The Government has - Daily Pioneer

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Tuesday said it has recoveredvarious incriminating docu-ments and digital recordsbesides cash to the tune of�2.85 crore and 133 gold coinsweighing 1.80 kg from unex-plained source of income fromthe premises of arrested DelhiMinister Satyendar Jain and hisaccomplices.

The AAP has denied theED claim and said no suchseizure was made.

The AAP claimed that EDhas recovered only some doc-uments, one digital device, and�2.79 lakh from Satyendra’shouse during their searches.

While the AAP stronglyrefuted ED’s claim of seizure of�2.8 crore, Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal alleged PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is

after his Aam Aadmi Party andits Governments in the nation-al Capital and Punjab.

Taking to Twitter, Kejriwaldubbed the charges againstJain as a lie. “At this time, thePrime Minister is after theAam Aadmi Party with all hispower, especia l ly theGovernments of Delhi andPunjab. Lie after lie, lie afterlie,” Kejriwal tweeted inHindi.

“You (PM) have the

power of all the agencies butGod is with us,” he added.

On Monday, the ED hadconducted a search operationunder Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) onthe premises of SatyendarKumar Jain/Poonam Jain, andhis accomplices and otherpersons who had either direct-ly or indirectly assisted him orparticipated in the processes ofmoney laundering, the ED saidin a statement.

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The Government haswidened the eligibility cri-

teria for the selection to thepost of the Chief of DefenceStaff (CDS). The amendmentwill open the post to any serv-ing or retired three-star officerof the rank of lieutenant gen-eral or equivalent in the IAF(air marshal) and Navy (viceadmiral).

The post of CDS has beenvacant since General BipinRawat died in a helicoptermishap in December last year.

A new gazette notificationstipulates that a serving orretired three-star officer of therank of lieutenant general orequivalent in the IAF (air mar-shal) and Navy (vice admiral)can be selected for the top job.However, the candidate shouldnot have attained the age of 62years. It means serving orretired vice chief can supersedetheir seniors and become CDS.Lieutenant general is the sec-ond-highest post in the armedforces.

Similarly, a retired chief ofthe Army, the IAF or the Navyis also eligible for the post of theCDS provided the candidate isbelow 62 years of age on thedate of appointment.

The tenure of the chiefs ofthe three services is three yearsor 62 years of age, whichever isearlier. This will virtually ruleout retired chiefs of the three

forces for the post of the CDS.The gazette notifications

issued on Monday said theGovernment may appoint anyof these top serving or retiredofficers as CDS “if considerednecessary, in the public inter-est”. The amended rules willenable the Government towiden its pool for the selectionof the new CDS.

“The Central Governmentmay if considered necessary, inthe public interest, so to do,appoint as Chief of DefenceStaff, an officer who is servingas lieutenant general or gener-al or an officer who has retiredin the rank of lieutenant gen-eral or general but has not

attained the age of sixty-twoyears on the date of his appoint-ment,” said the gazette notifi-cation amending the ArmyRules 1954.

While appointing GeneralRawat as the first CDS of thecountry in 2020, theGovernment had gone by theprinciple of first among theequals. Then, General Rawatretired as the Army chief andthe senior amongst the threeservices chiefs. The chiefs arefour-star officers.

The new notification alsosays the Government mayextend the service of the CDS“for such period as it maydeem necessary subject to a

maximum age of 65 years”.The post of CDS was cre-

ated as the single point militaryadvisor to the political leader-ship on the issues of nationalsecurity. General Rawat wasalso given the responsibility offast-tracking defence reformsto fight modern day warfare.

The CDS also runs theDepartment of Military Affairsin the Ministry of Defenceand is principally responsiblefor getting the armed forcesbetter integrated rather thanoperating in silos. This includesthe creation of new militarycommands which integrate theArmy, Air Force, and Navy tofight together.

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The United Nations (UN)has called for respect and

tolerance for all religions afterIraq, Turkey, Malaysia, andLibya on Tuesday joined overa dozen Muslim countries incondemning the controversialremarks of now-suspended BJPspokespersons against ProphetMohammad.

Echoing Centre’s effortsto reach out to the Arabnations, Union Minister PiyushGoyal said action has beentaken against the persons(Nupur Sharma) and assertedthat “good relations” wouldcontinue with the countries.

“We strongly encouragerespect and tolerance for allreligions,” said StephaneDujarric, a spokesperson forUN Secretary General AntonioGuterres, late on Monday in apress briefing.

He was responding to aquestion by a Pakistani jour-nalist on remarks by BJP’s for-mer national spokesperson

Nupur Sharma and its Delhimedia head Naveen KumarJindal against ProphetMohammad.

“I’ve seen stories. I haven’tseen the remarks themselves,but I mean, regardless, I can tellyou that we strongly encouragerespect and tolerance for allreligions,” Dujarric said.

Reacting to the row, Goyalsaid the controversy had notimpacted the NDA dispensa-tion as Nupur is not aGovernment functionary anstressed that good relationswill continue with the Gulfcountries that have reactedsharply to the issue.

“I don’t think that thisstatement was made by anyGovernment functionary and,therefore, it has no impact onthe Government and necessaryaction has been taken by theparty,” Goyal, Minister forCommerce and Industry, told

reporters in Kochi, Keralawhen asked about the contro-versy.

He said the External AffairsMinistry has clarified the issue.“The Foreign Office has comeout with a clear clarification onthat remark and the BJP hastaken the necessary action inthis regard. With all thesecountries, we have a very goodrelationship and our relationswill continue to be very good,”he said. When asked about asocial media campaign to boy-cott Indian products in thewake of the row, the Ministersaid he has not heard of anysuch thing.

“They have only men-tioned that such a statementshould not be made andaccordingly, action has beentaken against the person whomade the comments. All theIndians living in gulf countriesare safe and do not have toworry,” the Union Ministersaid.

Earlier, Iraq and Libyajoined over a dozen Muslimcountries in condemning thecontroversial remarks madeby now-suspended BJPspokesperson.

The Iraqi statement said,“these abuses, malicious anddisgraceful acts will have seri-ous repercussions and, if notcontained, may lead to direconsequences that will haveunimaginable consequencesfor the peaceful coexistence, as

well as increase strife andtensions between peoples,”according to the official IraqiNews Agency (INA).

The Indian Embassy in itsstatement said “in line withour civilisational heritage andstrong cultural traditions ofunity in diversity,Government of India accordsthe highest respect of all reli-gions. Strong action hasalready been taken againstthose who made the deroga-tory remarks.”

A statement has also beenissued by concerned quartersemphasising respect for allreligions, denouncing insultsto any religious personality ordemeaning any religion or sect,it said.

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In what is making waves inthe medical world, a small

group of people with rectalcancer who were treated witha drug called Dostarlimab foraround six months, saw theirtumours disappear, accordingto a report in the New YorkTimes.

Dostarlimab is a drug withlaboratory-produced moleculesthat acts as substitute anti-bodies in the human body. All18 rectal cancer patients weregiven the same drug and as aresult of the treatment, cancerwas completely obliterated inevery patient - undetectable byphysical exam, endoscopy,positron emission tomogra-phy or PET scans or MRIscans.

As per the New YorkTimes, the patients involved inthe clinical trial faced gru-elling previous treatments toobliterate their cancer, such aschemotherapy, radiation andinvasive surgery that couldresult in bowel, urinary and

even sexual dysfunction. The18 patients went into the trialexpecting to have to go throughthese as the next step. However,to their surprise, no furthertreatment was needed.

Speaking to the media out-let, Dr Alan P Venook, who isa colorectal cancer specialist atthe University of California,said that the complete remis-sion in every single patient is“unheard-of ”. He hailed theresearch as a world-first. Heeven noted that it was especiallyimpressive as not all of thepatients suffered significantcomplications from the trialdrug.

Separately, Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center and aco-author of the paper oncol-ogist Dr Andrea Cercek

described the moment patientsfound out they were cancer-free. For the trial, patients tookDostarlimab every three weeksfor six months. They were all insimilar stages of their cancer -it was locally advanced in therectum but had not spread toother organs.

However, Dr PrashantMehta, medical oncologist atAsian Institute of MedicalSciences in Faridabad,Haryana, said these patientshave not been shown to becured, but have achieved com-plete response. These patientshave a specific genetic alter-ation called dMMR so thisdoes not apply to all. Moreover,this is a small single arm studyof a small number of patients,so it is only hypothesis gener-ating, he said.

“Only a randomised con-trolled trial with sufficientnumber of patients where thisis compared with standard ofcare will answer whether thiscan be a part of recommendedtreatment or not! But I agreethis is a promising sign,” hesaid.

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In a major breakthrough inthe gruesome killing of

Punjabi singer ShubhdeepSingh, alias Sidhu Moose Wala,the Punjab Police on Tuesdaysaid that at least eight personshave been arrested in the mat-ter for providing logistic sup-port, conducting recce, andharbouring the shooters.

Moose Wala, who left hishouse around 4.30 pm onMay 29 along with two per-sons Gurwinder Singh (neigh-bour) and Gurpreet Singh(cousin), was shot dead bysome unidentified persons inbroad daylight while he wasdriving his Mahindra Tharvehicle.

The police have also iden-tified four shooters involved inthe crime, said Parmod Ban,Punjab’s ADGP, Anti-GangsterTask Force on Tuesday.

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The Dubai Police has arrest-ed two Indian-origin fugi-

tive businessmen brothers,Rajesh and Atul Gupta, whowere among South Africa’smost-wanted suspects in a cor-ruption case that led to the fallof South African PresidentJacob Zuma from office.

The Interpol had issuedRed Corner Notices againstRajesh, 51, and Atul, 53, whofled South Africa with theirfamilies following probes intotheir alleged plundering of bil-lions of Rands from State-owned enterprises during thepresidency of Zuma.

Rajesh and Atul have beenarrested in connection withmoney laundering and crimi-nal charges in South Africa, theDubai Police said in a state-ment.

“Dubai Police made thearrest after receiving a red cor-ner notice for the Gupta broth-ers by Interpol. The force has

also coordinated with theauthorities in South Africaregarding the extradition fileto complete the legal proce-dures,” it said in its statement.

However, the status ofthe third Gupta brother, AjayGupta, is not known imme-diately. In South Africa, theinvestigation against theGupa brothers into the mas-sive plundering of state insti-tut ions dur ing formerZuma’s era has concluded.Zuma, 80, was South AfricanPresident from 2009 to 2018when he was dislodged fromthe office.

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With markedly poor airquality and quickly rising

greenhouse gas emissions(GHGs) prioritising economicgrowth over environmentalsustainability, India, for thefirst time, comes in at the verybottom of the 2022Environmental PerformanceIndex (EPI) ranking of 180countries, released by US-basedinstitutions recently.

The US, the largest histor-ical polluter, is ranked 43rd,while the current biggest emit-ter China has been ranked atthe 160th position. Denmark,the UK, Finland, Malta andSweden occupy the top fiveslots, while countries fromsouth and southeast Asia areplaced at the bottom five.

The ranking is based on anassessment of 40 performanceindicators, including climatechange, biodiversity, sustain-able agriculture, and environ-mental public health andgreenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions. India’s lowest rank is

attributed to its air pollutionand rapidly rising GHG emis-sions. The EPI has been pre-pared by researchers of the YaleCentre for Environmental Law& Policy and the Centre forInternational Earth ScienceInformation Network EarthInstitute, Columbia University.

“Major countries havemuch more work to do thanthey may have realised if theworld is to avoid the poten-tially devastating impacts ofclimate change,” said DanielEsty, Hillhouse Professor ofEnvironmental Law and

Policy and director of theYale Center for EnvironmentalLaw and Policy that producesthe EPI every two years.

The 2022 EPI ranks 180countries on 40 performanceindicators covering climatechange, environmental pub-lic health, and ecosystemvitality.

“These indicators mea-sure how close countries are tomeeting internationally estab-lished sustainability targetsfor specific environmentalissues,” said the report carryingthe 2022 EPI.

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1�� $��.� ��2��New Delhi: Terror group Al-Qaeda, in a threat letter datedJune 6, said it would launch sui-cide attacks in Delhi, Mumbai,Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to“fight for the honour of theProphet”.

This comes in light of thecontroversy that has eruptedafter BJP spokespersons maderemarks on ProphetMuhammad. PTI

In Puri

‘Whistleblower' Excise Inspector seeks leaveCites citingphysical, mentalillnessPNS �� PURIPURI: A day after levellingserious allegations against thePuri police of collecting pro-tection money from liquorand drug mafia, Excise Inspec-tor Sanjay Panda on Tuesdaysought leave citing physicaland mental illness.

In the leave application ad-dressed to Puri Excise Super-intendent Amarendra Jena,Panda sought leave for sevendays from June 9 to 15.

Panda, Excise Inspector ofDistrict Mobile Unit here, alsoreleased a video claiming hismental health has deterioratedpost Covid-19 infection and,hence, he needed the leave fortreatment.

In the video, he said, "I wasinfected with Covid-19 in

October 2020, followingwhich I developed some men-tal health issues. After that Iconsulted Dr Nila MadhabRath in Cuttack and was un-der medication for a longtime."

"But now, I am mentallyunstable as I am not takingthe prescribed medicines forthe last one month due to un-availability of the same. Thestatement that I have givenagainst police personnel is not

at all true," he added.He also apologised to the

police and the State Govern-ment for his "baseless" alle-gations.

"Police personnel in Puriincluding the SP are verycooperative. They work re-ally hard. I have a lot of re-spect for the police as wellas the state Government. Iam not mentally stable.Please forgive me for myfalse statement against copsin the district," he said whilepleading guilty.

Panda's wife Eliana saidher husband has lost hismental balance as he is notunder medication for thelast one month due to neg-ligence.

"Whatever he has saidagainst police personnel wasjust a slip of tongue as he ismentally unstable. I pray forhis early recovery," she added.

PNS �� BHUBANESWAR

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) on Tues-day did a flip-flop and said theonset of monsoon in Odishais likely to get delayed.

There is every possibilitythat the southwest monsoonwould not touch the State onJune 12, it said.

Normally, the southwestmonsoon reaches the Statebetween June 12 and 15.

The southwest monsoon hasfurther advanced over someparts of Tamil Nadu,Puducherry and Karaikal,

southwest and west-centralBay of Bengal. The weatheroffice said that at present, theconditions are not favourableand the strong westerly windis also affecting the advance-ment of monsoon. As a result,several parts of Odisha are ex-periencing heat waveconditions.Only after review-ing the conditions over nexttwo to three days, the pictureregarding what would be theadvancement of the monsoonwould get cleared. Earlier, theIMD had predicted above-nor-mal rainfall in Odisha in themonth of June.

Monsoon to bedelayed in State

BHUBANESWAR l WEDNESDAY l JUNE 08, 2022 capital 02

One of the reasons often toutedagainst reservation is that it is anti-merit and goes against the cardinalprinciple of giving equalopportunity in access to educationand employment to all Indiancitizens. The recently releaseddetails of Civil ServicesExamination 2022 have shown that73 candidates have been selectedunder the EWS quota of 10%. Theyhave performed better than thoseselected under the OBC quota of26%. In qualifying marks EWS hasa cut off score of 916 as against 910by OBC and in the Main papersthe EWS score is 713 as against 707by 707. Marks secured by theGeneral Category is about 5% morethan EWS, and only 40% of thecandidates have made it throughreal competition.

In our quest for socio- economicequity, a toxic process ofdiscrimination, euphemisticallycalled '" positive', has foiled theequality of opportunity principle.It was the Supreme Court, which inits landmark ChampakamDorairajan judgement (1951) had

Isn't perpetual quota a toxic process of discrimination?

struck down reservation inadmission into medical collegesbased on caste. Its main argumentwas that educational upliftment ofweaker sections of society as perdirective principle of statepolicy(Art (46)) cannot overridethe equality of opportunityprinciple mandated at Art 29(2).The first amendment in 1951 byPandit Nehru nullified the SupremeCourt Judgement by incorporatingArt 15(3) which allowed castebased reservation to the States. FromSC & ST initially, the envelopeencompassed OBCs, witnessing

massive protest and immolation in1990. The USA, as oldestdemocracy, on the other hand hasopted for affirmative action, ratherthan reservation for its 18% blacks,who are disadvantaged in myriadways compared to the whites.

The story of caste basedreservation for SC (16%) and 7%for ST went ballistic when formerPM VP Singh in 1990 decided toprovide 23% reservation to theOBCs. This was based on MandalCommission Report of 1980 to givereservation to the OBCs. Based onthe Caste Census of 1933, Mandalhad pitched for 52% reservation tothe OBCs. However, in the IndiraSawney Judgement (1992), theSupreme Court capped the totalreservation to 50% for SCs, STs andOBCs, so that merit based selectionis not consigned to the flames. Italso carved out the criteria of creamylayer, as per which those withincome above Rs 8 lakh would notqualify for reservation in the OBCcategory.

Strangely neither theGovernment nor the court

extended the creamy layer conceptto SCs and STs, under the facile logicthat they belong to a different class!The Ashok Thakur judgement in2008 is a classic example of doublespeak on creamy layer. Caste basedreservation, championed by Dr BRAmbedkar was meant to betransitory as per the Constitution.However, it got extended withcomplete unanimity of opinionamong all parties. While movingthe 126th amendment in 2019,extending reservation up to 2030,RS Prasad, the then Union Ministerobserved: "Reservation isundoubtedly good and it should begoing on further. This reservationwill never be removed." But thesurprise package in the Parliamentwas 124th amendment whichbrought in 10% reservation foreconomically backward sections inthe General Category. This has beena master move by PM Modi, as itpandered to the upper castes, whohave always felt betrayed byreservation available to SCs, STs andOBCs only, losing sight of rampantpoverty and lack of opportunity

being suffered by many in theGeneral Caste category

The trigger for this tectonicpolitical move came from a reportsubmitted by Maj Gen Sinho in2010. The Committee had visited28 States and had extensivediscussion with all stakeholders Theycame to the conclusion that povertyis not a caste based problem but asocio economic one. And thatreservation should be on socioeconomic criteria. While most Stateswere keen for 14% -15% reservationfor EWS, Tamilnadu and Kerala didnot want such reservation. As perTendulkar Committee Report(2011) , nearly 23.7% of Indianswere below the poverty line. TheGlobal MDPI Report (2019) putsthe poverty line at 28%. The SinhoCommittee found out nearly 18.7%in General Category were in the BPLCategory. While the ManmohanSingh Government mothballed thereport, the Modi Governmentsensed a political bonanza in it bymoving a constitutionalamendment, reserving 10% forEWS .

The Tamil Nadu Governmentchallenged the EWS reservation inthe Madras High Court which saidthat it was impermissible till theSupreme Court approves it. TheSupreme Court is hearing the caseand has not put 10% reservationon hold but has reiterated that theoverall limit of 50% for allcategories of reservation as decidedin Indra Sawney case should becomplied with. The limited issuethat the Supreme Court will takeup in July, is the basis fordetermining 8 lakh annual incomeas the threshold for economicbackwardness. Many believe thatthe limit is rather very high and hasa interesting convergence with thecreamy layer threshold for OBCs.

