ARhRc deR_Ud Sj >RYR 9> - Daily Pioneer

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I n a clear indication of his party’s resolve to brazen out the political crisis facing the Shiv Sena-led M VA Government in Maharashtra, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday dismissed the Opposition BJP’s clamour for State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s resignation over the “letter bomb” dropped by Param Bir Singh, by saying that there was no truth in the alle- gations made by Mumbai’s for- mer Police Commissioner against Deshmukh. Questioning the very claim that Deshmukh had asked arrested police officer Sachin Vaze to “collect” 100 crore a month from bars, restaurants and other sources in Mumbai, Pawar said, “There is talk about Deshmukh’s resignation. The former Police Commissioner has claimed that the Home Minister had called Vaze to his official residence around mid- February. But on February 15, Deshmukh was admitted to the hospital after he tested positive for corona. I have proof with me to this effect. He was in quarantine till February 27. Since the former CP is claim- ing that Vaze met the Home Minister in February, let there be any enquiry into the whole thing. Truth will come out”. Talking to mediapersons at his New Delhi residence, Pawar said, “I have all the proof about Deshmukh. That being the case, the question of Deshmukh’s resignation does not arise. By now, the Chief Minister must have received all the proof relat- ing to the State Home Minister. It is for the Chief Minister to take a call on ordering a probe into allegations against Deshmukh by Singh”. “The main issues are: Who planted explosive laden SUV and who killed businessman Mansukh Hiran. Singh had all the information about the two crimes. Why was he sitting quiet for a month?,” the NCP chief asked. Continued on Page 2 C iting scientific evidence, the Centre on Monday revised the time window with- in which the second dose of the Covishield vaccine can be taken. The Centre has asked all States and Union Territories to administer the second dose between 6-8 weeks but not later than eight weeks instead of the present 4-6 weeks window. Increasing the interval between the two doses enhances the protection as rec- ommended by its scientific panels, the Center said. The decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to Covishield and not to Covaxin vaccine, which is also part of the vaccination programme launched on January 16, this year. Sources in the Union Health Ministry said with the revised time window more number of people are likely to be considered for the jab. Continued on Page 2 T he Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Bill to empow- er the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) at the cost of the elected Kejriwal Government. The Congress and AAP fiercely opposed the legislation and termed it as “unconstitutional”. Meanwhile, the AAP has moved the Supreme Court against the Bill. According to the Bill, the “Government” in Delhi means the “Lieutenant Governor” and it also makes it mandatory for the Delhi Government to take the opin- ion of the L-G before any exec- utive action. “Please do not say it is a political Bill. It is being brought to end ambiguity in certain issues as Delhi is a Union Territory. It will end certain confusion or technicality and enhance the efficiency of the administration,” said Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy. He said the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, has become necessary as there has been ambiguity in certain issues related to the function- ing of the Delhi Government and several cases were also filed in courts. The Minister said when the GNCTD Act was enacted in 1991 by the then Congress Government, Delhi was made a Union Territory (UT) with an Assembly with “limited leg- islative powers”. “We did not do that. It was a Congress Government which piloted the Act then,” he said. Continued on Page 2 T he Government is yet to take a decision on attending a multi-nation anti-terrorism military exercise later this year under the aegis of the Shanghai Co-Operation Organisation (SCO), which also includes Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The decision to hold the joint exercise “Pabbi-Antiterror-2021” was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on March 18. The representatives of the member States also approved the draft programme of coop- eration for 2022-2024 to counter-terrorism, separatism and extremism. “Decisions have been made to improve cooperation between the competent author- ities of the SCO member states in identifying and suppressing channels that finance terrorist activities,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting a RATS statement. Delegations of the compe- tent authorities of India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the RATS Executive Committee attended the meeting. This development came in the backdrop of Indian and Chinese troops pulling back from the stand-off points at the southern and northern banks of the Pangong Tso (lake) in Ladakh in mid-February after ten months of eyeball. Continued on Page 2 T he Delhi Cabinet on Monday approved a new excise policy, lowering the min- imum age for consumption of liquor to 21 years from 25 years. Announcing the deci- sion, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the con- sumption age in Delhi would now be the same as in majori- ty of Indian States — 21 years. He said the decision was aimed at “stopping harassment of people and establishments”. According to a Delhi Government statement, new rules and the “international concept of age gating” would be put in place to ensure that indi- viduals under the age of 21 don’t have “access to the estab- lishment that serves liquor without supervision”. “This means below 21- year-old children will not be allowed inside the restaurants where liquor is served if they are coming alone or in a group of underage children. The international concept of ‘Age Gating’ will be introduced. Delhi will be the first city in India to ensure this to make sure that there is no underage drinking in Delhi and the SOP will be made along with the industry,” Sisodia said. Continued on Page 2 I n a development that took the MVA Government by surprise, Mumbai’s former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh moved the Supreme Court on Monday, demanding a CBI probe against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh over cor- ruption charges and stay on his transfer order. He sough an “unbiased, uninfluenced, impartial and fair investigation” into Anil Deshmukh’s alleged corrupt malpractices “before the evi- dences are destroyed”. “Fair CBI investigation is thus warranted in each of such acts of Deshmukh in abuse of the official position of the Home Minister, “ Singh said. A 1988 batch IPS Officer, Singh told the apex court that he had brought Deshmukh’s “cor- rupt practices” in the knowledge of the senior leaders and the Chief Minister. Singh said he was transferred immediately thereafter from his post of the Police Commissioner of Mumbai to the Home Guard Department in an “arbitrary and illegal manner” without the completion of the minimum fixed tenure of two years. Continued on Page 2 I n view of the increase in gap in inoculation period between two doses of Covishield shot, experts have urged the Government to include intellectually disabled people and caregivers of bed- ridden patients in the vacci- nation priority list. Dr Rajendra Prasad said the Government should allow doctors to certify family mem- bers from amongst their patients, who are caregivers and thereafter open registra- tion for vaccination for this category. Continued on Page 2 Bengaluru: Karnataka to impose strict restrictions to contain the second wave of Covid-19 by setting stringent guidelines to avoid semi-lock- down or full lockdown. The State also decided to impose restrictions for travellers to Karnataka. T he Lok Sabha on Monday approved the Bill to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent with the LS passing the proposed law by a voice vote. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that raising the FDI cap in the insurance sector was necessary to help insurers deal with issues concerning finan- cial stress. The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Rajya Sabha last week. Strongly opposing the Bill, Congress said the decision to hike the FDI limit was like a “somersault” by the BJP which had persistently opposed to increase the proposal when it was in the Opposition. Detailed report on P9

Transcript of ARhRc deR_Ud Sj >RYR 9> - Daily Pioneer

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In a clear indication of hisparty’s resolve to brazen out

the political crisis facing theShiv Sena-led MVAGovernment in Maharashtra,NCP chief Sharad Pawar onMonday dismissed theOpposition BJP’s clamour forState Home Minister AnilDeshmukh’s resignation overthe “letter bomb” dropped byParam Bir Singh, by saying thatthere was no truth in the alle-gations made by Mumbai’s for-mer Police Commissioneragainst Deshmukh.

Questioning the very claimthat Deshmukh had askedarrested police officer SachinVaze to “collect” �100 crore amonth from bars, restaurantsand other sources in Mumbai,Pawar said, “There is talk about

Deshmukh’s resignation. Theformer Police Commissionerhas claimed that the HomeMinister had called Vaze to hisofficial residence around mid-February. But on February 15,Deshmukh was admitted to thehospital after he tested positivefor corona. I have proof withme to this effect. He was inquarantine till February 27.Since the former CP is claim-ing that Vaze met the Home

Minister in February, let therebe any enquiry into the wholething. Truth will come out”.

Talking to mediapersons athis New Delhi residence, Pawarsaid, “I have all the proof aboutDeshmukh. That being the case,the question of Deshmukh’sresignation does not arise. Bynow, the Chief Minister musthave received all the proof relat-ing to the State Home Minister.It is for the Chief Minister totake a call on ordering a probeinto allegations againstDeshmukh by Singh”.

“The main issues are: Whoplanted explosive laden SUVand who killed businessmanMansukh Hiran. Singh had allthe information about the twocrimes. Why was he sittingquiet for a month?,” the NCPchief asked.

Continued on Page 2

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Citing scientific evidence,the Centre on Monday

revised the time window with-in which the second dose of theCovishield vaccine can betaken. The Centre has asked allStates and Union Territories toadminister the second dosebetween 6-8 weeks but not laterthan eight weeks instead of thepresent 4-6 weeks window.

Increasing the intervalbetween the two dosesenhances the protection as rec-ommended by its scientificpanels, the Center said.

The decision of revised

time interval between twodoses is applicable only toCovishield and not toCovaxin vaccine, which isalso part of the vaccinationprogramme launched onJanuary 16, this year.

Sources in the UnionHealth Ministry said with therevised time window morenumber of people are likely tobe considered for the jab.

Continued on Page 2

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The Lok Sabha on Mondaypassed the Bill to empow-

er the Lieutenant Governor(L-G) at the cost of the electedKejriwal Government. TheCongress and AAP fiercelyopposed the legislation andtermed it as “unconstitutional”.

Meanwhile, the AAP hasmoved the Supreme Courtagainst the Bill. According tothe Bill, the “Government” inDelhi means the “LieutenantGovernor” and it also makes itmandatory for the DelhiGovernment to take the opin-ion of the L-G before any exec-utive action.

“Please do not say it is apolitical Bill. It is being broughtto end ambiguity in certainissues as Delhi is a UnionTerritory. It will end certainconfusion or technicality andenhance the efficiency of theadministration,” said UnionMinister of State for Home G

Kishan Reddy. He said the Government of

National Capital Territory ofDelhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021,has become necessary as therehas been ambiguity in certainissues related to the function-ing of the Delhi Governmentand several cases were also filedin courts.

The Minister said when theGNCTD Act was enacted in1991 by the then CongressGovernment, Delhi was madea Union Territory (UT) with anAssembly with “limited leg-islative powers”.

“We did not do that. It wasa Congress Government whichpiloted the Act then,” he said.

Continued on Page 2

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The Government is yet totake a decision on attending

a multi-nation anti-terrorismmilitary exercise later this yearunder the aegis of the ShanghaiCo-Operation Organisation(SCO), which also includesPakistan, China, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan,and Uzbekistan.

The decision to hold the jointexercise “Pabbi-Antiterror-2021”was announced during the 36thmeeting of the Council of theRegional Anti-Terrorist Structure(RATS) held in Tashkent,Uzbekistan, on March 18.

The representatives of themember States also approvedthe draft programme of coop-eration for 2022-2024 tocounter-terrorism, separatismand extremism.

“Decisions have been madeto improve cooperationbetween the competent author-ities of the SCO member statesin identifying and suppressingchannels that finance terroristactivities,” China’s state-runXinhua news agency reported,quoting a RATS statement.

Delegations of the compe-tent authorities of India,Kazakhstan, China, the KyrgyzRepublic, Pakistan, Russia,Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and theRATS Executive Committeeattended the meeting.

This development came inthe backdrop of Indian andChinese troops pulling backfrom the stand-off points at thesouthern and northern banksof the Pangong Tso (lake) inLadakh in mid-February afterten months of eyeball.

Continued on Page 2

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The Delhi Cabinet onMonday approved a new

excise policy, lowering the min-imum age for consumption ofliquor to 21 years from 25years. Announcing the deci-sion, Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia said the con-sumption age in Delhi wouldnow be the same as in majori-ty of Indian States — 21 years.

He said the decision wasaimed at “stopping harassmentof people and establishments”.

According to a DelhiGovernment statement, newrules and the “internationalconcept of age gating” would beput in place to ensure that indi-viduals under the age of 21don’t have “access to the estab-lishment that serves liquorwithout supervision”.

“This means below 21-year-old children will not be

allowed inside the restaurantswhere liquor is served if theyare coming alone or in a groupof underage children. Theinternational concept of ‘AgeGating’ will be introduced.Delhi will be the first city inIndia to ensure this to makesure that there is no underagedrinking in Delhi and the SOPwill be made along with theindustry,” Sisodia said.

Continued on Page 2

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In a development that tookthe MVA Government by

surprise, Mumbai’s formerPolice Commissioner ParamBir Singh moved theSupreme Court onMonday, demandinga CBI probe againstMaharashtra HomeMinister AnilDeshmukh over cor-ruption charges and stay on histransfer order.

He sough an “unbiased,uninfluenced, impartial andfair investigation” into AnilDeshmukh’s alleged corruptmalpractices “before the evi-dences are destroyed”.

“Fair CBI investigation is

thus warranted in each of suchacts of Deshmukh in abuse ofthe official position of theHome Minister, “ Singh said.

A 1988 batch IPS Officer,Singh told the apex court that

he had broughtDeshmukh’s “cor-rupt practices” in theknowledge of thesenior leaders andthe Chief Minister.

Singh said hewas transferred immediatelythereafter from his post of thePolice Commissioner ofMumbai to the Home GuardDepartment in an “arbitraryand illegal manner” without thecompletion of the minimumfixed tenure of two years.

Continued on Page 2

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In view of the increase in gapin inoculation period

between two doses ofCovishield shot, experts haveurged the Government toinclude intellectually disabledpeople and caregivers of bed-ridden patients in the vacci-nation priority list.

Dr Rajendra Prasad saidthe Government should allowdoctors to certify family mem-bers from amongst theirpatients, who are caregiversand thereafter open registra-tion for vaccination for thiscategory.

Continued on Page 2

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Bengaluru: Karnataka toimpose strict restrictions tocontain the second wave ofCovid-19 by setting stringentguidelines to avoid semi-lock-down or full lockdown. TheState also decided to imposerestrictions for travellers toKarnataka.

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The Lok Sabha on Mondayapproved the Bill to

increase Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) limit in theinsurance sector from 49 percent to 74 per cent with the LSpassing the proposed law by avoice vote. Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanasserted that raising the FDIcap in the insurance sector wasnecessary to help insurers dealwith issues concerning finan-cial stress.

The Insurance(Amendment) Bill, 2021 waspassed by Rajya Sabha lastweek. Strongly opposing theBill, Congress said the decisionto hike the FDI limit was likea “somersault” by the BJPwhich had persistently opposedto increase the proposal whenit was in the Opposition.

Detailed report on P9

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Puri/Konark: President RamNath Kovind along with FirstLady Savita Kovind on Mondayoffered prayers at LordJagannath temple and visited theSun Temple at Konark in Puridistrict, on the last day of histhree-day visit to Odisha.

Kovind and his wife arrivedat the 12th century LordJagannath temple in Puriaround 9.10 am, accompaniedby Governor Ganeshi Lal andUnion minister DharmendraPradhan, and spent about 40minutes there.

They entered the sanctumsanctorum of the temple andpaid obeisance to deities- LordBalabhadra, Devi Subhadra andLord Jagannath.

They also offered prayers toMaa Bimala and GoddessMahalaxmi on the premises ofthe world famous temple.

As per the tradition, thepresident and his wife sat on thefloor of Mahalaxmi temple forsome before going to tie a flag(Patitapabana Bana) atop theshrine.

"Indias first citizen tied aflag atop the temple wishingwellbeing of the countrymen,"said Janardan Pattajoshi, a servi-tor accompanying him. PTI

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New Delhi: Senior Congressleader Mallikarjun Kharge inParliament on Monday accusedthe Government of conspiring toend reservation for ScheduledCastes (SCs) as it had not yet fill-ing 50 per cent vacancies underthis category in all Governmentdepartments.

He also slammed theGovernment for bringing anamendment bill to include sevencastes in Tamil Nadu under onegroup of the SC list ahead ofassembly polls in the state despitethe demand being made in 2015.

Participating in a discussionon The Constitution (Scheduledcastes) order (Amendment) bill2021, Leader of OppositionKharge said: "Reservation isending gradually in public andprivate sectors. There is a 50 percent vacancy in the SC catego-ry in every department," hesaid.

There are 56 per cent SCcategory vacancies in Railways,85 per cent in Defence and 28per cent in posts, he said.

"They don't want to fill the

vacancies. There is a conspira-cy to end the assured job avail-able to SCs. The conspiracy is toprevent SCs from getting jobsand keep them financially weakand as slaves like before. This isthe thinking...," he noted.

Expressing concern overthe plight of SCs, Kharge said thesituation is such that no one inthe upper house has "ever criedwhen these people are mur-dered".

"When you need to, youhave learnt to cry, laugh and alsomake fun of others," he said.

The Congress leader toldthe Government that it shouldnot think that it was doinggreat help whenever some castesare brought under the SC listbecause reservation to thesepeople was ensured under theConstitution after much strug-gle by BR Ambedkar since 1919.

Supporting the bill, Khargesaid a delegation from TamilNadu had met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2015 andsought the inclusion of sevencastes under the SC list. PTI

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The Centre is "a specialist inabusing the rights of states"

and wants to rule Delhi throughthe soul of the British-eraViceroy, AAP MP BhagwantMann said in Lok Sabha onMonday as he vehementlyopposed a bill that seeks tomake it clear that the "govern-ment" in the national capitalmeans the "LieutenantGovernor".

During a discussion on thebill, Mann, the sole Lok Sabhamember of the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) that governs Delhi,wondered whether the Centrewants to turn the national cap-ital into a union territory with-out assembly like Jammu andKashmir.

"The Delhi L-G lives in thehouse the Viceroy used to stayduring the British rule. Maybe,the Centre wants to run Delhithrough soul of Viceroy," Mannsaid.

The AAP MP said if thechief minister of Delhi cannottake any decision, then what'sthe point of conducting assem-

bly polls."The Centre is a specialist

in abusing the rights of states,whether it was in the case offarm laws or in running stategovernments through gover-nors," he said.

Hitting out at the BJPwhich is in power at the Centre,Mann said thorough this bill theparty wants to weaken the AAPgovernment in the nationalcapital as it is unable to digestits defeat in assembly elections.

"The BJP should learn todigest defeat. The AAP hadwon more than 90 per cent ofthe assembly seats in Delhi lasttime and the BJP didn't haveenough MLAs to be given theLeader of Opposition rank, butstill our party gave it," Mannsaid.

He further said it seems theBJP has forgotten how to sit inthe opposition as it is out ofpower in the national capital formore than two decades.

"Learn to digest your defeatand sit in opposition, otherwiseyou would get such a hugedefeat you would never recov-er,” he said.

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New Delhi: External AffairsMinistry SpokespersonArindam Bagchi said Jaishankarreiterated India's long-termcommitment towards makingAfghanistan a united, peacefuland prosperous constitutionaldemocracy respecting the willof its people.

"Taking India-AfghanistanStrategic Partnership forward.EAM Dr S Jaishankar warmlywelcomed M Haneef Atmar.Issues of bilateral & regionalinterest including developmentcooperation, trade & invest-ment, regional connectivity,security cooperation and peaceprocess were discussed," Bagchitweeted.

The Afghan foreign minis-ter's visit to India came daysafter Russia hosted a conferencebetween Afghan governmentand the Taliban in Moscow, andpressed for a ceasefire in thewar-ravaged country.

"Arrived in beautiful & his-toric city of Delhi for a 3-dayworking visit," Atmar said onTwitter.

The Afghan foreign minis-ter also said that he was look-ing forward to holding talks

with senior officials of India onthe Afghan peace process aswell as on security and eco-nomic cooperation.

The Afghan foreign min-istry said the purpose ofAtmar's visit to India is to dis-cuss bilateral relations, strength-en regional and internationalconsensus on the Afghan peaceprocess, and enhance coopera-tion in security, economic,political and cultural spheres.

