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VOL. 55 * NO. 195* AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Home Minister Amit Shah waves to his supporters during an election rallyin Anupsahar. UNI

GOC Rising Star Lt Gen PN Ananthanarayanan interacting with 'VEER NARIES'and veterans at Tiger Division in Jammu. UNI

India will boycott opening & closing ceremony of Beijing OlympicsNew Delhi, Following

the MEA's decision of theIndia envoy not attendingthe Winter Olympic ceremo-nies in Beijing, the Indianpublic broadcaster, PrasarBharati on Thursday (Febru-ary 3) announced that it willnot be telecasting the liveopening and closing cer-emonies of the Beijing Win-ter Olympics 2022.

Taking to Twitter, PrasarBharati CEO, Shashi ShekharVempati said, consequent tothe announcement by MEA,DD Sports channel will nottelecast live the openingand closing ceremonies ofthe Winter Olympics beingheld in Beijing.

The MEA on Thursday(February 3) said the Indianenvoy will not be attendingthe opening and ceremo-

nies of the Beijing WinterOlympics after China madeGalwan soldier torchbearerat the Beijing 2022 WinterOlympics Torch Relay.

China`s People`s Libera-tion Army`s regimentalcommander, who had suf-fered severe injuries duringthe Galwan clash, becamethe torchbearer at theBeijing 2022 Winter Olym-pics Torch Relay on Wednes-day (February 2). Qi Fabao,the regimental commanderwho suffered a serious headinjury during the GalwanValley border skirmish onJune 15, 2020, took theflame from China`s four-time Olympic short trackspeed skating champion, atWinter Olympic Park, Statemedia outlet Global Timesreported on Wednesday.

US lawmaker criticises China over showcasingPLA soldier in Winter Olympics 2022

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)A leading US Senator hascriticised China for selectinga soldier engaged in GalwanValley clashes with Indiantroops to promote theBeijing Winter Olympics2022. China has selected QiFabao, a regimental com-mander in the People's Lib-eration Army, who was seri-ously wounded during June15, 2020 border clash withIndian troops in the GalwanValley in eastern Ladakh, asone of the torchbearers.

Senator Jim Risch, a Re-publican who is a rankingmember of the US SenateForeign Relations Commit-

tee, called the move"shameful" and said that theUS will continue to supportthe sovereignty of India.

"It's shameful thatBeijing chose a torchbearerfor the Olympics 2022 who'spart of the military com-mand that attacked India in2020 and is implementinggenocide against theUyghurs. The US will con-tinue to support Uyghurfreedoms and the sover-eignty of India," Risch saidon Twitter.

Beijing kicked off athree-day Olympic torch re-lay with Qi as torchbearers,as per a report in China's

Global Times newspaper.Qi took the torch from

China's four-time short trackspeed skating gold medal-ist Wang Meng. Being heldin between Covid-19 out-breaks in China, the WinterOlympics is scheduled tostart on February 4. TheOlympic flame was flown infrom Greece and will travelto various parts of the coun-try before lighting theOlympic cauldron as a partof the opening ceremony.Many countries have de-cided to boycott the Olym-pics amid Chinese expan-sionist policy and humanrights violation in Uyghurs.

Karnataka mansteals policejeep, goes on 112km joyride

Dharwad, (Karnataka),Feb 3 (IANS) A man, whostole a jeep from a policestation in Karnataka'sDharwad district and wenton a long joyride to fulfil hislong-pending dream, hasbeen arrested, police said onThursday.

The accused was identi-fied as Nagappa Y. Hadapad,45, a resident of AnnigeriTown and working as adriver. He nursed a dream ofdriving a police jeep formany years. As a truck driver,he had travelled to all partsof the state as well asneighbouring states. But, hisdream of going on a longride in a police jeep re-mained unfulfilled.

France banstravellers fromentering if theywere double-jabbed 9 monthsago or more

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)Holidaymakers were dealtanother blow as France hasbanned travellers from en-tering if they were double-jabbed against Covid-19nine months ago or more,the Daily Mail reported.

Without a recent jab,France will effectively treattravellers as though unvac-cinated and can only enterwith a "compelling reason".

This could be on com-passionate grounds, such asvisiting a dying relative, butnot for holidays, the reportsaid. It means travellerswanting to go skiing or oncity breaks to Paris will haveto get a booster if they re-ceived their second doseany earlier than May lastyear.

10 Syrian civilianskilled amidrenewed Kurdish-Turkish tension

Damascus, Feb 3 (IANS)Ten civilians were killed incrossfire in northern Syriaamid renewed tension be-tween Turkey and Kurdishmilitia.

The heavy shelling be-tween the Turkish forcesand the Kurdish-led SyrianDemocratic Forces (SDF)over the northern country-side of Aleppo alsowounded 32 others, manyof whom were in criticalcondition, Xinhua newsagency reported citing statemedia as saying.

The state media said theshelling caused residentialareas in the bordering cityof al-Bab on fire, leading tothe deaths. The Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rightssaid that the shelling tar-geted a populous market-place and residential areasin the city.

China lost 42 soldiers in Galwan Valley clash, not 4: Australian newspaperNew Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)

Chinese People's LiberationArmy lost 42 soldiers, notfour during the Galwan Val-ley clashes with the Indiantroops in Eastern Ladakh,claims The Klaxon, an Aus-tralian newspaper, on Thurs-day. The clashes took placeon June 15, 2020.

The Indian security es-tablishments remained si-lent over the claims madeby the Australian newspa-per report. The report filedby Editor Anthony Klanmakes such claims citing areport of a group of socialmedia researchers. The

newspaper states that evi-dence provided by a groupof social media researchers,which The Klaxon has inde-pendently built on, appearsto support claims thatChina's casualties extendedwell beyond the four sol-diers named by Beijing.

"It also shows extremelengths Beijing has gone toin order to silence discus-sion about the battle - inparticular, discussion aboutthe true number of Chinesecasualties." The report citingthe researchers states thatthe deadly June 15 battlewas sparked over a tempo-

rary bridge, which Indiansoldiers had erected acrossa stream of the Galwan Riverthree weeks earlier, on May22. The report stated that

the Indian and Chinese mili-tary officials had agreed toa "buffer zone" along theborder in an attempt to "de-escalate the crisis" amid ris-

ing tensions.It states that despite cre-

ation of a buffer zone, Chinahad been building "illegalinfrastructure" inside thezone, including erectingtents and creating dugoutsand had moved heavy ma-chinery into the area.

"According to a Weibouser alias name Qiang whoclaims to have served in thearea, the PLA was creatinginfrastructure in this bufferzone, violating the mutualagreement and had beentrying to expand its patrol-ling limits within the bufferzone since April 2020," the

researchers state in thenewspaper. The reportstates: "On June 6, 80 PLAsoldiers came to dismantlethe bridge and nearly 100troops came to defend it."The paper citing the reportstates that during the June6 standoff, officers fromboth sides "agreed to with-draw all personnel whocrossed the buffer zone line"and to "dismantle all the fa-cilities that crossed the line".

However the report saysChina failed to adhere to theagreement."PLA did not ad-here to its promise and in-stead of dismantling its own

infrastructure as agreedupon, secretly dismantledthe river crossing bridgeconstructed by the Indianarmy," it says. Three dayslater, on June 15, ColonelSantosh and his troops re-turned. The Chinese forceswere led by Colonel QiFabao. "On 15th June 2020,Col. Santosh Babu alongwith his troops went to thedisputed area in the GalwanValley at night in an attemptto remove the Chinese en-croachment where Col. QiFabao was present alongwith nearly 150 soldiers,"the report states.

BJP National President J P Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief MinisterKeshav Prasad Maurya on way to file nomination for the Uttar Pradesh assem-bly election in a road show, in Kaushambi (Uttar Pradesh). UNI

File Photo

Balochistan Nationalist Army becomesPak's new counter-terrorism challengeIslamabad, Feb 3 (IANS)

Pakistans Balochistan prov-ince has seen a major surgeof targeted terror attacks onsecurity check posts, secu-rity camps, located at sensi-tive districts. A newly-formed group BalochistanNationalist Army (BNA),which is fast becoming amajor opponent toPakistans security forcesoperating in the province,has claimed the fresh waveof attacks. BNA, a mergedorganisation of UnitedBaloch Army (UBA) and theBalochistan RepublicanArmy (BRA) establishedabout a month ago, hasstarted to make its strong

presence be felt severely asit has targeted importantsecurity check posts andcamps of the Pakistaniarmed forces, claiming livesof soldiers and showcasingit capability of carrying outparallel targeted attacks.

In a latest of such at-tacks, armed assailants tar-geted two security posts inPanjgur district ofBalochistan. As perPakistan's Inter-ServicesPublic Relations (ISPR), theattack was successfullyfoiled while the attackerswere neutralized with heavycasualties inflicted to theterrorists. The attack trig-gered an hours-long gun

battle between the attacksand the security forces, re-sulting in killing of at leastfour attacks and one Paki-stani soldier. Few hours af-ter the attack, BNA terroriststried to enter into securitycamp in the Naushki district

of Balochistan province, en-gaging the security forces ina heavy exchange of fire.According to the Pakistanmilitary, this attack was alsofoiled; killing at least four at-tackers while one Pakistanisoldier was wounded.

Balochistan terror attacks'handlers in Af, India: Pak ISPR

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The Inter-Services Public Rela-tions (ISPR) said on Thursday that Pak intelligence agen-cies had intercepted communications between the terror-ists who carried out attacks in Balochistan a day earlier andtheir handlers are in Afghanistan and India, Dawn reported.The ISPR said terrorists had attempted to attack securityforces' camps in Balochistan's Panjgur and Naushki in twoseparate attacks late on Wednesday evening.

Chandrayaan-3 scheduledfor launch in Aug 2022

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The Department of Space hasplanned as many as 19 missions this year even as theChandrayaan-3, the next phase of India's mission to themoon, is scheduled for August 2022, the government toldthe Lok Sabha.

"Based on the learnings from Chandrayaan-2 and sug-gestions made by the national level experts, the realisationof Chandrayaan-3 is in progress. Many related hardware andtheir special tests are successfully completed, and thelaunch is scheduled for August 2022," Union Minister forSpace Dr Jitendra Singh said in reply to a written question.

A total of 19 missions are planned during January toDecember 2022, including eight 'Launch Vehicle Missions',seven 'Spacecraft Missions' and four 'Technology Demon-strator Missions', Singh said.

Several ongoing missions were impacted due to theCovid-19 pandemic. Also, reprioritisation of projects hastaken place in the backdrop of Space Sector reforms andnewly introduced demand driven models, he said.

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)The IANS-CVoter PunjabTracker is revealing some in-teresting new trends withthe entry of CaptainAmarinder Singh as a newally of BJP, a contest whichis already multi cornered. Asa part of the tracker, a snappoll simply asked the re-spondents across all 117seats in Punjab, if they feelthat PLC-BJP-SADs alliancecandidate is in "serious con-test" in their own area. Theresults show that every thirdvoter in Punjab believes thatCaptain is still very much inserious contest along withhis new alliance partners.

Reports alleging 'vaccinationfraud' misleading: Centre

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The UnionHealth Ministry on Thursday said that somereports in the international media alleginga "vaccination fraud" and further claimingthat people are being fraudulently regis-tered as double vaccinated without receiv-ing both doses are misleading and com-pletely ill-informed.

"There have been some media reportsin international media alleging a 'vaccina-tion fraud' and further claiming that peopleare being fraudulently registered as doublevaccinated without receiving both doses.These reports have also alleged that thevaccination 'figures were being manipu-lated'. It is clarified that such media reportsare not only misleading but are completelyill-informed, and without any basis," said the

ministry in a statement.The ministry said that India's nationwide

Covid vaccination drive is supported with astrong technology backup provided by Co-WIN digital platform that has performed ex-ceptionally in the last more than one yearof the Covid vaccination drive. All the Covidvaccinations are recorded in this digital plat-form. Co-WIN system is an inclusive plat-form / system and has been designed keep-ing the limitations and challenges of mo-bile and Internet availability across thecountry. Necessary features and flexibility,to ensure that every eligible individual hasthe access to vaccination, regardless of anyof physical, digital or socioeconomic barri-ers to access, have been incorporated in Co-WIN, the ministry added in the statement.

Captain Amarinder Singhcan still surprise everyone

This sentiment is morehighlighted in Hindudominated areas of Doabaand Majha and less inMalwa. In electoral con-tests, if votes are concen-trated in a geographicalarea, a party with a smallvote share can win quite afew seats.

For example, in the LokSabha elections of 2019,the Lok Janshakti Partypolled hardly 8 per cent ofthe vote share in Bihar andmanaged to win 6 LokSabha seats. In contrast,the RJD got multiples ofthat vote share but failedto win a single seat.

India taking up issues ofpending salaries in Gulf countries

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar on Thursday saidthat the government hastaken up the issue of pend-ing salaries of Indian work-ers with the Gulf countries.

Responding to a ques-tion about loss of wages ofIndians working abroad, theMinister said that the data ofpending salaries was notavailable but he took up thematter with Gulf countries."Would like to assure thatemployment is retained,wages are paid, and welfareis ensured," Jaishankar said.

He also said that thegovernment's objective is toget as many workers as pos-sible back to work and he has

been in touch with the con-cerned authorities and alsothrough Ambassadors in theGulf countries. Jaishankaralso informed the House thatPrime Minister NarendraModi is also in touch with theGulf governments and had16 telephonic conversationswith the authorities. He saidhe himself visited thesecountries and Minister ofState for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan has also vis-ited the gulf countries andhad meetings with the au-thorities there. He also in-formed that a corpus of Rs 47crore under the Indian Com-munity Welfare Fund hasbeen created for helping In-dian workers there.

Need to get out from thinking 'Indirais India & India is Indira': Naqvi

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Minority Affairs MinisterMukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday slammed the CongressParty and its leader Rahul Gandhi in the Rajya Sabha andsaid that they need to come out from the thinking of 'Indirais India and India is Indira'.

Speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President'sAddress, he said that it is being said there are two India's.Now the situation has changed and one India is of 'sanatanithinking' and the other of 'samanti' (feudal).

"Eight years ago, PMO was being run from somewhereelse. Today the PMO is strong enough to take bold deci-sions." Listing the achievements of the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi- led government at the Centre, he said thatPM Modi ended the red beacon culture and made laws thatwere needed in the present time and removed old and ir-relevant laws. Noting that the 'Weeks of riots' and 'Monthsof terrorist blasts' have come to an end, Naqvi said that thepeople should be proud of these achievements. Referringto the abolition of 'Triple Talaq', he said that to make theSupreme Court's decision on Triple Talaq effective webrought this law.

Ahmedabad, Page 2

Editorial2FromEditor’sDesk

Kyoto faces financial ruinthanks to lack of tourists

due to pandemic. Butthere are gains too

For better or worse, when peoplecirculate, so does money. And the t-shirtseller and street food vendor in Kyotoneed that cash almost as much as theircounterparts in Kanyakumari.

Kyoto’s woes seem tragically commonplace inthe Covid-19 era: In 2019, the year before the pan-demic struck, Kyoto received about 8 million visitors.In 2021, the number of tourists shrunk to less than2,50,000 — an over 99 per cent drop. Without thetourist spending, Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa haswarned that the Japanese town could face bank-ruptcy within the decade. Yet, the residents of Kyotoare divided over the recent developments. For many,the escape from tourists has come as a welcomerespite.

