BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,FEBRUARY9

BEFORE THE details trickled in,thephotosummedupthestory.Perched precariously on theedgeofasmallcavityonthesideof a hill was a youth, his kneesdrawnup,despaironhis face.Afteralongpausethatlasted

twonights and aday, therewasanotherphoto.Thistime,hewassurrounded by local rescuersand Army commandos. Thereweresmilesandhugsallaround.

“ThankstotheIndianArmy,’’ theyouthsaid ina feeblevoice cap-turedoncamera.In the 45 hours between

these two frames, the story of RBabu, a 23-year-old newspapervendorinKerala'sPalakkad,hadanentire stateontheedge.Itwas onMonday that Babu

and twoof his friends started toclimb the 1,000-feet-highKurumbachi hill near their vil-lageofCheraduinMalampuzha.Not a regular or professionaltrekker, he did not inform hismother and younger brother athomeabout this climb.Around 2 pm, while his ex-

haustedfriendstookabreakandsquattedonarock,Babutrekked

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PAGE1ANCHOR

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

WORLD

RUSSIA TOBEGINBELARUSMILITARYDRILLSSWEDENENDSCOVIDTESTINGASCURBSLIFTEDPAGE14

INSIDE

LS: GOYALREFUSESTOREPLY INENGLISH,SPARKSROWWAZESAYSWANTSTOTURNAPPROVERINE.D. CASEAGAINSTDESHMUKHPAGES8, 10

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

DELHIUNIVERSITY(DU)willre-open for students on February17,withofflineclassesforallun-dergraduate and postgraduatecoursessettoresumeforthefirsttime since the outbreak of thepandemic.Sincethestartof thenational

lockdown in March 2020, DUstudents have not attended asingle day of offline theoryclasses.Limitedspellsofreopen-inghavebeenrestrictedtolabo-ratoryaccessforpracticalsforfi-nal-year students.

In an order issued onWednesdayevening,theuniver-sity said: “Offline classes for allthe undergraduate and post-graduate courses shall beginwith effect from17th February,2022. The outstation studentsare advised to plan reachingDelhiinsuchamannerthattheyareabletocompletetheisolationperiod of three days before re-porting to their respective col-leges/departments.”It said the libraries, laborato-

ries andcanteensof thecolleges,departmentsandcentreswillalsobegin functioningfromFebruary17,andadvisedeveryonetofollow

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NIRUPAMASUBRAMANIANNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

NEWDELHI and Colombo arediscussing a proposal for thesupplyoftwoDornieraircraftfortheSri Lankanmilitary.In an interviewtoThe Indian

Express, Sri Lanka’s ForeignMinister G L Peiris, who metExternal Affairs Minister SJaishankarandNationalSecurityAdvisor Ajit K Doval in NewDelhi, said: “There is a proposalfor thepurchase of twoDornieraircraft.Thereisnofinality,noth-inghasbeenagreedupon.Thereare proposals and counter pro-posals, and it is one of themat-tersunderdiscussion.”He said one of the matters

discussed during his visit wastheupcomingUNHumanRightsCouncilsession,whereSriLanka

has been repeatedly hauled upfor fallingbackon its2015com-mitments to address rights vio-lations towards post-war na-tional reconciliation.His visit comesweeks after

Indiaprovidedaneconomiclife-line to Colombo that includes a$500-million revolving creditline from Exim Bank of India, a$1-bn credit line for food andpharmaceuticals, a deferral onthe settlement of $515millionwith the Asian Clearing Union,and a currency swap facility of$400million.Therewasnodiscussionabout

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Suicides among unemployed crossed3,000 in 2020 Covid year: Govt in RSDEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THEFIRSTpandemic year, 2020,saw the highest number of sui-cides among theunemployed intherecentpast,withthetollcross-ing the 3,000-mark for the firsttime,accordingtoNationalCrimeRecordsBureau(NCRB)data.CitingNCRBdata,Ministerof

State(Home)NityanandRaisaidinawrittenreplyinRajyaSabhaonWednesday that 3,548 peo-plediedbysuicideduetounem-ployment in2020.Thetotalnumberof suicides

thatyearwas1.53 lakh,up from1.39 lakh in2019.In his reply, Rai also said that

between2018 and2020, 16,091diedbysuicideduetobankruptcyor indebtedness–4,970 in2018;

5,908in2019;and5,213in2020.According toNCRBdata, the

highest number of suicidesamongtheunemployedin2020was reported from Karnataka(720), followedbyMaharashtra(625), TamilNadu (336), Assam

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SRILANKAand Indiaarelookingat “closer inte-gration”of theireconomies insectorssuchasports, energy,tourismandhospitality,andpharmaceuticals.Alsoonthe table is aplan fora jointworkinggroupthatwill includethe foreignministersand fisheriesministersof bothcountries, andpossibly somerepresen-tation fromTamilNadu.

Movingtoresetbilateral ties

SriLankaForeignMinisterGLPeiris

Governmentemployees inGhaziabaddistrictofUttarPradeshcollectElectronicVotingMachinesandotherpollingmaterialonWednesday,adayaheadof thefirstphaseof theAssemblyelections. PraveenKhanna

House panelquestionsofficials overban on Keralanews channel

KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

A PARLIAMENTARY panelWednesday questioned seniorofficialsof theMinistryofHomeAffairs and the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcastingon the revocation of the broad-cast licence ofMalayalamnewschannelMediaOneoversecurityconcerns.It is learned that VSK

Kaumudi, Special Secretary(Internal Security) in theMHA,and Apurva Chandra, I&BSecretary, were called by theStanding Committee onCommunications andInformationTechnology,headedby Congress leader ShashiTharoor, and asked about theMediaOne issue.On January 31, the I&B

Ministry,citingdenialofsecurityclearance by theMHA, had re-voked the uplink anddownlinkpermission granted toMadhyamam BroadcastingLimited which operatesMediaOnechannel.Thechannelapproachedthe

KeralaHighCourt.OnTuesday,asingle-judge bench upheld theCentre’s banon its telecast, say-ingtheMHAdecisiontodenyse-curity clearance to the channelfollowed intelligence “inputs”andwas“justified”.Thechannel

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623candidatesin fray

2.27crorevoters

DECISION2022U.P.PHASEI

TODAY

58SEATS2017 RESULTS

BJP 53SP* 2BSP 2RLD 1

*SP, Cong in alliance

NEXT PHASE: FEBRUARY 14

RBabuperchedinasmall cavityonthehill inPalakkaddistrict;andafterbeingrescuedonWednesday.ANI/PTI

In talks with India on 2 Dornieraircraft: Lanka foreign minister

For 45 hours, 23-year-old trappedon a hill has a state on the edge

KARNATAKAHCHEARINGTODAY

15arrestedacrossstate,2-weekbanonprotestsnearschools inBengaluru

JOHNSONTA&APURVAVISHWANATHBENGALURU,NEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

THE CHIEF Justice of KarnatakaHigh CourtWednesday consti-tuted a three-judge bench, in-cludinghimself, tohear abatchofpetitionsquestioningabanonthe use of hijabs in a few pre-university colleges in the stateafterasingle-judgebenchof thecourt had decided to refer thepleas to a larger bench sayingthe case involved largerConstitutional issues.HeadedbyChief Justice Ritu

Raj Awasthi, the three-judge

bench, referred to as a full benchoftheHighCourt,willalsoincludeJustice Krishna SDixit, who re-ferredthemattertoalargerbench,and Justice Khazi JaibunnisaMohiuddin. JusticeMohiuddinisawomanjudgewhotookoathasan additional judge of theHigh

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Hijabpleagoesto three-judgebench includingChief Justice

ED and CBI free, pollscome in between,Govt has no role: PM

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

ONCE AGAINmaking a strongpitch forhis ideaof “onenation,one election”, PrimeMinisterNarendraModi onWednesdaysaidsuchamovewouldpreventallegations of Central agencies,such as ED and CBI, harassingOpposition leaders during elec-tion time.Withvotinginfivestateelec-

tions, including UP and Punjab,beginning in phases onThursday,Modi said: “There isaBJPwave. TheBJPwillwin elec-tions in these five states with ahugemajority.”Speaking to ANI in an inter-

view, Modi also rejected criti-cism that he had skirted key is-sues raised in Parliament, suchastheborderdisputewithChina,andsaiddifferentministrieshadalready responded to theOpposition’squestions.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

CITY

FOROUTSTATIONSTUDENTS, RUSHHASBEGUNTEACHERS LISTPRIORITIES:HOSTELS, CANTEENSPAGE6

Delhi University to reopen Feb 17,after 2 years of only online classes

Policemenpatrolaroad inKarnataka’sShivamoggatown,whereprohibitoryordersare inplace,onWednesday.PTI

PMNarendraModiduringthe interviewwithANI

INSIDE

M.P. BACKTRACKS:NO BAN PLANVOICES FROMANASSAMSCHOOLMOREREPORTS,PAGE 9

MOREREPORTSPAGES8, 15

Modireiteratescall foroneelection

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

Hijab pleaCourtinMarchlastyear.The special benchwill hear

Thursdaya total of fivepetitionson thehijab rowonbehalf of 18girlsfromcollegesintheUdupire-gion.Significantly,theconstitutionofalargerbenchiscontrarytotheKarnatakaHighCourtrules,whichprescribethatareferencetoafullbenchcanbemadeonlybyatwo-judge bench. The larger benchhearingalsotakesawayalayerofintra-court appeal. A rulingbyasingle-judge bench can be ap-pealedbeforeatwo-judgebenchoftheHighCourtbutarulingbyafullbenchcanonlybechallengedbeforetheSupremeCourt.EarlieronWednesday,thesin-

gle-judgebenchof JusticeDixit,which had started hearing thematteronTuesday, said inanor-der: “This court afterhearing thematter for sometime isof a con-sideredopinionthat(given)…theenormouspublic importanceofthequestions involved, thebatchof thesecasesmaybeheardbyalargerbenchiftheHonorableChiefJusticedecides,inhisdiscretion.”“Whetherwearingofhijabisa

partofessentialreligiouspracticein Islam is the jugular veinof allthesematters.Insupportofanaf-firmative claim, petitioners relyupon three decisions of threeneighbouringHighCourts, (i.e.,Bombay, Madras and Kerala),which the respondent-statealsoseeks tobankupon, and severaldecisionsof theApexCourt. Thesaid question alongwith othersneedstobeansweredinthelightofConstitutionalguaranteestore-ligiousminorities,” JusticeDixitsaidinhisorder.The single-judge bench ini-

tially allowed arguments to beplacedforaninterimorderonal-lowing the students to attendclassesforthefinaltwomonthsofthecurrent academicyear. But itlaterdecidedtoreferthequestionof interimreliefaswelltoalargerbenchsincethestategovernmentandadvocates for thepetitionerscouldnot arrive at a consensus.ThedecisioncameaftertwodaysofescalatingtensionandprotestsacrossKarnatakaover the issue,leadingtothearrestsofatleast15persons across the state for“breachingpeaceandharmony”.

OnWednesday,adayafterthestate closedall high schools andcolleges for threedays todefusethesituation,theBengaluruPoliceimposedabanongatheringsandprotests aroundschools andcol-legesinthecityfortwoweeks.Prohibitoryorderswerealsoin

place in parts of Davangere,ShivamoggaandBagalkotwhereclashesbetweenrivalgroupswerereportedonTuesday.AbandhwasobservedintheRabkavi-BanhattitownofBagalkotwhereacollegeteacher was injured in stone-throwingbystudentsonTuesday.In theHConWednesday, the

single-judgebenchofJusticeDixitindicatedattheoutsetthatitwasof the view that the concernsraisedonbehalf ofMuslimgirlsfromaUdupipre-university col-lege andaPUcollege inUdupi'sKundapura involved issues thatmust be addressed by a largerbench. Subsequently, its ordernoted: “All thesematters essen-tially relate to theproscriptionoftheHijab (headscarf)while pre-scribingtheuniformforstudentswhoprofesstheIslamicfaith.Rule11oftheextantrulespromulgatedunder theKarnataka EducationAct,1983authorizesthemanage-mentof institutions toprescribeuniform,subjecttocertaincondi-tions. The recent GovernmentOrderdated05.02.2022whichar-guably facilitatesenforcementofthisruleisalsochallenged.”SenioradvocateSanjayHegde,

appearingonbehalfofsomeofthestudents, argued that theEducationActdoesnotempowerthestategovernmenttoprescribeuniforms in colleges.Hegdesaidthe crux of the issuewas aboutwhetherthestategovernmenthasadministrative powers to pre-scribeuniforms. The state advo-categeneral PrabhulingNavadgiargued that the “petitionsweremisconceived''. He said thegov-ernmentorderdoesnotprescribeuniformsbut leaves it to thedis-cretionofcollegestodecide.“Eachinstitutionhasbeengivenauton-omy.Thereforeaprimafaciecaseisnotmadeout,”hesaid.TheAGalsoarguedthatwear-

ing thehijabdoesnot constituteessentialreligiouspractice.Hesaidallowing thegirls togo tocollegewearingthehijabfortwomonths--untiltheendofthecurrentaca-

demic year -- would virtuallyamounttodecidingthematterinfavourofthepetitioners.Senior advocate Sajjan

Poovayya,appearingfortheUdupiCollege Development Councilwhich isheadedby the local BJPMLA,arguedthattheuniformhadbeenprescribed in consultationwith all stakeholders and thattherewerenocomplaintsthroughthe current academic year untilJanuary.Meanwhile, theprotestsandclashes thatwerewitnessedonTuesday triggered apoliticalwarofwords.State Congress chief D K

Shivakumar alleged that a BJPMinisterfromtheShivamoggare-gionwas involved in procuringanddistributing saffron shawlsandheadgearwornby studentsduringproteststoopposetheuseof hijab. State Home MinisterAraga Jnanendra,whohails fromShivamogga,allegedthat“hiddenhands”werebehindthepro-hijabprotestsinUdupi.UdupiBJPMLAUdupiRaghupathyBhat claimedthat the girls were “secretlytrainedbyagrouptoraisethehi-jab issuesince therewerenoob-jectionsearlier”.

Sri Lanka FMthe implementationof the13thAmendment in his meetings,Peirissaid.Lastmonth,SriLankanTamilparliamentarianshadwrit-ten to PrimeMinisterNarendraModi,seekingIndia’sassistanceinthe implementationof this con-stitutional provision fordevolu-tionofpowersthatwas includedduringIndia’s1987intervention.Peiris,whoassumedoffice in

August 2021, said relations be-tween India and Sri Lanka hadreacheda“highpoint”.India'scon-cernsaboutChina,whichhesaidhadno“rationalbasis”,hadbeen“consignedtothepast”.However,he flagged the fishermen's issuebetweenthetwocountriesas“theoneflashpoint”,requiring“urgentattention”.He said Sri Lanka and India

werenowseeking to “transformthecharacterof the relationship,elevating it froma transactionalleveltostrategicpartnership”.Oneof themain elements of this, hesaid,wouldbethrough“closerin-tegrationoftheeconomyofIndiawith thatof Sri Lanka” in sectors

suchasports,energy,tourismandhospitality,andpharmaceuticals.The two sides, he said,were

planning a jointworking groupduring the visit by Jaishankar inthe second half of March, thatwould include the two foreignministers, the two fisheriesmin-isters, andpossibly some repre-sentationfromTamilNadu.Indian official sources con-

firmedthatthetwosideswerein“veryearly” stagediscussionsonthesupplyofthetwoDornierair-craft. TheDornierisatwin-enginemulti-purposeaircraft,usedbytheIndianNavyandCoastGuard formaritime surveillance. It is alsousedby the IndianAir Force. It ismanufactured by HindustanAeronautics Ltd under licencefromSwiss companyRUAG, andis a showpiece of the govern-ment's “Make In India” pro-gramme.TheproposalforIndiatotransfer amaritime surveillanceaircrafttoSriLankahasexistedforfouryears,butwiththechillinre-lationsintherecentpast,themat-terwasneverseriouslydiscussed.The Dornier aircraft were

among23 fromthe IAF fleet thattookpartinaflypastandaerobat-icsdisplayduring theSri LankanAir Force's 70th anniversary inMarch 2021. At that time, theIndianHighCommissionsaidSriLankawas“PriorityOne”forIndiainthedefencesphere.Peirissaidhisgovernmentand

NewDelhiwerelookingtofinalisemore immediately amemoran-dum of understanding on anIndian$15-millionfundforthere-furbishmentofBuddhisttemples,andanotheragreementoncollab-oration between the SushmaSwarajInstituteofForeignServiceand the Colombo-basedBandaranaike InternationalDiplomatic Training Institute.Anotherproposal underdiscus-sionisforIndiatosupplya4,000-metrictonnefloatingdock.Sri Lanka is “hoping”, Peiris

said,thatPrimeMinisterModiwillbe able to attend in person theBIMSTECsummitwhichitishost-ing this year as the chair of thegrouping.Thesummitistobeheldinthehybridformat.“There’ssomuchthathashap-

penedduringthelastfewmonthsthat there could be a real sub-stancetothatvisit,”hesaid.

Thedecisiononwhethertoin-vite the leader of theMyanmarjuntathatseizedpowerinacouplastyearwouldhavetobe“colle-gial”,andSriLankawouldconsultallothermembersoftheregionalgrouping includingBangladeshandThailand.PeirissaidSriLankawas“inclosetouch”withIndiaontheupcomingUNHRCsession,atwhich CommissionerMichelleBacheletisscheduledtopresentaseconddraft reportonSri Lanka.Thefirst,presentedlastyear,wasasearingcriticismofSriLanka'sfail-ure to address post-war issues,and theemergenceof newchal-lengessuchasthemarginalisationoftheMuslimminorityalongwiththeTamils.“India is verymuchawareof

all the progress that has beenmade in the recentpast, particu-larly with regard to the workwhich has been done on theground by the so called localmechanisms,suchastheOfficeonMissing Persons, Office forReparations, Office forNationalUnity and Reconciliation, theSustainableDevelopmentGoals16CouncilandtheHumanRightsCommissionofSriLanka,”hesaid.

PM interviewAccordingtothePM,thealle-

gationsof investigatingagenciestargetingOppositionleadersdur-ingelectionsaremisplaced.Modisuggestedthat if agencies likeED

andCBI,whichhesaidweredoinga“commendable jobbyrecover-ingnationalwealth”, shouldnotbe conspicuous during electiontime, thereshouldbesimultane-ouselections.“InHindustan, there are al-

ways elections, so should theGovernmentstopworking?Well,onceandforall,youdecideonthis,thattheelectionwillbeheldonceinfiveyears.Everyonewillgetto-gether and fight elections. Everyelection--stateandtheCentre--willbeheldtogether.Wewillsaveonexpensesalso.Then,EDorCBIwon'tbeconspicuousatall...Theseofficeswork independently. Theelectionscomeinbetween...Whatcantheydo?TheGovernmenthasnoroleinit,”hesaid.Askedwhyhehaddevotedso

muchtimeinhisHouseaddressestotheCongress,whichisnotama-jorpollplayerinstatessuchasUP,Modisaid:“Congressisthemain-streamthat is responsible for thecountry's status today.Of all thePrimeMinisters, exceptmyselfandAtalji (Atal BihariVajpayee),everyPMwasfromtheCongressschool. Becauseof this, CongressstylehasbecomethemainstreamofIndia'spolitics.What'sthebasisof Congress ideology -- commu-nalism,casteism,dynasty,corrup-tion, linguism (bhashavaad). SowhenIsayCongress-muktBharat,it does notmean its numbers...LikeCommunism,whichisnotin

poweranywhereexcept inacor-nerinthiscountrybutisadanger-ousideology,this isalsonotgoodforthecountry.”Responding to Congress

leader Rahul Gandhi's criticismagainst his attack onhis family,Modi said he referred toJawaharlal Nehru as India's for-merprimeministernot as “any-one'sgrandfather,orgreatfather”.AskedaboutGandhi'sstatementthathedidnot respondto issueshehadraised,Modisaiddifferentministrieshadgiventheirexpla-nationsonthosetopics.“HowdoI reply to apersonwhodoesnotlisten, skips Parliament?” heasked, apparently referring toGandhi'sabsenceduringhisreplytothemotionofthanksdebateintheLokSabha.Referring to his remark that

Opposition governments inMaharashtra and Delhi hadpromptedmigrant labourers toreturn to their home states,thereby escalating the spreadofCovid,ModisaidCongresswork-ershaddistributedfreeticketsforthe workers while the AAP inDelhi urged people to leave thecity.Modiblamedthemediaforig-

noringhisGovernment'seffortstotakeeveryonealong.Referringtoa specific instance in this regard,he claimed that no one had re-portedatthetimethathehadpro-videdbenefits forMuslimOBCs

whileheadingtheGujaratgovern-ment.Sayingthatthemediatalksabout“aparticularcastehavingaparticularnumberofvotes”,Modisaid “this language should bechanged”.

DU to reopenCovid-appropriatebehaviour.It noted that “students en-

rolled in theUniversity of Delhianditscollegesbelongtoallcor-ners of the country and havebeenresidingintheirhometownsince the teaching-learningprocess has continued online. Itisdifficult forthestudentsindif-ferent parts of the country toreachDelhiatshortnotice intheprevailing pandemic situation.Appropriate time is required forstudents to arrange for theirtravel from their respectivehometown to Delhi to attendclasses inofflinemode."On February 4, the Delhi

DisasterManagementAuthority(DDMA)hadeasedCovidrestric-tionsforhighereducationinstitu-tions, allowing them tooperateentirely in theofflinemodewithnocaponthenumberofstudentsinclassrooms.ButDUissuedano-tificationthatonlineclasseswouldcontinue. This triggeredprotestson campus by student groups,whodemandedresumptionofof-flineclasses.

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AvaneeshMishra joinsSnigdhaSharmatodiscuss theupcomingpolls intheHimalayanstateofUttarakhand, thestate’spoliticalhistoryandmajor issues

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MAHENDERSINGHMANRALNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

DELHI POLICE CommissionerRakesh Asthana has awardedtwo police personnel theAsadharanKaryaPuraskar(AKP)along with Rs 50,000 each fortheir “conspicuous role and ex-ceptionaldevotion”todutydur-ingtheFebruary2020NortheastDelhi riots.Asthana has also given ap-

preciation letters toeightpoliceofficers, including the currentNortheast Delhi DCP SanjayKumar Sain, for “improving thequality of investigation in riotcasesandfortheirprosecution”.Theappreciationlettershave

been issuedbyAsthanaand let-ters to the twopoliceofficersbythe DCP (headquarter) R PMeena. Inspector Tanvir Ashrafand assistant sub-inspectorArvindKumarreceivedtheAKP.“TheCommissionerofPolice,

Delhi, is pleased to award AKPwithacashrewardofRs50,000

toinspectorTanvirAshraf forhisconspicuous role and excep-tional devotion to his officialduty... On the issue of the deci-sionof thegovernment tobringtheCitizenshipAmendmentAct(CAA) & National Register ofCitizens(NRC),inFebruary2020,communal violence engulfedNortheastDelhi.Duringthevio-lence,numbersofanti-socialel-ementswereactive throughso-cial media. A specialised teamwas formed under the supervi-sion of inspector Ashraf, whostartedpatrollingintheareainacivil dress to collect informa-tion,”Meenastated.“It was a daring act of the

team to patrol in the area as(general) public, in a civil dress,without any security gadgets,but the team did not care fortheir lives. The team not onlygathered information from thearea,butalsoconstitutedaminicommandroomathisownlevelat Cyber Cell in DCP’s office. Henot only prepared the databaseofPCRcalls, injuredpersons,de-ceased, viral videos, CCTV

footage/videos, burnt govern-ment/privatevehicles,damagedreligious places, missing per-sons, injured police personneland locals, but also analysedabout10,000PCRcalls.”“He displayed exceptional

qualities during the clash situa-tionwithout caring for his life.Due to his courageous efforts,thepolicecouldsucceedincon-trolling communal violencewithina fewdays,”headded.Meena also referred to

Ashraf’s work in reuniting 756missingchildrenwiththeirpar-ents, andhis performance as aninspectorwith the legal cell.OnASIArvindKumar,Meena

wrote, “To ensure effective andeventless trialof theriotcases,amechanismwas evolved and adedicatedteamof ‘pairviofficers’wasdeployedindifferentcourts.ASIKumarwasassignedrespon-sibility to coordinate amongpairvi officers, to ensure theirpresence incourt togetupdatesfromthem, to compile thedailydiaryhavingoutcomesof cases,positiveandnegativeorders,and

the cases to be listed the nextday.”And, in the appreciation let-

ter for the DCP Northeast,Asthana stated, “Iwant to placeon recordmy appreciation foryour commendable efforts instreamliningtheinvestigationofriots cases. I have learned that itis throughtheeffortsof youandyourteamatNortheastDelhiriotcell thatnotonlyhas therebeena remarkable improvement inthe quality of the investigation,but theprosecutionof thecaseshasalsoseenaparadigmshift inexcellence.”Asthana further said, “From

achieving the first conviction inriotscases,expeditionofframingofcharges,submissionofsupple-mentarychargesheetstosolvingofunsolvedcases,yourpresenceand leadership has been a con-stant behind all the successes.Apart from the brilliantwork inoverseeing the investigation ofthe riots cases, you have alsoprovedyourmettleasapoliceof-ficerbysuccessfullyundertakingeveryassignedresponsibility.”

Police chief awards two officersfor ‘devotion to duty’ during riots

THECITY 3WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

NewDelhi: Electric vehicle (EV)charging stationswill be built atallDelhigovernmentoffices.According to aDelhi govern-

mentstatement,thestationswillbe ready in threemonths. Theidea is to popularise EVs amonggovernment officials who canchargetheirvehicleswhileatof-fice. “A subsidy of Rs 6,000 percharging pointwill be providedforsettingupanEVchargingsta-tion throughaDISCOM-empan-elled vendor. The TransportDepartment,incollaborationwiththe Delhi DISCOMs, has estab-lished a single point of contact.Thesinglewindowprocesscanbeused to install EV chargers fromDISCOM-empanelledvendors atlowtariffs,” thestatementsaid.

EV chargingstations to bebuilt at allgovt offices

New Delhi

New Delhi

RussiaRussiaDiplomats' Day 2022

Dear friends,By celebrating the traditional Diplomats’ Day on

February 10, Russia honours its centuries long tradi-tions of its diplomacy as the most efficient tool to en-sure stability and favourable conditions for economicdevelopment.

Russia always believed that relations should startwith dialogue, which needs to be equal, respectful,trusted and forward-looking. That is something thatconstitutes a foundation of the Russian special andprivileged strategic partnership with India and makesour mutual understanding exceptional.

We are sharing the same values and interests andworking together very closely for the establishment ofmultipolarity to appropriately reflect political, eco-nomic and civilisational diversity of the world as wellas emerging balance of power and satisfy aspirationsfor the reform of the global governance.

We are of a similar view of the importance of thecentral role of the United Nations, its Charter and in-ternational law, which provide all necessary instru-ments to resolve problems and conflicts by peacefulmeans, respect of each other’s interests and promotea unified agenda free from confrontational ap-proaches and unilateral, geopolitically motivated re-strictions as well as interference in domestic affairs.

It is a matter of pride to realise that there is no lim-its in our ties with India. It was clearly manifestedduring the landmark bilateral Summit in December2021 in New Delhi, which introduced the new 2+2Ministerial Dialogue to further expand internationalcoordination. It also set up a new momentum for ourunparalleled cooperation in traditional areas such asdefence, nuclear power, energy and space as well aspromising initiatives in trade, finance, infrastructure,education, culture and, of course, common fightagainst COVID-19.We expect that the 75th anniver-sary of the Russian-Indian diplomatic relations in2022 will become a new milestone in the historicallysolid friendship between our nations.

All that with a dedicated professional contributionof diplomats from both sides makes the Russian-In-dian multifaceted strategic partnership a strong fac-tor for the global and regional peace and stability aswell as sustainable development.

Let me join the Russian Foreign Minister SergeyLavrov who once said about India that we wish tohave the same level of relations with all countries!

ADVERTORIAL

M E S S A G E

ROMAN BABUSHKINCHARGE D’AFFAIRES OF THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN INDIA Russia marks the Diplomats’ Day on February 10 – the

date that goes back to the earliest documented mentionof the Ambassadorial Prikaz (February 10, 1549),which is the first state body in the Russian history thatoversaw foreign affairs. This year the countrycelebrates two milestone anniversaries in a row – 20years since this very holiday was established by theexecutive order of the Russian President on October31, 2002, and the 220th anniversary of the Russiandiplomatic service as such.The Russian Foreign Ministry is a living organism. New departments are being established, newembassies and consulates general are opening around the world. The Ministry is working onimproving its communication with the public, first of all, Russian citizens and compatriots livingabroad, developing digital diplomacy. There will be a series of commemorative events on the occasionof this memorable date. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic restrictions, they will be held mostlyonline or in a hybrid format, so follow the Russian Embassy's accounts on social media and do notforget to give us your precious feedback.

JANUARY 26th marked five years since thedemise of legendary Russian diplomatAmbas-sador Alexander Kadakin. He was a symbol,

embodiment and founding father of the elevatingof the Russian-Indian relations to the level of thestrategic partnership and upgrading it to the spe-cial and privileged status.

He was born in the city of Kishinev, USSR, onJuly 22, 1949 and graduated with honours fromthe Moscow State Institute (University) of Inter-national Relations under the Ministry of ForeignAffairs of the USSR in 1972. The same year hejoined the diplomatic service.

1971, 1972-1978 – probationer, attaché, thirdsecretary of the Embassy of the USSR in India, NewDelhi.

1978-1983 – second, first secretary, counsellorof the Secretariat of the First Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs of the USSR. (Concurrently, 1979-1985 – Asst. Professor of the Department of In-dian Studies, the Moscow State Institute of Inter-national Relations).

1983-1989 –Assistant, SeniorAssistant (Chefdu Cabinet) to the First Deputy Minister of ForeignAffairs of the USSR.

1989-1991 – Minister-Counsellor (DCM) of theEmbassy of the USSR in India, New Delhi.

June - September 1991 – First Deputy Headof the Foreign Minister’s Secretariat.

1991-1993 – Minister-Counsellor (DCM) of theEmbassy of the USSR/Russia in India, New Delhi.

1993-1997 – Ambassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to theKingdom of Nepal.

1997-1999 – Member of the Collegium, Direc-tor of the Linguistic Support Department of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federa-tion.

1999-2004 – Ambassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to theRepublic of India.

2004-2005 –Ambassador-at-Large, Secretaryof the Council of the Heads of Entities of the Russ-ian Federation, MFA.

2005-2009 – Ambassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to theKingdom of Sweden.

2009-2017 – Ambassador Extraordinary and

Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to theRepublic of India.

Alexander Kadakin was an academician of theRussianAcademy of Natural Sciences and was flu-ent in English, Hindi, Urdu, French and Romanian.He accompanied Chairman Leonid I.Brezhnev,President Mikhail S.Gorbachev, President BorisN.Yeltsin on a number of official visits abroad in-cluding India, the USA, Britain, the UN, as consul-tant, as well as participated in the work of the So-viet delegations at five sessions of the UN GeneralAssembly as an expert. He authored and trans-lated several books from English and Hindi, pub-lished over 50 articles in scientific journals andpress in Russia and India.

Regrettably, on January 26, 2017, AlexanderKadakin passed away. He had a number of Gov-ernment decorations. In 2018, he was posthu-mously awarded with India’s third highest civilianaward – the Padma Bhushan.The name of Russ-ian Ambassador to India,Alexander M. Kadakin,

was given to a street in the central part of NewDelhi, India’s capital city. This decision was an-nounced during the annual Russian-Indian sum-mit in St. Petersburg in 2017 by Prime Minister ofIndia Narendra Modi.

Alexander M.Kadakin used to say that there is adeep-rooted national consensus in India on thefriendship with Russia: “Russia differs from allother states in one but fundamentally importantaspect – honesty and sincerity of intentions.Thereis no double bottom in our affairs. Russia has al-ways been, is and will be sincerely interested instrengthening global positions of India as a pow-erful, independent and friendly state.”

The Embassy will surely continue its efforts topreserve and develop his invaluable legacy.To paytribute toAlexander Kadakin on January 26, 2022,H.E. Nikolay Kudashev, RussianAmbassador to In-dia, together with the Embassy’s staff laid flow-ers at theAlexander Kadakin memorial plaque ontheAlexander Kadakin Street in New Delhi.

An occasion with a long past

Five years without Kadakin

Russia raising a vital question on global securityRUSSIA IS one of the key guarantors

of the UN-centric global architec-ture and a permanent member of

the UN Security Council. It is making abig contribution to the maintenance ofglobal security and strategic stability.President Vladimir Putin’s proposal fora summit of the five permanent mem-bers of the UN Security Council is de-signed to promote honest discussionson key issues. A Joint Statement of theLeaders of the Five Nuclear-WeaponStates on Preventing Nuclear War andAvoiding Arm Races, published onJanuary 3 this year, is aimed at reducinginternational tensions. It was drafted atRussia’s initiative, which shows onceagain that Moscow stands not for con-frontation but for dialogue that must becompletely equitable, mutually respect-ful and designed to facilitate a search fora fair balance of interests.

However, the countries of the histori-cal West are not ready to accept therealities of the multipolar world that istaking shape. Washington and its alliespersistently impose their own vision ofthe world, speaking about the need toestablish “a rules-based order”. Re-cently, the United States and its Euro-pean partners have been doubling theirefforts against Russia’s legitimate inter-ests. In addition to unilateral sanctions,they are bringing increasingly more

pressure to bear on Russia by provoca-tive military manoeuvres near itsborders, attempts to draw the Kievregime into NATO, supplying lethalweapons to Ukraine.

In his written message on Indivisibilityof Security addressed to the Heads ofForeign/External Affairs Ministers/Sec-retaries of the US, Canada and severalEuropean countries, Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov made it clearthat under these circumstances Russiawill not sit on our hands as this situationcounters the principle of equal and indi-visible security:

“You are well aware that Russia isseriously concerned about increasingpolitico-military tensions in the imme-diate vicinity of its western borders.

With a view to avoiding any further es-calation, the Russian side presented on15 December 2021 the drafts of two in-terconnected international legal docu-ments – a Treaty between the RussianFederation and the United States ofAmerica on Security Guarantees and anAgreement on Measures to Ensure theSecurity of the Russian Federation andMember States of the North Atlantic

Treaty Organisation.The U.S. and NATO responses to our

proposals received on January 26,2022, demonstrate serious differencesin the understanding of the principle ofequal and indivisible security that isfundamental to the entire European se-curity architecture.We believe it is nec-essary to immediately clarify this issue,as it will determine the prospects forfuture dialogue.

The Charter for European Securitysigned at the OSCE Summit in Istanbulin November 1999 formulated key rightsand obligations of the OSCE participatingStates with respect to indivisibility of se-curity. It underscored the right of eachparticipating State to be free to choose orchange its security arrangements in-

cluding treaties of alliances, as theyevolve, as well as the right of each Stateto neutrality.The same paragraph of theCharter directly conditions those rightson the obligation of each State not tostrengthen its security at the expenseof the security of other States. It saysfurther that no State, group of States orOrganisation can have any pre-eminentresponsibility for maintaining peaceand stability in the OSCE area or canconsider any part of the OSCE area asits sphere of influence. At the OSCESummit in Astana in December 2010,the leaders of our nations approved adeclaration that reaffirmed this com-prehensive package of interconnectedobligations.

However, the Western countries con-tinue to pick up out of it only those ele-ments that suit them, and namely – theright of States to be free to choose al-liances for ensuring exclusively theirown security”.

“It will not work that way. The veryessence of the agreements on indivisiblesecurity is that either there is securityfor all or there is no security for anyone.The Istanbul Charter provides that eachOSCE participating State has equal rightto security, and not only NATO countriesthat interpret this right as an excep-tional privilege of membership in the‘exclusive’ North Atlantic club”.

Sergey Lavrov: Minister of ForeignAffairs of the Russian Federation

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ANONNADUTT&ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

FOR ALMOST two years, DelhiUniversity students fromdiffer-ent parts of the country havebeenwaiting for college to re-open. OnWednesday, after twodays of continuous protests bystudentactivists,thevarsity’sad-ministrationannouncedthatcol-legeswillreopenonFebruary17.All outstation students have

been“advised” toplanarrival inDelhi so they can complete athreedaysof isolationbeforere-porting to their college or de-partment.The Indian Express spoke to

students about the resumptionof classes, and how they willmanagetofindaccommodationinaweek.NIHARIKAAGGARWAL,19Second-year English (Hons),

HansrajCollegeHailing from neighbouring

Meerut,Aggarwalhasvisitedhercollege only once after admis-sion, when she came to collecther library card. A seven-daydeadlineisnotenough,shefeels.“I have beenwaiting for collegeto reopen, but the decisionwasvery sudden. Seven days is tooless a time tomove toDelhi and

find accommodation. I havestartedcallingbrokers,”shesaid.Over the past fewmonths,

shehas seenher friends joinof-fline classes in different institu-tionsacross thecountry."I seemy friends, who have

joined private colleges, postingphotos on socialmedia.We dideverything right and ended upin the prestigious DelhiUniversity, butwe havemissedoutontheexperiences,"shesaid.So far, online classes have

meant that she is constantly infrontofascreen.“Notonlydoweattendclassesonline,butwealsohavetodoalotofreadingonline.Stayingconstantlyinfrontof thescreen for hours has led to per-sistentheadaches.Myattentionspanhasalsoreduced,”shesaid.She said that even though

her teachers try to make theclassesasinteractiveaspossible,sheismissingoutonreal-lifedis-cussions. “I had expected a lotmore fromDU,” shesaid.

ARJADILEEPK,22First-yearMAEnglishThestudentfromErnakulam,

Kerala, suddenly has a host ofproblems toworry about, rightfromthecostof flightstoaccom-modation.“I was excited for classes to

begin,butnowthatit isareality,

itseemslikealotofeffort. Ihavetomakearrangementsfortraveland accommodation. And en-surethatIhavethreedaysof iso-lationbeforejoiningcollege.Theflightsareexpensivealready.”She added, “The exams in

Marchmaybeheldonline,sonotonlydo Ihaveto findaccommo-dation,Ihavetolookforonewithgood internet connectivity. Imighthavetotravelhomefortheexams.” She is travelling lightsinceshestilldoesnotknowhowlongcollegewillremainopenfor.

SANIYARAAHATH,19Second-year Journalism

(Hons), Delhi College of Arts andCommerceWith the decision to reopen

becoming a reality, Raahath toois now figuring out her travelplans.“Ihavenotmadeanyplansfor accommodation as of now,”shesaid.The 19-year-old has felt re-

peatedly over the past year thatshemade amistake by joiningDU. She had joined the journal-ism graduate programme atSymbiosis University, Pune be-fore she got through to DU. “IthoughtofjoiningDUinsteadbe-causeDelhiisthehubofjournal-ism.ButDUremainedclosedforall of 2021. Symbiosiswas openfor a fewmonths towards the

endof 2021.Sodidotherprivatecolleges I had applied to.Sometimes I feel like I made amistake,” said Raahath, who iscurrentlybasedinKollam,Kerala.She said online education is

not helping hermuch. "There isnoparticipationinonlineclasses,theassignmentsaremostlythe-oretical in nature, and the openbookexams feel futile. I feel likeif Igraduatelikethis, Iwillbein-competent," shesaid.On the flipside, she says, on-

lineclassesgaveherampletimeto internat anewsorganisationandamarketingorganisation.

