RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

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ANALYSIS 7HIGHER EDUCATION HAS TO

BECOME MEANINGFUL

MONEY 8PROPER INTERPRETATION OF DATA

KEY TO INFORMED DECISION-MAKING

SPORTS 12TWO IN TWO FOR

MEN IN BLUE

HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022; PAGES 12 `3

IMRAN KHAN EARNED RS 36 MILLIONFROM SELLING THREE GIFTED WATCHES

BRITISH-ERA PATNA DM OFFICEBUILDING SHOWN IN ‘GANDHI' RAZED

Historic British-era Patna District Magistrate's officebuilding, part of the centuries-old Collectorate campus,which was featured in key scenes in Oscar-winning film

'Gandhi' has been demolished, sending a wave of griefamong heritage lovers and Gandhians. Bulldozers gnawed atthe elegant two-storey main Patna Collectorate building,situated on the banks of the river Ganga, a couple of daysago, reducing it to a skeletal state. The building was felledas part of the redevelopment project of the Bihargovernment.

SEBI PENALISES NSE, FORMER CHIEFCHITRA RAMKRISHNA, 16 OTHERS

IN RAJASTHAN'S PALI, TWOCOMMUNITIES SHUN LAVISH WEDDINGS

No DJs, no fireworks and no riding horseback for the groom. Theseare some of the guidelines that leaders in two communities inRajasthan's Pali district have issued to make weddings a less

expensive affair. And grooms should be clean-shaven--beards don't gowith the ceremony--the elders feel. Leaders of both Kumawat and Jatcommunities have also agreed to put a cap on gifts relatives can give toa couple, which includes jewellery, clothes and cash. The rulesdiscourage customary offering of opium too. The Kumawats, acommunity of potters, at a meeting of its members from 19 villages onJune 16 came up with the rules.

ALMANAC

Updated: JUNE 29, 2022 5:00 PM

Forecast: Mostly cloudyTemp: 30oc

Humidity: 81%Sunrise: 5:45 AMSunset: 6:54 PM

Month & Paksham:

Tithi: Pratipada : Jun 29 08:22 AMto Jun 30 10:49 AM

Dwitiya : Jun 30 10:49 AMto Jul 01 01:09 PM

Nakshatram: Punarvasu: Jun 29 10:08 PM

to Jul 01 01:07 AMPushya: Jul 01 01:07 AM

to Jul 02 03:56 AM

Rahukalam: 1:57 PM to 3:35 PM

Yamagandam: 5:48 AM to 7:26 AM

Varjyam: 10:03 AM to 11:51 AM

Gulika: 9:04 AM to 10:42 AM

TTOODDAAYY

HYDERABAD WEATHER

Sebi has imposed a penalty totalling Rs 44 crore on 18 entities,including National Stock Exchange (NSE), its business developmentofficer Ravi Varanasi, former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna and

her adviser Subramanian Anand along with certain stock brokers in the'dark fibre' case. Apart from NSE and its former officials, otherspenalised by Sebi are stock brokers --Way2Wealth Brokers and GKNSecurities-- Sampark Infotainment and their respective employees. Theregulator has imposed a penalty of Rs 7 crore on NSE, Rs 5 crore eachon Ramkrishna, Varanasi and Subramanian Anand, who was GroupOperating Officer and adviser to then MD Ramkrishna.

Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan earned Rs 36 million byillegally selling three watches gifted to him by foreign dignitaries to alocal watch dealer, according to a media report on Wednesday.

According to the details of an official inquiry shared with Geo News, Khanduring his tenure as prime minister earned millions of rupees from thesejewel-class watches collectively worth over Rs 154 million. The watches weregifted to him by foreign leaders. The most expensive watch -- more than Rs101 million value -- was retained by the-then prime minister at 20 per cent ofits value after his government amended the Toshakhana rules and settled thegift retention price at 50 per cent of its original value, the report said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre on Wednesday decid-ed to computerise all functional63,000 Primary Agriculture CreditSocieties (PACS) over the nextfive years with a budget outlay ofRs 2,516 crore in order to improveefficiency, transparency andaccountability in their operations.

The scheme, approved by theCabinet Committee on EconomicAffairs (CCEA) chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, will alsofacilitate PACS to diversify theirbusiness and undertake multipleactivities and services.

Majority of the PACS are notcomputerised and are still function-

ing manually, resulting in ineffi-ciency and trust deficit in thesesocieties.

Hailing the CCEA decision,Cooperation Minister Amit Shahsaid the government is committedto bring reforms in the cooperativesector.

Shah said the computerisation ofPACS will prove to be a "boon" forthe sector and thanked the primeminister for this visionary decision.

Announcing the Cabinet deci-sion, Information and BroadcastingMinister Anurag Singh Thakursaid the scheme proposes comput-erisation of about 63,000 function-al PACS over a period of five yearswith a total budget outlay of Rs

2,516 crore, with the Centre's shareof Rs 1,528 crore.

This is a landmark decision and

a big reform in this sector, he said,adding that the initiative will ben-efit 13 crore farmers, mostly small

and marginal.Under the scheme, a cloud-

based common software with cybersecurity and data storage will be putin place for PACS. It will also pro-vide hardware support to the PACSand help in digitisation of existingrecords. This software will be invernacular languages having flex-ibility of customisation as per theneeds of states.

According to an official state-ment, PACS constitute the lowesttier of the three-tier Short TermCooperative Credit (STCC) struc-ture in the country comprisingabout 13 crore farmers as its mem-bers, which is crucial for the devel-opment of the rural economy.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Ahead of a key BJP meet-ing in Hyderabad, Unionminister Anurag Thakursaid on Wednesday thatpeople of Telangana areunhappy and dejected withthe TRS government thereand expressed confidencethat his party will win the upcom-ing assembly polls in the southernstate. The BJP is drawing a lot of sup-port in the state, with many peoplejoining it and many others set to jointhe party in coming months, Thakurtold reporters. The central govern-ment led by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has started manydevelopment projects in Telanganabut their execution is in the handsof the state dispensation, the seniorBJP leader noted. The Modi govern-ment has made a lot of contributionto every state's development, he said.

"People of the state areunhappy and dejectedwith the TelanganaRashtra Samiti (TRS) gov-ernment led by ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao," he said. The BJPnational executive, a keyorganisational body of theparty, will be meeting for

two days in Hyderabad on July 2 and3. Its members include PM Modiand other senior leaders of theparty drawn from across the coun-try. Modi will also be speaking at apublic meeting on July 3 soon afterthe party's conclave ends, high-lighting the BJP's efforts to expandits footprint in a state where it hasgained strength since 2019.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 115 nominationswere filed till Wednesday, the lastday of the filing papers for the July18 presidential election, the RajyaSabha Secretariat said.

The scrutiny of the nomina-tions would be done on Thursday.

Those who filed their papersinclude NDA nominee DroupadiMurmu and joint Oppositioncandidate Yashwant Sinha, whoare the main contestants.

Besides them, a host of com-moners have also filed theirpapers for the top constitutionalpost in the country.

PNS n CHANDIGARH

About a dozen states onWednesday pitched for extendingby a few years the compensationpaid to states for revenue lost fromthe implementation of the goodsand services tax (GST) regime.

The GST Council, the highestdecision-making body of the indi-rect tax regime, however, did nottake any decision at its meetinghere. A final decision is likely to betaken in the next GST councilmeeting in the first week of August,Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman saidwhile talking tothe media afterthe 47th GSTCouncil meeting here. "As many as16 states spoke on GST compensa-tion in today's meeting. Of thisthere were 3-4 states that said thatthey have to stand on their own andnot depend on compensation,"Sitharaman said. When a nation-wide GST subsumed 17 central andstate levies from July 1, 2017, it wasdecided that states will be compen-sated for any loss of revenue fromthe new tax for five years.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The election for the post of vice pres-ident will be held on August 6, theElection Commission said onWednesday. The notification for theelection to decide the successor of MVenkaiah Naidu will be issued on July5 and the last date for filing of nomi-nation papers will be July 19. The scruti-ny of nomination papers will be doneon July 20 and the last date for with-drawal of candidature is July 22.

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Although the ruling TelanganaRashtra Samiti party is keen onachieving a hat-trick in the comingAssembly elections, the BharatiyaJanata Party, having projected itself asan alternative party in Telangana, isleaving no stone unturned to ensurethat the saffron party comes to powerin the 2023 elections. So, the BJP'snational leadership is extendingunstinted support to BJP Telanganaunit in this regard. The BJP TS unit,on its part, is banking mainly onPrime Minister Narendra Modi'smagic to work this time. The BJPnational leadership has tasked the TSunit to host the party's nationalexecutive committee (NEC) meetingon July 2nd and 3rd. All national lead-ers of the party, including PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, would stayin Hyderabad during those two days.

Election forVice Presidenton Aug 6: EC

m Galvanising party to grab power in Telangana

BJP pins hopes on Modi's magic The decision on where PrimeMinister Narendra Modi will beresiding during his visit toHyderabad is still beingcontemplated by the SpecialProtection Group (SPG), say seniorofficials while they wait for a greensignal from the SPG.Meanwhile, it is being reportedlysaid that the Prime Minister will bestaying at Novotel hotel on day oneand at Raj Bhavan on day two.Moreover, Hyderabad Police are alsoon high alert after the recentincident of an alleged beheading inUdaipur. Additional forces have beendeployed in sensitive areas of thecity and also the police are closelymonitoring the locations where thePrime Minister will be present.Senior police officials say that morethan 5000 police personnel will bedeployed in the city as a part of thesecurity arrangement for the PM.

DDEECCIISSIIOONN OONN PPMM’’SS SSTTAAYY IINN

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADD YYEETT TTOO BBEE TTAAKKEENN

Rs 2,516 cr scheme for PACS computerisation115 nominationsfiled for Prez poll

WAR OF SLOGANS INTESIFIESAhead of the Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive meeting here, thepolitical war of slogans between the BJP and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti hasintensified. The parties are trying to dominate each other from every angle. Aftertheir one-upmanship over banners and flexes, they are now warring withprovocative slogans drawn from their ammunition. For instance, when BJP cameup with the slogan 'Bye bye, KCR'; the TRS countered it with 'Bye bye, Modi'.

KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY TO JOIN BJP Former Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy is set to join theBharatiya Janata Party in a day or two. On Wednesday, BJPTelangana unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and state party affairsin-charge Tarun Chugh held discussions with Konda VishweshwarReddy in this regard for nearly one hour at the latter's residence. It islearnt that they made BJP national president JP Nadda clarify someof the doubts that Konda Vishweshwar Reddy had. Sources saidKonda Vishweshwar Reddy was satisfied with Nadda's assurances and expressed hiswillingness to join the BJP.

People unhappy, dejected with KCR govt: Thakur

NIA investigates ‘Pak link'PNS n JAIPUR/NEW DELHI

Investigators on Wednesday werelooking into a possible link betweenone of the men who killed anUdaipur tailor and an Islamist out-fit in Pakistan, as Rajasthan Policeremained on vigil a day after thehate crime now being probed by theNational Investigation Agency.

A policeman was slashed with asword during a protest march inRajsamand district's Bhim town,where police used tear gas to stopa stone-pelting mob from advanc-ing towards a mosque.

In Udaipur, hundreds took part

in a funeral procession forKanhaiya Lal - the tailor who wasattacked Tuesday afternoon by twomen who posted a video of the bru-tal attack with a cleaver on socialmedia and claimed that they hadavenged an insult to Islam.

Stones were hurled at a burialground and some people tried tovandalise its gate as the proces-sion passed by. Elsewhere inRajasthan, markets were closed inSojat (Pali) , Bhinmal andSanchore (Jalore) and Reodar(Sikar) in protest over theUdaipur murder. Apart from thearrests of Riaz Akhtari, the man

who hacked at the tai-lor's neck, and GhouseMohammad, whof i lmed the cr ime,police have detainedthree others allegedly involved inthe attack.

Rajasthan Director General ofPolice (DGP) M L Lather saidGhouse has links with Karachi-based Dawat-e-Islami and hadvisited the Pakistani city in 2014.

When asked whether the otheraccused too had connections withthe Islamist organisation, Lathersaid that cannot be ruled out.

In Delhi, an official said

Akhtari's links have been tracedto Dawat-e-Islami, which has itsbranches in India as well. ANational Investigation Agency(NIA) team that had been rushedto Jaipur on Tuesday registered anFIR under the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act. RajasthanPolice will assist the NIA, the statepolice chief said.

UDAIPUR TAILOR’S MURDER NO IMPUNITY FOR THOSE

RESPONSIBLE FOR HATE CRIMES

Condemning the brutal killing of atailor in Rajasthan's Udaipur,Amnesty International said Indiamust ensure that there is noimpunity for those responsible forhate crimes and take urgent stepsto protect people against anyattacks.Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtariand Ghouse Mohammad, allegedlyhacked tailor Kanhaiya Lal to deathwith a cleaver at his shop inUdaipur on Tuesday and postedvideos online saying they areavenging an insult to Islam.

AMNESTY COMDEMNS MURDER

PNS n UNITED NATIONS/GENEVA

The COVID-19 pandemic ischanging but it is not over, head ofthe World Health Organizationsaid on Wednesday, cautioning thatthe cases are on the rise in 110countries and are being drivenmainly by two fast-spreadingOmicron sub-variants.

The Centers for Disease Controland Prevention said this weekthat the fast-spreading Omicronsub-variants BA.4 and BA.5together are estimated to make uphalf of the coronavirus cases in theUnited States.

As of June 25, BA.5 made up36.6 per cent of the total coron-

avirus cases in the US while BA.4accounted for 15.7 per cent, togeth-er accounting for about 52 per centof new cases in the US.

DRIVEN BY 2 OMICRON SUB-VARIANTS‘Ensure random RT-PCR screening’PNS n NEW DELHI

Wit h In d i a c ons i s t e nt lyreporting more than 10,000Covid cases over the past fewdays, the Centre Wednesdaya s ke d s t at e s an d Un i onTerritories to ensure a randomRT-PCR screening of abouttwo per cent passengers ineach incoming f light, andsend all positive specimens forgenomic sequencing.

Union Health Secretar yRajesh Bhushan issued theadvisory through a letter tostates and UTs, referring tothe 'Operational Guidelinesfor R e v i s e d Su r ve i l l an c eStrategy in context of COVID-19' issued by the Centre onJune 9.

12 states demand extensionof GST compensation

Uddhav quits as MahaCM ahead of floor testPNS n MUMBAI

Stating that he was not interested"in playing the numbers' game,"Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on Wednesdaysaid he was resigning from his post.

"I am also quitting as member ofLegislative Council," Thackeraysaid in a webcast, while appealingthe workers of his party not to taketo the streets in protest.

Thackeray's announcementcame minutes after the SupremeCourt refused to stay MaharashtraGovernor's direction to the ShivSena-NCP-Congress Maha VikasAghadi government to take a floortest in the Assembly on Thursday.He had no regret leaving his post,Thackeray, who was facing a rebel-lion by majority of Shiv SenaMLAs led by Eknath Shinde, said.

Thackeray, who heads the ShivSena, appealed to Sena workers toallow the rebel legislators to returnand not take to the streets inprotest.

The rebels, earlier in theevening, left Guwahati where theywere camping for over a week, andlanded in Goa. "Let the rebels whogrew politically because of ShivSena and Balasaheb Thackerayget joy and satisfaction of pullingdown his son from the post of chiefminister," Uddhav Thackeray said."I don't want to get into the num-bers' game. It would be shamefulfor me to see if even one of my ownparty colleagues stands againstme," he said.

BJP NEC toreflect TS culturePNS n HYDERABAD

The BJP's TS unit, which is host-ing the party's National ExecutiveCommittee here on July 2 and 3,is making arrangements that reflectTelangana culture and traditions,both at the venue of NEC and atParade Grounds, where a publicmeeting would be addressed byPrime Minister Narendra Modi.Pure vegetarian food would beserved at the venues. Telangana BJPleaders brought Yadamma fromKarimnagar to cook Telanganafood--Mamaidikaya thokku, mud-dapappu, Dosakaya Thokku andother items. The BJP leaders hada meeting with Yadamma atNovotel hotel. Telangana tradition-al food items like Sarva Pindi,Bhakshyalu, Pachipulusu, roti pac-challu, Sakinalu, murkulu and thelike would be served to delegatesat NEC meeting. The party hasallotted Novotel and Westin hotelsto BJP national leaders andRadisson hotel for media personscoming from other states. The BJPTelangana unit has also bookedrooms in nearby hotels.

COVID cases on risein 110 countries: WHO

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PNS n MISSOURI

They call her, desperate, scaredand often broke. Some arerape and domestic violence vic-tims. Others are new mothers,still breastfeeding infants.Another pregnancy so soon,they say, is something they justcan't handle.

Heart wrenching, saidAngela Huntington, an abor-tion navigator for PlannedParenthood in Missouri, whois helping callers reschedulecanceled abortion appoint-ments sometimes hundreds ofmiles away from their homesafter the fall of Roe v. Wade.

The ruling has set off atravel scramble across thecountry, with a growing num-ber of states mostly banningthe procedure. Clinics opera-tors are moving, doctors arecounseling crying patients,donations are pouring intononprofits and one group isdispatching vans to administer

abortion pills. Some cities likeKansas City and St. Louis alsoare drafting plans to help withthe travel logistics.

Huntington has beenpreparing for this moment formonths. Even before the U.S.Supreme Court's decision lastweek to end constitutionalprotection for abortion, theprocedure had become difficultto nearly impossible to obtainin states including Texas,Oklahoma and Missouri.

Basically," she said, theywere living in a post Roe era."

Now a fresh round of lawsare taking effect. Staff at a clin-ic in Nashville were floodedwith calls from patients tryingto understand the new legallandscape, after a federal courton Tuesday allowed the state'sban on abortion as early as sixweeks into pregnancy to takeeffect.

In Arkansas, some patientsalready were headed to aPlanned Parenthood clinic in

Little Rock to obtain medica-tion-induced abortions whenthe decision came down lastweek. Upon arriving, they weresent home.

I cannot believe this is hap-pening today, they toldHuntington. Or alternatively,they muttered, their voicesoozing with sarcasm, Of courseit's happening today.

Huntington and others tryto help move their appoint-ments to clinics in Kansas,Illinois and even Colorado. Ifa patient is broke but hasaccess to a reliable car,Huntington can offer gas cards.She works with nonprofits toarrange commercial flights andlodging. In recent weeks, shesaid, a group called ElevatedAccess has enlisted volunteerlight aircraft pilots to transportpatients to abortion appoint-ments, sometimes departingfrom small rural airstrips.

It's been hell,'' said Dr.Jeanne Corwin, a gynecologist

who works at a clinic inDayton, Ohio, where mostpatients are being turned awayafter new state rules took effectbanning abortions after aheartbeat can be detected.Many are being sent over theborder to Indiana and theclinic's sister site inIndianapolis, where Corwinalso works.

She said they are desperate,including a patient in her 30s,recently diagnosed withadvanced melanoma and inher first trimester.

She has to end her pregnan-cy'' so she can begin chemother-apy, and is going to Indiana,Corwin said, adding thatpatients who are beyondIndiana's 14-week cutoff arebeing sent to Illinois orMichigan. Time also may beshort for women diverted toIndiana because lawmakersthere are expected to re-consid-er the state's abortion laws at aspecial session starting July 6.

PNS n CHENNAI

Noted actress Meena's hus-band Vidyasagar passed awayfollowing failure of the lungand heart, and the state gov-ernment's best efforts to facil-itate organ transplant did notfructify, Tamil Nadu HealthMinister Ma Subramanian saidhere on Wednesday.

Vidyasagar (48) passed awayon Tuesday night and the cre-mation was held at the BesantNagar crematorium here onWednesday.

Earlier in the day, celebrities,including actors Rajinikanth,Sarath Kumar, Mansoor AliKhan and top state govern-ment official J Radhakrishnan,placed wreaths and conveyedtheir condolences and sympa-thies to Meena. Several otherscondoled the death on socialmedia, including actressKhushbu Sundar.

Speaking to reporters,

Minister Subramanian saidVidyasagar had lung infectionlast December and at the timewas at his home on oxygensupport. Later, he was hospi-talised and was in a hospital forabout six months for treat-ment. Then, he encounteredheart and lung failure, theminister said. "For about 95days, Vidyasagar was onExtracorporeal MembraneOxygenation (ECMO) life sup-port. In February (2022), hecontracted COVID-19,"

Subramanian said. On Tuesdaynight, he passed away and thecause of death was not due tocoronavirus infection, he said.

About 15 days ago, the min-ister said when he had visitedVidyasagar at the hospital, hewas unconscious.

Following Chief MinisterM K Stalin's instruction and onpriority, the Tamil Nadu gov-ernment did its best to findsuitable donor organs for himand a request was sent toauthorities in several parts ofthe country includingMaharashtra and Karnataka,he said. "The blood has tomatch and we have to getdonor organs." However, itdid not happen, Subramaniansaid.

Meena began her career infilmdom as a child withRajinikanth-starrer 'Muthu'(1995) and Kamal Haasan's'Avvai Shanmugi' (1996) wereamong a host of her hit flicks.