A close look at all Supreme Courtjudgments after 1951 ; be itBalaji(1962), Indra Sawney (1992),Nagraj (2006) or Ashok Thakur(2008), clearly reveal that theSupreme Court has always chimedin with Government's reservationpolicy including the highlycontentious decision to havereservation for SCs/ STs on

promotion. The only occasionswhen the Supreme Court has shownsome firmness are when it has notallowed reservation for Jats inHaryana and Marathas inMaharashtra as OBCs, as they areeconomically dominant. Sadly,some judges like Justice YVChandrachud believe that merit isover-hyped and reservation is a fairway of achieving socio economicequity.

While India's economic policy isbased on market competition,efficiency and high growth, thepolicy on public employment ismired by reservation; dilutingefficiency and disillusioningmeritorious students, who areunfairly elbowed out. No wonder,the private sector does not bite thebitter pill of reservation. It's hightime India created an enablingenvironment for economicallyweaker sections of the society ,instead of carrying the fig leaf ofcaste based reservation inperpetuity.

(Prof Misra teaches

Constitutional law)

SATYA NARAYAN MISRA

Lingaraj land grab

‘Midnight' construction near airport raises eyebrows

T20I at Barabati: Offline ticket sale begins

CM unveils State Animal Helpline Boost fruits, vegetables output in State: CS

Man uploads wife's obscene pix, arrested

Govt agencies turnblind eye; deepnexus suspectedSAROJ MISHRA �� BHUBANESWAR

Even as urban areas have beenexpanding in the capital cityBhubaneswar and the StateGovernment is on the search formore land to accommodate thegrowing population and teemingmigrants, some powerful people areflouting all norms in nexus withunscrupulous Government officialsto grab prime lands.

Even Lord Lingaraj's propertieshave not been spared by the landgrabbers. It is no surprise that116.370 acres of the Lord's land inthe city is under encroachment, saidthe Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) of India in itsreport on General and Social Sector

for the year ended March 2020.But the matter of concern is that

the Lingaraj Temple Trust Boardand the Executive Officer are nottaking adequate measures tosafeguard the property of the Lord.

In an example, the the StateGovernment had stopped theovernight constructions by amining contractor's wife on a patchof land (Plot No. 54/ 286), on thethe Biju Patnaik Airport road underthe Airport police station in thecapital city, which is owned by the

Lingaraj Temple Trust. The land wassold off despite the matter beingsub-judice.

Former Revenue SecretaryBishnupada Sethi had also said theaforesaid land of Lord Lingaraj wasrecorded in the name of privatepersons through false affidavits.Sethi had also asked the Khordhadistrict Collector, who is also theChairman of Shree Lingaraj TempleTrust to refer the matter to theCrime Branch for investigationinto the wrong recording of land.

The Collector was asked to makea detailed verification of LordLingaraj's property and furnish astatus report. But despite this a saledeed was issued in the name ofPrabhakaran's wife.

But the Tesildar and otherofficials turned a blind eye toDebottar property grabbed at astone's throw distance from ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik'sresidence Naveen Niwas.

But following media reports ahue and cry was raised by the

members of the BJP and Congress.The opposition parties alleged thatthe prime land worth Rs 50 crore ,owned by Lord Lingaraj was soldillegally to Tamil businessman BPrabhakaran's wife for a paltry Rs 6crore.

Following the protests, theRevenue and other concernedofficials on the directions of theMember, Board of Revenue hadclamped Section 144 of CrPC, putup red flags, dug a trench andpostednotices to stop theconstruction work.

However, surprisingly nowconstructions are again beingcarried out with JCBs and othermachines on the same plot at latenight brazenly flouting the law.This has raised many eyebrows ashow the Government rules arebeing openly flouted in the heartof the city and why the authoritiesare silent over it.

HC quashes petitionfor cancellation ofmatchPNS �� CUTTACK

Offline sale of tickets for themuch-awaited T-20 Internationalmatch between Indian and SouthAfrica, scheduled to be held at theBarabati stadium here June 12,began on Tuesday.

Counters have been set up at theconference hall of Odisha CricketAssociation (OCA) for selling of thetickets. Schools, colleges, clubs andother organisations affiliated to theOCA can buy tickets. Total 8,000

tickets will be sold under thiscategory.

However, offline tickets forgeneral public will be made availableat different counters of the stadiumon June 9 and 10.

Meanwhile, the online tickets.which were made available onplatforms like Paytm Insider app,Paytm App and www.insider.in onJune 1, have already been sold out.

On Monday, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik bought the firstticket for the match at his residencein Bhubaneswar.

Around 44,000 spectators areexpected to watch the internationalcricket match. Arrangements for

the parking of vehicles will be madeat the Bali Yatra Ground near thestadium. Players of the two teamswill reach Bhubaneswar on June 10.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, theOrissa High Court quashed apetition seeking cancellation of the

match. One Sanjay Nayak ofBhuban in Dhenkanal district hadfiled the Public Interest Litigation(PIL) claiming that the BarabatiStadium lacks adequate fire safetymeasures seeking an order from thecourt for cancellation of the match.

The State Government, theBoard of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI), the OCA and 12others were made parties in the case.

Notably, the Odisha HumanRights Commission (OHRC),acting on a petition filed by oneNishikanta Mishra, had recentlysought a report from the concernedauthorities regarding the fire safetymeasures at the Barabati Stadium.

The commission had issuednotice to the OCA and the DCP,Cuttack. OCA secretary SanjayBehera had said adequate fire safetyarrangements would be made at thestadium to avoid any untowardincident during the match.


The State Health and FamilyWelfare Department has prepareda detailed plan for the annual RathYatra of Lord Jagannath in Purischeduled on July 1.

Recently, a meeting was heldunder the chairmanship of thedepartment's Additional ChiefSecretary RK Sharma and discussedabout various steps to be taken toprovide uninterrupted healthcareservices to pubic during the RathYatra.

It was decided that 30 First AidCentres (FACs) would be set up atthe strategic locations of Puri forproviding better health services tothe pilgrims and the devotees.

Some identified CHCs of Puridistrict would organise separateFACs with their existing manpowerin their areas at the sites identifiedby CDM&PHO, Puri. A goodsignage would be put up before eachFAC for better visibility of public.The expenditure related to signagewould be made from the head ofaccount under IEC activity.

The Dean and Principal of SriJagannath Medical CollegeHospital, Puri has been asked toissue necessary instruction to thefaculties for their deployment in thehospital, FACs and other areas asrequired by the Puri Collector.

The Director, AYUSH has beenasked to deploy 20 AYUSH doctorsunder the disposal of CDM&PHO,Puri by June 29, officials said.

One cardiologist each fromCapital Hospital and SCB MedicalCollege would be deployed to Purion the day of Rath Yatra and Bahudato meet the exigencies.

The department has asked to keep

the Puri Covid Hospital inreadiness for operationalisation tomeet the requirement regardingtreatment of emergency cases ifrequired.

The Nursing Director has beenasked to plan for deployment of atleast 25 staff nurses from FMMCH, Baleswar, and 25 fromBaripada Medical College. Initially,15 from each site would be deployedwith instruction to report in Purion June 29 and rest 10 would bekept in readiness for deployment ifrequired.

As many as 30 pharmacists and40 MPHs (M) (preferably withpharmacy back ground) would bedeployed at Puri by forenoon onJune 29.

The Puri district Public Healthwing would be responsible fortesting of water samples while theNHM would coordinate withZiqitza for deployment of 10 108Ambulances at Puri for attendingpatients and emergency callsduring the Car Festival. The HealthOfficer post in the PuriMunicipality would be filled upimmediately.

The Food Safety Director hasbeen asked to ensure deploymentof five Food Safety Officers, whowould work under the supervisionof DPHO, Puri and check the foodsamples for regulating the hygieneof the food as per protocol.

About 55 Community HealthOfficers would be engaged for theRath Yatra duty.

The Special Secretary (PH) hasbeen appointed as nodal officerfrom the department to monitorthe issues. Senior officers from thedepartment would visit Puri tosupervise the overall arrangements.

Health Dept makesdetailed plan forRath Yatra

Rs 531-cr MicroIrrigation ActionPlan approved for2022-23PNS �� BHUBANESWAR

At the State Level SanctioningCommittee on Micro Irrigationheld on virtual mode on Tuesday,Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatradirected to make a detail study onproduction and requirement offruits and vegetables like mango,guava, papaya, lemon, onion andtomato in the State. He asked theDepartment of Horticulture toenhance production of the cropsthrough definite action plan, andpopularisation of micro irrigation.

The department was also askedto work in tandem with WaterResources Department forintensifying micro-irrigationinterventions in ayacut areas ofdifferent irrigation projects.

Mahapatra said thatpopularisation of sprinklers and dripmethods would optimise the use ofwater. These methods whileenhancing efficiency of the yachtarea and sustainability of irrigationsources will also increaseproductivity of the land.

Further, the Chief Secretary askedthe Horticulture Directorate topromote sprinkler, drip and HDPEpipe schemes among the farmershaving their land near bore well,deep-well and minor irrigationpoints.

Special Secretary Agriculture andFarmers' Empowerment SanjeevChopra appraised that clusterapproach was adopted forpromotion of banana, guava andpapaya in the districts like Bargarh,Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Balangir,Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati,Angul, Dhenkanal, Deogarh,Boudh, Jajpur and Nayagarh. Atotal of around 1,015 hectares (ha)in these districts have been broughtunder such fruit crops in the year2021-22. Target was fixed topromote these crops over more1260 hectors during the currentyear.

Chief Secretary Mahapatra gavenod to Micro Irrigation Actionplan of around Rs 531 crore for theyear 2022-23.


The Cyber police have arrested aman on the charge of uploadingobscene photographs of his wife onsocial media platform here.

The accused, identified as SarojKumar Das, was apprehended by theBhubaneswar Cyber police fromChandbali area in Bhadrak districton Monday.

According to reports, Saroj wasworking as a plumber in Bhadrakand his wife was engaged as adomestic help at Mancheswar inBhubaneswar.

Saroj used to spend all his moneyon consuming alcohol andsometimes his wife was sendingmoney to him whenever he askedfor. In recent past, the couple

confronted each other after thewoman stopped paying him forwhich the accused posted someobscene pictures of her on hisFacebook handle which went viral.

One of the neighbours of Saroj'swife in Bhubaneswar found theobscene photographs on Facebookand she informed the latter.

Saroj's wife lodged a complaintin this regard with the BhubaneswarDCP, following which a case wasregistered at the Cyber policestation.

Based on the complaint, theCyber police arrested the accusedunder Sections383,420,498(A),509 of IPC andsections 67,67(A) of IT Act. He wasforwarded to a court here onTuesday.

Distressed animalservice toll-free No.1962 also launchedPNS �� BHUBANESWAR

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikon Tuesday unveiled a State AnimalHelpline, a distressed animal toll-free number '1962', Tele VeterinaryService and a system for mappingfishery and animal resources.

He urged people to be sensible tothe stray and distressed animals andcome forward to help and rescue

them. The animal helpline wouldwork round the clock so thatemergency services would beextended.

The CM hoped that through theTele Veterinary Services, immediatehelp would reach animal and cattlebreeders as many farmers areinvolved in earning livelihoodsthrough cattle and animal breedingand fish farming and animalhusbandry. For the fisheries andanimal resources mapping system,an MoU was also signed with theBAIF Institute.

capital 03BHUBANESWAR l WEDNESDAY l JUNE 08, 2022

DARSHAN AT SHREEMANDIR TO BE RESTRICTED FOR 4HRS TODAYPuri: Devotees will berestricted to have darshan ofLord Jagannath and Hisdivine siblings at theShreemandir here for fourhours from 4 pm to 8 pmfor the Banaka Lagi ritual onWednesday. The Banaka lagi ritual of the deities will beperformed on the auspicious occasion of Astami Tithi, JyeshthaShukla Paksha. As per the tradition, the ritual will be held afterthe completion of Madhyana Dhupa and Dwitiya BhogaMandapa rituals.

IMI BHUBANESWAR HOLDS ANNUAL CONVOCATIONBhubaneswar: TheInternational ManagementInstitute (IMI),Bhubaneswar hosted its 9thannual convocation toconfer PG Diploma to thegraduating students of PGDM 2019-21 and PGDM 2018-21batches. Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan was chief guest.RPSG Group Board member VC Agarwal conferred the diplomasto the students. At the outset, IMI Director Prof Ramesh Behldelivered the welcome address.

POLICE ASI HELD TAKING BRIBE IN GANJAMCuttack: The Vigilance police on Tuesday caught Manas KumarRout, ASI of Police, Bhejiput outpost under the Khallikote policestation in Ganjam district, red-handed while accepting a bribeof Rs 3,000 from a person to help him in a case earlier registeredin the Khallikote PS. Following the trap, simultaneous searcheswere carried out on the rented house and office room of Rout atBhejiput and his Government quarter at Puri. Later, he wasarrested and forwarded to court.

ECOR HOLDS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAYBhubaneswar: The EastCoast Railway (ECoR)celebrated the WorldEnvironment Day. ECoRGeneral Manager (I/C)Sharad Kumar Srivastavappealed to employees towork for betterenvironment and pollution control. The ECoR also undertookplantation and took out a procession and conducted essay anddrawing compeitions on environmental themes. Plantationprogrammes were also organised in Khurda Road, Waltair andSambalpur Divisions to make railway premises environment-friendly and for eradication of pollution.

SUCCESSFUL TRAINING LAUNCH OF AGNI-4Baleswar: A successful training launch of an Intermediate RangeBallistic Missile, Agni-4, was carried out at approximately 19:30hours from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha, on Monday. Thetest was part of the routine user training launches carried outunder the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command. The launchvalidated all operational parameters as also the reliability of thesystem. The test reaffirms India's policy of having a 'CredibleMinimum Deterrence' capability.

RENOVATED SBI INS CHILIKA BRANCH INAUGURATEDBhubaneswar: A renovatedcampus of the State Bankof India (SBI), INS Chilikabranch was inaugurated bySBI Deputy ManagingDirector Vidya Krishnan in the presence of CommandingOfficer, INS Chilka, NP Pradeep on Tuesday. On this occasion,eight bore wells were donated by the SBI to INS Chilika as partof its CSR initiatives.

BEAR APPEARS IN BALANGIR CIVILIAN COLONYBalangir: The appearance of a bear near the gate of Sadeipaligrid on Balangir-Chandanbhati Road on Monday night hassurprised many. "The bear appeared just outside the gate ofSadeipali grid. We saw it from CCTV footage. Two squads havebeen formed to monitor the movement of the bear and they aresensitising people about the beast. The Forest department iskeeping a tab on the situation," said BalangirForest Range Officer KK Nayak speaking to media on Tuesday.DFO Nitish Kumar in a message urged the locals to cooperatewith the department.

EX-SARPANCH REDDY GETS 'PRAKRUTI BANDHU'Chhatrapur: FormerKainchapur Sarpanch GSantosh Reddy receivedPrakruti Bandhu Award fromthe Forest, Environmentand Climate ChangeDepartment on the WorldEnvironment Day. Reddy was felicitated in a programmeorganised by the Brahmapur Forest Division. He was given Rs10,000 in the presence of DFO Amlan Nayak, RCCF PrasantaMishra, ADEO Pavitra Kumar Sahu.

INBRIEFOFDRA a pioneering training centre in country

Environment Day: UAIL holds plantation drive

Medha Patkar joins S'rekha port stir

IED detected by BSF in Koraput

CBIC BBSR Zone launches Iconic Week

Environment Day

Saha Charitable Trust plants trees

Hockey players' electrocution

NHRC seeks ATR fromEnergy Secy, SPPNS �� BHUBANESWAR

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) onMonday sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from theSundargarh district Superintendent of Police (SP) and theOdisha Energy Secretary on the electrocution of twobudding hockey players in the district.

Taking cognisance of a petition filed by human rightsactive and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC passedthe order.

Tripathy in his petition alleged that the deceased SujjalEkka (15)of Panratoli Kukuda village and Birendra Kujur(17) Jhagarpur village came in contact with a snapped liveelectric wire and were electrocuted.

Tripathy blamed the players' death on the negligence ofthe Energy Department and sought the commission'sintervention.

The NHRC sought an ATR from the Sundargarh SP andthe Energy Secretary within four weeks.

In default, the commission warned of invoking coerciveprocess under Section 13 of the Protection of HumanRights Act, 1993.

Environment Day

JSP holds slew of events in Angul

Gopalpur Nagarik Manch holds 400th week SBM

In Ganjam

Ex-Sarpanch, aidesattacked with swords

604 Sub-Officersfrom Indiatrained so farPIONEER NEWS SERVICE�� BHUBANESWAR

Director (Chief FireOfficer), Odisha Fire andDisaster Response Academy(OFDRA), Bhubaneswar,Ramesh Chandra Majhi ishappy as currently 55 Sub-Officers came from Rajasthan,Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh, JammuAND Kashmir, Karnataka andpersonnel from Indian Armyand Indian Air Force toundergo training at OFDRA

for a duration of six months.They will be passing out in July-August.

The National Fire ServiceCollege, Nagpur has alreadyshortlisted OFDRA forconducting 48th BatchExternal Sub Officer's coursewith 60 participants fromvarious parts of the countrywhich is likely to start fromJuly2022.

In fact, the National FireService College, Nagpur,Ministry of Home Affairs hasbeen conducting theprofessional training of SubOfficers (Assistant StationOfficer) for the entire countrythrough 10 Regional Training

Centres (RTCs). Odisha Fireand Disaster ResponseAcademy, Bhubaneswar, whichis an ISO Certified Academy,has been accredited as one ofpioneer Regional TrainingCentres.The OFDRA hasalready trained 604 Sub-Officers so far from variousparts of the country including7,183 Odisha Fire Servicepersonnel. The training coursegives through exposure on fireprotection, prevention,extinction and related firefighting matter. Director(Chief Fire Officer), OdishaFire and Disaster ResponseAcademy, Bhubaneswar,Ramesh Chandra Majhi has

been taking personal care andpersonality development ofeach officer.

DGP Fire Services SantoshKumar Upadhaya reviewed thetraining preparedness andissued instruction formodification of trainingcurriculum.Upadhyay hasalready instructed OFDRA tocompulsorily includecomputer literacy for newrecruited in the rank ofFireman and SO. Besides,Director OFDRA Majhi willorganise capsule courses onBasic Computer Applications,Mo Sarakar, 5T Charter, Onlineportals for the Government forvarious ranks.

PNS �� KORAPUT

BSF 151 Battalionpersonnel on Tuesdaydetected an improvisedexplosive device (IED)suspected to be planted byMaoists at Boipariguda inKoraput district..

