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Abig infra push to revive theCovid-19 hit economy, few

populist measures, no tinker-ing with personal income tax,and 30 per cent tax on digitalassets were some of the keyhighlights of the Union Budgetthat Finance Minister NirmalaSitharam said will usher theIndian economy into AmritKaal, the 25-yearlong lead upto India@100.”

The �39.45 lakh croreBudget proposes massivespending on highways andaffordable housing, amongother sectors, with a view to fir-ing up the key engines of theeconomy to sustain the eco-nomic recovery from the pan-demic.

The Finance Ministerignored the economic wizardslay emphasis on fiscal consol-idation and instead prioritisedeconomic expansion.

The absence of populistmeasures will provide theGovernment much-needed legroom to increase spending oninfrastructure to create jobsand boost economic activity. Atthe same time, the Sitharamandid not tinker with income taxslabs or tax rates.

“We are marking Azadi kaAmrit Mahotsav, and haveentered into Amrit Kaal, the

25-year-long leadup toIndia@100,” the Minister said,adding, “The fundamentaltenets of the Budget includetransparency of financial state-ment and fiscal position, andreflect the Government’sintent, strengths, and chal-lenges.”

Her Budget for the fiscalyear beginning April 2022 pro-posed a massive 35 per centjump in capital expenditure to�7.5 lakh crore, coupled withthe rationalisation of customsduty, an extension of time forsetting up new manufacturingcompanies and plans for start-ing a digital currency and taxcrypto assets.

Some of the key areas forboosting infrastructure spend-ing are: 5G spectrum auction,expanding national highwaysby 25,000 km, interlinking ofrivers, and manufacturing of400 new generation VandeBharat trains.

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National highways (NH)will be expanded by 25,000

kilometre (km) during 2022-23and the national ropewaydevelopment programme willbe taken up in the public-pri-vate partnership (PPP) mode,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Tuesday saidtabling the Union Budget.

“The national highwaysnetwork will be expanded by25,000 km in 2022-23 besidesPM Gati Shakti Master Plan for

Expressways will be formulat-ed in next fiscal to facilitate thefaster movement of people andgoods,” the FM said.

Sitharaman alsoannounced contracts for theimplementation of multimodallogistics parks at four locationsthrough the PPP mode will beawarded in 2022-23.

The Minister said that as apreferred ecologically sustain-able alternative to conven-tional roads in difficult hillyareas, the national ropewaysdevelopment programme will

be taken up on the PPP mode.

She added the aim is toimprove connectivity and con-venience for commuters,besides promoting tourism.

She informed Parliamentthat the contracts for eightropeway projects for a lengthof 60 km will be awarded in2022-23. The FinanceMinister said �20,000 crorewill be mobilised throughinnovative ways of financingto complement the publicresources.

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In a bid to revive the housingsector and create jobs,

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Tuesdayannounced the allocation of�48,000 crore for the comple-tion of 80 lakh houses underthe Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana (PMAY), both ruraland urban, during the next fis-cal year.

“In 2022-23, 80 lakh hous-es will be completed for theidentified eligible beneficia-ries of PM Awas Yojana, bothrural and urban. �48,000 croreis allocated for this purpose,”the Minister said, tabling theBudget.

The Centre would workwith States for reduction oftime required for all land andconstruction-related approvals,for promoting affordable hous-ing for middle-class andEconomically Weaker Sections(EWS) in urban areas, she said.

“We shall also work withthe financial sector regulatorsto expand access to capitalalong with the reduction in thecost of intermediation,” the

Minister said. For better land records

management, Sitharaman saidthe States will be encouraged toadopt Unique Land ParcelIdentification Number to facil-itate IT-based management ofrecords.

On Monday, the EconomySurvey highlighted that 33.99lakh houses were completed in2020-21 and 26.20 lakh units asof November 25, 2021, underthe Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana - Gramin (PMAY-G)programme. For the PradhanMantri Awas Yojana - Urban(PMAY-U), the survey notedthat 14.56 lakh houses werecompleted in FY21. In 2021-22, 4.49 lakh houses werecompleted till December2021.

The Union Budget 2022-23 has also allocated �2600crore to the Housing andUrban Affairs for the con-struction of non-residentialoffice buildings of the CentralVista project , includingParliament and the SupremeCourt. This is �767.56 croremore than �1,833.43 croregiven in the last fiscal.

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The Centre on Tuesdayannounced four hundred

new Vande Bharat trains will bemanufactured over the nextthree years. “Four hundrednew-generation Vande Bharattrains with better energy effi-ciency and passenger ridingexperience will be developedand manufactured during thenext three years,” FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamansaid in her Budget speech.

These new train sets aregoing to be made of light-weight aluminum, as opposedto steel, making each around 50tonnes lighter, consumingmuch less energy than theirsteel counterparts, she said.

Railways Ministry officialssaid they are already manufac-turing 44 Vande Bharat trainsin order to have these trainsrunning on at least 75 routes byAugust 15, 2023, as announcedby Prime Minister NarendraModi in his Independence Dayspeech. While the FM said thetrains will be manufacturedand developed over the nextthree years, it is not clear whenthey will be operational.

She also said 100 PMGatiShakti Cargo Terminalsfor multi-modal logistics facil-ities will be developed in nextthree years.

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Even though the dependenceof the country’s poorest on

MNREGA soared during thepandemic because of wide-spread unemployment dueto job cuts and gloomy econ-omy, the allocation in Budget2022 for the Government’srural employment pro-gramme has been slashed by25 per cent.

The MNREGA fund allo-cation is �73,000 crore for thefinancial year 2022-23, downfrom the revised estimate forthe previous year (2021-22),which was �98,000 crore.

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PNS � Ranchi

Areview meeting of MN-REGA and Pradhan

Mantri Awas Yojana was or-ganised under the chairman-ship of DeputyDevelopment Commis-sioner, Ranchi, Vishal Sagar.Project officers and variousBlock Development Offi-cers of Ranchi district werepresent in the meeting or-ganized through virtualmedium.In the meeting, Deputy De-velopment Commissioner,Ranchi took block-wise in-formation from all the BlockDevelopment Officers of thedistrict about the develop-ment schemes being rununder MNREGA and Prad-han Mantri Awas Yojana.Taking information from theconcerned BDO regardingvarious schemes and points,he gave necessary directionsfor progress of work.Sagar directed all the Block

Development Officers BPO,AE, JE to use the Area Offi-cer App, he said, speed upthe use of the app by Febru-ary 7. He also instructed allthe Block Development Of-ficers to use NMMS.While reviewing the ATRuploading, the DDC di-rected all the Block Devel-opment Officers to uploadthe Social Audit ATR. Healso directed to regeneratepending/rejected 1020transactions. Under MN-REGA, the DDC has giveninstructions to execute 259

pending geotags in Phase-I.He also asked to bring pacein Phase 2.While reviewing the com-pletion of the schemes forthe financial year 2019-20and earlier, the DDC di-rected to close the pendingschemes.While reviewing the Aadharseeding in MIS, the DeputyDevelopment Commissionerasked to do 100 per centAadhar seeding by February15. Instructions for doingjob card verification werealso given by DDC.

AVINASH ANJAN � HAZARIBAG

Hazaribag SP ManojRatan Chothe received

secret information that twopeople seen in canary sidearea with brown sugar &100 Corex Bottles in red

Tata Indigo car. They weregoing to Mariam colony tosell the narcotics. Immedi-ately, the SP formed a spe-cial team under SadarSDPO for a raid. Duringthe raid two Smugglerswere arrested with brownsugar and 100 Corex Bot-

tles in a Red Tata Indigocar. With legal process,Korra police lodged FIRwith case no 16/22,31.02.2022, in NDPS actand in many other sections.Om Prakash Singh, son ofShailendra Singh of prayascolony and Jai Nath Harsh,son of Ramdev Ravidas arethe accused. Aprt fromdrugs, a Samsung companymobile, an iPhone were re-covered from the accused.The Raid team includedSadar Sub-Divisional Po-lice Officer Mahesh Pra-japati, Korra police stationin-chargeUttam Tiwari,Puni Korra Ritesh Kumar,Pani Korra Sudeep KumarPandey, Raj kumar Prajap-ati, Vikas Kumar Singh,Abhishek Kumar Singhand the forces of technicalbranch.

RANCHI | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 02, 2022 02

PNS � Jamshedpur

TV Narendran, CEO&managing director, Tata

Steel has called the UnionBudget as yet another pro-gressive, future focussedand inclusive budget thataims to position the econ-omy on an acceleratedgrowth trajectory, especiallyin the backdrop of an en-couraging broader economicrecovery. “ It is hearteningto note the government’ssustained focus on infra-structure and increased pub-lic spending while stayingcommitted to the fiscal dis-cipline and stable policyregime. We welcomeBudget 2022-23 and lookforward to concerted imple-mentation of the proposedreforms to ensure the bene-fits percolate across theeconomy,” said the manag-ing director in a press com-munique.He said that the increased al-

location to infrastructurespending will certainly havea multiplier effect on theeconomy, generating em-ployment opportunitiesacross the country and creat-ing demand across productcategories, including steel.The PM Gatishakti Yojana,expansion of National High-way network, and introduc-tion of multi-modal national

parks will play acrucial role inmodernising thecountry’s logis-tics infrastruc-ture, makemanufacturingmore competitiveand give boost toentrepreneurialopportunities inthe country. Theearmarking of68% capex forthe Defence sec-tor for domesticprocurement willgive fillip to the

Make in India programme.The process roadmap forEase of Doing Business 2.0is a welcome move towardsimproving productivity, effi-ciency and transparency andwill pave the way for resolv-ing complex issues relatedto green clearances and landacquisition. The an-nouncements on afford-able housing, increased

access to tap water andcreation of robust digitalinfrastructure in ruralareas will foster inclusivedevelopment.To address the climate re-lated concerns, the budgetincludes long-term plansto enable transition to agreen economy. Inclusionof sovereign green bondsin government borrowingprogrammes, PLI schemefor manufacturing of highefficiency solar modules,financing of projects to re-duce carbon intensity arewelcome steps which willhelp achieve our net zeroambition. The batteryswapping policy will alsoaid the sustainability journeyand encourage the adoptionof EVs. The budget also ad-dresses the critical contextof urban planning with focuson setting up clean publictransport systems, an imper-ative for smart and sustain-able living.

Union Budget to pave wayfor growth: Narendran

PNS � Jamshedpur

XLRI - Xavier School of Manage-ment, in its endeavour to empower

women of the country has set up a pathbreaking Centre for Gender Equalityand Inclusive Leadership (CGEIL)inMarch 2021 to make a meaningful im-pact on the inclusion of women in eco-nomically gainful activities. TheB-school has now appointed AlkaRaza, an accomplished journalist,media professional and author as itschairperson. Creation of CGEIL wasthe initiative of XLRI Alumni, whowere passionate about enhancingwomen’s participation in workforceand leadership. After the establishmentof CGEIL,to support its initiative, aformal body of XLRI Alumni, which isXL4W, was instituted.While welcoming the new chairperson,Father Paul Fernandes, and the directorof XLRI said, “It is an honour and priv-ilege to welcome Alka Raza, an accom-plished media professional andacademic to the XLRI family. We aredelighted to have Alka become a partof the Centre with her 35+ years of ex-perience, which has spanned across

continents all over the globe. Shebrings vast experiences to the institu-tion from covering major socio politi-cal & economic crises around theworld. Her significant contributions ad-dressing human development andwomen’s issues are bound to add valueto our teachings. We look forward tolearning more from her extensive workwhich has previously reverberated inLatin America, Europe, the MiddleEast, Africa, and South-East Asiaamong other places.”The director stressed that “CGEIL

has an ambitious goal, which is, tosignificantly increase the participa-tion of women in the workforcewithin the next 5-10 years throughstrategic and broad-based interven-tions. As a first step, we have set upthe CGEIL, and we aim to build aworld-class centre of excellence inyears to come.” Despite the pan-demic and stressful 2021, CGEILand XL4W was able to mobiliseand organise some very purposefulactivities including the launch of“UP! Surge - Journey to the C-Suite- a leadership workshop forwomen in senior management posi-tions aspiring for C-Suite roles”. Alka Raza thanked XLRI for thetrust and confidence it has shown inher vast experience and capabili-ties. She said, “I am honoured to bepart of the oldest and a leadingmanagement institute in the country.My experience over the years hastaught me that it is our need and dutyto reach out to those who live in under-privileged circumstances. We must rec-ognize women for their role andcontribution they have been making forcenturies”.

XLRI appoints Alka Raza as chairpersonof Centre for Gender Equality

PNS � Jamshedpur

Dr HK Pradhan, Profes-sor of Finance & Eco-

nomics, XLRI XavierSchool of ManagementJamshedpur has said thatthe Union Budget 2022 fo-cuses on the broader macrodimensions of growth andinvestments, with strongfocus on capital expendi-tures. The Finance Ministertakes a very decisive stepto bolster growth further,with the FY 22 GDP thathas returned to its pre-pan-demic level, supported by thebuoyancy in the GST revenuecollection.He said that the Finance Minis-ter keeps medium term growthat the centre stage of fiscal pol-icy, with boost to investments inlogistics and infrastructure proj-ects, further broadening of theProduction Linked Incentives(PLI), extending EmergencyCredit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) scheme for theMSME sector to the next fiscal,and boosting the start-upecosystem.She has not ignored the fiscal

consolidation path by keepingthe deficit target of 6.4 percentin FY 2023. This Budget alsoembeds the sustainable develop-ment strategy with issuance ofgreen bonds, more investmentprovisions in the renewable en-ergy, urban infrastructure, andagricultural sector allocations.She makes further push to theexisting thrust on the digitaleconomy such as launching ofthe central bank digital currencybacked by blockchain technol-ogy, setting up digital bankingunits in 75 districts, includingbringing to the tax net digital as-sets such as crypto currency

gains. By formally bring-ing the cryptocurrencies as-sets and non-fungibletokens within the tax do-main the FM possibly al-lays the fear of its outrightban.Equity market held on tothe gains possibly as in-vestors' focus has beengradually shifting fromgrowth to value stocksfrom a broader set of firms.Bond market has alsomildly reacted to the sub-stantial rise in the grossborrowing requirements of

Rs 14.95 lakh crore during thecoming year, with the yieldsinching up. Market waits for theRBI monetary policy announce-ment next week, that has to ad-dress the current inflationaryexpectations while supportinggrowth. Bond market has al-ready priced the expected risk inrepo rate and liquidity tapering.The current inflationary pres-sures remain critical for both thefiscal and monetary policies toreckon with, confronted with theimported inflation such as rise inpalm and crude oil and domesticcost push.

XLRI prof says budget to bolster growth further

M FAIYAZ AHMAD � DALTONGANJ

Chatra MP Sunil Ku-marr Singh has

hailed the union budgetas the greatest of all timebudget which India hasseen in the past. He expressed his pro-found gratitude to PrimeMinister Narendra Modiand Union Finance Min-ister Nirmala Sithara-man for such aprogressive and deter-mined budget at a timelike this when Coronavirushas upset the entire globe. In a three page note of ap-preciation the MP, who isknown for his sharp finan-cial vision, termed thebudget as one which willcarry India and its peopleforward despite numerouschallenges around health. The MP has focused on

the post offices whichvery few politicians botherfor. He said India has 1.5lakh post offices whichwill be functioning on thepattern of banks from thisyear. The MP knows that poorpeople love going to thepost office more than theglassy, classy and cozybank.The MP talked about

the Mota Anaj year,which is to commencein 2023.Sources said his Chatraparliamentary con-stituency is rich in minesand minerals and he in hisnote spoke of the capitalgains. He didn't say that theunion finance ministermade no announcementfor the income tax slab;rather he put it in anotherway that despite the Coro-navirus the country did notimpose more income

taxes. The MP talked about solarenergy and 5G but was mostcareful while giving hismarks on the budget dealingwith the core issues of farm-ers. Chatra MP's closestaide Amit Tiwary circulatedthe copy of admiration of thebudget issued by Sunil KrSingh.

Chatra MP hails Union Budget 2022-23PNS Bokaro

As Finance min-ister Nirmala

Sitharaman pre-sented the fourthBudget of the Modi2.0 government,The SAIL Chair-man Soma Mondalin her comment said“The Union Budgetfor the financialyear 2022-23 hastaken steps to pro-vide further impetusto economic growth to takethe Indian economy to aneven higher level of growth.This budget envisages morepublic investment and capi-tal expenditure by the gov-ernment. There is a directemphasis on accelerating theinfrastructure developmentactivities through the sevenengines of development of

PM Gati Shakti programme,PM Awas Yojana in ruraland urban areas, Har GharNal Se Jal Yojana etc. Withadditional focus on theMSME sector, economic ac-tivities will also increase.These efforts will definitelyhave a positive impact onthe overall economy, whichaugurs well for the steel sec-tor."

SAIL Chairman hailsBudget for FY 2022-23

2 smugglers arrested withbrown sugar, 100 Corex bottles

RAHUL SHARMA� Bokaro

Chief General Manager(Material Management)

FR Azmi was given farewellin a farewell ceremony or-ganized in the conferenceroom of Director-in-Chargein a program organized forthe senior officers retiringfrom BSL. The Director-in-Charge of BSL, AmarenduPrakash, Executive Director

and other senior officerswere present on the occa-sion. During the ceremony,important achievements re-lated to the service of FRAzmi were remembered.D i r e c t o r - i n - c h a r g eMr.Prakash presented him acitation, memento and doc-uments related to the finalsettlement. Everyonewished the retiring FRAzmi the best for his futurelife.

In a separate farewell cere-mony documents and giftsrelated to the final settle-ment were presented by theFinal Settlement Cell at theHuman Resource Develop-ment Center to other offi-cers and personnel retiredfrom Bokaro Steel Plant inJanuary. It is to be knownthat in January 2022, a totalof 18 executives and 125non-executives retired fromBSL.

Farewell to retired employees from BSL

PNS � Jamshedpur

BJP leader AmarpreetSingh Kale has said that

this year's budget will defi-nitely be the cornerstone ofa strong India to come. Thebudget will create employ-ment opportunities in the di-rection of self-reliant India.The budget presented by Fi-nance Minister NirmalaSitharaman under the leader-ship of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is a budgetto promote modern infra-

structure in the country,which will lay the founda-tion of a new India and im-prove the lives of 130 croreIndians.“ Infrastructure developmentis very important for the de-velopment of the country.With this, investments madeon important infrastructurerelated to roads, rail, elec-tricity, health, education andagriculture will prove to bea milestone. Focusing onfarmers, women and youth,in this year's budget, empha-sis has been laid on develop-ment through PM GatiShakti. Chemical free natu-ral farming will be promotedacross the country, as well asschemes will be broughtunder PPP model, whichwill bring digital and hi-techtechnology to the farmers,which will benefit the farm-ers. In this budget, a blue-print has been prepared byhim for building a GoldenIndia, so that India will re-main at the center of theglobal economy,” he said.

Budget to keep India atcenter of global economy

Pankaj Kumar� Dhanbad

The BBMKU went headless after actingVC retired on January 31.

Incidentally, the post of pro vice Chancellortoo has been vacant for several months in theuniversity.The acting VC Kamal Jhon Lakra by virtue ofbeing divisional commissioner had takencharge of VC following retirement of regularVC Anjani Kr Srivastava who had retired onAugust 31/ 2021.Lakra too retired on the last day of January buteven after 24 hours the government has notnotified any fresh appointment on the post .The post of pro VC fell vacant on May 31/2021 flowing superannuation of Dr AKMahto and still is vacant.The university has a regular registrar as theone appointed by the JPSC is on long leave.The absence of top administrators of univer-sity is hampering the day to day operation aswell as important decisions including an-nouncement of fresh dates of different exami-nations that were postponed due to covidrestrictions.Notably, the search committee set up by thegovernment for appointment of VCs of differ-ent universities of State has already recom-mended a panel consisting of names butappointment remains pending.

