum onMonday. He was arrested fromBandgaon in Chakradharpursubdivision area of WestSinghbhum. Police have recov-ered one country-made pistol,one live cartridge, two pam-phlets, two mobile phonesfrom him.

Police had received infor-mation that the squad of areacommander of the bannedPLFI, Laka Pahan, is active inthe forest of village Katwaunder Bandgaon police stationarea.

A senior police officialinformed that a team under theleadership of senior officers wasformed for verification of infor-mation and necessary action.During the raid, a person wascaught from near the hockeyground of village Katwa under

Bandgaon police station area.The nabbed youth was

identified as Lodro Hessa'sfather- Sahadev Hassa, SakimGopol, of District Khunti. Atfirst he tried to mislead thepolice but after strict interro-gation, he confessed to being anactive member of PLFI.

In this context, a case hasbeen registered in Bandgaonpolice station under sections ofthe case number 13/21 ArmsAct and CLA Act. Preparationsare being made to send him tojudicial custody.

The police and paramili-

tary forces have also beefed upthe naxal infested areas ofWest Singhbhum district.Sources informed that thepolice are frisking commutersin the bordering areas. Atsome places common peopleare also being interrogated bypolice and paramilitary forceson suspicion. Forces have beendeployed in strategic loca-tions.

Police said that the securi-ty has been beefed up in thearea and they were keepingstrict vigil on movement of theNaxlites. “ We do not want anyuntoward incident to takeplace. On the basis of theleads provided by the arrestedperson, a joint team of policeand paramilitary forces areraiding at different places,”noted another senior official.Sources informed that thepolice have decided to ensurestrict vigil and deploy addi-tional security forces in thefringe areas.

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Even after two months, since the NationalCommission for Women ( NCW) directed

Dhanbad Superintendent of police as well asBBMKU to initiate action in the harassment casefiled by a lady teacher, till date the action remainsinconclusive.

Intellectuals in university circle feel that thecase may be hushed up just like it was done in asimilar complaint filed by a lady teacher of a pri-vate BEd college.Sources said, the universityauthorities reconstituted the women's grievancecell in mid of July though the complaint was filedby the victim professor three months ahead of thereconstitution of the committee.

The university remained silent on the issue formonths together though it too had received twosuccessive notices .

Though attempts to get comment on thisissue from senior university officials to get actu-al status of the complaint failed, it has beenlearnt that the committee for women's grievancecel l has started an inquir y and had summoned both the victim and accused in thiscase.

In addition to this there are more com-plaints of alleged harassment by two HODs oflanguage Departments to students who are float-ing in the campus. Though written complaintshave not been lodged with the fear of furtherharassment by the authority in both cases, saidsources.

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The BJP and Congress arenow in direct confrontation

mood on lathicharge issue here.On Monday, the BJP along

with ABVP workers staged adharna at Randhir VermaSquare demanding suspen-sion of Dhanbad SDMSatyendra Kumar, while theCongress has constituted asix member probe committeeto expose the alleged con-spiracy to defame CongressMinisters .

The BJP-ABVP dharmawas led by Dhanbad MLA RajSinha and hundreds of BJP andstudents union activists tookpart shouting slogans againstthe Hemant SorenGovernment.

Raj Sinha while speaking tomedia said that the UPA gov-

ernment led by Hemant Sorenhas shown its irrespossive andinsensitive attitude towardsgirls by not taking action onSDM. We have launched a stirthat will continue both onroads as well as in assembly tillaction is taken against SDMand justice is given to the stu-dents who were deliberatelyfailed by JAC, he said .

On the other hand districtCongress president BrajendraPrasad Singh has constituted asix member committee ofsenior party leaders to probethe incident of August 6 and 7.

Singh said , BJP is bent upondefaming the government byagitating on minor issues .

The probe team wouldinvestigate keeping all angles inmind and report would besento party high command,said Singh.

����� �'�#!�4'�7�

An 86 lakh rupees worth concrete wallmeasuring 600 meters in compartment

2 of the Betla National Park of Palamu TigerReserve is talked about more in jeers, saidsources.

Jharkhand assembly's General PurposeCommittee headed by Saryu Roy who wasin Betla recently had taken a serious noteof this wall which has cost the governmentits 86 lakhs of rupees.

Chairman of this committee Saryu RoyMLA Jamshedpur East said the committeeis not convinced about this multi lakh wallin the Betla National Park.

Roy said he would be writing to theComptroller and Auditor General (CAG) ofIndia for a special audit of the tiger reservePalamu. He said the expenditures done herein all these years do not reflect on the happystatus of the tiger reserve.

It is perhaps the most ill managed tigerreserve in the country where officers hav-ing no expertise in wildlife are calling shots.

The Chairman also felt the silivi culturedone in the tiger reserve also calls for athorough analysis and appraisal.

D S Srivastav a noted wildlife expertsaid the construction of wall across com-partment 2 of the Betla National Park beliesall logic and only 'the noble officials' of thepark can only tell as to what purpose thismulti lakh wall is to serve.

Srivastav said this expenditure is a crim-inal waste of government money besides 'aconcrete intervention' with the habitatand passage of the wild life.

Srivastav said the government shouldnot hesitate in recovering the money spenton it from officers or officers who areresponsible for raising the wall.

����� �'�#!�4'�7

SP, Palamu, Chandan KumarSinha and his wife Kanchan

Singh on Monday played therole of “friend and guardian” to40 best pass students of JACmatriculation examination.

The couple had cakes, gifts,feast and gifts for the forty stu-dents. There was joy writ largeon the faces of the students.

There was no ' fear ofkhakhi around as the childrenlooked comfortable with lots ofpolice men there on duty.'Cops were courteous, a rarething today.

It was lady Kanchan Singhwho outshone her SP husbandChandon Kr Sinha. There camean occasion when girl studentswho were introducing them-selves had their voices almostchoked on which the man inuniform Sinha asked in 'policetone to speak loud and clear.'

The girls knew there wouldnot be any more other chance.They then put their lungs to

greater use. On how these forty were

selected to which Sinha said itwas a terrific exercise.

There was no tabulationregister of the students nor thedistrict education officer herehad any clue about the best per-formers in the block basedgovernment schools.

Sinha said the district edu-cation officer procured theresults from the JAC and thenthe local police tracked andtraced the best two one a girl

in its block based governmentschools.

There were boys and girlsfrom the primitive vulnerabletribal groups and scheduledcastes too.

A Korwa girl said she hadnever dreamt of this kind ofacknowledgement by the chiefof police.

Local residents here havehailed the ceremony held by SPfor the best two one a girl in therespective blocks here inPalamu.

����� ��'�3'��

Schools that have reopened for class IX to XII nowhave hiked school bus, van fee in violation to the

provisions of the Jharkhand Education TribunalAmendment Act (JETAA)-2017 as Governmentclears reopening of schools .

One such complaint of an unusual hike in thename of implementation of corona norms has comefrom Dhanbad Public School that has notified anincrease that happened ro be higher than the month-ly tuition fee.

The notification issued by the school principal saysthat students willing to use buses will have to pay aminimum Rs 2600 per month and those willing to useVan would have to pay Rs 3000 per month.

One of the parents who refused to be quoted forobvious reasons said it's much higher than themonthly tuition fee that happens to be Rs 2350 only.Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Parents Association(JPA)has expressed concern over the unusual hike in thename of corona protocol.

Manoj Mishra, a senior activist of JPA who alsohas raised objections along with select parents said,schools were deliberately violating the JETAA that hascome into force since it was published in state gazettein January 2019.

Schools in violation to the guidelines have notconstituted a school level joint committee of parentsand management that can decide on a hike but lim-ited to 10 per cent only compared to the previous yearfee , said Mishra.

In another move the district education officer(DEO) has issued a show cause to schools includingaforementioned schools that have notified trans-portation fee hike after receiving complaints from theparents in this regard.

Bokaro: Six students studyingin Cost and ManagementAccountancy (CMA) of theInstitute of Cost ManagementAccountancy of India have beenselected for industrial trainingin Power Generating CompanyLimited (PGCL) Aurangabad.

PGCL is a joint venture ofNTPC, Railways and theGovernment of Bihar. The select-ed students will get a stipend ofRs 12000 during their training,informed Rakesh Ranjan,Chairman of CMAChandrapura Chapter andDeputy General Manager ofDVC, Manager Sunil KumarSinha, Treasurer ShamshadKhalifa and Secretary RudraKumar Shukla.

The selected students areAdil Faiz, Abhishek Kumar,Amit Kumar Mishra, AniketKumar, Manish Kumar andShubham Kumar, said Shukla.

“All total 23 students wereenrolled and studying in CMA(Intermediate) at very afford-able fees. It costs much lesscompared to other vocationaleducation as well as institu-tions,” he added. Anyone cantake admission in CMA aftercompleting their Intermediate.After getting the degree of CMA,students get appointed as an offi-cer in the Finance and AccountsDepartment in any governmentnon-government organisations.

PNS

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On the occasion of World Tribal Day onMonday, Livestock distribution camp

under KCC card and Chief MinisterPashudhan Yojna by the Department ofAgriculture, Animal Husbandry andCooperation, Government of Jharkhandwas completed at the local Nagar Bhawan,Hazaribagh.

In this event, various assets and chequeswere distributed by the Department ofAgriculture, Animal Husbandry and FoodDevelopment. This program was jointlyinaugurated online by Chief MinisterHemant Soren and Agriculture MinisterBadal. Through this programme, five bene-ficiaries for broiler poultry farming weregiven symbolic approval by the AnimalHusbandry Department for this schemeunder the Chief Minister Pashudhan VikasYojana.

Approval letters was handed over for 500broiler rearing units on grant. On the occasion,Animal Husbandry Officer Newton Tirkeysaid that at present, the Centrally SponsoredScheme National Artificial Insemination andNational Animal Disease Control Program isbeing run by the Animal HusbandryDepartment and for identification of allmilching animals, tagging with 12 digit UIDnumber and registered in INFPS free of cost.

He said that at present goat developmentscheme, pig development scheme, backyardlayer poultry, broiler poultry rearing andduck chick distribution scheme are in oper-ation.On the occasion of this program,approval letter of 1325 KCC loan amount-ing to 568 lakh was also distributed amongthe farmers of the district.

Jamshedpur: Passengers of all trains com-ing from outside the state will be subjectedto Covid-19 tests at Tatanagar railway sta-tion. Following fresh instructions fromthe Government, the district adminis-tration has decided to step up vigilanceat the entry points to the district.

According to officials, mushroomingoutbreaks of the Delta variant promptedthem to impose stricter COVID-19 curbs.

Officials of Tatanagar railway stationinformed that the situation is being con-stantly monitored and coordinated at alllevels. Desks have been set up all over therailway system and the staff has been sen-sitized and educated about the subject.

Volunteers are being deputed alongwith the help desk so that the workersdo not face any problem. In view of theconvenience and safety of passengers,adequate amounts of face masks, handsanitizers and other materials will alsobe made available in all buses. An offi-cial said that the COVID-19 variantB.1.617.2 or the Delta variant thatcaused havoc is still the variant of con-cern and if COVID protocols are not fol-lowed, it can still hit back in the form ofa third wave.

“The random tests at public places orareas of arrival will help to identify thepatient so that they can be quarantined tostop further spread. People are not takingthe virus seriously. Markets are flooded withpeople. If the people continue to evade fol-lowing the norms of maintaining social dis-tance and wearing masks, then the num-ber of Covid cases may increase further,"said AK Lal, civil surgeon. PNS

�� ������������ �'>'&3'4�

Atotal of seven people have beenarrested by the Hazaribagh Police in

connection with the firing at JhandaChowk on Sunday morning. Of these,four have been arrested from Hazaribaghand three from Chatra. The police ofSadar and Lohsigna police stations ofHazaribagh have recovered two car-tridges, one live cartridge as well as a bul-let plate of 7.65 bore fired from the spot.

On the other hand, the Swift car usedin the incident, accused of firing and twopistols, 38 live cartridges, one kg of ganjaand brown sugar besides torches and otheritems have been recovered from Chatra.

SDPO, Sadar, Mahesh Prajapati gave thisinformation in a press conference at Sadarpolice station on Monday. He said that thecriminal records of the arrested accused arebeing searched. It is clear that all the arrest-ed accused were involved in drug smugglingand are among the important people of thebrown sugar sale gang in the urban area.

The arrested accused have been iden-tified as Istekhar Ahmed alias Itfekar,Danish Malik alias Jaji, Sadnam Khan aliasSalman Khan, Shubham Singh, brother ofShubham Singh, Vikram Singh, MukeshKumar and Avinash Kumar. The same fac-tion was behind the firing at JhandaChowk. There were people and all cameto Jhanda Chowk to drink tea to accountfor the transaction of money. In this,Vikram Singh came to Jhanda Chowk bycar along with his brother Shivam. Threeof the four arrested are residents of JamaMasjid Subhash Road, two hundredmeters from Jhanda Chowk. While drink-ing tea, there was a dispute over somethingand Vikram took out a pistol from his carand tried to fire it in the air, but he gotsplashed and the bullet went into the shop.

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Power generation has come to a com-plete standstill due to tube leakage

at DVC's 500 MW 'A' plant located atBokaro Thermal here on Sunday. Theplant was generating electricity with acapacity of 491 MW before the pro-duction was stopped,said A.P.Singh,Chief Engineer cum project head.

DVC sources said that in additionto tube leakage in the boiler area of theplant, electricity generation is stoppeddue to sparking in a heavy transformer.The local management is supplyingelectricity to the plants and colonies bytaking electricity from the nationalgrid.

Sources said that due to torrentialrains on July 30, four gates of DVCBokaro Thermal Barrage have beenbroken and washed out. It was already

being said that for therepair of the gate, it isnecessary to drain thewater, only then therepair of the gate can be

done. This is the barrage gate of DVC

built in Bokaro-Konar river. In 1991-92, even during the tenure of thenChief Engineer B.P. Singh, 19 gates ofthe barrage were damaged due to tor-rential rains, due to which the entirewater of the river was washed away. Inthose days, power generation fromboth A and B plants had come to astandstill.

The situation is such that the localemployees of BTPS, who built the bar-rage gates, have already retired. In sucha situation, the work of the gate willstart only after the expert comes fromMaithon,said the CE & PH.

Apart from Bangladesh, the elec-tricity generated from DVC is suppliedto Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana,Jharkhand, Delhi Discoms, West Bengalthrough transmission grid lines. Apartfrom this, electricity is also supplied tosmall and big factories includingRailways, CCL, BCCL, SAIL, Tata Steel,Jindal Steel Company, government andnon-government institutions.

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Jharkhand Government hasdirected the Deputy

Commissioners of at least sevenof 24 districts to intensify vigilon passengers travelling to theState by trains from Delta Plus-affected States, especially Kerala,Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh and asked the con-cerned officials to ensuremandatory Covid testing ofsuch passengers at railway sta-tions followed by thorough con-tact tracing and surveillanceduring their stay in Jharkhand,health officials said on Monday.

Amid the growing fear ofDelta Plus variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is said tohave a higher transmissibilityand lethality, Additional ChiefSecretary Arun Kumar Singh,

in a letter to the deputy com-missioners of Ranchi,Dhanbad, Ramgarh, Bokaro,Deoghar, East Singhbhum andWest Singhbhum stated thatany form of complacency intesting passengers coming from

the states affected by thismutated variant of the viruscould have severe conse-quences.

“Some states in India, pri-marily Kerala, Maharashtraand Madhya Pradesh have wit-

nessed a rise in the positivityrate of Covid-19 lately. Thesestates have also reported casesof the new and more danger-ous Delta Plus variant of thevirus. The concerned deputycommissioners are hereby

directed to ensure Covid test-ing of all passengers travellingfrom these states at railway sta-tions itself, followed by contacttracing and surveillance,” theletter stated.

The deputy commissionershave also been directed to sub-mit daily reports of trainsarriving at various railway sta-tions and passengers travellingby them to the IntegratedDisease SurveillanceProgramme (IDSP) by evening.Daily reporting, officials said,will ensure foolproof surveil-lance and help in detecting anypossible risks at an early stage.

The positivity rate ofCovid-19 in Jharkhand, as perthe letter from Singh, was 2.97per cent, while the positivityrate in Kerala has been 10.59per cent to 12.35 per cent in thepast couple of days, which isworrisome and alarming. Eventhough the passenger traffic hasreduced due to Covid-19, sev-eral trains from Cochin, Pune,Mumbai and Bhopal still arrivein Jharkhand every week, rail-

way officials said. Jharkhand is yet to report

cases of the Delta Plus variantof coronavirus. The govern-ment, however, has been takingseveral precautions to avoid theentry of the mutated variant ofthe virus in the state. All dis-tricts have been directed to sendRT-PCR samples for genomesequencing to the Institute ofLife Sciences (ILS) inBhubaneshwar regularly todetect the variants affectingpeople in the state. Meanwhile,the state is also planning to pro-cure genome sequencingmachines to detect new variantsof concern in the state itself.

The tribal state has report-ed a significant drop in Covidcases after the second wave ofCovid-19 wreaked havoc inJharkhand. As per governmentdata, only 211 residents werebattling the viral infection inJharkhand on Sunday. Thefatality rate has also droppedconsiderably, while Covidrecovery rate has risen to 98.46per cent in the state.

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With the decline in dailycorona caseload and

active cases below 200 figures,the train and flight servicesfrom the State Capital havegained momentum. Not onlyhas the number of train ser-vices gone up, but there is anincrease in the number of pas-sengers too. Presently fromRanchi and Hatia Junction 47pairs of trains are daily makingup and down service. In April/May when corona cases wereat its peak most of the trainswere cancelled while thosewhich were operating had veryfew passengers. As there wasdecline in arrival and departureof trains from Ranchi, footfallof passengers too was less. InMay when Corona was at itspeak, 2.70 lakh passengerstravelled from Ranchi andHatia junction in a month. Butnow with improvement in train

services the monthly footfall ofpassengers from Ranchi andHatia Junction is around 8lakh passengers.

