4YZ_R SfZ]Ud gZ]]RXV Z_ µ2cf_RTYR]¶ - Daily Pioneer

12
E ven as the two countries on Thursday agreed to hold another round of military-level talks to restore peace in Ladakh, China has built a vil- lage inside Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh for use both by the troops and village folks. This is the second Chinese village to come up in/around the border State in the last few months. The fact that the second hamlet, with at least 60 dwelling units, is more than seven kilometres inside India has set alarm bells ringing in the Indian security establish- ment. The earlier report — which was also flagged by the Pentagon — about China set- ting up a village with 100 dwelling units, was refuted by India. New Delhi said the vil- lage had come up on a Chinese-controlled territory in 1959 itself. The second village picked up by satellite images is locat- ed about 90 kilometers east of the first village in Subansiri. It is situated north of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the eastern sector, sources said. The village came up in the last few months as the satellite images prior to that period for about a year do not show any hamlet in the region. The new enclave or ham- let as shown by satellite image providers Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs clearly show buildings and a Chinese flag to lay claim to the area. It is located in the Shi-Yomi district. In fact, President XI Jingping had visited a location close to this hamlet a few weeks back. When the Pentagon a few days back pointed out the exis- tence of the first village, India reacted sharply and said, ‘’China has undertaken con- struction activities in the past several years along the border areas, including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over the decades. India has nei- ther accepted such illegal occu- pation of our territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims.’’ Moreover, the Indian secu- rity establishment had then said the hamlet is in territory controlled by China. It was also clarified that the village with more than 100 dwelling units was built in the area under Chinese control since 1959. The Chinese forces overran an Assam Rifles post then and maintained an Army post since then. Last month, Eastern Army Command chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, told reporters visiting Arunachal Pradesh that China continued to construct “dual-use” border villages which can also be used to position soldiers. China’s policy of building up habitations along the LAC in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is a part of a multi-bil- lion dollar plan to ramp up infrastructure in the Tibet region. This includes the devel- opment of massive road and rail infrastructure to border towns and a plan to reported- ly build more than 600 fully developed villages in the region. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday warned high-profile economic offend- ers that they have no option but to return to the country, assert- ing that his Government is making all efforts to extradite them by using law and diplo- matic channels. “In our attempt to bring back fugitive (economic offenders), we relied on policies and law and also used diplo- matic channels. The message is very clear — return to your country. We are continuing these efforts,” he said. The PM was speaking at a symposium on credit flow and economic growth, where he asked banks to support wealth and job creators with proactive lending while promising to stand by any loans given in right earnest. The Centre has in recent times stepped up efforts to extradite high-profile economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, wanted in connection with bank frauds and money laundering cases. The PM also said the financial health of banks is now in a much-improved condition as his Government has since 2014 found ways to address the problems they faced. “Indian banks are strong enough to play a major role in imparting fresh energy to the country’s economy, for giving a big push and making India self-reliant,” he said. “This is a time for you to support wealth creators and job creators. It is the need of the hour that now the banks of India work proactively to bolster the wealth sheet of the country along with their balance sheets,” he asserted. Banks, Modi said, need to shed the culture of being an approver and the customer being an applicant, and adopt the model of partnership. I ndia and China held diplo- matic level talks on Thursday to resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The Ministry of External Affairs said here on Thursday the two sides recalled the agreement between the External Affairs Minister and the Foreign Minister of China during their meeting in September in Dushanbe that military and diplomatic offi- cials of the two sides should continue their discussions to resolve the stand-off. Accordingly, the two sides had in-depth discussions on the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of India- China Border Areas and also reviewed the developments since the last meeting of the Senior Commanders of both sides which was held on October 10. During the talks on Thursday, it was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objec- tive of complete disengage- ment from all the friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agree- ments and protocols. The diplomatic level talks were held under the aegis of the Working Mechanism for Co- ordination and Co-operation (WMCC). C laiming to have resolved the long pending issue of distribution of assets with Uttar Pradesh (UP) the Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that under- standing with UP on all the issues has been reached. CM Dhami met his UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Thursday. The duo held elabo- rate discussions on the long pending issue of settlement of assets. In the meeting of the CMs it was decided that the inaugu- ration of the new Alaknanda tourist bungalow in Haridwar would be done in December this year and the old bungalow would be simultaneously hand- ed over to Uttarakhand. It was decided that the land of the irri- gation department of UP in Kichha bus stand would be transferred to Uttarakhand in 15 days and the pending payment of Rs 90 crore of the forest department would be made to Uttarakhand. Permission of water sports would be given Dhora, Begul and Nanak Sagar reservoirs of Udham Singh Nagar district. It was decided that a joint survey for earmark- ing of required land and build- ings by the UP irrigation depart- ment out of the 5700 hectare of land and 1700 buildings of the irrigation department. The two sides decided to withdraw the cases filed in the courts and agreed to solve all the issues with mutual consent. In the meeting it was also decided that Banbasa barrage and Kichha barrage which are in a dilapidated condition due to the disaster would be con- structed by the irrigation depart- ment of UP. The transport cor- poration of UP would pay a sum of Rs 205 crore to Uttarakhand transport corporation and it was decided the income and lia- bilities of the assets of Uttar Pradesh Awas Vikas Parishad located in Uttarakhand would be equally distributed between the two states. Expressing his gratitude for UP CM Yogi Aditya Nath, Dhami said that an under- standing on all the issues pend- ing from the last 21 years has been reached and all of them would be resolved soon. He said that UP is the elder brother of Uttarakhand. The cabinet minister Yatishwaranand, chief secretary of UP R K Tiwari, CS of Uttarakhand S S Sandhu, Secretary Ranjit Sinha, chief engineer irrigation Mukesh Mohan and other senior officers of both states participated in the meeting.

Transcript of 4YZ_R SfZ]Ud gZ]]RXV Z_ µ2cf_RTYR]¶ - Daily Pioneer

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Even as the two countries onThursday agreed to hold

another round of military-leveltalks to restore peace inLadakh, China has built a vil-lage inside Indian territory inArunachal Pradesh for useboth by the troops and villagefolks. This is the secondChinese village to come upin/around the border State inthe last few months.

The fact that the secondhamlet, with at least 60dwelling units, is more thanseven kilometres inside Indiahas set alarm bells ringing inthe Indian security establish-ment. The earlier report —which was also flagged by thePentagon — about China set-ting up a village with 100dwelling units, was refuted byIndia. New Delhi said the vil-lage had come up on aChinese-controlled territory in1959 itself.

The second village pickedup by satellite images is locat-ed about 90 kilometers east ofthe first village in Subansiri. Itis situated north of the Line ofActual Control (LAC) in theeastern sector, sources said.

The village came up in the

last few months as the satelliteimages prior to that period forabout a year do not show anyhamlet in the region.

The new enclave or ham-let as shown by satellite imageproviders Maxar Technologiesand Planet Labs clearly showbuildings and a Chinese flag tolay claim to the area. It islocated in the Shi-Yomi district.In fact, President XI Jingpinghad visited a location close tothis hamlet a few weeks back.

When the Pentagon a fewdays back pointed out the exis-tence of the first village, Indiareacted sharply and said,‘’China has undertaken con-struction activities in the pastseveral years along the borderareas, including in the areasthat it has illegally occupiedover the decades. India has nei-ther accepted such illegal occu-pation of our territory nor hasit accepted the unjustifiedChinese claims.’’

Moreover, the Indian secu-rity establishment had thensaid the hamlet is in territorycontrolled by China. It was alsoclarified that the village withmore than 100 dwelling unitswas built in the area underChinese control since 1959.The Chinese forces overran an

Assam Rifles post then andmaintained an Army post sincethen.

Last month, Eastern ArmyCommand chief LieutenantGeneral Manoj Pande, toldreporters visiting ArunachalPradesh that China continued

to construct “dual-use” bordervillages which can also be usedto position soldiers.

China’s policy of buildingup habitations along the LACin Sikkim and ArunachalPradesh is a part of a multi-bil-lion dollar plan to ramp up

infrastructure in the Tibetregion. This includes the devel-opment of massive road andrail infrastructure to bordertowns and a plan to reported-ly build more than 600 fullydeveloped villages in theregion.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday warned

high-profile economic offend-ers that they have no option butto return to the country, assert-ing that his Government ismaking all efforts to extraditethem by using law and diplo-matic channels.

“In our attempt to bringback fugitive (economicoffenders), we relied on policiesand law and also used diplo-matic channels. The message isvery clear — return to yourcountry. We are continuingthese efforts,” he said.

The PM was speaking at asymposium on credit flow andeconomic growth, where heasked banks to support wealthand job creators with proactivelending while promising tostand by any loans given in

right earnest.The Centre has in recent

times stepped up efforts toextradite high-profile economicoffenders such as Vijay Mallyaand Nirav Modi, wanted inconnection with bank frauds

and money laundering cases.The PM also said the

financial health of banks is nowin a much-improved conditionas his Government has since2014 found ways to address theproblems they faced.

“Indian banks are strongenough to play a major role inimparting fresh energy to thecountry’s economy, for givinga big push and making Indiaself-reliant,” he said.

“This is a time for you tosupport wealth creators and jobcreators. It is the need of thehour that now the banks ofIndia work proactively to bolster the wealth sheet of the country along with their balance sheets,” he asserted.

Banks, Modi said, need toshed the culture of being anapprover and the customerbeing an applicant, and adoptthe model of partnership.

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India and China held diplo-matic level talks on Thursday

to resolve the remaining issuesalong the Line of ActualControl (LAC) in EasternLadakh.

The Ministry of ExternalAffairs said here on Thursdaythe two sides recalled theagreement between theExternal Affairs Minister andthe Foreign Minister of Chinaduring their meeting inSeptember in Dushanbe thatmilitary and diplomatic offi-cials of the two sides shouldcontinue their discussions toresolve the stand-off.

Accordingly, the two sideshad in-depth discussions onthe situation along the LAC inthe Western Sector of India-China Border Areas and alsoreviewed the developmentssince the last meeting of theSenior Commanders of bothsides which was held onOctober 10.

During the talks onThursday, it was agreed thatboth sides should hold thenext (14th) round of the SeniorCommanders meeting at anearly date to achieve the objec-tive of complete disengage-ment from all the friction

points along the LAC in theWestern Sector in accordancewith the existing bilateral agree-ments and protocols.

The diplomatic level talkswere held under the aegis of theWorking Mechanism for Co-ordination and Co-operation(WMCC).

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Claiming to have resolvedthe long pending issue of

distribution of assets with UttarPradesh (UP) the Uttarakhandchief minister Pushkar SinghDhami has said that under-standing with UP on all theissues has been reached. CMDhami met his UP counterpartYogi Adityanath in Lucknow onThursday. The duo held elabo-rate discussions on the longpending issue of settlement ofassets.

In the meeting of the CMsit was decided that the inaugu-ration of the new Alaknandatourist bungalow in Haridwarwould be done in December thisyear and the old bungalow

would be simultaneously hand-ed over to Uttarakhand. It wasdecided that the land of the irri-gation department of UP inKichha bus stand would betransferred to Uttarakhand in 15days and the pending paymentof Rs 90 crore of the forestdepartment would be made toUttarakhand. Permission ofwater sports would be givenDhora, Begul and Nanak Sagarreservoirs of Udham SinghNagar district. It was decidedthat a joint survey for earmark-ing of required land and build-ings by the UP irrigation depart-ment out of the 5700 hectare of

land and 1700 buildings of theirrigation department.

The two sides decided towithdraw the cases filed in thecourts and agreed to solve all theissues with mutual consent. Inthe meeting it was also decidedthat Banbasa barrage andKichha barrage which are in adilapidated condition due tothe disaster would be con-structed by the irrigation depart-ment of UP. The transport cor-poration of UP would pay a sumof Rs 205 crore to Uttarakhandtransport corporation and itwas decided the income and lia-bilities of the assets of UttarPradesh Awas Vikas Parishadlocated in Uttarakhand would beequally distributed between thetwo states.

Expressing his gratitude forUP CM Yogi Aditya Nath,Dhami said that an under-standing on all the issues pend-ing from the last 21 years hasbeen reached and all of themwould be resolved soon. He saidthat UP is the elder brother ofUttarakhand.

The cabinet ministerYatishwaranand, chief secretaryof UP R K Tiwari, CS ofUttarakhand S S Sandhu,Secretary Ranjit Sinha, chiefengineer irrigation MukeshMohan and other senior officersof both states participated in themeeting.

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The Municipal Corporationof Dehradun (MCD) has

started a campaign to checkdog owners without valid doglicenses to make the city rabies-free. The corporation hasassigned two teams to checkthe licenses of the owners dur-ing the early morning andevening when most of thelocals come out with theirdogs to take a stroll.

Since the last financialyear, the corporation has wit-nessed a substantial increase

in the number of dog licens-es. While the highest numberof dog licenses issued by theMCD in a year was only about500 till 2019, this numberincreased to over 4,000 licens-es in 2020. The corporationcollected revenue of over Rseight lakh which was hardlyRs one lakh in past years butit also increased the rabiesvaccination of dogs. Motivatedby this, the corporation evenintroduced an online regis-tration system in May for theowners to apply for the license and deposit the fee to

make the application processconvenient. "Increase in thenumber of dog licenses doesnot just signify the high rev-enue collection but alsoincreasing rabies vaccinationof dogs. Last year, 80 per centof owners of dogs registered inthe MCD vaccinated theirdogs days before applying forthe license. Since a valid rabiesvaccination certificate issuedby a veterinary is a mandato-ry document to get a doglicense, the owners have tovaccinate their dogs," statedthe senior municipal veteri-

nary officer Dr DC Tiwari. Hesaid that though the numberof licenses issued by MCD isincreasing, many owners stillfail to apply for the license.Considering this, Tiwari hasformed two teams to conductregular checking campaigns inthe early morning and eveningwhen most of the locals taketheir dogs for a stroll.

He said, "We are penalis-ing dog owners without licenses and alsofocusing on raising aware-ness. The team is imposing aminimum penalty of Rs 500initially which will increase toRs 5,000 if the dog owners failto get the licence even afterrepeated warnings." Tiwariinformed that the corporationhas imposed a penalty onabout 10 dog owners in twodays and also warned them toget the license within twoweeks.

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Himalayan Rhapsody, anexhibition of paintings by

Mumbai based artist GeetaKapadia began at VR ArtSpace, in Landour, Mussoorieon Thursday. The show is a col-lection of 19 artworks basedprimarily on the Himalayamountain range, ranging fromSiachen Glacier in Kashmir toKanto Peak in ArunachalPradesh. These were painted byKapadia over a period of sixyears. There is the Nanda Devimountain depicted in a relax-ing posture and the Siachenglacier with its sculptured iceglaciers.

Each work varies as shemanages to capture the earlydawn on snow peaks, the deepsnow mountain ravines, themountain lines which rise andfall in harmony. Curator SurbhiAgarwal said that though therewas no formal launch of theexhibition considering Covidprotocols, the first day of theshow attracted an interestingmix of visitors. The show willcontinue till January 18 next

year, she added.Kapadia is an artist, trekker

and author born and broughtup in Goa. A self taught artistwho spent several years work-ing with Indian folk arts, shehas exhibited her paintings onHimalayas at various art gal-leries in Mumbai, Goa,

Chandigarh and other loca-tions. She has also published a book ‘Himalaya inMy Sketch Book’ with black andwhite sketches and text. She isalso the founder of the organ-isation Mittika aimed at pro-moting various folk art forms ofIndia.

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The Uttarakhand StateCouncil of Science and

Technology (UCOST) andValley of Words (VOW) willorganise an international sem-inar on the history of science inIndia at Vigyan Dham inDehradun on Friday.Addressing the mediapersonson Thursday, UCOST directorgeneral Rajendra Dobhal saidthat people talk about historyand science but not enoughattention is given to the histo-ry of science in our country.

He said, “Children aretaught history in schools butnot about the history of sciencein our country. We wanted tobring the change and makepeople more familiar with thefascinating history of the sci-ence behind various thingsand discoveries.

This is the reason UCOSTand VOW decided to organise

this seminar to reach morepeople.” He informed that fourprofessors from prominent uni-versities of the country will talkabout the history of science inthe seminar besides other dig-nitaries. Curator of VOW,Sanjeev Chopra said that theseminar will have sessionsabout the history of medicine, informa-tion technology, science and technology along with thesession of astronomy in a n c i e n tIndia which are not usually dis-cussed like other subjects. Healso informed that the winnersof the PFC-VoW Book Awardswill also be announced at theevent.

