thursday, november 25, 2021 DELHI - E-learning Adda

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J ND-NDE

thursday, november 25, 2021 DELHI

City Edition

16 pages O ₹�10.00

Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna

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DELHI THE HINDU

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021J2EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CMYK

M ND-NDE

thursday, november 25, 2021 Delhi

City Edition

16 pages O ₹�10.00

Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna

follow us:

thehindu.com




Cong. leader Mukul

Sangma, 11 Meghalaya

MLAs join Trinamool

page 9

Do not disturb federal

structure, West Bengal

CM Mamata urges Modi

page 9

31 migrants dead as

boat capsizes in

English Channel

page 11

India takes on NZ in

fi�rst Test at Kanpur

from today

page 13

Acknowledging that poor families still need food security support in the middle of arecovering economy, theCentre has decided to extend its free ration scheme,Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana(PMGKAY), for another fourmonths, until March 2022.

At its meeting on Wednesday, the Union Cabinet alsogave its formal approval torepeal the three contentiousfarm reform laws in the winter session of Parliament, asannounced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.

“On [November] 19th, PMannounced, and today, within fi�ve days, we have fulfi�lledall the formalities. In the upcoming winter session, thepriority would be to takethese Bills and repeal themat the earliest,” Informationand Broadcasting MinisterAnurag Thakur told presspersons in a briefi�ng on Cabinet decisions.

However, he evaded questions on the farmers’ continued demand for a legal guarantee on minimum supportprices for their crops, anddeclined to set any timelineon the PM’s promise to setup a committee to make theMSP more eff�ective and transparent, as well as to change

crop patterns and promotezerobudget agriculture.

In its other major decision, the Cabinet approvedthe extension of thePMGKAY which providesmore than 80 crore rationcard holders with fi�ve kgeach of rice or wheat amonth free of cost, in addition to the fi�ve kg which theyare eligible for on a subsidised basis under the National Food Security Act. Initially introduced in the fi�rstCOVID19 relief packagefrom April 2020, the schemehas been extended thrice,but was scheduled to end inNovember. Earlier thismonth, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey had toldpresspersons that there wasno proposal for extension asthe economy was reviving.

“In the last more than 20months, we have seen that

the poor, even the middleclass families have suff�ered,not here but globally as well.One of the ways to help thepoor families was to givethem foodgrains,” Mr. Thakur said.

“We still feel as the economy is getting back on track,the fi�gures are looking muchbetter. At the same time,Prime Minister wants to helpthose poor families whohave gone through this COVID19 pandemic, so that forthe next four months, theyshould be helped and foodgrains should be given tothem,” the Minister added.

In the runup to the UttarPradesh Assembly election,the State Government hadannounced a unilateral extension of the PMGKAY untilMarch 2022.

Centre’s free foodgrainscheme on till March Union Cabinet also approves repeal of farm reform laws

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8

Births in institutional facilities, such as a hospital, improved by nearly eight percentage points but childrenwho were either stunted ordisplayed signs of wastingonly dropped by a maximumof three percentage points,shows a comparison of theNational Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 and 4.

The complete results ofthe NFHS5 were made public on Wednesday. The

NFHS4 was released in 201415 and the latest, which captured population health indicators in 201719, was delayed due to the pandemic.

India has also offi�cially hita Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of

2.0 that indicates a decreasefrom the 2.2 in the NFHS4.According to the UN Population Division, a TFR of about2.1 children per woman iscalled replacementlevel fertility. If replacement level

fertility is sustained over asuffi�ciently long period,each generation will exactlyreplace itself. The urban TFRis 1.6 and rural 2.1.

More hospital births, but limitedgains in childhood nutrition: NFHSTotal Fertility Ratehas dropped to2.0, indicating justreplacement level

Jacob Koshy

Jagriti Chandra

NEW DELHI


The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre if itwas “willing” to favour a lifetime ban on contesting pollsfor people convicted of offences, even as it fl�agged thehigh number of cases pending against lawmakers, espe

cially in Uttar Pradesh. “Are you willing to ban pe

ople who have been convicted of off�ences from contesting elections,” Chief Justiceof India N.V. Ramana, heading a Special Bench, orallyasked Additional SolicitorGeneral S.V. Raju, appearingfor the Centre. Mr. Raju saidhe had just been assigned thecase and would need time toconsult and formulate aresponse.

But the Government, in an

affi�davit fi�led by the Law Ministry in the court in December 2020, had rejected theidea of a lifetime ban on convicted persons contestingelections or forming or becoming an offi�cebearer of apolitical party. The Ministryhad reasoned that MPs andMLAs were not bound byspecifi�c “service conditions”.

“They are bound by theiroath to serve citizens andcountry... They are bound bypropriety, good conscience

and interest of the nation,”the Ministry had argued.

The Centre attempted tobuttress its case last year byciting a Constitution Benchdecision in the Public Interest Foundation case of 2019which said “though criminalisation of politics is a bittermanifest truth, which is a termite to the citadel of democracy, be that as it may, thecourt cannot make the law”.

Will you ban convicts from polls, SC asks Govt.

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI


Law Ministryrejected the idea in 2020

A reunion: Anupama S. Chandran and her partner Ajith Kumar leaving with their son from thefamily court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, a day after DNA test results confi�rmedthat they are the biological parents of the baby. * S. MAHINSHA (REPORT ON PAGE 5)

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Battle won

Over a year since Parliamentpassed four labour codes,the Centre is still in the process of notifying the rules toimplement them and hasnot set a date for the rollout. Trade unions, however,have planned to intensify

their agitation this weekagainst the codes in thewake of the Government’sdecision to repeal the threefarm laws.

A senior functionary ofthe Union Labour and Employment Ministry said thenotifi�cation of rules was “inprocess”. The codes on wag

es, social security, occupational safety and industrialrelations were passed in2019 and 2020.

Labour and EmploymentMinister Bhupender Yadav islikely to make a statement inParliament.

Trade unions want labour codes repeal Damini Nath

NEW DELHI


More than 80% of the militants killed this year in Kashmir hailed from the Valley,according to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)data.

The CRPF is one of thelargest Central forces deployed in the Valley forcounterterrorism operations, along with the Jammuand Kashmir Police and theArmy.

According to a CRPF offi�cial, till November 23, as many as 148 militants had beenkilled, of which 127 were residents and 21 foreigners. In2020, the number of militants killed in the Valleystood at 195.

199 militants active

The offi�cial said 199 militants were active in the Valley. “Out of the active militants, 110 are locals and 89are foreigners,” he added.

Another offi�cial addedthat of the active militants,97 were recruited to the foldof various terror groupssuch as The ResistanceFront (TRF) this year. Thepolice say the TRF, whichhas claimed responsibilityfor the recent civilian kill

ings in the Valley, is a frontfor the Pakistanbased LashkareTaiba (LeT).

As many as 178 menjoined the militants ranks in2020, of which 121 werekilled.

The number of such recruitment in 2019 was 117.

J&K has been under Central rule since June 2018. InAugust 2019, Parliamentabrogated the special statusgiven to J&K under Article370 of the Constitution andbifurcated the former Stateinto the Union Territories ofJ&K and Ladakh. The CRPFhas deployed around65,000 personnel in J&K.

The force has also enhanced the compensation tothe next of kin of personnelkilled in action. “Theamount for those killed inaction has been increasedfrom ₹�21.5 lakh to ₹�35 lakhand for those who died ofother reasons, it has beenenhanced from ₹�16.5 lakh to₹�25 lakh,” the offi�cial said.

This compensation is provided from the risk fund andcentral welfare fund of theCRPF. While all CRPF personnel contribute ₹�500each to the risk fund, thecontribution to the centralwelfare fund depends on therank of the offi�cial.

CRPF has a strength ofaround 3 lakh personnel.This year, 11 CRPF personnelhave been killed in action —three in J&K and eight inareas aff�ected by Left WingExtremism.

Local militants feelingthe heat in Valley

Of 148 killed tillNovember 23 thisyear, 127 wereresidents ofKashmir: CRPF


New Delhi

City schools, Govt. offi�cesto reopen from MondayNEW DELHI

Schools, colleges, libraries,

and Government offi�ces in

Delhi, which were closed

from November 13 due to

high levels of air pollution,

will restart from Monday,

Delhi Environment Minister

Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.

CITY A PAGE 2DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

IN BRIEF

Vasundhara’s trip creates a desert storm for BJPJAIPUR

The tour of former Chief

Minister Vasundhara Raje

of six districts in southern

Rajasthan has created ripples

in the Opposition Bharatiya

Janata Party in the aftermath

of the recent State Assembly

byelection, in which the party

suff�ered a humiliating defeat.

STATES A PAGE 4DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Jewar town struggles toprocess newfound fameGAUTAM BUDDHA NAGAR

The nondescript town of

Jewar, 100 km from Delhi, is

set to fi�nd a place on the

world map as Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on Thursday

will lay the foundation stone

of an international airport

that would be the largest in

Asia and the fourth largest in

the world. The fi�rst phase is

expected to be completed

by 2024 when one runway

would become operational.

STATES A PAGE 5DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

CMYK

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DELHI THE HINDU

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 20212EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

A Delhi court has dischargedfi�ve accused in a case relatedto vandalism during thenortheast Delhi riots whilenoting that there was no suffi�cient evidence that hasbeen presented by the policeon the basis of which charges can be framed againstthem.

Additional Sessions JudgeVirender Bhat, in his orderdated November 22, statedthat the material on recordclearly indicates that a riotous incident in question hastaken place wherein theshop as well as the house ofthe complainant was vandalised and looted.

“This court is not insensitive towards the mental agony and fi�nancial loss suff�eredby the complainant due tothis incident. However, thesensitivity or the emotionsalone are not the factors tobe taken into considerationby the court while decidingthe fate of any accused,” thecourt stated.

ASJ Bhat said that thereshould be suffi�cient and legally admissible evidence onthe basis of which chargescan be framed against anyaccused and the same islacking in the present case.“The perusal of the chargesheet does not indicatewhether or not there wereany eff�orts made by the IO(Investigating Offi�cer) totrace any other witness. It isnot clear as to whether theIO chose not to fi�nd any other witness or whether noother person who had seenthe incident came forward,”the court order read.

While discharging the fi�veaccused for lack of suffi�cientevidence, the court also directed the DCP (NorthEast)to conduct an inquiry intothe manner in which the investigation was conductedby the IO in the case to fi�ndout whether or not therehad been any deliberate attempt to shield the off�enders. It asked the DCP tosubmit a report on the nextdate of hearing.

According to the case records, the FIR pertains to anincident of rioting and vandalism of a medical shop onFebruary 25 around 11.30p.m. when a mob of around100 people, who werearmed with rods, pipes andpetrol bottles, raised slogans, came towards complainant Firoz Khan’s shopin Sudamapuri and broke itsshutter and the main gateand looted it. Mr. Khan waswatching the incident fromhis roof all the while.

The court stated thatthere was only one witness,Mr. Khan, in the whole case.