CPRO South EasternRailway, Neeraj Kumar said,“With the decline in coronacases train services haveimproved which has resulted inan increase in number of pas-sengers on trains. Things willimprove further in the comingdays as people will opt for trainservices.” Neeraj Kumar furthersaid that presently out of 67pair trains, 47 trains are oper-ating and in future these trainnumbers will go up.

Sources said that due to therush of passengers on trains,many trains have waiting lists.The Dhanbad--AlleppeyExpress which runs fromDhanbad to Alleppey (Kerala)passing through Katpadi(Vellore) station has a longwaiting list as people fromJharkhand and Bihar use the

train to go to CMC Vellore fortreatment.

Mahesh Lal, a resident ofHarmu area said, “A week backmy son booked two ticked forKatpadi. There was no seat inthe AC or sleeper. I doubtwhether I will get a seat.”

The same is the case offlight services. During the coro-na period only seven to eightflights were operating fromBirsa Munda InternationalAirport, which now withimprovement in situation hasgone up to twenty. Presently, 22flights are arriving and depart-ing from Birsa MundaInternational Airport. A monthback the footfall of passengersat Birsa Munda Airport wasaround 30,000 which now hasgone up to 1.10 lakh passen-gers. Airport Director VinodSharma said, “Things willimprove in coming days asmore flights will operate fromBirsa Munda Airport.”

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The Jharkhand High Courton Monday set-aside the

order issued by the office ofRanchi Municipal Corporationto demolish illegal construc-tions in the municipal area ofRanchi.

The single Bench of JusticeRajesh Shankar passed theorder while hearing a petitionfiled by affected residents ofBandhu Nagar area where thecorporation had undertakendemolition drive.

During the hearing, thecourt said that the due processhas to be followed before pass-ing any order. The court saidthat petitioners have not got theopportunity of hearing andappeal in this case. The courtdirected Ranchi MunicipalCommissioner to conduct aproper hearing to their appli-cation on September 2 beforetaking any decision.

This order has brought abig relief to the people ofHinoo and other localities ofRanchi where RanchiMunicipal Corporation hasundertaken a demolition drive.

Senior lawyer Ritu Kumarand Devarshi Mandal whoappeared on behalf of appli-cants told the court RMC hasbeen demolishing many hous-es on the ground that thesehouses were constructed with-out approval of map. Theysaid that while the corporationpassed the order of demolitionwithout serving any notice toaffected parties.

They said that the corpo-ration had published a noticein this regard in the localnewspapers after which peoplestarted applying before theMunicipal Commissioner forcorrection and regularization.But the corporation turneddown their request which isagainst the law. Ranchi munic-ipal Corporation has beenremoving encroachmentsaround water bodies and riverson the instruction of JharkhandHigh Court.

����� &'���

The Ranchi police onMonday claimed to solve

Ranchi lawyer Manoj Jha mur-der case arresting main accusedin the case Afsar Alam aliasLagda from Bangalore. Basedon information received byRanchi SSP, Surendra Jha apolice team had gone toKarnataka Capital, nabbingLangda and his accompliceShoaib Akhtar. The police haverecovered a revolver and threecartridges from their posses-sion.

Police said that the inves-tigation so far has revealed thatJha the legal advisor of StXavier’s College used to super-vise the work on the 14 acresplot of land, which is a propertyof St Xavier’s College, inRadgaon village near Tamar inrural Ranchi.

Afsar Alam alias Langda, alocal criminal of the area, alongwith his accomplices, had laidclaim over the plot and thematter went to court. The courthad given a verdict in favour ofSt Xavier’s College. Later, Alamand his accomplices chalkedout a plan to get rid of Jha asthey feared that with court ver-dict in favour of the Collegeadministration would spoiltheir reputation in the area.Lagda who wanted to sell theplot of land and distribute the

money among them hatched aconspiracy to eliminate Jha.

On July 26, when Jha alongwith his driver was returningafter overseeing the construc-tion of boundary wall fivecriminals including Afsar intwo bikes intercepted Jha’s carand pumped bullets on himkilling him on the spot. TheRanchi police had registered acase under Sections 302, 120 Band 34 of the IPC.

Earlier, the Ranchi police inthis connection had arrestedfive persons. The arrested per-sons were identified as SonuAnsari, Imdad Ansari, RizwanAnsari, Sanjit Manjhi andShakil Ansari. A country-madepistol, three cartridges, a car, abike and six mobile phoneswere seized from their posses-sion.

Lawyers from Ranchi afterthe incident protested againstthe incident demanding imple-mentation of Advocate protec-tion act in State.

Meanwhile, in other devel-opment more than 400 lawyersfrom Ranchi Civil Court havefiled same number of wakalat-nama in Ranchi court statingthat they will oppose the bail ofaccused in Jha murder case.

Sanjay Vidrohi a lawyerfrom Ranchi Court said, “Themain reason behind lawyers fill-ing such a large number ofwakalatnama is to give a mes-sage that lawyers from RanchiCourt will oppose the bail peti-tion of Afsar and other accusedin case if filled in the court.Though this way, we want toexpress our support and soli-darity in Jha murder case.”

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Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) on Monday attacked

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forraising a finger on the newemployment policy of the State.The party said that challengingthe new policy in the Courtshowed the intention of BJP.

Addressing a Press meet,JMM General Secretary cumSpokesperson SupriyoBhattacharya said that theinterest of the tribals was not inBJP’s intention and they areshedding only crocodile tearsto fool people. No one hasopposed the new policy exceptformer Chief MinisterRaghubar Das, he added.

“There has been a slightdelay in starting the process inthe appointment year, but thetribals will get the benefit ofthis. Those who obstruct it areanti-Jharkhand,” saidBhattacharya.

The party Spokespersonsaid that there was talk of giv-ing lakhs of jobs during theRaghubar Government. Outof 927 posts of Governmentteachers, only 7 local aspirantsfrom the State and rest of thepeople of Banaras and Biharwere given jobs, he added.

“Many fake encounters tookplace during the RaghubarGovernment, which is spiking ininterest of tribal and locals, inwhich innocents were shot in thename of extremists,” saidBhattachrya.

The party Spokespersonsaid that many such names

including Moti Lal Baske fromGiridih including MinhajAnsari, Balram Mahto,Abraham Munda, Roshan Horoare in this list. In such a situa-tion, it is surprising why the for-mer CM is now engaged inspreading confusion amongthe local people of Jharkhand

on the issue of the employmentpolicy, he added.“Jobs werealso distributed to outsidersduring the RaghubarGovernment, which talkedabout the interests of the trib-als. A total of 514 tribal youthswere surrendered by theDigdarshan Sanstha by callingthem fake extremists. Therewere more than 100 boys fromthe Sahu community in this. In2014, the then StateGovernment recommended aCBI inquiry when the thenRaghubar Government came tothe State. The Governmentgave an affidavit in the Courtthat his police agency wouldinvestigate. The then policeofficer, MV Rao had investi-gated the matter. Later theinvestigation was effected,” headded.

“In 2015, five minors wereshot in the Bakoria case. Thereare many such cases in whichthe State treasury was lootedunder the RaghubarGovernment. Embezzlementtook place in the name of dis-tributing chocolates, toffees, T-shirts in the name of foundationday. Now the State Governmentis engaged in bringing this trea-sure to the fore, so Raghubar isfeeling pain,” said Bhattacharya.

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On the memorial day of theQuit India Movement, on

August, 9th the JharkhandPradesh Congress Committee(JPCC) on Monday paid trib-utes to the freedom fighters bygarlanding the statue ofMahatma Gandhi inMorhabadi, in the StateCapital.

JPCC Chief, DrRameshwar Oraon said thatCongress is the only party inthe Country in which the feel-ing of nationalism and loyaltyis full of code. “Those who didnot participate in the inde-pendence of the Country, theyare ruling the Country at pre-

sent. Such people should notteach the Congress party aboutnationalism and patriotism,” headded.

“The Congress partyfought for the independenceof the Country and after inde-pendence has always workedfor the prosperity of theCountry. On this day in 1942,the Quit India Movement andDo or Die was started underthe leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,” saidOraon.

The Party Chief said thattoday the Central Governmentis trying to snatch the freedomand privacy of the peoplethrough Pegasus. When thismatter has come to the fore, theCentral Government shouldapologize to the Country, headded.

Agriculture Minister Badal

said that on 7th and 8th August1942 in the meeting of All IndiaCongress Committee, on thevery second day after the res-olution of "Quit IndiaMovement" was passed, a waveof revolution broke out in thewhole Country and Jharkhandentire movement in unifiedBihar.

Former Union MinisterSubodh Kant Sahay, while pay-ing tribute to the freedomfighters said that the Countryis breathing in the open air atpresent only because of the sac-rifices of those great patriots.

JPCC Spokesperson, AlokKumar Dubey JPCCSpokesperson, Lal KishorenathShahdeo and JPCCSpokesperson, Rajesh Guptaalso expressed their views onthe occasion.

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The Rajya Sabha on Mondaymanaged to pass three

important Bills namely TheTaxation Laws (Amendment)Bill,2021,The CentralUniversities (Amendment) Bill,2021 and The TribunalsReforms Bill, 2021, amidOpposition protest.

With the passage of TheTaxation Laws (Amendment)Bill, 2021, all tax demandsmade on companies like CairnEnergy and Vodafone using a2012 legislation on indirecttransfer of Indian assets priorto May 28, 2012 will be with-drawn.

The Central Universities(Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeksto establish a Central universi-ty in the Union Territory ofLadakh while the TribunalsReforms Bill will abolish nineappellate tribunals, includingthe Film Certification AppellateTribunal (FCAT).

The Bill that aims to end allretrospective taxes imposedon indirect transfer of Indianassets was returned by theupper House amidst a walkoutby the Congress, TMC andDMK.

Replying on the debate,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said,”This (Bill) isappealing enough and puttingan end to this ghost which wehave been carrying all thesewhile from 2012.” Lok Sabhahad passed the Bill last week.

The Minister also informedthe House the Bill provides forno payment of interest onrefunds made under this andthe parties seeking relief wouldnot pursue further appeals orlitigation in these cases.

Parliament also approvedthe Bill to abolish nine appel-late tribunals, including theFilm Certification AppellateTribunal (FCAT), with theRajya Sabha passing it onMonday. The Bill was passed byLok Sabha on August 3.

The Bill moved bySitharaman was also passed bya voice vote in Rajya Sabha,while a statutory motionmoved by the Oppositionmembers to send it to a selectcommittee was negated by adivision vote.

Soon after the passage ofthe Bill, Opposition memberstrooped into the Well of theHouse in protest against thePegasus snooping row and

three farm laws leading to abrief adjournment of theHouse.

Another significant Billwas approved by theParliament paving way for set

up of Sindhu CentralUniversity at Ladakh followingthe passage of CentralUniversities (Amendment) Bill.The university will cater to allareas of Ladakh that include

Leh and Kargil. It aims tofacilitate and promote avenuesof higher education andresearch for the people of theUnion Territory.

The Rajya Sabha passed the

Bill with a voice vote amid awalkout by Opposition partiesincluding the Congress, theTMC and the DMK. The Billwas cleared by Lok Sabha lastweek.

Replying to a discussion onthe Bill, Education MinisterDharmendra Pradhan said,“Leh, Ladakh, is a priority area

for the Prime Minister...we arecommitted to establish a qual-ity institution.”

According to the Statementof Objects and Reasons of theBill, at present there is noCentral university in Ladakhand therefore, the governmenthas decided to establish a newone there to ensure increase in

accessibility and quality ofhigher education.

Pradhan in his statementmentioned that around 7,000students move out of Ladakhfor study and with the estab-lishment of the central univer-sity nearly 2,500 students willget an opportunity to study intheir own city.

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The Lok Sabha on Mondayagain experienced repeat

adjournments before calling ita day in the afternoon afterpassing three Bills in a hurrywithout any discussions amidchaos in the House.

The three legislationspassed are — The LimitedLiability partnership (amend-ment) Bill, 2021, the Depositinsurance and credit guaran-tee corporation (amendment)Bill, 2021 and the Constitution(Scheduled Tribes) Order(Amendment) Bill, 2021.

On the last leg of theMonsoon Session, the LokSabha was adjourned for bare-ly two minutes after 2 pmwhen it resumed its proceed-ings after three adjournmentsamid Opposition demand fora discussion on the Pegasusspyware issue and objecting tothe key Bills being passedwithout discussion.

Trinamool Congressmembers requested the chair

not to pass the SC/STAmendment Bill as it neededdiscussion and “all membersare interested in it”. TMCleaders Sudip Bandyopadhyayand Saugata Roy demanded adiscussion on the Bill. DMKand NCP also called for dis-cussion on the Bill.

Congress leader in theLok Sabha Adhir RanjanChowdhury said he wanted tospeak on the important Billbut the Government has notbeen “allowing discussion”.

Tribal Affairs MinisterArjun Munda said since theOpposition is not ready to dis-cuss this important Bill likethe Constitution (ScheduledTribes) Order (Amendment)Bill, 2021, it be considered forpassage and passing. It waspassed by a voice-vote.

Earlier, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman alsomoved tee bill to amend theDeposit Insurance and CreditGuarantee Corporation Act,1961, as passed by RajyaSabha, to be taken into con-

sideration. This Bill guaranteesdepositors �5 lakh in case offailure of a bank. It was passedby the House amidst bedlam

Similarly, The LimitedLiability Partnership(Amendment) Bill, 2021 , waspassed by Lok Sabha. It hasalready been passed by theRajya Sabha.

Prior to this, OppositionMPs gathered at the Well ofthe Lok Sabha, sloganeeringover ‘Pegasus ‘ snooping issueeven as Sitharaman spoke onthe LLP (Amendment) Bill,2021.

Congress and TMCopposed the introduction ofyet another bill, the NationalCommission for HomeopathyBill saying the government isnot ready for any discussion inthe House and has not alloweddiscussion on the Pegasusspyware issue.

But a determined treasurybench introduced the NationalCommission forHomoeopathy (Amendment)Bill, 2021 in the House.

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Disruptions and repeatedadjournments continued

to mar the Rajya Sabha pro-ceedings on Monday onPegasus controversy, farm lawsand price rise.

Though Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu said he hadallowed discussion on farmers’issues and price rise, theOpposition did not allow theHouse to function. TheOpposition parties insistedthat the Pegasus issue shouldalso be discussed.

The proceedings wereadjourned twice in the pre-lunch session following uproarby the Opposition.

When the House met atnoon after an adjournment,Deputy Chairman Harivanshproceeded with the scheduledQuestion Hour.

But the Opposition mem-bers continued to create aruckus and rushed into thewell of the House shouting slo-gans and displaying placards.

Sensing the mood of theOpposition, the chairadjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

Naidu, along with theMPs, paid homage to martyrsof the Quit India movement.The Chairman said August nine marks the 79thAnniversary of the historicday, on which MahatmaGandhi, the Father of theNation, launched the ‘QuitIndia Movement’, in the year1942.

This spirit of ‘Quit India’

should guide us to banishpoverty, illiteracy, corruption,casteism, communalism, crim-inality in public life, inequal-ities, discrimination and allother forms of evils from ourmotherland, to fully realise thegoals of freedom struggle, hesaid.

When AnandSharma(Congress) pointed outthat the role of the Congress inthe Quit India movement didnot figure in the Chairman’sobservation, Naidu said hewill do the needful.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi virtually transferred

about �19,500 crore to over9.75 crore farmers on Monday,under the Government’sPradhan Mantri Kisan SammanNidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.PM Modi also announced aNational Edible Oil Mission-OilPalm (NMEO-OP) to makeIndia self-sufficient in cookingoils, including palm oil, as hestressed on reducing the depen-

dence on imports. The PrimeMinister also talked about‘Mission honey bee’ and saffronproduction in Kashmir in hisaddress.

“Nearly �1.6 lakh crore havebeen transferred so far underPM-KISAN scheme, of whicharound �1 lakh crore has been

released during the pandemic,”he added. Out of this, �1 lakhcrore was transferred to smallfarmers during the pandemic, hesaid. This amount will be usefulfor small farmers at a timewhen the sowing of kharif cropsis at its peak in the current mon-soon season, he added. PMModi credited farmers withworking hard despite the hurdlespresented by the Covid-19 pan-demic and ensuring bumperproduction last year. PM inter-acted with six farmers.

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Ateam of scientists fromInstitute of Nano Science

and Technology, Mohali, anautonomous institute of theDepartment of Science andTechnology, has developed acomposite paper made of car-bon (graphene oxide) loadedwith preservatives that can beused as wrappers to help extendshelf life of fruits.

Unlike the present preserv-ative dipping technology, wherethe preservatives are adsorbed bythe fruit, causing chronic toxi-city to the consumers; here thewrapper releases the preservativeonly when needed. The wrappercan be reused, which is not pos-sible with the present technolo-gy.

The team led by Dr P SVijayakumar had looked for analternative to conventionalpreservation which relies oncoating the preservative with theresin, wax, or edible polymer,which may cause chronic healthproblems.

“The high preservative-loaded graphene oxide, whencast into a paper used for fruitwrapping, ensures that the fruitis not loaded with toxic preser-vatives. But when the fruit over-ripens or gets infested bypathogens, the acidity increasesby the secretion of acids, critic,

and oxalic acids trigger therelease of the preservatives forthe preservation of the fruit.

“Otherwise, the preservativestays with the carbon wrapper.In the fruit dipping method, thepreservative will be lost alongwith the fruit, whereas the wrap-per can be re-used after the con-sumption of the fruit for thepreservation of the next batch offruits,” said a statement from theinstitute.

To develop this non-toxicand reusable wrapping paper,the team allowed carbon matrixto incubate with the preserva-tive. After the incubation for 24hour in room temperature, theresultant was washed severaltimes to remove the extrapreservatives. And finally, thiscarbon-preservative compositewas cast into paper. This work

has been published in the jour-nal ‘ACS applied materials andinterface’.

“Already waste-derived car-bon materials are known to har-bour huge amount of organicmolecule loading, hence thepreservative loaded carbon hasbeen prepared and cast intopaper for the fruit preservation.Increasing the capacity of car-bon to hold organic moleculeshelped us to develop this prod-uct,” said Dr.Vijayakumar.