Even before 2020, there were movements inKyoto against “tourism pollution”. Rich, entitled for-eigners — most visitors are well-heeled consider-ing how expensive Japan is — insisted on takingselfies with locals, many of whom just wanted toenjoy a quiet cup of tea sans interruptions. Restau-rateurs had to deal with ill-mannered tourists whodidn’t show up after reserving half the place for alarge party. The public transport system was unableto support the influx of joyriders, making the com-mute to work all that more difficult. And perhapsmost irritating of all, as devotees made the longclimb up to the Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple,buses and vans full of “loud Americans” would al-ready have beaten them to it, piercing the calm.

Kyoto’s harried denizens will probably find sym-pathetic ears in Nainital and Darjeeling, Goa andOoty. For all the inherent hospitality in many cul-tures — there are versions of “atithi daivo bhava”across Asia and beyond — there is something irri-tating about the loud entitlement of the paying cus-tomer, believing as he does that he is always right.Not getting a table at your favourite hometown res-taurant and finding a hillside or beach littered withKurkure packets only makes matters worse. But, forbetter or worse, when people circulate, so doesmoney. And the t-shirt seller and street food ven-dor in Kyoto need that cash almost as much as theircounterparts in Kanyakumari.

AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (top) is expected to unveil a multi-billion pound package to soften the blow of the'cost of living catastrophe' but a source said he would acknowledge the scale of the increase to the cost ofliving is beyond what the government could offset. Regulators will reveal this morning that the energy pricecap is to rise by around £650, taking the average household bill to nearly £2,000. At the same time, the Bankof England is set to raise interest rates for the second month running, meaning higher mortgage paymentsfor many homeowners.

Union Budget 2022-2023 garners mixed response from country's leading educationalistsNew Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)

The Union Budget gains ap-plause for digitalization ofeducation and making it ac-cessible at the grassrootslevel. Still, many believemore could have been doneto elevate the quality of edu-cation as well.

The leading namesamong the country's highereducation fraternity wel-comed the Union Budget2022, announced by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanon February 1. The sectorappreciated the budget be-ing in line with promotinghuman capital through digi-tal tools such as the 'oneclass one TV channel'programme proposed un-der the PM e-Vidya scheme.

It laid out a progressivevision the Governmentholds for capitalizing onIndia's demographic advan-tages by suggesting a digi-tal university, creating a con-ducive environment for in-ter-university collaborations,and introducing a number ofskill developmentprogrammes. The Unionbudget 2022-2023 has allo-cated Rs 63,449.37 crore tothe Department of SchoolEducation and Literacy, anincrease of about 6.6 per

cent (Rs 9,000 crore) overthe current financial years. Itsets a straight road for theGovernment to achieve itslong-term mission of in-creasing the employabilityof the country's youth bypromoting upskilling,reskilling and several learn-ing measures equippingthem with new-age skills.

Dilip Puri, Founder &CEO, Indian School of Hos-pitality, appreciated themove stating, "We welcomethe new initiatives intro-duced by the Governmentin the Union Budget 2022 torevive and boost oureconomy. The Governmenthas identified areas thatneed financial assistanceand support, and a clear fo-cus is laid on the educationsector. The setting up ofdigital universities is a pro-gressive move by the Gov-ernment ? by reaching outto every student in the re-mote corners of our country,they will give them access toeducation by collaboratingwith world-class institutesand educators. We hope theexecution comes throughswiftly and accelerates thegrowth of edtech. We arealso delighted that the Gov-ernment showed specific in-

terest to promote and facili-tating upskilling andreskilling programmes. Wehope through continuousskilling avenues we are ableto direct our efforts towardsskilling aspirants and in-crease employability in thehospitality sector."

Shishir Jaipuria, Chair-man FICCI Arise and Chair-man Seth AnandramJaipuria Group of Educa-tional Institutions, also com-mended the government'sefforts in aligning the bud-get provisions with the pro-gressive elements of Na-tional Education Policy2020.

Shishir Jaipuria said,"The Union Budget 2022takes forward the vision ofuniversalizing quality edu-cation as enshrined in theNational Education Policy2020. The decision to ex-pand the PM e-VIDYAscheme to 200 TV channelsand to also develop high-quality e-content in all spo-ken languages will benefitthe students of grades 1 to12, who suffered learningloss due to the closure ofschools during the Covid-19pandemic.

"The formation of Digi-tal University, as announced

in the budget, will be a laud-able initiative. The DigitalUniversity will help to makeworld-class education ac-cessible in different Indianlanguages to all students,even in far-flung areas. The

simultaneous proposal totrain teachers to build theircompetency and empowerthem to develop quality e-content will ensure betterlearning outcomes. I wel-come the move to set up750 e-labs in science andmathematics and 75 skillinge-labs that will nurture sci-entific temperament andcritical thinking skills impor-

tant for 21st-century learn-ers.

"Going beyond the e-learning initiatives, the gov-ernment has rightly decidedto designate five academicinstitutions as 'centres of

excellence to delivercourses in urban planningand design. The move willtake forward the vision ofIndia-specific urban devel-opment. The budget 2022 isaimed at providing a majorpush to e-learning, reducelearning gaps and makeeducation inclusive."

Niranjan Hiranandani,Provost - HSNC University

appreciated thegovernment's construct of awell-rounded budget, pro-moting equal accessibilityof education and growthmindset among students, ir-respective of their back-grounds.

Hiranandani said, "In-dustry lauds & welcomesthe thrust to the digital eco-system while focussing onbuilding and upgrading thedigital infrastructure forquality education. Settingup of digital universities willenhance the availability ofeducation to the rural stu-dents following the huband spoke model. With easyaccess to education in re-gional language, every stu-dent will get an opportunityto empower and equipthemselves.

"Moreover, measures forquality e-content appearpromising to educateteachers effectively for bet-ter e-teaching outcomes.Besides, there is a surge inthe scope of personalizedlearning, especially in thedigital ecosystem. The bud-get also puts required em-phasis on skilling, whichmakes an individual em-ployable and sustainable.The skilling courses will not

just encourage learners toapply critical thinking andcreativity but also makethem industry-ready, whichis evidence of shaping theyouth of India for a betterfuture."Understanding theneed for skill-based educa-tion, Bikram Agarwal, CFO,Seth Anandram JaipuriaGroup of Educational Insti-tutions, praised the budgetofferings.

Agarwal said, "The mostimportant takeaway of theUnion Budget 2022 is theslew of decisions that havebeen taken to empower thedigital learning ecosystemin the country. The forma-tion of Digital University andthe initiative to create qual-ity e-content in all Indianlanguages will make learn-ing inclusive for all. Besidesthese moves to nurture aca-demic rigour, the decision tolaunch the DESH-Stack e-portal will help to skill andupskill learners.

"At the same time, theGovernment aims to im-prove learning at Agricul-ture University by revisingand revamping the syllabusto address the practicalneeds of modern agricul-ture. I also appreciate thedecision to involve

academia in defence re-search and development forbetter designing and devel-opment of military plat-forms and equipment. Thescope of this budget is quitewide. It touches upon sev-eral aspects of the educa-tion sector and is to belauded."While many ap-plauded these moves, somebelieved that the govern-ment could have donemore. The budget critics feltthat this year saw lesser in-vestments and initiativesrelative to the last year'sbudget for promoting qual-ity education across allstrata of society.

Reacting to the budget,Professor Tarun Jain, Associ-ate Professor of Economics,IIM Ahmedabad, said, "TheFinance Minister has men-tioned supplementaryteaching through additionalTV channels (PM eVidya) tomake up for the educationloss of the last two years.This is minuscule given thetremendous learning lossthat our children have expe-rienced. Significant invest-ments in improving schoolquality are critical for ensur-ing that our demographicdividends are actually real-ized.

'I wrote my obit to find out who I really wanted to be'By Vishnu Makhijani

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)Imagine setting out as awriter by penning yourown obituary to "find outwho I really wanted to be"and close to two decadeslater, being the award-win-ning author of 11 books onfood, culture and inspira-tion, being featured in four"Best Food Writing" an-thologies, being named bythe Chicago Tribune as"one of the seven food writ-ers to watch in 2012" andbeing in equal parts story-teller, globe-trotter, accom-plished literary coach, andeducator.

That's exactly the pathtrodden by Virginia-basedMonica Bhide, born in NewDelhi and raised in theMiddle East, with abachelor's degree in engi-neering from BangaloreUniversity and two master'sdegrees from GeorgeWashington University( Washington, DC) andLynchburg College ( Vir-ginia), who feels fortunatefor her rich, multiculturaleducation, enjoys givingback to the global commu-nity and is hopeful of "leav-ing a loving legacy of beau-tiful stories for my children

and my readers"."I wrote my obituary to

find out who I really wantedto be. Sound far-fetched? Itreally is not," Bhide, whosemagical, fantastical, andhauntingly written newnovel, "The Soul Catcher", ispacked with resilience andgrief, magic and violence,love and loss, told IANS in aninterview.

"In 2003, my dear friendBeth died tragically in afreak accident. We were alldevastated; Beth was thirty-seven years old. My heartached for her three youngchildren. Her death shookmy very roots. Selfishly, Iturned inward and to Godfor guidance. What if thathad been me, I wondered?What was I doing with mylife? I was 34 at the time andI wondered what wouldhappen if I, too, died at 37.

"So I sat down with asheet of paper and wrotemy obituary. This was who Iwant to be remembered as,I thought. There were obvi-ous things like wanting tobe known as a good mother,a loving daughter and ahelpful human being. Com-mon phrases surfaced suchas making a difference andleaving the world a betterplace. It occurred to me that

what I had just written wasmy personal vision. And Iknew for a fact these valuesI held so dear were not re-flected in my life choices,"Bhide added.

At that time, she hadspent 12 years "in a jobwearing the golden hand-cuffs. The pay was excellent,of course, but I worked 60-hour weeks, travelled end-lessly, and rarely got a mo-ment with my family. I didnot hate my job, but justnever felt satisfied" she ex-plained.

"It was personally andculturally important to meto gain my father's blessings.I greatly admire my father,and the man who taught mehow to walk certainly de-served a say in how I definedmy life. He agreed. The firstthing I did was to turn myhome office upside down tofind the two pieces of paperon which I had written thepersonal vision and the pro-fessional vision.

"I then put my engineer-ing hat on and comparedthe two notes, looking for asolution to the problemsthey presented. There weresimilarities. Some phrasesappeared on both pieces ofpaper (making a differenceand making the world a bet-

ter place). I wrote those onthe left hand side of a newpage. These would later be-come the foundation of mynew path. These were thethings on which I would notcompromise. Everythingelse was built up from thesefactors," Bhide said.

"Saying I wanted to be asuccessful writer is like say-ing I wanted to be a moviestar! So what does a success-ful writer do; what did itmean? My consulting selfcame alive and I created asheet with the word suc-cessful and its attributes -what did it mean to be suc-cessful - qualitatively andquantitatively," she won-dered.

To her, it meant selling acertain number of pieces,i.e., getting published. Shewanted to write about top-ics that made a difference,and this helped her defineher market.

"The scribbling thatemerged from the aboveexercise became my oneyear plan. Writing thingsdown helped me make acommitment to them. Itacked the sheet on a boardright above my computer sothat I could see it each day. Ibegan a new journey" andwas triumphant when she

sold her first print piece toThe Washington Post in2004.

Creating your personalvision, Bhide maintained, "isnot just a creative exercise,but an exercise in commit-ment to yourself. It's aboutactually doing somethingand not just paying lip ser-vice. It's as much about find-ing out who you really are asit is about staying true towhat you find".

Today, she works afulltime job "that I love; Imake a difference at workand with my writing as well.I have travelled the worldand taught writing seminarsin London, Dubai, India andmany other places. I get toshare stories of food, loveand longing. I have been aliterary coach and a lifelonglearner. I am hopeful that Iwill leave a loving legacy ofbeautiful stories for my chil-dren and my readers", Bhidesaid.Her output featuresbestsellers like "Karma andthe Art of Butter Chicken","The Devil in Us", and "Mod-ern Spice".

Author, activist, model,TV host and top chef PadmaLakshmi picked "ModernSpice" as one of the "BestBooks Ever" for Newsweek."The Devil in Us", a short

story collection, topped thelist on Kindle as a bestsellerin its category of LiteraryShort Fiction. Bhide's mem-oir, "A Life of Spice", waspicked by Eat Your Books, aglobal community of cook-book lovers, as one of thetop five food memoirs.

Bhide's new novel, "TheSoul Catcher" (Bodes WellPublishing), set in a real, yetmagical, modern-day India,has its roots in 19th centuryNew Jersey, where one ofthe most influential inven-tors in American history,Thomas Edison, lived andworked. Legend has it thatHenry Ford asked Edison'sson to catch his father's dy-ing breath in a test tube nowon display at the Henry FordMuseum."Don't lose hopeand focus on what you cancontrol. We are living intimes that are, well, chal-lenging to say the least butthere are still sunsets andsunrises, babies are beingborn, lovers are getting to-gether, new friendships areforming and flowers areblooming ? there is hope! Ihave a podcast called Pow-ered by Hope that focuseson this very topic, It is freeon my site,www.monicabhide.com,"she said.

Bengal civic polls tobe held on Feb 27

Kolkata, Feb 3 (IANS) TheWest Bengal State ElectionCommission (SEC) has an-nounced that it will conductthe municipal elections inthe state on February 27.

The elections were duefor nearly two years butcould not be held due to theCovid-19 situation.

Announcing the polls,State Election Commis-sioner Sourav Das said: "Themunicipal polls in 108 mu-nicipalities across the statewill be held on February 27and the model code of con-duct will be in force fromFebruary 3 only.

The last date for the fil-ing of nomination is sched-uled on February 9.The lastdate for the filing of nomi-nation is scheduled on Feb-ruary 9.

"The Commissioneradded that there will beelections in all the munici-palities except one ward ofSouth Dum Dum municipal-ity. "There is a high court di-rective and so we cannot

conduct any election inward number 29 of theSouth Dum Dum municipal-ity," Das said.

However, the SEC didn'tmake any announcement ofthe date of counting ofvotes.

Meanwhile, the SEC hasalso announced the elec-tions of four municipal cor-porations -- Siliguri,B i d h a n n a g a r ,Chandannagar and Asansol-- on February 12.

The state election bodyhad earlier announced toconduct the polls in thesefour municipal corporationson January 22 but followingthe high court directive ithad to defer it to February12.

On Wednesday, the pollpanel convened an all-partymeeting in which the Con-gress urged the former topostpone the electionsamid the Covid-19 situationeven as the Trinamool Con-gress said they would abideby the panel's decision.

European Parliament gives centre stage to Afghan womenBrussels/Kabul,

Feb 3 (IANS) The Eu-ropean Parliamentheld a two-day con-ference and a seriesof events to discussthe situation ofwomen and girls inAfghanistan sincethe fall of the coun-try to the Taliban lastAugust.

In the confer-ence that kicked offon Monday andended on Wednes-day, a number ofprominent Afghanwomen, EU parlia-mentarians and rep-resentatives from in-t e r n a t i o n a lorganisations werein attendance, re-

ports TOLO News.In Tuesday's conference,

the participants called forthe internationalcommunity's support forthe women and girls in Af-ghanistan.

