4YZ_R UVa]`jZ_X ^`cV ec``ad R]`_X =24+ 2c^j - Daily Pioneer

16
A rmy chief General MM Naravane on Saturday dis- closed there was an increase in the deployment of the Chinese troops all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. Hoping that ongoing ten- sion at the LAC will be resolved through sustained dialogue, the Army Chief expressed con- cern over increased deploy- ment by the Chinese along the border. India has also responded by increasing its troop levels, he said, adding, the situation has remained “normal” at all the friction points at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. Naravane also informed that the 13th round of Corps Commander-level parleys between India and China will take place next week. The 12th round was held on July 31. Naravane made these observations during his two- day visit to forward areas, including the LAC in Ladakh, ending Saturday. He reviewed the operational readiness of the army in the likelihood of for- ward deployment even during the coming winter months. India and China deployed their troops throughout the winter months last year brav- ing harsh climate unlike the previous years when both the sides used to retreat to their bases. At present, more than 50,000 troops each from both the countries are positioned at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh since the LAC row erupted in May last year. Admitting that increase in the deployment by the Chinese side was a matter of concern, the Army Chief said India also took matching measures in terms of rapidly improving infrastructure. These measures were taken as China is build- ing infrastructure to deploy additional troops, he added. Maintaining that situation is “normal” for the past six months on the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, Naravane said India is closely monitoring all devel- opments. He also assured that the Indian armed forces are well poised to face any chal- lenge. An Army spokesperson said Naravane visited several forward areas and was briefed on the current security situa- tion. The Army said he also interacted with the troops and complimented them on their resoluteness and high morale. The Army has deployed the first K9-Vajra self-pro- pelled howitzer regiment in the Ladakh sector, along the LAC. The gun can strike enemy targets at a distance of around 50 km. On the situation at the Line of Control (LOC) facing Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir, Naravane said for the last sev- eral months the border is peaceful. However, now ter- rorists are again trying to sneak into the border State from across, he said, adding these infiltrations bids are not pos- sible without the Pakistan Army’s knowledge. The two countries agreed to observe a ceasefire at the LOC on February 24 this year. The Army chief said the troops at the LOC are vigilant and have prevented several infil- tration bids in the past few weeks. He also said these attempts increased in the last two months. The Army chief said in the last ten days there were two ceasefire violations and cau- tioned that the LOC may become tense again like it was prior to the February pact. Naravane said India conveyed these concerns to the Pakistan army through the hotline recently. T he exponential rise in Covid cases during the pandemic shifted the health system’s priority to treating affected patients, severely impacting the care for patients with non-Covid diseases, which may result in nearly 20 per cent increased deaths from tuberculosis alone, according to a White Paper by FICCI- Elsevier released on Saturday. The paper revealed that while the delay in detection, diagnosis, and treatment may lead to nearly 20 per cent more deaths in adults due to tuber- culosis during Covid-19, another 10 per cent increased mortality could take place due to HIV over the next five years. Also an estimated 20-22 lakh infants (approximately 260 lakh children per year) requiring vaccination against other diseases were not being vaccinated now due to shifting priority. This could lead to an outbreak of vaccine-pre- ventable disease. The White Paper by FICCI’s working group on infectious diseases and a team of experts from AIIMS Jodhpur thus called for developing a concrete strategy to deal with other infections and their aftermath. “New, existing, and re- emerging infectious diseases are estimated to be the cause of one-fourth of all deaths across the globe. The exponential rise in Covid cases during the pan- demic shifted the health sys- tem’s priority to treating affect- ed patients, severely impacting the care for patients with non- Covid diseases,” said (Hony) Brig Dr Arvind Lal, Chair, FICCI Swasth Bharat Task Force, in a statement. “Disruptions in screening, case identification, rehabilita- tion, and referral systems have further resulted in a substantial decrease in the diagnosis of other infectious diseases as well as Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs),” he added. Similarly, at least 51,100 live-saving cancer surgeries were canceled in India from the end of March to the end of May, CovidSurg Collaborative, a research network of sur- geons and anesthetists in 77 countries, including India, had estimated in its report pub- lished in the British Journal of Surgery in May. The FICCI paper recom- mends an urgent need for the Indian healthcare ecosystem to focus on point-of-care solu- tions. This will bridge the gaps and strengthen healthcare pro- fessionals to tackle such pan- demics in future. The immediate and direct potential impact of Covid-19 has already resulted in thou- sands of lives lost and signifi- cant incremental costs to the healthcare and livelihood sys- tem. In addition to the human toll, treating patients with Covid-19 has a financial impact. While the exact number of individuals that have contract- ed Covid-19 is difficult to quantify given certain limita- tions in testing, the number of people seeking treatment for Covid-19 has been very high, the report suggested. S tating that those “responsi- ble” for “policy-making for a long time” should explain questions on the water scarci- ty in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that five crore households have been provid- ed with water connection since the launch of the “Jal Jeevan Mission” in 2019 and water is now reaching every household in about 80 of 718 districts in the country. The Prime Minister launched “Jal Jeevan Mission App” for creating greater awareness among the stake- holders on the water mission and “Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh” where any individual, institu- tion, corporation, or philan- thropist can contribute to help provide tap water connection in any rural household. The PM asserted that “in just two years, more work has been done for taking tap water to people than was done in the last seven decades”. Speaking after interacting with gram panchayats and vil- lage water and sanitation com- mittees (VWSC) on the “Jal Jeevan Mission”, he said, “Today, water is reaching every household in about 1.25 lakh villages in about 80 districts of the country”. “Jal Jeevan Mission is also a big movement of decentrali- sation. This is a village-driven- women-driven movement. Its main base is a mass movement and public participation”, he said. Without referring to the Congress regimes, the PM said policy-makers for a long-time should explain the nature of drinking-water scarcity in the country. Referring to popular conceptions of the problem of water, the PM talked of movies, stories, poems that tell in detail how the women and children of the village walked miles to fetch water. Continued on Page 4 B odies of four of the missing navy personnel were retrieved on Saturday, a day after an Indian Navy moun- taineering expedition was hit by an avalanche on Mount Trishul. According to naval sources, the mortal remains of Lt Cdr Rajnikant Yadav, Lt Cdr Yogesh Tiwari, Lt Cdr Anant Kukreti and Hari Om MCPO II were retrieved from Chamoli on Saturday. Efforts are on to locate the fifth naval climber and one Sherpa missing since the incident. Earlier in the day, a search and rescue team of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) spotted the four bodies on the mountain slope. Continued on Page 4 A mid the ongoing tussle between factions led by Chirag Paswan and Union Minister Pashupati Nath Paras for control over the party, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday decided to freeze the symbol of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). Both factions have been barred from using the name of the party or its symbol “bun- galow” till the dispute between the rival groups is settled by the poll panel. The EC has also asked both the factions to choose three free symbols in order of preference by Monday 1 pm. The Commission will then allocate the symbols. The factions can then field their respective candidates for upcoming bypolls in Kusheshwar and Tarapur in Bihar. “Accordingly, both the groups are hereby directed to furnish, latest by 1 PM on Monday the names of their groups by which they may be recognised by Commission, and the symbols which may be allotted to the candidates set up, if any, by the respective groups. They may indicate the names of three free symbols, in the order of their preference, anyone of which may be allot- ted to their candidates by the Commission,” the EC said in its interim order signed by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and fellow Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey. Bypolls for the Kusheshwar Asthan and the Tarapur Assembly seats in Bihar will be held on October 30. The EC further stated that neither of the two groups would be permitted to use the name of the party “LJP”. “Neither of the two groups shall also be permitted to use the symbol “Bungalow”, reserved for “LJP”, the EC said. Continued on Page 4 A mid demand for leadership change in Chhattisgarh, the Congress reposed faith in State’s Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel by appointing him as the party’s senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election to be held early next year. Baghel was also the observ- er for the Assam Assembly election held in March. According to an AICC Press statement, Congress pres- ident Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appointed Baghel as AICC Senior Observer for the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect. There are 403 seats at stake in the Uttar Pradesh election. In the previous Assembly elec- tion in 2017, the BJP came to power with an overwhelming majority of 325 seats. Baghel’s close associate Rajesh Tiwari was appointed as the AICC secretary in the State assisting general secretary in- charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Continued on Page 4 N avjot Singh Sidhu, who had abruptly resigned as Punjab Congress president, on Saturday said he would stand with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra whether he holds any post or not. “Will uphold principles of Gandhi & Shastri. Post or No Post, will stand by @RahulGandhi & @priyanka- gandhi! Let all negative forces try to defeat me, but with every ounce of positive energy will make Punjab win, Punjabiyat (Universal Brotherhood) win & every Punjabi win !!,” Sidhu wrote on his Twitter handle on the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Continued on Page 4 B JP member of Parliament from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi, who has been consis- tently backing agitating farm- ers, away from his party’s posi- tioning on the issue, on Saturday asserted that “those tweeting ‘Godse zindabad’ are shaming the nation”. “India has always been a spiritual superpower, but it is the Mahatma, who articulated our nation’s spiritual under- pinnings through his being & gave us a moral authority that remains our greatest strength even today. Those tweeting ‘Godse zindabad’ are irre- sponsibly shaming the nation”, tweeted the MP, who has been away from election campaigns of the party and been mainly focussing on his parliamentary constituency. His mother Maneka Gandhi, an eighth-time Lok Sabha member and former Union Minister, was elected to the lower house from Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in 2019 elections. A cceding to farmers’ demand, the Centre on Saturday decided to begin paddy procurement in Punjab and Haryana on Sunday, two days after it said the process will be delayed this year. The announcement came after a meeting between the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The Centre’s earlier deci- sion to put off procurement till October 11 due to recent heavy rain sparked protests by farm- ers in the two States. The situ- ation became tense in a few places in Haryana and Punjab after their clashes with police. Continued on Page 4 P ride and patriotism, the collective spirit of Indianness and the heritage artisan of Khadi, brought the nation together in saluting the world’s largest tricolour, made of Khadi cotton fabric on Saturday at Leh. Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh RK Mathur unveiled the flag on the hill overlooking Leh valley to mark the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena, Ladakh MP JT Namgyal and Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane were present on the occasion. The flag weighed around 1,000 kg, measuring 225-ft long and 150-ft wide. Around 150 jawans of the Indian Army’s 57 Engineer regiment carried the flag to a hilltop, 2,000 ft above the ground level, in more than two hours. “Proud to share the unveil- ing of the world’s largest mon- umental National flag made of Khadi today at Leh by LG Ladakh RK Mathur. The flag is made by KVIC and displayed by the Indian Army. Continued on Page 4

Transcript of 4YZ_R UVa]`jZ_X ^`cV ec``ad R]`_X =24+ 2c^j - Daily Pioneer

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Army chief General MMNaravane on Saturday dis-

closed there was an increase inthe deployment of the Chinesetroops all along the Line ofActual Control (LAC) fromLadakh in the west toArunachal Pradesh in the east.

Hoping that ongoing ten-sion at the LAC will be resolvedthrough sustained dialogue,the Army Chief expressed con-cern over increased deploy-ment by the Chinese along the border.

India has also respondedby increasing its troop levels, hesaid, adding, the situation hasremained “normal” at all thefriction points at the LAC inEastern Ladakh.

Naravane also informedthat the 13th round of CorpsCommander-level parleysbetween India and China willtake place next week. The 12thround was held on July 31.

Naravane made theseobservations during his two-day visit to forward areas,

including the LAC in Ladakh,ending Saturday. He reviewedthe operational readiness of thearmy in the likelihood of for-ward deployment even duringthe coming winter months.

India and China deployedtheir troops throughout thewinter months last year brav-ing harsh climate unlike theprevious years when both thesides used to retreat to theirbases. At present, more than50,000 troops each from boththe countries are positioned atthe LAC in Eastern Ladakhsince the LAC row erupted inMay last year.

Admitting that increase inthe deployment by the Chineseside was a matter of concern,the Army Chief said India also

took matching measures interms of rapidly improvinginfrastructure. These measureswere taken as China is build-ing infrastructure to deployadditional troops, he added.

Maintaining that situationis “normal” for the past sixmonths on the LAC in EasternLadakh, Naravane said India isclosely monitoring all devel-opments. He also assured thatthe Indian armed forces arewell poised to face any chal-lenge.

An Army spokespersonsaid Naravane visited severalforward areas and was briefedon the current security situa-tion. The Army said he alsointeracted with the troops andcomplimented them on their

resoluteness and high morale.The Army has deployed

the first K9-Vajra self-pro-pelled howitzer regiment in theLadakh sector, along the LAC.The gun can strike enemy targets at a distance of around 50 km.

On the situation at theLine of Control (LOC) facingPakistan in Jammu & Kashmir,Naravane said for the last sev-eral months the border ispeaceful. However, now ter-rorists are again trying to sneakinto the border State fromacross, he said, adding theseinfiltrations bids are not pos-sible without the PakistanArmy’s knowledge.

The two countries agreedto observe a ceasefire at theLOC on February 24 this year.The Army chief said the troopsat the LOC are vigilant andhave prevented several infil-tration bids in the past fewweeks. He also said theseattempts increased in the lasttwo months.

The Army chief said in thelast ten days there were twoceasefire violations and cau-tioned that the LOC maybecome tense again like it wasprior to the February pact.Naravane said India conveyedthese concerns to the Pakistanarmy through the hotlinerecently.

#��� 012�"134�

The exponential rise inCovid cases during the

pandemic shifted the healthsystem’s priority to treatingaffected patients, severelyimpacting the care for patientswith non-Covid diseases,which may result in nearly 20per cent increased deaths fromtuberculosis alone, according toa White Paper by FICCI-Elsevier released on Saturday.

The paper revealed thatwhile the delay in detection,diagnosis, and treatment maylead to nearly 20 per cent moredeaths in adults due to tuber-culosis during Covid-19,another 10 per cent increasedmortality could take place dueto HIV over the next five years.

Also an estimated 20-22lakh infants (approximately260 lakh children per year)requiring vaccination againstother diseases were not beingvaccinated now due to shiftingpriority. This could lead to anoutbreak of vaccine-pre-ventable disease.

The White Paper byFICCI’s working group oninfectious diseases and a team

of experts from AIIMS Jodhpurthus called for developing aconcrete strategy to deal withother infections and their aftermath.

“New, existing, and re-emerging infectious diseasesare estimated to be the cause ofone-fourth of all deaths acrossthe globe. The exponential risein Covid cases during the pan-demic shifted the health sys-tem’s priority to treating affect-ed patients, severely impactingthe care for patients with non-Covid diseases,” said (Hony)Brig Dr Arvind Lal, Chair,FICCI Swasth Bharat TaskForce, in a statement.

“Disruptions in screening,case identification, rehabilita-tion, and referral systems havefurther resulted in a substantialdecrease in the diagnosis ofother infectious diseases aswell as Non-CommunicableDiseases (NCDs),” he added.

Similarly, at least 51,100live-saving cancer surgerieswere canceled in India from theend of March to the end ofMay, CovidSurg Collaborative,

a research network of sur-geons and anesthetists in 77countries, including India, hadestimated in its report pub-lished in the British Journal ofSurgery in May.

The FICCI paper recom-mends an urgent need for theIndian healthcare ecosystem tofocus on point-of-care solu-tions. This will bridge the gapsand strengthen healthcare pro-fessionals to tackle such pan-demics in future.

The immediate and directpotential impact of Covid-19has already resulted in thou-sands of lives lost and signifi-cant incremental costs to thehealthcare and livelihood sys-tem. In addition to the humantoll, treating patients withCovid-19 has a financialimpact.

While the exact number ofindividuals that have contract-ed Covid-19 is difficult toquantify given certain limita-tions in testing, the number ofpeople seeking treatment forCovid-19 has been very high,the report suggested.

#��� 012�"134�

Stating that those “responsi-ble” for “policy-making for

a long time” should explainquestions on the water scarci-ty in the country, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onSaturday said that five crorehouseholds have been provid-ed with water connection sincethe launch of the “Jal JeevanMission” in 2019 and water isnow reaching every householdin about 80 of 718 districts inthe country.

The Prime Ministerlaunched “Jal Jeevan MissionApp” for creating greaterawareness among the stake-holders on the water missionand “Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh”where any individual, institu-

tion, corporation, or philan-thropist can contribute to helpprovide tap water connection

in any rural household. ThePM asserted that “in just twoyears, more work has been

done for taking tap water topeople than was done in thelast seven decades”.

Speaking after interactingwith gram panchayats and vil-lage water and sanitation com-mittees (VWSC) on the “JalJeevan Mission”, he said,“Today, water is reaching everyhousehold in about 1.25 lakhvillages in about 80 districts ofthe country”.

“Jal Jeevan Mission is alsoa big movement of decentrali-sation. This is a village-driven-women-driven movement. Itsmain base is a mass movementand public participation”, hesaid.

Without referring to theCongress regimes, the PM saidpolicy-makers for a long-timeshould explain the nature ofdrinking-water scarcity in thecountry. Referring to popularconceptions of the problem ofwater, the PM talked of movies,stories, poems that tell in detailhow the women and childrenof the village walked miles tofetch water.

Continued on Page 4

#��� 7$�4���+4

Bodies of four of the missingnavy personnel were

retrieved on Saturday, a dayafter an Indian Navy moun-taineering expedition was hitby an avalanche on MountTrishul. According to navalsources, the mortal remains ofLt Cdr Rajnikant Yadav, LtCdr Yogesh Tiwari, Lt CdrAnant Kukreti and Hari OmMCPO II were retrieved fromChamoli on Saturday.

Efforts are on to locate thefifth naval climber and oneSherpa missing since the incident.

Earlier in the day, a searchand rescue team of the NehruInstitute of Mountaineering(NIM) spotted the four bodieson the mountain slope.

Continued on Page 4

#��� 012�"134�

Amid the ongoing tusslebetween factions led by

Chirag Paswan and UnionMinister Pashupati Nath Parasfor control over the party, theElection Commission (EC) onSaturday decided to freeze thesymbol of the Lok JanshaktiParty (LJP).

Both factions have beenbarred from using the name ofthe party or its symbol “bun-galow” till the dispute betweenthe rival groups is settled by thepoll panel. The EC has alsoasked both the factions tochoose three free symbols inorder of preference by Monday1 pm. The Commission willthen allocate the symbols. Thefactions can then field theirrespective candidates for

upcoming bypolls inKusheshwar and Tarapur inBihar.

“Accordingly, both thegroups are hereby directed tofurnish, latest by 1 PM onMonday the names of theirgroups by which they may berecognised by Commission,and the symbols which may beallotted to the candidates setup, if any, by the respectivegroups. They may indicate thenames of three free symbols, inthe order of their preference,anyone of which may be allot-ted to their candidates by theCommission,” the EC said in its

interim order signed by ChiefElection Commissioner SushilChandra and fellow ElectionCommissioners Rajiv Kumarand Anup Chandra Pandey.

Bypolls for the KusheshwarAsthan and the TarapurAssembly seats in Bihar will beheld on October 30.

The EC further stated thatneither of the two groupswould be permitted to use thename of the party “LJP”.“Neither of the two groups shallalso be permitted to use thesymbol “Bungalow”, reservedfor “LJP”, the EC said.

Continued on Page 4

#��� 012�"134�

Amid demand for leadershipchange in Chhattisgarh,

the Congress reposed faith inState’s Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel by appointing him asthe party’s senior observer forthe Uttar Pradesh Assemblyelection to be held early next year.

Baghel was also the observ-er for the Assam Assemblyelection held in March.

According to an AICCPress statement, Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi onSaturday appointed Baghel asAICC Senior Observer for theupcoming Assembly electionsin Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect.

There are 403 seats at stakein the Uttar Pradesh election.In the previous Assembly elec-tion in 2017, the BJP came topower with an overwhelmingmajority of 325 seats.

Baghel’s close associateRajesh Tiwari was appointed asthe AICC secretary in the Stateassisting general secretary in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Continued on Page 4

#��� �4�0"���-4

Navjot Singh Sidhu, whohad abruptly resigned as

Punjab Congress president, onSaturday said he would standwith Rahul Gandhi andPriyanka Vadra whether heholds any post or not.

“Will uphold principles ofGandhi & Shastri. Post or NoPost, will stand by@RahulGandhi & @priyanka-gandhi! Let all negative forcestry to defeat me, but withevery ounce of positive energywill make Punjab win,Punjabiyat (UniversalBrotherhood) win & everyPunjabi win !!,” Sidhu wrote onhis Twitter handle on the birthanniversaries of MahatmaGandhi and former PrimeMinister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Continued on Page 4

#��� 012�"134�

BJP member of Parliamentfrom Pilibhit Varun

Gandhi, who has been consis-tently backing agitating farm-ers, away from his party’s posi-tioning on the issue, onSaturday asserted that “thosetweeting ‘Godse zindabad’ areshaming the nation”.

“India has always been aspiritual superpower, but it isthe Mahatma, who articulatedour nation’s spiritual under-pinnings through his being &gave us a moral authority thatremains our greatest strengtheven today. Those tweeting‘Godse zindabad’ are irre-sponsibly shaming the nation”,tweeted the MP, who has beenaway from election campaignsof the party and been mainlyfocussing on his parliamentaryconstituency.

His mother ManekaGandhi, an eighth-time LokSabha member and formerUnion Minister, was elected tothe lower house fromSultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in2019 elections.

#��� 012�"134�

Acceding to farmers’demand, the Centre on

Saturday decided to beginpaddy procurement in Punjaband Haryana on Sunday, twodays after it said the processwill be delayed this year.

The announcement cameafter a meeting between theMinister of State for ConsumerAffairs, Food and PublicDistribution Ashwini KumarChoubey and Haryana ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The Centre’s earlier deci-sion to put off procurement tillOctober 11 due to recent heavyrain sparked protests by farm-ers in the two States. The situ-ation became tense in a fewplaces in Haryana and Punjabafter their clashes with police.

Continued on Page 4

�������������� 7���8

Pride and patriotism, thecollective spirit of

Indianness and the heritageartisan of Khadi, brought thenation together in saluting theworld’s largest tricolour, madeof Khadi cotton fabric onSaturday at Leh.

Lieutenant Governor ofLadakh RK Mathur unveiledthe flag on the hill overlookingLeh valley to mark the 152ndbirth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

KVIC chairman VinaiKumar Saxena, Ladakh MPJT Namgyal and Chief of ArmyStaff General MM Naravanewere present on the occasion.

The flag weighed around1,000 kg, measuring 225-ftlong and 150-ft wide. Around150 jawans of the IndianArmy’s 57 Engineer regimentcarried the flag to a hilltop,

2,000 ft above the ground level,in more than two hours.

“Proud to share the unveil-ing of the world’s largest mon-umental National flag made of

Khadi today at Leh by LGLadakh RK Mathur. The flag ismade by KVIC and displayedby the Indian Army.

Continued on Page 4

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�(()*�+,�&(),%��������#�� ��-���������,.����/+0��!��� ����1������2��3����%���-���� ��3*!��4,��,�(3&��"�� ���������������� �������� �������� ��$����#�

�What is Pavitra-Bharose Ka Safar about? Firstly as the name iterates, its a journey of

trust and secondly it's a story of a woman. Thisshow is based on women and their lives in therural area where everybody is jealous of their oldheritage and culture. Even today they are not ableto snap out of it even the the world has crossedmultiple barricades into the future. Even todaysmall girls are forced into it by telling them towear properly covering clothes, telling them thatthey can't study because they can't do anythingand then take a glass of hot beverage to the guestsin order to find a suitor.

�What is your role?? I play the character of Uma Devithakurain who is bound by the culture

of the society. When she goes out shetries to show that she has a degree

of self respect which every womanis entitled to. Uma Devi playsthree different roles i.e wife,mother and mother in lawwith varying degrees ofattitude adjusted towardsrelatives.

�How did you come onboard for this project?

I believe the offercame because of myconnection with DiyaBati. One fine day a callcame from theproduction house,offering me a place intheir channel. I wasbaffled and asked whatit's about and what do

they stand for. When Iunderstood their agenda oftransforming people's

mentality, I was very happyand further enquired about theroles and characters.

�What kind of preparation didyou do?

I think you have heard this

fact about me that I try to remain natural. I trymethod acting and try my level best to portraythe character in a just way. I feel tensed at timesso as to do justice to this character, I ask somehelp from my supporting cast. All in all I willgo through anything to play my characterflawlessly. Us Rajasthanis try to balance out allaspects of our life together. So i don't try veryhard, I think it's a part of me that understandsthings naturally.

�How different was it shooting in a pandemic? There are some sizable differences, we are

not able to interact with one another as beforeand it takes time to bond. Everyone is afraid andis extra cautious about sanitization. The sets areless and so are the artists, there is a pressure oneveryone so as to get the job done properly. ButI have to admit that we have become a familynow because we help each other out so as to getthings rolling. Production takes time and we doour bit to fast track this process. We don't havemany people so we help each other out ratherthan calling someone and increasing the risk.There is one hairdresser and make up artist forfive ladies so we have bridged the gap. It's a lessonfor everyone that being cautious is key to gettingthrough this pandemic.

