HYDERABAD WEATHER

ALMANAC

Updated: February 24, 2022 5:00 PM

Forecast: Mostly sunnyTemp: 36

oc

Humidity: 49%Sunrise: 6:31 AMSunset: 5:17 PM

Month & Paksham:

Tithi: Navami: Feb 24 03:04 PM

to Feb 25 12:57 PM

Dashami : Feb 25 12:57 PM

to Feb 26 10:39 AM

Nakshatram:

Jyeshta: Feb 24 01:31 PM

to Feb 25 12:07 PM

Moola: Feb 25 12:07 PM

to Feb 26 10:32 AM

Rahukalam: 11:02 AM to 12:29 PM

Yamagandam: 3:23 PM to 4:50 PM

Varjyam: 09:02 AM to 10:32 AM

Gulika: 8:07 AM to 9:35 AM

Amritakalam: 04:38 AM to 06:07 AM

Abhijit Muhurtham: 12:05 PM to

12:52 PM

TTOODDAAYY

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Hundreds of students from AndhraPradesh and Telangana pursuingmedicine in several universities inwar-torn Ukraine are staring atuncertainty and are anxious. Manyof them had only returned to theiruniversities a few months ago afteroffline classes that were suspend-ed due to Covid-induced situationhave been revived.

At a time when they were all

hopeful of the improvement in theCovid situation are caught offguard with the sudden invasion ofUkraine by Russia. While a fewof them who had foreseen thethreat from Russia had moved outin the last one week and 10 days,many of them didn’t take RussianPresident Vladmir Putin serious-ly and stayed back.

They were of the opinion thatthe situation will not worsen howit has started unfolding now and it

will be a burden of expenses onthem if they fly out and againreturn to universities if nothinghappens.

“After almost more than a year,I returned to Ukraine only lastAugust as the suspended classesdue to Covid resumed. Not manyof us took Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s words seriously.Nor did the officials advise us toleave Ukraine. We all hoped that hewould not invade or the situation

would not escalate to the currentlevel. While some of them start-ed moving out in the past 10 days,many stayed back thinking it wasokay. Thinking that the travelexpenses would be a burden if wehad left for India in panic and thenhad to return in no time if the sit-uation was okay, many of us stayedback. It's like many of us wanted totake a chance. Now, we feel we arestuck. Currently, I have justreceived a message from the Indian

embassy here that flights are beingarranged to evacuate us and thereis no need to panic. I don’t knowwhat’s happening,” KumamriJayanth, who is studying 5th yearMedicine at Kyiv MedicalUniversity in Ukrainian capital,"told,The Pioneer.

Jaynath added he had heardbomb shelling at least twice sinceThursday morning.

Telugu students caught off guardn Many from Andhra stayed back in Ukraine taking Russian President Putin’s aggressive posture lightly

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In the midst of evolving tension inUkraine, Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy on Wednesdaywrote to Minister for ExternalAffairs (MEA) S Jaishankarextending AP government’s assis-tance in repatriating students fromUkraine.

''I would like to bring to yourkind notice that the Governmentof Andhra Pradesh will extend allpossible support to the

Government of India (GoI) inrepatriating students in Ukrainefrom Andhra Pradesh. I requestthe MEA officials concerned toreach out to ResidentCommissioner, Andhra PradeshBhavan in New Delhi or officialsfrom my office for any assistanceand support required for repatri-ating students belonging to AndhraPradesh,'' he said in his letter toJaishankar.

Braindead youth gives new lease of life to 8 PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A braindead youth has given lifeto eight persons as his familymembers have consented to donatehis organs.

The doctors at the NRI hospitalharvested the organs including theheart, kidneys, eyes, and liver to betransplanted to eight persons andthe green channel was provided bythe police for the speedy shifting ofthe organs to Chennai.

M Koteswara Rao (27) belonged

to Machilipatnam, suffereda grievous head injurywhen travelling on abike as a pillionraider. He wasadmitted to the NRIhospital and thedoctors made allpossible efforts tosave his life but couldnot. Finally, the doctorsincluding neurosurgeonDr.Thotakura Amit Kumar,Neuron physician Dr.Sushmita,

ICU in-charge Dr.AmitPasha, hospital superin-

tendent Dr.G Srinivas,after conducting alltests, declaredKoteswara Rao asbraindead.

NRI Hospital EOVenkat, organ trans-

plantation departmentdirector Dr.Mastan and

Superintendent Dr.Srinivasexplained to the mother, broth-

er and sister of the brain dead vic-

tim of donating organs. With greatgenerosity, the family membershave consented to donate theorgans of Koteswra Rao. The NRIhospital doctors informed the mat-ter to Jeevandhan trust.

On Thursday afternoon, thedoctors harvested the organs andthe heart was sent to MGM hospi-tal in Chennai, lungs to Apollo hos-pital in Chennai, liver to Kamaskhihospital in Chennai.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Amaravati farmers have said thatthey will not tolerate the plans ofthe YS Jaganmohan Reddygovernment to sell landsin the Capital region tofund welfare schemes.The agitationlaunched by themdemanding that thegovernment contin-ue Amaravati as theonly Capital of the Statehas reached 800 days onThursday.

On this occasion, the farmersand women launched a 24-hoursDeeksha at Velagapudi onThursday. They threatened tointensify the agitation until thegovernment withdrew the threecapitals plan.

It is learnt that the AmaravatiJAC intends to expand the stir

state-wide. The JAC will form itscommittees in all the 13 districtsof the State. To start with,Amaravati JAC committees will be

started in both the Godavaridistricts and later in the

north Andhra districts.The JAC members areof the opinion thatthey have supportfrom the people ofother regions also.

Representatives ofseveral political parties

had extended their solidar-ity with the agitating

Amaravati farmers. TDP seniorleader Kalva Srinivasulu, who hadtaken part in the Deeksha onThursday, sought to know from thegovernment why the State capitalwas being made inaccessible to theRayalaseema region.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former DGP Damodar GautamSawang assumed charge as AndhraPradesh Public ServiceCommission (APPSC) Chairmanat the commission's office inVijayawada on Thursday. He wasalso given Veda Asirvachanam by

the pundits. Later, he paid a cour-tesy visit to Chief Minister YS JaganMohan Reddy.

Gautam Sawang was recentlyremoved as State DGP without giv-ing him any new posting and ask-ing him to report to GAD.

CM urges MEA to helprepatriate AP students

Sensing danger, 20Vinukonda students

return home a fewdays ago

Amaravati agitationcompletes 800 days

Page 4

Sawang takes over as APPSC Chairman

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PNS n BUCHAREST

The president of Romania has con-demned Russia's reprehensible attackon Ukraine and said that RussianPresident Vladimir Putin threatensthe peace of the entire planet.Romania borders Ukraine and isa member of NATO and theEuropean Union.

Romanian President KlausIohannis said that Russia chosethe reprehensible and complete-ly illegal path of massive armedviolence against an independentand sovereign state. Iohannissaid that Romania, a country ofabout 19.5 million people, is readyto deal with eco-nomic and

Russia invades UkraineRussia invades UkrainePNS n KYIV

Russia launched a wide-rang-ing attack on Ukraine onThursday, hitting cities andbases with airstrikes orshelling, as civilians piled intotrains and cars to flee.

Ukraine's government saidRussian tanks and troopsrolled across the border andaccused Moscow of unleashinga full-scale war that couldrewrite the geopolitical orderand whose fallout alreadyreverberated around the globe.In announcing a major mili-tary operation, RussianPresident Vladimir Putindeflected global condemnation

and cascading new sanctionsand chillingly referred to hiscountry's nuclear arsenal as hethreatened any foreign countryattempting to interfere withconsequences you have neverseen .

Sirens rang out in Ukraine'scapital and people massed intrain stations and took toroads, as the government saidthe former Soviet republic wasseeing a long-anticipated inva-sion from the east, north andsouth and reported more than40 soldiers had been killed anddozens wounded.

A full-scale war in Europehas begun, Ukrainian presi-dential adviserMykhailo

MOSCOW: Russia's DefenseMinistry says the Russianmilitary has destroyed 74

Ukrainian military facilities,including 11 air bases. RussianDefense Minister Sergei Shoigu

ordered that Ukrainianservicemen be treated withrespect and those who lay

down their weapons offered safecorridors. The Russian DefenseMinistry confirmed the loss of a

Su-25 attack jet due to pilor error. Berlin:The European Union Aviation

Safety Agency has expanded itsrecommendations following the Russian

attack on Ukraine to warn operators againstflying over Moldova and Belarus and exercise

caution over large parts of Russia.

Russia destroys

74 Military facilities

As Russia launched an offensive against Ukraine,Opposition leaders, mostly from the Congress, on

Thursday attacked the government for not makingarrangements in time to bring 20,000 Indians in Ukraine backand accused it of "turning away its face" on its nationals in thisdifficult time. Some of the Congress leaders also demanded thatIndia should take a firm stand and "unequivocally condemn"Russia's action. Attacking the government for not acting despiterepeated warnings, the Congress asked why it had not madearrangements in time to bring 20,000 Indians in Ukraine

back home safely. Congress chief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said,"turning away its face in every difficult

situation...And remaining silent has become ahabit of the Modi government. Our 20,000

Indian youth in Ukraine are forcedto grapple with fear,

Govt failed to act,Oppn slams

Ukrainian airspaceclosed to civilian flights Massive destruction

in UkrianeP

rime Minister Narendra Modion Thursday spoke with

Russian President Vladimir Putinon the Ukraine conflict andappealed for immediate cessationof violence as well as concertedefforts from all sides to return tothe path of diplomaticnegotiations. During theirtelephonic conversation,President Putin briefed PrimeMinister Modi about the recentdevelopments regarding Ukraine,the Prime Minister's Office said ina statement. The prime ministerreiterated his long-standingconviction that the differencesbetween Russia and the NATOgroup can only be resolvedthrough honest and sinceredialogue, the PMO said. PrimeMinister Modi appealed for animmediate cessation of violence,and called for diplomaticnegotiations and dialogue, it said.

Modi talks to Putin,calls for ceasefire

Market mayhem;Rs 13.44 lakh croreinvestor wealthwiped off

Gold soars Rs 1,656, silversurges Rs 2,350 amid

Russia-Ukraine conflict

Gold prices in the national

capital rallied by Rs1,656 to Rs 51,627 per

10 grams onThursday on the

back of safe-haven buying

and sharpdepreciation

of rupeeamid theRussia-Ukraineconflict,

accordingto HDFC

Securities.The yellow

metal had closedat Rs 49,971 per10 grams in theprevious trade.

World leaders outraged,plan stronger sanctions

P12

2

2

2

2

2

2

Investor wealth worth over Rs13.44 lakh crore was wiped off

on Thursday as the domesticequity markets tumbled along withglobal risk assets, after Russialaunched military operationsagainst Ukraine. Amid intensifyingrout in the global financialmarkets, the 30-share BSE Sensexplummeted 2,702.15 points or4.72 per cent to end at 54,529.91.The carnage on Dalal Streeteroded investor wealth worth Rs13,44,488.54 crore,

VIJAYAWADA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022; PAGES 12 `3

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PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP national president andformer Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu, onThursday, asserted that thestruggle for retainingAmaravati as the sole capitalof Andhra Pradesh would godown as a historic agitation inthe country.

Naidu lauded the farmers,women and the youth forrelentlessly continuing theiragitation for Amaravati for thepast 800 days. On its part, theTDP would continue toextend its total solidarity tothe rightful cause.

In a statement here, theTDP chief said history wouldnot forgive Chief Minister YSJagan Mohan Reddy forstalling the massive Amaravaticapital project, which had ahuge potential to create lakhsof crores of wealth for the State.

The YSRCP rulers calledthe capital a burial ground,but now they were mortgag-ing lands and bringing loansin the name of funds mobili-sation.

Naidu said that for the firsttime in the country's history,the people were seeing a ChiefMinister who was harbouringhatred and perpetrating

vendetta against one particu-lar region. With his adamantand arrogant policies, JaganMohan Reddy was destroyingthe bright future of the Statein every possible manner.

Naidu’s son and TDPnational general secretaryNara Lokesh praised theAmaravati protesters forstanding up against the dicta-

torial policies of Jagan. Lokeshsaid the YSRCP rulers hadconspired to destroyAmaravati capital project, butin the process they ruined allsectors of development andwelfare in the State.

In a statement here, Lokeshsaid that Amaravati remained'resilient' despite the ulteriorand destructive plans of Jagan.It emerged stronger and with-stood all the narrow-mindedand heinous plans of CMJagan and his party leaders.

Nara Lokesh asserted thatthe 800-day-old Amaravatistir proved that all the allega-tions levelled by the rulingYSRCP leaders were wrongand ill-motivated. The agita-tors showed ample determina-tion for continuing theirprotests till the governmentannounced and developedAmaravati as the sole capitalof AP.

Naidu calls Amaravati stir ‘historic’

File photo

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Giving a major relief to formerminister and TDP seniorleader Ch Ayyanapatrudu, theHigh Court on Thursdaystayed further proceedings onthe FIR registered against himby the Nallajerla police ofWest Godavari district.

High drama prevailed at theresidence of Ayyannapatruduin Narsipatnam onWednesday evening, after alarge number of police person-nel were pressed to arrest himlate at night.

Ayyannapatrudu had madesnide comments against Chief

Minister YS Jagan MohanReddy during a political meet-ing held at Nallajerla in WestGodavari. Alleging thatAyyannapatrudu commentedon the Chief Minister usingunparliamentary language, aperson filed a case. The policeregistered a case and went tohis residence at Narsipatnamto serve notices and arresthim.

M e a n w h i l e ,Ayyannapatrudu moved apetition seeking direction toquash the FIR. While theHigh Court posted the hear-ing to a later date, the courtstayed the proceedings.

HC relief to Ayyanna Amaravati...Continued from Page 1

Former minister CAdinarayana Reddy said thatthe Capital will not movefrom Amaravati. He allegedthat YS Rajasekhar Reddyfamily had purchased landsin Vizag when he was theChief Minister and toincrease the value of thoselands his son YS JaganmohanReddy had brought up threecapitals.

He said when JaganmohanReddy was in the Opposition,he had supported Amaravatias the Capital. However, afterhe came to power, hechanged his stance andbrought up three capitals.

Former minister KannaLakshninarayana said thatthe sacrifice made by theAmaravati farmers will notgo to waste and BJP willstand in support of them allthe time.

CM urges MEA tohelp repatriate...Continued from Page 1

He added the AP govern-ment is in continuous con-tact with students inUkraine providing neces-sary support and assistance.The state government offi-cials have been in touchwith the Ministr y ofExternal Affairs and theembassy on the evolvingsituation, the Chief Ministersaid. He also said that sev-eral students from AndhraPradesh living in Ukrainehad sought help and assis-tance from the AP govern-ment to return.

Telugu students caught off guard...Continued from Page 1

The majority of Telugus stu-dents are concentrated in Kyiv,Kharkiv, Uzhhorod, and a fewother cities and are studyingMedicine in various universi-ties.

A few of them, who are a lit-tle away from the war zone, arealso equally panicked thinkingas to what will happen to themif food supplies are stopped inthe coming days. They arealready feeling the pinch withthe government imposing alimit on cash withdrawals, gro-ceries going out of shelves atthe super markets and alsowater supply disruptions.

A few of them, who reachedKyiv’s international airport onThursday morning from asfar as Kharkiv to board a flightto move out, were suddenly leftstranded due to the suddenRussian invasion.

Many of them were hearingconstant shelling of the bombs.

They are all making distressand panic calls to their fami-lies back in Andhra Pradesh orthe control room set up by theMinistry of External Affairs(MEA). Some of them who areclueless what to do are makingvideos on their mobile phonesappealing to the Indian author-ities to evacuate them anduploading them on the inter-net.

“I’m in a panic and don’tknow what’s happeningaround. I ran out of food andwater and I do not haveenough cash. There are manyIndian and Telugu studentsstuck here.

I request Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy to evacuate us,”appealed Sreeja, a first-yearMedicine student of KharkivNational Medical University.Sreeja belongs to Pendurthi inVisakhapatnam district.

A few students pursuing

Medicine in one of the univer-sities in Sloviansk said that theyare panicked as they haveheard at least bomb shellingsounds almost five times sincemorning. They said they areafraid to even go out to buygroceries.

At least 20 students belong-ing to Prakasam district hadreturned home on Thursdayevening as their family mem-bers heaved a sigh of relief.Parents of two students ofBukovina University metSrikakulam MP K RammohanNaidu and sought his help.These students belong toKambarivalasa village ofVeeraghattam mandal ofSrikakulam district.

Rammohan Naidu had spo-ken to the students and assuredall help. He had appealed tothe MEA and forwarded thedetails.State EducationMinister Adimulapu Sureshsaid that Telugu students inUkraine are safe. “ I have spo-

ken to several Telugu studentsstranded in Ukraine over thephone after Russia declaredwar on Ukraine in the morn-ing hours.

Many of them are safe,” hetold reporters.

He recalled that ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy on Wednesday wrote tothe Minister for ExternalAffairs (MEA) S Jaishankar toevacuate Andhra Pradesh stu-dents from crisis-hit Ukraine.

He also said a nodal officerand a special officer have beenappointed to help the stu-dents.

A government-run AndhraPradesh Non-Resident TeluguSociety (APNTS) had alsolaunched a helpline, which hasbeen already receiving severalphone calls from the Telugustudents in Ukraine. APNTSrepresentatives are forward-ing the details of the calls to theMEA’s control room set up inDelhi.

Braindeadyouth givesnew lease oflife to 8 ...Continued from Page 1

The police arranged a greenchannel to shift the harvest-ed organs to Gannavaram air-port from the NRIMangalagiri.

The ambulance reachedthe airport after covering 33KMs distance in 25 minutesand the organs were shiftedto Chennai in a special flight.One kidney was sent toRamesh hospital in Gunturanother kidney was trans-planted to a patient in NRIhospital itself. The eyes wereshifted to Agarwal hospital inGuntur. All praised themother, brother, and sister ofthe brain-dead victims fortheir consent to donateorgans.

War started...Continued from Page 1

Russia is not only attackingUkraine, but the rules of nor-mal life in the modern world.

World leaders decried theattack, which could cause mas-sive casualties, toppleUkraine's democratically elect-ed government, upend thepost-Cold War security orderand result in severe econom-ic impact around the worldfrom soaring heating bills tospikes in food prices.

We woke up in a differentworld today, Germany's for-eign minister said, as NATOagreed to beef up land and airforces on its eastern flanknear Ukraine and Russia.

Global financial marketsplunged and oil prices soared,and governments from theUS to Asia and Europe read-ied new sanctions after weeksof failed efforts for a diplomat-

ic solution. But global powershave said they will not inter-vene militarily to defendUkraine.

Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy cutdiplomatic ties with Moscowand declared martial law.Ukrainians who had longbraced for the prospect of anassault were urged to stayhome and not to panic, evenas officials said Russian troopswere rolling into Ukraine, andbig explosions were heard inthe capital of Kyiv, Kharkiv inthe east and Odesa in the west.

We are facing a war andhorror. What could be worse?64-year-old Liudmila Gireyevasaid in Kyiv. She planned tohead to the western city of Lvivand then to try to move toPoland to join her daughter.Putin will be damned by his-tory, and Ukrainians aredamning him.

Ukrainian airspace...Continued from Page 1

He stressed that Romania will notbe drawn into the military con-flict in Ukraine and saidRomanian authorities will takeabsolutely all the necessary mea-sures to ensure the safety of thecountry's citizens.

Prague: Czech President MilosZeman, who has been a leadingpro-Russian voice amongEuropean Union leaders, hascondemned Russia's invasion ofUkraine as an unprovoked act ofaggression.

Zeman said in an address tothe nation that Russia has com-mitted a crime against peace.

A week ago, Zeman said thatwarnings of an imminentRussian invasion of Ukrainewere a failure by CIA. He saidrepeatedly he didn't believeRussian wanted to attackUkraine.

I admit I was wrong, Zemansaid Thursday. An irrational

decision by the leadership of theRussian Federation will cause sig-nificant damages to the Russianstate.

He called for harder sanctionsagainst Russia, declaring that it'snecessary to isolate a lunatic andnot just to defend ourselves bywords but also by deeds.