The road opening party ofthe BSF's Mantraim COBduring checking for explosivesfound some unusual changes( fresh digging of earth)between Mantriam andGovindpalli on the NationalHighway-329 and searched thearea with help of minesdetector and sniffer dog.

As per direction of the COBCommandant the total area

was secured by sending moretroops and again thoroughsearch was conducted and anIED was detected.

Later, the bomb disposalsquad was roped in and theIED was diffused successfully.It is suspected that the IED wasplanted by Red rebels to targetthe security forces.

PNS �� BALESWAR

A team including eminentactivist Medha Patkar onTuesday visited Baliapal blockand addressed a gatheringsupporting agitators protestingthe Subarnarekha port.

Environmentalist PrafullaSamantra, former MinisterPanchanan Kanungo,former PCC presidentNiranjan Patnaik , formerMLA Pradipta Panda,formerMLA Cittaranjan Sarangi,Kishor Das, block presidentRanjita Nayak , Bijan Nayak,environment activistSudarshan Das, Arun Jenaand Jayant Das were amongothers who addressed thepublic at Nahara Chhakunder Betagadia grampanchayat.

The meeting wasconvened by 'Bhita MatiSuraksha Committee ' whichhas been opposing the portproject as well as apetrochemical project to

mark the 37 anniversary ofthe historic win by Baliapal

Ghati Andolan,which spearheaded

agitations against theestablishment of the NationalTest Range at Baliapal.

The speakers said there is noneed for any more new portsin Odisha.

Although the Subarnarekhaproject had been shelved in2006, it was revived in 2019.The residents of six GPs wouldlose their lands, which is thesource of their livelihood, to aprivate company forever dueto the port project.


As part of the Azadi KaAmrit Mahotsav celebrationof Ministry of Finance andMinistry of Corporate Affairs,Central Board of IndirectTaxes and Customs (CBIC),Bhubaneswar zone launchedthe Iconic Week beginningfrom June 6 to12. In thisregard, a programme wasorganised by the Chief

Commissioner of CentralTax and Customs,Bhubaneswar Zone.

Dignitaries present at theevent were Principal ChiefIncome Tax Commissioner,Odisha region Y Rajendra,Commissioner of IncomeTax Phagu Oram, PrincipalCommissioner, Audit BKKar, Commissioner Appeal,GST and Customs ArvinderSingh Ranga, Commissioner

(CT and GST) Sushil KumarLohani, AdditionalCommissioner (CGST andCentral Excise Gopal KrishnaPati, Principal ADG RajendraSingh, AdditionalCommissioners AnuradhaMishra and Madhav ChandraMishra, Assistant Director ofNACIN Elpetu Seshu, PawanKumar Meena, Uco BankGM Arupananda Jena and In-charge, SLBC Lingaraj Nayak.

Apart from them otherdignitaries who were presentincluded Regional Head,Bank of Baroda RajeevKrishna, cluster head, HDFCBank Debabrata, BSO,Federal Bank M Hussain,DBM, IDFC First BankBibhu Prasad Acharya,Sushant Behera, SumanChakrabarty, SankarHemram, Ashok Jena and SMishra.


A massive plantation drivewas undertaken by the SahaCharitable Trust country-wideon the World EnvironmentDay. Saplings of perennialtrees were plantedsimultaneously at New Delhi,UP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,WB, TN including at manyplaces in Odisha.

Places of plantation inOdisha included MaaShikharchandi foothills,premises of 7th Battalion, 1stBattalion, 8th Battalion ofOdisha State Armed Police

premises, SOG Chandaka,Puri, Gop, Banki, Chatia,Baleswar, Brahmapur,Chattrapur, Dhenkanal,Digapahandi.

The plantation worksstarted commencingsimultaneously at all places ofthe country.Chairman of theSaha Charitable Trust SanthaJeeban Baba exhorted theparticipants through videoconferencing to plant thesaplings.

At Bhubaneswar site nearShikharchandi, prominentamong others present wereDCP Armed Bijay Kumar

Sahu of the 7th Battalion,Commandant SOG ChandakaAjay Kumar Padhi,environmentalist KhitishTripathy, plantation activistsMukesh Bagadia, RamkrushnaSahoo, Kishore Agrawal,Purna Chandra Panda,Birendra Betala and ArunPanda.

This is pertinent tomention here that the SahaCharitable Trust under thestewardship of Jeeban Baba hasalready planted over two lakhperennial and fruit-yieldingtrees in Odisha alone over thelast one decade.

PNS �� RAYAGADA

In it's continuous endeavourtowards protecting andpreserving the mother earth,the World Environment Daywas observed at the UtkalAlumina InternationalLimited(UAIL), a subsidiary ofHindalco Industries Limited ofAditya Alumina at it'sOshapada Township.

A mass plantation drive waslaunched at various places ofthe plant's periphery.

As a unique initiative, fewpatches has been developedunder Coffee Planation byUAIL. The employees of UAILand their family memberstook part in the drive byplanting around 600 coffeeplants. Till date 7,200 SilverOak plants along with 1,420coffee plants have beendeveloped at UAIL Oshapada

Township premises. To bring the forest back in

the bald hills, an orientationand practical demonstrationof seed ball preparation wasorganised at different villageson the occasion. Seed ballswere prepared through naturalingredients like local seeds,cow dung, cow urine, termitesoil and broadcasted on thebarren hills for regeneratingforest. Children, women,

elderly people took part in theprogramme with greatenthusiasm.

Unit head of UtkalAlumina, Mazhar Beig, said,"We all are blessed with divinenature; so let's create, re-imagine and restore ourecosystem." He emphasized onthe commitment of UtkalAlumina towards theprotection and preservation ofthe mother earth.

PNS �� ANGUL

The Jindal Steel and Power(JSP) observed the WorldEnvironment Day byorganising a slew of programmesfor its employees, schoolstudents and periphery villagers.

"A Run for Environment"was flagged off by Sabyasachi

Bandyopadhyay, ExecutiveDirector- Operation andDamodar Mittal, ExecutiveDirector- Raw Material and Ironmaking, where hundreds ofemployees with their familymembers and representativesfrom periphery villagesparticipated and planted morethan 500 saplings inside the JSP

campus. On the occasion, aspot quiz on environment wasalso organised at the plantationsite and prizes were distributedas per merit. CSR departmentof JSP organised painting andother competitions amongschool students and amongst thestudents to create awareness onsustainability and environment.

PNS �� BALESWAR

Since Mahatma GandhiJayanti in 2014, the membersof the Nagarik Manch,Gopalpur in Baleswar districtformed a Swachh Bharatvolunteer group and startedcleaning and awarenessprogrammes in differentschools, colleges,officepremises, picnic spots,marketplaces, places of rituals andcongregations on everySunday for two hours.

On their 400th weeklyprogramme which fellincidentally on June 5 on theWorld Environment Day, theycleaned the Area Hospital andlocal market of Khantapara

from 6 am to 8 am in which45 volunteers participated.

Chairman of BahanagaBlock Biswanath Mishra,Medical officer Dr TapanParida, local sarpanch, PSmember and othersencouraged the team.

Convener Sudarsan

Mohapatra and membersAbhiram Sahu, Manoj Biswal,Labanya Mishra led theprogramme. Secretary ofMarket Committee GirishMohanty and other shopperspledged to use dustbin forcustomers and keep Bazarclean.

PNS �� BRAHMAPUR

Three persons, including aformer Sarpanch, sustainedcritical injuries when they wereattacked with sharp weaponsby miscreants at Mahisakhalivillage under the Sadar policestation in Ganjam district onMonday night.

The victims were identifiedas former Sarpanch ManojKumar Sethi, Durga PrasadPradhan and Shankar Jena.

The incident occurred whilethe villagers were celebrating

Sital Sasthi at night. A heatedargument took place whichbetween the injured trio and agroup of youths over somematter.

Later, it took a violent turnwhen some youths attackedthe trio with swords.

Sethi sustained critical headinjuries in the attack. He wasrushed to MKCG MedicalCollege Hospital inBrahmapur by police.

A hunt has been launchedby police to trace theassailants, who are still at large.

PNS �� BRAHMAPUR

The State Government hasdecided to give a facelift to theMaa Budhi Thakurani templehere as hundreds of people visitthe shrine every day.

Brahmapur MP ChandraSekhar Sahu and MLA BikramKumar Panda informed thatbeautification and overalldevelopment of the templewould be undertaken afterclearing its periphery andproper rehabilitation of theencroachers.

A meeting called in thisregard has decided to inviteChief Minister NaveenPatnaik to visit the temple. Adevelopment grant receivedby the temple in 2018 wasreturned due to a pendingcourt case.

Budhi Thakuranitemple to get facelift

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Congress chief Sonia Gandhihas sought more time from

the Enforcement Directorate(ED) to appear before it as sheis still suffering from Covid.

Congress sources onTuesday said Sonia, who test-ed positive on Thursday, is yetto recover and her latest reportis not Covid-negative.

The ED had summonedSonia to appear before it onJune 8 in connection with amoney laundering case linkedto the National Herald news-paper-AJL issue. The ED hadalso summoned her son andformer party chief RahulGandhi on June 13 for ques-tioning in the case.

He was earlier asked by theagency to depose on June 2 butthe Lok Sabha member fromWayanad constituency in

Kerala sought a fresh date as hewas out of country.

The agency later askedRahul Gandhi to appear onJune 13 at its headquarters incentral Delhi. Congress leadershad earlier claimed that SoniaGandhi is determined toappear before the ED provid-ed she recovered from thevirus. The case pertains to theprobe into the alleged financialirregularities in the party-pro-moted Young Indian that ownsthe National Herald newspaper.The paper is published byAssociated Journals Limited(AJL) and owned by YoungIndian Pvt Limited.

Officials said the agencywants to record the statementsof Rahul and Sonia Gandhiunder criminal sections of thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

The questioning of thesenior Congress leaders and theGandhis is part of the ED'sinvestigation to understandthe shareholding pattern,financial transactions and roleof the promoters of YoungIndian and AJL, officials hadsaid.

The members of the firstfamily of the Congress party,including Sonia Gandhi andRahul Gandhi, are among the

promoters and shareholdersof Young Indian. The probeagency had registered a fresh

case under the criminal provi-sions of the PMLA after a trialcourt here took cognizance of

an Income Tax Departmentprobe against Young Indian PvtLtd on the basis of a private

criminal complaint filed byBJP MP Subramanian Swamyin 2013.

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People infected with Covid-19 had a roughly 25 per

cent increased risk of develop-ing a psychiatric disorder in thefour months following theirinfection, compared with thosewho had other types of respi-ratory tract infections, as per astudy.

In their study, published inthe journal World Psychiatry,researchers at the Oregon StateUniversity (OSU) in the USfound that Covid-19 patientshad about 25 per cent increasedrisk of developing a psychiatricdisorder in the four months fol-lowing their infection, com-pared with people who hadother types of respiratory tractinfections.

The finding, published inthe journal World Psychiatry,

supports previous research onpsychiatric disorders amongpost-Covid patients, thoughthe current study found asmaller effect than the earlierstudies.

The study used data fromthe National COVID CohortCollaborative (N3C) to match46,610 COVID-19 positiveindividuals with controlpatients who were diagnosedwith a different respiratorytract infection so they couldcompare how Covid-19 specif-ically affected patients' mentalhealth.

The researchers looked atthe rate of psychiatric diag-noses for two time periods:from 21 to 120 days afterpatients' Covid diagnosis, andfrom 120 to 365 days afterdiagnosis, limited to patientswith no previous mental illness.

They found that Covid-19patients had a 3.8 per cent rateof developing a psychiatric dis-order compared with 3.0 percent for other respiratory tractinfections. The 0.8 per cent dif-ference amounts to about a 25per cent increased relative risk,the researchers said.

They looked specifically atanxiety disorders and mooddisorders and found a minorbut significant increase in riskfor anxiety disorders and nochange in risk for mood disor-ders.

The large sample size andthe fact that this data cohortdraws from across the US gaveresearchers a unique windowinto post-Covid side effects,said study co-author LaurenChan from OSU's College ofPublic Health and HumanSciences.

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Days after Chief ElectionCommissioner Rajiv

Kumar trekked 18 km to reacha voting centre in Dumak vil-lage, Chamoli district, inUttarakhand, the Election

Commission (EC) on Tuesdaydecided to double the remu-neration of polling officialsgoing to such booths as early asthree days before voting day.The poll panel has also decid-ed to set up a committee toexamine the issues of migrant

voters. “Given the fact that vot-ers and political parties are theprimary stakeholders, widerconsultation with all stake-holders including parties wouldbe started thereafter, it said.

In a statement, the EC saidto enhance voting percentage,especially among migrants,"time has come to explore pos-sibilities of remote voting,maybe on a pilot basis".

"Voters migrate from theplace of their registration tocities and other places for edu-cation, employment and otherpurposes. It becomes difficultfor them to return to their reg-istered polling stations to casttheir vote. The Commission feltthat time has come to explorepossibilities of remote voting,

maybe on a pilot basis," it said. At a meeting of the poll

panel, it was also decided todevelop special water andshock proof, extra protectivebackpacks or cases to carryEVM-VVPATs and safeguardthe machines provided to allsuch teams to aid hands-freemovement in difficult terrain.

Seeking to address votingapathy in urban areas, now allcentral and state governmentdepartments, central and statePSUs and corporate entitieswith 500 plus employees willappoint a nodal officer to ascer-tain leave availing but non-vot-ing employees.

"It is kind of name andshame as people in poll goingareas get a day's off under the

Negotiable Instruments Actwith the primary purpose offacilitating voting by employ-ees," explained a senior func-tionary.

"Empathising with the ded-ication of polling personnelwho perform election duty inremote and difficult areas, theCommission decided to doublethe remuneration of the pollingofficials going to the pollingStations three days in advance.

Till now, the remunerationfor polling officials used to bea uniform per diem amount forall alike.

Chief Electoral Officers ofthe states and UTs shall specif-ically notify such polling sta-tions for enhanced remunera-tion during election," an EC

statement said. This is thethird major decision taken bythe EC in the last three weeksafter Kumar took over as theCEC.The Commission notedthat the EVM-VVPATmachines have been techno-logically designed to get trig-gered in ‘unauthorised accessmode' whenever there is anyunauthorised attempt to openit and become unusablebecause of the one-time pro-grammable chip.

The Commission decidedto develop special water andshock proof, extra protectivebackpacks or cases to carryEVM-VVPATs and safeguardthe machines provided to allsuch teams to aid hands freemovement in difficult terrain.

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For the first time in a majorpush to aero-sports in the

country, Union Civil AviationMinister Jyotiraditya Scindiaon Tuesday launched a”National Air Sport Policy(NASP) 2022”, which estab-lished a four-tier governancestructure to promote 11 disci-plines, including ballooning,paragliding and aerobatics.

As per the policy, schools,colleges and universities will beencouraged to have air sportsincluded in their curriculum.Multiple locations for air sportswill be established across thecountry,” the Minister said.

Speaking on the future ofAir Sports in India, he said“From a small market size ofaround 5,000 odd air sportspractitioners creating aroundRs 80-100 crore of annual rev-enue in India, I feel we can tar-get over Rs 8,000 – 10,000crore annual revenue and gen-erate over 1,00,000 direct jobs.

The economic multiplierbenefits in terms of travel,tourism, support services andlocal infrastructure develop-

ment will be over three times.”“We are also thinking of

creating a segregated airspacefor air sports in certain corri-dors much like what we havedone with drones. That willhelp in proliferating thesesports,” Scindia said.

“The Centre is also con-templating an incentivescheme to promote manufac-turing of air sports equipmentin India,” he revealed. "It is timeto emerge as a global capital forair sports leveraging the ener-gy of our youth.

The policy has been madewith a vision of making Indiaone of the top air sportsnations by 2030," he men-tioned. As per the policy, AirSports Federation of India(ASFI) will be the nodal bodyfor air sports in India, and 13

air sports associations will beformed for 13 sports each.

The NASP, in its presentform, will cover air sportssuch as aerobatics, aeromod-elling, model rocketry, ama-teur-built and experimentalaircraft, ballooning, drones,gliding and powered gliding,hang-gliding and poweredhang-gliding, parachuting(including skydiving, BASEjumping and wingsuit flying),paragliding and paramotor-ing (including powered para-chute trikes), powered aircraftand rotorcraft.

The list of 11 sports maybe extended, the Minister said.National associations for indi-vidual air sports will be in thesecond tier, regional units andState affiliates will be in thethird tier, and district-levelassociations will be in thefourth tier.

"We must make sure thatsafety is maintained. There isa very high level of risk with airsports as well and therefore, onthe first hand, we must ensurethat there is complete coordi-nation with the air traffic con-troller (ATC)."

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Babies born to mothers whosuffered Covid-19 disease

during pregnancy seem to pre-sent differences in neurode-velopmental outcomes in 6weeks, according to an analy-sis presented at the 30thEuropean Congress ofPsychiatry.

Project Leader Dr RosaAyesa Arriola, however saidthat “not all babies born tomothers infected with Covidshow neurodevelopmental dif-ferences, but our data showsthat their risk is increased incomparison to those notexposed to Covid in the womb.We need a bigger study to con-firm the exact extent of the dif-ference.”

While investigating, thescientists found that babiesborn to mothers who had beeninfected show greater difficul-ties in relaxing and adaptingtheir bodies when they arebeing held when compared toinfants from non-infectedmothers, especially when theinfection took place in late

pregnancy. Moreover, infantsborn from infected motherstend to show greater difficultyin controlling head and shoul-der movement. These alter-ations suggest a possible Covid-19 effect on motor function.

The initial evaluation com-pared babies born to 21 Covid-positive pregnant women andtheir babies, with 21 healthycontrols attending the Marquesde Valdecilla UniversityHospital in Santander, Spain.During the assessment, themothers underwent a series oftests during and after preg-nancy.

These included hormonaland other biochemical tests(measuring such things as cor-tisol levels, immunologicalresponse, etc.) salivary tests,movement responses, and psy-chological questionnaires. Allanalyses were adjusted forinfant age, sex, and other fac-tors.

Meanwhile, the post-nataltests included NeonatalBehavioral Assessment Scale(NBAS), which measures baby’smovement and behaviour.

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Drawing flak for its failureto check manual scaveng-

ing, which has killed at least900 manual scavengers whilecleaning sewers or septic tankssince 1993, the Social Justiceand Empowerment Ministrywill soon launch a schemeaimed at introducing sustain-able solutions to prevent suchfatalities.

The scheme has alreadybeen formulated under theministry's plan for mecha-nised cleaning of sewers andseptic tanks to eliminate man-ual scavenging, said a seniorofficial from the Ministry onthe condition of anonymity.

According to official data,over 900 workers have diedwhile cleaning sewers or sep-tic tanks since 1993 butactivists say the number ismuch higher as many areinvolved in manual scavenging.

The government does notidentify deaths due to manualscavenging but calls themdeaths due to hazardous clean-ing of septic tanks and sewers.