�How did acting happen?Actually I didn't get into acting. When I was

five years old, I was looking at a shoot whereJeetendra ji and Leena ji were doing a weddingscene. I overheard that there was a vacancy forthe role of a child and I ran and stood in frontof the director. I barely knew what a director anda camera were. We all wanted to become a heroor heroine. The director asked me what do youwant and I stayed there and kept looking atJeetendra ji having a pomegranate. The directorL V Prasad asked me if I would like to work ina movie and I shouted yes. They tookmeasurements for my costumes and told mymom to bring me in tomorrow for shooting. Mymom told them I knew nothing about shoots butthey insisted that they will do the necessary.

�How different is this work environment fromRajasthani cinema?

I would like to say that no matter what thesize of the industry the only difference is locationand budget. The films that we did workedbecause it was down to earth and reality based.The story is the same and so is the film but theonly difference is the outreach and the responsefrom the people who understand. That's whatmakes or breaks a movie. I believe that belittlinga product from another is very wrong becauseeverything is equally important. If you do awonderful job, people will praise you. No film,no character, no dialogue is small and historyis a witness to this fact.

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Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal will announce

the ‘Winter Action Plan’ to fightpollution in the national capi-tal on October 4, EnvironmentMinister Gopal Rai said onSaturday.

He was speaking at theevent to announce the com-mencement of a week-longWildlife ConservationAwareness Campaign at AsolaBhatti Wildlife Sanctuary here.

Rai also announcedthat a cycling track has beenlaid at the sanctuary for cyclists.

An online bookingsystem is also being started forthose who wish to visit thewildlife sanctuary and breathefresh air, he said. “Electriccart and guide facility will alsobe there for those who want to

experience the place. There isalso a lake and we have takenup the process of its beautifi-cation on priority basis,” hesaid. Training camps andcompetitions will also beorganised in the coming days,he said, adding that the chiefminister will announce the‘Winter Action Plan’ onOctober 4.

“We have been working tocurb pollution through natur-al means. It is probably for thefirst time that a government inthe country has brought thetree transplantation policy.“We will take the fight againstpollution ahead. Delhi is for allof us and it is our responsibil-ity to work together to makethe air quality better,” he said.

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The journey of Urban swach-hata would have not been

possible without the dedicatedand tireless services of oursanitation champions andSafaimitras, who have contin-ued to keep our cities cleaneven during pandemic times,”Union Minister of Housingand Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said onSaturday.

To mark the rollout of theSwachh Bharat Mission –Urban 2.0, Puri has made anappeal to all State governmentsand urban local bodies to jointogether on Gandhi Jayantibeing observed as SwachhataDivas to felicitate every sani-tation worker across all cities ofthe nation.

On the occasion, Puri felic-itated 30 Safai Sevaks ofNDMC and administered the

“No Use Plastic” pledge to thegathering in the presence ofMinister of State for ExternalAffairs and CultureMeenakashi Lekhi, Ministerof State for Housing and UrbanAffairs- Kaushal Kishor andUnion Housing and UrbanAffairs Secretary DurgaShankar Mishra.

Lekhi said that in the timeof Covid19 pandemic, the roleof safaimitra was very crucialas they tirelessly performedtheir duties brilliantly not only

in Delhi but also across theStates. She said NDMC is con-tinuously organising skill train-ing and mechanization of theirwork to ensure more hygieneand safety of the sanitationworkers.

Kishore said that PrimeMinister Narender Modi tookthe broom to bridge the gapbetween a Prime Minister anda Safai Sevak as a role inSwachhata Mission which isnow a nationwide peoplemovement.

Gurugram: Following a rec-ommendation of the MunicipalCorporation Gurugram(MCG) officials, the Gurugrampolice have registered an FIRagainst Nambardar of Sihi vil-lage in Gurugram for illegalconstruction and runningcommercial activities in a res-idential plot located on RailwayRoad near Mata ChintpurniMandir.

It is alleged that RakeshDua who is also a Nambardarof Sihi village of Gurugram hadillegally developed basements,shops and flats on the residen-tial plot without the Change ofLand Use (CLU) from a con-cerned department.

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A17-year-old boy wasstabbed to death by his

school junior in southeastDelhi’s Okhla area on Fridayoutside a government school inTehkhand. Police said that theyhave apprehended the juvenile.

According to a seniorpolice official, the victim hadreportedly abused the motherof the accused and when herefused to apologise to her, hewas stabbed.

“Both the boys were inschool uniform.

The victim, a Class 11 stu-dent, had three stab injuriesand was shifted to a hospitalwhere he succumbed to injuriesduring treatment,” said thesenior police official.

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Officer of 2011 batch ofIndian Railway Traffic

Service (IRTS) NishantNarayan has taken over as thenew New Delhi Railway Station(NDLS) Director from RPPandey, who took over as sta-tion director of Delhi Junction.

Narayan took over ahead ofthe rush of festive season atNew Delhi Station which cur-rently sees a footfall of aboutfive lakhs per day when the fulltrain operations exist.

Narayan is the third DirectRecruitment officer of IRTS tobecome Director of NDLS.The Ministry of Ràilways in2016 had decided to post DRofficers at Category A stationsto work on image makeover ofsuch stations which is the firstpublic perception of a city.

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East Delhi MunicipalCorporation (EDMC) has

extended the date of licencerenewal without penalty till 31October 2021. StandingCommittee Chairman ofEDMC, Bir Singh Panwar saidthat the last date of renewal ofthe general trade, factorylicense, veterinary license andhealth trade license withoutpenalty is up to 31 October2021. “All the stakeholders areadvised to renew their licensesfrom the online portal ofEDMC i.e.www.mcdonline.nic.in,” he said.Panwar said that unfortunate-ly, several such establishmentsfunctioning in the EDMC areaare still running without renew-ing their licenses.

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The Delhi Police has arrestedtwo men for allegedly rob-

bing a group of friends at gun-point in northwest Delhi’s RaniBagh area.The accused havebeen identified as Gaurav (31),a resident of Baghpat district inUttar Pradesh, and Luvkush, aresident of Swaroop Nagar.

According to ParvinderSingh, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Outer district, policereceived a police control room(PCR) call on September 27regarding robbery at gun-point.

“Police team reached thespot at Rani Bagh, where com-plainant Abhishek Jain saidthat he, along with his group offriends, had come for dinner atone of his friends’ house,” saidthe DCP.

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The Delhi Government hasfloated tenders for induct-

ing 640 low floor air-condi-tioned buses, including 190electric buses, to strengthen thepublic transport fleet in thenational capital.

In a notice published onSaturday, the Transport depart-ment issued the request forqualification and proposal(RFQP) for operation of 190low floor air-conditioned pri-vate stage carriage electricbuses under the Clusterscheme. Under the Clusterscheme of Delhi IntegratedMulti Modal System (DIMTS),the government has so farinducted 3,033 buses.

A day before, theTransport department pub-lished RFQP for induction of

450 low floor AC buses underthe Cluster scheme. The DelhiTransport Corporation (DTC)runs around 3,600 low floorbuses. Together, the DTC andCluster buses comprise thepublic transport fleet. Anotherimportant segment of publictransport is Delhi Metro trains.

The new buses equippedwith latest features like GPS,panic buttons, and CCTV cam-eras are expected to roll out onthe city roads by mid-2022, ifthe bids are successfully carriedout, officials of the departmentsaid.

The new low floor buseswill replace old ones in twoClusters that will completeroad life of 7.50 lakh kilometresby next year. This will ensurethat people do not have to faceshortage of buses, said a depart-ment officer.

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Srinagar: Union Minister forRural Development andPanchayati Raj Giriraj SinghSaturday said the holistic andsustainable development of thenation is possible only if ruralareas are developed at the grassroot level.

He said the present gov-ernment led by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is "very keen"to develop rural areas byempowering regional and localinstitutions.

The Minister made theseremarks at a function organisedby Jammu Kashmir RuralLivelihood Mission - UMEEDat Singhpora Pattan ofBaramulla district.

The Minister visited thearea as part of the CentralGovernment's special publicoutreach programme, which isaimed to get the first handappraisal of public feedback at

the ground level.Paying rich tributes to

Mahatma Gandhi and LalBahadur Shastri on their birthanniversaries, Singh recalledtheir contribution for ruraldevelopment by means ofGram Swaraj and Gram devel-opment.

He said women have aleading role in socio-econom-ic development and there is aneed to provide them withappropriate platforms wherethey can showcase their talent.

Terming the PRIs as thereal agents of rural develop-ment, the minister emphasisedon them to play a positive andproductive role so as to ensureholistic and inclusive develop-ment at grass root levels.

He assured that full sup-port and cooperation would beprovided to them by theCentre. He further said that

J&K is the first region where73rd constitutional amend-ment has been effectivelyimplemented.

Singh also enlisted variousinitiatives taken to create viableand sustainable livelihoodopportunities in rural areasand said that efforts were beingtaken to ensure financial inclu-sion at gram panchayat level.

The Minister also inter-acted with several Self HelpGroups (SHG's) and assuredthat SHG products will belinked with India Expo forwider marketing and sales.

Earlier, the Minister e-inaugurated several communi-ty assets worth �664.72 lakh.

These community assetshave been developed by theRural DevelopmentDepartment under MGNRE-GA and other sponsored pro-grammes.

Meanwhile, UnionMinister of State for Steel andRural Development FagganSingh Kulaste Saturday com-pleted his visit to Kupwaradistrict as part of the outreachprogramme.

He said Kupwara beingthe frontier district has specialattention of the UnionGovernment to build its infra-structure and economy underaspirational District status.

The Minister inaugurateda 4 km Magam-Ucher road,constructed at a cost of �3.96crore under the PMGSY pro-ject and also carried out inspec-tion of under construction 500bedded Associated Hospitalfor Government MedicalCollege Handwara.

He said the sole aim of thepublic outreach programme isto assess the developmentalscenario of Jammu and

Kashmir and reiterated that thegovernment is committed tothe overall development of theunion territory.

Later, the minister con-vened a detailed meeting withDDCs, BDCs, PRIs and publicdelegations at EnvironmentHall, Handwara.

The public representativesdeliberated on projected issuesincluding development oftourist resort Bangus, speedyconstruction of Baramulla-Kupwara four lanes Highwayand extension of railways to theKupwara district.

Responding to thedemands of the public repre-sentatives and other delega-tions, Kulaste said he wouldtake up the matter with theconcerned departments at theCentre as well as with UTadministration and assuredthat these demands would be

fulfilled on priority basis.Commenting on the

demand of augmentation ofwater supply in the district, theminister said that every house-hold will get tap water con-nection by the end of 2022 asper the ambitious Jal JeevanMission of CentralGovernment.

The Union Minister alsotook a pledge and participatedin a cleanliness drive at DakBanglow Kupwara as a part ofthe Gandhi Jayanti celebra-tions. Remembering the lega-cy of Mahatma Gandhi, theminister said that the best trib-ute to him is to uphold the slo-gan and symbol of 'SwactchBharat Abiyan'.

Kulaste said the Swachhtaprogramme was initiated by thePrime Minister that has openedits vistas across the length andbreadth of the country. PTI

. ������(���#���������� ���������#������4��New Delhi: Rajya SabhaChairman M Venkaiah Naiduhas distributed cheques of �3.50lakh to the kin of each of the sixofficials and staff of theSecretariat who died of Covidduring April-May this year.This total assistance of �21lakh to the Covid victims of theSecretariat was provided fromout of the contributions of theofficials and staff of theSecretariat for providing relief tothe victims of the pandemic.

The six employees who fellvictim to the pandemic had putin 21 to 34 years of service in theSecretariat. Naidu interactedwith the family members of thedeceased and enquired abouttheir sources of income and ifall the retirement benefits dueto the deceased were settled ornot. Speaking briefly on theoccasion, Naidu recalled theservices of the deceased and

empathized with the families forlosing the earning member oftheir families.

The Chairman commend-ed the gesture of the Secretariat'sofficials and staff for providingfinancial assistance to the fam-ilies of deceased and said "thisgesture is in line with the Indianethos of caring and sharing inthe hour of distress".

The victims of the pan-demic were Sukhvinder Singhand K. Vijaya Kumar bothPrivate Secretaries, Neel Kanthand Bhupendra Singh, bothSenior Chamber Attendants,Vijaya Laxmi Sharma, DeputyDirector (Security) and AshokKumar Sahoo, Director.Secretary General of RajyaSabha Dr PPK Ramacharyulu,senior officials of the Secretariatand family members ofdeceased were present on theoccasion. PNS

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Shillong: The MeghalayaPradesh Congress Committeeon Saturday finalised candi-dates for two of the three assem-bly constituencies where byelec-tions will be held on October 30,a party source said.

The party's state electioncommittee will take a decisionon the third candidate at the ear-liest, he said.

The bypolls to the threeseats -Mawryngkneng, Rajabalaand Mawphlang - were necessi-tated after the death of the sit-ting MLAs. "The party candi-dates for Rajabala andMawphlang seats have beenfinalised, while the decision onMawryngkneng is yet to betaken," the source said.

The MPCC will send thenames of three candidates to theAll India Congress Committeefor its approval, he said.

Asked about the outcome ofthe state election committeemeeting, MPCC president andLok Sabha MP Vincent H Palasaid, “Today we have decidedcandidates for two assemblyconstituencies and will shortlytake a call on the third nomineeafter receiving all inputs from theblock Congress committees anddistrict units." David Nongrum,who was the sitting MLA fromMawryngkneng, had died inFebruary, Azad Zaman ofRajabala constituency in Marchand S K Sunn, who representedMawphlang constituency, onSeptember 10. PTI

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Counting of votes for the bypoll to thePipili Assembly constituency in Odisha's

Puri district will start from 8 am on Sundayamid tight security and strict adherence toCovid-19 protocols, State Chief ElectoralOfficer (CEO) S K Lohani said.

Three-tier security will be provided at thecounting centre, Lohani said.

“All officials and agents will have to wearface masks and follow Covid-19 protocols.Thermal scanning has been made manda-tory”, Lohani said.

To avoid crowding at the countingtables and to check the spread of the infec-tion, a video feed of the counting will be dis-

played on large screens outside the centre,”he said.

The by-election was held on September30. Postal ballots will be counted in the first30 minutes while the counting session for theElectronic Voting Machines (EVMs) willbegin from 8.30 am, Lohani said.

The results of five Voter Verifiable PaperAudit Trails (VVPATs) and EVMs will berandomly matched after the counting is over,he said.

While briefing reporters, the CEO saida total of 72 Government officials, all fullyvaccinated, will participate in the exercise.

The vote count will be held at 14 tablesin three halls at PenthakotaWarehouse.

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Kavaratti: Defence MinisterRajnath Singh on Saturday saidno one in the world can dare toquestion or doubt the patriotismof the Muslim populace inLakshadweep or even the otherinhabitants of the islands as theyhave thwarted attempts of anti-India forces to brew trouble orinstigate the people there againstthe country.

"No one on Earth can dareto doubt the patriotism of theMuslim people in Lakshadweep.No one can put a questionmark on the patriotism of thepeople of Lakshadweep," Singhsaid during his speech on theoccasion of the 152nd birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi.

He was addressing the peo-ple after unveiling a statue of

Gandhi.Singh, during the event,

also spoke on the issue of climatechange and how global warm-ing and resulting rise in oceanlevels pose a threat to the exis-tence of Lakshadweep.

He said that as part of thegovernment's "positive attitude"towards reduction of carbonemissions, the Prime Ministerhas decided to ban manufacture,sale and usage of single use plas-tics and related products fromJuly 1 next year.He also said thatcleanliness on land should alsoinclude cleaning of the oceansand this has been emphasisedupon by the PM.

"The marine ecosystem hasto be kept clean," he added. Onthe issue of anti-India forcesattempting to foment trouble in

the island, Singh said that due tothe strategic location and impor-tance of the island archipelago,such attempts have been madein the past and even now, butefforts of such entities wereunsuccessful because of theislanders.

He further said that therewere attempts to promoteextremism, radicalism and ter-rorism in Lakshadweep, but allthese efforts failed and for thathe congratulated the people ofthe island union territory.

He also said that the BJPgovernment at the Centre hastaken a strict stance against ter-rorism, which was evident fromits "cross-border" actions againstterrorists.

However, where radicalisa-tion was concerned, the gov-

ernment has not taken such ahard stance and has insteadopted for "counselling" to bringthose radicalised back into themainstream. The DefenceMinister said the people of theisland were true followers ofMahatma's principles as therewas no hatred amongst them onthe basis of caste, creed or reli-gion. He said that even the pre-sent BJP government under theleadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was totallyagainst any discrimination onthe basis of caste, creed and reli-gion.

However, "some vestedinterests" have been projectingthe present central governmentas "anti-minority", which was"incorrect" and a "false allega-tion", the Union minister said.

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Gorakhpur: With incessantheavy rain that lashed the dis-trict in the last 24 hours,Gorakhpur received its highestrainfall of October in 100 years,officials said on Saturday.

The city on Saturdayrecorded 193 mm rainfall.

According to recordsmaintained by the MeT, thedistrict measured 218.7 mmrainfall in 1894.

There were continuousrains from 8.30 am on Fridayto 8.30 am on Saturday, lead-ing to a dip in temperature andwaterlogging in several parts of

the district and affecting traf-fic movement.

According to MeT officialKailash Pandey, “there is awell-marked low pressure areaover southwest Bihar andadjoining UP (east) which hascaused this heavy rain of 193mm in the last 24 hours.”

In the next 48 hours, mod-erate to low rain is expected inthe region. Duringthis period, day temperaturemay be around 30 degreesCelsius while night tempera-ture may fall down to 22degrees, he said. PTI

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Mathura: A class 9 student of the MathuraRefinery Kendriya Vidyalay, who had gone miss-ing early this week and whose body was foundbehind bushes outside a nearby village, was killedby a drunkard who had tried to sodomise him,police said on Saturday after arresting theaccused.

“The mobile phone of the deceased studentwas also recovered from the accused Manoj, a res-ident of Mathura,” the Refinery police station'sSHO, Inspector Lokesh Bhati, said.

He said the accused has confessed his guiltand disclosed that he killed the child as he failedto sodomise him.

A habitual drinker, the accused said he usedto lure children for sodomy because his wife hadleft him soon after their marriage.

The father of the deceased student had onThursday complained that his son had gone miss-ing,

The child's body was found on Friday behindbushes outside the neighbouring Baad village underthe Mathura Refinery police station area. PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: All edu-cational institutions in Kerala willhave "Vimukthi Clubs" beforeGandhi Jayanti next year to createproper awareness among theyounger generation about themenace of addiction to intoxicants.

The addiction-free campaign ofthe state Excise Department andVimukthi Mission will be rampedup by forming "Vimukthi Clubs" inall the educational institutionsbefore Gandhi Jayanti day next year,state Excise and Local SelfGovernments Minister M V

Govindan Master said here onSaturday.

Inaugurating a month-long,state-wide addiction-free aware-ness campaign on the occasion ofthe 152nd Gandhi Jayanti DayCelebrations here, the Minister saidaddiction-free programmes will beorganised in over 20,000 wards inlocal self-governments across thestate with public participation.

He said a sustained campaignneed to be carried out to createproper awareness againstaddiction. PTI

Bareilly (UP): An Uttar Pradesh teacher'sinitiative to ensure physically-challengedchildren do not miss out on school educa-tion has taken the shape of a campaign,which now has hundreds as beneficiaries,and has also drawn praise from PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Deepmala Pandey, who is the princi-pal of a primary school in DabhoraGangapur village in Bareilly district, beganthe initiative in 2018 to identify out ofschool physically-challenged children andget them enrolled, and now it is known asthe "one teacher, one call" campaign.

What was once the cause of an indi-vidual, has at present 350 teachers of dif-ferent schools contributing to it.

The "one teacher, one call" campaigndrew praise from Prime Minister Modi,who in his Sunday "Maan ki Baat" laudedher efforts, and that of other teachers' whojoined her in the drive.

Pandey said she was moved by the help-lessness of a nine-year-old boy namedAnmol, who lived in her school's neigh-bourhood and would silently watch childrencoming to the school.

She found that the boy was mute from

birth and his family never thought of send-ing him to school.

The principal told PTI that she wasdeeply touched by this and resolved to getthe child admitted to a school anyhow.

Pandey said she started calling the boyto her school and saw a dramatic changein him after a year.

"Today Anmol is studying in class IVin the same school," she said with satisfac-tion.

Buoyed by her success, she roped inmore teachers and launched a drive to lookfor physically-challenged children in the vil-lage and other parts of the district.

"A total of 350 teachers are today partof the 'one teacher, one call' campaignlaunched in 2019," she said.

With the COVID-19 pandemic ham-pering mobility, she took recourse to socialmedia and organised webinars to link moreand more teachers in the movement.

"Around 600 physically challengedchildren have been moved to differentschools as part of the drive in the districtso far," she said, adding efforts are on tospread the campaign to the national level. PTI

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From Page 1Baghel’s political adviser

Vinod Verma has also been sta-tioned in UP for more than onemonth now. “The Congressneeds an OBC face, specifical-ly a Kurmi leader. Baghel fits inthat role. His appointmentsends a clear message that theparty values him,” a seniorparty leader said.

“The fact that the appoint-ment comes before RahulGandhi’s visit clearly showsthe trust he and the leadershipbestows on the Chief Minister,”the leader said.

Baghel was also the observ-er for the Assam Assemblyelection held in March. Partygeneral secretary Priyanka andothers had appreciated theefforts of Baghel even thoughthe party could not form the

Government.Winning a total of 50 seats

in Assam, the Congress lost theelection and BJP won a major-ity 75 seats and became the firstnon-Congress alliance to wintwo consecutive terms in theState. The Congress, however,gained 26 seats since the last2016 Assembly election andalso saw former Congress manHimanta Biswa Sarma takingover as the CM.

Tension withinChhattisgarh Congress hasbeen rife over the past few dayswith MLAs arriving in Delhi ina supposed show of strength.The Congress seems to bedivided into two camps in theState - one belonging to Bagheland the other to State HealthMinister TS Singh Deo.

The feud in the State poli-

tics comes at a time when theCongress is already facing anongoing crisis within its ranksin Punjab and Rajasthan.Charanjit Singh Channi tookover as the new Chief Ministerfollowing Captain AmarinderSingh’s resignation over a polit-ical tussle between him andPunjab Congress chief NavjotSingh Sidhu who too quit asstate unit chief within twomonths of his annointment.

The demand for change ofguard in Chhattisgarh surfacedafter Baghel completed two-and-a-half years as ChiefMinister in June 2021, andSingh Deo’s supportersdemanded change in leadershipdespite the Congress not say-ing anything about rotation inthe state’s top position when itcame to power in 2018.

From Page 1In the minds of some people,

this picture emerges as soon as thename of the village is taken, he said.

“I think those who had theresponsibility of policy-making fora long time, should have askedthemselves this question,” the PrimeMinister commented.

The Prime Minister said thatperhaps the earlier policy-makersdid not realize the importance ofwater as they came from water-abundant areas.

Modi said coming from a Statelike Gujarat he has seen droughtconditions and knows the impor-tance of every drop of water. Thatis why being the Chief Minister ofGujarat, providing water to the peo-ple and water conservation were hispriorities. The Prime Minister saidfrom independence till 2019, only3 crore households in our countryhad access to tap water. Since thelaunch of Jal Jeevan Mission in2019, 5 crore households havebeen connected with water con-nections.

Apparently referring to the

political leaders during Congressregimes, he said these people hadnever seen poverty which remainedan attraction for them, a means ofshowing off literature and intellec-tual knowledge.

“These people should havestrived for an ideal village butthey kept liking the shortcomingsin the village,” Modi said.

Modi interacted with GramPanchayats and Pani Samitis /Village Water and SanitationCommittees (VWSC) on Jal JeevanMission through video conference.

Along with members of GramPanchayats and Pani Samitis, UnionMinisters Gajendra SinghShekhawat, Prahlad Singh Patel,Bishweswar Tudu, Chief Ministersand Ministers from States were pre-sent.

The Prime Minister said sincethe Independence till 2019, only 3crore households in our countryhad access to tap water. Since thelaunch of Jal Jeevan Mission in2019, 5 crore households havebeen connected with water con-nections.

From Page 1Upset with some appointments

after Chief Minister Charanjit SinghChanni took charge, Sidhu had put inhis papers and, though efforts weremade to placate him, it remainsunclear if his resignation has beenaccepted.

The cricketer-turned-politicianin his tweet also posted photos ofMahatma Gandhi and Shastri.

