:_gVde`cd ]`dV C*= Tc Rd ^Rc\Ved a]f^^Ve - Daily Pioneer

$: :_gVde`cd ]`dV C*= Tc Rd ^Rc\Ved a]f^^Ve - Daily Pioneer$
�� !�� "

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

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

#��!��'��, �� !��+��-��+��.�+/� .0��1�)�� /�� ,�0�� -� �� /�� " �� /�� "

��

#�� .1 2.3#/

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday interacted

with “Pradhan Mantri RashtriyaBal Puraskar” awardees via videoconference and called for “draw-ing energy from the past” and“dedicating oneself to achievinggreat results in the coming 25years of the Amrit kaal”. Digitalcertificates were conferred on theawardees for the years 2022 and2021 using BlockchainTechnology.This technology wasused for the first time for givingcertificates to awardees. UnionWomen and Child DevelopmentMinister Smriti Zubin Irani and

Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai,her Minister of State, wereamong those present on theoccasion.

Interacting with Master AviSharma of Indore, the PrimeMinister enquired about thesecret of his prolific output withregard to various aspects ofRamayana. Master Avi Sharmasaid he got the inspiration by thebroadcasting of the serialRamayana during the lockdown.Avi also recited some coupletsfrom his creation. Talking toKumari Remona Evette Pereirafrom Karnataka, the PrimeMinister discussed her passionfor Indian Dance.

#�� .1 2.3#/

The minimum temperaturesin northwest and central

India is likely to drop by threeto five degrees Celsius over thenext five days, leading to severecold in Delhi and parts ofPunjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh, Rajasthan, Gujaratand Maharashtra

Cold day to severe cold dayconditions are very likely overparts of Punjab, Haryana,Delhi, Uttarakhand, MadhyaPradesh, Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan and Gujarat overthe next two to three days, theIndia MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) said onMonday.

Dense to very dense fog ispredicted in parts of Punjab,Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, WestBengal, Odisha, Assam,Sikkim, Meghalaya and Tripuraover the next two to three days,it said.

Meanwhile, coastalMaharashtra and Konkanregion witnessed haze due todust storms in Gujarat andsouth Rajasthan days after thedust storm in Karachi in

Pakistan that crippled the nor-mal life.

Due to this, Mumbai’s AirQuality Index (AQI) onMonday rose to a whopping502, as per the System of AirQuality Weather Forecastingand Research (SAFAR). AnAQI of more than 500 indicates“severe-plus” or hazardous pol-lution levels and can have pro-found health implications.

On Saturday, the IMD fore-cast said that a massive duststorm headed towards Gujaratand south Rajasthan. OnSaturday morning, Karachi wascaught off guard when a duststorm from Pakistan’s west dis-

turbed normal life, with visi-bility reduced to less than orabout 500 metres.

On the other hand, northand north western States arereeling under cold day condi-tions. According to the IMD, a“cold day” is when the mini-mum temperature is less than10 degrees Celsius and themaximum is at least 4.5 degreesCelsius below normal. A“severe” cold day is when themaximum temperature is atleast 6.5 notches below normal.

In the plains, the IMDdeclares a cold wave if the min-imum temperature dips to 4degrees Celsius. A cold wave is

also declared when the mini-mum temperature is 10 degreesCelsius or below and is 4.5notches less than normal.

A “severe” cold wave iswhen the minimum tempera-ture dips to 2 degrees Celsiusor the departure from normalis more than 6.4 degreesCelsius. When visibility due tofog is reduced to the range of0 to 50 metres, it is categorisedas “very dense” fog, between 51and 200 metres, it is “dense”fog, between 201 and 500metres “moderate”, and it is cat-egorised as “shallow” if the vis-ibility is between 501 and 1,000metres.

#�� 3%�4�51

With the ElectionCommission of India

(ECI) restricting political par-ties from physical rallies, theleaders are engaged in a bitter“Twitter war” blaming eachother for the present situation.

When Uttar PradeshChief Minister YogiAdityanath commented onformer Chief Ministers of theState building big bungalows

for themselves instead ofhouses for the poor, BSP chiefMayawati immediately hitback by commenting on Yogi’sGorakhpur Math.Immediately, Adityanath’ssocial media team hit backand even raised the issue ofMayawati’s sandals.

The whole fracas startedwhen Yogi said in Aligarh onSaturday that before 2017,the Chief Minister andMinisters used to buildpalaces for themselves, but theBJP built houses for the poor.

Furious over this,Mayawati attacked Yogi in aseries of tweets on Sunday.

She wrote: “Perhaps thepeople of western UP do notknow that the monastery builtby Yogi ji in Gorakhpur, wherehe lives most of the time, is noless than a big bungalow.”

Yogi’s office tweeted inreturn: “On one hand, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath ded-icated the Government air-craft to protect the lives of thepeople during the Coronaperiod, on the other hand,sandals were ordered from aGovernment plane, misusingState resources for personalsplendour.”

In another tweet, Yogi’soffice invited the BSP chief tovisit Gorakshanath Math.

��

�� !��"��

��

��

��!�� " � ��#� $��

��

#�� .1 2.3#/

Amid rising Covid-19 posi-tivity rate in India, the

World Health Organization(WHO) on Monday noted thatthe increase in infections inSouth-East Asia is mainly dri-ven by India, with 150 per centincrease in numbers in the lastone week. To drive home itspoint, the WHO said that Indiareported 15,94,160 new cases inthe week that ended on January23 as compared to 6,38,872cases it recorded the previousweek.

On Monday, India report-ed over three lakh new Covid-19 infections for the fifthstraight day, though in actualnumbers it was almost 8 percent less than the previousday. The daily positivity rate -the share of coronavirus teststhat return positive and con-sidered a key marker of thepandemic’s status is up from17.78 per cent to 20.75 per centwhile the weekly positivity ratewas recorded at 17.03 per cent.

The Omicron variant isalso constantly moving north-wards with infection prevalent

in almost all the States. TheWHO also said that theOmicron variant of coron-avirus has now been reportedin 171 countries in the world.

Though the variant has alower risk of severe disease anddeath following infection, theoverall risk related to Omicronremains very high.

INSACOG, theGovernment’s research bodyhas already said in its latest bul-letin that the Omicron variantis in the community transmis-sion stage in the country andhas become dominant in sev-eral metros where new caseshave been spiking exponen-tially.

New Delhi: The BJP in Punjabwill contest on 65 assemblyseats, the Punjab Lok Congresson 37 seats and the SAD(Sanyukt) on 17 seats, BJPchief J P Nadda said onMonday as he announced theseat-sharing agreementbetween his party and its alliesfor the February 20 state polls.

Nadda said Punjab is aborder state and security is avery important issue as far asassembly elections are con-cerned.

Hailing Punjab as a“leader”, especially in defenceand food security of the coun-try, he said, “Today Punjabneeds special attention, itneeds a double engine gov-ernment and a better coordi-nation between the Centreand the State.”

Nadda announced theseat-sharing agreement at apress conference here at theBJP headquarters in the pres-ence of Punjab Lok Congresssupremo Amarinder Singhand Shiromani Akali Dal(Sanyukt) Sukhdev SinghDhindsa.“I am announcing abroader seat sharing agree-

ment, BJP will contest on 65seats, PLC on 37 seats andSAD (Sanyukt) on 15 seats,”Nadda said.After the pressconference, a BJP delegationled by Union MinisterGajendra Shekhawat metElection Commission of Indiaofficials to complain againstSidhu’s principal strategicadvisor Mohammad Mustafafor allegedly making commu-nal remarks at a public meet-ing in Malerkotla.

The former Punjab DGPhas been booked for promot-ing enmity between differentgroups on grounds of religion,race and other identity mark-ers to score gains in election.The FIR came a day after avideo showing him makingthe alleged remarks was cir-culated on social media.Wehave urged the ECI to act

against Mustafa for giving aprovocative speech inMalerkotla on January 20,Shekhawat said.Addressing theconference, Singh said for thesake of national security andwelfare of the state, all threeparties have come together.

Expressing concern aboutthe threat to the “hard earned”peace of Punjab, Singh said alarge number of weapons forcarrying out nefarious activi-ties are coming into Punjab.

“During the course of mylast four-and-half-years asPunjab chief minister, at least1,000 rifles, 500 pistols, RDX,lakhs of rounds of ammuni-tion were caught at the bor-ders. The weapons were alsodropped using drones... Theywere meant for carrying outsome nefarious activity,” Singhsaid.

New Delhi: Amid demands oflifting weekend curfew andodd-even system of openingshops by traders as well as theAAP and the BJP, Delhi’s apexCovid-19 management bodyDDMA will meet on Thursdayto review the pandemic situa-tion in the city. The meeting ofDelhi Disaster ManagementAuthority (DDMA) to bechaired by Lt Governor AnilBaijal is scheduled at 12.30 pmon January 27. Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal is also likely toattend the meeting.

!!�"��#��

��2�!�� .1 2.3#/

Debt-laden Maharaja (AirIndia) is expected to be

handed over to the Tata groupon January 27. The closing bal-ance sheet as of January 20 wasprovided to the new owner(Talace Private Limited, a sub-sidiary of the Tata groups hold-ing company) on Monday sothat it can be reviewed.

Sources said the final han-dover date was not finalised butthe Government aims to handover the airline by Thursday.The remaining formalitiesregarding the deal are likely tobe completed in a few days.

After a competitive biddingprocess, the Government hadon October 8 last year sold Air

India to Talace Private Limitedfo �18,000 crore.

In a message to theemployees on Monday, AirIndia’s director (finance) VinodHejmadi said the divestment ofthe national carrier is nowdecided to be on the January27. “The closing balance sheetas on 20th Jan has to be pro-vided on Jan 24th so that it canbe reviewed by Tatas and anychanges can be effected onWednesday,” Hejmadi said inthe message on instant mes-saging platform.

"�$��%��&��'(

�� $ �

�� $��$��%�� $�� &�� '�

#��!$��%&'�("��)� ��$ �� % '��()��

#�� .1 2.3#/

Investors lost �9 lakh crore ina day as the Indian equity

market on Monday logged thesteepest single-day drop inabout two months. The bench-mark Sensex crashed nearly1,546 points to crack below the58,000-level due to panic sell-ing across counters tracking.

Tech stocks were ham-mered due to heavy sell-off inthe US tech stocks.

Pre-budget nervousness,week quarter three results, andglobal factors are supposed tobe behind the crash. The mar-ket was also jittery with the fearof the USA’s Federal OpenMarket Committee (FOMC)taking some unpleasant deci-sions on the interest rate in itsmeeting starting Tuesday.

The BSE Sensex started thesession on a weak note and gotfurther overwhelmed by panicselling as the trade progressedand tanked over 2,050 pointsto touch the day’s low at56,984. Recouping some lostground towards the fag-end,the index finally settled at57,491.51 — clocking a mas-sive 1,545.67 points or 2.62 per

cent drop.Likewise, the NSENifty slumped 468.05 points or2.66 per cent to settle at17,149.10. This was the biggestsingle-session fall for bothSensex and Nifty sinceNovember 26 last year and alsothe fifth straight session of lossfor the indices.

The market crash wipedout �9.15 lakh crore of wealthand total market cap of BSE-listed firms has slipped to�260.49 lakh crore. Investorshave become poorer by �19.33

lakh crore in the market fallsince Tuesday last week.

On the Sensex chart, TataSteel was the top loser, shed-ding around 6 per cent, fol-lowed by Bajaj Finance, Wipro,Tech Mahindra, Titan,Reliance Industries and HCLTech.“The Indian markets havebeen under significant pressurein the past few days, correct-ing by 7 per cent from therecent highs, after a smartpullback seen since mid-December.

��'�)��*�� +��,-�

��#��*.�"�� /��01��*+,

��#�� !�/,%!

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on

Monday said BJP was involvedin dividing society on religiouslines by injecting communalismto win power but people gainednothing.

It has adopted same for-mula in assembly electionsabout to take place in UttarPradesh and other states, hetold media here before leavingfor Uttarakhand. He accusedBJP of following a policy ofdividing society on religiousand caste lines. The party hadcreated a fear factor but Hindushad not gained anything. Butpeople of Chhattisgarh hadrejected their intention which

reflects from recent electionsincluding to urban bodies,Baghel said.“You cannot changeneighbour or locality of resi-dence but you can changefriends," he said. "The narrow-minded concept and poison ofcommunalism being injected insociety will do more harm. Itwill only burn houses. Thecountry is of Buddha,Mahaveer, Guru Nanak Dev,Kabir and Gandhi. "For thou-

sands of years message of loveand co-existence has beengiven, which should continue,”he said. The Chief Minister saidkey issues affecting people wereinflation, security of women,farmers, unemployment andyouth which are relevant acrosscountry. On issue new lawsunder which Centre proposesto control postings of IAS offi-cers, Baghel said earlier gov-ernment interfered throughGovernors.

Now, the Centre wants tocontrol IAS officials, he said.Already, the deputation is givenon basis of state’s consent basedon requirement. If direct inter-ference happens, it will affectfederal structure as good offi-cers will be shunted out, he said.

&'��%��%��&��

6��2��,�� 0"��7��-��. ��"��7��7

3�� '�03�44 ..�% '89�� .:��

,�� ;�� 2.3#/ 3%�4�51 <#5,�3 <#%<��.�1�!

!��#/ !�/,%! �#��2/��!# 2.#!�2%� #=2.!�<�2 >/?�=1�2�

�.��10�.�%)�4567RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

�� #��8�2��8��,��9�#��4��:

�/012�� @5� �5��.�3.2 ;��;5! !.��/3 ��4.5>.!A ��/�

��3/4 56

1#5 �#/.; 1�!�� /�� 34 5; B.�2�� .C /� ,��2. /�

/��0�/0(;��/ � !.�%3��/5�,%�� #.�3�# /� � �5%,

��

��

�� !��

*��+�� &$ �� $�+�� ,�& ��-��

��

��#�� .1 2.3#/

Delhi Police has arrestedfour persons, including a

30-year-old woman who hadset a deal of �two lakhs to sellher one-month-old child forcash. Police said that to nab theaccused and recover the babysafely, two police personnelposed as decoy customers andset a deal of Rs two lakhs topurchase the baby.

The accused have beenidentified as Praveen Khatoon(45), Santosh (35), MadhuSingh (30) and their only maleassociate Satish (35). MadhuSingh, a resident of UttamNagar wanted to sell her one-month-old baby for cashthrough the three alleged bro-kers.

According to Sagar SinghKalsi, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), North district, onSaturday, the police team atSabzi Mandi in North Delhireceived information aboutinvolved of Praveen Khatoon inselling minor children and act-ing on the tip off, a raidingteam was formed comprising ofSub-Inspector Lalit Kumaralong with staff.

“Constable Rakesh andWoman Constable Anju,posed themselves as a fakecouple and approached thesuspects to purchase a child.After following due procedure,the informer introducedPraveen Khatoon and her asso-ciate Satish. Praveen Khatoonand Satish told ConstableRakesh that a woman Santosh,who resides at Mangolpuriwould arrange a minor child,”said the DCP.

“After that the police per-sonnel who posed as decoy cus-

tomers reached Manoglpuriwherein they met Santosh whothen called Madhu at the spotwho came with her one-monthfemale child at her house.

After finalizing the deal, onthe pretext of full payment,Constables -- Rakesh and Anjubrought all the four allegedalong with minor girl child atBarfkhana, Subzi Mandi herewhere Constable Rakesh paidcash � 50,000 to PraveenKhatoon,” said the DCP.

“Praveen Khatoon kept�10,000 as her share and thenhanded over �30,000 toMadhu, Rs. 4,000 to Satish,�6,000 to Santosh. After receiv-ing the amount, accusedMadhu handed over the cus-tody of the child to constableAnju. Then constable Rakeshalerted his staff who nabbed allthe four accused persons andrecovered the amount fromtheir possession,” the DCPsaid.

“A case was registered atSubzi Mandi police station.During interrogation, PraveenKhatoon and Santosh wereoperating the gang of sellingand purchasing minor children.They searched for persons,who intended to buy theirchildren for money and madearrangements to sell minorchildren and Madhu wanted tosell her one month old femalechild for money,” said the DCP.

“Mobile phones of accusedPraveen Khatoon and Satishwere analysed and found thatthere are many photographs ofminor children found in theirdevices,” police said, addingthat all the previousantecedents of the accused arebeing verified.

��#�� .1 2.3#/

With the Republic Day celebrationround the corner in the national

Capital, the Delhi Police on Mondayissued important guidelines stating thatthose attending the parade will have tobring their vaccine certificate, followCovid-19 appropriate behaviour and co-operate with the security staff.

Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Policeurged all the visitors attending the RepublicDay celebrations to follow Covid-19appropriate behaviour. Listing its guide-lines, the Delhi Police tweeted that the seat-ing blocks will open fit visitors at 7 am andthey are requested to arrive accordingly.

"It is necessary to have both disses ofanti-corona vaccine, visitors are request-ed to bring the vaccine certificate," it tweet-ed.

The force has strictly said that childrenbelow 15 years of age are not allowed inthe function.

Since parking is limited, visitors havebeen advised to use carpool or taxi. Theare also requested to carry a valid ID cardand co-operate in the security check, itsaid.

"There will be provision for deposit-ing remote controlled car lock keys in eachparking area," the Delhi Police tweeted.

On Sunday, the Delhi PoliceCommissioner Rakesh Asthana said thatover 27,000 police personnel have beendeployed for security duties in the nation-al capital and anti-terror measures inten-sified.

These personnel include deputy com-missioners of police, assistant commis-

sioners of police and inspectors, sub-inspectors. Armed Police Force personneland commandos, officers and jawans ofCentral Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)have also been deployed, he said.

Briefing the media about the RepublicDay security arrangements, Asthana onSunday said a total of 27,723 Delhi Policepersonnel including 71 DCPs, 213 ACPsand 753 inspectors have been deployed inthe capital for the Republic Day parade.They are being assisted by 65 companiesof CAPFs.

He mentioned that the anti-terrormeasures taken includes blockades (nakkabandi) at various places, checking of vehi-cles, hotels, lodges and dharamshalas andvarious verification drives like that of ten-ants, servants, labourers. So, in the last two

months, the anti-terror measures havebeen intensified intensively.

Counter Drone technology is beingused for air space security. The security inand around the area where the RepublicDay celebrations will take place has alsobeen secured with the help of DelhiPolice along with other agencies, he said.

Along with creating awareness,Asthana said that through social media,they also put out facts and important infor-mation so that no anti-social elements runa misinformation campaign, Asthanaasserted.

About traffic arrangements, he said anadvisory had already been issued statingspecific restrictions on routes so that noinconvenience is caused to the generalpublic.

��#�� .1 2.3#/

The Delhi Commission forWomen (DCW) on Monday

sent a notice to city police seekingimmediate arrest of grandson of a70-year-old woman who was beingallegedly tortured by him for herproperty. Police said that FirstInformation Report (FIR) has beenregistered in the matter.

According to a DCW official,the 70-year-old woman hadapproached the Commissionthrough DCW's 181 womenhelpline on 20 January after whichtheir team visited her that day andhelped her in filing an FIR in thematter.

“The woman who resides inEast Vinod Nagar in Delhiinformed DCW that she was fac-ing constant harassment and tor-ture from her grandson who is afterher property. She further stated thatin spite of her refusal, her grand-son brought a dog six months backto her home and despite severalrequests, refused to remove it fromher property,” said the DCW offi-cial.

Expressing fear for her life, sheinformed the Commission that

on January 13, her grandson insti-gated the dog to viciously attackher. The team met her and saw thatshe had serious wounds all over herhands.

DCW team immediately tookher to Kalyanpuri police stationwhere an FIR under section 289(Negligent conduct with respect toanimal) of Indian Penal Code wasfiled in the matter.

“It is matter of property dis-pute. An FIR has been registeredin the matter and an investigationis going on,” said a senior policeofficial.

Seeing the seriousness of thematter, the Commission has askedthe police to give details of stepsbeing taken for ensuring the safe-ty of the lady as well as to providea detailed action taken report in thematter byJanuary 31.

DCW Chairperson SwatiMaliwal while expressing outrageover the incident stated, " Stringentaction must be taken in the mat-ter against the grandson and otherculprits. Police must also ensure thelady's safety. I have sought adetailed report from Delhi Police."

Gurugram: To tighten thenoose on offenders who areindulging in developing illegalcolonies in several parts ofGurugram, the District Townand Country Planning (DTCP)department have recommend-ed 7 FIR against such 31offenders at Farrukhnagar andBhondsi police station.

The officials said thedepartment has served noticesin connection with developingillegal colonies to them andeven the department has alsoconducted demolition drives insuch areas.

"We used to organiseawareness campaigns fromtime to time so that the inno-cent people could not investtheir hard-earned money insuch illegal colonies. Theseoffenders are involved in pub-lic at large. We have recom-mended FIR against them at

two police stations ofGurugram," DTP R.S. Bhathsaid.

According to data sharedby the department, theseoffenders were involved todevelop illegal colonies inFarrukhnagar, Ghamroj andBhondsi.

The officials assume thatthey used to develop coloniesbetween 1.6 acres to 6 acres ofland. All colonies were at ini-tial stages and demarcation ofplots by way of DPCs, bound-ary walls was being done. SR

./�� 0 � ��1�-��+��

�� +��!��!��."

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday framedcharges under sedition against JNU studentSharjeel Imam and denied him bail in a caserelated to alleged inflammatory speechesmade by him during the protests against theCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA) andNational Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019.

“Accused is directed to be charged for theoffences under sections 124A (sedition), 153A(promoting enmity on grounds of religion),153B (assertions prejudicial to national inte-gration), 505 (statements conducing to publicmischief), of Indian Penal Code and section13 (punishment for unlawful activities) ofUAPA. Vide separate order, the application filedby Sharjeel Imam for grant of regular bail is dis-missed,” Additional Sessions Judge AmitabhRawat ordered.

As per the prosecution, Imam had alleged-ly made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia onDecember 13, 2019, and at Aligarh MuslimUniversity on December 16, 2019, where hethreatened to cut off Assam and the rest of theNortheast from India. Imam, whileseeking bail, said that his speeches do not fallwithin the meaning of Sedition. “Where is thecall of violence? How does Sedition come intoplay? The context is to block the roads. Howis this seditious? He called for a greater feder-

al structure. That was the intent,” his lawyer hadargued before the court.

Whereas, the prosecution claimed that hisspeeches incited hatred, contempt, and disaf-fection towards the Central Government andinstigated the people which led to the violencein December 2019.