This novel product canbenefit the farmers and foodindustry by extending the shelflife of fruits. Using this wrapperfor the fruit will also ensure thatthe customer gets the fruits withhealthy quality, as we havefound improvement in the phe-nol content, the statementadded.

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India soon to have Covid-19vaccine for the 12-18 years

age group with theGovernment likely to giveZydus Cadila’s Covid shotZyCoV-D emergency useauthorisation (EUA) this week.

If approved, ZyCoV-Dwould be the first vaccine in thecountry for the children above12 years to 18 years.

Zydus Cadila had appliedfor the EUA status for its Covidvaccine ZyCoV-D on July 1.The company has conductedthe largest clinical trial for itsCovid-19 vaccine in India,including on the adolescentpopulation in the 12-18 yearsage group.

If approved, ZyCoV-Dwould be the first vaccine inIndia for the 12-18 years agegroup. ZyCoV-D is a three-dose, intradermal vaccine,which is applied using a needle-free system, Tropis, which canalso lead to a significant reduc-tion in any kind of side effects.

Currently, the Indian gov-ernment has authorised fivevaccines for Covid-19 whichinclude, Covishield, Covaxin,Sputnik V, Moderna’s vaccine,and J&J’s single-dose vaccine.

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Continuing with its moneylaundering probe into

Jamat-e-Islami (JeI) terrorfunding case, the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA)on Monday conductedsearches at five locations inBandipora.

On Sunday, the agencyhad conducted searches at56 locations in 14 districts ofJammu and Kashmir.

“Today, in continuation ofthe searches conductedagainst JeI yesterday, NIA,along with J&K Police andCRPF, conducted searches atf ive places in distr ictBandipora,” the agency said ina statement.

Searches conducted onMonday included the premis-es of office bearers and mem-bers of the proscribed associ-ation, JeI. During the search-es, various incriminating doc-uments and electronic deviceswere seized from the premis-es of the suspects, it said.

The searches were con-ducted at 56 locations inSrinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal,Baramulla, Kupwara,Bandipora, Anantnag,Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam,Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar andRajouri distr icts of the Valley.

Besides the premises of

office bearers of JeI and itsmembers, those of the officesof trusts purportedly run byJeI were also searched.

The case was registered bythe NIA on February 5 thisyear following an order fromthe Union Home Ministryrelating to separatist andsecessionist activities of JeI, anunlawful association underthe Unlawful Activit ies(Prevention) Act, even afterits proscription on February28, 2019, the agency has said.

The members of thebanned outfit have beenalleged to be collecting fundsdomestically and abroadthrough donations particu-larly in the form of Zakat,Mowda and Bait-ul-Mal pur-portedly to further charityand other welfare activitiesbut these funds are insteadbeing used for violent andsecessionist activities.

Such funds were alsobeing channelised to bannedterrorist groups like Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM),Lashkar-e-Tayabba (LeT) andothers through well organisednetworks of JeI cadres.

JeI has also been moti-vating impressionable youthof Kashmir and recruitingnew members (Rukuns) inJammu and Kashmir to par-ticipate in disruptive seces-sionist activities.

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Monday said it has

attached a plot of land worth �4crore of ARA Properties inPune as part of a money laun-dering probe against city-basedbuilder Avinash Bhosale.

“Attached property is theland, where Corporate Office(s)of ABIL (Avinash BhosaleInfrastructure Ltd) and its othergroup companies are situated.Avinash Bhosale is the promoterof the ABIL group companies,”the agency said in a statement.

The ED had initiated amoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of an FIR reg-istered by Pune police.

The FIR alleged that theland situated at Plot No 2,Yashwant Ghadge NagarCooperative Housing Society,Range Hill Corner,Ganeshkhind Road, Pune, MH411007 was transferred byRanjit Mohite to ARAProperties in violation ofOriginal Allotment Conditionsexisting at that point of time,whereby the land could have

been transferred only to theGovernment/CommissionedOfficers, being a primary con-dition at the time of allotmentof this land by government in1951, it said.

During the money laun-dering investigation, search andseizure operations were car-ried out at various places andincriminating documents wereseized. The documents foundduring the search corroboratedthe allegations made in theFIR, it further said.

The agency has issued aprovisional order for attachingthe land under provisions of thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

Bhosale has been ques-tioned earlier by the ED in thiscase.

In June, the ED had seizedassets worth over Rs 40 crore,including equity and preferenceshares in three luxury hotels, ofBhosale and his family membersin connection with a separateprobe under Foreign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA)linked to alleged violation of theforeign exchange law.

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The Supreme Court Mondayasked the Centre, Bharat

Biotech, SII and others torespond to a plea seeking direc-tions for disclosure of data onclinical trials of Covid-19 vac-cines as also on post-jab cases.

The apex court, whilereferring to the issue of “vac-cine hesitancy” in India, espe-cially in rural areas, observedthat the World HealthOrganization (WHO) says thatnobody will be safe unlesseverybody is vaccinated.

“We are fighting with vac-cine hesitancy in this country.The WHO says one of themajor problems in the world isvaccine hesitancy.

If we will launch an inves-tigation into this, would it notbe throwing doubts in theminds of people,” a bench ofjustices L Nageswara Rao andAniruddha Bose observed.

Advocate PrashantBhushan, appearing for thepetitioner, said it is not an “anti-vaccine petition” and trans-

parency on the issue was need-ed as disclosure of data wouldrather clear all the doubts andhesitancy.

Bhushan, while makingclear that petitioner was notseeking to stop the ongoingvaccination, said the plea hasalso raised the issue of coercivevaccine mandates being issuedlike putting certain restrictionon travel if someone is not vac-cinated.

The bench issued notices tothe Centre and others, includ-ing Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR), BharatBiotech and Serum Institute ofIndia (SII), seeking theirresponses on the petition with-in four weeks.

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The Supreme CourtMonday asked the

Centre to submit within twoweeks the action takenreport (ATR) on imple-menting the suggestions ofthe court-appointedNational Task Force (NTF)on allocation of oxygen tostates and Union Territoriesamidst the COVID-19 pan-demic.

The top court said thatsince the NTF consists ofsenior doctors and expertsfrom all over the country, itis imperative for the Centreto take steps to ensure thatits recommendations areduly implemented at thepolicy level to meet any exi-gencies in present and fore-seeable future.

A bench of Justices D YChandrachud and M R Shahposted the matter for furtherhearing after two weeks andlisted it along with the suomotu matter on COVID pre-paredness.

The top court noted thatthe final NTF report has

been submitted and an inter-im report of the sub-com-mittee on evaluation of oxy-gen requirement of nationalcapital has been filed.

The top court was hear-ing a plea filed by the Centreagainst the Delhi High Courtorder initiating contemptproceedings against the

Central Governmentofficials for non-complianceof the direction to supply700 MT of medical gradeoxygen for COVID-19patients in the national cap-ital.

At the outset, advocateRajat Nair, appearing onbehalf of the of f ice of

Solicitor General TusharMehta, said that a letter hasbeen circulated last eveningand they need some time tofile ATR on the recommen-dations of the NTF.

The bench told Nair thatit wants to know how thegovernment is implementingNTF’s recommendations.

Senior advocate JaideepGupta, who has beenappointed amicus curiae inthe matter, said that the sub-committee on evaluation ofoxygen allocation to Delhihas submitted its interimreport and the court shouldnot waste its time lookinginto it.

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The Supreme Court onMonday asked the Centre

to apprise it by August 11when it will conduct coun-selling for the NEET-MDSadmissions for which examswere held on December 16,2020.

A bench of Justices D YChandrachud and M R Shahsaid that now that the Centrehas approved OBC reservationin medical seats when it willconduct the counselling.

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for theCentre, said that it will needtwo weeks to work out themodalities and issue a notifi-cation in this regard.

“What is this. We haveread last week that the Centrehas approved the OBC quota.Now again you will take it toOctober or November.

We will not allow this. Youplease tell us by Wednesdaywhen you are going to conductthe counselling. We are listingthe matter as

the first item. You appriseus,” the bench said.

On July 29, the Centre hasapproved announced a 27-percent quota for OBCs and 10per cent reservation for theEconomically Weaker Section(EWS) category in the All-India Quota (AIQ) scheme forundergraduate and postgrad-uate medical and dental cours-es from the current academicyear, 2021-22.

On July 12, the top courthad taken strong note of delayin holdingthe counselling.

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Sixty five years after the publicationof a novel, that got its author the

Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, acontroversy has broken out over its realwriter. A noted critic in Malayalamsays Chemmeen (The Prawn) writtenby Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, isduplication of a story by anotherauthor. Thakazhi, as he was popular-ly known, has the status of a legend inIndia’s literary world. Chemmeen,first published in 1957 has been trans-lated into six foreign languages besidesall Indian languages. Thakazhi won theJnanapeetha, the country’s biggest lit-erary honour in 1984 in the backdropof Chemmeen and other novels likeEnippadikal, The Coir, Randidangazhietc.

Chemmeen was made into a filmand it bagged the President’s award in1965, the first national honour won bya Malayalam. Thottam Rajasekharan,former director of public relations,Government of Kerala, who is also awriter of repute is the one who hascaused an earthquake in Kerala’s lit-erary world with his disclosure that thereal author of Chemmeen was notThakazhi but Vijayan Babu, a fisheriesinspector hailing from the fishermencommunity along coastal Alappuzha.

Rajasekharan had met Babu in1955 while he was posted as social edu-cation officer in Kuttanadu inAlappuzha. Babu and Rajasekharanused to have regular literary discus-sions. Babu had told Rajasekharanabout the unique nature of the fisher-men community.

“They believed that if the womanat home loses her chastity while herhusband was away in the sea for fish-ing, the Mother Sea would devour thelatter. I asked Babu why could not hewrite a novel based on this and othersuch beliefs prevailing in the commu-nity. He replied that he had complet-ed a novel by name Waves and hadhanded it over to Thakazhi, by then anestablished writer in the region,” writesRajasekharan in the latest edition ofSahitya Vimarsam, a journal for liter-ary criticism and which maintainsutmost neutrality in its observationsand analysis. Rajasekharan writes thateven after one or two years, Thakazhidid not return the manuscript ofWaves to Babu. “When Babu and hisfriend Das went to Thakazhi and askedfor the manuscript, the latter got irri-tated and shouted at them stating thathe had lost the same. By 1957 I wastransferred back to Trivandrum. Thiswas followed by the demise of Babudue to typhoid,” reminiscences

Rajasekharan. Thakazhi’s Chemmeenhit the bookshelves immediately afterthe death of Babu.

According to Rajasekharan, theplot, characters and story line ofWaves were familiar to Babu’s friendsas he had discussed the same withthem. “His intention was to portray thefisherman as a strong-willed workerand not as a prisoner of traditionalbeliefs. The novel would have emergedas a volume that depicted the boldnessand adventurous nature of tradition-al fishermen,” said Rajasekharan.

While Babu, who was born andgrew among the fishermen tribe wasfamiliar with their colloquial spokenlanguage and characteristics, the samewas alien to Thakazhi, arguesRajasekharan. He points out that theuniversal truth with respect to greatepics is that the author should be famil-iar with his characters, environmentand events.

“Thakazhy’s style of story tellingis missing in Chemmeen because ofthe absence of biological affinitybetween the author and the plot.Chemmeen has ended up as an ordi-nary love story and does not belong tothe genre of Thakazhi’s distinct style,”says Dr M Rajeev Kumar, literary crit-ic who has exposed plagiarisms com-mitted by many Malayalam writers.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Monday launched a frontalattack on Union HomeMinister Amit Shah for plan-ning the attack onTrinamoolCongress youth wing leaderswhile they were visiting Tripuraon Saturday.

Chief Minister "Biplab Debdoes not have the audacityand courage to launch suchattacks … I must say that theattackers were encouraged byUnion Home Minister AmitShah … he is behind the attackon our men,” Banerjee whowent to see the two TMC stu-dent leaders who were flown into Kolkata and were undergo-ing treatment in government-run SSKM Hospital said.

Student leaders Jaya Duttaand Sudip Raha were badlyinjured in the Saturday’s attackby alleged BJP workers who“attacked our men with brick-bats, stones and guns while thepolice looked the other way,”Banerjee said adding “thepolice only implemented theplan that came from above.”

She alleged "the police notonly remained silent spectatorsto the incident but they did noteven offer a glass of water to thevictims ... such is the brutalityof these BJP men and theGovernment they are run-

ning."Adding that the BJP

Government in Tripura wasrun by a “band of goons”Banerjee alleged “they are alsotargeting Abhishek Banerjee,”Diamond Harbour MP andthe Chief Minister’s nephew.Junior Banerjee’s cavalcade toowas attacked a few days agowhen he was in Tripura.

“Fortunately he was in abullet proof vehicle otherwisehe could have been seriouslyinjured by the bricks thrown bythe BJP goons,” the ChiefMinister said adding the TMCMP’s life was under threatfrom the BJP.

“I have reports the BJP hadpurchased five air tickets toAgartala for five criminals whowere following him … theyseated around Abhishek andwatched him … It seems thathis life is under threat,”Banerjee said adding the “BJPis running a Government of

criminals in Tripura.”Banerjee said “It is clear to

the entire country that the BJPis running an anarchic gov-ernment in Tripura, Assam,Uttar Pradesh and whereverthey are in power… you haveseen how our MPs werestopped from entering Assamwhen they went there to protestagainst the NRC … our MPswere harassed when they wentto UP to stand by the family ofthe Hathras rape victim … andnow they are attacking and pre-venting the TMC leaders fromgoing to Tripura … but I musttell them that the people of thatstate are watching everything… they will give a befittingreply … tomorrow we willtake Tripura from the BJPcome what may.”

She said “The BJP hadonly one and a half years’ timeleft for them … In 2023 elec-tions they will be out ofpower.”

Jammu: Amid heightened securitymeasures ahead of Independence Day,security forces arrested two newlyrecruited Hizbul Mujahideen terror-ists on Monday and averted a "big ter-rorist activity" by recovering a hugecache of arms and ammunition froma hideout in Jammu region, officialssaid.

The success came during inten-sified search and cordon operations bypolice and other security forces inKishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Sambaand Jammu districts following inputsabout movement of suspicious per-sons, the officials said.

A police spokesman said twonewly recruited terrorists affiliatedwith proscribed Hizbul Mujahideenoutfit, Yasir Hussain and UsmanQadir of Dachhan, were arrested dur-ing a search operation fromKalaingassu area of Tander inKishtwar district.

He said the two went missingfrom their houses on August 5 and twodays later it was learnt that they hadjoined Hizbul Mujahideen terrorgroup.

A case under unlawful activities(prevention) act was registered atDachhan police station, thespokesman said.

He said reliable information wasreceived on Sunday regarding theirpresence in Tander and accordingly,the police along with the Army and the CRPF launched a jointoperation which led to theirarrest.

A pistol, two grenades, oneUnder Barrel Grenade Launcher(UBGL) and a wireless set were seizedfrom their possession.

The Border Security Force (BSF)on Monday said a "big terrorist activ-

ity" ahead of Independence Day hasbeen averted with the recovery of ahuge cache of arms and ammunitionfrom a terrorist hideout in Poonch dis-trict.

The recovery which included twoAK-47 rifles, a Chinese pistol, fourgrenades and two mobile phones wasmade during a joint search operationin the forest area at Sangad in Mankotetehsil of Mendhar sector, DeputyInspector General of BSF, S P SSandhu said. PTI

Munger: The police here on Mondayclaimed to have cracked the case of a girl'sgruesome murder with the arrest of four per-sons —a sorcerer who had ordered humansacrifice, a villager who fell into the blackmagic trap and two others who helped per-form the heinous act.

The mutilated body of the eight-year-old child, whose both eyes were gouged out,was spotted at a secluded spot last week andinjury marks on her private parts gave riseto suspicion that she was raped.

Post-mortem report, however, did notconfirm rape but the probe unearthedspine-chilling details.

Munger Superintendent of Police J JReddy, while interacting with reporters, saidthat one of the accused, Dilip Kumar, a res-ident of Padham village, was told by self-styled tantric Parwez Alam that he needs tosacrifice a girl to avert the chances of hiswife's miscarriage.

Kumar's wife had conceived after try-ing unsuccessfully for several years and thecouple attributed the same to the magicalpowers of Alam.

The tantric had insisted that the expec-tant mother needs to wear an amulet “con-secrated” with the blood and eyes of a vir-gin girl.

Kumar then consulted co-villagerTanveer Alam, who had introduced the cou-ple to the sorcerer, and Dashrath, whoresided in a nearby village called Pharda.

Dashrath had said he could makearrangements for the sacrifice at his poul-try farm.

Accordingly, the girl was picked up lastThursday while she was returning homeafter delivering lunch to her fisherman fatheralong the banks of the Ganges.

After performing the gut-wrenching act,the trio met the sorcerer in Khagaria whomade an amulet which Dilip's wife worearound her neck, said the SP.

“Besides Dileep, we have arrestedTanveer and Dashrath. A police team wassent to Khagaria from where the sorcererwas arrested,” the SP added. PTI

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In a huge relief to the healthauthorities, the daily Covid-

19 deaths dipped to a doubledigit of 68 and the infectionsdropped to 4,505 inMaharashtra on Monday, evenas 7,568 patients were dis-charged after full recoveryfrom various hospitals acrossthe State.

After the fatalitiesremained static at 187 for twoconsecutive days and the tallycame down to 151 on Sunday,the daily deaths slumped to 68,while the infections came downfrom 5,508 on Sunday to 4,505on Monday.

With 68 fresh fatalities,the total number of deaths inthe state increased from1,33,996 to 1,34,064, while theinfections -- with 4,505 newcases – climbed from 63,53,328to 63,57,833.

As 7,568 patients were dis-charged from the hospitalsacross the state after full recov-ery, the total number of peopledischarged from the hospitalssince the second week of Marchlast year increased from61,44,388 to 61,51,956. Therecovery rate in the State rosefrom 96.71 per cent to 96.76per cent.

