:_eVc_ReZ`_R] W]ZXYed h`_¶e cVdf^V - Daily Pioneer

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A mid Omicron scare, India may not resume sched- uled international flights from December 15 as planned ear- lier. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday decided to post- pone the resumption of the scheduled international flights from December 15 citing “evolving global scenario” in the wake of the emergence of the new Covid variant. No case of Omicron has been reported in India so far but air travel is becoming longer and more expensive due to guidelines issued by the Government. “In view of the evolving global scenario with the emer- gence of new variants of con- cern, the situation is being watched closely in consultation with all stakeholders and an appropriate decision indicating the effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial inter- national passenger services shall be notified in due course,” the DGCA said in a circular on Wednesday. The DGCA also referred to its circular issued on November 26 wherein it was decided that scheduled inter- national flights will resume from December 15. The Pioneer had earlier reported that resumption of scheduled international flights was likely to be delayed from December 15 as planned ear- lier. The USA, Canada, the European Union, Israel, China have already banned travellers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. Japan has also decid- ed to completely shut down international air travel from its soil. A decision on the resump- tion of international flights will only be taken after the Government finds it relative- ly safer to do so amid the pre- vailing pandemic situation. The Chief Ministers of Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to reopen international flights from affected countries in the present scenario The decision comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked officials to review the plans to ease international travel restrictions in light of the “emerging newevidence”. C ontinuing her one-upman- ship over the Congress leadership, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday questioned the very existence of United Progressive Alliance (UPA), by saying, “What’s UPA? There’s no UPA now”, but stressed on the need for bring- ing together like-minded Opposition parties as a “strong alternative” to fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Interacting with the media persons jointly with NCP chief Sharad Pawar after meeting the latter at his Mumbai residence, Mamata negated the very pres- ence of UPA in the country’s political spectrum by saying: “Kya UPA hain? Abhi UPA nahi hain” (What’s UPA?.There’s no UPA”) and indicated that she was prepared to go “with or without” the Congress in the proposed Opposition alternative. Mamata, who has of late been desperately trying to occupy the Congress’ space by way of aggressive posturing like the one witnessed in Goa and poaching of 12 out of 17 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, indirectly accused the Sonia Gandhi-led party of lacking in “the will” to fight the ruling BJP at the Centre. The West Bengal Chief Minister, who appeared to be making the most of the NCP chief’s presence to undermine the role of the Congress in the proposed Opposition front being cobbled by her, said, “Like what Sharadji said, there should be a strong alternative that believes in fighting it out (against the BJP). If somebody does not want to fight, what can we do? They should at least be ready to fight by being within the force”. Asked if Pawar being the senior-most leader should be the chairman of UPA, Mamata, who is on a visit to Mumbai, said, “Kya UPA hain? Abhi UPA nahi hain ‘’ (What’s UPA? There’s no UPA”). She chose to remain silent on the issue of the Opposition front’s leader- ship. On her plans to cobble a strong alternative to the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mamata said, “In view of the situation prevailing in the country, we should develop a strong alternative force against the current Government at the Centre. I cannot do it alone but strong like-minded parties should come together”. W ith changing nature of modern warfare in mind, the Indian Army is going for a change of its combat uniform. The new kit will be on display at the Army Day parade here on January 15 next year. Interestingly, the marching contingents in the Republic Day parade next year will don the uni- form of different era start- ing over 100 years ago. Unlike the previous years when the contingents wore the dress of their reg- iments, the Republic Day next year will see the troops march- ing past the saluting dais in uniform ranging from those worn during the World War I, World War II and other cam- paigns, sources said here on Wednesday. As regards the new combat uniform, they said it is of a dig- ital pattern which will help the personnel to have better cam- ouflage in the battlefield besides comfort. Unlike the past, the officers and men will not tuck in the shirt inside their trousers to provide them more comfort and fluidity in move- ment, sources said. The Army is likely to switch over to the new combat uniform from mid next year. The uniform will be a mix of colours, including olive and earthen. The uniform is for- mally known as battle dress uniforms (BDU). Several countries, includ- ing the US and European armies, have switched over to digital pattern uniform. The Indian Army decided to change its combat uniform after study- ing the dress of these countries, officials said. To ensure safety and com- fort element in the operational areas, the uniform is camou- flaged, either in monochrome such as shades of green or brown to blend in with the background. The new combat uniform is made of lighter and durable material suitable for both sum- mer and winter as the Army operates in all kinds of terrain ranging from minus 40 degrees at the Siachen Glacier to 50 degrees plus in the Thar desert. Meanwhile, the Army was working on the issue of having shoulder or collar tags marking the rank of the personnel. Some armies around the world have such rank markings on the button of their combat uniform. Johannesburg: The Omicron coronavirus variant detected in southern Africa could be the most likely candidate to dis- place the highly contagious Delta variant, the director of South Africa’s communicable disease institute said on Tuesday. The discovery of Omicron has caused global alarm, with countries limiting travel from southern Africa for fear it could spread quickly even in vaccinated populations and the World Health Organization saying it carries a high risk of infection surges “We thought what will out- compete Delta? That has always been the question, in terms of transmissibility at least, ... per- haps this particular variant is the variant,” Adrian Puren, acting executive director of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), told Reuters in an interview. If Omicron proves even more transmissible than the Delta variant, it could lead to a sharp spike in infections that could put pressure on hospitals. Puren said scientists should know within four weeks to what extent Omicron can evade the immunity generated by vaccines or prior infection, and whether it leads to worse clinical symptoms than other variants. Anecdotal accounts by doctors who have treated South African Covid-19 patients say Omicron appears to be pro- ducing mild symptoms, includ- ing a dry cough, fever and night sweats, but experts have cau- tioned against drawing firm conclusions. Puren said it was too early to say whether Omicron was displacing Delta in South Africa, since local scientists have only produced 87 sequences of Omicron so far. But the fact that cases have started to rise rapidly, especially in the most populated Gauteng province, is a sign that some displacement might already be happening. Delta drove a third wave of Covid-19 infections in South Africa that peaked at more than 26,000 cases per day in early July. Omicron is expected to trigger a fourth wave, with daily infections seen topping 10,000 by the end of the week from around 2,270 on Monday. Anne von Gottberg, a clin- ical microbiologist at the NICD, said it looked like infec- tions were rising throughout the country. A mid Omicron scare, six passengers were reported to be Covid-19 positive from the total 11 international flights that landed here on the first day of operation of the central Guidelines for International Travellers as public health response measures for control and management of the new reported variant of the virus. It has been designated as a Variant of Concern (VOC) by the World Health Organization (WHO). “Total of 11 international flights landed at various air- ports of the country except Lucknow, from midnight to 4 pm today, from ‘at risk’ coun- tries. These carried 3,476 pas- sengers,” said a statement from the Ministry. All 3,476 passengers were administered RT-PCR Tests, wherein only 6 passengers were found Covid-19 positive. The samples of the Covid- 19 positive passengers have been sent to INSACOG labs for Whole Genomic Sequencing. INSACOG Labs network, a multi-laboratory, multi-agency, pan-India network has set up by the Government to monitor genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 for genome sequencing to determine the strain of the virus. States will then undertake contact tracing of these positive individuals and follow up for 14 days. “The Government contin- ues to keep track of the evolv- ing situation, and supports States/UTs in the fight against the pandemic through “whole of Government” approach,” said the statement from the Ministry. T he State registered 237 new Covid-19 positive cases in 19 districts and the State pool on Wednesday, which surged the total tally to 10,49,345. Among the newly-infected were 39 children in the age group of 0 to 18 years. Notably, the State had reported 228 cases on Tuesday Of the new cases, 139 were from quarantine and 98 local contacts. Khordha district reported the day’s maximum 96 cases followed by Mayurbhanj with 21, Cuttack 17 and Sambalpur at 11. The district which reported below-10 cases were: Jajpur and Mayurbhanj eight each, Balangir and Baleswar five each, Jharsuguda four, Dhenknal, Puri and Jagatsinghpur three each, Nayagarh two and Boudh, Ganjam and Keonjhar one each. Besides, 23 cases were reported from the State pool. Two more persons succumbed to the dis- ease, taking the total death toll to 8,415. Khordha and Dhenknal districts reported one death each. However, 186 persons recovered on the day, increasing the total recoveries to 10,38,695. IIC held after seizure of Rs 5.88L cash A s expected, the Winter Session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly began on a stormy note on Wednesday as opposition Congress MLAs staged a dharna at the legisla- ture’s two entry points and locked another gate over the Kalahandi schoolteacher Mamita Meher murder case. Prior to the beginning of the House proceedings, the Congress members staged the dharna in a bid to prevent Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra from entering the House for his alleged link in the sensational murder case. Shouting slogans and hold- ing placards, they also squat- ted on the entry points demanding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s reply to the issue, removal and arrest of Minister Mishra and justice for Mamita. "Go back Minister of State, Home, Odisha, Let CM reply... Give Justice to woman teacher," the placards read. The Congress members also locked another gate in a bid to prevent entry of Mishra into the House. Later, Assembly security staffs broke the lock and opened the gate. However, there was no resis- tance to the entry of other Ministers and members. The agitating MLAs later withdrew the dharna and par- ticipated in the House pro- ceedings. "We oppose the Minister’s entry into the august House. We will not allow the tainted Minister to impure the sancti- ty of the sacred House, which is a temple for the people of Odisha," Congress Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati told reporters. Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja said his party demands dismissal of Minister Mishra for his alleged link with Govinda Sahu, the prime accused in the Mamita murder case. Opposition BJP members, on their part, met Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro and urged him to not allow Mishra to attend the House. As for ruling BJD MLAs, they took out a rally from the Assembly to the Raj Bhavan alleging the Centre’s step- motherly attitude in allotment of houses to Odisha under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). They submitted a memo- randum to the Governor in this regard. “On the basis of a baseless and false complaint filed by BJP MPs, the Union Rural Development Ministry has stopped the PMAY in some districts of Odisha. It is yet to sanction 15 lakh housing units while fund is being sanctioned to the BJP-ruled States. So, we are strongly protesting it,” said BJD legislator Byomkesh Ray. As the House assembled for the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik moved a con- dolence motion virtually to pay homage to the members who passed away meanwhile. The House paid obituary refer- ences to former Deputy Speaker Prahalad Dora, former legislators Umesh Swain and Ramray Munda, ex-Sepoy of Odisha police Sitaram Murmu and the Covid-19 warriors. W ith the possibility of cyclonic storm Jawad hit- ting the north Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts around December 4 morning, the Odisha Government has pulled up its socks to combat any kind of eventuality. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Wednesday directed the Collectors of the districts like- ly to be affected by the cyclone to prepare mitigation mea- sures. He asked them to keep cyclone shelters in prepared- ness and evacuate people resid- ing in low-lying areas if required. Mahapatra also directed the Fire Services, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to be ready to deal with any possible untoward situation. Besides, coastal districts, Collectors of Mayurbhanj and Nayagarh have also been asked to remain alert. So far, 200 Fire Services teams and 108 ODRAF and NDRF teams have been kept ready, said the Chief Secretary. Earlier, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) instruct- ed administrative officials in the districts falling under ‘Yellow and Orange’ warning category (heavy rainfall alert issued by IMD) to remain pre- pared to meet any waterlogging or localised flood-like situation, including in urban areas. The officials have also been asked to keep a watch on the possibilities of landslides in hilly areas.

Transcript of :_eVc_ReZ`_R] W]ZXYed h`_¶e cVdf^V - Daily Pioneer

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Amid Omicron scare, Indiamay not resume sched-

uled international flights fromDecember 15 as planned ear-lier.

The Directorate General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) onWednesday decided to post-pone the resumption of thescheduled international flightsfrom December 15 citing“evolving global scenario” inthe wake of the emergence ofthe new Covid variant.

No case of Omicron hasbeen reported in India so farbut air travel is becominglonger and more expensivedue to guidelines issued by theGovernment.

“In view of the evolvingglobal scenario with the emer-gence of new variants of con-cern, the situation is being

watched closely in consultationwith all stakeholders and anappropriate decision indicatingthe effective date of resumptionof scheduled commercial inter-national passenger servicesshall be notified in due course,”the DGCA said in a circular onWednesday.

The DGCA also referredto its circular issued on

November 26 wherein it wasdecided that scheduled inter-national flights will resumefrom December 15.

The Pioneer had earlierreported that resumption ofscheduled international flightswas likely to be delayed fromDecember 15 as planned ear-lier.

The USA, Canada, the

European Union, Israel, Chinahave already banned travellersfrom South Africa, Botswana,Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho,Eswatini, Mozambique andMalawi. Japan has also decid-ed to completely shut downinternational air travel from itssoil.

A decision on the resump-tion of international flights

will only be taken after theGovernment finds it relative-ly safer to do so amid the pre-vailing pandemic situation.

The Chief Ministers ofDelhi, Karnataka andMaharashtra have urged PrimeMinister Narendra Modi not toreopen international flightsfrom affected countries in thepresent scenario The decisioncomes days after PrimeMinister Narendra Modi askedofficials to review the plans toease international travelrestrictions in light of the“emerging new evidence”.

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Continuing her one-upman-ship over the Congress

leadership, West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onWednesday questioned thevery existence of UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA),by saying, “What’s UPA?There’s no UPA now”, butstressed on the need for bring-ing together like-mindedOpposition parties as a “strongalternative” to fight the BJP inthe 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Interacting with the mediapersons jointly with NCP chiefSharad Pawar after meeting thelatter at his Mumbai residence,Mamata negated the very pres-ence of UPA in the country’spolitical spectrum by saying:“Kya UPA hain? Abhi UPAnahi hain” (What’sUPA?.There’s no UPA”) andindicated that she was preparedto go “with or without” theCongress in the proposedOpposition alternative.

Mamata, who has of latebeen desperately trying tooccupy the Congress’ space byway of aggressive posturing like

the one witnessed in Goa andpoaching of 12 out of 17Congress MLAs in Meghalaya,indirectly accused the SoniaGandhi-led party of lacking in“the will” to fight the ruling BJPat the Centre.

The West Bengal ChiefMinister, who appeared to bemaking the most of the NCPchief ’s presence to underminethe role of the Congress in theproposed Opposition frontbeing cobbled by her, said,“Like what Sharadji said, thereshould be a strong alternativethat believes in fighting it out(against the BJP). If somebodydoes not want to fight, whatcan we do? They should at leastbe ready to fight by beingwithin the force”.

Asked if Pawar being thesenior-most leader should bethe chairman of UPA, Mamata,who is on a visit to Mumbai,said, “Kya UPA hain? AbhiUPA nahi hain ‘’ (What’s UPA?There’s no UPA”). She chose toremain silent on the issue ofthe Opposition front’s leader-ship.

On her plans to cobble astrong alternative to the BJPahead of the 2024 Lok Sabhaelections, Mamata said, “Inview of the situation prevailingin the country, we shoulddevelop a strong alternativeforce against the currentGovernment at the Centre. Icannot do it alone but stronglike-minded parties shouldcome together”.

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With changing nature ofmodern warfare in

mind, the Indian Army isgoing for a change of itscombat uniform. The newkit will be on display at theArmy Day parade here onJanuary 15 next year.

Interestingly, themarching contingents inthe Republic Day paradenext year will don the uni-form of different era start-ing over 100 years ago.

Unlike the previousyears when the contingentswore the dress of their reg-iments, the Republic Day nextyear will see the troops march-ing past the saluting dais inuniform ranging from thoseworn during the World War I,World War II and other cam-paigns, sources said here onWednesday.

As regards the new combatuniform, they said it is of a dig-ital pattern which will help thepersonnel to have better cam-

ouflage in the battlefieldbesides comfort. Unlike thepast, the officers and men will

not tuck in the shirt inside theirtrousers to provide them morecomfort and fluidity in move-ment, sources said.

The Army is likely toswitch over to the new combatuniform from mid next year.The uniform will be a mix ofcolours, including olive andearthen. The uniform is for-mally known as battle dressuniforms (BDU).

Several countries, includ-ing the US and Europeanarmies, have switched over todigital pattern uniform. TheIndian Army decided to changeits combat uniform after study-ing the dress of these countries,officials said.

To ensure safety and com-fort element in the operationalareas, the uniform is camou-flaged, either in monochromesuch as shades of green orbrown to blend in with thebackground.

The new combat uniformis made of lighter and durablematerial suitable for both sum-mer and winter as the Armyoperates in all kinds of terrainranging from minus 40 degreesat the Siachen Glacier to 50degrees plus in the Thar desert.

Meanwhile, the Army wasworking on the issue of havingshoulder or collar tags markingthe rank of the personnel.Some armies around the worldhave such rank markings onthe button of their combatuniform.

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Johannesburg: The Omicroncoronavirus variant detected insouthern Africa could be themost likely candidate to dis-place the highly contagiousDelta variant, the director ofSouth Africa’s communicabledisease institute said onTuesday.

The discovery of Omicronhas caused global alarm, withcountries limiting travel fromsouthern Africa for fear itcould spread quickly even invaccinated populations and theWorld Health Organizationsaying it carries a high risk ofinfection surges

“We thought what will out-compete Delta? That has alwaysbeen the question, in terms oftransmissibility at least, ... per-haps this particular variant isthe variant,” Adrian Puren,acting executive director ofSouth Africa’s National Institutefor Communicable Diseases(NICD), told Reuters in aninterview.

If Omicron proves evenmore transmissible than theDelta variant, it could lead toa sharp spike in infections thatcould put pressure on hospitals.

Puren said scientists shouldknow within four weeks towhat extent Omicron can evadethe immunity generated byvaccines or prior infection,and whether it leads to worseclinical symptoms than othervariants.

Anecdotal accounts bydoctors who have treated SouthAfrican Covid-19 patients sayOmicron appears to be pro-

ducing mild symptoms, includ-ing a dry cough, fever and nightsweats, but experts have cau-tioned against drawing firmconclusions.

Puren said it was too earlyto say whether Omicron wasdisplacing Delta in SouthAfrica, since local scientistshave only produced 87sequences of Omicron so far.

But the fact that cases havestarted to rise rapidly, especiallyin the most populated Gautengprovince, is a sign that somedisplacement might already behappening.

Delta drove a third wave ofCovid-19 infections in SouthAfrica that peaked at more than26,000 cases per day in earlyJuly. Omicron is expected totrigger a fourth wave, withdaily infections seen topping10,000 by the end of the weekfrom around 2,270 on Monday.

Anne von Gottberg, a clin-ical microbiologist at theNICD, said it looked like infec-tions were rising throughoutthe country.

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Amid Omicron scare, sixpassengers were reported

to be Covid-19 positive fromthe total 11 international flightsthat landed here on the first dayof operation of the centralGuidelines for InternationalTravellers as public healthresponse measures for controland management of the newreported variant of the virus.

It has been designated as aVariant of Concern (VOC) bythe World Health Organization(WHO).

“Total of 11 internationalflights landed at various air-ports of the country exceptLucknow, from midnight to 4pm today, from ‘at risk’ coun-

tries. These carried 3,476 pas-sengers,” said a statement fromthe Ministry.

All 3,476 passengers wereadministered RT-PCR Tests,wherein only 6 passengers werefound Covid-19 positive.

The samples of the Covid-19 positive passengers havebeen sent to INSACOG labs forWhole Genomic Sequencing.INSACOG Labs network, amulti-laboratory, multi-agency,pan-India network has set upby the Government to monitorgenomic variations in theSARS-CoV-2 for genomesequencing to determine thestrain of the virus.

States will then undertakecontact tracing of these positiveindividuals and follow up for 14days.

“The Government contin-ues to keep track of the evolv-ing situation, and supportsStates/UTs in the fight againstthe pandemic through “wholeof Government” approach,”said the statement from theMinistry.

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The State registered 237 newCovid-19 positive cases in 19

districts and the State pool onWednesday, which surged thetotal tally to 10,49,345.

