9Z[RS SR_ Z_ T]Rddc``^ gR]ZU cf]Vd

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M uslim girl students cannot wear hijab (headscarf) inside classrooms. The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the ban on hijab in educational institutions in the State by dismissing pleas of Muslim girls. The court said hijab is not part of the essen- tial religious practice in the Islamic faith. The HC order drew criti- cism from senior Muslim lead- ers like Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), Omar Abdullah (National Conference), and AIMIM leader and Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi. The Muslim girls who had opposed the Government order against wearing hijab in class- rooms rejected the judgment. Within hours of the HC order, a Muslim student filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the HC verdict. A three-judge full bench of the High Court said the pre- scription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to. Muslim students’ body Campus Front of India (CFI) protested against the “anti- constitutional order” and vowed to take all efforts to pro- tect constitutional and indi- vidual rights. Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi-led bench said, “We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form part of essential religious practice in the Islamic faith.” The CJ read out portions from the order. The other two judges in the panel were Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi. The bench also maintained that the Government has power to issue the impugned order dated February 5, 2022, and no case is made out for its invalidation. By the said order, the Karnataka Government had banned wearing clothes that disturb equality, integrity, and public order in schools and colleges, which the Muslim girls had challenged in the HC. The bench also rejected the plea to initiate a disciplinary enquiry against the college, its principal and a teacher. “In the above circumstances, all these writ petitions being devoid of merits are liable to be dis- missed. In view of the dismissal of the petition, all the pending applications pale into insignif- icance and are accordingly dis- posed of,” said the HC. C ongress on Tuesday cracked the whip on its chief of State units where the party had a dismal perfor- mance in the just-concluded Assembly elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. “Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked the PCC presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resig- nations in order to facilitate reorganisation of PCCs,” Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said on a day when dissensions within the party came in pub- lic after senior leader and for- mer Union Minister Kapil Sibal asked the Gandhis to quit and pave way for others to run party affairs. The move also came two days after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to discuss the party’s performance and in which Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka had offered to relinquish their posts but were asked by certain members to continue. The CWC then authorised Sonia to make comprehensive changes in the party structure at the State and national levels. AICC sources said that process for the overhaul of the organisational structure has begun and during the next meetings of the CWC and the proposed chintan shivr in Jaipur there could be announcements to advance the organisation elections present- ly scheduled for September 2022. Sonia has been the interim chief since 2019 after Rahul quit the post in the wake of poor Lok Sabha performance and Congress rout in several Assembly elections. Among those who have been asked to tender their res- ignation to Sonia is Navjot Singh Sidhu. Appointed the Punjab Congress chief in July by Rahul and Priyanka, Sidhu was singularly responsible for the ouster of the then Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh. Sidhu also locked horns with Charanjit Singh Channi, Captain’s successor and Congress Chief Ministerial face in Punjab elections. As a result of this infighting, the Congress was reduced to 18 seats in the Punjab Assembly polls. The Congress was unable to unseat the BJP in Uttarakhand and won only 19 out of 70 seats where it had a very formidable chance along with Goa. The elections were fought under the leadership of Uttarakhand PCC chief Ganesh Godiyal and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat. A fter the fatal performance, the post-mortem! Days after the Congress party virtu- ally faced political annihilation in Punjab, its leaders on Tuesday carried out a detailed dissection of the debacle, sling- ing the mud of humiliation at each other and blaming, among other things, timing of Capt Amarinder Singh’s ouster from the Chief Minister’s post. Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, and senior leader Sunil Jakhar too took the direct hit for singing different tunes as a part of the same choir. At the same time, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Sidhu to submit his resignation to facil- itate the reorganisation of the State party unit. Congress in Punjab could secure just 18 seats, with the Aam Aadmi Party sweeping the Assembly polls with a thumping majority of 92 seats in the 117-member House. As the Congress State lead- ership met on Tuesday to dis- cuss the “reasons” for the poll debacle, the party leaders lashed out at the top three lead- ers — Channi, Sidhu and Jakhar — for openly speaking against one another in the run-up to polls. Demands for ousting Channi, removing Sidhu as PPCC chief, fixing accountability were raised dur- ing the meeting of contesting candidates called by the State party affairs in-charge Harish Choudhary at Punjab Congress Bhawan on Tuesday to intro- spect on the party’s drubbing. “This was expected. Many leaders want to replace Sidhu as they believe that he did not work the way a party president should have during the elec- tions. He was continuously questioning his own party’s government, he was pointing fingers at the Chief Minister... and there is no doubt that the Congress has to face defeat because of that,” a senior party leader, who was part of the manthan, told The Pioneer while reacting to Sonia’s deci- sion to seek Sidhu’s resigna- tion. Sources in the party main- tained that after the poll defeat, Choudhary himself was in favour to remove Sidhu as the State party chief. Besides, party’s Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and even Channi are believed to have called for replacing Sidhu with new party chief. U kraine universities dis- couraged stranded Indian students from leaving the war- torn nation and showed reluc- tance to offer them online courses, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Parliament on Tuesday. Elaborating upon the fall- out of the ongoing war for India, Jaishankar said it has major economic implications and the same can be seen in the rising prices of energy and commodities. Giving details of Operation Ganga to bring back the stranded Indians from Ukraine after the Russian offensive began on February 24, Jaishankar said India managed to evacuate 22,500 of its citi- zens, including students, from there. “Despite our efforts, how- ever, a large majority of stu- dents elected to continue stay- ing in Ukraine. We must understand the predicament in this regard. There was a natural reluctance to leave the educa- tional institutions and affect the studies. Some universities actively discouraged and showed reluctance to offer online courses. Many of them received conflicting advice regarding safety,” Jaishankar said. He said in the period leading to February 24, the political signals were confus- ing as well. “Public urgings not to be taken by alarmism and reports of force with- drawal created a confusing picture. The net result was that about 18,000 Indian nationals were caught in the midst of conflict when it started,” Jaishankar said. The Minister said students did what they thought is right under the circumstance. He said India prepared in advance of the actual conflict situation. Narrating the time-lines, Jaishankar said the Indian embassy in Ukraine had start- ed a registration drive for India nationals in January, and as a result, 20,000 Indian nationals registered with the Indian embassy. The Minister said 4,000 students left Ukraine through direct and indirect flights. India also rescued 147 foreign nationals of 18 countries, including Nepal and Bangladesh from Ukraine, he informed both Houses. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded “The Kashmir Files”, a movie focusing on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, for “unearthing the truth”. The PM also came down heavily on those criticising it saying they are part of the “eco-system” around and don’t do justice to the self-espoused concept of freedom of expression. The movie has been made tax-free by eight BJP-ruled States — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana. Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Muslim- majority Kashmir valley in the 1990. Starring Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi among others, the movie has stirred a running debate on the Kashmiri Pundits ouster from the valley. Many in the social media has demanded a probe into the what they called “eth- nic cleansing”. Modi, who was addressing the Parliamentary party meet- ing first time after BJP’s thump- ing election victory in four of the five State Assembly elec- tions, praised the film saying “truth should be unearthed”. A day before, director of the film Agnihotri along with the cast of the film met Modi at the latter’s residence. The Prime Minister strongly hit out at those who he said were “criticising the film” and blamed it on what he said was the “eco-system” around, saying liberal voices are not doing justice to the concept of freedom of expres- sion. Modi said “no one could do a film on the Emergency or the partition of India. There is no authentic film ...now a film on Kashmir and people are cre- ating ‘hangama’ …the flag bearers of freedom of expres- sion discrediting the film…” T he Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the direc- tive of the Centre revoking licence of Malayalam news channel “MediaOne” and banning its telecast on secu- rity grounds. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath said the news and current affairs channel will continue its operations as it was oper- ating prior to the ban of the telecast. “We are of the view that the case of grant of interim relief has been made out. We order and direct that order dated January 31, 2022, of the Union Government revoking the security clearance of Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd stands stayed pending further orders,” the bench ordered. New Delhi: Several Ukrainian medical universities have start- ed online classes, giving a ray of hope to the Indian students who feared a bleak future after fleeing the war-torn country amid a fierce Russian military offensive. P8

Transcript of 9Z[RS SR_ Z_ T]Rddc``^ gR]ZU cf]Vd

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Muslim girl students cannotwear hijab (headscarf)

inside classrooms. TheKarnataka High Court onTuesday upheld the ban onhijab in educational institutionsin the State by dismissing pleasof Muslim girls. The court saidhijab is not part of the essen-tial religious practice in theIslamic faith.

The HC order drew criti-cism from senior Muslim lead-ers like Mehbooba Mufti(PDP), Omar Abdullah(National Conference), andAIMIM leader and Lok Sabhamember Asaduddin Owaisi.The Muslim girls who hadopposed the Government orderagainst wearing hijab in class-rooms rejected the judgment.

Within hours of the HCorder, a Muslim student filed aplea in the Supreme Courtchallenging the HC verdict.

A three-judge full bench ofthe High Court said the pre-scription of school uniform isonly a reasonable restriction,constitutionally permissiblewhich the students cannot

object to.Muslim students’ body

Campus Front of India (CFI)protested against the “anti-constitutional order” andvowed to take all efforts to pro-tect constitutional and indi-vidual rights.

Chief Justice Ritu RajAwasthi-led bench said, “Weare of the considered opinionthat wearing of hijab by Muslimwomen does not form part ofessential religious practice inthe Islamic faith.” The CJ read

out portions from the order.The other two judges in thepanel were Justice Krishna SDixit and Justice JM Khazi.

The bench also maintainedthat the Government haspower to issue the impugnedorder dated February 5, 2022,and no case is made out for itsinvalidation.

By the said order, theKarnataka Government hadbanned wearing clothes thatdisturb equality, integrity, andpublic order in schools and

colleges, which the Muslimgirls had challenged in theHC.

The bench also rejected theplea to initiate a disciplinaryenquiry against the college, itsprincipal and a teacher. “In theabove circumstances, all thesewrit petitions being devoid ofmerits are liable to be dis-missed. In view of the dismissalof the petition, all the pendingapplications pale into insignif-icance and are accordingly dis-posed of,” said the HC.

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Congress on Tuesdaycracked the whip on its

chief of State units where theparty had a dismal perfor-mance in the just-concludedAssembly elections under theleadership of Rahul Gandhiand Priyanka Gandhi.

“Congress president SoniaGandhi has asked the PCCpresidents of Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa andManipur to put in their resig-nations in order to facilitatereorganisation of PCCs,”Congress general secretaryRandeep Singh Surjewala saidon a day when dissensionswithin the party came in pub-lic after senior leader and for-mer Union Minister Kapil Sibalasked the Gandhis to quit andpave way for others to runparty affairs.

The move also came twodays after a meeting of theCongress Working Committee(CWC) to discuss the party’sperformance and in whichSonia, Rahul and Priyanka hadoffered to relinquish their postsbut were asked by certainmembers to continue. TheCWC then authorised Sonia tomake comprehensive changesin the party structure at theState and national levels.

AICC sources said thatprocess for the overhaul of theorganisational structure hasbegun and during the nextmeetings of the CWC and theproposed chintan shivr inJaipur there could beannouncements to advance theorganisation elections present-ly scheduled for September2022.

Sonia has been the interimchief since 2019 after Rahulquit the post in the wake ofpoor Lok Sabha performanceand Congress rout in severalAssembly elections.

Among those who havebeen asked to tender their res-ignation to Sonia is NavjotSingh Sidhu. Appointed thePunjab Congress chief in Julyby Rahul and Priyanka, Sidhuwas singularly responsible forthe ouster of the then PunjabCM Captain AmarinderSingh. Sidhu also lockedhorns with Charanjit SinghChanni, Captain’s successorand Congress ChiefMinisterial face in Punjabelections. As a result of thisinfighting, the Congress wasreduced to 18 seats in thePunjab Assembly polls.

The Congress was unableto unseat the BJP inUttarakhand and won only 19out of 70 seats where it had avery formidable chance alongwith Goa. The elections werefought under the leadership ofUttarakhand PCC chief GaneshGodiyal and former ChiefMinister Harish Rawat.

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After the fatal performance,the post-mortem! Days

after the Congress party virtu-ally faced political annihilationin Punjab, its leaders onTuesday carried out a detaileddissection of the debacle, sling-ing the mud of humiliation ateach other and blaming, amongother things, timing of CaptAmarinder Singh’s ouster fromthe Chief Minister’s post.

Former Chief MinisterCharanjit Singh Channi, StateCongress chief Navjot SinghSidhu, and senior leader SunilJakhar too took the direct hitfor singing different tunes as apart of the same choir.

At the same time,Congress president SoniaGandhi has asked Sidhu tosubmit his resignation to facil-itate the reorganisation of theState party unit.

Congress in Punjab couldsecure just 18 seats, with theAam Aadmi Party sweepingthe Assembly polls with athumping majority of 92 seatsin the 117-member House.

As the Congress State lead-ership met on Tuesday to dis-cuss the “reasons” for the poll

debacle, the party leaderslashed out at the top three lead-ers — Channi, Sidhu andJakhar — for openly speakingagainst one another in therun-up to polls. Demands forousting Channi, removingSidhu as PPCC chief, fixingaccountability were raised dur-ing the meeting of contestingcandidates called by the Stateparty affairs in-charge HarishChoudhary at Punjab CongressBhawan on Tuesday to intro-spect on the party’s drubbing.

“This was expected. Manyleaders want to replace Sidhuas they believe that he did notwork the way a party presidentshould have during the elec-tions. He was continuouslyquestioning his own party’sgovernment, he was pointingfingers at the Chief Minister...and there is no doubt that theCongress has to face defeatbecause of that,” a senior partyleader, who was part of themanthan, told The Pioneerwhile reacting to Sonia’s deci-sion to seek Sidhu’s resigna-tion.

Sources in the party main-tained that after the poll defeat,Choudhary himself was infavour to remove Sidhu as theState party chief. Besides,party’s Ludhiana MP RavneetSingh Bittu and even Channiare believed to have called forreplacing Sidhu with new partychief.

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Ukraine universities dis-couraged stranded Indian

students from leaving the war-torn nation and showed reluc-tance to offer them onlinecourses, External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar said inParliament on Tuesday.

Elaborating upon the fall-out of the ongoing war forIndia, Jaishankar said it hasmajor economic implicationsand the same can be seen in therising prices of energy andcommodities.

Giving details of OperationGanga to bring back thestranded Indians from Ukraineafter the Russian offensivebegan on February 24,Jaishankar said India managedto evacuate 22,500 of its citi-zens, including students, from

there.“Despite our efforts, how-

ever, a large majority of stu-dents elected to continue stay-ing in Ukraine. We mustunderstand the predicament inthis regard. There was a naturalreluctance to leave the educa-tional institutions and affect thestudies. Some universitiesactively discouraged andshowed reluctance to offeronline courses. Many of themreceived conflicting adviceregarding safety,” Jaishankarsaid.

He said in the periodleading to February 24, thepolitical signals were confus-ing as well. “Public urgingsnot to be taken by alarmismand reports of force with-drawal created a confusingpicture. The net result wasthat about 18,000 Indiannationals were caught in themidst of conflict when itstarted,” Jaishankar said.

The Minister said studentsdid what they thought is rightunder the circumstance. Hesaid India prepared in advance

of the actual conflict situation.Narrating the time-lines,

Jaishankar said the Indianembassy in Ukraine had start-ed a registration drive for Indianationals in January, and as aresult, 20,000 Indian nationalsregistered with the Indianembassy.

The Minister said 4,000students left Ukraine throughdirect and indirect flights.India also rescued 147 foreignnationals of 18 countries,including Nepal andBangladesh from Ukraine, heinformed both Houses.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday lauded

“The Kashmir Files”, a moviefocusing on the plight ofKashmiri Pandits, for“unearthing the truth”. ThePM also came down heavily onthose criticising it saying theyare part of the “eco-system”around and don’t do justice tothe self-espoused concept offreedom of expression.

The movie has been madetax-free by eight BJP-ruledStates — Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Tripura, Goa,Karnataka, Gujarat, MadhyaPradesh, and Haryana.

Written and directed byVivek Agnihotri, the filmdepicts the exodus of KashmiriPandits from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in the1990. Starring Anupam Kher,

Darshan Kumar, MithunChakraborty and Pallavi Joshiamong others, the movie hasstirred a running debate on theKashmiri Pundits ouster fromthe valley. Many in the socialmedia has demanded a probeinto the what they called “eth-nic cleansing”.

Modi, who was addressingthe Parliamentary party meet-

ing first time after BJP’s thump-ing election victory in four ofthe five State Assembly elec-tions, praised the film saying“truth should be unearthed”.

A day before, director ofthe film Agnihotri along withthe cast of the film met Modiat the latter’s residence.

The Prime Ministerstrongly hit out at those whohe said were “criticising thefilm” and blamed it on whathe said was the “eco-system”around, saying liberal voicesare not doing justice to theconcept of freedom of expres-sion.

Modi said “no one coulddo a film on the Emergency orthe partition of India. There isno authentic film ...now a filmon Kashmir and people are cre-ating ‘hangama’ …the flagbearers of freedom of expres-sion discrediting the film…”

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The Supreme Court onTuesday stayed the direc-

tive of the Centre revokinglicence of Malayalam newschannel “MediaOne” andbanning its telecast on secu-rity grounds. A bench ofJustices DY Chandrachud,Surya Kant, and Vikram Nathsaid the news and currentaffairs channel will continueits operations as it was oper-ating prior to the ban of thetelecast.

“We are of the view that thecase of grant of interim reliefhas been made out. We orderand direct that order datedJanuary 31, 2022, of the UnionGovernment revoking thesecurity clearance ofMadhyamam Broadcasting Ltdstands stayed pending furtherorders,” the bench ordered.

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DEHRADUN | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 16, 2022 uttarakhand 02

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PNS DEHRADUN

Disenchantment & lack of viable optionsreflected in NOTA during Assembly polls

The high literacy rate, lack ofviable options and disen-

chantment with the currentleadership are the key factorsresponsible for NOTA (NoneOf The Above) votes in therecently concludedUttarakhand Assembly elec-tions, opine political analysts.A total of 46, 830 (0.9 per cent)out of 53,42,462 voters whoexercised their franchisepressed the NOTA button onthe electronic voting machinesin this election. Out of the 70constituencies, Kaladhungiconstituency got the maxi-mum number of NOTA votes.

“According to the statistics,one person in a group of 125persons pressed the NOTAbutton which indicates thatmany people seem to have noalternative. However, this clear-ly seems to have no impact onthe political parties,” saidAnoop Nautiyal of SDCFoundation.

“This time the number ofNOTA votes were 46,830which would have no effect onthe political leadership, but inthe next elections, the NOTAnumbers could go up to4,00,000. Only then it would beinstrumental in making animpact great enough to stir thepolitical leadership,” said RTIClub Dehradun president BP

Maithani.“Inadequate healthcarefacilities, corruption, weak

governance and lack of strongchief ministerial leadershipappear to be consistent issuesas observed in the past electiontrends of the State. The peopleexpressed resentment with theBJP regime but Congress failed

to garner the much neededsupport and failed to highlightBJP’s weaknesses. The region-al parties too failed miserablyin turning people’s supportinto votes, owing to factorssuch as lack of organisation,uncharismatic CM leadershipand failure to prevent anti-incumbency, which mademany Uttarakhandis chooseNOTA instead. The partieswhich were able to secure ahigher share of votes inUttarakhand are the ones withmost organised network ofgrassroots workers”, said HNBGarhwal Central University,Department of Political Sciencehead, professor MM Semwal.

He further added thatUttarakhand is a state whichcan make room for a thirdparty other than the nationalparties but it is the local lead-ership which once again failedto understand the plight ofmountains.

RIMC holds threeday celebration pro-gramme for old boysPNS DEHRADUN

The alumni of prestigiousRashtriya Indian Military

College (RIMC) enthusiasti-cally took part in a celebrationprogramme held at their almamater. The three day pro-gramme commenced onMarch 13 and ended onTuesday. The event was part ofthe ongoing centenary cele-bration of the premier institute.

The third and final day of thecelebrations started with aladies meet where cadets inter-acted with the ladies. Cadetsgot an insight into the lives ofofficers who walked out of thesame hallowed portals thatthey are a part of today.Friendly matches squash, bas-ketball, hockey, volleyball andrelay races were organisedbetween the old boys andcadets. The highlight of the cel-ebration was the cultural pro-gramme in which the cadetsenthralled the audience withtheir energy and mesmerizingdance and drama perfor-mances.

The old boys were given awarm welcome by the com-

mandant and the staff mem-bers. Veterans and servingdefence personnel from acrossthe country interacted withyoung boys and shared theirown experiences as cadets backin their time at RIMC.