It said besides holding talkswith Jaishankar, Atmar is sched-uled to meet a number of high-ranking Indian governmentofficials, including NationalSecurity Advisor Ajit Doval.

There have been renewedinternational efforts in thelast few weeks to speed up thepeace process in Afghanistanthat was adversely impacted byincreasing violence by Talibanin recent months though theoutfit is engaged in negotia-tions with the Afghan gov-ernment.

The Afghan peace processhad also figured among otherissues during talks betweenJaishankar and US DefenceSecretary Lloyd Austin on

Saturday. Afghanistan's top peace

negotiator Abdullah Abdullahhad visited India in Octoberand discussed with India's topleadership about the peace ini-tiative to bring back peace andstability in the war-ravagedcountry.

Last month, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, speaking at avirtual meeting with AfghanPresident Ashraf Ghani, calledfor an immediate and compre-hensive ceasefire to end vio-lence in Afghanistan.

The Taliban and theAfghan government are hold-ing direct talks in Doha to enda 19-year war that has killedtens of thousands of people andravaged various parts of thecountry.

India has been a majorstakeholder in the peace andstability of Afghanistan. It hasalready invested USD two bil-lion in aid and reconstructionactivities in that country.

In November, Indiaannounced a new package ofover 100 high impact commu-nity projects worth $80 millionfor Afghanistan. PTI

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From Page 1Reddy said the L-G is an

administrator so he has theright to know the day-to-dayaffairs. “We have not snatchedany power from the Delhi gov-ernment nor we have given anyadditional power to the L-G,” hesaid.

The Minister stronglyobjected to some Oppositionmembers’ reference that the“Modi Government is dictato-rial” and said the NDAGovernment has not done any-thing wrong or new but justended ambiguity and broughtclarity on the Delhi

Government. “If we are wrong,we will listen to the abuses. Butwithout being wrong, we won’ttolerate abuses. It is aimed atbringing more transparency,”Reddy said.

He said there have beencordial relations between theCentral and DelhiGovernments since 1996, andall differences were resolvedthrough discussions. However,since 2015, some issues havecome up and cases were filedbefore the Delhi High Court,which also gave certain rulings,Reddy said.

He said the court had alsoruled that the L-G should beinformed on executive issues ofthe city Government. Delhi’sruling Aam Aadmi Party hasopposed the bill. Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal had even urgedthe Central Government totake back the bill and said theAAP dispensation was ready tofall at the Modi Government’sfeet for its withdrawal.

Initiating the debate,

Congress MP Manish Tewarisaid the bill is “unconstitu-tional” and it takes away certainrights of the city Governmentwhich were given under a con-stitutional amendment, acharge rejected by the BJP.

The measure is contrary towhat the then Union HomeMinister L K Advani had per-ceived some 18 years ago, hesaid. Tewari was of the view thatthe bill seeks to prevent the cityGovernment from implement-ing the decisions taken by thelegislative Assembly.

BJP member MeenakashiLekhi, who represents the NewDelhi seat in Lok Sabha, said theBill seeks to rectify the allegedmismanagement of Delhi andblamed both the Congress andthe ruling AAP for it. She main-tained that the Constitution isnot federal but quasi-federal innature where the Centre’s saycannot be ignored. Lekhi saidthe Congress could have givenfull statehood to Delhi if itwanted.

From Page 1Former Chief Minister and

current Leader of theOpposition in the StateAssembly Devendra Fadnaviscontested the NCP chief ’s claimand tweeted: “Sharad Pawar jisaid, from 15th to 27thFebruary HM Anil Deshmukhwas in home quarantine. Butactually along with securityguards & media he was seenaddressing press conference,”BJP leader and former CMDevendra Fadnavis said in atweet after Pawar’s presser.

Meanwhile, the core groupmembers of the CongressMinisters in the MaharashtraCabinet, CWC permanentmember in charge ofMaharashtra Congress affairsHK Patil said that he had dis-cussed the issue with seniorState Congress leaders --Balasaheb Thorat and AshokChavan, who were scheduled tomeet Uddhav Thackeray onMonday night to discuss the sit-uation arising out of the letterwritten by Mumbai’s PoliceCommissioner to the ChiefMinister.

In a statement issued to themedia, Patil quoted Pawar as

saying: “We will discuss the res-ignation as well. Whatever thealternative comes, we will see.Even the resignation is onealternative”, while the NCP hassaid that the final decisionwould be taken by the ChiefMinister.

It may be recalled that inthe operative part of the explo-sive letter, Singh wrote onSaturday: “....Sachin Vaze whowas heading the CrimeIntelligence Unit of the CrimeBranch of the Mumbai Policewas called by Anil Deshmukh,Home Minister, Maharashtra tohis official residenceDyaneshwar several times inlast few months and repeated-ly instructed to assist in collec-tion of funds for the HomeMinister,” Singh wrote in his let-ter.

“In and around mid-February and thereafter, theHome Minister had called Vazeto his official residence. At thattime, one or two staff membersof the Home Minister includinghis Personal Secretary, Palande,were also present,” Singh stat-ed.

“The Home Ministerexpressed to Vaze that he hada target to accumulate Rs 100crore a month. For achievingthe aforesaid target, the HomeMinister told Vaze that there areabout 1,750 bars, restaurants

and other establishments inMumbai and if a sum of Rs 2-3 lakhs each was collected fromeach of 3 them, a monthly col-lection of Rs. 40-50 crores wasachievable. The Home Ministeradded that the rest of the col-lection could be made fromother sources,” the former CPwrote.

“Vaze came to my office thesame day and informed me ofthe above. I was shocked withthe above discussion and wasmulling over how to deal withthe situation,” Singh said.

In his letter, Mumbai’s for-mer Police Commissioner hadgone to allege that Deshmukh’sPersonal Secretary Palandeinformed AssistantCommissioner of Police SanjayPatil, ACP, Social ServiceBranch - who had been calledto the Home Minister’s resi-dence a few days later - thatDeshmukh “was targeting acollection of Rs 40-50 croreswhich was possible through anapproximate 1,750 bars, restau-rants and establishments oper-ating in Mumbai”.

In a related development,the Opposition BJP said that itwould meet Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari on Wednesdayto submit a report on the cur-rent happenings and situationto President Ram Nath Kovind.

“We are not demanding the

President’s Rule….. theGovernor, based on truth, prin-ciples, and provisions madeavailable in the Constitution,should send a report to thePresident (on the ongoing hap-penings),” senior BJP leaderSudhir Mungantiwar said.

“It is a very serious allega-tion….an officer of the rank ofDirector General of Policewrites against the HomeMinister alleging that he wasdemanding Rs 100 crore permonth (from suspendedAssistant Police Inspector)Sachin Vaze,” Muingantiwarsaid.

According to Mungantiwar,ex-Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Param Bir Singhhas sent a copy of the letter tothe Governor’s office that hehad sent to the MaharashtraChief Minister complainingabout State Home MinisterAnil Deshmukh.

Meanwhile, a VanchitBahujan Aghadi delegationled by formerParliamentarian, PrakashAmbedkar, on Monday calledon Governor Bhagat SinghKoshyari and demandedPresident’s Rule inMaharashtra.

“Because of the currentsituation emerging from theserious allegations, the Stateshould be placed under

President’s Rule…however, theAssembly should be kept undersuspended animation…may bein next four or five months wecan have a government thatwould look into the interests ofpeople,” Ambedkar said.

Ambedkar, who is thegrandson of Dr BabasahebAmbedkar, also said that thereshould be a probe into the alle-gations by former Police chiefParam Bir Singh to find outwhether “collecting money”was the decision of the threeparties - Shiv Sena, NCP andCongress - or the state Cabinet.

“If the Governor fails totake action, there would be per-ception whether the Opposition(BJP) is also involved in thescam,” Ambedkar added.

From Page 1To rein in ‘liquor mafia’ in

the National Capital, the DelhiGovernment approved the pri-vatisation of liquor shops, noopening of new liquor shops,moreover the Government alsolowered drinking age to 21from 25. The Cabinet alsoclaimed with the implementa-tion of new excise policy, rev-enue is expected to increase by1,500-2000 crores. Delhi willalso have India’s first interna-tional checking lab to checkspurious liquor, which willcheck and ensure the quality ofliquor.

Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said that excisereforms will act as a major blowto the liquor mafia in Delhi.The mafia will do everything toobstruct these reforms. TheAam Aadmi Party (AAP) gov-ernment has ended mafia raj inmany sectors like education,water, electricity, health etcand we are committed toreforming this sector too,”Kejriwal said.

Terming it massive reformin excise policy, Kejriwal saidgovernment has declared waragainst mafia. “ProxyOwnership, low-quality shopsto be shut down in Delhi; zerotolerance to liquor shops cre-ating disturbances in localities,”he added. Quoting his Deputy’spress conference segment onmicro-blogging site, Kejriwaltweeted, “Excise reformsannounced today will act as amajor blow to liquor mafia inDel. The mafia will do every-thing to obstruct these reforms.AAP has ended mafia raj inmany sectors like edu, water,health etc. We r committed toreforming this sector too.”

Sisodia, who also Financeminister portfolio, said thatproxy Ownership, low-quality

shops to be shut down inDelhi; zero tolerance to liquorshops creating disturbances inlocalities. Citing the example ofUttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Uttarakhand, WestBengal, Assam, Orissa andTamil Nadu, the age of con-suming alcohol is 21 and inGoa and Andhra Pradesh is 18,in Delhi, it will be 21 years likeUP.

“Delhi government’s mottois to rectify the liquor trading inDelhi; an expert committee fol-lowed by a GOM was formed,”Background of this decision isthat some months back theexcise Department constitutedan expert committee to changethe excise policy of Delhi. Themain reason behind this deci-sion was to clean the liquor sys-tem of the national capital, gov-ernment received around14,00,700 suggestions from thecitizens,” Sisodia said afterattending the Cabinet meeting.

“There are some areas ofDelhi where liquor is over-served and there are some areasof Delhi where liquor is under-served or unserved,” Sisodiaremarked, adding, “This is thefundamental reason why inDelhi liquor mafias work. You allknow that Delhi has 272 wardsout this there are 79 wards withzero liquor shops. Around 45wards have just one shop.Around 58% of Delhi is eitherunserved or underserved. Basedon liquor sale distribution only8% area of Delhi is normallyserved. There are around 37wards where more than threeliquor shops are present. On theother hand, there are 54 wardsin Delhi where liquor is over-served some of these wardshave more than 10 shops. Thismeans in 20% of Delhi is liquoris over-served. It is also to benoted that 50% of liquor shopsin Delhi are present in just 45wards.

From Page 1The petitioner said transfer

was maliciously effected pur-portedly under Section 22N(2)of the Maharashtra Police Act,1951 with the reason that thetransfer was necessitated by“administrative exigencies”. It issettled law that the Orders haveto stand on the reasons con-tained in the same and no rea-sons can be supplemented later.

The petitioner said hebelieved that the reason for thetransfer noted by theRespondent no. 1 in its file is toensure a free and fair investiga-tion into the recovery of thegelatin sticks laden SUV fromnear the residence of industri-alist Mukesh Ambani onFebruary 25.

The transfer of the peti-tioner in the aforesaid circum-stances is for reasons smearedwith malice, when there is noiota of material or evidence - farfrom proof - found or evenimputed against the petitioner,and is solely based on conjec-tures, surmises and pure spec-ulation, without detail of anysort against the petitioner hav-ing been noticed by anybody,”he said.

From Page 1“There is an urgent need

to vaccinate caregivers ofpatients who are bed-riddendue to disabilities. Thesepatients cannot be vaccinatedat home, for obvious reasons,however they are exposed tothe Covid virus through theiryoung caregivers, both pro-fessional and family members,said Prasad, senior consultantNeuro and Spine Surgeon atIndraprastha Apol loHospitals, Delhi.

“In addition, nursingagencies providing nursingassistants (untrained ayahs)should also be allowed tovaccinate their staff. Withthe next wave imminent, it isimperative that we includeand vaccinate caregivers ofthe elderly, disabled and bed-ridden persons as early aspossible. These may be pro-fessional or family members,”said Prasad. Dr Prasad point-ed out that the UK andCanada, who are among thecountries administering thevaccine to their citizens, haveexpanded the gap to fourmonths to cover maximumpeople.

From Page 1This will cover people who

are not included presently in thepriority group under the nation-al vaccination programmelaunched on January 16, thisyear.

Presently, the vaccinationprogramme is moving at a snailpace as the groups prioritized forinoculation are not turning upas expected and many of thosewho are eager for the jabs areineligible under the identifiedcategories.

“In view of the emerging sci-entific evidence, the intervalbetween two doses of a specificCOVID-19 vaccine i e. COV-ISHIELD , has been revisited by

National Technical AdvisoryGroup on Immunisation(NTAGI) and subsequently byNational Expert Group onVaccine Administration forCOVID-19 (NEGVAC) in its20th meeting during which therecommendation has beenrevised to provide 2nd dose ofCOVISHIELD at 6-8 weeks’interval after 1st dose instead ofearlier practiced interval of 4-6weeks,” the Union HealthMinistry said in a statementhere.

In a letter to the chief sec-retaries of states and UTs, UnionHealth Secretary RajeshBhushan said the ministry hasaccepted the recommendationsof NTAGI and NEGVAC.

“…and has thereafteradvised the states and UTs toensure the administration of 2nd

dose of COVISHIELD to ben-eficiaries within this stipulatedtime interval of 4-8 weeks afterthe 1st dose,” he said.

Keeping the existing scien-tific evidence in view, it appearsthat protection is enhanced if thesecond dose of COVISHIELD isadministered between 6-8weeks, but not later than thestipulated period of eight weeks,he said.

The Union Health Secretaryhas urged states and UTs toinstruct the officials concernedaccordingly to undertake nec-essary steps to widely dissemi-nate the message of reviseddosing interval amongst pro-gramme managers, vaccinatorsand recipients of Covishieldvaccine and ensure adherence ofthe revised dosing interval, theministry said.

From Page 1It was the first step in dis-

engagement and talks were nowon to pull back from the otherfriction points at the LAC inLadakh.

Similarly, India andPakistan in later February decid-ed to observe ceasefire on theLine of Control(LOC) inJammu and Kashmir to avoidcivilian casualties. It was thefirst time in many years thatpeace now prevailed at theLOC which saw more than5,000 ceasefire violations byPakistan last year.

While appreciating thesepositive moves, sources in thesecurity establishment said hereon Monday it was too early todraw any conclusions. In thiscontext, the government willtake a considered view beforetaking a final decision abouttaking part in the SCO militarydrill, they said.

Based in Tashkent, RATS isa permanent organ of the SCOwhich serves to promote coop-eration of member states againstterrorism, separatism andextremism. The next meetingof RATS will be held inSeptember in Uzbekistan.

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Following a dispute overproperty, a Delhi Police

head constable was allegedlykilled by his two brothers anda nephew when he was on hisway back to Delhi on a bike onSunday evening. Uttar Pradesh

Police said that manhunt hasbeen initiated to nab theaccused who are on the run.

The Head Constable hasbeen identified as Amarpal(50), who was attacked by theaccused with clubs at DataKhurd village under thePisawa police station area nearAligarh.

A dispute over propertyled to the killing, police said,adding that Amarpal was leftbleeding profusely after whichvillagers raised an alarm andinformed his sister.

Amarpal was rushed tothe district hospital where hesuccumbed to his injuries.Shubham Patel,

Superintendent of Police (SP),Rural, Aligarh, told reportersthat according to a reportfiled by the victim's family, theassailants included his twobrothers--Mahaveer Singh andNepal Singh--and a nephew.

Patel said special teamshave been formed to trace theassailants, who are on the run.

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96

A22-year-old man allegedly mur-dered his friend in East Delhi’s

Trilokpuri area in the wee hours ofMonday. The accused told the copsthat he took this step as the victimused to ask him for sexual favours.

The victim has been identified asBharat (32) while the accused hasbeen identified as Monu, both resi-dents of Trilokpuri area.

According to Deepak Yadav, theDeputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), East district, at around 4.30am Monu murdered his friend Bharatby smashing the victim's head with aheavy stone lying near the road sideon Vasundhara road.

“After committing the crimeMonu was headed towards the policestation when he was noticed by anEmergency Response Vehicle (ERV)team. Upon questioning about blood

stains on clothes he told the policeteam that he had murdered hisfriend,” said the DCP.

“Monu also told police that hehad committed this murder as the vic-tim used to ask him for sexualfavours. Subsequently, a police teamreached the place where crime hadoccurred and the dead body was

recovered at the instance of theaccused,” said the police official privyto the investigation.

“An First Information Report(FIR) under section 302 of IndianPenal Code (IPC) has been registeredin Mayur Vihar police station and theaccused has been placed under arrest,”said the police official.

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijalon Monday chaired the review

meeting of the Delhi DisasterManagement Authority (DDMA) todiscuss the alarming rise in Covid-19cases in the national Capital.

The meeting was attended by DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, HealthMinister Satyendar Jain, Kailash Gahlot,Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev,Commissioner of Police, director of ‘AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences’ DrR Guleria and Professor BalramBhargava of ICMR and other senior offi-cials from different civic authorities.

“Chaired the 19th meeting of DDMAto review the #Covid19 situation in Delhiand the ongoing vaccination exercise,” hetweeted.

Baijal asked authorities to be morevigilant and ensure strict enforcement ofCovid appropriate behaviour consider-ing the rising number of cases in Delhi.

“After detailed deliberations withexperts and keeping in view the recentincrease in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, theneed to be more vigilant and ensuringstrict enforcement of Covid appropriatebehaviour was emphasized upon,” hesaid.

“In view of the upcoming festivals,the need for more caution and regula-tion was stressed upon and random test-ing at airport and railway stations- par-ticularly of passengers coming fromstates with high incidence of COVIDcases, needed to be done,” he said inanother tweet.

“As advised by experts, it was decid-ed to continue with the existing strate-gy of cluster based surveillance, testingand genome sequencing,” he tweeted.

Reiterated the need to ramp up vac-cine coverage with greater outreach andfocused IEC campaign, with specialemphasis on senior citizens and mar-ginalized/poor sections without access todigital platform.

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96

With an aim to provide theright platform for children

to nurture the talent and makethem excel in areas of their spe-cialised interests, Delhi Cabineton Monday approved the estab-lishment of about 100 schools ofspecialised excellence in thenational Capital.

These schools will focus onproviding holistic and experi-ential learning opportunitiesthrough state-of-the-art infra-structure, creativity and prob-lem-solving focused learningand teaching, strong partner-ships with universities andindustry leaders, mentor shipschemes and easy access to rolemodels, in order to empowerstudents to achieve their high-est potential.

Deputy Chief Minister and

Education Minister ManishSisodia said, “We are going tolive in an era of specializationand excellence. Our childrenneed an opportunity to be readyfor the next generation chal-lenges. Every child is unique andgifted and we want to ensure thatthey get the opportunity and thesupport to achieve higher suc-cess in their lives. These schoolswill provide the right platformfor our children to nurture theirtalent and excel in areas of theirspecialized interests.”

As per the proposal, theseschools will be choice-basedand cover grades 9 to 12, i.e thelast four years in the 5+3+3+4framework of schooling intro-duced by the New EducationPolicy (NEP), 2020.

The decision was taken toserve the needs of “gifted” stu-dents studying in government

schools of Delhi. The DelhiGovernment plans to establish‘Schools of SpecializedExcellence’ that will cater to stu-dents who are gifted in variousareas of study such as Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM),Performing and Visual Arts,Humanities and high end 21stcentury skills.