It comes down heavily on IO, orders inquiry into police probe

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Riothit Shiv Vihar innortheast Delhi. * FILE PHOTO

Court discharges 5 accused inriots case for lack of evidence

The Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) haslaunched a special housingscheme for close to 15,000fl�ats across locations, including Dwarka, Narela, Rohiniand Jasola. The fl�ats arethose which remained unsold in the DDA’s previoushousing schemes, a pressnote said on Wednesday.

“The fl�ats are being offered at the old rates and thecost in relaxation of the costing policy of the DDA, whichis updated every fi�nancialyear based on the appreciation and depreciation of landprice and building as thecase may be. The allotteeswill be eligible for subsidyunder the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana if they avail ofhome loan from a bank or afi�nancial institution,” the

statement said. Apart from this, the DDA

has approved the fi�xation ofpredetermined rates for theallotment of land to transport traders.

Each eligible transporttrader will get a plot of 50

square metres with a fl�oorarea ratio of 250.

“As per the provision ofthe Master Plan of Delhi2021, godowns of transporttraders in the walled city andspecial areas are required tobe shifted to the integrated

freight complex at HolambiKalan, Narela, where booking of goods and transportagencies offi�ces are permitted activity,” the release said.

The DDA has also madeprovisions to expedite theprocess of its upcoming “insitu” slum rehabilitationprojects.

“The provisions include acondition in which the slumdwellers, who are eligible forrehabilitation, will lose theirright to transit accommodation if they refuse to vacatethe premises which are being redeveloped. If the eligible dwellers refuse to vacatethe premises even after thesanctioning of the buildingplan, for the areas being redeveloped, then they willnot be given the alternativeaccommodation after the redevelopment project is completed,” a DDA offi�cial said.

15,000 fl�ats up for grabs in DDA schemeIt has approved fi�xation of predetermined rates for allotment of land to traders

Low income group fl�ats off�ered by the DDA at Narela inDelhi. * FILE PHOTO

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The National Associationof Street Vendors of India(NASVI) organised a protest outside Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal’s houseon Monday over the “poorimplementation” of theStreet Vendors Act 2014.

NASVI president Arbind Singh said that vendors demanded properfunctioning of the grievance redressal committees (GRC), which are autonomous bodiesconstituted to look intothe grievances of streetvendors.

He added that the townvending committees,which oversee the surveyof street vendors, “shouldbe given complete powersunder the 2014 Act”.

Street vendorsprotest outsideCM’s residence

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

BJP’s East Delhi MP GautamGambhir has written to Delhi Police after he and his family allegedly received adeath threat through emailfrom “ISIS Kashmir” onTuesday.

In the letter, the MP saidthat he received the emailon his offi�cial email ID at9.32 p.m. on Tuesday. “Thisemail states a death threatto me and my family. I therefore request you to look intothe matter and make adequate security arrangementsand lodge an FIR,” it said.

DCP (Central) ShwetaChauhan said a complaintwas received at Rajinder Nagar police station. “Mr.Gambhir alleged that an unknown person sent an emailon November 23 on his

email ID regarding a threatto kill him and his familymembers,” she said.

The DCP said that the district police have increasedhis personal security and security at his residence in Rajinder Nagar. “The policeare currently inquiring intothe source of the complaint,” she said.

Gambhir receives deaththreat from ‘ISIS Kashmir’Police increase security at his residence

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

MP Gautam Gambhir

The Delhi High Court onWednesday stayed a trialcourt order issuing summons to BJP MLA VijenderGupta in a criminal defamation complaint fi�led by DelhiCabinet Minister KailashGahlot.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohrigave the direction on Mr.Gupta’s plea challenging thesummons issued to him forallegedly making defamatory statements on purportedirregularities in the procurement of 1,000 lowfl�oor buses by the Delhi TransportCorporation.

The High Court will hearthe case again on March 4next year.

Mr. Gupta was summonedas an accused by the trial

court on October 11 on theDelhi Transport Minister’scomplaint. The trial courthad said there was prima facie enough evidence to summon Mr. Gupta as an accused for the alleged off�enceof defamation.

Senior lawyer Ajay Burman, appearing for Mr. Gupta, argued that his client wascovered under the exceptions to defamation under

the Indian Penal Code as thestatements were made indischarge of public serviceas a Leader of theOpposition.

Senior advocate ManishVashisht, appearing for Mr.Gahlot, stated that Mr. Gupta’s tweets were “absolutelyscandalous” and made inthe absence of any “conclusive fi�nding by any judicialbody”.

In his complaint beforethe trial court, Mr. Gahlothas alleged that Mr Gupta“intentionally and for malafi�de purposes” defamed himand tarnished his reputationto gain political mileage. Heclaimed that Mr. Gupta levelled “defamatory, scandalous, mischievous, false andscurrilous allegations” verbally as well as in writing.

HC stays summons to VijenderGupta in defamation caseBJP leader had defamed me to gain political mileage: Gahlot

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The fi�rst train carrying citizens on a Delhi Governmentsponsored pilgrimage toAyodhya will depart from theCapital on December 3,bookings for which are nowopen, Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal announced here onWednesday.

He also said that the Government had decided to include Velankanni Church inTamil Nadu in the list of pilgrimage sites so that Christian devotees can also avail offree pilgrimage as per theirwish.

“There used to be 12 listedroutes to where the peoplecould avail of the free pilgrimage under the scheme.The shrines included Puri,Dwarka, Haridwar, Rishi

kesh, Rameshwaram, Shirdiand Ajmer Sharif among other holy sites. Now, Ayodhyahas been added to the list aswell,” Mr. Kejriwal told a digital briefi�ng.

“One can choose any siteof their preference out ofthese for the pilgrimage. Senior citizens of Delhi can takebenefi�t of this scheme. Addi

tionally, every senior citizencan take along an attendantwith them on the pilgrimage.Till now, over 36,000 peoplehave been on pilgrimage,” healso said.

The ‘Mukhyamantri TirthYatra Yojna’ was approved bythe Delhi Cabinet on January9, 2018. The scheme providesGovernment assistance tothe residents of Delhi, inspecifi�c persons belonging tothe economically weaker section of society.

Facilities for pilgrimsThe scheme aims at helpingthe elderly go on a pilgrimage once in a lifetime. Theentire expense of leavingfrom home until return,which includes travelling byairconditioned trains, proper AC hotel stays, meals, local

travel and more, is borne bythe Delhi Government. An insurance cover of ₹�1 lakh is also provided.

Any citizen from the Capital who is aged 60 years ormore can avail of the schemeafter acquiring a certifi�catefrom their local MLA. Now,the 13th route of the fourdaylong DelhiAyodhyaDelhitirth yatra is on off�er. Eligiblepeople willing to visit Ayodhya can register by visitingthe Delhi Government edistrict portal.

Accommodating allThe Chief Minister sought toassure citizens that they mustnot worry that they would beleft out if there were too many applications. If there weremore people than the capacity of the train, then the Go

vernment would put anothertrain on the route.

“If there are still more applicants, then we will put in athird train. The train mayleave after a week, but willtake everyone. Therefore,everyone should apply forthe darshan of Shri Ram Lalla. I genuinely want as manypeople as possible to visitAyodhya,” he said.

“Christian brothers demanded that a place of theirpilgrimage be included inthis list. Today, I want to givesome good news to them also. Many Christians wish togo to Velankanni Church. Weare going to include Velankanni Church in the list of pilgrimage sites very soon andyou will also be able to go onpilgrimage as per your wish,”he added.

First train with Ayodhya pilgrims to leave city on Dec. 3Velankanni Church included in Delhi Government’s free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens: CM

Arvind Kejriwal *


New Delhi

Schools, colleges, librariesand other educational institutions in the city, whichhave been closed since November 13 due to high levelsof air pollution, will reopenon Monday, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai saidon Wednesday.

Truck entry ban onGovernment offi�ces, whichwere closed, will also reopenon Monday, he said. However, the ban on entry of trucksinto the city will continue tillDecember 3.

“Schools, colleges, and institutes will reopen on November 29. All Governmentoffi�ces will also reopen andthe workfromhome directive will be lifted. But for this,it is advisable for all Govern

ment employees to use public transport to a great extent for the purpose ofcommuting,” Mr. Rai said.

The Minister said that forthe last three days, there havebeen improvements in Delhi’s pollution levels and thedecision was taken after a review meeting on Wednesday.

“Until now, trucks and other commercial vehicles, except essential service trucks,were banned from enteringDelhi. But today, we have decided that starting November27, CNG and electric truckswill be allowed to enter. Other trucks will remain bannedtill December 3,” he said.s

Mr. Rai said that there arecolonies and areas such asNimri Colony, Gulabi Bagh,Timarpur where a majorityof Delhi Government employees live and the Government has decided to startspecial — private CNG — buses for these people to cometo work.

“If we look at the averageair quality index from beforeDeepavali, Delhi hasreached those levels again.The pollution levels hadbeen steadily rising afterDeepavali. Considering that,multiple restrictions wereput in place, apart from theroutine processes,” the Minister said.

The Minister said that sofar, 1,221 construction siteshave been inspected andwork was stopped at 105 places due to violations of rules.

Educational institutions, Govt.offi�ces to reopen on MondayDecision taken following improvement in Delhi’s air quality, says Minister

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Quick fi�x: Antismog gun being used to curb pollution at DelhiUniversity on a smoggy Wednesday morning. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Delhi Police CommissionerRakesh Asthana on Wednesday said that in a bid to stepup women’s security in theCapital, the force will set upspecial booths at dark spotsand vulnerable areas in consultation with beat offi�cers,traffi�c police and people. Healso said that for the fi�rsttime, each police station willhave three inspectors exclusively to investigate crimesagainst women.

Addressing a press conference at the Indian Women’sPress Corps offi�ce, Mr. Asthana said expeditious attention will be given if a womanor a child is in distress. “Wehave a crime against womencell in every police stationand there is also the specialunit for women and childrenthat is working throughoutthe day.”

The Commissioner saidthat the police have analysedthe total rape cases recordedin Delhi this year and foundout that “a friend or a familymember was involved in46% cases, neighbours wereinvolved in 11% cases, relatives were involved in 14%cases, and other known persons, including livein partners, were involved in 28%

cases”.The police, he said, have

identifi�ed the dark spotswhere there is no mobilenetwork and the areas thatare vulnerable, and integrated facilitation booths willcome up there. “It is an issueas sometimes there is nolastmile connectivity insome areas.”

About no separate IndianPenal Code (IPC) Section todeal with the off�ence ofsnatching, Mr. Asthana saidthat in some States, Section379 of the IPC, which relatesto punishment for theft, hasbeen amended. “I hope infuture there is an amendment to the law which applies to Delhi too.”

The farmers’ protests atthe Delhi borders, he said,have been and will be allowed to continue in a democratic manner as long aslaw and order is maintained.

Each station to have 3 inspectors to probe such cases: Asthana

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Delhi Police CommissionerRakesh Asthana addressinga press conference in Delhion Wednesday. * R.V. MOORTHY

‘Special booths at dark spots toprevent crimes against women’

The Delhi High Court onWednesday asked theCentre and the State Government to begin the process of recruitment of doctors and paramedical staff�in Governmentrun hospitals in the Capital.