PNS n LONDON

The UK government onWednesday announced apartnership with leadingbusinesses in India to offer75 fully funded scholar-ships for Indian students tostudy in the UK fromSeptember, in celebration ofthe 75th anniversary ofIndia's independence.

The programmes on offerinclude Chevening scholar-ships for a one-yearMaster's programme, withthe opportunity to studyany subject at a UK univer-sity.

Additionally, the BritishCouncil in India is offeringaround 18 scholarships forwomen in science, tech-nology, engineering andmathematics (STEM) cov-ering over 12,000 coursesacross more than 150 UKuniversities.

UK unveils 75scholarshipsfor students

Actress Meena's husband passesaway due to heart-lung failure

Clinics scramble to divert patients

JD(S) indicatessupport to MurmuPNS n BENGALURU

Indicating his party's supportto BJP-led NDA's candidatefor presidential polls DroupadiMurmu, JD(S) leader H DKumaraswamy on Wednesdaysaid a final decision on thiswill be arrived at soon aftergoing through the backgroundof the two candidates in thefray.

The former Karnataka chiefminister said Murmu has spo-ken to JD(S) patriarch and for-mer prime minister H D DeveGowda seeking support andhas also sought appointmentto meet him personally.

"Already she (Murmu) hasdiscussed with our nationalpresident (Gowda) over phonetwice and has requested forsupport. Also, she had soughttime to come and meet. Irequested our nationalPresident that there is no needfor her to come personally inthe current situation,"Kumaraswamy said.

Speaking to reporters here,he said Murmu already has themajority on her side and shehas expressed her desire toseek Gowda's support out ofgoodwill and generosity.

"She has already won...she

need not come so far...we willdecide in the party...You(media) may have understoodby now what our decisionmight be. Before taking a finaldecision, we will look into thebackground of both candi-dates. There is no question ofCongress or BJP or any B-team here," he said, addingthat he has gone throughMurmu's background and herstruggle.

Recently calling Murmu, asa "suitable" and "non-contro-versial" candidate, Gowda hadnoted that he doesn't want torefer her as merely a tribal can-didate, but wants to say thatshe is "competent" for thepost of President.

Battle lines have been drawnfor the July 18 presidentialelection with the BJP-led NDAnaming Murmu, a tribal leaderfrom Odisha, as its candi-date, while former Union min-ister Yashwant Sinha has filednomination as a joint nomineeby major opposition parties,including the Congress, theNCP and the TMC.

Murmu, 64, had been theJharkhand governor and alsoserved as minister in theOdisha government earlier inher career.

TRS leader K T Rama Raocondemns murder of tailorPNS n HYDERABAD

Working President of the rulingTRS in Telangana K T RamaRao on Wednesday expressedshock over the brutal murder ofa tailor in Rajasthan's Udaipurand favoured "most stringentpunishment" to the culprits.The TRS leader said he was hor-rified and shocked at the ghast-ly murder. "This barbaric vio-lence has no place in civil soci-

ety & and the most stringentpunishment should be given tothe perpetrators through fasttrack court," Rama Rao, son ofChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, tweeted. InUdaipur, two men with a cleavermurdered a tailor on Tuesdayand posted videos online thatsaid they are avenging an insultto Islam, with the brutal killingdrawing widespread condem-nation.

Maha govt bans use of nationalaward titles in names of peoplePNS n MUMBAI

The Maharashtra governmenthas directed that titles of thenational civilian awards, suchas Bharat Ratna, PadmaVibhushan etc, should not beused as suffixes or prefixes bytheir recipients.

A circular issued by thestate government's generaladministration department

also restricted the use of thetitles of national civilian hon-ours while instituting awards.

The national awards do notamount to titles within themeaning of Article 18 (1) andthey should not be used as suf-fixes or prefixes. If this isdone, the defaulter should for-feit the National Award con-ferred on him or her by follow-ing the procedure laid in

Regulation 10 of each of thefour notifications creatingthese National Awards, thecircular said citing theSupreme Court. The circularfurther stated that authoritiesshould ensure that the abovedirectives of the Supreme Courtare followed strictly withoutusing the name of the awards atthe beginning or at the end ofthe name of persons.

ABORTION BAN IN AMERICA

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra BJP leaderSudhir Mungantiwar onWednesday met state legis-lature secretariat's principals e cre t ar y R ajendraBhagwat and urged him toensure protection to therebel Shiv Sena MLAs, whoare scheduled to arrive inthe state for floor test onJune 30. Majority of thelegislators of the Shiv Sena,which heads the MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) gov-

ernment, have been camp-ing in Guwahati along withsome independents sinceJune 22. The Sena rebelsare demanding that theparty snap ties with theNCP and Congress, alliesin the government, accus-ing these parties of tryingto eliminate their party.

Maharashtra GovernorB S Koshyari has directedthe Uddhav Thackeray-ledgovernment to face thefloor test at 11 am onThursday.

BJP demands protectionfor rebel MLAs

Dronesbanned aheadof PM’s visit PNS n HYDERABAD

Prohibitory orders againstdrones and any kind of fly-ing machines under Section144 Cr.P.C will be in voguefor a radius of 5 km at theHyderabad InternationalConvention Centre atGachibowli in view of thevisit of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

BJP pins hopes on...Continued from page 1

The Chief Ministers, DeputyChief Ministers, Union Ministersand other important party lead-ers belonging to the party aregoing to stay across the 119Assembly constituencies in thestate for two days from June30th. They will stay at party lead-ers' residences in the allotted con-stituencies. The party's TS unitleaders are hopeful that theNEC and the Prime Minister'sJuly 3rd public meeting wouldpave the way for the saffronparty to come to power inTelangana. All eyes are on thePrime Minister's public meetingto be held on July 3, consider-ing that BJP TS leaders havegone on record that it would bea 'turning point' for politics inTelangana. The BJP Telanganaunit has been making all-outefforts to attract 10 lakh peoplefor the public meeting, drawingat least 10,000 people fromeach constituency. TelanganaBJP vice-president NVSSPrabhakar told The Pioneer:"The Prime Minister's publicmeeting would definitely givemuscle to the State BJP. The

Prime Minister's speech wouldcertainly change Telangana pol-itics as he will give a politicalspeech. The NEC meetings'resolutions should be in favor ofTelangana BJP. People arealready looking for alternative tothe TRS party rule and they areseeing that alternative in BJP asthey are opposing TRS' familyrule, betrayal attitude, corrup-tion, red-tapism, and nepotismof the TRS government. Peopleare thinking that time has comefor effecting change. The PrimeMinister's meeting would cer-tainly provide a way for the peo-ple to expect change". BJP OBCMorcha national president Dr KLaxman said that they hadnamed the Prime Minister'spublic meeting venue as 'VijaySankalp', since people would

extend their support to the BJP,which is waging a war againstthe family rule, corruption, andto ensure that justice prevailsover injustice. The party wouldbe conducting 16 meetings sep-arately with 16 major commu-nities living in Hyderabad. The

police are making elaboratesecurity arrangements for thesake of the Prime Minister,who will arrive on July 2nd bya special flight at Begumpet air-port and go directly to HICCNovotel, where the NEC wouldbe held.

DECISION ON PM’S STAY IN HYDERABAD...

Continued from page 1

Deployment of snipers, anti-sabotage checks and roof top watch arebeing set up at the respective locations.“Out of the 5000 personnel deployed, 1000 will be looking after theinternal security arrangements at the location where the PM will beresiding and the remaining 4000 will be used for external security likeclearing up the route to be taken by PM for his travel whilecoordinating with the Special Protection Group (SPG).” said a seniorpolice official.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the BJP’s NationalExecutive Committee Meeting at HICC Novotel on July 2 and addressa public meeting at Parade Grounds on July 3. The July 2 eventcomes under the Cyberabad Commissionerate and the later day eventunder the Hyderabad Commissionerate limits.

Continued from page 1

The BJP leadership is confident that in Telanganathe party would come to power in the forthcomingAssembly elections. TRS supremo and ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Rao is inclined to take aplunge into national politics. KCR has started anti-

BJP campaign at the national level. He is planningto launch a national party. Both the parties have come up with slogans,keeping their respective objectives in mind. As theBJP has targeted CM KCR, the TRS has targetedPM Modi. The BJP Telangana unit leaders have put up in frontof their office a big board against KCR and havelaunched a website in the name of 'saalu dora-selavu dora'.

War of slogans...

Uddhav quits as Maha CM...Continued from page 1

He said security has beentightened in Mumbai and ShivSainiks have been detained.Congress and NCP did notoppose his decision to renameAurangabad as Sambhajinagarin the last cabinet meeting,held in the evening, Thackeraysaid. He also thanked Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi andNCP chief Sharad Pawar fortheir cooperation and supportwhile running the MVA gov-ernment.

"Congress leader AshokChavan told me that if therebels want, Congress would

get out of the government andextend outside support. Thosewho were expected to ditchme, stood by me while my ownleft me," he said.

Referring to the rebels, hesaid, "What were your prob-lems? Instead of going to Suratand Guwahati, you could havecome to me directly andexpressed your views. " ShivSena is a party of commonman and has faced severalchallenges successfully,Uddhav Thackeray said,adding he would rebuild theparty.

"I thank Shiv Sainiks forstanding by me. Those who

grew politically because ofShiv Sena were disgruntled,while those who did not getanything were loyal," he said.

Earlier, vacation bench ofJustices Surya Kant and J BPardiwala of the SupremeCourt said it was "not stayingthe floor test as convened bythe Governor" but "tomor-row's proceeding will dependon the final outcome of thispetition.' The Shiv Sena hadchallenged before the apexcourt Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari's orderto the Assembly secretary toschedule a floor test onThursday morning.

NIA investigates...Continued from page 1

The Centre and the stategovernment have termed theUdaipur murder as a terrorincident.

The Union Home Ministrytweeted Wednesday that ithas directed the NIA to takeover the investigation. "Theinvolvement of any organisa-tion and international linkswill be thoroughly investi-gated, it said.

The autopsy report showed26 injury marks, includingthose caused by a sharp-edgedweapon, on the tailor's body,police sources said.

Curfew imposed in sevenpolice station areas in Udaipurcontinued in the morning butpolice allowed Kanhaiya Lal'sfuneral procession under astrict watch. People joinedon motorcycles and in carsjoined along the way to theAshok Nagar cremation

ground.They shouted slogans like

'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and'Kanhaiya Hum SharmindaHain Tere Katil Jinda Hain'(Kanhaiya, we are ashamedyour killers are alive).

NO IMPUNITY FOR...

Continued from page 1

In response to the incident,Aakar Patel, chair of board ofAmnesty International India,said that Amnesty Internationalstrongly condemns the horrifickilling of Kanhaiya Lal and theIndian authorities must ensurea prompt, thorough,independent, impartial,transparent and effectiveinvestigation into the killing,and bring those suspected to beresponsible to justice in fairtrials and without resorting tothe death penalty.

‘Ensure random RT-PCR...Continued from page 1

Bhushan asked them toi mpl e m e nt t he re v i s e dstrategy which focuses onearly detection and timelymanagement of suspectedand confirmed cases, andthe containment of out-breaks of new coronavirusvariants.

Bhushan said the June 9strategy was issued with thelong-term vision to fully inte-

grate COVID-19 surveillancewithin existing IntegratedDisease SurveillanceProgramme (IDSP) mecha-nism.

Summarising the actionsthat states need to take,Bhushan said they shouldensure "Surveillance ofIncoming InternationalTravelers which will includerandom screening of 2 per centof passengers in each incom-ing flight into India by RT-

PCR". He asked them that allpositive specimens should besent for genome sequencingand such passengers should beadvised isolation and clinical-ly managers as per prevailingguidelines.

He also said all healthcarefacilities should reportInfluenza Like Illness (ILI)cases, and mentioned that theDistrict Surveillance Officer(DSO) will be responsible toanalyse the data.

Konda to...Continued from page 1

Konda will join BJP in thepresence of JP Nadda.

It may be mentioned herethere has been talk of Kondajoining BJP for the last oneyear. He had distributed pam-phlets during the Huzurabadby-poll in favor of BJP can-didate Eatala Rajender, lend-ing credence to it.

Konda VishweshwarReddy had joined TRS partyin 2013 at the behest of ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao. He left the TRS party in2018 and joined the Congressparty. However, Konda laterquit the Congress party.

COVID cases on...Continued from page 1

"On COVID-19, driven byBA.4 and BA.5 in manyplaces, cases are on the risein 110 countries, causingoveral l g lobal cases toincrease by 20 per cent anddeaths have risen in three ofthe six WHO regions even asthe global figure remainsrelat ively stable, WHODirector General TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus said.

He said the pandemic ischanging but it's not over. Wehave made progress but it'snot over.

Ghebreyesus said the abil-ity to track the virus is underthreat" as reporting andgenomic sequences aredeclining, making it harderto track Omicron andanalyse future emerging vari-ants.

The WHO chief a lsovoiced concern over the slowpace of vaccination in lower-

income countries, makingthe at-risk population inthose areas more vulnerableto future waves of the virus.

We're close to the mid-point of the year, which is thepoint at which WHO hadcalled on all countries tovaccinate at least 70% oftheir population, he said,adding that in the past 18months, more than 12 billionvaccines have been distrib-uted around the world and75 per cent of the world'shealth workers and over-60sare now vaccinated.

The Lancet estimates that20 million lives have beensaved because of vaccines.

On the flip side, hundredsof millions of people, includ-ing tens of millions of healthworkers and older people inlower-income countriesremain unvaccinated, whichmeans they are more vulner-able to future waves of thevirus, he said.

BJP leaders to reach outto cadre in TelanganaPNS n HYDERABAD

Ahead of BJP's national exec-utive meetings scheduled to beheld here on July 2 and 3, theparty is deploying its leaderscoming from other states toreach out to local cadres andthe people across variousassembly constituencies inTelangana. The process wouldbegin on Thursday and the vis-iting leaders would interactwith local cadre and people,

and invite them for the massivepublic meeting scheduled to beheld in the city on July 3, BJPsources here said onWednesday. The visiting lead-ers are also likely to take inputsfrom local party activists onrelevant issues, they said.

These visits are expected toinfuse confidence among cadreand the people about the party,the sources said.

The BJP is aiming to emergeas the alternative to the ruling

TRS in Telangana in the assem-bly elections to be held towardsthe end of 2023. The party ismaking massive arrangementsfor the national executivemeetings to be held in the cityon July 2 and 3 and the publicmeeting to be addressed byPrime Minister NarendraModi on July 3. BJP GeneralSecretary Tarun Chugh, in-charge of party affairs inTelangana, on Wednesday vis-ited the Parade Ground at

Secunderabad to inspect thevenue. As part of the arrange-ments, the BJP has put up ban-ners and cutouts at variousplaces in the city. The BJP hadearlier installed a digital hoard-ing at the party's state office,saying 'Bye Bye KCR'. BJPsources claimed that theGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC)imposed a fine for certainalleged violation of rules withregard to the hoardings.

MAHA FLOOR TEST

hyderabad 03HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana State RoadTransport Corporation ismaking available technologyfor the fast delivery of goodsto the general public throughcargo services at affordableprices.

It has also announced thathome delivery services will belaunched soon for the conve-nience of the public. The two-year cargo revenue has beenrecorded at Rs 123.45 croreafter launching the servicesacross the state of Telangana.

The second year saw bettercustomer service comparedto the first year. The TSRTC isalways trying something newin the form of cargo to betterserve the needs of the cus-tomers. About 79.02 lakh cus-tomers booked RTC cargoparcels across the state in twoyears. RTC cargo deliversseeds, fertilizers, curry leaves,grain, ration to Anganwadi

Centres and schools and awide range of services to farm-ers. It provides courier servicesalong with freight forwardingfacility.

All the people of the stateshould support the RTC andavail the services of the com-pany. TSRTC will expand itscargo services to AndhraPradesh, Maharashtra,Karnataka and other states aswell, said Telangana State RTCChairman, Nizamabad ruralconstituency MLA, Bajireddy

Govardhan.There are 455TSRTC Cargo Parcel Centresacross the state. In addition,177 cargo buses are in service.RTC, the largest public trans-port system in the state, ismoving in new directions tooffset its losses. It aims to pro-vide the required equipment tothe people without relyingsolely on parcels and couriers.Through Medaram services,the RTC has increased itscargo services by Rs 23.30lakh.

PNS n HYDERABAD

TRS MLC K Kavitha will beattending the AmericanTelugu Association's (ATA)17th Convention and YouthConference which is to beheld at Walter E ConventionCentre from July 1-3 inWashington DC, USA.

A release from her officesaid the former Lok Sabhamember would inauguratethe Telangana pavilion onJuly 2 and participate in theprime meet organised byATA representatives inWashington DC.

She would inaugurate abook on Bathukamma, aTelangana cultural festival,at the venue, the releasesaid.

Kavitha-led culturalorganisation TelanganaJagruthi scripted historywith the screening ofBathukamma at BurjKhalifa, a skyscraper inDubai, last year, it added.

TRS MLC Kavitha toopen Telangana pavilionat Telugu Associationmeet in USA

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Degree Online Services,Telangana (DOST)-2022 noti-fication has been released foradmission to the UG coursesoffered by the degree colleges.

The registration will beginfrom July 1 and a new featureof face authentication has beeniintroduced. The registrationfee is Rs 200. Students candownload the T-App Foliomobile application which con-tains the DOST ID generationservice. Students have to enterdetails such as hall ticket num-ber of TSBIE and date of birth.

On verification of the datadetails, (candidate's name,father's name, mother's name,

gender and candidate's photo-graph), they would be referredto the TS App Folio application.On successful authentication ofa photograph with the photo-graph available in TSBIE ser-vice, DOST Reference ID isgenerated. Students get anSMS of the DOST ReferenceID.

It is offering single window(DOST websitehttps://dost.cgg.gov.in) forseeking admission to any of theUndergraduate Programmesin any of the State universities(Osmania, Kakatiya, Telangana,Palamuru, Mahatma Gandhi,Sathavahana and MahilaVishwa Vidyalayam (Women'sUniversity) and TSBTET.

The process of admission issimple. It is student-friendlyand the candidate must regis-ter himself or herself by visit-ing the website and logging inwith the Intermediate hall-ticket number.

The other ways include, If a

student has already linkedAadhaar number with themobile number, he or she candirectly register in the DOSTwebsite with mobile OTPauthentication. In case, his orher Aadhaar number is notseeded with mobile number,

the student has to link the par-ent's mobile number with thestudent's Aadhaar number.

The student can visitMeeSeva Centre for BiometricA u t h e n t i c a t i o n(Fingerprint/Iris/Face Auth)and registration in DOST.Thestudents who are allotted toprivate colleges and are eligiblefor ePass fee reimbursementneed to pay an amount of Rs500 for online self-reporting.

The students who are allot-ted to Government orUniversity Colleges or PrivateColleges and are not eligible forePass college fee reimburse-ment and need to pay anamount of Rs 1000 for onlineself-reporting.

The students also have aGPS location display for lettingthem know how far their insti-tution is. The Dost web is alsoon Facebook , Twitter andYouTube Channel for helpingstudents clear their doubts.

Regarding the closure of col-leges which registers zeroadmissions, Chairman of theTelangana State Council ofHigher Education (TSCHE),Prof R Limbadri, said, "Lastyear there were 56 such collegesand this year we will knowshortly but letters have beensent to University and thisrule will be implemented. Thestudents who opt for such col-leges will be intimated andseats will be revisited.

PNS n HYDERABAD

People in many parts of thecity are suffering due toover-flowing drainage. They arefacing trouble with the con-stant stench emanating asdrainage overflows on manyroads. Citizens say the issuesare unattended by authoritiesdespite lodging complaints.Concerns have been raisedthat drainage water leakageproblem is becoming morecommon due to heavy rains inthe city.

People in Hyderabad areworried about the overflowingof drainage water amid heavyrains in parts of Masab Tank,Madhapur, Banjara Hills,Kondapur, Jubilee Hills,Bholakpur, Saroornagar,Begumpet, Khairatabad,Secunderabad and severalother places. They expressedconcern that the continuousflow of drainages is causingmosquito infestation.

As drainage issues are large-ly ignored, citizens are nowraising concern and com-plaints about the problem toHyderabad MetropolitanWater Supply and Sewerage

Board (HMWSSB) officialsboth online and offline. "Wehave been having seriousproblems with drainage leak-age for the last three months.Many shopkeepers, travelersand pedestrians could notstand on the road as thedrainage overflowed. Shops,hotels and other businesseshave been hit hard but theyhave been overlooked over thepast few months. As the num-ber of complaints from thearea increased, HMWSSBofficials responded and began

work," said Rajeshwar, resi-dent of Banjara Hills RoadNo.10.

Meanwhile, citizens ofHayathnagar said that thedrainage in front of theirapartments near SathyaLakeview was overflowingevery 15 to 20 days due toblockage of pipes while layingVDCC road in front of theirapartment. They complainedthat the issue should beresolved quickly as it wasleading to problems.

Similarly, the residents ofthe colonies could not walkdue to the continuous flow ofdrainage water in the KavuriHills of Madhapur and otherplaces. The PioneerCorrespondent found thatresidents of many parts of thecity have been suffering due toexcessive drainage problemsfor more than two weeks andhave been lodging complaintson the Twitter.

