India's 1st confirmed case of XE detected - Daily Pioneer

PNS n NEW DELHI

A67-year-old Mumbai resi-dent is the first case of the

new XE Covid-19 variant inIndia. The infectee had travelledfrom Mumbai to Vadodara,Gujarat, on March 12 anddeveloped a minor fever, theBMC said confirming the case.An Indian Sarscov2 GenomeConsortium (INSACOG) lab-oratory in Gujarat, the GujaratBiotechnology Research Centre(GBRC), has also reportedlyconfirmed the variant found inGujarat.

The Mumbai resident’ssamples were submitted to besequenced, and the findings,which were released onSaturday, revealed that it wasOmicron XE. He was thor-oughly vaccinated withCovishied, is completelyasymptomatic and stable, andthe search for his contacts isalready ongoing, the BMCsaid.

Earlier this week, theMumbai civic officials hadreported a case of the XE vari-ant from a sample isolated inFebruary, but officials at theINSACOG, and the UnionHealth Ministry, are yet toconfirm if it is an XE variant.

India’s 1st confirmedcase of XE detected

PTI n ISLAMABAD

The crucial session ofPakistan's Parliament con-

vened on Saturday in line witha landmark Supreme Courtruling to decide the fate ofembattled Prime MinisterImran Khan witnessed multi-ple adjournments and heatedarguments, but the voting on ano-confidence motion againsthim appeared to be a distantpossibility before the end of theday.

Prime Minister Khan, whowas absent from the House, hassummoned a meeting of hisCabinet Ministers on Saturdaynight at the Prime Ministers'House here. Important deci-sions are expected in the meet-ing, Geo News reported quot-ing high-level sources.

The joint Opposition – arainbow of socialist, liberaland radically religious parties- need 172 members in the342-member House to oustPrime Minister Khan. They

have garnered the support ofmore than the neededstrength with the help ofsome allies of the ruling coali-tion and rebels from Khan'sPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) party.

Khan, who came topower in 2018 with promisesto create a ‘Naya Pakistan', hasbeen dogged by claims ofeconomic mismanagement ashis government battles deplet-ing foreign exchange reservesand double-digit inflation.

Mumbaikar whotravelled to Gujarattests positive forOmicron sub-variant

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress had reachedout to BSP chief Mayawati

for an alliance ahead of the UPAssembly polls and evenoffered her the Chief Minister'spost, but she did not respond,former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi alleged onSaturday and said it wasbecause she was under pressurefrom the Centre's investigating

agencies. “Mayawati didn't fight

elections, we sent her themessage to form an alliancebut she didn't respond.

Kanshi Ram raised thevoice of Dalits in UP,though it affected theCongress. This time shedidn't fight for Dalit voicesbecause there are CBI, ED& Pegasus,” said theCongress leader.

Approached Mayawati,offered CM post, shedidn't respond: Rahul

STAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Adistrict court in Bhopal onSaturday granted bail toVyapam scam whistle-

blower Dr Anand Rai in a caselodged on the complaint of anofficial in the chief minister'ssecretariat.Dr Rai, an ophthalmologist, wasarrested on Thursday in Delhi andbrought here the next day after acase was filed on a complaint ofLaxman Singh Markam, deputysecretary in the CM's secretariat.Markam had in his complaintstated that Dr Rai and stateCongress chief spokesperson KKMishra had maligned his image bydragging his name in the leak of

the MP Teachers' Eligibility Test(TET) held on March 25.Dr Rai was charged under IPCsections 419 (cheating by per-sonation), 469 (forgery for pur-pose of harming reputation), 470,(using a forged document as agenuine one), 500 (defamation),504 (intentional insult) and 120 B(criminal conspiracy) as well asprovisions of the Scheduled Casteand Scheduled Tribe (Preventionof Atrocities) Act on March 26."My client Dr Rai has got bail. Hewill furnish a bail bond of Rs50,000 and an equal amount assurety to be released as per thecourt's order," his lawyer RakeshTiwari told. Dr Rai was pro-duced in the court Special Judge

(SC/ST Atrocities cases) KamalJoshi after his one-day policeremand ended.Dr Rai's counsels told court thathis social media post did notattract charges under the SC/ST(Prevention of Atrocities) Act,while other sections invokedagainst him were bailable.The prosecution had sought that DrRai be sent to judicial custody tillApril 21 as he had tarnished theimage of a tribal officer and he wasalso continuously violating the con-duct rule book of the government.Dr Rai, working as a medical offi-cer at Hukumchand Hospital inIndore, was suspended underMP Civil Service Rules sometime after he was arrested.

Dr Anand Rai granted bail from Bhopal courtCovishield, Covaxin pricescut ahead of booster drivePNS n NEW DELHI

Aday before the start of thenationwide booster vacci-

nation drive for peoplebetween 18-59 years of age, themakers of Covishield andCovaxin slashed the prices oftheir precaution dose to Rs225, down from `600 and`1,200 respectively.Meanwhile, in a virtual meet-ing of all Health Secretaries ofStates and Union Territories(UTs) with the Union Health

Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, itwas decided that private inoc-ulation centres can take onlyup to a maximum of `150 asservice charge for vaccinationover and above the cost of thevaccine.

Following this decision,now the maximum cost of thevaccine will not be more than` 375 per shot. The decision tocut the price was announced byboth the manufacturers, BharatBiotech and the SerumInstitute of India (SII).

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s mainOpposition party SJBannounced that it will movea no-confidence motionagainst the Government ofPresident Gotabaya Rajapaksaand is prepared to impeachthe embattled leader if he failsto address the concerns of thepublic facing hardships due tothe worst economic crisis.As protests continued acrossthe country, demanding res-

ignation of the President andthe entire Rajapaksa familyfrom the Government,Opposition leader SajithPremadasa also called for theExecutive Presidency to beabolished, saying powershould be divided betweenthe Executive, Legislature andJudiciary.

Voting on trust motionagainst Imran doubtfulPak NA session called to decide PM’s fatesees adjournments; Khan calls Cabinet meet

Opposition to move no-trust motionagainst Lanka PrezMajor protests rage oneven as Premadasacalls for ExecutivePresidencyto be abolished

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MONEY 6‘MAJORITY OF EMPLOYERS FAVOUR

4-DAY WORK WEEK IN INDIA’

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Followers of Bhim Rao Ambedkar participate in a rally taken out on the occasion of Samrat Ashok Jayanti in Bhopal onSaturday. Pioneer photo


The Union Ministry ofHousing and UrbanAffairs has announced the

winners of the Eat-Smart CitiesChallenge.

In this 11 cities have beendeclared as winners. It is a mat-ter of pride that the maximum4 cities of any state Indore,Jabalpur, Sagar and Ujjain are inMadhya Pradesh. State winningcity will get a prize of Rs 50lakhs. It is a matter of greaterpride that they will get an oppor-tunity to participate in the pro-gramme to be held inBirmingham (England) in July2022.

Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan has congratulatedIndore, Ujjain, Jabalpur andSagar for winning the Eat SmartCity Challenge. He said thatMadhya Pradesh is becoming aleader in the country in everyfield. The Chief Minister con-gratulated the district adminis-trations of the four cities for thisachievement.

The Eat Right India CitiesChallenge Competition wasorganised by the Government of

India with a view to streamlinethe approach of the economicsystem along with health, so thatthe diet of the citizens is prop-er, systematic and correct. Inthis, out of 11 cities of the coun-try, maximum 4 cities of the stategot a place. The challenge waslaunched by MoHUA in collab-oration with Food Safety andStandards Authority of India(FSSAI) on April 15, 2021 toenhance the vision of Eat RightIndia at the urban level.

The Eat-Smart CitiesChallenge has the objective ofmotivating Smart Cities to devel-op a plan that supports a healthy,safe and sustainable food envi-ronment supported by institu-tional, physical, social, and eco-nomic infrastructure along withapplication of ‘smart’ solutions toaddress food related issues. TheChallenge is envisioned as acompetition among cities torecognise their efforts in adopt-ing and enhancing various ini-tiatives under Eat Right India bystrengthening the food safetyand regulatory environment,creating awareness among theconsumers and urging them tomake better food choices insmart cities of India.

Urban Ministry announces winnersof Eat-Smart Cities challenge


Cyber crime cell arrestedthree fraudsters operatingfake call centre from

Noida and duping victims in thename of providing jobs; policerecovered 1 laptop, 16 mobilephones, 19 SIM cards, 2 ATMcards used in the crime and thelist and register of victims whohave been cheated.

Police said that on 29thDecember 2021, Brij MohanTamrakar of Bhopal gave a writ-ten complaint in the cyber crimein a week ago he received callfrom Mahi Sharma from a com-pany named Naukri.com. whooffered that she could get a jobin a multi-national companyand got her to talk to a personnamed Rahul, her senior. Afterthat a total of Rs 89801 wascheated with the complainant in

the name of registration charge,training charge, confirmationcharge and processing charge.

On the basis of the facts andtechnical information receivedin the complaint application,case under section 419,420 ofthe IPC was registered againstthe users of mobile numbersused in the bank account andfraud was registered and takenup for investigation.

During investigation policefound that the accused Anuj

Bansal, Amit Pal and MahiSharma (name changed), fraudwas done in the name of givingjobs to the unemployed. Theaccused buy the data of unem-ployed people from reputedcompanies providing jobs andjob is offered to the people bycalling on the mobile number,after which registration chargeis taken in the name of givingjobs to the unemployed peopleand they are given fake joiningletter e-mail.

Three nabbed for operating fakecall centres, duping hundreds

Devotees light lamps at Ram Darbar in a temple on the eve of Ram Navami festival in Bhopal on Saturday. Pioneer photo

BHOPAL | SUNDAY | APRIL 10, 2022

PNS n GWALIOR

Bollywood actress andIndian model PreetiJhangiany and actor

and director Praveen Dabashere on Saturday jointlyinaugurated the GwaliorArm Wrestling Academy atthe JC Mill School campusin Birla Nagar, Gwalior.

The inauguration func-tion was also attended byGwalior MunicipalCommissioner, KishoreKanyal IAS; Vice-Chancellor of LNIPE, Prof.Vivek Pandey; Registrar ofJiwaji University, SushilManderia; OppositionLeader of GMC, DevendraTomar; President of theGwalior Rotary Club,Shankar Laha and BJPLeader, Ashish Pratap Singhamong others.

Welcoming the guests,President of the GwaliorArm Wrestling Federation,Keshav Pandey opined thatthe association of theBollywood stars, PreetiJhangiany and PraveenDabas with the GwaliorArm Wrestling Federationwill go a long way in popu-larizing arm wrestlingamong people, especiallythe youth.

Founder of GwaliorArm Wrestling Federation,Praveen Singh Jadon saidthat the federation wasfounded in 1993 and sincethen has been engaged inpopularizing and promotingthis sport. He added that itis a matter of great satisfac-tion and pride that wrestlersfrom Gwalior, Sachin Goyaland Manish Maurya gotmany medals in the nation-

al and international levels.He thanked Preeti Jhangianyand Praveen Dabas for giv-ing their valuable time andenergy for this game.

Preeti Jhangiany in heraddress said that very soonGwalior will become a hubof arm wrestling.

Secretary of the GwaliorArm Wrestling Federation,Deepak Tomar gave adetailed report about thevarious activities of the fed-eration. Gwalior MunicipalCommissioner, KishoreKanyal, in his address saidthat he has been pleasantlysurprised by the enthusiasmand passion of the people ofGwalior towards sports andgames. He also pointed outthat wrestlers Sachin andManish are the brandambassadors of the cleanli-ness campaigns of the GMC.

Acress Preeti Jhangiany inauguratesGwalior Arm Wrestling AcademySTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Prof Sachin Chaturvediof Atal Bihari VajpayeeInstitute of Good

Governance and PolicyAnalysis has said that thedialogue of development orjournalism of development,both mean that while doingjournalism of development,the thinking of the readersand their point of view haveto be kept in mind.

Prof Chaturvedi wasaddressing the session"Develop Communicationand Writing" on the secondday of the conference onParticipation inDevelopment held atKushabhau Thakre Halltoday. He said that whetherit is writing or speech, itshould be understood bythe one for whom it is writ-ten. Prof. Chaturvedi saidthat for development jour-nalism four things are nec-

essary, documentation, com-munity participation, healthand women's involvementwith the economy.Makhanlal Chaturvedi andGood Governance Institutecan together create such anecosystem for developmentfocused courses, where thedialogue of development canget meaningful.

Prof KG Suresh, ViceChancellor of MakhanlalChaturvedi JournalismUniversity, in his addresssaid that attention will haveto be paid again on theestablishment of communi-ty radio stations for devel-opment. At present only 250community radio stationsare functional. We have tofocus on our traditionalmedia. Also, we have to seehow much and how we usedigital platforms like inter-net in rural areas. Whilewriting about developmentwe have to see how youths

are attracted towards it. Hesaid that for any channel ornewspaper or for that par-ticular programme, its com-mercial side also has to bekept in mind so that itsbroadcast can go on unin-terrupted. He said thatPrasar Bharati is at the fore-front of development jour-nalism. Doordarshan andAll India Radio have given itpriority. While conductingthe programme, ChiefExecutive Officer of theInstitute, GV Rashmi askedto pay attention to the util-ity of regional languagesalong with Hindi andEnglish languages.

As a subject expert onthe development dialogue,Shri Sachin Jain said thatwhich is the subject in whichthere is no development. Inmy view every subject focus-es on development. He saidthat training programmesshould also be conducted for

media stringers at districtand block level for ruraljournalism. He said thatwho would like to read aboutmalnutrition or other suchtopics in the newspaper earlyin the morning. For this it isnecessary that how the newsis presented. While writingthe news, the point of viewof the audience or readershas to be kept in mind.

Addressing the confer-ence, Pushpendrapal Singh,Managing Editor, Rozgaraur Nirman, said that theimportance of developmentcommunication writingbecomes even greaterbecause of what changes itbrings in people, whatchanges they can bring intheir thinking, their behav-iour. Change can be of anykind, social, economic, cul-tural. In the true sense, howwe bring about change inknowledge and conscious-ness is important.

Take care of readers’ interest: Chaturvedi Five two-wheelersrecovered fromvehicle lifter


The crime branch hasarrested liquor smug-gler who was

absconding for two months,accused used to smuggleliquor in rented vehicle;arrested with 9 cartons ofillegally transported liquor.

The accused wasabsconding in the illegallytransported liquor in whichhe was booked by crimebranch, was also abscondingfor 1 year in the case undersection 34(2) by Barasiapolice.

Police said that theaccused smuggles illicitliquor, to avoid the police,lived at different places onrent. The accused has beenbooked in many police sta-tions of Bhopal district andSehore district for crimes ofserious nature.

On receiving informa-tion of car carrying liquorillegally In front of the road,in Shastri Nagar TT Nagarcar was tracked and dickywas found full of Englishliquor.

Both the suspects weretaken out of the car andasked for details and wereidentified as Bhavani SinghPatel and Ashutosh Rathore.From their possession 9boxes, total quantity is about81 liters and total value isabout Rs 108000 and with-out number car was used fortransportation of illegalliquor.

One of the accusedRajesh alias Babu Gurjar wasabsconding since the date ofincident and was arrested onFriday by police. Accused hasbeen booked for over 10crimes in the past by Bhopal,Berasia and Sehore police.

Liquor smuggler abscondingfor two months arrested


Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan has saidthat a conference of vol-

untary organizations organizedto share experiences and par-ticipation in sustainable devel-opment will usher in a new eraof public participation.

No stone will be leftunturned in implementing theconclusions of the conference.The implementation of the find-ings will be done jointly by thestate government and voluntaryorganizations. Voluntary orga-nizations are also engaged in thework of development and pub-lic welfare according to the goalsand objectives of the state gov-ernment.

Chief Minister Chouhansaid that the country will bedeveloped only with publiccooperation. Public participationin the management of Covid-19in the state is an example. Thesuccess that Indore city has

achieved in the field of cleanli-ness has also been possible onlythrough public participation.

Chief Minister Chouhanwas addressing a conference ofvoluntary organizations orga-nized by Atal Bihari VajpayeeInstitute of Good Governanceand Policy Analysis atKushabhau Thackeray Halltoday for participation in sus-tainable development and shar-ing of experiences.