“In the garb of CAA, he (Imam) exhortedpeople of a particular community to blockhighways leading to major cities and resort to'chakka jaam'. Also, in the name of opposingCAA, he openly threatened to cut off Assamand other Northeastern states from the rest ofthe country,” the Delhi Police's charge sheetstated.

Imam is in judicial custody since January2020. He is also one of the accused in the Delhiriots conspiracy case. In his defense,Imam had earlier told the court that he is nota terrorist and his prosecution is a “whip of amonarch rather than a government establishedby law”. Whereas, the prosecution claimed thatviolent riots took place pursuant to Imam'sspeech. Delhi Police had filed a charge sheetagainst Imam in the case, in which it allegedthat he allegedly gave speeches inciting hatred,contempt, and disaffection towards the CentralGovernment and instigated the people whichled to the violence in December 2019. PTI

��#�� .1 2.3#/

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)supremo Arvind Kejriwal

on Monday launched a cam-paign for poll-bound States,appealing Delhiites to uploadvideos of the DelhiGovernment's 'good work' onsocial media platforms.

Launching the ‘Ek MaukaKejriwal Ko’ (one chance toKejriwal) campaign, the AAPNational Convenor said theparty volunteers to ensure max-imum visibility of videos andmake them viral on differentsocial media platforms.

Kejriwal added that theAAP Government in Delhihas done a number of goodworks such as providing freeelectricity and water. TheMinister urged city people toshare videos with theiracquaintances in Punjab, UttarPradesh, Goa and Uttarakhandso that locals of these poll-bound states will learn aboutAAP and give them a chance.

Addressing Delhi people,the AAP minister said he has

worked with relentless honestythroughout his life and do nothave crores to spend on elec-tions. “My most valuable assetis the support of the people ofDelhi; if they decide to giveAAP some time, then no onecan stop us from rising topower. We could transformDelhi because the publicshowed faith in us and gave usa chance to form the govern-ment,” he said mentioning howruling AAP Government inDelhi changed their policies oneducation and health favoringcommon man.

“We will only be able toreplicate the Delhi Model allover India if people in otherstates too trust and support uslike Delhiites. Under the cam-paign, the residents of Delhican make videos highlightingthe fantastic work done by theKejriwal Government and howit has helped them. I will per-sonally meet 50 Delhiiteswhose videos get the mostviral and invite them for din-ner,” he added.

“I want to make a humble

appeal to the people of Delhi.For the last seven years, theAAP Government of Delhi hasdone tremendous work acrossthe State. We have become aglobally appreciated govern-ment. UN teams came to seethe Mohalla Clinics, the FirstLady of the US came to see ourschools.

The residents of Delhi getfree electricity supply 24x7.All of this was possible becauseof the support of the Delhiites.It was possible because the peo-ple showed faith in our ideasand gave us a chance to servethem. After seeing our 49 dayslong Government in 2013, thepeople elected us with thump-ing majorities in 2015 and2020. We are being elected to

power continuously becausethe Delhiites are not justpleased with our work but inawe of it too. Be it schools, hos-pitals, electricity, water, roads,we completely changed howpeople perceived these ser-vices to be. We fulfilled everypromise we made,” he added.

Demanding supports fromDelhiites for active participa-tion in digital campaign aheadelections in five states, Kejriwalsaid, “ Make a video like thisand share it on social mediasites like Twitter, Facebook,Instagram, Whatsapp, andwhatever other avenue yousee. AAP is currently contest-ing elections in Punjab,Uttarakhand, Goa, and UttarPradesh. If you have any con-tacts in these states, you shouldshare your video on WhatsAppand encourage your acquain-tances to vote for the AamAadmi Party in their respectivestates. Tell the people there thatif they, like you, give ArvindKejriwal a chance, their liveswould also change for the bet-ter.”

��#�� .1 2.3#/

Delhi Government onMonday convened a vir-

tual round-table consultation todeliberate on the various con-tours of Aggregator Scheme2021 The round-table consul-tation was attended by over 100participants from on-demandservice mobility operators, fleetaggregators, OriginalEquipment Manufacturers(OEMs), last-mile deliveryoperators, civil society organ-isations and experts in a virtu-al meeting.

��#�� .1 2.3#/

Delhi on Monday registered 5,760 daily cases of Covid-19 and the tests positivity rate recorded at 11.79 per-

cent. According to the State health bulletin, 37.7 percentdip in daily cases of coronavirus recorded from Sunday’scases 9,197.

As per Government data, a total of 14,386 patientsrecovered from the virus in the last 24 hours while 30 peo-ple succumbed to the infection. On Sunday, the positiv-ity rate declined to 13.32 from 16.36 percent on Saturday,45 deaths were also reported, the highest since June 5th.

On January 13, Delhi had reported 28,867 Covid-19cases, the sharpest single-day spike since the beginningof the pandemic. With the addition of new cases onMonday, the active Covid-19 cases in Delhi stands at39,380. Of these, 36,838 patients are in home isolation.A total of 2,290 Covid 19 positive patients are admittedin hospitals, of which 808 are on oxygen support, includ-ing 160 patients who are on ventilators, the data showed.

#��71��8�)��8�9��

2�� 3�!�� 8�#��

'��+�� &$ �� $�+�� -��+� �� $$�� & ��2��

!� ��)��*��4�� )�)��)� ��

2�1 �� 0�� C��

�� !�"#�$%&'()�*��!+�,�-.#�#

��

2��, �� ;/!�� DE ��

New Delhi: At least 20 cases ofdengue have been reported inthe national capital in the firstthree weeks of January this year,according to a civic reportreleased on Monday.

For the January 1-22 peri-od, no cases were recorded in thepreceding three years, whilethree cases was logged in 2017and five in 2018, as per thereport. Cases of vector-bornediseases are usually reportedbetween July and November, butthe period may stretch till mid-December.

Last year, 9,613 dengue

cases, the highest number ofcases of the vector-borne diseaserecorded in the national Capitalin a year since 2015, and 23deaths were reported.

As per the civic report onvector-borne diseases releasedon Monday, a total of 20 denguecases have been recorded thisyear till January 22, with fivefresh cases added in the past oneweek. In the years prior to2021, the total dengue casesreported were -- 4431 (2016),4726 (2017), 2798 (2018), 2036(2019) and 1072 (2020), as perthe report. PTI

'�� $�� $��3��$��4��56�� +� �$�� -��!(7�� & ��2��

RAIPUR | TUESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2022 chhattisgarh 03

// ß¸U-¬˝ÊÄÿÊ⁄U◊¥≈U ÁŸÁflŒÊ ‚ÍøŸÊ //∞∑§Ë∑Î§Ã ¬¥¡ËÿŸ ¬˝áÊÊ‹Ë •¥Ãª¸Ã ¬¥¡Ë∑Î§Ã ‚ˇÊ◊ ΔU∑§ŒÊ⁄UÊ¥ ‚ ÁŸêãÊÊ¥Á∑§Ã ∑§Êÿ¸ „UÃÈ ¬˝¬òÊ“∞” ◊¥ ÁŸÁflŒÊ •Ê◊¥ÁòÊÃ ∑§Ë ¡ÊÃË „ÒU – ∑§Êÿ¸ ∑§Ê ŸÊ◊ —- ¡‹ ¡ËflŸ Á◊‡ÊŸ •¥Ãª¸Ã ÁflÁ÷ããÊ ª˝Ê◊Ê¥ ◊¥ ⁄‘U≈˛UÊÁ»§Á≈¥Uª /Á‚¥ª‹Áfl‹¡ S∑§Ë◊ ¡‹¬˝ŒÊÿ ÿÊ¡ŸÊ•Ê¥ ∑§Ê ∑§Êÿ¸ –

ŸÊ≈U—-©U¬⁄UÊQ§ ∑§ÊÿÊ¸ ∑§Ë ÁŸÁflŒÊ ∑§Ë ‚Ê◊Êãÿ ‡ÊÃ¸, äÊ⁄UÊ„U⁄U ⁄UÊÁ‡Ê, ÁflSàÊÎÃ ÁŸÁflŒÊ ÁflôÊÁ#,ÁŸÁflŒÊ ŒSÃÊfl¡ fl •ãÿ ¡ÊŸ∑§Ê⁄UË ß¸U-¬˝ÊÄÿÊ⁄U◊¥≈U fl’¬Ê≈¸U‹https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in ÁŒŸÊ¥∑§ w|/Æv/wÆww ‚ ŒπË ¡Ê ‚∑§ÃË „ÒU ÃÕÊÁ’«U ‚’Á◊‡ÊŸ ∑§Ë •¥ÁÃ◊ ÁŒŸÊ¥∑§ Æ}.Æw.wÆww „ÒU –

ÁŸ.‚Í.∑˝§./ÁŒŸÊ¥∑§ Á‚S≈U◊ ∑˝¥§. ª˝Ê◊/Áfl∑§Ê‚πá«U ∑§Ê ŸÊ◊ •ŸÈ◊ÊÁŸÃ ‹ÊªÃ(M§. ‹Êπ ◊¥)

213/19.01.2022 89310 ‚È¬’«∏Ê ⁄‘U≈˛UÊ./ Œfl÷Êª 54.14 214/19.01.2022 89309 ¡ÒÃ¬È⁄UË /ªÁ⁄UÿÊ’¥Œ 45.62215/19.01.2022 89307 ⁄UÊÿ•Ê◊Ê / ªÁ⁄UÿÊ’¥Œ 44.22 216/19.01.2022 89308 ªÊ«∏ÊÉÊÊ≈U/ªÁ⁄UÿÊ’¥Œ 122.75 217/19.01.2022 91046 ◊Ê„È‹∑§Ê≈U/Œfl÷Êª 108.71218/19.01.2022 91069 ÉÊÈ◊⁄UªÈ«∏Ê/Œfl÷Êª 91.31 219/19.01.2022 91070 ŸflÊªÊ¥fl / Œfl÷Êª 102.84 220/19.01.2022 91074 Á‚Ã‹Ë¡Ê⁄U/Œfl÷Êª 115.91 221/19.01.2022 91077 «UÊ„U‹/ Œfl÷Êª 90.85 222/19.01.2022 91079 Œfl÷Êª ⁄‘U≈˛UÊ./Œfl÷Êª 271.00

∑§ÊÿÊ¸‹ÿ ∑§Êÿ¸¬Ê‹Ÿ •Á÷ÿ¥ÃÊ,‹Ê∑§ SflÊSâÿ ÿÊ¥ÁòÊ∑§Ë πá«U, ªÁ⁄UÿÊ’¥Œ ¿UààÊË‚ª…∏U

[email protected]

∑§Êÿ¸¬Ê‹Ÿ •Á÷ÿ¥ÃÊ‹Ê∑§ SflÊSâÿ ÿÊ¥ÁòÊ∑§Ë πá«U,

ªÁ⁄UÿÊ’¥Œ(¿U.ª.)G- 67088/6

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Recruitment into Naxaliteranks is now negligible in

Odisha while it has taken ahuge fall in Chhattisgarh, theBorder Security Force (BSF)said on Monday.

R.S. Bhatti, theAdditional Director Generalof the BSF (SpecialOperations), said there hasbeen a drastic reduction inthe recruitment of local peo-ple by Naxalite groups in boththe states.

The BSF has in the lastmore than a decade sacrificed38 officers and troopers andarrested 1,650 Maoists, killed18 and forced 891 to surren-

der, he said. Along with this, the BSF

has seized 1,473 weapons, 958IDs and 3,176 kg of gunpow-der. In 2021, 15 weapons and54 IEDs were seized by theBSF and 14 Maoists surren-dered or were arrested, hesaid.

The BSF deployed inChhattisgarh and Odisha isplaying an important role inensuring security and indeveloping the area, Bhattitold the media at theCommand Headquarters(Special Operations) at NavaRaipur.

He announced that onRepublic Day, a BoatAmbulance Services will belaunched in ‘Swabhiman

Anchal’ of Malkangiri districtof Odisha. It would benefit30,000 villagers of 151 vil-lages. This is to ensure thequickest medical relief to thevillagers.

He said a tribal youthexchange programme is beingorganized, where tribal boysand girls visit various histori-cal and cultural places of thecountry.

On the Rowghat Miningand Rail Project, he said workon the 60-km railway linefrom Dalli Rajhara toAntagarh has been complet-ed. Work on the remaining 35km line is going on in fullswing for which security hasbeen provided by the BSF.

Maoist recruitment negligible inOdisha, tumbles in C'garh: BSF nRAIPUR

On the occasion of thediamond jubilee of

independence, the PradeshCongress Committee(PCC) in Chhattisgarh isgoing to publish a maga-zine ‘The Barrister’, basedon the life of legendaryfreedom fighter MahatmaGandhi.

The PCC has formed acommittee for this pur-pose. The Chairman of theparty's CommunicationWing, Sushil AnandShukla, is its convener.

Other members of thepublication committeeinclude Chief EditorSandeep Dubey andEditorial Board membersDeva Devangan, SurendraVerma, Jayvardhan Bissaand Kamal Nayan Patel.

The magazine willinclude the legal experi-ences and its impact onpublic life of the Mahatma.The PCC has urgedCongressmen to send arti-cles for the magazine.

PCC to publish ‘TheBarrister’ on Gandhiji


There is a desperate needto promote the use of

electric vehicles inChhattisgarh due to theproblem of air pollution,Transport MinisterMohammad Akbar said onMonday.

“The Chhattisgarh gov-ernment is committed toprovide every possible sup-port to the mission of pro-moting electric vehicles andsolar energy in the state," hesaid.

The Minister wasaddressing officials regard-ing the formulation of theChhattisgarh State ElectricPolicy held under the aegis ofthe Transport Departmenthere.

Akbar said that as perthe vision of Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel, they aredetermined to make

Chhattisgarh an 'ElectricVehicle Hub' and a pollu-tion-free state.

Keeping in view thedemand for sustainable ener-gy and the need to reduce airpollution, the use of solarenergy was being reflectedupon as the main option.

Most vehicles inChhattisgarh run on petroland diesel. To meet this hugedemand of fuel, "we dependon other countries and theincreasing fuel prices affect

the entire economy. "Under these circum-

stances, electric vehicles haveemerged as a good alterna-tive. For this, every possibleinitiative is being taken to

promote the use and circula-tion of electric vehicle inChhattisgarh," he said.

Regarding the formula-tion of the Chhattisgarh StateElectric Vehicle Policy, theMinister said it was also nec-essary to build electric vehi-cle parks and charging sta-tions for systematic runningand charging of electric vehi-cles in the state.

Some urban bodies andcompanies have set up theirown charging stations andthere was a need to set upmore such stations.

Solar energy is the bestoption for Chhattisgarhbecause of the state's geo-graphical location, he said.

He said the Chhattisgarhgovernment was providingvarious facilities to encour-age the use of electric vehi-cles.


Panchayat and RuralDevelopment Minister

T.S. Singh Deo on Mondaysaid Chhattisgarh had madequality roads under thePradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) and all theworks were termed satisfac-tory by a survey agency.

Singh Deo said this in astatement after a reviewmeeting held virtually underthe chairmanship of UnionMinister for Panchayati Rajand Rural DevelopmentGiriraj Singh.

Keeping in view the satis-factory work executed, theChhattisgarh Minister

demanded from the UnionMinister approval for con-struction of an additional2,000 km of roads under thePMGSY.

Singh Deo also demand-ed funds to maintain the roadunder a 60:40 ratio of Centre’sand state’s share.

Singh Deo said a total8,547 roads of 42,000 kmhave been approved by theCentre in first, second andthird phase.

He said 5,612 km of roadswere allotted to Chhattisgarh.The construction would getover by March 2022, he said.

C’garh to promote electric vehicles: Minister

C’garh making quality roads,seeks money: Singh Deo

STAFF REPORTER nNARAYANPUR

ANaxalite was killed in agun battle with security

forces in Chhattisgarh’sNarayanpur district onMonday, a police official said.

The fighting took place ataround 1.30 am near a bridgein a forest patch, locatedaround six km from theBharanda police station.

“The gunfight took placewhen a team of the DistrictReserve Guard (DRG) wason a search operation,”Narayanpur Superintendent

of Police Girija ShankarJaiswal said.

“After the exchange offire stopped, the body of aNaxalite and a muzzle load-ing gun were recovered fromthe spot,” the official said.

A huge cache of Maoistrelated items was also foundat the site. Jaiswal said thedead rebel was yet to be iden-tified.

With this action, sixNaxalites have been killed infour encounters between theMaoists and security forcesin Bastar region in the lastone week.

Naxal killed in gunbattle with police STAFF REPORTER n

RAIPUR

The BJP on Mondaydemanded the resignation

of Chhattisgarh UrbanAdministration andDevelopment Minister DrShiv Kumar Dahariya over analleged slapping incidentwhich the latter insisted neverhappened at the first place.

The incident took place invillage Rewa (Arang) wherevillagers who demanded waterbefore Urban Administrationand Development Minister DrShiv Kumar Dahariya gotslapped, BJP spokespersonSanjay Shrivastava said.

BJP demands resignation,Minister denies incident

�� !��

#� �� .1 2.3#/

The Supreme Court onMonday said it would hear

on Tuesday a petition whichhas sought quashing of theCentre’s decision by which5,789 entities lost their ForeignContribution Regulation Act(FCRA) registration.

The FCRA registration ismandatory for any associationand NGO to receive foreignfunding. The plea, filed byUS-based NGO ‘Global PeaceInitiative’, came up for hearingbefore a bench comprisingJustices A M Khanwilkar andC T Ravikumar.

The bench said the matterwould be heard on Tuesday.

There were 22,762 FCRA-registered organisations tillDecember 31, 2021.

On January 1, the numbercame down to 16,829. Theseare considered “live” organisa-tions. The officials had said theFCRA licences of 18,778 organ-isations were expiring betweenSeptember 29, 2020 andDecember 31, 2021.

Out of them, as many as12,989 organisations haveapplied for renewal of theFCRA licence betweenSeptember 30, 2020 andDecember 31, 2021.

Since 5,789 organisationsdid not apply for the renewal ofthe FCRA licence, they weredeemed to have ceased to beregistered organisations, anofficial had said. In addition tothem, renewal application of179 organisations were alsorejected by the Home Ministrydue to different reasons.

# ��;��' ��.1 2.3#/

Two Hindu organisations“Hindu Sena” and “Hindu

Front for Justice” have movedthe Supreme Court seeking tointervene as parties in a pend-ing plea in which notices havebeen issued to the Centre andothers on allegations of hatespeeches made against Muslimcommunities at Haridwar andNew Delhi. The bench, head-ed by Chief Justice N VRamana, on January 12, hadsought responses from theCentre, Utttarakhand and DelhiPolice on the PIL filed by jour-nalist Qurban Ali and formerPatna High Court judge andsenior advocate Anjana Prakashseeking direction to ensureinvestigation and action againstthose who allegedly made hatespeeches during the two eventsheld recently in Haridwar andthe national Capital.

One intervention applica-tion filed by Vishnu Gupta,National President of NGO

‘Hindu Sena', through lawyerBarun Kumar Sinha, hassought directions to the StateGovernments to register FIRsagainst AIMIM leaderAsaduddin Owaisi and othersincluding Tauqeer Raza, SajidRashidi, Amanatullah Khan,Waris Pathan for allegedlymaking hate speeches againstHindu community and its Godand Goddesses.

“The applicants hereinthrough the present applicationare praying to this court todirect an SIT to investigate thehate speeches given againstthe members of the Hinducommunity, their gods andgoddesses,” Gupta said in theplea.

��:�� ;#%��:��

-�� $��8-�'��

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

-��"�.��/��!�� %�� #(��"�� 0�1��!��!�� 0 +�� &�&��2�#�&�!��'�(��

� �� "�!%��

# ��;��' ��.1 2.3#/

From the early pandemicdays, sudden loss of smell,

or an impaired or distorted per-ception of odours, emerged asan unusual symptom of Covid.While some people recovered,for some the sense of smellnever quite returned to normal.Now a preliminary study hassaid that about 50 per cent ofpeople infected with Covid-19during the first wave of infec-tions in 2020 may have long-term and even permanentchanges to their sense of smell.

Scientists at the KarolinskaInstitute in Stockholm foundthis after they ran comprehen-sive tests on 100 individualswho caught Covid in the firstwave of infections in 2020. Thefindings of the yet-to-be peer-reviewed study showed that 18months after recovering fromCovid 4 percent people losttheir sense of smell entirely.

However, a third had areduced ability to detectodours, and nearly half com-plained of parosmia — wherethe sense of smell is distorted.The team concluded that 65 percent of those who recovered

from Covid displayed either aloss of smell, a reduced sense ofsmell, or distortions to thesense 18 months after the infec-tion, compared with 20 percent of those who had notcaught the virus, the reportsaid.

"Given the amount of timesince [the] initial insult to theolfactory system, it is likely thatthese olfactory problems arepermanent," they wrote.According to the UK HealthSecurity Agency, a loss of smellor taste is less than half as com-mon with Omicron than the

Delta variant.But there is no reliable

data demonstrating thatOmicron is less dangerous tothe olfactory system, JohanLundstrom, who led theresearch at the KarolinskaInstitute, was quoted as sayingin the media reports.

A severe loss of smell couldalso lead to depression and topeople changing their diets,often for the worse, causingthem to put on weight,Lundstrom said.

"When you cannot smell,all you can sense is the five

basic taste qualities, tactile sen-sations and spices," he said."Unconsciously, people startto add more sugar and fat, orhave an increased urge forfried food for the texture, all toget some enjoyment out ofeating."

Lundstrom stated that peo-ple can get help by doing olfac-tory training. "They might notregain 100 per cent of past per-formance, but most of themwill, with training, get back toa point where their reducedsense of smell will not affecttheir lives," he said.

#�� .1 2.3#/

The Election Commission ofIndia (EC) will observe the

12th National Voters' Day(NVD) on January 25 with thetheme 'Making ElectionsInclusive, Accessible, andParticipative’. The topic of thisyear's NVD, 'Making ElectionsInclusive, Accessible, andParticipative,' envisions anemphasis on EC's commit-ment to facilitating active voterparticipation during electionsand making the whole processhassle-free and memorable forall types of voters.

M Venkaiah Naidu, VicePresident of India, has agreedto be the Chief Guest at thenational occasion. However,because he will be unable toattend the celebration in per-son, his message will be givendigitally at the event. KirenRijiju, Union Minister for Lawand Justice, will be present atthe event as the Guest ofHonour. To mark the occasion,National Awards for the BestElectoral Practises for the year2021-22 will be conferred onState and District level officers

for their outstanding perfor-mance in the conduct of elec-tions in different spheres suchas IT initiatives, SecurityManagement, ElectionManagement, AccessibleElections and contribution inthe field of voter awareness andoutreach.