EU Parliament PresidentRoberta Metsola, speakingat the conference said: "TheEuropean Union has de-fined respect on humanrights, in particular women'srights, the rule of law andfreedom of the media as keyconditions for engagementwith the current Afghan au-thorities."

Angelina Jolie, an actressand a special envoy forUNHCR, said the Afghanwomen have suffered a lotin the past four decades, butthey never lost hope fortheir country. She called on

the Islamic Emirate to re-open schools for girls.

"I call on the de factoauthorities in Afghanistan,to reopen all schools. To en-able the girls to sit the ex-ams that they missed lastyear. To release TamanaParyani and ParwanaIbrahimkhil, and the otherwomen held in detention.And to let women partici-pate fully and freely in workand politics and society."

Sima Samar, the formerchairperson ofAfghanistan's IndependentHuman Rights Commission(AIHRC) said Afghanistan isthe collective failure of theinternational community,the Afghan governmentand the Afghan people. Shewarned the internationalcommunity against aban-

doning Afghanistan.She said Afghan women

make up half of the popula-tion and they must have alltheir rights and freedoms ashuman beings. "Whetherthey like it or not, womenare half of the population inAfghanistan. They musthave all the rights and free-dom as human beings. De-nial of the fact is not chang-ing the reality that half ofthe human forces arewomen."Samar went saidthe problem in Afghanistanis chronic and requires along-term multi-dimen-sional strategy based onhuman rights values.

Amina Mohammad,Deputy Secretary General ofthe UN, said Afghan womenand girls made significantprogress in the past two de-

cades in accessing theirrights. She said the bad hu-manitarian situation hasalso a very bad affect on theAfghan women and girls.

"Today, sadly the samewomen and girls have hadtheir hope cruelly takenaway from them once more.Roll-backs on rights to em-ployment, education, free-dom of movement and en-joyment of dignity and free-dom from violence havebeen exacerbated by aneconomic situation," shesaid.According toMohammad, women's par-ticipation in the society isnecessary for further stabil-ity in the country. "Withoutfull participation in publiclife, women's access to es-sential services will be evenfurther curtailed. A country

cannot become morestable when half of itspopulation is ex-cluded from publiclife and theeconomy."

Mohammad saidthe UN is pushing forefforts to make surethe voices of Afghanwomen are heard,and she called on theinternational com-munity to act as onein this respect.

Zarifa Ghafari, theformer mayor ofMaidan Shahr inMaidan Wardak prov-ince, said over thepast two decades theAfghan governmentused women's rightsto gain funds.

Backchannels working between India& Pakistan, claims businessman

By Sanjeev Sharma

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)Leading Pakistani business-man Muhammad Manshaclaims that backchannelsare working betweenIslamabad and New Delhithat will hopefully yieldgood results, Dawn newsreported.

"If things improve be-tween the two neighbours,Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi could visitPakistan in a month," thechairman of Nishat Grouptold a gathering of busi-nessmen at the LahoreChambers of Commerceand Industry on Wednes-day.

He advised the twocountries to resolve theirdisputes and start trade tofight poverty in the region.

"If the economy doesnot improve, the countrymay face disastrous conse-quences. Pakistan shouldimprove trade relations withIndia and take a regionalapproach to economic de-velopment. Europe foughttwo great wars, but ulti-mately settled for peace andregional development.There is no permanent en-mity," the Dawn news re-

port quoted Mansha as say-ing

Trade relations betweenPak-istan and India havebeen suspended since Au-gust 2019.

There have been reportsof backchannel talks lastsummer between the twoeconomies of the regionbrokered by a Gulf state, theDawn report said.

The businessmanemphasised the importanceof improving relations withcountries in theneighbourhood and saidone of the reasons forEurope's development wasits softening of borders andpromotion of bilateral trade.

He further said that in noother country gas was sup-plied through pipes and re-sources wasted on such alarge scale.

"The system is a burdenon the state and majorchanges are needed in thestructure of the bureau-cracy."

Through price controlto capital market operations,reducing trade barriers andminimising state influenceon the economy, especiallythrough privatisation andausterity, Pakistan can trulyachieve rapid growth.

Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan

Ahmedabad, Page 3

In the news 3

A H M E D A B A D * M A R K E T * G U I D E

AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Veteran producerAnand Pandit released hispassion project 'Chehre' intheatres in solidarity withexhibitors and also becausehe wanted this AmitabhBachchan and EmranHashmi starrer to grace thebig screen. The film hasbeen regularly featured inthe festival circuit and hasalso gathered much appre-ciation on Amazon Prime.Now the film's directorRumy Jafri and Pandit him-self want to explore the po-tential of the open-endedstory and may work to-gether on a sequel soon.

Says Pandit, ''Rumy Ji hasbeen talking about his keeninterest in exploring thestory further and I think thatit has the potential to growin multiple directions. Wedon't regret releasing the

We loved making 'Chehre' and eager totake the story forward!": Anand Pandit

film during the pandemicbecause you must take risksif you want to grow andlearn but yes, there is some-thing more that we can dowith the premise. We wouldlove to make a sequel ifRumy Ji can come up withthe right story."

Pandit says, the experi-ence of making 'Chehre' was

unforgettable and everyoneinvolved with the projectwould be happy to be a partof the sequel. He says, "Be itAmit Ji or Emraan, everyonehas had only good things tosay about the film, and whatwould be more excitingthan to go through anotherexciting creative journey to-gether?"

'Anbulla Ghilli', a dog lovers' film, topremiere on Colors Tamil on Feb 6Chennai, Feb 3 (IANS)

Director SrinathRamalingam's film 'AnbullaGhilli', which, its makersclaim, is the first Indianmovie in which animals talkin real-time, will premiere onColors Tamil on February 6.

The unique roman-tic film has a caninecharacter called Ghilli(played by the dogAmigo) in an importantrole. The movie featuresDushara Vijayan,Chandni Tamilarasan,Mime Gopi, Mayilsamy,Poo Ramu, Illavarasanand the debutanteMaithreya Rajeshsekar.

Interestingly, actorand well-known Tamil co-median Soori has lent hisvoice to the character ofGhilli. Set in the picturesquebackdrop of Kodaikanal, thefilm traces the life of Ramu(played by MaithreyaRajeshsekar) and Ghilli whogrow up together and aretrue partners in crime. Thestory takes an interesting

turn when Ramu finds him-self caught in a love trianglewith his childhood sweet-heart Pargavi (played byChandni Tamilarasan) andAnvitha, the girl-next-door(played by Dushara Vijayan).

Playing Cupid, Ghilli be-

comes the new wingmanfor his friend Ramu andhelps him find true love.However, a storm in theform of Sundar (played byMime Gopi), a ruthlesspoacher disguised as a for-est ranger, disrupts their life.How Ramu and Ghilli man-age to escape from Sundar'sclutches forms the rest of

the plot. Talking about lend-ing his voice for the charac-ter of Ghilli, Soori said:"Movie and television aretwo great mediums to reachaudiences, entertain and en-thral them. I'm happy thatmy unique attempt to lendmy voice for a pet's role inthis movie will reach a largerfamily audience throughColors Tamil. This was arather challenging but funproject to work on and I amconfident that the audiencewill truly enjoy my characterin the movie." Commentingon the launch, Ramalingamsaid: "Despite having a fewfilms under my hood,'Anbulla Ghilli' will remainclose to my heart because ofits distinctive concept. I amoverwhelmed and de-lighted while the film is get-ting a direct satellite pre-miere, especially in a popu-lar channel like Colors Tamil.I am certain that the film willmake the audiences feelwarm with a myriad of emo-tions."--IANS

Just Out: 'Pona Poyura', third trackfrom Vikram-starrer 'Mahaan'

Chennai, Feb 3 (IANS)'Pona Poyura', the thirdsingle from director KarthikSubbaraj's highly antici-pated action thriller,'Mahaan', featuring Vikramand Dhruv in the lead roles,has now been released.

The number, which hasmusic by SanthoshNarayanan, subtly conveysthe message that when youlove someone, you need toset the person you love free.

Produced by Lalit Kumarunder the banner of SevenScreen Studio, the film alsofeatures Bobby Simha andSimran in pivotal roles.

Starting on February 10,the movie will premiere on

Prime Video and will also beavailable in Malayalam,Telugu and Kannada. It hasbeen titled 'Maha Purusha'In Kannada.

'Mahaan' is the story ofa man whose family leaveshim when he strays from theideal life as he sets out in asearch for personal freedom.As he realises his dream ofbecoming a billionaire, healso misses the presence ofhis son in his life. Does lifegive him a second chance tobe a father?

This storyline is abouthow his life goes through anunexpected series of eventsin this thrilling, action-packed journey.

Sunny Leoneshoots forwedding sangeetnumber inMumbai

Mumbai, Feb 3 (IANS)Actress Sunny Leone isshooting for a weddingsong titled 'Sharam Lihaaz',choreographed by VishnuDeva, at a studio in Mumbai.

Sunny, who has beenbusy with the action se-quences of her upcomingprojects, found the opportu-nity of working on the songas something that takes offthe stress of heavy duty ac-tion.

Talking about her workschedule, the actress said:"The last few months havebeen hectic in terms ofwork. And a lot of what I wasdoing involved kicking andpunching because two ofmy next projects areactioners.

"It was thus so enjoyableto indulge in a bit of danceand fun on the sets of thissong. We rehearsed for a dayand then got straight intothe groove. It's shaping uppretty well. I believe if youhave fun at work, it shows.

Dhoni to be seen in new age graphicnovel 'Atharva - The Origin'

Chennai, Feb 3 (IANS)Giving comic lovers and M.S.Dhoni fans a reason to re-joice, Virzu Studio in associa-tion with MIDAS Deals, hasreleased the motion posterof its upcoming mega-bud-get graphic novel 'Atharva -The Origin'.

Starring none otherthan Dhoni himself as a su-perhero and warrior leader,the official motion posterwas released on Wednesdayby the cricketer on his offi-cial Facebook handle.

The motion poster fea-tures a rugged-lookingDhoni, giving fans a glimpseinto the world of Atharvaand also a sneak peek intothe first look of the cricketeras a superhero.

In an effort to offer animmersive experience toreaders, the creators have

worked with a team of art-ists diligently for severalyears to create the mysticalworld of Atharva.

Teleporting the readers

to a different universe, thisgraphic novel, authored byRamesh Thamilmani,headed by M V M Vel Mohanand produced by VincentAdaikalaraj and Ashok Ma,

features over 150 lifelike il-lustrations which presentthe gripping, racy narrative.

Commenting on theproject, the former India

captain and Chennai SuperKings skipper said: "I amthrilled to be associatedwith this project and it is in-deed an exciting venture.'Atharva - The Origin' is a

captivating graphic novelwith an engaging story andimmersive artworks.Thamilmani's attempt tolaunch India's first mytho-logical superhero with acontemporary twist willleave every reader wantingfor more."Thamilmani said:"We have worked for severalyears to bring alive a vision,an idea and translate it intoa masterpiece as you willsee. I am excited and happyto have M.S. Dhoni portray-ing Atharva, who truly em-bodies the character."

He concluded by saying:"Each of the characters andartwork in the novel. includ-ing that of M.S. Dhoni's, hasbeen developed post exten-sive research and every nu-ance of the world has beencreated with great attentionto detail."--IANS

Bhumi opens up aboutgetting into the skin of her

'Badhaai Do' characterMumbai, Feb 3 (IANS)

Actress Bhumi Pednekar,who is gearing up for herupcoming release 'BadhaaiDo', has said that her char-acter in the film is very dif-ferent from her because shedoes not enjoymany of theprivileges wetake forgranted.

Comment-ing on her char-acter, a lesbiansports instruc-tor who marriesa gay cop(played byR a j k u m m a rRao), Pednekarsaid: "She iss o m e b o d ywhose life is very differentfrom mine and that is notbecause of our sexual pref-erences, it is more about thechoices one makes in life. Iam somebody who haslived her life full of freedom.My character does not have

that privilege."Pednekar continued: "It

wasn't about how I wouldfeel about other people orthe character that I am play-ing.

It was more about howI would livemy life that Icould notrelate a lotwith. It isnot as easyas going tothe gym. Itis more ofan internalprocess."

Talkingabout hercharacter'sl o o k ,Pe d n e k a r

said: "The director and ourteam members were veryclear that when we look atthe woman she should looklike somebody who is vul-nerable. So I have not shiedaway from not wearingmakeup.

Mahesh Babu-Trivikram collabfilm launchedwith poojaceremony

Hyderabad, Feb 3 (IANS)Mahesh Babu's 28th filmtentatively called 'SSMB 28'was formally launched witha 'muhurat' (customary)pooja in Hyderabad onThursday.

Mahesh Babu andTrivikram Srinivas haveteamed up for the new ven-ture that is touted to be acommercial action drama. Itwill also mark the duo's sec-ond-time collaboration.

Mahesh Babu, skippedthe event, while his wifeNamrata Shirodhkar at-tended the pooja on his be-half.

Actress Pooja Hegde,who will also be seen inPrabhas' upcoming pan-In-dia movie 'Radhe Shyam' isplaying the female lead inthe movie.

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Ahmedabad, Page 4

City-State4 AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Woman Succumbs To Burns AfterDress Catches Fire At Buffet

Ahmedabad: In a tragic case, a 54-year-oldwoman from Maninagar succumbed to her burninjuries she sustained while having food at a hotelin Ellisbridge area.

As per an accidental death report filed atEllisbridge police station, the deceased identifiedas Rashmika Shah of Gangeshwar Society inManinagar had visited the Four Points by Sheratonhotel opposite Gujarat College to attend a functionon January 26. A buffet was arranged for the guests.When Shah was taking her food, the food bowl onthe table fell and the hot fuel fell on her dress and itcaught fire. The hotel staff and those present at thefunction rushed to put out the fire, but by the time,Shah had received around 60% burns to her body.

An ambulance was called and she was rushedto a hospital. Later she was admitted to the burnsward of Civil Hospital. On Monday evening, Shahdied while receiving treatment at the hospital. Asper a police official associated with the case, Shahwas wearing a synthetic dress which caught fireimmediately.

PSI Ghela of Ellisbridge police station and inves-tigating officer in the case said that an accidentaldeath report has been filed.

Covid Cases Rise For SecondStraight Day

Ahmedabad, Gujarat has reported an increasein Covid cases on two consecutive days after see-ing a fall for six days at a stretch before that.

The state reported 8,934 new Covid cases onWednesday, which were higher than 8,338 casesreported on Tuesday. Gujarat had reported 6,607 onMonday. Ahmedabad city reported 3,309 new cases,which were higher than the 2,654 cases on Tues-day.

There were 1,512 new cases in Vadodara cityand 409 cases in rural Vadodara. There were 320cases in Rajkot city, 279 in Gandhinagar city, 265 inSurat city, 248 in rural Surat, 227 in Mehsana, 224 inKutch and 222 cases in Bharuch. Other districts re-ported fewer than 200 cases.

Gujarat on Wednesday reported 34 official Coviddeaths which were fewer than the 38 deaths onFebruary 1.