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Four institutes of the IndianCouncil of Forestry

Research and Education(ICFRE), Dehradun- ForestResearch Institute (FRI)Dehradun, Institute of ForestGenetics and Tree Breeding(IFGTB) Coimbatore, Instituteof Forest Productivity (IFP)Ranchi and Arid ForestResearch Institute (AFRI)Jodhpur have developed highyielding clones of importantforestry species namelyAzadirachta indica (Neem),Calophyllum inophyllum,Eucalyptus hybrid, Dalbergiasissoo and Populus deltoides.

The council’s VarietyReleasing Committee (VRC) inits meeting presided over by itschairman and director gener-al of forests Subhash Chandragranted approval for the releaseof 22 clones. FRI has developedsix genotypes of Neem forcommercial cultivation. Thesecultivars can produce on an

average double the oil andAzadirachtin content in com-parison to base population.IFGTB had worked on inter-specific hybrids from threedifferent species namelyEucalyptus tereticornis, E.camaldulensis and E. grandisand developed two clones ofEucalyptus Hybrids havinggrowth superiority of morethan 10 per cent over andabove its best clone.

Six clones of Calophylluminophyllum valued for itsfruit and oil content are also

developed by IFGTB for com-mercial cult ivat ion inSouthern States, which cangive on an average upto six kgaverage fruit yield/tree aftersixth year of planting com-pared to 4.3 kg from unim-proved seed source. Similarly,three clones of Dalbergia sis-soo consistently giving hightimber yield were developedby AFRI for Gujarat .Similarly, IFT developed fivepoplar clones with high pro-ductivity and short rotationperiod for Bihar.

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The pharmacy, science andmanagement students of

Motherhood Universitysecured placements in variouscompanies during campusselection. Various multina-tional and limited companiesare consistently selecting stu-dents of the university due tothe efforts of the university vice

chancellor Narendra Sharmaand other faculty members.Eleven students were selectedby Midas Consulting. The stu-dents include four from sci-ence, five from pharmacy andtwo from commerce back-ground. The vice chancelloralong with director (adminis-tration) Deepak Sharma andothers congratulated the stu-dents on the occasion.

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AJSU Party's PresidentSudesh Kumar Mahato on

Thursday said that two yearsare not less to test any govern-ment's policy, intention,method of functioning andpromises made to the publicthrough manifesto before elec-tions. How many steps theruling coalition has walked inthese two years and what is theintention of the StateGovernment, AJSU party willtell this well to the public, headded.

Addressing a meeting ofthe party office bearers at theparty headquarter in the StateCapital the party presidentattacked the StateGovernment in several ways.The party’s district in-charges,trainers and volunteers werepresent in the meeting tochalk out a strategy to attackon the State Government sothat the party can get itshold.

Mahato said during themeeting that in two years, thecoalition government hasinsulted the mandate, the

Government is constantly lag-ging behind in fulfilling thepromises. “Even after this,the process of making falseannouncements and promis-es has not stopped, the inten-tion of the Government togive employment to people isalmost clear. The voices ofdespair and disregard againstthe Government air are beingheard among the youths ofthe State,” he added.

AJSU Party’s two mem-bers are in the State Assemblyincluding Mahto. The Partywas an alliance partner of theformer Raghubar DasGovernment in the State.

The Party president saidthat by postponing thePanchayat elections, the StateGovernment is destroying theimportance of Panchayati Rajsystem and is also preparingthe way to allow the bureau-cracy to be arbitrary. “Thereason for this is clear that theGovernment does not want todecentralise power. Due tonon-conduct of Panchayatelections, the developmentworks being done at the lowerlevel are adversely affected.

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Terming the declarationmade by the Government

regarding settlement of thelong pending issue of settle-ment of assets with UttarPradesh as a mere eye wash, theUttarakhand Congress hasaccused the BJP Governmentof misleading the people of theState. The media in-charge ofGarhwal division of Congressparty Garima Dasauni saidthat at a time when theAssembly elections are near, theChief Ministers of both UP andUttarakhand are trying to mis-lead the people. She said thatsimilar assertion was madelast year on November 19,2020 also when the UP CMYogi visited the State and heheld discussions with the thenCM of Uttarakhand TrivendraSingh Rawat. She said thatboth CMs had addressed a

press conference and claimedthat they have reached anunderstanding but nothinghappened even after one year.Dasauni said that since the BJPis in power both in UP andUttarakhand and even at theCentre, a golden opportunityhad existed to settle the issue ofdistribution of assets but theissue has remained unresolved.

She said that UP has a pos-session over 13,000 hectares ofland and more than 4,000buildings of the irrigationdepartment of Uttarakhand.UP also controls 697 hectaresof Mela land in Haridwar andit has refused to hand it over toUttarakhand.

She said that Bhimgodabarrage, Banbasa head andRamganga barrage in Kalagarhare all in possession of UP. Shesaid that UP owns the Tehridam and is earning an annualrevenue of �1,000 Crore fromit.

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The Delhi Chief Minister andnational convener of the Aam

Aadmi Party (AAP) ArvindKejriwal will visit Haridwar onSunday to oversee the party's prepa-rations for the 2022 Assembly elec-tions. Considering his announce-ment of making Uttarakhand a spir-itual capital for Hindus if AAPcomes to power, the party head isexpected to make big announce-ments in Haridwar too to woo moreHindu voters.

Addressing a Press conferencein Dehradun on Thursday, theparty spokesperson Naveen Pirshaliinformed that Kejriwal will be ona one-day visit to Haridwar onNovember 21. During his visit, hewill participate in a roadshow of theparty and will later hold a meetingwith party members to oversee theparty's preparations for the upcom-ing Assembly elections, informedPirshali.

After the visits of two seniorleaders of the party, deputy chiefminister Manish Sisodia and PunjabMLA Bhagwant Mann to the statethis week, this will be the third visitof another senior AAP leader with-in eight days. While Sisodia inter-acted with businessmen and indus-trialists to seek their support inDehradun ahead of the elections,Mann also made seven promises like

paying �50,000 perhectare on damagedcrops during his recentvisit to woo the farmers.Since Sisodia has recent-ly announced that theirchief ministerial candi-date Ajay Kothiyal willcontest Assembly elec-tions from the Gangotriconstituency, Kejriwal isalso expected to make bigannouncements on hisfourth visit to the State,stated the party workers.

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The Uttarakhand Forest department has issuedappointment orders for 999 forest guards, who

were selected and recommended by the UttarakhandSubordinate Services Selection Commission (USSSC)after a rigorous process of selection including writ-ten examination, physical fitness, 25 kilometre raceand verification of documents. The total requisitionwas sent for 1,218 posts out of which the first list of999 forest guards was recommended by UKSSSC. Therecommendation of the remaining candidates is underprocess pending verification of documents and isexpected to be received soon. According to the depart-ment, the newly appointed forest guards have beengiven time till December 15 to join in their respec-tive designated divisions. After completing the join-ing formalities they would participate in a two-weekorientation programme in which they would beexposed to the various aspects of their tasks. Therecruits would be on probation for a period of twoyears during which they would be expected to com-plete a six-month training programme at the desig-nated training institutes.

The new 999 forest guards include 331 lady for-est guards. The maximum number of candidates isfrom Dehradun district while Bageshwar andRudraprayag have the least number of candidates.

Earlier this year, the department had also pro-moted 99 class IV employees as forest guards who hadsecured the eligibility qualifications. Hence the addi-tion of forest guards is expected to provide a boostto better forest protection, conservation, wildlife con-servation and especially increase the work force forforest fire prevention in the coming summer. It wouldalso enable better management of Van Panchayats asthe forest guards are ex-officio secretaries of the VanPanchayat committees. Presently there was only oneforest guard for every 10 Van Panchayats which wouldnow increase to one forest guard for every five VanPanchayats. The total number of lady forest guardspresently is 145 out of total 1,378 working (10.5 percent) which would increase to 476 out of 2,377 (20per cent) after the present recruitment.

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Arecord 2,16,519 aspirants have applied for 854posts of group ‘C’ in the Uttarakhand Government.

The Uttarakhand Subordinate Services SelectionCommission (USSSC) would conduct examinationsto select the candidates for these posts. The secretaryof the USSSC Santosh Badoni said on Thursday thatthe examination would be the biggest ever competi-tive examination in the history of the State in termsof the number of the candidates. He said that the exam-ination would be held in three shifts on December 4and 5 and the candidates can download details fromthe website www.sssc.uk.gov.in.

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Nanhi Dunya—the International Movement ofChildren and their Friends celebrated 75 years of

its foundation. Former MP Tarun Vijay was the chiefguest on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion hesaid that he had learnt a lot of values from the founderLekh Raj Ulfat. He also appreciated the students fortheir cultural performance on the occasion.

Children of Nanhi Dunya from the age of sevento 17 years under the guidance of Satvika Goyal per-formed a medley of 20 folk dances from different cul-tures of the world. The children also included thosfrom Nanhi Dunya's Vikasnagar branch. Chief pro-moter Kiran Ulfal Goyal and chief education officerAlok Ulfat also expressed their views on the occasion.

Nanhi Dunya movement was founded in 1946 byLekh Raj Ulfat with eight children listening to storiesand playing games sitting under a tree in Dehradun.In 1953 he was joined by his wife Harbans SadhanaUlfat and other colleagues. About 1,200 beneficiariesare attending its centres at present.

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Paying homage to the Indiansoldiers who died fighting

the Chinese in 1962, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onThursday inaugurated arevamped war memorial ineastern Ladakh’s Rezang La. Itis the site of an epic battle at analtitude of 18,000 feet whereover 100 Indian troops inflict-ed heavy casualties on theChinese military.

The battle of Rezang La islargely considered as the finestmoment for the Indian Armyin the India-China war sixdecades ago. In his tributes tothe fallen heroes, the Ministerdescribed the monument as anexample of the determinationand indomitable courage dis-played by the Indian Army that

he said is not “only immortal inthe pages of history, but alsobeats in our hearts”.

The Defence Minister saidthe “battle of Rezang La is con-sidered one of the 10 greatestand most challenging militaryconflicts in the world.

“The historic battle ofRezang La, fought at an altitudeof 18,000 feet, is difficult toimagine even today. MajorShaitan Singh and his fellowsoldiers fought till ‘last bulletand last breath’ and wrote anew chapter of bravery and sac-rifice,” he said.

“I am saluting the 114Indian soldiers who madesupreme sacrifices in the 1962war after reaching Rezang La,located amidst the inaccessiblehills of Ladakh,” Singh tweet-ed.

The battle of Rezang Labegan at around 4 am onNovember 18, 1962, and last-ed till around 10 pm duringwhich the ‘C’ company of 13thbattalion of the KumaonRegiment led by Major ShaitanSingh not only stood theirground but inflicted heavycasualties on the Chinesedespite being outnumbered bythe adversary. Major Singhwas later posthumously con-ferred with Param Vir Chakra,India’s highest military deco-ration.

Rajnath also metBrigadier(retired) R B Jatarwho was part of the battle ofRezang La. “I am over-whelmed by the feeling ofrespect for him and I salute hiscourage. May God keep themhealthy and live long,” Singh

said. The revamped war memo-

rial has been thrown open ata time India and China havebeen locked in a bitter borderrow in eastern Ladakh fornearly one-and-half years.

The Indian Army hadoccupied a number of moun-tain peaks in Rezang La regionin August last year followingChina’s aggressive posturingand failed attempt to intimi-date Indian troops.

The eastern Ladakh bor-der standoff between the

Indian and Chinese militarieserupted on May 5 last year fol-lowing a violent clash in thePangong lake areas and bothsides gradually enhanced theirdeployment by rushing addi-tional troops and heavyweaponry.

The tension escalated fol-lowing a deadly clash inGalwan Valley on June 15 lastyear.

As a result of a series ofmilitary and diplomatic talks,the two sides completed thedisengagement process in the

north and south banks of thePangong lake in February andin the Gogra area in August.

The last round of militarytalks on October 10 ended ina stalemate following whichboth sides blamed each otherfor the impasse. In a strongstatement after the 13th roundof talks, the Indian Army saidthe “constructive suggestions”made by it at the negotiationswere neither agreeable to theChinese side nor could Beijingprovide any “forward-look-ing” proposals.

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The Congress on Thursdayexpressed concern over

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s “continued silence”over China’s territorial aggres-sion as it cited satellite imagessuggesting the purported con-struction of Chinese villageson Bhutanese territory overthe last year.

“The new construction bythe Chinese on Bhutanese soilis particularly worrying forIndia since we advised Bhutanon their external relations pol-icy and are also training theirarmed forces,” said Congressspokesperson Gourav Vallabh.

The party stated it willraise the issue duringParliament’s Winter Sessionbeginning this month.

“Our forces have taken onthe illegal Chinese incursion.Why is the Modi Governmentdisrespecting and dishonour-ing the sacrifice of our bravehearts?”

Vallabh referred to theimages at a media briefing. Helisted instances where the

Government allegedly failed torespond to Chinese aggres-sion. “When will theGovernment respond toChina’s verbal, geographical,military, and strategic aggres-sion?” Vallabh urged Modi notto hide behind “a smoke-screen” and answer to thepeople.

Party cornered the ModiGovernment, accusing it ofcompromising national secu-rity and India’s territorialintegrity, and questionedPrime Minister NarendraModi’s si lence on newChinese villages coming upnear the Doklam plateau.

Vallabh said latest satelliteimages show that China hasbuilt four villages in Bhutan,next to Doklam, and hasgrabbed 100 square kilome-tres of land in the areathrough illegal incursions.

“Why are we toleratingthis all-round aggression fromChina and doing absolutelynothing about it ? We urge thePrime Minister not to hidebehind smokescreens andanswer to the people,” he said

at a press conference here.“The Modi Government’s

unpardonable, blatant andbrazen compromise of nation-al security and India’s terri-torial integrity stands exposedonce again. The PrimeMinister and the DefenceMinister have underminedthe astounding valour andinsurmountable grit of ourarmed forces, who faced theChinese incursions andaggressions with indomitablecourage and sacrif ice,”Vallabh said at a AICC Pressconference.

Congress general secre-tary and chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala alsoshared the satellite imageson Twitter and said, “100Square KMs of ‘land grab’ andillegal incursion and settingfour new villages by China inBhutan, next to Doklam is ablow to India’s national secu-rity. This happened betweenMay-Nov 2021.”

“Why is PM ‘mum’? Whowill defend NationalSecurity?” he asked.

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The Supreme Court onThursday ordered regis-

tration of a regular case by theCBI into the alleged irregu-larities in the disinvestment ofthe government’s controllingshare in Hindustan ZincLimited (HZL) in 2002. Thetop court, however, alloweddisinvestment of the Centre’sresiduary 29.5 per cent sharein the open market. A benchof justices DY Chandrachudand BV Nagarathna said therecommendation of variousofficials of the CBI for con-verting the preliminaryinquiry of disinvestment ofHZL in 2002 into a regularcase satisfies the court’s con-science that a prima facie caseis made out.

The Court took note of thefact that despite recommen-dation for registration of reg-ular case into the allegedirregularities in the disinvest-ment in 2002, the preliminaryinquiry was closed and direct-ed that the CBI should forth-with register a regular case andthe agency shall file its peri-odic status report to the court.The bench, however, directedthe Central Government thatit can disinvest 29.5 percent ofits residuary share in the openmarket, saying that after 2002,the HZL ceased to remain agovernment company.

Allowing disinvestment ofthe balance 29.5 percent shares,the Bench said that the CentralGovernment had ceased to bein control of the erstwhilePSU company since its disin-vestment of shares in 2002.

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The Supreme Court onThursday allowed Prashant

Bhushan-led NGO to file anappeal against the Delhi HighCourt order which upheld theCentre’s decision to appointRakesh Asthana as Delhi PoliceCommissioner four days beforehis superannuation on July 31.A bench of Justices DYChandrachud and AS Bopannasaid that it will take up for hear-ing the writ petition filed by theNGO and the appeal to be filedby it on November 26.

Advocate PrashantBhushan, appearing for theNGO, ‘Centre for PublicInterest Litigation’ (CPIL), saidthat the court had on August 25kept its plea against Asthana’sappointment pending andasked the Delhi High Court todecide expeditiously a similarplea pending there. “Now thatthe High Court has decided theplea pending there, this courthas the benefit of the judgment.I request this court to decideour plea which is pending herechallenging the appointment ofAsthana,” Bhushan said.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for theCentre, raised preliminaryobjection on technical groundthat it is a writ petition and if

Bhushan is aggrieved by theorder of the high court, then hehas to file an appeal with thepermission of this court. Senioradvocate Mukul Rohatgi,appearing for Asthana, said thecourt should not keep the writpetition pending if it is grant-ing liberty to the petitionerNGO to file an appeal. Thebench said it would look intothat aspect on November 26.