National Awards will alsobe given to important stake-holders like governmentdepartments, EC icons andmedia groups for their valuablecontribution towards voters’awareness. During the function,the newly enrolled voters wouldalso be felicitated and handedover their Elector Photo IdentityCard (EPIC). The Commissionhas recently launched a new ini-tiative to deliver the EPIC tonewly enrolled voters, alongwith a personalised letter and aVoter Guidebook.

An EC Publication ‘Leap ofFaith: Journey of IndianElections’ will be released. Thebook narrates India's electoralhistory and the growth of rep-resentative and electoral prin-ciples in India as it evolvedfrom the nineteenth to twentyfirst century.

#�� .1 2.3#/

While allowing the politi-cal parties to use video

vans for campaigning in poll-bound States, the ElectionCommission has made it clearthat the vehicle cannot stop atany viewing point for morethan 30 minutes.

It had cautioned that thevideo van events should notcause inconvenience to thepeople and should not be ahindrance to smooth flow oftraffic.

After allowing use of videovans on Saturday, theCommission had issuedinstructions to its chief elec-toral officers on use of suchvehicles for campaigning byparties. ‘The video van of thepolitical party should be usedto propagate its programmeand policies to seek votes.Votes or support for any par-ticular candidate should not besolicited,” the EC letter to theChief Electoral Officers read.

However, if the video vanis used for seeking votes orsupport for a candidate thenthe expenditure of the videovan should be accounted forby such candidate appropri-ately.

"Expenditure observers toclosely monitor this," the let-ter underlined.The vans canonly be operated between 8 amand 8 pm and these vehiclescannot be used for rallies androadshows.The parties arebarred from displaying theircampaigning material throughthese vehicles in market areasor crowded places.

It will be the responsibil-ity of the political party toensure that the maximumstoppage for viewing of thevehicle at any location is notmore than 30 minutes, it said.

While extending the banon physical election rallies tillJanuary 31 to curb the spreadof Covid, the EC had onSaturday allowed video vansfor publicity with usual Covidrestrictions at designated openspaces with a maximum of 500viewers.

After allowing use of videovans on Saturday, theCommission had issuedinstructions to its chief elec-toral officers on use of suchvehicles for campaigning byparties.

Assembly polls are sched-uled to be held in Punjab,Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Goaand Uttarakhand.

5-�� $ ��7� �� +'�� 8��9�!��

#�� .1 2.3#/

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has car-

ried out search operations onat the business premises, banklockers of Atlas Jewellery IndiaLimited (AJIL) underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) atthree places in Mumbai,Bengaluru and New Delhi andmade a total seizure of Rs26.59 crore in the form offixed deposit, Indian currency,gold, silver and diamond jew-ellery.

The ED had initiated amoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of an FIR. reg-istered by the Kerala Police,Thrissur East Police Station,Thrissur against Atlas Jewellery,MM Ramachandran and IndiraRamachandran under variousSections of the Indian PenalCode (IPC) for cheating SouthIndian Bank, Round South

Branch, Thrissur, Kerala, theED said in a statement.

With an intention to cheat,these accused planned andpresented forged documents tothe bank and availed loanworth Rs 242.40 crore duringthe period March 21, 2013 toSeptember 26, 2018 and havenot repaid the money.

"Investigation revealed thatMM Ramachandran hadinvested Rs 100 crore by way ofpurchase of equity shares ofAtlas Jewellery India Limited(AJIL), New Delhi and trans-ferred another Rs 14 crore inthe Escrow Account with AxisBank, New Delhi," it added.

#�� .1 2.3#/

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has

attached assets worth Rs 69.14crore of Dhanraj Kochar, TamilNadu-based businessman andhis family members underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) in acheating case.

The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of an FIR reg-istered by City Crime Branch(CCB), Tamil Nadu Policeagainst Dhanraj Kochar, hisfamily members and associatesunder various sections of theIndian Penal Code (IPC) forcheating and criminal con-spiracy of more than Rs 100crore.

The ED had conducted asearch operation on September

29 last year at the residentialand business premises andbank lockers of Kochar and hisfamily members and seizedIndian currency and jewellerybesides various incriminatingdocuments.

Investigation by EDrevealed that one MS Hameedand Kochar along with oneAbdul Rawoof were the direc-tors of a company –DRFoundations & Estates PrivateLimited, which was into realestate business. During 2005-06, the properties in Siruserivillage under the jurisdiction ofThiruporur Sub RegistrarOffice, bifurcated in 20 prop-erty documents, were pur-chased out of funds invested byHameed and his family mem-bers along with his businessentity Paramount Builders, DRFoundations and Real Estates

Pvt. Ltd. the ED said in a state-ment.

These properties were clan-destinely transferred to thenames of Kochar and his fam-ily members and some prop-erties were directly purchasedin their names from the fundsinvested by Hameed in thecompany.

“Some of the propertieshave also been sold in theinterregnum. In order to pre-vent further sale of the saidproperties, which are proceedsof crime and to prevent frus-tration of further proceedingsunder PMLA, 2002, immov-able properties and movableassets (in the form of FDs andjewellery ) to the tune of Rs69.14 crore of Dhanraj Kocharand his family members hasbeen provisionally attached,” itadded.

# ��;��' ��.1 2.3#/

President Ram Nath Kovindand Prime Minister

Narendra Modi were amongthe prominent personalitieswho spoke with Vice PresidentM Venkaiah Naidu on Monday,who has tested positive forcoronavirus, and enquiredabout his health.

According to officials inthe Vice President Secretariat,Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla,Defence Minister RajnathSingh, Home Minister AmitShah, several Cabinet minis-ters, chief ministers and lead-ers of various political partiesalso spoke to Naidu, who is inhome isolation in Hyderabad.Naidu had tested positive forthe virus on Sunday. This is forthe second time the vice pres-ident, who is also Chairman ofRajya Sabha, has been infectedwith the virus.

"Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu, who is inHyderabad, tested COVID pos-itive today. He has decided toremain in self-isolation for aweek. He has advised all thosewho came in contact with himto isolate themselves and gettested," the Vice President

Secretariat tweeted. It seemsunlikely that he will participatein Republic Day celebrations onWednesday.

Meanwhile results of 875people, who were tested forCovid in Parliament, havereturned positive, sources saiddays before the start of itsBudget Session. The data, theysaid, is of tests conducted sincethe beginning of the thirdwave of the pandemic tillJanuary 20. The session isscheduled to start from January31 and its first part will con-clude on February 11.

As many as 2,847 testshave been conducted inParliament since the starting ofthe third wave, and out ofthese results of 875 returnedpositive, the sources said. Outof the total tests, 915 were con-ducted by the Rajya SabhaSecretariat and 271 sampleswere found to be positive forthe infection, they said.According to the sources, thesession will be held followingCovid-related protocols.

In the wake of a spike inCovid cases, a call has to betaken whether Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha will sit simultane-ously or in different shifts,they said.

# ��;��' ��.1 2.3#/

Congress on Mondayreleased its list of 30 star

campaigners for the first-phaseAssembly election in UttarPradesh, naming party presi-dent Sonia Gandhi, formerprime minister ManmohanSingh, former party chief RahulGandhi, new entrant KanhaiyaKumar and some of the G-23leaders.

Former Leader ofOpposition in Rajya SabhaGhulam Nabi Azad, formerHaryana chief ministerBhupinder Singh Hooda andformer Rajya Sabha memberRaj Babbar are among the G-23 leaders named as star cam-paigners. The group of 23Congress leaders had earlierraised questions on the func-tioning of the party and soughtan organisational overhaul.

Former Rajasthan deputychief minister Sachin Pilot,who had revolted against itsown government in the stateled by Ashok Gehlot, also fig-ures among the 30 star cam-paigners. AICC general secre-tary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra andRajasthan chief minister AshokGehlot and Chhattisgarh chiefminister Bhupesh Baghel arealso among the star cam-paigners.

The list includes state partychief Ajay Kumar Lallu,Congress Legislature Partyleader in the assemblyAradhana Misra 'Mona', for-mer union ministers SalmanKhurshid and RPN Singh, andformer Rajya Sabha membersPramod Tiwari and P L Punia.

Party leaders DeepinderSingh Hooda, Supriya Shrinate,Imran Pratapgarhi andKanhaiya Kumar are alsoamong the 30 star campaignersof the Congress. In the first ofthe seven phases, polling will beheld in 58 assembly con-stituencies spread over 11 dis-tricts on February 10.

The districts which aregoing to poll in the first phaseare Shamli, Muzaffarnagar,Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad,Gautam Buddh Nagar, Hapur,Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathuraand Agra. The final-phasepolling will be on March 7 andthe results will be declared onMarch 10.

# ��;��' ��.1 2.3#/

Citing a report that stated theincomes of the rich

increased and that of the poordeclined during the pandemic,the Congress on Mondayalleged the Modi Governmentis for the rich and demandedthat the union budget shouldfocus on bridging the wideningincome divide.

"The entire country suf-fered during the Covid pan-demic, but the poor and themiddle class are also victims ofthe 'economic epidemic' of theModi Government. The cred-it for digging this widening gapbetween the rich and the poorgoes to the central govern-ment," former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi said in a tweet.

He cited a report thatclaimed that incomes of thepoor reduced by 53 per centwhile that of the rich increasedduring Covid times. The reportshowed the widening dispari-ty in annual householdincomes, with the poorest 20per cent of the population wit-nessing 52.6 per cent decline intheir incomes and the lowermiddle class comprising 20per cent facing a decline of 32.4per cent in their income, whilethe richest (20 per cent) saw 39per cent rise in their incomes.

Congress spokespersonSupriya Shrinate said at AICCpress conference that the Modigovernment is only working forthe benefit of the rich and theincomes of 20 per cent poorpopulation have halved and the

income of 60 per cent of thepopulation has reduced to itslowest level during the Modiregime.

"We categorically andassertively insist that the unionbudget must focus on bridgingthis divide.... The union bud-get should only focus onincreasing money in the handsof the poor. The union budgetshould pay attention on howurban poverty is going upmany fold and rural poverty in

comparison has gone up," shesaid. Shrinate also demandedthat the government institute agross economic mismanage-ment index to know how badlymismanaged the Indian econ-omy is.

Congress chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala allegedthat the "Modi government isonly for the rich! It is nowbefore us - 'The poor is poor-er and 'Hum do, hamare do' isreaping silver."

7��7��;�� 87��$��

-�� 9/�� $ ��:� $��

�;7<(=�� +�>� � �� "'

.!��)��"&�<

)/?�-��(�� @�� !��

��%��"��!� ��%��!!� �� 0 +��! �"�* �(�&�� !� ��%��% ��% %�� +��+� � �� 3��%�� % %�� !�� !�� *�!�

��+�� &�� &��

-�� *�� $ ��#� �� .1 2.3#/

The two Houses ofParliament will meet at

separate times of the day forfive hours each — Rajya Sabhain the first half and Lok Sabhain the second half — to ensureCovid distancing norms duringthe Budget Session beginningJanuary 31.

Lok Sabha will meet at 11am on February 1 for the pre-sentation of the Union Budgetand it will meet from 4 pm to9 pm from February 2 toFebruary 11, when the sessionwill go on a recess.

During sittings of theLower House of Parliament,Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabhachambers and their galleries

will be used for seating ofmembers in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic restric-tions, a Lok Sabha bulletinsaid.

While the exact timings ofRajya Sabha are yet to be for-mally notified, sources saidthe Upper House of Parliamentcould meet from 10 am to 3pm.

A final decision on timingis yet to be taken as Rajya SabhaChairman and Vice PresidentM Venkaiah Naidu is infectedwith COVID-19 and has iso-lated himself in Hyderabad.

The budget session willbegin on January 31 with theaddress of President Ram NathKovind to the joint sitting ofboth Houses of Parliament.

#� �� .1 2.3#/

On the occasion of NationalGirl Child Day, Union

Minister Jitendra Singh onMonday interacted with girlswho have excelled in the areasof science, technology andinnovation.

Union Science andTechnology Minister Singhsaid several Governmentschemes are instilling confi-dence among children to thinkinnovatively, look for out-of-the-box solutions for differentproblems and to break thebarriers of the past to under-take unconventional initiatives.

He stressed uponsustainable start-ups withviable livelihood linkage andnew vocational opportunities.

Referring to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sexhortation that "innovation isthe key to realising the dreamof new India," Singh reiterated

all government support andhelp to young achievers andsaid empowerment of girls willlead to a better tomorrow.

During the online interac-tion, Digantika Bose, first-yearB.Sc student from Bengaluru,said that she had developed avirus destroying mask whichwas preventive against the coro-navirus also and the project wasshared with the Department ofScience & Technology. Shesought the minister's help tomarket the mask, to which hepromised her to help undertakean evidence-based trial beforeits marketing.

Manisha Ramola, first-yearB.Sc student from Uttarakhand,has developed an Al-basedsolution designed to providein-depth information on med-icinal leaves and herbs with justa single image.

The minister compliment-ed her for coming up with aninnovation that combined

ancient herbal medicine knowl-edge of the Himalayas with thefuturistic concept of ArtificialIntelligence.

Nishi Goswami fromPanna in Madhya Pradeshdemonstrated to the ministeran Al-based Chatbot that pro-vides consultation services likea doctor and answers health ormedical queries to a user.

The minister brought toher notice that she had devel-oped an AI-based interfacebetween the patient and doctor.The same could be extendedand linked with telemedicine.Vinisha Umashankar fromThiruvannamalai in TamilNadu presented her solar iron-ing cart, while Manya Joshi,Class 12 student from Delhi,initiated a forecasting projectfor natural disasters.Anushka Shrivastava, Class 12student from Bhopal, came upwith an eco-friendly water bot-tle.

."�!).��,��./0��)��)"��.-"#*�"��1��.-��+��#��)�#-��)-�%�"�-�

#� �� .1 2.3#/

Air India has decided tocheck grooming and mea-

sure the body mass index(BMI) of cabin crew membersat the airports just before theirflights, according to an officialorder. The carrier's two unions— Air India Employees' Union(AIEU) and All India CabinCrew Association (AICCA) —on Monday wrote a letter toChairman and ManagingDirector (CMD) Vikram DevDutt opposing the order on thegrounds that it is dehumanis-ing and in violation of rulesprescribed by aviation regula-tor DGCA.

"BMI is a person's weightin kilograms divided by thesquare of height in metres. A

high BMI can indicate highbody fatness," stated the web-site of US' Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention.

The order dated January20, 2022, has come days beforeAir India's hand over to theTata group, which acquiredthe carrier in a competitive bid-ding process last year.

Cabin crew, who are welldressed and well groomedaccording to uniform stan-dards and regulations, presenta positive and professionalimage of the airline, the orderstated.

“It is therefore emphasizedthat, all cabin crew adhere touniform regulations commu-nicated by the circular datedNovember 18, 2019," the ordernoted.

�2,1�"��##�!)0��.3/.��.4�.�"!#�"��)�5!�)�)1%��!6��.4�.��)�+�)�)1�,2��"!��!+�,��#"��-"�!)#

'�� $��!�� +��A��+�� B

�� 4�� !��

�56�7�88��'�9

Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt on Monday said ex-gra-tia compensation for the kin ofCovid-19 victims was a matterof right and they must not bedeprived of it.

A bench of Chief JusticeDipankar Datta and JusticeMS Karnik directed theMaharashtra Government totake instructions on why claimsfor compensation were filedthrough post, or physicallywere being denied or delayed.

It was hearing a PublicInterest Litigation (PIL) filed bya local organisation, PrameyaWelfare Foundation, seekingamong other things, a directionto the State government to notinsist that citizens apply forsuch compensation onlineonly, and give compensation tothose who are applying physi-cally or by post.

The petitioner's counselSumedha Rao told HC many of

those submitting claims wereslum dwellers or poor peoplewho were not adept at filing andannexing documents online.

The BMC counsel told HCthe civic body had, so far,received 34,000 applicationsseeking compensation, ofwhich 16,884 applications hadbeen forwarded to the disastermanagement department forapproval and payment.

The rest had some issuessuch as incomplete addresses,missing information etc, while

those applications that hadcome from areas outside BMCjurisdiction were being for-warded to relevant authorities.

Rao, however, told HC theapplicants were not being givenreasons for rejection of theirapplications nor were theybeing informed of the status oftheir applications.

"These are poor peoplewho find the online system dif-ficult since they have to uploadso many annexures. They haveapplied through post, physi-cally but have got no response,no reasons," Rao said.

The state's counselPoornima Kantharia, however,told HC the government hadalready paid compensation toseveral claimants who hadapplied through its online por-tal, which was created so thatone could make a claim for com-pensation online and the moneycould be transferred directly

into their bank accounts.The HC then asked the

state government why it wasinsisting on online applica-tions, and reminded it that theSupreme Court had recentlydirected all state and Centralauthorities to reach out to thekin of Covid-19 victims andpay ex gratia compensation.

"The spirit of the SC orderis that the state must reach kinof those who died of Covid-19.Why must you be so technicalthat they have to apply onlineonly? The web portal is for thestate government's conve-nience. Getting compensationis their (the kin of victims)right. Why must they bedeprived? Reach out to them,"the HC bench said.

After granting time toKantharia to get instructionsfrom the state, the HC postedthe matter to Thursday forfurther hearing. PTI

�� !��$ �� , �� C ��

'�� $��$ �� $�� -��!(7�� $�� $��$ � ��$�� -��!(7$�� $��

-��B!�� $� �� %��+��1�D-=�) ��0��#��2�� )��

��!��##�� 45�#/

Despite the reservationsexpressed by Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan andformer minister A K Balan thatpersons nominated by theKerala Government were notbeing considered by theGovernment of India for thecountry’s civilian honours, theState is as usual in a Padmafever. The Rashtrapathi Bhavanwould declare the names of thePadma awards (India’s civilianawards) by Tuesday evening,the eve of the Republic Day. Ifthe number of phone callsreceived by media offices andjournalists enquiring whetherthe ‘list’ has been released is anyindication, there is no dearthfor people’s craving, especiallythat of the nouveau riche forthis recognition by the UnionGovernment.

Balan, a CPI(M) leaderreportedly told that since theModi government assumedpower in New Delhi, the civil-ian awards are bestowed ontribals and traditional physi-cians/artisans leaving the intel-lectual class high and dry.Chief minister Vijayan wentone step further andannounced that hisGovernment would honourthe crème de la crème of theKerala society with new awardsto be known as Kerala Sri andMalayala Simham (Simham isthe Malayalam for Lion).

But these announcementshave not dampened the spiritof the honour seekers. Therewere reports of a Malayalibusinessman spending �4.5crore for a Padma honour.Ranjith, the chairman of KeralaState Film developmentCorporation has made a moviein 2010 ‘Pranchiyettan AndThe Saint’ starring mega starMammootty. The protagonist,a Thrissur based businessmanpays �1.5 crore to a wheelerdealer who promises him aPadma Sri so thatPranchiyettan could get hisname anglicised to Padma Sri

Francis. But he gets deceived inthe end.

Bobby Chemmannur, abusinessman from Thrissur, saidin a Television interview thatsome persons had approachedhim promising a Padma honour.“But they wanted �50 lakh tomeet initial expenses and henceI gave up the attempt,” he said.Chemmannur is a favouritecharacter in social media forthose engaged in trolling andspoofs.

Though these awards donot bring any cash or otherbenefits, the crave for thisrecognition is increasing byleaps and bounds. The onlynotable feature of these awardsnamely Padma Vibhushan,Padma Bhushan and Padma Sriis the honours reserved for thewinners. The Padma awardeewould get State honours duringtheir last rites. The Policewould fire a volley of bullets inthe air to mark the end of theawardee’s life journey.

Film actors, musicians,writers, CPI(M)’s intellectualfaces, missionaries, mediabarons, expatriates in WestAsia and USA and formerpoliticians form the list ofhopefuls from Kerala. Thebandwagon from Tamil Nadutoo constitute the same cate-gories. There are persons whohave postponed their Padmaaspirations to 2025 and they areconfident that they would getthe honours during RepublicDay 2025.

�.,5.�7�+��1��)��.�.�.#�.*.�,,./�,�.*#�)�.�

Kohima/Guwahati: TheGovernments of Nagaland andAssam are ready for an out-of-court settlement of the long-pending inter-State boundarydispute between the two north-eastern neighbours, NagalandChief Minister Neiphiu Riosaid here on Monday.

Rio said that Nagaland andAssam delegations are likely tomeet Union Home MinisterAmit Shah in February to dis-cuss and formulate how to goabout the settlement.

The Nagaland Assembly'sselect committee to examine theborder issue held an hour-and-a-half closed-door meeting, aday after Rio, his deputy YPatton and NPF legislature partyleader T R Zeilang met AssamChief Minister Himanta BiswaSarma at Guwahati on Sunday.

"We had gone to Guwahatiand had fruitful discussions onthe border issue with Sarma.Nagaland and Assam had joint-ly taken up the matter withUnion Home Minister Amit

Shah on December 23, 2020."Both the state govern-

ments are in favour of an out-of-court settlement, and maybeour teams will meet Shah in thefirst part of February to discussand formulate how to go aboutit," Rio told reporters here.

The issue of royalty onpetroleum and natural gasalong the Assam-Nagalandborder was also discussed.

"If we resolve the borderdispute and the issue of royal-ty, it will be good for both sidesas we are going to remainneighbours," Rio said.

Asked about the delay ingetting the Central ForensicScience Laboratory (CFSL)report on the killing of 14 civil-ians by security forces in Mondistrict, the chief minister saidthat the Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) has completed theprobe and is awaiting the foren-sic report.

"Without the CFSL report,the findings will be incomplete,and there will be no evidence

or scientific proof to proceedfurther," Rio said.Askedwhether Nagaland will get aforensic laboratory, the chiefminister said that he will takeup the matter with Shah.

On Konyak Union andEastern Nagaland Peoples'Organisation giving a call toboycott Republic Day celebra-tions in protest against thekillings, Rio said that they areasking the government only tohoist the Tricolour in publicoffices.

"They can say whateverthey want in a democracy butthe government will also dowhatever it deems necessary,"he said.On demands for carv-ing out more districts since thecreation of Tseminyu, Nuilandand Chumukedima districtson December 18 last year, Riosaid that the state governmentbelieves in tribal unity and hasdecided not to divide any exist-ing tribal district.