Brussels: NATO's secretary-general says Russia has launchedwar on Ukraine and shatteredpeace on the European continent.

Jens Stoltenberg called for asummit of NATO alliance lead-ers for Friday.

Stoltenberg said that this is adeliberate, cold-blooded andlong-planned invasion. And hecharged that Russia is usingforce to try to rewrite history.

Russia launched a wide-rang-ing attack on Ukraine earlierThursday, hitting cities and baseswith airstrikes or shelling.Ukraine's government saidRussian tanks and troops rolledacross the border.

Sawang takes over asAPPSC Chairman...Continued from

The State government laterap p oi nt e d h i m a sChairman of AP PublicS e r v i c e C om m i s s i on(APPSC). Sawang will con-tinue in the post for fiveyears.

In h i s p lace , for merInt e l l i g e n c e c h i e fKa s i re d d y Ve n k at a

Rajendranath Reddy hasbeen given full additionalc h a r g e a s S t a t e D G P.Rajendranath Reddy hadtaken over as State DGP afew days ago.

The government hadcome under intense criti-cism from several quartersfor removing Sawang asDGP though he had 17months of service left.

Massive...Continued from Page 1

EASA already had warned ofhigh risks to civilian aircraftover Ukraine early Thursdaymorning. In an update, it citeda notice issued by Moldovaclosing its airspace for all flightsdue to the Ukrainian crisis.

It pointed to a risk of bothintentional targeting andmisidentification of civil air-craft.

It said that operators alsoshould exercise caution whenoperated in airspace controlledby Moscow and Rostov-on-Don in Russia due to height-ened military activity whichmay include launches of mid-range missiles penetrating intocontrolled airspace.

Berlin: Germany's economyminister says the country isputting in place additionalmeasures to safeguard its ener-gy supply amid the escalatingtensions with Russia.

Govt failed to act, Oppn slams...Continued from Page 1

"Why were arrangements notmade in time to bring themsafely? Is this the 'self-reliant'mission," Surjewala tweeted.

In a series of tweets in Hindi,he said,"the Government ofIndia says - Our 20,000 Indianstrapped in Ukraine should staywhere they are. Because thegovernment is busy fightingelections right now?".

"Prime Minister ji, instead oftaking care of all, you are busyin election rallies... But weIndians are praying for the wellbeing of all of you," he said andadded "this iscalled...Opportunity in disaster

once again? #Ukraine#UkraineConflict."

Congress MP Vivek Tankhaasked that when the US couldevacuate its citizens on time,why did India fail to do sodespite repeated warnings.

"Very poor strategy plan-ning. With thousands trappedin the conflict zone, we havefailed our people. Imagine their& families plight," he said. Thesituation in Ukraine deteriorat-ed after President VladimirPutin announced a militaryoperation in Ukraine, trigger-ing serious concerns over thepossibility of a full-scale mili-tary confrontation between thetwo countries.

Gold soars Rs1,656...Continued from Page 1

Silver prices also shot up byRs 2,350 to Rs 66,267 perkilogram compared withthe previous close of Rs63,917 per kilogram. OnThursday, the rupee plum-meted 109 paise to close at75.70 against the dollar asRussia announced militaryoperation in Ukraine.

HDFC Securities SeniorAnalyst (Commodities)Tapan Patel said, "spotprices for 24 carat gold atDelhi surged by Rs 1,656 inline with gains in COMEXgold prices along with rupeedepreciation".

He also said that goldprices rallied on safe-havenbuying along with the dol-lar on geopolitical risk fear-ing severe sanctions onRussia and possible disrup-tion of supplies of com-modities.

Russian PresidentVladimir Putin on Thursdayannounced a military oper-at ion in Ukraine andwarned other countries thatany attempt to interfere withthe Russian action wouldlead to "consequences theyhave never seen".

In the international mar-kets, gold soared to USD1,942 an ounce while silverwas also trading higher atUSD 25.07 per ounce.

"Gold prices traded high-er with spot gold prices atCOMEX rallying 1.80 percent to USD 1,942 perounce on Thursday," Patelsaid.

Market mayhem; Rs 13.44 lakh crore...Continued from Page 1

The m-cap of BSE-listed companiesstood at Rs 2,55,68,668.33 crore at theend of trading on Wednesday.Traders said incessant foreign fundoutflows also weighed on the mar-kets. On a net basis, foreign institu-tional investors sold equities worthRs 3,417.16 crore on Wednesday, dataavailable with stock exchangesshowed. Brent Crude oil pricessurged past the USD 100-a-barrel

mark amid geopolitical worries.Global oil benchmark Brent crudefutures jumped 7.92 per cent to USD104.51 per barrel.

"Equities witnessed a free fall withmarkets around the globe downmore than 5 per cent, while Russianmarkets were down more than 30per cent as Russia invaded Ukraineafter weeks of conflict," saidSiddhartha Khemka, Head - RetailResearch, Motilal Oswal FinancialServices Ltd.

Telangana State ChiefMinister and TRS supre-mo K Chandrashekhar

Rao has declared that he wouldpursue his idea of forging analternative to the BharatiyaJanata Party at the Centre forthe coming General Electionand started taking initial stepsin that direction. This is theright time and situation toassess, examine, study, andposit what would happenwhen KCR, going by his trackrecord, succeeds in his loftyendeavour, marking a para-digm shift in national politicsas well as governance of thecountry.

The Chief Minister hasarticulated the need for asea-change in the country'spolitical landscape, which hasbeen in a rut for the past 75years. He has hinted that hehimself would be leading theemerging alternative. He hascalled for a qualitative changein the country's politics. Forthose who have been follow-

ing KCR as a front-line leaderwho had spearheaded theTelangana statehood move-ment for 14 years as well ashis governance as the ChiefMinister for nearly the lasteight years, the task envisagedby him is not at all difficult.

KCR has begun to specifywhat should be done to raisethe country, which is nowunder a dispensation thathas shattered the economy,disturbed peace, upset lawand order situation, polarizedpeople on religious and castelines, harassed political oppo-nents, criminalized politics,indulged in unprecedentedcorruption, shown total dis-regard for the poor, SCs, STs,BCs and minorities, andbetrayed lack of understand-ing of ethics and values ofdemocracy.

His angst towards the BJP-led Centre for underminingevery institution, the powersof States and the very basicfabric of cooperative federal-

ism should be understood inthe right spirit.

The first and foremostthing that KCR would do,when he gets a chance to beat helm of affairs at thenational level, is to strength-en the time-tested and age-old Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb ofthis country.

He will get rid of commu-nal polarization that began in2014 and knit the secular fab-ric, making it strong onceagain.

He would ensure that thereis communal harmony in the

country and no more target-ing, attacking and persecutingof people based on their caste,creed and community. Hewould bring back the free-dom of speech and expres-sion, freedom to practice anyreligion; and restore people'sright to eat what they wantand dress the way they want.

Some people may be curi-ous to know what exactlyKCR meant when he talkedabout 'Bangaru Bharat(Golden India)'. For theunversed, some logical con-clusions may drawn about his

vision on the basis of his stel-lar achievements in Telanganaas the state's first ChiefMinister.

The three sectors that willget priority are Power,Irrigation and Agriculture.KCR would bring reforms inthe power sector and tap 2lakh MW of power generat-ed and supply it to everynook and corner of the coun-try. Thus, 24-hour, uninter-rupted and quality powersupply would be a realityacross the country, not just inTelangana State.

Major, medium and smallirrigation projects would belaunched to utilise 65,000tmc of water available acrossthe country.

In a scientific method, hewould interlink the rivers tomake all farmland in thecountry fertile and irrigated.Besides providing 24-hourwater availability to the farmsector, he would addressfarmers' problems once and

for all. KCR would launch hisRythu Bandhu and RythuBhima programmes all overthe country.

He would create agricul-ture clusters all over thecountry and ensure thatfarmers would produce cropsthat are appropriate for thesoils they have and which arein demand at national andinternational markets.

For Dalits, KCR wouldimplement Dalit Bandhuscheme all over the countryand ensure that the eachand every Dalit family isself-reliant economically. Fortribals, BCs, SC, ST and theminorities, he would launchschemes that would givethem benefit and make themlive with self-respect in soci-ety. Programmes l ikeKalyana Laxmi and ShaadiMubarak will be implement-ed at the national level in allthe states.

Residential educationalinstitutions, especially for

the BCs, SCs, STs and theminorit ies, would belaunched and 50 per cent ofthem would be earmarkedfor girls.

KCR would make India afavorite destination for stu-dents abroad. Instead of ourstudents going abroad forhigher studies, students fromother countries would swarmto India for their higherstudies.

KCR would think ofreversing certain decisionsof the Modi governmentlike implementation offaulty GST, usurping pow-ers of the state govern-ments, and trying to takecontrol of subjects in theConcurrent List of theConstitution.

He would pave way for thetrue federal spirit with whichstates and the Union govern-ments ought to function.He would scrap all dracon-ian laws that have been invogue from the colonial

times.On the economy front,

KCR would usher in newpolicies like the ones intro-duced by former PrimeMinister late PV NarasimhaRao. KCR's reforms wouldbe practical, people-friend-ly, and a win-win policy forthe government as well asthe taxpayer.

His reforms would bringin major investments andIndia would become themost favorite investmentdestination in the world.

In other words, KCR'sBangaru Bharat would meana peaceful, happy, and com-fortable country -- a nationwhich would be the most-favoured destination forinvestors, students, travelers,truth-seekers and globe trot-ters alike.

Vanam JwalaNarasimha Rao and

VJM Divakar

The first and foremost thing thatKCR would do, when he gets achance to be at helm of affairs atthe national level, is to strengthenthe time-tested and age-old Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb of this country. He will get rid of communalpolarization that began in 2014.

‘Bangaru Bharat’: What is on KCR’s mind?

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 25, 2022

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The State government ismaking arrangements forMultilateral Naval Exercise(MILAN-2022) with utmostcare and all the officers whohave been assigned dutiesshould perform them withoutflaws, said VisakhapatnamCollector Dr. A.Mallikharjuna.

The Collector, along withNaval officers and seniorgovernment off icials ,reviewed the arrangementsfor the event on the beach-front on Thursday. He direct-ed the officials to set up LEDscreens on the beach road forthe public to watch the event.He also inspected the mainvenue at R.K. Beach.

Commissioner of PoliceManish Kumar Sinhaexplained the security mea-sures and traffic diversions.Joint Collector M. VenugopalReddy and GVMCCommissioner Dr. LakshmiShaw were also present.

Meanwhile, the IndianNavy extended a warm wel-come to VPNS Quang Trung,

a Gepard Class Frigate ofVietnamese People’s Navy(VPN), which arrived inVisakhapatnam to partici-pate in MILAN-2022.

VPN and the Indian Navyregularly interact throughbilateral exercises, port visitsand training cooperation,which has resulted inenhanced understanding,interoperability and trustbetween the two Navies.

The theme for MILAN2022 is 'Camaraderie -Cohesion - Collaboration'.

Arrangements forMILAN reviewed

Active Covidcases fall below5k-mark in APPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The active coronaviruscases fell below the 5,000-mark in Andhra Pradesheven as 220 fresh positiveswere reported in 24 hoursending 9 AM on Thursday.

According to the latestbulletin, 472 infected peo-ple recovered and twomore succumbed in the 24-hour period. The cumula-tive Covid-19 count in thestate is now 23,17,184.

The total active casesstood at 4,927 after22,97,537 recoveries and14,720 deaths, the bulletinsaid. West Godavari districtreported 43, Krishna 40,Guntur 36 and EastGodavari 27 fresh casesrespectively.

Of the remaining ninedistricts, three loggedbetween 10 and 20 whilesix added less than 10 newcases each. Chittoor andKrishna districts reportedone fresh fatality each in aday.

BC leader joins Jana SenaPNS n VIJAYAWADA

National BC Association gen-eral secretary N Srinivasulujoined the Jana Sena party onThursday in the presence ofJSP Political AffairsCommittee chairmanNadendla Manohar.

Srinivasulu was admitted

into the Jana Sena by Manoharby wrapping a scarf at a pro-gramme held in Hyderabad.Kurnool JSP leaders RekhaGoud and Arshad were alsopresent.

Meanwhile, Jana Sena partychief K Pawan Kalyan tweet-ed a quote in the backdrop ofwar in Ukraine. “One of my

all-time favourite quotes,which came out of immensesuffering, pain & realisationfrom ‘Pastor MartinNiemoller’ during NaziGermany regime.

What an eternal truth!,”Pawan Kalyan posted MartinNiemoller’s quotation on hisTwitter handle.

National BC Association general secretary N Srinivasulu who joined the Jana Sena party on Thursday, being welcomed byJSP Political Affairs Committee chairman Nadendla Manohar.

Minister inaugurates mobilecontainer scanner at portPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Union Minister for Ports,Shipping and WaterwaysSarbananda Sonowal reviewedthe progress of theVisakhapatnam Port onThursday. The minister inau-gurated the mobile containerscanner facility and Sagarmalaconvention hall.

During the visit, he partici-pated in a handful of eventsincluding inaugurations andfoundation stone-laying forseveral developmental works inthe harbour. The mobile con-tainer scanner was set up by theport to scan the containers forradioactive materials, spendingan estimated amount of Rs. 30

crore. The Sagarmala conven-tion hall at Salagramapuram inthe city was constructed at acost of Rs. 25 crore for the portemployees.

While planting a sapling atthe harbour, the minister laud-ed the Visakhapatnam PortTrust (VPT), which planted 4.5lakh saplings as part of a green

initiative in 2021-22. Theminister said that most propos-als submitted by AndhraPradesh were sanctioned andthe government was alwaysready to render any assistance.

K. Rama Mohana Rao,Chairman, VPT, and DurgeshDubey explained the activitiesat the harbour to the minister.

TDP chief asks CM to clarify on Viveka casePNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP national president andformer chief minister NChandrababu Naidu onThursday asked whether ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy had no moral respon-sibility to clarify to the peopleon the YS Vivekananda Reddymurder.

Naidu termed it as

deplorable that the ChiefMinister was extending all therequired support and patron-age for the killers of his ownpaternal uncle. The accusedpersons were trying to threat-en and intimidate the CBIofficers who were presentlyinvestigating the case.

Addressing a meeting ofsarpanches here, the TDP chiefrecalled how they tried to

stain the TDP image with theblood of slain VivekanandaReddy. But now, the truth hadcome out after the CBI took upan in-depth investigation fol-lowing a court petition filed byViveka's daughter and JaganReddy's sister Sunitha Reddy.

Naidu said that YSRCP MPAvinash Reddy's name clear-ly surfaced in the CBI probe.The local CI was informed

about Viveka's death over thephone. He was told that it wasa fatal heart attack. When hecame to the spot along withthree constables, they werenot allowed to go inside.Only the CI was allowed totake a look at the body. TheCI was asked to shut hismouth when he questionedhow it could be a heart attackwhen there was so much

blood.Chandrababu Naidu

reminded the Chief Ministerof his responsibility to placethe facts before the public.The CBI probe ascertainedthat persons came from thehospital of Jagan Reddy's wifeBharati Reddy's father andthey st itched bleedingwounds on Viveka bodyunauthorisedly.

Naidu complains onharassment of womanPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP national president andformer Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu hasdescribed as 'inhuman andgruesome' the harassment of awoman surveyor by her supe-rior officer in Kuppam inChittoor district. Naidu, onThursday, urged the ChittoorDistrict Collector to take nec-essary action against KuppamMandal Tahsildar Suresh Babufor harassing and threateningsurveyor Muni Lavanya. Shehas been working atNadimuru village secretariat.

In a letter to the DistrictCollector, the TDP chief saidSuresh Babu seemed to havethreatened her that he wouldensure that she would not getprobation. Following thethreats, Lavanya took some

tablets and attempted to com-mit suicide. Fortunately, shewas spotted by the neighboursand was admitted to a hospital.

Naidu said that the Revenueofficials who arrived at thehospital took her to someother place and administeredtreatment through doctorsunder their watch. It was sadthat the administrationstooped to such a low level.They were resorting to harass-ment and intimidation of sub-ordinates for money, whichhad become a norm in theState. Chandrababu Naidudeplored that such incidentswould take our society andgovernance backward at leastby four decades. “There is anurgent need to contain suchharassment and threats to allthe employees in the State,” headded.

CM for strengthening coop banksPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has directed the officialsto strengthen cooperativebanks and offer loans at thelowest interest rates possible.

During the review meetingheld at the camp office here onThursday, the Chief Ministeremphasised protecting cooper-ative banks as they belong tothe State and promised to pro-vide loans at the lowest inter-est rates to benefit a largenumber of people.

He also discussed strength-ening DCCBs, societies, com-puterisation, transparency poli-cies, and integrating with RBKsto reach a greater extent.

The Chief Minister said thatDCCBs and societies should bestrengthened so as to withstandthe competition in the bankingsector and said that the bankswould prosper by providing agood amount of loans to thepublic. He directed the author-ities to follow proper SOPs andtold them to focus on bringingprofits to DCCBs, as manyfarmers in the rural areas rely

on those organisations.Further, Chief Minister YS

Jaganmohan Reddy stated thatcooperative banks should alsotake advantage of such oppor-tunities as providing goldloans, which provides completesecurity on loans taken. Hestated that revolutionarychanges have been brought inthe agriculture sector throughthe RBK initiative and said thatDistrict Central Co-operativeBanks need to be strengthenedas they play a vital role in agri-culture and allied sectors.

He instructed officials to

ensure complete transparencyin providing loans leaving noplace for politics or corruptionand stressed that cooperativebanks should take steps toinstill confidence in their cus-tomers.

The Chief Minister also saidthat banking activities ofPrimary AgriculturalCooperative Credit Societies(PACS) should be carried outthrough RBKs and asked theofficials to map the PACSaccordingly and link them toRBKs, as banking correspon-dents are already working from

RBKs liaisoning between farm-ers and banks. He asked themto chart a policy by taking sug-gestions from banking experts.

He said that district cooper-ative banks and societiesshould bring good manage-ment practices to benefit farm-ers and make use of kiosks inRBKs for banking activities,where the farmers can evenupload documents.

The Chief Minister directedthe authorities to take appro-priate action on the complaintsand suggestions received fromthe farmers during agriculture

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Lashing out at TDP leaderNara Lokesh, YSRCP MLAGudivada Amaranath has saidthat the TDP leader went toVisakhapatnam e only topoliticise Ayyanna Patrudu’sissue.

Speaking to media personshere on Thursday, the MLAsaid Ayyanna Patrudu madederogatory remarks againstthe Chief Minister and theState government using foullanguage and the law hadtaken its own course. He saidNaidu didn’t try even once toname a district after NTRdespite being in power for 14years and added that the ChiefMinister had fulfilled his

promise of naming Krishnadistrict after NTR. “Why can’tNaidu and Lokesh bear it?” heasked.

The MLA said the TDP hadlost its political presence in theState and asked Lokesh if hisparty had the guts to contestwithout any alliance in thenext elections. He said theTDP had failed as a responsi-ble Opposition and was politi-cising unnecessary issues onlyto make its presence felt.

YSRCP legislatorlashes out at Lokesh

Lokesh warns people making‘insulting comments' on motherPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

TDP national general secretaryNara Lokesh on Thursday gaveout a stern warning that hewould not allow anybody to gounpunished for their 'insultingcomments' against his motherBhuvaneswari.

Lokesh asked the rulingYSRCP leaders to do somesoul-searching about whatwould happen if the TDPwould also pass similarremarks against CM JaganMohan Reddy's motherVijayalakshmi, wife Bharati,and their children.

Nara Lokesh appearedbefore the court here in adefamation case he filed againstSakshi for Rs. 75 Cr. On theoccasion, he told the mediapersons that he had filed

defamation cases against threemedia organisations includ-ing the Sakshi media belongingto the Jagan Mohan Reddyfamily. The YSRCP govern-ment was targeting and filingfalse cases against theChandrababu family for fight-ing on behalf of the people andfor resolving their problems.

Lokesh asserted that hewould never forget how humil-iating remarks were passedagainst his mother in theAssembly itself. This was notthe culture of the TDP. Everyson would feel very bad if suchremarks were passed against hismother. The Jagan Reddyregime has created a specialIPC section to implicate theTDP leaders in fabricated cases.