Chief Minister Chouhan

said that to ensure that the vol-untary organizations comingforward in the field of develop-ment and public welfare in thestate do not face any kind ofproblem, registration facilitywould be made available at thedistrict level by Jan AbhiyanParishad. The Jan AbhiyanParishad will be trained for thiswork by the Institute of GoodGovernance.

The Chief Minister saidthat the initiative of the people

has to be included in the processof development. Self-helpgroups of women formed in thestate are contributing Rs 20thousand crore to the state’seconomy. Voluntary organiza-tions should also campaign forUrja Saksharta. By launching apower saving campaign, we cansave Rs four thousand crore inthe state. Chief MinisterChouhan stressed on the needfor wide publicity of positiveworks and innovations beingdone in the state. He said thatthe suggestions and recom-mendations received from theconference would be imple-mented in the state.

Vice-Chairman of theInstitute of Good Governance,Professor Sachin Chaturvedisaid that special sessions wereheld in the conference on part-nership in development, healthand nutrition, education-skillsand livelihood, new opportuni-ties for advancement in agri-culture and financial inclusion

etc. A two-day conference wasorganized to increase the par-ticipation of NGOs in achievingthe Millennium DevelopmentGoals and share their experi-ences. Founder of DevelopmentAlternative New Delhi, AshokKhosla, President and Founderof Priya Sangathan, RajeshTandon also expressed theirviews.

Chief Executive Officer ofthe Institute of GoodGovernance GV Rashmi toldabout the objectives of the con-ference. She said that a frame-work on how the state govern-ment agencies and civil societyorganizations should worktogether in a mutual, comple-mentary manner for inclusivedevelopment was discussed.

As many as 64 subjectexperts participated in 6 sessionsof the conference. The vote ofthanks was done by LokeshSharma, Additional ChiefExecutive Officer of the Instituteof Good Governance.

Will usher in new era with public participation: CM


Gautam Nagar policehave arrested avehicle lifter and

recovered 5 two wheelersworth Rs 2 lakh, accusedhas been booked for overhalf a dozen crimes.

Acting on informationabout white colored Activavehicle bearing registrationnumber MP04SH8636 atNariyalkheda and beingsold at cheap prices, Policeacted swiftly and arrested.

On reaching the spot,two boys were seen stand-ing near the silk centerround circle with a whitecolored Activa vehicleMP04SH8636, who triedto escape with the Activa,who were nabbed by thestaff.

The two were identi-fied as Raja Bairagi aliasGoswami of Mandideepdistrict Raisen and RajaVishwakarma Krishnakantof Itwara Bazar districtNarsinghpur who failedto produce documents andrevealed that vehicle wasstolen from Gautam Nagararea and apart from thesaid vehicle, both of themtogether stolen a Bajaj CT100 from Vishal marriagegarden, one fromHanumanganj area nearHall, one Honda Shinefrom Kohefiza area , oneActiva in black color fromTalaiya area near CentralLibrary Gate and one HeroSpeller Pro black.

The above recoveredvehicle was found to bestolen from police stationsHanumanganj, Kohefiza,Talaiya and Mandideep.A total of 5 vehicles stolenfrom the possession of theaccused, valuable Rs 2 lakhwere recovered.

The accused havecriminal record and havebeen involved in criminalactivities.


Human ResourceDevelopment Centre,BHEL Bhopal on

Saturday organized the first one-day off-line training programmefor the year 2022-23 on thetheme “Channelize yourselfthrough Energy Management &Appreciative Inquiry” for BHELEmployees.

On this occasion AdikandaBehera, General Manager (HR)was present as the Chief Guest.The faculty of the programmewas Dr. Nivedita Ganguli,Psychologist & Soft SkillsTrainer. Around 42 number ofparticipants attended the pro-gramme.

Behera, in his address saidthat this programme is the needof the hour, which provides aplatform where participants getample opportunities to learn &develop. He briefed about thenext financial year’s productiontarget and appealed to achieve it.

Appreciating the teachingmethods of Ganguli, Beherasaid that she has a very interac-tive approach.

BHEL’s first daylongtraining programmeconducted

The accusedsmuggles illicitliquor, to avoid thepolice, lived atdifferent places onrent. The accusedhas been booked inmany policestations of Bhopaland Sehore

BHOPAL | SUNDAY | APRIL 10, 2022 capital 03

Chouhan to dedicate ‘ShriRam Rajya’ art gallery todaySTAFF REPORTER n BHOPAL

Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan willdedicate the ‘Shri

Ram Rajya’ art gallery atShri Ramraja SarkarTemple Complex, Orchhaon Sunday on the auspi-cious occasion of RamNavami.

On this occasion, fivelakh diyas will be lit simul-taneously in the Deepotsavto express devotion to LordShri Ram in the evening onthe banks of the holy riverBetwa. Culture, Tourismand Religious Trust andEndowment Minister UshaThakur will also be pre-sent. Chief MinisterChouhan said that the fes-

tival of Ram Navamiwould be celebrated withenthusiasm and reverencein the entire state. A grandcelebration of ‘Shri RamJanmotsav’ is being orga-nized at 12 places in thestate, including Orchha,Chitrakoot, Ujjain,Umaria, Shahdol, Vidisha,Rajgarh, Shivpuri,Neemuch, Ratlam,Chhindwara and Panna.

‘Ram Rajya’ art galleryfocusing on Lord Shri Ramhas been prepared by theCulture Department in theShri Ramraja SarkarTemple Complex, Orchha.In this, each and everyform of Lord Shri Ram hasbeen depicted in the folk-lore style of almost all the

states of India. The 36qualities of Lord Ram andtheir uniqueness have beenexpressed through pic-tures. Along with this, hiscoronation event has beenartistically displayed in theform of a tableau. LordRam is revered as a kingonly in Orchha in thewhole country.

On the occasion ofRam Navami, ‘Shri RamJanmotsav’ will be cele-brated from 7 pm on April10, 2022. The glory ofLord Ram will be dis-played through dance,dance drama and music.There will also be a BhajanSandhya with presenta-tions on various episodesof Ramayana.


Feedback should be given tocivil society organizations inthe implementation of the

schemes. Government schemesand programmes must be evalu-ated objectively. These views weregiven by the speakers in the con-ference session on “Role of vol-untary organizations in studyand impact assessment of gov-ernment programmes/ schemes”for participation in sustainabledevelopment and sharing of expe-riences.

Presiding over the session,Member Secretary, MadhyaPradesh State Policy and PlanningCommission, Swatantra Singhsaid that voluntary organizationsshould come forward to promotepublic participation. He said thatcivil society organizations have

played an important role in mak-ing developed countries devel-oped.

Yogesh Kumar of SamarthanBhopal said that there should becontinuous dialogue with volun-tary organizations at district orblock level through Jan AbhiyanParishad. He said that fair evalu-ation of schemes would help inpolicy making. Dr YogeshRathore of Shodh Bhopal saidthat small organizations are doingmaximum work with minimumresources.

He said that there is diversi-ty in diversity in the state. Thesevariations must be taken intoaccount when evaluatingschemes. Neha Gupta ofTransform Rural IndiaFoundation and ShriPurushottam Dhakad of SrijanBhopal also expressed their views.

CSO must give feedback inimplementation of schemes

Bollywood playback singer Amit Mishra performed here on Saturday in a function organised by Rabindranath Tagore University.The university is celebrating it's 13th Annual function Rhythm 2022. Pioneer photo

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has pro-

visionally attached assets worth�57.45 crore under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) in abank fraud case against AtlasJewellery Private Limited andits promoters MM.Ramachandran, IndiraRamachandran and others.Attached assets consist of gold,silver and diamond jewellery,silver articles, amounts lying in

bank accounts, bank fixeddeposits and immovable prop-erties.

The ED had initiatedmoney laundering investiga-tion on the basis of an FIR reg-istered by the Kerala Policeagainst Atlas Jewellery, MMRamachandran and IndiraRamachandran under varioussections of the Indian PenalCode (IPC), for cheating theSouth Indian Bank’s RoundSouth Branch at Thrissur. .

“Money laundering inves-tigation revealed that the sus-pected persons during the peri-od from 21.03.2013 to26.09.2018 cheated SouthIndian Bank, Round SouthBranch, Thrissur, Kerala. Withan intention to cheat, theyplanned and presented forgeddocuments to the bank andavailed loan worth �242.40crore for business purposes

and have not repaid the money,which is nothing but proceedsof crime,” the ED said in a state-ment.

Earlier, on the basis ofinformation gathered from reli-able source suggested thatRamachandran had invested�100 crore by way of purchaseof equity shares of AtlasJewellery India Limited (AJIL),New Delhi and another �14crore in the escrow accountwith Axis Bank, New Delhi.Following the inputs, the EDhad carried out search opera-tions at the business premisesand bank lockers of AtlasJewellery India Limited (AJIL)under PMLAat Mumbai andBengaluru, resulting in thetotal seizure of �12.59 crore inthe form of Indian currency,gold, silver and diamond jew-ellery, it said, adding, furtherinvestigation is under progress.

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India will commence trainingof Philippines armed forces

on operating the supersonicBrahmos missile system fromJuly. In January this year, thetwo countries inked a dealworth over 375 million dollars.It was the first big export orderbagged by India for supplyinghi-tech weapon systems.

The missile is a joint ven-ture between India and Russiaand this missile can hit a tar-get at a range of more than300km. The BrahmosAerospace, the Hyderabad

based company manufacturingthis missile is now assisting thePhilippines in setting up sys-tems for the anti-ship missile.The Philippines navy formedthe first battalion of theBrahmos earlier this month.

India will supply three bat-teries of the Brahmos missile tothe Philippines over the nexttwo to three years, sourcessaid. These missiles have aspeed of 2.8 mach(thrice thespeed of sound and the con-tract includes training of thecrew and the necessary inte-grated logistics support pack-age.

Encouraged by this con-tract, India is now engaged inparleys with Indonesia,Vietnam, Thailand and a fewother nations for exportingthe Brahmos system, sourcessaid. The missile can be firedfrom land, sea, air and sub-marines. India has alreadyinducted the missile systeminto the Army and Navy. Infact, some missile batteries are

now deployed all along the Lineof Actual Control(LAC)facingChina.

Appreciating the qualitiesof the missile system, thePhilippines Marine Corps saidit will be operating one of thebest anti-ship missile systemson the planet which can quick-ly detect, track, chase anddestroy targets, according toreports from the Philippines.

Recently, the missile was inthe news after it misfired andlanded in Pakistan. The mis-sile was fired from a base inSirsa and there were no casu-alties in Pakistan. The IAF hasalready started the Court ofInquiry and the Indian gov-ernment said it viewed theincident seriously.

The Philippines and someother countries had soughtclarification after the incident.The Indian officials from Delhihad communicated the reasonsfor the incident and theyunderstood the matter com-pletely, officials said.

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External Affairs Minister SJaishankar on Saturday

expressed shock over the killingof a 21-year-old Indian studentin Canada and offered condo-lences to his Ghaziabad basedfamily.

Identified as KartikVasudev, the youth was shotdead on Thursday evening.His body is likely to be broughtback to India in the next fourto five days.

Expressing grief, Jaishankartweeted, “Grieved by this trag-ic incident. Deepest condo-lences to the family.” TheIndian Consulate General inCanada tweeted a statement

“We are shocked & distressedat the unfortunate killing ofIndian student Kartik Vasudevin a shooting incident inToronto yesterday.” It also said“We are in touch with thefamily and will provide allpossible assistance in the earlyrepatriation of mortal remains."

Kartik Vasudev was shoton Thursday evening at theGlen Road entrance toSherbourne TTC station in StJames Town, Toronto while hewas on his way to work, accord-ing to the local police.

Vasudev received medicalattention from an off-dutyparamedic and was taken to ahospital where he succumbedto his injuries, the TorontoPolice Service said in a state-ment.

The homicide squad of theToronto Police Service has

taken over the investigation.Investigators would like tospeak to any witnesses thatwere in the area at the time, aswell as any drivers or businessesthat have camera footage, thepolice said.

Vasudev’s brother toldCP24 news channel he was astudent at Seneca College andwas taking the subway to hisjob when he was killed.

He arrived in Canada inJanuary.

Seneca College saidVasudev was enrolled in itsmarketing management pro-gramme. “The Seneca com-munity is saddened to hear ofthe tragic death of KartikVasudev, a first-semesterMarketing Management stu-dent," a spokesperson said in astatement.

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Several Indian States are wit-nessing heat wave condi-

tions attributed to the lack ofrainfall due to dry and wester-ly winds blowing from Iran,Balochistan, Central Pakistanand Thar desert of Rajasthan.However, the IndianMeteorological Department(IMD) on Saturday informedthat a Western Disturbance islikely to affect WesternHimalayan Region from thenight of April 12. The maxi-mum temperatures are verylikely to fall by 2-3 degreeCelsius over most parts ofNorthwest India during April11th-13th.

Kandla in Gujarat andBarmer in Rajasthan recorded45 degree Celsius and 44.9degree Celsius respectively onSaturday. According to weath-er forecasting firmSkymetweather.com, Gujaratand Rajasthan together accountfor seven of the 10 hottest citiesin India right now with tem-perature above 44 degree cel-sius in all seven cities.

According to the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD), intensity and distribu-tion of the heat wave conditionsover the plains of NorthwestIndia is very likely to reduce

during 11 -13 April. A freshWestern Disturbance is likely toaffect Western HimalayanRegion (WHR) from the nightof April 12th. Under its influ-ence. Light to moderate rain-fall is likely over WesternHimalayan Region on 12 andApril 13th.

Heatwave spells are likelyto continue throughout north-western India, Madhya Pradeshand Vidarbha will continuefor the next five days. In itsforecast, the IMD also men-tioned that heat wave to severeheat wave conditions very like-ly in many parts on 9 and 10

April; in some parts on 11 Apriland in isolated pockets on 12and13 April over EastRajasthan; severe heat waveconditions likely to prevailover Punjab and Haryana,Delhi during 9-11 April; severeheat wave conditions in someparts over West Uttar Pradeshand West Madhya Pradesh on09th & 10th April.

Reason for this severe heatwave can be attributed to theprolonged dry spell duringMarch and beginning of Aprilas well as dry and hot windsblowing from Balochistan,Central Pakistan and Thar

desert of Rajasthan. There wasno activation disturbance overWestern Himalayas duringMarch and first week of April.Absence of Western distur-bance and pre monsoon activ-ities over Northwest India arealso responsible for this intenseheat over Northwest andCentral parts of the country.

The IMD data showed thatthe maximum temperatureshave been recorded 41-44degree Celsius in most partsover Saurashtra, Kutch,Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh,remaining parts of eastRajasthan, east Uttar Pradeshand south Haryana-Delhi; insome parts of Gujarat Region,Madhya Maharashtra &Marathawada and in isolatedparts of Jharkhand in the past24 hours.

IMD Director GeneralMrutyunjay Mohapatra saidNorthwest India and adjoiningparts of central India are like-ly to see more intense and fre-quent heatwave conditions inApril. "We are expecting thatthe temperature will be higherthan normal in the entirenorthwest India and the adjoin-ing central India, starting withGujarat, Rajasthan and up toeast Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh," he said at a vir-tual event on Wednesday.

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Aday after 26/11 Mumbaiterror mastermind Hafiz

Saeed was convicted inPakistan for 32 years, UnionHome Ministry on Saturdaydeclared his son Hafiz TalhaSaeed, a key leader of the ter-rorist group LeT, as terroristunder UAPA.

In a notification, theUnion Home Ministry saidHafiz Talha Saeed, 46, hasbeen actively involved inrecruitment, fund collection,and planning and executingattacks by the Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) in India and Indianinterests in Afghanistan.

He has also been activelyvisiting various LeT centresacross Pakistan, and during hissermons propagating for jihadagainst India, Israel, the UnitedStates of America and Indianinterests in other western coun-tries, Home Ministry said in anotification. “And whereas, theCentral Government believes

that Hafiz Talha Saeed isinvolved in terrorism and heshould be notified as a terror-ist under the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,1967 (37 of 1967). Accordingly,he has been designated as anindividual terrorist under thestringent Act. Hafiz TalhaSaeed is now 32nd individualwho has been declared as a ter-rorist by the Government,”said the notification.

Hafiz Talha Saeed was bornOctober 25, 1975 and a resident

of Lahore in Pakistan. He is asenior leader of LeT and is thehead of the cleric wing of theLeT. Hafiz Saeed, founder ofthe LeT, was the brain behindthe Mumbai terror attacks ofNovember 26, 2008, in which166 people were killed. Hehad been declared a terroristunder the same law a few yearsago and is currently serving ajail term in Pakistan on terrorcharges.