"There are demands fordivision of Mon, Mokokchung,

Zunheboto, Wokha and Phekdistricts. But the fragmentationof tribal districts is not in theinterest of Nagas. I appeal tovarious tribal organisations tounderstand this policy of thegovernment for the welfare ofNagas as a whole," he said.

The inter-state boundarydispute erupted after Nagalandstate was carved out of Assamin 1963. The two states share a512.1-km-long border.

The Nagaland State Act of1962 had defined the state'sborders as per a 1925 notifica-tion when Naga Hills andTuensang Area (NHTA) wereintegrated into a new admin-istrative unit and made anautonomous area.

Nagaland, however, didnot accept the boundary delin-eation and demanded that thenew State should comprise theNaga Hills and all Naga-dom-inated areas in the then NorthCachar and Nagaon districts ofAssam, which were part ofNaga territory. PTI

�! ��!�� ?� %

In the run up to the 73rdRepublic day celebrations

the security forces deployedacross the Union Territory ofJammu and Kashmir will bespending the long wintrynights on their tenterhooks toprevent any major infiltrationbid/terror plot from across theborder.

The foot soldiers guardingthe frontiers along theInternational border withPakistan have been briefed bytheir local commanders not tolower their guard and give abefitting reply to any misad-venture from across the border.

The army jawans deployedalong the line of control are alsomaintaining tight vigil to pre-vent any BAT operation tar-geting Indian patrols.

On its own BSF has inten-sified patrolling along the bor-der and relying on electronicsurveillance to pin down theinfiltrators near the barbed

wire fence.Counter drone tech-nology has been activated toprevent any strike on vitalsecurity installations. Fearingpossible terrorist strikes on'soft targets' the security gridhas already been tightenedacross the twin capital cities ofJammu and Srinagar for the lastcouple of days.Regular friskingand checking of pedestrians,suspected vehicles is going onin the close vicinity of themain venue of the Republic dayfunctions.

Security has been beefedup along the National Highwayafter intelligence reportswarned against possible ter-

rroist strikes on soft targets inthe run up to the Republic daycelebrations.

Inspector General, BSFJammu Frontier DK BooraMonday said, "Keeping in mindthe present security scenario,Intelligence inputs on the eveof Republic Day, BSF Jammuhas been on high alert acrossJammu frontier". Addressingreporters at the frontier head-quarters in Paloura, IG BSFmaintained BSF is carryingout extensive Anti-Tunnelingdrive, Special Patrolling andDepth area domination despiteextremely hostile weather con-ditions. To strengthen the bor-

der domination, mobilizationof troops has been done .Regular monitoring of suspi-cious activities of the counter-part is being carried outthrough surveillance equip-ment.

In Jammu, the jawans ofJ&k police are also on high alertand have set up checking pointsto check movement of suspi-cious persons. Thoroughscreening of visitors were car-ried out across small hotels andguest houses in the walled cityarea and near the venue of theRepublic day parade to trackdown any miscreant.

"The crowded marketplaces, railway and bus stationshave been sanitised with thehelp of sniffer dogs to exposeany terror plot", policespokesman said.

A joint patrolling/exerciseis also being conducted alongwith Army, CRPF and StatePolice to scuttle any nefariousattempts of anti national ele-ments.

>��#��&?@"�)��4��)�� ="%�� <��

<��%0�� 3�� )��*��*��>� /�3��

#�� ?� %

The Union TerritoryAdministration headed by Lt-

Governor Manoj Sinha on Mondayapproved 15 per cent reservation forwomen in non-gazetted police posts.

Announcing the token gestureon his twitter timeline Lt GovernorSinha made it clear “this is just thebeginning”.

"On NationalGirlChildDay,approved 15% reservation forwomen in non-gazetted posts of@JmuKmrPolice. This is just thebeginning. We are determined andcommitted to increase it further infuture,” the Lt Governor said in atweet.

In another tweet, he said hisadministration is committed toensure ‘Nari Shaktis’ social andeconomic empowerment.

“For women and girls to beagents of change, J&K governmentis committed to ensure Nari Shaktis’social and economic empowermentwhile redressing long-standinginequalities to build a more just andresilient society,” Sinha said.

Kolkata: The Calcutta HighCourt on Monday dismissed aPIL seeking direction to theCentre to allow West Bengal'stableau on Netaji SubhasChandra Bose for the RepublicDay parade in New Delhi.

Observing that the petition-er has approached the court ata late stage, a division benchpresided by Chief JusticePrakash Shrivastava said thatno effective direction can beissued now with the RepublicDay celebration to be held onWednesday.The bench, alsocomprising Justice RajarshiBharadwaj, noted variousdefects in the petition, whichwere pointed out by the addi-tional solicitor general.

"Hence, no case for inter-ference in the present writpetition is made out which isaccordingly dismissed," thebench said in its order.

The petitioner, an advocateof the high court, prayed forissuance of a direction to the cen-tral government to permit theWest Bengal tableau of NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose for theensuing Republic Day parade.

The petitioner submittedthis is the year of the 125thbirth anniversary of Netaji andthat the Centre has "wronglyrejected" the state's tableau forthe Republic Day paradethemed on the great patriot andIndian National Army (INA)without assigning any reason.

Appearing for the CentralGovernment, AdditionalSolicitor General Y J Dastoorsubmitted that the petition isnot maintainable citing tech-nical defects in it. He also sub-mitted that "though Netaji wasignored by the earlier govern-ments, the present govern-ment is treating Netaji as icon

and recognising his contribu-tion in hastening the process ofIndependence".

Dastoor said in his sub-mission that January 23, thebirth anniversary of Netaji,has already been declared'Parakram Diwas' and the cen-tral government is celebratingit from January 23 to 30.

"Hologram of Netaji hasbeen put at India Gate whichwill be replaced by statue ofNetaji in August, 2022," he stat-ed before the court.The ASGalso submitted that if the Statewants, the same can be suppliedand the decision to exclude atableau is taken as per the rules.Advocate General S NMookherjee, representing theState, stated that he has noinstruction if the reasons forrejection have been communi-cated to the State Government. PTI

#� �� ,/3 ��0�� <��C� �� &� �� !�2��

E(F �� G�� $�� ?H4,��

CHENNAI: R Nagaswamy, internationallyrenowned archaeologist and epigraphist whowas the longest serving director of thedepartment of archaeology passed away atChennai on Sunday. He was 92 and is survivedby two daughters and two sons. DrNagaswamy had been honoured with PadmaBhushan by the President of India for his pathbreaking research works.

Dr Nagawamy has authored many bookson archaeology and the science of temples. Hewas also an authority on architecture,numismatics, iconography, temple ritualsand also on temple inscriptions. His latestwork “Tamil Nadu-The Land of Vedas” lit-erally silenced the proponents of theDravidian theory who always ridiculed theconcept that Dravidian Land was a separateentity and had no links with India.

Dr Nagaswamy’s research and works werefocussing more on the unity and similaritiesin the culture, tradition and Indian system ofknowledge which would stand the test of time.“The entire intellectual output from him is theresult of his deep rooted studies and researchwhich are unparallel,” said Dr SKalyanaraman, director, Saraswathy ResearchCentre, Chennai.

The ace archaeologist was upset when thegovernment of the State resorted to sand blast-ing technology to renovate the walls and pil-lars in the temples. “These walls and inscrip-tions were royal edicts and orders issued bythe government of the day informing the peo-ple the reason behind the construction of the

temple, who are the donors and the area ofthe landed property owned by the temple. Italso has details like how the income of thetemples should be utilized for the welfare ofthe society,” Dr Nagawamy had told ThePioneer when the State government deployedsand blasting in temples.

The Government of Tamil Nadu hadsought the assistance and guidance of DrNagaswamy to find out the antiquity andancient nature of the idols stolen from tem-ples in the State which were recovered by thespecial investigation team headed by InspectorGeneral Pon Manicka Vel.

Dr Nagaswamy,after undertaking anarduous trip across the length and breadth ofthe sub-continent, established that all villagesin the country had been built on a definite pat-tern with a temple standing in the centre andwell laid our roads cross crossing the land-scape. “The temples represented theParashakthi, the Almighty, and the landscapewas proof of the harmony that existed herefor centuries,” he had said.

'�� Mumbai: Backing MaharashtraChief Minister UddhavThackeray for his comments onHindutva, the NCP on Mondaysaid everyone should be proudof the religion they profess, butit is wrong to spread hatred in itsname and the Shiv Sena presi-dent has given the same message.

In his address to ShivSainiks on Sunday, which wasalso the birth anniversary of hisfather and party founder BalThackeray, the Chief Ministersaid the Sena has left the BJPand not Hindutva.

The CM had also said, “Ibelieve that BJP's opportunis-tic Hindutva is only for power.The Shiv Sena had alignedwith the BJP as it wantedpower for Hindutva. The Senanever used Hindutva for thesake of power."

Reacting to the comments,State minister and NCP's chiefspokesperson Nawab Maliksaid, “Everyone should beproud of their religion, but it isharmful if there is hatredagainst others."

"The Shiv Sena is trying tosay the same thing that onemust be proud of their religion

and propagate it, but it iswrong to spread hatred againstothers. PTI

��, �� ,�� !��!�� % <�/

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) SharadPawar quarantined himself at home on

Monday, after he tested positive for Covid-19.Taking to twitter, 81-year-old Pawar said: “I

have tested Covid positive but there is no causefor concern. I am following the treatment as sug-gested by my doctor. I request all those who havebeen in contact with me in the past few days toget themselves tested and take all necessary pre-cautions”. Interacting with the media separately,NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said that Pawarhad cancelled all his programmes for the nextseven days. “After he tests negative, the cancelledprogrammes will be re-scheduled,” Malik said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Pawarand enquired about the latter’s health. “PrimeMinister Shri Narendra Modi ji called to enquireabout my health. I am thankful for his concernand good wishes,” the NCP chief said.

Later in the evening, Pawar thanked all thosewho wished him and prayed for his speedy recov-ery. “I am in good health and taking all the nec-essary precautions as advised by my doctor.Thank you for your prayers and good wishes fora speedy recovery,” the NCP chief tweeted.

�� :!� �!��

# �� ,��"� �� !�

!��&��!*��!��

*��!� ��% �%� %��

��, �� %�� #��

Mumbai: A day afterMaharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray's commentson Hindutva, senior BJP leaderDevendra Fadnavis on Mondayhit back at former ally ShivSena, saying its Hindutva ismerely on paper and doesn't gobeyond speeches. Fadnavis saidunder the leadership of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, a Ramtemple is being built in Ayodhya.Modi also developed the KashiVishwanath temple corridor, theformer Maharashtra CM saidaddressing a press conference.

On the other hand, theSena (which is in power inMaharashtra) could not evenrename Aurangabad asSambhajinagar, andOsmanabad as Dharashiv. PTI

�� C� #�� 0 �� A ;��

8 ��"��!��!!�� '��!!��!� ��'��+�!� ��+��*��! ��%��! !� �%%� �� %� ��!�&�� /�;8��"*�� 4��(�� <%�!�! ��&+��%��%��=��!�

�� 0�� "

��0��)��%<��$�.�%+I 4 ��

pant blending of Bt cottonseedoil in our foods. Both FSSAIand GEAC were aware aboutit for years; in fact, Dr VandanaShiva and I sent RTIs to bothorganisations and found out,FSSAI and GEAC both treat-ed GMO cottonseed and nat-ural cottonseed to be the same.This was an unscientific posi-tion, conveniently forgettingthe genetic modifications onMonsanto/Bayer’s Bt cotton-seed. On further investigation,I found that biosafety docu-ments submitted to GEACcame from Monsanto labs.No independent biosafety datawas found at GEAC forMonsanto/Bayer’s Bt Cotton.

Currently, those pages aredead links on GEAC’s website.In the draft notification too,FSSAI adhered to similarbiosafety standards and, insome cases, allowed for thedocuments to be submitted bythe applicant and not neces-sarily the regulatory authori-ty-approved dossiers.

Now the next major con-fusion occurs when the noti-fication calls for “(11) OnceGMOs or GeneticallyEngineered Organisms orLiving Modified Organismshaving unique identificationcode provided by BiosafetyClearing House, Organisationfor Economic Cooperation

and Development etc, isapproved by FSSAI, approvalfor the same will not berequired for any other FoodBusiness Operator. Approvalwill also not be required if itis used as an ingredient in anyproduct.”

On plain reading, thispoint appears innocuous. Butthe devil is always in thedetails. Given that EU doesn’tallow for GM food, half of theinfluential countries are out.What does FSSAI mean as itwrote this point? Is it perhapsreferring to the corporate foodhegemony on GM standards?The US, along with manyothers in the Americas, isdeeply entrenched in GMcrops cultivation and freelyallows for GM foods, labelledor unlabelled, to enter markets.

It is no surprise that UScitizens along with their LatinAmerican counterparts sufferfrom food-style related dis-eases. French scientist EricSeralini, using peer reviewscientific journals, demon-strated how GM foods areharmful not only to cows buttheir toxicity including thepesticide/herbicide used togrow third-generations GMOslike RRF Cotton and hamperhuman health as well.

Monsanto/Bayer hasalready lost billions of dollars

to victims of Round-Up poi-soning. Round-Up is apatented herbicide used togrow GM crops, and isknown carcinogenic.

The parliamentary stand-ing committee on GM crops,chaired by RenukaChowdhary, has alreadypulled up FSSAI on GM foodand a court order of August2017 empowers petitioners toapproach the court again incase the FSSAI rules areunsatisfactory.

GM or not GM? It isobvious that the FSSAI noti-fication is doing someoneelse’s bidding — corporates orUncle Sam? Who knows? Butas a concerned citizen, I urgethem to reconsider. Instead ofderegulating GM foods,FSSAI needs to first do housecleaning and take cognisanceof the illegal GM foods thatare being fed to Indians. Wemust aspire to have the mostprogressive GM laws on a parwith EU, and not below them.For, if GM food is not safe forEuropean children to eat,then Indian children oughtnot have it.

(The author writes onagriculture and environment,and is a former Director —Policy & Outreach, NationalSeed Association of India. Theviews expressed are personal.)

��Sir — We have been routinely witness-ing how the rightwing Hindutva brigadehas been belittling, denigrating and tar-nishing the image of Mahatma Gandhiat the fall of a hat through their mani-festations, particularly by praisingNathuram Godse in tune with the ide-ology of their parent organisation. Whilethe nation has been saddened by theirtirade against Mahatma Gandhi, theGovernment for its part has nowdropped the traditional Christian hymn,‘Abide with me’, believed to have been afavourite of the Mahatma, from the listof songs to be played at this year’s BeatingRetreat ceremony. The tune has beenplayed at the annual ceremony every yearsince 1950.

By doing this, the saffron outfits maybe happy that they have hit both, theMahatma and the Christian communi-ty, with their intolerant act but the entireworld that has great reverence andrespect for the Mahatma would haveformed a poor opinion about theGovernment and its unpalatable actagainst the Father of the Nation. At thisrate, one will not be surprised if theGovernment’s next move will be toremove the title “Father of the Nation”from Gandhi’s name and confer it on oneof their own ideologues.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

� �� Sir — In an unfortunate incident, dozensof turtles were found dead in a lake inKalyan, Maharashtra. Wildlife conserva-tionists feel that poisoning is the cause,probably by people who found that thesecreatures were consuming fish whichthey had been illegally breeding there. Asfreshwater turtle species are protectedunder India’s 1972 Wildlife ProtectionAct, causing them harm can result inheavy penalty and punishment. Thelocals could have sought permission tobreed fish from the authority con-cerned.

It is sad that most people are unawareabout the usefulness of turtles in ourecosystem. They regulate the energy flow

of a given environment and consume anddeposit seeds, which later germinate intovegetation needed for the maintenanceof an area’s ecosystem. No wonder theyare called ‘environmental engineers’ andplay an important role in the earth’s foodweb. They are also vital for the health ofseas, rivers, ponds and other water bod-ies. More campaigns must be launchedto make people aware regarding the pro-tection of such creatures.

M Pradyu | Kannur

��Sir — Each cricket match is like a gameof chess and, therefore, every movecounts in the shortest form of the game.Having lost the Test series in a one-dayfashion, we could have chalked out astrategy to erase the mistakes commit-ted in the longest form of the game. Themajor shortcoming is that the so-called“strong batting” failed to live up to the

expectations and the bowlers were putto test. In the event of a small total todefend, our strategy should be to dismissthe opposition within a low score. But toadd salt to the wound, we lost both theODIs and the T-20 World Cup chancesthrough sheer lack of shrewd captaincy.

We had a team with the number onebowler in the world but we made him toilhard for a place in the side in Englandand in the T20 World Cup. The ODI andTest captain flattered to deceive. As amatter of fact, Ashwin accounted for theleft-handers’ wickets maximum in hisinternational career and the captainmade a mess of his role and provedunlucky for the third time and lost fiveout of the six games and finished the touron a losing note.

CK Subramaniam | Navi Mumbai

� < � 1 4 3 � � : � < ; ; � / 0

***8,.��/ �!)��8-!5��0"��7�� J 6��2��,�� J ��"��7��7

�� !��

�3

��+ ��10%��%+.��=��$%%+>*��03?��

�� : �� .% ��C� ��

/��.�2 5;2.!.�%3��/��

� ;552�� ;��/�..2� �5 ;/!��

25 #5%�.�3.��/�� 2

��4. �5��/��.5; �#. /33.��3� ;552� �#��

�!. <./�� ;.2 �5/�2/��" /; �

;552 /� �5� ��;.;5! .%!5,.��

�#/32!.� �5 .��#.� /�2/��

�#/32!.� 5%�#��5� #�>. /�

��''�#� '5�'',��7�'5#

� ��90,

�� E'(�� &� �� <�� ,��0�� 2�� 0��

�� "1�� &�� :�� 0�� " / /��

�� 0�� " /�� :�� &�-�� /�� " #�� "

/ �� 4�� *� ��-� �� +� <�� :�� /�� ?�� <�� " <�� <��/�� <�� "#�� <��-�� /��" �� /�� !��" /� �� /�� -� �� "

'�@�A��$*��)��B�+��| ��

�� !��

>**"��2��

Careful of what you eatin 2022 as the FoodSafety and StandardsAuthority of India

(FSSAI) has a new scheme tomix genetically modified organ-isms (GMOs) in our foods. Thewhite and black bureaucratic-looking draft notification onGM food regulation has lockedIndia’s food fate with Big Ag. It’sonly a matter of time before atsunami of GM food productsfloods the Indian market as thegates of our fortress have beenopened from the inside.

But first, what are GM foods?These are foods that are derivedfrom genetically modified crops.Companies like Monsanto/Bayerhave developed patented cropsvarieties which have genes fromtwo different life forms. Forexample India’s only GM crop, BtCotton, uses a toxin producinggene from a ground bacteria,Bacillus thuringiensis, and com-bines it with a cotton plant.Some of the other popularGMOs are soybean, corn, sugarbeets and canola. While some ofthese crops are owned byEuropean companies, EU does-n’t allow GM food on its plate.GM foods are also used for ani-mal feed and biofuels. Apartfrom the EU, independent scien-tists have raised serious bio-medical concerns, linking theconsumption of GM foods lead-ing to a plethora of health defects.

So what does the notificationsay? Firstly, it allows for “1 percent and below GM contentfoods” to go unlabelled. But whyhave this 1 per cent at all? Can’tIndia have truthful labels, wherethe consumers know what theyeat? Perhaps aware of the risks ofGM food, FSSAI regulators haveclearly stated that GMOs are “notpermitted in infant foods”. So whythe obfuscation on labelling stan-dards and then, in the samebreath, the stance on infantfoods? Is there something FSSAIknows and not telling Indians?

Let’s take a second and lookat our past. In the late 90s, Indiawas flooded with cheap GMsoybean oil imports that notonly killed small mustard farm-ers but also destroyed the localoilseed markets. But now, alsoconsider, GMOs are already trick-ling into our thalis with the ram-

SOUNDBITE

� �� K�� 5��-� ��L"

�%��"%�0�$)�#+��%��$�.�%+I?��

5� �� 0� �� "

�%��@��1��.&�)��*��%+I 2� �� <��,��

�� 1��

�� "

;��%$&.��%�� ?�=��$I �� !�&

�� !��"��"��" �� #$��%�� & �� ' ��"��

��"��(�"��)�*� �#$�!��"��"�� +�� ,*��)�*� �� -��"�� "�� .�� "�� /�� "�� "�� .� �� "�)�0��

� �� !��"��"�� !��"��/�� "�� %��"�� "��"�� .� �� )�(�� "�� .��" �� 1 ��1�� !��"�� "�� !��"��"��)2� ��

��!��"��"�� 1��"�� ")� 3� � ��

�� 1 ��" �� 1 �� /�� 1�� ")�� "�� !��"��"4�� "�� !�� !� �� "��1 �� 4 �� )�+�� /� � �� .� �� " ��1�� )�� 5�� 6�� 7�� /�� "�� "�� "�� )

*� �8 ��9 ��%�� :��1�);��(��"�$�� "�� ,�� %�� )�*� � ��

�� "�� %�� )�*� �� )�*� �� )�*� "��"�� "�� %�� )�;� �� "��% �� %��"�� 1 ��)��"�� )�*�� <��=�<�>�� <�� )*� �� )�� :��1�� :�� -�� %�� )�� :��3��

�� -�� " �� <��"�)�*� �� )�+��"�� "�� %�� %�� )�� "��

��/�� "��)�� :��1�� "�� %�� )�2� �� -��1 � �"�� ?��"��*��1��"��)�*�� %�� "�� )�� +�� "� � �� "�� .��" ��)�*� � �� "�� "�� )�*� �� %��"�� )� ��<�� "�� " �� )� �� "��"�� %�� "�� +�1��)�*� �/� �� )�*� �� )��#@$A�%�� : ��3��%�� 5 �� 6)�*� �� "�/� �� %��"�� 5 �� 6�� %�� )

#��=��

3��%��!� ��2��) ��

��)�� '+��4��

��

��!��$ �� , �� C ��

"��@��#�� 4�

�� "

�?��+I�� #��0

>�� !=%��)��

�!�� !�� #�� !��!��; �! ��;�!��3C �!�2��2�#��8��! ��8�;��

��8 ��!�� !��! �� !��

��#��!�� 3�C��8�

#� 8��! �

�� )��#��

B �� .� �� "�� "�� )�*� �� "�� "��

�� )�*� ��!�� C�� "��1�� "��)�� )�<�� "�� +�� )�� ),�� "��

�� ")�*� �� "��"� �� "�� "��C��)� � *� � +�� 1�� 3�� )�� "�� "�� "�� 3�� )�*� �� "�� C �� "�� ")�*� �� $DE$�� "��C �� $DD$�& �� FG�� 3�� )�;��"�� 8��2�� )��$DF$��"�� 3��)��$FF$�� "��

�� )�� $FG$��FE�FD�� 3�� )��"�� "�� "�� 3�� )��*�� *��(� �� *�� +�� 1��)�+� ��"��+�� "�� % �� )�*�� "�� "�� (��1�� "�� )�*� �!�� "�� !�� )�*� � �� "�� "�� "�� .�� +�� )�*�� < ��"#@#$�� (��-��"�� )�� 1 �� 2�� 1�� 3�� 1�� !*�� 3��)� �� C �� 8�;�� )�*� �� "�� )�*� �� "�� )

��

�� !��

�.***8,.��/ �!)��8-!5 ��0"��7�� J 6��2��,�� J ��"��7��7

FIRSTCOLUMN�4�&< ;<05

�:1�441 �>�/0

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

9��8�,�0�9�

��0��'�

*� �+��

It is budget time. After two years ofsplurge, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has alluded to a return to

fiscal consolidation. A major area mer-iting attention is fertilizer subsidy whichjumped from �80,000 crore during2019-20 to �134,000 crore during 2020-21 and is likely to be �140,000 crore dur-ing 2021-22.