On March 14, a solemnwreath laying ceremony wasorganised where the

Rimcollians remembered theirlost brothers who had sacri-ficed their lives for the coun-try. It was followed by a crick-et match between the old boysand the cadets in the collegefield. An annual general meet-ing of Rimcollians Old boysAssociation (ROBA) also tookplace on the day.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the centennial cele-brations of RIMC had startedon March 13. The Governor ofUttarakhand, LieutenantGeneral (retd) Gurmit Singh,the Chief of the Army Staff(CoAS) General M MNaravane and many digni-taries had attended the pro-gramme.

USERC holds lecture onwaste water treatmentPNS DEHRADUN

The Uttarakhand ScienceEducation and Research

Centre (USERC) andDevbhoomi Vigyan Samitijointly organised a deliberationon waste water treatment formaintaining the water qualityof water resources. Presidingover the event, USERC direc-tor Anita Rawat said that lastyear on World EnvironmentDay, USERC began water edu-cation lecture series monthlyprogramme. The centre hasworked to inform students ofschools in remote areas of thestate about conservation ofwater resources, studies, tech-nical uses, managementthrough public participation,research and other relatedaspects through this pro-gramme every month.

The programme coordinatorBhavtosh Sharma said that

there is abundance of watersources in Uttarakhand. Thereis need for their conservationthrough research and publicparticipation in elaborateefforts, he said.

Senior scientist of GB PantNational Institute ofHimalayan Environment,Almora, Vasudha Agnihotridelivered a lecture on wastewater treatment for maintain-ing the water quality of natur-al resources. She informed thegathering about various aspectsincluding water chemistry,rules and laws regarding watermanagement, waste water,domestic and industrial wasteand other related aspects. Shealso spoke about biofilter andinformed in detail about treat-ment of grey water at thedomestic level.

Workers vacate Tapovan bar-rage site after rise in water levelPNS JOSHIMATH

Rise in the level of water inthe Dhauli river on

Tuesday caused panic at theTapovan barrage site. The com-

pany sprung into action andgot the site vacated. It will berecalled that the NTPC com-pany has become more alertsince the disaster which strucklast year during February fol-lowing a flash flood in theRishiganga river. The compa-ny has installed an alarm sys-tem on the Dhauli river. Thealarm is sounded whenever thelevel of water rises in the

Dhauli river. On Tuesdaymorning at about 6:30 AM, thealarm was sounded when thelevel of water in the river

increased swiftly. The workersat the Tapovan barrage sitebecame alert after the alarmwas sounded. The companysent all the workers andmachines to a safer location.According to sources, the ris-ing temperatures these days inthe mountainous regions alsoresults in melting of glacierswhich results in rise in the levelof water in rivers.

SMI hospitalempanelled with10 health insur-ance companiesPNS DEHRADUN

The Shri Mahant Indiresh(SMI) hospital has been

empanelled with 10 healthinsurance companies. Healthcard holders of 10 companiesare getting cashless treatmentat the hospital. Health cardholders of these companiesfrom any city of India will beable to avail the facility ofcashless treatment at SMI hos-pital. This information wasprovided by the hospital’s med-

ical superintendent Dr AjayPandita. It is worth mentioninghere that SMI hospital isalready providing the benefit topatients of about 70 govern-ment, ESIC, ECHS, CGHS,Ayushman card and goldencard. The patients are alreadygetting the benefits of theseschemes and now will get fur-ther relief as a result of empan-elment with health insurancecompanies, added Pandita.

Bel Basani motor road to open in MayPNS DEHRADUN

The Nainital district magistrate Dhiraaj Singh Garbyal direct-ed officials to expedite work on construction of the Bel Basani

motor road. The officials informed that this motor road is expect-ed to be opened by the second week of May this year.At a meeting chaired by the district magistrate with officials onTuesday, it was stated that this 32 kilometre long motor road isof considerable importance for people travelling to Nainital andHaldwani. The more the delay in construction of this road, themore will be the rise in the expenditure. The construction of thisroad will benefit the residents of Bel, Basani and Waldia Khanvillages. A total of five bridges are to be constructed on this 32kilometre long route. Out of these, four bridges have been con-structed while the one bridge remaining is likely to be constructedin one month. The officials said that forest land transfer pro-cedure had resulted in delay in construction of this road. Withthe issue now being resolved the road is now likely to be openedby the second week of May, added the officials.

DEHRADUN | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 16, 2022 uttarakhand 03

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U’khand leaders head for Delhi assuspense on next CM continuesCaretaker CM Dhami, BJP state president Kaushik,Premchand Agarwal, MPs & other leaders camping in Delhi

The fulcrum of the ongo-ing political activity in

Uttarakhand shifted to thenational capital New Delhion Tuesday with almost allthe top leaders of ruling BJPfrom Uttarakhand con-verging there. Most of theState's newly elected MLAsfrom the BJP are also camp-ing in Delhi. Intense lob-bying is going on in thepower corridors in NewDelhi by different aspirantsfor the post of chief minis-ter of Uttarakhand.Similarly many MLAs aretrying to secure the supportof the central leaders to but-tress their claim for a placein the state cabinet.

On Tuesday, the care-taker CM Pushkar SinghDhami and the BJP Statepresident Madan Kaushikwere summoned by thecentral leaders. Both theseleaders are expected to meetPrime Minister NarendraModi, Union Home ministerAmit Shah and national pres-ident of the party JP Nadda inDelhi. Apart from formation ofthe new government the cen-tral leaders would also takefeedback from the duo aboutthe recently concluded elec-

tions. On Tuesday eveningDhami and Rajya Sabha MPAnil Baluni met the UnionHome minister Amit Shah.

Apart from Dhami andKaushik the speaker of theoutgoing assembly PremChand Agarwal also landed inNew Delhi on Tuesday fuellingspeculations that he too has

joined the ongoing race for thecoveted position of CM. Hemet the Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla and discussed the recentelections held in Uttarakhand.

Cabinet minister and heavy-weight Satpal Maharaj too hasbeen camping in Delhi for thelast five days. Cabinet ministersGanesh Joshi, Subodh Uniyal,

Rekha Arya, Arvind Pandeyand Bishan Singh Chufal toohave met the party high com-mand in New Delhi. The min-isters and MLAs are meetingNadda and national generalsecretary organisation BLSantosh in Delhi.

It is worth mentioning herethat there are at least a dozen

such MLAs in the BJP whohave been elected for thirdterm this time. TheseMLAs are said to be lobby-ing for a place in the statecabinet and also givingfeedback to the centralleadership on the recentelections.

Earlier, on Monday thecentral parliamentaryboard of BJP had appoint-ed Union Defence ministerRajnath Singh and Unionminister of State forExternal Affairs MeenakshiLekhi as the centralobservers for the meetingof the BJP’s legislature partyin Uttarakhand. This cru-cial meeting is expected onMarch 19 in Dehradun.

With each passing daythe list of the aspirants forthe post of CM is growinglong in Uttarakhand. The

list now includes Dhami, RajyaSabha MP Anil Baluni, formerCM Ramesh PokhriyalNishank, Union minister ofState Ajay Bhatt, cabinet min-isters Satpal Maharaj, DhanSingh Rawat, state BJP presi-dent Madan Kaushik, PremChand Agarwal and KotdwarMLA Ritu Khanduri.

Godiyal resigns from PCC chief’spost, Rawat seeks his own expul-sion following serious allegations

Taking the moral responsi-bility for the performance

of the Congress party in therecently concluded Assemblyelections in Uttarakhand, thePradesh Congress Committee(PCC) president GaneshGodiyal tendered his resigna-tion from the post. His resig-nation came soon after theCongress president SoniaGandhi asked for the resigna-tions of PCC presidents ofUttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,Punjab, Goa and Manipur. ThePCC presidents had been askedto put in their resignations inorder to facilitate the reorgan-isations of the Congress unitsin these states. Meanwhile, theallegations and counter allega-tions among senior Congressleaders in Uttarakhand con-tinued on Tuesday with itssenior leader Harish Rawatstating that considering theallegations leveled against himby a working president of theparty’s state unit, the Congressshould expel him (Rawat) fromthe party.

Godiyal said that he wantedto resign from the post of PCCpresident on the day theAssembly election results weredeclared. However, he waswaiting for instructions fromthe party’s high command. Onreaching Delhi, when he cameto know that the PCC chiefs ofstates where the party had lostin the recent Assembly elec-tions were tendering their res-ignations, he too submitted

his resignation on Tuesday.Godiyal said that he will con-tinue to struggle as a Congressworker. Though the resignationof the PCC president wasamong the changes expectedafter the party’s performance inthe state, the Congress hasother problems awaiting reso-lution in the state. The roundof allegations and counter-alle-gations which intensified a fewdays ago with senior partyleader Harish Rawat statingthat he had contested reluc-tantly from the LalkuanAssembly constituency con-tinued on Tuesday with Rawatstating that considering theserious allegations leveled uponhim by a working president ofthe party in Uttarakhand, theparty should expel him(Rawat). It will be recalled thata day after Rawat said that hehad contested unwilling fromLalkuan constituency on thedirections of the party, theCongress candidate form Saltand working president of theparty in Uttarakhand, Ranjit

Rawat alleged that HarishRawat’s managers had takenmoney in return for party tick-ets from various persons. OnTuesday, Harish Rawat said,“The allegation of selling postsand party tickets is very serious.If the allegation is being leveledon a person who has been thechief minister, was the party’sState chief and is a CongressWorking Committee memberwith the person leveling theallegations also on a responsi-ble post, and those allegationsare being spread further by aperson on a responsible postand his supporters, such alle-gations become all the moreserious. This allegation hasbeen leveled upon me and Ipray to god that taking cogni-sance of this allegation, theCongress should expel me fromthe party. Holi is an appropri-ate festival for destroying thebad and on this occasion, thebad aspects in the form ofHarish Rawat should also beconsigned to Holika Dahan,”said Rawat.

Police arrest manimpersonating policeconstable in Doon

The police have arrested a34-year-old man Mukesh

Kukreti for impersonating apolice constable and extortingmoney from many people inpublic places in Dehradun.The police informed that a mancalled the Vasant Vihar policestation and said that he sus-

pected a man impersonating apolice constable roaming in themarketplace. The team headedby sub inspector Viksit Panwarstarted checking in theIndiranagar area when theyfinally nabbed the accused.According to the police, theaccused presented himself as apolice constable to the teamtoo. He also presented a forgedidentity card of a police con-stable but on further queries, hefailed to respond satisfactorilyto many basic questions likeinformation about his trainingperiod. The police said that hefinally confessed that he posedas a constable in public placesto extort money by intimidat-ing people as he has no means

of earning livelihood. He saidthat he used to intimidate peo-ple like small vendors andoperators of public transportvehicles among others to getsome money from them on aregular basis. The accused is alocal and lives in the VasantVihar area. The police have

recovered a visiting card, aprivate walkie talkie, a pistolholster, a jacket ofUttarakhand police consta-ble, a belt with a badge of thestate police and a forgedidentity card. The policesaid that a case has been reg-istered against him underseveral relevant sections ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC)and legal action will be takenagainst him as per the law.

The Director-General ofPolice (DGP) Ashok Kumarsaid on the issue that thoughthe police try to nab suchoffenders, the citizens alsoneed to remain vigilant when

they interact with such people.He said that if any person hasthe slightest doubt about theactivity of anybody appearingto be a police personnel, theyshould immediately complainabout such incidents. He said,"The public has the right to askfor the identity card and otherrelevant details if they areapproached by any police per-sonnel. It is not hard for any-body today to get a policedress so common people needto stay vigilant too. Peopleshould not get unnecessarilyintimidated by police and mustcomplain at the toll free num-ber 112 immediately if theyinteract with any suspiciousperson."

29 new Covid-19 cases inU’khand on Tuesday

Though the MunicipalCorporation of Dehradun

(MCD) is claiming to leave nostone unturned to get into thetop 50 cleanest cities under

Swachh Survekshan 2022(SS22), it appears that the cor-poration is already strugglingto get scores in the citizen’sfeedbacks subcategory.

The MCD has received over7,000 feedback in the past twoweeks while last year, it hadclaimed to receive thrice thecurrent number of feedbackwithin the same period. Eventhe Municipal Corporation ofHaridwar (MCH) which wasranked among the worst per-forming cities in SwachhSurvekshan for the past twoyears has so far been ahead ofthe MCD in the citizen's feed-back category. According to theofficials, Haridwar has receivedover 9,000 feedback and isahead of every municipal cor-poration in the state so far.

The citizen's feedback sub-category is one of the importantcomponents of SS22 run by theMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs (MoHUA). Under this

category, the ministry seeksfeedback and inputs from theresidents on the progress madeby their city towards cleanlinessin the past year. Since the city

received over four lakh citizen'sfeedback last year which wasthe highest across the state, thecorporation has been focussingon getting better star ratings inGarbage-Free City (GFC) cat-egory in which it got onlyone-star last year. The MCDhas been working on promot-ing segregation of the garbageat source to minimise the accu-mulation of garbage in roadsideareas and garbage stations toget better star ratings in GFCto get into the top 50 positions.

However, the senior munic-ipal health officer of Dehradun,Dr RK Singh said that the cor-poration is working on everyaspect of the survey and noth-ing is being neglected. "Therehave been some technicalglitches in the website toowhich must have also affectedthe feedback numbers so farbut we are certain the MCDwill get maximum numbers offeedback across the state likelast year," said Singh.

The Kashmir Files made tax free in U’khand

Following the footsteps ofother BJP led State govern-

ments in the country,Uttarakhand has made themovie ‘The Kashmir Files’ taxfree in the state.

The state government hasdecided to bear the SGST com-ponent on the sale of tickets forthe next six months. Afterwatching the movie in a mul-tiplex on Monday the caretak-er chief minister Pushkar SinghDhami had directed the stateadministration to make themovie tax free in the state.Acting on the directive of CMDhami, the commissioner ofstate taxes, Manisha Panwarissued an order for waiving off

the SGST component on themovie ticket for the moviegoers. As per the order thestate government would com-pensate the SGST not paid bythe movie viewers to the cine-

ma hall and multiplex owners.For claiming the compensationthey would have to submit thereturn and details of the tick-ets sold.

On Monday the CM Dhamiand many senior State leadersof the BJP had watched themovie. The BJP MLA fromMussoorie Ganesh Joshiwatched the movie with 500 ofhis supporters in Dehradun onTuesday.

The movie is based on themass killings and exodus ofKashmiri Pundits from theKashmir valley in the 1990s.The Anupam Kher, MithunChakraborty starrer film iseliciting huge response fromthe audience in different partsof the country. Almost all theBJP ruled state governmentshave made the movie tax freein their respective states.

MCD struggling incitizen's feedbackcategory of SS22?PNS DEHRADUN

The state health departmentreported 29 new patients of

Covid-19 in Uttarakhand onTuesday. Death of no patientwas reported by the depart-ment on the day in the state.Seven districts of the statereported no case of the diseaseand the active case count hasnow dropped to 328.

The authorities also declared53 patients cured from thedisease on Tuesday. Thedepartment has so far detect-ed 91,866 new cases of the dis-ease from January 1 this yeartill date. A total of 88,058patients have recovered fromthe disease so far in this yearwhile 271 patients have died inthe state since January 1 thisyear. The recovery percentageof the disease was at 95.85 percent on Tuesday. The positivi-ty rate of the disease wasreported at 0.54 per cent on the

day. The health departmentreported 15 new patients fromDehradun, six from Haridwar,three from Almora, two eachfrom Pauri and Udham SinghNagar and one from Tehri onTuesday.

No patients were found inthe Bageshwar, Chamoli,Champawat, Nainital,Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag andUttarkashi districts on the day.

The active case count ofCovid-19 in the state is now at328. Dehradun with 105 casesis at the top of the table of activecases while Haridwar has 33active cases of the disease.Tehri and Bageshwar are at thebottom of the table with onlythree active cases each of thedisease. In the ongoing vacci-nation drive 7255 people werevaccinated in 643 sessions inthe state held on Tuesday.

Authorities arrest ped-dler with 10 kg GanjaPNS DEHRADUN

The police in Dehradun havearrested a resident of Bihar

who was in possession of over10 kilogrammes of Ganja onTuesday. According to the offi-cials, the police arrested theaccused Ghanshyam duringthe joint checking of the StateTask Force (STF) along withthe Anti Drug Task Force(ADTF) of the district in theGandhigram area under theircampaign to take preventivemeasures against illegal drugusage. According to them, theaccused was found with a totalof 10.26 kilogrammes of Ganjain his possession. He hasrevealed during the investiga-tion that he does this work tomake quick money and healso had an accomplice forthis job as per the police. Theyfurther informed that hisaccomplice Shivu is absconded

and the police are looking forhim.

The STF officer AnkushMishra said that ADTF hasbeen constituted under STF toprevent the increasing tenden-cy of drug abuse among youthand school students and to takeaction against illegal drugsmugglers. People must contactthe authorities immediately ifthey come across such drugpeddlers, added Mishra.

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High-risk children will bepriority under the vacci-

nation plan being kicked offfrom Wednesday for kids in the12-14 age group, said the gov-ernment even as it asked peo-ple not to be complacent inview of rising Omicron cases incountries like China andSingapore.

Meanwhile, sources saidthat the decision on whether toallow mixing of vaccines for thethird shot among the generalpopulation in India is expect-ed soon. Investigators fromChrist-ian Medical College,Vellore, who have been carry-ing out a cl-inical study on mix-ing vaccin--es, are likely to pre-sent their int-erim data from400 volunteers to the panel ofthe DCGI

'The decision to vaccinatechildren (12-14 years) is basedon scientific evidence and is inline with the WHO recom-mendations,' Chairman ofCOVID-19 Working Group ofNational Technical AdvisoryGroup on Immunisation DrNK Arora said.

The primary focus wasimmunisation of children withcomorbidities but due to theunavailability of data of suchchildren, we have decided toopen immunization for all the

children between theage group of 12-15years, said Dr Arora.

He further said,"Almost three monthsago, the StandingTechnical Sub-Committee (STSC) ofNTAGI meeting tookplace where we sug-gested that the vacci-nation should be opened for allthe children between the agegroup of 12-18 with comor-bidities as and when approvedv a c c i n ecomes.”

Dr Arora also asked peoplenot to let their guards downand follow Covid appropriatebehavior in view of risingOmicron cases in several coun-tries like China and Singapore.“We are safe as most of the peo-ple have been vaccinated. Butthis should not make us com-placent in view of the unpre-dictable nature of the virus.”

An official from the UnionHealth Ministry said that Stateshave been asked to organisededicated Covid vaccinationsessions through earmarkedcentres, and train vaccinators toavoid mixing of vaccines dur-ing the inoculation of kids in12-14 age-group.

The COVID-19 vaccine tobe administered would be

Corbevax manufactured byBiological E. Limited,Hyderabad. Beneficiaries canget the shot after online regis-tration (beginning 9 am onWednesday) or through onsitewalk-in.

As per the guidelines, twodoses of Biological E's intra-muscular vaccine Corbevaxwould be administered to thebeneficiaries in the 12-14 yearsage group at an interval of 28days. All beneficiaries born in2010 or earlier — those whohave already attained the age of12 years — will be able to reg-ister on CoWIN, says theguidelines.

The states were alsoadvised to ensure judiciousutilisation of available COVID-19 vaccines. As per earlierguidelines, states can replacethose that are due for expiryand also replace them from onedistrict within the state toanother to ensure that vaccinesare not wasted.

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In an effort to hone its capa-bilities to fight in all kinds of

terrain and weather, the para-commandos and Special Forcescarried out two-day drill in thepeninsular region of the coun-try on March 14 and 15.

This drill came days afterthe commandos carried out asimilar drill in the strategical-ly important Siliguri corridornear Sikkim. Two similar exer-cises were conducted near theLine of Actual Control(LAC)inLadakh and Port Blair inAndaman and Nicobar Islandslast year.

The latest exercise saw thearmy carrying out a two-dayairborne insertion and rapidresponse exercise in the coun-try's peninsular region in syncwith its overall approach tomaintain operational readi-ness, officials said here on

Tuesday.The exercise that conclud-

ed on Tuesday involvedadvanced aerial insertion tech-niques, or air dropping of sol-diers, "combat free fall" andintegrated battle drills by air-borne and Special Forcestroops.

The airborne and SpecialForces of the Indian Armypracticed their aerial insertioncapability and rapid responseanywhere on the mainlandand in its island territories, inan airborne exercise inPeninsular India on March 14and 15, officials said here onTuesday. As regards the impor-tance of the Siliguri corridorwhere the Army conductedthe drill ten days back, they saidit is a stretch of land borderingNepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.It connects the Northeastregion with the rest of Indiaand is considered crucial fromthe military perspective.