Manual scavenging isbanned under the Prohibition

of Employment As ManualScavengers and TheirRehabilitation Act, 2013.

It is one of the most impor-tant government interventionsfor manual scavengers.Implemented by the NationalSafai Karamcharis Finance andDevelopment Corporation(NSKFDC) more than tenyears ago, it is far from meet-ing its goals.

Launched in 2007, theobjective of SRMS was to reha-bilitate manual scavengers andtheir dependents in alternativeoccupations by 2009.

The scheme was revised inNovember 2013 until 2016-17.The Act prohibits insanitarylatrines, manual scavengingand hazardous cleaning ofsewers and septic tanks. Thescheme has since then beenextended periodically, withvery little outcome progress.

The Ministry had told theRajya Sabha recently that itcould not confirm the exis-tence of any insanitary latrines,concluding that the practice ofmanual scavenging does notexist anymore.

However, this does notcorrelate with the findings ofCensus 2011 that 26 lakhinsanitary latrines existed.

Further, it is important toremember that while manualscavenging under Section 2(1)(g) of the PEMSR Act, 2013 isdefined as the lifting of humanexcreta from insanitarylatrines, it is not just limited todry latrines, but also applies tocleaning sewers, septic tanksand railway tracks as India hasnot fully mechanised theseprocesses yet.

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The CBI has taken over theprobe into two separate

cases of alleged rape and killingof a 14-year-old girl in a schoolin Noida's Sorkha village, andanother FIR relating to herabduction.

The case was handed overto the CBI by the SupremeCourt on a plea of the girl's par-ents, who had alleged thattheir daughter's body wasfound hanging in a classroomof the Arya Kanya GurukulVaiddham in Sorkha village inNoida Sector 115, where sheused to study, on July 3, 2020.

The institution is run byone Jayendra Acharya and hiswife.The parents have allegedthat Acharya had called themto the Gurukul without inform-ing them that their daughterhad died. The parents furtheralleged that upon their arrival

in Gurukul, Acharya and hiswife, with the help of uniden-tified goons, snatched theirmobile phones and otherbelongings to ensure that nopictures were taken and tookthem to the classroom wheretheir daughter was hanging.

Two separate FIRs wereregistered by the Noida policeand the Haryana police onJuly 17 and September 9, 2020respectively, 14 and 68 days

after the incident. The parentsof the victim approached thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt after no action was takenby the police in Haryana, wherethey had lodged a case ofabduction, and in UttarPradesh, where they had got anFIR registered for the allegedrape and killing of their daugh-ter. The parents said the con-dition in which the body wasfound showed that the victim

was raped and killed. According to the FIR,

Acharya forcibly sent the bodyfor cremation without inform-ing police and later, conducteda "havan" in the classroomwhere the body was found todestroy all evidence related tothe case such as the victim'sslippers and dupatta withwhich her body was foundhanging.

The parents of the victimalleged that they wererestrained in a classroom andforced to sign blank papers,without calling police or send-ing the body for post-mortem.

On the plea of the parents,a Supreme Court bench of jus-tices Ajay Rastogi and CT RaviKumar, in April this year,directed the Uttar Pradesh andHaryana governments to handover the relevant case files anddocuments to the CBI withinfour weeks.

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Claiming that untoward inci-dents taking place in

Northeast have come down to1,700 from 8,700 during 10years of Cong Govt, UnionHome Minister Amit Shah saidthe Narendra ModiGovernment has brought thenumber of districts affected byLeft-wing extremism down by70 per cent.

Only 87 security personnelhave lost their lives in theNortheast under the ModiGovernment as against 304during the Congress rule. Thenumber of civilian deaths hascome down from 1,990 to 217,he said.

Shah said the ModiGovernment also lifted theArmed Forces (Special Powers)Act (AFSPA) from more than66 per cent area in theNortheast and brought peacethere.

"The northeast and Left-wing extremism-affected areasof the country are tribal-dom-inated regions and security is aprecursor to developmentthere. Secured Northeast andsecured central India pave theway for the development oftribals," he said after inaugu-rating the National TribalResearch Institute in Delhi.

Shah said PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hasaccorded top priority toresearch and education since hecame to power.

"Under the CongressGovernment, in 2014, Rs 7crore had been set aside for thispurpose. In 2022, we have keptRs 150 crore for it," Shah said.

Modi Government hasincreased the budget forEklavya residential schoolsfrom Rs 278 crore to Rs 1,418crore this financial year, he said

"I believe that only a trib-al child can bring the 'bestmedal' in the Olympics assports is a part of tribal tradi-tions.

"They are 'natural'sportspersons and only needguidance, coaching, practiceand a platform to showcasetheir talent," Shah said.

The Government spendsRs 1.09 lakh on each tribal stu-dent in Eklavya residentialschools as against Rs 42,000earlier, he added.

Shah highlighted the BJPhas the most number of tribalMPs and Ministers.

"Previous Governmentswould talk about tribal devel-opment but did they provideclean drinking water to tribalsor build toilets in their houses?Did they give health cards to

the Scheduled Tribes commu-nities?" he posed.

The Modi Governmentprovided clean drinking waterto 1.28 crore tribal housesunder the Jal Jeevan Missionand built toilets in 1.45 crorehomes, Shah said.

"We have given Ayushmancards to 42 lakh ScheduledTribes families and built over40 lakh houses for tribals underthe Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana," the Union HomeMinister said.

Shah said the ModiGovernment has recognisedthe sacrifices and valour of trib-al freedom fighters and 10museums are being built acrossIndia in their honour at a costof around Rs 200 crore.

Home Minister said thereare many institutions in thecountry such as the PlanningCommission, now Niti Aayog,Life Insurance Corporation ofIndia and the Bharat HeavyElectricals Limited which havecontributed immensely to the

country's progress.Similarly, this NTRI will

play a pivotal role in the devel-opment of tribals in the coun-try. This is a milestone, he said.

The institute will becomethe backbone of tribal devel-opment in the run-up to 100years of India's Independence,Shah said. Union Law MinisterKiren Rijiju said indigenoustribes are spread across thecountry but earlier peoplewould not consider them a partof the mainstream.

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Aday after a purported videoreleased by banned

Kamtapur LiberationOrganisation (KLO) chief JivanSingha seeking partition ofBengal became public, ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeeattacked the Opposition BJP forstoking separatism in the State.

“The BJP is stoking dis-turbance in Bengal by encour-aging divisive sentimentsamong the people for narrowpolitical gains … this will notsucceed and Bengal will neverbe divided,” Banerjee saidadding, “whenever there areelections approaching the BJPplays such dirty divisive card …before the elections they raisedthe issue of Gorkhaland … andnow they are raising the issueof partitioning Bengal ... all thisthey are doing in the name ofdevelopment … but after wecame to power we ensuredmaximum development ofNorth Bengal … we haveimplemented a host of gov-ernment schemes like LaxmirBhandar, etc.”

The KLO chief through hisvideo had demanded creationof a new Koch-Kamtapur Statemostly comprising the regionsof North Bengal and threatenedBanerjee against setting foot inthe region. He said that “if theTMC Government tries to stop

creation of a new State —which is our constitutionalright — then there will be abloodbath.”

He instantly found moralsupport from local BJP leadersincluding Jalpaiguri andAlipurduar MPs Jayanta Royand John Burla who said thatdeprivation of and discrimi-nation against North Bengalcould end only through a self-rule which would be possibleby partitioning Bengal.

In an apparent reference tothe KLO, Banerjee said that shewas not afraid of guns andwould lay down her life to stopany partition of Bengal. “I amnot afraid of guns … I haveseen plenty of them in my life… there is no point threaten-ing me with guns … my pointis I will ensure all kind of devel-opment … But I will not allowpartition of Bengal where peo-ple of all castes, creed, religionand sect live happily together.”

Attacking the Centre fordemonetization and printingcounterfeit notes thereafter theChief Minister said “earlier Icalled this Government a gov-ernment of Jumlas (allegory)… now I call this a counterfeitGovernment because duringthis Government we had note-bandi and thereafter the mar-ket was flooded with counter-feit notes … today all the Rs500 and Rs 2,000 notes are

counterfeit … this is aGovernment that cannot evenensure circulation of genuinenotes.”

Referring to the recent dri-ves by the Indian Railways tovacate its encroached proper-ties by evicting the occupantsBanerjee called upon theencroachers to stand up inrevolt and resist the evictiondrives.

She said “I call upon thepeople to resist the eviction dri-ves because such evictions areillegal … where the people whohave no place to live will go …they (Centre) does not evenhave the basic humanitarianconsideration … having failedto provide people with jobs,dwelling places and livelihoodthey are now evicting them …this cannot go on.”

The BJP hit back at theChief Minister for “levelingfalse charges” against the partyeven as its senior leader RahulSinha said “the Chief Ministeris still haunted by notebandi asmany BJP leaders lost a ill-earned fortune during demon-etization,” and wondered howBengal had become a hub ofcounterfeit notes in the coun-try.

“Wherever you go in all thecases the trail of the counter-feit notes is traced to Kaliachakin Malda or Birbhum district,”another senior leader SamikBhattacharya said. On partitionof Bengal he said his party wasnot for dividing the State andadded “whatever the local lead-ers from North Bengal said wasan impulsive outburst due toyears of deprivation.”

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The threat posted by 'stickybombs' to the successful

conduct of the Amarnath yatrathis year is keeping the entiresecurity grid on its tenter-hooks in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a span of last 10 days theJammu and Kashmir policehas recovered two fresh con-signments of these magneticbombs attached with thedrones flown from across theborder with Pakistan to smug-gle them for executing the ter-ror plot of disrupting the yatrastarting from June 30.

Central intelligence agen-cies have already issued anadvisory to the security forcesto remain alert and sensitize thejawans deployed on yatra dutyto prevent aerial attacks withthe help of drones.

According to theAdditional Director General ofPolice, Mukesh Singh, "threemagnetic IEDs packed in tiffinboxes were recovered from theborder belt of Kanachak inJammu late Monday night".These magnetic IEDs wereattached with the drone spot-ted in the area. The payloadwas brought down leading torecovery of these sticky bombs.

In a written statement,ADGP Mukesh Singh said,"Yesterday night BSF observeda drone activity in theKanachak area and fired someshots towards the drone.

Immediately a police party wasdeployed and they followed theanti drone SOP in the generalarea. At around 11 pm atDayaran area of Kanachak, apolice party observed the droneactivity and fired at it again.The payload attached with thedrone was brought down.However the drone could notbe brought down". Singh said,"the payload contained threemagnetic IEDs packed inside atiffin box with a timer set todifferent timings of 3 hours , 8hours etc. The IED has beendeactivated and diffusedthrough controlled explosion.A case has been registered"

Earlier on May 29, sevenmagnetic bombs and an equalnumber of UBGL (Under bar-rel grenade launcher) grenadeswere recovered from nearHariya Chak area of Rajbagh inKathua district.

These sticky bombs werepacked in a packet attachedwith the hexacopter which was

brought down by the policeteam from Rajbagh police sta-tion.

In the recent high levelsecurity review meetingschaired by the senior army andCAPF officers along with topbrass of the J&K police specialemphasis was made on avert-ing the threat posed by thesesticky bombs. The securitygrid has already decided toproperly sensitize the foot sol-diers about the threats posed bythese readymade IED's andhow to detect them to preventblasts.

The Jammu and Kashmirpolice along with CAPF areexpected to launch an aware-ness drive for the commonpeople and driver/cleaners toensure they carry out frequentchecks at different intervals toprevent such strikes.

The annual pilgrimage is

set to start on June 30, 2022,and will conclude on August11, 2022, on the occasion ofRaksha Bandhan.

This year's annual pil-grimage to the cave shrine ofAmarnath is expected to attract6-8 lakh pilgrims.

The Union Home Ministryhas already given its nod torush additional 350 companiesof central para military forcesfor the exclusive yatraduty.Several companies ofCAPF have already arrivedand their deployment plans arebeing finalised for the yatraduty.

These security personnelwould be deployed for areadomination duties along theyatra route, securing the outerring of base camps at Baltal,Pahalgam, community halls,yatri niwas along the yatraroute.

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The June 10 Rajya Sabhaelections have been taking

interesting turns with eachpassing day particularly inhigh-stakes States likeRajasthan, Haryana andMaharashtra.

Amid reported ‘luring’ ofindependents MLAs and prob-able cross voting in States likeRajasthan, senior Congressleader Sachin Pilot entered

into an argument on socialmedia with BJP-backed inde-pendent candidate and mediabaron Subash Chandra. Pilotdismissed as "laughable"Subhash Chandra's claim ofCongress MLAs cross-votingfor him during Friday's elec-tions for the Upper House.

Congress received a shot inthe arm on Tuesday when twoMLAs of the Bharatiya TribalParty announced to back theCongress after they metRajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot. The ruling

Congress in the State has shift-ed its MLAs to a hotel inUdaipur alleging that the BJPwants to poach its MLAs.

The BJP, too, has shiftedmost of its Rajasthan MLAs toa resort for a “training camp”even as the RashtriyaLoktantrik Party (RLP)announced to support SubhashChandra. RLP national con-vener and Nagaur MPHanuman Beniwal on Mondaynight announced to give sup-port to Chandra. The RLP, aformer ally of the NDA, has

three MLAs in the 200-mem-ber Rajasthan Assembly.

There are four Rajya Sabhaseats in Rajasthan and in the200-member Assembly, eachcandidate needs 41 votes towin. Congress has 108 MLAsand the BJP has 71 votes. BJPis in a position to win one seat

and has 30 surplus votes. Towin a second seat, it needsanother 11. Congress is in aposition to win two and for athird seat, needs 15 more votes.To guard its flock, the party hasput up all its MLAs at a resort.

The elections to four seatsof the Rajya Sabha from

Rajasthan will be held on June10. The Congress has fieldedMukul Wasnik, RandeepSurjewala and Pramod Tiwariwhile the BJP has fielded for-mer minister GhanshyamTiwari.

"Subhashji, this is not a TVseries or entertainment. This isserious business," Pilot said,taking a dig at the Zee chair-man, who even reached out tohim.

Pilot spoke shortly afterthe media baron claimed thatfour Congress MLAs wouldback him and also appealed toPilot to seize the chance to"take revenge or send a mes-sage" by voting for him. "Hehas been fooled by the BJP intocontesting and he will behumiliated," Pilot stated.

Chandra said Pilot wouldnot be able to become ChiefMinister till 2028 if he missed

the opportunity. Pilot said theCongress has enough to win athird Rajya Sabha, "more thanwhat we require".

Further, ahead of the bien-nial elections for four RajyaSabha seats in Karnataka,Congress appealed to the 'sec-ular MLAs' to cast their 'con-science votes' to their candidateMansoor Ali Khan. CongressKarnataka unit chief D KShivakumar said he and for-mer Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah were makingthis appeal to everyone in theKarnataka Assembly.

Given their strength, theBJP with 120 MLAs andCongress with 70 members aresure to win two seats and oneseat respectively. The tussle isto win the fourth RS seat. TheJD(S) with 32 MLAs thoughlacks enough MLAs to win aRS seat, it has fielded its lone

candidate Kupendra Reddy.The national parties too areeyeing to win one more seat,though the number of MLAsto cast their first preferentialvote is less than the JD(S).

BJP has fielded UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman and Kannada filmactor-turned-politician Jaggeshwho are sure to win. It has alsofielded Lahar Singh Siroya asits third candidate.

On the other hand, theCongress has fielded JairamRamesh, for whom the partyhas adequate numbers in theAssembly to send him to theRajya Sabha. However, it hasalso fielded Mansoor Ali Khanas the second candidate.Hence, there is a tough com-petition between JD(S) candi-date Kupendra Reddy, BJP's LS Siroya and Congress' M AKhan.

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Four terrorists including twoforeigners were gunned

down by the joint team ofsecurity forces in differentparts of Kashmir valley in thelast 24 hours.

Three of them werebelonging to Lashkar-e- Toiba(LeT) while one was assocait-ed with pro-Pakistan HizbulMujahideen terrorist outfit,police said.

On the other hand, asmall batch of around 250Kashmiri pandit devotees fromJammu arrived in Kashmir toparticipate in the annual KheerBhawani mela at Tulmulla inthe central Kashmir district ofGanderbal on Tuesday.

Compared to previousyears the annual fair is expect-ed to remain a low key affair as

the majority of Kashmiri pan-dits have decided to stay awayin the wake of targeted killingsof members belonging to theminority community. On itspart the Union Territoryadministration has made elab-orate security arrangementsbut the temple recorded belowaverage number of visitorsahead of the annual ZeshtaAshtami festival.

According to a spokesmanof the Jammu and Kashmirpolice, two Lashkar-e-Toibaterrorists including one

Pakistani terrorist namelyTufail killed were killed in theencounter at Chaktaras Kandiarea of Kupwara.

Meanwhile, another ter-rorist was killed in anencounter in the orchards ofBadimarg/ Aloora areaShopian.

According to police, theKilled terrorist has been iden-tified as Nadeem AhmadRather @ Kamran of Kulgam.He was linked with pro-Pakistan terror outfit HizbulMujahideen. Police spokesmansaid, Nadeem was involved inseveral terror crimes includingkilling of Kulpora Panch andrecruitment of youth into ter-ror ranks. Local reports sug-gested Nadeem had qualifiedNDA and was pursuing PG inveterinary science before hewent missing from his resi-dence in Kulgam in March

2020.Late Monday night a

Pakistani terrorist of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT),identified asHanzalla, was killed in anencounter in Sopore area ofBaramulla district.

Inspector General of PoliceKashmir, Vijay Kumar, identi-fied the killed terrorist asHanzalla of Lahore Pakistan.He said that one AK-47 rifle, 5AK magazines and ammuni-tion were recovered from him.

Police spokesman alsoinformed, Shopian policeTuesday cracked the recentterror attack case in whichterrorists used IED in a vehi-cle at Shedow Shopian, inwhich one soldier was mar-tyred and others were injured."All 04 terrorist/associatesinvolved in the case have beenarrested", police spokesmanadded.

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Having beefed up securityaround Bollywood super

star Salman Khan’s Bandraresidence “GalaxyApartments” in the wake ofdeath threat to him and hiswriter-father Salim Khan, theMumbai police are suspectingthe possible involvement ofthe Lawrence Bishnoi gangbehind the much-discussedthreat.

A Mumbai Police team isleaving for New Delhi toquestion Bishnoi on his sus-pected involvement in thealleged threats to the Khanfamily. The family’s securityteam had found a letter nearKhans’ home on Sunday,threatening to do a‘Moosewala’ with SalmanKhan and his father Salim

Khan. Bishnoi, who is beinginvestigated for of investiga-tions of the murder of singer-rapper from Punjab SidhuMoosewala late last month, iscurrently in the custody of theDelhi Police’s Special Cell.

Bishnoi’s name croppedduring the course of investi-gations into the death threatletter received by 87-year-old Salim Khan, as the lettercontained the initial LB. Evenin the past, Bishnoi hadvowed to kill Salman Khanafter the actor was named asan accused in the 1998Blackbuck poaching case inRajasthan.