“These schools hold thepotential to serve as examples ofhow providing the correct envi-ronment and opportunities tostudents can catapult them fromeven the most marginalizedbackgrounds to great heights ofsuccess in various fields. Theseschools will act as hubs of excel-lence in their respective zonesand provide other schools withthe inspiration and technicalknow-how to foster excellence,”he added.

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96

With the arrest of three men andapprehension of a juvenile, the

Delhi Police on Monday claimed to havebusted ‘pagal gang’ who used to oftenfire shots on the victims during the rob-bery and vehicle loot. Police said that thegang had committed several robberiesand vehicle theft and shot at variouspeople in the last three weeks.

The accused have been identified asSahil (24), a resident of Ghonda, Sahil(21) alias Fazal, a resident of Bhrampuriand Aakash (22), a resident ofJahangirpuri . Police said that theaccused are involved in several cases ofattempt to murder, robbery, snatchingand motor vehicle thefts across theNational Capital.

According to Anto Alphonse, theDeputy Commissioner of Police (DCP),North district, on March 18, Aakash andone Juvenile, both members of the gangwere nabbed by the police team and onecountry made pistol with three live car-tridges were recovered by the policeteam.

“During investigation, three morebikes which were recently stolen fromUsmanpur, Paharganj and Jafrabadarea and one Gym/training bag robbedfrom the area of Model Town wererecovered at their instance,’ said the DCP.

“While after receiving specificinputs regarding two more members ofthe gang on March 20, a trap was laidand Sahil and Fazal were nabbed by thepolice team. The accused persons dis-closed that both had come to take themoney of the robbed and stolen phones

from the receiver Azeem (whose namehas earlier also came to the notice policein earlier cases also and is evading hisarrest), which were sold to him,” said theDCP.

“The bike recovered from the pos-session of the accused was found to bestolen from the area of Govindpuripolice station,” said the DCP.

“During interrogation, some star-tling facts came to notice. It wasrevealed that all brothers of the appre-hended CCL are in crime. In fact his allthree brothers are in judicial custody invarious cases including murder. It hasfacilitated the entry of juvenile into theworld of crime. He came into contactof Aakash through some commonfriend. Aakash and juvenile has com-mitted a series of crime in one singlenight (actually in three hours),” said theDCP.

“In this one night, the duo stole twobikes, fired at two innocent personsincluding one juvenile, robbed severalmobiles. In Shalimar Bagh area, theyhad injured an 11 yearrs boy on hisshoulder, while in the other case of CivilLine area, the victim sustained two bul-let injuries on his leg,” said the DCP.

“The Pagal gang is infamous foropening fire without much thinkingduring armed robberies. Aakash. Thegang used to commit the snatching orrobbery on stolen bikes and scooty andafter use, they left the bike before flee-ing away. They took many precautionsto evade their arrest like using differentbikes for committing different robberyand snatching to avoid being noticedand apprehended,” said the DCP.

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The Municipal Corporationof Gurugram (MCG) has

gone one step further in thefight against single use plasticand polythene.

Under this initiative, theMCG opened its second'Bartan Bank' in Ward-29 onMonday in the civic body lim-its.

The bank was launched byMCG Commissioner VinayPratap Singh, BJP DistrictPresident Gargi Kakkar andJoint Commissioner, MCG(Swachh Bharat Mission)Dheeraj Kumar. Earlier, theMCG's first Bartan Bank wasstarted in ward-13.

"We want the public toadopt the habit of using steel

utensils which cause no harmto the environment," singhsaid during the event.

"We are unknowingly pol-luting the environment, whichis a matter of concern.Therefore, it becomes a moralresponsibility of all of us to stopusing single use plastic andpolythene. Bartan bank is avery important step in this fight

against single use plastic andpolythene. All residential soci-eties should make sucharrangements with themselves,so that they can be used insteadof plastic utensils at events,"Singh added.

BJP District PresidentGargi Kakkar in his addresssaid that we have to build aclean and healthy society. For

this, everyone needs to takecare of the cleanliness of hishouse as well as the surround-ing area.

Joint Commissioner(Swachh Bharat Mission)Dheeraj Kumar said that thenext phase of Swachh BharatMission is to save the existenceof mankind. This is the truth,which is related to the health ofour children.

"We should not take lightly the matter of segregationof garbage, as it is a serious matter. By using single use plastic and polythene, we will be able tobuild a clean and healthy soci-ety for our next generation onlyby shutting down and manag-ing the waste. We shouldinclude waste management inour agenda," Kumar said.

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96

The Delhi Government willcreate 42 additional posts of

Delhi Higher Judicial Services(DHJS) on Monday in thesuper time scale for commer-cial court judges along with theancillary staff. Besides that, 22commercial courts will also beestablished in Delhi.

In the meeting, the DelhiCabinet approved various deci-sions in regards to theDepartment of Law.

The Cabinet noted that asper the data analysis carried outby the Department of Justice,Ministry of Law and Justice,Government of India, it wasfound that as against the worldbest practice towards timelinefor disposal of commercial dis-putes is 164 days. Delhi is tak-ing 747 days in deciding a com-mercial dispute as against

Mumbai which is taking only182 days.

Delhi Law Minister KailashGahlot said "The Governmenthas been consistently focusingon improving 'Ease of DoingBusiness'. Today’s decision isnot just another step towardsmeeting targets, but also onethat has been taken after refer-ring to global best practices onfast and efficient redressal ofcommercial disputes.

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96�

While the Lok Sabha on Mondaypassed the GNCTD amend-

ment act 2021 on Monday, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal said the pas-sage of the Bill is an insult of the peo-ple of Delhi.

Taking it to twitter, Kejriwaltweeted : Passage of GNCTD amend-ment Bill in Lok Sabha today is an

insult to the people of Delhi. The Bill effectively takes

away powers from those who were voted by people and gives powers to run Delhi to those whowere defeated. BJP has cheated thepeople.

However, the Centre has claimedthat the bill has brought to end theambiguity in running the affairs of thenational Capital.

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A45-year-old man has beenarrested for allegedly

cheating people of �8 lakh onthe pretext of providing themration for 15 months, policesaid on Monday.

The accused has beenidentified as Rajesh KumarBhartiya, a resident of Nangloi,they said.

The complainant namedHarish Kumar, along with 534others, alleged that an NGO —Target Welfare Association —which was being run byBhartiya and others intro-duced a scheme wherein theycharged a membership fee ofRs 1,500 per person for dis-tributing of ration -- flour, rice,sugar and oil -- for a period of15 months, police said.

The NGO operated thescheme at different placesthrough regular branches, theysaid.

The complainant allegedthat the NGO neither suppliedthe ration nor answered phonecalls when people tried tocontact them. They disap-peared with all the moneycollected via membership fee,police said.

"During investigation, itwas revealed that Bhartiya wasthe main person who ran thisscheme. Police arrested himfrom Nangloi area on Friday,"Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (EOW) Mohammad Alisaid.

Police said the accusedissued membership to the peo-ple and charged �1,500 fromthem, and also provided thema "ration card".

�''�� ���� ��� 785�-8�96

The national Capital report-ed over 800 coronavirus

cases for the third day on thetrot on Monday, while sevenpeople succumbed to viral dis-ease, the highest since February4, the Health Department said.

The number of active casesrose to 3,934 from 3,618 a dayago, while the case positivityremained over 1 per cent for thethird consecutive day, accordingto a bulletin.

The 888 new infections,the highest in nearly threemonths, pushed the tally ofCovid-19 cases reported in thecity till now to 6,48,872, while6.33 lakh patients have recov-ered from the disease.

Delhi had registered 823cases on Sunday, 813 onSaturday, 716 on Friday, 607 on

Thursday, 536 on Wednesdayand 425 on Tuesday, accordingto official data.

The number of fatalities inthe national capital linked toCovid-19 has risen to 10,963with seven people dying fromthe pathogen in a day. The wasthe highest since February 4when a similar number of fatal-ities were recorded.

A total of 67,418 tests,including 48,981 RT-PCR, wereconducted on Sunday, as thepositivity rate rose to 1.32 from1.03 per cent a day ago, the bul-letin said. The number of peo-ple under home isolation rose to2,067 from 1,893 a day agowhile containment zonesincreased to 805 from 766 onSunday. The Covid-19 case-load in Delhi on January 1 hadstood at over 6.25 lakh and totalfatalities were 10,557.

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The Rajya Sabha on Mondaywitnessed uproarious

scenes over corruption allega-tions against the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress ruled coalitionGovernment in Maharashtra.As soon as the Question Hourbegan in the Upper Houseafter a four-day break, the trea-sury bench members raised theMaharashtra issue with DeputyChairman Harivansh, who wason the Chair, asking them toallow the proceedings. RajyaSabha proceedings wereadjourned till 2 pm and afterthe resumption business con-tinued with one Bill also passedover voice vote

The protests were in con-nection with former MumbaiPolice chief Param Bir Singh’sclaim that Maharashtra HomeMinister Anil Deshmukh want-ed police officers to collect�100 crore monthly from barsand hotels in Mumbai. Singh,who was transferred to the low-key Home Guards departmenton March 17 following thearrest of police officer SachinWaze in the case related to thebomb scare near MukeshAmbani’s house Antilia, in aletter to the Maharashtra ChiefMinister had claimed that hewas made a scapegoat.

As the treasury benchmembers continued raising theissue, Deputy ChairmanHarivansh stood up andrequested members to ask theirsupplementary questions to

ministers. Minority AffairsMinister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvianswered supplementaries .Harivansh urged members sev-eral times to allow the QuestionHour and requested them totake their seats.

Amid the din, Congressmember Chhaya Verma askedEnvironment Minister PrakashJavadekar about provisionsprovided by the Centre on thedestruction of crops in variousStates by wildlife and addedthat Prime Minister NarendraModi had also expressed con-cern over the issue. However,Javadekar said he was unable tohear anything and tried toraise the Maharashtra issue.

“What she is asking, Icould not hear,” he said refer-ring to the Maharashtra issue,prompting the Chair toadjourn the House till 2 pm at12.11 pm. The trouble in theUpper House had started a fewminutes before the QuestionHour at 12 noon.

Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu repeatedly asked theagitating members to sit down.“What is happening? Bothsides must understand, noth-ing will be shown (on TV) andgo on records,” Naidu said.Naidu stressed he has notallowed anybody to makemention of any State and levelallegations. “I have not receivedany notice. Without noticehow can I allow anybody,” hesaid. The House then pro-ceeded for Question Houramid uproar.

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The BJP on Mondaydemanded the resigna-

tion of the MaharashtraVikas Aghadi (MVA)Government in the light offormer Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Parama BirSingh’s claim that the State’sHome Minister AnilDeshmukh set a �100-crorecollection target for the policeevery month, and sought aCBI probe into the allegationas Shiv Sena claimed that theBJP has been hatching a con-spiracy to defame the MVAdispensation for the last 14months so that a BJPGovernment can be installedin Mumbai.

Raising the issue duringZero Hour in Lok Sabhaamidst protests by the ShivSena and the NCP, BJP member Manoj Kotak saidthat according to Singh’s let-ter to the chief minister, thestate’s home minister hadasked suspended AssistantPolice Inspector (API) SachinWaze to collect �100 crorefrom 1,742 bars and restau-rants in the metropolis everymonth.

Kotak said the letterreflected that those who arein the Government wereusing officials in collectingmoney but the Chief Ministerso far has not uttered a sin-gle word on the issue.

“It is a serious matter. Thehome minister should resign,the Maharashtra governmentshould resign and there

should be a CBI inquiry intothe whole issue,” he said.BJP member Rakesh Singhthat the issue is so seriousthat it can’t be termed a statesubject as it has a nationalimplication.

Singh said that the formerpolice commissioner’s lettershowed that the top func-tionaries of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Governmentwere involved in collectinghuge amounts of moneythrough illegal means.

“The allegation againstthe state home minister wasmade by none other than theformer police commissioner.What was the compulsion ofthe chief minister to defendan API-rank official, whowas in suspension for 16years, in a press conference,”he asked.

Singh claimed that asenior politician from thestate had changed his standafter telling that it was a serious matter and thereshould be an inquiry into it.

“What is the fear. Is thereany fear of spilling the beansabout those who get cut. If�100 crore col lected from Mumbaialone, what would be the fig-ure for the entireMaharashtra,” he asked.

He demanded that theMVA Government shouldimmediately resign and thereshould be an impart ialinquiry into it.

Another BJP memberKapil Patil said that it was notfor the first time that such a

letter has been written by asenior police officer and evena DGP-rank officer had alsowritten a similar letter in thepast.

“A senior leader had saidthat it is a serious matter buthe changed his tuneovernight. What is the fear?Fear of spilling the beans,” heasked.

However, Shiv Senamember Vinayak Rautstrongly defended the MVAGovernment and claimed thatthe BJP has been hatching aconspiracy to defame theShiv Sena-Congress-NCP dis-pensation for the last 14months so that a BJP gov-ernment can be installed inMumbai.

“The issue is nothing butpart of BJP’s big conspiracy,”he claimed. Raut a lso accused the former Mumbai police commission-er who wrote the sensation-al letter as the “most corruptpolice officer”.

Minister of State AnuragThakur a lso demanded appropriate actionby the MaharashtraGovernment over the allega-t ions of corruption by formerMumbai police chief againststate Home Minister AnilDeshmukh.

Speaking during theQuestion Hour in Lok Sabha,Thakur noted that the alle-gation that Deshmukhwantedpolice officers to collect �100crore per month, is a “matterof concern”, he said.

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Giving a further boost to the‘Make in India’ initiative in

the crucial defence manufac-turing sector, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh on Mondaysigned a contract withMahindra Defence SystemsLtd (MDSL) for supply of 1,300Light Specialist Vehicles to theIndian Army at a cost of �1,056crore.

The induction of thesevehicles manufactured by theprestigious Indian private sec-tor player is planned to be com-pleted in four years.

The Light Specialist Vehicleis a modern fighting vehicleand will be authorised to var-ious fighting units for carriageof Medium Machine Guns,Automatic Grenade Launchersas well as Anti-tank GuidedMissiles.

The Light SpecialistVehicle is indigenouslydesigned and developed byMDSL. These combat vehiclesare extremely agile with allround protection against smallarms fire and will assist smallindependent detachmentswhich are required to operatethis weapon platform in theoperational area.

This is a flagship projectshowcasing the indigenousmanufacturing capabilities ofthe defence industry and willadd another milestone to the‘Atmanirbhar BharatAbhiyaan’ and ‘Make in India’initiative of the Government,officials said here.

This contract comes daysafter the ministry inked adeal with the public sectorunit Bharat Dynamics Ltd

(BDL) to acquire 4,960 anti-tank guided missiles at a costof �1,188 crore for the IndianArmy.

The missiles, having arange of 1,850 metres, can befired from ground as well asvehicle-based launchers andtheir induction is planned tobe completed in three years,the ministry said.

In the last few months, theministry finalised a range ofprocurement projects for thethree forces to enhance theiroverall combat capabilities.

The acquisition wing ofthe Ministry of Defencesigned a contract with defencepublic sector undertakingBharat Dynamics Limited(BDL) for the supply of 4,960MILAN-2T anti-tank guidedmissiles to Indian Army at acost of �1,188 crore, it said.The missiles are being pro-duced by BDL under licensefrom French defence majorMBDA Missile Systems.

Officials also said it is arepeat order of contract whichwas signed with the BDL inMarch, 2016. The deal willfurther enhance the ‘Make inIndia’ initiat ive of theGovernment.

This project was a bigopportunity for the defenceindustry to showcase its capa-bility and will be a step in thedirection of achieving thegoal of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’in the defence sector.

The ministry last yearbanned import of more than100 items including weaponsand ammunition in order togive a fillip to the local indus-try. Plans are afoot to increasethis list in the coming months.

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The CBI on Monday car-ried out searches at the

off ices of three seniorSecurities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI) officialsin connection with theiralleged role in saving Saradhaponzi scheme operators.

The three officers whosepremises were searched areChief

General Managers JayantaJash and Jeevan Sonparoteposted in the InvestigationDepartment and CorporateFinance of SEBI respectivelyand Deputy General ManagerPrasenjit Dey of theInvestigation Department,sources said.

There are multiple FIRsagainst the Saradha Group inWest Bengal, in which it hasbeen alleged that thousands ofinvestors were a l l e g e d l ylured into investing in thePonzi scheme and duped tothe tune of several crores bythe company officials andtheir associates who swin-dled their deposits.

The Supreme Court hadhanded over the Saradha chitfund scam probe to the CBIand directed the State gov-ernments concerned to pro-vide all logistical help to theagency team investigating thematter.

Meanwhile, the agencyhas summoned West BengalEducation Minister ParthaChatterjee to appear before itsKolkata office on Tuesday forquestioning in the ICore chitfund scam.

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Nearly 800 soldiers died bysuicide since 2014 in the

three Services besides 20 casesof fratricide, the Governmentinformed Parliament onMonday.

This written reply in theRajya Sabha underscored theneed to maintain the temp ofreforms within the armed forcesto evolve an ethos whereinsuch incidents come downimmediately.

Giving details, theGovernment said while theArmy recorded 591 cases, theIAF reported 160 while theNavy saw 36 in the last sevenyears.

The defence forces hadtaken several measures someyears back when cases of frat-ricide wherein soldiers killingtheir superiors and colleaguesand suicides saw a spike. Thesteps included more relaxedleave norms to allow the jawansto attend to their families in farflung villages, stress manage-ment in insurgency and ter-rorism hit areas and regularinteraction with senior officers.

Given the make-up of thearmed forces with soldiers com-ing mostly from rural back-ground, the defence forces alsourged the local administrationof their villages to attend totheir cases of dispute if any withempathy and speed.

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With water shortagebecoming a major con-

cern all across the country,Prime Minister, NarendraModi on Monday launched“Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch theRain” Campaign for conservingwater and stressed that everypenny of MGNREGA funds bespent on rain water conserva-tion till the monsoon arrives.

Modi said it is a matter ofconcern that majority of rainwater in India gets wasted. Hesaid that more the rain water isconserved, the less will be thedependence on groundwater.

The Prime Minister urgedthat every penny of MGNRE-GA (Mahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act) funds be spenton rain water conservation tillthe monsoon arrives. Theevent was also attended by anumber of panches andsarpanches from across thecountry. Participating throughvirtual mode, some of themalso shared their experiencestowards water conservation.

Modi said India’s self-suf-ficiency is dependent on its

water resources and waterconnectivity, and its fast-paceddevelopment is not possiblewithout effective water con-servation. He also urged thepeople to use water judicious-ly. The ‘Catch the Rain’ cam-paign will be undertakenacross the country, in bothrural and urban areas. It willbe implemented from March22 to November 30 - the pre-monsoon and monsoon peri-od in the country.

The campaign aims to takewater conservation at grass-root level through people’sparticipation. It is intended tonudge all stakeholders to cre-ate rainwater harvesting struc-tures suitable to the climaticconditions and subsoil strata,to ensure proper storage ofrainwater.

A Memorandum ofAgreement was also signedonline between the UnionMinister of Jal Shakti and theChief Ministers of MadhyaPradesh and Uttar Pradesh toimplement the Ken Betwa LinkProject, the first project of theNational Perspective Plan forinterlinking of rivers, in thepresence of the Prime Minister.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Monday

filed a chargesheet against twogunrunners and one financierof Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in dis-graced Jammu and Kashmirpolice Deputy Superintendentof Police Devender Singh Case.

