5RYZjR RddfcVd %eY @]j ^VUR] W`c :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

12
R avi Dahiya’s charge into the final assured India of a fourth Olympic medal as wrestlers sent the country’s hopes soaring, while javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra turned on the style to script history in qualification itself on a day when most things went spec- tacularly well for the contin- gent, except for the heartbreak in hockey and boxing. While Dahiya will fight for Gold on Thursday, Chopra will stake his claim for India’s maiden track-and-field Olympic medal on Saturday. The Rani Rampal-led women hockey team lost 1-2 to Argentina in the semifinals but stayed in the hunt for a medal. The courageous bunch, which has exceeded all expec- tations by coming this far, will play Great Britain on Friday for a Bronze medal. The Indians fought valiant- ly and gave Argentina a run for their money by taking the lead in the second minute through a penalty corner conversion by Gurjit Kaur. But the Las Leonas bounced back strongly with skipper Maria Barrionuevo’s (18th, 36th minutes) twin strikes from penalty corners to secure the hard-fought win. On Thursday, the men’s hockey team will eye a Bronze medal, its first podium finish in 41 years, when it takes on Germany in the third-place playoff. In the boxing ring Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) signed off with a bronze medal after her showdown against reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey ended in a crushing 0-5 loss. Borgohain became the third Indian boxer to fetch a Games medal after Vijender Singh (2008) and M C Mary Kom (2012). The Panipat lad Neeraj Chopra etched his name in his- tory books in the qualification round itself when he became the first javelin thrower to qualify for the Olympic finals and also the first to top the charts with an impressive 86.65m effort. But it was another 23-year- old, Dahiya, who emerged as the undisputed star of the day. The son of a farmer from Haryana’s Nahri village, who is competing in his maiden Olympic Games in the 57kg category, first outclassed Colombia’s Tigreros Urbano (13-2) in his opener and then outwitted Bulgaria’s Georgi Valentinov Vangelov (14-4). In his semi-final clash against Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev, he conceded the lead but bounced back like a sea- soned professional to march into the finals, becoming only the second wrestler after dou- ble Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar to achieve the feat. He will be up against reign- ing world champion Zavur Uguev of Russia to whom he lost in the 2019 World Championship semi-finals. “I had no business con- ceding that much lead against Sanayev. I am not happy with it,” the usually reticent Dahiya told PTI after his impressive performance. “I still have some unfin- ished business to do. I came with a target here and that is not complete yet (winning Gold).” Others in medal con- tention are Deepak Punia (86kg) and Anshu Malik (women’s 57kg). While Punia lost in the semi-finals to get a direct entry into the Bronze- medal playoffs, Malik has made the repechage round after European champion Irina Kurachikina, who beat her in the opening round, made the finals. On the golf course, Aditi Ashok got off to a brilliant start, carding a four-under 67 in the opening round for a share of the second spot at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. India’s other entrant in the field, Diksha Dagar (76), how- ever, had a rough start in her maiden Olympics as she had five bogeys and no birdies to lie at the tied 56th spot. T he Air India has been suf- fering heavy losses since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007 and it has accumulated losses of about 70,820 crore till March 31, 2020. In a written reply to MP Mahesh Poddar in the Rajya Sabha on the current financial condition of public sector air- line company and the Government’s initiative for its disinvestment, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said financial bids for Air India are likely to be received from qualified interested bidders by September 15 this year. The Minister said the major reasons for the losses include high interest the bur- den on debt due to bulk pur- chase of aircraft in the past. “The Government has decided to go for strategic disinvest- ment due to its fragile finances and its continued and accu- mulated losses,” he added. J harkhand on Wednesday vaccinated about 50,000 res- idents against Covid-19 and almost 40,000 of the benefi- ciaries who got jabbed on the day were younger than 45 years, figures compiled by the health department highlighted. As per provisional data released by the National Health Mission (NHM), at least 37,860 residents were administered the first dose of vaccine on Wednesday, while 14,759 ben- eficiaries got their second jab. As many as 29,477 residents in the age bracket of 18 years to 44 years got their first dose of vaccine, while 8,496 beneficia- ries from the same age group got their second jab, NHM data highlighted. Data available on the Co- Win portal highlighted that at least 834 session sites were operational across Jharkhand on the day. Close to 4000 Ranchi residents were inocu- lated at 27 session sites, while 19 session sites administered vaccine jabs to almost 3000 res- idents in East Singhbhum, as per data on Co-Win platform. As per data shared by the NHM on Wednesday evening, Jharkhand had 4,76,210 doses of vaccines available in stock, enough to last about four days. According to NHM, the state has so far received 1,01,66,910 vaccine doses from the Centre and administered 98,78,690 doses. Meanwhile, the active case- load of Covid-19 continued to dip on Wednesday as the state reported 41 Covid recoveries against 30 fresh cases of infec- tion, highlighted a bulletin from the NHM. As per NHM data, as many as 223 Jharkhand residents were battling a Coronavirus infection by the end of Wednesday. However, the active case- load in Ranchi, Dhanbad and East Singhbhum witnessed a spike as fresh cases outnum- bered recoveries in these dis- tricts. As per NHM data, at least seven cases against two recov- eries took the active caseload in Ranchi to 52, while six cases against only one recovery took the active caseload in Dhanbad to 19. In East Singhbhum, three fresh cases surfaced and two patients recovered. The active caseload there was 14 on Wednesday. At least 15 of 24 districts in Jharkhand did not report fresh cases of Covid-19 on the day. The state on Wednesday test- ed swab samples of 49,946 res- idents and 0.06 per cent of them were found infected by the deadly virus. So far, over 3.47 lakh people have been infected by coronavirus in the state and 98.45 per cent of them have recovered, while 1.47 per cent of patients could not sur- vive. T he Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday announced it has taken-over investigation of the alleged murder of Dhanbad district court Judge Uttam Anand and an FIR has bene lodged in Delhi on Wednesday evening. Sources said that the FIR (RC 04/2021) has been lodged at CBI /SC I unit of the agency in Delhi. “A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed comprising 20 officials. The SIT is set to reach Dhanbad by tonight. The forensic team is also likely to join on the spot investigation within a couple of days. Possibly, the forensic team may join the investigation tomorrow,” sources said. The CBI ASP Vijay Kumar Shukla will head the investi- gating team. The CBI has re- registered the original FIR lodged by Kriti Sinha; wife of the deceased judge, as a regu- lar case. Notably, the CBI has kept its Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal unit out of the loop of this case. However, the CBI sources did not attach much importance to this if the Delhi unit had been roped for inves- tigation.The CBI took-up the investigation on the basis of the recommendation of the Jharkhand government. Given the mood of the Supreme Court and Jharkhand High Court; Jharkhand government had realized that the top judi- ciary doesn’t trust Jharkhand police and the judiciary can suo moto ask the CBI to investigate the case. Hence the state gov- ernment recommended a CBI probe.On Tuesday during the hearing of the case the double bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad snubbed Jharkhand police for botching- up the investigation. The court asked the CBI to take-up the investigation immediately before “they (Police) destroy evidence.”On July 28, the judge was knocked down by an auto rickshaw when he was jogging on the roadside in Dhanbad. The next day police arrested auto drivers Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma and the auto used in the crime was seized from Giridih district.’ The deceased judge was conducting trials of many sen- sitive cases and he was under threat for annoying mafias and criminals. The CCTV footage gave credence to the doubt that it was a well-planned murder rather than a case of hit and run. The death had badly shak- en-up the judiciary and Bar across the country as Jharkhand High Court remarked that it was not a case of hit and run but a brutal mur- der of a judicial officer. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana expressed shock over the death and said that judicial officials across the country have been facing threats, which is a matter of concern. O n the instructions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Simdega district adminis- tration has installed a Smart TV at the house of Olympian hockey player Salima Tete. Along with this, a set top box has also been installed to see Salima playing live. District Sports Officer Tushar Roy informed that a 43-inch Smart 4K TV has been installed at Salima's house. It may be known that the problem of Salima's family members due to non- availability of TV was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister. After that, showing sensitivity, the CM directed the district administration to take immediate action. The Indian women's hockey team also includes Salima Tete, daughter of Jharkhand. Team India per- formed better in the Tokyo Olympics, defeating the Australian team 1-0 and reached the semi-finals. Salima's semi-final match was watched by her family members and vil- lagers on the TV set by the gov- ernment. Jharkhand's daughter Salima Tete struggled, sweated in the field and made her place in the Indian women's hockey team at the Olympics. Representing the country, she also performed amazingly with a stick in the field, but Salima's family and villagers were unable to see Salima playing in Tokyo Olympics due to lack of TV. As soon as this came to the notice of the Chief Minister, Deputy Commissioner, Simdega, Sushant Gaurav was directed to solve the problem. Taking immediate initiative, the DC directed District Sports Officer Tushar Roy to install a TV at Salima Tete's house before the semi-final match. The instructions were implemented and Salima's family members and villagers were also able to watch the semi-final match live on TV. The Simdega DC said that it is a matter of pride for the State and the district that Salima is included in the Indian women's hockey team. This will inspire sports lovers. District Sports Officer Tushar Roy informed that during the TV installation at the house of Indian hockey player Salima Tete, Secretary, District Hockey, Manoj Kombegi was also pre- sent. Meanwhile, CM Hemant Soren has congratulated wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya for winning the semi-finals in Tokyo Olympics. The Chief Minister said that Ravi Kumar Dahiya ji should increase the honour of the country by performing bet- ter in the final also. The CM has also congratulated Lovlina Borgohain for winning the bronze medal in the boxing event of Tokyo Olympics. He said that another daughter of the country made the country proud by winning a medal in the Tokyo Olympics. Soren on Wednesday met people from different parts of the State at his residential office premises. During this, people apprised the CM about their problems and urged them to solve them. The CM said that listening to and resolving the problem of the people has been his priority since the beginning. He assured the complainants that appro- priate action would be taken for speedy resolution of their prob- lems. L eaders of as 14 Opposition parties on Wednesday said the responsibility for the Parliament logjam lies square- ly with the Centre and urged it to respect Parliamentary democracy by accepting their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus controversy and farm- ers’ issues. Issuing a joint statement, 18 leaders from 14 parties said it is unfortunate that the Centre has “unleashed a misleading campaign to malign the com- bined Opposition” and blaming it for the continued disruption of Parliament proceedings. The joint statement comes a day after the Opposition leaders met over breakfast host- ed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and drove on bicycles to Parliament in protest. “The responsibility for the deadlock lies squarely at the doorsteps of the Government, which remains arrogant and obdurate and refuses to accept the Opposition’s demand for an informed debate in both the Houses,” read the statement. “The Opp parties stand firm and united on their demand for a discussion on Pegasus issue in both the Houses, replied to by the Home Minister, as this has national security dimensions,” it said. Earlier, a group of seven Opposition parties led by for- mer NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal submitted a memoran- dum to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to direct the Govt to allow a full-fledged discussion in both the Houses on a range of issues they have been protesting ever since the Monsoon session started. R ajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday suspended six TMC MPs for the day for car- rying placards while protesting along with other Opposition MPs over the Pegasus spying issue. Soon after the Rajya Sabha assembled for the day, slogan- shouting TMC and other Opposition MPs trooped into the Well of the House, some holding placards, to demand a discussion on the issue of Israeli-made Pegasus spyware allegedly being used to snoop on Opposition leaders, Government critics and jour- nalists. The Chairman first asked members to go back to their seats and then threatened to invoke rule 255 against those holding placards. As the members refused to budge, he ordered that those “not obey- ing the Chair and raising plac- ards shall leave the House under rule 255.” He, however, did not name anyone and said Rajya Sabha Secretariat will give the list. Later a Parliamentary Bulletin identified the six MPs sus- pended for the day as Dola Sen, Md. Nadimul Haque, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Shanta Chhetri, Arpita Ghosh and Mausam Noor.

Transcript of 5RYZjR RddfcVd %eY @]j ^VUR] W`c :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

��������������������������� ����������������������� ���������� ����� ������������������� ���������������� ������������ �� �������� ������� ������������������� ���� ������ ������������������������ ������� ������������!��� ����"���� ���������# �$�� �� ������������ ������ ������� �������� ����������������%������������ ������������� ������ ���������������� � ��������������������������������� ��� ���� ��� ��� ����� ��������� ���# �����$

��������������� �� ���������������������� &��������������������������������������� ��� ��� ��������������� �������������� ��'� ��()��������������� ������� �������������� ��������������� �� ��� ��*�������������� ����������� ������������������������� ����� ������+����� ,��������� ������������������������� ������� ��������� �������������� ���� ���������������� �����$�

�������� ������������������������������������� # ����'��������������-�� �� ������'����������.��� �������������� ���� ����� �������������� ���� � ������ ������ ����� �����'��������*-�.����/����� � �� ���� ������� � ����� ���0�� ������������������������������������ �������0������������������������� �� �$����#'-'.������� ������ � � �� ��� � ��� ��� ���-�� �� ������'�������������1�����2�������&� ���� ���3� ������3�� ����&� $

����� �2452

Ravi Dahiya’s charge intothe final assured India of a

fourth Olympic medal aswrestlers sent the country’shopes soaring, while javelinthrower Neeraj Chopra turnedon the style to script history inqualification itself on a daywhen most things went spec-tacularly well for the contin-gent, except for the heartbreakin hockey and boxing.

While Dahiya will fightfor Gold on Thursday, Choprawill stake his claim for India’smaiden track-and-fieldOlympic medal on Saturday.

The Rani Rampal-ledwomen hockey team lost 1-2 toArgentina in the semifinalsbut stayed in the hunt for amedal. The courageous bunch,which has exceeded all expec-tations by coming this far, willplay Great Britain on Friday fora Bronze medal.

The Indians fought valiant-ly and gave Argentina a run fortheir money by taking the leadin the second minute througha penalty corner conversion byGurjit Kaur.

But the Las Leonasbounced back strongly withskipper Maria Barrionuevo’s(18th, 36th minutes) twinstrikes from penalty corners tosecure the hard-fought win.

On Thursday, the men’shockey team will eye a Bronze

medal, its first podium finish in41 years, when it takes onGermany in the third-placeplayoff.

In the boxing ring LovlinaBorgohain (69kg) signed offwith a bronze medal after hershowdown against reigningworld champion BusenazSurmeneli of Turkey ended ina crushing 0-5 loss.

Borgohain became thethird Indian boxer to fetch aGames medal after VijenderSingh (2008) and M C MaryKom (2012).

The Panipat lad NeerajChopra etched his name in his-tory books in the qualificationround itself when he becamethe first javelin thrower toqualify for the Olympic finals

and also the first to top thecharts with an impressive86.65m effort.

But it was another 23-year-old, Dahiya, who emerged asthe undisputed star of the day.

The son of a farmer fromHaryana’s Nahri village, who iscompeting in his maidenOlympic Games in the 57kgcategory, first outclassed

Colombia’s Tigreros Urbano(13-2) in his opener and thenoutwitted Bulgaria’s GeorgiValentinov Vangelov (14-4).

In his semi-final clashagainst Kazakhstan’s NurislamSanayev, he conceded the leadbut bounced back like a sea-soned professional to marchinto the finals, becoming onlythe second wrestler after dou-

ble Olympic-medallist SushilKumar to achieve the feat.

He will be up against reign-ing world champion ZavurUguev of Russia to whom helost in the 2019 WorldChampionship semi-finals.

“I had no business con-ceding that much lead againstSanayev. I am not happy withit,” the usually reticent Dahiyatold PTI after his impressiveperformance.

“I still have some unfin-ished business to do. I camewith a target here and that isnot complete yet (winningGold).”

Others in medal con-tention are Deepak Punia(86kg) and Anshu Malik

(women’s 57kg). While Punialost in the semi-finals to get adirect entry into the Bronze-medal playoffs, Malik has madethe repechage round afterEuropean champion IrinaKurachikina, who beat her inthe opening round, made thefinals.

On the golf course, AditiAshok got off to a brilliant start,carding a four-under 67 in theopening round for a share ofthe second spot at theKasumigaseki Country Club.

India’s other entrant in thefield, Diksha Dagar (76), how-ever, had a rough start in hermaiden Olympics as she hadfive bogeys and no birdies to lieat the tied 56th spot.

����� #6��0678�

The Air India has been suf-fering heavy losses since its

merger with Indian Airlines in2007 and it has accumulatedlosses of about �70,820 crore tillMarch 31, 2020.

In a written reply to MPMahesh Poddar in the RajyaSabha on the current financialcondition of public sector air-line company and theGovernment’s initiative for itsdisinvestment, Minister of Statefor Civil Aviation VK Singhsaid financial bids for Air Indiaare likely to be received fromqualified interested bidders bySeptember 15 this year.

The Minister said themajor reasons for the lossesinclude high interest the bur-den on debt due to bulk pur-chase of aircraft in the past.“The Government has decidedto go for strategic disinvest-ment due to its fragile financesand its continued and accu-mulated losses,” he added.

�������������� ��������������������������������� ������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������

������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������� !�����"���������������������#$#$�%�� ������&��'�����(�������� )*

���������������������� �������� ���������

�����+�&�� ����� ������������,����!��������������!�����������+�����������"�������#$#$�%�� ������-�������(�������� )*

����� .&#'8�

Jharkhand on Wednesdayvaccinated about 50,000 res-

idents against Covid-19 andalmost 40,000 of the benefi-ciaries who got jabbed on theday were younger than 45years, figures compiled by thehealth department highlighted.

As per provisional datareleased by the National HealthMission (NHM), at least 37,860residents were administeredthe first dose of vaccine onWednesday, while 14,759 ben-eficiaries got their second jab.As many as 29,477 residents inthe age bracket of 18 years to44 years got their first dose ofvaccine, while 8,496 beneficia-ries from the same age groupgot their second jab, NHM datahighlighted.

Data available on the Co-Win portal highlighted that atleast 834 session sites wereoperational across Jharkhandon the day. Close to 4000Ranchi residents were inocu-lated at 27 session sites, while19 session sites administeredvaccine jabs to almost 3000 res-idents in East Singhbhum, asper data on Co-Win platform.

As per data shared by theNHM on Wednesday evening,Jharkhand had 4,76,210 dosesof vaccines available in stock,enough to last about four days.According to NHM, the statehas so far received 1,01,66,910vaccine doses from the Centre

and administered 98,78,690doses.

Meanwhile, the active case-load of Covid-19 continued todip on Wednesday as the statereported 41 Covid recoveriesagainst 30 fresh cases of infec-tion, highlighted a bulletinfrom the NHM. As per NHMdata, as many as 223 Jharkhandresidents were battling aCoronavirus infection by theend of Wednesday.

However, the active case-load in Ranchi, Dhanbad andEast Singhbhum witnessed aspike as fresh cases outnum-bered recoveries in these dis-tricts.

As per NHM data, at leastseven cases against two recov-eries took the active caseload in

Ranchi to 52, while six casesagainst only one recovery tookthe active caseload in Dhanbadto 19. In East Singhbhum,three fresh cases surfaced andtwo patients recovered. Theactive caseload there was 14 onWednesday.

At least 15 of 24 districts inJharkhand did not report freshcases of Covid-19 on the day.The state on Wednesday test-ed swab samples of 49,946 res-idents and 0.06 per cent ofthem were found infected bythe deadly virus. So far, over3.47 lakh people have beeninfected by coronavirus in thestate and 98.45 per cent of themhave recovered, while 1.47 percent of patients could not sur-vive.

��������������� .&#'8�

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) on

Wednesday announced it hastaken-over investigation of thealleged murder of Dhanbaddistrict court Judge UttamAnand and an FIR has benelodged in Delhi on Wednesdayevening.

Sources said that the FIR(RC 04/2021) has been lodgedat CBI /SC I unit of the agencyin Delhi.

“A Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) has been formedcomprising 20 officials. TheSIT is set to reach Dhanbad bytonight. The forensic team isalso likely to join on the spotinvestigation within a couple ofdays. Possibly, the forensic

team may join the investigationtomorrow,” sources said.

The CBI ASP Vijay KumarShukla will head the investi-gating team. The CBI has re-registered the original FIRlodged by Kriti Sinha; wife ofthe deceased judge, as a regu-lar case. Notably, the CBI haskept its Jharkhand, Bihar andBengal unit out of the loop ofthis case. However, the CBIsources did not attach muchimportance to this if the Delhiunit had been roped for inves-tigation.The CBI took-up theinvestigation on the basis of therecommendation of theJharkhand government. Giventhe mood of the SupremeCourt and Jharkhand HighCourt; Jharkhand governmenthad realized that the top judi-

ciary doesn’t trust Jharkhandpolice and the judiciary can suomoto ask the CBI to investigatethe case. Hence the state gov-ernment recommended a CBIprobe.On Tuesday during thehearing of the case the doublebench of Chief Justice Dr RaviRanjan and Justice SujitNarayan Prasad snubbedJharkhand police for botching-up the investigation. The courtasked the CBI to take-up theinvestigation immediatelybefore “they (Police) destroyevidence.”On July 28, the judgewas knocked down by an autorickshaw when he was joggingon the roadside in Dhanbad.The next day police arrestedauto drivers Lakhan Vermaand Rahul Verma and the autoused in the crime was seized

from Giridih district.’The deceased judge was

conducting trials of many sen-sitive cases and he was underthreat for annoying mafias andcriminals. The CCTV footagegave credence to the doubt thatit was a well-planned murderrather than a case of hit andrun.

The death had badly shak-en-up the judiciary and Baracross the country asJharkhand High Courtremarked that it was not a caseof hit and run but a brutal mur-der of a judicial officer.

Chief Justice of India NVRamana expressed shock overthe death and said that judicialofficials across the countryhave been facing threats, whichis a matter of concern.

������������ !�����"�������������������������� �

����� .&#'8�

On the instructions of ChiefMinister Hemant Soren,

the Simdega district adminis-tration has installed a SmartTV at the house of Olympianhockey player Salima Tete.Along with this, a set top boxhas also been installed to seeSalima playing live. DistrictSports Officer Tushar Royinformed that a 43-inch Smart4K TV has been installed atSalima's house. It may be knownthat the problem of Salima'sfamily members due to non-availability of TV was broughtto the notice of the ChiefMinister. After that, showingsensitivity, the CM directed thedistrict administration to takeimmediate action. The Indianwomen's hockey team alsoincludes Salima Tete, daughterof Jharkhand. Team India per-formed better in the TokyoOlympics, defeating theAustralian team 1-0 andreached the semi-finals. Salima'ssemi-final match was watchedby her family members and vil-lagers on the TV set by the gov-ernment.

Jharkhand's daughterSalima Tete struggled, sweatedin the field and made her placein the Indian women's hockeyteam at the Olympics.Representing the country, shealso performed amazingly witha stick in the field, but Salima'sfamily and villagers were unableto see Salima playing in TokyoOlympics due to lack of TV. Assoon as this came to the noticeof the Chief Minister, DeputyCommissioner, Simdega,Sushant Gaurav was directed tosolve the problem.

Taking immediate initiative,the DC directed District Sports

Officer Tushar Roy to install aTV at Salima Tete's house beforethe semi-final match. Theinstructions were implementedand Salima's family membersand villagers were also able towatch the semi-final match liveon TV.

The Simdega DC said thatit is a matter of pride for theState and the district that Salimais included in the Indianwomen's hockey team. Thiswill inspire sports lovers.District Sports Officer TusharRoy informed that during theTV installation at the house ofIndian hockey player Salima

Tete, Secretary, District Hockey,Manoj Kombegi was also pre-sent.

Meanwhile, CM HemantSoren has congratulated wrestlerRavi Kumar Dahiya for winningthe semi-finals in TokyoOlympics. The Chief Ministersaid that Ravi Kumar Dahiya jishould increase the honour ofthe country by performing bet-ter in the final also. The CM hasalso congratulated LovlinaBorgohain for winning thebronze medal in the boxingevent of Tokyo Olympics. Hesaid that another daughter of thecountry made the countryproud by winning a medal inthe Tokyo Olympics. Soren onWednesday met people fromdifferent parts of the State at hisresidential office premises.During this, people apprised theCM about their problems andurged them to solve them. TheCM said that listening to andresolving the problem of thepeople has been his prioritysince the beginning. He assuredthe complainants that appro-priate action would be taken forspeedy resolution of their prob-lems.

1�� ������� ����� �1������ �������������'*��������

&���!�.��������/����������������������������� ��'������!����� �� ����������&���!.�������0���������������!!��� �������1�������������(�������� *���

����� #6��0678�

Leaders of as 14 Oppositionparties on Wednesday said

the responsibility for theParliament logjam lies square-ly with the Centre and urged itto respect Parliamentarydemocracy by accepting theirdemand for a discussion on thePegasus controversy and farm-ers’ issues.