AKASHDHIMAN,20Bachelors in Journalism,Delhi

School of JournalismDhiman is excited about re-

turning tocollegeashebelievesthe learning processwas beingaffected."Online learning is very lim-

itedincomparisontohowmuchIwouldhavegraspedhadIgoneto college. There is less interac-tion,andeveryonejustwantstoget throughwith thesyllabus.”Originally from Raigarh,

Dhiman has been staying in apaying guest accommodationforthepastfewmonthsandwillnotbeuptohisneck."For me, accommodation

won't be a problem as I am al-

ready staying in a paying guestaccommodationinDelhi,butformy friendswho came back lastyearinOctoberandwentbackinDecember,itwillbeachallenge."AlthoughmanyPGsandflats

are vacant, theywon’t be capa-bleof accommodatingstudentssince they were shut for last 2years,hesaid.

ADHIRAJHAZARIKA,20BCom programme, Delhi

CollegeofArts andCommerceThecostof flights,morethan

a place to live, is what has gotHazarikaworried since he onlyhas four days tomake arrange-ments.Whilemanagingaccom-modationwouldnotbeanissueforhimashewasstayinginaPGwhich he had booked early lastyear itself, tickets could pose anissue, said the Dibrugarh resi-dent. “To include the three dayisolation period, I will have tobook tickets in a short period,which will be expensive,” hesaid. However, he is happy thatcollegesare finally reopening.“The course work has been

managed but the question ishow much I have learnt.Interaction with teachers andclassmates has largely beenmissingandthatalsohasanim-pactonthelearningprocess,”hesaid.

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

WITHAweek to prepare for re-opening, colleges are rushing toget their essential services thathavebeen lyingdormant for al-most twoyears inplace.According to the university’s

order issuedWednesday, offlineclasses will resume fromFebruary 17 for all courses.Administrators across collegessaidwith this, theywill stop on-lineclassessinceitisuntenabletosustainhybridteaching-learningwiththeir largeclassroomsizes.“It was as much an an-

nouncement for us as itwas forstudents,” said a principal, whodid not want to be named,addingthatprincipalsofcollegeswere attending a universitymeeting onhowandwhen col-legesshouldbereopenedwhentheannouncementwasmade.Kirori Mal College principal

Vibha Chauhan said the firstthingthecollegewillbeworking

on isallottinghostel seats.“Weneedtoquicklyconduct

ameetingof thehostelcommit-tee, decide how many hostelseats will be offered, allot seatsas per merit and put up theirnamesonthewebsites.Thesec-ond thingwe’ll have to do is is-sue a tender for our canteenwhich has been closed as therewas no point in keeping it run-ning. Since it will take aroundtwoweeks to get it running,wecansetupakioskwithtea,coffeeand snacks in the meantime.We’ll also have to rushup a fewthingswewere in themidst of,such as renovating the libraryandissuingnewsmartcollegeIDcards,” shesaid.The college authorities will

alsocollect informationonhowmany students are vaccinatedandwill try toutilise someof itslarger rooms— seminar rooms,auditorium, common rooms—for classes. Several DU collegesdo not have any hostel at all. AtAryabhatta College, principalManoj Sinha said that teachers

have been taskedwith helpingstudentsout.“We have 2,400 students in

the college and we’ve dividedthem in a way that around 40studentshaveoneteachermen-toreach.Ihaveaskedtheseteach-ers to begin contacting studentsand ask themabout their prob-lems.IhavealsoaskedstafftogetintouchwithPGsnearbyanden-couragethemtostartfullservices,includingmeals,”hesaid.Some administrators also

raised the possibility of newex-penses.“Wehave7,000studentsinourcollege.Evenif3,000-5,000students come, our expenditureforsanitisationwillbehighanditisanexpenseforwhichtherewasno provision earlier. Frequentlyrefillingsanitiserstandswillcostand it’s not a planned expendi-ture.Wecanmanage it for a fewmonths but it is somethingwewill have to keep doing for theforeseeable future, so we andfundingagenciesneedtoplanac-cordingly,” said Ramjas CollegeprincipalManojKhanna.

Twoyearsafter it stoppedofflineclasses,DelhiUniversity iswelcomingstudents tocampus.Whatdoes itmeanfor thoseheadingtocollege for the first time?

Agla station: Vishwavidyalaya

(Fromleft)AkashDhiman,ArjaDileepK,NiharikaAggarwal,AdhirajHazarika

DuringprotestsatNorthCampusonWednesday.AmitMehra

Before rush, DU has task cut out,from hostels to PGs to canteens

MAHENDERSINGHMANRALNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

ASPARTof itsprobeintotherapeofa19-year-oldstudentinsideapark in Dwarka, allegedly by aman posing as a policeman, in-vestigatorsarecheckingaround400 Ertiga cars currently beingused by Delhi Police personnel.This, since CCTV from outsidethe park suggests the accusedleft inawhiteErtiga.Meanwhile, theteenagerhas

recorded her statement under

CrPCsection164beforeamagis-trate,wherein she corroboratedtheallegationsmadeinherpolicecomplaint.When contacted, DCP

(Dwarka) Shankar Choudharysaid,“Wehavenotmadeanyar-rest so far and our investigationis still on."A senior police officer said

thatsinceitwasdarkatthetime,sheandher friend,whowasas-saulted by the accused, havebeen unable to share a detaileddescriptionoftheman,whowasdressed in khaki pants and akhakiwoolencap.

Sources also told The IndianExpressthewomanandherfriendparticipated in a ‘test identifica-tionparade’whereintheysawallpersonnelpostedwiththepolicestation closest to the park, andaskedwhether anyof themwastheaccused."Theysawallthepo-licemen,butdidnot identifyanyof themas the accused. Severalteamshavebeenformedtocrackthecase,andtheyarenowtryingtoestablishtheroutetakenbytheaccused,"saidanofficer.The alleged incident took

place on January 28 when thewomanandher friendwereata

park inDwarka. Thewomanal-legedtheywereapproachedbyaman in khaki uniform whoclaimed theywere indulging inobscenityandthreatenedto filea complaint against them. Theaccusedassaultedherfriendbe-fore sending him away and al-legedly rapingher.Police said the woman told

hermother about the incidenton January 29, who then in-formed her husband. “I am stilldepressed and traumatised. Ihave this question – why arewomen treated as objects,” thewomanwrote inhercomplaint.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THE DELHI Jal Board (DJB)Wednesday regularised 700contractualworkers, claiming itwas thebiggest suchexercise inthecountry.Contractual workers across

departments, from teachers toDelhiTransportCorporationandDelhi Metro Rail Corporationworkers, have raised the de-mandfor regularisationperiod-icallyoverthepastseveralyears.Whilethemoveisexpectedtoseethe demand raising its head inotherdepartmentsaswell,itwillalsoearngoodwill in anelectionyearfortheAamAadmiParty.Themunicipal corporation polls inDelhiarescheduledforApril.Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal Wednesday handedover the regularisation certifi-cates toDJBemployees.“Ibelievethestepthatweare

goingtotaketodayisgoingtobehistoric. I have been informedthat never has any of the pastDelhi governments regularisedcontractual workers on such alarge scale. This is the first timesuch mass regularisation hastakenplaceintheentirecountry.Ournationisheadedintheoppo-sitedirectionwherethenumberof regular employees is decreas-ing, and thenumberof non-reg-

ularemployeesis increasing,”hesaid. Drawing a distinction be-tween theDJBandotherdepart-ments, Kejriwal said themovewaspossibleas theutility is con-trolled only by the state govern-ment. InDelhi,which isnota fullstate but aUnion Territorywithspecialcharacter,theservicesde-partment does not comeunderthe elected government but theLieutenant-Governor.“Thepowerand control that the DelhiGovernment canexercise is verylimited. The central governmenthas the finalwordover the stategovernment.Wewereabletoreg-ularise youbecauseDJB is an au-tonomousbodywithitsownsep-arateboardcallingtheshots,andthere is no interference fromtheCentre.Wewillmake consistenteffortsandnegotiatewiththecen-tral government to ensuremoreemployeesinotherDelhigovern-ment departments are regu-larised,”headded.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

800METRES.That’s roughlythedistance between a park inDwarkawherea19-year-oldwasallegedlyrapedbyamanclaim-ingtobeapoliceofficer,andthepolicestationwhereshefiledhercomplaint.Tendaysafterthein-cident, duringwhich her friendwasalsoassaulted,policeareyettomakeanarrest.As reported by The Indian

Express, the incident tookplacearound 7.30 pm January 28,when the woman and herfriendwere at the park. She al-legedtheywereapproachedbya man in khaki uniform whoclaimedtheywere indulging inobscenityandthreatenedtofilea complaint against them. Theman proceeded to intimidatethe two, assault her friend, andrape her after forcing him toleave.TheIndianExpressvisitedthe

parkonWednesday, and foundseveral residents who say theyhave raised safety issues in thepast.The park is spread over five

acres, and has a seating area, asmall open gymnasium and achildren’s playground.Ithasthreeentry/exitpoints,

and around three workingstreetlights in the 800-900me-trewalkingstretch.Pankaj Kumar, a senior offi-

cial at Nokiawho lives near thepark, said, “Wehave been com-plainingtotheofficialstogetbet-ter streetlights. I often go for anight walk and it feels unsafe.Weseeyoungmendrinking,andwe’veapproachedthepolice,butthere's no action. There’s a bigmarket in front, two societieshere and two schools nearby.Still, there are inadequate secu-rity.”The park also lacks CCTVs.

An RWAmember from a resi-dentialsocietynearbysaid:“Wehave complained several timesabout this; we have to dependon cameras installed at societygates. We don’t send our chil-drenthereatnight; it’sveryun-safe.”Suchitra Sharma, a home-

maker, said, “Ihavetwodaugh-ters and I make sure that weleave thepark before 5pm.Wedon’t have any other space butwe can’t stay there for long be-causetherearemanyhooliganswhodrinkandcommit snatch-ing. Two days back, two of myfriendswere targetedand theirphone was snatched. There’shardly any police presencehere.”

Asmalloffice insidetheparkwas locked during the visit.There was no guard, and thefew staffers who look after thepark’s upkeep leave at 5pm.The office is used as a nurs-

eryandalso forcontractorsandother officers to checkmainte-nance/gardeningwork.A senior police officer in

Dwarka denied the allegationsregarding inadequate deploy-ment:“Wehavepolicemenwhopatrolinshifts.Dutyofficerstalktoresidentsandalsohelpseniorcitizens. The allegations are un-true.Theincidentisunfortunateandourteamsarelookingforthecriminal.”Kamaljeet Sehrawat, the

Dwarka councillor, also deniedthe allegations and said: “Wehave installed high-mast light-ing at the centre of the parkalong with streetlights in thearea. It’s a big park and lightingcanbe an issuebutwehave in-stalled enough lights on thefootpath.Weholdseveralmeet-ings there with senior citizensand other residents. It’s awell-maintained space. We don’thave the provision of CCTVs inparks. We have deployed aguardthere.There'salwaysonepersonmanningsuchbigparks.We will look into the incidentand the allegations.”

10 days and no arrest in teen’s rape,car footage is police’s only clue

At park where rape took place,no CCTVs, inadequate lighting

KARNATAKA ECHOAprotestorganisedbyAIMIMinShaheenBagh,against thebackdropof thehijabrowinKarnataka. TashiTobgyal

Delhi regularises700 contractual JalBoard employees

Multi-crore heist case:ASJ recuses himself

Shahdara snatching: Cops question50 men, block entry and exit points

CMArvindKejriwal

ANONNADUTTNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THE ALL India Institute ofMedical Sciences Wednesdaydiscontinued routine testing ofpatients for Covidbeforehospi-talisation and surgeries. “In ac-cordancewithcurrentICMRna-tional guidelines, it has beendecidedtodiscontinuewithrou-tineCovid-19testingpriortoin-patient hospitalisation (regularaswellasdaycare)andalsopriortoanyminorormajorsurgical,in-terventional, andnon-interven-tional procedures and imagingsin clinically asymptomatic peo-ple,” read the communicationfromthemedicalsuperintendentof thehospitalDrDKSharma.Thenewguidelineswere re-

leasedby ICMRamonthagoanddid awaywith testing asympto-matic patients in need of otherprocedures. “Fewer Covid casesarebeingreported,sohospitalcando awaywith testing everyone.Patients canbe tested if they aresymptomatic.Most doctors andhealthcareworkershavehadtheinfection and recoveredwithouthospitalisations and severe dis-ease. Hence, the decision wastaken,”saidadoctorfromAIIMS.

New Delhi: To clamp down oncriminalsinthearea,twodaysaf-tera40-year-oldwomanwasse-verelyinjuredbytwo-bikebornesnatchersatShahdara,policere-strictedentry/exitpointsoflocal-itiesandbarricadedseveralroadsinAnandVihar.DCP (Shahdara) R

Sathiyasundaramsaid, “We reg-istered a case of robbery on thecomplaintofwitnesses.Wehaveapprehendedaroundeightmenwho are involved in the crime.

Theywere identified after scan-ningCCTVs.Theyarebeinginter-rogated, arrests will be madesoon.” The victim’s family saidshecontinuestobeonventilatorsupportandiscritical.Aseniorpoliceofficersaid,“In

last 48 hours,wehavedetainedand questioned over 50 men.Manyhavebeenreleased.Wearezeroing in on the accused. Theywerewearing helmets but wehave recovered footage and arematchingitwithsuspects.”ENS

PAVNEETSINGHCHADHAGURGAON,FEBRUARY9

MORETHANtwoweeksafterab-scondingIPSofficerDheerajSetia,whoisanaccusedinamulti-croreheist case in Gurgaon, had filedapplications before the SessionsJudge seeking a transfer of thecasefromthecourtofAdditionalSessions Judge (ASJ) to another,ASJJasbirSinghhasrecusedhim-self fromhearingthecase.When thematter came for

hearingbeforetheSessionsJudgeGurgaon, Surya Partap Singh,Monday, the court in an ordersaid, “File put up beforeme inview of the reference dated07.02.2022, preferred by ShriJasbir Singh, learnedAdditionalSessions Judge, Gurugram. Thereferencehas beenmadeon thegroundthatinordertoavoidanywrong impression, the learnedAdditional Sessions Judge doesnotwanttohearthiscase.”The court said the reference

hasbeenacceptedandboth thebail application and trial in thecasehavebeentransferredtothecourt of Additional SessionsJudgeGurgaonAmitSahrawat.In January 2022, Setia had

filed twotransferapplications—one for transfer of case and an-otherfortransferofhisbailappli-cation. Both applicationsweredismissed by Sessions JudgeGurgaononFebruary4.Inacom-monorder,whiledisposingoftheapplications on February 4, thecourt had said in the ‘first trans-ferapplication’ asper theallega-tionsoftheapplicant,thepresid-ing officer [ASJ Jasbir Singh] andDr Sachinder Kumar Nawal, anaccused, are “Facebook friendssince long and the exchange ofmessages too had been takenplacebetweenthem”.The court had sought com-

mentsfromASJJasbirSinghaftertheseremarksagainsthiminthe‘first transfer application’ datedJanuary 19. According to the or-der, the court said theASJ,whilerefuting the allegations of anyprejudice or bias against the ap-plicant,admittedthatNawalwashis Facebook friend. In his com-mentsASJJasbirSinghstatedthathehasbeenperforminghisdutyprescribedunderthelawandthatmerely on the asking of a party,whohasbeennursinganappre-hension, the transfer of a case toanothercourtcanbedetrimentaltotheadministrationof justice.

No Covid testbefore routineproceduresat AIIMS

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 15,416 14,655ICU BEDS 4,476 4,169

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL

VACCINATIONS INLAST24HOURS97,260

NOIDAFeb8 Feb9

Cases 138 117Deaths 0 0GURGAONCases 425 510Deaths 2 2

PATIENTS INHOSPITAL: 800OXYGENSUPPORT 189VENTILATORSUPPORT 70

DELHI: TOTALCASES18,47,515

Cases Recoveries Deaths TestsFeb8 1,114 2,079 12 48,792Feb9 1,317 1,908 13 62,556Total 6.304 18,15,188 26,023 3,54,09,018*Total active cases inDelhi

New Delhi

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7 DECISION 2022U T T A R P R A D E S H ● U T T A R A K H A N D ● P U N J A B ● G O A ● M A N I P U R

P R O F I L E

SHIVNARAYANRAJPUROHITDADRI, FEBRUARY9

IN THIS constituency that bor-ders thenational capital and in-cludes the native village of BSPchiefMayawati, amissingwordonastatueofa9th-centuryiconlookssettodictatewhothepeo-ple vote for on Thursday,whichmarks the start of elections inUttarPradesh.On Tuesday, the last day of

campaigning, BSP candidateManbir Singhwas hoisted ontothepedestal of the samestatue,at PGCollegehere, to slogans of“GurjarSamratMihirBhoj,amarrahein”andbenevolentshowersofrosepetals.“Wewillnotallowanyone to humiliate our Gurjaricon. We will ensure that thisstops,”hedeclared.The“humiliation”heisrefer-

ring to, and repeatedbyall non-BJP parties in Dadri seat, is thattheinitialplaqueforBhoj’sstatue,put up by the Yogi Adityanathgovernment in September lastyear, did not have the prefix‘Gurjar’. The government latercorrectedthat,butforthearound2lakhGurjarvotersof thetotal6lakh in the constituency, it wastoo little, too late.Plus,itreinforcedwhatmany

believe: about the Adityanathgovernmentbeingapro-Thakurgovernment. Thakurs also layclaimtothelegacyofBhoj.Now,withallthefourmainparties(theBJP, BSP, SP and Congress) field-ing Gurjar candidates, the iconhasbecomethepoll issue.While the BSPwonDadri in

2007 and 2012, the BJP hadwrested the seat in 2017 amidsttheModi wave by amargin ofover 80,000, gettingmore thanhalfthevotes.ApartfromGurjars,theotherbigchunkof votersaretheThakurs(around1.2lakh)andMuslimsandJatavs(80,000-oddeach).With Thakurs seen as BJPvoters,Muslims as the SP’s andJatavswith the BSP, the Gurjarvotecanmakethedifference.Jagan SinghNagar, a former

employeeofAllIndiaRadio,says:“The incident with the statuemeans theBJP favoursaparticu-larcommunity...EvenwhenAmitShahrecentlyvisitedGhaziabad,he did not use theword ‘Gurjar’whiletalkingaboutMihirBhoj.”A few kilometres from the

college,SPcandidateanditsvet-eran leader Rajkumar Bhati hasreachedhislastcam-paign stop for theday,atMilakhvillage.Hoping to get fifthtime lucky after fourfailedattemptsattheseat, Bhati is also talking aboutBhoj.“Iwasthefirstpersontoraise

theissue(oftheplaque)andevenwenttojail.AkhileshYadavjialsotook it up. We worship MihirBhoj,”Bhatisays,whiledeclaringthat should theSPwin, itwouldinstall another statue of Bhoj, attheentrancetoGreaterNoida.Sitting Dadri MLA Tejpal

Singh Nagar, who has beenfielded by the BJP again, calls it“nothing but politics”. “Theyhavenothingelse tooffer.”Many in theGurjar commu-

nity say the call between thethree candidates above and theCongress’s DeepakKumar Bhati‘Chotiwala’istough.“Howdoyoudecide betweenyour children?”quipsayouthfromSadopur.Another youngster, Ankit

NagarofAcchejavillage,aBComgraduate preparing for govern-ment jobs, says the SP “might

benefitthemost”fromtheangeragainst the BJP. However, headds,“mostGurjarsinmyvillagefavourYogionaccountof freera-tionandremovalof themafia”.InBadalpurvillage, thebirth-

place of Mayawati, the angeragainst theBJP ismorepalpable.“Forus, thebiggest issue isMihirBhoj,”saysayouth.

Beyond thestatue din, thepromises that popupareemployment,better law and or-der, and housing

and regularisation of colonies.Parts of Greater Noida, land-scapedwithluxuriousbuildingsandconvulsedbydug-uproads,also fall in theAssemblyseat.The SP’s Bhati, who got just

10,366 votes in 2017, and fin-ishedfourth,saystheAdityanathgovernment’sclaimsonlawandorderarefalse.“LookattheNCRB(NationalCrimeRecordsBureau)data, the picture will be clear...We have promised to providejobs, improve law and order,bring down the power bill, reg-ularise colonies and address is-sues related to flatbuyers.”Fighting his first Assembly

election,theBSP'sSinghdemandsin his speech, at the statue, thatthedegreecollegewhere it is lo-catedbeupgradedtoauniversity.“Shouldn’tithappen?”heasks,toaloudresponseofyes.InBadalpur village, residents

say Nagar has neglected them.

“TheMLAhasnotshownhisfacein five years.Had theBJP fieldedsomeoneelse,theymayhavehada better chance,” says BheemSingh,athree-timepradhanofthevillage, adding thatmost of the3,500votesinBadalpurwillgototheBSP,likeinpreviouselections.Bheem Singh credits

Mayawati for giving the area“four colleges and four-fiveschools”. “She has given useverythingwithout asking. Sheisourdaughterandsister.”WhiletheJatavsarestillbehind

Mayawati, therearemutedmur-murs of the need for organisa-tional changes. Most of the 19MLAswhowononBSP ticket inthestatein2017arenowinotherparties,acauseforinstrospection.Somecall for inducting “oratorslike Ravan (ChandhrashekharAzad) or former JNUpresidentKanhaiyaKumar” to re-energisetheparty. Youths stress that theBSP should focusmoreon socialmedia.VikramSingh, a BSPworker

andnursewholivesatMayawati’sancestral house, regrets that theBhimArmychoseaseparatepath.“IfChandrashekharAzadwantstogrow, he should growwith theBSP.Wesupportedhisnon-polit-icalBhimArmy.Buthetriedtoen-terpoliticsseparately.ThiswasnotacceptabletotheJatavs.Hehastoworkmore,”hesays.TheBJP’sNagarisconfidenthe

stillhasthebackingofamajority,and says he has beenwith thepeoplethrough“theirhappinessand sorrow”. Among his“achievements”,heliststhreeed-ucationalinstitutes.“Asfarasjobsareconcerned,itismandatoryforindustries to recruit 40%of theirworkforcefromhere.Atleast600companiesarecominguphere.Itwillbenefit theyouth.”However, for now, work, as

Salim in Dadri’s Raza Colonysays,remainsscarce.Aconstruc-tion worker, he adds:“Nowadays, I lug bricks for 12hours for the same pay as foreighthoursearlier... Iwill stampthe bicycle (SP symbol). Anyotheralternative?Yousuggest.”

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,FEBRUARY9

ASCHEMEthatkeepscomingupintheUttarPradeshelectiondis-course, and has foundmentionin the manifestos of both theSamajwadi Party and Congress,is the pension for governmentemployees.Akhilesh Yadav announced

lastmonth that if the SP formedthegovernment,itwouldrestoreapre-2005 “oldpension scheme”(theSPwas inpowerat the time,ledbyMulayamSinghYadav).Sixdays later, UP Chief SecretaryDurgaShankerMishrahelda re-viewwith officials and issued astatement specifying how the“newpensionscheme”wasmorebeneficial. CMYogi AdityanaththenattackedAkhilesh,sayingthe“newpensionscheme”hadactu-ally got clearance in2005underMulayam, and remained in coldstorage.On Wednesday,

the Congress got intothe game, with itsmanifestopromisinga“mid-way”solution.Whicheverscheme

is finally enforced, thebeneficiarieswouldbethose retiring around 2030-35,sinceitwouldapplytothosehiredafter2004.However, intheshortterm,allpartieshaveeyesonthe12 lakh government employeesandtheirfamilies:

TheNewPensionSchemeThescheme,nowreferredto

as theNational Pension System(NPS), was introduced by theCentre for all appointments af-ter January1,2004.UndertheNPS,everygovern-

ment employee is allotted aPermanentRetirementAccountNumber,andhastomandatorilycontribute10%of payanddear-ness allowance to the pensionfund, which is matched by thegovernment. This money canthen be invested by fundman-agers. After the latest amend-ment, in 2019, the governmentshare of the contribution hasbeenraised to14% from10%.

At superannuation, the em-ployee canwithdraw60%of thecorpusbutisrequiredtoinvestatleast40% topurchaseanannuityfromaninsurancefirmregulatedandregisteredbygovernmentau-thorities.Theinterestontheannu-ity is tobeprovidedasamonthlypensiontotheemployee.

Differencewith oldsystemThebasicdifferenceistheNPS

is a contribution-basedpensionsystem. Under the old system,pensionwas fixed as 50%of thelastbasicsalarydrawn,alongwithotherbenefits.Hence,thebenefitdue was defined beforehand.However,incaseofNPS,thepen-sionbenefitisdeterminedbyfac-torssuchastheamountofcontri-butionmade, the age of joining,type of investment, and incomedrawnfromthatinvestment.

Government standAdditional Chief Secretary,

Information, NavneetSehgal told The IndianExpress itwas “practi-cally not possible” forthe government to goback to the old struc-ture. First, any statewithdrawing fromthe

schemeneeds the Centre’s ap-proval.Second,hesaid,Rs20,000crore of the funds drawn fromcontributionsof employees andthegovernmentwereinvestedinthemarketforaspecificterm.

Employees’ concernHari Kishore Tiwari of the

Rajya Karamchari SanyuktaParishadsaystheformulaworkedoutwiththeSPisthatthegovern-mentwouldformaseparatefundon its own,with contributionofemployees,andemployeeswouldbe given pension benefits fromthesame.However,notallunionsagree

withrevertingtotheoldscheme.“The NPS is no doubt market-driven,butlikeanyothermarket-drivenplan,inthelongrun,ithashigherbenefits,” saysYadvendraMishra, President of the UttarPradesh Secretariat EmployeesUnion. FULLREPORT ONwww.indianexpress.com

SEATWATCH

E●EXPLAINED

A 12 lakh vote bank:why old, newpension talk in UP

I Hereby Declare

arifle)Wife: `48 lakh2Children:`4.7 lakhIMMOVABLEASSETS:Self:`1.4 croreLOANSFROMBANKSOROTHERFINANCIALINSTITUTIONS:Self:`49.6 lakhCRIMINALCASE:NilSOURCESOFEARNING:MLAsalaryEDUCATION:Masters inHRMand IndustrialRelations (1999)

TOTALASSETS:` 3.3 croreMOVABLEASSETS:Self:`1.3 crore(includesarevolverand

Wife: `23 lakhIMMOVABLEASSETS:Total: `3 lakhLOANSFROMBANKSOROTHERFINANCIALINSTITUTIONS:NIL

CRIMINALCASES:(Annexure related tocasesnotuploadedonECI site)

PROFESSION:AdvocateEDUCATION:LLB(2012)

CHANDRASHEKHARAazadSamaj Party(Kanshi Ram),GorakhpurUrban

TOTALASSETS:` 29 LAKHMOVABLEASSETS:Self: `2.4 lakh

PUSHKARSINGHDHAMICM,BJPKhatimacandidate

PASTRESULTS2017TejpalSinghNagar(BJP)Winner,53.57%votesSatveerSinghGurjar(BSP)23.16%votes

2012SatveerSinghGurjar(BSP)40.68%votesNawabSinghNagar(BJP)21.98%votes

In Maya backyard, a differentstatue story fuels Gurjar anger

BSPcandidateManbirSinghnear thestatue inDadri.

YASHEEVARANASI, FEBRUARY9

“IFAgirl likeme is speakingoutin public, she has already over-comethetwomostdifficultchal-lenges, of parivesh (environ-ment) and parivaar (family).Randomstrangerscan’tshutmeup,” saysNehaSinghRathore.The Bhojpuri artiste’s videos

listingproblemsofherstateBiharandneighbouringUttarPradesh,amidst elections there, rattledthestategovernmentsenoughtoissuecountervideos.ItalsomadeRathore the subject of vicioustrolling, which has gotworse intherun-uptothebitterUPpolls.Friends have been urging

Rathoretonotstepoutalone,ortokeep her face covered with amask.But,the24-year-old—whogrew up in village Jandaha inKaimur district, whohas built afollowing of millions for her

YouTube videos shot on phone,whowritesandsetstomusichersongs,whohasfansnowinevenfaraway Punjab, who hopes tofree Bhojpuri songs’ image from“blouse hooks and lehngastrings”,andwhonowstaysawayfromhomeinahostelinVaranasifor better Internet connectivity,and for her expanding work –sayssheisdonebeingafraid.“Aise hi humko daba lenge

(Can they suppressme just likethat)?”shegrins, sittinginacafeinVaranasi'sLankaarea.Inashirt,jeansandglasses,Rathoreisafarcry fromher videos, where sheappearsinsari,bindiandcoveredhead, but many of the visitorsstopshort, recognisingher.In person, she has the same

anger, confidence andwit. Butbehind that camera-perfecteddemeanourareglimpsesofagirlwho is still very young, and of-tenveryhurt.Rathorefirstcaughtattention

during theBiharAssembly elec-tionsof2020withhersongBiharmeinkaba(whatdoesBiharhave).Since then, Rathorehas released“around200songs”,dealingwithunemployment, farmersandthemigrationduringlockdown.AftertheBJPwieldedBhojpuri

filmstarandMPRaviKishantore-leaseUPmeinsabba forthecom-ingpolls,Rathorereleasedthefirst‘UPmeinkaba’songonJanuary16.Shehas sincebrought out part 2and3,talkingaboutamongotherthings theHathras rapecase, the

Lakhimpuri farmers’ deaths, andbodiesfoundintheGangaduringCovid.TheBJPhascomeoutwithmultiple songs to counter hers.Commentshavebeendirectedatherquestioningher‘character’.Thisisnotthetrajectoryagirl

like her is supposed to have,Rathore admits. Her father is aprivate firm employee inLucknow,andthefamilyownsasmallfarm.Hersisterismarried,abrother just joined theCRPF.RathorestartedwithBhojpuri

folksongs,thekindsungatfamilyfunctions.As thesegot apprecia-tion,shemovedontoownsongs,“issuesIcaredabout”.Beingargu-mentativefromchildhoodalwaysgother reactions like, “Marryheroffquicklysosheissomeoneelse'sproblem”. “Bachpan se suniyegaaapdikkathain,toubolimeindharaahijayega(Ifyougrowuphearingyouareaproblem,yourwordsau-tomaticallygetanedge),”shesays.Rathore says it is surprising

that “hum jaison se ladne sarkaarutar jaati hai (the governmenttakes on someone as small asme)”.However,itsaysmoreaboutthe government, she believes.“Thatithasnothingtocounterthecontentinmysongs...Theabusersattackmylooks,myshorthair,my‘character’. People take screen-shots and tell my parents, ‘Seewhat is being said about yourdaughter’.”Thankfully, Rathore says,

someof itdoesn’t reachhome.Jandaha is a village located

just 85 km east of Varanasi onthemap. But down an unpaved2-kmroad, past theKarmnashariver, themosthelpful directiontoit isbyamotorcyclist:“Taarkesathmudterahiyega (Justturnastheoverheadelectricwiresdo).”Atthevillagethough,everyone

knows Rathore’s one-storeyhouse,downawaterlogged lane.“There isadrainrightoutsidethehouse.Thesearethethingswhich

drivehertowrite,”smilesaproudChampaDevi.It took awhile but Champa

Devi nowunderstandswhyherdaughterhadtofindherwayoutofthere. “Wehadno ideashecouldwritesopowerfully,”shesays.Champa Devi says they are

fully behindRathore, and “don'tcarewhatabuserssay”.“Sheisdo-ing nothingwrong.” Still, abouther future career, she is clear.“Whatshedoesafterhermarriageisforherin-lawstodecide.If theyallowher, shecancontinuewrit-ingandsinging.”That is not howRathore sees

it, nor her fiance Himanshu,whomshemetwhile in college.“Nehahasdoneeverythingonherown, I amsure shecancontinue.My job is to be there for her,” hesays on the phone. “Baaki wohladkihai, ladsaktihai (sheisagirl,shecanfight).”

FULLREPORT ONwww.indianexpress.com

Atacafé inVaranasi.Express

FIRSTPHASEOFPOLLING INU.P. TODAY

Agra

PROMINENT CANDIDATESShrikantSharma (Mathura)SureshRana (ThanaBhawan)SandeepSingh (Atrauli)KapilDevAgarwal(Muzaffarnagar)

AtulGarg (Ghaziabad)BabyRaniMaurya (AgraRural)SangeetSom (Sardhana)NahidHasan (Kairana)

Shamli Muzaffarnagar

Baghpat Meerut

Ghaziabad Hapur

GautamBuddhNagar Aligarh

Bulandshahr

Mathura

2017 2012

BJP:53 SP:2(Kairana,Meerut)

BSP:2(Dhaulana,Mant),RLD:1(Chhapauli)

17

13 20

8

RUNNERS-UP(2017):BJP4, BSP32, SP17, RLD3

PROMINENT CONTESTSKAIRANA:SP’sNahidHassanvsBJP’sMrigankaSingh

BUDHANA:BJP’sRajpalBaliyanvsSP’sUmeshMalik

KHATAULI:BJP’sVikramSainivsRLD’sRajpalSinghSaini

HASTINAPUR(SC):BJP’sDineshKhatikvsSP’sYogeshVermavsCongress’sArchanaGautam

Phase I58seats

Is ladki mein ka ba: The million mutinies in Neha Singh Rathore’s songs

ShivnarayanRajpurohit

BothCongress, SPmanifestosmakementionofpension.PTITHECONGRESS’StallestleaderinUttarakhand,HARISH RAWAThashadtofighthiswaytothetopintheparty.Now,fiveyearsaftera rebellion briefly deposed himasChiefMinisterin2016,the73-year-old is firmly ensconced asthe head of the Congress cam-paign in the state,with hismenaround,anddetractorslikeHarakRawat acknowledging his su-premacy.FacingtheoneroustaskofrevivingtheCongressfromthebig2017defeat,whenhehimselflostfromtwoseats,RawatspeakstoAVANEESHMISHRAatapartyworker'shomeinHaldwani:

AstheCongresscampaignhead,howmuchpressureisthereonyou?There is mental pressure...

Afterpollsinthesefivestatestherewill be electionswhere theBJP andCongress aremaincontenders, sotheseelectionswillhave an impact onthat.Wecanseethisin the past. Before2002, theCongresslost state afterstate,justliketoday.But we won inUttarakhand,anditturned thingsaround...Therefore,wedohave thepressure towin,notjustforourselvesandthestate,but also for theCongress. RahulGandhimust also comeback (aspartypresident), but that shouldbe through party elections.Wewanthimtotakechargeassoonaspossible.

TheCongresshaditsworstperformanceinthelastAssemblyelections(11of70),andtheBJPhasstartedcallingyouHaar-dainsteadofHar-da...Theyareclaimingtheywillgetmorethan60seats.Last time they said 57 seats

andtheygot57.Thiscanhappenonlywhen things are predeter-mined...ThisishowShakuniusedtowork inMahabharat.Thedicewouldshowthesamenumberheaskedfor.Peopleshouldvoteforastronggovernment,Uttarakhandneedsstability.

TheCongressisconstantlyaccusedofMuslimappeasement...TheBJPsaysthatasCMyoudeclaredFridayasholiday.Their ITdepartment is creat-

ing fake informationandpropa-gating it... For five years, I havebeen asking them to showmethegovernmentorder(onFridayholiday). It is so impractical, no

onewillevenconsiderthis.Therewasneverevenademand...Similarly, there is talk of a

‘Muslim University’ inUttarakhand. I came to knowaboutthisonlythroughajournal-ist. IonlyrememberedopeningaSanskritUniversity inHaridwar...They (the BJP) postedmorphedphotos ofmewith a fake beard.The ElectionCommissionmadethemremove thebeard. IwouldsuggestBJPleadersusethatbeardonthemselves.Someoftheirlead-ersalreadyhaveasimilarlook.

DidyouhavearoleinthereturnofHarakSinghRawattotheCongress?Yousaidheshouldissueanapologybeforejoining.You cannot be very rigid in

politics.WhatIdidin2016wastherequirement of that time, and

whatwedonowisthe requirementoftoday. We man-agedtobreakawaya person (HarakRawat) from theBJP. His return re-confirmed thatwhat happened in2016 was wrong.Wewill now try toturnhim into abigassetfortheparty.

Youhavegivensubtleindicatorsthatthismightbeyourlastelection.Areyouconsideringretirement?Allthisdependsonthepoliti-

calcircumstances. IfwereturntopowerattheCentrein2024,Iwillbethehappiest.Iwillleavefornir-vana. If the circumstances needme to keep fighting, how can Ileave the fight? InMahabharatBhishmPitamahwas the eldestbut led the battle for 10 days.Those much younger yieldedearly.

ShouldtheCongresshavenamedaCMcandidate?This is a very complicated

question, and an orthodox one.However, there is a saying that‘dulhanwahi jo piyaman bhaye(thebrideisonewhopleasesthegroom)’.Suggestionsof thepub-liccannotbeignored,cognizancehastobetaken.AsfarasIamcon-cerned,Iwillfollowthepartytra-ditionofdecidingtheCMlateron.

ArepeoplegoingtovoteforHarishRawat?Toacertainextent. It ispossi-

blepeoplehave feelings forme. Iama factor, I can say. People alsocomparemy governmentwiththisgovernment.

FULLINTERVIEWONwww.indianexpress.com

THE EXPRESSINTERVIEW

WITH

HARISHRAWAT

FORMERUTTARAKHANDCM,CONGLEADER

‘Peoplemayhavefeelings forme…I ama factor’

UTTARPRADESH

Jan31 Feb9

6,226

Deaths 23,359DeathsToday 16Cases

PUNJAB

Jan31 Feb9

2,347

Deaths 17,524DeathsToday 29Cases

UTTARAKHAND

Jan31 Feb9

Deaths 7,633DeathsToday 5Cases

GOA

Jan31 Feb9

Deaths 3,760DeathsToday 6Cases

MANIPUR

Jan31 Feb9

Deaths 2,074DeathsToday 2Cases

T R A C K I N G C O V I D I N E L E C T I O N - B O U N D S T A T E S

2,056 665 713 259 1881,200

346

500

New Delhi

8THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

INPARLIAMENTBudgetSession

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

From The GalleryFROMTHECHAIRRAJYASABHA

“I request all members tokeep their questionsshort and theministersto keep their replies brief— this is so thatmorequestions can be askedand you can getmorereplies and information,especially if aministerhas to provide data.”HARIVANSHNARAYANSINGH,DYCHAIRMANOFRAJYASABHA

LOKSABHA

“Youarea lawyer. Idonotknowwhotoldyouwhat.Youhadnineminutes, andthere’soneminute left.”BHARTRUHARIMAHTAB,asksBJPMPPPChaudhary to conclude hisspeech in time.

5QUESTIONS

REACTINGTOTHEUNIONBUDGET, BJDRAJYASABHAMPDRAMARPATNAIKTOLDESHAROYTHATHEWELCOMEDTHEFOCUSONCLIMATECHANGE, BUTSAIDTHATMORENEEDEDTOBEDONE.

YousaidinyourspeechthatthisfocusonclimatechangewasneededintheBudget.Whyisthisso?Veryoftenwehereaboutactiontakenregardingclimatechangeandprogrammesrelatingto it,but this isusually lipserviceandhasneverbeenbroughttothecentreof theBudget,whichhasbeendonethis time,andwewelcomeit.This isanextremelyimportantstepas itshowsthegovernment’s intentonclimateaction,not just for thecurrentyearbut forthenext25years.Thetrajectoryofgrowthhasbeenlinkedtoenergytransition,whichwasalsoveryimportant...Nobel-winningeconomist JosephStiglitz talksof threeexistentialcrisesfacingthemodernage—inequity, theclimatecrisisandthecrisisofconfidenceindemocracy.

Whatarethedrawbacksyousee intheenvironmentbudget?Thereareanumberofgoodmeasuresannouncedsuchasuseof5-7%biomass,swappingbatteries,greenbonds,lowcarbonstrategy,greenenergyandmobilitysystemsbeingcalledthesunrisesectorandafocusonthecirculareconomy.Yet,ontheotherhand,thebudgetannouncedfortheEnvironmentMinistryis...stillameagre0.012%ofIndia’sGDP.Thecommitmentthatthegovernmenthasannouncedhastobematchedinbudgetaryallocations...TheOdishagovernmentannouncedaseparateclimatebudgetforthefirsttimelastyear,andthisissomethingtheCentralgovernmentneedstodoaswell.