However, HMWSSB offi-cials responded to the issue bysaying that all the drainageproblems in the city will beresolved soon without causingany inconvenience to the pub-lic.

Drainage overflow gets worsein city; complaints unanswered

TSRTC earns Rs 123.45 crthrough cargo services

A rare 1,500-yr-old sculpture found in CheriyalPNS n HYDERABAD

A rare Nagnakabandha (nude)sculpture of a Goddess wasfound in Cheriyal mandal inSiddipet by a farmerVenkataramanagari recently,while he was digging his farmfield.

The farmer intimated theTelangana Charitra Brundamgroup that he found the sculp-ture. Convenor of the group,Sriramoju Haragopal, said, "Itis a 1,500-year-old sculpture.We named it asNagnakabandha, Lajja Gauri,which means that the sculpturewas that of a nude which wasfive-inch-tall and nine-inch-wide.The large female sculp-ture was unusually seated ontwo legs. The sculpture on therock on the right was notclearly visible. This motherGoddess is known asNagnakabandha, Aditi, LajjaGauri and Uttanapada."Thereare many sculptures in ourcountry and abroad that areworshipped as fertility god-desses. It is a historical fact thatthis mother goddess has beenworshiped in our country sincethe time of Indus Valley civil-

isation. The custom of wor-shiping these sculptures datesback to the first century tofourth century. It is said thatthere would have been moresuch sculptures during thisperiod.

The Chalukyan queenMahadevi is worshipped in thenude at Alampuram, which isdedicated to marital happinessand health. There is a LajjaGauri sculpture in theArchaeological Museum inBadami. Also in the grandcoalition, a fourth centurysculpture of a mother goddesshas been found at Kesar. A firstcentury nude idol was alsofound at Singaraya.

The family which has foundthis sculpture began worship-ping it and the process ofreturning it to the archeologydepartment was not in theirmind as they felt the goddesshas arrived for the goodwill ofthe family.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad City Police and theHyderabad NarcoticsEnforcement Wing (H-NEW)arrested five foreign nationalsfor staying illegally inHyderabad without any validvisa or passport. They weredeported on Wednesdayevening.Out of the five persons,three are from Nigeria and theremaining two are from IvoryCoast, a country in West Africa.After arresting them, theHyderabad police forwarded arequisition to the ForeignersRegional Registration Office(FRRO) in Hyderabad askingfor their deportation. Afterthat, temporary travel docu-ments were collected fromtheir respective embassies inDelhi.City PoliceCommissioner CV Anand in apress meet said, "After collect-ing their temporary travel doc-uments, we had to buy air tick-ets for their return. A few whohad the money paid for theirticket and for those who did-n't, we purchased it for them.

5 foreignersdeported

PNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad Traffic policeissued an advisory to motoristsin view of JagadambaMahankali Golconda Bonalucelebrations. The traffic restric-tions will be in place from 8 amto 11 pm as large-scale devo-tees are expected to attend thecelebrations from all over thecity and surrounding villagesbetween June 30 and July 27 forBonalu celebrations.

Joint Commissioner ofHyderabad Traffic Police saidthat the commuters usingroads from Ramdevguda toGolconda Fort via MakkaiDarwaza, Langar Houz toGolconda Fort via FatheDarwaza, Shikpet Nala, SevenTombs to Golconda Fort (via)Banjara Darwaza are advisedto take alternate routes inorder to avoid inconvenienceon the dates mentioned from8 am to 11 pm. The devoteesare requested to park theirvehicles at designated parkingplaces only and maintainqueue at parking places and thecommuters are also requestedto take alternative routes toreach their destinations toavoid traffic congestion.

Traffic advisoryfor GolcondaBonalu

PNS n HYDERABAD

As economic stability provideshomebuyers with more confi-dence in their financial state,residential demand has pickedup across the top eight cities,with both housing sales andnew supply registering positivegrowth in the quarter endingApril-June 2022.

A quarterly analysis ofIndia's top eight residentialmarkets by REA backedPropTiger.com, the recentspike in property prices hashad little impact on homebuy-er sentiment as outlooktowards overall economic sce-nario and income stabilityimproved in the post-coron-avirus pandemic phase.

The markets covered in thereport of Real InsightResidential, includeAhmedabad, Bengaluru,Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata,Mumbai Metropolitan Region,

Delhi-National Capital Regionand Pune.

"Though the RBI increasedthe repo rate twice during thequarter to bring it to 4.90%,home loans remained largelyaffordable for the periodanalysed. The biggest boosterto housing demand has beenthe increased importance ofowning a property which has

been further backed by theconsumer confidence in theoverall economic scenario andimpending income stability,"said Vikas Wadhawan, GroupCFO, Housing.com,PropTiger.com &Makaan.com.

The housing sales duringthe quarter ending June 30,2022 registered a sequential 5per cent uptick when com-

pared to the previous quarter(Q1 CY2022). According to thereport, 74,330 units were soldacross the top eight in Q2-2022as compared to 70,620 unitssold in Q1-2022.

The sharpest sequentialincrease in sales was witnessedin end-user driven markets ofAhmedabad at 30 per cent andHyderabad, at 21 per cent,respectively.

Hyderabad in top 2 cities withhighest housing sales growth

400-year-old temple well inZaheerabad to be restoredPNS n HYDERABAD

The 400-year-old well at theTulja Bhavani temple inZaheerabad will be complete-ly restored as part of pro-gramme to restore historicwells across the state.

The historic well at TuljaBhavani temple is situated inKhanjamalapur, which is asmall village hamlet inZaheerabad in Medak dis-trict. The well, which hadbeen neglected for decades,has now come to life with theinitiative of the Telanganagovernment.

Founder of the Rainwater

Project, Kalpana Ramesh,requested Mr Arvind Kumarto restore the historic wellthrough the social media.

"Tulja Bhavani temple inZaheerabad, is the most pow-erful Goddess that ChatrapatiShivaji believed in taking herblessings before he set out forwar. The well is 400-year-old.Telangana is surely a treasuretrove for heritage wells, saidKalpana Ramesh.

It may be mentioned thatthe Rainwater Project hasrestored at least six wells inand around Hyderabad incollaboration with NGOs andprivate donors.

Second sharpest sequential increase in sales was witnessed in end-user driven market of Hyderabad at 21 per cent

Growth in new

supply

superseded

sales numbers,

registering a

quarter-on-

quarter growth

of 13 per cent in

the region

PNS n HYDERABAD

Sleuths of Hyderabad NarcoticEnforcement Wing (H-NEW)arrested four foreign nationalsfor overstaying and beinginvolving in drug peddling.

Their overstay has also beennotified to the ForeignRegional Registration Office(FRRO) and they have suggest-ed the police to initiate legalproceedings against them. Thepolice also seized 110 grams ofMethamphetamine, 20 gramsof Cocaine and 5 mobilephones, all worth Rs 13 lakh.A case under Section 14 ofForeigners Act and Section 2of the Passport Act has beenregistered at the Banjara Hillspolice station.

The police have identifiedsix accused of whom four havebeen caught and two areabsconding. The accusedbelong to Nigeria, Tanzaniaand Yemen, all of whom areresiding illegally in Hyderabad.

According to the police, theaccused frequently visitedBangalore and procured drugs

like Meth and Cocaine at Rs5000-6000 per gram and sell itat Rs 10,000 per gram inHyderabad. As of now, 23consumers have also beenidentified and the police willsoon start taking action againstthem, said City PoliceCommissioner CV Anand.

The seized material has beenhanded over to SHO, BanjaraHills police station for furtherinvestigation.The arrests weremade under the supervision ofChakravarthy Gummi, DCPH-NEW, P Rajesh, InspectorMohd Hafeez Uddin, InspectorBanjara Hills PS and the teamfrom H-NEW and BanjaraHills police station.

4 foreigners held for drug peddling, methand cocaine worth Rs 13 lakh seized

The police have

identified six

accused of whom

four have been

caught and two

are absconding.

The accused

belong to Nigeria,

Tanzania and

Yemen, all of

whom are residing

illegally in

Hyderabad.

PNS n HYDERABAD

As many as 698 SeniorResident Doctors (SRDs)working at 28 governmenthospitals across the state wenton a strike on Wednesdayover non-payment of salaries.

Senior Resident Doctorsfrom Sarojini Devi EyeHospital protested outside thehospital on Wednesday sayingthat they have not been paidsalaries since the last eightmonths.

"We joined the hospital inNovember 2021 as senior res-idents. Since then we have notbeen paid our salaries. If thegovernment cannot pay oursalaries, they should terminate

our services and send us off bypaying our pending salary.They are not doing that aswell. They want our servicesfor free.

We have our families tofeed. That is why we are boy-cotting the in-patient and out-patient services from todayand we will also boycott emer-gency services from July 1until our problem is solved,"said a senior resident doctor.

Moreover, the doctors saythat the government has notpaid their stipend for the ser-vices they provided during theCovid period. Senior resi-dents have informed that theyhave notified the governmentabout boycotting services.

Docs continue strikeSenior Resident Doctors continued their strike on Wednesday over non-paymentof their salaries

Officials of the Telangana State Council for Higher Education interact in Hyderabadon Wednesday

PNS n HYDERABAD

Rachakonda PoliceCommissionerate auctioned531 abandoned vehicles andhanded over Rs 43 lakh to thefinance department.

It is a six months process ofleaving vehicles for the ownersto claim and all the vehicleswhich were neglected had beenarranged for auction. The policealso waited for extra time toreturn the two-wheelers whichwere collected from no-parkingzones, some left at crime scenesand a few caught in drunk-and-drive cases. If people claimthey are asked to submit doc-uments and after scrutiny thevehicles are returned. In theauction also original owners

come and take their vehicles."On Wednesday the auction

of abandoned vehicles underRachakonda PoliceCommissionerate was held atCar Headquarters, Amberpetparade grounds. Informationhas been given to the public innewspapers regarding the auc-tion and citizens participatedactively in the auction.Duringthe auction, 531 abandonedvehicles which are road worthy,including three-wheeler vehi-cles were made available to theparticipants. All the vehicleswere placed in the auction asper Section 39(b), R/w Act 7 ofCyberabad / Rachakonda andSection 40 and 41, HyderabadCity Police Act 1348F," saidAddl DCP Shameer.

531 abandoned vehicles auctioned

The Chalukyanqueen Mahadevi isworshipped in thenude atAlampuram, whichis dedicated tomarital happinessand health.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Greater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation officials said thatnala work has been undertak-en at a cost of Rs 1,000 croreand 15 works will be complet-ed soon and made available tothe public.

GHMC Mayor GadwalVijayalakshmi on Wednesdayinspected the constructionwork of a one-sided bridge overthe picket nala near KarachiBakery in Secunderabad.Meanwhile, the Mayor saidthe construction of a one-sided bridge over the picketnala at Rasoolpura has beencompleted and will be madeavailable to the public after 15days of water curing.Apartfrom that, nala undertaken inLB Nagar, Kukatpally andSerilingampally zone will beready soon.In the wake ofrains, warning boards havebeen set up in 363 troubledareas, as well as mobile andmini mobile monsoon emer-gency teams have beendeployed for flood prevention.

15 nala works tobe completedsoon in city

DOST-2022 notification out: New authentication features added

04HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022

PNS n HYDERABAD

All India Congress Committee(AICC) spokesperson DasojuSravan on Wednesdaydemanded that Chief MinisterK Chandrashekar Rao imme-diately ban online loan apps.Sravan said the organisers ofonline loan apps have beeninflicting unbearableharassment on gulliblepeople and even resortingto illegal practices.

In a letter addressed toChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onWednesday, the AICCspokesperson urged the latterto constitute a special taskforce within the police depart-ment and order a crackdownon the online loan app organ-isers.

'You are well aware that adreaded and elongated Covid-19 pandemic has played havocwith people's lives in all

spheres, including financially.Besides, declining economicgrowth, layoffs, rising inflation,lack of new job and entrepre-neurial opportunities havepushed people into severefinancial stress. During these

troubled times, the tra-ditional banking

system, whichneeds to supportthe commonpeople, has com-

pletely failed. As aresult, many people

have approachedonline loan apps for loans toattend to emergencies and dif-ficult times, not knowing thatthey are getting into a murkyweb of harassment, fleecingand cheating. Though theseonline apps offer loans at high-er interest rates and chargeexorbitant amounts in thename of processing fee, late feeand on other pretexts, peopleare forced to approach these

loan apps as they are complete-ly let down by traditionalbanks, which turns a blind eyeto the poor and middle-classborrowers, said Sravan,explaining the backdrop inwhich these online loan appsare thriving.He further said theorganisers had been forciblycollecting interests at the rateof 30 to 200 per cent. Most ofthe these organisations weredevoid of valid registration,and they were resorting toimmortal practices, heobserved. The organisers weresharing the photographs anddetails of the borrowers withthe latter are friends and rela-tives in a bid to 'shame' them.He recalled that several people,including entrepreneurs, ITprofessionals, had committedsuicide unable to bear theharassment. Under such cir-cumstances, it was necessary toimpose ban on the online loanapp and clamp down on them.

Dasoju demands ban on online loanapps, crackdown on organisers

Collector felicitates KGBV students, special officers, DEOPNS n NAGARKURNOOL

Students of nine KasturgaGandhi Balika Vidyalyas in thedistrict who came out with fly-ing colours in Intermediateexaminations were felicitatedby District Collector P UdayKumar at a simple functionheld at the DistrictCollectorate here onWednesday.

The girls, along with theirparents and school authorities,called on the District Collectorwho arranged for the felicita-tion of the meritorious girls.

Those felicitated were BJyoti of KGBV at Kollapur,who secured 461 out of 470marks, K Bhumika ofVeldanda KGBV secured 425out of 440 marks, G Gayatri ofTelakapalli KGBV who got485 out of 500 and M Kavitaof Bijinapalli KGBV got 475out of 500 marks in CECgroup -- all first Intermediatestudents. Similarly, R Akhila(KGBVat Naganool) secured951 out of 1000 marks inMPC group, while G Swati(KGBV at Naganool) got 951

out of 1000 in BPC, G Sweaof (Telakapalli KGBV) got 930out of 1000 marks in MPHWgroup and Manisha of thesame school secured 859marks out of 1000 in CECgroup. The Collector asked theparents to encourage the stu-dents to pursue higher studies.He described the KGBV atAmrabad achieving 100 per

cent results as a welcomedevelopment. He appreciatedthe efforts of special officersand teachers of the KGBV forthe success of the students. Hetold them that he would be vis-iting the KGBVs to congratu-late them.

Also, the Collector felicitat-ed the special officers who areresponsible for making the

KGBV at Bijinapalli, Lingalaand Amrabad achieve 100 percent results.

He also felicitated the DEOGovindarajulu and special offi-cer of KGBV Surya Chaitanyafor the wonderful results in theKGBVs and wished them thatthey should continue toachieve good results in futuretoo.

Nagarkurnool Collector P Uday Kumar with KGBV students in Nagarkurnool on Wednesday

K VENKATESHWARLU

n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress Affairsin-charge Manickam Tagorehas given a shocker to theTelangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) star cam-paigner and Bhongir LokSabha member KomatireddyVenkat Reddy by finding faultwith the latter for inductingVaddepalli Ravi into theCongress party.

It is learnt that Tagore hasconveyed the message toCongress leader fromThungathurthy AddankiDayakar, who lost the electionstwice, that the induction ofRavi into the party was'invalid.' Tagore pointed outthat the TPCC was kept in thedark as far as induction of Raviinto the party and hence it was'invalid.' The AICC's recogni-tion of the induction was nec-essary, he made it clear.

Venkata Reddy inductedRavi, who came from TRS, intothe Congress in retaliation toTPCC president A RevanthReddy 'stealthily' inviting peo-ple from other parties into theCongress.

It may be recalled that Ravijoined the Congress party in

presence of Venkat Reddy onJune 26 at the latter's residence.After joining the Congressparty, Ravi went to RevanthReddy's residence.

Revanth Reddy, however,did not meet Ravi. Moreover,Revanth Reddy conveyed amessage to Vaddepalli Ravithrough his followers that hewould meet him later.

Meanwhile, Dayakar lodgeda complaint with RevanthReddy and Manickam Tagorethat the party had suspendedRavi from the party for sixyears for contesting as he con-tested as a Congress rebel can-didate in 2018 elections.Dayakar also alleged in hiscomplaint that he had lostelection because of Ravi's

anti-party activities. Close on the heels of

Dayakar's complaint, Tagoremade call to the former inregard to induction of Raviinto the party.

Manickam Tagore delivers‘shocker’ to Komatireddy The Telangana Congress Affairs in-charge declared that theinduction of Vaddepalli Ravi into the party as ‘invalid’

Revanth Reddy,

however, did not

meet Ravi.

Moreover, Revanth

Reddy conveyed a

message to

Vaddepalli Ravi

through his

followers that he

would meet him

later.

PNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

A mega job-mela with the par-ticipation of over 60 employ-ers will be held here on July 3for the benefit of the unem-ployed with an earning poten-tial of Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 10lakh per annum, according toMinister for Excise V SrinivasGoud.

He directed the DistrictCollector S Venkata Rao tomake suitable arrangements tohold the mela at ZP groundsin the town. The mela wouldbegin at 9 am on July 3. Thedistrict authorities should pro-vide drinking water, tents and

other amenities. Reviewing arrangements

with officials here onWednesday, he released a wallposter pertaining to the mela.Anyone from class 7 to post-graduates in engineering,pharmacy and managementcan get jobs. The job aspirantsshould attend the mela alongwith original certificates andshould bring photo copies ofthe originals with them.

He asked the districtauthorities to give a wide pub-licity to the mela in villagesthrough SHGs. He directedthe DMHO to deploy to med-ical team at the venue.

Mega job mela to be heldin Mahabubnagar on July 3

Mahabubnagar Collector S Venkata Rao along with officials unveiling wallposters on mega job mela, in Mahabubnagar on Wednesday

PNS n HYDERABAD

Ahead of the BJP nationalexecutive committee (NEC)meeting, which will be heldon July 2 and 3, the Telanganagovernment delivered a bigshock to the BJP MLA fromHuzurabad on Wednesday bydistributing the lands, whichwere allegedly encroached byJamuna Hatcheries, to farm-ers.

Medak Lok Sabha memberKotha Prabhakar Reddy andMLA Ch Madhan Reddy dis-tributed pattas to farmerswho claimed that their lands

were grabbed by JamunaHatcheries.

It may be recalled that theofficials, who conducted asurvey twice, declared that the85.19 acres of land belongingto 65 farmers in Acchampetand Hakimpet villages underMasaipet mandal were beingencroached upon by theJamuna Hatcheries. The 84acres of land is located in sur-vey numbers 77, 78, 79, 80, 81,82, 130 in Achampet villageand 19 guntas land is inSur vey number 97 inHakimpet village.

The farmers and

Acchampet Sarpanch's hus-band, along with KothaPrabhabhakar Reddy, arrivedat the village and broke thelocks of the hatcheries. TheMasaipet Tahsildar, Malathi,and Kotha Prabhakar Reddyhanded over the 'panchanama'copy to the Hakimpet villagerShyamala, who said that herland was grabbed by JamunaHatcheries. They also distrib-uted the pattas to the farmers.

The distribution of landpattas to the farmers hascaused embarrassment to theTelangana BJP as it has hap-pened much before their NEC

meetings to be held on July 2and 3. It may be an embarrass-ing situation for the BJP, par-ticularly Eatala Rajender.

While speaking on theoccasion, Prabhakar Reddystated that they were givingpattas to restore the landgrabbed by Eatala Rajender tothe farmers. The TRS leadersvowed do justice to everyfarmer. They said they wouldtake a decision in regard tosheds constructed by JamunaHatcheries.

The farmers are jubilant asthey got back their lands, theleaders said.

Etala's ‘grabbed’ land restored to farmers in Medak distTRS Lok Sabha member Kotha Prabhkar Reddy and MLA Ch Madhan Reddy distributed pattas to landowners

TRS MP Kotha Prabhkar Reddy and TRS leaders at Atchampet village in Medakdistrict on Wednesday

PNS n WARANGAL

City Police CommissionerTarun Joshi has asked policeofficials to keep tabs on move-ments of the jailbirds andissued directions on how toresolve the pending gravecases and laid emphasis oneffectively implementing vis-ible policing.

Addressing a monthlycrime meeting with east zonepolice officials of the eastzone of the police commis-sionerate here on Wednesday,he sought information aboutthe progress of cracking thepending cases from SHOs,circle inspectors and ACPs. Healso reviewed the style ofworking of the officials andpolice personnel.

He wanted the every SHOshould implement standardoperating procedures to solvethe cases filed with the policestation. As it would be veryeasy for them to resolve thecases if they follow the proce-dures.

The police officials shouldspeed up investigation of thepending grave cases, constitutespecial teams to nab the crim-inals and gather necessaryevidence to prove the casesand submit the same to court.

Therefore, the investigationofficers should technical evi-dence besides their skills inthe investigation.

As part of the visible polic-ing, patrolling should be con-ducted extensively under the

limits of each police station.The rural police station per-sonnel should compulsorilyvisit each and every villageunder the station limits.