After a bitter fight between thethen Chief Minister Amarinder Singhand Sidhu, the Congress took a callto replace Amarinder with Channi.However, Amarinder vowed to defeatSidhu if he contests the assembly elec-tions, dubbed Gandhi siblings as“inexperienced” and later announcedthat he will leave the party.

After Sidhu’s resignation plungedthe party in a turmoil, Channi methim and it was agreed to set up acoordination panel of the party to takekey decisions. Sidhu has been madepart of the panel.

From Page 1Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had

taken up the issue during his meeting with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Friday.

In its order on Saturday, the Ministry said “in the inter-est of the farmers, it has been decided to start procurementof paddy from October 3 in the State of Haryana andPunjab”.

Expressing gratitude to Modi for agreeing to his “per-sonal request” Punjab Chief Minister Channi said the deci-sion will help in ensuring smooth and hassle free pro-curement of paddy to the satisfaction of the farmers.

“On Channi’s request, the Centre allows Punjab to startpaddy procurement from October 3. The Chief Ministerthanks Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his personalindulgence to resolve this issue expeditiously,” the PunjabCMO tweeted.

The procurement of Kharif crops - paddy and millet-was earlier to start from October 1, but due to heavy rains,the Central Government had postponed the procurementtill October 11 as the moisture content in fresh arrivals wasbeyond permissible limits.

The decision has irked farmers and many of themprotested on Saturday in several parts of the two states, lay-ing siege to the houses of many Ministers, MPs and MLAs.

From Page 1Chirag in his letter to EC dated September 10, reiterated the

claim for the post of national president of the party. Further, videthe letter of September 23, the group red by Chirag sought rejec-tion of any claim by Paras regarding allotment of symbol in theforthcoming bye-elections in Bihar. Again on September 29, thegroup has requested for allotment of symbol “Bungalow” in theforthcoming bye-elections. Chirag again on October 1, in his oralsubmission to the Commission reiterated the position indicatedin his previous references and sought a decision from theCommission before the last date of nomination October 8. On theother hand, Paras sought allotment of symbol and extension of fourweeks time to furnish documents on September 23. The poll bodyhas allowed Paras to furnish documents by October 8.

From Page 1The NIM principal,

Colonel Amit Bisht said fourbodies had been spotted on themountain slope from a heli-copter. He said the operation islikely to end on Sunday.

It will be recalled that a 20-

member team was on an expe-dition to the 7,120 metres highMount Trishul. On Friday, a 10-member group began theascent but was caught in anavalanche at a height of 6,700metres. Five climbers and oneSherpa went missing after theavalanche which took placeearly morning at about 5 am.

From Page 1The flag symbolizes India’s vastness and cre-

ativity of Khadi artisans”, chairman of KVIC V KSaxena tweeted.

To boost the morale of the soldiers in the area,Lieutenant General YK Joshi, GOC-in-C NorthernCommand, Lieutenant General PGK Menon,GOC, Fire and Fury Corps and senior military andcivil officials were also present to celebrate the152nd birth anniversary of the Father of the Nationalong with ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, commem-orating 75th anniversary of India’s Independence.

The flag is the largest hand-woven and hand-spun Cotton Khadi flag ever manufactured in India.The flag is made by “Khadi Dyers and Printer”based in Mumbai which is affiliated to Khadi Villageand Industries Commission.

“Gandhi Ji had said that our flag is a symbolof unity, humanity, and a sign accepted by every-one in the country. It’s a symbol of greatness forthe country... In coming years, this flag (in Leh) willbe a sign of enthusiasm for our soldiers,” the LadakhLieutenant Governor said after unveiling the hugenational flag.

Soon after the monumental flag was unveiledthe Indian Air Force helicopters were seen flyingover the site of the event in Leh to salute and hon-our the National flag.

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED) has provisionally

attached a residential buildingworth �190.62 crore, located atCeejay House Worli, Mumbai,under Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act in an ongoinginvestigation against SanjaySingal, former CMD ofBhushan Power & Steel Limitedand others in a case involvingbank fraud.

The ED initiated moneylaundering investigation on thebasis of FIR dated April 5,2019 filed by CBI under theIndian Penal Code andPrevention of Corruption Actagainst BPSL and others for acriminal conspiracy amongstthemselves and with unknownpublic servants of banks andothers to cheat banks/ financialinstitutions/ Governmentexchequer, the ED said in astatement.

“In furtherance of the saidcriminal conspiracy, they dis-honestly and fraudulentlydiverted huge amounts of bankfunds through companies/ shellcompanies/ entities, and delib-erately defaulted in repaymentof bank loans and also claimedinadmissible Cenvat credit,” itsaid.

Money Laundering inves-tigations has revealed that thefunds that were utilised for pur-chase of this property by

Assurity Real Estate LLP weresiphoned from BPSL and rout-ed through shell companiesprojecting the same as unse-cured loans. It has been estab-lished that the so called unse-cured loans were without anydocumentation and repaymentobligations, the agency said.

Earlier, a prosecution com-plaint had also been filed by theED in the impugned caseagainst 25 accused and assetstotaling to �4,229.54 crore havealready been attached, thusbringing the total attached pro-ceeds of crime to �4,420.16crore.

They did not use the bankfunds for the purpose for whichthe same were sanctioned, com-mitted forgery for the purposeof cheating, used forged docu-ments and falsified the accounts

causing wrongful loss to thelending banks/ financial insti-tutions/ government exchequerand corresponding wrongfulgain to themselves.

It was also alleged in theCBI FIR that BPSL had availedvarious credit facilities from 33different banks/ financial insti-tutions and the outstandingdefaulted amount as on January30, 2018 was �47,204 crore.

BPSL and its directorsdeliberately defaulted in repay-ment of loan amounts to lenderbanks/financial institutions asper the time schedule and theiraccounts remained continu-ously irregular; that subse-quently, the lead bank PNBdeclared the account of BPSL asNPA on December 31, 2015,followed by the otherbanks/financial institutions.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has taken

possession of 15 immovableproperties worth �1.31 crorebelonging to Sanjay PratapSingh, his wife, Kiran Devi andhis associate, Srikumar Singh ina case of illegal trade of liquor.

The immovable propertiesare in the form of an under-construction building, a brickkiln and 13 plots of land.

The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of FIR datedDecember 7.12.2012 andcharge-sheet dated February 4,2013 filed by Nawada Police(Bihar Police) against SanjayPratap Singh and others underthe provisions of Indian PenalCode.

The FIR was registeredconsequent to the hoochtragedy, in which 21 peopledied in Ara, Nawada ofBhojpur district, Bihar by con-suming poisonous alcohol.

Police investigationrevealed that the deceased per-sons had consumed spuriousliquor which was manufactured and sold bySanjay Pratap Singh and hisassociates illegally.

First ASJ, Bhojpur, Aravide judgement dated July 24,

2018, held 14 accused personsincluding Sanjay Pratap Singh,guilty of the offences underIPC, Excise Act and SC/ST Act and award-ed sentence of life imprison-ment with fine of Rs.25,000 toeach accused person.

Investigation under PMLArevealed that Sanjay PratapSingh has invested the Proceeds of Crime generated through illegal tradeof ‘desi’ wine for acquiringimmovable properties in hisname and in the name of hiswife, Kiran Devi, who had noindependent source of income.

In the year 2011, withintention to legalise his taint-ed income from ‘desi’ wine,Sanjay Pratap Singh formedan unregistered firm namelyBhojpur Wine Traders tolaunder Proceeds of Crime,the agency said.

“He (Sanjay Pratap Singh)was the key person in thefirm, who solely managedthe business affairs. Furtherinvestigation reveals that heused the Proceeds of Crime into the constructionbusiness namely MaaConstruction where ill-gottenmoney has been used foracquisition of immovableproperty,” it added.

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WhatsApp banned over20.70 lakh accounts in

India in August. As per the datafrom WhatsApp’s monthlycompliance report, the plat-form received 420 user reportsspanning across account sup-port (105), ban appeal (222),other support (34), productsupport (42) and safety (17)during August. One of the keyfactors behind the ban of20,70,000 accounts is said to bedue to the unauthorised use ofautomated or bulk messages.Over 95 per cent of accountsthat are involved in automatedmessaging face bans in India.

WhatsApp took actionagainst 41 accounts out of the421 reports it received. Thecompany also revealed in itssupport page that when it getsuser complaints via the griev-ance channel, the messaging

service deploys tools andresources to prevent harmfulbehaviour.

Previously, the Facebook-owned company had statedthat more than 95 per cent ofbans are due to the unautho-rised use of automated or bulkmessaging (spam). The glob-al average number of accountsthat WhatsApp bans to pre-vent abuse on its platform isaround eight million permonth.

According to the mes-saging plat form, takingaction means it has eitherbanned an account orrestored a previously bannedaccount as a result of thecomplaint. More than threemillion Indian accounts werebanned by WhatsApp, whichalso received 594 grievancereports, between June 16and July 31. The global aver-age number of accounts that

WhatsApp bans to preventabuse on its platform is around 8 million accountsper month.

WhatsApp explained that“Accounts Actioned” denotesreports where it took reme-dial action based on therep or t . Taking ac t iondenotes either banning anaccount or a previouslybanned account b e ingrestored as a result of thecomplaint.

Also, reports may havebeen reviewed but notincluded as ‘’Actioned’’ formany reasons, including theuser needing assistance toaccess their account or to usesome features, user-request-ed restoration of a bannedaccount and the request isdenied, or if the reportedaccount does not violate thelaws of India or WhatsApp’sTerms of Service.

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Five pharma firms—Cipla,Dr Reddy’s, Emcure, Sun

Pharma and Torrent—havecollaborated to conduct clini-cal trials of an oral anti-viralCovid-19 pill Molnupiravir totreat mild Covid-19 in outpa-tients in India.

Developed by MerckSharpe Dohme (or MSD inquickspeak) and RidgebackBiotherapeutics, Molnupiraviris an experimental drug con-sumed in the form of a pill thatis likely to be available in themarket soon.

Between March and April,these five pharma companieshad individually entered into anon-exclusive voluntary licens-ing agreement with MerckSharpe Dohme (MSD) to man-ufacture and supplyMolnupiravir to India and over100 low and middle-incomecountries (LMICs).

However, the race is notconfined to the five companiesthat have been licenced byMSD. There are several otherIndian companies and one ofthe early ones in this wasHyderabad-based NatcoPharma, which apparently hascompleted the clinical trials andis awaiting marketing andmanufacturing approval fromthe Indian drug regulator.

The five pharma compa-

nies that had entered into a col-laboration agreement, willjointly sponsor, supervise andmonitor the clinical trial inIndia. One of the company offi-cials revealed that the trialswere still on but it was just amatter of weeks before theywould all be seeking the regu-latory approval and said, therewill be “lot of Molnupiraviravailable then.”

In a joint note shared bythe companies in June, as perthe directive of the SubjectExpert Committee (SEC) of theCentral Drugs StandardControl Organization, Dr.Reddy’s will conduct the clin-ical trial using its product, andthe other four pharma compa-nies will be required to demon-strate equivalence of theirproduct to the product used byDr. Reddy’s in its clinical trial.

Following the clinical trialprotocol approval given by theDrugs Controller General ofIndia, the clinical trial will beconducted for the treatment ofmild Covid-19 in an outpatientsetting.

The process was planned toconclude by September andinvolved a recruitment of 1,200patients. Such collaborationfor a clinical trial is beingdescribed as “a first-of-its-kindwithin the Indian pharmaindustry.” On successful com-pletion of the clinical trial,

each company will indepen-dently approach the regulato-ry authorities for approval tomanufacture and supplyMolnupiravir for the treatmentof Covid-19 in India.

Molnupiravir, the note hadsaid, is an oral anti-viral thatinhibits the replication of mul-tiple RNA viruses includingSARS-CoV-2, as per thesources.

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India has crossed the land-mark of 90 crore Covid-19

vaccinations, Union HealthMinister Mansukh Mandaviyasaid on Saturday.

As per the CoWIN dash-board, 90,10,04,270 Covidvaccine doses have beenadministered across the coun-try so far. Of these,65,69,56,299 are first doses,while 24,40,47,971 are seconddoses.

“Shastri ji gave the slogan‘Jai Jawan - Jai Kisan’. ReveredAtal ji added ‘Jai Vigyan’ andPM @Narendra Modi Ji gavethe slogan ‘Jai Anusandhan’.Today the result of anusand-han is this coronavaccine.#JaiAnusandhan,”Mandaviya tweeted.

The nationwide vaccina-tion drive was rolled out onJanuary 16 with healthcareworkers (HCWs) getting inoc-

ulated in the first phase. Thevaccination of frontline work-ers (FLWs) started onFebruary 2. Uttar Pradesh hasseen the most vaccinations at10,90,16,352 doses, followedby Maharashtra (8,31,71,551),Madhya Pradesh(6,38,54,081), Gujarat(6,13,33,339), and WestBengal (5,85,50,307).

Meanwhile, the countryreported as many as 24,354new infections and 234 deathsin the last 24 hours. Theactive caseload in India standsat 2,73,889 which is the low-est in 197 days. The recoveryrate currently stands at 97.86per cent which is the highestsince March last year.

More than 25,400 recov-eries were recorded in the last24 hours, pushing the overallrecoveries to 3,30,68,599. Atotal of 57.19 crore tests havebeen conducted across thecountry so far.

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In a strongly-worded criticismof those opposing farm

reforms, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has hit-out atthe Opposition for being“opportunist” and called theirstand as ‘Rajneetik dhokhad-hadi’ and “intellectually dis-honesty”.

In a direct attack on theOpposition parties for sidingwith agitationists, Modi saidthat these were the same peo-ple who wrote letters to chiefministers asking them to do theexact same thing that hisGovernment has done.

Accusing the Opposition of“intellectual dishonesty” and“political deceit” over its criti-cism of his government’s threefarm laws, Modi said tough andbig decisions need to be takento bring benefits to citizenswho should have received themdecades ago.”

“If you look at those whoare opposing the pro-farmerreforms today, you will see thereal meaning of intellectualdishonesty and rajneetikdhokhadhadi,” Prime Ministersaid in an interview to the‘Open Magazine’.

Without referring toCongress, the Prime Ministersaid these were the same peo-ple who wrote in their electionmanifesto that they wouldenact the same reforms that the

BJP government has brought. “Yet, just because some

other political party, blessed bythe will of the people, is enact-ing the same reforms, theyhave made a complete U-turnand in a brazen display ofintellectual dishonesty, com-pletely disregard what will ben-efit the farmers and only seekwhat they think will benefitthem politically,” he said.

The Prime Minister statedthat the Centre is committed toempowering the small farmersin every way and that his gov-ernment is ready to sit togeth-er and discuss those issues.

“Many meetings have alsobeen held in this regard but noone till now has come up witha specific point of disagreementthat we want this to bechanged,” he said.

Modi said that he takesdecisions based on MahatmaGandhi’s talisman that seeshow his decisions will benefitor harm the poorest or weak-

est person.“While taking decisions, I

stop even if the slightest of vest-ed interests is visible to me. Thedecision should be pure andauthentic and if the decisionpasses through all these tests,then I firmly move forward toimplement such a decision,” heasserted.

The Prime Minister alsosaid, “In such a large countryas India, is it possible to makea decision which is acceptableto 100 per cent people?Although if a decision is notacceptable to even a smallnumber of people, they are notwrong. They may have theirown genuine concerns but ifthe decision is in the largerinterest, then it is the respon-sibility of the government toimplement such a decision.”

The months-long agitationof farmers, mainly from Punjaband Haryana in the outskirts ofDelhi, has been insisting on therepeal of the three farm laws.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah on Saturday flagged-

off an All India Car Rally ofNational Security Guard(NSG), ‘Sudarshan BharatParikrama’ from the historicRed Fort here as part of the‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’being organised to mark the75th anniversary ofIndependence

In his speech, Shah said, “Ifthe youth, scientists and tech-nocrats of the country joinhands, then everything is pos-sible and India can becomeself-reliant with pride and itshead held high. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has given theslogan of Make in India alongwith Self-Reliant India, theyouth of the country shouldassociate themselves with thisgoal so that India becomes aglobal manufacturing hub withIndian products going all overthe world under the Made inIndia label.”

“It is our collective respon-sibility that under the leader-ship of Prime Minister Modi,we make the Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav a source of inspira-tion and a medium for awak-ening consciousness and makeit a path for the development ofIndia,” he said.

The cycle rallies covering adistance of 41,000 kilometresand the Sudarshan BharatParikrama Car Rally startingfrom Saturday is an effort toawaken consciousness in thecountry and it will take ustowards the fulfilment of thegoals of Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav, he further said.

The two main objectives ofAzadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav are totry to revive the immortal sagaof the unsung martyrs whomade supreme sacrifice for thecountry’s freedom and to con-nect with the development of thecountry by awakening the spir-it of patriotism in the new gen-eration, the Home Minister said.

“Freedom fighters laid downtheir lives and brought us wherewe are today by attaining free-dom for the country, but can welive our whole life for the coun-try, for this we should ensure ourparticipation in the developmentof the country,” he said.

Central Armed PoliceForces personnel are guardingthe borders of the country indifficult conditions rangingfrom minus 43 to 43 degrees cel-sius temperature, and, due totheir sacrifice, today the coun-try is safe and moving on thepath of development, the min-ister said.

The year of Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav is the year of 130crore Indians to take and fulfilltheir resolutions and only allthese 130 crore resolutions canmake India self-reliant, headded.

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On the occasion of GandhiJayanti, Union Minister of

Environment, Forest andClimate Change, BhupenderYadav on Saturday launched aweb portal – ‘Wetlands of IndiaPortal’ — giving all info relat-ed to wetlands of the country.It also heralded the iconicweek of Azadi ka AmritMahotsav of the Ministrybeing celebrated from October4 to 10.

“The portal is a singlepoint access to all informationrelating to wetlands. One canlogin on (http://indianwet-lands.in/), said an officialadding that the portal is adynamic system for processinginformation and making itavailable to the stakeholders inan efficient and accessible man-ner.

The portal also hostscapacity building material, datarepository, videos and infor-mation for students.Importantly, a dashboard for

each State and UT has beendeveloped to access the portaland populate it with informa-tion of wetlands in theiradministration. The portalwould be populated by thedifferent States and UTs andadditional features may beadded in the coming months,he added.

The portal also enablescitizen engagement. Currentlycitizens can register themselves

and upload wetland relatedpictures across differentthemes. Importantly, registeredcitizens can opt to take thepledge to become wetlandmitra and indicate theirState/UT and areas of interest.This information would allowStates and UTs to contact inter-ested persons for various pro-grams and initiatives, the offi-cial added.

The portal has been devel-oped under a TechnicalCooperation project“Wetlands Management forBiodiversity and ClimateProtection” (Wetlands Project)of the Ministry in partnershipwith Deutsche Gesellschaftfür InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ)GmbH. The project is com-missioned by the GermanFederal Ministry for theEnvironment, NatureConservation and NuclearSafety (BMU) under theInternational ClimateInitiative (IKI), the officialinformed.

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The Centre has cleared sevenout of 106 names for judge-

ships in higher judiciary andone for the appointment as theChief Justice of a High Courtout of nine names recom-mended by the Supreme Courtcollegium recently, ChiefJustice N V Ramana said onSaturday.

While speaking at a func-tion here, the CJI, who sought“cooperation and support”from the Centre, said that hehas been assured of early clear-ance of the names by LawMinister Kiren Rijiju.

”The government hascleared some of them (namesfor judgeship) and the Hon’’bleLaw Minister has assured thatthe rest of the things will comein one or two days. I thank thegovernment for clearing thesevacancies and giving quickaccess to justice to the people,”the CJI said at an event here.

Besides recommending anunprecedented nine names forjudgeships in the apex court inone go on August 17, whichwas swiftly cleared by the

Centre, Justice Ramana hasbeen acting proactively to fillup huge vacancies in highcourts by recommending thenames for 106 judges and ninenew chief justices in differenthigh courts.

“My companion judges andI have attempted to enable liti-gants to get faster justice. I wantto state that, since May onwards,my team so far has recom-mended the appointment of106 judges and nine new ChiefJustices to various High Courts.

“The government hascleared seven names out of the106 judges and one out of thenine for chief justices, so far. Iexpect that the government willclear the rest of the names verysoon. These appointments willtake care of pendency to someextent. I seek the cooperation and support of theGovernment to enable access tojustice and to strengthendemocracy,” he said.

Justice Ramana said that theclearance of names by theCentre would take care of thependency of cases to “someextent” in high courts.

The CJI, who is also thePatron-in-chief of the National

Legal Services Authority, wasspeaking at the launch of thesix-week-long ‘’The Pan IndiaLegal Awareness and OutreachCampaign’’ by NALSA atVigyan Bhavan that was inaugurated by President RamNath Kovind on the occasion ofMahatma Gandhi’s birthanniversary.

Recently on September 16,the three-member collegium, ofwhich Justices U U Lalit and AM Khanwilkar, had recommended to the Centreeight names of judges for ele-

vation as chief justices in asmany high courts.

It had also recommendedthe transfer of five sitting CJs ofhigh courts.

The 25 high courts in thecountry have a combined sanc-tioned strength of 1,080 judgesand as on May 1, 2021, theywere functioning with 420judges only.

Prior to this, the collegiumshad taken a historic decision torecommend 68 names in one gofor judgeships in 12 high courtsacross the country.

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Jammu: To promote bordertourism, Lieutenant GovernorManoj Sinha inaugurated theretreat ceremony at the Octroipost in Suchetgarh area alongthe International border withPakistan on Saturday.

The Octroi post was deckedup to witness the historic event.The 36 th Battalion of the BSFconducted an impressive paradeto attract the tourists. The pro-posal to start an impressiveparade on the lines of Wagahborder in Amritsar was pend-ing for clearance for a long time.

Recently when the Ministryof Home Affairs gave its nodthe BSF authorities along withthe Department of Tourism inJammu decided to start theRetreat ceremony to attract alarge number of tourists.

On its part the BSF author-

ities have been organising sev-eral events at the heritageOctroi post to attract visitors. A131 ft high Tricolor wasinstalled at the zero line on theoccasion of Republic Day thisyear.

Speaking on the occasionLG Manoj Sinha said theRetreat ceremony is expected toboost the border tourism in thearea.

He claimed several otherimportant tourist locationsacross Jammu region will bedeveloped in the next two yearsto attract more tourists. He saiddue to peaceful atmosphere inJammu and Kashmir the touristarrivals are gradually increas-ing. He said 10.50 lakh touristsvisited J&k in the month of July,11.50 lakh in August and 12.82in September 2021. PNS ;��%��������� ���������������!���������������������������!�����!������������������������������� ��!���� �34

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Even as the State adminis-tration is going ahead with

series of measures to bringKerala back to normal life bylifting the last vestiges of thelockdown slapped during theCovid-19 pandemic, the pan-demic is not showing any signsof coming down while thedeath toll keeps on increasingday by day.

To make matters worse, theover worked and tiredGovernment doctors in Keralaare on a warpath with theadministration. AllGovernment doctors acrossthe State observed a day’s faston Saturday which happened tobe the Gandhi Jayanti Day topress home their long standingdemands.

A release issued by VeenaGeorge, the Health Minister,said that 13,217 new persons

were diagnosed with Covid-19out of the 96,835 samples test-ed on Saturday.

The State logged 121deaths during the last 24 hoursand this took the death toll tilldate to 25,303. A Governmentdoctor confided to The Pioneerthat the fear among healthprofessionals is that the State

may overtake Tamil Nadu inthe death toll in another cou-ple of months.

Tamil Nadu has lost 35,603lives till Friday. The HealthMinister’s office was silent onthe Test Positivity Rate onSaturday.

Meanwhile, doctors inGovernment hospitals across

the State, the real frontlinewarriors are a worried lot astheir requests for appointingtemporary doctors to tide overthe shortage of staff was yet tofind favour with the powersthat be.

“Though we are overworked and exhausted, we havebeen denied the much neededrest and recuperation period.The risk allowance, an essentialelement in the service condi-tion of doctors, which wascancelled is yet to be restored. The Government doc-tors were overlooked by theadministration during the payrevision exercise. Moreover,physical assaults on doctors bypatients as well as their relativesare mounting by the day,” saidDr G S Vijayakrishnan, presi-dent, Kerala GovernmentMedical Doctors Associationwhile inaugurating the daylong fast by Government doc-

tors in front of secretariat atThiruvananthapuram.

Senior office bearers ofIndian Medical Associationtoo joined the agitating doctorsto express their solidarity withtheir demands. Dr Suresh, gen-eral secretary, KGMDA, saidthat the coming days would seethe medical fraternity in theState intensifying their agitationfor just causes.