On October 12, the DelhiHigh Court upheld the Centre’sdecision to appoint Asthana asDelhi Police Commissionerfour days before his superan-nuation on July 31, sayingthere was “no irregularity, ille-gality or infirmity” in his selec-tion. Dismissing a PIL chal-lenging his selection, it had saidthe justification and reasonsgiven by the Centre forappointing Asthana are plau-sible, calling for no interferencein judicial review.

The high court had said theSupreme Court’s decision in thePrakash Singh case, whichmandated a minimum tenurefor certain police officials andthe constitution of a UPSCpanel before selection, was notapplicable to the appointmentof Police Commissioner forDelhi but were “intended toapply only to the appointmentof a State DGP”.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has arrest-

ed Debabrata Haldar under theprovisions of Prevention ofMoney laundering Act in thecase of Sudhangshu KumarHalder and others, related toloss of �173.50 crore toNational Small IndustriesCorporation (NSIC).

The loss to NSIC wasincurred due to wrongful invo-cation of bank guarantees/invocation of fake bank guar-antees.

A day before the arrest, theED had carried out a searchoperation at six different placesin West Bengal. As a result ofthe search operation, two vehi-cles one Toyota Fortuner, andone Toyota Corolla Altis (worthRs 50 lakh) cash and jewellery(worth �18.4 lakhs) were seizedand an amount of �3.95 crore,lying in the bank accounts ofrelated fictitious MSME firmshas been frozen under PMLA,the agency said in a statement.

The ED had initiated amoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of an FIR reg-istered by the CID, WestBengal. There is a total loss of�173.50 crore to NSIC lentunder its Raw Material

Assistance Scheme (RMAScheme) through criminal con-spiracy by submitting BankGuarantees (BGs) of otherunconnected entities and fakeBGs, purported to be issued byvarious branches of the erst-while United Bank of India,Kolkata which came to forewhen these were enforced byNSIC.

The funds of NSICobtained under its RMAScheme, was laundered/ divert-ed through accounts of variousfictitious supplier firms.RMAscheme has been devised toprovide credit facilities to var-ious needy MSME firms, itsaid.

During investigation, it wasrevealed that Debabrata Haldar,one of the main conspirators ofthe scam, acted as a middlemanand main beneficiary of thewhole scam. The accused hasacquired various movable andimmovable properties out of theproceeds of crime, it said.

During the PMLA investi-gation, Haldar had been non-cooperative, evasive and did notdivulge any relevant informa-tion, leading to his arrest onWednesday.

A Special PMLA Courthas remanded him to 10-dayED custody.

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President Ram Nath Kovindwill honour the awardees of

‘Swachh Survekshan 2021’—the sixth edition of the annualcleanliness survey—onNovember 20.

In a statement, the UnionHousing and Urban AffairsMinistry on Thursday said thatin line with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s vision of agarbage-free India underSwachh Bharat Mission-Urban2.0, cities certified under thestar rating protocol for garbage-free cities will also be awardedat the ceremony.

The ‘Swachh AmritMahotsav’ being organised onSaturday will also pay tribute tosanitation workers by recog-nising top performing citiesunder the “Safaimitra SurakshaChallenge” earlier initiated bythe Ministry, it stated.

The ministry said thatfrom surveying 73 major citiesin 2016, the sixth edition ofSwachh Survekshan covers4,320 cities, making its theworld’s largest urban cleanli-ness survey. “The success ofthis year’s survey can be gaugedthrough the unprecedentednumber of citizen feedbackreceived this year — over 5crore, a marked increase fromlast year’s 1.87 crore. The 2021

edition was conducted inrecord time of 28 days despiteseveral on-ground challengesowing to the COVID pan-demic,” according to the state-ment.

Talking about the ‘SwachhSurvekshan 2021’, the ministrysaid that there have been sig-nificant on-ground improve-ments in performance of statesand cities, as compared to theprevious year.

For example, six states andsix Union territories haveshown overall improvement(ranging between five and 25per cent) in their overallground level performance overlast year, it said, adding thatmore than 1,100 additionalcities have started source seg-regation and nearly 1,800 addi-tional urban local bodies havestarted extending welfare ben-efits to their sanitation workers.

“More than 1,500 addi-tional urban local bodies havenotified a ban on the use, saleand storage of non-biodegrad-able plastic bags. In all, morethan 3,000 ULBs have notifiedthis ban.

“All North East states haveshown significant improve-ment in their citizens’ feedback,yet another testimony to howthe mission is reaching out toevery citizen, including in farflung areas,” the ministry said.

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Tassaduq Hussain Mufti, thebrother of former Jammu

and Kashmir Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti, on Thursday,appeared before theEnforcement Directorate herefor questioning in a moneylaundering case.

Tassaduq was the TourismMinister in the erstwhileJammu and Kashmir StateGovernment led by his sister.His statement was recorded bythe ED officials under provi-sions of the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA).

The criminal investigationunder money launderingrelates to funds allegedlyreceived by him from someKashmir-based businesseswhen Mehbooba Mufti was theChief Minister of Jammu and

Kashmir, officials said.The ED had earlier also

questioned Mehbooba in con-nection with the case.

Mehbooba has termed thesummons to her brother as apolitical vendetta against her.

“The moment I raise myvoice against any wrongdoing,there is a summon waiting forsomeone from my family. This

time it was my brother,” she hadreportedly said.

The former CM said shehas been protesting againstthe killing of innocent civiliansin Hyderpora on the outskirtsof Srinagar city on Monday.

Four people were killed inHyderpora by police, whodubbed them “terrorists” and“harbourers of terrorists”.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on

Thursday conducted search-es at multiple locations inAndhra Pradesh andTelangana in CPI MaoistEncounter Case of Bastar,Chhattisgarh.

The agency conductedsearches at 14 locations inseven districts of Telanganaand Andhra Pradesh includingHyderabad, Rachkonda,Medak, Prakasam,Visakhapatnam, Vijayawadaand Nellore in connectionwith this case, the NIA said ina statement.

The case relates to theexchange of fire on July 28,2019 between the cadres ofCPI (Maoist) and a combinedteam of local district ReserveGuard, Special Task Force andCRPF, resulting in the killingof six Maoists and one civilian.

An FIR No. 179/2019 wasregistered in this regard atpolice station Nagarnar inBastar district ofChhattisgarh. The NIA had re-registered the case on March18, 20201 against the accusedpersons Sanju alias PanduPunem, Laxman, Munni,Dashari and 30-40 unknownothers.

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Days before the WinterSession of Parliament,Lok

Sabha Speaker Om Birla onThursday said a national-leveldiscussion should be held withpolitical parties to inculcateself-discipline among legisla-tors and check the “rising ten-dency” of indiscipline and dis-ruption in the Houses. Underhis chairmanship, the All IndiaPresiding Officers’ Conferencepassed a resolution statingthere should be no disruptionduring the Presidential addressand the motion of thanks on it.

Addressing the confer-ence, Birla said legislaturesshould be centres of solvingcommon man’s problems andfulfilling their needs througha comprehensive discussionand dialogue without disrup-tions. “We have to stop theincreasing tendency of indis-cipline, disruption and uproarin the legislatures. For this, wewill hold discussions with theleaders of all political partiesso that the proceedings of theHouse are carried out smooth-ly,” he said.

The Lok Sabha speakersaid a national-level discussionshould be held for ensuringthe smooth functioning of thelegislative bodies in the coun-try.

Sharing his vision for leg-islative bodies, Birla said thelegislatures will act as pillars of

accountability towards the cit-izens and stressed on makingthese institutions moreempowered, capable, awareand transparent. “We shouldtry to make a definite actionplan to increase the number ofmeetings of the legislaturesproviding maximum time andopportunities to the hon-ourable members so that thepeople’s representatives candiscuss the major issues oftheir state and country exten-sively,” he said.

Birla told the presidingofficers from state legislativebodies that the rules and pro-cedures of all the legislaturesshould be the same. “We haveto establish good traditionsand conventions inside thelegislatures, which will givedignity to our Houses andincrease their prestige.” In thecontext of technological evo-lution, he stressed the need forequipping the legislatures withmodern technology. “We willprepare ‘One Nation OneLegislative Platform’ in duecourse so that all legislaturescan make available their cur-rent and old debates and otherresources at one place withcollective effort,” the LokSabha speaker said.

���� 506��017�

People infected with Covid,who had long-term expo-

sure to air pollution, are morelikely to end up in hospital orintensive care, finds a studypublished in EnvironmentHealth Perspectives.

The study found an associ-ation between higher exposureto Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)and fine particulate matter(PM2.5) and increased diseasesymptoms, particularly forsevere cases that ended in thehospital or in intensive care.

The association with PM2.5was stronger for men over 60years of age and people livingin socioeconomically deprivedareas, said the researchers fromBarcelona Institute of GlobalHealth (ISGlobal).

A series of previous studieshave suggested that regionswith higher pre-pandemic lev-els of air pollution had a high-er incidence of Covid-19 casesand deaths. However, the rea-sons for these associations arenot yet clear; air pollutioncould favour airborne trans-mission of the virus, or it couldincrease an individual’s sus-ceptibility to infection or dis-ease.

The problem is that previ-ous studies were based onreported cases, which had beendiagnosed, but missed all theasymptomatic or undiagnosedcases.

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Terming antimicrobial resistance{AMR} as an ‘active volcano’, health

experts have warned that the adverseimpact of irrational use of antibiotics inCovid patients will manifest itself infuture. They cited a review study thatclaimed that while there was only 6.9 per-cent of 3,338 Covid-19 patients with bac-terial infection, 72 percent of them hadreceived antibiotics.

AMR occurs when microbes such asbacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites nolonger respond to medicines, makinginfections difficult to treat.

The WHO has declared AMR- as oneof the top 10 global health threats. Manyfactors have accelerated the threat ofAMR worldwide, including overuse andmisuse of medicines in humans, livestockand agriculture, as well as poor access toclean water, sanitation and hygiene.

This year during the WorldAntimicrobial Awareness Week(November 18-24), ‘Go Blue’ campaignintends to raise awareness on AMR.

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On the Fourth Naturopathy Day being markedThursday, experts from the sector demanded that

the stream must be given the status at par with oth-ers like Ayurveda and Unani in the traditional med-icine system.

“Yog and Naturopathy must be included inNational Commission for Indian System of Medicines(NCISM) so that Naturopathy may be at par withother modern system of medicines. Also, Yoga trendprofessional i.e. Yoga volunteer, Yoga teacher certi-fied by Yoga Certification Board, Ministry of Ayushmust be recognized and efforts should be taken toensure job opportunities for them,” said Anant BiradarNational President- International NaturopathyOrganisation (INO) at an event here on the occasion.

‘Disease Free India’ Campaign was also launchedon the occasion beginning 18th November, 2021 to15th August 2022 to propagate naturopathy amongcommon man. Biradar also reminded theGovernment about the meeting held in July 2019 con-ducted by National Board for promotion and devel-opment of Yog and Naturopathy (for BNYS/SelfEducated/Diploma Holder).

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Jammu: Buckling under pressure, theUnion Territory administration lateThursday evening exhumed the bodies oftwo civilians, killed in Hyderporaencounter, and handed over the same totheir families.

The dead bodies of Altaf Ahmad Bhatand Dr Mudasir Gul were buried in agraveyard in Handwara town of Kupwaradistrict.

Earlier, the UT administration had alsoordered a magisterial probe into thekilling of two civilians during an encounterin Hyderpora area of Srinagar.

Announcing the decision the office ofLG Manoj Sinha tweeted, "A magisterialinquiry by an officer of ADM rank hasbeen ordered in the Hyderpora encounter.Govt will take suitable action as soon asthe report is submitted in a time-boundmanner. It added the administration iscommitted to protecting the lives of civil-ians and will ensure there is no injustice.

The decision was taken amid outcryfrom different quarters in support of

their families.Political parties in the valley also ral-

lied behind the aggrieved families andstaged sit-in protest demonstrations in sup-port of their demand to hand over the deadbodies of their loved ones.

Late Wednesday night policemenforcibly removed the family members sit-ting on a dharna in the Press colony areaof Srinagar.

Initially, the police claimed Gul was

working as an Over Ground worker(OGW) and Altaf Ahmad Bhat waskilled during cross firing. After theencounter was over

Following the announcement ofthe Magisterial probe, Additional dis-trict magistrate (ADM) issued a gen-eral notice to the public to record theirstatements in case anyone has theknowledge of the incident.

In a related development Jammuand Kashmir National Conference(JKNC) vice president and formerchief minister Omar Abdullah staged

a sit-in protest at Gupkar near his homein Srinagar, demanding the return of bod-ies of the two civilians who were killed dur-ing an encounter between police and ter-rorists in Hyderpora on Monday.

Taking to Twitter, the official accountof JKNC wrote that the protest was “calledoff ” after the family of the slayed civilians“informed him (Abdullah) that the author-ities have assured the return of dead bod-ies.”

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Covid-19 continued batter-ing Kerala despite the

decrease in the number ofdaily cases. Veena George, StateHealth Minister said in arelease on Thursday eveningthat 6,111 new persons werediagnosed with Covid-19 dur-ing the last 24 hours. TheHealth Department tested66,693 samples during the peri-od while 51 patients suc-cumbed on Thursday whichtook the death toll to 36,847.

This means that Keralaovertook Tamil Nadu in thenumber of fatalities due to thepandemic. Tamil Nadu’s deathtally till Wednesday was 36,324.The State has succeeded inbringing down the number ofcases diagnosed to less than 800even as it continued its aggress-ing testing. Tamil Nadu tests aminimum of 1.1 lakh samplesevery day to keep track of thepandemic.

Though schools in Keralahave reopened, the physicalpresence of students are yet totouch the daily average as mostof the parents are worried insending their wards to schoolsbecause of the prevailing situ-ation in the State.

“Over-crowded buses,trains and public places aresubjects of concern. I do feel

that the Government of Keralacould have waited for anotherthree months to see to it thatthe Covid-19 situation getsstabilised,” said a Governmentmedical doctor who disclosedthat he has not allowed hisschool going children to attendclasses.

By Monday, all collegesand professional colleges wouldbe reopened after the longlockdown. Plans are afoot towind up all online classes andbring back the students to thecampuses. “The graduate andpost graduate students, who areexpected to be good role mod-els for their juniors, are behav-ing in a disorderly manner. Allprotocols are being discardeddespite our plea to them tomaintain some kind of deco-rum,” said a senior faculty in aGovernment run college inthe State.

A larger than life size billboard exhorting the students todump the restrictions and“enjoy the sweetness of campuslife and youth to its full poten-tial” installed by StudentsFederation of India, the studentwind of the CPI(M) in front ofKerala Varma GovernmentCollege in Thrissur wasremoved by the authorities atthe instance of the guardianswho termed it violation of allpropriety.

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav on Thursday claimedthe surging crowd in his rallies andthin attendance in BJP's show the dif-ference between people “coming ontheir own” and “brought” for meet-ings.

Yadav made the claim after com-pleting his party's ‘Vijay Rath Yatra'from Ghazipur to Lucknow as part ofits poll campaign.

"The enthusiasm of the peopleattending rallies of his party and alliesfrom Ghazipur to Lucknow andvacant seats in BJP rallies show thedifference between people coming torallies on their own and peoplebrought for them,” said Yadav, in atweet in Hindi.

The "vacant seats" in BJP ralliesare indicating that the BJP seats in the

next assembly too will remain“vacant”, he added in his tweet.Starting at 12.30 pm on Wednesday,Yadav's poll campaign tour vehiclereached Lucknow at about 4.30 am onThursday, covering a distance ofabout 350 km from Ghazipur toLucknow, with an enthusiastic crowdof supporters gathering on thePurvanchal Expressway to welcomehim. Suheldev Bhartiya SamajParty chief Om Prakash Rajbhar andJanwadi Party's Sanjay Chauhan werealso present with Akhilesh Yadav dur-ing the fourth leg of the yatra.The SP's Vijay Rath yatra of SP waslaunched last month from Kanpur tothe Bundelkhand region. It later went from Lucknow to Hardoiand then from Gorakhpur toKushinagar. PTI

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Not ready to back down on his alle-gation that Zonal director Narcotics

Control Bureau (NCB) SameerWankhede had forged caste certificateto join the Indian Revenue Service(IRS), Maharashtra Minister NawabMalik got a boost on Thursday, as theBombay High Court took on recordseveral of his documents, including thecopy of the latter’s School LeavingCertificate (SLC) -- which mentions thathe was a Muslim and not Hindu Dalitas he has along been claiming.