Condemning the YSRCPrulers' revenge-taking attitude,

Lokesh deplored that they hadfiled over 13 false cases againsthim so far. One of these caseswas an attempt to murder case.From the beginning, the rulingYCP leaders and the Sakshimedia were going with anagenda to demotivate and ter-rify the TDP leaders.

Nara Lokesh said that Sakshiresorted to a character assassi-nation campaign against himalong personal lines. They triedto attack and malign his per-sonality. Many false reportswere published. After the mur-der of YS Vivekananda Reddy,the Sakshi media started mud-slinging at ChandrababuNaidu.

Lokesh asserted that hewould not be afraid of such vil-ification campaigns by the rul-ing YCP leaders.

Govt Jr College building tobe inaugurated tomorrowPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Aurobindo PharmaFoundation has constructeda G over nment JuniorC ol lege bui ld ing atSomalingapuram village inMerakamudidam mandal ofVizianagaram district. Witha built-up area of 14,000 sq.ft. in 1.80 acres land, thebuilding consists of 12 class-rooms including a laborato-ry, a staff room, principal’sroom, cycle shed, toiletblocks for girls, boys andstaff, compound wall andrequired furniture (dualdesks, chairs, chalk boardsand wardrobes). The collegebuilding would be inaugu-rated on February 26.

CSR funds of Rs.3.30crore was spent for the con-struction of the collegewherein Rs. 2.60 lakh wasspent by Axis Clinical, Rs.51 l ak h by Tr identChemphar and Rs. 19 lakhwas spent by the Aurobindo

Pharma Foundation for thees t abl i shment of t heGovernment Junior College.

Merakamudidam mandalof C heepur upa l l i con-stituency is a remote areaw it h p ar t i c u l ar ly p o oraccess to colleges and sec-ondary education institu-tions.

Though around 800 stu-dents here complete school-ing every year, they have to

travel almost 30 km everyday to attend college orpursue higher education.The new college would be ofgreat help for those in needof quality education andproper infrastructure. Thecollege would provide qual-ity education to around 600students free of cost. Itoffers four streams of inter-mediate education and twovocational courses.

Foundation Day of Tirupati celebratedPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The 892nd foundation day ofthe pilgrim city of Tirupati wasobserved with devotional fer-vour on Thursday.

An eclectic parade of puran-ic cultural teams led byTirumala pontiffs theJeeyarswami’s, Vedic pundits,bhajan groups and holy drumson the Mada streets of SriGovindarajaswami templemarked the celebrations.

On this day legendary seer SriRamanuja Charyulu laid thefoundation of the pilgrim cityand launched the building activ-ity of Sri GovindarajaAgraharam which later trans-

formed into erstwhile Tirupati.The Shobha Yatra champi-

oned by Tirupati legislatorBhumana Karunakar Reddywas greeted by green arches,camphor haratis ,and pujas bylocal residents as it passedthrough populous streets .

Earlier special pujas wereperformed for the statue of SriRamanuja Charyulu.

Speaking on the occasion,Bhumana said efforts would bemade in coordination withTirumala TirupatiDevasthanams (TTD) forworldwide celebrations ofTirupati foundation day soon inview of its devotional promi-nence and puranic significance.

Historic materials show thaton this day in 1130 the templecity works commenced alongwith that of SriGovindarajaswami temple.

He said the future genera-tions should carry on the taskof taking the glory of Tirupatiworld over with the foundationcelebrations.

Tirupati MunicipalCorporation (TMC) MayorShirisha, TMC commissionerGirisha, SP Venkata AppalaNaidu, AdditionalCommissioner Harita, TTDboard member Ashok Kumar,Deputy Mayors MudraNarayana and BhumanaAbhinaye Reddy were present.

PNS n KAKINADA

The East Godavari districtunit of the CPI(M) hasdeplored the plans of politicalbigwigs to usurp the Bhudanlands with the tacit support ofthe revenue officials.

CPI (M) party senior leaderChinthapalli Ajaykumar hassaid on Thursday that theBhudan Lands to the extent offour acres situated in surveynumbers 144/1 and 144/3were distributed as house sitepattas to 300 poor peoplealmost four decades back, were

now being usurped by thepolitical leaders as the area isnow in a prime location .

The ruling party menwere having an eyeover the costly landand trying to usurpit with the support ofthe revenue officials.’he alleged andwarned that theCPI(M) would not allowany injustice to the poorpeople who were issued pattasdecades back.

He hoped that the districtcollector would intervene and

render justice to the pattadarsby granting form-4 enablingthem to start construction of

the houses in the site.`Though the high

court gave an orderin favour of thepoor almost fiveyears ago, the rev-enue department

failed to take anyaction. But of late at

the instances of rulingparty men, the RDOannounced the pattas as fake,even setting aside the courtverdict.

CPM opposes plans to ‘usurp'Bhudan lands, demands justice

PNS n HYDERABAD

Central Zone team, alongwith local police, raided agodown situated at TRTQtr.No.312, Nallakunta,Shivam Road, Hyderabadand apprehended oneaccused, Goli Ranjith Kumar@ Ranjith who was illegallyprocuring and selling prohib-ited tobacco products andseized Rs 6 lakh worth for-eign cigarettes materials, onetwo-wheeler Honda Activaand one smart mobile phone.

The accused Goli RanjithKumar @ Ranjith is a native ofJagtial district. He did manyodd works and was unable tofulfill his needs. As such hehatched a plan to gain easymoney for which he startedprocuring prohibited tobaccoproducts & banned foreigncigarettes and operating hisbusiness from his godown sit-uated at TRT Qtr. No. 312,Nallakunta, Shivam Road,Hyderabad. He was supplyingthe prohibited tobacco & for-eign cigarettes to Kirana shopsand Pan shops for higher prices.

Police seize Rs 6L worth offoreign tobaccoproducts in Hyd

04VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 25, 2022

PNS n ELURU

Vice-President M VenkaiahNaidu will attend the PlatinumJubilee function of CR ReddyCollege to be held here onMarch 2.

Talking to the media hereon Thursday, CR Reddy edu-cational institutions secretaryDr. M V S P Prasad said thatVice-President M VenkaiahNaidu had consented to attendas a chief guest for thePlatinum Jubilee function ofCR Reddy College.

Deputy Chief Minister AllaKalikrishna Srinivas and MP

Kotagiri Sridhar would alsoattend the programme on theday. The programme is beingorganised to celebrate thecompletion of 75 years, hesaid, adding that all arrange-ments had been made for theVice-President’s programme,he said.

He said that over two lakhstudents have studied at CRReddy College during the last75 years. He said that the man-agement is running institu-tions from KG to PG, publicschool, junior college, degreecollege, B.Ed, Physiotherapy,Women’s College, Engineering

College and Polytechnic. CR Reddy College was

established in 1945 as a smallcollege. Now it has become a

group of educational institu-tions with nine colleges withthe staff strenght of over 1,000and 14,500 students. CRReddy College has beenaccorded the prestigiousNAAC ‘A’ Grade for threesuccessive years. It hasachieved a national level NBArecognition, he said.

Degree College correspon-dent Dr. K S Vishnu Mohan,Correspondent K Siva RamaKrishna Prasad, Principal Dr.K Rama Raju and EngineeringCollege Correspondent K HariKrishnama Raju were amongthose who were present.

PNS n ELURU

Andhra Pradesh state SC/STCommission Chairman MVictor Prasad said that all theSCs and STs people must haveknowledge on the SC/STAtrocities (Prevention) Act toprotect their self-respect.

The SC/ST Bahujana RightsProtection Society and DalitBahujan Shremika Unionorganised a one-day trainingprogramme for the Dalits hereon Thursday.

Addressing the programme,Victor Prasad all the SCs/STspeople should have full knowl-edge on how the SC/STAtrocities Act would protectthem from being harassed andhow the Act provides themprotection. He appealed to themedia to expose if injustice ismeted to the SCs and STsanywhere in the state.

Victor Prasad reminded thatthe international human rightscommission set up a commit-

tee to monitor the implemen-tation of the SC/ST AtrocitiesAct in India as human rightsviolations are high in the coun-try. Even after over 70 years ofIndependence the SCs/STs arebeing subjected to discrimina-tion, he regretted. He tookstrong exception to grant sta-tion bail to those who grab thelands belonging to the SCs andSTs.

A trainer Chittibabu feltthat if the SCs and SCs stud-ied the SC/ST Atrocities Act

and gained knowledge theycould protect themselves frombeing discriminated againstand meted injustice. The Act isthere to protect the self-respectof Dalits and all should availthe Act, he said.

West Godavari SC/ST vigiland monitor committee mem-ber M Ajay Babu, DalitBahujan Sremika UnionConvenor P Chittibabu andhuman rights national cam-paigned Elisha and other lead-ers were present.

PNS n ONGOLE

Minister for EducationAdimulapu Suresh onThursday released a wall-poster regarding the celebra-tion of Sivaratri festival at thefamous TripurantakeswaraSwamy and Sri BalaTripurasundari Devi tem-ples located atTripurantakam village inPrakasam district.

On account ofMahasivaratri, to be held onMarch 1, various devotionalprogrammes would be

organised at the temple andlakhs of people throng thetemple on that day.

The minister, alongwithTripurantakam templeEO Chennakeshava Reddy,Tripurantakam MPP SubbaReddy, Sarpanch VenkataLakshmi and district librarieschairman R Venkata Sushilaand trust board memberSubba Rao, released wall-poster. The Shivaratri eventwould begin at the temple onFebruary 27 withAnkurarpanam andDwajarojana.

PNS n ONGOLE

The agitation demanding cre-ation of a separateMarkapuram district continuein the region. A massive rallywas organised on Thursday aspart of the agitation.

Activists and leaders of TDP,YSRCP, BJP, Congress, Leftparties, various organisations,students of various education-al institutions, journalistunions and BAR associationparticipated in the rally today.

The rally began at SBI andwent through the main road

and ended at Tahsildar office.Holding placards and ban-ners they raised slogansdemanding the creation of theMarkapuram district withMarkapuram as its headquar-ter. They submitted a memo-randum to TahasilkdarMallikarjuna Naidu.

Meanwhile, GiddaluruMLA Anna VenkataRambabu, along with otherleaders submitted a memoran-dum to Collector PravinKumar in this regard. Talkingto the media, the MLA saidthat he had urged the Collector

to ensure that Markapuramdistrict is created withMarkapuram its headquarters

and Giddaluru constituencyshould remain in thePrakasam district.

PNS n ONGOLE

Prakasam District Police led bySuperintendent of Police MalikaGarg has bagged the 'DigitalTechnology Sabha Excellence Award-2022', one of the prestigious nation-al-level awards given by ExpressComputers.

The SP has got this award for theinnovative project "Road Accident-Risk Assessment & EnforcementStrategies to prevent road accidents inPrakasam district in the Big DataAnalytics category. Today the SPreceived this Excellence Awardthrough a virtual conference from theDistrict Police Office.

The project was launched with theobjective of road accident preventionby collecting and analysing compre-hensive information on road acci-dents in the district and formulatingand implementing specific strategiesto reduce road accidents and deaths.

A causative analysis report on

road accidents in the district is pre-pared in collaboration with thetransport, R&B engineering andmunicipal authorities to assess thecauses of road accidents from var-ious angles and formulate perma-nent measures to prevent suchroad accidents from happeningagain in those areas in the future.In this project, accident points and

black spots across the district aredrawn on Google Maps, classifythem as 2020, 2021, 2022 and cur-rent week, scientifically study thecauses and police, municipal, engi-neering, and transport departmentswork in tandem to prevent acci-dents.

As part of this project, a specialdrive named 'NO ACCIDENT

DAY' being implemented everySaturday across the district, inno-vative programs such as Stop-Wash-Go are regularly held in theearly hours to avoid accidents byalerting the drivers. Interventionssuch as sign boards, speed break-ers, lighting systems, paintingworks, traffic cones, cat eyes, solarblinkers, radium stickers have beenset up at black spots to prevent acci-dents. Special speed lens gunshave been installed at variousplaces in the district to preventaccidents by controlling the speedof vehicles on the roads andstrengthening the highway mobilepatrol system to get the woundedto the hospital in the Golden Hourto avoid casualties.

As a result of this project,Prakasam district police havereduced the number of deaths inroad accidents by 27% as com-pared to the past. Speaking on theoccasion, the District SP said

such awards would help in pro-viding better services to the peo-ple with renewed vigour. District

police officers and staff expressedtheir delight at the arrival of theaward to their top brass.

National digital technology award for Prakasam police

PNS n GUNTUR

Mayor K Manohar Naidudirected the officials to takesteps to supply drinking waterto the areas wherever there isscarcity of drinking water.

He inspected the overheadtank located in the BR stadiumhere on Thursday. He enquiredwith the staff on the supply ofdrinking water through thetank.

He directed the officials totake all steps to supply drink-ing water to the areas, whichare facing drinking watershortage, keeping in view theensuing summer. He askedthem to take steps to plugleaks, if there are any, to thedrinking water supply pipes.

“All steps should be taken toensure that the drinking waterbeing supplied by the corpora-

tion should not be contaminat-ed. The complaints of habitatsshould be registered and steps

should be taken to resolvethem”, he told the water supplydepartment staff.

The Mayor directed them tokeep the surrounding area ofthe drinking water reservoirclean and tidy. The secretariesshould collect samples of waterand examine them to find outwhether chlorine is mixed pro-portionately.

He asked the officials con-cerned to submit proposals toconstruct a newly overheadtank in place of the old tank.Corporators MohammadAbeed Basha, Khaja Mohiddin,Sk. Miravali and EE SrisanthiRaju, DEE Ramesh Babu andAE Rambabu were amongthose who accompanied themayor.

Take steps to mitigate potablewater scarcity: Guntur Mayor

PNS n GUNTUR

As many as 20 students of theVinukonda area, who went toUkraine to pursue engineering,returned to their homes a fewdays ago.

Some of the students toldthe media that theyapproached a consultancy topursue engineering in Italy.The consultancy agency col-lected money from them but at

the last minute, it informedthem that Visas were not grant-ed to them to study in Italy.They were sent to Ukraineinstead.

After seeing the alarmingsituation and a possible warthreat to Ukraine, the stu-dents returned to their homesin Vinukonda a few days ago.As they expected, war eruptedin Ukraine now. The parents ofthe students after watching a

fierce battle in Ukraine on TVsfelt that their children returnedhome a few days ago withGod's grace. The parentsheaved a sigh of relief now.

Film producer andNandamuri Yuvasena leaderLagadapati Srinivasa Rao toldthe media on Thursday that hisson Bhargav went to Ukraineto pursue engineering butreturned home about 20 daysago sensing the danger of war.

Sensing danger, 20 Vinukondastudents return from Ukraine

V-P to attend CR Reddy College Platinum Jubilee function

SCs/STs must have knowledge ofAtrocities Act: Victor Prasad

Minister releases poster

on Sivaratri festival

Vja police bag excellence awardPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Vijayawada PoliceCommissionerate bagged theExpress Computer DigitalTechnology Sabha ExcellenceAward for rendering outstandingservices to the people with the helpof Mithra Kiosk, in the mainte-nance of law and order, public ser-vices, road safety, public informa-tion outreach and women’s safety.Commissioner of Police KantiRana Tata received the award invirtual mode on Wednesday. Withthe help of Mithra Kiosk, the pub-

lic can directly download the FIRcopy and other services. The kioskis also useful in tracking missingpersons, identification of deadbodies, AP police directory, e-challan payments, women’s safety,petitions inquiry, fact-checking,etc. People can have access to thePolice Department in the State withthe help of Mithra Kiosks.

Police Commissioner Rana saidit was a proud moment for thedepartment.

DCP Admin Mary Prashantiand other police officials attendedthe award ceremony held in virtu-al mode.

Stir for creation of Markapuram district continues

PNS n ONGOLE

A suspended constable attackeda 33 rd ward woman council-lor of Chirala municipality inChirala on Thursday with acricket bat and the seriouslyinjured councillor was admit-ted to the government hospital.

Police said that a constableJangala Suresh who was sus-pended by the officials went tothe house of councillor Salomiwith a cricket bat and attackedher. He hit her with the bat ontheir head and hands. She suf-fered grievous injuries andwas admitted to the govern-ment hospital. When theneighbours rushed to her res-cue the accused fled the scene.Her husband Vasantha Raolodged a complaint with thepolice. Family members of theinjured councillor Salomi toldthe media that she won as amunicipal councillor with ahuge majority on behalf of theAmanchi Krishna Mohanpanel. She also earned a goodname as a good speaker. Thepolice are ascertaining theexact reason for the attack. Theaccused constable is at large,police said.

CZ TF to disposeunclaimed vehiclesPNS n HYDERABAD

Cyberabad police has pro-posed to dispose of 547 aban-doned and unclaimed vehiclesof various types and make,which are pooled at MoinabadPS Grounds, CyberabadCommissionerate, Hyderabad.

They are proposed to dis-pose of these vehicles by wayof Public auction as empow-ered u/s 6(2), 7 of Cyberabad(Metropolitan area) Police Act,2004, r/w Sec.40 and 41 ofHyderabad City Police Act.Any person having any objec-tion or ownership interest inany of these vehicles may filean application before theCommissioner of Police,Cyberabad Commissionerate,and claim the vehicle within aperiod of 15 days from the dateof notification, failing whichthe vehicles will be auctioned.

PNS n TIRUMALA

Brushing aside the allegationsaround Arjita Seva price hike,Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust BoardChairman YV Subba Reddyon Thursday said it was unfor-tunate that some vested inter-ests are distorting the Board'sdebate on Arjita Seva tickets toreduce VIP pressures and cre-ate more access to commondevotees.

Reddy said with a nobleobjective to keep board deci-sions transparent, the TTD hasalso given live telecast of boardmeetings like never before forthe information of the gener-al public.

He said the issue was notdiscussed secretly betweenfour walls and critics failed tonote that he had declared atthe beginning of a debate onthe issue that there was noquestion of hiking Arjita Sevatickets issued to commondevotees. He had categorical-ly clarified that it was not thefault of the board that ourhonest intentions and declara-tions were not visible to polit-ically motivated vested inter-ests who are trying to createunnecessary confusion amongthe devotees.

The TTD Chairman said SriVenkateswara will ensure suchbaseless campaigns will alwaysfail and attempts to drag Godalso into muddy politics willbe squarely punished by the

almighty. He also categorical-ly said he will never endorseany decision in the TTD boardwhich affects the interests ofcommon devotees and alwayswelcomed good criticismwhich promotes their welfare.

He also urged people not tobelieve and fall prey to thepolitical conspiracy by somevested interests behind theentire malicious propaganda.

He requested the devoteesto note that whatever he spokeat the TTD board meeting wasedited and morphed techno-logically to suit their politicalcampaign.

He said TTD would soontake legal action on all socialmedia that were engaged insuch a distorting campaignagainst TTD.

The TTD Chairman saidthat the truth is that the debateon a hike on Arjitha Seva waspending for a long time as theSeva tickets were limited innumber but the requests ofrecommendation letters aremore. The debate on whetherto hike Arjita Seva ticketswould help to reduce the pres-sure of recommendations onTTD, he added.

Suspended copattacks womancouncillor

TTD Chairman brushes asidecharges on Arjita Seva price hike

MANUU to celebrate 200 years of Urdu journalism

PNS n HYDERABAD

Dr B R Ambedkar OpenUniversity (BRAOU)announced the dates ofUnder Graduate (CBCS)second year semester-IIIexaminations to be con-ducted from April 17 to 23.Third year semester-Vexaminations will com-mence from April 25 to 30and first year semester-Iexamination will be heldfrom May 7 to 13, 2022.The last date for online reg-istration is March 20, 2022.The timing of the examina-tion is 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM.Students are advised tovisit the university portal :www.braouonline.in forexamination registration.The Science students haveto pay the practical Examfee along with theory examfee as a single paymentthrough TS/AP.

BRAOU dates for UGsemester exams

PNS n HYDERABAD

To celebrate 200 years of UrduJournalism this year, theDepartment of Mass Communication and Journa lism,Maulana Azad National UrduUniversity (MANUU) hasannounced to organise a seriesof events under the nameKarwaan-e-Urdu Sahafat.