“You [authorities] startthe recruitment processand appoint them. Showsome speed. This is required,” said a Bench ofChief Justice D.N. Patel andJustice Jyoti Singh whilehearing a plea whichclaimed that there is anacute shortage of doctorsand paramedics in Governmentrun hospitals in thecity. “It is not necessarythat all vacancies should befi�lled [if ] you are not getting suitable candidates.Start the process. You can’tsay that you will never startthe process,” the Benchsaid.

Fill vacancies inGovt. hospitals,HC asks Centre

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

CMYK

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THE HINDU DELHI

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Group Editorial Officer: Krishna Prasad. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 11 ● No. 278

Timings

DELHI

THURSDAY, NOV. 25

RISE 06:52 SET 17:25

RISE 22:18 SET 11:41

FRIDAY, NOV. 26

RISE 06:53 SET 17:25

RISE 23:17 SET 12:20

SATURDAY, NOV. 27

RISE 06:53 SET 17:25

RISE 00:00 SET 12:56

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain onWednesday expressed concern over the sudden surgein the prices of tomatoes inDelhi and directed thatteams from the market intelligence unit be deputedto ascertain the reason.

Over the past few days,the price of tomatoes hasreached ₹�100 per kg in many markets of the city, withtraders attributing the riseto heavy unseasonal rainsacross the country and asurge in fuel prices.

Mr. Hussain asked offi�cials to take action againstany instances of hoardingor black marketing. “TheDelhi Government is keeping a close watch on theprice trends of essentialcommodities,” he said.

Tomato pricessoar; offi�cialsto act againsthoarders


NEW DELHI

The BJP State Mahila Morchaon Wednesday staged a demonstration outside ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal’sresidence, accusing him ofmaking false promises during his tours to pollboundStates when he has not fulfi�lled even a single promisemade to Delhiites.

The demonstration wasled by Pradesh Morcha president Yogita Singh.

“While Mr. Kejriwal istalking about giving ₹�1,000each month to women of

Punjab and Uttarakhand, heshould fulfi�l this in Delhifi�rst. He had earlier talkedabout giving unemploymentallowance to the youth butthousands of them are stillwaiting for that,” Ms. Singhsaid.

“The CM, who talkedabout women’s safety andwelfare, had promised CCTVcameras in DTC buses, butthe fact is these buses are ina bad shape. If he talks abouthonour and respect for women, why is there not a single woman minister in hiscabinet?” she asked.


New Delhi

Keep your promises made toDelhiites fi�rst, BJP tells CM

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)on Wednesday said that theBJPgoverned North DelhiMunicipal Corporation wasselling land under the Rajendra Babu Pulmonary Institute worth crores of rupees at a low price.

Referring to the NorthDelhi civic body StandingCommittee meeting agendaof November 24, AAP chiefspokesperson Saurabh Bha

radwaj said, “When Delhi isalways falling short of landfor hospitals, the North Delhi corporation is auctioning6,556 square metres of landunder the Rajendra Babu Institute, which is a major TBhospital in the city.”

Delhi BJP spokespersonPraveen Shankar Kapoorsaid the North Delhi civicbody was passing throughan “extreme fi�nancial crisis”and was forced to long leaseits properties to raise funds.

BJP selling TB hospitalland at low price: AAPCivic body forced to lease properties: BJP

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

An analysis of air quality data by The Hindu shows thatAgra, Firozabad, and Vrindavan were more polluted thanDelhi during the week afterDeepavali. However, duringthis period, the media attention and actions were concentrated more on Delhi andthe NCR.

While Delhi was amongthe top 10 most polluted cities for three out of sevendays, Agra, Firozabad, andVrindavan were part of thelist for four days, as per theair quality index (AQI) dataof the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Also, theaverage daily AQI of thesethree places is more thanthat of the national Capital.

On some days, other nonNCR districts such as Kaithaland Kanpur made it to thetop 10 list and were morepolluted than Delhi. Interestingly, Delhi was neveramong the top fi�ve pollutedcities in the country duringthis week.

The Supreme Court ordered actions have also beenmainly for the DelhiNCR,

which is monitored by theCommission for Air QualityManagement (CAQM) in NCRand Adjoining Areas. For instance, despite the high pollution, schools were notclosed or construction activities were not banned inAgra, Firozabad or Vrindavan after Deepavali, offi�cialssaid.

However, on November13, these actions were takenin Delhi after the SupremeCourt pulled up the Stateand Central Governmentsearlier that day. Also, Delhiand the NCR have a GradedResponse Action Plan(GRAP), according to which,

diff�erent actions kick in asper levels of air pollution.But no such plan exists forareas beyond the NCR.

Most polluted From November 511, the average daily AQI of Delhi was414.8, while Vrindavan’s was438.14, Agra’s 429.85, and Firozabad’s 437.6. On November 9, Delhi was not part ofthe top 10 polluted places,and there were four nonNCR districts in the top 10and Firozabad was the mostpolluted place in the country. Similarly, on November10, Agra was the most polluted place in the country.

Delhi has 39 air qualitymonitoring stations, whileAgra has six and Vrindavanand Firozabad have only oneeach. “It is not that we arenot giving attention to thesecities. These three cities arealso part of the 132 citieswhich are covered by theNCAP (National Clean AirProgramme),” a CPCB offi�cial said.

About smaller cities witnessing higher pollutioncompared to Delhi, the offi�cial said that though meteorological conditions of Delhiand these places are similar,local factors could be behindthe higher AQI.

Attention neededAnumita Roychowdhury, executive director of Centre forScience and Environment, aresearch and advocacy NGO,said that during winter, thenatural ventilation of the entire Indo Gangetic Plains(IGP), which stretches fromPunjab and touches theboundaries of West Bengal,is constrained and pollutants get trapped. This is dueto a drop in temperature,wind speed and the height

up to which pollutants canbe dispersed in the atmosphere.

“A big chunk of the IGP isaff�ected by stubble burningalso. Because of these factors, several cities and subregions that are outside theNCR, but within the IGP, aremore polluted than evenDelhi during winter. But theannual average pollution ofthese places could be lowerthan Delhi,” Ms. Roychowdhury said.

“Delhi gets an undue importance as initial cases onair pollution were fi�ledabout the DelhiNCR in theSupreme Court. Because ofthe court orders, the regiongot focus,” she added.

But Ms. Roychowdhurysaid that the Governmentshould pay more attention tothe entire IGP for pollutionmitigation, as the entire region is more vulnerable tohigh pollution. “The NCAP isfor 132 cities. The Government should implementNCAP at district and State levels and take into consideration rural areas too, insteadof just focusing on cities,”she said.

While spotlight’s on Delhi, smaller northern towns often fare worseAgra, Firozabad, Vrindavan had higher pollution levels than national capital after Deepavali; experts call for focus on areas beyond NCR too

Nikhil M Babu

New Delhi

The air quality in the citydeteriorated to the “verypoor” category on Wednesday from the “poor” level aday earlier. It is likely to remain in the same categoryfor the next two days, according to the authorities.

“Local surface winds arerelatively low for the nextthree days, which reducedispersion of pollutants,leading to deterioration ofair quality. But air quality islikely to be within the ‘verypoor’ category for the nexttwo days,” said Governmentrun monitoring agency SAFAR (System of AirQuality and Weather Forecasting and Research) in astatement.

But on Saturday, localsurface winds are likely topick up speed, resulting inimprovement of air quality

within the “very poor” category. SAFAR said that withthe onset of winter conditions, local weather is likelyto be the dominating factorin determining air qualityfrom now.

The air quality index ofDelhi was 361 on Wednesday, up from 290 on Tuesday, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s 4p.m.bulletin, which is theaverage of the past 24 hours.

City’s air quality falls to‘very poor’ categoryLocal weather to determine AQI: SAFAR

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Seagulls fl�ying over theYamuna on a smoggyWednesday. * R.V. MOORTHY

0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisement before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisementor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Dir-ector/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisements inthis newspaper.

CMYK

M ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


STATES

Jannayak Janta Party general secretary Digvijay Chautala on Wednesday demandedthat the Union Governmentmust announce suitablecompensation for the families of those farmers whodied during the agitationagainst the three farm lawsand also construct a memorial for them.

Party foundation dayMr. Chautala was in Gurugram to address separatemeetings of party workersin the district as part of thepreparations for the proposed Jan Sarokar Diwas

rally in Jhajjar on December9 to mark the third anniversary of the JJP’s foundationday.

Speaking to media persons, Mr. Chautala said hehad been raising this issue

for long and the Government would have to make adecision sooner or later.“Those in power can moveforward only with the support of the masses. The lawshave been repealed and thisis the right opportunity. Theannouncement for the memorial and the compensation be made so we can winback their confi�dence,” saidMr. Chautala.

Seeking an early resolution, Mr. Chautala said theearlier the matter was resolved, the better it wouldbe. He added that the prolonged delay to settle thestalemate over the threefarm laws had caused loss tothe ruling dispensation politically and the nation aswell.

Earlier addressing theparty workers, Mr. Chautalaemphasised that the JJP wasconstantly working to deliver on the promises madeduring the elections. He saidthat 75% reservation foryouth in private sectors wasa historic move, besides50% reservation for womenin Panchayat elections.

The party’s national president Ajay Singh Chautalavisited the rally’s venue twodays ago and gave directionsto the party’s offi�cebearersand workers.

Give compensation fordead farmers: JJP leaderMemorial can win back their confi�dence, says Digvijay Chautala


GURUGRAM

Digvijay Chautala seeks anearly resolution to thefarmers’ issue.

TENDERS

EDUCATIONAL

LEGAL NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

SITUATION VACANT

GENERAL

M.SUBRAMANIAM (79), Retired Juni-or Engineer - Composing, The Hindu,Chennai. Passed away on 24.11.2021.Address: 30/4, Muthiah Street,Teynampet, Chennai-600086. Contact:9444081602

OBITUARY &

REMEMBRANCE

DEATH

The Madras High Court onWednesday quashed theproceedings initiated by theprevious AIADMK Government to acquire former ChiefMinister Jayalalithaa’s bungalow, Veda Nilayam, at PoesGarden in Chennai for converting it into a memorial. Itobserved that India of todayis not a land of pharaohs oremperors to erect monuments to immortalise thedead.

Justice N. Seshasayeewrote, “India of today is notthe Raj of the yesteryear forits administrators to bask ina fallacy that the wealth ofthe State is the wealth of theruler. No, it is the wealth ofthe ruled — the People. It istime that the governmentsget accustomed to this constitutional reality.” He saidthe acquisition would serveno public purpose.

He delivered the verdictwhile allowing the petitionsfi�led by Jayalalithaa’s nephew J. Deepak and niece J.Deepa through their counselS.L. Sudarsanam and K.V.Sundararajan. The judgeconcurred with the Statethat it was empowered to acquire private property forany purpose of its choice but

stressed that such a purposeshould be useful to the public.

Posing a question whether acquisition for a memorialwould involve a public purpose, he said: “The answercan be a ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’. Generically it can be, but individually it need not be.” Hesaid the need for a memorialcould not be dictated by professional achievements, political populism, an imagecarefully groomed by cultivated charisma and electoralvictories. Referring to theState having relied on a 1969Supreme Court judgment related to a memorial for Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad, he asked: “By relyingupon this verdict, has notthe Government acknowledged that the benchmarkfor establishing a memorialcan be justifi�ed only if the lifeand contribution of the person for whom the memorialis proposed approximatesthe life of Gandhiji and thoseof his ilk?”

