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I ndia may begin inoculating children in the 12-14 age group against Covid-19 in March by when the 15-18 pop- ulation is likely to get fully vac- cinated, said Dr NK Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), on Monday. Of the estimated 7.4 crore (7,40,57,000) population in the 15-18 age bracket, over 3.45 crore have received the first dose of Covaxin so far, and their second dose is due in 28 days, he said. “Adolescents in this age group have been actively par- ticipating in the inoculation process, and going by this pace of vaccination, the rest of the beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group are likely to be covered with the first dose by January- end and subsequently their second dose is expected to be done by February-end,” he said, adding, there is an esti- mated 7.5 crore population in the 12-14 age group. The Government has begun vaccination for teenagers between 15 and 18 years of age from January 3, 2022. Continued on Page 2 T he Assembly polls in all 117 constituencies of Punjab have been rescheduled and will be held on February 20. The single-phase polls were earlier slated for February 14. The polls have been deferred by six days in view of the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas, which will be observed on February 16. The Election Commission’s decision comes in the wake of demand by political parties seeking deferment of polls because thousands of voters could go to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti on February 16. Ravidass community consti- tutes a major vote bank in Punjab politics. A well-known temple dedicated to Guru Ravidass is located in Varanasi. In a statement, the EC said, “After consideration of all facts made available, Election Commission has announced 2022 General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of State of Punjab on January 8, 2022 under which notification for the election is to be issued on January 21 and poll is to take place on February 14.” In view of Ravidas Jayanti, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had urged the EC to defer the polls by six days. Other parties, including the BJP, the Punjab Lok Congress, the AAP, and the BSP too made similar requests. As per the new schedule, the date of notification will be on January 25, while the last date of nomination will be February 2. The applications will be scrutinised on February 2, while the last date of with- drawal of application is February 4. Counting would be held on the same day as before — March 10. “Commission has received several representations from State Government, political parties and other organisa- tions drawing attention regard- ing movement of a large num- ber of devotees from Punjab to Varanasi for participation in Sri Guru Ravidas Ji Jayanti cele- brations, which is observed on February 16. They have also brought to the notice that a large number of devotees start moving for Varanasi around a week before the day of cele- bration and keeping the poll day on February 14 will deprive a large number of electors from voting. In view of this, they have requested to shift the poll date few days after February 16, 2022,” it added. In his letter to the EC, Channi, a Dalit leader, said some representatives of Punjab’s Scheduled Castes have demanded that the polls be scheduled in such a way that they are able to visit Banaras, Guru Ravidas’s birthplace, dur- ing February 10-16 and also participate in the polls. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi: Legendary Kathak exponent Birju Maharaj, who took the traditional Indian dance form to the world, died at his home here in the early hours of Monday, his grand- daughter said. He would have been 84 next month. Maharaj-ji, as he was pop- ularly known, died surround- ed by his family and disciples. They were playing ‘antakshari’ after dinner when he sudden- ly took ill, Ragini Maharaj told PTI. Birju Maharaj, one of India’s best known and most loved artistes, was from Lucknow’s Kalka-Bindadin Gharana. He is survived by five children, three daughters and two sons, and five grandchil- dren. He had been suffering from a kidney ailment and was under dialysis treatment for the last month due to high diabetes. He probably died of a cardiac arrest, his grand- daughter said. “He was with us when this happened. He had his dinner and we were playing ‘antak- shari’ because he loved old music. He was lying down… and suddenly his breathing became uneven. We think it was cardiac arrest as he was also a heart patient. “This happened between 12.15 and 12.30 am. It must have been just a minute or so. We rushed to the hospital but unfortunately, we could not save him. He died before reach- ing the hospital,” Ragini said Ragini, a Kathak dancer herself, said the only solace for the family is that he did not suf- fer too much in his last moments. “Two of his disciples and his two granddaughters, my younger sister Yasyashashwini and me, were with him when this happened. He was laugh- ing and smiling in his last moments,” she said. Condolences poured in as news of the death of the Kathak maestro, who would have been 84 on February 4, came in. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his death is an “irreparable loss” to the entire art world. “Deeply saddened by the demise of Pandit Birju Maharaj ji, who gave Indian dance a spe- cial recognition world over. His passing is an irreparable loss to the entire art world. My condolences to his family and fans in this hour of grief,” the Prime Minister said. Continued on Page 2 A suspected drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels tar- geting a key oil facility in Abu Dhabi killed three people and sparked a separate fire at Abu Dhabi’s international airport on Monday, police said. Police in the United Arab Emirates identified the dead as two Indian nationals and one Pakistani. It did not identify the wounded, who police said suf- fered minor to moderate injuries at an industrial area where Abu Dhabi’s state-owned energy company runs a pipeline network and an oil tanker storage facility. Three transport tankers caught fire at the facility, while another fire was sparked at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport. Police said that while an investigation was underway, preliminary findings indicated there were small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire. They said there was no significant damage from the incidents, without offering fur- ther details. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they were behind an attack targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, without immediately elaborating. The Iranian-backed Houthis have claimed several attacks that Emirati officials later denied took place. The incident comes as Yemen’s years long war rages on and as an Emirati-flagged ves- sel was recently captured by the Houthis. Although the UAE has largely withdrawn its own forces from the conflict tearing apart the Arab world’s poorest nation, it is still actively engaged in Yemen and sup- ports local militias there fight- ing the Houthis. The UAE has been at war in Yemen since early 2015, and was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that launched attacks against the Houthis after the group over- ran the capital of Yemen and ousted the internationally backed government from power. The Houthis have come under pressure in recent weeks and are suffering heavy losses as Yemeni forces, allied and backed by the UAE, have pushed back the rebels in key southern and central provinces of the country, dashing Houthi efforts to complete their con- trol of the entire northern half of Yemen. Yemen’s government- aligned forces reclaimed the entire southern province of Shabwa from the Houthis ear- lier this month and made advances in nearby Marib province. Continued on Page 2 I n a bid to reach out to farmers of west Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister of State and Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan on Monday held a surprise meeting with the national president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Naresh Tikait. Balyan, who is busy campaigning, visit- ed Naresh Tikait’s house in Sisauli fuelling political speculation. The first and second phase of elections on February 10 and February 14 are mostly in western UP, where farmers and Jats have a dominant say in deciding the outcome. It is conventionally held that performance in the western UP sets the trend for the rest of the State Aassembly elections. It is understood that Union Home Minister Amit Shah may also meet Jat lead- ers during his visit to Uttar Pradesh. The meeting between Balyan and Tikait in this context assumes significance. Balyan could not be contacted for his comments on the issue. Both Naresh Tikait and Balyan belong to Muzaffarnagar and also come from the same Khap. It is being said that Naresh Tikait had an operation a few days ago and Balyan had gone to his house only to enquire about his health. Continued on Page 2 T he Republic Day parade at the Rajpath this year will see the biggest fly past ever with 75 aircraft taking part in it to mark the 75th Independence year. The latest induction, Rafale fighter jets, along with aircraft from the three Services, will enthrall the audience. Giving details of the planned celebrations, IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Indranil Nandi said here on Monday the fly past will be the “grandest and largest” to mark the “Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”. The fly past will conclude with sever- al Jaguar fighter aircraft flying in the “Amrit” formation to commemorate the 75 years of Independence. “The fly past this year will be the grandest and largest with 75 aircraft from IAF, Army and Navy flying during the Republic Day parade. This is in line with the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations,” he said. The fly past will include Tangail formation — a tribute to the Tangail airdrop opera- tions in 1971 War — will have one Dakota and two Dornier flying in Vic formation. Continued on Page 2 H eralding a “new era” for transportation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday flagged off city’s first electric bus. “We are begin- ning with a new era for the transportation system in Delhi. This is a major step towards pollution control,” said the Delhi CM during the inaugu- ration. According to the Delhi Government, these buses will be environment friendly as they would emit zero percent smoke and run fully on elec- tricity. These 12-metre-low floor AC, E-buses will have CCTV cameras, panic buttons to ensure women’s safety as well as pink seats. Besides having GPS and live-tracking, these buses will have kneeling ramps for differently-abled people. By April this year, 300 electric buses will ply on Delhi roads. The CM further tweeted, “Congratulations to all Delhiites. Continued on Page 2 N oted Muslim cleric Maulana Tauqir Raza Khan, who is also Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) Bareilly president, on Monday called the Congress as true “secular” and claimed that Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is more dangerous for Muslims than the BJP. Khan, who called the Muslim Parliament of Religions in Bareilly, made above comments while addressing the media here at UPCC head- quarter giving his full support to the Congress in elections for all the five States, including Uttar Pradesh. National Convener of Congress Minority Department Azam Baig and State Congress pres- ident Ajay Kumar Lallu were present. Khan, who belongs to Ala Hazrat of Bareilvi sect, said that it is wrong to think that Muslims have left the Congress. “The reins of the State cannot be handed over to Akhilesh Yadav as he is irresponsible and worse than the BJP for Muslims. We asked Akhilesh Yadav to rectify the mistakes made by his Government in 2012, but we found him irre- sponsible,” he asserted while appealing to the Muslims to strengthen the hands of the Congress. Instead of Yadavism and Jatavism, humanism is necessary for the State, Khan said. “I discussed the problems of Muslim society with the leaders of all the political parties involved in the elections and asked them to reflect on these problems in their manifesto and in the party meet- ings. But apart from the Congress, no political party thought it appropriate to talk openly on these problems. After meeting Priyanka Gandhi I realised that the future of this country and the State, communal harmony and constitution can be safe in their hands,” claimed Khan. Continued on Page 2 New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry and ICMR have joint- ly released revised clinical guidance for the management of adult Covid-19 patients according to which drugs Azithromycin, Favipiravir, and Ivermectin have been banned for symptomatic management of mild infection. These medicines were being bla- tantly used by many doctors resulting in serious side effects in Covid patients. The guidelines came days after a group of doc- tors wrote to the Government expressing concern over the unwar- ranted testing, medication, and hospitalisation. New Delhi/Davos: Asserting that India is making its policies today while focussing on requirements for not just the present but also for the next 25 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said this period of growth would be “green and clean” as well as “sustainable and reliable”. In a special address at the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda 2022 summit, Modi said India has set goals of high growth as well as saturation of welfare and wellness for the next 25 years. Continued on Page 2

Transcript of 4`gZU gRTTZ_ReZ`_ W`c "# "% jcd Wc`^ >RcTY - Daily Pioneer

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India may begin inoculatingchildren in the 12-14 age

group against Covid-19 inMarch by when the 15-18 pop-ulation is likely to get fully vac-cinated, said Dr NK Arora,chairman of the Covid-19working group of NationalTechnical Advisory Group onImmunization (NTAGI), onMonday.

Of the estimated 7.4 crore(7,40,57,000) population in the15-18 age bracket, over 3.45crore have received the firstdose of Covaxin so far, andtheir second dose is due in 28days, he said.

“Adolescents in this agegroup have been actively par-ticipating in the inoculationprocess, and going by this paceof vaccination, the rest of thebeneficiaries in the 15-18 agegroup are likely to be coveredwith the first dose by January-

end and subsequently theirsecond dose is expected to bedone by February-end,” hesaid, adding, there is an esti-mated 7.5 crore population inthe 12-14 age group.

The Government hasbegun vaccination for teenagersbetween 15 and 18 years of agefrom January 3, 2022.

Continued on Page 2

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The Assembly polls in all 117constituencies of Punjab

have been rescheduled andwill be held on February 20.The single-phase polls wereearlier slated for February 14.The polls have been deferred bysix days in view of the birthanniversary of Guru Ravidas,which will be observed onFebruary 16.

The Election Commission’sdecision comes in the wake ofdemand by political partiesseeking deferment of pollsbecause thousands of voterscould go to Varanasi for GuruRavidas Jayanti on February 16.Ravidass community consti-tutes a major vote bank inPunjab politics. A well-knowntemple dedicated to GuruRavidass is located in Varanasi.

In a statement, the ECsaid, “After consideration of allfacts made available, Election

Commission has announced2022 General Elections to theLegislative Assembly of State ofPunjab on January 8, 2022under which notification forthe election is to be issued onJanuary 21 and poll is to takeplace on February 14.”

In view of Ravidas Jayanti,Punjab Chief MinisterCharanjit Singh Channi hadurged the EC to defer the pollsby six days. Other parties,including the BJP, the PunjabLok Congress, the AAP, and theBSP too made similar requests.

As per the new schedule,the date of notification will beon January 25, while the lastdate of nomination will beFebruary 2. The applicationswill be scrutinised on February2, while the last date of with-drawal of application isFebruary 4. Counting would beheld on the same day as before— March 10.

“Commission has receivedseveral representations fromState Government, politicalparties and other organisa-tions drawing attention regard-ing movement of a large num-ber of devotees from Punjab toVaranasi for participation in SriGuru Ravidas Ji Jayanti cele-brations, which is observed

on February 16. They have alsobrought to the notice that alarge number of devotees startmoving for Varanasi around aweek before the day of cele-bration and keeping the pollday on February 14 will deprivea large number of electorsfrom voting.

In view of this, they haverequested to shift the poll datefew days after February 16,2022,” it added.

In his letter to the EC,Channi, a Dalit leader, saidsome representatives ofPunjab’s Scheduled Castes havedemanded that the polls bescheduled in such a way thatthey are able to visit Banaras,Guru Ravidas’s birthplace, dur-ing February 10-16 and alsoparticipate in the polls.

Continued on Page 2

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New Delhi: Legendary Kathakexponent Birju Maharaj, whotook the traditional Indiandance form to the world, diedat his home here in the earlyhours of Monday, his grand-daughter said. He would havebeen 84 next month.

Maharaj-ji, as he was pop-ularly known, died surround-ed by his family and disciples.They were playing ‘antakshari’after dinner when he sudden-ly took ill, Ragini Maharaj toldPTI.

Birju Maharaj, one ofIndia’s best known and mostloved artistes, was fromLucknow’s Kalka-BindadinGharana. He is survived by fivechildren, three daughters andtwo sons, and five grandchil-dren.

He had been sufferingfrom a kidney ailment andwas under dialysis treatment

for the last month due to highdiabetes. He probably died of

a cardiac arrest, his grand-daughter said.

“He was with us when thishappened. He had his dinnerand we were playing ‘antak-shari’ because he loved oldmusic. He was lying down…and suddenly his breathingbecame uneven. We think itwas cardiac arrest as he wasalso a heart patient.

“This happened between12.15 and 12.30 am. It musthave been just a minute or so.We rushed to the hospital butunfortunately, we could notsave him. He died before reach-ing the hospital,” Ragini said

Ragini, a Kathak dancerherself, said the only solace forthe family is that he did not suf-fer too much in his lastmoments.

“Two of his disciples and

his two granddaughters, myyounger sister Yasyashashwiniand me, were with him whenthis happened. He was laugh-ing and smiling in his lastmoments,” she said.

Condolences poured in asnews of the death of the Kathakmaestro, who would have been84 on February 4, came in.

Prime Minister NarendraModi said his death is an“irreparable loss” to the entireart world.

“Deeply saddened by thedemise of Pandit Birju Maharajji, who gave Indian dance a spe-cial recognition world over.His passing is an irreparableloss to the entire art world. Mycondolences to his family andfans in this hour of grief,” thePrime Minister said.

Continued on Page 2

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Asuspected drone attack byYemen’s Houthi rebels tar-

geting a key oil facility in AbuDhabi killed three people andsparked a separate fire at AbuDhabi’s international airport onMonday, police said.

Police in the United ArabEmirates identified the dead astwo Indian nationals and onePakistani. It did not identify thewounded, who police said suf-fered minor to moderateinjuries at an industrial areawhere Abu Dhabi’s state-ownedenergy company runs apipeline network and an oiltanker storage facility.

Three transport tankerscaught fire at the facility, whileanother fire was sparked at anextension of Abu DhabiInternational Airport.

Police said that while aninvestigation was underway,preliminary findings indicatedthere were small flying objects,possibly belonging to drones,that fell in the two areas andmay have caused the explosionand fire. They said there was nosignificant damage from theincidents, without offering fur-ther details.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s

Houthi rebels claimed theywere behind an attack targetingthe United Arab Emirates(UAE) on Monday, withoutimmediately elaborating. TheIranian-backed Houthis haveclaimed several attacks thatEmirati officials later deniedtook place.

The incident comes asYemen’s years long war rages onand as an Emirati-flagged ves-sel was recently captured by theHouthis. Although the UAEhas largely withdrawn its ownforces from the conflict tearingapart the Arab world’s poorestnation, it is still activelyengaged in Yemen and sup-ports local militias there fight-ing the Houthis.

The UAE has been at warin Yemen since early 2015,and was a key member of theSaudi-led coalition that

launched attacks against theHouthis after the group over-ran the capital of Yemen andousted the internationallybacked government frompower.

The Houthis have comeunder pressure in recent weeksand are suffering heavy lossesas Yemeni forces, allied andbacked by the UAE, havepushed back the rebels in keysouthern and central provincesof the country, dashing Houthiefforts to complete their con-trol of the entire northern halfof Yemen.

Yemen’s government-aligned forces reclaimed theentire southern province ofShabwa from the Houthis ear-lier this month and madeadvances in nearby Maribprovince.

Continued on Page 2

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In a bid to reach out to farmers of west UttarPradesh, Union Minister of State and

Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan onMonday held a surprise meeting with thenational president of the Bharatiya KisanUnion (BKU) Naresh Tikait.

Balyan, who is busy campaigning, visit-ed Naresh Tikait’s house in Sisauli fuellingpolitical speculation.

The first and second phase of elections onFebruary 10 and February 14 are mostly inwestern UP, where farmers and Jats have adominant say in deciding the outcome.

It is conventionally held that performancein the western UP sets the trend for the restof the State Aassembly elections.

It is understood that Union HomeMinister Amit Shah may also meet Jat lead-ers during his visit to Uttar Pradesh. Themeeting between Balyan and Tikait in thiscontext assumes significance.

Balyan could not be contacted for hiscomments on the issue. Both Naresh Tikaitand Balyan belong to Muzaffarnagar and alsocome from the same Khap. It is being said thatNaresh Tikait had an operation a few days agoand Balyan had gone to his house only toenquire about his health.

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The Republic Day parade atthe Rajpath this year will

see the biggest fly past ever with75 aircraft taking part in it tomark the 75th Independenceyear. The latest induction,Rafale fighter jets, along withaircraft from the three Services,will enthrall the audience.

Giving details of theplanned celebrations, IAFspokesperson WingCommander Indranil Nandisaid here on Monday the flypast will be the “grandest andlargest” to mark the “Azadi kaAmrut Mahotsav”. The flypast will conclude with sever-al Jaguar fighter aircraft flyingin the “Amrit” formation to

commemorate the 75 years ofIndependence.

“The fly past this year willbe the grandest and largest with75 aircraft from IAF, Army andNavy f lying during theRepublic Day parade. This is inline with the Azadi ka Amrut

Mahotsav celebrations,” he said.The fly past will include

Tangail formation — a tributeto the Tangail airdrop opera-tions in 1971 War — will haveone Dakota and two Dornierflying in Vic formation.

Continued on Page 2

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Heralding a “new era” fortransportation, Delhi

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalon Monday flagged off city’sfirst electric bus. “We are begin-ning with a new era for thetransportation system in Delhi.This is a major step towardspollution control,” said theDelhi CM during the inaugu-ration.

According to the DelhiGovernment, these buses willbe environment friendly as

they would emit zero percentsmoke and run fully on elec-tricity. These 12-metre-lowfloor AC, E-buses will haveCCTV cameras, panic buttonsto ensure women’s safety as wellas pink seats. Besides havingGPS and live-tracking, thesebuses will have kneeling rampsfor differently-abled people.By April this year, 300 electricbuses will ply on Delhi roads.

The CM further tweeted,“Congratulations to allDelhiites.

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Noted Muslim cleric Maulana Tauqir RazaKhan, who is also Ittehad-e-Millat Council

(IMC) Bareilly president, on Monday called theCongress as true “secular” and claimed thatSamajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is moredangerous for Muslims than the BJP.

Khan, who called the Muslim Parliament ofReligions in Bareilly, made above commentswhile addressing the media here at UPCC head-quarter giving his full support to the Congress inelections for all the five States, including UttarPradesh. National Convener of Congress MinorityDepartment Azam Baig and State Congress pres-ident Ajay Kumar Lallu were present.

Khan, who belongs to Ala Hazrat of Bareilvisect, said that it is wrong to think that Muslimshave left the Congress.

“The reins of the State cannot be handed overto Akhilesh Yadav as he is irresponsible and worsethan the BJP for Muslims. We asked AkhileshYadav to rectify the mistakes made by hisGovernment in 2012, but we found him irre-sponsible,” he asserted while appealing to theMuslims to strengthen the hands of the Congress.

Instead of Yadavism and Jatavism, humanismis necessary for the State, Khan said.

“I discussed the problems of Muslim societywith the leaders of all the political parties involvedin the elections and asked them to reflect on theseproblems in their manifesto and in the party meet-ings. But apart from the Congress, no politicalparty thought it appropriate to talk openly on theseproblems. After meeting Priyanka Gandhi Irealised that the future of this country and the State,communal harmony and constitution can be safein their hands,” claimed Khan.

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New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry and ICMR have joint-ly released revised clinical guidance for the management of adultCovid-19 patients according to which drugs Azithromycin,Favipiravir, and Ivermectin have been banned for symptomaticmanagement of mild infection. These medicines were being bla-tantly used by many doctors resulting in serious side effects inCovid patients. The guidelines came days after a group of doc-tors wrote to the Government expressing concern over the unwar-ranted testing, medication, and hospitalisation.

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New Delhi/Davos: Assertingthat India is making its policiestoday while focussing onrequirements for not just thepresent but also for the next 25years, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday said thisperiod of growth would be“green and clean” as well as“sustainable and reliable”.

In a special address at theWorld Economic Forum'sonline Davos Agenda 2022summit, Modi said India hasset goals of high growth as wellas saturation of welfare andwellness for the next 25 years.

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Chennai: The Governmenthas completed 100 per cent, thefirst dose of vaccination againstCovid for State-run school stu-dents of 15-18 years of age,Tamil Nadu Health MinisterMa Subramanian said here onMonday.

As far as governmentschools in Tamil Nadu areconcerned, the vaccination forstudents in the 15 to 18 agegroup was inaugurated byChief Minister M K Stalin hereon January 3, the Ministersaid.

Since that drive waslaunched in Tamil Nadu on thevery same day it was rolled outby the Centre, the governmenthas now completed inoculationfor teenage students 100 percent as regards state-runschools, the Minister toldreporters.

In private schools andother institutions like the poly-

technic colleges, students ofthat age group are being vac-cinated continuously, he noted.

In total, 76 per cent stu-dents in the 15-18 age brackethave been vaccinated in TamilNadu (first dose) and it is amatter of big satisfaction, hesaid.