The total “active cases” inthe state increased from 71,510to 68,375.

The fatality rate in thestate stood static at 2.1 per cent.

Pune with 14,159 activecases emerged as the first in thestate in terms of maximumnumber of “active cases” in thestate, while Sangli with 7,271stood second, followed bySatara (6,888), Thane (6130),Solapur (5,996), Ahmednagar(5,641), Kolhapur (4,660) andMumbai (4599).

Of the 4,97,25,694 samplessent to various laboratoriesacross the State so far, 63,53,528have tested positive (12.82 percent) for Covid-19 untilSunday.

Currently, 4,21,683 peo-ple are in home quarantine while 2,895 peopleare in institutional quarantine.

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Vice-President of India M.Venakaiah Naidu on

Monday urgedParliamentarians to playimportant role in addressingpublic health challenges. Hesaid the MPs must becatalystsin the mass awareness cam-paign in the fight against thisdisease by playing a proactiverole in their constituencies.Naidu was speaking on asensitization programme forMPs on TB.

Speaking on the occasion,Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birlasaid that time has come forcollective action to eradicateTuberculosis from India by2025 i.e. five years before theSustainable DevelopmentGoals set by the UN.

Public awareness is themost effective intervention tofight diseases like TB in adeveloping country like India,said Birla. Union Minister ofHealth and Family WelfareMansukh Mandaviya,Minister of State B Pawar alsospoke.

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Pilgrims heading for darshanof Ram Lalla can now catch

a glimpse of the construction ofRam temple in Ayodhya amidsttight security to “watch historyin the making”. A senior trusteeof Shri Ram JanmabhoomiTeerth Kshetra Trust told ‘ThePioneer’ on Monday that a 15-foot-wide iron mesh had beenplaced and pilgrims could watchthe construction from behind it.

“The Trust was regularlygetting requests from people,

who came from far-flung areasof the country, to watch the sitewhere the temple is being con-structed. Earlier we were notallowing people at the con-struction site for security rea-sons. But now it has been decid-ed to allow pilgrims to have aglimpse of the construction siteso that they can go back homeand tell people about the ongo-ing work.

Arrangement is being madeto showcase the constructionwork from Shri Ram Lalla'sDarshan Marg.

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Overtures by Suheldev BhartiyaSamaj Party (SBSP) president Om

Prakash Rajbhar for alliance withSamajwadi Party have put the party ina fix. Though an alliance with SBSP isperfectly in line with SP’s stated poli-cy to ally with only small political par-ties, its leaders have strong reservationsover political tie-up.

“Om Prakash Rajbhar is a toughbargainer and in continuous hunt forgreener pastures. He is holding nego-tiations with the Bharatiya Janata Partyalso and it is difficult for us to ascer-tain where he stands and for how long,”a SP leader said.

“Moreover,” the SP leader said,Even if we enter into an alliance withthe SBSP and leave a couple of seats forit, no one can guarantee that Rajbharwill stay with us after the elections,”Rajbhar has indicated that he is opento an alliance with the opposition par-ties, emphasising that it is high time thatthe opposition unites against the BJP.

“I have opened my doors for everyparty but they should be ready to acceptour demands if they want our support.Our party has a huge influence in eastUP,” the SBSP chief said

He claimed that besides theRajbhar community, his party also hasthe support of other Other BackwardClass communities like Binds, Nishads,Mauryas, and Kushwahas, and that theSBSP has a huge influence amongOBCs in Purvanchal.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad basedAll India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) has expressedapprehensions that its alliance with theSBSP will not last. The AIMIM, whichplans to contest in 100 seats in UP’s2022 Assembly elections, is in a dilem-ma following Om Prakash Rajbhar'srecent meeting with BJP state presidentSwatantra Dev Singh.

The AIMIM, which considers itselfto be a heavyweight within theBhagidari Sankalp Morcha (BSM)coalition, floated by Rajbhar, is yet toget a clear understanding of OmPrakash Rajbhar’s intentions as he wasan ally of the BJP in the past and hadalso served as a UP Cabinet Ministerbefore parting ways during the 2019general elections.

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Continuing her attack on the Yogi AdityanathGovernment, Congress general secretary Priyanka

Gandhi Vadra on Monday said the Government cannothide the "plight" of farmers by giving full page advertise-ments. She also questioned that Government on what ithad done about the "black agri laws".

The Congress leader's attack came over a media reporton a farmer allegedly committing suicide in Pichaura vil-lage under Kanpur Dehat after his crops were ruined dueto floods in the village.

"Farmers are the soul of this country. The UPGovernment cannot hide the plight of the farmers by giv-ing full page advertisements. Tell me what did you do --With regard to stray cattle? Compensation for crop loss?Payment of sugarcane dues? About black agri laws?Regarding inflation and the price of electricity?" she saidin a series of tweets in Hindi on Monday.

Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and westernUttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi's borders sinceNovember last year in protest against three agriculturallaws. Out of them, a small group of 200 farmers are nowstaging a protest at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi aftergetting special permission.

The Congress and several other opposition parties aredemanding repeal of the farm laws.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Congress on Mondaylaunched the “BJP Gaddi Chhodo” campaign against theruling Bharatiya Janata Dal in UP. The campaign was start-ed on the anniversary of Quit India Movement.

According to UP Congress president Ajay KumarLallu, the party held demonstrations and took outmarches in all assembly constituencies over issues suchas price rise, unemployment, farmers’ plight and the lawand order situation.

Lallu alleged that the Congress leaders were eitherstopped, house arrested or detained at several places tostop them from taking out the procession to expose themisdoings of the Government.

Lucknow: In a shocking inci-dent, irked by regular spats withher husband, a woman slit thethroat of her two children witha sharp-edged weapon in theirsleep, killing one of them andgrievously injuring the other ata village in Moradabad onSunday. She later tried to endher life but was rescued by herneighbours who rushed theinjured to the hospital.

As per reports, Preeti usedto have regular fights with herhusband, Devendra, over finan-cial issues. On Sunday, some kinnoticed two children lying in apool of blood at their home atGhosipura village of Katgharpolice station area and informedthe police. One of the victims,Adarsh (4) died on the spotwhile Preeti and her elder sonDaksh were rushed to a privatemedical facility in Pakhwaraarea.

The family members saidthat Devendra worked as a con-tractor at a firm and was gettingdelayed salary in recent monthswhich resulted in frequent fightswith Preeti with the latter insist-ing him to change his job. PNS

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tains a stranglehold over theTaliban, acting as its puppeteer.Reading between the lines, onecan also speculate that theDoha Accord, though primar-ily between the Taliban and theUS to prevent a recurrence ofterrorism, is an outcome ofcrafty PakistanMachiavellianism. The Taliban’sacquiescence at the insistence ofPakistan underlines a biggerPakistani game plan: Pakistanaims to shift its anti-India ter-rorist activity into a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to cir-cumvent the FATF sanctions.Pakistan has too much at staketo allow even an iota of rap-prochement between India andthe Taliban.

To claim that India’s out-reach will embolden the Talibanto strike an independent pathbereft of Pakistan’s influence (assome commentators assert) isnothing more than wishfulthinking. The discordant voic-es emanating from the Talibanand the continuous flip-flops donot inspire confidence for nego-tiations. Last year, when Talibanspokesperson ZabihullahMujahid said they would “cap-ture Kashmir from infidels”after gaining control of Kabul,Suhail Shaheen, the spokesper-son for the Islamic Emirate ofAfghanistan, the political wingof Taliban, stepped in to clari-

fy: “The statement published inthe media about the Talibanjoining Jihad in Kashmir iswrong…. The policy of theIslamic Emirate is clear that itdoes not interfere in the inter-nal affairs of other countries.”

This conciliatory tone mayhave been a ploy to temperIndia’s military support for theAfghan Government till theTaliban attained its objective.Today, Suhail Shaheen is singinga different tune. Recently, heremarked: “India was sidingwith the Government installedby foreigners. They are not withus. If they stick to their policyof supporting a Governmentimposed on Afghans, thenmaybe they should be worried.That is a wrong policy whichwill not serve them.” (AnchalVohra: ‘India Is Scrambling toGet on the Taliban’s Good Side’;Foreign Policy; July 13, 2021.)

Realistically speaking,talks with the Taliban are afutile venture and unlikely toyield any results. But therecan be no harm in Indiapursuing this line of thoughtas a lateral avenue. Againstthis evil triumvirate ofPakistan, the Taliban andKashmiri terrorist groups,the civilian-led Ashraf GhaniGovernment, however weak,is still India’s best bet.

A quick and complete

takeover by the Taliban maynot be a given. On July 21 and22, alarmed by the Taliban’srapid gains, the US launchedmultiple airstrikes in andaround Kandahar to stall theTaliban’s advance. And thereare indications that there maybe more airstrikes.

So, short of putting bootson the ground, India must con-tinue to support the AfghanNational Security Forces as ithas done so far by trainingarmy personnel and supplyingessential military equipment.In addition, it should initiate abroader diplomatic initiativeunder the aegis of the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation(SCO) and the United Nationsto stall a violent takeover ofAfghanistan by the Taliban.

While we can continue toexplore these options, in theultimate analysis we alone areresponsible for our securityand cannot be dependent onexternal permutations andcombinations. In short, arobust and advanced militarypreparedness along the entireperimeter of our nation is theonly iron-clad permanentsecurity guarantee.

(The author, a US-basedacademic and political com-mentator, frequently writes oncurrent affairs in India. Theviews expressed are personal.)

������������� ��������������Sir — The Tokyo Olympics turned out tobe a defining moment for Indian sportsin more than one way. That the medalscame in a variety of disciplines comes asa shot in the arm for our aspiring young-sters to take sports as career.

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, wholanded his spear into the pages of historyto earn India’s first track and field goldmedal, has scripted a golden chapter in thehistory of Indian athletics. It can be a par-adigm shift from how we perceive athlet-ics, an arena which has eluded Indiansfrom getting medals for over 100 years.

In fact, winning medals in diverseevents has busted several stereotypes. It’sa resounding testimony that the Indianplayers cannot only compete but also beattheir European counterparts, providedthey get world-class facilities, adequatecoaching and financial support from theGovernment. Our Olympic icons havebrought laurels to the country. In fact, thesestars have raised the stature of Indiansporting to greater heights.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

��������������� �� ������Sir — All is not well with the monsoonsession of Parliament logjam, which con-tinues and is likely to end on August 13without conducting any worthwhile busi-ness. It’s sheer wastage of public moneyas the Opposition parties have hardenedtheir stand and strongly conveyed to theGovernment that the discussions on thefarmers’ three farm laws and the allegedPegasus snooping issues must be allowedin Parliament, but the Government hasrefused the demand.

It is unfortunate that the UnionGovernment has unleashed a misleadingcampaign to malign the combinedOpposition and to blame it for the con-tinued disruption in both the Houses. Theresponsibility for ending the deadlockrests squarely at the doorstep of theGovernment, which remains arrogant andobdurate, refusing to accept theOpposition’s demand for an informeddebate in both the Houses. The

Opposition’s repeated requests to theGovernment to respect the norms of par-liamentary democracy have fallen on deafyears. It seems that the rigid ruling dis-pensation is bent upon murdering thedemocracy in our country. It now looksalmost certain that the monsoon sessionof Parliament will be washed out and theCentre, in spite of having a clear major-ity, is unable to handle the situation.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

�� ����� �������������� �������Sir — Assam can only boast of being thelargest exporter of tea; the cream isenjoyed by the large tea manufacturingcompanies. Nearly 49 per cent of the teaproduced in Assam is from the greenleaves of small tea growers. Around 1 lakhof them are local unemployed youth who

work without any Government help.These tea farmers get only �15-18 per

kg. The big tea manufacturing companiescharge �500-700 per kg for the finishedproduct. The price the small tea farmersget doesn’t even match the cost, let alonemaking a profit. The pandemic-inducedlockdown has hammered these small teagrowers and they have incurred losses tothe tune of �500 crore. When will thefarmers, be it of tea, paddy or fruit, get theirdue? The small growers are demanding amodest �40 per kg for green leaves. I urgethe Ministries concerned to cast a kind eyetowards these small tea growers who worktirelessly to help keep afloat Assam’s titleof the “Tea Capital of India”.

Noopur Baruah | Tezpur

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Capitalising on the USdecision to withdrawfrom Afghanistan, theTaliban has accelerated its

violent sweep across the country,grabbing large swathes of territo-ry to establish itself as the solestakeholder to govern Afghanistan.In this rapidly changing geopolit-ical scenario of Taliban ascendan-cy, the clamour for India to initi-ate talks with the Taliban is grow-ing louder.

So, how does India positionitself to address its security con-cerns vis-a-vis terrorism spillingover from Afghanistan intoKashmir and protect its investmentthere? Should India shed its pastinhibitions, compromise on itsprinciples and invoke pragmatismto initiate talks with the Taliban?And what are the chances of thetalks succeeding?

To begin with, India has hada strained relationship with theTaliban. The last time it was inpower (1996-2001), there was asharp increase in Afghan Jihadielements infiltrating into Kashmir.And in 1999, it was in the forefrontof providing sanctuary and safepassage to the hijackers of IC-814at Kandahar who had successful-ly negotiated the release of MasoodAzhar, the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed; it was a humiliatingexperience that India must not for-get or forgive.

Additionally, Kashmiri terror-ist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba,Jaish-e-Mohammed and HizbulMujahideen have strong continu-ing bonds with some factions of theTaliban, who share their anti-India hostility. The Haqqani group,which is one of the well-trainedTaliban factions, has targeted sev-eral Indian consulates in the pastand was responsible for the dead-ly Kabul bombing in 2008 thatkilled over 50 people. Given itscommitted anti-India sentimentsand inseparable ties with Kashmir-centric terror groups, it is unlike-ly that the Taliban will change itspolicy towards India. Even if someof its factions may negotiate withIndia, its disjointed hierarchy withits disparate groups makes it almostimpossible for a top-down diktat towork.

And then there is the Pakistanfactor. The Taliban is Pakistan’sFrankenstein, created and sus-tained by the ISI. Pakistan main-

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According to a statement by theMinister of State for Finance,Bhagwat K Karad, in Parliament,non-performing assets (NPAs) or

bad loans of banks declined from a highof around �1036,000 crore as on March 31,2018, to �896,000 crore on March 31, 2020,and further down to �834,000 crore onMarch 31, 2021.

The choice of March 31, 2018 has spe-cial significance. Under the UPA, partic-ularly during its second tenure 2009-2014,banks recklessly gave loans to corporatehouses and businesses without assessingthe viability of the projects and conduct-ing due diligence. The ability of the con-cerned projects to generate the requiredcash to service the loans was in doubt fromday one. There was an element of‘inevitability’ in such loans becomingNPAs. Indeed, these did become NPAs butwere not recognized in the balance sheet.

In 2015, at the behest of the Modi-gov-ernment, Reserve Bank India (RBI)ordered an asset quality review (AQR) ofall commercial banks to identify stressedassets and make necessary provisions in thebalance sheet. As a result, their gross NPAsrose from about �323,000crore as onMarch 31, 2015 to �1036,000 crore as ofMarch 31, 2018.

Accordingly, in 2016, the Governmentenacted the Insolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC). It overrides other subsistinglaws and gives a strong handle to banks forresolving NPAs with in a strict timeframe. In 2017, it amended the BankingRegulation Act (BRA) giving RBI the pow-ers to force banks to act if they do not ontheir own. On February 12, 2018,the RBIissued a circular that provided a founda-tional basis for resolving NPAs.

As per this circular, for accounts withaggregate exposure greater than �2,000crore, as soon as there was a default in theaccount with any lender, all lenders - singlyor jointly - shall initiate steps to cure thedefault by preparing a resolution plan (RP).This needed to be done within six monthsfrom the date of default failing which pro-ceedings would be initiated (albeit underIBC) by the National Company LawTribunal (NCLT).The NCLT would get sixmonths to complete the resolution process.

According to Karad, public sectorbanks (PSBs) have recovered over �500,000crore (including private banks, the recov-ery would be even higher). Against this,the decline in NPAs between March 31,2018, and March 31, 2021, is only about�200,000 crore. Even this gain will bewiped off once the impact of lifting theembargo on recognizing bad loans(imposed last year to give relief fromCOVID, this was removed on March 24,2021) is captured.

This shows the emergence of freshNPAs during this period. Pertinently,these also include loans given before2014 but did not come under RBI radarearlier during the AQR exercise.The prob-lem is not just with (i) the pace and quan-

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Even as Andhra PradeshChief Minister Y.S.JaganMohan Reddy is studying

various proposals to improvehealth infrastructure in thestate, COVID-19 has thrownup a new challenge promptinghim to immediately initiate asustained strategy to check thepandemic situation.

Strictly adhering to theguidelines and advice from theUnion government and in closecoordination with WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)teams, Jagan Reddy’s adminis-tration has swiftly swung intoaction to combat the infection.

Following the health roadmap already laid by his latefather,Dr.Y.S.RajasekharaReddy, in the united AndhraPradesh when the latter wasChief Minister, Jagan Reddy hasbrought COVID treatment

under YSR Aarogyasri, cover-ing more than 90 per cent of thepopulation for free treatment inall the network hospitals.

The Sri KrishnaCommittee stated that the com-bined public expenditure onhealthcare as a share of theundivided state's domesticproduct declined from 1.29per cent in the 7th Five YearPlan to 0.96 per cent in the 8th

Five Year Plan and had furtherdeclined to 0.76 per cent by2005-06. Thus, there was a con-tinuous decline in budget allo-cation to health services evenbefore bifurcation.Understanding the factual con-ditions, Jagan Reddy’s govern-ment in its first budgetannounced the expansion ofYSR Aarogyasri, a free healthinsurance scheme for the poor,to cover all the households with

annual incomes of less than �5lakh and all cases where med-ical expenses cross �1,000 with-out any limit on the cost oftreatment.