BBMKU remains headlessafter acting VC retires

Former Chief Minister cum BJP National Vice President Raghuvar Das met the ag-itating street vendors of Morhabadi area in Ranchi on Tuesday to know their prob-lems. During this, street vendors pleaded with him for help. After the talks he saidthat the government displaced hundreds of shopkeepers against the rules withoutany alternative arrangement in the name of security. After talking to the municipaladministrator, he asked to make alternate arrangements for them. PNS

DDC reviews works of MGNREGA, PMAYAsks to expeditework on schemes

PNS � Ranchi

The shopkeepers ofUpper Bazar have got

relief for the time beingafter the order of the tribu-nal came on Tuesdayevening. The tribunal hasfixed February 7 and 8 forthe next hearing of the mat-ter. Till then the tribunal hasordered the Ranchi Munici-pal Corporation (RMC) notto take any action.Hearing was held in theJharkhand High Court (HC)on the demolition of 29

shops of Upper Bazar. Dur-ing the hearing, the HC hadasked the RMC to wait tillthe order of the tribunal.On receipt of informationabout the sealing of shopsby RMC, hundreds oftraders, under the leader-ship of Federation of Jhark-hand Chamber ofCommerce and Industries(FJCCI), protested againstthe RMC’s action by clos-ing shops in GandhiChowk, Upper Bazar.FJCCI Chief, DheerajTaneja expressed his grati-

tude to the Court for the de-cision in favour of thetraders till late evening inthis matter.

The civic body has issued anotice to seal many shops inthe Upper Bazar of Ranchi.After which the team of the

corporation reached UpperMarket on Tuesday morn-ing and started taking ac-tion to seal the shops. Afterwhich the shopkeepers op-posed it. The RMC’s teamand the shopkeepers cameface to face. Shopkeepersand women started protest-ing by sitting on the road.Along with this, the munic-ipal team was stopped frommoving forward. The shop-keepers said that till the de-cision of the court comes,the corporation should giverelief to the shopkeepers.

RANCHI | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 02, 2022

PNS � Ranchi

The JMM-Congress alliancehas slammed the Union

Budget calling it as a ‘zerosum budget’ with no focus ororientation for salaried classand poor, while the BJP hashailed the budget as peoplefriendly with focus on buildingself-reliant India.Union Finance Minister Nir-mala Sitharaman on Tuesdaypresented the budget for the fi-nancial year 2022-23 in theLok Sabha. After this, the pe-riod of reaction has started inJharkhand as well.State Finance Minister Dr.Rameshwar Oraon said thatthe general budget of 2022-23presented in Parliament hasleft the public deeply disap-pointed. Oraon said that thebudget is visionless, earlierthere was talk of two crorejobs, now 60 lakhs have been

talked about in the budget,while the reality is that thewrong policies of the centralgovernment pushed 6.4 crorepeople into extreme poverty in2020.The government has not shownany interest on how the infla-tion-stricken people will getrelief, and how the farmers’ in-come will be doubled.Echoing the views of the Fi-nance Minister, State Congress

president Rajesh Thakurtermed the budget as disap-pointing. He said the budgethas disappointed the middleclass. At the same time, theyouth, farmers and employedpeople were also not takencare of. This will increase theeconomic tragedy and thecommon man will be margin-alized.Ruling party Jharkhand MuktiMorcha (JMM) criticised the

union budget terming it a doc-ument to oil feet of the BJPsupported limited industrialgroups with jasmine oil andgive burden of price hike, taxand loan on middle class be-sides covering eyes of labourclass with colourful spectacle.However, the BJP has hailedthe budget claiming it as a de-velopment oriented budget.BJP says that the budget willopen the doors of possibilities.

BJP state president DeepakPrakash said that the govern-ment is committed towardsminimum government andmaximum governance. Withthe repeal of 1,486 union laws,Ease of Doing Business 2.0will be launched. He said thatthe central government is com-mitted to promote self-reliantIndia in the armed forces. 68%of the capital procurementbudget for 2022-23 will be ear-

marked for domestic industry,which was 58% in 2021-22.Former Jharkhand CM andBJP Legislature Party leaderBabulal Marandi said that thisbudget will open the door topossibilities. The budget willdefinitely become the corner-stone of a strong India tocome. In the direction of self-reliant India, this budget willnot only provide employmentbut will also create employ-

ment opportunities. FormerCM Raghuvar Das said thatthe budget of self-reliantIndia presented by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanis a budget to promote mod-ern infrastructure in the coun-try. This budget willstrengthen the foundation ofself-reliant India laid by theModi government.State BJP spokespersonPratul Shahdeo said that thebudget is bold and balancedthat will lay the foundation ofsuper power India of 2050.He said that the budget hastaken care of farmers throughvarious schemes like increas-ing the production of oilseedsand providing assistance toSC ST farmers. Coordinationhas also been maintainedthrough schemes like con-struction of a 25000 km Na-tional Highway connected tothe infrastructure.

Union Budget 2022-23

Oppn terms it 'Zero-sum budget’, BJP hails it as 'people-friendly'

PNS � Ranchi

Union Finance Minister Nir-mala Sitharaman on Tues-

day presented the generalbudget 2022-23, however, forJharkhand this budget turns outto be dismal. There are no statespecific suggestions or ac-knowledgement of the (peo-ple's) needs in the budget.Harishwar Dayal - Director inChief - Centre for Fiscal Stud-ies Department of Planning-cum-Finance, Government ofJharkhand said, “Jharkhand hasgained nothing from the budgetas there was no specific an-nouncement for state in the

budget. There are no announce-ments for state in education,health or pending railway proj-ects.”Dayal further said, “There wasno announcement of compen-sation for losses the state hasincurred in central taxes in thepast two financial years. In thefinancial year 2019-20 therewas a loss of Rs 3300 crore incentral taxes, while in the year2020-21 the loss in centraltaxes was Rs 900. But therewas no mention of compensa-tion for the losses of centraltaxes for the past two years.” For backward states like Jhark-hand it was much expectedfrom the budget but there wasno specific relief.Regarding GST, Dayal said:“Most of the welfare work isdone by the state government

though it has limited sources ofrevenue collection. GST sharewas of great help but from Julythis year, it will not be providedto the state. The Union govern-ment should have allowed GSTshare for five years as de-manded by the states. Thoughthe government accepted that itcollected Rs 146996 crore as

GST, it did not show any gen-erosity in payment of its shareto the state government.”However, sources said thatJharkhand is going to be bene-fited with the announcement of400 Vande Bharat express. It isexpected that the Coal Capitalresidents’ demand for directtrain between Dhanbad andDelhi will be fulfilled in thisbudget. For the past two andhalf decades, Railway has beenrejecting the proposal of directtrain from Dhanbad to Delhiand extension of trains fromDelhi and Yesvantpur to Dhan-bad. But the hope of runningTrain-18 i.e. Vande Bharat Ex-press via Dhanbad can get anew impetus.Actually, Indian Railways hasalready made preparations torun the Vande Bharat train be-

tween Ranchi and Howrah.Vande Bharat Express trainrunning from Ranchi will havestoppage at railway stationslike Dhanbad, Chandrapura,Bokaro and Muri in Jharkhand.At the same time, this proposedtrain will stop at Durgapur andAsansol in West Bengal.The Railway has already de-cided to run Vande Bharat ex-press between Ranchi andHowrah from April 23. Thehigh speed 16 coach VandeBharat Express which werefirst rolled out in 2018, cancruise at maximum speeds of180 km an hour. Currently,only two such trains are opera-tional with one between NewDelhi and Varanasi and theother between New Delhi andKatra (Jammu and Kashmir).

‘No specific announcements for State in budget’

Noted Economist HarishwarDayal. PNS

No compensationin payment of GSTshare to states

PNS � Ranchi

Traders, industrialists, members ofthe business fraternity and indus-

trialists gave mixed reactions onUnion Budget 2022 – 23 presentedby Union Minister of Finance, Nir-mala Sitharaman on Tuesday.Federation of Jharkhand Chambersof Commerce and Industries(FJCCI), Chief Dhiraj Taneja saidthat for mineral rich states like Jhark-hand, there was a hope of further ex-pansion in infrastructure, whatever ismissing, it is expected that it will beconsidered.“The budget has a special focus oninfrastructure, healthcare, agricul-ture, housing and education. There issome indifference due to the absenceof a direct incentive scheme for theMSME sector. National highways of40 thousand kms, mountain rangenetworks with 400 Vande BharatTrain, corporate tax cuts and plans topromote private investment will ac-celerate industrialization. Similarly,the plan of 100 PM Gati ShaktiCargo Terminals will develop an in-novative way of building a metrosystem. In the budget, the announce-ment of the launch is commendable of

an online billing system to boost theelectric vehicle market, increase theemergency credit line scheme fromRs 50 k to 5 lakh crore by March2023, extend the time period of taxexemption for new startups and re-duce delay in payment,” he added.The Confederation of All IndiaTraders (CAT) has described theUnion Budget presented by Finance

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as acomprehensive and progressivebudget document. CAT's NationalSecretary Suresh Sonthalia, in hisstatement issued on Tuesday, saidthat the phased development of tradeand small scale industries, along withensuring the development of eachsector from the general budget, un-derlines the parameters of strong

growth in health sector and services.Overall, it can be called a completedeveloping budget. Sonthalia saidthat many new announcements in-cluding expansion of ECGL schemewith Rs 5 lakh crore, linking of PLIscheme to various sectors will notonly benefit the small manufacturingunits but also the business sector.Sonthalia lauded the talent of UnionFinance Minister Nirmala Sithara-man, saying that she has been able toset the agenda of the Indian economyenvisaged by Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi through the budget, despitehuge constraints and domestic andglobal challenges and helping thebusiness community of the country.She deserves 8 points out of 10 fromthe side.Jharkhand Small Industries Associa-tion also lauded the Budget and saidthat initiative like MSME based cir-cular economy being prioritized is awelcome step, litigation manage-ment body being step up ill furtherease of business, domestic produc-tion being encouraged through vari-ous interventions, ECLGS scopebeing widened will benefit MSMEand e business being prioritizedwhich will be welcomed.

Budget 2022-23Mixed response of traders, industrialists in State

FJCCI members watch Union Budget 2022-23 presentations inparliament live by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, at ChamberBhawan in Ranchi on Tuesday. PNS

Pankaj Kumar � Dhanbad

Collapse of illegal coalmines in Gopinathpur

OCP of Eastern CoalfieldsLimited under Nirsa policestation, besides two other lo-cations including Dahibari ofBCCL and Kapasara minesof ECL on Tuesday morningis said to have claimed sev-eral lives.Former MLA Aroop Chater-jee, who inspected differentaccident spots, later talkingto media persons, claimedthat altogether 30 persons in-cluding kids have been killedin the three incidents.Bodies of three persons havebeen recovered by those in-volved in the illegal miningaccording to Chatterjee .Bodies of eight to 10 personsis claimed to be trappedunder the debris at each of

the locations, he said claim-ing that he has names of sev-eral of them who aretrapped. Footwear of severalpersons along with bags fullof illegally mined coal hasbeen found from the incidentspot.Chatterjee said, SSP and DCbesides local management ofboth BCCL and ECL havebeen apprised by me but

none have reached incidentspot till late afternoon.Illegal mining is rampant atdifferent areas in Nirsa butboth coal companies and ad-ministration are unable tocheck it, he said.Some injured persons weretaken away for treatment inprivate hospitals and nursinghomes from Gopinathpur lo-cation, claimed an eyewit-

ness. Senior police officers includ-ing Nirsa SDPO PS Kher-war, Nirsa police station in-charge DS Yadav besides of-ficials from coal companyhave reached Gopinathpurincident spot and rescue op-eration has been launched. Kherwar said that JCB ma-chines have been deployedfor removing the debris.Only after it’s removed wecan be sure over number ofcasualties, he added.Dhanbad senior SP SanjeevKumar said, “Four deaths ofcoal pickers has been re-ported at Dahibari. Caseswould be filed against them.We have also sought reportfrom Director General ofMines Safety too in this re-gards.”An SIT has been constitutedheaded by Rural SP to inves-tigate the entire incident.

Over dozen feared killed in illegal mines at Nirsa

FJCCI members and shopkeepers protest againstthe Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC)’ officersduring an attempt to seal shops in Upper Bazaar onTuesday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

Former Nirsa MLA and JBCCI member Arup Chaterjeeinspecting one of the incident spots on Tuesday. PNS

SBPS students shine at Vivekotsav

The students of Sar-ala Birla PublicSchool, Ranchibrought laurels toschool with their out-standing perform-ance in Vivekotsav2022 organized byVivekananda VidyaMandir, Ranchi. Rohini Raj of class VIII stood first inEnglish Recitation by showcasing her exceptional ora-tory skills. Shrinkhala Dubey, Ashmit Pratap andAkarsh Kumar Singh of class X were declared as thesecond runner up for the event Power Point Presenta-tion. Sanskriti Shaswat of class VI was the second run-ner up for the event Vocal Classical (Solo) and PragatiMaroo of class X was also the second runner up forthe same event in the Group A and Group B cate-gories, respectively. Avani Chaudhary of class X wasthe first runner up for the event Classical Dance andVrishti Banerjee of class IV grabbed the first runner upfor the event Storytelling. Ronit Roy of class VIII stoodfirst in the Drawing competition and Smahi Poddar ofclass VII received a consolation prize in the group Acategory for the event English Recitation.

CCL employee dies in road accident

A CCL worker died on the spot after being hit by an un-known vehicle near a petrol pump at Makoli on theNawadih-Phusro main road here on Monday night,said local police. The deceased has been identified as56-year-old Mathura Turi, a resident of Chapri underNawadih police station area. The deceased was work-ing in 4-5 inclines of CCL Makoli. He was going to donight shift duty by bike on the night of January 31.

Bokaro MLA hails Union Budget 2022

Bokaro MLA cum Chief Whipopposition-party BiranchiNarayan commenting onunion Budget 2022 said thebudget presented by Union Fi-nance Minister NirmalaSitharaman will strengthen thefoundation of self-reliant Indialaid by the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi government. This budget is going toopen the doors of possibilities, the budget will definitelybecome the cornerstone of a strong India to come andtowards self-reliant India, this budget will not only gen-erate employment but will also create employment op-portunities as well as a budget to promote moderninfrastructure.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren interacts with common people in Dumka onTuesday. The CM said, “This is your government. Solving the problems ofthe common people is the top priority of the government. The government isconstantly making efforts to ensure that the people get the benefits of publicwelfare schemes.” On this occasion, people apprised the CM about theirproblems and assured them that their problems would be resolved expedi-tiously and expeditiously. At the same time, the common masses praised theChief Minister for the work being done by the government and expressedhope that in the coming days, the pace of development in Jharkhand will befaster and people will get full respect, rights and rights. MLAs StephenMarandi and Basant Soren were also present on the occasion. PNS

Upper Bazar traders get relief after Tribunal order

Ranchi grabs4th position inSmart CityrankingsPNS � Ranchi

Ranchi, the Capital city ofState, has made a big

jump this time in the SmartCity Real Time Ranking re-leased by the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs,Government of India. Tilllast month, the Smart CityRanchi, which was ranked11th out of 100 cities of thecountry, has now reachednumber four and Jharkhandcontinues to remain at num-ber one in the ranking ofstates on the scale of devel-opment of smart cities.In fact, the informationabout the progress of theschemes and works underthe Smart City Mission bythe Central Government isupdated on the GMIS portal,on the basis of which theranking of cities and states isissued.The need for timely guid-ance from Chief MinisterHemant Soren and the readi-ness of Departmental Secre-tary Vinay Kumar Choubeyis also a major reason behindthe continuously improvingranking of Ranchi SmartCity. It may be known that inthe past, the CM had ex-pressed satisfaction over thedevelopment works beingdone during the review ofSmart City and said that thedevelopment of this cityshould be in accordancewith the aspirations of thepeople and in this direction,the team of Smart CityRanchi is working continu-ously. Ranchi has not onlyimproved its ranking in theSmart City ranking releasedby the Government of India,but has also made its placeat the fourth place, beatingthe big cities of the countrylike Ahmedabad, Surat,Varanasi, Bhubaneswar andVisakhapatnam.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren receives the Guard ofHonour on his arrival at Dumka on Tuesday. PNS

Migratory birds fly above Ranchi Lake as seen during acold winter day, in Ranchi on Tuesday. Pix by Vinay Murmu

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The defence budget onTuesday for the next fiscal

saw a modest hike of nearly fiveper cent with the Governmentgiving a determined push forindigenization to ensure self-reliance. Nearly 68 per cent ofthe total capital outlay wasearmarked for procuringweapons manufactured withinthe country in an effort to makeIndia a manufacturing hub ofthe world.

While the total outlay forcurrent financial year 2021-22was pegged at Rs 3,68,418crores, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman allocatedRs 3,85,730 crores for the 2022-23. The current fiscal ends onMarch 31.

However, the governmentwas committed to security ofthe nation and all the demandsof the armed forces for mod-ernization will be met without

any budgetary constraints,sources said later.

Nearly 2,01,000.00 croresfor the next fiscal was allottedfor defence(civil)catering toprojects like infrastructurebuilding. If this amount isadded to the defence outlaycomprising capital and rev-enue, the overall figure comesto 5.25 lakh crore for 2022-23.Last year's allocation was Rs4.78 lakh crore.

With the objective of sus-taining the momentum ofmodernization to maintainoperational readiness, Rs1,52,369 crore was set aside forpurchasing new weapons, air-craft, warships and other mil-itary hardware. The revisedcapital expenditure for theongoing was Rs 1,38, 850crores.It means the capital outlay forthe coming fiscal saw a jump ofRs 14,000 crores.

As regards boosting thecapabilities of the Indiandefence industry, 68 percent ofthe capital outlay was set asidefor locally made weapons.

"Sixty-eight per cent of thecapital procurement budget willbe earmarked for domesticindustry in 2022-23, up from 58per cent in 2021-22," Sitharamansaid in her budget speech. Thefinance minister said defence

research and development willbe opened up for industry, start-ups and academia with 25 percent of defence research anddevelopment(R&D) budget ear-marked for it.

"Private industry will beencouraged to take up designand development of militaryplatforms and equipment incollaboration with the DRDOand other organisationsthrough SPV (special purposevehicle) model," she said.

The minister also said anindependent nodal umbrellabody will be set up for meetingwide-ranging testing and cer-tification requirements.

Defence Minister RajnathSingh described as an "excellentmove" the proposal in theBudget to set aside 25 per centof the defence R&D budget forstart-ups and private entities inthe financial year 2022-23.

He also welcomedSitharaman's announcementthat 68 per cent of the defencecapital procurement budgetwould be allocated towardsprocurement from domesticindustry.

"The 68 percent of defencecapital procurement budgethas been allocated towardslocal procurement. It is in linewith the 'Vocal for Local'push

and it will certainly boost thedomestic defence industries,"he tweeted.

He said substantialamounts have been allocatedtowards research and develop-ment in several sectors includ-ing defence. "The proposal toreserve 25 per cent of the R&DBudget for Startups and Privateentities is an excellent move,"the defence minister said.