Among the newly-infectedwere 39 children in the agegroup of 0 to 18 years. Notably,the State had reported 228 caseson Tuesday Of the new cases, 139were from quarantine and 98local contacts. Khordha districtreported the day’s maximum 96cases followed by Mayurbhanjwith 21, Cuttack 17 andSambalpur at 11. The districtwhich reported below-10 caseswere: Jajpur and Mayurbhanjeight each, Balangir andBaleswar five each, Jharsugudafour, Dhenknal, Puri andJagatsinghpur three each,Nayagarh two and Boudh,Ganjam and Keonjhar one each.Besides, 23 cases were reportedfrom the State pool. Two morepersons succumbed to the dis-ease, taking the total death toll to8,415. Khordha and Dhenknaldistricts reported one deatheach. However, 186 personsrecovered on the day, increasingthe total recoveries to 10,38,695.IIC held after seizure of Rs5.88L cash

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As expected, the WinterSession of the Odisha

Legislative Assembly began ona stormy note on Wednesday asopposition Congress MLAsstaged a dharna at the legisla-ture’s two entry points andlocked another gate over theKalahandi schoolteacherMamita Meher murder case.

Prior to the beginning ofthe House proceedings, theCongress members staged thedharna in a bid to preventMinister of State for HomeDibya Shankar Mishra fromentering the House for hisalleged link in the sensationalmurder case.

Shouting slogans and hold-ing placards, they also squat-ted on the entry pointsdemanding Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik’s reply to theissue, removal and arrest ofMinister Mishra and justice forMamita.

"Go back Minister of State,Home, Odisha, Let CM reply...

Give Justice to woman teacher,"the placards read.

The Congress membersalso locked another gate in abid to prevent entry of Mishrainto the House. Later,Assembly security staffs brokethe lock and opened the gate.However, there was no resis-tance to the entry of otherMinisters and members.

The agitating MLAs laterwithdrew the dharna and par-

ticipated in the House pro-ceedings.

"We oppose the Minister’sentry into the august House.We will not allow the taintedMinister to impure the sancti-ty of the sacred House, whichis a temple for the people ofOdisha," Congress Chief WhipTara Prasad Bahinipati toldreporters.

Congress MLA SantoshSingh Saluja said his party

demands dismissal of MinisterMishra for his alleged linkwith Govinda Sahu, the primeaccused in the Mamita murdercase.

Opposition BJP members,on their part, met SpeakerSurjya Narayan Patro andurged him to not allow Mishrato attend the House.

As for ruling BJD MLAs,they took out a rally from theAssembly to the Raj Bhavan

alleging the Centre’s step-motherly attitude in allotmentof houses to Odisha under thePradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(PMAY).

They submitted a memo-randum to the Governor inthis regard.

“On the basis of a baselessand false complaint filed byBJP MPs, the Union RuralDevelopment Ministry hasstopped the PMAY in somedistricts of Odisha. It is yet tosanction 15 lakh housing unitswhile fund is being sanctionedto the BJP-ruled States. So, weare strongly protesting it,” saidBJD legislator Byomkesh Ray.

As the House assembledfor the day, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik moved a con-dolence motion virtually to payhomage to the members whopassed away meanwhile. TheHouse paid obituary refer-ences to former DeputySpeaker Prahalad Dora, formerlegislators Umesh Swain andRamray Munda, ex-Sepoy ofOdisha police Sitaram Murmuand the Covid-19 warriors.

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With the possibility ofcyclonic storm Jawad hit-

ting the north AndhraPradesh-Odisha coasts aroundDecember 4 morning, theOdisha Government has pulledup its socks to combat any kindof eventuality.

Chief Secretary SureshChandra Mahapatra onWednesday directed theCollectors of the districts like-ly to be affected by the cycloneto prepare mitigation mea-sures. He asked them to keepcyclone shelters in prepared-ness and evacuate people resid-ing in low-lying areas ifrequired.

Mahapatra also directedthe Fire Services, OdishaDisaster Rapid Action Force(ODRAF), National Disaster

Response Force (NDRF) to beready to deal with any possibleuntoward situation. Besides,coastal districts, Collectors ofMayurbhanj and Nayagarhhave also been asked to remainalert.

So far, 200 Fire Servicesteams and 108 ODRAF andNDRF teams have been keptready, said the Chief Secretary.

Earlier, the Special ReliefCommissioner (SRC) instruct-ed administrative officials inthe districts falling under‘Yellow and Orange’ warningcategory (heavy rainfall alertissued by IMD) to remain pre-pared to meet any waterloggingor localised flood-like situation,including in urban areas.

The officials have also beenasked to keep a watch on thepossibilities of landslides inhilly areas.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Tuesday

released a book “Ink from NightSkies”, a collection of poems,written by young poet MahimaSethi. The book contains 110poems.

The anthology is aboutexpression of the writer’s feelingsand a depiction of human con-nection to life, inanimate objectsand non-material aspects ofthe universe. The ChiefMinister congratulated Mahima

and wished her more success increative writing.

Mahima is a BTech gradu-ate from the IIT Bombay. “Inkfrom Night Skies” is her firstpoetry book. Published by NewDelhi-based Har AnandPublications and priced at Rs695, “Ink from Night Skies” ischaracterised by tumult andchaos, with violent natureunfolding itself at every turn.Like the mother earth emergingfrom the fiery inception process,the poet also undergoes the cre-ative throes.

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Amid ruckus by theOpposition, Finance

Minister Niranjan Pujari onWednesday presented theState’s Supplementary Budgetof Rs 19,833 crore for 2021-22in the Assembly.

The budget is aimed at ful-filling the requirement of fundsfor public welfare and devel-opmental activities, said Pujari.

A supplementary provi-sion of Rs 13,568 crore underprogramme expenditure is tobe financed by tied-upresources to the extent of Rs6,137 crore and through addi-tional collection of own rev-enue to the tune of Rs 7,431crore.

Higher collection from themining sector is the primary

contributor to the State’s high-er own revenue.

An additional provision ofRs 1,682.40 crore has beenproposed in the SupplementaryBudget against the differentialyear-end balance available ason March 31, 2021 in the StateDisaster Risk ManagementFund.

A total of Rs 2,147 crorehas been allocated for irrigationfacility, farmers’ welfare andfood security.

For Covid-19 assistanceand supply of rice to BPL fam-ilies, Rs 1105.18 crore has beenprovisioned and Rs 11.37 croreis earmarked for fair priceshops’ automation.

Besides, Rs 27.85 crore isprovided towards the KrushakAssistance for Livelihood andIncome Augmentation

(KALIA) scheme and Rs 84.68crore is provisioned for cropproduction management.

A sum of Rs 584.92 crorehas been allocated for socialsecurity measures.

A total sum of Rs 2,038.16crore is allocated for publichealthcare. Out of this, Rs498.51 crore has been ear-marked for the Biju SwasthyaKalyan Yojana and Rs 25.83crore for KHUSHI-Distribution of sanitary nap-kins.

Total Rs 1,311.17 crore hasbeen allocated for the educa-tion, sports and skill develop-ment sectors. A total allocationof Rs 3,911.81 crore has beenmade for rural housing, wageemployment, provision ofdrinking water and rural infra-structure.

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BISWARAJ PATNAIK

After the devastating secondcorona wave in 2021, the

sane mankind has kind ofcome on permanent guard.The insane would not care a fig;and they’re as usual busy trash-ing all warning signals andengaging in all kinds of crazy,dangerously-infection-spread-ing activities -- no social dis-tancing and no masks. Handwash ‘yes’ but only before eat-ing with hands, never to kill thevirus.

South Africa is incidental-ly not part of the proverbialdark Africa with no food, nohealthcare and no politicalorder or stability. South Africaof today is a fairly developedcountry with appreciableadvanced healthcare technolo-gy with genius medical expertsincluding doctors and scien-tists. It would be appropriate tomention that the first-everhuman heart transplant wasperformed by Dr ChristianBarnard at the Groote SchuurHospital in Cape Town onDecember 3, 1967. The daringoperation and the charismaticsurgeon had then receivedimmense public attentionaround the world.

For almost as long asCovid-19 has been around,scientists, academics and cam-

paigners have pleaded withwealthy nations to share vac-cines around the world only toprotect all human beings byreducing the risk of new muchsmarter mutant variantsemerging across helpless,unvaccinated communities thatcould evade available vaccinesand cause infection. Themantra ‘No one is safe untileveryone is safe’ did not haveany impact on the wealthyvaccine-full developed coun-tries.

The African region, includ-ing otherwise-advanced SouthAfrica, could not organiseenough vaccines for the peopleand turned super-incubator. Itis evident that Omicron origi-nated elsewhere in Africa,which has been struggling toobtain enough shots.

As long as large portions ofthe world’s population areunvaccinated, variants will con-tinue to appear, and the pan-demic will continue to be pro-longed which is a very normalphenomenon. Unfortunately,most of Africa has received just0.6 per cent of the nearly 8 bil-lion shots that have beenadministered by now. By con-trast, the United States andother rich nations have vacci-nated all but the hesitant andineligible and are now rollingout boosters.

Ethical experts and cam-paigners say one way to fix theimmediate disparity would bethrough ‘line-swapping,’ inwhich wealthy countries withenough shots allow poorernations to jump ahead of themin the manufacturer’s distribu-tion list. The World HealthOrganisation (WHO) has justdeclared Omicron its fifth‘Variant of Concern’. It hasdeclared B.1.1.529 a ‘Variant of

Concern’ linked to ‘an increasein transmissibility, more severedisease (e.g., increased hospi-talisations or deaths), signifi-cant reduction in neutralisationby antibodies generated duringprevious infection or vaccina-tion, reduced effectiveness oftreatments or vaccines, or diag-nostic detection failures," as perthe Centre for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC).Interestingly, the South AfricanMedical Association has saidOmicron is only causing milddiseases though transmissibil-ity is high. The Omicron hasover 30 mutations in the spikeprotein, which helps it poten-tially develop an 'immune-escape mechanism’.

Given that most Covidvaccines are developed to formantibodies against the spikeprotein, the multiple muta-tions in the spike protein onlymake the vaccines less effective,leading to decreased efficacy.But as of now, the Delta vari-ant continues to remain themost dominant strain of theSARs-COV-2 virus. However,preliminary data collected bythe WHO suggests anincreased risk of re-infection.There are multiple Covid vari-ants lingering in and aroundthe world. So, experts believethat there may be a need toupdate Covid vaccines just likethe influenza shots.

Around this critical period,health officials need to expandsurveillance, facilitate multipleCovid testing centres and ini-tiate Covid-appropriate restric-tions, the lay people should dotheir part of wearing a mask,maintaining social distancingand practicing healthy handhygiene.

Although the new Covidvariant has not penetrated the

walls of India, there is notelling when it could wreakhavoc in the country.

The new coronavirus strainis worrisome, but its effectwon’t be the same every-where.The US, among othernations, has restricted travelfrom South Africa and nearbycountries which may com-pound the economic challengesin the region.

The first case of theOmicron, also known asB.1.1.529, was detected insouthern Africa in November.Until recently, South Africawas recording only aroundthree hundred coronaviruscases a day, one of its lowestaverages of the pandemic. SinceOmicron arrived, cases havesoared to nearly five thou-sand. The number of covidhospitalisations has almostquadrupled in Gauteng whereomicron was identified.Omicron boasts some fiftymutations, far more than Delta,including around thirty on itsspike protein, which the virususes to enter cells.

Delta has just ten uniquespike mutations linked toenhanced transmissibility andimmunity evasion. Whether itbecomes the pandemic’s mostfearsome player remains is tobe seen.

But the relieving thingabout omicron is that manyinfections have been mild, andthat severe cases have affectedmainly the unvaccinated peo-ple. So, whether Omicron willcause more reinfections andbreakthrough cases, it’s tooearly to say now.

Immediately after theWHO’s warning bells, coun-tries have instituted travelrestrictions. Japan, Israel, andMorocco have banned all for-

eign visitors. The US, the UK,Australia and many Europeancountries have restricted trav-el from South Africa and othercountries in the region, whichmay compound the economicchallenges faced by the conti-nent. Instead of praising andthanking South Africa fordetecting and promptly report-ing the new variant, they arekind of banning South Africansunreasonably. Its vigilance andtransparency have cost thecountry dearly.

Travel restrictions at thismoment would be futile asOmicron has already been onthe loose and reached manyforeign shores. The variant hasbeen detected already in 19countries, including Portugal,Israel, Canada, and Australia.Certainly, it has landed in theUS. Anthony Fauci, the top USdisease expert, told The Timesthat the question is not beingable to slow down spreadingthe virus. Vigorous testing andgenomic-surveillance alongwith ensuring rapid access tothe new covid pills super fastvaccination will be meaningful.Safety and immunogenicitytrials be made to authoriseboosters against all new vari-ants.

Despite the manyunknowns swirling aroundOmicron, two things have beenknown to be true before its dis-covery: Omicron will affectvarious populations different-ly; nations with high immuni-sation rates will remain fairlyprotected. The second biggertruth is that intensifying thepan-world immunisation onlycan keep the human race safe.Omicron is “a cause for con-cern, not a cause for panic.”

Omicron is doubtlessly avery big cause for action.

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Astatue of freedom fighterand revolutionary leader

Raghu Sardar was unveiledhere at Phulnakhara, 74 yearsafter the noted freedom fight-er and social worker laid downhis life in the freedom struggle.

Raghunath Pattnaik aliasRaghu Sardar was born at a vil-lage in the cluster of Bailaishimouza of Cuttack district, whoat his young age was inspiredby the ideals of MahatmaGandhi and started his activi-ties against the British rule atCuttack. Irked by his activities,the British police had takenhim to custody torturing himoften. Finally Raghu left forKhidirpur, Kolkotta and laidthe freedom struggle with thesupport of innumerable Odiaand Bengali youths.

Miffed by his continuousstruggle the British conspired

against him. He was murderedon August 14 night in 1947 bycommunal elements, who hadplayed into the British hand. Asa social worker he played a piv-otal role in recruiting poorOdia youths there at Kolkata invarious industries and was alsoknown as a labour leader.

The statue of Sardar wasunveiled by BhubaneswarNorth MLA Sustant Rout, inpresence of Sardar's son Dr BNPatnaik and BhubaneswarCentral MLA Ananta NarayanJena. A market complex wasalso inaugurated along with ahealth camp in the name ofSardar.

Prominent among otherspresent on the occasion werejournalist Sugyan Choudhury,bureaucrat Laxmidhar Behera,Kabita Manjari Parida,Sudhansu Mahapatra, RasmitaSahoo, Pramila Mahapatra andPramod Parida.

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The Vigilance police onWednesday arrested Binod

Bihari Nayak, Inspector-in-charge of the Bangomundapolice station in Balangir dis-trict following seizure of cashof Rs 5.88 lakh from his pos-session.Nayak was interceptednear the Bargarh tollgate byVigilance officials while hewas on his way from

Bangomunda towardsKuchinda on a Maruti Ciaz car.During interception, Rs 2.07lakh was recovered fromNayak, which he could notaccount for satisfactorily.

Later, during search of hisresidence Rs. 3.88 lakh wasrecovered. Besides, seven bankaccounts in different banksand seven LIC policies in thename of Nayak and his familymembers were freezed.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Tuesday laid

foundation for 504 Governmentquarters in Bhubaneswar. Overtwo-thirds of these houses willbe allocated to Constables andHead Constables.

Out of these 504 quarters, 56E-Type Quarters would be con-structed in Janla, 28 D-Typequarters in Reserve Police Line,28 E-Type quarters in Tamando,28 E-Type quarters in Airfieldarea, 28 E-Type quarters inBadagada, 28 F-Type quarters inReserve Police line, 28 F-Typequarters in Laxmisagar, anoth-er 28 F-Type quarters inBadagada, 28 F-Type quarters inReserve Police Line. Besides, 224F-Type quarters will be con-structed at UPTTI Campus.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Tuesday inau-

gurated seven industrial projectsand performed groundbreak-ing of 10 projects.

While the seven inaugurat-ed projects have attracted aninvestment of Rs.152 crore, the10 projects, for which ground-breaking was done, would comeup with an investment of Rs.848crore.

These diversified projects areranging across food processing,tourism, plastics, manufacturingand fertiliser sectors would cre-ate potential employments forover 2,400 persons in the State.Some of the leading companiespromoting these projects includeIFFCO, Ramco Cements andCoastal Biotech.

Many of the units that par-ticipated in the groundbreakingceremony got their in-principleapproval in the last three months.

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The Keonjhar Truck Owners’Core Committee handed

over a memorandum to the dis-trict Collector, Keonjharagainst the transporting of ironore by trawlers of outsideOdisha and demanded priori-ty to local truck owners in thetransportation of ore.

Joda Truck Owners’Association secretary SushantaKumar Barik said local edu-cated unemployed youths aremaintaining their families byengaging trucks in the localmines of Keonjhar district andalong with them, lakhs of fam-ily members of truck operatorsand local shop keepers arealso dependent on truck busi-ness but the recent introduc-tion of transportation of ore bytrawler has hit the business oflocal truck operators.

As the mines owners likeState-owned OMC, Guali andothers like JSW, Nuagan andKNRam are giving preferenceto trawlers having capacity ofcarrying 60 tonnes of materi-al to transport their ore insteadof the local trucks, the oreloading by local trucks has

come down drastically. As far as local trucks are

concerned, they are made towait for days together for asingle loading. For this reason,the local truck owners arenow rendered jobless.

Many of them apprehend-ed that if the situation contin-ued further, their financialcondition would deteriorateand the property which theyhad mortgaged for getting loanto purchase trucks would beauctioned by the banks as theywouldn't be able to pay off

loan. They further alleged that

in the year 2012, the minesowners had signed an agree-ment with the Government asper which they would give acertain percentage of the orefor transportation to localtrucks. But the permission totransport ore by trawler has ledto the violation of the agree-ment. The committee mem-bers met BJD State organisingsecretary Pranab Prakash Das,who is said to have assuredthem to look into the matter.

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The Crime Branch (CB) hasregistered a murder case

against four police officers fortheir alleged involvement inthe custodial death of a personat the Jeypore Town police sta-tion in Koraput district in2017.

Akash Mahuria of Jeyporewas allegedly beaten to deathin the police station on January30, 2017.

Police had then claimedthat Mahuria, against whom anumber of cases are lodged, felland died when they were chas-ing to nab him.

The police officers againstwhom the murder case hasbeen registered are Jeypore

police station’s formerInspector-in-Charge TapanNarayan Rath, former Sub-Inspectors Siba Prasad Sahuand Rajesh Baliarsingh andformer Jeypore SDPORajendra Prasad Senapati.

A case has been registeredagainst the accused underSections 302, 323, 342, 325, 505and 34 of the IPC. A team ofthe Crime Branch led by ASPRamchandra Thamba wouldprobe into the case.

Deceased Mahuria’s moth-er Prabina had lodged a com-plaint with the Crime Branch,recently. The woman allegedthat the cops took his sonforcibly and assaulted him atthe police station, which led tohis death.

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With different food safetymeasures, Odisha has

kept up its upward movementin the national food safetyindex from the 26th position in2018-19 to 13th in 2019-20 andfurther to the 4th position in2020-21.

This was known at a State-level food safety advisory com-mittee meeting held onWednesday wherein AdditionalChief Secretary Raj KumarSharma outlined the issues fordiscussion.

Mahapatra directed thedepartment to orient and trainthe street food vendors onpreparation of safe food. Hedirected that the food vendorsmust be made aware about thedangerous effect of adulteratedfood on human health.

He also directed tostrengthen enforcement activ-

ities against the adulteratedfood. “Adulterated food sale isa criminal activity like sellingadulterated medicine and itmust be dealt mercilessly,” hestated.