In view of the severe sec-ond wave of COVID-19 and apossible third wave, an ade-quate allocation has been madeto deal with the pandemic,while strengthening medicaland health infrastructure in theState. Treatment of black fun-gus, which is reported inpatients recovering fromCOVID-19, has been brought

under the ambit of YSRAarogyasri. Sufficient fundsare made available for ‘108’ and‘104’ emergency medical ser-vices that are being extensive-ly used in the fight againstCOVID-19. The government isalso establishing 16 new med-ical colleges in the State.

A three-pronged strategy isbeing implemented to tacklethe surge. District collectorshave been given powers totake over private hospitals toarrange for beds for COVID-19patients. As such, the numberof COVID-19 hospitals in thestate has been increased to649 as the government tookover some private hospitals.These hospitals have 87,845beds including 47,169 bedswith ICU facilities. Besidesempanelled network hospitalsin State, a tie-up has been

arranged with 112 corporatehospitals in Hyderabad,Chennai, and Bangalore toAarogyasri services to help thehealth cardholders.

In April, the governmenthas approved the appointmentof 1,170 specialists, 1,170 gen-eral duty medical officers, 2,000staff nurses, and 306 anaesthe-sia technicians. The newrecruitments are mainly tohandle the current surge in theCOVID-19 cases. Theserecruitments are in addition tothe appointment of 3,145 med-ical and paramedical staff to fillvacancies and newly sanc-tioned posts in 2020.

The Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment has changed its strat-egy of testing COVID-19patients. Unlike random testingdone in the first wave, theadministration is now concen-

trating on focused testing. Afocused vaccination strategyhas been adopted with priori-ty being given to those withsymptoms. With the change instrategy number of tests donein a day crossed 60,000 now.

Similarly, utmost priority isgiven to contact tracing, com-munity surveillance, and thesentinel surveillance systemsbeing implemented. Duringthe first wave in 2020, fiverounds of door-to-door surveywere conducted involving 4.26lakh health care workers assist-ed by 14,947 village volunteersattached to the VillageSecretariat system. Door-to-door surveys are a continuousprocess now. Intensive surveysare being conducted as andwhen fresh cases are reportedto identify people having symp-toms and provide them with

medical assistance.From having zero testing

labs in March to having themaximum number of govern-ment-run labs as of date, thestate has come a long way byestablishing 78 testing labs ingovernment hospitals and 54labs in private hospitals.

Andhra Pradesh set a newrecord by administeringCOVID-19 vaccine to 13.59lakh beneficiaries on June 20 lastsurpassing its record of giving6.28 lakh jabs in a single day onApril 14. In another mega driveon July 27, as many as 11,50,911people were vaccinated. Priorityhas been given to teachers afterthe government decided toresume schools from August 16.The cumulative number ofCOVID-19 vaccine dosesadministered in the state as ofAugust 1 touched 2,18,87,925.

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tum of recovery but also (ii) moreand more skeletons coming out ofthe cupboard.

Regarding (i), according toIBBI, in 363 major cases, bankshave taken hair-cut of 80 per centon an average (for some such asVideocon, it is even higher at 95 percent). That apart, the timelines wererarely honored thanks to the hur-dles created by competing suitorsand delinquent promoters by chal-lenging the NCLT award.

Ironically, a revised circularissued by the RBI on June 7, 2019- under directions from theSupreme Court- has seriouslyundermined the IBC process itself.It gives banks 180 days to come upwith RP (in addition to 30 days toenter into an inter-lender agree-ment or ILA). If they do not, theyare required to make an addition-al provision of 20 per cent. If theydonot finalize the plan within 365days, an additional 15 per cent pro-vision has to be made. Put simply,under this circular, banks are notbound to act in a time-boundmanner.

As for (ii), the emergence offresh NPAs is a bigger worry whenwe consider the fact that a big sliceof this is due to a flurry of fraudswhich have led to four major finan-cial institutions, Yes Bank, Punjaband Maharashtra Cooperative(PMC) Bank, InfrastructureLeasing and Financial Services(IL&FC), and Dewan HousingFinance Corporation Limited(DHFL) towards bankruptcy in thelast three years. During this period(2018-20), the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) registered bank

fraud cases involving amountsworth over �100,000 crore. Thefrauds are an outcome of a well-orchestrated game plan in whichbank or FI officials are activelyinvolved. These are systemic faults.At a fundamental level, these haveto do with a sense of fearlessnessamongst fraudsters and bank offi-cials that even if they do somethinghorribly wrong, they will get awayscot-free.

During the initial few years ofthe NDA government, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s repeat-ed exhortation that he will put anend to what he described as ‘phonebanking’ - a euphemism for givingloans merely based on verbalinstruction given by top politicalbrass - instilled confidence. It sig-naled that henceforth, banks willonly sanction loans based on duediligence and assessing the viabil-ity of the project for which the loanis taken. However, those expecta-tions have been belied.

There is nothing on the hori-zon to show that things will changefor the better. Far from that, arecent decision of the govern-ment to let CBI look into onlysome ‘extraordinary’ cases such asIDBI Bank-Kingfisher Airlines(even as most other cases will beinvestigated by specialized agenciessuch as the Serious FraudInvestigation Office) has acted asa further dampener. An argu-ment that this is necessary toprotect bank employees whose“genuine business decisions” couldgo wrong is untenable. Suchemployees who do their job hon-estly need not fear even if they are

under CBI scanner.A loan that turns bad due to a

genuine business decision goingwrong, say, due to adverse eco-nomic conditions hampering theability of borrower firm generatecash, always lends itself to becom-ing standard as and when condi-tions improve. In sharp contrast,a loan that was taken with the soleintention of siphoning off funds forpersonal gains is bound to sufferirreversible damage. This needs tobe dealt with an iron hand; sadly,that is not happening.

The government is also quickto provide succor to banks in avariety of ways, be it capital infu-sion by way of budgetarysupport,or sale of stressed loans tostate-owned asset reconstructioncompany (ARC). Thus, havingalready pumped �300,000 croreduring the last five years or so, itis giving �200,000 crore this timeby giving a sovereign guarantee forthe security receipts (SRs)to beissued by the recently set up ‘badbank’. This breeds complacency.

With so many loose ends inthe subsisting system, it is only nat-ural that any perceptible decline inNPAs will continue to elude us.Instead, this monster will onlygrow in sizeunless three basicconditions are met — (i) fearsinks in that the fraudsters (andtheir co-conspirators in the banks)will end up paying a heavy pricefor their wrongful acts; (ii) the effi-cacy of IBC mechanism is restoredby reinstating RBI’s February 12,2018 circular, and (iii) the govern-ment bail-out is considered as a lastresort only.

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Kabul: The Taliban on Mondaytook control of another provin-cial capital in Afghanistan, anofficial said, the insurgentspressing on with their relentlessoffensive as American andNATO forces finalise theirpullout from the war-torncountry.

The militants have rampedup their push across much of

Afghanistan in recent weeks,turning their guns on provin-cial capitals after taking districtafter district and large swathsof land in the mostly ruralcountryside even as they wagean assassination campaign tar-geting senior Government offi-cials in the capital, Kabul.

The sweep comes despitecondemnations by the inter-

national community and warn-ings from the United Nationsthat a military victory andtakeover by the Taliban wouldnot be recognised.

The Taliban have also notheeded appeals to return to thenegotiating table and continuelong-stalled peace talks withthe Afghan Government.

According to Mohammad

Noor Rahmani, the councilchief of northern Sar-e Pulprovince, the Taliban overranthe provincial capital after overa week of resistance by theAfghan security forces, afterwhich the city of Sar-e Pul col-lapsed. The Government forceshave now completely with-drawn from the province, hesaid.

Several pro-governmentlocal militia commanders alsosurrendered to the Talibanwithout a fight, allowing theinsurgents to gain control of theentire province, Rahmaniadded.

The city of Sar-e Pul joinsthree other provincial capitalsnow fully under Taliban con-trol: Zaranj, the capital of west-ern Nimroz province, the cityof Shibirghan, the capital ofnorthern Zawzjan province,and Taleqan, the capital ofanother northern provincewith the same name.

The Taliban are also fight-ing on for control of the city of

Kunduz, the capital of northernKunduz province. On Sunday,they planted their flag in thecity's main square, where it wasseen flying atop a traffic policebooth, a video obtained by TheAssociated Press showed.

Kunduz''s capture would bea significant gain for theTaliban and a test of their abil-ity to take and retain territoryin their campaign against theWestern-backed government. Itis one of the country's largercities with a population ofmore than 340,000, and was akey area defended againstTaliban takeover by Westerntroops over the years. AP

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Dhaka: Miscreants attacked atleast four Hindu temples, someshops and households belong-ing to the minority communi-ty in Bangladesh's Khulna dis-trict, prompting police to arrestten people and beef up securi-ty in the area, according to amedia report.

The incident took place onSaturday in Shiali village inRupsha Upazila following aheated altercation betweenHindu and Muslim residents

on Friday night, the DhakaTribune reported.

According to local resi-dents and victims, the miscre-ants first attacked the ShialiMahasmashan temple. Theyvandalised the idols in thetemple and the crematorium.

From there, they went tothe Shiali Purbapara area,where they vandalised the idolsof Hindu gods and goddessesin Hari Mandir, Durga Mandirand the Govinda Mandir, the

report said.Six shops and two homes

of the local Hindu communi-ty members were also van-dalised, it said.

Krishna Gopal Sen, gener-al secretary of Rupsha UpazilaPuja Udjapan Parishad, saidthat at least 10 idols at fourtemples were vandalised duringthe attacks.

“There is high tension inthe area now. But the localadministration is working tokeep the overall situation undercontrol," Sen said. PTI

Beijing: China has opened anewly constructed terminal -stated to be the biggest inTibet - at the provincial capi-tal Lhasa, further expandingthe transport infrastructure inthe strategic Himalayan regionand helping it emerge as a glob-al logistics hub for South Asia,the official media here report-ed on Monday.

Lhasa Gonggar Airportopened its newly constructedTerminal 3 for operations onSaturday, marking a significantmilestone in the remoteregion''s rapid infrastructure

development that could signif-icantly boost passenger andcargo transport, state-runGlobal Times reported.

The airport expansion pro-ject was carried out at a cost ofUSD 603 million, it said,adding that the move wouldhelp the region become a glob-al logistics hub for South Asia.

With the new terminal,the airport is expected to meetan annual handling capacity ofnine million passengers and80,000 metric tonnes of cargo,handling more than 75 per centof the passenger flow of all air-ports in Tibet, the report said.

Tibet has five airportsincluding at Nyingchi, Shigatseand Ngari located close to theIndian and Nepal borders.

The massive expansion ofair, road and rail infrastructureis aimed at boosting civilianand military transportationconsidering Tibet is locatedclose to Arunachal Pradesh inIndia, Nepal and Bhutan. PTI

Cairo: Russia resumed flightsto Egyptian resorts on the RedSea on Monday, ending a banthat had lasted around sixyears following the bombing ofa Russian airliner that killed all224 people onboard.

The local branch of theIslamic State group said itdowned the plane over Sinai inOctober 2015, shortly after theaircraft took off from the Red

Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.At the time, Russian officialsinsisted that security proce-dures at Egyptian airports wereinsufficient.

Early on Monday, EgyptAirflight MS724 took off fromMoscow with 300 tourists.Hours later, the Airbus A300-330 landed in Hurghada, a RedSea destination, Egypt's carriersaid in a statement. PTI

Bamako: Gunmen haveattacked several villages innorthern Mali, “shooting atanything that moved” andkilling at least 40 people inapparent retribution for therecent arrest of several jihadileaders, authorities saidMonday.

The latest violence tookplace in the volatile area alongthe borders of Mali, Niger andBurkina Faso where extremistslinked to the Islamic Stategroup are active.

The attackers identifiedthemselves as jihadis whenthey arrived Sunday around 6p.m. in the communities ofOuatagouna and Karou, localofficial Oumar Cisse said.

"Most of the victims werein front of their houses; otherswere going to the mosque,” hetold The Associated Press.

The attack comes a weekafter the Malian army arrestedtwo jihadi leaders who hadbeen denounced by residents of

Ouattagouna and Karou.Islamic extremists have

been a threat in the area foryears. The jihadi rebels firstseized control of cities innorthern Mali back in 2012.Although a French-led militarydrive forced the rebels out ofthe urban centers the followingyear, the militants quicklyregrouped in rural areas andhave continued to launch dev-astating attacks on militarytargets.

Civilians are increasinglycoming under attack as well,with hundreds killed sinceJanuary in a series of masskillings in villages near the bor-der of Niger and Mali.

France, the former colonialpower, announced last monththat it would be withdrawingmore than 2,000 troops byearly next year from the Sahelregion, the vast area below theSahara Desert that stretchesacross several countries.

AP

Islamabad: Pakistan is likelyto host a regional conferenceon Afghanistan as part of adiplomatic push to prevent acivil war in the war-tornneighbouring country, accord-ing to a media report onMonday.

“We are planning to hostforeign ministers of the keyregional countries on theAfghan situation,” TheExpress Tribune quoted asenior Pakistani official assaying.

The official added thatthey could not provide the listof invitees.

However, sources said for-eign ministers of the neigh-

bours of Afghanistan, includ-ing Russia, China, Iran andother stakeholders like Turkeywould attend the conference.

The idea behind the ini-tiative is to discuss the latestsituation and evolve a con-sensus to prevent a civil warin Afghanistan, the reportsaid.

The neighbours ofAfghanistan are concernedthat the deteriorating situationin the war-torn country wouldhave a negative impact on theregion. A Taliban surge inAfghanistan has intensified asUS and NATO troops wrap uptheir withdrawal from thecountry. PTI

Dubai: Some of the foreigncontractors who powered thelogistics of America's "foreverwar" in Afghanistan now findthemselves stranded on anunending layover in Dubaiwithout a way to get home.

After nearly two decades,the rapid US withdrawal fromAfghan has upended the lives ofthousands of private securitycontractors from some of theworld's poorest countries — notthe hired guns but the hiredhands who serviced theAmerican war effort. For years,they toiled in the shadows ascleaners, cooks, constructionworkers, servers and technicianson sprawling American bases.

In the rushed evacuation,scores of these foreign workerstrying to get home to thePhilippines and other countriesthat restricted internationaltravel because of the pandem-ic have become stuck in limboat hotels across Dubai.

As the U.S. brings home itsremaining troops and aban-dons its bases, experts say thechaotic departure of thePentagon's logistics army laysbare an uncomfortable truthabout a privatized system longsusceptible to mismanagement— one largely funded byAmerican taxpayers but outsidethe purview of American law.

AP

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The European Union's for-eign policy chief said

Monday that NicaraguanPresident Daniel Ortega hascrushed any prospect of freeand fair elections in Novemberby arresting dozens of opposi-tion figures.

“The opposition has beeneliminated. Nicaraguans arebeing deprived of the basichuman and civil right to votein a credible, inclusive andtransparent election,” JosepBorrell said in a statement.

Nicaragua is scheduled tohold national elections Nov. 7.and Ortega is seeking a fourthconsecutive term. He placed anopposition vice presidentialcandidate under house arrestlast week, yet another sign ofincreasing repression.

Athens: Firefighters and resi-dents battled a massive forestfire on Greece's second largestisland for a seventh dayMonday, fighting to save whatthey can from flames that havedecimated vast tracts of pristineforest, destroyed homes andbusinesses and sent thousandsfleeing.

The smoke and ash fromthe fire on Evia, a ruggedisland of forests and covesalmost touching the Greekmainland, blocked out the sun,turning the sky orange as theblaze rampaged across thenorthern part of the island.

Evia's fire, which beganAugust 3, is the most severe ofdozens that have broken outacross Greece in the past week,after the country was baked byits worst heat wave in threedecades which sent tempera-

tures soaring to 45 degreesCelsius (113 Fahrenheit) for days.

The heat, coming amidwhat has already been a par-ticularly hot summer, hasturned Greece''s forests, includ-ing large areas of easily flam-mable pine trees, into bone-drytinderboxes.

Other big fires have beenburning forests and farmlandin the southern Greek region ofthe Peloponnese, while a majorblaze that burned into thenorthern suburbs of Athensand Mount Parnitha nationalpark on the fringes of the cap-ital was on the wane.Firefighting efforts continuedin Parnitha, where French,Israeli and Cypriot firefighterswere helping their Greek col-leagues.

AP

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Lagos: Nigerian security forces searched Monday fora Swiss man and his Nigerian colleague after the pairwere abducted by gunmen in the country's southwest. The Swiss national was kidnapped along with aNigerian citizen on Saturday, Ogun state policespokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi said. Two of the gun-men were shot dead by police while the othersescaped with the hostages.

The Swiss foreign ministry said Sunday night it isaware of a kidnapping based on media reports. A for-eign ministry spokesman said the Swiss embassy inNigeria is in touch with Nigerian authorities to learnmore about the kidnapping.

Nigeria has seen an increase in abductions for ran-som by gunmen, with nearly 1,000 people kidnappedin the last six months. Most of them are children takenin mass abductions from schools.

Many foreigners have been abducted in Nigeria overthe years, mostly for ransom in the country's volatile,oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Last October, US Special Forces successfully res-cued an American held hostage in northern Nigeriaafter killing some of the gunmen holding him. AP

Los Angeles: A modified drugprescribed to treat tapeworms maybe effective against Covid, accord-ing to a study conducted in lab.

The team at the ScrippsResearch Institute in the US said itwas known for 10 to 15 years thatthe class of drugs called salicy-lanilides work against certain virus-es, but they tend to be gut-restrict-ed and can have toxicity issues.According to the study published inthe journal ACS Infectious Disease,the modified salicylanilide com-pound overcomes both issues, inmouse and cell-based tests.

The compounds act as both anantiviral and an anti-inflammato-ry drugs, with properties that augerwell for its use in pill form, theresearchers said.

Salicylanilides were first dis-covered in Germany in the 1950sand used to address worm infec-

tions in cattle, they said.Versions including the drug

niclosamide are used in animalsand humans today to treat tape-worm. The modified salicylanilidecompound was developed byProfessor Kim Janda, a professor atScripps Research, years ago foranother project.