Issuing a joint statement,18 leaders from 14 parties saidit is unfortunate that the Centrehas “unleashed a misleadingcampaign to malign the com-bined Opposition” and blamingit for the continued disruptionof Parliament proceedings.

The joint statement comesa day after the Oppositionleaders met over breakfast host-ed by Congress leader RahulGandhi and drove on bicyclesto Parliament in protest.

“The responsibility for the

deadlock lies squarely at thedoorsteps of the Government,which remains arrogant andobdurate and refuses to acceptthe Opposition’s demand for aninformed debate in both theHouses,” read the statement.

“The Opp parties standfirm and united on theirdemand for a discussion onPegasus issue in both theHouses, replied to by the HomeMinister, as this has nationalsecurity dimensions,” it said.

Earlier, a group of sevenOpposition parties led by for-mer NDA ally Shiromani AkaliDal submitted a memoran-dum to President Ram NathKovind urging him to directthe Govt to allow a full-fledgeddiscussion in both the Houseson a range of issues they havebeen protesting ever since theMonsoon session started.

#""����� �$��������%����������� ������������������ ���!����� ����� ������"�������#� �����������

����� #6��0678�

Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu on

Wednesday suspended sixTMC MPs for the day for car-rying placards while protestingalong with other OppositionMPs over the Pegasus spyingissue.

Soon after the Rajya Sabhaassembled for the day, slogan-shouting TMC and otherOpposition MPs trooped intothe Well of the House, someholding placards, to demand adiscussion on the issue ofIsraeli-made Pegasus spywareallegedly being used to snoopon Opposition leaders,Government critics and jour-nalists. The Chairman firstasked members to go back totheir seats and then threatenedto invoke rule 255 against

those holding placards. As themembers refused to budge, heordered that those “not obey-ing the Chair and raising plac-ards shall leave the Houseunder rule 255.”

He, however, did not nameanyone and said Rajya SabhaSecretariat will give the list.Later a Parliamentary Bulletinidentified the six MPs sus-pended for the day as Dola Sen,Md. Nadimul Haque, AbirRanjan Biswas, Shanta Chhetri,Arpita Ghosh and MausamNoor.

$�%&'�&"���� ���������������������� ������!���������'���

��� ��������� � ������������������ ��������������������

������������� !��������� ��������

������������"�������#$�����

����%

*�� �������������������,����������������&%23� 45���������������������������������������(������� ������6��

����&'(�#����)*���������������+����

9���0���-������ �������$���:�����������(�����������

������������� ���

��� ���$���:�����������:

7 ��'� � � �!"# �$$%� ;(<=&���1��������6� �����&��������

-���������>�����0678���7?'4#2� @82-&7��@8?@&#61�&.

.&#'8��.&�-?. '8&#0�/&.8�068.&0?# 8506.&@&0���3&5�&0&

�$&'(��$��)�"*+#������������� ����������������������������� �����

�����,������������ ��� -�./."0��� ���".��1

)"�*%�+,6#/�&77�2?��>2.�(AB2#�0&5�(�2>�(1���61�

��-�*.��/

&��&'4��&./6��#/�&'��#/&>�06>6#16�*�#�4�771�A

��� ������������ ����������������

�"�0��0�$�#0�&��6771�-&4��2

�&'&�6�&77���1�&.6&1

����������������� �������� ��� ! " &������ � '(

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

����������� ������ �������������������� ��������������������������� ������������������������ !"�#�����$�%�����#��������������#���#����&' "!!'�(���!)* " !!* ��&���+������������,-����������������.#/01��21/��3%�/��(/40��.(��(1�����0�� "*� ""��������%����#��#����&' "!!'�5������2�����+����������#�������2�����+�������������#0/#�-��56�2078*!!'8**) !�#271�0��#0&9"*8*!!'��/#�3#�6�#72��#��9�!!2��+�������%�� ���:��0����+���;���+��� �<����� ������+%�-����<�������������+��$�����1����4�����+0��=�%�����7�� %�:��%�������>����-�0�:1����&99!!!*������+!99&"!99!"??�������������4�����+@& 9�������=�04/1��7���%���0-�&*!9 !9�3��������+!9*!&"'A)'!!<"'A))!!�������:4�����+"��@���������������-�������@�B �#���������:**=!9=�(���������+!?**&* "="" �* "="""�* "=""?�

��� � @24&.2

Central Induction Programfor Management Trainees

of SAIL 2021 batch was orga-nized at Human ResourceDevelopment Center of BSL.Director-in-charge and addi-tional charge of BSL, RourkelaSteel Plant Amarendu Prakash,Executive Director(HRD/MTI) K. Raman, ED(Projects) R. Kushwaha, ED(Materials Management) VKPandey, ED (works) AtanuBhowmik, ED (SRU) R Sehgal,

ED (Personnel andAdministration) SameerSwarup, ED (CollieryDivision) BK Tiwari, ChiefGeneral Managers and othersenior officers and newlyselected Management Traineeswere present.

Also during the program,SAIL Chairman Soma Mandal,Director (Technical), Project &Raw Material Harinand Rai,Director (Finance) SAIL AmitSen, DIC (Bhilai Steel Plant) ADas Gupta, CVO (SAIL) VPandey, CEO (ISP) AV

Kamalakar along with othersenior officers of Bhilai SteelPlant, Durgapur Steel Plant,

ISP, MTI Ranchi and newlyselected Management Traineeswere connected online.

SAIL Chairman SomaMandal in her remarks con-gratulated the Management

Trainees on being selected forSAIL after a tough competi-tion and welcomed them intothe SAIL family. Discussingthe various dimensions ofSAIL, Mandal exuded confi-dence that this team ofManagement Trainees wouldplay a vital role in taking thecompany to even greaterheights.

7The Directors of SAILand other senior officers alsocongratulated the trainees forjoining SAIL and called uponthem to contribute whole-heartedly for the progress ofSAIL. DIC Amarendu Prakashalso welcomed the

Management Trainees to theSAIL family and said that theywould get better opportunitiesto grow and learn in this orga-nization.

The inaugural session ofthe induction program wasconducted on-line mode bythe DGM (MTI) Ranchi D.Hembram and in the end thevote of thanks was given by theCGM (MTI) Ranchi P. Sao. Itis noteworthy that in the 2021batch, 225 ManagementTrainees (Technical) have con-tributed in the entire SAIL.The Central Induction pro-gram will conclude on August12.

���������� ���������������������������������������������

����� 3&*1860-?.

After a brief lull, vaccinationin various urban and rural

centres of East Singhbhum dis-trict have started as a lot of4000 Covaxin shots havereached here in the city.Sources in the health depart-ment said that several centresin both urban and rural areashad to be closed down due toshort supply of vaccine doses.However, it has resumed withfresh supply.

A health official informedthat the beneficiaries are beingvaccinated by ensuring com-pliance of all safety standardsand Covid -19 protocol at thevaccination site. Vaccination ofbeneficiaries is being done ona first come first serve basis atWalk in Center. This will notonly keep us safe but our rela-tives and the whole society willbe safe from this pandemic.

Centres like RabindraBhawan in Sakchi and

Rajendra Vidyalaya School pro-vide vaccine doses throughonline slot booking while twoother centres were meant forthe age group above 45 years.

As many as 15 centres invarious rural blocks of EastSinghbhum provided the vac-cine doses for 18 plus whiletwo centres were earmarked forvaccination to those 45 yearsand above. Two rural centresalso offered vaccinationthrough the walk -in mode.

District surveillance officerSahir Pal said that the vacci-nation drive is expected tocontinue. " We are expectingmore doses of both the vaccinesfrom Ranchi today," he said.

Jamshedpur has seen asharp decline in their totalcases in the past nine weeks.East Singhbhum districtadministration has conducted470257 tests per million in thedistrict.

The recovery rate in

Jamshedpur is 97.92% while themortality rate is 2.04 %.

East Singhbhum deputycommissioner Suraj Kumarhad earlier directed officials tocarry out large scale testing,treatment and surveillance in

order to bring down activecases and new infections.Further instructions have beenissued to individual districtofficials in a series of meetingsto prepare for a possible thirdwave of infections

������������������� �� ������,-���� ���� �

.���'�����1���� �� ���������1�� ������ ���������� 3&*1860-?.

If everything goes as plannedthe high efficacy Sputnik V

vaccine will be available in thecity. The Indian Red CrossSociety, East Singhbhum hasplaced orders for procuring thevaccine. They are expected tobe available to the peoplearound mid-August.

Senior officials of theIndian Red Cross Society saidthat they have made advancepayment for procuring thevaccine doses. “ We have beentrying to procure the vaccine,which is in huge demand. Wehave already made an advance

payment for getting the vac-cine.

The vaccine will be givenon a no-profit, no-loss mode.It will be a paid service. Onedose of Sputnik V vaccine willcost around Rs 1,600, ” said theofficial of East Singhbhum unitof Indian Red Cross Society. Hesaid the consignment of thevaccine is expected to arrive inthe next one week fromMumbai. Tata Main Hospitalmanagement had also takeninitiative in fetching theRussian-made vaccines. Talkswere on for the Sputnik vac-cines and the process of pro-curement of the vaccine.

����� .&#'8��

Director (Pers), CCL, PVKRMallikarjuna Rao, visited

the smart classroom, situatedon the premises ofGandhinagar Colony, beforeresuming classes for 12th stan-dard. Online classes continuedduring the Covid-19 pandem-ic and offline classes are sched-uled to start shortly. CCL KeLal and Laadli is a pioneeringCSR initiative of CCL, theJharkhand-based subsidiary ofCoal India in the education sec-tor.

Under this scheme themeritorious students belongingto the downtrodden sections ofsociety selected through astatewide test get free coachingfor IIT, lodging, schooling andboarding facilities. Ex-IITalumni, who are regularemployees of the companyimpart education to them.Since its establishment, thescheme has achieved stupen-dous success and many stu-

dents of the previous batchesare studying in the premierengineering colleges of thecountry, including IITs, NITs.Many Students are also work-ing with leading corporate sec-tor companies.

Rao, who is Director (Pers),BCCL and has been givenadditional charge of CCL, alsovisited the hostel for studentsof CCL Ke Lal and Laadlischeme and inspected the facil-ities available. He instructed theauthorities to augment the

facilities available in the hostelso that students do not face anydifficulty during studies. ShriRao interacted with the facul-ties and congratulated them fortheir sincere efforts and thesuccess of the students.

Prior to it, Director,CCL/BCCL met Baban Rawat,Vice President, NationalCommission for cleanlinessworkers, which is acting as aNon-Statutory body of theMinistry of Social Justice andEmpowerment.

���������.%�� /0��� �� � ��-�������������� ������� ����

�� ����')����������������� �������� ��� ! "

�������������� .&#'8�

The Ranchi MunicipalCorporation’s (RMC) plan

to demolish Capital’s oldesthealth hub Sewa Sadan onalleged charges of violatingbuilding bylaws has heated upwith State BJP unit presidentcum rajya Sabha MP DeepakPrakash , Ranchi MP SanjaySeth and RMC Deputy MayorSanjeev Vijayvargiya jumpingin defence of hospital. Seth, theBJP parliamentarian, termedthe Civic body’s decision todemolish the health hub as‘Tughlaqi’ farman.

Seth said that the SewaSadan at Upper Bazar is ren-dering medical service to peo-ple of Capital before the exis-tence of Ranchi MunicipalCorporation. He said that theSewa Sadan is providing serviceto people especially those frommiddle and lower incomegroups at an affordable rate. He

said, “In such a situation whenthe hospital is catering to theneeds of poor and middle classsociety, the Government’s deci-sion to demolish the hospital isagainst people’s sentiments.”The Ranchi MP also attackedthe State government decisionto demolish several houses andshops at Upper Bazar area, thebiggest trade hub of the Capital.

He said, “These shops andhouses existed for decades.These houses and shops haveelectricity bills and corporationfees receipts. Where were thesecorporation officials and staffwhen these buildings werecoming up?” The Ranchi MPdemanded action against suchofficials and staff of RMC forgiving permission to construct

such buildings. BJP state president Deepak

Prakash too said that the Stategovernment can regularize suchbuildings, which does not ful-fill the criteria of RMC ratherthan demolishing hospitalswhich caters to the needs ofpoor people. He said that thestaff and officials of RMCshould act as per corporation

law, but in this case it appearsthat RMC employees are work-ing against people's sentimentson the direction of the StateGovernment.

Echoing the views ofRanchi MP, RMC deputyMayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiyasaid that Sewa Sadan is existingsince 1960 when there was noagency to issue maps. He said,“As per my information build-ing bylaws does not complywith buildings which were con-structed before 1974 and insuch a situation the decision todemolish Sewa Sadan is againstthe corporation law.”

Even the management ofSewa Sadan has opposed RMC’splan to demolish the hospital.The Sewa Sadan on Wednesdayorganized a press conferencewhere its president ArunChauchariya opposed RMC’splan to demolish the hospital.He said, “The hospital caters tothe needs of poor people. Withthe demolition of a 200 beddedhospital, around 400 staff and100 doctors will be financiallyaffected.”

Meanwhile, RMC com-

missioner Mukesh Kumartoday said that concession can-not be given to any illegal con-struction under JharkhandMunicipal Act and BuildingBylaws. The MunicipalCorporation will ensure that theAct is fully complied with. TheMunicipal Commissioner saidthat a campaign to make thecity encroachment free is beingcarried out in collaborationwith the district administration.He said that in this campaign,the Municipal Corporation isnot fixing any specific building,but it is ensuring that the pro-visions mentioned in theJharkhand Building Bylaws areproperly complied with.

It is the responsibility of theMunicipal Corporation that noillegal construction takes placein the city. He said that as perthe order there is a plan todemolish 200 illegally con-structed buildings within 15days, the landlord shouldremove the illegal construction,otherwise the corporation willremove the illegal constructionafter 15 days and its cost will berecovered from the landlord.

��� � .&#'8�C

Rajendra Institute ofMedical Sciences

(RIMS) in Ranchi will soonbecome the firstGovernment-run hospital inJharkhand to offerExtracorporeal MembraneOxygenation (ECMO) facility tocritically-ill patients with severe-ly damaged lungs, health offi-cials said on Wednesday.

Health Minister BannaGupta recently directed theRIMS administration to procureat least two ECMO machines,used for artificial breathing, inorder to provide the facility ofthis life support system topatients suffering from Covid-induced lung fibrosis, whichmay lead to the failure of lungsif not treated on time. “NoGovernment hospital in ourstate has ECMO support forpatients at present. I have givenmy nod for procurement of twoECMO machines that will helpin treatment of patients atRIMS,” said Gupta.

Through ECMO, blood ispumped outside of a patient’sbody to a heart-lung machinethat removes carbon dioxideand sends oxygen-filled bloodback to tissues in the body.When a patient with damagedlungs is on ECMO support, thegas exchange happens outsidethe body through the machineinstead of the lungs. Once theblood is oxygenated and carbondioxide is removed, it is givenback to the heart, from where itcirculates to other parts of thebody.

In Ranchi, only BhagwanMahavir Medica SuperspecialtyHospital has three ECMOmachines. Many other private

hospitals in the state have alsostarted procuring the machineafter several deaths due to lungdamage reported in the stateand other parts of India.

ECMO was used by sever-al private and some governmenthospitals across the country tosave lives of Covid patientsduring the first and the secondwaves of Covid-19, say doctors.Education Minister JagarnathMahto, who is back inJharkhand after his lung trans-plant at MGM Chennai, wasalso kept on ECMO support forseveral days in the Tamil Naducapital. Many patients sufferingfrom lung fibrosis recover afterbeing kept on ECMO for a cou-ple of weeks, say doctors.Keeping patients on this life-support system also buys timefor finding a lung donor if thepatient does not respond toECMO and needs a transplant.

With RIMS getting thefacility of ECMO, many patientssuffering from severe Covid-induced respiratory ailmentswill not have to move to biggercities for treatment, at leastduring the initial phase, doctorsfrom the State-run hospitalsaid. Even during the secondwave of the pandemic, severalpatients had to move toHyderabad, Chennai orMumbai because very few hos-pitals in the state had this facil-ity, doctors involved in thefight against Covid-19 said.

����� .&#'8�

Political parties in Jharkhandhave joined the chorus for

caste based census inJharkhand as well as anincrease of reservation forOther Backward Castes(OBCs) in jobs and educationalcourses.

The Bihar unit of the JD(U) that has exerted pressureon Prime Minister NarendraModi for caste based censustried to polarize public andpolitical opinion for thisdemand in Jharkhand as well.

Sharavan Kumar, the statecoordinator of JD (U) inJharkhand addressed a pressconference on Thursday andsaid the central governmentmust consider this demand.

The JD (U) leader appealedto political parties to join handstogether and pass a resolutionin the Jharkhand assembly topressurize the centre to con-duct the caste based survey.

On Tuesday, the Ajsu partychief and MLA Sudesh Mahtohad shot a letter to the Primeminister to conduct a caste-based census in 2021. Heargued that the census is nec-

essary to know the currentsocial condition of differentcaste which will ultimately helpthe government to chalk-outprogrammes for the overalluplift of society. Notably, theAjsu is the part of the NDA ledalliance.

While the JMM, the bigbrother of the ruling UPAalliance in Jharkhand has yet toofficially make any statementbut the Congress which is partof the JMM led alliance hasnow started speaking on thisissue. The Congress hasdemanded chief ministerHemant Soren to conduct anindependent caste census inJharkhand as the central gov-ernment has refused the same.

The RJD which is part ofthe UPA alliance too has sup-ported the caste based census.The party has advised theSoren government to table a billregarding caste census beforethe house during the monsoonsession of the assembly.Former MLA RadhakrishnaKishore said that census isrequired since due to absenceof the correct data the govern-ment fails to formulate any planfor the development of OBC.

����� .&#'8�

Coalition partner in ChiefMinister, Hemant Soren

led the State GovernmentJharkhand Pradesh CongressCommittee (JPCC) onWednesday announced thatwithin a month the StateGovernment is going to imple-ment the Sari-Dhoti-Lungischeme to provide clothes topoor for Rs 10.

JPCC Chief cum the StateFinance Minister DrRameshwar Oraon is on a two-day visit to Simdega district onWednesday and during themeeting Oraon announced theSari,Dhoti, Lungi scheme to beimplemented soon.

A meeting was heldregarding the membershipdrive of the Simdega DistrictCongress Committee. In themeeting, Oraon said that thework of development in thereal sense is being done by theCongress coalition govern-ment in the State. “Eventhough it is claimed by the BJPof Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas,but it has become a mere slo-gan, the Congress coalitiongovernment is doing the workof real development such asbicycle and book will be pro-vided to every school goingchild in the State,” he added.

The JPCC Chief said thatinvestment will be attracted inJharkhand only when basicfacilities are available here,there is proper arrangement of

roads, electricity and water.He said that during the BJPregime, Rs 900 crore wasspent only in organizing thefair, it could not lead to devel-opment of the people. For allround development, it is nec-essary for the people standingin the last row of the societyto get the benefits ofGovernment schemes, he said.

“We are also taking Rs 500crore loan from NABARD togive support price to the farm-ers. So that it can providefood, clothes and housing tothe people of Jharkhand,” saidOraon.

Referring to the member-ship drive being run by theparty, Oraon said that sincethe time of Mahatma Gandhi,there has been a tradition ofbecoming a member ofCongress by taking donations.Bapu used to collect donationsby laying sheets.

“At that time there wasalso a fear of British rule,despite this, people used tobecome members of theCongress with great enthusi-asm.

Even today this traditioncontinues. To become a mem-ber of the Congress party, a

contribution amount of fiverupees is required,” he added.

Speaking on the occasionSimdega MLA Bhushan Badasaid that Simdega district ismainly dependent on agricul-ture. “The people here will bebenefited a lot due to the con-struction of cold storage in thearea. The people of the area goout to study, but in the field ofhockey, this land has givenmany Olympic playersCountry, even today the play-ers of Simdega are showingtheir talent in Tokyo,” headded.

����� .&#'8�

In an attempt to clear hurdlesin the way of formation of

20-Point committees onWednesday, Jharkhand MuktiMorcha (JMM)’s senior leadersheld a meeting and chalked outa formula. The District 20-Sutricommittees will be dividedamong alliance partners in theratio of 13:10 and 1.

The meeting was heldunder the leadership of seniorJMM Leader, Stephen Marandiin presence of TransportMinister Champai Soren,Sports Minister, Hafizul Hasan,MLA Sudivya Kumar Sonu,Jiga Horo, Mathura PrasadMahato and General SecretaryVinod Pandey were present inthe meeting.

Pandey informed that ithas been decided that in 13 dis-tricts, the committees of thedistricts will come in theaccount of JMM, 10 in theaccount of Congress and onedistrict committee will come inthe account of RJD. A finaldecision is yet to be taken onthis. It has also been suggestedthat in the districts where the

Ministers belonging to theparty are in-charge, the fellowparty should be given the postof vice-president. Similarly,there has been a discussion ongiving the responsibility of theblock president to the leader-worker of the assembly con-stituency where the coalitionparties have won in the blocks,”he added.

“There are hurdles wherethe coalition parties have beenin second place. The formulais being worked out that thesaid party should be given apost there. RJD has stakedclaim on seven seats and 29blocks. RJD has pressed forthis, although JMM says thatthe participation of all partieswill be decided according tothe share. There will be noproblem in this. After the for-mula is decided, senior lead-ers of JMM, Congress and RJDwill announce it,” said Pandey.

After the meeting whiletalking to media persons,Senior JMM Leader andTransport Minister ChampaiSoren said that JMM hasdecided a formula, which willbe placed before the party

Supremo Shibu Soren andChief Minister Hemant Soren.He said that soon a meetingwill be held with all the par-ties of the Grand Alliance anda 20-Sutri committee will beformed. He said that this com-mittee would be formed withthe consent of all the parties.

The party GeneralSecretary said that on theoccasion of the completion ofone year of the HemantGovernment, it was decidedthat the posts of 20-Sutri com-mittees would be dividedamong the constituent partiesof the ruling coalition. Thisprocess was to be completed inJanuary, but the second waveof Corona affected it, headded.

“The Block Committeewill be formed of nine people.It will consist of a chairman, avice-chairman and sevenmembers. There are more thantwo hundred and fifty blocksin Jharkhand. The effort of theGrand Alliance is to form a 20-point committee in the firstphase and make space forabout two and a half thousandworkers,” said Pandey.

����� .&#'8�

Alarge number of studentswho scored less marks in

CBSE class X and JharkhandAcademic Council (JAC) XIIresults which were declaredrecently are on protest. OnWednesday morning a largenumber of parents along withtheir wards gathered at CrownPublic School, Harmu protest-ing against several studentsgetting less marks in CBSEexamination.

The parents allege thatmany students who were top-per in Class IX too havereceived 50 to 60 per centmarks. The parents allege thatthe school principal had askedstudents to clear all pendingdues including fees and thosestudents who had cleared allthe pending dues during lock-down period have onlyreceived good marks.

The students also allegethat those students who havenot cleared their fees havereceived less marks, with many

of them even failing in exam-ination. However, the schoolprincipal refused to talk toparents stating that studentshave been given marks in theexamination based on internalassessment. The parentsbecame furious when the prin-cipal refused to meet them.Later a large number of policepersonnel were deployed out-side the school premises. Dueto students' protest the trafficon busy Birsa Rajpath (Harmuroad) came to a standstill. Thetraffic was normalized onlyafter police intervention.

While on one hand CBSEstudents are protesting againstschool administration, inter-mediate students staged aprotest outside State Educationminister Jagarnath Mahto. Thestudents who failed in Class XIIexamination of JharkhandAcademic Council or got fewermarks are protesting.

According to students,results were prepared on thebasis of class 11th results andthey were declared failed or

given fewer marks. A delega-tion of students' even met theminister and gave their mem-orandum regarding this.

Akhil Bhartiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP) student'sleader Ravi Kumar said, "Theresults declared by JharkhandAcademic Council should bere-evaluated. The students whostudy got fewer marks in com-parison to those who study lessbased on the previous records.So this is not correct."

The students' outrage hascome at the time when JACresults are much better thanprevious years. 86.89% stu-dents have been successful inintermediate Science, 90.33% inCommerce and 90.71% in Arts.

A Grievance Cell has beenconstituted by JAC to solve theproblems of the result. Thosecandidates who are not satisfiedwith their result can registertheir complaint on grivance-cell2021Jacexam2021 till 6thAugust. Students, teachers, par-ents, anyone can put theircomplaint here.