He further directed to holddistrict-level food safety meet-ings regularly to ensure sale ofsafe food by street vendors andfood business operators. Healso directed to collect intelli-gence on the quality of foodbeing sold in towns from pub-lic and police sources.

Data showed that in 2020-21, total 3,049 food sampleswere collected and tested byway of surveillance andenforcement. Out of this, 576samples were booked for adul-teration and misbranding. Byend of October 2021-22, total1,984 samples were tested, outof which 446 were booked.Besides, total 280 cases werecompounded with fines.

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The conditions of farmers inOdisha are precarious.

Their monthly income is Rs5,112, the second lowest in thecountry. This is the “achieve-ment” of the BJD Governmentin its 21 years’ rule, said thespeakers at an executive com-mittee meeting of the OdidhaPradesh Kissan Congress hereon Wednesday.

From the mandis to irri-gation, there is failure in everysector. The Government isinsensitive and silent spectatoreven as the farmer suicides areregularly increasing.

The schemes announcedby the Central and StateGovernments are only for pub-licity purposes and cannotensure welfare of the farmers,the speakers said.

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Following the World HealthOrganisation’s (WHO)

warning on the new Covid-19variant which poses ‘very high’global risk, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik on Wednesdayasked the State administration toensure strict Covid protocols.While reviewing the next phaseCovid protection, he pointed outthat many countries in Europehave been experiencing increas-ing infections in recent weeks.

“We have to reactivate allour protocols and keep theCovid facilities and personnel onhigh alert. I would like to hearfrom the Health Departmentabout the emerging situationand the related preparations,” hesaid.

“I urge the DGP to contin-ue the good work done by thepolice since the first wave andenforce the norms strictly. TheI&PR Department should starta new awareness campaign tosensitise the citizens to follow thenorms of facemask, handhygiene and social distancing,”he said.

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The Brahmapur MunicipalCorporation (BeMC) has

received a communicationreportedly to clear its stand onthe existing strength of wardsand whether the number ofwards can further be increasedbased on the population.

Sources said that BeMCCommissioner SidheswarBoliram Bonder, however, hasalready sent the reservation listearlier for 43 wards under theadministrative ambience of theBeMC ahead of the urban poll,but the State Government hasreportedly issued a directive tothe BeMC Commissioner againto limit the total number ofwards to 42 based on the pop-ulation. Hence, the BeMCCommissioner will make afresh exercise after due scruti-ny and will send its reservationlist limiting to the total num-ber of wards to 42 only.

Though the BeMC is cur-rently having a total of 40wards, it is going to get twomore new wards increasingthe current strength to 42.Now, the reservation list sent

for 43 wards earlier by theBeMC needs to be reorganisedafresh as the strength of totalwards is to be reduced to 42.

As a result, some areaswhich were shown in ward No.43 earlier will have to be addedor merged or distributed undersome other wards as part of thereorganization exercise withoutany change in the reservationlist, sources said.

The prospective candidateswho are expecting to contest inthe upcoming urban polls areclosely watching the situationand waiting for the final reser-vation list to come. The BeMCwill start the process of pollpreparation, soon after it getsthe orders from the StateGovernment in the matter,BeMC sources said.

It may be recalled here that,since 2018 no election hasbeen conducted to the BeMCcouncil. Notably in 2008, theBeMC was upgraded to the sta-tus of a Corporation with 35wards which was increased to40 only in 2013. Notably, out of40 wards, wards from 35 to 40come under the jurisdiction ofGopalpur AssemblyConstituency.

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Acarcass of a female ele-phant aged about seven

years was found in a corn fieldnear Balipada village underRajnagar forest beat area inAthagarh on Tuesday after-noon. When the local farmerswere going to their corn fieldsfor crop cutting, they stumbled

upon the dead pachyderm lyingin a corn field.

They informed the forestofficials regarding the deadtusker immediately. AthagarhDFO Sudarsan Gopinath Jadavalong with his team reached atthe spot, seized the carcass andintimated the higher authoritieson the matter. When the DFOcalled the local veterinary sur-

geon for autopsy, it was twilightfor which the same wasdeferred to Wednesday, toldBVO Dr Susant Behera. A vet-erinary doctors' team will visitthe spot, participate in theautopsy work and assess thecause of its death, said in-charge Forest Range Officer ofAthagarhGajendra Pal SinghMathur.

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ACommittee of the StateAssembly led by Deputy

Speaker Rajanikant Singh vis-ited several villages inJharsuguda and settlementcolonies of Ib valley andLakhanpur field area underMCL on Sunday .

They discussed with thedisplaced persons ofKhairkuni, Tingismal, Darlipurand Ubuda villages and at thecolonies at Mirdhadera andKhadam-2 regarding problemsfaced by them after rehabilita-tion.

As stated by the displacedpersons, although their landshave been acquired from 1980to 2017, they have not beensettled yet, neither have theybeen given any job.

The homestead lands havenot yet been handed over tothem after identification, theytold The committee memberslistened to the complaints ofvillagers at a review meetingheld in the evening at theOPGC Resource Centre.

The review meeting wasorganised under the directsupervision of districtCollector Saroj Kumar Samal.

Samal realised that no basicamenities have been providedto the displaced persons by themines management. Inspite ofrepeated reminders by theGovernment officials, theirproblems are not sorted out forwhich he expressed his dis-pleasure on the mines author-ities present in the reviewmeeting.

Committee chairmanRajnikant Singh also showedhis discontent over displace-ment and settlement issue. Heassured that injustice to theHirakud displaced familieswould not be tolerated.

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As a part of its CSR activity,the CREDAI Bhubaneswar

Foundation youth wing organ-ised an open hand drawingcompetition “Art Talent Quest”in association with Artecion E-commerce. The topic of thecompetition was “Imaginationof a Smart City”.

Speaking on the occasion,CREDAI Bhubaneswar YouthWing Member SwayamMohanty said, "The objective ofthe competition is to give a

platform to the children toshowcase their imaginationand talent. Being in this realestate business, we want toknow their imagination of thefuture smart city."

Children of Class 8th -10th registered for the onlineart.

The winner of the compe-tition Basundhara Bastia fromBaxi Jagabandhu EnglishMedium School got a cashreward of Rs 5,000 1st Runner-up, Simron Priyansi fromSaraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir

got Rs 3,000 and 2nd Runner-up Soujanyta DarsaniMaharana from RyanInternational School got a cashreward of Rs 2,000. All otherparticipants received partici-pation certificates and GiftHampers at an event happenedat CREDAI BhubaneswarFoundation office.

Swayam Mohanty, andDirector Artecion E-commerceAshutosh Nanda distributedthe awards, participation cer-tificates and gift hampersamong the children

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Thousands of villagers of sixgram panchayats under

Kishornagar block in Anguldistrict have submitted a mem-orandum to the AthamallikSub-Collector for smooth oper-ating and continuance of acoal stockyard near theHandapa railway station, whichis providing livelihood to hun-

dreds of families living aroundit.

The villagers, under thebanner of Maa MaheswariUnited Prajasangh urged theGovernment to allow operationof the coal yard to stop massivemigration from the area.Kishorenagar block has noindustries and mines.Hundreds of poor villagers areengaged in the transportation

activities of the coal yard andgetting livelihood.

“When the country hasacute coal shortage affectingpower plants and other indus-tries, 31 trains have beenloaded with coal from theHandapa siding in last twomonths and the Railways hasearned around Rs 6.20 crore,”said Praja Sangha presidentKhirod Behera.

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On the closing ceremony ofthe METIS Initiative on

Plastics and Indo-Pacific Ocean2021 at Utsha Foundation here,the grant-winning artistManveer Singh shared hisexperience and also displayeda short film on his journey inOdisha in transforming hisideas to create beautiful artfrom plastics and also generat-ing awareness among peopleand especially among the youthand students.

He created a wall of OliveRidley turtles hanged from netand the artist has the conceptto tell to the visitors, howhuman activities like fishing arekilling the turtles. The tiny onesconsuming plastics are alsofacing life threat near the coast-line and especially adjacentlocations near the mass nestinggrounds.

The work explained all thechallenges behind the lifecycleof the Olive Ridley turtles,which are in love with theOdishan coast.

The wonderful event on artand sustainability was attend-ed by Consulate General ofFrance Kolkata Talpain,Regional Director South AsiaAgence Française deDéveloppement (AFD) orFrench Development AgencyJacky Amprou, Director AFDIndia Bruno Bosle and SectorPortfolio Manager AFD FannyRagot and founder of UtshaFoundation and eminent artistJagannath Panda, among oth-ers.

The METIS initiative ispart of AFD celebrating its 80thAnniversary on December 2,this year and for this the agencyhas planned events across theIndo-Pacific Region includingIndia, Mauritius and Indonesia.

The AFD has decided to launcha global initiative METIS, tocreate a global public opinionon marine debris and pollution.

While this has encouragedparticipation of artists in Indiato express their ideas relating toplastic waste production, man-agement and its ill effects onthe fragile coastal ecosystem, inMauritius and Indonesia musicand comics respectively wereused to create the public aware-ness.

Currently, AFD is alsofunding the CITIISProgramme in Bhubaneswarand 11 other cities of Indiathrough the Smart CityMission. AFD is funding CITI-IS Programme here, supportedby Ministry of Housing andUrban Affairs, European Unionand National Institute of UrbanAffairs, New Delhi and theGovernment of Odisha.

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While a tiger census in theKuldiha sanctuary in

Baleswar district is underway,wildlife officials have found evi-dence regarding the presence ofthree big cats after they foundthree different footprints in thesanctuary.

Forest Range OfficerAnanta Kumar Jena said thesefootprints would be verified.

He assumed the footprints tobe of three different leopardsand said experts would arriveat a conclusion in this regard.

“The footprints were tracednear Bholapokahari,Tutapokhari and Sarvana insidethe sanctuary. However, theywould be analysed by expertsto ascertain the big cats’ num-ber,” said Jena, adding that thefootprints were collected by thePIPs (pug impression pads)

that were placed in the sanc-tuary for tiger headcount.

The headcount exercisehad started on November 26and will end on December 3.As many as 14 teams have beenconducting the census of tigersin 14 beats of the sanctuary.Besides trap cameras, 120 PIPshave been positioned to keeptrack of the presence of leop-ards and tigers in this ReserveForest.

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The annual Book Fair held inJagatsinghpur headquarters

town in early January was putoff due to Covid 19 pandemic.It was decided in an executivebody meeting of JagatsinghpurSanskrutika Parishad held inthe Collectorate here onMonday.

District Collector cumBook Fair Committee chairmanParul Patwari chaired the meet-ing. It was decided that owingto the Covid 19 pandemic, thephysical event would be put offbut it would be held online onJanuary 15 at Adikabi SaralaDas Sanskruti Bhawan here.

The publishers, booksellers,committee members and otherbook lovers have been request-ed to participate in the web-based celebration, Parishad

joint secretary Sudhir KumarMohanty said. General secre-tary Sarada Prasad Das read outthe annual report. Earlier, twominutes of silence was observedat the meeting for eminent lit-terateur Manoj Das, DrBholanath Rout, Jagastinghpurformer Collector SarveswarMohanty, former MLA UmeshSwain and former DIPROPitambar Swain, who are nomore. The meeting was attend-ed by Parishad working presi-dent Biplaba Choudhury, ADMSatchidananda Sahoo,Ganeswar Mania, Naresh Das,Natabar Barik, Rabindra NathMohanty, Sasanka SekharLenka, SubrataSatapathy,Hemanta Rath,Gopala Krushna Mishra,scribe Pradipta KishorChoudhury and DIPROKaminiranjan Patnaik.

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The ‘Konark Festival’-2021,a five-day Indian classical

dance extravaganza, was inau-gurated by Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik at Konark onWednesday.

Minister of School andMass Education Samir RanjanDash, Minister of Tourism andOdia Language and CultureJyoti Prakash Panigrahi andMinister of Electronic and IT,Sports and Youth ServicesTusharkanti Behera as honor-able guests of the event lit theceremonial lamp as part of theinaugural ceremony. The pro-gramme is organised by theState Department of Tourismin association with the OdishaSangeet Natak Akademi and

Odisha Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (OTDC).

The inaugural show wit-nessed Odishi performance byMadhavi Mudgal and Groupled by Odishi exponent Padma

Shri Madhavi Mudgal fromGandharva Mahavidyalaya,New Delhi. The performancesshowcased Odishi dancerecitals on Nartan Ganesh,Pallavi, Abhinaya and Trayi. It

was followed by Kathak per-formance by Vaswati Mishraand Group of ‘Dhwani’ fromLucknow Gharana.

The International Sand ArtFestival 2021 at the

Chandrabhaga beach was inau-gurated earlier on the day byMinister of School and MassEducation Dash, Minister ofTourism and Odia Languageand Culture Panigrahi,Minister of Electronic and IT,Sports and Youth ServicesBehera and noted sand artistPadma Shri Sudarshan Patnaik.

This year 100 artisans areparticipating in the event whichincludes artists from Odishaand 9 other Indian Statesincluding Rajasthan,Maharashtra, Gujarat, WestBengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,Jharkhand, Karnataka andTamil Nadu. The theme for theinaugural day was 'Culture andMonuments' on which variousenchanting sand sculptureswere created.

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The National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) has

issued fresh reminder to theOdisha Chief Secretary to sub-mit a report on the displace-ment of residents of some vil-lages in Keonjhar district forthe Kanpur Irrigation Project.

The NHRC directed tosubmit the requisite reportwithin six weeks positively fail-ing which the commissionwould be constrained to invokeits coercive powers underSection 13 of PHR Act. 1993.

The commission passedthe order as the ChiefSecretary failed to file theaction taken report (ATR) onthe issue of demolition of thou-sands of houses and larges-caledisplacement of poor, ST, SC

and other villagers inMurusuan, Chamakpur,Ravenshawpur(A) andRavenshawpur(B), Birkala,Govindpur and other villagesin Keonjhar district.

The NHRC passed theorder acting on the petitionfiled by rights activist andlawyer Radhakanta Tripathythe NHRC.

The matter pertains to thedisplacement of around 5,000families on account of theKanpur irrigation project.

Notably, earlier the NHRChad investigated the issueinvestigated by its Special

Rapporteur in 2018 on a peti-tion filed by Tripathy. TheState Government had assuredto carry out the recommenda-tion of the commission in let-ter and spirit. But there are cer-tain gaps in the promises by theState and ground realities,

The displaced families areforced to live under the opensky on account of failure onpart of district administrationto conduct proper surveyresulting into deprivation ofbasic necessities of life to them,said Tripathy.

Pursuant to the notice ofthe NHRC, a letter was receivedfrom the State HomeDepartment, which was aninternal communication askingthe Water Resource Secretaryfor submitting ATR in thematter, he pointed out to thecommission.

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Two dreaded criminals werenabbed following an

encounter with a team of theRural police near Barapada inBhadrak district on Wednesdaymorning.

Police have seized threemousers, four magazines andsharp weapons from their pos-session.

The duo was identified asPrahalad Das of Soro andSushant Mallick of Nilagiri inBaleswar district. Both werewanted in the robbery of Rs 29lakh from an ATM nearLakshinarayan Temple inCharampa area of the districton November 26.

Das and Mallick, who havereceived gunshot wounds intheir legs, were initially admit-ted to the District HeadquartersHospital (DHH) and latershifted to SCB Medical College

Hospital in Cuttack after theirhealth condition worsened.

Acting on a tipoff, a teamof Rural police station raided afew locations in the Barapadaarea before having a faceoffwith the criminals.

Spotting the police, theaccused opened fire in a bid toescape. However, were over-powered and nabbed afterretaliatory firing by the cops.

Rural PS IIC Alok Jenaand Constable Srikant JenaAslo also received minorinjuries in the encounter.

Earlier on November 26,six miscreants on two motor-cycles came to the ATM nearthe Laxmi Narayan temple inthe Charampa area and threat-ened the employees of a cashagency while they were busy inloading cash in the kiosk. Theylater filled a bag with the cashand fled the spot with aroundRs 29 lakh on their motorbikes.

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Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared a hur-dle for fresh custodial interrogation of ex-

Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and AjayChandra by the Enforcement Directorate as itclarified that its earlier order of production ofthe accused through video conferencing facil-ity will not come in the way. The ED has soughtclarification of the August 26, order of the topcourt by which it had transferred the Chandrabrothers to two separate jails in Mumbai andsaid that they will participate in judicial pro-ceedings against them through video confer-encing.

ED has said that given new evidence foundagainst them, it needs to confront the ex-pro-moters, and for that their custodial interro-gation is needed. A bench of Justices DYChandrachud and MR Shah said, “Havingregard to the contents of the application, whichhave been filed by the ED, we clarify that theorder dated August 26, 2021, will not come inthe way of ED to bring the requisite applica-tion before the magistrate for the purpose ofseeking custodial interrogation of the accused,which shall be decided in its own merits”.

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Patients who survive severeCovid-19 may not be lucky

enough to survive for long, astudy has said suggesting thatthey are more than twice aslikely to succumb over theyears than those who remainuninfected or experiencemilder virus symptoms.

As these deaths frequentlyoccurred long after the initialinfection had passed, they maynever have been linked toCovid-19 by the patients’ fam-ilies or doctors, the study pub-lished in Frontiers in Medicinehas found.

This is for the first timethat any study has found thatCovid can cause severe symp-toms and death for vulnerablepeople, particularly those withunderlying health conditions.So far, studies have been high-

lighting that some people mayexperience long Covid, signsand symptoms that last for afew weeks or months afterinfection. Symptoms such asfatigue and shortness of breathcan linger for months after theinfection has passed.

Indicating the importanceof vaccination, the study saidthat coronavirus infections maysignificantly damage long-termhealth. The increased risk ofdying was greater for patientsunder 65, and only 20% of thesevere Covid-19 patients whodied did so because of typicalCovid complications, such asrespiratory failure.

“We conducted a previousstudy that showed that patientswith severe Covid-19 whorecovered were at significant-ly greater risk of being hospi-talised in the subsequent sixmonths,” said ProfArch

Mainous of the University ofFlorida, the lead author of thestudy. “This new study extend-ed that to investigate mortali-ty risk over the next 12months.”

The researchers trackedthe electronic health records of13,638 patients who underwenta PCR test for Covid within theUniversity of Florida healthsystem, with 178 patients expe-riencing severe virus symp-toms, 246 mild or moderateCovid-19 and the rest testingnegative. All patients includedin the study recovered from thedisease, and the researcherstracked their outcomes.

The study found thatpatients who were very unwellwith coronavirus had a greaterchance of dying over the nextyear, a trend that was particu-larly notable among those agedunder 65.

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Speculation is abuzz about BJP having a pre-poll tie-up with the JD(S) for the December

10 Legislative Council elections in Karnataka.Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda heldtalks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi onTuesday following BJP veteran B S Yediurappasetting the ball rolling on the issue by his pub-lic statement.

On Tuesday, photos of Modi holding Gowda'shand and offering him a seat went viral settingoff possibilities of both the sides exploring elec-toral adjustments in the Southern State. Earlier,former BJP Chief Minister Yediyurappa had pub-licly solicited JD(S) backing on seats where theregional party is not contesting. Gowda had saidafter his meeting that he discussed the upcom-ing MLC elections with Modi. “I told Modi thatstate-level leaders from JD(S) and BJP have to takea decision on forging an alliance,” he said.

On December 10, elected representatives oflocal bodies will choose 25 members to theLegislative Council. This election gives BJP thechance to control the upper house with a major-ity. The BJP and Congress are contesting in 20seats whereas the JD(S) in just six where it is con-fident of winning.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will lay the founda-

tion of the ambitious Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor(from Eastern PeripheralExpressway Junction toDehradun) project on Saturdayduring his visit to Dehradun.

Official sources saidbesides the Expressway, thePM will inaugurate and dedi-cate projects worth Rs 18,000crore in the run-up toUttarakhand assembly polls. .