What is theclimatebudget thathasbeenintroducedinOdisha?WhathasbeendoneinOdishaisthataseparateclimatebudgethasbeenprepared,inwhichoutcomesandinvestmentsacrosssectorshavebeenearmarkedforclimateactionandwillbecloselymonitored.Thismandatoryclimateactionelementforalldepartmentswillmainstreamclimateactionandhelpgovernmentsaswellasthepeopleinternaliseit,andisthereforeextremelyimportant.

Howimportant is it forclimateresiliencemeasurestobeapartofthebudget?NostateknowsbetterthanOdisha... theimportanceofcreatingclimateresilienceinfrastructure.Ourchiefministerhascreatedapathwayforthiswherebyhehassaiditisimportanttoconsiderlongterminvestmentinclimateresilientdevelopment...Forinstance,whenwewerehitbyFanisupercyclone—ithadaRs34,000croreimpactonthestate’seconomy.Overonelakhelectricpoleswereuprooted...So,wedecidedtohaveundergroundpowercabling...Wewillalsobecreatingsurgewallstopreventtidalwavewater,orsurgewater,createdbycyclones,fromenteringfieldsandruiningcrops...

What is therelationbetweenclimatechangeandinequity?...Ononehanditisthemostvulnerableinsocietythatisaffectedbyclimatechangethemost.Ontheotheritisthese(extremeweather)eventsthatincreasethegapandinequitybetweentherichandthepoorandothervulnerablegroupslikewomenandchildren.Climate-relatedeconomiclosshasbeen$1.5trillion.Whatisgoodforthetop1%maynotbegoodforthebottom50%.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

COUNTERINGRAHULGandhi'sassertionthatunemployment is rising in the country, BJPMP Tejasvi Surya onWednesday said theCongressleader'sclaimwascompletelybase-lessandthatthereareenoughopportunitiesfor the talented and hardworking. Taking adig at Rahul, he said the “only unemployedpersonis theprinceofCongressparty”.DaysafterRahulspokeof twoIndias,one

of the extremely rich and the other of thepoor, Surya said the two Indias are actuallyIndiabeforeModiand IndiaafterModi.“BeforeModi therewasdouble-digit in-

flation. Nowwe have single-digit inflation.Beforethesizeof India’sGDPwasRs110lakhcrore. AfterModi, the size of the GDP is Rs230 lakh crore. BeforeModi, India’s exportswere Rs 2.85 lakh crore. AfterModi, it is Rs4.7 lakh crore,” Surya said, participating inthediscussionontheBudget inLokSabha.HesaidCongress’s“mindlessobsession”

withsocialismhadkept Indiapoor.“If theGDPhasincreasedmultipletimes,

if FDI has increasedmultiple times, if thenumber of unicorns have increasedmulti-pletimes,howcantherebenoemploymentgeneration.TheCongresspartyandtheirdy-nastic leaders are confusing their politicalunemployment as unemployment in thecountry.Thehardworkingandtalentedpeo-ple have all the opportunities. The only un-employed person is the prince of theCongress party,” the MP from BangaloreSouthsaid.According to Surya, the country wit-

nessed an economic miracle in the pastsevenyearsundertheleadershipofNarendraModi.“Theprogressandthepaceofreformsis unprecedented. The 1991 reforms aretalkedaboutoften.Butthe1991Budgetwasoutof compulsion,not conviction,”hesaid.Surya's speechwas countered by NCP's

Supriya Sule, who said that his accusationsagainstCongressofbeingdynasticwerehyp-ocritical since theBJPwas full of dynasts.She asked if Surya could answerwho is

Ravi Subramnium, a BJP MLA fromKarnataka, and if Surya is related tohim.“IamveryproudofwhosedaughterIam.

PritamMunde, PoonamMahajan, HeenaGavit, Raksha Khadse, Sujoy Vikhe Patil,Jyotiraditya Scindia, Piyush Goyal,Dhamendra Pradhan… the common thing

wehaveiswewereallborn inpolitical fam-ilies,” shesaid.OntheBudget,Suleraisedtheissueof fis-

cal deficit targets set during the Atal BihariVajpayee era at 3% being revised to 6.9% inthecurrentbudget. “Will theRs1 lakhcroregiven to the state to implement centralschemes really help them,” she asked. Shealso raised the issue of pending Rs 28,365crore GST compensation of her stateMaharashtra.FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman,

whowaspresentintheHouse,chosetoreplyimmediately. “The Rs 1 lakh crore given tostatesisoverandabovetheirborrowinglim-its. So it is not going affect their borrowinglimits. There is no interest on this amount.TheCentreisgivingitfor50years.Theinten-tion behind this is the states can use thisamount to complete several of the projectsthattheywantto.Wearebeingsupportivetothestates,” shesaid.“As faras6.9%deficit is concerned,after

one and half years of the pandemic, theonly calls I would get from everybody isspend, spend. Fine, I am spending. It willshow the results. And naturally you willbreach the3% target. So 6.9% is a responsi-ble target,” she said.

Congress's Pradyot Bordoloi remindedtheHouseofthelakhsofdiyaslitbytheUttarPradesh government in Ayodhya and howafter the function, people were collectingmustard oil from them. Referring to YogiAdityanath,hesaid,“WhenSwamyjibecameCM,mustardoilwasRs70alitre, it isnowRs250alitre.Underthefaçadeofpompandgai-etyaroundmonumentalstructuresandstat-ues,actuallyliesthehumancostofeconomicdevastation in India.”He said theModi government brought

downGDP growth from8%during theUPAera to3.5%evenbefore thepandemichit.JDUmemberMahabaliSinghpraisedthe

governmentBudgetbutaskedforspecialsta-tus forBihar.JMM's Vijay Kumar Hansdak said the

Houseshouldapologise forwhathappenedtomigrantsduring theCovid lockdown.TMC's Sougata Ray said the Finance

Minister mentioned about ease of doingbusiness in her Budget speech despite thefact thatWorldBankhadannouncedtodis-continuetheeaseofdoingbusinessranking.BJP'sSanjayJaiswaldescribedtheBudget

as “future oriented” and said that it pavesway for developing India as a developedcountryby2047.

Only for corporates,nothing for the poor,farmers: Opp in RSEXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

OPPOSITIONMEMBERS in Rajya Sabha onWednesdayslammedBudget2022-23pre-sented by Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, claiming it hasnothing in it forthepoorandthe farmers, and ismeantonlyto benefit top corporates of the country.Counteringtheclaim,theBJPsaidtheBudgetfocusesonjob-orientedgrowthandthatit isfar better than any Budget presented byCongress leaderPChidambaramduringthepreviousUPAgovernment.AdayafterChidambaramopenedthede-

bate on the Budget for the Opposition, hisparty colleague Kapil Sibal onWednesdaysaid the government was not looking atgroundrealities.Sibal saidhewas “taken inbykeywords”

thattheFinanceMinisterusedinherspeech:“digital,green,climate,Atmanirbhar,madeinIndia,capitalexpenditure,easeofdoingbusi-ness, tax avenues, GST collection, futuristiceconomy driven by technology, clean fuel,smartcities.”But, he said, certainwordsweremissing:

“unemployment,poverty,foodsecurity,infor-mal sector,migrants, dailywagers, health forall,welfare,socialprotection,women,youth”.TargetingPrimeMinisterNarendraModi

forcallingCongresspartofthe“TukdeTukdeGang”, he said that “those who do tukdetukde of civilization, history, Constitution,brotherhood” are the leaders of the TukdeTukdeGang.Sibal said the BJP talks of “Amrit Kaal”,

butallhecanseeis“RahooKaal”.Hesaidthefocus of the Budget was on infrastructure,but it does not provide relief to the sectorwheremaximum jobs had been shelved –9.8millioninmanufacturing,5millioninho-tel and tourism, 4 million in educationamongothers.

India, he said, has a worse unemploy-ment rate compared to Bangladesh, China,Pakistan, Sri Lanka.Healso said thegovern-ment’s health expenditure – atUS$172percapita–wasalong theworld's lowest.CPI leader Binoy Viswam called the

Budget a “failure” and said it was intendedtobenefitonly“bigcorporatehousessuchasTata, Birla, Ambani and Adani”. He said theBudgetwas “not for thepoor but the rich atthe top”, and added that it did not help thefarmers,womenandhealth sector,with re-ducedallocationandslashedsubsidies.TRS member K R Suresh Reddy said,

“Withtheheavyheart, ImusttelltheFinanceMinister that a 90-minute (Budget) speechhasleft90croreIndiansoutofaBudget.Thisso-called progressive Budget has alienatedthemajorityof thepoorpeople.”DMK’sMMohamedAbdulla said raised

the issue of cryptocurrency, saying that it isunprecedented to taxsomethingwhich is il-legal in the country. “The government haslevied 30% tax on cryptocurrency, but cryp-tocurrencyisillegalinthecountryandwecanonlytaxthatwhichisalegalsystem.Doesthetaxationmakecryptocurrencylegal?”CounteringtheOpposition'sclaims,BJP's

SushilModisaideachpageoftheBudgethadthe focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs”. He said it is“job-oriented”andstressedon“growthwithjobcreation”.Hesaiditwas“100times”bet-terthananyBudgetthatChidambarampre-sentedwhenhewas theFinanceMinister.India,hesaid,willsendRs20lakhcrorein

capital expenditure till 2023, calling it thebiggestever.Capitalexpenditure,hesaid,hasa “multiplier effect” and stated that if rev-enueexpenditureisincreasedbyRs100,onlyRs98 is added to theeconomy,but if Rs100is spent as capital expenditure, Rs 245 isadded to the economy in the first year andRs480 in thesubsequentyears.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

NCPMEMBER Supriya Sule onWednesdayraisedtheKarnatakahijabcontroversyinLokSabha,suggestingthattherulingBJPwantedto decidewhat everyonemustwear or eatandifanyoneprotestedtheywouldbecalledanti-national.ParticipatinginthedebateonBudget,Sule

beganherspeechseekingtheChair’spermis-sion to deviate from the subject. She thenswitched toMarathi and said, “What oneshould wear, they will decide. What oneshould eat, theywill decide.What time andwhereoneshouldgo, theywilldecide.Whatshouldbespokenandwhatnot,theywillde-cide.What shouldbesharedand forwarded,theywilldecide.Andifyoucriticisethem,youwillbeaccusedof beinganti-national.And ifIprotest, Iwillbebrandedasandolanjeevi.”She made the comments in Finance

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's presence intheHouse.Sule again brought up the issue while

talking about the statement of a KarnatakaMLAwho allegedly said that rapes happenbecauseofwhatwomenwear.“NirmalaSitharamanisadignifiedladyand

wearebothwomen.WebothhavedaughtersandIamsuresheisveryproudofherdaugh-ter.What has happened unfortunately inKarnataka...ABJPMLAfromKarnatakahassaid

rapesareincreasingbecauseofwomen’scloth-ing.Ifyouwearahijab,theBJPhasproblem.Ifyouwearotherclothes, thenalso theyhaveaproblem.Youwill domoral policingalsoandthoughtpolicingalso?”Sulesaid.Shesaid thatbecauseSitharamiselected

fromKarnataka, shewas asking her for jus-tice.“TheFinanceMinisterlookedsodignifiedin a Sambalpuri sareewhen presented theBudget.Wedon’t judge eachother basedonclothing.Ihopeshewillintervene.TheHousemustcondemnthis... ifanymansayswomengetrapedbecauseof theirclothes,”Sulesaid.TheremarkthatSulewasreferringtocame

fromKarnatakaBJPMLARenukacharya. TheMLAmade the statement as a response toCongress leader PriyankaGandhi defendingtherighttowearhijabwithacommentthatawomancouldevenwearbikini.

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THE FACE-OFF between the Centre and theTamil Nadu government regarding a num-ber of issues, includingNEET and IAS cadrerules, has manifested in the Lok Sabha onWednesday when Unionminister PiyushGoyal refused to reply in English to a ques-tionposedbyaDMKMP.DespiteprotestsbyMPsfromTamilNadu,

GoyalurgedSpeakerOmBirlatogivearulingintheHousethatministerscanchoosetore-ply in eitherHindi or English and that thereis no “rule that questions in English shouldbereplied to inEnglishonly”.SincethebeginningoftheBudgetSession,

theLokSabhahaswitnessedanumberofsuchinstanceswhere the Treasury benches andOppositionmembers argued over the lan-guageusedduringquestionhour.Whilemin-isterslikeAshwiniVaishnawhaveobligedre-questsofMPstoreplyinEnglish,CivilAviationMinisterJyotiradityaScindiahadinsistedlastweekthathewouldreplyonlyinHindi.OnWednesday, Goyal's refusal to oblige

thedemandtriggeredprotestsbyMPsfromTamilNadu.When DMK MP from Erode, A

Ganeshamurthi, asked a supplementaryquestioninTamilonFDIinflow,Goyalappar-

entlymissed the translation initially. He re-questedthemembertorepeatthequestion,but Ganeshamurthi asked theminister tospeakinEnglish.Hesaidhehadgivennoticeto speak in Tamil. Any MP who wants tospeak in languages other than English orHindimust give prior notice to the table of-fice so that the translator is present and atranslationbothinHindiandEnglishisavail-ableontheheadphonesplacedateveryseat.Goyalreplied:“Icanspeakinthelanguage

I desire. You can get the translation on yourheadphones. Icananswerinanylanguage.”TheOppositionprotested this.Goyal, however, continued to insist that

hewould answer only inHindi. “You askedthequestioninTamil... IwillanswerinHindi.”However, later, in his replies to BJD's

BhartruhariMahtabandDMK'sMDhanushKumar,Goyal spoke inEnglish.CriticisingGoyal,Congress'sSJothiMani

saidministers in the BJP government havebeen “taking such an arrogant attitude to-wardsTamilNadu”.Later, speaking to The Indian Express,

Ganeshamurthi said: “I ama third-termMPandearlierithasbeenthepracticethatwhenamemberasksaquestioninEnglish,themin-isters, if theyarefluentwiththelanguage,re-plyinthesame.Butthisgovernmentdoesnotbelieveinit.Itwants'onenationonelanguage',anditwantstoimposeHindionus.”

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THE JAMMU and Kashmir administrationhas restored land belonging to 610 panditmigrants in the past five years, the govern-ment toldParliamentonWednesday.“Asper the informationprovidedby the

Government of Jammu and Kashmir, theland of 610 applicants (migrants) has beenrestored in the last five years,” MoS HomeNityanand Rai said in a written reply to aquestion inRajyaSabha.“Under the J&K Migrant Immovable

Property(Preservation,Protection&RestraintonDistressSales)Act,1997,DistrictMagistrates(DMs) of concerned Districts in Jammu&Kashmir are the legal custodians of the im-moveablepropertiesofmigrants.TheDMsarefurther empowered to take all steps for thepreservation andprotectionof suchproper-ties,”headded.Rai’s replywas to a questionon number of properties restored toKashmiri pandits in the last five years. “Thegovernment of Jammu and Kashmir haslaunchedaportalon07.09.2021toaddressthegrievancesofKashmirimigrantsrelatedtoim-movablepropertiesandcommunityassets.AnamountofRs.753.89croreshasbeenreleasedduringthelastfiveyearsinthisregard,”Raisaid.

India lost most of Galwan in Nehru time,not an inch more since: BJP Ladakh MPHARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

BJP’S LADAKH MP Jamyang TseringNamgyal Thursday claimed that most oftheGalwanvalleyhadbeencededtoChinaunder the Jawaharlal Nehru governmentand that the boundary has been the sameever since, with not an “inch”more lost inall these years.Namgyalmade theclaimsduringadis-

cussionontheBudget inLokSabha.Healsoasked the Congresswhy it did not includebringingtheAksaiChinregionbackto Indiain its election manifestos from 1962to 2019.Namgyal praised the budget as “his-

toric” and said it had a focus on strength-ening border areas.“I come from a border area, Ladakh,

which borders Tibet, China and Pakistanandwheretension iseverpresent.Also, theOpposition askedwhat had been done fortheborderareas. Therefore, Iwant to focus

ontheborder inmyspeech,”Namgyal said.Accusing the Congress of keeping such

areas “backward”, Namgyal said it did notprovide peoplewith even basic facilities.“Nehru ji talkedabout the forwardpol-

icy but a backward policy was imple-mented at the borders. Our borders be-came uninhibited. People were not givenany facilities,” he said.“For the first time, in this budget, pro-

visionshavebeenmade for thevibrantvil-lageprogrammethat is aimedat strength-ening villages in the northern sectorbordering China and Tibet.”“Today, the leaders of the same party

are shamefully asking the governmentwhat is on the border,what is onGalwan?What isonPangongandChushul,”hesaid.Namgyal listed out infrastructure de-

velopedbyChina in the region. “Thehydeldam ahead of Demchok, 6-8 airports sur-rounding theentire Ladakh region.All thishappened during the Congress regime,”Namgyal said.“PP-14andGalwanValleycameupdur-

ing thediscussionrepeatedly. Iwant to tellyou that Galwan valley is a very big area.Galwan valley had already been ceded toAksai Chin duringNehru ji’s time.What isleft with us is only PP-14, the entry pointof Galwan. Even now, we are in the sameplacewherewewere.Notasingle inchareahas been ceded,” he claimed.“Iwant to ask onemore question.Why

did the Congress not include, even once,bringingbackAksaiChinto India in itselec-tion manifesto between 1962 to 2019?Why was it not done? Are you afraid ofChina?Are you afraid aboutNehru ji’s im-age beingmaligned,” he said.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

EXTERNAL AFFAIRSMinister S Jaishankarwillbeginasix-dayvisit toAustraliaandthePhilippines Thursday. His visit to the twocountries till February 15will be his first asExternalAffairsMinister.ThevisittothePhilippinesfromFebruary

13 to 15 comes over two weeks after theSoutheastAsiancountry signeda$375mil-liondealwith India tobuythreebatteriesoftheBrahMoscruisemissile.Announcing the two-nation visit by

Jaishankar, theMinistry of External Affairs(MEA) said hewill participate in the fourthQuadforeignministers’meetingonFebruary11inMelbournealongwithhiscounterpartsfromAustralia, JapanandtheUS.TheMEAsaiditwillbeanopportunityfor

theministers to follow up on their virtualmeeting held in February last year and ex-change views on regional strategic issuesgiven their sharedvisionof a free, openandinclusive Indo-Pacific region.

“Theministers will review the ongoingQuadcooperationandbuildon thepositiveand constructive agenda announcedby theleaders at the two summits in 2021 to ad-dress contemporary challenges such as theCovid-19 pandemic, supply chains, criticaltechnologies,climatechange, infrastructureetc,” theMEAsaid inastatement.Besides attending the Quad meeting,

Jaishankar will also co-chair with hisAustralian counterpart Marise Payne the12th India-Australia foreign ministers’frameworkdialogueonFebruary12.After theAustralian tour, Jaishankarwill

traveltothePhilippinesonathree-dayvisit.“Theexternalaffairsministerwillholdtalkswith his counterpart, Teodoro L Locsin Jr,Secretary of Foreign Affairs of thePhilippines,” theMEAsaid.

ExternalAffairsMinisterSJaishankar

LadakhMPJamyangTseringNamgyal

Jaishankar to visit Australia,Philippines in six-day tour

Govt: More than600 properties ofKashmiri Panditsrestored in last 5 yrs

NCPMPSupriyaSulespeaks intheLokSabhaonWednesday.PTI

DeputySpeakerBhartruhariMahtabconductsproceedings intheLokSabhaonWednesday. PTI

(Left)BJPMPTejasviSuryaspeaks intheLokSabha. PTI

Piyush Goyal refuses to answerDMK MP’s question in English,triggers protests in Lok Sabha

BUDGETDISCUSSION

Nounemployment,onlyprinceofCong jobless:Surya

Sule raises hijab issue, raperemarks by Karnataka MLA

New Delhi

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

HEALTH MATTERSUNIONHEALTHMinisterMansukhMandaviya,acycleenthu-siast,isveryparticularaboutfitnessandhealthylifestyle.Aftertakingover theministry,hewanted to roll outacanteen thatservesnutritious andhealthy foodoptions. Followinghis or-ders,theHealthMinistryonTuesdaystartedthecanteenwithaspecialmenu.Onthefirstday,thecanteenservedmoongdalcheelawith peas. Significantly, an additional secretarywilloverseethedailymenu.

COURT RAPHEARINGA case against a group accused of duping peoplewho invested in gold savings schemes, Justice S K Kaul ofSupreme Court onWednesday expressed concern overWhatsAppmessagesaboutthecasebeingsentbytheaffectedto groups of which hewas part of. “I don’t want to receiveWhatsAppmessages concerning the case. Someone sneaksintomygroupsandleavesmessages,”hesaid.Thebenchalsocomprising JusticeMMSundresh added, “We express con-cern over the investors sendingWhatsAppmessages to usseeking justice.Weappreciate the endeavour but this is nottheway to seek justice.” It called upon them to refrain fromsuchacts.

ON YOUR MARXIT IS not usual for someone to use the names the Pope andCommunistphilosopherKarlMarxtopushthesameargument.ButthatiswhatCPImemberBinoyViswamdidinRajyaSabhaonWednesdaywhilecriticisingtheBudgetpresentedbyFinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharaman.ViswamfirstquotedPopeFrancisabout neoliberalism and limits of believing in themarkets.Immediately after, he began toquoteKarlMarx, but his timewas exhausted. As he still tried tomakehis final point, usingMarx,Sitharamanstoodupandsaid,“Ijustwanttomakeitsurethat I heard it right.” She asked if Viswam first quoted PopeFrancis and “immediately after thathe is quotingMarx? I justwant tobesure”. Therewassomelaughter,butViswamman-agedtoquoteMarxbeforethenextspeakerbeganhisspeech.

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

GOVT&POLITICS9HIJABCONTROVERSY

TORAAGARWALANAGAON,FEBRUARY9

EVERYMORNING,beforeenter-ing her school, 15-year-oldMahmoudaBegumtakesoffherhijab,foldsitneatly,beforestow-ing it in her school bag. Afterschool, when she steps out, thehijab is fished out of the bag,wrapped around her head, be-foresheheadshome,afewkilo-metresaway.Begum, a Class 9 student,

saysitwouldbe“muchlesshas-sle” if the hijab was allowed inschool,butadds:“Rulesarerules,our teachershaveapoint too.”In Juria Higher Secondary

School in Assam’s Nagaon dis-trict, several Muslim girls findthemselves in a similarquandary, caught between theduty to their families and reli-gious beliefs to wear the hijab.The rules of the school estab-lishedin1948thatsaythatnoth-ing apart fromuniform–whitekurtaandgreendupattaforgirls,white shirt and green trousersforboys–mustbeworn.Asfiya Sultan,15, Begum’s

friend and classmate, says thatshe “feels bad” since thehijab isa “partof her identity”.

“It is something I wear athome, a part ofmy identity. Ourfamilieswantustowearit,elderson the road chide us if wedon’t.Thenwhenwe come to school,wearenotallowedto,”shesays.More than 3,000 km away

fromKarnataka,whereacontro-versy over the hijab is playingout, girls like Sultan andBegumfindanecho. “I donotknowthedetailsbutitisgoodthatthegirlshave spoken their mind,” saysSultan,on theKarnataka issue.Juria is home to a sizeable

Bengali Muslim population of

migrant origin, with severalAssameseHindupockets. GivenAssam’ssensitiveidentitybattlesbetween those considered “in-digenous”andthoseperceivedas“outsiders”, locals are only tooaware of these differences, andareconsciousaboutmaintaininginter-communitypeace.This applies to Juria High

School too, with its 1,000-oddstudents, out of whom about483aregirls. “Everyoneissensi-tive to the historical faultlineshere,” says principal RupalimSarma, who has taught in the

school for threedecades.“Our rules strictly say that a

dress code should be followed,anditisanunwrittenrulethathi-jabs, burqasor anyotheroutsideattire... jeansforthatmatter...willnotbeallowed,”shesays.Soifstu-dents are ever seenwearing thehijab,membersofthefacultygen-tlytellthemnotto,saysSarma.Class9studentTonuSaha,15,

agrees.“Inschooleveryoneisthesame, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh,Christian…That iswhywehaveauniform,”shesays,addingthather twobest friends, Farzin andNarzin, areMuslims.Narzin, 15,adds that she wears hijab athome,butnotatschool,andhasnoproblemwith it.But Nurjahnnur Huda, 17,

points out: “My simple argu-ment is that if allofusareequal,if we are secular, if we respecteach other’s religions, whyshouldaclothonourheads,evenifwedowear it, beaproblem?”Mridul Nath, Inspector of

Schools,Nagaon,saysthatwhilethere areminority-dominatedareasinthedistrict,studentsusu-allyfollowthesetuniformintheschool.“Theymayweartheirtra-ditionalattireathome,butdonotwear it to school, and follow thedresscode,”hesays.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,FEBRUARY9

Withschoolsandcollegesshutforthree days inKarnataka, tensionthat arose on Tuesday followinga face-off between girl studentsfromtheMuslimcommunityde-mandingtheirrighttowearhijabto classrooms and a competingdemand from Hindu youth towear saffron shawls easedaroundcollegesonWednesday.The police have arrested 15

peopleacrossthestateonchargesofbreachingpeaceandharmony,mainly from Shivamogga andBagalkotdistricts.Although tension eased in

the coastal district of Udupi,where the protests have beenmost acute, restrictions underCrPCSection144were imposedin Shivamogga district, where asaffron flagwashoistedatacol-legeonTuesday.Starting that thegovernment

will initiate action against thosebehind the hijab row, stateEducationMinisterBCNageshac-cused the SDPI-backedCampusFront of India (CFI) of being re-sponsible for thecontroversy.Hesaidinvestigationisunderwaytoinitiateactionagainsttheoutfit.Hoursafterhisstatement,the

CFIaddressedthemediainUdupiandtheysaidtheyaresupportingthe hijabmovement. AthavullaPunjalkatte, state president ofCampusFrontof India,said:“TheEducation Minister is makingbaselessallegationsaboutCFI.Itishighlycondemnable,”Punjalkattesaid.“TheSanghParivarandABVPatrocitiesarebeingcoveredupbytheminister.”According to sources in the

state Home Department, con-frontationandviolent incidents

broke out in seven colleges offive districts in the state onTuesday.Protestswerestagedin55colleges in19districts.Home Minister Araga

Jnanendra said there is an at-tempt to foment trouble in thestate through the hijab row.Besidesstudents,someoutsidersarealsoinvolvedandactionwillbe takenagainst them,hesaid.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, FEBRUARY9

MAHARASHTRA TOURISM andEnvironmentMinister and ShivSena leader Aaditya Thackeray,speaking on the hijab issue, onWednesdaysaidstudentsneedtoadheretorulesrelatedtouniform,whereverprescribed.“Where there is a prescribed

uniform in schools/colleges, itshouldbefollowed.Thereshouldbe no conflict on religion inschoolsandcolleges.Onlyeduca-tionshouldbethefocusatcentersofeducation.Religiousorpoliticalissues should not be brought toschools/colleges,”Thackeraysaidwhen asked about the Sena’sstandonthehijab issue.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPAL, FEBRUARY9

THEMADHYAPradesh govern-mentWednesdaysaidnoproposalisbeingconsideredtobanhijabineducational institutions of thestate,adayafterSchoolEducationMinister Inder Singh Parmarstatedthathijabisnotapartofuni-formandthatastateuniformcodewill be implemented in thenextacademicsession.OnWednesday, Parmar also

issued a statement, saying thathis remarks were “wrongly in-terpreted”.State Home Minister

NarottamMishra clarified thatthere was no proposal underconsideration regarding hijab

baninMadhyaPradesh.“Thereisno controversy over hijab inMadhyaPradesh.Sothereshouldbe no confusion in this regard,”Mishra told reporters. Whenasked about the Karnatakaprotests, he said thematterwasrelatedtothatstateandispend-ingbeforetheHighCourt there.Senior BJP leader Uma

Bharati, meanwhile, tweeted,“The Karnataka hijab row hastakenapolitical andcommunalturn. Inabidtostopthis, leadersof opposition must stop theircommentsontheissuewhereasthe state government shouldsoonreachasolutionwhilecon-sidering the independence ofeducationalinstitutesandrightsof commoncitizens.”BJP national general secre-

tary Kailash Vijayvargiya alsotweeted on the issue: “The at-temptbeingmade to spread re-ligious hysteria in Karnatakaschools by insisting onwearinghijab is inappropriate. A schoolhas its own dress code and itshouldbestrictly followed.”Meanwhile, Parmar issueda

video statement, saying his re-marksabouttheschooluniformwas related to “uniformity, dis-ciplineand identityof schools”.“Somepeoplewronglyinter-

preted my remarks and pre-senteditwithawrongreference.Iamdenyingit.Wearenotgoingto implement a new uniformcode.Thereisnoworkunderwayinthisdirection.Presentarrange-ment in schools regarding theuniformwill continue,”hesaid.

MP backtracks a day later,says no proposal to ban hijab

Students shouldstick to prescribeduniforms, saysAaditya Thackeray

Voices from Assam school: ‘Goodthat girls have spoken their mind’

Studentsat the JuriaHigherSecondarySchool inAssam’sNagaondistrict. ToraAgarwala

Minister targetsCFI for trouble,outfit says leadingprotests legally

Karnatakatension ebbswith closure;15 arrested

Aprotestbystudents inKolkata,Thursday.ParthaPaul

New Delhi: The PakistanForeignMinistryWednesdaysummonedtheIndianCharged’ Affaires in Islamabad andconveyed the Pakistan gov-ernment’s“graveconcernandcondemnation” on the“deeply reprehensible act” ofbanningMuslimgirlstudentsfrom wearing hijab inKarnataka. “It was also em-phasised that theGovernmentofIndiamustful-fillitsresponsibilitytoholdtheperpetrators of harassmentagainstwomen inKarnatakatoaccountandtakeadequatemeasurestoensuresafety...ofMuslimwomen,” it said in astatement.ENS

PAKSUMMONSTOPINDIANDIPLOMAT

MAULSHREESETHLUCKNOW,FEBRUARY9

PROMISINGTOwaivefarmloanswithin 10 days of coming topower in Uttar Pradesh, theCongressinitsmanifesto,releasedhere onWednesday, assured20lakhjobstoyouths.Thepartyalsooutlinedafewcaste-basedinitia-tives focusingmainly onDalits,Most BackwardClass, Brahminsand Muslims. The party haspromisedtoappointaDalitHomeMinisterinthestate,andgivesub-caste reservation to people be-longing to theMost BackwardClass.Releasingthemanifesto,titled

“Unnati Vidhan”, Congress gen-eral secretary Priyanka GandhiVadrasaidthedocumentwaspre-pared after discussionswith allthe stakeholders, and called thedocument--“JanGhoshnaPatra”(people'smanifesto).

Thepartyhadearlierreleasedtwomanifestos--"ShaktiVidhan"forwomenand "Bharti Vidhan"foryouths.“Ourgovernmentwillprovide

20lakhgovernmentjobs.While12lakhjobswillbegivenforfill-ingvacantposts,8lakhnewjobs

willbecreated,"shesaid,adding40 per cent of these would beearmarked forwomen.Besides loan waiver, the

party has promised to reduceelectricitybillsof farmersbyhalfandwaive their pending powerbillsduring thepandemic.

UP elections: Cong promisesfarm loan waiver, 20 lakh jobs Day after joining, 18-yr-old NDA

cadet collapses on campus, dies

AICCgeneral secretaryPriyankaGandhiVadrareleases thepartymanifesto inLucknowonWednesday.PTI

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE, FEBRUARY9

AN 18-YEAR-OLD cadet, whohadjoinedtheNationalDefenceAcademy (NDA) on Monday,died after he fainted and col-lapsedontheacademycampusonTuesday, thepolicesaid.Thecircumstances leading to hisdeathareyet tobeascertained,police said.NDA authorities have or-

deredaCourtof Inquiry intotheincident.In a press statement, the

NDA said, "Cadet G Pratyush, anativeofBengaluru,had joinedNational Defence Academy onFebruary 7 as part of 147thCourse. The cadet, on the nextday,February8,collapsedinhisroom, and despite best effortshecouldnotberevived.Apost-

mortem is being conducted toascertain the cause of death. ACourt of Inquiry has been or-dered to investigate the inci-dent. The parents of the de-ceased cadet have beeninformed,andareportof thein-cident has been initiated withthe appropriate PoliceAuthority. A ceremony for thedeceased cadet with full mili-tary honourwas conducted onFebruary9.""As per the information re-

ceived by the Uttamnagar po-lice station,whichhas jurisdic-tion over the NDA, the18-year-old cadet, G Pratyush,hailed fromBangalore and hadjoined the academy onFebruary 7. On the evening ofFebruary 8, the cadet is said tohave fainted and collapsed inhis room. He was later pro-nounced dead. As of now, the

circumstances leadingtohis falland death are yet to be ascer-tained." said DeputyCommissioner of Police (Zone3) PornimaGaikwad.DCP Gaikwad added, "After

the deathwas reported to us, asenior police officer of inspec-torrankwasdeputedandanin-quest examination was con-ducted in presence of amagistrate."InSeptember lastyear,a22-

year-old cadet fromMaldives,whowasundergoingtrainingattheNDA,hadcollapsedduringatraining activity and died. Theacademy had said at the timethataCourtof Inquiryhadbeenordered to investigate the inci-dent. In 2013, a 19-year-oldcadet who hailed fromUttarakhandhadcollapsedanddiedduringnightnavigationac-tivity at theNDA.

PUNE

TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI, FEBRUARY9

THE ASSAM government onWednesdaytransferredNagaon’sSP,AnandMishra,followingtheof-ficer’s comments in connectionwithlastmonth’sencounteroffor-mer student leader Kirti KamalBora. Borawas left injured in theencounter and is currently recu-perating at Gauhati MedicalCollegeandHospital.Mishrahasbeenattachedwith

Assam Police Headquarters inGuwahati,accordingtoagovern-mentstatementlateWednesday.His replacement is yet to be an-

nounced.Thetransfercomesadayafter

the state government asked theDGP to suspend sub-inspectorPradeepBaniainconnectionwiththesamecase.Bora (22)was shot in legs by

Nagaon police during an anti-drugs operation on January 22,leading to a state-wide furore.WhilepoliceallegedthatBorawas

involvedinthedrugracketandat-tackedpolicemen,his familysaidhewas“wronglyframed”.The suspension is the first in-

stancewheretheHimantaBiswaSarma-ledBJPgovernment,underfireoverincreasedpoliceactiononalleged criminals, took actionagainst an officer over an en-counter. Meanwhile, AssamonTuesday filed adetailedaffidavitonpolice encounters, as orderedbyGauhatiHighCourtonJanuary11.Thegovernmentinformedthecourt that 28 people have beenkilledand73othersinjuredinpo-lice action fromMay10 last year(when Sarma took office) tillJanuary28.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THE SUPREME Court onWednesday commuted thedeath sentence of aman, con-victedof the rapeandmurderofaseven-year-oldgirl,tolifeimpris-onment, with the rider that heshallnotbeentitledto“prematurereleaseorremissionbeforeunder-goingactualimprisonment”foraperiodof30years.A bench of Justices D Y

Chandrachud, DineshMaheshwari andCTRavikumarfound nothingwrongwith theAugust2016trialcourtrulinghold-ingthemanguiltyortheOctober2017AllahabadHighCourtorderupholdingtheconviction.The court noted that the ac-

cusedwas33-34yearsoldat thetimeof commissionofoffence in2015, and said, “Looking to theoverall facts and circumstances...it would be just and proper toawardthepunishmentofimpris-onmentforlifetotheappellantfortheoffenceundersection302IPCwhileprovidingforactualimpris-onmentforaminimumperiodof

30years.”Thebenchfurthersaid,“Inan

overall view of thematter, it isprovedbeyonddoubtinthiscasethatthehaplesschild,seven-year-olddaughterof thecomplainant,metwithhergruesomeendafterhavingbeentreatedinhumanelyandhavingbeensubjectedtosex-ual assault... The appellantwasrightlyconvictedbytheTrialCourtand his conviction has rightlybeen maintained by the HighCourt”.However, on the question of

thedeathsentence,thecourtsaid,“...theprinciplesofpenologyhaveevolvedtobalancetheotherob-ligations of the society, i.e., ofpreserving the human life, be itof accused, unless terminationthereof is inevitable and is toserve the other societal causesandcollectiveconscienceofsoci-ety. “...it isnoticeablethattheap-pellant has no criminal an-tecedents...andhasunblemishedjail conduct.Whenall these fac-tors are added together and it isalsovisualisedthatthereisnoth-ing on record to rule out theprobability of reformation andrehabilitationof theappellant...”

Top court commutesdeath sentence of manconvicted in minor’srape, murder case

NagaonSPAnandMishra

Nagaon SP shifted after commentson former student leader shooting EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE

NEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

THEBASICreadingandnumericalabilitiesofschoolchildreninWestBengalhavesubstantiallyreducedas Covid-19 brought classroomlearning toahalt for aprolongedperiod,accordingtoasurveycar-ried out among 11,189 childrenacross17districtsofthestate.Thesurvey, carriedoutbythe

PrathamEducation Foundationand West Bengal-based LiverFoundation inDecember 2021,found that only 27.7 per cent ofchildreninclass3couldreadclass2leveltext,asagainst36.6percentin2018and32.9percentin2014.About48percentof students

inclass5canreadclass2leveltext,

downfrom50.5percent in2018,50.2percentin2016and51.8percent in 2014. The findings onceagain underlined the role of theCovid-induced disruptions incausingerosionofsteadygainsinlearninglevelsmadeoverthelastdecade.Speakingatthevirtuallaunch

of theAnnualStatusofEducationReport (ASER,West Bengal) onWednesday,Nobellaureateecon-omist ProfessorAbhijit Banerjeesaidthatthefindingsofthereportshouldserveasareminderthatasschools reopen, teaching shouldbefocusedprimarilyontheexist-ing learning abilities of childrenrather thangrade-level curricu-lum."Whenschoolsreopen,thefo-

cus shouldnotbeongrade-level

teachingonly.Childrenwillmakequickprogressiftheyaremadetostartfromwheretheyareintermsoffoundationallearning,"Banerjeesaid.Hisobservationswereechoed

byPrathamEducationFoundationCEORukminiBanerjiwhosharedthehighlightsofthereport."Beforemovingintoteaching-

learningactivitiesatgradelevel,itisessentialthatchildrenaregiventimeandopportunity todevelopappropriatephysical, socio-emo-tional, cognitive, pre-math andlanguageskills,"shesaid.Shesaidthatwhilethesurvey

hascapturedajumpintheenroll-ment of children ingovernmentschools in Bengal from88.1 percent in 2018 to 91.5 per cent in2021,therealmeasurewillbethe

numberofenrolledstudentswhoreturntoschoolsaftertheyreopenforin-personclasses.Thesurveyfoundthattheper-

centageofchildreninclass2whocan at least read words hasdropped from 66.2 per cent in2018 to 53 per cent in 2021.Alarmingly,ithasgonebelow2014levelsof54.8percent.Thesurveyalsofoundadecline

inarithmetic levelswith theper-centageofchildreninclass1whocanat least recognisesingle-digitnumbers reducing from77.8percent in 2018 to 68.5 per cent in2021,goingfarbelowthe2014lev-elsof74percent.TheChhattisgarhsurvey had found that 12.3 percentstudentsinclassIIIwereableto read class II level text, downfrom29.8percentin2018.