When the SARS-CoV-2 virusbecame a global pandemic in early2020, knowing that they may haveantiviral properties, he startedscreening his old collection first incells. Later, he worked with ScrippsResearch immunologist John Teijaro,to conduct tests in rodents. Onecompound dubbed "No. 11," stoodout. This compound differs from thecommercial tapeworm medicines inkey ways, including its ability to passbeyond the gut and be absorbed intothe bloodstream —and without theworrisome toxicity. AP

Paris: People in France are now required to show a QRcode proving they have a special virus pass to enjoyrestaurants and cafes or travel across the country.

The measure is part of a government plan toencourage more people to get the vaccine and to slowdown a surge in infections, as the highly contagiousdelta variant now accounts for most cases in France.

Over 36 million people in France, or more than54 per cent of the population, are fully vaccinated.

The special pass is issued to people who are vac-cinated against Covid-19, who have proof of recentrecovery from the virus or who have a recent negativetest. The measure also applies to tourists visiting thecountry.

In hospitals, visitors and patients who haveappointments are required to have the pass. Exceptionsare made for people needing urgent care at the emer-gency ward.

The pass is now required on high-speed, interci-ty and night trains carrying over 400,000 passengersper day, Transports Ministry Jean-Baptiste Djebbarisaid Monday. AP

San Luis Obispo (US): As the delta variant of the coro-navirus sweeps across the United States, a growing num-ber of colleges and universities are requiring proof ofCovid-19 vaccination for students to attend in-personclasses.

But the mandatory requirement has opened the doorfor those opposed to getting the vaccine to cheat the sys-tem, according to interviews with students, education andlaw enforcement officials.

Both faculty and students at dozens of schools inter-viewed by The Associated Press say they are concernedabout how easy it is to get fake vaccine cards.

Across the internet, a cottage industry has sprung upto accommodate people who say they won''t get vacci-nated for either personal or religious reasons.

An Instagram account with the username “vaccina-tioncards” sells laminated Covid-19 vaccination cards for$25 each.

A user on the encrypted messaging app, Telegram,offers “Covid-19 Vaccine Cards Certificates,” for as muchas $200 apiece.

“This is our own way of saving as many people aswe possibly can from the poisonous vaccine,” reads theseller''s message, viewed by at least 11,000 app users.

AP

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The All India PowerEngineers Federation

(AIPEF) on Monday said theelectricity sector workers havepostponed its plan to go on aone-day strike on Tuesday.

"The NationalCoordination Committee ofElectricity Employees andEngineers (NCCOEEE) haspostponed one-day nationwidestrike call of power employeesand engineers after specificstatement of Union PowerMinister R K Singh that theElectricity (Amendment) Bill,2021, has not yet been clearedby the Union Cabinet for plac-ing it before Parliament,"

AIPEF said in a statement.The NCCOEEE has

warned that if any unilateralattempt is made by the centralgovernment to place the Billbefore Parliament in the cur-rent session, then poweremployees will be forced toresort to lightning strike on thesame day.

AIPEF ChairmanShailendra Dubey said theNCCOEEE has served a noticeto the power ministry that thestrike call for August 10 is post-poned till further attempt of thegovernment towards placingthis unconstitutional

Bill towards curbing theenergy-right of poor and ruralpeople of the country.

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In a bid to reduce the coun-try's dependency on edible

oil imports, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Mondayannounced a national missionon edible oils and oil palm,with an investment of over Rs11,000 crore for building theecosystem to boost the domes-tic production.

With palm oil having 55per cent share in total edible oilimports, the National Missionon Edible Oil-Oil Palm(NMEO-OP) would ensurethat farmers get all facilities,from quality seeds to technol-ogy to promote cultivation ofpalm and other oil seeds, hesaid.

Modi made this announce-ment after virtually releasingthe ninth installment of Rs19,500 crore to 9.75 crore ben-eficiary farmers under the gov-ernment's flagship scheme PM-KISAN.

"While India has becomeself-sufficient or Aatmanirbharin production of rice, wheatand sugar, but it was notenough as the country isdependent on huge imports of

edible oils," he said.He said farmers can repli-

cate what has been achieved inpulses production, which rosealmost by 50 per cent in the lastsix years.

"The kind of work we didin pulses, and even in the pastin wheat and paddy, we need tomake same efforts to boost thedomestic production of edibleoils," he said, adding thataggressive effort is need of thehour to become self-reliant inedible oil.

He urged farmers to takethe NMEO-OP as a pledge forachieving self-reliance in edi-ble oil and said more than Rs11,000 crore will be invested inthe cooking oil ecosystemunder this mission.

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The Government hasachieved 26.6 per cent of

the budget estimates for GSTcollections in the first threemonths of the current fiscal,Parliament was informed onMonday.

In reply to a written ques-tion in the Lok Sabha, Ministerof State for Finance PankajChaudhary said net GST col-lection in the April-June quar-ter was over �1.67 lakh crore,which is 26.6 per cent of thebudget estimate of �6.30 lakhcrore for full 2021-22 fiscal.

The net GST collectionsinclude CentralG S T + I n t e g r a t e dGST+Compensation cess.

In the 2020-21 fiscal, thenet GST collection was over�5.48 lakh crore, which wasmore than the revised estimates(RE) of �5.15 lakh crore.

In 2019-20, the net col-lection was over �5.98 lakhcrore, which is 97.8 per cent ofthe RE.

Chaudhary said the gov-ernment has been making con-certed efforts to raise tax rev-enue collections which inter-

alia includes GST rate ratio-nalisation to improve tax com-pliance, e-invoice system,mandatory e-filing and e-pay-ment of taxes, penalty fordelayed payment, extensive useof third-party sources such asState VAT Department, IncomeTax etc, for compliance verifi-cation, regular enforcementand compliance verification oftax returns.

"Further, system basedanalytical tools and systemgenerated red flag reports arebeing shared with central aswell as state tax authorities totake action against tax evaders.E-way bill squads have beenactivated for the purposes ofrandom verification of thegoods in transit," he added.

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Benchmark indices Sensexand Nifty got back on the

winning track after a day'shiatus on Monday, with gainsmainly in financial and ITstocks making amends for loss-es in metal and energy coun-ters.

Marking its fifth gain in the

last six sessions, the BSE gaugeSensex ended 125.13 points or0.23 per cent higher at54,402.85. Intra-day, the indexrose to a high of 54,584.73 andslipped to a low of 54,124.27.

Likewise, the broader NSENifty advanced 20.05 points or0.12 per cent to 16,258.25.

On the Sensex chart,M&M was the top gainer, ris-ing 2.18 per cent, followed byAxis Bank, Tech Mahindra,

Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank,Asian Paint and PowerGrid.

On the other hand, BhartiAirtel, Tata Steel, NTPC, L&T,Reliance Industries and andBajaj Finance were among thelaggards.

Of the Sensex constituents,19 shares clocked gains and 11suffered losses.

Of the 19 sectoral indices,15 closed in the red and only4 saw gains.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday trans-

ferred about �19,500 crore toover 9.75 crore beneficiaryfarmers under the flagshipscheme PM-KISAN and saidthe Government is taking sev-eral steps to double the incomeof the farming community.

Under Pradhan Mantri

Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, the Centreprovides an annual financialbenefit of �6,000 to eligiblebeneficiary farmers in threeequal four-monthly install-ments of �2,000 each.

The scheme wasannounced by the governmentin February 2019 in the Budget.The first installment wasreleased for December 2018-

March 2019 period. The fundis transferred directly to thebank accounts of the benefi-ciaries.

On Monday, the primeminister virtually released theninth installment for the ben-eficiaries. With this, the gov-ernment has so far transferredaround �1.57 lakh crore tofarmer families.

Addressing the virtual

event, Modi said theGovernment has transferredover �19,500 crore directly tonearly 10 crore farmers and thisamount will be useful for them.

"Nearly �1.6 lakh crorehave been transferred so farunder PM-KISAN scheme, ofwhich around Rs 1 lakh crorehas been released during thepandemic," he added.

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The Government has col-lected �31,290 crore from

Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB)Scheme since its launch in2015, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman informedParliament on Monday.

With the main objective todevelop an alternate financialasset and as an alternative topurchasing/holding of physicalgold, the SGB Scheme wasnotified by the Government ofIndia on November 5, 2015,Sitharaman said in a reply inLok Sabha. "The response ofpublic on the SGB scheme hasresulted in the collection of�31,290 crore since 2015-16,"she said. Talking about featuresof the scheme, the FinanceMinister said these bonds areissued on payment of Indianrupees and is denominated ingrams of gold. Bonds areissued on behalf of theGovernment of India by RBI,and have a sovereign guaran-tee. "The bonds are restrictedfor sale to resident Indian enti-ties. The investment limits arepresently 4 kgs per fiscal year,for individuals and HinduUndivided Family (HUF) and20 kgs per fiscal year for trustsand similar entities. The ceilingwill be counted on financialyear basis and will include theSGBs purchased during thetrading in the secondary mar-ket," she said. The ceiling oninvestment will not includethe holdings as collateral bybanks and financial institu-tions, she added.

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The Taxation LawsAmendment Bill, which

seeks to nullify retrospectivetax demands raised on com-panies, will instill investor con-fidence and provide impetus toIndia's goal of becoming aUSD 5 trillion economy, theIncome Tax Department saidon Monday.

The bill, which was clearedby the Lok Sabha on August 6,was passed by the Rajya Sabhaon Monday. The bill, as passedby the Upper House, will becleared by the Lok Sabha for itto become an Act.

'The Taxation Laws(Amendment) Bill, 2021' seeksto withdraw tax demands madeusing a 2012 retrospective leg-islation to tax the indirecttransfer of Indian assets andalso refund the amount paid inthese cases without any inter-est.

In a series of tweets afterthe bill was passed by theUpper House, the I-T depart-ment listed out key features and

benefits of the bill.The bill proposes to scrap

the tax rule that gave the taxdepartment power to go 50years back and slap capitalgains levies wherever owner-ship had changed hands over-seas but business assets were inIndia.

The 2012 legislation wasused to levy a cumulative of Rs1.10 lakh crore of tax on 17entities, including UK telecomgiant Vodafone, but substantialpunitive action was taken onlyin the case of Cairn.

Listing out 5 benefits of thebill, the I-T department said itwould spur companies whichare at the cusp of deciding theirinvestments to invest in India.

It will avoid unnecessarylitigation and save time andcosts of the government,besides boosting the policy ofpredictable tax regime.

The bill will provide impe-tus to the country's goal ofbecoming a USD 5 trillioneconomy . It will instill foreignas well as domestic investorswith confidence in the Indian

economy, the department said.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi in 2019 envisioned mak-ing India a USD 5 trillioneconomy and a global eco-nomic powerhouse by 2024-25.The Indian GDP is estimated ataround USD 2.66 trillion in2020-21.

The Taxation Laws(Amendment) Bill providesfor the withdrawal of taxdemand made on "indirecttransfer of Indian assets if thetransaction was undertakenbefore May 28, 2012 (i.E. Theday the retrospective tax legis-lation came into being)."

Rules will be framed underthe law giving a reasonabletimeframe for the companies tocome and give an undertakingto the government that theywill not pursue the cases.

They will also have to givean undertaking that they agreeto forego the interest onamounts collected.

Retrospective taxation hadspooked overseas investors anddented the reputation of Asia'sthird-largest economy.

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In a setback to Amazon andFlipkart, the Supreme Court

on Monday refused to stop thepreliminary antitrust probe bythe Competition Commissionof India(CCI) against the e-commerce giants, saying itexpects such big organisationsto offer themselves for theinquiry.

A three-judge bench head-ed by Chief Justice N VRamana declined to entertainthe separate appeals of Amazonand Flipkart against the orderof the Karnataka High Courtwhich had refused to stop theCCI from carrying out a pre-liminary probe into the allegedviolation of the competition lawby the two e-commerce com-panies.

Challenging the enquiry islike wanting a notice before theregistration of an FIR under thecriminal law, the bench, whichalso comprised justices VineetSaran and Surya Kant,observed, and asked the e-commerce giants to submitthemselves to the probe by theCCI.

“We expect big organisa-

tions like Amazon and Flipkartto offer themselves for theinquiry and you do not wantthat. You have to submit andenquiry has to be permitted,”the top court said.

The CCI's January 2020probe order followed a com-plaint by Delhi VyaparMahasangh, whose membersinclude many traders dealing insmart phones and relatedaccessories, alleging that the e-commerce firms have beenviolating the law. TheKarnataka High Court hadalso refused to stay the CCIprobe.

"We see no reason tointerfere with the impugnedorders passed by the HighCourt of Karnataka dismissingthe Writ Appeals of the peti-tioners,” the apex court saidafter hearing the submissions ofSolicitor General TusharMehta, representing the CCI,and senior advocates GopalSubramanium and A MSinghvi, appearing for Amazonand Flipkart respectively.

On being told by Singhvithat the time to respond to theCCI was expiring on August 9itself, the bench extended the

time by four more weeks whichwas objected to by Mehta.

Mehta said a week shouldbe given to these firms as inCOVID times people mostlyshop online through thesecompanies.

“At this stage, Dr. A.M.Singhvi, senior counsel submitsthat time to reply to the noticeissued by the Office of theDirector General, CompetitionCommission of India is goingto expire on 9--8--2021 andprays for extension of time.Taking into consideration therequest made by the learnedsenior counsel, time to reply tothe notice is extended by a fur-ther period of four weeks fromtoday. It is made clear that nofurther extension of time wouldbe granted for the purpose,” thetop court ordered.

The Karnataka HighCourt had on July 23 rejectedthe plea of Amazon-Flipkartagainst the CCI probe foralleged violations of the com-petition law.The high courthad said that there was no needfor the e-commerce firms toshy away from an inquiry ifthey were not involved in anyviolations.

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Halting its five-sessionwinning run, the rupee

on Monday declined by 11paise to close at 74.26 againstthe US dollar, tracking thefirm American currency.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the domes-tic currency opened at 74.21against the greenback andslipped further to close at74.26, registering a decline of11 paise over its previousclose.

During the session, thelocal unit touched an intra-day high of 74.21 and a lowof 74.29 against the US cur-rency.

On Friday, the rupee hadsettled at 74.15 against the USdollar. The dollar index,which gauges the greenback'sstrength against a basket of sixcurrencies, was trading mar-ginally down by 0.02 per centat 92.77.

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Traditional education methodsare now becoming off theleague with changing scenar-

ios due to COVID-19. Online edu-cation is now the new normal forevery single student with COVID-19creating havoc and disrupting theusual patterns of education.Considering this new normal, vari-ous policies and changes have beeninitiated even by the Government toincorporate skill education and easyentry and exit points in the educa-tion system. However, digital infra-structure that prevails already hasnot been utilised for the bettermentof the careers of those who are phys-ically impaired or differently abled.EdTech is the new systemised edu-cation platform which can be devel-oped and utilised for not just thosefrom the mainstream but also thosewho are differently abled. It has beenfruitful especially for those who arevisually impaired.

WHO indicated that the glob-ally visually impaired is estimated tobe 285 million, out of which 39 mil-lion are sightless. AatmanirbharBharat has been another extension of

liberalising the visually impairedunder which various schemes andinnovations have come into being.These have been either in the formof applications or technologies thathave been utilised for enriching theexperience of the differently abledtowards being educated. Some inno-vations listed have been helpingthose who are visually impairedsuccessfully. � Roshni, an app developed by stu-

dents of IIM, helps the visuallyimpaired recognise old and newcurrency notes, using image pro-cessing and analytics.

� JAWS is a computer screen read-er programme for MicrosoftWindows that allows blind andvisually impaired users to readthe screen either with a text-to-speech output or by a refreshableBraille display.

� The eye in AI is an app to helppeople who are visually impairedor with low vision

� Electric vehicles. Some manufac-turers are already incorporatingartificial noise into their electricvehicles.

� Be My Eyes is a free app that con-nects blind and low vision peo-ple with sighted volunteers andcompany representatives for visu-al assistance through alive videocall

� Smart Glasses working on thedevelopment of a set of smartglasses that can use AI to read,provide navigation informationand potentially identify faces.Glasses are connected to a smart-phone through a processing unit,without an internet connectionand allows it to function.

� Braille: This has been used fordecades as a tactile way of read-ing with fingertips. It has nowjumped from the page to thescreen with the updated versionof Narrator, the screen-reader forMicrosoft Windows, supportingdigital Braille displays and key-boards and many more.

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In April this year, a man wasallegedly given Covaxin as thefirst dose and Covishield as the

second. It must have raised an alarmand created a sense of panic. But,who knew three months down theline, a study by Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) will sug-gest that this mix up provides bet-ter protection against the virus.

“We have always learned in ourbranches of medicine that giving twomedicines is always better than giv-ing the maximum dose of one med-icine. Take for example, if you havehigh blood pressure, we prefer to addone more medicine to the first med-icine if the blood pressure is not con-trolled, instead of increasing the firstmedicine’s dose to the maximum.This ensures that the side effects arelower because the lower doses yougive the side effects are lesser,” saysDr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder Director,Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals.

He adds that we have seen in thecase of vaccine also that mixing twovaccines is giving better results interms of protection as well as in termsof lower side effects. “So, it is a gooddevelopment and is giving us hopethat we can also work on some otherdiseases based on this module ofmixing the vaccine technologybecause mostly till now we have onlyone kind of vaccine for a disease, usu-ally we do not develop another kindof vaccine at all. But in view of themassive number of patients andexposed communities to COVID wehad worked on many vaccines par-

allely and that is why we had devel-oped some vaccines on a differenttechnology platform. So we have nowunderstood that mixing these differ-ent technologies is giving us betterresults,” explains Bajaj.

Dr Deepak Verma, InternalMedicine, Columbia Asia Hospital,Ghaziabad, tells you that amid thereports of shortage of COVID-19vaccines in some parts in the world,a new study by the University ofOxford and ICMR says that mixingtwo doses of vaccines can have agood immune response. This can bea sigh of relief for India as well.