The corridor will haveseven major interchanges forconnectivity to Haridwar,Muzaffarnagar, Shamli,Yamunagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Baraut. It will alsohave Asia’s largest wildlife ele-vated corridor (12 km) for

unrestricted movement of ani-mals, according to the PMOrelease.

A 340-m tunnel near DatKaali temple, Dehradun, willalso help reduce impact onwildlife, the Government said.

Road Ministry sources saidthe Delhi Dehradun corridorwill be built at a cost of around?8,300 crore and after comple-tion will reduce the travel timefrom Delhi to Dehradun totwo-and-a-half hours.

At present, it takes sixhours to travel from Delhi tothe Uttarakhand capital.

According to an officialstatement issued by the PrimeMinister's Office (PMO), Modiwill lay the foundation stone of11 development projects,including the government'sambitious project -- the Delhi-

Dehradun Economic Corridor(from Eastern PeripheralExpressway Junction toDehradun).

Further, multiple animalpasses are being built in theGaneshpur-Dehradun sectionfor avoiding animal-vehiclecollisions. The economic cor-ridor will also have arrange-ments for rainwater harvestingat intervals of 500m and over400 water recharge points.

A greenfield alignmentproject from the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor,connecting Halgoa, Saharanpurto Bhadrabad, Haridwar, will beconstructed at a cost of over�2,000 crore.

It will provide seamlessconnectivity and reduce traveltime from Delhi to Haridwar aswell.

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Opposition continuedremain in a bellicose

mood on the issue of suspen-sion of 12 Rajya Sabha mem-bers and warned thatParliament could see furtherdisruption if the action was notreviewed.

The suspended MPs satnear the Mahatma Gandhistatue in the Parliamentpremise to register their protest.

The proceedings of theUpper House were adjournedfor the day as Oppositionmembers lodged strong proteston the issue. The first adjourn-ment happened soon after theHouse met for the day andthen two other adjournmentsfollowed.

The MPs demanded thatLeader of OppositionMallikarjun Kharge be allowedto speak on the suspension,while the treasury benchmoved the Dam Safety Bill forconsideration. As the Chairrefused to let Kharge speak,Opposition members raisedvociferous protest. Placard-carrying opposition MPstrooped into the well of theHouse and shouted slogansagainst the suspension.

Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu expressed dismay attheir conduct, and said the sus-pended MPs have shown no

remorse, and there was noquestion of revoking their sus-pension. "It is sacrilege of theHouse, I have said (on the con-duct of the 12 suspended MPsduring the last session inAugust). There is no remorseby members who have reallyinsulted the parliamentary sys-tem," he said.

Naidu ordered that nothingthat the opposition MPs saywould go on record but saidtheir conduct in the Well of theHouse should be shown to thepeople of the country.

"Protest will go on until thisillegal suspension is revoked. Itis autocratic. Other oppositioncolleagues have been protestingin Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,"

Shiv Sena leader Rajya SabhaMP Priyanka Chaturvedi toldThe Pioneer.

Ripun Bora, another sus-pended MPs belonging toCongress, said "Every day from10 am to 11 am opposition MPsare protesting and will contin-ue to do so. The suspendedMPs are also sitting in protestand will do so every day from10 am to 5 pm in front of theGandhi statue."

"Rajya Sabha Chairmanshould explain why they havebeen suspended as they wereraising farmers' and peoples'issues such as price rise andPegasus snooping allegations. Isthat an offence? Should weapologise for it?," Bora stated.

As soon as the Houseresumed in the afternoon,Deputy Chairman Harivansh,who was in the chair, askedUnion Minister for Jal ShaktiGajendra Singh Shekhawat tomove The Dam Safety Bill, 2019for consideration in the House.The minister moved the motionfor consideration of the bill bythe House, and thereafter theDeputy Chairman asked him tospeak on the bill. In the mean-time, Kharge asked the DeputyChairman to allow him to speakon the issue of suspension of 12members of the House.However, Harivansh did notallow him to raise the matter,and said he can speak on the Bill.

As the minster started hisspeech on the Bill, oppositionmembers started raising slo-gans and again demanded thatKharge be allowed to speak onthe issue of suspension ofmembers. Harivansh request-ed the opposition membersnot to come into the Well andto go back to their seats.

He also told some mem-bers that photography in theHouse is not allowed when theytried to click pictures withtheir phones. But when oppo-sition members refused torelent, the Deputy Chairmanadjourned the House till 3 pmand thereafter for the day aftera brief functioning of thehouse.

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After two days of disrup-tions, the Lok Sabha Sabha

on Wednesday witnessed activeparticipation by most of theOpposition members in theHouse proceedings withCongress members seeking alegal guarantee for the MSPand �5 crore compensationfor each of the farmers 'mar-tyred' in the ongoing agitation.

Proceedings largely wenton smoothly even as 'TelanganaRashtriya Samiti' memberscontinued to protest in the wellon the issue of paddy procure-ment by the center.

The question hour lasted28 minutes with RailwayMinister Ashwini Vaishaw andConsumer affairs MinisterSadhvi Niranjan Jyoti answer-ing questions on electrificationof railway tracks and LPGprices respectively.

Cabinet Minister forConsumer affairs Piyush Goyalsaid the question on the LPGwas not related to his ministryand that "international pricesguide these prices". This waswhen a member pointed outthat LPG prices have risen to Rs1400.

TRS members who were inthe well carried placards 'don'tpunish farmers ' , ' bring bill forMSP' and 'no discriminationamong states' and sought toblock members speaking dur-ing question hour with theirplacards.

Criticising members forsloganeering and creating aruckus in the House, Lok Sabha

Speaker Om Birla said theirbehaviour is not justified andthe House cannot function ifsome members disturb theentire House.

“You are a member of theHouse. Senior members arespeaking and you are wavingplacards in front of them. Whatdecorum do you want to cre-ate in the House?”, he said.

Lok Sabha was adjournedtill 12 noon and it lasted onehour and 35 minutes duringzeo hour before adjourningtill 2.35 pm when Union HealthMinister Mansukh Mandaviyamoved the AssistedReproductive Technology(Regulation) Bill, 2020 for dis-cussion.

The house proceedingswere a clear departure from lasttwo-day when it could notconduct any business andadjourned for the day afterrepeat disruptions.

During zero hour,Congress members Manish

Tiwari and Amar Singhdemanded Rs five crore eachcompensation to the families of"700 martyred " during the agi-tation and that sought thatfarmers demand on the MSP beaccepted.

RLP member HanumanBeniwal also wanted MSP law,compensation and withdrawalof cases against farmers.

BSP member KunwarDanish Ali said that besides

conceding law on the MSP allthose in jail for farmer agitationbe released.

Apart from farmers issue,Sangita Azad (BSP) brought upthe matter of leakage of ques-tion papers for teachers examin Uttar Pradesh, MahuaMoitra (TMC) sought demoli-tion of a villa near "an ASI pro-tected site' in Goa , ShashiTharoor questioned reductionin Kerosene subsidy which hesaid was affecting Kerala fish-ermen and Nishikant Dubey(BJP) wondered as why thecountry did not have a com-mon Civil Code despite 75years of independence.

Congress looked distanc-ing itself from the TRS sayingit wanted to participate in theproceedings of the House toput the government in the matafter it rolled back three farmlaws.

The Congress suspects "ahidden agenda" in TRS protestsin the house to not to allow aproper discussion on farmersissue.

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The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) on

Wednesday predicted a higherprobability of normal temper-atures during winter this yearin Haryana, Punjab, WestRajasthan, and Delhi NCRwhile normal to above normalminimum temperatures overmany parts of northwest, south,and north east parts of thecountry from December 2021to February 2022.

According to the IMD,India witnessed 645 events ofheavy rainfall this year. Ofthem, 168 very heavy rainfalloccurred in November, thehighest in the month in fiveyears.

In its forecast for minimumand maximum temperaturesfor the winter months, theIMD said that below normalminimum temperatures aremost likely over some parts ofthe north interior peninsula.“Below normal maximumtemperatures are likely overmost parts of the countryexcept over some parts ofnorthwest India and most partsof northeast India, where nor-mal to above normal maxi-mum temperatures are mostlikely during the upcoming winter season,” theIMD said.

“The rain in December inthe peninsular region is likelyto be above normal at around132% of the long-period aver-age. Currently, weak La Niñaconditions are prevailing overequatorial Pacific region. Thelatest Monsoon MissionCoupled Forecasting System

(MMCFS) forecast indicatesthat La Niña conditions arelikely to strengthen and peak tomoderate conditions duringthe upcoming winter season,”it said.

According to the IMD, thecountry saw 645 events ofheavy rainfall and 168 of veryheavy rainfall in November, thehighest in the month in fiveyears. The IMD recorded 11

extremely heavy rainfall (morethan 204.5 mm) events in themonth, equalling the numberreported last year.

The country saw 645events of heavy rainfall (64.5mm to 115.5 mm) and 168events of very heavy rainfall(115.6 mm to 204.5 mm) inNovember, the highest in thelast five years, according to theIMD's data. It was mainly

because of five low-pressuresystems over the AndamanSea in November compared to2.4 on an average in November.The northeast monsoon wasalso in its active phase lastmonth. To put things in per-spective, the number of heavyrainfall events this Novemberwas more than the total suchevents in the last four years --247 in 2020; 116 in 2019; 135

in 2018 and 139 in 2017. TheMet office also said peninsularIndia gauged 160 per centmore rainfall -- 232.7 mmagainst the average of 89.5mm -- in November, the high-est in the month since 1901.

The country as a wholereceived 56.5 mm of rainfallagainst the normal of 30.5 mm-- an excess of 85.4 per cent --in November.

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Lok Sabha on Wednesdaypassed by voice vote a Bill

to regulate and superviseassisted reproductive tech-nology clinics.

The AssistedReproductive Technology(Regulation) Bill, 2020, seeksto regulate and superviseassisted reproductive tech-nology (ART) clinics andassisted reproductive tech-nology banks, and ensure thesafe and ethical practice ofassisted reproductive tech-nology services.

Health Minister MansukhMandaviya also moved vari-ous amendments to theAssisted Reproductive(Regulation) Bill based onrecommendations made by aparliamentary committee.Moving the Bill, HealthMinister said the Bill wastabled in Parliament inSeptember 2020 and the lowerHouse referred it to theStanding Committee. Manysuggestions came from theStanding Committee andGovernment has consideredthose recommendations, hesaid. The Standing CommitteeReport on the Bill was sub-mitted in March this year.

"Many such ART clinicshave been running in thecountry without regulation.Need was felt for regulation ofsuch clinics as it has implica-tion on health of those who

undertake the procedure," hesaid.

Initiating debate on theBill, Karti Chidambaram(Congress) said this law is aVictorian law as it is not allencompassing. It excludesthose who could not affordthis expensive procedure for ababy and the Governmentshould consider supportingpoor childless parents for tak-ing help of ART, Karti sug-gested.

He also suggested that theGovernment should considerincluding lesbian, gay, bisex-ual, or transgender (LGBTQ).Heena Gavit (BJP) said the Billseeks to set minimum stan-dards and codes of conduct forfertility clinics and egg/spermbanks. It also proposes strin-gent punishment for thosepractising sex selection andsale of human embryos orgametes. She said about 80per cent ART clinics are notregistered and the Bill willensure strict adherence toguidelines.

"Ensuring confidentialityof the commissioning couples,women and donors will alsobe done under the aegis of thisproposal of the Cabinet. TheBill also has a provision thatthose involved in traffickingand sale of embryos will befined Rs 10 lakh at firstinstance and in secondinstance the person could beimprisoned for up to 12 years,”she added.

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The main OppositionAIADMK in Tamil Nadu,

which is facing challenge fromeased out leader V.K. Sasikala,on Wednesday amended itsbylaws to strengthen norms toretain the present leadershipstructure of top two positionsheld by O Panneerselvam andK Palaniswami.

The party also harped on'unity,' and strengthening the'hands of party's top leaders'and to work hard to win futureelections.

The amendments tobylaws at the ExecutiveCommittee meeting of theAIADMK held in Chennai,effectively closes the door onSasikala, who has claimed to bethe party 'general secretary,' apost last held by the late ChiefMinister J Jayalalithaa whodied in December 2016.

The commencement of theyear long golden jubilee cele-brations of the AIADMK onOctober 17 witnessed a vigor-ous attempt by Sasikala, confi-dante of Jayalalithaa, to get backcontrol of the party, when shedeclared herself as its generalsecretary, which was stronglyresisted by the party leadership.

While amendments madein 2017 bestowed all the pow-

ers vested with the top positionof general secretary to the thennewly created positions of partycoordinator (Panneerselvam)and joint coordinator(Palaniswami), the currenttweaks further strengthen thattop party structure.

The first amendment man-dates a 'single vote' by 'prima-ry members' to elect the topleadership, which is the twopositions of coordinator andjoint coordinator.

While the posts are two,there cannot be separate votes, asthe twin positions together con-stitute the party top leadership.

According to theAIADMK, Sasiakala is not amember of the party, thoughshe has claimed to be the gen-eral secretary.

Senior leader D Jayakumartold reporters that only thosewho have been primary mem-bers for five years or more are

eligible to vote to elect the partyleadership.

The next amendmentmakes it clear that the funda-mental rule that the party lead-ership can only be elected bythe primary AIADMK mem-bers could neither be changednor modified or revised.

The third amendmentdeclares that 'exemption' or 'relax-ation' cannot be made to the basicnorm of members alone electingthe AIADMK leadership.

The fresh amendments tobylaw takes immediate effect, aspecial resolution adopted forthis purpose at the EC meet saidadding approval would be soughtfor such decisions in the nextparty general council meeting.

The special resolution tomake amendments were pro-posed by seven senior leadersincluding the two deputy coor-dinators KP Munusamy and RVaithilingam besides veterans,

KA Sengottaiyan and CPonnaiyan, both party organ-ising secretaries. The resolutionwas adopted unanimously,being seconded by all the exec-utive committee members.

The EC meet was presidedby Panneerselvam andPalaniswami, both former chiefministers of the state.Munusamy, considered close toPanneereselvam andVaithilingam, seen as a confidantof Palaniswami occupied topslots in the meeting held at partyheadquarters here, rechristenedrecently after its founder M GRamachandran as 'PuratchiThalaivar MGR Maaligai'.

On October 17, Sasikalahad unfurled the AIADMKflag at the T Nagar memorial ofthe party founder and a plaqueunveiled on the occasionaddressed her as party 'gener-al secretary' which was dis-missed by the AIADMK lead-ership as a mere claim that hadno binding effect on the party.

On that day,Panneerselvam andPalaniswami had presided overthe inaugural of the jubilee feteat the party headquarters.

Subsequently, Palaniswamihad rejected her claims andruled out scope for her return.Later, Panneerselvam had saidthe party leadership wouldhold discussions and take adecision on re-admitting her.This was however opposedimmediately by leaders like

Jayakumar and Munusamy.Sasikala had returned to

Tamil Nadu on February 8,2021 after completing her fouryear sentence that commencedin February 2017 in a dispro-portionate assets case in aBengaluru prison.

A case filed by her, chal-lenging the 2017 AIADMKgeneral council resolutions,including removing her fromthe post of interim generalsecretary, is pending in aChennai court.

Though she hadannounced ahead of the April6 Assembly election, that shewould stay away from politics,in May she hinted at resump-tion of efforts to regain controlof the AIADMK.

Audio clips of her interac-tions with her supporters andsome AIADMK workers alsosurfaced following whichAIADMK men faced discipli-nary action. Sasikala's nephewand another former AIADMKleader, TTV Dhinakaran whobacks her claim to AIADMKleadership, heads the outfitAmma Makkal MunnetraKazhagam (AMMK).

In the AIADMK meet heldon Wednesday, as many as 11other resolutions were adopt-ed including the one thatharped on 'unity' mantra andanother that appealed to thecadres to slog for victory in theurban civic polls, expected tobe held soon.

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Just as Mamata Banerjee calledfor an Opposition unity and

met NCP leader Sharad PawarCongress Lok Sabha LeaderAdhir Chowdhury onWednesday lashed out at theBengal Chief Minister for actu-ally helping the BJP anddestroying the Oppositioncause by engineering defec-tion in the Congress Party.

“Here she is advocatingopposition unity but doingjust the opposite …PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s slo-gan is in favour of a Congressfree India … here MamataBanerjee is also calling for aCongress free opposition …you can easily understand itfrom the way she has been try-ing to engineer defection in theCongress and dividing the anti-BJPforces for her own interest,”Chowdhury said, adding thissmacked of an clandestineunholy alliance between theTrinamool Congress.

“If the Congress is weak-ened then how there can be anopposition unity … she is try-ing to finish the Congress ascan be seen from what shedidwith the help of PrashantKishore in Goa and Meghalaya

… though such minor blows ina few places will not harm theCongress much … but she hasto realize that the Congress isthe biggest opposition partywithout which no anti-BJPforces can stand … and youcannot say that asenior politi-cian like her is doing all thiswithout calculating the conse-quences … She is for all prac-tical purposes helping the causeof the BJP,” the Bengal PradeshCongress president said.

Earlier the Left Front tooattacked the Chief Ministerfor furthering the BJP’s agen-da in the country.

“The Left has always beenof the view that MamataBanerjee is the biggest friend ofthe BJP … Her TrinamoolCongress was born in the lap ofthe BJP and they remained anally for about 10 years … evennow the politics of MamataBanerjee is helping the BJP inBengal where they were anonentity in Bengal,” said SujanChankrabarty CPI(M) formerMP and central committeemember.

Describing how “MamataBanerjee’s minority commu-nalism helped the cause of theBJP’s majority communalism,”another senior Left leadersaid.

New Delhi: The NationalCrime Records Bureau(NCRB) does not maintainspecific data with respect toattacks on journalists, theGovernment has informed theRajya Sabha, underlining thatit had issued an advisory toState Governments in 2017 tostrictly enforce the law toensure the safety and securityof mediapersons.

Responding to a question,Minister of State for RajyaSabha Nityanand Rai said'police' and 'public order' arestate subjects under the seventhschedule of the Constitution.

The state governments areresponsible for prevention,detection and investigation ofcrimes and for prosecuting thecriminals through their lawenforcement agencies, he said.

"The National Crime

Records Bureau does not main-tain specific data with respectto attacks on journalists," hesaid.

He said the ministry ofhome affairs has issued advi-sories to states and UnionTerritories from time to time tomaintain law and order andensure that any person whotakes law into his/her own handis punished promptly as per law.

"An advisory specificallyon safety of journalists wasissued to the states/UTs onOctober 20, 2017 requestingthem to strictly enforce the lawto ensure the safety and secu-rity of mediapersons," he said.

He said the central gov-ernment attaches highestimportance to the safety andsecurity of all residents of thecountry including journalists.

PTI

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National Conference leaderOmar Abdullah on

Wednesday said revocation ofArticle 370 was in BJP's man-ifesto but there is no logicbehind withdrawal of state-hood and division of the erst-while state of Jammu andKashmir.

He also accused the BJP ofmisleading the country by"false propaganda" to justify itsaction of August 5, 2019 andsaid the security situation hasdeteriorated to such an extentthat "one cannot feel safe in anypart of Kashmir owing to grow-ing militancy which was evi-dent from the selective killingsincluding that of KashmiriPandits in the recent past".

The former chief ministerand National Conference vicepresident was speaking at apublic meeting in Bhaderwahtown of Doda district on thepenultimate day of his week-long tour of Chenab valley inJammu division.

He urged the locals tomaintain communal harmonyand brotherhood to "frustrateconspiracies of those dividingthe people on the basis of reli-gion" to win elections.

"The National Conferencelost the 2014 assembly electionsand the BJP took advantage

and came to power through theback door and then pulleddown the PDP-led govern-ment followed by what it wasplanning (to abrogate Article370)," he said.