The celebration coincideswith the Silver JubileeCelebrations of the Urdu var-sity. The programmes willbegin in February and end byNovember 2022. The first pro-grammes will begin with logo

making competition of theevent followed by other eventsincluding, International con-ference, Urdu Media Conclave,Urdu Media Summit, UrduArchival and Book Exhibition,Docume ntary Making andAward Ceremony. The lastdate of submission for logodesign competition is March20, 2022.

Prof Ehtesham AhmedKhan, Dean, School of MassCommunication andJournalism, MANUU, said:``It was in March 1822 whenthe first Urdu language news-paper Jam-i-Jahan-Numa, was

founded by Harihar Dutta inKolkata. The main aim ofbicentenary celebrations is tobring all the Urdu journalismpromoters and lovers at oneplatform. We as a departmenthave always tried to keep thelegacy and grace of UrduJournalism going"

The objective of the Bicentenary celebration is to unveiland bring forward the mis-placed, lost, hidden, archivedand not so popular text, factsrelated to Urdu journalismand the personalities associat-ed with Urdu Journalism, headded.

Police bustfraudulent scheme PNS n HYDERABAD

Sleuths of Cyberabad police bust-ed a fraudulent scheme floated bya private company for cheating inthe name of deposits and hugereturns. RC Puram Police andEconomic Offenses Wing ofCyberabad arrested the ManagingDirector of M/s MetalloidsTechnologies Pvt. Ltd, Madhapur,Hyderabad, who has collecteddeposits from the gullible publicby promising with a return of highrate of interest and cheated around3,500 depositors of Telanganastate to a tune of Rs.50 crore.

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 25, 2022

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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday assured that roads in Madhya Pradeshwould be like those in the United States in the next five years. Airbuses can also beintroduced to ferry devotees to the famous Mahakal temple here, he said. The

roads of MP would be like those in the US in the next five years, the Union RoadTransport and Highways Minister said here. Gadkari laid the foundation stones for 11road projects with estimated cost of Rs 5,722 crore. The roads will cover a cumulativedistance of 534 km. Air buses can plyover 30 to 40 km to bring devotees tothe Mahakal temple, he said, addingthat Madhya Pradesh Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan has demandedan air bus service. This is notimpossible," he said. "Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has given theresponsibility of laying ropeway cableto my department. We have built 16ropeways in Uttarakhand and 14 inHimachal Pradesh, Gadkari further said.

The Supreme Court Thursday said the duration of blacklisting cannot be solelyper offence and seriousness of lapse or gravity of commission and omission onthe part of the contractor which led to an incident, should be the relevant

considerations. The apex court said it does not approve the guidelines issued by theOdisha Government in November 2021 which provide that blacklisting period peroffence shall be limited to three years subject to an overall maximum cumulativeperiod of 10 years for multipleoffences. A bench of Justices M RShah and B V Nagarathna deliveredthe verdict on the pleas filed by thestate against the orders passed by theOrissa High Court last year. The highcourt in one of the orders had setaside the state's order banning acontractor from participating orbidding for any work to be undertakenby the Odisha government andtransacting any business with them.

Asserting that research and innovation propel a country towards development, UnionHealth Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said it was time for India todemonstrate its mettle through entrepreneurship and innovation in the health sector.

He said that under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indiahas taken several notable steps towards self-reliance, especially in vaccine developmentduring the pandemic. Mandaviya and his deputy Bharti Pravin Pawar launched the'ICMR/DHR Policy on BiomedicalInnovation and Entrepreneurship forMedical Professionals, Scientists andTechnologists at Medical, Dental, Para-Medical Institutes/ Colleges'. "I am veryhopeful that this policy of DHR-ICMR willmotivate, incentivise and give a fillip to allstakeholders. "It will ensure multi-disciplinary collaboration, promote start-up culture and develop an innovation-ledecosystem at the medical institutesacross the country," Mandaviya said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Government officials onThursday went into a huddle toaccess the impact of Russianaggression in Ukraine on theIndian economy and beganpreparing contingency plans tocombat a possible spike ininflation due to a rise in oilprices and the country's exter-nal trade being impacted.

While there are no immedi-ate fears of a supply disruptionor trade routes being blocked,oil prices soaring to an overseven-year high of USD 105per barrel do have a short andmedium-term impact on theeconomy.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said she will bemeeting Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to review thesituation following RussianPresident Vladimir Putinauthorising a 'special militaryoperation' that saw his forces

firing missiles at several citiesin Ukraine and landing troopson its coast.

A daily revision in prices ofpetrol and diesel and themonthly change in cooking gasLPG rate was halted as fivestates including Uttar Pradeshwent to polls. The over three-month hiatus combined withthe spike in international oil

prices -- on which domesticrates are dependent -- haswidened the gulf between costand selling price.

Industry sources said the gapis well over Rs 10 per litre,which when passed on aftercompletion of the electionsnext month would result in aspike in inflation rate which isalready above the RBI's toler-

ance level of 6 per cent.While the petroleum min-

istry detailed the oil supply sit-uation, the finance ministryofficials were busy assessing thebroader impact and the fiscalmeasures the government mayhave to unleash, such as a cutin excise duty.

A separate assessment wasbeing done on the impact ofsanctions the US and othercountries have imposed onMoscow, on India's trade withRussia and Ukraine.

According to a seniorfinance ministry official, thegovernment is assessing theeconomic fallout of the fastunfolding situation.

Inputs from various min-istries are being gathered as towhat impact sanctions willhave on foreign trade in differ-ent sectors, the official said,adding crude oil prices arealso being watched.

Another top official said oil

supply routes are unhinderedand there was abundant stockavailable in the market. "Oursuppliers are in the Middle East,Africa and North America,who are untouched by the con-flict and they continue to sup-ply oil and gas as normal."

Prices, however, are of con-cern as they will stoke infla-tion. "Retail prices are onhold but ultimately they willhave to be increased at somepoint," the official said.

India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, dependson imports to meet 85 per centof its needs. The imported oilis converted into productslike petrol, diesel and LPG.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and otherMiddle East nations accountfor 63.1 per cent of all imports.Africa is the second biggestsupplier, accounting for closeto 14 per cent of all supplieswhile North America gives13.2 per cent.

Russia makes up for a thirdof Europe's natural gas andabout 10 per cent of global oilproduction. About a third ofRussian gas supplies to Europeusually travel throughpipelines crossing Ukraine.

But for India, Russian sup-plies account for a very smallpercentage. While Indiaimported 43,400 barrels perday of oil from Russia in 2021(about 1 per cent of its over-all imports), coal importsfrom Russia at 1.8 milliontonnes in 2021 made up for1.3 per cent of all inboundshipments of the dry fuel.India also buys 2.5 milliontonnes of LNG a year fromGazprom of Russia.

Exporters' body FIEO saidthe Russia-Ukraine militaryconflict may have an implica-tion on the country's trade asit could affect the movement ofconsignments, payments andoil prices.

Govt officials in a huddle to assess impact of war on economy

PNS n AMETHI/PRAYAGRAJ (UP)

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Thursday attacked opposi-tion parties, saying guided by"vote bank and dynastic poli-tics", they have always sacri-ficed the interest of the coun-try and the poor.

Modi also questioned the"silence" of rivals over thecourt's recent verdict onAhmedabad blasts, and said,"Being hostage to vote bankpolitics, they would not evenhesitate to insult the army orthe police".

The prime minister'sremarks came days after a spe-cial court in Ahmedabad sen-tenced to death 38 members ofthe terror outfit IndianMujahideen in the 2008 serialblasts case. The court also sen-tenced 11 other convicts to lifeimprisonment.

Modi was addressing a rallyfor nine constituencies ofAmethi and neighbouringSultanpur. He started the daywith the election rally in

Amethi and later went toPrayagraj for his second pub-lic meeting. At the Prayagrajrally, PM Modi said two crorepeople visited Mecca andaround one crore visitedVatican City in Rome in 2019.

These countries had givenfacilities for the visiting devo-tees, he said.

"But, if we do the same inIndia, these people see this

through the lens of communal-ism," he said attacking therivals.

Modi appealed to the youthsto remain beware of dynastswho are "hostage" to vote bankpolitics. He also sought topuncture the euphoria of oppo-nents over voting in the firstfour phases of the Uttar Pradeshassembly polls, saying "peoplehave showered blessings on the

BJP in abundance, proving thatthe rivals' math on division ofvotes has gone wrong".

Assembly constituencies ofSultanpur were included inthe first rally, while BJP candi-dates of Pratapgarh were alsopresent in the second meeting.

All the assembly segmentsfor which PM Modi held ral-lies during the day will go tovote in the fifth phase on

February 27. The prime min-ister fondly rememberedFebruary 24, saying on this day,he had launched PM KisanYojna three years back and alsobecame an MLA for the firsttime 20 years ago from Rajkotin Gujarat.

Before independence, therewas inner party democracy inthe Congress and differentpeople headed it but after theindependence, the leadershipof the party rested with onlyone family, the prime ministersaid at the rally in Amethi.

"Other parties, including theSP, have copied this and thesequence of power transferfrom father to son continues.The dynasts care only for theirfamily interest and giving theinterest of the poor and thecountry a go-by," Modi said.

"Whereas in the BJP, sincethe days of the Jana Sangh, hasnever been a 'father-son Ltdcompany' and different peoplehailing from varied regionshave held the chair of partypresident," he said.

Oppn driven by ‘vote bank' politics,not country's interest: PM Modi

The Prime Minister's

remarks came days after

a special court in

Ahmedabad sentenced

to death 38 members of

the terror outfit Indian

Mujahideen in the 2008

serial blasts case. The

court also sentenced 11

other convicts to life

imprisonment.

PNS n GONDA (UP)

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi took a jibe atPrime Minister NarendraModi describing him as "all-knowing" who reaches out tothe US and Russian leaderswhen they are ill but isunaware of the woes of thepeople of Uttar Pradesh.

At an election rally inGonda, she also targeted ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath overthe stray animal menace,accusing him of taking note ofthe issue when electionapproaches.

Gandhi also accused theBahujan Samaj Party andSamajwadi Party of dividingpeople on the lines of caste andreligion. Scoffing at the primeminister, she described him as'antaryami' and 'sarvagyani'which mean omniscient.

"Stray animals are ruiningyour farms and they seem to beunaware of it. Modi ji is'antaryaami and sarvgyaani'...But he was unaware that farm-ers in the biggest state of ourcountry are suffering and dyingbecause stray animals are

destroying their crops," PriyankaGandhi said derisively. TheCongress leader said, "Modi Jigets to know when the primeminister of Russia catches somedisease and when DonaldTrump in America coughs. Hequickly writes letters to themand calls them on phone.

"But Modi Ji, who has gov-ernment in Centre and inUttar Pradesh, was unaware ofthis (farmers' problems).

Now when the elections arehere, the prime minister hastaken note of it and announceda solution, Priyanka Gandhisaid sarcastically and askedwhere was he during the last

five years. "You (Modi) werenowhere to be seen whenyouth struggled for jobs, farm-ers protested and atrocitiescommitted against women.You travelled the world got pic-tures clicked with foreignpoliticians and came to UttarPradesh now," she added.

The Congress general secre-tary also slammed the rivalparties for "dividing people oncaste and communal lines".

These political leaders haveunderstood that they do notneed to work for the public asthey are assured of gettingvotes by invoking religion, shesaid.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday directed the Centreto file an affidavit on the con-temporaneous data that is avail-able to the government alongwith "application of mind" ondata for providing reservationin promotion to ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes ingovernment jobs.

A bench of Justices LNageswara Rao and B R Gavaialso said it would hear onMarch 30 the matters arisingfrom the judgments of HighCourts of Delhi and Punjab &Haryana, the list of whichshall be supplied by AdditionalSolicitor General Balbir Singh.

In the meanwhile, theUnion of India is directed tofile an affidavit, giving partic-ulars about the contemporane-

ous cadre wise data, afterserving a copy on the otherside. Details of considerationof the data to determine inad-equacy of representation ofScheduled Castes (SCs) andScheduled Tribes (STs) forproviding reservations in pro-motions, the bench said.

The top court on January 28had refused to "lay down anyyardstick" for granting reser-vation in promotion to SCsand STs in government jobssaying determination of theirinadequate representation isthe discretion of the State.

It said it is neither legal norproper for the Courts to issuedirections or advisory ser-mons to the executive inrespect of the sphere which isexclusively within theirdomain under theConstitution.

PNS n SHIVPUR/GHAZIPUR

The Samajwadi Party's bid todent the BJP's formidable socialequation is playing out in a bigway in the Poorvanchal or east-ern region of Uttar Pradesh asthe ruling party is working over-time to keep its caste equationunharmed.

If Om Prakash Rajbhar-ledSuheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party(SBSP), a BJP ally turnedSamajwadi Party partner, seemsto be drawing a sizeable chunkof his community votes, sectionsof Maurya-Kushwaha votersgrumble about getting a raw dealfrom the ruling party despitetheir solid support to it in everypoll since 2014.

Shivpur is proving to be a testcase for both rivals as BJP's AnilRajbhar, a UP government min-ister who had won by over54,000 votes in 2017, is facing akeener challenge now as the SPhas conceded the seat to Rajbharwho has fielded his son ArvindRajbhar from here.

In Sandaha village, flags ofboth the SBSP and the BJP flut-ter atop some Rajbhar house-holds. If Ram Nivas Rajbharlauds the ruling party for ensur-ing free ration to his family in"corona kaal", his nephewArvind Rajbhar is all for"biradari ke neta" (our commu-nity leader), a reference to the

regional party."Our votes are

split everywhere.Many supportthe BJP butwhich castedoes notprop up itsleaders," amember ofthe familywhich isinvolved inwoodwork says.

Seeking to turn thetables on its friend-turned-foe,the BJP has pitted KalicharanRajbhar against SBSP chief inZahoorabad. As a BJP ally, OmPrakash Rajbhar had defeatedhim in 2017 when he had con-

tested on the BSPticket.

In manyplaces, SPp r e s i d e n tA k h i l e s hYadav hastaken a leafout of theBJP's play-

book bybanking can-

didates fromcastes not seen to

be his party's tradi-tional supporters in the hopethat any sizeable section of newvotes will align to good effectwith its core base of Muslims andYadavs, who are in big numbersin the region.

In Ghazipur Sadar, the SP hasgiven the ticket to Jai KishanSahu against the BJP's SangeetaBalwant, also a minister in thestate government.

With parties like the SBSP,Apna Dal and Nishad Party, thelast two being BJP allies, gainingstrength in Poorv anchal anddriving good bargains from theirpartners on the back of theirroots in particular OBC castes,some other backward castes arefeeling left out and complaining.

Manoj Maurya andNemchand Maurya, for example,are voters of different constituen-cies but both have some com-mon grouses -- Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav Prasad Mauryahas been allegedly ignored andtheir community has not got itsdue despite constant support tothe BJP.

They admire Prime MinisterNarendra Modi but accuse ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath ofbeing unable to carry everyonealong.

"Everyone is looking out fortheir caste leaders. Few knewOm Prakash Rajbhar some yearsback but he is now a neta. Whyshould we not support some-body from our own caste,"Manoj Maurya of Nasirpur vil-lage says, speaking approvinglyof former BSP leader Babu SinghKushwaha who has floated hisown party.

PNS n GORAKHPUR (UP)

Congress leader BhupeshBaghel on Thursday slammedthe BJP government in UttarPradesh over the stray cattlemenace and asked farmers toleave them at Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath's residence.

The Chattisgarh chief min-ister visited the Gorakhnathtemple here before canvassingfor Congress candidate ofGorakhpur (rural) seatDevendra Nishad.

Addressing a poll meetingat Senduli Benduli, he said,"The prices of clothes, shoes,petrol, diesel, LPG and otherthings of daily use are skyhigh and people are in trou-ble because the Congress hasbeen out of power in UttarPradesh for the last 32 years."

"Farmers, women andyouth are not able to sharetheir problems with ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath,"Baghel said.

He said stray cattle weredestroying crops and farmershave to brave rain, heat andcold to keep a watch on theirfields. "Leave the stray cattleat the residence of ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath,"the Congress told the people.

PNS n CHENNAITamil Nadu Chief Minister

M K Stalin on Thursdayappealed to the Centre toarrange special flights like theVande Bharath Mission toimmediately evacuate TamilNadu students stranded inUkraine, following the Russianoffensive against the EasternEuropean country.

Urging the Centreto take up the mat-ter with theauthorities therei m m e d i a t e l y ,Stalin said, "Irequest theGovernment ofIndia to arrange forSpecial Mission flights likeVande Bharath Mission toevacuate them from variousparts of Ukraine."

"I solicit your urgent actionin this regard," he said in a let-

ter addressed to ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankar,a copy of which was madeavailable to the media here

The Chief Minister saidabout 5,000 students fromTamil Nadu, mostly in profes-sional courses and other emi-grants from the state were now

stranded in Ukraine."We have beenreceiving hundreds

of distress callsfrom the familymembers of thestudents studyingin Ukraine

requesting for theirurgent evacuation.

However, it has cometo our notice that airports

in Ukraine are closed. They arein need of our support to bebrought back to India safely,"the chief minister said in theletter.

Leave stray cattle atAdityanath'sresidence: BhupeshBaghel to UP farmers

Centre told to file affidaviton quota in promotions

‘Operate spl flights to evacuateTN students stranded in Ukraine’

Govt approves DelhiFilm Policy 2022 topromote city as hubof film shootingPNS n NEW DELHI

The AAP government onThursday approved theDelhi Film Policy, 2022, topromote the city as a hubfor filming and other relat-ed activities through a slewof measures, including set-ting up of Rs 50 crore 'DelhiFilm Fund' to support pro-ducers and hosting an inter-national film festival everyyear.

Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia, at a pressconference, said a subsidy ofup to Rs 3 crore will be pro-vided under the policydepending on the numberof days of shooting, locationand branding of Delhi, localhiring of actors amongother factors.

He said the Cabinetmeeting chaired by ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwalapproved the policy whichaims at "inclusive growth" ofthe film and tourism indus-try, create jobs and stream-line the institutional sys-tem.He said it is India'smost progressive state filmpolicy to promote Delhi asa hub for modern filmmak-ing on European standards.

‘Sarvgyaani' Prime Minister unawareof UP's woes: Priyanka Gandhi

Time for India to prove mettle throughentrepreneurship, innovation: Mandaviya

Duration of blacklisting cannot be‘solely per offence', says SC

Gadkari promises US-like roads inMP in five years

Caste factor comes to the fore in Eastern UP In Sandaha vil-

lage, flags of both

the SBSP and the

BJP flutter atop

some Rajbhar

households. If

Ram Nivas

Rajbhar

lauds the

ruling party

for ensuring free

ration to his family

in "corona kaal",

his nephew Arvind

Rajbhar is all for

"biradari ke neta"

(our community

leader), a refer-

ence to the

regional party.

rich are taxed high, how doesit benefit me? My pocket isempty and I cannot afford topay in any case.” During thesame visit at Dhari town, theMP told his fellow workershow Tata and Birla were con-trolled and not allowed to getricher. The local reaction was:“That is why the wholeAmreli district had no indus-try set up by these big indus-trialists. We have to survive bygrowing bajra.” The NehruGovernment kept theCommunist Party pleased;when Indira Gandhi in 1969split the Congress, theCommunists helped to keepher minority Government inpower. That, however, didnot win the poor man’s sym-pathy. Her nationalisation ofcoal mines and the big banksthrilled those who coulddirectly make money fromthem. The upper and middleclass often remarked: “Earlierthe capitalist families werewealthy, now Indira Gandhi isa big industrialist and banker.How have we benefited?”

The BJP, and its growthout of the soil and people ofIndia, is one organisationwhich is indigenous. ItsHinduness is unquestionably

native. Babasaheb Ambedkarsaid that he did not want todie a Hindu; at the same timehe did wish to convert to anyreligion whose origin wasforeign. He, therefore, choseto cross over to Buddhism. Asimilar logic should apply toa political party. MA Jinnahprecipitated Partition in 1947in the hope that with Islambeing a clear and compactreligion, it would bring hap-piness to its adherents. But itdid not. Possibly because itwas inspired and founded inArabia, a hot, dry, sandyregion whereas today’sBangladesh is green and wet,while today’s Pakistan is alsodifferent.