India has been consistent-ly seeking Hafiz Saeed's custodybut Pakistan has refused to doso. Apart from the 26/11attacks, the LeT has beenresponsible for a series of dead-ly attacks in India, mostly inJammu and Kashmir, in whichscores of civilians and securi-ty personnel have been killedover the years. Hafiz Saeed andthe LeT 'operational comman-der' Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi areamong the most wanted ter-rorists in India for theirinvolvement in numerous ter-rorist acts.

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The concept of alternativedispute resolution (ADR)

has the potential to transformthe Indian legal landscape byproviding a platform for mil-lions of people to settle theirgrievances, Chief Justice ofIndia NV Ramana said here onSaturday.

With adequate coopera-tion from all stakeholders,ADR can emerge as a tool ofsocial justice in India, he said.

Speaking at the inauguralevent of a two-day nationalconference on mediation andinformation technology organ-ised near the Statue of Unityhere, the CJI asked courts totake an active effort to makenegotiation and mediationmandatory as part of casemanagement.

He also said those engaged

in the justice delivery mecha-nism need to have a thoroughunderstanding of new tech-nologies, which have the poten-tial to simplify the process.

“The concept of ADR,through Lok Adalats, GramNyayalayas, mediation andarbitration centres, has thepotential to transform the legallandscape of India by provid-ing millions of people a plat-form to settle their grievances,”the CJI said.

It can reduce pendency,save judicial resources andtime, and allow litigants “adegree of control over the dis-pute resolution process and itsoutcome”, he said, adding thatit is “one of the most empow-ering methods of resolvingdisputes as they maximise theparticipation of stakeholders”.

Justice Ramana also saidthat while conflicts are

inevitable aspects of our lives,they can be resolved throughunderstanding.

“Conflicts have a humanface. One must have the fore-sight to look beyond the con-flict. A dispute should notspoil your relationship.Prolonged litigation can drainresources and cause animosity,and conflicts can be resolved ina neutral environment, whereboth parties are in a win-winsituation. After all, life is a bal-ancing act,” the CJI said.

Justice Ramana asked thecourts to take an active effortto make negotiation and medi-ation mandatory as a part ofcase management and saidlawyers must try their best forpre-litigation settlement andadvise clients to approach LokAdalats for the greater benefitof parties.

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China continues to hold itssway over India’s bulk

drugs and drug intermediariesmarket, accounting 66.48 percent i.e. �17,610 crore of thetotal �26,490 crore importsexecuted in the first ninemonths of the fiscal 2021-22.

According to data fromthe Union Ministry ofChemicals and Fertilisers, lastyear when India’s pharma sec-tor reported nearly 10 per centgrowth, the imports of bulkdrugs from China also report-ed a significant growth interms of actual numbers, whilein percentage of overall imports

it remained the same,In the beginning of April,

India imported 3.02 lakh mil-lion tonnes of bulk drugs anddrug intermediates worth�26,490 crore in the ninemonths from April toDecember, 2021.

As per the data, during2020-21, the total imports were3.90 lakh metric tonnes ofbulk drugs and drug interme-diates, worth around �28,529crore. Out of this, the Chineseimports were of �19,403 crore,accounting to 68.01 per cent. In2019-20, the imports were tothe tune of 3.64 lakh MT,worth �24,172 crore, of which�16,443 crore (68.02 per cent)was from China.

Minister of State ofChemicals and Fertilisers,Bhagwanth Khuba, recentlysaid in Parliament that theIndian Pharmaceutical indus-try is 3rd largest in the worldby volume. India exported

pharmaceuticals worth�1,80,551 crore in 2020-21.India exported bulk drugs/drugintermediates worth �32,857crore in the financial year2020-21. However, the countryalso imports various bulkdrugs/active pharmaceuticalingredients (APIs) for produc-ing medicines from variouscountries including China.

“Most of the imports of thebulk drug/APIs are economicconsiderations and also, Chinais one of the largest producersof KSMs and API in the world.The Committee, constitutedby the Department ofPharmaceuticals, observed thatthere are 58 APIs, for which,the dependency of the countryon imports from China for

these APIs varies from 50% to100%,” said the Minister in LokSabha. According to theGovernment “The importsfrom China are mainly due toeconomic considerations.”

The Department ofPharmaceuticals (DoP) hasalso set up a panel under thechairmanship of EshwaraReddy, Joint Drugs Controller,Central Drugs StandardControl Organisation(CDSCO), to address the issueof drug security in the countryin the context of the Covid-19outbreak in China.

Also, the DoP has writtento the DGFT, asking it torestrict exports of 13 APIs andformulations. The NPPA hasalso written to the chief secre-taries of States, requesting themto closely monitor the produc-tion and availability of APIsand formulations to preventblack-marketing and hoard-ing.

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Amuseum dedicatedto 14 Prime

Ministers of India, cov-ering their life andtimes and housing theirrare photographs,speeches, video clips,newspapers, interviewsand original writings,will be inaugurated onApril 14 coincidingwith B R Ambedkar'sbirth anniversary.

Built here at Delhi'sTeen Murti Estate, "rec-ognizing contributions"of all the PMs, the' P r a d h a n m a n t r iSanghralaya' will be opened bythe incumbent Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

The logo of the buildingrepresents the hands of thepeople of India holding the“Ashoka Chakra”, symbolizingthe nation and democracy.

The construction of themuseum is seen as Modi'sattempt at sensitising andinspiring the younger genera-tion about the leadership,vision and achievements of allPrime Ministers of India.

The collections and worksof Jawaharlal Nehru, the first

Prime Minister of the coun-try, will stay at the NehruMemorial Museum, which isupdated with technologicallyadvanced display of his life andcontribution.

It will also exhibit a num-ber of gifts received by Nehru,which have not yet been part ofNehru museum.

Besides, a wide range ofmedia sources used to collectinformation about 14 PMs,their family members too werecontacted to gather the rareinsights into their life andtimes.

Doordarshan, FilmDivision, Sansad TV, Ministryof Defence, Media Houses -Indian and foreign- PrintMedia, Foreign News Agencies,Toshakhana of Ministry ofExternal Affairs have richlycontributed to the tales ofIndian Premiers. the'PradhanMantri Sangrahalaya'will tell the visitors the story ofhow India's Prime Ministerssteered the nation through var-ious challenges, thick and thinand ensured the progress of thecountry.

The opening of the muse-

um may, in a way, also mit-igate the criticism that theruling party has always beentaking a dim view of the firstPrime Minister of the coun-try.

On its part, the BJP hadaccused the Congress Partyof marginaliging non-Gandhi-Nehru PMs in thecountry, including P VNarsimha Rao who hap-pened to be a congressman.

Rare photographs,speeches, video clips, news-papers, interviews and orig-inal writings of formerprime ministers would beput on display in the muse-um.

The total area of the build-ing is 10,491 sq mt.

The museum has usedmodern modern technology topresent information in an easyand interesting manner, espe-cially for the youth.

Holograms, virtual reality,augmented reality, multi-touch,multi-media, interactive kiosks,computerised kinetic sculp-tures, smartphone applications,interactive screens, experientialinstallations etc. have beenmade use of to make the exhi-bition content highly interac-tive and easy to grasp.

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After the Uttar PradeshChief Minister Office’s offi-

cial Twitter account was hackedin the early hours of Saturday,the India MeteorologicalDepartment's (IMD) Twitterhandle was hacked in theevening and efforts were on torestore it, officials said. It wasnot immediately clear who wasbehind the hacking.

This comes at a time whenthe IMD handle has beenattracting a lot of traffic due tothe ongoing intense heatwavein parts of India."The Twitterhandle has been hacked and weare trying to restore it," IMDDirector-General MrutyunjayMohapatra said.

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In a departure from the normalprocedure, officials and mem-

bers of the National TigerConservation Authority led byUnion Environment MinisterBhupendra Yadav and Ministerof State for EnvironmentAshwani Choubey held the 20thmeet of the Authority at PakkeTiger Reserve in ArunanchalPradesh instead of the nationalCapital. They were also accom-panied by the state Chief Minister— Pema Khandu; legislator —Kumsi Sidisow; among others.

“The aim was to obtainfirst-hand information aboutreserves, local issues etc. theMinister had directed suchmeetings to be hosted outsideDelhi in forest areas or alongother tiger reserves, '' said anofficial from the Ministry.

On the concerned occa-sion, Yadav asserted that “weshould promote our tigerreserves around the country,which has a diverse flora andfauna, while also preserving the

livelihoods of forest-depen-dent people.”

During the meet, a total of80 airguns were surrendered aspart of the state government’soutstanding commitmenttowards wildlife conservationunder the theme — ‘AirgunSurrender Abhiyaan’.

The initiative emphasizedon integrating tribal commu-nities in the conservationalefforts as they are a vital com-ponent of the landscape; there-by having a symbiotic relation-ship with forests and nature.

“The central Governmentis working on a futuristic andmulti-pronged strategy for thenext decade of tiger conserva-tion in the country.” — assert-ed Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

Besides, during the meet-ing, standard operating proce-dure (SoP) for tiger reintro-duction and supplementationin wild, forest fire audit proto-col for tiger reserves, technicalmanual on MEE of Tigerreserves in India prepared bythe NTCA.

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The US has bluntly rejectedPakistan's embattled Prime

Minister Imran Khan's latestallegations of a "foreign con-spiracy" plotted in Washingtonto overthrow his Governmentwith the help of the Oppositionparties, saying there is"absolutely no truth" to theseclaims.

Khan has been claimingthat the Opposition's no-con-fidence motion against him wasthe result of a “foreign con-spiracy” because of his inde-pendent foreign policy andfunds were being channelledfrom abroad to oust him frompower. In an address to thenation on Friday, the 69-year-old prime minister reiteratedhis allegations that a senior USdiplomat threatened regimechange in Pakistan.

Khan has alleged thatDonald Lu, Assistant Secretary,Bureau of South and CentralAsian Affairs in theDepartment of State wasinvolved in the ‘foreign con-spiracy' to topple his govern-ment.

Responding to a questionon Khan's renewed allegationsof the US encouraging the no-confidence vote against hisgovernment, deputy statedepartment spokespersonJalina Porter in a press confer-ence on Friday said, "Let mejust say very bluntly there isabsolutely no truth to theseallegations." "Of course, we

continue to follow these devel-opments, and we respect andsupport Pakistan's constitu-tional process and rule of law.But again, these allegations areabsolutely not true," she said.Friday's rebuttal was the thirdtime the US State Departmenthas publicly commented onKhan's allegations. Previously,Pakistan's Dawn newspaperreported that the StateDepartment had dismissed theallegation when it initiallybroke in late March.

On March 31, StateDepartment Spokesman NedPrice said, "We are closely fol-lowing developments inPakistan, and we respect, wesupport Pakistan's constitu-tional process and rule of law.But when it comes to those alle-gations, there is no truth tothem."

Prime Minister Khan in apublic rally in Islamabad onMarch 27 first disclosed abouta "letter" and claimed that itcontained a threat to Pakistangovernment from US.

On the basis of the letterand the alleged conspiracyplot, National AssemblyDeputy Speaker Qasim Surihad dismissed the Opposition's

no-confidence motionagainst Prime Minister Khanon April 3. The deputy speak-er's ruling was struck down bySupreme Court on Thursday.On Saturday, Pakistan'sParliament started its crucialsession to take up the no-con-fidence resolution against thedefiant prime minister.

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Pakistan's Opposition leaderMaryam Nawaz on

Saturday lashed out at PrimeMinister Imran Khan for lav-ishing praise on India, sayinghe should go to the neigh-bouring country if he likes it somuch.

The remarks of PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam,who is the daughter of deposedprime minister Nawaz Sharif,came after Khan called India a"nation with a great sense ofhonour".

Prime Minister Khan, in anaddress to the nation on Fridaynight ahead of the no-trustmotion where he has littlechances of surviving unlesssome miracle takes place, saidthat he was not against Indiaand had a lot of following in theneighbouring country.

"No superpower can forceIndia to do anything against itsinterests. They (India) are buy-ing oil from Russia despitesanctions. "Nobody can dictateIndia. What the EuropeanUnion ambassadors said here,could they say that to Indiaalso?” he asked and added thatthey could not because India isa sovereign nation.Responding

to his remarks, Maryam saidthat Khan has “gone mad”.“Someone should tell a personwho has gone mad after seeingthis power gone that he hasbeen expelled by his own partyand no one else.

“If you like India so muchthen shift there and leave thelife of Pakistan,” the 48-year-oldPML-N leader said.This wasnot the first time when PrimeMinister Khan has praisedIndia to the surprise ofOpposition parties. Last week,he praised India for its inde-pendent foreign policy. "Theyprotect their independent for-

eign policy which is centred onits people," he had said. The 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who has effectivelylost the majority in the 342-member house, seemed toaccept the writing on the walland urged his supporters tostage peaceful protests acrossthe country when the "newimported government" comesinto power on Sunday.

Khan faces the possibilityof being the first premier in thecountry's history to be votedout in a no-trust motion. NoPakistani prime minister hasever completed a full five-yearterm in office.

Meanwhile, the Oppositionhas completed its initial talksfor the formation of a new gov-ernment once Prime MinisterKhan is ousted. Plans are afootfor the removal of PresidentAlvi and the return of deposedpremier Nawaz Sharif fromthe UK, The Express Tribune

newspaper reported onFriday. Shehbaz, 70, who is theOpposition's candidate for thenew prime minister, willannounce his possible govern-ment priorities after taking theoath. All Opposition partieswill be given proportional rep-resentation in the new possiblefederal government.

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Aformer senior PakistanArmy officer has refused

to head a commission formedby the federal Cabinet to probethe alleged “foreign conspira-cy plot” to overthrow theImran Khan-led governmentand dig out the facts about theso-called “threat letter” sentfrom the US, according tomedia reports.

On the basis of the letterand the alleged conspiracyplot, National AssemblyDeputy Speaker Qasim Surihad dismissed the Opposition'sno-confidence motion againstPrime Minister Khan on April3. The deputy speaker's rulingwas struck down by theSupreme Court on Thursday.

On Saturday, Pakistan'sParliament started its crucialsession to take up the no-con-fidence resolution against thedefiant prime minister.OnFriday, Information MinisterFawad Chaudhry said theCabinet had formed a com-mission headed by Lt-Gen(retd) Tariq Khan with powersto constitute further investi-gation teams to determinewhether the threat of regimechange mentioned in the‘threat letter' existed or not, theExpress Tribune reported. The

letter, which was first dis-closed by Prime Minister Khanin a public rally in Islamabadon March 27, is at the centre ofthe recent political turmoil inPakistan. Khan claimed the let-ter contained a threat to thegovernment from the US.

According to reports inExpress Tribune and GeoNews on Friday, Lt-Gen (retd)Khan has refused to head thecommission and has conveyedhis decision to the government.

The reports, however, didnot mention any reason for hisrecusal.The commission was topresent its report within 90days after it investigates howmany dissident MPs were incontact with foreign powers.

"We have evidence of eightdissident provincial assemblymembers being in contactwith foreign dignitaries. The

commission will look at a con-nection between local handlersand regime change," Chaudhryhad told reporters. He said thatthe parliamentarians wouldbe briefed regarding the detailsof the threat letter before thevoting on the no-confidencemotion on Saturday.

"Once the selectedcontents of the letter will bemade public, it will be up to theparliamentarians to make adecision in accordance withtheir conscience while vot-ing," Chaudhry was quoted assaying in the Geo News report.

Meanwhile, the ForeignOffice has conveyed its reser-vations over the government'smove to present contents of theletter before Parliament, warn-ing that such a move would notonly undermine working ofthe missions abroad, but also“damage our national interests”,the Express Tribune reported.

“You can't imagine whatthe reaction within the ForeignOffice is. There is distress.There is literally a revolt,” thereport quoted a senior officeras saying while requestinganonymity. The foreign min-istry, as an institution, hasnever been dragged intodomestic political affairs. Thedamage has already been done,the official said.

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UK Prime Minister BorisJohnson has travelled to

Ukraine to meet with PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy in show ofsolidarity. The two leaders meet-ing Saturday will discuss “UK'slong term support to Ukraine"including a new package offinancial and military aid, theprime minister's office said. Thevisit comes a day after Johnsonpledged another 100 millionpounds ($130 million) in highgrade military equipment toUkraine, saying Britain wants tohelp Ukraine defend itself fromcontinuing Russian assaults.