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China’s aggressive posturingin the Indo-Pacific region

and continuing stand-offs at theLine of Actual Control (LAC)in Eastern Ladakh are likely fig-ure prominently in the talksbetween Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and JapanesePrime Minister Fumio Kishidahere on Saturday. The two lead-ers are also likely to review thesituation arising due to theUkraine crisis.

The Japanese prime minis-ter will visit New Delhi for a dayand will leave for Cambodia thenext day, sources said here onTuesday. Besides security relat-ed issues, the two leaders willalso explore ways to furtherenhance their ties in the field oftrade and commerce and morebullet train projects besidesthe Mumbai-Ahmedabad cor-ridor, they said.

The 17-billion dollar pro-ject was inaugurated in 2017 byformer Japanese PM ShinzoAbe and Modi. The project is

largely funded by loans fromJapan’s InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA).

The annual summitbetween the two leaders wasput off several times since 2019due to various reasons. Theupcoming event comes at atime when this year marks the70th anniversary of the estab-lishment of India-Japan bilateralties. The two leaders will alsodiscuss the upcoming QUADsummit in Tokyo.

India and Japan have forgeda “Special Strategic and GlobalPartnership,” and started annu-al summit level talks in 2005.The talks are held alternatelybetween the two countries eachyear. The last in-person, 13th

annual summit was held in2018 when Prime MinisterModi visited Japan.

Abe’s visit for the 14thannual summit was cancelled atthe last minute as he was due tovisit Guwahati when protestsagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act broke out in2019. The covid pandemicforced postponement of sum-mit in 2020. The two PrimeMinisters held telephonic talksin September 2020.

Modi then met Abe’s suc-cessor Yoshihide Suga for asummit on the sideline of thefirst in-person meeting of theheads of states of Quad nationsin Washington last year hostedby the US.

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A‘Chair of Excellence’ inmemory of India’s first

Chief of Defence Staff(CDS)General Bipin Rawat willbe set up at the United ServicesService Institution(USI), a lead-ing military think tank.

The announcement in thisregard by Army Chief GeneralM M Naravane here onTuesday came a day ahead ofthe 65th birthday of GeneralRawat. He was killed in a heli-copter crash near Coonoor inTamil Nadu on December 8along with his wife Madhulikaand 12 armed forces personnel.

The 'General Bipin Rawatmemorial Chair of Excellence'will focus on the field of joint-ness and integration among thearmed forces.

"Late General Bipin Rawatwho served as India's first CDSas well as the 27th Chief ofIndian Army was an outstand-ing professional and was in the

midst of steering one ofthe most radical transfor-mations of the Indian mil-itary," the Army said.

"The Chair ofExcellence is a befittingtribute to the astute lead-ership and professional-ism of the General," it saidin a statement. Naravanesaid General Rawat waspassionate about strategicthoughts and investedconsiderable time andenergy in the activities of var-ious think tanks.

"And, therefore, his 65thbirthday provided an oppor-tune moment to reinforce theservices' bond with their intel-lectual institutions. The Chairwill be open to veterans of threeservices and civilians havingexpertise in the field of nation-al security," Naravane said.

The topic for this year'sresearch has been chosen as"jointness and integration inthe context of land warfare in

India", officials said. They saidthe 'Chair of Excellence' will beopen to all veteran officers ofthe armed forces and civilianshaving expertise in the field ofnational security and militaryaffairs. The period of researchwould be from July 1 for a peri-od of one year, every year.

General Rawat took chargeas the first CDS on January 1,2020, with a mandate to bringin convergence in the func-tioning of the Army, the Navyand the Indian Air Force and

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AParliamentary panel onTuesday said that the min-

imum monthly pension of Rs1,000 for subscribers of thepension scheme run by retire-ment fund body Employees'Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is "grossly inadequate"and it is imperative for thelabour ministry to pursue aproposal for raising theamount.

"...Rs 1000 per month pen-sion which was fixed eightyears back appears to be gross-ly inadequate now", theParliamentary StandingCommittee on Labour said inits 30th report on Demand forGrants , tabled in Parliamenton Tuesday,

The panel said it becomesimperative on the part of theMinistry of Labour andEmployment to pursue thematter with the Ministry ofFinance for obtaining adequatebudgetary support as recom-mended by the High-Empowered Monitoring

Committee, besides impressingupon the EPFO (Employees'Provident Fund Organisation)to make an actuarial assess-ment of all its pension schemesso that the monthly memberpension is enhanced to a rea-sonable extent.

The panel noted that in2018, the ministry constituteda High-EmpoweredMonitoring Committee forcomplete evaluation and reviewof the Employees PensionScheme, 1995. That commit-tee in its report had inter-aliarecommended that minimummonthly pension payable to themember/widow/widower pen-sioner may be raised to at leastRs 2,000, provided annual bud-getary provision for the same ismade, it stated.

However, it also noted thatthe Ministry of Finance has notagreed to any such enhance-ment in minimum pensionbeyond Rs 1,000 per month.The parliamentary panel foundthat the issue has been dis-cussed in detail by severalcommittees which have come

to the conclusion that unlessthe actuarial assessment ofsurplus/deficit of EPFO's pen-sion schemes is made, revisionof the monthly pension cannotbe done.

It also said difficulties arebeing faced by EPFO membersfor e-nomination, especiallyby those who retired before2015, as well as in the func-tioning of the Online TransferClaim Portal (OTCP). Whiletaking note of the appreciableefforts made by the EPFO tomaximise use of informationand technology tools in linewith Digital India initiative, thepanel suggested that the retire-ment fund body should strivefurther to usher in systemicimprovements to address theproblems faced in e-nomina-tion.

The pane further notedthat out of the target of 71.80lakh beneficiaries by March 31,2022 under the AtmanirbharBharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY),a total of 47.06 lakh employeeshave benefited as on February6, 2022.

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Myopia (near-sightedness)is already an emerging

public health problem in bothurban and rural school goingadolescents in India. With theCovid-19 induced impact ofdigital screen time beingfeared to cause its progression.,Ophthalmologists from theDr RP Centre of AIIMS, Delhi,are mulling a study in thisregard to frame correctivesteps.

Dr JS Titiyal, Chief of RPCentre, AIIMS, Delhi, saidthere have been complaints ofMyopia progression amongchildren. “But we do not haveexact data for India. Theresults could be alarming. Weare working on a strategy toassess the extent of the pro-

gression stage,” he told ThePioneer.

It is important to study thehabits that increase Myopiaamong children who havebeen left to rely on digitaldevices to continue with theireducation.

Uncorrected Myopia canresult in an increased numberof blindness, and the risk ofretinal detachments, glaucomaand age-related maculardegeneration while an increasein Myopia could lead to manynot having access to servicesfor prescriptions, therebyincreasing amblyopia.

Doctors point out thatamong the risks to eye healthassociated with the use of dig-ital devices are unstable binoc-ular vision (using both eyesadequately to create a single

visual image), eye strain,uncorrected refractive errorand dry eyes.

Health experts advise thatkids should spend time out-doors, especially in early child-hood, as it can slow the pro-gression of nearsightedness.

According to a reviewpaper, published in the Journalof School Health and led byAnglia Ruskin University(ARU), various research stud-ies showed a consistent pictureof increased digital screentime for children and adoles-cents across the countries.

The review also reportedthat “children and adolescentsoften use several devices atonce, for example to browsesocial media on their phonewhile watching content onanother device. Switching

between devices increases thestrain on the eye by 22 percent, as this entails switchingdistances between differentdevices, forcing the eyes toadjust.”

The WHO has also raisedalarm that the prevalence ofmyopia is increasing at analarming rate; 1.89 billionpeople in the world havemyopia.

According to a study pub-lished in the PloS One journalby Indian doctors in 2020there is an increasing trend ofmyopia in India over the lastfour decades. It showed “crudeprevalence of myopia over thelast four decades is 7.5 per centin the 5-15-year age group,being 8.5 per cent and 6.1 percent in urban and rural schoolgoing children respectively.”

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With the rise in the maxi-mum temperature in

most parts of the country, theIndia MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) predicted aheat wave to severe heat wavein some parts of Saurashtra,Kutch, Konkan and WestRajasthan and heat wave con-ditions over West MadhyaPradesh, Gujarat region, EastRajasthan and Odisha.

“Heat wave to severe heatwave condition alert for someparts of Saurashtra, Kutch,Konkan and West Rajasthanand heat wave conditions overWest Madhya Pradesh, Gujaratregion, East Rajasthan andOdisha,” it said. This heat waveis essentially a period of abnor-mally high temperatures thatare higher than the normal

maximum summer tempera-tures for that particular region.

“Weather likely to be dryover most parts of the countryexcept light isolated rainfallover Kerala & Mahe during

next 5 days; over South InteriorKarnataka during 17 th -19 th;Tamilnadu, Puducherry &Karaikal on 18th & 19thMarch,” it added. The IMD pre-dicted that a low pressure areais likely to form over Indian

Ocean and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal in the next24 hours.

The IMD predicted severeheatwave conditions inMumbai on Tuesday andWednesday. The situation isexpected to improve byThursday, it added. At thesame time, the temperature inDelhi will also increasebetween 36 and 37 degreeCelsius by March 18.

The IMD said that themaximum temperatures wereabove normal by 3-6°C at mostplaces over Punjab andUttarakhand; at many placesover Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad;at a few places over HimachalPradesh, West Rajasthan andSaurashtra & Kutch; at isolat-ed places over East Rajasthanand Gujarat Region.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has

attached over Rs 21.5 crore infive separate cases of moneylaundering across the country,including assets worth Rs 1.04crore of two Gujarat-basedbusinessmen, who allegedlysold "fake" Remdesivir injec-tions packaged in the style of areputed brand during the sec-ond wave of the Covid pan-demic last year.

Kaushal Mahendra BhaiVora and Punit GunvantlalShah manufactured fake injec-tions of the antiviral drug at afarmhouse-cum-manufactur-ing facility in Surat and soldthem in Madhya Pradesh andsome other states, the agencysaid.

“The said fake Remdesivirinjections were being manu-factured by mixing glucoseand salt in the deceptively sim-ilar bottles having similar stick-ers to that of branded originalinjections. Empty bottles ofthe same size and similar

appearance, huge quantities ofglucose and salt, huge packingmaterial, fake stickers and otherraw materials in huge quanti-ties were seized during theraids conducted at the farm-house-cum-manufacturingfacility at Surat by the MorbiPolice, Gujarat,” the ED said ina statement.

"The accused sold fakeRemdesivir injections to vari-ous vendors who further soldthe same to needy retail cus-tomers at exorbitant prices. Insome cases, the injections weredirectly sold to retail customerswho were identified by theaccused persons through socialmedia platforms during thepeak of the second wave ofCOVID-19," it said.

Huge number of fakeRemdesivir injections werepurchased and injected to var-ious patients at "exorbitantprices" by a hospital based inMadhya Pradesh, the ED probefound.

The anti-viral drug waspart of the clinical managementof coronavirus patients.

Of the attached assets, Rs89.20 lakh cash was found inpossession of Vora, who "mas-terminded" the entire conspir-acy of manufacturing fakeRemdesivir injections and Rs11.50 lakh cash and Rs 3.92lakh worth deposits in bankwere found in possession ofShah, the co-conspirator inthe production and supply ofthe fake injections.

In a separate case, Rs 1.5crore of former Odisha BJDMLA Anam Naik was attachedby the ED under the anti-money laundering law while itattached 15 immovable prop-erties worth more than Rs13.51 crore in Servomax IndiaPrivate Limited bank fraudcase worth Rs 402 crore.

The ED also attached assetsworth Rs 3.94 crore in a caseregistered against Nalini Prusty,an Odisha Financial Serviceofficer, Bijaya Ketan Sahoo, anOAS officer (her husband) andothers for “assets dispropor-tionate to their known sourceof income”.

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The Supreme Court onTuesday said it would set

up a Bench to hear onWednesday a plea challengingthe grant of bail by theAllahabad High Court toAshish Mishra, son of UnionMinister Ajay Mishra, in con-nection with the LakhimpurKheri violence. A bench head-ed by Chief Justice NVRamana took note of the sub-mission of lawyer PrashantBhushan, appearing for somefarmers, that there was anattack on one of the prime wit-nesses of the case where eightpeople, including four farmers, dead.

The people who attackedthe witness threatened by say-ing “now that BJP has won,they will take care of him,”Bhushan said, adding thatother co-accused are also seek-ing bail relying on theAllahabad High Court ordergranting bail to Ashish Mishra.The CJI said he would consti-tute the bench which had

heard the case earlier and listit for hearing on Wednesday.

A bench of the CJI andJustices Surya Kant and HimaKohli had earlier heard thecase pertaining to the incidentthat had left eight people,including four farmers, deadand had appointed a formerjudge of the Punjab andHaryana High Court, to mon-itor the probe. On March 11,the top court had agreed to listfor hearing on Tuesday theplea seeking cancellation ofMishra's bail in the case.

A single-judge bench ofthe high court, on February10, had granted bail to Mishrawho had spent four months incustody. Three family mem-bers of farmers who werekilled in the violence havesought a stay on the February10 bail order of the high court,saying the verdict was “unsus-tainable in the eyes of law asthere has been no meaningfuland effective assistance by thestate to the court in the mat-ter”.

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Naxal violence in the coun-try has reduced by 77 per

cent, from an all-time high of2,258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021,Union Minister Nityanand Raitold the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.The MoS Home Affairs said theCentral Government has beensupplementing the efforts ofstates as envisaged in the'National Policy and ActionPlan to address Left WingExtremism', which waslaunched in 2015.

He said the steadfast imple-mentation of the policy hasresulted in consistent decline inviolence and constriction of itsgeographical spread. "The inci-dents of LWE violence havereduced by 77 per cent from anall-time high of 2,258 in 2009to 509 in 2021. Similarly, resul-tant deaths — civilians andsecurity personnel — havereduced by 85 per cent fromall-time high of 1,005 in 2010to 147 in 2021," he said whilereplying to a written question.

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bolster the country's overallmilitary prowess.

A key mandate of the CDSwas to facilitate the restructur-ing of military commands foroptimal utilisation of resourcesby bringing about jointness in

operations, including throughthe establishment of theatrecommands. As the CDS,General Rawat carried out theextensive groundwork to rollout tri-services reforms.

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The Bombay High Courton Tuesday rejected the

interim bail application ofMaharashtra Minister andsenior NCP leader NawabMalik in a money launderingcase, after holding that theEnforcement Directorate (ED)had duly followed the require-ment under section 19 thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA), ineffecting Malik’s arrest.

Rejecting Malik’s con-tention that his arrest was ille-gal and his plea for interim bail,a HC bench of Justices SMModak and PM Varale noted:“In the present case, there is nodispute on the factual aspectthat custody order is passed bythe competent Court of juris-diction i.e., the Special Courtand secondly, merely becausethe order is against the

Petitioner it cannot be termedas patently illegal or suffersfrom non application of mind.In our opinion, this twin test isduly applied in the presentmatter.”

The HC bench also notedthat “... we find merit in thesubmission of learnedAdditional Solicitor General(ASG) that the requirement ofSection 19 (of PMLA) is dulyfollowed”.

“At this stage, we are notimpressed by the arguments oflearned Senior Advocate ShriDesai that there is no act attrib-utable to the Petitioner so as toattract the provisions of thePMLA, 2002,” the Judges noted.

Holding that the investi-gation initiated by the ED wasat an initial stage, the bHCbench observed that the courtwas not expected to assess evi-dence and record any findingin respect of material collect-ed by the probe agency. “So wedeem it proper to peruse them(the papers) once the Petitionerwill argue the Petition to thefullest extent,” the Judges noted.

Malik was arrested by theED officials on February 23 inconnection with the purchaseof a huge plot of plot of land at“a throw-away price” from two

alleged henchmen of Karachi-based Dawood Ibrahim.

The ED’s contention is thatMalik and his family had pur-chased 2.80 acre plot of landfrom the “front men” ofDawood Ibrahim's sisterHaseena Parker -- MohammadSalim Patel -- and 1993 blastsaccused Badshah Khan at athrow away price in 2005.

In the backdrop of theED’s contention, the HC benchnoted: “When we have perusedthe un-amended provisions ofSection 3 we may find that“process or activity connectedwith proceeds of crime” is oneof ingredient. It’s a wider term.Its constitutional validity isnot challenged before us. Soprima facie we feel that the saidcontention cannot be accepted

at this stage”.“There is an FIR registered

by NIA dated 03.02.2022 andon that basis there is ECIR reg-istered on 14.02.2022. Thereare also previous FIRs and onthat basis separate ECIR in theyear 2017 and 2019 were reg-istered. Now the Enforcementagency has merged them andcombined investigation isundertaken... Considering allthe above referred grounds, weare not inclined to allow theprayers in the said applications.Resultantly, InterimApplications are rejected,” theHC bench ruled.

After being in the custodyof ED for 12 days, Malik is cur-rently in the Judicial custody tillMarch 21 in the money laun-dering case.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party,after its second consecutive

victory in UP Assembly elec-tions, has initiated the process forthe election of the AssemblySpeaker. Speaker of the 17th UPAssembly, Hriday NarayanDikshit, had not contested theAssembly election as he hadturned 75 years. The BJP is look-ing for his successor in the newAssembly.

“The exercise to elect thenew speaker will be conductedafter the swearing-in ceremonyof the chief minister and the cab-inet. The names of SureshKhanna, Satish Mahana andRamapati Shastri are doingrounds as prospective names forthe position,” a senior BJP leadersaid.These leaders are senior-most in terms of legislative expe-rience among all BJP MLAs inthe state, he added.

A nine-time MLA fromShahjahanpur, Khanna (68) hasserved as a minister in the gov-ernments of Yogi Adityanath,Kalyan Singh, Rajnath Singhand Ram Prakash Gupta. He wasalso a minister of state in theBahujan Samaj Party-BharatiyaJanata Party coalition govern-ment headed by Mayawati in2002. In the earlier YogiAdityanath-led government,

Khanna was minister for parlia-mentary affairs, medical educa-tion and finance.

Mahana is another seniorBJP MLA who is being consid-ered for the post of assemblyspeaker. In his tenure as a legis-lator, Mahana contested fromKanpur Cantonment con-stituency for the first five termsand then from Maharajpur con-stituency for the remainingterms. The 61-year-old leaderalso owns a business.

Like Khanna, Mahana hasalso been a minister of state inthe governments led by KalyanSingh, Rajnath Singh, RamPrakash Gupta, Mayawati andcabinet minister in the YogiAdityanath government.

The third name that is beingconsidered is Ramapati Shastri,72, who is the newly electedMLA from Mankapur (SC) seatin Gonda district. The agricul-turist-turned-politician hasserved as a cabinet minister inthe governments of KalyanSingh, Rajnath Singh and YogiAdityanath. He is a six-termMLA.

“As he belongs to theScheduled Caste community,Shastri’s name is under consid-eration. His appointment as theassembly speaker will send outa strong message to the Dalits,”a party leader observed.

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Cracks are developing in theSamajwadi Party-led

alliance as one of its partners,Mahan Dal president KeshavMaurya, has indicated partingcompany with the mainOpposition party.

Samajwadi Party onMonday had advised its leadersand the leaders of the allies torefrain from making statementsto the media.

The Mahan Dal presidentattacked SP leader SwamiPrasad Maurya who lost theAssembly election fromFazilnagar constituency inDeoria district.

Questioning the entry ofSwami Prasad Maurya in theSamajwadi Party ahead of theUP Assembly elections, theMahan Dal leader said, “SwamiPrasad Maurya’s entry in theSamajwadi Party was a con-spiracy by the Bharatiya JanataParty. Maurya was drafted in theSamajwadi Party at the behest ofthe BJP with a clear politicaldesign.”

Swami Prasad Maurya waslabour minister in the YogiAdityanath government andhad joined the Samajwadi Partyin January.

“With the entry of SwamiPrasad Maurya a sense of com-placency gripped the SamajwadiParty. The SP became confidentthat it would now get the major-ity of votes of the OtherBackward Classes (OBCs). TheSP leadership should haverealised that no particular leadercommands the votes, it is thepolitical party which has thevote bank,” the Mahan Dalpresident said.

He charged that due to theinfluence of Swami PrasadMaurya, the full potential ofMahan Dal was not used dur-ing the elections.