Proceedings to buy Jaya’sresidence quashed India is not a landof pharaohs toimmortalise thedead, says HC Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI

The acquisition of VedaNilayam will serve no publicpurpose, said the judge.

Yousra Iram, 27, a Bengalurubased audit and research offi�cer living withthalassaemia, is worried asshe is unable to get her lifesaving iron chelation injection Desferal 500 mg fromher usual suppliers.

Desferal is widely usedto remove excess iron fromthe body that accumulatesas a result of frequentblood transfusion. If not taken regularly, the excessiron will damage vitalorgans.

Although Ms. Iram wastaking the drug thrice aweek earlier, her doctorhas now advised her totake it daily. “But we havenot been able to get this injection for the last 18 days,”said her father Syed Shameel Ahmed.

“We have been contacting the Delhi and Mumbaithalassaemia societies andNGOs for help. But the situation is the same acrossthe country,” said Gagandeep Singh Chandok, president, Thalassaemia andSickle Cell Society ofBengaluru.

“The nonavailability ofthis drug is a disaster forpatients who are dependent on it. Morbidities andfatalities can occur,” saidMr. Chandok.

Shortage ofdrug hitsthalassaemiapatients

Afshan Yasmeen

Bengaluru

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s tour of sixdistricts in southern Rajasthan, mainly in the Mewarregion, has created ripplesin the Opposition BharatiyaJanata Party in the aftermathof the recent State Assemblybyelection, in which the party suff�ered a humiliating defeat. The visit is set to deepen the divide between rivalfactions in the State unit.

Ms. Raje, also party national vicepresident, is paying obeisance at some prominent temples in the region

and visiting the families ofthe departed party leadersto off�er her condolences during the fourday visit.Though she has declaredthat her tour is “religious” innature, it is being seen hereas a strategy to assert her dominance in the BJP.

This is the third occasionof Ms. Raje going on a show

of strength this year in theshape of a religious or personal visit. Upset on being sidelined within the party, Ms.Raje went on a twoday “pilgrimage” to the Lord Krishna Circuit in Bharatpur inMarch and made a highprofi�le visit to Jodhpur in October to off�er condolences toUnion Minister Gajendra

Singh Shekhawat on hismother’s death and to the family of the departed Congress leader MahipalMaderna.

On Wednesday, she arrived in Udaipur to a tumultuous welcome by the partyworkers and leaders opposed to Mewar region’s seniormost leader GulabChand Kataria, includingformer Speaker ShantilalChaplot and former Vallabhnagar MLA Randhir SinghBhindar, who fought the recent bypolls as a rebel. Ms.Raje inaugurated a “SuhaniSardi” (pleasant winter)campaign of a voluntarygroup.

The BJP leadership is yetto come to terms with therout faced in the byelectionsat Udaipur.

Vasundhara trip creates a desert storm for BJP Divide betweenrival factions setto deepen inRajasthan

Paying respects: Vasundhara Raje paying obeisance at theSanwalia Seth temple in Chittorgarh. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Mohammed Iqbal

JAIPUR

Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot instructed hisCabinet colleagues to visitthe districts, whose chargethey are holding, for at leasttwo days every month to review the progress ofschemes and redress people’s grievances. Mr. Gehlotsaid this would be a signifi�cant step towards providinggood governance at thegrassroots.

He said the Ministersshould hold public hearingsat the district headquarters, get feedback on implementation of schemes andinteract with the electedrepresentatives.

Gehlot asksMinisters tovisit districts


JAIPUR

CMYK

M ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


STATES

The baby who was given inpreadoption foster care to acouple in Andhra Pradeshwas reunited with its biological mother here on Wednesday following a court order.

On a day marked by highdrama, the Family Court,Thiruvananthapuram, ordered the release of the babyto its biological mother after“dropping and summarilydismissing” the adoptionproceedings. Family Courtjudge K. Biju Menon had advanced the proceedings inthe case and passed the order by evening consideringthe plea of the State.

The case was originallyscheduled to be consideredon November 30.

The infant boy, who wasbrought to the chamber ofthe judge, was handed overto Anupama S. Chandran after her identifi�cation recordswere verifi�ed. The judge is

sued the order, consideringa suggestion from publicprosecutor P.P. Hakkim thatthe child shall be handed over to its mother through thecourt.

In its order, the judge noted that the adoption proceedings were initiated inthe case on the premise thatthe “child was abandonedand his biological parentscould not be found”.

The judge sidestepped thevarious allegations raised bythe biological mother as hefelt that those aspects werenot necessary for the proceedings at hand.

The court noted that theissue whether the KeralaState Council for Child Welfare, which gave the baby infoster care, has a valid licence for adoption does not“linger any more” as the

council had produced a copyof the Certifi�cate of Recognition for Adoption issued under Rule 23 (2) of the Adoption Regulations, 2017.

The certifi�cate is validfrom March 12, 2019 toMarch 11, 2024, the courtnoted.

Earlier, the Child WelfareCommittee had recalled andcancelled the Legally Freefor Adoption certifi�cate ithad issued for the baby.

The “fi�nding was arrivedat on the basis of the DNAtest, which confi�rmed thatAnupama S. Chandran andB. Ajith Kumar are the biological mother and father ofthe child,” the court noted.

The mother contendedthat the child was entrustedto her parents for temporarycustody.

However, it was laterfound that they handed overthe baby to the Child WelfareCommittee for adoption, thecourt noted.

Anupama reunited with childFamily court in Thiruvananthapuram dismisses adoption proceedings

Special correspondent

KOCHI

Happy ending: Anupama and her partner Ajith with their childleaving the family court on Wednesday. * S. MAHINSHA

Over 500 AntiCorruptionBureau (ACB) personnelworking in teams launchedsimultaneous search operations at 68 locations acrossKarnataka on Wednesdaytargeting 15 Government offi�cials in various departments as part of a probe intoalleged disproportionate assets.

The raids were conductedclose on the heels of an ongoing massive operation atthe headquarters and other

offi�ces of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA)in Bengaluru.

Both the houses and offi�ces of 15 Government offi�cials

and their relatives in Mangaluru, Bengaluru and Mandya, among other districts,were searched by teams ledby eight SPs, 100 offi�cers and300 ACB personnel.

This the culmination of investigations into offi�cers’ assets over many months.

In Bengaluru, the ACBwas searching the offi�cesand residential properties ofRajashekar, a physiotherapist at the Government Hospital in Yelahanka; MayannaM., fi�rst division assistant inMajor Roads and Infrastructure Department of BBMP;L.C. Nagaraj, KAS offi�cer inSakala Mission; and G.V. Giri, employee, Yeshwantpur,BBMP.

BBMP employeesare also under the scanner Special Correspondent

Bengaluru

A video grab showing cashfound in a pipeline in aGovernment offi�cial’s house.

ACB searches houses, offi�ces of 15 Karnataka Govt. offi�cials

KCR returns from Delhiwithout meeting PMHYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister K.

Chandrasekhar Rao returned

to Hyderabad on Wednesday

after his fourday visit to

New Delhi to find a solution

to the stalemate in

procurement of paddy by the

Centre. He, however, could

not meet the Prime Minister .

IN BRIEF

Kerala fishermen familiesto get aid of ₹�3,000 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Kerala Cabinet on

Wednesday ordered ex gratia

assistance of ₹�3,000 each to

1,59,481 seafaring fishermen

families who lost 26 working

days in inclement weather.

The Cabinet allocated ₹�47.84

crore from the Chief Minister’s

Distress Relief Fund. Heavy

rain, strong wind, thunder and

rough seas had impeded

fishermen from venturing out

during OctoberNovember.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has urged Union HomeMinister Amit Shah to immediately release ₹�1,000crore as interim relief toprovide assistance to the affected families in the fl�oodbattered Rayalaseema region.

Mr. Jagan requested Mr.Shah to depute an interMinisterial Central team to assess the damage and losscaused by heavy rains. Forty persons, including anSDRF constable died, and25 persons were stillmissing.

In a letter to Mr. Shah,Mr. Jagan said heavy rainstriggered by depressionformed on November 18 over Bay of Bengal caused extensive damage to the four

Rayalaseema districts. In asingle day, 20 cm rain wasrecorded at Peddamandyam mandal in Chittoordistrict, followed by 19.3 cmrain at Galiveedu mandal ofYSR Kadapa district. Heavyrains lashed Tirupati, Tirumala, Nellore, Madanapalliand Rajampet, causing inundation in many areas.

Seventeen NDRF/SDRF

teams were pressed intoservice. About 1,402 villagesin 196 mandals and fourtowns were aff�ected.

As part of relief operations, 324 relief camps accommodating 69,616 persons were set up.

Stating that many reservoirs were fi�lled to the brim,the Chief Minister said thatAnnamaya reservoir in Kadapa district breached anda railway track betweenNandaleru and Hastavaramwas damaged.

In Nellore district, riverSwarnamukhi was in spatecausing inundation of manyvillages in Kovvur and Nellore mandals.

The loss to crops anddamage to infrastructurewas estimated at ₹�6,054.29crore, said the Chief Minister, giving a detailed breakup of losses caused to crops.

Jagan urges Centre to provide₹�1,000 crore as interim reliefAmit Shah urged to send Central team to assess fl�ood losses

Staff Reporter

GUNTUR

Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy

The nondescript town of Jewar, 100 km from Delhi, is setto fi�nd a place on the worldmap as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursdaywill lay the foundation stoneof an international airportthat would be the largest inAsia and the fourth largest inthe world. The fi�rst phase,built on 1,334 hectares , is expected to be completed by2024 when one runwaywould become operational.

However, for Hansraj, a resident of Rohi village, the immediate concern is what willhe do with his eight cows if

he decides to resettle in Jewar Bangar, a township beingdeveloped by the Uttar Pradesh Government for around3,000 families of six villageswhose land has been acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. “How will Itend to them in the 50 squaremetre plot that I would get,”asked Hansraj who tills onebigha of land. He is amongaround 500 of 9,000 farmersyet to accept the compensation deposited in the treasury by the Government.

There are others. Like Pramod Kumar from Dayanatpur village, who has 20 bighas of land and feels thatfarmers were cheated by theGovernment when the landuse was changed from ruralto urban to cut down on thecompensation. “The offi�cials

haven’t followed the provisions of the Act properly. Being in a rural area, we deserve compensation fourtimes the circle rate, but bychanging the land use, theGovernment has given us on

ly twice the circle rate. Ourpetition is pending in the Allahabad High Court and weexpect the PM to take note ofour demand,” he said.

He argued that they havebeen given compensation atthe rate of ₹�2,300 per squaremetre while the circle rate atPari Chowk in Greater Noidais ₹�50,000 per square metre.“If we have been declared urban, we should get the ratesprevailing in the neighbouring urban areas. That’s whywe approached the court,”he added.