"I accept that the revoca-tion of Article 370 was in themanifesto of the BJP but whywas the erstwhile state down-graded and divided into twoparts which was not in theirmanifesto. One fails to under-stand what the reason was forthis. No one had any answer toit as well as what benefit it hadto the people of J&K," Abdullahsaid.

He said the demand forUnion Territory status wasonly from "Buddhists of Leh"district, while the Kargil pop-ulation wanted to be withJammu & Kashmir.

"The reality is that all theclaims (of the BJP) have fallen

flat as there was no benefit ofits decision on the ground.They talked about develop-ment, investment, jobs, peaceand end to militancy and sep-aratism but none of this hap-pened over the past nearly twoand a half years," he alleged.

Abdullah claimed that thesituation in Kashmir valley isgrim "not because of Pakistanor some other country butgrowing militancy due to join-ing of local disgruntled youthinto the ranks of militants".

Referring to the removal of40 security pickets fromSrinagar with the improve-ment in security situation dur-ing his rule in 2009-2015, hesaid the community centresbuilt by his government tofacilitate marriage ceremoniesin congested downtownSrinagar were converted intosecurity camps.

�������'���� �9�1�/:

Gaurav, one of the accusedin leaking UP TET paper

was arrested by STF. A residentof Hajiyapur village of Tappal,he had been living separatelyfrom the family for a long timein the Melrose bypass area ofBannadevi area. No one knewmuch about what that businesshe was doing.

It has been told that to arrestGaurav, the team of STF Meeruthad camped here as soon as theinput was received. The STF wassearching for Gaurav overnight.He was seen in Tappal. Butwhen inputs were received thathe was in the Maelrose area ofBannadevi in the city, he wasnabbed. Right now the policeis also trying to know who elseis in contact with him inAligarh. How many people doeshis network have? The answerto these questions will come outonly after interrogation. Afterthis exam paper was leaked, itwent viral on WhatsApp. Itwas learned from the accusedarrested in Shamli and Mathurathat they got this paper fromGaurav. After this the STF teamcaught Gaurav. Here, a team ofSTF is still camping in search ofhis close friends and network

people.After the interrogation of

Gaurav Malan, who was arrest-ed by the STF in the TET paperleak case, the name of theteacher of the district has cometo the fore, in search of whichthe STF raided Gonda withGaurav. Till late Tuesday night,the team was looking for himin Aligarh and Mathura. It hascome to the notice that twoother youths were also takeninto custody along with Gaurav,who are discussed to bereleased after interrogation.Input is being received thatGaurav's connections are alsobeing traced from the abscond-ing gangster Yogendra of PoliceRecruitment Solver Gang.

It is learned that Gauravand two youths accompanyinghim were picked up from theMelrose bypass area. Fromhere, the STF has gone to

Meerut, Baghpat, Shamli andMathura with all three. It islearned that the team hadcome to Gonda on Mondaynight in search of a basicteacher named Nirdosh. OnTuesday night also, news of theteam being in search of someother comrades of Gaurav inAligarh district and surround-ing area has been received.Officially, neither the STF hasgiven any information nor thedistrict police has any news.

The search for teacher isgoing on in Aligarh andMathura. It has now beenlearned from the sources thatGaurav's connections are beingtraced to Yogendra of KhairNarayanpur, who is the kingpinof Police Bharti Solver Gang, asboth belong to the same area.It is hoped that with the help ofGaurav, Yogendra and his asso-ciates can be nabbed.

���� 9;.��!

Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav hit out at the

ruling Bharatiya Janata Party inUttar Pradesh, charging thatthe present regime has onlyspread hatred, ruined the futureof youths and pushed the Stateinto backwardness.

Addressing a public meetingat GIC grounds to launch thefifth phase of his SamajwadiVijay Rath Yatra in Banda onWednesday, Akhilesh ques-tioned the people whether theyneeded a Yogi Government or a`yogya’ (responsible) and devel-opment-oriented Government.He said that those who could notuse laptops would never provideit to the youths.

“Now it is the right time forthe people to show the door tothe ruling BJP for making falsepromises. During its nearly five-year regime, the BJP govern-ment only renamed places andthe projects conceived andlaunched during SamajwadiParty regime,” alleged the SPchief, who is on a three-day tourof Bundelkhand region and willtake out Samajwadi Vijay RathYatra from Banda to Mahoba.

Akhilesh was scheduled toaddress a rally near MahobaPolice Lines later in the day andon Thursday, he would go to

Lalitpur and address a publicrally.

On Wednesday morning,the SP chief reached Banda andembarked on the fifth leg of‘Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra’with a focus on Bundelkhandregion of the state. On the firstday of the fifth leg of the Yatra,Akhilesh Yadav covered thedistance from Banda toMahoba and stopped random-ly to meet and greet people.

On Thursday, Akhilesh willaddress a public meeting inLalitpur and the Yatra willreach Jhansi district on Friday.Earlier in November, he hadembarked on the fourth leg ofVijay Yatra from Ghazipur toLucknow through PurvanchalExpressway, a day after PrimeMinister Narendra Modi for-mally inaugurated the highwayon November 16.

The SP chief had sharedthe stage with allies SuheldevBhartiya Samaj Party chief OmPrakash Rajbhar and JanwadiParty (Socialist) chief SanjayChauhan on the occasion.

The Rath Yatra is consid-ered a lucky charm by theSamajwadi Party as in 2012,Akhilesh had taken out a Yatraand the party was voted topower.

Decorated with pictures ofparty patron and former chiefminister of UP Mulayam SinghYadav, party MP MohammadAzam Khan, SP leader RamGopal Yadav, and state partypresident Naresh Uttam Pateland embossed with the slogan‘Bado Ka Haath, Yuva Ka Saath’(the older generation blessesthe new) the bus is ferrying theSP chief across the state duringthe Rath Yatra.

���� 9;.��!

Just a couple of weeks beforethe Election Commission of

India is expected to announcethe crucial Assembly electionsin Uttar Pradesh, Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav PrasadMaurya’s statement that ShriKrishna Janmabhoomi is nexton the agenda of the BharatiyaJanata Party, stirred up a polit-ical furore.

In a tweet, Maurya postedin Hindi, "Ayodhya Kashibhavya mandir nirman jarihai, Mathura ki taiyari hai(grand temples are being con-structed in Ayodhya and Kashi,preparations are on forMathura)."

Later Maurya hashtagged it#Long live Rama,#Jai_Shiv_Shambhu and#Jai_Shri_ Radhe_Krishna.

But when contacted,Maurya refused to speak on theissue.

The construction of KashiVishwanath Corridor is under-way in Varanasi and it is like-ly to be inaugurated by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inthe first week of Decemberwhile the construction of Ramtemple is going on at a frantic

pace in Ayodhya and is likelyto open for pilgrims byDecember 2023.

Reacting to Maurya’s state-ment, Samajwadi Partyspokesman RajendraChaudhary said, “The state-ment is a clear indication of themindset of BJP leaders. Theparty always tried to commu-nalise the elections. Rammandir is always on the electionagenda of the party. Once theconstruction of Ram temple hasstarted at the behest of theSupreme Court, the party feelsit is orphaned and therefore hascome up with Mathura.”

“In the last assembly elec-tions, the BJP had raised theissue of ‘shamshaan and kabris-tan’. Through this politicallyloaded tweet, Maurya, who isalso deputy chief minister inthe government, is setting thecommunal agenda of the elec-tion,” he further said.

Opposition leaders believethat Mathura and Kashi wouldnow find prominent places inthe election manifesto of theBJP.

Kashi, Mathura andAyodhya have always been onthe agenda of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

���� 9;.��!

The Uttar PradeshGovernment is likely to

provide houses on subsidies tolakhs of employees and advo-cates with low incomes.

A nominal value of � 1 forland will be charged from thebuyers of these houses.

The discount will be givento the buyers on the conditionthat they will not be able to sellthe house for the next 10 years.

Official sources said that adraft of the scheme was pre-pared during a meeting ofhigh-ranked officials and nowan approval from higherauthorities was awaited afterwhich the draft would beplaced before the state cabinetfor its approval.

Employees of Group C andD and advocates, who do nothave much income, face diffi-culties in getting a house. So far,there has been no system ofproviding houses on discount toGroup C and D employees.Taking note of this issue, dis-cussions were held and thisdraft, seeking to provide thesepeople houses on discount, wasprepared. The process of pro-viding the house was discussedduring a preliminary round oftalks and the eligibility criteriafor this will be decided later.

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The Bombay High Court onWednesday granted default

bail to lawyer-activist SudhaBharadwaj, who is one of 16accused in the Elgar Parishad-cum-Bhima-Koregaon riotscase, after holding that “todeprive her indefeasible righton the premise that the appli-cation preferred on 26thNovember 2018 was prematurewould be taking a too techni-cal and formalistic view of thematter”.

However, the HC bench ofJustices SS Shinde and NJJamadar rejected the defaultbail pleas of eight other accusedon the ground that they hadfailed to apply for such a defaultbail prior to the filing of charge-sheet in the case.

The two-member HCbench directed Bharadwaj, whois lodged in Mumbai’s Bycullawomen’s prison, be producedbefore the Special NIA Courthere on December 8 to decideon the conditions of her bailand date of her release.

The HC bench refused toentertain a request by NIAcounsel, Additional SolicitorGeneral Anil Singh, for a stayon its order.

Bharadwaj is the first

among 16 activists and acade-micians arrested in the case tohave been granted default bail.While Jesuit priest Stan Swamydied in a private hospital onJuly 5 this year while waitingfor medical bail, Poet-activistVaravara Rao is currently outon medical bail.

The eight accused whosedefault bail pleas were rejectedwere: Varavara Rao, SudhirDhawale, Vernon Gonsalves,Rona Wilson, SurendraGadling, Shoma Sen, MaheshRaut and Arun Ferreira.

Holding that the PuneSessions Judge was not com-petent enough -- in terms ofjurisdiction -- to extend timefor investigation and detentionunder provisions of Section43D(2) of the UnlawfulActivities Prevention Act(UAPA) and Section 167(2) ofthe Cr.PC, the HC benchobserved that the SessionsJudge had no judicial compe-tence to extend the period of

detention under Section 43-D(2)(b) of UAPA and consid-ered four other aspects – theperiod of 90 days of her deten-tion expired on January 25,2019, no charge-sheet was filed,there was no lawful order ofextension of period of deten-tion and the Bhardwaj’s bailplea awaiting adjudication.

Relying on a catena ofdecisions which held that theright of the accused to bereleased on default bail is inde-feasible and is also associatedwith the fundamental rightflowing from ‘the procedureestablished by law’ underArticle 21 of the Constitutionof India, the HC bench grant-ed Bhardwaj default bail.

In their order, the twoJudges noted: “On the touch-stone of the guarantee of per-sonal liberty under Article 21of the Constitution, in ourview, to deprive the applicant-Sudha Bharadwaj of the inde-feasible right on the premisethat the application preferredon 26th November 2018 waspremature, would be taking atoo technical and formalisticview of the matter. In ourview, all the requisite condi-tions to release the applicant-Sudha Bharadwaj on defaultbail stood fully satisfied”.

and it was granted. The CMand his side-kicks would havethe foundation stone layingphotographed for record.After that whether the Statebuilt the bridge or not was tobe seen by the State. No oneat the Centre needed to both-er about that. On the otherhand, the State could yearafter year debit in its annualplan the depreciation of say�80 crore or ten per cent. Inshort, the PlanningCommission amounted to agifting body; what the Statedid with the gift was at its dis-cretion as is a birthday pre-sent.

The Modi Governmentreplaced the Planning distri-bution as well as the Statesales tax with the Goods andServices Tax (GST) which theState independent of relianceon the Centre to distribute itsannual doles. Every State wason its own and the Centre hadno discretion. It is based onthe merits of each State’seconomy, production, ser-vice and so on. The Centrecannot deny anything to anOpposition ruled State orgive more to its favouriteState. Is that not very demo-cratic compared to the previ-ous arrangement? This isrelated to the main finances

of a state.I am alleging that every-

one was corrupt but the scopeat the State level was consid-erable. Take a Planning grantfrom the Centre and do notspend it. Equally, the scopefor favourite was also sub-stantial. Once in power at theCentre, a party could make aState the way it chose. I do notknow whether Planning hadany connection with the eco-nomic progress or its lack. Butone thing is certain that noplanned economy hasreached the First World.

Only a democrat can facethe public as the PrimeMinister does on the Mannki Baat programme. Anyonecan ask anything and embar-rass the respondent. TheOpposition can have the mis-chief played; the respondenthas to have a clan record andno skeletons in his cupboard.No previous Prime Ministerhas experimented with suchan open public programme.The public, on the otherhand, feels that the country’stop leader is accessible tothem. He does not keep awayfrom the common folk. Thismeans that the PM is nottheir indirect representativebut a direct one. This is howthe Greek city democracy

began and is the ultimate isfreedom and people’s rule.This is unusual for a leaderwho carries the highest secu-rity risk in the country andperhaps is the world. Hemingles with people when hecampaigns in the elections.He spares no punches.

The Parliament is essen-tial to remain in the limelight.To interrupt its proceedingsis to cut one of the mainbranches the Parliamentmembers occupy. Rushinginto the well, in that sense, issuicidal for the Opposition. Irealised that it is very neces-sary for the Opposition toprotest as obviously as possi-ble, but not to provoke itsadjournment. The memberscan draw public attention by,for example, wearing black,whether masks, clothes oranything else. They can alsosit in the aisles instead of theirseats, and so on. But theyshould not lose floor time,which in today’s time, is tele-vised. Another gain is avoid-ing the impression that MPscollect their pay but avoidwork.

The writer is a well-knowncolumnist, an author and a former member of the RajyaSabha. The views expressed arepersonal.)

���������������� �����Sir —The National Pollution Day isobserved in India every year onDecember 2, to spread awareness amongpeople towards the rapidly growingproblem of pollution and in the memo-ry of those who died in the Bhopal gastragedy. As per data, about 2.5 millionpeople succumb to pollution in Indiaevery year. India has ranked 155th outof 180 countries in the EnvironmentalPerformance Index. Many Indian cities,Including the Capital, rank among thetop most polluted cities globally.

There are several reasons that aggra-vate pollution; whether air, land, noiseor water. While the Government shouldbe blamed for not dealing with the issueproactively, the citizens, too, owe respon-sibility to protect the environment theylive in. In the recent COP26 Summit thatwas held in Glasgow, countries pledgedto reduce net-zero emissions and this isa welcome step. Only time can tellwhether such summits are fruitful andtill then, we need to do our bit. Simplemeasures like using public transport,using biodegradable bags, reducing for-est fires and smoking, avoiding firecrack-ers and being aware that if we don’t startacting early, we will face consequences.

Tarun Patidar | Ujjain

���������������������Sir —The 8.4 per cent growth compareswell with the 7.4 per cent fall that theGDP saw last year in the same quarter,the peak period of the pandemic-inducedlockdown. The first quarter of this year,however, had seen a 20.1 per centgrowth, which puts the number for thefirst half at 13.7 per cent. With this beingthe fourth consecutive quarter of growth,the indications are that the economy hasfound its feet after the pandemic-inducedcontraction. Employment-intensive sec-tors like hospitality and construction see-ing an uptick is also positive news.

Economists, however, see severalissues in this growth story. A key one isthat it is Government investments thatare the main drivers of growth ratherthan private consumption. Rising infla-

tionary pressures as indicated by the dif-ference between real and nominal GDPis also a matter of concern. Some of theeconomists are projecting only singledigit growth for the year compared to theGovernment's double-digit expectations.These differing perspectives on India'scurrent economic scenario is vital.

Mr Jayanthi | Mumbai

���������� ������������������Sir — What the wider implications of thesuspension of 12 MPs from the Parliamentare for our democracy is a broad topic onwhich opinion can well be divideddepending on political leanings. TheBJP supporters hold that it was needed toprotect democracy, whereas othersdenounce it as an undemocratic decision.Be that as it may, the suspension of theMPs for something that happened in theprevious monsoon session under provo-cation is amenable to be explained interms of several considerations. It gave aclear indication that the Government was

not quite keen on winning the coopera-tion of the Opposition for the smoothfunctioning of Parliament. TheGovernment may have gone for this high-handed action to divert attention fromburning issues like farmers’ protests,price rise and inflation.

The prospect of being placed in aclear majority in the Rajya Sabha mayhave been another consideration thatmotivated the decision. We would con-sider it a sad day for Indian democracyif the decision was taken in the mistak-en belief that the Opposition should besubservient to the Government. Whenthe BJP was in the Opposition, disrup-tion of Parliament was a ‘legitimate formof protest’. But when it is in power, itbecomes nothing short of ‘misconduct’and ‘unruly behaviour’ deserving suspen-sion.

G David Milton | Maruthancode

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There were repeatedmentions of the ‘mur-der of democracy’ onthe opening day of

Parliament. The cause was thesuspension of 12 Rajya Sabhamembers by the Vice Presidentof India presiding over thehouse. The behavior of some ofthe MP’s was extraordinary toput it politely. In my year in theRajya Sabha, such a scheme wasunthinkable; times obviouslychange. The repeal of the farmlaws so soon was, to my mind,a new peak of democratic step.The Sanskrit saying kshamavirasya bhushanam or forgive-ness is the ornament of the val-orous is to the effect. A variationof this wisdom would be ‘a gift-ed retreat behoves the generousking'. A mere politician couldhave suspended the laws andgone on to separate the farmersfrom the middlemen who feelthreatened; but, in fact, werepermitted to do what they liked;sell their produce to anyoneoverseas, including resorting tomiddlemen in the event of anemergency. How this is a mur-der of democracy, I do notknow.

If the Opposition has anydoubt with the democraticnature of the repealing of laws,let us glimpse at the track recordof Prime Minister Modi. Theabolition of the PlanningCommission on the followingday of his coming to power in2014 was the big beginning. Itwas the control of nationalwealth which could be distrib-uted at the will of the CentralGovernment.

Every statement came upwith a Plan and its budget. TheChief Minister came to annual-ly call on the vice chairman ofthe Commission with a bouquetof flowers. No one asked ques-tions except as a formality if theCentre was happy with the par-ticular State. The two VIPs hada photograph taken with grinson their faces and the CMreturned to his State.

The grant was money forjam. The responsibility for theimplementation of the projectswas that of the StateGovernment. For example, oneof the proposals of the State wasto build a bridge for �800 crore

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Agame-changer initiative inAndhra Pradesh Government'sunique grass root administra-tion and a brain child of young

Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy,the concept of Village/ward Secretariat- door-step services to ensure welfare pro-grammes reach the beneficiary — is gain-ing the attention of international agen-cies,the Union Government and a num-ber of states.

Aimed at revamping and improvingthe delivery of government services, thelargest of its kind in India, the setupinvolved hiring 389,000 volunteers toensure that government benefits-rationcards, pension accounts and other welfareschemes-are made available in the ruralareas as also in the wards in towns.

The Village Secretariat and WardSecretariat (VSWS) Department was cre-ated to manage the operations. The vol-unteers who are key in the new set up arebeing paid a monthly remuneration of�5000 and they are always available in thearea to provide government benefits thatare listed under various schemes at thedoor step of the beneficiary.