Fertilizer subsidy arises because theUnion Government wantsmanufacturers/imports to sell fertilizers tofarmers at a low maximum retail price,unrelated to the cost of production andimport and distribution, which is muchhigher. In case of urea, it exercises manda-tory control on MRP and reimburses themanufacturers for the excess of cost overit as subsidy on a ‘unit-specific’ basis underthe new pricing scheme. In case of phos-phatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers, it fixes‘uniform’ subsidy on per nutrient basis forall manufacturers and importers underNutrient Based Scheme.

Subsidy per ton being the differencebetween cost and MRP, if the cost increas-es, MRP remaining unchanged, on each tonof fertilizer sold, subsidy will increase. Onthe other hand, if MRP decreases, costremaining unchanged, then also subsidywill increase. Thirdly, for any given level ofsubsidy per ton, increase in the quantity offertilizer sale results in higher total subsidypayment.

The factors impinging on the cost ofurea are: cost of natural gas - feedstock/fuelused in its production andprice of import-ed urea (it accounts for 1/3rd of consump-tion). In case of P&K fertilizers, the factorsare cost of raw materials, viz.,phosphoricacid, ammonia and price of imports in fin-ished form viz.di-ammonium phosphate(these account for nearly 50 percent of DAPconsumption) and price of muriate ofpotash - entirely imported.

Given the preponderance of imports inmaking urea and non-urea fertilizers avail-able (even for producing domestic urea,1/3rd of the gas requirement is met fromimports), there is little that the Governmentcan do to rein in these costs.

However, there are plant specific inef-ficiencies (besides inter-state variation inVAT on gas) that result in widely varyingcosts. Of around 35 million tonannual ureasupply, there are tonnages suppliedat�20,000 per ton, �25,000 per ton, �30,000per ton and so on. The cost of import iseven higher. During the current year, somesupplies have even come at US$ 900 per tonwhich works out to around �70,000 per tonat the farm gate.

A ridiculously low MRP of urea (cur-rently at �5360 per ton, it is almost the sameas two decades ago)in the face of increas-ing costlies at the root of increase in sub-sidy per ton. Add to this, the quantity boostthat comes from (i) excessive use: low priceprompts farmers to use more than what isrequired by the soil; (ii) large/rich unde-serving farmersalso getting access to sub-sidized urea; (iii) large-scale diversion

�#. �5��!��/5�/� 2. ��2 ;!5

�33 �#!..�5%!�.� 1/33=/.32 #%�.��>/�� /��%<�/2=

KM%��/�=.;;.��L" �#.!.

1/33 <. ��/�2/!.�� /� ��

1.33" /�2/�<./�� ?5!/ ,5!�.! 5;;.!�/3/�.!�� /��/;/��

2. ��2�/�2%�.2�%� /� / ,5!�

1/33 !.2%�. �#./��.!��/5��3,!/�. ��2� /��%!�� !.2%�.�#. �5�� 5;

/ ,5!��

such as smuggling to neighboringcountries, industrial use and so on- inevitable when the market priceis 4-5 times higher. The outcome isballooning total subsidy bill.

Excessive use is undesirable asit leads to imbalance in fertilizer use,erosion in soil health (this in turn,undermines the sustainability ofagriculture in the medium to long-run) and adverse impact on theenvironment besides human health.Giving cheap urea to those (read:rich farmers) who can afford to paymore is also patently unfair. But,diversion or misuse of subsidized(albeit heavily) urea will shake theconscience of any right-thinkingperson. Yet, it has been going on fordecades and could be as high as 30percent.Look at the dynamics ofhow it is happening.

During the initial years of thesubsisting scheme (it is in voguesince 1977), bulk of the subsidyamount was released to manufactur-ers on ‘dispatch’ of the material fromthe factory. Even as they wererequired to ensure that fertilizer wasactually sold to farmers, there wasno fool proof institutional mecha-nism to check it. Disappearance ofthe product at various levels in sup-ply chain viz. rail-head, stockingpoint in district and retailer wasrampant.

Ein the early 2000s, the arrange-ment was changed to provide forpayment of 95 percent of the ureasubsidy on receipt of material in thedistrict (for non-urea fertilizers,the share was 85 percent) and bal-ance 5 percent on confirmation bythe state government (15 percent incase of P&K fertilizers). Under this

mechanism also, the field was wideopenfor dubious players to prey onthe subsidized stuff - beyond stock-ing point in the district.

From April 2018, the Modigovernment linked subsidy pay-ment to manufacturers to sale of fer-tilizers to farmers by retailers.Under the new scheme, manufac-turers receive 100% of the subsidyafter fertilizer is delivered to thefarmer and his identity viz. Aadhaaris captured on electronic PoSmachine at dealer’s shop. Though asignificant improvement, even thisis prone to diversion albeit at retaillevel. This is all the more becauseanyone(including non-farmers)with Aadhaar unique identity num-ber can buy the subsidized product.

The government has also triedother measures. These include (i)mandatorily requiring all manufac-turers/importers to neem-coatall ofurea supplies (2015); (ii) restrictingpurchase by each purchaser to 100bags per transaction (down from999 bags earlier) and capping num-ber of transactions per month(August 2020) and (iii) tracking top20 urea purchasers in each districtand initiating action against thoseviolating purchase norms etc. Thesetoo have not delivered.

Now, the government is work-ing on a plan to cap the number ofsubsidized fertilizer bags that indi-vidual farmers can buy in anycropping season.But,this won’t helpeither.

In fact, so long as the core of thescheme, i.e., ‘routing subsidythrough the manufacturers’ remainsintact, there is no way it can makeany dent on the scourge of diversion.

The way forward is direct ben-efit transfer (DBT) of subsidy. TheGovernment should give subsidy‘directly’ to the farmers and allowmanufacturers to sell at marketdetermined price.This will com-pletely eliminate diversion; when asubsidized product is not availablein the marketplace, dubious charac-ters will have nothing to preyupon.It will also curb excessiveuse; when, the product carries theright price tag, farmers will use itjudiciously.It will also be possible totarget subsidy to poor farmers only.

The contraction in demandfrom all three sources will yield hugesaving in subsidy (quantity effect).There will be an indirect gain aswell. India being a major importerof fertilizers, a significant demand-induced cut in import will reducethe international price and in turn,reduce the cost of imports. As aresult, subsidy per ton will alsodecline.

To conclude, DBT will help fis-cal consolidation, reduce tradedeficit, reduce imbalance in fertil-izer use, improve soil health, pro-mote sustainable agriculture andenvironment friendly. There will belosers too: inefficient/high cost pro-ducers who will have to close theirshop; dubious traders and corruptpoliticians/bureaucratswho makebig money from leakage/diversion;rich farmers whoare major benefi-ciaries of extant scheme.

DBT of fertilizer subsidy hasbeen on government’s radar since2012-13. So far, its launch has beenstymied due to the clout of theselobbies. Can the Prime Minister sur-mount it?

(The writer is a policyanalyst. The views

expressed are personal.)

There was no break-through in the marathonmilitary-level talks

between India and China onJanuary 13 with Beijing show-ing reluctance to completetroop disengagement at a fric-tion point in eastern Ladakhand refusing to discuss steps todiffuse the bigger problems ofDepsang and Damchok.

The joint statement statedthat “representatives from thedefence and foreign affairsestablishments of the two sideswere present at the meeting”and they had “a frank and in-depth exchange of views for theresolution of the relevantissues” along the LAC in theWestern Sector.Both sides “alsoagreed to consolidate on theprevious outcomes and takeeffective efforts to maintain thesecurity and stability on the

ground in the Western Sectorincluding during winter” and to“stay in close contact and main-tain dialogue via military anddiplomatic channels and workout a mutually acceptable res-olution of the remaining issuesat the earliest” the statementsaid.

However, China onJanuary 14 said that it hopes“certain individuals” in Indiawill refrain from making“unconstructive remarks” fol-lowing Indian army chiefGeneral M M Naravane’sremarks that the threat in east-ern Ladakh has “by no meansreduced” and Indian Armywill continue to deal with theChinese military in a “firm andresolute manner”.

China is unpredictable andis now building a bridge acrossthe Pangong Tso as well as new

roads and helipads within itsterritory in the region for fastertroop mobility, as part of itscontinuing consolidation ofmilitary positions facing Indiaamid the 20-month-long con-frontation in eastern Ladakh.

The People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) is furtherstrengthening its military infra-structure with additional troopshelters, gun positions, helipadsand jetties in the area between‘Finger-8’ and its military basesto the east at Sirijap-I and II on

the north bank of the PangongLake. The new bridge, in turn,is coming up in the KhurnakFort area further to the east.The bridge is being construct-ed, with prefabricated struc-tures, well within Chinese ter-ritory. But it will help the PLAmove troops and weaponrymuch faster from the north tothe south banks of Pangong Tsoand vice versa. China obvious-ly wants to counter India’squick-reaction capability thatsaw our soldiers take theKailash Range heights on thesouth bank towards end-August 2020.

The LAC runs north tosouth at Finger-8 in the moun-tainous spurs region of thebrackish 134-km long PangongTso, two-thirds of which is con-trolled by China as it extendsfrom Tibet to India at an alti-

tude of 13,900-feet. The PLA’s Sirijap complex

is around six km east from theLAC at Finger-8, with theKhurnak area being another20-km beyond it, as per officerswho have served in the area.The PLA had captured theKhurnak area in the late-1950s,and then expanded its controlwestwards to the Sirijap areaduring the 1962 war.

With India having betterconnectivity between the twobanks of Pangong Tso, Chinanow wants to address the gap.Khurnak is one of the narrow-est points of the lake aroundmid-way during its length.Once the bridge is ready, thePLA can avoid the long loopthrough Rudok to reach thesouth bank. It will provide thePLA with an alternate route.

The subsequent troop dis-

engagement in February lastyear saw Indian soldiers pullback westwards to their DhanSingh Thapa post betweenFinger-2 and Finger-3 andvacate the Kailash rangeheights. PLA troops, in turn,withdrew to their old positionseast of Finger-8 to establish abuffer or no-patrol zone in-between.

China had refused to com-plete the stalled troop disen-gagement at Patrolling Point-15in the Hot Springs-Gogra-Kongka La area during the 13thround. The standoff atChardingNinglung Nallah(CNN) track junction atDemchok and the DepsangPlains is considered even moreintractable, as was reportedearlier. Consequently, the twoarmies continue to forwarddeploy around 50,000 troops

each, along with tanks, how-itzers and surface-to-air missilesystems, for the second consec-utive winter along the frontierin the forbidding high-alti-tude area.

Consequently, after the14th round of military leveltalks between the two giants,the stalemate will continueand about 75,000 Indian troopswill continue to occupy thepositions along the LAC facingthe PLA. India has startedconstructing two-lane roads,bridges and permanent struc-tures all along the LAC so thattroops movement, tanks, how-itzers and other heavy equip-ment can move smoothly tothwart any adventure of PLAand also for the sustenance of Indian troops in the extreme cold weatherconditions.

��

�� #��)� �� #�

��6��7�6�

(The writer is former SeniorProfessor, International Trade

and Member, VivekanandaInternational Foundation. Theviews expressed are personal.)

�� !�� * �� >

�# � �.�.>�

The head of the WorldHealth Organisation is

warning that conditions remainideal for more coronavirusvariants to emerge and says it'sdangerous to assume omicronis the last one or that "we are inthe endgame", while sayingthe acute phase of the pan-demic could still end this year- if some key targets are met.

Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus, WHO's direc-tor-general, laid out Monday anarray of achievements and con-cerns in global health overissues like reducing tobaccouse, fighting resistance to anti-microbial treatments, and risksof climate change on humanhealth.

But he said "ending theacute phase of the pandemicmust remain our collectivepriority". "There are different

scenarios for how the pan-demic could play out and howthe acute phase could end. Butit's dangerous to assume thatomicron will be the last variantor that we are in the endgame,"Tedros told the start of a WHOexecutive board meeting thisweek.

"On the contrary, globally,the conditions are ideal formore variants to emerge."Buthe insisted that "we can endCOVID-19 as a global healthemergency, and we can do itthis year," by reaching goals likeWHO's target to vaccinate 70per cent of the population ofeach country by the middle ofthis year, with a focus on peo-ple who are at the highest riskof COVID-19, and improvingtesting and sequencing rates totrack the virus and its emerg-ing variants more closely.

"It's true that we will be liv-ing with COVID for the fore-

seeable future and that we willneed to learn to manage itthrough a sustained and inte-grated system for acute respi-ratory diseases" to help preparefor future pandemics, he said.

"But learning to live withCOVID cannot mean that wegive this virus a free ride. It can-not mean that we accept almost50,000 deaths a week from apreventable and treatable dis-ease."

In stark terms, Tedros alsoappealed for strengtheningWHO and increasing fundingfor it to help stave off healthcrises. "Let me put it plainly: Ifthe current funding modelcontinues, WHO is being setup to fail.

The paradigm shift inworld health that is needednow must be matched by a par-adigm shift in funding theworld's health organisation," hesaid.

Washington:The Omicronvariant of coronavirus mayevade several, but not all, mon-oclonal antibodies used clini-cally to prevent patients fromdeveloping severe COVID-19,according to a laboratory study.Monoclonal antibodies are lab-oratory-made proteins thatmimic immune system's abili-ty to fight off harmfulpathogens such as viruses.Several past studies have shownthat such antibodies are unsuc-cessful in neutralisingOmicron. The team led led byresearchers at WashingtonUniversity, US, tested five anti-body combinations, includingthose discovered at VanderbiltUniversity Medical Centre(VUMC) in the US. PTI

3:/��7��?��

E�� +�� +��

�#�� <!%��.3�

Tensions soared Mondaybetween Russia and West,

with NATO outlining a series ofpotential troop and ship deploy-ments and Ireland warning thatupcoming Russian war games offits coast would not be welcomewhile concerns abound thatMoscow is planning to invadeUkraine.

The Western alliance's state-ment summed up moves alreadyannounced by individual mem-ber countries - but restatingthem under the NATO bannerappeared aimed at showingalliance's resolve.

It was just one of a series ofannouncements that signalledWest is ramping up its rhetoricin information war that hasaccompanied Ukraine standoff.

Russia has massed an esti-mated 100,000 troops nearUkraine's border and is demand-ing that NATO promise it willnever allow Ukraine to join andthat other actions, such as sta-tioning alliance troops in formerSoviet bloc countries, be cur-tailed.

Some of these, like anypledge to permanently barUkraine, are non-starters forNATO - creating a seeminglyintractable standoff that manyfear can only end in war.

Russia denies it is planningan invasion, and has saidWestern accusations are merelya cover for NATO's own plannedprovocations. Recent days haveseen high-stakes diplomacy thatfailed to reach any breakthroughand maneuvering on both sides.

On Monday, NATO saidthat it is beefing up its "deter-rence" in Baltic Sea area.Denmark is sending a frigate anddeploying F-16 war planes toLithuania; Spain is sending threeships to join NATO naval forcesand four fighter jets to Bulgaria;and France stands ready to sendtroops to Romania. TheNetherlands also plans to sendtwo F-35 fighter aircraft toBulgaria from April. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saidalliance will "take all necessarymeasures to protect and defend

all allies." He said: "We willalways respond to any deterio-ration of our security environ-ment, including throughstrengthening our collectivedefence."Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov charged that itwas NATO and US who werebehind "tensions escalating" inEurope, not Russia.

"All this is happening notbecause of what we, Russia, aredoing. This is happening becauseof what NATO, the US aredoing," Peskov said during a con-ference call with reporters. Healso cited US media reportssuggesting that Russia is evacu-ating its diplomats from Ukraine,something officials in Moscowdenied.The NATO announce-ment came as European Unionforeign ministers sought to puton a fresh display of unity insupport of Ukraine, and paperover concerns about divisions onbest way to confront any Russianaggression.

In a statement, the minis-ters said EU has stepped up sanc-tion preparations and theywarned that "any further militaryaggression by Russia againstUkraine will have massive con-sequences and severecosts".Separately, the EU alsocommitted to increase financialsupport for embattled Ukraine,vowing to push through a spe-cial package of 1.2 billion euros($1.4 billion) in loans and grantsas soon as possible.

The West is nervouslywatching Russian troop move-ments and war games in Belarusfor any signs that a new invasionof Ukraine is imminent. Russiahas already invaded Ukraineonce, annexing CrimeanPeninsula in 2014.

Moscow has also supportedpro-Russian Ukrainian sepa-ratists fighting Kyiv governmentin Donbass region. Fighting ineastern Ukraine has killedaround 14,000 people and stillsimmers. Asked whether EUwould follow a US move andorder the families of Europeanembassy personnel in Ukraine toleave, EU foreign policy chiefJosep Borrell said: "We are notgoing to do same thing."

�'�E��F��A�$� ��

�#�� /,./

China flew 39 warplanestoward Taiwan in its largest

such sortie of the new year,continuing a pattern that theisland has answered by scram-bling its own jets in response.

The formation Sundaynight included 24 J-16 fighterjets and 10 J-10 jets, amongother support aircraft and elec-tronic warfare aircraft, accord-ing to Taiwan's defense min-istry.

Taiwan's air force scram-bled its own jets and trackedthe People's Liberation Armyplanes on its air defense radarsystems, the defense ministrysaid. Chinese pilots have beenflying towards Taiwan on anear-daily basis in the past yearand a half, since Taiwan's gov-ernment started publishing thedata regularly.

The largest sortie was 56warplanes on a single day lastOctober. The activity has gen-

erally been in the air spacesouthwest of Taiwan and fallsinto what Taiwan's militarycalls the air defense identifica-tion zone, or air space it mon-itors out of national securityconsiderations.

Taiwan and China splitduring a civil war in 1949, butChina claims the island as itsown territory. As a result,Beijing opposes any

action that would identifyTaiwan as a sovereign state andhas used diplomatic and mili-tary means to isolate and intim-idate Taiwan.

Tensions have been highsince Taiwanese citizens elect-ed Tsai Ing-wen as president in2016, to which Beijingresponded by cutting off pre-viously established communi-cations with the island's gov-ernment. Tsai's predecessorwas friendly to China and hadendorsed Beijing's claim thatthe two are part of a singleChinese nation.

Oslo: A Taliban delegationled by acting Foreign MinisterAmir Khan Muttaqi on Sundaystarted three days of talks inOslo with Western officialsand Afghan civil society rep-resentatives amid a deteriorat-ing humanitarian situation inAfghanistan.

The closed-door meetingsare taking place at a hotel in thesnow-capped mountains abovethe Norwegian capital. OnSunday, Taliban representa-tives were meeting withwomen's rights activists andhuman rights defenders fromAfghanistan and from theAfghan diaspora. Before thetalks, the Taliban's deputy min-ister of culture and informationtweeted a voice message fromMuttaqi, expressing hope for "agood trip full of achievements"

and thanking Norway, a coun-try he hoped will become "agateway for a positive rela-tionship with Europe." Thetrip is the first time since theTaliban took over in Augustthat their representatives haveheld official meetings inEurope. Earlier, they have trav-eled to Russia, Iran, Qatar,Pakistan, China andTurkmenistan.

During the talks, Muttaqiis certain to press the Taliban'sdemand that nearly $10 billionfrozen by the United States andother Western countries bereleased as Afghanistan faces aprecarious humanitarian situ-ation. The United Nations hasmanaged to provide some liq-uidity and allowed the newadministration to pay forimports, including electricity.

But the U.N. Has warned thatas many as 1 million Afghanchildren are in danger of starv-ing and most of the country's38 million people are livingbelow the poverty line.

The Norwegian ForeignMinistry said the Taliban del-egation would also meet withAfghans in Norway, including"women leaders, journalistsand people who work with,among other things, humanrights and humanitarian, eco-nomic, social and politicalissues."

"Norway continues toengage in dialogue with Talibanto promote human rights,women's participation in soci-ety, and to strengthen human-itarian and economic efforts inAfghanistan," the ForeignMinistry said in a statement.

#� �� 2%<�/

The UAE defence forces onMonday intercepted and

destroyed two ballistic missilesthat Houthi terror group firedtowards its capital Abu Dhabi,days after two Indians and aPakistani were killed in a raredrone and missile attackclaimed by Yemeni rebels.

The attack did not result inany human losses, the Ministryof Defence said, adding that theremnants of intercepted anddestroyed ballistic missiles fellin separate areas around AbuDhabi."The air defences hadintercepted and destroyed twoballistic missiles fired by ter-rorist Houthi group towardscountry on Monday," the min-istry announced on Twitter. Inresponse to attack, the JointOperations Command of theUAE's Ministry of Defence(MOD) "immediately"destroyed a ballistic missilelauncher in Yemen's Al Jawfprovince after it fired two mis-siles at Abu Dhabi.

The ministry also shared avideo on Twitter showing an F-16 fighter jet destroying bal-listic missile launcher inYemen."MOD Joint OperationsCommand announces that at04:10 hrs Yemen time an F-16destroyed a ballistic missilelauncher in Al Jawf, immedi-ately after it launched two bal-listic missiles at Abu Dhabi.They were successfully inter-cepted by our air defence sys-tems," ministry said in a tweet.In a statement, the ministryaffirmed its "full readiness todeal with any threats," addingthat it will "take all necessarymeasures to protect UAE fromany attacks," according to offi-cial WAM news agency.