*�+��,,-��.������������������������ ����������������������-������1���� ��+���������� ������ ��&18&��� � � �,���� �������������������� ��;D������������� ���������������$�8 ������� ��������������������� ���� ��� � ������������������������� ����������� ������������������������������������ ����������� ��������������������������������� ������� ���������� �$���� ������������ � �������'������������������������������������ ��������� � ��������� ����� ������ �� �������������� ��� �������� ����������������������� ���� ��� ������� ������� ����������������������������������������� $�� ��������� ���� ������������� �������$����� � �����%�� ���� ����������� ����.��($;<�7��$�&%�3�������� �������� ���������� ����� ����.��D<�<<<����� ������%�� $

��2���3����������������������������������/"���>��� ������ ����������� �������������� ��� �����������<E<;D:<E<;F.���1���������.����1������ �������������� ����� ����.���1���������� ��@������0������3���������������������� �� ����<($(($;<;($�� ��� ���������� ������ ��������������� ������$0������ ���%���������� ����������� ��������������������� �� �������� ���� ���������'� ��()$������#�$�<E<;F�1����������G�.���1������ ���������������� ������� ����>����� ����;)$(<$;<;(������� ���� ���������� ����������$�1�������� �����������<E<;D�.����1����������������� ���������������� ������� ����*����� ���<($(($;<;($

1�������������� ��������������"������������# �����'����������6��� �����.������������������+#'6.�,���������#�16�;<;<;(�1�&/6���.61?7�1����&���� �B����(A� ���� ������� ����������������������� ����������H������������ ��������� �������� � �������� ���$�������� ���� ��� ������ ����� ����1 ������(������� ���� ��� �����1 ������B�� ������� �����1 �����I������� ���� ��� �����1 ������D�� ����� �����1 ������F�� ���� �����1 ������E�� ����� �1 ������������������������ ���1 �����)$�!� ���������� �����������������"�����0��.��1������-���������0-1.��������������� ������� ������������� ����������������� ���� �$

�2�����������������������������������������1 ���� �����@17������������� ����� ���(<<J������������ ���'@16(< ������� �������� �������;<;($�& � �����F(;�� ���� ������� ����� �@�������� �1������1��������1��������� ��������������������������@�������� ��������1�� ��(;�@14�B0����@1@�)@����������� ��(< ������� ���������������� ��� ���� ����������������������������������������������I$;B������� ���������� ��)D$EE������� ���� ������ ��������$�&�����4�������@�11)6�����������)I$F������� ��1����*��������@��((�0�����������)B$;������ ����1�����4��������@�111)6�����������AA$A�����$�&��� ������������� ���6��� ����0��� ��� ����@�����1 ����-�� ��������� ���������� �� ������ ���� ���������������������$

�� ������������������2�����������������������6���������1�� ����%������������� ����� ��8������������������������� ��������� ������ �������� ���������� ������0����1 ���$�#������ ����� ������������ ��$��8��� ���������������� ���������������$�� ���������� � � ��� ��������� ������8����������� �� ������������������� �������� ���$�1���������������������� �������� ���������� ���� $�2������ ��� ������� �����0�������/�����1 ������������������������ �� ������������������ ������� ����������� ���������� ����� ��0����������/����� ���� ��� ����������$

"-������������������������,����������&��������������������� �������������� �������������������� ���� � �� ����������� ����4������� ����� ���� ����/������@���������������������������� $�-������������������(D���������������� ��������� ����� ����%���������������� ������������������������ ������� �����������������������������(;��K��������� ������� �� ��������������������%�������� ����������� � ���������� $�1�������� ���1����1��������@�������������� ����������� �� �������������������������� ������ ��� ����(<����� �������� ���� ��������� ���$�1������ ������������� ������������������ ������������� ������ $�

��� �������� ���������������6� �'�� ���.�����/������*�����&�����1������������ ������ ��� ��/� ���������@����-����'���������- �������������$����/������*������������� ���/� ��������� �������������������%�� ����� �����������������@����1 ����� ����������$

������������ �����������������������������������������-/����������������� ������"���/! ���"������

%�������"����� ��������� ���� ������

���� ����� 6��������������'����������"�������������7�8*&&

!+10�23 � ����� "���� �������"������ �

������������������� ����� �����������!"#!�#!����� 4�5+�����������

1 5#�������� � ���

���� �'0����������������� �������� ��� ! "

����� #6��0678�

Alarmed that upcomingstring of festivals might not

turn into Covid super spread-er events, the Union HealthMinistry on Wednesdayadvised States to impose ade-quate local curbs to checkspread of infection.

The advice comes in thebackdrop of rising cases onWednesday after usual week-end lull.

India’s coronavirus caseshave again crossed the 40,000-mark with 42,625 fresh infec-tions in the last 24 hours anddeaths shooting past the 500-mark in a single day in the last24 hours.

For the past seven daysexcept on Monday, India hasbeen reporting more than40,000 cases every day, a causeof concern for the Governmentfearing third Covid wave any-time soon.

However, more worrying isthe fact that the number of peo-ple getting cured of the viralinfection was lower than thenumber of new cases, as indi-

cated by the Wednesday dataavailable from the UnionHealth Ministry.

Another key Covid num-ber – the active cases – also sawa spike of more than 5,000cases. The morning updateprovided by the Union HealthMinistry stated that, at present,India has 4,10,353 active cases.The government data saidIndia witnessed 36,668 recov-eries in the last 24 hours.

A look at the cumulativenumbers showed that Keralawitnessed the sharpest surge inthe last couple of weeks. Therewas a nearly 30 per centincrease in weekly numberseven as almost 50 per cent ofthe country’s total daily newCovid cases are registered inthe Southern State.

In other Southern statessuch as Karnataka and TamilNadu, Covid numbers haveseen a slight uptick. However,India’s recovery rate current-ly stands at 97.37 per cent.The weekly positivity rateremains below 5 per cent andis currently at 2.36 per cent.

The daily positivity rate con-tinues to remain below 5 percent for 55 continuous daysand currently stands at 2.31per cent

Union Health secretaryRajesh Bhushan .in a letter tothe concerned officials fromthe States pointed out aboutvarious fest ivals l ikeMuharram, Janmashtami,Ganesh Chaturthi and a few

others slated ahead and saidmeasures should be ensuredto curb crowds and that peo-ple strictly follow Covidappropriate norms.

The Health Ministry datasays that a total of 62,53,741vaccine doses were adminis-tered in the last 24 hrs. Withthis, a total of 48,52,86,570vaccine doses has beenadministered in India so far.

����������������� �����!��� ������������

������� � ��������� ,*-6����

����� #6��0678�

The National Commissionfor Protection of Child

Rights (NCPCR) onWednesday issued a notice toTwitter India, calling foraction against Congressleader Rahul Gandhi’s handlefor violating the POCSO Actby posting pictures of theparents of a 9-year-old girlwho was allegedly raped andmurdered in southwestDelhi’s Nangal.

For its part, the BJPappealed to the NCPCR totake strict action againstRahul under the POCSO Actand issuance of notice to himfor revealing the minor andher family’s identity.

Rahul, who visited theparents of the minor Dalitgirl, posted a photo thatshowed him comforting thegirl’s parents. He wrote: “Theparents’ tears ask for only onething: their daughter, thecountry’s daughter, deservesjustice. And I stand withthem in this fight.”

“Revealing the identity ofthe girl by tweeting a photo ofher parents (is) in violation ofthe POCSO (Protection ofChildren from SexualOffences) Act... The NCPCR,taking cognisance of this, hasasked Twitter India to issue anotice to Rahul Gandhi andremove the post,” the NCPCR,the child rights body, tweet-ed.

Later, a notice signed byNCPCR chairperson PriyankKanoongo stated that Rahul

Gandhi, a former president ofthe Congress party, violatedSection 74 of the JuvenileJustice Act, which prohibitsdisclosure of the identity ofchildren, and Section 23 ofthe Protection of Childrenagainst Sexual Offences Act,which lays down procedurefor the media to report sexu-al offences against children.

In its notice addressed toTwitter India’s ResidentGrievance Off icer, theNCPCR said it was acting ona complaint that the photo“reveals the identity of thegirl” by showing her parents.

The NCPCR remindedTwitter India that under theJuvenile Justice Act and thePOCSO Act it is illegal to dis-close the identity of a minorvia any form of media, or pub-lish any information or pho-tograph that may, in any way,reveal his/her identity.

Reacting to Rahul’s post,BJP spokesperson SambitPatra said, “His (RahulGandhi) tweet violates sec 23of POCSO Act & sec 74 ofJuvenile Justice Care &Protection of Children Actthat prohibits revealing theminor’s identity.”

“He revealed identity ofchild’s family and is usingthe issue for his political agen-da. I appeal to the NCPCR totake strict action under thePOCSO Act and a notice mustbe issued to him. No one is aVIP. Rahul Gandhi must beanswerable to this,” Patra said.

)��������������������������!�������������*%&�%�)��

����� #6��0678�

The Ministry of Electronicsand Information

Technology (IT) toldParliament on Wednesdaythat Twitter has not shared itsdetails of its policy pertainingto labelling of certain mes-sages as ‘Manipulated Media’.

In a written reply to theLok Sabha, Union Minister ofState for Electronics andInformation Technology (IT),Rajeev Chandrasekhar said asper Twitter, the labelling ofcertain messages as‘Manipulated Media’ has beendone as per their “Syntheticand Manipulated MediaPolicy”. “However, no specif-ic details of how this policybecame applicable have beenshared. Government has been

engaged with Twitter on thisissue,” he said.

The minister said thatthe issue of labelling of usertweets as manipulated mediadoes not come under thepurview of above said Rules.“ Further, on the issue ofmanipulated media, Meityhas pointed out to Twitter thatthey are violating the princi-ple of natural justice andurged Twitter to be transpar-ent and equitable in applyingthe criteria,” he said.

“On May 26, Twitter wasnon-compliant of these Rulesbecause it did not appoint keyfunctionaries including ChiefCompliance Officer, NodalContact Person and theResident Grievance Officer,”the minister said.

-"��������������������� ��!����������!� ������������"����������� ������������7�9���

����� #6��0678�

Playschools in governmentschools with trained teach-

ers, focus on child safety andvocational and skill-basedtraining from Class 6-12 aresome of the key features thatthe Centre has laid emphasis onkeeping in mind the post-Covid education scenario as itapproved the continuation ofthe Samagra Shiksha Scheme(SSS) for school education tillMarch 31, 2026.

The SSS is an integratedscheme for school education. Ittreats school education as acontinuum and is in line withthe Sustainable DevelopmentGoal for Education.

The revamped schemefavours formalisation ofplayschools and anganwadi inthe school education system.The Government schools too

will have playschools and theteachers will be trained accord-ingly, Union EducationMinister Dharmendra Pradhansaid after the Cabinet noddedthe SSS.

As per the scheme, empha-sis will be placed on vocation-al learning. Classes 6-8 willreceive its exposure while focuson skills will be placed for stu-dents of classes 9-12. Furtherdiscussions are being held toformalise coding, augmentedand virtual reality, etc. alongwith more modern skills inschools.

For the first time, theCentre has also added childsafety within the SSS, Pradhansaid, adding States will be givenaid to make a commission forprotection of child rights.

�������������� #6��0678�

Covid-19 pandemic-inducedlifestyle changes such as sig-

nificant decrease in outdoortime and increase in screentime is taking a toll on thehealth of the eyes of school-children. It is causing myopia,also known as near-sightednessor short-sightedness, amongchildren, researchers have cau-tioned.

Myopia is a condition inwhich the shape of the eyechanges, causing light rays tobend (refract) incorrectly,focusing images in front of,instead of on the surface of, theretina.

Though there has been arise in cases of Myopia for thepast few decades, during Covid-19 crisis the trend has acceler-ated. Globally, it’s projected thatby 2050 half of the world’s pop-ulation will be myopic.

In their study publishedonline in the British Journal ofOphthalmology, the researchershave warned eye care profes-sionals, and also policy makers,educators and parents, that col-lective efforts are needed to pre-

vent the potential public healthcrisis among kids as a result ofCovid-19.

Though the study was con-ducted on school students inHong Kong, the results areapplicable on almost all schoolkids world over, including Indiawhere schools and colleges havebeen shut down for the past oneyear, in a bid to control themarch of coronavirus. Childrenhave been particularly badlyaffected, with outdoor activitiesrestricted or banned and social-ising severely limited.

Like Hong Kong, Indiatoo has among the world’smost densely populated cities,with most residents living inhigh-rises and small apart-ments with little outdoor space.

Some 709 of the childrenwere recruited to the study atthe start of the pandemic(December 2019 to January2020) and were monitored foraround 8 months; 1084 chil-dren had entered the studybefore the start of the pan-demic and had been moni-tored for around 3 years.

The children’s visual acu-ity--the ability to see clearly--was measured and they filled

in questionnaires on theirlifestyle, including how muchtime they spent outdoors andon close work, at study entryand during subsequent clinicvisits.

Around 1 in 5 (19.5 percent) of the children in theCovid-19 group developedshort-sightedness betweenJanuary and August 2020,compared with around 1 in 3(37 per cent) of those in thepre-Covid-19 group over aperiod of three years.

And after factoring in age,gender, length of monitoringperiod, parental short-sight-edness, and how much timewas spent outdoors and onclose work, the numbers ofnew cases of short-sightednesswere higher among children inthe Covid-19 group.

The estimated 1-year inci-dence of short-sightedness was28 per cent, 27 per cent, and 26per cent, respectively, for 6, 7and 8 year olds in the Covid-19 group, compared with 17per cent, 16 per cent, and 15per cent, respectively, for 6, 7,and 8 year olds in the pre-Covid-19 group, as per thestudy.

&���������� ���������!������������������������������������!�����������������

����� #6��0678�

Being the ruling party, theBJP continued to bag the

lion’s share of donations in2019-20. It received over�785.77 crore in donationsabove �20,000 from 5576donations including elec-toral trusts, individuals andcorporate. The oppositionCongress was far behindwith �139.016 crore from350 donations. The amount

received by the BJP is fivetimes more than whatCongress got during thesame period and more thanthree times the aggregate of�228.035 crore declared bythe INC, NCP, CPI, CPMand AITC.

Interestingly, BJPdeclared a donation of Rs4.80 lakhs from AmravatiMunicipal Corporation.No details of address, bankname, PAN etc. have been

provided by the partyagainst this donation, theAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR), a non-government organizationthat released the data, said.

“A casual search on theinternet shows that theaforesaid donor is aGovernment ofMaharashtra local body. Itraises questions on thelegality of the contributionmade by a municipal cor-

poration which is a gov-erning body (whose Mayorand deputy Mayor are fromBJP) to a political party,” theADR said. The report, pre-pared by the ADR focuseson donations received bythe national political par-ties, above Rs 20,000, dur-ing the financial year 2019-20, as submitted by theparties to the ElectionCommission of India(ECI).

!2%�����������78)977������������ �����:*&'6:*

��������������������������� �� !������('(12������3��� ����� #6��0678�

The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved con-

tinuation of 1,023 fast trackspecial courts, including 389exclusive POCSO courts, as acentrally sponsored schemefor another two years.

Briefing the media, UnionMinister Anurag Thakur saidout of 31 States and UnionTerritories, 28 have startedthe scheme. West Bengal is oneof the States which has notstarted the scheme, he point-ed out, adding “We are hope-ful they will start it soon.”

The scheme would con-tinue from April 1, 2021 toMarch 31, 2023 with an outlayof �1572.86 crore — �971.70crore as central share and�601.16 crore as State share, anofficial statement said.

The central share is to befunded from ‘Nirbhaya’ Fund.The scheme was launched onOctober 2, 2019.

Incidents of rape of minorgirls below the age of twelveyears and women below theage of sixteen years have shak-en the conscience of the entirenation.

&�'������ ������������������!�41$#:!��������������

����� #6��0678�

The Indian Railways has“dropped” its ambitious

project to provide internet con-nection in trains because it wasfound not to be cost-effective.

In a written reply to aquestion in the Lok Sabha,Railway Minister AshwiniVaishnaw said as a pilot project,Wi-Fi-based internet facilitywas provided in the HowrahRajdhani Express train throughsatellite communication tech-nology.

“This technology was cap-ital intensive with recurringcosts in the form of bandwidthcharges and thus, was not costeffective. Also, the internetbandwidth availability to pas-sengers was inadequate. Hence,the project was dropped. Atpresent, suitable cost effectivetechnology for provision ofWi-Fi based internet services intrains is not available,” he said.

Former railway ministerPiyush Goyal had said in 2019that the Centre is planning toprovide WiFi services in trainsin the next four to four-and-a-half years.

-�������"�� ��� ���"�� � ����� �

����� #6��0678�

Signifying strong defenceand strategic ties between

the two countries, IAF ChiefR K S Bhadauria onWednesday reviewed theentire range of bilateral rela-tions with his Israeli coun-terpart during his ongoingvisit to Tel Aviv.

The two countries haveforged close defence tiessince diplomatic relationswere established in the early1990s. Israel has nowemerged as one of the topweapon and technologyprovider to India.

Giving details about theIAF chief visit, officials saidhe is in Israel to discuss

enhancement of bilateralexchanges between air forcesof the two countries.

“As strategic partners,India and Israel enjoy strong,multi-dimensional ties, animportant pillar of which isdefence cooperation and mil-itary level exchanges,” IAFsaid on Twitter.

Both sides will discussenhancement in the depthand scope of bilateral exchanges betweenthe two air forces, it men-tioned. “Air Chief Mshl RKSBhadauria #CAS arrived inIsrael for an official visit onAugust 3, on an invitationfrom Maj Gen AmikamNorkin, Cdr Israel Air Force,”it noted.

����� #6��0678�

In a major milestone,the sea trials of the

first indigenouslydesigned and built air-craft carrier INS Vikranton Wednesday com-menced. India has nowjoined the select groupof countries includingUS, Russia, UK andFrance having theexpertise to design andbuild the highly com-plex aircraft carriers.

Once it passes thesea trials, INS Vikrant islikely to be inductedinto the Navy by theend of next year. TheNavy on Wednesdaydescribed it as a “proudand historic day” andsaid India has joined aselect group of countrieshaving niche capabilityin this field of ship-building.

INS Vikrant is thelargest and most com-plex warship to be builtwithin the country. The40,000-tonne aircraftcarrier set off on itsmaiden sea trials, 50

years after its namesakeplayed a major role inthe 1971 war. It wasbuilt at a cost of morethan Rs 23, 000 crores bythe public sector CochinShipyard.

Once the extensivesea trials are over, theaircraft carrier will beput through the stringent aviation trialsbefore induction intoservice.

“It is a proud andhistoric day for India asthe reincarnated Vikrant(IAC) sails for her maid-en sea trials today in the50th year of her illustri-ous predecessor’s keyrole in the victory in the1971 war,” Indian Navys p o k e s p e r s o nCommander Vivek

Madhwal said.The aircraft carrier

is around 262 metreslong and 62 metres wide.In June, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singhreviewed the construc-tion of the aircraft car-rier that will be able toaccommodate up to 30fighter jets and heli-copters.

The warship willhave a fleet of Mig-29Kfighter jets and Ka-31helicopters.

There are 14 decksin all, including five inthe superstructure. Theship has over 2,300 com-partments, designed fora crew of around 1,700people, including spe-cialised cabins to accom-modate women officers.

����� #6��0678�

Lok Sabha proceedingswere adjourned five

times on Wednesday afterthe passage of two billswithout any debate, amidprotests by the oppositionover Pegasus snoopingallegations and otherissues. As soon as theHouse met again at 3.30pm, Rajendra Agrawal,who was chairing the pro-ceedings, took up theCoconut DevelopmentBoard (Amendment) Bill,2021, which was moved byAgriculture MinisterNarendra Singh

Tomar. However, theopposition members con-tinued their protest on thePegasus snooping row aswell other matters.

Amid the din, Tomarmoved the bill, saying theproposed legislation willbenefit coconut farmers indifferent states.

Soon thereafter, thebill was passed withoutdebate even as the oppo-sition objected to the hastyapproval to the bill.

The bill has alreadybeen approved by theRajya Sabha. As the oppo-sition uproar continued,Agrawal adjourned the

proceedings for the day. Earlier in the day, the

House had given its nod tothe Commission for AirQuality Management inNational Capital Region

and Adjoining Areas Bill,2021.

The Bill was moved byEnvironment MinisterBhupender Yadav for con-sideration and passage.

�����������������$������ ���������%&���&� ���������������'����

(�)�$����������

6�� ������������+������������������(��

����� #6��0678�

The CBI on Wednesday tookover the probe into the

alleged murder of AdditionalDistrict Judge, Dhanbad, UttamAnand from Jharkhand policeand despatched a 20-memberteam of officials of the SIT con-stituted to investigate the sen-sational case from the agencyheadquarters here to Dhandbad.A team of Central ForensicScience Laboratory (CFSL) willfollow the SIT soon. The agencyre-registered the case related tothe death of ADJ, Dhanbad,Uttam Anand on the request ofJharkhand Government andfurther notification from theCentre and took over the probeinto the sensitive case earlier reg-istered by the local police videFIR No.300/2021 at PoliceStation, Dhanbad.

The Dhanbad police hadregistered the case on July 28under Section 302 (murder)and 34 (common intention) ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC)against unknown auto driver.

'@�� ����� ��0�����%��������������

����� #6��0678�

Indicating that the numberof Covid-19 deaths could be

on the higher side than whathas been reported so far, asStates are still reconcilingmortalities, the Governmenton Wednesday clarified thatwhile some infections couldgo undetected, deaths couldnot be missed given the robustand statute-based death reg-istration system in India.

During the peak of thesecond wave, the health sys-tem across the country wasfocused on effective clinicalmanagement of cases requir-ing medical help due to whichcorrect reporting and record-ing of Covid deaths couldhave been delayed but it waslater reconciled by states andUTs, the Union HealthMinistry said in a statement

here.The reconciliation of

deaths is still being carried outallaying all speculations ofunder-reporting and under-counting of deaths due toCovid-19, it said.

States like Maharashtraand Bihar have already report-ed ‘backlog deaths’ pushingthe number of total Coviddeath toll in the country.Maharashtra mortality tallyrose by 29,920 fatalities inunder two months, from95,958 deaths on 28 May to1,25,878 by 11 July in which23,000 of the cases were“backlog” deaths — in that,they occurred much beforethe days they were reportedon.

Also the Union HealthMinistry has written all thedistricts to report every Coviddeath.

*��+������& ���������'���� ���������,

����� #6��0678�

The ED on Wednesday fileda prosecution complaint

(chargesheet under police par-lance) against a notorious inter-state criminal and also a mem-ber of a banned Naxal outfit,Madhav Das, wife Urmila Deviand his brother-in-lawYogendra Das, under moneylaundering charges.

In the prosecution com-plaint filed before the SpecialJudge (PMLA), Patna, theagency pleaded for awarding

punishment to the accused forcommitting offence of moneylaundering and confiscationof the attached assets worth Rs1.01 crore owned by MadhavDas and his family members.

Das has a criminal recordof several cases of bank robberyand dacoity in Bihar,Jharkhand, Odisha and WestBengal. The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of 24 FIRslodged in various police sta-tions of Bihar, Jharkhand,Odisha and West Bengal.

60���������������� ����� ����� ��

���� �'$����������������� �������� ��� ! "

����������2����� &7�/&.8

BSP national general secre-tary and MP Satish

Chandra Mishra has said thatBJP is creating an atmosphereof panic in the State. There isconstant oppression ofBrahmins and Dalits. ManyBrahmins have been murderedin the last four and a half years.This society is constantly beingtargeted. He was addressing anenlightened class seminar atHabib Garden, Maris RoadAligarh. He also targeted SPalong with BJP on the issues ofShri Ram temple donation,unemployment, crime, devel-opment. Satish Mishra hasbeen holding an enlightenedconference across the Statesince July 23, the first phase ofwhich has started fromAyodhya and the second fromBanke Bihari. Under the sec-ond phase, he came to Aligarhfrom Agra. From here he leftfor Bareilly.

Satish Mishra said that thepurpose of this seminar is toremind the enlightened societythat it should not be afraid, butshould compete. He said thatthe BSP is with Brahmins in thiscontest like it was in 2007. Thequestion asked, why has thecondition of Brahmins in UttarPradesh become worse today.First BJP harassed the people ofDalit society. There have beenmany incidents of burning, rap-ing daughters. In Hathras case,the body of the daughter was

not even given to the parents. He said that not only in

Uttar Pradesh, but whereverBJP is in power, the situation issame. After his governmentcame to power in UttarPradesh, the Brahmin com-munity is being targeted. Fiveyouths were burnt inPratapgarh, who were laterdeclared criminals.

Similar tales happened inRae Bareli, Bundelkhand,Jhansi. Encounters of manypeople were done like this,while the Supreme Court hascalled the encounter wrong. InBallia, criminals were savedopenly under the patronage ofthe MLA. A boy working inApple company was shot deadin Kanpur. A young Brahminboy was killed in Lucknow.There were three such cases inthe capital. In Kanpur, a reporthas been filed against dozens ofBrahmins in the guise of a per-son. Strong Brahmins are beingharassed. There are hundredsof tales to count. He narratedthe story of Khushi Dubey, asixteen-and-a-half-year-old girl

from Kanpur. National GeneralSecretary said that the thinkingof BJP is not different from SPfor Brahmins. Neeraj Mishrawas assassinated in Kannaujduring the SP regime.