Of these, 10 were in Ahmedabad city, 4 in Rajkotcity, 3 each in Vadodara city and Bharuch. There were2 deaths each in Surat city and rural Surat. Therewas 1 death each reported from rural Vadodara,Mehsana, rural Rajkot, rural Gandhinagar,Bhavnagar, Jamnagar city, Navsari, Surendranagar,rural Jamnagar and Botad. This took the officialdeath toll to 427 in 2022 and 10,545 in all. Therewere 69,187 active cases in Gujarat.

Sanghavi flags off 949 newvehicles for police patrolling

Ahmedabad, In order to strengthen the servicesof Gujarat Police, State Home Minister HarshSanghavi flagged off as many as 949 vehicles forpolice patrolling in an event in Gandhinagar onWednesday.

The 949 new vehicles include 100 scooters forwomen police officials, 298 motorcycles for trafficduty, general duty, investigations and execution ofsummons, 68 Jeeps for SHE teams, 55 Jeeps for Po-lice Control Room (PCR) vans, 400 Jeeps for patrol-ling, and 28 staff cars for police officers.

Sanghavi at an event in Gandhinagar onWednesday lauded the efforts of Gujarat Policewhile flagging off the newly acquired vehicles.

Gujarat is number one state in India when itcomes to law and order and the credit for this goesto the officers and staff of Gujarat Police, saidSanghavi.

The police have deployed SHE teams for fourmetropolitan cities of the state who are diligentlyworking towards the safety and welfare of seniorcitizens and women. To further strengthen the SHEteams, it has been decided to allocate 68 Jeeps tothe teams, he added.

The vehicles were procured by the planning andmodernization division of the Gujarat Police. Atpresent, there are over 13,000 government vehiclesfor over 1 lakh Gujarat Police staff across the state.

Lured By Quick Profit, Man, 3Pals Cheated Of Rs 3.75L

Ahmedabad, It was a too good to be true offerand it indeed turned out not to be true! Four peoplelost over Rs 3.75 lakh after falling prey to a tempt-ing investment scheme that promised a daily profitof 2% to 4% on their total investment. The schemealso promised to return four times the capital in-vested at the end of 200 days.

Satellite resident Ravi Patel (50), a businessmanwho also dabbles in stock, got to know aboutKolkata-based Bandhan Trading through one of hiscontacts. After he showed interest, an employee ofthe company got in touch with Patel through aphone call. The employee offered an investmentscheme where Patel could earn a daily profit of 1%to 2% for 200 days. The investment in the schemecould range from Rs498 to Rs99,999.

The company also promised to return 4 timesthe capital invested at the end of the investmentperiod. As per the complaint with the cyber cell, anaccount was created for Patel on the website. Hewas given an ID and password and Patel investedRs24,999. Initially, Patel received some profits afternine days. Later the company offered him anotherscheme to earn a commission on clients that hebrought. Patel then convinced three of his friendsto invest Rs 3.75 lakh in the company’s scheme.

But soon the employees who were in touch withPatel disappeared and their cell phones wereswitched off. The company’s website also stoppedfunctioning. Patel realised he had been conned andapproached the police.

BA.2 Lineage Of Omicron Now Predominant In Guj

Ahmedabad, The BA.1lineage of Omicron wasdominant in Gujarat in mid-January, while its sister lin-eage BA.2 has caught upfast since then. The latestsequencing data from thestate now shows that BA.2lineage has become pre-dominant one in the state.

Of the 448 randomCovid samples whose ge-nome sequencing was con-ducted at the Gujarat Bio-technology Research Centre(GBRC) from January 1 to 28,the BA.2 lineage of Omicronaccounted for 205 (45.7%)samples, acquiring thedominant status in the state.

BA.1 accounted for 126(28%) samples and BA.1.1,which was only recently re-classified as a separate sub-lineage of Omicron, now ac-counts for 69 (15.4%)

samples. Notably, manysamples earlier classified asBA.1 have been re-classifiedas BA.1.1 retrospectively.

A study in Denmark,where the BA.2 lineage firsttook over BA.1 lineage ofOmicron, said BA.2 is moreinfectious than its sister lin-eage. However, WHO offi-cials said that it isn’t moredeadly and vaccines con-tinue to offer protectionagainst all Omicron lin-eages. Researchers inGujarat said that the BA.2Omicron lineage is ex-pected to further eclipse itssister lineages in the comingdays. However, the concernnow is that the BA.2 lineageas seen in India appears tobe different in its mutationsand structure compared toother countries has learntthat the matter was dis-

cussed at an INSACOGmeeting earlier this weekand investigation into this isunderway. First lot of 3-doseZydus vaccine delivered toCentre: Ahmedabad-basedZydus on Wednesday said itdelivered its first consign-ment of the three-dose DNAPlasmid ZyCoV D vaccine tothe Government of India.

The statement sent tothe BSE and NSE stock ex-changes said that the com-pany was planning to intro-duce it into the market aswell. ZyCoV-D is adminis-tered intradermally using aneedle-free applicator sys-tem, on days 0, 28 and 56 foreach of the three doses re-spectively. The vaccine willcost Rs358 per dose, includ-ing Rs265 for the dose, Rs93for the applicator, with theexclusion of GST.

Dalit Youth Stabbed To DeathFor Not Opening BRTS Barricade

Ahmedabad, A DalitBRTS employee was hackedto death at CTM in the cityon January 24 for standinghis ground and not openingthe barricade to the BRTSlane for a private vehicle. Pri-vate vehicles are not al-lowed in the BRTS lane.

Jatin Parmar, 24,was stabbed to deathafter he refused to liftthe barricade to theBRTS lane for a groupof hooligans whocame in a Verna carand a scooter. Policehave detained the keyaccused in the case,Pintu Chauhan fromRajasthan and he hasbeen sent for a Covid test.

Two other accused inthe case have tested posi-tive for Covid and are undertreatment. The investiga-tions in the case have been

handed to the SC/ST cell.ACP (SC/ST ) cell

Khusboo Kapadia, said themurder happened ataround 9.30 pm near theBRT bus stand at CTM Road.Four men in a Verna carcame to the BRTS bus stand

at CTM road and asked thetwo BRTS employees toopen the automatic barri-cade, she said.

Parmar and the otheremployee refused as private

vehicles are not allowed inBRTS lanes.

This angered the ac-cused who beat them upand warned them of conse-quences. They returned laterin a car and a scooter andcaught hold of Parmar and

stabbed him. He wasrushed to the hospitalbut succumbed to hisinjuries, said Kapadia.

Sources saidParmar’s relatives re-fused to accept hisbody till the accusedwere arrested. The CityCrime Branch, whichprobed the case,formed several teamsand used technical and

human surveillance to arrestthe main accused fromRajasthan on Tuesday night,said sources. The accusedwill be interrogated oncethey test negative for Covid.

AMC budget to focus on renewable energy, use of EVsAhmedabad, In a bid

to promote use of electricvehicles and renewableenergy, Ahmedabad Mu-nicipal CommissionerLochan Sehra in the draftbudget for 2022-23tabled on Wednesdayproposed a solar rooftopincentive policy and in-centives for use of electricvehicles.

The budget, tabled inthe election year, has pro-posed no increase inproperty tax, water andconservancy tax and ve-hicle tax.

With an increase of Rs636 crore from last year,the commissioner hastabled the draft budget ofRs 8,111 crore.

The draft budget hasproposed 300 locations to

be identified for electric ve-hicle charging stationsalong with a provision for aseparate budget for ElectricVehicle (EV) charging infra-structure.

To create an EV charginginfrastructure, AMC will pro-vide land at a token rate ofRs 1 per square metre permonth along with exemp-tion from town planningand any other developmentcosts. Also, the land used ascharging station will be ex-empted from property taxfor three years, the commis-sioner announced during avirtual presentation of hisdraft budget Wednesday.

Once installed, these EVcharging stations will be GISmapped and the list will beuploaded on AMC website,app and updated regularly.

For urban mobility, inaddition to an existing op-erational fleet of 200 EVbuses operational, another100 EV AC buses have beenproposed.

Further, for last mile con-nectivity, in addition to ex-isting 60 e-rickshaw on 10routes, another 600 havebeen proposed on 100routes.

While under the solarrooftop incentive scheme, a10 per cent rebate in prop-erty tax has been proposedto owners of plotted hous-ing schemes from the timeof implementation of thisscheme from April 1,2022.

For group housing soci-eties, a competition hasbeen proposed where thesociety has installed rooftopsolar along with rainwater

harvesting and segregationof wet and dry waste. Ineach ward, first winner willbe awarded Rs 3 lakh, sec-ond Rs 2 and third Rs 1 lakh,Sehra said.

Further, stressing on‘Smart City’ project, Sehrasaid, Being the last year forSmart Cities Mission, AMCaims to complete ongoingprojects as well as proposesnew ones.

More than doubling theallocation for ‘Smart City’project, the AhmedabadMunicipal Commissioner inhis draft budget has pro-posed an allocation of Rs 53crore for the year 2022-23,from Rs 25 crore allocated inthe year 2021-22.

Along with ongoingworks, new projects includ-ing a ‘Youth Town Plaza’ un-

der the ‘Eat Smart’ projecthave been proposed for thecity, under Smart Cityproject.

To be created in theNorth West zone, this YouthTown Plaza is promised tohave smart parking, smartlights with solar panel, smartVariable Message Display(VMD), free wi-fi, CCTV cam-eras, EV charging stationalong with hygienic foodoptions where popular foodchains and others will be of-fered AMC land on afford-able charges.

A creative activity andgame zone for children toohas been proposed.Ahmedabad also plans tohave wind power plant un-der Smart City project.

To tackle the issue ofencroachment on public

land including open plots,the Ahmedabad Munici-pal Corporation plans toadopt an automated landencroachment monitor-ing and prevention sys-tem using geo fencing atan estimated cost of Rs 16crore.

This will have a cam-eras installed pillar insidethe plot which will be op-erational through a mo-bile SIM card and generateautomatic sensor to thecontrol centre and sendan alert to the ward estateinspector concerned.

Under the integratedcommand and controlcentre (ICCC), LED VariableMessage Display will beinstalled at 26 out of 126strategic locations byMarch 2022.

MICA president Mehta appointedIIAS governing body vice-chairman

Ahmedabad, The UnionMinistry of Education hasappointed President andDirector, MICA, Ahmedabad,Dr Shailendra Raj Mehta, theVice-Chairman of the Gov-erning Body of the IndianInstitute of Advanced Study(IIAS), Shimla.

In addition, the Govern-ment of India has also re-constituted the Society ofthe IIAS, Shimla, making DrMehta and 26 other expertsas members. The first meet-ing of the re-constitutedGoverning Body is sched-uled on Thursday.

In his email to Dr Mehta,Chaman Lal Gupta, officiat-ing director of IIAS, stated, Ifeel extremely happy to in-form you that the UnionMinistry of Education, datedDecember 30, 2021, hasnominated you as the Vice-Chairman of its Governing

Body.This appointment

comes nearly a one-and-a-half year after the Ministry ofEducation, Government ofIndia appointed Dr Mehta asa member of the MissionHigh-Level Committee(MHLC) of the Indian Knowl-edge System (IKS).

The IIAS is a premier re-search institute for ad-vanced study in Humanitiesand Social Sciences. Afterindependence, it wasnamed Rashtrapati Niwasand later in 1965, Dr SRadhakrishnan decided tostart the Indian Institute ofAdvanced Study (IIAS). The18th-century British-erabuilding of the Indian Insti-tute of Advanced Study(IIAS) in Shimla was the keycentre of the British admin-istration between 1888 and1946.

Before MICA, Dr Mehtahad headed Auro University(as Chairman of the Board ofManagement and ActingVice-Chancellor) andAhmedabad University (asProvost/Vice-Chancellor).He was also the Visiting Pro-fessor of Business Policy atthe Indian Institute of Man-agement Ahmedabad.

Prior to that, he was atPurdue University for 16years, where he taught Eco-nomics and Strategic Man-agement. While at Purdue,he co–founded Simulex Inc.,a high technology companyin the Purdue Research Parkhe continues to activelymentor and supportstartups. Over the years, DrMehta has done extensiveresearch in entrepreneur-ship, industrial organization,information economics andexperimental economics.

Ambitious Sardar Patel SportsEnclave Ko Banayega Kaun?

Ahmedabad, TheCentre’s ambitious sportsinfrastructure plan forAhmedabad has everythingin place except for an execu-tioner. The Centre has al-ready formulated the mas-ter plan of the Sardar PatelSports Enclave to be built onthe 215 acre land aroundthe Narendra Modi Stadium.The Sports Enclave is envi-sioned keeping in mindAhmedabad’s future ambi-tion to host the Olympics.The Centre also plans tobuild a foot overbridge con-necting the sports enclaveto the airport circle. But thebig question facing theproject is who will manageit?

Sources in the know saidas of now there is no clarityon it and the Centre is mull-ing to set up a Special Pur-

pose Vehicle (SPV) with theGujarat government toimplement the project. Sources said the masterplan of the Sports Enclavehas been connected to theSabarmati Riverfront Devel-opment phase-2.

It should be noted thatAMC is managing phase-2of the Sabarmati RiverfrontDevelopment under whichan 11 km area on both sidesof the river will be devel-oped. A new road networktill Indira Bridge and a 50-metre wide road connect-ing Sabarmati Riverfrontand Sardar Patel enclave isalso part of this phase.

In addition, the AMC hasproposed an Rs 225 crorebarrage-cum-bridge projectfrom Motera powerhouse toHansol Sadar Bazar as partof phase-2.

Meanwhile, the mainjunction of the proposedbullet train betweenAhmedabad and Mumbai isalso being developed nearthe Sabarmati Railway sta-tion.

A senior official of theSabarmati Riverfront Devel-opment Corporation Lim-ited (SRDCL) told that themaster plan of Sardar PatelSports enclave has beenprepared and there is a planto build a foot overbridge.

Phase-2 of theSabarmati Riverfrontproject has no such plan fora foot overbridge. SRDCL isalready constructing a bar-rage-cum-bridge in phase 2but there is no clarity onwho will carry out works forvarious projects of theSports Enclave, said the offi-cial.

Land acquisition for bullet train project in state almost complete: Gujarat govt

Ahmedabad, Three yearsafter the land acquisition forAhmedabad-Mumbai bullettrain began, Gujarat has ac-quired almost 100 percentof the private land neededfor the high-speed trainproject. In sharp contrast, 24percent of land inMaharashtra is yet to be ac-quired, said officials.

Over 99.4 percent ofland needed for the projectin Gujarat has been ac-quired. We are monitoringthe process on a daily basis,P Swaroop, Commissioner ofLand Reforms and Ex-officiosecretary in the revenue de-partment, Government of

Gujarat.Out of a total of 736

hectares of private land thatwas to be acquired in thestate, only 6.6 hectares ispending. Those pending aresmall plots in Surat,Vadodara, Navsari,

Bharuch andAhmedabad districts. Theacquisition process will becompleted within a monthor so, he added. The first no-tifications for the acquisitionof land for this project wasissued by the revenue de-partment in January 2018.

The land acquisition inKheda, Anand, Valsad dis-tricts are 100 percent com-

plete, the official said.According to National

High-Speed Rail Corpora-tion (NHSRCL), a total of Rs5,707 crore has been paid ascompensation to 6,110project affected persons(PAPs) in Gujarat, as on Janu-ary 31, 2022.

The earlier deadline setby the Government of Indiafor completion of land ac-quisition for the entire bul-let train project involving atotal of 1,025 hectares of pri-vate land and 145 hectaresof government land wasDecember 2018.