The deputy head ofUkrainian presidential office,Andrij Sybiha, said two leadersare meeting in Kyiv.SpeakingFriday at a news conferencewith German Chancellor OlafScholz, Johnson said he wouldgive Ukraine's military moreStarstreak anti-aircraft missiles,another 800 anti-tank missilesand precision munitions capableof lingering in sky until direct-ed to their target.

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The US would prefer India to"move away" from its long-

term history of non-alignmentG77 partnership with Russia,the Biden administration hastold lawmakers, observing thatthere is a great opportunity toramp up defence trade betweenthe two countries that are mov-ing forward on many achieve-ments critical to the prosperi-ty and security of the Indo-Pacific region.

Deputy Secretary of StateWendy Sherman told membersof the powerful House ForeignAffairs Committee during aCongressional hearing earlythis week that America sharesa very critical relationship withIndia.

"They are largest democra-cy in world. We have a strongdefence relationship with them.They are part of the Quad, withAustralia and Japan, and we aremoving forward on manyachievements that are critical toIndo-Pacific prosperity andsecurity,” she said."We, obvi-ously, would prefer that Indiamove away from their long-term history of non-alignmentG77 partnership with Russia,”Sherman said in response to aquestion from CongressmanTim Burchett.

The US has told Indianofficials that it will be very hardfor them now to get spare partsor to get them replaced fromRussia because of sanctions, shesaid.

“They have increased theirdefence relationship with us,and defence sales, and co-pro-duction efforts. And I think thisis a great opportunity for thatto surge in years ahead,” shesaid.

US officials have expressedconcern over India's purchaseof the S-400 missile systems byRussia. In October 2018, Indiasigned a USD 5 billion deal withRussia to buy five units of S-400Triumf air defence missile sys-tems to ramp up its air defence,despite a warning from thenTrump administration thatgoing ahead withcontract mayinvite US sanctions.

The US has alreadyimposed sanctions on Turkeyunder CAATSA for purchase ofa batch of S-400 missile defencesystems from Russia. “I'm won-dering, will India's neutrality inRussia's war on Ukraine and

country's general friendshipwith Russia have any effect onour policy towards India? USpolicy towards India, I guess Ishould say,” Burchett asked.Congressman Joe Wilson alsoasked about India's position inUkraine.

He said world's largestdemocracy should be standingfirm with other democracies.“We're in a conflict that hasbeen identified by PresidentBiden as totalitarianism againstdemocracies. And so, either westand for democracy's rule oflaw or we'll be facing aroundworld destabilisation by gov-ernments that are rule of thegun,” he said. “And so, how canwe make an effort to replace oilthat India

depends on and militaryequipment that they depend onfrom Putin? This is just soillogical for extraordinary coun-try of India, the wonderfulpeople of India, to be over-looking abstaining. That'sincredible.

That's such an insult topeople of India,” Wilson said.India has faced flak from USlawmakers, both Republicansand Democrats, for choosingto abstain from UN votes torebuke Russia's invasion ofUkraine.

Unlike many other leadingWestern powers, India has notyet criticised Russia for its inva-sion of Ukraine and it abstainedfrom votes at the UN platformsin condemning the Russianaggression.

However, External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar hasasserted that India is stronglyagainst Russia-Ukraine con-flict as no solution can bearrived at by shedding blood.He told Parliament this weekthat if New Delhi has chosen aside, it is the side of peace andan immediate end to violence.

During hearing, Shermansaid America's relationship withIndia, the world's largestdemocracy, is critical in somany areas. “We have had verydirect conversations with themabout how we can address theirvery legitimate needs for theircountry,” she added. “I thinkthat there's progress being madeto see what we can do to besupportive to them, while, atsame time, urging them to bemore forthright regardingwhat's happening in Ukraine,”Sherman said.

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Russian President VladimirPutin may use the Biden

administration's support forUkraine as a pretext to order anew campaign to interfere inAmerican politics, US intelli-gence officials have assessed.

Intelligence agencies haveso far not found any evidencethat Putin has authorised mea-sures like the ones Russia isbelieved to have undertaken inthe 2016 and 2020 presidentialelections in support of formerPresident Donald Trump,according to several peoplefamiliar with the matter whospoke on condition ofanonymity to discuss sensitivefindings.

But given Putin's antipathytoward the West and hisrepeated denunciations ofUkraine, officials believe hemay see the US backing ofUkraine's resistance as a directaffront to him, giving him fur-ther incentive to target anoth-er US election, the people said.It is not yet clear which candi-dates Russia might try to pro-mote or what methods it mightuse.

The assessment comes withthe US electoral system alreadyunder pressure. The Americanpublic remains sharply dividedover the last presidential elec-tion and the insurrection thatfollowed at the US Capitol,when supporters of Trumptried to stop the certification ofhis loss to President Joe Biden.Trump has repeatedly assailed

intelligence officials andclaimed investigations ofRussian influence on his cam-paigns to be political vendettas.

Tensions betweenWashington and Moscow havereached levels not seen sincethe end of the Cold War.

The White House hasincreased military support forUkraine, which has mounted arobust resistance againstRussian forces accused of com-mitting war crimes, and helpedimpose global sanctions thathave crippled Russia's econo-my.

There's no sign the war willend soon, which some expertssay could delay Moscow frompursuing retaliation while itsresources are mired in Ukraine.But "it's almost certain that adepleted Russian military afterUkraine is going to again dou-

ble down on hybrid tactics towreak havoc against us andother allied countries," saidDavid Salvo, deputy director ofthe German Marshall Fund'sAlliance for SecuringDemocracy.

In Ukraine and in pastcampaigns against adversaries,Russia has been accused of try-ing to spread disinformation,amplifying pro-Kremlin voic-es in the West and using cyber-attacks to disrupt governments.

Top US intelligence offi-cials are still working on plansfor a new centre authorised byCongress focusing on foreigninfluence campaigns by Russia,China and other adversaries.Avril Haines, the US director ofnational intelligence, alsorecently appointed career CIAofficer Jeffrey Wichman to theposition of election threatsexecutive several months afterthe departure of the previousexecutive, Shelby Pierson.

"Our Election ThreatsExecutive continues to leadthe Intelligence Community'sefforts against foreign threats toUS elections," said Nicole deHaay, a spokesperson forHaines, in a statement. "We'realso continuing to work toeliver on the legislative require-mentto create a centre to inte-grate intelligence on foreignmalign influence."

De Haay declined to com-ment on what intelligence offi-cials think of Putin's intentions.Russia's embassy inWashington did not respond toa request for comment.

Foreign adversaries havelong looked to interfere inAmerican politics, according toinvestigations of past electionsand indictments broughtagainst alleged foreign agents.The US has accused Putin ofordering influence operationsto try to help Trump in the2020 election. And a bipartisanSenate investigation of the 2016election confirmed

intelligence findings thatRussia used cyber-espionageand information efforts toboost Trump and disparage hisopponent, former Secretary ofState Hillary Clinton. Specialcounsel Robert Mueller's near-ly two-year investigation foundno conclusive evidence thatTrump drive conspired withRussia, but Mueller declined topass judgment on whetherTrump obstructed justice.

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Akshata Murty, the daughterof Infosys co-founder

Narayana Murthy, hasannounced that she will payUK taxes on all her income,including from India, to avoidthe issue being a "distraction"for her husband - ChancellorRishi Sunak.

The 42-year-old entrepre-neur has been at the centre ofdays of headlines after itemerged that her non-domi-ciled status meant she was notlegally bound to pay taxes onher overseas income in

UK. Murty owns around0.9 per cent of Infosys stake andtherefore receives millions individends from the Indian soft-ware services major.

"In recent days, peoplehave asked questions aboutmy tax arrangements: to beclear, I have paid tax in thiscountry on my UK income andinternational tax on my inter-national income," Murty said ina statement released on Friday.

"This arrangement isentirely legal and how manynon-domiciled people aretaxed in the UK. But it hasbecome clear that many do notfeel it is compatible with myhusband's role as Chancellor. Iunderstand and appreciate the

British sense of fairness and Ido not wish my tax status to bea distraction for my husband orto affect my family," she said.

"For this reason, I will nolonger be claiming the remit-tance basis for tax. This meansI will now pay UK tax on anarising basis on all my world-wide income, including divi-dends and capital gains, wher-ever in the world that incomearises. I do this because I wantto, not because the rules requireme to. These new arrange-ments will begin immediatelyand will also be applied to thetax year just finished," sheadded.

Describing the UK as a"wonderful country", Murty -who has been based in Britainfor nine years - noted that sincearriving she has been made tofeel more welcome than sheever could have imagined, inboth London and Sunak's con-stituency home in NorthYorkshire.

But even as the row aroundher "non-dom status" facedongoing criticism by theOpposition Labour Party,Sunak was hit with furthermedia revelations. The BritishIndian finance minister'sspokesperson confirmed areport claiming that he hadheld a US Green Card while

holding the Chancellor's post at11 Downing Street until aroundOctober last year. Green Cardholders must pay US tax ontheir worldwide income andpledge that the US is their for-ever home.

"Rishi Sunak had a greencard when he lived and workedin the US," his spokespersonsaid. "Under US law, you arenot presumed to be a US resi-dent just by dint of holding aGreen Card.

Furthermore, from a USimmigration perspective, it ispresumed that permanent res-ident status is automaticallyabandoned after prolongedabsences from the US," thespokesperson said.

It was stressed that Sunakfollowed all guidance and con-tinued to file US tax returns,but specifically as a non-resi-dent, in full compliance withthe law. As required under USlaw and as advised, the minis-ter is said to have continued touse his Green Card for travelpurposes.

"Upon his first trip to theUS in a government capacity asChancellor, he discussed theappropriate course of actionwith the US authorities. At thatpoint it was considered best toreturn his green card, which hedid immediately.

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An Indian-origin man whoran a secretive extremist

Maoist cult in London and wassentenced to 23 years in jail bya UK court for a string of sex-ual assaults six years ago hasdied in jail.

Aravindan Balakrishnan,known to his followers asComrade Bala,was sentencedfor six counts of indecentassault, four counts ofrape andtwo counts of actual bodilyharm back in 2016.

The 81-year-old foundguilty of "brutal" violence diedin custodyat HMP Dartmoorprison in south-west Englandon Friday, UK PrisonServicesaid. The cult leader had beenconvicted following a jury trialin December2015.

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Acity council in the Scottishcity of Glasgow has voted to

repatriate seven historic arte-facts stolen from India, in whathas been dubbed largest singlerepatriation of items ever fromScotland and first repatriationof antiquities to India from anyUK museum service. GlasgowCity Council had received a for-

mal request from Indian HighCommission in London earli-er this year for return of sixarchitectural antiquities fromKanpur, Gwalior and Bihar.

A further request made byJaspreet Singh Sukhija, FirstSecretary of Trade at the HighCommission, last month wasfor a 14th century ceremonialsword or talwar and scabbardfrom the Deccan region. “The

antiquities have been request-ed by High Commission ofIndia, on behalf of Governmentof India and ArchaeologicalServices India as they are partof India's historic heritage,”notes a council report from ear-lier this week.

“Archaeological ServicesIndia has advised that theseitems fall under category ofAntiquities, under India's

domestic legislation and aretherefore part of India's historicheritage. These items are of cul-tural, historical and religiousimportance to the people ofIndia as a whole and were illic-itly removed from India,” itreads. According to informationavailable, six of artefacts werestolen from Hindu temples andshrines in different states inIndia during 19th century.

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President Ebrahim Raisi saidon Saturday that Iran will

continue nuclear developmentactivities as talks to reviveTehran's nuclear deal withworld powers remain stalled,state media reported.

Speaking in a ceremonymarking Iran's national day ofnucleartechnology, the hard-line president said his admin-istration willsupport an accel-eration in research of peacefulnuclear technology.

"Our knowledge and tech-nology in the nuclear field isnot reversible.Iran's (continu-ation of) research in peacefulnuclear fields willnot dependon others' demands or view-points," said Raisi, who came-to power in August. Raisi'scomments came as talksbetween Iran and world pow-

ers inVienna to revive the 2015nuclear deal have stalled. Thereis concernthat Iran could becloser to being able to constructan atomic weaponif it chose topursue one.

The nuclear deal collapsedfour years ago when formerPresidentDonald Trump with-drew the United States andimposed crushing sanction-son Iran. In the meantime, Iranhas vastly expanded its nuclearwork. Iran has long insistedthat its nuclear program hashad peacefulpurposes like gen-erating electric power andmedical isotopes.

During Saturday's cere-mony, Iran displayed its newcivil nuclearachievements,including several medical iso-topes, agricultural pesti-cides,detoxification equipmentand nuclear fuel material. Thereport did not elaborate.

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New Delhi: The governmenton Saturday said that the coun-try has got the market accessfor exporting fresh banana andbaby corn to Canada.

The move is expected tobenefit Indian farmers growingthese crops and enhance thecountry's export earnings.

Canada has given approvalfor export of fresh bananas withimmediate effect, while out-bound shipment of baby cornwill begin from this monthafter technical update, the gov-ernment said in a statement.

The decision was takenafter negotiations betweenAgriculture Secretary ManojAhuja and Canadian HighCommissioner H E CameronMacKay on April 7.

"Canada informed thatexport of fresh baby corn fromIndia to Canada may beginfrom April 2022 after update ofdirective D-95-28: plant pro-tection import and domesticmovement requirements forcorn and the automated importreference system," the state-ment said.

Based on the technicalinformation provided for freshbananas by India, Canada hasapproved entry of bananas intoCanada with immediate effect,it added. PTI

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New Delhi: Seven companieshave put in 21 bids for licenceto retail CNG to automobilesand piped cooking gas tohouseholds in five areas instates like Uttar Pradesh andWest Bengal, oil regulatorPNGRB said.

The Petroleum andNatural Gas Regulatory Board(PNGRB) had offered fiveGeographical Areas (GAs),spread over 27 districts in fivestates, in the 11A city gas dis-tribution (CGD) bid round.

Bids for the five GAs werereceived on April 6, PNGRBsaid in a statement. "21 bidshave been received from 7 bid-ders with no single bid in anyGA."

It, however, did not iden-tify the bidders.

A sixth GA of Yanam inPuducherry has been added tothe bid round and bids for thisarea are due on May 10, itadded.

The five GAs offered in the11A bid round includeLakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur,

Siddharth Nagar andMaharajganj districts of UttarPradesh rolled into one GA.

Banka in Bihar, andDumka, Godda and Sahibganjdistricts of Jharkhand havebeen clubbed into one GA.

In West Bengal, Birbhum,Murishdabad, Malda andDakshin Dinajpur districtshave been clubbed into oneGA.

Chhattisgarh's Koriya,Surajpur, Balrampur andSurguja districts have beenclubbed into one GA, whileKondagaon, Bastar, Sukma,Narayanpur, Bijapur andDantewada into another.

"Upon finalization of bidsunder this bidding round,approximately 88 per cent ofthe country's area would beauthorized for development ofCGD Network to provideaccess to natural gas to approx-imately 98 per cent of thecountry's population," PNGRBadded. PTI

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Singapore: A Singapore HighCourt-appointed liquidator isinvestigating the affairs anddivestment of assets of an edu-cation company linked to aGurugram-based firm whoseassets have been attached by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)in India.

Last month, theEnforcement Directorate (ED)attached assets worth Rs 90.31crore of Gurugram-based com-pany Educomp ProfessionalEducation Ltd under the anti-money laundering law in con-nection with an alleged bankloan fraud case.

A provisional order forattachment of the propertieshas been issued under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA)against Educomp ProfessionalEducation Ltd, a group com-pany of the Educomp Group, itsaid in a statement.

Singapore liquidator WongJoo Wan said on Saturday thathe was investigating the allegeddivestment of certain assets ofEducomp Asia Pacific (In com-pulsory liquidation) since June30, 2017, as well as fund move-ments of the company's bankaccounts with the State Bank ofIndia and OCBC Bank ofSingapore prior to the com-mencement of the liquidation.

Petitioning creditors ofEducomp Asia Pacific, relatedto the same name as the Indianentity through common direc-tors, are Singapore's RafflesEducation Investment (India)Pte Ltd and Raffles DesignInternational India Pvt Ltd.