“The overconfidence ofSwami Prasad Maurya provedto be a disaster for the

Samajwadi Party as he ledAkhilesh Yadav to be compla-cent about closely contestedUP assembly elections,” theMahan Dal president said, andadded, “Swami Prasad Mauryahas lost the confidence of thepeople and he could not evenwin the election but he is in thehabit of making tall claims.”

“Mahan Dal was not givendue importance in seat distrib-ution among the allies of theSamajwadi Party. Mahan Dalwas given only two seats whilemore seats were given toRashtriya Lok Dal and ApnaDal (Kamerawadi). If theSamajwadi Party fails to honourthe allies and does not give dueimportance to us then theMahan Dal will be constrainedto explore other options,” saidMahan Dal president KeshavMaurya.

Pitted in a direct contestwith the BJP, the SP increasedits seat tally and its vote share by11 per cent but fell way short ofthe half-way mark of 202 in theUP assembly. In 2017, when theSP fought the polls in alliancewith the Congress, it had won47 seats, with a vote share of21.28 per cent. This time, it haswon 111 seats with a vote shareof 32 per cent.

After losing the 2017assembly election and the set-back in the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls, Akhilesh Yadav decidedagainst alliance with formerpartners Congress and BahujanSamaj Party. For 2022 assemblyelections, Akhilesh made morestrategic alliances, with smallcaste-based parties, thus forgingcohesive, calculated vote banks.These included Om PrakashRajbhar’s Suheldev BhartiyaSamaj Party (SBSP), MahanDal led by Keshav Dev Maurya,Janwadi Party (Socialist) led bySanjay Singh Chauhan, ApnaDal-Kamerawadi led by UnionMinister Anupriya Patel’s moth-er Krishna Patel, and mostimportantly the RLD in western.

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Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati, on Tuesday,

called the present time as“chamcha era” and said that itwas very difficult to stick to themission shown by Dr BhimraoAmbedkar but still her partywould carry its struggle andmove forward on the pathshown by the great Dalit scions.

Remembering the party’sfounder Kanshi Ram on hisbirth anniversary here onTuesday, Mayawati said thatonly the struggle of the BSP tobring crores of Dalits, adivasis,backwards and other oppressedpeople out of the life of help-lessness and make them standon their feet, was a true tributeto Manyavar Kanshi Ram ji.

Mayawati said that shefought hard for life and madeinfinite sacrifices to bring alivethe humanitarian movement ofBabasaheb Dr BhimraoAmbedkar's self-respect. “Italso earned a lot of success onits strength and gave a newdimension to the politics of thecountry,” she added.

Referring to the work doneby Kanshi Ram, Mayawati said,"In order to make the memo-ries of such a great man, dur-ing the BSP governments in UP,many grand sites, parks, edu-cational institutions, hospitalsand residential buildings havebeen named in his name.Colonies etc. were built and

public welfare schemes wererun. Manyavar Kanshi Ramjimemorial established in thecapital Lucknow is the mostprominent among them.”

In the wake of the recentdefeat in UP, Mayawati said, "Infact it is in the present cham-cha era that the BSP is stilldevoted to the missionary car-avan of Dr Ambedkar by themoney earned through bloodand sweat. Standing on thestrength of the money earnedthrough hard work is not aminor thing, but a big thing,which is the result of thismovement and on the basis ofwhich the BSP has also earnedmany historical successes espe-cially in UP.

“In the future also, we haveto remain persistent in thestruggle with our principles atany cost,” she asserted, claim-ing that the BSP would againcome to power.Meanwhile, inwake of the humiliating defeatin the Uttar Pradesh assemblyelections, Bahujan Samaj Partychief Mayawati has taken a bigdecision.

She replaced Ritesh Pandeyas the leader of the party in theLok Sabha with Girish ChandraJatav. Sangeeta Azad willreplace Girish Chandra Jatav asthe chief whip. Mayawati hasgiven this information by writ-ing a letter to Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla. This deci-sion of Mayawati is beinglinked to the party's defeat in

the UP elections and a changein the party's strategy regard-ing the next Lok Sabha elec-tions.

Mayawati has written aletter to Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla, giving information aboutthe changes, saying that theparty has now nominatedGirish Chandra Jatav in placeof Ritesh Pandey, the leader ofthe party in the Lok Sabha.

Ram Shiromani Verma willbecome the deputy leader.

It has been decided tomake Sangeeta Azad the chiefwhip in place of GirishChandra Jatav.

The BSP has suffered acrushing defeat in the UttarPradesh assembly elections. Ifthe party won just one seat, itsvote share also came down byabout 10 per cent. It is believedthat after this defeat, Mayawatican make a big change in theparty organisation in the com-ing days.

Ritesh Pandey was giventhe responsibility in January2020BSP chief Mayawati madeAmbedkar Nagar MP RiteshPandey the leader of the partyin the Lok Sabha in January2020. Mayawati had then saidthat being the leader of theparty in the Lok Sabha and theBSP president of Uttar Pradesh,being from the same commu-nity, little had changed in it.Instead of Danish Ali, RiteshPandey was made the leader ofBSP in the Lok Sabha.

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Two days after MamataBanerjee announced her

decision to nominate veterancine star Shatrughan Sinha forthe Asansol Parliamentary by-elections, the former UnionMinister on Tuesday said thathe had joined the TrinamoolCongress and would feel hon-oured to fight under the lead-ership of a “mass leader” likethe Bengal Chief Minister.

Terming Banerjee the“tigress of Bengal” Sinha wroteon the twitter “Happy to sharethat on an invite from our own,tigress of Bengal, tried, tested,successful honourable CM,Bengal … I have joined TMC.

Shall be contesting underthe dynamic leadership of agreat lady, great leader of themasses in true sense, MamataBanerjee.”

Sinha, a veteran BJP leaderand a Union Minister in theAtal Behari Vajpayee candidate,had left that party to join theCongress. He however lost toBJP nominee Ravi ShankarPrasad from Patna Sahib con-stituency in 2019 general elec-tions.

Banerjee had on Sundaysaid that Sinha would be con-testing on Trinamool Congressticket from Asansol, a seat thatfell vacant after the sitting MPand former Union MinisterBabul Supriyo left the BJP.

He too subsequently joinedthe Bengal ruling outfit and hasbeen chosen by Banerjee as herparty’s nominee for theBallygunge Assembly seatwhich too fell vacant after thedeath of the veteran TMCleader and Bengal ministerSubroto Mukherjee.

Sinha who earlier said thathis “association with Bengal ishalf-a-century old” apparentlyreferring to his role in Bengalifilm Jaban said winning wouldnot be difficult for him with“Mamata ji by my side.”

With an apparent referenceof the BJP’s “outsider” barbs --- an accusation that the ChiefMinister herself leveled on theBJP leadership ahead of the lastyear’s Assembly elections whenthe national leaders camped inBengal to campaign for the saf-fron party --- Sinha claimedthat he could speak Bengali andHindi equally.

“I can speak Bengali like Ispeak Hindi. And in Asansol,I will be speaking in bothwhen I meet people from allwalks of life. I want to be intheir hearts,” Sinha also referred

to as Bihari babu said.Asansol, the second largest

city of Bengal and an industri-al belt is known to have a sub-stantial section of Hindi-speak-ing voters. “Almost 50 percentvoters of this constituencyspeak Hindi though not all ofthem come from Bihar … andmany of them are Sikhs,Marwaris etc.,” said a localTrinamool Congress leaderadding “this is a master strokethat Didi has given to offsetBJP’s general following amongthe Hindi-speaking popula-tion.

“While Sinha has his owncharishma, the Chief Minister’spersonal appeal will definitelycarry the day for him.”

Meanwhile, sources in theElection Commission of Indiasaid that there were littlechances of changing the datesof elections that has beenscheduled for April 12. Earlierthe State Government had writ-ten to the ECI requesting for achange of date considering theHigher Secondary (Class XII)exams the dates of which fall onApril 11 and 13.

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On the direction of ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

to further improve the law andorder situations and to effec-tively control crimes in UttarPradesh, efforts have beenstarted by the Home depart-ment.

An action plan is beingprepared for this, in whichshort-term, medium-term andlong-term goals will be set.

According to an officialcommunique, a high-levelmeeting was held at theCommand Centre here onTuesday under the chairman-ship of Additional ChiefSecretary (Home) AwanishKumar Awasthi, in which thesenior officials of the Homedepartment deliberated in thisregard and had a preliminarybrainstorming session.

The proposed scheme isbeing considered for imple-

mentation in three phases. Forthis, it has been proposed to fixshort-term goals of one to twoyears, medium-term goals fortwo to five years and long-termgoals of more than five years.On this basis, the policedepartment and its variousunits and the police at the dis-trict level will be made strongand effective in a plannedmanner.

In the meeting, after dis-cussing the initial proposalprepared by the Police depart-ment, discussions were held onvarious points like budget planetc for making it more rationaland practical.

For the strengthening oflaw and order, the controlcommand centre will beequipped with more robustand state-of-the-art resources.Social media cells will be mademore effective. Similar actionis being planned to be taken atdistrict level also.

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Congress general secretaryand UP in-charge Priyanka

Gandhi Vadra has summonedsenior leaders from UttarPradesh with a review reporton the reasons for the defeat ofthe party in the UP Assemblyelections.

Meanwhile, Congresssupremo Sonia Gandhi hasasked the presidents of thePradesh Congress Committeesof Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Punjab, Goa and Manipur toput in their resignations tofacilitate reorganisation ofPCCs, Congress leaderRandeep Singh Surjewala saidin a tweet on Tuesday.

Now UPCC chief AjayKumar Lallu has to resign.

In the review meeting heldat the Congress headquartershere on Monday, the candidatesenumerated the reasons fortheir defeat. Only two CongressMLAs, including the party’sleader in state assembly,Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’, havewon the election.

Vadra on Tuesday eveningalso held discussions with theleaders on the reasons behind

the party’s debacle in NewDelhi.

Earlier, party national sec-retaries Tauqir Alam, PradeepNarwal, Rajesh Tiwari, BajiraoKhade and Satyanarayan Pateland UPCC president AjayKumar Lallu held a meetingwith the candidates and office-bearers and inquired about thereasons for the defeat.

Many candidates com-plained of non-support of theorganisation and no help bylocal leaders. Most of the can-didates attributed the electionto direct fight between the twoparties as the reason for thedefeat of the Congress candi-dates as well as those ofBahujan Samaj Party.

At the same time, the can-didates were also asked whichpeople helped them and howmany did good work. Manycandidates also shared theirexperiences in writing.

They also highlighted thehigh command's failure tobuild cadres and to keep theleaders with a significant voterbase in their areas in the partyfold.

Sources in the party saidthat before the elections, organ-

isational leaders had assuredthat at least 10-member com-mittees were formed at everybooth before the election butmany candidates got less than1,000 votes in assemblies hav-ing about 400 booths.

“We were told that 10youth committees were formedat the booth level in every con-stituency. There are about 400booths in every assembly seg-ment. But a candidate getting1,200-1,500 votes means thateven those 10 members thatparty claimed were party work-ers did not vote for the partynominees,' said a party candi-date, and added, “Not evenwomen got votes.”

Nearly all the leaders wereunanimous that AICC gener-al secretary Priyanka GandhiVadra worked hard and cameup with ideas that could haveclicked but said there was nocadre on the ground to “exe-cute” the ideas.

Interestingly, some of thecandidates who attendedMonday’s meeting, on requestof anonymity, revealed thatthe seriousness of the top lead-ership in UP as well as thoselooking on behalf of AICC

could be gauged from the factthat they were playing games orwatching videos on theirmobile phones when they weresharing the reasons for theirdefeats.

It may be mentioned thatCongress candidates have notbeen able to perform well in theelections. Only two leaders,Aradhana Mishra `Mona’ andVirendra Chowdhary, havewon. While four candidateswere at number two position,387 candidates forfeited theirdeposits.

Priyanka Gandhi alsomade a new experiment underthe `Ladki Hoon, Lad SaktiHoon’ campaign and gave 40per cent tickets to women butthe move failed as except forAradhana Mishra, who isalready a two-time MLA, allother women candidates losttheir deposits.

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Days after one of itsunarmed supersonic mis-

sile crashed into Pakistan, Indiaon Tuesday asserted its missilesystem was reliable and thesafety procedures were of thehighest order.

Giving this assurance inParliament, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh expressed“regret” over the incident.Noting that the accidental fir-ing was taken seriously by theGovernment, Rajnath alsoinformed both Houses that ahigh level probe was ordered tofind out the cause.

A review of standard oper-ating procedures was also ini-tiated, he said. In his statementin the Rajya Sabha, the Ministersaid, “I would like to brief thisaugust House about an incidentthat took place on March 9,2022

. This incident relates to

inadvertent release of a missileduring inspection. During rou-tine maintenance and inspec-tion, a missile was accidental-ly released at around 7 pm.”

The Minister said it waslater learnt that the missile hadlanded inside the territory ofPakistan. “While this incidentis regretted, we are relieved thatnobody was hurt due to theaccident. I would like to informthe august House thatGovernment has taken seriousnote of the incident,” he said.

Pointing out thatGovernment has ordered ahigh-level inquiry to deter-mine the exact cause of theaccident, the Minister said areview of the StandardOperating Procedures for oper-ations, maintenance andinspections was being con-ducted. “We attach highest pri-ority to safety and security ofour weapon systems.

If any shortcoming isfound, the same would be

immediately rectified, he said.“I can assure the House that themissile system is very reliableand safe.

Moreover, our safety pro-cedures and protocols are of thehighest order and are reviewedfrom time to time. Our ArmedForces are well-trained anddisciplined and are well expe-rienced in handling such sys-tems,” he said. A missilelaunched from a base in Sirsacrashed more than 140 kminside Pakistan in an areacalled Mian Channu.

Pakistan summoned theIndian Charge d’Affaires inIslamabad two days later tolodge a protest.

It also called for a jointprobe by both the countrieswhile expressing dissatisfac-tion over an Indian DefenceMinistry statement regrettingthe incident.

Islamabad termed thestatement as a “simplistic expla-nation.” Backing India’s stand,the United States said there isno indication that the recentfiring of a missile from Indiawhich landed in Pakistan wasanything other than accidental.While China had backedPakistan’s demand for a jointprobe, the US said it was anaccident. “We have no indica-tion, as you also heard from ourIndian partners, that this inci-dent was anything other thanan accident," State Departmentspokesperson Ned Price toldreporters at his daily newsconference on Monday.

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nuclear test in 1964), or theintimidating sailing of the US7th fleet flotilla in 1971, werestaring concerns of regionaland strategic threats that war-ranted hedging its ownoptions, deterrences andasserting its sovereign free-dom of action. India demon-strated its N-capability with‘Smiling Buddha’ in 1974(albeit calling it ‘peacefulnuclear explosion’).

Nonetheless, this opposi-tion to signing the NPT hasput India in an unlikely set ofnon-signatories (each for dif-ferent reasons) with Israel,North Korea, Pakistan andSouth Sudan. However, unlikemany NPT signatories andespecially of the ‘haves’, India’sresponsible behaviour towardsnon-proliferation speaks foritself. Delhi remained commit-ted to any non-discriminato-ry treaty that truly entailed fairplay and guaranteed securityamongst all, without privilegeto some. India has a policy ofcredible minimum deterrencebased on ‘no-first-use’ and‘non-use’ of nuclear weaponsagainst non-nuclear weaponStates. Unlike China, Russia orthe US, it has undertaken noterritorial expansionistendeavours. Despite beingroutinely chided as an outlierfrom the prism of NPT, India’s

insistence on the proof of thepudding in terms of efficacy orconsequential sovereignbehaviour has been its com-pelling case.

In 1991, when Ukrainebroke from the USSR con-struct, it had one-third of theentire Soviet nuclear arsenaland means of production —notionally, third largestnuclear stockpile (1,700 war-heads) in the world. It couldhave practically persisted withits nuclear deterrence statusgiven the inheritance andavailability of the wherewith-al, but it traded the same forfinancial compensation andostensible security assurancesfrom three of the five ‘nuclearweapon States’ as per NPT(Russia, US and UnitedKingdom) under the BudapestMemorandum. It was a movemade in good faith on theword of the ‘haves’. The mem-orandum had explicitly noted,among many guarantees, “torespect the independence andsovereignty and the existingborders of Ukraine” as also“reaffirm their obligation torefrain from the threat or useof force against the territorialintegrity or political indepen-dence of Ukraine”. It had fur-ther captured “to refrain fromeconomic coercion designedto subordinate” and, above all,

“to provide assistance toUkraine, as a non-nuclearweapon State party to thetreaty on the non-proliferationof nuclear weapons, if Ukraineshould become a victim ofaggression or an object of athreat of aggression”. Today, asRussia unconcernedly vio-lates Ukraine’s territorialintegrity, and the US and UK(as principal components ofNato) leave Ukraine high and dry —the assurances ofBudapest Memorandumsound so hollow.

Despite the 2014 annex-ation of Crimea, Ukraine hadcavalierly persisted with reaf-firming its 1994 decisiontowards NPT. Calls by oddUkrainian parliamentariansand security strategists toarm themselves, too, wentunheeded. Instead, VladimirPutin had brazenly invokedN-weapons in defendingCrimea, just like he has againdangerously posited the lan-guage of nuclear weaponstoday. In 2019, Secretary ofthe Ukrainian NationalSecurity and Defence Counciladmitted “nuclear disarma-ment was a historic mistake”and that “guarantees given tous are not even worth thepaper they are written on”. Itwas a classic case of fatally laterealisation.

Ensuing drama of thehopeless Ukrainian situationvalidates the Indian perspec-tive of securing its sovereignand strategic interests, andnot falling for the NPT trap.As Kyiv desperately beseech-es Delhi to intervene, mem-ories of Ukraine condemningIndia’s nuclear re-testing(‘Operation Shakti’) in 1998is a conveniently forgottenfootnote. India has consis-tently charted its own securi-ty considerations beyond theNPT imperatives, which havedelivered far more responsi-ble outcomes than those ofmost NPT signatories.

(The writer, a military vet-eran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

�������������� �������������Sir — I recently came across the news ofa woman who was sexually harassed amida crowd by three men but the only actionthe onlookers took was to record it ontheir phones. It was a tribal woman andthe incident took place at a tribal festi-val in Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh, lastFriday. There have been 15 arrests till nowbut the point of concern is that no com-plaint has been filed by the woman. PoliceSuperintendent Manoj Singh said that ifit was not for the incident’s video, theywould have never known about it.

There are two key issues here: Theresponse of the onlookers, and theresponse of the woman. The ‘spectators’rush to the spot as if it were an interest-ing street show to be recorded. Thisshows how normal such incidents are forthem. Two, the victim didn’t come outto file a complaint. So either she isn’taware of her rights, or she is ashamed ofthe mishap and society’s reaction. Itshows us people’s outlook towardswomen in Madhya Pradesh, especiallytribal women. It again underlines theneed for civic education among tribalsand rural people. They need to be madeaware of the laws; education can changetheir mindset.

Archan Kundu | Kolkata

��������������������Sir — There has been a consistent demandfrom various sections of the society for ahigher tax burden on tobacco manufac-turers in our country since quite a lot ofrevenue is generated from the sale oftobacco and affiliated products. Increasingexcise duty on all tobacco products can bean effective policy measure to address theimmediate need of the economy batteredby the Coronavirus pandemic over the lasttwo years. It will not only help the UnionGovernment generate more revenue but,at the same time, limit the use of tobac-co, thereby reducing tobacco-related dis-eases and COVID-related comorbidities.

Also, the increase in the tax revenuecould significantly contribute to theincreased need for resources during thepandemic, including vaccinations and fur-

ther augmenting the health infrastructure.Reports reveal that tobacco use, which isa slow-killing pandemic itself, claims thelives of 13 lakh Indians every year.Therefore, it is critical than ever before tokeep tobacco products out of the reach ofour youth and the underprivileged sec-tions of the society. Raising taxes on tobac-co products is perhaps the single mosteffective way to reduce tobacco use andsave precious lives.

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai

�������������������� ����Sir —What is the one absolute humanneed? Some may think it’s equality, jus-tice or love but the human mind cravesfor freedom like nothing else: Freedomto choose a career, freedom to love, free-dom to live. In one sense, freedom is thestate of not being imprisoned. Patriotsfighting for India’s freedom from theBritish, is a viable example. But in itsdeeper sense, freedom holds a whole new

meaning. A man works to secure a futurefor his children; a woman works to cre-ate an identity. They seek freedom fromfear of not doing the right thing.

It is for freedom that millions of peo-ple in Ukraine are fighting in the face ofdeath. When freedom of any kind, fromsomething or the true sense of it,becomes the driving force of life, itchanges the course of history. LordSidhartha sought freedom from suffer-ing. For Eklavya, his journey was in thepursuit of learning from the best, to befree of ignorance by acquiring the mostcoveted skills. And, searching for free-dom, Sidhartha started Buddhism,Eklavya became a symbol of determina-tion and India earned its Independence.Freedom is one of the most powerfulmotives and pursuits.