The NHSRCL said theconstruction of bullet train

corridor in Gujarat was pro-gressing in all the eight dis-tricts of the state which in-cludes construction of pil-lars for the elevated corridorin Navsari and Valsad dis-tricts, construction of Suratstation and Sabarmati ter-minal hub and constructionof bridges over Narmadaand Mahi rivers.

While the acquisition of7.9 hectares of land in theunion territory of Dadra andNagar Haveli that falls on theroute has also been fullycompleted, the acquisitionin Maharashtra has beenlagging.

Of the 336 hectares ofprivate and governmentland needed for the projectin Maharashtra, a total of256 hectares has been ac-quired as on January 31,2022. This includes 56.13hectares of governmentland.

In addition to the com-pensation paid in Gujarat,NHSRCL has paid Rs 2,110crore to 1,572 project af-fected persons inMaharashtra.

The land acquisitionprocess in suburbanMumbai is yet to begin.None of the 3.92 hectaresof private land and 0.9 hect-ares of government landhas been acquired as ofJanuary 31, 2022, NHSRCLstated.

Prime Minister NarendraModi and his Japanesecounterpart Shinzo Abe hadlaid the foundation stone forthe Rs 1.1 lakh crore projectat Sabarmati in Ahmedabadin September 2017.

IIMA Sends Call Letters to 1,403 CandidatesAhmedabad, Indian In-

stitute of Management,Ahmedabad (IIMA), onTuesday issued call lettersto 1,403 candidates quali-fying for the second roundof admission AnalyticalWriting Test (AWT ) andPersonal Interview (PI) forits prestigious PGPprogramme.

IIMA officials saidabout 60% of them arefrom the engineeringbackground, 3.54% fromscience, 22.52% from com-merce and 13.82% fromthe arts background.

The background ofstudents making it to thenext round of admissionsin the 2019-21 batch was:67.69% engineering,1.95% science, 22.59%commerce and 7.74% arts

from a total 1,226 candi-dates (see box).

Academicians said as In-dia produces a large num-ber of engineers, and as en-gineers far outnumber stu-dents of other streams inCAT, their domination in theadmission process is evi-dent. Interestingly, the mini-mum CAT percentile rank orcut off marks for GeneralCategory and EWS haveshot up this year by 8%. Thecut off has also increased forthe physically-challengedcategory.

Vivek Tuteja, a CAT tutorand Director of Endeavourclasses, said the rise in cutoff could be due to severalfactors, including thechange in the eligibility cri-teria not considering gradu-ation marks of candidates

due to the Covid pandemic.This could also be due to thefact that the CAT pattern hasnot changed for many yearsleading to improvement inthe general cut off marks inthese categories, he said.Also, students may be wellprepared this time com-pared to last year when gen-eral category cut off was80.75% against 88.42% thisyear.

Meanwhile, studentsfrom non-engineeringbackgrounds hope to makethe cut while competingwith their engineeringpeers. Academic diversity isimportant for any educa-tional institute. Notwith-standing the domination ofengineers in CAT, and in thesecond-round shortlistedcandidates, students from

other streams should alsoget a fair chance to make itto IIMA, said a commercegraduate who has got a callfrom IIMA.

Lateral placements:Paytm makes most offers:Following the completion ofLateral Placements on Janu-ary 30, IIMA officials said thehighest offers (20) wererolled out by Paytm fol-lowed byPricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) and American Ex-press. Some other nationaland international recruitersincluded Amazon, Atlassian,Flipkart, General Atlantic,Google, Infoedge, Jio, KeplerCannon, Microsoft, Oracleand Oyo. The final place-ment process for the PGPclass of 2022 begins on Feb-ruary 8, 2022.

According to ProfAnkur Sinha, chairperson,placements, the lateralprocess concluded suc-cessfully in virtual modeduring which studentswere placed with offersacross multiple sectorsand industries. Though thelateral process this yearcoincided exactly with therise in the Omicron wave inthe country, we still saw asignificant increase in in-terest and participation offirms with a large variety injob roles. I congratulatethe placement team con-sisting of our students andstaff who got caught in thewave, but were still com-mitted to their responsi-bilities and delivered thebest metrics in the pastfew years.

National Food Security Act:Gujarat govt to providetoor dal at Rs 50 per kg

Ahmedabad, The Gujarat government has decided toprovide toor dal every month at a fixed rate of Rs 50 perkilogram to 70 lakh families registered under the NationalFood Security Act in the state. The National AgriculturalCooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd or NAFEDwill supply the stock of pulses to the state government. Thishas been done to insulate the families from the fluctuationin dal prices, a statement from the state government saidWednesday. The state government will provide Rs 11 croresubsidy every month for providing toor dal at Rs 50 perkilogram. This pulse is currently selling around Rs 120 perkilogram in the retail market in Ahmedabad. The decisionwill cause a Rs 120 crore burden on the state exchequer.The government has also decided to increase the commis-sion given to owners of 17,000 fair-price shops in the state.The commission for a quintal of wheat and rice has beenraised by Rs 42 to Rs 150 per quintal, while the commissionfor a quintal of sugar and salt has been raised by Rs 90 andRs 125 respectively. The new commission rates that will beapplicable for both these commodities from January 2022will be Rs 150 per quintal.The commission for the sale of aone litre pouch of edible oil has been raised by Rs 2. Thenew commission rate will be Rs 5 per pouch.

Over 30 Covid-19 deaths for sixth dayas new cases near 9k in Gujarat

Ahmedabad, For the sixth consecutive day, Gujarat re-corded 30 or more Covid-19 deaths, with 34 patients suc-cumbing to the infection on Wednesday even as the stateadded 8,934 new infections. With 3,368 new cases and 10deaths, Ahmedabad district, including city and rural juris-dictions, accounted for more than a third of the state’s tallyfor the day and nearly one-third of the total deaths in thestate. Nearly 14,000 tests were conducted on Tuesday andthe district recorded a test positivity rate (TPR) of 24 percent Wednesday, while its weekly TPR stood at 23 per cent,according to data from the Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare. Vadodara reported 1,921 new cases and four pa-tients succumbed to the infection. The district reported3,802 new cases on January 25, while it has been report-ing 2,000-odd cases daily after that, recording a marginaldecline each day. One of the smaller districts, Botad, whichreported 124 cases in the 33 days since January 1, has re-ported five deaths during the period, three since January31. The district’s fatality rate for 33 days against new casesstands at over four per cent, higher than the state’s currentfatality rate of around 3.8 per cent.

Ahmedabad, Page 5

5AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Over 3,500 flights within the US are set to be cancelled tomorrow as thecountry deals with snow, fleet and freezing rain from a powerful winter stormthat has closed schools and led multiple governors to declare a state of emer-gency. On Wednesday, there were 3,324 delays and 2,351 cancellations acrossthe country, with airports in the Midwest being hit particularly hard, accordingto flight tracking website FlightAware. 'A large, prolonged and significant win-ter storm will continue to impact much of the central US and move into theNortheast overnight, bringing a variety of winter weather hazards includingheavy snow, sleet and freezing rain,' the National Weather Service said Wednes-day night. The governors of Kentucky and Missouri have declared a state ofemergency, while Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster declaration. OnWednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul directed state agencies to prepareemergency plans before the storm hits the state on Thursday. The storm is ex-pected to continue affecting air travel through the week. Already, 3,574 flightsscheduled for Thursday have been cancelled, while 352 flights set for Fridayhave also been axed.

Vladimir Putin (bottom right inset) has stood firm over his stance on Ukraineand slammed NATO for not 'responding adequately' to Russia's concerns overKyiv during a phone call with Boris Johnson (left). The Russian President dug hisheels in over the crisis, despite Johnson warning Putin that an invasion of Ukrainewould be a 'tragic miscalculation' tonight as the two leaders finally spoke aboutthe tense stand-off in Eastern Europe (bottom right: Russian troops at border).Downing Street said the Prime Minister expressed his 'deep concern' about Rus-sian aggression as they shared a delayed call on Wednesday, even backing Kyiv'sright to join Nato. The two leaders had been due to chat on Monday but it wasput back to today because of the Partygate crisis enveloping Downing Street. Itcame as RAF Typhoons were scrambled today to intercept four giant Russianbombers approaching UK airspace in the latest show of aggression by Moscow(top right: RAF fighter jet intercepts Russian aircraft in photo issued last No-vember). And the Kremlin also today denounced as 'destructive' the deploymentof several thousand US troops to eastern Europe amid ongoing fears that Rus-sia might invade Ukraine. US President Joe Biden (bottom left inset) today ap-proved the deployment of 3,000 American troops to Eastern Europe 'in the com-ing days' after Putin accused the US and NATO of trying to lure him into war.Biden told reporters as he left a White House event that the deployment is 'to-tally consistent with what I told Putin in the beginning: As long as he is actingaggressively we're going to make sure we can reassure our NATO allies and East-ern Europe that we're there and Article Five is a sacred obligation.'

Kremlin concerned overWashington's 'unpredictable'sanctions policy

Moscow, Feb 3 (IANS) Moscow was strongly con-cerned about the "unpredictability" of Washington'sbehavior with regard to sanctions while working tominimize the consequences of potential risks, theKremlin has said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explainedthat Moscow's concerns were justified by"Washington's unpredictable sanctions behavior,"which continues in the international arena, Xinhuanews agency reported, citing local media reports.

"There are plans aimed at hedging risks andminimizing the consequences of such unpredictableactions," Peskov said when asked if Russia was pre-paring for a possible ban on transactions in USdollars.Peskov said that Moscow once again urgesWashington to abandon its provocative actions,which have escalated tensions on the European con-tinent.

Sri Lanka records 82,327 touristarrivals in Jan

Colombo, Feb 3 (IANS) Sri Lanka received 82,327tourists in January compared to 1,682 arrivals in thesame month last year, , despite challenges from theCovid-19 pandemic and the Omicron variant, offi-cial data revealed.

The data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Develop-ment Authority (SLTDA) showed on Wednesday thatarrivals were however, still significantly lower thanpre-pandemic levels where 228,434 arrivals wererecorded in January 2020, reports Xinhua newsagency. Post-pandemic arrivals peaked at 89,506 inDecember 2021.Sri Lanka recently revised its tour-ist arrival forecast for 2022 down from 2.3 million to1.1 million due to challenges posed by the Omicronvariant.

Mexican economy to grow by 5%in coming yrs: Prez

Mexico City, Feb 3 (IANS) Mexican PresidentAndres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he was confi-dent the economy will be able to grow at a rate ofabout 5 per cent in the coming years, as the Covid-19 pandemic wanes.Addressing reporters at theNational Palace in Mexico City on Wednesday, thePresident noted Mexico's gross domestic product(GDP) expanded by 5 per cent in 2021, reportsXinhua news agency."Fortunately, we already haveindicators that Covid's new variant (Omicron) is los-ing strength, because that was what prevented usfrom reaching 6 percent growth, among other fac-tors," Lopez Obrador said.

Turkish airstrikes hit Kurdishmilitant targets in Iraq, Syria

Ankara, Feb 3 (IANS) Turkey has launchedairstrikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'Party (PKK) in Iraq and the Kurdish People's Protec-tion Units (YPG) in Syria, the Defence Ministry inAnkara announced.The operation, dubbed WinterEagle, was aimed at destroying shelters, bunkers,caves, tunnels, ammunition depots, headquarters,and training camps in areas of Derik, Sincar, andKaracak, Xinhua news agency cited the Ministry assaying in a statementTurkish warplanes returned totheir bases safely after the military operation, accord-ing to the statement, which did not specify the num-ber of casualties.

229 professors left Afghanistansince Taliban takeover: Report

InternationalKabul, Feb 3 (IANS) Since

the Taliban took over Af-ghanistan in August lastyear, a total of 229 profes-sors from the top three uni-versities have left the coun-try, a media report said onThursday.

The professors werefrom the Kabul University,Herat University, and BalkhUniversity, Khaama Pressquoted the BBC report as

saying.Among the professors

who have left, most of themheld Masters or/and Ph.D.Degrees.

As per the findings ofBBC, most of the professorswere from Kabul Universitythat amount to 112.

Most of the professorswere from the faculty of lit-erature of Kabul Universityaccounted for 27.

Among them, the de-partment of French hadseven professors, all of whohave left and now there isno professor in the depart-ment to teach.

The 229 professors donot include those who areon vacation abroad or thosewho left Afghanistan fortreatment or studies pur-poses during the past sixmonths.--IANS

US private sector cuts 301,000 jobs in JanuaryWashington, Feb 3

(IANS) Private companies inthe US slashed 301,000 jobsin January, indicating a dis-rupted recovery in thelabour market amid theCovid-19 resurgence fuelledby the Omicron variant, pay-roll data company Auto-matic Data Processing (ADP)reported.

"The labour market re-covery took a step back atthe start of 2022 due to theeffect of the Omicron vari-ant and its significant,though likely temporary,impact to job growth,"Xinhua news agencyquoted Nela Richardson,

chief economist at ADP, assaying on Wednesday.

"The majority of industrysectors experienced job loss,marking the most recent de-cline since December 2020,"she said.

Richardson noted thatleisure and hospitality sawthe "largest setback" aftersubstantial gains in fourthquarter 2021, with job lossesof 154,000.

Service sector saw274,000 jobs lost in January,while goods-producing sec-tor cut 27,000 jobs, accord-ing to the report producedby the ADP Research Insti-tute in collaboration with

Moody's Analytics.Large firms slashed

98,000 workers, medium-sized businesses let go of59,000, while small compa-nies cut 144,000 employees,the report showed, indicat-ing an unbalanced recoveryacross different companysizes.

The ADP report cametwo days before the crucialmonthly employment re-port to be released by theLabour Department's Bu-reau of Labour Statistics,which will include employ-ment data from both theprivate sector and the gov-ernment.

Guterres calls for restraint inGuinea-Bissau after failed coup

United Nations, Feb 3(IANS) UN Secretary-Gen-eral Antonio Guterres hascalled for restraint inGuinea-Bissau after a failedcoup in the African country.

"The Secretary-Generalis continuing to closely fol-low the developments inGuinea-Bissau.

He encourages allstakeholders, particularlydefense and security forces,to exercise restraint andtake all necessary measuresto prevent any actions thatcould undermine peaceand stability in Guinea-Bissau," Xinhua newsagency quoted Farhan Haq,the UN chief 's deputyspokesman, as saying to re-porters.

Guterres reiterated theneed for all actors to re-spect the country's demo-

cratic institutions, andcalled on the authorities toensure that investigationsinto the attempted coup onTuesday are carried out infull compliance with hu-man rights standards, saidHaq.

Late Tuesday, Guinea-Bissau's President UmaroSissoco Embalo announcedthat the coup had beenthwarted and several civil-ians and soldiers had beenarrested.Embalo said theattackers tried to kill himand his entire cabinet at thegovernment palace.

While the President hadsaid that there were severalcasualties on both sides, lo-cal media reported at leastsix deaths - four attackersand two guards.While thePresident had said thatthere were several casual-

ties on both sides, local me-dia reported at least sixdeaths - four attackers andtwo guards.

The attackers werelinked to drug trafficking inthe country, he said, with-out providing furtherdetails.Gunfire eruptednear government buildingson Tuesday in the capital ofthe West African nation,where the President was at-tending a cabinet meeting,the BBC reported.