Talking to media persons here,Malik released of Wankhede’s SLCsissued by St Joseph's High School andSt Paul High School and a letter by thePublic Health Officer from theBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) with a copy of the declarationpertaining to the change of name ofSameer Wankhede and his domissionform to the St Joseph's High School.

Malik told the court that the SLCs

showed that Wankhede’s name asSameer Dawood Wankhede and his reli-gion as Muslim, the letter by the healthofficer of the BMC's E-Ward hadWankhede's stated that in 1979 hisfather’s name was Dawood K Wankhedeand it was only in 1993 that the sub-reg-istrar corrected his

In his affidavit filed before the highcourt, Malik said that going by the BMCletter and documents, "It is clear that thename of Wankhede has been changedfrom Dawood K Wankhede toDnyandev Kachruji Wankhede.However, there is no change in respectof religion and till date it is shown asMuslim."

On his part, Wankende’s father filedhis own set of documents to disapproveMalik’s allegations. The documentsthat he produced before the courtwere: digitised birth certificate issued byBMC and a caste certificate.

After hearing the petitions onbehalf of Malik by Senior Advocate AtulDamle asked Advocate Arshad Shaikh

for Wankende to his say. U JusticeJamdar took the documents on recordand asked both the parties not to sub-mit more documents. The Judge saidthat he would pronounce his order onSr Wankhede's plea on November 22.

In all, Wankhede’s lawyer ArshadShaikh has submitted 28 documents onrecord to the court including caste cer-tificate of 1974, passport and SLCs toshow that his father’s name was‘Dnyandev’ and he belongs to theMahar community.

On his part, Malik has challengedthe NCB officer's claims and demand-ed a probe by the Maharashtra andMumbai Police, besides the caste veri-fication authority to unravel thetruth.

Meanwhile, the Wankhede familycountered that Malik by producing pur-ported SLCs and a 2021 computer-gen-erated birth certificate of theBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporationwhich shows the name as Sameer,mother's name as Zahedbano and

father as Dnyandeo KachrujiWankhede.

On his part. Sameer’s fatherDhyandev K Wankhede has filed apolice complaint against Mr Malikunder the Scheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act for allegedly makingfalse accusations regarding his family'scaste.

On November 16, 2021, Malik hadmoved the High Court seeking leavefrom the Court to take on record theadditional documents which he soughtto place on record to substantiate hisalleged defamatory tweets.

Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar-Wankhede retaliated by saying: “Halfinfo shared by people with evil thoughtsto defame Sameer Wankhede. Therewas an error made. Later this was dulyrectified by Mr. Dynadev with all legalformalities and procedures in 1989. Allthe documents were accepted and ver-ified by the school principal then andnow too” .

Kota: A 35-year-old womanwas arrested here on Thursday for allegedly killingher neighbour's four-year-olddaughter following a heatedexchange of words with themother of the child, policesaid.

The woman, Ashabai,dragged the girl inside herhome in the labourers' colonyof a stone factory in theGokulpura industrial areawhile she was playing, lockedthe door and smashed herhead with a rock, DeputySuperintendent of Police, Citypolice station (Jhalawar), AmitKumar said.

It appears that the womanhad a heated argument with thegirl's mother earlier, he said,adding that the actual motivewould be clear only after theinvestigation in the case iscomplete.

A case under relevant sec-tions of the law was registeredagainst the woman, localJhalawar police station SHOBalbir Singh said.

The girl's body was hand-ed over to her parents after anautopsy, the police said.

Buldhana/Akola: A 29-year-old employee of the MaharashtraState Road TransportCorporation (MSRTC) alleged-ly committed suicide by con-suming poison in Maharashtra'sBuldhana district, police said onThursday. Vishal Ambalkar, aresident of Matargaon inKhamgaon taluka of the district,had consumed poison at hishouse on Tuesday night and wasshifted to a government hospi-tal in Akola, an official fromKhamgaon police station said.

Ambalkar, whose conditionwas critical, passed away at theGovernment Medical College inAkola on Wednesday night, hesaid.

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Days after Bengal Trinamool Congress leg-islators attacked the Border Security

Forces inside the Assembly for allegedly tyr-annizing people and humiliating women liv-ing in the border areas a group of BJP MLAson Thursday went to the BSF headquartersin Kolkata and congratulated the force for get-ting expanded responsibility of manning 50km area inside the international borderbesides apologising to its senior officials forthe “slanderous aspersion” cast on the secu-rity agency by their TMC counterparts.

State Opposition Leader SuvenduAdhikari who earlier led a group of 50 saf-fron MLAs to the BSF office said “the patri-otic people who man hour borders and pro-vide us security … we came to congratulatethem for getting expanded jurisdiction ofmanning 50 km inside the border … now wecan expect that all kinds of crimes will cometo an end in the border region,|” Adhikari saidadding he had also come to aplogise to theBSF for the invectives hurled at the securityagency by the Trinamool legislators.

“The words the TMC MLAs have used

against the BSF is not only condemnable butalso unpatriotic … We have come to apolo-gise to the officials on behalf of the TMCMLAs like Udayan Guha and Tapas Roy whocast slanderous aspersions against them … asthey did not turn up to apologise we are apol-ogizing for them for whatever have been saidagainst the security forces,” Adhikari said.

The TMC leadership however stuck to itsgun and hit back at the BJP leadership for “try-ing to get cheap publicity.” TMC Rajya SabhaMP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy said that the“Thursday’s development only shows that theBJP is using the central agencies including theBSF as its political ally … they have made theBSF their associates … even the during theelections the senior BJP leaders while cam-paigning would go to the BSF offices in CoochBehar … they are using the BSF offices as BJP’sparty offices.”

Reiterating the allegations leveled earli-er by the TMC MLAs, Roy said that the “BSFcannot absolve itself from the border crimeslike cow smuggling … the cows that comefrom the BJP-ruled states are smuggled outof India with the assistance of unscrupulousofficials … it has been proven fact.”

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Senior BJP leader and formerTripura and Meghalaya

Governor Tathagato Roy con-tinued to tweet ferociouslyagainst the party leadershipsaying if the system did notchange in the saffron outfitthen it would soon becomeextinct in Bengal.

Roy who had been cease-lessly attacking the BJP leadersincluding national vice presi-dent Dilip Ghosh, KailashVijaybargiya, Arvind Menonand others for the party’s elec-toral poor show in the April-May Assembly elections earli-er alleged that women andmoney became a criterion toget ticket in the BJP --- a rea-son that led to the party’s dis-mal show in the elections.

But when the he wasreminded by some of his party

colleagues that such thingswere to be discussed inside theparty he again tweeted, “BJP’swell-wishers say, my complaintabout money and womenshould not be made public, itshould be made within theparty. I politely inform thattime has passed. BJP can dowhatever it wants to me.” Hefurther said that if they (lead-ership) did not radically reformtheir behavior, then the extinc-tion of the party in West Bengalwas inevitable.

On the post-poll attacks onthe party workers around theState Roy a former State partypresident earlier said, “Barringa few exceptions, most of WestBengal BJP’s 18 MPs and 77MLAs did not go and standbeside supporters. SuvenduAdhikari was one such excep-tion. Others visited districtssurrounded by security and

pontificated that to be in BJPone must do tyag-tapasya.”

Immediately lapping upthe criticism made by RoyTrinamool Congress leaderand Bengal minister FirhadHakim said that the BJP hadalmost gone into extinction andwhatever legislators it still hadwould not be able to win thesecond time partly because ofChief Minister MamataBanerjee’s good rule and part-ly because of the infightingwithin the BJP and the lack ofcharacter of its leaders.

“Their own senior leader istelling how tickets were dis-tributed in the BJP … they arethemselves telling that the partyis doing into extinction … I willonly say that it has already goneinto extinction … the TMC willnot have to do anything … theywill dig their own grave,”Hakim said.

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Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on Thursday saidthe intention of the state govern-ment is to bring the benefits ofdevelopment and welfare schemesto the common man.

For the last two-and-a-halfyears, important work has beendone in the field of education,roads, health and drinking waterand this sequence of developmentis still going on and developmentschemes are being implemented,he said.

Chief Minister Gehlot, whowas on a visit to Dholpur district,inspected the camp organisedunder 'Prashasan Gaon Ke SangAbhiyan' in Singoraivillage.

In a meeting held after theinspection, Gehlot said the stategovernment has given top prior-ity to speedy and effective redres-sal of problems faced by the pub-

lic. Therefore, camps are beingorganised across the state underthe campaign with the adminis-tration in cities and villages.

He said the worksrelated to the public are beingresolved in these camps on thespot by about two dozen depart-ments, including lease distribu-tion, conversion and accountpurification in the works relatedto the revenue department. In thelast 10 days in Dholpur district,around 10,000 lease deeds havebeen issued, he said.

In the public meeting,School Education Minister andRajasthan Pradesh CongressPresident Govind Dotasra alsogave detailed information aboutthe public welfare work done bythe government, including farmloan waiver done by the state gov-ernment and recruitment madeon vacant posts. PTI

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of the advocates exceeds the30-minute limit, be it so. Buthe must pay the cost forevery extra minute he contin-ues to argue. These mea-sures should help distributecases and litigation to advo-cates who can efficientlyexplain their clients’ problemsquickly enough rather thanramble.

We have often called our-selves a poor country, whichmeans fewer assets and morepeople. If that be so, thesame buildings can be usedfor a second shift. The currentprocedure is for the HighCourt to sit for five hours.They can instead begin at 8.30am and carry on uninterrupt-ed till 1.30 pm and retire forthe day. The afternoon ses-sion can begin at 2 pm andcarry on uninterrupted till 7pm. The judges can be fixed,whether for the morning orafternoon session, and changeonly when the new rostercomes out. There is no short-age of lawyers who are pre-pared to become judges orlawyers who are prepared toappear before them. To testtheir knowledge beforeappointment, there may be anall-India examination to testwhether a person is eligible to

become a judge. The exami-nation can have various lev-els, depending on the courtswhere the appointment is tobe made.

Yet another problem thatplagues India’s judicial systemis the sheer backlog of casesthat has accumulated in itscorridors. Similarly, the HighCourts should also be pre-scribed the level of litigationthey can deal with. This mustapply to the lower courts aswell. Incidentally, I havecome across a Small Causespartnership case inSaurashtra reaching the apexcourt. Imagine the number ofcourts and judges the casehas had to travel!

The other point that muststrike the powers that be isthat 70 per cent of the litiga-tion in India involves variousGovernments. This reflectsthat a large number of citizensare denied justice unless theytry the law courts which, inturn, shows that our laws arenot clear and simple, and alsoopen to bureaucratic interpre-tation with a variety of mean-ings. I do realise that quite alarge number of obsolete lawshave been scrapped lately.However, there would be a lotof operating laws that are

open to various interpreta-tions. This is the reason forthe incidence of voluminouslitigation. Clearly, in order tocatch up with time, not mere-ly the courts but also the lawswould need a change as wellas an elimination of theredundant clauses in the var-ious Acts. This would involvethe Law Commission.

Another area in whichtime is wasted is the draftingof petitions and affidavitswhich are usually long, if notalso in outdated language. Asfar back as in 1976, I had vis-ited London in connectionwith the purchase of a teacompany. The application forsanction to the Reserve Bankof India was drafted by theLondon lawyer as well as byour Kolkata solicitor. The onewritten by the overseas lawyerwas a page and three lineswhereas what came fromKolkata was over six longerpages and a few lines. WhenI returned to Kolkata, I askedthe legal friend whether brevi-ty was the soul of wit. Hesmiled in embarrassment.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, anauthor and a former memberof the Rajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

������������� ������ ��������Sir — The Supreme Court has given theUnion Government a piece of its mindover the avoidable and unjustified delayin framing a uniform policy to providecooked food to hungry and destitute peo-ple through community kitchens andreminded it that the first and foremostduty of a welfare State is to provide foodto people dying of hunger. Communitykitchens can be easily set up across thecountry by allocating enough funds andusing the State machinery and resourcesfor transport of food grains and creationof storage space and recruitment ofcooks and servers, provided there is thepolitical commitment and will to feed thehungry.

India has the largest concentration ofimpoverished people in the world; it ishome to as many as 196 million under-nourished people, a disturbing fact thatshould galvanise the Government intomaking food security a reality for all.Implicit in the right to life is the right tofood. Community kitchens are needed toensure that no one has to sleep on anempty stomach. They should not beviewed as eyesores in ‘New India’.

G David Milton | Maruthancode

������������������� ����Sir — The tussle between Telangana andthe Centre over ‘purchase of parboiled rice’issue is avoidably going out of control asthe days pass on. A common observationabout the functioning of the current dis-pensation is that it does not assertively fig-ure out issues at the budding stage but onlyallows micro-level leaders to issue contra-dictory statements one after another withno hope of solving issues but only boilingthem in a hot pan. At the same time, it isalso a fact that Telangana Chief MinisterKCR has issued so many media statementsover the last several months that the Statewould purchase each grain produced bythe farmers at a respectable price andensure that farmers do not suffer finan-cial loss on account of their agriculturalproduce at any cost.

Now the Chief Minister stages adharna (sit-in) demanding the Centre to

purchase all the parboiled rice producedby the farmers. In such a situation, it is theduty of the Centre to clarify in this mat-ter by giving an official statement regard-ing its liability to purchase all the parboiledrice. The Centre should come clean with-out politics, if any.

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao | Hyderabad

������������������ � ��� Sir — The Centre’s announcement toreopen the Kartarpur Sahib corridor hasbeen widely welcomed by all the politiciansacross the political divide in Punjab evenas its timing coincides with the auspiciousGurupurab falling on November 19. Thiswill facilitate Indian Sikh pilgrims’ visit toGurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal,Pakistan, and help them pay obeisance totheir first Sikh Guru Nanak Dev.Meanwhile, newly appointed PunjabChief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi hasalso announced that his entire StateCabinet would also visit the shrine onNovember 18 as a part of the first delega-

tion to the historic corridor after 19-monthclosure following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Recollecting his visit to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Home Minister AmitShah in this regard, CM Channi said thatthe reopening of the corridor has comeacross as the answer to the entire commu-nity's prayers. Those hailing the Centre'sdecision also include ShiromaniGurudwara Prabandhak Committee(SGPC), regarded as Sikhs’ mini-parlia-ment, Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) led bySukhbir Singh Badal, former UnionMinister Harsimrat Kaur Badal amongothers. Interestingly, Pakistan had onOctober 2, 2020, also announced to uni-laterally open the Kartarpur corridor butIndia did not reciprocate the gesture. Tosum up, the Central Government’s deci-sion is seen as a Gurpurab gift to thenation’s Sikhs.

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

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1���������������������������$�������#�������$��������'�������������� �������������������������������������������������������$���� ����������������� ������� %�1������������ ���� ������$����������������������������� �����%�D����������,������������$����������������� �������� ���������������� � �� ����������� ��������%� ���������)��&� � ��������� � �� ������ ������� ��� ����#��� ���� ��� ���8�����$�� ���#���� ���� ������� ��.��� �����������������#�� �����2�����!�,%������ ��J���������������'����������'����'�����������������������������$��%

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Chief Justice NVRamana recently saidthat common litigantsguided by resource-

and energy-sapping litigationsneed quick justice. He had ear-lier said that the inadequatelysupported judiciary costs thecountry foreign investmentsand, therefore, economicgrowth. He has implored theUnion Government to ensurefinancial autonomy for his insti-tution. Such reforms wouldbring about different results,including improving the GDPand the general growth of theeconomy.

In the eyes of the commonfolk, the greatest judicial prob-lem of India is delayed justiceand the accumulation of anenormous backlog of cases. IfChief Justice Ramana can showa way of how a person of hisstature can suggest ways andmeans of solving this giganticproblem, it would be better. Ifsome success is met with in thisdirection, the country as well asthe Government would be sym-pathetic.

For a common litigant, it isa matter of great surprise as towhy the courts grant adjourn-ments freely. As s/he sees it, theyare penalised because mostlawyers mark their fees even forthe few seconds the adjourn-ment is discussed. What is nec-essary is to make the court askthem to pay half the originalcourt fee for every adjournment.This should, therefore, bringabout another benefit that abusy lawyer can be avoided bya sensible client. He wouldselect somebody to be his advo-cate who does not have toattend many cases, and in sev-eral courts of the country.