Awareness programmes onadverse impact of ganja, IDarrack, gutka, gamblingshould be conducted underthe police statin limits andimportant cross sections andin educational institutionsunder the police station lim-its.

Each and every police sta-tion should take steps to installCCTV cameras at vantagepoints with the help of publicsupport by creating neces-sary awareness among thepeople.

He asked the police toencourage the youth to takepart in the police recruitmentboard to be held soon.

East Zone DCP VenkataLakshmi, ACPs Sampat Rao,Naresh Kumar, Sivaramaiah,circle inspectors, inspectors,sub-inspectors and otherstook part in the meeting.

Police officers asked to keep tabs on movements of jailbirds

Each and every police station shouldtake steps to install CCTV cameras atvantage points with the help of publicsupport by creating necessaryawareness among the people.

Warangal Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi speaking at police officers' meetingin Warangal on Wednesday

4G-enabled e-PoS, iris devicesdeployed in fair price shopsPNS n RAJANNA SIRICILLA

In an effort to overcome poornetwork connectivity, theTelangana State governmenthas deployed 4G-enable elec-tronic point of sale (e-PoS) and4G-enabled Iris devices in fairprice shops.

District AdditionalCollector Kheemya Naikexplained the features of thenew e-PoS and iris devices tothe dealers. The devices wouldfacilitate transparency in dis-tribution of ration at fair priceshops. The district adminis-tration, at a meeting held at theDistrict Collectorate confer-

ence hall, distributed the 4G-enabled e-PoS and 4-G-enabled iris devices to 344 fairprice shop dealers in the dis-trict.The Civil SuppliesDepartment officials providedtraining to the fair price shopdealer on how to use thedevices. Speaking on theoccasion, Kheemya Naik askedthe dealer to distribute rice tothe cardholders by deployingthe new devices. The distrib-ution of ration to the card-holders was hampered timeand again when t2G-enableddevices were employed. It wasbecause of poor network con-nectivity, he pointed out.

Pink relegates saffronin bid to grab eyeballsSNCN ACHARYULU

n HYDERABAD

In the context of the upcom-ing Bharatiya Janata Partynational executive meetinghere, pink (colour of TRSparty) has relegated saffron(colour of BJP) across the city,be they banners, flexes or adson Metro pillars.

The BJP has virtually noprominent commercial spaceto put up its banners or flex-es. A cynic commented:"When BJP national leaders,Chief Ministers and other topleaders come to Hyderabadand see the city painted pink,instead of saffron, they willturn red".

Whenever any politicalparty holds its significantmeeting in the city, it usuallyputs up a large number of ban-ners and flexes in and aroundthe venue, while painting otherimportant areas also with partycolours.

In view of the BJP's upcom-ing national executive meeting,the party's Telangana unitwanted to put up banners andflexes across the city. But thepink party did not want to givethat chance to the saffron

party. If any one round the citytoday, they may get an impres-sion the pink party is holdingits meeting. The pink party hasnot yielded any space that thesaffron party can use forputting up its banners or flex-es during the national execu-tive meeting.

The BJP is holding its NECmeeting after 18 years inHyderabad. In 2004, duringthe reign of Atal BehariVajpayee, the BJP held itsnational executive meet inHyderbad. On July 2nd and3rd, BJP is holding its nation-al executive meeting here atNovotel, HICC. More than300 national leaders, including

Prime Minister NarendraModi, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah, party nationalpresident JP Nadda, 19 ChiefMinisters, central ministersand others will attend themeeting. The TRS has proac-tively painted the city pink.After the Metro Rail came toexistence, Metro pillars havebecome main publicity pointsfor political parties and busi-ness establishments. Almost allthe Metro pillars (more than2,000 in the city) have beenoccupied by the ruling TRSand they are filled with gov-ernment welfare programmes.

Thus, Metro pillars haveturned pink. Besides, there

are pink party flexes at aroundone thousand bus stops.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Allotment of Rajiv SwagruhaFlats was successfully complet-ed in a transparent way fromJune 27 to June 29, 2022 byHyderabad MetropolitanDevelopment Authority underthe supervision of DistrictCollector Medchal-Malkajgiri.

According to HMDA offi-cials, 14 teams were formedwith staff from Revenue,Municipal, Rajiv Swagruha,Housing and RuralDevelopment Departmentsfor conducting lottery.

Applications were receivedthrough Mee-Seva and onlinewith a nominal application feeof Rs1,000 from May 12 toJune 14, 2022 and allotmentswere made from June 27 toJune 29 by draw of lots.

HMDA officials said in apress release that 39,082 appli-cations were considered forallotting 3,902 flats, 2,238 flatsin Bandlaguda and 1,464 flatsin Pocharam.HMDA officialssaid that the allotments werecompleted for 2,237 flats inBandlaguda and 1,458 Flats inPocharam and details arebeing uploaded on the website.One flat in Bandlaguda and sixflats in Pocharam are left unal-lotted due to discrepancy ofAadhaar and the applicants(who were selected in lottery)could not be reached with thephone numbers given.

Allotment of RajivSwagruha flats done inPocharam andBandlaguda

PNS n HYDERABAD

Health Minister Harish Rao,who is attending the GSTCouncil meeting inChandigarh, on Wednesday,visited the prestigiousChandigarh Post-GraduateInstitute of MedicalEducation and Research(PGI). Hospital director DrVivek Lal, Dean Dr Puri andMedical Superintendent DrVivek Kaushal welcomed theminister. He was briefedabout the facilities and ser-vices provided at the hospital.

Minister Harish Rao

informed them about thereforms being brought aboutin the medical and health sec-tor under the guidance ofChief Minister KChandrashekar Rao inTelangana.

He discussed with themabout the expansion ofNizam’s Institute of MedicalSciences (NIMS) inHyderabad, the ambitiousTelangana Institute of MedicalSciences (TIMS) being setup by the government in thecity and the setting of a super-specialty hospital inWarangal.

Harish Rao visits PGIHospital in Chandigarh

PNS n HYDERABAD

Roof of Adriyala Longwallunderground coal mine ofSingareni Col l ier iesCompany Limited (SCCL),Ramagundam- III area,under Ramagiri mandal,caved in on Wednesday.

There was no loss of lifeand or critical injuries toanyone as workers were notnear the accident spot.

A 10 meter stretch roofcollapsed at BSL machine’sboot ending point at 85level, 3rd panel of the com-pletely mechanised under-ground mine. The incidentoccurred in the first shift.

Every day, about 10 to 15labourers would work atthe spot. However, noworkers were there at thespot when the accidentoccurred.

Roof caves inat Adriyalacoal mine

The BJP isholding its NECmeeting after 18years inHyderabad. In2004, during thereign of AtalBehari Vajpayee,the BJP held itsnationalexecutive meet inHyderbad.

nation 05HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022

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The government is taking a series of steps to reduce the number of road accidents inthe country and is also working on creating helipads at wayside amenities that arecoming up along the expressways to provide emergency care, Union minister V K

Singh said on Wednesday. Addressing an event here, the minister of state for roadtransport and highways said that the government has placed ambulances at each tollplaza on highways but more needs to bedone in this area. We are trying to createhelipads in each one of our waysideamenities that are coming up along theexpressways. It will have helipad facilityand hospitals can set up trauma centres atthese locations, he said. The ministernoted that 11 per cent of world accidentshappen in India and "we need to work tobring down the number of road accidentsto 2 lakhs per year from current 5 lakhs".This can be rectified and brought down ifall stakeholders work together, he stated.

Govt taking steps to reduce no of road accidents: V K Singh

Thousands of devotees Wednesday thronged the 12th century 'Sri Mandir'here to witness the Nabajaubana' (The Holy Sight of Juvenile Youth) of LordJagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra after a gap of two years due

to the pandemic. The state government allowed the people to congregate at thetemple after the decline in the prevailing pandemic. As per the tradition thedeities remained in the AnasarGruha' (the sick room) inside thetemple after their ritual bath onSnan Purnima day. It is believedthat the the Holy Trinity appears inyouthful form on this day afterrecovering from fever induced bythe bath. As per the scheduleissued by Shree Jagannath TempleAdministration (SJTA), Parimanik(paid) darshan was held for anhour from 8 am to 9 am after thetemple opened in the morning.

Thousands witness Lord Jagannath's‘Nabajaubana'

The 43-day Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine located in south Kashmir Himalayas isall set to begin on Thursday after a gap of three years. All arrangements have been putin place by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to ensure smooth pilgrimage to the

naturally formed ice-lingam at the cave shrine, officials said. Jammu and Kashmir LieutenantGovernor Manoj Sinha on Wednesdaymorning flagged off the first batch ofpilgrims from Jammu base camp. Thefirst batch of 4,890 pilgrims leftaround 4 am from the Bhagwati Nagarbase camp for Kashmir Valley in acavalcade of 176 light and heavyvehicles, the officials said. The Jammuand Kashmir administration is alsoaugmenting the efforts of the shrineboard by providing foolproof securitycover along both the Pahalgam andBaltal routes to the holy cave, a seniorofficial said.

After 3-year gap, Amarnath Yatra all set to begin today

PNS n CHENNAI

Imploring educators to payattention to imparting educa-tion in one's mother tongue,Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Wednesday fervent-ly appealed to schools acrossthe nation to foster the spirit ofcuriosity, innovation and excel-lence among the students.

Challenges and opportuni-ties abound in a technology-driven fast changing world andin this context the best skillschools could impart a studentis adaptability, he said."Students must be trained tothink quickly on their feet, beagile and innovate using cut-ting-edge technologies to solve21st century problems," theVice President emphasisedwhile inaugurating the VelloreInternational School (VIS),established at Kayar, nearKelambakkam, near here, bythe Vellore Institute ofTechnology (VIT). Complimen

ting the management of VITGroup of Institutions for theimportant milestone in theireducational journey, he said theVIT Group has been makingconsistent efforts to strengthenhigher education in the privatesector and "I am confident thisinstitution will be anotherfeather in their cap."Educational strategy should be

aligned to futuristic approachand shun rote learning. Alsoartificial segregation betweencurricular and extracurricularactivities should be dispensedwith and the students encour-aged in multidiscipline, he sug-gested. "It is my fervent appealto the schools across the nationto foster the spirit of curiosity,innovation and excellence in

students," Naidu said. The VicePresident said he was informedthat the VIS is trying to intro-duce the concept of house par-ent' to integrate the positiveaspects of Guru-Shishya tradi-tion with modern pedagogicalpractices.

Urging teachers to pay atten-tion to the use of mothertongue, he said wherever pos-

sible, at least until the primarylevel, the medium of instruc-tion in public and privateschools should be in mothertongue. "We must encouragestudents to speak freely in theirmother tongue in their socialenvironment on the schoolpremises, at all the culturalevents and in their homes.Only when we can freely andproudly speak our mothertongue can we truly appreciateour cultural heritage," he said.

Reiterating that focusing onour mother tongue is not tosuggest one not to learn otherlanguages like English, Naidusaid he often said that oneshould learn as many languagesas possible.

What is required is a strongfoundation in the mother lan-guage. Proficiency in otherlanguages, in addition to one'smother tongue, helps buildcultural bridges and opens win-dows to new worlds of experi-ence, the VP said.

PNS n BENGALURU

In an attempt to projectSiddaramaiah as the Congress'sChief Ministerial candidate inKarnataka for the 2023 Assemblypolls, his loyalists are planning amonth-long programme inAugust when he turns 75, even asState Congress chief D KShivakumar's side asserted collec-tive leadership and said anyonecan become the Chief Minister.The voice of assertion fromShivakumar's camp this time camefrom his brother and BengaluruRural MP D K Suresh.

This is seen as another roundin the game of one-upmanshipbetween the two leaders, who havebeen nursing Chief Ministerialambitions and also want to con-solidate their clout within theparty. The development comeseven as Shivakumar andSiddaramaiah were in Delhi dis-

cussing the party's preparednessand campaign strategy for thepolls with party's national leaderRahul Gandhi in New Delhi,along with general secretaries K CVenugopal and Randeep SinghSurjewala. According to sources,Siddaramaiah's supporters andwellwishers, including senior

Congress leaders and formerMinisters like R V Deshpande andH C Mahadevappa, have planneda massive convention at the dis-trict headquarters town ofDavangere on August 3, which isalso being seen as a show ofstrength by the former ChiefMinister's camp.

PNS n GUWAHATI

Assam government Wednes daysaid rebel Shiv Sena leaderEknath Shinde and otherMaharashtra dissidents who arecamping in Guwahati for a weekare "guests" of the state . AssamParliamentary Affairs MinisterPijush Hazarika said that the dis-sident MLAs of the western stateare being treated as guests andassistance is being provided tothem.

Hazarika, who is also the gov-ernment spokesperson, BJP MPfrom Assam Pallab Lochan Das,MLA Diganta Kalita andGuwahati Police JointCommissioner Partha SarathiMahanta on Wednesday accom-panied the rebel legislators in thebus journey from their upscalehotel in the city to Kamakhya

temple. "They (the dissidentMaharashtra MLAs) told theadministration that they wouldlike to visit Maa Kamakhya tem-ple. Chief Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma then assigned me toassist them because they are ourguests," Hazarika told reporters.

"It is the duty of the state gov-ernment to help any guest com-ing to the state," he added.

To questions on the number oflawmakers camping in the hoteland when they are likely to leave,Hazarika said "I do not knowhow many MLAs are there. I amnot aware of their plans."

Dissident legislators of ShivSena, which heads the rulingcoalition in Maharashtra, alongwith several Independents havebeen camping in Guwahati,around 2,700 km away fromMumbai, since June 22.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India needs to form GreenHydrogen Corridors and gov-ernments can look at provid-ing grants to startups as well assupport entrepreneurs to pro-mote green hydrogen, NITIAayog said on Wednesday.

In a report titled 'HarnessingGreen Hydrogen -Opportunities for DeepDecarbonisation in India', theAayog also suggested that thereis a need to facilitate invest-ment through demand aggre-gation and dollar-based bid-ding for green hydrogen.

"Three hydrogen corridorsshuld be developed across thecountry based on state grandchallenges ... The governmentscan provide grants and loans tostartups and projects, supportentrepreneurs through incuba-tors and investor networks,and put in place regulationsthat manage first-mover risks,"the report said. The govern-

ment can also use public pro-curement and purchase incen-tives (for green hydrogen) tocreate demand in niche mar-kets and crowd in privateinvestment, it added.

The report suggested that thgovernment should promote

export of green hydrogen andgreen hydrogen-embeddedproducts through a globalhydrogen alliance.

Green Hydrogen/ GreenAmmonia is defined as hydro-gen/ ammonia produced byway of electrolysis of water

using renewable energy,including renewable energywhich has been banked and thehydrogen/ammonia producedfrom biomass.

Most large economiesincluding India have commit-ted to net zero targets. The

report predicted that hydrogendemand in India could growmore than four-fold by 2050,representing almost 10 percent of global hydrogendemand. In the longer term,steel and heavy-duty truckingare likely to drive the majori-ty of demand growth, account-ing for almost 52 per cent oftotal demand by 2050, it added.

Emphasising that theroadmap should also identifya timeline and scale of manu-facturing support for electrol-ysers, the report said, "Indiamay aim for 25 GW of electrol-ysers by 2030, while also invest-ing USD 1 billion in R&D tocatalyse the development ofcommercial green hydrogentechnologies across the valuechain."

It noted that radicallyimproving the speed of regula-tory clearances coupled withpreferential treatment in pub-lic tenders will help catalyselocal manufacturing.

Shinde, rebel Sena MLAsour guests : Assam govt

PNS n JAMMU

To assist the Amarnath pil-grims, the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) has estab-lished 'Madadgar' boothsacross Jammu and Kashmir, aspokesperson of the paramili-tary force said on Wednesday.

The 43-day annual pilgrim-age is scheduled to commenceThursday from the twin basecamps - the traditional 48-kmNunwan in south Kashmir'sAnantnag and a 14-km short-er Baltal in central Kashmir'sGanderbal district - after a gapof two years following the out-break of COVID-19.

The CRPF spokespersonsaid help desks have been set

up at various places along theroute, and at transit and basecamps. The force has alsoestablished a medical campalong the pilgrimage route toprovide free treatment, he said.

The first batch of 4,890 pil-grims, who left the BhagwatiNagar base camp in Jammuunder tight security arrange-ments in the early hours ofWednesday, have reached their

respective base camps in theValley to start their onwardjourney. The spokespersonsaid all efforts have been madeto ensure their safety and secu-rity and their convoys in viewof a heightened threat percep-tion and statements by variousterror groups to disturb the pil-grimage. "The force has left nostone unturned to take up thechallenge...the surveillance ofevery inch is being made by thevigilant jawans, who are alsousing drone 'Netra' to keep thepilgrims safe," he said.

The spokesperson said thepilgrims leaving the base campon the first day were excitedand expressed full faith in theCRPF's capability.

India needs to form GreenHydrogen Corridors: NITI Aayog PNS n GUWAHATI

The flood situation in Assamworsened on Wednesday follow-ing incessant rain, with five morepeople losing their lives in the del-uge and the number of affectedpeople rising to 24.92 lakh, whileSilchar town in Cachar districtcontinued to remain inundatedfor the last 10 days, officials said.

The MeT Department hasissued a 'red alert' in the districtsof Kokrajhar, Chirang and Baksa,and an 'orange alert' in Dhubri,Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Udalguri,Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhemajiand Dibrugarh. The weatheroffice has also issued an 'orangealert' in South Salmara,Kokrajhar, Chirang and Baksadistricts till Thursday. Five freshfatalities have taken the totalnumber of deaths due to floodsand landslides in Assam ths yearto 139, while three more peoplehave been reported missing, abulletin issued by the AssamState Disaster ManagementAuthority (ASDMA) said.Brahmaputra, Beki, Kopili, Barakand Kushiyara rivers were flow-ing above the danger level in

some places although most of theremaining rivers were showing areceding trend.

Most localities of Silchar werestill water-logged and the situa-tion remained critical with resi-dents facing a shortage of food,drinking water and medicines.

The town has remained sub-merged for the last 10 days dueto breach of a dyke in Bethkundi.Deputy Comm issioner KeerthiJalli said work is underway torepair it. She said priority wasbeing given to reach out to theaffected people with clean drink-ing water and food while medical

camps are being organised by thehealth department to ensure pre-vention of water-borne diseases.

A team of the National HealthMission, Assam, led by itsMission Director M S LakshmiPriya is also camping at Silchar toensure that the affected people getproper medical facilities.

Medical personnel have beendeployed in the 28 municipalwards of the town, while healthcamps have been organised at dif-ferent relief centres where inmateshave been provided with ORSpackets for prevention of diar-rhoea.

Huge security forJuly 1 rath yatrain AhmedabadPNS n AHMEDABAD

As many as 25,000 security per-sonnel will be deployed on theroute of the forthcoming LordJagannath rathyatra inAhmedabad in which lakhs ofpeople are likely to participateafter a gap of two years withoutCOVID-19 restrictions, officialssaid on Wednesday. UnionHome Minister Amit Shah willperform the Mangla Aarti at thetemple on July 1 around 4 ambefore the chariots of the deitiesroll out. In normal times, lakhsof people gather along the routeof the rathyatra on the day of'Ashadhi Beej' to catch a glimpseof deities and the procession,which includes decorated ele-phants and several tableaux.Traditionally, the procession,led by chariots, starts around 7am on 'Ashadhi Beej' from the400-year-old temple in theJamalpur area of the city andreturns by 8 pm after passingthrough the Old City, includingsome communally sensitiveareas. "With lakhs of peoplefrom across Gujarat are expect-ed to attend the 145th LordJagannath Rathyatra here onJuly 1, at least 25,000 securitypersonnel will deployed on theentire city to thwart any unto-ward incident," officials said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI has announced areward of Rs one lakh for any-one giving actionable infor-mation leading to arrest ofTMC MP AbhishekBanerjee's alleged confidantVinay Mishra, who is wantedin a cattle smuggling case,officials said Wednesday. Thecentral agency had issued asimilar reward against Mishra

in a case of coal pilferage fromthe mines of EasternCoalfields Ltd in WestBengal's Asansol a few

months ago, they said. TheCBI had also moved Interpolseeking a Red Notice againstMishra and attempts are

going on to bring him backfrom the island country ofVanuatu in the Pacific oceanwhere he had reportedlytaken citizenship in 2020, theofficials said. The CBI hadnamed Mishra as co-accusedin its supplementarychargesheet filed last year inthe cattle smuggling case.

Mishra is believed to beclose to West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee's

nephew and TrinamoolCongress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, the officialssaid. The central agency hasalleged that Mishra acted as amiddleman link to collectillegal gratification on behalfof public servants and used togive patronage and protectionto the smugglers using hisconnections in lieu of moneyrouted through non-existentshell companies.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

A day after the brutal murderof a tailor in Rajasthan trig-gered shock waves across thecountry, Kerala Governor ArifMohammed Khan onWednesday came out againstMadrassas and wonderedwhether young children weretaught there that punishmentfor blasphemy is beheading.He also called for broad-based education to every childtill the age of 14 years, sayingit was one of their basic rightsand opined that no specialisededucation should be given tothem before that age.