However, the major bulk ofthe overall defence allocationlike previous years saw revenueoutlay far more than capitalexpenditure. The revenue bud-get for the next fiscal was Rs2,33,000 crores. This allocationcaters to expenses on paymentof salaries and maintenance ofestablishments. Separately, anamount of Rs 1,19,696 crorewas allocated for defence pen-sions.

Coming to allocations tothe three Services, IAF got thehighest capital allocation total-ing Rs 55,586 crores. It willenable the IAF to procure air-craft to address the issue ofdwindling fighter jet squadronstrength.

The Navy was the secondhighest with a capital budget ofRs 47,590 crores followed bythe Army with an outlay of Rs32,015 crores.

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Among the major initiativesin the education sector

proposed by the Centre in itsannual budget on Tuesday, adigital university on the 'hub-and-spoke' model and expan-sion of 'one class-one TVchannel' programme through200 channels for providingsupplementary education inregional languages in schoolshave been proposed by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The finance minister saidthat due to the pandemic-induced closure of schools,children, particularly in therural areas and those fromScheduled Castes, ScheduledTribe, and other weaker sec-tions, have lost almost twoyears of formal education.

"Mostly, these are childrenin government schools. Werecognise the need to impartsupplementary teaching and tobuild a resilient mechanism foreducation delivery. For thispurpose, 'one class-one TVchannel' programme of PMeVIDYA will be expanded from12 to 200 TV channels. Thiswill enable all states to providesupplementary education inregional languages for classes 1-12," she said.

Towards Higher education,Rs 40,828 crore has been allo-

cated to the EducationMinistry's Higher EducationDepartment which is anincrease of 6.6 percent over thecurrent financial year. In 2021-22, the budget for the Highereducation department was Rs38,350.65 crore and it furtherdropped to Rs 36,031.57 in therevised estimates.

Besides school educationoutlay for 2022-23 is at Rs63,449.37 crore, nearly Rs 9,000crore more than 2021-22. Thecountry's biggest school edu-cation scheme, the SamagraShiksha Abhiyan, has beenallocated Rs 37,383.36, anincrease of more than Rs 6,000crores from Budget 2021.Funds for the KendriyaVidyalayas and JawaharNavodaya Vidyalayas haveincreased to Rs 7,650 crore and4,115 crore respectively.

The digital university willbe established to provide accessto students across the countryfor world-class quality univer-sal education with person-alised learning experience attheir doorsteps. This will bemade available in differentIndian languages and ICT for-mats, she said.

"The university will bebuilt on a networked hub-spoke model, with the hubbuilding cutting-edge ICTexpertise. The best public uni-

versities and institutions in thecountry will collaborate as anetwork of hub-spokes," addedSitharaman.

The finance minister pro-posed that in vocational cours-es, to promote crucial criticalthinking skills and give spacefor creativity, 750 virtual labs inscience and mathematics, and75 skilling e-labs for a simu-lated learning environment,will be set up in 2022-23.

"High-quality e-content inall spoken languages will bedeveloped for delivery viainternet, mobile phones, TVand radio through DigitalTeachers. A competitive mech-anism for the development ofquality e-content by the teach-ers will be set up to empowerand equip them with digitaltools of teaching and facilitatebetter learning outcomes," shesaid. Sitharaman announcedthat for developing India-spe-

cific knowledge in urban plan-ning and design, and to deliv-er certified training in theseareas, up to five existing acad-emic institutions in differentregions will be designated ascentres of excellence. "Thesecentres will be providedendowment funds of Rs 250crore each. In addition, AICTEwill take the lead to improvesyllabi, quality and access ofurban planning courses inother institutions.

The overall financial allo-cation for the education sectorfor 2022-23 has increased to Rs1.04 lakh crore from Rs 93,224crore (Budget estimate) in2021-22 as the minister laidemphasis on digital modes ofeducation to reverse learninglosses caused by the coron-avirus pandemic. The revisedestimate for 2021-22 is Rs88,001 crore.

"World-class foreign uni-versities and institutions will beallowed in the GujaratInternational Finance Tec(GIFT), City to offer courses inFinancial Management,FinTech, Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematicsfree from domestic regula-tions, except those by IFSCA tofacilitate the availability ofhigh-end human resources forfinancial services and tech-nology," she said.

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The Union Budget 2022-23has allocated Rs 2600 crore

to the Housing and UrbanAffairs Ministry has been allo-cated Rs 2,600 crore for theconstruction of non-residentialoffice buildings of the CentralVista project, including theParliament and SupremeCourt. This is Rs 767.56 croremore than Rs 1,833.43 croregiven in the last fiscal.

The redevelopment projectof the Central Vista -- thenation's power corridor --envisages a new triangularParliament building, a com-mon central secretariat,revamping of the three-kilo-metre Rajpath boulevard thatstretches from RashtrapatiBhavan to India Gate, a newprime minister's residence anda new Prime Minister's Officeas well as a new Vice President'sEnclave.

A sum of Rs 2,600.99 hasbeen allocated for the con-struction of non-residentialoffice buildings, including theParliament and Supreme Courtof India. For residential pur-poses, the ministry has beengiven Rs 873.02 crore.

Six infrastructure firms,including Tata Projects

Limited, L&T Limited andShapoorji Pallonji andCompany Limited, are in therace to win the contract to con-struct the Executive Enclave,which will house the newPMO, Cabinet Secretariat,India House and NationalSecurity Council Secretariat.

According to the proposedplan, the Executive Enclavewill come up on the south sideof the South Block in plotnumber 36/38 in the high-security zone in Lutyens' Delhi.Last year, Larsen & ToubroLimited had been awarded thecontract for the constructionand maintenance of the firstthree buildings of the CommonCentral Secretariat.

Tata Projects Limited isconstructing a new parliamentbuilding while ShapoorjiPallonji and Company Limitedis executing the redevelop-ment work of the Central VistaAvenue stretching from theRashtrapati Bhavan to the IndiaGate under the Central Vistaredevelopment project.

In November last year,Jharkhand-based infrastruc-ture firm KamladityyaConstruction Pvt Ltd had beenawarded the contract for con-structing a Vice-President'sEnclave.

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To bring a paradigm changein urban planning and

development in view of rapidurbanisation, the ModiGovernment on Tuesday pro-posed setting up a high-levelcommittee of urban planners,economists and institutions torecommend policies for urbandevelopment, capacity build-ing, planning, implementation,and governance.

Presenting the Budget,Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said thegovernment is planning a par-adigm change in making poli-cies for the urban sector asnearly half of the country'spopulation is expected to livein those areas by the timeIndia turns 100. She notedthat by the year 2047, whenIndia celebrates 100 years ofindependence, around half ofits population is likely to residein urban areas, which wouldrequire orderly development.

"By the time of India @100, nearly half our populationis likely to be living in urbanareas. To prepare for this,

orderly urban development isof critical importance. Thiswill help realize the country'seconomic potential, includinglivelihood opportunities forthe demographic dividend,"she said. For this, the ministerstressed that there is a need tonurture the mega cities andtheir hinterlands to becomecurrent centres of economicgrowth.

"On the other hand, weneed to facilitate tier 2 and 3cities to take on the mantle inthe future. For this to happenurban planning cannot con-tinue with a business-as-usualapproach, “ she said adding forurban capacity building, thesupport will be provided to thestates.

"Modernisation of buildingbyelaws, Town PlanningSchemes (TPS), and TransitOriented Development (TOD)will be implemented," she said,adding this would facilitatereforms for people to live andwork closer to mass transit sys-tems.

"The CentralGovernment's financial sup-port for mass transit projects

and AMRUT scheme will beleveraged for formulation ofaction plans and their imple-mentation for facilitating TODand TPS by the states," the min-ister said.

Experts are of the view thatthe move is likely to bringabout global best practices forurban development. “It is a sig-nificant step for defining citiesconsidering the future ofmobility, work, heath, educa-tion and living,” said AnishKumar, Co-Lead, TransformRural India Foundation.

Last year, governmentthink tank NITI Aayog’s reporttitled “Reforms in UrbanPlanning Capacity in India”stated that concerted actionswere required to bring in morestructure, professionalism, andidentity to the urban planningprofession. It added that 63% ofthe 7,933 towns and cities(urban settlements) in India donot have master plans, whichare considered critical for man-aging urbanisation challenges.While large scale investmentwas being made in cities, mostcities faced urban planningrelated issues.

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The Law Ministry has beenallocated Rs 1,525 crore in

the Union Budget 2022-23 toprovide funds to the ElectionCommission for purchase ofnew electronic voting machinesand destruction of obsoletevoting machines. The min-istry has also been allocatedfunds for Lok Sabha polls andphoto identity cards for voters.

The LegislativeDepartment in the Union lawministry is the nodal agency todal with issues related toElection Commission and elec-toral laws. A sum of Rs 1525crore has been allocated forproviding funds to ElectionCommission for procurementof ballot units, control unitsand Voter Verifiable PaperAudit Trial Units (or paper trailmachines) and ancillary expen-diture on electronic votingmachines and destruction ofobsolete voting machines. Onecontrol unit and at least oneballot unit make for one EVM.

Following a stringent pro-tocol, old EVMs are destroyedunder the watch of an expertpanel. An EVM has an averagelife of 15 years.Under theOrgans of Election head, atotal of Rs 292 crore has beenallocated, including Rs 180crore for Lok Sabha electionsand Rs 18 crore for electionphoto identity cards.

The provision for LokSabha elections is for meeting"carry forward liability" inrespect of charges for conductof parliamentary polls. Thelast Lok Sabha elections wereheld in 2019. The provision foridentity cards for voters is forreimbursement of central gov-ernment's share to states andUTs on issuance of photo-identity cards to the voters.

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The Government on Tuesdayannounced a Rs 900-crore

allocation in the Budget 2022-23 for the newly set up UnionMinistry of Cooperation,besides cutting down theAlternate Minimum Tax(AMT) on cooperative societiesto 15 per cent and surcharge to7 per cent.

Out of Rs 900 crore, Rs 350crore has been allocated for theDigitalisation of PrimaryAgriculture CooperativeSocieties and Rs 274 crore forProsperity throughCooperatives– two centrallysponsored schemes of theMinistry.

“Currently, cooperativesocieties are required to payalternate minimum tax at therate of 18.5 per cent. However,

companies pay the same at therate of 15 per cent. To providea level playing field between co-operative societies and com-panies, I propose to reduce thisrate for the cooperative soci-eties also to fifteen per cent,”Union Finance MinisterNirmla Sitharaman said in herbudget speech.

Those cooperatives hav-ing total income of more thanRs 1 crore and upto Rs 10crores will have reduced sur-charge on cooperative societiesfrom 12 per cent to 7 per cent.

“This would help inenhancing the income of coop-erative societies and its mem-bers who are mostly from ruraland farming communities,” theMinister said.

Since the formation of theCooperation Ministry, theGovernment has been takingsteps to boost the cooperatives

in the country, banking onthem to help achieve its‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ missionand target of doubling theincome of farmers across theStates.

There are about 30 lakhcooperatives in the country.Managing Director of NationalCooperative DevelopmentCorporation (NCDC) SundeepNayak hailed the budget pro-visions. He said digitisation of

cooperatives will help bringtransparency, ensure betteraccess to market and finance,facilitate social benefits, andensure the benefit of farmloans reaches the last milebecause in a few states agri-credit is still disbursed throughPACs.

Primary agriculture coop-erative societies (PACs) —commonly known as agri-cooperative credit societies —are village-level lending insti-tutions based on cooperativeprinciples. They provide shortand medium term loans torural people to meet theirfinancial requirements.

The Centre has decided todevelop a national database ofcooperatives that will help inbetter implementation of theproposed national policy oncooperatives to be announcedsoon.

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Even though the dependenceof the country's poorest on

MNREGA soared during thepandemic because of wide-spread unemployment due tojob cuts and gloomy economy,the allocation in Budget 2022for the government's ruralemployment programme hasbeen slashed by 25 per cent.

The MNREGA fund allo-cation is Rs 73,000 crore for thefinancial year 2022-23, downfrom the revised estimate forthe previous year (2021-22),which was Rs 98,000 crore.This is 25.51 per cent less thanthe revised estimate for the cur-rent financial year.

MGNREGA is aimed atenhancing livelihood securityof households in rural areas ofthe country by providing atleast 100 days of guaranteedwage employment in a finan-cial year to every householdwhose adult members volun-teer to do unskilled manualwork.

In the first phase, thescheme was implemented in200 most backward districtswith effect from February 2,2006, This was subsequentlyextended to additional dis-tricts, 113 with effect fromApril 1, 2007 and 17 from May15, 2007.

The remaining districtswere included under the Act

with effect from April 1, 2008.The Act now covers all rural

districts of the country. Datashows that the demand forrural jobs have increased dur-ing the lockdown period whenmany labourers return to theirvillages.

In December 2018, 1.9crore households had demand-ed work under MNREGA. InDecember 2019, that dippedslightly to 1.7 crore house-holds. But by December 2020- the year of the prolongedlockdown — there was a bigjump in the number of house-holds demanding work, to 2.7crore. Last December, thedemand for work continued toremain higher than pre-pan-demic levels, at 2.4 crore, as perthe Government statistics.

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Keeping in mind that agri-culture is a fundamental

part of India’s recovery processand a crucial sector of theIndian economy, the UnionBudget 2022-23 proposed Rs132513.62 crore for the agri-culture sector, a marginallyhike by 4.5 per cent as com-pared to the last year andstressed to promote KisanDrone for crop assessment,digitization of land records,spraying of insecticides, deliv-ery of digital and hi tech ser-vices to farmers.

The government hasincreased the agricultural cred-it target to Rs 18 lakh crore forthe 2022-23 fiscal from Rs16.50 lakh crore for the currentfiscal.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said that focused

on ensuring assured income tofarmers with an announce-ment of Rs 2.37 lakh croretowards direct payments forminimum support price (MSP)to wheat and paddy farmers forthe fiscal year 2022-23.

Farmer leaders claimedthat the amount of Rs 2.37 lakhcrore towards the MSP is lessthan the previous year when atotal Rs 2.87 lakh crore waspaid to them. They alsoclaimed that the budget onagriculture is a revenge onfarmers’ protests.

To finance startups andrural enterprises working inagri-space, the minister said thegovernment will facilitate afund with blended capitalraised under the co-invest-ment model throughNABARD.

She said the governmentwill promote chemical-freenatural farming throughoutthe country with a focus onfarmers’ lands in five-kilome-tre wide corridors along theriver Ganga in the first stage.

For the delivery of digitaland high-tech services to farm-ers, she said the governmentwill launch a scheme of public-

private partnership (PPP)model with the involvement ofpublic sector research andextension institutions alongwith private agri-tech playersand stakeholders of agri valuechains.

As per the Budget docu-ment, the fund allocations forthe Prime Minister NarendraModi’s flagship schemes-Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojna (PMFBY) is proposed tobe Rs 15500 crore in the cur-rent fiscal year as compared tothe Rs 15989 crore last year.

Reacting on the Budget, DrKC Ravi, Chief SustainabilityOfficer, Syngenta India PvtLimited said that the emphasison use of Kisan Drones for cropassessments, land records,spraying of insecticides andmicronutrients, which will bea game changer for the agri-culture sector.

The Budget allocation forthe Ministry of Fisheries,Animal Husbandry andDairying has been increased by44 per cent to Rs 6,037.31crore and for Food ProcessingIndustries by 2.25 times to Rs2,941.99 crore for the next fis-cal.

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The Rajasthan Congress onTuesday dubbed the Union

Budget as "disappointing anddirectionless", while the stateBJP welcomed the budget, call-ing it "growth-oriented".

Chief Minister AshokGehlot said the budget will fur-ther lead to rise in fiscal deficitand has no special provision forfarmers, common man, poorand women.

"The fiscal deficit of thecentral government has dou-bled in the last seven years.After this budget, the deficit isgoing to rise further. There isno special provision for farm-ers, common man, poor,women and deprived sectionsin the budget," Gehlot said ina statement.

He said new employmentfigures have been presented inthe budget but no concrete

action plan has been made forit. "Its fate will also be similarto the promise of two crore jobsper year," the chief ministersaid.

"The citizens of Rajasthan,who gave 25 MPs to the NDAfrom this budget, have beencompletely disappointed. Noannouncement has been madefor National Project status toERCP, 90:10 ratio of Centre-State expenditure in Jal JeevanMission, Jaisalmer-Kandla rail-way line and establishment ofMEMU coach in Gulabpura,"he said.

"This budget will prove tobe a budget to increase infla-tion, to fill the pockets ofindustrialists and to empty thepockets of common man,farmer and labourer," thesenior Congress leader said.Rajasthan Pradesh CongressCommittee president GovindSingh Dotasra said the Union

Budget has "disappointed"youths, farmers and the com-mon man.

Terming the budget asdirectionless, he also saidRajasthan "got nothing in thebudget".

He said the announcementto promote organic farmingalong the Ganga river was onlybecause of the Uttar Pradeshelections. "The budget is dis-appointing which has no visionand direction. Be it farmers oryouths or women, all are dis-appointed at the budget," hetold reporters.

"Entire country is agitatedover inflation but there was nota single announcement by thefinance minister on controllingthe inflation," he said.

"All the 25 MPs includingthree ministers from Rajasthanfailed to get anything for thestate in the Union budget," headded.

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In a scathing attack on theprevious Samajwadi Party

government, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath said that byfielding tainted individuals andrioters as their candidates in theelection, the SP had defined itsagenda well before the elec-tions.

Addressing voters atSivalkhas and Kithore assem-bly constituencies in Meerut aswell as at Modinagar inGhaziabad to seek votes for therespective Bharatiya JanataParty candidates, Yogi said:“During the tenure of the pre-

vious government, no daugh-ter was safe, youths were unem-ployed and farmers were com-mitting suicide. There was ariot every third day and whenthe youths revolted, the gov-ernment got false cases regis-tered against them.”

“When we took over, wewaived loans worth Rs 36,000crore of 86 lakh farmers,including one lakh farmers ofMeerut district alone. We maderecord payments to the sugar-cane farmers while 2.54 crorefarmers benefited from thePM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Weprovided government jobs tofive lakh youth and we also

ensured the safety of daughters,which was perennially underthreat during the SP govern-ment. And there was not a sin-gle riot in five years of our gov-ernment,” Yogi remarked.

He added: “We have taughta lesson to all the criminals,mafia and gangsters. We can-not allow our innocent youthslike Sachin and Gaurav to bekilled while trying to save theirsisters.”

According to Yogi, SP’s redcap is a threat to society. “Thecap means riots, road rob-beries as well as stealing offarmers’ equipment such aspumping sets,” he said.

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Describing the UnionBudget 2022-23 as "peo-

ple-friendly and progressive",Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said it wouldmake more opportunities forthe common man and is full ofpossibilities for more invest-ments, infrastructure and jobs.

The Prime Minister saidthe Budget has on the one handkept in mind the well-being ofpoor by focusing on 'garibkalyan' schemes be it "nal se jal'scheme or construction of'sauchalay", on the other it hasnot lost its focus on building"internet connectivity".

In a televised address Modisaid the budget has broughtnew confidence to usher devel-opment in the midst of one themost terrible calamities in 100years, a reference to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Saying the budget bringsthe "trust of 100 years of devel-opment", Modi said "it will cre-ate many new opportunities forthe common people, besidesstrengthening the economy."

"This budget is full of newpossibilities for more infra-structure, more investment,more growth, and more jobs,"the prime minister said, addingthat it will also open up the fieldof green jobs."An importantaspect of this budget is the wel-fare of the poor," Modi said.