Another belief of a commonlitigant would be that appealsshould be confined to a maxi-mum of two courts above,preferably one. I have heard thattenancy cases that began inMumbai’s Small Causes Courteventually end up in theSupreme Court. Yet anotherthought would be, before com-mencing the final hearing, thejudges should ask both sideshow much time they wouldtake; say, 30 minutes each. If one

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The medical world haswitnessed rapid changesin the Medtech catego-

ry. In the times of COVID-19,medical manpower scarcitybecame a challenge, and tokeep non-COVID operationsgoing on, the Medtech indus-try improvised and innovated,ensuring uninterrupted med-ical services.

A few months into thelockdown, hospitals increas-ingly moved towards robot-assisted surgeries to deal withhuge backlogs. Though robot-ics surgery is indeed one of thegreat technological successstories of present times, it hasnot been used extensivelybecause it is cost-prohibitive.With increased research inthe usage of robotics for surg-eries, the entire landscape ofthe healthcare system is chang-

ing. After the first patient wasoperated on in 1998 using asurgical robot, more than amillion robotic surgeries havebeen completed successfully inthe last 20 years with a contin-uous evolution in technology.

With a humble beginningin the middle of the twentiethcentury, the robotic surgeryfield has seen great success todate but still, a lot needs to bedone to bring it to the reach ofthe masses. Currently, there areclose to 79 robotic surgical sys-tems present in India that arenot being used to their fullpotential. The reason is thesesystems are far too expensiveand take years to master, dueto which very few surgeons gettrained to operate these robot-ic systems and, much of theworld is still waiting to bene-fit from this technology.

According to recent data,there is one doctor for every1,445 Indians which is lowerthan the WHO's prescribednorm of one doctor for 1,000people. Also, India ranks low-est in availability of hospitalbeds per 1000 people. Theglobal average is 3.4 beds perthousand people whereas Indiastands far behind with 0.7beds. Shortage of healthcareprofessionals, bad connectiv-ity and, limited medical sup-

plies are additional problems. In the present scenario,

robotic surgeries are morebeneficial compared to tradi-tional surgery, as it needssmaller incisions, which meansless pain and scarring, leadingto less time spent in the hos-pital and quicker recoverytime, which is a boon for theIndian healthcare system. Also,it will put less pressure on thehealthcare professional asrobotic surgery bringsenhanced precision, flexibility,control, and vision. It alsoallows the surgeon to performvery delicate or complex sur-gical procedures that may havebeen very difficult or evenimpossible without the aid ofthe robot.

A country like India willbe benefitted from the inclu-sion of robotic surgeries on a

mass scale as it will lower theinfection rate and faster recov-ery. The tier 2 cities will alsoget doctors equipped with theknowledge and precision avail-able only in metros and tier1cities. More hospitals will beable to handle complicated andlife-threatening surgeries. Itwill bring a revolution in themedical field where bothpatients and surgeons willlook forward to an improvedlife expectancy.

Robotic technology is cur-rently expensive for wideradoption across all types ofhealthcare settings, its adapt-ability specifically concerningrobotic assistants in surgery isstill to reach the masses. Thehope is that next-generationsurgical robots would be eco-nomical and will bridge thegap, which can be made avail-

able for more people and ben-efit the world in the long run.Around 140 companies andresearch institutions are work-ing on various robotic systems.The focus is on how to keep itcost-effective. If the proce-dures are economical and themaintenance contracts areaffordable, more patients willget the benefit. Keeping thisvision in mind, we are all setto launch the first Made inIndia robotic surgical systemSSI Mantra by the end of thisyear.

Robotic-assisted surgerieshave made significant contri-butions to the Indian health-care industry, and the marketis expected to reach ?2,600crore by 2024 at a CAGR of19.8 per cent, as per a reportby Research and Markets.Based on the findings of a

symposium last year, almost 50per cent of all surgeries in Indiawill be robot-assisted by 2025.

Robotic surgical systemswill play a critical role intraining young medical profes-sionals to become more effi-cient future surgeons. It willmake the surgeries more pre-cise and less complicated. Tier2 and tier 3 hospitals will alsobe able to provide proceduresat par with big-city hospitals.

There is a long way to goin creating awareness about thebenefits of robotic surgery.Acceptance of robotic surgeryneeds to increase significant-ly, along with the cost-effec-tiveness. The transition fromconventional surgery to robot-ic surgery will be completeonly when accessibility andaffordability are chalked outand planned accordingly.

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The Constitution-bench verdictdated November 13, 2019, of theSupreme Court declaring even theoffice of Chief Justice of India as

public-authority under RTI Act has beenwelcomed, but may not serve the purposetill the Union government takes more cor-rective measures.

The remedy is that the government bynotification may declare all public-private-partnerships, sports-bodies, cooperative-societies and other such bodies, public-authorities under the RTI Act. Land andBuilding Departments of central and stategovernments should study all cases of allot-ment of land or government-accommoda-tions at subsidised rates or lease, anddeclare all these as public-authoritiesunder the RTI Act.

However, effective steps should betaken to prevent misuse of the RTI Act,which will be a boon to genuine informa-tion-seekers by drastically reducing pen-dency at Information Commissions apartfrom saving man-hours and expenses forboth the public-authorities and the peti-tioners.

Basic RTI fees should be uniformthroughout the country

Section 27 and 28 of the RTI Act givepower to Competent Authorities andstate-governments to draft their ownrules which include fixing of RTI fees andmode of payment of RTI fees. SeveralCompetent Authorities and states misusedtheir power by having RTI fees as high asrupees 500, which in fact was aimed to dis-courage the RTI Act. Several states fixedRTI fees for filing First Appeals also.However Supreme Court in its verdictdated March 20, 2018 on a petition filedby Common Cause imposed a capping ofRs. 50 to be maximum RTI fees.

India should be governed with the prin-ciple "One Nation - One Rule" at least inrespect of RTI fees and its mode of pay-ment. Best is to club copying-charges of firsttwenty copied with basis RTI fees of Rs. 10(for Central public-authorities) thus mak-ing Rs. 50 as uniform RTI fees throughoutthe country inclusive of charges of firsttwenty copied pages. That will largely pre-vent misuse of RTI Act just for sake of funor publicity. There must not be any fees forfiling First or Second Appeals. Such a sys-tem will not affect poor persons belowpoverty line (BPL category) because theyare already exempted from paying RTI fees.However, to prevent big contractors andothers misusing the provision by filing RTIapplications under names of their workersof BPL category to get copying-charges inthousands of rupees waived off, personsunder BPL category may be required to paycopying-charges for copied pages exceed-ing twenty.

There is a need to accept repeated CIC-recommendations for issue of RTI stamps.Handling the cost of a postal-order of valueRs. 10 costs the postal-department aboutRs. 50 with cost of handling of postal-orders by a public-authority and bank-

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clearing even extra. The best rem-edy to overcome the situation is toaccept frequent CIC-verdicts andadministrative-request of CIC bypostal-department to issue specialRTI stamps (like earlier stamps forpayment of licence-fees of radiosand TV sets) in denominations ofRs. 2, 10 and 50 which will savecrores of rupees annually to public-exchequers in using postal-ordersas mode of payment of RTI fees.These RTI stamps should be con-veniently available at all post-offices and counters of public-authorities and other convenientsale-points.

This will tackle the situationwhere public-authorities likeNational Green Tribunal (NGT)refuse acceptance of RTI fees incash with nearby post office atBaroda House not selling postalorders thus putting RTI applicantsin big difficulty.

The provision of sending post-free RTI applications should beextended to all 160,000-odd post-offices.Post-free RTI applicationsaddressed to central public-author-ities should be extended to allabout 160,000 post-offices ratherthan just about 4,500 post officespresently. It is not difficult becauseevery post-office however small itmay be, daily sends post-bag toHead Post Office with registeredpost, cash and unsold revenue-arti-cles. This post-bag can carry post-free RTI applications received at thepost-office.

The provision of auto-emailingof RTI responses must be there onRTI applications filed on-line. Theportal for filing on-line RTI appli-cations should be modified so thatRTI responses and orders of FirstAppellate Authorities may also beauto-emailed rather than RTI appli-cants required to go to portal for

viewing of RTI responses. SMS-alerts about emailing of RTIresponses can also be there. Ratherit will be still more advantageous forusers of the RTI Act if RTI respons-es may be e-mailed on email IDsprovided on RTI applications filedthrough hard copies.

The order of the Punjab andHaryana High Court to make IDproof compulsory with every RTIapplication, First Appeal and peti-tions before InformationCommissions must be implement-ed. The Department of Personneland Training should issue a circu-lar in tune with para 23 of verdictdated November 2, 2012, in thematter-Fruit and Vegetable Unionversus Unknown (CWP 4787 of2011) which requires ID proofcompulsory to be attached withevery RTI application, First Appealand Second Appeal or complaintfiled with InformationCommissions. Already the aspecthas been adopted in Odisha.Those who do not want to disclosetheir identity can file RTI applica-tions through post-box hired atsome post-office.

There has to be uniformity inwebsites for filing online RTI appli-cations necessary. Only websitesuniformly designed by NationalInformatics Centre should bemandatorily for all states. This hasbecome necessary for state likeOdisha that has made online filingof RTI applications a mockerywhen it is compulsory to downloadonline-filled RTI application andthen send it by post to the con-cerned department. If such is thecase, then there is no utility of hav-ing a useless portal for filing onlineRTI applications. Furthermoreoption-list for payment does notinclude even all the public-sectorbanks. Website designed for DoPT

is an ideal one, and should be com-pulsorily followed by all states.

Public-authorities are beingmisled by private firms to train offi-cers for the RTI Act. Some organ-isation named Institute-Of-Public-Administration IPA has been send-ing letters to all public-authoritiescoming under purview of the RTIAct regarding holding paid two-dayworkshop on charging rupees heav-ily to the tune of Rs. 20,000 for localpublic authorities and Rs. 40,000 foroutside-participant with spouse.Drafting of invitation-letters lookslike that of some government-authorised body like Indian-Institute-Of-Public-AdministrationIIPA. Many public-authorities con-fusing the letter as if sent from agovernment-authorised have beensending participants to attend RTI-workshop at cost of public-exche-quer. The DoPT, CentralInformation Commission CIC andIndian Institute of Public adminis-tration IIPA should immediatelytake cognizance of the matter toprevent such tactics to mint moneyby private bodies.

The Delhi Right ToInformation Act, 2001, needsimmediate repeal after a HighCourt order. This is in reference toorder dated August 8, 2018 inWPC 8278 of where the court saidthat "the Right To InformationAct, 2005 would now override theDelhi Right To Information Act,2001 as it would occupy the entirelegislative field". The DRTI Act haslost all relevance with RTI Act inexistence, and only a very fewapplications are now being filedunder DRTI Act, with most officersof Delhi Government being total-ly unaware about provisions ofDRTI Act. All such acts legislatedby individual states, before RTI Act2005 came into existence.

(The writer is RTI consultant holding the

Guinness World record formost letters published innewspapers. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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Islamabad: Pakistan onThursday rejected its designa-tion by the US as a ‘country ofparticular concern' as an “arbi-trary and selective assessment”,saying it was completely againstthe realities on the groundand raises serious doubts overthe credibility of the exercise.

The United States onWednesday designated severalnations, including Pakistan,China, Iran, North Korea andMyanmar, as countries of par-ticular concern for violation ofreligious freedom.

"I am designating Burma(Myanmar), the People'sRepublic of China, Eritrea,Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan,Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan,and Turkmenistan as Countriesof Particular Concern for hav-ing engaged in or tolerated sys-

tematic, ongoing, and egre-gious violations of religiousfreedom," US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken said.

Pakistan ForeignOffice spokesman AsimIftikhar Ahmed said at a week-ly briefing that the designationof Pakistan as a ‘country of par-ticular concern' was “com-pletely against the realities onthe ground and raises seriousdoubts about the credibility ofthis exercise”.

“Such subjective designa-tions do not contribute towardspromoting the cause of reli-gious freedom worldwide,” hesaid.

Ahmed said Pakistan andthe US have been construc-tively engaging on the subjectat the bilateral level, a factregrettably overlooked by the

US. Pakistani society ismulti-religious and pluralisticwith a rich tradition of inter-faith harmony. Religious free-dom and the protection of therights of minorities are guar-anteed by the Constitution andensured through a range of leg-islative, policy and adminis-trative measures, he said.

“We believe the redressalof the rising trend of intoler-ance, discrimination, xeno-phobia and Islamophobiarequires global efforts based onthe principles of cooperationand mutual understanding,”he said, while terming theomission of India as unfortu-nate.

Ahmed also said Pakistanwas sincerely playing its part inending all kinds of intolerancearound the world. PTI

Beijing: China on Thursdayslammed the US for designating italong with Pakistan and others as'countries of particular concern' forthe violation of religious freedomand accused Washington of fre-quently using religious issues tointerfere in the internal affairs ofother nations.

The US on Wednesday desig-nated several nations, includingChina, Pakistan, Iran, North Koreaand Myanmar, as “countries of par-ticular concern for having engagedin or tolerated systematic, ongoing,and egregious violations of reli-gious freedom."

China firmly opposes groundlessaccusations as it smears the country'sreligious freedom, Foreign Ministryspokesman Zhao Lijian told themedia here. When askedabout the US charge, Zhao said,

“Chinese Government protects cit-izens' religious freedom in accor-dance with the law”.

He said China has nearly200 million religious believers, over3.80 lakh clerical personnel, 5500religious groups and 1.40 lakh placesof worship for religious activities."People in China enjoy full freedomof religious belief. Facts speak loud-er than words and a lie repeated athousand times is still a lie,” hesaid.

On Wednesday, Secretary ofState Antony Blinken asserted thatthe United States will not waiver inits commitment to advocate forfreedom of religion or belief for all and in every country andsaid the challenges to religious free-dom in the world today are struc-tural, systemic, and deeplyentrenched. PTI

Islamabad: Sex offenders convicted of mul-tiple rapes in Pakistan could face chemi-cal castration after Parliament passed a newlegislation that aims to speed up convic-tions and impose tougher sentences.

The bill is a response to a public out-cry against a recent spike in incidents ofrape of women and children in the coun-try and growing demands for effectivelycurbing the crime.

The passage of the bill comes almosta year after President Arif Alvi approvedthe new anti-rape ordinance that wascleared by the Pakistan Cabinet, calling forthe chemical castration of rapists with theconsent of the convict and setting up ofspecial courts for speedy trails.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill2021 bill was passed along with 33 otherbills by the joint session of parliament onWednesday. It seeks to amend the PakistanPenal Code, 1860, and the Code ofCriminal Procedure, 1898, the Dawnnewspaper reported. “Chemical

castration is a process duly notified by rulesframed by the prime minister, whereby aperson is rendered incapable of performing sexual intercourse for anyperiod of his life, as may be determined bythe court through administration of drugswhich shall be conducted through a noti-fied medical board,” according to the bill.

Jamaat-i-Islami Senator MushtaqAhmed protested over the bill and termedit un-Islamic and against Sharia.

He said a rapist should be hanged pub-licly, but there was no mention of castra-tion in Sharia.

Chemical castration is the use ofdrugs to reduce sexual activity. It is a legalform of punishment in countries includ-ing South Korea, Poland, the CzechRepublic and in some states in the US,according to media reports.

Critics say fewer than 4 per cent of sex-ual assault or rape cases in Pakistan resultin a conviction. PTI

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Coronavirus deaths in Russiahit record highs for the sec-

ond straight day Thursday,while new daily cases appearedto be taking a downward trendbut still remained higher thanduring previous waves of thepandemic.

Russia's state coronavirustask force reported that 1,251people died of Covid-19 sincethe day before, the most sinceRussia had its first virus out-break in March 2020. The pre-vious record of 1,247 deathswas recorded Wednesday.

The task force also report-ed 37,374 new confirmed cases.Until this week, Russianauthorities had recorded high-er daily case numbers since lateOctober.

Health experts haveblamed the latest surge ininfections and deaths on lowvaccination rates and lax pub-lic attitudes toward taking pre-cautions. Fewer than 40 percent of Russia's nearly 146 mil-lion people have been fully vac-cinated, even though the coun-try approved a domesticallydeveloped COVID-19 vaccinemonths before most of theworld.

To boost immunisationrates, the government said new

restrictions would take effectnext year and limit access tomany public places, as well asdomestic and internationaltrains and flights, to those whohave been fully vaccinated,have recovered from Covid-19or are medically exempt fromvaccination.