The review meeting heldon Saturday to take stock of theCovid-19 situation and whichwas presided over by ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayandecided to re-open the cinematheatres in the State fromOctober 25.

More than 50 films, manyof them produced by spendinghundreds of crore rupees havebeen in the cold storagebecause of the lock downdeclared by the Government asa sequel to the pandemic.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government is taking allpossible steps to reduce the man-animal conflict in the Stateafter considering the suggestions put forth by environmen-talists, farmers and the general public, Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday.

At the online statewide inauguration of the national wildlifeweek celebrations, Vijayan said the Government has formed204 public committees in districts that share border with foreststo deal with the issues related to man-animal conflict. The ChiefMinister said the Government was trying to implement a solu-tion to end the conflict by seeking suggestions from farmersorganisations, environmentalists, people's representativesand the general public.

"We are taking steps to keep the wild animals inside theforest and to keep them away from entering human habitat.We have formed 204 public committees including forest offi-cials, people's representatives and locals in districts which sharetheir borders with forests," he said.Vijayan said in areas wherewild animals are likely to enter the human habitat, the gov-ernment has used innovative biological defenses like palmyratree walls, in addition to barbed wire fences powered by solarenergy, rail fences, elephant walls, trenches, crash guards andrope fencing. He said mobile application 'Sarpa' is a first ofits kind in the country. "The app is used for the protection ofsnakes and the safety of the people. Forest department accred-ited snake rescuers are registered in the app," Vijayan said.

The process of removing eucalyptus and acacia trees fromthe social forestry regions in the state is going on, Vijayan said,adding that natural and endemic trees will be planted to cre-ate natural forest. PTI

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Gangtok: Sikkim Chief Minister PS Tamang onSaturday announced that packaged mineral water willbe banned from January 1, 2022 in the Himalayan State,which is "blessed with natural resources that providefresh and good quality drinking water".

Tamang, during his address here on the occasionof Gandhi Jayanti, also said that people, after the banis implemented, will opt for water from naturalresources, which is far healthier than that available inplastic bottles. "Everyone in Sikkim would now haveto do away with mineral water bottles and opt for nat-ural water resources," he stated.

The CM further noted that a three-month buffertime is being given to deplete the existing stock of min-eral water bottles available with business establishments.

Tamang, who was accompanied by GovernorGanga Prasad during a cleanliness drive on the occa-sion, said that the state government is taking steps tostop supply of packaged drinking water from outside.

Notably, tourist hotspots like Lachen in NorthSikkim have already banned packaged water bottles.

"Sikkim is rich in natural water resources and allrequirements for water can be met within the statethrough environment-friendly initiatives," the CMadded. PTI

Bengaluru: Chief MinisterBasavaraj Bommai said onSaturday families committingsuicide post Covid was a mat-ter of concern and said suicidewas not a solution to any tem-porary problem.

His reaction came as awoman with her two children inthe city outskirts ended her lifeon Friday a year after the deathof her husband, who was aState-owned BangaloreMetropolitan TransportCorporation employee, due tocoronavirus.

A few other instances havealso taken place where somefamily members ended theirlives due to financial stress postCovid-19 lockdown.

"It (suicide) is a matter ofconcern for everyone. We needto stop people from committing

suicide due to stress and variousother reasons.. Society and theGovernment should think overit...People have to come togeth-er to help each other in difficulttimes," the Chief Minister said.

He added that problems aretemporary, for which suicide isnot a solution. There will alwaysbe a solution to the problem, heopined.

"Joy and sorrow are part ofour life. We should calm our-selves and we must perceive vic-tory and defeat and joy and sor-row as temporary," Bommaisaid.

According to him, thereare many reasons behind suicideincluding social, economic andpersonal. He said people takeextreme steps in depressionand it should be prevented. PTI

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many months, active Covid-19cases in Andhra Pradesh camedown to the 10,000 mark as thestate reported 865 fresh posi-tives and 1,424 recoveries in 24hours ending 9 am on Saturday.

Also, nine more peoplesuccumbed to the infection in24 hours, a health departmentbulletin said.

The State's Covid-19 chartshowed a total of 20,51,998positives, 20,27,229 recoveriesand 14,195 deaths so far.

The active caseload is now10,574, the bulletin said.Only three districts reportedbetween 100 and 175 newcases in 24 hours, while fouradded between 50 and 100each.

Three districts logged lessthan 50 cases each and threemore registered less than 10each. PTI

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Jammu: One civilian was killed byunidentified terrorists in Karan Nagararea of Srinagar while another was shotat near SD colony in Batmaloo onSaturday. Meanwhile, in the late eveningterrorists targeted a CRPF party inAnantnag by lobbing a grenade towardsthem. No loss of life was reported in theincident.

According to a police spokesman, "atabout 5.30 p.m Srinagar Police receivedinformation about a terror crime incidentnear Madina Complex Karan Nagararea of Srinagar where terrorists had firedon a civilian identified as Majid AhmadGojri son of Abdul Rehman resident ofChattabal Srinagar.

According to reports, the civilian hadreceived four gunshot injuries and latersuccumbed in the SMHS hospital.

In the second attack on a civilian, a45-year-old was shot at SD Colony inBatmaloo area of Srinagar. He wasrushed to the hospital and was under-going treatment till the time of filing thereport. PNS

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Hyderabad: Twenty five gelatin sticks, anequal number of detonators and other mate-rial hidden by Maoists in a forest area inMulugu district of Telangana was unearthedon Saturday, police said.

Police acted on information they receivedon Friday that explosive material was hiddenin the forest area on the outskirts of a villagein the district as per the orders of CPI (Maoist)leaders.

A search was conducted at the area onSaturday morning and a plastic drum dug outfrom a spot. It was found to contain 25 gelatinsticks, 25 detonators, a cloth used for mak-ing red flags, a medical kit, a pen drive, a flashcamera, a small Bluetooth speaker, a powerbank, chargers, papers containing resolutionsof certain meetings and revolutionary liter-ature, besides other material, a police releasesaid.

All the items were seized, a 'panchnama'was conducted and they were shifted fromthere The Maoists had hidden all the itemsin the forest area to target public representa-tives and police and also public and privateproperties, the release said.

Mulugu district Superintendent of PoliceSangram Singh G Patil appealed to theMaoists to shun violence and to join the main-stream of society, it added. PTI

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Mumbai: A 27-year-old guesthouse operator of a temple inGujarat was arrested in con-nection with a rape case regis-tered by Kandivali police inMumbai, an official said onSaturday.

Two others have alreadybeen arrested in this case, reg-istered under Immoral Traffic(Prevention) Act andMaharashtra Prevention andEradication of Human Sacrificeand other Inhuman, Evil and

Aghori Practices and BlackMagic Act, 2013 provisions,the official said.

"The accused had raped thewoman after promising to intro-duce her to the head priest of atemple. The temple's guesthouse operator's involvementwas revealed recently afterwhich he was held from Gujaraton September 30," he said.

The man has been remand-ed in police custody till October8, the official added. PTI

Nagpur: Three women were arrested for allegedly operating a sexracket and offering a 11-year-old girl to customers for a sum of �40,000, police in Nagpur in Maharashtra said on Saturday.

An official said the women were taking advantage of the minorgirl's need for money to get her mother treated for cancer.

Acting on a tip off, which was confirmed by a decoy customer,the police's Social Security Branch (SSB) raided a home in OmNagar on Friday, rescued the girl and arrested the three womenoperating the racket, he said.

They have been charged under IPC. Protection of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Act as well as and Immoral Traffic(Prevention) Act provisions, the official said. PTI

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Bulandshahr (UP): An addi-tional inspector posted inKotwali Nagar here has been sus-pended from service after aninvestigation found he hadallegedly tortured a businessmanin custody over a check bouncecase, officials said on Saturday.

A case has been registeredagainst Additional InspectorAjay Kumar, who was posted inKotwali Nagar, in Aligarh'sHarduaganj police station underkidnapping and other sections ofthe IPC and placed under sus-pension.

Aligarh-based businessmanAbhishek Tiwari had accusedAjay Kumar and others of assaultand threatening to kill him.

According to the FIR,Tiwari alleged that on the nightof September 30, he was sittingin his factory in Aligarh'sTalanagri. An SUV came and 8-10 people in the car calledTiwari to come outside andthen started beating him.

Tiwari was pushed into a carand taken outside the district.When they neared Talanagarioutpost in Aligarh, the car wasstopped there.

Inspector Ajay Kumar, whowas waiting there in a car,allegedly "kidnapped" the busi-nessman and took him in hisvehicle.

Bulandshahr SeniorSuperintendent of Police SantoshKumar Singh said Rajeev KumarSharma, a resident of KotwaliNagar area, had lodged a checkbounce case on September 16against Tiwari of �6.60 lakh.

The additional inspectorwas the investigator in that case.As it is not a serious offenceunder the IPC, there is no pro-vision for arrest in the case.

Kumar, though, left the dis-trict without bringing it to thenotice of the top officials andwent to Aligarh without any rea-son. PTI

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Jaipur: Amid internal rumblings inthe Punjab and ChhattisgarhCongress, Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on Saturday said hisgovernment will complete its full five-year tenure.

Gehlot also exuded confidencethat he would again come back topower after the next Assembly elec-tions and reflecting his aspiration tobecome the Rajasthan CM for afourth term too, he added that hewould allocate the UrbanDevelopment and HousingDepartment again to Shanti Dhariwalfor the fourth time.

Speaking at a programme at hisresidence here to launch the'Prashasan – Shaharon Ke Sang' and'Prashasan – Gaon Ke Sang' cam-paign, Gehlot said there was specu-lation doing the rounds aboutRajasthan and Chhattisgarh afterPunjab.

“The Congress Government inRajasthan will not only complete itsfive-year tenure but will again comeback to power in the next assemblyelections in the state,” he said.

He added that he would againallocate the Urban Development andHousing Ministry to Shanti Dhariwal

for a fourth time as he has workedhard to make the campaign, launchedtoday, successful.

In Rajasthan, former DeputyChief Minister Sachin Pilot andGehlot have been locked in a lead-ership tussle.

In Chhattisgarh, after ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghel completedhis two-and-a-half-year tenure inJune, the T S Singhdeo camp claimedthat the Congress leadership in 2018had agreed to give the post to himafter the government completed halfits term.

The Cabinet reshuffle and polit-ical appointments are also pendingfor long in Rajasthan and the Pilotcamp MLAs have been demandingfrom the party high command to ful-fil the promises made to him last year.

Pilot and 18 other CongressMLAs had revolted against the lead-ership of chief minister Gehlot in Julylast year with the political uncer-tainties in the State existing for overone month. During Saturday's pro-gramme, Gehlot, who underwentangioplasty in August, also said he isnot going anywhere for the next 15-20 years.

He said after the blockage in hisheart artery, treatment was done.“The prayers of the people of theentire state helped me. Nothing isgoing to happen to me…nothing willhappen for 15-20 years, if someonewants to be unhappy, it's their prob-lem,” he said.

The Chief Minister claimed theground level feedback reveals thatthere is no anti-incumbency inRajasthan.

“This is what people are saying.We have not left any stone unturnedin doing the work but (we) don'tknow what will happen next, but themood of the public is of making uscome back,” said the CM.

In a light vein, he took a jibe atthe bureaucracy saying bureaucratsare the first to worry if the govern-ment will stay in power or not andthe first discussions on the issue startin the secretariat.

He reiterated that the govern-ment will not only run for five yearsbut come back to power also after thenext elections. On the occa-sion of Gandhi Jayanti, Gehlot saidafter 60 years, the BJP adoptedMahatma Gandhi for political inter-ests. PTI

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Kollam (Ker): A massive drivehas been launched by theKerala Government to cleanand conserve the state's oncescenic Ashtamudi Lake whichis highly polluted due to dump-ing of sewage and encroach-ments.

After inaugurating a jointinitiative of the Kollam corpo-ration and Kollam district pan-chayat to clean the lake on theoccasion of Gandhi Jayanti,state Finance Minister K NBalagopal said on Saturdaythat Ashtamudi lake, describedas the gateway to Kerala's back-waters, will regain its lost beau-ty and adequate funds havebeen allocated for it.

Talking to PTI, he said thestate government, in its previ-ous budget, allocated Rs 500crore in the first phase for reju-venating water bodies acrossthe state and a portion of thisfund will be used for cleaningand rejuvenating theAshtamudi lake facing the riskof permanent damage due todumping of waste .PTI

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The UN CredentialsCommittee that will review

the Taliban’s communicationin which it nominated SuhailShaheen as Afghanistan’s envoyto the UN is expected to meetnext month, with the GeneralAssembly president saying theentire 193-nation strong mem-bership will decide on the mat-ter once the committee submitsits findings on who should sit atKabul’s seat in the world body.

Myanmar and Afghanistanwere the only two countries outof the 193-nation strongGeneral Assembly member-ship that did not speak at thejust-concluded high-levelUNGA week.

“Yes, I am in touch with the(Credentials) Committee.Sweden is the chair of thecommittee. I have communi-cated the correspondences tothe committee chair. Usually,

the committee meets inNovember, brings the report tothe General Assembly inDecember for adoption and Iam sure that Sweden will keepto the credentials schedule,”President of the 76th session ofthe UN General AssemblyAbdulla Shahid said in his firstpress conference here on Friday.

Shahid was responding toa question on whether he is incontact with the members ofthe Credentials Committee onthe issue of representation ofMyanmar and Afghanistan atthe UN.

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Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan has said his

government is in talks withsome groups of the bannedTehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) for “reconciliation” withthe help of the Taliban inAfghanistan.

The TTP, commonlyknown as Pakistani Taliban, isa banned militant group basedalong the Afghan-Pakistan bor-der. It has carried out a num-ber of major terror attacksacross Pakistan and reported-ly been using Afghan soil toplot terrorist attacks in this country.

There were reports thatthe Afghan Taliban had set freesome dreaded TTP militants,including its leading comman-der Maulvi Faqir Mohammad,after taking over the war-torncountry in August.

In an interview to Turkishgovernment-owned TRTWorld news channel, Khansaid there are different groupswhich form the TTP and some

of them want to talk to thePakistan government for peace,the Dawn News reported on Friday.

“So, we are in talks withthem. It’s a reconciliationprocess,” the Prime Minister said.

When asked if the govern-ment was asking the militantsto lay down arms, Khan said,“Yes, we forgive them and they become normal citizens.”

To a question on why theTTP was conducting attacks onPakistan’s security forces whenthey were in talks with the gov-ernment, he said it was just a“spate of attacks”.

“We might not reach somesort of conclusion or settlementin the end but we are talking,”Khan added.

Responding to anotherquery on whether the AfghanTaliban were acting as media-tors between the TTP andPakistan, the premier said:“Since the talks were takingplace in Afghanistan, so in thatsense, yes.”

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Pakistan’s Ministry of Interiorhas sought a report from

the provincial Government ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa into thekilling of a well-known Sikh‘hakeem’ in the country’s restivenorthwestern city of Peshawar, an official said on Saturday.

‘Hakeem’ Sardar SatnamSingh (Khalsa), 45, who prac-tised Unani medicine, was athis clinic on Thursday whensome unidentified gunmenbarged into his cabin andopened fire, killing him on thespot, the police said.

The assailants, who man-aged to fled the crime scene,fired four times, according tothe police.

The federal interiorMinistry sought a report fromthe Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gov-ernment into the killing,according to an official.

An initial report has beensent to the interior ministryeven as the police expanded thescope of their investigation, theofficial said.

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Philippine President RodrigoDuterte on Saturday

announced he was retiringfrom politics and droppingplans to run for vice presidentin next year’s elections when histerm ends, paving the way forhis politician daughter to makea possible bid for the top post.

Speaking before reporters,Duterte said many Filipinoshave expressed their oppositionto his vice-presidential bid insurveys and public forums.

“The overwhelming senti-ment of the Filipino is that I’mnot qualified, and it would bea violation of the constitu-tion,” Duterte said. “In obedience to the will of the people.”

“I will follow what youwish and today I announce myretirement from politics,” he added.

The 76-year-old leader,known for his deadly anti-drugs crackdown, brashrhetoric and unorthodox polit-

ical style, earlier accepted theruling party’s nomination forhim to seek the vice presiden-cy in the May 9 elections. Thedecision outraged many of hisopponents, who have describedhim as a human rights calami-ty in an Asian bastion of democracy.

Duterte announced hissurprise withdrawal from theelection after accompanyinghis former longtime aide, Sen.

Bong Go, to register his ownvice presidential candidacywith the ruling party at aCommission on Elections center.

Philippine presidents arelimited by the constitution to asingle six-year term and oppo-nents had said they wouldquestion the legality ofDuterte’s announced vice pres-idential run before the SupremeCourt if he pursues his bid.

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Qatari citizens voted for thefirst time in elections for

an advisory council onSaturday — a long-delayedstep that aims to give people inthe autocratic sheikhdomslightly more say over howthey’re ruled.

The “experiment,” as Qatariofficials have described thevote, comes as the 2022 WorldCup casts a global spotlight onthe hereditarily ruled nationand generates pressure forreform. Qatar first introducedplans for the legislative elec-tions in its 2003 constitution,but authorities repeatedly post-poned the vote.

Qataris on Saturday head-ed to the polls to choose two-thirds of the 45-member ShuraCouncil, which drafts laws,approves state budges, debatesmajor issues and providesadvice to ruling emir SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al Thani.The body does not have sway,however, over matters ofdefense, security and the econ-

omy. The vast majority of thenearly 300 candidates are men,with nearly all hailing from thesame family or tribe in sever-al districts.

The country’s electoral law,which distinguishes betweenborn and naturalized Qatari cit-izens, and bars the latter fromelectoral participation, hasdrawn criticism from rightsgroups. In a report last month,Human Rights Watch describedthe system as “discriminatory,”excluding thousands of Qatarisfrom running or voting. Thedisqualifications have sparkedminor tribal protests that led toseveral arrests.

Sheikh Tamim, who previ-ously elected all the councilmembers, will handpick theremaining 15 members of thebody and retain ultimateauthority over decision-makingin the energy-rich country.Like other Gulf Arab states,Qatar bans political parties.Foreign workers outnumberQatari citizens in the tiny coun-try of 2.8 million nearly nine to one.

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Amajor crackdown in west-ern Libya resulted in the

detention of 4,000 migrants,including hundreds of womenand children, officials saidSaturday. The UN said initialreports were that at least oneperson was killed and 15 oth-ers injured in the crackdown.

The raids took place Fridayin the western town ofGargaresh as part of whatauthorities described as a secu-rity campaign against illegalmigration and drug trafficking.The Interior Ministry, whichled the crackdown, made nomention of any traffickers orsmugglers being arrested.

Officials said Friday that500 illegal migrants had beendetained but on Saturdayreported that number hadreached 4,000.

Gargaresh, a known hubfor migrants and refugees, isabout 12 kilometers (7.5 miles)west of Tripoli, the Libyan

capital. The town has seenseveral waves of raids onmigrants over the years, but thelatest one was described byactivists as the fiercest so far.

Since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that oustedand killed longtime dictatorMoammar Gadhafi, Libya hasemerged as the dominant tran-sit point for migrants fleeingwar and poverty in Africa and

the Middle East, hoping for abetter life in Europe. Humantraffickers have benefited fromthe chaos in the oil-rich nationand smuggled migrantsthrough the country’s lengthyborder with six nations. Theythen pack desperate migrantsinto ill-equipped rubber boatsin risky voyages through theperilous Central MediterraneanSea route.

London: Almost 200 militarytanker personnel will bedeployed from Monday to pro-vide temporary support toaddress the long queues atpetrol stations across the UKdue to supply shortages, the

government announced on Saturday.

The shortage has beencaused by a severe insufficien-cy of truck drivers, especiallyheavy goods vehicle (HGV)drivers required to supply fuel.

The Government said thatmilitary personnel are cur-rently undertaking their train-ing at haulier sites across thecountry and will be on the roaddelivering fuel supplies fromMonday. PTI

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The United States reached itslatest heartbreaking pan-

demic milestone on Friday,eclipsing 7,00,000 deaths fromCovid-19 just as the surgefrom the delta variant is start-ing to slow down and give over-whelmed hospitals some relief.

It took 3 ½ months for theUS to go from 6,00,000 to7,00,000 deaths, driven by thevariant’s rampant spread throughunvaccinated Americans. Thedeath toll is larger than the pop-ulation of Boston.

This milestone is especial-ly frustrating to public healthleaders and medical profes-

sionals on the front linesbecause vaccines have beenavailable to all eligibleAmericans for nearly sixmonths and the shots over-whelmingly protect againsthospitalizations and death. Anestimated 70 million eligibleAmericans remain unvacci-nated, providing kindling forthe variant.

“You lose patients fromCovid and it should not hap-pen,” said Debi Delapaz, anurse manager at UF HealthJacksonville who recalled howthe hospital was at one pointlosing eight patients a day toCovid-19 during the summersurge.

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President Joe Biden onSaturday acknowledged

frustrations as Democratsstrain to rescue a scaled-backversion of his $3.5 trillionGovernment-overhaul planand salvage a related publicworks Bill after frantic negoti-ations failed to produce a deal.

“Everybody’s frustrated, it’spart of being in government,being frustrated,” Biden toldreporters before leaving theWhite House for a weekendstay at his home inWilmington, Delaware. Hepledged to “work like hell” toget the two pillars of his domes-tic agenda passed into law, butrefrained from laying out a newdeadline.

The president had gone toCapitol Hill on Friday for a pri-vate meeting with HouseDemocrats that was partly amorale booster for the dis-jointed caucus of lawmakers.According to lawmakers in theroom, he discussed a $1.9 tril-lion to $2 trillion-plus price tagfor the larger package thatwould expand the country’ssocial safety net.

The White House and itsallies in Congress are prepared

for protracted negotiations.Biden said he would soon trav-el around the country to pro-mote the legislation and heacknowledged concerns thatthe talk in Washington hadbecome too focused on the tril-lions in new spending andtaxes in the Bill.

He pledged to do more toeducate the public about theplan’s new and expanded pro-grams, which he contendedhave the support of the vastmajority of the electorate.

“I’m going to try to sellwhat I think the American peo-ple will buy,” Biden saidSaturday, adding, “I believethat when the American peo-ple are aware of what’s in it we’llget it done.”

Dubai: Dubai’s Expo 2020 onSaturday offered conflicting fig-ures for how many workers hadbeen killed on site during con-struction of the massive world’sfair, first saying five and then later three.

In a later statement, Expoapologized and described the ini-tial figure as a “mistake.”Authorities had refused formonths to publicly provide anyfigures for construction-relatedcasualties in the run-up to the $7billion fair rising from the desertoutside Dubai, designed the bur-nish the city’s reputation abroadand draw millions of visitors. AP

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When Russians talk aboutthe coronavirus over din-

ner or in hair salons, the con-versation often turns to “antitela,”the Russian word for antibodies— the proteins produced by thebody to fight infection.

Even President VladimirPutin referred to them this weekin a conversation with his Turkishcounterpart Recep TayyipErdogan, bragging about why heavoided infection even thoughdozens of people around himcaught the coronavirus, includingsomeone who spent a whole daywith the Kremlin leader.

“I have high titers,” Putin

said, referring to the measure-ment used to describe the con-centration of antibodies in theblood. When Erdogan chal-lenged him that the numberPutin gave was low, the Russianinsisted, “No, it’s a high level.There are different countingmethods.”

But Western health expertssay the antibody tests so popu-lar in Russia are unreliableeither for diagnosing Covid-19or assessing immunity to it. Theantibodies that these tests lookfor can only serve as evidence ofa past infection, and scientistssay it’s still unclear what level ofantibodies indicates protectionfrom the virus and for how long.

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Gunmen shot and killedtwo Taliban fighters and

two civilians on Saturday in theeastern city of Jalalabad, aTaliban official said.

Two other civilians werewounded in the attack, saidMohammad Hanif, a culturalofficial for the city’s surround-ing province, Nangarhar.

No one claimed responsi-bility for the shooting, but theIslamic State group, which hasa strong presence in Nangarharand considers the Taliban anenemy, has previously claimedseveral attacks against them,including several killings inJalalabad. The two civilianskilled were Sayed Maroof Sadat,

a former spokesman for theNangarhar department of agri-culture, and his cousin, SharifSadat told the AP. Sadat’s sonwas among the two wounded,he added.

Since the Taliban takeoverof Afghanistan in mid-August,attacks by IS militants againstthem have increased. The risehas raised the specter of awider conflict between the twoextremist groups.

On Friday, Taliban fightersraided a hideout of the IslamicState group north of Kabul,killing and arresting an unspec-ified number of militants, aTaliban spokesman said. ISactivity in Nangarhar provincehas also led to Taliban crack-downs there.