FIRSTKARNATAKA,thenChhatisgarh,andnowWestBengal.ThefindingsofthePrathamFoundation-ledfieldsur-veysinthesestateshaveestablishedtheneedforurgentinterventionstoad-dressthewideninglearn-inggapsamongchildren.Asschoolsreopen,focusshouldbeonhelpingchil-drenwhohavefallenbe-hindtocatchuptomin-imisetheriskofdropouts.

NeedtocheckwideninggapE●EX

PLAINED

Covid-19 widened learning gap in West Bengal: ASER

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

TENDER NOTICESTATION HEADQUARTERS POKARAN, DISTRICT-

JAISALMER (RAJ) TENDER FOR COLLECTION OF METALSCRAP FROM POKARAN FIELD FIRING RANGES

1. Online bids (E-tenders) are invited by Station Commander, StationHeadquarters Pokaran, Pin-900164 c/o 56 APO on behalf of the President ofIndia from Government approved contractors of the appropriate class on theprescribed tender forms for a contract for retrieving, collection and disposal ofmetal scrap of fired ammunition and used targets from Pokaran Field FiringRanges (Sectors 'A, 'B' and ‘C’ Sectors only) Pokaran, District Jailsalmer onas is where is basis for the period from 01 May 2022 to 30 Apr 2023. Thetender can be viewed in Defence Procurement Portal https://defproc.gov.in

2. Details

(a) Reference No 0605/6/GT (2022-2023)

(b) Title Retrieving, Collection and Disposal of MetalScrap.

(c) Tender ID 2022_ARMY_506787_1

(d) Bid Submission start 09 Feb 2022 at 1500 hrs

(e) Last date of Bid 02 Mar 2022 at 1800 hrssubmission

(f) Last date of depositing 02 Mar 2022 at 1800hrsphysical docu

(g) Bid opening 03 Mar 2022 at 1000hrs

(h) Tender fee Rs 5,000/-

(j) EMD Rs 25,00,000/-

3. For further details log on to https://defproc.gov.inAdministrative Commandant

Suicides(234),andUttarPradesh(227).Insuicidesduetobankruptcy

or indebtedness,Maharashtra,which reports thehighest num-ber of farmer suicides eachyear,toppedthelistin2020with1,341deaths, followed by Karnataka(1,025), Telangana (947),AndhraPradesh (782) and Tamil Nadu(524). Barring Tamil Nadu, theother states usually account forthemostfarmersuicides.According toNCRBdata, sui-

cidesamongtheunemployedhasbeenincreasingoverthelast fewyears–thetollwas2,851in2019;2,741in2018;2,404in2017;2,298in2016;2,723in2015;and2,207in2014.The totalnumberof sui-cides among the unemployedduringtheBJP-ledgovernmentatthe Centre (2014-2020) was18,772,anaverageof2,681deathsperyear.In the last seven years of the

UPA government, the numberstood at 15,322–2,090 in 2013;1,731in2012;2,333in2011;2,222in 2010; 2,472 in 2009; 2,080 in2008; and2,394 in 2007–at anaverageof2,188deathsperyear.IntheongoingBudgetSession,

the issue of unemployment hasbeen raisedmultiple times byOppositionMPs, who have al-leged that the Budget has notdealtwiththeissue.InhisspeechinLokSabhalastweek,Congressleader Rahul Gandhi said thecountrywas facing the highestunemployment in the past 50years.Rai said thegovernmentwas

lookingtoaddresstheissuebyfo-cusingonmentalhealthandcre-atingemploymentopportunities.“To address the burden of

mental disorders, the govern-ment is implementing theNational Mental HealthProgramme(NMHP) and is sup-porting implementation of theDistrict Mental HealthProgramme (DMHP) underNMHP in 692 districts of thecountry,”hesaid.Rai said thegovernmenthad

launched a number of pro-grammes for employment andincomegeneration through theAatmanirbhar Bharat RojgarYojana (ABRY), National Career

Service(NCS)projectforjobseek-ersandemployersforjob-match-ing, Prime Minister’sEmployment GenerationProgramme(PMEGP),MahatmaGandhi National RuralEmploymentGuaranteeScheme,Pandit Deendayal UpadhyayaGrameen Kaushalya Yojana,Deendayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban LivelihoodsMission and Pradhan MantriKaushal Vikas Yojanawith sub-stantialoutlays.HesaidtheProduction-Linked

Incentive(PLI)schemeinkeysec-tors forenhancing India’smanu-facturingcapabilitiesandexportswouldalsogenerateemploymentopportunities.Earlier thisweek, Congress

leader Shashi Tharoor told LokSabha that “India’s unemploy-ment ratehas grown faster thanBangladeshandVietnam”.

House panelhas nowapproached a divisionbenchof theHighCourt.Details of House panel pro-

ceedingsarenotdisclosedontheground that it’s privileged infor-mation. The committee has 29members -- 20 fromLok Sabhaand9fromRajyaSabha.The agenda of themeeting

Wednesday,accordingtotheLokSabhawebsite,wasonevidencefromtheMinistry of ElectronicsandInformationTechnologyandMinistry of HomeAffairs repre-sentatives on the subject'Safeguardingcitizens’rightsandpreventionofmisuseofsocial/on-line newsmedia platforms in-cluding special emphasis onwomen security in the digitalspace'. It also includedabriefingby I&BMinistryofficials andevi-dence of MHA on the subject‘Reviewof functioning andout-reachofDoordarshanChannels’.Officials in theministries of

Homeand I&Bdeclined to com-mentontheMediaOneissue,say-ingthematter issubjudicesincean appeal has been filed. Theypointedoutthateventhesingle-judgebench, in its ruling,didnotdisclose the reasons fordenial ofsecurityclearance.

Man trappedup.Butwhilecomingbackdown,

he faltered and slid down thesteephillsideuntilhegotstuckinthecavity.Andsobeganasurvivaldrama that rivalled anymoviescript.Babu's distraught friends

watched helplessly for awhile.Hewas about 400mdown,waybeyond their reach. Then, theyrantotheirvillage,screamingforhelp.Within hours, the police,districtofficials,andfireandres-cueteamssteppedin.Babu hadmanaged to keep

his smartphone in the fall, andsent his Google location to res-cuersthroughWhatsApp.Healsocalled hismother Rasheeda, in-forming her for the first timeabout what he had been up toandwherehewas.Hewasquickly locatedusing

adrone,andtherescueteam,in-cluding local residents, trekkedupthehillonMondaynight.Buttheyquicklyrealisedthattheres-cuewasfarfromover.Theycouldnot reach near Babu, whoshoutedouttothemandflashedthe torch in his phone. As thehourstickedover,andcampfiresweresetuptokeepwildanimalsaway, the tensionmounted asBabu'svoicefaded.OnTuesday,DistrictCollector

Mrunmai Joshi andSuperintendent of Police RVishwanath reached the village.By then, they had called theNDRF,whichsentarescueteam.The Coast Guard sent a Chetakhelicopter,which returned afterafewsortiesduetobadweather.Meanwhile, the health of

Babu, stuck without water orfoodsinceMondaynoon,becameaconcern.Localauthoritiestriedto deliver food andwater usingthe available drone but thema-chinecouldnothandletheload.Bynow,thecrisishadreached

the office of Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan, who called intheArmyonTuesdayevening.Soon, twoArmyofficers, two

JCOs and five other personnelreached the spot fromWellingtoninTamilNaduevenasamountaineeringteamwasfer-riedbytheIAFfromBengalurutoSulur near Coimbatore, abouttwohoursaway.TheKeralaPolicesoonclearedtheroadforthemtoreachMalampuzhawithout de-lay.Around Tuesdaymidnight,

District Collector Joshi said theArmyteamonreceewasable totalk to Babu, Overnight, a 20-memberNDRF team remained

onthehill.OnWednesdaymorning,the

rescueteamsmanagedtopassonwater. Around 10 am, theArmymountaineering team, usingropesandclimbinggear,reachedthe cavity. By 11 am, they liftedBabuwithsafetybeltsandropestothetopof thehill, fromwhereachopperairliftedhimtothedis-tricthospital.DistrictMedical Officer Dr R

Ramadevidescribed theyouth'shealth as "satisfactory" but saidhewasunderICUobservation.A Defence spokesman said

the Army had deployed twoteams from ParachuteRegimental Centre inBengaluruandMadras Regimental CentreWellington,with one team sta-tionedatthebaseofthehilltoco-ordinatetherescue.“Themostdifficultpartofthe

rescue was reaching the spot.Babuwas trapped around 400metresdownfromthetopoftherock. Our climbing ropes have amaximumlengthof200metres.Hence, we tied three ropes toreach the youth, who weighsabout 80 kg, and lift him up,”StarmonRPillai, assistant com-mandantofKeralaPolice'shigh-altitude rescue team,whowaspartof themission,said.“It is a single rock with a

heightof 1,000 feet to1,500 feetwithaverysharpsurfacemakingclimbing very difficult anddan-gerous. The youthwas trappedon the hill around 6 km awayfromthebasevillage.Due to thehot climate, it was difficult toclimbduringtheday.Everyoneinthe rescue team had ropes orotherequipmentweighing30kgtocarry.EventheArmymentookfivehours toreachthetopof thehill,’’hesaid.“Itwas sheer luck that Babu

got trapped in the cavity. A fallfrom therewouldhave been fa-tal,”Pillaisaid.“This rescuewas thewish of

a state,” said Chief MinisterVijayan,who thanked theArmy,AirForceandCoastGuard.By lateWednesday, Babu's

mother, who had beenwaitingbelowthehillforadayandnight,stepped up to “thank all whostruggled to getmy son back’’.“Hedidnotinformmeaboutthisjourney,andIwassotenseafterIcould not contact him on hisphone.This incidentshouldbealessonforall,”Rasheedasaid.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

MMaarrttyyrr oonn 1100tthh FFeebbrruuaarryyLLtt CCoolloonneell PPaarraass MMeehhrraa ((1177 SSeepp 6688--1100 FFeebb 0077))The gallant and fearless officer led a two directionaladvance on 10 Feb 2007 and flushed out the dreadedmilitants hiding in a village in Manipur (OPHIFAZAT), where he laid down his life in truetraditions of the Indian Army.

DDeeeeppllyy rreemmeemmbbeerreedd bbyy eennttiirree ffaammiillyy ooff 1144 MMAAHHAARR RReeggiimmeenntt

SADAFMODAKMUMBAI, FEBRUARY9

DISMISSED COP Sachin Waze,whoisformerstatehomeministerAnil Deshmukh’s co-accused inthecasefiledbytheEnforcementDirectorate (ED)onallegationsofmoney-laundering,hassoughttobecomeanapprover.Wazeisfacingaseparatecase

for his alleged involvement inthe Antilia terror scare case asthemainaccused.In a letter to the assistant di-

rectorandinvestigatingofficeroftheEDlastweek fromjail,Wazehassaidthathewantstomakeavoluntaryandtruthfuldisclosureof the factsof thecaseknowntohim before a magistrate. TheFebruary 4 letter states that itshould be treated as an applica-

tionforgrantinghimpardon.Wazeisoneofthe26accused

inthecasefiledbytheEDwhereitclaimsthatmoneywascollectedbyhim frombars, orchestra barsand restaurants onDeshmukh’sinstructions and the proceedswere layered through variousshell companies to a trust con-trolledbytheminister’sfamily.The ED’s chargesheets case

have multiple statements byWaze where he claims thatDeshmukhinstructedhimtocol-lectmoneywhichwas handedover to his staff. Waze alsoclaimedDeshmukh’s role in po-

licetransfers.Hisletterstatesthathewants to seek pardon undersection 306 and 307 of theCriminal Procedure Court. Thesectionshaveprovisionsforanac-compliceinacasetobepardonedontheconditionthathemakesafull and true disclosure of thewhole circumstances of an of-fence in his knowledge againstothersaccusedinthecase.IftheEDgivesitsno-objection

toWaze becoming awitness infavouroftheagency,thecourtwillhavetoapprovehisformalpleaforpardon. If grantedpardon,Wazewill not have to face trial in thecase. His testimony can thenbeusedasevidenceagainsttheotheraccused, includingDeshmukh.OnWednesday, the ED op-

posedWaze’s bail plea, claiminghehadbeeninvolvedinthefacil-itationof thecrime.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, FEBRUARY9

CONTINUINGWITHhiscriticismof the Enforcement Directorate(ED),ShivSenaleaderSanjayRautonWednesday said the agencywasrunningacriminalsyndicateonbehalfofBJPleaders.On Tuesday, Raut hadwrit-

tenalettertoVicePresidentandRajyaSabhaChairmanVenkaiahNaiduclaimingthatlawenforce-ment agencies like the ED havebeen “let loose” against leadersof his party since it ended its al-liancewith theBJP.“I can understand their pain

since the MVA governmentcame to power inMaharashtra.They should fight political bat-tles.They(BJP)runcriminalsyn-dicates now. The ED and otheragencies have become part ofthe BJP or its master’s criminalsyndicate. The letter is not evena trailer, which is yet to come.ThisletteristoshowhowtheEDpeople run the syndicate… likehow they are conducting theirown financial fraud such asmoney laundering, blackmailandthreats. Iwillprovethiswithevidence,”Raut said.He also claimed that EDwas

harassingvendorswhohadpro-vided servicesduringhisdaugh-ter’sweddingandwerepressur-ingthemtoincriminatehim.“The florist and decorator

frommy daughter’s weddingwerepickedupbyEDofficials. Isthis their job? The decoratorreplied to them that he did nottakeanymoneybecausehehada good relationship with myfamily. But he was threatenedwithagun,”Raut said.Raut,inhislettertoNaidu,had

claimed that the ED and otheragenciespersonnelaresummon-ing,intimidatingandthreateningthedecoratorsandothervendorsof theweddingofhisdaughter.“The ED and other agencies

haveunlawfullypickedup28peo-ple so far. Theyhavemade themattend the EDoffice and sit in acabinwhere the threats are ad-ministered…In fact, someof theEDandotheragenciespersonnelevenconfessedtotheverypeoplethey are summoning that theyhavebeenaskedby their ‘bosses’to‘fix’me,”Rautwrote.“EnforcementDirectorateper-

sonnel are leaving no stone un-turned to intimidate/harass ourlegislators,MPs, political leadersaswell as their relatives, friendsandacquaintances,”headded.

APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

AS THE government continuesto sit on recommendationsmadebytheSupremeCourtcol-legium—on three occasions—Bengaluru-based senior advo-cate Aditya Sondhi haswithdrawnhisconsentforbeingappointed a judge of KarnatakaHighCourt.“It has been a year since the

SCcollegiumfirstrecommendedmyname, andover fivemonthssinceitwaslastreiterated.So,asamatterofprinciple, Iwithdrewmy consent for the process,”Sondhi toldThe IndianExpress.It is learnt that Sondhi has

written to Chief Justice of IndiaN V Ramana, who heads theSupremeCourtcollegium,with-drawinghis consent.Sondhi, a graduate of

National Law School of IndiaUniversity, inBengaluru,wastheAdditionalAdvocateGeneralun-der theCongress-ledKarnatakagovernment in2016.Hewas first recommended

by the collegium on February 4last year; his namewas reiter-atedonAugust24,2021.Thesec-ond reiteration was made onSeptember1,2021.Alongwith Sondhi, the rec-

ommendation of advocateNagendra RamachandraNaik isalsopending,despitereiterationby the collegium. Naik, a senioradvocateoriginallyfromBhatkalin Karnataka,was a CBI counselappointed by the UPA govern-ment at the Centre. The col-legium first recommendedhimon October 3, 2019, alongwitheightotheradvocates.Whilethegovernment appointed sevenfromthe list,Naik’s recommen-dation is still pending.

The collegium then reiter-ated its recommendation onMarch 2, 2021 and again onSeptember1,2021.Conventionally, the govern-

ment isboundtoacceptthecol-legium’srecommendationif thedecisionhasbeenreiterated.While the MoP does not

specificallytalkaboutreiterationof the collegium recommenda-tions, it says that “the UnionMinister of Law, Justice andCompany Affairs, would thenput up as early as possible,preferably, within 3weeks, therecommendation or the ChiefJustice of India to the PrimeMinister who will advise thePresident in the matter of ap-pointment.”The 1998 ruling, popularly

referred to as the Third Judgescase, held that the court willhave the final say in judicial ap-pointments.

NewDelhi:Blocked for10days, the Instagramac-count of IndianArmy’s Srinagar-basedXVCorps,also known as the Chinar Corps,was restored onWednesdaymorning.TheFacebookhandleof theCorps,however,continuestoremainblocked,butisexpected toberestoredsoon.OfficialsbelieveboththeaccountsoftheChinar

CorpswerebarredonJanuary28becauseofa“co-ordinated campaign”.While therewere no spe-cificpoststhatFacebookorInstagramhadobjectedto in their communication, both hadmentionedthattheaccountswereinviolationof“coordinatedinauthenticbehaviour”.Thecompaniesdefine inauthenticbehaviour“as

theuseof Facebookor Instagramassets (accounts,pages, groups or events), to mislead people”.However, officials said theArmywrote toboth thecompaniesandstatedwhythetwoaccountshadnotviolatedanyofthoseterms.InstagramandFacebookareownedbythesamecompany,MetaPlatforms.TheFacebookhandle@ChinarCorpsIAhadover

24,000 followers, and over 23,000 likes, andwaseven taggedasa “governmentorganisation”. TheInstagram account has around 43,300 followers,andwasnamed‘ChinarCorpsIA’.Therewere2619postsonthehandle. Itclearlyidentifieditself,say-ing, “Welcome to the Official Account of ChinarCorps, IndianArmy”. ENS

ED running criminalsyndicate on behalfof BJP leaders: Raut

DismissedcopSachinWaze

ED’s money-laundering case:Waze offers to turn approver

NewDelhi:TheSupremeCourtonWednesdaygrantedanticipatorybailtoWestBengalChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee’selectionagentandTrinamoolCongressleaderSK Supiyan in connectionwith amurder case of a BJP worker,whichisbeingprobedbytheCBI.A bench of Justices L

Nageswara Rao and Abhay S.Okasaid,“Consideringthepecu-liarfactsofthecase,weareoftheviewthattheappellantdeservestobegrantedpre-arrestbail”.The bench, however, said

that Supiyan “will have to fullycooperatewith the respondent(CBI) for investigation andwillhavetoremainpresentforinves-tigationasandwhencalleduponbythe investigatingofficer”andadded“wemakeitclearthatthepre-arrest bail granted is liabletobecancelled if it is found thattheappellant isnotcooperatingfor the investigation”.Thecaserelatestothealleged

murderofBJPworkerDebabrataMaity inNandigram inMay lastyear during the violence thatflared up across the state aftertheassemblyelections. ENS

Mamata’s pollagent grantedpre-arrest bailin murder case

Instagram handle ofChinar Corps restored

As govt sits on collegium proposal,lawyer withdraws nod to be judge

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,FEBRUARY9

THE PAKISTANI MaritimeSecurity Agency has appre-hended9-10Indianfishingboatsand captured 50-60 fishermenfromGujarat from the interna-tionalmaritimeborder, sourcessaidonWednesday.“These fishermen who set

sail eight days ago are fromPorbandar, Okha andMangrol.The exact number of fishermenwillbeknownoncethey landinPakistan,” saidManish Lodhari,an activist and head ofPorbandar based MarineFisheriesCooperativeSociety.This is second such incident

within aweek. Couple of daysago,twoIndianboatsand13fish-ermen fromGujarat were cap-tured by PMSA from the high-seasnearthemaritimeborder.When asked if the fishing

boatswerenotfittedwithGPSde-vices, Lodhari said, “Yes theydo.But sometimes, the fishermenwhile fishing too close to theboundary,accidentallycrossover.”

Pakistan arrestsover 50 Gujaratfishermen

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, FEBRUARY9

FOLLOWING A direction fromMadras High Court onWednesday,theTamilNadugov-ernment has formed a SpecialInvestigationTeam(SIT)toprobethemurder of K N Ramajeyam,brother of state minister andseniorDMKleaderKNNehru.Ramajeyamwaskilledin2012.

After local police failed tomakeprogressintheprobe,thecasewashandedover to the stateCB-CID.Later, in 2018,MadrasHC trans-ferredthecasetoCBI,asCB-CID’sprobedidnotmakeanyheadway.The CBI probe, based on a

case registered under Sections365 (kidnapping or abductingwith intentsecretlyandwrong-fully toconfineperson)and302(murder), is nowbackwith po-lice—theSIT—followingapeti-tion filed by KN Ravichandran,thevictim’sbrother.Ravichandran pleaded the

court to transfer theprobe sincetherewas no progress nearly adecadesincehisbrother’smurder.JusticeVBharathidasanofHC

ordered ThoothukudiSuperintendent of Police SJeyakumar tohead theSIT, alongwithAriyalur deputy SPMadanandCBIdeputySPRRavi.ThecourtorderedCBI todeputeRaviexclu-sivelyforthemurderinvestigationandtonottransferhimwithoutthecourt’s orders. The court alsodi-rectedtheinvestigatorsto launchtheprobe immediatelyand file astatusreportbyMarch21.

Probe into murderof DMK leader’sbrother shiftedfrom CBI to SIT

AFTERHC ORDER

Ahmedabad:Adayafter thecon-victionof49of77accusedinthe2008 Ahmedabad serial blastscase, a special court inAhmedabad on Wednesdayposted hearing on quantum ofpunishmentforthoseconvicted,for February 11. Public prosecu-torAmitPatelsaid,“Todaythede-fencesidesuppliedanapplicationunderCrPCsection354(3)beforethe court seeking threeweeks'time to adduce necessary docu-ments(forconsiderationofmiti-gating circumstances)with re-specttoquantumofpunishment.ThecourthaskeptthematterforhearingforFebruary11..” ENS

AHMEDABADBLASTS:QUANTUMOFSENTENCEHEARING STARTS FEB 11

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

Notice is hereby given under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of (Security) Interest Act. 2002 (54 of2002), and in exercise of the power conferred under sub-section (12) of section 13 read with [rule 3] of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rule2002. The Authorized Officer issued a Demand Notice on the dates noted against account as mentioned herein after, calling them to repay theamount within 60 days from the date of receipt of the said Notice. The borrower/guarantor having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby givento the under noted borrower/guarantor and the public in general that the undersigned has taken possession of the property described herein belowin exercise of powers conferred on him under Sec. 13(4) of Section 13 of Act read with Rule 8 of the said Rules on the date mentioned againstaccount. The borrower/guarantor in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal with the property and any dealing with theproperty will be subject to the charge of Central Bank of India for the amount and interest thereon mentioned against account herein below.The borrower's attention is invited to provisions of sub-section (8) of section (13) of the Act, in respect of time available to redeem thesecured assets.Nameof theBranch

Name of theAccounts/Borrowers/

Guaranter

Name of the owner & Description ofthe property mortgaged

Date ofDemandNotice

Date ofPossessionNoticeAffixed

Amountoutstandingas on dateof DemandNotice

Amountoutstandingas on date ofPossessionNotice

BoringRoadBranch

Borrowers: M/s AbyudaiAgro Foods Private Limited,Rep. by Director- ShriSunil Kumar Sinha, 217,Abhinandan, Panchu Chak,Ram Nagar Colony, Danapur,Patna-8015032) Shri Sunil Kumar Sinha,S/o Shri Mithilesh Prasad,3) Smt. Savita Sinha, W/oShri Sunil Kumar Sinha,Both are residing at 217,Abhinandan, Panchu Chak,Ram Nagar Colony, Danapur,Patna-801503 and 4)Guaranter Shri Sanjay KumarS/o Harinarayan Yadav, 17Gola Road, Gajadhar Chak,Devi Asthan, Danapur, Patna,also at Q No.2159/B RailwayColony Aihar, Dalmau, RaeBareli, UP-229121

Name of the Mortgagor: Shri Sunil KumarSinha S/o Shri Mithilesh Prasad. Addressof the Mortgagor: 217, Abhinandan,Panchu Chak, Ram Nagar Colony,Danapur, Patna-801503. Full particularsof Mortgaged Property: All that part andparcel of property, Deed No.-24, Dtd.-03.01.1995, Area-01 Kattha & 03 Dhurof Land including house building with allimprovements thereon. Location: Mauza-Danapur, Sahjadpur, Thana-Danapur, Dist.-Patna, Registration Dist.- Patna. Propertydetails: Tauzi No.5138, Thana No.21, KhataNo.87, Survey Plot No.301, SRO-Danapur,Dist- Patna. Boundary (as per deed): North-8 feet wide Road, South- Shri VirendraSingh, East-Smt. Manju Devi, West- ShriVishwanath Singh. Boundary (as per actual):North- Rasta, South- Shri DharamnathSingh, East-Shri Akshyawarnath Shukla,West-Shri Anil Singh.

25.02.2021 05.02.2022 Rs.47,15,674.00(RupeesForty sevenlakh fifteenthousand sixhundred andseventy fouronly) with

future Interestand incidentalcharges w.e.f25.02.2021

Rs.47,15,674.00(RupeesForty sevenlakh fifteenthousandsix hundredand seventyfour only)and interest& incidentalchargesthereon.

Regional Office, Mauryalok Complex, Patna-1POSSESSION NOTICE [UNDER RULE 8 (1) OF SECURITY INTEREST (ENFORCEMENT) RULES, 2002]

Authorised officerCENTRALBANKOF INDIA

Date : 05.02.2022Place : Patna

Applications are invited for 21 faculty positions to be filledon permanent basis at ICT-IOC Odisha Campus, Bhubaneswar.The online applications shall be available from February 14, 2022to February 28, 2022 on institute website. The interested candidatesare required to submit the online application along with supportingdocuments on or before February 28, 2022. For further detailsplease visit institute website www.ictmumbai.edu.in.

INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY RECRUITMENT

REGISTRAR

• ICT Mumbai • ICT-IOC Odisha Campus, Bhubaneswar • ICT Marathwada Campus, Jalna

(University under Section-3 of UGC Act 1956)(Elite Status & Centre of Excellence – Govt. of Maharashtra)Matunga, Mumbai – 400019, Website : www.ictmumbai.edu.in

email : recruit@ictmumbai.edu.in, mis@ictmumbai.edu.in

ODISHA

MankilledinIEDblast;MaoistlinksuspectedBhubaneswar:Amandiedin an IED blast allegedlytriggered by Maoists inKiamunda village underPhiringia police stationlimits of Kandhamal dis-trict onWednesday. Thedeceased, PariyaranjanKanhar,wasa residentofKiamunda.Theblasttookplace 200metres from aspot where on MondaysuspectedMaoists hadset ablaze two JCB vehi-clesengagedinroadcon-struction. Police suspectthat the IEDwas plantedby members of theKalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh divi-sion of the banned CPI(Maoist). ENS

KARNATAKA

MLAblamesclothesforsexualassaultsBengaluru: A BJPMLA ofKarnatakaonWednesdaytriggered a controversyafter he claimed thatcasesof sexualassaultonwomen tend to increasedue to the clothes wornby them. The BJP MLAfrom theHonnali region,MPRenukacharya,whilereactingtoasocialmediapost by Congress leaderPriyanka Gandhi Vadraon the rightofwomentowear clothes of theirchoice,said,“Alotof inci-dentsofsexualassaultoc-curduetotheclothesthatwomenwear. Men tendto get provoked by theclotheswornbywomen.”Later, he told themediathat his intentionwas tostate thatwomenshoulddressmodestly. ENS

UTTARPRADESH

Indebt,coupletriessuicide;wifedead:policeNewDelhi:A shoe traderandhiswifeattemptedtoendtheir livesinBaghpatallegedlydueto financialproblems on Tuesday.According to police, thevictims, Rajiv Tomar, andhiswifePoonam,decidedto end their lives due tosustained debts andmonetary issues. Whilethewife isdead,Tomar iscurrently undergoingtreatment at a local hos-pital, police said. Tomarattemptedsuicideduringa Facebook live whileblaming the govern-ment’s policies in thevideo for the extremestep. ENS

PUNJAB

TwopacketsdroppedbyPakdronerecoveredNewDelhi, Amritsar: TheBSF on Wednesday re-coveredover4kgofRDX,a pistol and bomb-mak-ingitemsdroppedintwopackets by a drone thatflew from Pakistan intoan Indian farm along thePunjab border. Aspokespersonsaidtroopsfired after they heard a“buzzing sound of a sus-pectedflyingobjectcom-ing from the Pakistaniside to the Indian side”around 1 am in thePanjgrain area ofGurdaspur sector. Asearch was later con-ducted in the wheatfarms of Ghaggar andSinghoke villages alongtheborderandtheBSFre-covered two yellow-colouredpackets. ENS

BRIEFLY

ANURADHAMASCARENHAS&SUSHANTKULKARNIPUNE,FEBRUARY9

INONEof theworst power out-ages inmany years, almost thewhole of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad had to go withoutelectricity for several hours onWednesday, resulting inmajordisruptions in industrial andof-ficework,watersupplyandtrafficmanagement.

Industryassociationssaidthefinancial impact of the outagecould be in the range of Rs 300-400crore.The outagewas caused by a

technicalfaultinthetransmissionlines, which electricity officialsblamed on unexpectedly coldweatherandfog.“Thepowerlinesupplying electricity to 400 KVhigh-pressure sub-stations ofLonikand and Chakan of theMaharashtra State ElectricityTransmissionCompany Limited(MSETCL) tripped at five places

around4.30am,”anofficialstate-ment issuedby thepowerutilitysaid.Duetofault,powersupplywas

disrupted across Pune, Pimpri-ChinchwadandPune rural areaslike Chakan, Wagholi andLonikand.Fullpowersupplycouldbe restored only by 3.15 pm intheseareas.Due to the glitch, electricity

supply to 189 sub-stationswasdisrupted andmore than 24.18lakhconsumerswereimpacted.JayantWeekey,chiefengineer

ofPunezoneofMSETCL, toldTheIndian Express that the problemwasmostprobablycausedbyun-expected fog. “Due toheavy fog,thecreepagedistanceoftheinsu-lator gets reducedbeyonda cer-tainlevel,”saidWeekey.Creepagedistanceistheshortestseparationthat needs to bemaintainedbe-tweentwoconductivepartsinanelectricaldevice.“The attendance in online

classeswasbadlyaffected,asstu-dents faced network issues,” aschoolprincipalsaid.

Massive power outage leaves Pune in dark

New Delhi

12WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DIALOGUE IN SECRECYByupholdingbanonMediaOne,onbasisofmaterial insealedenvelope,KeralaHChasgoneagainstSupremeCourtverdicts

THEKERALAHIGHCourt’sverdictdismissingMediaOneTV’spetitionchalleng-ingtheUniongovernment’sorderbarring its transmission,after theMinistryofHomeAffairs(MHA)refusedtheMalayalamchannelsecurityclearanceforrenewingits licence, isdeeplytroubling.Thecourt’sdecisionisentirelybased

onanassessmentof the“material” submittedbythegovernment inasealedenvelope.Thereasoning in the18-pageverdict appears tobeadialoguebetweenthestateand

thejudiciaryinsecrecyevenasapetitionerstoodbeforethecourtallegingviolationoffun-damental rights. “Once theState isof the stand that the issue involvesnational security,the court shall not disclose the reasons to the affectedparty,” the verdict states, justify-ingperusalof theministryfilesinasecretenvelope.Whileit isworryingthatthegovern-mentflatlyrefusestojustifyitsactionsbeforethecourt, it isevenmoredisquietingwhenthe judiciary does not ask questions of the executive. The few reasons to justify the de-nialofsecurityclearancewithoutgivingthechannelanopportunitytobeheardarevagueanddonotgiveany indicationabout thecommunicationbetweenthe judiciaryandtheexecutive.Thecourtseemstohavegonebythe“conclusionsof theCommitteeofOfficersandotherresponsibleofficersof theMHA”torulethat“InformationandBroadcastingisasensitivesector”.However,theideathatthejudiciaryandstatecanexcludethecitizensfrom democratic spaces, when their rights are at stake, goes against the fundamentalpreceptsof the ruleof law.Inarecentstringofverdicts,theSupremeCourthasinsistedthatthegovernmentfollow

theraisedbarinbringingevidencetotheCourtwhileinvokingthenationalsecurityargument.Inthe2020decisioninAnuradhaBhasinvUnionofIndia,theSCheldthatnoabsoluteimmu-nity fornational securitygroundshasbeencarvedout. In the2021 interimorder,directinganinvestigationintotheallegeduseofPegasusspywareoncitizens,theSupremeCourtsaidthat the “mere invocationof national securitywon’t render theCourt amute spectator”.Ignoringsuchprecedents,theKeralaHighCourthasheldthat“thatinasituationofnationalsecurity,apartycannotinsistforstrictobservanceoftheprinciplesofnaturaljustice”.Indeed,asubstantiveexaminationofissueswhennationalsecurityisinvolvedisoftenbeyondjudi-cialcompetenceandisthedomainoftheexecutive.Butaproceduraltest,checkingwhethertheactionwas takenunderpowersgrantedbyParliamentandwhether thestatehasuseditspowersproportionaltotheriskenvisaged,isverymuchwithintheambitoftheConstitution.Constitutionalcourts, as thewatchfulguardiansof the fundamental rights,mustaskques-tionsof thestate,especiallyincasesofnationalsecurity.

PLAY BY RULEBOOKTamilNadugovernormustnotdelayassent toanti-NEETbill.

Doingsowill invitesuspicionsof overreach

THETAMILNADUgovernment is standing itsgroundon thepromise to scraptheNationalEligibility cumEntranceTest (NEET). Less thanaweekafter thegovernor returned the bill that frees the state’s medical colleges from thecompulsionofadmittingstudentsthroughNEET,aspecialsessionoftheTamil

Naduassemblyhas re-adopted thebill—a first for the legislature. That’s as strongasig-nalastheelectedgovernmentcansendtothegovernorabout its intent. Inreturningthebill,GovernorRNRavihadflaggedseveralconcerns,andsaiditwas“againsttheinterestsofstudents,especially(thosefrom)ruralandeconomicallypoorstudentsofthestate”.ButtheConstitution isunambiguousaboutwhat thegovernormustdonow—according toArticle200, once thebill is sent tohim for the second time, hemust givehis assent, andsend itonwards to thePresident.ThereismuchthatisquestionableaboutTamilNadu’spositiononbreakingawayfrom

theNEET.Theall-Indiatestwasconceivedasawayoutof longstandingproblemswiththemedicaladmissionsystem, frommultipleentranceexaminations tocorruption.The fearthat a section of Tamil Nadu’s studentsmight not performwell can be addressed if thestate government invests resources and attention tomodernising the curriculum. Butwhile thosemaybegrounds for thegovernor’s reservations, constitutionalproprietyde-mandsthathemustactontheadviceofthecouncilofministersofanelectedgovernment.ItmustberememberedthatscrappingtheNEETwasapartoftheelectionmanifestooftheDMK,andthat thebillenjoyssupport fromothermajorpartiesof thestate, includingtheAIADMK.Seeninthislight,theTamilNadugovernment’sdispleasureatwhatitconsidersthegovernor’suncalled-for critiqueandhis “bigbrother”attitude isnotentirelywithoutbasis. Given the long history of governors being used by strong central governments tochipawayatthefederalcompactandthemorerecentCentre-statetusslesoverseveralis-sues, fromthejurisdictionof theBSPtoIASservicerules,Ravi’sactionmight invitesuspi-cionsofoverreach,whenheshouldbeactingasabridgebetweenthestateandtheCentre.Thefutureof theNEETexemptionbill is,of course,uncertain. It setsupthestategov-

ernmentonapathofconfrontationwiththeCentre.ThebillneedsthePresident’sassentforittobecomelaw.Butwhilethosecontestationsanddebateswilltaketheirowncourse,theTamilNadugovernormustplayby therulebook.

KHABAR LAHARIYA’S STORYRuralwomenspeakingtheirmindoncamera:This isacompellingstory thatneedsawideraudience

AFILMABOUTthegrassrootsnewsorganisationKhabarLahariyahasbecomethe first from India to be nominated for an Academy Award in the BestDocumentary Feature category. This alone isworth celebrating, consider-ing the challenges of this filmmaking format, especially in India— few re-

sources, low return on investment and, outside of a handful of international platforms,verylittlerecognition.ButanadditionalreasonforcelebratingthenominationofWritingwith Fire is its subject: Directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, the film offers awindowintothelifeandworkof theDalitwomenwhorunKhabarLahariya, andtheob-staclestheyovercome—fromunhappyhusbandsandunfriendlycrowdstolackof fundsandinexperiencewithtechnology—astheyreportonissuesthatmatterthemosttothecommunities theyserve.Twenty years after it was born as a newspaper, first published in Uttar Pradesh’s

Bundelkhandregion,KhabarLahariyacontinuestochallengepopularnotionsaboutwhatjournalisminIndiacouldandshouldbeandforwhomitismeant.Thewomenwhoworkat theorganisation—whichmadeasuccessfuldigital-firstpivot in2016—have towageaconstantbattlewiththeprejudicesofcasteandgendertopursueandbringtolightsto-ries of administrative neglect, crimes against women. In doing so, they frequently puttheir lives on the line—not just for asking toughquestions or being out at all hours, of-ten inhostileenvironments, butalsosimply forbeingDalitwomen.Atatimewhenevenasectionof journalistsworkingunderrelativelyeasierandmore

privilegedcircumstanceshaveturnedawayfromthestories thatmatter, it ishearteningto know that thewomen of Khabar Lahariya carry on undaunted. Since 2002, they’veworkedhardtospotlightissuesandstoriesthatrarelygetattention.ThattheworldshouldnowwatchandhonourKhabar Lahariya’sownstory isonly right.