Samriddhi Khandelwal | Gwalior

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Invaluable lessons haveemerged from the Ukrainecrisis — one is the valida-tion of India’s age-old appre-

hension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).Promoted with the supposedobjectives of preventing the mis-use of nuclear weapons and fos-tering complete nuclear disar-mament, India despite itsavowed pacifist moorings, hashistorically and consistentlyopposed the treaty. While whole-heartedly supporting the causeof a nuclear weapon-free world,Delhi never believed that NPTwas the formulation to achievethe same. India has maintainedthat the treaty was structurallydiscriminatory as it perpetuatedthe hegemony of the ‘haves’(exclusive club of pre-1967‘nuclear weapon States’ ie, theUS, Russia, United Kingdom,France and China), withoutobligating them to liquidatetheir own dangerous stockpile.The exclusivity of nuclear deter-rence with the so-called ‘non-nuclear weapon States’ (as perNPT definition) by debarringothers from acquiring a similarand equal nuclear deterrencewith its implied retaliatory ormutually destructive portents, isunfair entitlement.

Not only have the NPT‘nuclear weapon States’ notdestroyed their stockpile, theirbelligerence and intimidatoryexpansionism on the ‘have-not’nations has been disconcerting.From unsubstantiated case ofthe WMDs (Weapons of MassDestruction) in Iraq, reneging ofIran N-treaty despite IAEA’sconfirmation of full compli-ances, China’s blatant territori-al expansionism, to now Russia’sfree run in Ukraine — the priv-ileged five beneficiaries of NPThave hardly demonstrated reas-suring and responsible behav-iour. Even on Article 1 of theNPT that mandates ‘nuclearweapon States’ to not transfer N-weapons or knowhow, China’sassistance to Pakistani, NorthKorean and Iranian nuclearprogrammes is a proven factthat shreds all pretences of NPTsuppositions. For India, mem-ories of the 1962 Chineseaggression (followed by Chinese

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ies. TERI’s Policy Brief on “CleanFuel for Cooking: Solution toAchieve Better Air Quality” men-tions that switching from 100 percent dung-based cooking to 100 percent LPG for cooking reduces thehuman exposure rate (PM 2.5)byabout 93 per cent(from 516 ?g/m3to 35 ?g/m3). The study confirmsthe view that LPG is a far eco-friendlier fuel, despite belonging tothe fossil fuels family. In anotherpaper, Tripathi and Sagar (2019)estimate the cost of economic lossper non-LPG household due tohealth burden arising from house-hold air pollution at about �69000per year(calculated using USD/INRat 69).Clearly, the benefitsof usingLPG full-time for cooking far out-weigh the cost borne by the con-sumer.

In its new phase launchedrecently, Ujjwala 2.0 focuses onmigrants, an important category ofwomen who were relatively left outof government entitlements. Mostof these migrants are engaged inunorganised sectorsand earn theirlivelihoods doing odd jobs. Womenworking as domestic help constitutea significant share out of thesemigrants.Time is precious for them,the more time they save from doingtheir household chores, the morethey can earn. Let’s discuss the storyof one such woman.

Reeta (name changed), hadmigrated to Punjab with her hus-band a few years back. She workedthere as a labourer. When thingsdidn’t work out well with her hus-band, she came back to Lucknow,her maternal home and startedworking as a domestic help in sev-eral houses. She had heard aboutUjjwala from many, but neverapplied for it. She thought since shedoes not have any local addressproof, she will not be able to get anUjjwala connection. Reeta has anAADHAR card and a bank accountboth registered in Punjab. Her

bank has recently been merged withanother bank and so she believedthat her bank account was nolonger working. She has no docu-ment as an address proof.

She had been trying unsuccess-fully for a few months to get herAADHAR address updated and toget her bank account transferred.Given most of her mornings andafternoons were spent in working,she was not able to find time to pur-sue the updation of her key docu-ments systematically.

However, things changed swift-ly for her after the launch of Ujjwala2.0. She got an Ujjwala 2.0 connec-tion under the migrant category. Shejust had to submita copy of herPunjab AADHAR card and a sim-ple self-declaration for her currentaddress. Ujjwala 2.0 solves thead-dress-proof problem for millions ofmigrants like Reeta. The docu-mentary requirement for migrantapplicants has been relaxed to a bareminimum. They can simply submita copy of their Aadhaar card foridentity and a simple self-declara-tion as proof of address and decla-ration of family.

Similarly, Ranjeeta (namechanged) who lives in Navi Mumbaiand like Reeta, works as domestichelp, got an Ujjwala 2.0 connection.She has an AADHAR card of WestBengal. Her husband had left herand she now lives with her twoyoung daughters. She opted for two

5 Kg cylinders connection as theupfront cash expense each monthis lower in this option. GraduallyRising patronage of the 5 Kg con-nection is a testimony to its popu-larity because of its convenience.

With women like Reeta andRanjeeta part of the clean cookingecosystem now, India is on track toachieve the targets under SDG 7.1,i.e., universal access to affordable,reliable and modern energy services.Of the 99 lakh connections givenacross the country under Ujjwala2.0, more than 2.5 lakh connectionshave been availed by migrants andas word-of-mouth spreads aboutthis innovative and citizen-centricpolicy tweak, more migrants areexpected to onboard Ujjwala 2.0.

Ujjwala 2.0 has greatly simpli-fied the application form and appli-cants can apply online as well.Additionally, all beneficiaries arebeing provided free stoves and firstrefills to incentivise LPG ecosystemonboarding and make ita smoothand hassle-free experience.Considering the tremendousresponse to the scheme, the govern-ment has recently extended thescheme for the release of another 60lac connections which will lead to atotalof 9.6 croreUjjwala beneficiaries.

Programmes like Ujjwala arerelatively small in their financial outlays but epochal in the transfor-mation they bring into the lives ofordinary citizens.

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(Mittal is DeputySecretary at Ministry ofPetroleum and NaturalGas. Tewari is Senior

Social Sector Specialist,Ujjwala - MoPNG. The views expressed

are personal.)

Odds appear to favour theBJP for the 2024 LokSabha polls. The party is

gung ho about its rosyprospects, as barring a fewlosses, the BJP’s winning streakdoesn’t appear to be reversing.The party has retained four ofthe five states that went to thepolls recently. It considers itspoll victories as an endorsementof the policies and schemes ofthe Modi Government.

Prime Minister NarendraModi also suggested that thetrend confirms the BJP victory,and Modi is not wrong in his2024 forecast. His secretweapon is a dividedOpposition.

Congress cannot mount acredible challenge in 2024 oreven lead the opposition coali-tion. The Gandhi family hasgotten away with so many

defeats since 2014 mainlybecause Congress could notagree on any other person out-side the family to lead theparty. In its Sunday CongressWorking Committee, the partyhas again reposed faith in theGandhis, ignoring the poorresults. It shows that the partyhas no intention of dumpingthe Gandhi trio.

Arvind Kejriwal’ AAP andMamata Banerjee’s TrinamoolCongress will probably vie forthe opposition leadership. Ofcourse, an x-factor could playa role in the next two years,and in politics, a week is saidto belong.

Congress could have easi-ly won Uttarakhand, Goa, andPunjab of the five states. Therewas enough groundswell for theparty, but it, messed up thewhole thing. The Gandhi sib-

lings are mainly responsible forthis pathetic situation. Punjabshould have been in Congresskitty had not the party removedCaptain Amarinder Singh justa few months ahead of the polls.Uttarakhand was in its pockethad the party activated thepoll machinery. So was Goa.

The regional parties alsohave not fared well. SamajwadiParty in UP has indeedimproved but not within strik-ing distance of snatching power.BSP chief Mayawati shouldblame herself for not protecting

her turf as it is clear that Dalitshave moved away from her.TMC was a loser in Goa.

All these show that theopposition had given awaythese states in a platter to theBJP. All this, when regionalsatraps like TrinamoolCongress chief, MamataBanerjee, Telangana chief min-ister K. Chandrasekhar Rao,Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K.Stalin and Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal, the new posterboy of the Opposition, are try-ing to make unity moves withor without Congress.

Opposition unity is eludingbecause of the ego clashes of theregional leaders.

The first question is whowill lead the Opposition?Congress claims to have apan-national presence. Butthat was the position before

Modi appeared on the nation-al scene in 2014. TodayCongress is almost a regionalparty. It faces a leadership cri-sis at the top. Factionalism isat its peak, and dissidents haveemerged. The leadership hasno accountability.

Kejriwal is the Opposition’snew poster boy. He managedto win Punjab within ten yearsof the formation of his party.AAP projected itself as ananti-establishment force andkept its campaign focused ondevelopmental issues. Thereare credible regional satrapswithin the Opposition like theWest Bengal chief minister. InGoa, too, after seeing no suc-cess in the last election, AAPstayed the course and hasopened its account by winningtwo seats.

Whoever leads the

Opposition, there is an urgentneed for its unity both inParliament and outside.

Secondly, the Oppositionshould come up with an alter-nate pragmatic programme.They could have a commonminimum programme toresolve the inherent contradic-tions.

Thirdly, the Oppositionshould have a new narrativeand not just Modi-bashing. Itshould attract the youth, par-ticularly first-time voters.

Fourthly, Congress shouldnot claim the opposition lead-ership; it should step back toallow others to lead.

Fifthly, the Oppositionshould look at the Hindu votesas the BJP wins mainly by theHindu consolidation. Someleaders like Rahul Gandhi andKejriwal have realized it and

have started wooing theHindus with their temple runsand chanting of HanumanChalisa.

Sixthly, the Oppositionshould avoid emotional issuesand focus on administration,development, and welfare pro-grammes.

While the Congress willstill get opportunities to regainits clout, with elections inGujarat, Madhya Pradesh,Karnataka, Rajasthan, andChhattisgarh lined up beforethe final battle in 2024, theparty shuns any changes.

The Opposition will neverbe able to defeat Modi and hisparty so long as it cannotdecipher why Modi wins. Afterall, it is the voter connection,excellent communication, and24/7 poll machinery thathelped Modi win.

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(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

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�7�;�<����#+�# The Great Indian Kitchen, a recentMalayalam film, very aptly depictsthe inadequately addressed oppres-sion of women in our kitchens.

Women have traditionally been expectedto remain confined to their sociallypre-scribed household roles. A particularsequence of the film shows a very poignantreality. A newlywed woman starts her lifein the adopted household. From the firstday itself, family members savour the del-icacies cooked by her. However, no onecares about the issues that she has to faceday in day out. For instance, a drain isblocked in her kitchen, leading to a foulsmell and an extremely unhygienic situa-tion which makes her vomit the momentshe enters the kitchen. While she raises thisimmediately with her husband and subse-quently keeps reminding him, he keeps for-getting it, and very conveniently so. Andwhy wouldn’t he? For him, the blockeddrain changes nothing. He continues to gethis lunch-pack in time, his clothes arepressed before he emerges from his show-er, and so on.

Others in the family are also not help-ful. The aged father-in-law touchessamb-har only if it is preparedin an earthen poton a traditional ‘chulha’. It doesn’t occur tohim that the well-educated bride has tospend a large part of her day in a smokyroom.

In traditional Indian households, deci-sions, important or otherwise, are normal-ly taken not by those who face their con-sequence. Because of this asymmetry in thishousehold-levelpower dynamics, womenhave hardly been the decision-makersforeven choosing the cooking fuel for theirkitchens. Programmes like Pradhan MantriUjjwala Yojana (PMUY) and Direct BenefitTransfer attack at the root of this asymme-try. The connection is only given towomen from poor families and the subsidyamount is credited to their bank accountsdirectly.

Since PMUY’s launch in May 2016, 9crore connections have been given underthe scheme. The scheme has made a defin-itive contribution in improvingIndia’s per-formance on Sustainable DevelopmentGoals-SDG3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 5 (gender equality)andspecially SDG 7, which aims to ensureaccess to affordable, reliable, sustainable,and modern energy for all. The contribu-tion of Ujjwala Yojana may be seen in theFig-1 and Fig-2.

Fig 1 : Progress in LPG coverage in thecountry ( Source : PPAC)

Fig 2: Number of active LPG con-sumers in the country ( Source : PPAC)

There is wide agreement now thatPradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is not justa clean cooking energy access programme,it is also aninstrument to achieve womenempowerment. While the upfront econom-ic barrier removed by PMUY is an obvi-ous benefit of the scheme, some far moreimpactful but less obvious benefits havebeen found by various independent stud-

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The Russian offensive inUkraine edged closer to

central Kyiv on Tuesday evenas the two countries kept opena narrow diplomatic channelwith more planned talks.

Shortly before dawn, largeexplosions thundered acrossKyiv. A series of Russianstrikes hit a residential neigh-borhood in the capital, ignit-ing a huge fire and a franticrescue effort in a 15-storyapartment building. At leastone person was killed andothers remain trapped inside.

Shockwaves from anexplosion also damaged theentry to a downtown subwaystation that has been used asa bomb shelter. City authori-ties tweeted an image of theblown-out facade, sayingtrains would no longer stop atthe station.

When Russia launched thewar nearly three weeks ago,fear of an imminent invasiongripped the Ukrainian capital,as residents slept night afternight in subway stations orcrammed onto trains to flee.But as the Russian offensivebogged down, Kyiv saw a rel-ative lull. Fighting has inten-sified on the outskirts in recentdays, and sporadic air raidsirens ring out around the cap-ital.

There was a rare glimmerof hope in the encircled portcity of Mariupol after a convoyof 160 civilian cars left alonga designated humanitarianroute, the city council report-ed. Over the past 10 days or so,the lethal siege has pulverizedhomes and other buildingsand left people desperate forfood, water, heat and medi-cine.

The latest negotiationsbetween Russia and Ukraine,held by video Monday, werethe fourth round involving

higher-level officials from thetwo countries and the first ina week. The talks ended with-out a breakthrough after sev-eral hours, with an aide toUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy sayingthe negotiators took "a tech-nical pause" and planned tomeet again Tuesday.

The two sides hadexpressed some optimism inthe past few days. MykhailoPodolyak, the aide toZelenskyy, tweeted that thenegotiators would discuss"peace, cease-fire, immediatewithdrawal of troops &amp;security guarantees." Previousdiscussions, held in person inBelarus, produced no lastinghumanitarian routes or agree-ments to end the fighting.

Zelenskyy is seeking toextend martial law until April24 and to require men ages 18to 60 to stay in the country tofight. Zelenskyy submitted theextension in a bill to parlia-ment, which is expected tovote on it this week.

In Washington, WhiteHouse press secretary JenPsaki said that while the Bidenadministration supportsUkraine's participation in thetalks with Russia, RussianPresident Vladimir Putinwould have to show signs ofde-escalating in order todemonstrate good faith.

US National securityadviser Jake Sullivan warnedChina against helping Russiaduring a meeting in Romewith a senior Chinese diplo-mat.

Two administration offi-cials, speaking on condition ofanonymity to discuss sensitiveinformation, said China hadsignaled to Moscow that itwould be willing to provideboth military support inUkraine and financial backingto help stave off effects ofWestern sanctions, which

include a fourth set of EUsanctions announced lateMonday.The Kremlin hasdenied asking China for mil-itary equipment to use inUkraine.

Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov said Russiawas able to continue the oper-ation itself and it was "unfold-ing in accordance with theplan and will be completed ontime and in full." In Kyiv,the early morning explosionswere artillery strikes, theUkrainian military said. Theyhit the Svyatoshynskyi dis-trict of western Kyiv, adjacentto the suburb of Irpin that hasseen some of the worst battlesof the war.

Flames shot out of theapartment building as fire-fighters climbed ladders torescue people. Smoke chokedthe air. A firefighter at thescene confirmed one personhad died and that several hadbeen rescued, but othersremained inside as rescuerstried to reach them.Damagefrom unspecified ammuni-tion prompted a fire in a 10-story apartment block in thePodilsky district of Kyiv, northof the government quarter.One person was hospitalized,the state emergency agencyreported.

Russian forces alsostepped up strikes overnighton the northwest suburbs ofIrpin, Hostomel and Bucha,said the head of the Kyivregion, Oleksiy Kuleba.

"Many streets (in thoseareas) have been turned into amush of steel and concrete.People have been hiding forweeks in basements, and areafraid to go out even for evac-uations," Kuleba said onUkrainian television.

But overall, nearly all ofthe Russian military offen-sives remained stalled aftermaking little progress over

the weekend, according to asenior U.S. Defense officialwho spoke on condition ofanonymity to discuss thePentagon's assessment.Russian troops were still about15 kilometers (9 miles) fromthe center of Kyiv, the officialsaid.The official said thatRussian forces have launchedmore than 900 missiles butthat Ukraine's airspace is stillcontested, with Russia notachieving total air superiority.

Ukrainian authorities saidtwo people were killed whenthe Russians struck an airplanefactory in Kyiv, sparking alarge fire. The Antonov facto-ry is Ukraine's largest aircraftplant and produces many ofthe world's biggest cargoplanes.The Ukrainian generalprosecutor's office on Tuesdayreleased details of two deadlyRussian attacks the day before.

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While tens of thousands ofpeople have fled Ukraine

every day since Russia's inva-sion, a small but growing num-ber are heading in the otherdirection.

At first they were foreignvolunteers, Ukrainian expatri-ate men heading to fight andpeople delivering aid. Butincreasingly, women are alsoheading back.

Motivated by a desire to

help loved ones in trouble, orjust to contribute to the defenseand survival of their countryand compatriots in ways largeand small, such women arebraving the bombs that haveincreasingly pounded Ukrainesince Russian forces invaded onFeb. 24.

Many are not refugeesthemselves but women whohad been living and workingabroad. Others had alreadychosen to stay put in theircountry but were forced to

cross the border to shop forneeded goods as supplies dry upunder the onslaught at home.

"I will go back and help. Iam a health worker, so the hos-pitals need help," said IrynaOrel, 50, tugging her luggagebefore boarding a train fromPrzemysl, Poland, to Lviv inwestern Ukraine.

"And I will stay until theend." Poland has taken in morethan 1.8 million refugees, orover 60% of the total exodus of3 million people since the inva-sion.

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They are idealists who aban-doned their jobs for the bat-

tlefields of Ukraine, looking for acause or simply to fight.

The Ukrainian president'scall for foreign volunteers to joinan international brigade to helpbolster his country's defence witha new layer of resistance toRussia's invasion is for now a rag-tag army.

Recruits say they are oftenwaiting for weapons and training,leaving them feeling exposed.

"Pure hell: fire, shouting,

panic. And a lot more bombs andmissiles." That is how Swedishvolunteer Jesper Söder describedSunday's attack on Yavoriv, themilitary training base in westernUkraine pounded by Russianmissiles that killed 35 people,according to Ukrainian authori-ties. Russia said the death toll wasmuch higher.

Söder said he led a group offoreigners includingScandinavians, British andAmericans out of the base andback across the nearby Polishborder.He told The AssociatedPress by phone from Krakow,

Poland, that he said he didn'tknow how many foreign volun-teers were being trained at thebase but estimated they were inthe hundreds.

Unlike Söder, who foughtalongside Kurdish fighters inSyria against Islamic State groupmilitants, many of the volunteersat Yavoriv had no previous mili-tary training, he said.

But some arrive to discoverthat there are no weapons, pro-tective gear or proper training ina multilingual force short onorganization and breeding a senseof chaos.

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The leaders of Poland, theCzech Republic and Slovenia

travelled by train on Tuesday toKyiv to meet with Ukraine's topleadership as Russia's offensivemoved closer to the centre of thecapital.

The visit by the leaders ofthree countries which belong to

the EU but also NATO, comes asa series of strikes hit a residen-tial neighbourhood in Kyiv.

They described their visitinto the war zone as a mission bythe European Union to supportUkraine, though EU officialscharacterised it as trip the cen-tral European leaders had under-taken independently despite thesecurity risks.

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The InternationalOrganisation for Migration

says more than 3 million peoplehave fled Ukraine since Russianinvaded last month. The newmilestone also indicated thatsome 157,000 third-countrynationals - people who aren'tUkrainian - were part of the out-flow in what UN officials havecalled the largest refugee crisis inEurope since World War II.IOMspokesman Paul Dillon said at aUN news briefing in Geneva onTuesday that the totals werecompiled from figures providedby national authorities.The UNrefugee agency UNHCR, whichprovides a more detailed countthan the IOM though based onsimilar data, has reported thatmore than 1.8 million of therefugees were in Poland.