London: Wikileaksfounder Julian Assange onMonday won the latest roundin his legal battle against beingextradited to the US, as HighCourt judges in London grant-ed the Australian national per-mission to take his extraditionappeal to the UK's SupremeCourt.The 50-year-old is want-ed in America over the leak ofthousands of classified docu-ments related to the wars inIraq and Afghanistan. Hislawyers argued that he shouldnot be taken to the US becauseof a real and "oppressive" riskof suicide. Last month, the USauthorities won an appealagainst a previous court rulingthat he could not be extradit-ed due to concerns over hismental health. PTI

Islamabad: A Hindu law-maker from ruling PakistanTehreek-i-Insaf party said onMonday that he will travel toIndia later this week with a del-egation of pilgrims. In a state-ment issued here, Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Counciland Member of NationalAssembly Dr. Ramesh KumarVankwani said that delegationwould go to India on January 29on a special chartered flight ofPakistan Airlines International(PIA) and would stay there forthree days. During their stay, thedelegation will visit DargahNizamuddin Auliya in Delhi,Dargah Khawaja Gharib Nawazin Ajmer and Taj Mahal in Agra.

�#�� /!5

Thousands of Sudanese tookto streets in capital of

Khartoum and other citiesMonday, activists said, contin-uing relentless anti-coupprotests that have rocked coun-try since a military coup threemonths ago.

Security forces fired teargas to disperse protesters inseveral locations in capital,including area around fortifiedpresidential palace, which hasseen clashes in previous roundsof protests since Oct 25 coup,according to activists.

The military takeover hasupended Sudan's transition todemocratic rule after threedecades of repression and inter-national isolation under auto-cratic President Omar al-Bashir. The African nation hasbeen on a fragile path todemocracy since a popularuprising forced the military toremove al-Bashir and hisIslamist government in April2019.

Protesters, mostly youngpeople, marched Monday instreets of Khartoum and its sis-ter city of Omdurman, accord-ing to pro-democracy move-ment. There were also protestselsewhere in country, includingprovinces of Kassala, Red Sea,Jazira and already restiveDarfur region movement said.

�#�� K<%!4/�� ;��5L

Burkina Faso's PresidentRoch Marc Christian

Kabore is being held by muti-nous soldiers, two of the sol-diers told The Associated Pressby phone early Monday. Theydid not say where Kabore isbeing held, but said he is in asafe place.

Gunshots were heard lateSunday night near the presi-

dent's residence and in theearly hours of Monday a battletook place at the presidentialpalace while a helicopter flewoverhead. The roads of the cap-ital were empty Sunday nightexcept for checkpoints heavilyguarded by mutinous sol-diers.State news station RTBwas heavily guarded onMonday morning.

#� � /�3� �<�2

Pakistan on Monday induct-ed a China-made multi-role

frigate and 10 helicopters pro-vided by Qatar in its navy aspart of efforts to strengthen itssea frontiers.

The induction ceremony ofPNS Tughril, the first of fourType 054-A/P frigates, made byChina and 10 Sea King heli-copters was held at PNDockyard, Karachi, accordingto a statement by PakistanNavy (PN).

The contract for fourmulti-role frigates for PakistanNavy was signed betweenPakistan and China in June2018 and the PNS Tughril isthe lead ship of Type 054-A/P,while the Sea King helicopterswere gifted by Qatar.

PNS Tughril is the firstship of its kind that was builtat a shipyard in Shanghai. It isa multi-mission capable ship,fitted with weapons such asSurface-to-Air (SAM) andSupersonic Surface-to-SurfaceMissiles (SSM).

"The state-of-the-art shipcan carry out numerous mar-itime operations due to instal-lation of weapons and sensors,"according to the PN state-ment.

President Dr Arif Alvi,who was the guest of honour atthe event, expressed satisfac-tion and confidence that ahighly capable Pakistan NavyFleet and its air arm will con-tinue promoting peace andstability while "guarding ourmaritime frontiers".

Chief of the Naval Staff,Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi,underlined that the new induc-tions would further augmentPN combat capabilities.

#� �� 3�#5!.

Asenior Pakistani journalistwas shot dead by uniden-

tified men outside Lahore PressClub (LPC) here on Monday,police said. "Hasnain Shah,who was in his 40s, was park-ing his car outside press clubwhen two motorcyclistsopened indiscriminate fire,killing him on spot," an officialof Inspector General Police(IGP) Punjab official told PTI.

Both armed men managedto flee congested area, he said.Shah, a resident of Lahore, wasworking as Crime Reporter forCapital TV. He is survived byhis wife and two children. "Weare investigating reports that hehad enmity with some people,"official said. Meanwhile, IGPRao Sardar Ali Khan hasdirected Lahore police chief toensure arrest of culprits atear-liest.

The journalists' associa-tions in Pakistan have con-demned Shah's killing anddemanded Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government to arrest hiskillers. "A journalist's murderin front of Lahore Press Clubin a broad daylight is a momentof reflection for government,"Lahore Press Club PresidentAzam Chaudhry said.According to UN data, 85journalists have been killed inPakistan since 1993, includingfour in 2021.

��)��

�� !��$$��

0�� ' �� $$� ��B�� :C� �$��-��

�� 8 �A��C +��+��

:'5��.�+ ��+��D��'+�� +�

7�#��)��)� ��

��AE�� %��

'��&��(!��9 �*"!��&��!��(!��&��!�

7�#��0�� )�#�� )��

� �"��?�� !��

New Delhi: Traders' body CAITon Monday filed a complaintwith the CompetitionCommission of India againstAmazon accusing the e-com-merce major of committing afraud while seeking approval forthe takeover of More Retail'sstores in India.

The Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT) claimedthat in case of acquiring MoreRetail, Amazon committed thesame fraud, misrepresentationof facts, misleading the CCI inthe matter too as was done intakeover of Future Retail.

"It amply exposes the sin-ister designs of Amazon to con-

trol Indian retail companies ina fraudulent manner to capturethe physical retail trade andinventory-based e-commercein India causing enormousharm to the traders," the traders'body alleged. CAIT said thatAmazon has taken over MoreRetail through Samara AlternateInvestment Fund (Samara AIF)that owns 51 per cent equity inWitzig Advisory LLP that in-turns owns More Retail Limited.

It further stated thatAmazon has obtained approvalfrom CCI for the takeover ofMore Retail Limited "by sup-pression and concealment".An email sent to Amazon Indiadid not elicit a response.

"As is the case with Future,Amazon has represented to

CCI that (a) Amazon has madeonly a financial investment inWitzig. It has not invested inMore Retail; (b) the rightsAmazon has acquired overMore Retail Limited are onlyinvestment protection rightsand Amazon has no strategicinterest in More Retail," CAITclaimed in its complaint.

Future group and Amazonhave been locked in a bitter legaltussle after the US e-commercegiant dragged Future Group toarbitration at the SingaporeInternational Arbitration Centre(SIAC) in October 2020, argu-ing that FRL had violated theircontract by entering into a dealfor the sale of its assets to bil-lionaire Mukesh Ambani'sReliance Retail on a slump salebasis for � 24,713 crore. PTI

New Delhi: Independent direc-tors of Future Retail haveturned down Amazon's offer offinancial support to the com-pany through a deal with pri-vate equity firm Samara Capital,saying any legally invalid offercannot be accepted.

Future Retail's indepen-dent directors had last weekasked Amazon if it was willingto give a long-term loan toavoid default on repayment of�3,500 crore loan due onJanuary 29. Amazon replied tothat saying it was willing tofinancially assist Future Retailthrough the Samara Capitaldeal but the retailer must shelve�24,713 crore deal with theReliance group.Independent directors sayAmazon hasn't shown them themoney that Future Retailurgently needs to stall beingdeclared a defaulter. They wantto know if Amazon can act onbehalf of Samara Capital andhas the authority to negotiateand finalise such transaction onits behalf.

Speaking to PTI, RavindraDhariwal, an independentdirector of Future Retail Ltd(FRL) said if Amazon wants tohelp FRL, it needs to show thestructure through which it willput the money. "We cannotaccept the offer until and unlessit is legally valid and unless itcomes in time. What is thepoint of giving an offer after‘chidiya chug gayi khet'...If youwant to help, then show us thestructure through which youwill put the money and we haveasked you in good faith to putin �3,500 crore now so that wecan repay the bank and thecompany is not treated as NPAand is not liable to IBC,” he said.

Amazon told FRL thatSamara Capital remains inter-ested in buying out the debt-strapped retailer's businessessuch as Big Bazaar for � 7,000crore, and had asked FRL toprovide its financial details toSamara Capital for the privateequity fund to conduct expe-dited due diligence.Dhariwal expressed concern

that the support being extend-ed is more of publicity.

“This just do not have atenable structure, neither dothey have a viable structure. Theissue is very simple. We owemoney to the banks, bond-holders and vendors,” he said.

Asked if Samara hasdirectly reached out to theindependent directors,Dhariwal answered in the neg-ative. “We, the independentdirectors, have never heardabout Samara. We have noidea they are interested, whythey want to do it. We, inde-pendent directors, have nevertalked to Samara. Samara hasdiscussed the terms sheet withthe promoters of Big Bazaarwith Biyani brother and theyhave acknowledged the termsheet, but not supported theterm sheets. It is one of the 2-3 term sheets which they (FRL)have got. They never discussedit with us and never made it tothe Board because they(Biyanis) found it inadequate,”he said. PTI

Bangkok: Shares were mostlylower in Europe and Asia onMonday after Wall Streetlogged its worst week since thepandemic began in 2020.

Shares fell in Paris, Londonand Frankfurt but rose inTokyo. Shanghai was littlechanged.

Investors have been grow-ing increasingly worried abouthow aggressively the FederalReserve, which holds a policymeeting this week, might act tocool rising inflation.

Historically low interestrates, dubbed quantitative eas-ing, or QE, have helped supportthe broader market as theeconomy absorbed a sharp hitfrom the pandemic in 2020 andthen recovered over the last twoyears.

“The FOMC (Fed) meetingdominates the macro calendarthis week and is likely to keeprisk sentiment on the hesitantside with an end to QE and

imminent rates hikes likely tobe announced," economistsNicholas Mapa and RobertCarnell of ING said in a com-mentary.

Germany's DAX shed 1.1%to 15,431.03 while the CAC 40in Paris gave up 1.4% to6,971.19. In London, the FTSE100 fell 0.7% to 7,447.03.

The futures for the S&P500 and the Dow industrialsgained 0.3%.

Some economists believethe Fed and other central banksneed to move faster to tampdown surging prices by raisingrates.

U.S. Consumer prices rose7% in December compared toa year earlier, the biggestincrease in nearly four decades.

Rising costs are raisingconcerns that consumers willstart to ease spending becauseof the persistent pressure ontheir wallets. AP

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank ofIndia on Monday said it will beconducting an overnight vari-able rate repo auction underliquidity adjustment facility(LAF) for an amount of �75,000 crore today. The date of reversal is onJanuary 25, 2022, the centralbank said in a release.

On January 20, the RBI hadconducted an overnight vari-able rate repo (VRR) auction of�50,000 crore.

The central bank had saidit will continue to rebalance liq-uidity conditions in a non-dis-ruptive manner while main-taining adequate liquidity tomeet the needs of the produc-tive sectors of theeconomy. PTI

New Delhi: Real estate portalHousing.Com on Monday saidit has tied up with Loom Solarto provide solar rooftop solu-tions for homes. With the helpof this innovative residentialsolution, homeowners can saveup to 90 per cent on their elec-tricity bills, it said in a statement.

The partnership aims atleveraging and augmenting thestrength of both organisationsfor providing a one-stop solutionto home owners for their solarneeds. "At Housing.Com, wecontinuously aim to create newofferings to add greater value toour customers. This tie up withLoom Solar is another step inthat direction," said DhruvAgarwala, group CEO,Housing.Com, Makaan.Comand PropTiger.Com. AmodAnand, Co-Founder & Director,Loom Solar said, “We crossed50,000 homes adopting rooftopsolar systems and this tie-upwith Housing.Com takes anoth-er footstep towards addressinga bigger mission." PTI

New Delhi: SBI Cards andPayment Services on Mondayreported 84 per cent jump in netprofit at �386 crore forDecember quarter 2021-22 onthe back of healthy card spends,fall in bad loans and higherincome from other sources.

The pure-play credit cardissuer promoted by the country'slargest lender SBI had posted anet profit of � 210 crore in theyear- ago same quarter. Totalrevenues of the company rose 24per cent to �3,140 crore duringthe quarter under review asagainst �2,540 crore in the sameperiod of 2020-21, SBI Card saidin a release. Theincrease in income was pri-marily due to higher incomefrom fees and services duringthe quarter, SBI Card said.

On the other key metrics,the company witnessed 10 percent growth in new accountsvolume at 10,08,000 as against9,18,000 in the year-ago quarter.Card-in-force grew 15 per centto 1.32 crore and total spendssurged 47 per cent to �55,397crore. PTI

New Delhi: The Governmentis planning to come up with apolicy that will facilitate anecosystem for the industry tocreate an indigenous operatingsystem as an alternative toGoogle's Android and Apple'siOS, Union Minister of State forElectronics and IT RajeevChandrasekhar said onMonday.

At present, mobile phonesare dominated by two operat-ing systems - Google's Androidand Apple's iOS that are drivingthe hardware ecosystem aswell, the minister told PTI in an

interview. "There is no third one.

Therefore, in a lot of ways thereis tremendous interest in MeitYand in the Government ofIndia to even create a newhandset operating system. Weare talking to people. We arelooking at a policy for that,"C h a n d r a s e k h a rsaid.

He said that the govern-ment is looking for capabilitieswithin start-up and academicecosystems for developmentof an indigenous operatingsystem (OS). PTI

New Delhi: Home buyers' body FPCE has filed a plea in theSupreme Court seeking directions to the West Bengal govern-ment for the time-bound and proper implementation of the realestate regulatory law RERA in the state.

The Supreme Court, in May last year, had struck downWest Bengal government's law -- WBHIRA -- for regulating realestate sector saying it was "unconstitutional".

The apex court's ruling came while it was hearing a plea filedby the Forum For People's Collective Efforts (FPCE).Now, nearly eight months later, the FPCE has filed a miscella-neous application in the Supreme Court over non-implemen-tation of RERA (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act),2016) in West Bengal.

The FPCE has urged the apex court to pass an order direct-ing the West Bengal Government to take all appropriate stepsand actions for implementation of RERA in a time-bound manner. PTI

Mumbai: The rupee on Mondayslumped by 17 paise to close ata more than three-week low of74.60 against the US dollar dueto high crude oil prices, forexoutflows and heavy losses indomestic equities amid growingg e o p o l i t i c a lworries. Forex traders said thestrength of the American cur-rency in the overseas market andweak appetite for riskier assetsalso dragged down the local unit.

Moreover, market partici-pants are now eyeing the USFed's January 25-26 meetingfor further cues. "The Indianrupee has weakened amid thebig crack witnessed in domesticequities in tandem with otherAsian markets. The sentimentsare quite fragile in the markets

amid the geopolitical tensions inEastern Europe and as investorsare fretting over the possibilityof a quicker pace of interest ratehikes in the US," SugandhaSachdeva, Vice President -Commodity and CurrencyResearch, Religare Broking Ltd.

Riskier assets have comeunder pressure amid theprospects of a Russian invasionof Ukraine. The US and the UKhave advised the families oftheir diplomats in Ukraine toleave the country.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the local cur-rency opened at 74.43 againstthe greenback and witnessed anintra-day high of 74.42 and a lowof 74.69 during the session.The rupee finally settled down

by 17 paise or 0.23 per cent at74.60, the lowest closing levelsince December 27, 2021.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback's strengthagainst a basket of six currencies,was trading 0.12 per cent up at95.75. Brent crude futures,the global oil benchmark, rose0.33 per cent to USD 88.18 perbarrel. With inflation-ary pressures building up, theoverwhelming consensus sug-gests that the era of near-zerointerest rates is likely to come toan end very soon, Sachdeva said,adding that the rupee is still find-ing some comfort from the factthat the country's forex reserveshave surged by USD 2.229 bil-lion to USD 634.965 billion forthe week ended January 14.PTI

#<��<��@��

��C� �� ;!3 �� $� ��

�� )�� >�� 3��)��

>� ��)� ��

��- ��G9�$��>��H=�$��9H;�� $�� + ��

#�� C �� ;,�. �� !.!� �� 1�� <��

D��<-��$ ��"�� $�� $��

!�� D��0 �� %� ��

��,�� I)�///��

2�� )��)��)� � ��/��*��%

Delivering proper care to thosewith mental health issueshas always been a big chal-

lenge. India is on the verge of a men-tal health epidemic, yet it's hard tofind a public discourse on ways toprevent mental health disorders ortreat them.

According to a report by theWorld Health Organisation in 2019,over 264 million people are affect-ed by depression and almost 800,000people die by suicide each year. Thesituation has been further worsenedby the onset of the coronavirus pan-demic. The isolation because of lock-down, uncertainty and fear due tojob cuts and general discomfort dueto the inability to control differentaspects of life has triggered severemental trauma in people acrossIndia. The issue has been made evenmore complicated by the fact that noone has any idea when things willever return to normal.

To tackle the issue of risingmental health issues among people,technology companies are leverag-ing Artificial intelligence-basedsolutions to develop chatbots tunedto help patients with mental healthconcerns. These conversationalagents support patients with men-tal health issues while offering a highlevel of privacy and anonymity.

Chatbots can be effective but arethey really the answer?

A chatbot is able to simulate aconversation on different platformsusing audio or text and sometimesvideo too. While some chatbots arefully automated, some utilise humaninterfaces. The AI frameworks

required to be trained with vastamounts of data to make thesechatbots compatible with the com-plexity of human communicationhave the ability to understand cul-tural nuances.

There are chatbots designed todetect subtle changes in facialexpressions, length of pauses or ratesof speech and build a diagnosisaccordingly. In case the chatbotdetects a deep-seated problem in thepatient, an option to meet an actu-al therapist is offered to them, andrelevant helpline numbers areshared.

A part of the population espe-cially, the millennials and Gen Z,believe that chatbots are a great wayto address the issue of the mentalhealth crisis in India. The youngcrowd is tech-savvy and more com-fortable in sharing responses with achatbot rather than a real person.This makes sense when we thinkabout how workplaces are becom-ing more remote, and increasinginternet conversations are makinghuman interaction more limited.

However, not all are convincedand it can be debated whether oneought to be. Issues related to men-tal health are complex and articulat-ing how one feels can be quite dif-ficult even in front of a trained pro-fessional who can see the facialexpressions, nuanced inflections inbody language and even tone.Compared to that, using a chatbotmay seem superficial.

Apart from that, there are otherissues as well. A chatbot is trainedwith underlying neural nets and

learning algorithms and can inher-it the prejudice of its makers. Thealgorithms behind a chatbot have tobe designed in a way that makes sureit behaves in a specific manner,which is helpful for the persontalking to it on the other side. Thepeople developing the chatbot needto be well aware of the nuances ofmental health.

Bridging the GapHuman beings are complicated

creatures, even those who are notstruggling with mental health issues.Those suffering from anxiety,depression, schizophrenia, and sui-cidal thoughts have several layers ofthinking and multiple faces that theyput on for their interactions. A chat-bot, in this scenario, often helps tobring down the 'wall' since itsbiggest weakness is its greateststrength too. A chatbot is neverjudgemental, it will never showempathy too. Most questions usedby chatbots are fed in an algorithmbased on the CBT technique. Thelack of emotional bonding is oftenwhat a person suffering from men-tal health is often looking for.However, it is important to remem-ber that chatbots can be effective inearly interventions and a primarydiagnosis of mental health disordersbut it is best not to let chatbotsengage in full-blown mental healththerapy without any human super-vision.

In conclusion, chatbots canoffer support, companionship andtherapy which can lessen the load ontherapists drastically. It is indeed aviable option for people who facechallenges in terms of affordabilityand accessibility. In the years tocome, technology companies needto develop chatbots that can strikethe right balance of being empathet-ic without being judgemental. Thoseusing them must be made aware ofthe limitations of the chatbot and theareas in which it can help — a trans-parent system is what is required.

With escalating med-ical expenses, peo-ple are scampering

to book doctor’s appoint-ments far away from theirhomes. A large number ofpatients travel from nationslacking healthcare infra-structure or less advanced inmedical facilities to coun-tries providing highly-spe-cialised healthcare facilities.

The medical tourismsector is booming globallyand India is ranked 10thamong 46 countries in theMedical Tourism Index2021. As per TourismMinistry statistics, Indiareceived just over 1.82 lakhmedical tourists in 2020,which contributed 6.7 percent to the overall tourisminflow into the country.

India so far has attract-ed medical tourists fromsmaller nations lackingproper healthcare facilitiesback home, like Maldives,Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya,Oman, or NRIs from devel-oped countries who come

for affordable medical treat-ment, only to go back whenthey get well.

India offers a variety ofhealthcare services includingMedical Treatment &Surgeries to cure chronic ail-ments, physical appearanceenhancements like cosmet-ic surgery, Fitness &Rejuvenation for mental &physical relaxation or mind-fulness, and AlternativeMedicine Treatment to seekAYUSH.

India has immensepotential to offer healthcareas per international stan-dards, and at a fraction ofthe cost. Some of the keymedical advantages thatIndia brings is the skilledand qualified healthcaremanpower, state-of-the-artTier 1 hospitals equippedwith the latest technologies,quality nursing care & post-operative facilities, high-enddiagnostic services and top-quality yet affordable med-icines (compared to devel-oped nations). There is,

therefore, no doubt that themedical tourism market inIndia is estimated to grow toUSD 13.42 billion by 2026.

However, to achieve thismilestone, it is important toremove the disparity inurban and rural healthcareinfrastructure. All the facil-ities mentioned above areavailable in Tier 1 citiesonly while the rural folksgrapple with the most basicrequirement of access to agood, qualified doctor. Thisrestricts the options availableto tourists seeking qualitymedical treatment in Indiaand are made to choosecities like Mumbai & Delhihaving a higher cost of liv-ing.

Further, it also discour-ages regular tourists fromvisiting Tier 2 or belowcities in India, if they don’thave good healthcare facil-ities close by, especially incase of senior citizens &family travel.