The 50th mega vaccinationcamps would be held in 50,000locations across the state onJanuary 22 and people shouldutilise it, he appealed. PTI

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Veteran Peasants & WorkersParty (PWP) leader, for-

mer Minister and a four-timelegislator Narayan DnyandeoPatil passed away in his hometown of Kolhapur in WesternMaharashtra on Monday, in thewake of a brain haemorrhagethat he suffered recently.

Prof Patil, who was broth-er-in-law of NCP chief SharadPawar, had been battling for lifeafter a brain haemorrhage. Hebreathed his last at a privatehospital in the early hours ofMonday.

He had also been infectedby Covid-19 from which hehad recovered fully despite hisadvanced age.

He was 93 and is survivedby his wife Saroj - who is thesister of Sharad Pawar andPratap Pawar.

A champion of the cause offarmers, peasants, mill-work-ers, casual labourers and down-trodden, Prof. Patil had servedas Maharashtra Member ofLegislative Council for fourterms.

Patil was a Cooperationminister from 1978-1990 in theProgressive Democratic Frontgovernment headed by Pawarwhen he became ChiefMinister for the first time, asthe PWP was an ally.

Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari andseveral senior political leadersincluding Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray, DeputyChief Minister Ajit Pawar, min-isters Jayant Patil, NawabMalik, Ashok Chavan andBalasaheb Thorat and leader ofthe Opposition DevendraFadnavis of the BJP mourned

the death of Prof Patil,Despite close family con-

nections with the powerfulPawar clan, Prof. Patil main-tained his independent identi-ty. A high respected leader, henever compromised on hisprinciples and charted his ownpath with political convictions,said a close colleague, Dr.Vaishali Patil.

Born on July 15, 1929 in apeasant family in the smallDhavali village in Sangli, Patilcompleted his matriculationand then joined the RajaramCollege in Kolhapur for hisgraduation.

After doing his MA inEconomics from WillingtonCollege in Sangli, he acquireda LLB degree from PuneUniversity. He later worked asa professor at ChhatrapatiShivaji College, Satara, andthen became the Principal ofKBP College in Islampur,Sangli.

While serving the ShivajiUniversity Kolhapur (SUK),Prof. Patil served as a Dean andSenate Member.

Long before he pursued hisacademic career, in 1948, Patilhad joined the PWP, to whichhe belonged till the end,became a MLC for four terms,served as the General Secretaryand later as Convenor (1999-2002) of the Democratic FrontGovernment of Congress-Nationalist Congress Partywhich ruled the state for 15years from 1999-2014.

An excellent orator andable legislator, Prof. Patil wasappointed head of the legalcommittee of the Maharashtragovernment to examine theborder dispute with Karnatakain mid-2000s.

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In a relief to the health author-ities in Maharashtra, the daily

Covid-19 infections droppedfurther by more than 10,000cases to touch a tally of 31,111cases on Monday, even as 122Omicron cases were recorded,taking the total number ofCovid-19 variant cases record-ed in the State to 1860.

A day after Maharashtraregistered 41,327, the dailyinfections dropped to 31,111taking the total number ofcases recorded from 72,11,810cases to 72,42,921 cases. Asmany as 24 Covid-19 deathswere reported from variousparts of the state.

In Mumbai, the dailyCoviod-19 infections droppedsignificantly by 1939 cases –from 7,895 cases on Sunday to6,956 cases on Monday. Withthe latest tally of fresh cases, thetotal Covid-19 cases inMumbai crossed the 10 lakhmark from 9,99,862 cases to 10,05,818 cases.

As 29,092 Covid-19patients were discharged fromthe hospitals across the stateafter full recovery, the totalnumber of people dischargedfrom the hospitals since thesecond week of March 2020increased from 68,00,900 to 68,29,992. The recovery rate in thestate stood static at 94.3 per

centThe number of “active

cases” in the state increasedfrom 2,65,346 to 2,67,334. Thefatality rate in the state droppedfrom 1.96 per cent to 1.95 percent.

Of the total recorded cases,Mumbai accounts for 50,757active cases, while there are63,199 active cases in Thane.There are 60,686 active cases inPune, followed by Raigad(15,820), Palghar (10,240),Nagpur (11177) Nashik(10,414), Satara (5283),Ahmednagar (4738) andAurangabad (3528).

Of the 7,21,24,824 samplessent to various laboratoriesacross the state so far, 72,42,921have tested positive (10.04 per

cent) for COVID-19 untilMonday.

Currently, 22,64,217 peopleare in home quarantine while2994 people are in institution-al quarantine.

Meanwhile, Maharashtrarecorded 122 Omicron casestaking the total number ofcases in the state to 1,860.

The following is the break-up of a total 1860 Omicroncase+s recorded in the state sofar, Mumbai: 656, PMC-5882,Pimpri-Chinchwad—114,Nagpur –116, Sangli –59, MiraBhayandar-52, Thane –50,Pune rural --46, Kolhapur andAurangabad -19 each, Panvel–19, Satara –14, Navi Mumbai-13, Osmanabad and Akola –11each, Kalyan Dombivli —7,

Buldhana and Vasai-Virar- 6each, Bhiwandi-Nizampur --5,Ahmednagar –4, Nanded,Ulhasnagar, Jalna, Gondia,Nashik and Latur--3 each,Gadchiroli, Nandurbar andSolapur—2 each and Jalna,Wardha and Bhandara—oneeach.

Of the total cases 959patients have been dischargedafter a negative RT–PCR test.

In a related development,the authorities said the totalnumber of passengers whoarrived at Mumbai, Pune andNagpur airports sinceDecember 1 was 2,89,893(44,494 from At-risk countriesand rest 2,45,399 are fromother countries), while pas-sengers whose RT-PC testshave been done are 90861(44,494 are from high-riskcountries and 46,367 are fromother countries). Similarly, RT-PCR positive and samples sentfor genomic sequencing was1,187 (548 are from at-riskcountries and 639 are fromother countries).

Additionally, field surveil-lance of all international pas-sengers who have arrived since1st November is underway.

“Through airport and fieldsurveillance, 4,986 sampleshave been sent for genomicsequencing. The results of 67are awaited so far,” the dailyhealth bulletin said.

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A26-yeare-old IIT-Bombaypost-graduate on Monday

committed suicide by jumpingfrom the 7th floor terrace of hishostel at Powai in north-eastMumbai.Identifying thedeceased student as DarshanMalviya from Madhya Pradesh,the police said that he leapeddown from the terrace at 4.30am and that he had been suf-fering from depression for along time and was under treat-ment.

In a suicide note left in hisfourth-floor hostel room, thedeceased student said nobodyshould be blamed for his act.

After hearing a loud thud,a security guard on duty ranto the spot and found Malviyalying there in a pool of blood.

The authorities rushedMalaviya immediately toBrihanmumbai Municipal

Corporation-run RajawadiHospital, where he was pro-nounced dead.

Preliminary investigationshave revealed that Malviya wassuffering from depression priorto getting admission in IIT-B inmid-2021 and had been undertreatment from in-house doc-tors as also doctors outside thecampus.

“In his recovered suicidenote, the deceased student hasstated he had depression & wasunder treatment, he didn't holdanyone responsible; furtherprobe is under way,” a Mumbaipolice spokesperson said.

“A very unfortunate inci-dent took place at IIT Bombaytoday morning and we havelost a second year masters stu-dent. We mourn the death ofour student. We await his par-ents who are on their way toMumbai,” an IIT-B spokesper-son said.

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From Page 1He also said India is fighting another COVID-19 wave with full alert-

ness and caution while also maintaining economic growth.Modi said Indiais focused on reforms in the right direction and the global economic expertshave praised India's decisions.

"We will fulfil all the expectations that the entire world has from us,"he said. PTI

From Page 1Data shows that children

are as susceptible to catchinginfection as adults are. The vac-cine protects against severedisease.

“These older teenagers arequite socially active and so are

at a higher risk of catching thevirus as compared to youngerkids. By vaccinating them, weare not only safeguarding thembut also stopping the chain oftransmission to a great extent,”said Dr Praveen Kumar, asso-ciate professor, pediatrics, LadyHardinge Medical College,New Delhi.

Presently Bharat Biotech’sCovaxin, an inactivated virusvaccine, is being used to inoc-ulate children.

“It’s a time-tested technol-

ogy which is both safe and effi-cacious”, says Dr Manju Puri,consultant gynecologist, LadyHardinge Medical College,New Delhi.

“These vaccines have beenin use for about a year now. Nomajor side effects have beenreported. In fact, we were soconfident about their safetythat we even gave them to preg-nant women and lactatingmothers,” she said.

However, doctors add thatchildren, like adults, may expe-

rience mild side effects of thevaccine such as pain at the vac-cine site, fatigue, mild fever, fora few days.

On the overall vaccinationstatus of the country, a seniorofficial from the Union HealthMinistry said that with theadministration of more than 39lakh Doses (39,46,348) vaccinedoses in the last 24 hours,India’s Covid-19 vaccinationcoverage has exceeded 157.20crore (1,57,20,41,825) as perreports till 7 am on Monday.

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After the meeting, NareshTikait said that Sanjeev Balyanis “our family man, and every-one has the right to come here,anyone belonging to any polit-ical party. People have beencoming here to seek blessingssince the time of Tikait Sahib(Mahendra Singh Tikait)”.

Naresh Tikait is the elderbrother of Rakesh Tikait whohad staged a sit-in for more thana year at Ghazipur border inprotest against the farm laws.

Naresh Tikait is also thenational president of the BKU,one of the major force behindthe over year-long agitationwhich was withdrawn afterthe Government scrapped thethree contentious farm laws.

He had also recentlyannounced his support to thecandidates of the SP-RLDalliance, although he later tooka U-turn.

Western UP has around150 seats and overwhelminglyvoted for the BJP in 2017Assembly elections as also inLok Sabha polls in 2019.

The farmers agitation isseen to have turned tide againstthe BJP in the Jat region whereSP-RLD combine is perceivedto be cashing on the a“renewed” Jat-Muslim equa-tions which had fallen apart fol-lowing 2013 riots.The BJP hasalready announced names ofcandidates for 57 out of the 58seats in UP which will go topolls in the first phase onFebruary 10, and 48 out of 55seats which will vote in the sec-ond phase on February 14.Remaining seats are meant forthe NDA allies.

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From Page 1It may be mentioned that in response to the recent Dharma

Sansad held in Haridwar, on behalf of Ittehad-e-Millat Council(IMC) the Muslim Religion Parliament was convened at IslamiaGround in Bareilly by Tauqir Raza Khan. “I want to tell the Hindubrothers who was Ravana? Was Ravana a Muslim? Krishna killedKansa? Was Kansa a Muslim? Pandavas killed Kauravas. WereKauravas Muslims? I want to tell the Hindus which book youhave been taught, in which it is written that Hindus and Muslimsshould fight. I want to tell the Hindu society that what was namedDharma Sansad was not actually a Dharma Sansad. It is not taughtin any religion to start killing people,” Khan said during theMuslim Religion Parliament session.

Welcoming his support, Congress State president Ajay KumarLallu said that this support will play an important role in form-ing the Congress government in the coming days.

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From Page 1The first electric bus has

started running on the roads ofDelhi from today. 300 electricbuses will soon be added toDTC’s fleet. You should alsocontribute to this war againstpollution by switching yourvehicle to electric.”

At the same time,Transport Minister KailashGahlot took to Twitter to say,“Congratulations Delhi! It is amoment of immense joy for allof us. Today the first electricbus of DTC was dedicated tothe public by Chief MinisterShri Arvind Kejriwal. Alongwith promoting environment-friendly transport, we are com-mitted to providing world-class smooth transport serviceto the people of Delhi.”

These state-of-the-artbuses are 100 percent electricwith zero tailpipe emissions.They are among the 300 elec-tric buses that will be induct-ed under DTC. The total fleetof 300 buses will run fromMundela Kalan (100 buses),Rajghat (50) and Rohini Sector

37 (150 buses). These buseshave kneeling ramps for dif-ferently-abled passengers andspecial pink seats for womenpassengers. These buses areequipped with CCTV cam-eras, connected to a 2wayCentral Command andControl Centre (CCC) atKashmere Gate, 10 panic but-tons in each bus, and a hooter.

The first electric bus willply on route no. E-44 startingfrom DTC’s IndraprasthaDepot via ITO, AGCR, TilakMarg, Mandi House,Barakhamba Road, ConnaughtPlace, Janpath, Rajesh PilotMarg, Prithvi Raj Road,Aurobindo Marg, AIIMS, RingRoad, South Extension,Ashram, Bhogal, Jangpura,India Gate, High Court, PragatiMaidan and will be terminat-ed at IP Depot. This servicewill be available from 05:30 AMto 08:20 PM from IndraprasthaDepot. Interestingly, the Delhigovernment’s entire bus fleet isavailable on Google Maps,allowing Delhi residents toplan their journeys and trackthe buses at any time. DelhiGovernment’s One Delhi appcan be used to book tickets inless than a minute.

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From Page 1Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described

the artiste as a “legend of performing arts”.Fondly called Pandit-ji or Maharaj-ji by his dis-

ciples and legions of followers, he had said the youngergeneration has many more opportunities to learn thanin his time. In his last interview with PTI in December,Birju Maharaj had said the future of Kathak, one ofthe most graceful classical dance forms, was bright inIndia with the new generation taking the tradition for-ward.“Artistes who passionately work towards carry-ing the tradition forward are the right torchbearers ofan art form and its legacy. It takes a lot of work anddedication to stay true to a mighty tradition such asclassical dance,” the Padma Vibhushan awardee hadsaid.Brajmohan Maharaj or Birju Maharaj was adescendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers.He trained under his father and guru Acchan Maharajand uncles Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj.

Singer Durga Jasraj, daughter of the late PanditJasraj, called Birju Maharaj’s death “a monumental lossto Indian performing arts”. “Legendary Pt BirjuMahraj ji’s departure has left us poorer, shattered. PrayMaharaj ji’s soul rests in rhythmic peace. Deepest con-dolences to his family, disciples and fans across theworld. Om Shanti,” she wrote on Twitter.ComposerAdnan Sami said, “We have lost an unparalleled insti-tution in the field of the performing arts. He has influ-enced many generations through his genius.” PTI

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From Page 1They were aided by the

UAE-backed Giants Brigadesand had help from Saudiairstrikes.The airport fire inAbu Dhabi was described bypolice as “minor” and tookplace at an extension of theinternational airport that isstill under construction. Foryears, the airport home toEtihad Airways has been build-ing its new Midfield Terminal,but it was not clear if that waswhere the fire took place.

Etihad Airways said “pre-cautionary measures resulted ina short disruption for a smallnumber of flights” and that air-port operations have returnedto normal. Abu Dhabi Airportsdid not immediately respond toa request for comment.

The other blast struckthree petroleum transporttankers near a complex for theAbu Dhabi National Oil Co. Inthe Musaffah industrial area.

The company describes it as apipeline and terminal facilitylocated some 22 km (13 miles)from the centre of the city ofAbu Dhabi, where 36 storagetanks also supply transporttrucks carrying fuel. It is also ashort distance from Al-DhafraAir Base, a military installationthat hosts US and French forces.

The location of theADNOC facility where thetankers caught fire is approxi-mately 1,800 km (1,100 miles)northeast of Saada, the Houthis’stronghold in Yemen.

While Emirati troops havebeen killed in the war inYemen, the conflict so far hasnot directly affected daily life inthe wider UAE, a country witha vast foreign workforce that isalso home to Dubai, a glitzy cityof sky scrapers and five-starhotels.

The incident comes asSouth Korea’s President MoonJae-in is visiting the UAE.

During a meeting with EmiratiPrime Minister and Dubairuler Sheikh Mohammed binRashid Al Maktoum onSunday, the two countriesreportedly reached a prelimi-nary deal valued at some $3.5billion sell mid-range SouthKorean surface-to-air missilesto the UAE.

At an event attended bythe South Korean presidentearlier in the day, EmiratiEnergy Minister SuhailMazrouei declined to com-ment on the explosion atADNOC’s facility, saying onlythat police would provideupdates on their investigation.

The Houthis have usedbomb-laden drones to launchcrude and imprecise attacksaimed at Saudi Arabia and theUAE over the course of the six-year-long war. The group hasalso launched missiles at Saudiairports, oil facilities andpipelines, and used booby-

trapped boats for attacks in keyshipping routes.

Though there have beencivilian deaths in Saudi Arabiafrom some of these attacks, theoverwhelming number of civil-ian deaths in the conflict havebeen in Yemen. The war haskilled 130,000 people in Yemen— both civilians and fighters —and has exacerbated hungerand famine across the impov-erished country.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, an ana-lyst at the risk intelligencecompany Verisk Maplecroft,noted that while the Houthishave claimed responsibility foran attack on the UAE, Iraqi-based militias have also threat-ened the Emiratis with attacks.

“Today’s attack comes onlydays after Iran-backed groupsthreatened to strike againstAbu Dhabi in response toalleged Emirati interference inIraqi politics,” he said.

He said the attack high-lights the missile and dronethreat faced by the UAE andthe region’s other main oil pro-ducers. He said unless GulfArab states find a solution todiffuse regional tensions “theywill remain vulnerable toattacks”. (AP)

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From Page 1Channi’s move testifies to

the growing influence of theRavidassia community, fol-lowers of Guru Ravidas, on thepolitics of Punjab whichaccounts for about 32 per centDalit population, highest in thecountry in percentage terms.

After Channi, Punjab BJPgeneral secretary SubhashSharma wrote to EC seekingpostponement of the Assemblypolls on the same ground, say-ing the State has substantialpopulation of followers of GuruRavidas ji, including the SCcommunity which is about 32per cent of the population ofPunjab.”Guru Ravidas Jayanti isa festival that is popular amongthe Dalit community, whichmakes up more than 30 percent of Punjab’s electorate at thecoming elections. Around 20lakh devotees are expected totravel to Varanasi in UttarPradesh between February 10and 16 to celebrate the day.Political parties feel that theywould not be able to cast theirvotes due to this.

According to a 2018 report

by the Ministry of Social Justiceand Empowerment, there are39 sub-castes among Dalits inPunjab. However, five sub-castes constitute more than 80per cent of the Dalit popula-tion. Mazhabi Sikhs comprisethe largest share of 30 percent, followed by Ravidasias (24per cent) and Ad Dharmis (11per cent).Dalits are concen-trated even more in Punjab’sDoaba region, where theRavidassia community’s largestDera (religious place), DeraSachkhand, is based in Ballanvillage. Dera Sachkhand Ballanhas lakhs of followers aroundthe world. In Punjab, it hasabout 15 lakh followers, most-ly from the Doaba region.

The EC noted that it hasalso taken inputs from theState Government and Punjab’sChief Electoral Officer in thisregard. “After considering thesenew facts emerging out ofthese representations, inputsfrom the State Governmentand Chief Electoral Officer,past precedence and all factsand circumstances in the mat-ter, now the Commission hasdecided to reschedule theGeneral Elections to LegislativeAssembly of Punjab,” it said.

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From Page 1There will also be Meghna for-

mation of 1 Chinook and four Mi-17s.The fly past will begin with“Dhwaj” formation with four Mi-17aircraft, followed by “Rudra” and“Rahat” formations with 4 and 5Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH)respectively.Among the other air-craft that will display their might atthe parade are Rafale, Indian Navy’sMiG29K, P-8I surveillance aircraftand Jaguar fighter jets.

The Navy’s P 8 I long range mar-itime reconnaissance aircraft thatwere deployed in Ladakh and ear-lier in Doklam to pick up Chineseactivities will also be part of the fly

past. The P8I will fly with theNavy’s two MiG 29K aircraft in aformation called Varuna.

In keeping with the theme of“Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav”, thespectacular fly past will includefighter jets, combat helicopters andtransport aircraft representing allthree forces.The event will include39 fighter jets, 28 helicopters andeight transport aircraft of the IAF,Army and Navy flying in variousformations.The Rafale will be seenin three formations. The Vinash for-mation will have five Rafale jets,Baaz formation will have one Rafale,flanked by two Jaguars, two Su-30sand two MiG 29s.The fly past willtake place in two phases - the firstbefore the parade and the secondafter the marching contingents havegone past Rajpath.

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Delhi Police has arrested two agents and a pas-senger for allegedly arranging fake visas for the

passenger on the pretext of sending him abroad.The accused identified as Joginder Singh(53)

and Surjeet Singh (53), also the agents and residentsof Haryana used to work in rural areas of Kaithaland Kurukshetra where they arranged visa and pass-port by unfair means.

Third accused -- passenger Kuldeep Singh, (33)is a farmer by profession who procured fake visaand other documents from the agents was alsoarrested in the case, police said.

According to Sanjay Tyagi, the DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP), IGI airport, the inci-dent came to light on January 9 this year after a com-plaint was received at IGI Airport police stationalleging that in the intervening night of January 8and 9, while he was performing duty in the depar-ture wing of Immigration, a passenger namedKuldeep Singh approached for immigration clear-ance to depart to Dubai, UAE.

"During clearance and scrutiny of travel doc-uments, a fake Canadian visa was found affixed ona page of his passport and it did not have any secu-rity features as the original Canadian visa. Hence,a case was registered and investigation was takenup," said the DCP. "When the passenger was inter-rogated, he revealed that he procured his Canadianfake visa and other documents by an agent nameedJoginder Singh for a payment of Rs 16,00,000," saidthe DCP.

"He also disclosed that the agent Joginder camewith the passenger on January 8 at IGI Airport andwas roaming in and around the airport area. Duringthe course of investigation, Kuldeep Singh wasarrested," said the DCP.

"Through its sources and electronic surveillance,our team obtained information that alleged agentJoginder Singh was using a Whatsapp number tobe in touch with the passengers' family. Due toprompt response our team was able to arrest thaccused agent within four hours of the registrationof case from IGI Airport," said the DCP.

"When Joginder Singh was questioned, he toldpolice during interrogation that he along with hisassociate Surjeet and other agent arranged the fakeCanadian visa for the passenger," said the DCP.

"After obtaining seven days police remand ofagent Joginder Singh from the court here, a raid wasconducted in Kaithal and Kurukshetra in Haryanaand with the help of local intelligence and electronicsurveillance another accused agent Surjeet Singh wasarrested within two days of registration of case," saidthe DCP. Police said that further efforts are beingmade to apprehend the other agents of their syn-dicate.

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Following the spike in Covid-19 cases, about 2,500 Delhi

Police personnel tested positivefor the novel coronavirus infec-tion since January 1. Amongthem, 767 personnel of theforce have recovered till date.

According to the latest datashared by police, since January1, about 2,500 Delhi Police per-sonnel from all ranks and unitsof the force tested positive forCovid-19 till date.

Chinmoy Biswal, theAdditional Commissioner ofPolice, Crime and thespokesperson of Delhi Policehad tested positive for thevirus and has recovered andresumed work, said police offi-cial. "Many of them are recov-ering well and resuming theirduties on daily basis," the offi-cial added.