On Monday, the NIA fileda supplementary chargesheetagainst three accused personsnamely Shaheen Ahmad Lone,Tafazul Hussain Parimoo andWaheed-ur-Rahman Paraunder IPC Sections relating tocriminal conspiracy and rele-vant provisions of theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, Arms Actand Explosive Substances Actbefore the NIA Special CourtJammu.

“This case arose out of PSQazigund, Kulgam FIR No.05/2020 dated 11.01.2020 afterapprehension of two terroristsof Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM)namely Syed Naveed Mushtaq,the then District Commanderof HM for the district Shopianand Ganderbal and RafiAhmad Rather along with one

serving DSP of J&K Police,Devender Singh and AdvocateIrfan Shafi Mir, near Al-StopNaka, Qazigund while theywere travelling from Srinagarto Jammu in a Hyundai i20 carowned and driven by accusedAdvocate Irfan Shafi Mir,” theNIA said in a statement.

The NIA had re-registeredthe case and took over theinvestigation. NIA had earlierfiled chargesheet against eightaccused in this case.

Investigation has revealedthat chargesheeted accusedShaheen Ahmad Lone andTafazul Hussain Parimoo wereinvolved in gun running fromacross the LoC for the mili-tants of banned terrorist

organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) andLashkar e Taiba (LeT) andwere also channelizing fundsto the militants for sustainingterrorist activities in J&K at thebehest of handlers located inPakistan, it said.

Investigation has alsorevealed that chargesheetedaccused Waheed-ur-RahmanPara was part of the conspir-acy for raising and transferringof terror funds to HM mili-tants for procurement of ter-rorist hardware and was alsoa crucial player in sustainingpolitical-separatist-terroristnexus in J&K. Further inves-tigation in the case is contin-uing, it added.

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The Gandhi Peace Prize forthe year 2020 is being con-

ferred on Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman. And theprestigious prize for the year2019 is being conferred on lateSultan Qaboos bin Said Al Saidof Oman in recognition of hisvision to strengthen relationswith India, and his efforts topromote peace and non-vio-lence in the Gulf region, theCulture Ministry announced onMonday.

The decision to confer theaward for 2020 on SheikhMujibur Rahman comes aheadof Prime Minister NarendraModi’s visit to Bangladesh, hisfirst foreign trip since the out-break of Covid-19. Modi willattend the national day pro-gramme of Bangladesh onMarch 26.

The Gandhi Peace Prize isan annual award instituted bythe government of India since1995, the 125th birth anniver-sary commemoration year ofMahatma Gandhi. The award isopen to all people regardless ofnationality, race, language, caste,

creed or sex.The jury for Gandhi Peace

Prize is chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andcomprises two ex-officio mem-bers, namely the chief justice ofIndia and leader of the singlelargest opposition party in theLok sabha.

Prime Minister NarendraModi said, “Gandhi Peace Prize2019 being conferred on HisLate Majesty Sultan Qaboos binSaid Al Said of Oman is a fit-ting recognition of His Majesty’sstanding as a leader of remark-able compassion, and of hiscontributions to furtheringpeace and prosperity in theregion.”

Two eminent members arealso part of the jury — OmBirla, Speaker of the Lok Sabha,and Bindeshwar Pathak,Founder of Sulabh InternationalSocial Service Organisation.

The jury met on March 19,2021 and after due delibera-tions, unanimously decided toselect Bangladesh’s father ofthe nation, Sheikh MujiburRahman, and Oman’s longtimeruler Sultan Qaboos for theprize, an official statement said.

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The Election Commissionof India (ECI) on Monday

announced a ban on bike ral-lies 72 hours before votingtakes place in poll-boundStates in coming weeks. Thishas been done because thecommission came to knowthat these rallies are beingused to intimidate voters.Officials said that complaintswere received during theCommission’s visit from sev-eral political parties that bikerallies are resorted to intimi-date the voters in the last cou-ple of days before the poll.

In a directive issued tochief electoral officers of poll-bound West Bengal, Kerala,Tamil Nadu, Assam andPuducherry, the EC pointedout that it has been brought toits notice that “in some placesbikes are used by anti-socialelements to intimidate thevoters before the poll dayand/or on poll day.”

“After considering the

reports, the Commission hasdecided that “bike rallies shallnot be allowed at any place 72hours before the date of pollor on the poll day in all poll-going constituencies,” thedirective said.

The EC also asked itschief electoral officers toinform all stakeholders con-cerned, including candidates,political parties and theCommission’s observers, toensure strict compliance of the

directions.Assembly elections in

Tamil Nadu, Kerala andPuducherry will be held in asingle phase on April 6.

Besides these states, elec-tions will also be held inAssam and West Bengalbetween March 27 and April29 in three and eight phases,respectively. The counting ofvotes in all the four states andthe Union Territory will beheld on May 2.

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Just five States—Maharashtra,Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat

and Madhya Pradesh—havecontributed a major chunk, ashigh as 80 per cent of the total46,951 new Covid cases regis-tered on Monday across thecountry, the highest single dayrise so far this year. The UnionHealth Ministry said that thecountry’s total active caseloadhas increased to 3,34,646 com-prising 2.87 per cent of India’stotal infections. A total of 212deaths have been reported in aday.

Maharashtra continues totop the list of highest daily newcases on Monday too with30,535 (65.03 per cent), fol-lowed by Punjab with 2,644while Kerala reported 1,875new cases in the last 24 hours.Eight states includingMaharashtra, Tamil Nadu,Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka andHaryana are displaying anupward trajectory in the dailynew Covid-19 cases, theMinistry said.

A net rise of 25,559 caseshas been added to the totalactive caseload in a span of 24hours while the daily positivi-ty rate (7-day average) currentlystands at 3.70 per cent, theMinistry said.

In what could be a worry-ing trend, eight States/UTs --Maharashtra, Chandigarh,Punjab, Puducherry, Goa,Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat andHaryana have a weekly posi-tivity rate more than the nation-al average of 3.7 per cent.

Maharashtra has conduct-ed 1,78,00,438 total tests andhas a positivity rate of 13.93 percent followed by Tamil Naduwhich has conducted1,78,13,593 tests and has a pos-itivity rate of 4.87 per cent.

Haryana has so far tested58,19,748 samples and has apositivity rate 4.81 per cent.Karnataka has tested2,05,49,434 tests and has a pos-itivity rate of 4.72 per cent.

Madhya Pradesh and Delhihave conducted 59,31,486 and1,39,44,512 tests so far andboth have a positivity rate of4.65 per cent.

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Village police constableAmarpal Singh, son of

Ramkhiladi of Data Khurd vil-lage was surrounded and beat-en severely by brothers andnephews. Constable in criticalcondition was rushed toMalkhan Singh DistrictHospital where Dr declaredhim dead. All the accused areabsconding since the incident.Complaint did not reach thepolice station till late at nighton Sunday.

Amarpal Singh, 50, a resi-dent of village Data Khurd, wasa constable in the Delhi Police.He, along with his family, livedin the police line at AnandVihar, New Delhi. He has 28bighas of ancestral farmingland in the village. He hadbought some more land, due towhich he used to come to thevillage.

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After throwing open thestrategically important

Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumriroad in the first week of March2021, the 'unsung' heroes of theBorder roads organisation(BRO) have started working onthe Manali-Leh axis to providealternate road connectivity tothe Army formations campingin the Ladakh sector.

According to the DirectorGeneral of Border RoadsOrganisation the opening ofLeh-Manali axis depends onthe quantum of snowfall everyyear and weather conditions.He said, last year the road wasopened on 18 May 2020 whichis one month earlier than pre-vious years. This year we are allprepared to open the road axisearlier than previous year".

According to DGBRpresently three projects,Beacon, Vijayak and Himankare involved in Snow ClearingOperations in UT J&K andLadakh. Almost 1550 Km ofroad stretches are snow clearedby these projects during win-ters to keep the roads open. Allthese efforts go into WinterSnow Clearance to ensure allweather connectivity to for-ward locations along the bor-der and strategically importantplaces.

Remembering the sacri-fices of the foot soldiers whowere working in the hostileweather conditions DGBR said,"last year, more than 200 BROwarriors were martyred whileexecuting extremely dangeroustasks in very arduous and

inhospitable terrain conditions.These sacrifices will not go invain and we will continue toforge paths for our nation andpursue our Motto “We willEither Find a Way or MakeOne” more vigorously and riseto the occasion more thananybody’s expectation for anational cause and to achievenational objectives".

Referring to the strategicprojects in the pipeline DGBRsaid,in the coming year num-ber of Roads and Bridges willbe completed along the Indo-China Border roads namelybridges on DS-DBO Road,Phobrang-Marsimikla-HotSpring Road, Chisumle-Demochok Road, Tangste-Horang-Chusul Road andsome of the important Bridgesthat will be completed areSonamarg Bye Pass Bridge onSrinagar- Sonamarg – GumriRoad, Amiranagar Bridge onPuldoda- Bhaderwah Roadand two bridges on Srinagar –Baramulla – Uri – Kaman PostRoad.

The bridges on nationalhighway Zojila-Kargil-Leh axishave been upgraded to thehighest road classification,

where six major bridges besidesnumerous other minor bridgesand culverts are likely to becompleted in the current year,these are bridges on Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road, Khaltsi-Batalik road, Zojila-Kargil-Lehroad and Khalsar-Sasoma road.

In response to a specificquestion whether ongoing pro-jects were affected due to pro-longed standoff between Indiaand China DGBR said at notime, BRO work was affectedby the situation at ourNorthern Borders. "We havefocused more and have put inadditional efforts in terms ofmanpower and resources fordevelopment and execution ofworks in these areas inspite ofCOVID situation. At no loca-tion, the work was stopped byBRO in Eastern Ladakh due tostandoff with our adversaries.The work is going on at fullswing at all the locations inEastern Ladakh and we haveachieved our planned con-struction and will intend to doso in coming months".

Sharing progress of theongoing works on Manali-Leaxis, DGBR in a written replyto the list of questions said, "the

road passes through few of thehighest passes in the world.Logistics are already in place,we have pre-positioned ourresources in mothballed statesto open multiple attack pointsfor snow clearance operations".

"The Karm Yogis of BROhad twice attempted to reachthe mothballed equipment buthad to return due to avalanch-es. On their third attempt,they reached the location on 14Mar 2021 by walking over 15 to20 feet of snow for 20 Km overtwo days in extreme weatherconditions and hazards. Theyeven took a night halt in theopen in sub-zero temperatures.I salute their grit and determi-nation", DGBR said.

Referring to the snowclearing operation conductedalong the Srinagar – Sonamarg– Gumri Road, DGBR said it isan important road link forlogistic sustenance of Armyformations and Civilian popu-lation in Kargil & Leh.

"The Zozila-Kargil-LehNational Highway which con-nects UT of Ladakh to rest ofthe country is the lifeline for thepopulation of Ladakh. Despitefacing numerous challenges,the National Highway was keptopen for traffic till 31 Dec 2020,which was unprecedented.Then we cleared the snow andconnected the pass on 06 Mar2021. This was done mini-mum 2-3 months in advance oftraditional opening dates. Assuch we will be opening it forcivil traffic very soon. Hence,instead of being closed, for 5 to6 months, this season pass willbe open after 2.5 months only".

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The BJP-led NationalDemocratic Alliance in

Kerala suffered a major setbackon Monday as the Kerala HighCourt declined to interfere inthe decision of the ElectionCommission of India rejectingthe nomination papers filed bythree candidates for the April6 election to the State assembly.

Justice N Nagresh of theKerala High Court, who heardthe petitions filed by N Haridasand Niveditha Subramanian(BJP candidates of Thalasseriand Guruvayur respectively)and Dhanalakshmi (AIADMKcandidate of Devikulam) chal-lenging the rejection of theirnomination papers by the con-cerned returning officers, said

that once the ElectionCommission begins the elec-tion process the Court has norole in it. “The complainantscan approach the court withtheir grievances after theresults are declared. There areSupreme Court verdicts whichsay that the courts should notinterfere in the poll processonce the Election Commissionissues poll notification,” said thejudge.

The nomination papers ofN Haridas and Niveditha wererejected on the ground thattheir papers did not carry thesignatures of the national andState presidents of the BJP. “Itwas not a fatal mistake and thiscould have been resolved bygiving them some more time.But the rules are clear and I feel

the candidates were not care-ful while submitting the papers.They should have doubklechecked the papers to ensurethat everything was in order,”said K Ramkumar, senior advo-cate, High Court who repre-sented the candidates.

The rejection of the nom-ination papers has given rise toa major controversy in Keralawith the CPI(M) and theCongress alleging each other ofmaking deals with theHindutwa party. Though theBJP is not strong enough toregister wins in both the con-stituencies, the party has thepotential to cause damages tothe rivals.

K N A Khader of theMuslim League is the UDFcandidate from Guruvayur.

The Muslim League leader cre-ated a furor by offering prayersat the famous Lord Krishnatemple in the constituencybefore filing his nominationand this earned him the wrathof the conservatives and ortho-doxy in the community.

The CPI(M) candidate isN K Akbar. Though the town-ship boasts of the ancient LordKrishna Temple, the con-stituency has a considerableMuslim population. In the2016 assembly election, theCPI(M) candidate K V abdulKhader had won fromGuruvayur defeating theMuslim League candidate by amajority of 16,000 votes.Niveditha who was the BJPcandidate had polled morethan 25,000 votes.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has

rejected the BJP’s election man-ifesto as “high-sounding noth-ing” as the party “makes tallpromises during the elections but seldom followsthem up.”

“They are making all kindsof tall promises but go and seehow they have performed in theStates where they are inpower … they never fulfilltheir promises. They are tellingthat they will give you freeration but all this is false as theywill never fulfill this,” Banerjeetold two elections rallies inBankura.

Reminding of promisesmade by the BJP before it came

to power in 2014 Banerjee said“they said that they will give Rs15 lakh to every family. Didthey bring that money? Nowyou ask Narendra Modi aboutthe Rs 15 lakh that he promisedbefore the elections… Did theyprovide 2 crore jobs that theypromised? … Did they bringout the black money afterNotebandi? … So first askthem to fulfill the earlierpromises before making thesenew ones.”

Home Minister Amit Shahhad on Sunday rolled out alengthy list of promises thatincluded free ration and edu-cation, health schemes, large-scale development in health andhospitality industry apart fromjob generation projects thatwould together transform

Bengal into Sonar Bangla (gold-en Bengal).

Once again raising the “out-sider issue” Banerjee said “theoutsider goons who are comingto Bengal in large numbers tobreach the peace and tranquili-ty of this region will dictate lifeif they come to power in thisState … they will dictate what people should eat what theyshould not, they will decidewhat women should wear andwhat they should not.” Attackingthe Prime Minister for letting thename of a cricket stadium inGujarat to be named after himBanerjee said, “today Modi hasmade a stadium after his name…tomorrow he will make himselfseem bigger than BR Ambedkar.”

On the divestment ofGovernment concerns she said“they are selling everythingfrom SAIL to Rail to banks toBSNL to Air India to LIC

everything … tomorrow theywill sell out the entire country… if they are allowed to con-tinue in power for too long…so let their defeat start fromBengal because after beingdefeated in Bengal their thronewill start trembling in Delhiand soon they will be out ofpower from there.”

Asking the people, particu-larly women to chase away thealleged BJP goons with theirrolling pins, and other kitchentools if they come to loot theirvotes, Banerjee said “the peopleof Bengal will have to remainalert every moment to protecttheir rights.” Bengal will go topolls in eight phases from March27 to April 29. Meanwhile in arelated development the ElectionCommission of India soughtreports from the Burdwan dis-trict administration after an 11-year-old child was killed and

another one was severely injuredwhen a crude bomb that theywere playing with went off at theSubhashpally area of the city.

The local police said thatSheikh Afroz (7) and SheikhIbrahim (9) were playing neartheir house when they hit apacket in which the crudebombs were kept. The bombsinside it went off immediatelykilling Afroz on the spot whileIbrahim was admitted Ibrahimfor treatment in the hospital.

While the BJP immedi-ately said that bombs were thepart of the huge arsenal thatthe TMC had amassedthroughout the State for useon election days the ECdirected the Burdwan dis-trict administration, StateChief Secretary and DirectorGeneral of Police to submit areport on the incident with-in 24 hours.

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Death won’t be able to killmy patriotism; my coun-

try’s fragrance will come evenfrom my grave!

These were the linesuttered by the trinity of BhagatSingh, Rajguru and Sukhdev,the emblem of endurance, grit,valour, fearlessness, sacrificeand patriotism. These linesare the testimony of their lovefor the Bharatmata. At the ageof 22-23, the trio has shown usthe path of pure patriotism. Onthe occasion of “Shahiddiwas”I bow my head to these threeluminaries of India’s strugglefor independence and manyother Bravehearts who haveselflessly devoted their lives tothe country.

I urge all the students inIndia to learn the values fromShahid-e-Azamand his com-panions. They were aggressivebut compassionate, determinedbut composed and committedto the cause. The 3Cs ofCompassion, Commitmentand Courage will be a mantrathat will help you in facing dif-ferent phases of life and keepyou motivated.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh jihas imbibed the core values ofIndian traditions and advocat-ed for a plural, inclusive andegalitarian society. He was avoracious reader, thinker andphilosopher. His passion forreading was so much that hehas read hundreds of booksduring his lifetime.

His reading was diverseand included books in biology,economics, polity, poetry andphilosophy. According to oneof his biographies, he has readaround 50 books during hisyears in the school (1913-21),around 200 books in his daysat the college and approxi-mately 300 books during twoyears before his ultimate sacri-fice on 23rd March 1931.Perhaps this may be the reasonfor his intelligence, scientifictemper, sense of justice andthought-provoking ideation.He was a deep thinker and

understood the nuances of lifeand its ultimate purpose.

I encourage all the studentsto read and share with theirfriends and classmates.Students can add an endeavourof one book-one month totheir lifestyle.

In this initiative, you readone book every month andshare the book, its findings,your experiences and observa-tions with your fellow mates. Ialso request all the teachers andguardians to provide diversereading opportunities to ourenergetic youth. Childhoodand young age leave a lastingimpression and prepare oneselfto become an active contribu-tor to society.

Reading shapes the think-ing and makes it coherent,concrete and constructive. Itwill enable students to expresstheir thoughts to the wideraudience effectively. BhagatSingh started public writing atthe age of 16 when he wrote oncomplex issues like universalbrotherhood and agrarianissues in Punjab. Bhagat Singhwas so determined from hischildhood that he kept the soilof Jalianwala with him alwaysto remember his life’s purpose.It is difficult to imagine such alevel of vision and determina-tion for the motherland froma teen-aged boy.

As Swami Vivekanandasaid, “Take up one idea. Makethat one idea your life – thinkof it, dream of it, live on thatidea. Let the brain, muscles,nerves, every part of yourbody, be full of that idea, andjust leave every other idea”,Bhagat Singh has personifiedthis and made the freedom ofthe motherland as his sole goalfor life.

He was so compassionatethat when they planned to“make the deaf (british raj)”; hetested the bombs so that theyshould not harm human livesand only make noise andsmoke. When along withBatukeshwarDutt, he threw thebomb in the central assembly,they purposefully threw it atthe place where it should not

hurt anyone; his purpose wasto send the message to theBritish empire. Then heallowed the police there toarrest them peacefully.