Police said that anunidentified person handedover the death threat letter toSalim Khan while he wasresting on a bench near hishome after his morning walkat 7.30 am on Sunday.

The threat letter,addressed to Salim Khan andhis actor-son in Hindi, report-edly told them "Moosewalabana denge” -- in effect thatboth of them would meet thesame fate as slain SidhuMoosewala.

Following the receipt ofthe threat letter, the Khanfamily complained to theBandra police who swiftlyregistered an FIR againstunknown persons.

A Mumbai Police team,led by Joint Commissioner ofPolice Vishwas Nangre-Patiland other officers, visited“Galaxy Apartments”, inspect-ed the place and spoke toSalim Khan and security offi-cials on Monday. The securi-ty around Khans’ residencewas beefed up.

Nangre-Patil also metState Home Minister Dilip

Walse-Patil and briefed himabout the progress in theinvestigations in the case.

The Mumbai CrimeBranch sleuths are assistingthe Bandra police in theinvestigations.

Speculation has it thatBishnoi had – during a ques-tioning conducted in 2021 –reportedly confessed to haveconspired to kill SalmanKhan. During the question-ing, Bishnoi had admitted tohaving hired Sampat Nehra,a gangster from Rajasthan, tokill Salman Khan.

Nehra had allegedly trav-elled to Mumbai and carriedout reconnaissance aroundSalman Khan’s home.

Nehra could not accom-plish the task assigned tohim by Bishnoi as he couldnot get a clear shot of theactor from his pistol.

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Uttar Pradesh became thefirst State in India to have

administered more than 33crore doses of Covid vaccines.As per CoWin data, at least 33crore out of the total 194 croredoses administered in thecountry are from UP.

“Strengthening its fightagainst the Covid-19 pandem-ic, the Uttar PradeshGovernment is providing vac-cination cover to all the chil-dren aged between 12 and 17years in a time-bound manner.So far, over 2,49,20,559 vaccinedoses have been administeredto children in the age group of

15-17 years and over1,10,67,719 vaccine doses havebeen administered to childrenin the age group of 12-14 years

in the state,” Additional ChiefSecretary, Medical and Health,Amit Mohan Prasad said.

Committed to providing

additional protection cover tothe people, Uttar Pradesh start-ed administering booster shots(precaution doses) fromJanuary 10. Over 32.26 lakhprecaution doses have beenadministered in the state so far.

UP is followed byMaharashtra with 16.73 croredoses administered so far. Interms of percentage, about 93per cent of the adult populationhas been fully vaccinated while100 per cent have received atleast one vaccine dose.

In the age category of 15-17 years, over 97 per cent of thechildren have received at leastone vaccine dose. More 75 percent beneficiaries in this age

category have been fully vac-cinated.

“Aggressive vaccination isan integral part of the com-prehensive strategy of the gov-ernment to contain the pan-demic while adhering toCovid-appropriate behaviour,”Prasad said.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradeshcontinued to record freshCovid cases in three digitswith 128 infections witnessedin the last 24 hours. However,184 patients recovered duringthe same period. The addi-tional chief secretary said thatthere were a total of 910 activecases of Covid in the state as onTuesday.

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According to a report inthe Lowy Institute, “At theFebruary 2022 meeting ofQuad Foreign Ministers, thegroup reportedly agreed witha suggestion of AustralianPrime Minister ScottMorrison that the Quadshould be expanded to include‘dialogue partners’.” The debateas to how Quad should engagewith countries like SouthKorea, Vietnam andIndonesia, for instance, is stillout in the open. The world hasalso changed in the last fewmonths with the Russian inva-sion of Ukraine, and a closerRussia-China axis emerging.India, of course, is doing somedelicate balancing act by notcondemning Russia and stillmaintaining its position inQuad. But the fact that theRussian actions could embold-en China to consider a mili-tary takeover of Taiwan is thereason why the US Presidentclearly stated that the USwould intervene militarily ifthat were to happen. So theQuad has to now deal with thenewer complications.

The problem is also thatin the Indo-Pacific region,most countries are cautious of

taking on China. Even Indiahedges its arguments in somefinely-worded diplomatic jar-gon. Smaller nations likeVietnam and Indonesia areeven more careful. So if theUS wants a security frame-work in the Indo-Pacificregion to have teeth, it willneed some of these smallercountries on board. The Quadcan continue to have just fourformal members but unless itexpands in a creative fashion,the Chinese threat is unlike-ly to be countered. The chal-lenge for the Quad is also toconvince the Asean nations tosee it as credible provider of security in the region vis-a-vis China.

For India, the Quad pro-vides a unique opportunity tocreate space for itself as a glob-al leader. The other threemembers of the Quad havealso pursued India activelysince India still remains hes-itant to drop its non-alignedstatus in the world. Whetherit is China or Russia (in thecase of the Ukraine inva-sion), India is more cautiousthan its Quad partners. Whilethe other three pursue Indiato fall in line with their stand,

it also offers India that valu-able space to manoeuvre theQuad to its own nationalinterests, too.

The Quad neverthelessgives hope to many in theIndo-Pacific region of emerg-ing as an effective check onChina’s growing assertive-ness. But in order to achievethat objective, two measuresthat need to be put in placeare; one, recognising that theQuad has a long way to gobefore it can be taken as a seri-ous counterbalance to China;and, two, only if more coun-tries become partners or alliesto the idea of the Quad, willwe finally see the emergenceof a group of four that canthen effectively restrain Chinain the region. So, it seemsthere is a lot of work cut outfor the Quad in the near future.

(The author, a Delhi-basedjournalist and foreign affairsanalyst, holds a Masters inInternational Relations fromthe American University inWashington DC. In 2009, herbook ‘Piercing the Heart:Untold Stories of 26/11’, waspublished. The views expressedare personal.)

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�� Sir — Qatar, Iran, Kuwait and other Gulfcountries on Sunday summoned India’sambassadors and the key Gulf nationsexpressed their strong protest and con-demnation of the controversial remarks ofa BJP leader against Prophet Mohammad.To defuse a diplomatic crisis, the Indianembassies conveyed that it is not the viewof the Government of India but of certainfringe elements. Vice-President MVenkaiah Naidu is currently visitingQatar and, on Sunday, met its PrimeMinister and Interior Minister. Earlier,Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, the QatarMinister of State for Foreign Affairs, hand-ed a note to the Indian ambassadorwhich was a big embarrassment.

Amid protests by Muslim groupsover the remarks, the BJP which is on theback foot issued a statement aimed atassuaging the concerns of minorities anddistancing itself from these members,asserting that it respects all religions andstrongly denounces the insult of any reli-gious personality. The controversialremarks also sparked a Twitter trend in theArab world calling for a boycott of Indianproducts. More than two billion Muslimsacross the world follow the guidance ofProphet Mohammad, whose messagecomes as a message of peace, understand-ing and tolerance, and a beacon of lightthat Muslims all over the world follow.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

��Sir — It is a matter of pride and self-esteemthat India’s one million Accredited SocialHealth Activists (ASHA) women havebeen recognised by the WHO with GlobalHealth Leaders Award at the 75th WorldHealth Assembly held in Geneva recent-ly. ASHA workers are a vital bridgebetween the public health system andcommunities. They have been instrumen-tal in not just improving crucial maternaland child health indicators, but also in col-lecting important data that underpins thehealthcare system. These women proved

to be indispensable during COVID.ASHA workers, who are essential tosecuring the lives of millions in India, arebrought within the social and legal pro-tection guaranteed to healthcare workers.

This apart, these women volunteersare reportedly paid very low wages fortheir services. And what is even morepainful is that these insufficient paymentsare often delayed, leaving the already vul-nerable ASHA workers scrambling tomake their ends meet. It naturally echoesthe pain and pang when an ASHA work-er in Maharashtra asked naively: “Will thisaward help us to put food on the table forour families?”

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai

�� Sir — Kedarnath’s is one of the most sacredpilgrimages of Lord Shiva. After two yearsof the COVID lull, the resumption of theKedarnath Yatra is witnessing an increasein pilgrim numbers. The roads are dyingas these are overworked, and so are theanimals. A report claims that around 60

mules died in just 20 days due to thetreacherous terrain of the Kedarnathroute. Due to the two-year backlog, muleowners and handlers overwork the ani-mals. Pilgrims and locals allege that themules are given drugs and even merciless-ly beaten up.

The handlers are mandated to makea single trip with one mule with properrest, food and water, but they are brazen-ly defying the rules. This results in trag-ic death for the animals. The mules, hors-es and ponies are meant only for the phys-ically challenged or elderly people. Also,we are nobody to destroy the beauty ofnature. Those responsible for leavingbehind mounds of garbage should remem-ber to use dustbins. If you want toimpress God, walk with proper rest andtake your time on the pilgrimage but don’tabuse these innocent creatures who can’tspeak for themselves.

Swati Pandey | Ujjain

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The recent Quad meet inTokyo was muchwatched globally asleaders from the United

States, India, Australia and Japangot together to discuss variousglobal and regional issues. It wasof course a powerful moment inoptics, too, and a clear messageto China that the Quad meansbusiness when it comes to secu-rity and safety, especially in theIndo-Pacific region. But the onething that didn’t get as muchattention as it should have wasthe visit by US President JoeBiden to South Korea before helanded in Tokyo. While SouthKorea is not a member of theQuad yet, it neverthelessremains an important countrywhen it comes to the security calculations in the Indo-Pacific region.

As a report in The Hillrecently pointed out: “SouthKorea’s active engagement in theIndo-Pacific region acts as aforce multiplier in building aprincipled security network —one in defence of the rule of law,freedom of navigation anddemocratic values.” It is alsoimperative that the US-Korea-Japan ties strengthen to counterthe Chinese influence in theregion. With two in the abovetrilateral being Quad members,the South Korean engagementwill only lend strength to the Quad.

There seems to be a grow-ing recognition of the fact thatthe Quad will need to engagemore actively with other coun-tries in the region. Even if mostdo not want to become formalmembers of the Quad, their par-ticipation at some level is need-ed. One positive indication tothis effect has been the signingof the Indo-Pacific EconomicFramework for Prosperity(IPEF), an economic plan thatseeks to set standards on labour,supply chains, clean energy andanti-corruption. It has 13 nationsas signatories to the frameworkand it offers not just a plan tocounter China in the region butalso for other countries to sharean economic framework withthe Quad nations, along with themilitaries and defence.

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The tax component (CED plusVAT) alone is �36 per liter whichworks out to 70 per cent of theERP, i.e. �50. Of this, 40 per cent(20/50) is collected by the Centreand 30 per cent (16/50) by the state(Delhi). In Mumbai, where VAT ismuch higher at � 30 per liter(inflating pump price to �111 perliter), the tax component is �50 perliter or 100 per cent of ERP—40per cent going to the Centre and60 per cent to the state.

Even the tax rate of 70 per centat the lower end (in Delhi) is sub-stantially less than the highest slabof 28 per cent under the goods andservices tax (GST).

As per the 2016 ConstitutionAmendment (GST was introducedthrough this amendment) Act,petrol and diesel—besides crudeoil, natural gas, ATF, electricity—are included under GST, but zerorated, meaning that the Centre andStates can continue to collectCED/VAT (and other local taxes)till such time the GST Councildecides to take a call on taxingthem under the new regime.

While almost every politicalparty from the non-BJP ruledstates is prompt in asking theCentre to tax these fuels underGST—ostensibly to lower theirprice to the consumers—do theyrealise the quantum of revenuethey will have to forego in such a scenario?

In a discussion with econo-mists and industry experts last year

on ‘transition of energy productsinto the GST,’ the NITI Aayog hadproposed to tax them @28 percent. As per this proposal, theCentre and states will get to collect14 per cent each as CGST (centralGST) and SGST (State GST),respectively. In Delhi, the State willend up reducing its collection toless than half of the present level,whereas for the Centre the cut willbe steeper to almost one-third. Astate like Maharashtra will have tomake an steeper climb down to lessthan 1/4 th (14/60) of what it is collecting now.

The highest tax slab of 28 percent is meant for demerit goodssuch as tobacco and alcohol. Petroland diesel being items of mass con-sumption (diesel being used formovement of goods, a higher taxon it has a much wider impactincluding the poorest) can’t betreated likewise. Therefore, itwould be fair to keep them in alower slab, say, 18 per cent (12 percent is even more desirable). Butthe Centre and States would startwobbling at the very idea.

The challenge of high interna-tional prices is no less daunting.Already, at the current pump price(�97 per liter in Delhi), oil market-ing PSUs are having an under-recovery of �13 per liter. Againstthe current crude price of $115 perbarrel for the Indian basket, theERP of �50 per liter is calculatedwith reference to a crude bench-mark of $90 per barrel. Had the

current price been used, the ERPwould have been �63 per litre, or�13 higher.

Meanwhile, continuation ofthe Ukraine war, increasing inten-sity of economic sanctions by theEU and the US on Russia, and thedecision by EU countries to slashtheir dependence on Russian oiland gas by 90 per cent by the endof 2022 will ensure that the inter-national crude price will remain onan escalating trajectory.Considering that India depends onimports for 83.5 per cent of itscrude requirements, there is littlethat the Government can do toescape its onslaught.

Against this backdrop, theonly way to give relief to con-sumers is by more cuts in taxes.For now, in view of the Centre hav-ing already done its bit, states(especially those who didn’t obligeeven in November 2021) need tooffer significant reduction in VAT(for instance, Maharashtra canstraight away go for a cut of Rs 10per liter).

Over the next three years or so,the Centre and states should aimat reducing their tax rates closer to15 per cent each so that at the end,these can be taxed under GST @28per cent including CGST 14 percent and SGST 14 per cent.

For the long-term, Indiashould focus on promoting self-reliance in oil production to com-bat its inherent vulnerability toescalating international prices.

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(The writer is a policyanalyst. The views

expressed are personal.)

Will a caste census trig-ger a disaster or set-tle the demand of

many political parties? While itplays such a dominant role inour social, economic, and polit-ical life, it is strange that nocredible caste data has existedsince 1931. Also, the prominentfour main castes, Brahmin,Kshatriyas, Vaishya, andShudra, have produced hundreds of subcastes and continue to create more sub-sections.

The demand to countcastes is not new: Every censusin independent India from1951 to 2011 has publisheddata on Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes, but not onother castes. Decennial censusuntil 1931 had data on Caste,but due to World War 11, the1941 census was skipped. After

independence, the Nehru gov-ernment rejected the demandfor a caste census.

In 2001, the Vajpayee gov-ernment rejected a proposal toinclude caste by the thenRegistrar General of Census. In2010 the Manmohan Singhgovernment too dismissed theinclusion of castes in theCensus but surveyed on an eco-nomic basis instead. The ModiGovernment released only itsfinancial component (in 2015)and withheld the caste compo-nent. Unfortunately, the decen-nial population census of 2021has been postponed due to theCovid pandemic.

Political parties havealready taken sides and soughtvotes in the name of caste andwon. Caste-based parties havealso sprung up like the BSP, theSamajwadi Party, and the

Rashtriya Janata Dal. Partiessuch as JDU, RJD, SP, BSP,YSRCP, and the DMK dependon certain caste groups fortheir political strength. Theywere leading a heavy cam-paign for the next caste censusin 2021. Other leaders, includ-ing Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar, Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister M.K. Stalin,Samajwadi Party (SP) leaderAkhilesh Yadav, and BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) chiefMayawati remained supportersof the caste census.

A caste count might result

in a demand for inclusion inreservation. It comes up beforealmost every census. It becamethe electoral plank in states likeTamil Nadu, just as many Biharand Uttar Pradesh politicalparties made a strong plea fora caste census. Several commu-nities such as Jats in Haryana,Patels in Gujarat, and Marathasin Maharashtra have demand-ed inclusion under the OBCcategory.

There are arguments forand against the caste census. Asfor the SCs and STs, the quo-tas are based on the censusreport. But the OBC reserva-tion was fixed at 27 per cent tokeep the reservation cap at 50per cent. If the support for thecaste census is political, so is theopposition emerging frommultiple factors. A caste-basedcensus will only expose the

upper castes that have been theprimary beneficiaries.Secondly, the BJP and the RSSapprehend that a caste countmight dent their carefully builtcaste alliances.

Supporters claim therecould be no proper estimate forthe other backward classes(OBCs) and others withoutthe caste data. The MandalCommission estimated theOBC population at 52 per cent,and some other calculations arebased on the National SampleSurvey data. Still, political par-ties make their estimates instates and Lok Sabha andAssembly seats during elec-tions. Incidentally, the NationalCommission on BackwardClasses, the parliamentarycommittee on the welfare ofOBCs and, in the past, theRegistrar General of Census

have endorsed the demand fora backward classes census.

Secondly, the caste censuswas the only way to breach thecurrent 50 per cent cap onreservations. The apex court,too, has recommended thatcaste count was essential to ruleon the 50 per cent cap.

Thirdly, caste data is vitalas a factor in public policy.

Opponents argue that sucha headcount will harden casteidentities and lead to socialfragmentation and caste enmi-ties. It would be not only divi-sive but also counterproductive.There could be political andsocial repercussions. BJP lead-ers argue that several leadersfrom Mahatma Gandhi down-wards to Ram Manohar Lohiahave said that caste discrimina-tion has weakened society.They also feel they should not

now touch on a complex andchallenging issue.

The demand for a castecensus goes beyond politics.Opponents and supportershave expressed their argumentsforcefully. It is for the Modigovernment to take a decision.India runs the world's mostextensive welfare programmebased on caste identity. Whilethe youth want a casteless soci-ety, caste is being perpetuated.

India has seen many caste-based agitations and will con-tinue to see them, which willharm the social fabric. It is anemotional and controversialissue that many governmentswould rather keep away fromsuch a census. In the 21st cen-tury, India should be discussing'let's do away with caste' ratherthan further dividing Indiainto those lines.

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(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

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-��%,(.�& %'&�'* To rein in the inflationary pressure,on May 21, 2022, the NarendraModi Government announcedreduction in the central excise

duty (CED) on petrol and diesel by �8 perlitre and �6 per litre, respectively. The cutsare significant but, given the magnitudeof the challenge, these won’t be enough.Let us do a fact check.

In May 2014 (when Modi tookcharge), CED on petrol was �9.8 per literand on diesel �3.8 per liter. By March,2020 (this was when the COVID-19pandemic struck), already theGovernment had hiked these to �20 perliter on petrol and �16 per liter on diesel.During 2020, it was further increased onpetrol by Rs 13 per liter (�3 in March and�10 in May) and on diesel by �16 per liter(�3 in March and �13 in May). Thus, byMay 2020, it had peaked to �33 per literon petrol and Rs 32 per liter on diesel.