On the other hand, theHindu ethos has a uniqueoneness despite its unusualvariety. Between Shiva andKrishna, different outlookscover all the Hindus of thishuge country. This is despitemost temples being free andindependent. Christians andMuslims think that Hinduismis polytheistic. Yet there is noinsistence on the concept ofgod in the Abrahamic faiths.Even an agnostic is acceptableas a Hindu. The ultimatecommonality in Hinduism is

faith in the karma of eachperson or soul leading to hisfate. Every action has a reac-tion equal and opposite; asscientific physics.

That democracy hasendured spontaneously is amarvel in a country of suchvariety. The secret of thissuccess of freedom is theinductive basis of the Hindufaith or the down-to-up logic.There is no insistence onone god, one Prophet, oneBook and then its logic down-wards; an up to down ordeductive approach. Hinduassumptions are few and thatis its strength. The westernfaiths begin strong but can bebrittle in the end. Judaism isa united faith but has shrunkin numbers. Christianity hasscattered into many denom-inations which have not heldtheir followers firmly.Whereas Hinduism has goneon despite its history soddenwith invasions and invaderssettling here. Its endurancehas been remarkable, whetherpolitically or in faith.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, anauthor and a former memberof the Rajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

NAWAB MALIK EPISODE EXPOSES PARTIESSir — The way Mamata Banerjee, SharadPawar, Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress andShiv Sena have condemned the arrest ofNCP’s Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malikon his links with dreaded terrorist DawoodIbrahim connected with money launder-ing and his properties, is highly deplorable.This proves the mental bankruptcy of theOpposition parties. The EnforcementDirectorate functions under the strictsupervision of courts and all its proceed-ings are subject to judicial review of courtsunder provisions of the PMLA. Calling theEnforcement Directorate a ‘mafia’ by theShiv Sena and threatening revenge after2024 is most unfortunate. The Congress,on the other hand, has nothing to lose inthis entire episode.

The Trinamool Congress and NCPhave no support and political base beyondBengal and Maharashtra, respectively.The Sena may face reverses due to itsentirely opposite political character whichwe knew as nationalist. Shiv Sena has vast-ly deteriorated in alliance with theNationalist Congress Party and Congressin Maharashtra. These parties have hand-ed over the nationalist agenda to the BJP.Shiv Sena has subjugated itself to disrup-tive forces in Indian politics. Gradually, allthese Opposition parties are ready to goto any extent to avoid the sting of their sins.

Vinod Johri | Delhi

DMK’S VICTORY IS NOT SURPRISINGSir — The landslide victory of theDMK alliance in the local body electionsis not unexpected, given the manner inwhich the DMK has conducted itself dur-ing its rule in the past nine months underthe charismatic and no- nonsense ChiefMinister MK Stalin. Despite the fact thatthey acquired empty coffers in the trea-sury and continue to face an unfriend-ly Central Government which has notreleased even the money due to the State,the Tamil Nadu Government did its bestto fulfil its election promises to the max-imum, which earned a good nameamong people.

People also understood that allpromises cannot be honoured within a few

months and they very strongly believe thatCM Stalin will fulfil his assurances with-out fail. Though the Opposition tried allthe tricks up its sleeves to tar the CM’simage, people have rejected their manoeu-vres realising that the State can regain itsself-respect, heritage and well-being onlyunder the leadership of Stalin. The mam-moth victory has endorsed the fact thatStalin is not only one of the best ChiefMinisters but one fit to be a national leaderpar excellence. As rightly pointed out inyour excellent editorial, the Stalin era ishere to stay.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

WE MUST RESPECT TRUE HEROESSir — The ‘upright’ coach of the Indiancricket team is indeed a very honest per-sonality. He also holds immense respectfor those who have contributed to theteam. And this is exactly why he has him-self admitted that just because of his“immense respect” towards the contribu-tion of Wriddhiman Saha, the formerindeed clearly asked the latter to move on.

That means those who hardly contribute,fail regularly and demand “less respect”can be asked to continue in the team. Nowonder why the greatest wicketkeeper ofthe world in current times gets thrown outfrom the team in the most brutal fashionwhile those with utmost failures get pro-moted, retained and pampered.

The Indian cricket team and itsmanagement have not fallen from theskies. They are part of this ungratefulbiased prejudiced society only. So notonly in the cricketing sector, rather inevery sector of this Indian society, silentefficient workers/contributors haveabsolutely no value. Rather, it is the ageand society of “empty vessels makingmuch sound” who get literally wor-shipped by all and sundry. So we rewardthe utmost failures everywhere for theirshrill vocal rhetoric and relentless chest-thumping. What a moral fall!

Kajal Chatterjee | Kolkata

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 25, 2022

06

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For decades altogether, India’s Government spoke one language whileits citizens understood quite another. Now, the scene is changing

WHENINDEPENDENCECAME, WE HAD

PANDIT NEHRU ASTHE PRIME

MINISTER BUTSOON ENOUGH HETOLD SOME THAT

HE WAS THE LASTENGLISHMAN TO

RULE INDIA. HEFURTHER SAIDTHAT HE WASCULTURALLY

A MUSLIM

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

PRAFULL GORADIA

With the fourth phase of the ongoingelections in Uttar Pradesh havingcome to close on Wednesday, all the

parties, their leaders and candidates in thefray, in particular, are busy making tall claimsof their sure win, as also about forming theGovernment. Every party is publicly exud-ing its confidence that the election trendsin these four phases have thus far been intheir favour — some may be right and somemay be wrong as well. But what is certain

about it is that all the fighters in the poll bat-tle better understand their own positionsthan the others and, hence, even if they har-bour any apprehensions about their electoralprospects, they are trying their best to main-tain their pseudo-confidence high.

Otherwise, they will be concedingdefeat to their rivals and, simultaneously,making their own voters’ confidence shak-en that might even result in the latter’s dis-enchantment for the rest of the election,which is still midway. Politics is a bizarregame replete with ups and downs andshocking surprises, anything and everythingis possible till the last day of voting. That’swhy all the parties and their leaders are leav-ing no stone unturned to show down oneanother even if they have to engage in a warof attrition. At the end of the day, the ongoing brouhaha will subside. Let’s waitfor the day of reckoning, that’s March 10!

Azhar A Khan | Rampur

The noise parties make

Silent churning ofrevolution in India

Lately, there is a tenden-cy for the media todebate, discuss, reviewbooks and hold inter-

views on subjects close to theHindu ideology. But not every-one appears to realise the mega-trend leading them to no longertalk of socialism, Marxism orother relative topics likeRevolution and Socialism.These discussions would benearer solid ground if only thedebaters were to accept that weare in the minds of a revolution,whereby India is at least return-ing to its roots.

Until recently, Indians wereconfused as if at sea withoutknowing how to swim. WhenIndependence came, we hadPandit Nehru as the PrimeMinister but soon enough hetold some that he was the lastEnglishman to rule India. Hefurther said that he was cultur-ally a Muslim and showed hisold wedding invitation cardwhich was printed in Urdu. Healso proudly declared that hewas a Hindu by “accident ofbirth”. He was equally proud toclaim that he was a socialist andnot long after made theCongress adhere to a policy ofestablishing a socialistic patternof society in India.

What was the simple Indianto make out of this maize ofclaims, mostly alien? Karl Marxdefined socialism as ‘from eachaccording to his ability to eachaccording to his opportunity’.For the Indian grounded in hisfaith in karma, it was not easyto swallow that he would havea ‘right’ to equal opportunity.How could that be when hiskarma might have been any-where from excellent, down tothe criminal? Thus India’sGovernment spoke one lan-guage while its citizens under-stood quite another.

Another disconnect was inLathi town in Amreli district ofGujarat in the late 1960s. Thelocal MP was proudly explain-ing to a few local Congressmenas to how kind and consideratethe Nehru Government was.There was income tax on richpeople going up to 65 per centwhile the poor were not taxed atall. One worker reacted: “If the

Adistrict judge of Delhi, Dharmesh Sharma, may just have shown how the crim-inal justice system in India should handle sexual assault cases. The judge heardthe deposition of the victim, a minor girl, and deciding that her testimony was

reliable, convicted the accused. The defendant’s counsel claimed inconsistenciesin the testimony. However, the judge was not convinced. He said the rape survivordid not depose in a “parrot-like manner”. He found nothing to suggest she was“tutored”. Judge Sharma made a critical observation: The testimony is not to be appre-

ciated from an adult’s point of view but “from themindset of a girl”. This attitude makes all the differ-ence to rape cases as they pass through the jus-tice system, right from the complaint at the policestation to the court trial. What happens most of thetime is that insensitivity or indifference destroys theconfidence of the survivor who is willing to face herassaulter in court. The kind of questioning she facesin the police station, at the hospital, and in court fromdefence counsels only re-traumatises them or evenharms them. A sexual assault is traumatic and trau-ma has a neuro-biological impact on the victim. It

affects their brains and nervous systems.Any new trauma, as evidenced by insensitive questioning, can trigger a neuro-bio-

logical impact and that can mentally harm the victim in the long term. The parties tocriminal justice system should have a basic understanding of the effects and impact oftrauma on rape victims. That can help them receive evidence from the victims fairly andobjectively. Judge Sharma was referring to this realisation. The other issue, which comesout during the questioning of the victim, relates to “rape myths” — certain stereotypesassociated with the victims. There are mistaken assumptions as to why they reportedthe crime late or did not try to defend themselves. They are portrayed as “easygoing”and “promiscuous” to destroy their credibility. There is little understanding of how rapevictims behave or react when recalling the experience. These “gaps” in knowledge canhurt the cases because, in a majority of them, the primary or only source of evidenceis the victim’s testimony. Judge Sharma’s sensitive approach underlines the urgent needfor criminal justice professionals, including judges, to get educated about the neuro-biology of trauma and social contexts of victim responses.

After days of suspense and in spite of its repeated trashing of such “rumours”, RussianPresident Vladimir Putin has joined the ranks of its rogue and expansionist friendslike North Korea and China. Unleashing air attacks, missiles and ground troops on

several cities in Ukraine, President Putin authorised a “special military operation” aimedat “demilitarization” and “de-Nazification” of the next-door neighbour. Now, this could bethe beginning of a major standoff, even full-scale war, in the European continent. As pernews reports, the Russian military has destroyed 74 Ukrainian military facilities, includ-ing 11 air bases. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has for the benefit of the worldordered that Ukrainian servicemen be treated “with respect” and those who lay downtheir weapons offered safe corridors. But the battle rages on in Chernobyl and severalother regions of the erstwhile part of the USSR. Undeterred by the threat of impositionof economic sanctions — freezing Russian assets and stopping Russia’s access to finan-cial markets — Putin has warned of ‘instant response’ and ‘consequences that have neverbeen experienced in human history’ in case of foreign interference. The results are alreadypalpable. The Indian equity indices on Thursday plunged sharply amid the attack on Ukraine.

The benchmark BSE Sensex crashed 2,702 points toclose at 54,530; while the broader NSE Nifty moved815 points lower to settle at 16,248. Both the indicesfell for the seventh straight session, marking their worstrun since March 2020. Crude oil prices led the way withjumps above $104 per barrel.

Meanwhile, India hasn’t done much to help scaledown the crisis despite the sincere-sounding requestsfrom the Ukrainian envoy wherein he called our coun-try “a very influential global player”, though the US anda handful of European countries — not all of them,though — have been voicing support for Ukraine. Of

course, they all have their own business interests at heart. Prime Minister Narendra Modiwas scheduled to speak to President Putin amid the crisis. However, India has so farbeen mouthing only hollow platitudes, calling for de-escalation of hostilities, saying unlessit is checked, it can “spiral into a major crisis” that can severely destabilise the region.To its credit, however, the Government has issued three advisories for Indians in Ukraineand it has also been trying to evacuate Indian citizens stranded there. But Thursday morn-ing saw the cancellation of special flights to Kyiv for the evacuation exercise as Ukraineclosed its airspace. It may be a frightening thought, though it does hold true, that thehuman race has enough weapons to annihilate itself. US President Joe Biden has vowedthat the world will hold Russia accountable for these actions. Though Putin says thatRussia has no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and its mission is only to “neutraliseUkraine’s military capacity”, this is going exactly where he wanted — to not allow Ukraine’sentry into Nato. India must stand up and show spine.

War!

Humane lawA Delhi district judge has shown sensitivity thatneeds to be emulated while handling rape cases

PICTALK

Tourists in traditional dress while visiting Botanical Gardens after snowfall, in Srinagar PTI

Russia has attacked Ukraine but it’s now for the world to save the latter’s interests

I’ve done nothingwrong. All thetransactions arelegitimate.

Maharashtra Minister— Nawab Malik

It’s difficult to

express how

much I regret my

behaviour during

and after the

doubles match.

Tennis player

— Alexander Zverev

SOUNDBITE

If the Ukraine

conflict expands,

the world could

see …severity

of need unseen

for years.

UN Secretary-General

— Antonio Guterres

It (Omicron) is a silent killer. It’s been 25 days and I am still suffering.

Chief Justice of India— NV Ramana

I kept trying to

do stuff…and

even faltered

doing cinema.

Actor— Bobby Deol

Rebalancing ecology,economics & ethics

MODI JI IS DESPERATELY TRYING TO HELP

THE BJP IN UP. SO YOU SAY ALL SORTS

OF THINGS.

—CONGRESS MEDIA IN-CHARGE

ZISHAN HAIDER

WE ARE NOT FAMILY PEOPLE

BUT WE UNDERSTAND THE

PLIGHT OF FAMILIES.

— PRIME MINISTER

NARENDRA MODI

We need policy instruments and intervention strategies for behaviouralchange such as educational programmes and incentives for conservation

The United Statesrecently released a formal Indo-Pacific strate-gy to substantially engagein this zone. This densely populatedzone, with nearly half of the world’s population, has the poten-

tial to drive two-thirds of the global economy in a few years. This isthe last frontier of influence and an ideal playground for any showof influence and strength by a global power. The strategy acknowl-edges thegrowing influence in the region of China, which is flexingitseconomic, technological, military muscles to coerce the region intoaccepting dominance and there by expanding its influence quotientright up to American borders. An excerpt from the strategy particu-larly pinpointed towards Chinese aggression in the region reads: “Fromthe economic coercion of Australia to the conflict along the Line ofActual Control with India to the growing pressure on Taiwan and

bullying of neighbors in the East and South China Seas, our alliesand partners in the region bear much of the cost of the PRC’s harm-ful behavior. In the process, the PRC is also undermining human rightsand international law, including freedom of navigation, as well as otherprinciples that have brought stability and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific.”

The brief strategy therefore is to engage with allies and partnersin the Indo-Pacific to strengthen them and having shared vision ofpeace prosperity, security while upholding human rights, free and opensovereigns and respect for rules-based world order. The five pillarsof advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,building connections withthe region and beyond, driving regional prosperity,enhancing the secu-rity shield in and for the region and building a regional resilience tothreats are all achievable. This is going to be a challenge since unlikemany other regions, the Indo-Pacific isnot a homogenous fabric ofhumanity. It is perhaps the birthplace of many religions and beliefsand therefore a unique mesh of cultural diversity stitched together byland and the sea. In comes China, themajor disruptor despite havingno colonial past, fixed on treating the territory as its imperial play-ground. To the relief of many, India does feature prominently in thestrategy paper, whereby the United States has atleast on paper, putits weight behind India, to emerge as a regional leader and continueto expand its economic might. This is a strong signal for the globalorder, that has been eyeing the region. India has managed well, in itsrecent realignment with QUAD.India’s external affairs minister wassimultaneously making statements regarding the border issues withChina at the QUAD external affairs conference in Australia, when thisdocument was released. The backdrop suggests a synchronized effortby the United States and India (strategic allies) to take their relation-ship to the next level of growth. It also suggests acceptance of Indiaas key regional player which could use its influence with other SoutheastAsian nations and build new ones with Australia, Japan, Singaporeand Vietnam. India has recently upgraded its domestic investment poli-cies through the performance linked incentive schemes to buildresilience in key supply chains, spread across sectors which had beenbadgered by the dominance of China (as the factory of the world)during the Covid pandemic. The aim for India is to truly start engag-ing with its neighborhood to reinstate its position as a close trust-worthy partner as opposed to dominance by stealth and compromis-ing schemes such as the loans for building critical infrastructure com-ing from China. Many of these translate into transferring sovereigncountry’s ownership rights over its resources to the ChineseGovernment. This will also require India to closely work with ASEANand ensure fair and transparent terms of trade agreements.

(The writer is a policy analyst. The views expressed are personal.)

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 25, 2022

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNNEED TO CONNECT WITH NEIGHBOURS

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

KUMARDEEP BANERJEE

BKP SINHA

India must exploit its image of a close trustworthy partner

Our growing understanding ofcomplex systems, includingecosystems, has challenged theprevailing economic model of a

closed circular flow of production and consumption. This model has beendescribed as ‘natural laws’ of equilibrium ofmarket forces.

Especially in a world of limitedresources, it becomes evident that neo-clas-sical economics fails to reflect social, eco-nomic, and environmental factors.The cir-cular flow diagram in neoclassical econom-ics is just an abstraction of the economy,showing that it can continue to reproduceitself indefinitely without any additionalinputs. However, all of the resources (non-renewable or renewable) required to sus-tain this circular flow have to come fromthe environment. At the same time all of thewaste produced by firms and householdsinevitably returns to the environment. Thedependence of the economic system on thenatural ecosystem is so complete that thehuman economy can rightfully be regard-ed as a subset of the earth’s ecosystem.

Considering today’s environmentalproblems, ranging from global atmos-pheric degradation and toxicity of the envi-ronment to loss of forests and massivespecies extinctions, it isimportant that weunderstand the relationship between ecosys-tem and economic systemand our obliga-tions towards the environment.

Since Vedic times, we have been taughtto live in peace and harmony with natureand to conserve it. But as civilization pro-gressed, economics and ecology have sep-arated and their ethical implications hasalmost been forgotten in the tide of unbri-dled capitalist greed, one-sided individual-ism and egocentrism.

Today’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)obsessed growth has become a synonym forrising living standards. But in reality, somepeople have benefited more from growththan others and there are still a significantnumber of people worldwide,who lackaccess to basic necessities, such as food,clean water, healthcare and continue to livein hunger, illiteracy etc. The inequality hasrisen over the past several decades inadvanced economies, but remained unno-ticed. However,the looming threat of cat-astrophic global warminghas raised seriousconcerns about the connection betweengrowth and carbon emissions. The problemwith GDP is that it conflates qualitativedevelopment with quantitative growth andalso misrepresenting economic growth byexcluding social factors, environmentalimpacts and natural capital. For e.g. agri-cultural expansion, will be shown as net eco-nomic gain, despite the degradation ofecosystem services.

Eradicating global poverty within theconstraints of the natural resources is a hugechallenge in hand. The increasing popula-tion has already pushed the planet over fourplanetary boundaries - climate change, landconversion, fertilizer use, and biodiversityloss. A holistic approach is required which

ECOLOGY GIVESUS INSIGHT INTO

NATURALECOSYSTEMS

AND THE LAWSAND

REGULATIONSTHAT GOVERN

THEM, WHEREASETHICS ENABLES

US TOESTABLISH

INNER BRIDLESAGAINST

OVEREXPLOITINGNATURE. IT IS

IMPERATIVETHAT TOACHIEVE

SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT,

THE BROKENHARMONYBETWEEN

ECONOMY,ECOLOGY AND

ETHICS BERESTORED

integrates social, ecological, andeconomic indicators in evaluat-inghuman well-being, sustainabili-ty of a country’s or business’ growth,identifying losses and devising bet-ter policies and practices to mini-mize them.In addition, a shift inaccounting system is needed toincorporate all aspects of profits andlosses, not just financial gains, butalso negative externalities like pol-lution, waste and other social andenvironmental impacts.

We cannot sustain growth forev-er, given our planetary limits whichgives rise to a very important ques-tion that is highly debated. What isthe limit of economic growth?