He understood that hisdeath would send a loudermessage than his life, alongwith Rajguru and Sukhdevhappily embraced deathsinging “Mera rang deBasantiChola”.

I come from the devb-hoomi Uttarakhand, also aveer bhumi as many from thestate have laid their lives for thenation. I take great pride to rep-resent the Himalayan state ofUttarakhand in the parliamentof India. Being the educationminister of the country, I got tovisit different vibrant campus-es across the length andbreadth of the country. Somedays back, I attended theUniversity of Delhi’s convoca-tion and was fortunate enoughto visit the room in the vice-chancellor’s office where thefreedom fighters includingBhagat Singh were imprisonedduring a court trial. I wasoverwhelmed by seeing theletters and other belongings ofour Bravehearts.

I instructed the VC tomake arrangements to make itconvenient for students andteachers to visit the sacredplace and get inspired. BhagatSingh’s idea was influenced bythe Indian darshan of&quot;equality and plurali-ty&quot;, he was a true patri-ot and not affiliated to any fac-tion.

An epitome of his name(Bhagat), he was the true dis-ciple of Bharatmata. We have tofulfil the dreams of ourShahids; we need to put ourcontinuous efforts and energyinto the India of their dreams.Under the leadership of avibrant and dynamic primeminister, India’s government iscommitted to these dreams. Itleaves no stone unturned forSabka-Sath and SabkaVikas bygaining Sabka Vishwas.

(The writer is UnionEducation Minister,Government of India)

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The South Kashmir districtof Shopian, also known as

apple bowl of Kashmir, con-tinue to pose a major challengeto the security forces in theregion.

Out of 19 terrorists killedso far in nine different encoun-ters this year nine of them hailfrom Shopian. Four securitypersonnel including one armyjawan and three JKP cops sac-rificed their lives in theseencounters.

Two top commandersGhani Khawja and SajjadAfghani were also gunneddown in these operations.

In the latest encounter inManihal area of Shopian fourLashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror-ists were eliminated by thejoint team of security forcesearly Monday morning. Allthese were active in the area fora period ranging between twoto six months.

Briefing media personsalong with GoC Victor Force,Major General Rashim Bali,Inspector General of PoliceKashmir range Vijay KumarMonday said, "Pakistani agen-

cies were still exploiting youthin Kashmir valley and usingsocial media platforms to rad-icalise them before luring themaway to join the ranks of dif-ferent terror outfits".

The IGP identified the fourLeT terrorists as Rayees AhmadBhat, Amir Shafi Mir, YakubAhmad Malik and AftabAhmad Wani while also con-firming that an army soldierhad been injured in the fire-fight. Three pistols and an AKrifle were recovered from thepossession of these four ter-rorists, IGP said.

Commenting on the strat-egy of the security forces tomotivate local terrorists to laydown their arms and ammu-nition even during the gun-fight, the IGP said after the firstcontact was established withthe terrorists in Manihal villageof Shopian wife and four yearold son of a local terrorist wasbrought to the encounter site tomotivate him to surrender.Ignoring repeated appeals andannouncements the terroristsopened fire on the securityforces which resulted in a briefgunfight in which all four wereneutralised.

Jammu: Security forces inJammu and Kashmir are gear-ing up in advance to conductthe incident free annualAmarnath pilgrimage begin-ning June 28 this year.

Inspector General ofPolice, Kashmir range VijayKumar Monday said, " theentire security grid will bebeefed up ahead of theAmarnath yatra to ensure safe-ty and security of the pil-grims".

On the threat of stickybombs and IEDs, the IG saidyatra routes would be fullysanitised, and there would be24-hour patrolling andnakas.

“This time the (yatra)routes will not be left unse-cured even during the night.There will be deployment,mobile bunker vehiclepatrolling and NVD (nightvision devices), and droneswill also be used 24 hours,” hesaid.

Describing sticky bombs asa problem but “not a bigworry”, Kumar said securityvehicles will be fitted with 360-degree cameras and distancewill be maintained with civil-ian vehicles.

He said, fool-proof securi-ty arrangements, includinground-the-clock monitoringusing CCTV cameras anddrones, will be in place for theAmarnath Yatra this year.

“We are fully ready for thesummer months. We havedevised a plan and checkpointswill be increased, some campswill be shifted, and as we willget additional force after elec-tions (in some states of thecountry), we will plug all thegaps… Pilgrims will not faceany problems,” Kumar said.

“Our officers go on theground to physically check forchances of security lapses andto see whether additional forcesare required or where dronescan be used and equipment beplaced and also for the place-ment of 24-hour nakas. We arefully alert, and there will befool-proof security arrange-ments,” Kumar added.

“I am sure the public willsupport us fully. There will bea time factor also a time framefor the yatra vehicles. They willnot be allowed in a mix-way,”he said, adding the yatra will bemonitored through CCTVcameras and drones round-the-clock. PNS

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Chennai: The Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) on Mondayreleased its manifesto for theupcoming assembly electionsin Tamil Nadu. The visiondocument was unveiled by theUnion Ministers Nitin Gadkariand VK Singh at the partyheadquarters in Chennai inpresence of other party leaders.

While speaking after thelaunch, Gadkari expressed con-fidence that NDA will emergevictorious in the assembly polls."I am confident that NDA will

get the majority in Tamil Nadu.We will have a new governmentand Tamil Nadu will be devel-oped as a progressive state," hesaid. Click here to read BJP'sentire manifesto for the TamilNadu elections.

Key highlights of BJPmanifesto:

50 lakh new employmentopportunities will be created.Fishermen assistance of Rs.6000 per year would be pro-vided like it's being providedfor farmers. Tamil Nadu will be

made Number 1 state in SouthIndia in Ease of DoingBusiness. 12 Lakh acres ofPanchami Land will be recov-ered and handed over back toScheduled Caste people ofTamil Nadu The administra-tion of Hindu temples will behanded over to a separateboard comprising Hindu schol-ars and saints. Total prohibitionwill be implemented in the stateFree two-wheeler drivinglicense will be issued to girlsaged between 18 and 23. Free

Tablets will be provided to 8thand 9th-grade studentsSeparate Budget for AgricultureAll essential commodities thatare distributed through theTamil Nadu Public DistributionSystem will be delivered tohomes directly for all elec-tronic ration cardholdersGovernment Multi-specialtyhospitals will be established atall district headquarters in thestate and treatment will beprovided free of cost Under theJal Jeevan Mission. PTI

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withdrawn by King George V.The Hindu ideology is not

anti-anyone else. The word“Hindu” has been the identi-ty for the entire subcontinent.In 1930, my father’s professorat the University of Bostonasked him what he was. Thereply was: An Indian. Theprofessor said, “You are prob-ably a Hindu. My question is— are you a Hindu Christian,a Hindu Muslim or a HinduHindu?” In other words, forthe world outside, Hindu andHinduism are the markers ofIndia’s identity.

Coming to the “Bengaliversus outsider” debate, it bearsiteration here that a prominentBengali who was born 120years ago seeded a nationalistparty that dominates Indianpolitics today. This is noneother than Syama PrasadMookerjee, a towering intellec-tual, academician and politicalleader. The party he founded,the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, wasthe only true opposition to thethen hegemonic rulingCongress. Its later avatarbecame the BJP, which not onlyrules India and has become theworld’s biggest political party,but has also decimated theonce-mighty Congress.

One must not forget thatMookerjee salvaged WestBengal and led the Hindus of

the erstwhile undivided Bengalto grab a slice of their home-land from the nefarious designsof MA Jinnah and his MuslimLeague by resisting the blatant-ly biased League’s provincialgovernment of Bengal.

Bengal’s Hindus were thesecond largest ethnic minori-ty after the Muslims in undi-vided Bengal (at nearly 42 percent) but were subjected to twohorrific rounds of genocide;the first in Calcutta in August1946, following Jinnah’s clari-on call for “direct action” (theGreat Calcutta Killings), andthen in Noakhali and Tipperadistricts of eastern Bengal inOctober that year. Nearly10,000 Hindus were massacredand thousands of Hinduwomen were raped in this orgyorchestrated by BengalPremier HS Suhrawardy him-self. Mookerjee, the indis-putable leader of Bengal’sHindus, recognised the loom-ing threat as early as in 1940when he said in Sylhet (then inAssam): “The dangers in frontof us are many; the latestaddition in the shape of amovement for Pakistan shouldnot be brushed aside lightly.Jinnah is out to destroy thevery soul of India.”

The looming danger wasthe pernicious dream of a so-called “United Bengal”, pro-

moted by Suhrawardy,Nazimuddin (ex-premier)and Fazlur Rahman (Bengal’srevenue minister), and sup-ported by Sarat Chandra Boseof the Socialist Republic Party.This “United Bengal” move-ment, a smokescreen to graball of Bengal for Pakistan, hadJinnah’s blessings. Had thisLeague plan materialised, theHindus of Bengal would havesuffered a plight similar tothat of Sindh’s Hindus whohave been left without a coun-try to call their own.

The incorporation of all ofBengal into Pakistan was foiledonly by the concerted efforts ofHindus, led resolutely byMookerjee, who formed theBengal Partition Leaguetowards the end of 1946.Governing the support of allsections of the Bengali society,League sections of commu-nists and socialists also had tosupport the partition of Bengal— the Muslim League didn’tspare Hindu communists.

The supreme irony is thatMamata might not have hadeven an identity, leave aloneState, but for the heroic effortsof Mookerjee, whose partyshe now dubs an “outsider”.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

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In replying to Mamata Didi’sallegation that the BJP is an“outsider” organisation,while she herself is the

“daughter of Bengal”, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, at aspeech in Kolkata’s BrigadeGround on March 7, remarkedthat the Trinamool had beenspawned by the Congress. TheIndian National Congress wasfounded in 1885 by a retiredbureaucrat, Allan OctavianHume, an Englishman. TheCommunist parties of Indiawere all spawns of theCommunist Party of the SovietUnion. Their ideology wasauthored entirely by the ideo-logue Karl Marx. Vladimir Leninbrought the Bolshevik Party topower with the Revolution of1917. A premier street inCalcutta celebrated Lenin’s com-ing to power by being named“Lenin Sarani”, opposite Metrocinema, near the DharamtollaStreet. Incidentally, the oldHarrington Street, where the USConsulate is situated, wasrenamed by Chief Minister JyotiBasu as “Ho Chi Minh Sarani”.

I once took a client visitingfrom Germany around the city.He found every CPM graffiti tobe a sketch of Soviet dictatorJosef Stalin and wondered: “WhyStalin, now? Is there no Indianleader attractive enough to catchvotes?” In World War II, Stalinwanted to arouse Russians tofight for their motherland, incomplete contrast to LeonTrotsky’s earlier call for a “per-manent Revolution” and KarlMarx’s Communist Manifesto,which called upon the workersof the world to unite.

Mamata Banerjee neveronce has termed these thingsfrom outside. She findsHindutva and “Jai Shri Ram” asoutsiders despite the fact that RajNarain Bose, the grandfather ofYogi Aurobindo Bose, hadcoined the term “Hindutva” in1863. Leading Bengalis, includ-ing Gurudev RabindranathTagore, were members of theaggressively Hindu AnushilanSamiti. The Samiti had becomeparticularly active after the firstpartition of Bengal in 1905, until1911, when the partition was

SOUNDBITE���������������� �����Sir — This refers to the editorial ‘Welcomestep’ (March 22). Indian courts and theirpresiding officers are expected to strike agender balance while conducting trials. Itis deeply disturbing that judges, even in thehigher courts, are displaying an insensitiveapproach towards women in sexual harass-ment cases. A judge of the Nagpur Benchof the Bombay High Court made headlinesa couple of months ago for her unusual, anduncalled for, interpretations on molestationin two cases. Strange and despicable rea-soning by High Courts makes for a sorryreading.

They reflect a chronic lack of applica-tion of mind with regard to cases that requirehigh levels of understanding and empathy.Fortunately, the Supreme Court (SC) hasstepped in to take stock of the situation. TheSC has rightly rued the acute paucity of gen-der sensitisation training among judges anddirected a module to be put in place to fillthe lacunae.

Even law students need lessons on gen-der sensitisation. How a woman looked andhow she behaved is immaterial for a judgeto come to a conclusion on a case at hand.The history of a victim should have no rel-evance to the case in question. Over theyears, reports have it that a few rapeaccused had proposed to marry their vic-tims. It would be a travesty of justice if such“proposals” become a rule and the courtsentertain them. Each case needs an unbi-ased adjudication without preconceivednotions and strictly on merit.

Ganapathi Bhat | Akola

�����������������������������Sir — Subsequent to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s mockery of USPresident Joe Biden for calling him a“killer”, the Kremlin said that it is “pre-pared for the worst” when it was askedabout the possibility of a new cold warbetween the US and Russia. When Bidenwas asked if he believed Putin was akiller, he said, “I do”, prompting Putinto counter it by saying “he who said it,

did it”. With this development, tiesbetween Moscow and Washington sankto new lows. Biden’s comments createda serious crisis between Russia and theUS in years, with Moscow recalling itsambassador for consultations and warn-ing that their ties were on the brink of“collapse”. The US and Russia feel pro-found distrust for each other since 2014.The ties deteriorated over Russia’s allegedinterference in the US elections in 2016and, more recently, when Washingtonassumed that Russian Opposition figureAlexei Navalny was poisoned with aSoviet-designed nerve agent. The latestconflict between the countries could ignitea new ‘Cold War’.

Venu GS | Kollam

����������������������������Sir — The COVID footprint is expanding

and is a cause of great concern in our coun-try. The fresh surge in cases took the num-ber of active cases past 3,45,000. This evenas the second phase of the vaccinationprocess is on full swing.

Maharashtra touched a new high forthe last four days, followed by Punjab,Karnataka and Gujarat. Tracking crucialcases is important because it reflects theactual spread of the virus in a region as wellas the load the country’s healthcare systemis currently bearing. Maharashtra record-ed its highest spike with 30,000-odd casesand nearly 100 deaths. The healthcare sys-tem is working round the clock but the peo-ple have to bear their losses and work withthe Government.

CK Subramaniam | Mumbai

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At the Trade Policy Review (TPR) meetingheld at the World Trade Organisation(WTO) in January, India insisted that a per-

manent solution for public stockholding to servethe food security objective special safeguard mea-sures (SSMs) to prevent import surges and elimi-nation of unfair farm subsidy entitlements of somemembers should be taken up on a priority basis forany farm deal that may be worked out at the 12thWTO Ministerial Conference (MC-12) scheduledto be held from November 29.

For about two decades, India has been takingup at the WTO these core agriculture issues thatare of concern to developing countries, under whathas come to be known as the Doha DevelopmentAgenda (DDA). However, it has not met with anysuccess. In fact, at the MC-10 held in Nairobi(December 2015), developed countries led by theUS and the European Union (EU) literally junkedthe DDA. Whether or not MC-12 will yield thedesired outcome, we will have to wait and see.Meanwhile, there is a need for introspection as towhere did things go wrong?

Under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)of the WTO, a developing country cannot giveaggregate measurement support (AMS) — anacronym for subsidies — in excess of 10 per centof the value of its farm production. For developedcountries, the threshold is kept at five per cent. TheAMS includes “product-specific” subsidies and“non-product specific” like subsidies on agricultur-al inputs such as fertilisers, seed, irrigation andpower. The “product-specific” subsidy is in excessof the Minimum Support Price (MSP) paid to farm-ers over the External Reference Price (ERP) mul-tiplied by the quantum of agri-produce. Whereasthe MSP is taken for the relevant year, say, 2018-19, the ERP is the average of the global price pre-vailing during 1986-88 fixed in rupee terms. If thesubsidy given by a developing country exceeds 10per cent, it will be treated as violation of its WTOcommitment.

The rationale behind putting a cap is that excesssubsidy given to farmers in any member countryhas the effect of giving unfair advantage to themin the global market by artificially lowering the priceof their food supplies — known as “trade distor-tion.” The cap is intended to prevent this.

India runs a mammoth programme of PublicStockholding (PSH) for food security purposes.Under it, agencies of the Government like the FoodCorporation of India buy agri-produce fromfarmers at the MSP and distribute it through a net-work of fair price shops to meet the needs of India’spoor and vulnerable population. Since the MSP ishigher than the ERP, the excess is deemed as sub-sidy under the AoA.

India’s argument is that supplies from the PSHare meant only for beneficiaries and not availablefor export, hence there is no question of these sup-plies causing any distortion in global trade.Therefore, it should be excluded from the calcu-lation of AMS to see if the cap is breached. The logicis sound. But the crucial question is why did Indianot press for this exemption from day one? Whydid it not insist on its inclusion in the AoA that cameinto force on January 1, 1995? That apart, even themethodology of calculating the AMS is flawed.

First, the MSP for the relevant/current year iscompared with the ERP that prevailed way back

in 1986-88. Second, quantities notprocured by Government agenciesare also considered for arriving at thesubsidy figure. Third, subsidy onagri-inputs to resource-poor farm-ers (they produce food for self-con-sumption and have no marketablesurplus) is included. These flawshave the effect of artificially inflat-ing the AMS. For instance, as per aMay 2018 submission by the US tothe WTO, during 2013-14 the IndianAMS on rice was 77 per cent againstonly 5.45 per cent it should havebeen sans these aberrations. In viewof the above, forget getting exemp-tion, the anomalies in AMS calcu-lation have made India’s PSH pro-gramme potentially susceptible toviolating WTO commitments.

The MC-9 in Bali (2013) agreedto a “peace clause” under which “ifa developing country gives AMS inexcess of 10 per cent, no member willchallenge this until 2017, when theWTO would look for a permanentsolution to address their food secu-rity concerns.” It came with severalriders such as submission of data onfood procurement, stockholding,distribution and subsidies. These alsoincluded establishing that subsidiesare not “trade distorting.”

In the WTO General Council(GC) meeting on July 31, 2014, Indiainsisted on a time-bound action planto find a permanent solution, to beexecuted before the end of the 2014

co-terminus with the approval of theTrade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)— an area of great importance todeveloped countries. This was agood strategic move but it wasabandoned midstream.

In December 2014, even as thelatter got away with the TFA, the for-mer got “extension of the peaceclause till a permanent solution wasfound.” Put simply, India had liter-ally surrendered its right to securea permanent solution; that it was“Ok” with “the benefit of peaceclause.” However, being subject to ahost of riders, even this is not auto-matically assured.

Meanwhile, the US and EUnations continue to give subsidies ata level much higher than the five percent (threshold applicable to them),yet remain compliant with the WTO.Unlike India, which subsidises agri-inputs and MSP to farmers, theyachieve the same result by makingdirect cash benefit transfers (DBT)to farmers which is exempt fromsubsidy cap obligation. In regard toSSM — it allows members to tem-porarily raise tariffs beyond the“bound levels,” — this is the maxi-mum permissible duty that a mem-ber country can impose underbound rate agreement; for instance,in case of wheat, it is 80 per cent —to deal with surging imports andresultant fall in prices.

The 2015 MC-10 in Nairobi had

recognised that developing countrieswill have the right to take recourseto it as envisaged under the HongKong Ministerial Declaration. Butthis comes nowhere near India’sdemand to amend an already exist-ing provision in Article 5 of the AoAto provide them the same benefitthat developed countries derivefrom Special (Agricultural)Safeguards (SSG).

In short, it is a case of lack of careand foresight on the part of ournegotiators at the WTO in letting aflawed formula for the AMS calcu-lation to creep into the AoA in thefirst place and a missed opportuni-ty to make corrections (2014/15) thathave led to the present precarious sit-uation for developing countries.