He reminded thatBrahmins constitute 13 per-cent of the population in thestate. There are more than threecrore Brahmins. Now the timehas come that Brahmins are notdivided. If the votes of othersocieties are mixed with that ofBrahmins and Dalits, then thenumber reaches 45 to 50 per-cent. In such a situation, theBrahmin community can repeatthe situation of 2007. They willhave full respect if BSP govern-ment is formed. In 2007, therewere 15 MLC Brahmins in theBSP government, the LegislativeCouncil president was also fromthis class. 35 others had the sta-tus of Ministers of State. Fivethousand public prosecutorsbelonged to this community,whose honorarium wasincreased ten-fold. He has beenkept as the leader in the LokSabha till date.

Satish Mishra, while attack-ing the law and order, said thataccording to the National CrimeRecords Bureau, a woman isbeing raped every two hours inthe state. Regarding develop-ment, he said that no govern-ment has done more work thanBSP. Bank on the banks of riverSaryu in Ayodhya, bank on thebanks of Ganga in Banaras, sew-erage system at Allahabad.

��� ������ ������ 4274&�&

With already three lakh peo-ple having been displaced

due to floods and weather officeforecasting more rains in thecoming days Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onWednesday accused the centralagencies for creating man-madeflood in her State and wrote a let-ter to Prime Minister NarendraModi seeking respite from thepresent situation.

The Chief Minister whoalso had a telephonic talk withthe Prime Minister earlier onthe day and told him how faultymaintenance and erroneousdecisions taken by the central-ly controlled Damodar ValleyCorporation had left floodedlarge parts of southern Bengal.

Besides Banerjee lodging averbal complaint with thePrime Minister she also wrotea letter to him about what shecalled “grave man-made floodsituation” in South Bengal dis-tricts adding how the DVCauthorities had released“unprecedented” volume ofwater from its dams at Panchet,Maithon and Tenughat.

While sources said that theDVC had released 5.98 lakhcusec of water in last four-fivedays Banerjee on Wednesdaytold newsmen that “the DVChad announced leaving of 54,000cusecs of water … but they

have released 2 lakh cusecs ofwater without informing us…every year wehave to face thisproblem for no fault of ours andlakhs of our people get affectedand thousands of hectares of landget inundated causing lossesworth crores.”

In her letter to the PrimeMinister she wrote “The entireflood protection system man-aged through different damsincluding state barrages bothon West Bengal and Jharkhandside are very old. Due toyearsof siltation and lack of propermaintenance the water holdingcapacity has reduced,”

She said “we have beencomplaining against this practicefor years but nothing has beendone as a result of which theState is suffering.” A tweet fromthe Prime Minister’s office later

said that he had assured of allsupport to Bengal. Banerjee hadcalled up Modi after conductinga survey of the flood-hit areas.

She visited the worst-hitareas in Amta andUdainarainpur in Howrah dis-trict. At least 15 people havedied, and around three lakh dis-placed after heavy rain lashedparts of south Bengal.

Meanwhile rejecting theChief Minister’s allegations thatarbitrary decision of the DVCwas responsible for the Bengalfloods the Corporation author-ities said that “Blaming DVC forflood is unjustified as the DVConly implements the decision ofthe committee on water regula-tions. State government's con-sent is taken before the dischargeof water and DVC issues warn-ing to district administrations.”

������ '86##&��

Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterM.K. Stalin has urged

External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar to exert pressure onthe Sri Lankan Governmentnot to attack Indian fishermenin the sea.

Citing the firing by SriLankan Navy on fishermen atKodiyakkarai, Stalin, in a letterto Jaishankar, said that a per-manent solution must bearrived at as the attacks are isaffecting the livelihood of thou-sands of Indian fishermen.

While Indian fishermenwere fishing from a registeredboat near Kodiyakarai onAugust 1, the Sri Lankan Navyopened fire, injuringKalaiselvan in his head. He wasbeing treated at Nagapattinamgovernment hospital while nineother fishermen in the boatescaped miraculously, he said.

"Unleashing violence onour fishermen without follow-ing international laws and prac-tices is condemnable," Stalinsaid, noting India cannotremain a mute spectator to thisoutrage by the Sri LankanNavy and that solution has tobe found out immediately.

He said that the attack hascaused great unrest among thepeople living in the coastal areasof the country and called uponthe government to act immedi-ately to protect the lives andequipment of Indian fishermen.

����� 7?'4#2�

Congress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra on

Wednesday attacked the YogiAdityanath Government overthe killing of an Ayurvedic doc-tor in Sitapur, saying the secu-rity of the common man was ina poor State and the UttarPradesh Government was notdoing anything exceptindulging in false propaganda.

"In Sitapur, UP, a doctorwas hacked to death by crimi-nals who stormed his clinic,"she said. "Such incidents arecreating fear in the minds of thepeople of the State. The secu-rity system for the commonpeople is in such a poor Stateand the Government is notdoing anything exceptindulging in false propaganda,"the Congress general secretary

said in a tweet in Hindi.It may be mentioned that

a doctor in Sitapur districtwas hacked to death in broaddaylight by a person over analleged property related dis-pute. The incident occurred inMudrasan village in Hargaonpolice station area on Tuesday.The victim, Munendra PratapVerma, was examining apatient at his clinic inMudrasan when a man enteredwith a sharp-edged sword andstarted attacking him.

According to the police, theattacker, Achchey Lal Verma,first chopped off the doctor'shand and then inflicted sever-al wounds on his head andneck. The doctor somehow

opened the door of his clinicand called for help. By the timepeople reached the spot, thedoctor had died due to exces-sive loss of blood. The incidenttook place in spite of the doc-tor's clinic being near a policepicket. The police have arrest-ed accused Achchey Lal Verma.

Superintendent of PoliceRP Singh said prima facie itappears that some issues overmoney to be transferred in aland deal was the reason for themurder.

Meanwhile, Uttar PradeshCongress under the leader-ship of Priyanka Gandhi Vadrahas now decided to go offensiveagainst the Yogi Adityanathgovernment in their run-up tothe assembly polls early nextyear.

The party has worked outa campaign theme for UP polls.Desperate to reclaim the lostground, the Congress preparesto break the calm. To theBharatiya Janata Party’s claimof ‘Sushashan and Vikas’ in UP,Congress plans a mega cam-paign titled ‘Kisne Bigada UttarPradesh (Who destroyed UP).

����������������� 42'8��

Kerala logged 22,414 newcases of Covid-19 on

Wednesday while 108 patientssuccumbed to the pandemicduring the last 24 hours.Though the average TestPositivity Rate continued to beslightly higher at 11.37 per cent,the State Government decidedlate on Tuesday to do away withthe total lockdowns slappedduring the weekends.

Veena George, Minister ofHealth , the frontline leader ofthe fight against the pandem-ic, told the Legislative Assemblyon Wednesday that shops andcommercial establishments ofall places barring regions withhigh TPR would be alloed tofunction from 7 am to 9 pm.“We have decided to continuewith the lock down onSundays. The gathering for allfunctions would be limited to20 persons. Restrictions wouldbe enforced in places based onthe number of cases testedpositive for every 1,000 per-sons,” said George.

The minister also said thatplaces of worship which couldaccommodate latrget gatheringwould be allowed to admitnot more than 40 persons.

The department of healthtested 1.97 lakh samples on

Wednesday. Malappuramremained the epicentre of thepandemic with 3691 newpatients and was closely fol-lowed by Thrissur (2,912).

The death toll in Keraladue to the pandemic touched17, 211 on Wednesday. Thereare more than 1.76 lakh Covid-19 patients undergoing treat-ment in various hospitals in theState.

Physicians in GovernmentHospitals in Kerala are of theview that the correct numberswere not being released by theHealth Department as details ofthe kind of tests done on sam-ples are being kept as a secret.“While Tamil NaduGovernment discloses the dailycount of RT-PCR tests done onthe samples, the informationprovided by the Government ofKerala is not clear about thekind of tests,” said theGovernment doctors whospoke on condition ofanonymity.

Hyderabad: The TelanganaHigh Court on Wednesdayexpressed surprise over theState Government sanction-ing �60 crore to fight contemptof Court cases pending againstState bureaucrats includingChief Secretary SomeshKumar.

Passing interim orders, adivision Bench, comprisingChief Justice Hima Kohli andJustice Vijaysen Reddy direct-ed the State Government not to

release the money.The court was hearing a

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) bya lecturer against the govern-ment's financial assistance tomeet the legal expenses to fightcontempt cases filed predomi-nantly against ChiefCommissioner of LandAdministration (CCLA), a postheld by Chief Secretary SomeshKumar.

The court questioned howthe government would spend

the taxpayers' money. It want-ed to know what are the trea-sury norms and if they allowthis financial assistance.

The High Court servednotices to secretaries of financeand revenue departments,directors of treasury, CCLAand to Somesh Kumar in hispersonal capacity.

The court adjourned thehearing till October 27.

The chief secretary had onJune 7 issued a Government

Order (GO) sanctioning Rs58,95,63,000 towards contemptcases pending in the High Court.

More than 250 contemptcases are reportedly pendingagainst the bureaucrats.

The PIL has come up forhearing close on the heels of theHigh Court taking serious viewof willful disobedience bybureaucrats. In some cases,court imposed fine on districtcollectors and sentenced fewothers to imprisonment.IANS

������ '86##&��

The Tamil NaduGovernment will again

come out with a proper lawbanning online games likerummy, said Law Minister S.Regupathy.

In a statement issued here,Reghupathy said public inter-est is important, by followingdue procedures and specifyingvalid reasons, the Governmentwill again come out with a lawbanning online games likerummy.

The Madras High Court onTuesday struck down the lawbrought in by the previousAIADMK Government ban-ning online gaming in thestate. The law also provided forfine and jail term for the vio-lators.

Finding youngsters gettingcheated and committing sui-cide and to protect the innocentcitizens, the AIADMK gov-ernment brought the law byamending the Tamil NaduGaming Act, 1930 (Tamil NaduAct III of 1930), Chennai CityPolice Act, 1888 (Tamil NaduAct III of 1988) and TamilNadu District Police Act, 1859(Tamil Nadu Act XXIV of1859).

According to Reghupathy,the court had said the govern-ment did not specify the rea-sons for banning the onlinegaming when the law wasmade.

PMK founder S. Ramadossurged the Tamil Nadu govern-

ment to come out with a law byrectifying the defects.

He said thousands of fam-ilies in Tamil Nadu were happywhen the online gaming wasbanned last year while theMadras High Court order onTuesday is disappointing.

With attractive advertise-ments the online gaming com-panies lure the youth and thenpush them into debt trap.

Ramadoss said about 25youth committed suicide dur-ing the last couple of years asthey were unable to pay backtheir debts incurred to play theonline games.

He said the previous TamilNadu government had firstbrought an ordinance banningthe online gaming lastNovember and later made itinto a proper law this February.

As a matter of fact, it as wasthe Madurai Bench of theMadras High Court in July lastyear that had suggested to thestate government to enact suit-able laws to regulate the onlinegaming industry.

Quashing the first infor-mation report (FIR) filed by theKudankulam police against aschool teacher who hadwatched a game of rummyplayed in a farm, the courtexpressed its concern at theunregulated growth of onlinegaming industry.

Citing the laws against lot-tery and charging of usuriousinterest enacted by the TamilNadu government the HighCourt hoped that the state

government shall take note ofthe present alarming situationand pass suitable legislation toregulate and control onlinegaming through license, keep-ing in mind the law of the landas well as the judicial prece-dents in this regard.

"This Court is not againstthe virtual games, but, theanguish of this Court is thatthere should be a regulatorybody to monitor and regulatethe legal gaming activities, beit in the real world or the vir-tual world," the court had said.

The court also said the gov-ernment take the views of thestakeholders before passing alegislation in this regard.

The court also explainedthe modus operandi of onlinegames.

"If X and Y want to play agame, both of them have to beta sum of Rs 10/- (Say). Thewinner will get the amount thathe put in place, ie, Rs 10/- andin addition to that, he will getan additional sum, say 75 percent that was put in place by theopponent, being the prizeamount. The balance, ie., 25 percent, will be credited to theaccount of the particular onlinegaming site. The loser will loseeverything," the court said.

"If a group of persons (say10) wants to play a game, eachone of them have to bet a sumof Rs 10/- (say). At the end ofthe game, the winner will gethis amount as well as 100 percent of his bet amount, beingthe prize money.

Patna: A day after Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumardemanded investigation in thePegasus snooping case, a JD-UMP on Tuesday alleged that hisphone was also tapped in thepast.

Kaushalendra Kumar, whorepresents Nalanda, said thatmany leaders and Ministers ofthe NDA Government areclaiming that their phoneswere being tapped.

"It is the need of the hourto investigate the Pegasusphone tapping case thorough-ly. Our Chief Minister NitishKumar has also advocated thesame and he is absolutely spoton," he said.

However, clarifying thatthey were "not opposing theNDA or the Narendra ModiGovernment, he said: "Theinvestigations in this extreme-ly sensitive espionage case willeventually help the NDAGovernment in future."

"The phones of manyUnion Ministers were tappedduring the Pegasus incident.Clarity will come only afterinvestigations of the cases," headded.

The MP's statement makesit seems that the JD-U wants toraise the issue in a bid to cor-ner its alliance partner BJP.

Contacted for a reaction,Deputy Chief minister TarKishore Prasad declined tocomment, saying that thePegasus issue is related to theCentre and hence, he wouldnot speak on it.

����������"������������������ ���������

�����������;��������"���������� ��������������!���"�&���������

-0�����/&���� ������������<$����������������!���������� �������#$%��������������������������������

;��$������������������������������������������������

����� ��������<-� ���!������=%>� �������3��'

������ ��������� *?*@&�

As part of theBrihanmumbai Municipal

Corporation (BMC)’s ongoingfight against the Covid-19, thefirst-ever next-generationgenome sequencing laboratoryin Mumbai was commissionedat the TN Medical College &BYL Nair Charitable Hospitalhere on Wednesday.

The new laboratory, setup at one of the premier med-ical institutes in the city in therun up to its centenary that fallson September 4, will enable theBMC to identify variants ofSars-Cov-2 that causes Covid-19.

The new facility cananalyse a large number of sam-ples in a short period and alsoidentify mutants, somethingthat will be especially useful inhotspot areas and congestedcities.

The next-generationgenome sequencing (NGS) is amethod of characterisation ofpathogens. This technology isused to determine the order ofnucleotides in entire genomesor targeted regions of RNA orDNA, which helps in under-standing differences betweentwo strains of the virus, there-by identifying mutants. Thespecialty of NGS is that a largenumber of samples can beprocessed in a short period athigh speed.

Every batch for testing willcomprise 384 samples and

results will be declared in fourdays

Inaugurating the laborato-ry, Maharashtra chief ministerUddhav Thackeray said that thefacility would go a long way incombating the Covid-19.

“We are currently fightinga war with a hidden enemy likethe Coronavirus. The newgenome sequencing laboratorywill enable detection andtreatment of the Covid-19 virusor its incarnations, and evenother contagious diseasesspeedily,” the chief ministersaid.

The chief minister saidthat it was very critical to havea virus testing lab in Mumbaito avoid delays in getting thetest report which often led tofatalities in the past.

Uddhav said that NairHospital, which was set up 100years ago during the Spanishflu pandemic, was preparing to

cater to the health of citizens foranother century which is com-mendable.

Nair Hospital Dean Dr.Ramesh Bharmal said that thegenome sequencing laboratorycould handle 1,000-casessimultaneously and providethe results within the next fewhours.

The entire cost of theequipment and the operatingexpenses have been raisedthrough donations by a US-company, ATE ChandraFoundation and the TM NairMedical College GlobalAlumni Association.

Mumbai Mayor KishoriPednekar, MunicipalCommissioner I. S. Chahal,Public Health CommitteeChairperson Rajul Patel, Dr.Shashank Joshi and Dr. SanjayOak were among those pre-sent at the inaugural function.

5�������� ���� �������� �����������

����� 7?'4#2�

Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav, after a long

gap, will ride a bicycle in theState Capital on Thursday, topay tribute to socialist leaderlate Janeshwar Mishra, on his89th birth anniversary.

The SP president has saidthe cycle yatra will also be aprotest against the anti-peoplepolicies of the Bharatiya JanataParty Government.

More than 2,000 youths willride bicycles on the streets of theState Capital along with AkhileshYadav with the flags of

Samajwadi Party for over 6.5kilometres.

Similar cycle yatras willalso be held in all the tehsils.

Akhilesh Yadav has calledupon the party workers to makethe cycle yatra a success, sayingthat the BJP government in UPis about to complete its fiveyears, but in this entire period,there has been no developmentbut only destruction every-where. He said that the BJP gov-ernment had razed democracyby misusing time and resources.

Yadav said that BJP hadinflicted a huge damage to thedignity of politics. He alleged

that with the help of lies andhypocrisy, the BJP had spreadideological pollution and theBJP government was workingonly to mislead the people tohide its failures.

The SP chief said that hisparty had decided to fightagainst injustice through cycleyatra. He said the purpose ofcycle yatra was also to protestagainst keeping MohammadAzam Khan in jail by implicat-ing him in fake cases, crime andcorruption reaching the peak inUP, galloping inflation, threeanti-farmer agricultural laws,youth suffering from unem-

ployment, women oppression,danger to democracy due to rig-ging in the panchayat polls andthe COVID-19 deaths due to thecollapsed health system.

Meanwhile, Yadav willleave the party office at 10 amon Thursday on his bicycle, tobe flagged off by his wife andformer MP Dimple Yadav. TheSamajwadi Cycle Yatra willreach Janeshwar Mishra Parkafter covering a distance of 6.5kilometres via Loreto Square,Kalidas Chauraha, Jiamau, 1090Chauraha, Jaiprakash NarayanInternational Centre, CMSChauraha and Dayal Square.

3���� �> �����������������

����&��"���'�!(���������� ����)'��������� ��������� ����������"��

������ ��������� *?*@&�

In a conservation awarenessinitiative, TRAFFIC and

WWF-India have identified 16species of owls that are com-monly trafficked in the illegalwildlife trade in India.

As part of an effort to cre-ate awareness about the owlspecies and help with theiridentification, TRAFFIC andWWF-India have come outan informative poster‘Imperilled by illegal wildlifetrade: Owls of India’, which isfreely available to download.

Of the approximately 250owl species found worldwideabout 36 are found in India. Allowl species in India are protect-ed under the Wildlife(Protection) Act, 1972, makingpoaching, trade, or any otherform of exploitation a punishableoffence. They are also listed inAppendix II of CITES, thustightly regulating their inter-national trade.

Despite the legal restric-tions, every year, hundreds ofbirds are sacrificed for mysticrituals and practices linked withsuperstition, totems, and taboos.

%�������������� �?��������"����������������

)�*++�, �--+���������������������������./���������������

=8*�������������� ������!�������������=�����������>*7��������&�������.�����

graphic change in the area.This resulted in violent protestsby the people. Even the so-called Azad J&K Governmentprotested tooth and nail thisbifurcation and also instituteda suit in its court. But so greatwas Pakistan’s urge to keep thefruits of aggression and toextend the borders of Pakistanillegally that it ignored all oppo-sition and continued to resortto illegal means, including tor-ture, to make it a federallyadministered area with nomen-clature as Northern Areas.

Earlier too, in utter disre-gard for law and territorialintegrity and sovereignty ofIndia, Pakistan had cededShakasgam track territory in thisillegally occupied Northernareas to China when Sino-PakFrontier agreement was signedin 1963. It has also sinceannexed Chitral, Hunza andNagar and other territories in oraround Northern Areas includ-ing Punial, Ishkoman and Yasinwhich formed a part of the thenprincely State or were under itssuzerainty at the time of itsaccession to India.

Pakistan again changed thestatus of Northern Areas onMay 21, 2018, when it promul-gated the Gilgit-Baltistan Orderreplacing its earlier ‘empower-ment and self-government’order of 2009. Under the neworder, all powers exercised byGilgit-Baltistan Council were

given to the Assembly. But theCouncil was retained as adviso-ry body for federal functionswith regard to the NorthernAreas. Thus legislative powerson key subjects are vested in thePrime Minister of Pakistan andnot in the elected Assembly.

There were protests againstthis order not only in the area,but at many places in Pakistan.This reform package was seenas a precursor to attempts byPakistan to make this area as itsfifth province as also to changeits demographic composition.

This perception was con-firmed when last year PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khanannounced that the territory willbe given provisional provincialstatus. Again in violation ofinternational law and sovereign-ty of India and amid strongprotests by people in PoK,Pakistan permitted China to runthe China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor project which passesthrough this Gilgit-Baltistanterritory. Even the UNEconomic and SocialCommission for Asia Pacific inits report in May 2017 stated thatthe CPEC project could creategeo-political tensions with Indiaand lead to further instability inthe region. Though reportedlyprepared at the request of theChinese Government, thereport also pointed out concernsabout its social and environ-mental safeguards. Provision

of provisional provincial statusto Northern Areas by Pakistanappears to be an attempt to lendlegal cover to the much-criti-cised CPEC project which runsthrough Gilgit-Baltistan, anIndian territory.

India has already stronglyprotested against this yet anoth-er severe illegality of Pakistan.Last week, the Indian MEArejected a reference to CPEC ina recent Pakistan-China jointstatement. It said that the CPEClies in Indian territory illegal-ly occupied by Pakistan andthat India resolutely opposes it.With regard to reference to J&Kin the joint statement, theMEA spokesperson said thatthe UTs of J&K and Ladakh arean integral and inalienable partof India.

Obviously, if Pakistan stillchooses to continue with its ille-gal actions and material changesin J&K and Ladakh under itsillegal occupation, that willmean continued violation ofsovereignty and territorialintegrity of India. This willlead to more instability in theregion. For overall develop-ment, India desires peace withPakistan, but Pakistan`s actioncould lead to one more war overJammu and Kashmir whichcould be far more dangerous.

(The writer is a journalist,former IIS officer and produc-er. The views expressed arepersonal.)

��������������� ������Sir — The brilliant performance put upby Indian women athletes sets them apartat the Tokyo Olympics. Although India’stotal medal tally is modest, the contribu-tions of women athletes is commendable.The silver by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu inweightlifting, a bronze by badminton starPV Sindhu, a bronze by LovlinaBorgohain in boxing and the women’shockey team’s spectacular performancewhich enabled them to enter the semifi-nals, all these show that women athletesof India have a bright future in interna-tional sports events.

When we think about the social dis-crimination and gender inequality thatwomen face in India, theirs is indeed greatachievement. It must be understood thatof the 15 Olympic medals that India haswon since 2000, women have won seven.Considering that India ranks 112 out of153 countries in the Global Gender GapIndex 2020, women’s achievement is sogreat. Given the fact that women in gen-eral and professional women in particu-lar face gender discrimination and prej-udice in India, their achievement istremendous when compared with that ofmen. Indian women’s achievement at theTokyo Olympics is certainly an inspira-tion for prospective women athletes in thecountry and for women in general whowant to prove their expertise in differentfields.

Venu GS | Kollam

�������� �����������������Sir — Candidates at job interviews afterthe lockdown will have an additionalchallenge at hand. It could be a freshergraduating out of a college or people atdifferent stages of their career seeking ajob either for better prospects or as a fall-out of unfortunate job loss due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The first chal-lenge is that there may be fewer jobs forthem to grab. Too many candidates maybe chasing too few jobs. How does a can-didate stand apart in such a situation?

Apart from evaluating candidates fortheir fitness for the job, the companies

are going to evaluate them on how theycoped with the uncertainties posed bythe pandemic. In one way, this is actu-ally a great opportunity for both candi-dates and companies. Companies willlook for in the candidates the ability toadapt to uncertain conditions.Candidates can stand apart from othersif they prove that they can think and actdifferently in such uncertainties. Facingpay cuts, job losses and rising costs, manypeople grit their teeth and made the mostof an extremely rough year. This, then,is as good as it gets. It is time to createmore jobs opportunities.

MR Jayanthi | Mumbai

���� ����� ���� ��������Sir — Shocked to know that a Dalit girlwas sexually assaulted and murdered inDelhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’sGovernment will order a magisterialinquiry instead of an CBI investigation.The Chief Minister announced a compen-

sation of �10 lakh for the girl’s family. Butthe girl cannot come back. The fact of thematter is that there is a need to strength-en law and order in Delhi and the UnionGovernment must take firm steps in thisdirection.