Ravinder Kumar from Rohi agreed with Pramod buthe has taken the compensation and the plot. “I have received ₹�2.5 crore for 12 bighas. I am building athreestorey house in thetownship but I could have got

more,” he said. Neeraj Kumar from Rohe

ra village has also chosen towait. “I have heard offi�cialsare targeting those whodidn’t accept the off�er earlier. They ask for a cut in ourmoney lying with the tribunal,” he alleged.

A senior offi�cial said as perthe Act, the permission of70% of farmers was necessary. “In the beginning, onlyfour farmers agreed butwhen the CM agreed to give₹�500 per sq. m. over the ratethe farmers were entitled to,more than 72% agreed,” hesaid.

Jewar MLA DhirendraSingh said the BJP wasknown for “ushering in development” and on Thursdaythe region would “celebratethe PM’s visit as a festival.”

PM Modi to layfoundation stoneof airport today

Map of Rohi village.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Anuj Kumar

Gautam Buddha Nagar

Jewar town struggles to process newfound fame

CMYK

M ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


EDITORIAL

A mother’s fi�ghtThe case of Anupama S.Chandran of Kerala and herson has been riveting(Inside pages, “DNA testsconfi�rm Kerala woman’sclaims on baby”, November24). It is also a commentaryon the adoption system inIndia. What shattered methe most is the plight of thefoster parents who legallyfollowed every procedureonly to have the baby takenback. Though this case hasa political angle, which may

make it a special one, itcould discourage peoplefrom adopting children. Weneed to have betterstandard operatingprocedures and checks thatultimately encourageadoption without trauma.Vineesha Badabhagni,

Guntur, Andhra Pradesh

■ The case has shaken thefoundations of the political,social and cultural spectrumthat Kerala is. The valiantfi�ght by the young mother

will have an impact onKerala’s society.N. Rajasekharan,

Ariyannur, Thrissur, Kerala

Parliamentary stepsThe article, “‘Go back tocommittees’ is the farm lawslesson”, (Editorial page,November 22), implying thatthe Centre has wantonlyswerved from its stand,either referring the FarmBills to the StandingCommittee or a JointSelection Committee, as

ought to have happened,should be viewed in theproper perspective itdeserves. Two pertinentquestions which needplausible answers from theCentre are: the reason fornot referring the contentiousfarm Bills in question to theStanding Committee, whichhas been the regularpractice, in existence so far.Is this not shrouded inmystery? The second is why thefarmers were not taken into

and gridlock for the mostpart. This is not in theinterest of tourists, residents,and eventually the hillstation itself. Mounds ofgarbage and an unbearablestench herald the dawn.During the pandemic, theepass system worked mosteff�ectively. It is the onlypractical solution to anightmare now.M.E. Avari,

Kodaikanal

confi�dence prior to theordinance. Mani Nataraajan,

Chennai

Kodaikanal besiegedThe hordes of touristsfl�ooding Kodaikanal isnothing short of wantondestruction of this fragileecosystem. Local people arebewildered and ask if this isrevenge tourism! It is trulydebilitating anyway you lookat it. Driving is impossiblewith traffi�c snarls, road rage

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

To read more lettersonline, scan the QR code

Anand Srinivasan &

Sashwath Swaminathan

There has been great chatterabout a Vshaped recoveryfor quite a while, ever since

the fi�rst lockdown following thenovel coronavirus pandemic. A Vshaped recovery is characterisedby quick and eff�ective recovery inmeasures of economic performance after an acute decline in theeconomy. There is undeniablysome type of recovery, but onecan hardly label it Vshaped. Theeconomic ravages of the pandemichave had an uneven impact on different socioeconomic groups.The recovery we see today is moreKshaped than Vshaped, with various groups and industries recovering much more rapidly thantheir counterparts.

Signs from industryGovernment taxation policies continue to be regressive, with increased indirect taxes and lowerdirect taxes placing greater tax incidence on the destitute. The effects of this Kshaped recovery canbe observed through the growthand consumption in specifi�c industries.

Twowheelers represent the

economic situation of the lowerand middleclass groups and India’s small businesses. A report byanalytical company CRISIL indicates that in the year 2021, twowheeler sales are set to decline by3%6% yearoveryear. This is ontop of a lower base in the year2020 already aff�ected by the pandemic. The actual decline of twowheeler sales from prepandemictimes on account of the base eff�ectmust be much more signifi�cant.The sales of twowheelers are thesecondlowest it has been in sevenyears. It is imperative to note thatentrylevel models are the onesmost aff�ected under the categoryof twowheelers. The festival season was said to rectify this phenomenon, but it had been unable to.On the other hand, premium carsand premium motorcycles havebeen resistant to the pandemicslowdown.

Impact of taxationMoreover, the usurious taxationpolicy of the Government, whichinsists on maintaining indirect taxes on fuel and consumer productswhile lowering corporate taxes,paints a picture explaining thesefi�gures. The Government had recently raised taxes on textile products from 5% to 12%. While infl�ation soars, the incomes of themiddle and lowermiddleclasshave at best remained constant.There is tremendous pressure onthe fi�nancial stability of these households, which seemingly face a

sustained loss in disposable income. Besides, the fi�gures representing those who are employedonly partially explain this phenomenon.

On jobs, NREGAOver fi�ve million or 50 lakh peoplelost their jobs in October, according to a Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report. Many of those who lost their jobsduring this period are likely economically insecure and abstainfrom nonessential purchases.This, paired with the astronomically high food and fuel prices, delivers a deadly blow pushing families to poverty.

Additionally, it is prudent tolook at Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) fi�gures as it acts as aproxy for the informal sector,which employs a large portion ofIndians. In the year 20212022, theGovernment of India had cut itsbudget allocation towardsMGNREGA by 34%. There is a greater demand now for MGNREGA

jobs than in the preCOVID19 era.The lower Budget allocation accounts for the inability to compensate workers in time and fairly. Aportion of the Budget this year isspent on paying the liabilities forthe previous fi�nancial year. Thoselooking for MGNREGA work cannot aff�ord to be unpaid for suchlong durations. This again tiesback to placing upward pressureon unemployment fi�gures.

Stimulus and growthTherefore, there seems to be nosurprise that the consumption oftwowheelers and other such products has taken a signifi�cant hit.The U.S. and European economieshave stimulated the economy bottomup through unemploymentcheques and social welfareschemes. The economist, JohnMaynard Keynes, popularised theconcept of the money multiplierand the relationship between government stimulus and economicgrowth. It fundamentally makesgreat sense to prioritise those whoare more likely to spend (the middle and lowermiddleclass) ratherthan those who have a greater propensity to save. The velocity ofmoney which sustained a signifi�cant shock from pandemic lockdowns needs to be kickstarted.Furthermore, the infl�ation of assetprices over the recovery periodhelps determine the nature of thisrecovery.

The recovery in the stock market and other such fi�nancial assets

over the past year has been phenomenal. However, it is essential tounderstand that this does not necessarily refl�ect the economy’scondition as observed previously.Less than 5% of India invest inequities, which means that lessthan 5% of India directly benefi�tedfrom said recovery. The lowermiddle class, which does not invest in such assets for many reasons, has no guard against infl�ation. Their only hedge againstinfl�ation is their income whichmakes for a poor one.

Think welfare schemesTherefore, as discussed before,their fi�nancial situation is worsened due to the rising prices ofessential goods. Moreover, the disproportional benefi�t of the assetprice infl�ation favouring the uppermiddleclass further displaysthe inherent Kshape of the recovery. It is crucial that the Government addresses this phenomenonand works towards aiding the middle and lowermiddle class. Socialwelfare schemes must be givengreater importance to assist households to get through this period.A seemingly viable solution is forthe Government to increase progressive (direct) taxes and reduceregressive (indirect) taxes to easethe fi�nancial pressure on lowerincome households.

Anand Srinivasan is a consultant.

Sashwath Swaminathan is a research

associate at Aionion Investment Services

Pointers that India is witnessing a Kshaped recovery The economic ravages of the pandemic have had an uneven impact and taxation policies continue to be regressive

AF

P

The announcement by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onNovember 19, on the with

drawal of the three farm laws andhis urging “all agitating farmers togo back to their families and villages and let’s make a new beginning”, did not raise eyebrows inthe country. There were compulsions, both internal and external,for the Bharatiya Janata Party todo so notwithstanding the factthat the laws were under legalscrutiny by the Supreme Court ofIndia. The forthcoming electionsto the Uttar Pradesh and PunjabAssemblies may have also been afactor in shaping the Prime Minister’s decision.

A long battleAfter Parliament hurriedly passedthe three enactments, to bring in‘reforms’ in the agriculture sector,the volley of protests began.Swarms of farmers along withtheir tractors converged along theborders of Delhi marking the beginning of an over year long battle.Surprisingly, many State legislatures have passed resolutions opposing the three farm laws. Whensomeone questioned the authorityof the legislatures to pass such resolutions, it was correctly negatived by the Supreme Court.

When cases were fi�led in the Supreme Court, it not only granted alimited stay of the implementationof the laws but also appointed anexpert committee to submit a report on these pieces of legislation.The Court also raised the questionwhether it was proper for the protesters to continue with their agitation even when the Court wasseized of the matter. Anotherquestion was also raised over howlong the agitating farmers wouldoccupy the roads and that theremust be a limit for such sitins.

The Modi Government did notwait for any verdict from the Courtbut took the pragmatic position towithdraw the farm laws in view ofthe “largescale misconceptions”among the people. However, the

farmers have indicated that theywill still continue to protest untilthe repeal law is passed in the winter session of Parliament. In a democracy, ultimately, sovereigntyvests with the people and electedParliamentarians have only a limited brief of legislating on the subjects allotted to Parliament. On theother hand, there is nothing in thelaw to prevent those aggrievedfrom lobbying against such lawswhich according to them is harmful, even though, signifi�cantly, thehigher courts have the power toscrutinise any law made and to determine whether they are inconsistent with the fundamentalrights enshrined in Part III of theConstitution. Many a time the delay in determination also makesthe aggrieved impatient by takingthe matter to the streets.

Plan for a capitalBut the announcement of thewithdrawal of the farm laws wasnot surprising when compared tothe announcement of withdrawalof the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Developmentof All Regions Act, 2020 and theA.P. Capital Region DevelopmentAuthority Repeal Act, 2020 by theY.S.R. Congress Party (YSRCP) Government led by its Chief MinisterY.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. After theelection of his party, the YSRCP, toform the government, he decidedto dismantle the only capital ofAndhra Pradesh at Amaravathi; healso decided on its trifurcation:Amaravathi (legislative), Kurnool( judicial) and Visakhapatnam (executive). This new law was passedwhen the YSRCP won 151 seats inthe 175member Andhra PradeshAssembly in 2019. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which becamethe fi�rst ruling party of the newlyformed Andhra Pradesh State wasreduced to 23 seats.