Even as India has flagged theseissues yet again, one wonderswhether the developed countries willagree to remove the flaws in the AoAor allow exemption for subsidiesgiven under the PSH.

The Government needs to thinkout of the box. It may consider DBTto farmers; India can give it withoutany cap and yet remain compliantwith its commitment under theWTO. However, in the currentatmosphere of anger over the threefarm laws, what will happen whenthe MSP goes (this is a natural con-comitant of introducing the DBT)?Prime Minister Narendra Modifaces a Hobson’s choice.

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India’s vaccine diplomacyis moving at a trot and hasset the pace for countering

the COVID-19 pandemic. Itwas indeed a big boost when,as part of the first virtualQuadrilateral SecurityDialogue (QSD) leaders’meeting on March 12, USPresident Joe Biden,Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison and JapanesePrime Minister YoshihideSuga decided to help Indiaproduce at least one billionvaccine doses for the Asia-Pacific region.

The Quad initiative aimsto reduce manufacturingbacklog, speed up vaccina-tion, and defeat someCoronavirus mutations. Thefunding would be from theUS and Japan and logisticalhelp would come fromAustralia.

South Block claims thatIndia has now become a “vac-

cine superpower” in tack-ling the COVID-19 crisis.The new orientation is in tunewith Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s significantforeign policy approach atprojecting India as a globalstakeholder. A Wall StreetJournal (WSJ) editorial haspraised India for its COVIDdiplomacy.

“India has emerged thesurprise leader of the globalvaccine diplomacy race. It hasexported three times moredoses than it’s given its owncitizens and can spare evenmore without hurting its ownrollout”, Eric Bellman of WSJtweeted.

New Delhi has not onlymanaged to thwart China’sCOVID diplomacy but alsoovertaken it. According to theUnited Nations (UN), Indiahas made more vaccine dona-tions than China, with overeight million doses given

away, compared to 7.3 millionfrom China. Both are makingvaccines for the rest of theworld in addition to gettingtheir vast populations inocu-lated. Chinese premier XiJinping has called Chinesemedical supplies to the‘Health Silk Road,’ a part ofChina’s ambitious Belt andRoad Initiative (BRI).According to the ChineseForeign Ministry, it plans toprovide free vaccines to 69countries and sell them to 28.

India, too, has adoptedvaccine diplomacy as part ofits foreign policy. ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankardeclared in Parliament lastweek that the ‘Vaccine Maitri(Vaccine friendship)’ pro-gramme has “raised India’sstanding and generated greatinternational goodwill.”Giving details, the Ministersaid, “In fact, we supplied 150nations with medicines, 82 of

them as grants by India. As(the production of) our ownmasks, PPEs and diagnostickits grew, we made themavailable to other nations.This generous approach...was also extended to the‘Vande Bharat Mission.’Starting from Wuhan, webrought back nationals ofother countries while looking

after our own.”“Acting East” and “acting

fast” is the new mantra forSouth Block. The ModiGovernment’s vaccine initia-tive got a boost, particularlyin the neighbouring coun-tries. For instance, strainedties with Nepal, Bangladesh,the Maldives and Sri Lankahave improved after a timelyvaccine supply. Indicating theimportance of this, Sri Lankaand Dominica’s leaders per-sonally received Indian-madevaccines at the airport, andthe Mongolian PrimeMinister took the Indian vac-cine.

All these initiatives werepossible because India’s mas-sive pharmaceutical industryaccounts for about 20 per centof the world’s generic medi-cines and more than 60 percent of all global vaccineproduction. In fact, Indiaadministered 29.74 million

doses of the anti-COVIDshots to its own citizens byMarch 15 and the inoculationdrive is in full swing.However, the rising numberof variants and a secondsurge of COVID in States likeMaharashtra, Punjab,Gujarat, Karnataka and TamilNadu is causing concern.There are some concernsabout vaccine diplomacy, too,in a few quarters. The first iswhether India will be able tomeet the demand and the sec-ond is whether the vaccinediplomacy is taking place atthe expense of the citizens ofthe country?

Union Health MinisterDr Harsh Vardhan is confi-dent that the Government hasaddressed these concerns.

The Serum Institute ofIndia (SII) — which pro-duces the Novavax and theAstraZeneca vaccines —recently raised concerns

about raw material short-ages. Its Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Adar Poonawalla,alleged, “The sharing of theseraw materials is going tobecome a critical limitingfactor — nobody has beenable to address this so far.”Another Indian manufactur-er, Biological E, which pro-duces the Johnson andJohnson vaccine, has alsoraised similar concerns. Theother worry is that the coun-try is lagging behind its tar-get. However, there is opti-mism that other vaccines inthe pipeline might ease thisburden.

Overall, the COVIDdiplomacy so far has yieldedgoodwill for India and won itsome new friends. One can’tblame South Block for ridingon the new initiative. As TheNew York Times says, theCOVID-19 vaccine is the lat-est diplomatic currency.

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POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a New Delhi-based policy

analyst. The viewsexpressed are personal.

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Former president DonaldTrump could be culpable

for his role in the January 6 USCapitol riot, an ex-top prose-cutor who previously led thecriminal investigation into theincident said.

Michael Sherwin, the for-mer acting DC US attorney,also said he believes seditioncould be a charge made against

some Capitol riot defendants,CBS News reported.

Sherwin said it was“unequivocal” that the formerpresident was “the magnet thatbrought the people to DC onthe 6th” before his supportersstormed the Capitol building.

“We have plenty of people– we have soccer moms fromOhio that were arrested saying‘Well, I did this because mypresident said I had to take

back our house,'” he told CBSNews in an interview aired onSunday.

“That moves the needletowards that direction. Maybethe president is culpable forthese actions,” he said.

Sherwin noted that otherrioters have acknowledged theywent further than Trump'sspeech.

Sherwin's candid com-ments come as he leaves his

Justice Department post lead-ing the Washington, DC pros-ecutors' office and its widening

investigation into violence atthe Capitol. He was appointedto the job during the Trumpadministration.

Attorney General MerrickGarland and Sherwin's succes-sor, acting US Attorney for DCChanning Phillips, have notdirectly addressed whetherTrump, 74, will be investigat-ed.

When asked if investigatorswere looking into Trump's role,

Sherwin responded, "We havepeople looking at everything,correct. Everything's beinglooked at."

No public officials havebeen charged with crimes relat-ed to the Capitol riot investi-gation, and prosecutors havefocused so far on bringingcriminal cases against rioterswho breached the Capitolgrounds and against membersof extremist groups who are

alleged to have coordinatedbefore the attack which left fivepeople, including a police offi-cer, dead.

The ex-President hasdenied responsibility.

Trump has faced accusa-tions, particularly fromDemocratic lawmakers, thathis call to supporters to rally inDC and march to the Capitolon the day Congress was sched-uled to confirm the Electoral

College vote sparked the vio-lence.

The former president, aRepublican, was impeachedfor a second time a week beforehis presidency ended over theinsurrection but was acquittedby the Senate.

Ten House Republicansvoted in favour of impeach-ment and seven SenateRepublicans voted to convictTrump. PTI

Yangon: The BBC said Mondaythat a journalist from itsBurmese-language service wasreleased by authorities inMyanmar but gave no details,as protesters in the SoutheastAsian nation continued theirbroad civil disobedience move-ment against last month's mil-itary coup.

The journalist, AungThura, was detained on March19 by men who appeared to beplainclothes security agentswhile reporting outside a courtin the capital of Naypyitaw.

Arrests of media workershave been part of the junta'sintensifying efforts to choke offinformation about resistance tothe February 1 coup. Some 40journalists have been arrestedsince the coup, half of whomare still in detention — includ-ing Thein Zaw of TheAssociated Press — accordingto the Myanmar-basedAssistance Association forPolitical Prisoners.

On Monday, lawmakersfrom the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations urgedregional leaders to meet anddevise a “strong and decisiveresponse” to increased vio-lence against protesters byMyanmar's military. The law-makers urged the 10-nationbloc to send a delegation along-side the U.N. Special envoy toMyanmar to help negotiate a

“democratic and human rights-based solution."

ASEAN has a policy ofnon-interference in each other'saffairs, but some regional lead-ers have rebuked the violenceand urged restraint in Myanmar.

“The Myanmar army iskilling people every day.Statements are welcome, butare useless against the military'sbullets,” said Charles Santiago,

a Malaysian lawmaker whoheads the ASEANParliamentarians for HumanRights group.

Since the military seizedpower, many citizens fromteachers to doctors, tradersand railway workers havejoined a civil disobediencemovement that uses wide-spread boycotts, strikes andother actions in an attempt to

force a return to a civilian gov-ernment.

The junta has respondedwith an increasingly brutalcrackdown and sought to limitinformation reaching the out-side world. Security forces haveopened fire on crowds andkilled hundreds, internet accesshas been severely restricted,private newspapers have beenbarred from publishing, and

protesters, journalists andpoliticians have been arrestedin large numbers.

Protesters on Monday senthundreds of red balloons intothe air in Myanmar's biggestcity, Yangon, in support ofcivilian leader Aung San SuuKyi, who was ousted in thecoup and detained. Many alsowore red shirts, the colour ofher National League forDemocracy party.

Protesters have called forforeign intervention to aidthem under the doctrine ofResponsibility to Protect —also known as R2P — devisedto deal with matters such asgenocide, war crimes, ethniccleansing and crimes againsthumanity. Attached to the bal-loons were papers with R2Pwritten on them.

Angry citizens alsomarched and chanted slogans inearly morning demonstrationsin Yangon and various parts ofthe country, while others drovein convoys and honked theirvehicles in protest.

The Assistance Associationfor Political Prisoners has veri-fied 250 deaths nationwide butsays the actual total, includingcases where verification hasbeen difficult, is probably muchhigher. It said 2,665 people havealso been arrested or chargedsince the coup, with 2,290 stilldetained or sought for arrest. AP

Berlin: German authorities areexpected to extend lockdownmeasures again on Mondayand possibly tighten somerestrictions as they face a steadyrise in new coronavirus infec-tions.

Chancellor Angela Merkeland the country's 16 state gov-ernors, who in highly decen-tralised Germany are respon-sible for imposing and liftingrestrictions, are holding avideoconference nearly threeweeks after they agreed a sev-eral-step plan paving the wayto relax some rules.

Since then, infections haveincreased steadily as the morecontagious variant first detect-ed in Britain has become dom-inant. Most lockdown restric-tions are currently set to runthrough March 28. The chan-cellery is proposing an exten-sion to April 18.

Rather than new movestoward a more normal life, onefocus now is pressing regionalofficials to use consistently an“emergency brake” mechanismunder which relaxations grant-ed in recent weeks — such asthe partial reopening ofnonessential shops — are sup-posed to be reimposed if newweekly infections in an areaexceed 100 per 100,000 resi-dents on three consecutivedays.

“Unfortunately, we will

have to make use of this emer-gency brake,” Merkel saidFriday. The weekly infectionrate per 100,000 people stoodat 107 nationwide on Monday,up from the mid-60s threeweeks ago.

Officials also face the ques-tion of what to do about Easterholidays. Restaurants, barsand many leisure facilities inGermany have been shut sinceearly November, and hotelsclosed for tourists.

At the same time,Germany's criteria for assessingthe virus situation abroadmeant that a travel warning forparts of Spain was lifted earli-er this month, prompting amuch-criticized surge of book-ings to the popular vacationisland of Mallorca.

There have been calls forpeople returning even fromplaces abroad that aren'tdeemed “risk areas” to faceobligatory tests and quarantine.

The government hasstressed that it continues to dis-courage tourist trips.

Drawing up legally water-tight rules also has been aheadache at times. A court inGermany's most populousstate, North Rhine-Westphalia,said Monday it had struckdown rules requiring peoplewanting to go to some shops toget appointments beforehand.It said they violated a require-

ment that businesses get equaltreatment. Meanwhile,Germany is trying to speed upits vaccination campaign aftera slow start. On Friday, Merkeland the state governors agreedto gradually bring on boardordinary doctors' practices justafter Easter. So far, Germanyhas largely relied on specialvaccination centers.

As of Saturday, 8,7 percent of the population hadreceived at least a first dose ofvaccine and 3.9 per cent hadreceived both doses. AP

Brussels: The European Unionon Monday imposed sanctionson 11 officials in Myanmar,mostly top military officers,accused of involvement in lastmonth's coup and the violentcrackdown on peaceful protest-ers that followed.

Ten of the 11 targeted withasset freezes and travel bans aresenior members of theMyanmar Armed Forces,including Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, andDeputy-Commander-in-Chief,Soe Win, EU headquarters saidin a statement.

The other heads the electioncommission and is accused overhis role in cancelling last year'spolls.

Myanmar's military juntaprevented Parliament from con-vening on Feb. 1. It claimed thatlast November's elections, wonby Aung San Suu Kyi's party ina landslide, were tainted byfraud. The election commissionthat confirmed the victory hassince been replaced by the junta.

The coup reversed years ofslow progress toward democra-cy in Myanmar after five decadesof military rule. In the face ofpersistent strikes and protestsagainst the takeover, the juntahas responded with an increas-ingly violent crackdown andefforts to limit the informationreaching the outside world. AP

Shanghai: New York Universitysaid Monday it was seekingmore information from Chineseauthorities after nine studentsfrom its Shanghai campus weretemporarily detained in whatappeared to be police dragnetfor drug suspects.

A statement from the uni-versity said two students wereheld as part of a police actionoutside a bar and the otherseven were at a birthday partyat an off-campus apartment onMarch 12 when police arrivedand brought all present in fordrug testing.

“None of the students werefound to have used or been inpossession of drugs and nonewere arrested,” NYU Shanghaisaid in a statement. China hostsa large number of foreign stu-dents, a number increased bythe opening of satellite cam-puses by British and Americanuniversities.

“Being brought in for test-ing as part of a drug sweep wasunderstandably frightening forour students ... Since then wehave continued to provide sup-port for the affected students,"said a statement from the schoolsent to The Associated Press onMonday.

Police who arrived at thebirthday party were apparently

looking for a specific individualbut it wasn't clear who that wasand no one was arrested. Thestudents at the bar that samenight told school authoritiesthat, upon leaving the venue,they were approached by a per-son wearing plainclothes whoshowed a badge they did notrecognise.

One tried to leave, bothwere detained and sufferedminor injuries, and all other barpatrons and staff, all of themChinese citizens, were alsodetained and subjected to drugtesting.

The students were allreleased by the next morningafter their drug tests came backnegative, NYU said. Six of thestudents were American whilethe other three came fromFinland, Malaysia and Morocco.

“We are currently seekingmore information from cityauthorities to better understandlast weekend's police actions,"the university's statement said.There was no immediateresponse to requests for com-ment from the Shanghai police.People caught using recreationaldrugs such as marijuana andcocaine can be locked up formonths or longer in China,while dealers can receive thedeath sentence. AP

Brussels: The European Unionon Monday imposed sanctionson four Chinese officialsaccused of responsibility forabuses against Uyghur Muslimsin a raft of measures targetingalleged human rights offendersaround the world, despitewarnings that Beijing couldretaliate.

The four are senior officialsin the northwest region of

Xinjiang.The sanctions involve a

freeze on their assets in the EUand a ban on them traveling inthe bloc. European citizensand companies are not per-mitted to provide them withfinancial assistance.

China at first denied theexistence of camps for detain-ing Uyghurs in the northwestregion of Xinjiang but has

since described them as centersto provide job training andreeducate those exposed toradical jihadi thinking. Officialsdeny all charges of humanrights abuses in the north-western region.

Xinjiang had been a hotbedof anti-government violence,but Beijing claims its massivesecurity crackdown broughtpeace in recent years. AP

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Seoul: South KoreanUnification Minister Lee In-young on Monday renewedhis support to resume human-itarian aid to North Korea.

Lee made the remark dur-ing a meeting with the chief ofthe Korean Council forReconciliation andCooperation, a South Koreanpro-unification civic group,Xinhua news agency reported.

The Minister said that thegovernment agrees "in princi-ple" to the need for the resump-tion of the private sector'shumanitarian assistance toNorth Korea, vowing to reviewit sufficiently and rapidly.

Lee, however, noted thatthere remained issues to beconsidered, including the ongo-ing Covid-19 pandemic.

Lee Jong-joo, theUnification Ministryspokesperson, told a regularbriefing that the government

maintained a basic positionthat it is necessary to continuethe humanitarian assistance inthe private sector.

The comment came afterKim Yo-jong, North Koreanleader Kim Jong-un's sister,slammed South Korea for goingahead with its summertimejoint military drills with the US.

She threatened to scrap atension-easing military dealand also disband theCommittee for the PeacefulReunification of the Countryhandling cross-border affairsand dialogue, reports YonhapNews Agency.

Pyongyang has repeatedlyrejected offers for help fromSouth Korea to ease its foodpaucity amid tense inter-Korean relations. Kim Jong-unhad earlier urged his officialsnot to receive outside help onworries about the spread ofCovid-19 in the country. IANS

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More than 2 million signa-tures were collected in

Hong Kong in support ofimproving the city's electoralsystem during an 11-day cam-paign.

Addressing the media onSunday, Tam Yiu-chung, thechief convener of the campaign,said that some 1.17 millionpeople have signed the petitiononline and some 1.21 millionhave written their names at

promotional booths on thestreet, reports Xinhua newsagency.

Over 210,000 invalid sig-natures were identified andremoved.

Tam said he was moved bythe wide participation of HongKong residents from all walksof life, including students.

The campaign began onMarch 11, when the NationalPeople's Congress (NPC)Standing Committee, China'stop legislature, adopted a deci-

sion on improving the electoralsystem of the city.

Improving the electoralsystem is the common voice ofHong Kong people as the cityneeds to refocus on develop-ment, Starry Lee Wai-king,

chairperson of the DemocraticAlliance for the Bettermentand Progress of Hong Kong,said.

The campaign involvedover 1,300 organizations and5,300 volunteers.���� �?7-?7

UK Prime Minister BorisJohnson will speak to lead-

ers of the European Union (EU)over the phone to discuss a banon the Oxford-AstraZenecaCovid-19 vaccine exports tothe country, a media reportsaid.

The BBC report said thatJohnson will make the calls thisweek in a bid "to persuade them

to veto any proposal that wouldprevent vaccine exports fromentering the UK".

The latest f lashpointappears to be over doses madein a Dutch factory, the reportsaid. Some of the leaders thePrime Minister is likely tospeak with are FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macronand German ChancellorAngela Merkel, according toBritish officials quoted by theFinancial Times.

On Thursday, the EU lead-ers will hold a virtual meeting todiscuss the ban on exports of thejabs to the UK which comesafter they faced widespreadfaced criticism for the slow paceof the vaccine rollout on the con-tinent. The BBC report said thatless than 12 per cent of the bloc'spopulation is reported to havebeen inoculated against thevirus, compared with nearly 40per cent in the UK.

According to EuropeanCommission President Ursulavon der Leyen, the EU hasexported 41 million vaccinedoses to 33 countries in sixweeks, with more than 10 mil-lion jabs to the UK.

In a warning last week, shesaid that the EU can "forbid" vac-cines made on the continentbeing sent to the UK if exportsfrom Britain do not improve.

Regarding the ongoing dis-pute, the UK's Defence SecretaryBen Wallace told the BBC onSunday that the EU should not"build walls" which would "onlydamage both EU citizens andUK".

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Niamey: At least 40 peoplewere killed when a group ofarmed assailants attacked sev-eral villages in Niger's Tahouaregion near the border withMali, a government spokesper-son said on Monday.