Assam flood situation worsens,24.9 lakh people affected

CBI announces reward on TMC MP Banerjee's confidant

Encourage students to be curious, innovative: VP Siddaramaiah to be CM face;rivals favour collective leadership

Udaipur incident:Kerala Guv againstMadrassa curriculum

CRPF booths to help Amarnath pilgrims

He is the only military commander in modern times who can be described asthe “soldiers’ soldier”. Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, or SamManekshaw, led India in the 1971 war against Pakistan which resulted in

the birth of Bangladesh. How he won the war despite odds like shortage of weaponsand manpower has been recorded in golden letters in military history. He was thecountry’s Chief of Army Staff from 1969 to 1973 and was promoted as India’sfirst Field Marshal in January 1973. An Army commander who never hesitated tospeak his mind to the highest political leadership, Sam Manekshaw is not a nameto be remembered only on his bir th or death anniversaries because he was muchmore than a military chief. Born as the son of a doctor in a middle class family,Sam could have opted for any profession of his choice but he ended up in the

military academy. The story of Manekshaw as asoldier, officer and commander is folklore. Bravery,gallantry, intelligence and the willingness to go tothe extra mile to realise his mission endeared himto his officers and subordinates.

The best example of his professional prowesswas the decision of his British commander MajorGeneral David Cowan honouring a criticallyinjured Manekshaw, then a captain fighting on theBurma front in 1942, with a Military Cross. Theaward was in recognition of his valour and fighting spirit against the Imperial JapaneseArmy. Since a dead man cannot be awarded the

Military Cross, the British commander decorated Manekshaw, who was fightingfor his life after being felled by Japanese bullets. The appointment of Manekshawas CoAS was a morale booster to the Indian Army which has not looked backsince. India owes a lot to Sam for the win in the 1975 World Cup HockeyChampionship at Kuala Lumpur. It was Sam who asked MAM Ramaswamy, anindustrialist in Chennai, to pay for the air tickets of the Indian team with the day’sGovernment looking the other way. Each person who has met him at least oncehas many things to reminiscence about this legendary soldier. This great son ofIndia is a real Bharat Ratna and it would be ideal to honour him with the top civilian award during the 75th anniversary of India's freedom.

The gruesome murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur, is a reminder to all,especially the political class, that there is a lot that is rotten in the statecraftand politics of India. The killers, Gos Mohammad and Riyaz Akhtari, not only

slaughtered Lal in his shop but also shot a video of their misdeed. They cut his throatwith a cleaver and, according to the police, wanted to behead him but couldn’t. Inanother video, the murderers not only gloated over the killing but also threatened tokill Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The case has been handed over to the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA). Meanwhile, in Udaipur, after a few violent incidents, cur-few has been imposed; in entire Rajasthan, large gatherings have been disallowed

for a month; mobile internet services have been shutdown for 24 hours across the State. The authori-ties are alert now, but a little action and some alert-ness earlier by the local cops could have preempt-ed the murder and the unfortunate situation that hasarisen now. What led to the murder is still not quiteclear. There are reports that Lal supported formerBJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who was recent-ly in the news for her controversial remarks aboutProphet Muhammad. But it has also been reportedthat Lal did not know how to operate a mobile phone.When he was arrested following a complaint againsthim, he told the police that it was his child who, while

playing a game, had shared an objectionable post by mistake. Lal was arrested butwas bailed out the next day, that is, June 11.

Whatever be the truth, it is undeniable that he had informed the police that hewas receiving death threats, and yet no action was taken. ADG (Law and Order) HawaSingh Ghumaria told a newspaper, “Then, on June 15, he submitted a written com-plaint that he is getting death threats and sought police protection. The SHO con-cerned called the persons who were allegedly issuing the threats. And then, five-seven responsible persons from both the communities sat down and reached an agree-ment. In a handwritten note, Kanhaiya Lal said he doesn’t need any more action againstanyone. Hence, the police did not proceed on the security threat.” All this may becorrect, but what was local intelligence doing? That Gos Mohammad and Riyaz Akhtariwere quite radicalised is evident from not just their crime but also their belief thatanyone offending their Prophet has to be executed. As they said in their video,“Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda (There is only one punishment fordisrespect to the Prophet, beheading).” This is a favourite slogan of Pakistan’s Muslimfundamentalists. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has denounced Lal’s mur-der, as also have other prominent leaders. Typically, they appeal to people to main-tain peace. There is something that our political masters also need to do: Strengthenthe law-enforcement apparatus and detox politics.

Murder most foul

PROBE SHOULD BE FAIR, UNBIASEDSir — The reports suggest that the PMOhas responded to a letter by theContractors’ Association of Karnataka, inwhich the body alleged that the Ministersand MLAs demand hefty commissions ofabout 40 per cent for giving approval todevelopment projects in the State.Meanwhile, the contractors’ associationpresident has said the relevant docu-ments pertaining to the case have been sub-mitted to the officer sent by the UnionHome Ministry. It’s a positive developmentas the Centre has taken an initiative to digout the truth in the serious charges of cor-ruption.

However, the Centre’s initiative toprobe the menace of corruption amongMinisters making headlines shouldn’tbecome an eyewash and a ploy to give theclean chit to the BJP leaders — just to bluntthe Opposition attack. The corruptiondeals between the Ministers and contrac-tors executing Government projects are anopen secret. The investigation shouldn’tend up as an image makeover exerciseahead of the Assembly elections. Also, thePrime Minister’s oft-repeated public state-ment “Na khaunga, na khane doonga”should hold good universally. Transparencyand fairness should be the prime criteriato make the investigation convincing andjustifiable.

N Sadhasiva Reddy | Bengaluru

31% RS MPS FACE CRIMINAL CASESSir — It’s a big shock to the citizens that31 per cent of the Rajya Sabha membersacross political parties have criminal casesagainst them, according to Association forDemocratic reforms, National ElectionWatch. The Members of LegislativeAssemblies elect the required number ofMPs to the Rajya Sabha. The RS alsoincludes men of integrity excelling in arts,literature, games and social service as theyare nominated by the President on theGovernment’s advice. Though ours is thebiggest democracy, the way these leadersare elected is concerning for the democ-

racy as several ills need to be cured.Thanks to former Chief Election

Commissioner TN Seshan for bringingreforms in election procedures and imple-menting the existing rules strictly. It gavegood results but not totally. Many thingsstill have to be strictly implemented dueto interference by politicians of ruling par-ties as they go by their convenience, result-ing in the disappointment of citizens. Butwhen the Elders are sent to the RajyaSabha, everything should be transparent.When many RS members are involved incriminal cases, how can they feel comfort-able with the title of Elders?

JP Reddy | Telangana

THE INTERNATIONAL ASTEROID DAYSir — June 30, the International AsteroidDay, will have everyone looking toward theskies. The day was founded after the 2014release of the film 51 Degrees North, whichseeks to explore what would happen if anasteroid were to strike London. The film’screative team (many of whom are actual

scientists) wanted to raise more awarenessabout the threat of asteroids to earth, andhow we can help protect ourselves. Tomake that happen, they formed a founda-tion, and in 2015, they celebrated theworld’s first International Asteroid Day.There are over one million asteroids inspace that could potentially strike the earth,but modern scientists have discovered onlyabout one per cent of them.

To combat this real and actual threat,the Asteroid Day’s founders as well as a hostof accomplished scientists, created the100X Asteroid Declaration. The declara-tion aims for scientists to work towardsincreasing the rate of asteroid discovery to100,000 per year within a decade. TheInternational Asteroid Day focuses onspreading the word of the declaration andhelping fellow earthlings prepare for apotential asteroid impact.

Faizan Khan | Ujjain

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022

06

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A soldiers’ soldierSam Bahadur, the architect of the 1971 victory

against Pakistan, deserves the Bharat Ratna

PICTALK

Men walk at the Nokian Tyres manufacturing plant in Vsevolozhsk, outside St Petersburg, Russia AP

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

The Udaipur incident is another reminder that timely

action can prevent a situation from unravelling

In his address to the G-7 Summit recently,Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concern forglobal development and its betterment was

noteworthy. Through his worthy words, thePrime Minister mentioned the utmost contribu-tion made by India that was aimed at throwinga major light on the ultimate goal of global devel-opment. With special emphasis on the contri-butions made by the country, he further reiter-ated that we are the country that has been ableto transform robustly with the help of conceptof women-development to women-led develop-

ment. The importance of agriculture, therebyavailing trusted fertilisers for producing healthyand safe food, were the major aspects of dis-cussion carried out at the Summit.

The special emphasis on the concept ofIndia as the world’s first solar-power airportleaves a serious sense of concern towards main-tenance of environmental health. The concept ofthe import-export culture since the ancient timeshas led to the foundation of robust and resilientrelations among the countries. Along with otherimportant topics, this significant Summit alsohighlighted the importance of alliance among oneanother other, especially the Indo-Canadian rela-tions, strengthening the platform of companion-ship and thus combating the terrific global threatslike terrorism. This G-7 Summit is surely goingto render the message of staunch relationsamong all the invited nations and, therefore, couldprove to be a threat to various ordeals.

Sarthak Sharma | Ujjain

Modi makes a point at G-7

SOUNDBITE

In the pan-India protestsafter Friday prayers, the postersat different locations had aneerie commonality — ofimage, banner text. The simi-larity across distant locationspoints to coordinated planningand execution. Were theprotests orchestrated by vest-ed interests out to underminethe Modi Government by sow-ing discord between commu-nities? Were these instigators,inimical to Indian nationalinterest, inspired and fundedby foreign agencies?

Now about the protestsabroad. Does Qatar have anyright to demand a public apol-ogy from the Government ofIndia when in 2010 it hadgiven shelter and honorary cit-izenship to artist MF Husainwho, after painting Hindugoddesses in the nude, refusedto appear before court and fledthe country? Almost everyIslamic nation, as well as the57-member OIC, initially lam-basted India for the intemper-ate remarks by somebody notholding any Government posi-tion. The Pakistan presslamented that “the idea ofIndia was facing an existentialcrisis”, presumably because theidea was secular, quite forget-ting that the country itself is atheocratic State that unabashed-ly persecutes minorities.

An Arab newspaper point-

ed out that Nupur’s Muslim co-panellist was not blasphemingRam or Sita when in anger sheuttered the offending remarks.While that may well be true,she was instead provokedprobably by the worst blasphe-my possible for Hindus — theritual washing of feet, Vazoo,by Muslim worshippers atGyanvapi mosque That sure-ly is an offence much greaterthan a tactless, angry remark.

Why was the reactionoverblown? The Grand Muftiof Oman exhorted all Muslimsto rise as one nation, therewere calls in the Gulf countriesfor boycott of Indian goods,and there were reminders ofIndia’s dependence on theGulf countries for oil importsand inward remittances.

Under Modi, India hastried its best to improve rela-tions with the Gulf countriesand obtained significant suc-cess. Modi himself has paidseveral visits to the region,been received warmly andhad national honoursbestowed on him. Pakistanoften invokes the IslamicUmmah for underminingIndia; it did so this time also,especially with OIC. However,since its credibility is ratherlow, many Islamic countriesdid not take long to recoverfrom the initial kneejerk reac-tion. The Iranian Foreign

Minister after his recent visitto New Delhi approved of theIndian Government’s handlingof the controversy and its fall-out. The Kuwait Governmenthas taken strict action againstthe anti-India protesters, evendeporting some expatriatesand banning them from enter-ing the country again.

Domestically, it was a god-send opportunity for theOpposition to malign Modiand BJP. Though religious fig-ures like the Shahi Imam ofJama Masjid in Delhi dis-tanced themselves from theunruly protests and violentrioting, leaders who cultivatethe simple, unaware Islamicvote bank played to theirgallery and feigned righteousindignation. The fact thatmajor rioting started 10 daysafter the TV episode lends cre-dence to the allegation thatmob anger was built up overtime deliberately by leaders likeOwaisi. One of the downsidesof democracy is thatunscrupulous politicians maypander to the rabble’s irrationalsentiments for electoral gainsat the cost of social cohesion;this episode illustrates it vivid-ly.

(A former banker, thewriter’s love for words andideas has turned him towardswriting columns. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

There’s no merit in demands to lynch anybody without first appreciatingthe circumstances under which the person may have uttered angry words

THE SIMILARITY INPROTESTS ACROSS

DISTANTGEOGRAPHICAL

LOCATIONS POINTSTO COORDINATED

PLANNING ANDEXECUTION. WERE

THE PROTESTSORCHESTRATED BYVESTED INTERESTS

OUT TO UNDERMINETHE MODI

GOVERNMENT BYSOWING DISCORD

BETWEENCOMMUNITIES?

PRADEEP BAJPAI

Unsettled queriesin l’affaire Nupur

In the emotional thrust andparrying of viewpoints overNupur Sharma’s remarks,

some fundamental points havebeen lost sight of. Now that anauthentic video of the TV pro-gramme is no longer available, wecan only go by inferences anddeductions and try to answersome fundamental questionsbased on these. What exactly didNupur say that sparked this out-rage both domestically and inIslamist nations? Indications arethat she alluded to some detailsof the Islamic Prophet’s life. Didshe invent these details to malignIslam and mock its followers? Ifso, she deserves the strongest con-demnation and a harsh punish-ment. If, however, what she men-tioned was derived from Islamicsources, then her misdemeanourfalls in the category of an unfor-tunate choice of words or a tact-less iteration in the heat of debate.In that case, her immature sim-plicity was her only sin, quiteunderstandable in somebody inher 30s. And that requires at besta reprimand from her party, theBJP, and an admonition to bemore circumspect and to avoidsuch indiscretions.

The veracity of the above sce-narios notwithstanding, was theoverblown reaction to an off-the-cuff remark on national TV dis-cussion, in response to provoca-tion, proportionate and justifi-able? Are the rabid chants of sar-tan-se-juda asking for herbeheading, in Kanpur and else-where, condonable in civilisedsociety? Should it be par for thecourse for any community tomake children hold up postersasking for somebody’s head? Andall this when Nupur had alreadyapologised unconditionally?

Something forgotten in thepresent overcharged discourse iswhat Nupur stated in a videoflicker, since gone missing; thatshe cannot remain silent whenher Mahadev is insulted and thatshe had made the remarks inanger. What did her Musliminterlocutor on the TV debate sayabout Lord Shiva that she wasreferring to? And why are hiscomments muted and lost in thedin of her universal condemna-tion by the secular lobby in Indiaand the Islamist one abroad?

The deputy CM(Manish Sisodia) is unnecessarily politicising a desir-able administrativeaction.

Delhi L-G—VK Saxena

Seven democra-cies would main-tain sanctionsagainst Russia aslong as neces-sary. Russia can-

not and should not win.

French President—Emmanuel Macron

It is clear from the

brutal daylight

murder that miscre-

ants feel confident

under this State

Government.

Former Rajasthan CM

—Vasundhara Raje

I will be gunningfor the team to win3-1... I can say Iwas in a team thatwon in Australiaand England.

Indian spinner—R Ashwin

More layers, char-acters and myster-ies will unfoldwhen the audiencewill watchShamshera on thebig screen.

Director

—Karan Malhotra

Higher education hasto become meaningful

ALL THE MLAS HERE (GUWAHATI) ARE HAPPY ANDUNITED. THERE’S NOTHING TO WORRY. WE’LL ALL GO TO MUMBAI SOON.—REBEL SENA LEADEREKNATH SHINDE

AS HEAD OF THE FAMILY, I TELL YOU THE TIME HAS NOT PASSED YET. I APPEAL TO YOU...

WE’LL RESOLVE ALL DIFFERENCES.—SHIV SENA CHIEF AND MAHARASHTRA CM

UDDHAV THACKERAY

In the past couple of years, there has been a growing concern acrossthe world with regards to ruthless killings of whistleblowers, most ofwhom were courageous citizens who fought to secure the truth at the

risk of their lives. These whistle blowers play an essential role in expos-ing corruption, fraud, mismanagement and other wrongdoing that threa-ten public health and safety, financial integrity, human rights, the envi-ronment and the rule of law.

By disclosing information about such misdeeds, these courageouspeople have helped save countless lives and billions in public funds, whilepreventing emerging scandals and disasters from worsening. Hence, suchviolent resistance to truth and its custodians in innumerable cases acrossthe world shows extreme moral degradation of our society and the ero-sion of values. What kind of society would punish its whistleblowersand stifle the truth? Perhaps that’s the question we all need to ask our-selves. When muscle and money power call the shots everywhere, itis obvious that truth will always be on the run and evil on a perpetualchase.

The dictum of might is right has been strengthened by the depic-tion of violent episodes in history as well as through religious writings.There are many religious scriptures that show that even the Almightyshowed His might by decimating the evil forces by means of a violentwar to contain unrighteousness in the world. Hence, using force to seta wrong right or to discipline a wrong doer has been adopted as a normby humans at all levels of existence.

To change this scene, patchwork solutions will no longer suffice.Because we need a complete transformation that can emerge when wechange the powers we use. From the power of might, we now have toshift to the power of right and develop a culture that springs from non-violence.

Discarded as a theoretical tool and reduced to a mere embellish-ment in books, non-violence is actually a magic wand that can protectagainst the wrong and wrongdoer. One should not forget that we havealready witnessed that the policy of an eye for an eye has made the wholeworld blind, so we need to now make use of the power of values to con-nect and correct.

The great potential of non-violence needs to be explored—a valuewhich asks its users to refrain from aggression not just in action butalso in words and even thoughts. The simplicity of non-violence lies inthe fact that it can be used by anyone and at all levels—personal, socialand global. Peace, spirituality and self-sustainability will be dominant ina culture nourished by non-violence. It will naturally ooze with securityand brotherhood and any anti-social elements will soon be forced to theroad of guilt and self-realisation.

Ideals that we struggle and fight for today—freedom, justice andequality—will be natural there. From a place where anything can hap-pen to anyone at any time, the world will be transformed to a place whereeverything would happen at the right place, at the right time and in theright manner. There, the right would not just be right but right would bemight.

Is it all as simple as it sounds? Yes, it is! Together, we all can, throughspiritual empowerment, create such a way of life, but the fundamentalrule for it is self-change. Most of us have wasted much of our precioustime and energy in checking others and the quality of people at the sociallevel, without realising that the creation of a fair society would begin frompersonal change that would work from the inside out. This change wouldbe contagious which would spread through all of us, thus triggering asocial transformation at global level. So, Let’s Be the Change.

(The author is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal, and the UK)

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022

07

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FIRSTCOLUMN

LET’S BE THE CHANGETHAT WE WANT TO SEE

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

LN JHUNJHUNWALA

We have to develop a culture that springs from non-violence

SATYEN BOSEAND EINSTEIN

WERECOLLABORATING

ON SOMERESEARCH

WHICHRESULTED IN

THEDISCOVERY

OF THE BOSE-EINSTEIN(BOSEN)

THEORY. BOSEUSED TO LOVE

ME. HE WASDISAPPOINTED

WHEN I DIDNOT CONTINUE

MY STUDIES

Democracy serves peoplebest when it’s inclusive.The Bharatiya Janata

Party-led National DemocraticAlliance, by picking up formerJharkhand governor DraupadiMurmu as its candidate for theJuly 18 Presidential election,has abided by the inclusiveDharma of democracy.

The two successful candi-dates of the NDA in the pastwho made to RashtrapatiBhavan equally emphasisedinclusivity and most suitable tohold the top Constitutionalpost. APJ Abdul Kalam, India’smissile man, not only lived togive the country strategic deter-rence but also became a rolemodel for all, particularlyyouth. His life was a living tes-timony to the Indian traditionof pursuit of knowledge andhumility.

In Ram Nath Kovind, Indiagot a President who was mosthumble and democratic, whoopened the doors ofRashtrapati Bhavan for thepeople while being most cour-teous in his conduct and dis-charge of the duty. The politi-cal commentators sought tobracket him as the BJP’s Dalitbet, but he eventually provedthat he could conduct theConstitutional duties most effi-ciently.

Murmu struggled all herlife but beat the odds to raiseher children, while also becom-ing a foremost social and polit-ical worker. From being a leg-islator, she proved her mettle inOdisha as a minister and there-after as the governor ofJharkhand.

She would be the first trib-al President of India since the

NDA has the support of theBiju Janata Dal and the YSRCongress for the July 18 elec-tion. The BJP has for long beenpursuing an inclusive agenda.Even in 1996, when the AtalBihari Vajpayee governmentfell in 13 days despite being thesingle largest party, it had thelargest number of the tribalMPs in its ranks. The BJP’sforemost commitment to takeall sections of society has beenan abiding principle.

Murmu will be a candidatein the Presidential election at atime when the Narendra Modi-led government has given anew hope to the tribal popula-tion in the country by takinghis mantra of ‘Sabka Sath,Sabka Viswas aur Sabka Prayas’to every nook and corner of thecountry, including the tribalareas in Jharkhand, Odisha

and Chhattisgarh. During therule of the United ProgressiveAlliance, Leftwing or Maoistextremism was at its peak;people talked about the RedCorridor, connecting thehotbed of Maoist violence inNepal to the deep forests inSukma in Chhattisgarh. Theviolence cost several lives ofparamilitary forces.