"About 2,500 personnelhave tested positive forCoronavirus since January 1 tilldate.

Out of which, 767 infect-

ed personnel of the force haverecovered and rejoined theirwork," said Biswal.

Meanwhile, a special campis being organised for policepersonnel of all ranks toadminister booster doses to theeligible beneficiaries. Thestrength of the Delhi Policeforce is over 80,000, policesaid.

According to an orderissued earlier, all police per-sonnel and their eligible fami-ly members who have not beenvaccinated, may be motivatedto complete the vaccinationprocess.

“Those who have not beenvaccinated due to medical rea-sons may be encouraged toseek medical opinion againfor the vaccination,” the orderhad said.

All police personnel maybe motivated to take precautiondose of Covid vaccine andinstall and use of ‘AarogyaSetu’ mobile applicationmandatorily.

Self-monitoring practiceto be adopted by police per-sonnel and any kind of illnessmay be reported without fail, todaily health monitoring officer,the order had added.

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The Delhi High Court on Mondayasked the Centre to clarify its posi-

tion in principle on the issue of crimi-nalising marital rape after theGovernment sought time to formulateand place its “considered stand”.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who is head-ing the bench dealing with a batch ofpetitions challenging the legality of themarital rape exception in the IndianPenal Code (IPC), said that the Centrehas to say “yes or no” as in issues suchas the present one, deliberation does notend.

“In a matter like this, they (Centre)have to in principle say yes or nobecause if they don't, however much theymay deliberate, it is not going to cometo an end,” the judge said. SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta said that it will notbe appropriate to place before the courta “less discussed and consulted stand”and time was needed to undertake theprocess of consultation.

“I don't mind that (consultation) butthey have to take a decision which waythey are going… there are some matters,for whatever reasons, I think the courtultimately decides one way or the otherand that's how it gets resolved. You takeyour time,” Justice Shakdher observed.“Yes and no is the end product of con-sultation,” responded the solicitor gen-eral who also submitted that “nothing

imminent was going to happen within acouple of weeks”.

“We have to formulate our stand andplace our considered stand for your lord-ship and considering that this a 2015matter if your lordship can grant us a rea-sonable time. This might need a littleconsultation etc,” the solicitor generalsaid. The bench, which also comprisedJustice C Hari Shankar, said that it wouldcontinue to hear other lawyers appear-ing in the case which would give time tothe Centre.

“You come back. We will decide howmuch time to give you then,” the benchtold the solicitor general. The Centre, onJanuary 13, had told the high court thatit was considering a “constructiveapproach” to the issue of criminalisingmarital rape and has sought suggestionsfrom several stakeholders and authori-ties on comprehensive amendments to

the criminal law. Central government standing coun-

sel Monika Arora had told the bench thatthe Centre was undertaking a compre-hensive task of amending the criminallaw which includes section 375 (rape) ofthe IPC.

In its additional affidavit filed by theUnder Secretary in Ministry of HomeAffairs, the Centre had asserted that itis “already seized of the matter” and thatthe marital rape exception could not bestruck down only at the instance of thepetitioners as the principles of naturaljustice required a "larger hearing of allstakeholders".

The bench is hearing PILs filed byNGOs RIT Foundation, All IndiaDemocratic Women's Association, aman and a woman seeking striking downof the exception granted to husbandsunder the Indian rape law.

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Monday directed real estatemajor Supertech Ltd to executea contract within a week with acompany to demolish its twin40-storey towers in its EmeraldCourt project in Noida.

The NOIDA authorityinformed the bench that it hasfinalised the company EdificeEngineering for demolishingthe twin towers in consultationwith the Central BuildingResearch Institute (CBRI)Roorkee.

The top court also directedSupertech Ltd to make therefund payments to the homebuyers without prejudice totheir rights and contentions. A bench of Justices DYChandrachud and Surya Kanttold senior advocate ParagTripathi, appearing forSupertech Ltd., “The contract(with a demolishing agency)shall be executed no later with-in a period of one week fromtoday”.

The bench noted in its order,“Advocate Ravindra Kumar,appearing on behalf of Noidastates that the agency which is tocarry out the work of demolitionhas been finalised in consulta-tion with CBRI. Parag Tripathi,senior counsel, appearing onbehalf of Supertech Ltd. Statesthat there are no objections to

the agency, which has beenfinalised and the developerwould be applying for all nec-essary NOCs within a period ofone week. The application forNOCs shall also be marked toNOIDA authorities”.

The top court refused to givemore time to Supertech Ltd forentering into a contract withEdifice despite the repeatedinsistence of Tripathi sayingthat the No ObjectionCertificates (NOCs) can beobtained subsequently.Tripathi submitted that the courtcan give one week for applyingfor NOC and Supertech willenter into the contract withintwo weeks. “I havealready placed EOI which has

terms of the contract. I just needthe NOC, which the agencywants. It is the agency which hassaid that you please get theNOC. I have no difficulty inentering into contract”, he said.

The bench said, “No, youdon't need two weeks to enterinto a contract. You apply for theNOCs in the week thereafter. Allauthorities will grant you NOCs,it's a direct order from theSupreme Court. We will list itafter two weeks for compli-ance”. At the outset, advo-cate Ravindra Kumar, appearingfor Noida told the bench thatsubsequent to the last hearing,it has finalised an agency whichis Edifice Engineering.

“The CBRI has informed usand thereafter we wrote a letterto Supertech Ltd to finalise it.Now, Supertech has beeninformed by CBRI on January14”, it said.

Tripathi submitted, “Wehave finalised the agency andplaced the Expression of Interest(EOI) but there are certainNOCs which are required andwe are applying for it with a copyto NOIDA authority. Because itis possible that their interventionwill be needed for instance forstoring of explosives etc. So wewill be applying for it with a copyto NOIDA authority and to theconcerned state authority”.

Kumar said that the diffi-culty is that they have to sign acontract with the company(Edifice) because the time peri-od will come into play, whichwill commence from the date ofthe contract.

Tripathi intervened and saidthat as far as the contract is con-cerned, the agency says that assoon as there are NOCs, theywill do it, and hence Supertechis applying for NOCs. Senior advocate S Ganesh, alsoappearing for Supertech saidthat they have sent the details ofmaking the refund to the ami-cus curiae Gaurav Agarwal buthe said that there is some dif-ference in the calculations. PTI

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New Delhi: The NSG hasinformed the Delhi Police thatthe IED recovered recentlyfrom the Ghazipur flower mar-ket had a timer device attachedto it and had ammoniumnitrate and RDX as its compo-nents, official sources said onMonday.

The federal counter-ter-rorist commando force hadsent experts from its NationalBomb Data Centre (NBDC)based in Haryana's Manesar todefuse the improvised explosivedevice that was recovered hereon January 14.

The sources said a finalpost-blast investigation reporthas been submitted to the DelhiPolice and it states that the IEDcontained ammonium nitrate,RDX, a 9-volt battery, ironpieces that could act as shrap-nel during an explosion and

had a timer device attached toit.The RDX was used as the coreexplosive in the IED but it didnot blow off due to a "glitch" inthe circuit, they said quoting theinvestigation report.The force had defused theabout 3-kg IED that was keptinside an iron box and was con-cealed in a black backpack.

A pit was dug at the "phoolmandi" or the flower marketcampus and the IED was blownunder a "controlled explosion"procedure by the NSG person-nel.

The incident has beentaken very seriously by theDelhi Police and other securi-ty agencies as it came just daysbefore the January 26 RepublicDay celebrations, for whichthe security apparatus in thenational capital is on a high-alert. PTI

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Delhi on Monday reported 12,527 fresh casesof Covid-19 and 24 deaths in the last 24

hours. Interestingly, as per senior health officials,there was 31.4 percent significant drop in thedaily Covid -19 cases, while it is important tomention here that daily testing also reporteddown to 44, 762, according to Covid -19 healthbulletin.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, “casesare on a downward trend in Delhi; sincerely hopethe decline continues,” “no prescription isrequired to get tested if one is showing Coronasymptoms.”

Jain, briefing the media on vaccination, said35,000 people who are above 60 years of age,32,000 healthcare workers and 60,000 frontlineworkers jabbed with the booster dose. Total,1lakh 27 thousand people have been jabbed withbooster doses so far in Delhi,” he added.

Adding furthermore, the (AAP) Ministersaid that two crore and 85 lakh vaccine have beenadministered in Delhi. Out of all eligible peo-ple, 100 percent have received their first dose,around 80 percent have received their seconddose.

Meanwhile, On Monday, 48,088 dosesadministered to 15 to 18 years youngsters. InCentral Delhi 2,176, East Delhi 3,521, New Delhi

1,961, North Delhi 6,007, North East Delhi3,298, North West Delhi 9,114, Shahdara 2,564,South Delhi 4,236, South East Delhi 3,567, SouthWest Delhi 6,282 and West 5,362 doses admin-istered.

Total 18,669 precautionary dose also admin-istered to health care workers, frontline work-ers and senior citizens in Delhi.

Meanwhile Jain congratulated healthcareworkers and frontline workers on completing ayear-long vaccination drive. He also urgedeveryone to abide by the Corona regulations andtake all necessary precautions.

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������ ���!����������D��������"�������&� New Delhi: The Delhi High

Court Monday sought responseof the Delhi Government andLieutenant Governor on a pleaalleging unauthorised con-struction and encroachmenton public land by Delhi BJPchief and municipal councilorof North Delhi MunicipalCorporation.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singhissued notice to the Delhi gov-ernment, Lieutenant Governor,North MCD, Delhi BJP ChiefAdesh Gupta, who is a coun-

cilor of West Patel Nagar con-stituency, and Chief Executiveofficer of BSES Yamuna on thepetition.

The court granted time tothe respondents to file aresponse to the petition and list-ed the plea for further hearingon February 18. The PILalleged that the councilor hasfailed to act in accordance withthe norms of integrity and con-duct which ought to be fol-lowed by public functionariesand abused his position toobtain favour for himself or

others.Petitioner and advocate

Hemant Choudhary claimed inthe plea that the councilor wasinvolved in the unauthorisedillegal construction over publicland adjacent to municipal cor-poration school opposite to hisresidence at West Patel Nagarhere to construct a personaloffice. The petitionersought court's direction to theLG and Delhi government forconducting immediate inquireupon the councillor as he hasallegedly earned crores of

rupees in corruption collectedfrom builder mafia and spenthuge amount in properties andconstruction work by misusinghis power and position and alsosought to the direction theNorth MCD for removal of theencroachment. The plea alsosought the direction to theCEO of BSES Yamuna forimmediate removal of electric-ity connections installed at thealleged encroachment in theform of unauthorised illegalconstruction over the munici-pal corporation's land. PTI

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New Delhi: The Delhi Governmenton Monday constituted a seven-mem-ber committee to look into the utili-sation and management of funds of the12 Delhi University colleges funded bythe Aam Aadmi Party dispensation,according to an official order.

This comes even as the DelhiGovernment and the administration ofthe 12 colleges remain locked in a tus-sle over release of grants. T h ecommittee has been directed to sub-mit its report within 15 days i.E byFebruary 2, the order said. DelhiHigher Education Minister ManishSisodia constituted the committee to"inquire into the position of funds,sources of funds, utilization of fundsand management of funds in respectof 12 Delhi government fully fundedcolleges of University of Delhi", theorder said. The committee will bechaired by professor Balaram Pani,Dean of Colleges, Delhi University andcomprises Vikas Gupta, Registrar of theUniversity. Other membersinclude principals of KeshavMahavidyalaya, Maharshi Valmiki

College of Education and MaharajaAgrasen College along withChairpersons of Governing bodies ofAcharya Narendra Dev College andDeen Dayal Upadhyaya College.

The order also said Anil KumarSharma, Deputy Director, HigherEducation, will be member secretary“to effectively coordinate the meetings".

The Delhi UniversityTeachers' Association (DUTA) hadrecently carried out a one-day strike toprotest against the non-release offunds by the City Government.

Rajesh Jha, Member of the teach-ers' body Academics For Action andDevelopment said that the funds ofthese colleges must be released with-out any delay. "Time to time, differentagencies do the audit of these colleges.Hence, this committee shouldn't beused to delay the release of funds. Theterms of reference clearly shows thatthe Delhi Govt is eyeing the develop-ment fund of the colleges, which is col-lected from the students. This is a movetowards privatisation, which we willnot accept," he added. PTI

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New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will develop four ofits major gardens — Nehru Park, Lodhi Garden, Talkatora Garden and SanjayJheel — into world-class facilities with smart lighting, upgraded nursery andwalking tracks, among other things, officials said on Monday.

"NDMC takes pride in its gardens and intends to now further develop themin a manner befitting their location. It is proposed in this year's budget to getall the designs finalised by engaging a consultant under NDMC Smart CityProjects for four major gardens. The consultant for the project would be appoint-ed," NDMC vice chairman Satish Upadhyay said. Smart irrigation throughdrip and sprinklers, manicured lawns, enhanced lighting in parks through smartlighting, improved walking tracks, aesthetic boundary wall railing in uniformpattern, upgraded bonsai and bamboo garden, provision for bird feeding anddrinking water facility will be among the facilities made available at the parks.

Upadhyay said some of these tasks are already being implemented on apilot basis at Nehru Park.

"NDMC is developing a cycle track around Nehru Park for fitness freaks.After the 2.7 km 'Synthetic Rubber Track' at Nehru Park received encourag-ing feedback from visitors, a similar track will be laid on a 2 km stretch at SanjayJheel-Laxmi Bai Nagar. "The idea is to give visitors a better walkingexperience," he said. PTI

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Concerned with unexpectedand sudden cardiac deaths

of relatively young serving per-sonnel especially thosedeployed in extreme coldclimes and attributable tosedentary lifestyle and stress,the CRPF medical wing havesought regular screening ofsuch personnel and take mea-sures to reduce stress to min-imise such casualties.

The probable causes forsudden cardiac deaths identi-fied are sedentary lifestyle/lackof exercise, faulty food habits(high salt content: over 5 gmper day and oily food in diet),addictions like smoking andalcohol consumption, stress(workplace./family-related)besides associated comorbidi-ties like hypertension, DiabetesMellitus among others, readsthe advisory.

In addition, strong familyhistory of coronary artery dis-ease or sudden cardiac deathhas also been listed as a causeof such fatalities in CRPF ranks.

Brief or prolonged expo-sure to cold, both affect the car-diovascular system and exercisein cold weather further increas-es stress on the heart andarteries, according to the advi-sory.

Various international stud-ies have shown strong associ-ation of cardiovascular diseaseand mortality increases whenthe ambient temperature iscold and during cold spells.

Various cardiac/cardiovas-cular events like stroke, intrac-erebral hemorrhage, heart fail-

ure occur in winter months.Cold air usually causes a slightincrease in heart rate in therange of 5-10 beats per minute.All these may contribute to car-diac events like sudden cardiacdeaths in otherwise normalpersonnel who do not have anyprior symptoms of heart dis-ease like angina chest painand the like.

Preventive measures likeregular screening of personnelwith blood pressure measure-ment, special attention towardspersonnel who have modifiablerisk factors like smoking, alco-hol addiction or having strongfamily history of sudden car-diac deaths, obesity and hyper-tension, it said.

As directed earlier, theMedical Directorate of theCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) has further advised thepersonnel especially the highrisk ones to always carryDisprin tablets (300 mg) andSorbitrate tablets (5 mg).

The Medical Directoratefurther advised that the Unit

Medical Officer should briefthe troops that these tabletsshould be taken immediatelyon feeling of left sided chestpain radiating to the left upperlimb or shoulder/scapula/jawwith severe sweating. Suchpersonnel should be immedi-ately shifted to Unit hospital ornearest government hospital forfurther treatment.

Insiders in the paramilitarysaid as many as 10 percent ofthe personnel are Low MedicalCategory (LMC) or unfit withhealth conditions like obesityand cardiac diseases amongothers.

This is reflective of thegrowing indiscipline in theranks as they avoid regularexercise, a prerequisite formaintaining fitness in any uni-formed service. The problem isfurther compounded by theprovision of ration money tothe tune of Rs 3,636 per per-sonnel per month ensuring arich diet but the lack of exer-cise leads to health complica-tions,” an official said.

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The Union Health Ministryin an affidavit told the

Supreme Court that Covid-19inoculation guidelines issueddo not envisage forcible vacci-nation without obtaining theconsent of an individual.

The affidavit filed onSunday said that India's vacci-nation programme is the largestin the world and as on January11, 2022, a total of1,52,95,43,602 doses have beenadministered. It said that 90.84per cent of the eligible adultpopulation has received theirfirst dose of the vaccine and 61per cent has received theirsecond dose as well.

"It is submitted that thedirection and guidelinesreleased by the Government ofIndia and the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare donot envisage any forcible vac-cination without obtainingconsent of the concerned indi-vidual. "It is submitted thatvaccination for COVID-19 is oflarger public interest in view ofthe ongoing pandemic situa-tion," the affidavit filed by the

Health Ministry said. The Ministry said that "it

is duly advised, advertised andcommunicated through variousprint and social media plat-forms that all citizens shouldget vaccinated and systemsand processes have beendesigned to facilitate thesame….However, no person can be forced to be vac-cinated against their wishes," itsaid.

"Furthermore, a total of23,768 doses have been admin-istered to disabled personswho have voluntarily chosen tobe identified as such by usingtheir Unique Disability IDCard/Disability Certificate forregistration at the time of theirvaccination," it said.

On the issue of exemptingpersons with disabilities fromproducing vaccination certifi-cates, the Centre told the apexcourt that it has not issued anySOP that makes it mandatoryto carry the vaccination cer-tificate for any purpose. TheCentre said this in its affidavitfiled in response to a plea byNGO Evara Foundation seek-ing door-to-door, priorityCOVID-19 vaccination for per-

sons with disabilities. On the issue of door-to-

door vaccination, the affidavitsubmitted that guidance hasbeen provided to states andunion territories to undertakemeticulous, need-based plan-ning so that Near to HomeVaccine Centres (NHCVCs)strategy is undertaken at blockor urban area level and identi-fication of NHCVC sites doneaccording to guidelines. Thelocation of NHCVCs is to bedone by district/urban taskforces so as to ensure maxi-mum reach of services to theeligible population, it said.

The Health Ministrystressed on the need for con-tinuing the use of face masks orface covers, and said the "HarGhar Dastak Abhiyan" wasbeing followed for door-to-door vaccination of eligiblebeneficiaries, including per-sons with disabilities. It alsoapprised the apex court thatsuch persons not having IDcards are also eligible for vac-cination since the CoWINwebsite provides the facility forcreation of special vaccinationsessions for this purpose.

"It is submitted that the

CoWIN public interface isavailable in 11 regional lan-guages in addition to English.It is also submitted that openfiles of awareness materials

have been shared with thestates for translation, publica-tion and dissemination in anylanguage/accessible format,"the affidavit said.

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The Government’s premierresearch body, CSIR may

soon approach the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) touse its UV-C technology formitigation of airborne trans-mission of SARS-COV-2 dur-ing indoor meetings with lim-ited capacity for the ensuingAssembly polls in five pollbound States in the wake of banon physical rallies and road-shows.

This was informed byUnion Minister of Science &Technology Dr Jitendra Singhat an event after releasing theCSIR Guidelines onDisinfection Technologies forMitigation of SARS-CoV-2Transmission.

The CSIR-CSIO’s (CentralScientific InstrumentsOrganisation) newly developeddisinfection technology is beinginstalled to combat pandemicin railway coaches, AC buses,closed spaces and even theParliament House, pointed outthe Minister adding that it istotally effective for mitigationof airborne transmission ofSARS-COV-2 and will alsoremain relevant in post-Covidera.

The technology will soonbe open for general roll-out foruse by common masses, hesaid.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, thetechnology has been devel-oped according to the require-ments for deactivation of SARSCOV-2 virus contained in anaerosol with necessary ventila-tion measures, necessary safe-ty and user guidelines andtested Bio-safety standards etc.

UV-C deactivates viruses, bac-teria, fungus and other bio -aerosols etc. with appropriatedosages using 254nm UV light.

He said, UV-C air duct dis-infection system can be used inauditoriums, large conferencerooms, class-rooms, malls etc.which provides a relativelysafer environment for indooractivities in the current pan-demic.

The Minister commentedon the legacy of CSIR in sci-entific pursuit and urged thescientists to highlight the roleplayed by the organisation indifferent segments of the day-to-day life of the commonman. Secretary, Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA) Manoj Joshi said onthe occasion that CPWD willwork along with CSIR forwider dissemination and adop-tion of UV-C air duct disin-fection systems in Governmentand private buildings.

A.K Malhotra, ExecutiveDirector, Railway Boardinformed that the UV-CDisinfection Technology hasbeen successfully tested forone month in Railways coach-es from Bandra to Chandigarhcovering a distance of 1000kilometers. He said RDSO(Research Designs andStandards Organisation),Lucknow has recommendedthe use of this technology in allRailways coaches in a phasedmanner.

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday expressedhope that the West BengalAssembly Speaker will decidewithin two weeks a plea seek-ing disqualification of MukulRoy, who defected to the TMCfrom the BJP after the statepolls.

A bench comprisingJustices L Nageswara Rao andB V Nagarathna adjourned thematter to the second week ofFebruary

Senior advocate AbhishekManu Singhvi, appearing forthe Assembly Speaker, urgedthe bench to post the matter forhearing in the third week of

February as it would beimpractical to put a tight dead-line.

The apex court, however,adjourned the petition for hear-ing to the second week ofFebruary, and said that itexpects a decision by that time.

“We will give them twoweeks. List it for the secondweek of February. In the mean-while please ensure it is com-pleted, we are not saying thatin the order,” the benchobserved.

The apex court was hear-ing two separate appeals filedby West Bengal AssemblySpeaker Biman Banerjee and its

Secretary and the ReturningOfficer against the CalcuttaHigh Court’s order.

The high court had askedBanerjee to take a decision onthe petition for disqualificationof Roy as a member of theHouse by October 7.

BJP leader SuvenduAdhikari, leaderof theOpposition, onJune 17 had filedthe petitionbefore theSpeaker seekingRoy’s disqualifi-cation. PTI

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Severe cold day conditionscontinued in Punjab,

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh and DelhiNCR on Monday. The IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) said the cold day tosevere cold day conditions overNorthwest and Central Indiawill continue during the next24 hours and gradually abatethereafter.

Meanwhile, fresh snowfallin some parts of Kashmir led toa dip in the maximum tem-peratures but overnight cloudcover has resulted in higherthan expected minimum tem-peratures across the valley.

The IMD said cold waveconditions over Punjab,Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi,Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradeshand Rajasthan during the nexttwo days. It may abate only afterthat. Fresh active WesternDisturbance will affectNorthwest India from Jan 21.

For Delhi, the cold dayconditions continued for the

fifth consecutive day onMonday. On Monday, the max-imum and minimum temper-atures are likely to settle around17°C and 8°C, respectively.The respite is mainly due to theback-to-back western distur-bances (WDs) forecast to affectthe Western Himalayan Regionfrom Tuesday onwards. As per

IMD, a fresh WD is likely toaffect Western HimalayanRegion from January 18onwards, followed by anotherone from Friday, January 21.