Not so uniform

Parinitha Shetty

Firoz BakhtAhmed

Education institutionsmustnot imposehomogeneityonstudents ingarbofdresscode

DON’T DIVIDE THE CLASSROOMHijab issue inKarnatakacriesout for constitutionalism

I WRITE AS a teacher who for many yearshastaughtstudents inMangalore,asharplypolarisedregion inKarnataka that is seeingbitter clashes over a dress code in educa-tional institutions.My students have comefromdifferent religions, castesandnations.They spoke different mother tongues, atedifferent kinds of food andwore differentkindsofclothesandornaments.Someworethemarkers of their married status, someworethehabitof theirreligiousorder,someworetheclothesthatdenotedtheirgeo-cul-tural location, some wore the symbols oftheir religion and caste, and all conformedtotheprotocolsofgender.Thesedifferencesin appearance and beliefs and practices ofthinking and speaking and eating and ap-pearance,nevereverdisturbedoursenseofbelonging toa classroomcommunity.In many ways, the classroom of a gov-

ernment educational institution is trulyrepresentative of the societywithinwhichit is instituted, since itprovidesdemocraticaccess tostudents fromall sectionsof soci-ety.Moreover, itacknowledgesthatourso-ciety is hierarchically organised and thatchildren frommarginalised communitiesneed to be given additional support andprovidedprivilegedaccesstotheclassroomand the social capital of education. Thecoming together of many social worldswithintheseclassroomsmakes ita locationof perpetual epistemological disruption.Here, learningtakesplacenotonlythroughtheprotocolsof institutionalisedpedagogybut also through themany ways in whichwe go astray of ourselves, as we dialoguewiththatstrangerwhoisaclassmate,astu-dent, a teacher andwho slowly becomes amemberofaclassroomcommunitythatwebuild together. And howwe structure andinhabit this communitywill informall ourfuturepossibilities of living together as so-cial groups.This inclusive nature of the classroom

space is oneof its greatest contributions totheprocessof learning. It is thisaccommo-dationof thevarietyof social locationsfromwhich our students come that has con-tributedtothecivildiscussionsanddebatesand conversations through which theprocess of thinking is initiated. It is theseconversations that take place across the

lines of gender and caste and religion andnationality that inaugurate the process ofcritical questioning. Learning, as an inher-entlydisruptiveprocess,alwaysgoesastrayof the etiquettes of academia. Classroomconversations can reposition the partici-pants in a radically egalitarian practice ofspeech.Suchaconversationdemandsadif-ficult translationof socialontologies, adis-orientationofknowing,aprocessofbecom-ingunfamiliar tooneself. It is throughsuchconversations that education becomes aradically transformative process of recog-nising the commonvulnerability of all hu-man beings and themutual care and sup-port that we owe each other if we have tosurvive as a species.When the classroom becomes a space

where students are disciplined into a nar-row uniformity, then learning becomes ameans of straitjacketing the body and themind.Whentheuniformityof theclassroomisshapedbypoliticalconsiderationsandim-plementedthroughtheauthorityofpoliticalpower,thenteachingisreplacedbyindoctri-nationandlearning is replacedbyunthink-ing parroting of political ideologies.Wheneducationbecomesthehandmaidenofhate,the creativity and joy that sustain the greatvarietyof lifearedestroyed.Whenteachersbecome the gatekeepers of bigotry andparochialpolitical interests, theyforfeittheirright to the trust and responsibility that acommunity places on them to guide andshape its futurepossibilities.Whentheclassroomisusedtocatalogue,

classify andexclude, it inaugurates a futureof insane hate andmindless cruelty. Suchclassroomsbecomethelaboratoriesof thosewhohave lost the sanity that is required tosustain human existence through themu-tuality of kindness and love. In such class-rooms, students are instrumentalised intovotes and reduced to the colour of theshawls theydrapeacross their shouldersorthescarvestheywearovertheirheads.Theyare taught themistrust of hate and trainedin the violence of anger. Then, educationalinstitutionswillshuttheirgatestostudentswhofail todisplaytheuniformityof theuni-formised body. And in the classrooms,teacherswillcloseuptheprocessesof think-ing, wondering and questioning. And edu-

cational institutions will shut down theprocesses of learning and teaching and ex-perimentingwith themanyways inwhichwe can build an equal, inclusive, compas-sionate and intelligent society.Hence, it has become incumbent on us

to initiateclassroomdialoguesandlistentothe faltering, almost illegible, voices thatspeakfromtheshadowysocialmargins,thatare in a constant struggle against invisibili-sation. Ihavestruggledforafriendshipwithmystudents thatcouldonlybeachievedbydisruptingtheclassroomhierarchisationofknowing and learning. I have tried to listento the polyphonic social rhythms of theirvoices. I have tried to understand theirspeech through the grammar of theirspeech, and not mine. My students haveshownmegreatgenerositybybringingtheirworldstotheclassroom.Theyhavelistenedand spoken and arguedwith a civility thatwasdisinterestedandwithoutrancour.Theyhaveconstantlypushedmetotheprecarityof uncertainty.Together we have maintained the dis-

sonance of knowing and being. We havewrestled with texts that have shaken usand made us forever uncomfortable. Wehave together unpacked the orders ofmeaning and the canons of knowledge.Andwe have done this as companions, asfriends, as equals. We have translated themultiplesocialworlds towhichwebelong,toeachother.Wehave initiatedaprocessofdifficult listeningand falteringspeech.Wehave experimented at shaping enabling,egalitarianspatialisationsof theclassroom.Sometimes it has been an exhilaratingprocess andsometimesa frustratingone. Ithank the generations of students whohavesharedwithmethisprocessof learn-ing the order of the world, excavating thegenealogy of itsmaking and interrogatingthepoliticsof itsbeing.Withoutyourcom-panionship and your speech, this couldnever have been done. Let us protect thisclassroom, that we shaped together, fromall onslaughts and guard it even as theworldwhich should sustain it seems to befalling apart.

Thewriter is professor, departmentofEnglish,MangaloreUniversity

WHEREWAS THE “hijab issue” just a fewmonthsago?Whyhasitsuddenlyerupted?Theseareimportantquestionsthatweneedto address as it’s unfortunate and of greatconcernthatyoungmenandwomenarebe-ing divided along religious lines. A disputeover uniforms has been blown out of pro-portion by being politicised and commu-nalised. Amatter between the administra-tors of educational institutions and thecommunity should not be turned into amandir-masjid kind of awrangle.Wehaveseenenoughof themandtheyhavesappeda lot of thenation’s energy.Justice Krishna S Dixit of the Karnataka

HighCourthas rightlyemphasised that thecourtwillhavetodecidetheissueearlyas itisnotahappyscenetoseestudentsmarch-ing on the roads every day. He has under-lined the primacy of the Constitution overhot-headed emotions. Voices of sanity andreasonmust get primacy over those advo-catingan impassionedapproach.The protesting young women in

Karnataka say thatwearing “hijab” is theirpersonal choice and key to their religiouspractice.Thatmatter isalsobeingcontestedin the court but in an educational institu-tion, it’s rule, and not just personal choice,

that has to be followed. Interestingly, re-garding the dress code, a cleric ofHyderabad once issued a “fatwa” (Islamicdecree) that it was un-Islamic on the partof Sania Mirza to play tennis in skirts andshemust use a “naqab” and cover her legs.A judgewasapiousMuslimathomewhereshe covered her face with a “hijab” butwhile on duty on the bench, she didn’t.There are several examples like her. ManyMuslimwomen are working in hospitals,withthegovernment,asplayersandpilots.It’s not possible to work in a hijab. TheseKarnatakagirls, too,will beour futuredoc-tors, justices, teachers, pilots.IntheUdupicontroversy,thegirlsarebe-

ing crushed between the college adminis-tration and the custodians of Islamwho, inthe name of secularism and Constitution,are fanning the flames. On the other hand,areministerslikeGirirajSingh,whotoohavenot left a stone unturned by calling the de-teriorating law and order situation“Ghazwa-e-Hind” (capturing of India byMuslims). Both sides are using these hap-lessandhelplessgirlsasfodderfortheirpo-litical ambitions.Eachinstitutionhasasetofrulesandreg-

ulations, norms and values. In a school or

college, religious identity shouldnotbe thedefining identity.An importantquestion toask is: Where are the other girls who arecomfortable entering the classroomwith-out the hijab and who wear it once theyleavetheschool?Theprotestersarefew,thesilent students aremany.All thosedrawinganddeepeningthedi-

viding lines over “hijab,” chanting Jai ShriRam and Allah-u-Akbar as a rallying cry,must know that this country will not beruled either by “Sharia” or “SanatanDharma”butbytheConstitutionof IndiaasdraftedbyBhimRaoAmbedkar.Thestrainofradicalism among Hindus andMuslims —wearing religion on their sleeves — willcausefurtherschismsinsocietyandexpandthe influence of those indulging in the pol-itics of religion.It’shightimethat thegovernmentsteps

inandcalmsthewaters lest theOppositionput theBJPgovernment in thedock for fan-ning the Hindu-Muslim divide. As always,thathasbeenaplankfortheOppositionandit’s time to wake up if this governmentwants India tomake the “VishwaGuru.”

Thewriter is former chancellor,MaulanaAzadNationalUrduUniversity,Hyderabad

When the uniformity of theclassroom is shaped bypolitical considerations andimplemented through theauthority of political power,then teaching is replaced byindoctrination, and learningis replaced by unthinkingparroting of politicalideologies. When theclassroom is used tocatalogue, classify andexclude, it inaugurates afuture of insane hate andmindless cruelty. Suchclassrooms become thelaboratories of those whohave lost the sanitythat is required to sustainhuman existence throughthe mutuality of kindnessand love.

In the Udupi controversy,the girls are being crushed ina grip between the collegeadministration as well as thecustodians of Islam who, inthe name of secularism andConstitution, are fanningthe flames. On the otherhand, are ministers likeGiriraj Singh, who too havenot left a stone unturned bycalling the deteriorating lawand order situation‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ (capturingof India by Muslims).

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022 WORDLYWISEDocumentaries shouldn't just reflect theworld: They should try and explainwhy

reality is like it is. — ADAM CURTISTHEEDITORIALPAGE

SNAP POLLSTHECONGRESS-I HIGH command is think-ing in terms of snap polls for the AndhraPradeshAssembly. Inthenormalcourse,thestate is due to go for polls in February nextyear, along with Karnataka. However, thehigh command seems to favour early pollsin both states along with West Bengal,HaryanaandHimachalPradesh.Keralamayalso be clubbed if the high command feelsthe Karunakaran ministry will survive.Though the idea of early polls was consid-ered, a decisionwas not taken by the highcommandas itwasawaiting thedecisionoftheElectionCommissionontheallegedlyin-flatedvoters' list inWestBengal.

KERALA SPEAKERKERALAASSEMBLY SPEAKERAC Jose exer-cised his casting vote seven times to enabletheKarunakaranMinistryinsurvivingitssec-ond trial of strength in the assembly onTuesday.Therulingsideandoppositionweretied at 70 votes eachwhen themotion ofthankstothegovernor'saddressandtheop-position's amendmentswere put to a vote.TheSpeakergavehiscastingvoteoneachoc-casion to the government, amidst shouts of“shame”bytheoppositionandthethumpingofdesksbymembersoftherulingparties,be-foretheamendmentswererejected.Themo-tion of thankswas finally adopted and theHouseadjournedtomeetagainonMarch25.

The line-upwasthesameasonthepreviousoccasionwhentheHouserejectedtheoppo-sition's no-confidencemotion against theGovernment.

DUTT WITH ANTULAYFORMERMAHARASHTRACHIEFMinisterARAntulayonTuesdaydeclared inBombaythatthe Pratibha Pratisthanwould continue tofunction“becauseof itslaudableobjectivestohelp creative artistes in all fields”. Talking tojournalists,Antulaysaidthattwomoretrustees—Daji Bhatavadekar, awell-knownMarathistage actor andSunilDutt, BombaySheriff —havebeeninductedintothetrust.

FEBRUARY 10, 1982, FORTYYEARSAGO

New Delhi

13THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“Whether or not the world warms to these Games, even the IOC may one daycome to wonder if they were really worth it. And though Beijing wanted theOlympics, and still considers them useful, they do not look like the Olympicsthat it wanted.” —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

But Jaishankar’s visit isbeyond the bilateral; whatdraws him for his first visit toMelbourne, in his currentrole, is the meeting of theQuad Foreign Ministersfrom Australia, Japan,United States and India, inperson after more than twoyears. As the foreignministers of this new, still-unblemished alloy arrive inAustralia, a region thatgeographers of the oldEmpire had once described asthe Antipodes — so distantand different as it was totheir world — they do so inthe realisation that this is thenew centre of gravity andgravitas of internationalpolitics and the quest forbalance and resilience in theface of strategic competition;of economics, markets andsupply chains; of the battleagainst common challenges,including climate change,cyber security and Covid; andof ideas and innovation for amore habitable planet.

THEUNIONbudgetfor2022-23isalandmarkbudget. It lays the foundation for taking thecountry towards a technologically frontlineeconomywithworld-classinfrastructurethatisseamlesslyintegratedandconnectsthefar-thest corners of the countrywith amulti-modal logistics network. This is its unifyingframework as the government attempts tolift the economy to ahigher growth trajec-toryof8-8.5percentinthecomingdecades.There is unanimity across all shades of

economicopinionthatthecurrentpolicyim-perativeistogenerateemploymentatamas-sivescale.Thismusttranslatetotheobjectiveoffosteringahighergrowthratethatissharedacross all geographic regions andby all in-comeclasses.Thebudget’sunderlyingphilo-sophical premise is that thehigher growthwill be triggeredonlybyanupswingof pri-vateinvestment,especiallyinemployment-intensive areas. The government’s role is asupportiveone, to facilitate suchprivate in-vestmentgrowththroughworld-classinfra-structure,greenenergyandadequatesupplyof required skills. The budget has also at-temptedtocatalyseprivate investmentbyamassive increase inpublic capital expendi-ture.Moreover,stateshavealsobeenencour-aged to allocate greater resources to infra-structuredevelopmentbymakingRs1lakhcroreavailableininterest-free50-yearloanstothosethatundertakesuchoutlays.Thislargedoseofpubliccapitalexpendi-

tureisexpectedto“crowdin”privateinvest-ment, thereby settingupavirtuous cycle ofinvestment-enhanced employment, in-comesandconsumptionleadingonceagaintoanotherboutofprivate investmentasca-pacitiesarefullyutilised.Letmeaddthatbet-ter quality andexpansionof infrastructure,includingaccess to energy, ensures that thebenefits of rapid growthpercolate faster tolower-incomesegments.Itreducesinequitiesand improves opportunities. Plus, the em-ploymentintensityoftheinfrastructureandconstructionsectorsisonaveragefivetimesthat of other sectors. So, suchpublic capextriggers private investment, helps generateemployment and spread the benefits ofgrowthoverawidersetofbeneficiaries.This growth orientation of the budget

wasessentialtopulltheeconomydecisivelyout of the shadows of the pandemic-in-ducedshock.Inpursuitofthishighergrowthobjective, thefinanceministerhasnothes-itatedtoletthefiscaldeficit risemarginallyto 6.9 per cent of the GDP in 2021-22 andkeepitat6.4percent in2022-23.Thefiscalhawksshouldnotethatasgrowthtakesholdand is sustainedabove8per cent, all ratiosthatare relevant to the ratingagencieswillimproveandwillposenoriskofacreditrat-ings downgrade. Thosewho, sometimesmistakenly, simplistically correlate fiscal

deficit with higher inflationary pressureswoulddowelltorecognisethatthepresentinflation, still within RBI’s tolerance range,is not demand-driven. It is a result of sup-ply-side bottlenecks and constraints. Astheseconstraintsareaddressedbyimprove-ments in logistics and rebuildingof supplychains, inflationary pressureswill soften.Therefore, the budget’s laser-like focus ongrowth and as a corollary on employmentgeneration is justwhatwasrequired.Thebudget,however,isnotsingle-mind-

edly growth-oriented. It doespay sufficientattention to improving the lives of those atthebottomof thepyramidand theMSMEs.ByallocatingRs60,000crorefortheJalJeevanMission itwill ensure thatanother3.8crorehouseholdswill receive tapwater to add tothe5.5 crorewhohave alreadybeenbene-fited.WithSwachhBharatAbhiyan,thiswilltransformthe livesof croresof citizenswhoreceived scant attention during previousregimes.Theaffordablehousingprogrammeswillfurtherimproveeaseofliving.Ithassev-eral other allocations thatwill contribute toimprovinglives.Theseincludeanincreaseof12per cent in the education sector budget,whichhasreceivedmorethanRs1lakhcroreforthefirsttime.Peopleinthearidandrela-tively poor Bundelkhand region, spreadacrossUPandMP,willseeaglimmerofhopeofsustainedgrowthastheKen-Betwalinkfi-nallytakesoff.Fivemoresuchriverlinkshavebeenidentifiedandwillhopefullyspurinter-statecooperationtobringthemtofruition.ForMSMEsinthecontact-intensivehos-

pitality sector, the budget has earmarkedRs50,000croreoftheemergencycreditlinkguarantee scheme. The scheme’s allocationhasbeenraisedtoRs5lakhcroreandthepe-riod extended toMarch2023. These collat-eral-free fundswill greatlyhelpMSMEsac-cesscheapcredit.Thesectorwillalsoreceivean additional boostwith the revamping oftheCGTMSEscheme,whichwill ensuread-ditionalcreditofRs2lakhcroreformicroandsmallenterprises.Thesemeasureswillbroad-basethegrowthimpulseandensurethatem-ploymentgenerationactivityisspreadacrossthecountry.Thebudgettakesboldstepstousherinan

era of chemical-free, ecologically-friendlynaturalfarminginthecountry.Astartwillbemadebyencouragingnatural farmingonafive kilometre-wide corridor along theGanges. Thiswill generate incomeandem-ployment along its entire coursewhile sus-tainingtheenvironment.It isworthpointing out that thebudget

has once again adopted a conservative ap-proachtowardsresourcemobilisationpossi-bilitiesbykeepingtaxbuoyancytojustaboutone. This is normallyhigher especially dur-ingtheupswingofaninvestmentcycle.Suchconservatismgivesus the fiscal space to re-spond effectively to any emergencywhichmayhavetobefacedintheseuncertaintimes.It isalwaysbettertohavesomefirepowerinstore rather thanbe strapped for resources.Thebudgetdoeswell to spur growthwhiletakingcareof equityaspectsandremainingwellwithintheavailablefiscalspace.

ThewriterisViceChairman,NITIAayog.Viewsarepersonal

AS INDIA’S EXTERNAL Affairs Minister, SJaishankar enters the “old” Quad of theUniversityofMelbourneonFridaymorning,hewillbegreetedwithwhatsomemayfindto be an intriguing jugalbandi of the tablaand the aboriginal wind instrument, thedidgeridoo. And even before he begins hisconversationwithacademicsonthefutureoftheIndo-PacificattheUniversity’sAustralia-IndiaInstitute,hewillhave—inkeepingwithcultural protocol — acknowledged theWurundjeri people, the traditional ownersof the land, an overture that signifies con-temporaryAustralia’smanyparallelrealities.It isthisnewAustralia—comingtoterms

withitsdifficultpast,almostconfidentof itsfuture in Asia and yet bound to the Anglo-Saxonworld—thatoffersNewDelhithepos-sibilities of themost enduring partnershipin the region; friendship based on the veryfirst principles that mould relationships, aconvergenceofvaluesandof interests.Whilethe relationship has all but transformed inthe last decade and a ComprehensiveStrategicPartnershiphasbeenforged, itstillrequires leadershipandpoliticalnavigationif thevastpromisehastotranslateintoasus-tainable reality. This ambitionmust be thecentrepieceof Jaishankar’s agenda.But Jaishankar’svisit isbeyondthebilat-

eral; what draws him for his first visit toMelbourne, in his current role, is themeet-ing of the Quad Foreign Ministers fromAustralia, Japan, United States and India, inpersonaftermorethantwoyears.Asthefor-eignministersof thisnew,still-unblemishedalloy arrive inAustralia, a region that geog-raphers of the old Empire had once de-scribed as the Antipodes — so distant anddifferent as it was to their world— they dosointherealisationthat this is thenewcen-tre of gravity and gravitas of internationalpolitics and the quest for balance and re-silience inthefaceof strategiccompetition;ofeconomics, marketsandsupplychains;ofthe battle against common challenges, in-cluding climate change, cyber security andCovid; and of ideas and innovation for amorehabitable planet.Understandably,Melbourne, voted con-

sistentlyasoneof themost liveablecitiesonthe planet, recovering its joie de vivre afterthe pandemic—with a robustmulticultur-alismthat includesaChinaTownandaLittleIndia — is the natural setting this week forthe critical discussions about these chal-lenges toourplanet and to the futureof ourregionandbeyond.Bilateralismandmultilateralismhavenot

come easy for India. It is tempting to forgethistory, even be amnesiac about recenttimes, in the flood of affection that prevailstodaybetweenNewDelhiandCanberra.Butit was just over a decade ago, in February2010 that a prominent Indian newsmaga-zine ran a cover story on “Why the AussiesHate Us” as attacks on Indian students inMelbourneledtoanadirinbilateralrelationsalready at a low after Canberra’s ferocious

response to India’s nuclear tests in1998.Today,however, it isdifficulttofindasin-

gle significant issue on which India andAustraliahavepositionsdramaticallydiffer-ent from each other, and this convergencetranscends thepartisandivide inCanberra.The Indian diaspora is finally coming

of age in Australia; the population ofIndian-bornpeoplehasdoubled in the lastdecade, and for the last five years, India re-mains the top source of skilledmigration.The tourist and student traffic from India,which had been impacted by the sealingof Australia’s borders because of Covid,should revive after the full openingof bor-ders later thismonth.Theonebridgethat isstill tobebuilt isof

a robust bilateral economic relationship.Corporate Australia still finds it difficult todobusinesswithIndiaandthe“champions”for the business relationship (identified byAustralia’sDepartmentofForeignAffairsandTrade)needtoreallypositionthemselves inthevanguardof the relationship.However, niggardly bureaucrats from

both sides have prevented an even “earlyharvest” minimal free trade agreement(termed in bureaucratese as CECA —Comprehensive Economic CooperationAgreement) from being signed despite po-litical will andmany deadlines. This agree-mentmustbe concludedat theearliest.Thebilateralismmergesseamlessly into

themultilateralagendafor theQuad,whichformallyoronthesidelines,willspendmuchof itstimedevotedtoBeijing, itsbelligerence,itsrevisionismanditsrevanchismacrosstheregion. India and Australia have both beenvictimsof thepersistentwolf-warriordiplo-macyof Xi Jinping’sChina.TheconcernaboutChinahasbeenaggra-

vated by the increased levels of economicdependence on China. Recall that India,Australia and Japan had agreed to reducetheirdependenceonChinaanddiversesup-ply chains through Supply Chain Resilience

Initiative (SCRI).The three countries had met in

September 2021 to set into place mecha-nisms for trade diversification, to reducetheir dependence on Chinese markets formedical supplies and other finished goodsduring the pandemic.While the jury is stillouton the long-termsuccessof SCRI,primafacie the dependence on China has not re-ducedinanysignificantmannerevenwhiletheoverall tradedeficit has increased.While the agenda of the Quad is broad,

the challenge is to remain focussed on theIndo-Pacific, its stability, and not be dis-tracted, for instance, by the shenanigans ofVladimirPutin’sRussiainUkraineorprema-turely anticipate a military alliance beingforged because of the flirtations of Xi andPutin, two of themost unlikely candidatesfor a serious relationship or even a tempes-tuousaffair.Regions are markers of geography but

also constructions of a cartographic imagi-nation.Youimagineyourneighbourhoodasmuchasbywhereyouarepositioned, asbywhere you want to be. Your geographicalcompass, in sum, reflects your threats andyouropportunities,yourambitionsandyourvulnerabilities—adistinctweltanschauung.On his first visit to Australia as India’sExternal Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, willhave the opportunity to put a real impri-matur on two relationships that he hashelped to craft: The Quad and bilateral tieswith the government in Canberra.What isnowvital is todemonstrate that thesepart-nerships can truly deliver on transformingtherealityonthegroundbygivingtheQuadreal substance and the Indo-Pacific a fight-ing chance at stability despite now pre-dictableChinese subversiveness.

Thewriter is Professor at JNUandUniversity ofMelbourneand formerFounder-Director of theAustralia

India Institute

Rajiv Kumar

AmitabhMattoo

Jaishankar’svisittoAustraliaprovidesopportunitytostrengthenQuadandboostNewDelhi’stieswithCanberra

Possibilities Down Under Ambitious, yetmeasured

Budgetwillspurgrowth,whiletakingcareofequityaspectsandremainingwellwithinthe

availablefiscalspace

CR Sasikumar

POLITICAL GAME

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Motionofattack’ (IE, February9). Thecontempo-raryIndianpoliticalscenarioisgovernedbyrealpolitik,unlikereal, issued-basedpoliticsthatmarkedparliamentaryde-batesduring JawaharlalNehru'sera.AsnoticedinRahulGandhi’sobservationsonthePresident’saddressandtheprimeminister’sreply,confrontationandone-upmanshipareemployed,inwhichthekey issues get blurred. Opinions aretreated as facts, facts are treated asun-provenallegationsandargumentshavedisplaced logic and understanding.Content-wise, both Gandhi andModiexcelledinusingrhetoric,selectivedataandmisplaced self-assertions.Whatmadethedifferencewasinpresentationskills.As longas thisgapof articulationwillpersistbetweenthePMandtheop-position, thePMwillwin.

YGChouksey,Pune

POOR ARGUMENTTHISREFERSTO thearticle, ‘Controllingwomen’s bodies’ (IE, February 9). Thepeoplewhoputforththeargumentthatcriminalisationofmarital rapemay re-sultinfalseaccusationshavefailedtoun-derstandoneofthebasicprinciplesofourcriminal justicesystem—1,000culpritsmay escape but one innocent personshouldnotbepunished.Anotherflawinthe argument is the assumption about“falseaccusations”.Theyareaphenom-enonthatcanoccurinallkindsofcrime.Shouldwede-criminalisefraud,theftetc,

forthefearof falsecases?All theactionsthat aremorally incorrect should cer-tainly be made legally punishable.Thoughcategorisedunderthe“offencesaffectingthehumanbody”,rapenotonlybreachesthedignityofawomanbutalsosoilsthesocial fabricofourcommunity.

AerikaSingh,Chandigarh

REGULATION NEEDEDTHIS REFERS TO the article‘Undermining polls’ (IE, February 9).The influence of the outcome of vari-ous opinion polls on the electoralprocess has been a subject of populardebate.Thecredibilityof theprocedureemployed by the surveying organisa-tions and the role of the commission-ingmedia house in shaping the out-come of the opinion polls needs to beregulated. In the absence of necessarystatutes to regulate the opinion polls,theECIcanverywellstepintothislegalvacuumleftunattended.

SudipKumarDey,Barasat

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

THIS COLUMN is about three cases fromJanuary2022.TheSupremeCourt(SC)decidedacasein

January 2022 and the judgmentmade it totheheadlines. If aHindumandies intestate(withoutawill), thedaughtercaninheritherfather’s self-acquired property. GurunathaGounder (I) had two sons, MarappaGounder and Ramaswamy Gounder.RamaswamyGounderdiedbeforehiselderbrother,Marappa,whoalsodiedalongtimeago, in1949.AminorpointwasraisedaboutwhetherMarappaGounderdiedin1949,orin1957.Whyisthattimelineimportant?Because

the Hindu Succession Act was passed in1956 and it governs intestate successionamong Hindus. This bit, about the year ofMarappa’s death, was examined by a trialcourt (judgment of 1994) and theMadrasHigh Court (judgment of 2009) and bothcourts decidedMarappa died in 1949, not1957.TheSCsawnoreasontoquestionthatestablishedfact.Norwasanotherfactques-tioned: In1938,Marappabought theprop-erty through his own resources. It wasn’tjoint family property. He could have dealtwith it as he chose, had he left a will.Unfortunately, he died intestate. MarappaGounder had only one daughter, KupayeeAmmal, and no sons. She died in 1967 andleftnochildren.RamaswamyGounderhadone son and four daughters. The son wasGurunathaGounder(II).ThedaughterswereThangammal (deadnow), Ramayeeammal

(dead now), Elayammal and Nallammal.Thangammal, dead now, was the originalplaintiff,whoapplied forpartition.When Marappa Gounder died, who

should inherit his property? Should it beKupayee Ammal, the only daughter? Or,since she was a woman, should it beRamaswamy Gounder’s son, GurunathaGounder (II)?WhenKupayeeAmmal died,whoshould inherit theproperty?Should itbeGurunathaGounder (II) andhisheirs, orshouldhis four sisters alsohavea share?TheSCdecided:“Applyingtheaboveset-

tledlegalpropositiontothefactsof thecaseat hands, since the succession of the suitpropertiesopenedin1967uponthedeathofKupayee Ammal, the 1956 Act shall applyand thereby Ramasamy Gounder’s daugh-ters being Class-I heirs of their father tooshallalsobeheirsandentitledto1/5thsharein eachof the suit properties.” Incidentally,Gurunatha Gounder (II) is also dead. Mostof the original parties are dead, includingnot just theonewhofirst asked for thepar-tition, but theoriginal appellant.Azadi KaAmritMahotsav celebrates 75

years of India’s Independence andwe aresettingoutatemplateforIndiain2047.Doesitseemrightthatanissueof inheritancethatshouldhavebeensettledin1949,or in1967,is being settled in 2022? Imagine themessin enforcing what the SC has decided.Lawsuitsof fathers(ormothers)devolveonsonsanddaughters,uptothethirdorfourthgeneration.

Part of themess is becauseof the com-plicatednatureof inheritanceandsucces-sion laws, even more so if the individualdies intestate. There are constitutional is-sues, onepartof theConstitutionvis-à-visanother. Despite the issue being contro-versial, we can’t possibly deny we don’thave a framework for personal laws suit-able for a 21st century India. Add to thatlong delays in settling disputes, overloadin theadmissionof casesandeven the lan-guage of judgments.Consider another recent case from

Mumbai, the one where themetropolitanmagistrate acquitted Shilpa Shetty of ob-scenityandindecencycharges. In2007,atapromotionalevent,RichardGerekissedherand FIRswere filed in Rajasthan and UttarPradesh. Those FIRs were primarily underthe Indecent Representation of Women(Prohibition)ActandSections292,293and294of IPC (IndianPenalCode). I thinkany-onewho reads those statutes and sectionsshouldagree, (a) those FIRs shouldn’t havebeen lodged; (b) even if there was an FIR,the case shouldn’t have been admitted incourt; (c) it shouldn’t have taken 15 yearsto decide. Police and courts should havebetter things to do. Shouldn’t we bemorediscriminatingaboutwhatcasesareadmit-ted in courts?On language and plain English, I am re-

peatingmyself. (I have written about it inthe past.) I am repeating myself becausesuchincidentsrecur,especially inHimachal

Pradesh, though Justice Sureshwar Thakurhas nowmoved elsewhere, to the PunjabandHaryanaHighCourt.In January 2022, two judges of the SC

couldn’t understand a judgment authoredby Thakur in 2017 and had to askwhetheritwaswritteninLatin. January2022wasn’tthefirst time. (Hewasincomprehensible inthe past too.) Therewere similar examplesfortheHimachalPradeshHighCourtinApril2017,December2018andMarch2021.Inmostorganisations,peoplelearnfrom

past mistakes. But there is the need to becarefulabouttheContemptofCourtsActof1971.Whenwe hear “contempt of court”,we tend to thinkof civil contempt,where acourt’s judgment or direction is not com-plied with. But that 1971 statute also hasprovisions on criminal contempt. Any actthat “scandalises or tends to scandalise, orlowers or tends to lower the authority of,any court” is criminal contempt.“Scandalising”isneithercontemptbyinter-ference,norcontemptbydisobedience.Weinherited this expression from Britain. In2013, following a Law Commission Report(2012), theUK’sCrimeandCourtsAct, said,“Scandalisingthe judiciary(alsoreferredtoas scandalising the court or scandalisingjudges)isabolishedasaformofcontemptofcourt under the common law of EnglandandWales.”

Thewriter is chairman, EconomicAdvisoryCouncil to thePM.Viewsarepersonal

BibekDebroy

The litigation labyrinthArchaiclaws,casesthatdragon,unclearverdictsbedevil legalsystem IDEAS

ONLINEONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●LATAMANGESHKAR,HEROINEOFF-SCREEN:AAKSHIMAGAZINE

New Delhi

14THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, FEBRUARY10,2022

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEANWHILE

MUSKHELPSRESTORETONGAN INTERNETEntrepreneur Elon Musk is helping reconnect Tonga to the internet after a volcanic erup-tion and tsunami cut off the South Pacific nation more than three weeks ago, according toofficials, while repairs on an undersea cable are proving more difficult than first thought.The tsunami severed the sole fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world.With Musk’s involvement, there was hope that better connectivity would be restored soon.

USA

KamalaHarristoattendMunichConferenceWashington: KamalaHarriswill holda series ofin-personmeetingswithUS allies and partners atthe Munich SecurityConference next weekseekingtodeterRussianag-gression inUkraine, a tripthatservesasamajordiplo-matictestofhervicepres-idency. A senior adminis-tration official saidHarriswilldeliveraspeech,articu-lateUSpolicyatanumberofpublicengagementsandassertAmerica's commit-ment to its NATO allies.LeadersofGermany,theEUandNATOwill attendandHarris is not expected tomeet leaders fromRussiaandChina.TheconferenceisexpectedtotakeplaceonFebruary 18-20inMunich,amid a high-stakes con-flictoverUkrainebetweenWestern nations andRussia. REUTERS

KamalaHarris.Reuters

TOPOFTHEWORLD

IRAN

NewwiderrangemissileunveiledTehran: Iran unveiled anew missile onWednesday with a re-ported range thatwouldallow it to reach bothUSbases in the region andtargets inside its archfoeIsrael. State TV reportedthat themissile has solidfuel and a range of 1,450km.ItiscalledtheKhaibar-buster, a reference to aJewish castle overrun byMuslim warriors in theearlydaysof Islam. It saidthemissilehashighaccu-racy, is manufacturedcompletely domestically,and can defeat missileshieldsystems.The infor-mationhasnotbeeninde-pendentlyverified. AP

MADAGASCAR

Report:TollfromcycloneBatsirairisesto80Antananarivo: The deathtoll fromCycloneBatsiraiinMadagascar rose to80from a previously re-ported29,thestatedisas-ter relief agency said onWednesday. The cycloneslammed into the largeIndian Ocean island lateon Saturday, knockingdownhousesandelectric-ity linesas it battered thesoutheasterncoastuntil itmovedawaylateonSunday,leaving91,000peoplewithdestroyed or damagedhomes.Thedisasterreliefagencysaidthat60of thedeaths had occurred in asinglearea. REUTERS

Vehiclesblocktheroute leadingfromtheAmbassadorBridge, linkingDetroitandWindsor,as truckersandtheir supporterscontinueprotestagainst thevaccinemandates, inWindsor,OntarioonWednesday.Reuters

DAVIDKEYTONSTOCKHOLM,FEBRUARY9

SWEDENHAShaltedwide-scaletestingforCovid-19evenamongpeopleshowingsymptomsofaninfection, putting an end to themobile city-square tent sites,drive-in swab centres andhome-delivered tests that be-cameubiquitousduringthepan-demic and provided essentialdata for tracking its spread.The move puts the

ScandinaviannationatoddswithmostofEurope,butsomeexpertssay itcouldbecomethenormascostlytestingyieldsfewerbene-fitswiththeeasilytransmissiblebutmilderOmicronvariant andas governments begin to con-sider treating Covid like they dootherendemic illnesses.“We have reached a point

where the cost and relevance ofthe testing is no longer justifi-able.” Swedish Public HealthAgency chief Karin TegmarkWisell told the national broad-castSVTthisweek.“If we were to have exten-

sivetestingadaptedtoeveryonewho has Covid-19, that wouldmean half a billion kronor a

week(about$55million)and2billionamonth($220million),”TegmarkWisell added.Starting Wednesday, only

healthcare and elderly careworkers and themost vulnera-ble will be entitled to free PCRtesting if theyare symptomatic,while the rest of thepopulationwill simply be asked to stayhome if they show symptomsthat couldbeCovid-19.Antigen tests are readily

available forpurchase insuper-markets and pharmacies, butthose results aren’t reported tohealth authorities. Privatehealth care providers can alsoperform tests and offer certifi-cates for international travel.Dr.BharatPankhania, a sen-

ior clinical lecturer at theUniversity of Exeter MedicalSchool inBritain, said thatwitha substantial percentage ofpeople vaccinated, “an in-formed, educated and knowl-edgeable population” can betrusted to isolate if they showsymptoms without the needfor “wholesale testing that isnot going to be value formoney.” “Swedenis leadingtheway, and other nationswill in-evitably follow,” he said. AP

Ottawa:Canadianauthoritiesarescrambling to findways to endthe 12-day-long occupation ofthenationalcapital’sdowntown,hoping a combination of crimi-nalcharges,trafficticketsandtheprospect of losing access to fuelwill end theblockades.Whilepolicesaythenumber

of protesters in Ottawa is drop-ping, a blockade that startMondayatthevitalAmbassadorBridge linking Canada and theUnitedStatesisdisruptingtrade.While tougher policing has

dissuadedsomedemonstrators,DeputyPoliceChiefSteveBellhassaidmanyof those remaining inOttawawerehighly"determinedandvolatile."Policehavemade23arrests so far. They have alsoasked for reinforcements sug-gesting intentions to pursue en-forcement through commercialvehicle licences. REUTERS

Canada scramblesto end anti-vaccinemandate protests

KJMVARMABEIJING, FEBRUARY9

AHEAD OF Quad ForeignMinisters’ meeting on Friday,ChinasaidonWednesdaythatitwasopposedto“exclusiveblocs”tocreateblocconfrontationandthe four-nation alliance shouldstopdrivingwedgesbetweenre-gional countries.In November 2017, the US,

Australia, India and Japan gaveshape to the long-pending pro-posal of setting up the Quad todevelop a new strategy to keepthecriticalsearoutesintheIndo-Pacific free of any influence,amidstChina’sgrowingmilitarypresence in thestrategic region.“We oppose exclusive blocs

to create bloc confrontation,”Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Zhao Lijian told amediabriefingwhileansweringa question on the ForeignMinisters’meetingof theQuad-the Quadrilateral SecurityDialogue comprising the US,India, Japan and Australia in

MelbourneonFriday.“We hope that the US and

relevantcountriescangetaclearpicture of the situation, feel re-laxed, abandon the Cold Warmentality, stop drivingwedgesbetweenregionalcountriesandcontributetoregionalpeace,sta-bilityandprosperity,”hesaid.External Affairs Minister S

Jaishankar will participate inthe fourthQuad foreignminis-ters'meetingonFebruary11 inMelbourne along with hiscounterparts from Australia,Japan and theUS.Askedaboutthereportedre-

marksbyUSAssistantSecretaryDaniel J Kritenbrink that QuadForeign Ministers’ meeting inMelbournewill discussways tocounter challenges posed byChina to democratic values ,ZhaoattackedtheUS,question-ing its democratic credentials.“Democracy is a commonvalueof humanity, not a patentclaimed by a few countries.Whetheracountryisdemocraticor not should be judged by itsownpeople. “hesaid. PTI

Quad must stop drivingdifferences betweenregional nations: China

Melbourne:Secretary ofState AntonyBlinken andkey allies are“voting withtheir feet” byflying toAustralia to fo-cus on chal-lenges in the

Indo-Pacific region, Australia’sforeign minister saidWednesday. Blinken landed inMelbourne ahead of a meet-ing with Australian ForeignMinisterMarise Payne aswellas their Indian and Japanesecounterpartswho formthe so-called “Quad.”WiththeQuad,Blinkenisex-

pected to highlight the benefitsof Indo-Pacific nations aligningthemselves with democraciesand democratic values, officialssaid.“Thatpartofthatdiscussionwill relatetothechallengesthatChinaposes to thosevaluesandto the rules-based order,” saidDaniel Kritenbrink, the top USdiplomat forAsia. AP

Blinken lands inAustralia aheadof Indo-Pacificmeeting

AntonyBlinken

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD,FEBRUARY9

PAKISTAN ENJOYS good rela-tionswithbothChinaandtheUSandwants toplay the same“in-strumental role of the 1970s”that had broughtWashingtonand Beijing closer to avoid “an-otherColdWar”,PrimeMinisterImranKhanhassaid.TherelationsbetweentheUS

andChina are at an all-time low.Thetwocountriesareengagedinabitterconfrontationovervarious

issues, including trade, Beijing'saggressivemilitarymoves in thedisputedSouthChinaSeaandhu-man rights inHongKong, TibetandXinjiangregion.In an interview to China’s

state-run news channel CGTN,Khan said theworld should notgo through a situationwhere it

is divided into two camps as itwill not benefit anyone, theAssociated Press of Pakistan re-portedonTuesday.Khan, who was recently in

Beijing to attend the openingceremony of the 2022WinterOlympics, was replying to aquestion onwhether Pakistancould facechallengesdue to therising tension between ChinaandtheUS.“Ihopethatthis(thetension between the US andChina)doesnotescalateintoan-other ColdWarwherewe havetochoosesides,”hesaid. PTI

PakistanPMImranKhan

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,FEBRUARY9

PRIMEMINISTER Sher BahadurDeuba has not concealed hiswish to have the $500milliondollarMillenniumChallengeCorporation Nepal compact

approved by Parliament byFebruary-end , but two promi-nentpartnersof therulingcoali-tion have said the chapter was

nowover, at least forayear.The Communist Party of

Nepal-Maoist Centre and theUnifiedSocialistsonWednesdaysaid now that the elections forthelocalbodieshavebeencalledfor May 13, which will be fol-lowedbyelectionstotheprovin-cial and federal parliament, thedeal can not be tabled and rati-fiedbytheParliamentintheelec-tionyear,JhalanathKhanal,afor-merPrimeMinisterandleaderof

theUnifiedSocialistssaid.Narayankaji Shrestha, vice-

chairmanoftheMaoistcentrealsosaidMCCcannot be approved inthecurrentformasitundermines“country’ssovereignty.”Deuba,whohadmadeacom-

mitment inwriting to theMCCboardthathewouldhavethedealpassed,hasbeengivendeadlineofFebruary28by thedonorboardstatingthatthefailuretodosocouldleadtoterminationofthegrant.