Guinea-Bissau, with apopulation of just undertwo million people, hasseen nine coups or at-tempted coups since 1980.

Over the past two yearsthere have been militarytakeovers in Mali, Chad,Burkina Faso and Guinea, aswell as further east inSudan.

OPEC+ sticks to modest outputboost despite oil price surge

Vienna, Feb 3 (IANS) TheOrganization of the Petro-leum Exporting Countries(OPEC) and its allies, a groupknown as OPEC+, an-nounced that it would stickto existing plans for a mod-erate oil output increase of400,000 barrels per day inMarch despite surgingcrude prices.

OPEC+ reconfirmed "thedecision to adjust upwardthe monthly overall produc-tion by 400,000 barrels perday for the month of March2022", according to a state-ment released on Wednes-day after the 25th OPEC andnon-OPEC Ministerial Meet-ing.

In recent weeks oil

prices have been hoveringnear multi-year highs drivenby geopolitical tensions ineastern Europe and theMiddle East, reports Xinhuanews agency.

The West Texas Interme-diate (WTI) and Brent crudewere both trading above$88 a barrel beforeWednesday's OPEC+ meet-ing, and last week saw bothbenchmarks hit their high-est levels since October2014.

In July 2021, the OPEC+countries agreed to raise oiloutput by 400,000 barrelsper day each month togradually offset the produc-tion cuts made at the heightof the Covid-19 pandemic in

2020.The oil cartel has since

been sticking to the plandespite calls from top con-sumers, including the US, tofurther boost supplies torein in soaring oil prices asdemand recovers from thepandemic-induced slump.

Some OPEC+ countrieshave reportedly been strug-gling to meet the plannedproduction quotas due toyears of underinvestment.

A recent Bloomberg sur-vey showed that OPECadded only 90,000 barrels ofoutput per day in December2021.The 26th OPEC andnon-OPEC Ministerial Meet-ing will convene on March2.--IANS

S.Korea's air passengertraffic falls 7.7% in 2021

Seoul, Feb 3 (IANS)South Korea's air passengertraffic fell 7.7 per cent in2021 from a year earlier dueto the prolonged Covid-19pandemic, the TransportMinistry said on Thursday.

A total of 36.36 millionpassengers, including 3.21million on internationalroutes, flew with full-serviceand low-cost carriers in 2021mainly for business pur-poses, Yonhap News Agencyquoted the Ministry as say-ing.

The number of passen-gers on international routesplunged 78 per cent on-yearlast year as countries main-

tained entry restrictionsamid virus woes.

In contrast, the numberof passengers on domesticroutes jumped 32 per centto 33.15 million during thesame period, the Ministrysaid.Air cargo deliveries rose11 per cent on-year to 3.62million tonnes last yearamid an economic recoveryfrom the pandemic.

South Korea has twofull-service carriers -- KoreanAir Lines Co. and Asiana Air-lines Inc. -- and 10 LCCs, in-cluding Jin Air Co., Air BusanCo., Eastar Jet Co., FlyGangwon, Air Premia Co.and Air Incheon Co.

Partnership 'wrong term' for China's ties with Pakistan, US official warnsBy Arul Louis

New York, Feb 3 (IANS)Partnerships may be a"wrong term" to describeChina's relationship withPakistan, warms US StateDepartment spokespersonNed Price.

He said at his briefing onWednesday: "We've madethe point all along that it isnot a requirement for anycountry around the world tochoose between the US andChina. It is our intention toprovide choices to countrieswhen it comes to what therelationship with the USlooks like."

At the same time, he af-firmed, "Pakistan is a strate-gic partner of the UnitedStates. We have an impor-tant relationship with thegovernment in Islamabad,and it's a relationship thatwe value across a number offronts".

He made the remarks in

answer to a question from areporter if Pakistan was feel-ing "abandoned by the US"in opting to work closelywith China.

Contrasting US relation-ships with that of the US, hesaid: "We think partnershipwith the United States con-veys a series of advantagesthat countries typicallywould not find when itcomes to the sorts of part-nerships that ? 'partner-ships' may be the wrongterm ? the sorts of relation-ships that the PRC (PeoplesRepublic of China) hassought to have around theworld.

"I will leave it to the Pa-kistanis and the PRC tospeak to their relationships."

That reporter also askedfor a comment on CongressParty leader Rahul Gandhi'sreported statement in theLok Sabha that Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi'sgovernment's "strategic

mistakes" brought Chinaand Pakistan together.

Price said: "I certainlywould not ? would not en-dorse those remarks."

Between 2002 and 2020,Pakistan received a total of$34.25 billion in aid, ofwhich 8.28 billion was secu-rity assistance and $14.57billion was "Coalition Sup-port Funds" for assisting theUS and its allies in their op-

erations in Afghanistan, ac-cording to the Federation ofAmerican Scientists.

Pakistan does not haveto repay most of the assis-

tance from the US in con-trast to China's aid, which infact are mostly all loans.

In 2018, the administra-

tion of former PresidentDonald Trump and Con-gress cut a total of $800 bil-lion in aid to Pakistan.ThePentagon cited a lack of co-operation with the US SouthAsia strategy, which was in-terpreted as a failure to actagainst terrorists attackingUS and allied forces.

US officials have warnedthat China's programmes ofpurported assistance havehidden price tags that couldengulf the recipients inunrepayable debts.

Under the crushing loadof Chinese debts under theChina-Pakistan EconomicCorridor of China's massiveBelt and Road InitiativeIslamabad asked Beijing lastyear to restructure $30 bil-lion in loans.(Arul Louis canbe reached at arul.l@ians.inand followed @arulouis)

Moon asks National Assembly toswiftly approve extra budget billSeoul, Feb 3 (IANS)

South Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in on Thursdayasked the National Assem-bly to swiftly approve an ex-tra budget bill designed tohelp support small mer-chants hit hard by theCovid-19 pandemic.

The budget proposal of14 trillion won ($11.8 billion)was submitted to the Na-tional Assembly last month,reports Yonhap NewsAgency.

Moon told a meetingwith senior aides that"speed is vital" for the extrabudget because it aims toprovide emergency support

to small merchants, accord-ing to presidential spokes-person Park Kyung-mee.

Of the proposed budget,11.5 trillion won will be setaside to support merchantsand micro businesses hit byextended antivirus mea-sures.

The government plansto spend 9.6 trillion won toprovide 3 million won eachto 3.2 million merchants ina bid to help them pay rentand other costs.Driven bythe spread of the highlycontagious Omicron variant,South Korea has set recordsfor daily Covid-19 infectionsthis week.To efficiently cope

with a new wave of Omi-cron, which appears tocause less severe symptomsthan previous variants, thegovernment enforced anew virus response system,including an expansion ofrapid testing at small hospi-tals and a reduction of self-isolation periods.

The new system isaimed at minimizing disrup-tions and focusing on re-ducing critical cases anddeaths.

Moon ordered relevantauthorities to make effortsto help people adapt to thenew virus response system,Park said.--IANS

US to deploy additional 3,000 troopsto Europe amid Ukraine tensions

Washington, Feb 3(IANS) The US will deployadditional troops to Europe,the Defense Departmenthas announced, citing ten-sions on Ukraine's borders.

The deployment in-cludes 1,000 troops cur-rently based in Germany tobe repositioned to Romaniaand another 2,000 troops tobe sent from the UnitedStates to Germany and Po-land, John Kirby, the DefenseDepartment's spokesman,was quoted as saying byXinhua news agency."Theseare not permanent moves.They are moves designed to

respond to the current secu-rity environment. Moreover,these forces are not going tofight in Ukraine," Kirby saidduring a press conference atthe Pentagon."These move-ments are unmistakable sig-nals to the world that westand ready to reassure our(th Atlantic Treaty Organiza-tion) allies and deter anddefend against any aggres-sion," he added.The US hasalready put some 8,500troops on "heightenedalert," in preparation forwhat it claimed to be an "im-minent" Russian invasion ofUkraine. The measure will

enable the troops to be de-ployed on short notice ifNATO decides to activate itsrapid response force knownas the NRF.Repeatedly de-clining to say whether thedeployment was in re-sponse to fears that Russiacould attack a NATO coun-try, the spokesman said theUS troops could be aug-mented by additional de-ployments in the comingdays or months, noting thatother NATO countries - in-cluding the UK, France andDenmark - have also movedto shore up the alliance'seastern flank.--IANS

New Zealand to reopen border in 5 stages from Feb 27Wellington, Feb 3 (IANS)

The New Zealand borderwill reopen to vaccinatedKiwis and other current eli-gible travellers from Austra-lia February 27 midnightand to the same groupsfrom the rest of the world onMarch 13.The government'sfive-step reconnecting planwill see all New Zealandersand key visa holders able tostart to enter the countryover the coming threemonths, assisting with theeconomic recovery and im-mediately address workershortages, Xinhua newsagency quoted Prime Minis-

ter Jacinda Ardern as sayingon Thursday.

From February 27, vacci-nated New Zealanders andeligible travellers from Aus-tralia will be able to enterNew Zealand without stay-ing in managed isolationand quarantine (MIQ) facili-ties. Two weeks after March13, New Zealanders and eli-gible travellers from the restof the world will be able tocome home, Ardern said.

"While travellers will nolonger need to stay in MIQwe are maintaining bordermeasure to reduce thespread of the virus," she said,

adding that the self-isola-tion requirements for travel-ers will be 10 days, but thatwill drop to seven dayswhen New Zealand movesto phase two of the pan-demic plan as cases rise.

On April 12, border ex-tension will be extended toinclude a large internationalstudent cohort of up to5,000 students for entryahead of semester two andtemporary visa holders whostill meet relevant visa re-quirements.

The reopening to visafree tourists is also likely tobe brought forward, with

July being the latest date,she said, adding that in Oc-tober the border will opento all other visitors and stu-dents who require a visa toenter New Zealand, with malvisa processing resuming.

All arrivals will be pro-vided three rapid antigentests at the airport, one foruse on day 0/1, and one foruse on day 5/6, with one ex-tra for backup, Ardern said.

In about five weeks, theWorking Holiday Visaschemes will be reopened.This will supply urgentlyneeded workers for thetourism, hospitality, wine

and horticultural sectors aswell as providing somemuch-needed visitorspending, said ImmigrationMinister Kris Faafoi.

"Before Covid, NewZealand was issuing overone million visitor visas peryear."Before Covid, NewZealand was issuing overone million visitor visas peryear. What's being an-nounced today is aboutgearing up in manageablesteps to fully re-open assafely as possible to enableus to live with Covid but notbe overwhelmed by it," hesaid.

Ahmedabad Page 6

6 Sport

Business &Technology

AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Ahmedabad, The IndianInstitute of ManagementAhmedabad (IIMA), a pre-mier global managementInstitute, will establish thecountry’s first research chairin ESG in collaboration withthe National Investmentand Infrastructure FundLimited (NIIF), India’s sover-eign linked alternative as-sets manager.

The newly formed ‘NIIFChair in ESG at IIMA’willwork closely with the ArunDuggal ESG Centre for Re-search and Innovation atIIMA. It will function as theprincipalhub of knowledgeand insights that allowsbusinesses and policy mak-ers incorporate ESG prin-ciples in their long-termbusiness and governancedecisions. Commenting onthis decision and elaborat-ing on the growing impor-tance of ESG as a fundamen-tal element for the industry,Professor Errol D’Souza, Di-rector, IIMA said, “We are de-lighted to set up a ResearchChair for ESG with NIIF. The

IIM Ahmedabad and NIIF Collaborate toSet Up India’s First Research Chair in ESG

industry is increasingly real-izing the importance ofrecognising and incorporat-ing ESG in their operations.There is a need for extensiveresearch in the area and thedesigning of a frame of ref-erence that can help Indiancompanies integrate ESGfundamentals in their busi-ness strategies and deci-sions in the long run. Theresearch chair for ESG willwork towards structuringand crafting a strategicroadmap for policy makers,practitioners, and studentsat the Institute to help plugin gaps in research and de-velopment in the area.”

NIIF believes it is crucialfor fund managers to createa sustainable and respon-sible investment commu-nity to unlock significantvalue for stakeholders aswell as the broader society.The setting up of the NIIFChair in ESG at IIMA will helpbuild an ecosystem of stake-holders and shape the fu-ture of adopting best prac-tices in ESG in the country.

Commenting on this as-sociation and its long-termimplications in supporting aclimate sensitive, greeneconomy, Mr Sujoy Bose,Managing Director andChief Executive Officer, NIIF,noted, “We are delighted tocollaborate withIIMAhmedabad in the areaof ESG, which is core to ourinvestment and asset man-agement activities and ap-proach. This collaborationcomplements NIIF’s abilityto influence and activate alarge ecosystem of infra-structure investorsandpartners, growing com-panies of national impor-tance and Indian fund man-agers, with IIMA’s strongalumni network, rigorousacademic approach and re-search capabilities. As Indiamarches towards its NetZero goals, we believe thatthe next leaders of industrywill rise from a sound foun-dation of adopting best-in-class ESG practices.Strengthened by our part-nership with IIMA,

Mumbai, Audi, the Ger-man luxury car manufac-turer, today announced thelaunch of the iconic Audi Q7in India. Delivering the per-fect amalgamation of per-formance, style, comfort,and driveability,the new AudiQ7 is poweredby a dynamic3.0L V6 TFSI en-gine. The largeSUV features anew design ofAudi’s ‘Q’ familyand offers su-perb dynamicsand excellentcomfort, in ad-dition to its su-perior spacious-ness and versa-tility.

Commenting on thelaunch, Mr. Balbir SinghDhillon, Head of Audi India,said, “There is no better wayto start the year thanlaunching a car that has

Taken to the next level: The New Audi Q7 now in Indiabeen an absolute favorite inIndia.

The Audi Q7 has been anicon of our Q-range for sev-eral years and we are confi-dent that the latest modelwill be as successful with its

new look and upgraded fea-tures. The Audi Q7’s versatileperformance, both on andoff the road, is a key trait thatmakes it stand apart from allothers.”

Mr. Dhillon furtheradded, “The year 2022 willsee the launch of high vol-ume models, in addition tosome top-end products.With a diverse product port-folio, we are looking forward

to a strong sales perfor-mance during the year 2022.There is a lot to look forwardto and today is just the be-ginning of another fantasticyear for Audi India.”

When was the last time we had two explosive No 10s like Finn Russell and Marcus Smith playing againsteach other in the Six Nations? I can't remember seeing a more dynamic head-to-head for years. The all-court No 10 has made a comeback. Russell and Smith are skilful, expansive fly-halves who are up there withtop-level guys like Quade Cooper, Richie Mo'unga and Beauden Barrett. If you look over the last 15 years,the style of No 10s is constantly changing and evolving. We've seen everything from the Ronan O'Gara-style facilitator to Dan Carter, who can do it all.

Tekno Point named Adobe's digitalexperience emerging partner of 2022New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)

Digital transformation solu-tions provider Tekno Pointon Thursday said it has beenrecognised as '2022 AdobeDigital Experience Emerg-ing Partner of the Year.

The award recognisescompanies that have madeleading contributions toAdobe's business and havehad a significant impact oncustomer success.

"The recognition is sig-nificant as the partner ischosen from Adobe's APACpartner community," TeknoPoint said in a statement.