Dr RK Jenamani, seniorIMD scientist, said, "The con-dition of fog has improved inDelhi, Punjab and Haryanatoday. There will be light rain-

fall in Delhi from Jan 21st nighttill Jan 23rd morning due to thewestern disturbances and grad-ually there will be an increasein the temperature.''

In the Valley, light to mod-erate snowfall was reportedfrom many places in northKashmir. Some parts ofSrinagar witnessed sleet – a

mixture of snow and rain --very briefly.

The mercury in Srinagar,the summer capital of Jammuand Kashmir, settled at a low of1 degree Celsius – over twonotches up from the previousnight's minus 1.2 degreesCelsius. Gulmarg, the famousski resort in Baramulla districtof north Kashmir, recorded alow of minus 4.6 degreesCelsius – up 2.4 degrees fromthe previous night.

Pahalgam in southKashmir Anantnag district,which serves as the base campfor the annual Amarnath yatra,recorded a low of minus 3.6degrees Celsius – two degreesup from the previous night.Themercury in Kupwara in northKashmir settled at a low of 0.5degrees Celsius.

Cold conditions prevailedin parts of Rajasthan whereFatehpur recorded the lowestminimum temperature of 1.8degrees Celsius on Sundaynight. A slight increase in min-imum temperature was record-ed at most places in the state.

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The Congress on Mondayalleged that due to the

Centre's ‘bad economic policy,unemployment rate in thecountry has gone up to 7 percent, wholesale inflation rose to13.56 per cent, Rupee fell to74+ against the US dollar,income of 84 per cent house-holds declined in 2021 whilethe wealth of some individualsmultiplied nine times.

The Opposition partydemanded that like corporatetax was slashed from 30 percent to 22 percent thus similarreliefs should be provided tothe middle and lower-incomegroups. It also sought from theModi government that itshould reduce petrol and dieselprices by Rs 25 per litre, whileGST rates on essential itemsshould be either exempted orrationalised as high rates onthese items are ‘regressive’.

“The income of 84 percent of the households in thecountry declined in 2021, butat the same time the number ofIndian billionaires grew from102 to 142 (39 per centgrowth). The richest 98 Indiansown the same wealth as thebottom 55.2 crore people.During the first two waves ofthe pandemic, the wealth ofIndian billionaires increasedfrom Rs 23.14 lakh crore to Rs53.16 lakh crore. This growthin the wealth of billionaires (Rs30.02 lakh crore) is 86 per centof the Union Budget for FY 21-22 (Rs 34.83 lakh crore),”Congress spokesperson GauravVallabh said at AICC Pressconference.

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India’s Covid-19 infections at2,58,089 in the past 24 hours

was slightly lower than Sunday,but the death numbers at 385were higher, as per the UnionHealth Ministry data.Registering an increase of 6.02per cent in a day, Omicron casesin India have gone up to 8,209.

Active Covid-19 cases nowstand at 16,56,341, while therecovery rate is 94.27 per cent.

The number of activeCovid-19 cases has increased to16,56,341, the highest inaround 230 days, while thedeath toll has climbed to4,86,451 with 385 daily fatali-ties, the data updated at 8 amstated. The active cases accountfor 4.43 percent of the totalinfections, while the nationalCOVID-19 recovery rate hasdecreased to 94.27 percent,the ministry said.

An increase of 1,05,964cases has been recorded in theactive COVID-19 caseload in a

span of 24 hours.“India's Omicron tally has

risen to 8,209. The cases havebeen detected across 29 statesand union territories, out ofwhich 3,109 have recovered ormigrated”, said a senior officialfrom the Ministry.

Maharashtra, one of theworst-hit states by the Covidpandemic, recorded 41,327new coronavirus infections,1,135 less than the day before,and 29 deaths. The overallcaseload now stands at72,11,810 and the death toll at1,41,808. Eight new Omicroncases have been reported in thestate, raising the tally of suchinfections to 1,738.

Delhi on Sunday reported18,286 COVID-19 cases and 28deaths, while the positivity ratedropped to 27.87 per cent from30.64 per cent a day ago,according to health depart-ment data. State HealthMinister Satyendar Jain hassaid that the city is conductingthree times more diagnostic

tests than the number recom-mended by the ICMR.

Active coronavirus cases inAndhra Pradesh crossed the30,000 mark to reach 30,182 onMonday as 4,108 fresh positiveswere added in the state. In the24 hours ending 9 am today,22,882 samples were tested,which turned a positivity rateof about 19 per cent, a four percent rise over Sunday.

Kerala on Monday record-ed 22,946 new Covid-19 caseswith a test positivity rate of33.07 per cent. The state alsoreported 18 related deaths. Thestate currently has 1,21,458active cases.

The new fatalities include158 from Kerala and 36 fromWest Bengal. Of the totaldeaths reported so far in thecountry, 1,41,808 are fromMaharashtra, 50,832 fromKerala, 38,431 from Karnataka,36,989 from Tamil Nadu,25,363 from Delhi, 22,963 fromUttar Pradesh and 20,088 fromWest Bengal.

New Delhi: A Supreme Courtbench headed by Chief Justiceof India (CJI) N V Ramana onMonday expressed unhappi-ness over repeated disruptionsduring virtual hearings due tothe use of mobile phones byseveral advocates, and said itmay have to ban participationthrough mobiles.

A bench comprising theCJI and justices A S Bopanna

and Hima Kohli was unhappyover the fact that it had toadjourn the hearings in asmany as 10 cases listed onMonday due to disruptions ineither audio or visual or bothfrom advocates’ end duringthe proceedings.

“Lawyers are appearingusing their mobile phones andare not visible. We may have toban this mobile business. Mrcounsel, you are now practis-ing in the Supreme Court andappear regularly. Can’t youafford to have a desktop toargue,” the bench observed inone of the cases.

During the hearing ofanother case, the bench tooknote of poor internet connec-tivity at the lawyer’s end and

said, “We have no energy tohear cases like this. Pleasedevise a system by which wecan hear you. Ten matters areover like this and we are shout-ing.” The top court has beenhearing cases through video-conferencing since March 2020due to the pandemic and hasbeen relaxing or tighteningthe conditions from time totime keeping in mind thechanging pandemic situation.

The apex court, on January2, took note of a sudden spikein the number of COVID-19cases in the country and decid-ed to hear all matters in virtu-al mode and from January 7,the benches are sitting at theresidential offices of the judges.

PTI

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Users of electronic ciga-rettes who get afflicted

with Covid-19 have a higherfrequency of experiencingCovid symptoms such as nau-sea and vomiting, diarrhea,and loss of the sense of smellor taste, compared to non-vapers, according to newresearch from Mayo Clinic.

The study, published inthe Journal of Primary Care &Community Health, foundthat symptoms also includeheadaches, muscle aches andpain and chest pain.

The study said that peoplewho vape and also smokedtobacco, and tested positive forCovid, complained oflaboured breathing and hadmore frequent emergencydepartment visits than thosewho did not vape.

“The study was designedto compare the frequency ofcommon Covid-19 symptoms,such as loss of taste or smell,headache, muscle aches andchest tightness in Covidpatients who vaped, com-pared with those who werenot vapers,” said DavidMcFadden, from Mayo Clinic.

The team interviewedmore than 280 Covid-positivevapers and compared themwith 1,445 Covid-positivepeople of the same age andgender, and who don’t vape.

All of these commonCovid symptoms were report-ed more frequently amongpeople who vape, theresearchers said.

Use of e-cigarettes hasgrown significantly over thepast decade, especially amonghigh school students andyoung adults, though theshort- and long-term healtheffects of e-cigarettes areunknown.

“There are a lot of studiesthat have shown that e-ciga-rette use may be associatedwith inflammation in thelungs and also may cause

severe lung injury in certainusers, causing a conditioncalled e-cigarette or vapinguse-associated lung injury,”said Robert Vassallo, a MayoClinic pulmonologist and crit-ical care specialist.

“Our research was notdesigned to test whether e-cig-arette use increases the risk ofacquiring Covid infection, butit clearly indicates that symp-tom burden in patients withCovid-19 who vape is greaterthan in those who do notvape,” he added.

The increased inflamma-tion of lung tissue promotedby Covid-19 infection andthe inflammation induced byvaping may worsen the likeli-hood of systemic inflamma-tion, with an associatedincrease in symptoms such asfever, myalgias, fatigue andheadache, the study noted.

“During a pandemic witha highly transmissible respi-ratory pathogen like SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causesCovid-19), it is highly advis-able to reduce or stop vapingand e-cigarette use, and min-imise the potential forincreased symptoms and lunginjury,” Vassallo said.

Yet another study whichtested more than 4,300 youngpeople for the coronavirusfound that those who vapedregularly were five to seventimes more likely to test pos-itive. There is evidence thatvaping harms the lungs, whichmight increase the risk ofcoronavirus infection or amore serious case of Covid-19.

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Srinagar: Fresh snowfall insome parts of Kashmir led to adip in the maximum temper-atures but overnight cloudcover has resulted in higherthan expected minimum tem-peratures across the valley,officials said on Monday.

Light to moderate snowfallwas reported from many placesin north Kashmir, includingLolab, Kupwara, Sopore andBaramulla, they said.

Some parts of Srinagarwitnessed sleet – a mixture ofsnow and rain -- very briefly,they added.

The precipitation hasresulted in the mercury fallingduring the day. However,overnight cloud cover ensuredthat the temperature settled

around the freezing point inmost parts of Kashmir lastnight, they said.

The mercury in Srinagar,the summer capital of Jammuand Kashmir, settled at a low of1 degree Celsius – over twonotches up from the previousnight's minus 1.2 degreesCelsius, officials said.

Gulmarg, the famous skiresort in Baramulla district ofnorth Kashmir, recorded a lowof minus 4.6 degrees Celsius –up 2.4 degrees from the previ-ous night.Pahalgam in southKashmir Anantnag district,which serves as the base campfor the annual Amarnath yatra,recorded a low of minus 3.6degrees Celsius – two degreesup from the previous night,

they said.According to officials,

Qazigund, the gateway town tothe valley, recorded a minimumof minus 1 degree Celsius,while the nearby southKashmir town of Kokernagrecorded a low of minus 2degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Kupwarain north Kashmir settled at alow of 0.5 degrees Celsius.

The meteorological officesaid under the influence of afeeble western disturbance, theweather is most likely to remaingenerally cloudy with possibil-ity of very light to lightrain/snow in the plains tillWednesday and light to mod-erate snowfall over the higherreaches. PTI

Kolkata:West Bengal's Covid-19 tally climbed to 18,97,699 onSunday with 14,938 fresh cases,while 36 more fatalities pushedthe death toll to 20,088, ahealth department bulletinsaid. The State had registered19,064 new infections and 39deaths on Saturday.

Its positivity rate stood at27.73 per cent, the bulletin said.

Kolkata registered thehighest number of fresh fatal-ities at 12, followed by five inneighbouring North 24Parganas district and four inHowrah. The state capitallogged 3,893 single-day cases.

West Bengal now has1,60,305 active cases, and17,17,306 people have recov-ered from the disease, includ-ing 9,973 since Saturday.

The state has tested over2.23 crore samples so far, tak-ing into account 53,876 such

clinical examinations in thepast 24 hours, down from64,572 samples the previousday, the bulletin added.

Meanwhile, the TrinamoolCongress and the BJP earlier inthe day engaged in a war of

words over COVID-19 vacci-nation, with the former accus-ing the saffron party of dis-crimination with non-BJPruled states.

"Modi ji (PM NarendraModi) is providing the fullquota of vaccines to somestates, but not meeting therequirements of states likeBengal,” TMC SecretaryGeneral Partha Chatterjee toldreporters.

“During the second wave,we had to procure a sizeableamount of vaccines on ourown," he added.

Reacting to the remarks,BJP state spokesman SamikBhattacharya said the TMCgovernment does not have aproper policy to tackle with thevirus, and “due to its procras-tination, many in the state areawaiting the first and seconddoses”. PTI

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Aday after Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee

wrote to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for reconsid-ering his decision to excludeBengal’s tableau on NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose in theRepublic Day parade, the leg-endary freedom fighter’sdaughter Anita Pfaff tooexpressed her concern at howher father’s legacy was only‘partly exploited’ for politicalreasons.

Pfaff told an Indian newsagency “I have heard about it.I don't know under what cir-cumstances it happened andwhy the tableau was not includ-ed. There might be some rea-sons. We can't imagine that theRepublic Day function in theyear when my father wouldhave turned 125 is being heldand his tableau was not includ-

ed, it seems very strange.”Expressing her astonish-

ment about how celebrations onNetaji was opened with muchfanfare last year only to get asubdued response in 2022 shesaid “and last year, the openingof the anniversary year wascelebrated in a bigger way, of allplaces in Kolkata, (it) had some-thing to do with election andelection prospects in Bengal.The fact that nothing happenedthis year....certainly the issue isnot as important as last year.”

Pfaff ’s comment camealmost in tandem with a sec-ond request from none otherthan senior BJP leader andformer Meghalaya GovernorTathagato Roy who too urgedthe Prime Minister to recon-sider his decision.

Roy a former Bengal BJPpresident wrote in tweet “wehave appealed to the PrimeMinister to allow the tableau of

West Bengal to participate inthe Republic Day celebrations.The tableau focuses on NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose andNetaji’s organization, the INA,which undermined the confi-dence of the British. That’swhy the British forced him toleave the country so soon.”

The Chief Minister earlierwrote to the Prime Ministerexpressing her“profound shockand hurt” by the “abrupt” rejec-tion of the proposed tableau.

She wrote, “the tableauwas commemorating the con-tributions of Netaji SubhasChandra Bose and his INA onhis 125th birth anniversaryand was carrying the portraitsof some of the most illustrioussons and daughters of thecountry --- Ishwar ChandraV i d y a s a g a r ,RabindranathTagore, SwamiVivekananda, DeshbandhuChittaranjan Das, Sri

Aurobindo, Matangini Hazra,Nazrul, Birsa Munda and manypatriots.”She urged the PrimeMinster to “reconsider” hisdecision so as to pay a befittingrespect and homage to thefreedom fighters of the coun-try.

Subsequently theTrinamool Congress tooattacked the BJP Governmenteven as its portal wrote“Ridiculous how the BJP Indialed Central Governmentrepeatedly & systematicallyinsults our history, culture andpride. By rejecting Netaji’stableau, they have once againlaid bare their hypocrisy.‘absolutely unpardonable’.

Roy’s tweet was taken as ashot in the arm by the TMCleadership with one of its MPsShantanu Sen wondering how“the BJP on the one hand tellsthe country to rememberNetaji’s contribution as the

pioneer of Indian freedomstruggle and on the other itthrows out a tableau contain-ing a theme basically on thisgreat freedom fighter.”

The Congress too hit out atthe BJP Government and wrotea letter to include the tableau inthe Republic Day parade. In aletter written to DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh,Congress Lok Sabha Leaderand BengalPradesh Congresspresident Adhir Chowdhurysaid, “This is an insult to thepeople of West Bengal, our cul-tural heritage and our greathero Netaji Subhas ChandraBose. Netaji is not only thepride of West Bengal, but theentire nation.” Meanwhile, theBengal BJP evaded response onthe issue saying thePrimeMinister “the supreme admin-istrator of the country. Whenthematter is in his eyes, he willbe the one to say it best.”

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Lucknow: With several polit-ical stalwarts of Uttar Pradeshno longer on the scene, it willbe keenly watched how theirchildren lead at the hustingsthis time without their formi-dable presence.

Be it former Chief MinisterKalyan Singh, Rashtriya LokDal's Ajit Singh, BJP leaderLalji Tandon or SamajwadiParty leaders Amar Singh andBeni Prasad Verma, all of themhave commanded the State'spolitics over several decadesand will be missed in thehigh-stakes Assembly polls tobe held between February 10and March 7.

All of them died in the lasttwo years.

Samajwadi Party patriarchMulayam Singh Yadav too haslargely stayed away from thehurly-burly of electoral politicsdue to ill health and is rarelyseen in public.

"Actions and words ofthese stalwarts had politicalmeaning and were keenlywatched by rivals to formulatetheir strategy. But this timethese stalwarts will not bethere in the poll battle physi-cally and will be missed by theelectorate in Uttar Pradesh.Now it will be for the genera-tion next to prove themselvesin their absence," political ana-lyst J P Shukla said.

These leaders could swaypeople and communities andrearrange political alignments.

BJP leader and Hindutvaposter boy Kalyan Singh, whopassed away on August 21,2021, managed to unite non-Yadav OBC castes for his partyin the state.

He had a good presenceand acceptance in westernUttar Pradesh and his "bless-ings" ensured victory of hisgrandson Sandeep Singh in thelast assembly election in 2017from Atrauli seat in Aligarh

district. Kalyan Singh's son

Rajveer Singh is a BJP MPfrom Etah seat.

The defining moment ofKalyan Singh's life was the fallof Babri mosque in 1992 andhis quitting as chief ministerowning its moral responsibil-ity. His death is termed a bigloss to the BJP.

"Kalyanji was one of thesenior most leaders of theparty. Obviously his absencewill be felt in the election. Butthe party is there with his fam-ily and has already declaredticket for his grandson Sandeepand his victory is certain," aBJP spokesperson said.

In the RLD, it will be thefirst election Jayant Chaudharywill be leading his party with-out his father and formerUnion minister Ajit Singh,who died on May 6, 2020.

Though Ajit Singh tasteddefeat in the 2014 and 2019parliamentary elections, hishold over the Jats in the west-ern region of the state wasadmired even by his rivals.

"The people of West UPhave respect for Ajit Singh ji.This time they will pay himtribute by establishing theleadership of JayantChaudhary and ensure that thenext government is formedwith SP. There is a wave forRLD in the region," RLDnational secretary Anil Dubeytold PTI.

The RLD has forged analliance with the SamajwadiParty this time.

Former Bihar governorLalji Tandon, once consideredclose to former prime ministerAtal Bihari Vajpayee and aprominent BJP face inLucknow, too will be missedthis election. He died on July21, 2020 and his son AshutoshTandon, who is a minister inthe Yogi Adityanath govern-

ment, will have to contest theelection in his absence.

In the Samajwadi Party,the baton has now moved toAkhilesh Yadav, the son ofMulayam Singh Yadav.

Due to health concerns,Mulayam Singh Yadav is prac-tically indisposed.

"Netaji (Mulayam) comesto meet us at party office fre-quently and guide us. With histraining and guidance, theparty is going to form the nextgovernment under the leader-ship of Akhileshji," SP MLCRajpal Kashyap said. The partywill also miss its leaders AmarSingh and Beni Prasad Verma.Singh died on August 1, 2020,while Verma passed away onMarch 27 that year.

When the Samajwadi Partywent through a bitter powerstruggle before the 2017assembly polls, Amar Singhhad sided with AkhileshYadav's uncle Shivpal Yadavand the fight went to theElection Commission.Ultimately, Akhilesh Yadavwon the battle and the partysymbol.

Beni Prasad Verma left theSP in 2009 but rejoined it in2016 and was made a memberof the Rajya Sabha. His sonRakesh Verma is in active pol-itics and is a prospective SPcandidate from Barabanki.Another stalwart and knownface of Raebareli, AkhileshSingh, died on August 20,2019.

In his absence, his daugh-ter Aditi Singh is carrying for-ward his political legacy. AditiSingh, who left the Congress tojoin BJP, represents RaebareliSadar in the assembly now.

A five-time MLA,Akhilesh Singh was consideredas the "Robin Hood of RaeBareli" and was popular amonga large number of its residents.

PTI

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Lucknow: With the BJP deciding tofield UP CM Yogi Adityanath from hishome turf Gorakhpur (Urban)Assembly seat in the February polls, SPchief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday soughtto woo the sitting BJP MLA RadhaMohan Aggarwal, offering him hisparty ticket for the seat.

Asked about BJP's Gorakhpur(Urban) MLA Aggarwal, the SamajwadiParty chief told reporters here, "If you(reporters) can establish contact withhim and speak to him, the ticket will beannounced and he will get the ticket.”

Yadav was speaking to reporters athis party headquarters here on the occa-sion of 'Ann Sankalp Divas'.

Agarwal has been the MLA fromGorakhpur Urban seat since 2002.

"I remember the oath-taking cer-emony of Chief Minister (YogiAdityanath). I had seen Radha MohanAggarwal on the occasion. He was notable to find a seat and had to keep stand-ing. He has been insulted the most inthe BJP government," Yadav said.

On a question about BJP's dis-gruntled MLAs, Yadav had earlierasserted, "We cannot give seats toeveryone. The BJP can distribute itstickets. We cannot take anyone (into theSP) now."

But, as soon as, Agarwal's name wasmentioned, he said he would give himthe ticket.

Dismissing speculation about hisyounger brother's wife Aparna Yadav

joining the BJP, Akhilesh Yadav said,"The BJP is more concerned about myfamily than me. Are you asking thequestion after being inspired by theBJP?"

Aparna Yadav had contested the2017 UP assembly elections on an SPticket from Lucknow Cantonment butlost to BJP's Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

On a question on Azad SamajParty chief Chandrashekhar Ravan,the SP chief said, "I had said the SP hadgiven respect to the people of thealliance and had also sacrificed tocement the alliance. At this point oftime, whatever sacrifices have to bemade should be made.”

“The SP is making sacrifices. As faras Chandrashekhar (Ravan) is con-cerned, I had given him seats. If hewants to help as a brother, he can do so,"Yadav added.

"Chandrashekhar had initially

accepted two seats, but he said later thathis organisation could not agree on it.In this scenario why should the SP beblamed?” he asked.

“That is why I am saying people arehatching conspiracies. Do not level alle-gations if someone has said anything.Several conspiracies are being hatchedfor the UP elections and they will behatched in future as well," Yadav said.

On January 15, the Azad SamajParty had said, "We thought this is a newSamajwadi Party and there will be somechange in it. We can speak about socialjustice. We wanted unity of the Bahujanand we were banking on him (AkhileshYadav) but yesterday we felt that ourhopes have been shattered. I feel thatAkhilesh ji does not need us. All the bestto him. We will fight our own polls."Uttar Pradesh goes to assembly polls inseven phases between February 10 andMarch 7. PTI

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KSudhakaran, MP andPresident of the Kerala

Pradesh Congress Committeeasked the media in the State tobehave themselves and not toact as the trumpet blowers ofcertain political parties. “Youshould not degenerate intoliars and kill facts. Believe inany political ideology whichyou love but never distort orblack out facts. It will lead to asituation where you would loseyour credibility,” saidSudhakaran, while addressingthe media at the capital city onThiruvananthapuram onSunday.