Nepal ruling coalition votes against US deal$500MNMCCDEAL

YOSHITASINGHNEWYORK,FEBRUARY 9

A54-YEAR-OLD Indianwoman,foundunresponsive in awheel-chair near the baggage belt atWashingtonDullesInternationalAirport,hasbeensavedwith thetimelyinterventionofemergencymedical personnel, according toUSauthoritieswhodescribedthesituationas“harrowing”.The Customs and Border

Protection(CBP)onTuesdaysaidthewomanarrivedattheairporton Sunday evening after a 15-hour flight fromDoha,Qatar.“Foraharrowing10minutes,

US Customs and BorderProtection emergencymedicaltechnicians administered ex-traordinarylifesavingefforts”onthe unresponsive female trav-eller at the airport, the federalagencysaid inastatement.Later, airportparamedics re-

gained a pulse on thewoman,whohasnotbeenidentified.Thestatementaddedthataspernewsfrom the hospital, the womanwasbreathingonherown. PTI

Timely helpby US airportofficials saveIndian woman

Pak keen to play ‘instrumental role’ inbringing US, China closer, says Imran

Indian-origin organ donorin Singapore awardedfor saving one-year-old

In signal of growing confidence,Sweden ends Covid-19 testing THEWORLD surpassed400

million known coronaviruscases onTuesday, accordingto the Center for SystemsScience and Engineering atJohnsHopkinsUniversity,justonemonthafterreaching300million. It tookmore than ayear for theworld to reach100millionconfirmedinfec-tionsandthe100millionthinJanuary 2021. It took onlysevenmonthstodoublethatnumber,andnowsixmonthstodoubleitagain. NYT

TOMBALMFORTHMOSCOW,FEBRUARY9

RUSSIA LAUNCHES the activephase of vastmilitary exercisesinBelarusonThursday,adisplayof strength that shows howMoscow’s tightening grip onMinskhasgivenitenhancedca-pabilitiesinitsstandoffwiththeWestoverUkraine.The jointAlliedResolvedrills

that NATO has described asRussia's biggest deployment toex-Soviet Belarus since the ColdWarrununtilFebruary20andarepart of a Russian troop buildupnearUkrainethathasstirredfearsofa loominginvasion.Russia,whichdeniesanyinva-

sionplans,hasnotdisclosedhowmany troops will be involved.NATO Secretary-General JensStoltenberg said lastweek thatRussia was expected to have30,000 troopsandSpetsnazspe-cialoperationsforces,SU-35fighterjets,S-400airdefencesystemsandnuclear-capableIskandermissilesInmilitaryterms,thedeploy-

ments create a new front forUkraine to worry about andstretch Kyiv’s forces thinnerarounditslongdefensiveperime-ter, saidNeilMelvin, director ofInternational Security Studies attheRUSIthink-tankinLondon.The deployments to the

north of Ukraine put Russiantroopsmuchcloser toUkraine’scapital Kyiv,which lies just over90 km (56miles) from the bor-derat its closestpoint.Withthedeploymentoffight-

ers and air defence systems,Russia hasmuchmore effectivedefensivecoverforitsKaliningradexclaveinEurope,andelectronicjamming systems in BelarusmakeWesternintelligencegath-eringharder,saidMelvin.For years, Belarusian leader

Alexander Lukashenko playedoff East againstWest for politi-

cal gainandresisted the ideaofhosting a permanent Russianmilitarybase. “I thinkhe finallydecided that in order to stay inpower he should rely on hisstrategicalliancewithMoscowand of course these joint mili-tary exercises are yet anotherkind of manifestation of thisnew closeness,” said AndreyKortunov, head of the RussianInternational Affairs Council.The Kremlin has said the

Russian troops will return to

their permanent garrisonsonce thedrills areover. But thebeleagueredBelarusianoppo-sition-in-exile fears Russia'stroops may not leave entirely.“Lukashenko has openedPandora’s Box. He thinks he’sstill in control, but we're notsure. Is he able to make surethese troops are going home,or not?" said Franak Viacorka,an adviser toBelarusianoppo-sition leader SviatlanaTsikhanouskaya.

RUSSIAHASbegunjointmilitarydrillswithitscloseallyatthedoorstepofKyivasthecloudsofwarineasternEuropeswirleverlower.Some30,000Russiansoldiers,twobattalionsofS-400surface-to-airmissilesystems,andaverylargeswarmofwarjetsareinBelarusfortheexercises.Whethertheygobackaftertheexercisescon-cludeonFebruary20couldgivesomeideaofPresidentVladimirPutin'smind.About100,000to130,000Russian

troopsalongwithvastamountsofmilitaryhardwareandmedicalsupportsuppliesareal-readystationedonthree

sidesofUkraine,andtheycan-notbekeptprimedindefinitelyinastateofintensewartimereadiness.February20isalsothedatetheWinterOlympicsinBeijingarescheduledtoclose,andmanyanalystsbe-lievethatwhilePutinisunlikelytoinvadewhiletheGamesareon,thereisnosayingwhathemaydecideoncetheyareover.

Underdarkwarclouds,RussiatodaywillbeginBelarusmilitary drills

BritishservicemembersunloadashipmentofBritain’ssecuritysupportpackageforUkraineat theBoryspilInternationalAirportoutsideKyivon Wednesday.Reuters

Geneva: Describing the newCovid-19 variants as the “wildcard”, a top World HealthOrganisationofficialhaswarnedthattheOmicronwillnotbethelast one and the possibility ofothernewvariantsisreallyhigh.During a question and an-

swer session live streamed onWHO’s social media platformson Tuesday, theWHOCovid-19Technical Lead Maria VanKerkhove said that the globalhealth agency is tracking fourdifferentversionsofOmicron.“Weknowalotaboutthisvirus,

butwedon’tknoweverything.Andquitefrankly,thevariantsarethewildcard.Sowearetrackingthisvirusinreal time as it mutates as itchanges.Butthisvirushasalotofroomtomove,"shesaid.“Withthelevel of intensity of spread, thepossibilitythatwewillhaveothervariantsisreallyhigh.Soweneedto ensure we again, not only in-crease vaccination coverage, butwe also takemeasurestoreducethespread,”sheadded. PTI

Possibility of newvariants high,warns WHO

GURDIPSINGHSINGAPORE,FEBRUARY9

ANINDIAN-ORIGINseniorsalesexecutive in Singapore,Sakthibalan Balathandautham,has received the “The StraitsTimes Singaporean of the Year2021”award fordonatingapartof his liver to a one-year old girlhe had nevermet before, ame-dia report saidonWednesday.The 28-year-old, who re-

ceivedtheawardfromPresidentHalimah Yacob onWednesday,donated 23 per cent of his livertobabyRheyaonSeptember30,2020,respondingtoapleaonso-cial media in July 2020 by a

youngIndiancouple lookingfora liver donor for their one-year-oldchild,TheStraitsTimesnews-paper reportedBalathandautham’s gener-

ous gesture has given a newlease of life to Rheya, whowasdiagnosedwith biliary atresia afew weeks after her birth in2019.Therarediseasecausesbileducts inthelivertobeinflamed,blocking bile flow to the gall-bladder.Theconditioncaneven-tually lead to liver failure.Afterasuccessfulrecoveryby

both donor and recipient,Balathandauthamisnowanadvo-catefororgandonation,encouragingmorepeopletostepupandhelppa-tientsinneed,thereportsaid. PTI

LEANNEITALIENEWYORK,FEBRUARY9

EMILY TAFFEL didn’t pull thepassword plug when she di-vorcedherfirsthusband,andshedidn’t cutoff theboyfriendwhofollowed. Now remarriedwithfourstepchildren,shecontinuesas a model of civility when itcomes toexesand logins.The 41-year-old in Coral

Springs, Florida, and her firsthusbanddidn’thavekids,muchmoney or own a house whenthey divorced. What they didhave were subscriptions toNetflixandHulu.“We each paid for one of

them and share. Thatwas liter-ally our divorce agreement,”Taffel said. “It waswritten rightin there.We’re still doing it.”When boyfriend Sam came

along but the romance endedthree years later, they main-tained close ties and joint cus-todyofadditionalservices,shar-ingloginsandthecosttothisdayamong themselves and Taffel’sex-husband. “I know it seemscrazy,” she said. “The ex-boyfriend and the ex-husbandaren’t friends, but throughmeeverybody isveryamicable.”In this era of cybersecurity

concerns and calls formultifac-torlockdownofallthingsdigital,thatapproachpoints toathorny

issue when love goes wrong:Whattodoaboutthe logins?Nearly 8 in 10 Americans

who are in a relationship sharepasswords across nearly every

digital platform, ranging fromsocial media to email and cellphone to mobile wallets, saidHarold Li, vice-president of theencryptionserviceExpressVPN.

“Inthedigitalera,sharingpass-wordsisasignoftrustandaffectionakintothegiftofalettermanjacketor an exchange of school lockercombinations,”hesaid.“However,while itmayseemlikearomanticgestureatthemoment,itposesse-riousriskstoyourpersonalprivacy,whicheventheclosestof relation-shipsneed.”Andwhenrelation-shipsend,whetherromanticorofthe friendshipvariety,herecom-mendsathorough“digitaldivorce.”NickLeightonoftheetiquette

podcast “Were You Raised byWolves”equatesthechangingofshared passwords after abreakup to returning thesweater leftbehindby theex.“Bemindful of the fact that

when a person discovers theirlogin no longer works, it’ll be aclearreminderthattherelation-ship is indeed over, whichmaycausehurt feelings,”hesaid.Researchershavefoundavari-

ety of reasons peoplemaintainstreaming ties after a breakup—convenience, finances andpost-breakupfriendshipsamongthem.Adownside:Whenavindictiveexdeliberatelywreakshavocwithal-gorithmstomessupadsandsug-gestedviewing, or creates apro-file to rile up a current loveinterest.Onesharer said thepar-ents of an ex stayed logged intooneofhissitesfortwoyearsaftertheybrokeupandsenthimagiftcardoutof theblueasthanks.AP

CONVENIENCE, FINANCES, POST-BREAKUP FRIENDSHIPS ARE A FEW REASONS FOR STREAMING TIES: EXPERTS

Love and logins: Who gets custody of passwords in a breakup?

AFacebookloginpageappearsonacomputer.AP

WORLDCASELOADSURPASSES400MN

PEOPLE IN England withCovid-19 will from lateFebruary no longer belegally required to self-iso-late to stem the spread ofCovid-19, Prime MinisterBoris Johnson said onWednesday, proposing tospeedupexistingplanstolivewiththevirus.Hehassaidhewishestogofurtheraspartofthe shift towards learning tolivewithCovid. REUTERS

UKPLANS TO ENDSELF-ISOLATION RULE

February10-20:Acriticalphase

New Delhi

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

DASHBOARD,ASONFEB9

TOTAL TESTS 74,46,84,750

INDIA TOTAL DOSES 170,87,06,705(Adults 1st dose: 90,16,70,652;2nd: 73,16,05,796; 15-18agegroup1st dose: 5,04,94,313;2nd:92,19,707; precautionary: 1,57,16,237)

■Firstdose ■Seconddose FEBRUARY 8: 65,34,090

Newcases71,355

Active cases8,92,818

Deaths1,217

Weekly CFR:0.33% | Overall CFR: 1.26% | Total deaths:5,05,279

TESTSONFEB8 WEEKLYPOSITIVITY OVERALLPOSITIVITY17,76,629 6.37% 5.70%

709DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

State ONFEBRUARY7 WeeklyNewcases Activecases Deaths positivity

Kerala 29471 2,84,437 824 33.92%Maharashtra 6107 96069 62 8.19%TamilNadu 4519 90137 37 6.77%Karnataka 4452 72448 51 9.26%Rajasthan 3411 37278 16 11.95%

NEW CASES,DAILY

SURGE IN THE STATES

CASES IN THE CITIES, LAST 10DAYS

DELHI

Jan30 Feb8

5,000

2,500

0

3,674

1,114

MUMBAI

Jan30 Feb8

1,500

750

0

1,160447

PUNE

Jan30 Feb8

10,000

5,000

0

7,617

1,906

BENGALURU

Jan30 Feb8

20,000

10,000

0

11,938

2,139

KOLKATA

Jan30 Feb8 Jan30 Feb8

600

300

0

521

108

CHENNAI

6,000

3,000

0

3,998

792

Jan30 Feb8LAST 10 DAYS

3,00,000

1,50,000

0

1,61,386

1,72,433

1,49,394

1,27,952

1,07,474

2,09,918

1,67,059

83,876

67,597

71,355

Jan30 Feb8

50,00,000

25,00,000

0LAST 10 DAYS (daily)

7,84,082

20,35,835

7,46,514

UDITMISRANEWDELHI, FEBRUARY9

ON WEDNESDAY, during the debate onBudget2022-23, thegovernment informedRajya Sabha thatmore than 25,000 Indiansdiedbysuicideduetoeitherunemploymentor indebtedness between 2018 and 2020.According to the data, suicides among theunemployed have been increasing andtouchedahigh(3,548)in2020.Thegrowingstress due to unemployment is in linewiththe persistently high levels of unemploy-ment—acknowledgedevenby thegovern-ment’s own annual surveys, known as thePeriodicLabourForceSurvey (PLFS).However, unemployment is not evenly

distributedacrossthepopulation.Datafromthe Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy(CMIE) showthatunemployment in India:

■ ishighestamongtheyouth;■riseswitheducationalattainment;and■ ishigheramongwomen.

Sowheredothepoll-boundstatesstandonthesemetrics?Insteadof lookingat just theunemploy-

ment rate (number of unemployed ex-pressedasapercentageof the labour force),which fails to take into account the shifts inlabour force participation rate (number ofpeopledemandingworkexpressedasaper-centageofthetotalworking-agepopulation),thisanalysiswilllookattheemploymentrateinUttarPradeshandPunjab. Inotherwords,thetablesdetailthetotalpopulationbelong-ing to the concerned category and the totalnumber among thosewho have a job. Theratio is calculated as the employment rate(i.e. total employed expressed as a percent-ageof the total population in that category)tohelpuscomparethestatewitheachotheraswell as thenational average.The data have been compiled for three

timeperiods:■September-December2016 (as it pro-

vides the picture just before the start of theAssembly term

■Sept-Dec2019(asitprovidesacompa-rablepicturebefore theCovidpandemic)

■Sept-Dec 2021 (as it is the latest avail-abledataandprovidesaclear5yearsoftrend)Of thefivestatesgoingtopolls,CMIEhas

notcompileddata forManipur.UTTAR PRADESH:On all three counts

— employment levels among the youth,among the educated and amongwomen—Uttar Pradesh is not only far behind thena-tional average but has also seen a sharpde-

clineover thepast fiveyears.Forinstance,inDecember2016,15.39mil-

lion youth had a job. Five years later, eventhoughthetotalyouthpopulationhadswelledby9million (or 90 lakh), the total employedhadshrunkbyover3million(or30lakh).Thisshouldputinperspectivetheclaims

of job creation by the ruling government. ItalsoshowsthatUP’syouthhavebeensuffer-ingtheworst fatebecausethestate failedtocreatenewjobs.Theemploymentrateamongthoseedu-

cateduptothe levelof graduationorhighermoved upmarginally between 2016 and2019,buthas fallensharply since then.As far aswomen are concerned, UP has

alwaysbeenbehind.Inthelastfiveyears,thissituationhasbecomeevenworse.Whilethepopulationofworking-agewomenwentupby12million, thenumberofwomenwithajob halved from the already paltry numberofDecember2016.Lessthan2%ofallwomenbelongingtotheworking-agepopulation(15yearsandabove)havea job.PUNJAB: Youth employment rates in

Punjabaremuchbetterthanthenationalav-erage but the fact remains that they havebeen comingdownover thepast five years.While the total youth population has goneup by 10million (or 1 crore), the number

with jobshascomedownby5million.Similarly, the employment rates both

among graduates (and above), as well aswomen, have fallen sharply. Much like UP,the employment rate among women inPunjabwasalsoquitelowfiveyearsago,butithas fallenbelowevenUP’s level.GOA:PastanalysisofRBIdatahasshown

that Goa is one state where per capita in-comeshavecontracted(insteadofgrowing)overthepastfiveyears.Assuch,itisnotasur-prise to find a rather precipitous decline intheyouthemployment rate.InDecember 2016, the youthpopulation

was4.05lakh.Ofthese,1.71lakhhadajob.Butoverthelastfiveyears,eventhoughtheyouthpopulationhasshrunkbyalakh,thenumberofyoungpeoplewithajobhasshrunktojust30,000. In percentage terms, the fall in em-ployment rate — from 42% to 10%— is thesteepest inthefourstatesconsideredhere.The situation ismuchbetter if one looks

atgraduatesandthosewithahighereduca-tion.Buttheemploymentratein2021(49%)is far lower thanwhat it was in 2016 (62%)and isnowbelowthenational average.The proportion of working-agewomen

withjobs,too,hasplummetedinGoa—from27%to3%.UTTARAKHAND: This is yet another

statewheretheyouthemploymentratehastaken amassive hit. The employment rateamong youth,whichwas already quite low(22%),hasgonedowntoone-fourth(just5%)over thepast fiveyears.However, the employment rate among

the highly educated has increased— from46%to50%—and,inthisregard,Uttarakhandisanoutlier.But employment for women again fol-

lows thebroader trendof a collapse— from8%to2%.

Whydoesyouthunemploymentmatter?In the recently released Global Risks

Report, theWorldEconomicForumpointedout “Widespreadyouthdisillusionment” asoneof themain risks for India.By “widespreadyouthdisillusionment”,

WEF refers to “ youth disengagement, lackof confidenceand/or lossof trustof existingeconomic,politicalandsocialstructuresataglobalscale,negativelyimpactingsocialsta-bility, individual well-being and economicproductivity.”Scenesofyoungpeopledemanding jobs

inUP, themostpopulousstate in India,areapointer that unemploymentmaywell be akey deciding factor formany voters, espe-cially theyoung, theeducated, andwomen.

15WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

LASTWEEK,West Bengal Chief MinisterMamataBanerjeeblockedGovernorJagdeepDhankhar on Twitter. She said she was“forced”todosobecauseofhis“unethicalandunconstitutional” statements and accusedhimoftreatinggovernmentofficialslike“hisservants”.Dhankharrespondedwithaseriesoftweetsonthe“essenceandspiritofdemoc-racy”andsayingtheCM’smovewas“againstconstitutionalnorms”.Daysearlier,theTamilNadugovernment

had takenexception toGovernorRNRavi’sRepublicDay speech articulating thebene-fitsofNEET,themedicalentranceexam.TamilNaduhas passed a Bill to exempt the statefromNEET;Ravihassentitbacktothestate.These are twoofmanyexamples of bit-

ternessbetweenstatesandGovernors.

WhatisthelawonGovernor-staterelations?Althoughenvisagedasanapoliticalhead

whomustactontheadviceof thecouncilofministers,theGovernorenjoyscertainpow-ers grantedunder theConstitution, such asgivingorwithholdingassent toaBillpassedby the state legislature, or determining thetimeneededforapartytoproveitsmajority,orwhichpartymustbecalledfirstdoso,gen-erallyafterahungverdictinanelection.There are, however, no provisions laid

downforthemannerinwhichtheGovernorand the statemust engage publiclywhenthereisadifferenceofopinion.Themanage-ment of differences has traditionally beenguidedbyrespectforeachother’sboundaries.

Whathavebeenthefrictionpoints?In recent years, these have been largely

abouttheselectionofthepartytoformagov-ernment, deadline for provingmajority, sit-tingonBills,andpassingnegativeremarksonthestateadministration.InNovember 2018, then J&KGovernor

SatyapalMalikdissolvedtheAssemblyamidindicationsthatvariouspartieswerecomingtogethertoformthegovernment.ThispavedthewayfortheCentretolaterbifurcatestate

intotwoUnionterritories,byconsideringtheGovernorasthegovernment.InNovember2019,afterahungverdictin

Maharashtra, Governor Bhagat SinghKoshiyariquietlyinvitedBJPleaderDevendraFadnavisandadministeredhimoathasCM.This government lasted just 80 hours. Sixmonthslater,KoshiyarirefusedtonominateCMUddhav Thackeray to the LegislativeCouncil, leading Thackeray to meet PMNarendraModitoresolvetheissue.InWestBengal,Dhankharhasoftencom-

mentedon lawandorder andpolitical vio-lence.Ravi, inhispreviousstintasNagalandGovernor,hadcriticisedaffairsofthestateandallegedlyinterferedinadministration.InDecember2020,KeralaGovernorArif

MohammedKhanturneddownarequesttosummonaspecialsittingof theAssemblytodebatethethreecentralfarmlaws.Following the Karnataka polls in 2018,

Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP toform the government and gave B SYeddyurappa 15 days to prove majority.Challenged by Congress and JDS in theSupremeCourt,itwasreducedtothreedays.

Issuchfrictionrecent?Allegations of the Centre using the

Governor’sposition todestabilise stategov-ernmentshavebeenmade since the1950s.In1959,Kerala’sEMSNamboodiripadgov-ernmentwasdismissedbasedonareportbytheGovernor.Severalstategovernmentshavebeen dismissed since then, including 63through President’s Rule orders issued byGovernors between 1971 and 1990. ThesehaveincludetheBirenderSinghgovernmentinHaryana(1967);VirendraPatilgovernmentinKarnataka(1971);MKarunanidhigovern-ment in TamilNadu (1976); B S Shekhawatgovernment inRajasthan andSADgovern-mentinPunjab(1980); JanataPartygovern-mentsinUP,Odisha,GujaratandBihar(1980);N T Rama Rao government in Andhra in(1984);andKalyanSinghgovernmentsinUP(1992,1998).Thesebecamelessfrequentdur-ing the coalition era at the Centre and theemergenceofstrongregionalparties.

Whydoesthishappen?“BecauseGovernorshavebecomepoliti-

calappointees,”saidNALSARchancellorand

constitutional expert FaizanMustafa. “TheConstituentAssemblyenvisagedgovernortobe apolitical. But politicians becomeGovernorsandthenresigntofightelections.”Constitutional expert Alok Prasanna of

VidhiCentreforLegalPolicysaid:“TheCMisanswerabletothepeople.ButtheGovernorisanswerabletonooneexcepttheCentre.Youcansugercoat itwith ideasof constitutionalmoralityandvalues,butthetruthisthereisafundamentaldefectintheConstitution.”There isnoprovisionfor impeachingthe

Governor,whoisappointedbythePresidenton theCentre’s advice.While theGovernorhas5-year a tenure, he can remain inofficeonlyuntilthepleasureof thePresident.In 2001, the National Commission to

Review theWorking of the Constitution,headedbyretiredCJIMNVenkachaliahandsetupbytheAtalBehariVajpayee,said,“...be-cause theGovernor oweshis appointmentandhiscontinuationintheofficetotheUnionCouncil ofMinisters, inmatterswhere theCentral Government and the StateGovernmentdonotseeeyetoeye,thereistheapprehensionthatheislikelytoactinaccor-

dancewith the instructions, if any, receivedfromtheUnionCouncilofMinisters...Indeed,theGovernors today are beingpejorativelycalledthe‘agentsof theCentre’.”In the Constitution, there are no guide-

lines for exercise of theGovernor’s powers,including for appointing aCMordissolvingtheAssembly. There is no limit set for howlongaGovernorcanwithholdassenttoaBill.

Whatreformshavebeensuggested?From the Administrative Reforms

Commissionof1968toSarkariaCommissionof 1988and theonementionedabove, sev-eralpanelshaverecommendedreforms,suchasselectionof theGovernorthroughapanelcomprising the PM, HomeMinister, LokSabhaSpeakerandtheCM,apartfromfixinghis tenure for five years. Recommendationshave also beenmade for a provision to im-peachtheGovernorbytheAssembly.Nogovernmenthasimplementedanyof

theserecommendations.

LONGERVERSIONON:www.inidianexpress.com

Unemployment report cardSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

Governmenthassaidmorethan25,000diedbysuicidedueto unemploymentordebt during2018-20.Alookatthestateofemploymentinpoll-boundstates,andtrendsamongyouth,theeducated,andwomen.

ANJALIMARARPUNE,FEBRUARY9

ELONMUSK'SStarlinkhaslostdozensofsatel-litesthatwerecaughtinageomagneticstormadayaftertheywerelaunchedonFebruary3.Up to 40 of the 49 satelliteswere impacted,Starlink said, causing them to fall fromorbitbeforetheycouldbecommissioned.“(Rocket) Falcon 9’s second stage de-

ployedthesatellitesintotheirintendedorbit,with a perigee of approximately 210 kmaboveEarth,andeachsatelliteachievedcon-trolledflight.Unfortunately,thesatellitesde-ployed on Thursday (February 3)were sig-nificantlyimpactedbyageomagneticstormon February 4,” Starlink said in a statementonTuesday.The satelliteswere designed to burn up

onreentry into theEarth'satmosphere,anddidnot createdebris in space.However, thelossof40satellites—mostofa launchbatch

—inasingle solareventhasbeendescribedas “unheardof”and“huge”.

Solar storms/flaresSolar storms are magnetic plasma

ejectedatgreatspeedfromthesolarsurface.They occur during the release of magneticenergy associatedwith sunspots ('dark' re-gionsontheSunthatarecoolerthanthesur-rounding photosphere), and can last for afewminutes or hours. The solar storm thatdeorbited the satellites occurred onFebruary 1 and 2, and its powerful trailswereobservedonFebruary3.“Theemergingdatasuggestthatthepass-

ing of the latter part of the storm, with itshigh density core, possessed speeds higherthanwhatwas recordedduring the storm'sarrival—somethingwedidnotexpect,”saidphysicist Prof DibyenduNandi, head of theCentreofExcellence inSpaceSciences India(CESSI) at the Indian Institute of ScienceEducationandResearch (IISER),Kolkata.

The stormwas unusual, unexpectedlymassive,andofakindnotseenintherecentpast, ProfNandi said.

Effect on EarthNot all solar flares reach Earth, but solar

flares/storms,solarenergeticparticles(SEPs),high-speed solar winds, and coronalmassejections(CMEs)thatcomeclosecanimpactspaceweather in near-Earth space and theupperatmosphere.Solarstormscanhitoperationsofspace-

dependent services like global positioningsystems (GPS), radio, and satellite commu-nications. Geomagnetic storms interferewithhigh-frequencyradiocommunicationsandGPSnavigationsystems.Aircraft flights,power grids, and space exploration pro-grammesarevulnerable.CMEs, with ejectiles loaded with mat-

ter travelling at millions of miles an hour,can potentially create disturbances in themagnetosphere, the protective shield sur-

rounding the Earth. Astronauts on space-walks facehealthrisks frompossibleexpo-sure to solar radiation outside the Earth’sprotective atmosphere.

Predicting solar stormsSolar physicists and other scientists use

computermodelstopredictsolarstormsandsolar activities in general. The February 1-2phenomenon that knocked out Starlink'ssatelliteswaspredictedon January29.“Currentmodelsarecapableofpredicting

a storm's time of arrival and its speed. Butthestorm'sstructureororientationstillcan-notbepredicted,”ProfNandi said.Certainorientationsofthemagneticfield

can produce amore intense response fromthemagnetosphere, and trigger more in-tensemagnetic storms.With the increasing global dependence

on satellites for almost every activity, thereis a need for better spaceweather forecastsandmoreeffectivewaystoprotectsatellites.

Governor’s powers, frictionwith states, andwhy this happens often

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

UTTAR PRADESH (SEPT-DEC EACH G IVEN YEAR)TABLE 1

AMONGTHEYOUTH (AGE 15-29)Total Total Emp

population employed rate(mn) (mn) (%)

2016 62.07 15.39 24.792019 66.22 13.57 20.492021 70.99 12.17 17.14India2021 375.31 73.11 19.48

TABLE2

AMONGTHEEDUCATED(GRADUATE+)Total Total Emp

population employed rate(mn) (mn) (%)

2016 18.97 9.30 49.022019 19.83 9.92 50.032021 18.09 7.91 43.732021 99.95 49.31 49.33

TABLE3

AMONGWOMEN (AGE 15+)Total Total Emp

population employed rate(mn) (mn) (%)

2016 68.91 2.65 3.852019 77.37 2.15 2.782021 80.47 1.51 1.88India2021 502.55 41.15 8.19

PUNJAB (SEPT -DEC EACH G IVEN YEAR)TABLE4

AMONGTHEYOUTH (AGE 15-29)Total Total Emp

population employed rate(mn) (mn) (%)

2016 76.67 25.02 32.632019 81.96 23.6 28.792021 86.99 20.08 23.08

TABLE5

AMONGTHEEDUCATED(GRADUATE+)Total Total Emp

population employed Rate(mn) (mn) (%)

2016 30.20 14.5 48.012019 33.10 14.60 44.112021 31.94 13.63 42.67

TABLE6

AMONGWOMEN (AGE 15+)Total Total Emp

population employed rate(mn) (mn) (%)

2016 10.66 0.59 5.532019 11.13 0.34 3.052021 11.36 0.13 1.14

32,61,803

Source:Centre forMonitoring IndianEconomyPvt Ltd&ExpressResearch

Geomagnetic storm that killed Starlink sats

New Delhi

E-Tender NoticeCorrigendum/ Addendum

Reference E-Tender Notice dated 18.01.2022 and E-Tender ID 2022_DGDE_502660_1 dated20.01.2022 published in news papers Hindustan and Indian Express and published on website atwww..defproc.gov.inThat considering request of service providers, agencies and keeping administrative reasons thiscorrigendum/addendum is issued for placement of (CoWs) at various locations/sites in bareillyCantonment.The revised schedule of acivites/dates being extended for e-tendering is as follow:-

For further details of Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) please log on to website at www.defproc.gov.inand website of Cantonment Board Bareilly (www.bareilly.cantt.gov.in).Letter No. CBB/CoWs/Eng/xxDated: 09 Feb, 2022

Sl. No. Activity Date & Time1 Publishing date & time of E-Tender 20.01.2022 at 1700 hrs.2 Document Download start date & time 20.01.2022 at 1700 his.3 Document Download end date & time 26.02.2022 at 1700 hrs.4 Bid submission start date & time (cover-1 & 2) 20.01.2022 at 1700 hrs.5 Bid submission end date & time (cover-1 & 2) 26.02.2022 at 1700 hrs.6 Technical bid opening date & time (cover-1) 28.02.2022 at 1200 hrs.7 Financial bid opening date & time (cover-2) After evaluation of technical bids,

date will be intimated online.

CANTONMENT BOARD BAREILLY54, Serpentine Road, Bareilly Cantt.

Sd/-(Vivek Singh)

Chief Executive OfficerCantonment Board Bareilly

Government of Jammu & KashmirDIRECTORATE OF FLORICULTURE SRINAGAR KASHMIR

Tel-0194-2474234 Fax -2482032 – email: - kashflori@rediffmail.com

GIST OF Fresh e- Tender Notice No. 57 of 2022

Dated: - 07/02/2022

For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor of J&K UT, e-tender is invited from interested parties/persons for Outsourcing ofEntry Ticketing System of Club Park, Pahalgam of Floriculture Department Kashmir as per details given below: -The participants have to quote their bid amount in the concerned BOQ: -

S.No.

Period of contract Reserve Bid (Rs.in Lakhs)

Value of securitydeposit

Cost of tender document

1. 01 year from the dateof award of contract 11,89,000.00 1,18,900.00

500/- in the shape ofe-challan

The bidding document (s) consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and other detailscan be seen/downloaded through the Departmental website www.dirflorikmr.in / www.jktenders.gov.in as perschedule of date given below:-

1. Period of downloading of bidding document 08.02.2022 from 04:15 PM to28.02.2022 up to 02:00 PM

2. Bid submission Start Date 08.02.2022 from 04:30 PM

3. Bid submission End date 28.02.2022 up to 02:00 PM

4. Date and time of Opening of Tenders (Online) 03.03.2022 at 02:00 PM

The security deposit money exceeding 2% shall be adjustable towards approved bid amount in favour of thesuccessful bidder. The CDR’s of the bidders who offer below the reserve bid shall be forfeited.In case of any eventuality, the date of opening will be considered on any other convenient working day.

Sd/-Accounts Officer,

DIPK-17825 Member Secretary

Government of Jammu & KashmirDIRECTORATE OF FLORICULTURE SRINAGAR KASHMIR

Tel.: 0194-2474234, Fax: 2482032, E-mail: kashflori@rediffmail.comGIST OF Fresh e-Tender Notice No. 56 of 2022 Dated: 07.02.2022

For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor of J&K UT, e-tender is invited from interested parties/persons forOutsourcing of Entry Ticketing System of Mughal Garden Achabal, Anantnag of Floriculture DepartmentKashmir as per details given below:The participants have to quote their bid amount in the concerned BOQ:

S.No.

Period of contract Reserve Bid(Rs. in Lakhs)

Value of securitydeposit

Cost of tender document

1. 01 year from the date ofaward of contract 23,83,000.00 2,38,300.00

1000/- in the shape ofe-challan

The bidding document (s) consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and otherdetails can be seen/downloaded through the Departmental website www.dirflorikmr.in / www.jktenders.gov.inas per schedule of date given below:

1. Period of downloading of bidding document 08.02.2022 from 03:00 PM to28.02.2022 up to 02:00 PM

2. Bid submission Start Date 08.02.2022 from 03:30 PM3. Bid submission End date 28.02.2022 up to 02:00 PM4. Date and time of Opening of Tenders (Online) 03.03.2022 at 02:00 PM

The security deposit money exceeding 2% shall be adjustable towards approved bid amount in favour of thesuccessful bidder. The CDR’s of the bidders who offer below the reserve bid shall be forfeited.In case of any eventuality, the date of opening will be considered on any other convenient working day.

Sd/-Accounts Officer,

DIPK-17795 Member Secretary

No.: BBMP/EE/ELE/South/TEND/16/2021-22 Date: 09.02.2022

Sd/- Executive Engineer (Elec.) South Zone, BBMP

BRUHAT BENGALURU MAHANAGARA PALIKEOffice of the Executive Engineer (Ele),

South Zone, Jayanagar, BBMP, Bengaluru

Executive Engineer (Elect.), South Zone, invites tenders inaccordance with KTPP Rules 2000, from eligible contractorsregistered in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike / KPWD /CPWD / Railways / MES / National Highway or any otherequivalent Central / State Government Organizations forElectrical works as detailed in the table.

INVITATION FOR TENDER (IFT)(Short Term Tender / Two Cover System)(Through e-Procurement Portal only)

Sl.No. Name of the Work EST Cost

(In Lakhs)EMD(In Rs.)

1

Providing missing street lightfittings to Vijaynagar Constituencyin Ward No. 122, 123, 124, 134,132, 133, 157, 158. (2nd Call)

133.55 2,00,400/-

(1) Tender documents may be downloaded from thee-procurement portal from 10.02.2022. (2) Pre-bid meetingwill be held on: 14.02.2022. (3) Bids must be submittedonline through e-procurement portal on or before 17.02.2022by 4:00 p.m. (4) The Technical bids will be opened on18.02.2022 at 5:00 p.m. (5) The Financial bids will be openedon 23.02.2022 at 4:00 p.m. Further details may be obtainedfrom the above office during office hours or website https://eproc.karnataka.gov.in

CIN-U14109KL1972SGC002399

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BÊ-´Fiû¢¹FûSX¸FZÔMX d³Fd½FQF AF¸FaÂF¯F ÀFc¨F³FF

SHORT NIT No. 08 (2021-22)Tender ID - 2022_DJB_216377_1

The complete details can be seen on website https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in. The tender has been uploaded on wbesite.

ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)Advt. No. J.S.V. 1112(2021-22)

Sd/- (S.P. Singh)Dy. S.E. (Project)W-VI

9650291594

S.No.

Name of Work EstimatedCost (Rs.)

EarnestMoney (Rs.)

Date of release of tenderin e-procurement solution

Tender fee (Rs.) Last date/Time of receiptof Tender through e-procurement solution

1 P/L/J D.I. feeder main of dia ranging from100 to 700 mm for Tube well water fromCoronation WWTP to Jahangirpuri C-DBlock UGR.

9,59,98,955/- 19,20,000/- 09.02.202205:15 PM onward

1500/- 23.02.2022, upto 3:00 PM

“STOP CORONA: Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene”

DELHI JAL BOARD: GOVT. OF N.C.T OF DELHIOFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER (PROJECT) W-VI

CHANDRAWAL W.W.-II, CIVIL LINES, DELHI-110054PH: 011-23814133, E-mail: eepw6.djb@nic.in

PRESS N.I.T No. 62 (2021-22)

Further details in this regard may be seen at (https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in)

ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)Advt. No. J.S.V. 1108(2021-22)

Sd/-(Arif Hussain)

AEE(T)M-11

S.No.

Name of Work EstimatedCost (In Rs)

Date of release of tenderin e-procurement

solution

Last date/time of receiptof tender through e-

procurement solution

1 Replacement of water line for removing contamination through 300, 200,150 & 100 mm dia DI water line at Block No. 5 (Upper portion) DakshinpuriExtn. under EE(M)-47. (re-invited)

57,38,003/- 2022_DJB_216363_1008.02.2022

21.02.2022up to 3.00 PM

“STOP CORONA: WEAR MASK, FOLLOW PHYSICAL DISTANCING, MAINTAIN HAND HYGIENE”

DELHI JAL BOARDOFFICE OF THE ADDL. CHIEF ENGINEER (M) -11

TENDER DIVISION (M)-11ROOM NO. 110, JAL SADAN, SHIV MANDIR MARG, LAJPAT NAGAR, NEW DELHI- 110024

EMAIL: aeetdjm11@gmail.com PH-011-29810956

Union Territory of Jammu & KashmirOffice of the Additional Chief Executive Officer

Jammu Metropolitan Region DevelopmentAuthority (Divisional Commissioner, Jammu)

(Rail Head Complex, Jammu) Contact No. 9796489785(e-mail: additionalceojmdra@gmail.com)

NOTICE INVITING E-TENDERS

JMRDA/e-NIT/2021-22/01 Dated: 04.02.2022For and on behalf of Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, theAdditional Chief Executive Officer, Jammu Metropolitan Region DevelopmentAuthority, (JMRDA) invites Expression of Interest (EOI) from the eligible reputedConsultancy firms/Institutions for providing services for the "Formulation of aComprehensive Regional Planning Framework for Holistic & SustainableDevelopment of Jammu Metropolitan Region (JMR)". The details of the assign-ment & format for the submission of the expression of the interest can be downloadedfrom the website. http://jktenders.gov.in The important dates are as under:-

Date of Issue of Tender Notice 04.02.2022.Date of Publishing 05.02.2022 at 10.00 AM.Period of downloading of documents 05.02.2022 at 10.00 AM to 25.02.2022

at 4:30 PM.EOI submission start date 05.02.2022 at 10.00 AM.EOI submission end date 25.02.2022 at 4:30 PM.Opening date 26.02.2022 at 3:00 PM.