Both of these companiesbelong to the Singapore edu-cation group whose Indianpartnerships have fallen apartdue to the borrowers' inabilityto pay debts, estimated to be afew million Singapore dollars.

Wong said he was probingseveral alternatives in deter-mining the exact amount ofdebts which include Singaporedollars 34.7 million as a bookvalue of Learning Internet Incof the USA, a company withinthe Educomp Asia Pacific inter-net-based learning network.

Legal experts believe thatLearning Internet shares werepledged for borrowings fromthe SBI.

Though the former direc-tors have left Educomp AsiaPacific in December 2016, theyare still liable for assets of theSingapore-registered compa-ny which had business links toIndia for setting up the educa-tion centre, the experts believe. PTI

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt has accepted the CentralEmpowered Committee's(CEC) recommendation toutilise the existing 220 KVpowerline alignment in Goainstead of cutting down freshforest cover, to lay a new 400KV line as part of the Goa-Tamnar transmission project.

A bench of justices LNageswara Rao and B R Gavaigave its nod to the proposalsubmitted by the CEC in itsApril 23, 2021 report.

The CEC told the top courtthat the project proposed by theGoa Tamnar TransmissionProject Limited (GTTPL)would be detrimental to thefragile ecosystem of theWestern Ghats.

"CEC was of the view thatinstead of clearing canopy ofvirgin forest cover along 10.50km long corridor with 46 mROW in Goa State, the pro-posed 400 Kv line should bedrawn along the existing 220Kv corridor line in Goa State

after establishing 400 Kv cor-ridor connectivity betweenMapusa and Sangod and 220Kv line between Sangod andXeldem.

"According to CEC, thiscourse of action would ensureadequate supply of power tosouthern Goa region 100 MWof power now being receivedfrom Ramagundam through220 Kv line is temporarily dis-rupted during the constructionphase of 400 Kv line betweenNarendra and Sangod," thebench said.

The modification that hasbeen proposed by the CECwould be in the interest of for-

est and wildlife in the ecolog-ically fragile and biodiversity inthese parts, the apex courtsaid.

"After examining thereport and hearing the learnedcounsel for the parties, weapprove the recommendationsmade by CEC and direct suit-able steps to be taken in accor-dance with the recommenda-tions made therein," the benchsaid. GTTPL is a transmissionlicensee selected through a tar-iff based competitive biddingprocess to establish aTransmission system forAdditional 400 Kv feed to theState of Goa. PTI

New Delhi: State-run powerproducer SJVN Ltd onSaturday said that a bridge onthe river Tons in Uttarakhandhas become operational toensure better connectivity inthe region and support theactivities of its Naitwar MoriHydro Electric Project.

The 60-MW NaitwarMori Hydro Electric Project isexpected to be completed in thecurrent financial year.

The double-lane steel trussbridge was inaugurated bySJVN chairman and managingdirector Nand Lal Sharma.

The 70-metre long and 6-metre wide bridge, construct-ed at an approximate cost of Rs3 crore, "will facilitate betterconnectivity between villagesBainol, Naitwar and Mori andsupport the activities ofNaitwar Mori Hydro ElectricProject", the company said in a

statement. "We are committedto commission the project inthe current financial year. Thiswill be an important mile-stone in our capacity additionjourney and help in achievingour vision of 5,000 MWinstalled capacity by 2023,25,000 MW by 2030 and 50,000MW by 2040," Sharma said.

To ensure smooth elec-tricity supply from the Naitwar-Mori project site, SJVN is con-structing a transmission linefrom Bainol to Snail.

During his visit to the site,Sharma also inaugurated thecommencement of erectionworks of 37-km long 220 KVtransmission line having 111towers. Currently, SJVN has aportfolio of more than 16,900MW, and is executing multipleprojects in hydro, thermal andsolar in India, Nepal andBhutan. PTI

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Chennai: The HindustanAeronautics Ltd and Larsen &Toubro Ltd (L&T) consortiumhas turned out to the lowestprice bidder for making fivePolar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) XL variant rocket out ofthe three who had bid, said aspace sector official.

With this, the transfer ofPSLV-XL production outside ofIndian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO) moves astep forward.

"The HindustanAeronautics and L&T consor-tium has turned out to be thelowest bidder to make fivePSLV-XL rockets. Now otheragreements have to be signedbetween NewSpace India Ltd(NSIL) and the winning con-sortium before awarding thecontract," an official, preferringanonymity, told IANS.

According to the official,the remaining activities areexpected to be completed in acouple of months' time, ifeverything goes smoothly.

"The first PSLV-XL rocketis expected to be realised in 24months from the date of awardof the contract. Subsequentlyone rocket every six monthshas to be delivered to NSIL,"the official added.

The first rocket is expect-ed to be realised sometime dur-ing the second half of 2024 andthe balance four rockets will bedelivered during 2025 and 2026at two rockets per year.

This is the first time in theISRO's history that an entirerocket, including the heat-shield, is to be made outside ofthe space agency.

However, the officialdeclined to comment whetherthe successful bid amount wasaround Rs 825 crore (about Rs165 crore per rocket) excludingtaxes.According to a NSIL offi-cial, the selected industry play-er can use ISRO facilities for afee, and it is the industry'sresponsibility to deliver therocket.It will be interesting tosee the net cost of the rocket forNSIL.

ISRO officials used to saythe PSLV-XL version wouldcost about Rs 190 crore and forfive, it will be about Rs 950crore.The other two bids for theproject were made by BharatHeavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL)and Bharat Electronics Ltd(BEL)-Adani Enterprises Ltd(AEL) and Bharat EarthMovers Ltd (BEML) consor-tium.The PSLV-XL rocket,weighing about 320 ton, is a

four stage rocket with eachstage powered by solid and liq-uid fuel, alternatively.

According to the spacesector official, the HindustanAeronautics-L&T combine willdeliver all the stages, includingthe heat shield, at ISRO's rock-et port in Sriharikota inAndhra Pradesh.The rocket'sfirst stage will be assembled atthe launch pad inSriharikota.The stacking of therocket stages and the satellitewill be done by ISRO.

The NSIL will market therockets for commercial flights.The rockets will also be usedfor national space missions.

According to a NSIL offi-cial, the company will dealwith Hindustan Aeronautics,the leader of the consortium,and it is not known how the twocompanies are structuring theirset up for the project. IANS

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New Delhi: Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are set to spend$17.6 billion on artificial intelligence (AI) systems in 2022 andthis is expected to reach $32 billion in 2025, a new IDC reporthas shown.

Over the next five years, the banking industry will contin-ue to invest the most in AI solutions.State/local government isthe second-highest spender on AI solutions, focusing on pub-lic safety and emergency response, augmented threat intelligence,and prevention systems.

"Many of the changes caused by the pandemic will stay andwe expect the adoption momentum of practical AI use cases suchas remote or contactless engagement to continue," said JessieDanqing Cai, Associate Research Director, CognitiveComputing/Artificial Intelligence for IDC Asia/Pacific. In thelong term, a clear guidance on the management of the associ-ated risk factors of AI solutions will further boost the confidencelevel of buying organisations," Cai added. Businesses invest inAI to gain a competitive advantage through improved customerinsight, increased employee efficiency, and accelerated decisionmaking.IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)of 25.2 per cent for the period 2020-2025.

For the next five years, the next top spending industry is pro-fessional services, growing fast with 26.6 per cent CAGR.

Smart business innovation and automation will optimise andstreamline complex and repetitive business tasks to support organ-isational decision-making.

"Increasing government regulations and mandates of AI's trust,robustness, and its ethical use will need to be addressed by organ-isations," said Vinayaka Venkatesh, Senior Market Analyst at IDCIT Spending Guides, Customer Insights & Analysis. IANS

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New Delhi: The fundamentaldrivers of the IT sector's growthhave remained intact despite aslowdown said HDFCSecurities.

The IT index is up morethan 40 per cent over the pastyear, supported by earningsupgrade.

"The absolute returnpotential for the sector is like-ly to be moderate, basis growthreverting to medium-termbaseline, lower growth disper-sion in FY23E as compared toFY22E, and headwinds to mul-tiple expansion based onincrease in cost of capital andgeopolitical risk premium,inflationary factors, and thelead-lag cycle of cost and pric-ing.

"The upside risk is on thelongevity of high growth rateand downside risk is the secondorder impact from a prolongedinflationary environment andgeopolitical dislocation,"HDFC Securities said.

As per the brokeragehouse, fundamental drivers forthe sector remain intact, aidedby continuity of multi-yeartechnology pivot across indus-tries, institutionalisation ofoperational efficiencies, sup-ported by increase in talentinstalled capacity, lead indica-tors remaining robust - growthor outlook by global partners,services peers, hiring activityover FY18-21 and deal trends.

"Incremental tailwinds ispremised on pricing - benefits

to accrue with a lag based oncontract renewal cycle andwith increase in scope, INRdepreciation, and increasedoffshoring and diversificationof talent base from EasternEurope by global enterprises."

Besides, the report saidthat there is some growth mod-eration from over 4.5 per centCQGR over the past six quar-ters towards baseline levels -with sequential revenue growthestimated at 2.6 per cent QoQ."However, Q4 revenue growthof 2.6 per cent QoQ and 16.6per cent YoY remains wellabove the historical mark andincremental sequential rev-enue addition of $470mn ismore than 2x the historical rev-enue adds." IANS

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New Delhi: Non-Coviddemand is expected to drive thecorporate healthcare industry'sgrowth in FY23, as per ratingagency India Ratings andResearch (Ind-Ra).

Within the sector, the hos-pital sub-sector is expected towitness robust demand drivers,a strong improvement in prof-itability, and calibrated capacityenhancement capex, it said,adding that together, these fac-tors support the hospital sub-sector's liquidity position and aidin sustaining the credit profileimprovement.

"Normalisation of interna-tional travel restrictions can

lead to a recovery in interna-tional patient revenue," Ind-Rasaid. "Given that the operatingprocedures have been stan-dardised across hospitals duringthe past two years of Covid-19,any intermittent local lock-downs owing to the resurgenceof infections are unlikely toimpact the hospitals signifi-cantly."

According to the ratingagency, with most of the sectoralplayers having expansion plans,the sector is likely to remainexposed to competition, leadingto a longer gestation period inramping-up operations at green-field facilities. Besides, Ind-Ra

pointed out that outlook for thediagnostic companies' sub-sec-tor is neutral for FY23, sup-ported by a recovery in non-Covid-19 related revenue and amoderate demand for Covid-19tests, robust cash generationand strong credit profiles.

"While increasing competi-tion and acquisition-led expan-sion could compress margin, theheadroom available to absorbshocks remains comfortable."During 9MFY22, the revenue ofmost of the listed companies inthe sector surpassed that ofFY21, moving up about 40 percent year-on-year for almost allplayers. IANS

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Mumbai: With a number ofcompanies across the world-proposing 4-day workweek foremployees, a report hasrevealed that a majority ofemployers in India stronglyagree that this model will helpin reducing stress level.

Over 60 per cent of theemployers strongly agree thatthe new4-day workweek modelwill be successful in upliftingthe overallmorale of the organ-isation with job satisfaction andwork-life balance,helping toreduce stress and anxiety lev-els, a report by HRSolutionsGenius Consultantssaid.

However, 27 per cent of theemployers who participated in

the surveysaid they were notsure of its implications ono r g a n i s a t i o n s ' productivity.

The remaining 11 per centdisagreed with the notion,arguing thatthe 4-day workmodel would neither improvenor yield any drasticpositiveresults, it said.

The report is based on asurvey conducted onlineamong 1,113 employersandemployees between February 1and March 7 across sectors,includingbanking and finance,construction and engineering,education, FMCG,hospitality,HR solutions, IT, ITES andBPO, logistics, manufactur-ing,media, oil and gas. PTI

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We are alwayslooking forplaces wherewe can getgreat food,

good ambience, eat to ourheart’s and stomach’s contentand yet come out not emptyingour wallets. Most people willtell you that this is a tall order.And one will not get everything— one may have to choosesince good food is synonymous

with selling out big bugs. Butnot any more. Not only can youeat to your heart’s content but

you can come out with moneyin your pocket. The SpicyDuck at Taj Palace in the

Capital is one such place wheretheir signature luncheons from12:30 pm onwards that they

began from March are not to bemissed. Priced at 1,999 (plustaxes) per person the fourcourse meal is not only a treatfor the eyes but also the tastebuds.

The restaurant that boastsof celebrating Sichuan andCantonese flavours gives a bril-liant curation that has beenthoughtfully-crafted to enjoywith family and friends. Eachdish is well-prepared with loveand served with care.

And it all starts with aplethora of dim sums. Thefirst one — a chicken dim sum— whets the appetite. Thosewho love dim sums will wantto go back for more. But thereis more to follow. The aspara-gus roll, though fried, is amust try even if you are a die-hard non-vegetarian.

One must also understandthat there is a differencebetween dim sums andmomos. Like Sharmaji inSharmaji Namkeen pointedout momos and dim sums are

not the same. F or the uniniti-ated momos are made frommaida and or atta. Dim sumscan be made of any type offlour including rice, potatoand corn starch. The prawnsdim sums can be given a miss.But if one is a fan of seafood,one may enjoy these. The lambdim sums are just as juicy andtasty. The vegetarians canenjoy steamed edamame, waterchestnut and mixed vegetablesui mai. But as each dim sumcomes to your plate what getsgoing are the sauces that areserved with them. In fact, youcan make a meal out of just thesauces. Each one has a distincttaste. Some spicy to burn thetongue, some to cool.Depending on the dim sum onthe plate, one can choose thesauce. There are a few that onecan miss and instead opt for arepeat. The shell of the bao dimsum is a bit thick. When one iseating crispy asparagus roll orthe chick dim sum, the bao dimsum appears to be a misfit

however tasty it may be. Formains, one can choose fromSouthern China-inspired clay-pot meal bowls. These areserved in traditional earthen-ware. The adage that you eatwith your eyes first is definite-ly true here. To keep the mealwarm, the claypot is servedover a mini bain marie. Onlyhere, they use a tea-light tokeep the food warm instead ofhot water.

What makes the mainmeal even tastier is that themeal has an array of aromatics.If you are a non-vegetarian trywok-tossed prawn in spicycoriander served with gingersauce and fresh red chilli; it isa treat for the seafood loversespecially if you love spices.The veggies are crispy and thespicy oil on top adds to theflavours.

If it is lamb that one loves,go for the Yunnan lamb withspring onion and celery. Thevegetarians; Kung pan go forkung pao tofu with dry red

chilli and pepper. The blackmushroom with broccoli, car-rot and oyster sauce is just asgood. Before the main mealthere is a soup of the day aswell, vegetarian or non-vege-tarian. However, it is prudentto avoid this if one wants toenjoy the main meal.

The kitchen is led by ChefThanglawm Valte under theguidance of the hotel’sExecutive Chef, RajeshWadhwa. Each dish that findsits way to the table has beenmade using homemade con-coctions and infused oils forcooking. Most of the ingredi-ents and raw materials includ-ing spices and vegetables aresourced from China to keepeach dish as authentic as pos-sible. Of course, no meal iscomplete without a sweet. Onemust end the experience on asweet note. The darsan, walnutcaramel, chilled pomelo,mango, and sago for dessertthat is served with jasmine teais a delight.

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�When did your journey as a direc-tor begin? I started my carrier as an assistantdirector with legendary south Indianfilmmaker Mr Fazil, who happened tobe a multilingual director. So naturally,I got a chance to work in Telugu, Tamilas well as in the Malayalam industry.This helped me a lot to understand thedifferent styles of making, the usage

of technology and the treatmentbased on cultural differences pre-sent in these states. Later, I

switched over to the director’scard by directing Speed Track,my first movie with star actorMr Dileep. It was the first

complete sports movie in theMalayalam film industry ever.Well begun is half done. Ichanged genre to fantasy in mysecond movie Angel John, withlegendary actor Mr Mohanlal.Finally Jack and Daniel, thethird one, again with Dileep andPan Indian actor Mr Arjun,which was an action movie.

Nowadays, it's a trending movieon youtube with a historicachievement of more than 45 mil-

lion views in just six months.

�You are a postgraduate in EnglishLiterature. Did that anyway bring outyour love for scriptwriting?Yes, naturally literature helped todevelop my span of imagination and

writing skills. But when we talk aboutscripting, it was Fazil Sir's school, Imean the days with him, that moldedme as a scriptwriter. Scripting is atechnique that is derived from aesthet-ically joining literature and visualsense to maintain the stream of con-sciousness. Moreover, my heritage wasa boon to me.