The Prime Minister drewattention to new scheme of'parvatmala' launched toincrease connectivity inHimachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Jammu &Kashmir and the North-East toincrease connectivity andtransport and stop migrationfrom these regions.

He said be it roads, high-ways or railways - this budgethas given a major boost toinfrastructure, Modi said.

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The ruling NationalDemocratic Alliance

(NDA) constituent Janata Dal(United) on Tuesday describedthe Union Budget as "disap-pointing" offering "nothing toa poor State like Bihar" whiletop BJP leaders termed it as"visionary" and "growth ori-ented" that outlined the Modigovernment's focus on a self-reliant India.

BJP president JP Naddaasserted that the budget isinspired by the principle of'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,Sabka Vishwas' but the JD(U)bore a divergent view on it. JD(U) Parliamentary BoardPresident Upendra Kushwahacalled it a "disappointingBudget".

"We have a long-standing

demand for a special status ofBihar and expecting that UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman would say some-thing on it but unfortunately,she completely ignored it," hesaid. "The Union Budget hasbeen beneficial for developedstates but it has nothing forpoor states like Bihar. Our stateneeds financial support fromthe Centre for its develop-ment," said the JD (U) leader.

In a series of tweets, UnionMinister and senior BJP leaderRajnath Singh termed the bud-get "growth-oriented" saying"the budget outlines the gov-ernment's focus onAtmanirbharta (self-reliantIndia) and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's vision fordevelopment and pro-peoplereforms."

Emphasising on the

increase in capital expendi-ture, Singh said this year'sbudget has increased the totaloutlay for effective capitalexpenditure by a massive 35.4per cent to more than Rs 10.6lakh crores with the "bulk of themoney going into the devel-opment of social and physicalinfrastructure in the country".

Reflecting similar views,Union Minister Amit Shahsaid this "visionary" budgetwill help in making India theworld's leading economy underthe leadership of PrimeMinister Modi. In a series oftweets, Shah said the budgetwill change the scale of India'seconomy. “"This Budget,brought by the Modi govern-ment, is a visionary budget,which will prove to be a bud-get to change the scale ofIndia's economy," he said, con-

gratulating Finance MinisterNirmala Sitaraman.

Union Minister NitinGadkari praised the budget forgiving impetus to infrastructuredevelopment saying "It is a bud-get to promote modern infra-structure in the country, whichwill lay the foundation for a newIndia and improve the lives of130 crore Indians." BJP PresidentJagat Prakash Nadda said thebudget was inspired by the rul-ing party’s “Sabka Saath, SabkaVikas, Sabka Vishwas" ideology.

“This budget gives impetusto fulfilment of aspirations ofthe middle income groups,” hetweeted. “Home for all, subsidyfor first-time homebuyers,relaxations in income tax,funds allocation for develop-ment of SC/ST [ScheduledCaste and Scheduled Tribe]community, schemes like Jal

Jeevan Mission have beenannounced,” Nadda said.

Union Minister MukhtarAbbas Naqvi on Tuesday hailedthe 2022-23 Budget and said itadvances the opportunity forself-reliant India amid theCOVID pandemic. UnionMinority Affairs MinisterMukhtar Abbas Naqvi saidamidst the global economic cri-sis, the Budget binds togethertrust and development with thethread of "self-reliant India".This Budget assures andadvances the opportunity forself-reliant India amid the pan-demic period, he said.

Senior BJP leader and for-mer Union ministerRavishankar Prasad said "it ishistoric budget and pointed toRs 140,000 crore collection ofthe GST "showing resilience ofthe economy".

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The Opposition on Tuesdayslammed the Union

Budget, calling it a "Pegasusspin Budget" and a "zero-sumBudget" that has nothing forthe salaried class and the poor.

Several Congress leaders,including former party presi-dent Rahul Gandhi, criticizedthe Modi government for pre-senting a "Lollypop budget" andalleged that it has exposed thegovernment's "anti-farmer andanti-poor" face. TMC, SP, BSP,Left parties all termed the bud-get a big disappointment justlike the Modi government hasever since in office.

Former Finance Minister PChidambaram termed the bud-get speech by NirmalaSitharaman as the “most capi-talist budget to be ever read” bya finance minister. Taking aswipe at Sitharaman, the seniorCongress leader thankedSitharaman for “remembering

that there are poor people” inthe country as the word ‘poor’occurs only twice, in para-graph 6, of the budget speech.He asserted that the people ofthis country will reject the“capitalist budget”.

“I was astonished, shockedthat the finance minister wasoutlining a plan for the next 25years. The government seemsto believe that the present doesnot need any attention and thepublic can be asked to waitpatiently until 'Amrit Kaal'dawns. This is mocking thepeople of India,” Chidambaramsaid at the AICC Press confer-ence to react on the budget.

Leader of Opposition inRajya Sabha MallikarjunKharge said, "This budget isonly for the rich as it hasnothing for the poor. It isaimed at benefitting their ownpeople, who are rich and noth-ing for the poor. This attitudeis not good for the people of thecountry." He alleged the gov-

ernment has repeated its earli-er promises, which are porvingfalse, like constructing housesfor the poor.

While West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeetermed it a "Pegasus spin bud-get" that provided nothing tothe common people who havebeen "crushed" by unemploy-ment and inflation and theCentre was lost in "big words"signifying nothing, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwaldubbed the Union Budget as"disappointing" and said it hasnothing for the common peo-ple. Chhattisgarh ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel saidthe Union Budget is direc-tionless and had no provisionor relief for farmers.

Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav said it will cutinto the pockets of the gener-al public while BSP chiefMayawati said the Budget hasbeen brought to "woo the pub-lic with new promises" and

alleged that the Centre has for-gotten to implement its oldannouncements.

Left parties hit out at thegovernment, saying it was "antipeople" and a "bag of disasters

and deceptions". CPI(M) general secretary

Sitaram Yechury questionedthe government on the purposeof Union Budget and askedwhy the wealthy have not been

taxed further. CPI general sec-retary D Raja said that theoverall allocation for agricul-ture and allied activities hasgone down from 4.26 per centto 3.84 per cent.

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Shortly after congratulating Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanfor presenting her fourth successive Union Budget, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on Tuesday walked across the aisle to greetOpposition members. Modi was seen interacting with TrinamoolCongress leaders Sudeep Bandyopadhyay and Saugata Roy in theWell of the House, after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day.

Roy said he asked the Prime Minister to recall West BengalGovernor Jagdeep Dhankar, who is involved in a public spat withChief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Modi was also seen engrossed in a chat with Congress mem-bers Kodikunnil Suresh from Kerala and Francisco Sardinha fromGoa. Sardinha said the PM was inquiring about the Goa LiberationDay function held in December, where he was among the few atten-dees from the Congress.Former Congress president Rahul Gandhihad walked out of the Lok Sabha soon after the presentation of theBudget. Modi also warmly greeted Congress leader Adhir RanjanChowdhury and was seen shaking hands with former TelecomMinister A Raja. He even exchanged greetings with former Jammu& Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, DMK memberDayanidhi Maran and RSP member N K Premachandran.

YSRCP member Krishna Devarayulu Lavu and Independentmember Navneet Rana too greeted the PM.

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New Delhi: The Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingon Tuesday received a slightlyreduced allocation in the 2022-23 fiscal year. Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanannounced a �3,980.77-croreoutlay for the Ministry, which

is a decrease of �90 crore fromlast year. The allocation to theGovernment's autonomousbody Prasar Bharati has beenreduced to �2,555.29 crorefrom �2,640.11 crore allotted toit in the last fiscal.

Among other autonomous

bodies, the budget for only thePress Council of India wasincreased from �20 crore in thelast fiscal to �27 crore this time.

The Films and TelevisionInstitute of India (FTII), IndianInstitute of MassCommunication (IIMC),

Children's Film Society of Indiaand the Satyajit Ray Film andTelevision Institute saw reduc-tions in their budget allocation.

For the IIMC, the govern-ment has earmarked �52 crore,down from �65 crore allocat-ed for 2021-22. The FTII's

budget was reduced from�58.48 crore last year to �55.39crore this year.

In the budget, the alloca-tion for broadcasting under thesocial services head has gonedown from �2,921.11 crore to�2,839.29 crore. There was

also a reduction in the budgetfor 'information and publicity'from �971.26 crore to � 942.04crore.

'Information and publicity'covers establishment expen-diture of media units in thecountry like the Bureau of

Outreach and Communication,Press Information Bureau,Publications Division, NewMedia Wing, Registrar ofNewspapers for India (RNI),Films Division, National FilmArchive of India, ElectronicMedia Monitoring Centre and

others. Information and

Broadcasting Minister AnuragThakur hailed the budget as"beneficial", saying it was ablueprint to fulfil hopes andaspirations of a new India. PNS

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The Government will spendclose to �300 crore for

training bureaucrats in India aswell as abroad besides aug-menting necessary infrastruc-ture. The Union Budget 2022-23 presented by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanon Tuesday allocated �288 croreto the Personnel Ministry forthe next fiscal for the purpose.

Besides this, an outlay of�44.25 crore has been madeunder “administrative reformsand pensioners' scheme” for2022-23, which includes pro-vision for Department ofAdministrative Reforms &Public Grievances scheme formodernisation of government

offices, and pilot projects onadministrative reforms whichconsists of promotion of e-gov-ernance, fostering of good gov-ernance, learning from success,sevottam etc.

Of the total allocation of�288.14 crore for the next finan-cial year, �210.75 crore hasbeen earmarked for upgradationof the Lal Bahadur ShastriNational Academy ofAdministration (LBSNAA) inMussoorie to a centre of excel-lence, augmentation of trainingfacilities at the Delhi-basedInstitute of Secretariat Trainingand Management (ISTM) andthe National Programme forCivil Services & CapacityBuilding -- Mission Karmayogi.

The LBSNAA and the

ISTM conduct several trainingprogrammes for IndianAdministrative Service (IAS)officers and all other levels ofsecretarial functionaries withexposure to latest rules, regu-lations and aptitude.

The Union Cabinet had inSeptember 2020 given nod toMission Karmayogi, billed thebiggest bureaucratic reforminitiative, aimed at capacitybuilding to make governmentemployees more "creative,proactive, professional andtechnology-enabled".

A total of Rs 77.39 crorehas been provided to the min-istry for 2022-23 to meet estab-lishment-related expenditureof the ISTM, the LBSNAA andtraining division of DoPT.

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The Union Budget onTuesday al located

�1,85,776.55 crore to theUnion Home Ministry, an11.5 per cent jump over pre-vious al location of�1,66,546.94 crore. Nearly�20,000 crore additional fundshave been allocated in theBudget for shoring up internalsecurity apparatus.

The bulk of the allocationwill go to central paramilitaryforces like the CRPF, BSF andfor improving the infrastruc-ture along the internationalborders.

The Budget has also pri-oritised modernisation ofpolice forces, intelligencegathering apparatus, womensafety, cyber security and thedecennial census among othersuch issues.

Major portion of the bud-getary fund has gone to thePolice - �1,17,687.99 crore incomparison to �1,09,266.30crore given in the last fiscal.

Among the paramilitaryforces, the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF), the leadForce for internal securityduties including counter-ter-ror operations in Jammu andKashmir, has been allocated�29,324.92 in comparison to�27, 307.42 crore given in2021-22.

The Border Security Force(BSF), which secures India'sborder with Pakistan andBangladesh, besides internalsecurity assignments, has beengiven �22,718.45 crore incomparison to �21,491.14crore given in the ongoing fis-cal.

The Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF), whichprotects vital installations like

nuclear projects, airports andmetro networks, has beengiven �12,201.90 crore incomparison to �11,372.54crore allocated in 2021-22.

The Shashastra Seema Bal(SSB), which secures India'sfrontiers with Nepal andBhutan, has been allocated Rs7,653.73 crore in comparisonto �6,940.42 crore given in thecurrent fiscal.

The Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP), which guardsthe Indo-China border, got�7,461.28 crore in comparisonto �6,965.02 crore given in thecurrent fiscal.

The Assam Rifles, man-dated to secure the frontierswith Myanmar and for anti-insurgency duties in theNortheast, has been allocated�6,658.41 crore in comparisonto previous allocation of�6,046.25 crore.

Likewise, the NationalSecurity Guard (NSG) hasbeen allocated �1,293.37 crorein comparison to �1,151.16crore given in 2021-22.

The Intelligence Bureauhas been allocated �3,168.36crore in contrast to this fiscal’s�2,793.02 crore.

The Special ProtectionGroup (SPG), which protectsthe Prime Minister, has beenallocated �385.95 crore incomparison to �386.50 croregiven in 2021-22.

The Delhi Police has beenallocated �10,096.29 crore incomparison to �11,136.22crore given in 2021-22.

While �200 crore has beenallocated for special schemesrelated to women security,�2,744.52 crore has been givenfor border infrastructure andmanagement and �2,754.16crore for modernisation ofpolice forces.

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Except for the mental health sector where theplan to set up a National Tele-Mental Health

programme in India has been proposed, the UnionBudget 2022-23 presented by the Government onTuesday does not have much in store for othermajor sectors of health services like NationalHealth Mission or medical device industry.

Presenting the Budget for 2022-23, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman said the pandem-ic has accentuated mental health problems in peo-ple of all ages, hence the tele mental health pro-gramme will be launched to improve access toquality mental health counselling and care services.

Sitharaman said the programme will includea network of 23 tele-mental health centres ofexcellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal cen-tre and International Institute ofInformationTechnology-Bangalore (IIITB) pro-viding technology support.

She also said that an open platform for theNational Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolledout. “It will consist of digital registriesof health providers and health facilities, uniquehealth identity, consent framework, and universalaccess to health facilities,” she said. Additionallyshe said that 95% of 112 aspirational districts hadmade significant progress in health and otherparameters and that efforts would now bemade to work on districts that were lagging.

However, healthcare experts have expressedmixed reactions to the Budget pointing out thatother services have been neglected. They felt thatthe Government should have focused more onprimary healthcare investment and made thehealthcare system as' National Priority’ status toinsulate it from future Covid like crises.

K. Sujatha Rao, former secretary, HealthMinistry, expressed her disappointment at thebudget saying that “A disappointing budget forhealth and education”.

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Across section of the agri-culture and industries sec-

tors in Tamil Nadu and Keralaare unhappy with the UnionBudget 2022-2023 presented byFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Tuesday.

Farmers are unhappy overthe Union Government’s failureto implement the promise theBJP leadership had made tothem before the 2014 LokSabha election though the partyhas been ruling the countryuninterrupted for the last sevenyears, said R V Giri, nationalpresident, Consortium ofIndian Farmers’ Association(CIFA).

Speaking to The Pioneerfrom Virudhachalam in TamilNadu, the seasoned farmersaid the recommendationsmade by M S Swaminathan ledFarmers Commission remainin paper even after 15 years.“The SwaminathanCommission had recom-mended that farmers shouldget the cost of production andits 50 per cent as the procure-ment price or selling pricefrom the buyers for their prod-ucts. We will be able to surviveonly if the Government acceptsthat suggestion,” said Giri. Hesaid farmers across the coun-try are disappointed with theresponse of the UnionGovernment to their mini-mum demands.

The move to introduceorganic farming in a big wayhas nit enthused the farmingcommunity, said Giri. “Is thereany assurance that we wouldget the returns for the money

we spend on organic farming?Moreover the farmland inTamil Nadu is not conducivefor organic farming and thiswould lead to a fall in the pro-ductivity,” said Giri.

Tamil Nadu Small andTiny Industries Association(TANSTIA), an umbrella orga-nization of Micro Small andMedium Enterprises (MSME),expressed disappointment overthe raw deal they got in thebudget proposals. “We con-tribute 35 per cent of the GDPand 48 per cent of the Indianexports. There was an expec-tation that the GST on productsmanufactured in MSME wouldbe brought down and therewould be some incentives onexport. There are no specialgrants, schemes, and subsidiesfor MSMEs to boost the sector.There are lakhs of units whichwere shut down and becameNon Performing Assets. Thereis nothing in the budget pro-posals to revive these units,”said S Vasudevan, vice presi-dent, TANSTIA.

Raja M Shanmugham,president, Tirupur Exporters

Association (TEA) said thereview of Customs exemptionand Tariff simplification wouldgo a long way in protecting thedomestic garment business.He also welcomed the exemp-tion provided on items such asembellishment , trimming, fas-teners, buttons, zipper, liningmaterials and packaging boxes,which will be beneficial toknitwear exporters.

The Finance Minister hasgiven maximum thrust toinfrastructure developmentand this is a major boost toemployment generation,according to Hari S Kartha,economist-turned-columnist.He said he has not seen thiskind of allocation and innova-tion like PM Ghati Sakthi inany previous budgets duringthe last four decades. “But theproof of the pudding is in theeating,” said Kartha.

Kartha and Giri welcomedthe move to interlinkGodavari-Pennar-Kaveri riversand termed that the scheme hasthe potential to make the SouthIndian States an ever green gar-den.

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nationalism, possibly operativesince 1006 AD andQutubuddin Aibak, or perhaps1526 AD when Babur won thefirst Battle of Panipat, or anyother date.

Those citizens who aredesirous of civic nationalismwould have to abandon theirimaginary preferences andidentify with the pristine cul-ture of the country. This, ie, thePartition of the nation, waseffected in 1947 as MessrsJinnah, Mohd Iqbal and SirSayyid Ahmad Khan believedin and wanted it at any cost. Itwas a settlement made for alltime to come, as it appearsnow. An undoing of thatPartition means a 60/40 pop-ulation ratio between the ‘cul-tural nationalists’ and thepotential ‘civic nation’ advo-cates.

Three prominent person-alities had envisioned thisclash of nationalism; namelyMA Jinnah, BR Ambedkarand Dr Rajendra Prasad, ourfirst President. All of them pro-posed what the League ofNations, the predecessor of theUnited Nations, had done withrespect to Greece and Turkeyin 1923. Going back into his-tory, the Turks had conqueredAnatolia and its neighbour-hood in the decades preceding1453. This was the Islamictakeover of legendary Greece.

Istanbul was Constantinopleuntil then; the headquarters ofthe Eastern Christian Churchare still situated in this historiccity. Through the centuries,there used to be clashesbetween the Turks and theGreeks; in fact, they wererather like what we nowadayscall communal riots.

The League of Nations,after the end of World War I— when the Turks wereamenable to listening aftertheir defeat and collapse of thecenturies-old Ottoman Empire— proposed an exchange ofGreeks who were to migrate totheir original country while allthe Turks were to immigrate toTurkey. A detailed procedureof what was to be done, whowould do what and by whenwas documented. Theexchange was conductedsmoothly and methodically;there has not been a single riotsince.

Returning to what formerVice-President Ansari has cho-sen to articulate, many ques-tions spring to the minds ofmany concerned countrymen.Why did a former Vice-President choose an interna-tional forum to make remarksagainst one’s own country,whose second-highest office heheld for, say, 10 years? Is thereeven an iota of merit inAnsari’s claim that India is

being “torn apart by a new cul-tural nationalism?” It is alsovery difficult to ignore therecord in public life of thecountry’s former Vice-President. Also, the fact thatAnsari chose the platform ofthe Indian American MuslimCouncil (IAMC), a sectarianlobbying group with a long his-tory of anti-India activities,certainly is a poor advocacy forany civic nationalism. Culturalnationalism is nothing but thenation waking up to its funda-mental ethos.