S p o k e s p e r s o nAbdoulraman Zakaria said thatsoldiers were sent to the regionand fought the attackers,reports dpa news agency.

It was not known who wasbehind the attack. Numerousarmed groups are active inNiger and in the neighbouringSahel countries. Some havesworn allegiance to the IslamicState terror group, while othersare linked to Al Qaeda.

In the Mali border region

there have been recurringattacks.

A week ago, at least 58 peo-ple were killed in an attack onmarket traders in the region ofTillaberi, the government said.

Niger has also seen demon-strations after the recent pres-idential election.

At the end of February, theelectoral commission declaredformer Foreign MinisterMohamed Bazoum, a closeally of outgoing PresidentMahamadou Issoufou, the win-ner with almost 56 per cent ofthe vote. Former President andopposition candidateMahamane Ousmane slammedthe result as fraudulent andclaims he is the winner. IANS

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Finance Minster NirmalaSitharaman on Monday

introduced the National Bankfor Financing Infrastructureand Development (NaBFID)Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha topave the way for setting up ofa government-owned devel-opment finance institution tohelp fund about 7,000 infraprojects under the NationalInfrastructure Pipeline.

The proposed legislationwill give effect to the Budgetannouncement made by thefinance minister on February 1.The government has proposedRs 20,000 crore to capitalise the

institution. The Union Cabinet had

last week approved the Budgetproposal of setting up a devel-opment finance institution(DFI), which will have taxbenefits to enable fund raisingfrom investors.

The National Bank forFinancing Infrastructure andDevelopment will be set upwith a corpus of Rs 20,000crore and the government willgive an initial grant of Rs 5,000crore.

The government expectsthe DFI to leverage this fund toraise up to Rs 3 lakh crore inthe next few years.

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The RBI on Mondayannounced setting up a

Standing External AdvisoryCommittee (SEAC) for evalu-ating applications for universalbanks and small finance banksunder former central bankdeputy governor ShyamalaGopinath. The RBI had issuedguidelines for ‘on tap’ licensingof universal banks in the pri-vate sector in August 2016 andguidelines for ‘on tap’ licensingof small finance banks in theprivate sector in December

2019. The guidelines indicatedthat the applications for uni-versal banks and small financebanks will be initially screenedby the Reserve Bank to ensureprima facie eligibility of theapplicants.

It was also stated that aStanding External AdvisoryCommittee, comprising emi-nent persons with experiencein banking, financial sectorand other relevant areas, willevaluate the applications there-after and that the constitutionof the SEAC will be announcedby Reserve Bank.

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Equity benchmark Sensexdeclined 87 points on

Monday, tracking losses inindex majors HDFC Bank,ICICI Bank and RelianceIndustries amid a weak trend inglobal markets.

After slumping over 570points in mid-afternoon trade,the 30-share BSE index recov-ered some lost ground to endat 49,771.29, down 86.95 pointsor 0.17 per cent.

On similar lines, thebroader NSE Nifty dipped 7.60points or 0.05 per cent to14,736.40.

IndusInd Bank was the toploser in the Sensex pack, shed-ding 4.33 per cent, followed byPowerGrid, ICICI Bank, HDFCBank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Financeand SBI.

On the other hand, TechMahindra, TCS, Sun Pharma,Infosys and HCL Tech wereamong the gainers.

Global markets reeled andthe Turkish lira plunged to nearrecord lows after PresidentTayyip Erdogan unexpectedlyreplaced the country’s centralbank governor, shockinginvestors and stoking fears ofcapital controls.

"Indian markets opened

weak with marginal decline fol-lowing mixed to negative cuesfrom its Asian market peers asinvestors watched the weaken-ing Turkish lira and fears of risein cases due to COVID viruswhich increased volatility inmarkets.

"During the afternoon ses-sion, the markets extendedtheir losses and sentiments

were dented due to majordampener in the form of fast-rising COVID-19 cases...Restricted economic activity inthese regions may impact theoptimistic growth projectionsfor FY22," said NarendraSolanki, Head- EquityResearch (Fundamental),Anand Rathi.

��� � 785�-8�96

Central Government’s taxcollections on petrol and

diesel have jumped over 300per cent in the last six years asexcise duty on the two fuels washiked, the Lok Sabha wasinformed on Monday.

The Central Governmentcollected �29,279 crore fromexcise duty on petrol and�42,881 crore on diesel in 2014-15 - the first year of office of theModi Government. The col-lections on petrol and dieselrose to �2.94 lakh crore in thefirst 10 months of the currentfiscal (2020-21), according toinformation furnished by

Minister of State Anurag SinghThakur in a written reply to aquestion in the Lok Sabha.

Together with excise dutyon natural gas, the central gov-ernment in 2014-15 collected�74,158 crore which has goneup to �2.95 lakh crore in April2020 to January 2021 period.

He said taxes collected onpetrol, diesel and natural gas asa percentage of total revenuehave gone up from 5.4 per centin 2014-15 to 12.2 per cent thisfiscal.Excise duty on petrol hasbeen raised from �9.48 per litrein 2014 to �32.90 a litre nowwhile the same on diesel hasgone up from �3.56 a litre to �31.80.

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Strong GDP growth in FY22will drive logistics demand,

India Ratings and Researchsaid.

According to the agency,strong-to-moderate recoveryis already being witnessedacross various logistics sub-sec-tors.

Besides, commissioning ofthe Dedicated Freight Corridorcould boost volumes and effi-ciencies across ports as well asinland container depot/con-tainer freight station players.

As per Ind-Ra report,major ports’ year-on-year vol-ume growth has been positivefor the past three months,

while private ports have alsoreported resilient volumes in9MFY21.

"In FY22, Ind-Ra estimatesan 8 per cent YoY improvementin volumes for India ports sec-tor (major + private ports), postan estimated 4 per cent yoydecline in FY21."

"The 8 per cent YoY risewill be led by private ports,which in the past five yearshave displayed a median mul-tiplier (vs real GDP growthrate) of ‘1.4x’, thus outper-forming growth from majorports. Historically, India’s portsvolumes have closely followedGDP growth, with containergrowth coming in ‘2x’ of over-all cargo volumes."

���� 785�-8�96�

The Parliament on Mondayapproved the Bill to

increase Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) limit in theinsurance sector from 49 percent to 74 per cent with the LokSabha passing the proposed lawby a voice vote. Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanasserted that raising the FDIcap in the insurance sector wasnecessary to help insurers dealwith issues concerning finan-cial stress.

The Insurance(Amendment) Bill, 2021 waspassed by Rajya Sabha lastweek.

Strongly opposing the bil,Congress said the decision tohike the FDI limit was like a“somersault” by the BJP whichhad persistently opposedincrease the proposal when itwas in the opposition. ShivSena too opposed the bill.

Moving the Bill, theFinance Minister said the

insurance companies are facingsolvency related issues. "ifgrowth capital is hard to comeby, there will be a stress situ-ation. In order that the stresssituation is not left unattended,we need to raise the FDI limit."

Hiking the FDI limit in theinsurance sector will helpinsurers raise additional fundsand tide over the financialproblems, she said.

The minister said the gov-ernment will provide funds tothe public sector insurancecompanies but private playerswill have to raise capital ontheir own.

The COVID-19 pandemic,Sitharaman said, has furtheradded to the woes of insurancecompanies. She furthersaid the FDI limit was beingraised on the recommendationsof insurance regulator IRDAIwhich has done extensive con-sultations with the stakehold-ers. The FDI limit in the insur-ance sector, the minister said,has increased significantly afterthe government decided toraise the cap from 26 per centto 49 per cent in 2015. As muchas Rs 26,000 crore has come asFDI in the sector since 2015,she said, adding the asset under

management (AUM) in thissector has grown by 76 per centduring the last five years.

In here reply Sitharamandetailed how some insurancecompanies deal with life whileothers deal with GeneralInsurance like health, agricul-ture or agriculture insurance. “There are four companies inpublic sector and 22 in privatesector for general insurance .There are seven public sectorinsurance companies while 61private sector companies .And money should be availableto them to do business”, shesaid. “ Your can insure your lifewith just Rs 1 a day . That’sbecause of the universe hasexpanded”, she said.

“ The government assuresthe employment of LIC . Butwhat about employees in theprivate sector ?”, the financeminister asked.

Initiating the debate onthe bill, Manish Tewari (Cong)said when the BJP was in theopposition, it opposed anincrease in FDI. He said thethen UPA government couldnot breach the wall put by lateSushma Swaraj and ArunJaitely in both Houses ofParliament.

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The Indian rupee continuedits winning run for the third

straight session on Monday,adding another 15 paise toclose at 72.37 against the USdollar as some stability in crudeoil prices and sustained foreignfund inflows kept investor sen-timent upbeat. At the interbankforex market, the local unitopened at 72.47 against thegreenback and gained further totouch an intra-day high of72.34. It finally ended at 72.37against the American currency,registering a rise of 15 paise overits previous close.

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Gold in the national capitaltumbled by �302 to

�44,269 per 10 grams onMonday, reflecting overnightdecline in global gold pricesand rupee appreciation, accord-ing to HDFC Securities.In theprevious trade, it had closed at�44,571 per 10 grams. Silveralso tanked �1,533 to �65,319per kg, from �66,852 in the pre-vious trade.

In the international mar-ket, gold was trading margin-ally up at USD 1,731 per ouncewhile silver was trading lowerat USD 25.55 per ounce.

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Down syndrome is a genet-ic condition that results

when there is an extra copy ofa specific chromosome, chro-mosome 21. It is not an illnessbut a term that describes thefeatures resulting from thischange. The extra chromosomecan affect the physical features,intellect, low IQ and overalldevelopment of an individual.It also increases the likelihoodof some health problems.

There can be impairments incognitive ability and physicalgrowth, mild to moderate devel-opmental disabilities, and a high-er risk of some health problems.Through a series of screeningsand tests, Down syndrome canbe detected before or after birth.

Causes: Down syndromehappens when there is an extracopy of genetic material on all orpart of the 21st chromosome.Every cell in the body containsgenes that are grouped alongchromosomes in the cell’s nucle-us. There are normally 46 chro-mosomes in each cell, 23 inher-

ited from the mother and 23from the father. When some orall of a person’s cells have anextra full, or partial, copy ofchromosome 21, the result isDown syndrome.

Symptoms: Down syn-drome is not a disease, so it maybe more appropriate to refer tofeatures or characteristics, ratherthan symptoms. People withDown syndrome often have dis-tinct physical features, uniquehealth issues, and variability incognitive development.

��3����' ��� Physical characteristics

include:�Eyes that have an upward

slant, oblique fissures, epicanth-ic skin folds on the inner corner,and white spots on the iris.

�Low muscle tone and poorbody posture, small stature andshort neck

�Flat nasal bridge�Single, deep creases across

the centre of the palm �Protruding tongue

�Large space between thelarge and second toe

�A single flexion furrow ofthe fifth finger

�Denture problem Important food and nutri-

ents: There are always someslight chances of improvement inany kind of condition, if weentertain few basic changes inour daily routine, let’s say, startfrom the dietary habits like:

�Try to keep your mealgluten free as much as you canfor e.g., wheat and barley.

�Have more protein in yourdiet for e.g., bajra, jawar, ragi,amaranth, quinoa, Spirulina,nutritional yeast, eggs & non-vegare mandatory.

�Vitamin C rich diets forgood dental & oral health.

�For less irritated moodice cream, chocolates indifferentforms like hot or cold chocolatedrinks can be given.

�Give foods which theyenjoy and relish.

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�������� ��� Pumpkinseeds are typically flat andasymmetrically oval, have awhite outer husk and arelight green in colour afterthe husk is removed.

The seeds are rich inantioxidants like carotenoidsand Vitamin E.

Antioxidants canreduce inflamma-tion and pro-tect yourc e l l sf r o mh a r m f u lfree radi-c a l s .That’s whyconsumingfoods richin antioxi-dants can helpprotect against

many diseases.They are also high in fibre

that is known for promotingdigestive health. Not only thisthe seeds are rich in magne-sium. Consuming adequatemagnesium levels result inbetter sleep.

The presence of highamounts of antioxidants and

phytochemicalsensure a good

immune sys-tem andf u r t h e rreduce thepossibilityof viralinfec t ions

that maylead to

cold, f lu,fatigue and other

ailments.

With the change in sea-son and increase intemperature, many arecomplaining of sore

throat, cough and cold. Those whohave a rougher patch are also suf-fering from fever and flu-like symp-toms. Living in the shadow ofCOVID-19, many are scared if thisis normal or if this is going to makethem catch the pandemic virusmore easily than others.

Cough and cold as well as feel-ing feverish are common healthproblems associated with seasonalchanges — especially when summerfollows winter. This is because as thetemperature increases, pathogens —viruses and bacteria causing thesediseases — become more active.The warm air is light, unlike win-ter air that is cold and sits heavy,helps in carrying pollen and dan-der that cause allergic reactions.This increases the chance of sneez-ing and coughing in people who aresusceptible to allergic conditions.

According to research, mostadults suffer from cold two-fourtimes a year while children sufferfive to seven times. Every changein season sees up to 200 pathogensin the air that may cause a range ofsymptoms such as watery eyes,sore throat, sneezing, and mucusdraining from nose into throat,fever, and muscle ache. The mostcommon virus is human rhinovirus(HRV) that causes up to 40 per centof all colds and allergic reactions likerhinitis.

Prevention:As it is often said, prevention is

better than cure. Work towardsbuilding immunity in consultationwith your doctor. Following are afew tips that can help to prevent sea-sonal diseases:

�Practice good hygiene asviruses like rhinovirussurvive for 3hours outside the body.On fre-quently touched surfaces like door-knobs or switches, it can stay up to48 hours. Wash your hands after

touching any such surface andavoid touching your face. Use a facemask outdoors.

�Massage your throat withhot water and a pinch of salt into itas a cure to sore throat.

�Drinking hot beverages suchas lukewarm water but avoid coffeeand tea as they can add sugar intoyour diet.

�Make a concoction of turmer-ic powder, ginger powder and a tea-spoon of honey to warm water. It

helps curing cold and cough,relieves body ache and headache.

�Add eucalyptus oil to thehot water and inhale the steaminhalation to clear congestion in thenasal passage. Add a few drops toyour lukewarm bath water to recov-er from body pain.

�Add a few tulsi leaves, crushedginger, and black pepper in your teafor relief from cough and cold.

�Make sure you are doingmoderate exercise everyday.

�Do not miss your daily doseof vitamin-D, get out in the sun for15 minutes a day.

�Sleep is an integral part ofwellness — ensure eight hours ofsleep at night for better immunity.

Apart from this, one shouldtake balance diet with adequateintake of water along with fooditems which are rich in vitamin Cso that they can fight with healthconditions that happen because ofweather change. As we areapproaching towards summer sea-son, the chances of dehydration alsoincreases in kids especially infantsif fluids aren't given adequately withsuch illness.

There is a subset of children,who are quite sensitive to changingweather conditions. These are thosechildren who have the family his-tory of asthma. These childrenshould adhere to the guidelines ofregular hand washing, social dis-tancing and wearing mask.

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An insulin disorder that affects over 450 million people acrossthe world, Diabetes Mellitus is one of the leading causes of

death worldwide. In India alone, over 70 million people are esti-mated to be living with Diabetes. Poor disease management andineffective blood sugar control is a major risk factor for a seriesof life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular, strokes andrenal disease. In fact, Diabetes is a major cause of vision loss,kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and amputations.Worrisomely, the incidence of this lifestyle disorder has growntremendously over the past three decades largely due tounhealthy lifestyles.

Naturopathic interventions such as diet management, yoga,lifestyle alterations and acupuncture can play a significant rolein controlling the Diabetes pandemic. Adopting a naturopath-ic way of life not only helps patients keep their blood sugar levelunder control, but also help them reduce their dosage of allo-pathic drugs.

Acupunture as a Diabetes control interventionThis ancient Chinese practice is based on the belief that a

life energy also known as qi flows through our bodies throughcertain pathways, thereby regulating health and vitality. Whenthe flow of this vital energy is obstructed due to some reason,the body experiences diseases. Acupuncture uses a practice ofinserting pins and needles on strategic points on the body to

remove the obstruction andrevive the flow of energythrough our organs. There arearound 1000 acupuncturepoints in the human body.

Acupuncture is an effectivetherapy for Diabetes, especial-ly for Type II Diabetics. Ithelps regulate the pancreaticfunction and control bloodsugar levels in the body. Theresult is better glycemic controland improved overall health.

Mainly two types ofacupuncture practices are usedto treat Diabetes — elec-troacupuncture and wrist-ankletreatment. The former is themost common form of treat-ment in which needles are

pierced at trigger points. Then a low-frequency electrical vari-ation is transferred from one needle to another that helps fightinsulin resistance. Wrist-ankle treatment is most effective in bring-ing down the sugar levels and focuses on deep stimulation of thetrigger points.

However, several myths and misconceptions about acupunc-ture prevent many people from receiving its benefits. We demys-tify some common myths related to acupuncture here.

Myth: Its painful.Fact: The mere thought of needles being pierced into the skin

leaves many people petrified, but acupuncture isn’t as painful asyou think it to be. The needles used for acupuncture are verythin and you feel very little or almost no discomfort while theyare inserted. Many patients don’t even realise when the needlesare being pierced into their body.

Myth: Doctors don’t recommend this. Fact: The World Health Organisation and National Institutes

of Health have recognised acupuncture as an effective therapyfor treating not just pain but also several other conditions likeDiabetes. A number of modern medicine practitioners also pre-scribe acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy along with the reg-ular medicines particularly to patients displaying poor glycemiccontrol.

Myth: It has side effects. Fact: Acupuncture is absolutely safe when performed by a

certified acupuncture practitioner. Side effects are almost neg-ligible or only minor such as soreness, minor bleeding in somecases or dizziness.

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The long tedious work-ing hours as a result ofwork from home has

for sure given us all one thing— dark circles under theeyes. Fret not. Thereare several naturalways by whichone can get ridof them easi-ly.

One ofthe simplestway is to usetomato. Thefruit that isused as a veg-etable, has naturalbleaching propertiesthat lightens skin effectively.

To make a mixture, takeon teaspoon of tomato juicewith one and a half teaspoonof lemon juice. Apply thismixture on your dark circlesand wait for 10 minutes.Wash with cool water. Do

this for a couple of weeks tosee results.

One can also take helpfrom potatoes. Grate a cou-ple of chilled potatoes and

extract the juice. Soak acotton ball in the

juice and place iton your closedeyes. The cot-ton shouldcovers thedark circles.Wait for 15minutes and

rinse well withwater. Do this

for two-threeweeks.

Rosewater not only helpsrejuvenate the skin but canalso reduce dark circles. Forbest results, soak two cottonpads in rose water and placethem on closed eyelids.Repeat the process for atthree weeks.

Dark circles are not onlyannoying, but unpleasing

too. ROSHANI DEVI shareshome remedies that can

help treat it without havingto put in too much efforts

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As much as we love splashing thecolours on each other, we know wehave to deal with the repercussionsof the damage done during Holi.

Here are some of the pre and post Holi tipsthat can be followed to have a smoother sail-ing boat when it comes to getting rid of thecolours and helping the skin gain back thelost moisture and hydration.