Sd/-Additional Chief Executive Officer

JMRDA, JammuDIPJ-6087

16 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

New Delhi

17SENSEX: 58,465.97 ▲ 657.39 (1.14%) NIFTY: 17,463.80 ▲ 197.05 (1.14%) NIKKEI: 27,579.87 ▲ 295.35 HANG SENG: 24,829.99 ▲ 500.50 FTSE: 7,624.00 ▲ 56.93 DAX: 15,469.54 ▲ 227.16

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

GOLD`48,403

RUPEE`74.84

OIL$91.79

SILVER`62,417

Note:Gold, silverratesatDelhi spotmarket,goldper10g, silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asof February8

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

INANalmost10-fold increase intaxcollectionsfromstockmarkets,the government is expecting tocollectRs60,000-80,000crorethisyearastaxon“capitalgainsinthestockmarkets”asagainstRs6,000-8,000croreinthepreviousfiscal.RevenueSecretaryTarunBajaj

onWednesday said the govern-ment is estimating a “goodamount”fromthetaxlevyoncap-italgainsdespitealowtaxrateforlongandshort terms, adding thegovernment isopento ‘sometin-kering’ in the varied rates andholdingperiodforcomputationofcapital gains tax on shares, debtandimmovableproperty.“We are going to get a good

amount of revenue fromcapitalgainstaxdespitethefactthatcap-italgainstaxratesaremuchlowerat10per cent and15per centonthe stockmarkets for long-termandshort-term(respectively).We

aremakinganestimate, itshouldbe between Rs 60,000-80,000crore. Last year, itwas about Rs6,000-8000crore.Thathasmadeahugedifference.Now,with thetapering happening and rateslikelytogoupintheUSand(with)moneymovingout,onedoesnotknowhowthemarket isgoingtoplay,”Bajajsaid.At an estimate of Rs 80,000

croreforcapitalgainstaxlevy,thiswould implyalmost6.4per centofthetotaldirecttaxcollectionsofRs12.5lakhcroreestimatedintherevisedestimatesfor2021-22.Bajaj said the current capital

gainstaxstructureis“toocompli-cated”intermsofvariedratesandperiod of holding across the as-sets and hence needs a relook.“Weneed to rework the capitalgains structure for rates, holdingperiods.Wewould be open tosometinkeringinit,thenexttimewegetanopportunity,”Bajajsaidat a Confederation of IndianIndustryevent.“Numberoneisrateandnum-

ber two is theperiod forwhich itis.Ithinkitistoocomplicated...thatwehavecreated.Forrealestate,wehavemadeit24months,forshares12months,fordebtitis36months.Weneed towork on that,” Bajajadded.Wheneveranysuchtinkering

isbroughtabout,therewouldbeasegmentoftaxpayerswhowouldstandasgainerswhiletherewouldbeasegmentwhowouldloseout,comparedtotheirpresenttaxpro-visionand“thatbecomesthemostdifficultpart”,hesaid.Under the Income Tax Act,

gains fromsale of capital assets,

bothmovableandimmovable,aresubject to ‘capital gains tax’. TheAct, however, excludesmovablepersonalassetssuchascars,appar-els, furniturefromthistax.Short-termcapital gainsarechargeabletotaxatnormalslabratesapplica-ble to the taxpayer, exceptwheresuchgainisarisingfromsaleofeq-uitysharesinacompanyorunitsofequity orientedmutual fund orunitofabusinesstrust(whereSTThasbeenpaid),which is charge-abletotaxattherateof15percent,while long-termcapital gains inexcess of Rs 1 lakh for equity istaxedat10percent.Pointing to the gapbetween

current revenueneutral rateun-dertheGSTat11.6percentagainst15.3 per cent earlier, Bajaj said arate rejigwill take placewhererateswillgodownandothersideaswell, hinting at a ratehike.Healsosaidthatwiththecompensa-tion regimecoming to anend inJune this year, stateswill face amassiveshortfalloffunds,aroundRs1lakhcroreoverall.

UPFROM`6K-8KCRINFY21;NOW,TAPERINGMAYWEIGH:REVENUESECY

SUNNYVERMANEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

EVENAStheUnionBudgethasbrought the focusonclimatefinance, fresh data showsCentralgovernmentgrantsre-leased under the NationalAdaptation FundonClimateChange(NAFCC)havedeclinedsteadily for last five years.GrantsreleasedunderNAFCCfell from Rs 115.36 crore in2017-18 toRs27.76 crore (tillDecember 2021) inthe current year, andRs42.94crorein2020-21, according to datapresentedbyMinisterof State for FinancePankaj Chaudhary inParliamentonMonday.Along with the Climate

Change Action Program,NAFCC is one of the two keycentralsectorschemesrunbythe Union government.UndertheNAFCC,30projectswith allocation of Rs. 847.5croreswere sanctioned dur-ing2015-19.

WhatdidtheBudgetsayonclimatefinance?TheFY23Budget empha-

sised sovereign greenbonds

andthematicfundsforblendedfinance inareas includingcli-mateaction.Greenbonds, is-suedthroughtheReserveBankofIndia,willbepartofthegov-ernment’s overall borrowingprogrammeandusedforproj-ects leading to a less carboneconomy.FinanceMinistryof-ficialsexpecttoraisea‘substan-tialsum’viathesebondsincur-rent year. Blended financingwill bedone through severalagenciessuchasNABARD,withpartcontributionfromgovern-

ment and privatesector.

Whathasbeentheprogresssofar?India’s climate

actions have so farbeenlargelyfinancedfromdo-mestic resources.Chaudharysaidthegovernment is imple-menting theNationalActionPlanonClimateChange,whichistheoverarchingpolicyframe-work. It comprises nationalmissionsinspecificareasofso-larenergy,enhancedenergyef-ficiency,Himalayaneco-sys-tem,sustainablehabitat,amongothers. Stateshavepreparedtheirplansinlinewiththis.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

SECTORWATCHCLIMATE FINANCE

GRANTSRELEASEDUNDERNAFCC (` cr)

2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22*

Source: FinanceMinistry * (TillDec2021)

33.52 42.9427.76

115.36 109.5

Despite climatepush, how grants tokey fund have beenfalling over 5 years NewDelhi:Ataxpayerwould

bepermittedtofileonlyoneupdatedreturnforanassess-ment year, Central BoardofDirect Taxes Chairman J BMohapatrahassaid.PTI

ITR updationonly once in AY

‘Capitalgainstaxfromshares:`60K-80Kcroremop-uplikely’

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

THEGOVERNMENTonWednes-daybannedthe importof dronesother than for defence, securityandresearchpurposes.Theaimistopromote‘MadeinIndia’drones,according toanotificationby theDirectorate General of ForeignTrade(DGFT).Thebanwillnotap-plytotheimportofdroneparts.The governmenthas taken a

series of steps toboostdomesticmanufacturing of drones anddronecomponents includingan-nouncing a Rs 120-croreProductionLinkedIncentive(PLI)schemeandliberalisingdroneop-eration rules. “Import policy fordrones inCBU (CompletelyBuiltUp) /CKD (CompletelyKnockedDown)/SKD(SemiKnockedDown) form... isprohibitedwithexcep-tionsprovided forR&D, defence

andsecuritypurposes,”theDGFTsaid.Eventheimportofdronesforthesepurposeswill require gov-ernmentclearances.ThenewDroneRules,2021re-

duced compliances and fees re-quiredtobepaidtooperatedrones.TheCivil AviationMinistry alsolaunchedanairspacemapofIndia,demarcatingareaswheredronescanbeusedwithoutpermissionandareasinwhichdronescannotbe operatedwithout obtainingpriorpermissionfromauthorities.

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Drone importbanned; defence,R&D exceptions

Thebanwillnotapplyonimportofdroneparts. File

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

THE $66-BILLIONdeal betweenSoftbankandNvidiaforthelattertoacquiresemiconductordesigncompany Arm Ltd from theJapanese investmentmajorwascalledoffafterbacklashfromvar-ious competition authorities, in-cludingintheUS,EuropeandtheUK.Haditgonethrough,thedealwouldhave createdabehemothin the semiconductors and chipdesign space,with concerns be-ingthatitwouldhaveskewedthecompetitivelandscape.

ContoursofthedealIn September 2020, Nvidia

had announced itwill purchaseArmfromSoftBank.Thisbecamethe largest everdeal in the semi-

conductorindustry.ThedealwaslookedatgivingtheUSaleg-upinits so-called trade wars withChina.Thedealsawprotestsfromother quarters like South KoreaandTaiwan,wheremajorplayersexpectedahitoncompetition.

OppositionRivals of the two companies

feared potential locking out ofsmallerplayers if Nvidiadecidedto put brakes onArm’s open-li-censingbusinessmodel,whichisbasedoncustomerneutrality.

Regulators’concernInadditiontotheimpactNvid-

ia’sacquisitionofArmcouldhaveon its rivals, regulators lookedattheimpactofadealthissizeonthestrategicinterestsoftheirrespec-tivejurisdictions. Fullreporton

www.indianexpress.com

Nvidia-Arm deal nixed:Rivals, regulators raisedcompetition concerns

Galaxy S22 Ultra, Tab S8series by Samsung outANUJBHATIANEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

SAMSUNG WEDNESDAY an-nouncedtheGalaxyS22Ultra, itslatest flagship Android smart-phonewith abuilt-in S-Pen sty-lus.Withthis,Samsungisfoldingthe iconic Note line with the

GalaxyS-series,bringinanendtotheNotefranchiseasweknowit.Further,Samsungischalleng-

ingApplewiththreenewtabletsin its Galaxy Tab S8 series: theGalaxy Tab S8, S8 Plus, and S8Ultra. TheGalaxy S8Ultra has ahuge14.6-inchscreenwitha2960x1848resolution. Fullreporton

www.indianexpress.com

LANDSSAFELY INBHUJFROMMUMBAI

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

ANATR72-600 turbopropplaneoperatedbyAllianceAirflewfromMumbai to Bhuj onWednesdayafterhavinglostthecowl,orcov-ering of one of its engine,whiletakingoff. Therewere70peopleon board the aircraft includingfour crewmembers andoneair-craftmaintenanceengineer.According toanofficial at the

Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA), the aviationsafety regulator is investigatingthe incident. Shortly after theplane took off from Mumbaiaround 6.30amonWednesday,theairport’s air traffic control re-ported that the aircraft’s enginecowlwasfoundonthesideoftherunway.TheaircraftcontinueditsflightandlandedsafelyatBhuj.“The separation of engine

cowlingmayhave aerodynamiceffectleadingtomarginalaircraftperformance deterioration.Engine components exposed toairflowmayhavebeenimpacted.However in thepresent case, theaircrafthaslandedsafelyatdesti-nation,”theDGCAofficialsaid.Asperanothersource,aspects

likemaintenancerecordsandfly-ing conditionswill be studied aspartoftheinvestigation.However,

thesourcesaidthatonthebasisoftheconditionoftherecovereden-ginecowl,thecauseforittocomeoff is unlikely to be a foreignob-jectcollidingwiththeengine.Inastatementacknowledging

the “unfortunate incident”,AllianceAirsaid,“Whilewefollowlaiddownpolicies/proceduresaspertheregulatoryauthoritiesandhavestrictchecksinplace—bothpre andpost flight operations inordertoensurecompletesafetyofourpassengers&crew,weregrettheunfortunateincident.Wehavetaken strict note of the incidentandathoroughinvestigationhasbeeninitiated.Thefindingsofthesameshallbesharedwiththereg-ulatory authorities andwe shallensurethatallrequiredcorrectiveactionsareputinplace.”

TheATR72-600AllianceAirturbopropaircraft,whichlostthecowlofoneof itsengines,Wednesday. Credit:Govtsources

BRIEFLYKashmirpostsNewDelhi:Domino’s andHondaapologised forhurt-ingIndiansentimentsbyso-cialmediapostsof theirPa-kistanassociatessupportingseparatistsinKashmir.

AusFTAtalksNewDelhi:AustralianTradeMinisterDanTehanisinInd-iatoadvancetalksforapro-posedfreetradeagreement(FTA),astatementsaid.

NoticetoFutureNew Delhi: The SupremeCourtsoughtFuturegroup’sreply on Amazon’s pleaagainstDelhiHC’s January5orderstayingarbitrationpro-ceedingsoverFutureRetail’sdealwithReliance.PTI

BASICtie-upMumbai:FintechfirmBASICHomeLoanandproptechpl-atformApnaComplexhavetied up to give home loansadvisory services to resi-dentsusingtheirservices.

MilmaonNDDBThiruvananthapuram:KeralaCo-operativeMilkMarketi-ng Federation,whichownsMilma, has opposed Cen-tre’smovetobringinprivaterepresentation inNationalDairyDevelopment Board(NDDB).ENS

‘Shift inmobility trends withfocus on EVs, hybrid vehicles’India is seeing a shift inmobility trendswithmore andmore consumers expressing interest in electrified andhybrid vehicles, as per a Deloitte study

>33%of Indian consumersinterested in electrified andhybrid vehicles, as the segmentsets steamwith India’s focusonenvironment friendly, self-manufactured andsustainablesolutions, according toDeloitte’sGlobalAutomotiveConsumerStudy2022

59%concernedaboutclimate change, pollutionlevels andgasoline/dieselvehicles emissions Source:Deloitte/PTI

69%areinterested

in pre-owned vehicles

Alliance Air planetakes off sans enginecowl, probe initiated

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,FEBRUARY9

DESPITEHUGE volatility in thestockmarkets, equity schemesofmutual funds attracted anet in-flow of Rs 14,887.77 crore inJanuary,making it the11th con-secutive monthly net inflow.However, thiswasmuch lowerthan thenet inflowof Rs25,077crorewitnessedinDecember,datafrom theAssociation ofMutual

FundsinIndia(AMFI)showed.TheSensexhadcrashed3,294

points from the Januarypeak of61,308.91,registeredonJanuary17,to 58,014.17on January31 amidhuge FPI selling. Investmentthrough systematic investmentplan(SIP)amountedtoanall-timehigh of Rs 11,516.62 crore in

January as against Rs 11,305.34crore inDecember. SIPassetsun-dermanagement (AUM) at theend of January 2022 was Rs5,76,588crore,AMFIsaid.Overall,theindustryregistered

anetinflowofRs35,252croredur-ing theperiodcompared toanetoutflow of Rs 4,350 crore inDecember.Debtfunds,whichsawanoutflowof Rs49,037 crore inDecember, got Rs 5,087 crore inJanuary,itsaid. Full report on

www.indianexpress.com

SURYASARATHIRAYNEWDELHI,FEBRUARY9

LOOKING TOmaximise yields,the Employees’ Provident FundOrganisation (EPFO) is likely tostartinvestingagainincorporatebonds issued by private sectorcompanies, after a gap of overtwoyears.Asperthecurrentinvestment

pattern,theEPFOcaninvestupto20percentofitsannualincremen-tal deposits—aroundRs36,000crore at present— in corporatebonds. But the investmentshavein recentyearsbeen restricted tobondsofpublicsectorcompanies.Optionslikewhentoinvest in

private-sector bonds andwhenandhowtoexitfromsuchinvest-mentswerediscussed at the re-tirement fund body’s FinanceInvestmentandAuditCommittee(FIAC)meetingonWednesday.“Noconcretedecisionhasbeen

taken today.Wehave beendis-cussingtheissuesincelastcoupleof meetings and today, we ex-tendedthatdiscussionanddelib-eratedfromvariousanglesof riskversusgainandonaspectsofsuchinvestments,” said K ERaghunathan,aFIACmemberandalso a member of the CentralBoardofTrustees(CBT),thehigh-est decision-makingbodyof theEPFO andheaded by theUnionLabourMinister.FE

EPFO may invest inpvt corporate bonds

Sensodyne, Naaptol adsordered to be discontinuedNewDelhi:TheCentralConsumerProtectionAuthority (CCPA)haspassed an order against Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) ConsumerHealthcareLtd,directing it todis-continue advertisements ofSensodyneproducts in India forfloutingnorms. Ithasalsopassedanorder againstNaaptolOnlineShopping Ltd formisleadingad-vertisements, andasked it pay apenaltyofRs10lakh.

Aspertheorder,theCCPAhasdirected GSK ConsumerHealthcare todiscontinueadsasthey showeddentists practicingoutsideIndiaendorsingproducts.Takingupanother suo-moto

case, the CCPApassed an orderagainstNaaptolOnlineShoppingasking it todiscontinuemislead-ingadsof “Setof 2Gold Jewelry”,“MagneticKneeSupport,”amongothers.ENS,WITHPTI

Equityschemesget`14,887cr in January

Volatility no dampener, SIPs hit record highMumbai: Ignoring rising oilpricesandratehikeworries,markets rose 1.14 per centWednesday,withSensexup657pointsto58,465.97andtheNifty rose 197points to17,463.80.Meanwhile, therupee declined by 10 paisetocloseat74.84against theUS dollar on foreign fundoutflows.ENS

Sensex gains 1%

New Delhi

E-TENDERING PRESS NOTICEThe Executive Engineer, Civil Division No.\/. irrigation and Flood Control Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi Near ParyavaranComplex, Saidullajab New Delhi 110030 invites on behaIf of President of India, on line percentage rate tender from approvedand eligible contractors registered with irrigation and Flood Control Department up to 3.00 P.M. on dates mentioned as below.1. NIT 124/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No 2021_ IFC_215786_1) ( Percentage rate). H.O. A: MLALAD Fund. N.O.W:

Demolishing and reconstruction of Ambedkar Bhawan chaupal at Vasant Gaon in R.K. Puram Constituency AC-44.E.C.Rs. 1,65,85,355/- Earnest Money: Rs 3,31,707/- Period of Completion 300 Days. (Date of opening 15.02 2022).

2. NIT 125/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215788_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:-4217 Plan Unauthorizedcolonies). N.O.W:- Improvement of streets and drain in Pilanjl Mohalla in Taimoor Nagar in Okhla Constituency (Reg. No.11 ELD). E.C. Rs 27,30,802/- Earnest Money: Rs. 54,616/- Period of Completion 90 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

3. NIT 126/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215793_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W:-Providing and fixing 100 Nos steel (Iron) board at various places roads/street in Kasturba Nagar Assembly ConstituencyAC-42. E.C. Rs. 17,42,470/- Earnest Money: Rs 34,849/- Period of Completion 90 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

4. NIT 127/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215795_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W:-Construction of Toilet block at Lodhi colony Dhobi Ghat in Kasturba Nagar Assembly Constituency AC-42. E.C. Rs.18,01,883/- Earnest Money: Rs 36,038/- Period of Completion 90 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

5. NIT 128/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215796_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W.:-Providing and fixing 30 Nos of Security Gates at different location in Kasturba Nagar Constituency AC-42. E.C.Rs.38,07,077/- Earnest Money: Rs 76,142/- Period of Completion 120 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

6. NIT 129/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215799_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W.:-Providing and placing Dustbins at various locations in different blocks in Sangam Vihar Assembly Constituency (AC-49).E.C. Rs. 11,69,575/- Earnest Money: Rs 23,392/- Period of Completion 60 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

7. NIT 130/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/ID No. 2021_IFC_215801_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W.:-Providing and fixing porta cabin of size ( 12'x15') for Senior citizen in different locations of Vasant Kunj in the MehrauliAssembly Constituency (AC-45). E.C. Rs. 13,45,594/- Earnest Money: Rs 26,912/- Period of Completion 90 Days. (Dateof opening 15.02.2022).

8. NIT 131/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215843_1 (Percentage rate). H.OA:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W:-Providing and fixing 40 Nos of security gates at different location in Tughlakabad Extension in Sangam Vihar Constituency(AC-49). E.C. Rs. 20,04,881/- Earnest Money: Rs 40,098/- Period of Completion 120 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

9. NIT 132/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215844_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W:-Providing and placing SFRC Victorian and Stainless Steel benches in different parks in Sangam Vihar AssemblyConstituency (AC-49). E.C. Rs. 77,47,940/- Earnest Money: Rs 1,54,959/- Period of Completion 60 Days. (Date of opening15.02.2022).

10. NIT 133/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215846_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- (MLALAD Fund). N.O.W:-Providing and fixing of 450 Nos of signage boards at different locations in Sangam Vihar Assembly Constituency (AC-49). E.C. Rs. 42,01,672/- Earnest Money: Rs 84,033/- Period of Completion 90 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

11. NIT 134/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215848_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:-4217 (Unauthorized Colonies).N.O.W:- Improvement of streets and drains in Kapasia Mohalla in Taimoor Nagar in Okhla Constituency (Regd.No. 27ELD). E.C. Rs. 34,65,699/- Earnest Money: Rs 69,314/- Period of Completion 90 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

12. NIT 135/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215693_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A.-4217 (Unauthorized colonies.)N.O.W.:- Construction of road /streets in Jawahar Park (A,B,C,D & E Block) Part-2 Khanpur in Ambedkar NagarConstituency AC-48 (Regd.No. 621). E.C. Rs. 3,34,10,053/- Earnest Money Rs 6,68,201/- Period of Completion 240Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

13. NIT 136/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215696_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:-4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of roads/streets in Jawahar park (A,B,C,D & E block) in Part-I Khanpur in Ambedkar NagarConstituency AC-52 (Regd.No. 621). E.C.Rs. 3,94,42,859/- Earnest Money Rs 7,88,857/- Period of Completion 240Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

14. NIT 137/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215699_1 Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of road /streets in Shiv Park (Part-2) Khanpur in Ambedkar Nagar Constituency AC-48 (Regd. no832). E.C. Rs. 3,12,33,046/- Earnest Money Rs 6,24,661/- Period of Completion 240 Days. (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

15. NIT 138/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215702_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of road /streets in Pulpehladpur colony block (C & D GD) Part-2 in Tughlakabad Constituency AC-52 (Regd.No. 908). E.C.Rs. 2,50,65,457/- Earnest Money: Rs 5,01,309/- Period of Completion 180 Days. (Date ofopening 15.02.2022).

16. NIT 139/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215705_1 (Percentage rate) H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of roads/ streets in Panchsheel Vihar colony in Grater Kailash Constituency (AC-50) (Regd. No.1220). E.C. Rs. 4,03,25,210/- Earnest Money Rs. 8,06,504/- Period of Completion 240 Days (Date of opening15.02.2022).

17. NIT 140/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215708_1 (Percentage rate) H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of road/ streets in Vishkarma colony Part-I Tughlakabad AC-52 (Regd. no. 1246-A). E.C. Rs.2,81,21,283/- Earnest Money Rs. 5,62,426/- Period of Completion 150 Days (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

18. NIT 141/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215709_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of road in Vishkarma colony (Block B-1) Tughlakabad Constituency AC-52 (Regd. No. 1247). E.C.Rs. 2,70,92,477/- Earnest Money Rs. 5,41,850/- Period of Completion 150 Days (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

19. NIT 142/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215713_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of road and drain at village Lal Kuan in Tughlakabad Constituency AC-52 (Regd No. 1492). E.C.Rs. 3,05,31,607/- Earnest Money Rs. 6,10,632/- Period of Completion 300 Days (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

20. NIT 143/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215716_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Construction of roads/streets in Pulpehladpur colony Part-4 in Tughlakabad Constituency AC-52 (Regd No.1604). E.C. Rs. 4,12,38,310/- Earnest Money Rs. 8,24,766/- Period of Completion 240 Days (Date of opening15.02.2022).

21. NIT 144/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215733_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 Plan (Unauthorizedcolonies). N.O.W.:- Construction of road and drain in Streets Joga Bai in Unauthorized Colony (Reg No. 974) in Okhlaconstituency AC-54. E.C. Rs. 2,24,57,583/- Earnest Money Rs. 4,49,152/- Period of Completion 300 Days (Date ofopening 15.02.2022).

22. NIT 145/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215757_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4515 Plan (DVDB). N.O.W.:-Improvement of internal streets at village Munirka in R.K. Puram Constituency. E.C. Rs. 1,57,48,630/- Earnest Money Rs.3,14,973/- Period of Completion 120 Days (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

23. NIT 146/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215758_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 Plan (Unauthorizedcolonies). N.O.W.:- Improvement of streets of Block-I in Sangam Vihar Unauthorized Colony (Regd. No. 986) in SangamVihar Assembly Constituency (AC-49) Part-1 Gali No. 39 to Gali No. 69. E.C. Rs. 3,32,75,040/- Earnest Money Rs.6,65,501/- Period of Completion 180 Days (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

24. NIT 147/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215761_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Improvement of streets of block-I in Sangam Vihar unauthorized Colony (Regd. No. 986) in Sangam ViharAssembly Constituency (AC-49) Part-2 Gali No. 36 to Gali No. 69. E.C. Rs. 2,65,29,312/- Earnest Money Rs. 5,30,586/-Period of Completion 210 Days (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

25. NIT 148/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215766_1 (Percentage rate). H.O.A:- 4217 Plan (Unauthorizedcolonies). N.O.W.:- Improvement of streets of block- I in Sangam Vihar Unauthorized colony (Regd. No. 986) in SangarmVihar Assembly Constituency (AC-49) Part-2 Gali no. 1 to Gali no. 35 E.C. Rs. 4,45,72,627/- Earnest Money: Rs8,91,453/- Period of Completion 210 Days, (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

26. NIT 149/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215775_1 (Percentage rate). H.O. A:- 4217 Plan (Unauthorizedcolonies). N.O.W.:- Improvement of streets of block- I in Sangam vihar Unauthorized colony (Regd. No. 986) in SangarmVihar Assembly Constituency (AC-49) Part 1 Gali no. 1 to Gali no. 38). E.C. Rs. 2,78,88,838/- Earnest Money: Rs5,57,777/- Period of Completion 180 Days, (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

27. NIT 150/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215779_1 (Percentage rate). H.O. A:- 4217 Plan (Unauthorizedcolonies). N.O.W.:- Improvement of streets of Block- I-II Block Sangam Vihar Unauthorized colony (Regd. No. 350) inSangarm Vihar Assembly Constituency (AC-49) E.C. Rs. 4,36,44,122/- Earnest Money: Rs 8,72,882/- Period ofCompletion 180 Days, (Date of opening 15.02.2022).

28. NIT 151/2021-22/EE/CD-V/Acs/(ID No. 2021_IFC_215781_1 (Percentage rate). H.O. A:- 4217 (Unauthorized colonies).N.O.W.:- Improvement of streets of Block- I-1 in Sangam Vihar Unauthorized colony (Regd. No. 350) in Sangarm ViharAssembly Constituency (AC-49) E.C. Rs. 3,56,42,105/- Earnest Money Rs 7,12,842/- Period of Completion 240 Days,(Date of opening 15.02.2022).

Note:-1). The enlistment of the contractors should be valid on the last date of opening of tenders. In case the last date of opening

of tender is extended the enlistment of contractor should be valid on the original date of opening of tenders.2). Earnest Money in the shape of FDR/Banker Cheque/ Demand Draft of schedule bank issued in favour of Executive

Engineer, Civil Division-V, I&FC department should be uploaded. Further after declaration of L-1 position, L-1 bidder willsubmit EMD (which was uploaded) in physical mode within 3 days of L-1 declaration.

3). Details of above mentioned work can be seen and downloaded from website http://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in4). Tender submitted through e-procurement portal shall be accepted only.5). Corrigendum, if any will be published on e-procurement website only.

Sd/- EXECUTIVE ENGINEER CD.V.DIP/Shabdharth/0637/21-22

ClassifiedsPPEERRSSOONNAALL

I,NAGESHKUMARGOYALS/ORAMSAROOPGOYAL, R/OHNO.2380,SBIWALIGALI,MANDI EXTENSION,NARELA,DELHI-110040. CHANGEDMYNAMETONAGESHKUMAR.

0040602088-4

I,MONIKATYAGI,W/O.KAPILTYAGI, ADD-429PREHLADGADI-3, VASUNDHARAGHAZIABADUTTARPRADESH-201012.Changedmyname toPRIYATYAGI, permanantly.

0040602085-4

II,,VViijjaayyKatyal S/oR. K. Katyal R/oF-2/23 Third-Floor Sector-15,Rohini Delhi - 110089,HaveChangedMyNameToVijayKumarKatyal. 0040602108-9

II,,VVIINNOODDAGGARWAL/VINODKUMARS/OOMPRAKASHR/OD-127,D-BLOCK,MAHENDRUENCLAVE, DELHI-110009.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOVINODKUMARAGGARWAL.

0040602085-6

II,,SSuurriinnddeerr Paul Joshi S/oBalwantRai Sharma,R/oH.no.72, Pkt-3, Sector-23,Rohini,Delhi-110085,changedmyname toSurinder PaulSharma. 0040602087-2

II,,SShhiivvaannii SoniW/oNirenSoniR/o-S-378, Panchshila Park,Delhi-17,have changedmyname,fromShivani Soni toShivaniModi. 0040602088-2

II,,PPoooonnaammGarg@SantoshKumari,W/oRajivGarg,R/o.H-11, Vijay-Vihar Phase-2,Rohini,Delhi-110085,is also knownasSantoshKumari bothNamesareof oneperson i.e the sameperson. 0040602085-7

II,,PPaarrmmooddKumarANDKamodLal,R/OHouseNo-10,Village-Hastsal,UttamNagar,New-Delhi-110059,AreOneandSamePerson. 0040602108-8

II,,NNuummaaaann,,SS//oo Shakeel Ahmed,R/o-H.No.862 SheeshMahal,BahadurGarhRoad, SadarBazar, Delhi-110006,havechangedmyname toNaumanAhmed,for future.

0040602108-2

II,,NNiirrmmaallaa JoshiW/oSurinderPaul SharmaR/oH.no.72,Pkt-3,Sector-23, Rohini, Delhi-110085,changedmyname toNirmalaDevi. 0040602087-3

II,,NNeeeerraajjaa PahariW/oRameshKumarPahari,R/oA-2/79,PrateekAppt. BlockA-2,Paschim-Vihar,Delhi-110063have changedmyname toNeerja Pahari. 0040602085-3

II,,NNaannccyyD/oSunil Jain,R/oRZC-35A,West Sagarpur,NewDelhi-110046,have changedmynametoNancy Jain, permanently

0040602108-10

II,,NNaakkhhrraajjiiW/o LateRamBali R/oI-77, Vijay-Vihar Phase-1,Delhi-110085,have changedmynameto LakhRani. 0040602088-3

II,,NNAARRIINNDDEERR,, S/O-KARTARSINGH,H.NO.13/191.GEETA-COLONYGANDHI-NAGAREASTDELHI-110031,Changedmyname toNARINDERSINGH,Permanantly. 0040602085-5

II,,MMoohhaammmmaaddYounousS/oAyyubAli R/oG-1/194, 2nd-Floor Sector-16,Rohini Delhi-110089,have changedmynametoMohdYunus. 0040602087-1

II,, SanjayDeviw/oLateKalyanSingh r/oC- 1/127A, Gali No. 6,RamaVihar,MohammadpurMajri, N. Delhi-110081declarethatmyname is recordedasSanjyaDevi inmyplotdocumentsbut in otherdocuments it is SanjayDevi. Ideclare that SanjayDevi&SanjyaDevi both areoneandthe sameperson for all intentandpurposes. 0040602044-1

II,,MMaannvveennddrraa Pratap,S/oKrishnapal SinghNegi,R/oH1/111,MultistoreyGovt.Qtrs.,Dev-Nagar, Karol-Bagh,Delhi-110005,havechangedmyname toManavendraPratap.

0040602087-5

II,, Nitin SharmaS/oSubhashChandR/o 391-A, ChiragDelhi,Delhi-110017declare that nameofmy father hasbeenwronglywrittenas SubhashSharma inmyall educational documents.Theactual andcorrect nameofmy father is SubhashChandwhichmaybeamendedaccordingly. 0070772083-1

II,, LalitaKatariaW/oDheerajKatariaR/o- 306Double Storey,NewRajinderNagar, NewDelhi-110060, ThatmynamehasbeenmentionedasSnehaKataria inmydaughterManyaKataria, School Record. ThattheSnehaKataria&LalitaKataria bothnamesbelongs tothe sameperson.

0040602040-1

I VijayKumarSonof Sh.GhanshyamDassResidingat2666/198. OnkarNagar-A, TriNagar, NorthWestDelhi-35declare that nameofmywifehasbeenwronglywrittenasVandanaDevi inmyminorson’s namely SparshKumaraged 13+years in his schoolrecords. Theactual nameofmywife isGayatri Devirespectivelywhichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0040602072-1

II AshokKumar SharmaaliasAshokSharmaS/o Late Sh.RamNiwasSharmaR/oH.No.150-G, Sector-41, PoliceStation- Sector-49, Noida,Tehsil- Dadri, District- GautamBuddhaNagar-201301havechangedmyname toAshokSharma for all purposes.

0040602032-5

II,,JJOOGGIINNDDEERRS/OMAHENDERSINGHR/O286,MAINQUTABROAD,LADPUR,DELHI-110081.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOJOGINDERSINGH. 40602087-6

II,, Divyanchal Thakur S/oSakalDeoThakur, R/o JA-24B, First-Floor Left Side, Khirki Extn.,MalviyaNagar, South-Delhi,Delhi-110017, have changedmyname toDivyanshThakur forall futurepurposes.

0040601283-7

II,,RRaajj Kumar S/o,LateRamChanderR/o-Flat-No.B-905,Mahavir-Apartment, Plot.No.5A, Sector-22, Dwarka,NewDelhi-77,have changedmyname toRaj Kumar Sharma.

0040602087-8

II,,JJaaiissmmeeeennKaur,W/oSh.DaljeetSingh, R/o-H.No.203, StreetNo4,Durga-Puri Extn,Nand-Nagri,Delhi-110093,have changedmyminor sonname,fromGurpalSinghKalsi toGurpal Singh.

0040602085-9

II,,IIppssaa SinghW/o-Veeral Satija,R/o-E-18/227,Sector-3,Rohini,Delhi-110085, have changedmyname to IpsaSinghSatija for allpurposes. 0040602085-8

II,,GGRRAACCEE LALHMANGIBIETE,D/OLalmalsawmBiete,R/O981,LIG-Flats, Hastsal, Uttam-Nagar, Delhi-59,ChangeMyNameGRACELALHMANGI.

0040602087-4

II,,DDhhaannvvaattii No.6305769Ex. SIGMNPremChandR/o 44/B-2/9,Kishangarh,VasantKunj,Delhi-70 have changedmyname toDhanvati Devi. 0040602087-7

II,,BBaallvviinnddeerr Singh,S/O-LateJawant Singh,R/O-A-77/114 J JColonyKhyalaNewDelhi-110018.Balvinder singhandBalwinder singh.Bothare sameperson. 0040602088-1

II,,AAnniittaaW/oRaj KumarR/o-Flat-No.B-905,Mahavir-Apartment,Plot-No.5A, Sector-22, Dwarka,NewDelhi-77,have changedmyname toAnita Sharma.

0040602087-9

II,,AAVVNNEEEETTKAURSALUJAW/OGURNEETSINGHR/O35,PRIYADARSHANIVIHARPART-2,NEARNANAK-PIAO,DELHI-110009. CHANGEDMYNAMETOAVNEETKAUR. 0040602085-1

II,, Vishal S/oRamParkashGoelR/o 429/18, Gali No.4,ModelTown, Bahadurgarh, Distt.Jhajjar, Haryana, have changedmyname toVishal Goel, for allfuturepurposes. 0040601962-2

II,, Vikas S/oHari PrasadYadavR/oH-16/1760, SangamVihar,NewDelhi-110080havechangedmyname toVikasYadav for all futurepurposes.

0070772082-1

II,, SachinKumar, SonofGulabSingh, Resident ofA-98,NajafgarhPark, Najafgarh,Delhi-43, have changedmyFather’s name inmyPassportfromChulhaiMahto toGulabSingh for all purposes.

0070772028-1

II,, RamParkashS/oMukandi LalR/o 429/18, Gali No.4,ModelTown, Bahadurgarh, Distt.Jhajjar, Haryana, have changedmyname toRamParkashGoel,for all futurepurposes.

0040601962-1

II,, Preeti VermaW/OManojKumarVerma, R/o 117/805,MBlock, KakadeoRawatpurGaon, Rawatpur, KanpurNagar, U.P.-208019, havechangedmynameand shallhereafter be known asPriyankaVerma. 0070772100-1

II,, GeetuW/oRavi SaraswatR/oF-305, AcePlatinum, Sector-Zeta-1, GreaterNoidaU.P., havechangedmyname toHimanshiSaraswat for all futurepurposes. 0070772079-1

II,, Dheeraj Kataria S/oBMKataria R/o- 306Double Storey,NewRajinderNagar, NewDelhi-110060, ThatmynamehasbeenmentionedasDheeraj inmydaughterManyaKataria, School Record. ThattheDheeraj& Dheeraj Katariabothnamesbelongs to thesameperson. 0040602040-2

II,, DIVYANI SINGHYADAVD/OPAWANKUMARYADAVR/o-BADA-DARWAZA,DHARUHERA,REWARI,PIN-123106,HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETODIVYANI SINGHFORALLPURPOSES. 0040602062-1

II,, AvanishPal S/o Jai PrakashPalR/oPradhanpur,Mau,UttarPradesh 276403havechangedmyname toAvanishShashwat for all futurepurposes. 0070772024-1

I,SATYABHAMAGOYAL,W/ONAGESHKUMARR/OHNO.2380,SBIWALIGALI,MANDI-EXTENSION,NARELA,DELHI-110040.CHANGEDMYNAMETOSATYABHAMA. 0040602108-1

II SukhdevMehta S/O, KuldipKumarMehtaR/oExb 29StreetNo 1Hari NagarNewDelhi110064have changedmynametoSukhdevKumarMehta for allpurposes. 0040602076-1

II,, Preeti Verma,W/oRavi, R/oCD35C, LIG FLATS, HARINAGAR,DELHI- 110064, have changedmyname toPreeti.

0070772027-1

II DineshSati S/oSh. BholaDuttSati R/oH.No.294, Kh.No.30/13&30/14, Ground Floor,UttarakhandEnclave, StreetNo.8A, Blk-C, Shastri Park Extn.,Nathupura, Burari, Delhi-110084have changedmynametoDiineshSati for all purposes.

0040602032-6

IIMannanDevS/oSh. JitenderDevR/o 4139, Gali No.66,JagjiwanNiwas, Reghar Pura,Karol BaghS.O.,Central Delhi,Delhi-110005have changedmyname toAshmit Dev for allpurposes. 0040602032-4

II,, AjayKumarGuptaS/oAshokKumarGuptaR/o 2SuvidhaKunj PitampuraDelhi havechangedmynameasAjayGuptapermanently.

0040602078-1

It is for general informationthat, I NANDINIGOUCHWALD/OSUKHBIR SINGHGOUCHWAL &SANTOSHGOUCHWAL residingatHO.NO.23, HAUZKHASVILLAGE,NEWDELHI 110016declare thatnameof mymother& fatherhasbeenwronglywrittenasSUKHBIRGOUCHWAL&SANTOSH inmyall educationaldocuments.Theactual nameareofmy father /mymotherSUKHBIRSINGHGOUCHWAL &SANTOSHGOUCHWALrespectivelywhichmaybeamendedaccordingly. It iscertified that I have compliedwith other legal requirementsin this connection.

0040602145-1

II SatyaPal S/oSh. NareshKumarR/oH.No.121, PoleNo.MDKW-449-A, VillageTikri Kalan, NewDelhi-110041 is also knownasSatyaPal Siddhartha. Bothnamesareof oneand the sameperson. 0040602032-7

II PrasannS/O, Shri SureshKumarR/oH.no-46, Near BalajiMandir, Gurugram,Haryana-122004 have changedmynametoPrasannKumarDubran forall futurepurposes

0040602085-2

II PradeepMLal S/O,MunnaLalR/oA-1 332 Jj ColonyMadanPurKhadar SaritaVihar, Delhi110076 have changedmynametoPradeep for all purposes.

0040602054-1

IIManoj Kumar Jain S/O,GulshanRai JainR/o 221, NewGandhiNagar, Ghaziabad201001have changedmynametoManoj Jain for all purposes.

0070772025-1

II Amit Jha S/O, LaxmiKant JhaR/oHouseNo22&23, Block 2,TrilokPuri, TrilokPuri, EastDelhi, Delhi-110091havechangedmyname toAmitKumar Jha for all purposes.