The NDA government setout for course correction rightat the outset, and gave hope tothe tribal youth that they cansee better future in the main-stream of society, as severalwelfare schemes brought ben-efits to the people without has-sles, without paying bribes.The government’s honesty wasvisible, and the tribals of thecountry turned their backs toviolence.

In the last few years,

Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,Telangana and Odisha havelargely been peaceful, with adecline in Maoist violence.

When Murmu takes theoath of the office as thePresident of India, the tribalpopulation will see the fulfill-ment of their political aspira-tions. They will see that onefrom among them is the firstcitizen of India.

The Aspirational Districtprogramme of the Central gov-ernment was envisioned withclear objective that the gains ofthe development must reachthe poorest of the poor, inaccordance with the true ofDeen Dayal Upadhyaya.

The tribals have seen thatthey have been brought in themainstream of the economywith financial inclusion, puccahouses with toilets, pension

schemes and so on. They don’tneed to fall for the allure-ments of the evangelists toembrace their religion.

The elevation of Murmu tothe post of the President ofIndia will be the firm democ-ratic empowerment of the trib-al population, as well as womenof the country. She has thor-oughly been a spiritual personand her association withBrahmakumaris is well known.

She was sweeping the floorof a temple a day after her namewas announced by the BJPpresident JP Nadda; peoplehave seen how humble a per-son she is. She stands for sim-plicity, spirituality.

She is a Constitutionalist, afirm believer in the IndianConstitution’s capacity to fulfillthe aspirations of all sections ofsociety. Her life is also a living

testimony of perseverance. Shenever lost hope even when shefaced personal losses. In her,India will have a Presidentwho will give hope to the vastmajority of the people that allhardships can be won over withhonesty and patience.

While the Opposition par-ties were busy in eliminationrounds to find a candidate forthe Presidential election, theBJP was thinking of nationalinterest. When the BJP namedMurmu as its Presidential can-didate, even the rivals suggest-ed that the contest has becomeone-sided. The Oppositioncandidate, Yashwant Sinha, cansave his lost reputation bygracefully withdrawing fromthe Presidential election topave way for the unanimouselection of Murmu as India’sPresident.

Draupadi Murmu struggled to raise her children, while also becoming a foremost social and political worker

Murmu: NDA’s choice for inclusive democracy

The author is Director, PublicPolicy Research Centre

(@Sumeetbhasin)

SUMEET BHASIN

RAJYOGI BRAHMAKUMAR NIKUNJJI

My mind goes back to 1945 and1946. I was a postgraduatestudent in pure mathematics.We were just six students.

Shree Satyen Bose was our Professor. Heused to wear Dhoti Kurta (snow-white).Our classes were on the 3rd floor and therewere no lifts.

Bose and Einstein were collaborating onsome research which resulted in the discov-ery of the Bose-Einstein (Bosen) theory.Bose used to love me and was keen that afterfinishing studies, I go to study astronomyat Mount Wilson observatory in America.He was disappointed when I did not con-tinue my studies.

I came from a very poor family. Mymother died of tuberculosis without prop-er treatment for want of funds in 1936. Myfamily had great expectations from me, thatI would earn money as I was brilliant ineducation. But I became brilliant in busi-ness. I started learning business from myuncle in 1946 side by side with studies.

I came into business full-fledged in 1946and retired in 2000. I have been very closeto the Ramakrishna Mission since 1951.The mission had a splendid educationalinstitute at Narendrapur in the suburb ofCalcutta with about 3,000 students. Of thetop 10 students in Calcutta University, atleast two students were from Narendrapur.I was dreaming of having something likeNarendrapur but on a tiny scale run by theRamakrishna Mission monks.

Shree Arjun Singh was the humanresource development minister. Hebelonged to Madhya Pradesh where I hadestablished a technologically challenginggraphite electrode plant. I had become veryclose to him. He would attend lectures ofSwami Atmanandaji, whom we used toinvite to Bhopal for lectures.

The mission had a number of educa-tional institutions but no university. Theydecided to establish one at Belur Math intheir large compound on the banks of theGanges. They decided to send a delegationof monks to meet Arjun Singh. Knowingmy closeness with him, they asked me toaccompany them. His response was good;the next meeting was fixed after a month.

The Ramakrishna Mission had threesubjects in mind for the University: (i) dis-aster management whose practical experi-ence they had in floods and famines; (ii)rural development; and (iii) poverty alle-viation. I was keen that they included math-ematics so that their performance could becompared internationally.

I met Arjun Singh alone and request-ed him, while interacting with them, toemphasise on mathematics. He was enthu-siastic. The ministry did their homework.An additional secretary and other officersattended the meeting. Five senior monks ofthe mission and I attended the meeting. OnSingh’s emphasis, mathematics was agreedupon.

He was highly impressed that the pro-posed vice-chancellor was a scholar of

Indians going to the US for education need to be informed aboutthe world-class institutions India has

The author is Emeritus Chairman,

LNJ Bhilwara

physics and was teaching it tograduates of the mission college andanother monk, Mahan Maharaj,was a great scholar of mathematicsand famous internationally.

The mission pointed out thatthe mathematics education wouldbe expensive. Faculty will have to bepaid liberally. As there are NobelLaureates in other subjects, math-ematics also has able laureates.The mission wanted a grant of Rs40 crore and Singh agreed to that.

The mission started looking fora mathematics scholar to start thiscourse. Fortunately, there was aBengali mathematician, AbhijeetDutt, at the Kyoto University whowas engaged in research withJapanese students. He was keen tocome to Bengal. With his comingback, the RK Mission Universitybecame a hub of mathematics inIndia. The board of governorsincluded four monks of the missionand four officials of the Ministry.Singh nominated me on the board.He told the mission that I had vastexperience in dealing with thebureaucracy and that I would behelpful. Thus I became a boardmember.

Unfortunately, Arjun Singhpassed away in 2011. Dealing withthe ministry became difficult.

The senior Sanyasinis of SardaMath once came to visit the univer-sity. Abhijeet Dutt welcomed themin his half pants and a sports T-shirt.The Sanyasinis were not very com-fortable. Nobody told anything tothe professor but he started feelinguncomfortable. He resigned andwent back to Kyoto. This wasunfortunate. I wish the mission hadhandled the professor better.

After the demise of ArjunSingh, I found my name had disap-

peared from the board without myknowledge. I was not happy.

In 2020, I came across an IITdean. I informed him that I havefour thousand students studying forhigher secondary at four placeswhere we have schools. I request-ed his assistance. He visited one ofour institutes and was highlyimpressed with our research activ-ities. We were looking forward tosome kind of association with IIT.But nothing came up.

Recently, my daughter becamevery enthusiastic for our schools.Therefore, I fixed a meeting with theDean of an IIT. The Dean was warmand he briefed me about theiractivities in mathematics researchdone by postgraduate mathemati-cians.

Similarly, I am now associatedwith the Harish-Chandra Mathsresearch institute at Allahabad.With my daughter’s involvementand my good health and alertmind, I am hopeful that I will bealive to see India produce an ablelaureate in mathematics.

I requested the Vice-Chancellor, SwamiAtmapriyanadaji, to include artifi-cial intelligence and I donated Rs15 lakh for that. He was alsothinking about artificial intelli-gence. One of his students is teach-ing artificial intelligence at theSouth African University; he hasagreed to join soon. I hope some-thing emerges.

I look across at my friends andmy own family. My grandson wentto the United States to study math-ematics. After two years, he want-ed to specialise in some branch ofmathematics whose expertise wasavailable at Cambridge; he movedto Cambridge. I was hopeful that

he would make his mark interna-tionally but he lost interest in math-ematics.

It is difficult for me to evalu-ate whether his education abroadfor five years did him some good.He took up music and joinedFayaaz Dagar, where I also joinedhim to renew my interest in vocalmusic. He lost interest in vocalmusic too and joined sarod, andmoved to Bombay because histeacher was in Poona.

One of my grandsons from mydaughter’s side did his graduationabroad and entered the business. Itis difficult to conclude whether hisforeign education was helpful.

Similarly, my granddaughterfrom my daughter's side did archi-tecture in the US with great enthu-siasm. On her return, she joined anarchitecture firm where she did well.But she is no longer in the field ofarchitecture.

The younger generation of richpeople is not accustomed to hardwork for a livelihood.

They are guided by their tem-porary whims.

The US earns billions of dollarsfrom students coming from Chinaand India. India spends a largeamount in foreign exchange onIndians studying abroad. Affluentfamilies send them abroad evenafter higher secondary education.After graduation, the US is wellequipped for studies in artificialintelligence, space travel, mathemat-ics, etc. But what do we get?

The Institute of Science inBangalore and the Atomic ResearchInstitute are world-class. IITs aregrowing well. Indians going to theUS for education need to beinformed about the internationalstatus of some such institutions.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022 Money 08

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Pharmaceutical company Innova Captab Ltd has filed preliminary papers withcapital markets regulator Sebi to raise funds through an initial public offering(IPO).The proposed IPO comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs

400 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 96 lakh equity shares by promoters andother shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).As part of the OFS, Manoj Kumarohariwala, Vinay Kumar Lohariwalaand Gian Parkash Aggarwal will sell 32lakh shares each.At present, promoters-- Manoj and Vinay -- hold 39.66 percent and 30.08 per cent stake,respectively, in the company, whileGian owns a 30.23 per cent holding inthe pharma firm.Besides, the companymay consider pre-IPO placement ofequity shares aggregating up to Rs 80crore. If such a placement isundertaken, the size of the fresh issuewill be reduced.

Tata Steel Ltd is betting big on new technology development over the next three tofour years and has firmed up plans to pump in around Rs 1,200 crore as a part ofits endeavour to enter materials beyond steel , a top company official said.

In the new materials business, the steel giant has been focusing on graphene, whichcan be mixed with plastic and recycled like brand-new products, among otherattributes, he said. Tata Steel is a leadingglobal producer of graphene-enrichedproducts - the biggest in the country andamong the top 10 in the world. "As far asthe new materials business is concerned,the outlay in entire technologydevelopment, including incubation, overthe next three to four years is about Rs1,200 crore," Vice-President, Technology& New Materials Business, DebashishBhattacharjee, told PTI. As compared to"asset heavy" steel - the core of TataSteel, these new materials are asset light,he said.

After back-to-back downward corrections, steel prices are expected to rise from Julydue to high input costs, an industry executive said on Wednesday."While coal price isat Rs 17,000 a tonne, iron ore prices by Odisha Mineral Corporation are still high. It

is the main supplier of iron ore in Odisha," JSPL Managing Director V R Sharma told PTIon the sidelines of an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here."The prices have already bottomedout. There is no chance of reducingthem further. There will be an upwardprice correction from Friday, July 1 by(primary players) mainly on accountof higher input costs," hesaid.Secondary steel makers havealready increased the price of rebarsby Rs 2,000 to Rs 55,000 per tonnein the last four days, Sharmasaid.There are various other factorsbuilding pressure on steel makers,Sharma said, adding there are issueswith the availability of coal.

Pharma company Innova Captab filesIPO papers with Sebi

Tata Steel to spend Rs 1,200cr on newtechnology development

Steel prices likely to go up again fromJuly 1 on high input cost: JSPL MD

PNS n MUMBAI

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Dason Wednesday emphasised theneed for proper interpretationof data to facilitate moreinformed decision making as itwill bring clarity in communi-cation from decision makers aswell as formation of rationalexpectations from market par-ticipants.

"The importance of statisticsin public policy is well under-stood. In the face of highuncertainty brought on by theCOVID-19 pandemic, the dis-cipline of statistics found itselfin greater spotlight. Thisunprecedented global phe-nomenon has tested humanendeavour in multiple facetsand magnitude," he said.

Speaking at the RBI's annu-al 'Statistics Day Conference',Das mentioned that lockdownsin various countries, includingIndia, posed severe challengesto the compilation and avail-ability of data relating to thespread of the pandemic, and itsimpact on various economiesand the world urgently need-ed solutions to a problem it hadnever seen before.

Recalling India's experience

in data gathering, he said theMinistry of Statistics andProgramme Implementationwas compelled to publishimputed figures for ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) for two con-secutive months during thefirst wave of the pandemic in2020 due to immense difficul-ty in collection of prices formany items.

He said statistical innova-tions arising out of the pan-demic disruption will havelong-lasting benefits and addedthat the upheaval also posed

challenges to statistical agen-cies to build more public trustin the resulting statistics.

While new data sourcesopen up opportunities for offi-cial statistics, he said it alsoraises issues for the discipline.

"... statistics should focus onlaying down the pathwaytowards proper interpretationin the present world of dataabundance. This would facili-tate more informed decisionmaking, clarity in communica-tion from decision makers andformation of rational expecta-

tions from market partici-pants," Das said.

Observing that the develop-ment of proper data qualityframework and ensuring dataprivacy and data security hasassumed top priority, Das saidthis was a central theme for therecently held InternationalAssociation for OfficialStatistics Conference in April2022.Central banks on theirpart are both producers andusers of statistics for policyactions as well as for assessingthe outcomes of their actions.They also need to establishstronger communication oftheir policies and actions insuch turbulent times, he noted.

Thus, central banks too hadto cope with all these chal-lenges by focussing on alterna-tive indicators and data sourcesfor monitoring the effects ofthe pandemic in all its dimen-sions.Talking about RBI, Dassaid it has refocussed its statis-tical endeavours during thepandemic to ensure the conti-nuity of its mission.

"RBI's past efforts in stream-lining of data flow, investmentin technology and continuousengagement with regulatedentities paid dividends.

Proper interpretation of data key to informed decision-making

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet onWednesday gave post factoapproval to the strategic part-nership agreement with theInternational RenewableEnergy Agency (IRENA)which will help India in greenenergy transition.

"The Union Cabinet chairedby Prime Minister NarendraModi was apprised of aStrategic PartnershipAgreement signed betweenthe Ministry of New andRenewable Energy (MNRE),Government of India, and theInternational RenewableEnergy Agency (IRENA)," anofficial statement said.

According to the statement,the Agreement was signed inJanuary 2022. The aim of theAgreement is to drive ambi-tion, leadership and knowledgeon green energy transitionsbased on renewable energy inIndia.It also stated that theUnion Cabinet has approvedthe strategic partnership agree-ment.The Agreement will helpIndia's energy transition effortsand will also help the world incombating climate change.

The areas of cooperation asenvisaged in the Strategic

Partnership Agreement willsupport India in achieving itsambitious target of 500 GW ofinstalled non-fossil fuel elec-tricity capacity by 2030. Thisin-turn will promoteAtmanirbhar Bharat.

The salient features of theagreement include enhancedcooperation in the areas suchas facilitating knowledge shar-ing from India on scaling-up

renewable energy and cleanenergy technologies.

It will also support India'sefforts on long term energyplanning and collaborate tostrengthen the innovation cli-mate in India.The pact will alsofocus on moving towards cost-effective decarbonisationthrough catalysing develop-ment and deployment of greenhydrogen.

Cabinet gives post factoapproval to pact with IRENA

PNS n NEW DELHI

Exports of marine productsrose 30.26 per cent to USD7.76 billion during 2021-22 asagainst USD 5.96 billion inprevious fiscal year, the com-merce ministry said onWednesday.

India shipped 13,69,264 MT(metric tonne) of seafoodworth Rs 57,586.48 crore dur-ing 2021-22.

"During 2021-22, the exportimproved in rupee term by31.71 per cent, in USD termsby 30.26 per cent and in quan-tity terms by 19.12 per cent,"the ministry said in a state-ment.

K N Raghavan, Chairman,Marine Products ExportDevelopment Authority

(MPEDA), said India managedto do "all-time high" exports ofUSD 7.76 billion.

Frozen shrimp remainedthe major export item in termsof quantity and value. Its ship-ments stood at USD 5.82 bil-lion last fiscal year. The seg-

ment accounts for 75.11 percent of the total dollar earn-ings.

The US is the largest marketof frozen shrimp, followed byChina, the European Union,South East Asia, Japan, and theMiddle East.

Marine exports up 30 pc tonearly US$ 8 bn in FY22

Rupee falls 18 paise toclose at all-time low of79.03 against US dollarPNS n MUMBAI

The rupee depreciated 18 paiseto close at a record low of 79.03(provisional) against the USdollar on Wednesday, weigheddown by persistent foreigncapital outflows, a strong dol-lar overseas and surge in crudeoil prices.At the interbank for-eign exchange market, therupee opened lower at 78.86against the greenback andfinally settled at 79.03, down 18paise over its previous close.

During the session, therupee touched an all-time lowof 79.05 against the Americancurrency.On Tuesday, therupee plunged by 48 paise toclose at the record low of78.85 against the US dollar.Thedomestic unit has lost 1.97 percent so far this month and haseroded a staggering 6.39 percent since the start of this year.

PNS n KOLKATA

Batteries and flashlightsmaker Eveready IndustriesIndia Ltd on Wednesday saidit is in the midst of a transfor-mation that lays the roadmap for a growth journey.

Chairing the company'sAGM virtually, ManagingDirector Suvomoy Saha saidthat Eveready is now activelyworking towards improve-ment in portfolio augmenta-tion, reaching out to con-sumers and process upgrada-tion.

Saha said that the funda-mental strengths of the busi-nesses remain intact with asolid brand, strong distribu-tion reach and significantlyhigh market share in the corecategories of batteries andflashlights.

The management of thecompany is now purelyfocused on harnessing thesestrengths for delivery ofresults. Some of the initiativesmay need some time to fruc-tify, but directionally these arefor long-term and sustainablevalue creation, he told share-holders.

Eveready has exited fromthe appliance business in the

second half of the last fiscal tofocus on core activity.

... the company's growth inthe recent past has been neg-ligible. This is an identifiedarea for improvement.Towards this, the company isworking to chart out a strat-egy for growth and alsoimprove existing operationalareas, the MD said.

Speaking about the econo-my and market, he said thata slowdown in demand forFMCG products was seen inlarge parts of the market,particularly rural ones due tohigh inflation resulting fromgeopolitical headwinds.

Turnover for the year wasdown by 3.4 per cent primar-ily due to a slow-down in theQ4 in the core categories ofbatteries and flashlights, andalso due to the gradual exitfrom the appliance business inthe 2nd half, Saha said.

Eveready in midst oftransformation: MD

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre is working onmodel bylaws to enable prima-ry agriculture credit societies(PACS) diversify from theircore business and allow them toundertake several activities andservices to become viable, a topCooperation Ministry officialsaid on Wednesday.

The computerisation of allfunctional 63,000 PACS, whichwill commence this fiscal withthe Cabinet approving a budgetof Rs 2,516 crore, will bringtransparency in accounting andbook keeping, thereby facilitat-ing them to diversify to other

activities smoothly, he said."The existing bylaws does not

allow PACS to diversify fromtheir core business. The UnionCooperation Ministry is in theprocess of drafting a modelbylaws to enable them to offerseveral services and activities,"the official said.

PACS will be allowed tooffer 20-odd services. Theywill be allowed to work asBank Mitras and common ser-vice centres (CSCs), providecold storage and godown facil-ities, set up PDS shops besidesenabling them to work in dairy,fishery, irrigation and biogassectors among others, he said.

"The draft 'model PACSbylaws' will be ready in a month

and will seek comments fromthe state governments. The

model bylaws will be advisoryin nature," he added.At present,

majority of PACS have notcomputerised their operationand still functioning manuallyresulting in inefficiency andtrust deficit.

PACS constitute the lowesttier of the three-tier short-term cooperative credit in thecountry comprising 13 crorefarmers as its members. Atpresent, there are 63,000 PACSin the country and the Centrehas a target to set up 3 lakhPACS by 2025.Besides a modelbylaws for PACs, the govern-ment is working on a newcooperation policy, setting upof an university and develop adata base of cooperatives.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian direct selling indus-try has reported retail sales ofUSD 3.25 billion in 2021(around Rs 27,650 crore) andmaintained its 12th place in theglobal rankings, said a reportreleased by Washington-basedWorld Federation of DirectSelling Associations (WFDSA).

The Indian direct sellingindustry reported a growth of7.7 per cent in 2021 and had aCAGR (Compound Annual

Growth Rate) of 15.7 per centin the last three years from2018 to 2021, grabbing sixthposition in the Asia Pacificregion, the report added.

The Indian direct sellingindustry is led by companies,including Amway, Avon,Oriflame, Modicare, Herbalifeetc.US has emerged as the topdirect selling market account-ing for 23 per cent of the totalsales with USD 42.67 billionretail sales, said WFDSAreport.

It was followed by SouthKorea and Germany, both con-tributing equally 10 per cent ofthe total global sales witharound USD 19 billion salesfrom direct retail.

In 2021, the global directselling industry reported salesof USD 186.10 billion, up 1.5per cent in constant currencyterms, the WFDSA reportadded.

During the period, wellnesscategory reported the highestsales and contributed around

35 per cent of the global sales,followed by the cosmetics &personal care segment with 25per cent.Top 10 countries,including the US, Germany,South Korea, China, Japan,Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico,France and Taiwan, con-tributed 78 per cent of theglobal sales."Excluding Chinasales, the industry continuedgrowth with a three-year com-pound annual growth rate of3.8 per cent for the 2018-2021period," the report said.