The Government recog-nizes this struggle and is

working to give wings to itsNational Digital HealthcareMission (NDHM) to pro-vide the much needed tech-nology push to publichealthcare by digitisinghealth records for easyaccess by end users.

I also suggest this databeing made available forrestricted use for R&D andclinical research purposesonly, to devise more accuratetreatments for common &serious ailments, thus givingIndia the edge in diagnosticsciences.

Further, theGovernment is looking toincrease JCI (JuniorChamber International)accredited hospitals in var-ious cities from the current38 hospitals. A coalition ofover 100 private healthcarespecialists have formed afirst-of-its-kind, made inIndia telemedicine applica-tion called Swasth that aimsto deliver equitable andaffordable healthcare to allIndians. Further, the

Ministry of Ayush andCouncil of Scientific &Industrial Research com-pleted a multi-center clini-cal trial of a medicine,AYUSH 64, for the treat-ment of mild-to-moderateCOVID-19 infections andnot to mention Covaxin,our very own indigenouslydeveloped COVID Vaccinethrough PPP, by BharatBiotech.

All these factors are pos-itive developments towardsmaking healthcare infra-structure a driving factor fortourism in India. In fact, wemust learn from our friend-ly neighbour, the UAE,which is fast becoming atourism hub for interna-tional patients seeking cus-tomised and affordabletreatment.

I feel India is alreadygrabbing attention fromglobal tourists looking forquality, affordable & holistichealthcare by correcting theregional disparity in health-care infrastructure.

GREEN BEANS: Greenbeans are low in calories, butthey are high in nutrientsthat have a variety of healthadvantages. Vitamin C,flavonols, quercetin, andkaemferol are allant iox id ant sfound inlegumes.

T h e s eantioxidants battlefree radicals in thebody, reducing celldamage and maybelowering the risk of certaindiseases.

Soluble fibre in it has

been shown to promote hearthealth by reducing LDL cho-lesterol (bad cholesterol).

A single cup of greenbeans contains

around one-third of your

d a i l yr e q u i r e df o l a t eintake, a B

complex essentialfor unborn babies'

growth and develop-ment. Green beans are

high in fibre, which keepsyour digestive tract healthyand working smoothly.

75��2! ,��4�? ��!1�3

��

��;��!��

Every new year we make a number of resolutions and promiseourselves to achieve some specific goals. Some of us promiseourselves to avoid drinking and smoking. Some want to

achieve study goals while others say they want to hit the gym fromJanuary 1 itself. There is thus no dearth of promises and resolu-tions. But there is one most important resolution which is a foun-dational one and a key to success in all areas of your life. Isn't thatyour health? We all must take a pledge and resolve to stay healthy.It is a supreme goal that we can gift ourselves so that we can stayhealthy and disease free this new year and build upon it.

There are many medical systems. Each perhaps has its own placein the overall architecture of the health environment. Homeopathyis one of the best systems that can be adopted to maintain a dis-ease free and healthy lifestyle.

There are a number of homeopathic remedies which can beadopted in our day to day life to improve the quality of our health.They are not highly invasive therapies but smooth and impactful.The most effective and widely accepted methods are:-

Check your immunityImmunity is defined as the capability of an individual’s body

to fight against any infectious disease or illness. Nowadays we oftenhear that people with low immunity are vulnerable and have a high-er chance of getting infected by COVID. But there is no need forany fancy medication to improve immunity. There are a numberof remedies that can be suggested to have a strong immunity.Gelsemium, Arsenicum album, Oscillococcinum, Allium Cepa andLycopodium 30 are few remedies suggested under homeopathy toincrease immunity. But to have learnt their names does not meanthat you can buy it and take it. Please consult a professional home-opath. In our system generally one size does not fit all.

Look after your mental healthLiving in this world of stress, anxiety, depression and god knows

what other mental sins one is used to which remain elusive andwe often get confined with these that can create future problems.All these mind games have a very bad effect on our health whichcan be seen in the longer run. The uniqueness of Homeopathy isthat it deals with all the habits and early signs that forewarns anymajor health issues.If not cured at the early stage Stress, anxiety,depression may lead to serious possible conditions like heart attack,kidney failure, liver failure and even brain hemorrhage. If you aresuffering from any of the aforementioned problems, immediate-ly consult your homeopathic doctor. Homeopathic medicines likeAconite, Argentum nitricum, Arsenicum album, Gelsemium andIgnatia can be used under such circumstances. But as it is alwaysnecessary to emphasize self medication is not advised and can bedangerous.

Regular check-upsHomeopathy follows the mantra of curing the disease before

it occurs. It simply means to eradicate the early symptoms of anydisease before it hits you hard. This can be done by regular check-ups with your homeopathic professional. Update your calendar fora monthly routine check-up with your homeopathic doctor to havea regular track of your blood sugar levels, cholesterol level, bloodpressure and other vitals.

Take care of heartHeart plays the most crucial role in our body but is very sen-

sitive at the same time. It is very important to look after our car-diac health and be aware of any early symptoms if seen. Cardiacarrest is the most common cause of death that kills millions of peo-ple every year but it can be prevented using homeopathic treat-ment. Homeopathy suggests use of naturally synthesized medica-tions that do not have any adverse effect on our heart. AconitumNapellus, Arnica Montana, Cactus Grandiflorus and DigitalisPurpurea can be used in times of heart related issues. Again it isimportant to note all these medicines can be prescribed under thecare of a homeopathic doctor.

No to bad habitsMost of us have become slaves of our habits. Some adopt good

habits while the majority are prone to destructive habits for get-ting fleeting pleasures and excitement. Peer pressure is anotherimportant factor. Smoking, drinking, junk eating, all these habitsare going to be a burden for the future. Homeopathy has a curefor addiction like alcoholism and smoking. Homeopathic treatmentis seen as effective towards alcoholism and smoking and providesfaster results as well. Natrum Mur, Avena Sativa, Nux Vomica,Kalium Bich, Silicea, Sterculia and Strychninum Nit are some ofthe common remedies that can be used to cure addictions.

�� "��#�� !��@�

#�� $� ��%��&��'��%�% ��&��&&��&%�(�� %)��

��*+,*��-��&�+�& %�'�.��+#-/�&��%&��%�&%�0'��%��

��'�� %��(�0��%��'�%��% & ��)� ��&�&

)�$��0�� &��(��1��%��

��%��: �.�)�,

� � � � � � � �

Cervix is the narrow passage whichforms the lower end of the uterus.Cervical cancer is the second

most common cancer in Indian women,after breast cancer. It usually happens inthe age group of 40-50 years and unfor-tunately, most of the patients end uppresenting in advanced stages. Thebright side however is that this diseaseusually provides a long window for itsdetection in early stages. It is one of thefew cancers that is largely preventable.

The warning symptoms are usuallyan excessive or smelly vaginal discharge,or unusual bleeding from the vagina.This bleeding can happen in betweenperiods, or as heavy bleeding duringperiods. Bleeding after intercourse is animportant warning sign as well. Rarely,pain in the lower abdomen, bloodstained urine might also occur. Any ofthese symptoms should prompt a gyne-cological check up without delay. In itsearly stages, it is treated by surgery, andmore advanced stages are generallytreated with radiation and chemothera-py, or a combination of these.

Cervical cancer is caused by a viruscalled the Human Papilloma Virus(HPV). This particular virus infectsalmost everyone after they become sex-ually active, but 90 per cent of peoplewill clear the virus within one to twoyears of getting infected. Hence, justhaving the virus does not mean one isgoing to get cancer.

There are robust screening testsavailable for picking up the early dis-ease. Two such tests are the pap smearand HPV test. Both these tests are easilyand widely available, affordable anddone on an outpatient basis, withoutmuch discomfort. The World HealthOrganization (WHO) recommends thatall women above the age of 30 shouldget screened, and get routine screeningevery few years to enable doctors to pickup this deadly disease in its nascentstages.

Another very important aspect toconsider and understand is the need forHPV vaccination. Talking about the sex-ual health of our children is still a tabooin our country, which we need to break.Making them aware of safe sexual prac-tices is an important discussion that thechildren need to be involved in.Vaccinating the children against a sexu-ally acquired virus can be a difficultconversation in a lot of families, but itis the need of the hour. HPV vaccine isrecommended for all young adolescentgirls aged 9-14 years of age by theWHO. The vaccine can also be given toboys aged 11-12 years. The vaccine ismost effective when given before theonset of sexual activity. Young immunesystems are more responsive to vac-cines, thereby providing better protec-tion.��*� ��$ ��

*� ��E��'�� D�$�� C��

�� )��))��)�� F�!3�73��"=0"%��

��)��

��#��))��;��

While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemichas not only struck the masses in terms

of the physical consequences but has also takena toll on everyone’s mental well-being. In orderto support such people undergoing emotion-al trauma, a 22-year-old graduate started a sup-port COVID mental health helpline for the vul-nerable last year and has answered more than20,000 calls.

Nikita Gupta was recently awarded withYoung Women Leader in India Award.

“The helpline started operations in March2020 and has continued so far. Our approachhas been in twofold, one, focussed on scalingoperations so more people can get access tomental health support in more languages andtwo, to create awareness about mental healththrough social media.

Our aim is to create more accessible men-tal healthcare solutions and build a robust solu-tion seeking platform as mental health prob-lems are extremely common,” said NikitaGupta. Mental health is an extremely over-looked issue in India, that has considerablyworsened over this period of pandemic.Already being a major contributor to the bur-den of illness in India, suicide deaths due tomental health issues attribute to atleast one-thirdamong females and one-fourth of all males.Most of this illness and death goes unnoticed.

� � ��""��.�"�-.��)7�.#"�2-"2��#�"��6�/%��)�� )�� )�� #��+G��)��,-�� %��)��'G'+

8��

��

�� 2! ,!�4!/�/ ,522�!

�� D� ��5B$��

�� J��

��%�� % %�� !%��"��!� 0��A��+�� !��&��*"�� !!��!!�� !�!��

#:<�&/�; �/

41;#�1#:<�&/�; �/

41;#�1

�� !��

@@)%%&233�� 3$�$��%�3

�� *�4-.#"�!)�"��!��!7�"�� +."�#�-"!��.),�"��5�,�.��)��.,�-."�)1-��,��.4!2��*��.+�� .)��#"#��.)3.��!6%�-!552)�-."�!)#�-!!�,�)."!�%;!�60� !��,#��2#�)�##%�"��.12�%�� "��.),#<��.)6.��!�2.%�-��."�+��)"�� )�2��.),-!552)�-."�!)#� �!7�##�!).��.),�5�".��1.�*.�%��.,%��,2-."�!) �!1�.55��."��.".��"��#��!� !�."��!-�.��# !)#�4��"/�*�!��.#*!�6�,��)�"��7��,�!7��,2-."�!)�7!��!+��"*!�,�-.,�#8��)"�!,2-"�!)#�*��4��,!)��4/��,�"��."".%�#�)�!��5.).1��%��#�.�-��.),��!552)�-."�!)#%��.),�"��#�##�!)5!,��."�,�4/��.6��1.�%��.4!2��#�.�-��.),�"�.,��2)�!).-"�+�#"�*�!��#�-2��)"�/�-!!�,�)."�)1�.)�� !3�-"�!)��),2#"��.��."�!)#��)�"��),�.)�1.�5�)"��),2#"�/�"��#�"��"��,�.),�7�).��,�#-2##�!)��)�.�#��#�!7�"��,�.�!12�#.,,��##�)1�"��!!"�-.2#�#�!7�-��,��.4!2��!�1.)�#�,��)-!��.4!�."�!)�*�"��;!�60� !��,#��2#�)�##�=; ��>�"!�5.�6�"��)"��)."�!).��.��7!��5�)."�!)�!7��,��.4!2��=��(��>8��;��0��"" #0??@!!582#?*�4�).�?��1�#"��?; ABC��D�6�&234��/+)E��;��)0�F.)2.�/��$�."�G8((� 5

�� )��:��4�"�!)�!7�.�"�H�#-2� "2��#,�,�-."�,�"!��!�,��#�).��.#.5!)1�!"��"��)1#�+�4�.)" .�)"�)1#��)-�2,�)1�.�+�)".1��!)��!7"��!,��7"�)1��!+.�,�.)��.�+."!)��#�7�)1��"!� �!"�-"�"��+��.1��#7�!5��.+/��.�)#�.),"�2),��#"!�5#��#�#�!*)�4�.2"�72��/2#�)1��!+��/�+�4�.)"�-!�!2�#8��:��4�"�!)�.�#!��.#��-��*.�.�"�*��-��#�.�"�.,�"�!).��),�.)�.�"�.+�)1��"#�!��1�)#��)��.3.#"�.)8��-�*.��.�"�7�."2��#��)"��-."� .�)"�)1#� !�"�./�)1��!�,��#�).=��)."��>�!)�-!""!)�7.4��-�2#�)1)."2�.��-!�!2�#8��#�.�5.##�+�+�)".1��-�*.�� .�)"�)1��2#"�."�)1"�� ."�,*.�.��!�,��#�).�.�!)1*�"��! �#%��.52).��!#.��.),"��+#8��-!��-"�!)�!7��.)3!�� .�)"�)1#�.#�.�#!�4��)�.,,�,�"!�"��

�:��4�"�!)8�I�!5�.�# �-".-2�.��1!�,7�)�#��.),5.,��.)3!�� .�)"�)1�!7/!2)1��!�,��#�).��)�"��.-"�!7�."�)1�42""��"!�.�!)��!7��!�,��#�).�.�!)1�*�"��265.)��.),�.5.�"��.��# �-".-2�.��*!�6#8��:��4�"�!)�.�#!��.#�#!5�4�.2"�72�%��.),5.,��-! ��H4�.##�#-2� "2��#�,�,�-."�,�"!�"��5/#"�-.��1!,8��#�.)1.�� .�)"�)1#�"�."�.��.�72#�!)�!7�21�.��.),��1�!).��#"/�� .�)"�)1#�.+��.�#!�4��)�.,,�,8��.��.7�*�,� �-"�)1�"��2)-!),�"�!).��!+��!7��.,�.�.),��#�).8��#�.�#!�.��.),5.,�� .�)"�)1�*��F.52).3��#�#��)�*��-!5�)1��!�,��#�).8;��0�"" #0??***8�),�.)#��78�)?�:��4�"�!)?;��)0 ��I�4�2.�/�$

�� ,�#-2##�!)�*��#��"��).212�.��.,,��##�,��+��,�4/F2#"�-�� 9�)6.".-�.��.�%�-�.��5.)%��.�+!,./.�)"��)."�!).��2#"�.),�"��+.��,�-"!�/�.,,��##�4/� � 9!��.%��#�,�)"%��8��# �.6��#��)-�2,��.5�,�)#.��%�7!�5��9�-��#�,�)"!7��),�.<� �!7�##!��.35!�.)�.),��%��#�.�-�� !7�##!�%)�+��#�"/�!7��)!�#%��4.).��.5 .�1)<�.),��".��.�.5 .�%� �!7�##!��5��"2#%��,��4��1)�+��#�"/%��5.)/8��# �.6��#�."�"��#�-!),#�##�!)��)-�2,��!�,��6�2��.��6�%�-�.��5.)%��.),��I!2),."�!)%��<��/.5��.�.)%��7��"�2#"��%��<�.),��548��.)� .@.��"�%�.2"�!��.),��#��2"#".),�)1��.,��#�� .),��.),��0��!2��I!�-��;.��!�8��#�##�!)#�*��4�5!,��."�,�4/��2)��.��.%�7!�5��-�.��5.)%��!#"!)�!)#2�"�)1��!2 ;��0 �"" #0??@!!582#?*�4�).�?��1�#"��?; A��;(�J*4K7�B4*�,G:55�*;��)0�F.)2.�/�L��."��0((�.5

Rabindranath Tagore, was notjust the Nobel laureate poet,author, thinker, composer,

but he was also a self-taught artist.This Republic Day it is good to pon-der on his brilliance as an aestheti-cian of Indian heritage and experi-ence. According to Christie’s, NewYork, his volume of poems,Gitanjali, established his internation-al reputation when it was publishedin London in 1912 in his ownEnglish translation, and the follow-ing year Tagore became the firstnon-European to win the NobelPrize in Literature.

As a result, he became a liter-ary celebrity and frequently touredEurope and America. His flowingrobes and long white hair andbeard conformed to the commonwestern conception of an Indiansage and his lectures attracted hugeaudiences. Jacob Epstein, whosculpted a striking bust of him in1926, reported that, ‘he carried nomoney and was conducted aboutlike a holy man’.

Tagore turned to painting laterin his life. By the time his first exhi-bition of paintings and drawings atthe Galerie Pigalle, Paris in 1930,Tagore, at the age of 69, had beenrecognised as one of the greatestwriters who had ever lived. He hadan early inclination toward represen-tational art but had given up hopeof being a professional painteraround 1900. Over the years, Tagoremaintained private journals wherehe continued to doodle and sketch.Then almost suddenly, in 1924,while in Argentina as VictoriaOcampo's guest, his doodlesassumed more elaborate and expres-sive intent.

Ocampo recognised Tagore'stalent and found spiritualism in hisimages of prehistoric monsters,birds and faces as they were muchmore than naturalistic interpreta-tions. Compared to his early doo-dles, these were not entirely spon-taneous but inspired by his interestin anthropology and the examples

of both primitive and modern art hehad seen.

The world Tagore revealed inhis best works was one of self-reflex-ive evolution, where the imagesthemselves were in the process oftaking shape, as was his art. His earlypaintings were rendered mainly inmonochrome, followed by two-toned and three-toned drawings.The pen-point brush was oftenused laterally, fingers and bits of ragspread the inks and the brush wasthe last to be adopted.

It is heads and figures execut-ed by Tagore in a variety of styles,that have elicited the most interest.Restrained yet restless, suggestive,bizarre and haunting, these portraitsare considered to be among his mostmemorable works. ‘The pensiveovoid face of a woman with largeunwavering, soulful eyes was per-haps his most obsessive theme.Exhibited first in 1930, endlessvariations of the same mood-imagecontinued to emerge throughout.The earlier ones were delicately

modelled and opalescent, while thelatter examples were excessivelydramatic with intensely lit forehead,exaggerated nose-ridge, painted instrong colours, bodied forth from aprimal gloom.’ (Robinson, The Artof Rabindranath Tagore, Calcutta,1989, p. 56.)

These influences on Tagoreevolved over his lifetime andemerged as expressions of innova-tion and modernity through hispaintings which were unlike any-thing being produced by Indian

artists at the time. In the presentworks, the woodcut Namaz and theUntitled, Tagore suppressed physi-cal detail, creating basic curvilinearforms. The body is represented asa solid field of colour with strokes.Scholars say he had a natural incli-nation toward the tenets of what wenow understand as primitivism inmodern art; the search for symbolsand meaning in visual forms bor-rowed from non-Western, pre-his-toric and rural traditions and peo-ple. So, we glimpse rural regenera-tion in the rustic rhythms.

Painting allowed Tagore tobreak away from the limitations oflanguage. He felt that painting,unlike any other art form, wascloser to nature and could be uni-versally understood and shared.

Architecture is more than just throwingtogether raw materials such as concrete,

glass, and wood. The concept of architecturehas changed over the years, and today, archi-tecture is a way for the designer to playaround with various elements while honingtheir art and practice. Architecture is a com-plex discipline that is an amalgamation ofdesign, art, math and science to arrive at abalanced compendium of form and func-tion. The monuments of India are some ofthe world's most stunning works of archi-tecture. From the Red Fort to Hampi,everything that our forefathers and ances-tors built has been a source of great pride.But due to pollution, natural weathering, andpoor civic sense, the monuments havebeen facing a preservation crisis. However,with the help of architects, and the way theyare devising new plans to preserve the mon-uments, there is an excellent chance thatthese pieces of our collective history will bestanding tall for future generations.Architects have been employing stratifica-tion techniques, logistic recognition, andusing reconstruction methods to preservethe monuments in all their glory.

Manish Dikshit: The founding partnerof Aum Architects believes that architectureis a way to lookat human histo-ry as a whole. Itreflects thechange in needsand thinkingpatterns of ac o m m u n i t y ,which becomeseven more criti-cal when one islooking to con-textualise theirexistence. Thepower of gooda r c h i t e c t u r emust not beunderestimatedas it helps inconnecting peo-ple while pro-tecting the envi-ronment. Sincethe awarenessand need for sus-tainable architec-ture have beenexpressed byexperts, archi-

tects have been working tirelessly to help fitextremely utilitarian buildings while express-ing the need to have carbon-neutral struc-tures. We, as architects, are constantly look-ing to upgrade systems and functions, so itis fulfilling for us to deliver highly concisedesigns.

Sumit Dhawan: The founder and prin-cipal architect at Cityspace '82 Architects is

of the view that architecture is synonymouswith endurance and longevity. He explainsthat buildings and structures made by manmust be long-lasting while being able towithstand the rapidly changing humantimes. A building needs to be both function-al and have perfectly-balanced aesthetics. Italso needs to be expectant of the humanchanges that will inevitably come as timepasses. Architecture is also becoming morecommunity-based. So, long gone are the dayswherein architects would create lofty struc-tures that would inevitably intimidate folks.Simple and highly utilitarian buildings arethe new vogue. We cater to a myriad of com-

munity-based activities that serve to increaseits value.

Anil Badan: The founder & architect atStudio B Architects, states that architectureis all about being accessible. From simplestructural incorporations like ramps andbanisters that would help the elderly or thedisabled to buildings designed with the helpof logic and common sense, we firmlybelieve in having architecture made for thepublic and its people. So, in a way, architec-ture is all about improving the lives of peo-ple. Architecture also deals with the simplestforms of human equations, wherein it hasthe capacity to change lives, enrich humanexperiences and create a context for humanexistence to move forward. With the adventof new materials or finding new methods ofusing old, reliable materials, the art of archi-tecture has changed by leaps and bounds.

Anurag Pashine: The principal archi-tect from Salankar Pashine & Associates, rec-ommends that design has the potential tochange the way we work. Explaining his viewwith an example — an office with a scorch-ing and sweltering area with poor ventila-tion and lack of windows will impact theproductivity of employees as they will notbe able to focus on their work. With the helpof new technology and new materials beingdiscovered every day, this office conundrumcan easily be solved with proper glassfacades that allow ventilation and an HVACsystem that will eventually help air circula-tion. Taking one element out of the equa-tion and working on it so that it is better canlead to changing human lives for the better.While architects aim to create user-friend-ly buildings, aesthetics also play an essen-tial role in attracting people to the facets, so

it is more like a delicate game of Jenga thatneeds to balance various elements.