The KPCC chief wasaddressing the media to explainthe incidents which led to themurder of a student activistDheeraj of the SFI at Idukki lastweek. A section of reporterskept on interruptingSudhakaran throughout theinteraction, a routine affair inthe Thiruvananthapuram PressClub. “Please allow me to tellyou what transpired at Idukki.Then only you will under-stand the gravity of the situa-tion,” said Sudhakaran. Butthe media persons were not in

a mood to listen to him despitehis pleas.

“There seems to be a delib-erate attempt on the part of thereporters to silence the KPCCPresident. I am sure they wouldnot behaved like this withChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanor the CPI(M) secretaryKodiyeri Balakrishnan. Whattranspired in the press meetwas not fair,” said ShajanScariah, chief editor,Marunadan Malayaee, a popu-lar news portal.

The political discourse inthe State have taken to newlows as K P Anil Kumar, formerKPCC leader who recentlydefected to the CPI(M) threat-ening in a public meeting onSaturday that Sudhakaranwould be lynched like a “maddog” in the streets of Kerala.

The CPI(M) in Keralaseems to be upset over the pop-ularity and attentionSudhakaran is receiving acrossthe State, according to AmarMohammed, a Congressactivist in Ernakulam. “He isbeing liked by all sectionsbecause of his boldness.Though he is 70, Sudhakaranhas become a sure hit with themasses,” said Mohammed.

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Thiruvananthapuram: Thenumber of daily Covid-19 casescontinued to rise sharply inKerala with the state reporting22,946 fresh infections onMonday taking the total case-load to 53,92,652, a health bul-letin said.The state HealthDepartment said the growthrate of new virus cases has shotup by 182 per cent compared tothe number of cases reported inthe previous week (January 10and 16).

The toll in the state touched50,904 with 72 virus-relateddeaths, it said. Among the newdeaths, 18 were recorded overthe last few days and 54 desig-nated as COVID-19 deathsafter receiving appeals based onthe new guidelines of theCentre and the directions of theSupreme Court."Currently,

there are 1,21,458 activeCOVID-19 cases in the stateout of which only 3.7 per centrequire hospitalisation," thestate government said in apress release.

Among the districts,Thiruvananthapuram recorded5,863 cases, the highest in thestate, followed by Ernakulamwith 4,100 cases and Kozhikodewith 2,043 cases.

The state had tested 69,373samples in the last 24 hours.Out of those found infected,181 reached the state from out-side while 22,179 contracted thedisease from their contacts.The source of infection of 442is yet to be traced.Meanwhile,5,280 persons recuperated fromthe disease on Monday takingthe total recoveries in the stateto 52,28,710. PTI

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The Bombay High Court onMonday refused to grant an

anticipatory bail to MaharashtraBJP MLA and Union MinisterNarayan Rane’s son Nitesh Ranein an alleged attempt to murdercase.

After hearing pre-arrest bailpleas made by Nitesh Rane andothers, A single bench of HCjustice C.V. Bhadang alsorefused relief to another accusedSandesh alias Gotya Sawant,while he granted bail to co-accused Manish Dalvi. Dalvi’sname does not figure in thecomplaint filed in the case.

Nitesh has been chargedwith Sections 307 (attmpt tomurder), 120- B (conspiracy)read with 34 (common inten-tion) of the IPC.

Nitesh has been named asthe key conspirator behind anattempt to murder Shiv Senaleader Santosh Manohar Parab,who was knocked down frombehind by a car on December18,2021, while he was returninghome by a motorcycle atKankavali in Sindudurg districtwhich is Ranes’ political bastion.

The prosecution’s casethat a conspiracy was hatchedin which one Sachin Satputewas entrusted “to assault and

criminally intimidate the com-plainant/injured”. Satpute (A6)with the help of Dhiraj Jadhaowho is bodyguard of SachinSatpute) and accused SnehaChavan, Dnyaneshwar @ Mauliwho were part of the conspir-acy. Both Nitesh and GotyaSawant are alleged to havehatched the conspiracy to makean attempt o the life of Parab.

Among other things, theProsecution opposed the antic-ipatory bail being granted toNitesh and Gotya Sawant on theground that there were all fivecases against Applicant numberone ( Nitesh) and 26 casesagainst Applicant No 2. TheProsecution also told the courtNitesh was arrested by theKankvali police under Section353, 332, 342, 324, 147, 143,148, 149, 323, 504, 506, 109 and120-B of IPC and Section 3 ofthe Damage to Public PropertyAct.

On his part, Nitesh’s seniorcounsel Niteen Pradhanrequested the court to extend hisclients protection from arrest foranother week to enable them todecide on future course ofaction..

However, Special PublicProsecutor Sudeep Pasbola toldthe court that there was nointerim protection either before

the Sessions Judge or before thisCourt operating in favour of theApplicants.

However, the InvestigatingOfficer had made a statementthat no coercive or precipitativesteps shall be taken against theApplicants, during the penden-cy of the application beforethis Court.The Special PublicProsecutor also assured thehigh court after taking specificinstructions, the InvestigatingOfficer’s assurance would con-tinue till January 27.

Meanwhile, while grantingbail to co-accused ManishDalvi, the high court directedhim to remain present at theKankavli police station onJanuary 20, 21 and 22, 2021between 11 am and 1 pm, andthereafter “as and when calledby the Investigating Officer”.The high court directed Dalvito surrender his passport, ifany, before the Investigatingofficer and not to leaveSindhudurg District withoutprior intimation to the inves-tigating officer until furtherorders. The court also askedhim to co-operate with theinvestigating agency and not tomake any attempt to directly orindirectly contact or influencethe witnesses. or to tamper withthe prosecution evidence.

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als in India have a belief sys-tem which is no less profoundand spiritual than other reli-gions/dharma that are prac-tised in India. As Suniti KumarChatterjee had pointed out:“All the Austric tribes in Indiahad just a little oral literature,handed down from generationto generation, consisting oftheir mythological and semi-mythological legends and tra-ditions, and some folk poetry,partly relating to their religiousceremonies (‘The CulturalHeritage of India’; Vol 5,p.670).” Chatterjee had furtherobserved: “In Bengal, there isa sizeable Santal populationfollowing its own traditionalreligion, which is in a way akinto Puranic Hinduism. Beingwithin the orbit ofBrahmanism, the Santals havebeen very largely influencedby Hindu notions (p.671).”

Chatterjee also compli-mented Ramdas Majhi Tudufor his Kherawal-Vamsa (orDharam-puthi or ‘The SacredBook of the Kherawal race’)which contains the traditionsof his people “and their reli-gious and social culture”(p.672). He has also referredto Sadhu Ramchand MurmuThakur, described as a “reli-gious reformer and teacher ofthe Santal philosophy of reli-gion” (p.673). There is no

dearth of examples to showhow the tribals were neverdevoid of religion.

The original ‘belief sys-tem’ of humankind hasrevolved around nature wor-ship — the Sun, the Moon,rivers, mountains, trees andancestor worship. All theseare important ingredients inthe tribals’ perception of theDivine. Unfortunately, theconventional view of religionis based on a division ofhumanity into “believers” and“non-believers” where theconquest of “the other” is thesine qua non. The belief sys-tems manifest in the SanatanDharma, paganism, animismand Shintoism across thecontinents are what the trib-als in India consider sacred.

As Iravati Karve hadpointed out, the “cultural com-promise” that goes on in Indiawas made possible because itwas helped by “polytheismand its logical concomitant —an attitude of tolerancetowards other gods, othercreeds and other customs”. Allscholars who have studiedIndia’s tribal society — likeNirmal Bose, Ghurye andKumar Suresh Singh — havealso expressed similar views.James Cowan, writing on theaborigines of Australia, hadobserved that they “represent

the conscience of us all as theyrecognise and acknowledge atall times the metaphysical ori-gins of the human spirit”.

We end this short essaywith an anecdote. This was in1902 at the Belur Math, whereSantal labourers used to comefor work. Swami Vivekanandaliked their companyimmensely. Not only did hegive them meals, he also tookcare that it was without salt.It happened because he hadbeen told by them that theydon’t take food that has salt init or has been touched by oth-ers. Swamiji observed: “Youare Narayans, God manifest.Today, I have offered food toNarayan.” After the Santalshad retired for rest after themeal, Swamiji told his disci-ples that he found the Santalsto be a “veritable embodi-ment of God” (‘The CompleteWorks of Swami Vivekananda’,Vol 7, p.244-245). Perhapsthis incident would proveonce again how the tribals areto be judged regarding their‘belief system’ and, that too,by one of the greatest Indiansof all times and a true Hindu.

(The writer is an academ-ic and historian. A formerMember of ICSSR, he is current-ly Member, the Indian Councilof Historical Research. Theviews expressed are personal.)

��������������� ������������Sir —Padma Vibhushan awardee and leg-endary Kathak dancer Brij Mohan NathMishra, alias Pandit Birju Maharaj (83),died at his home in Delhi. Though he wasbest known as a Kathak dancer, he wasalso a singer par excellence, having com-mand over thumri, dadra, bhajan andghazal. He composed and sang for twosequences in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj KeKhiladi and also choreographed forDevdas, received the Filmfare Award forBest Choreography for Mohe Rang Do Lalfrom BajiraoMastani, and was noticed forGadar, Vishwaroopam and Dedh Ishqiya.The versatile Kathak legend was also asuperb drummer, playing nearly alldrums with ease and precision; he wasespecially fond of playing the tabla andbaal, besides being a poet and painter.

As per media, Panditji was also a mas-ter storyteller; he interlaced his perfor-mances with incidents from his life, nar-rated to captivate the audience. It will begreat if some of his disciples carry forwardhis legacy beyond the heights he himselfachieved. Such a great humble personal-ity, Birju Maharaj never ran behind fameand that is the reason everyone has a lotof respect for him. We have lost one ofIndia’s biggest traditional dancers of ourera. May your soul achieve solace!Heartfelt condolences to his family, fansand disciples.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee | Faridabad

������ �����������Sir — Sir – The companies are bracingfor another round of potentially debili-tating supply chain disruptions as China,home to about one-third of global man-ufacturing, imposes sweeping lockdownsin an attempt to keep the Omicron vari-ant under control ahead of the WinterOlympic Games and the Asian Games,2022. At least 20 million people, or about1.5 per cent of China’s population, are inlockdown, mostly in the city of Xi’an inwestern China and in the Henan provincein north-central China.

The country’s zero-tolerance policyhas manufacturers — already on edgeafter spending the last two years dealing

with crippling supply chain woes — wor-ried about another round of shutdownsat Chinese factories and ports. Additionaldisruptions to the global supply chainwould come at a fraught moment forcompanies, which are struggling with ris-ing prices for raw materials and shippingalong with extended delivery times andworker shortages. If lockdowns becomemore widespread, their effect on supplychains could be felt across the UnitedStates. And major new disruptions couldexacerbate inflation, which is already ata 40-year high.

MR Jayanthi | Mumbai

�� ������������������������Sir — The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (Isro) has been blessed withyet another stalwart in space science inthe form of S Somnath, who recentlyassumed charge as its chairman. The tim-ing is crucial as India opens its space sec-tor to private firms and startups to buildrockets and satellites for both domesticand global markets. When the privatisa-

tion reforms got underway with thelaunch of the New Space India Limited(NSIL) in March 2019, Isro’s commercialarm was even more firmly established.Somnath has worked as Director, VikramSarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Analumni of the Indian Institute of Science,he was instrumental in developingIndia’s most powerful rocket, GSLV Mk3, which can be an asset for our humanspace mission. He has also worked on theCryogenic PSLV rocket.

Like the success stories of the MarsOrbiter Mission and Chandrayaan 2 hadignited new hopes and aspirations, histenure will see the launch of Gaganyaan,the human space flight, considering thatIndia aims to send astronauts into spaceon its own by 2023. He has its task cutout in terms of increasing the agency’soutput, especially in the times of theCOVID crisis.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

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Former Union Ministerfor Tribal Affairs, KishoreChandra Deo, had in thelast week of December

2021 said: “Tribals are not borninto any religion and are treatedas indigenous entities. Therefore,when certain sections of theScheduled Tribes choose to prac-tice any religion — say,Christianity or Buddhism in theNortheast, or Islam in places likeLakshadweep, or Hindu, Sikh orany other religion — it is nevera case of religious conversionbecause, since the tribals are notborn into a religion, there can’tbe a case of them converting toa religion.” This, incidentally, isthe opinion of an importantpolitician who also belongs to thetribal community; this was saidin the context of the KarnatakaAnti-Conversion Bill.

LM Shrikant, theCommissioner for ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes, hadpointed out on February 21,1952, in a note that tribals inIndia have three common fea-tures: a) Tribal origin; b)Primitive way of life and habita-tion in remote and less accessi-ble areas; and, c) general back-wardness in all respects. He dis-covered after extensive travel allover India how the tribals livedin semi-slavish conditions,amidst abysmal poverty. He alsonoted the harm caused by theCriminal Tribes Act of 1926. Invarious reports, no one has evermentioned that tribals lack a‘belief system’ or religion.

Now, let us examine whetherthe tribals have a “religion” asdescribed by Kishore ChandraDeo. The concept of dharma isdifferent from religion, as we allknow. Even to assume that trib-als have no religion is historical-ly wrong. Here, I have justpicked a few examples from theSantal segment of the tribalpopulation. Surely, this is true ofother tribal societies, too.

All human beings are bornwithout a ‘belief system’ or reli-gion is true but they embrace thepractices, rituals and the overallreligio-cultural traits from theirparents and the immediateneighbourhood. Like picking upthe mother tongue, it happenseffortlessly and without anytutoring. One can assert that trib-

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With the financial year endingin two months, theGovernment is no close tomeeting the target of

�175,000 crore from disinvestment ofCentral Public Sector Undertakings set inthe Union Budget for 2011-2022. It hasso far realized less than �10,000 crore.Even after adding around �100,000 crore,being the expected proceeds from sale ofits 10 percent shares in Life InsuranceCorporation of India, (on the premise thatit goes through before the year-end), therewill be a whopping shortfall of �65,000crore. This is not new.

It is a continuation of a trend seenduring the previous six years under theModi dispensation when in all yearsexcept during 2017-18 (in that year, theproceeds from disinvestment of a littleover �100,000 crore were slightly higherthan the target; courtesy, sale of its 51.11percent shareholding in oil downstreamCPSU Hindustan Petroleum CorporationLimited to another CPSU in the upstreamsegment, ONGC), the collection was farshort of the target.

During this period, the Governmentlaid greater emphasis on ‘strategic’ disin-vestment (a sophisticated nomenclaturefor share sale that reduces its holding inthe PSU to below 50 percent). On thisfront also, the outcome has been disap-pointing. For instance, during 2015-16,proceeds from sale through this routewere ‘nil’ againstbudget provision of�28,500 crore. For 2016-17, the targetitself was reduced from �20,500 crore to�5,500 crore.

In the following two years, the targetfor ‘strategic’ disinvestment could bemet largely because of the sale ofGovernment’s majority holding in onePSU to another: 51.11 percent sharehold-ing in HPCL to ONGC in 2017-18 and52.63 percent stake in the RuralElectrification Corporation (REC) toPower Finance Corporation (PFC) in2018-19. During 2019-20, 100 percent ofits shareholding in NEEPCO and 75 per-cent in THDC India Limited were soldto National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC) - another CPSU in the powersector.

These sales can’t be termed as strate-gic as the purchaser being another PSUnamely ONGC/PFC/NTPC, theGovernment continues to have effectiveownership and control over the divestedentity viz. HPCL/REC/NEEPCO/THDC.

A number of major strategic salessuch as Bharat Petroleum CorporationLimited or BPCL (53.29 percent);Container Corporation or ConCor (30per cent); Shipping Corporation of Indiaor SCI (63.75 percent) planned during2019-20besides Air India or AI (and itssubsidiaries) - a carry forward from theprevious year - didn’t materialize. Thesesales didn’t happen during 2020-21 also.While, AI et al were sold in September,2021, sale of BPCL/SCI are unlikely to get

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consummated even during thecurrent FY.

An overarching reason as towhy the actual proceeds from dis-investment have fallen short of thetarget has to do with the verypremise of treating these as asource of revenue (albeit for plug-ging fiscal deficit) which is flawed.Unlike tax revenue, which can beprojected with a degree of certain-ty, the same cannot be said aboutproceeds from disinvestment. Inthis case, a lot depends on the mar-ket scenario and, in particular, theperception of investors about thePSU in which share-sale is contem-plated.

In cases, where strategic sale ismooted, the Government faces abigger challenge as apart from afavorable market, it needs bidderswith deep pockets. For instance, incase of BPCL (disinvestment in theoil behemoth was originallyplanned for 2019-20), it needed astrategic investor who could payaround �60,000 crore (prevailingshare price multiplied by the num-ber of shares corresponding to53.29 percent holding).

The lengthy and cumbersomeprocess of approval and bureau-cratic red tape further under-mines the chancesof theGovernment kicking the ballrolling just around the time whenthe strategic investors are ready toput in their bets.

The NITI Aayog identifiescompanies for divestment whichare then considered by the CoreGroup of Secretaries onDivestment (CGD), a long-drawnprocess by itself, which takes it tothe Alternative Mechanism (AM)- a group of ministers includingfinance, road transport & high-ways, administrative reforms etc -

for approval. After AM’s approval,the Department of Investmentand Public Asset Management(DIPAM) moves proposal for in-principle approval of the CabinetCommittee on Economic Affairs(CCEA). All put together, strate-gic divestment involves around 12steps.

Thisleads to delay and by thetime, all approvals are in place, themarket scenario becomes adverse.In case of BPCL, during 2019-20,the international price of crude oil(fortunes of oil companies move intandem with it) was hoveringaround $70 per barrel. But thebureaucrats were not ready. During2020-21, COVID - 19 spoilt thepartyas the average crude pricedeclined to just about $40 per bar-rel (in April 2020, it had plummet-ed to a low of $20 per barrel).During the current year,even as theprice recovered ruling above $70per barrel most of the time, theofficials are not ready yet againleading to deferment of its divest-ment to 2022-23.

In the past, successive govern-ments used PSUs as milch cows toserve their budgetary needs. While,extracting high dividend, specialdividend, bonus has been a stan-dard practice, during 2004 - 2014,the then UPA - regime went a stepaheadusing them to extend petro-leum subsidies (for instance,ONGC was asked to give discounton crude supplies to Indian OilCorporation or IOCL, BPCL andHPCL to enable the latter keep theprice of diesel, petrol, LPG, andkerosene low; ONGC gave a totaldiscount of over �200,000 croreduring this period). The samemindset drives them to look forrevenue even while divestingshares of these undertakings. The

ball does not stop here. The official think tank is ever

keen that even after completing thestrategic sale, the Governmentremains in the driver’s seat. A clearindication of this was given by theFM in her Budget speech for2019-20. Shehad stated the intentwas to change the existing policyfrom “directly” holding 51 per centor above in a CPSU, to one where-by its total holding, “direct” plus“indirect”, is maintained at 51 percent.Such a signal deters potentialinvestors.

To conclude, the governmentshould delink disinvestment frombudgetary exercise. In other words,while projectingits revenue receipt,the Government should notinclude any contribution fromdisinvestment proceeds.

For the purpose of executingshare sale,it should set up a hold-ing company on the lines of a bankinvestment company recommend-ed by the RBI committee under PNayak for public sector banks -where all its sharesin the PSUs bevested.The HC to be mannedbyeminent professionals should befully empowered and given free-dom to take all decisions - in con-sultation with the management -in regard to valuation, quantum ofshares, timing of sale, etc., keepingin mind the market conditions.

In the budget for 2021-22, thefinance minister had announcedthe government’s decision to pri-vatize all CPSUs in non-strategicsectors and undertake privatizationeven in the strategic sector with arider of retaining at least oneundertaking in the public sector.These efforts will bear fruit onlywhen the process is unshackledfrom bureaucratic red-tape andbudget-making.

(The writer is a policyanalyst. The views

expressed are personal.)

Score: 156 crore vaccines.,Pitch: Pandemic.,War: TeamHealth India vs Covid-19.One year, 156 crore vaccina-

tions. Roughly 42 lakh vaccina-tions plus daily. The story of theunparalleled journey of an extra-ordinary achievement of “TeamHealth India”.

Before the world’s largestvaccination drive was launched,several experts expressed doubtsbased of course on their experi-ences, facts, and hypotheses. Willwe be able to make vaccines avail-able as per the nation’s needs? Dowe possess storage capacities forsuch huge numbers? Do we havethe necessary transport arrange-ments and trained manpower?

It will take too long to readythe manpower to vaccinate sucha large population.

Until now, the country hasnever vaccinated the adult pop-

ulation. We have not even digi-tized information on children’svaccination. How will we addressvaccine hesitancy among people?How will vaccine reach timelyand safely to far flung regions?Who will vaccinate them?

Amid this environment ofcriticism, “Team Health India”counted on known strengths:

�Decades of running ourNational ImmunizationProgramme.

�Over 25 years of admin-istering polio drops to almost 10crore infants.

�Vaccinating over 35 crorechildren upto age 15 againstmeasles and rubella.

�Experience of storing vac-cines in 29,000 cold chain pointsand sending to far flung areas.

�Monitoring storage anddistribution through e-Vin(Electronic Vaccine Intelligence

Network).�Implementing ‘Mission

Indradhanush’ to vaccinate left-out children and expectantmothers.

The most important reasonbehind this self-confidence wasthe unshakable conviction of thePrime Minister in the hiddenpotential of the citizens of ourcountry, which became thegreatest strength of “TeamHealth India”.

The team first focused onresolving the doubts raised bythe experts. So began an endlessmarathon of meetings on thevaccination drive. It was exact-

ly a year ago from today, beforethe launch of the world’s largestvaccination drive by the PrimeMinister, that we finalized thebasic guidelines and completednecessary trainings.

“Team Health India’ hadthe following ready muchbefore January 16, 2021:

�Operational guidelines forCovid vaccination.

�Identified manpower forthe drive and training them.

�Systems for transportingvaccines and extra storagecapacities.

�Communication strategyfor vaccine hesitancy, CovidAppropriate Behaviour.

�The CoWIN platform toenable vaccination in a digitizedsystem.

A dry run was carried out inall States and UTs. The night ofJanuary 15 was a night to

remember, with chilling coldand nail-biting suspense toresolve a technical glitchCoWIN faced. Thousands wereawake fixing the snag. Being thenodal officer for the NationalCovid Vaccination Programme,I too was present in the head-quarters. I remember feeling likescientists sitting in a commandcentre about to experience thelaunch of a space shuttle. Wordsfail me in describing thosemoments of anxious anticipationor the deep sense of satisfactionon resolving the glitch. CoWINwas successfully kickstarted ontime and we are all witness to themany benefits of the extraordi-nary Indian digital platform,which has continuously adapt-ed to the evolving requirementsof the programme.