“If a person is not able to get thesecond dose of the same vaccine, adifferent vaccine can trigger a simi-lar or even stronger immuneresponse. Most COVID-19 vaccinesare being given in two doses, but anumber of studies now support theidea that two different vaccines canbe mixed and they will still give goodresults,” adds Verma.

Alternating doses ofAstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTechvaccines were used in the study bythe University of Oxford. It wasfound that the mixed schedules ofthese vaccines induced high concen-trations of antibodies against theSARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein whendoses were administered four weeksapart.

“Further research will tellwhether this rule will apply to allother three vaccines that India hasapproved. Overall, the finding ofOxford and ICMR study show that

there is silver lining and mixing twovaccine will not only address theshortage but also eliminate the virusin a fast and effective way,” opinesVerma.

With that being said, doctorsagree that there has been no perfectvaccine till date that doesn’t have sideeffects, so apparently this cocktail ofvaccines will also come with some.

“Every vaccine has got some sideeffect. And there is no perfect vac-cine so far being developed in theworld where there is no side effectsreported. So, yes, even if a combina-tion of vaccines will be taken, onecan expect some side effect in termsof fever or pain at the vaccinationsite, but we shouldn’t be seeing thesignificant adverse effects,” says DrArunesh Kumar, HOD, Paras ChestInstitute & Sr Pulmonologist, ParasHospital, Gurugram.

Now, many of us might be won-dering whether these mixed doseswill help eliminate the virus soon-er, Kumar believes it is too early tosay so. “Vaccine does help in elimi-nating the virus. Perhaps it’s too earlyto say that. Further studies arerequired to answer these questions.It may be that if the mixing of thevaccine gives more antibodyresponse, they may be more usefulin eliminating the virus in thefuture. But again, at this point intime, we can’t answer these ques-tions, as we don’t have significantnumber of patients who have beentested to answer this question,” says Kumar.

��+�'"���%�,�Who doesn’tlove to eat the seeds or have aglass of chilled pomegranatejuice during summers. Butthe tedious process of peelingthe fruit might put you off.However, the result is worththe effort.

Why, you ask?Po m e g r a n at eseeds get theirvibrant red huefrom polyphe-nols. Thesechemicals are pow-erful antioxidants.

Pomegranate juice con-tains higher levels of antioxi-

dants than most other fruitjuices. The antioxidants inpomegranate juice can helpremove free radicals, protectcells from damage, and reduceinflammation.

Adding to it, thejuice of a single

pomegranate hasmore than 40per cent of yourdaily require-ment of

Vitamin C. Pomegranate

juice can also reduce inflam-mation in the gut and improvedigestion.

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Everyone experiences aches and pain at one time or the other.When we cut our finger, sustain a burn or pull a muscle, pain

is natural. Such pain is temporary and goes away when the injuryheals. However, some pains can continue for weeks and monthsdue to some underlying health condition. Any pain that lasts morethan three months is considered chronic pain.

Long-lasting pain can affect any part of the body, from feetto the head. It can be of many types including joint pain (impact-ing knee, shoulder, neck, etc.), low back pain, slipped disc,spondylitis or sciatica, neurology pain, migraine, facial pain,rheumatic pain, and cancer pain. It may range from a mild acheor burning sensation to a shooting pain, a feeling of stiffness orsqueezing, or a stinging or throbbing sensation.

Chronic pain is much more common than one would think,and its incidence is increasing worldwide. According to WHO,around 30 per cent of the global population has chronic pain ofsome kind. A survey by the Indian Society for Study of Pain foundthat 23 per cent of Indian population suffers from it. This maybe the tip of the iceberg as Indians usually understate their healthissues and would rather not reveal their pain problems to oth-ers.

There has been a gradual rise in the number of older peo-ple in the society due to rising life expectancy. This is drivingan increase in the incidence of chronic pain. The younger pop-ulation too is getting affected, mainly due to leading a seden-tary and physically inactive lifestyle. There is a higher preva-lence of chronic pain in females. Pain prevalence increases steeplybeyond the age of 65 years. The commonest cause of chronic pain

is spinal pain and joint pain.Arthritis, degenerative condi-tions of the spine, and cancerpain are the most commoncontributors.

Chronic pain is clearlyemerging as a significant pub-lic health problem. It willexert an increasing social andeconomic toll in the nexttwo decades with significantspending on surgical treat-ment and hospitalisation.Chronic pain can interferewith one's social life, dailyactivities like working orexercising, taking care of one-self and the family, or leadingan independent lifestyle. Itcan also give rise to depres-

sion or anxiety and sleeping problems. In the West, pain medicine has been a super-specialty for

the last three to four decades. In India, however, it is relativelynew, just about 15-20 years old. Several hospitals across the coun-try now offer pain management as a separate discipline.

For most cases of chronic pain, less invasive interventions(called interventional pain management) are better alternativesto open surgical methods as they involve much less risk and trau-ma to patient. They are also much safer and don’t require hos-pital admission. Since most of the procedures can be done in aday care setting, the cost can be reduced to almost half comparedto conventional surgeries. Patients can go back home the sameday. Early interventions not only relieve pain, but also reducemorbidity and improve quality of life. We currently have Indianprotocols for all interventional procedures for pain management,which is a big step forward.

Patients suffering from back pain, slipped disc, disc bulgeand sciatica are treated with less invasive techniques like ozonediscectomy, percutaneous disc decompression and endoscopicdiscectomy where a small scope is inserted to remove the her-niated portion of the disc. Patients suffering from arthritis of thejoints are managed with regenerative interventions in their earlystages to prevent progression. Pain in advanced arthritis of knee,shoulder, hip and spinal joints is managed with radiofrequencyprocedures. All these procedures are done under local anaesthe-sia and patients are discharged the same day.

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During monsoon, girls expect roman-tic weather and wind-swept hair.

However, the reality is frizzy locks andacne-prone skin. It is a relief from thesweltering heat of May, but the monsoonis no friend of our skin and hair. Our skindisapproves of the rising moisture bybreaking out, and our hair breaks out twicein volume with uncontrollable frizz.

With a slide of unique concerns likedehydrated skin, dreadful dandruff, oilyroots, forgettable fungal infections, andlimp and listless locks, your groomingregime should perhaps tweak a few habitsto take these concerns head-on. Followingtips will alleviate the monsoon gust.

Cleanse your face twice a dayA skin concern that escorts the rain

and surfeit humidity is acne. Excess mois-ture produces sweat, gathering grime, andother pollutants, preparing a hotbed forgerms leading to skin breakouts. It isessential to keep your skin fresh bycleansing twice a day. Add a chemicalexfoliator to this routine to blow off thedead skin cell build-up, primarily if youhave acne-prone skin.

Moisturise and UV protectExtreme humidity can dehydrate your

skin by making it dry and itchy. So, includea lightweight moisturiser with gel consis-tency to your skincare routine. Needlessto say, applying sunscreen daily postmoisturizing is not negotiable; rain orsnow, indoor or outdoor. The majority ofsunscreens have a thick consistency. Butdue to the humidity, our skin sweats andgets sticky. You could look for one with alighter consistency.

Use an anti-fungal powderDuring the monsoon months, we are

either wet or damp. If not our garments,it is our feet. The wetness could lead tobacterial and fungal infections. Dustsome anti-fungal powder in the fold ofyour skin and on your feet post-cleaning.It helps you to keep your skin dry andaway from infections.

Invest in an anti-frizz serumIn the monsoon, it appears as though

you do nothing to preserve your hair’sbounce and shine. There’s just no winningin this season. Oily hair tends to get greasy,while dry hair turns frizzy. Thus, use ananti-frizz serum to fight the frizz and nur-ture the smoothness of your hair. This willhelp you to make your hair manageable.

Give your strands an oil massage anddry shampoo

We admit that moms are always right.They pester in our childhood to oil ourhair, and we should be thankful for that.In the monsoon, oil massages can do yourtresses well. The oil acts as an outstand-ing conditioner and smoothens yourstrands. This season tends to make ourhair oily, listless, and limp, and there isnothing like sprits of dry shampoo to revi-talise it. Apply oil an hour before yourshower and wash it off with your dryshampoo.,������������>� ����G�0�&����.���!��� �����

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Fistula-in-ano, or perianal fistula isplagued with recurrences, necessi-

tating multiple hospital admissions forpatients suffering from unrelentingpain and discharge from the perianalregion. The usual treatment is an openfistulectomy or fistulotomy proce-dures, with the wound laid open in theperianal region, which takes time toheal, thereby delaying normal life forthe patient. Further, there is the riskof these procedures causing damage tofaecal continence.

With these in mind, the surgeonat the SRM Medical College Hospitaland Research Centre (SRMMCH&RC) in Kattankulathur haveattempted to do a Video AssistedAnal Fistula Treatment (VAAFT) forthe patients. This novel technique,developed in 2006, is gaining pop-ularity all around the world.

The first patient was a 25-year-old male who came to the OPD withcomplaints of perianal discharge.Appropriate investigations weredone which confirmed diagnosis ofFistula-in-Ano. He was successful-ly treated with VAAFT, and was dis-charged the next day as he had min-imal post-operative pain, there was

no open wound, and there were nomajor complaints. When reviewed aweek later, his wound had healed andthere were continence issues. He wasable to return to normal routinepromptly.

“We have so far done five casesof VAAFT with a high-level ofpatient satisfaction,” said Pro ViceChancellor of Medical and HealthSciences Lt Col Dr A Ravikumar.

He adds that they have been ableto visualise the entire fistulous tractthrough a fistuloscope, which is thencoagulated with electrocautery,scraped and washed with glycine.“The external opening is excised andthe wound is closed with absorbablesutures. This ensures patients haveonly minimal post-operative pain.”Ravikumar said.

With the VAAFT deliveringsuch encouraging results, the sur-geons at SRM Hospital are trying toemploy caudal anesthesia and alsopost-operative analgesic blocks,which may allow the patients to bedischarged on the same day of thesurgery (day case surgery), makingthe process even more comfortablefor them.

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Sidharth Malhotra, the protago-nist of the forthcoming Amazon

Prime Video Original, Shershaah,has revealed that the inspiration fortaking on the role as the heroicCaptain Vikram Batra came froma meeting with Vikram’s real-lifetwin, Vishal, five years ago.

Shershaah, an original wardrama on the true-life events of theKargil War between India andPakistan in 1999, tells the story ofCaptain Vikram Batra, a celebrat-ed Indian army hero who lost hislife whilst saving a fellow soldierduring a war which would etchitself into Indian history. At just 24,Vikram became a symbol of thepatriotism and heroism associatedwith India’s triumph to beat theodds against the Pakistani armythat had secured a far more advan-tageous position at higher groundand were able to fire down at vul-nerable Indian forces. Despite this,the Indian army emerged victori-ous and Captain Vikram and hisbattallion became the embodi-ment of courage and valour.

Malhotra was aged just 14when the Kargil War took place, yetthe story of Captain Vikram’s sac-rifice would inspire him to spear-

head efforts to launch a film on hisefforts over 20 years on. A meet-ing with Captain Vikram’s twin,Vishal, was instrumental inMalhotra’s attempts to have a filmmade on the Kargil War. Vishalshared Captain Vikram’s incredible

personality, courage, patriotismand selflessness which would even-tually see him lose his life for hiscountry — something which left amark on Malhotra.

“I first met Vishal around fiveyears ago with a completely differ-

ent team. He and his family hadapproached me to discuss thepotential of telling Vikram’sstory and I must say I wasimmediately gripped emo-tionally by the way Vishaldescribed Vikram’s life,his character, charm,courage and all-roundpersonality,” saidMalhotra.

“We couldn’t makeit work at the time,but it was a story Ibelieved needed to betold. I approachedDharma Productionsand they were immedi-ately onboard and fiveyears on, we areimmensely pleasedwith the end product,” headded.

Maintaining a sense

of authenticity and justice toVikram’s story was important forMalhotra, who admits there isalways a sense of pressure when it

comes to the sensitive por-trayal of a national hero,“Vikram and I are bothPunjabi and culturallywe do share several sim-ilarities, perhaps rightthrough to our appear-

ance. I believethis is why hisfamily soughtme to play hischaracter. Butit is one thingpossessingthe physicaland back-ground traitsand anotherto accurate-ly portray

his personality. Ifeel meeting with

Vishal helped megreatly with thisaspect; the way heso meticulouslydescribed his twinbrother helped me totake on some of his

courage and strength.” Having formed a relationship

with Vikram’s family, particularlyhis brother, Malhotra was pleasedto hear that they felt the film wasthe perfect representation of hislegacy. “Doing his family proud wasthe priority for me, not a commer-cial success. We’ve been on thisfive-year journey together and itwas of the utmost importancethat we got this right. Vishal toldme that he had never visualised hisbrother on the battlefield before,but now when he sees me inShershaah, he can,” expressed apleased Malhotra.

Directed by Vishnu Varadhan,Shershaah is inspired by the life ofCaptain Vikram Batra (PVC) andstars Malhotra and Kiara Advani inthe lead along with Shiv Panditt,Raj Arjun, Pranay Pachauri,Himanshu Ashok Malhotra,Nikitin Dheer, Anil Charanjeett,Sahil Vaid, Shataf Figar and PawanChopra in pivotal roles. Jointly pro-duced by Dharma Productionsand Kaash Entertainment,Shershaah will premiere across240 countries and territories onAugust 12, exclusively on AmazonPrime Video.

When you have oily skin, thestruggle is real. Some say it isbetter to have oily skin than

to have dry skin, as the appearance offine lines and wrinkles is delayed forthose with the former. in life. However,oily skin can be a problem especiallywhen you’re at work with peoplearound the whole day. If you wearmakeup, your skin ends up lookingextremely greasy and by the end of theday, it looks like you have returnedfrom a battlefield. Oily skin can take atoll on the tone of the face too becausethere can be breakouts that can leavebehind marks and dark spots.

Using face oil in your skincare rou-tine might sound scary for those whohave oily skin, but let me tell you thatit can be extremely beneficial (thankme later). It’s all about sourcing theright oil for your skin. The natural oilis often stripped off your face becauseof using harsh cleansers and soaps. Oilhelps provide intense hydration whichis a fundamental part of keeping yourskin looking healthy, plump andsmooth.

JOJOBA OILNo matter what type your skin is,

it needs hydration and moisture. Thereare a variety of oils in the market thatclaim to be suitable for oily skin butthere is none like jojoba. Excessivelyoily skin leads to acne, pimples andclogged pores. Jojoba oil can be usedto treat all of these problems. It actu-ally allows you to fight oil with oil.Since it is non-comedogenic, despitebeing an oil, it doesn’t clog pores. It isalso rich in iodine that kills harmfulbacteria and prevents future breakouts.

It is not only great for oily skin butalso great for hydrating dry skin as well.This oil is super lightweight, it willnourish and protect your skin withoutmaking it greasy. Its structure is veryclose to the oil naturally produced bythe sebaceous glands, so it immediate-ly penetrates your skin and promoteshealthy and glowing skin. It can trickthe skin into thinking that it has pro-

duced enough oil thereby balancing oilproduction.

HOW DOES OUR SKIN TAN?Melanin, a body pigment, gives

colour to our skin. Dark-skinned peo-ple have more melanin than fair-skinned people. It helps protect ourskin from getting damaged by UVA.When you stay out longer in the sun,there is more production of melanin toprotect the skin from getting damaged.As more and more of this pigment isproduced, the skin keeps getting dark-er or tanned.

CAN OILS HELP IN REDUCING TAN?Natural oils devoid of chemicals

and additives contain a lot of essential

fatty acids and vitamins. The presenceof Vitamin E and antioxidants in oilsmake them very good for our skin andhair. The different fatty acids andantioxidants work synergistically inhealing and treating many skin andscalp conditions. Vitamin E is effectivein reducing UV damage caused by thesun to our skin.

So, in a nutshell, yes, when usedregularly, oils can help in reducing tanand dark spots formed over.

MORINGA OIL TO COMBAT TANNINGMoringa oil is packed with nutri-

ents such as Vitamin E, behenic acidand antioxidants. It is renowned as age-old healing and beautifying oil. It isvery popular in the cosmetic industry

and has many benefits that includenourishment to scalp and hair, reduc-tion of stubborn blemishes, scar marksand tan. It also cures many skin com-plications and is used as an integralcomponent in soaps and body washes,perfumes and deodorants. Moringa oilis an excellent source of vitamin E andminerals. In ancient times, it was usedas a remedy to treat a plethora of dis-eases.

HOW TO USE THIS OILUse it instead of a moisturiserTake three-four drops of moringa

oil, apply it all over your face. Your facewill remain hydrated and moisturisedfor a long duration. And slowly you willsee your dark spots diminishing.

Use it as a skin repair oil beforegoing to bed at night

Take a few drops of the oil andmassage your face gently with it.Remember, you must always apply oilon a clean face.

(The author is the co-founder ofSpeaking Herbs, which retails 100 percent natural products centred around

beauty and personal care.)

Yesterday marked 25 years of Sanjay LeelaBhansali in the Indian film industry. With

nine magnum opuses like Black, Saawariya,Padmaavat, Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastani, HumDil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas to his name,Bhansali has carved a special niche as a film-maker. His eye for detail, thematic style of direc-tion and powerful storylines have left anindelible mark on Bollywood. As he completesa quarter of a century in Bollywood, he is cur-rently working on his 10th film, GangubaiKathiawadi.

Celebrating his 25 years of great cinema,Bhansali Productions posted a showreel ofSanjay Leela Bhansali’s legacy on social media.The reel has taken the internet by storm andincludes all the iconic spectacles, dialogues andartistes across every one of the nine films thathe has created so far.

S p e a k i n gabout his jour-ney thus far,Bhansali said, “Ithas been 25incredible years,indeed! In all themovies I havemade so far,every momenthas been heart-felt — thecolours you seeon the wall, thesongs, the back-grounds, everythread on everycostume, everydialogue, thelighting, everycarving andpiece of archi-tecture wasd e v e l o p e dand/or finalisedafter a lot ofthought. That’swhy I like to callthem ‘handmadefilms’. Thesehandmade filmswould not havebeen possiblewithout theeffort of everyperson whoworked behindthe scenes andin it. I haveenjoyed everyminute ofmaking filmsthese 25years… andstill a long wayto go.”