The historical track recordof this supposed civic nation-alism in promoting tolerance,togetherness, peace and anysense of national security canat best be called a disappoint-ing one. The substance of theformer Vice-President’sremarks, if one were to ignorehis diatribe, is also lacking inany specific content as to theexact nature of the threat hehas talked about. The country,despite no dearth of seriouschallenges sinceIndependence, has steadfastlystood by democracy and thevery freedom that allowedHamid Ansari to become thecountry’s Vice-President.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, an authorand a former member of theRajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

�� Sir — This refers to ‘Postcards from ourfuture to India’s future’ (January 31). Thiscompetition involving more than 10 mil-lion schoolchildren under CBSE, StateBoards, Kendriya and NavodayaVidyalayas was largely ignored by themainstream media. The initiative con-ceived by our PM and organised by theDepartments of Posts and SchoolEducation is first-of-its-kind in the his-tory of independent India. Thanks forgiving coverage to this event where theschoolchildren wrote their postcardsdirectly to the PM. The evolving leadersof tomorrow’s India not only clamouredfor recognition of India’s unsung heroesbut also brought out their vision of Indiain 2047.

India’s aspirational youth need to begroomed for tomorrow’s India. Thoughour NEP 2021 makes all the right nois-es, it needs effective dovetailing with oureducation system which is woefullyinadequate to prepare tomorrow’s lead-ers in nation building. India’s large poolof talent can bring about school-centric,cost-effective innovations to transformeducation. We have the wherewithal.Now we appear to have a political will,too. Given these two, a prosperous, equi-table and India of our dreams in 2047 isnot a far cry.

SK Prabhakar | Gurugram

��Sir — One is really shocked to gothrough the comments and observationsmade by Justice GR Swaminathan whileordering a CBI probe into the death byapparent suicide of a girl in Thanjavurdistrict. He has based his order on hisobservation that the police, Governmentand even the Education Departmenthave already formed an opinion that thedeath is not due to any coercion by theschool warden for the girl to convert toChristianity and this thinking would setthe course of inquiry and the final deci-sion if the case was handled by the CB-CID. He also refused to accept that thegirl, afflicted with leukoderma, was tor-tured by her stepmother which would

have led the girl to such a drastic step.The judge could have simply ordered

the case transferred to the CBI. But hiscomments appear to be a direction to theCBI as to how their course of inquiryshould be. Or, he could have simply con-victed those accused of the conversionattempt. Just as he quoted a Bible verse,there is at least one quote in the BhagvadGita that can be misconstrued if quot-ed out of context. With due respect toJustice Swaminathan, one sincerely feelsthat he could have avoided setting upsuch a controversial precedent which hashurt the sentiments of the entireChristian community.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

�� Sir — It is saddening to hear about thedemise of hockey legend Padma ShriCharanjit Singh on Thursday inHimachal Pradesh, a glittering star ofyesteryears who belonged to an era when

hockey was associated with nationalpride. It also reminds us of the goldenera of nearly two decades of supremacywhen Indian hockey ruled the roost inthe international arena. The skillfulmidfielder played a seminal role in the1960 Rome Olympics as well as in the1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and ledthe Indian team to a historic gold in thelatter by beating Pakistan.

He will always be remembered for hisskills, humility and grace on and off thefield. To preserve the legacy of that gold-en period of Indian hockey, whichrecently found echo in India winning thebronze medal at the recent TokyoOlympics, a lot needs to be done to con-tinue this trend until India reaches thesummit of its revival, as the stars of yes-teryear did effortlessly.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

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India is being taken over bya “new and imaginary prac-tice of cultural nationalism”as against the “well-estab-

lished principle of civic national-ism, which seeks to present elec-toral majority in the guise of areligious majority, and monopo-lise political power”. Thus spokeformer Vice-President HamidAnsari while addressing a confer-ence on protecting theConstitution. The fact that theformer Vice-President chose tomake these comments whilespeaking at an internationalforum, the Indian AmericanMuslim Council, sharing spacewith foreign elements, some ofwhom are known to be hostile toour country and its interests, isalso not lost on many Indians.

However, the thrust ofAnsari’s speech must now bearcloser scrutiny. His allegation isthat a civic life laid down by theConstitution is sufficient in a plu-ralistic country. This is far froma welcome assertion. The cultureand the history of one commu-nity might be distasteful to anoth-er. Those not proud of the post-Independence history of theirsbecause they have stayed back ina Dar-ul-Harb (place of conflict)instead of migrating to theirnew homeland now prefer theirorigin to be the Constitution of1950. This is a conflict betweenculture and civic existence. In theviews of a significant segment, theculture of the rest of the countryis something that harks back tojahalia or darkness.

The former Vice-President’soutburst must also, therefore,provoke another very seriousquestion, one which the countryhas so far chosen to put off, butwith rather unhealthy outcomesfor its body politic. What is sopermanent about a country’scivic life? The Constitution can beamended; it can be replaced byanother document. Our ownConstitution has been amendedmore than 100 times alreadysince 1950, whereas the history ofIndian culture would go back toat least the Vedic Age. What prob-ably the former Vice-Presidentreferred to was this conflict whenhe talked of the phenomenon ofcultural nationalism seizingpower from those who estab-lished the principle of civic

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Of all the states going to pollsnext month Uttar Pradesh iswhere the BJP’s stakes arehighest. The party has been

using the state as a laboratory for test-ing a ‘Hindu model’ of Government-amodel that, in the words of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, combinesvirasat (heritage) with vikas (develop-ment). Yogi Adityanath was seen by theparty as the best person to execute themodel, so he was made the ChiefMinister. And, in the party’s estimation,he has done exceptionally well. In all hisspeeches he proudly points to the Ramtemple (virasat) with one hand and tothe expressways and international air-ports (vikas) with another.

The stakes of the RSS (RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh) are even greater inUP. The RSS is the driver of theHindutva ideology. The BJP is only itsvehicle. The ‘Hindu model’ ofGovernment combining virasat withvikas is the RSS idea. Those who followthe speeches of RSS leaders know thatthe Sangh, after winning the battle forthe Ram temple, has now set itself a tar-get for establishing a ‘Ram Rajya’ in thenext twenty-five years. ‘Ram Rajya’ isbut another name for ‘Hindu Rashtra’.In recent years the RSS seems to havediscovered that the concept of ‘RamRajya’ is more saleable to the massesthan ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and also safer fromcriticism by pluralists.

When Prime Minister Modi talks ofvirasat and vikas they might seem liketwo ideas to ordinary people. But to theRSS they are not separate. They flowfrom the single idea of Rambhakti orcomplete devotion to Ram. The ruler hasto be a devotee of Ram (virasat) andbring prosperity (vikas) to all his peo-ple as Ram did to his subjects as the kingof Ayodhya. Thus can the ruler estab-lish a ‘Ram Rajya’. That is the ‘Hindumodel’ of government the BJP has beentrying to construct in UP.

Modi and Yogi have been at pains toprove that the ‘Hindu model’ of devel-opment is far better at social inclusionthan the ‘social justice’ model of govern-ment of the Samajwadi Party. The‘Hindu model’, they say, has broughtbenefits to all castes and communities,unlike the Samajwadi Party Governmentthat provided benefits only to a fewcastes. Social equality and social harmo-ny have been truly established undertheir rule, they claim. To support theirclaim, they pointed to the massive sup-port of the non-Yadav backward class-es and dalits their party had amassed inthe recent years. If you were to believeModi and Yogi, UP was well on its wayto becoming a ‘Ram Rajya’, with aRambhakt ruler ruling as honestly, just-ly and non-discriminatingly as Ram andthe people of all classes having absolutetrust in his justice and fairness as thesubjects of Ram had in Ram’s.

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That it was not exactly sobecame clear soon after the elec-tions were announced, when anumber of MLAs of the BJP whosepolitical careers depended on thesupport of non-Yadav backwardclasses resigned from the party.The indication from their resigna-tions was that their constituencieswere dissatisfied with the BJP’s per-formance. And reports from grass-roots corroborated that perception.There was a large gap between thegovernment’s propaganda of whatit had given to the lower classesand the realities of the life theywere living.

Ground reports spoke of thelower classes in several villagesbeing denied financial assistanceunder the Pradhan Mantri AwaasYojana to build pucca housesbecause they could not afford topay the bribe the local officialsdemanded. Such villages includ-ed Jayapur, one of the four villagesin Varanasi district adopted byPrime Minister Narendra Modi asthe MP of the constituency. In vil-lages declared ODF (open defe-cation free) several poorer peo-ple still had no toilets. In othervillages the toilets constructedhad turned dysfunctional.

Yogi claimed he had madewomen’s life secure, but in the vil-lages girls from poorer classesgoing out to work in the fields ortend the cattle still faced seriousrisks of being molested, raped

and killed. In 2020, there were9,864 cases of assaults on womenwith intent to outrage their mod-esty in the state, according to theNational Crime Records Bureau.The total number of crimesagainst women in the State were59,445 in 2018, 59853 in 2019 and49,385 in 2020, the highestamong all states.

In every case of injusticeagainst the lower classes the per-petrators of the injustice hap-pened to be from the better-offclasses. The pradhans (panchay-at heads) who demanded 20 percent cut from the financial assis-tance under the PM AwaasYojana, the men who molestedand raped girls in villages and thepolicemen who acted on the sideof the perpetrators were all fromthe better-off classes. The poor-er classes of UP had always seenthemselves as ‘chhote log’ (smallpeople) oppressed and exploitedby ‘bade log’ (big people). Thatdid not change under the Yogirule. That is why there is disap-pointment among the lower class-es with the BJP.

What has added to their disap-pointment is the opposition of theBJP to a socio-economic caste cen-sus. The poorer communitiesamong the backward classes havecome to the conclusion that unlessa caste census is done the benefitsof public sector jobs and collegeadmissions would never be distrib-

uted equitably. The YogiGovernment has even refused toimplement the recommendation ofits own Social Justice Committeefor the division of 27 per centreservations for OBCs into threecategories of backward class (7 percent), more backward class (11 percent) and most backward class (9per cent).

The discontent among thelower castes has busted the self-illusion of the BJP that it can bindall castes securely with theHindutva glue. The lower casteswant security, dignity and upwardmobility and are not going to giveup those concerns for the sake ofHindu unity. Hindu unity to themhas proven to be a chimera whichonly perpetuates deep social andeconomic divisions.

Today Hindutva lies buried inthe ruins of the social coalition theBJP built. The big lesson for theparty is: It has to address the fun-damental issues of social inequal-ity, social injustice, economicoppression and administrative dis-crimination and corruption the‘chhote log’ face in their life beforeit can hope to bind all castes withthe Hindu glue. But as the ‘badelog’ make the core constituency ofthe BJP it could be the last thingthe party might ever be tempted todo. And that is sure to leave theparty in a state of perpetual dilem-ma. We will see how it resolves thedilemma in the coming years.

(The writer is an independent journalistand author. The views

expressed are personal.)

Every leader takes advan-tage of a crucial momentto settle down. The current

UP Assembly elections will be adecisive momentfor the politicalfuture of Priyanka GandhiVadra. Once considered a trumpcard, she now faces a massivechallenge in the present elec-tions. The party has not been inpower in UP since 1989, and theorganization is almost extinct.So, it will be a Himalayan taskfor the 49-year-old PriyankaGandhi, who formally enteredthe rough and tumble of politicsin January 2019.

The party has notannounced her as the chiefministerial candidate. But ifCongress wins by a miracle, whoelse but Priyanka? She admittedlast week that she is the face ofthe Congress, asking a reporterwhether any other face is visible.

The party believed her entrycould be a game-changer.Congress President SoniaGandhi often said Priyanka, amother of two children, wouldtake the political plunge whenshe was ready. In January 2019she became the GeneralSecretary in charge of EasternUP. A leader should have threequalities: charisma, crowd-pulling, ability to convert themasses into votes. It is only thethird, converting the crowdsinto votes, Priyanka is yet toachieve.

However, she is no green-horn in politics. For close to twodecades she played politics withbackroom decisions. Her rolewas confined to Uttar Pradesh.Priyanka’s involvement in UPgoes back to her father, RajivGandhi; She was helping him inhis campaign trail in Amethi

and her mother’s constituencyRae Bareili. She also took care ofher brother’s Amethi he lost in2019. There are many pluses andminuses for Priyanka’s politicalcareer. A Gandhi family mem-ber is an added advantage. Shehas taken charge of the partywhen the congress support baseis lowest in UP and the country.The party had favored her bet-ter than her brother RahulGandhi and appreciated her

people skills, language proficien-cy, and repartees.

With no base, the party hasbeen floundering since 1989.The upper castes have moved tothe BJP, the backward classes toSP, and the Dalits to BSP.Minority voters are split amongSP, BSP, and Congress. BeforePriyanka, the biggest challengeis to recover the party’s socialbase or create a new one. Theparty had a bare 7 per cent vote

share in 2017. Above all, the BJPhas the upper hand with adivided opposition. The party’salliance experiments with theBSP in 1996 and the SamajwadiParty in the 2017 Assemblyelections failed miserably.Congress has adopted the‘eklachalo’ strategy in 2022 UPassembly elections and thus iso-lated while other parties likeTMC and NCP have alignedwith the SP. Any anti-incumben-cy against the BJP seems to begoing to the SP-RLD combine.

While the other partiesdepend on caste and religiouscards, Priyanka has chosen thegender card and brought out aspecial women’s manifestopromising to restore their self-esteem and self-reliance,employment and more oppor-tunities to enter politics.“LadkiHoon, Lad Sakti Hoon” is

her poll slogan. Priyanka has made some

politically correct moves toimprove the Congress profile,like consoling the family of theHathras rape victim,arrangingtransport for the migrants fromUttar Pradesh, etc. Yet, Congressremains out of reckoning due tolack of organization, absence ofsecond-rung leaders, factional-ism, and indiscipline.

Her minuses are also many.Some complain she is inacces-sible and arrogant. She has notbeen able to strengthen theparty in the past two years. It isindeed a gamble that the partyhas decided against alliances.Priyanka’s revamp of the partyorganization has upset manyseniors and old-timers who feelside-lined. Under her watch,senior leaders like RPN Singhand Jitin Prasada and four

declared candidates left recent-ly. Many think that she shouldhave checked the erosion whenthe party is weak.

Interestingly, Priyanka isexpanding her role beyond UttarPradesh, going to Punjab andGoa and perhaps acquiring anational profile. The mess inPunjab resulted in the exit ofchief minister CaptainAmarinder Singh and theappointment of Navjot SinghSidhu as the new PCC chief dueto her influence. The UP pollswill decide what works,Priyanka’s chemistry or the pollarithmetic. Her success woulddepend on her appeal to womenand youth. It is nobody’s casethat Priyanka could bring backthe Congress rule in the state,but even if she could ensure animprovement for the party, it willgo a long way.

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Russian officials on Tuesdaydenied reports that Moscow

sent Washington a writtenresponse to a U.S. proposalaimed at deescalating theUkraine crisis, a day after thetwo countries exchanged sharpaccusations at the UnitedNations Security council.

The Kremlin is seekinglegally binding guarantees fromthe U.S. and NATO thatUkraine will never join thebloc, deployment of NATOweapons near Russian borderswill be halted and the alliance’sforces will be rolled back fromEastern Europe.

The demands, rejected byNATO and the U.S. as non-starters, come amid fears thatRussia might invade Ukraine,stoked the buildup of an esti-mated 100,000 Russian troopsnear Ukraine’s borders. Talksbetween Russia and the Westhave so far failed to yield anyprogress.

Washington has providedMoscow with a written responseto the demands, and onMonday three Biden adminis-tration officials said that the

Russian government sent a writ-ten response to the U.S. pro-posals. A State Departmentofficial has declined to offerdetails about the document,saying it “would be unproduc-tive to negotiate in public” andthat they would leave it up toRussia to discuss the counter-proposal.But Deputy ForeignMinister Alexander Grushko onTuesday told Russia’s state RIANovosti news agency that thiswas “not true.”

The agency also cited anunnamed senior diplomat in theRussian Foreign Ministry as say-ing that Foreign Minister SergeyLavrov sent a message to hisWestern colleagues, includingU.S. State Secretary AntonyBlinken about “the principle ofindivisibility of security,” but itwasn’t a response toWashington’s proposals.

Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov told reportersTuesday that there has been“confusion” and said thatRussia’s response to the U.S.proposals is still in the works.What was passed on to Westernofficials “were other consider-ations, on a somewhat differentissue,” Peskov said.

On Monday, Russia accusedthe West of “whipping up ten-sions” over Ukraine and said theU.S. had brought “pure Nazis”to power in Kyiv as the U.N.Security Council held a stormydebate on Moscow’s troopbuildup near its southern neigh-bor. U.S. Ambassador LindaThomas-Greenfield shot backthat Russia’s growing militaryforce along Ukraine’s borderswas “the largest mobilization” inEurope in decades, adding thatthere has been a spike in cyber-attacks and Russian disinfor-mation. The harsh exchanges inthe Security Council came afterMoscow lost an attempt toblock the meeting and reflect-ed the gulf between the twonuclear powers. It was the firstopen session where all protag-onists in the Ukraine crisisspoke publicly, even thoughthe U.N.’s most powerful bodytook no action.

More high-level diplomacyis expected this week. In themeantime, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy signed adecree on Tuesday expandingthe country’s army by 100,000troops, bringing the total num-ber to 350,000.

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Anationwide strike inMyanmar on Tuesday

marked the one-year anniver-sary of the army’s seizure ofpower, as protests and sporadicviolence across the countryrenewed international concernover the ongoing struggle forpower.

Photos and video on socialmedia showed that a country-wide “silent strike” had emptiedout streets in Myanmar’s largestcity of Yangon and other townsas people stayed home andbusinesses shut their doors ina show of opposition to armyrule.Violence was reported aswell, as the country faces aninsurgency that some U.N.experts now characterize as acivil war.

Media said an explosionkilled at least two people andinjured dozens at a pro-militaryrally in a town on the easternborder with Thailand. Thecause of blast was not imme-diately clear. The military’stakeover on Feb. 1, 2021, oust-ed elected government of AungSan Suu Kyi, whose NationalLeague for Democracy partywas about to begin a secondterm in office after winning alandslide victory in previous

year’s November election.Widespread nonviolentdemonstrations followed thearmy’s takeover, but armedresistance arose after protestswere put down with lethalforce. 1,500 civilians have beenkilled but the government hasbeen unable to suppress oppo-sition.

The anniversary hasattracted international atten-tion, especially from the UnitedStates and Western nationscritical of military takeover.President Joe Biden in a state-ment called for the military tofree Suu Kyi and otherdetainees, and return Myanmaron a path to democracy. TheU.S. on Monday imposed new

sanctions on Myanmar offi-cials, adding to those targetingtop military officers. The mea-sures freeze any assets the list-ed officials may have in U.S.jurisdictions and barAmericans from doing businesswith them. Britain and Canadaannounced similar measures.

A statement from office ofU.N. Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres highlighted“an intensification in violence”and “humanitarian crises” thatit said required an urgentresponse. Scattered pro-democ-racy rallies were held beforestart of nationwide strike inearly morning, when securityforces are less likely to be outon streets.

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Caught partying during apandemic, British Prime

Minister Boris Johnson boughthimself some breathing spacewith an apology and a promiseto change. But his troubles arefar from over. Johnson wasbattling to rally a rancorousConservative Party on Tuesdayafter an inquiry slammed fail-ures at the top that led toDowning Street staff holdingboozy parties while the coun-try was in lockdown.

He told lawmakers inParliament “I get it, and I willfix it,” promising to overhaul theway his office runs after seniorcivil servant Sue Gray found inher partial report that “failuresof leadership and judgment”allowed events to occur that“should not have been allowedto take place.”