This was just the beginning.In the first phase, vaccine avail-

ability waslimited, and expecta-tions were many. Rationalizeddistribution of the limited num-ber of vaccines was a big chal-lenge and criticism wasinevitable. “Team Health India”worked on with virtual meetingsfor hours on end every day withvaccine manufacturers, vaccinetransport agencies, storage cen-tres, cold chain points andCovid Vaccination Centres withthe singular aim-optimal use ofevery drop of the vaccine.

Next, imagine how the vac-cines reached our remotest cor-ners. Where there were no roads,cycles were used; in the deserts,camels helped; boats carriedthem across rivers; in the hills,vaccines were carried on backs.People were invited for vaccina-tion with offerings of turmericrice. For the vaccine hesitant,doors were knocked under ‘Har

Ghar Dastak’. All this while, wedidn’t follow any western model;it bore the unique stamp ofIndia’s ingenuity.

The preparations requiredwere enormous and time too lit-tle. We kept learning from expe-riences gathered from the field.In this pursuit, “Team HealthIndia” neglected their personalneeds, families, dreams; manyeven lost their loved ones toCovid. Despite that, there was anindescribable pride “TeamHealth India” felt in serving thenation in this once-in-a-centu-ry crisis. What I saw or write, isjust the tip of the iceberg. For“Team Health India”, therewould be countless suchmoments of struggle and satis-faction, examples that are sym-bols of humanitarianism, exam-ples that impart a sense of deepgratitude and hope.

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(The writer is AdditionalSecretary, Ministry of Healthand Family Welfare, GoI and

Nodal Officer for the COVID-19vaccination drive. The views

expressed are personal.)

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Chinese President Xi Jinpingon Monday called for joint

efforts to overcome theCOVID-19 pandemic whileensuring fair distribution ofvaccines and expedited inocu-lation across the world, even ashe warned against any blamegame and the Cold War men-tality in an apparent referenceto the US. He said that holdingeach other back or shiftingblame would only lead to aneedless delay in the responseand also distract us from themain objective.

In a special address on'state of the world' on the firstday of the week-long onlineDavos Agenda summit of theWorld Economic Forum, hesaid that humanity will certainlymove on but the world needs tojointly defeat the pandemic.

"A giant ship is braveenough to brave the storm.Pandemic is proving to be aprotracted one. It impactshealth and the economy.

Holding each other backand shifting blames, will onlyshift our objectives," he said.

Favouring further openingup of the world economy andgreater cooperation, he said,"We should remove barriers,not erect walls. We shouldopen up, not close off. Weshould seek integration, notdecoupling. This is the way tobuild an open world economy."

"If major economies slamon the brakes or take a U-turnin their monetary policies, therewould be serious negativespillovers. They would presentchallenges to global economic

and financial stability, anddeveloping countries wouldbear the brunt of it," Xi said. Hesaid we need to discard ColdWar mentality and seek peace-ful coexistence and win-winoutcomes. "Our world today isfar from being tranquil;rhetorics that stoke hatred andprejudice abound. Acts of con-tainment, suppression or con-frontation arising thereof do allharm, not the least good, toworld peace and security.History has proved time andagain that confrontation doesnot solve problems; it onlyinvites catastrophic conse-quences," he said.

In an apparent reference tothe US, the Chinese Presidentsaid protectionism and unilat-eralism can protect no one asthey ultimately hurt the inter-ests of others as well as one'sown.

"Even worse are the prac-tices of hegemony and bullying,which run counter to the tideof history. Naturally, countrieshave divergences and disagree-ments between them," he said,while calling for new drivers ofeconomic growth to promotesteady and robust global eco-nomic recovery.

The Chinese president saidsome developing countries havefallen back into poverty due tothe pandemic while somedeveloped countries are alsofacing hard times.

"Developed nations needresponsible economic policies,should control spillover effectsof policies to avoid impactingdeveloping countries," he saidwhile asserting that China willcontinue to open up and iscommitted to economic andmarket reforms. He also calledfor global rules on the digitaleconomy and greater informa-tion sharing across theworld."The world is undergoing

major changes, unseen in a cen-tury and how to beat the pan-demic and build a post-COVIDworld are a common concernfor people around the world,"he said while addressing thesummit through video confer-encing.The deadly virus, whichwas first reported in Chinesecity Wuhan in late 2019, has sofar seen over 32 crore con-firmed cases globally with morethan 55 lakh deaths.The inter-national community has foughta tenacious battle againstCOVID-19 and the concertedefforts of the international com-munity mean major progresshas been made in the globalfight against the pandemic, Xisaid.

Emphasising the impor-tance of vaccines, he called forensuring their equitable distri-bution, accelerating vaccinationand closing the global immu-nisation gap.

The World HealthOrganization has also beencriticising the unequal distrib-ution of vaccines and has beenasking manufacturers and othercountries to contribute toCOVAX, an UN-backed pro-gramme for supplying vaccinesto poor countries. So far, it hasdelivered 1 billion doses.

According to WHO, 36 ofits 194 member countries havevaccinated less than 10 percent of population and 88 haveinoculated under 40 per cent.

According to latest Chinesegovernment data, China's econ-omy grew 8.1 per cent in 2021,exceeding its own target of 6 percent, despite challenges, includ-ing epidemic resurgences and acomplicated external environ-ment. The Chinese economy,which was first to be hit bycoronavirus and early to recov-er from the pandemic hadgrown by 2.3 per cent in 2020,the lowest annual growth rate

in 45 years.In his address at theWEF event, Xi said China willprovide another one billionCOVID-19 vaccine doses toAfrican countries and 150 mil-lion doses to ASEAN countries.He said China will celebrate theadvent of spring in the lunarnew year, the Year of the Tiger,in two weeks' time. "In Chineseculture, tiger symbolises brav-ery and strength, as the Chinesepeople often refer to spiriteddragon and dynamic tiger, orsoaring dragon and leapingtiger.

To meet the severe chal-lenges facing humanity, wemust add wings to the tiger andact with the courage andstrength of the tiger to over-come all obstacles on our wayforward," he said.He said factshave shown once again thatamidst the raging torrents of aglobal crisis, countries are notriding separately in some 190small boats, but are rather all ina giant ship on which ourshared destiny hinges.

"Small boats may not sur-vive a storm, but a giant ship isstrong enough to brave a storm.Thanks to the concerted effortsof the international communi-ty, major progress has beenmade in the global fight againstthe pandemic.

"That said, the pandemic isproving a protracted one,resurging with more variantsand spreading faster thanbefore. It poses a serious threatto people's safety and health,and exerts a profound impacton global economy," he said.Hesaid acts of single-mindedlybuilding "exclusive yards withhigh walls" or "parallel sys-tems", of enthusiasticallyputting together exclusive smallcircles or blocs that polariseworld will gravely undercutglobal efforts to tackle commonchallenges.

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Warning that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from

over and Omicron would notbe last variant, global healthexperts on Monday said a lotwould depend on transmissi-bility and severity of nextmutants of deadly virus.

Speaking at a session onCOVID-19 on first day ofWorld Economic Forum'sonline Davos Agenda summit,famous American immunol-ogist Anthony S Fauci alsosaid while it was difficult topredict as yet what could benew normal, he does notthink that people will roamaround with their masks onforever.

"Omicron is highly trans-missible, but apparently notvery pathogenic. While I hopethat remains case, but thatwould depend on what newvariants emerge going for-ward," he said.

He also said there is agreat deal of 'disinformation'around and that is entirelydestructive to a comprehen-sive public health endeavour.He said endemicity means 'anon-disruptive presence,without elimination', but itcannot be said as yet whetheran endemic stage is underway."It is very difficult to predictwhat new normal would belike. I do not think peoplewould be walking aroundwith masks on forever, but onenew normal I would hope foris greater solidarity with eachother. I also hope new normal

would include a strong mem-ory about what a pandemiccan do to us," he said. Fauci isthe Chief Medical Advisor tothe President of United Statesand one of most prominentfaces in world's fight againstCOVID-19 pandemic.

He is Director of NationalInstitute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases (NIAID)and serves as one of the keyadvisers to White House andDepartment of Health andHuman Services on globalAIDS issues, and on initiativesto bolster medical and publichealth preparedness.

He was joined in the paneldiscussion by Moderna CEOStephane Bancel, Coalitionfor Epidemic Preparednessand Innovations (CEPI) CEORichard Hatchett and LondonSchool of Hygiene andTropical Medicine's Professorof Emerging InfectiousDiseases Annelies Wilder-Smith.Wilder-Smith saidOmicron will not be last vari-ant."We are not out of pan-demic just yet," shewarned.The worldwide spreadof deadly virus, which wasfirst reported

in China's Wuhan in late2019, has seen more than 32crore confirmed cases global-ly and over 55 lakh deaths sofar. The emergence of its fast-spreading Omicron variant,resulting in reintroduction ofnational lockdowns, travelbans and quarantines in var-ious parts of world, has rein-forced uncertainty of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

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Russia's top diplomat onMonday angrily rejected

US allegations that it waspreparing a pretext to invadeUkraine as Russian troops haveremained concentrated nearborder.

The White House saidFriday that US intelligenceofficials had concluded thatRussia had already deployedoperatives to rebel-controlledeastern Ukraine to carry outacts of sabotage there andblame them on Ukraine in a"false-flag operation" to createa pretext for possible invasion.

Speaking to reporters onMonday, Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov dis-missed US claim as "total dis-information." He reaffirmedthat Russia expects a writtenresponse this week from the USand its allies to Moscow'srequest for binding guaranteesthat NATO will not embraceUkraine or any other ex-Sovietnations, or station its forces andweapons there.

Washington and its alliesfirmly rejected Moscow'sdemands during last week'sRussia-US negotiations inGeneva and a related NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels,which were held as an esti-mated 100,000 Russian troopswith tanks and other heavyweapons are massed nearUkraine in what West fearsmight be a prelude to an inva-sion. A delegation of US sena-tors is visiting Ukraine toemphasise US support forcountry."Our bipartisan con-gressional delegation sends a

clear message to global com-munity: the United Statesstands in unwavering supportof our Ukrainian partners todefend their sovereignty and inface of persistent Russianaggression," Sen. JeanneShaheen, a New HampshireDemocrat, said in a statement.

Speaking Monday on avisit to Kyiv, German ForeignMinister Annalena Baerbockwarned that "any further esca-lation would carry a high pricefor Russian regime - econom-ic, political and strategic" andemphasised need to continuenegotiations.

"We are prepared to have aserious dialogue with Russia,because diplomacy is only wayto defuse this highly dangeroussituation at moment," she said.

Baerbock said Germanyhas offered to send cybersecu-rity specialists to Ukraine tohelp investigate last week'scyberattacks, which Ukrainianauthorities blamed on Russia.At same time, she noted thatGermany hasn't changed itsrefusal to provide it withweapons.

"We made clear that we willdo everything to avoid esca-lating crisis," she said.Ukrainian officials havewarned that Russia couldlaunch an attack from variousdirections, including from ter-ritory of its ally Belarus.Belarusian President AlexanderLukashenko, who has increas-ingly relied on Kremlin's sup-port amid Western sanctionsover a crackdown on domes-tic protests, said that Russia andBelarus will hold massive mil-itary drills next month.

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Pakistan's National SecurityAdviser Moeed Yusuf will

lead an inter-ministerial dele-gation to Afghanistan onTuesday to discuss the issue ofborder-fencing and take stockof the humanitarian needs ofthe war-torn country with theTaliban regime, according to amedia report.

During his visit fromJanuary 18 to 19, Yusuf will dis-cuss ways to channel humani-tarian aid to Afghanistan in linewith requirements of UN otherand international sanctions,officials told Dawn newspaper.Concerns over Afghanistan'shumanitarian crisis have beendiscussed in United Nations toavert a humanitarian crisis.On January 13, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

warned that millions ofAfghans were on the "verge ofdeath," urging the internation-al community to fund the UN'sUSD 5 billion humanitarianappeal, release the country'sfrozen assets and reignite itsbanking system to avert amajor economic and socialcollapse.

One of the key challengesconfronting Afghanistan is thenear-complete exodus of skilledlabour, affecting its health andinfrastructure sectors.Pakistani officials said theywere planning to relocateAfghan refugees who havebeen educated and trained inPakistan to Afghanistan.Officials said the issue of bor-der-fencing along Durand Linewill also be discussed by Yusufamidst differences betweenIslamabad and Kabul.

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ATurkish court ruled Mondaythat prominent Turkish civil

rights activist and philanthropistOsman Kavala should stay inprison, despite his more thanfour years in pre-trial detention.

The hearing took place as aCouncil of Europe deadline thatcould trigger infringement pro-cedures looms. The EuropeanCourt of Human Rights ruled in2019 that Kavala's rights hadbeen violated and ordered hisrelease. But Turkey has repeat-edly refused to do so.

Kavala, who is in Silivriprison on outskirts of Istanbul,did not participate in hearing inline with an October statementthat he would no longer attendtrials via video conferencebecause he didn't have faithcourtwould deliver a fair trial. Kavala,64, is accused of financingnationwide anti-governmentprotests in 2013, attempting tooverthrow government by help-ing orchestrate a coup attemptthree years later and espionage.

He denies the charges, whichcarry a life sentence withoutparole.He was acquitted inFebruary 2020 of charges inconnection with the 2013 GeziPark protests. As supportersawaited his release, Kavala wasrearrested on new charges.

The acquittal was later over-turned and linked to chargesrelating to the 2016 coupattempt, which the Turkish gov-ernment blames on the net-work of US-based Muslim cler-ic Fethullah Gulen, who deniesany ties to the coup.

That trial is now part of amerged case involving 51 otherdefendants, including fans of theBesiktas soccer club who wereacquitted six years ago of chargesrelated to the Gezi protestsbefore that decision also wasoverturned. Kavala is the onlyjailed defendant.

Kavala's lawyer, KoksalBayraktar, had demanded hisrelease. "His continued impris-onment for 1,539 days is the con-tinuation of lawlessness identi-fied by the European Court ofHuman Rights," Bayraktar said.

"End this lawlessness todayso our client gets his free-dom."Taksim Solidarity, a groupdefending the small Gezi Parkin central Istanbul, said beforethe third hearing that the peace-ful 2013 protests, which werebased on constitutional rightsallowing citizens to demanddemocracy, couldn't be tar-nished through the judiciary.

In October, Kavala's casealso caused a diplomatic crisisbetween Turkey and 10 Westerncountries, including the UnitedStates, France and Germany,after they called for his releaseon the fourth anniversary of hisimprisonment.

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan openly dis-dains Kavala, accusing him ofbeing the "Turkish leg" of bil-lionaire US philanthropistGeorge Soros, whom Erdoganalleges has been behind insur-rections in many countries.Hethreatened to expel Westernenvoys for meddling in Turkey'sinternal affairs.

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China's population grewby less than half a million-

last year to 1.41 billion as thebirth rates fell for the fifthconsecutive year, stoking fearsof a looming demographiccrisis and its adverse impacton the world's 2nd largesteconomy. At the end of 2021,China's population on themainland grew to 1.4126 bil-lion from 1.4120 billion in2020, the National Bureau ofStatistics (NBS) said onMonday.

China's populationincreased by 480,000 in ayear-on-year comparisonfrom 2020 down from 12million, as per NBS data. Thefigure does not include HongKong and Macao residentsand foreigners who live inmainland's 31 provinces,autonomous regions, andmunicipalities, the NBS said.The number of newborns in2021 in world's most popu-lous nation stood at 10.62 mil-lion, according to NBS data,with birth rate at 7.52 per

thousand, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported.Thenational death rate was 7.18per thousand last year, puttingthe national growth rate at0.34 per thousand.

Experts have warned thata demographic turning pointmay be just around the cornerin the world's most populousnation, and some say it threat-ens to erode the foundation ofChina's booming economicgrowth over the past 40 years,the Hong Kong-based SouthChina Morning Post report-ed. In such a situation, theratio of people in the work-force and dependent persons(retired with pension andother benefits) may beadversely affected, strainingthe economy, they said.

"The most shocking partof the data released today isthat the natural growth of thepopulation has dropped to0.34 per thousand, the firsttime below 1.0 since databecame available," ZhangZhiwei, chief economist atPinpoint Asset Managementsaid.

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The president of South Koreaon Monday vowed to world

leaders that his fossil fuel-dependent country and theoil-rich United Arab Emirateswould jointly expand theirinvestments in renewable ener-gy to tackle climate change.During his visit to the UAE,President Moon Jae-in reiter-ated Seoul's commitment toreach carbon neutrality by2050, slash methane emissionsand boost renewables as thenation known as one of Asia'sbiggest greenhouse gas emitterscomes under growing pres-sure to combat climate change."Climate change is becoming astern reality before our eyes," hetold officials and business lead-ers gathered at a sustainableconference in Dubai.

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The son of former Philippinedictator Ferdinand Marcos

defeated on Monday a bid todisqualify him from the May 9presidential race but still facesother petitions from humanrights victims and others whohave raised alarm over atroci-ties under his late father's rule.

The Commission onElections rejected a petitionarguing that Ferdinand"Bongbong" Marcos Jr. Shouldbe barred from public office forhaving been convicted of fail-ing to file income tax returnsfrom 1982 to 1985 and statingin his candidacy papers that hehad never been found guilty ofa crime.

The ruling is appealable."Respondent did not deliber-ately attempt to mislead, mis-inform or deceive the elec-torate," the ruling said.

Marcos Jr. Has led in pop-ularity polls ahead of the elec-tion. "This is one challengedown," commission spokesmanJames Jimenez told reporters."But there are other challengesstill pending."

He said there five otherpetitions against Marcos Jr.'scandidacy, three of which havebeen consolidated into onecase. Marcos Jr.'s name will beincluded on the ballot, whichwill be printed soon, despite thepending petitions, Jimenezsaid.

Marcos Jr.'s camp thankedthe elections commission "forupholding the law and theright of every bona fide candi-date like Bongbong Marcos torun for public office free fromany form of harassment anddiscrimination."

The elder Marcos placedthe Philippines under martialrule in 1972, a year before histerm was to expire. He pad-locked Congress and newspa-per offices, ordered the arrestof political opponents andruled by decree.

He was toppled in anarmy-backed "people power"revolt in 1986. He died in exilein Hawaii three years laterwithout admitting any wrong-doing, including accusationsthat he and his family amassedan estimated USD 5 billion toUSD 10 billion while he was inpower.

A Hawaii court found himliable for human rights viola-tions and awarded USD 2 bil-lion from his estate to com-pensate more than 9,000Filipinos who filed a lawsuitagainst him for torture, incar-ceration, extrajudicial killingsand disappearances. His widow,Imelda Marcos, and her chil-dren were allowed to return tothe Philippines in 1991.

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Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan on Monday

spoke to Vladimir Putin andexchanged views on bilateralcooperation as well as region-al and international issues andalso appreciated the RussianPresident's "emphatic state-ment" that freedom of speechcould not be a pretext to abuseProphet.

During a telephonic con-versation with President Putin,Prime Minister Khan said hehas regularly highlightedappalling rise in Islamophobiaand associated hatred in hisaddresses to UN GeneralAssembly, pointing towardsits serious ramifications, theForeign Office said in a state-ment.

He "appreciated President'sPutin statement that insultingHoly Prophet Muhammaddoes not count as an expressionof artistic freedom", it said.

Khan in a tweet said hespoke to Putin "primarily toexpress my appreciation for hisemphatic statement that free-dom of speech could not be apretext to abuse our Prophet"."He (Putin) is first Westernleader to show empathy &sensitivity to Muslim sentiment

for their beloved Prophet,"said Khan, who frequentlyfaces wrath of hardlineIslamists in country over offen-sive caricatures of Prophet insome western publications.

Khan said they also dis-cussed ways to move forwardon trade and other mutuallybeneficial cooperation betweenPakistan and Russia and invit-ed each other to visit theirrespective countries.

During conversation, thetwo leaders exchanged viewson bilateral cooperation aswell as regional and interna-tional issues of mutual interest,the Foreign Office statementsaid.

Khan underscored thatPakistan's bilateral relation-ship with Russia was on anupward trajectory, with anincreased focus on trade andeconomic ties and energycooperation, it said.

He reiterated government'sresolve for early realisation ofPakistan Stream Gas PipelineProject, which is being devel-oped with Russia's aid. Khanand Putin agreed to enhancebilateral cooperation in differ-ent areas, hike high-levelexchanges, and remain in closecontact on matters relating toAfghanistan, statement said.

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New Delhi: Market capitalisationof BSE-listed companies jumped toan all-time high of over �280 lakhcrore on Monday as benchmarkindices bounced back after takinga breather in the previous trade.

The 30-share BSE benchmarkgained 85.88 points or 0.14 per centto settle at 61,308.91. During theday, it jumped 162.45 points to61,385.48.

The market capitalisation ofBSE-listed firms reached a lifetimehigh of � 2,80,02,437.71 crore onMonday. Sensex and Nifty broketheir five-day rising streak to closewith slim losses on Friday.

"Markets started the week on aflat note amid mixed global cues. Asthe day progressed, high volatilitywas witnessed but the benchmarktraded in a positive range for mostof the session," said Ajit Mishra, VP- Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Ultratech Cement was thebiggest gainer among the Sensexshares, with a gain of 2.78 per cent,followed by Maruti Suzuki,Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel,TCS, L&T and SBI. In the broadermarket, BSE midcap index rose by

0.23 per cent while smallcap indexgained 0.61 per cent. PTI

New Delhi: To provide efficacious mech-anism for resolving disputes betweeninvestors and regulated entities, capitalmarkets regulator Sebi is examiningintroducing an alternate dispute resolu-tion mechanism, a release said onMonday.

Sebi in November 2021 publishedthe 'Investor Charter' for securities mar-kets to further augment its efforts to pro-tect investors' interests, promote trans-parency in markets and enhance aware-ness, trust and confidence amonginvestors. Since then, various steps havebeen taken to implement the charter, theregulator said.

Separate charters regarding investor-related activities of various intermediarieshave been developed by Sebi in consul-tation with the respective entities.

The charter contains informationrelated to details of various services pro-vided by the intermediaries to investors,their timelines, importance of preserva-tion of relevant documents by theinvestors, investor grievance redressalmechanism, etc.

As for Sebi's own charter, efforts havebeen taken to enhance the effectiveness

of investor grievance redressal mecha-nism. It has been publishing the status ofdisposal of investor grievances receivedin SCORES (Sebi Complaints RedressSystem) on its website on a monthly basis,the regulator noted.

Also, details of investor griev-ances, which are pending for more thanthree months with different intermedi-aries, are also being published. "Incase Sebi receives a large numberof/repeated complaints on any issue, theroot causes are analyzed and if required,appropriate policy changes are made toaddress the issue," the regulator said.

Some of the recent policy ini-tiatives taken by Sebi, after conductingsuch an analysis, include amendmentspertaining to the Investor Protection Fundor Investor Service Fund and its relatedmatters to expand the scope of disputeresolution.