�Your father S L PuramSadanandan was a renowned screen-play writer. What did you get to learnfrom his experience in the industry?My father had a drama troupe namedSuryasoma, where I got an immensechance to observe his writings anddirecting skills. His dialogues in dramaas well as in cinema were extremelysharp and powerful when dealing withsocial evils which in turn influencedmy writings and thought process. I stillcannot write a script or anything with-out addressing social issues. But inevery aspect cinema has changed a lot.In some way, I am blessed to witnessthe transition process in cinema.

�Does direction and screenplaywriting go hand in hand?Both are easy for me. Being a writer-director, I have good control over thelength and budget of my movies. I canchange or correct a script aestheticallyto meet its budget at any point in itsmaking process. Director and screen-play writer are not twin brothers, but

they are lovers and I enjoy them.

�According to you, how much hasdirecting changed over the years?The direction has changed a lot withthe development of technology. Theadvent of computer-generated imageryhas increased the span of visualisationto be more effective and easy.Previously, the screenplay was consid-ered to be an annex of literature.Dialogues were the prime means ofcommunication. But now it is not.Now cinema has its language, ie, visu-als. As a director, I can create anyrange of visual treats with the help oftechnology if the script demands it.Today's velocity of life also has a greatinfluence on cinema in its editingrhythm and cutting pattern.

� Where do you see yourself in thenext five years?In the next five years, I hope to seemyself in world cinema. Nowadays,Malayalam cinema has been privilegedto become Indian cinema and in turn,Hindi cinema has transformed to thestatus of world cinema. Now the gate-way is open. There are a lot of plat-forms too. So, only our effort is neededto prove the class.

�What are your upcoming projects?A couple of films are under planningwhich include a Tamil as well as aHindi movie.

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Ferrari's Charles Leclercclaimed pole on

Saturday for the Australian GrandPrix ahead of title rival Max Verstappen— and broke Lewis Hamilton's stran-glehold on the Melbourne grid.

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mateSergio Perez is on the second row aftercoming in third ahead ofMcLaren's LandoNorris. Mercedes'Hamilton, who hasbeen the pole-sittereight times inMe l b o u r n e ,including thelast six in arow atA l b e r tPark, willstart ane n c ou r a g i ngfifth. It is a secondpole of the year forMonaco's Leclerc afterthe season-opening race inBahrain, where he went onto win. He knocked out hisrivals with a flying lap at the

death of one minute17.868, fractionallyahead of Red Bull'sworld champion

Verstappen, who won in Saudi Arabiatwo weeks ago.

This was more evidence ahead ofSunday's third race of the campaignthat they are the two to beat this sea-son.

"It felt good, evenmore because it's a track

where I've alwaysstruggled in the

past, in Q3I man-

a g e dt op u t

every-t h i n g

togetherso it feels

great, veryhappy," said the

24-year-old Leclerc."The car is nice todrive, everything ispossible tomorrow.We need a goodstart."

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Skipper Rishabh Pant will face a big test whenDelhi Capitals lock horns with table-toppers

Kolkata Knight Riders, led by their former captainShreyas Iyer, in a much-anticipated IPL clash hereon Sunday.

Iyer, one of the architects of the Delhi fran-chise's resurgence in the IPL, having taken themto their maiden final in 2020, was replaced as skip-per of the team last season after he missed the firsthalf due to an injury. The franchise didn't retainthe 27-year-old, who was picked up by KKR at theauction. Under his captaincy, the Knight Riders areperched at the top of the league with six points fromfour outings, their only loss coming against RoyalChallengers Bangalore.

The Capitals on the other hand, after a win-ning start, have slumped to back-to-back defeatsand are placed seventh.

Both Pant and Iyer are touted as future Indiacaptain and it will be interesting to see how the twofare. However, the wicketkeeper-batter might befeeling the pressure, having won justone game so far. The Capitals have losta close match to new entrants,Lucknow Super Giants, after falling tothe other new team, Gujarat Titans.

While the return of pace spearhead AnrichNortje, who had been nursing an injury, bolsteredthe bowling unit, the South African, who hasn'tbowled since the T20 World Cup in November,looked understandably rusty.

Despite having plenty of options, the bowlingdepartment has not looked potent, leaking runsagainst Gujarat Titans and LSG. MustafizurRahman has been their top performer but othersneed to complement him better.

Their batting unit has also looked out of sorts,

with skipper Pant again expected to do the bulkof the work with the willow.

The Capitals will be counting on PrithviShaw, who smashed 61 off 34 against LSG, andseasoned opener David Warner, to provide a solidstart as their middle order is yet to inspire con-fidence. KKR head into the match high on con-fidence, having defeated Mumbai Indians withPat Cummins scoring a 15-ball 56.

The former champions have looked like acohesive unit capable of tackling all situations.

Umesh Yadav has been in imperious form,rolling out impressive performances in thepowerplay, and alongside Australian Cummins,make for a formidable pace attack that can trou-ble Delhi's inexperienced batters. SpinnersVarun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine can alsoturn on the heat.

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Indian Premier League's sen-timental favourites ChennaiSuper Kings slumped to theirfourth successive defeat with

young Abhishek Sharma's 50-ball-75 guiding SunrisersHyderabad to their maiden eight-wicket win in this edition of thetournament.

The 21-year-old Sharma tookthe attack to the opposition witha blistering first IPL half-centu-ry which was studded with fivefours and three sixes, to helpSunrisers easily chased down thetarget of 155 with 14 balls tospare.

CSK now has to win at leasteight out of their remaining 10games in order to reach themagic figure of 16 points whichduring past few years is the cut-off for play-off qualifications.

The left-hander from Punjab,who was bought for �6.5 crore bythe Sunrisers in the auction, ledIndia to victory in the U-19 AsiaCup in 2016, before beingreplaced as captain by PrithviShaw months before the 2018 U-19 World Cup.

It was Sunrisers first win ofthis IPL, having lost to RajasthanRoyals and Lucknow SuperGiants in their earlier matches.

CSK have already lost toKolkata Knight Riders, LucknowSuper Giants and Punjab Kings inearlier games.

On a sluggish pitch, Sharmatook the pressure off his captainKane Williamson (32 off 40 balls)who played second fiddle to theyoungster who was in top formafter failing to score big in the pre-vious two matches.

Williamson was out in the13th over off the bowling of left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary(1/30) after sharing 89-run open-ing stand with Sharma, who alsofell in the 18th to Dwayne Bravo(1/29) with Sunrisers needing just10 runs.

Rahul Tripathi (39 not out off15 balls) then ensured that therewas no hiccups in the run chase.He glanced Bravo for a boundaryto finish the chase in style.

Sharma was dropped whenon 62 by Ravindra Jadeja off thebowling of Bravo but by then CSKhave already lost the plot. TheSunrisers needed 47 runs from sixovers with nine wickets in hand.

Sharma struck MukeshChoudhary for a six in the nextover and Tripathi then joined theparty with a maximum and a fouroff Chris Jordan in the 17th overto make it a no contest.

All the six CSK bowlers wentfor runs with Jordan leaking themost, 34 from his three overs andalso went wicketless..

Earlier, Moeen Ali top-scoredwith a 35-ball 48 to guide CSK to154 for seven after being asked tobat first.

Skipper Ravindra Jadeja (23

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Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan's flam-boyant start followed an inexplicable

batting collapse before the indomitableSuryakumar Yadav with a brilliantunbeaten 68 off 37 balls took MumbaiIndians to a respectable 151 for 6 againstRoyal Challengers Bangalore in an IPLmatch on Saturday.

For RCB, Harshal Patel (2/23 in 4overs) was brilliant with his variations asmost of the MI batters had no idea abouthis slower deliveries, which were primar-ily off-cutters with occasional loopyblock-hole balls that drifted.

MI were 50 for no loss afterPowerplay but in the next four overs lostas many as five wickets to become 62 forfive and subsequently 79 for six beforeSuryakumar (5x4, 6x6) with his 15th IPLfifty, gave the total semblance of respectwith his counter-attack.

Suryakumar took charge with MI tot-tering at 79 for 6 and added 72 off 41 ballswith Jaydev Unadkat (13 no off 14 balls).

For Rohit (26 off 15 balls), this IPLso far has been about playing somebreathtaking shots but not getting a bigscore as he raced to 26 before Harshal'sslow off-cutter did the trick.

The Indian skipper after having hitfour fours and a pulled six couldn't checkhis stroke with the bowler taking asmart return catch.

Playing the second fiddle, Kishan's(26 off 28 balls) attempt to use the paceof Bengal speedster Akash Deep in his bidto play the ramp shot became his undo-ing as he was caught in the third manregion.

Dewald Brevis (8 off 11 balls) foundit difficult to negotiate the wrist spin ofWanindu Hasaranga (2/28 in 4 overs) andwas rapped on the back-pad.

Tilak Verma had his first real failuredue to miscommunication with Kieron

Pollard which resulted in a run-out andthe big West Indian then got fooled by aHasaranga googly.

MI, like CSK, is paying the price fora poor auction and rookie RamandeepSingh, who dangled his bat at a wide slow-er from Harshal, didn't look the part dur-ing his 12-ball stay.

Harshal cleverly changed his armspeed regularly which deceived the bat-ters as the balls started drifting.

A slog swept six over deep mid-wick-et off Hasaranga and a near 100-metreslog flick off Mohammed Siraj (4-0-51-0) were absolute treat for the eyes asSuryakumar followed it up with a rampedsix as 23 came off the penultimate over.

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PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth's impressiverun ended in the semifinals after they went

down in straight games at the Korea Open Super500 badminton tournament here on Saturday.

Former world champion Sindhu, who cameinto the tournament after claiming the SwissOpen, suffered her fourth successive defeat to 20-year-old An Seyoung, losing 14-21, 17-21 in 48minutes. For world championships Silver medal-list Srikanth, it ended in yet another semifinal fin-ish as he came up short against Asian Gameschampion Jonatan Christie, going down 19-21,16-21 in 50 minutes.

Sindhu, seeded third, tried everything at herdisposal but couldn't find a way to get past theworld number four An Seyoung, who gave ampledisplay of her athleticism and precision, leavingthe Indian to do the catch-up job from the start.

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off 15 balls) played a little cameo towardsthe end to prop up CSK after they lost afew wickets in a heap. Robin Uthappa (15)was dismissed by Washington Sundar(2/21) in the off-spinner's very first ball,when the batter ended up skying a catchwhile going for a slog-sweep.

Having conceded 25 runs in the firstthree overs, SRH were back in the gameand it got better for them with the intro-duction of T Natarajan (2/30) into theattack as the left-arm pacer bowled RuturajGaikwad (16).

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History beckons the Indianwomen's hockey team as it

eyes a maiden final berth in theFIH Junior World Cup but astern test awaits it in the form ofthree-time champions theNetherlands in the semifinalhere on Sunday.

India's best performance inthe tournament so far is aBronze medal finish in the 2013edition of the event inMonchengladbach, Germany.

Unbeaten so far in the tour-nament, the Indians haveexceeded expectations in theevent, beating Wales 5-1, upset-ting Germany (2-1), Malaysia(4-0) and Korea (3-0).

It was a cohesive effort fromthe Indians in the tournamentso far with all the departmentsclicking for the Salima Tete-ledside.

India's forwardline hasshone bright with the strikersscoring as many as 12 goals sofar and conceded just two.Young striker Mumtaz Khan hasbeen the cynosure of all eyes,scoring six goals, including ahat-trick, while Lalremsiami,Lalrindiki and Sharmila Devicomplementing her brilliantly.The presence of three TokyoOlympians in skipper Tete,Lalremsiami and Sharmila hasworked wonders for the Indiansin the tournament in terms oftheir performance.

Credit must also go to theIndian midfield which has cre-ated numerous scoring oppor-tunities for the side.

While one expects the for-wardline and midfield to con-

tribute, it is the team's backlineled by goalkeeper Bichu DeviKaribam that stood out so far.

Having said that, it won't beeasy against the Dutch as,

besides being three-time cham-pions, they had finished run-ners-up in the last edition of theevent in Satiago, Chine andthey would be eager to win the

tournament this time.Just like India, Netherlands

too finished their pool engage-ments on top with three winsfrom as many games and then

got the better of South Africa 5-0 in the quarterfinals.

In the other semifinal,Germany and England willsquare off against each other.

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The Psychiatry Department of KingGeorge’s Medical University inLucknow has witnessed a suddenspurt in cases of suicidal tendency,irritability, anxiety, and bipolar dis-

order in the last fortnight. Experts attribute lthese cases of mental disorders to heatwave con-dition that is sweeping a large swathe of thecountry.

On March 28, Mahendra Verma, a medicalrepresentative, had a fight with his wife Anita.He even threatened to commit suicide. Whenhe met a psychiatrist and complained about sud-den mood swings ranging from aggression todepression, doctor diagnosed it as a seasonalaffected disorder –caused by harsh summerwhich came early this year.

Incidentally, in India mental disorderscaused by climate variations are not taken seri-ously. Studies have found that people with men-tal illness were three times more likely to runthe risk of death from a heatwave than thosewithout mental illness. Some evidence seems tohint at a different vulnerability between gen-ders. It claims that the percentage of deathsamong women was higher than in men. Despitesuch a grave situation, people in India do notgo to doctors for medical consultations.

HARSH MARCH HEATIndia is passing through a rough weather sit-

uation as it recorded the hottest March days inthe last 121 years with the scorching summerarriving early this year. The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) says Maximum tempera-tures recorded this March were 4.5 degreesabove average in most regions of HimachalPradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab,Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

“Heatwaves are spikes of high temperatureslasting some days that range outside the nor-mal temperature for a specific season. This phe-nomenon is connected with climate change asthey have increased in frequency and intensi-ty,” said J P Gupta, the Met official.

In India, the maximum temperature peaksin April, and the month of May is consideredthe hottest. “This year is an exception when aheatwave was experienced in March. Thesoutherly winds from Gujarat, south Pakistantook the heat to southern and southwestRajasthan while due to lack of western distur-bances, which brings colder winds, the temper-

ature in Jammu, and its neighboring areasremained higher than normal,” said Gupta.

What further aggravated the situation wasthe lack of pre-monsoon showers. In March gen-erally, there is significant thunderstorm activ-ity and associated rainfall across India. This yearthere were 83 percent deficit rains across India.

SEVERE HEAT IS A MENTAL ISSUE TOOAmerican Psychiatric Association in its

report titled `Extreme Heat Contributes toWorsening Mental Health, Especially AmongVulnerable Populations’ says that extreme heathas been associated with a range of mentalhealth, including an increase in irritability andsymptoms of depression and an increase in sui-cide. It can also affect behaviour, contributingto increased aggression, the incidence of domes-tic violence, and increased use of alcohol orother substances to cope with stress.

Dr. Adarsh Tripathi, Additional Professor,Department of Psychiatry, King George’sMedical University in Lucknow said that the sea-sonal affected disorder has a scientific pattern.but in India no one takes it seriously. There arescientific studies to show that everybody is notsensitive to weather variation. Only specific peo-ple get affected by it. And those who get affect-ed should take care, he said.

“Physical health, mental health, human well-being, and heat waves appear to be specifical-ly interconnected. Heat stress directly caused byheatwaves has been associated with mood dis-orders, anxiety, and related consequences,” DrTripathi said.

The experts vouch that heatwave is not onlyrise in temperature but it can trigger seriousmental health issue such as frayed tempers, anincrease in anxiety, and bipolar disorders.“There is no structured study in India about theimpact of heatwave,but some Western countrieshave carried out studies to show that mentalhealth outcomes of climate change range fromminimal stress and distress symptoms to clin-ical disorders, ranging from anxiety and sleepdisturbances to depression, post-traumaticstress, and suicidal thoughts,” Dr S K Pandey,Medical Officer, Ram Manohar Lohia Instituteof Medical Sciences in Lucknow said.

He said that Climate and Health ProfileReport has identified the direct and indirectimpact of extreme heat on health. It has beenclaimed that health risks caused by these fac-

tors have significantly risen in recent years.Dr Pandey said that in India as people stay

outside more during summer their exposure tothe heat is very high. This could increase feel-ings of hostility and aggressive thoughts andpossible actions. The increase in heat-relatedviolence is greater in summers and, therefore,people could be seen saying `garmi dimaag meinchadh gayi’ – an indication of aggressive behav-ior. Hot summer temperatures lead to anincrease in mental health emergencies, butunfortunately, these are not recorded in India,he said.