Johnson addressed scoresof Conservative legislatorsbehind closed doors onMonday night, assuring themhe took criticisms seriouslyand promising to get a tightergrip on a Downing Street oper-ation that Gray found wasmarked by excessive drinkingand dysfunctional dynamics.Johnson was rallying hisCabinet at its weekly meetingon Tuesday before flying to Kyivfor talks with UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyyover the Russia-Ukraine crisis.Deputy Prime Minister

Dominic Raab defendedJohnson on Tuesday, saying:“He believes he acted in goodfaith on the advice he had at alltimes.” Johnson’s grip on powerhas been shaken by revelationsthat his staff held “bring yourown booze” office parties, birth-day celebrations and “winetime Fridays” at Downing Streetat times in 2020 and 2021when Britons were barred fromsocializing to slow spread of thecoronavirus.

There could be worse tocome. Gray only released herfindings on four of 16 eventsbeing probed, because policeare investigating other dozen —including an alleged ABBA-themed party in prime minis-ter’s private Downing Streetapartment.

Gray is expected to producea full report once police inves-tigation is finished. The gov-ernment initially declined topromise that report would bepublished in full, but agreed todo so late Monday after com-ing under intense pressure.

For now, manyConservatives are biding theirtime, sticking by leader whowon them an 80-seat parlia-mentary majority in 2019.

The party has a history ofousting leaders once theybecome liabilities, and Johnsoncould yet face a no-confidencevote from his own side if policeor Gray produce more damn-ing evidence.

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Palestinian Prime MinisterMohammed Ishtaye said

that the remarks of his Israelicounterpart Naftali Bennetton rejecting establishment of aPalestinian state are "an incite-ment to violence and proof ofIsraeli government's anti-peacestance". Ishtaye made remarksin an official statement issuedafter weekly meeting ofPalestinian Authority cabinetheld in West Bank city ofRamallah, reports Xinhua newsagency.

Bennett on January 28 saidthat as long as he is the PrimeMinister of Israel, there will beno Oslo, referring to peaceagreements signed betweenIsraelis and Palestinians in1993. He also said that heopposes the establishment of aPalestinian state and that hewouldn't allow any politicalnegotiations that would lead toa Palestinian state.

In response, Ishtaye saidrejecting to negotiate the estab-lishment of a Palestinian state"proved to us and the world thescale of extremism of Bennett'sgovernment and its positionshostile to peace and negotia-tions".He called on the US andEuropean Union to interveneto put an end to Israel's settle-ments in East Jerusalem.

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The US manufactured mostof the weapons seized by

authorities in Mexico over thelast two years, according to areport released by the ForeignAffairs Ministry here.

Mexican security forcesseized 18,091 US-madeweapons between January 1,2020 and November 18, 2021,an average of 812 guns orother firearms a month,Xinhua news agency reportedciting the Ministry as saying ina report.Of the weapons seized,over 10,500 were handgunsand more than 7,300 wereshotguns, it said.

Mexico estimates that atleast half a million pieces ofweapons are brought to thecountry illegally each year fromthe US and fall into the handsof criminals south of the coun-tries' border. More than 3.9million crimes are committedin Mexico each year by crimi-nals using US-made weapons,70 per cent of which can betracked to America, accordingto Ministry.In a bid to decreaseUS arms entering Mexico.

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The death toll from land-slides and flooding set off

by heavy rains in Brazil’s SaoPaulo state reached 24 onMonday as firefighters contin-ued pulling bodies from themud.

Brazil’s most populous statewas blasted with rain over theweekend, and hundreds ofthousands of people wereforced from their homes. Thedeath toll had stood at 19 lateSunday, according to a state-ment from the civil defenseauthority.

”(I’m looking for) mynephew, his wife and a 2-year-old child,” Cicero Pereira, 54,told The Associated Pressbeside a disaster site in the cityof Franco da Rocha. “They saidthe bodies are still there underthe mud, but until now they

couldn’t recover them.”Nelito Santos Bonfim, a 69-

year-old resident, told AP hebarely escaped with his life.“When I started running, thedebris fell all over me,” Bonfimsaid. “I got hurt, but found ahole and, thanks to God, Imanaged to escape.

But my father is stillthere.”A total 27 cities wereaffected, of which Franco daRocha suffered the greatestloss of life. Gov. João Doriaused a helicopter to surveydamaged areas Sunday andannounced the equivalent of$2.8 million in financial aid toaffected cities.

Alessandro Lima deFreitas, a coordinator for fire-fighters working to retrievebodies, updated his list of miss-ing people in Franco da Rocha.He told reporters that the con-centration of rain was muchheavier than locals are used to.

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The children walk amongcarcasses of animals dead

from hunger and exhaustion, astark image of the droughtthreatening millions of peoplein the Horn of Africa.

Somalia, Kenya, and nowEthiopia have raised the alarmabout the latest climate shockto a fragile region traversed byherders and others trying tokeep their animals, and them-selves, alive.

In Ethiopia’s Somali region,people have seen the failures ofwhat should have been threestraight rainy seasons.Droughts come and go over theyears, but resident Zaynab Walitold a visiting team with theUnited Nations children’sagency that she and her sevenchildren have never seen onelike this.

The government distrib-uted food and fodder duringthe last drought five years ago,she said. This time, “we don’thave enough food for our fam-ily.” More than 6 million peo-

ple in Ethiopia are expected toneed urgent humanitarian aidby mid-March, UNICEF saidTuesday.

And in neighboringSomalia more than 7 millionpeople need urgent help, theSomali NGO Consortium saidin a separate statement, plead-ing with international donorsto give much more.This couldbe the region’s worst drought in40 years, the consortiumsaid.“We are just one monthinto the long dry season, and Ihave already lost 25 goats andsheep,” Hafsa Bedel inEthiopia’s Somali region toldUNICEF. “I also lost fourcamels. There is no pasture.”There is not enough food forher own family, including hersix children, she said.

UNICEF estimates thatmore than 150,000 children insuch areas of Ethiopia droppedout of school to help fetchscarce water and handle otherchores. One young boy sup-ported a donkey, once crucialfor carrying cargo, that becometoo weak to walk on its own.

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Washington is “fully com-mitted” to working with

Japan to confront growingregional tensions, the new U.S.ambassador to Tokyo, RahmEmanuel, said Tuesday.

Emanuel was speaking at ameeting with Japanese ForeignMiniser Yoshimasa Hayashi,where the two discussed issuesincluding North Korea’s missileadvancement and China’sincreasingly assertive actions inthe Asia Pacific.

“The United States is fullycommitted to working withJapan as a full ally to counterthe challenges and to reallyrealizing our shared vision fora truly free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Emanuel.

The American envoy crit-icized China’s use of “coercion,intimidation and disinforma-tion” as its influence rises in theregion.

Emanuel arrived in Tokyoin late January, amid escalatingNorth Korean missile tests.

“North Korea is testingmissile capabilities, testingregional stability and testingthe global community’spatience,” he said.

North Korea on Mondaysaid it test-launched the daybefore an intermediate-rangeballistic missile capable ofreaching the U.S. territory ofGuam, the North’s most sig-nificant weapon launch inyears, as Washington hasvowed support for its Asianallies.

Emanuel also calledRussia’s amassing of militaryforce along the Ukraine border“a clear and consequentialthreat to peace, security and arules-based system.”

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Former South AfricanPresident Jacob Zuma on

Monday continued with legalproceedings to remove theprosecutor in his corruptioncase. Zuma’s lawyers areappealing the court’s rejectionof his application for prose-cutor Billy Downer to beremoved, saying he is biasedand unfit to lead the prose-cution. Zuma’s lawyers havealso accused Downer of leak-ing documents related to hiscase to the media.

His initial application forDowner to be removed wasdismissed by thePietermaritzburg High Courtin October last year.

Zuma is facing corruptioncharges linked to the 1999arms deal in which he isalleged to have receivedbribes from French armsmanufacturer Thales throughhis financial adviser SchabirShaik, who has already beenconvicted of corruption forthat transaction.

In a separate case lastyear, Zuma was sentenced to15 months imprisonment fordefying an order of theConstitutional Court toappear before a judicial inves-tigation into allegations ofcorruption while he was pres-ident from 2008 to 2019.

Zuma, 79, went to prisonin July and a few months laterwas released on medicalparole. The courts have ruledthat the parole was invalidand that Zuma should goback to prison, but his lawyersare appealing that decision.

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The U.S. military launchedinterceptor missiles dur-

ing an attack by Yemen’sHouthi rebels that targeted theUnited Arab Emirates during avisit by Israel’s president, thesecond-such time Americantroops have opened fire, offi-cials said.

The acknowledgement bythe White House and Pentagonlate Monday represent a widen-ing American involvement inYemen’s yearslong war, a con-flict that President Joe Bidendeclared nearly a year ago “hasto end.”

While the U.S. has endedoffensive support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalfof Yemen’s exiled government,their involvement in defendingthe UAE comes as the rebelHouthis have declared Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabia target.

Al-Dhafra hosts some2,000 American troops andhas served as a major base ofoperations for everything fromarmed drones to F-35 stealthfighters.Speaking from theWhite House, press secretaryJen Psaki said the U.S. military“responded to an inbound mis-sile threat on the UAE.

“This involved the employ-ment of Patriot interceptors to... (support) efforts by thearmed forces of the UAE,”Psaki said. “I would say we areworking quite closely withthem.”At the Pentagon, presssecretary John Kirby said that“U.S. Patriots were fired, but itwas the Emirati surface-to-airmissiles that actually engagedthe targets.” Asked if that wouldinclude targets outside of Al-Dhafra, Kirby said: “ If we canhelp defend our Emirati part-ners, we’re going to do that.”

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Amnesty International saidTuesday that Israel has

maintained “a system ofoppression and domination”over the Palestinians going allthe way back to its establish-ment in 1948, one that meetsthe international definition ofapartheid.

With the release of a 278-page report compiled over aperiod of four years, theLondon-based rights groupjoins Human Rights Watchand the Israeli rights groupB’Tselem in accusing Israel ofapartheid — both within itsborders and in the occupiedterritories.

Their findings are part ofa growing internationalmovement to redefine Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a strug-gle for equal rights ratherthan a territorial dispute.

Those efforts have gainedstrength in decade sincepeace process ground to ahalt, as Israel has consolidat-ed its control over occupiedterritories and soured on ideaof a Palestinian state. Israelrejects any allegation ofapartheid, saying its ownArab citizens enjoy equalrights.

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New Delih: The Budget proposalson capital expenditure, MSME sec-tor, and digital banking will boostgrowth and promote job creation,say experts.

Among other things, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanunveiled a bigger Rs 39.45 lakh croreBudget, with higher spending onhighways to affordable housingwith a view to firing up the keyengines of the economy to sustaina world-beating recovery from thepandemic.

Commenting on the Budgetannouncements, Shyam Srinivasan,MD and CEO, Federal Bank, said 35per cent increase in capex for infradevelopment, 65 per cent defensecapex for local companies, taxincentives for startups, new cargoterminals – all indicate the refresh-ingly clear and well-structured aspi-ration of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Sanjeev Krishan, ChairmanPwC in India was of the view thatBudget 2022–23 continues to pro-vide much-needed relief to theCOVID-hit MSME sector. Therevival of MSMEs is critical bothfrom growth and employment per-spective, and these measures aregeared towards building a vibrantMSME sector, he said.

Kapil Mehta, Co-founder,SecureNow Insurance Broker said

the main benefit of the budget forinsurtechs is the emphasis onMSMEs and future growth. Thereare a host of measures aimed atsmall business, ranging from cred-it guarantee schemes to improvingthe ease of doing business, that helpMSMEs navigate economic uncer-tainty, he added.

Founder and CEO TusharAggarwal, Stashfin was of the viewthat support announced for digitalpayment and banking will be wel-comed by the sector. He said build-ing awareness of digital paymentsand promoting financial literacy iscritical to India achieving the visionof a USD 1-trillion digital economy.

Dhanuka Agritech GroupChairman RG Agarwal said, 'Itwould have been also apt had theFinance Minister... reduced GST andcustoms duty rates on some of theagro-chemicals products, whichwould have reduced the overall costfor the farmers.

On the government's proposals,Omkar Rai, Ex-DG, STPI said theUnion Budget has all the ingredientsneeded to make India the world'sbiggest startup ecosystem. Theextension of the incorporation peri-od for eligible startups will certain-ly give a boost to this segment, hesaid. Rishad Manekia, Founder andMD, Kairos Capital said the taxation

along with the introduction of anIndian CBDC in 2022 gives a muchclearer idea about the way forwardfor the blockchain ecosystem inIndia and how the government isthinking about this space.

Ujjwal Singh, CEO andPresident, Infinity Learn said theextension of the PM eVIDYA ini-tiative 12 to 200 TV channels willgive the segment the requisite boost.

Piyush Gupta, CEO, Polytradeexpects that in near future the gov-ernment will continue to supportand encourage digital currenciesthat will propel the GDP to USD 5trillion as envisaged by the govern-ment.

Manish Chandra Co- founderand Director RailRestro said theannouncement of 400 Vande Bharattrains is an encouragement formore public-private partnerships inthe Indian Railways and this willhelp unlock the underlying oppor-tunities in the sector for maximumgrowth, revenue generation andjob creation.

The provision of �48,000 croreunder Prime Minister Awas Yojanafor completion of 80 lakh houseswill help the government in achiev-ing its target of Housing For All,said Housing.com group CEODhruv Agarwala

PTI/PNS

New Delhi: Government's push onfiberisation and technology will spur con-nectivity, while the design-led schemeannounced in the Budget for 5G ecosys-tem will bolster India's position as a man-ufacturing hub, telecom industry said onTuesday.

Budget announcements includingthose around 5G spectrum auction and100 per cent fiberisation with PPP modelwould provide the required impetus toaccelerate ubiquitous and reliable inter-net connectivity, Nitin Bansal, managingdirector, India and Head-Networks -Southeast Asia, Oceania and India atEricsson, said.

HFCL Ltd managing directorMahendra Nahata said the expectedspectrum rollout for 5G in 2022, com-bined with the scheme for design-ledmanufacturing for 5G equipment underthe PLI scheme will not only lead to sec-toral advancements but also spur jobopportunities.

"...We are delighted to hear that con-tracts for laying optical fibre in villageswill be awarded under BharatNet projectunder PPP model in 2022-23. This willhelp the telecom industry in providingaffordable broadband and mobile com-munication in rural and remote areas,"Nahata observed. Prashant Singhal,TMT (Technology, Media, Telecom)Emerging Markets Leader, EY, noted thatallocating 5 per cent of annual USOF col-lection will significantly bolster rural con-nectivity.

"Strengthening of the BharatNetinfrastructure through PPP model will

enhance the connectivity backbone of anincreasingly digital nation. Globally, 200telcos in 78 countries have alreadylaunched commercial 5G services," hesaid.

According to Singhal, a clear focus on5G spectrum auctions and rollout willhelp India to catch up with the rest of theworld. The budget announcement hasgiven much-needed push for 5G, Singhalsaid adding government's move to launcha design-led manufacturing scheme willhelp to position India as a hub for 5Gequipment manufacturing and exports.

Sterlite Technologies' (STL) manag-ing director Ankit Agarwal believes thatbudget will accelerate India's digitalambitions.

"...It sets the foundation for India's 5Greadiness through spectrum auctions,R&D impetus, USOF allocation alongwith a boost for domestic manufacturingthrough a timely 'Design-led manufac-turing' scheme," Agarwal said.

As per Deloitte India, Partner andtelecom sector leader, Peeyush Vaish, thePLI scheme extension to 5G rollout andthe commitment on fibre in all villages by2025 will give an additional thrust toinvestment in new technologies in thetelecom sector.

Telecom Sector Skill Council, CEO,Arvind Bali, said the announcement ofspectrum auction in 2022 for 5G rolloutand the scheme for design-led manufac-turing is likely to "uplift" human resourcerequirements significantly as also the needto train the existing and new workforce. PTI

New Delhi: The Governmentwill borrow a record �11.6lakh crore from the market in2022-23 to meet its expenditurerequirement to prop up theeconomy hit by the COVID-19pandemic.

This is nearly �2 lakh crorehigher than the current year'sBudget estimate of � 9.7 lakhcrore. Total market borrowingsof the government for 2022-23are estimated at �11,58,719crore, according to the Budgetdocument.

The Revised Estimates forthe same for 2021-22 are �8,75,771 crore, as against theBudget Estimates of �9,67,708crore.

Even the gross borrowingfor the next financial year willbe the highest-ever at�14,95,000 crore as against �12,05,500 crore BudgetEstimate (BE) for 2021-22.However, the gross borrowinghas been revised downwards bynearly �� lakh crore to�10,46,500 crore for the currentfinancial year.

Gross borrowing includesrepayment of past loans. Thegovernment raises money fromthe market to fund its fiscaldeficit through dated securities

and treasury bills. Speakingat a post-Budget media inter-action, Economic AffairsSecretary Ajay Seth said greenbonds announced in theBudget is part of the overallborrowing target for the nextfinancial year.

These would be issued forspecific sectors and there are setof investors who would like toput their money in sectorsthat promote sustainable devel-opment, he said. At thispoint of time, he said, thiswould be issued in the domes-tic market.

Finance Secretary andExpenditure Secretary T VSomanathan also emphasised itas part of the total borrowingprojected at �11.58 lakh crore.

Government raises itsmarket loans under the Schemeof Sale of Dated GovernmentSecurities. These auctions areconducted by the Reserve Bankof India (RBI), as debt manag-er to the central government.Besides, the government hascompleted the conversion ofspecial securities issued in lieuof adhoc treasury bills intomarketable securities during2003-04.’ PTI

��

Following successful disin-vestment, the government

on Tuesday allocated an addi-tional � 51,971 crore towardsthe settlement of outstandingguaranteed liabilities of AirIndia in the Union Budget. Thisamount has been accounted inthe revised estimates of totalexpenditure in 2021-22.

Of the total allocation of Rs51,971 crore, the governmenthas allocated Rs 9,259 crore toAir India Assets Holding Ltd(AIAHL), a government-owned special purpose vehicleset up to handle Air India's debtand non-core assets, for thenext financial year startingfrom April 1. Air India AssetsHolding Limited (AIAHL) wasset up in 2019.

"The provision (of �9,259crore) is kept for servicing ofloan transferred to special pur-pose vehicle as a result offinancial restructuring of AirIndia," the Budget documentsaid. In the budget speech onTuesday, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said therevised estimate of capitalexpenditure for this fiscal is�6.03 lakh crore. This includesan amount of � 51,971 croretowards settlement of out-standing guaranteed liabilitiesof Air India and its othersundry commitments, sheadded.

As per the revised esti-mates of 2021-22, the SPV —AI Asset Holding Ltd — hasreceived �62,057 crore, of

which � 36,254 crore wasinfused as equity for repaymentof past government-guaran-teed borrowings of Air India;�12,357 crore for repayment ofborrowings for sale and lease-back rentals for aircraft; and �13,446 crore for repayment ofother dues and liabilities.According to the budget doc-ument, the government infused� 36,254 crore in AIAHL dur-ing 2021-22 "for repayment ofpast government-guaranteedborrowings of Air IndiaLimited".

Moreover, Air India wasgiven a grant-in-aid of �1,944crore and loans of �4,500 crorein 2021-22 to cover "cash loss-es during Covid period", thedocument said.

Air India was taken overby Tata Group firm Talace PvtLtd on January 27. Through acompetitive bidding process,the government sold loss-mak-ing Air India to Talace for�18,000 crore.

As part of the deal, Talacepaid � 2,700 crore in cash andtook over � 15,300 crore debtof the airline. The remainingdebt and borrowings of AirIndia were transferred toAIAHL.