Indian direct selling industry reports US$ 3.25 billion sales

PNS n MUMBAI

Jet Airways is in discussionswith aircraft manufacturersand lessors to lease 6-8 planes,including some of those whichwere to be delivered to Russiancarriers prior to the Ukrainewar, as it gets ready for therelaunch, according to sources.

Moreover, the airline is alsonegotiating with airport oper-ators to secure slots with"good" timings, they said.

Once a major player in theIndian aviation space, the car-rier has not flown since April17, 2019 and is being revivedunder the ownership of theJalan-Kalrock consortium.

Last month it got its airoperator certificate revalidat-ed by the aviation safety regu-lator DGCA.

"Aircraft availability is

always an issue but now due tothe Russia-Ukraine war, air-craft which were to be deliv-ered to Russia are also availablein the market along with thoseleased planes which were fly-ing in Russia," a source toldPTI.He said the airline is nego-tiating with Both Boeing,Airbus and the lessors, addingthat "discussions are at a very

high level and an announce-ment is expected to be madevery soon."According to thesource, JetAirways is looking tolease 6-8 aircraft by December.

Jet Airways confirmed thatthe airline is in "advanced dis-cussion"with the lessors andoriginal equipment manufac-turer (OEMs) but did notshare specific details.

Jet Airways in talks with aircraft makers,lessors to lease 6-8 planes by Dec

Stocks halt 4-day winningrun, Sensex down 150 ptson weak global markets

PNS n MUMBAI

Snapping its four-day win-ning run, benchmark Sensexdeclined by over 150 pointson Wednesday due to profitbooking in IT, FMCG andbanking shares followingweak global trends and per-sistent foreign capital out-flows.

In a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled150.48 points or 0.28 percent lower at 53,026.97 as 20of its stocks ended with loss-es. During the day, it tumbled564.77 points or 1.06 percent to a low of 52,612.68ahead of the expiry in thederivatives segment onThursday.

The broader NSE Niftydeclined by 51.10 points or0.32 per cent to 15,799.10with 34 of its constituentsclosing in the red.In the four-day rally to Tuesday, Sensexspurted by 2.59 per cent or1,354 points while Nifty hadgained 2.84 per cent or 436points.Among Sensex shares,Hindustan Unilever fell themost by 3.46 per cent.IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank,Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, HCLTechnologies, Titan, KotakMahindra Bank and BajajFinance were the other majorlosers.

Bengaluru airport crosses 250million passenger markPNS n BENGALURU

Kempegowda InternationalAirport, Bengaluru has achieveda significant milestone by cross-ing the 250 million passengermark during the last weekend ofJune.The airport also achievedtwo million air traffic move-ments (ATMs) since its openingin 2008 and it is the fastest air-port under public-private part-nership (PPP) model in southIndia to achieve this

milestone.The addition of newcarriers along with the introduc-tion of new routes and rising pas-senger numbers on existingroutes has led to this accomplish-ment, the airport said in a state-ment on Wednesday."While thepandemic has meant that trafficgrowth over the past two yearshas been slower than usual, theairport has historically grownvery fast, as evidenced by howquickly the airport has reachedsome of these milestones," it said.

NIIF invests US$ 300mn in DP World'scontainer terminal armPNS n MUMBAI

Indian government-promotedNational Investment andInfrastructure Fund (NIIF) onWednesday said it has invest-ed USD 300 million or Rs 2,250crore for a 22.5 per cent stakein Hindustan Ports, a local armof UAE's DP World.This is thesingle largest investment byNIIF's master fund and takesthe vehicle's total investment inDP World's India arms to USD500 million, as per an officialstatement.Hindustan Portsoperates five container termi-nals, managing more than 5million TEU or standard 20-ftcontainer unit capacity, andaccounts for a market share ofover 20 per cent. It operates twoterminals in Mumbai, and oneeach at Mundra, Chennai andCochin, NIIF said in a state-ment.

"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi was apprised of a Strategic

Partnership Agreement signed between the

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

(MNRE), Government of India, and the

International Renewable Energy Agency

(IRENA)," an official statement said.

Centre working on model bylaws to allow diversification of PACS

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ThursdayJune 30, 2022

SHIKHA DUGGAL

newborn baby andtheir parents are thepurest forms ofattachment thatyou'll see aroundand Dr. Shilpi

Reddy, the founder of a beauti-ful initiative called KIIMSCuddles, is propagating howparents can instinctively careand nurture for the child alongwith their own wellness, which isso very important in today's life.

Motherhood, and in fact,fatherhood, changes you insideand out. As parents adjust to anew life with a baby, it’s impor-tant to remember that theirminds and emotions are alsochanging, so the gynaecologistshould be sure to give them thesupport they need to move awayfrom a routine check-up. She'sinstead on a bigger mission.

She narrated to us how preg-nant women had a gala time inthe infotainment carnival once,where mothers-to-be walked theramp and celebrated the joy ofpregnancy during the event.

And, not to forget, this is herpersonal agenda. “I'm doing all ofthis for 360-degree holistic care,it doesn't end with giving mypatients medicine. The ninemonths should be a memorabletime and not only nauseous forthe woman and stressful for theman to watch her spouse undergothese blatant changes. Most

importantly, I only encouragenormal delivery. All thesechanges can only be made whenwe create the right awarenessamongst the crowd about child-care. It's a dire need to incorpo-rate health and wellness pro-grammes into every hospital now.For example, organic food ororganic farming is the way to go.At the same time, spiritual holis-tic like water yoga is as importantas the above pointers. Becauseemotions go on a rollercoasterride during these days,” sheinforms us.

But, why is she stressing somuch about normal delivery andnot a caesarean? Well, sheresponds, "Because women aregoing for the latter method onlyout of fear. It's against mothernature. All of a sudden, theTelangana state government hasrealised that the caesarean ratesare increasing in the city, even ingovernment hospitals. Sigh. Now,they want the doctors to convincemothers to go for normal deliver-ies when the whole system has

turned upside-down. What canwe do? Women go onto Googlesearch bars which indicate tothem that labour means pain andpregnancy means stress. I havehad a team for the past five years,who are equally passionate aboutKIIMS Cuddles. Let me clarify,the hospital doesn't sponsor us.They are only for branding pur-

poses.” New moms struggle withanxiety over a number of things,from fear of something happen-ing to the baby to not makingenough breastmilk. Disruptedsleep and being overtired canamplify these feelings. And she'sdoing it all while praising thepositive changes in her life.

She recalls, “The idea of beingpregnant came to me when I was34 years old because I was soengrossed in work. From the timeI delivered preterm twins, weadopted a sustainable lifestyle forhealthier choices in life. Thenagain, I conceived spontaneouslyat the age of 39, and it's allbecause we are all healthy. I amadding my personal money tothis initiative. KIIMS Cuddlesalso talks about infertility issuesand removing infertility in menas taboo. They have been prettysuccessful.”

She states, “Obesity is on therise, substance use is exploited,then there is radiation and allkinds of pollutants, or crops withpesticides, they are all in ourbodies causing infertility some-times. They impact the quality ofthe sperm. The effort towardsparenthood actually starts evenbefore pregnancy. Nearly half ofall fertility treatments, especiallyin-vitro fertilisation, are due tomale infertility. Their sperm aresusceptible to stress too. Evencaffeine-containing soft drinksappear to have negative effects onsemen volume, sperm count, andsperm concentration. So, all thisis happening in this new world.”

However, KIIMS cuddles con-tinue to make parents confidentabout handling pregnancy, butwith joy.

HANDLINGPREGNANCY

WWIITTHH JJOOYYA

For this

week’s edition

of Community Wise,

The Pioneer brings

to you an initiative

called KIIMS

Cuddles by Dr. Shilpi

Reddy.

Created in Paris andCultivated in India,The Pioneer bringsto you the journey

behind label GenesLecoanet Hemant,

and LecoanetHemant being the

only designer to everexhibit at La Cité de

la dentelle et de lamode de Calais

‘French’nable & chic

K. RAMYA SREE

Born out of zest for cou-ture, Frenchman DidierLecoanet and Indo

German Hemant Sagar com-menced their fashion journeyin the late 80s in Paris andestablished a new language ofstyle with the soul of impecca-ble Haute Couture perfection.

With label Genes LecoanetHemant, they have also crafted

their own niche in Ready ToWear over the past 8 spectacu-lar years.

Now, Genes LecoanetHemant is working towardsachieving complete sustainabil-ity in the future and recentlyintroduced Ayurvastra in themix, a concept borrowed fromits sister brand Ayurganic

After 40 years in fashion, theuniverse of Lecoanet

Hemant remains a progressiveand tasteful one.

Not just that, LecoanetHemant is the only designer toever exhibit at La Cité de ladentelle et de la mode deCalais. What makes this theperfect collaboration betweenyour brand and the museum.

“It is a matter of great hon-our for us that The CalaisMuseum Of Lace and Fashionpresented its first ever retro-spective exhibition dedicated

to the house of LecoanetHemant. The museum hasfamously hosted the legendaryarchives of the stalwarts ofhaute couture from CristobalBalenciaga and Hubert deGivenchy to more modernvoices like Olivier Theyskensand Iris Van Herpen,” tellsHemant Sagar in an exclusiveinterview with The Pioneer.

‘The Orientalists of Haute

Couture:LecoanetHemant’unveils more than forty yearsof creations blending the art ofFrench couture with the spiritof the East. From the first cre-ations produced by LecoanetHemant in its initial incarna-tion as a Paris-based hautecouture house to the shift toready-to-wear, more than 80silhouettes underline the savoirfaire synonymous withLecoanet Hemant.

Taking us through theirearly days, Hemant informs us,“Didier and I met in Paris, asstudents at the Ecole de laChambre Syndicale de CoutureParisienne. There was a lot ofmutual respect and admirationof our individual journeys, aswe studied the art of couture atthe epicenter of high fashion.The journey of LecoanetHemant began in 1981 withour first store in Rue duFaubourg Saint Honoré. Theinaugural collection, in part-nership with Cartier HauteJoaillerie, earned us the presti-gious membership of ChambreSyndicale de la CoutureParisienne, the governing bodyof high fashion. The label wasan organic reflection of ourdesign philosophy. It was thecoming together of our her-itage, lived experiences and acommon vision for authentici-ty.” He further adds, “Thehouse won the GoldenThimble known as Le de d’or(the Oscar equivalent of Haute

Couture), the SwarovskiCreation Prize 2005, and theDesigner of the Year Award,Miami 2007. Select creationsare now in the permanent col-lection at London’s Victoriaand Albert Museum,Deutsches Museum, Berlin,and the Musée des Arts de laMode, Paris and now find ahome at the prestigious La Citéde la dentelle et de la mode deCalais.”

As the fashion landscapechanged, it marked a newdawn in the brand’s trajectory.Lecoanet Hemant moved thebusiness metaphorically, fromcouture to ready-to-wear, andalso physically, from Paris toNew Delhi. This saw the con-ception of Genes andAyurganic. Over the years, theyhave taken inspiration fromvarious cultures and conti-nents. When asked why thishas been an important aspectfor the brand, he tells us,“Travel has always been instru-mental in developing our var-ied inspirations. The unusualamalgamation of east and westis expressed through modula-tions of signature drape remi-niscent of the sari. It seemedlike the obvious step to com-bine cultures, to forge a visionthat thrives on diversity. Thetheme of nature has alsoappeared in the very first col-lections, with pieces madefrom plant, animal and mineral

based materials: raffia, wood,shells, rice paper to name afew.”

According to the designerthe fashion landscape in Indiais very unique, inherentlydependent on its strong tradi-tional and cultural roots. Hefinds it refreshing to see someof those voices find spaceinternationally.

Admired everywhere, theFrench fashion and the Frenchstyle is known in the wholeworld as a classy and elegantstyle, describing his favouritepieces from their brand, heshares, “The thing with hautecouture is that each piece ofcreation is nurtured andbrought to life with love andskill. Every piece is a sacredelement that lends voice to thehouse’s vocabulary. One sil-houette that embodied ourphilosophy of gesturing at thebrand’s eastern roots is thewhite linen dress from theWhite Coats collection. It wascrucial for us to draw inspira-tion from culture but neverappropriate. Taking cue from asari, the dress envelops thebody in a diagonal spiral flow-ing into a full skirt that fea-tures a mid-thigh slit. Whatlooks simplistic to the viewer isactually an elaborate construc-tion that supports the flowing

skirt and the moulded top intoone silhouette. In its essence itis kind of an anti-sari, takingaway the volume of the silhou-ette while maintaining themovement.”

Furthermore, telling us moreabout the Ramie display at thisexhibition, he shares, “Ourapproach to fashion has alwayshad a strong ecological bend.Sustainability is an ever evolv-ing way of being for us. It isabout how we look at ourmethods and transform it for abetter tomorrow. This culmi-nated in our effort to promoteRamie, one of the world’s old-est textile plants. The exhibi-tion presents a selection ofobjects created by establishedIndian designers, made fromRamie- a locally grown, organ-ic, ant-bacterial fibre which is amember of the nettle familyand a far more sustainablealternative to other fibres inthe market. In collaborationwith the government ofMeghalaya, the project willalso provide a source ofincome to the many plantationfarmers of the region. Theunique geographical positionof Meghalaya ensures abun-dant natural water supplythrough rainfall- ensuringthere is no carbon footprintfrom its agriculture at all.”

one in amatter ofseconds, asignaturecan reveal alot about

your personality. Asignature’s style andpatterns reflect yourinner feelings, emo-tions, and approach tolife. For fans of ShahidKapoor, his signatureor autographs can be apeek into his personasoff the camera. Readon to know withgraphologist SudhirKove what Shahid’ssignature says abouthim as a person, hus-band, and thinker.

“People with signa-tures like that ofShahid Kapoor tendto prioritize individ-ual needs over collectivistneeds. A proper mumma’sboy, Shahid is more fun as afriend than a typical hus-band or so says his signature.He signs only with his firstname, Shahid. It signifiesthat he is an excellent friendand coworker to hang outwith,” tells the logo guru.When it comes to marriage,he has his own ways of doingthings. Many a time, hispartner may have to sacrificeher style but Shahid will notsacrifice or give up his wayof doing things. Despitebeing a lovable husband, helikes to have an upper handat home. “His signature isthe sign of someone being agood administrator andmanager. He will also beflamboyant and stylish,which is good for actors. Hissignature is illegible innature, which means afterthe first initial, it is not visi-

ble enough. It makes theperson impatient and proneto losing investments. Such aperson may try to force hissuccess early, say, taking aproject before he is ready. Atthe same time, the Sthat he makes showsthat he faces chal-lenges from the peo-ple he is sympatheticwith, like his employ-ees, co-workers, kidsor even animals,”reveals Sudhir. Hissignature also meansthat he’s a fast thinker,so he’s quick-wittedduring interviews.The way he signs hisD shows he’s intelli-gent and likes to dohis research. He has tobe convinced beforehe does anything. Sohe’s truthful and openabout his feelings,rather than hiding

behind the curtain.The underscore alsotalks about him doingthe things he believesin. His signature has aslant of 45 degrees,which means he hasunending dreams anda growth mindset. Heexpects a lot fromhimself. He allowshimself to flow freelyand organically anddoesn't believe inover-planning. Thespaced-out signatureindicates that heenjoys his indepen-dence and wants oth-ers to enjoy it as well.“Shahid is all for bod-ily movement. He hasstrong physical urges,and he likes devotingall of his energy tocompleting chores

and engaging in physicalactivities that require hisbody to move such as sports,dancing, and physical inti-macy,” concluded SudhirKove.

Here is what ShahidKapoor’s signature

reveals about himd

10

Hyderabad Thursday June 30, 2022 what’s brewing?

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CALVIN AND HOBBES

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contain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Actress KamakshiBhaskarla, andPriya Inturu,

and other modelsgraced theirpresence at the dateannouncementevent of AarnikhaPremium JewelleryExhibit, on July 9and July 10 at HotelPark Hyatt, BanjaraHills in Hyderabad.

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Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, in the Presence of Ajay Mishra, IAS, Former special Chief Secretary, Government OfTelangana, and Ketan Agarwal Director Swachh Adhikar India, unveiled the Book on ‘PR-A Tool for Success’ written by Dr AjaiAgarwal at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.

ADP India has reasserted its commitment to safety, welfare,and sustainability in their CSR mission for the quarter. Thecompany has hosted a sapling plantation drive to revitalize

the Nanakramguda area of Hyderabad, and its office premises inWadgaon Sheri area of Pune. In the scorching Hyderabad sun,over 100 associates at ADP India participated in this plantationdrive to champion the cause of environmental preservation andregeneration.

LISTINGS

NovotelHyderabadAirport is

throwing an orientaltreat for its patrons. Agorgeous spread ofclassical Asian foodencompassing severalregional cuisines likeEast Asian, Centraland Western Asian toMiddle Eastern delica-cies would be a part ofthe extensive spread.The menu is curatedby Chef Varun Movvaand his talentedbrigade of the culinaryteam which serves theright balance betweeninnovation and deli-cate flavours from theregion. ‘FoodExchange’ where the

buffet would be laidwill also be done up inAsian accents anddécor to complimentthe feel and mimic thepan Asian vibe.

Date: July 4thonwards

Time: 7:00 pm -11:00 pm

Location: FoodExchange, NovotelHyderabad Airport

Type of meal andinclusions: Buffetwith live counters andspecial welcomedrinks

Price: Adults INR2250 + GST and Kids(6 years to 12 years)INR 1250 + GST

Contact Details:+91 88860 64430

PAN ASIAN FOOD FESTIVAL

SCH

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UD

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U.S

. Zolveannounced ascholarship

programme forincoming Fall ‘22batch studentsgoing to study inthe U.S. Zolve hasthe highest marketshare in financialservices for Indianstudents in the U.Sof Indian-basedneobanks and hasmore than 300ksign-ups on its app.Students can applyfor a scholarship bysigning up on theZolve website dur-ing the offer periodwith the referralcode ZSCHOLAR.Participants can

then complete thescholarship appli-cation process bysubmitting thebasic KYC docu-ments including acopy of their pass-port. The winnerswould be selectedon the basis ofsweepstakes and allthe participantshold an equalchance of winning.Sweepstakes endsat 9:29am IST and11:59:59 p.m. ESTon September 30,2022. Zolve willdeposit the schol-arship amountdirectly in the win-ners’ Zolveaccounts.

Picture this,KFC’s signa-ture flavorful

Chicken Popcorn,tender on the insidebut unbelievablycrispy on the out-side, served on abed of crispyNachos, and saucedto perfection. Well,we aren’t being dra-matic or unreal. Inwhat could be calledthe crunchiest col-laborations inrecent times, KFCIndia hasannounced anunbelievable part-nership withPepsiCo’s Doritos,to launch its newest

innovation, KFCPopcorn Nachos.Nothing could be asLIT as this, becausefor the first timeever in India, thiscollab bringstogether two crispyOG foods to makethe best version ofnachos you haveever had. And wait,it’s not just that.Accompanying KFCPopcorn Nachos aretwo delectable, spe-cially curatedsauces; Masala Salsaand CheesyJalapeno which aresure to tingle thepalate.

POPCORN NACHOS by KFC

Kamal Hassan starrerVikram, which hasgrossed a world-

wide box office collectionof Rs. 400Cr to date, willhave its OTT premiere onDisney+ Hotstar fromJuly 8, 2022.

The heavy downpourof praises and criticalacclaim upon KamalHaasan’s ever-biggestmagnum opus Vikramcontinues to capture thespotlight. The movie has-n’t just surprised andenthralled the Indiantrade circles alone, buthas left the International

markets awe-stricken as well.

Written anddirected byLokeshKanagaraj,Kamal Haasan-VijaySethupathi-FahadhFaasil-Suriya starrerVikram had its worldwidetheatrical release on June3, 2022. From the singleword‘Aarambikkalaangala’uttered by Kamal Haasanin the curtain-raiser teas-er to the ‘Paathukalaam’in the trailer, every single

punch word hasbecome thechant of hishard-core fans.

KamalHaasan’s rejuve-nated looks andherculean charis-ma, FahadhFaasil’s sparklingperformance,Vijay Sethupathi’sterrorizingantagonist act,and Suriya’s over-powering cameotogether left thefans in ultimateenthrallment.Besides,FilmmakerLokeshKanagaraj’s profi-ciency in build-ing LCU (LokeshCinematicUniverse), bybringing in a fewcharacters fromKaithi andextending themfor the futureinstalmentsexcited fans tothe core. Theemblazoningvisuals of GirishGangadharan

and the spellbindingmusical score by AnirudhRavichander turned outto be the ultimate icingon the cake.

Vikram will be availableon Disney+ Hotstar inTamil, Telugu, Kannada,Malayalam and Hindifrom July 8, 2022,onwards.

11

Hyderabad | Thursday June 30, 2022 tollywood

Vidyasagar, the hus-band of well-knownsouth actress Meena,

passed away at a privatehospital in the city onTuesday night. He was 48.Sources close to the actresssaid that Vidyasagar was

diagnosed with a lung ail-ment in March this year andhad to be treated for it.Prior to that, he was downwith COVID-19, but hadmanaged to recover from it.