The Adobe Digital Expe-rience Emerging Partner ofthe Year is given to the APACpartner who has helpedscale Adobe's business andextend reach to new mar-kets and accounts -- all whiledriving value realisation and

faster time to market."I would like to thank our

customers for their unwa-vering trust and collabora-tion efforts between theteams to help achieve theircustomer experience objec-tives ? on time," saidHimanshu Mody, CEO, TeknoPoint."Record number of go-lives in the banking, financialservices, and insurance seg-ment this year and winningthis prestigious award forthe second time in a row - isa true testament of our com-mitment towards our cus-tomers," he added.

Tekno Point has built astrong Adobe technicalpractice with an expansiveteam of trained and skilledpractitioners who drive digi-tal transformations.

"In today's digital-firstand highly dynamic envi-

ronment, our partner eco-system continues to play avital role in our go-to-mar-ket strategy in India and inhelping us drive tremen-dous customer success,"said Nitin Singhal, ManagingDirector, Digital Experience,Adobe India.

"We congratulate theTekno Point team on therecognition and thank themfor their collaboration andcommitment to excellence."

Tekno Point has earlierbeen recognised as Adobe2021 Digital ExperienceEmerging Partner of theyear APAC and won 'AdobeEmerging Digital Experi-ence Partner FY19'.

Tekno Point is helpingbrands deliver personalizedcustomer experiences thatchange with the speed ofbusiness ? at scale.

Surface Duo spotted runningARM64 based Windows 11San Francisco, Feb 3

(IANS) Recently, Microsoftstarted rolling out the An-droid 11 OS update to itsdual display smartphone,the Surface Duo, and nowthe handset running onWindows 11 based on theARM64 system has ap-peared online.

According to an ITHome report, developerGustave Monce of the mainLumiaWoA project sharedimages of a Surface Duorunning on Windows 11based on the ARM64 sys-tem.

Earlier, Gustave had alsoported Windows 10 OS onthe Lumia 950XL as well.Similarly, he had also man-aged to port Windows 11ARM on the dual displaysmartphone as well.

Users can now playXbox Game Pass cloud titles

using an on-screen control-ler, for a start. OneDrive alsohas an "enhanced" dual-screen interface for viewingand editing photos.

There are revised appdrawer and folder designswith better drag-and-dropsupport, while theMicrosoft feed and Startwidgets have receivedupdates.Microsoft SurfaceDuo features two 5.6-inchOLED (1,350x1,800 pixels)displays with a 4:3 aspectratio that join together toprovide an 8.1-inchPixelSense Fusion displaywith 2,700 x 1,800 pixelsresolution and 3:2 aspectratio.

Under the hood, theSurface Duo has an octa-core Qualcomm Snap-dragon 855 SoC, pairedwith 6GB RAM and up to256GB of storage.

'Pulsed electromagnetic energy'could cause Havana Syndrome

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)An intelligence panel investi-gating the cause of a spate ofmysterious incidents thathave struck dozens of US of-ficials across the globe hassaid that some of the epi-sodes could "plausibly" havebeen caused by "pulsed elec-tromagnetic energy" emittedby an external source, accord-ing to an executive summaryof the panel's findings re-leased Wednesday, CNN re-ported.

But the panel stoppedshort of making a definitivedetermination, saying onlythat both electromagneticenergy and, in limited circum-stances, ultrasound could ex-plain the key symptoms --highlighting the degree towhich the murky illnessknown colloquially as "Ha-vana Syndrome" has re-mained one of the intelli-gence community's moststubborn mysteries, the re-port said."We've learned alot," an intelligence official fa-miliar with the panel's worktold reporters, speaking onanonymity under terms set

by the Office of the Directorof National Intelligence."While we don't have the spe-cific mechanism for each case,what we do know is if you re-port quickly and promptlyget medical care, most peopleare getting well.

The finding largely con-firms a National Academies ofScience report from late 2020that found "directed, pulsedradio frequency energy" to be"the most plausible mecha-nism in explaining thesecases" -- but also stoppedshort of making a firm deter-mination.

A report by a separate CIAtask force examining whomight be behind the epi-sodes found that it was un-likely Russia or any other for-eign adversary is conductinga widespread global cam-paign designed to harm theUS officials. But the agencyalso did not rule out that anation state -- including Rus-sia -- might be responsible forroughly two dozen cases thatinvestigators have been un-able to explain by any otherknown cause, the report said.

Valencia and Rayo book Copadel Rey semi-final spots

Madrid, Feb 3 (IANS) Valencia and RayoVallecano qualified for the semi-finals of the Span-ish Copa del Rey knockout competition withValencia beating Cadiz 2-1, while Rayo registered a1-0 win at home to Mallorca.

Goncalo Guedes put Valencia ahead midwaythrough the first half of their game in the MestallaStadium on Wednesday night after being set up byHugo Duro for a goal that saw Cadiz complain thatDuro had fouled Juan Cala before setting up hiscompanion.

Cadiz reacted after the break and new signingLucas Perez drew them level from the penalty spotafter the VAR spotted Juan Cala getting his shirtpulled following a corner.

Cala then hit the post from another corner andValencia were looking shaky until coach JoseBordalas put Maxi Gomez and new arrival IlaixMoriba into the game.Their entry steadied thehome side and in the 79th minute, Duro headedCarlos Soler's corner home to make it 2-1. Cadiz'stask got a lot harder five minutes later when Calawas sent off for a second yellow card after a badly-timed challenge on Maxi.

It was just about time at homeand to work on my game:Jamieson on absence from IPLAuction

Auckland, Feb 3 (IANS) New Zealand all-rounderKyle Jamieson revealed that he was absent from IPLAuction 2022 list to spend time at home and workon his game. He also hoped that he will be avail-able to play in future editions of the IPL after givingthe upcoming 2022 season a miss. In the 2021 IPLauctions, Jamieson was signed by Royal Challeng-ers Bangalore (RCB) and featured in nine matches,taking nine wickets at an economy rate of 9.60.

"Yeah, look, there were a couple of things for meFirstly, after the last 12 months, it's had its challengeswith MIQs (managed isolation and quarantine) andbubbles and spending a fair amount of time in thatsort of set-up. It was important for me, when I lookat the schedule coming up over the next 12 monthsto try and find six weeks or eight weeks where I canspend some time at home," Jamieson was quotedas saying by ESPNCricinfo.

IOC approves 28 sports for LA2028; doubts persist oninclusion of boxing,weightlifting

Beijing, Feb 3 (IANS) The International OlympicCommittee has approved the initial sportsprogramme for the 2028 Summer Olympic Gamesin Los Angeles with 28 sports on the schedule in-cluding skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.The initial sports programme, which has a strongfocus on youth, was approved on Thursday by the139th Session of the IOC in Beijing.

While inclusion in the 'core' sports is a big boostfor these news sports, doubts persist over the in-clusion of embattled sports boxing andweightlifting hat are in trouble because of gover-nance issues highlighted by the IOC.

That's Cricket Australia's job: Cumminsavoids speaking on Langer's future

Sydney, Feb 3 (IANS)Australia Test captain PatCummins has avoidedspeaking on head coachJustin Langer's future, say-ing it is the job of CricketAustralia (CA) to decide.

With the CA board set tomeet on Friday to decide onLanger, whose contract ex-pires in June, there is doubtover his continuation in therole despite coaching Aus-tralia to victory in the Men'sT20 World Cup followed bythe Ashes at home.

"It's part of speculation

which I don't think is reallyhealthy. I just don't want toadd to it. That's CricketAustralia's job. It's not myjob," Cummins was quotedas saying by 'ABC News' onThursday.Former team-mates of Langer like Mat-thew Hayden, Shane Warne,Ricky Ponting, AdamGilchrist and Michael Clarkehave come out in support ofhis contract being extended.But it is widely believed thatthere is a certain uneaseamong the current playerstowards Langer's coaching

methods though no one hasopenly spoken about it.

Cummins went on to in-sist he enjoyed workingwith Langer but felt fair onthe head coach goingthrough an 'evaluation pro-cess'. "I've really loved mytime working with JL andwe've had an evaluationprocess. I've been part ofthat, a lot of other playersand staff have been part ofthat. Just like when we getevaluated. I've got huge re-spect for JL, really like work-ing with him.

Ganguly confirms pink-ball Test betweenIndia and Sri Lanka will be in BengaluruNew Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS)

Sourav Ganguly, the Presi-dent of the Board of Controlfor Cricket in India (BCCI),confirmed on Thursday thatthe two-match Test seriesbetween India and Sri Lankawill have a pink-ball Test tobe played in Bengaluru.

After the white-ballseries against the WestIndies concludes inKolkata on February 20,India will host Sri Lankafor three T20Is and twoTests scheduled for lateFebruary and earlyMarch.

"Yes, the pink-ballTest will be happening inBengaluru. We have notdecided on all the venuesfor the Sri Lanka series yet,but it will be announcedshortly," Ganguly wasquoted as saying bySportstar.

It will be just the thirdtime India will host a pink-ball Test after playingagainst Bangladesh inKolkata in November 2019followed by facing England

in Ahmedabad in February2021. The Tests against SriLanka will have a new cap-tain for India after Virat Kohlistepped down in January.

Ganguly also confirmedthat IPL 2022 will be held inIndia unless a spike in Covid-

19 cases spoils it. "It will beheld in India this year, untiland unless Covid-19 hits theroof.

As far as venues are con-cerned, we are looking athosting the matches inMaharashtra -- Mumbai, andPune. We will take a call onthe venues for the knockoutstages later."

He further confirmed

that the women's T20 Chal-lenge will be held this yearin May. "The Women's T20Challenge will again be backthis year in May. Hopefully, inthe future, we will be able tohost a bigger women's IPLonce the number of womenplayers (player pool) goesup. But this year, theWomen's T20 Challenge willhappen during the IPL play-offs."

Ganguly felt it is for theselection committee to de-cide on the long-term cap-tain options. "Let's leave thatto the selectors. Whateverthey decide on captaincy,we will go by that."

India will be seen in ac-tion on February 6 whenthey face the West Indies inthe first of three ODIs inAhmedabad despiteShikhar Dhawan, RuturajGaikwad, Shreyas Iyer,Navdeep Saini, fieldingcoach T. Dilip, Security Liai-son Officer B Lokesh, andSports Massage TherapistRajeev Kumar testing posi-tive for Covid-19.

Ashes aftermath: ECB packs off AshleyGiles to start rebuilding of men's teamLondon. Feb 3 (IANS) The

England men's cricket team'sdisastrous Ashes campaignhas claimed its first victimwith the England and WalesCricket Board (ECB) an-nouncing the departure ofAshley Giles as ManagingDirector of men'scricket.Giles is leaving after

three years in the role duringwhich England men's teambecame 50-over WorldChampions and are currentlyranked the world's best T20Iside, second in ODIs, andfourth in Tests.Sir AndrewStrauss has agreed to stepinto the role on an interimbasis and will put in place ar-

rangements for the forth-coming West Indies Tour,while the search begins for afull-time replacement, theECB said in a statement onWednesday.Giles' ousterstarts the process of rebuild-ing the squad after England's4-0 defeat to archrivals Aus-tralia in the Ashes series.

New Zealand pick Fran Jonas ige LeighKasperek for Women's World CupAuckland, Feb 3 (IANS)

New Zealand Cricket onThursday announced theirsquad for the ICC Women'sCricket World Cup, leavingout off-spinner LeighKasperek, White Ferns' lead-ing ODI wicket-taker sincethe 2017 edition of theevent.The selectors insteadopted for Fran Jonas, a 17-year-old left-arm spinnerwho has played two ODISthus far, in the 15-membersquad that will carry NewZealand's hopes in thehome World Cup to be heldfrom March 4-April 3 thisyear.Sophie Devine will leada squad with an experi-enced core and a sprinklingof youthful exuberance,New Zealand Cricket an-nounced on Thursday.AmySatterthwaite will beDevine's deputy; that pairalong with Suzie Bates mak-ing their fourth appearanceat an ICC Women's CricketWorld Cup. Wicket-keeperKatey Martin and experi-enced quick Lea Tahuhu are

set to feature in their thirdWorld Cup and have over150 ODI appearances be-tween them, NZC informedin a release on Thursday.

The squad featuresthree frontline spin optionswith Melie Kerr and FrankieMackay joined by youngAuckland Hearts left-armspinner, Fran Jonas, whowasn't born the last time theWorld Cup was held in NewZealand in 2000.HannahRowe, Rosemary Mair andJess Kerr round out theseam bowling options forthe White Ferns with Rowemaking her second appear-ance at the 50-overshowpiece.New ZealandWomen head coach, BobCarter, said it was a difficultsquad to pick and those se-lected should be immenselyproud."I would like to con-gratulate the 15 players se-lected to represent theWHITE FERNS at the WorldCup here i" New Zealand,"Carter was quoted as sayingby NZC in its statement.

evant features to help cus-tomers make their pur-chases more efficiently andsave further. We have wit-nessed quick adoption offeatures such as multi-useraccount feature throughwhich one can add multipleusers in a single businessaccount to enhance ac-count security and compli-ance, bulk purchase featuresto avail quantity discountsand save up to 40% moreand business relevant pay-ment features such as credit.

For our seller partners,Amazon Business providesan additional opportunityon Amazon.in to scale theirB2B business by catering torequirements from lakhs ofbusiness customers andgrow their revenues. In ad-dition to catering to require-ments from MSME custom-ers, our sellers have cateredto orders from businessesfrom across the country in-cluding the likes of largeenterprises such asMahindra, GE, Tata Group.

In the face of changing needs of B2B marketplace,Amazon Business adapts new features in

2021and shares what’s in store in 2022Since its launch in 2017,

Amazon Business has aimedto empower MSMEs as aone-stop destination withover 15 Cr GST enabledproducts across top catego-ries to cater to their distinctbusiness needs. It has be-come a one-stop shop for allbusiness needs owing tothe vast selection availableto MSMEs, competitive pric-ing and vast delivery net-work. With presence in99.5% pincodes pan-India,businesses from the remot-est parts of the country canrely on Amazon Business fortheir purchase needs - to Mr.Suchit Subhas, Director,Amazon Business

We are India’s largestGST store and in the last fouryears, we have added host offeatures through whichbusinesses can avail GST in-voice with ease and sophis-ticated business analyticstools through which theycan calculate extra savingswith a GST invoice everytime they make a business

purchase.Additionally, we

havecontinued to add prod-ucts to cater to changingneeds of businesses.

To share a few ex-amples, we launched Com-mercial Store with thou-sands of products across topcategories such as businesslaptops, networking devices,industrial adhesives, toolsand equipment and safetyand security across topbrands such as Lenovo,Cisco, Pidilite, KimberlyClark, Stanley Black andDecker, Kirloskar. Similarly,we have focused on addinghost of supplies for work-place sanitization by creat-ing a dedicated COVID Sup-ply Store through whichbusinesses can buy range ofessential products like PPEkits, masks, face shields andsanitizers.

Over and above thewide selection and strongdelivery network, one of ourendeavours has also been toadd host of business rel-

Ahmedabad, Page 7

Business 7AHMEDABAD FRIDAY 4/2/2022

Here are a few things toknow about the upcomingIPO of Vedant Fashions Lim-ited which opens for sub-scription on Friday, Febru-ary 4, 2022 and closes onTuesday, February 8, 2022.The price band is Rs. 824 –Rs. 866 per equity share.