Dr. Samarjeet Srivastava, a private practi-tioner said there is a definite relation betweentemperature rise and aggressive behavior as anincrease in crime rate and aggression has beenobserved during the hot summer months, sug-gesting a link between aggressive behavior andtemperature. ”It has been seen that suicides,especially violent ones are more common withthe recent increase in temperatures,” DrSrivastava said.

In a study titled `Mental health effects ofclimate change’ by Susanta Kumar Padhy,Sidharth Sarkar, Mahima Panigrahi, andSurender Paul say heat waves have been asso-ciated with mental and behavioral disorders. Itfurther cites a study from Australia that heatwaves are associated with increased rates of

admissions for mental disorders also, in con-junction with other disorders such as cardiovas-cular and renal illness.

“Such heat waves have been associated withmood disorders, anxiety disorders, dementia,and anxiety-related disorders among others.Extreme heat exposure can lead to physical aswell as psychological exhaustion,” the study said.

It also quoted another study from Thailandsuggesting that occupational heat stress isassociated with greater psychological distressamong workers. “Similar other studies havefound an association between increased temper-atures in the workplace and greater psycholog-ical distress,” the writers said.

“Unfortunate part is India being a hot trop-ical nation where the temperature hovers over45 Degree Celsius at many places no one takesmental health issues caused by severe heat as aserious health issue. For us, this is just anoth-er illness that will pass with the passage of time.This does not happen. There are thousands ofpeople who do not come to hospitals or con-sult doctors to treat their disease because theydo not know that they are ill caused by severeweather,” Dr. Pandey said.

INCREASE IN STREET BRAWLSThe police claim that street brawls increase

by over 18 percent during summer as comparedto winter. But the number of street brawls inLucknow increased by 46 percent in March 2022as compared to 2021. The police dossiers showthat in March 2021, 128 cases of street brawlswere reported while it rose to 187 in March2022.

The police do not have a justification for thisincrease in cases. These brawls are generallybetween the hawkers. They start as a non-issueand result in fisticuffs. “These hawkers standunder the sun for very long in summer andprobably because of scorching heat they becomeirritated and at a drop of a hat they pick up afight,” Narendra Nath Srivastava, a police offi-cer said.

But police do not treat these brawls as a caseof mental disorders. “I do not think these peo-ple need any medical consultation. These peo-ple once give vent to their anger, they cool down.People are generally irritated in summer and itis natural,” Srivastava said.

The writer is the Political editor ofThe Pioneer (Lucknow)

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As the sun comes down on thedesert of Mleiha, a goldenbrown expanse in centralSharjah, one of the seven emi-rates of UAE, it is a sight to

behold. The winds turn cooler and silencesets in. We take a break from the deserttour traversing the dunes on a buggy tocover the Camel rock, a rock face shapedlike a kneeling camel, and short halts totake a closer look at the fossil rocks thathide in them the history dating back toprehistoric times. Our guide pours somewater over the rocks to make the magicpatterns emerge. The rocks are riddledwith tiny snails, corals and other marinecreatures deposited some 65 million yearsago when the area was flooded by anancient sea. At a distance, Faya Mountainmakes for a great backdrop for the sunset.The mood is serene and sight picture per-fect.

In times when the world is opening upto a revised travel pattern, Sharjah is pick-ing up as an offbeat location that is safe totravel and easy to approach. You just needto be fully vaccinated and of course, fit totravel. Easy e-visa facility, coupled with smartgate entry for immigration at the destina-tion (for repeat travellers), make your trippractically seamless and hassle free.

Once famous for hosting Cricket match-es, Sharjah has emerged as the culture des-tination of UAE. Apart from being a promi-nent economic hub, Sharjah veers towardsa deep reflection of the Emirati culture. Thevibe of the place is clearly more indigenous,albeit with a modern approach.

The destination offers a lot to a travel-er to explore. Well put together and impec-cably maintained cultural centres, biodiver-sity parks and conservation centres reflectthe efforts made to preserve the local cul-

ture. Within the emirates too, Sharjah isemerging as a popular weekend getaway,with family focused travel attractions. Forinstance, at Mleiha itself, the activitiesrange from extreme sports and dune bash-ing to star gazing, in addition to a privateretreat at the desert camp.

For the art and culture lovers, there isthe Heart of Sharjah. As the name suggests,situated right in the heart of the main cityis this UNESCO recognised heritage sitewith a strong 90s vibe. Old fashioned souks;an area that showcases the Arabic culturecomplete with coffee/tea serving ceremo-

ny and bukhoor or a tradition of embrac-ing vapours of fragrant oud to make theclothes and hair smell good; a visit to an oldhouse belonging to a renowned pearl mer-chant with links to India, Africa andFrance -- late Obaid bin Eissa Bin Ali AlShamsi or Al Naboodah - is a showcase oftraditional architecture of Sharjah andoffers and insight into the life and times ofits people; and a famous luxury hotel thatserves as a perfect example of marriagebetween heritage and modernity - Al BaitHotel, Heart of Sharjah is the largest his-torical preservation and restoration project

in the region that has been planned over 15years. Scheduled to be complete by 2025,it is already the most popular tourist spot.

Then, there is the Rain room. Animmersive installation by RandomInternational that took the art world bystorm in 2012, it is now a permanent fea-ture at Sharjah’s Al Majarrah. Presented bySharjah Art Foundation, this installationoffers a responsive environment that followsthe visitors as they navigate the darkenedunderground space. Sensors prevent themanmade rain from falling on detectedhuman presence, keeping them dry. A big

draw among the visitors, Rain Room is oneof the most instagramable spaces.

If magical be the buzzword for thisspace, another location that is a big draw forchildren and grown-ups alike is the Al Noorisland with its Butterfly House. Home tomore than 500 butterflies belonging to 20different exotic species, the Butterfly Houseis located inside a beautifully designed,nature-inspired structure that retainshumidity and allows natural light to enterthe butterfly haven. The other attractions onthis island include six bespoke art installa-tions at different points that have been seam-lessly integrated with exotic flora and faunabrought in from different parts of the world.Swings, tricky rope, maze and trampolinefeatures are some of the others that makethis space a hit with the children.

The Kalba Bird of Prey Centre offers aninsight into the Bedouin tribes’ tradition ofhunting with birds of prey. For long, falcon-ry was a popular sport in the region. Thoughmodernisation has taken a lot of it away, pre-serving the heritage and pride of the Arabtradition is this centre that houses birds ofprey, namely owls, eagles, buzzards, vulturesand, of course, falcons, that once ruled theregion. The centre uses live demonstrationsand display to showcase the behavioural pat-terns of the birds of prey.

No trip to a destination is completewithout a taste of its regional cuisine.Unlike the most common perception, fishand rice is a staple in Emirati households.For the most authentic hospitality experi-ence, we travelled to Fatima’s house inSharjah suburbs. In a traditional welcome,Fatima and her daughter, Marwa, usheredus into their home after a sprinkle of rosewater and fragrant herbs. Inside, the moth-er daughter duo gave us an insight into theArabic etiquette of serving the famous cof-

fee and dates. We learnt that coffee is servedin tiny cups by the youngest member of thehouse and it served from the person sittingon the right. The guest must too accept thecoffee with the right hand. However, in caseof the presence of a respected person or gov-ernment official, the host starts with the VIPfirst. A distance of a metre is maintainedwhile pouring and serving the coffee so itdoesn’t spill on the guest and the coffee cupis never filled to the brim. Typically, threeservings of coffee are allowed per guest andif a guest desires no more, an indication isgiven by shaking the cup. The coffee servedis infused with cardamom and saffron anddates served with the coffee are meant to behad first so the sweetness is induced whenthe beverage is consumed.

The lunch was grand serving of chick-en and lamb meat, deep marinated andcooked overnight in earthen pit, and later fra-grant rice and spices are added to make abiryani of it. It is seasoned with pickled chick-peas for flavouring before serving. Steamedor fried fish is a staple in local householdsand consumed with much love. The seatingis typically floor setting allowing the fami-ly to hold conversation while feasting on thedelicacies. The meal is accompanied by sal-ads, hummus and pita bread, making it aneven more lavish spread.

The conversations over the meal lent agreater insight into the modern Arabic cul-ture. A lot of myths were shattered and thefamily shared stories of their love for the rul-ing family and the modernisation andchange of outlook towards women and edu-cation. Prejudice is the biggest bane of mis-understanding of closed cultures. It washeartening to learn the other side of the storyand learn more about a whole new culture.This part of the Middle-East, for sure, hasa lot to offer.

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The Jallianwala Bagh has longbeen converted into a memor-ial and thousands of people onthis day come to pay theirrespects to the martyred men,

women, who were killed on that fateful day.But, lest the future generations forget, hereis how the history unfolded:

April 11, 1919: GT Road betweenJallandhar to Amritsar

In the womb of darkness, a motor carsped madly to cover 90 km of distance cross-ing jungles and small villages enroute. Rex,the man travelling on the back seat, was aBrigadier General who was ordered on thatnight to rush to Amritsar by his boss basedat Lahore, the capital of undivided Punjab.Nervousness was writ large on his face.

It was past 9 pm when Rex or ReginaldDyer reached Amritsar station. Dyerrushed to a railway carriage with MilesIrving the Deputy Commissioner to havea brief of the violence that was rockingAmritsar for last three days.

March & April 1919: Punjab in tumult It was the summer of discontent for

both Indian and British in April 1919.Leaders of National Congress were almostsure that at the end of 1st World War Indiawill be given a chance to “develop self gov-erning institutions with a view to the pro-gressive realisation of responsible govern-ment in India as an integral part ofBritish India”. US President WoodrowWilson’s words that this was a war against“autocratic power” and for the sake of “lib-eration of its people”, created a glimmer ofhope in the Indians. India supported GreatBritain in 1st world war .

Apart from recruiting lakhs of soldiers,Indian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi open-ly announced their support for Raj. Such washis enthusiasm that he even tried to sendpeople from Ranchi to Mesopotamia forinstalling railway track for the sake of BritishArmy’s logistics. All expectation ended infrustration when instead of gaining any gov-erning authority Indians got Rowlatt Act thatwas passed on March 21, 1919. The act gaveGovernment an extraordinary power toquell sedition.

On April 9, Gandhi was prevented toenter Punjab and was arrested fromPalwal near Delhi while two local leadersDr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kichlu werearrested. Next morning, they were deport-ed to Dharamshala and that created anuncontrollable mob fury that turneddestructive. Dyer got a vivid report fromIrving, who on April 8 itself requested mil-itary support from Lahore.

April 10, 1919: A mob on rampage The violence erupted in Amritsar

after the killing of nearly 30 Indians onApril 10 by police firing when they triedto cross Hall Gate Bridge to enter civil lines.It finally turned violent and destructive.From railway station to missionary school

everything went on a rampage. Banks withEuropean employees were set on fireafter looting the cash. Telegraph posts wereuprooted and Queen Victoria’s statue wasvandalised. Five Europeans were killedincluding 3 banks managers and oneRailway employee.

April 12, 1919: A bleeding city & anantagonistic general

Dyer made several rounds of the citywith Irving seeing charred banks, school,church and disturbing posters like “Kill &to be killed” or “Conquer the EnglishMonkeys with bravery”. Meanwhile newsof similar vandalism started reachingfrom other parts of Punjab. At 10 am, newscame that a mission hospital was attackedat Atari. Dyer, who belonged to a gener-ation that had grown up by hearing goryoutcome of violence on Europeans during1857, was convinced that the greatestcalamity since the mutiny was here.

April 13, 1919: 1650 bullets & anunarmed festive mob

Early morning, Dyer scaled the city andhis men went on reading proclamation withdrum beats. The proclamation was candidand gave a clear message of what rulersexpected from Indians — to bring the cityinto order. No one was allowed to leavehome without a pass, or go out on the streetafter 8 pm. No procession was allowed. Any

gathering of four men was to be consideredunlawful assembly.

While traveling in the town, Dyerfaced jeers and hostile remarks from thepublic. By 1.30 pm, Dyer was back in hisoffice. It is unclear as to when Dyer heardof a huge mob that had gathered at a placenear Golden temple. But, he is said to havesprung immediately into action. With 25Gurkhas and 25 Baluchi soldiers, allarmed with .303 Lee Enfield, he rushed toa dusty wasteland of 7 acres — a closedenclave surrounded by walls from threeside and open on one with narrow passagelined up with unimpressive brick walls.The place we know of today as JallianwalaBagh — in two armoured cars.

A gathering of 20,000 people, comingmostly from rural areas had gathered tocelebrate Baisakhi the harvest festival ofPunjab, and had no clue of what was com-ing. Mild political speeches were beingmade to apprise the people of currentaffairs. Durgadas Vaidya, editor of Waqtnewspaper was making a speech on thepodium. Dyer did exactly that no civilisedman would do. He ordered his people taketheir position and point guns at thecrowds. Then suddenly, without giving anywarning, he committed the horrific act ofmadness. He asked his men to pull the trig-ger on the mob.

A rain of bullets covered innocent peo-ple who had no clue why they were being

targeted. Panic and confusion prevailed aspeople tried to cover themselves behindwhatever shelter they could find. A stam-pede ensued, there was blood on theground and bodies started falling like packof cards. Horrific screams filled the air.Many tried to cross over a locked gate andothers jumped into a well. Dyer ensuredthat every single bullet found a target. Hewas done with 379 dead bodies and morethan thousand injured. Firing stopped after10 minutes, but only when Dyer was surethat he had taught Punjab a great lesson.

Leaving the mayhem behind, Dyerreturned to his office and announced cur-few in the city. Electricity and water lineswere cut off. No one was allowed to sal-vage the bodies of their relatives. It was leftto dogs and vultures for the time.

Suppression was so tightly imposed thatin next few days, no news of this massacrewas reported in any newspaper. It was afterfew weeks that B G Horniman of BombayChronicle exposed it in big way and soonCalcutta’s Amrita Bazar Patrika gave moredetails of the massacre. The report publishedin Amrita Bazar Patrika was read by Leninin Russia, who expressed his sympathy toIndian people through this paper.

April 14, 1919: An early morning mes-sage to Governor General

In Lahore, the sound sleep of MichealO Dwyer, Governor General of Punjab,

was interrupted when British officersfrom Amritsar knocked his door at 3 am.They were to update him about the firingof the last afternoon and death toll wasreported at 200. This is enough to under-stand that firing at unarmed mob was acollective sin.

The aftermath: Support and brickbatsThere was not much protest from elites

of Punjab. The wealthiest king of PunjabHH Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patialafamous for his passion of wine, women,cricket and Rolls Royce cars did not uttera single word in protest of this killing. Herather rendered his full support to Dwyer’sservile loyalty. On October 22, 1919, hehosted a gala banquet in honor of LordChelmsford, where he took pride inPunjab’s supply of soldiers to British armyduring war and the excellence of Englishcricket. Needless to say it was supplement-ed by expensive Scotch whisky, gift,English band and tiger shoots in jungle.

Impossible it may sound, but Dyerattracted huge support both from Indiaand Britain, even though the governmentof India tried its best to disassociate itselffrom the massacre. Dyer ,who faced theHunter commission in Lahore, lost his jobwith soft degree of castigation though hisact was described as “an iconic example ofbrutality”. In India, European communi-ty and many organisations collected fundfor Dyer. British historians like Brian Bond,Ian Colvin and Arthur Swinson support-ed Dyer’s act.

November 19, 1919: “People would allcome back laugh at me”

Seven months after the massacre,Dyer appeared before the investigationcommittee headed by Lord Hunter. Thecommittee formed with European andIndians never came into agreement, butit clearly stated the act as “unfortunate”and “injudicious”, though it approvedanother 37 cases of firing ordered byDyer.

Dyer showed no remorse or repent forhis act. He clearly said that any other actionwould make him a fool. He was unshak-able in his believe that he saved British rulein India. Dyer lost his job but no benefitof retirement. In England, he got supportof MPs from House of Lords. Later 26,317pounds was amassed for him along witha jeweled sword as a mark of bravery thathe shown to save crown of Queen.