Officials have urgedRussians to get vaccinated inthe meantime. In total,the coronavirus task force hasreported over 9.2 million con-firmed infections and morethan 260,000 Covid-19 deaths,by far the highest death toll inEurope. Some experts believethe true figure is even higher.

Reports by Russia's statis-tical service, Rosstat, that tallycoronavirus-linked deathsretroactively reveal much high-er mortality.

United Nations: India's envoyto the UN has said that terror-ism continues to pose a "seriousthreat" to Afghanistan and theregion, emphasising that thecurrent sitution in the war-torncountry has direct implicationsfor India and reiterated its callfor an “inclusive dispensation”in Kabul which represents allsections of the Afghan society.

India's PermanentRepresentative to the UN,Ambassador T S Tirumurti,addressing the UN SecurityCouncil open briefing on theUnited Nations AssistanceMission in Afghanistan(UNAMA) on Wednesday, saidthat the situation inAfghanistan continues to be acause of pressing concern.

“Terrorism continues topose a serious threat toAfghanistan and to the region.In fact, this Council itself hascome together, on several occa-sions since August, to pro-nounce in one voice whereplaces of religious worship,including those used by reli-gious and ethnic minorities,and other public places such ashospitals, have been targeted byterrorists,” he said.

As its immediate neighbourand a long-standing friend of itspeople, the current situation hasdirect implications for India,”the Indian ambassador said.

Tirumurti said that the SecurityCouncil Resolution 2593,adopted under India'sPresidency of the UNSC inAugust, clearly sets out bound-aries outlining the internation-al community's expectationson a range of critical and imme-diate issues.

The resolution lays downthe requirements in terms of thefight against terrorism, where ithas noted the commitment ofthe Taliban not to allow the useof the Afghan soil for terrorism,including from terrorists andterrorist groups designatedunder the Resolution 1267relating to ISIL and al-Qaedasanctions, he told the Councilmeeting, which was briefed by SpecialRepresentative on AfghanistanDeborah Lyons.

Tirumurti said thatResolution 2593 also laid downthe expectations of the inter-national community in terms ofan inclusive, negotiated politi-cal settlement with the full,equal and meaningful partici-pation of women and minori-ties and diverse political-ethnicgroups in the country, theimportance of upholdinghuman rights including those ofwomen, children and minori-ties, and the requirement toprovide humanitarian assis-tance to the people of

Afghanistan.“One of our immediate

priorities is to evacuate strand-ed people, as well as ensure theirfree movement so that they areallowed to travel in and out ofAfghanistan,” he said.

Tirumurti reiterated India'scalls for an “inclusive dispen-sation” in Afghanistan whichrepresents all sections of theAfghan society. “A broad based,inclusive and representativeformation would gain greaterinternational acceptability andlegitimacy,” he said.

He underlined that today,it is more necessary than everthat the international commu-nity speak with one voice onAfghanistan.

Resolution 2596 requiresthe Secretary General to reportto the Security Council onstrategic and operational rec-ommendations for the mandateof UNAMA, in the light ofrecent political, security andsocial developments."We believe this report shouldcontain holistic recommenda-tions from a strategic perspec-tive,” Tirumurti said, addingthat when the Council decideson the future of the UNAMAmandate in March 2022, itsfocus needs to be centered onthe welfare, well-being andexpectations of the Afghanpeople. PTI

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At least 25 people were killed by suspectedextremist gunmen in southwest Niger, the

government said Wednesday.Buildings were burned and ransacked in the

attack earlier this week near Bakorat villagealong the border with Mali, Alkache Alhada,the interior minister said in a statement. Thegovernment called the attack cowardly and saidsecurity sweeps in the area are underway.

This is the latest in a string of extremist vio-lence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic Stategroup in the conflict-ridden West Africannation, particularly along the border withMali.

Earlier this month suspected Islamicextremists ambushed a self-defense brigade inwestern Niger killing 69 people and in March,137 people were killed by gunmen on motor-cycles who attacked a series of villages alongthe border.

While no group claimed responsibility forthis week's attack, al-Qaida is most prominentin that part of Niger as it has operated there formany years, say conflict analysts.

The attack signifies a continued rise ofextremist violence in the Sahel, the region southof the Sahara Desert, said Laith Alkhouri, CEOof Intelonyx Intelligence Advisory.

“It further denotes the lacklustersecurity measures that keep the borders porousand provide terrorist groups like al-Qaida andISIS, who've been competing for dominance,with opportunities to expand,” he said.

Washington: American offi-cials are unsure why RussianPresident Vladimir Putin isbuilding up military forcesnear the border with easternUkraine but view it as anoth-er example of troubling mili-tary moves that demandMoscow's explanation,Defence Secretary LloydAustin said Wednesday.

“We'll continue tocall on Russia to act responsi-bly and be more transparenton the buildup of the forcesaround on the border ofUkraine,” Austin told aPentagon news conference,adding, “We're not sure exact-ly what Mr. Putin is up to.”

He said the troop builduphas the Pentagon's attentionand that the Russians shouldbe “more transparent aboutwhat they're up to.” AP

Sofia (Bulgaria: Bulgarian military prosecutorson Thursday indicted a group of serving andretired military officials on charges of spying forRussia.

The indictment filed in a military courtaccuses six people of collecting and passing clas-sified information to a foreign country, the pros-ecutors said. They include a former senior offi-cial in Bulgaria's Military Intelligence Service,senior Defense Ministry officials and a formermilitary attache who oversaw classified infor-mation at Bulgaria's parliament. AP

Sumas (US): Residents of this small US city alongthe Canadian border were assessing damage fromflooding that hit an estimated three quarters ofhomes, as Washington state and British Columbiatried to dry out from an intense, days-long rainstorm that cut off key roadways and forced hun-dreds of evacuations.

Skies were sunny Wednesday morning in thearea around Sumas, Washington, where about 500rescues and evacuations were reported.

“We're looking at going door-to-door, aswaters go down in different parts of town,” SumasMayor Kevin Christensen told The Seattle Times.“Half is on dry ground, half has water.”

By Wednesday afternoon, only one river inwestern Washington had active flood warnings.

The soaking fueled by a so-called atmosphericriver that dumped torrents rain on the PacificNorthwest and British Columbia from Saturdaythrough Monday reminded people of westernWashington's record, severe flooding in November1990 when two people died and there were morethan 2,000 evacuations.

While the weather was improving, the situa-tion remained dire in British Columbia, where theCanadian government was sending in the militaryto help with floods and mudslides that destroyedparts of several major highways. One death wasreported and officials said Wednesday that moredeaths were expected. Immediately across the bor-der from Sumas, police using helicopters and boatshad evacuated about 180 residents of a flooded low-lying area of Abbotsford, British Columbia.Evacuations continued Wednesday. MayorHenry Braun said Wednesday that conditions werebad overnight because a key pumping station wasin danger of being overwhelmed. AP

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����� 506��017�

India exported more than 65million doses of Covid vac-

cines to nearly 100 countriesthis year, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said onThursday, asserting that theglobal trust earned by theIndian healthcare sector has ledto the country being called the“pharmacy of the world”.

Speaking after inaugurat-ing the first global innovationsummit of the pharmaceuticalsector, Modi said India’s visionis to create an eco-system forinnovation that will make thecountry a leader in drug dis-covery and innovative medical

devices.“Our policy interventions

are being made based on wideconsultations with all stake-holders,” he said.

Noting that India has alarge pool of scientists andtechnologists with a potentialto take the industry to greaterheights, Modi said this strengthneeds to be harnessed to “dis-cover and make in India”.

“Today, when 1.3 billionpeople of India have taken itupon themselves to make India‘aatmanirbhar’, we must thinkabout ramping up domesticmanufacturing of key ingredi-ents for vaccines and medi-cines,” he asserted.

New Delhi:The CBI has closeda case against former Air IndiaCMD Arvind Jadhav and oth-ers over alleged corruption inthe appointments of GeneralManagers after the centralGovernment refused to grantits sanction to prosecute him,officials said.

The agency had bookedJadhav, then General ManagerL P Nakhwa (now retired), and

then Additional GeneralManagers A Kathpalia,Amitabh Singh and RohitBhasin after a year-long pre-liminary enquiry, they said.

It was alleged that Jadhavhad constituted illegal/irregu-lar promotion panel to recom-mend suitable candidates forpromotion to the post ofGeneral Manager (Operations),they said. PTI

����� 506��017�

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday said his

government is using all chan-nels including diplomatic tobring back high-profile eco-nomic offenders, leaving themwith no option but to return tothe country.

Speaking at a symposiumon credit flow and economicgrowth, he asked banks to sup-port wealth and job creatorswith proactive lending whilepromising to stand by anyloans given in right earnest.

“In our attempt to bringback fugitive (economicoffenders), we relied on policiesand law and also used diplo-matic channels. The message isvery clear -- return to yourcountry. We are continuingthese efforts,” he said.

He, however, did not nameor refer to any particularoffender.

India has in recent timesstepped up efforts to extraditehigh-profile economic offend-ers such as Vijay Mallya andNirav Modi, wanted in con-

nection with bank frauds andmoney laundering cases.

While �5 lakh crore hasbeen recovered from defaultersthrough proactive steps, therecently set up National AssetReconstruction Company(NARCL) would help resolve�2 lakh crore of stressed assets,the Prime Minister said.

He also said the financialhealth of banks is now in amuch-improved condition ashis government has since 2014found ways to address theproblems they faced.

“Indian banks are strongenough to play a major role inimparting fresh energy to thecountry’s economy, for givinga big push and making Indiaself-reliant. “This is a time foryou to support wealth creatorsand job creators. It is the needof the hour that now the banksof India work proactively tobolster the wealth sheet of thecountry along with their bal-ance sheets,” he asserted.

Banks, Modi said, need toshed the culture of they beingan approver and the customerbeing an applicant, and adopt

the model of partnership. “When the country is

working so hard on financialinclusion, it is very importantto unlock the productivepotential of the citizens,” hesaid. Modi further said thereforms initiated by the gov-ernment in the banking sectorin the last six-seven years sup-ported the banking sector inevery way, due to which thesector is in a very strong posi-tion today.

“We addressed the prob-lem of NPAs, recapitalisedbanks and increased theirstrength. We brought reformslike Insolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC), reformed manylaws and empowered DebtRecovery Tribunal,” he said.

Modi also nudged bankersto offer “customised solutions”to businesses and micro, smalland medium enterprises(MSMEs). “Don’t wait for cus-tomers to come to banks. Youhave to go to them,” he said,while assuring bankers that hewill “stand by them like a wall”for every honest decision theytake.

����� 506��017�

The Indian economy is like-ly to grow by 7 - 7.5 per

cent in the next fiscal year, theEconomic Advisory Council tothe Prime Minister (EAC-PM)said on Thursday, whileobserving that contact intensivesectors and constructionshould recover in 2022-23.

In a statement, the EAC-PM however added that thisshould not mean that theUnion Budget for 2022-23should project unrealisticallyhigh tax revenue or tax buoy-ancy numbers.

“Looking beyond the cur-rent year, 2021-22, EAC-PMmembers were optimistic aboutreal and nominal growthprospects in 2022-23. Otherthan an element of the baseeffect, the contact intensivesectors and constructionshould recover in 2022-23,” itsaid.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has lowered the growthprojection for the current

financial year to 9.5 per centfrom 10.5 per cent estimatedearlier, while the IMF has pro-jected a growth of 9.5 per centin 2021 and 8.5 per cent in thenext year.

“Once capacity utilizationimproves, private investmentsshould also recover. herefore,Members felt a real rate ofgrowth of 7 to 7.5% in 2022-23was likely,” the statement said.

It noted that the UnionBudget for 2021-22 wasapplauded because of reformmeasures, as well as trans-parency and realism in thenumbers.

“EAC-PM members wereof the view that these dimen-sions should be carried forwardinto the 2022-23 Budget too,signalling use of the extra rev-enue in the form of capitalexpenditure and human capi-tal expenditure, since Covid hasled to a human capital deficit,”it added.

According to the state-ment, there should also be aclear roadmap for privatisationand the growth orientation oflast year’s Budget should also bemaintained. A meeting of theEAC-PM was held in Delhi onThursday.

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����� 506��017�

Shares of One97Communications Ltd,

Paytm’s parent company, onThursday made a weak marketdebut and tumbled over 27 percent during the day from theissue price of � 2,150. The stockwas listed at � 1,955, slipping 9per cent from the issue price onthe BSE. It then tumbled 27.25per cent to �1,564 during theday.

On the NSE, it debuted at�1,950, registering a decline of

9.30 per cent against the issueprice. During the day, the stockplunged 27.34 per cent to �1,562.

“Paytm, the biggest IPO inIndia so far debuted the sec-ondary market on a weakernote as compared to our expec-tations of a flat listing,” SantoshMeena, Head of Research,Swastika Investmart Ltd, said.

The company command-ed a market valuation of�1,01,484.00 crore in late after-noon trade on the BSE.

Ant Group-backed Paytm’s�18,300 crore IPO was over-subscribed 1.89 times on thelast day of India’s biggest sharesale last week.

This was greater thanminer Coal India’s � 15,000crore offer a decade back.

“Paytm, formally calledOne97 Communicationsdebuts today at exchangeswhich saw a dull response andgot subscribed only 1.89 timesfrom the investors which ismuch lower compared to theother recently listed compa-nies,” Parth Nyati, Founder,Tradingo said.

He added that they feelthat due to the brand the com-pany sought high valuationand it might see a correction inthe near term. The initial pub-lic offering of Paytm’s parentcompany One97Communications Ltd receivedbids for 9.14 crore equity sharesagainst the offer size of 4.83crore shares, according to infor-mation available with stockexchanges on November 10.

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Back in 2005, Bunty Aur Babli made a lot ofnoise. The film marked the first time theBachchan father and son duo had appeared

on the silver screen, together. The film was a run-way success and was the second-highest gross-

ing film that year.Fast-forward to November 19,

2021 — Bunty Aur Babli 2 (BAB2) isreleasing in theatres today. Going bythe name, one might be inclined tothink that BAB2 is a sequel.However, we were able to gainaccess to Bollywood stalwartPankaj Tripathi, who was kindenough to set the record straight.

“Well, you would have towatch the film to understandhow this film is different fromthe Bunty Aur Babli whichreleased in 2005. BAB2 is set15 years after what happenedin 2005, kaafi lamba gap hai.Apart from the name, RaniMukerji and a plot centredaround thieves, BAB2 bearslittle resemblance to BuntyAur Babli. If you are lookingfor more information, I amnot someone who will spillthe beans on a film before it

has released,” expressesTripathi with a laugh.

The Mirzapur star seems topossess an easygoing personayet an ethereal charm, or maybethat was just us, relying on an

image that an actor cultivates dur-ing his career, with the roles they

portray. That is definitely what hewould have us believe, that he is justanother person, with his own quirks.But there is always more to people

than what meets the eye; to those whomight be unaware, Tripathi happens tobe an extremely soft-spoken star, in thetrue sense of that term, who does notwear his stardom like a badge of honour.

Coming back to the matter at hand,BAB2's marketing team has made it clearthat there are four thieves this timearound, essayed by Mukerji, Saif AliKhan, Siddhant Chaturvedi and debutantSharvari Wagh, who are pitted againstTripathi, who plays Police Inspector Jatayu

Singh. While he had made it clear that hewon’t reveal any information before the filmis released, we had to stick to our job and fishfor as much information as possible. Hence,

we could not help but ask whether the police-man gets to win against the thieves.

And pat comes the reply, “In this cat andmouse game between the thieves and a police-man, who wins is the premise of the film itself.What I can tell you is that time wins. We humans

can never win against the tides of time. It is thegreat equaliser, it comes for the greatest as well asthe lowly among us. We might at times fool our-

selves into thinking that we have won something,but let's not forget, at the end of the day, punintended, the passing of time beats all of us. "

While him elaborating upon an unrelated sub-ject was a good sign, because engaging conversa-tions are known to branch out and not stick to anyone particular thing, we couldnt help but expressthat this sounded like Tripathis Guruji, from SacredGames, with some heavy-hitting philosophy for asomewhat generic question related to a films pro-motion. We had to ask him how thoughtful doeshe think he is.

Tripathi believes that being in our head,immersed with our thoughts, is pretty natural."Irrespective of whether we are in the moment orsomewhere else, at face value, everyone is occu-pied with their thoughts. I think being thought-less is the challenge. If one seeks to achieve thatstate of thoughtlessness, a lot of discipline, effortand meditation is required," shares Tripathithoughtfully.