The health condition ofVidyasagar, who was hospi-talised for the treatment ofhis lung problem, worsenedon Tuesday night and hepassed away around 7 p.m.Meena, who has workedextensively in Tamil, Telugu,

Kannada, and Malayalamcinema for over threedecades has been a part ofseveral critically acclaimedsuperhits includingDrishyam and more.

K. RAMYA SREE

Shreyas Talpade, anactor, director, and pro-ducer, known for hiswork majorly in Hindiand Marathi cinema, isnow a popular nameeven in theTollywood industry,thanks to his dub-bing for Allu Arjunin Pushpa: TheRise.

The actor alsoagrees to the factthat his fandomincreased evenmore after he

dubbed the filmin Hindi, andhe is now gear-ing up forPushpa 2. Justlike any otherAllu Arjun fan,even Shreyas isequally excited toexperience

Pushpa 2, givenhow successful the

first edition was.Shreyas Talpade

began his career withIqbal and has since

produced blockbusterssuch as Om Shanti Om,

Golmaal Series, Welcome toSajjanpur, Pushpa, The LionKing, Kaun Pravin Tambe,and many others. He is nowcoming up with a newBollywood film that he isdirecting and acting in.While we got in touch withhim over the phone,Shreyas informed us, “Thefilm is titled Sarkar Ki SevaMein and it is inspired bytrue incidents about onetaxi driver who wanted toget into government ser-vice, but he couldn’t initial-ly. We are almost throughwith the shoot. It will mostprobably be done byAugust.”

Speaking of what heenjoyed the most aboutPushpa, he said, “I firstloved the whole film. WhenI first saw the film, I wasblown away by the way itwas structured, thevengeance, and the way itwas presented and treated.Everything about the filmwas quite amazing to me,and that is what made mesay yes to the dub for thefilm. Moreover, I am a hugeadmirer of Allu’s work. Ialways enjoyed his work,whether it was AlaVaikuntapuramlo or

Pushpa. When I starteddubbing, I was actuallyvisualising myself onscreen. Every actor wants todo a film like this. I don’tknow when I will get to doa film like this, but untilthen, I felt I could at leastfeel myself in that role anddub accordingly. I onlyvisualised myself doingthose stunts, romance andeverything. The love peopleshowered on me was quitephenomenal.”

He further went on toadd, “The amount of love Igot from kids was most pre-cious. When I saw youngpeople making reels of mydialogues, I felt very happy.”

Meanwhile, he informedus that he has no idea aboutPushpa 2. All that he knowsis that the shooting of thefilm is underway and thathe would be more thanhappy to dub for Pushpa 2and that he has a specialplace for Pushpa in hisheart. He feels dubbing forPushpa 2 would be a biggerchallenge if at all that hap-pens, given the bars thefilm sets amongst the audi-ence.

Shreyas attributes hisapproach to the films he

makes to his theater back-ground. But what is hisfavourite genre of film? Heanswered, “Although I likecomedy, I love drama.Drama is where there isemotion, romance, andthen there are bonds andrelationships. Relationship-based stories are what Ienjoy more. In a big way orsmall, I like to includehumour in my films, butthe drama genre is myinterest.”

We also asked him abouthis views on the talentexchange between SouthIndian films andBollywood. He informed us,“There is nothing wrongwith talent exchange. I don’tunderstand the negativityaround it. Today, there is anaudience waiting for trueand fresh content. Whilethey worship their heroes,people want fresh content.So now is the time toexchange creativity, talent,and content, and I see noth-ing wrong with it simplybecause a few Bollywoodfilms have underperformedwhile South Indian filmshave performed well. This isa great opportunity for allof us.”

Shreyas Talpade, who hadalready made his name inthe Hindi and Marathifilm, became an evenmore popular name in theTollywood industry afterdubbing for Pushpa: TheRise. The Pioneer

connects with the actor foran exclusiveinterviewabout hisupcomingBollywoodfilm, and hisexcitement fordubbing forPushpa 2

The release ofactressSamantha

Ruth Prabhu'supcoming movie,Gunashekhar’swoman-centric sci-fi thriller Yashoda,has most likely beendelayed.

Yashoda was slat-ed to premiere onAugust 12, but themakers are now saidto be looking for anew release date.They have, however,not made a formalannouncement tothis effect, nor anexplanation for thepostponement.

The upcomingdrama Yashoda is asurvival thriller

about an impris-oned woman,played by RuthPrabhu. It was origi-nally shot in Telugubut is now sched-uled to be releasedin Tamil,Malayalam,Kannada, and Hindiafter being dubbed.

In addition toRuth Prabhu, othernotable actors in themovie includeVaralaxmiSarathkumar, RaoRamesh, UnniMukundan, MuraliSharma, SampathRaj, Shatru,Madhurima, DivyaSripada, PriyankaSharma, andKalpika Ganesh.

Release of

Yashodadelayed?

heIndiancinemais allset to

see a plethora ofbig-budget filmsreleasing nextyear showcasingsome reallyexciting newpairings as well,case in point, isthe Prabhas andKriti Sanon star-rer and OmRaut directorial,Adipurush.

While wehoped thatextremelypower-packedperformers like

Kriti andPrabhas sharingthe screentogether woulddefinitely be atreat for all fansand alsoromance lovers,a source close tothe film has con-firmed the same.

A source closeto the film whohas seen somebits and piecesof it, shares,“Last week, theentire cast andfilm team hadgotten togetherat director OmRaut’s house tocelebrate what

they haveachieved till nowand to see howthe film is shap-ing up. Theyalso watchedsome of Kritiand Prabhas’scenes, whichhave turned outvery well. Thechemistrybetween themhas translatedbeautifully, theyjust make for afabulous pair onscreen.”

Adipurush isall set to hit thebig screens onJanuary 12,2023.

t

or the past few days, Telugumedia has been buzzing withrumours that Tollywood singingduo Vedala Hemachandra andSravana Bhargavi are about to call

it quits on their nine-year marriage. Nowthat the couple has dismissed the rumours,they have come up with quirky posts ontheir socials.

Hemachandra, a renowned playbacksinger and dubbing artist, has finally spo-ken out about reports that he and his wifeSravana Bhargavi, a well-known singer andTV anchor, are divorcing.

Hemachandra posted a humorous mes-sage on his Instagram account to deny allthe rumours. “Unnecessary, irrelevant, stu-pid information spreads much faster thanmy independent songs,” Hemachandra'stopsy-turvy Instagram post reads.

Hemachandra's wife, a singer too,Sravana Bhargavi, took to her Instagram to

covey, “In the past few days, My Youtubeviews have gone up, My Instagram follow-ers have increased, I'm getting more workthan I usually do, I'm earning more than Iusually do. Good call. Right or wrong,Media is a blessing Random Thought.”

fMahesh Babu,Namrata

meet Bill Gates

Vik

ram

to p

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Dis

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+ H

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ar f

rom

Ju

ly 8

Singer couple denies rumours of separation

Actress Meena’shusband passes away

Kriti Sanon, Prabhas toshare sizzling chemistry

in Adipurush

Superstar Mahesh Babu

has met Microsoftfounder Bill Gates in

the United States.Gates, Babu, and his wife

Namrata Shirodkar posedfor a picture together.

Babu is now on vacationin the United States. Hiswife and kids have been

showing off pictures fromtheir trip over the last few

days. His recent picturesfrom the vacation, havebeen trending on social

media platforms for a whilenow.

On the work front, Babujust scored a super hit with

the movie Sarkaru VaariPaata, and will next be

directed by AlaVaikunthapuramu Loo fameTrivikram Srinivas. He also

has a moviewith SS

Rajamouli.

Dubbing for Pushpa 2 will

be a bigger challenge:

Shreyas Talpade

sports 12HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022

PTI nMALAHIDE

Deepak Hooda hit a master-class maiden century as Indiasurvived a mighty scare before

defeating Ireland by four runs in anail-bitting high-scoring second T20International to sweep the two-match series here on Tuesday.

Hooda scored 104 off 57 balls tobecome only the fourth Indian to hita T20 International ton, while SanjuSamson contributed 77 off 42 balls topower India to a mammoth 225 forseven after opting to bat.

Ireland took the chase to the lastover with skipper Andy Balbirnie (60off 37), Paul Stirling (40 off 18), HarryTector (39 off 28) and GeorgeDockrell (34 not out off 16) shinningbright but they eventually fell shortas rookie India pacer Umran Malikdefended 17 runs in the final over.

Opting to bat, Hooda showed hebelonged to the big stage with hisscintillating stroke play, both off thefront and backfoot.

While Hooda was elegant and atease on the frontfoot, he was equal-ly good on the backfoot, dispatchingthe ball over the midwicket bound-ary for a few sixes.

Hooda decorated his knock withnine fours and six hits over the fence.

He was ably supported by SanjuSamson, who, opening the batting inplace of injured Ruturaj Gaikwad,played second fiddle but grabbed hisopportunity with both hands.

Both Hooda and Samson'sstrokeplay down the ground were atreat for the eyes.

Ireland made a rollicking start totheir chase, with Stirling and Balbirniesharing 72 runs for the opening wick-et off just 34 balls. Stirling went ham-mer and tongs from the world go.

Stirling took BhuvneshwarKumar to task, hitting the bowler fora six and three boundaries to pick up18 runs from the opening over.

Stirling then clobbered skipperHardik Pandya for a six. The open-

ing duo continued their attacking dis-play to notch up Ireland's 50 for noloss in just four overs.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi brokethe dangerous-looking 72-run open-ing stand in the sixth over, cleaningup Stirling.

In his next over, Bishnoi hadBalbirnie stumped by Ishan Kishanbut it turned out to be a massive noball.

Balbirnie utilised the chance andclobbered all the Indian bowlers to allparts of the ground to keep Irelandat par with the asking rate.

He was particularly severe onyoung pace sensation Malik, dis-patching the pacer's short deliveriesover the fence as Ireland brought uptheir 100 in nine overs for the loss oftwo wickets.

Balbirnie notched up his sixthT20 International 50 off 34 balls andcontinued his onslaught for sometime before being caught by Bishnoioff Harshal Patel.

But Tector, Dockrell and MarkAdair (23 not out off 12 balls) keptIreland in the hunt till the last ballfrom which the hosts needed a six to

win the match and draw the series.Adair, however, could manage justone run as Malik lived up to his cap-tain's call.

Earlier, India did not have thebest of starts as they lost IshanKishan (3) early. The left-handedopener once again wasted an oppor-tunity, nicking a Mark Adair deliveryto Lorcan Tucker behind the stumpsin the third over.

Hooda and Samson joined handsand the duo batted effortlessly, albeithanding two difficult chances, toshare 176 runs off just 85 balls to lay

the foundation for India's huge total.It was a one-way traffic after

Kishan's dimissal as Hooda andSamson toyed with the Irish bowlersand did not let them settle down.

Except for a difficult chancewhich Paul Stirling dropped at extraoff in the eight over, Hooda played aperfect knock.

Samson too was handed a life inthe ninth over when leg-spinnerGareth Delany dropped a difficultcaught-and-bowled chance.

Samson too played some delight-ful strokes, particularly off the back-

foot during his hallf-century knock.He, however, was cleaned up by Adairin the 17th over.

Hooda brought up his maidenT20I century off 55 balls with a sin-gle to join the likes of Rohit Sharma,KL Rahul and Suresh Raina in theelite club of only four Indian centu-

rions in the format.Once Hooda departed at the

team score of 212, Surya KumarYadav (15) and skipper HardikPandya (13 not out) tried to acceler-ate the scoring but failed as India lostthree wickets for the addition of just14 runs in the last two overs.

PTI n MALAHIDE

The big-hitting DeepakHooda believes himself to

be "a warrior" when faced withthe task of tackling the new ballin conditions favourable tobowlers.

Because, according to him,there is no other option but tojust face the challenges head onwhen batting at the top of theorder.

Riding his powerful strik-ing abilities, Hooda hoggedthe limelight with a 57-ball 104in India's second T20International against Irelandhere on Tuesday.

Batting at number three,Hooda became only the fourthIndian batter to score a centu-ry in the shortest format.

"I've never opened in aninternational game, but being atop-order batsman, you have tocope up to the challenges andyou don't have any option.

"And if you don't have anyoption, then why don't you gothere like a warrior. That's howI think, and things turned in myway. I'm happy about that," saidHooda after the match.

With young talents burst-ing at the seams, the 27-year-oldall-rounder admitted that it isnot easy to get into, and retain,one's place in the Indian team.

"To be honest, yes it is dif-

ficult to find a spot in the Indianteam and then staying there.But at the same time whenyou're playing in India colours,that time you never think aboutyourself, you think about the

team."That's what I think about

on the ground 'How can I con-tribute to the team in that sit-uation'. I don't think morethan that, try to keep thingssimple. Yes, it's a matter of pridefor me that I'm playing forIndia, no matter if I'm scoringor not," said Hooda.

Walking in following thedismissal of opener IshanKishan in the third over, Hoodasmashed nine boundaries andsix sixes to score his maidenT20I century.

"To be honest, the Irishteam played really well againstus and we enjoyed playingagainst them.

"Between the first and sec-ond game, I think there was adifference in the pitch. In thefirst game, the conditions wereovercast and the wicket wasdamp. But today the wicket wasvery good for batting, as is clearby the way both teams batted.So I felt the wicket was a big fac-tor."

Hooda also revealed that amindset change recently hashelped him perform better.

"Being a cricketer, what

I've learnt lately is that youshould not think too far ahead.How many ever series, look atit one game at a time. If mywork ethic is good, I'm going tobe in a good space of mind andI'm going to score, that's mythinking.

"Try to keep it simple, livein the present, play the situationwell, and then automatically theoutcome will come. Now orlater, it will come," Hooda said.

During the course of theIndia innings, Hooda was asso-ciated in a record-breaking sec-ond-wicket partnership of 176runs with Sanju Samson, whoscored a career-best 77 on hisreturn to the team.

It is the highest partnershipby an India pair for any wick-et in the format, surpassing theprevious best of 165 by RohitSharma and KL Rahul in 2017against Sri Lanka in Indore.

"To be honest, I was com-ing from a good IPL and want-ed to follow the same perform-ance. Happy with my intent. Ilike playing in that manner(aggressive) and these days I ambatting up the order so gettingsome time.

PTI n DUBAI

Pakistan captain Babar Azamhas surpassed India's Virat

Kohli in becoming the worldNo 1 T20I batter for the longestperiod of time after he maintainedhis top spot in the latest ICC T20batting rankings.

Kohli was the No 1 rankedT20I batter for a total of 1,013days during his reign lastdecade, but Babarhas now surpassedthis number follow-ing his long-stand-ing stay at the top.

Among others, IshanKishan slipped two places butDeepak Hooda and Sanju Samsonmade huge gains at the ICC T20IPlayer Rankings following theirsensational innings at the secondand final T20I against Ireland.

Left-handed batter Kishanslumped to number 7 after scor-ing 26 and 3 in the two T20sagainst Ireland but Hooda, whosmashed 47 in the first gameand a maiden century in the

second match to power India to a series-clinch-ing four-run win, galloped 414 places to 104th.

Samson was also rewarded for his knock of77 as he reached the 144th spot in the battingchart.

Ireland's Harry Tector gained a massive 55places to reach 66th position among bat-

ters with scores of 39 and 64 not out inthe rankings, which was updated afterthe two-match India-Ireland series.

In the bowlers' list, pacer HarshalPatel moved from 37th to 33rd posi-tion while Ireland's Mark Adairclimbed to 43rd from 45th.

In Test ranking, Joe Root hungon to his narrow lead as the top-

ranked batter but there was some bigmovement behind him followingthe completion of England's homeseries against New Zealand.

New Zealand batting pair ofDaryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell

have attained career-best posi-tions as has England spinnerJack Leach, after superb per-formances in the third matchof their ICC World TestChampionship series in Leeds.

AP n GALLE

Nathan Lyon took his 20thfive-wicket haul to bowl

Sri Lanka out for 212 beforeAustralia reached 98-3 atstumps Wednesday on theopening day of the first Test.

Sri Lankan off spinnerRamesh Mendis dismissedDavid Warner (25) lbw andhad Marnus Labuschagne (13)caught by Asitha Fernando inAustralia's innings to finish theday on 2-35.

Steven Smith was run outfor 6 after a mix-up withUsman Khawaja, who refusedto run after calling Smith fora single.

Khawaja was batting on 47with Travis Head on 6 atstumps.

Earlier, Lyon returnedbowling figures of 5-90 and legspinner Mitchell Swepson had3-55 to help Australia bowl SriLanka out to a modest score.

Niroshan Dickwella topscored for Sri Lanka with 58,his 21st Test half-century. Headded 42 runs for the sixthwicket with Angelo Mathews

(39) after Sri Lanka lost fivewickets for 97 runs, and 54runs for the seventh wicketwith Mendis (22).

Lyon trapped Mendis lbwwith just two runs added to theteatime score to end his part-

nership with Dickwella.Dickwella edged Lyon to

wicketkeeper Alex Carey andhad Lasith Embuldeniya (6) ashis fifth wicket.

Earlier, he dismissedDimuth Karunaratne (28) and

Angelo Mathews (39), bothcaught by David Warner.

Australia's second spin-ner Mitchell Swepson tooktwo consecutive wickets inthe 37th over with identicaldeliveries.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Jasprit Bumrah is set to becomefirst fast bowler in 35 years to

lead Indian Test team in therescheduled 'fifth Test' againstEngland as regular captain RohitSharma has been ruled out of thegame after testing positive forCOVID-19 for the second timeon Wednesday.

The last pacer-captain thatIndia had was the great KapilDev, who was removed fromcaptaincy in 1987. Since thenIndia has never had a speedmerchant leading the team intraditional cricket.

"Rohit is out of this Testmatch, starting July 1, as his RT-PCR test has come positiveagain. He is still in isolation.Jasprit Bumrah, who is one ofthe vice-captains in absence ofKL Rahul, will lead the team," asenior BCCI official said.

Bumrah will be the 36thcricketer to lead India in thelongest-format since the coun-try first played in 1932. TheGujarat pacer, who has 123wickets in 29 Tests, has growninto world's best fast bowlers.

The Chairman of selectorsChetan Sharma had alreadysaid that he is being groomed as

a future leader.

PUJARA/VIHARI TO OPEN With the experienced Rohit

out of the playing eleven, sea-soned Cheteshwar Pujara has agood chance of opening the bat-ting with young Shubman Gill.

The soure said that Mayank

Agarwal has just been broughtas "cover" and is not in thescheme of things as far featur-ing in the playing eleven is con-cerned. It is understood that thespecialist batters in the set-upwill be Pujara, Gill, Virat Kohli,Shreyas Iyer, Vihari and RishabhPant.

AP n CAPE TOWN

South Africa batsman andlimited-overs captain Temba

Bavuma was ruled out of nextmonth's tour to England onWednesday with a left elbowinjury.

Bavuma will miss the threeODIs and three T20 gamesagainst England, two T20sagainst Ireland, and the three-match Test series againstEngland. Bavuma was injured inthis month's T20 series in India.He needs eight weeks to recov-er from the injury, Cricket SouthAfrica said.

Keshav Maharaj will fill infor Bavuma as ODI captainand David Miller will stand inas T20 captain. Dean Elgar is theProteas' regular Test captainbut Bavuma is an important top-order batsman for the Test team.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabadawill be rested for the ODI gamesbut is part of the T20 and Testsquads. Young fast bowlerGerald Coetzee received hisfirst call-up and is included inthe T20 squad.

2 IN 2 FOR MEN IN BLUEHooda's maiden century helps India beat Ireland by 4 runs to pocket series 2-0

PTI n MALAHIDE

Express pace was the reasonIndia skipper Hardik Pandya

asked Umran Malik to bowl thefinal over of the second T20International against Ireland here.

Ireland took the chase of 226to the last over but fell short byfour runs as Umran defended 17runs in the last over on Tuesday.

"Not worried to be honest.Wanted to keep pressure out ofmy equation, wanted to be in thepresent. I backed Umran since hehas pace. With his pace, it's diffi-cult for people to hit," Hardik said,explaining the rationale behindgiving Umran the crucial finalover.

Deepak Hooda hit a blister-ing maiden century as India sur-vived a scare before prevailingover their less fancied opponentsin a nail-bitting finish.

"I think we've come to play agame of cricket, so Ireland weregoing to show us what they have.Credit to them, they played amaz-ing shots. At the same point oftime, credit to our bowlers to crossthe line.

"The crowd was amazing.Their favourites boys were Dineshand Sanju, great to see them

enjoy them. Good for us to expe-rience cricket in this part of theworld too. Grateful to the fans,"Hardik said to loud cheers.

Set an imposing target,Ireland showed a lot of heart andnearly pulled off what wouldhave been a memorable victory.

"We are all pretty good, wedid a lot of good stuff with the bat.We wanted to express and we didthat. Bitterly disappointed, a bit-ter pill to swallow," Ireland cap-tain Andrew Balbirnie said afterthe match.

Backed Umran for finalover because of his pace

If you don't have any option, then whydon't you go there like a warrior: Hooda

Rohit ruled out of fifth EngTest, Bumrah to lead India

Oz reach 98-3 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 212 Babar Azam surpasses Virat as worldNo.1 T20 batter for longest period

Bavuma out ofEngland tour