Pre-Holi skincare:A thick layer of moisturiser: We are all

well aware that the colours that are usedduring Holi contain a lot of chemicals.These chemicals harm the skin and some-times may even cause skin allergies. It wouldbe ideal to cover not just your face but alsoyour body with a thick layer of moisturis-er that locks in the moisture of the body.This helps the skin stay moisturised and actsas the base layer.

Don’t miss your sunblock: It is manda-tory that sunblock is used as Holi is an out-door festival and we all love runningaround under the sun on this day. Addingsunblock which is SPF 30+ can help the skinfrom tanning and sun damage. Apply yoursunscreen at least 20 mins before you stepout for it to work effectively.

Apply olive oil to the skin and rubaway any excess oil: Applying olive oilbefore you step out would be a smart choiceas the oil’s lubricant nature helps in the elim-ination of the colour post the celebration.It helps as a barrier between the skin andthe colour, although it doesn’t eliminatefully, it makes the exfoliation process easy.

Cover your body as much as you canto avoid the colour on the skin: It wouldbe a good idea to cover the body as muchas you can to minimise the direct contactof the colour to the body.

Post Holi: It is ideal to splash cold water instead

of hot or lukewarm water as it makes ittougher to get rid of the colour. Cold waterhelps in dissolving the colour better thanhot water. Hot water in general is not goodfor the skin as it strips away the moistureof the skin. A facewash that has foam is abetter bet to help remove the colour. Thefoam generated helps in removing the dirtparticles on the top layer of the skin.

Apply olive oil all over your face or bodyand let it settle for a half-hour which willhelp in washing away the colours and dustparticles. Wash away everything with aproper cleanser or body gel that has foam.Intense scrubbing and washing dries out theskin. Apply a thick layer of moisturiser andsunscreen to avoid loss of moisture in thescreen. Hydration for the skin is very impor-tant, lack of hydration makes the skin lookdry, old and wrinkly. To combat this andpamper your skin, the following can bedone.

Volite or Hydra Boosters: Volite is askin conditioning gel containingHyaluronic Acid & has been designed toimprove the condition of the skin.Hyaluronic Acid works like a magnet formoisture, making your skin feel & appearplump, healthy & radiant. Volite lasts forsix to nine months and a perfect solutionfor hydration.

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Menstruation is a naturalbodily function and yet

period shame along with lack ofaccess to menstrual health andeducation continue to hold mil-lions of girls and women back tothis day. With the Covid-19 pan-demic, the situation has onlyworsened with even morerestricted access to safe periodproducts, menstrual healthawareness and education. TheBody Shop, sets out to partnerwith CRY – Child Rights andYou, a leading Indian non-prof-it organisation, to make realchange by raising awarenessabout Periods, Period Shameand the impact of Period Shame.Through this partnership, TheBody Shop aims to normalisethe conversation around periodsand raise funds towards men-strual health and educationefforts for communicated deeplyaffected by the pandemic.

Periods are normal butIndia’s statistics around it are not:20% of girls in rural India leaveschools after getting their firstperiod. This is a direct conse-quence of social stigma, shame,isolation and poor access to safemenstrual products and dispos-al facilities. Poor menstrualhygiene leading to 70% increasein incidents of reproductivetract infections.

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Almost every individualeagerly waits for Holi. It isone of the most anticipat-

ed festivals of the year. Isn’t it?Well, it usually happens that in theexcitement of playing, peopledon’t realise the damage thecolours cause to their skin, evenif they are natural. But there’s noneed to worry as there are easyways this can be managed by fol-lowing a pre and post-Holi beau-ty regime. Well, a basic regime isa must for day-to-day skincare likecleansing, toning and moisturis-ing. However, the festival calls fora unique skincare session.

Here is the list for preppingyour skin pre-Holi:

� The first thing that can be doneis applying a sheet mask which isnothing less than ice. It helps theskin to wake up, hydrate, tighten,and prepares it for the next step.If time permits, you can also optfor a frozen spoon signature mas-sage for any festive day. You can,of course, also use a simple icecube and rub it on the face gen-tly.� Must ensure applying an anti-ageing serum. You can apply anyof your favourite serum. Then,layer it with nourishing face mois-turiser.� The next step is to apply sun-screen. Also, don’t forget to checkits SPF. Use as per your skin need.It’s best to choose a sunscreen withbroad-spectrum UV protection ofat least SPF 30.� It is important to not forget theeye contour area, apply someprimer on the eyelid. You can usesome vaseline as well. Put it underthe eye, at the corner of your ears,hairline and inside of nails.� A dark shade of nail paint onyour nails is recommended sincenails tend to catch colours faster

and it takes longer to come off.� Lips are the most sensitive partof your body. They have no oilglands that is why they are proneto chipping and flaking. Protectthem with your favourite lip balm

or vaseline.

After having an amazing time,you must be worried about goingto work without looking blue,green, pink or yellow. Well, here

is the post-Holi routine you mustfollow:

� The first and the foremostthing people should do is put anample amount of body oil from

top to toe. Coconut oil is also agreat option. Let it soak in beforetaking a shower. Those who haveafter sun cream can opt for that aswell. It will allow the skin to calmdown.� If you feel any skin burn, tryapplying aloe vera gel on theaffected area.� After 30 minutes or so, gentlyexfoliation or scrub your skin withcoffee or coconut granules. Makesure you do not over rub the skinto get rid of the colours. Be as gen-tle as possible. There is a possibil-ity the skin may burn or gettanned. Overdoing it may give anadverse effect on the skin.� While exfoliating your body,apply a calming and cooling facemask to your face. It can be madenaturally with basic ingredientslike aloe vera gel, rose water,besan, honey, saffron strands anda few drops of milk. Leave it on for10 minutes and gently remove itwith cold water. Avoid hot waterfor a shower for the next 12 hoursor so.� Post shower, apply cucumberwater or toner as per your skintype on your face.� Also, for the body, go with agenerous amount of moisturiser.�Don’t forget to remove your nailpaint. Also, you can get a mani-cure done. Another alternation isto soak your nails in a tub of luke-warm water with some sea salt andlime. It will help you get rid of allthe impurities.

Organic colours are madefrom naturally occurring sub-stances. Therefore, they are lesslikely to cause any skin irritations.Hence, always remember to optfor natural colours. Continue todrink an ample amount of waterand stay hydrated all the time.

(The writer is the TechnicalHead-Skin, Enrich salon.)

Recently, a brand of sleep-aid prod-ucts reached out to some of India’s

leading CEOs to learn about theirsleeping habits. Surprisingly enough,the study found that, while shoulder-ing the gigantic responsibility to growtheir empires and hectic schedules, amajority of the respondents are man-aging enough sleep in day-to-day life.

Losing sleep over work mightseem like a commendable characteris-tic, but it does have a significantimpact on one’s physical and mentalhealth. On the other hand, soundsleep leads to better productivity andconcentration, lower risk of weightgain, greater athletic performance,and lower risk of heart disease, depres-sion, and burnout. Contrary to how thelockdown phase has been with workfrom home overpowering the work-lifebalance, Indian CEOs have managed tofind refuge in meditation, yoga andother forms of physical activity to com-pete with the ongoing stress and arealso ensuring sufficient sleep cycles asa part of their daily routine.

From one of the few surveyed com-panies, Trade India’s COO SandipChettri follows a very disciplined rou-tine and fixed work schedule. Whenasked, if he experiences trouble fallingasleep, he responded, “No, as I practiceyoga and meditation which helps mefall asleep easily.”

The insights pointed towards thefact that most industry leaders preferfixed sleeping hours and try to achievea long and deep sleep. Most of therespondents, who are founders, co-founders, CEOs, etc, try to get an aver-age of seven to eight hours of sleep.However, many of the leaders respond-ed that they experience difficultyfalling asleep since their mind is active.While some nights, work thoughts dis-turb their sleep, this doesn’t happenevery day.

Pritesh Talwar, CEO, Livpure Sleep,said, “I think that if you are waking upfresh and energised, you had a soundsleep. I have a fixed sleep schedule andgenerally sleep around seven to eighthours every night. I like to start my dayearly so I fall asleep between 10-11 pmand start my day at six in the morning.I have made it a point to follow theschedule to make sure that otherthings fall in line and now my body has

also become used to it. If I am awakepast 12, my body starts resisting andhints at getting to bed as it’s past bed-time.”

Speaking on the quality of sleep, headded, “Usually, I do not find any trou-ble falling asleep during the night. Afew exceptions could be when I amtravelling or sleeping on an unfamil-iar mattress. During the day, I do thinka quick 15-minute nap makes you fresh

and re-energises you for the rest of theday. However, longer sleep during theday disturbs your system and does notlet you function properly. It’s advisedto have a long sleep only during thenight.”

Along the same lines, Arpi Mehta,co-founder of Toothsi, said, “Once youwake up from a sound sleep, you feelinvigorated. If you wake up tired orgroggy, that’s an indicator of otherwise.I’d advise everyone to follow a fixedschedule to avoid feeling tired through-out the day but, unfortunately, due tomy lifestyle and commitments, I amnot able to adhere to one. Being anentrepreneur, stress makes it hard tosleep. While I do wish to completeeight hours of sleep daily, sometimesit becomes impossible which is whenpower naps come to the rescue.”

Jatin Varma, the founder of ComicCon India, said, “For me, a minimumof six hours of sound sleep is necessarybut eight hours is ideal. My sleep hoursare generally fixed except for theweekends. But travel affects my routineand I have trouble sleeping a day or soafter I come back home. Long, stress-ful workdays can also affect my sleep.Lastly, if I get stuck in an OTT binge,then my schedule goes for a toss.”

Through the survey, the brand,Livpure Sleep, aimed to encourage bet-ter sleeping habits among Indians,focussing on the country’s most promi-nent business leaders. The data collat-ed will go a long way in helping peo-ple understand how important it is toget a good night’s rest.

Through the ongoing global crisis ofCOVID-19, finding happiness, hope and

motivation in everyday life has become moreimportant than ever before. Indian-Australianchoreographer and educator, Ashley Lobo, whohas taught the joy of movement to countlessstudents at The Danceworx Academy ofPerforming Arts and Navdhara India DanceTheatre, says, “Dancing and surrendering tothe rhythm of music is a time-tested way of feel-ing happier, no matter what the realities of lifemay be. Following the structured beauty ofinterconnected steps and immersing oneself inmusical beats can help drive the blues away,clears blocked energy and calms and rejuve-nates the senses. Even if you don’t think youcan dance, just move your body. I would urgepeople to take just 15 minutes every day to justdance as if no one’s watching and see the pal-pable difference in how they feel.”

“Dance is a simple way to connect withinner joy and it also improves cardiovascu-lar health, increases stamina and boosts ener-gy,” adds he.

Ashley is renowned for his Prana Painttechnique, a unique sensitising approachdeveloped by him that explores movementthrough yoga, breath, connectivity andtouch. This notable technique has put himon the international map and led to himbeing invited to teach and choreograph over-seas. His choreographic style has a stronginfluence of cinematic techniques com-bined with a clear narrative.

“Dancing is known to be cathartic andhelps reduce anxiety and stress. Even thosewho have not typically taken to a fitness-

related activity can get fitter and happier byputting on a favourite song and letting ittake over the mind and body. Dance worksout your body, conditions your muscles,improves balance and even boosts cognitiveperformance. And the best part is that any-one can dance. Just make sure that you don’thave health issues that require you to notundertake even a simple dance routine. Forthe rest, dancing is a great way to celebratelife and happiness every day,” he says.

Veteran actor Jackie Shroff saysbeing known as new-age

Bollywood star Tiger Shroff ’s fathermakes him feel really proud.

“I am so proud of him. In fact, hehas inspired me to keep myself ashealthy as possible and he inspires alot of children to keep their healthstrong. I am so happy, god has beenreally kind and people who love himhave been so kind. I’ve got a boost inmy life and career also. I am knownas Tiger’s father, which makes me feelreally proud of him,” Jackie said.

“I am stating a fact, dear. I’m actu-ally called Tiger Shroff ka papa bykids. He has a lot of tiny fans whorecognise me that way,” the actor saidwith a hearty laughter.

Jackie will soon be seen in the sci-fi comedy web series OK Computer.Talking about his character in theDisney+ Hotstar series, he said, “Mycharacter is someone who believes innature and has given up his clothes.He just wants green cover aroundhim, as many trees as possible. Hedoesn’t like robots and is againstthem. He just wants to go back tonature.”

Quizzed about the interference oftechnology in our day to day lives, the

actor replied: “Looking into eachother’s eyes have gone. We are mostof the times looking down at our lap-tops. All information is so easily avail-able. People have forgotten to do basiccounting like two into two, anddepend on calculators and comput-ers. But then, definitely technologyhas made us reach Mars at minimalcost.”

“I feel, we should go to Mars butwe have to make sure that drinkingwater does not disappear from earthso that we have to go around look-ing for that in the Moon or Mars,” headded.

With OTT platforms gainingpopularity with each passing day, canthe digital platform replace cinemahalls in the future? “It (OTT) haschanged the way people watch pro-grammes. There are people whodefinitely sit and watch for eighthours non-stop! But today if a streetplay is happening, I’ll find 50-100people standing and watching it. Sofrom street play to OTT, entertain-ment will grip viewers. There will beaudience for all kinds of entertain-ment, be it street play, OTT ormorning shows at halls and region-al films,” said Jackie.

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Struggling opener ShikharDhawan will be the focus ina spoilt-for-choice Indian

team when it takes on worldchampion England in a three-match ODI series starting here onTuesday with the visitors eyeing apositive end to their tour after Testand T20 debacles.

The series is particularlyimportant for the 35-year-oldDhawan, who failed to make animpact in the first T20 inAhmedabad before warming thebenches the remaining fourgames.

With the management havingplenty of options in (ShubmanGill) and outside (Prithvi Shawand Devdutt Padikkal) the squadfor the opening slot, it will be a lit-mus test for Gabbar to prove him-self in the lung-opener.

He will open the inningsalong with seasoned campaignerRohit Sharma, who was in blister-ing form in the final game of T20series and would be keen to carryon in the same vein.

The ODI format givesDhawan the time he needsto build his innings. Withloads of experience underhis belt, the Delhi batsmancould well return to formon Tuesday.

For the Indian team, theseries would be an extension of itspreparations for the T20 WorldCup later this year.

The 50-over-format, in gener-al, remains low priority in 2021with no major tournamentsaround the corner.

Skipper Virat Kohli was backamong the runs in the T20 seriesand he would look to carry themomentum into the ODIs.

It has been a while sinceKohli scored a hundred in the for-mat, his last and 43rd one comingagainst the West Indies (114 notout) at Port of Spain in August

2019.He will be itching to

make his good formcount and end the cen-tury drought. It is alsoexpected that both KL

Rahul, who is not likely tofeature at the top of the

order, and Rishabh Pant, afterturning things around spectacu-larly since the brilliant showingDown Under, would be part ofplaying XI.

They would have a big role inthe middle-order along with theredoubtable Hardik Pandya.

There could be a toss-upbetween Mumbaikar’s ShreyasIyer and Suryakumar Yadav, forone spot in the playing XI. Yadav

proved himself to be quite apower-hitter in the T20 series,notching up a blistering half cen-tury in his maiden Internationalappearance.

The bowling attack is expect-ed to be spearheaded byBhuvneshwar Kumar, who pickedfour wickets in the T20 series, andthe new ball will be shared byShardul Thakur. Thakur claimedeight wickets in the T20 series.

Spinners Yuzvendra Chahaland Washington Sundar areexpected to be preferred overKrunal Pandya and KuldeepYadav.

Also, a fit-again Pandya wouldbe the fifth bowler, but it remainsto be seen how many overs he canbowl.

On the other hand, Englandwould also be keen to end the touron a high after suffering defeats inthe Tests (1-3) and the T20 series

(2-3).And for it to happen, skipper

Eoin Morgan’s role with the batwill be vital.

The likes of Jos Buttler and theswashbuckling Jason Roy willhave to fire in unison and all-rounder Ben Stokes will have tostep up with both the bat and ball.

England pacer Mark Woodtroubled the Indian batters withhis pace and in the absence of aninjured Jofra Archer, he wouldhave to shoulder greater respon-sibility along with Chris Jordanand the young Sam Curran.

The spin duo of Moeen Aliand Adil Rashid will have beenunable to trouble the Indian bats-men and it remains to be seenwhether they have any new tricksto change the dynamics.Additionally, Ali can perform the

role of a pinch-hitter, if needed.

TEAMSIndia: Virat Kohli (Captain), RohitSharma, Shikhar Dhawan,Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer,Suryakumar Yadav, HardikPandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), KLRahul (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal,Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya,Washington Sundar, T Natarajan,Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Mohammed Siraj, PrasidhKrishna, Shardul Thakur.England: Eoin Morgan (Captain),Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, SamBillings, Jos Buttler (wk), SamCurran, Tom Curran, LiamLivingstone, Matt Parkinson, AdilRashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes,Reece Topley, Mark Wood.Covers: Jake Ball, Chris Jordan,Dawid Malan.

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India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday said he hasdecided to open in the shortest format to accom-

modate players like Suryakumar Yadav in the sidebut there is no “guarantee” of him taking up the rolein the T20 World Cup at home later this year.

The move to open with Rohit Sharma workedwonders as the star duo played match-winningknocks to seal the five-match series against England.Kohli made the decision to ensure that Suryakumarplays at his preferred number three spot.

Ahead of the first ODI against England, Kohliexplained his surprising call in the fifth T20 andwhy he will open in the IPL, a move that attract-ed a lot of attention.

“Firstly, the combination that plays on the field,selectors don’t have any role to play in that, just howthe team management doesn’t have any role in selec-tion,” said Kohli.

“Secondly, as Rohit mentioned, it was a strate-gic move but yes we did enjoy batting with eachother, we did enjoy that partnership and we saw theeffects of us batting together...

“...It’s not a guarantee that this is going to becontinued in future.”

Suryakumar had Kohli “stunned” with hisknock in his debut game and the India skippermoved up a spot in the batting order to keep theMumbai batsman in the eleven in the followingmatch.

“I have batted at four, I have batted at three. NowI want to go back into, you know, understandingmy role as an opener as well which I’ve done suc-cessfully in the past in T20 cricket.

“So that I provide an option to open up a slotfor someone like Surya who’s playing the way heis at the moment and and if he can continue likethat I should be ready to play any kind of role thatteam requires.

“We will have a conversation about this clos-er to the World Cup when we get there,” he clar-ified.

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India skipper Virat Kohli onMonday said players should

be consulted over the cricketcalender as the extended bub-ble life during the coronaviruspandemic has strengthenedfears of burnout.

Virat said more attentionmust be paid to cricketers’mental health.

“The players need to bespoken to and consulted withall round,” said Kohli.

“Otherwise it’s going to bea case of whoever can lastthrough difficult times likethis plays, if not then moveaway and someone else replacesthat player.”

He added, “I don’t thinkthat’s healthy for a cricket sys-tem and cricket culture movingforward which we definitelywant to make stronger andstronger.”

Responding to suggestions

that the 50-over games wereout of place in a year dominat-ed by the World TestChampionship final and theT20 World Cup, Kohli saidtournament scheduling “issomething that is not in ourcontrol.”

“I think it’s very importantto consider how much cricketyou are playing. It’s not just thephysical side of thing but themental side of things as well,”said Kohli.

“Scheduling and workloadsis something that everyonewill have to be very aware,” headded. “Especially in today’sday and age where you justdon’t know where restrictionsmight come in.”

Most players have been insecure bubbles, with only smallbreaks since last August.

From September untilJanuary, India’s players wentthrough the Indian PremierLeague and a tour of Australia.

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