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Jaipur: Union Health andFamily Welfare and Chemicalsand Petro-Chemical MinisterMansukh Mandaviya metChief Minister Ashok Gehloton Thursday at the ChiefMinister’s residence. Duringthis, the Chief Minister urgedfor early approval of medicalcolleges in three districts of thestate, Jalore, Pratapgarh andRajsamand.

Gehlot has worked in 33districts of Rajasthan. In this,approval of medical collegeshas been received in 30 dis-

tricts. Only three districts areleft in them, on getting theapproval of the medical collegefrom the Central Government,the people of these backwarddistricts will be able to get thebenefit of quality health facil-ities.

The Chief Minister alsourged for early approval for theproposed Petroleum Chemicalsand Petrochemicals InvestmentRegion (PCPIR) in the MedicalDevices Park in Jodhpur, BulkDrug Park in Kota and in thevicinity of Barmer Refinery.

This year, the annual mag-num opus of India Trade

Promotion Organisation(ITPO), the 40th edition ofIndia International Trade Fair(IITF) will manifest its theme“Atmanirbhar Bharat” with afocus on economy, exportpotential, infrastructure supplychain, demand and vibrantdemography.

Inspired by a great vision ofthe Hon’ble Prime Minister ofIndia, Shri Narendra Modi,the event is organised as inte-gral part of “ Azadi Ka AmritMahotsava”- commemoratingthe 75th year celebration ofIndia’s Independence in newlybuilt halls of InternationalExhibition-cum-ConventionCentre (IECC) as well as in theexisting halls at Pragati Maidan,New Delhi from November 14to 27,2021.

The fair will be organisedas per the preventive mea-sures to contain spread of thepandemic.

The fair also manifestsundying spirit of business fra-ternity who faced tremendouschallenges due to the pandem-ic.

Significantly, the themereflecting their determinationto showcase excellence ofbrands and create a new oppor-tunity for growth and attainself-reliance in sectors likeagriculture, micro, small &medium enterprises (MSME),power, tourism, etc.

IITF with B2B and B2Ccomponents is one of thelargest integrated trade fairs inSouth- Asian region.

The format of IITF hasbusiness; social, cultural andeducational dimensions thatare weaved together where vis-itors and exhibitors, mediapersons, marketing profes-sional, social activists, NGOsetc. all converge to exploretheir objectives. Domestic aswell as overseas buyers sourcetheir needs.

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Government think tankNITI Aayog, under Atal

Innovation Mission, has dis-bursed �220.55 crore to AtalIncubation Centres (AICs) in21 states of the country, whichnurture innovative startupbusinesses in their pursuit tobecome scalable and sustain-able enterprises, reply to an RTIquery has revealed.

The query was filed byBhopal resident AshishKolarkar, who sough informa-

tion from the NITI Aayog onthe number of AICs approvedby it and the amount given tothese incubation centres state-wise as on August 31, 2021.

The reply said there are 59AICs that have been funded bythe Atal Innovation Mission(AIM) and NITI Aayog, andthere are 2,324 startups incu-bated as on August 31, 2021.

NITI Aayog has disbursedabout �220.55 crore to incu-bation centres in 21 states tillthat date, it said.

The state-wise fundinclude �38.07 crore toKarnataka, �25.58 crore toTamil Nadu, �23.49 crore toMaharashtra, �21.51 crore toTelangana, �21.68 crore toDelhi, �14.15 crore to Gujarat,�12.16 crore to MadhyaPradesh, R�12.2 crore to UttarPradesh.

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Zee EntertainmentEnterprises Ltd on Saturday

said it has moved the BombayHigh Court against the requi-sition of minority shareholders,Invesco and OFI Global ChinaFund, to convene anExtraordinary General Meeting(EGM) to discuss variousissues, including removal ofManaging Director PunitGoenka.

The company has filed acivil suit before the high courtrequesting to declare the req-uisition notice sent to it as “ille-gal and invalid”. The devel-opment comes a day after theboard of Zee EntertainmentEnterprises Ltd (ZEEL) reject-ed the request of shareholders.

“The company has filed asuit before the Hon’ble HighCourt of Judicature at BombayHigh Court under the ordinaryoriginal civil jurisdiction(CivilSuit), inter alia requestingthe Bombay High Court todeclare that the requisitionnotice sent to the Company byInvesco Developing MarketsFund and OFI Global ChinaFund LLC (shareholders of theCompany) is illegal andinvalid,” said ZeeEntertainment in a regulatoryupdate.

Invesco DevelopingMarkets Fund (formerlyInvesco OppenheimerDeveloping Markets Fund)along with OFI Global ChinaFund LLC hold 17.88 per centstake in ZEEL.

On Friday, the board ofthe company had rejected theminority shareholders’ demandand termed the requisition as“invalid and illegal”.

“In its meeting held on 1stOctober 2021, the board hasarrived at a conclusion that therequisition is invalid and ille-gal; and has accordingly con-veyed its inability to convenethe Extraordinary GeneralMeeting to Invesco DevelopingMarkets Funds and OFI GlobalChina Fund, LLC,” ZEEL hadsaid. On Thursday, theMumbai bench of the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT) had directed ZEEL tohold a board meeting to con-sider Invesco and OFI GlobalChina Fund’s request for con-vening an EGM for discussingvarious issues.

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The Centre has fixed a ceil-ing price of two varieties of

raw jute at �6,500 per quintalin West Bengal to preventhoarding as the commodity isbeing sold at �7,200 or more inthe market, an official said onSaturday.

This price ceiling will beeffective till June 2022, he said.

“The Jute Commissioner,the regulator of the sector, hasput a price ceiling of raw jute(TDN3 and WN3 varieties) atRs 6,500 per quintal in the stateto discourage hoarding as theprice has touched �7,200 aquintal,” an official said.

The ceiling price of theraw jute has been fixed at�6,800 per quintal in otherstates.

The price control measurewill be in place for the currentjute season (July-June), he said.

“This means the govern-ment will consider raw juteprice at �6,500 per quintalwhile calculating the jute bag

price,” an industry source said. Mills will incur losses if

the market price of the rawmaterial is higher than theceiling one, he said.

“In the current year, pro-duction is huge and severalfarmers and traders are hold-ing the crop till now. The order

may dampen their plan tohoard the commodity,” thesource said.

With the rising prices, localtraders in all the jute produc-ing districts had started storingraw jute at their houses to sellthe commodity at a premiumprice in future.

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The DoT has amendedlicence norms to rationalise

the interest rate for delayedpayment of licence fee, a movethat is expected to ease finan-cial burden on the telecom sec-tor and promote ease of doingbusiness.

The department will nowcharge 2 per cent interest abovethe one-year marginal cost oflending rate (MCLR) of StateBank of India for delay in pay-ment of licence fees or anyother statutory dues and theinterest will be compoundedannually.

Earlier, telecom firms wererequired to pay 4 per centinterest above the one-yearMCLR of SBI and the interest

was compounded monthly.“Any delay in payment of

licence fee or any other duespayable under the licencebeyond the stipulated periodwill attract interest at a ratewhich will be 2 per cent abovethe one- year MCLR of SBIexisting as on the beginning ofthe financial year (namely 1stApril) in respect of the licencefees or any other dues pertain-ing to the said financial year,”the amendment said.

The Department ofTelecom (DoT) has alsoremoved the licence clauseunder which telcos werecharged a penalty equivalent to50 per cent of the short pay-ment they made for licence fee.The penalty was imposed ifshort payment was more than

10 per cent of the payablelicence fees.

The amendment has comeinto effect from October 1. Themove is part of telecom reformsannounced by the governmentin September 2021.

The old rules were one of

the main reasons for pushingincumbent players into stressafter the Supreme Court’s ver-dict on adjusted gross revenuethat upheld the governmentstand and asked telecom oper-ators to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crorestatutory dues.

The basic dues werearound 26 per cent while 74 percent component of the totaldemand got accumulated onaccount of interest on thisamount, penalty and intereston penalty.

Telecom industry bodyCOAI said the move will easefinancial stress on the sectorand promote ease of doingbusiness. “We appreciate thestep of rationalization of inter-est rates on delayed payment ofLicense Fee (LF) and any otherdues under the licence, removalof penalty and interest onpenalty. We welcome this steptowards easing the financialstress and promoting ease ofdoing business in the telecomsector,” COAI Director GeneralSP Kochhar said.

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The Income Tax Departmenthas detected unaccounted

transactions of over �500 croreafter it raided an Ahmedabad-based real estate developer andlinked brokers as part of a taxevasion probe, the CBDTclaimed on Saturday.

“Documents reveal unac-counted income of more than�200 crore in the hands of thereal estate group and also unac-counted income of more than�200 crore in the hands of theparties recorded in the docu-ments found from the posses-sion of the brokers.

“Over all, the search &seizure operation has resultedin the detection of unaccount-ed transactions of more than Rs500 crore,” it said in a state-ment.The Central Board ofDirect Taxes (CBDT) framespolicy for the tax department.

The raids that werelaunched at 22 premises of thegroup and the brokers onSeptember 28 are underway,the statement said.

The Board said about �1

crore cash and jewellery worth�98 lakh was seized during theoperation.Twenty-four lockershave been put under restraint,it said.Incriminating docu-ments, loose papers, digitalevidences have been seizedfrom the premises of the realestate developer and these “evi-dences” contain detailedrecords of the group’s unac-counted transactions spreadacross multiple financial years,the statement said.”Documentsshowing unaccounted invest-ment in land of more than �200 crore and unaccountedcash receipts from sale of landamounting to more than �100crore have been seized so far.

“A large number of originaldocuments of properties pur-chased over the years, which areapparently held in the name ofbenami individuals have alsobeen found,” it claimed.In thecase of the broker, documentsshowing details of payments incash and in cheques relating totransactions of purchase andsale of land carried out throughthe broker have been found, theCBDT said.

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Petrol and diesel pricessoared to new record highs

across the country on Saturdayafter rates were hiked again by25 paise and 30 paise a litre,respectively.

The price of petrol in Delhirose to its highest ever level of�102.14 a litre and to �108.19in Mumbai, according to aprice notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

Diesel rates too touched arecord high of �90.47 in Delhiand �98.16 a litre in Mumbai.

Prices differ from state tostate depending on the inci-dence of local taxes.

The price hike followsinternational oil prices soaringto near three-year high as glob-al output disruptions forcedenergy companies to drawmore crude oil out of theirstockpiles.

The basket of crude oilIndia imports has averagedUSD 78 per barrel in last fewdays.

The fourth increase in itsrates this week has sent petrol

prices above �100 in mostmajor cities of the country.

Similarly, the seventhincrease in prices in nine dayshas shot up diesel rates above�100 mark in several cities inMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,Odisha, Andhra Pradesh andTelangana.

State-owned Indian OilCorp (IOC), Bharat PetroleumCorp Ltd (BPCL) andHindustan Petroleum CorpLtd (HPCL) resumed dailyprice revisions on September24 after international oil pricesneared a three-year high.Global benchmark Brent crude

is trading above USD 78 perbarrel.

In seven price increasessince September 24, diesel rateshave gone up by 1.85 paise perlitre. Petrol price has increasedby �1 per litre in four instal-ments this week. When inter-national oil rates fell in July andAugust, retail prices of petroland diesel in the Delhi marketwere reduced by �0.65 and�1.25 per litre.

Prior to that, the petrolprice was increased by �11.44a litre between May 4 and July17. Diesel rate had gone up by�9.14 during this period.

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The Central Governmenthas notified rules for imple-

menting the ‘Taxation Laws(Amendment) Bill, 2021’.

Accordingly, the amend-ment bill notified on October1, 2021, will enable the scrap-ping of the contentious retro-spective tax demand provi-sions.

It was passed by theParliament in the MonsoonSession.

Significantly, the notifica-tion of the bill is expected toend the much stretched taxdisputes with UK’s CairnEnergy, and Vodafone Plc.

The Bill has amended theIncome Tax Act, 1961 so as toprovide that no tax demandshall be raised in future on thebasis of the said retrospectiveamendment for any indirecttransfer of Indian assets if thetransaction was undertakenbefore May 28, 2012 - when the

finance bill was passed by theParliament in 2012.

“The 2021 Act also pro-vides that the demand raisedfor offshore indirect transfer ofIndian assets made before May28, 2012 shall be nullified onfulfillment of specified condi-tions,” the Ministry of Financesaid in a statement on Saturday.

“Such as withdrawal orfurnishing of undertaking forwithdrawal of pending litiga-tion and furnishing of anundertaking to the effect thatno claim for cost, damages,interest, etc, shall be filed andsuch other conditions are ful-filled as may be prescribed.”

Besides, the amount paidor collected in these cases shallbe refunded, without any inter-est.

This Bill would give CairnEnergy and Vodafone Plc awindow to do away with thearbitrations and settle theirlong-drawn tax disputes withthe Government.

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Rising demand is expected tokeep electricity prices ele-

vated in short-term. Accordingto India Ratings and Research(Ind-Ra), the all-India energydemand continued to recoverin August 2021 by 17.8 per centYoY to 129.4 billion units (BU).

“There was a recovery ofdemand in all the major man-ufacturing states such asMaharashtra, Gujarat andTamil Nadu,” Ind-Ra said in areport.

“Additionally, the all-Indiaenergy demand increased mar-ginally in the first 20 days ofSeptember 2021 to 77BU, indi-

cating a continued recovery.The all-India demand during5MFY22 surpassed the pre-Covid levels at 597BU.”

As per the report, led bycontinued improvement indemand, the average short-term price at Indian EnergyExchange increased signifi-cantly to � 5.06 per kWh dur-ing August 2021, as the differ-ence in the buy and sell bidsturned positive.

“The average short-term

price for a day peaked at �9 perkWh during August, and theaverage short-term price for thefirst 20 days of Septemberremained high at �4.08 perkWh.”

Besides, Ind-Ra cited thatwith the recovery in demand,electricity generation (exclud-ing renewables) increased 16.8per cent YoY to 120.8BU inAugust 2021.

“Given the higher depen-dency on coal-based powerwith almost all other sources ofpower already on must run sta-tus, the plant load factor ofcoal-based power plantsimproved to 59.27 per cent inAugust 2021.”

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The World HealthOrganization (WHO)updated the Air QualityGuidelines. Though it isnot surprising that the

WHO decided to revise the guide-lines, what is alarming is the reasonfor them. Over 90 per cent of theworld’s population lives in areasthat exceed the thresholds and lim-its for key air pollutants set by theWHO. Unfortunately, for SouthAsia, this is approximately 100 percent.

Despite this, interestingly, thenew guidelines are in no way bind-ing on the countries. However, thenew readings can prove to be a turn-ing point on how the world will tack-le air pollution.

The last time these guidelineswere updated was back in 2005, 16years back. Since the times theguidelines were last updated, multi-ple scientific studies have evidencedthe true harm caused by poor airquality. Even though India revised itsair pollution standards in 2009,these have been far more relaxed incomparison to WHO’s prescribedguidelines.

Even according to the 2005guidelines, we were unable to meetthe standards set by WHO — PM2.5was 10 (annual mean) whereas Indiafigures stood at 40. The revisedWHO standards for PM2.5 is 5 andPM 10 is 15.

Climatologist Professor MurariLal explains that air pollutants havea complex relationship with climatechange.

“Some pollutants like black car-bon and ozone, increase warming bytrapping heat in the atmosphere,while others like sulphur dioxideforming light-reflecting particles.have a cooling effect on the climate.Rising levels of some air-pollutinggases (coming from cars, factories,homes, and power plants that burnfossil fuels such as oil, coal, naturalgas, and gasoline) increase the green-house effect, which in turn raisestemperatures and affects globalweather patterns. Some of the disas-trous effects of air pollution are:Respiratory and heart problems in

humans and could be detrimental tochildren, acid rain, eutrophication,effect on wildlife, depletion of theozone layer and global warming,”Prof Lal explains.

He tells you that air pollutioncauses reduced lung growth andfunction in children along with res-piratory infections and aggravatedasthma.

“In adults, ischaemic heart dis-ease and stroke are the most com-mon causes of premature deathattributable to outdoor air pollution.The health risks associated withparticulate matter (PM) equal to orsmaller than 10 and 2.5 microns indiameter are of particular publichealth relevance. These are capableof penetrating deep into the lungsand smaller ones can even enter thebloodstream, primarily resulting incardiovascular and respiratoryimpacts, and also affecting otherorgans. The PM is primarily gener-ated by fuel combustion in differentsectors, including transport, energy,households, industry, and agriculture.

Therefore, Professor Lal saysthat the revised WHO guidelines arerather timely. Clean air for breathingis a fundamental human right and anecessary condition for healthy andproductive societies, one is told.

Disparities in air pollution expo-sure are increasing worldwide andcountries are experiencing growinglevels of air pollution caused by large-scale urbanisation and economicdevelopment that has largely reliedon the burning of fossil fuels. TheWHO’s Air Quality Guidelines(AQGs) provide an indication of theharm that air pollution can inflict onhuman health and highlight goodpractices for the management of airpollution levels to be maintained atsafe levels.

The AQ guidelines periodicallyrecommend optimal air quality lev-els which are safe to the health ofpopulations and the levels of key airpollutants must be maintained to thisthreshold (some of these pollutantsalso contribute to climate change).

There are many benefits. “TheWHO has adjusted almost all theAQGs levels downward in September

2021, with a warning that exceedingthe new air quality guideline levelsis associated with significant risks tohuman health and adhering to theselevels by policymakers would savemillions of lives,” Professor Lal saysand opines that the new guidelinesshould be effective if implemented inpractice.

According to Dr SanjayKulshrestha, who has filed severalPIls with the National GreenTribunal, our guidelines are prettylenient. “We aren’t able to meetthose parameters. Now, these revi-sions are very strict. They are target-ing our AQI index. Many cities in theNorth, especially Delhi-NCR, aresoon going to see the rise in AQI. Ifthis is the case with the Capital, howwill we tackle cities like Kolkata,Kanpur and Patna? In order to meetthe WHO’s new guidelines, we needto achieve the target but for that, weneed to investigate the sources of pol-lution and then curb it all,”Kulshrestha says.

He tells you that at present, allthat is happening is that the stake-holders are just trying to divert theattention from the burning issue —how to tackle air pollution andmake it breathable for the citizens.

“The problem is that we knowthe causes. A recent study from theUS states that vehicular pollution hasa major impact on AQI indexes andthe governing bodies need to addressit. Even the Indian of Science andTechnology has accepted the fact thatvehicular pollution accounts foraround 40 per cent of all the air pol-lution. The blame is always put on thedust; there is nothing much that onecan do about dust. In 2010, PM2.5was around 25 per cent. In 2018, theMinistry has revealed that dustaccounts for 40 per cent air pollutionand the rest is miscellaneous,”Kulshrestha says.

In other words, there are twomain reasons for pollution in Delhi-NCR — that is dust and vehicularpollution. “What we can tackle isvehicular pollution. When we talkabout WHO’s census on PM2.5, itsimpact is around seven-11 millionwith a death toll of 1.7 million. The

study says 11 lakh Indian people aredying directly due to PM2.5 and it’svery clear that PM2 itself is respon-sible,” Kulshrestha explains.

Those living in Delhi are famil-iar with the after-effects of the stub-ble burning that is all set to take place.This combined with the firecrackersproves to be lethal for Delhiites; thecity records 50,000-60,000 deathsevery year due to air pollution.

One is told that pollutants in theair can be divided into many typesbased on their nature such asgaseous, solid, liquid, organic or inor-ganic based on the chemical compo-sition. The source can be industrial,dust, vehicular or petrol/diesel burn-ing.

“Back in 2015, we had filed fora ban on vehicles that were more than10 years old (diesel) and 15 years old(petrol). There was a petition againstthat ban by the Ministry of RoadTransportation. We have raised ourconcerns. We explained that withregards to Delhi, there is a need tocategorise pollutants according to theseason. This is because there issome inherent or basic pollution thatremains in Delhi all the time. Besidesthese, there are additions to season-al pollutants like bursting crackersduring Diwali and stubble burning.These two seasonal factors worsenthe situation in Delhi. Just like aDiabetic addresses his spiked sugarlevels, we need to address the season-

al pollution in Delhi,” Kulshresthaopines.

According to him, it is time thatwe stop blaming other factors thatcontribute to the pollution and go tothe source to address the issue.“When things get out of hand, weimmediately order a ban on burningof crackers. We rely on the winds thatblow in November to disperse thethick blanket of smog over Delhi. Ifthe wind Gods are happy everythingis good, otherwise, it is the commonman who has to pay a heavy price. Weblame stubble burning as a majorcause of air pollution in Delhi. Whatabout the worsening air quality inPatna? There is no stubble burningthere. Let’s take dust. Where wouldone dust? Rajasthan. So desertsshould be the most polluted. But that’snot the case. People aren’t dying inthese places like flies. The answer isclear as the day — it is not the dustnor the stubble that is the cause. Whyare we insisting on blaming season-al pollutants? Why not go to the rootof the problem — vehicular pollutionand roadside dust which mixes withthe pollutants like the fumes from theexhaust. It comes as a carrier for toxicmaterials. Simple dust is not a factorof concern as it is a major source forPM10. The main source for PM2.5 isvehicular pollution,” Kulshrestha tellsyou.

Agrees BS Vohra, an environ-mental activist and a citizen journal-

ist based out of Delhi.“We know what is the main

cause of air pollution in the countryand yet we try to circle around theissue and look towards ways toaddress the situation. Each year,stubble burning takes place andfirecrackers are burst during Diwali.We insist on addressing this and notthe main cause of air pollution —vehicles,” Vohra says. He tells you thatthis is only one aspect of the issue.

The Government has introducedBSVI cars but the petrol standardcontinues to be for BS IV. He asks apertinent question: why is this hap-pening? “If the Government hadintroduced BS VI in 2017 why notmake petrol compatible as well?Vohra asks.

He opines that the new standardsset by the WHO are tough to attain.“We have not yet managed to reachthe guidelines that WHO had keptback in 2005. In a coming couple ofmonths, the AQI is going to shoot up,more than 100 times. How do wefocus on achieving PM 2.5 of 5? Andthe worst thing is that nobody is talk-ing about PM1 which is even worsefor health. Unfortunately, it is thecommon man who is suffering andwill continue to die,” Vohra says.

Kulshrestha has some solutionsto tackle what ails us when it comesto air pollution.

First, we have to reduce the num-ber of vehicles in the city. “One canbe an absolute reduction, to reducethe sale and by off-road old vehiclesafter a set time. Second, we must atleast try to ensure that the least num-ber of private cars are on the road.People should be encouraged to usepublic transport. Third, we must havechecks on vehicular efficiency andfuel consumption. Four, we musthave a proper road infrastructure andtraffic congestion management totackle pollution. If a vehicle passes astretch of road in say two minutes,it causes less pollution due to emis-sions than being in the stretch for 20minutes. Finally, the Government hasto accept that air pollution is a realissue and it is killing people.Remember, pollution is increasingwith time,” Kulshrestha says.

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Indian shooters claimed thegold medal in the women's

skeet team event and the bronzein the men's team finals of theISSF Junior WorldChampionship here.

The trio of Areeba Khan,Raiza Dhillon and GanematSekhon finished at the top of thepodium in the women's eventafter shooting an aggregate scoreof 6. In the gold medal roundon Friday, the Indian womenwere pitted against the Italianteam of Damiana Paolacci, SaraBongini and Giada Longhi.

In the men's section, the

Indian team of Rajveer Gill,Ayush Rudraraju and AbhaySingh Sekhon won the bronzemedal after prevailing overTurkey's Ali Can Arabaci,Ahmet Baran and MuhammetSeyhun Kaya 6-0, the same'sscoreline as the women's goldmedal contest. A day earlier, ris-ing Indian woman skeet shoot-

er Sekhon had won the silvermedal in the tournament's indi-vidual women's skeet competi-tion.

The Chandigarh shooter,who picked up her first seniorISSF World Cup stage medals inNew Delhi earlier this year,went down in a shoot-off toAmerican Alisha Fayth Layne,after both were tied on 46 hitsin the 60-shot final.

In the men's individualskeet none of the three Indiansin the fray -- Rajveer Gill, AbhaySingh Sekhon and AyushRudraraju -- could make it to thesix-man finals but they shone inthe team event.

India are currently placesecond in the pecking orderwith two gold,three silver andtwo bronze fora total of seven medals inthe tournament.

The USA tops thechart with seven medalsincluding three gold.

This is the firstmulti-discipline shoot-ing event since the TokyoOlympics, with as many as32 nations and nearly 370 ath-letes participating in the cham-pionship.Indian women winteam gold in skeet, bronze formen at junior worlds.

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Shreyas Iyer showed steelytemperament whileRavichandran Ashwin

compensated his poor bowlingeffort with a final six as DelhiCapitals inched towards a top-two finish, beating MumbaiIndians by four wickets in an IPLmatch here on Saturday.