The Delhi Government must appointtop-notch lawyers to ensure that theguilty are punished. The victim’s parents,accompanied by hundreds of locals,staged a protest near the site of the inci-dent in Old Nangal area, southwest Delhi.The police, based on the statement of thevictim’s mother, added rape charges to theFIR. Four people, including the priest ofa nearby crematorium, have been arrest-ed. It is high time all the four accused mustbe severely punished in the shortest peri-od of time and their trial must be in a fast-track court.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

* 0 � � - � ) 1 � * � � � 2 '

%%%-����./������- ���������$���:�������������L 9���0���-��������L ��� ���$���:�����������:

����������������� �������� ��� ! "

'1

���������!!���'������7��&&�4$& 5� 6��4789'��!: 9�

-��� ����������� ��������������������������/���� @� �� �� � ������� ������������� ������������1 ������������� ����������()IE

&>�6.��776/&7752''?-5�#/��86

&.6&1�>2772��#/&#�&//.611�2#�2#�86��86#�-.�#'675

1�&�6��-&4�1�&#61�&@7�1860�&#&0*�#�1�.&���6

1�.?'�?.6��#��862''?-�60�&.6&$���8�&�#2*�#&7

76/�17&�?.6���86�/2�6.#*6#�

'2#��#?61��2�@6�?#06.��86�-&4

/2�6.#*6#��1'2#�.27

��44�-� 45�446���7�45-

��012�8�����

&����� ������������� ����� �������������� ��� ������������� �������� ���������� ������������� �������� ��������

������������������� ������������� �������������������� ���$������ � ����� �� �����������������'2��0()��� ��� ���� ��������� ��������������������� ���������� ���������������� ��� ��$��������������� �� ������������� ���������� ��������� �� ���� ���������� ������ ��� ��� ���� � �� ������� �$� ���� /� ������ � ��� ���� �� ����������������������� ������� ���� ���� ��� ���������������$������ � ������� �������� ���� �������$�'���� �����������

�� ������� ����������� ������� �����������$

������� ���������� ����������������� � �� �����M������������ ���$�#�����F<�������� �� ����������������� ���� ����� ����� ������� ��������������� ������������������ ��������������� � ��� �������������������������������M� ������������� ��� ���$������������������� ���������� ������������ ������������������� ������������ ��� ��� � ����$���������� ��������������������� ���� ���������� ���$-������� ��������� ������� ����� ��� ������������� ������������� ����� ����� ��� ���� ��� � �������$� 6 ������� ��� ������ ��� � 1����@�� ���� ��������� ���� ��� ����������� ��� ��� ��� ������������ ���� ���%�� N�������� ���������������� ��������� � �� ��������������������$���������� ����� �������������������������� ������������ ����� ������� $�6 ������������ ��� ��������� ��*-�����*7&������������ � ��������������������������� ������ ������������$

���%(4'9'6�'9�| � ����� �

��������� !"�"!!��#$!��%���% !

�������� �%���������������� �����

India has rejected the “cosmet-ic exercise” of the recent elec-tions in Pakistan-occupiedKashmir. Traditionally, the

ruling party in Pakistan wins elec-tions in PoK and the incumbentruling party, Tehreek-e-Insaaf, wonthese elections. India lodged astrong protest with Pakistan lastweek, saying that such exercises canneither hide illegal occupation ofthe areas of the then princely Stateof Jammu and Kashmir byPakistan, comprising about 35 percent of its total area, nor the gravehuman rights violations, exploita-tion and denial of freedom to peo-ple in these occupied areas. Indiahas called on Pakistan to vacate allthe Indian areas under its illegaloccupation since 1947, on whichit has no locus standi. By virtue ofaccession of the ruler of the thenprincely State Maharaja Hari Singhto India in 1947, sovereignty of thewhole erstwhile State lies whollyand solely with India.

The time appears to havecome for Pakistan to introspectdeeply and reflect on its illegalactions in these illegally occupiedparts of now Union Territories ofJ&K and Ladakh. Steeped in abjectpoverty and backwardness, thisillegally occupied area is still con-sidered to be the most neglectedarea in South Asia. Despite violentprotests by people at every stage,Pakistan has illegally, forcefully andthrough underhand meanschanged frontiers and compositionof these areas beyond recognition.After illegally occupying the areasfollowing an aggression on thethen princely State, Pakistan estab-lished an administrative struc-ture in the occupied area namedas Azad Jammu and KashmirGovernment. Even though with anominal legislature, theGovernment there continues to beunder strict control of PakistanGovernment.

During the late 1970s, Pakistanstarted to take steps to bifurcate thesubsequently extended occupiedarea in two parts, one it hadalready named as Azad J&K andthe other as Northern Areas, com-prising Gilgit-Baltistan, which ithad deemed to be a separate geo-graphical entity to be administeredfederally by Pakistan. TheNorthern Areas is mostly inhab-ited by Shia Muslims and Pakistanalso initiated steps for demo-

SOUNDBITE�������������������� ������������ ������������� ������� ���0����������'����� ��������������������������� ����� � ���$

��$&���68'�����;���6�$&�4O�*� �@���%��

��� ��� ����� ��������?1-������� �3��@�������� ������ ��������� ������� ��������������$

�'<�$&'6��'&� 6'����:%4�&=��)>�$�4O *�����5����

5������� ������� ����� �������� ��� ����������� ����������� ����������$�&����������� �� ���������P�� ���4�������� ������ ���$

�:& 4O�&�������4�����

��������������BI'���� ���� ��$1����+*7&�,�� ��������� ��� $����� ��� �������������� ��� ��� ����� �������� �� ���������������� ���$

�'46'&'<'����;���6�$&�4O�@� �%�@����

� �������� �� ����� �� ���$��������������������������������������������$�0����� �����

��������������-���$

�6)�'6�$�%&&��4O�-��1�����

#���������������������$���������������������#�������������(�����������$�����������������������������������������������������������������)�������������������������������������

%��������#���������������)��������������������*+$��������(� �����������������������,����������������#��������������

���������������)����������������������������������������� ���������������� $���������������-�������������������(������������������������������������$�������������������� �������� �������������(����*������ �������������� ������������������ ��� �� ������ � ������ ����� ��$������������������ ������������������(�������� ����.�����)���������&�������������������������������������������(��������������$������������������������������� ���� ������������� ����� �� /����&�

������� ������������������������������%���������������(�����������������������������������

0�������%�����������������������������������)���������������������� �������������������������������� ������������ ������������������ ���������������������������� ��������1��-�����������2324�������������������������������������������������$�����������(�������� ����������������������� ��)����������� ������������������������������������������������������������5 ��������������������������%��������#�$�������������������������������)���������������������������������6���%�������������������������������)����������������������#����������)������������� �����������������������������������������������������������%������������������� ������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������/�&��������������������������������)����������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������

.������������������������������������������������7���������-���������������� ����������������������������������,)8/�(9:�����;����#���� ���-���&��������������2<�=33���

�����������(�� ������������ �� -�������������������������(�����=>���������������������������#������������������� �������-�����������99�?������0�������������������������������������!(�����5 ���������������� ��������,)8/�(9:��������������5 7������������� �;����-�������@����#�����������������������(����5 �������9�2�������������������������������������������� ������-���������!(�������9�#�������������� �������������(������������������������������� ����������#������������������

���������������#�!(����������������#�������������������������������$����������������������������������� �,�����������(�������������������������������#����(���������� ���������������� ��������������������������������� ����������������(������������������������� �/������������%����������������������������������(��������������� ��������������#������ ������������������������� ����������(����������� ����������������� �

@���������� �����7�����������-�����@����#������ �������������������������������������,)8/��������������@����0����6������ ���������������� ��/���������������������7����������������������� �������/�����#������������� ������������������������ ��44��������7������������������������������>?������#���������������� ����-���&�����������������������(����������������,��������������������� ��7����&������������������������������������������������-����� ���-�����������������,)8/�(9:�������� ���������������������9�4�����������9�:>�������������(�������+�� 2?�#�-���%����������������������������������������������������� �����������������������������������������/������������� ����������������������������-������������������������������#����� ������������������������������7�������������������/�����������������������������������������7������������������������������ ��������������������������������������������������� ���������#���� �<:�:���������-���&�����������������������#�7�����������������������!(�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

)����� �����(3

)�������������;���$������������#""� ������������������� �������������������� ���������������������

���3��0

*�� ���!��������������������������������"�����������1����.��'�� *-3����

-������ ���"��������������������������� #@����� � ����������� �� �����������

?��������������� �(+�����������������������

����������� ������������������������� ������ ������������������?�

������������������������?@����������

����������������

�����������������������������,����� �����������������������������!���������������������������������!@������������������������������������������

William Faulkner’s observa-tion that “the past is neverdead, it is not even the past’holds for issues that enemies

of India exploit to fuel unrest. Theresurgence of the talk surrounding‘Khalistan’ indicates how those interest-ed in harming India never stop sowingseeds of discontent.

For any strife to continually ‘catch thefancy’ of the people, it has to appear per-sonal and immediate. Such issues can findeasy access in India with many societal,caste, religious, and sectarian fault lines.The abundance of youth is a bonus forthose looking to take advantage. The rad-icalisation of youth to be used as cannonfodder is commonplace across strife-dri-ven regions like in Syria where the socialunrest originated from college campuses.The JNU protest is another illustrationwhere sloganeering against a fee hike soontransformed into a demonstration ofwhatever was the ‘flavour of the monthprotest’

The so-called movement for Khalistanchecks all the necessary boxes to be an‘ideal’ issue for agencies like Pakistan’s ISIto attack India. It is well-documented thatISI pumped monetary and arms resourcesand provided a haven for extremists whopropagated the demand for a separate Stateof Khalistan.

In the last few years, long-standingissues like left-wing extremism or Islamistterror are being called out or are past theirsell-by date. The significant churn in theUnited States and Australia, and the UnitedKingdom against Chinese influence in col-lege campuses has shaken things up. Thecrackdown by Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman in 2017 on Islamistterrorists unleashed significant changes inhow Jihadist terror operated across theglobe. Vowing to galvanise an Islamic mil-itary coalition that aimed to counter “ter-rorism and extremism,” Mohammed binSalman led a series of high-level meetingsof an alliance of Muslim nations against ter-rorism funding and the day-to-day disrup-tion of al-Qaida, the Islamic State, and like-minded jihadists. In this atmosphere, glob-al entities that benefit from strife, such asthe military-industrial complexes, need tofan new issues to survive.

One of the reasons why Khalistan is ared-flag issue unlike ever before is the glob-al support that has come its way in the recentpast, with significant ramifications. In arecent Club House chat, a young person ofIndian origin based in Europe and dedicat-ed to the Khalistan cause claimed that themovement aimed at the physical separationof Punjab from the Indian union in less thantwo generations. The support for the sep-aratist elements of the Khalistan movement,especially amongst the second-generationPunjabi youth based in Canada, the UnitedKingdom, and the United States, hasgained momentum as it ostensibly seeks tocorrect a historical wrong. However, thedanger has increased manifold due to a suc-

;��� �6������������������-��� ��������� ����������� ������A� ���������<����B�� ������������� �����%��� ���B ��+�����������������

48&7�1�&#��&1#6�6.�&

02*61��'��11?6�&#0��86�122#6.

�86�&�6.&/6�#0�&#�.6&7�161�8&�����8&1��86

-2�6#��&7��2'8&#/6��86�2.70���86

>&1�6.��6�'&#'2?#�6.���$��86.6&12#��8&���6'&##2���&46�&772>��8�1��2�@6�&#2�6.1�.6�'8�#/

2>�2#6K1�*&/�#&��2#��11�&.�#/�?1��#�86�>2.*�2>�&1�*-76�>&'��O�86��2.70�8&118�>�60�>.2*

Q'2#�6#��2#&7�&.>&.6���2��86?#'2#�6#��2#&7

��/���������������������������������������������(������������������� *��������&�%����*���5�������&�����������������������������5 ������������(

�����������������������-A/.#(-���������A�����.��������#������5 ����������-�����2323��������������%������7��������������������������������������������������0���������������������������������%����*���������������������-A/.#���������������������������"���������/����� ����������������������������������������������#������������������������������������������ (��������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �#�����������������������������������������(�����������������������������������������������������/���������������������������� �������������� �

�����������������(���������������������������������������������������������� ������������������ ��������������� �����������������������������#�����-A/.#�������������9333����������������������������������������������������������������������#�����������-A/.#��� ��� ����������� ��������23�333� #� ������� �� � ����������6����������������������� ��������������������������� �����������������������������#�����������"���������������������������������������������������������-A/.#&���� ������������������������������������������� �������������� �� ����������9:���������������������������-A/.#��6���������������������������������������������������������������������(� �������6����������� ��������������� ������������������������ ����* �����������������-A/.#�������� ������������B���������������������������������-A/.#������� ��������� ���������������������������� �����������������������������/����������

#��������������� �������������������������� �������������������C������ ��������������������(� ����������������������������� ������������������� ����������/���������������������-A/.#������������� ����(������ ������� ������� ����� ������ �� ������������ ����������������������������A���������-A/.#��������������%�������� �����-A/.#�������������������������������������������������������������������D������������E�������������� ����������������������������������������������������(������������� �����A�������-A/.#���"������������������������������������ � �����������������������������-A/.#�%��������������������������������� ����������� ��������������������#��� ��-A/.#����������������23���������������������������������������������������������������-A/.#������������� �����(������������������������������������������������������(��B����������������������������� �������������������/����&����������%�������� �������������������-A/.#���������(�������������������������������������/�����/������(��� ��������������������������������(���������B��������������������"����� ������������ ������������B����(��������

��������������� ������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������

Maldives and India arehaving a relationshipcrisis owing to media

articles and social media postsattacking the dignity of theIndian High Commissionoffice in that country. TheIndian High commission wrotea letter to the ministry of exter-nal affairs that was shared withthe Maldivian local media.Thecommission complainedletter about the malicious andincreasingly personal attacksthat may damage the bilateralrelations between India and theMaldives.

The Maldivian DemocraticParty (MDP) released a state-ment that empathised withIndian diplomats and termedthe attacks as derogatory. TheMDP blamedthe whole dramaon a local newspaper, Dhiyares,and its owner, Ahmed Azaan.

The MDP believes that the anti-India campaign run by Azaanis a well-funded, tailor-made,and intricately choreographedpolitical campaign to bringties between the Maldives andits closest ally, India, to break-ing point.

The reason for the ‘Indiaout’ campaign was the militarypresence in the Maldives, whichaccording to the locals, is athreat. The ‘India out’ campaignstarted in 2020 and spreadacross social media like a wild-fire. The co-founder of theDhiyares media, ShifxanAhmed, clarified that they hadonly one issue - about theIndian military presence.

It is not the first time thatan anti-India campaign hadreared its ugly head. Back in2013, when the ProgressiveParty of Maldives (PPM) was in

power, international relationsbetween India and Maldivestook a hit. PPM, led by AbdullaYameen Abdul Gayoom, hadtilted towards the Chinese. Toplease the Chinese, the Yameengovernment indulged in anti-India slogans and policies.

Researcher Dr. GulbinSultana, an analyst at ManoharParrikar Institute for DefenceStudies and Analysis (IDSA),shares the same sentimentabout the anti-India rhetoric of2013. But even if the Yameengovernment had a biased that

favoured the Chinese, theyengaged in an India-first poli-cy as well.

There have been a fewuntoward incidents that led tothe Maldivians harbouringan-ti-India sentiments. The firstincident was when India giftedtwo Dhruv Advanced LightHelicopters (ALF) in 2010 and2015. These helicopters were tobe operated by Indian officersand to be used for ocean searchand rescue operations, airliftingpatients across the islands, andMaritime weather surveillance.They were based in Addu atolland at Hanimaadhoo but thepro-China stance of the Yameengovernment let it interpret themas proof of the Indian military’sgrowing presence in theMaldives. In 2016, when the agi-tation reached its peak, theYameen government requested

India to take back their chop-pers and the defence personnel.The Indian refusal to take backthe choppers added fuel to thefire. In 2018, Ibrahim MohamedSolih came to power andscrapped agreements that pro-scribed the use of choppers andhe extended the stay of Indianpersonnel stay in the Maldives.Solih’s friendly stance towardsIndia and its choppers againfuelled anti-India sentiments inthe Maldives.

The Maldivian governmentbelieved in keeping terms ofcontracts about defence, sover-eignty, and national securitysecret. Some groups of peopleinterpreted this secrecy as athreat to democracy. Thedomestic players in theMaldives opposed agreementswith India because of this lackof transparency. According to

Maldivian law, any agreementhas to be tabled in Parliamentand needs parliamentaryapproval. It is only after theapproval the government canengage in bilateral treaties. Butthe Solih government, in thename of national security, doesnot share any data withParliament. The idea of keepingeverything under wraps in thename of national security angersthe people and fuels protests.

The second incident wasthe signing of Sifvaru-UthuruThilafalhu (UTF) harbour pro-ject agreement between Indiaand the Maldives in 2021,under which India will bedeveloping a Maldives NationalDefence Force Coast GuardHarbour. This project was ini-tiated under the Yameen gov-ernment. The dockyard is anatoll located near Malè, the cap-

ital of the Maldives.The Indian motive behind

signing this agreement was thegrowing presence of theChinese in the Indian Oceanregion. This agreement wouldsatisfy the strategic interests ofboth India and the Maldives.But in 2019, when the Solihgovernment came to power,media suspicion began to grow,owing to Solih’s inclinationtowards India about the UTFproject. The Maldivian govern-ment has repeatedly clarifiedthat they would not allow anymilitary presence on their land,be it Indian, Chinese, or anyoneelse. The Maldives has repeat-edly asked India not to interferein its domestic politics.

After the threats to blast theIndian high commission in theMaldives, appropriate securitymeasures have now been taken.

�������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ���������������������

����������������� �������� ��� ! "

'9%%%-����./������- �� �������$���:�������������L 9���0���-��������L ��� ���$���:�����������:

FIRSTCOLUMN*'��''24*)�40�'�)�)%)�2'

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(The writer is a lawyerand columnist. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

5����� ������������������� ��"

�0���7��

(The writer is retired SeniorProfessor, International Tradeand Member, VivekanandaInternational Foundation,

New Delhi. The views expressedare personal.)

4156�(2����(0��5-�����4�

cessful shift in the perspective. Theanti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 is notattributed to Congress but the‘Indian State.’ As a result, theKhalistan issue now targets theIndian government and propagatesa ‘revolt’ as the only way out.

This status transition is strate-gically designed and it would befoolish to think otherwise. It is sim-ilar to the Israel-Palestine issue andthe desire of vested parties to repli-cate the model where a narrativewould constantly stoke fires ofhow the Indian state has unleasheda flurry of horrors upon the ordi-nary citizens of Punjab. The narra-tive-building machinery is also inplace, with socio-cultural eventssuch as literary jaunts with authorsand think tanks disseminatingideas and information to that end.

One can see how global con-cepts such as critical race theory, a40-year-old idea that believes racialdivision to be a social constructinstead of a personal bias, arepro-mogulated locally. The ongoingfarmers’ protest is a testimony to thesame, where a broad idea - farm-ers opposing the three laws - hasbeen rejigged to make it region-spe-cific - how the state has primarilytargeted the farmer of Punjab.

The Khalistan issue is alsobeing pitched as a shared narrativeat a global level, claiming to echothe sentiments of the Sikh commu-nity, even though the citizens ofPunjab rejected the very idea of aseparate State. The local view is rou-tinely, and even vehemently, dis-missed on public platforms andsocial media by radicalised ele-ments based outside of India. While

Indians wave off the issue asbunkum or pointless wishful think-ing of a handful of wavered NRIyouth, global media picks on thatpoint of view and furthers it. Thephysical or virtual protests also havemany Pakistan-sponsored implantsdisguised as Sikhs. The cycle is thencompleted when such news is ped-dled for domestic consumption asthe local view that an authoritari-an government has suppressed.

The propagators of Khalistanare quick to portray Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as the all-powerfulfascist responsible for the subjuga-tion of Punjab, even though theactions of the current Indian gov-ernment tell a completely differentstory. In 2018, a Delhi court award-ed the first death penalty to twopersons in the 1984 anti-Sikh riotsin the cases that were probed andre-opened by the SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) set up bythe Modi government in 2015. In1994, the two had gotten away dueto lack of evidence, and their con-viction became possible only due tothe evidence provided by the BJPstate government.

The Khalistan issue is a testingground for other pan-India strifesthat can be used against the coun-try. It is in tandem with a 2016Pakistan Senate recommendationto the then Nawaz Sharif govern-ment to play up caste and religionissues in India to curb India’s glob-al influence. A 13-member com-mittee of the Senate, Pakistan’sequivalent to the Rajya Sabha,asked the government to talk about‘Dalits, unhappy Muslims, andencourage those opposing Prime

Minister Narendra Modi’ to desta-bilise India. It also made some tac-tical recommendations to “hireInternational lobbyists and strate-gic communication firms and reac-tivate Pakistani community livingabroad to change the global narra-tive”.

The narrative-building effortsto push Khalistan or any exploitablelocal fault line to the forefront as aglobal agenda cannot be ignored orundermined. One is reminded ofhow the US attack on Iraq in 2002also resulted from a complex nar-rative-building exercise. India’sstature as a geopolitical player onthe global stage has only increasedin the recent past. Whether it is Asiaor the Indian Ocean Region, India’ssignificance is now key to shapingthe world as it has also emerged asa natural counter balance to China.This reality does not suit tradition-al foes such as China and Pakistanand their new supporters, namely,Turkey and Iran.

Rest assured, any narrative thatthwarts India would be ready topick for them. Khalistan was nevera domestic issue, but its play hasonly increased, and the sooner theaverage Indian realises it has thepotential to change the world, thefaster we can counter it. The reasonthat we cannot take all of this to bean overstretching of one’s imagina-tion is staring us in the form of asimple fact - the world has shiftedfrom ‘conventional warfare’ to theunconventional. While we mightnot comprehend the severity ofunconventional warfare, it surely isat play around the world by thoseinterested in it.

���3�,6�*7�-

1��>���������������������H��� �������������������������� ����� �� ����������� ������

:�����';����������������� �������� ��� ! "

���� >?3&�.&8�+?&6,

The hijackers who captureda vessel off the coast of the

United Arab Emirates in theGulf of Oman left the targetedship on Wednesday, the Britishnavy reported, ending a shipseizure that revived fears of anescalation in Mideast waters.

The incident, described bythe British military's UnitedKingdom Maritime TradeOperations the night before asa “potential hijack," ended withas much mystery as it began.

While the details of whobriefly impounded the asphalttanker and why remain unclear,the seizure once again reveals aregion on edge as Iran and theUnited States seek to broker aresolution to their standoffover Tehran's tattered 2015nuclear deal with world powers.

Over the past years, the ris-ing tensions have played out inthe waters of the Persian Gulf,where just last week a droneattack on an oil tanker linked toan Israeli billionaire off thecoast of Oman killed two crewmembers. The West blamedIran for the raid, which markedthe first known fatal assault inthe yearslong shadow war tar-geting vessels in Mideast waters.

Iran denied involvement.Late on Tuesday, intruders

boarded a Panama-flaggedasphalt tanker called AsphaltPrincess sailing off the coast ofFujairah, authorities said. Theofficial news agency of Oman'smilitary said it received reportsthat the Asphalt Princess hadbeen hijacked and dispatchedRoyal Air Force maritime patrolaircraft and naval vessels “to con-tribute to securing internation-al waters.”

Possible signs of troublebegan to emerge that eveningwhen six oil tankers off thecoast of Fujairah announcedaround the same time via theirAutomatic IdentificationSystem trackers that they were“not under command,” accord-ing to MarineTraffic.com. Thattypically means a vessel has lostpower and can no longer steer.

Satellite-tracking data forthe Asphalt Princess hadshowed it gradually headingtoward Iranian waters off theport of Jask early Wednesday,according to MarineTraffic.com.Hours later, however, it stoppedand changed course towardOman, just before the Britishnavy group declared the hijack-ers had departed and the vesselwas now “safe.”

���� /6#6�&

The head of the World Health Organisation iscalling for a moratorium on administering

booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines as a way to helpensure that doses are available in countries wherefew people have received their first shots.

WHO Director-General Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus made the appeal mostly to wealth-ier countries that have far outpaced the develop-ing world in numbers of vaccinations.

WHO officials say the science is unprovenabout whether giving booster shots to people whohave already received two vaccine doses is effec-tive in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

The U.N. Health agency has repeatedlycalled for rich countries to do more to helpimprove access to vaccines in the developingworld. Tedros pointed to a WHO target setearlier this year to ensure that 10% of the popu-lations in countries receive vaccines against thecoronavirus.

“Accordingly, WHO is calling for a morato-rium on boosters until at least the end ofSeptember to enable at least 10% of the popula-tion of every country to be vaccinated,” he saidWednesday.