While we liked the route this conversation wastaking, we recalled that we were at work and movedon to the next pointer on the questionnaire we hadprepared, one that quizzed him about his experi-ence of working with Chaturvedi and Sharvari. "Itwas an extremely delightful experience! BothSharvari and Chaturvedi happen to be sincere andwould turn up prepared. I would observe themfrom the sidelines and they always appeared to beon their toes, which is the mark of true profession-als," reveals the veteran actor.

We also happened to enquire whether he wasable to take a break post-shooting, and what is hisidea of a break, since he had made it known some-time back that his schedule is overloaded and heis looking forward to the next break. "Well, Ihavent had the luxury of taking an extended break.Ideally, I would like to take a month off and justtravel to someplace where I can just sit and gazeat the beauty of nature. And, oh yes, the cell recep-tion should be poor, there. Whenever I know I can

spare some time, I travel to my village and thereis a sense of relief as soon as I see my phone hasno network," shares Tripathi.

We also posed a question about his dreams —now that he is a seasoned veteran in the Hindi filmindustry, what does he dream of, now? "I came toBombay as a young lad who aspired to be an actor.And after 17 years, after a good deal of ups anddowns, I have finally carved a niche for myself inthis industry,” he recalls. “Whatever dreams orplans I had, I have received a lot more. Abhi tohsurplus me chal raha hai sab. I am extremely grate-ful to the audience, without them, I would not bewhere I am today. As of now, I am in a space whereI appreciate the fact that I dont need to run afterwhat I do not have. On a somewhat related note,I think we dont appreciate what we have, in todaystimes. Let us not forget that we dont have is prob-ably an endless list. When we think about the pastor the future, we often neglect the present. It is onlyby taking care of the present that we can influenceour future. Talking about here and now, I am here,talking to you and frankly it is a good conversa-tion…"

When we thanked the stalwart for the cour-teous flattery, he took us back by his response,"That was not flattery, I mean what I say.Falsehood is not my way in life. In cinema, the pathwe actors tread on is lined with falsehood; I amsure you get what I mean, a script is not really thetruth. It is just a well packaged bundle of careful-ly crafted lies that we artistes need to perform astruthfully as possible. When I am not in front ofthe camera, I dont want to deal with or indulgein falsehood,” says Tripathi vehemently.

Coming back to Bunty Aur Babli 2, whichreleases in theatres today, Tripathi says that the filmis light-hearted family affair. “Getting to laugh intough times is a medicine of sorts. BAB2 is com-mited to entertain you and make you laugh. I inviteyou to come and attain release by laughing yourhearts out in the theatres,” he promises.

While Indian footwear hasseen tremendous changes

in the past few years, nothinghas marked the trends in theindustry like pandemic has, inthe recent times. With peoplecontinuing to stay indoors mostof the times, the preference forcomfortable footwear is at an all-time high. Slippers and sandalsare the top search on onlinewebsites for shopping in thispost-covid era. It is now difficultto return to shoes and boots andheels, now that we have tastedthe magical moment of slippingour feet into a flat sandal, andthat’s it, you’re good to go.We’ve lived like this for two yearsand as I saw the trend of wear-ing socks with sandals on Vogue,I knew this is going to stay evenduring winters.

While ballerinas, kittenheels, block heels or wedges,greek sandals, and loafers havealso been Indianised, somefootwear remain as Indian asever, pertaining to its hugeand diverse cultures and tradi-tions. Keeping in mind thefactors of comfort over style,but that, of course, does notmean we have to put on some-thing dull, and be at utmostcomfort. It could be chic andcomfortable at the same time.Here are four trends in Indianfootwear that are being most

adopted by our generations:

Paduka/KhadaoFrom the times of our

ancestors, there is one form offootwear we know was thenorm of the times — thepadukas. We know of this

because there was a time whenRamayana taught us how LordRama refused to dishonour hisfather's word and his brother,Bharata, who loved and respect-ed Rama more than his own life,asked for Rama’s sandals. It isknown that Bharata embell-ished the throne of Ayodhya

with these padukas, thus, mak-ing it known and evident to theworld that Rama was the actu-al ruler of the kingdom while hewas only take care of the gover-nance and pressing issues in hisstead. Here were sandals thatactually ruled as a king!

Khadao is a form offootwear that has been remod-elled and suited to moderntimes, with the basics being thesame. Instead of wood, leatheris used in most cases.

These khadaos by AkretiCreations engulf a seude leatherbase and leather straps. Theleather is pure and here’s some-thing comfortable enough towear at home, while stylishenough to flaunt outside. It hasbeen handcrafted by local arti-sans. By supporting the smallbusinesses, we make a marketfor local businesses and actual-ly promote PM Modi’s ‘Vocal forlocal’. Not only does this bene-fit the environment, for this, too,lies under sustainable fashion,but also help solve the conun-

drum of unemployment in thecountry.

JuttiAnd how can I go on talk-

ing about Indian footwear, butforget the most beloved of all —juttiyan. They’re something thatsomehow never go out of styleand now that we are goingvocal for local, in an attempt toform a support system for localbusinesses, the juttiyan have

been innovated and styled inunique ways and suited to thecurrent times.

Adorning the festive seasonwith their beauty, these royalblue khussas bejeweled my inkblue kaftaan and white pants on

Diwali. The intricate work inwhite sequences only add to itsaesthetics.

KolhapuriThe history of kolhapuri

chappals, too, go back to the oldtimes, somewhere around the12th century when King Bijjalafrom the Western Chalyukaempire and his minister,Basavanna, encouraged the localproduction of kolha-puri chappals inorder to uplift thecobbler com-munity.

E v e nt h o u g h ,historically,these were made of leather, andwe can divide the footwear intonon-leather and leather cate-gories, another popular trend isusing vegan footwear and shun-ning animal based productsnow. While, of course, stickingwith the handmade ones.

Velvet footwear finds pridein being #crueltyfree. These

blue kolhapuri styled wrinkledstrap flats have an extremely wellcushioned and flexible sole,with anti-slid grains and ascrunchie-like warm and com-fortable strap.

Strapped flat sandalsThe trendiest and round-

the-clock footwear would bemonochrome flat sandals, withmodishly rounding up straps

and chunky and vivaciouscolours. From natural hues, fas-cinating pastels to bold colours,pantone strapped flat sandals

have always beenaround.

These pastel san-dals by Fi Tribe, a

homegrown brand, are as ele-gant as it gets. They suit everyoccasion, round the year,whether it is ethnic wear or den-ims or flowery frocks, or springskirts, these indefectiblefootwear go with just everything— a classic display of comfortmeeting style.

Men will be men; boys don’tcry; mard ko dard nahi

hota; men should be fearless; areal man knows how to keep hiswife in control; and men cer-tainly don’t talk about the ‘f ’word — feelings!

Even though we live in the21st century, these are just a fewstatements that have beenpassed on through decades andgenerations. The gender stereo-types that these statements bol-ster, contribute to maintainingthe status quo, allowing patri-archy to hold its ground.

While much has been saidabout how patriarchy affectsand downgrades women, thebigger question is does patri-archy affect only the fairer sex?And can it have any impact onmen, their lives, or even emo-tions?

The flip side to the age-oldstructure

It is true, patriarchy is notvery absolving of men either.Where women are required tobe ideal daughters, wives,daughters-in-law, and moth-ers, men are expected andsometimes even taught to ‘wearthe mask’ so they fit into thesmall, ideal mould of mas-culinity and are prepared forpositions of domination. Andbeing raised with the title of‘preferred gender’ does little tosave them from the toxic mas-culinity myth. From childhoodto adolescence, when girls aretold to be emotionally present,nurturing, and dependent ontheir desires, boys are taught tobe independent, strong, andunemotional. They are sub-consciously conditioned to notwear pink, use floral perfume,or even skincare products.

Such reluctance from mento express themselves on sub-jects other than work or career,even when among a group ofclose friends, is also a key fac-tor for men inhibiting fromcoming out on issues, such asdepression and anxiety. Thoughthis aversion is often seen tostem from the fear of being seenas ‘less manly’ by male peers,rather than their female coun-terparts; maybe we can blameit on John Wayne for his ruggedindividualism and appropriatemanliness, which does not tellthe real story of how men canreally thrive.

But the harsh reality is thatpatriarchy does not exist only inmen. Women too are swim-ming in tides of patriarchy andsometimes are just as patriarchalas men. They hold the sametypes of biases and often wanttheir partners to fit into thesmall box of machoism.

Patriarchy meanderinginto relationships

From the lens of masculin-ity, this is just the start. This

rigid dichotomy of gender rolesis enslaving men and women tofar-fetched standards of howthey should behave and conductthemselves. At the same time, itis also seeping into their rela-tionships, making them clonesof their previous generationsand brewing troubles, especial-ly as the next generation of mil-lennials and Gen Z are moreaware of their desires and valueof happiness. But this evolvingscenario is also calling uponmen and women to find theirway out of patriarchy becausethe old rules were not built forintimacy and happiness.

Rethinking rolesAs we usher in a new era of

social consciousness, there aremany Indian men, who arestepping out of traditional rolesand openly embracing the ideaof sharing equal responsibilitiesin a household. Not shyingaway from the instincts to careand nurture, a lot of millenni-al fathers and husbands arecoming forward, sometimeseven as stay-at-home dads to bemore involved with their chil-dren and share the responsibil-ities.

Even during Covid-19,when offices shut down, a lot ofmen began pitching in more, athome, and even took charge ofhousehold chores such as doingdishes and cooking three mealsa day. Some of the more awaremen, including the famouscelebrity and cricketer, ViratKohli, have gone a step furtheras they break barriers by choos-ing to marry women who aretaller and tower over them.

Underscoring this rolereversal by such couples andindividuals, is the fact that theydared to unlearn and then learna healthier approach towardsthe other sex and relationships,in general.

Bottom lineWe are past the age when

men were from Mars andwomen were from Venus. It isimportant to take into consid-eration that both are from plan-et Earth and both need to diveinto the concept of wholenessrather than working as halves,where one is the breadwinnerand the other is the homemak-er. While women need to beresilient, bold and feminine, andconfident, at the same time menneed to be a complete mix ofstrong, vulnerable, confident,and sensitive. And as the tide isturning, we can see men alsounderstand that what they standto gain from smashing patri-archy far outweighs what theymight lose. Because at the endof the day, har mard ko dardhota hai.

(The author is the co-founder & CEO of TrulyMadly,

an online dating app.)

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ASunday is just the per-fect kind of a day to givethe kitchen a break. But

if it also happens to be a timewhen you don’t want to ventureout, the option of course is toorder in, especially if you arelooking for a gourmet meal.And that is how I found myselfsampling the Thailand Editionfrom Travel Tastes Co made bySheraton Saket’s cloud kitchen.Priced at �1499 plus taxes forvegetarian and �1899 plustaxes for non-vegetarian, it isthe first of the cuisines fromdifferent countries whichwould feature on the hotel’sdelivery menu.

The reason why Thai food,despite being so different fromIndian, is quite popular is itsuse of contrasting flavourswhere hot spices come togeth-er with sweet, light citrusflavours in a dish. The cuisine

combines four key tastes —sweet, salty, sour and bitterwhich are balanced well. Thelightly prepared dishes havestrongly aromatic componentslike lemongrass, basil and morewhich make the food distinctfrom other Asian counter-parts. The Thai have a saying,gan gin gan yu (as you eat, soyou are), which is reflective ofhow integral food is to Thaiculture and identity.

Naturally, our taste budstingled at the thought of thearomas and taste in store as wewaited with some anticipationfor the food to arrive. And itwas delivered dot on time.The sustainable packaging wasthe first thing to get mythumbs up even before I delvedinto the flavours of the dishes.

Opening the packages oneby one, we dived into theflavours and aromas. First up

was the Som tam, the rawpapaya salad, which has alwaysbeen a favourite. And here, itwas so good that I could actu-ally make a meal of it. Thecherry tomatoes added sweet-ness to the tart raw papaya andthe peanuts sprinkled gener-ously gave the dish a nicecrunch while the spiced dress-ing brought together every-thing in a perfect balance.

Next up were thePhrikthiyda yang chis sd, freshcheese marinated with blackpepper, cilantro and grilledand its non-vegetarian equiva-lent Phrikthiyda ki yang, whereroasted chicken was the proteinof choice. though both weresucculent, it was the cheese thatscored as the flavours comple-mented it better.

Coming to the maincourse, there was Kaeng kiewwan, Thai green curry with

vegetables and its non-vegetar-ian alternative with prawns.The creamy milk, a hint of basiland lemongrass ensured thatnot just the curry retained afresh mouthfeel, it was smoothon the palate too. Paired withthe steamed sticky jasmine rice,it was akin to comfort food. Themain course also had Phadprik kathiyab, okra in hot basiland garlic. But we weren’t doneyet. There was Pad thai, the tra-

ditional flat noodles withtamarind and coconut whichensured that the sweet and tarttickled the taste buds and hadme tucking in some more.

Feeling pretty satiated, Iwondered if digging into theToffee pudding drizzled withtoffee sauce would be takingthings a bit too far. But Ijunked caution to the windand decided, I’ll die(t) anoth-er day.

The last two years havebrought some major

lifestyle changes in our day-to-day life. While some of thesechanges have made our lifeeasier, most of them havecomplicated it further.Amongst all, corporateemployees have seen a majortransformation due to theshift from office cubicles toWFH set ups. Working fromhome has its own advantageand disadvantages beyond theprofessional paradigm. Talkingabout the disadvantages, oneof them is sedentary lifestylealong with higher stress levelsdue to working at a distance.

Although it is evident thatpeople are more inclinedtowards eating clean and giv-ing more priority to healththan taste, it is important tounderstand the underlyingconditions that arise throughwork-related stress andadversely impacts the hearthealth. A study states thatpeople working 55 hours ormore a week are at a 35 percent higher risk of stroke anda 17 per cent higher risk ofdying from heart disease, com-pared with a working week of35 to 40 hours.

Although, the conditionsand reasons may can vary onan individualistic basis, thecorporate organisations arerealising the importance of

employees’ health as the work-places readies to welcomeback employees. Also, therecent announcement by PMModi, with regards to digitalhealth card, will have an indi-rect positive impact of pro-moting health and well-beingamongst employees. One ofmany such ways, along withgamification of health-relatedactivities and promoting well-ness programmes, is nutrition-al food intake.

There is immense amountof innovation happening in thecorporate kitchen to makethe food at work exciting andas well as healthy at the sametime.

As a practise, the variety offood served at workplace hasbeen restricted and moreimportance has been given tothe nutritional value. Forexample, white bread isreplaced with healthy alterna-tives like ragi, quinoa loaf,inclusion of a fruit flatter andgreen leafy vegetables alongwith food, varieties ofgreen/herbal teas and healthyconcoction of herbs tostrengthen the immunity.

Along with healthy foodalternatives, portion control iswidely promoted amongstemployees as it is one of themost lethal factors that caus-es almost every health prob-lem. Food items that are

served comes informed withthe amount of calories it car-ries along. This enables theemployees to gauge and,accordingly, order food as perit is suggested by the dietexpert.

We are looking forward toan environment where work-places will provide regularhealth check-ups of employeesand, accordingly, providedietary recommendationsalong with educating theemployees on behaviouralchanges of the body and otherpotentially costly health riskfactors. This is mainly backedby the dual reason of ensuringgood health of employees andenabling optimum produc-tivity at work.

Overall, this positive movehas resulted into various newconcepts coming up into pic-ture. We can expect a lot morein the next few years wherethere will be more importancegiven to individual dietarypreferences that will mappedthrough artificial intelligence.To sum this up, heart health ofthe corporate employees isdirectly related to productiv-ity of the employee and foodis the best way to keep thesame in check.

(The author is the CEOof CRCL LLP, a contractual

food services company inIndia.)

HOT & HAPPENING AT ANDAZ

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FOOTBALL COMMENTATORNOVY DIESNew Delhi: Considered an authority on Indianfootball, veteran commentator and formerDelhi University professor Novy Kapadia diedhere on Thursday after a prolonged illness. Hewas 67. Kapadia is not survived by anyimmediate family member after the death of hissister The soft-spoken Kapadia, who hascovered nine FIFA World Cups, was onventilator for the last month.