As per a CRISIL report,Vedant Fashions Limited(VFL) is the largest com-pany in India in the men’sIndian wedding and cel-ebration wear segment interms of revenue, OPBDITand profit after tax for theFY2020.

Some of the leadingbrokerage houses throughtheir IPO notes have recom-mended applying for theVedant Fashions’ IPO for thelong term. While EmkayGlobal has given an APPLYrecommendation; CanaraBank Securities has recom-mended to SUBSCRIBE theissue for long term consid-ering its operating marginsand strong balance sheetbacked with higher brandrecall for celebration wear.

AUM Capital has also

Leading brokerage houses recommend applyingfor Vedant Fashions IPO for the long term

recommended that inves-tors with long term viewcan SUBSCRIBE to this issueconsidering plethora ofpositive factors like VFL be-ing an asset-light companywith zero debt despite 546EBOs. Religare Broking in itsIPO note has mentionedthat while the valuationslook stretched, VedantFashions’ long term growthprospects remain promis-ing. Choice Securities hasrecommended “SUBSCRIBE(with Caution)” andKRChoksey Research hasrecommended SUBSCRIBEfor long term gains.

VFL’s flagship brandManyavar is a categoryleader in the branded In-dian wedding and celebra-tion wear market with apan-India presence and isin the mid-premium pricerange with a comprehen-sive product portfolio. Theproduct portfolio consistsof Kurtas, Indo-westerns,Sherwanis, jackets and ac-cessories.

Twamev, launched in2019 is the premium brand

and Manthan, launched in2018 is the value brand inmen’s Indian wedding andcelebration wear market.Mohey, launched in 2015caters to the women’s eth-nic and celebration wearmarket with a product mixincluding a range oflehengas and sarees.Mebaz is a south India-fo-cused celebration and wed-ding ethnic wear brand ac-quired by VFL in FinancialYear 2018, Mebaz providesa ‘one-stop-shop’ for theethnic celebration needs ofthe whole family.

VFL operates a multi-channel retail distributionnetwork across India andsells products through fran-chise-owned exclusivebrand outlets (EBOs), multi-brand outlets (MBOs), largeformat stores (LFSs) andonline platforms, includingwebsite (www.manyavar.com) and mobile applica-tion.

ROLCON ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED CIN : L29259GJ1961PLC001439

Reg. Office Address: Anand Sojitra Road, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120, Gujarat-India.

PARTICULARS

EXTRACT OF STATEMENT OF STANDALONE AND CONSOLIDATED UNAUDITED FINANCIALRESULTS FOR THE QUARTER & NINE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021.

CONSOLIDATED

31-12-2020Unaudited

STANDALONE

1 Total Income from Operations 1107.78 1097.49 709.78 3095.28 1867.79 2556.14 1107.78 1097.49 709.78 3095.28 1867.79 2556.14

2 Net Profit / (Loss) fromOrdinary Activity After Tax 92.98 65.91 13.46 203.57 61.34 57.36 90.36 65.91 13.46 200.55 61.34 55.85

3 Net Profit / (Loss) for the Period afterTax (Before extra Ordinary Items) 92.98 65.91 13.46 203.57 61.34 57.36 90.36 65.91 13.46 200.55 61.34 55.85

4 Total Comprehensive Income forthe period [Comprising Profit / (Loss)for the period (after tax) and OtherComprehensive Income (after tax)] 93.00 75.59 13.46 230.23 61.34 71.68 90.38 75.59 13.46 227.21 61.34 70.17

5 Equity Share Capital 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60 75.60

6 Reserves (Excluding Reseves shoen inthe Balance Sheet of the Previous Year) - - - - - 1088.07 - - - - - 1086.56

7 Earnings Per Share (beforeextraordinary items) (of Rs. 10/- each)

Basic and Diluted 12.30 8.72 1.78 26.93 8.11 7.59 11.95 8.72 1.78 26.53 8.11 7.39

8 Earnings Per Share (afterextraordinary items) (of Rs. 10/- each)

Basic and Diluted 12.30 8.72 1.78 26.93 8.11 7.59 11.95 8.72 1.78 26.53 8.11 7.39

Place : Vallabh VidyanagarDate : February 03, 2022

For and on behalf ofRolcon Engineering Company Limited,

Sd/- Ashish S. Amin (Managing Director)(DIN:01130354)

Notes:1. The above is an extract of the detailed format of Quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2021 Standalone and consolidated unaudited Financial Results filed with the Stock Exchanges under

Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of the Financial Results for the Quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2021, areavailable on the Stock Exchange websites: www.bseindia.com and company's website: www.rolconengineering.com.

2 There was no exceptional / extra - ordinary item during the quarter and nine months ended on December 31, 2021.3. The company has identified its bussiness of Manufacturung of Industrial chain and sprocket as its only primary reportable segement in accordance with the requirement of IND AS 108 "Operating

Segments". Accordingly, no separate segement information has been provided.4. The Consolidated Statement include Share in Associate : Sudeep Rub-Chem Pvt. Ltd.5. Basic and diluted Earning par share is calculated on total comprehensive income.

30-09-2021Unaudited

31-12-2021Unaudited

Sr.No.

(Rs. in Lakh) (Rs. in Lakh) Quarter Ended

31-12-2020Unaudited

31-12-2021Unaudited

Nine Months Ended Year ended31-3-2021Audited

31-12-2020Unaudited

30-09-2021Unaudited

31-12-2021Unaudited

Quarter Ended31-12-2020Unaudited

31-12-2021Unaudited

Nine Months Ended Year ended31-03-2021

Audited

(Rs. in Lakh) (Rs. in Lakh)

For ALFA ICA (INDIA) LIMITEDSd/- RISHI TIKMANI

WHOLE-TIME DIRECTOR(DIN: 00638644)

Date : 03-02-2022Place : Ahmedabad

ALFA ICA (INDIA) LIMITED

(Rs.in lakhs)

CIN : L20100GJ1991PLC016763Regd. Office : Uma Industrial Estate, Vill: Vasna Iawa, Tal: Sanand, Dist: Ahmedabad.

Tel: 079-26754030-31 Fax: +91-79 26754040E-mail: info@alfaica.com Website: www.alfaica.com

1 Total income from operations 2,353.40 6007.66 1681.652 Net Profit/(Loss) for the period (before

exceptional Items,extraordinary items & tax) 73.07 174.24 44.393 Net Profit/ (Loss) for the period

before tax (after exceptional Itemsand extraordinary items) 73.07 174.24 44.39

4 Net Profit/ (Loss) for the periodafter tax (after exceptional Itemsand extraordinary items) 54.99 129.49 32.5

5 Equity Share Capital(Face value of Rs.10/- each) 404 404 404

6 Reserve excluding revaluation reserves as perbalance sheet of previous accounting year -

7 Earning Per Share (EPS)(before extraordinaryitems)(of Rs.10/- each)(not annualized) 1.36 3.21 0.8

8 Earning Per Share (EPS) (after extraordinaryitems)(of Rs.10/- each)(not annualized) 1.36 3.21 0.8

Quarter Ended31/12/2020(Unaudited)

Particulars Nine months ended31/12/2021(Unaudited)

Quarter Ended31/12/2021(Unaudited)

EXTRACT OF UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS FORTHE QUARTER/NINE MONTHS ENDED ON DECEMBER 31, 2021

Sr.No

Notes:1 The above Financial Results have been reviewed and recommended for adoption by Audit

Committee and were taken on record by the Board of Directors at their meeting held onFebruary 03, 2022.

2 Figures for the previous periods have been re-grouped/ re-classified where necessary.3 The full format of Quarterly /Half yearly Results of the Company are available on the website

of BSE Ltd (www.bseindia.com) and on Company's website (www.alfaica.com)

AREX INDUSTRIES LIMITED

For AREX INDUSTRIES LIMITEDDinesh Bilgi

Managing Director(DIN: 00096099)

Place : ChhatralDate : 03.02.2022

CIN : L99999GJ1989PLC012213Regd. Office: 612, GIDC Estate, Chattral, Tal.:Kalol,

Dist.: Gandhinagar – 382 729, Gujarat, IndiaPhone: 02764- 233437 Email : mail@arex.in

NOTICEPursuant to Regulation 29 read with Regulation 47 of theSecurities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations andDisclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (ListingRegulation), notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Boardof Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Friday,February 11, 2022, inter alia to consider, approve and take onrecord the Unaudited Financial Results of the Company for thequarter ended on 31st December, 2021, and other matters asdescribed in the notice.

WESTERN RAILWAY-AHMEDABAD DIVISIONFile No. WR-ADI0COMM(9COT)/1/2021-O/o ACM/CHG/ADI/WR; Corrigendum No. 01 Date: 01.02.2022; Tender Notice No: C78/1/117/Tender/SLR/04/2021-22 dated 24.01.2022

CORRIGENDUM NOTICEIn Tender Notice No. C78/1/117/Tender/SLR/04/2021-22 dated 24.01.2022, ‘Days of Service or Days of Space Available’ for Train No. 20954 mentioned at Sr. No. 10 is shown as ‘Monday’. However, the correct frequency of the Train is ‘Saturday’. As such, the ‘Days of Service or Days of Space Available’ for Train No. 20954 mentioned at Sr. No. 10 may be ready as under:

Sr. No.

Train No.

Station Days of Service or Days of Space

Available

Space Available (In Tonne) Reserve Price Per Trip Per 04/3.9 Tonne

(in `)From To FSLR Ist FSLR IInd RSLR Ist

10 20954(19420) Ahmedabad Chennai

Central Saturday 3.9 - 3.9 25,512/-

for the frequentcy of ‘Saturday’ only. 219

WATER IS LIFEDISTRICT WATER AND SANITATION

UNIT, VALSADE-TENDER NOTICE NO.E-11 OF 2021-22

Tender ID Number:504070, 504074, 504077, 504079, 504081, 504084, 504086,504088, 5040112, 5040116, 5040117, 5040119, 504170, (SecondTrial).

Unit Manager’s Office, District Water and Sanitation Unit, ValsadAshish Biulding, 1st Floor, Opposite Powerhouse, Mandwad,Narandas Patel Raod, Valsad-396001 contact No 02632-242595on Behalf of Village Water & Santitation Committee Online tendersare invited through the E-Tendering Method for the follwing work (1)Work Name- Distribution Pipeline, Home Connection, RepairingHome Repairing RCC ESR 2000lit. Capacity 5MT Height, RepairingRCC HGLR 20000Lit. Capacity and Wall Slogan Writing. (2) Total13 Works Amount from Rs.7.17 lacs to Rs.118.65 lacs Total Rs.485.81lacs (3) Eligibility of the agency should be registered with theGovernment Department of R&B, Irrigation and Panam ProjectDepartment in Registration E-2 and above and kept in tanderdocument. As per the provision (4) The Starting date of online tenderi s05/02/2022, from 12:00 hrs to last date for submission of the onlinetender is17/02/2022, till 18.00 hrs. (5) Last date of physicalsubmission upto 15.00 hrs. by SPEEDPOST/POST/COURIER/PERSONALY (6) EMD exemption certificate will not be accepted forEMD amount. E-tenders for the said operation will be available onthe website www.nprocure.com and will have to be filled online onthis site. Further details of the tender will be posted on the abovewebsite. The power to cancel any or all tenders without giving reasonshall be vested in the competent authority. Other terms and coditionsrelated to the tender can be obtained from the online document.

For any related complaints/suggestions related to water in ruralareas, please contact on toll free no.1916.

INF/Valsad/623/2022

Executive Engineer, P.H.Mechanical Dn, GWSSB, Jal Bhavan, 2nd

Floor, Nr.Shiv mahal Hotel, Adajan Road, Surat-395009 invitesonline tenders from online tenders Drilling of 165 mm dia DTHBore (1) Tal Songad, Uchhachal, Nizar and Kukurmunda Dist: Tapi(2) Tal: Vyara, Valoda and Dolvan Dist: Tapi (3) Mini WSS of TalDediyapada, Sagbara of Dist: Narmada (4) Mini WSS of Tal:Nandod, Gurudeshwar of Dist: Narmada (5) Lowering ofsubmersible pump set of Tal: All Dist: Tapi (6) Lowering ofsubmersible pump set of Tal: All Dist: Narmada (7) Repairing ofexisting Mini WSS Tal: Mandvi, Mangrol, Kamrej & Palsana Dist:Surat (8) Mini WSS Tal: Mangrol, Kamrej & Palsana Dist: Surat (9)Mini WSS Tal Mahuva, Mandvi & Umarpada Dist: Surat from thosewho are register red in appropriate class for tender ID No. 504089,504093, 504103, 504104, 504098, 504102, 504113, 504107,504105 with cost of (1) Rs.23.56 Lakh (2) Rs.22.86 (3) Rs.17.74Lakh (4) Rs.15.50 Lakh (5) Rs.13.92 Lakh (6) Rs.9.82 Lakh (7)Rs.39.59 Lakh (8) Rs.42.69 Lakh (9) Rs.44.80 Lakh respectively.The interested contractors shall have to pay required tender fee/EMD in prescribed manners. Further details can be made availableon web site www.nprocure.com & www.gwssb.nprocure.comFurther any amendment made will be disburse only on above website only. The last date of tender downloading/uploading is Dtd.09-02-2022 up to 18.00 hrs.

Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board,Gandhinagar

TENDER NOTICE NO.22/2021-22TOLL FREE NO.1916

INF/Surat/1174/2022

Deesa MunicipalityTender Notice

Bids are Invited on behalf of Deesa Municipality for work in thearea of Deesa Municipality Jurisdiction. The Work will be Phase-1,Laying and Fixing of Pipeline, Man hole, House Chamber andConstructed Pumping Station in Phase-1 of have 126 km sewageline. Bids are Invited for Maintenance (O&M) of 3 Year for Cleaning ofConduit (Sewage) who agency have essential equipments andExcellency in this kind of Cleaning Work are Invited. The Detailedinformation of tender shall be available on websitewww.nprocure.com to inspect/Verify and for apply online.No.n.pa/seni/Ws/2021-22Municipality OfficeDt.03/02/2022DDI/PAL/591/2021-22

Chief OfficerDeesa Nagarpalika

CHANGE OF NAMEI changed my Old Name

From PATEL ISHIKABENKAMLESHKUMAR to New

Name PATEL ISHIKAKAMLESHKUMAR.

Add: Patel Faliya, RaghavNa Muvada,Kothamba,Mahisagar,Pin:389230,

3650

CHANGE OF NAMEI have changed my old namefrom DIPAK GOVINDBHAI

PARMAR to new nameRUSHIKESH GOVINDBHAI

VEDALIYAAdd.: B-6, Shraddha Park,

Naroda, Ahmedabad3649

FBI testedPegasusspyware'scapabilities:Report

Washington, Feb 3(IANS) The US Federal Bu-reau of Investigation (FBI)has reportedly confirmedthat it had a license to useIsraeli company NSOGroup's Pegasus spywareand it tested out thesoftware's capabilities.

According to TheWashington Post, the FBIinsisted that the softwarewas never used "in sup-port of any investigation".The report, however, saidthat there were at least dis-cussions within the Bureauand Department of Justiceabout how the FBI mightgo about deploying thespyware.

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