Chasing a modest 130 ona challenging Sharjah Stadiumtrack, DC made a rough weath-er of the chase but Iyer with arun-a-ball 33 anchored theinnings and added crucialunbroken 39-run stand withAshwin (20 not out).Needing just four runs from thelast over, Ashwin sealed thechase with five balls to spare ashe hit a six off Krunal Pandya asthe duo shared a match-defin-ing partnership, consuming 36balls. The win took DC to 18points from 12 games and onemore win is sure to clinch a top-two finish with one more win asonly twin defeats in last twogames and three big wins forRCB and at least one victoryfrom CSK will push them tothird spot. That looks improb-able at the moment with the sce-nario of net run-rate.

This is the seventh loss in 12matches this season for the five-time champions MI and theirchances of qualifying for play-offs are fast fading away.

Defending the modest total,Mumbai had a cracking startsending Delhi's top three --Shikhar Dhawan (8), PrithviShaw (6) and Steve Smith (9) -

- back in the hut inside the pow-erplay.

Kieron Pollard's direct hitfrom mid-on caught ShikharDhawan short of his crease inthe second over, while a superbreview call ensured that Shawwas dismissed in a space of fourballs in his comeback match.

Smith looked in his zoneand pulled Bumrah for a six butonly to perish to his Australianteammate Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Coulter-Nile cleaned upSmith around his legs with a ballthat stayed low as he shuffled toomuch across.

With no significant part-nerships going, it was their for-mer captain Iyer showed finepatience and rotate the strikewith clever singles.

Not under any run-ratepressure, Iyer held on cleverly

rotating the strikes as heslammed just two boundaries inhis run-a-ball knock.

Earlier on a day when starbowler Ravichandran Ashwinwas completely off-colour, Axar(3/21) dismissed Quinton DeKock (19), Suryakumar Yadav(33) and Saurabh Tiwary (15),ensuring that runs were hard

to come by in the middleovers.

But it was their uncappedIndian pacer Avesh Khan (3/15)who continued his dream run inthe IPL and set it up for Capitals,hurrying Rohit Sharma withsheer pace.

Avesh then returned at thedeath and dismissed the danger-ous Hardik Pandya (17) andNathan Coulter Nile (1) in threeballs to further tighten thenoose. World's fastest bowler

Anrich Nortje, who shared thenew ball with Avesh, was alsotidy with 1/19 from his fourovers as DC bowlers got theirlength right on a slow deck.

Such was their disciplinethat none of the MI batters saveSurya could cross 20-run mark.

Before that the MadhyaPradesh lad Avesh conceded justseven runs with eight dot ballsin his first two overs and tookthe prized-scalp of MI skipperRohit Sharma in his fifth ball ofthe day.

Avesh's run-up might notlook smooth but the effort ballto bounce Rohit out was specialas the India's T20 captain inwaiting couldn't connect hispull-shot. The 24-year-old, whois second (21) in the list of lead-ing wicketakers in this IPL,now has taken three Indian

superstars — MS Dhoni, ViratKohli and now Rohit — in thisIPL. Ashwin at the other endlooked unsettled with Suryasweeping the star Indian off-spinner for a six, while De Kockalso looked ominous, taking onhis compatriot Kagiso Rabadawith a lap-shot over fine-leg.

Having not been in best offorms, Surya looked to be backin his element top-scoring forthem with a 26-ball 33 but Pateloutsmarted the Mumbai no 3with a full toss.

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India's Aditi Ashok did nothave the best of starts as she

carded two-over 73 in the firstround to lie tied 104th at theShopRite LPGA Classic.

The Indian will need a lowsecond round to make the cut.

However, Megha Ganne, alocal New Jersey amateur, whoshot into fame by leading theUS Women's Open and thenfinishing T-14, had a better dayat one-under 70 and was T-51st.

Ganne, playing on a spon-sor exemption, played in thesame group as Aditi and thelocal Indian fans loved it.

Aditi, starting on tenth, raninto early trouble with threebogeys between 12th and 15thbut steadied with a string ofpars. She had just one birdie onfourth for a two-over 73.

Ganne had two birdies andtwo bogeys on her first nine,the back stretch of the course,and one birdie and no bogeys

on the front nine.On a day when low scores

were aplenty, as many as 19players shot 67 or better in thefirst round at the Bay Course inGalloway, N.J.

Jodi Ewart Shadoff, cominginto the event after five straightmissed cuts, shot six-under 65and led the field alongsideKorea's So Yeon Ryu.

The Englishwoman cardedfour birdies and an eagle to leapto the top of the leaderboard.

Ewart Shadoff matchedRyu in score and her scoreincluded an eagle on the par-5third. Ryu also had an eagle andfive birdies and one droppedshot.

Eight players are onebehind the leaders at Tied-thirdat 5-under. That includes No.2 Jin Young Ko, LPGA Hall ofFamer Inbee Park, 10-timeLPGA Tour winner BrookeHenderson and MatildaCastren. Park is playing herfirst LPGA event since theAIG Women's Open in August.

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Hockey India on Saturday named a 30-member core probable group for the

senior men's national coaching camp, tobegin in SAI, Bengaluru from October 4.

After a successful campaign at theTokyo Olympic Games where Indiaclinched a historic bronze medal andended a 41-year wait, the Indian men's coreGroup will begin the new Olympic cyclewith an intent to improve upon this per-formance at Paris 2024.

The core grouped called up for thenational coaching camp includes a mix ofyoung and experienced players includingP R Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak,Suraj Karkera, Harmanpreet Singh,Dilpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, GurinderSingh, Amit Rohidas and Manpreet Singh.

Speaking about the upcoming nation-al coaching camp, chief coach GrahamReid said, "The players are coming off along and well-deserved break. I believethey will be excited to be back in theNational Camp and refocus on our goalsfor next year.

"We will be going through our per-formance in the Olympics both from theperspective of individual performances andas a team." "Experiencing success in the

Olympics is great but now I want the play-ers to be mentally and physically ready fora hectic season in 2022 with some veryimportant tournaments starting from theFIH Hockey Pro League in February.

"This camp will be more aboutstrength and conditioning and we will lookat making a slow start."

The group also features Hardik Singh,Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad,

Simranjeet Singh, Akashdeep Singh,Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay,Gursahibjit Singh, Shamsher Singh, VarunKumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey,Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jaskaran Singh,Rajkumar Pal, Gurjant Singh, Sumit,Shilanand Lakra, Suman Beck, MandeepMor, Ashis Kumar Topno. Hockey Indianames 30 members for senior men'snational camp.

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Gaurika Bishnoi carded a solid two-under 70to be placed inside Top-5 after the first

round of the Estrella Damm Ladies Open here. The Indian was just two shots behind the

leader Nobuhle Dlamini of Swaziland (68) andone behind Belgium's Manon De Roey andMagdalena Simmermacher from Argentina, whoare tied for third on three-under 69.

Going out in the first group, Gaurika, whospent much of 2020 away from golf because ofthe pandemic, had a steady day, with four birdiesand two bogeys.

Among other Indians, Tvesa Malik andDiksha Dagar shot even par 72 each to be Tied-28th.

Gaurika, who is playing this week on aninvite, birdied third and ninth to turn in two-under, but dropped shots on 10th and 11thmeant she was back to even.

The Gurgaon golfer, however, fought backand birdied par-4 13th and Par-5 16th to total70.

Diksha opened with two bogeys and alsoclosed with a bogey. In between she had fivebirdies and two more bogeys for 72.

Dlamini, 29, set the early pace with threebirdies in a row on the newly redesigned sec-ond, third and fourth holes.

She sank a three-foot putt on the uphilleighth hole for another birdie and made the turnin four-under-par 33. As the wind picked up, shemade another two birdies, along with two bogeyson the back nine, coming home in level par 35.

Eight players sit on two-under-par, includ-ing Gaurika Bishnoi.

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India dictated terms to mightyAustralia who did everything

they could to survive the diffi-cult overs under lights and fin-ish the third day of the rain-marred pink ball Test at 143 forfour here on Saturday.

At stumps, Australia trailedthe visitors by 234 runs afterveteran seamer JhulanGoswami (2/27) bowled beau-tifully and struck twice to leavethem at 63 for two at onestage.

India declared their firstinnings at 377 for eight.

Mithali Raj's side waslucky as the umpire gaveAustralian captain MegLanning (38) out wrongly, rais-ing his finger despite an insideedge and bringing to an end herominous stay in the middle. Onthat occasion, the lucky bowlerwas Pooja Vastrakar (2/31).There was a fair bit of dewthough and that obviously didnot help the India bowlers,who kept things tight for amajor part of the Australianinnings. After Tahlia McGrath(28) hit Vastrakar's wide andshort delivery straight to SmritiMandhana at point to leave thehosts at 119 for four, Goswamiwas brought back with twoslips, a gully and a silly mid-off,but Ellyse Perry (27 batting)and Ashleigh Gardner (13 bat-ting) survived.

Earlier, Goswami strucktwice to reduce Australia to 69for two at tea after Indiadeclared their first innings.

Australia recovered nicelyafter losing Beth Mooney early

as the duo of Alyssa Healy (29)and skipper Lanning not onlysteadied the ship but also playedsome exquisite shots.

After softening Healy witha few short stuffs, Goswamibowled a length ball, got it tomove just enough for the bat-ter to nick it to the waitinghands of wicketkeeper TaniyaBhatia.

This was after the 38-year-old fast bowler cleaned upMonney's stumps with one thatcame back at the left-handedopener.

For India Deepti Sharmamade a fine 66, finishing as theteam's second best scorer, a dayafter opener Smriti Mandhana'smagnificent maiden hundred inthe format.

Resuming at theirovernight score of 276 for fiveafter rain and lightning had

brought a premature end to thesecond day's play at the CarraraOval, the Indians scored 83runs for the loss of TaniyaBhatia and Pooja Vastrakar'swickets in the long first session.

Taniya made 22 off 75balls, while Vastrakar made13.At the dinner break, DeeptiSharma was batting on 58.

The duo of Taniya andSharma consumed more than28 overs to get those 45 runs.

It was Stella Campbell, whodismissed Taniya, caughtbehind by Alyssa Healy off aback-of-a-length delivery onoff stump that moved away, forher first Test wicket.

Sharma, who started theday on 12, got to her secondTest fifty with a sweep behindsquare, reaching the landmarkin 148 balls with the help of fiveboundaries.

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Former England cricketerKevin Pietersen feels one of

the main reasons for West Indiesicon Chris Gayle leaving thePunjab Kings bio-bubble in theUAE and heading back to"recharge" his batteries for theICC T20 World Cup wasbecause he was "not being treat-ed right in his environment".

A statement by the IndianPremier League (IPL) franchiseon September 30 had said that,"Seasoned Caribbean batsmanChris Gayle has left the PunjabKings team hotel and bio-bub-ble, owing to bubble fatigueaccumulated over the monthsplaying franchise and interna-tional cricket. The 42-year-oldwon't be available now for selec-tion for the remainder of PunjabKings' games."

However, Pietersen told StarSports on

Friday that," H e

(Gayle)is notb e i n g

treated right in his environment.He feels like they are using himand getting rid of him, using himand getting rid of him. Didn'tplay him on his birthday, casthim aside. If he is not happy, heis 42, let him do what he wants."

This season, Gayle hasplayed 10 matches for PBKS,scoring 193 runs at an unflatter-ing average of 21.44, with hishighest being 46.

Former India skipper SunilGavaskar also said that thePunjab Kings, who are current-ly fifth on the table with 10points from 12 games, will missGayle in the remainder of thematches.

"A game-changer like ChrisGayle, if he is not in the team,100 per cent it's a big loss. I thinkhe is in and out of the team. Idon't know what the calculationsare. Clearly only four overseasplayers can play but sometimeswhen you see the player who haspicked in his place, knowingwhat he has delivered in the past.And sure, he is over 40 and hemight not be able to do it at aconsistent level that he used todo. But he is a game-changer.Three overs of Gayle and thegame is gone from the opposi-tion," added Gavaskar.

PBKS had said in theirstatement that Gayle being a part

of the bio-secure envi-ronments sincec r i c k e tresumed post

the pandemic was the reasonfor the cricketer leaving thebio-bubble.

"He has been part of bio-bubbles since cricket resumedpost the pandemic, startingfrom the 2020 Indian PremierLeague. He also was part of theWest Indies squads for theirhome games against Sri Lankaand Australia.

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The women's boxing world cham-pionships will be held in

Istanbul in early December and willoffer a total prize money of USD 2.6million, same amount as marked forthe men's event, as the sport's glob-al governing body seeks to achievegender equality.

The announcement came afteran agreement was signed between the

sport's apex body and the TurkishBoxing Federation during AIBApresident Umar Kremlev's officialvisit to Istanbul.

"It is officially confirmed thatAIBA Women's World BoxingChampionships will take place in thecity of Istanbul, Turkey," theInternational Boxing Association(AIBA) stated in a release.

"I am glad to announce that theAIBA Women's World Boxing

Championships will be held here inIstanbul. Turkey is a big boxingcountry and has rich history,"Kremlev said.

Kremlev stressed on achievinggender equality in the sport, the rea-son behind "Gender equality is oneof our main goals in the sport of box-ing. I am happy to confirm thatprize money for the medallists willbe exactly the same as for Men'sWorld Championships.

"For the first time in AIBA's 75-year history, medal winners will berewarded with significant prizemoney from AIBA.

"The prize money fund has beenset at USD 2.6 million. The prize forfirst place is USD 100 000. Silvermedallists will receive USD 50 000,and both bronzes in each weight cat-egory will receive USD 25 000,"Kremlev said.

The Indian team for the mar-quee event will be picked after thenational championship, which willbe held in Hisar, Haryana fromOctober 21 to 27.

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Defending champions China marched intothe finals of the Sudirman Cup 2021 with

a 3-0 clean sweep win over South Korea inVantaa in Finland on Saturday.

The win also mark China's 14th consec-utive final appearance in the badmintonmixed team competition. Heo Kwanghee,South Korea's hero in the quarter final, start-ed well against world number 10 Shi Yu Qi bywinning the opening game 21-17, but could-n't sustain the momentum.

Yu Qi, who was yet to win a match in thetournament, picked the right moment tochange his fortune and won the two remain-ing games 21-9, 21-11 to give China 2-0 leadin the tie.

Earlier, China took the lead in the tie bywinning the mixed doubles in straight sets.Their world number two mixed doublesteam of Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Pingbeat Seo Seungjae and Shin Seungchan 21-14,21-15.

China wrapped up the contest when theTokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Chen YuFei came back strongly after dropping theopening game to beat An Seyoung 17-21, 21-15, 21-15.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Total IPL matches played: 207

Won: 98 Lost: 105

Highest total: 263/5No

results: 4

Head-to-Head in IPL

Oct 3

3:30 pm

Match:

48

IPL 2021

Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Royal ChallengersBangalore

vs

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings

Total IPL matches played: 202

Won: 93 Lost: 109

Highest total: 232/2

RCB

Won: 12

PBKS

Won: 15

Matches played: 27

Highest total:226/3

Highest total:232/2

Kolkata Knight Riders

Total IPL matches played: 204

Won: 104 Lost: 100

Highest total: 245/6

Head-to-Head in IPL

Oct 3

7:30 pm

Match:

49

IPL 2021

Dubai International Stadium, Dubai

KolkataKnight Riders

vs

SunrisersHyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Total IPL matches played: 135

Won: 68 Lost: 67

Highest total: 231/2

KKR

Won: 13

SRH

Won: 7

Matches played: 20

Highest total:187/6

Highest total:209/3

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����������,�� ������� �96DE6�Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets

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Dejection writ large on his face,Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit

Sharma on Saturday said they are notplaying to their potential as the defeatagainst Delhi capitals made their roadto IPL Play-offs tougher.

The defending champions lost byfour wickets against DC to stay in sixthplace and they now need not only wintheir remaining two games but also hopefor favourable results from other match-es.

Rohit counted himself among thebatting failures this season as MI yetagain settled for a below-par score of 129for 7 and could not defend it.

"If your batters aren't going to postruns on the board, it will be difficult towin games. I personally accept that.We're not able to execute in the middle,which is particularly disappointing,"Rohit said at the post-match presenta-tion ceremony.

"We are not playing to our poten-tial. Hopefully in the next two games, weplay the way we are known for."

Rohit said they knew that Sharjah"will be a difficult venue" and preparedin the best possible manner.

"We watched a lot of matches, andit's not the easiest venues to play andmake a lot of runs. We were well pre-

pared and we knew what we had to do,"he said.

"I thought we didn't bat wellenough. We knew it wasn't a 170-180wicket, but we knew it was a 140 wick-et. We just didn't get the partnershipsgoing."

Capitals captain Rishabh Pant con-ceded that it was a hard-fought victo-ry.

"In Sharjah, the wicket always playsdifferently. We were planning to bowlmostly the fast bowlers in the power-play. Easier for the spinner in thesetracks. I held back one over of Ashwinto keep him away from Pollard andHardik.

"Avesh is the find of the season forus, but at Delhi Capitals, we learn fromour mistakes and pick up. We have tosolidify our batting." He said (Marcus)Stoinis should be fine in a few days andthat will be good for the team.

"You can't always go for it, butsomeone has to be aggressive in thepowerplay." Iyer said that his team hasworked hard on transforming itself.

"The transition in the last two yearshas happened. Since 2019, we have shift-ed that towards our team. We try toimplement that within the dressingroom. We try to be humble, and we tryto ensure whoever's day it is, he makessure the team wins the game.

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Yashasvi Jaiswal timed itbeautifully while ShivamDube deflated Chennai

Super Kings with brute poweras Rajasthan Royals kept theirplay-off hopes alive with amorale-boosting seven-wick-et victory in the IPL here onSaturday.

Jasiwal smashed 50 off 21balls which included somedelectable sixes off starAustralian pacer JoshHazlewood while Dube sentthe likes of Moeen Ali andRavindra Jadeja into orbit enroute his unbeaten 64 off 42balls as Royals made a shortwork of a victory target of 190in just 17.3 overs.

Royals now have 10 pointswith two matches to go. Thefourth place is set to beclinched at 14 points and netrun-rate is going to be crucial.The defeat won't hurt CSKmuch as they sit pretty on 18points, having already made itto last four stage.When CSKended their innings at 189 for4 with Ruturaj Gaikwad'ssuperb 60-ball-101 not out, lit-tle did anyone think thatRoyals' Indian players wouldreply in kind and go even onebetter.

Jaiswal, with six fours andthree sixes, was given finesupport by Evin Lewis (27 off12 balls) in their openingstand of 77 in 5.2 overs whichset up the game. Hazlewood(0/54) wouldn't have imaginedthat he would be hit for threesixes in his first spell as thematch slipped out of CSK'sgrasp in the Powerpay itself.

Jaiswal, whose game has

improved from last season bya few notches, was seen flick-ing Hazlewood over deep mid-wicket and also hit a straightsix during that knock.

Dube, who doesn't havemuch of a footwork, hit somemonstrous sixes off Jadeja,Moeen Ali and Sam Curranwhenever the ball was pitchedin his arc.

In all, he hit four foursand four sixes. Such wasDube's domination that eventhe stylish Sanju Samson (28off 24 balls) paled in compar-ison during their 89 run standfor the third wicket in 9.3overs.

But when the match start-ed, it seemed as if Gaikwadowned the stage as he hit a sixoff Mustafizur Rahaman's lastball to complete a covetedmaiden IPL ton.

Gaikwad struck as manyas nine fours and five sixes inhis 60-ball 101 not out tomake a mockery of Royals'bowling attack in their 12thround encounter. Some of hisshots in the off-side regionwould be remembered fortimes to come.

Ravindra Jadeja (32 notout off 15 balls) scythedthrough the Royals attack atthe back-end as CSK added 55runs in only 3.4 overs.

In fact, in the final over,Jadeja faced four deliveries,leaving Gaikwad with twodeliveries and he pulledMustafizur Rahman off thefinal delivery to complete thecoveted landmark.

For the Royals, leg-spin-ner Rahul Tewatia (3/39 in 4overs) was the most successfulbowler but his joy of getting

three scalps was spoilt byGaikwad with two back-to-back sixes -- one over long-offand other into the sightscreen.

The sixes over mid-wick-et off left-arm seamers AkashSingh and Mustafizur weredelightful as it landed at least20 yards behind the ropesinto the grass banks.

The Punekar is not some-one who is muscular but a"strong core" (according tohim) and stable base allowshim to maintain shape whilegoing for the big shots asRoyals found out on the day.

The manner in which hecame down the track and loft-ed seamer Chetan Sakariya foran inside-out one-bounceboundary made it look as if hewas tackling a spinner withenough time at his disposal.

Gaikwad's sequence ofscores since resumption ofIPL is 88, 38, 30, 45 and now101 not out.

There hasn't been a singlefailure so far and his partner-ships with Faf du Plessis (25)has been the cornerstone ofCSK's good batting perfor-mance.

That none of their retiredstars like Suresh Raina, skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni andAmbati Rayudu, all IPL heavy-weights in their own rights,haven't had much contributionwith the bat, isn't affectingthem primarily because of duPlessis and Gaikwad's power-packed starts.

On Saturday, they added47 for the first wicket whilethey had conjured up 71against RCB, 74 against KKRand 75 against SunRisersHyderabad.

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In an unexpected move,Barcelona's club president

quashed reports of the immi-nent firing of Ronald Koemanon Saturday when he said thatthe Dutch coach will keep hisjob.

“Koeman will continuebeing the coach of Barcelona,”Joan Laporta said hours beforeBarcelona's match at AtléticoMadrid that many reports inthe Spanish media speculatedcould be Koeman's last.

“Today, regardless of theresult, Koeman will still beBarcelona's coach,” Laportatold reporters in Madrid.

“He has a contract, (and)we hope that he can get us backon the winning path, playingthe way we want. I know he willgive it his all.”

It was the first publicstatement Laporta has madesince a bitter 3-0 loss at Benficaon Wednesday sparked variousreports that Koeman's dayswere numbered.

Barcelona has lost both itsChampions League matcheswithout generating a singleshot on target and is underthreat of failing to qualify forthe knockout rounds for thefirst time in 20 years.

Koeman himself said onFriday that he imagined thatthe rumors of his exit were“probably true.”

The Spanish league matchat Atlético comes before abreak from club competitionsfor national teams to play,which would have givenBarcelona's leadership a win-dow to make a move. Spanishmedia had reported thatLaporta was considering XaviHernández, Andrea Pirlo andRoberto Martínez as possiblereplacements.

But, at least for now,Laporta is standing by the for-mer Barcelona defender whoetched his name into theCatalan club's history thanks tohis final-winning goal thatearned Barcelona its first of fiveEuropean Cups in 1992.

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Indian wrestler Ravinder stunned defending champion BekaLomtadze before being outclassed by American Daton Duain

Fix in the 61kg quarterfinals even as three of his compatriots wereeliminated in the qualification rounds of the WorldChampionships, here on Saturday.

Ravinder, who won a silver medal in the junior world cham-pionship in August, gave a good account of himself in his threebouts and will now be in contention for a bronze medal viarepechage route.

Young wrestler Yash Tunir (74kg), national championSandeep Mann (86kg)and Anirudh (125kg)could not get past thequalification rounds intheir respective categoriesand made an early exitfrom the competition.

Ravinder began witha technical superioritywin over Korea's KimSunggwon and thenreturned to the mat toshock 2019 world cham-pion Lomtadze, who ranout of steam as the boutprogressed.

In the first period,only two push-out pointswere scored withRavinder leading on last-point scored criteria. Helost another point forstepping out but grabbedthe lead with a take-downmove against theGeorgian.

He effected a throwto consolidate his lead

and earned another point when referee cautioned the Georgianfor taking too much time to get on to his feet. However, the superquick American proved too good for Ravinder, who lost his quar-terfinal by technical superiority. A flurry of gut-wrench movesfollowed from Fix, who finished the bout inside two minutes.The74kg contender Yash was outplayed 0-7 by Russia's Timur Bizhoev.Yash hardly made any move as he stayed in his shell withoutattacking his opponent.

In the 86kg, national champion Sandeep Mann fought hardbefore losing 4-5 to Korea's Kim Gwanuk.

In the 125kg, Anirudh bowed out with a 3-9 defeat againstEgypt's Hemida Youssif.

#���� �.���

The Mumbai CricketAssociation (MCA) will

hand over the hospitality boxat the iconic WankhedeStadium to legendary bats-man Sunil Gavaskar onOctober 29.

The decision was takenat the MCA's apex councilmeet ing held here onSaturday.

It was also decided thatthe cricket body will alsoinaugurate the 'Di l ipVengsarkar North Stand' onthe same day.