N. Chandrababu Naidu who ledthe TDP after the bifurcation of theundivided Andhra Pradesh Stateinto Telangana and Andhra Pradesh decided to locate the newcapital at Amaravathi which is situated between Vijayawada andGuntur and inaugurated the interim secretariat there. To locateand develop the infrastructure ofthe capital, the TDP Governmentacquired an estimated 33,000acres from farmers while also proposing to acquire another 50,000

acres, leading to largescale protests from the farmers of the region. Notwithstanding this, theTDP Government proceeded withthe construction of the capital, allotting plots to judges of the HighCourt for their residences. TheHigh Court also approved the plansubmitted to create judicial infrastructure for locating the new HighCourt and other subordinatecourts at Amaravathi.

The twists and turnsTaking advantage of the farmers’unrest, the successor Y.S. Jagmohan Reddy Government began acampaign to have three diff�erentcapitals, even enacting a law. Aninquiry into the land purchase andallotments was ordered. Controversy arose when a case was registered against a former Andhra Pradesh Advocate General and thefamily members of a SupremeCourt judge alleging that there hadbeen insider trading. On a petitionfi�led by the former Advocate General, the Andhra Pradesh HighCourt issued a gag order on thepress from reporting on the fi�rstinformation report fi�led by the Anti Corruption Bureau. The gag order was stayed by the SupremeCourt of India on a petition fi�led bythe Andhra Pradesh Government.Subsequently, several developments took place in the AndhraPradesh High Court. JusticeD.V.S.S. Somayajulu stayed the SITprobe ordered against the landscam pursuant to a decision takenby a cabinet subcommittee.

There were several shocking developments subsequent to theprobe being ordered against theAmaravathi land deal. A DivisionBench of Justice M. SatyanarayanaMurthy and Justice Lalitha Kanneganti J.J. ordered an inquiry into atelephonic conversation allegedlyabout a plot against the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh and another sitting judge of the SupremeCourt. The inquiry was to be headed by a retired Supreme CourtJudge, Justice R.V. Raveendran, to

verify the authenticity of the conversation. It is interesting that Justice Raveendran has been appointed by the Chief Justice of India,Justice N.V. Ramana, to supervisethe threemember expert committee that will go into the Pegasussnooping case.

It was more shocking when a division Bench of Justices RakeshKumar and J. Umadevi while hearing a habeas corpus petition (on arequest on behalf of the AdvocateGeneral for a short adjournment,passed an order dated October 1,2020) which said: “On the nextdate, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the State maycome prepared to assist the Courtas to whether in the circumstances, which are prevailing in thestate of Andhra Pradesh, the Courtcan record a fi�nding that there isConstitutional breakdown in theState or not”. It is unheard of for acourt to make a mention aboutbringing President’s Rule in a casebetween the state and an individual.

It was under these circumstances that the Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, wrote a letterdated October 11, 2020 to the thenChief Justice of India for an inquiryinto the role of the Supreme Courtjudge, who, according to him, wasinvolved in a scam. However, nosuch inhouse enquiry was ordered. However, the letter by theChief Minister was released to thepress by the personal adviser tothe Chief Minister.

Things did not end with a complaint made to the highest judicialauthority. The next day, the samedivision Bench while entertaininganother case observed: “Evensome occupying high positionsand Constitutional posts are notrestraining themselves in committing the same mistake... due to theresult of [a] larger conspiracy, theCBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] is required to take appropriate action against such culpritsirrespective of the post and position. It goes without saying thatthe CBI immediately after takingup investigation may take steps sothat all the defamatory posts available on social media, i.e., privaterespondents, may [be] struckdown and may also take steps toblock such users in accordancewith law.”

The Chief Minister’s woes conti

nued. The new Chief Justice ofAndhra Pradesh, Prashant KumarMishra, and Justices Satyanarayana Murthy and Somayajulu, constituting the full Bench, held afresh hearing of the batch of writpetitions that challenged the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation andInclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020 and Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020. The Governmentof Andhra Pradesh fi�led a recusalpetition asking Justices Satyanarayana Murthy and Somayajulu towithdraw from the full Benchhearing as they were admittedlyrecipients of a housing plot at Amaravathi allotted to them. Whenthis issue was raised before thecourt, the Chief Justice presidingover the Bench refused the recusal, and when asked for an orderon this issue, said that orderswould be passed along with themain case. In normal course,when even allegations of apparentbias on the part of the presiding offi�cers are raised, appropriate orders will be pronounced then andthere as such matters go to theroot of the issue.

A ‘strategy’Even while the arguments are inprogress, the Y.S. Jagan MohanReddy Government came up withthe withdrawal of the two piecesof legislation with a reservation tointroduce an appropriate Bill at alater date. It is not clear whetherthe Government was giving in tothe pressure mounted by the Opposition TDP or that it did notwant to face litigation at this juncture becoming adverse. In anyevent, the withdrawal proposalfollowed from the developmentsthe Government faced vis-à-vis thejudiciary. The Government hadnot given up the proposed trifurcation of the capital and locatingthem in three regions. This may bea litigation strategy normallyadopted by litigants expectingchanges in the judicial spectrum.

The withdrawal of the legislations by two governments has adiff�erent background but what isworrisome is the circumstancessurrounding the State government’s decision that has no parallel in the judicial history of India.

Justice K. Chandru is a retired judge of the

Madras High Court

Battered and bruised, repealed and withdrawnThe shaping of the diff�erent trajectories of the farm laws and Andhra’s ‘three capitals’ plan is revealing

K. Chandru

SU

SH

IL K

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A

With the staggering increase in daily fresh coro

navirus cases and deaths in much of Europe,

the continent has for the second time since

last March, become the pandemic epicentre. The resur

gence in daily new cases which began in early October

and restricted to three countries has since spread and is

driven by the Delta variant. The continent reported

nearly two million new cases last week, the highest

since the pandemic began; more than half of the global

COVID19 deaths this month were in Europe. In Austria,

the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway, the

daily cases are the highest since the pandemic began;

Romania and Ukraine reported record high numbers a

few weeks ago. With hospitals fast fi�lling up, WHO pred

icts that there would be extreme stress on hospital beds

and intensive care units in many European countries

between now and March next year. While the vaccina

tion rates in most countries in western Europe are high

er — Ireland leads the table with over 90% adults being

fully vaccinated in early September — the vaccination

levels are relatively lower in eastern Europe. With

France setting an example, many countries are now

making it diffi�cult for the unvaccinated to freely travel

or enter certain public or even workplaces, in an at

tempt to increase vaccine uptake. And in a fi�rst, Austria

made vaccination mandatory starting February next

year and went into a national lockdown for three weeks

from November 22. Austria has managed to fully vacci

nate about 65% of its eligible population, which is one

of the lowest rates in western Europe.

While most of the new daily cases reported are

among the unvaccinated, breakthrough infections and

hospitalisations are being reported in the fully vaccinat

ed too. However, the deaths have predominantly been

among the unvaccinated. Even while WHO has called

for a moratorium on booster doses till this yearend so

vaccines become available to developing countries, its

Europe offi�ce has endorsed administering booster dos

es as a “priority” to the most vulnerable populations —

based on growing evidence of a decline in protection

against infection and mild disease among the fully vac

cinated. As evidence has shown, vaccines alone will be

insuffi�cient to break the transmission chain. Unfortu

nately, most western countries focused primarily on in

creasing vaccination coverage while foregoing simple

yet highly eff�ective nonpharmaceutical interventions

such as universal mask wearing, physical distancing

and improved ventilation in confi�ned spaces. A study,

which is yet to be peerreviewed, predicts 0.9 million

more hospitalisations and 0.3 million additional deaths

in 19 European countries where people have been

neither infected nor vaccinated. WHO predicts 0.7 mil

lion more deaths by March 2022 in Europe and central

Asia. Compliance with public health measures can in

deed avoid needless infections and deaths.

Virus rages in EuropeVaccines alone will not be able to break the

transmission chain and end the pandemic

The recent Allahabad High Court verdict that a pe

netrative sexual assault on a 10yearold boy by

an off�ender did not amount to an aggravated

form of the crime appears to be per incuriam, that is, a

ruling handed down without due regard to the law and

facts. The off�ence that was proven in the trial, and en

dorsed without demur by the High Court, involved the

child being made to perform an oral sexual act. The

Court agrees that it was a “penetrative sexual assault”

as defi�ned by the Protection of Children from Sexual Of

fences (POCSO) Act, as the accused had put his member

into the victim’s mouth. However, it did not amount to

“aggravated penetrative sexual assault”, a crime pun

ishable with a minimum prison term of 10 years that

can go up to life, Justice Anil Kumar Ojha has said. In

stead, it was punishable under Section 4 of POCSO,

which prescribes a minimum seven years. Accordingly,

he reduced the trial court sentence of 10 years in jail to

seven years. The High Court is palpably in error, as it

failed to note that a sexual off�ence takes the character

of an aggravated form of the same off�ence in certain cir

cumstances under POCSO. The main circumstances in

volving aggravation given in Section 5 are where the of

fender is a police offi�cer, a member of the armed forces,

a public servant or someone on the staff� of a jail, re

mand home, hospital, educational or religious institu

tion, or any place of custody or care and protection.

However, these are not the only circumstances.

Where the crime involves a group of off�enders, or is

done repeatedly, or when it pertains to the use of dead

ly weapons or causes grievous harm or injury, or leads

to physical or mental incapacitation, pregnancy, or dis

ease, it is also an aggravated form of the off�ence. Signif

icantly, Section 5(m) adds “whoever commits penetra

tive sexual assault on a child below 12 years” to this list.

The High Court seems to have missed either this legal

provision while reducing the sentence, or the fact that

the child was about 10 years old when the off�ence took

place. The fact that the convicted person will stay in jail

for seven years will not obviate the deleterious eff�ect of

the ruling — that a particular act, amounting to a pene

trative sexual act, does not attract the punishment pre

scribed for its aggravated form — will have on lower

courts trying similar cases. It is a matter of coincidence

that this ruling came from the Allahabad High Court on

the same day as the Supreme Court’s judgment under

scoring the importance of not diluting the gravity of an

off�ence against a child by ignoring the plain meaning of

POCSO’s provisions. The verdict in Sonu Kushwaha vs

State of U.P. is a fi�t case for review, as it seems to be

based on an error of law.

POCSO shockerHC ruling ignores specifi�c provision defi�ning

aggravated form of sexual off�ence

CMYK

M ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


OPED

“Humanity” writes: The Press Communiqueissued today states that the Mopilla prisoners were sent “in a luggage van similar tothat in which such prisoners have been regularly conveyed hitherto, without any ill effect whatsoever.” It would be very interesting in this connection to consider theinformation conveyed to us by your Calicutcorrespondent under date 22nd November1921. In the absence of any more precise details regarding the dimensions of the van, letme take the fi�gures furnished by him. Thecubic space that has been allowed accordingto this report, for 127 (the Government’s fi�gures is 100 only E.D.H.) stalwart, healthy,human beings is found to be 1215 cubic feet(1897½ feet), thus allowing each individuala space of about 9½ cubic feet. The comparison of this space, as liberally allowed by thepowers that be, to those unfortunate brethren, with the dimensions of a 3rd class 8 seater compartment of the S.I.R. Boat Mailwould help anyone to appreciate the suff�erings these poor prisoners would have beensubject to and would make one wonder, howeven a single individual could have survivedeven an hour of the journey.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO NOV. 25, 1921

Blacker than black-hole

There is consensus in the scientifi�ccommunity that organic agriculturecould reduce crop yield. Quotingthree global metadata analysis,Meemkem and Qaim (2018) pointedout that on average, the yield reduction in organic agricultural systemscould be 1925%, depending on thecrop and agroclimatic region. Toswitch to 100% organic agriculture, acountry must have robust scientifi�cevidence and a meticulously plannedmethodology along with targeted actions. Otherwise, it will plunge into afood crisis, if food security cannot beachieved by other means.