At the same time, it is also essential torecognise the fact that architecture andhuman lives are constantly in touch witheach other. While recognising that archi-tecture is used to shape and help propelhuman lives, human interactions also aidin shaping architecture. Reflecting thechanging needs and wants of the commu-nities, architecture ultimately helps in theproliferation of urbanisation of variousrural areas as well.

The COVID-19 pandemic hasplaced the cultural and innova-

tive industries at the heart of theinventive economy at crossroads. Theruin, widespread closures of borders,venues and physical distancing mea-sures are impacting whole segmentsof the innovative economy. Manypeople working in the art industryhave lost their jobs. Live performanceand venue-based industries havebeen impacted majorly, impactinglivelihoods, artist potency, marketaccess and artistic freedom, togeth-er with broader effects for the valuechain of suppliers and serviceproviders. The crafts sector is amajor employment provider formany countries that have experi-enced a massive downfall. The crisishas expedited pre-existing trends, inparticular digitalisation, and it hasexposed the pre-existing inequalitiesand precarities of the innovativeeconomy in most of the countriesaround the world, also in the coun-tries where public support schemesfor the creative sector are in place.

Since the start of the pandem-ic, the arts and culture sector has beenwitnessing a paradoxical situation.While the demand for cultural andinventive content has escalatedthroughout the lockdown period —and digital access has now becomemore critical than ever before—economic indicators assume thatthe cultural sector will be one of themost affected and also the slowest torecover. Beyond short-term initiativessuch as surveys or data collectionaiming to provide artists and inter-mediaries with financial and logisti-cal support, both academics andpractitioners must engage in think-ing about the future of art expendi-ture, especially from a consumer'spoint of view.

Many players in the local artindustry have shifted to contactlessand digital ordering. Other adaptivestrategies have included frequentCOVID-19 testing of artists and staffand regular consultation of medicalexperts to inform any reopeningplans. Since many non-profit artsorganisations are losing revenuebecause of restrictions and alsobecause more people are staying athome, these additional costs pose fur-ther strain. The increased desire tosupplement or replace in-personservices with virtual arts experi-ences also adds to expenditures forarts organisations. In some situations,online platforms have allowed artistesand arts groups to reach a larger audi-ence during the epidemic than wouldhave been possible otherwise.

While virtual platforms havebecome one of the most popularadaptations for arts organisations andartists, they are not without theirdrawbacks. Many artistes and artsgroups were forced to invest in newequipment and systems, developnew skills, and figure out how to selltheir work in a virtual world. At thesame time, viewers' ability to fullyadapt to a virtual culture is notassured.

The pandemic has brought someimprovements — collaboration tocreate new works, higher online vis-ibility, and the ability to reach audi-ences and consumers differently —to the disorganised local art indus-try and its artiste community. But

whether the community stands forsustained advocacy with the govern-ment and private sector for recogni-tion and support remains to be seen.

Governments are becomingincreasingly interested in controllinginternet creative expression. However,they must concentrate on narrowingthe existing wide gap between therich and the impoverished in the artworld. While certain art forms willtransition to the digital sphere, it isimpossible to present street/festivalperformances online. To guaranteethat subsidies and other programmesreach the intended recipients, govern-ments should maintain a public reg-istry of artistes. It's vital to recognisegig workers in this industry, as wellas enhance legislation that protectscultural assets.

Not all forms of art are financial-ly self-sustaining. The loss of employ-ment and earnings in the creativeindustry will have a severe impact oninnovation, citizen well-being, andcommunity vibrancy and diversity.The respect and value for an artist'swork must be built from an appre-ciation for art's significance in pre-senting society with a sense of nor-malcy during these lonely times.Otherwise, we shall be collectivelyaccountable for the extinction of ourcultural heritage.

Local artisans, organisationsand institutions around the worldhave met the challenges posed by thepandemic with agility. For many, thepandemic accelerated the transi-tion to the digital medium; the actof self-preservation often led toinnovation. The Internet providedunprecedented chances for artistsand institutions to communicatewith one another in a variety of ways,resulting in new partnerships andchannels for the arts. We've merelyscratched the surface of what a dig-ital platform can provide in termsof entertainment, education, andparticipation. Geographicalboundaries may have vanishedthanks to digital media, but it isnot without its drawbacks: globalrivalry, shorter attention spans,and digital weariness.

The pandemic has not onlystrengthened ties inside the artfield, but has also improved world-wide coordination. Virtual collabo-ration and support of one another,not only domestically but world-wide, is the way to go to maintainand grow stronger roots. Virtualcooperation will go a long waytoward helping individuals stayconnected in a world when physi-cal travel is limited.

(The authors are co-founders ofKutchi Bazaar, an e-commerce

platform for craft products made bythe local artisans of Kutch.)

# � � � 8 � � � � 7 � B � � � � � � � �

�2��,�)1�4�!-6#>��)��F�=��%."� 8�8"

"�� 1�� 0�� ?%�.2 �� %;/=�� 4#��!/

RUSTIC RHYTHMS�� 7��"�"�."� .�)"�)1�*.#�-�!#��"!�)."2��%�.#�-!5 .��,�"!�.)/�!"��.�"�7!�5%�.),�-!2�,4��2)�+��#.��/�2),��#"!!,%�#./#��

!% ��!�@�� !��

#� �� .1 2.3#/

Astand-in captain, who seemed stun-ningly short of ideas, few seniors at

the business end of their careers and adated approach in white-ball cricket --India's woes during the tour of SouthAfrica were many, turning what start-ed memorably into an eminently forget-table outing.

The signs were ominous even beforethey departed with now former Testskipper Virat Kohli's much publicisedacrimony with top BCCI officials.

The entire episode didn't leave theteam in good stead and once there it allwent haywire after the opening Test win.

Stand-in ODI captain KL Rahul wasthen left to do a lot with too little at hisdisposal against an opposition, whichhad gained invaluable confidence.

In the end, it turned out to be anightmare with dark clouds hoveringover the future of this Indian team andno sign of 'VIBGYOR' in the RainbowNation.

Kohli might not admit but the for-mer captain is going through the tough-est phase as a cricketer after having givenup captaincy in two out of three formatsand being sacked in another.

But Because he is Kohli and in a dif-

ferent class, he managed a fine 79 in thelost third Test, where he looked the best.

He also got two half centuries inODIs with minimum fuss where helooked more like an accumulator ratherthan an enforcer that one associates with'King Kohli'. The meltdown at Cape

Town with his misdirected anger atbroadcasters for a DRS gone wrong alsotarnished his reputation and letting thegame drift away with mindless anticswasn't his finest hour when it came tojudging his temperament.

But if one is very blunt, KL Rahul

perhaps blew his chance towards beinga long-term option across formats onceKohli relinquished Test captaincy afterlosing the Test series.

"Did KL Rahul by any stretch looklike a captain to you?" a senior BCCIofficial counter-questioned PTI whenasked if he would be considered for theTest captaincy factoring in RohitSharma's track record of injuries.

It is understood that coach RahulDravid wants to see his namesake as along-term option and it was evident thathe didn't want to put a lot of blame onhis captaincy.

"He did more than a decent job anda lot about captaincy is how your play-ers execute the skills. We were short onthe ODI side. He will grow constantlyand get better as he leads more,"Dravid's observation drifted towards theold adage of a captain being as good ashis team.

But what would hurt Rahul more ishis approach in batting which wasmore about self preservation. The 55 off79 balls in the second ODI deservesmore criticism for the balls wasted andstrike not rotated rather than the runsaccumulated by him.

It is for sure that Rahul, if he has tobe in the white-ball scheme of things,

will have to bat in the middle-order andbe a finisher.

His bowling changes didn't work inthe middle overs and after watchingTemba Bavuma make some inspiredmoves like starting the attack with AidenMarkram, he introduced RavichandranAshwin early in one game but that wasmore of a reactive move rather than apro-active one.

What stuck out like a sore thumb isthe fact that even the biggest of Proteasfans couldn't have imagined that a teamfacing huge transitional problems anda coach due to face a commissioninquiring into his racial misconduct,would turn the heat on and win five outof six international matches and that tooat a canter.

The South Africans played goodcricket but were liberally helped by anIndian team that didn't walk the talk onits proclaimed cricketing philosophies.

There wasn't any fearlessness forbetter part of the tour, no innovative, outof box thinking and at times, theyseemed short on execution of skills.

Cheteshwar Pujara and AjinkyaRahane showed some spark in the sec-ond innings of the second Test but forthe better part, they were not playingtheir positive game.

�� 2%<�/

India opener Smriti Mandhana onMonday was named ICC women's

Cricketer of the Year for 2021. Afterbeing named in the ICC's women's T20Iteam of the year, Smriti has now won theRachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy awardedto the ICC women's cricketer of the yearfor the second time after 2018.

The left-handed opener beat com-petition from Tammy Beaumont ofEngland, Lizelle Lee of South Africa andGaby Lewis of Ireland to clinch the hon-our. Smriti has also become the secondwomen's cricketer after Australia's EllysePerry to win the honour more than once.

"I am truly honoured for receivingthe prestigious Rachael Heyhoe FlintTrophy for the ICC Women's Cricketerof the Year 2021. I am grateful to myteammates, my coaches, my family,friends and fans who believed in mypotential and supported me in this jour-ney," said Smriti in her acceptance of theaward.

Despite India enduring a difficult2021, Smriti stock continued to rise thisyear, scoring 855 runs in 22 internation-al matches at an average of 38.86 withone century and five half-centuries.

In the limited-overs series againstSouth Africa where India won just twoof the eight matches at home, Smritiplayed a major role in both wins. Shemade 80 not out as India chased down158 in the second ODI that helped themlevel the series and scored 48 not out towin the final T20I.

Smriti then played a sublime knockof 78 in the first innings of the one-offTest against England at Bristol thatended in a draw. She played an impor-tant knock of 49 in India's only win inthe ODI series. Her 15-ball 29 and fiftyin the T20I series went in vain thoughas India fell short in both the matchesand lost the series 2-1.

"A recognition of such high classfrom the global governing body ofcricket in an exceptional and difficultyear will motivate me to continue to bet-ter my game and contribute to TeamIndia's success going forward. I look for-ward to 2022 with a clear focus on win-ning the ICC Women's Cricket WorldCup 2022 in New Zealand as we contin-ue to prepare as a team and unit," addedSmriti. Smriti was in good touch in themulti-format series against Australia,starting with the ODI series where shescored 86 in the second match. She com-piled a brilliant century in the only Test(the first of her career), and was award-ed the Player of the Match for the same.

#� �� .1 2.3#/

For a bunch of Indianwomen football players

hailing from humble back-grounds, life in the last one yearhas revolved around playing inthe AFC Asian Cup and withthat taking a shot at the elusiveFIFA World Cup but thatdream lay shattered afterCOVID-19 knocked them outof the tournament.

From captain AshalataDevi to the youngest in thesquad, Hemam Shilky Devi, theAsian Cup was a once in a life-time opportunity and all ofthem were looking forward toqualify for the quarterfinals,which would have also takenthem to the 2023 World Cup,before they were left "heartbro-ken". If not a World Cup berth,they would have made it to theintercontinental play-offswhich would have been historic

in Indian football.But it is now in the realm

of 'ifs' and 'buts' after 12 play-ers tested positive for the virusand the match against ChineseTaipei was called off. The AsianFootball Confederation onMonday confirmed that Indiaare deemed to have withdrawn

from the continental show-piece. "Absolutely devastated,"said senior player and goal-keeper Aditi Chauhan aptlycapturing the sentiment with-in the squad right now.

"In the last one year, ourlives have revolved around theAsian Cup. Our sole aim was to

qualify for quarterfinals andtake a shot at the World Cup,"said another player.

"We are extremely sad anddisappointed at the moment.But it is not the end of theworld and the hope that we willget chances to achieve this infuture if we keep on doing wellis giving us solace."

Many of the players havefought tremendous odds toreach at this level.

Some took up to the sportas it was "cheaper" to pursuewhile others had to go againstthe will of their parents andcommunity. Skipper Ashalatafaced opposition from her fam-ily. Ditto was the case of Shilky,who is all of 16 and had the dis-tinction of being the tourna-ment's youngest player.

The journey wasn't easy forany of them and this setback isdefinitely going to cause tur-moil in their minds.

�� ,. �51�

India have been fined 40 per centof their match fees for maintaining

a slow over-rate against South Africain the third and final ODI of theseries in Cape Town on Sunday. Inthe match, India were bowled out for283 in 49.2 overs while chasing 288at the Newlands Cricket Ground,which meant South Africa won theseries 3-0.

"Andy Pycroft of the EmiratesICC Elite Panel of Match Refereesimposed the sanction after KL Rahul'sside was ruled to be two overs short ofthe target after time allowances weretaken into consideration," said theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) ina statement.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of

the ICC Code of Conduct for Playersand Player Support Personnel, whichrelates to minimum over-rate offences,players are fined 20 per cent of theirmatch fee for every over their side failsto bowl in the allotted time.

Rahul pleaded guilty to the offenceand accepted the proposed sanction, sothere was no need for a formal hear-ing. On-field umpires Marais Erasmusand Bongani Jele, third umpireAllauhudien Palekar and fourth umpireAdrien Holdstock levelled the charge.After Quinton de Kock's 124 propelledSouth Africa to 287 in 49.5 overs,Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli made61 and 65 respectively while DeepakChahar made a quick-fire 54 off just 34balls. But the Indian trio's efforts wentin vain as they fell short of getting overthe line by four runs.

#� �� ,. �51�

India's head coach Rahul Dravid had no hesitationin admitting that the ODI squad lacked balance

with the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadejaunavailable to execute their all-round skills at num-bers six and seven respectively.

India lost the three-match ODI series 0-3 andDravid answered a range of questions covering thepoor show in middle-overs both in batting and bowl-ing, KL Rahul's nascent captaincy career and howVenkatesh Iyer is not being thought of as a top-orderbatter.

"Yeah, we understand the template. Obviously,a large part of the template is also dependant on thebalance of your squad," Dravid replied when askedif the Indian team needs to revisit its template in 50-over cricket.

"I think if you are a little bit honest, some of theguys who help us balance the the squad out and giveus those all-round options at Nos 6, 7 and 8 are prob-ably not here, and available for selection," Dravidsaid, clearly talking about the absence of Pandya, whois trying to get his bowling fitness back and Jadeja,who is recuperating from a knee injury.

"Hopefully, when they (Hardik and Jadeja) comeback, it will give us lot more depth, it allows us thento probably play in a slightly different style," Dravidmade it clear as to what he missed in the series.

Dravid's assessment of his namesake's leadershipskills was pretty lavish as he wanted people to fac-tor in that he could only do as much with the kindof squad he had at his disposal. "I thought he did agood job. Not easy to be on wrong side of the result.He is just starting out as captain," he said.

".....And he will learn and a large part of cap-taincy is execution of skills by your players and qual-ity of side you have got. We were a little bit shorton the ODI side of things and I thought he did avery decent job, someone who is growing and willconstantly be improving and get better as a captain."

There was no denying that India's batting lackedmomentum in all three games especially betweenovers 20 to 40. "We certainly could do better withbatting in middle overs," Dravid said.

"But having said that, even South Africa who bat-ted first on two occasions scored 290 as well and ifI think back and look at the 30th over in both thosegames, we should have chased them down.

"We didn't because we played some poor shotsand we didn't play some smart cricket at critical sit-uations," he said without naming anyone.

Dravid isn't someone who believes in takingnames but when he spoke about demanding perfor-mances in lieu of security and extended run givento some middle-order batters, he obviously meantShreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant.

#� �� 3%�4�51

The Lucknow franchise of the IndianPremier League will be called

Lucknow Super Giants after its ownersannounced the name chosen by its fans.

The offi-cial IPL teamof Lucknow,owned byRPSG Group,decided to takepublic opin-ions from its fans and the name wasshared by owner Sanjiv Goenka in avideo message on Monday.

"Thank you so much for your over-whelming response to the 'Naam banaonaam kamao' contest. Lakhs and lakhsof people responded, based on that weare very happy to choose the name forthe Lucknow IPL team," Goenka saidin his message, while revealing the teamname.

"And the name that we have cho-sen based on your recommendations isLucknow Super Giants. Thak you somuch for your response and love andcontinue to give us your blessings in thefuture as well."

The franchise owners had launcheda consumer engagement campaign onsocial media on January 3 to decide thename of the new IPL side.

Lucknow and Ahmedabad will bethe two new teams in the IPL from thisyear as the lucrative T20 tournamentexpanded its wings to become a 10-team contest.

�#�� .3<5%!�.

Alize Cornet dropped to herknees on the hard blue court,

clasped her hands and took a fewmoments to let it sink in.

In her 17th trip to the AustraliaOpen, her 63rd run at a Grand Slam,and two days after celebrating her32nd birthday, Cornet finally qual-ified for the quarterfinals at one ofthe four major events in tennis.

Cornet recovered after a sec-ond-set meltdown in the hotMelbourne sun on Monday toadvance to the last eight at theAustralian Open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over two-time major cham-pion Simona Halep.

“It's never too late to try again!”Cornet said in her on-court TVinterview. “To be in my first quar-terfinal. It's a dream come true.

“The journey goes on. I still

can't believe it." Cornet led by a set and 3-1

before losing five consecutive gamesand 16 straight points as Halep tookthe match to a decider.

The match was 2-2 in the thirdset after Cornet held a service gameat love, saying “allez” after every shotshe hit.

Halep got a break-point chancetwo games later with a forehanddown the line that just caught theoutside of the paint and whichCornet could barely believe. Shesaved it and held serve, then brokeHalep's serve for a 4-3 lead that sether on course for the quarterfinals.

Cornet will next play DanielleCollins, the No. 27 seed from theUnited States who beat 19th-seededElise Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in analmost three-hour match to openplay on Rod Laver Arena. Collins wasa semifinalist in Australia in 2019.

Cornet made her main drawGrand Slam singles debut as awild-card entry at the 2005 FrenchOpen. She lost five previous fourth-round appearances but had goneclose to reaching the quarterfinalsbefore, having match points in thefourth round in Australia in 2009before losing to eventual runner-upDinara Safina.

With a ranking of 61 — 50lower than her career-high No. 11— Cornet came into the 2022 sea-son acknowledging retirement mustbe close and that it was now ornever for a Grand Slam break-through.

“I don't know if it's helping," shesaid.

“I just told myself that if itshould happen, then it will happen.

Maybe leave it in the hands offate, destiny, I don't know.”

The marquee men's match was

on Margaret Court Arena, where U.S. Open champion Danii l

Medvedev beat 70th-rankedMaxime Cressy 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-7(4), 7-5. The second-rankedMedvedev is trying to become thefirst man in the Open era to winhis second major singles title in thenext Grand Slam event. He's nowpotentially three wins from achiev-ing that.

Medvedev was a runner-up inAustralia last year but avenged thatwith a win over Novak Djokovic inthe U.S. Open final. Djokovic isn'tdefending his Australian Open titleafter being deported on the eve ofthe year's first major for failing tomeet the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination criteria.

Cressy's serve-and-volley stylecreated some frustrations forMedvedev, who said late in thefourth set that this was the “most

unlucky day I've ever had in my life.” His luck changed quickly.

After saving eight break-pointchances in the set, Cressy was bro-ken in that game and Medvedevserved out at love.

He will next play ninth-seededFelix Auger-Aliassime, who beat2014 U.S. Open champion MarinCilic 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (4).Medvedev beat the Canadian in thesemifinals at last year's U.S. Open.

No. 11 Jannik Sinner endedAustralia's last hope in the men'sdraw when he beat No. 32 Alex deMinaur 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

The temperature hit 34 degreesCelsius (93 degrees F) on Day 8,with extra breaks allowed for play-ers to cope with the heat.

Cornet used bags of ice to cooldown her head duringchangeovers, and draped cold tow-els over her neck.

#� �� 2%<�/

Pakistan skipper BabarAzam was on Monday

named ICC ODI Cricketer ofthe Year while England Testcaptain Joe Root took homethe top honours in the red-ball category, beating compe-tition from, among others,Indian off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin.Babar's team-mate and left-arm pacer Shaheen ShahAfridi won the Sir GarfieldSobers Award for ICC Men'sCricketer of the Year. He wasbestowed the honour for tak-ing 78 wickets across formatsin 36 internationals at anaverage of 22.20 in 2021.

The 27-year-old Babarscored 405 runs in six gamesat an average of 67.50 in2021. He was the second-

highest run-scorer with 228runs and was the Player of theMatch in both of Pakistan'swins in the 2-1 series victoryagainst South Africa.

The architect ofPakistan's chase of 274 in thefirst ODI, Babar made a cen-tury and laid the foundationwith an 82-ball 94 in the final

ODI where the visitors post-ed 320 batting first.

He was the lone warriorfor Pakistan when they wereswept by England 3-0. Heaccumulated 177 runs inthree games but found nosupport as none of the otherbatters managed to scoremore than 100 in the series.

#�� .1 2.3#/

India’s most notable poker series- National Poker Series India is

back with its 2nd edition in 2022.PokerBaazi.com, which is India’sbiggest poker platform, will con-tinue as the hosting partner forthe NPS. The series, scheduled tobegin from March 6, hasannounced a prize pool of 18.5crores for 84 tournaments across15 days. With 252 medals on theline to be awarded to podium fin-ishers in all 84 tournaments, andthree NPS Podium medals for thethree finishers with highest medaltallies, this year’s National PokerSeries will yet again have GoldenRush as one of its marquee events.Additionally, NPS Podium finish-ers will get to play the world'sbiggest international poker eventin Las Vegas, USA. The qualifiertournaments, also known as satel-lite tournaments, have alreadycommenced from January 15.

Big dent to KL Rahul's long-term captaincy ambitions

*)��)��)�9��#��

3��0�� /,3 �� 3��0��

�),�.�7�)�,�7!��#�!*�!+��."��.7"��!#�)1�"��,��

� � ��E�� $��

World Cup dreams over for Indian women football players � �� .��

=� ��"H�)��&��3��*��"��

��@��!�)�"��.-��#�J2.�"��7�).�#�."��'L�,��.),��.5

:_gVde`cd ]`dV C*= Tc Rd ^Rc\Ved a]f^^Ve - Daily Pioneer

Documents

Transcript of :_gVde`cd ]`dV C*= Tc Rd ^Rc\Ved a]f^^Ve - Daily Pioneer