In his 25

Titled Pages from my diary,an exclusive collection of

paintings by 88-year-oldFrench painter, Maite Delteil,has gone on view at the Delhi-based Art Alive Gallery.Through these works from the1960s-70s, the illustrious artistreflects on her life via art.

Maite Delteil was born in1933 in Fumel, France.Growing up in a conservativehome in the French country-side, Maite has always claimedherself to be ‘nature’s child’.Throughout her practise,nature, flora and fauna havebeen an intrinsic part of hervisual vocabulary. In this col-lection, Maite captures theintimacies of her thoughts anddomestic existence.

At a glance, these artworksappear to be simple displays ofstill life and portraits but onengaging further, we enterMaite’s colourful world that isclassified by a distinct poeticwarmth.

While the still-life paint-ings capture moments from herchildhood and the simplicitiesof her home, the self-portraitsexhibit a sense of intimacy withthe feminine energy.

As an independent curatorand noted art writer AnushkaRajendran rightly points out,“In the airy, light-filled spacesin Maite’s world, womenlounge in all their nudity,immersed in contemplation.They are pensive dreamers,claiming an agency denied tothem by their prescriptive real-ities. She intervenes with hersubjects that are endowed withsubjectivity in the tradition ofpainting where women hadalways been objects at thereceiving end of the male gaze.But what one sees is not theweight of the world on theirshoulders — suffering inanguish or tormented by exis-tentialist angst — but lightnessand joy. Indoors, they are freeto roam the terrain of theirown imagination withoutboundaries. This transgres-sion further acquires the tenorof fantasy through Maite’s vividcolours.”

“At the end of 1960s, I wasmainly working in Japan.Looking at these paintings, Irealised I was very much con-cerned with the search forvibrant colours as applied byHenri Matisse. I was also try-ing to depict intimate interiorsto present models in gentleboudoirs, in a contemplative

appearance, more than in abanal sentimental vision. Atthat time, I was impressed by

artists like Berthe Morisot,Edward Vuillard or PierreBonnard,” says Maite.

The artist claims to havebeen influenced by ItalianMasters like Giotto, Masaccio,and Henri Matisse amongmany others, yet she has alwaysmaintained her unique style.The vibrant nature of hercolour palette has been mon-umental in shaping up herdistinct artistic practice.

Speaking about the collec-tion, art critic Ranjit Hoskotewrites, “The viewer is seized,immediately, by the sumptu-ousness of Maite’s palette — theglowing reds, pollen brightyellows, candied pinks, lam-bent blues and succulent greens— in which she clothes the nat-ural world, which is her cho-sen zone. An elan vital throbsin each painting and invests theimages with its radiant signif-icance. It is a principle of joy,hope and renewal that carriesus forward even in pensive sea-sons and times of crisis.”

Pages From My Diary is areminiscence of Maite’s earlyyears, her intimacy with hersurroundings, her memory ofthe past and the evolution ofher artistic practice.

Continuing throughSeptember 15, the show will beavailable online on artaliveg-allery.com.

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years, he has put India on the glob-al map of cinema with movies likeDevdas premiering at the CannesFilm Festival in 2002. Significantly,Devdas was also nominated for theBritish Academy of Film andTelevision Awards for ‘Best Film Notin the English Language’. His Big Band Rani Mukherji-starrer, Black,inspired by the life of Helen Kellerstood fifth in Time’s ‘10 Best Moviesof the Year 2005’ (Europe) amongfilms from across the world.

Not only that, but he haschanged the face of Indian cinemaby stirring a movement that focus-es on artistic sets, clean direction andthematic backdrops. Bhansali’s sig-nature style of highly choreographed

sequences and larger-than-life mega-musicals are somehow still rooted inrealism.

A music connoisseur, Bhansaliturned music director over the years.His movies have given us somememorable melodies such as RamChahe Leela, Tattad Tattad, LahuMunh Lag Gaya, Ghoomar, DholiTaro Dhol Baaje, Aankhon KiGustakhiyan, Chand Chupa BaadalMein, Nimbooda, Mastani,Saawariya and Jab Se Tere Naina. Hehas also produced movies likeGabbar Is Back, Laal Ishq, Mary

Kom, Rowdy Rathore, My FriendPinto and Shirin Farhad Ki TohNikal Padi. As a writer, he has 13credits to his name and haspenned some of his works such asPadmaavat, Bajirao Mastani, RamLeela, Black, Devdas andGuzaarish.

In 2015, Bhansali was hon-oured with the Padma Shri. Hehas a legacy of 38 awards to hisname including National FilmAwards, Filmfare Awards, MirchiMusic Awards, Screen Awards,IIFA Awards, Zee Cine Awards andZee Gold Awards.

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India’s triumphant Olympic contingent,including history-making javelin throwGold-medallist Neeraj Chopra,returned to the country on Monday and

was greeted by frenzy and chaos at the air-port where supporters jostled to catch aglimpse of their sporting heroes.

The athletes were welcomed by a SportsAuthority of India (SAI) delegation head-ed by its Director General Sandeep Pradhan,who was accompanied by AthleticsFederation of India head Adille Sumariwala.

There was loud cheering by euphoricfans, family members, and some localpolitical leaders as returning athletes madetheir way through a massive crowd bothinside and outside the airport.

Waving the tri-colour, people danced tothe beat of the dhol and live band, sang andscreamed their lungs out to show theirappreciation for the medal winners.

The huge gathering meant that socialdistancing norms went for a toss as sever-al, quite a lot of them without masks, rushedin to catch a glimpse of the stars.

Some were even seen doing push-upsand planks just outside the airport in theirenthusiasm. Inside, Chopra and othermedal winners struggled to get past a self-ie-seeking crowd.

The most dramatic exit was made byBronze-medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia,who was seen greeting and waving towardshis supporters from the sunroof of an SUV,which had several fans clinging to it defy-ing all traffic rules as it made its way out ofthe airport.

“We will try to do better next time, I hada knee problem,” Punia, who had enteredthe Games as a Gold favourite, said.

The athletes were garlanded and pre-sented with bouquets on arrival and wereapplauded by the airport staff as theymade their way out to utter chaos.

They were then whisked away for a felic-itation function by sports minister AnuragThakur.

“It is the first time we are seeing a recep-tion like this, it is very heartening,” said racewalker K T Irfan, who competed in the20km race walk event.

India surpassed their previous best haulof six medals achieved in the 2012 LondonGames with one Gold, two Silver and fourBronze medals in Tokyo.

“It is a proud moment for the countryand the state of Haryana. Neeraj and Raviare both from Haryana. Doodh, dahi kakhana, number one Haryana,” quippedstate Congress leader Deepender SinghHooda, who was also at the airport to wel-come the athletes.

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India’s Olympic medal-win-ners were accorded a grand

welcome by the Government ina dazzling felicitation ceremo-ny here on Monday with sportsminister Anurag Thakur sayingthat their journey is an “incred-ible story of resilience andsporting excellence”.

Gold medal winningjavelin thrower Neeraj Choprawas the cynosure of all eyes inthe ceremony at a five star hotelhere, held a couple of hoursafter the seven podium finish-ers made their way out of theairport amid utter chaos.

At the felicitation ceremo-ny, they were presentedmementos and shawls by theminister.

Both the Bronze-winningmen’s hockey team and fourth-place finishing women’s teamcut cakes after arriving at thehotel.

While Chopra added thegolden sheen to the campaign,the Silver medals came fromweightlifter Mirabai Chanu andwrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya.

The Bronze medals, apartfrom the men’s hockey team,were claimed by boxer LovlinaBorgohain, shuttler P V Sindhu,and wrestler Bajrang Punia.

“I am very happy to be backhome. I knew India is veryhappy but after coming backhere, to get this love first hand,it feels really nice. I would tryto do my best for more such

medals,” Borgohain said.Sindhu and Chanu did not

attend the ceremony as theyhad arrived earlier and arecurrently at their home bases.

“I only tried to give mybest,” said Punia, who foughtthrough his semifinals withoutany protective gear on hisinjured knee.

“Tokyo 2020 was anOlympic Games of many firstsfor India. The success of TeamIndia at the Olympics is areflection of how New India

desires and aspires to dominatethe world…even in sports,”Thakur said.

“The Olympic Gamesshowed us that with self-disci-pline and dedication we can bechampions. Team India excelledand inspired while Indianscheered and celebrated allaround.

“We will continue to sup-port our sports persons and weendeavour to make India asporting powerhouse,” Thakursaid. The minister also lauded

some close finishes includingthe fourth place finish by golferAditi Ashok.

Thakur’s predecessor Rijijupraised the performances of allthe athletes and reiterated thatIndia will be a force to reckonwith by the 2028 Olympics.

“This is just the beginningbecause India’s resurgence insport is visible now and I amconfident that by 2028Olympics India will be a forceto reckon with,” Rijiju men-tioned.

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Ace Indian acrcher DeepikaKumari on Monday con-

fessed that she needs to stopbuckling underthe pressure ofperformance atthe OlympicGames andapproach thebiggest sportingstage from a differ-ent perspective todeliver desiredresults in future.

In the form of herlife after winning fiveWorld Cup medals thisyear, the 27-year-oldcarried the hopes of1.3 bi l l ionIndians toget thesport theirf i r s tO l y m p i carchery medal inTokyo.

But it turned

out to be anti-climactic as shefizzled out without putting upa fight in both her individualand mixed pair quarterfinalsencounters to cap yet anoth-er horror Olympic campaign.

“Woh paanch ringka pressure, haavi hoja raha hai (pressure

of the five Olympicrings is becoming a

bit too much),”c o n f e s s e d

Deepika afterreturning toKolkata.

D e e p i k asaid she has

understood thatinstead of run-ning after them e d a l s ,

they need towork on ‘enjoyingthe moment’ at theOlympics, some-thing they lack.

“ E v e r y o n e

keeps saying we don’t have amedal, we don’t have a medal.We think of it a thousandtimes there, and it dominatesour psyche. It’s a mentalblockade and goes on affect-ing our techniques.”

“It’s high time that I intro-spect into my game and see itin a different perspective now.There are certain things we arelacking too much. Basically weneed to change the perspectiveof our games.”

“We’ve to see all gamesequally, be it World Cup,World Championships or theOlympics. But there we thinktoo much about a medal. Wehave to take it easy and enjoythe moment.”

“In the World Cup orWorld Championships too,the medal is the ultimate goalbut we never keep thinkingabout it. But once we reach theOlympics, we are not able toget over the thoughts of win-ning a medal. We need towork on it.”

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London: The Indian contin-gent on Monday were off toLondon for the second Testagainst England at Lord’sthough replacement players,Suryakumar Yadav and PrithviShaw, remained inNottingham to complete theirquarantine.

It is learnt that the entireIndian contingent left forLondon at around 11 am localtime after every member test-ed negative for RT-PCR.

The second Test begins onAugust 12.

Shaw and Suryakumar,who linked up with the squadin Nottingham on August 3,will only complete their 10-day quarantine on August 13,which means that they canonly train from August 14 andwill be available for selectionfrom the third Test, startingAugust 25 at Leeds.

The nine-day gap betweensecond and third Test will cer-

tainly give the duo amplechance to train and get matchready in case the team man-agement feels the necessity ofplaying either of the two.

GANGULY TO BE PRE-SENT FOR LORD’S TEST

With United Kingdommoving Indian travellers fromred to amber list from lastSunday (August 8), BCCI

president Sourav Ganguly isset to leave for London onTuesday to watch the secondTest at Lord’s starting August12.

The move from red toamber list means that anyperson who is fully vaccinat-ed as per UK health authori-ties protocol will not need toserve the mandatory 10-dayhard quarantine period which

the likes of Shaw and Suryaare currently serving, havingarrived in a commercial flightfrom Colombo.

It is also expected that sec-retary Jay Shah, vice-presidentRajiv Shukla, treasurer ArunDhumal might be in the UKto watch the Indian team playat some point during theseries.

SILVERWOOD WARNSEngland head coach Chris

Silverwood fired a warning tohis faltering top order bats-men on Monday, indicatingthat Haseeb Hameed is closeto a recall for the second Testagainst India.

Big top-order runs havebeen a consistent problem forsome time for England withRory Burns, Zak Crawley andDom Sibley under the spot-light after failing to register ascore of 30 in two innings ofthe drawn first Test.

“I would rather be accusedof giving somebody one toomany chances than notenough,” said Silverwood.“But at some point I will haveto make a decision.

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New Delhi: She had the timeof her life in Tokyo with amedal on Olympic debut beingthe icing on the cake but Indianboxer Lovlina Borgohain saysall of it is “done and dustednow” and she will start afreshin every aspect of her game forthe Paris edition in 2024.

The 23-year-old from thetiny Baro Mukhia village ofAssam’s Golaghat districtbecame only the third Indianboxer to finish on the Olympicpodium, joining two of thebiggest icons in Indian boxing— six-time world champion MC Mary Kom and the very dec-orated Vijender Singh.

“This Olympics is doneand dusted. I will have to startafresh in every aspect, not justone,” she said, when askedwhat changes she would maketo her technique after theTokyo campaign.

Would those changesinclude additional strength inher punches, which despitebeing accurate, seemed to beslightly low on power, especial-ly in the semifinal loss toreigning world and now

Olympic champion BusenazSurmeneli of Turkey?

“It is not like strength andconditioning hasn’t beenworked on. It was being done.You can say it was not up to thelevel of what it should havebeen ideally. I could work onmy strength and conditioningonly in the last four months ofwhat was a four-year cycle.

“I was benefitted by thework but for something as big

as Olympics, four months is notenough. Uss se kuch nahi hota,you need such work in a four-year cycle,” she explained.

Borgohain defeated for-mer world champion Nien-Chin Chen in the quarterfinalsto reach the semi-final and withthat triumph, she also beat thefear, which she experiencedpreviously before stepping intothe ring.

The pent up emotions

finally came out in the form ofan ear-splitting scream whenher hand was raised by the ref-eree.

“For so many years, sever-al emotions were just inside me,I had internalised them. But inthis Olympics, when I realisedthe support that I was gettingfrom the country every time Iwas stepping in the ring andlanding any punch, that screamwas an ode to that support andemotion,” she explained.

“It was an expression of myown pent up emotions and alsoan ode to the support that Igot,” the youngster said.

The quarterfinal win wasone of the two special memo-ries that, Borgohain said, willremain with her for the rest ofher life.

The other being the firstever shared Gold medal in theGames in which she saw thetriumph of human values.

“The best memory is thatI finally managed to beat aboxer who had beaten me fourtime before coming here. Tobeat her at the Olympics is aspecial moment of my career.

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The Rajya Sabha on Mondaylauded the performance of

the Indian contingent in theTokyo Olympics with ChairmanM Venkaiah Naidu hoping thecountry will break into the top10 countries in terms of medaltally. India stood at 47th posi-tion in the recently concludedOlympics.

Hailing the feat of theIndian contingent, he said theTokyo Games turned out to bethe best Olympic moment forthe country in the last 121years of its Olympic journey. Hetermed the performance “thefirst moment of national awak-ening in sports”.

He said the achievements ofthe Indian athletes indicated‘We too can do it’ erasing thememories of desperation,despondency, dejection anddisbelief, compounded by poormedal performance every fouryears.

“Four Gold medals wouldhave placed us at around 20 andanother four among the top 10

in the medals tally,” he said. “Itis to be much higher on themedals table given the feasibil-ity as revealed from our Tokyoperformances. Our missionshall be in the top 10 at the ear-liest possible.”

Naidu said the TokyoOlympics not just gave the high-est-ever number of seven medalsbut also in terms of grit demon-strated in quite a few close fin-ishes and a large number of ath-letes entering medal-winningrounds of the competition.

On Neeraj Chopra’s Goldmedal win in javelin throw, thechairman said he did the nationproud bringing down the cur-tains on “decades of despair andheralded a new era of confidenceand hope.”

“His feat helps in healing thefestering wound of recurrentdespair and waning hope withevery lost opportunity,” Naidusaid and also lauded the perfor-mance of other medal winnersincluding Ravi Kumar Dahiya,Mirabai Chanu, LovelinBorgohain, P V Sindhu andBajrang Punia.

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Shakib Al Hasan took fourwickets as Bangladesh skittled

out Australia for their lowestever T20I total of 62 to seal theseries 4-1 on Monday.

Chasing 123 for victory,Australia crashed out in 13.4overs with Shakib returning fig-ures of 4-9 with his left-arm spinin the 60-run rout in the fifthmatch in Dhaka.

Australia’s previous lowestwas 79 all out against Englandin 2005. Pace bowlerMohammed Saifuddin com-

bined with Shakib to rattleAustralia with twin strikes in oneover to send back Alex Careyand Moises Henriques.

Shakib wiped off the tailwith the wickets of Nathan Ellisand Adam Zampa with nine ofthe 11 batsmen getting scores insingle digits.

Earlier Mohammad Naimmade 23 in Bangladesh’s 122 foreight after electing to bat. DanChristian and Nathan Ellis tooktwo wickets each. Bangladeshhad secured their first series winover Australia after winningthe opening three matches.

New Delhi: The national foot-ball team’s camp will be held inKolkata after 15 years when ini-tial 23 probables assemble at the‘City of Joy’ on August 15 to pre-pare for next month’s interna-tional friendlies.

The training sessions willstart from August 16, the AIFFsaid in a statement.

This will be the first timeBlue Tigers’ camp will be held inKolkata as they assembled herefor training way back in 2006ahead of the FIFA World CupQualifier against Saudi Arabia.

The camp will be conduct-ed under a secured bio-bubble-and the contingent will also beundergoing regular testing.

Head coach Igor Stimac hasnamed an initial list of 23 prob-ables, leaving out players fromATK Mohun Bagan andBengaluru FC owing to the twoclub's commitments in the AFCCup in the Maldives.

Players from both clubs willbe joining the squad immediate-ly after finishing their club com-mitments in the continentaltournament. PNS

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