“MCA to keep functionof Late Shri Madhav Mantricentenary year on October29. On the same day, MCAwill handover (the) hospital-ity box to Sunil Gavaskar," amember of the MCA ApexCouncil told PTI.

"And ‘Dilip VengsarkarNorth Stand' will be inaugu-rated in presence of ChiefGuest Shri Sharad Pawar andGuest of Honour G RViswanath.”

The member also saidthat both Gavaskar andVengsarkar will be honouredby “MCA colours.”

A former India captain,Gavaskar played a staggering125 Tests, from which heamassed 10,122 runs. The‘little-master', regarded asone of the greats of the game,also played 108 ODIs, fromwhich he scored 2,092 runs.

Vengsarkar, also a formerIndia captain and ex chair-man of selectors, played 116Tests, from which he scored6,868 runs. He was known asthe ‘Lord of the Lords'. Hewas also an office-bearer ofthe MCA.

#���� ��� �?#��@

India clinched a silver medal aftergoing down 0-2 to Russia in the final

of the FIDE World Women's TeamChess Championship here onSaturday.

After losing the first match 1.5.-2-5 despite a brilliant win for DHarika on the board, the Indians wereoutclassed 3-1 in the second as astrong Russian team stormed to a titletriumph.

It was India's first ever medal inthe world team chess championship.

In the second match, Harika held

Goryachkina to a draw as did RVaishali (Elo 2149) against the high-er rated Alexandra Kosteniuk (Elo2517). However, Tania Sachdev andMary Ann Gomes went down to high-er rated Katernya Lagno and PolinaShuvalova to give Russia a compre-hensive victory and the gold.

Sacheva fought well before losingto Lagno in 53 moves and Gomes,who has been in good form through-out the tournament, succumbed todefeat in 48 moves against Shuvalovain a Sicilian Kann Variation game.

Earlier, India lost the first matchdespite Harika (Elo 2450) pulling off

a superb win over Goryachkina (Elo2520) on the first board despite thegulf in Elo ratings. Gomes drewagainst Alina Kashlinskaya on thefourth board.

For Russia, former world cham-pion Kosteniuk beat young Vaishali onthe second board while BhaktiKulkarni's poor form hurt India as shelost to Lagno.

India, who had done well to fin-ish second in the preliminary Pool Aby winning three matches and draw-ing one while losing to Russia, cameinto the final after a win over a strongGeorgian team.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad put up anexhibition of timing and

classical hitting to reach his firstcentury in the IPL as ChennaiSuper Kings finished at 189/4in 20 overs in Match 47 of IPL2021 at Sheikh Zayed CricketStadium here on Saturday.Gaikwad was well-supportedby Ravindra Jadeja's blitzkriegin the end apart from usefulcontributions by Faf du Plessisand Moeen Ali.

It was a fine batting effortby Chennai, feasting onRajasthan's listless bowling.Only Rahul Tewatia andChetan Sakariya were amongthe wickets as rest of thebowlers were taken for runs,resulting in 73 runs coming offthe last five overs.

Put in to batting first,Gaikwad and Faf du Plessiscontinued their rich vein ofform, adding 44 runs for noloss in power-play. WhileGaikwad creamed debutantAkash Singh for two fours inthe opening over, du Plessistook back-to-back boundariesagainst Chetan Sakariya in the

fifth over.Tewatia broke the 47-run

partnership in the seventh over,getting du Plessis easilystumped by keeper SanjuSamson. Tewatia had his sec-ond wicket of the match asSuresh Raina's promotion tothree in his 200th match forChennai ended with a slog-sweep going straight to deepmid-wicket.

Despite the two dismissals,Gaikwad and Moeen Ali struckboundaries and rotated striketo keep the scoreboard ticking.Ali hit a four and a six offMayank Markande in the 13thover to get going. Gaikwadbrought up his half-century in43 balls, his second of theUAE leg of the tournament.

From there, Gaikwadaccelerated, hitting Tewatia fortwo sixes on the trot in the 15thover. Though Tewatia had Alistumped, it didn't slow downGaikwad. In the next over, hetook two fours and a six offAkash Singh to enter into the80s. Though Ambati Rayudufell cheaply, Gaikwad continuedto collect boundaries with pris-tine timing.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS GET A 'ROYAL' THRASHING

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World leaderspromised toreduce themortality ofnon-communi-

cable diseases by 25 per cent by2025 in May 2012.Cardiovascular disease (CVD)causes about half of all fatalitiesfrom non-communicable dis-eases (NCDs) and hence is theworld's leading killer. WorldHeart Day provides the CVDcommunity with a fantasticopportunity to rally together tocombat CVD and lessen the dis-ease burden around the world.World Heart Day is observed onthe 29th of September every yearto commemorate the achieve-ments made and to raise aware-ness about heart diseasethroughout the world.

Did you know? Stroke andheart disease, which claims 18.6million lives every year, is theworld's leading cause of death.

The heart is the most vitalinternal organ in our body.Approximately 6000-7500 litresof blood is circulated by theheart of an adult on a daily basis.So, we must prioritise the healthof our hearts above all. However,while a balanced diet, appropri-ate rest and sleep, and regularexercise can help keep our heartshealthy and a range of gem-stones, through their energeticproperties, can also help.

These valuable gemstoneshelp to maintain good cardiachealth and beat well into our oldage, allowing us to walk andshine well into our eighties.

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My journey started when Iwas in college. When I realisedthat it was something I wantedto explore more, I trained atBroadway Dance Centre, NewYork. Back home, I started mydream venture — Big Dance —to create a platform for aspiringdancers to get the best trainingand dance education right herein India. Since then, the journeyhas been a rollercoaster. Myfirst industry project was with YoYo Honey Singh. I’ve been luckyto have worked with names likeAmitabh Bachchan, Shah RukhKhan, Sushant Singh, Badshahto name a few.� Bad Boy Bad Girl song isdoing well. Did you anticipatethe success during the making?

When I’m preparing for aproject, I never think about theeventual numbers or the reach,I try to give my best and chore-ograph to my best possible capa-bilities. Of course, I loved the

vibe of the song and knew audi-ence will love it too. Also, whenyou’re working with artists likeBadshah, success is guaranteed! �What was the briefing givento you by Badshah?

It was my first time choreo-graphing for his music video. Ihave choreographed for his liveconcert as well on reality shows.He came with a very clear ideathat he wanted to really focus onthe choreography. The flavour ofthe song is very laid back andgroovy. He wanted the dance toshine.� As a choreographer, howdifferent you think the track isfrom other Badshah tracks?

Bad Boy Bad Girl is not ahigh energy party track likemost of his songs like Abhi toParty and Kar Gayi Chull. Thissong is groovy like Wakhra Swagand Mercy. � You have also choreo-graphed for Kanta Laga forHoney Singh, Tony Kakkarand Neha Kakkar. Tell us aboutyour experience.

It was amazing! Workingwith not one but three such pow-erhouses of talent was incredi-ble. I had to create a choreogra-phy that would suit each of

their unique styles and person-alities and at the same time becommercially viable and catchyfor the audiences.�Does trolling effects you?What's your take on that?

I don’t take trolling too seri-ously. In fact, I find it amusing.It’s entertaining to read thememes and comments! At theend of the day, we make our artfor the audiences and everyoneis entitled to their opinion. � You have worked with sev-eral Bollywood celebrities. Howwas it to work with them?

My favourite experience waswith Amitabh sir. There’s a rea-son why he is a legend. His drive,dedication and passion is unpar-alleled. I choreographed thesong — Party for Bhootnath forhim. He was always the first oneto reach the sets and constantlykept revising the steps to perfectthem. The dancers got tired, butAmitabh sir kept going! Hats offto him. It was a pleasure to workwith him.

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�What is No Land’s Man about?It’s a movie about the identity of a man,

Naveen. I play this character as lead. It ishis journey. How he is trying to find outhimself and what he actually is. This is What

the film is about. � The film is your first English fea-ture film. Was it different to dothis project?

The difference is, Three-fouryears back, the director, MustafaFarooki and I had a chat and wedecided that we should make afilm about it. This would be ourmedium to talk about it. Six-seven months later he came witha film and drafting was done. We

got in touch and we decided thebase of the movie and finally we are

so happy that it is in this prestigiousfilm festival called Busan International

Film Festival.�How was the experience of working

with him?It was wonderful working with him. He is

the kind of director who supports the actor a lotwith his presence. I sometimes felt that Mustafa issomewhere in me and he is pushing me to dosomething new and something that I’m feeling. Ihaven’t done any characterisation, I’m almostmyself in the film but the situations are made keep-ing in consideration with how I would react. �What made you agree to the film?

Of course I agreed because Mustafa Farookiis a wonderful director. Second, we had dis-

cussed this topic and I wanted to do a filmon it. Saying no wasn’t an option. Alongwith Mustafa we made this movie with

Rahman sahab who is the producer with me.Finally, it feels good that the topic of discussion a

few years ago became a movie today in a properform. It was a wonderful experience.� The star cast includes international actors too.How was it to work with them?

Actors aren’t different, they are all the same

wherever you go, Bollywood, Hollywood, Australia.Megan, an Australian actress, is alongside me inthis film with some actors from New York as well.The work attitude may be different from oneanother, the approach towards a character is differ-ent but I think actors are pretty much the same.� The film has won a few awards already butwhy don’t such movies do well when and if everreleased commercially?

Screening and promotion are problematic. Ifyou are willing to screen this movie on 4,500screens so people will watch. Even if you release amovie about cats and dogs on 5,000 screens, thefirst day collection would be around �20-�25crore. So that’s the monopoly of the stars. Now, ifyou are showcased a fiilm in 5s000 screens, thenhow would you get time for other movies good orbad. If you don’t get the proper screentime andshowtime then who will come and watch it?�What’s the secret of your effortless acting?

If I divulge my secrets to you, then what aboutme? Just kidding but it’s all about my director whomakes this all possible. �How is it to work in a pandemic?

I was here (London) in January last year shoot-ing my film, Sangeen. It was very scary, now it’spretty normal and you can walkaround without amask as there is no compulsion. But before that Ihad to quarantine when I came here. After that youare free wherever you want to go.�What is your character in Heropanti 2?

I don't wish to say much about Heropanti. I'menjoying London now. So I’m having fun playingthe character. �Have you ever regretted doing a character?

It hasn’t happened ever. I always choose mycharacter after a lot of thought. The characters thatI feel that I won’t be able to enjoy, I don’t do them.Yes, there are a lot of challenges with charactersthat make you a little annoyed but it’s a good thingfor an actor. That after the problematic phase andthe hard work there is an ease that you enjoy a lot.�What are your upcoming projects?

There is a movie called Tiku Weds Sheru byKangana’s production house. I can’t say much.

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known as Manikya, is said tohave the ability tocure a variety ofailments. Ruby isreputed to be effectivein the treatment of heart ill-ness, poor blood circulation,fluctuating blood pressure, andimpaired vision. In addition to that,ruby is known to aid with concerns suchas self-confidence and mental concen-tration.

Ruby is beneficial for people withstressful jobs, as it can provide goodhealth, prestige and honour to its wear-

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�PEARLPearls, also known as Moti, are found

in the bottom of the oceans inside shell-fish. It

is said to relax the body, mind, andskin. Pure natural pearls are beneficial forpeople with self-confidence and mentalfocusing issues. It also helps in buildinga good cordial environment for its wear-er. Pearl is believed to fight heart diseasesand keep the heart healthy and strong.

�EMERALDThe amazing green stone

also known as Panna isspecifically known for itscut called the “Emerald Cut”.Royalty and Emperors havecoveted emeralds for a longtime, and it is believed to beone of their most valuedbelongings, according to leg-end.

Emerald is well-knownfor its ability to cure the

heart chakra and to boost the overall well-being of those who pos-sess it. This allows the wearer to have complete control over dis-orders involving the neurological system, intestines, lungs, liver,and heart.

�HESSONITEHessonite, commonly known as

gomed, is a gemstone that plays a vital rolein protecting one's horoscope from thenegative effects of Rahu. Hessonite is ben-eficial in the treatment of anxiety andmental illnesses. It can also be used to treatallergies, infections, high blood pressure,asthma, and sinusitis, among other con-ditions.

�ROSE QUARTZThe healing properties of this light pink tinted gemstone are

well known for theirimpact on the heart chakra. As a result, it has been shown to

promote general health and is also effective in treating severe heartproblems such as poor blood cir-culation and irregularblood pressure. It isplaced on the heartand is responsi-ble for direct-ing essentialoxygen to theheart. Rosequartz has beenshown to reducethe risk of throm-bosis and heartattacks.

An emphasis on the impor-tance of raising awareness of cardiovascular disease and ways toaddress it is crucial. Share this information with your loved onesand encourage them to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

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Keeping students engaged in theclassroom is an ever-present chal-lenge. Yet, through innovation andcreativity, it is possible to offerexcellent learning experiences that

make learning exciting for students of all ages.How? Through games and gaming!

Games and gaming can serve as excellentlearning tools in the classroom and at home,while also boosting student interest andengagement in learning. How do games serveas learning tools? Let’s look at some consider-ations that will explore just how games canachieve excellence in learning:

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Traditionally the games we play, whetherphysical games like kabaddi or soccer, boardgames like Monopoly or Chutes and Ladders,or card games like Uno, have always beenenjoyed as family activities or to build ourfriendships. Games have always subconscious-ly taught us to play as an individual, promot-ed healthy competition, and shown us to be apart of a team. Can games do more than this?

As humans, we are naturally drawn togames regardless of our age and disposition.Games have an innate way of keeping playersinterested and focused as they play. They alsooffer a perfect medium for learning.

At their essence, games offer the blendedbenefit of having fun while also learning vari-ous skills. Just a few examples of learning thatcan happen during gameplay include develop-ing motor skills, basic mathematical skills,teamwork, interpersonal skills, sportsman-ship, strategy skills, problem-solving skills,and more! When games are developed forspecific educational purposes, they can helpplayers attain even more learning and acade-mic skills. Furthermore, including gamingand game-play elements in learning environ-ments can boost interest and motivationwhich are essential for student comprehen-sion and academic achievement.

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Today, ever-advancing technology and thepandemic have changed our perception ofonline gaming. While once an optional add-on or a futuristic dream, today, we know thatusing technology and online learning is essen-tial. Technology and online games can help uscontinue learning hard skills and soft skills ina safe environment.

As the world has started to embrace tech-nology and various tools like mobile phones,computers, and even tablets, software compa-nies have adapted and created more solutionsand platforms. These platforms help facilitateremote communication while also bringingrich content and entertainment to an individ-ual’s fingertips. Like all industries, the educa-tion industry also saw a huge change in termsof online resources including online courses,textbooks, and even learning games. Throughthese innovative adaptations, students havebeen able to continue their education even inthe middle of a global pandemic.

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Gaming is a 120 billion dollar industry (inentertainment) and the education market isalso huge. EdTech is generally accepted to bethe industry where education and gamingcome together to offer fun learning apps,learning platforms, and digital learning expe-riences. This industry was valued at nearly$75 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow atnearly 20% until 2027. Growth may accelerateeven faster due to the current Covid-19 pan-demic. Just one data point shows that educa-tional app downloads surged 90% comparedto pre-pandemic times.

Experts anticipate a huge growth in thisindustry that will certainly have an intenseimpact on education around the world. As aresult, a few key questions emerge:� Role of gaming in the education market:Today’s education system is the witness to

many new and innovative learning and teach-ing tools. Gamified content is one of the bestand most effective ways to teach difficultpractical subjects. Educators of the future rec-ognize the power of gaming and embrace it asa tool. To answer the question, gaming plays akey role in the education market.

Gaming in the education market is grow-ing day by day. More and more edtech compa-nies are developing game-based content usingAugmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality(VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and othertools to make learning interesting withoutdiluting core curriculum content. � Gamified learning to fill the gaps thatexist in the current education system: Oneof the problems with the current educationsystem is the number of students teachers areexpected to teach. Individualised attention foreach student is limited because of the numberof students in each classroom. However, AIand educational games can respond to eachstudent as they work, offering an artificialteacher presence. Then, using technology,human teachers can easily monitor studentprogress and address challenges as necessary.Essentially, gaming has the potential to helpmake teachers more effective and improvestudent performance. How else might gaming help?

��$��"��&���"���"��+&"�According to one study, adult attention

spans are typically about 20 minutes long.One of the challenges for teachers today is tokeep students, whose attention spans may beeven shorter, engaged in a 40-minute class.For younger children, the difficulty of keepingstudents focused and attentive is even greater.Elementary-aged students may have attentionspans as short as 10 minutes or less.

Games have helped us concentrate andfocus on playing or winning the game. As anatural progression, from physical classroomsto online, educators and edtech companies areconsidering how playing games might beincorporated in the curriculum to attain the

young learners’ attention and keep themengaged to increase their learning. So far,research shows it works!

Games provide a non-threatening atmos-phere for students, wherein students areengaged and responsive to the learning process.Students’ attitudes are mentored towards thebasic concepts and ideology behind the games.Hence, it is crucial to have strong pedagogy andreal life examples and environments to teachstudents better themselves in all aspects.Student behavior shows the signs of a greatpositive pedagogy and students tend to adaptand apply the learning to problems, issues, ordifficult situations. However, when the princi-ples of a game are not aligned to the curricu-lum or global understanding of concepts, thegame itself becomes redundant. Or worse, thegame takes a student on a different learningcurve that includes aggression, violence, farce,or superficial learning.

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In the conservative Indian education sys-tem, students are often asked to keep quiet andnot ask questions. We have had several debates,thought policies, and opinions by experts ineducation, expressing the need for a child toquestion, be creative, and not to curb theirimaginations. Games become one of theimportant tools to offer children a welcomingenvironment in which to express themselves.Furthermore, through games, children can bemore creative, innovative, and analytical whentackling situations. Today, we are looking atindividuals to have a scientific bent of mindand innovate to handle global crises like cli-mate change or disposal of plastic and harmfulchemicals. Encouraging science-based gamesor simple puzzles with multiple solutions willhelp create young scientists, mathematicians,innovators, and coders.

#&%�"#��"�����&%���$!/����Teachers have long approached subjects

like maths and science with various teaching

methods. Activities, projects, labs, experi-ments, etc. have all played a role. In theharshness of the pandemic and the advent oftechnology; online, digital, and virtual educa-tional tools are moving from being a “nice tohave” product to a “must have” product.

Today, institutions have moved to anonline model of education with theteacher/facilitator teaching the studentsthrough video conferencing. Mathematics andscience, being practical subjects, require stu-dents to do and learn using all their sensesincluding visual, audio, tactile, and spatial.Merely explaining science and maths topicsvia video conferencing isn’t enough. Studentscan’t grasp concepts or apply the learning inreal life when video conferencing is the onlytool available.

Gaming on the other hand, physical or vir-tual, helps students strengthen their learningthrough audio, visual, and kinesthetic abilitiesto play, feel, understand and learn the conceptswhich bring them to think, feel and act.

For example, when learning math, learn-ing platforms and apps can incorporatemanipulatives and real-life situations into thelearning. Plus, children can practice readingand solving word problems with multiplesolutions. Because the app can provide imme-diate feedback in the form of clues, hints, oraffirmation of a correct answer, children areencouraged and motivated. These are just afew elements you’ll find incorporated intoMatific!

#&%���&��&���'��������&���"#����'Holistic learning in today’s uncertain world

becomes not only important but imperative forone’s growth and happiness. All the aspects ofholistic learning such as soft skills, academicskills, survival skills, job skills, physical healthhabits, mental health, and spiritual health havealways been found in games.

Games have the ability to teach us most ofthe aspects of holistic learning includingpatience, leadership, teamwork, strategy, sur-vival instincts, knowledge about the game oropponent, focus, vision, fitness, and muchmore.

Most of the online educational gamestoday are created using just basic require-ments, but a good educational tool is one thathas a strong base of good pedagogy and rigor-ous content. In addition, quality online gamesuse games and activities to communicate anddisseminate the learnings to students in aholistic manner.

Teachers can go the extra mile and helpensure that learning through technology istruly holistic. For example, students candevelop social skills by talking about thelearning they’re doing using apps and digitalplatforms. Older students can mentor youngerstudents and teach them how to use pro-grams, helping the older students developleadership skills. The opportunities for holis-tic growth facilitated by online learning areendless.

����!����%�'�"���"�#&%���&"��'�&�"�"#As the number of educational games only

grows, educators need to carefully evaluatethem to ensure that they will offer their stu-dents a stimulating and effective learningexperience. High-quality educational games,apps, and platforms offer a wonderful glimpseinto a future in which students receive theindividualised attention they deserve.Furthermore, these innovative products canboost student motivation, attention, under-standing, and creativity.

Gaming has a great potential to becomean integrated and engaging learning tool thatnot only stimulates the students’ soft skillsbut also promotes academic concepts.Foundational numeracy, spatial intelligence,analytical reasoning, problem solving, litera-cy, are just a few examples of academic skillsthat can be gained through educationalgames. So, would you be joining this revolu-tion in learning?

The writer is Director, Growth &Partnerships, India, Matific

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There was a revolutionary writer inKerala by name Keshava Dev, aborn rebel who questioned every-

thing under the sun. Dev along withThakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and P CKuttikrishnan (Uroob) formed the triadof modern Malayalam literature. The nov-els Ayalkkaar (The Neighbours), OdayilNinnu (From the Gutter) establishedDev as the numero uno in Kerala’s liter-ary world. Odayil Ninnu, authored in 1942was centred on the life and times of a rick-shaw-puller. At a time when most writ-ers were keen to come out with works thatwould please the rulers, Dev who hit theliterary world like a hurricane wrote aboutlives of people belonging to the lower stra-ta of society. The rest is history.

Decades later, when he was asked thesecret behind his success, Dev said:“There is no secret or easy way out to writea novel or short story or poem whichwould be liked and loved by the readers.You should be honest with what you write.You should have first hand experienceabout life. Learn to live and make use ofthe sufferings you gained as the buildingblocks. I am sure once you have enoughexperience, words would shoot up fromthe bottom of the heart,” Dev wrote in hismemoirs. Don’t forget, this revolutionarywriter lived (1904 to 1983) when therewere no glossy magazines or satellite tele-vision channels which could market hisprowess. But till this date Keshava Dev israted as the one who masterminded therenaissance movement in Malayalam.

Each time I come across a good book,I remember what Dev referred to as thebuilding blocks of a good literary work.It is very rare to find such literary pursuitsdespite hundreds of books hitting theshelves across the country on a daily basis.Most of the modern books remind thehapless readers about the famous taglineseen in the advertisement of a two-wheel-er: “Fill it, Shut it and Forget it,” to drivehim the cost of petrol which increases bythe hour.

There are exceptions to this pattern.Though I read the books “Roses inDecember” by M C Chgala, and “My OwnBosewell” by M Hidayatullah as a student,the contents remain as fresh in my mindas I revisited them the other day. Equallyenthralling was the book ManoranjanByapari’s “Interrogating My Chandal Life”(translated by Sipra Mukherjee). Allthese books would survive the test of timebecause of the intellectual honesty of theauthors. They wrote these books not to

earn name or fame (Chagla andHidayatullah would have remained thesame iconic personalities even if they hadnot authored these books) but to releasethe pressure that was building up in theirhearts after watching their fellow brethrenand their times.

These random thoughts came tomind after reading “Regrets, None”, thememoirs of Dolly Thakore who could beconsidered as the Diva of IndianTelevision. This beautiful lady was the bestEnglish newscaster in BombayDoordarshan before the state’s lone pub-lic broadcaster discontinued the Englishnews bulletins from regional stations andintroduced the National Network.Bombay had newscasters like NirmalaMathan, Luku Sanyal, Gerson da CunhaSidharth Kaak, Arvind Lavakare, BhaktiBarve and Suresh Saraiya out of whichDolly Thakore stood out because of herbeauty, diction and command over thelanguage.

Those were the days when tele-prompters were unheard of in India. Dollywas not a mere newscaster, but she wasa news presenter who addressed the audi-ence without referring to the script. Hervoice, pronunciation and screen presencewere unique and there was nothing sur-prising in the number of fans she had allover Bombay. She was a well-known the-atre personality as well as radio jockey.The history of Indian mass media, theatre,social activism, world of advertisementand philanthropism would not be com-plete without the name of Dolly Thakore.My knowledge about Dolly Thakore

ends here. But watching her in TVshows, I always considered her as theembodiment of all that is good. Whatadded to her looks was a pale shadow ofpain (or one can call it the aura of sad-ness) which were visible in her beautifuleyes and the smile.

“Regrets, None” is written from theheart. This is the best work authored byan Anglo-Indian writer which I have readin the last three decades. The book tellsthe dreams and hopes of Dolly Thakoreand chronicles her disappointments and

despondency. The book will stand the testof time because Dolly’s words are poweredwith pains and sour experiences encoun-tered by her to survive and succeed as agirl and lady. This is a must read book forthose who want to lead a path of their ownin the Mahabharat War of the modern eraand crave for liberty. And Dolly Thakorehas given us a panoramic view of theworld of advertising, theatre, films, glam-our and social activism.