To help take the heat out of the pandemic,WHO has been focusing on getting vaccines toolder adults, health care workers and other tar-get populations in many countries before boost-er shot campaigns are carried out.

Israel, France, Germany and many MiddleEastern countries have already started adminis-tering booster shots, and other nations, includingthe United States and Britain, are considering plansto do so in the wake of the emergence of the high-ly transmissible delta variant.

New York: New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo has facedmounting pressure to resign,including from President JoeBiden and other onetimeDemocratic allies, after aninvestigation found he sexual-ly harassed nearly a dozenwomen and worked to retaliateagainst one of his accusers.

“I think he should resign,”Biden told reporters Tuesday,echoing House Speaker NancyPelosi and New York's USSenators Chuck Schumer andKirsten Gillibrand, allDemocrats.

The leader of the stateAssembly, which has the powerto bring impeachment charges,said it was clear Cuomo couldno longer remain in office.Speaker Carl Heastie, aDemocrat, said he would moveto complete an impeachmentinquiry "as quickly as possible.”

Cuomo remained defiant,saying in a taped response tothe findings that “the facts aremuch different than what hasbeen portrayed" and that he“never touched anyone inap-propriately or made inappro-priate sexual advances.”

In a telephone conversationwith Heastie, Cuomo insistedhe wouldn't leave office andtold the speaker he needed towork fellow Democrats andgarner enough votes to stop animpeachment, according to aperson familiar with the con-versation.

But Heastie said he could-n't do that, said the person,who could not publicly discussdetails of the private conversa-tion and spoke to TheAssociated Press on conditionof anonymity.

AP

���� /6#6�&�

There were more than 4 mil-lion new Covid-19 cases

reported globally in the lastweek, driven mostly by spikesin the Middle East and Asia.

That''s according to theWorld Health Organization''s

latest weekly report on thepandemic.

The U.N. health agencysaid Wednesday infectionshave been increasing for morethan a month, although theworldwide number of deathsdropped by about 8%.

In the Middle East andAsia, however, deaths

increased by more than athird. In the last week, thehighest numbers of coron-avirus cases were reported bythe U.S., India, Indonesia,Brazil and Iran. More than 130countries have now reportedcases of the easier-to-spreaddelta variant, first identified inIndia.

Washington: The United States is helping Indiaand other countries to be able produce the vac-cines by themselves, President Joe Biden hassaid.

With a need for several billion dosesaround the world, the US was committed toprovide half a billion, Biden said during a pressconference at White House on Tuesday.

“We have committed to over a half a bil-lion doses. And we're trying to provide formore and provide for the capacity of countrieslike India to be able to produce the vaccinethemselves. And we're helping them do that.That's what we're doing now,” he said inresponse to a question.

“And we're trying to…by the way, it's free.We're not charging anybody anything. Andwe're trying to do as much as we possibly can,”he added.

In this fight against COVID-19, Bidenasserted, the United States was committed tobecome the “arsenal of vaccines”, the mannerin which it was the arsenal of democracy dur-ing World War II.

“We are backing up that commitment. Wehave contributed more than any other nationto COVAX as a collective global effort to deliv-er COVID-19 vaccines across the world. Wehave supported manufacturing efforts abroadthrough our partnerships with Japan, India,Australia – known as the Quad,” he said.

Biden said that during his trip to Europein June, he had announced that the US wouldpurchase a ground-breaking 500 million dosesof Pfizer and donate to nearly a hundred low-and middle-income countries that don't havethe vaccine. Those doses will start to ship atthe end of this month, he said.

PTI

����� ?#��60�#&��2#1

The UN Security Council,currently being presided

over by India, has declared thatit does “not support the restora-tion of the Islamic Emirate" inAfghanistan as it expresseddeep concern over the high lev-els of violence in the war-torncountry following the Talibanstepping up its military offen-sive.

It also condemned in the“strongest terms" last week's“deplorable” attack against theUnited Nations inAfghanistan's Herat.

In a Press statement onthe “escalating violence inAfghanistan” issued byCouncil President India'sPermanent Representative tothe UN Ambassador T STirumurti, members of the15-nation Security Councilreaffirmed that there is nomilitary solution to the con-flict and “declared that theydo not support the restorationof the Islamic Emirate.”

"The members of theSecurity Council called onboth the Islamic Republic andthe Taliban to engage mean-ingfully in an inclusive,Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process in orderto make urgent progresstowards a political settlementand a ceasefire,” the press

statement said. “The members of the

Security Council condemnedin the strongest terms thedeplorable attack” against theUN compound on July 30,which resulted in the death ofan Afghan security forces guardand several injured.

Security Council members“expressed their deep concernabout the high levels of violencein Afghanistan following theTaliban's military offensive andcalled for an immediate reduc-tion of violence," the pressstatement said.

"They also expressed deepconcern about the number ofreported serious human rightsabuses and violations in com-munities affected by the ongo-ing armed conflict across thecountry,” it said.

The Council condemnedin the strongest terms allinstances of terrorism anddeliberate targeted attacksagainst civilians and “recog-nised that a sustainable peacecan be achieved only througha comprehensive and inclu-sive Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process thataims at a permanent andcomprehensive ceasefire, aswell as an inclusive, just, andrealistic political settlement toend the conf l ict inAfghanistan.”

The Council stressed the

need for full, equal and mean-ingful participation of womenin this regard.

Afghanistan ForeignMinister Mohammed HaneefAtmar said in a tweet that hespoke with External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar "to dis-cuss convening an emergencyUN Security Council Session”on Afghanistan.

“UN & int'l communitymust play a greater role to stopthe unfolding tragedy in due toTaliban violence & atrocities.Appreciate the lead role of ascurrent UNSC President,"Atmar said.

Following the issuance ofthe Press Statement, AfghanMission to the UN tweetedthat it welcomes the “strongcondemnation" by theSecurity Council of al linstances of terrorism anddeliberate targeted attacksagainst civilians, including onthe UN compound caused bythe recent violent Talibanoffensive.

“While continue priori-tising the achievement ofpeace through negotiations,the AFG Gov, fulfilling itsmandate, will continue todefend its citizens againstatrocities and war crimescommitted by the Taliban andtheir associated regional andintl terrorist groups,” theMission added.

Jerusalem: Israel's top defencecommittee will convene a specialsession on the use of "offensivecyberarms" in the wake of inter-national backlash over thealleged misuse of NSO Group'sPegasus software and further rev-elations that other Israeli firmsmay have also supplied similarspyware solutions to other coun-tries, according to a mediareport.

The Foreign Affairs andDefence Committee will con-vene a closed session to discussnot just NSO and the string ofrevelations about its spyware'spotential targets exposed aspart of the Project Pegasus, butalso other Israeli offensivefirms that have made headlinesin recent months, daily Haaretzreported on Tuesday.

The Pegasus Project is aconsortium of media outletsthat reported the NSO'sPegasus spyware was linked tohacks and potential surveil-lance.

Firms like Candiru andQuadream have also sold theirspyware solutions to non-democratic regimes, the reportsaid.

"The session of the influ-ential Foreign Affairs andDefence Committee is appar-ently not listed on their officialagenda and it will be sealed offfrom the public and its minuteskept off the record because thesession will be held by a sub-committee dedicated to “intel-ligence issues and other specialissues,” the daily reported. Themeeting is reportedly set forAugust 9, though the commit-tee chair, lawmaker Ram BenBarak, has denied it. PTI

Islamabad:Pakistan''s ForeignMinister Shah MahmoodQureshi has written another let-ter to the UN, emphasising thatthe onus to create a "conduciveenvironment" for engagementand result-oriented talks remainson India and New Delhi mustreverse its actions in Jammu andKashmir taken on or afterAugust 5, 2019.

Qureshi addressed the let-ter to the UN Security Counciland the UN Secretary Generalon the completion of two yearsafter India abrogated the specialstatus of Jammu and Kashmirunder Article 370 of theConstitution.

India''s Parliament abro-gated the special status ofJammu and Kashmir underArticle 370 on August 5, 2019and bifurcated it into two Unionterritories. Pakistan downgrad-

ed ties with India and sus-pended trade after the Indiangovernment revoked the specialstatus of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has maintained thatthe issue related to Article 370of the Indian Constitution wasentirely an internal matter of thecountry. Foreign MinisterQureshi, in his letter, hasemphasised that the “onusremains on India to create aconducive environment forengagement and result-orient-ed dialogue," Pakistan''s ForeignOffice (FO) said in a statement.

"To create such an environ-ment, India must reverse allunilateral and illegal measuresimposed in Jammu and Kashmir,including those initiated on andafter 5 August 2019, rescind thedemographic changes initiated inJammu and Kashmir," the FOsaid. PTI

���� �67�&���

Three rockets were firedfrom Lebanon into Israeli

territory on Wednesday andthe army responded with sus-tained artillery fire, Israel'smilitary said. There was noimmediate information ondamages or casualties.

The announcement cameafter sirens sounded in north-ern Israel warning of a pos-sible rocket attack fromLebanon. Two rockets land-ed inside Israeli territory, thearmy said, adding that it firedartillery back into Lebanon.

Channel 12 reported that

one rocket exploded in anopen area and another wasintercepted by Israel's defensesystem, known as the IronDome.

The warnings went offnear Kiryat Shmona, a com-munity of about 20,000 peo-ple near the Lebanese border.

A Lebanese army officialsaid the military had no com-ment pending investigations.Other Lebanese security offi-cials did not immediatelyrespond to requests for com-ment from The AssociatedPress.

However, several wit-nesses in the border area insouth Lebanon said two rock-ets landed in an Israeli com-munity across the border,followed by multiple artilleryshells that were fired fromIsrael. The Israeli shells land-ed in an area between theLebanese vi l lages ofMarjayoun and Khiam, theysaid, adding it was not clearwhere the rockets were firedfrom.

There have been severalsimilar incidents in recentmonths.

���� 4&@?7

Abombing attack that tar-geted Afghanistan's acting

Defense Minister, BismillahKhan Mohammadi, killed atleast eight people and wound-ed 20, authorities said onWednesday. The DeputyMinister was not hurt in theattack claimed by Talibaninsurgents.

The blast went off lateTuesday in a heavily guardedupscale neighborhood of theCapital of Kabul. It was followedby a gun battle that also left fourmilitants dead, authorities said.

The casualty toll could rise,Interior Ministry spokespersonMirwais Stanekzai saidWednesday.

Taliban spokesman

Zabihullah Mujahid in a state-ment Wednesday claimedresponsibility for the attack. Itcame as the insurgent grouppresses ahead with an offensivethat is putting pressure onprovincial capitals in the southand west of the country.

Mujahid said the attackwas revenge for recent attacksby Afghan national forces invarious provinces that he saidcaused civilian casualties anddisplacement.

Stanekzai said it appearedthe guesthouse of actingDefense Minister BismillahKhan Mohammadi was target-ed in the attack but he was nothurt.

Mohammadi's Jamiat-e-Islami party was told the min-ister was not in the guest-

house at the time and his fam-ily had been safely evacuated.

All four attackers were shotand killed after five hours offighting, Stanekzai said.

Stanekzai said the attacktook place in the posh Sherpurneighborhood, located in asection of the capital known asthe Green Zone, where securi-ty is tight. It is home to sever-al senior government officials.

Hours after Tuesdaynight''s attack, the DefenseMinistry released a video inwhich Mohammadi said hisguards had been wounded in asuicide attack. “I assure mybeloved countrymen that suchattacks cannot have any impacton my willingness to defend mycountrymen and my country,”he said.

Istanbul: Turkey's ForeignMinistry has called the UnitedStates “irresponsible” after theBiden administrationannounced it would expandefforts to assist at-risk Afghancitizens with the major caveatthat the adjudication processwould take months in a thirdcountry.

Turkish Foreign Ministryspokesperson Tanju Bilgic saidWednesday the U.S. statementhad suggested Turkey as anapplication spot “without con-sultation.” He said Turkey doesnot have the capacity to shoul-der another migration crisis.

“The U.S. may directlytransport these people by plane.Turkey will not take over theinternational responsibilitiesof third countries,” Bilgic saidand added Turkey would notallow its laws to be abused byother countries. He said theU.S. announcement would trig-ger a major refugee crisis.

Turkey is already hostingsome 3.7 million Syrians whofled the civil war there. Afghanshave also fled to Turkey toescape their country's war andinstability. AP

C�������=�������������� ��� ����������� �������������

!���� ����������"(C������� ����������� ������=31���� �

� �������� �����������D������� �������������������

=�+ � �� ������� ����� ""����� ������������� �����1����������3�

%1��������� ���2 �������������� ���!������3)

-� �3���������!���������������������?�����0����������������!��!!�������'������

�� ����������� �?�$����������� ����������"�������� �������� ��&&������

EC#(�,����������������� �� � ���"�����������

3)� ����� ����� ������!� ���� �� �������������4����

#� ��������������������<�������������������B�������� (�%���F5G�� ���������������=�

� ��1� ��� ������ ���������������&���1�����/�

)*

�� ���'<����������������� �������� ��� ! "

,-��.�

������������� ���������������� ��������������A�������� ��������������������������� �������� ������ ������ ����� ������� �����������+*�����,R�1��������+*�����,��������������������� ���.'1?0&#+.�������'����� � � ��1������O�?���0����4�&��#����,���� ��/� ������ ��������$��������� �����P ������� ������� ����������� ����%�� � ������ ���/� ������ ��������� ���� ������� ��������������� � � ����������� ���������#�� �6� �����$����������������� ��*���� ������'� ���& � ����+*�'&,����&����� �&� ���� ����������+&&�,����������� �������� ������������ �������� ����� ����$��������������� � � ���� ����� ������ ���� �������*������R�*�������������������� ������������ ������������� ���������$�������� ������ �����1��������������������������������������������$�>��������� �������������������������� ������� �������� � � ������1����������� ������������� �������� ����� ����#�� �6� �����$�&�� ������������ ����� ��R����� ������� ����1������������� ���� ���� ���� �*������� ���� �������������� ����������� ���� ���� �� ���������� ������������������� ����������� ���R���� ���$�1��������������������6����� �������1��������-����?���������1���� �����-����0���@�����*�������7� ����'�����$

������3����������������B�������������������������������C�������������� ��������� ����2������� ��� ������ ������� ������ ���� ������� ����5� �%�1�������������������������� � �8�� ���������K���������!��� �� �� � �����"�� � ������������� ����������� ����������������������������2���������� ����� �����������$������ ������������������������������ �� ���(<����������������� ��������������������� ���������$�5� �%������!�������� ������� ����� ���������� �� ������������������ ����������� �$"0�����1����������������'62����8�� �����������!>���� ������� �������� ������������ ������� �� �������������������� ��������� ��������� ������� ���������� ��� ���������� �������� ���������� ���������� ���������� ��$"

��������������,������������������������� @���������O������������ ���� � ������� �������������������� ��� ���������� �������� � ���� �������� �������� ��� ������������ ��� ��������������������� ���� � � ����������������� ��������� ������ ������������O���������� ��� � �� �������� ��$(B����������'272.1������� �������� ��� ������������� ��� ������� ��� ��� ��������������@��������� � ���������� ������%�� ������������������� ���������� ��� ���������������$���������������� ���� ���%�����������Q����&������+���������1�����- ��,������ ���������� � ��� ���� ������ ��������� �����%�� ��������� �����$�

����� *?*@&�

The Reserve Bank onWednesday cautioned the

public not to fall prey to ficti-tious offers of buying or sellingof old banknotes and coins oncommission basis by unautho-rised entities.

In a statement, the RBIsaid it has come to its noticethat certain elements are fraud-ulently using the name/logo ofthe Reserve Bank of India andseeking charges/ commission/tax from public for transactionsrelated to buying and selling ofold banknotes and coinsthrough various online/ offlineplatforms.

“It is clarified that ReserveBank of India does not deal insuch matters and never seekscharges/ commissions of anysort. Reserve Bank of India hasalso not authorised any insti-tution/ firm/ person etc to col-

lect charges/ commission on itsbehalf in such transactions,” itsaid. RBI advised the public toremain cautious and not to fallprey to elements using its nameto extract money through suchfraudulent offers.

����� #6��0678�

Bharti Airtel CEO GopalVittal on Wednesday

asserted that a large nation likeIndia needs three private play-ers in the telecom sector, andhoped the Government wouldtake measures to offer relief tothe industry that is facing “seri-ous financial stress”.

The comments assume sig-nificance in the backdrop ofVodafone Idea’s desperatestruggle to stay afloat.

Aditya Birla GroupChairman Kumar MangalamBirla had in June this yearoffered to hand over the group’s

stake in debt-laden VodafoneIdea Ltd (VIL) to the govern-ment or any other entity toensure that the companyremains a going concern.

Speaking at the Q1 earn-ings’ call, Airtel CEO GopalVittal said, “I think just fromnational perspective, it wouldbe appropriate

to see an industry structurewhere three players not justsurvive, but thrive and ofcourse the government playeris always there.”

����� *?*@&�

The RBI’s rate-setting panelMPC began its three-day

deliberations on Wednesdayto finalise the bi-monthly mon-etary policy amid expectationsthat it may opt for status quoon interest rate on account ofinflationary concerns.

Reserve Bank GovernorShaktikanta Das will unveilthe resolution of the MonetaryPolicy Committee (MPC) onFriday.

Headed by the RBIGovernor, the six-memberMPC also includes three exter-nal members.

Experts are of the view thatthe RBI may prefer to wait andwatch for some more timebefore taking any major actionon the monetary policy front asthe central bank’s focus is onmanaging inflation as well sup-porting economic growth.

The central bank had leftthe benchmark interest rateunchanged at 4 per cent at theJune policy meet. It was for the

sixth time in a row that theMPC maintained status quo oninterest rate.

M Govinda Rao, chief eco-nomic advisor of BrickworkRatings, said the MPC haskept key policy ratesunchanged since May 2020,after having brought themdown to a record low of 4 percent from 5.15 per cent throughtwo rate cuts (75 bps in March2020 and 40 bps in May 2020),to assuage the economic con-sequences of the Covid-19

pandemic.Moreover, the MPC has

continued with the accom-modative policy stance afterchanging it from neutral inJune 2019. “We expect the RBIMPC to hold the repo rate at 4per cent and continue to beaccommodating to support thenascent recovery, in theupcoming MPC. We alsoexpect it to sound a cautionarynote and emphasise the need toclosely monitor the situation,”Rao said.

����� *?*@&�

Equity benchmarks clam-bered up to fresh lifetime

highs on Wednesday, with theSensex surging past the 54,000-mark for the first time, as stel-lar earnings whetted riskappetite amid supportive glob-al cues.

Banking and finance stockssaw hectic buying after largestlender SBI reported a 55 percent jump in standalone netprofit at � 6,504 crore for theJune quarter, helped by adecline in bad loans.

Surging for the thirdstraight session, the 30-shareBSE Sensex rallied 546.41points or 1.02 per cent to endat its new record of 54,369.77,bettering the previous session’sclosing high. It scaled its life-time peak of 54,465.91 duringthe session.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty surged 128.05 points or0.79 per cent to its all-timepeak of 16,246.85. It touched alifetime intra-day high of16,290.20.

HDFC was the top per-former in the Sensex pack,

surging 4.77 per cent, followedby Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank,SBI, HDFC Bank and AxisBank.

On the other hand, Titan,Nestle India, UltraTechCement, Sun Pharma, Marutiand Bharti Airtel were amongthe laggards, dropping up to2.14 per cent.

However, the marketbreadth was negative, with 16Sensex stocks closing in the red,while 14 advanced.

����� #6��0678�

The Government is present-ly holding stakeholder con-

sultations with States, centralministries, and technical insti-tutions to explore the develop-ment of freight smart cities inthe country, Parliament wasinformed on Wednesday.

State Governments havebeen requested to identify citiesfor development as freightsmart cities, Commerce andIndustry Minister Piyush Goyalsaid in a written reply to theLok Sabha.

He said that one of theinputs during stakeholder con-sultations has been to start witha list of 10 such cities, whichhas not yet been finalised.“The government is presentlyholding stakeholder consulta-tions with State Governments,central ministries, technicalinstitutions, etc. To explorethe development of freightsmart cities in the country,”Goyal said. Replying to a ques-tion on Open Network for

Digital Commerce (ONDC),Minister of State for Commerceand Industry Som Parkash saidit is an initiative aiming at pro-moting open networks for allaspects of the exchange ofgoods and services over digitalor electronic networks.

“ONDC is expected tomake e-commerce more inclu-sive and accessible for con-sumers. Consumers can poten-tially discover any seller, prod-uct or service by using anycompatible application or plat-form, thus increasing freedomof choice for consumers,”Parkash said.

ONDC will enable theconsumers to match demandwith the nearest available sup-ply, he added. “This wouldalso give consumers the liber-ty to choose their preferredlocal businesses. Thus, ONDCwould standardise operations,promote inclusion of local sup-pliers, drive efficiencies inlogistics and lead to enhance-ment of value for consumers,”the minister said.

����� #6��0678�

Industry chamber PHDCCIon Wednesday called for a 3-

tier GST rate structure, with thehighest slab at 18 per cent, tohelp boost consumption andreduce evasion.

Under the Goods andServices Tax (GST), a four-ratestructure that exempts orimposes a low rate of tax 5 percent on essential items and toprate of 28 per cent is levied. Theother slabs of tax are 12 and 18per cent. Besides, a 3 per centrate is applied on gold, silverand processed diamonds.

PHDCCI President SanjayAggarwal said an ideal GSTrate structure would be to havetwo to three slabs of GST rates.

“We suggest the lowest rateat 5 per cent, a moderate rateof 12 per cent, by clubbing thecategory of 12 and 18 per cent,and the highest rate of 18 percent for luxury and sin goodsonly,” he said.

This rationalisation of rateswill increase consumption andtax revenue, reduce compli-ances, reduce tax evasion and

help to make GST as good and simple

tax, as simplified tax regime isthe need of hour to reduce lit-igation pertaining to tax mat-ters. “This will also lead toremoval of hardships and pro-vide ease of doing business andcompliance among taxpayers,”Aggarwal added.

Aggarwal further said thatthe government had ratio-nalised GST rates in the 28 percent slab category and takingout about 200 items from thehighest slab and putting ineither 18 or 12 per cent.

Still products such as airconditioners, and cements arecharged at 28 per cent GST, hesaid. A nationwide GST, whichsubsumed 17 local levies likeexcise duty, service tax andVAT and 13 cesses, was rolledout on July 1, 2017.

����� #6��0678�

The Central Board forIndirect Taxes & Customs

(CBIC) on Wednesdaylaunched the Indian CustomsCompliance Information Portal(CIP) atwww.cip.icegate.gov.in/CIP forproviding free access to infor-mation on all Customs proce-dures and regulatory compli-ance for nearly 12,000 CustomsTariff Items.

CIP is yet another facilita-tion tool developed by theCBIC to empower businesses aswell as any interested personwith up-to-date information onthe legal and proceduralrequirements of Customs andPartner Government Agencies(FSSAI, AQIS, PQIS, DrugController etc.) for carrying outimports and exports, a state-ment said. The portal wouldprovide, at the click of a button,complete knowledge of allimport and export relatedrequirements for all items cov-ered under the Customs Tariffthereby improving the ease ofdoing cross border trade. Forusing CIP, one can simplyenter either the Customs TariffHeading (CTH) or the descrip-tion of the goods in question toget information to step-by-step procedures, regulatorycompliances requirements likeLicense, Certificates, etc., forimports as well as exports.

����� #6��0678�

The Indian Government, the Central WaterCommission, representatives from 10 par-

ticipating States, and the World Bank onWednesday signed a $250 million project forlong-term dam safety programme and improv-ing the safety and performance of existing damsacross various States.

The Second Dam Rehabilitation andImprovement Project (DRIP-2) will strengthendam safety by building dam safety guidelines,bringing in global experience, and introducinginnovative technologies.

Another major innovation envisaged underthe project, that is likely to transform dam safe-ty management, is the introduction of a risk-based approach to dam asset management thatwill help to effectively allocate financial resourcestowards priority dam safety needs.

The project will be implemented in approx-imately 120 dams across Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu,and at the national level through the CWC.Other states or agencies may be added to theproject during project implementation.

����� #6��0678�

India has till date opera-tionalised 361 air routes

under the regional connectiv-ity scheme ‘Ude Desh Ka AamNagrik’ or RCS-Udan.