PRAMOD BHAGAT REGISTER EASY WINKampala: World number one Pramod Bhagatdefeated Deada Jean Yves Yao from Ivory Coastin under 22 minutes in the UgandaInternational Para Badminton tournament hereon Thursday. This was his second win in thesingles SL3 category. The score read 21-13 21-9.The ace shuttler also won his mixed doublesmatch where he partnered Palak Kohli. The pairdefeated India’s Shanthiya Viswanathan andUganda’s Bashir Mutyaba in straight sets 21-1121 12.

MATRIX FIGHT NIGHT RETURNS TO INDIAMumbai: After the huge success of the last threeeditions of the event in UAE, Matrix Fight Nightis all set to come back to India for its seventhedition. The main fight night will be held at theiconic Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad on10th December. Matrix Fight Night, founded byBollywood actor Tiger Shroff and his sisterKrishna Shroff, supported by parents Ayeshaand Jackie Shroff, had received backing for itssixth edition in Dubai from renowned faces ofboth Dubai and Bollywood.

ROUND 2 OF JK TYRE’S RACING CHAPIONSHIPNew Delhi: The season’s opening round of the24th JK Tyre FMSCI National RacingChampionship (JKNRC) 2021 at the Kari MotorSpeedway (KMS) in Coimbatore last monthdished out some juicy moments for thespectators. There is much more in store in thesecond round to be held at the KMS circuit yetagain this weekend. The riders and drivers, whohave come from across the country, are noweven better prepared and battle ready to pushthemselves up the order in the provisionalpoints table.

PRAKASH PADUKONE RECEIVES LAANew Delhi: Indian badminton great PrakashPadukone will receive the prestigious LifetimeAchievement Award this year from theBadminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF Council shortlisted the Indian legendbased on the award commission’srecommendation. Badminton Association ofIndia (BAI) had submitted his name for thisaward.

JYOTHI DOWNS MIGHTY KOREAS TWICEDhaka: World Championship triple silvermedallist Jyothi Surekha Vennam overcame themighty Korean challenge twice, including in agripping but controversial final, to win thewomen’s compound individual gold at theAsian Archery Championships here onThursday. Fresh from winning three silvermedals at the Yankton Worlds in September,Jyothi defeated 2015 world champion KimYunhee 148-143 in a lopsided semifinal, beforesealing India’s first gold against Oh Yoohyunwith a one-point win (146-145).

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India will look to clinch theseries albeit with a moreimpactful batting performance

from the middle-order in the sec-ond T20 International here onFriday.

For coach Rahul Dravid andskipper Rohit Sharma, therecouldn’t be a better start than aseries win against an old neme-sis, which help them hit the rightchord at the beginning of theirpartnership.

A superlative display bytheir top-order and controlledbowling at the back-end ensureda five-wicket victory against BlackCaps, ending ‘Men in Blue’ seven-match losing streak across for-mats.

For Rohit, before he gets amuch-needed two and half weekbreak from the game, he wouldlike to close the deal at Ranchi andgo for the jugular when the teamsmeet in Kolkata for the final gameof the series.

In absence of Virat Kohli, cur-rently on leave, SuryakumarYadav made full use of the oppor-tunity at number three with amatch-winning 62 off 42 balls.

While there is absolutely nonecessity to press the panic but-ton, but Shreyas Iyer and RishabhPant’s scratchy batting did slight-ly mess up the chase although itwas never out of control.

Shreyas, who is playing amatch for India after a long

break, did look rusty as he foundit difficult to middle the ball. Healso didnt look too keen on farm-ing the strike with singles andtwos when big shots weren’t com-ing off.

Shreyas scored 5 off 8 ballsbefore being dismissed in the

penultimate over by Tim Southee,but thanks to India’s healthy run-rate the chase did not go out oftheir hands.However silver-liningcertainly was Suryakumar, whoseprecision hits delighted the capac-ity crowd at Sawai Man SinghStadium.

The other big positive was theperformance of senior bowlersBhuvneshwar Kumar andRavichandran Ashwin, who werebrilliant in terms hitting the rightareas while some of the inexpe-rienced bowlers leaked runs at theother end.

With his concern about hisform, the new managementunder Rohit and Rahul gave vet-eran seamer Bhuvneshwar a a life-line after he was dropped due toindifferent form in their lossagainst Pakistan in the T20 WorldCup.

By his standards,Bhuvneshwar was going throughthe toughest phase in his careerand had returned with just threewickets in six games at an aver-age of 54 and economy rate of7.04 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

But the 31-year-old deliv-ered in style and exploited theswing on offer at the Sawai Man

Singh Stadium before cleaning upDaryl Mitchell with a a perfectinswinger to return with 2/24which was second to Ashwin’s2/23

India were also brilliant at thedeath and conceded just 41 runstaking three wickets which deniedthe visitors a good 15-20 runs.

“At one stage, it was lookinglike 180-plus so a great effort froma complete bowling performance.A good game for us, especiallywhen we’re missing a few players,so it was an opportunity for theother guys to show their ability,”Sharma said.

The lower middle-order alsomay become a cause of concernfor the skipper as it remains to beseen if he is tempted to tinker hisbatting line-up.

Having already committedto giving his players a long rope,it is unlikely that Rohit will dis-turb the batting line-up just afterone game.

Although in bowling, therecould be a forced change asIndian pacer Mohammad Sirajhas suffered a split left webbingafter being hit by Mitchell Santnerin the final over of the NewZealand innings.

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Garbiñe Muguruza´s trip toMexico started last week drink-

ing tequila. After winning the WTAFinals, it will end in the same way.

The 28-year-old Spaniard beatAnett Kontaveit 6-3, 7-5 to winWTA Finals title for the first time inher career and improve her recordplaying in Mexico to 14 wins and twolosses.

Before the tournament started,Muguruza took a 37-mile (60 kilo-meter) ride to Tequila, a small townoutside of Guadalajara where thepopular spirit is produced.

“I went to the town, did a tast-ing. I knew, I knew. I need to do thisbefore because when I win...” saidMuguruza.

“We’re (now) going to have sometequila, have fun, lose all the tensionwe’ve been having and holding. Ithink the whole team deserves it.”

Muguruza, who won back-to-back titles in Monterrey in northernMexico in 2018 and 2019, became thefirst Spaniard to win the women´sseason-ending tournament.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was arunner-up two times, the last time in1993.

Her past successes in Mexicomotivated Muguruza to play in thefinals. In the ceremony after winningthe title she recalled telling WTA´sCEO Steve Simon at the U.S. Openthat she wanted to play again south

of the Rio Grande.“To qualify, the whole year with

my team I was saying to them, ´it’sin Mexico, we have to make it,c’mon´. It was my biggest motiva-tion,” Muguruza said.

The former No. 1-rankedMuguruza, who was a semifinalist ofthe WTA Finals in 2015, also becamethe oldest champion since SerenaWilliams won it in 2014 and will fin-ish the season at No. 3 in the rank-ings, her best performance since2017.

Muguruza was backed the wholeweek by a raucous crowd who gath-ered at Estadio Akron to cheer andclap for her as if she was one of theirown.

“It’s funny, the other day I wasspeaking with my manager, Oliver.

He was like, You know what, forthe first time, Garbiñe, you’re reallyusing the crowd, really getting thatenergy and using it on the court.

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Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, KidambiSrikanth and HS Prannoy registered

similar come-from-behind victories intheir respective events to advance to thequarterfinals of the Indonesia MastersSuper 750 badminton tournament here onThursday.

The highlight of the day was Prannoy’sstunning 14-21 21-19 21-16 upset victoryover Tokyo Olympics gold medallist VictorAxelsen in a tense one hour 11 minutes bat-tle in the the men’s singles second round.

Down and out in the first game,Prannoy made a sensational recoveryto first level the match and then eke outa memorable win against the world no2. This was Prannoy’s first victory in sixattempts against Axelsen. Withthe win, the world no 32Indian shuttler becomes thefirst player to beat the Danein full a match since March.

In the women’s singles,reining wold championSindhu, who is seeded third,took 47 minutes to recorda 17-21 21-7 21-12 winover Spain’s ClaraAzurmendi.

Playing againstthe world no 47Azurmendi for the

first time, Sindhu went down in the firstgame before putting up a dominant perfor-mance in the next two games to register abrilliant victory.

The two-time Olympic medallist willnow lock horns with world no 30 unseed-ed Turkish shuttler Neslihan Yigit in thequarterfinals. Sindhu has a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Turkish.

On the other hand, former world no 1Srikanth, dispatched Indonesia’s sixth seedJonatan Christie 13-21 21-18 21-15 in one

hour two minutes in the men’s singles sec-ond round fixture.

The unseeded Srikanth, whohad claimed the Indonesia OpenSuper Series premier in 2017 at

Jakarta, will take on Prannoy inthe quarterfinals.

However, it was curtainsfor young Lakshya Sen the

men’s singles event and themixed doubles pairing ofDhruv Kapila and N SikkiReddy.

The 20-year-oldLakshya, who had reached

the semi-finals at Hylo OpenSuper 500 and final of DutchOpen recently, went down 13-21 19-21 to the top seed andtwo-time world championKento Momota of Japan in a46-minute clash.

New Delhi: Tilak Varma’s quick-fire75 and an impressive show by thebowlers helped Hyderabad beat Gujaratby 30 runs in their quarter-final matchof the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20tournament here on Thursday.

Put in to bat at the Air Force groundat Palam, Hyderabad rode on Varma’s 75off just 50 balls to post a competitive158/5 and then restricted the oppositionto 128/8 to enter the last-four stage of thenational T20 championship.

Hyderabad lost opener PragnayReddy (1) early after he was trapped infront by pacer Chintan Gaja (2/32). In-form skipper Tanmay Agarwal (31)

then steadied the innings, along withVarma, as the duo added 46 runs for thesecond wicket. It was Varma, who notonly toyed with the Gujarat attack but

also anchored the innings and hammeredfive fours and two sixes in the process.

He was well supported by HimalayAgarwal (23) and Buddhi Rahul (25 notout), who played second fiddle. Thanksto Varma, Hyderabad could go near the160-run mark.

Chasing 159, Gujarat were reelingat 3/33 after having lost their top-threebatters cheaply.

Two-down Het Patel (25) andPiyush Chawla (25) tried to take thegame deep, but Hyderabad kept onmaking inroads.Ripal Patel, with his 24-ball 35, did raise Gujarat’s hopes but itwas too little and too late. Once Ripal was

dismissed by Chama Milind (2/28), it wasall over for Gujarat.

Manish Pandey takes Karnatakainto semi-final

Manish Pandey first got a brilliantdirect hit to take their match againstBengal into Super Over and then hit amassive six to steer Karnataka into thesemi-finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophyhere on Thursday.

It was one of the best thrillers ofNational T20 meet in recent times withboth teams locked at 160 each after 20overs. Karnataka scored the required sixruns with four Super Over deliveries to

spare.In a debatable decision, skipper

Sudeep Chatterjee sent an off-colour KaifAhmed along with Ritwik RoyChowdhury in the Super Over was baf-fling.

Ahmed had barely scratched toscore 20 off 26 balls.

Surprisingly, Ritwik, who broughtBengal back in contention with 36 off 18balls, did not take the strike in the SuperOver.

The quarter-final match was a tes-timony as to why Bengal’s cricketers arenot at all sought after when it comes fran-chise interest.

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Mercedes will argue Thursdayfor a review of the decision

not to penalize Formula Onechampionship leader MaxVerstappen at the Brazilian GrandPrix for an incident in which LewisHamilton was run off course as heattempted a pass for the lead.

The FIA said Wednesday thatMercedes won the right to reviewthe incident in which Verstappenappeared to force the seven-timechampion off track. The stewardsnoted the incident at the time, butruled it a racing incident and tookno action against the Red Bull dri-ver. Hamilton made the race-win-ning pass 11 laps later to win at

Interlagos on Sunday. It cutVerstappen’s lead in the standingsto 14 points with three racesremaining.

Even though Hamilton won,Mercedes believes Verstappen

should have been penalized. The hearing on Thursday

ahead of the inaugural Qatar GP isto determine if Mercedes has metthe criteria for a review. Mercedeshas based its challenge on “new evi-dence unavailable to the stewardsat the time of their decision.”

It is believed to be onboardcamera footage of the incidentfrom both cars.

If the stewards find Verstappenshould be penalized, he couldreceive a five-second time penaltyapplied to last Sunday’s race. Hefinished second ahead of Hamiltonteammate Valtteri Bottas, and thetime penalty would drop him tothird. It would cut his lead from 14points to 11.

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Ravichandran Ashwin saysit’s too early to comment

on Rahul Dravid’s coachingstyle but the premier Indiaspinner is confident thathappiness will be back in thedressing room under thestalwart’s guidance.

Dravid replaced RaviShastri in the Indian set-up,beginning his stint with theongoing India-New ZealandTwenty20 series.

Ashwin is back in theIndian limited overs squadafter spending four years onthe sidelines. Since mid-

2017 the spinner did not getto play a single white-ballgame and even warmed thebenches in team’s recentEngland Test tour.

The 35-year-old made acomeback at the recentlyconcluded T20 World Cupwhen he played againstAfghanistan and is now partof the team that is clashingwith New Zealand, takingtwo wickets in the seriesopener.

“It’s too early for me tocomment on Rahul Dravid’scoaching style, but he’s putthe hard yards in through theU-19 level,” Ashwin told offi-

cial broadcaster after India’sfive-wicket win onWednesday. “He won’t leave

much to chance, and he’ll beall about preparation andprocess, so that we can bring

the happiness back into theIndian dressing room,” headded.

India has a new leader-ship in place with Dravidtaking over from Shastri andRohit Sharma replacing ViratKohli as captain in T20s.

Talking about the firstT20, Ashwin said he realisedthat taking the pace off theball was working wonders.

“The slower you bowled,there was more purchaseyou got on this pitch. If youhit the seam and tossed it up,it did do things like Santnershowed in the secondinnings,” he said.

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Indian women’s footballteam head coach Thomas

Dennerby on Thursdayannounced a squad of 23players that will travel toManaus, Brazil to play in afour-nation tournament,where they will play againstthe hosts, Chile andVenezuela.

With the team set todepart on Saturday, Dennerbystated that all three matcheswill be tough as they areagainst “extremely technical”sides.

“Brazil are a really goodteam. No other team, since Ihave arrived, has tested ourdefence as much as Brazil

will do next week,” saidDennerby.

“In the second game,Chile is another extremelytechnical side, but with all thehard work we have beendoing, we have also raised ourlevels. The game againstVenezuela will also be a par-ticularly tough one for us,” thecoach added.

The team, ranked 57 in

the FIFA rankings, will face offagainst world No. 7 Brazil onNovember 25, Chile (worldNo. 37) on November 28, andVenezuela (world No. 56) onDecember 1. TheConfederação Brasileira deDesportos (CBF) has alreadynamed the full squad forBrazil, which also containslegends of the game like Martada Silva and Formiga Mota.Dennerby believes that boththe veteran Brazilians are bril-liant role models for foot-ballers worldwide and said theIndian players are lookingforward to playing againstthem.

“They have a very goodsquad with stars like Martaand Formiga.

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Stepping barefoot onto the field atCamp Nou Stadium, Dani Alves

was cheered by a crowd of morethan 10,000 as he was introduced toBarcelona fans again, saying heinsisted on returning to help put theCatalan club back on track.

The 38-year-old Brazil defend-er said he will be ready to fight fora starting spot when he is eligible toplay in January.

“I come to compete, not just tospend time and live in Barcelona,”Alves said on Wednesday.

“I come to play and to fight fora spot on the team. I’m not back justbecause I have a very good relation-ship with the coach or the president.With hard work I’ll try to contributeanyway I can.”

Alves was without a club sinceleaving Brazilian team Säo Paulo inSeptember. He signed a contractwith Barcelona until the end of theseason, the club’s first campaignwithout Lionel Messi in nearly twodecades.

A crowd bigger than theone that welcomed newcoach Xavi Hernández wasat Camp Nou as club pres-ident Joan Laporta intro-duced Alves, who took offthe sandals he was wearingbefore stepping onto the field.

“I had to get seri-ous with the pres-ident and insist-ed that I want-ed to comeback,” Alvessaid.

“I knew I could help. Then I gota call from Xavi and everything afterthat was very easy. When you wantsomething you can make it happen.Money is not the most importantthing. It’s not time to think about

money. It’s time to return to helpBarça. Everything else is sec-ondary.”

Alves arrived as a freeagent but details about hissalary were not released bythe club.

Barcelona has beenenduring one of its worst

crises amid unprece-dented financialdifficulties thatbegan beforethe coron-avirus pan-demic.

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