On average, there is one volunteer forevery 70-100 households, tasked withdoorstep-delivery of government ser-vices and ensuring that beneficiaries areidentified and mapped for proactive ser-vice delivery. To ensure that servicesimprove, issues relating to the delivery offood, social and health security benefitsare to be addressed within specified timeframes, with a team of 200 call-centreexecutives to track and monitor servicedelivery requests and notify relevant sec-retariats about impending deadlines. It allstarted on October 2, 2019 when the ChiefMinister launched the flagship pro-gramme of his government. As a pream-ble to the new concept, he recruited vil-lage secretaries who would head the vil-lage secretariats. The idea came to himduring his "padayatra" before the 2019general elections when villagers com-plained how they are going around officesand officials for benefits of welfare pro-grammes and how they are denied themon account of lack of funds.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti Sanitationhas acknowledged the services beingoffered to the people at their doorstepthrough the new system. National JalJeevan Mission under the Ministry whichbrings out a monthly e-book, Jal JeevanSamvad, highlighted the village/wardsecretariat system in AP and pointed out:"This is a unique experiment in itself andfurthers the spirit of the 73rd ConstitutionAmendment, 1992 and in line with'Sarkar Aapke Dwar'- administration atyour doorstep. Now by setting up of vil-lage secretariat, the Government ofAndhra Pradesh has taken a concrete steptowards administrative transparency andaccountability to provide better servicesto the people at their door step".

The special story in the magazine also

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mentioned that out of various ser-vices for the people, around 318services have started reaching vil-lagers through the village secretari-at system. The beneficial effects ofgovernment schemes are clearlyvisible in the villages.

UNICEF, which has identifiedthe potential strength of the vil-lage secretariat system, associat-ed itself with the grass root net-work to continue its awarenesscampaign among children asmothers about nutrition food. Aspecial cell with three representa-tives has been created by UNICEFattached to the State level Headoffice of village/ward secretariat.Besides, the Institution has alsoappointed district coordinators totake the task.

Impressed by the idea of tak-ing governance to the people'sdoorsteps, Karnataka, Punjab,Rajasthan and some other stateshave evinced interest to adoptsimilar systems. Ministerial andOfficial representatives from thesestates are planning to visit AP soonto have the first-hand experienceof the functioning of the setup.

As a matter of fact, the thenChief Minister of united APChandrababu Naidu too launchedthe village secretariat concept in2002. But there is no comparisonbetween the two since the presentsetup is well thought over and tar-get-oriented, supported by a digi-tal road map to ensure doorstepdeliveries of benefits.

While Naidu had to introducethe village secretariat in view ofWorld Bank guidelines in thename of reforms, the current CMmade it happen in real terms and

people are getting total benefitsfrom the new system.

Between the first and third ofevery month, the present govern-ment disburses �1,420.5 croreworth of pensions to 6.1 millionbeneficiaries under the YSRPension Kanuka. They are deliv-ered to beneficiaries wherever theymight be, even those displacedfrom their homes. For transparent,well-targeted delivery of benefits,the state relies on biometric iden-tification. A call centre with toll-free number 1902 has been set upto enable the people to register theirgrievances and also obtain feedbackon the welfare schemes.

In all, a strong contingent of1,34,694 village ward secretariatstaff along with dedicated gramvolunteers numbering 2,47,344extend 540 services under 35departments. Fact sheets reveal thatwhile 3,31,57,081 service requestswere registered till the end ofOctober last, 3,29,70,051 serviceshave been delivered.

Specific time frames are fixedfor delivery. While Pension card,rice cards are to be handed overwithin 21 days, eligible applicantsshould get Arogyasri cards in 20days and the deadline for gettinghouse site pattas is 90 days.

A study paper on the villageadministration in Andhra Pradeshpublished in The Indian Journal ofPolitical Science in its quarterlypublication in 2006 clearly men-tioned the 'outcome' of the reformsin Panchyat Raj introduced byChandrababu Naidu.

The paper originally submittedby its author D.Ravinder at anInternational conference on "State,

Civil Society and Citizens:Revisiting the Relationship" held inOsmania University in February,2004, concluded that "it (the sys-tem) introduces babudom at thelocal level". The study paper high-lighting the lacunae said with theonset of World Bank led reformsprocessed under the regime ofChief Minister ChandrababuNaidu in Andhra Pradesh, "goodgovernance" has become a catchyword. It is in this name that a num-ber of reform processes were intro-duced in the state. One suchimportant reform process at thegrass roots level has been theintroduction of "Village Secretariat"system.

The paper said this systeminstead of bringing good gover-nance has become a bone of con-tention between hitherto existingdepartments, panchayat raj andrevenue, and also between theelected representatives and govern-ment officials, i.e., betweenSarpanch and the newly createdposition of "Village Secretary ''.Thus, the process of good gover-nance at the grass roots levelunleashed new conflicts. The pre-sent paper makes an attempt toanalyse the dynamics of these newreforms at the grass roots inAndhra Pradesh.

Quite contrary to the setupintroduced during Chandrababuregime, the present village/wardsecretariat system supported by vil-lage secretaries and a battery of vil-lage/ward volunteers day and nightensuring the targeted people getwelfare programmes at theirdoorstep without spending a sin-gle pie and wasting time.

(The writer is Advisor,National Media and InterState Affairs, Governmentof Andhra Pradesh. The

views expressed are personal.)

Entrepreneurship isextremely important forany economy, for its abil-

ity to make a significant impacton citizens and nations as awhole. Great entrepreneurscan change the way we live andwork, by creating jobs andwealth, with changes varyingbetween social impact toimmense innovations. But canentrepreneurship be taught?The answer to this age-olddebate is both yes and no.Since education is essential toenhance the thinking abilitiesand as entrepreneurshipecosystem is developed by theinterplay of actors like univer-sities, government and entre-preneurs themselves, universi-ties become the hotbed offostering the required entre-preneurial environment. Anearly introduction and expo-

sure to entrepreneurship andinnovation is more likely tosow the seeds of entrepreneur-ial careers for students at afuture juncture. Cities whichare ranked highly for theirentrepreneurial activities alsoboast promoting entrepre-neurial education and cul-ture. To take an example,Silicon Valley is known forentrepreneurship and is alsothe home to more than 10 uni-versities, including Stanfordand UC Berkeley.

There are three ways inwhich universities can takeadvantage of their position tofurther entrepreneurship. Asuniversities are places of high-er education, attracting work-force who wants to lead a bet-ter life, they can transformthemselves into breedinggrounds for budding entrepre-

neurs. Recognizing the impor-tance of entrepreneurship tothe economic developmentand job creation, universitiescan impart entrepreneurialskills and knowledge by updat-ing existing programs anddeveloping new courses.Going forward, interdiscipli-nary approach and new teach-ing methodologies should beused to provide entrepreneur-ship experience to students ina controlled environment inthe university setting. Creationof industry linkages to provideinternships to students with

local companies will furtherenhance the entrepreneurialecosystem.

Secondly, universities canact as incubation centres to fol-low up and promote potentialideas by facilitating collabora-tions and incubation capacitiesnot only to students from thearea of business, innovationand entrepreneurship, but alsofrom other areas like engineer-ing, humanities, applied sci-ences and medicine. Provisionof physical space to give wingsto potential ideas and suitablesupport to raise funds at anearly stage to transform theseideas into business modelsare their added advantages. offor the development of thebusiness model. The facultyalso play an important role inthe incubators, as they are cru-cial resource for mentorship

and can channelize the ener-gy of their students by provid-ing proper guidance inresearch activities. However,not much can be achieved withresearch and publications of anidea, if it cannot be exploitedfor business opportunities.

Therefore, thirdly, the roleof a university as a knowledgetransferrer and as a bridgebetween academia and indus-try is noteworthy. Universitiesinvolved in applied researchhave large number of patents,articles and registered intellec-tual property rights, converg-ing the joint efforts, experienceand creativity of students andfaculty. However, such researchhas to be commercialized aswell, and here comes the roleof universities as a conduit toindustry linkages. By establish-ing connections with industry,

universities develop entrepre-neurial ecosystems and pro-vide students entrepreneurswith advice on aspects likelicenses, consulting, and spin-offs. Entrepreneurship edu-cation in universities inspiresstudents to start their own ven-tures. Several surveys haveshown that a majority of stu-dents enrolled in an entrepre-neurship course aspire to setup their own businesses.Through their studies, it is alsofound that entrepreneurshipcourses at universities have aprofound impact on the stu-dents. Thus, entrepreneurshipcourses have a positive impactthe students' founding abilities.

Entrepreneurs are assets toany nation as they contributetowards innovation, job cre-ation, and enhanced standardof living and the best way to

promote entrepreneurship is tomake people aware of it byeducating them.

Entrepreneurship educa-tion can provide students withtechnical skills and manager-ial skills, but most important-ly should cultivate entrepre-neurial intent among them,which ultimately increasestheir tendency to start theirown enterprise. The Indianhigher education system has tostep up and distinguish a gen-eral business managementcourse from an entrepreneur-ship course to motivate, trainand support budding entrepre-neurs. The demand is for edu-cation programs which canexpand their horizons in entre-preneurship by their uniqueand hands-on content andteaching techniques. Are theuniversities listening?

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(The writer is Associate Professor at Amity University,Noida. The views expressed

are personal.)

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The World HealthOrganisation says the rate

of increase of coronavirus casesheld steady over the last week,though its African, WesternPacific and European regionsall reported gains.

At the same time, newdeaths globally linked toCovid-19 fell 10 per cent.

The UN health agency, inits latest weekly epidemiolog-ical report on the pandemic,said case counts shot up 93% inAfrica, though it cautionedabout interpreting too muchfrom that high figure becauseit was largely due to “batchreporting” of antigen tests bySouth Africa.

The report, for the firsttime, referred to the new omi-cron variant that was chris-tened on Friday after being

detected in South Africa andBotswana. WHO said the vari-ant has now been reported ina “limited number” of countries

— though it has spread wide-ly, into four of the WHO’s sixregions.

As of Sunday, more than

280 million cases and morethan 5.2 million deaths havebeen tallied due to the pan-demic, WHO said.

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Warsaw: Poland’s prime minister got abooster shot against the coronavirus andmade an emotional appeal to citizens toget vaccinated as 570 new deaths in oneday were reported from Covid-19.

Mateusz Morawiecki’s appeal on

Wednesday was made to a nation with avaccination rate of just 54%. The num-bers those fully vaccinated have risen veryslowly in recent weeks, though fears of thenew omicron variant have appeared tospur some to finally get vaccinated. AP

Dubai: Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it detect-ed its first case of the new coronavirus variantomicron. The kingdom’s state-run Saudi PressAgency said the case came from a citizen com-ing from what it described as a “North Africancountry”. The report said the infected individ-ual and his close contacts had been quarantined.

The case marks the first-known instance ofomicron being detected among Gulf Arabnations. AP

Seoul: South Korea confirmedits first five cases of the newOmicron variant in peoplelinked to arrivals from Nigeria.

Following the confirmation ofthe Omicron infections, SouthKorea announced it will require allpassengers arriving from abroadover the next two weeks to quar-antine for at least 10 days. AP

Prague: Slovakia’s governmenthas proposed a plan to givepeople 60 and older a 500-euro($568) bonus if they get vacci-nated against Covid-19, thefinance minister saidWednesday.

The measure, announcedby Finance Minister IgorMatovic, should boost inocu-lations in the European Unioncountry with one of the bloc’slowest vaccination rates. Sofar, only 46.1% of the nation’s5.5 million people have beenfully vaccinated.

The current four-party rul-ing coalition in Slovakia hasbeen split over the issue. Thepro-business Freedom andSolidarity opposed it, saying itwas ready to support a 150-euro ($170) bonus only. But theparty didn’t veto it, making theapproval possible. AP

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A15-year-old sophomoreopened fire at his Michigan

high school, killing three stu-dents, including a 16-year-oldboy who died in a deputy’spatrol car on the way to a hos-pital, authorities said.

Eight other people werewounded, some critically,including a 14-year-old girlwho was placed on a ventilatorafter surgery. Investigators werestill trying to determine a

motive for the shootingTuesday at Oxford HighSchool, located in a communi-ty of about 22,000 peopleroughly 30 miles (48 kilome-ters) north of Detroit, OaklandCounty Sheriff MichaelBouchard said.

“The person that’s got themost insight and the motive isnot talking,” he said at a newsconference late Tuesday.

Deputies rushed to theschool around lunch time asmore than 100 calls flooded

911 dispatchers with reports ofa shooter. They arrested thestudent in a hallway withinminutes of their arrival. He puthis hands in the air as deputiesapproached, Bouchard said.

The boy’s father on Fridaybought the 9 mm Sig Sauerused in the shooting, Bouchardsaid. He didn’t know why theman bought the semi-auto-matic handgun, which his sonhad been posting pictures ofand practicing shooting,Bouchard said.

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The Taliban renewed its callfor the United States to

release billions of dollars infrozen funds after two days oftalks in Doha as aid-dependentAfghanistan grapples with eco-nomic crisis.

The Afghans also called foran end to blacklists and sanc-tions in meetings led by TalibanForeign Minister Amir KhanMuttaqi and Tom West, the USspecial representative forAfghanistan.

It was the second round oftalks between the two sides inQatar since the US ended its20-year occupation of

Afghanistan and the hardlineIslamists rapidly returned topower.

“The two delegations dis-cussed political, economic,human, health, education andsecurity issues as well as pro-viding necessary banking andcash facilities,” tweeted Afghanforeign ministry spokesmanAbdul Qahar Balkhi.

“The Afghan delegationassured the US side of securi-ty and urged that Afghanistan’sfrozen money should bereleased unconditionally, black-lists and sanctions must endand human issues be separated from politicalones.”

Moscow: Russia warned onWednesday that a number ofUS diplomats will have to leaveRussia before the end of nextmonth, the latest salvo in adiplomatic tug-of-war betweenMoscow and Washington.

Russian Foreign Ministryspokeswoman Maria Zakharovasaid those US Embassy person-nel who would have spent morethan three years in Russia wouldhave to leave Russia by Jan 31.

She said the Russian demandmirrors US actions that wouldmake 55 Russian diplomats toleave. “We see the Americandemand as an expulsion and willrespond in kind,” Zakharovasaid. AP

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The price of liquefied petro-leum gas (LPG) cylinders

for commercial usage washiked by �100 per cylinder bythe Oil marketing companies.This is a second hike after theprice was increased onNovember 1. Following thehike, the price of the 19-kgcommercial cylinder will nowcost �2101 per cylinder inDelhi; �2051 in Mumbai;�2174.50 in Kolkata and �2234 in Chennai. However,

there is no increase in prices ofother domestic cylindersweighing 14.2kg, 5 kg, 10kgcomposite or 5kg compositecylinders.

Presently, a 14.2kgDomestic cylinder in thenational capital cost �899.50and the 19kg cylinder com-mercial cylinder is costing�2,101. LPG Cylinder Rate isrevised monthly for all over theStates and Union Territories in

India. Earlier on November 1,

prices of 19kg Commercialcylinder has seen a steep rise of� 266, increasing the prices to� 2,000.50. On October 1,prices of 19kg commercialcylinders were increased by �43 and decreased by � 2.50 onOctober 6.

On September 1, the pricesof these cylinders wereincreased by � 75.

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Trade deficit between Indiaand China stood at USD

30.07 billion during April-September 2021, Parliamentwas informed on Wednesday.

India’s exports to Chinaduring the April-September2021 period was USD 12.26 bil-lion, while imports were aggre-gated at USD 42.33 billion,according to data given byMinister of State for Commerceand Industry Anupriya Patel ina written reply to the LokSabha.

She said the imports fromChina have increased fromUSD 60.41 billion in 2014-15 to

USD 65.21 billion in 2020-21,exhibiting an increase of 7.94per cent over six years.

However, the imports werestatic between 2019-20 and2020-21, she said.

“The Government hasmade sustained efforts toachieve a more balanced tradewith China, including bilater-al engagements to address thenon-tariff barriers on Indianexports to China,” Patel said.

Schemes like the produc-tion-linked incentive schemewill help promote domesticmanufacturing capacities andattract investment and reducedependency on imports fromChina, the Minister said.

Mumbai:The combined debt-to-GDP ratio of states is expect-ed to remain at 31 per cent byend-March 2022 which is wor-ryingly higher than the target of20 per cent to be achieved by2022-23, according to a RBIreport.The Reserve Bank’sannual publication titled ‘StateFinances: A Study of Budgets of2021-22’ further said as theimpact of the second Covid-19wave wanes, State Governments

need to take credible steps toaddress debt sustainability con-cerns. “The combined debt toGDP ratio of States whichstood at 31 per cent at end-March 2021 and is expected toremain at that level by end-March 2022, is worryinglyhigher than the target of 20 percent to be achieved by 2022-23,as per the recommendations ofthe FRBM Review Committee,”it said. PTI

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The IPO lane will continueto be busy in December as

10 companies have lined up ini-tial share-sale plans worthmore than �10,000 crore, mer-chant banking sources said onWednesday.

Moreover, the initial pub-lic offerings of Star Health andAllied Insurance and TegaIndustries are currently openfor public subscription.

This comes after 10 firmssuccessfully concluded theirinitial public offerings (IPOs)in November.

Among the companies thatscheduled their IPOs in thismonth include Rate GainTravel Technologies, travel andhospitality technology servicesprovider, and Anand RathiWealth Ltd, part of Mumbai-based financial services groupAnand Rathi. RateGain’s�1,335-crore initial share-salewill open for public subscrip-tion during December 7-9,and the �660-crore IPO ofAnand Rathi Wealth will openon December 2.

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Goods and Services Tax(GST) collection in

November grew 25 per cent to� 1.31 lakh crore - second high-est since its implementation -- indicating economic recoverywith normalisation of busi-ness activity and increasedcompliance, a Finance Ministrystatement said on Wednesday.

This is the fifth month ina row that the revenues fromgoods sold and services ren-dered was over �1 lakh crore.

“The gross GST revenuecollected in the month ofNovember 2021 is �1,31,526crore of which CGST is �23,978crore, SGST is �31,127 crore,IGST is �66,815 crore (includ-ing �32,165 crore collected onimport of goods) and Cess is�9,606 crore (including �653crore collected on import ofgoods),” the statement said.

CGST refers to Central

Goods and Services Tax, SGST(State Goods and Services Tax)and IGST (Integrated Goodsand Services Tax).

The revenues for themonth of November 2021, are25 per cent higher than close to�1.05 lakh crore Goods andServices Tax (GST) revenue inNovember 2020, and 27 percent higher over November2019 revenues.

“The GST revenues forNovember 2021 have been thesecond highest ever since intro-duction of GST, second only tothat in April 2021, which relat-ed to year-end revenues andhigher than last month’s col-lection, which also included theimpact of returns required to befiled quarterly. This is verymuch in line with the trend ineconomic recovery,” the min-istry said.

In October 2021, the rev-enues were at �1,30,127 crore,while in April 2021 it was thehighest at �1,39,708 crore.

The recent trend of highGST revenues has been a resultof various policy and adminis-

trative measures that have beentaken in the past to improvecompliance. GST, which sub-sumed a host of indirect taxeslike excise duty, service tax,VAT, was rolled out on July 1,2017.

A large number of initia-tives undertaken in the last oneyear like, enhancement of sys-tem capacity, nudging non-fil-ers after last date of filing ofreturns, auto-population ofreturns, blocking of e-way billsand passing of input tax cred-it for non-filers has led to con-sistent improvement in thefiling of returns over the lastfew months, the ministryadded.

ICRA Chief EconomistAditi Nayar said collectionsmay dip in December 2021, assuggested by the deceleration inthe daily average e-way billgeneration in the first threeweeks of November 2021.

“We expect Central GSTcollections to rise to �5.8 tril-lion in FY2022, exceeding theFY2022 BE by �50,000 crore,”Nayar added.

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Digital payment transac-tions have witnessed a

multifold increase in the lastfew years, growing to 5,554crore in FY2020-21 from 1,004crore in FY2016-17, Parliamentwas informed on Wednesday.

The number of digitaltransactions stood at 4,683crore in the ongoing fiscal tillmid-November, Minister ofState for Electronics and ITRajeev Chandrasekhar said ina written reply to the LokSabha.

“Digital Payments trans-actions have been steadilyincreasing since last few years.Over the past four years, digi-tal payment transactions havegrown multifold from 1,004crore in FY2016-17 to 5,554crore in FY2020-21. State/UT-wise transaction details arenot maintained,” he added.