Organic maniaIn May, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered a halt to importing chemical fertilizers to turnthe island nation’s agriculture sectorfully organic. By that time, the Yalacropping season (May to August) hadalready started and farmers were using the agrochemicals available inthe market. However, no additionalagrochemicals were to be releasedin the market. The government stated that if there is any yield loss as aconsequence of this decision, the affected farmers would be compensated for it. It is unclear how the government was planning to separate yieldloss related to lack of agrochemicalsfrom yield loss due to natural causes,farmers’ attitudes, and so on.

It is apparent now that when theSri Lankan government took this policy decision, it had neither solidscientifi�c information nor a clear action plan. It had taken halfbaked advice from some opportunists whoregularly state in public that only organic and traditional agriculture issafe to the environment and humanbeings. Not only did the governmentseem to believe that there would belittle or no yield loss from agriculturethat is only organic; it also seemed tothink that all plant nutrients could beorganically produced in the countryby October 2021. If the organic agricultural production system is thatsimple and straightforward, why is

that globally, only 1.5% of farmland isorganic? Sri Lanka has been almostentirely reliant on its own rice production since the mid2000s. Couldit not have maintained this?

Unsurprisingly, even when theMaha season offi�cially started on October 15, the country was well shortof the required quantities of organicfertilizers. As the most critical plantnutrient for higher yields in Sri Lanka is nitrogen (N), the authoritieshave estimated that for this Mahaseason, about 0.1 million tonnes of Nis required for some major crops including paddy and tea. This is equivalent to about 15 million tonnes ofcompost. The country produced only around 3 million tonnes of compost by the end of August 2021.

Realising that the required quantities of organic fertilizers cannot beproduced within fi�ve months, the government attempted in September toimport solid organic fertilizers. According to the Plant Protection Act,No. 35 of 1999, no organic substancethat has harmful organisms can beimported into the country. Moreover, Sri Lanka Standards (SLSI 1704)require all imported solid organicfertilizer to be devoid of any microorganism. A tender to supply about0.1 million tonnes of solid organicfertilizer was off�ered to a Chinese fertilizer company. It was later revealedthat two samples provided by thiscompany did not pass the qualitystandards. This message was conveyed by the authorities to the company. However, due to reasons unknown, the fi�rst load of that solidorganic fertilizer is said to have come

to Sri Lankan waters and is sailingaround still looking for an opportunity to reach the shores of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, farmers started getting angry as there were no fertilizersto start cultivation. They began toprotest, demanding fertilizers to beprovided in all major agriculturalareas and setting aside preliminaryland preparation practices. They didnot want to start commercial cultivation without any assurance from thegovernment on the availability of therequired fertilizers.

Then, the government was advised to purchase a liquid nanoN fertilizer from the Indian Farmer Fertilizer Corporative Limited (IFFCO),which, some said, is organic and100% effi�cient. However, accordingto the IFFCO website, this liquid fertilizer is actually nanourea andhence cannot be used in organic agriculture as it is chemical in nature. Given the urgency of the situation, thegovernment ordered 3.1 million litresof nanourea, which has only 4% N,from IFFCO. The fi�rst quantity wasairlifted into Sri Lanka and distributed as NanoRaja among paddy farmers. Farmers were advised to apply2.5 L of NanoRaja as a foliar spray.

Scientists are sceptical about theeffi�cacy of this fertilizer as there hasbeen heavy rainfall in Sri Lanka overthe last few weeks. Nonetheless,even in India, there is limited largescale evidence on the eff�ectiveness ofthis product. Not much is knownabout the health concerns that mightarise on longterm exposure to nanoparticles. Moreover, 2.5 L of NanoRaja provides only 100g of N when at

least 50kg of N is needed for the paddy crop. The farmers will at most getan additional 510kg of N through locally available compost. The qualityof these composts, mostly producedusing municipal solid wastes, cannotbe guaranteed either, as there is noquality control mechanism in place.

Crop declineNow, even over a month after theseason started, only about 2540% offarmers have started paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka. The distributedquantities of N fertilizers have notbeen adequate to achieve the expected yield target of the farmers (46tonnes per hectare). Therefore, reduction in national paddy production is an inevitability. The samewould be true for other crop sectorsas well. Therefore, the governmentmust do something within a veryshort period of time to provide suffi�cient quantities of N fertilizer, at leastto paddy farmers and teagrowers.Failure to do so will reduce foreignexchange earnings from tea, increasefood prices, create food shortage andlead to food imports. The government will have to import food fromother countries — food that is produced using agrochemicals becauseof the higher price of organic food.This would be ironical as food without agrochemicals was one of themajor policy objectives of the ban onthe import of agrochemicals.

The overarching policy documentof the government titled ‘Vistas ofProsperity and Splendor’ promisesto provide the nation with safe foodand food security. However, the illadvised policy of banning agrochemicals, which was based on inadequate scientifi�c evidence andfalse belief, hit the Sri Lankan agriculture and plantation crop sectorslike a cyclone. With a crippling economy thanks to COVID19, this wasuncalled for. On November 24, theSri Lankan government announcedthat it would partially lift the ban onchemical fertilizers and permit theprivate sector to import these fertilizers. However, considerable damagehas already been done, with farmersclaiming that their crop productionhas declined, food prices rising, anda food crisis looming.

R.S. Dharmakeerthi is Professor in Soil

Fertility and Nutrient Management,

University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s decision to ban imports on chemical fertilizers was not backed by scientifi�c evidence

A food crisis of the government’s own making

R.S. Dharmakeerthi

A farmer works at a paddy fi�eld in Dekatana, Sri Lanka. * REUTERS

It is evident that the success of Internet fi�rmsand telcos goes hand in hand. However, theownership of approximately 18% of Jio by Facebook and Google provides a hint that newdynamics are on the horizon — with the evolution of 5G technologies, we are seeing thegrowth of an integrated sphere of cooperation as well as competition between telcosand Internet companies on account of substitute services, and competition in complementary value networks.

Asymmetric regulatory stanceThe growth in overthetop (OTT) messagingservices provided by Internet fi�rms has beenaccompanied by signifi�cant reductions in therevenues of text messaging services provided by telcos. For instance, the quarterly SMSvolume in the U.K. has declined by half to 10billion by 2021 in the past fi�ve years. Similarly, the growth of Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) services off�ered by OTT service providers is also a threat to telcos.

Complementary value networks or‘Walled Gardens’ comprise a bouquet of services provided by network operators, handset manufacturers, platform vendors, andcontent providers. An example is the onecreated by Apple with exclusive wholesaleagreements with AT&T Wireless in the early2000s for its iPhones. By subsidising theiPhone with long tenure contractual agreements, and creating a proprietary app store,Apple created a walled garden. Recently inIndia, RJio has forged arrangements withGoogle for JioPhone Next to create an ecosystem of handsets, connectivity and applications. These walled gardens often have a“platform captain” (i.e. Apple, RJio) whichprovides coordinating mechanisms, rules,key products, intellectual property and fi�nancial capital. Platform captains generallyderive business benefi�t from their pole position. Hence, members of a walled gardenmay aspire for the position of captain. Thisbrings a new element of competition into thetelcosInternet companies’ relationship.

Despite the fact that services can be substituted and despite increasing competitivepressures within walled gardens, there is anasymmetric regulatory stance with respectto telcos and Internet companies. Some ofthis stems from fundamental diff�erences inthe nature of business such as the jurisdic

tional nature of operation and technologyused. However, the asymmetry partly refl�ects a certain world view with regard to theregulation of competition across telcos andInternet fi�rms.

Net neutrality regulationAn example is net neutrality regulation.When net neutrality was conceptualised inthe early 2000s, it was meant to stem the signifi�cant market power of telcos, which provide an essential service. A dominant telcocan hinder competition in a downstreammarket by a vertical merger with content andapplication providers. Net neutrality regulation that prohibits discriminatory treatmentof Internet companies — either with respectto pricing or traffi�c management — in a senseeliminates any incentive for vertical integration. Net neutrality regulation can also be explained as a way of preventing telcos fromextracting all their revenues from Internetcompanies. This possibility arises becausesuch fi�rms have no choice but to make themselves available via all telecom service providers. On the other hand, subscribers restrict themselves to one service provider.

However, over the past decade, the Internet has evolved to a point where many Internet companies also provide an essential service and enjoy signifi�cant market power. Forinstance, web search, a market dominatedby Google, is often the starting point for navigating the World Wide Web. Without searchneutrality, search results may be manipulated to favour certain fi�rms. This concern becomes heightened in the presence of verticalintegration between the search engine company and downstream companies. Hence,net neutrality principles need to be appliedto Internet companies as well.

Beyond net neutrality, just as it is mandatory for telcos to provide “equal access” forinterconnecting with other telcos’ networks,social media networks, instant messengers,and indeed any Internet service that exhibitscritical mass dynamics needs to be governedby interconnection regulation.

In sum, there is an element of competitionbetween telcos and Internet companies inthe context of overlapping services andwalled gardens. Hence, there is a need for ameasure of regulatory parity between thetwo. In the U.S. and in India, while the sectorregulator makes rules for telcos, the competition regulator oversees the behaviour ofthe Internet fi�rms. It is time for a unifi�ed regulatory framework. A semblance of this convergence is visible in the European Union.India too needs an integrated perspective.

Rohit Prasad and V. Sridhar are Professors at MDI

Gurgaon and IIIT Bangalore, respectively

A unifi�ed regulatory frameworkAs there is competition between telcos and Internetcompanies, regulatory parity between them is required

Rohit Prasad & V. Sridhar

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DATA POINT

Some members of the Congress’s oldguard in Kerala are up in arms againstthe ongoing reorganisation of theparty in the State. The drubbing theparty received in the Assembly elections this year forced a leadershipchange which did not go down wellwith senior leaders such as formerChief Minister Oommen Chandy andformer Leader of the Opposition inthe Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala.The new Kerala Pradesh CongressCommittee (KPCC) president, K. Sudhakaran, and the Leader of the Opposition, V.D. Satheesan, came underfi�re from leader V.M. Sudheeran for not consultingveteran leaders ‘adequately’ while fi�nalisingthe list of district Congress presidents. During thisturbulence, disciplinary actionwas initiated against leaders whomade disparaging public statements against the selection.

Reorganisation eff�ortsWhen the party went to the polls, itsweaknesses included its unwieldy,topheavy structure. The shakeupsaw a nearly 500member State Committee give way to a ‘manageable’ 56member body. The new leadership isnow gearing up to select district committee members — not more than 51in bigger districts and up to 31 insmaller ones — by midDecember.