In present scenario, HermanDaley’s concept of a steady-stateeconomy is known to be critical tosustainable development and is oftendiscussed in connection with eco-nomic growth and its impact on eco-logical integrity, environmental pro-tection, and economic sustainabili-ty. “It entails stabilized populationand per capita consumption that donot exceed the carrying capacity ofthe ecosystem”. Given that naturalresources are limited, rather than try-ing to achieve growth (quantitative),we should focus oninnovation andimprovement (qualitative). He alsosuggested, that taxes should belevied on resource use rather thanincome.Such a shift would force people to use resources more wisely, encourage eco-friendly technologies and simultaneouslyimprove employment and ecologicalsustainability.

Our current economic system isputting an enormous pressure on theplanet and the traditional ways ofconducting businesses will sooncollapse, forcing companies to comeup with new solutions. By determin-ing the path forward, companies cansave time, reduce costs, increase effi-ciency andgaincompetitive edge,which are critical for their successand survival. By innovating and

applying clean technologies, they canreduce pollution levels, deployresources more sustainably, recyclea higher share of wastes and prod-ucts or treat residual wastes in anenvironmentally safe manner.Besides, companies need to reinvesttheir earnings into restoring, pre-serving, and expanding the planet’sresources. Failing to do so can neg-atively impact their revenues.Corporations must adapt a new out-look that does not treat growth andsocial welfare as zero-sum game.

Indeed, it is more productive towork with nature than againstit.However, we have focused only onthe resources that can be exploitedfrom the earth’s ecosystemsand noton the services provided by theseecosystems. GDP has inducedunstainable practices that have con-tributed to climate and biodiversi-ty crises. Over the past two decadesforests have degraded significantlydue to land use changes, mining,infrastructure projects, commer-cial logging, overgrazing, etc.Although, the country’s total forestcover has increased,but it has main-ly increased in the open forest cat-egory (degraded forests) due toplantations, monoculture, etc. onprivate lands, while dense forests(good forest) has decreasedinside theGovernment-managed forests.According to India State of ForestReport 2021, 45 percent of India’sforests would be at risk of climate change by 2030 if carbonemissions increase moderately. In ahigh emission scenario, that num-ber rises to 65 percent. Additionally,the growing stock of trees in forestsdeclined by 8 percent and the car-bon stock is just 7,204 milliontonnes.

Massive plantations, particu-larly monoculture species, deforesta-tion in subtropical and tropical rainforests has become detrimental tobiodiversity and ecosystem.Likewise, excessive use of chemical

fertilizers and pesticides in agricul-ture are contributing to greenhousegas emissions. Also, land degrada-tion, particularly in rainfed land, hasbecome a major concern for Indianagriculture, where agriculture con-tributes a significant amount to thecountry’s GDP and on which livesand livelihood of farmers and for-est dwellers depend.

Forest loss and extinction ofspecies can deprive us of valuableresourcesand services like timber,nuts, fruits, medicines andpreven-tionof soil erosion, floods and-droughts, water filtration, fish-eries, pollination and pollinators -functions which are especiallyimportant to the communities rely-ing on natural resources for theireveryday survival. Considering thatnaturally regenerated forests tend tostore nearly 32 percent more carbon,forest restoration should take prece-dence over tree planting.

Understanding that our econo-my is a subset of our ecology is crit-ical. It is therefore vital that humanbehaviour toward nature be modi-fied and corrected. To achieve this,ecology and ethics need to work intandem. Ecology gives us insight intonatural ecosystems and the laws andregulations that govern them, where-as ethics enables us to establish innerbridles against overexploiting nature.It is imperative that to achieve sus-tainable development, the brokenharmony between economy, ecolo-gy and ethics be restored. We needpolicy instruments and interventionstrategies for behavioural changesuch as educational programmes,incentives for conservation, land useministry, etc.

The COVID-19 pandemic hasshown us that when governmentsdecide to make something happenwithin their countries, policies canhappen almost overnight. It isabsolutely possible to change things,but only if we change our politicalvalues, interest and mindset.

(The writer is a formerIFS officer. The views

expressed are personal.)

We all saw a new avatarof opposition leaderRahul Gandhi when

he attacked the Government onvarious economic and politicalissues. It was amusing to allthose people who are waiting forGandhi to come of age and leadthe grand old party. Thoughsome of the allegations by himdo not pass the factual accura-cy test, they surely havekickedoff a discussion.

A recent report from OxfamIndia has raised a debate overwealth inequality in India andIndia’s top two businessmenhave also found a mention inthis report. Charging the gun onthe wealth creators can beunderstood from the perspectiveof a politician for obvious rea-sons but naming the individu-als in these kinds of studies wassurprising. When rich people’s

wealth is measured then it is notsomething which is held in tan-gible terms like hordes of cashor gold. It is largely based onmarket-based valuation and weall know that global indiceshave recovered phenomenallyafter first wave of covid-19.Opposition highlights the rise inwealth of Ambani and Adani butthey never talk about themethod of measuring thiswealth and hide the fact thatAmbani wealth declined by 28percent in just two months dur-ing the first wave of pandemic-due to decline in market capital-isation of his firms. It is reallypainful and annoying to see thatentrepreneurs who create jobsand generate revenue are abusedby our politicians for scoringsome brownie points and pettypolitical gains. Discussion onthe issue of inequality will not be

complete without understandingthe salient facts highlightedunder ‘World Inequality Report’which is prepared by reputedinstitutions, including UnitedNations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP). Recentedition of this report highlightsthat most extreme increases inincome and wealth inequalityhas risen from mid 1980s.Previous edition (2018) of thereport highlights an interestingcontrast between the facts and

figures which are quoted byopposition. Income & wealthdistribution curve was K-shapedfor the period 2004 to 2014when income of top 10 percentrose sharply while bottom 40percent witnessed a constant fall.Income of top 0.001 percent(those whose names figure outin political debates) grew by2,726 percent during the peri-od 1980-2014. If we go by thedata and facts then perhapsopposition’s claim will get bust-

ed and Gandhi’s point willboomerang to his own party asit was Congress which ruledthe country from 2004-14, i.e.,at a time when income andwealth distribution formed a K-shaped curve. This was thetime when rich were gettingmore richer and middle classwas facing the double wham-my of decline in income cou-pled withrise in inflation. Post2014, share in national incomewas stablefor these two seg-ments of population.

Economic principles ofcommunist countries shouldbe ideally based on equitabledistribution of resources.However, a deeper analysis ofdata reveals interesting factsabout major socialist countrieslike China and Russia. Wealthof bottom 50 percent populationin India is higher than Russia

and slightly lower than China.Middle class Indians’ wealthshare is higher than Russiansand Chinese. Nearly half ofRussia’s wealth is held by top 1percent while this numbercomes to 33 percent and 30.5percent for India and China,respectively. In other words,despite of all tall claims of pro-gressive scholars’ communistregime grossly failed in achiev-ing their stated economic objec-tives. This was despite autocrat-ic regime in those countries andtherefore a vibrant democracylike ours can take pride in itseconomic progress.

Suggestions like taxing richby way of surcharge or reintro-duction of wealth tax appearradical in thoughts but thesemeasures are regressive in real-ity. A higher personal tax willdiscourage the compliance and

will lead to generation of blackmoney. Empirical studies sug-gest that black money increasedwhen personal tax was as highas more than 97 percent. Wealthtax was abolished in 2015because revenue generation wasnot making enough sense tocontinue it. Apart from this, tax-ing a notional wealth represent-ed by unrealised gains based onmarket valuation doesn’t holdgood.

Issue of inequality andpoverty is not new and IndiraGandhi gave slogan of ‘GaribiHatao’ (remove poverty) in1971 election. This slogan hasbeen used by all the parties butpoverty is still there. Congressparty contribution in nationbuilding cannot be denied butparty scion Gandhi is factuallyinaccurate on inequality andpoverty issue.

When rich people’s wealth is measured, it is not as if they have hordes of cash or gold. It is largely based on market-based valuation

Smokescreen of lies

SSHANK SAURAV

(The writer is a CharteredAccountant, author and public policy

analyst. The views expressed are personal.)

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 25, 2022 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Moody's Investors Serviceon Thursday raised India'sgrowth forecast to 9.5 per

cent for the calendar year 2022and to 8.4 per cent for thecoming fiscal beginning April 1,even as it flagged high oil pricesand supply distortions as a dragon growth.Stating that the

economic recovery from the first and second Covid wave in 2020and 2021, respectively has been stronger than expected, Moody'ssaid Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection, retail activity andPurchasing Managers' Index (PMI) suggest 'solid momentum'."We have raised our 2022 calendar year growth forecast for India to9.5 per cent from 7 per cent, and maintained our forecast for 5.5 percent growth in 2023. This translates into 8.4 per cent and 6.5 percent in fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively," Moody's saidin an update to its Global macroeconomic outlook 2022-23.The speed of the recovery from the first lockdown-led contraction inthe June quarter of 2020 and subsequently in the June quarter of2021 during the Delta wave was stronger than expected.In November last year, Moody's had forecast India's economy toexpand 7.9 per cent in the 2022-23 fiscal beginning April 1. As perofficial estimates, Indian economy is estimated to grow at 9.2 percent in the current fiscal ending March 31.Moody's said, "... theeconomy is estimated to have surpassed the pre-Covid level of GDPby more than 5 per cent in the last quarter of 2021.

Moody's ups India's growthforecast to 9.5% for 2022

Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi onThursday said the increasingtrend of new age technology

companies, which are generallyloss making, accessing publicmarket is a key challenge to thecapital markets.In addition, the flourishinglandscape of ESG (environment,social, governance) investmentsis another major challenge to thecapital markets due to absence of

uniform ESG evaluation matrices, he said.Also, the regulator is in theprocess of notifying the detailed modalities for the proposed SocialStock Exchange, a platform for listing social enterprises and voluntaryorganisations so that they can raise capital.Tyagi made these remarksat a SEBI-NISM Research Conference on 'Investing in recovery:challenges and opportunities for Indian securities markets'.In thecurrent financial year, new age tech companies (NATCs) have raisedabout Rs 43,283 crore through IPOs till date. Out of these, no lessthan 85 per cent of the issuer companies were backed by privateequity investors and all of such issues also had an offer for sale (OFS)component."Appropriateness of valuation of these companies is amatter of intense debate among stakeholders these days," Tyagi said.Atthe time of accessing the capital markets, these companies aregenerally loss making as they prefer gaining scale over profits in theirgrowth phase, he added.The traditional parameters required to bedisclosed in an offer document, like the financial ratios, are typicallydescriptive of profit-making companies.Globally, valuation of suchNATCs is generally determined on the basis of additional factors --trends in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and their comparisonwith peers, valuation at earlier funding rounds, market conditions etc.

New age tech cos going public,ESG landscape key challenges

The rupee tanked 102paise to close at75.63 (provisional)

against the US currencyon Thursday as riskierassets took a hit afterRussia launched militaryoperations againstUkraine.Forex traderssaid sustained foreign

fund outflows, heavy selling in domestic equities and elevatedcrude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.At the interbankforeign exchange market, the rupee opened at 75.02 against theAmerican dollar but later dropped to a low of 75.75 against thegreenback.The local unit finally finished at 75.63, down 102 paisefrom the previous close.Meanwhile, the dollar index, whichgauges the greenback's strength against a basket of sixcurrencies, was trading 0.74 per cent higher at 96.90.Global oilbenchmark Brent crude futures jumped 8.36 per cent to USD104.94 per barrel."Rupee became the worst performing currencyamong Asian currencies on back of month-end dollar demandfrom oil importers.

Rupee plummets 102 paise toclose at 75.63/US $

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday nudgedprivate corporates to shunimports and buy oilseeds pro-duced locally by providing off-take assurance to farmers, cre-ating a win-win situation forboth.

India, he said, is looking tojack up edible oil productionby about 50 per cent in the next3-4 years.

Modi said there is a hugepotential to expand cultivationof palm oil under the 'NationalMission on Edible Oil'.

Addressing a webinar onthe positive impact of theUnion Budget 2022 on theagriculture sector, the PrimeMinister said investors shouldcome forward to promote cropdiversification.

Citing examples of oilseedsand pulses, Modi said, There isa huge demand for these (puls-es and oilseeds) in our coun-try. The corproate worldshould come forward. There isan assured market for you(corporates). What is the needfor import?"

The businesses, the PrimeMinister said, can tell inadvance to farmers about how

much quantities of pulses andoilseeds they would purchase.He noted that the agricultureinsurance system already pro-vides protection against croplosses.

The Prime Minister furtherstressed on the need to studyIndia's food requirement.

"We all need to work togeth-er to ensure that whatever(food) items we need, they getproduced in India only," hesaid.

The government has set atarget to increase domesticproduction of edible oil by 50per cent in the next 3-4 years,Modi said and emphasised on

achieving the target withintime. A programme to increaseoil palm cultivation has alreadybeen launched, he added.

It is to be noted that Indiaimports 60-65 per cent of itsedible oil requirement.

As per industry data, thecountry's edible oil import billshot up to Rs 1.17 lakh crore in2020-21 oil year endingOctober 2021, compared tonearly Rs 72,000 crore in theprevious year due to rise inglobal prices.

Modi also exhorted Indianbusiness houses to help inbranding and promotion ofIndian millets (core cereals),

which have high nutritionalvalue. Year 2023 has beendeclared as 'International Yearof Millets'.

He also talked about a hugeopportunity for the corporateworld in the field of nano-fer-tiliser, which is going to be agame changer as well as foodprocessing and ethanol manu-facturing.

Modi also called on startupsand private investors to createa pan-India network of soiltesting labs. He said there is aneed to create awarenessamong farmers about theimportance of regular soil test-ing of their farm land.

The Union Budget 2022-23,he said, focuses on makingIndian agriculture modern andsmart.

He noted that artificial intel-ligence (AI) is going to com-pletely change agriculture andtrade related to farming in the21st century.

Modi said the government'sobjective is to increase farmers'income, reduce input cost andprovide modern facilities tofarmers. He also asked corpo-rates to create a system whereall agricultural equipmentcould be provided to farmerson rent.

PM to industry: Cut edible oilimports, buy desi oilseeds PNS nKOLKATA

Chief Economic Advisor(CEA) V Anantha Nageswaranon Thursday said that theIndian economy is now poisedfor recovery but high crude oilprice is a cause for concern.

The banking sector in thecountry is stable, capital isavailable and credit offtake ispoised to take off, he said at awebinar organised by BharatChamber of Commerce.

"We are not unique to thephenomenon of uncertaingrowth and high inflation dueto the pandemic. Developedcountries are also facing thesame problem," he said.

The budget for 2022-23 hasbeen made keeping in mindthat the price of crude oil willbe around USD 75 per barrel.But due to the conflict betweenRussia and Ukraine, the priceof Texas crude is now USD 96per barrel. "Its impact on theIndian economy will dependhow long this high.price willremain," Nageswaran said.

According to him, inflationand purchasing power is aworldwide problem. This hasbeen due to rise in shippingcosts, high container costs andhigh oil prices.

In India inflation rates arehovering around 5.2 per centat the moment. "But, I feel it

should remain within four tosix per cent in the next fiscalwhich the RBI is targeting," hesaid.

The CEA said the markethas begun to correct in India."Activity levels in some indus-tries have crossed the pre-pandemic levels. But the ser-vices sector is yet to recover".

Regarding private sectorinvestment scenario, he said itis yet to pick up due to the pan-demic cloud which is stillthere. It will pick up when con-sumption levels increase.

"But the capital expenditureplan in the budget is higher in2022-23. This has been done tofill in the void. In fact, capitalexpenditure by the states have

also increased" Nageswaransaid.

On lower allocation towardsMNREGA in the budget, hesaid it is a demand-drivenprogramme. "It has been donehoping that economy willrecover and the demand forMNREGA funds will drop.But if there is demand for theprogramme, funds will be pro-vided for it".

According to the CEA thereare buffers in the budget. "Iexpect recovery to start fromsecond half of next fiscal. Thenominal GDP growth has beentargeted at 11 per cent. Withinflation at four per cent, thereal GDP growth will be sevenper cent."

Indian economy poised forrecovery, but crude prices high

The budget for 2022-

23 has been made

keeping in mind that

the price of crude oil

will be around USD 75

per barrel. But due to

the conflict between

Russia and Ukraine,

the price of Texas

crude is now USD 96

per barrel.

PNS n NEW DELHI

GST officers have unearthed aracket of 54 bogus firmsinvolved in fake invoicing of Rs611 crore involving tax evasionof Rs 38.5 crore, the financeministry said on Thursday.

Officers of Delhi SouthCGST Commissionerate con-ducted searches and inspectionsspread across Delhi, unearthinga cartel running 54 bogus firmsregistered in Delhi-NCR regionthat were engaged in fakeinvoicing and circular trading.

Incriminating documentssuch as rubber stamps and let-ter heads of various firms,mobile phones, laptops etc havebeen seized from the searchpremises.

"Preliminary enquiry con-ducted so far into these trans-actions has revealed fake invoic-ing of around Rs. 611 croresand tax evasion of over Rs. 38.5crores. The members of cartel

in their confessional statementshave accepted their roles inmanaging these bogus firms,"the ministry said in a state-ment.Three key persons of thecartel, namely Ankit Gupta, themastermind managing thesebogus firms and two of hisaccomplices Rabiendra Singhand Rajendra Singh, werearrested on February 23 andremanded to 14 days' judicialcustody.

In a separate statement, the

ministry said the CentralGoods and Services Tax(CGST) Commissionerate,Faridabad, of Panchkula CGSTZone, on February 23 arrestedtwo persons for running a fakebilling racket, involving fivedummy firms, for issuance offake invoices of over Rs 200crore without actual supply ofgoods and availing and passingfraudulent Input Tax Credit(ITC) amounting to Rs 31.85crore.

GST officers unearth fake invoicingracket involving Rs 38.5 cr tax

PNS n NEW DELHI

National Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) memberManoj Kumar on Thursdaysaid a huge market is availablefor surety bonds in the coun-try and now, the onus is on theinsurance fraternity to comeout with products quickly.

Addressing an event organ-ised by industry bodyAssocham, Kumar further saidthe NHAI is working toexpand the construction mar-ket because "as a country, wehad a certain level of construc-

tion capability in a strategicmanner by having contracts ofvarious sizes".

"A huge market is availablefor surety bonds in-countryand now the onus is on theinsurance fraternity to comeout with products quickly. Wehave already initiated atauthority level discussionswith the insurance agenciesand companies," he said.

The member (project)noted that it is important forthe industry to come out withthe right kind of insuranceproducts.

Huge market available forsurety bonds in India: NHAI

PNS nKOLKATA

Tea planters and exporters are"extremely worried" over thepossible impact on their ship-ments to Russia, India's secondlargest buyer of tea, in the wakeof the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Western sanctions and dis-ruption of payments in dollarsas well as transhipments toRussia are expected as a fall-outof Russian troops launching anattack on Ukraine on.

"The Russian market forIndian tea is extremely impor-tant as there are payment issuesfor shipments to Iran, anothervital tea export destination.Around 18 per cent of India'stea shipments go to Russia,"India Tea Association chairper-son Nayantara Palchoudhuritold PTI.

In the event of the conflictand possible imposition ofsanctions by the US, exports to

Russia would be "impactedadversely in the upcoming sea-son", she said.

Palchoudhuri, however, saidthat any significant shock to thetea industry due to the crisis

may not be witnessed immedi-ately as the season is about tobegin and the bulk of ship-ments takes place betweenMay and October.

Indian Tea Exporters'

Association ChairmanAnshuman Kanoria also saidthe industry stakeholders are"extremely worried" about thecrisis.

"There will surely be eco-

nomic consequences for teaexports in the near term. Theimpact we have seen straightaway is the fall in the value ofthe Russian Ruble by almost 15per cent vis-a-vis the US dol-lar. When the Ruble becomesweak, the capacity of importersto pay also declines," he toldPTI. The Ruble which was70.43 to the dollar on October24, last year, was worth 89.74to the dollar on February 24,2022.Kanoria also saidexporters are keeping a watchon how the war situationshapes up and the economicfall out of the crisis.

Palchoudhuri pointed outthat if shipments to Russia getimpacted, an oversupply situ-ation may arise in the domes-tic market, resulting in a pricefall."Russia and Kazakhstanare the main markets in theoverall exports to CIS coun-tries.