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The European Union has announced that the 27-nation bloc has approved a new set of sanc-tions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.France, which holds the EU presidency, said the bloc "in consultation with our internation-

al partners, has approved a fourth package of sanctions targeting individuals and entities involvedin the aggression against Ukraine, as well as several sectors of the Russian economy."

The French presidency said in a late Monday statement that the bloc also approved a decla-ration to the World Trade Organization "on suspending the application of the most-favoured-nation clause for Russia and suspending the examination of Belarus' application for accession tothe WTO."If Russia is suspended, its companies would no longer receive special treatment through-out the bloc.The announcements were in line with what leaders had announced at the Versaillessummit last Friday, that a stringent package of sanctions would be upcoming if Russia contin-ued its invasion of Ukraine. The exact details of the latest package of sanctions will only be knownupon publication in the EU's official journal.

Since the war started last month, the EU has adopted tough measures targeting Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, Russia's financial system and its high-maintenance oligarchs. Last week, the bloc'snations agreed to slap further sanctions on 160 individuals and added new restrictions on theexport of maritime navigation and radio communication technology.

They also decided to exclude three Belarusian banks from SWIFT, the dominant system forglobal financial transactions. Altogether, EU restrictive measures now apply to a total of 862 indi-viduals and 53 entities. In a statement published after the summit, EU Commission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen said the fourth package of sanctions will further isolate Russia "and drainthe resources it uses to finance this barbaric war." She said the EU will work in lockstep with Groupof Seven countries to ramp up the pressure against Moscow. Efforts to agree on an oil boycottagainst Russia are complicated, because some EU countries, including Germany and Italy, are muchmore dependent than others on Russian energy.

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Local authorities say thenumber of people killed in

a Russian rocket attack on a TVtower in western Ukraine hasrisen to 19.

The Rivne regional gov-ernment posted on itsFacebook page Tuesday that 19people were killed and ninewere injured in the strike on theTV tower in Antopol, a villageoutside the city of Rivne.

The village is only about160 kilometers (100 miles)from the border of NATOmember Poland and comes asRussia presses its invasion ofUkraine.

Initial casualty reports hadput the death toll fromMonday's TV tower attack atnine.

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The Biden administra-tion is working tobuild a global coalitionfar beyond G7 and

NATO partners, the WhiteHouse has said.

Some of the biggest coun-tries like China, India, Braziland Mexico are not part ofAmerica’s economic warfareagainst Russia, but that doesnot undermine the efforts ofthe Biden administrationagainst Moscow, White HousePress Secretary Jen Psaki toldreporters on Monday.

“Not just China, but someof the biggest countries in theworld like India or Brazil, somecountries in Latin Americalike Mexico, they are not partof this economic warfareagainst Russia. Is this some-thing that undermines theeffort from the White Houseand European countries?

“I would say it doesn’tundermine our efforts. Wehave been working to build aglobal coalition far beyond theG7 and our NATO partners,and had a great deal of successin that. And every country hasto decide where they want tostand, where they want to be as

we look and the history booksare written,” Psaki said duringher daily news conference.

“As we have seen, theimpact of the president’s lead-ership on the global stage andthe economic consequencesthat have been put into placehave led Russia and the Russian

economy to be on the brink ofcollapse. And there’s no ques-tion that over time, that willhave an impact,” she said inresponse to a question.

China is unlikely to bevery helpful to Russia duringthese economic sanctions,Psaki said.

“I think what we are look-ing at here, one is if China wereto decide to be an economicprovider or to take additionalsteps there to Russia, they onlymake up 15 to 20 per cent ofthe world’s economy. The G7countries make up more than50 per cent. So, there are arange of tools at our disposaland coordination with ourEuropean partners should weneed to use them,” she said.

But this is an area that theUnited States is watching close-ly, Psaki said, asserting thatthere would be consequencesfor China if it provides militarysupply to Russia.

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Japanese and US Marines had their first air-borne landing and combat training togeth-

er on Tuesday near Mt. Fuji as the two alliesstrengthen military cooperation amid growingmaritime activity by China and Russia in theregional seas.

Japan has been expanding its defensebudget and capability for about a decade andis now revising its key national security strat-egy in the face of threats from China, NorthKorea and now Russia.

On Tuesday, 400 troops from Japan’sAmphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade and600 US Marines based on Japan’s southernisland of Okinawa jointly practiced landing andcombat operations in a scenario of an enemyinvasion of a remote Japanese island, using tilt-rotor Ospreys, amphibious armoured vehiclesand artilleries such as M777.

The exercise comes at a time when Russia’sinvasion of Ukraine has intensified worriesabout what could happen in East Asia, whereChina’s growing assertiveness has escalated ten-sion around Taiwan.

While Japan has shifted its security focusto the southwest, it also faces Russia’s growingnaval activity and its increased cooperation withChina.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno

said the Japanese navy spotted a fleet of sixRussian warships Monday passing the SoyaStrait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin as partof Russia’s major naval exercises, days afteranother Russian fleet crossed the Tsugaru Straitbetween Aomori on the northern tip of Japan’smain island and Hokkaido.

He said Russia also conducted a land-to-air missile firing last week on the Russian-heldKuril islands, which Japan also claims.

The dispute over the islands Moscow tookat the end of World War II has prevented Japanand Russia from signing a peace treaty.

“Russia’s military has been escalatingabnormal naval drills in areas including theOkhotsk in sync with their invasion of Ukraine,”Matsuno said. “We told Russia we are watch-ing its intensifying military activity with graveconcern.”

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hasrepeatedly pledged to fundamentally strength-en Japan’s defense power, including consider-ing possessing a controversial preemptivestrike capability. Japan has purchased Americanfighter jets, missile defense systems and otherarsenals to increase interoperability as the twosides increasingly work together. Tuesday’s drillwas part of a three-week joint exercise aimedat advancing interoperability between theallies to strengthen their deterrence andresponse capability, defense officials said.

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While Russia’s war in Ukraine dom-inates global attention, Myanmar’s

military is targeting civilians in air andground attacks on a scale unmatched inthe country since World War II, accord-ing to a longtime relief worker who spentalmost three months in a combat zone inthe Southeast Asian nation.

David Eubank, director of the FreeBurma Rangers, a humanitarian relieforganization, told The Associated Pressthat the military’s jets and helicoptersstage frequent attacks in the areas of east-ern Myanmar where he and his volun-teers operate, bringing medical and foodaid to civilians caught in conflict.

Ground forces are also firing artillery- indiscriminately, he said - causingthousands to flee their homes.

Video shot by his group’s membersincludes rare images of repeated airstrikes by Myanmar military aircraft inKayah State - also known as Karenni State- causing a number of civilian deaths.

An analyst for New York-basedHuman Rights Watch said the air attacksconstitute “war crimes.”

Myanmar’s military seized power lastyear, overthrowing the democraticallyelected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.After security forces cracked down vio-lently on large, peaceful street demon-strations opposing the takeover, thou-sands of ordinary people formed militia

units, dubbed People’s Defense Forces, tofight back.

Many are loosely allied with well-established ethnic minority armed groups- such as the Karenni, the Karen and theKachin - that have been fighting the cen-tral government for more than half a cen-tury, seeking greater autonomy in thefrontier regions.

Despite overwhelming superiority innumbers and weaponry, the military hasfailed to crush this grassroots resistancemovement. The army has now stepped upattacks, taking advantage of the dry, sum-mer conditions.

Eubank described the fighting he hadseen as probably the worst in Myanmarsince World War II, when the country wasa British colony still known as Burma andlargely occupied by the Japanese.

There has been serious but sporadicfighting in Kachin State in northern

Myanmar for a few years, he said, “butwhat I saw in Karenni I had not seen inBurma before.” “Air strikes, not likeone or two a day like they do in KarenState, but like two MiGs coming one afterthe other, these Yak fighters, it was oneafter the other,” said Eubank. “Hind heli-copter gunships, these Russian planes,and then just brought hundreds ofrounds of 120mm mortar. Just boom,boom, boom, boom.”

Russia is a top arms supplier toMyanmar’s military, keeping up supplieseven as many other nations have main-tained an embargo since the army’stakeover to promote peace and a returnto democratic rule.

Eubank knows whereof he speaks. Hewas a U.S. Army Special Forces andRanger officer before he and some eth-nic minority leaders from Myanmarfounded the faith-based Free BurmaRangers in 1997. Two of its members havebeen killed in Kayah state since lateFebruary: one in an air strike, the otherin a mortar barrage.

Drone footage shot by the groupshows the impact of the army’s offensiveon Karenni settlements, with buildings onfire and smoke drifting thick in the sky.In a Feb. 24 report in the state-runMyanma Alinn Daily newspaper, the mil-itary acknowledged using air strikes andheavy artillery in order to clear out whatit called “terrorist groups” near the statecapital, Loikaw.

���� �>��>��

WikiLeaks founder JulianAssange, wanted in the

US over the alleged leak of clas-sified documents related tothe wars in Iraq andAfghanistan, is expected tomake submissions to UKHome Secretary Priti Patelafter he lost an appeal againsthis extradition in the UKSupreme Court.

The 50-year-old’s lawyershad argued that he should notbe taken to the US because ofa real and “oppressive” risk ofsuicide and won the right toappeal in Britain’s highest court.However, on Monday theSupreme Court concluded thathis application did not “raise anarguable point of law”. The casewill now go to Priti Patel for asign off on his extradition tothe US, with four weeks’ timefor his lawyers to make repre-sentations to the ministerdirectly.

“We regret that the oppor-

tunity has not been taken toconsider the troubling cir-cumstances in which request-ing states can provide caveat-ed guarantees after the con-clusion of a full evidentialhearing,” reads a statementfrom his law firm BirnbergPeirce.

“In Mr Assange’s case, thecourt had found that therewas a real risk of prohibitedtreatment in the event of hisonward extradition,” thespokesperson said.

Under the next steps in thelegal process, the case will nowbe remitted to WestminsterMagistrates’ Court in London,whose function thereafter islimited to referring the decisionfor extradition to the HomeSecretary. The Min thendecides whether to order orrefuse extradition to the UnitedStates on a number of statuto-ry bases. The defence is entitledto make submissions to theHome Secretary within thefollowing four weeks.

���� '��%�/���

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister ShahMahmood Qureshi on Tuesday

rejected as “incomplete and insuf-ficient” the response by by India’sdefence minister Rajnath Singh inparliament about the “accidentalfiring” of a missile, and once againdemanded a joint probe into theincident.

Addressing a press conferencehere, Qureshi talked in detail aboutIndia’s accidental missile launch ofMarch 9 as well as the 48thOrganisation of the IslamicCooperation (OIC) Council ofForeign Ministers being hosted byPakistan on March 22-23.

“What Indian defence minister

had said in the Lok Sabha is incom-plete and insufficient. It is notenough to satisfy Pakistan. I rejectthat and demand a joint probe,” hesaid, reiterating Islamabad’sdemand made last week.

“This was a highly irresponsi-ble act and the answer given isequally irresponsible,” Qureshi saidin the first Pakistani reaction toSingh’s detailed statement inParliament.

Asserting that India’s missilesystem is very reliable and the safe-ty procedures are of the highestorder, Defence Minister Singh onTuesday described the recent acci-dental missile release as “regret-table”. He said a review of standardoperations and maintenance wasbeing conducted and any short-coming if found, will be immedi-ately rectified.

Making a statement in RajyaSabha and Lok Sabha on the inad-vertent release of a missile duringan inspection on March 9, Singhsaid the government has takenserious note of the incident, and aformal high-level inquiry has beenordered which will determine theexact cause of the incident.

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The United States has saidthere is no indication that

the recent firing of a missilefrom India which landed inPakistan was anything otherthan accidental.

India on Friday said it acci-dentally fired a missile two daysback that landed in Pakistan andthat the “deeply regrettable”incident was caused by a tech-nical malfunction in the courseof its routine maintenance.

“We have no indication asyou also heard from our Indianpartners that this incident wasanything other than an acci-dent,” State Departmentspokesperson Ned Price toldreporters at his daily news con-ference on Monday.

“We refer you ofcourse to the Indian Ministry ofDefense for any follow up. Theyissued a statement on March 9thto explain precisely what hadhappened. We don’t have acomment beyond that,” Pricesaid in response to a question.

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Iranian authorities havereturned the passport of a

UK woman who has beendetained in the country foralmost six years, raising hopesof progress in negotiationstoward her release.

Charity worker NazaninZaghari-Ratcliffe remains ather parents’ home in Tehran,said Tulip Siddiq, her local law-maker in the UK. “I also under-stand that there is a Britishnegotiating team in Tehranright now,’’ Siddiq said onTwitter. “I will keep postingupdates as I get them.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who hasdual UK-Iranian citizenship,served five years in prisonafter being taken into custodyat Tehran’s airport in April2016. She was later convicted ofplotting the overthrow of Iran’sgovernment, a charge that she,her supporters and rightsgroups deny. She has beenheld under house arrest andunable to leave the countrysince her release. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s local lawyer, HojjatKermani, also told TheAssociated Press she hadreceived her British passport.

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Myanmar’s military-ledadministration has

agreed to accept Thai baht asan official currency in bordertrade dealings and plans asimilar arrangement for useof India’s rupee, seeking tolimit the country’s reliance onthe US dollar in trade.

The State AdministrationCouncil said Tuesday thatMyanmar began allowingdirect currency settlementsusing the Chinese yuan withits kyat earlier this year.

Settlements in Thai bahtwill be done online accordingto regulations set byMyanmar’s central bank, itsaid in a statement.

Myanmar’s economic cri-sis deepened after its armyseized power in February2021 from the elected gov-ernment of Aung San SuuKyi.

Opposition to the mili-tary takeover has evolvedinto armed resistance thatsome UN experts havedescribed as civil war.

The turmoil, sanctionsagainst the military leadershipand the pandemic have com-bined to severe strain thecountry’s ability to earn for-eign exchange. Meanwhile,the value of the kyat hasplunged.By expanding directconversion of other curren-cies in border trade,Myanmar intends to reduceits dependence on the US dol-lar by up to 70%, the state-ment cited Maung MaungOhn, minister of Information,and Aung Naing Oo, minis-ter of Investments andForeign Economic Relations,as saying. Thailand isMyanmar’s second largesttrading partner after China,with border trade at fivecheckpoints.

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At least four people were killed by a car bombon Tuesday in war-torn Yemen. At least eight

people, including a senior security official,were injured, officials said.

The explosion took place in the city ofZinjibar and targeted the convoy of Abdel-Latifel-Sayed, commander of the so-called SecurityBelt force in the southern province of Abyan, theofficials said. The casualties were taken to hos-pitals for treatment, they said.

Zinjibar is the Abyan provincial capital.The Security Belt is a militia, trained and

funded by the United Arab Emirates and loyalto the secessionist Southern Transitional Council.

The explosion damaged at least four vehi-cles of el-Sayed’s convoy, according to securityofficials who spoke on condition of anonymitybecause they were not authorized to briefmedia. Images from the scene showed at leastone white Toyota pick-up truck burnt.

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Iran’s powerful RevolutionaryGuard has added “smart sub-

marines,” unmanned under-water vehicles, to its navy forthe first time, State TV report-ed on Tuesday.

The Guard’s navy unveiledthe vessels, along with newmissiles and speedboats, at aceremony in Iran’s southernport city of Bandar Abbas.

Its new speedboats cantravel at up to 95 knots (about109 mph) and are able tolaunch missiles and rockets.

The report also said theGuard’s navy was equippedwith new maneuverable mis-siles with an extended range.

Since 1992, Iran has devel-oped a homegrown defenseindustry that produces lightand heavy weapons rangingfrom mortars and torpedoes totanks and submarines.

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In a bid to stop harassmentof small shopkeepers, the

Union Consumer AffairsMinister Piyush Goyal onTuesday directed his depart-ment’s officials as well asstates to convene a meetingnext week on the issues per-taining to the certain provi-sions of decriminalize theLegal Metrology Act. Theminister pointed out that in2018-19, the cases of firstoffence were 89,724 and thesecond offence only 11. “In2019-20, the first offence caseswere 92,000 while secondoffence only two while in2020-21 the first offence caseswere 85,000 and secondoffence zero,” "I fail to under-stand that after the firstoffence, which is compound-able, how the number of casesfor second offence, which canactually put you behind bars,

which is criminal, comesdown drastically. You canunderstand the meaning ofthis what could have hap-pened between the first andthe second offence ," Goyalsaid while addressing the “FairDigital Finance” on the occa-sion of the World ConsumerRights Day, organised by hisministry.

Recalling his own harass-ment 35 years ago when hestarted out as a young entre-preneur, Goyal listed out thenumber of cases registeredunder three different sectionsof the Legal Metrology Act andpointed out the vast differencebetween the number of casesunder first and secondoffences.Citing data of the lastthree years, Goyal said broad-ly 51,000-54,000 cases werefiled as first offence underSection 33, about 20,000-22,000 cases filed under Section36 (1) and 8,000-10,000 cases

filed under Section 25. "Thisis all first offence which is com-poundable. I fail to under-stand after the first offence isfiled how the number of secondoffence falls. The secondoffence can put you behind baras it is criminal," he said.

The Legal Metrology Act2009 enforces standards relat-ed to weights and measures. Inits present form, the law pre-scribe imprisonment, in addi-tion to fine, for second or sub-sequent offence. "I personallywould like to flag off a coupleof concerns...Because I dobelieve that it's important. I dobelieve it's important that whatRohit Kumar Singh(Consumer Affairs Secretary)said about decriminalisationshould also be understood byall of us," he said.

The Minister also blamedthe state government and theconsumer organisations foropposing reforms.

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Banks recovered over Rs7.34 lakh crore in the past

six years and the first sixmonths of the current fiscalyear, the government said inParliament on Tuesday.

During the past six finan-cial years and the first sixmonths of the current finan-cial year, banks have effectedan aggregate recovery of Rs7,34,542 crore, in non-per-forming assets and written-offloan accounts, includingthose reported as fraud,Minister of State for FinanceBhagwat Karad said in a writ-ten reply to the Rajya Sabha.

On recovery of fraudamounts, the minister said Rs55,895 crore have been recov-ered in the past six financialyears and the current finan-cial year up to December 31,

2021, he said.The minister said the

Reserve Bank of India hadissued master directions onfraud to banks in 2016 andthe government has institut-ed wide-ranging structuraland procedural reforms tocheck frauds in banks.

He added that these sys-tematic and comprehensivechecking of frauds, includingthe legacy stock of non-per-forming assets, led to theunearthing of frauds perpe-trated over the years.

These steps have helpedin a sharp decline in fraudamount from Rs 68,962 crorein 2015-16 to Rs 11,583 crorein 2020-21.

During the Apri l-December period of 2021-22,the amount involved in bankfrauds stood at Rs 648 crore,he added.

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Market benchmarks haltedtheir five-day rally to

close with deep cuts onTuesday, in line with a sell-offin global markets as partici-pants dialled back risk expo-sure ahead of a key policymeeting of the US FederalReserve amid continuinguncertainty over the Ukrainecrisis.

A depreciating rupee andforeign capital outflows alsoweighed on sentiment, traderssaid.

After opening with gainsof over 200 points, the 30-shareSensex turned highly volatileand tumbled in afternoontrade, before finally finishing709.17 points or 1.26 per centlower at 55,776.85.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty dived 208.30 points or1.23 per cent to 16,663.

Tata Steel was the top lag-gard in the Sensex pack, slid-ing 4.89 per cent, followed byKotak Mahindra Bank, TechMahindra, Infosys, Reliance

Industries, HCL Tech andPowerGrid.

Mahindra & Mahindra andMaruti Suzuki topped the gain-ers' list, climbing as much as2.31 per cent, after these firmsfeatured in the list of 75 com-panies whose applications werecleared under the ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) schemefor the automobile and autocomponents sector.

Asian Paints, Titan, NestleIndia and Bharti Airtel wereamong the other winners."The world equity market lostits momentum as new financialand trade sanctions wereimposed on Russia along withthe suspension of gas imports.It is a setback for the marketsentiment, which was improv-ing in anticipation of a truce inwar. The Indian market wasoutperforming due to ease incommodity prices.

"World markets are alsolower ahead of the US Fedmeeting," according to VinodNair, Head of Research atGeojit Financial Services.

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India is not facing any powercrisis as the installed elec-

tricity generation capacitystood at 395.6 gigawatts (GW)against the peak demand of 203GW recorded in 2021-22,Parliament was informed onTuesday.