On November 3, 2021, theGovernment reduced CED on petrol �5per liter and on diesel �10 per liter.Thereafter, within a little over six month,on May 21, 2022, it has now furtherreduced the duty on petrol by �8 per litreand on diesel by �6 per litre. Put togeth-er, the cuts add up to �13 per liter onpetrol and �16 per liter on diesel.

Today, the CED is �20 per liter onpetrol and �16 per liter on diesel.

The duty on petrol and diesel has thusbeen restored to the level these were beforeCOVID-19 struck. Critics may arguethat consumers have only been given relieffrom the extra burden imposed by theCentre two years ago, that it has done nofavor. It all depends on the way one looksat things. Someone with a positive mind-set will definitely like to see the glass half full.

FY 2020-21 was an unprecedentedyear when most of the economic activi-ties had come to a grinding halt, severe-ly impacting the tax revenue. As a result,gross tax receipts (GTR) were �400,000crore less than the target. This wasdespite the Centre garnering more fromhike in fuel taxes. Without it, its fiscalhealth would have been even worse,jeopardising development and welfareschemes.

During 2021-22, with the impact ofpandemic diminishing substantially andthe economy gaining traction, GTR werehigher than even the revised estimate (RE)by �200,000 crore. The buoyancy in taxrevenue is likely to continue during thecurrent year as well. Therefore, the cush-ion from higher fuel taxes won’t be need-ed. But, the big picture is that, even at thecurrent level, the taxes continue to beunreasonable high.

In Delhi, the pump price of around�97 per litre (as on May 22, 2022)includes ex-refinery price (ERP) �50plus freight �7 or �57 (ready to send topetrol pump), dealer commission �4, CED�20 and value added tax (VAT) @19.4 percent or �16.

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Russia has begun turningover the bodies of

Ukrainian fighters killed atthe Azovstal steelworks, thefortress-like plant in thedestroyed city of Mariupolwhere their last-ditch standbecame a symbol of resistanceagainst Moscow's invasion.

Dozens of the dead takenfrom the bombed-out mill'snow Russian-occupied ruinshave been transferred to theUkrainian capital, Kyiv, whereDNA testing is underway toidentify the remains, accordingto both a military leader and aspokeswoman for the AzovRegiment.

The Azov Regiment wasamong the Ukrainian unitsthat defended the steelworksfor nearly three months beforesurrendering in May underrelentless Russian attacks fromthe ground, sea and air.

It was unclear how manybodies might remain at theplant.

Meanwhile, Russian forcescontinued to fight for controlof Sievierodonetsk, an easternUkrainian city that is key toMoscow's goal of completingthe capture of the industrialDonbas region.

And Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy saidMoscow's forces also intend totake the southeastern city ofZaporizhzhia, home to morethan 700,000 people, a movethat could severely weakenUkraine's standing and allowthe Russian military to advancecloser to the center of thecountry.

“In the Zaporizhzhiaregion ... There is the mostthreatening situation there,”Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian fighters'dogged defense of the steel mill

frustrated the Kremlin's objec-tive of quickly capturingMariupol and tied downRussian forces in the strategicport city.

The defenders' fate inRussian hands is shrouded inuncertainty. Zelenskyy saidmore than than 2,500 fightersfrom the plant are being heldprisoner, and Ukraine is work-ing to win their release.

The recovery of theirremains from the Azovstalruins has not been announcedby the Ukrainian government,and Russian officials have notcommented. But relatives ofsoldiers killed at the plant dis-cussed the process with TheAssociated Press.

Ukraine on Saturdayannounced the first officiallyconfirmed swap of its militarydead since the war began.

It said the two sidesexchanged 320 bodies in all,each getting back 160 sets ofremains. The swap took placeThursday on the front line inthe Zaporizhzhia region.

Anna Holovko, a spokes-woman for the Azov Regiment,said all 160 of the Ukrainianbodies turned over by theRussians were from theAzovstal ruins.

She said that at least 52 ofthose bodies are thought to bethe remains of Azov Regimentsoldiers.

Maksym Zhorin, a formerAzov Regiment leader nowco-commanding a Kyiv-basedmilitary unit, confirmed thatbodies from the steel plant wereamong those exchanged.

�� 2B

Russia claimed Tuesday ithas occupied largeswathes of eastern

Ukraine after a relentless,weeks-long barrage and therecent deployment of moretroops. Russian DefenceMinister Sergei Shoigu saidMoscow's forces have “liberat-ed” 97 per cent of the Luhanskregion. Russia appears bent oncapturing the entire easternDonbas part of Ukraine, whichis made up of the Donetsk andLuhansk regions. That goalappears to be its most imme-diate ambition in Ukraine.

But while the Kremlin'sforces have superior firepower,the Ukrainians defenders —among them the country'smost well-trained forces — areentrenched and have shown thecapability to counterattack.

Shoigu claimed thatRussian forces have seized theresidential quarters ofSievierodonetsk and are fight-ing to take control of an indus-trial zone on its outskirts andthe nearby towns.

Sievierodonetsk, theadministrative center of theLuhansk region, has recentlybeen the focus of the Russianoffensive. Sievierodonetsk andnearby Lysychansk are the onlytwo Donbas cities holding outagainst the Russian invasion,which is being helped by localpro-Kremlin forces.

Shoigu added that theRussian troops were pressingtheir offensive toward the townof Popasna and noted thatthey have taken control ofLyman and Sviatohirsk and 15other towns in the region.

Popasna is a town with apre-war population of 20,000located about 30 kilometers(nearly 20 miles) south ofSievierodonetsk.

A Ukrainian official saidTuesday that Moscow isdeploying troop reinforcementsin eastern Ukraine as a Russianartillery barrage aimed to grinddown Ukrainian defences.

Luhansk governor SerhiyHaidai conceded that Russianforces control the industrialoutskirts of Sievierodonetsk,one of two cities in the Luhanskregion still in Ukrainian hands.

“Toughest street battlescontinue, with varying degreesof success,” Haidai told TheAssociated Press. “The situa-tion constantly changes, but theUkrainians are repellingattacks.”

Moscow's strategy has suf-fered numerous setbacks, how-ever, since Russia invadedUkraine on Feb. 24, includinga failed attempt to take Kyiv, thecapital.

Moscow's forces also keptup an artillery barrage ofLysychansk, a city close toSievierodonetsk which isalmost fully controlled byRussian troops.

Haidai said Russian troopsshelled a local market, a schooland a college building, destroy-ing the latter. Three woundedpeople were sent to hospitals inother parts of Ukraine, he said.

“A total destruction of thecity is underway, Russianshelling has intensified signif-icantly over the past 24 hours.Russians are using scorchedearth tactics,” Haidai said.

In all, Ukrainian forceshad repelled 10 Russian attacks

over the previous 24 hours,according to Haidai. His reportcouldn't be independently ver-ified.

Ukraine is receivingweapons and ammunitionfrom the West to help fend offrelentless Russian attacks. Thatassistance has become a targetfor Russian artillery and war-planes.

Russia claimed Tuesday itsforces took out two artillerysystems given by the UnitedStates and a howitzer suppliedby Norway.

Maj. Gen. IgorKonashenkov said the Russianartillery barrage destroyedother Ukrainian equipment inthe country's east while theRussian air force hit Ukrainiantroops and equipment con-centrations and artillery posi-tions.

Konashenkov's claimscouldn't be independently con-firmed.

In Kyiv, meanwhile, autop-sies were planned on dozens ofUkrainian fighters killed at theAzovstal steelworks.

The bodies were returnedto Ukraine by the Russianoccupiers of the fortress-likeplant in the destroyed city ofMariupol, where their last-ditch stand became a symbol ofresistance against Moscow'sinvasion.

The Azov Regiment wasamong the Ukrainian unitsthat defended the steelworksfor nearly three months beforesurrendering in May underrelentless Russian attacks fromthe ground, sea and air.

It was unclear how manybodies might remain at theplant.

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Russia: We'vedestroyed artilleryfrom West

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Japanese and NATO officialsagreed Tuesday to step up

military cooperation and jointexercises as they shared con-cerns that Russia's invasion ofUkraine is causing a deterio-ration of the security environ-ment in Europe and Asia.

Japanese Defence MinisterNobuo Kishi said after meet-ing with NATO MilitaryCommittee chief Rob Bauerthat Japan hopes to strength-en its ties with European coun-tries and welcomes NATO'sexpanded involvement in theIndo-Pacific region.

“The security of Europeand Asia are closely inter-twined, especially now withthe international communityfacing serious challenges,”Kishi said.

Bauer's visit in Tokyo

comes as Japan's MaritimeSelf-Defence Force is partici-pating in NATO naval exer-cises in the Mediterranean

Sea.Japan has been increasing

its military capabilities andcooperation with Europe, in

addition to its alliance with theUnited States and partner-ships with other countries inthe Indo-Pacific region and

beyond, in the face of China'srise. Prime Minister FumioKishida has been invited to theNATO summit later thismonth, and is reportedly con-sidering attending the meeting,which would make him thefirst Japanese leader to do so.

In May, Japanese MilitaryChief of Staff Koji Yamazakijoined a meeting of NATOcounterparts in Belgium forthe first time.

Bauer praised theirincreased engagement in tack-ling “shared security chal-lenges”.

Japan quickly joined theUnited States and Europe inimposing sanctions againstRussia and providing supportfor Ukraine, saying the crisisaffects not only Europe butalso could further emboldenChina to increase its assertive-ness in the Indo-Pacific.

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Sexual violence in Ukraine, especiallyagainst women and girls, remains

prevalent and underreported, and thehumanitarian crisis in the war-torn coun-try is turning into “a human traffickingcrisis,” the U.N. Special envoy for sexualviolence in conflict said Monday.

Pramila Patten told the U.N. SecurityCouncil that there is a gap between its res-olutions aimed at preventing rape andother sexual attacks during conflicts andthe reality on the ground for the most vul-nerable -- women and children.

As of June 3, she said, the U.N.Human rights office had received 124 alle-gations of conflict-related sexual violence— 97 of them involving women and girls,19 against men, seven against boys andone gender unknown. Verification of the cases is continuing.

Patten said Ukraine's prosecutor gen-eral informed her during a visit in Maythat a national hotline reported the fol-

lowing forms of conflict-related sexualviolence between Feb. 24, when Russiantroops invaded the country, and April 12:“rape, gang rape, pregnancy followingrape, attempted rape, threats of rape, coer-cion to watch an act of sexual violencecommitted against a partner or a child,and forced nudity.”

She said the history of conflictsshows that “sexual violence is the mostconsistently and massively under-report-ed violation,” adding that is why it is crit-ical to reinforce prevention and protec-tion and provide services to victimsfrom the onset of any armed conflict.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador, VassilyNebenzia, categorically rejected and con-demned all allegations of sexual violenceby Russian troops as “lies.” He saidRussia's soldiers are subject to strictrules prohibiting torture and violenceagainst civilians.

He claimed the same rules don't applyto Ukraine's “nationalist battalions” andsaid the international community will

soon have “the full truth about thesecrimes, including crimes of a sexualnature, committed by Ukrainian nation-alist units and the Ukrainian armedforces.”

Ukrainian Ambassador SergiyKyslytsya said his country's law enforce-ment bodies, media and non-govern-mental groups “continue to report numer-ous cases of sexual violence committed byRussian troops.”

According to the Ministry of Interior,he said, “minors and elderly womenwere among the victims of Russianrapists” and “fatalities have also been reg-istered.”

U.S. Ambassador Linda ThomasGreenfield cited “a mountain of crediblereports of atrocities committed by Russia'sforces against civilians,” including “hor-rific accounts of sexual violence.”

“More and more allegations showRussia's soldiers sexually assaultingwomen and girls, as well as men andboys,” she said. “We have heard fromUkraine's deputy prime minister thatRussian soldiers raped Ukrainian womenfor hours — and then killed them.”Patten, who also visited reception centresand border crossings in Poland andMoldova, gave several anecdotal accountsof trafficking attempts and expressed seri-ous concern at “the lack of consistent vet-ting of accommodation offers and trans-portation arrangements” for Ukrainiansfleeing the fighting. She said over 90% ofthose refugees are women and children.

She said that Ukraine has estab-lished a temporary task force on humantrafficking, but that it is equally critical toensure protection systems for refugees inall transit and destination countries andat all border crossing.

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European Council PresidentCharles Michel accused

Russia on Monday of usingfood supplies as “a stealth mis-sile against developing coun-tries” and blamed the Kremlinfor the looming global food cri-sis, prompting Moscow's U.N.Ambassador to walk out of aSecurity Council meeting.

Michel addressed RussianAmbassador Vassily Nebenziadirectly at the council meeting, saying he saw millions oftonnes of grain and wheatstuck in containers and ships atthe Ukrainian port of Odessa afew weeks ago.

That was “because ofRussian warships in the BlackSea," and Moscow's attacks ontransport infrastructure andgrain storage facilities, and itstanks, bombs and mines thatare preventing Ukraine fromplanting and harvesting, hesaid. “This is driving up foodprices, pushing people intopoverty, and destabilising entireregions,” Michel said. “Russia issolely responsible for this loom-ing food crisis. Russia alone.”

Michel also accusedRussian forces of stealing grainfrom areas it has occupied“while shifting the blame ofothers,” calling this “cowardly”and “propaganda, pure andsimple.”

Nebenzia walked out dur-ing Michel's briefing, givingRussia's seat to another diplo-mat.

Russia's deputy U.N.Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskytweeted later on Telegram'sRussian channel that Michel'scomments were “so rude” thatthe Russian ambassador left theSecurity Council chamber.

The Security Council meet-ing was supposed to focus onsexual violence during the war

in Ukraine but Russia's invasionand the consequences, espe-cially on global food shortagesand rising prices, were alsoraised.

Michel gave strong backingto U.N. Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres' efforts to geta package agreement that wouldallow grain exports fromUkraine and ensure thatRussian food and fertilizer haveunrestricted access to globalmarkets.

Ukraine and Russia togeth-er produce almost a third of theworld's wheat and barley andhalf of its sunflower oil, whileRussia and its ally Belarus arethe world's number two andthree producers of potash, a keyingredient of fertilizer.

Guterres warned lastmonth that global hunger lev-els “are at a new high,” with thenumber of people facing severefood insecurity doubling injust two years from 135 millionbefore the COVID-19 pan-demic to 276 million today.

He said more than 500,000people are living in famineconditions -- an increase ofmore than 500% since 2016.

Ukraine's U.N.Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsyatold the Security Council onMonday that the country

remains committed to findingsolutions to prevent the globalfood crisis and is ready to cre-ate “the necessary conditions”to resume exports from the keysouthern port of Odesa.

“The question is how tomake sure that Russia does notabuse the trade route to attackthe city itself,” he said.

Kyslytsya said the questionhas become more relevant sincefour Russian missiles hit a plantin the capital Kyiv on Sundaywhere freight cars that carrygrain to Ukrainian ports werebeing repaired.

“It means all Putin's fairytales about his readiness tofacilitate Ukrainian wheatexport that he so eloquently tellshis rare interlocutors remaintoo far removed from reality,”the Ukrainian ambassador said.

Nonetheless, “we continueour work with the U.N. Andpartners to ensure the func-tioning of the maritime rules forthe expert for Ukrainian agri-cultural products,” Kyslytsyasaid.

“As a first step," he said,“Russia must withdraw its navalforces in the maritime watersaround Ukraine and providesecurity guarantees againstattacks in ports” and againstcommercial ships.

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The Russian military says ithas destroyed several

artillery systems provided bythe West in the latest series ofstrikes on Ukrainian targets.

Maj. Gen. IgorKonashenkov said Tuesdaythat the Russian artillery hit ahowitzer supplied by Norwayand two other artillery sys-tems given to Ukraine by theUnited States. He said that theRussian artillery barragedestroyed other Ukrainianequipment in the country'seast while the Russian airforce hit Ukrainian troopsand equipment concentra-tions and artillery positions.Konashenkov's claims could-n't be independently con-firmed.

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Adefiant British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson on

Tuesday led his first Cabinetmeeting after a tense day ofpolitical intrigue, which endedin him securing a victory in ano-confidence ballot of hisparty members with a narrowmargin as a major chunk of hisMPs voted against him as theleader. Johnson, 57, is rallyinghis Cabinet ministers, wholargely backed him quite pub-licly and even called upon theangry backbench members ofParliament leading the rebellionto line up behind his leadershipfor the greater good of thecountry. He began the meetingby thanking his top team after

an “important day”, with refer-ence to the vote on Mondaynight. “We are now able to drawa line under the issues that ouropponents want to talk aboutand we are able to get on withtalking about what I think thepeople of this country want us

to talk about which is what weare doing to help them and totake the country forward,” hesaid, in a televised start of themeeting.

"That is what we are going

to do. We are going to focusexclusively on that. We aregoing to get on with the massiveagenda that we were elected todeliver in 2019 (general elec-tion)," he said.

But the Opposition Labourwas keen to keep up the attackon a bruised Prime Minister,with the party's Deputy Leadersaying he's now on borrowedtime.

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Cambodia denied again on Tuesday that it willallow any Chinese military presence at a port

where it and China are beginning an expansionthis week that has prompted concern in theUnited States and elsewhere that it will be usedby Beijing as a naval outpost on the Gulf ofThailand.

Chief Government spokesman Phay Siphandescribed the expansion of the Ream Naval Baseas “cooperation between China and Cambodia”and said the Chinese ambassador to Cambodiawill preside over the groundbreaking onWednesday along with Cambodia's defense min-ister and other senior military officials.

He denied, however, a report in theWashington Post newspaper citing an anony-mous Chinese official that the facility on thenorthern side of the Cambodian base would beused in part by the Chinese military.

Siphan said it would be a violation ofCambodia's Constitution to host a foreign mil-itary power, and that there had been no changein the terms of his country's agreement withChina on constructing the facility.

“I think that's a strong accusation,” he saidin a telephone interview.

He would not comment on the extent of theChinese involvement and said the projectinvolved constructing a facility for repairingships. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespersonZhao Lijian on Tuesday said the work would bea “renovation” of the base which “aims tostrengthen the Cambodian navy's capability tomaintain maritime territorial integrity andcombat maritime crime.”

Ream faces the Gulf of Thailand, adjacentto the South China Sea, where China has aggres-sively asserted its claim to virtually the entirestrategic waterway. The U.S. Has refused to rec-ognize China's sweeping claim and routinelyconducts military maneuvers there to reinforcethat they are international waters.

A Chinese base in Cambodia could becomea chokepoint in the Gulf of Thailand close to thestrategically important Malacca Strait.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said

Monday that allegations China intends toestablish a military presence at the Ream baseare “consistent with credible reporting we've seenfrom the PRC (People's Republic of China) thatthe PRC is engaged in a significant ongoing con-struction project at Ream Naval Base.”

“As we've said, an exclusive PRC militarypresence at Ream could threaten Cambodia'sautonomy and undermine regional security aswell,” he said.

China recently signed a security deal withthe Solomon Islands that the U.S. And othersworry could lead to a military presence there,and Price noted that Beijing has also reached outto a number of other South Pacific islands.