0040602074-1

II , Chander PrakashS/OLate. Sh.Balwant SinghR/O514, Type-2,Sec-2, SadiqNagar, NewDelhi -110049. I herebydeclare that ihave changedmyname/surname fromChanderPrakash toChitranshSinghRana for all futurepurposes.

0040602070-1

II SudeepRastogi holder ofIndianSecondMateCoCIF18979 had lostmyCoCrevalidation sticker issuedbyMMDMumbai, issuedon04/02/2021. If found, pleasereachmeat 9997002014.

0050191737-1

LLoosstt((11))OOrriiggiinnaall--RReelleeaasseeDeeddated-29-01-2019,vide-registration.No.-12124executedbySmt.MonikaandSmt.Deepika in favour ofMr.RakeshandMr.Rajesh(2)Original Transfer-Deeddated-02-09-2009 vide-registrationNo.4047 executedbyMr.Sri Chand in favourMr.TaraChandFoundermayinform,AjayAgarwal,S/oSSAgarwal,D-133,Anand-Vihar,Delhi-110092.

0040602085-10

@@550000//-- per daywithmeal atKamshet Pune inscenicenvironment, for Peaceofmind, alsoblind,Paralysis,BedriddenElderly,first admission.OldagehomeWanwadi. Patiltai, 9545540076/9545540078 0090298596-1

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ANAND KUMAR SINGHADVOCATE, M. : 9871943348

Ch. No. 192. Civil Wing.Tis Hazari Court, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEKnow all men by these presents that myclient SMT. SUSHILA DEVI W/O SH.SOHANRAMR/O219,BLOCKK-3MOHANGARDEN, NEW DELHI-110059 was ownerof BUILT UP PROPERTY BUILT ON LEASEHOLDPLOTNO. A-145, AREAMEASURING25 SQ. YDS, IN BLOCK-A, PHASE-II,SITUATED AT MANGLA PURI (PALAM), RESETTLEMENT COLONY, NEW DELHI whoseoriginal Al lotment Letter vide No.D/Allot/Mn.P/A.Z.O/WZ/84 dated17 / 11 / 1 9 8 4 i s s u e d b y D e l h iDevelopment Authority. Slum and JJ Wing.West Zone, Khyala, New Delhi has beenlost/misplaced somewhere near MohanGarden, New Delhi on 01/02/2022 andlodge online FIR vide LRNo. 98460/2022dated 04/02/2022 in the Police StationCrime Branch, Delhi. Any person foundthen inform me the lost Sale Deeds withinone week, will be suitable rewarded. If theabove said documents misused by anyperson's then he/she/they will be liablefor thesame. B.B.N. DEO(Advocate)S.R.IInd B coumpus,Janak Puri,ND-58,

PUBLIC NOTICEThat my client Bideshwar Jha S/o LateLiladhar Jha, R/O- Village + Post VijaySalemPur, Dist. Madhubani, Bihar-847404has Debarred/ Disowned his son NamelyJAY PRAKASH JHA S/o Sh. BideshwarJha, Daughter-in-Law Namely MRS.RUPAM KUMARI and his Grand-DaughterNamely Kiva Jha D/o Shri Jay Prakash JhaAge About 2 Years, from his all movableand immovable properties and hassevered all relations due to his ill-behaviorand out of control. Any Person Dealing withhim in any manner whatsoever shall do soat his own risks, cost and consequencesand my client or his representative shallnot be held responsible for any act anddeeds whatsoever from today.

Sd/- KAMALA KANT JHA ADVOCATEChamber No. 539 Lawyers Chamber

Block, Dwarka Court Complex, Sector-10,Dwarka, New Delhi-110075

OOLLDDAAGGEEHHOOMMEE

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

SSEERRVVIICCEESS

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS18 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

New Delhi

SPORT/CALENDAR 19WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,FEBRUARY10,2022

SHIVANINAIKFEBRUARY9

IN THE Big Air event of women’s freestyleskiing at theWinter Olympics, there weretwosetsofoutrageousrotatingleapsonskiis- called “double cork 1620” - playing outagainst a star-struck blue Beijing sky.Together, they amounted to one giant leapforwomankind.

Kicking up a crunching snow-stormwith their flying skiis, twowomen aged 18and 20 took turns accelerating up a giantramp that tilted at the edge, catapultingthemintoa20-metreorbit.Thenthey spun4-and-half times mid-air while rotatingtwice off-axis, before descending to land,floating backwards to a gushing kick ofadrenalineandsomeseriousaweandcrowdapplause.History’sminor quibble of who among

the twowomen stuck the historic landingfirst, though, might get buried in a sleet ofsilvery snow. For, everyone remembers thegold.

American-Chinese Eileen Gu, repre-sentingtheWinterGameshostsChina,andFrenchfreeskierTessLedeux,bothscoredanidentical 94.50, on the 1620. But it wasteenaged Eileen,who broke the internet inChina, pipping the Frenchwoman in a dra-matic Big Air final,withwhatwas akin to agold-winninglast-ballmonstersixaftergo-ing run-a-ball, in contention for bronze.Favourite Ledeux stumbled and holed outin response, realising bitterly that her own1620(4x360degrees+half-turnflipof180),fromjustminutesago,wouldonlyfetchhera silver. The gold waswhisked away fromherby0.75points,withGu’sscoreof188.25narrowly shadingher187.50.AndtothinkitwasLedeuxwhohadbe-

comethefirstwomantouncorkthedouble1620 at theWinter X-Games lastmonth inColorado’sAspen,whereEileenwasabsent.Fromfist-pumpingbackthenabouthowshehad secured “revenge” for a prior WorldChampionships4th-placefinish,rightuptostakingacommandingclaimonthegold inBeijingwhen shehit the1620 inher first ofthree runs to take the lead, it had beenLedeux looking primed for the top spot onthe podium. Eileen, who had never at-temptedthe1620incompetition,wouldlit-erally pull a rabbit out of the hat, strategi-cally keepingherbest for the last.

NOFEAREileenhasastompingstreakofherown

- she had advanced the daredevilry inwomen’sfreestyleskiingtofour360-degreerotations for a “1440 double cork” at

Steamboat in Colorado last November. The1440itselfwasconsideredinsurmountablefor females.But inwhathasbeenaremark-able progression for the sport in fourmonths, theeventualBeijingbronzemedal-list, Swiss Mathilde Gremaud, scored thehighest 93.25 on her own switch double1440,andwasleftconsolingthesecond-bestof 1620s (an additional half-spin) - the dis-traught Frenchwomanwhonailedhers.Elijah Teter, the athletic director at

Wy’EastMountainAcademy, toldNewYorkPostearlier:“Shecameupwiththemental-ityof followingguysaroundanddoingtricksthattheydo. She’susedtocrashingandthatis trickyforwomen.Acouplesummersago,

onMountHood,Eileenclippedthedeckandgotaverybadconcussion.Thattookheroutforaweek. It’san injurythatcanmakepeo-plefearful.NotEileen.Shegetspastthefear.”1620isn’ttheonlyeye-popping4-figure

forthe18-year-old.WithaSATscoreof1580,Eileen ispoised for Stanford coming term.“Eileen is incredibly smart and likes to

maketheskierboysfeeldumb,”Teteraddedto theNYPost. “Sheusesbiggerwords thanthey do. She talks about things that go be-yond skiing and hanging out. She throwschemistry stuff at them.”

Ledeux, fromLaPlagneinFrance,was-n’t short on ambition. The 20-year-old,whose‘bread&butter’was3-and-a-half ro-

tationsfora“doublecork1260”tillamonthago, had cranked up her difficulty addingone full rotation. But was blindsided by abiracial athlete whomight turn out to beChina’s biggest star thisGames.

BORNINAMERICAEileenwas born in San Francisco to an

American father and a Chinese mother,driventogetthebestforhertalenteddaugh-ter.AssociatedPressreportsthatthemotherYan Gu was frazzled watching her three-year-old skii downhill at breakneck speed,and steered her towards freestyle, whichcombinessnowboardingstuntsanddown-hillskiing,notrealisingthehigherrisks.But

theyoungEileenlovedtofly,andwasreadytobecoachedand travel.

Circa 2019, she shifted allegiance toChinaafter splitting time inbothcountries.But at age 9, Eileen had competed onChineseslopes,whilesimultaneouslygain-ingproficiencyinMandarinandkeepingtopgrades inacademicsbackhome.Concurrentlyhermodellingcareertook

off, and itwasn’t uncommon to spot her atthe Met Gala, or sitting flanked by VenusWilliams and actor StacyMartin at a LouisVitton showat theParis FashionWeek. Shecounted Red Bull, Cadillac andApple Beatsand Victoria’s Secret among her sponsors,even as the lead-up to the Games saw herpocket 20 endorsements, and light up bill-boards inBeijing inwhathasbeenabreak-out season for the new-age glamorousChineseathlete.Notthattheworkethiceverfaltered.But

her steep rise is in contrast with two otherequallyhardworkingAmerican-bornswhoturned out for China - Beverly Zhu andAshley Lin, both figure skaters, the formereven enduring trolling from rude netizens.Thoughhomeadvantagemight’vekickedinat thevery lastperiodof herpreparation.

LedeuxwasquotedasgrumblingbyAPsaying thatwhileEileenwasan“extremelycompetitive and amazing athlete”, she hadhad the benefit of training at the venue forweeks before the Games. “What I know isthat she got lucky and that’s only fair, shewasabletotraininthevenuesbeforeevery-one else and that probably made a differ-ence today.”

THEBIGGER1620The Frenchwoman had reckoned she

had the gold sealed, after setting alight thedebutBigAir finalswithheropeningrunof1620.ButEileen lurked.

After landinga1440(fourrotations) inher opening run and a solid 1080onRun2,Eileen unveiled her own 1620 only in thethirdgoattherepurposedsteelmill-turned-park at Shougang. Assured of bronze, withLedeux leading, Eileen said she contem-platedimprovingonher1440forsilver.Thegoldhoveredthough,andonlya1620couldtake her there. Sticking her landing seam-lessly, she couldn’t stop grinningwhen shescored 94.50 to throw the gauntlet atLedeux.Takenaback,andhavingtonailaswitch

1440 for gold, the Frenchwoman stumbledas a delirious Eileen celebrated. A fewdaysback when fans of the ‘Snow Princess’ onChinese TikTok urged tempering expecta-tions,Eileenhadshotback:“Whydon’tyouhavemore faith inme?”After her gold, shewould talk about fearlessly going for the1620, knowing that even if she didn’t stickthelanding,shewouldinspireChinesegirlsto aimbig.In the end, Ledeuxwas left wondering

if she had opened her cards a tad too early,and tempted Eileen to bring out her own1620 thereby putting her under the pumponher last run. The 1620wasn’t just a sen-timentalgiantleapforwomen. Itwasmain-streamedbytwowomenwhoelevatedit tothebest formof competition.

Inter beat Roma2-0 in Italian CupASSOCIATEDPRESSMILAN, FEBRUARY9

A PAIR of brilliant goals from Edin DzekoandAlexisSanchezruinedJoseMourinho'sreturntohis formerclubas InterMilanbeatRoma 2-0 to reach the Italian Cup semifi-nals.The match marked the first time

Mourinho faced Inter at San Siro since heleft after leading the club to the Serie A-Italian Cup-Champions League treble in2010.Mourinhoreceivedawarmwelcomefromthe fans,whodeployedabanner thatread: "Welcome back home, Jose." Romaplayers did not receive the same friendlytreatment. Inter got off a perfect start toopen the scoring on its firstmove.Facing his former team, Dzeko con-

nectedwithacrossfromtheedgeof theboxfromIvanPerisicandbeatRomagoalkeeperRuiPatriciowitharight-footedvolleyafteronlytwominutes.Roma'ssluggishdefenselookedmore solid as thegameprogressed,but Mourinho's teamwas too clumsy upfrontandfailedtoconvert its rareoccasionsagainst theSerieAleader.SanchezdoubledInter's lead in the 68th minute with a su-perb long-rangestrike into the top left cor-ner that Patricio could not touch and leftMourinho ruminating. Under Mourinho,Romaishavinganinconsistentseason.Theteam dropped to seventh in the Serie Astandings over the weekend after a 0-0draw at home to struggling Genoa and itshopes of qualifying for next season'sChampionsLeagueare lookingslim. Inter'scelebrations were dampened by defenderAlessandroBastoni's injury.Hewashelpedoff thefieldafterhurtinghisrightankleandis now at risk of missing the ChampionsLeagueroundof16matchagainstLiverpoolnextweek. "WehopeBastoni doesn't haveanything serious, unfortunately you couldsee he fell badly," Inter coach SimoneInzaghisaid. "Nowthemedicswillhavethetests and we hope not to lose him for toolong, as he is a very, very important playerfor us."Meanwhile Monaco progressed to the

FrenchCupsemifinalsbydefeatingsecond-tier side Amiens 2-0 with goals fromAurelien Tchouameni andKevinVolland.Monacowastheheavyfavoriteandwas

in control throughout. Tchouameni, aFrance midfielder with seven caps, putMonaco in the driver's seat after fivemin-uteswithahalf-volleyfromapoorlyclearedcornerkick.Thegoalspurredthevisitorsonbut Amiens forward Aliou Badji missed acouple of chances to level while ChadracAkolo had a goal disallowed for an offsideposition.Vollandmadeit2-0 fromcloserange in

the 54th from teenager MaghnesAkliouche'sassist.MonacowasFrenchCuprunner-up last year toParis Saint-Germainand is chasing its first cup title since 1991.

CROSSWORD4660

ACROSS1 Beautyconsultantgoes to thewall (7)

5 Brownmonkeysclimballoverone(5)

8 Amanwhosecareer lies inruins (13)

9 Somehighpretty rollingcountryside (5)

10PropertiesontheAmericanAtlantic seaboard (7)

11 Adivisionof thechurch(6)

12 Royalhouse that isdividedinternally,naturally (6)

15 Effectivenarration(7)17 Partof a jacket tocopy inafifty-fiftyarrangement(5)

19 Finishedannouncementshowsexaggeration(13)

20 Discriminationacannibalappreciates inpeople (5)

21 After thestartof the trial arguethecauseof crime(7)

DOWN1 Intendedtoprovidemewithaworker (5)

2 Theyhavethebest timesofanyone(6,7)

3 Theygaveadvicesowiseandsoclearperhaps(7)

4 Givensupportorcastout(6)

5 Makeaspeech- ingutterlanguage?(5)

6 It takesall typesproducingnewspapers (8,5)

7 Aperformer inadifficultpart istense (7)

11 Startsdisplays (4,3)13 Release lever,perhaps, that isput in (7)

14 Horrified-has thewrongtagshowingoutside (6)

16 Susie’s spoilt children(5)

18 Studentsmaydecline to learnit (5)

ARIES (Mar21 -Apr20)Everything I'vewrittenabout yoursign thisweekholdsfor today, onlymuch

more so. So, letme remindyouof thevital importanceof clearthought, sensiblediscussionandopen linesofcommunication in absolutelyeverything,whether yourconcerns are intenselypersonal orpublicandprofessional.

TAURUS (Apr21 -May21)There’s no time likethepresent forsortingout financialproblemsand

claiming theprosperity thatyoudeserve.Workoutspendingand savingplansover thenext fewdaysand shareyour ideaswithpartners onceyou’vemadeupyourmind.

GEMINI (May22 - June21)Today’s lunarposition indicates atimewhenyoumayhideyourself away

and rest, rechargingyourbatteries in readiness for thecomingbattles andvictories.Todo this, though, youmayneed toduck someofyour responsibilities.

CANCER (June22 - July23)If tensions erupt,theymaybedifficultto control,mainlybecause the issues

will beobscuredbehinda fogof confusionandmisunderstanding. Treadwarily, though, andyou’lleasilydodge suchpitfalls. Byanticipating the future youcanchange it to your advantage.

LEO (July24 -Aug23)Challenging lunaraspects advise younot to countoncertain transactions

being finalisedon time.Abriefhiatusmayactuallydoyougood, allowingyou toget onandcomplete thepreliminaries or tieup looseends. Adelay is as goodasa rest.

VIRGO(Aug24 - Sep23)Listen to reasonandaccept thatpartnersalsowish to resolvejoint problems.

Soonyoumayexpect to receivethanks forpast efforts, orplaudits for yourmoresuccessful endeavours. Suchappreciation is nomorethanyoudeserve. Itwillcertainlyprovide aboost toyour confidence.

LIBRA (Sep24 -Oct23)TheMoonnowinauguratesanewthree-monthperiodof successand

fulfilment, at least forall Libranswhoarecapableof lookingonthebrightside.Specificareaswhichwillbenefit includeeverythingtodowithtravel,educationor the law. It’s all aquestionof tuning into thelargerpicture.

SCORPIO (Oct24 -Nov22)Yoursignhasstrongerassociationswithmoneythanmanyoftheothers,

andIbelievethat,aftertoday,youwillbegintofeelyourbusinesssensibilitiesstirring.Emotionallyyourpassionswillbemorealert,you’llbelookingforachallengeinarelationship.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)Thoseofyouwithmajorschemes,whetherpersonalorprofessionalshould

reachasatisfactoryturning-point.Inlove,you’llpreferthecompanyofoldandtestedcompanionstonewexcitement.Youhavemuchtolearnfrompeoplewhohavealreadyhadtheexperienceswhicharenowcomingyourway.

CAPRICORN(Dec23 - Jan20)It looksasifyourworkorsimilarresponsibilitiesareabouttoincrease

drastically.Onthewhole,thiswillbeawelcomedevelopmenteventhoughyoumaybetakenabackbytherateofchange.Theredoesseemtobeagreatdealhappeningatthemomentwhichistakingyouontoamorepositivecourse.

AQUARIUS (Jan21-Feb19)Over thenextcoupleof days thepowerful andemotionalMoon

will come toyour aid, enablingyou tobreakanydeadlocks andshift anyobstacles, even thosewhich seemedinsurmountable. It’s strangehowquickly circumstanceschangewhenyou’re lookingtheotherway.

PISCES (Feb20 -Mar20)Thoseofyouaimingfordomesticimprovementswillfindeventsoverthe

nextfewdayshelpfulandreassuring,althoughifmajorschemes,includingamoveofhome,areontheagenda,thereseemtobefewsignsofreal,solid,tangiblemovementjustyet.

SUDOKU474

1

DifficultyLevel1sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU474

0

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Ihaveneverletmy____interferewithmyeducation-MarkTwain(9)

SOLUTION:OVOID,FLASH,BEACON,ALIGHTAnswer:Ihaveneverletmyschoolinginterferewithmyeducation-MarkTwain

DVIOO ABEOCN

AFHLS AILTGH

SolutionsCrossword4659:Across:1Speak,8Defiance,9First,10Pinioned,11Board,12Err,16Jetsam,17Amazon,18Urn,23Strew,24Stageone,25Comet,26Gossamer,27State.Down: 2Prisoner,3Abstruse,4Senior,5Rigid,6Anona,7Mends,12Emu,13Ran,14Lastpost,15Movement,19Ringer,20Usage,21Daisy,22Nepal.

JUMBLEDWORDS

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDALOVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

EILEENGU

Flying into orbitTwowomentakecompetitiontonewheightsasEileenGuclinchesBigAirgold indaredevil fashionatWinterGames

ABigAir skier takesoff fromatiltededge(right)andcompletes four-and-a-halfrotationsataparabolaup20metresbefore landingfacingtheslope. APIllustration: SuvajitDey

New Delhi

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PrasidhKrishnarattledtheWestIndiesbattingline-upwithfiguresof4for12innineovers.PTI

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYFEBRUARY9

THE GAME changed after Prasidh Krishnacame into the attack in the eighth over.Until then,West Indies hoped.Indiaweredefendingamodest237and

earlywicketswere needed. But Shai Hopeand Brandon King, the two Caribbeanopeners, were getting into the groove andraising the tempo, when skipper RohitSharmamade a decisive bowling change.Prasidh has made his name in T20

cricket, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.Buthehas ‘red-ballbowler’writtenalloverhim,withanattacking lineand length, andability tomove the ball.The Motera pitch for the second ODI

was a bit spicy, offering good bounce andoff-the-deck movement. Alzarri Josephbowled a brilliant spell with the new ballfor the tourists. Prasidh bettered him inIndia’s 44-run victory. The hosts annexedthe three-match series after West Indieswere all out for 193.Sharma had brought him on as a

wicket-taking option and it was impera-tive for theseamertobowl tohis strengths,sticking to classic red-ball principles intermsof lineandlength.Prasidhstruck im-mediately,hittingahard lengthoutsideoffand managing to extract extra bounce.King, attemptinganexpansiveslash, failedto get on top of the bounce.Darren Bravo is the old hand in the

CaribbeanpackandPrasidhwasconvincedthat hehad inducedanedge fromthe left-hander to Rishabh Pant. Umpire NitinMenonnegatedtheappeal,butSharmade-cided to go upstairs. Ultra Edge detected aspikeand itwas fiveoutof five for the Indiacaptain over two games, DRS-wise. Littlewonder that Sunil Gavaskar on air hasstarted calling it ‘Definitely Rohit System’.ThisWest Indiesbatting line-up isbrit-

tle under pressure. So when Prasidh re-moved stand-in West Indies captainNicholas Pooran – Kieron Pollard sat outowing toaniggle– Indiawere in completeascendency.It was another back-of-a-length ball

thatmovedaway, squaringupthe left-han-dera touchand taking theoutsideedgeonway to Sharma at first slip. Standing a bitwider in that positionwas smart thinkingfromtheskipper.His tacticalnouscametothe fore, as Yuzvendra Chahal dismissedHope.Googlies had served the leg-spinner

well in the first ODI and after the game,Chahalhadconfirmedthathebowleda lotof them on Sharma’s insistence. OnWednesday, thecaptain’sbrief to the leggiewas ostensibly to bowl loopy leg-breaksoutside off stump, taking the ball awayfrom the right-handers.Hope,movingata snail’space,wasget-

ting restless.Hepicked thewrongdeliverytohitagainst the turn, seeminglyobliviousto the fact that Sharma had keptSuryakumarYadav a tadwider at long-on.It was excellent cricket all around; goodbowling, a fine catch and top-class cap-taincy. This was what India had missedduring their 0-3ODI seriesdefeat inSouthAfrica,withViratKohli steppingdownandSharma absent due to a hamstring injury.

Promising futureComingback toPrasidh,hisemergence

is good news for Indian cricket at a timewhentheteamhasbeensearching forare-placement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Afterthe South Africa tour, head coach RahulDravid had spoken about India’s inabilityto takewickets in themiddleovers.Prasidhcouldofferasolution.After threewickets in

Cape Town and a couple in the first ODIhere, the 25-year-old returned with 4/12in nine overs from this game. He andMohammed Siraj, along with JaspritBumrahandMohammedShami,willmakeIndia’s pace attack meaty across formats.As regards to Prasidh’s immediate future,aMan-of-the-Matchperformance just twodays before the Indian Premier Leaguemega auctionwas timely.As forSharma’scaptaincy,hehardlyput

a footwrong, savea coupleof no-balls dueto fielding infringements. Every bowlingchangeworked.He brought back Shardul Thakur and

the medium pacer bounced out JasonHolder.Rohit turnedtoThakuragain,whenAkeal Hoseinwas giving amini scare, andthe bowler got rid of him with anotherbouncer. Siraj removingFabianAllencameontheheelsof another successfulbowlingchange.Before that, when Sharma introduced

DeepakHooda, theoff-spinnerbaggedhismaiden internationalwicketbydismissingawell-set ShamarhBrooks.

Batting a concernBatting, though, remains a concern for

Indiaandthecoursecorrectionmainly liesinKohli returning to form.Over the last10-oddyears,Kohli andSharmahavebeenthebackbone of the team’s top-order battinginwhite-ball cricket.Now, they aren’t scoring runs in tan-

dem. It hurt India at the T20 World Cup.Kohli not getting big scores was a reasonfor the team’s ODI series defeat in SouthAfrica aswell.OnWednesday, Sharma (5) got out to a

KemarRoachdelivery that kickedoff froma lengthoutsideoff stump.Kohli (18)wentfor a cover drive to an Odean Smith deliv-ery, just that the ball moved off the seamafterpitchingandkissed theoutsideedge.It’s almost two-and-a-half years since theformer captain scored an internationalhundred.Without big scores from him and

Sharma, the team’sbatting loses its sheen.A91-runfourth-wicketpartnershipbe-

tweenKLRahul andYadav gave India’s to-tal somerespectability.Rahulwas lucky togeta reprieveon fourbefore fallingprey toa mix-up on 49. Yadav scored 64 but yetagain failed to convert a half-century.As Rahul departed, TV cameras cap-

tured the India U-19World Cup-winningsquad, resplendent in their national teamblazers and watching the seniors, sittingalongside BCCI secretary Jay Shah andtreasurer Arun Dhumal. Out there in themiddle,WashingtonSundar, anU-19grad-uate, played a glorious straight drive offRoach, further attesting a seamless pro-gression to the next level.

BRIEF SCORES: India 237 for 9(Suryakumar 64, Rahul 49, Smith 2-29)beatWest Indies 193 (Brooks 44, Hosein34, Prasidh 4-12) by 44 runs

Almost famousPrasidhKrishnagivesampleproof of prowesswith4-wickethaulas IndiasealODIseriesvsWIdefendingamodest score

SANDIPGFEBRUARY9

IN THE end, the tactic to openwithRishabhPantbacklashed.Hewasexpected to turnontheignition,but labouredto18off34ballsona surfacewhere theball swungand seamedwhen new. Until a frantic surge, he lookedoverstrung,at timesevendesperate to justifythedecision.Hadthemoveworked, itwouldhavebeenthefirstmasterstrokeofnewcaptainRohitSharma’stenure. Itdidnot.Yet, for the apparent failure aswell as the

ridicule both Pant and Sharma could face, itwasaprogressivemove,astepintherightdi-rectioninthecountry’spursuitforimpetusatthe topof theorder, even apotentially land-scape-alteringone.Thus,themeritandration-aleoftheployshouldnotbejudgedontheba-sis of a solitary outcome. Just as themoveshouldnothavebeeninstantlyglorifiedhaditcomeoff.Later,inaground-sidechatwithbroadcast-

ers, Sharma specified that regular openerShikharDhawanwouldreclaimhisspotwhenhe returns. “People will be happy seeingRishabhopen then, but yeah it is notperma-nent.Wewill get Shikhar back in the nextgame.Wewant to try a few thingswith thelongterminthemind,”hesaid.Butdon’tbesurprisedifPantstridesoutas

anopenermore frequently. That Indianeedsammouptheorderiswell-acknowledged.Alloftheirtrusted—andproven—top-orderbats-men are exemplary stroke-makers and in-scrutablematch-winners.Butnoneofthem—fromSharmatoDhawanandViratKohlitoKLRahul—canturbochargeaninningsatthestart.Like,say, JasonRoyinthelastWorldCup(443runsatastrikerateof115).Theycouldacceler-ateandimproviselaterintheirknocks,butnotwhentheyarefreshatthecrease,likeVirender

Sehwaginthepast.ToreplicatewhatSehwagathisdestructivepeakachievedisdifficult,butPantcouldofferagoodshot.There is no denying Pant has the

Sehwagian streakof insouciance.Hehas thecourage to smear the first ball he faces for aboundary; he is unfazedby theball that hasjustbeatenhim;hedoesnotgetcoweddownby failures or criticism; at the creasehe radi-ateswithinfectiouspositivity,andmostofall,hecanwinmatchesanddisorientbowlers.Hemightnothavewonasmanygamesasbefitshis potential, but has demonstrated in TestmatchesandT20sthathecoulddefinegames.

Not a specialist’s jobThatheisnotaspecialistopenerisnotavi-

ableargumenteither.NeitherwereSehwagorevenSachinTendulkar orRohit Sharma, nei-ther Sanath Jayasuriya nor AdamGilchrist.Openinginwhite-ballcrickethaslongceasedto be a specialist’s job. On the contrary,makeshifts have accosted themselves better

tothechangingdimensionsoftherole.Itisnotstabilitythattheyaresupposedtoprovide,butimpetus,thetempo-settingknockoutblow.AtleastinIndia,onedoesn’tneedtopossessawa-tertighttechniquetoweatheraswingingball.Andit’sinIndiawherethenext50-overWorldCupwouldbeplayed. So, everyplot and stepwouldbeinthatdirection.Coincidentally,Sehwagtoofailedinhisfirst

three innings as anopener in this version ofthegame, but rattledout adestiny-changing100 off 70 balls against New Zealand inColombo. So, the Pantmove bristles withmouth-wateringpossibilities.Theleft-handercouldmetamorphose intoa tempo-setteruptheorder.Therestof thetopordercouldbidetheirtimeanddiginforthelonghaul.Not that opening is a vexing concern for

India—DhawanandSharmaare among thebestintheworld—butgroomingPantcouldbeawin-win forbothhimandhis team. If notapermanentrole,hecouldbeabackupplan,notonlyifoneoftheregularsisinjured(theyhavea knackof picking one toooften), but also intheeventualityofIndiachasingasteeptotalorneeding toqualify for theknockout stagesbyboosting net run rate. Coach Rahul Dravidcouldbeemployingthesameflexibilitymantrathatwas thehallmark of his captaincydays.Besides, Sharma is34,Dhawan36.Agecouldcatchupwiththeirreflexes.It’shightimeIndiastreamlinedtheirsuccessors.AbigincentivecouldbethatPantmightfi-

nallyunlockhisODIpotential.Forallhissizzleinthelongestformat,hehasonlysparkledspo-radicallyinthisformat—in21innings,hehasaveraged31,notyetreachedthreefigures,andbattedmostlyat4,5and6,whereoftenhehasseemedconfoundedintheanointedfinisher’srole.Heseemstohavewitheredundertheim-menseshadowofMahendraSinghDhoni.Themoveuptheordercould,inturn,liberatehim.ItcouldmuscleupIndia’sbattingline-uptoo.

Pant-as-opener experiment doesn’tcome off, but step in right direction

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,FEBRUARY9

JAMES ANDERSON and Stuart Broadweregiven encouragement Wednesday thattheir storied test careers with Englandwere not over, with the interim head ofEnglishcricketurgingtheveteranpacemento “get themselves fired up” to play in thesummer series.England’s two leading testwicket-tak-

ers of all time were the headline namesomitted for theupcoming tourof theWestIndies in a ruthless response to a 4-0 lossto Australia in the Ashes series DownUnder.ButAndrewStrauss,who is the interim

directorof Englishcricket,maintainedthatthe39-year-oldAndersonandthe35-year-old Broad still had roles to play.“Theywerebothverydisappointedand

thatdoesn’t surpriseme,”saidStrauss,whoplayedwithboth fastbowlers forEngland.“They’re both very passionate about play-ing for England. I hope that they under-standtherationale for thedecisionandalsothey understand that no one is saying thisis the end of the road for either of them.

“Their job right at themoment is to getthemselves fireduptogofor thestartof theinternational summer in June.”Asked if the absence of Anderson and

Broad would give captain Joe Root morechance to exert his authority, Strauss said:“This is more about us finding a bowlingresource that’s capable of winning awayfromhomeandobviouslyyouneeda lotofvariety inyour attack todo that, that’s bla-tantly obvious.“It’s anopportunity to seeotherpeople

out thereperforming in themiddle. It’s thestart of a new cycle and is a refresh and areset and that dressing roomwill feel verydifferent without Broad and Anderson init, but I wouldn’t in any way want peopleto think Broad and Anderson aren’t thor-oughly professional in everything they doin an England shirt.”With640wickets in169tests,Anderson

isEngland’sNo.1wicket-taker in testsandthirdon theall-time listbehindSri Lanka’sMuttiah Muralitharan and Australia’sShaneWarne.Broad issecondonEngland’slist of wicket-takers — and sixth in inter-national history—with 537 in 152 tests.England plays test series against New

Zealand and SouthAfrica this summer.

ASSOCIATEDPRESSBRISBANE,FEBRUARY9

AFTERDESCRIBINGJustinLangerasalegendwitha“fierce loveofAustralia”andpraisinghis influence on the nationalmen's cricketteam, new captain Pat Cummins endedweeksofspeculationaboutaplayer-ledpushforchangeonWednesdaybysayingAustralianeededanewstyleof headcoach.Cummins,whotookoverasAustralia'stest

captain immediatelybefore therecentAshesseries against England,washeavily criticizedby some star ex-players for not publicly en-dorsing Langer aheadof the coach's contractnegotiationswiththeboardlastFriday.LangerquitSaturday,announcingthede-

cision via hismanagement company as hetraveled home across the country fromMelbourne to Perth, after declining a six-monthcontractextension.Fourdays later, Cummins issuedastate-

ment to “provide some clarity” shortly be-fore commenting further at a news confer-enceinSydney,wheretheteamispreparingforaTwenty20seriesagainstSri Lanka.“Tospeakaboutadecision,whichwasyet

tobemadeandwhichisforCricketAustraliatomake, would have put Cricket Australiaand the team in an impossible position,”CumminssaidinthestatementWednesday.

“I'dneverdo that. I believe in respectingthe sanctity of the change room and theproperprocess.”Mediareportslastyearsug-gestedthatsomeplayerswereunhappywithLanger's traditional coachingmethods andmoodchanges.Followingmeetingsbetweenteam leaders and management, Langerstarted takinga lesshands-onapproach.AustraliasubsequentlywontheTwenty20

WorldCupinNovemberandthencomprehen-sively beat England 4-0,missing out on anAshestestseriessweepbyjustonewicket.“Hemadesomebigchangesanddeserves

a lot of credit for that,” Cummins said ofLanger's response to player feedback. “Thequestion is, dowe think it's sustainable?Wethought, no, it's the right time to make a

change.”Cumminssaidevaluationsforcrick-eters andcoacheshadbeengoingon for twoyears and the feedback fromtheplayerswasconsistent: itwas time for amore collabora-tiveapproach.TobebetterplayersforAustralia,fromthissolidfoundation,weneedanewstyleofcoachingandskillset,"Cumminstoldanaf-ternoonnewsconference."A big theme of this summer has been

more calm,more composed. That's the di-rectionwewanttotaketheteam.”Hiscom-mentscameadayafterAustraliaannouncedan 18-man squad for its first test series inPakistan since 1998 — and its first in fouryearswithoutLanger.Aswell as being among Australia's elite

opening batters during a lengthy interna-

tionalcareer,Langerhasbeenattributedwithhelping rebuild and reshape the culture ofthemen's national team following the so-calledSandpapergatescandalinMarch2018.Australia batter Cameron Bancroft was

caughtbytelevisioncamerastryingtoroughuponesideof theballwithsandpaperinthethirdtestagainstSouthAfricaatCapeTown,and thewhole episode became one of thelowestpoints inAustralia'ssportinghistory.UnderLanger'sstewardship,SteveSmith

andDavidWarner, banned for their roles inthe incident, returned as senior batters forAustraliaandthe teamevolved.“So many positives to what (Langer)

broughttothetable.Hewastheperfectmanforthetime.Hedidafantasticjob,”Cumminssaid. "We've been reallywell schooled overthe last four years by JL in how to conductourselves. He's got unimpeachable values. Ithink he's whatwe needed ... he'smade usbetterpeople, betterplayers.”LangeronSundayissuedastatementapol-

ogizingifhisintensityinthecoachingenviron-mentcausedproblemsfortheplayers.Cummins noted Langer's acknowledge-

ment,sayingthe51-year-oldwasintensebuttheplayerswereOKwithit:"I thinktheapol-ogywas unnecessary.. It came froma goodplace--andhisfierceloveofAustraliaandthebaggy green -- somethingwhichhas servedAustraliancricketwell forthreedecades."

Cummins praises Langer, but wanted change Anderson, Broad still haveroles to play, says StraussHemadesomebig changes and

deserves a lot of credit for that,.Thequestion is, dowe think it'ssustainable?We thought, no, it'sthe right time tomakea change. Itwas time for amore collaborativeapproach. Tobebetter players forAustralia, fromthis solidfoundation,weneedanewstyle ofcoachingand skill set”

PATCUMMINS, AUSTRALIACAPTAIN

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI, FEBRUARY9

THE BOARD of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI)willhaveanewselectorfromtheWestZone after former India pacer AbeyKuruvilla’s termcomes toanabruptend.AsperBCCI’snewconstitution,noindivid-

ual can serve formore than five years in anycricket committee. The former MumbaibowlerwaspickedastheWestZoneselectorinthe senior selection committee inDecember2020.Kuruvillawasearlierthechairmanofthejuniorselectioncommitteeandhadcompletedhis termof four years. Duringhis tenure, theUnmuktChand-ledteamwontheICCunder-19WorldCupin2012.Combining his two tenures, Kuruvilla –

whoplayed10Testsand25ODIsfor India inthe late 1990s - has completed five years intheselectioncommittee.The Indian Express understands that the

BCCIoffice-bearersweren’tawareofthisruleuntil a complaint was filed by formerMadhya Pradesh Cricket Associationmem-berSanjeevGupta in January.The BCCIwill now seek applications for

thepostvacatedbyKuruvilla.“His term in cricket committee got over.

So, BCCIwill seek applications from candi-dates and the Cricket Advisory Committee(CAC)willconductinterviewsgoingahead,”aBoardofficial toldThe IndianExpress.Theseniorselectioncommitteeisnowleft

with four selectors - Chetan Sharma, SunilJoshi,HarvinderSinghandDebasisMohanty.

New role in BCCI?It is learnt that the Indian boardmight

hand over a new role to the 53-year-oldKuruvillagoingahead.BCCIhasavacantpostof general manager (game development)sinceDhirajMalhotra resigned lastmonth.

Kuruvilla toquit as selectorafter exceedingtenure duration

Queenstown:Battinglet Indiadownastheysufferedan18-rundefeattohostsNewZealand in theone-offwomen'sT20InternationalhereonWednesday.Senioropenerandvice-captainSmritiMandhana did not play and her ab-sencewas felt badly as India fell shortby18runswhilechasing156forawin.RookieYastikaBhatia,whoopened

in place of Mandhana along withShafali Verma, scored a run-a-ball 26(2x4;1x6)but Indianever looked liketheycouldchasedownthetarget.Theopening standof 41 runswas

thehighestpartnershipforIndia.Shafalicontributed13runsfrom14ballswiththe help of two boundaries. CaptainHarmanpreetKaur,whomade12from13balls.SabbhineniMeghanadidwellwith a30-ball 37,whichhad six foursinit,stitching34runswithRichaGosh(12) for the fourthwicket. Eventually,thevisitorscouldonlyreach137for8."Wedidnothavepartnershipsbut

wehavelearntalotfromthismatchandhopewewill improveourselvesintheupcomingmatches," Harmanpreetsaid. PTI

BRIEF SCORES: New Zealand W155/5(Bates36,Devine31,Tahuhu27,Vastrakar2-16,Deepti2-26)beatIndiaW 137 for 8 (Meghana 37, Bhatia 26,Amelia2-25)by18runs

India women loseone-off T20I to NZ

ToreplicatewhatVirenderSehwagathisdestructivepeakachievedisdifficult,butRishabhPantcouldofferagoodshot.PTI

After theSouthAfricatour,headcoachRahulDravidhadspokenabout India’s inability totakewickets inthemiddleovers.Prasidhcouldofferasolution.After threewickets inCapeTownandacouple inthefirstODIhere, the25-year-oldreturnedwith4/12 innineoversfromthisgame.

JUGRAJHAT-TRICK IN 10-2WINVSSADrag-flicker Jugraj Singh, playing his second international match,slammed a hat-trick as India beat hosts South Africa 10-2 in the FIH ProHockey Pro League. Jugraj converted three penalty corners in the fourth,sixth and 23 minutes. Gursahibjit Singh (24th, 36th), Dilpreet Singh(25th, 58th), Harmanpreet Singh (2nd), Abhishek (12th) and MandeepSingh (27th) were the other goal-scorers.PTI

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