"There is no power crisisin the country. As on February28, 2022, the installed genera-tion capacity is around 395.6GW, which is sufficient tomeet the demand of electrici-ty in the country. The peakdemand experienced duringthe current year was only 203GW," said Power Minister R KSingh in a written reply to theRajya Sabha.

In another reply to theHouse, the minister told theHouse that as per the infor-mation compiled by theCentral Electricity Authority(CEA), the import of coalreduced to 22.7 MT (milliontonnes) during 2021-22 (April-January) as against 39 MTduring the same period lastyear, mainly due to high

imported coal price in theinternational market.

The shortfall in importedcoal has been compensatedthrough the enhanced supply ofdomestic coal i.E. From 442.6MT during 2020-21 (April-January) to 547.2 MT during2021-22 (April-January).

Thus, he stated, that thegeneration loss due to thereduction in import of coal hasbeen compensated from high-er generation from domesticcoal-based plants.

"We aim to achieve 500GW installed capacity fromnon-fossil fuel-based capacity(hydro, nuclear, solar, wind,biomass, etc.) by 2030. This willreduce the pressure on coal-based generation to a largeextent," he also told the House.

The reply showed that938.36 billion units (BU) poweris generated through coal-based thermal plants duringApril-February (2021-22) com-pared to 850.89 BU in thesame period of 2020-21.

The power generationfrom coal-based power plantsstood at 950.93 BU (2020-21),

961.21 BU (2019-20) and987.68 BU (2018-19).

The power was generatedat the total coal-based moni-tored capacity of 203.89 GW inthe country.

The minister told theHouse that there was a decreasein the coal-fired electricityproduced in the country dur-ing the financial year 2020-21as compared to the previousyear 2019-2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic.However, he stated that

coal-fired generation hasincreased during the currentyear 2021-22 (up to February2022) as compared to the sameperiod of the previous year.

As on March 6, 2022, coal-based generation capacity is2,03,889.5 MW out of the totalcapacity of 395,592.86 MWi.E. About 52 per cent.

As per optimal generation

capacity mix projections for2029-30 prepared by theCentral Electricity Authority(CEA), the capacity for coal-based thermal projects will beabout 267 GW in 2030. This isout of the total projected capac-ity of 817 GW i.E. About 32 percent, due to the correspondingincrease in non-fossil fuel-based electricity generationcapacity.

In another reply to theHouse, the minister said1,16,766 MW of power gener-ation capacity is under con-struction, including 72,606MW renewable (including largehydro projects), 15,700 MWnuclear and 28,460 MW ther-mal. The increasing demand forpower in the country is beingmet with a commensurateincrease in power generation.

A generation capacity of15,978.84 MW has been addedduring the year 2021-22 (up toFebruary 28, 2022), whichincludes 3,825 MW of thermal,213 MW of hydro (above 25MW capacity) and 11,940.84MW from other renewableenergy sources.

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Over Rs 53,600 crore ofGST compensation for the

current fiscal is yet to bereleased to the states, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamansaid in the Rajya Sabha onTuesday.

So far this fiscal, Rs 96,576crore has been released to thestates on account of GST com-pensation, and an additional Rs1.59 lakh crore has been givenas back-to-back loan to makegood the revenue shortfall onaccount of Goods and ServicesTax (GST) implementation.

Under the Goods andServices Tax (GST) law, stateswere guaranteed to be com-pensated bi-monthly for anyloss of revenue in the first fiveyears of GST implementationfrom July 1, 2017.

The shortfall is calculatedassuming a 14 per cent annu-al growth in GST collections bystates over the base year of

2015-16.The compensation

amount to be paid from thecompensation fund is arrived atby levying cess on top of thehighest tax slab on luxury,demerit and sin goods.

"Centre is committed torelease full GST Compensationto the States/UTs as per GST(Compensation to States) Act,2017 for the transition periodby extending the levy ofCompensation cess beyond 5years to meet the GST revenueshortfall as well as servicing theloan borrowed through specialwindow scheme," Sitharamansaid.

Giving details of GST com-pensation yet to be released tothe states for current fiscalending March, the ministersaid Rs 53,661 crore is yet to bereleased for the 2021-22 fiscal.

This include Rs 11,563crore to be released toMaharashtra, Rs 6,954 crore to

Uttar Pradesh, Rs 6,733 croreto Tamil Nadu, Rs 5,461 croreto Delhi and Rs 4,292 crore toWest Bengal.

Sitharaman further saidGST compensation for finan-cial years 2017-18, 2018-19,2019-20 and 2020-21 hasalready been paid to theStates/UTs.

"The economic impact ofthe pandemic has led to high-er compensation requirementdue to lower GST collectionand at the same time lower col-lection of GST compensationcess," she said.

In a separate reply,Minister of State for FinancePankaj Chaudhary said thetotal GST collection duringthe current fiscal till Februaryis over Rs 13.33 lakh crore. Thisinclude Central GST mop up ofover Rs 2.43 lakh crore,Integrated GST of over Rs 6.87lakh crore, State GST of over Rs3.11 lakh crore and cess of Rs90,442 crore.

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Sri Lanka's Finance MinisterBasil Rajapaksa on Tuesday

left for New Delhi to ink a freshUSD 1 billion bailout packagewith India, amid a cripplingeconomic meltdown staring atthe island nation.

Rajapaksa left for India fora two-day official visit for cru-cial talks with the IndianGovernment for broader finan-cial assistance to tide over SriLanka's economic crisis.

During the visit, Rajapaksawill discuss the USD 1 billionloan that is expected to fundthe country's fuel, food andmedicine imports, the financeministry here said.

The Finance Minister isaccompanied by the Secretaryto the Treasury, S.R. Attygalle,the state-run Daily News news-paper reported.

In December 2021, BasilRajapaksa, the younger broth-er of Sri Lankan PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime

Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,embarked on a two-day trip toIndia, his first overseas visitsince he assumed office in July2021.

In January this year,External Affairs Minister SJaishankar held talks with BasilRajapaksa and discussed pro-jects and investment plans byIndia that would strengthen theeconomy of the island nation.

Interestingly, Rajapaksa'svisit to New Delhi comes on theday when the Sri Lankan gov-ernment said it will seek finan-cial support from theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) as it desperately tries tosalvage the country's belea-guered economy that is cur-rently reeling under a severeforeign exchange crisis.

Sri Lanka's worsening for-eign-exchange shortage hasseriously impacted the energysector, which depends entirelyon imports for its oil needs.

The fuel shortage has led to

long queues at understockedpumps across the country.

Sri Lanka's economy isalso seeing a scarcity of foodand other essentials, whichhas pushed inflation to a record25 per cent last month.Tourism, another key foreign-exchange earner for Sri Lanka,was hit hard due to the pan-demic. PTIDC/Single Govtgets Rs 4,353 cr as dividendtranches from 7 CPSEs

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI)The government on Tuesdaysaid it has received Rs 4,353crore as dividend tranchesfrom seven public sector enter-prises, including Coal Indiaand PFC.

"Government has respec-tively received about Rs 575crore and Rs 2038 crore fromNuclear Power Corporation ofIndia Ltd and Coal India Ltd asdividend tranches,"Department of Investment andPublic Asset Management(DIPAM) Secretary TuhinKanta Pandey tweeted.

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The Government on Tuesdaysaid irregularities in the

appointment of chief strategicadviser in the NSE during thetenure of a former MD&CEOwere observed and the appoint-ment was made without fol-lowing due process.

The Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)has informed that an ex-MD&CEO of NSE, had soughtguidance from a 'siddhapurusha/yogi', Minister of Statefor Finance Pankaj Chaudhrysaid in a written reply to theRajya Sabha.

During the course of inves-tigation by Sebi, it was foundthat certain emails on variousmatters were exchanged bythat MD&CEO with the yogi,he said. "Sebi has informed thatirregularities were observed inthe appointment of the chiefstrategic advisor (CSA), duringthe tenure of that ex-MD&CEO of NSE. This

appointment was made withoutfollowing due process ofappointment," Chaudhryadded.

Accordingly, Sebi imposedmonetary penalty and otherrestrictions on that ex-MD&CEO and the then CSAfor violation of provisions ofSebi Act, 1992 and SCRA,1956/Securities Contracts(Regulation) Act.

The matter relates to for-mer NSE CEO ChitraRamkrishna and GroupOperating Officer AnandSubramanian, who are cur-rently under the custody of theCBI, as the agency is probingthem in the co-location scam.

In the co-location facilityoffered by NSE, brokers couldplace their servers within thestock exchange premises givingthem faster access to the mar-kets.

It is alleged that some bro-kers in connivance with insid-ers abused the algorithm andthe co-location facility to make

windfall profits.The CBI probe has shown

that Ramkrishna was appoint-ed as Joint MD of NSE in 2009and remained in the positiontill March 31, 2013, with thepower of DMD. She was ele-vated as MD and CEO onApril 1, 2013, and left thebourse in 2016.

Earlier on February 11,the capital markets regulatorlevied a fine of Rs 3 crore onRamkrishna, among others forviolating securities contractrules in appointment of AnandSubramanian as group operat-ing officer and advisor to MD.

It also levied fine of Rs 2crore each on the NSE, formerCEO Ravi Narain andSubramanian.

Ramkrishna, who suc-ceeded former CEO RaviNarain in 2013, had appointedSubramanian as her advisorwho was later elevated as groupoperating officer (GOO) at a fatpay cheque of Rs 4.21 croreannually.

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The rupee pared its earlygains to close down by 8

paise at 76.62 against the USdollar on Tuesday, marking itsthird straight day of losses dueto sustained forex outflows,concerns over inflation andexpectations of rate hike by theUS Federal Reserve.

Besides, heavy selling indomestic equities also weighedon the domestic unit, forextraders said.

Uncertainty over the con-flict in Ukraine and an expect-ed rate hike by the US FederalReserve on Wednesday arekeeping markets edgy, theysaid.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the rupeeopened strong at 76.40 againstthe American dollar. However,it pared gains later to enter thenegative territory as investorsturned cautious amid intensi-fying Russia-Ukraine conflict.During the day, it moved in therange of 76.32 and 76.68.

The local unit settled at76.62 against the dollar, down8 paise from the previous close.The rupee has declined by0.25 per cent in three sessionsto Tuesday.

"The rupee movementremains muted in the last twodays even after fall in crude oilprices as market participantsawait FOMC meeting outcome.Rise in US bond yields aheadof Fed meeting, as market isanticipating a 25 bps rate hike,which supported broad-baseddollar strength," Dilip Parmar,Research Analyst, HDFCSecurities, said.

The focus will remain onUS Fed statements on futurerate hike and impact of geopo-litical uncertainty on inflationand growth, he added.

Spot USD/INR is expect-ed to oscillate between 76.30and 76.85 with medium-termbullish trend, Parmar said.

Jateen Trivedi, SeniorResearch Analyst at LKPSecurities, said that the cur-rency market awaits triggerfrom Fed's policy meeting onMarch 16. A dovish stanceshall strengthen the rupeewhereas any hawkish indica-tions can affect the rupee neg-atively.

"Crude prices sell-off hasgiven strength to the rupee butrising inflation has kept pres-sure with hikes expected fromthe US Fed's meeting. Therupee has seen limited gainsdespite the fall in crude prices,"Trivedi added.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex, which gauges the green-back's strength against a basketof six currencies, was trading0.31 per cent lower at 98.71.

On the domestic equity mar-ket front, the 30-share Sensex

ended 709.17 points or 1.26 percent lower at 55,776.85, whilethe broader NSE Niftyadvanced 208.30 points or 1.23per cent to 16,663. Meanwhile,global oil benchmark Brentcrude futures slipped 5.36 percent to USD 101.17 per barrel.

Foreign institutionalinvestors continued their sell-ing spree in Indian markets asthey offloaded shares worth Rs176.52 crore on a net basis onMonday, according to theexchange data.

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With aim to detect, man-age, and remediate cyber

threats and vulnerabilities,automotive components man-ufacturing company SteelbirdInternational is facilitatingCybellum Technologies Ltd.

"This is a breakthroughinitiative. As we move in anincreasingly interconnectedworld, the threat of cyberat-tacks and the need to adopteffective solutions has also sky-rocketed. Currently, a verysmall percentage of vehicles,both ICEs and EVs, are pro-tected by cybersecurity solu-tions," says Manav Kapur,Executive Director, SteelbirdInternational.

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Consumer AffairsSecretary Rohit Kumar Singhon Tuesday stressed that thereshould not be a situation ofmonopoly by large e-com-merce players like Amazonand Flipkart, and there is aneed to prepare a new frame-work to protect consumers aswell as small retailers. Statingthat the size of e-commerceplayers like Amazon andFlipkart will keep growing,Singh stressed on the need toprotect consumers from possi-ble monopolistic situation.

On the sidelines of theevent, the secretary said thesymmetry between consumersand suppliers is going in favourof intermediaries (marketplaces).

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Gold price tumbled Rs 668to Rs 51,727 per 10 grams

in the national capital onTuesday following a decline inthe international preciousmetal prices, according toHDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theprecious metal settled at Rs52,395 per 10 grams.

Silver also tanked Rs 1,390to Rs 67,997 per kg from Rs69,387 per kg in the previoustrade.

In the international mar-ket, gold traded 1 per centlower at USD 1,930 per ounceand silver was flat at USD25.58 per ounce.

"Gold prices traded lowerwith spot gold prices atCOMEX trading 1 per centdown at USD 1,930 per ounceon Tuesday," HDFC SecuritiesSenior Analyst CommoditiesTapan Patel said.

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No public sector bank hasfaced any loss in the April-

December period of the cur-rent fiscal year, and clocked acollective net profit of Rs48,874 crore during this peri-od, the government said inParliament on Tuesday.

"No PSB has suffered loss-es in the current financial yearup to December 31, 2021.During the said period of thefirst three quarters of the cur-rent financial year, all the PSBshave registered net profit of Rs48,874 crore," Minister of Statefor Finance Bhagwat Karadsaid in a written reply in theRajya Sabha.

Responding to a query onprofit earned by PSBs since2010, the minister citing thedata from the Reserve Bank,said the public sector banksearned a combined net profit ofRs 31,820 crore in 2020-21.

However, there were col-lective losses for five straightyears during 2015-16 to 2019-20. The highest amount of netloss was registered in 2017-18at Rs 85,370 crore, followed byRs 66,636 crore in 2018-19; Rs25,941 crore in 2019-20; Rs17,993 crore in 2015-16 and Rs11,389 crore in 2016-17.

During the period from2009-10 to 2014-15, the PSBswere earning profits on theirbooks.

When asked if the numberof branches of PSBs hasdecreased over time, Karadsaid : "No".

During the period fromMarch 31, 2010 to March 31,2021, he said the number ofbranches of PSBs haveincreased from 58,650 (includ-ing 13,596 metropolitan and14,959 semi-urban branches)to 84,694 (including 16,369metropolitan and 23,347 semi-urban branches).

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The UK government onTuesday announced a ban

on exports to Russia of high-end luxury goods and imposednew import tariffs on keyRussian products like vodka aspart of a latest wave of eco-nomic sanctions in response tothe Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russian vodka is one of theiconic products affected by thetariff increases, while theexport ban will also affect lux-ury vehicles, high-end fashionand works of art.

The British governmentsaid the latest measures willcause maximum harm toRussian President VladimirPutin's war machine whileminimising the impact on UKbusinesses.

“Our new tariffs will fur-ther isolate the Russian econ-omy from global trade, ensur-ing it does not benefit from therules-based international sys-tem it does not respect,” saidUK Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

“These tariffs build on theUK's existing work to starveRussia's access to internation-al finance, sanction Putin'scronies and exert maximumeconomic pressure on hisregime,” he said.

The UK has published aninitial list of goods worth GBP900 million, including bever-ages and spirits, glass and glass-ware, paper and paperboard,machinery, antiques, and arti-ficial fur, which will now faceadditional 35 percent tariff,on top of current tariffs.

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The bells are ringing again, laugh-ter echoes in the halls and class-rooms, the swings have come

back to life-it is so good to see childrenback where they belong-amidst theirfriends and teachers. A pall of gloomhas been lifted from the dull, lifelessclassrooms. There is a buzz of activi-ty—the tiny tots entering their schoolsfor the first time physically-intimidat-ed by the sudden socialising, unable tosit in class or follow basic instructions.The middle-schoolers, bursting withenergy and curiosity, glad to be out ofconfinement. The high schoolers arepartly lackadaisical due to the pro-longed lockdown, partly stressed due tothe imminent board exams.

The onus lies on the educators now.We need to reflect, understand ourlearners, re-connect with them andadapt to this change. We have to keepaside our personal challenges of resum-ing work and adopt new patterns andnew techniques to bond with our stu-dents. School is not merely a classroomrestricted to teaching and assessment.It is a second home where they learnbasic interpersonal skills of caring, shar-ing, learning together and class-con-duct. Think of the toddler who hasstepped into a real classroom for thefirst time, met his teacher whom he hashitherto only seen on screen. Everyminute in the school is a novel experi-ence for him-unfamiliar and somewhatscary. I recently met the mother of onesuch 6-yr old.

She shared how the child was veryexcited to come to school on the firstday, but was reluctant on the next day.He had done his maths-if he stayed athome, he could play or lie down afterone hour of online classes but comingto school involved the arduous task ofgetting ready, sitting in class, payingattention and mingling with otherbewildered toddlers like him. Hedecided it was easier to stay at home.To follow a routine, be a part of a team,obey orders, conduct himself as expect-ed were all too intimidating for him.

These are going to be our chal-lenges in the coming months. Theteaching fraternity will need to musterup all their patience and perseverance,

innovate and engage their learners indiverse ways.

The adolescent students will haveto be handled with delicacy too. Pre-pubescent mentality, lack of exposureto opposite sex, lack of physical activ-ity, too much screen time, over-depen-dency on gadgets and virtual well-beingwill have to be assessed and borne inmind while helping them adjust well inclassrooms again.

Teachers will need to be moreflexible while teaching and assessing.We will have to re-invest ourselves toadopt active learning techniques. Thethrust needs to be in getting the chil-dren ready for school-and sustaining it.If all teachers are empowered to engagechildren in active learning, they willcertainly look forward to coming back.With a clear understanding of keepingthe happiness quotient high in ourclassrooms, we should be able toaddress this challenge appropriately.We need to prepare the earth before wecan begin sowing the seeds of learning.We need to nurture more than ever before.

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International EntranceAwards at Langara College,CanadaUndergraduate programmes

undertaken at Langara Collegeby international students will becovered under the award amountfrom this grant. Students musthave achieved an IELTS score of7.0 and 76 per cent from theirprevious institution to be eligi-ble to receive this award.

Award: Tuition feeCourse Level: UGEligibility: The applicants

must be approved for admissionto Langara as an internationalstudent.

Supporting documents:Copy of your Offer of Admissionletter, Copy of IELTS score, ifapplicable, Copies of transcriptsfrom previous institutions show-ing a minimum average of B+(or equivalent), Two referencesand Personal statement

Admission requirements:Must have met all admissionrequirements and received anoffer of admission and have,e aB+ average, equivalent to a GPAof 3.33 or 76 per centfrom theirprevious institution (high schoolor post-secondary)

Language requirement:IELTS – 7.0

How to apply: Admissionapplications to Langara Collegemust be made on its applicationportal. Students interested toparticipate to win the award can

scroll down on this page and fillout the available form

Application deadline: May31, 2022, at 4 pm

Ivey Global Leader Award inCanada

The leadership awards areavailable to support dazzlingworldwide students enteringenroll in the MBA degree pro-gram at the school in Canada.

Award: $50,000 CDN eachCourse Level: Master’sEligibility: Must have an

undergraduate degree from arecognized university

Supporting documents:Unofficial transcripts from allpost-secondary institutions. Onecopy of official/certified tran-scripts will be required if a can-didate receives an admissionsoffer. GMAT score or GRE score,GMAT requirement is waivedfor applicants who have passedall 3 Levels of the CFA designa-tion, Resumé demonstrating aminimum of two years, full-timework experience, TOEFL orIELTS score and Two profes-sional references

Admission requirements:Must meet all entry require-ments of the school

Language requirements:Good level of written and spo-ken English

How to apply: Admission inthe MBA degree programme atthe university. After that, theycan complete an online applica-tion form for this grant

Application deadline:September 19, 2022

The US Education Secretary inthe 1960s, John Gardner,once wondered, can we be

equal and excellent at the same time.Since then, co-existential frames ofaccess, equity, quality and afford-ability in education have been wide-ly debated. Such an all-encom-passing education system needs toensure access to quality educationto all knowledge seekers at theirdoorstep and at an affordable costfor creating a large pool of effectivelearners endowed with domainknowledge, soft and hard skillsand the ability to communicateacross cultures, time and space. Thestudent community, especially inIndia, is a heterogeneous group witha great diversity of needs andrequires a variety of formats oflearning, pace, style choices oflearning, and other associated formsof flexibility.