“We have seen the PRC attempt to put for-ward a series of shadowy, opaque deals that theywould like to see signed in the dead of night withno input or transparency,” he said. “This has beena pattern on the part of the PRC.”

The U.S. Itself has more foreign militarybases than any other country, including multi-ple facilities in the Asia-Pacific region.

At a regular Foreign Ministry briefing, Zhaoaccused the U.S. Of “bullying” Cambodia andignoring its denials that Ream would be usedfor Chinese military purposes, while notingWashington's own network of bases around theworld. “China and Cambodia are comprehen-sive strategic partners, and our cooperation invarious fields is open, transparent, reasonableand legitimate, which benefits the two countries,"he said.

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US Deputy Secretary ofState Wendy Sherman on

Tuesday warned of a forcefulresponse if North Korea car-ries out its first nuclear testexplosion in nearly five yearsas she travelled to Seoul tomeet with South Korean andJapanese allies and discuss theescalating standoff.

US and South Koreanofficials have said North Koreais all but ready to conductanother detonation at itsnuclear testing ground in thenortheastern town ofPunggye-ri, which last hosteda test in September 2017,when it claimed to have deto-nated a thermonuclear bombdesigned for its interconti-nental ballistic missiles.

While the Biden admin-istration has vowed to push foradditional international sanc-tions if North Korea goes onwith the nuclear test, theprospects for meaningful newpunitive measures are unclearwith the United Nations

Security Council divided overRussia's war on Ukraine.

“Any nuclear test would bein complete violation of UNSecurity Council resolutions.There would be a swift andforceful response to such atest,” Sherman said, followinga meeting with South KoreaVice Foreign Minister ChoHyun-dong. “We continue tourge Pyongyang to cease itsdestabilizing and provocativeactivities and choose the pathof diplomacy,” she said.

Sherman and Cho are

planning a trilateral meetingwith Japanese Vice ForeignMinister Mori Takeo onWednesday over the NorthKorean nuclear issue.Sherman's trip to Asia cameafter North Korea fired a salvoof eight ballistic missiles intothe sea Sunday, possibly settinga new high in single-daylaunches, extending a provoca-tive streak in weapons tests thisyear that also included thecountry's first demonstrationsof ICBMs since 2017.

North Korean leader Kim

Jong Un could further escalatehis brinkmanship by conduct-ing what would be the coun-try's seventh nuclear test since2006. Experts say NorthKorea could use a test claim anability to build small nuclearbombs that could be clusteredon a multiwarhead ICBM or fiton Kim's expanding range ofshort-range, solid-fuel mis-siles that pose an increasingthreat to South Korea andJapan. Rafael Mariano Grossi,director general of theInternational Atomic EnergyAgency, said Monday there areindications that one of the pas-sages at the Punggye-ri testingground has been reopened,possibly in preparations for anuclear test.

Hours before Sherman'smeeting in Seoul, StateDepartment spokespersonNed Price told reporters inWashington that the UnitedStates remains concerned thatNorth Korea could seek is sev-enth test “in the coming days.”

The Biden administra-tion's punitive action over

North Korea's weapons tests inrecent months have been lim-ited to largely symbolic uni-lateral sanctions. Russia andChina had vetoed a U.S.-spon-sored resolution that wouldhave imposed additional sanc-tions on North Korea over itsprevious ballistic tests on May25. “We have called on mem-bers of the international com-munity, certainly members ofthe UN Security Council'spermanent five, to be respon-sible stakeholders in the U.N.Security Council as a preem-inent forum for addressingthreats to international peaceand security,” Price said.

“Unilateral actions arenever going to be the mostattractive or even the mosteffective response, and that isespecially the case becausewe are gratified that we haveclose allies in the form of Japanand the ROK,” he said, refer-ring to South Korea's formalname, the Republic of Korea.

North Korean state mediahave yet to comment onSunday's launches.

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Sri Lanka's Cabinet hasdeferred by a week theapproval of the proposed21st Amendment to the

Constitution to empowerParliament over the executivepresident, amidst stiff resis-tance from some members ofthe ruling party.

The 21st Amendment isexpected to annul the 20A tothe Constitution which givesunfettered powers to PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa after abol-ishing the 19th Amendment.

The draft of the proposedamendment was presented atMonday's Cabinet meeting. “It was decided to approve itonly after all parties agreed withthe amendments proposed. Itwill be presented to the Cabinetnext week," Charitha Herath, agovernment parliamentarian,told reporters. A section of theruling Sri Lanka PodujanaPeramuna party (SLPP) isaverse to bringing in 21A with-out addressing the current eco-nomic crisis.

“People are facing difficul-ties without essentials. We willhave to think of settling theeconomic issues first beforetrying political solutions,"Sagara Kariyawasam, the rulingSLPP general secretary said.

Constitutional Affairs

Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshewas hopeful of having theCabinet nod on Monday.

The governmentannounced on Friday that mostof the concerns raised by par-ties had been addressed andagreed upon. However, themain Opposition party, SamagiJana Balawegaya (SJB),expressed disagreement, sayingthe government needed to waituntil the Supreme Court'sdetermination on their draftdocument on the amendment.

The SJB has accused thegovernment of watering down

the amendment so as to allowpresident Gotabaya Rajapaksato continue enjoying full pow-ers. The SJB presses for the abo-lition of the presidential system.

The constitutional affairsminister said the government'saim was to move provisionswhich may require it to be sub-ject to a national referendum.

Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe last week bat-ted for the 21st Amendment tothe Constitution, saying it willcurb the president's unlimitedpowers while enhancing therole of Parliament in governing

the debt-ridden country whichis also facing an unprecedent-ed political turmoil. His pro-posal to introduce the 21stAmendment met with stiffresistance from some membersof the ruling SLPP party.

They charged thatWickremesinghe was lookingto garner more power for him-self while weakening PresidentRajapaksa who appointed him.

The powerful Rajapaksafamily tightened their grip onpower after their massive vic-tory in the general elections inAugust 2020, which allowed

them to amend theConstitution to restore presi-dential powers and install closefamily members in key posi-tions. Wickremesinghe was themain sponsor of the 19thAmendment in 2015 whichempowered Parliament overthe executive president.

The constitutional reformwas a major plank of the agree-ment between Rajapaksa andWickremesinghe when he tookover the job of prime ministeron May 12. Sri Lanka has beengrappling with unprecedentedeconomic turmoil since itsindependence from Britain in1948. Sri Lanka's economiccrisis has created politicalunrest with protesters demand-ing the President's resignation.

Under the 21A, thePresident will be held account-able to the Parliament. TheCabinet of Ministers is alsoaccountable to Parliament. TheNational Council is alsoaccountable to Parliament.Fifteen Committees andOversight Committees areaccountable to Parliament. SriLanka in mid-April declaredthat it was unable to meet itsforeign debt payments and theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) classified Sri Lanka'sdebt as unsustainable. Thereforedebt restructuring was key foran IMF programme.

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New Yorkers under age 21will be prohibited from

buying semiautomatic riflesunder a new law signedMonday by Gov. Kathy Hochul,making the state among the firstto enact a major gun controlinitiative following a wave ofdeadly mass shootings. Hochul,a Democrat, signed 10 publicsafety-related bills, includingone that will require micro-stamping in new firearms,which could help law enforce-ment solve gun-related crimes.

Another revised the state's“red flag” law, which allowscourts to temporarily take awayguns from people who mightbe a threat to themselves orothers. “In New York, we aretaking bold, strong action.We're tightening red flag lawsto keep guns away from dan-gerous people,” Hochul said ata press conference in the Bronx.

New York's Legislaturepassed the bills last week, push-ing the changes through aftera pair of mass shootings involv-ing 18-year-old gunmen usingsemiautomatic rifles.

Ten Black people died in aracist attack on a Buffalo super-market May 14.

A Texas school shootingtook the lives of 19 childrenand two teachers 10 days later.

The quick action in NewYork further illustrated thesharp divide betweenRepublican and Democraticleaders on how to respond togun violence. Texas Gov. GregAbbott said after the massacreof children in Uvalde that gov-ernment should increase secu-rity in schools and resources formental health, but theRepublican says stricter gunlaws are ineffective.

Fellow Republican Gov.Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee echoedsimilar sentiments Monday, aday after gunfire near aChattanooga nightclub left

three people dead and multiplepeople wounded.

In New York, most peopleunder age 21 had already beenbanned from owning hand-guns. People age 18 and overwill still be allowed to ownother types of long guns,including shotguns and bolt-action rifles. Part of New York'snew law will also require allpurchasers of semiautomaticrifles to get a license, somethingnow required only for hand-guns.

Proposed federal legisla-tion that would require buyersof semiautomatic weapons tobe 21 is advancing in the U.S.House, but is seen as facinglong odds in the Senate.

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The US-backed and Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria

said Tuesday that they willturn to the government inDamascus for support shouldTurkey go ahead with its threatto launch a new incursion intothe war-torn country.

The Kurdish-led SyrianDemocratic Forces, or SDF,said after a meeting of its com-mand that its priority is toreduce tension near the borderwith Turkey but also preparefor a long fight if Ankara car-ries out its threat.

The announcementappears to be a message direct-ed at the United States andmeant to elicit pressure fromWashington on Turkey'sPresident Recep TayyipErdogan to put aside his offen-sive plans.

Erdogan has repeatedlysaid over the past weeks thathe's planning a major militaryoperation to create a 30-km (19

mile) deep buffer zone insideSyria along Turkey's border,through a cross-border incur-sion against US-allied SyrianKurdish fighters — an attemptthat failed in 2019.

Analysts have said Erdoganis taking advantage of the warin Ukraine to push his owngoals in Syria — even usingTurkey's ability as a NATOmember to veto alliance mem-bership by Finland and Swedenas potential leverage.

On the ground, the situa-tion has been tense with neardaily exchanges of fire andshelling between the US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighterson one side and Turkish forcesand Turkey-backed Syrianopposition gunmen on theother. The Turkey-backedSyrian opposition fighters havebeen preparing for weeks totake part in the expected oper-ation against Syrian Kurdish-led forces, seeking to expandtheir area of influence insideSyria.

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Italian agents on Tuesday confiscated4.3 tons of cocaine with a street value

of nearly a quarter-billion euros (dollars)in the northeastern port city of Trieste,dealing a blow to Colombia's feared GulfClan in one of the largest drug busts everin Europe. Arrest warrants were beingexecuted for 38 people on suspicion ofinternational drug trafficking in Italy,Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, theNetherlands and Colombia.

The seizure was carried out byItalian financial police and coordinat-ed by anti-mafia investigators, follow-ing a yearlong investigation that alsoinvolved US Homeland Security.

The undercover operation “tookanother strong tackle to one of the mostimportant groups of Colombian nar-cos," anti-mafia investigators said in astatement in English. Last month, theGulf Clan's alleged boss was extradit-ed from Colombia to the United States.Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, betterknown by the alias Otoniel, faces USindictments in three federal courts.

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New Delhi: NCP chief and former agriculture minister SharadPawar has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi request-ing him to raise the cap on sugar exports by 1 million tonnes.

Last month, the government imposed a cap of 10 milliontonnes on sugar exports for the 2021-22 marketing year endingSeptember to ensure enough supply during festival season inOctober and November, and check prices. Mills have alreadyexported around 8 million tonnes of sugar so far in this mar-keting year.

India exported a record 7 million tonnes of the sweetenerin the 2020-21 marketing year (October-September).

National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF),in a statement, expressed concern that the capping of currentyear’s sugar export at 10 million tonnes has led to less exportrelease orders issued to cooperatives.

“The export release orders (EROs) issued to cooperativesis barely 47 per cent which in our opinion is not in tune withperformers vis-a-vis non-performers. Balance 53 per cent rawsugar remaining without EROs will cause a heavy financial lossif not permitted for exports as there is no local market for thisstock which tends to deteriorate in storage,” the cooperative bodysaid. NFCSF also mentioned that these anomalies have beenbrought to the notice of the Prime Minister by the NCP chief.According to the cooperative body, Pawar has written to the PrimeMinister bringing these anomalies his notice and requesting himto increase the current cap by 1 million tonnes. PTI

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New Delhi: The Governmenton Tuesday said it has notifiedthe Green Open Access Rules2022 to further accelerateIndia’s renewable energy pro-grammes.

These rules are notified forpromoting generation, pur-chase and consumption ofgreen energy including throughwaste-to-energy plants. Itenables a simplified procedurefor the open access to greenpower, the power ministry saidin a statement.

“In order to further accel-erate our ambitious renewableenergy programmes, with theend goal of ensuring access toaffordable, reliable, sustainableand green energy for all, GreenOpen Access Rules 2022 havebeen notified on June 6, 2022,”

the ministry said.Consumers can now

demand green power from dis-coms (power distribution com-panies), it said, adding, “Everyconsumer becomes stakehold-er to contribute in achievingIndia’s commitment of 500GW of non-fossil fuel by 2030.”

As per the rules, the greenopen access is allowed to anyconsumer and the limit ofopen access transaction hasbeen reduced from 1 MW(megawatt) to 100 kW forgreen energy in order to enablesmall consumers also to pur-chase renewable powerthrough open access. There willbe transparency in the approvalprocess of the open accessapplications. PTI

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New Delhi: Investors’ wealthon Tuesday tumbled over Rs 2lakh crore amid heavy sellingpressure in domestic equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensextanked 567.98 points or 1.02per cent to settle at 55,107.34.

In tandem with weak equi-ties, the market capitalisation ofBSE-listed firms tumbled by Rs2,08,291.75 crore to Rs2,54,33,013.63 crore.

“Investors are in a wait andwatch mood ahead of the RBI’scredit policy announcement.The market has simply bornethe brunt of unabated FII sell-ing, which continues to desertIndian equities amid weaken-ing rupee and strengtheningdollar,” said Shrikant Chouhan,Head of Equity Research(Retail) at Kotak SecuritiesLtd.

Titan was the biggest lag-gard in the Sensex pack, falling4.48 per cent, followed by DrReddy’s, Larsen & Toubro,HUL, Asian Paints, BajajFinance, TCS and ICICI Bank.

NTPC, Maruti, M&M,Bharti Airtel, Reliance

Industries and Power Gridmanaged to settle in the green.

“Markets inched lower andlost a per cent amid mixedcues. Initially, weakness in theglobal markets was weighingon the sentiment and contin-ued selling in banking, FMCGand IT majors kept the pressureintact till the end. The focuswill be on MPC’s meeting out-come on Wednesday,” said AjitMishra, VP - Research atReligare Broking Ltd.

In the broader market, the

BSE midcap gauge declined0.77 per cent and the smallcapindex dipped 0.67 per cent.

Among BSE sectoralindices, consumer durablestanked 2.71 per cent, followedby realty (1.57 per cent), capi-tal goods (1.53 per cent),FMCG (1.42 per cent), IT (1.42per cent), teck (1.32 per cent)and basic materials (1.17 percent). In contrast, oil & gas,energy, telecom, utilities, autoand power ended with gains. PTI

#�� 0,�� -�� --�� New Delhi: Markets regulator

Sebi has ordered attachment ofbank accounts as well as shareand mutual fund holdings ofRose Valley Hotels andEntertainment Ltd and its thendirectors to recover investors’dues totalling over �1,000crore.

This recovery proceedinghas been initiated against themto recover �1,006.70 crore col-lected by the company throughthe issuance of non-convertibledebentures (NCDs) toinvestors, the Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)said in an attachment notice onMonday.

In its notice, Sebi askedbanks, depositories and mutu-al funds not to allow any debitfrom the accounts of RoseValley and its then directors -- Gautam Kundu, AshokKumar Saha, Shibamoy Duttaand Abir Kundu. However,credits have been permitted.

Further, the marketswatchdog has directed all banksto attach all accounts, includ-ing lockers, held by the default-ers. “There is sufficient reasonto believe that the defaulters

may withdraw theamounts/dispose of the secu-rities in the accounts held withyou and realisation of amountdue under the certificate wouldin consequence be delayed orobstructed,” Sebi noted.

“In order to protect theinterest of investors, it is nec-essary to attach the assets of thedefaulters including bank,demat accounts and mutualfunds investment to preventany alienation of the same,” itadded.

In November 2017, theregulator had ordered RoseValley and its then directors torefund thousands of crores tothe investors who had parkedmoney in holiday member-ship plans of the group as itdeclared those schemes as ille-gal. Besides, they were barredfrom the markets for fouryears. According to the regu-lator, the various plans offeredby the firm with a promise ofreturn qualify as a CollectiveInvestment Scheme (CIS). PTI

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New Delhi: Electricity gener-ation companies (gencos) havestarted the process of import-ing coal for blending purpos-es, Union Power Minister R KSingh said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Power hadon May 18 warned that iforders for coal imports are notplaced by May 31, 2022 and theimported fuel does not startarriving at power plants by June15, the defaulter gencos willhave to increase their importsto the extent of 15 per cent.

It further said if blendingwith domestic coal is does notstart by June 15, the domesticallocation of the concerneddefaulters’ thermal powerplants will be further reducedby 5 per cent, the ministry hadsaid in a letter to state govern-ments and gencos, includingindependent power producers(IPPs). PTI

Replying to a question onthe issue, the minister said“most of the states have start-ed (the process), in fact everystate has started.”

Without sharing any figure,he said Coal India Limited(CIL) has ramped up its pro-duction but it needs to increaseit more because the demandhas gone up significantly.

“...CIL increased their pro-duction but not to the extentthat was required .... So ourreserves started coming downfrom 24 MT (million tonne) onApril 1, in the power plants, to19 MT on April 13 to about18.5 MT on May 31. It hasagain grown to now 20 MT,”Singh said at a press briefing.

Power demand has alsorisen as a total 2.86 crorehouseholds which did not haveaccess to power earlier havebeen electrified, he said. PTI

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Mumbai: Extending its sell-offto the third straight session,equity benchmark Sensexslumped 568 points on Tuesdayas investors scrambled tooffload riskier assets ahead ofthe RBI’s policy decision.

Wobbly global markets,continuous foreign fund out-flows and the rupee crashing toa record low against the US dol-lar further queered the pitch forDalal Street.

The 30-share BSE Sensexopened in the red and sankaround 800 points during thesession.

It finally finished 567.98points or 1.02 per cent lower at55,107.34.

The broader NSE Niftyslumped 153.20 points or 0.92per cent to end at 16,416.35.

Titan was the biggest lag-gard in the Sensex pack, tum-bling 4.48 per cent, followed byDr Reddy’s, Larsen & Toubro,HUL, Asian Paints, BajajFinance, TCS and Nestle India.

Only five counters man-

aged to close higher -- NTPC,Maruti, M&M, Bharti Airteland Reliance Industries, climb-ing up to 1.35 per cent.

The RBI will announce itsmonetary policy decision onWednesday amid expectationsof another hike in benchmarkinterest rate to contain inflationthat continues to remain abovethe central bank’s upper toler-ance level.