As on August 31, 2021, AirIndia had a total debt of�61,562 crore. The airline alsohad about �15,000 crore excessliabilities towards unpaid fuelbills and other operationalcreditors. Meanwhile, in thebudget, the civil aviation min-istry has been allocated anamount of �10,667 crore for thenext fiscal.

New Delhi: The Union Budget2022-23 proposed one per centtax to be deducted at source(TDS) on payment for pur-chasing immovable property ofover Rs 50 lakh will be based onthe higher of the stamp dutyvalue or the actual salevalue/consideration. Currently,an individual is required todeduct tax on the sale value ofimmovable property if it exceedsRs 50 lakh.

Presenting the Budget in theParliament, Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman onTuesday proposed the amend-ment to do away the anomaly inthe law.

As per the Finance Bill,2022, presented in Parliamentalong with the other Budget doc-uments, the government pro-poses to amend Section 194-IAof the Income Tax Act, in orderto remove inconsistency withSection 43CA and 50CA of thelaw. This amendment, if done,will take effect from April 1,2022. The new rule proposes tobring a parity mechanismbetween sale value consideredfor tax deducted at source (TDS)and capital gains calculations.Explaining the rationale behindthe amendment, the Finance Billsaid Section 194-IA of the Actprovides for deduction of tax onpayment on transfer of certainimmovable property other thanagricultural land.

The sub-section (1) pro-vides for deduction of tax by anyperson responsible for paying toa resident any sum by way of

consideration for transfer ofany immovable property (otherthan agricultural land) at thetime of credit or payment ofsuch sum to the resident at therate of one per cent of such sumas income-tax thereon.

The sub-section (2) pro-vides that no deduction of taxshould be made where the con-sideration for the transfer of animmovable property is less than� 50 lakh. As per the provisions,TDS is to be deducted on theamount of consideration paid bythe transferee to the transferor,the document said.

"This section does not takeinto account the stamp dutyvalue of the immovable proper-ty, whereas, as the provisions ofsection per 43CA and 50C of theAct, for the computation ofincome under the head 'profitsand gains from business or pro-fession' and 'capital gains' respec-tively, the stamp duty value isalso to be considered," the doc-ument said.

Thus, there is inconsisten-cy in the provisions of section194-IA and sections 43CA and50C of the Act, the ministrypointed out. "In order to removeinconsistency, it is proposed toamend section 194-IA of the Actto provide that in case of trans-fer of an immovable property(other than agricultural land),TDS is to be deducted at the rateof one per cent of such sum paidor credited to the resident or thestamp duty value of such prop-erty, whichever is higher," thedocument said. PNS

New Delhi: Shares of real estatecompanies on Tuesday jumpedup to 6 per cent after FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanannounced allocation of awhopping � 48,000 crore forcompletion of 80 lakh housesunder the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana (PMAY), bothrural and urban, during thenext fiscal year.

Oberoi Realty jumped 5.76per cent, DLF gained 3.55 percent, Sobha Limited went high-er by 2.32 per cent, IndiabullsReal Estate 1.60 per cent,Sunteck Realty 1.06 per cent,Godrej Properties 0.40 per centand Macrotech Developers Ltd

0.20 per cent on BSE.The realty index jumped

1.74 per cent to 3,877.85.Among housing finance com-panies, AAVAS Financierszoomed 8.25 per cent, Can FinHomes Limited jumped 1.33per cent, Repco Home Financegained 0.61 per cent and GICHousing Finance 0.16per cent.

In her Budget speech, theminister said: "In 2022-23, 80lakh houses will be completedfor the identified eligible ben-eficiaries of PM Awas Yojana,both rural and urban. �48,000crore is allocated for this pur-pose." PTI

Mumbai: The Sensex soared848 points while the Niftyreclaimed the 17,500-mark onTuesday after Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman unveiled abigger �39.45 lakh croreBudget, with higher spendingon infrastructure to spur eco-nomic recovery and create jobs.

Metal, realty and cementstocks saw robust buying, whileselling in auto and telecomcounters capped the gains.After a strong start, the BSESensex succumbed to a suddenbout of selling following theBudget presentation, but stagedan immediate rebound to end848.40 points or 1.46 per centhigher at 58,862.57, marking itssecond straight session of gains.

On similar lines, thebroader NSE Nifty surged 237points or 1.37 per cent to endat 17,576.85. Tata Steelhogged the limelight in theSensex pack, zooming 7.57 percent, followed by Sun Pharma,IndusInd Bank, L&T,UltraCement, ITC, Titan andHCL Tech.

In contrast, M&M,PowerGrid, SBI, Bharti Airtel,NTPC, Maruti and Relianceclosed in the red, shedding upto 1.67 per cent.Sitharaman on Tuesday pre-sented her fourth Budget, with

higher spending on sectorsranging from highways toaffordable housing with a viewto fire up the key engines of theeconomy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pan-demic.

Contrary to expectations,Sitharaman did not tinker withincome tax slabs or tax rates.

Her Budget for the fiscalyear beginning April 2022 pro-posed a massive 35 per centjump in capital expenditure to�7.5 lakh crore, coupled withthe rationalisation of customsduty, an extension of time forsetting up new manufacturingcompanies and plans for start-ing a digital currency and taxcrypto assets.

However, fiscal deficit wasprojected marginally higher at6.9 per cent for FY22 as against6.8 per cent estimated earlier,with the finance ministeremphasising the need forstronger and sustainable growththrough public investment.

"It is a long-term growthoriented budget which the mar-ket has welcomed, given noheadroom for cautiousness andpopulist measures. It is expect-ed to support growth in thefuture; however, it is missingsome balancing measures incontext of current inflationaryand slowing economy. PTI

Mumbai: The rupee pared itsinitial gains and settled 17 paiselower at 74.82 against US dollaron Tuesday as caution set inamong forex market partici-pants after the Government inthe budget revised fiscal deficittarget upwards for FY'22.

The country's fiscal deficitis projected to be higher at 6.9per cent this fiscal as against 6.8per cent estimated earlier, weigh-ing on sentiment.

Investors also took note ofFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announcing thatthe government will borrowabout �11.6 lakh crore from themarket in 2022-23 to meet itsexpenditure requirement, forextraders said.

At the interbank foreignexchange, the rupee opened at74.53 against the American dol-lar, witnessed an intra-day highof 74.41 and a low of 74.87against the greenback.The local unit finally ended theday at 74.82 a dollar, 17 paiselower than its previous close of74.65.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback's strengthagainst a basket of six currencies,was trading 0.19 per cent lowerat 96.35. Gaurang Somaiyaa,Forex & Bullion Analyst, MotilalOswal Financial Services, said,"The rupee rose in the first halfof the session but volatilityremained low ahead of theimportant Union Budget thatwas announced today. PTI

New Delhi: Gold in the nation-al capital on Tuesday ral-lied�333 to �47,844 per 10grams in line with firm globaltrends along with rupee depre-ciation, according to HDFCSecurities.

In the previous trade, theprecious metal settled at�47,511 per 10 grams. Therupee dipped 14 paise to closeat 74.79 (provisional) againstthe US dollar.Silver dipped�68 to �61,164 per kg, from�61,232 per kg in the previoustrade. In the internationalmarket, gold was trading in thegreen at USD 1,803 per ounceand silver was flat at USD22.60 per ounce. PTI

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While the Omicron wave has ledto a fresh wave of restrictionsacross India, the demand for

blue collar workers continues to rise.The pandemic has already changedindustries, buying patterns, consumerpreferences, and has forced companiesto rethink their business models. But thedemand for flexi-staff continues to grow.A case in point is the popularity of eat-ing-in rather than eating out, somethingthat began as a safety protocol but isnow a habit. This has in turn led to arising demand for food-delivery staff.From healthcare workers to logisticsstaff, from manufacturing workers tosupply chain personnel, the pandemicis fuelling workforce shortage andsurge in unexpected ways.

Lohit Bhatia, President, IndianStaffing Federation (ISF), says “As aresult of the pandemic, organisationsare reimagining how to tackle thechanging market conditions. ISFmembers are quickly filling gaps andthe unusual demand for workforceacross sectors. Even as the pandemicwaves ebb and rise, our workers, manyworking on the frontlines, haveensured that India keeps running andcompanies continues to meet theirresponsibilities.”

Suchita Dutta, Executive Director,ISF adds, “Our data from Q2 2021-22shows that blue collar and flexistaffing industry addresses thedemand for workforce as soon as itrises. As India opened up after thesecond wave, the sharp demand forworkers was met by the flexi-staffingindustry, which ensured that

businesses across sectors continued toserve their customers andstakeholders.”

According to ISF’s Q2 2021-22report on the flexi staffing industry,there was a steady recovery in hiring.Over 2.15 lakh new workers wereadded year-on-year (Q2 2020-21 vs.Q2 2021-22). Compared with Q1,there was a 9.2 per cent net headcountgrowth. That’s a significant jumpbecause during Q1 2021-22, thecountry had come a standstill becauseof the second wave.

After a slow Q1 2021-22,approximately 98,000 new staff wereadded in Q2 2021-22. Most of thisgrowth came from the IT, ITeS,eCommerce, retail and healthcaresectors. The construction sector alsosaw a surge in growth.

The employment sentimentacross sectors was positive. In Q22021-22, the hospitality industry hadstarted to prepare for reopeningwhereby hotels and restaurants werenoticeably ramping up theirworkforce.

France has one of the world'sstrongest economies, whereunemployment rate stands

at 9 per cent. The country offers arelaxed lifestyle and is called to beone of the world's most culturedcountries. France is a country thatoffers minimum wage that is thehighest in Europe and the Frenchculture also ensures work-life bal-ance.

French being the only languagespoken in all 5 continents, havinga work experience here is recog-nised throughout the world. Dueto various cultures, traditions, art,community, the country offerswide variety of opportunities forstudents to choose, from fashiondesigning to engineering and muchmore. So, for students, here are 7most in demand fields for paidinternship in France.

+�� France is one of the most

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Fashion designing in Francebeing one of the highest-payingindustries, is lucrative and cre-atively demanding field for stu-dents. The field teaches students

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Students interning can getwide range of opportunities tolearn the skills required to makeclients from across the globe feellike home while exploring theworld-famous gastronomy.

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With generating 40 per cent ofits electricity through nuclear, thecountry is said to be the biggestproducer of nuclear energy in the

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Students interning get a chance

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Just like any other country,media in France plays a vital rolein the lives of citizens of the coun-try and migrants. Be it a small,medium or large media group,media is spread far and wide.Internships in media gives you asa student variety in work andprovides ways to leverage your pro-fessional network.

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With one of the largest marketsin Europe the country is home tomany companies that have excelledglobally. Having the 5th largesteconomy in the world, modernbusiness culture, dynamism in theindustries, the executives' experts

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��Marketing is a very competi-

tive field and is closely related tothe culture and the economic sit-uation of the country. France offersmarketing opportunities to stu-dents who wish to excel and get ataste of the culture. Various indus-tries like fashion, music, commu-nication, theatre, public relationsprovide internships to students inmarketing.

The field also teaches stu-dents to think as a consumer withdynamic cultures, implement theright strategies while offering manyrewards and opening doors for aremunerative international career.

These enriching internshipsopportunities in France not onlyhelps in their professional devel-opment but also boosts their per-sonal development. Internships inthe country also helps students todevelop French speaking habitsand learn new customs.

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Man-Made interventions havecreated a huge impact onglobal warming and climate

change. With the rapid increase inpopulation, there has been an expo-nential increase in construction. Thishas caused an over-exploitation ofnature and its resources. While sus-tainable architecture is still emergingin the country, India ranks 3rd.Buildings certified by the IGBC(Indian Green Building Council) use40-50 per cent less energy and 20-30per cent less water. This sector is grow-ing at a rate of 20 per cent eachyear.The progress of any country isprimarily judged by the status of itseducation and healthcare industries.The Indian education system isexpected to reach a valuation of USD225 billion by FY 2025. The subcon-tinent is at a crossroads in terms ofproviding leadership in education.

��(��(��More and more public buildings

are being designed using sustainablearchitecture strategies. Though initialcosts are high, sustainable strategiesprovide large savings over time,improve air quality and well-being andresult in a healthier environment.Sustainable architecture relies onusing moderation in resources whilemaintaining improved efficiency.Buildings made under sustainablearchitecture are called green buildings.

A green building is one with aminimum impact on the built andnatural environment. They operatewith energy-saving resources and areenvironmentally responsible. Thesestructures are designed to harnessenergy from water, the sun, andother natural resources. Apart fromthese, green buildings also use ener-gy-efficient systems, making themenvironmentally friendly.

When compared to classic struc-tured buildings, sustainable structuredbuildings produce less waste materi-al and emit greenhouse gases at alower proportion, making it healthyfor people to live or work in. Whilenoticing the rapidly increasing envi-ronmental problems, the implemen-tation of sustainable architecture tocreate healthy living becomes critical.Environmental standards such asLEED and BREEAM offer guidelinesfor sustainable building design.

Sustainable architecture is impor-tant for the environmental stability ofour planet. It is the Need of the Hour.

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most important features of sustainablearchitecture. A green building is saidto be energy efficient because it usesenergy-saving methods to be envi-ronmentally friendly, yet produces awell-structured building.

The structuring of green buildingsis done carefully by taking into con-sideration even the smallest measurethat utilises energy; from preventingair leakages to using renewablesources.

Some of the techniques used tosave energy in green buildings are theinstallation of energy-efficient lights,streetlights with a timer feature, util-isation of solar panels, etc.Additionally, green buildings usenon-exhaustible resources such ashydroelectric and tidal power.

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Sustainable buildings use passivedesign and renewable energy to cre-ate environmentally friendly solutions.This reduces the utilisation of non-renewable materials by implementinga proper and moderate level of con-struction and engineering methods.The use of renewable energy helps toreduce construction waste by usingeffective recycling. Apart from this, theuse of renewable resources helps inreducing the environmental impact byusing recycled construction wasteand engineering material.

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Sustainable architecture, being

environmentally friendly, helps theenvironment in many ways.Planning takes into account cli-mate, landscape, energy, andstormwater management, then eco-friendly systems and materials areused during construction. The mate-rials used to build the structuresreduce the environmental impactdrastically, hence creating safer andhealthy living. Several strategies canbe used to implement environmen-tally-friendly solutions.��

A building made of glass gives animpressive look while being envi-ronmentally friendly. It gives thebuilding a comfortable and modernlook and maintains the environ-mental safety factor. The glass usedin these buildings optimizes thelight spread in the interior of thebuilding and helps to reflect the heatwaves, thereby providing a com-fortable indoor life. This featureenables a cooler temperature insidethe building and utilizes the bright-ness cost-effectively received fromthe sun. Apart from this, the glass

used reduces the use of lighting gad-gets and artificial temperature as thisglass enables the solution of usingnatural resources. Implementation ofthis glass solution helps in thereduction of electricity bills andalso gives people a healthy space tolive in.

��(��The smart brick is 9a REB

(Resource Efficient Brick). It's a com-bination of technology and sustain-able construction. Fast constructionis achieved through this process,which saves a lot of time. Apart fromthis, this process is labor-friendly anddoes not require any sand or water inits structural process. With the uti-lization of fewer resources, it providesthe consumers with a quality struc-ture.

��;�(�� This type of sand is manufactured

by crushing hard granite stoneswhich are widely available. Sincethese stones are crushed, it reducestransportation costs to a great extent.

These stones are found in conven-tional rivers and they give a strongerfoundation to the building.

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Metals such as Aluminium pro-duce high energy ranging from theprocess of production to transporting.However, the sustainable architectureuses the metal again and again byrecycling or reusing the metal, hencesaving a lot of energy. Due to recyclingand reusing the energy used by themetal decreases and makes the mate-rial sustainable. The materials that arecreated are water-resistant, long-last-ing, and do not need replacement.

With green buildings contribut-ing to a 7 per cent increase in assetvalue compared to non-green ones,they also contribute to general well-being with improved ventilation andbetter natural light. It is estimated thatgreen buildings may remove theoverall negative impact on the atmos-phere by reducing up to 84 gigatonsof CO2 emissions by 2050.

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The Indian School ofHospitality (ISH), one of

India’s finest institutes for hospi-tality and culinary arts educationannounces their IMPACT(Integrated Mentorship,Partnership, AcademicCollaboration & Training) ini-tiative. It aims to introduce highschool students to the diverse andrewarding field of hospitality andculinary arts, and the multitudeof careers they can choose to pur-

sue within the service and expe-rience industry. Through thisinitiative, ISH also addresses anapparent skill and capability gapin the higher education space,and takes the ownership to builda progressive ecosystem focusingon enhancing knowledge trans-fer for school teachers, principalsand counselors.

The IMPACT series is a stepforward in strengthening hospi-tality and culinary education inIndia, with the speaker sessionsfeaturing both Indian and inter-

national faculty and industryexperts. These experts will besharing their insights, experi-ence and learnings, and thoughtson a wide range of exciting top-ics.

It is a great opportunity tohear first-hand from experts howthe experience economy is evolv-ing globally and why it's a greattime to pursue hospitality man-agement and culinary arts.

The IMPACT initiative willhelp create opportunities andenable schools to benefit from

ISH’s academic ecosystem, indus-try connect and training capa-bilities. As an institution built byindustry pioneers and leaders,ISH takes it upon itself as a dutyof care function to bring moreawareness about the role of hos-pitality and service sector in theeconomy, and support studentswho will go on to become inte-gral part of this sector tomorrow.

This initiative creates oppor-tunities for students to embracenew-age skills with the evolvingdemands in the industry.

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The University ofManchester, UK is now

inviting applications frominternational students for theSeptember 2022 intake.

Students from India haverecently shown increasinginterest is pursuing pro-grammes at Manchester in lesstraditional areas such asBiological Sciences, ChemicalEngineering, Mechanical,Aerospace and CivilEngineering, DevelopmentStudies and Law. However, the

University is known for pro-grammes in Business,Computer Science and DataScience; and these courses con-tinue to be highly sought after.Partial scholarships are availa-bale.

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Turing, an AI-powered,international platform that

connects software developerswith high-quality, long-term,remote U.S. jobs, announcedtoday the launch of TuringCommunity: a global career-centric community exclusive-ly for developers.Before can-didates apply for admission,they are advised to check theeligibility criteria laid down by

the JK Lakshmipat University.Only those candidates whofulfill the eligibility criteria canfill the application form.

With a mission to unleashthe world’s untapped humanpotential, Turing is building adiverse community, free andopen to all developers world-wide. The community helpsdevelopers with job prepara-tion, upskilling and reskilling,English communication andpersonal development, and

mentoring, among otherperks. Through this initia-tive, the company aims tobuild a safe space for devel-opers to grow, seek guidancefrom experts, and progress intheir careers.

Uma Subramanian, SrDirector and Head ofDeveloper Success andCommunity at Turing said,“Thousands of developersfrom more than a hundredcountries have already joined

our community and are mak-ing their way to the top withthe tools and opportunitiesprovided by the community.At Turing, our intention is notonly to offer jobs but also tooffer a community thatinspires learning and devel-opment. Moreover, the com-munity is equipped with toolsthat steer developers to theircalling while understandingtheir passion and enhancingtheir skills.”

��)��8::9�%%Pointing to stiff competi-

tion, NEET has more than16 lakh applications each yearin a pragmatic race for admis-sion to around 1.5 lakh seats atvarious medical and dentalcolleges across the country.The exam dates have not yetbeen set, but they will be fixedfor the time being. The examsare scheduled to take place inMay. With only a few monthsleft to prepare, medical aspi-rants should maximize theirpreparation strategies for thisyear's tougher competition.The most important thing tosucceed at NEET is a smartwork plan that covers the entirecurriculum in a timely manner.