In addition, "Sebi is also examin-ing, in consultation with regulated enti-ties, the possibility of introducing alter-nate dispute resolution mechanism in var-ious agreements (wherever possible)between the regulated entities and theirclients," the regulator said. PTI

Mumbai: India's overall eco-nomic activity remains strong,driven by an upbeat consumerconfidence and uptick in bankcredit, and expectations thatOmicron may turn out to be a"flash flood rather than a wave"have further brightened theprospects, according to a RBIarticle.

"On the vaccination front,India has made rapid strides.On the Omicron variant, therecent data from the UK andSouth Africa suggest that suchinfections are 66 to 80 per centless severe, with a lower needfor hospitalisation," the articleon the state of economy pub-lished in the RBI Bulletin saidon Monday.

Amidst upbeat consumerand business confidence and anuptick in bank credit, aggregatedemand conditions stayresilient while on the supplyfront, rabi sowing has exceed-ed last year's level and

the normal acreage, it noted.

Noting that manufacturingand several categories of ser-vices remain in expansion, thearticle said, "overall economicactivity in India remains strong,with upbeat consumer andbusiness confidence and upticksin several incoming high fre-quency indicators"."Expectations that Omicronmay turn out to be more of aflash flood than a wave havebrightened near-termprospects," it said.

The central bank said theviews expressed in the articleare those of the authors and donot necessarily represent theviews of the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI).

There are indications thatsupply chain disruptions andshipping costs are slowly easing,although the waning of infla-tion may take longer.

This provides a window ofopportunity to focus all energieson accelerating and broadeningthe global recovery, the articlesaid. PTI

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Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensexrose by 85 points on Monday fol-lowing gains in auto, IT, energyand FMCG stocks amid a firmtrend in European markets.

In a largely range-bound ses-sion, the 30-share index ended85.88 points or 0.14 per centhigher at 61,308.91. Similarly, theNSE Nifty advanced 52.35 pointsor 0.29 per cent to 18,308.10.Ultratech Cement was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, surgingnearly 3 per cent, followed byM&M, Maruti, Tata Steel, TCS,L&T, SBI and HUL.

On the other hand, HCL Tech,HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, TechMahindra, PowerGrid, and SunPharma were among the laggards,falling up to 5.89 per cent.

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New Delhi/Davos: The firsttwo years of the Covid-19 pan-demic saw incomes of 99 percent of humanity fall and over16 crore people were forced intopoverty even as the world's tenrichest men saw their fortunemore than double to USD 1.5trillion (over � 111 lakh crore)at a rate of USD 1.3 billion (�9,000 crore) a day, a new studyshowed on Monday.

In its report titled'Inequality Kills' released on thefirst day of the World EconomicForum's online Davos Agendasummit, Oxfam Internationalfurther said inequality is con-tributing to the death of at least21,000 people each day, or oneperson every four seconds.

This is a conservative find-ing based on deaths globallyfrom lack of access to health-care, gender-based violence,hunger, and climate break-down, it added. Theworld's ten richest men sawtheir fortunes grow at a rate ofUSD 15,000 per second duringthe first two years of the pan-demic and if these ten menwere to lose 99.999 per cent oftheir wealth tomorrow, theywould still be richer than 99 percent of all the people on thisplanet.

"They now have six timesmore wealth than the poorest3.1 billion people," said OxfamInternational's Executive

Director Gabriela Bucher."It has never been so importantto start righting the violentwrongs of this obscene inequal-ity by clawing back elites' powerand extreme wealth includingthrough taxation — gettingthat money back into the realeconomy and to save lives," shesaid.

According to Oxfam, bil-lionaires' wealth has risen moresince COVID-19 began than ithas in the last 14 years. At USD5 trillion, this is the biggestsurge in billionaire wealth sincerecords began. A one-off99 per cent tax on the ten rich-est men's pandemic windfalls,for example, could pay to makeenough vaccines for the world;to provide universal health-care and social protection, fundclimate adaptation and reducegender-based violence in over80 countries; while still leavingthese men USD 8 billion betteroff than they were before thepandemic.

"Billionaires have had a ter-rific pandemic. Central bankspumped trillions of dollars intofinancial markets to save theeconomy, yet much of that hasended up lining the pockets ofbillionaires riding a stock mar-ket boom. Vaccines were meantto end this pandemic, yet richgovernments allowed pharmabillionaires and monopolies tocut off the supply to billions of

people," said Bucher.She alleged that the world's

response to the pandemic hasunleashed this economic vio-lence particularly acutely acrossracialised, marginalised andgendered lines.

"As COVID-19 spikes thisturns to surges of gender-basedviolence, even as yet moreunpaid care is heaped uponwomen and girls," Bucher said.

The study showedthat the pandemic has set gen-der parity back from 99 years tonow 135 years. Womencollectively lost USD 800 billionin earnings in 2020, with 1.3crore fewer women in worknow than there were in 2019.252 men have more wealth thanall one billion women and girlsin Africa and Latin Americaand the Caribbean combined.

It further said that the pan-demic has hit racialised groupshardest.

During the second wave ofthe pandemic in England, peo-ple of Bangladeshi origin werefive times more likely to die ofCOVID-19 than the WhiteBritish population. Black peo-ple in Brazil are 1.5 times morelikely to die from COVID-19than White people. In the US,34 lakh Black Americans wouldbe alive today if their lifeexpectancy was the same asWhite people, according toOxfam. PTI

New Delhi: Coal MinisterPralhad Joshi on Mondaylaunched a new rehabilitationand resettlement (R&R) policyof NLC India NSE 5.05 % Ltd(NLCIL) and stressed that com-pensation to the affected vil-lagers will be based on the fairand transparent process. TheMinister said the new policy hasprovisions for enhanced ameni-ties to the project-affected fam-ilies.

The Minister, who virtual-ly launched the new R&R pol-icy applicable to the land own-ers of the NLCIL mines area,lauded the efforts of the PSUand the Tamil Nadu govern-ment in framing a flexible reha-bilitation policy with multipleoptions available to the affect-ed people.

The Minister said NLCIndia Ltd, a Navratna public sec-tor enterprise under the UnionMinistry of Coal, has beenplaying a pivotal role in ensur-ing the country's energy secu-rity during the past six decadesof performance. Addressingthe function virtually,Minister of State for Coal,Mines and RailwaysRaosaheb Patil Danve saidthat besides benefitting thevillagers, the policy will leadto a further rise in energyproduction by NLCIL.

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New Delhi: In the wake ofCovid-19 and new digital oper-ations, banking and financialinstitutions have been strug-gling to deal with an increasingnumber of fraud incidents andthe trend is expected to con-tinue, a Deloitte India surveysaid on Monday.

Key reasons identified forthe increase in fraud incidentsover the next two years includelarge-scale remote workingmodels, increase in customersusing non-branch bankingchannels and the limited/inef-fective use of forensic analyticstools to identify potential redflags, Deloitte ToucheTohmatsu India LLP (DTTL)said in a release.

About the survey, Deloittesaid it gathered the views of 70key C-suite stakeholders/senior management responsi-ble for compliance and fraudrisk management, audit/finance, asset recovery fromvaried financial institutionsbased in India. Banks andfinancial institutions which

participated in the surveyincluded private, public, for-eign, co-operative and region-al rural banks in India.

"In the wake of COVID-19and new digital operations,banking and financial institu-tions have been struggling todeal with an increasing num-ber of fraud incidents," theDeloitte India Banking FraudSurvey said, adding "this trendis expected to continue, with 78per cent respondents statingthat frauds could increase overthe next two years".

As per the survey findings,retail banking was identified asa major contributor to fraudincidents, with 53 per cent ofrespondents indicating thatthey had experienced morethan 100 fraud incidents (overthe last two years) - a 29 percent rise since the previous edi-tion.

Similarly, the non-retailsegment saw an average of 20fraud incidents, highlighted by56 per cent of survey respon-dents - again, a 22 per centrise. PTI

New Delhi: Germany's cash-and-carry major Metro AG onMonday said it is bullish on itsIndia business and continues toexpand store and e-commercefootprint, amid reports that itis reviewing whether to con-tinue its operations in India.

While declining to com-ment on its future in India,stressing that Metro regularlyassesses its international port-folio, a company spokespersonsaid the Metro India businessis doing well.

"At Metro, we regularlyassess our international port-folio. METRO India business isdoing well and we have seen abig jump (more than 57 percent) in our Ebitda for FY21 vsFY20," said a Metro spokesper-son.Ebitda stands for earningsbefore interest, tax, deprecia-tion and amortisation. PTI

New Delhi: India's sugar exports during October-Decemberperiod jumped nearly four-fold to 17 lakh tonnes on higherdemand from overseas, according to industry body ISMA.

So far, 38-40 lakh tonnes have been contracted by millsfor exports. Mills are now waiting for global prices toimprove for further contracts. Sugar marketing year runsfrom October to September. "As per market reports and portinformation, about 17 lakh tonnes of sugar have been physi-cally exported during the period October to December' 2021,"ISMA said in a statement.

During the same period in the previous year, about 4.5lakh tonnes of sugar were exported. Further, ISMA said itis reported that about 7 lakh tonnes of sugar is in pipeline forexport this month. "Amid news of expectedly better upcom-ing season 2022-23 (April – March) in CS Brazil, the globalprice of raw sugar has fallen further and is currently reelingat an over 5-month low at around 18 cents/pound," ISMA said.

According to the association, Indian mills are waiting forthe opportune time and are in no hurry to enter into furtherexport contracts, beyond 38–40 lakh tonnes already been signedso far. PTI

New Delhi: Enterprises areheavily focusing on cost savings,reducing supplier risks, andimproving governance andcompliance in their procure-ment and supply chain process-es. It is expected that by 2025,about 80 per cent of suppliermanagement will be done out-side of the enterprise ERP, andover 50 per cent of contracts willbe automatically reviewed viatechnology, thereby minimisinganomalies or errors significant-ly.

While enterprises adoptseveral cost-cutting pro-grammes, they struggle withscaling these initiatives, giventhat the teams are dispersed andvery thin. Enterprises are there-fore heavily investing in digitaltools and technologies to driveagility and good process gover-nance while ensuring processconsistency, said SrividyaKannan, founder and director,Avaali Solutions Pvt Ltd.

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In India, glaucoma is the lead-ing cause of irreversible blind-ness with nearly 12 millionpeople affected and nearly 1.2

million people blind from the dis-ease. According to the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO), glau-coma is the second leading cause ofblindness in the world. Glaucomacan affect people of every age how-ever, the risk of the disease increas-es with age. Glaucoma happens tobe a common eye condition thataffects the optic nerves of the eyes.These optic nerves are responsiblefor carrying information from theeye to the brain to get it processed.Thus, when the optic nerves getdamaged, it leads to vision loss, andin severe cases, irreversible visionimpairment. Unfortunately, thereare plenty of misconceptions sur-rounding the disease that can leavepatients misinformed.5 of the most common glaucoma myths

Glaucoma only affects the elderlyWhile it is certainly true that

people above the age of 60 havegreater chances of developing glau-coma as compared to people intheir 40s, it can also affect peopleaged 20-50 as well as infants. Forinstance, some babies can haveglaucoma by birth (called congen-ital glaucoma), while other childrenhave other eye diseases that lead tosecondary glaucoma.

The same is true for adults—one can have an eye condition, forexample, uveitis, diabetes whichresults in secondary glaucoma.

Other types of glaucoma can oftenmanifest in patients between ages 20and 50 like pigmentary glaucoma.

Symptoms are visible during theearly onset of glaucoma

Open-angle glaucoma, whichis the most common form of glau-coma, doesn't exhibit any signs orsymptoms until the later stageswhen vision loss sets in. Eventhough people may think that theincreased eye pressure causes pain,it doesn't. Also, as peripheralvision is generally first compro-mised very slowly, one may notrecognize vision loss until thevision has become significantlyimpaired. The only way to detectglaucoma is to undergo a compre-hensive eye exam.

Glaucoma can’t be preventedRoutine and regular eye exams

can certainly aid in the preventionof glaucoma related blindness.While it is true that vision loss dueto glaucoma can’t be reversed, hav-ing regular eye exams by an oph-thalmologist that include measure-ments of the eye pressure can cer-tainly go a long way in preventingblindness due to disease. Accordingto the Glaucoma Experts, it isimportant to have an exam everytwo years beginning at age 40 ifthere are no glaucoma risk factors,and every one year if one is at highrisk or over 65.

Glaucoma testing can be painfulTesting for glaucoma is not at

all painful. There are different

types of tests for glaucoma. There'salso a test known as Goldmanapplanation tonometry wherepatients receive a painless eye dropin each eye. The ophthalmologistthen directs a blue light onto eacheye and looks into an instrumentthat precisely measures intraocu-lar pressure. This test is also quickand painless. Angle assessmentwith lenses called goniolens isvery important to differentiatebetween two most common glau-coma prevalent in Indian scenar-ios. Other tests include testing ofvisual field with perimeter, andscanning of the optic nerve withimaging technology.

Glaucoma is inheritedCertain types of glaucoma are

hereditary, and a family history ofglaucoma is a risk factor no doubt.But there are many glaucomapatients who are the only ones intheir families who are diagnosedwith the disease.

It is also possible that there doesnot appear to be a strong family his-tory because not every familymember has been appropriatelyexamined. Thus, it is important thatpatients with glaucoma shouldshare their diagnosis with theirfamily members and ask them tohave a dilated eye examination.

Stop believing in the myths sur-rounding glaucoma and work withyour eye doctor to preserve andprotect your eye health. Glaucomacannot be cured but definitely theblindness due to glaucoma can beprevented if early diagnosis.

The number of patientsdiagnosed with arthri-tis increases during the

winter. It's defined as theswelling of one or morejoints, with joint discomfortbeing the most commonsymptom, which often getsworse as you get older. Thetwo most common types ofarthritis are osteoarthritisand rheumatoid arthritis.

Knee PainChronic knee pain is

caused by a lack of ligamentin the knee bone and bonewear. Knee discomfort ismore common in adults overthe age of 50. People who areoverweight have a higherrisk of developing this con-dition. It is an illness that willbe passed down through thegenerations. Women aremore likely to have this con-dition as compared to men.

Joints stiffnessIn chilly conditions,

muscle spasms are moreprone to occur, resulting ingreater joint discomfort and

stiffness. Cold weatherdecreases blood circulation inthe fingers and toes, exacer-bating arthritic discomfort.Low temperatures can causethe joint fluid to thicken,making the joints stiff anddifficult to move. Vitamin Dlevels drop as a result of lesssunlight throughout the win-ter, which can lead to brittlebones and joints.

Prevent arthritis painVitamin D: Joint dis-

comfort might worsen inthe winter due to a lack ofsunlight, which reduces thebody's ability to synthesisevitamin D. It is thereforeimportant to take adequatesunlight even during thewinters. If you intend to takeVitamin D capsules, makesure to consult your doctorfirst.

Exercise on a regularbasis: During the winter, peo-ple's fitness regimens tend tostall. This can not only causeyou to gain weight, but it canalso lead to other problems.

Consult your doctor beforebeginning a fitness pro-gramme to alleviate the painof arthritis. Make it a point toexercise for at least 30-40minutes every day. In addi-tion, get a good night's sleepof around 8 hours per day.

Dress warmly: Dressappropriately with extra lay-ers of clothing to keep your-self protected. Sitting on a

chilly floor is not recom-mended by doctors becauseit may aggravate the pain.Avoid taking the stairs aswell, as it puts additionalstrain on your joints. Even ifyou're at home, don't walkaround without warm socks.Woollen socks should alwaysbe worn to protect your feet.Use hot water to relievearthritis pain.

Healthy diet: Try to eatmore fruits and vegetablesthan you normally dothroughout the year.Consume only fresh fruitsand vegetables. Vitamin B12,found in eggs, yoghurt, andmany types of fish, has beenshown to help lower homo-cysteine levels.Homocysteine levels in theblood have been linked to anincreased risk of developingcardiovascular complications.

Similarly, vitamin B6may aid in the reduction ofjoint inflammation. Carrots,spinach, sweet potatoes, andbananas are just a few of the

many common vitamin B6-rich foods. If you're thinkingabout taking vitamins orsupplements, talk to a doctorfirst because everyone's needsare different.

It is also critical to avoidalcohol and refined sugarswhile following a healthydiet. If these things are con-sumed in large quantitiesduring the winter, it canaggravate the pain.

Stay hydrated: Waterconsumption decreases dur-ing the winter. This cancause issues for arthritispatients. Drinking enoughwater is critical for yourbody's proper functioning.Being adequately hydratedmay help regulate your bodytemperature, aid digestion,and boost your immunesystem, among other things.

Furthermore, the extrawalks to the bathroom as aresult of drinking morewater are an easy way to adda little more movement toyour day.

RADISH: Antioxidantsincluding catechin, pyrogallol,vanillic acid, and other pheno-lic compounds are abundantin radishes. Vitamin C, whichfunctions as an antioxidant toprotect your cells from dam-age, is high in these rootvegetables. Chemicalcompounds found inradishes, such asglucosinolate andisothiocyanate,can helpmanageb l o o dsugar lev-els. Radishes include indole-

3-carbinol and 4-methylthio-3-butenyl-isothiocyanate,among other chemicals, which

assist the liverdetoxify andrecover. These

same mole-cules aid inthe elimi-

nation of toxinsvia the kidneys.

Antioxidants and min-erals like calcium and potas-

sium abound in radishes.These nutrients work togeth-er to lower blood pressure andlower the risk of heart dis-eases.

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Lungs play an important role in our body hence it is necessaryto prioritize lung health. Very often we tend to take them forgranted; however, like other parts of the body, they age with

time. They lose their strength and become less flexible which resultsin breathing difficulty.

While our body does protect the lungs by keeping dirt andgerms at bay, we can maintain the health of our lungs and reducethe risk of lung disease by adopting certain healthy habits.

Stay away from smokingNever smoke and stay away from secondhand smoke as well.

Smoking is known to be a leading cause of lung cancer and lungdiseases like COPD. Furthermore, it is never too late to quit smok-ing as lungs begin to heal almost immediately once a person quitsthe butt. The risk of acquiring lung cancer reduces to almost halfto that of a current smoker, ten years after quitting smoking.

Control your exposure to pollutantsAvoid exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants as it can dam-

age your lungs and accelerate aging. Lungs can easily stay strongagainst toxins when they are young and strong, however, with age,they are more susceptible for the damage and become more vul-nerable to the disease.Its best to reduce exposure to outdoor pol-lutants as much as possible including:

�Avoid being out ofhome during peak air pollu-tion times.

�Avoid exercising nearheavy traffic.

�Take possible safetyprecautions when exposedto pollutants at work.

�Wear a mask whenev-er and wherever possible tofilter out toxic particles.

Indoor air pollution isreported to be worse thanoutdoor, take adequate stepsto reduce indoor air pollu-tion such as:

�Keep your homes asclean as possible to keepdust, mold and other pollu-tants away.

�Make use of naturalproducts to clean the house.Keeping your home smoke-

free is equally important to avoid secondhand smoke exposure.�Avoid exposure to biomass which is commonly seen in rural

areas. Use LPG or natural gas instead. Use masks wherever expo-sure is unavoidable.

�Ensure appropriate ventilation inside homes.�Avoid exposure to chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde

found in synthetic air fresheners, perfumes and joss sticks (agar-batti).

Regular exerciseExercise plays an important role. Staying active keeps your lungs

healthy and even improves the symptoms of some long-term lungconditions.

Do any form of exercise like walking, jogging or hitting thegym for a minimum of 30 minutes, five days a week to create strong,healthy lungs. However, if you have pre-existing breathing prob-lems, make sure to talk to your concerned healthcare profession-al. In these cases specific exercises are required to relieve breath-lessness.

Prevent infectionsAs we age, any lung infection can be dangerous. It is a com-

mon cause of death in elderly. There are certain steps which canbe taken to avoid serious lung infection. Keep your hands cleanby washing them regularly with soap and avoid touching your face.Avoid crowded places, take appropriate precautions in social gath-erings and stay away from sick people. Staying hydrated when sickhelps your lungs to work better. It is important to visit a health-care professional as soon as possible, in case one has fever, Chestpain and phlegm.

Get vaccinatedAll individuals with age more than 65 years should receive a

pneumococcal vaccine, people who have other comorbidities cantake it earlier. Everyone with a pre-existing lung condition or hasa high risk of developing complicated flu should receive flu shotevery year.

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Build a good sleep habitThe New year is the perfect time to

resolve to develop proper sleep hygiene.Not only does it keep you well rested, get-ting a good night of sleep is beneficial forboth your hair and skin. As you sleep, yourbody boosts blood flow to the skin, pre-venting it from sagging and giving ahealthy glow. Lack of sleep can also causehair loss, breakage, damage, and affectshair growth. 7 to 9 hours of sleep every daycan help you develop a radiant complex-ion.

Vitamin E intake is VitalTraditionally, festive seasons especial-

ly New Year's Eve is all about gettingdecked up and feasting. Well, make-up maygive you the glam look, but there arechances that your skin may end up look-ing dull if you have not maintained a bal-anced and healthy diet. For a solution thatworks from the inside to renew your lookon the outside, include a daily dose ofVitamin E. Though Vitamin E is widelyavailable in everyday foods, you can alsostrengthen the cellular health of your skinand hair by adding Vitamin E supplementslike Evion® Forte to your daily routine. Thenatural antioxidants work at the cellularlevel to repair, restore, and revive your cells,thus, protecting your skin from damageand supporting the microcirculation andoxygenation of the scalp. Its anti-inflam-matory properties can protect your skinfrom the harsh effects of the sun.

Sun and Heat SafetyExternal stresses cause your body to

produce free radicals that attack collagen,the protein that allows your skin to stayyoung and beautiful. This imbalancecaused by free radicals is known as oxida-tive stress. It damages and weakens yourskin cells, which leaves your skin lookingtired and worn out. Having a skincare rou-tine becomes even more important duringthis time. Likewise, hair damage—hair thatis thin, brittle, dull, or flat—can result frommany factors, including environmental fac-tors like UV radiation and pollution.Make sure you prep your tresses with agood heat protectant. The key to havingstrong and glossy hair, perfect for your newyear avatar is combining good hair carewith healthy habits.

Hydrate and Nourish your bodyThe more hydrated you stay, the fewer

wrinkles and improved complexion you'llsee. Drinking enough water can help youcombat a variety of skin issues and give youglowing skin. A hydrated body also resultsin hair growth as it reduces dryness in thescalp and promotes the growth of hair fromthe roots. Let's not forget the importanceof nourishment to your body. A healthybody and mind require consuming adaily dose of nutrients, including vitaminsand minerals. One of the easiest ways toensure youthful skin and rejuvenated hairis by incorporating Vitamin E-rich foodsinto your diet. *���-�������)��?��"�G)�"���H�*��������!!���G���"������������ �����H�.� ���?������ ��"�

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India’s first automatically adjustable, TheMiniMed™ 780G system which is the world’s

first Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop (AHCL)system, was successfully delivered and fixed ona 7-year-old boy with type 1 Diabetes at DrMohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, one of thehealthcare groups in Asia devoted to the treat-ment of Diabetes and its complications. Thepatient recently diagnosed with type 1 Diabetesis the first one to get the advanced and auto-mated insulin pump fixed in India. Medtronic’sMiniMedTM 780G made its first ever launchin India, at the hands of Dr V Mohan,Chairman & Consultant Diabetologist, DrMohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre.