The scheme was launchedin 2016. Under it, airlines areprovided with a ‘Viability GapFunding’ to keep fares afford-able and accessible. “Till date,361 routes and 59 airports(including 5 heliports and 2water aerodromes) have beenoperationalised under the Udanscheme,” the Ministry of CivilAviation said in a statement onWednesday. “The scheme isenvisaged to establish strongaerial connectivity in all Statesand UTs of the country whichhitherto were not connected,laying the foundation of a newregional segment in India’s avi-ation market.” According tothe ministry, on Tuesday, thefirst direct flight operationsbetween Imphal (Manipur) andShillong (Meghalaya) wasflagged off under the RCS-UDAN. “The operationalisa-tion of this route fulfills theobjectives of the Government ofIndia to establish strong aerialconnectivity in priority areas ofNorthEast India.”

���5���,��� ����������������7�4675��2�*&�#�&�#�1�&�?1�S?2�2#��#�6.61��.&�6

����� *?*@&�

The Indian rupee addedanother 9 paise to mark

its highest level in over fiveweeks at 74.19 against the USdollar on Wednesday, aidedby bullish equities and sub-dued crude oil prices.Further,gains in Asian peers againstthe US dollar too bolsteredrupee sentiment.

.������������ �� ���D������������EI$():?10

1#,,������������6$�����7�) ����� �� �������������.89

-80''��-������� �1�%�&�����������������/1�� ��� ��� ������������� �� �� ��� �� ������������

/1��� ��

2 ���BF<�?0&#������ ������ ��������

/� ��������������� ������� �� ��������� ������������ ������� ���������� ���� ��� ���������/���

,��,��������������������������������������������� ������

4!�������� ������ �������������� ���������H ������������

����� �-��������"��� ��:;<=�����>����������"�� ����������

�����������B���� ������������ ������M�����/� �������������� � ������� ��C�&�� ���'62

*��� ����� ���������������������������� M�1�����������DI�<<<�����(� � ���

����������������� �������� ��� ! "

#'#$%�&��%'���(�'�)���

��(%*����'� �+����������,��-

./����������

(++'011������������� ���12�2���+�1

/�����

&� ��������������������������������������������� ���������������� ���������K �������� ��� ������� ��� �������������� �������K �Q���������� ������� ���� ����������� ���������$

!�K���� ��������K����� ���� ������� ��������������� ��K���� ����������� ����� ���� ����������� ���������$��K�������� ������������ � ����� ���"-���������������� ����������� $��$��$

����� ������������ ������ ��� �� ��������������������� � ��������������$

Q�� ��������������������������� ���.R0����� ��� ���� ��������������������$5��������������� �������������������� �������������������� �� ������� ���� ������������ ����� �� ���$��������� ������������������� ������� ����� ������������� ����������� ������������ ��������� ��������� ������������������������� ����������� ������� ����������$�

�������������� ����

Q2������������ ��������� ���$�5������K ��� ����� ��� �� ������ ����������;I������$@� ��������������� ������ ��������� ��� ���$?���� �� �������������� ������������� � ��������������������������������$��������������������������������� � ����� �������������������������$�1������� �� �� ����� ������� �����������������$�

�������������� �����

4-�*7,��=�-7(�12��47�5881236# �063��

For Aahana Kumra, shooting for Zee Theatre’s SirSir Sarla was an immensely rewarding experience.

She remarks, “The wonderful thing is that during theshoot, I did not lose the flow I experienced on stagewhile performing a play live. Thankfully the direc-tor just let us be and didn’t ask us to give multipleretakes. The whole experience turned out to be enjoy-able.”

Aahana attended the first screening of the play atthe writer, director and actor Makarand Deshpande’shouse and shares, “Spending time at Mac sir’s placewas a nice way to relive the shoot especially becausewe have not been able to perform the play on stagefor a live audience due to the pandemic.”

Sir Sir Sarla explores the story of Professor Palekarand his student Sarla – the pretty, innocent young girlwho seems smitten by her mentor – and Phanidharwho shares a love-hate relationship with the profes-sor. The play dwells upon the bond between the stu-dents and their professor, which faces many vicissi-tudes. Secrets are revealed, accusations are hurled, andthe three lives remain interwoven for many years tocome. The narrative is very unique and also relatable,says Aahana. “Even though we were travelling exten-sively with the play before the pandemic, it took mea long time to understand Sarla. Then in cities likeLucknow and Bareilly, I actually met people who werelike Keshav and Sarla. They would come to meet meafter the show and say that this was their story. Thatwas such a revelation and as an artiste, I began to feelthere was an added responsibility to portray Sarla ina real and organic way because so many women sawthemselves in her,” she adds.

With time and experience, the play’s theme beganto make more and more sense to her. As she says, “Ina world full of hate and anxiety, this play is like abreath of fresh air. It really transports you to a placereplete with love and nostalgia.”

Sir Sir Sarla is written and stage directed byMakarand, and stars him alongside Aahana, SanjayDadhich and Anjum Sharma. Its filming director isSuman Mukhopadhyay. Watch the play on DishTVD2H Rangmanch Active.

As a first-time mom-to-be last year,my ideas of a postpartum body were

all driven by the hundreds of articles on‘how to bounce back’ on the internet. Butthe reality of what a postpartum bodylooks (and feels) like hit me like a deercaught in headlights. It was not onlyopposite to all the miraculous flat bellypictures that I saw of women at just threemonths postpartum but no one was talk-ing about how regressive it was to putsocietal pressure on women to bounceback when their bodies had to complete-ly change to create a universe.

It was time to change the dialogue. But if I had to, I needed to be first

empowered with the knowledge of whatreally changed in my post-baby body. Ichose to do this by getting certified as apre-post-natal specialist so that I couldshare the post-baby body changes no onetells you about.

First, yes, we must have the doctors’permission before starting exercise post-delivery but it should not be interpret-ed to mean that you can or should startlifting weights immediately, run or takepart in intense cardio. It should ideallybe light walking and rehabilitative exer-cises to restore strength and function tothe deep core stability system (focussingon transverse abdominal (TA) and pelvicfloor muscles) under the guidance of apostnatal specialist. Unlike popularbelief, our body is not miraculously readyto resume exercising once the doctorgives the go-ahead at the four or sixweeks check-up.

Second, post-baby urinary inconti-nence is a real thing and the life qualityof one out of three new moms will beaffected due to it. And Kegels (exercis-es where you pretend you have to pee andthen hold it) aren’t enough. It’s normalto pee when you laugh, cough, sneeze,

jump and run postpartum, but youdon’t have to live with it. Your pelvic floorneeds to be able to lengthen, relax andcontract — not just contract. If the pelvicfloor is always in a contracted state, themuscles become shortened, tightened,and sometimes weak. And it doesn’t helpin the recovery process. Thus Kegelsalone are not the answer. Instead, prac-tising proper activation and release of

these muscles with the technique of con-nection breath/ diaphragmatic breathingis the key.

Most probably you have a conditioncalled Diastasis recti which is the partialor complete separation of the rectusabdominis, or ‘six-pack’ muscles, whichmeet at the midline of your stomach.Diastasis recti is very common duringand following pregnancy. This is because

the uterus stretches the muscles in theabdomen to accommodate your growingbaby. Diastasis recti is what we popular-ly see externally as the post-baby belly.

Don’t get disheartened with the flatbelly before and after pictures of womenon social media within weeks of child-birth. Every woman's body is differentand so is their recovery time. It can takeanywhere from six weeks, six months toeven a few years before you see improve-ments. What we need to understand is thereason behind it. If left untreated, dias-tasis recti can potentially lead to poor corestabilisation, pelvic floor dysfunction, andback or pelvic pain. And of course, theexternal effect is the post-baby belly.

Crunches, planks, leg lifts, and bicy-cles can cause an increase in intra-abdominal pressure and worsen diasta-sis recti or ab separation. The first stepinstead is rehabilitating the deep corewith movements such as the dead bug,open book, clamshell and heel slides.

We made an entire universe andpopped it out too. So, will we be ableto rebuild our ‘pre-pregnancy strength’?We may actually exceed it in ways wecan’t even imagine.

The key is to lay a strong founda-tion with a strong core post-pregnan-cy. Our body goes through a lot ofchanges through pregnancy and regain-ing physical strength, post-birth, istough but at the same time, there is anewfound appreciation for the bodyand what it is capable of.

It’s not going to be easy but we needto stay on track, be patient and showgrace to our body and celebrate everysmall win.

(The author is the founder of theMOM.BOD.STRONG programme and

is an ambassador of Zumba® inIndia.)

Not long before the global pan-demic hit us — reappraising theway we think about work and

leisure — the prospect of working fromhome, even if it were only fortnightly,was an exciting proposition. The ben-efits of skipping the endless commuteto the workplace, attending meetingswhile virtually donning your favouritepair of pyjamas, and aligning your tasksaround your chores or sleep cycle,would always outdo the regularly incon-venient humdrum of life otherwise.

But COVID altered our lives andbeliefs in so many unexpected ways.The novelty of working from homestarted to fade away in a matter of a fewmonths after offices were shut. Themakeshift work desks at different cor-ners of homes eventually blurred thepersonal-professional boundary, trig-gering overwhelming sentiments of‘living at work’, burnouts and ‘Zoomfatigue’, resulting in monotony, lethar-gy and reduced productivity levels.

The sustained monotony of work-ing from home has also proved to bedetrimental to mental health, particu-larly impacting professionals who havebeen living away from families.However, since large companies arelooking at the remote working structureas a more permanent solution for itsobvious pros and considering how thethird wave of COVID-19 is just aroundthe corner, as per experts, we may haveto find ways to mix things up and makeworking from home a sustainable andagreeable process.

The solution — A ‘workation’Experts swear by the mantra of

rotating your workspace, so your dayfeels more varied. Initially, profes-sionals tried to mix things updepending on the amount of spaceat their disposal. But as they ran outof options, a few took it to the nextlevel by hiring a space in theoutdoors — to work!

And that’show thet e r m

‘workation’ was coined. Workation =work + vacation. It’s combining businesswith leisure. It’s attending Zoom callsagainst the enviable backdrop of awaterfall. It’s scheduling emails whilesunbathing at a beach. It’s creating cam-paigns while sipping a cup of hot cocoaat a rustic cafe somewhere in the hills.It’s hitting targets while hitting the roads.

A workation allows you to take youroffice along with you on your vacation.When you work from the hills or beach-es, you integrate the elements of leisureinto it, giving yourself time to unwindand rejuvenate whilst delivering on yourdaily targets. The idea of taking a roadtrip to a nearby destination — to relo-cate for a few weeks or even months —has proven to do wonders for your pro-ductivity, boosting motivation andstriking a perfect work-life balance.

Smart marketing by the travel andhospitality sector

With the workation fad doing therounds, hotels and homestays nearmetro cities have introduced ‘WorkationPackages’ to cash in on the trend. Theyhave bolstered their infrastructure tooffer the best remote working experi-

ence — contactless

check-ins, high-speed internet (even onthe beaches and open spaces), comfort-able work desks, in-room dining ser-vices, and babysitting services for kids.They are training their staff rigorouslyon the COVID SOPs to ensure compli-ance with all social distancing and safe-ty measures. To promote longer worka-tions, they are rolling out lucrative offerswith slashed tariffs on long-term rentalsand extended stays.

The workation-readiness isn’t lim-ited to the hospitality sector. The trav-el industry, which was equally affectedby the pandemic (if not more), is allgeared up to facilitate safe commute toworkations, which are usually in small-er towns located a few hundred kilome-tres away from densely populatedurban spaces. The safety benefits andconvenience offered by car rentals cou-pled with the charm of a classic road tripafter months of confinement is what’smaking car rentals the preferred choiceof travel among workationers. After all,who does not want to be pampered bya doorstep pickup and drop, with achauffeur-dri-ven car atyour dis-posal?

If you are based in any one of themetropolitan cities and can’t wait to getaway from the hustle and bustle, list-ed below are some brilliant recommen-dations located amid picturesqueattractions:

Bangalore�Kabini: Witness the wild wakingfrom slumber in their natural habitatat any one of Kabini’s jungle lodges.After a busy workday, unwind by opt-ing for an evening safari ride for theultimate wildlife experience.�Honnavar: Don your favourite beachshorts and cabana-style shades toanswer your Zoom calls amidst theclean yellow sands and turquoise watersof Honnavar.�Dandeli: A visual retreat for natureand adventure lovers, the rustic junglesand idyllic waterfalls of Dandeli willserve as your picture-perfect worksta-tion.�Sakleshpur: Nestled amid the WesternGhats, this gorgeous hill station willoverwhelm your senses with its vastaromatic tea and spice estates. You canalso treat yourself to trekking andcamping activities after a fruitful workweek.

Mumbai�Igatpuri: A hidden paradise tucked inthe Sahyadris, it will be the perfectworkation for mountain lovers. �Jawhar: Lush greenery, pristine lakesand waterfalls, breathtaking treks anddense forests — it is a land of serenitystill unexplored and offbeat. �Velas: Known for its Olive Ridley seaturtles, it is a paradise for beach lovers.After an exhausting day at work,unwind by trekking your way to the

cliffs and witness the picturesque sun-sets at the Velas beach.

�Goa: Delicious

seafood, unparalleled nightlife, alluringbeaches, cosy cafes, affordable stays, itis already a favourite amongst worka-tioners!

Delhi�Pushkar: Why work from homewhen you can work from a majesticpalace! And once you have pamperedyourself with all the royal treatment,work from one of the desert camps inthe place .�Jim Corbett: Book a cottage with largewindows with a view of the stunningjungles of Jim Corbett. Listen to thesounds of birds cooing or river flow-ing nearby and the occasional roars ofthe Royal Bengal Tiger to chill yourspines. This one’s not for the faint-hearted!�Mussoorie: Travel back in time to thecolonial town of Mussoorie. Workagainst the majestic backdrop of theGarhwal Himalayas and rejuvenateyour senses.�Jaipur: Spend your evenings witness-ing the ancient forts, admiring the old-world charm and enjoying the delec-table Rajasthani cuisine in the PinkCity.

Kolkata�Sundarbans: Find your inspiration forwork in the wilderness. The trees, theforests, the streams, and the uniquefauna of Sundarbans can inspire you.Take a relaxed break cycling or takingnature walks or go for wildlife photog-raphy.�Lachung: Work amid pine forests,rhododendron sanctuaries, snow-capped peaks, rustic cottages, hotsprings and rich biodiversity. �Falta: The serene river town of Faltais surrounded by lush green landscapes

and has a fascinating historyassociated with it. Unwindafter work exploring its fortand port or go for a tranquil

ferry ride.�Kalimpong: Experience the

charm of working amidst rollinghills, picturesque valleys, magnificentmonasteries and rich diversity of floraand fauna.

Escape the monotony of homeand head out to refresh your mind andsoul while working from outdoors.

(The author is the VP, head ofgrowth at Savaari Car Rentals, thelargest chauffeur-driven car rentalcompany in India in terms of geo-

graphical reach.)

3�3�� �#43�432��� ���������<��������� >�����������������������������

REMOTE WORKING — BOON OR BANE?

<3�!413;C�#FF41+C�3�4>&� ���&&8&#&�4?*.& ���������� �� ��������������� �� ����� ��������� ��� ���� �������� ���$�@���6&* ���&

���@����������������1?'86�& -&7 ������� � ������ ���������������������� ������������ ������ � �������� � ���

;���������������%�����1������������> ������������� "�������0�����������0��������������������������������> �����������9�;����������� � ����������� 0����:������D������� 0����3� ��&'

*�������8����=�������1�6���������1�)���������������2������� ����� ��������������

)�����������"��������������!����������'���������������� ������������������������*������'�*����+������

��������(���������������?

&�� ������H�������������� �������� �� � ��������� �������������������&���� �(D����������� ����������� ������������� ������������������������� ������� �� � � ��������������� ������������ �������� ��� ������ ����������������� ��$!������������������ �������������

��� ������� � ��$�� ������� ������ ������ ����� ���� ���� ������������������ ��� ����� ��������������� ���������������"����&�� �$�

����������������������������T66D$

(13311077(1(��3(4�4�(#�1��71

����������������� �������� ��� ! "

##(++'011������������� ���12�2���+�1

!�"

.����3 ���������������������������������������!�6�!��3��������&�� ���������!�3����

We, here at DDB Mudra Group, areclosely involved in an initiative

with Give India and Puma to raise fundsfor Covid relief in India.

As professionals, we see this initia-tive as an opportunity to volunteer ourtime, talent and influence to deal witha humanitarian crisis of epic proportion.

Your support can make a huge dif-ference. The initiative is called Team ForHumanity, and it represents an oppor-tunity for all of us to come together inthe face of a common enemy.

It is also an invitation to the globalsports community to come together(putting rivalry aside) for the fight thatmatters most at this point in history —humanity vs COVID-19.

We have brought onboard Indianand global influencers like Virat Kohli,Usain Bolt, Lewis Hamilton, KareenaKapoor among many others.

Fans, teams, leagues, associations,sportspeople, brands, networks, media,influencers and NGOs in India andabroad are joining hands to help inhumanity's fight against covid.

World EnvironmentDay was observed

by ChittaranjanLocomotive Works’(CLW) Women's WelfareOrganisation.

Based on this year’stheme of ‘Ecosystemrestoration’, NamitaKashyup, president ofCLW-WWO, SatishKumar Kashyup, generalmanager of CLW, andother members of CLW-

WWO actively partici-pated and together theyplanted 101 saplings ofdifferent species in vari-ous areas of CLW.

This plantation drivewas held over a period oftwo days. Namita urgedeveryone to plant asapling for environmentalprotection. This planta-tion drive was carried outfollowing social distanc-ing norms.

KSreekant, chairman and manag-ing director of Power Grid

Corporation of India Ltd, inaugurat-ed the 16th Asset ManagementConference on July 29, at Gurugramin presence of board members andCVO. Asset management employeesfrom all over the country joined theconference through virtual mode. Theobjective of this conference was todevise strategies for operations andmaintenance management of therapidly increasing transmission sys-tem. A number of presentations andideas were discussed and sharedduring the conference by variousexperts.

The event was organised adher-ing to all COVID-19 related proto-cols.

NTPC Ltd, India’slargest integrated

power producer has beenbestowed with the DIGI-TAL PSU Award inMaharatna Category atthe 8th PSU Award 2021by Governance Now.

A K Gautam, director(finance), NTPC Ltdreceived the award fromDr Kiran Bedi, Former LtGovernor of Puducherry,during the virtual awardceremony.

In the past threeyears, the digitalisationefforts of NTPC havehelped in creating morethan 20 lakh files inPRADIP, which is equiv-alent to more than 50crore paper pages.PRADIP, a unique initia-tive to make NTPC

paperless, stands for Pro-Active and DigitalInitiatives to becomePaperless. It has helped insaving close to 61,000trees, a concrete steptowards a more sustain-able ecosystem. NTPChas also held over 2,35,000meetings in virtual mode,

leading to a massivedecrease in the company'scarbon footprints.

The award is a testi-mony to NTPC’s digital-isation efforts that haveled to the digital transfor-mation of the company.In the past few years,NTPC has successfully

implemented a numberof IT initiatives such asPRADIP, virtual officeplatform – M365, vendorpayment portal, CLIMS,PI apps, Suraksha app,RTM (Real TimeMarketing) app. Thelargest integrated powerproducer is in the processof embracing new tech-nological platforms -AI/ML, RPA, IOT,AR/VR to make the infra-structure more robustand seamless.

The digitisationefforts have been a defin-itive step towards makingthe internal processesrobust and unified whichis contributing immense-ly towards addressing theESG parameters forNTPC.

Power Grid Corporationof India Ltd (POWER-

GRID), a Maharatna PSUunder the Ministry of Power,has successfully commis-sioned 40 km of 11 kVtransmission l ine fromLalung to Darchik underthe rural electrificationscheme PMDP (PrimeMinister DevelopmentProgramme). The line isused for the electrification ofadjoining villages namelyLalung, Silmoo, Batalik,Darchik, Hurdass, Sinikceyand Garkon. With the com-missioning of this line, allremote villages in AryanValley (in Kargil district) arenow connected to thenational grid through 220kV Srinagar Leh transmis-sion system. Earlier, thesevillages were dependent onDG sets for power supplywhich was available for alimited time only.

In addition to the above,electrification of 20 villagesin Leh district has also beencompleted by POWERGRIDwhich involves the commis-sioning of the project in

remote villages like Largiabin Nubra Valley.

Besides, a number of 11kV lines totalling 150 km,connecting villages Wanla toFatoksar, Lamayaru toAtishe, Fotorse and Saspolarea have been establishedby POWERGRID and itconnects all villages in-between.

POWERGRID has built astate-of-the-art 220/66 kV gas-insulated substations (GIS) atDrass, Kargil, Khalsti and Lehconnecting the Ladakh regionto the national grid throughthe 341 km of 220 kV trans-mission line emanating fromSrinagar. 220 kV Srinagar-Leh transmission system hasbeen transferred to POWER-GRID as ISTS and POWER-GRID is committed to main-tain high system availabilityand provide reliable power tothe entire Ladakh region.

The reliable power fromthe Grid will drive econom-ic development in the regionand bring prosperity to theremotest villages of Ladakhbesides eliminating genera-tion through DG sets.

Campus placements at VelloreInstitute of Technology (VIT)

commenced on July 15 for the 2022graduating batch with VIT sharingthe first slot with eight super dreamcompanies such as Microsoft, Dyte,Amazon, PayPal, D.E. Shaw IndiaPvt Ltd, Morgan Stanley, Udaan andWorkIndia.

VIT adheres to a centralisedplacement process and this year too,the students from all the four cam-puses of VIT, Vellore, Chennai,Amaravati (AP) and Bhopal (MP)participated in all the campusrecruitment processes. The entireprocess for all companies in the firstslot, mainly pre-placement talk,online test, technical and HR inter-views were conducted online as wellas remotely.

Chancellor of VIT, Dr GViswanathan announced the resultsof the campus placements by thecompanies in the first slot thisweek.

Microsoft selected 21 studentsfor full-time vacancies. PayPal - 13offers, Udaan - three offers, Dyte -six offers, WorkIndia – eight offers,D.E. Shaw India Pvt.Ltd - twooffers, Morgan Stanley - 10 offersand Amazon – 13 offers. At present,the highest CTC is offered by Dytewith � 75 lakhs annual salary pack-age to two students from the 2022graduating batch in VIT.

Followed by first slot place-ments, companies like Wells Fargo,Texas Instruments, Walmart labs,Komprise and Societe Generale arein the pipeline for forthcoming slots.

129 students from the 2022graduating batch received pre-place-ment offers (PPO) from companiesduring their summer internships.Pre-placement offers were madeby D.E. Shaw India Pvt. Ltd (oneoffer), Fidelity investments (13offers), HPE CTY (eight offers), JPMorgan (60 offers), Natwest (twooffers), Wells Fargo (10 offers),

Visa (10 offers), Morgan Stanley(fiveoffers) ZS associates (seven offers)and Appointy (3 offers) to summerinterns. The other PPO results ofVIT students who did their summerinternships with Optum, SKF,Kristal, and Adobe are expectedsoon.

“Overall, 195 placements insuper dream companies and intern-ship offers were rolled out toVITians by top companies withintwo weeks of the placement season.VIT's placement calendar is packedtill the end of August”, said DrViswanathan.

He added that the other superdream companies like Walmart,Nielson, HealthRx, Thorogood,HyperVerge and Razor pay, whichoffer more than �10 lakhs perannum as CTC will be conductingtheir recruitment in the comingweeks. Other Dream companies,core engineering companies and ITservice companies are expected to

hire VITians next month.The PG internship placements

which started in VIT in March iscontinuing simultaneously, 118companies have already completedtheir remote hiring process and haveselected 912 PG students from MTech, MTech (SoftwareEngineering), MCA and MSc cours-es of the 2022 graduating batch.

Intel, Qualcomm, NetApp,Nokia, Philips, Titan, PayPal,VMware, Media Tek and Danfossare some of the prominent recruiterswho hired interns from VIT thisyear. Intel and Nokia have hiredmore than 100 students for intern-ships.

Dr Viswanathan congratulatedall the students who got selected forinternships and placements andwished the other students a greatplacement season. He also thankedall the companies that have accept-ed to conduct remote hiring in thesechallenging times.

SRM Institute of Scienceand Technology, ani n t e r n a t i o n a l l y

acclaimed and Category 1private university headquar-tered in Chennai with mul-tiple campuses across Indiahas appointed Prof Dr CMuthamizhchelvan as its 5thvice-chancellor.

Dr Muthamizhchelvanis a home-grown talent ofSRM who had started hiscareer as a lecturer in thedepartment of physics andhas been a part of the insti-tution for over 35 years. Hisexperience and global expo-sure would set a new mile-stone for the university in theever-changing educationspace. The founder-chancel-lor on the occasion of wel-coming the new vice-chan-cellor, sent a strong messageto the internal community onhis trust in fellow membersand freedom to grow withinand lead.