The Minister said numberof digital transactions stood at3,134 crore (FY19), 4,572 crore(FY20), 5,554 (FY21) croreand 4,683 crore (FY22 till midNovember).

Citing a report by the

Reserve Bank of India,Chandrasekhar said India hasa strong regulatory system androbust large value and retailpayment systems that havecontributed to the rapid growthin the volume of transactions inthese payment systems.

There has been a substan-tial growth in e-payments byGovernment and also in digi-tal infrastructure in terms ofmobile networks, the reportsaid.

The report emphasisesthe need to undertake furtherefforts to bring down the vol-ume of paper clearing andincrease acceptance infra-structure to enhance digitalpayments in India, it added.

In response to a separatequestion, Chandrasekhar saidthe Ministry of Electronicsand IT (MeitY) had rolled outDigital Village project on pilotbasis in 700 villages (withatleast one Gram Panchayat orVillage per district perState/UT) in October, 2018for delivery of various citizencentric services viz educationand health, skill and financialinclusion, and solar lights.

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Start-ups are dynamic organisations.Being a new business in the market,

they always thrive for new ideas to gaintraction. To ensure success, start-upsneed to have the right talent at the righttime that can contribute to their flour-ishing growth. However, amid thecompetitive business scenario, hiringhas become one of the toughest chal-lenges for every organisation. Itbecomes even difficult if a start-uprelies on skilled or STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Math)employees. Landing at the right talentcan give a tough time to the organisa-tion.

On the other hand, larger compa-nies have deeper pockets than start-ups.They focus on hiring new-age tech tal-ents including software developers, datascientists, AI or IoT experts and manyothers to stay ahead in the technolo-gy-driven world. Start-ups need toattract the right talent and retain themfor long.

Focusing on the potential of cultureThe key to having a competent

team is culture fit. It is one of the mostcrucial parts of the hiring strategy.Culture is something that evolves overtime and shapes the personality of thebrand. To attract the right talent, start-ups need to cultivate an atmosphere tomake the employees feel welcomed,required and happy to work that in turnimpacts business performance. As perthe estimates of a study — around 94per cent of executives and 88 per centof employees believe a distinct work-place culture is important to businesssuccess. Any organisation can startfrom the first day to create a fun andengaging work environment. Theycan build an atmosphere whereemployees feel comfortable whileincreasing the chances of growth in theorganisation.

Utilising the capabilities of technol-ogy

Technology has become an indis-pensable part of our life and start-upecosystem. Similarly, it has become animportant part of business and whenorganisations look for a competentworkforce, they should adopt the tech-nology. This increases employees’ pro-ductivity and automates their tasks forbetter efficiency at work. From improv-ing the way employees work to freeingthem from the burden of tedious

tasks, technology impacts a majority ofemployees' job responsibilities. Forinstance, start-ups that use technolo-gy in the right way attract technolog-ically advanced talent and succeed inimproving job satisfaction. Further, util-ising technology tools in the trainingand development of employees alsohelps in retaining talent and helps themforesee growth opportunities in theircareers.

Leveraging referralsReferrals play an integral role in

finding new employees for the organ-isation. The adoption of social mediaand networking sites has made it eas-ier for start-ups to expand their net-work and onboard experienced talentbased on the references. Referralswork as a great tool for hiring as it helpsin knowing the employee before eveninterviewing him/her for the organisa-tion. A robust referral program can helpstart-ups create excitement among thecurrent employees and find the rightcandidate from their own network. Itmakes a win-win for all while benefit-ing the organisation.

Give people reason to join youThe advent of start-up culture has

redefined the way industries function.Traditionally, the corporate industryrevolved around money. However,start-ups have recreated the culture tojoin a company for reasons other thanmoney. Some people find start-uporganisations more flexible while oth-ers get space to innovate and think cre-atively. Start-ups must focus on build-ing positive company culture withgreat team spirit. It helps employeesrecognise the company’s people-cen-tric culture that will help them grow.For instance, startups can create pur-pose-driven non-financial incentiveprograms to promote learning andrewarding employees.

Showcasing business impactIt is imperative to understand that

not all employees work only for money.They have become mission-drivenand passionate about accomplishingtheir professional goals. This categoryof employees makes a greater contri-bution to the company’s overall busi-ness performance. Furthermore, start-up teams are usually small, thus, thecompany can take due advantage ofrecognising and appreciating theiremployees to boost their motivation. Itbecomes vital in aligning them withbusiness goals and make them a partof the development process to impactthe consumers’ life make a robust strat-egy to innovate the talent developmentprocess.

Summing upStart-ups have a higher degree of

accountability than larger organisa-tions. It is considered a learningground for beginners and a battle-field for experienced employees.However, retention and attributionneed to be viewed differently and aprecise focus must be kept on inno-vating the talent developmentprocess.

(The author is the MD and co-founder of iXceed Solutions, a glob-

al tech-recruiter provider.)

While cinema binds all of us,the enthusiasts, togetherclosely and the power has

not hindered by the pandemic, in thesense that theatres are back. And witha bang! It is film festivals that ensuregood quality content is consumed andpromoted throughout.

Providing a ‘Window To Europe’,the 26th edition of the EuropeanUnion Film Festival was held through-out the month November, featuringaward-winning European cinema.They brought forth inspiring stories,all from the comfort and safety of ourhomes, thus celebrating the diversityand depth of European cinema andculture.

One of the 60 feature films wasGold — set in Netherlands, the 90-minute drama film is directed by theaward-winning commercial directorRogier Hesp. The story focusses on apromising young gymnast, Timo,and his disabled father, Ward, whoshare a the dream of winning gold atOlympics. But as Timo meets hisphysiotherapist, Irene, new andintense feelings come in the way andcontradict with his dedication to hisfather and their ‘mission’.

A graduate from NetherlandsFilm Academy, Hesp’s graduationfilm called Sight received theNassenstein Startprijs for Best Fictionproject from the academy.

Some of his notable works areRosalinda and Ketamine. He has also

won gold and silver twice at theCannes Lions Festival in 2010 with hiscommercial Dramaqueen.

Read on for excerpts from aninterview with Hesp about his debutant.

�Congratulations on your film, Gold,entering the European Union FilmFestival.

Please tell us everything about it!Gold is my feature debut and an

intimate story about a professionalsport. It is a film in which we follow ayoung gymnast closely, who experi-ences the pressure of being the top ath-lete. The narrative is explored throughhis eyes.

The story revolves around the suf-focating relationship between him andhis disabled father and their dream ofwinning the Olympic gold.

�Is Gold inspired by true events?Gold is inspired by many stories in

professional sports in which athletes’thought-process clashes with that oftheir parents. In many cases, that rela-tionship breaks down.

In my youth I saw how top-classsport gave one of my friends a status.

It gave him an identity and security.Back then, I only saw the success. Lateron, I understood the possible pressurethat comes with it. Doesn’t our societylook too much at what you are, and notat who you are? Does success work asan adhesive poison? And what role doparents play in this?

It is a dangerous thing, you see —parents seeing their children as anextension of their own ego. Sometimes,they have to live up to their misseddreams or opportunities. This was thestarting point for our vision of Gold.

�So, the film is about the distortedrelationship and the war of egobetween the father and the son?

Every parent hopefully wants thebest for its child. They give them direc-tions, so their children can sail the rightcourse.

I became a father myself and I gotto know feelings of proudness when my

son learns something new. How will Ireact when I notice that he has a spe-cial talent? Indicating a course canquickly change in determine direction.The pride creates a monster. There is adanger that parents will over-identifywith their children. This way you canget a reversed dependency. Childrenhave to perform for the egos of their par-ents. It is in the sports world mostly,where you come across these kinds ofstories.

This film shows in a penetratingway the dilemma of so many teenagers.The inner struggle between your iden-tity and the love of a parent.

�What is the significance of the title?Every top athlete has one goal —

winning gold. However, with this film,we wanted to show the other side of themedal. A real story about the hellishjourney towards that dream.

�What do you think of the differencebetween films that are making amark at the festivals and which arecommercially successful. Why do youfeel that is?

The reason, according to me, isbecause there is obviously more free-dom, and less thinking within the box,along with sharper subjects.

�What, according to you, is the USPof the film? Why should more peoplewatch it?

For the first time, it shows a sportsfilm that does not romanticise theimage. This is a sincere portrait of thelife of a young athlete. And to make itas authentic as possible, the main roleis played by a real gymnast. So Davidhas transformed himself from a gym-nast into an actor.

�EUFF is an event that celebrates thediversity and creativity of Europeantheatre, heritage and culture.

What opinion do you have forplatforms of this sort that give recog-nition to the local films?

A film is a way to reflect emotions.It is beautiful to see that emotion is uni-versal and these festivals enable that.Stories from every corner of the worldreach a wider audience and touchmore lives. It is wonderful!

After the success of LostEssence Season 1 ,

Discovery Channel is backwith its season two and is allgeared up to showcase theunexplored gems of India thatare tucked away in theremotest corners of the coun-try. The new season that pre-miered on November 30inspired conversations, cap-tured imagination, and creat-ed awareness about theseunexplored locations of Indialike the rugged valleys andmountains of Ladakh andTurtuk covering North androaring beauty of Shillong,Meghalaya and Manipur cover-ing Northeast regions of India,whilst taking one through ajourney like never before.

Hosted by a man ofnumerous talents, who is alsoa travel enthusiast, CyrusSahukar will be unfolding hid-den facts about unexploredcultures and locations to bringthe country’s lost essence tolife. With roads that are notwell-trodden, the anchor alsoencountered unmatched thrilland adventure, as he experi-enced the authentic mouth-watering North East cuisines,

learnt of old and rich cultureof these places and met someinteresting people as he madehis way to the destination.

Sharing his experience onthe show, Sahukar said, “Thisshow has given me an experi-ence of a lifetime. While thepicturesque terrains, cultureand food etched a place in myheart, this journey has thor-oughly satisfied my inner trav-el enthusiast. I am thrilled bythe fact that the world will nowknow more about these mag-ical hidden gems that are trav-el friendly and were tuckedaway in the remote parts of thecountry. These places are sureto top the viewers’ travel list asthe show uncovers the bestkept secrets of India.”

Shaun Nanjappa, head ofadvertising sales, South Asia,Discovery Inc, shared, “Indiais one of the world’s largest,oldest and richest civiliza-tions and is known for itsabundant heritage. It is hometo so much more than one hasexplored or aims to explore.This show is sure to inspireconversations on so manylevels whilst the viewers dis-cover the undiscovered.”

Skincare has always had a specialplace in everybody’s life. Some

people can get away by only usingmoisturiser and sunscreen dailywhile others follow a full-fledgedregimen. Skincare becomes a req-uisite thing when some specialdays are just about to next door.These can be your first date day,your anniversary night or themost special wedding day. It canbe anything.

Then just using a moisturiser,cream or even only sunscreencan’t serve the purpose. You needto follow a proper am to pm skin-care routine that could give you aglowing, brighter, flawless andspotless face.

So, what are you waiting for?Here is the full bloom skincareroutine for your special days. Ittakes just a few minutes for you tolook through this important skin-care timetable that you can also doon normal days:

AM SKINCARE ROUTINE�Start your day with a glass

of waterYour AM skincare routine

starts in the early morning and itis not about cleansing your face.The first thing you need to do inyour morning skincare regimen isto drink warm/lukewarm water onan empty stomach, about onehour before eating anything. Youcan add some lemon drops orhoney to it.

This ritual will help to detoxyour blood and eventually yourskin. This provides your skin witha natural glow and radiance fromwithin. You can’t get results in oneday or a week. Start doing this rou-tine at least before a month of yourwedding.

�Use a mild cleanser to cleanthe face

Don’t go for harsh soaps orsulphate or chemical-basedcleansers before your wedding.Such products can harm yourskin, lead to dryness or some kindof sensitivity. Opt for a mildcleansing lotion.

�Give your skin the dose ofhydrating serum

Serums are very good for

your skin. It goes deeply into theskin and nurtures the skin fromwithin.

A hyaluronic acid serum isbest to include in your skincareroutine before your wedding spe-cial day. It will help to maintain theoverall skin integrity, skin barrierfunction and long-lasting skinhydration. Your skin will lookhealthy, refreshing and illuminat-ing.

�Must add moisturiser intoyour daily routine

Many of us think that onlyapplying sunscreen or serum isenough and our skin needs nomoisturiser. But this is not the case,even when your skin type is oily.

A moisturiser acts to coveryour skin and prevent transepider-mal water loss. For people with oilyskin, a mattifying moisturiserhelps to keep skin oil-free and mat-tify along with keeping skinhydrated. So, don’t skip this step,although do some search and finda proper moisturiser as per yourskin type.

�Safeguard the skin with abroad-spectrum sunscreen

It is the must have step of skin-care. Your skin needs protectionagainst harmful sun rays, urbanpollution and heat (IR) rays. Abroad-spectrum sunscreen withpotent antioxidant formula and PAfactor can give whole protectionfrom all these environmentalaggressors.

You can choose gel-based,mineral or any other base for yourskin type as per your skin type.Apply sunscreen every single day.

�Some greens, a fruit andgreen tea every day

Along with the above men-tioned skincare, also give innernutrition to your skin. Somegreens like broccoli, spinach; fruitslike oranges, strawberries, kiwi,apples and a cup of green tea everyday will help to detox your body,clean skin from within and provideradiance from within.

PM SKINCARE ROUTINENight skincare is as important

as morning skincare. Grime, dirtand pollution make your facedirty and full of free radicals. Yourskin needs rejuvenation therapyafter the whole day.

�Remove makeup andcleanse the face

The very first thing is to use acleansing lotion and remove make-up. Cleanse your face. It will helpto clean your skin and help tobreathe them.

�Apply face toner and repairface serum

Face toner is a skincare essen-tial that helps to tone and balanceyour skin pH A vitamin C based orwitch hazel based serum is amaz-ing to give skin the needed rejuve-nation. After applying the toner,give your skin a break of one to twominutes and then go for vitamin Cserum. Vitamin C is an amazingantioxidant that neutralises thefree radicals, de tan the skin andmakes skin even-toned and healthy.At night this serum will help torepair your damaged skin.

�Go for under eye cream gelAfterwards, apply an under-

eye cream gel to give your eyessome beauty treatment. A goodunder eye cream-gel will not onlyhelp to tackle dark circles but alsoprovides your under-eye skin withthe needed relaxation and arenewed life.

�Pamper your skin on alter-nate days

Now take any natural facemask made of fuller’s earth, gramflour or oatmeal. Apply this onevery alternative day before sleep-ing. It will bring a different kindof sun-kissed glow to your face.

�Give your skin the much-needed treatment

Now decide what your skinneeds the most. Are the darkspots your concern or ageingsigns? Else, you only need to givea hydrating touch to your face.Accordingly end your pm skincareroutine with brightening cream,anti-ageing cream or just a goodhydrating moisturiser.

Apply these simple am and pmskincare rituals into your daily lifeand gift yourself the natural illu-minating skin.

(The author is co-founder ofDerma Essentia.)

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Keeping in line with the PrimeMinister's call for Atmanirbhar

Bharat aligned to the slogan of “BeVocal for Local Buy Tribal”,towards realising the goal of ‘SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas’, TRIFED hasbeen implementing ‘Sankalp SeSiddhi – Mission Van Dhan’. Aspart of this initiative, Mission VanDhan was launched by Minister forTribal Affairs in June 2021. Themission targeted the establish-ment of 50,000 Van Dhan SHGssubsumed into 3,000 Van DhanVikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs).Through its extensive ecosystem ofpartners involving State NodalDepartment, State implementingagencies, convergence partners,reputed training institutions, estab-lished over the past few years, tosystematically and efficientlyimplement the scheme, TRIFEDhas been able to achieve the target.

In a short span of two years, ithas successfully now sanctioned52,976 VDSHGs subsumed into3,110 VDVKCs covering 9.27 lakhbeneficiaries and 27 States/UTs.These VDVKCs are at differentstages of development and manysuccess stories have emerged tilldate. The VDVKCs inMaharashtra, Manipur, TamilNadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala,Tripura, Gujarat, Sikkim, AndhraPradesh, to name a few along withall the 27 participating states havebegun producing almost 600 vari-eties of products.

To commemorate this com-

mendable milestone, a virtualevent was organised on November29, which saw the participation ofmembers of SIA, SNA, tribal ben-eficiaries and other stakeholders ina notable number and was livestreamed through TRIFEDs pageVan Dhan Se Vikas.

Problems and progress of thescheme was discussed in detail inthe session. The mission activitieswill be implemented all overIndia for Scheduled Tribes ben-eficiaries and is an ongoing inter-vention, covering all the 27 statesand 308 tribal pre-dominant dis-tricts under the Van Dhan pro-gramme and MSP for MFPscheme. The initiative is expect-ed to provide active employmentand livelihoods to one million trib-al families enabling them toengage in productive economicactivities leveraging forestresources and activities they arealready familiar with, without anydislocation or migration needs.

With the focus on ensuringround-the-year income generat-ing opportunities for tribals andaddressing the formidable prob-lems that they face, such as pos-session of land/house with norights; restrictions in the collec-tion of minor forest produce;exploitation by middlemen; dis-placements, lack of developmentin forest villages, TRIFED,Ministry of Tribal Affairs, hopesto usher the next phase of tribalempowerment.

DDA conducted its 14th Board of Enquiry andHearing (BoEH) meeting on the

objections/suggestions for the draft master planfor Delhi-2041.

In the board hearing meeting, representatives/members from National Hawker’s Federationwere invited and given the opportunity to sub-

mit their objections/suggestion orally before theboard.

During this hearing, objections/ sugges-tions regarding issues of provision of civic facil-ities for vendors/ hawkers, allocation of space forvending zones, declaration of vending zones andnumber of vending zones, incorporation of rel-evant provisions of Street Vending Act in MPD-2041, recommendation of town vending commit-tee were heard in which participants providedtheir valuable suggestions.

With the support of thegovernment of

Arunachal Pradesh, NAFEDhas taken a step forward to pro-vide market linkages to the cer-tified organic kiwi-growingfarmers of Ziro.

The first consignment oforganic kiwi from the regionwas dispatched to Delhi onNovember 21 for promotionand marketing. The Minister ofAgriculture, Tage Taki, flaggedoff the consignment to markthe beginning of a new initia-tive for the benefit of the kiwigrowers of Arunachal Pradesh.

On arrival of the consign-ment in Delhi, Kiren Rijju,Union Minister, Law & Justice,along with Kailash Choudhary,MoS Agriculture, launched

this nutrient-rich deliciousfruit at Delhi Haat onNovember 27.

The initiative will help inenhancing the livelihood ofkiwi farmers in ArunachalPradesh and boost the trade of

kiwi outside the state. Thelaunch event was followed bya live cooking session for theguests, during which recipes ofkiwi-based dishes weredemonstrated, followed bysample-tasting.

The SARAS Aajeevika Mela2021, focusing on the theme

of ‘tradition, art, craft and cul-ture’ is a government initiative,that not just offers best of thecultural heritage, but also tells astory of rural women donningthe hat of an entrepreneur at anational-level platform conclud-ed on November 27. It was heldat the 40th India InternationalTrade Fair (IITF) at PragatiMaidan.

The finest handicraft andhandloom products from theremotest areas of Rural Indiawere displayed at the SARASAajeevika Mela 2021, organisedby the Ministry of RuralDevelopment and NationalInstitute of Rural Developmentand Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR).More than 300 craftsmen hadparticipated and showcaed their

products at 137 stalls in the exhi-bition.

The SARAS Aajeevika Melashowcased the best of its collec-

tion in handloom sarees, dressmaterials, accessories and organ-ic handicraft products from dif-ferent states across India.