Commenting on the first successful deliv-ery of the device, Dr V Mohan said, “It’sextremely difficult to manage blood sugar lev-els in children and teenagers with Type 1 dia-betes because of their high activity levels, con-stantly fluctuating hormones and ongoinggrowth and development. The 7-year-old boywho was recently diagnosed with type 1 dia-betes, was also struggling with blood sugar con-trol with several high sugar and low sugarepisodes. The device automatically adjusts andcorrects insulin levels 24/7, every 5 minutes, asneeded. It also anticipates insulin needs andadjusts insulin delivery, while also correctinghighs automatically and protecting from lows.”

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Apparao Gallery’s exposition ofSohan Qadri’s works on

paper, on the TAP India platform,has about it the feel and expres-sion of an artist who delighted increating works in solitude. Qadri,the poet and Tantric guru, was aninternationally acclaimed artistwho was deeply engaged withspirituality and yoga. The famedart critic Donald Kuspit hailedQadri to be "the pre-eminentaesthetic mystic of modernism."

These works on paperembrace your being like tableausof luminous colour and viscosity;they also recall the lush palette oflife in the rustic villages of India.Qadri, who in an interview atKumar Gallery, told me “I am adot’, abandoned abstract represen-tation in his search for transcen-dence. These works have aboutthem an evanescent grace of afloating object.

Qadri’s process of using paperand dye was unique and rare interms of artistic exploration. Hewould bathe the paper in liquidand carve it in several stageswhile he applied inks and dyeswith a brush. These works are atonce imbued with vibrant andsubtle hues. Qadri’s greatestinsignia with the paper was theserrated surfaces that had aboutthem an aura of energy andresilient rhythm. In the hands ofQadri, the seer and the thinker,the very nature of paper would betransformed into a three-dimen-sional medium.

His many years in the Westgave him a practise and deeperunderstanding of abstraction thanmost Indian artists, who merelythink it is representation. Forhim, the swathes of colour, deepfolds and hints of a tiny dotsomewhere in its domain hadabout it a spiritual fervour bothrare and unseen. Most of his col-lectors were Europeans whounderstood the dynamics ofdesign and often said he wasIndia’s Rothko.

The largest number of Qadri’sshows were held by Kumar

Gallery in Delhi and SundaramTagore in New York. There is atranquil coexistence of binaryopposites in Qadri’s work — maleand female, known and unknown,

physical and spiritual. It is morethan a literal translation of thesymbols of Oriental philosophy.When Qadri paints, he explains,“First I empty my mind of allimages. They dissolve into pri-mordial space. Only emptinessthat I feel should communicatewith the emptiness of the canvas."

Born into a Hindu-Sikh fam-ily, Qadri’s art was deeply influ-enced by a spiritual journey thatbegan at a young age. He was ini-tiated into yogic practice at theage of seven. As a teenager, he ranaway to a Tibetan Buddhistmonastery in search of highertruth. He spent days on end inremote temples in the Himalayasand Tibet. The isolation, he expe-rienced at that time, was one ofhis influences to paint. Later inlife, he became fascinated withSufism and Vajrayana Buddhism,which became potent sources ofinspiration for later works.

The exhibition can beviewed at www.theartplatfor-

mindia.com

The National Gallery of ModernArt, New Delhi celebrated

Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav withKala Kumbh — artist workshops forpainting scrolls measuring approx-imately 750 metres, representing thetales of valour of unsung heroes ofIndia’s freedom movement.

These scrolls analyse the poten-tial of art as a means to expressnational pride and excellence withvaried forms of art from diversegeographical locations of the coun-try. The celebration of the trueessence of Ek Bharat Shresth Bharatwas visible in these workshopswhere the rich diversity of ourcountry in its cultural aspects waswitnessed while portraying theheroic lives and struggles of unsungheroes of India’s freedom move-ment. These have been diligentlyresearched upon and painted enthu-siastically by more than 500 artistsspread over two locations, Odishaand Chandigarh.

Aligning with the flagship pro-gramme of the Ministry of Culture,the aspect of collaborations and col-lective work has been outlined inthese workshops. At Odisha , theNational Gallery of Modern Art,New Delhi collaborated withKalinga Institute of Technologyand Silicon Institute of Technologyin Bhubaneswar between December11 and 17 and, at Chandigarh, thecollaboration was done withChitkara University from December25 to January 2.

Kala Kumbh-Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav reflects the essence ofunity in diversity while also com-memorating 75 years of India andthe glorious history of its people,culture and its achievements. Thescrolls painted in these workshopsmay be seen as an embodiment ofall that is progressive about India’ssocio-cultural identity which hasbeen imparted prominence on thelarge scale scrolls as per the artis-tic vision of Adwait Garanayak,director-general, NGMA and men-tored by eminent senior artists.

Ten gigantic scrolls of approx-imately 750 metres portray thetales of valour and the legacy of the

unsung heroes of India’s freedomstruggle. Inspiration has also beendrawn from the creative illustra-tions in the Constitution of Indiawherein the artistic elements paint-ed by Nandalal Bose and his teamhave imparted a distinctive appealalong with several representationsfrom the indigenous arts of India.These represent and showcase therich cultural heritage of India alongwith the insights of struggles under-taken by the unsung heroes forachieving India’s freedom.

At Bhubaneswar, the narrativeshave reflected the tales of valourand historical elements of India’s

movement of freedom strugglefocusing on Odisha, Bihar,Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal,northeastern parts of India andAndhra Pradesh with artisticexpressions reflecting the indige-nous forms of art such asPattachitra, Talapatra Chitra,Manjusa, Madhubani and JaduPatua to name a few.

At Chandigarh, the narrativeshave been a reflection of the talesof valour of unsung heroes fromLadakh, Jammu, Kashmir, UttarPradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab,Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan withartistic expressions reflecting theindigenous forms of art such asPhad, Pichwai, Miniature,Kalamkari, Mandana, Thangka andWarli.

Students visited both venues.NCC cadets have also witnessed thecreative representations of India’sunsung heroes of freedom struggleat Chandigarh. Lt Gen DevendraSharma, SM, Chief of Staff, HQWestern Command, Lt Col AbhinavNavneet, PRO (Defence), DPR,Major D P Singh (Retd) along withother officials from the Ministry ofDefence also visited the workshopat Chandigarh

The closing ceremony ofKalakumbh- Azadi ka AmritMahotsav at Chandigarh was gracedby Banwari Lal Purohit, GovernorPunjab and Administrator of UTChandigarh and at Bhubaneshwarby Member of Parliament, DrAchutya Samanta who is also thefounder of KIIT and KISS. Series ofcultural programs were held in theevenings during these workshops,reflecting upon the rich traditionsof folk and indigenous performingarts of India in collaboration withEastern Zonal Cultural Centre andNorthern Zonal Cultural Centre.

In the next phase, these scrollswill be placed artistically at Rajpathfor the celebrations of Republic Day.The strategic location of thesescrolls would serve as an opengallery for all the citizens and it isintended to inspire people about therich national heritage and legacy ofBharat in its true sense.

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Defending championsBangladesh suffered a

seven-wicket loss againstEngland in a lop-sided con-test to make a poor start totheir campaign at the ICC U-19 World Cup here.

Opting to bat,Bangladesh were bundledout for a paltry 97 byEngland, who then returnedto overhaul the target in25.1 overs.

England produced alethal bowling effort toreduce Bangladesh to 51 fornine in the 25th over atWarner Park in the Group Amatch.

No.11 Ripon Mondol hit33 not out in a spirited last-wicket stand of 46 withNaimur Rohman (11) todrag Bangladesh close to the100-mark.

Left-arm pacer JoshuaBoyden was the pick of thebowlers for England with fig-ures of four for 16, whileright-arm fast bowlerThomas Aspinwall scalpedtwo wickets, giving away 18runs.

Besides, Tom Prest (1/5),Fateh Singh (1/29) and JamesSales (1/29) took a wicketeach.

In reply, England lostopener George Thomas (15)and captain Tom Prest (4)but Jacob Bethell (44) andJames Rew (26 not out) puton 65 before the former wasrun out just shy of the finishline as England cruised tovictory.

Earlier, Bangladesh'sdecision to bat first backfired

as they lost wickets at regu-lar intervals and slumped to26 for five by the 14th over.

Bangladesh made a slowstart to their innings beforelosing their first wicket --Mahfijul Islam -- in the fifthover.

Bangladesh's strugglefrom the onset can be gaugedfrom the fact that only fourof their batters manageddouble digit scores, with lastman Mondal top-scoringwith a 41-ball unbeaten

knock which was studdedwith five boundaries andone six.

Chasing the total,England got off to a slightlynervy start as Bethell sur-vived a run-out scare whenSM Meherob could not gath-er the ball at the stumps withonly five on the board.

He survived a close lbwappeal off Ashiqur shortlyafter before opening partnerThomas began to up theante after a cautious start.

But having hit threefours, Thomas perished for15 when he miscued anoth-er attacking shot off Ripon toleave England 20 for one inthe ninth over.

That breakthrough gaveBangladesh a small glim-mer of hope but when theEnglish captain Prest nickedone behind off his counter-part Rakibul for four soonafter, the game was verymuch on.

However, Rew joinedhands with Bethell andtogether they battedsuperbly, counteracting theBangladesh spin attack toalleviate any potentialEnglish nerves.

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Ireland achieved a historicseries win over the West

Indies after winning theirdeciding one-day interna-tional by two wickets atSabina Park.

The 2-1 come-from-behind series victory fromthe third ODI gave Irelanda first ODI series win awayfrom home against a fullmember.

This also was only itssecond series win against afull member, afterZimbabwe at home in 2019.

After bowling out theWest Indies for 212 inside45 overs, Ireland reached awinning 214-8 in the 45th.

It was a remarkable endto a COVID-19-disruptedtwo-nation tour whichbegan with Ireland's ownhistoric loss to a hostingUnited States in a Twenty20.

An over-eager WilliamPorterfield was lost to thefirst ball of Ireland's chaseon Sunday but the battingwas mainly patient andpractical.

The poised top orderdid its job. Stand-in captainPaul Stirling, droppedbefore he scored by JasonHolder in the slips, made 44off 38 balls with five bound-aries and a six. Stirling wasout at 73-2. No. 3 batterAndy McBrine, after takingfour wickets, scored 59 off100 balls before he edgedbehind. He was out at 152-3 and eventually given a sec-ond straight man of thematch award. That alsoearned him man of theseries. His offspin earned 10of the West Indies' 30 wick-ets in the series.

No. 4 Harry Tectornotched a third half-centu-ry in three matches with his52 off 76 balls. Tector lift-ed Ireland to the brink ofvictory when he was out at197-6 in the 42nd over.

Two wickets in threeballs by Akeal Hoseinadded some late drama,but tailender Craig Youngcompleted Ireland's tri-umph with a boundary forthe match and series with5.1 overs to spare. The WestIndies won the first ODI bydefending 269 runs, lostthe second on Thursdayafter making 229.

���� ,����)��

The first test of NaomiOsaka's new approach

to tennis might have beenwhen she completelywhiffed an overhead togive her opponent a breakpoint on Day 1 of the no-Novak-Djokovic AustralianOpen.

Osaka didn't chuck herracket. She didn't roll hereyes. She smiled.

“There are situationswhere I previously wouldget upset. But at this pointin my life, like, I'm herebecause I want to be hereand because I find that it'sfun for me,” Osaka said.

“Might as well enjoy itwhile I still can.”

In Osaka's mind, thedrama involving nine-timechampion Djokovic'sdeportation on the eve ofthe Australian Open was

something for the playersin the men's draw to worryabout. Her title defensebegan smoothly enough:She won the first five gameson the way to a 6-3, 6-3 vic-tory over Camila Osorio onthe main court.

With so much atten-tion on the 11-day saga ofDjokovic's attempt to par-ticipate in the year's firstGrand Slam tournament,and bid for a fourth consec-utive title at MelbournePark, the returns of Osakaand Rafael Nadal have been

overshadowed. Osaka wasn't bothered

by that. Nadal didn't seemto be put off by it, either,renewing his bid for arecord 21st Grand Slamsingles title with a 6-1, 6-4,6-2 win over Marcos Giron.

“Growing up, I'velooked up to him,” saidGiron, a 28-year-old fromthe U.S.

“He's one of theabsolute legends of thegame.” Nadal is tiedwith Djokovic and RogerFederer with 20 major sin-

gles titles each, the most inthe history of men's tennis.With Djokovic unable todefend his crown inMelbourne because he did-n't meet Australia's strictCOVID-19 vaccination cri-teria, the door is slightlymore ajar to Nadal.

Osaka's main concern,meanwhile, is winning afifth major title, and herthird at the AustralianOpen.

“To be completely hon-est, it didn't really affectme,” Osaka said about whatwent on with Djokovic.

“My goal, like evenbefore this whole situa-tion, is to just focus onmyself more, what I need todo to become better.

“Me, I'm a tennis play-er. I'll focus on my match-es. You as, I guess, an audi-ence, focus on whatever isin the news, no?”

�� �� ��)��G������9) �H

India pace spearhead JaspritBumrah on Monday said heis not averse to leading the

national team if an opportunitycomes knocking at his door inthe near future.

With Virat Kohli's captaincytenure in all formats coming toan end following his resignationfrom Test leadership, there arequestions about who could be hislong-term successor consideringthat Rohit Sharma will be 35 nextyear. "If given an opportunity, itwill be an honour and I don't seeany player (who) would say noand I am no different," Bumrah,who is KL Rahul's deputy for theODI series against South Africa,replied to a query from PTI in apress conference ahead of thethree-match rubber startingWednesday. "Be it any leadershipgroup, I always look to contributehowever I can, to the best of myabilities," he added.

Bumrah said taking respon-sibility and helping teammatescomes naturally to him.

"I look at this situation in thesame manner...Taking responsi-bility and talking to players andhelping them out has alwaysbeen my approach and it will

always be my approach goingfurther keeping any situation inmind."

The India pace spearheadbelieves that there would be notangible change in his rolealthough he is the vice-captainnow. "Having post or not does-n't matter. I always focus on howI can contribute," he said.

"For me, the role doesn'tchange at all. I have to do my jobfirst, isn't it? Trying to con-tribute as much as I can and thenhelping KL if he needs any assis-tance on the field and sharing abowler's mindset on what kindof fields you can keep that Ialways look to do," Bumrah said.

In fact, he has dome all thisand more even when he wasn'tanointed the vice-captain.

"Even when I am not vice-captain, I try to talk to some ofthe younger guys, have a lot ofdiscussions on what kind offields that need to be set and thesame role I will try to do thatagain as well.

"No specific role or addedpressure I am going to take. Yes,helping KL in any way possibleand trying to keep a calm head."

New Team Management?"Change is the only constant"

The Indian team manage-

ment, following Virat Kohli'scomplete exit from captaincyroles across formats, bears anew look but Bumrah doesn't see"anything weird" and believesthat one needs to respect the newset-up that's in place and startmoving ahead.

"I can't speak for everyonebut I can say that for me, it does-n't really make much of a differ-ence. I am here to help all inwhatever way I can. All theplayers are responding to thechanges that have and everybodyis respectful and understandhow the processes are going."

"Change is the only constantand we are happy everybody iscontributing and we are getting(acquiring) a lot of knowledgeand trying to contribute to that.I don't think anybody is facing aproblem or is in a weird spacewith the change that is happen-ing," Bumrah spoke for himself.

Acceptance is key and that'swhat Bumrah expects fromeveryone. "Everybody under-stands change and have playedenough cricket to understandthat this is the way the game goesand this is how you move for-ward. So everyone in the team isquite positive and eager to con-tribute."

�� �� ��������

India's white ball captainRohit Sharma is recovering

well from his left hamstringinjury and has a bright chanceof making a comeback for thesix-match home white-ballseries against the West Indiesnext month.

Rohit, who was also thedesignated Test vice-captainfor the tour of South Africa,sustained a left-hamstringstrain during a net session justprior to the team's departurefor the tour and had to pull out.

He was subsequently alsoforced to skip the ODIs inSouth Africa, starting thisWednesday, as he couldn'tattain full fitness before theselection committeeannounced the team.

"Rohit's rehabilitation atthe National Cricket Academyis going pretty well. He is

expected to be okay for theWest Indies series.

It's still close to three weeksfrom now before the first ODIis played in Ahmedabad fromFebruary 6," a BCCI sourceprivy to developments toldPTI on conditions of anonymi-ty.

The series against the WestIndies comprises three ODIsand as many T20Internationals. The one-dayerswill be played February 6 to 12,followed by T20Is fromFebruary 15 to 20

.For Rohit, the hamstringhas been a recurrent problemwhich also forced him to missthe first two Test matches aswell as the white-ball leg of thetour of Australia in 2020-21.

He did make a comebackfor the final two Tests afterserving a two-week hard quar-antine in Sydney for the lasttwo Test matches.

���� ,��)�

Real Madrid won't be going a sec-ond consecutive season without

a title.After failing to lift a trophy

under Zinedine Zidane last season,Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid securedthe Spanish Super Cup with a 2-0win over Athletic Bilbao on Sundayin Saudi Arabia. Luka Modric andKarim Benzema scored a goal ineach half of the final as Madrid com-fortably defeated the defendingchampions to reinforce its status asthe top team in Spain this season.

Madrid has already beatenBarcelona twice — including in the

Super Cup semifinals — andAtlético Madrid once, and is morethan 15 points ahead of both rivalshalfway through the Spanish leagueseason. Ancelotti has also ledMadrid to the knockout stage of theChampions League.

Madrid went without a trophyfor the first time in more than adecade last season under Zidane.

“This is motivation for us tokeep going,” Ancelotti said.

“We have to keep competinglike this.” Madrid's 12th Super Cuptitle moves the club only one behindBarcelona, the competition's mostsuccessful team. Athletic was seek-ing its fourth Super Cup trophy.

It was Madrid's second SuperCup title since the competition wasmoved to Saudi Arabia in 2020. Ithad won the first edition of the tour-nament in the Middle East countryby beating Atlético in the final.

The Super Cup returned toSpain in 2021 because of the coro-navirus pandemic. The Spanishsoccer federation has had to defenditself from criticism from humanrights groups for its decision to playin Saudi Arabia in a deal reported-ly worth 30 million euros ($34 mil-lion) a year through 2029.

Athletic was seeking its secondconsecutive title after defeatingBarcelona in last year's final. It beat

Atlético in this year's semifinal in therevamped “Final Four” format.

Modric opened the scoringwith a curling shot into the top cor-ner after being set up by forwardRodrygo just inside the area in the38th minute. Benzema added to thelead by converting a 51st-minutepenalty kick after a handball deter-mined by video review. Athletic hada chance to move closer in the finalminutes but Madrid goalkeeperThibaut Courtois saved RaúlGarcía's penalty kick with his leftfoot. Madrid defender Éder Militãowas sent off for the handball thatprompted the penalty.

“We could have gotten back into

the game but Courtois ended ourchances with that save,” Athleticdefender Óscar de Marcos said.

“It's a shame but we have to beproud. It's not easy to make it tothese finals. We competed againstgreat teams.” Madrid's triumph gaveveteran Brazil defender Marcelo arecord-tying 23rd title with theclub since he arrived in 2006, join-ing Paco Gento. It moved himahead of former central defenderSergio Ramos, who is now withParis Saint-Germain. It is Marcelo'sfifth Spanish Super Cup title. Heentered the match as a substitute inthe 86th and lifted the trophy asteam captain.

���� ���

Novak Djokovic was heading home toSerbia on Monday after his deportation

from Australia over its required COVID-19vaccination ended the No. 1-ranked men's ten-nis player's hopes of defending his AustralianOpen title.

An Emirates plane carrying him fromAustralia landed in Dubai early Monday, andDjokovic was later seen on board a plane dueto land in the Serbian capital of Belgrade at12:10 CET. His lawyers had argued in anAustralian court on Sunday that he should beallowed to stay in the country and compete inthe tournament under a medical exemptiondue to a coronavirus infection last month.Djokovic has won nine Australian Open titles,including three in a row, and a total of 20 GrandSlam singles trophies, tied with rivals RogerFederer and Rafael Nadal for the most in thehistory of men's tennis. Federer is not playingwhile recovering from injury, and Nadal is theonly former Australian Open men's champi-on in the tournament that began Monday.

Djokovic's visa was initially canceled onJan. 6 by a border official who decided he did-n't qualify for a medical exemption fromAustralia's rules for unvaccinated visitors. Hewas exempted from the tournament's vaccinerules because he had been infected with thevirus within the previous six months.

He won an appeal to stay for the tourna-ment, but Australia's immigration minister laterrevoked his visa.

�� �� � ����

Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu willlook to recover from her unexpected semi-

final loss at the India Open and end her titledrought at the Syed Modi International, whichbegins here on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old from Hyderabad was wellon course to win her first title since the 2019World Championship triumph last week beforeleft-hander Supanida Katethong of Thailandshattered her hopes with a three-game win atthe India Open.

Sindhu, who had finished runner-up atSwiss Open and World Tour Finals last year, willhope to turn things around this week when shebegins her campaign against compatriot TanyaHemanth. The Indian will be itching to settlescores against Supanida, whom she is likely toface again at the semifinals at the BabuBanarasi Das Indoor Stadium here. Secondseeded Canadian Michelle Li, a CommonwealthGames silver medallist, will be one of the strongcontenders for the title in women's singles,which also has Polish eighth seed Jordan Hart,second seed Iris Wang of USA and Russia's fifthseed Evgeniya Kosetskaya.

Men's doubles pair of SatwiksairajRankireddy and Chirag Shetty has decided togive the Super 300 tournament a miss afterclaiming their maiden India Open Super 500crown. Lakshya Sen, who secured his maidenSuper 500 title at New Delhi on Sunday, alsois likely to follow suit after playing continuous-ly since October last year.

Among others, World Championships sil-ver medallist and top seed Kidambi Srikanthalso is unlikely to compete this week as he isundergoing seven-day mandatory quarantineafter withdrawing from the main draw last weekfollowing a positive COVID-19 result.

Third seed B Sai Praneeth, who had pulledout of India Open after testing positive, is alsoawaiting a RT-PCR test result, while AshwiniPonnappa and Manu Attri are yet to recoverfrom the virus and will miss the tournament.

Ashwini is part of the top seeded women'sdoubles pairing, while Manu and B SumeethReddy are seeded third in the men's doublesevent. On a comeback trail, former top-10player H S Prannoy gave a good account of him-self before being stopped by 20-year-old Sen inthe quarterfinals last week.

IF GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY, IT WILL BE ANHONOUR TO CAPTAIN INDIA: JASPRIT BUMRAH

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