Indian tea exporters whilehoping that peace will speedi-ly return are concerned aboutthe impact on our tea exportsof any possible economic retal-iation by the West," Kanoriasaid. Exports to Ukraine arenot significant with just 3-3.6million kg being shipped outannually.European Union andthe US have already promisedunprecedented sanctions topunish Kremlin.

Kanoria also mentioned thatthe cost of operation forplanters and exporters is set togo up with increasing oil pricesin the international markets.

Oil prices surged by nearly$6 per barrel Thursday afterPresident Putin launchedRussian military action inUkraine. Brent crude oiljumped to over $100 per bar-rel on unease about the possi-ble disruption of Russian sup-plies.

Russia-Ukraine crisis: India's tea exports likely to be hit

Exchanges to roll out T+1settlement cycle from Friday

COVID-19 vaccinesales pushModerna to $12Bprofit in 2021PNS nWASHINGTON

Moderna's COVID-19 vac-cine brought in nearly USD7 billion in the final quarterof 2021, and the drugmak-er says it has signed pur-chase agreements for anoth-er USD 19 billion in salesthis year.The vaccinemaker's COVID-19 shots,which are now available inmore than 70 countries,totalled USD 17.7 billion insales last year, their firstful l year on themarket.Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is the only prod-uct the drugmaker has onthe market.Late last month, U.S. regu-lators gave full approval tothe vaccine, which is nowbeing marketed under thename Spikevax.But the com-pany is still waiting for U.S.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian government haspaid Cairn Energy Plc Rs 7,900crore to refund taxes it had col-lected to enforce a retrospectivetax demand, ending a seven-year-old dispute that had tarredthe country's image as aninvestment destination.

The company, which is nowknown as Capricorn EnergyPLC, in a statement said it hasreceived "net proceeds of USD1.06 billion", of which nearly 70per cent will be returned to theshareholders.

The tax department hadused a 2012 legislation, whichgave it powers to go back 50years and slap capital gainslevies wherever ownership hadchanged hands overseas butbusiness assets were in India, toseek Rs 10,247 crore in taxesfrom Cairn.

Cairn had in 2006-07 reor-

ganised its India business,which comprised operations ofprolific Rajasthan oilfields,prior to its listing on stockexchanges. While the companysold majority holding in theIndia unit to Vedanta in 2011,it was in 2014 slapped with thetax demand notice over allegedcapital gains made on the reor-ganisation.

The British firm contestedthe demand, saying all taxesdue were duly paid when the

reorganisation, which wasapproved by all statutoryauthorities, took place.

But the tax department in2014 attached and subsequent-ly sold the residual shares thatCairn held in the Indian unit.It also withheld tax refunds andconfiscated dividends due to itto settle part of the tax demand.All this totalled Rs 7,900 crore.

Cairn dragged the govern-ment to international arbitra-tion over the levy and enforce-

ment proceedings and onDecember 22, 2020, got afavourable ruling that askedIndia to refund the tax collect-ed together with interest andpenalty.The government initial-ly refused to honour the awardbut in August 2021 brought alaw to scrap all retrospective taxdemands and refund moneycollected but without any inter-est or penalty.The change ofheart followed Cairn initiatingseizure of the Indian govern-ment's overseas assets -- rang-ing from flats used by its diplo-matic staff in Paris to Air Indiaplanes in the US -- to recoverthe refund due.As part of thesettlement reached with thegovernment over the levy ofback taxes, Cairn withdrew allcases that were brought to col-lect the tax refund ordered bythe international arbitrationtribunal after rescinding retro-spective raising of demand.

India pays Cairn Rs 7,900 cr to settle retro tax claimPNS n NEW DELHI

Stock exchanges BSE and NSEwill roll out shorter settle-ment cycle or T+1 regimefrom Friday, a move that willhelp reduce margin require-ment for clients and boostretail investment in equitymarkets.

T+1 (trade plus one) meanst3hat market trade-related set-tlements will need to be clearedwithin one day of the actualtransactions taking place.Currently, trades on the Indianstock exchanges are settled intwo working days after thetransaction is done (T+2).

The stock exchanges NSEand BSE in November in ajoint statement announcedthat they will implement theT+1 settlement cycle in aphased manner startingFebruary 25, with the bottom-

100 stocks in terms of marketvalue.Thereafter, 500 stockswill be added based on thesame market value criteriafrom the last Friday of Marchand so on every followingmonth.This is not the first timethat markets regulator Sebihas chosen to shorten the set-tlement cycle. Earlier in 2002,the capital markets regulatorhad cut the number of days inthe settlement cycle from T+5days to T+3 days, and then in2003, it was reduced to T+2days.Market experts believethat the T+1 settlement systemwill allow the cycle of moneyto move faster without waitingfor an extra day.Under the newregime, all listed stocks, acrossstock exchanges (BSE, NSEand MSEI) will be ranked indescending order based ondaily market capitalisationaveraged for October 2021.

PNS nMUMBAI

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on Thursday said it hascancelled the certificate ofregistration (CoR) of P CFinancial Services primarilyengaged in mobile app-basedlending operations throughan app 'Cashbean' on accountof supervisory concerns.

With cancellation of CoR,the RBI said New Delhi-based P C Financial ServicesPvt Ltd will not transact thebusiness of a non-bankingfinancial institution(NBFI).The NBFI was pri-marily engaged in mobileapp-based lending opera-tions through an app called'Cashbean'."The CoR of thecompany has been cancelledon account of supervisoryconcerns such as gross viola-tions of RBI directions onoutsourcing and Know YourCustomer norms," the centralbank said in a statement.

RBI cancelsregistrationcertificate of P CFinancial Services

9

Vijayawada | Friday February 25, 2022 hollywood

ell-known film director andproducer Sajid Nadiadwalarevealed that he will soonannounce a movie starringcomedian Kapil Sharma.

He is coming as a specialguest on The Kapil Sharma Show withhis wife Warda Khan for theNadiadwala Special episode this week-end. Bollywood actors Tiger Shroff,Kriti Sanon and Ahaan Shetty will alsobe joining him.

This special episode will give a tributeto the 67-year-old journey of theNadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.

The host Kapil Sharma asks SajidNadiadwala on how he feels to be on theshow and he replies, “I treat this showlike my own because I was the one whorecommended Archana Puran Singh inthe industry. Navjot Singh Sidhu for thecommentator’s role in Mujhse ShaadiKarogi, followed by SumonaChakravarti, and now its KrushnaAbhishek, (Sudesh) Lehri.”

“Not to forget, I am now also the pro-ducer of the star who is the producer of

this show aka Salman Khan,” he adds.Sajid further made an announcement

on the show that he is making a scriptfor the host Kapil Sharma for his nextmovie.

He shares, “I will now also like to

announce that we are in the process ofmaking a script for Kapil as well andwill share the news in the next twomonths.”

The Kapil Sharma Show airs on SonyEntertainment Television.

Sajid Nadiadwala announcesmovie starring Kapil Sharma

w

ctress Karen Sharpe andHope Holiday haveaccused comedian-actor-director Jerry Lewis of sex-ual assault, harassmentand misconduct in a new

short documentary and expose pub-lished by Vanity Fair.

The interviews of Karen and Hopewere conducted by Kirby Dick andAmy Ziering, the duo who had earlierhandled Mia Farrow’s allegationsagainst Woody Allen in the documen-tary series Allen v Farrow and are thedirectors of the Oscar-nominated TheHunting Ground, reports Variety.

Karen met Jerry when she was castas the latter’s love interest in the 1964comedy The Disorderly Orderly.Recollecting the incident, Karen saidshe was trying on the costumes inJerry’s office when he ordered every-one to get out of the room except her.She accused Jerry of harassing and sex-ually assaulting her.

As a punishment for Karen’s resis-tance, the entire crew was asked not tospeak to her except the director andassistant director, when she returned tothe set after a few days. She could not

quit the film as she was under a con-tract. The comedian did not interactwith her or acknowledge her unlessthey were on camera together for ascene.

Hope Holiday was cast in Jerry’s1961 movie The Ladies Man followingher breakthrough stint in Billy Wilder’s

The Apartment.On the first day of work, Hope

narrated in the documentary that Jerry invited her into his dressingroom and pressed a button that lockedthe door shut. Hope said that Jerrystarted talking dirty to her and misbehaved.

Jerry Lewis' co-stars levelallegations of sexual assault

a

ctors Ben Stiller andChristine Taylor areback together follow-ing their separationnearly five years ago.

In an interviewwith Esquire magazine, Stillersaid he and Taylor decided itwould be best if he moved backin with her and their childrenduring the early days of the pan-demic, as it would be the onlyway he would be able to see thekids during the lockdown.

“Then, over the course of time,it evolved. We were separatedand got back together and we’rehappy about that. It’s been reallywonderful for all of us.Unexpected, and one of thethings that came out of the pan-demic,” the 56-year-old actor-filmmaker said.

Stiller and Taylor, 50, sharetwo children together: daughterElla Olivia, 19, and son QuinlinDempsey, 16.

Addressing about how hisrelationship with The Brady

Bunch star progressed over thelast two years, he said he has a

respect for the ways that they aresimilar and different from eachother.

“And I think accepting that,you can really appreciate some-one more because you’re not try-ing to get them to change foryou. Once you accept that, yousave a lot of energy. ‘This issomething that works for me;this is something that doesn’twork for me’. If you have thattrust level with your partner, youknow that me saying ‘I don’t likedoing that thing' is not me say-ing I don’t like you’,” the Meet theParents star added.

Although the couple hadannounced their separation in2017, they continued to supportone another and their family inthe public eye, attending eventswith their kids and at one point,holding hands during an outingto see the Pretty Woman musicalin 2018, according to Peoplemagazine.

Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor rekindle

marriage after separating in 2017

a

After enjoying an extendedtheatrical run, Spider-Man:No Way Home will make

its digital debut on March 22 andon 4K UHD and Blu-ray on

April 12.To mark the occasion, Sony

Pictures shared a picture of TomHolland, Tobey Maguire andAndrew Garfield recreating the

iconic Spider-Man pointingmeme, reports Variety.

The film, which is now avail-able for pre-order on digital, 4KUHD and Blu-ray, has minted$772 million and counting at theU.S. box-office since its openingin theaters on December 17.

As per Variety, the gross collec-tions are beyond JamesCameron’s Avatar as the thirdhighest-grossing domestic (USA)release in history. The top twospots are grabbed by Star Wars:The Force Awakens and Avengers:Endgame. With global box officegross at $1.8 billion, Spider-Man:No Way Home has become thehighest-grossing Sony release inhistory.

Spider-Man: No Way Homefeatures three generations ofSpider-Man actors on screen bybringing together Holland,Maguire and Garfield. Hollandand Garfield have alreadyexpressed their interest on recordfor starring together in anotherSpider-Man movie.

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home' set for digital debut;

Tom, Andrew, Tobey recreate iconic meme

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

Ram Charanunveils special BTS

video featuringChiranjeevi, Pawan

Actress HamsaNandini, whohad earlier

announced herbreast cancerdiagnosis, revealsthat she has nowsurvived thechemotherapy.

The SoggadeChinni Nayanaactress, whotook to her

social mediahandles to

update onher

ongo-ing

cancertreat-ment,

statedthat she

has com-pleted six-

teen cycles ofchemotherapy.Hamsa Nandini

said she is stillundergoing many

treatments for her can-cer as she shared pic-tures.

Along with the pic-tures of her hospitalroom, writing,“Annnnd.... am donewith 16 cycles ofchemotherapy!!! I amnow officially a chemo

sur-

vivor. Butam notdone yet,I haven’twon yet.It’s timeto preparefor thenext bat-tle... It’stime forthe surg-eries.#epiru-bicin#acchemo#paclitax-el#chemo-

survivor #brca1 #breastcancer#swanstories. (sic)”

In late December 2021, theactress had opened up that herdiscovery of a lump in her breasthad changed her life upsidedown. As she also revealed thateven her mom passed away dueto breast cancer, and hence shemade a promise that she will fightthe disease. “I will NOT let thisdisease Define My Life and that Iwill fight it with a Smile and Win.I will get back on screen Better &Stronger. I will tell my story sothat I can help Educate & Inspireothers(sic),” she had written, asshe announced her cancer diag-nosis earlier.

10

Vijayawada Friday February 25, 2022 tollywood

decade after itstheatricalrelease,Nithiin’sromanticdrama film

Ishq, co-starring NithyaMenen, is still many peo-ple’s favourite. It wasdirected by Vikram K.Kumar, and SudhakarReddy and Vikram Goudproduced it under theShresht Movies banner.While Anup Rubensscored the music, PCSreeram took care of thecinematography, and ASreekar Prasad was the

editor.On the occasion, Nithiin

said, “February 24 is a veryspecial date in my career.Ishq was released on thesame date 10 years back.It's a very memorable film,and it’s almost like arebirth for me as an actor. Ithank my director, VikramK. Kumar, from the bot-tom of my heart for thisopportunity. Ishq becamesuch a big hit for four rea-sons — Vikram Kumar’sstorey and direction beingthe primary reason. Thesecond is PC Sreeram’smagical frames and won-

der-fulvisu-als. Thethirdreason isAnup andAravind-Shankar’swonderfulmusic, whilemy chemistrywith NithyaMenen is thefourth reason.I wish to work again with this dreamteam.”

K RAMYA SREE

Actor Sharwanand has pinnedall his hopes on his nextAdavallu Miku Joharlu. The

film is making all the noise for itsensemble cast. As the title of thefilm suggests, it has five leadingladies of the industry, includingKhusboo Sundar, Radhika SarathKumar, and Urvashi. RashmikaMandanna is the film’s leading lady.

Sudhakar Cherukuri is the pro-ducer of Adavallu Miku Joharlu,directed by Tirumala Kishore.

Ahead of the film’s release,Khusboo chats with the media andinforms us about the film: “Itseemed refreshing when the direc-tor was telling this story, as thedirector penned this story, layingemphasis on human emotions, notjust women. Family emotions, inparticular, are all well-rounded.Not only emotions, but this con-cept is also very hilarious.”

“The story mostly connects tothe family audience. It’s definitely amovie that everyone comes to seewith their family members. This isa movie that all women, in particu-lar, should watch. This is a com-plete family movie,” addedKhusboo.

When asked about her role, shewants the audience to tell her howthey find her character. “I reallyenjoyed playing this character.Audiences should also enjoy watch-ing it on screen.”

Khusboo, who is good friendswith Radhika and Urshashi offscreen, found it difficult to workwith them for this film because oftheir acting prowess.

The actress says she found herdirector extremely cool on thesets and that shefelt very com-fortable workingwith him.

Expressing herviews on the leadactors of thefilm, she said,“Sharwanandand Rashmikaare two veryprofessionalactors.Confidence lev-els are very highfor both ofthem. Thedirector knowsexactly what he

wants. Sharwa, however,takes good care ofeveryone like a fami-ly member. Theproducers werealso very support-ive.”

What’s next forthe actress? Sheanswered “I amcurrently listeningto some interest-ing stories inTelugu. I want toplay challengingcharacters. Newdirectors are coming upwith new ideas. A filmscript is more important tome than the director. If Ilike the script, I amready to do amovie withany newentrant.”

Good script overanything for Khusboo

a

ll tell A.R (Rahman) tocompose a song withthis girl, exclaimed S.Thaman, who’s present-ly judging the Teluguversion of Indian Idol.

It’s not everyday that you get to seea judge of a popular singing realityshow utter these words. But then,Telugu Indian Idol on aha, is farfrom any ordinary show you’veever seen before. Set to premiereevery Friday and Saturday at 9 pmfrom Feb 25, the wait to find theregion’s next singing sensation got

a wholelot excit-ing. Andit’s takenjust a dayfor one

talented contestant to leave notjust the viewers, but even judgeand renowned music composer S.Thaman in complete awe of hersinging skills.

It was 16-year-old VaishnaviKovvuri from Hyderabad whowowed S. Thaman by singing thehit song Yadike from the filmKadali in her audition. Striking allthe right notes right from theword go, this terrific teenager waspitch perfect as she looked herconfident best. Along with theheartwarming praise that followed,

Vaishnavi also ended up as thewinner of the Golden Mic.

Sharing his thoughts onVaishnavi’s performance, “Somecontestants just belong on the bigstage. They have that sheer charis-ma and skill to hold your attentionand leave you spellbound. I wasn’texpecting to see such a perfor-mance so soon, but that’s how tal-ent can surprise you. I really hopethat she goes a long way in thiscompetition and look forward toseeing her make waves in theworld of music. That said, thereare many more Vaishnavi’s whoseperformances I can’t wait to see. Ifsuch is the calibre of artists righton the first day, the judges andviewers are in for a very melodi-ous journey in the days to come.”

Rana Daggubati,who spoke at thepre-release event

of Bheemla Nayak, statedthat he will worktowards the developmentof the movie industryand would collaborate tomake Hyderabad themovie capital of India.

As Rana spoke at theevent, he expressed thathe had worked with mul-tiple personalities in themovie industry, butPawan Kalyan was reallyspecial. “My upcomingmovies will have PawanKalyan’s influence,” theBhallaladeva fromBaahubali said.

Lauding the ministersof Telangana, who werepresent at the event,Rana thanked the gov-ernment of Telangana forbeing understanding,regarding the problemsfaced by the movieindustry.

“I thank KalvakuntaRama Rao, TalasaniSrinivas Yadav, and theTelangana governmentfor being helpful. Yourpositive approachtowards the Telugumovie industry will helpus grow. I promise tomyself, to work towardsmaking Hyderabad themovie capital of India,”Rana said.

Slated for its release onFebruary 25, the pre-release event of Pawanand Rana- starrer

Bheemla Nayak tookplace in the Yousufgudagrounds in Hyderabad,on Wednesday.Telangana’s IT MinisterKT Rama Rao andCinematographyMinister TalasaniSrinivas Yadav wereinvited as the chiefguests by the mak-ers of BheemlaNayak.

KTR, whospoke at theevent con-veyed his bestregards totheBheemlaNayakteam.

Earlier onThursday,the ITMinister ofTelangana, KTRtook to hisTwitter, as he wrote,“Took a break frommy routine to greetmy brothers@PawanKalyan garu@RanaDaggubati &@MusicThaman &director SagarChandra for theirupcoming movie#BheemlaNayak. Lovelyto meet some brilliantmusicians such asPadmasri MogilaiahGaru & Sivamani Garu.”

Rana plays a powerful,hot-headed opponentnamed Daniel Sekhar,while Pawan will

reprise a cop inBheemla Nayak.

i

Thaman inawe of

Indian Idol’scontestant

Will work towards making

Hyderabad the movie capital

of India: Rana Daggubati

HamsaNandini isofficially a

chemosurvivor

RRR actor Ram Charan has sur-prised the fans of both the Megaactors — Chiranjeevi and Pawan

Kalyan — by releasing a ‘phenomenal’video on Thursday.

Pawan Kalyan and Chiranjeevi hadmet on the sets of their upcomingmovies respectively when the BTS(between-the-shots) video was taken.Pawan Kalyan and his Bheemla Nayakteam had visited the sets of Chiranjeevi’supcoming movie Godfather.

As Chiranjeevi sports the look of aprisoner for Godfather, he is seen posingwith Pawan Kalyan, who is dressed upin a contrasting cop attire. Ram Charanwho shared the memorable video fromthe sets of Godfather and BheemlaNayak, wrote, “#GODFATHER and#BHEEMLANAYAK visit each other’sfilm sets! #BheemlaNayakOn25thFeb.”The video has left the fans amused, tosee Tollywood’s mega heroes sharedelightful moments on the sets of theirrespective movies.

The video ends with a caption sayingall the best to Bheemla Nayak from theteam Godfather.

Bheemla Nayak starring PawanKalyan, Rana Daggubati, Nithya Menen,Murali Sharma, Samyuktha Menon, andothers will release on February 25.

Chiranjeevi’s upcoming movieGodfather, on the other hand, is theremake of the Malayalam movie Lucifer,and is still in making.

Ishq gave me arebirth as anactor: Nithiin

Do you or someoneyou care about havean eating disorder?