The DMRC hasstrengthened

its operation andm a i n t e n a n c e(O&M) wing withthe appointmentof Vikas Kumar asD i r e c t o r(Operations) andA K Garg, whowas so far lookingafter O&M asD i r e c t o r(Operations), asD i r e c t o r(Infrastructure).

D i r e c t o r(Operations) will now be primarily looking aftermatters pertaining to operations, fare and non-farerevenue, last mile connectivity, parking, safety &security, Delhi Metro Rail Academy, and so on.While, Director (Infrastructure) will be looking afterthe maintenance of infrastructure including, civil,electrical, signaling and telecommunication, rollingstock, upgradation or renewal issues, solar power,and so on.

The inauguration of ESIDispensary and branch

office, Rae Bareli, UttarPradesh was concluded onNovember 27. Smriti ZubinIrani, Minister of Women andChild Development,Government of India, was thechief guest in this event. Onthis occasion, Irani expressedher happiness and said that ESIDispensary, Rae Bareli wasoperating in a rented buildingsince 1978, which governmentnow dedicates to the people, bygetting this complex, con-structed by CPWD. She hand-ed over monthly pensionapproval letters to the beneficia-ries under the ‘Covid-19 reliefscheme’. This measure of ESIChelps in strengthening financialcondition of the families affect-ed by Covid-19 pandemic.

ESI dispensary and branchoffice in Pragati Puram wasconstructed at a cost of ��2.27crore in a 933 square metercampus. The dispensary hastwo doctors, pharmacist, labtechnician and emergency ser-vices, OPD, pharmacy, oxygencylinder, testing machine and

so on have been provided in thedispensary. This will benefit60,000 ESI beneficiaries of RaeBareli area. In addition, about15,000 workers will also getcash benefits from the ESICBranch Office on the first floor.

On this occasion,Rameshwar Teli, Minister ofState for Labour andEmployment and Petroleumand Natural Gas, Governmentof India, in his address said that

the largest share of workers isof unorganised workers. A‘national database’ has beenprepared for the unorganisedworkers, which has beennamed as ‘E-Shram Portal’.

Registration on the portalis very simple and free. Onegets an insurance cover of �two lakh after registration onthe portal. So far, more thannine crore people have beenregistered on this portal. At the

same time, he also appealed tothe people to come forward inmaximum numbers to getregistration on the portal atthe earliest.

ESIC has launched Covid-19 Relief Scheme. ESIC pro-vides 90 per cent of the aver-age salary to the dependents ofIP, who unfortunately passedaway due to the COVID-19pandemic.

Further, through the AtalBimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana, ifthe insured person loseshis/her job, he/she is given arelief of 50 per cent of theaverage daily earnings duringthe last four contribution peri-ods. As a once-in-a-lifetimemeasure, relief is paid up to amaximum of 90 days of unem-ployment. Relief is paid direct-ly to the insured persons intheir bank account by ESICBranch Office on submissionof claim.

Kaushik Mitra, Dy chief operationsmanager/comml signed the agree-

ment on behalf of Metro Railway in pres-ence of NP Sinha, zonal manager, LifeInsurance Corporation of India Limited(LIC).

Metro Railway has offered 1,500 sqfeet spaces of each of these two stationsto LIC. LIC has got the station co- brand-ing rights and can add their brand names,logo (prefixed/suffixed) to the stationname at all places where the station nameis displayed.

With the signing of this five-yearcontract, Metro Railway, for the first time,is handing over the co-branding rightsof any of its stations to a public sectorundertaking like LIC.

Union Minister forMinority Affairs and

Deputy Leader, RajyaSabha, Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi today said herethat while, on one hand,lakhs of people visitedHunar Haat at PragatiMaidan, on the otherhand, sale of indigenousproducts worth croresof rupees took place,which encouraged arti-sans and craftsmen fromacross the country.

Over 550 artisansand craftsmen frommore than 30 States/UTsparticipated in the 33rd

Hunar Haat, organised atIndia International TradeFair at Pragati Maidanfrom November 14-27.

Hunar Haat receivedthe prestigious IITF 2021silver medal for strength-ening commitment to‘Vocal for Local’ and itsstrong presence at TradeFair. Renowned artistsof the country mes-merised the audiencethrough their various

cultural and musical pro-grammes. The Indiancircus artists also per-formed diverse enter-tainment shows.

With 300 stalls, this

was the largest participa-tion by the UnionMinistry of MinorityAffairs in IndiaInternational Trade Fairthis year.

The Minister of State for Personnel,Public Grievances and Pensions,

Jitender Singh launched the face recog-nition technology for submission ofDigital Life Certificate (DLC) by the pen-sioners.

Speaking on the occasion, Singhinformed that Department of Pension &Pensioners' Welfare has been undertak-ing several reforms for timely andsmooth payment of pension and has alsotaken various steps in the past for pro-moting welfare of pensioners. An onlinesystem for submission of life certificate‘Jeevan Pramaan’ was launched by thePrime Minister in 2014 for ease of liv-ing of pensioners. Jeevan PramaanPportal has made the process for submis-sion of life certificate faster and moretransparent, as a pensioner can give anonline life certificate, anytime and fromanywhere, by attaching a biometricdevice to his PC/mobile or by using ser-vices of a Common Service Centre(CSC) or any bank branch. The pension-er also gets status of submission andacceptance through SMS. The system is

also helpful to the banks as they canupdate thousands of life certificaterecords in a single click

.Department of Pension andPensioners’ Welfare has been workingwith National Informatics Centre (NIC),Ministry of Electronics and InformationTechnology (Meity) for development ofa face-recognition technology-basedsystem using UIDAI’s Aadhaar softwarefor submission of digital life certificate.Introduction of this technology is a fur-ther step in the direction of ensuring easeof living for pensioners and family pen-sioners. Under this facility, identity of apensioner or family pensioner will beestablished through face recognitiontechnique. It will be possible to submitlife certificate using this technologyfrom any android based smart phone.

DLC through face recognition tech-nique is a breakthrough technologywhich will reduce pensioners’ depen-dence on external bio-metric devices andmake the process affordable and acces-sible, thus, ensuring ease of living forpensioners and family pensioners.

Complimenting the India TradeP r o m o t i o n

Organisation(ITPO) for holding avery successful edition of the 40th

edition of India InternationalTrade Fair (IITF), Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi, the Minister for MinorityAffairs, Government of Indiapointed out that IITF 2021 hasremained highly successful withenhanced number of participants,despite all challenges and time con-straints. The organisers deserve allthe appreciation. He shared thatthe event has generated brisk busi-ness in the fair including HunarHaat.

Present on the occasion were LC Goyal, chairman and managingdirector of ITPO, and Vibhu Nayar,ED of ITPO, along with partici-pants from India and abroad.

Announcing the theme of nextIITF — ‘Vocal for local, local to goglobal’, Goyal hoped that the nextedition of the event would be thelargest ever after completion of theremaining IECC project of thePragati Maidan. He informed thatthe as per preliminary reports and

estimation, the fair has generatedan economic activity of �1,000crores which is an indication ofeconomy fast returning to normalin the post pandemic situation. Healso expressed happiness over theparticipation response and enthu-siasm of the visitors.

The Awards for Excellence inDisplay were presented by the

Union Minister in different cate-gories. Bihar was honoured withgold medals in the partner state aswell as in the state/UT categories,while both of the focus states,Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, werealso awarded gold. Assam was con-ferred silver medal, Kerala bronzeand Madhya Pradesh was givenspecial appreciation.

Coir Board won gold medal,the Ministry of Minority Affairs(Hunar Haat) bagged silver, whilethe Ministry of Ayush and Ministryof Health & Family Welfare werehonoured with bronze medals.The Securities and Exchange Boardof India (SEBI) and NationalCooperative DevelopmentCorporation (NCDC), Ministryof Cooperation, were commend-ed with special appreciation in theministries & dept/PSU and PSBand commodity boards.

In the foreign sector, goldmedal was conferred to Syed JunaidAlam WLL (Bahrain), whileBangladesh High Commission wonthe silver, Tillo Hediyelik EsyaSanayi (Turkey) received bronzeand Silver Palace (Iran) was hon-oured with special appreciation.

In the private sector, ShyamTilpatti Udyog, Flora AppliancesPvt Ltd, Wooden Art receivedgold, silver and bronze medals,respectively, RDM Care (India)Pvt Ltd and Pansari Industrieswere conferred with the specialappreciation.

Metro Railway always givestop priority to the safety

and security of the commuters.In order to check the pre-paredness of metro staff totackle any fire incident in anAC rake on the viaduct, a pas-senger evacuation mock drillwas conducted in betweenMasterda Surya Sen and NetajiMetro stations, in which seniorofficers and staff of concerned

departments took part.Metromen were imparted

training on how to take imme-diate necessary action to rescuepassengers in case of a fire ina running AC rake.

The objective of this mockdrill was to upgrade the evac-uation skills as well as checkalertness and preparedness ofmetromen during such emer-gencies.

Rakesh Kumar Jain assumed charge asDirector (Finance) of GAIL (India) Limited.

A cost and management accountant by profes-sion, Jain started his career in the company asa manage-ment traineeand gathereda rich experi-ence of near-ly 30 years ashe rosethrough theranks to hispresent posi-tion.

Prior tohis appoint-ment asD i r e c t o r(Finance), heheld theposition ofExecutive Director (Finance & Accounts) inGAIL. Additionally, Jain holds the position ofDirector in Indraprastha Gas Limited. Earlier,he was on the board of Ratnagiri Gas and PowerPvt Ltd (RGPPL). He joined GAIL in 1992 andhas been a part of the growth trajectory of thecompany.

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Aravali Power Company Private Limited(APCPL), a joint venture company of

NTPC, Indraprastha Power GenerationCompany Limited (IPGCL) and HaryanaPower Generation Corporation Limited(HPGCL) paid the second interim dividendof �135 crores (net of TDS) for the financialyear 2021-22 towards NTPC’s 50 per centshare.

Somes Bandyopadhyay, CEO(APCPL)handed over dividend cheque of �135 croresto Gurdeep Singh, chairman & MD, NTPC onNovember 30.

The interim dividend @ 10.467 per centon the paid up capital has also been paid toother joint venture partners viz. IPGCL andHPGCL on their respective shareholding of 25per cent each.

The total interim dividend paid to its pro-moters for the financial year 2021-22 is �900crores, which is the highest ever interim div-idend paid by APCPL since inception.

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India are scheduled to playonly one series before the

Women’s World Cup early nextyear but ODI skipper MithaliRaj feels the team is getting thebest preparation possible aheadof the mega event.

In the last nine months,India hosted South Africabefore playing a three-matchseries in England and Australia.They lost all three series butmade the mighty Australiawork really hard for it and alsoended their 26-match winningstreak in the third ODI DownUnder.

India will play World Cuphosts New Zealand before theICC event in March-April.

“We have played three bestteams since March and it has

given us good preparation.Players have played domesticcricket and also in the Women’sBig Bash so they are gettinggame time which is the most

important thing. “We are getting to play in

New Zealand before WorldCup which is also good,” saidMithali after a partnership

between KFC and Indian DeafCricket Association wasannounced here on Wednesday.

India, who were unable topost 250 plus scores, did thattwice in the Australia series andchased down 265 in the finalODI.

“When you play against astrong team in its backyard youtry to give your best. Thoughwe lost the series, the matcheswere very close. We scored 270and chased 270 odd, if we cando that consistently we will beamong the best sides in worldcricket,” said Mithali.

Middle-order batting needsimprovement but Mithali saidall departments must fire as aunit if they are to win the WorldCup.

“We bat as a unit so youcan’t pinpoint one area. There

are times when top order failedand the others performed. As aunit if we look to post a goodtotal then it will help. If we focuson one area like middle orderthen it becomes too much of aburden for that particular slot.”

India finished runners-upin 2017 when not many expect-ed them to but expectations willbe high this time.

“There were not enoughexpectations back then. Now in2021 players have got experi-ence and got a lot of exposurewith the T20 leagues. Overallwe have young players but theyhave got enough exposure. It isjust of matter of gelling well asa team.

“Every match will be differ-ent there. The quicker we readour opponents the better itwill be for us,” she added.

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Germany came frombehind to upset Britain in

the Davis Cup quarterfinalsafter Kevin Krawietz and TimPütz won the decisive doublesmatch.

The German pair defeat-ed British teammates JoeSalisbury and Neal Skupski 7-6 (10), 7-6 (5) after the best-of-three tie was level follow-ing the two singles.

Krawietz and Pütz savedfour set points in the tiebreak-er before taking the openingset and won the secondtiebreaker after winning sevenstraight points from 5-0

down.“This is an incredible

team achievement,” Krawietzsaid. “We have a great atmos-phere in the team from day

one.” Daniel Evans had givenBritain the lead by beatingPeter Gojowczyk 6-2, 6-1, butJan-Lennard Struff pulledGermany even with the 10-

time champion by beatingCameron Norrie 7-6 (6), 3-6,6-2. Germany has won theDavis Cup three times but notsince 1993. In its first semifi-nal since 2007, Germany willmeet either Sweden or theteam from Russia on Saturday.Croatia will face either Serbiaor Kazakhstan in the othersemifinal.

“We have done every-thing to win,” Struff said. “Wehope our journey goes on andthe next goal is to win thesemifinal.”

Britain was seeking itsfourth semifinal berth in thelast six editions of the tourna-ment. It last won the event in2015, and it had beaten

Germany 2-0 when the teamsalso met in the quarterfinaltwo years ago.

“Everyone is gutted, thisis a tough day to swallow,”Britain team captain LeonSmith said. “It could havegone either way, but it wasn’tto be today. They gave theirbest effort but sometimesthat is not enough, andGermany deserves to gothrough.”

Struff said his win overNorrie was “one of the mostimportant victories of mycareer. Cam Norrie is a realfighter. I started very well,went 4-1 up, but when youtake so many risks, you canexpect that more mistakes

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Six-time championsGermany and Argentina

earned hard-fought wins overSpain and Netherlands respec-tively, while France cruisedpast Malaysia to enter thesemifinals of the FIH JuniorMen’s Hockey World Cup hereon Wednesday.

In the first quarterfinal ofthe day, Germany eked out anarrow 3-1 win over Spain inshoot-out after both the teamswere locked at 2-2 in regulationtime, before Argentina beatNetherlands 2-1.

In the third quarterfinal,the tournament’s surprise pack-age France beat Malaysia 4-0.

Germany took the leadfrom a penalty stroke throughChristopher Kutter in the fifthminute but the lead was short-

lived as Ignacio Abajoequalised for Spain from apenalty corner six minuteslater.

After two barren quarters,it was Spain who shocked theGermans in the 59th minutewhen Eduard de Ignacio-Simoscored a fine field goal to givehis side the lead.

There was more drama instore as just at the stroke of thehooter, Germany secured apenalty corner and Masi Pfandtstepped up to take the matchinto shoot-out. In the shoot-out, Paul Smith, MichelStruthoff and Hannes Mullerfound the back of the net,while Matteo Poljaric missed.

Spain were awful from theone-on-one situation as Abajo,Guilermo Fortuno and deIgnaci-Simo missed while onlyGerard Clapes scored.

New Delhi: Tokyo Olympicsgold medallist Neeraj Choprawill visit Sanskardham Schoolin Ahmedabad on December 4and launch Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s mission tospread awareness about bal-anced diet, fitness and sports.

During his meeting withTokyo Olympians at his resi-dence on August 16, Modi hadurged India’s Olympians andParalympians to visit 75 schoolseach by the 2023 IndependenceDay and spread awarenessagainst malnutrition and alsoplay a sport with schoolchild-

ren. On Wednesday, SportsMinister Anurag Thakur tweet-ed to say that javelin throwerChopra will set in motion thePM’s mission.

“PM Sh @narendramodi jigave a clarion call to ourOlympians & Paralympians tovisit schools and interact withstudents on the importance of‘santulit aahaar’, fitness, sports& more. Starting Dec 4@Neeraj_chopra1 will be atSanskardham School inAhmedabad to launch thismission,” Thakur wrote on hisTwitter handle. PTI

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Assistant coach Andy Flower has parted wayswith Punjab Kings and is expected to land

a role in one of the new teams ahead of IPL 2022.Former Zimbabwe captain Flower, who

worked as a coach in England for more than adecade and guided the national team there, washired for his maiden IPL stint ahead of the 2020

season. “He sent his resignation to the team recent-

ly. It has been accepted. There is a good chance that he goes to one

of the new teams (Lucknow or Ahmedabad),”a BCCI official told PTI.

There is a good possibility that the 53-year-old is given a bigger role in his next IPL assign-ment.

Flower worked alongside head coach AnilKumble for the past two seasons. The develop-ment comes at a time when K L Rahul, PunjabKings skipper for the past two seasons, is expect-ed to move to the Lucknow franchise.

Punjab wanted to retain Rahul but he didnot want to stay.

It remains to be seen if Flower stays as headcoach of CPL franchise Saint Lucia Kings, whichis owned by same consortium that owns PunjabKings. Saint Lucia finished runners-up in 2020and 2021 season.

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Defending champion PVSindhu has got a firstround bye and faces the

prospect of coming up againstTokyo Olympics silver medallistTai Tzu Ying and former worldnumber one Carolina Marin in thequarterfinals and semifinalsrespectively of the WorldBadminton Championships here.

Sindhu, who won a bronze inthe Tokyo Olympics, has beenseeded sixth in the December 12-19 showpiece event.

The world number sevenIndian has seen a resurgence inform as she had reached semifi-nals in the last three tourna-ments she had played.

Sindhu faces the winner ofMartina Repiska of Slovenia andRuselli Hartawan of Indonesia inthe second round. If she clearsthe third round, Chinese Taipei’sTai Tzu, who had beaten her inthe Tokyo Olympics semifinals,will be awaiting her in the quar-terfinals.

If she Sindhu gets pastChinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu, shecould be up against Marin whohad beaten her in the 2016 Rio

Olympics summit clash. Marin returns from injury

straight into the WorldChampionships and she will be

playing in an arena named afterher. Tai Tzu has also taken suffi-cient rest as she hasn’t played sincewinning silver at Tokyo 2020.

The other half of the women’ssingles has two players -- AkaneYamaguchi of Japan and AnSeyoung of Korea -- who have

swept the prominent World Tourtitles since the Olympics.

Nozomi Okuhara of Japanwhom Sindhu had beaten in the

2019 final is also in the other halfof the draw.

Tokyo Olympics championChen Yu Fei of China is not tak-ing part like many other playersfrom her country.

In men’s singles, KidambiSrikanth, seeded 12th, will openhis campaign against local playerPablo Abian and has the prospectof facing compatriot B SaiPraneeth (seeded 14th) in thequarterfinals, if both are able toreach that stage.

Defending champion and topseed Kento Momota of Japancould be the man waiting for theIndians in the semifinals.

Young Lakshya Senhas also been drawn inthe same half as histwo senior com-patriots andfaces MaxWeisskirchenof Germany inthe openinground. He canbe up againstMomota in thequarterfinals ifthe Indian reach-es there.

In the men’s

doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddyand Chirag Shetty have beenseeded eighth and handed a firstround bye. Three other Indianpairs -- Manu Attri and BSumeeth Reddy, MR Arjun andDhruv Kapila, and Arun Georgeand Sanyam Shukla are also in thefray.

In women’s doubles, the pairof Ashwini Ponnappa and N SikkiReddy will face the French duo ofDelphine Delrue and Lea Palermoin the first round.

Two other Indian pairs —Pooja Dandu and SanjanaSantosh, and Maneesha K and

Rutaparna Panda — are also inthe fray.

In mixed doubles, threeIndian pairs — Saurabh

Sharma and AnoushkaParikh, MR Arjun and

Maneesha K andUtkarsh Arora and

K a r i s h m aWadkar — are

in thefray.

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opening set against Struffwhen leading 6-5, and the

Briton missed two set pointsin the tiebreaker.