British brutality in Punjab duringthat era was more of fear of anothermutiny, in which shadow of Russian sup-port was seen. Historians later proved thisfear irrational. This cold blooded imper-ial ruthlessness did not end British Raj inIndia but it paved a new path of liberty,from where new age leaders, like Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Boseand Vallabhbhai Patel, overtook and final-ly broke the shackles of slavery for thenation.

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The theme of World HealthDay this year “Health

Promotion for Well Being,Equity and SustainableDevelopment” narrates thetrending need for the promo-tion of preventive and precau-tionary attitudes followed by acurative attitude among thepopulation of India. However,the celebration of the day inIndia - where only 40 per centof households with any usualmembers are covered under ahealth insurance/financingscheme and only 58 per centuse clean fuel for cooking(NFHS-5: 2019-21) - is con-fronted with serious concerns.The expenditure incurred bythe Government of India onhealth (3 per cent of GDP) islower than the average healthexpenditure of low-middle-income countries (3.71 per

cent of GDP).According to National

Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), alcohol and tobacco addic-tion among men is 18 per centand 38 per cent respectively.More than 50 per cent of thefemale belonging to the repro-ductive age group are anaemic.The gloomiest of all the pic-tures is of children, as 67 percent of them are juvenileanaemic in the age category of0.5-10 years. NIMHANS-con-ducted National Mental HealthSurvey 2015-16 shows that anestimated 150 million of thepopulation, both children andelderly of all genders in ruraland urban areas, need bothshort and long-term mentalhealth-care.

After absorbing threeshocking waves of Covid-19pandemic, the health section of

the economic survey of Indiahas focused on the Covid vac-cination drive, while neglectingthe fact of whooping rise in thecount of individuals sufferingfrom chronic non-communi-cable diseases, giving birth tothe incidences of polymorbid-ity in the country. Furthermore,the public spending on non-communicable diseases(NCDs) is less than 0.5 per centof GDP in India. The Centresfor Disease Control andPrevention (CDC) publishedits findings on post Covid con-ditions stating that the long-term impacts occur as multi-organ effects which in turncauses changes in many bodysystems, including heart, kid-ney, skin, lung, and cognitivefunctions, and complicatedautoimmune conditions.

Since equity and well-being

lie at the heart of the WorldHealth Day theme, the discus-sion is confined to the figuresthat provide the testimony onequity in health-care in India.The significant inequities havebeen observed in the NFHS-5fact-sheet in context to thenutritional status of adults in15-49 years age group wherethe women count in bothunderweight and overweightcategory, i.e., 18 per cent and 24per cent, are more than men,i.e., 16 per cent and 22 per centrespectively. This is foolproofevidence of an alarming situa-tion of the future carriers(women) as they have becomemore vulnerable to beingtrapped by NCDs.

Despite the implication ofvarious health-care schemessuch as Janani Suraksha Yojana(JSY), Janani Shishu Suraksha

Karyakaram (JSSK), MissionIndradhanush, National AyushMission, Pradhan MantriSwasthya Suraksha Yojana, andAyushman Bharat, the per-centage of male and femalepopulation suffering from dia-betes is around 14 per cent,while hypertension rangesfrom 21 per cent to 24 percent(NFHS-5: 2019-21).

The daunting task of pro-moting health for well-being,equity, and sustainability can-not be fulfilled withoutempowering women. Theresult from NFHS-5 data oncurrently married women whoparticipate in basically threehousehold decisions consistingof decisions about health-carefor herself, visiting her relatives,and making purchases of majorhousehold stuffs, shows thelack of female autonomy in

decision making; and narratesa lag of 12 per cent to achievethe target of 100 per cent. It isimpossible to paint a healthyIndia where only 77 per cent ofwomen aged 15-24 years applyhygienic method in their men-strual period.

Evidence from other coun-tries proved that behaviouralinterventions and insights playa crucial role in promoting theholistic well-being of an indi-vidual. Behavioural healthinterventions designed withinsights from behavioural eco-nomics affect the decisionsand actions taken by an indi-vidual in consideration of herhealth.

The Government shouldtry to influence the behaviourof citizens by introducingnudges in the form of leverag-ing loss aversion, disclosing

outcomes, ease of choice, repet-itive reminders, proposingindirect suggestions accompa-nied by positive reinforcementin the policy instruments. Thisrising burden of substance usedisorder and degrading well-being demands urgent atten-tion and immediate actionfrom policymakers and healthprofessionals, and individualsthrough triggering health-seek-ing behaviour. A practical pol-icy framework must bedesigned in a manner thattransforms not only health-seeking behaviour but alsohelp-seeking behaviour at idio-syncratic level.

(Pratap C Mohanty, a spe-cialist in Health Economics,teaches Economics at IITRoorkee. Pragya Taneja is aPhD fellow, IIT Roorkee)

Sri Lanka, a nation of morethan 22 million people, is in

deep crisis as it is in dire needof basic materials for day-to-day survival. And the rulingGovernment of Sri LankaPodujana Peramuna (SLPP)headed by President GotabayaRajapaksa is being held respon-sible for the crisis as it has mis-erably failed to manage the cur-rent situation in the country. SriLankans have completely lostthe trust in the administrationin Colombo.

Demonstrators are shout-ing at the Rajapaksas, demand-ing “Gota Out”, “Go HomeGota”. Citizens’ ire in the SouthAsian archipelago is directedtowards the four brothers whoare occupying the key politicalpositions in the island nation.Gotabaya Rajapaksa is thePresident, Mahinda Rajapaksais the Prime Minister, ChamalRajapaksa, a former Speakerand Minister, and BasilRajapaksa, the FinanceMinister. Apart from these“Big-4”, Namal Rajapaksa, theson of PM Mahinda, was serv-ing as the Youth and SportsMinister in the presentGovernment along withShashindra, the son of Chamal,who was also a State Ministerfor Paddy and Cereals. Thus,nearly 40 people from theRajapaksa family holding gov-ernment posts, besides holdingkey portfolios. This indicateshow the Rajapaksa clan is lit-erally controlling the wholenation.

The present chaos in SriLanka initially started as aneconomic downturn.Gradually, it has turned into amajor political crisis. TheRajapaksas are encountering avehement public protest. Theirlong and powerful grip onpower in the country is beingopenly challenged by streetprotests everyday.

The same people voted theRajapaksas to power are nowextremely annoyed with thedominance of one family in thecountry for a long period.

The roots of Rajapaksas liein the politics of pre-indepen-dent Sri Lanka, when it was aBritish colony. The currentRajapaksas are third generationof the family in the politics ofthe island. Even before itsindependence in 1948, theRajapaksa clan had started itsforay into politics and admin-istration of the country. Today,even the fourth-generationfamily politicians such asNamal and Shashindra haveconsolidated their position inthe ruling clan. People are vot-ing them to power successive-ly despite having setbacks inthe past. Frankly speaking, theRajapaksa clan, mainly hailingfrom the southern district of

Hambantota, had the strongestand the most powerful pres-ence in politics when MahindaRajapaksa was the President ofthe country for two termsfrom 2005 to 2015.

During that time, hisbrother Gotabaya, the currentPresident, was the DefenceSecretary of the country. Boththe brothers, along with thesupport of the Armed Forces,completely vanquished thethree decades old terror groupcalled Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eeelam (LTTE) fromthe country’s north and eastregion. Thus the majoritySinhalese community and thecountry as a whole heaved asigh of relief in 2009 from abloody terror outfit once led bydreaded militant VelupillaiPrabhakaran.

The civil war led to thedeath of nearly 80,000 to100000 people in the country.This invited the ire of variousglobal human rights organisa-tions and the top global gov-ernance body, the UnitedNations. Both the brotherswere accused of massivehuman rights violations alongwith the country’s Army.

Afterwards, Mahinda lostpower to the Opposition UNPbacked candidate namedMaithripala Sirisena, who ruled

the country from 2015-2019.But the powerful and shrewdRajapaksas rode on the imageof war veterans and invokingstability (after the historicEaster terror bombings thatrocked the island in April2019). The junior Rajapaksa,Gotabaya, won the presidentialpoll against the Oppositioncandidate Sajith Premadasa ofthe Samagi Jana Balawegaya in2019. Known as the“Terminator” among theRajapaksas, Gotabaya broughtback the family clan into theheart of the country’s politicsand afterwards, Mahindabecame the Prime Minister inAugust 2020.

This has made the cyclecomplete. Now the two mostimportant political offices arewith the Rajapaksas. Besides,the junior Rajapaksas havejoined the Government both asministers and other powerfuloffice-bearers in the adminis-tration of the country. It hasprobably been the goldenmoment for the Rajapaksas inthe recent political history ofthe island since independence.But now they are facing the bit-terest and intense fight forsurvival.

Today, solution to the cri-sis is not in the resignation ofthe Rajapaksa Government.

At the moment, the Oppositionparties in the country do notseem to be able to bring backnormalcy. It’s wiser to back theGotabaya regime for now. Thereason is simple: The plungingeconomic situation should notbe clubbed with an outcry foran anti-Rajapaksa campaign.It’s understood that the peopleare not happy with the familyrule of the Rajapaksas. But thatcan be fought in the next pres-idential and parliamentaryelections. This is not the righttime to fight the government.It’s time for a collective effortboth from the Government, theOpposition and the people topatiently look for an immedi-ate solution. Thus, the call fora unity government by thePresident Gotabaya was a wel-come development.

However, the Oppositionparties completely rejected theoffer. Clearly, it was a goodopportunity, for all public rep-resentatives to sit together andchalk out an emergency plan torescue the nation from thismess. The opportunity is lost.

This week the Sri Lankanrupee fell to the record lowlevel. It’s now 310 against a USdollar. Shockingly, the buyingand selling in the black marketis reported to be about 400 SriLankan rupee against a US dol-

lar. It’s an unimaginable situa-tion for the ordinary people. Asper the estimates of the eco-nomic experts, the value of theSri Lankan rupees has beendeclining since the onset of theCovid-19 pandemic in the year2020. The global pandemichas severely squeezed theincome of the commonersacross the island nation.

But from the first week ofMarch this year, the Sri Lankanrupee started plummeting to ahistoric low. On March 7, theSri Lankan Central Bank deval-ued it from 200 to 230 againstthe US dollar with a view toallow greater flexibility in for-eign exchange. Many analystsopine that Colombo has doneit simply to obtain urgent helpfrom the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) as thecrisis was deepening and goingbeyond the control of the gov-ernment. But all that the gov-ernment was planning anddoing could not prevent thecurrent economic catastrophe.

The irony is that despiteappeals from the Oppositionand the experts, the RajapaksaGovernment declined assis-tance from the IMF formonths. And this has worsenedthe economic condition of thecountry and contributed tothe fall of the foreign exchange

reserves. By this February, theforeign exchange reserves wereonly $2.31 billion while thecountry has to roll out a pay-ment of $ 4 billion to foreigndebtors around this year.

In a nutshell, in Sri Lankatoday, the expenditure has farexceeded the country’s income.So the crisis will continue untilthere is an immediate foreignaid simply to make the basicnecessities, both food items andmedicines, available to people.Further, Colombo has to sitback with international finan-cial agencies such as the AsianDevelopment Bank and theIMF to plan for a step-by-stepbailout plan to save the nation.Alongside India, Japan andChina which are already offer-ing financial packages to SriLanka, foreign countries mustbe consulted so as to ease theburden on the ordinary people.But the road ahead for Lankanswould be tough.

Political polarisation toaddress the economic crisis willnot help the commoners. Ofcourse, if the currentGovernment falls, theOpposition would get a chanceto come back to power. Butthen, the economic situationfor now will be same. Even theywill have to struggle to set thecountry to normalcy. It may so

happen that people wouldagain resort to street protestsand violence to secure theirfuture. Hence for now, it iswiser for all in Sri Lankans,including the Opposition lead-ers, to sit together and find outan urgent solution. Oppositionleader Sajith Premadasa cancertainly unite the rest of theOpposition parties, but only forfinding a pragmatic solution tothe present crisis, not to fightthe Rajapaksa family rule at themoment. And, the people ingeneral should maintain lawand order so as to offer a help-ing hand to the Gotabayaregime to prevent the nationfalling into an abyss. The peo-ple have all the right to showtheir anger in the next electionagainst the Rajapaksas and thecurrent ruling establishment.Time now is to display patienceand resilience.

(Dr Makhan Saikia hastaught political science andinternational relations for overa decade in institutions ofnational and internationalrepute after specialisation inglobalisation and governancefrom Tata Institute of SocialSciences, Mumbai. He is thechief editor of the Journal ofGlobal Studies, an internation-al research journal)

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Iwish the valued reader a blessedRamnavami. We commemorate thebirth of Lord Shri Rama. He framed

conduct rules of life, which were applica-ble to all, the royalty included. He livedby example, and so he is calledMaryadapurushottama (ideal). It will be,however, interesting to note that duringthe nine days of the prayer regime thatends today, it is Mother Goddess Durga,the shakti personified, who is wor-shipped. Why?

Both the scientific vice and Indianphilosopher have a common viewpointabout the mystery of creation: We oweour dynamic existence to the orchestra ofnature-driven energy. So, all that exists isnothing but transformation of thenature-driven energy. The word Shaktireflects altogether a different connotationas compared to “Energy” as is under-stood in modern sense. For, inherent inshakti is a creative aspiration, which, fol-lowing the intelligent design inherent innature, blossoms out into the world ofphenomenon. The shakti-s playingaround in the cosmos and the planetarybodies by themselves lack discriminatoryability. They keep doing their round

involuntarily and are available in equalproportion to all and sundry.

The same shakti, which drives eachlive existence, however, acquires a differ-ent dimension altogether when it comesto human application. For, each being,armed with the power of freewill, couldguide one’s actions by choice and dis-crimination. They, thus, qualify to applyShakti as individually wished. And eachbeing is born unique carrying varyingindividualistic mind trends. It is thisuniqueness of a being, which responds toShakti's varied ways depending on howevery mind is inherently made out. Aschoice comes into play, the probability ofits destructive use remains no less thanits productive potential. Shakti, thus,turns out to be a double-edged weapon.

The question that naturally follows:How to ensure productive application ofShakti, overriding all individualistic vul-nerabilities, coming as they may withone’s unique nature? The answer evident-ly lies in having exposure to the Shakticoncept, which the imagery of MotherGoddess Durga so aptly displays.

As the allegory runs, the demonsdrove away the divine beings from their

place of abode. The Devatas then gath-ered and together called upon LordBrahma, the God-personified for cre-ation, and sought His help. Lord Brahmaled them to Lord Vishnu, the God-per-sonified assigned with the task to admin-ister. Realizing that enormous power isneeded to counter the might of demons,

Lord Vishnu in turn, led them all to LordShiva, the epitome of Shakti.

Lord Shiva asked all the divinebeings to share their individual Tejas(Shakti- radiance). Accordingly, all ofthem pooled in their individual shakti,which together turned into a huge fire.Out of that huge fire pool, came into

being the all-powerful Mother GoddessDurga. The different divine beingsoffered their respective weapons forMother’s use. She then humbled all thedemons. She, however, did not do italone. She was assisted by many otherGoddesses in Her mission, all of themoriginating from the mainframe ofDurga herself, who, after completingtheir respective tasks, reverted back totheir source frame.

The first question that arises is, howcomes the divine beings, so particularabout their righteous conduct, had toface the humiliation of being driven awayby evil forces? Evidently, there had to besomething wrong in them, whichbrought them to such a pass. One possi-bility is that being overtaken by an ego-tistic sense of being superior ones; theymistook themselves to be unassailable.And then, they were so engrossed intheir individualistic pursuits, righteousthough, that they lost their alert aboutthe impending danger. Passionatelyengrossed in their individualistic pur-suits, they probably would have notcared to remain true to their collectiveobligations, either. The inevitable

had to happen.The implication is that divine beings,

though placed on a high pedestal, bythemselves could not routinely ensuretheir well-being unless the collectiveexistence is well secured. And life doesn’tnecessarily move to one’s asking. Wehave to contend with disparate people allaround. Our plane of living, therefore,remains a fertile ground for the arousalof conflicting interests. We, therefore,need to be well geared up to take on thedanger inherent in the existential orderitself. So, no matter how virtuous a per-son individually is, unless he remainsalive to existential needs, life may turninto a nightmare.

Human beings have a short memory.So, they need to be reminded about therealities of life at regular periodic inter-vals. It is with this end in mind thatancient India’s leading lights stipulatedfor Navaratra festivity.

The issue continues …….

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India's 1st confirmed case of XE detected - Daily Pioneer

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