Dr Muthamizhchelvan,on assuming office as vice-chancellor, shared his

thoughts, “SRM IST is aunique breed of a multi-stream university which out-grew its challenges of thecentury through its agility,

valour and culture. It hasbeen a land of opportunitiesfor the academic and inno-vation community turning tothe brighter sides for more

than a lakh of students andresearchers. The new agechallenges require a thor-ough understanding of theglobal learning ecosystem

and the strongly inheritedstrengths of the university toset a new benchmark in theeducation space. I believe,our visionary leader, thefounder-chancellor has seed-ed this idea in me from myearly days and has now hand-ed over the mantle of vice-chancellor, SRM IST, to me tolead this prestigious univer-sity towards making a strongimpact.”

He further added, “As ahome-grown talent of SRMmy focus (I SEE) on this rolewill be to:�Intensify efforts and consis-tently improve processes inthe changing paradigm ofteaching and learning.�Scale up the aspiration lev-els of the students andresearch community.�Encourage the innovativeand enterprising minds toachieve their career goals.�Envision socially relevantand sustainable goals toachieve an impactful modelfor the goodness of mankindand every life on this planet.”

Dr G Viswanathan, founder-chan-cellor of VIT announced �62

lakhs as scholarships in the form of 100per cent fee waiver for 25 VIT-APUniversity students who have lost a par-ent, who was the bread-winner of thefamily, due to COVID-19. These 25 stu-dents are pur-suing variousEngineering &Non-engineer-ing pro-g r a m m e s .During thefirst wave ofthe pandemic,VIT (AP)offered abuilding as aq u a r a n t i n ecentre to thestate's healthdepar tmentand donated �75 lakhs to the AndhraPradesh CM Relief Fund to aid the gov-ernment’s efforts in its fight against thenovel Coronavirus.

“VIT (AP) hopes that such studentsdo not face financial difficulties and willbe able to complete their study on time,”says Dr S V Kota Reddy, vice-chancel-lor of VIT (AP).

Aspecial cleanliness drive,Swachata Pakhwada, was

inaugurated at Jammu'sDepartment of Hospitality andProtocol under the guidanceand active participation of direc-tor-general of hospitality andprotocol, Hashmat Ali Khan,KAS, to bring a fortnight ofintense focus on the issues andpractises of Swachata. The firstday of the campus cleanlinessdrive began from the CircuitHouse, Canal Road in which allthe staff of the Department ofHospitality and Protocol partic-ipated.

Speaking on the occasion,the director-general motivatedthe staff to set the highest stan-dards of cleanliness as the coreobjective of the department sincethe department daily deals withnumerous guests official andnon-official, from within theU.T as well as all across thenation. He further explainedthat this event is part of the 76thIndependence Day celebrationsand the motive behind theseactivities under SwachataPakhwada is to ensure that everymember of the staff realises theirduty towards keeping their work-places, and their surroundings,clean. He further urged theemployees to pay attention to theminutest details as they form thebigger picture.

The event was organised bythe joint director of Hospitalityand Protocol, Ansuya Jamwal,KAS who informed that a com-plete calendar has been chartedout for carrying out the Swachhta

Pakhwada in all the houses andassets of Hospitality & Protocolviz Circuit House, State GuestHouses, Tara Niwas Udhampur,Director Generals Office, JointDirector Office and stores ofH&P et al as per the governmentdirections which will witnessthe participation of all the officialsand imbibe in them the spirit ofcleanliness and bring qualitativeswachata improvement especial-ly during these challenging timesof Covid-19. She impressed staffto adopt the leanings of theevent and make certain that thepractices are replicated through-out the year.

Others who participated inthe drive included the deputydirector of Stores, Ashima Sher,assistant director, AmirChoudhary, Muneeb Umar, assis-tant director(Central), Dr AnandThakur Sen, Accounts Officer,assistant of housekeeping BuaDitta Sharma, manager of CircuitHouse, Puneet Kour and all theofficials of the Department ofHospitality and Protocol. Thedrive ended with a commitmentto carry out the objectives of thedrive with the same zeal andenthusiasm in all premises for thewhole year.

An MoU has beensigned between

Maharatna PSU, PowerGrid Corporation of IndiaLimited (POWERGRID)and the deputy commis-sioner of Gurugram onAugust 4 for the supplyand installation of PSAType 2x50 Nm3/hr oxy-gen generation plant withbottling facility at TauDevi Lal Stadium, Sector-38, Gurugram, Haryanaunder the CSR initiative ofPOWERGRID inNorthern Region-I.

The aforementionedoxygen plant has a capac-ity of filling approximate-ly 250 oxygen cylindersdaily, which in turn wouldbe distributed by the state

government through itsdistribution channels torural as well as urbanGurugram.

The agreement wassigned by Sanjay Sharma(Sr GM of POWERGRID)and Yash Garg, IAS, DC,

Gurugram. VinayakChauhan (Sr. GM, CSR)and Vinod P Baxla (SrDGM, HR) from POW-ERGRID were also pre-sent along with othersenior officials during theceremony.

�����������"������������+&-,���������F;������������������� ��'� ������ ���� ���� �

Home-grown talent elevated to the topleadership position of SRM University

7�� ����� �������������+���������0������������$&

��!�5���$��"> ��������������

&6(�(�������(��!����%�������������������������� ���������������

-2�6./.�0���������2R*����������

��� ������/���������)3;������� �������������"�������� �� ��� ���8&� ����� ������@�;���������"������ �������:)���� �"�������0��������������� �� ��������������7)���� �"�������

‘Cleanliness counts, everywhere’8&18*&��&7��48&# ����� � ���� �� � � ��� � ����������������� ������3���

%#E14$4������ ���"�A�����"�������$�����

NTPC recognised for its digital initiatives

�"����#(����������������� �������� ��� ! "

45>5�4�/���*�

WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS

�Athletics: Neeraj Chopraqualified for final by toppingqualification round in men’sjavelin throw.Shivpal Singh finished 12thin group B qualification and27th overall in men’s javelinthrow; failed to advance tofinal round.�Boxing: Lovlina Borgohainlost to Busenaz Surmeneli ofTurkey 0-5 in women’s 69kgsemifinal.�Golf: Aditi Ashok at tiedsecond and Diksha Dagar attied 56th after round 1 inwomen’s individual strokeplay.�Hockey: India lost toArgentina 1-2 in women’ssemifinal.�Wrestling: Ravi Kumarbeat Oscar Eduardo Tigreros(Colombia) in first round,beat Georgi ValentinovVangelov (Bulgaria) in quar-terfinals, beat NurislamSanayev (Kazakhstan) insemifinal of men’s freestyle57kg.Anshu Malik lost to IrynaKurachkina (Belarus) in firstround of women’s freestyle57kg; will play in repechageround.Deepak Punia beatEkerekeme Agiomor(Nigeria) in first round, beatZushen Lin (China) in quar-terfinals, lost to David MorrisTaylor (USA) in semifinals ofmen’s freestyle 86kg; willplay for Bronze medal.

IN ACTION TODAY�Athletics: K T Irfan, RahulRohilla and Sandeep Kumarin men’s 20km race walkevent. (01:00 pm)�Golf: Aditi Ashok andDiksha Dagar in women’sindividual stroke play round2. (04:00 am)�Hockey: India vs Germanyin men’s Bronze medalmatch. (07:00 am)�Wrestling: Vinesh Phogatvs Sofia Magdalena Mattsson(Sweden) in women’sfreestyle 53kg. (08:00 am).Anshu Malik vs ValeriaKoblova (ROC) in repechageround of women’s freestyle57kg. (second bout after07:30 am start)Ravi Dahiya vs Zavur Uguev(Russian OlympicCommittee) in men’sfreestyle 57kg final. (ninthbout after 02:45 pm start)Deepak Punia in men’sfreestyle Bronze medalmatch. (11th bout after02:45 pm start)

Live on SONY TEN& SIX Network

Tokyo: Medal contenderNeeraj Chopra became thefirst Indian javelin thrower toenter the finals of the OlympicGames with a stunning throwof 86.65m in his openingattempt that put him on top ofthe qualification round onWednesday.

The 23-year-old keptIndia’s hopes of an elusiveOlympic medal from athleticsalive by earning a direct entryinto the finals to be held onSaturday as he sent the spearwell past the qualifyingmark of 83.50m in hisfirst attempt.

However, ShivpalSingh, failed to make thefinal cut with a below-parbest throw of 76.40m,which he came up in hisfirst attempt, to finish alowly 12th in the GroupB qualification which fea-tured 16 athletes.

Competing in hisfirst Olympics, Chopratook just a few seconds tomake the final round. Hetopped the Group Acontest as well as the twoqualifications roundsand left the javelin arenaafter his first throw.

“I am at my firstOlympic Games, and Ifeel very good. In warm-up my performancewasn’t so good, butthen (in the quali-fying round) myfirst throw had agood angle, andwas a perfectthrow,” Choprasaid after hisevent.

Chopra is,however, under noillusion that the finalwill be a totally differ-ent contest where theworld’s best will go forpodium finish.

“It will be a differ-ent feeling (in thefinals), since it is myfirst time in the

Olympics. Physically we (all)train hard, and are ready, but Ialso need to prepare mentally.

“I will need to focus on thethrow, and try to repeat this(performance) with a higherscore,” said the youngster whocame into the Olympics withthe fourth best throw (88.07m)this year.

Chopra’s performance onSaturday will go down as one ofthe best performances by anIndian in the Olympics, as hefinished ahead of Gold medalfavourite and 2017 world cham-pion Johannes Vetter ofGermany.

Vetter, who had earlier saidthat Chopra will find it tough tobeat him in the Olympics, strug-gled in his first two throwsbefore crossing the automaticqualification mark with a85.64m final throw.

The 28-year-old toweringGerman, who came into theOlympics after having sevenmonster throws of over 90mbetween April and June, waslying at a dangerous seventh

position after his firsttwo throws buteventually quali-fied for the final atsecond overall

behind Chopra.Pakistan’s Arshad

Nadeem, who hadwon a Bronze

medal whenC h o p r ac l i n c h e dGold in the2018 AsianGames inIndonesia,t o p p e dGroup Bto earn an

automatic qual-ification to thefinals with a sec-ond round throwof 85.16m.

He qualifiedfor the finals atoverall thirdbehind Chopra andVetter. PTI

��� � '8�@&

Ravi Dahiya onWednesday becameonly the second Indianwrestler to qualify for

the title clash at the OlympicGames, when he sensationallyturned around the 57kg semi-final bout by pinningKazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayevbut Deepak Punia was left tofight for Bronze medal after helost his semifinal, here onWednesday.

Before Dahiya, SushilKumar was the only Indian tomake the Gold medal bout atthe 2012 Olympics in Londonwhere he had settled for aSilver.

The fourth seeded Dahiyatrailed 2-9 after Sanayev effect-ed a few ‘fitley’ (leg lace) but asthe clocked ticked away, Dahiyaregrouped and got hold of hisrival with a double leg attackthat resulted in a ‘victory by fall’.

“I had no business conced-ing that much lead againstSanayev. I am not happy withit,” Dahiya told PTI when askedabout his inspiring achieve-ment.

It just shows the kind ofstandards the Indian fromNahri village in Haryana hasset for himself.

“I have beaten Sanayevtwice before, so I knew I canpull it off despite trailing by a

huge margin. I was assuredinside, but I should not haveconceded lead and made it aclose fight. That was pretty badof me,” he said.

“I still have some unfin-ished business to do. I camewith a target here and that isnot complete yet (winning

Gold).”In the final on Thursday,

Dahiya will face reigning worldchampion Russian ZavurUguev to whom he had lost inthe 2019 World Championshipsemifinals.

Despite a huge deficit, the23-year-old Dahiya did not

panic, showing tremendousmental strength and dramati-cally turned the bout in hisfavour.

After the end of the firstperiod, Dahiya had a 2-1 leadbut Sanayev came preparedand attacked the Indian’s leftleg, got a good grip and turned

him thrice to log six points ina jiffy.

Suddenly, Dahiya’s leadwas gone and he was staring ata defeat but his superior stami-na and technical prowess wasstill at work. The remaining oneminute was enough for him toturn the tide and he did it instyle.

He got hold of Sanayevwith a double leg attack andthen gripped him tightly withthe Kazakhstan wrestler’s backon the mat and finished thebout with a mighty ‘pin’.

A dominant Dahiya hadwon both his previous contestson technical superiority enroute the final.

Dahiya outclassedColombia’s Tigreros Urbano(13-2) in his opener and then

outwitted Bulgaria’s GeorgiValentinov Vangelov (14-4).

While Dahiya was a live-wire on the mat, Deepak Punia(86kg) made good use of afavourable draw to reach thesemifinals but lost to the formi-dable American David MorrisTaylor. He will now fight forBronze on Thursday against thewinner of the repechage roundbetween Myles Amine and AliShabanau.

It was always going to be aherculean task for Deepak totrouble the American, the 2018world champion and the reign-ing Pan-American champion.

It was hardly a contest asTaylor effected one move afteranother to win by technicalsuperiority in the first perioditself.

Deepak could make onlyone move on counter attack butthe American did not give theIndian any chance to convertthat into points.

The 22-year-old Deepakhad earlier got past Nigeria’sEkerekeme Agiomor, theAfrican championship Bronzemedallist by technical superi-ority and then prevailed 6-3over China’s Zushen Lin in thequarterfinal.

Anshu Malik, on the otherhand, lost her opening 57kgbout to European championIrina Kurachikina but sincethe Belarus wrestler has

reached the final, the 19-yearold Indian has got a secondchance to be in medal round.

She will now compete inthe repechage round onThursday and if she wins, shewill also fight for Bronze.

Dahiya will now be onlythe fifth Indian wrestler towin an Olympic medal.

KD Jadhav had becomeIndia’s first wrestler and also thefirst individual Olympic medal-list when he won a Bronze dur-ing the 1952 Helsinki Games.

After that, Sushil Kumarenhanced wrestling’s profileby winning a Bronze at 2008Beijing Games and bettered thecolour of the medal by claim-ing a historic Silver in 2012 atLondon Olympics that madehim India’s only athlete withtwo individual Olympic medalsfor nine years.

The feat then has nowbeen matched by shuttler PVSindhu.In the same 2012Olympics, Yogeshwar Dutt wona Bronze.

Sakshi Malik became thefirst Indian woman wrestler towin an Olympic medal whenshe took a Bronze in 2016 RioOlympics.

This Tokyo edition couldwell be a watershed Olympicsfor Indian wrestling with bothVinesh Phogat and BajrangPunia also in contention for amedal.

����������������������������������"� Tokyo: Indian golfer Aditi

Ashok got off to a brilliant startat the Olympic Games, cardinga four-under 67 in the openinground for a share of the secondspot at the KasumigasekiCountry Club on Wednesday.

Aditi, who caught the golf-ing world’s attention five yearsago at the Rio Olympics, sharedthe position with World No 1Nelly Korda.

She was one shot behind theleader, Madalene Sagstrom ofSweden, who shot 66.

“I think I played better thanI expected today because I hada lot of hybrids into the greens,so I didn’t really expect to be like5-under through 17,” Aditi said.

Aditi may well have had ashare of the lead but for a bogeyon the 18th hole.

While Sagstrom shot abogey free five-under 66, Aditi

had five birdies against onebogey and that on the closinghole.

She was placed well ahead ofsome big names in women’s golf,including the formidabledefending champion, Inbee Park(69).

India’s other entrant in the

field, Diksha Dagar (76) had arough start in her maidenOlympics as she had five bogeysand no birdies to lie at the tied56th spot.

The 60-player field will play18 holes each day and there willbe no cut, so all players get toplay 72 holes. PTI

Tokyo: A brave Indian women’shockey team put up a gritty per-formance but it was not enoughto secure a maiden Olympicfinal berth as it lost 1-2 to worldNo 2 Argentina in a hard-fought semifinal on Wednesday.

India still have a chance towin the Bronze medal as theywill take on Great Britain in thethird-fourth place play-offmatch on Friday.

The Indians fought valiant-ly and gave Argentina a run fortheir money by taking the leadin the second minute througha penalty corner conversion byGurjit Kaur.

But the Las Leonasbounced back strongly withskipper Maria Barrionuevo’s(18th, 36th minutes) twinstrikes from penalty corners tosecure the hard-fought win.

The Netherlands will playArgentina in the final on Friday.

The bunch of 18 fearlessand determined Indian womenhad already done the unthink-able when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0on Monday to enter theOlympic semifinals for the firsttime.

Prime Minister NarendraModi offered consoling wordsto the Indian women’s hockeyteam, saying the players showedgreat skill and grit.

“One of the things we willremember #Tokyo2020 for is thestupendous performance byour Hockey teams. Today andthrough the Games, ourWomen’s Hockey team playedwith grit and showcased greatskill. Proud of the team. Best ofluck for the game ahead and forfuture endeavours,” Moditweeted. PTI

Tokyo: Indian boxer LovlinaBorgohain (69kg) signed offwith a Bronze medal in herdebut Olympic Games after acomprehensive 0-5 loss toreigning world championBusenaz Surmeneli onWednesday, bringing an endto the country’s campaign inthe sport here.

Up against quite literallya bully in the ring, Borgohainwas completely out-punchedby the Gold medal favouriteTurkish boxer, who produceda thoroughly dominatingperformance.

Borgohain also coped aone point deduction in thesecond round for not payingattention to the referee’sinstructions despite a coupleof cautions.

“I don’t know what to say.I could not execute what Ihad planned. I could havedone better,” Borgohain saidafter the loss.

The Indian’s start wasnot all that bad as she stoodup to the strong challenge butshe came undone afterSurmeneli got down to con-necting her vicious hooks

and body shots.The third round was

especially punishing forBorgohain, who faced twostanding eight counts duringthe bout.

Surmeneli was unrelent-ing in all three rounds afterbeing unsettled only slightlyin the opening few secondswhen Borgohain tried tokeep her at long range andstruck only counter-attackingstraight hits.

The flamboyant Turkishboxer didn’t just out-punchher rival after that but alsotaunted her with some show-boating, including droppingher guard to dare the Indian.

Nonetheless, Borgohaingoes home a history-makeras the 23-year-old hasbecome only the third Indianboxer to ensure a podiumfinish at the showpiece afterVijender Singh (2008) andMC Mary Kom (2012).

Tokyo: A demoralising semifi-nal defeat behind it, the Indianmen’s hockey team would needan error-free performance fromits defence to secure an Olympicmedal after 41 years when ittakes on Rio Games Bronze-winner Germany in the third-fourth place play-off match onThursday.

The Indian defence willhave to pull up its socks andavoid repeating the same mis-takes which it made againstBelgium if they desire to standon the podium here.

The onus is on the likes ofHarmanpreet, Rupinder,Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidasand star goalkeeper PR Sreejeshwill have to be on their toes tocome out triumphant against themight of Germans.

The Indians also need to

avoid unnecessary tackles infront of their circle.

Going by rankings, there ishardly anything to differentiatebetween the two sides as Indiaare currently on third place andGermany on fourth. ButGermany would be a tough nutto crack. Having lost 1-3 againstAustralia in the semifinals here,the Germans would be deter-mined to prove a point.

Having failed to secure theGold medal here after two suc-cessive yellow metals in 2008and 2012 Games, the Germanshad to settle for a Bronze in Rio2016 and they would be deter-mined to at least return with apodium finish from here.

In the Olympics, both thesides have faced each other 11times recording four wins eachand three games ending in draw.

���/����9 ��������������,�:!.��������������&�

����� #2���#/8&*

England were all out for 183in their first innings against

India on the opening day of thefirst Test here on Wednesday.

Having reached tea at 138for four, England lost theirremaining six wickets for just 45runs in the day’s third and finalsession.

Skipper Joe Root made 64off 108 balls, even as the othersfailed miserably to stand up tothe Indian pace bowling attack.

For the visitors, JaspritBumrah picked up four wicketsfor 46 runs, Mohammed Shamihad 3/28, while Shardul Thakurbagged 2/41.

England scored 77 runs in25.2 overs bowled in the after-noon session for the loss of twowickets, after scoring 61 in thefirst session.

The pitch had enough forthe pacers in the first hour ofplay with the ball swinging andseaming around.

With India going in withfour pacers, Shardul Thakurcame into the side but the one

spinner picked was RavindraJadeja, who didn’t bowl in thefirst session.

Dropping premier spinnerR Ashwin was a big call as hehad been well prepared for theseries opener with his prepara-

tion including a county game.Earlier at tea, Joe Root and

Jonny Bairstow frustrated Indianbowlers with solid Test matchbatting in challenging conditionsbefore Mohammed Shami broketheir 72-run stand by dismissing

the latter to leave England at 138for four at tea on day one.

Like the first session, Indianpacers beat the batsmen regular-ly but Root (52 batting off 91balls) and Bairstow (29 off 71)played with grit and patience to

thwart their attempts.Shami was finally able to

break their threatening stand byhaving Bairstow leg before at thestroke of tea. Shami got one tojag back in and India reviewedthe umpire’s decision successful-ly. England scored 77 runs in25.2 overs bowled in the after-noon sessions for the loss of twowickets.

India had their tail up earlyon in the session when Shamihad Dom Sibley caught at shortmid-wicket in the third overpost lunch. Shami made Sibleyfall into a trap set for him witha full ball on his pads which theEngland opener flicked itstraight to K L Rahul, leaving thehosts at 66 for three.

Bairstow joined Root in themiddle and they ended up bat-ting the rest of the session.

While the Indian pacerskept asking questions with theball constantly moving around,Root seemed to find answersmore often that not. He playedwith soft hands and close to hisbody, and was quick to latch onto the loose balls.

New Delhi: Table TennisFederation of India onWednesday decided to issue ashow cause notice to star pad-dler Manika Batra for her refusalto take national coachSoumyadeep Roy’s help at theTokyo Olympics.

Though Manika’s coachSanmay Paranjape was givenaccess for training sessions inTokyo, he did not have theaccreditation to enter the field ofplay and a request to upgrade hisaccess card was denied. In ashow of protest, Manika hadrefused help from designatedteam coach Roy during her sin-gles matches.

“Before she boarded theflight to Tokyo, she very wellknew that her personal coachdid not have field of play access.Therefore, she should not haveacted the way she did. “We willissue the notice tomorrow andManika will have 10 days torespond and based on that wewill decide what action to betaken further,” TTFI secretarygeneral said. PTI

--�3�������������"��������.�������

3���������������������������

Tokyo: The Indian women’shockey team has learnt tobounce back from losses, saidcoach Sjoerd Marijne, addingthat the defeat to Argentina inthe Olympic semifinal is histo-ry as the side focusses onclaiming a historic Bronze.

“We came here to win amedal and still there’s one(available). It’s now aboutrecovery, about the mindset.The good thing is, it’s notalways good that we lost a lot

in the past but we also havelearned to deal with the loss-es,” Marijne said after thematch.

“So it’s okay, what can weimprove on from this match.”

The Dutchman feels Indiafailed to grab their opportuni-ties against Argentina, whicheventually made the differ-ence. “In these matches it isabout taking your opportuni-ties. Argentina did that betterthan us. With the PC, the

injection was not always per-fect, the trapping was not goodand then you can’t play exact-ly the PC you want,” he said.

“I can’t be angry with thegirls or be mad because wedon’t play these kind of match-es so much. It’s a whole newexperience and you also haveto learn how to play thesematches. It’s all about takingyour opportunities. “The inten-sity we showed in the lastquarter, that was really good.”

3�������������������'�����'���!����������7�.���+��

New Delhi: The marquee T20World Cup clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in alllikelihood will be held onOctober 24, which is a Sunday,even though the ICC will bereleasing the official schedule ofthe tournament in few days.

“As of now, Sunday, October24 looks the likely option as thefirst week’s Qualifying roundmatches starting October 17 willbe held in Muscat, Oman,” asource privy to developments inthe ICC board said.

“So when the main roundrobin fixtures are played, it isbetter to start with an Indo-Pakgame which will have the bestTRP.” India and Pakistan areslotted in Group 2 along with theWTC winners New Zealand andAfghanistan. PTI

������� �%�����#���:,

� ��� �������!������#;)�� �7���#

-�0�)&0�

�*4�0'�%�0��@)1 �0#*&

-�0�)&0�

�*4�0'�%�0��@)1 �0#*&

������������������!����"���������������������0��������������������������������0�������!������������!�������A-���#$#$��

����� ��� ���:����,�� ?�

3�������6�������=��������1������1��;������ ��������������=�����������������!�-������������������"����0��"������"����������!�����'�;��������� *-3

!��3���-��.���+�����"#"�/��3

�2'A���B�'0)-2�C

3������ ���������'������!����B�������'������ 8����=������"�"���������������������4��!�!�����-���� )*

3���������� ���*����1��� 1�����&������6���C������������������(�������� )*

3������ ������������!������!������������)��������������������!��������� *-3

)����� �����#����������!�'��������