“The volatility in the mar-ket is forcing investors to staysidelined ahead of the RBI’spolicy announcement. Themarket has factored a hike ofup to 50 bps of repo rate andCRR, but any further strictermeasures to clamp liquiditydue to lingering inflation willhave ramifications on the mar-ket trend.

“Apart from the monetarymeasures, the RBI’s guidanceon growth and inflation fore-cast will determine the markettrend,” said Vinod Nair, Headof Research at Geojit FinancialServices. PTI

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Mumbai: The rupee slipped 7paise to close at 77.73 (provi-sional) against the US dollar onTuesday as a massive sell-off indomestic equities and strongergreenback overseas on investorsentiment.

Persistent foreign capitaloutflows and elevated globalcrude oil prices also impactedthe domestic unit, forex traderssaid. At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 77.72 andwitnessed an intra-day high of77.69 and a low of 77.73 againstthe US dollar.

The local unit finally set-tled at 77.73, down 7 paise overits previous close of 77.66.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensexended 567.98 points or 1.02 percent lower at 55,107.34, whilethe broader NSE Nifty declined153.20 points or 0.92 per centto 16,416.35. PTI

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New Delhi:Gold in then a t i o n a lCapital onT u e s d a ydeclined by�205 to �50,733 per 10 grams,according to HDFC Securities.In the previous trade, the yel-low metal finished at �50,938per 10 grams.

Silver also dipped �964 to�61,555 per kg from �62,519per kg in the previous trade.

“Spot gold prices for 24carat gold in Delhi fell by �205reflecting overnight decline inCOMEX gold prices,” saidTapan Patel, Senior Analyst(Commodities) at HDFCSecurities.

In the international mar-ket, gold was trading higher atUSD 1,844 per ounce while sil-ver was marginally lower atUSD 22.01 per ounce.

“Gold prices cappedupside on stronger dollar andfirm US bond yields,” Pateladded. PTI

New Delhi: The Governmentplans to monetise assets worth� 75,220 crore in the coal min-ing sector in the current finan-cial year.

The monetisation of coalblocks is likely to generate arevenue of �52,200 crore, fol-

lowed by �20,320 crore fromprojects on Mine Developerand Operator (MDO) model,�2,000 crore from discontinuedmines and Rs 700 crore fromwasheries, the coal ministrysaid in its monetisation plan forthe 2022-23.

The monetisation figuresare tentative.

The asset monetisationtarget of NITI Aayog for thecoal ministry for FY23 is�6,060 crore, the ministry said.

Against the NITI Aayog’starget of �3,394 crore for 2021-22, the total monetisation of thecoal ministry was �40,090crore, it said.

Of the said �40,090 crore,�28,986 crore came from coalblocks, �9,592.64 crore fromMDO model and �1,512 crorefrom Coal Bed Methane(CBM) projects.

“...39 coal blocks are takenfor monetisation having totalvalue of �28,986 crore.Monetisation value of 39 minesis based on calculation done byNITI Aayog,” the ministry said.

According to the NationalMonetisation Pipeline, 160 coalmining assets with an esti-mated worth of �28,747 crorehave been identified for mon-etisation during FY22-25. PTI

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New Delhi: Crude oil prices onTuesday rose by �14 to � 9,239per barrel as participantswidened positions on a firmspot demand.

On the Multi CommodityExchange, crude oil for Junedelivery traded higher by �14or 0.15 per cent at �9,239 perbarrel in 12,582 lots.

Analysts said the raising ofbets by participants kept crudeoil prices higher in futurestrade.

Globally, West TexasIntermediate crude oil was upby 0.37 per cent at USD 118.94per barrel, while Brent crudetraded 0.33 per cent higher atUSD 119.90 per barrel in NewYork. PTI

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New Delhi: Liquor industrybody CIABC has requestedthe government to set up anexport promotion council foralcoholic beverages under theaegis of the commerce ministryto promote the outbound ship-ments of the sector.

The Confederation ofIndian Alcoholic BeverageCompanies (CIABC) has senta communication to the gov-ernment in this regard.

CIABC Director-GeneralVinod Giri said the sectorneeds support for improvingthe exports, especially in thecontext of free trade agree-ments, where alcoholic bever-ages are part of the wish lists ofseveral countries like the UK

and the European Union.Currently, India exports

around 7 million cases only andbringing the sector under theseagreements will open upopportunities for India also.

“A concerted effort andmechanism are required topromote exports of alcoholfrom India. Therefore, I thinkit is time for the government toconsider setting up a body likethe Alcoholic Beverages ExportPromotion Council,” Giri said.

As per estimates, the glob-al alcoholic beverage trade stoodat over USD 200 billion andIndia’s share is less than half aper cent. The major global play-ers in the sector include France,the Uk, US and Mexico. PTI

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New Delhi: Amid continuingvolatility in the stock market,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Tuesday saidretail investors seem to act asshock absorbers even whenforeign portfolio investors wentaway.

Speaking at an event of thecorporate affairs ministry aspart of the Azadi ka AmritMahotsav, Sitharaman said thatduring the pandemic, therehas been a very significantincrease in retail investor num-bers.

“Retail investors have comein a big way that they seem toact like shock absorbers... IfFPIs went away, our marketsdid not really have to showtheir ups and downs in a verydistinct way because smallinvestors in the country havecome in a big way,” she said.

Sitharaman is also incharge of the corporate affairs

ministry.In March, the Central

Depository Services (India)Ltd said the number of activeDemat accounts opened with ittouched the six crore mark.

In recent months, the stockmarket has been witnessing sig-nificant volatility and foreignportfolio investors going on aselling spree amid tighteningmonetary policy actions tocurb rising inflation andgeopolitical tensions. PTI

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Colombo: Sri Lanka hassought a USD 55 million loanfrom India for the procurementof urea amidst its worst eco-nomic crisis threatening asevere food shortage, an officialsaid on Tuesday.

Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe had recentlywarned of a food crisis in theisland nation due to the ongo-ing economic crisis.

The Cabinet has approveda proposal by the PrimeMinister to sign an agreementwith India to purchase urea foragriculture, an official said.

The government said thatthe Indian government hasagreed to provide the USD 55million loan through theExport-Import Bank of India.

The loan is being obtainedfor the procurement of urea forthe 2022/23 ‘Maha’ harvestseason.

Wickremesinghe has saidthat within five to six months,the current agriculture short-ages could be salvaged if swiftaction was taken to address theshortages faced by the farmers.

The country is facing anear 50 per cent crop loss dueto a decision of PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa last year toban chemical fertiliser imports.

The decision led to wide-spread farmer protests whichthe government ignored, sayingit was the policy to turn togreen agriculture with organ-ic fertiliser. PTI

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Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt on Tuesday closed allarguments and reserved its orderon a plea filed by the TataMotors challenging its disqual-ification from the tender processfor 1,400 electric buses for theBrihanmumbai Electric Supplyand Transport (BEST)Undertaking.

The Tata Motors participat-ed in the tender process, but itsbid was disqualified by the BESTfollowing a technical suitabilityevaluation, the parties had ear-lier told the high court. The automajor had approached the HClast month, challenging theBEST’s decision to disqualify itfrom the tender process foroperating 1,400 electric buses forthe city. PTI

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Srinagar: Reliance Jio hasexpanded the reach of its 4Gservices in Ladakh region to avillage close to Pangong lake,an area which has been a fric-tion point between India andChina in recent years.

Officials said Reliance Jiolaunched its 4G voice and dataservices at Spangmik villagenear Pangong lake in Ladakh.

The telecom operatorbecame the first network toprovide 4G mobile connectiv-ity in and around the Pangongarea, a popular tourist desti-nation, officials said.

Lok Sabha member fromLadakh Jamyang TseringNamgyal inaugurated the Jiomobile tower at Spangmik vil-lage.

Namgyal asserted that withthe launch of the mobile net-work in the area, the longpending demand of the localshas been fulfilled. PTI

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Mumbai: The collection effi-ciency of non-banking financecompanies and housing financecompanies was in the healthyrange of 97-101 per cent inApril, according to a report.

The collections had seen amodest decline of about 3 percent following the third wave ofinfections in January 2022, butthe recovery was prompt, giventhe lower severity of the Covidvariant and limited restric-tions on movements duringthis period, Icra Rating said ina report on Tuesday.

The analysis is based onIcra-rated retail pools securi-tised by non-banking financecompanies (NBFCs) and hous-ing finance companies (HFCs).

Securitisation refers to thepooling of cash-flow-produc-ing assets (such as mortgages,loans, and bonds) and subse-quent issuance of securities inthe capital markets backed bythese collateral pools.

“The collection efficiencyfor NBFCs and HFCs has been

healthy in the range of 97-101per cent at the beginning ofFY2023,” the report said.

Healthy collection effi-ciency was witnessed in itsrated securitised pools for Aprilwhich is expected to haveremained strong in May, itadded.

With business activitiesclose to pre-Covid levels formost sectors coupled with aheavy focus on collections bythe NBFCs and HFCs, theconcern on collection efficien-cy, at least from the non-restructured portfolio of thefinanciers, has reduced, theagency said.

Further, tightening of poolselection criteria by theinvestors for securitised poolsand strengthening of prevailingcredit appraisal processes andparameters by the lenders fol-lowing the emergence of Covidalso had a positive bearing onthe overall collection efficien-cy, it said. The agency's VicePresident and Group Head

(Structured Finance Ratings)Abhishek Dafria said the col-lection efficiency is expected toremain largely stable this fiscal,as long as we do not see anyfresh COVID wave that resultsin lockdowns by the govern-ments.

Any rise in infections forshorter periods of time wouldstill not cause much concern,considering the approach fol-lowed by state governmentsduring the second and thirdwaves where the lockdownswere more localised and initi-ated only if necessary.

The performance ofsecured asset classes, especial-ly mortgage-backed loans, hasbeen stronger than the unse-cured asset classes during theCovid period.For instance,housing loan pools witnessed amarginal decline of about 2-3per cent in collection efficien-cy due to the onset of the thirdwave but reached 100 per centin March 2022 itself, Dafriasaid. PTI

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Ghaziabad: Federation ofRetailers Association of India(FRAI), the representative bodyof 80 lakh retailers, includingpanwallas, selling tobaccoproducts has raised strongobjections to the order issuedby Ghaziabad Nagar Nigamwhich mandates separatelicence for selling tobaccoproducts like pan, bidi, ciga-rette, etc. FRAI said such mea-sures will cause harassment topoor and mostly uneducatedmicro-retailers at the hands ofenforcement officials and willbring back the license raj.

Moreover, it will lead to asharp increase in their cost ofdoing business at a time whenretailers are in a desperate sit-uation due to a massive loss inbusiness on account of Covid.

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Skipper Sunil Chhetri will get achance to bolster his tally of 80international goals as theIndian team gears up to steam-

roll 171st ranked Cambodia onWednesday in its bid to make a fifthappearance in AFC Cup tournamentproper.

With the next Asian Cup slatedin late 2023 or early 2024 after thepull-out of China, Chhetri, whowill complete 17 years in internation-al football, might see this tournamentas the 'final frontier' in his illustriouscareer.

"I want to qualify. If I'm not there,my country will be there. So eitherI'll be having a beer and watching

Udanta sprint, or you having a beerand I'll be sprinting there. But wewant to be there," Chhetri made hisintention clear ahead of his 126thinternational appearance.

This is a tournament whichgives India the best chance to qual-ify for the Continental trophy with-out much fuss but if there is a slip-up against lowly-ranked nation,Chhetri or coach Igor Stimac willhave little room for justification.

The Blue Tigers under Stimacdid not have a perfect build-up to thecontinental showpiece, having lost alltheir three International friendliesarranged in the lead-up to the qual-ifiers.

In between they endured ashameful 1-2 defeat against Indian

Super League side ATK MohunBagan, won 2-1 against I-League AllStars and were held to a 1-1 drawagainst Bengal, the Santosh Trophyrunners-up of the season.

It's more than seven monthssince they won a match atInternational level -- a 3-0 winagainst Nepal in the SAFFChampionship final on October 16,2021.

The recent results have proved tobe a setback for the Stimac-coachedside, which put up some gritty showsin the World Cup Qualifiers againstAsian heavyweights Qatar (goallessdraw) and Oman (1-2 loss after lead-ing till 81st minute).

Up against an 'unknown entity'in Cambodia, Chhetri conceded

that half the battle will be lost if theydon't do well against the minnows.

"We are playing them first. If wedon't do well against Cambodia, youhave lost half your battle," he point-ed out.

"As of now, we are just thinkingabout Cambodia, watching as manyvideos as possible of them. Once weare done (with them), then we thinkabout Afghanistan. No doubt,Afghanistan are also strong."

Compared to Indian build-up,the 'Angkor Warriors', who havequalified for the Asian Cup only once50 years back in 1972, come herewith a 2-1 win over Timor-Leste ina home friendly.

With their Japanese tactician duoof Ryu Hirose and Keisuke Honda at

their helm of coaching affairs, theCambodians will look to surprise thehome-backed Indians.

From an Indian point of view, thebiggest setback for Stimac in the

recent past has been the injury tostriker Rahim Ali, who started form-ing a strong attacking force with thelivewire Chhetri.

Just when he started to fill in the

vacuum created by Jeje Lalpekhula,Ali is forced out with a muscle injuryas Stimac is forced to look for analternate combination with littlesuccess.

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Indian team head coach IgorStimac refused to read much into

their higher ranking on the eve ofthe Asian Cup Qualifiers, saying itdoesn't matter in present day foot-ball.

Eyeing a second straight AsianCup qualification and fifth overall,106th ranked India start asfavourites and rank way higher thantheir three group D opponents inCambodia, Afghanistan and HongKong.

"I respect every opposition. Idon't look at rankings. Cambodiadidn't come here to participate, theycame with the same desire to winthe game," Stimac said on the eveof their group opener.

"When India were down 180 inrankings, we went to win the gamesand not lose them. I would also havemore respect for each opponent. I'dnever say we can win against any-one easily. That would be disre-spectful. We need to be ready,hungry and fully motivated forthese games."

"There's no easy game any-more. That was some 50 years ago.From 100 positions until 180-200,there is a very small margin and dif-ference in quality," he added.

The Croat, whose contract hasbeen extended till the end of theAsian Cup Qualifiers, faces a big testas he outlined his strategy to pressfor an early goal.

"I'd say that we have preparedfor any case scenario, but we intendto press for the first minute of thegame and put Cambodia underhigh pressure.

"We need to prove that we arefavourites and we need to controlas well as be ready to handle thecounter-attacks. I'd say we areready for that."

India's build-up to the

Qualifiers has been far from impres-sive as they have lost three of theirfour practice matches, while the oneagainst Zambia was cancelled.

Pointing out that he missed starIndian forward Sunil Chhetri in twomatches, Stimac said: "I'm neverworried about the friendly games,less worried than you. It's a learn-ing process. It's more importanthow we do in these official games.""Once we started together, we werevery clear on what we needed to doin the future. We were clear that weneeded to make sure that India par-ticipates in every edition of the AFCAsian Cup. These are the steps infootball in our progress to make theWorld Cup."

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er Sandesh Jhingan, who made a

comeback during their matchagainst Jordan, after a long injurylayoff.

"You have seen me play in theAFC Cup. Nothing changes much,"said Jhingan.

Seen as a future India captain,the 28-year-old centre back how-ever does not still consider his place"permanent" in the team.

"No one has a permanent placein the XI. The quality of competi-tion is so high these days. You needto work very hard every day intraining to earn the right to play."

"To play in the Asian Cup ismassive and to qualify it on homesoil at Kolkata is amazing. Theexperience in Kolkata is massive.Playing in front of a packed stadi-um is the stuff of dreams for us. Themore the fans come, the better forus," he said.

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Young Indian table tennisplayer Diya Chitale, who

had approached the Delhi HighCourt over her exclusion fromthe women's CWG squad, wason Tuesday included in the sidefor the July-August event at theexpense of Archana Kamath.

However, Manush Shah,who had also filed a writ peti-tion in the Delhi High Courtagainst his non-selection,remains a reserve player with nochanges made in the men'ssquad, which will be led bySharath Kamal.

The Committee ofAdministrators (CoA) runningthe suspended Table Tennis

Federation of India (TTFI) hadlast week announced a provi-sional women's team compris-ing Manika Batra, Kamath,Sreeja Akula and Reeth Rishyain the team with 19-year-oldChitale as the standby.

The team was subject toclearance from Sports Authorityof India (SAI) but on Mondaythe Sports Ministry threw theball back in CoA's court, sayingsquad selection was the respon-sibility of the national sports fed-eration. The selection commit-tee, chaired by CoA member SD Mudgil, met again on Mondayafter SAI's response and finalisedthe team.

Kamath, who was supposedto play doubles alongside

Manika, has been excluded fromthe squad all together andSwastika Ghosh has been put onstandby. "There is only onechange. Diya comes in as thefourth player in place ofArchana. Archana did not meetthe criteria but we thought sheis also a good medal prospect (asshe is world number 4 alongsideManika). But we were in adilemma and that is why wewent to the SAI and sought itsguidance. "The selectors in theend took the call to include Diyawho has also done well domes-tically and as well as in interna-tional events. She would beplaying the doubles alongsideManika," Mudgil said.

The team selection factors

in performances in domestic(50%) and international tourna-ments (30%) while the remain-ing 20% is left for the selectors'discretion.

However, the CoA hasdecided to change the ratio to40-40-20 from the next season.

The CoA also finalised for-mer players S Raman andAnindita Chakraborty as thecoaches for the men's andwomen's teams for the Games inBirmingham.

Raman happens to the per-sonal coach of leading Indiaplayer G Sathiyan and also runsa private academy but the CoAsaid it will be taking an under-taking from him to ensure thereis no conflict of interest.

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Talismanic Indian batter Mithali Rajcontinued to hold on to her sev-

enth position while compatriotSmriti Mandhana also remained inthe ninth position in the latestICC Women's ODI batting rank-ings, released on Tuesday.

Australia's Alyssa Healy con-tinued to lead the rankings chartfollowed by England's NatalieSciver. Both the batters had asuperb show at the Women'sWorld Cup held in New Zealand

earlier this year.Veteran Indian pacer Jhulan

Goswami also continued to be on thefifth position in the bowling list.

Veteran Pakistan opener Sidra Ameen hasreaped rewards for her memorable seriesagainst Sri Lanka, that saw her make a big leapin the latest batting chart.

Sidra scored 218 runs in the series at animpressive average of 72.66, including amatch-winning 123 in the second ODI gameagainst the Lankans. The 30-year-old has nowmoved up 19 places to a career-best 35th posi-tion.

Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththualso made a notable progress, climbing sixspots to be placed at the 23rd position. The 32-year-old had scored 101 in the second ODIagainst Pakistan and totalled 142 in thethree-match series. The bowling rankings wasled by Englishwomen Sophie Ecclestone,while South African Shabnim Ismail, andAustralia's Jess Jonassen took the second andthird positions respectively.

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