There’s more to theseproblems than simplyfood and weight. Fromschool or job performanceto physical health issues,an eating disorder maycreate severe disruptionsin a person’s life. Yoga is amind-body activity that isrecognised for its inherenthealing effects and aware-ness. Yoga and naturopa-thy may be a valuable aidin the rehabilitationprocess, and consistentyoga practice in conjunc-tion with naturopathytreatment and psychiatrictherapy may be beneficial.

Obviously, smart foodchoices can benefit thebody in different ways butwhen someone becomestoo much obsessed withrestrictions, problemsarise. When the behaviourof a person gets too dis-ruptive owing to suchrestrictions, it can inter-fere with personal andwork relationships whichultimately leads to psy-chological disorders.

Also, it has beenobserved that people withorthorexia often tend toavoid social invitationsand interactions, fearingthat they would have tocompromise on theirhealthy eating habits. Evenif they do indulge in socialinteractions, they wouldrefuse to touch food,despite hunger pangs.

Some people may alsospend hours on shoppingfor specific groceries orkeep their habits secret

from their friends and family. Dr H PBharathi Deputy Chief Medical Officer, atJindal Naturecure Institute, talks aboutbingeeatingand howyoga andnaturopa-thy solve

eating disorders.

What makes yoga and naturopathya suitable solution for those suffer-ing from eating disorders?

Millions of people suffer from a varietyof eating disorders, which is disturbed andunhealthy eating habits that might includerestrictive dieting, obsessive eating, or mealskipping. According to a study publishedby the National Eating DisorderAssociation, four out of 10 adults haveeither directly experienced an eating disor-der or know someone who has through thefostering of non-judgment, confidence,and self-acceptance, yoga has been demon-strated to help ease anxiety, anger anddepression as well as improve self-esteemand a healthy body image. Regular yogapractice may aid in the restoration of men-tal, emotional and physical strength that isdamaged due to binge eating disorders.

On the physical level, yoga may be cus-tomised to assist digestion, ease constipa-tion, and lessen reactivity to the unpleasantprocess of binge eating. On an emotionallevel, yoga encourages emotional connec-tion to the person's internal world, allow-ing emotions, wants, and longings to begrounded.

Stressful mental patterns that sustaineating disorders may frequently dissipateslowly with a design that first opens thebody via stretching and then completeswith relaxation. During or after a yogapractice, we may be able to release feelingsthat have been burdening us for years.

Yoga, meditation and breathwork bothlessen the body’s physiological stressresponse by lowering sympathetic nervoussystem activation and boosting activity inthe part of the brain responsible for confi-dence, emotion management, and mentalflexibility, according to studies on mindful-ness. Surprisingly, research on yoga’s thera-peutic benefits has shown that the abilityto bear modest amounts of stress, such aslearning to remain in an unpleasant pose,is linked to overall happiness and quality oflife. Once a person learns to remain in anunpleasant pose, they are more capable ofbeing with uncomfortable feelings whenthey arise instead of binge eating.

Naturopathy helps in healing eating disorders

Naturopathic physicians treatpatients focusing on their phys-

ical,

lifestyle, environmental, mental,and emotional wellness.

Naturopathy doctors who fol-low these concepts always con-centrate on addressing theunderlying cause of a patient'sailment. Depression, anxiety,trauma, or another factor mayplay a role in eating disorders.

This may also need collabora-tion with a psychologist due tothe serious nature of binge eat-ing disorder. The naturopathymethod entails examining thebody’s long-term changes: Whatnutrients have been deficient fora long time? What impact doesthe eating disorder have onmental performance? Whatimpact does it have on apatient’s behaviour? Whatorgans or blood components,such as the stomach, heart, kid-neys, and so on, have beenimpaired as a result of the bingeeating disorder? It also entailsassessing what deep-seatedissues and hurdles the patientmay need assistance in over-coming the eating disorder inorder to be cured.

Along with focusing onhealthy food habits, naturopathyalso involves alternative healingtherapies like acupuncture,relaxation therapy, botanicalmedicine, and others.Acupuncture may aid in thetreatment of eating disorders byaddressing linked health issues,lowering stress, and speedingthe healing of afflicted bodilysystems. The botanical medi-cine approach tries to replenishthe patient’s organ systems,which are often damaged asa result of the binge eatingproblem. And relaxationtherapy involves massagetherapy, which seeks tolower stress hormones,raise positive chemi-cal levels (norepi-nephrine anddopamine), andreduce bodydissatisfac-tion.

SHIKHA DUGGAL

Living up to herideal self, notablestand-up come-

dian Sumaira Shaikhis known for herrichness in comedy.But, unfortunately,in our country,telling jokes aboutbeing associatedwith someone who

insults the majorityfaith can be enough

to prompt legal actionthese days. Nevertheless,

comedians like Sumaira have takenstand-up comedy acts to a boomover the past few years, along withthe digital medium’s becoming big.Doing just the same with the blendof an apt combo, Prime Videoannounced its new stand-up spe-cial, Dongri Danger by Sumaira!Moreover, things changed for herwhen one of her buddies from thesame friend circle on the team wasdirecting her — that’s the renownedcomedian Sumukhi Suresh. All setto leave the audience in splits withher first ever stand-up special start-

ing on February 25, she enlightens,“It was always a meaningful thoughtin my mind, nagging me all thiswhile that whenever I’ll be doingmy own stand-up special for anOTT platform, I want my directorto be a comic herself/himself. Mywish came true and Sumukhi wasright there with all the experienceshe has gained all these years with ablockbuster show like Pushpavalli.She wasn’t there to boss me around;she connected on the same chordswith me as a comedian herself, andthat’s what was more liberating forme on the sets.”

Dongri Danger is producedby OML Entertainment PrivateLimited and co-produced byMotormouth Writers Pvt. Ltd.Sumaira wasn’t demented aboutanything while doing this show;it’s her forte, after-all. She’sknown for whacking left, right,and centre with her illuminatingjokes in the middle of the spot-light. You just have to hand overthe mic to her and watch herroll! She continues, “You’ll seeme performing stand-up come-dy for an hour. From 2016 to2022, you’ll see and hear aboutthe lesser-known Sumaira, who

comes from the port city of Dongri.My personal anecdotes, how myfather raised me, what Dongri hadto present to me, and more, will bethere for you to witness on the plat-ter.”

Moving ahead, what if someoneturns up to Sumaira and triggersthat she’s just another casting rec-ommendation by the director whobelongs to the same comic circle?She laughed out loud and knewhow to handle criticism well! Sheopines, “I don’t mind this proclama-tion. Since the time I set out on

this comical journey, uncountableclaims have been thrown at us ascomics. It doesn’t get to me any-more. More than a buddy, Sumukhiis my confidant. I am still an ama-teur. She taught me ‘array, aise nahimuh pe bolte’ and we laughedtogether. By the way, we’re not thatfar off the mark either. Our familiesare extremely similar, despite thefact that they are pakka south-Indian and well-educated. My par-ents can’t speak as good English asthey can, but our families bring inthe same chaos, same arguments,

and same pressure. The dynam-ics are so identical. We bondedon this very facet — ‘hum donoki family pagal hai’ (she laughshard).”

Not to forget, it’s a woman-led and woman-centric show, sohow empowering was it for thisfunny woman? She shares,“This is really good for mycareer; it’s a welcoming change.”Times have changed when peo-ple used to heavily depend onmale stars. The stand-up act isbased on a personal story, sothere was a little bit of tensionbuilding. You’ll only hear hon-est jokes! I don’t want maxi-

mum views, nor do I want applause.I hope Prime Video gets that ‘apkashow mast tha’. Jokes apart, I amglad to be a part of online pop cul-ture that has brought about a radi-cal change in comedy circles as well.Laugh clubs are opening every-where; our acts are going viral.What more does a stand-up come-dian need? From trends to chitter-chatter, we are dominating onlineconversations. I have my ownstand-up special on an OTT plat-form that’s trending across theworld very early on in my career. Iam blessed.”

With criticism being quashed andself-censorship being promoted, thejokes are always on. However, stand-up comedian Sumaira Shaikh clari-fies, “No comedian gets onto a stageto offend the government. At times,it must have happened in the flow ofcomedy. Why is it such a huge agen-da, though? Our only intention is toentertain the masses! Unfortunately,we are caught up in the country’scrackdown on freedom of expres-sion. Issues go beyond a simplecomedy act. This must changebecause our purpose is not to hurtsomeone’s feelings. We are only hereto do sincere and candid comedy.”

Sumaira grabs the micfor Dongri Danger now

No comedian gets onto astage to offend the

government. At times, it musthave happened in the flow of

comedy. Why is it such a huge agenda,though? Our only intention is toentertain the masses! Unfortunately,we are caught up in the country’scrackdown on freedom of expression.Issues go beyond a simple comedy act.This must change because our purposeis not to hurt someone’s feelings.

Rompers for kids: Reasons

why they are bestBabies grow up so fast, it is said

they require new clothes (in abigger size) every ten weeks.

Mind-boggling, isn’t it?Sometimes, it is hard to keep up

with these constant changes. Also, thequestion arises, how many babyclothes should you purchase if the kidsare eventually going to outgrow them?Well, there is no definite answer forthis.

But, fortunately, parents are in luckas baby rompers are here to save theday! The gender-neutral design, flexi-ble sizing, or comfortable fit is thesecret to why rompers are the idealchoice when it comes to buying clothesfor babies. Baby jumpsuits or rompersare ultra-soft and convenient sans thetraditional buttons, zippers, and tighthemlines. What’s more, newborn babyrompers are ideal for both baby girlsand boys.

If you are still not convinced, thenhere are a few reasons why you shouldswitch to baby rompers suits.

Reasons to switch to rompersfor kids

Saves time: Tired of wasting longhours on selecting the right outfit foryour baby? Well, cut through the chaseand opt for rompers instead. Babyromper suits make your child lookcute and save you a lot of precioustime. Trying to figure out what top/t-shirt looks good on which jeans/jog-gers can be overwhelming. Thus, byselecting a romper dress for your baby,you can simplify the tedious task andensure your baby feels comfortableand looks fabulous.

Comfort comes first: One of themain appeals of a kids romper is com-fort. Ask yourself what do babies andkids care about when it comes to theirclothes. Chances are, all they careabout is their comfort.Rompers are made fromsoft, kid-friendly fab-rics. They don’thave hip-huggingor gut-suckingstitching likejeans or jog-gers. Theyare snugbut not

uncomfortable. The best part, is theyare free from all the frills and rufflesthat usually adorn other kids outfits.And, all these features make rompersan excellent choice for infants and tod-dlers.

Durable: Apart from being a versa-tile piece of clothing, rompers for kidslast longer than average clothes. Youcan choose to wear it baggy, tight, orjust right. It is comfortable and workswell with kids who can’t stay in oneplace for long. It is also a good choicefor those who rapidly change bodytypes at a moment's notice. In short,cotton baby romper suits can outlivemany other kids' outfits hanging intheir closets. Plus, it can help you savemoney, which you can then utilize forbuying some other everyday babyproducts.

Unisex outfits: In the beginning,rompers were worn by all genders asthey were easy-to-wear garments forchildren and babies. Oddly, thingswere a little different for sometime, but now (thankfully)all is back to normal. It isnot unusual to see a babyboy wearing a rainbowcolour romper, ratherthan the plain old blue.Likewise, parents today aremore open to experiment-ing with different clothingwhen it comes to designs,patterns, and colours. Thishas helped break manystereotypes,enabling themto make afashionstatement.Romperselimi-nate

the old constraints of fashion as theyare unisex, allowing children's person-alities to flourish. Unisex rompers areavailable in a wide range of colours,patterns, and designs, giving little kidsthe option to sport the style they pre-fer or wear the colour they want.

Decreases laundry load: Is anyoneever excited to gather laundry andthen sort, wash, dry, and fold them? Iguess, no one! It is the least favoritechores for mothers, which is why youshould love romper dresses for girlsand boys. Rompers are lightweight,easy to wash, and clean. High-qualityrompers for infants made from durablematerials also do not deteriorate orcolour fade after a couple of washes.Rompers are clothing items that donot add to your laundry load. In fact,they can help lower water/light billcosts. To put it simply, kids' romperssave time, money, and water.

(The writer, Manoj Jain, is the Director at Scram)

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FridayFebruary 25, 2022

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saidon Thursday that Russia has launched war onUkraine and shattered peace on the European

continent. Stoltenberg called for a summit ofNATO leaders for Friday. He spoke shortly after

the trans-Atlantic alliance agreed afteremergency talks to further beef up its land,

sea and air forces on its eastern flanknear Ukraine and Russia. Russia has

attacked Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.This is a brutal act of war. Our

thoughts are with the bravepeople of Ukraine. Peace on our

continent has been shattered," he said. This is a deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion. Russia is using force to try to rewrite history." Russia

launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities andbases with airstrikes or shelling.

In the wake of the Russian offensive against Ukraine,Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharansaid on Thursday that India is making alternative

arrangements for the safe evacuation of Indiansstranded in the Eastern European nation as itsairspace was closed. Amid concerns expressed bythe near and dear ones of the people stranded in

Ukraine, Muraleedharan said the Centralgovernment will ensure the safety of over

18,000 Indians including students strandedthere and asked them to follow the

instructions of the Indian Embassy in Kyiv.

Making arrangements forevacuation of Indians: MEA

Shares dive, oil prices soar

Stocks plunged and oilprices surged by morethan 8 per barrel

Thursday after RussianPresident Vladimir

Putin launchedmilitary action inUkraine, promptingWashington and

Europe tovow sanctions on Moscow that may roil the

global economy. Market benchmarks inEurope and Asia fell by more than 4%as traders tried to figure out how large

Putin's incursion would be and thescale of Western retaliation. WallStreet futures sank, indicating thatUS shares were likely to retreatafter trading opens. Energy prices

surged, fuelling inflationfears.

Ukraine'sparliament andother government

and banking websites were hit withanother punishing wave of distributed-denial-

of-service attacks, and cybersecurity researchers saidunidentified attackers had also infected hundreds ofcomputers with destructive malware. Some of theinfected computers were in neighbouring Latvia andLithuania, the researchers said. Early Thursday local time inUkraine, as fears of a Russian invasion heightened, theforeign ministry and council of ministers were unreachableand other sites were slow to load, suggesting the DDoSattacks were continuing, though there was no officialconfirmation.Officialshave longexpected cyber attacks to precede and accompany any Russianmilitary incursion, and analysts said the activity hewed to Russia'splaybook of wedding cyber operations with real-world aggression.ESET Research Labs said it detected a previously unseen piece of data-wiping malware Wednesday on hundreds of machines in the country. Itwas not clear how many networks were affected. "With regards whetherthe malware was successful in its wiping capability, we assume that thisindeed was the case and affected machines were wiped, said ESET researchchief Jean-Ian Boutin. He would not name the targets but said they werelarge organizations. ESET was unable to say who was responsible.

Countries like Russia cannot be "lockedup" behind the iron curtain, theRussian Presidential Spokesman

asserted on Thursday, as the US-led Westthreatened to impose more bitingsanctions against Moscow after PresidentVladimir Putin ordered a military offensiveagainst Ukraine. US President Joe Bidenhas condemned Russia for its"unprovoked" and "unjustified" attack onUkraine and warned that the US and itsallies will respond in a "united and decisive"way after Russian troops entered Ukraine.Such country as Russia cannot be lockedup behind the Iron Curtain. Problems maycertainly arise with a number of countries,however we had various issues with thesecountries before, if not speaking about thecurrent situation, Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov was quoted assaying by the official TASS newsagency. It is simply impossible toisolate such country as Russiawith an iron curtain, Peskov said,using a notional barrier separating theformer Soviet bloc and the West prior tothe decline of communism. President Putinannounced in a televised address onThursday morning that in response to arequest by the head of the Donbassrepublic, he had made a decision to carryout a special military operation in order toprotect people who have been sufferingfrom abuse and genocide by the Kievregime for eight years. Putin has said thatMoscow had no plans of occupyingUkrainian territories. Russia's DefenceMinistry reported that Russian troops were

destroyingUkrainianmilitaryinfrastructure usingprecision weapons.The US has alreadyannounced a series ofsanctions on Russia toprevent it from accessingWestern financial markets.

Impossible to lock Russiabehind iron curtain: Kremlin

World leaders outraged,plan stronger sanctions

PNS n BRUSSELS

World leaders expresseda raw outrage shroudedby an impotence toimmediately come tothe aid of Ukraine to

avoid a major war inEurope, con-

d e m n i n gRussia's attack

on its neighbouras the European

Union and otherspromised unprece-

dented sanc-

tions to hit the Kremlin. EuropeanCommission President Ursulavon der Leyen called it a barbar-ic attack on an independent nationthat also targeted the stability inEurope and the whole of theinternational peace order.

The EU will hold an emergencysummit in Brussels, where NATOis also meeting after Poland andthe Baltic nations borderingRussia and Ukraine called for anurgent session. But no onepromised to move in militarilyand defend Ukraine as it couldtouch off a major European war,

but NATO did decide to beef upits Eastern flank facing Russia.President Vladimir Putin warnedanyone listening that any interfer-ence would lead to consequencesyou have never seen in history.

Von der Leyen said that it'sPresident Putin who's bringingwar back to Europe and NATOSecretary-General JensStoltenberg said that peace on ourcontinent has been shattered.

Highlighting the dire state, EUand NATO member Lithuaniadeclared a state of emergency.

The Baltic nation borders

Russia's Kaliningrad region tothe southwest, Belarus to the east,Latvia to the north and Poland tothe south. So instead, most of theworld but not China condemnedand threatened to hit the Russianelites with, in the words of EU for-eign policy chief Josep Borrell, thestrongest package, the harshestpackage of sanctions we haveever implemented. A majornuclear power has attacked aneighbour country and is threat-ening reprisals of any other statesthat may come to the rescue,Borrell said.

External AffairsMinister SJaishankar on

Thursday spoke toEU HighRepresentative forForeign Affairs andSecurity PolicyJosep Borrell anddiscussed the"grave situation" inUkraine. Jaishankarsaid the discussionincluded how Indiacould contribute to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine. "Received a callfrom EU HRVP @JosepBorrellF. Discussed the grave situation inUkraine and how India could contribute to de-escalation efforts,"Jaishankar tweeted. In a statement on the Russian offensive againstUkraine, Borrell said that he will be in touch with partners around theworld to ensure the international community will be fully grasping thegravity of the moment.

Jaishankar discusses crisis with EU High Representative Borrell

Fear, calm among Ukrainians

Will be ‘tightrope walk' for India

Although Ukrainians had been warned for weeks that war withRussia was imminent, when the attacks finally came Thursdaymany seemed not to know how to react. Civil defence sirens

wailed in the air of the capital, Kyiv, in the gray and drizzlymorning, but the city's main street Khreshchatyk was a mixture ofanxiety and normalcy. The hotel where many Associated Pressjournalists stayed ordered an evacuation within 30 minutes. Uponcheckout, the friendly desk clerk asked: Did you have anythingfrom the mini-bar? Outside, guests hurriedly loaded their hastilypacked luggage into cars, while passersby walked dogs andoccasionally waved at acquaintances.

Advocating a wait and watch approach for India on the Ukraineconflict, former Indian diplomats on Thursday said New Delhihas to "walk a tightrope" diplomatically as Moscow has been

its "steadfast partner" for decades. Russia launched a wide-rangingattack on Ukraine on Thursday, triggering serious concerns overthe possibility of a full-scale military confrontation between the twocountries. G Parthasarathy, who has been India's envoy in severalcountries including Pakistan, said it is a "complicated situation" forIndia and the government will have to take a close call. "My ownhunch is that this will come to a vote in the UN Security Council. Itremains to be seen whether we oppose or abstain," he told PTI.

Ukraine hit by more cyberattacks

40 people were killed

Russian troops launched a broadassault on Ukraine from threesides on Thursday, an attack

that began with explosionsbefore dawn in the capital Kyivand other cities. Ukraine'sleadership said at least 40people had been killed so far inwhat it called a full-scale wartargeting the country from theeast, north and south. In atelevised address as the attackbegan, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin warned othercountries that any attempt to interferewould lead to consequences you havenever seen in history.

Peace ‘shattered' in Europe: NATO

VIJAYAWADA |

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY

25, 2022

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