The NEET UG Examfocuses on three subjects:physics, chemistry, and biolo-gy (Botany & Zoology). Inthree hours, 180 questionsmust be answered while totalmarks remain unchanged(720). The syllabus covers theentire NCERT curriculum forClasses XI and XII, includingPhysics, Chemistry, Zoology,and Biology.

Candidates receive fourpoints for each correct responseand one point for each incor-rect response. A sensible workplan that covers the full cur-riculum well in time is the mostimportant factor in excelling inNEET.

�NCERTs should be thebase material and it shouldn'tbe ignored.NCERT books willprovide you with a solid under-

standing of concepts and arethus the best place to beginyour study. NCERT booksaccount for 60-70 per cent ofthe NEET exam.

�Making and sticking to asystematic revision plan will aidaspirants in improving theirconceptual and topical clarity,allowing them to perform bet-ter and rank higher. Learningformulas is one of the finestways to gain an advantage inphysics when faced with avariety of mathematical andnumerical difficulties.

�If the concepts are clear,it is possible to come up withthe correct answers whenworking through the difficultquestions, particularly inphysics and chemistry.

�Reviews and practicetests help you better under-stand the topics and conceptsand keep the current trendsand patterns of the NEET examup to date. Taking practiceexams and performing real-time analysis has proven to bevery beneficial.

�Devoting too much timeto questions that you areuncomfortable with will leaveyou with insufficient time tosolve the easy ones, so whilepracticing mock tests, payattention to your problem-solving ability as well.

The remaining monthsshould be used wisely for main-taining speed and accuracy.

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The society and environment wehave been living in has been wit-nessing unprecedented change.

With the new emerging technologiesand its implementation in the 21st cen-tury the world is rapidly changing.Eighty-three per cent of businesses sayit’s important to develop entrepreneurleaders. It is also said that the nature ofthe work will change by 2025 as mil-lennials will make up to 75 per cent ofthe workforce.

Entrepreneurship skills andLeadership skills are essential in one’s lifeas in to keep up with the pace of the con-stant change in the world. As perreports more than 77 per cent of theorganisation say that the leadership islacking as 10k baby boomers are retir-ing on a daily basis. The need for cre-ativity, forward-thinking, innovativeideas, to be able to adapt to the changes,making quick but vigilant decisionsrelies on these skills.

It is a misconception that entrepre-neur skills are essential only for thosewho want to become an entrepreneur.Leadership skills and Entrepreneurialskills are required for all the studentswithout taking into consideration whichfield the student belongs to.Organization's look for graduates whoare well accustomed and possess theseskills as having these skills help them totake the chance of an opportunity andturn it into a success.

Importance of entrepreneurialskills: Having entrepreneurship skills instudents is very vital as these skillsincrease our knowledge in communi-cation, decision making process, timemanagement which makes the studentscareer life so much easier and func-tionable. As the students possess ana-lytical and interpersonal skills it helpsin transforming the workplace in a pos-itive light.

Develop a mindset for future:Entrepreneurship skills are necessary inevery medium of our life. These skillsincrease our potential to develop ourinnovative thinking, help us develop col-laboration with others and most impor-tantly boost our confidence which isnecessary in any workplace. Each career

has its own obstacles and entrepre-neurship skills play a huge role as it helpsus to view challenges as opportunitiesrather than a negative outcome.

Enhanced ability to grow: Studentswho develop entrepreneurship skillsbenefits from them as these skills enablethem with an enhanced ability to iden-tify the problem as well as resolve it, ithelps them with team building skillswhich is essential to have a stablegrowth in ones career and also helps ininnovation and creativity which helps inrunning the organization smoothlyhaving a stable establishment.

It is vital to fuel students withEntrepreneurial skills as early as possi-ble as the future is uncertain as the worldkeeps moving at a rapid pace.Surprisingly, organisations look forgraduates having problem solving skills,self-awareness, flexibility and such moreskills and these skills fall underEntrepreneurial skills.

Colleges and universities have begunthe process of inculcating theseEntrepreneurial skills in students as theneed for them have begun to escalate.Having these skills benefits the studentsas they will not be obstructed with anyfuture challenges.

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The University ofMelbourne, Australiainvites applications for

its Faculty of Engineering andInformation TechnologyScholarships.

International students canapply.

Award: $5,000-$20,000Number of Awards: 150Course Level: MastersEligibility : Must have

applied for a masters program atthe Faculty of Engineering andInformation Technology.

Supporting documents:Submit academic transcripts ofall the previous schools attend-ed and a copy of your passport.

Admission requirements:Once you know what course youwant to study, you’ll need tocheck that you meet the mini-mum entry requirements forthat degree.

Language requirement:When you apply for a graduatedegree, you’ll need to meet theUniversity’s English languagerequirements to be eligible for aplace.

How to apply: To be enlist-ed in the programme, studentshave to enroll in the master’sdegree programme at the uni-versity. No application isrequired. You will be automati-cally considered for this award.

Application deadline:Applicants must submit allrequired application materials

until June 11, 2022.

To encourage ambitiousinternational students to take uptheir bachelor studies in theUS, the University of TennesseeKnoxville has announced theGlobal AmbassadorScholarships for the academicyear 2022-2023.

Eligibility: Maintain full-time enrollment throughouteach semester.

Commit to being a U.T.Global Ambassador and adhereto the programme requirements.

Serve as an example of theVolunteer spirit as a positive peerresource for prospective inter-national students.

Supporting documents:Must attach academic transcriptsof all previous school attendedand copy of passport.

Admission requirements:Aspirants must have a GPA of3.0 cumulative grade point aver-age (GPA) and good academicstanding.

Language requirements: Ifa student’s native language is notEnglish, they must demonstrateEnglish proficiency unless theyare a U.S. citizen or a permanentresident.

How to apply: All eligibleinternational undergraduate stu-dents who apply for admissionduring their final year in highschool will be considered for thisscholarship.

Application deadline: Thelast to apply for this scholarshipis May 1, 2022. Scholarshipapplications after this date willnot be accpeted.

In the life of every student comesa crossroad that’ll set the coursefor the rest of their lives, at least

professionally. When it comes tochoosing a college, students areoften faced with whether to go foran Ivy League vs a Liberal ArtsCollege.

It’s understandable why makingthe right choice between the twocan be overwhelming and even con-fusing. On one hand, students mayfeel like – it’s just college, on theother hand, the right college could,simply put, be life-changing.

What is an Ivy League?It is a collective title which

refers to eight prestigious univer-sities like Columbia, Yale, Harvard,Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton,Pennsylvania, and Cornell. Theterminology itself is rooted in foot-ball (these universities formed aninter-collegiate agreement gov-erning football), today Ivy Leaguehas come to be associated withprestige and the topmost qualityof education.

Every student, especially thoseapplying abroad, dreams of gettingaccepted into these hallowed insti-tutions. The reason being that

these universities carry a great dealof goodwill and open the choicestof opportunities for students.

What is Liberal Arts College?These are rooted in a wide vari-

ety of cultural, intellectual, andsocial studies and activities. Theirapproach is more holistic, andthese colleges aim to impart abroader, general knowledge andintellectual capacities. Liberal ArtsColleges are particularly appealingto students who want to pursueeducation and careers in criticalthinking, social impact work andother humanities.

The top eight liberal arts col-leges every student should consid-er are Williams College, AmherstCollege, Middlebury College,Wellesley College, Pomona College,Oberlin College and Vassar College.These are also the colleges we willbe taking into consideration whiledrawing comparisons further downthis article.

While public opinion is onething, when it comes to matters ofone’s career, it always helps to lookat the data and make objectiveanalyses. And that is exactly whatwe have done.

Acceptance rate mean is therate at which a school acceptsapplicants. The percentage of stu-dents accepted into a school againstthose that applied, determines theacceptance rate of that school.

This means that the school withhigher applications will reject morestudents, and therefore have lower(more impressive and more com-petitive) acceptance rates.

It is important to note thatacceptance rate only refers to thepercentage of students that havebeen accepted, and not the per-centage of students who choose toattend that school. The latter refersto something called yield rate.

Acceptance rate is an importantmetric for colleges because it is afactor in their ranking by third partysites like US News CollegeRankings, which influences futureaspirants as well. However, this isnot the only metric to choosefrom, as middle-tier colleges areknown to game the system byadapting tactics such as droppingapplication fees, to attract largernumber of applications.

The acceptance ratio of Ivyleagues is higher as students prefer

the former for better pay opportu-nities, social capital, and othersuch factors. If you are a studentwith aspirations to make it in theworld of business or of earning ahigher pay right at the outset, thenIvy League is the obvious choice foryou, as employers are always happyto Ivy graduates what they areworth. After all, Ivy League collegesare not just institutions, they arebrand names.

The early pay of Ivy Leagueuniversities is significantly higher.Having said that, colleges likeClaremont McKenna shows a high-er early pay than an Ivy LeagueBrown University.

On an average, the early payfor ivy league is almost $10,000higher than average of liberal artscolleges.

The average median pay ofIvy League alumni ranks ahead ofthat of Liberal Arts alumni. Whilethe average difference is of around$15,000, there is a dramatic dif-ference between the median payof Ivy League ColumbiaUniversity and Liberal ArtsWellesley College.

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Top Indian players, includ-ing senior opener ShikharDhawan and Shreyas Iyer,along with overseas stars

such as Pat Cummins and KagisoRabada have been bracketed in theRs 2 crore highest base price cat-egory for the upcoming IPL auc-tion.

The mega auction is scheduledto be held in Bengaluru onFebruary 12 and 13 and will see590 players go under the hammer.

The IPL announced the finalauction list on Tuesday, which waspruned from the original list of1,214 players released last month,after the franchises reverted withthe players they are interested in.

Among the 590 cricketers, atotal of 228 are capped playerswhile 355 are uncapped andseven belong to associate nations.

Senior Indian playersMohammad Shami, BhuvneshwarKumar, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin,Ishant Sharma and AjinkyaRahane have also registered witha base price of Rs 2 crore.

While Iyer and Dhawan arethe top draws, the 10 teams arealso likely to be involved in a bid-ding war for youngsters IshanKishan, Devdutt Padikal,

Washington Sundar, DeepakChahar, last season's top wicket-taker Harshal Patel, spinnerYuzvendra Chahal and fast bowlerShardul Thankur. All of them arein the top bracket.

A total of 370 Indian playersand 220 overseas cricketers will beup for grabs, with as many as 48players having chosen to placethemselves in the Rs 2 crore brack-et.

Among the foreign playersthe franchises are expected to goafter pacers Trent Boult ,Cummins, Rabada, the Australianduo of all-rounder Mitchell Marshand Steve Smith, formerBangladesh skipper Shakib AlHasan and big-hitting SouthAfrican Faf du Plessis, who haveall registered themselves in the topbracket.

Indian veterans such as SureshRaina and Robin Uthappa, with asteep base price of Rs 2 crore, maynot have many takers.

There are 20 players in theauction list with a reserve price ofRs 1.5 crore while 34 are in the listof cricketers with a reserve priceof Rs 1 crore.

India's U-19 stars, skipperYash Dhull, Vicky Ostwal andRajvardhan Hangargekar, besidesthe likes of Shahrukh Khan,

Deepak Hooda and Avesh Khan,will also be looking to cash in andmake their mark during the auc-tion.

South Africa's 42-year-oldspinner Imran Tahir is oldest inthe auction while 17-year-oldNoor Ahmed of Afghanistan is theyoungest. Noor is currently play-ing in the U-19 World Cup in theWest Indies.

Among all U-19 players,Indian medium pacerHangargekar has a better auctionbase price of Rs 30 lakh, comparedto Rs 20 lakh for others.

Punjab Kings have the highestnumber of 23 slots available whileChennai Super Kings, DelhiCapitals, Kolkata Knight Ridersand Mumbai Indians have 21vacancies.

The rest of the teams have 22slots each.

Punjab Kings also head intothe auction with the highest purse-- Rs 72 crore -- while the DelhiCapitals have the lowest -- Rs 47.5crore.

Australia topped the overseaslist with 47 players while 34 crick-eters from the West Indies will alsogo under the hammer.

South Africa have 33 players,Sri Lanka 23, England 24, NewZealand 24 and Afghanistan 17.

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Cricket will mark its return tothe Commonwealth Games

after a gap of 24 years with Indiataking on Australia on July 29in the 2022 Birmingham edi-tion.

The league-cum-knockoutwomen's tournament kicks offwith a match between women's2020 T20 World Cup finalistsAustralia and India on July 29,with the bronze and gold medalmatches scheduled for August 7.

Cricket is the first disciplineto announce its complete line-up for the Birmingham 2022Commonwealth Games after SriLanka was confirmed as theeighth team in the women's T20tournament, the ICC said onTuesday.

The announcement wasmade jointly by theInternational Cricket Counciland the Commonwealth GamesFederation (CGF) following SriLanka's victory in theCommonwealth GamesQualifier in Kuala Lumpur lastweek and the subsequent CGFratification of the island nation'sentry.

Australia, Barbados,England, India, New Zealand,South Africa and Pakistan havealready qualified as women's

cricket makes its first entryinto the CommonwealthGames.

It will only be the secondtime that cricket features in themulti-discipline event after amen's competition was part ofthe Games in Kuala Lumpur in1998 and is considered a mas-sive opportunity to bring thegame to new audiences.

A Shaun Pollock-led SouthAfrica had won the gold on thatoccasion, beating Steve Waugh'sAustralian side by four wicketsin the final.

ICC Hall of Famers SachinTendulkar of India, JacquesKallis of South Africa andMahela Jayawardene of SriLanka were among the manystars featuring in the 1998Games.

Barbados and Pakistan arein Group A along with Australiaand India while England, NewZealand, South Africa and SriLanka form Group B.

The ICC, CGF andCommonwealth Games SriLanka congratulated Sri Lankafor their qualification andlooked forward to an excitingtournament.

ICC Chief Executive GeoffAllardice said: "It's good tohave finalised the identity of theteams participating in the

Commonwealth Games. We will have eight of the

best teams competing for thegold and I am sure we will getto watch a highly competitivetournament.

"The CommonwealthGames are an important part ofthe women's cricket calendarover the next year. It is a hugeopportunity for us to take crick-et beyond the traditional strong-holds and give more peoplearound the world the chance toenjoy the game."

CGF President DameLouise Martin said: "Cricket isa sport synonymous with theCommonwealth. We are soexcited to have it back in theGames for the first time sincethe men's 50 over competitionat Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

"The debut of women's T20cricket will be a historicmoment and a wonderful show-case of women's sport across theworld."

The BirminghamCommonwealth Games, beingheld from July 28 to August 8,will see 4,500 athletes from 72nations and territories competeacross 11 days.

Birmingham 2022 will bethe first major multi-sport eventin history to award more medalsto women than men.

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Haseebullah Khan struck a half-century asPakistan sealed their place in the fifth place

play-off with a six-wicket victory overBangladesh despite a fine hundred from ArifulIslam in the U-19 World Cup here. Bangladesh'sinnings was dominated by Islam, who arrivedat the crease in the 12th over with his side on23 for three and set about guiding them to acompetitive total.Islam had fallen for single fig-ure scores in his two previous innings in thistournament but quickly found his groove hereand brought up his half-century with a glorioussix over long-on. The 17-year-old continued tolose partners – Mehran Mumtaz proving par-ticularly potent with three for 16 from his 10overs – but kept his composure and accelerat-ed at the death, striking three sixes in one AwaisAli over to move into the nineties. His century,from 118 balls, arrived midway through the 49thover but Islam fell to the next delivery – the ninthwicket to fall in an innings which was ended on175 with four balls remaining.

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The three-match ODI

series betweenIndia and WestIndies, sched-uled here fromFebruary 6 to

11, will be played behind closed doors owing tothe COVID-19 pandemic, the Gujarat CricketAssociation (GCA) said on Tuesday. The match-es will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium."We are all set to host West Indies Tour of IndiaODI Series 2022. 1st ODI on 6th of Feb will be avery special and historic match as India will beplaying it's 1000th ODI. Indian team will be thefirst cricket team in the world to achieve this feat.@BCCI #INDvsWI #teamindia," the GCA tweet-ed. "Considering the current situation, all thematches will be played behind the closed doors,"the state cricket body said in another tweet.

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Heavyweights India and Australiawill face off in a blockbuster

Super League semifinal of the Under-19 World Cup here on Wednesday, hav-ing beaten their opponents on the fieldand COVID-19 off it, on way to the lastfour stage.

India's preparations for the age-group showpiece were impacted heav-ily by the virus, with hardly anynational camps or tournaments in thelast two years except the recent AsiaCup.

The four-time champions startedthe tournament on the right note, over-coming a good South Africa side by 45runs, but soon ran into a situationwhere they were struggling to field aplaying XI after multiple players werefound to have contracted COVID-19hours before their match againstIreland.

Five members of the squad wereunavailable for their second groupclash, against Ireland on January 19after a COVID outbreak.

Captain Yash Dhull, his deputyShaik Rasheed, Aaradhya Yadav, Manav

Parakh and Siddarth Yadav were partof that group and missed both theIreland and Uganda fixtures, forcingthe BCCI to fly in reinforcements.

India were without many playersfor their match with Uganda and hadto call in six reserves to play with thenon-infected members of their squad.

But a spirited India got the betterof all the challenges thrown at themand soundly defeated Ireland and

Uganda before prevailing overBangladesh by five wickets in a trickychase in their quarterfinal match on asurface that was not conducive for play-ing strokes.

India are now back to full strengthand in another good news, NishantSindhu has recovered from COVID-19and will be available for selection forthe all-important semifinal.

But if the match against

Bangladesh was any indication, Indiawould like to improve their finishingwith bat.

However, before that, despite miss-ing many first XI players, India put uphuge totals against Ireland (307/5) andUganda (405/), and registered theirbiggest ever victory terms of runsagainst the African team.

Now up against a formidableAustralian side, India will take confi-dence from the fact that they made thesemifinals with wins on the trot despitethe challenges posed the virus.

This is the fourth time in a row thatIndia will be appearing in the last-fourstage of the competition.

India have a strong batting pres-ence with the likes of Harnoor Singh,Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Raj Bawa,who broke Shikhar Dhawan's recordfor the highest individual score by anIndian batter at the U-19 World Cupwith his 162 not out against Uganda,shouldering the responsibility, besidesskipper Dhull and Rasheed.

In fact, it was Dhull who set thetone for the team with his soild 82against South Africa in their tourna-ment opener.

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Smarting from their heartbreaking derbydefeat, SC East Bengal will have nothing to

lose when they take on Chennaiyin FC in theIndian Super League here on Wednesday.

Placed bottom of the table with just ninepoints from 14 outings, the Mario Rivera-coached side have all but lost their chance tostake a claim for the semifinals but will still lookto improve their tally with their second win of

the campaign against Chennaiyin.SC East Bengal have conceded 28 goals in

their 14 matches so far, the second-most by ateam this season. They are coming off a 1-3 lossto ATK Mohun Bagan. Since Riviera's arrival,they've been even more compact and narrow andforced teams to play from out wide. The num-ber of crosses put in by the opposition in the lastthree matches highlights this playing style. Inhis three games in charge, the opposition haveput in a total of 80 crosses.

Dhawan, Shreyas, Ashwin in top bracket along with Cummin

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Chennaiyin look to get mojo back against wooden spooners SC East Bengal

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