We may agree or disagree with DollyThakore’s principal of life. Here is a beau-tiful lady with exceptional professionalcompetence who excelled in her career inthe media but was let down by peoplewhom she loved, trusted and adored.There are many youngsters a la Dolly whofall by the wayside when they are let downby persons whom they trusted. But DollyThakore is an exception. Her honesty andintegrity add that extra punch to herwords. Had Dolly Thakore remined theobedient daughter of papa David Rawsonand mamma Dora, she would havebecome a college professor or doctor oreven a scientist but a person like me froma village in Kerala would not have heardabout her. Dolly Thakore rocked Bombaywithout being a politician, baroness orsuper star. Her life is the message — amessage which should be studied thread-bare, especially by women who pontifi-cate for freedom, live-in relations andwhat not.

Dolly Thakore deserved a much bet-ter personal life and the truth is that nei-ther Dilip Takore or Alyque Padamseedeserved a person like her. I feel sorry for

Pearl Padamsee, whom I have seen onlyin screen as Nargis of Khata Meetha andRosie of Baaton Baaton Mein and also asthe model in TV commercial for AkbarAlis.

My classmate and well known clini-cal psychologist Dr Mridula Nair oncetold me: “Writers, actors, movie makersbelong to a special category. They couldbe loved and adored, but only from a safedistance.” The likes of Alyque Paadamsee,Gemini Ganesan and of course SouthIndia’s most colorful politician are stand-ing testimonies to Dr Nair’s observation.

Dolly Thakore authored the book inthe company of Argya Lahiri and it hasmade reading “Regrets, None” a livelyexperience. Dolly makes the reader crywhile she cries and makes them smilewhile she smiles. Throughout the book,one gets the feeling that Dolly herself isspeaking to the reader. This is the storyof her agonies and uncertainties. She is thebest woman writer India has and it is sur-prising that it took her this many decadesto write a book.

Dolly’s revelation that “beingChristian meant we were either cooks orbearers or anti-nationalists who had soldout to the British for a tin of milk or rice”is the only jarring note in the 370 pagelong melody. I never knew that DollyThakore was a Christian till I read whatshe has written. A close scrutiny ofIndia’s history will disclose that the coun-try’s finance minister during 1948 to1950was Prof John Mathai, and the secretariesto the country’s first, third and fourthPrime Ministers were all Christians.India’s best naval commanders (six ofthem) too belonged to the Christian com-munity. Prof Placid Rodriguez, Father ofIndia’s Fast Breeder Nuclear Reactor pro-gramme too was a God-fearing Christian.And one more thing, Dolly. There are nocard-holding members in RSS unlike theCPI(M) and CPI(Maoists). Well, nothingis absolutely perfect, as the sayings go.

If “Regrets, None” is not honored witha Sahitya Academy award, the loser isgoing to be the latter itself. “Regrets, None”is sure to go places from the Page Threecolumns in traditional newspapers. Dollyis not a manufacturer of literature but arepository of life’s trials and tribulations.Hope this book does not end up as herswan song. Seventy eight year young DollyThakore has miles to go and hundreds ofstories to tell the world. More is expect-ed of this elegant lady who deserves atleast a Padma Shri award.

As one completes the immigra-tion and security check at theTribhuvan InternationalAirport (TIA) and passesthrough the boarding gates,

one gets amused on why is there anotherset of security checks, just next to the run-way, before boarding an Air India flight toDelhi? The two feet tall ladder is fixed toa wheeled iron chamber where one getstheir hand/cabin bags checked. The prac-tice had begun after Indian Airline flightIC 814 En route from TIA, Kathmandu toIGIA, New Delhi was highjacked byPakistan backed terrorists. Because of thismajor security lapse at TIA in Kathmandu,India wanted its “security personnel to thefrisking and security check of passengers.”However, “The Nepalese were outraged.How could they permit Indian security per-sonnel on sovereign Nepalese territory?”and “it is then that a compromise wasworked out. Indian security personnelwould not stand on sacred Nepalese soil,but a foot above it and do their job!”

The latest book Kathmandu Dilemma:Resetting India-Nepal Ties by Ranjit Rae, aformer Ambassador of India to Nepalunravels a plethora of details on such mys-teries between India and Nepal. Amidst adrastically changing geo-political and geo-strategic space between India and Nepal, thebook comes with many answers on the con-temporary state of India-Nepal relations.

In the last six years, India-Nepal rela-tions have touched an all-time low. Theeconomic disruptions of 2015 at theNepal-India border created by the Janjati-Madhesi groups during the implementa-tion of a long-awaited Constitution ofNepal became the altar of the paradigmshift in Nepal’s approach towards India.Unsurprisingly, for decades, the erstwhileKings and the democratically electedGovernments in Nepal have waged anunnecessitated fight against its geographyand present India in dark light. In this chainof events, the 2015 Madhesi Andolan cre-ated a vacuum that was exploited by lead-ers like former Prime Minister KP SharmaOli to their political advantage. Oli left nostone unturned in accusing India of thealleged “blockade” which earned him thetitle of tallest ultra-nationalistic leader.

The 1950 Treaty of Peace andFriendship forged ‘special relations betweenIndia and Nepal. As a landlocked country,

the Treaty proved to be a boon for Nepalin getting India’s assurances from non-ter-ritorial aggression, mutual respect, transitfreedom through an open border and unin-terrupted movement of people across theborder without any visa or passport. In the1960s, Nepal could only rely on the IndianArmy to protect its frontiers from anaggressive China considering the latter’saggression in Tibet. India’s economic con-cessions in the 1990s to Nepal, mediationduring a decade long Maoist insurgency,a successful stint as a peacemaker betweenthe Maoist and the political forces gavebirth to present-day democratic Nepal.India has also been the first responder intimes of crisis including the 2015Earthquake in Nepal when Indian AirForce transport planes made several sor-ties to Kathmandu, carrying NDRF teams,army engineers, medical teams and armyhospitals along with relief, food and med-ical supplies.

Despite all the help, Ambassador Raeencountered an obvious question from

Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “whydon’t they like us? We have done so muchfor Nepal”. The erstwhile Royals did not likeIndia’s advocacy for democracy and sup-port to democratic movements in Nepal,similar to India’s advocacy for the rights ofmarginalised communities post-2015. Rae’shonest answers have stood their ground inthe book as he dwells upon his tenure asIndia’s Ambassador in Kathmandu duringthe most challenging times.

Rae finds that for years, media in Nepalhas barred no words in accusing India ofventuring to make Nepal a Hindu Rashtradespite the Government of India hasmade it clear that it has no views in thisregard and it is up to the people of Nepalto decide.

There are certain biases in Nepalimedia. They are reflected from underre-porting of Chinese territorial expansionson Nepal’s sovereign lands in the Nepalesemedia. Even the Oli government hadrefuted any such expansions by Chinathrough Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign

Affairs. On the contrary, Oli was interest-ed to accuse India of land encroachmentin Kalapani. For a fact, India inheritedboundaries with Nepal from British rule inIndia, and for centuries, these borders haveremained the same, much to Nepal’s dis-appointment. Also, Oli’s anti-India agen-da included disrespecting the IndianEmblem and presenting distorted facts onthe birthplace of Lord Rama.

A symbolic projection of transit accessthrough Chinese ports, Trans-HimalayanRailway corridor, temporary supply of fuelsfrom China in 2015, Oli’s visit to China in2016, and a reciprocal visit by ChinesePresident Xi to Nepal in 2019, militarycooperation, and political ties have result-ed into an increased intervention of Chinain the economic, political and strategicaffairs of Nepal. Above all, China is offer-ing these developments through soft loans.On the other hand, railway connectivitybetween India and Nepal has alreadymaterialised and functional till the border-ing regions of Nepal. The existing trade

deficit and falling Indian FDI in Nepal canalways be minimised only if Nepal wish-es to fully use its hydropower potential andresolve political sensitivities on Indianinvestments.

India-Nepal trade is booming andIndian assistance is increasing which ismostly on a grant basis compared toChinese soft loans. The author recalls howIndia’s sale of military material to the RoyalNepal Army on a 70 per cent grant and 30per cent payment to fight Maoist insur-gency had turned into a full grant since the30 per cent was seldom paid. Therefore,there is less substance and more hype inprojecting Nepal-China bonhomie.Meanwhile, the assumption that Chinesepaws in Nepal are increasing “does notaugur well for the future and is a worry-ing development. However, as the influenceof China, Pakistan, “the US, the UK andthe European Union on the other, growsin Nepal, India will need to fashion anapproach that ensures that our core inter-ests are protected.”

In conclusion, Rae asserts that India-Nepal relations have enough potential tocooperate if socio-cultural and people topeople relations, mutual strategic interests,and trade and investment are put to bestuse than focusing on little that has divid-ed the two occasionally.

The book keeps the reader connected,detailed, and updated on the most recentforeign and strategic aspects of Nepal.Although, in chapters like People’sAspirations: The New Constitution, ThePost-Constitution Fallout, AmbassadorRae could have given more insights to hisreaders in terms of details on the alleged‘2015 Blockade’. These two chapters some-how provide a narration that India’sMinistry for External Affairs has held overthe years. Overall, the book is a ‘must read’for academics, policymakers, strategiccommunity, media personnel, andresearchers interested in Nepal-India rela-tions. The book becomes more interestingwhen the author makes a point that Nepalis one of the best assignments for anyIndian diplomat.3��������������������������������������<���%���

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4 ��������� ��!��������������D ��������"�On February 1 this year, the

Myanmar military (alsoknown as the Tatmadaw inBurmese language) took overthe control of the country. Itwas simply done to quietly ousta legitimate and democratical-ly elected Government headedby veteran Aung San Suu Kyiand her party, National Leaguefor Democracy (NLD). Aftercompleting a full five year-termof governance from 2015-2020,Suu Kyi’s party once againscored massive victory over allher rival parties, including theArmy-backed Union Solidarityand Development Party(USDP) in the Parliamentaryelections of November 8, 2020.

The country’s top general(also called as Senior General)and Commander-in-Chief ofthe Army, Min Aung Hlaing,was in fact sending enough sig-nals to the NLD Governmentthat the Army was not happywith the way the latestParliamentary election wasconducted. And, according tothe Army, the election was acomplete fraud wherein mas-sive malpractices took place.But the Government of Suu Kyiand the Myanmar’s ElectionCommission denied all thesecharges of the Army.

The crux of the issue is thatthe USDP suffered a humiliat-ing defeat in the hand of theNLD in the last election. As perthe official results declared bythe election department, theNLD won 393 seats out of the476 seats. Unfortunately, theUSDP won bare 33 seats. So,the anger against the NLDand Suu Kyi’s growing popu-larity was brewing inside therank and file of the BurmeseArmy. It was not easy for thebrutal Tatmadaw to accept thedominance of the civilianGovernment, especially underthe leadership of Suu Kyi, onceits arch rival. Therefore, thejunta has been quite firm on itscomplaints on the electionfraud since the beginning.Finally, the General did what hehad to do.

Today, it is crystal clear thatMyanmar’s February coup wasindeed a foretold chronicle.The pre-dawn coup d’état onthat fateful day witnessed thedetention of State CounsellorSuu Kyi and President WinMyint, along with a number ofnewly elected NLD party lead-ers, and definitely, the critics ofthe military in the country.

This is the first putschsince 1988. However, the mil-itary is armed with the backingof the country’s Constitution

declared in 2008. It clearlysays the Army can take overpower in order to prevent anysituation that may “disinte-grate the Union or disintegratenational solidarity or that maycause the loss of sovereignty”.

Therefore, the Army want-ed to investigate the malprac-tices in the November 8 elec-tion which the Suu KyiGovernment denied. And tothe Army, such a situationmay destabilise the country. So,the General had all the excus-es to dethrone the NLDGovernment from the power.

Recently the Army Generalannounced in a speech that thecurrent emergency may beextended up to August 2023.

Most importantly, he hasdesignated himself as the Chairof the State AdministrationCouncil (SAC) and PrimeMinister of the caretakerGovernment now ruling thecountry for the last eightmonths. In his hour-longspeech, he defended the coupand promised to hold free and

fair election. Equally, he con-demned the protesters both forspreading the Covid-19 anddestabilising the whole nation.As per the orders released onFebruary 1 this year, Hlaing hasbeen already endowed withexecutive, legislative and judi-cial powers to run the country.On August 23, when the topGeneral spoke in the 14thmeeting of the SAC, he out-lined a detailed plan for mat-ters related to election andlegislation. It seems the man inuniform has given his final ser-mon from the country’s CapitalNaypyidaw.

He has clearly meant busi-ness (for which the MyanmarArmy stands tall both in timesof war and peace all theseyears). And eventually, sincethen his orders, truly clearorders, have been made effec-tive by the olive branch acrossthe nation.

It was interesting to notehere that till early July this year,the junta was solely focussingon containing the growing

protests, the activities of theNational Unity Government(NUG) and its People’s DefenceForce (PDF). But on September7, when the NUG declared anall-out defensive war against thecurrent military Government ofHlaing, the Tatmadaw musthave rolled out all the possiblestrategies and mostly repressiveones to counter the protestersof the NLD.

Frankly speaking, the para-mount aim of the military is tofinish the popularity of Suu Kyiand discredit the legitimacy ofthe results of the national elec-tion declared on November 26last year. And it is working hardto repress the protesters so asto contain the huge upsurgeagainst the military after longtime since the heydays of SuuKyi in the past.

Another aspect that hasnever ever worked with most ofthe military dictators andauthoritarian rulers across theglobe is the impact of interna-tional sanctions, whether mil-itary or economic. Truly, these

kinds of sanction affect thecivilians. And the militaryrulers hardly bother about thecommoners as they know theypossess the firepower, and theycan handle the ordinary peo-ple. Certainly, this universalthesis has proved right for theTatmadaw in Burma as well.Hlaing, being an experiencedcommander, knows how tohandle such pressures, com-monly known as internationalsanctions and sometimes com-ing as harsh and diplomaticwords from global governanceagencies like the UN.

However, ever-willingChina is already there to sup-port such regimes across theworld. And this has comedirectly these days fromBeijing, including the supportoffered to the TalibanGovernment in Afghanistantoday. With Xi Jinping, the“life-time’ President of China,Beijing has become more vocif-erous in offering support,mainly financial backing tosuch reclusive governments

like the one in Naypyidaw.Because, like the Tatmadaw inMyanmar, it wants security, sta-bility and territorial integrityeven at the cost of the violationof internationally recognisedhuman rights and basic free-doms. So, the Army inMyanmar has no problem andit will certainly survive and sus-tain in the country.

Further, despite the Armybeing so unpopular, why it isextending its rule? Probablyjust to extend its stay in powerfor a longer period of time. It’sdefinitely delaying tacticswhich the Army used in thepast just to see that a favourableConstitution could be declaredfor it wherein it would havesecured hold in power. And itdid the same and thus today,the Army has considerable sayin any democratically electedgovernment in the country(except winning elections).

There is no possibility thatHlaing and his men will returnthe helm a democraticallyelected Government even in

2023. But anyway, he has beenpromising a free and fair elec-tion since the February coup.Interestingly, he also talkedabout a more proportionallyrepresented electoral system forthe multi-ethnic Burma. Itcould be so that the minorityand ethnically composed far-flung parties in the peripherymay buy this idea from theGeneral very well.

Only because of the preva-lence of a majoritarian electoralsystem, many, including theUSDP and the smaller parties,believe that Suu Kyi’s NLD hasbeen able to script landslidevictory in the last two nation-al elections held in 2015 and2020.

And the Army must be try-ing to align with such smallerparties to form Government atthe centre in future. Probably,this kind of a refurbished elec-toral system could very wellattract many minor partiesand possibly turn them againstthe NLD bases.

The crude reality is that theTatmadaw is all about brutali-ty. It does not respect anyglobally recognised humanrights. Hlaing is behaving likehis predecessors only. He is nodifferent. But quite often, hetalks about the Army standingfor the people. Clearly, theordinary Burmese people knowthe intentions of the Army andhow they treated them in thepast.

Now, Suu Kyi, popularlyknown as “Ma Suu” and “theLady” by the commoners inthis impoverished SoutheastAsian country is both ageingand losing fast her politicalacumenship.

But then, what next? Willthere be anyone, firm and res-olute to counter the intransi-gence of the so-called “nation-alist” Army of Myanmar? Else,in the name of protecting andsafeguarding the territorialintegrity of the country, theArmy will play the same oldgame-taking over from thecivilian leadership, whenever itthinks appropriate to exert itscontrol over the country.

(Dr Makhan Saikia hastaught political science andinternational relations for overa decade in institutions ofnational and internationalrepute after specialisation inglobalisation and governancefrom Tata Institute of SocialSciences, Mumbai. He is thechief editor of the Journal ofGlobal Studies, an internation-al research journal)

4������=!���.��-1-+������� ��������!���� ������������������;���!���������������%������������� �����������������#�!���������������������)��!%���������� ���H����������� ��

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��#� �����#�'��- ����� ��=��� ��������#�1���The cryptocurrency market

is predicted to increase ata CAGR of 7.1 per cent from$1.6 billion in 2021 to $2.2 bil-lion in 2026. Bitcoin tokensaccount for close to 80 per centof that value. The cryptocur-rency ecosystem has increasedphenomenally over the years.From a technical standpoint,cryptocurrencies have a welldistributed, decentralised net-work that operates on a peer-to-peer mode. The first Bitcoinblockchain block was mined onJanuary 3, 2009, and onJanuary 12, 2009, SatoshiNakamoto transmitted 10Bitcoins to Hal Finney, mark-ing the beginning of the Bitcoincurrency. Despite the fact thatbitcoin is polarising, theblockchain technology thatunderpins it has functionedadmirably, and in both thefinancial and non-financialsectors, it has a wide range ofuses.

The issue of legal regula-tion of cryptocurrency exists allacross the world. There are nospecific regulators that evalu-ate and control transactionsand value transfer within thenetwork. Cryptocurrencies aresupported by a peer-to-peernetwork based on blockchaintechnology that is safe and

unhackable. Financial transac-tions and value transfersbetween any two parties can becarried out directly, regardlessof their form and without thethird party engagement usingdigital technology. The abilityof blockchain technology tosolve the problem of double-spending is what makes itvaluable in banking applica-tions.

A digital token consists ofa digital file that can be repro-

duced or falsified, therefore, itis possible that the same digi-tal token may be spent not onlyonce but more. For speed, scal-ability and efficiency, cryp-tocurrencies rely on the openinternet. The lack of confidencebetween exchange partners istaken care of by public-keycryptography proceduresutilised to enable money trans-action settlements.

Trading in cryptocurrency,including bitcoin, was forbid-

den, according to an RBI cir-cular dated April 06, 2018,addressed to banks and otherfinancial organisations. As aresult, there was no dealingbetween the buyer and sellerwhen it came to bitcoin orcrypto assets Furthermore, theauthorities had called attentionto the dangers of virtual cur-rencies. The Supreme Court inits March 2020 ruling encour-aged crypto acceptance inIndia.

Despite the fact that thelegal position of Bitcoin variesgreatly from country to coun-try, there are some legislativelimits on the use of virtual cur-rencies in India. AlthoughBitcoin is not regulated by theRBI, there are 11 exchange plat-forms in India where it can betraded. Bitcoin is becomingincreasingly important, butonly to those who see it as awise- or entertainingly risky-investment. The vast majorityof people use Bitcoins as ameans of profit rather than asa form of payment. Instead ofrestricting its use, the IndianGovernment could take use ofthis chance to break down theboundaries associated with fiatcurrency and establish itself asa global cryptocurrency invest-ment centre, attracting a largeamount of business and invest-ment. We have reached thepoint where the cryptocur-rency world is beginning toinfluence economic calcula-tions in a demand and supplynarrative.

The topic of cryptocur-rency offers numerous researchoptions, and numerous inves-tigations must be completed inorder to provide scientificinformation. The relationshipbetween real financial regula-

tions and the legal status ofimplementing cryptocurrencyplatforms should be investi-gated further from multipleangles. Bitcoin appears to haveencountered numerous road-blocks, and its numerous appli-cations in everyday life havepresented distinct obstacles tothe end user community, yetBitcoin appears to suggestpromise for a better future.However, its growth is difficultto forecast.

The Central bank digitalmoney supposed to be releasedsoon as a mass-market digitalasset is a well-contemplatedmove and will benefit theIndian economy. The frame-work for the final launch, if wellimplemented, will give a majorboost to fintech industry inIndia. As envisaged, the deci-sion of the Indian Governmentto launch the Central BankDigital Currency, unlike cryp-tocurrency, within the regu-lated framework in severalphases is the most desirableoption.

(The writer is associatedwith Maharaja Agrasen College,Delhi University. She has taughteconomics and management,with focus on environmentaleconomics)

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“Ihave decided to become a doctor. Ihave been putting in hard effortsto clear the entrance test meant to

join the medical course. Pleased suggest apuja so luck comes my way,” asked ayoung guy. “It appears that your inner-self doesn’t agree with your seeminglyover confident look. Otherwise, youwould not have come looking for luckfactor. If you are really putting in qualityefforts, that will definitely bear fruits. Youneed to better assess yourself, whetheryou are well geared up for the task inhand?” I suggested.

“What do you mean? I have no doubtfrom within. I am accepted as an intelli-gent guy in my peer group. Also, I havebeen working hard. What more needs tobe seen? But at the end of the day, luckalso counts.” The guy countered.

Well, intelligence alone does notensure success. Failure rating of intelli-gent people is often more than themediocre, who cover up for their inade-quacy through persistent sincere efforts.Remember, success calls for coming outwith one’s best. That, in the first place,needs to be backed by a firm resolve, notjust pursuing fanciful dream perception.Second, a disciplined approach. Third,

persistent quality effort, not just the num-ber of study hours put in. Fourth, oneshould be focused to study, ignoring alldistracting influences. And finally, apleasing mannerism, which may helpdigest unsavoury external provocations,whence you may enjoy what you aredoing. You seem to be lacking in all theseareas. No amount of belief driven pujacan bring luck. The real puja would be toovercome your inherent weaknesses, thatotherwise stand in way of indwellingpotential from playing out unhindered.

“Sir, instead of suggesting necessaryremedial measure, you are pointing outmy mistakes. That could lower my confi-dence level. How then do I make mydesire to come through?” The guy coun-tered. “Well my intention is not to loweryour morale. Please bear in mind, eachone of us comes to this world with a bag-gage full of both potential and inherentweaknesses. The inherent infirmitiesstand in way of indwelling potentialbloom out in full. And unless, you wilful-ly identify and acknowledge your faultlines, you will not be able address them.But for which you will fail to make it toyour desired destination.” I answered.

To make him appreciate my advisory,

a detailing of astrological pointers to hisshortcomings became imperative.Mercury in close proximity of the Sundoes make him intelligent. But Sun isdebilitated, which makes a question markon his confidence level. He is not able toappreciate this fact, because exalted Marsis there in the lagna. That makes himthink that he can do anything and every-thing. The irony, however, is that Mars isconjunct mischievous Neptune and errat-ic Uranus, all ill-disposed off to Venus,Mercury and the Sun. Also, Mars isplaced adverse to mind-signifying Moon.All put together speaks of a complexedmind. Consequently, he would be dissi-pating his energies being engaged in loftydreams and towards other unproductiveends, and evidently to his detriment.

The Sun placed adverse to Uranusmakes him erratic, temperamental andunstable. He may not be open to listeningor counsel of elders as ‘my way or highway’ seems to be his approach. Moonplaced adverse to Mars, Neptune andRahu makes him irritable, aggressive,impatient and self-delusional. That makeshim stuck to his fanciful dream percep-tion, often distant from ground realities.This accounts for his distracted attention

also. He won’t acknowledge truth on itsfirst appearance, and rather continue pas-sionately pursuing his self-beliefs tillpushed to the wall. He also seems to besuffering from ‘I am the only right personsyndrome’ and thinks that others are notable to appreciate his worth. When thingsdon’t happen his way, he will becomeovercritical of others and despise them.

Mercury placed adverse to Marsmakes him restive, having a scatteredbrain, difficult to remain focused to pri-ority preferences. Mercury again ill-dis-posed off to Neptune accounts for hisinsensible reasoning and judgment.Venus placed adverse to Mars andNeptune makes him over react even ontrivial issues, and keep mulling over themfor long. His priority preferences, thus,gets further compromised.

If he works upon himself to addresslimitations of his mind, he will qualify tomake it to his desired destination, aswould benevolent Jupiter extending bene-ficial aspect to Venus, Mercury and theSun mean.

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