Information andCommunication Technology (ICT)can help us a great deal in this regardas it is fast emerging as an enablerfor bringing innovative disruptionsin higher education and is creatingnew narratives of learning.Technological advancement in themodern world is so fast and relevantthat higher education institutions(HEIs) that are unable to make useof technological disruptions inhigher education to equip them-selves to embrace the changes hap-pening in the teaching and learningprocesses will lose their relevance.

Digitalisation of higher educa-tion is a crucial factor in this con-text as it helps create responsiveadministration, multidisciplinarycurriculum, appropriate pedagogies(experiential learning) and real-timeperformance evaluation in com-mensuration with learning out-comes, effective communication,inter-connectedness, seamless avail-ability of e-learning resources evenin remotest rural areas, innovationsand entrepreneurship, and collab-oration and outreach. Moreover,digitalisation will help those learn-ers who cannot be in the classroomand those who are differently-abled.

Digitalisation in Indian highereducation began with the produc-tion of quality e-contents andcourseware by Electronic andMultimedia Resource Centres(EMRC) under Consortium forEducational Communication andtheir dissemination through 24x7Vyas higher Education TV channeland thirty-two SWAYAMPRABHADTH channels. This digitalisationprocess has been accelerated duringthe last decade by the Ministry ofEducation through several initiativesrelated to access to online courses,quality digital academic content,academic research, and institu-tional administrative practices.

For online courses and accessto online content, Massive Open

Online Courses through SWAYAMplatform, National Programme onTechnology Enhanced Learning,e-PG Pathshala (curriculum-basedinteractive e-contents), e-Acharya (aportal to host all e-contents devel-oped through projects under NME-ICT), FOSSE (Free/Libre and OpenSource Software for Education)and SAKSHAT (a one-stop educa-tion portal) are available.

e-Shodh Sindhu (Consortia forhigher education e-resources), e-ShodhGangotri (a digital reposito-ry of thesis and dissertations),Shodh Shudhhi (plagiarism detec-tion software), National DigitalLibrary (a digital repository of vastacademic content) are databases andtools made available to further aca-demic research.

Similarly, to facilitate skilldevelopment and innovationthrough virtual learning environ-ment in science, engineering,technology and design develop-ment, e-Yantra (labs for trainingin embedded systems), e-Kalpa(digital learning environment fordesign), Virtual Labs (Web-enabled experiments designed forremote – operation), SpokenTutorial (Tutorials in IT applica-tion), SOS Tools (software andsimulation packages), TextTranscription of Video Contents,OSCAR (Open SourceCourseware’s AnimationRepository) are available.Additionally, VIDWAN (a digitaldatabase of experts), is madeavailable to promote expertisesharing and collaboration amongacademics and institutions.

Digital academic managementis ensured by the National AcademicDepository through DigiLocker(for ensuring 24x7 availability of allawards of students in digital form)and Baadal (NME-ICT cloud devel-opment and deployment of eGovapplications for academic needs),and SAMARTH project is improv-ing the efficiency of administrative,financial and evaluation relatedactivities by reducing response timeand promoting ease of doing edu-cation. All these efforts have madea solid foundation necessary for cre-ating an ecosystem of digitalisationin higher education. These initia-tives will also be of immense use tothe proposed digital university thatis expected to be established on theUniversity 4.0 model.

The digitalisation of highereducation witnessed a steep riseduring the COVID-19 pandemic,compelling HEIs to resort to onlineteaching using LMS. It is evidentnow that higher education willwitness an extensive use of digital-

isation in course design, practice-driven teaching, research, assess-ment, and all other aspects ofteaching and learning to create anext-generation learning environ-ment.

For the learners, digitalisationpowered flexibility, adaptability,and personalisation make learninga joyful enterprise, in both onlineand traditional classroom learning.Through technology-enabledflipped classes, virtual reality ses-sions, virtual labs, digital models andsimulations, gamification, e-docu-ments, e-text and reference books,online assignments, apprentice-ships and vast and open educationalresources, students can have engag-ing learning experiences.

To facilitate the impendingtransition, HEIs need to use appro-priate technology for building acredible ecosystem that improveslearning outcomes and providespersonalisation. This can be accom-plished by using ICT, embracinghybrid learning models, buildingindustry associations and develop-ing 21st-century life skills and com-petencies. The HEIs continuouslyneed to upgrade their curricula,course contents, pedagogy, evalua-tion, integrate problem-solvingresearch with academics, conductresearch in the digital environ-ment with peers across the globeand adapt modular models. HEIsalso need to turn to learner-centricapproaches revolving around softand domain- specific skills crucialfor enhancing learners’ employa-bility. They need to embrace hybridlearning models comprising offline,

online, on-labs, onsite platforms andinclude industry, skill-hubs andunorganised learning centres inrural India by building industry-academia collaboration and out-reach activities.

Implementation of NationalEducation Policy-2020 cannot bethought of without the digitalisationof higher education. Capacity build-ing of faculty members in digitali-sation technologies must be carriedout for empowering them toembrace the advancement that theteaching-learning process is wit-nessing. However, funding will bea great barrier to the effective dig-italisation of higher education sincelarge-scale investments in hardware,software and in providing highbandwidth internet connectivity inremote and rural areas is needed tocreate a robust digital architecturerequired for an all-encompassing,all-inclusive and flexible learningecosystem. Overcoming these road-blocks should be paramount for thelong-term success of the ongoingprocess of the digitalisation of high-er education. This success willensure that the screen savvy ten-dency of gen-next is harnessed inthe right earnest and that theirdwindling memory span is alsoenhanced. Educational plannersand leaders need to appreciate thisand take responsibility for the dig-italisation of their respective insti-tutions. Those HEIs not becomingpart and parcel of this process andthus not keeping themselves digi-tally ready will, in fact, be doing agreat disservice to the learning sys-tem of the nation.

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Karim Benzema becamethe highest French

goalscorer in history onMonday after his doublegave Real Madrid a 3-0 winover Mallorca, sending them10 points clear at the top ofLa Liga.

But the Frenchman hadto go off late on with whatlooked like an injury in hislower left leg, giving Madrida serious headache beforeSunday's Clasico againstBarcelona.

Vinicius Junior, whoopened the scoring, and

Rodrygo also suffered prob-lems in the second half.

Benzema's absence forthe game at the SantiagoBernabeu would come as aserious blow to Madrid, afterthe striker continued his scin-tillating recent run with twomore goals at Son Moix.

After scoring a hat-trickto help Madrid defeat ParisSaint-Germain 3-1 in theChampions League last week,the 34-year-old's penaltyagainst Mallorca took hiscareer tally to 412 goals,putting him one aboveThierry Henry in the all-time list of French scorers.

Benzema then made it413 for him and three forMadrid with a superb head-er late on, only to limp off inobvious discomfort.

IMMOBILE'S NEW FEATRome: Ciro Immobile

broke Lazio's all-time Serie Ascoring record on Mondaywith the only goal in histeam's 1-0 win over strugglingVenezia which moved themfifth.

Immobile, who also hada goal ruled out for offsidejust after the break, smashedhome a 58th-minute penaltyto take his top-flight tally with

Lazio to 144, one more thanItalian goalscoring icon SilvioPiola.

Piola is Serie A's all-timeleading scorer with 274 goalsover a 25-year career in whichhis biggest honour was the1938 World Cup for hisnational team.

He played at Lazio fornine of those years and scored149 times overall for theRoman club, another recordbroken towards the end of lastseason by Immobile who isnow on 175 Lazio goals in allcompetitions after netting aleague-leading 21st of theseason.

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Manchester City wasted ahost of chances in a dam-

aging 0-0 draw at Crystal Palaceon Monday that severely dent-ed their bid to retain thePremier League title.

Pep Guardiola's side had 18shots and 74 percent of the pos-session, but left Selhurst Parkruing a series of misses on a sig-

nificant night in the title race.Bernardo Silva and Aymeric

Laporte were guilty of the mostglaring miscues, with Palacekeeper Vicente Guaita keepingthe leaders at bay with severalsaves.

With second placedLiverpool having won atBrighton on Saturday, City arenow just four points clear ofJurgen Klopp's team.

Liverpool can close to with-in one point of City if they wintheir game in hand at fourthplaced Arsenal on Wednesday.

City had won four of theirlast five league games, includinga scintillating 4-1 demolition ofManchester United in theirmost recent top-flight outing.

But, given Liverpool's red-hot form, the stalemate in southLondon could tip the balance ofpower towards Merseyside.

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Eight South African cricketerswith IPL contracts will play

in a one-day series againstBangladesh before leaving forIndia.

Cricket South Africa onTuesday named a 16-man squadfor the three-match series, whichis part of the World Cup SuperLeague.

The series will be playedbetween March 18 and 23. TheIPL starts on March 26 whichmeans that the South Africanplayers may miss the start of thetournament because of quaran-tine requirements.

But it is not yet clearwhether IPL-bound players willbe available to play for SouthAfrica in two WorldChampionship Tests againstBangladesh which follow theone-day games and only finish

on April 12.Fast bowler Anrich Nortje,

who has not played for SouthAfrica since the T20 WorldCup in November, remainsunavailable as he continuesrehabilitation because of a hipinjury. The IPL players in thesquad are Quinton de Kock,Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram,David Miller, Lungi Ngidi,Dwaine Pretorius, KagisoRabada and Rassie van derDussen.

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Daniil Medvedev was sentcrashing out of the

ATP/WTA Indian WellsMasters in a stunning defeat toGael Monfils on Monday thatended the Russian's three-weekreign as World No 1. On a dayof upsets in the Californiadesert, Medvedev was the high-est profile casualty to be sentpacking, outfoxed 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 by veteran FrenchmanMonfils.

The defeat means NovakDjokovic will on Mondayreturn to the top of the worldrankings, three weeks afterMedvedev claimed the spot.

The shocks continued inthe evening session as Greek

fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipastumbled out to 21-year-oldAmerican Jenson Brooksby.

Brooksby, ranked 43rd inthe world, advanced to thelast 16 with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

As Medvedev was leftreflecting on his early exit,Rafael Nadal's unbeaten start to2022 continued with a straight-sets defeat of Britain's DanEvans.

The 21-time Grand Slamchampion recorded his 17thstraight victory of the yearwith a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of the27th seed.

Nadal will play ReillyOpelka in the last 16 after theAmerican 17th seed downedCanada's Denis Shapovalov,seeded 13, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4.

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All eyes will be on in-formshuttler Lakshya Sen, dou-

ble Olympic medallist P VSindhu and WorldChampionships Silver medallistKidambi Srikanth as they look tobreak India's 21-year titledrought at the All EnglandChampionships, which beginshere on Wednesday.

The top Indian players,including Sindhu, Saina Nehwaland Srikanth have failed to liftthe prestigious trophy withPullela Gopichand (2001) andPrakash Padukone (1980) stillremaining the only two Indiansto claim the coveted title.

While Saina had come closeby reaching the finals in 2015, itremained elusive for Sindhu,who has otherwise claimedmedals in all other big-ticketevents such as Olympics, WorldC h a m p i o n s h i p s ,Commonwealth Games andAsian Games.

While Sindhu, seeded sixth,will once again be in the reckon-ing, it will be unseeded Sen whowill be in focus this time, giventhe kind of build-up the 20-year-old had ahead of the Super 1000event.

The Almora shuttler will bethe cynosure of all eyes as hesteps on to the court againstcompatriot Sourabh Verma inthe opening round.

Sindhu, however, exited inthe second round at the GermanOpen after a shock defeat to alower-ranked Zhang Yi Man ofChina and would look to quick-ly recover from the loss when sheopens her campaign against atricky world No 17 ChineseWang Zhi Yi.

Saina, who struggled againstThailand's Ratchanok Intanon at

German Open, will face a hugechallenge when she opensagainst another another Thaiplayer and world No 10Pornpawee Chochuwong.

Former world No 1 Srikanthtoo has looked in good touch buthe has not been able to go thedistance in close matches andthat would be high on his agen-da when he opens againstThailand's KantaphonWangcharoen.

For Tokyo Olympian B SaiPranneth it would be easier saidthan done as he faces Olympicchampion Viktor Axelsen in theopening round.

Among others, SameerVerma could be a dark horse ashe looked in good touch in thefew events he had played beforea calf injury ruled him out lastyear. He will begin his campaignagainst Dutch Mark Caljouw.

On a comeback trail, HSPrannoy will square off againstthe supremely talented KunlavutVitidsarn of Thailand.

In men's doubles, ChiragShetty and SatwiksairajRankireddy will look to contin-ue the momentum after their titlerun at India Open in January.

The duo has been pittedagainst Scotland's AlexanderDunn and Adam Hall in the firstround and could face world No1 Kevin Sukamuljo and MarcusGideon in the quarterfinals.

Dhruv Kapila and MRArjun will face an uphill task asthey cross swords with world No2 pair of Mohammad Ahsan andHendra Setiawan in the firstround.

In women's doubles,Commonwealth Games Bronzewinners Ashwini Ponnappa andN Sikki Reddy will meet Japan'sKie Nakanishi and Rin Iwanagain the first round.

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India's campaign in the $2 mil-lion Singapore Smash came to

an end with the quarterfinal exitof Manika Batra and ArchanaKamath in the women's doubleshere on Tuesday.

The second-seeded Japanesepair of Hina Hayata and MimaIto needed just 25 minutes todispose of the Indian duo 11-7,11-4, 11-8 to enter the semifi-nals. Ranked No 6 in doubles,Manika and Archana struggledagainst the left-right Japaneseonslaught, but tackling left-han-der Hayata's powerful spinsturned out to be a big ask.

There was no respite for theIndians from the right-handerIto either. The Indian playersface their next challenge in the March 13-17 WTT FeederDoha 2022.

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Star batter Suryakumar Yadavmight have to sit out of the

Mumbai Indians' IPL openeragainst Delhi Capitals on March

27 as he is unlikely to fullyrecover from a hairline frac-ture on his thumb.

Yadav, one of the fourplayers retained by

Mumbai Indians, sus-tained the injury dur-ing the T20 seriesagainst the WestIndies and subse-quently missed theassignment againstSri Lanka.

"Surya is cur-rently at theNCA doing hisrehabilitation.He is well onhis way torecovery butthere is apossibility

that his participation in the open-ing game will be a real touch and goaffair," a senior BCCI source said.

"So there could be a possibilitythat he might be advised by theboard's medical team to not riskplaying the opener," he added.

2 DRS REFERRALS/TEAMThe BCCI has communicated

the Playing Conditions to all thefranchises and one of the welcomeadditions is the provision of twoDecision Review System (DRS)referrals per team.

Also, all new rules recom-mended by the MCC will also beapplicable, which means salivawon't be allowed to shine the ball,a restriction that came into effectdue to COVID-19 but has been cod-ified as a permanent change by thecustodian of cricket laws.

The new MCC code has also moved run-outs at non-strik-er's end, popularly called'Mankading', out of the law relatingto "unfair play".

WATSON JOINS DC IPL franchise Delhi Capitals

on Tuesday appointed formerAustralian all-rounder ShaneWatson as an assistant coach forthe upcoming season of theleague.

The 40-year-old joins the DCcoaching staff comprising RickyPonting (Head Coach), PravinAmre (Assistant Coach), AjitAgarkar (Assistant Coach) andJames Hopes (Bowling Coach).

"The IPL, the best T20 tourna-ment in the world. I've got incred-ible memories as a player, first ofall with Rajasthan Royals winningit in 2008, led by the incredibleman Shane Warne, RCB and thenCSK," Watson said in a statementissued by DC.

"I've got incredible memoriesas a player, and now coachingopportunities. It's come to be ableto work under the great RickyPonting. He was an amazingleader as a captain, and now to beable to coach under him.

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Their confidence high afteran impressive win over theWest Indies, India would

look for much-needed consis-tency with the bat against astruggling England in theirfourth league stage match of theICC Women's World Cup hereon Wednesday.

Currently placed third aftera morale-boosting 155-runagainst the West Indies, Indiawould like to keep the winningmomentum going and maintainits stay in the top four especial-ly when they take on table top-pers Australia after England.

After an inexplicably slowperformance against NewZealand when the Indian battersplayed out 162 dot balls, SmritiMandhana (123 off 119) andHarmanpreet Kaur (109 off 107)produce a splendid batting dis-play, slamming twin centuriesagainst the West Indies to powerIndia to their highest total(317/8) in the history of theshowpiece event.

Mandhana played a fluent123 run-knock while Kaur alsocontinued her fine run, bringingup her fourth ton and the firstsince hitting the famous 171 notout against Australia in the2017 World Cup.

The duo will be eager tocontinue in the same vein withthe race for semifinal berthsheating up. However, all-rounder Deepti Sharma, whohas been elevated to the top, hasto do more with the bat as doesskipper Mithali Raj, who has alsobeen off the boil recently.

Young Richa Ghosh, whohas been brilliant behind thewickets, has so far crumbledunder the pressure with thebat. The 18-year-old is yet to

replicate her sensational formagainst New Zealand last month.

India also have quality all-rounders with Sneh Rana andPuja Vastrakar already display-ing their ability to convert a poorshow into brilliant final out-come. The bowling unit, thatseemed a cause of concernheading into the World Cup, hasso far delivered for the team.

While pacers MeghnaSingh, Pooja Vastrakar andJhulan Goswami are doing adecent job, the bulk of the wick-ets have been shared betweenthe spinners -- RajeshwariGayakwad (7), who is third onthe list of leading wicket takers

in the tournament, and SnehRana (5 wickets).

On the other hand,England's title defence has beenoff to a disastrous start. HeatherKnight and Co. Have lost allthree of their matches to slipdown to the seventh spot on thepoints table.

Their inability to closematches in the dying minuteshas cost the defending champi-ons dearly.

A loss against India onWednesday mean the possibil-ity of making the top four wouldbe completely out of their hands,a prospect England would def-initely want to avoid.

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Captain Babar Azam's first Testhundred in two years and Azhar

Shafique's 71 led Pakistan's resis-tance after Australia set up a hugetarget of 506 on day fourTuesday of the second Test.

Babar was unbeaten on102 off 198 balls and Shafiquefollowed his maiden Test hun-dred in the drawn first Test withan undefeated 71 off 226 ballsto take Pakistan to 192-2 atstumps. Pakistan still needs animprobable 314 runs to achievea world record run chase onthe last day or survive theremaining 90 overs to denyAustralia taking a 1-0 lead inthe three-match series.

Babar and Shafique defiedAustralia's reverse swing andNathan Lyon's spin on an abra-sive pitch for well over fourhours. Babar, who made his lastTest century in February 2020

against Bangladesh, raisedhis sixth Test hundred when

he top-edged a sweep for tworuns late in the last session. It

took him just over four hours off180 balls with 12 fours.

Babar and Shafique joined in thesecond over after lunch when Azhar

Ali's labors for more than an hour toscore 6 were undone by an lbw from

Cameron Green. Video showed a spikecoming off the gloves before it hit Azhar on

the body, but he chose not to review.Pakistan's highest successful chase in Test

matches is 382-3 in 2015 when it beat Sri Lankaby seven wickets at Pallekele.

Earlier, Australia extended its lead to 505when Cummins declared the second innings at97-2 after Marnus Labuschagne, on 44, played

Shaheen Afridi back onto his stumps off a mist-imed pull shot.

Afridi and Hasan Ali didn't allowfirst innings century-maker UsmanKhawaja, 44 not out, and Labuschagneto score quickly in the half hour after

Australia resumed on 81-1. The decla-ration came earlier than expected.

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Australia routed the WestIndies by seven wickets in

Wellington on Tuesday tomaintain their perfect recordat the Women's Cricket WorldCup.

The tournament's red-hotfavourites produced anotherruthless display to race to a 4-0 winning record at the one-day showcase, highlighted byan unbeaten 83 from RachaelHaynes.

The win puts the six-timechampions at the top of thestandings with a healthy runrate, virtually guaranteeing asemi-final spot.

The West Indies have wontwo of their four matches andremain in with a chance ofmaking the top four in theround-robin standings.

West Indies skipper Taylor

made the most of her chanceby battling on to 50 but couldnot find any support withShemaine Campbelle the nexthighest score on 20.

Perry finished on 3-22and Ashleigh Gardner took 3-25 as the West Indies were skit-tled for 131 in 45.5 overs.

The paltry total was nevergoing to be enough against thestrongest batting line-up inwomen's cricket, but the WestIndies did well to makeAustralia work for 30.2 oversto reach the 132-run target.

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