That the KPCC reshuffl�e has almost rendered the 21member political aff�airs committee (PAC) appointed by the AllIndia CongressCommittee in 2016 redundant or relegated it to an advisory role has riledsenior leaders who want the PAC tobe in the saddle. That, however,would be counterproductive giventhat there could be runins with thenew State committee.

To rebuild the party at the grassroots, the Congress is now mobilisingunit committees below the booth level. The plan is to have at least onelakh such committees. A structuredprogramme to train volunteers is already being implemented at variouslevels, with the thrust on “the organisational history, secular tradition

and democratic outlook”. Also on thecards is a ‘political school’, to be setup fi�rst in Thiruvananthapuram, tostrengthen the ideological base andpolitical vision of leaders.

Winning back supportThe Congress’s commitment to secularism was called into question whenthe party proposed to bring legislation criminalising women’s entry into Sabarimala. A rethink in the partyabout that campaign is apparent considering the Congress’s refusal to fallfor a similar communally chargedpropaganda by the BJP against restaurants serving ‘halal’ food and citing ‘halal’ markings on a few parcelsof jaggery purchased by Sabarimalatemple authorities in 2019 to preparearavana prasadam.

Another big task for the party’sState leadership is to win back the

communities that have driftedaway. It was the rising prominence of the Muslim League in

the 2011 Chandy government that created badblood within the Congress

led UDF and gave heartburn to the strongest fac

tion of the Kerala Congress, infl�uential amongthe Catholic Christians.

With the Kerala Congress(Mani) now aligned with the Left andsections of the church trying to curryfavour with the BJP, it is an uphill taskfor the Congress to regain the trust oflarge sections of Christian voters.

Meanwhile, the most vexing question is whether the organisationalreshuffl�e is just another desultory exercise considering that the organisational elections are set to take placein a year or so. Detractors of the reshuffl�e point to the ongoing membership drive, slated to end on March 31,2022, if not extended. There wouldbe a freeze on nomination of party offi�cials once the drive is over and elections are declared. Should the partywait until then to set its house in order is a milliondollar question. Thepresent reorganisation process mayoff�er no silver bullet, but it can givethe party a sense of direction.

[email protected]

Task cut out for Congress in KeralaThe reorganisation process may off�er no silverbullet, but it can give the party a sense of direction

S. Anandan

STATE OF PLAY

Washington, Nov. 24: On the basis of reportsfrom its own Intelligence channels the U.S. isunderstood to have concluded that regularunits of the Indian Army have moved intoEast Bengal during the last 48 hours. Offi�cialsources here admit that Pakistani allegationsthat a fullscale attack by 12 or more Indiandivisions is a gross exaggeration. Their estimate rather is that two or three Indian brigades have moved into East Bengal in Jesoresector to support a Mukti Bahini off�ensive.These offi�cials are therefore not acceptingIndian denials of absolute noninvolvementin the fi�ghting that has fl�ared up in East Bengal. The U.S. assessment therefore is thatwhile the present situation is far short ofwar, the prospect of such a confl�ict is nowmuch nearer. Washington is thereforewatching the situation to see how it developsbefore adopting any particular course of action. This is evident from the fact that neither the State Department nor the WhiteHouse has until now called in either the Indian or Pakistani envoys here to expresstheir concern — calls to the two countries tocool have so far only emanated from pressspokesmen of the U.S. Government.

FIFTY YEARS AGO NOVEMBER 25, 1971

U.S. feels Pindi charge exaggerated

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

CMYK

M ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

cial statement. The fi�rst fourphases have already seen almost 600 lakh tonnes ofgrain allocated to States, at asubsidy cost of about ₹�2.07lakh crore. Mr. Pandey saidthat despite the higher outgo due to PMGKAY, the FCI’sfoodgrain reserves currently stand at a record 616 lakhtonnes and are expected toincrease to 942 lakh tonnesby June 2022 following rabiseason procurement,stretching FCI’s storage capacities to their maximumlimits.

Several other State Governments and political partiesdemanded an extension bythe Centre, although FoodMinistry offi�cials said no direct request had been received, and Mr. Pandey insisted that the decision hadnot been taken with U.P.alone in mind.

This fi�fth phase of thescheme, from December2021 to March 2022 will entail an estimated subsidy of₹�53,345 crore, with a totaloutgo of 163 lakh tonnes ofgrain, according to an offi�

Centre’s free foodgrainscheme on till March

cinated improved from 62%76% and children under sixmonths who were exclusively breastfed also showed asharp improvement from54.9% to 63.7%.

Though the gains in childhood nutrition were minimal, women and men (1549) who had a below normalbody mass index (BMI) eachdropped roughly four percentage points.

Those overweight (or hada higher BMI than ideal) increased by around 4 percentage points. Abnormal BMIsare linked to an increase inobesity and other noncommunicable diseases.

India's battle with anaemia also appears to have faltered. The proportion ofanaemic children (659months) increased from58% to 67%. Women aged 1549 who were anaemic increased from 53% to 57%and men of the same age increased from 29% to 31%between both editions ofthe NFHS.

“This is a signifi�cant feat forthe country’s familyplanning programme, whichdoes not include coercivepolicies. These fi�ndings bustthe populationexplosionmyth and show that Indiamust steer away from coercive measures of populationcontrol. While the increasein the use of modern contraceptive methods is heartening, an increase in femalesterilisation coupled withcontinued stagnation inmale sterilisation uptakeshows that the onus of family planning still lies with women,” the Population Foundation of India, anongovernmental organisation, said in a statement.

An overall survey of themajor diff�erences betweenthe NFHS5 and NFHS4 suggests that the use of contraceptives has improved from53.5% to 66.7% and institutional births increased from78.9% to 88.6%. The proportion of children (1223months) who were fully vac

More hospital births,indicates NFHS5

the joint platform of 10 Central trade unionsmeet theleaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha to plan theircourse of action.

“We will intensify ourprotests to demand the repeal of the labour codes.The Government is onlylooking at elections. For thelabour codes, they havefailed to get the support ofStates and have the compulsion of the upcoming Assembly polls so they keeppostponing the rollout,”she said.

Speaking to The Hindu onOctober 28, Mr. Yadav saidthat 90% of the States haddrafted their rules and thatthe Centre would completethe process at the “appropriate time”. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s announcement on November 19 thatthe three agriculture lawswould be repealed led to renewed calls from trade unions for repeal of the labourcodes too.

Amarjeet Kaur, generalsecretary of the AllIndiaTrade Union Congress, said

Trade unions wantlabour codes repeal

case, the court said Statesacross the country have alarge number of criminalcases pending against former and sitting legislators, andpollbound Uttar Pradeshmay host the “largest”.

“There are a large number of cases...the largest is inyour State,” Chief Justice Ramana addressed the counselappearing for the AllahabadHigh Court.

The lawyer for the HighCourt said there were morethan 1,300 criminal cases inUttar Pradesh against legislators. Sixtythree SpecialCourts have been constituted to hear these cases.

“Are these Special Courtsconstituted for this purpose[the trial of criminal casesagainst former and sittingMPs/MLAs] exclusively?”the CJI asked the lawyer. Justice Surya Kant, on the Special Bench, said the totalpendency of such cases inthe State was 1,374. “Youhave not established a singlecourt exclusively for thispurpose,” he said.

Justice Kant said existingcourts have been “labelled”Special Courts..“Is it your intention to drag on these cases?” Chief Justice Ramanaasked. Over 4400 criminaltrials involving MPs andMLAs have been pendingtrial for several decades.

The Government had maintained that disqualifi�cationunder the Representation ofthe People Act of 1951 for theperiod of prison sentenceand six years thereafter wasenough for legislators.

In a separate case, theapex court said States have alarge number of criminalcases pending against former and sitting legislators, andpollbound Uttar Pradeshmay host the “largest”.

But the Centre’s stand in2020 contradicts that of theElection Commission of India (ECI). In 2017, the toppoll body had endorsed thecall for a lifetime ban in theapex court. It had arguedthat such a move would“champion the cause of decriminalisation of politics”.The ECI had then agreed inthe Supreme Court that aban would be in the spirit offundamental rights of theConstitution, including theright to equality.

The petitioner, advocateAshwini Kumar Upadhyay,urged the need for a levelplaying fi�eld. He said if aconvicted person cannot bea government clerk, thesame rule should apply to apolitician.“A person whocannot be a governmentclerk, can be a Minister,” Mr.Upadhyay submitted.

Meanwhile, in a separate

Will you ban convictsfrom polls, SC asks Govt.

Pak. allows transportationof aid to AfghanistanISLAMABAD

Pakistan on Wednesday said

it has formally informed India

about its decision to allow

the transportation of an

Indian humanitarian shipment

of 50,000 metric tonnes of

wheat and life saving

drugs to Afghanistan through

its territory on an

“exceptional basis for

humanitarian purposes”.

Prime Minister Imran Khan

made the announcement on

Monday. PTI

IN BRIEF

HC rejects Tejpal’s pleafor incamera hearingMUMBAI

The Bombay High Court in

Goa on Wednesday rejected a

plea filed by former journalist

Tarun Tejpal seeking

incamera hearing of a

petition filed by the Goa

Government challenging his

acquittal in the 2013 rape

case. A Division Bench was

hearing an application filed

by Mr. Tejpal citing the CrPC

and an order passed by the

High Court giving guidelines

to cover cases of sexual

harassment.

Retired SC judge mustprobe Amravati riots: BJPPUNE

The rioting that erupted in

Malegaon, Amravati and

Nanded earlier this month

should be investigated by a

retired Supreme Court judge,

said BJP Maharashtra unit

president Chandrakant Patil,

while demanding that the

State Government drop all

charges against BJP activists

arrested in connection with

the violence.

IT Dept. detects ₹�400crore undisclosed income NEW DELHI

The IncomeTax Department

has detected undisclosed

income to the tune of about

₹�400 crore during searches

on two real estate groups

based in and around Delhi.

They are engaged in the

construction of commercial

and residential projects. On

preliminary analysis of the

data seized during the

operation, the agency has

found that these groups were

receiving part of the

consideration in cash against

the sale of flats and the cash

was not being recorded in the

books of accounts.

In an operation by the police, three “militants” werekilled in a busy market in anuptown area of Rambagh inSrinagar on Wednesdayevening.

The police identifi�ed thedead as The Resistance Front“commander” Mehran Yaseen Shalla from Jamalattahere, Manzoor Ahmad Mirand Arafat Ahmad Sheikhfrom Pulwama.

According to the police,Shalla was behind the killingof Meeran Ali Sheikh, subinspector Arshad Ahmad,school principal SupinderKour and teacher DeepakChand in Srinagar.

Police ambushWitnesses said policemen,many in plainclothes, had

laid an ambush on the busyLal ChowkRambagh routeand opened fi�re upon themen travelling in a car near

Rambagh. Women were seencrying and raising slogans onthe roadside, as the streetwas splashed with blood.

“A small team from theSrinagar police signalled asuspected Santro car to stop.However, the terrorists start

ed fi�ring indiscriminately,while trying to fl�ee under thecover of fi�re. The fi�re was,however, eff�ectively retaliated,” InspectorGeneral ofPolice Vijay Kumar said.

He added that three militants were killed in the operation.

Several casesPrior to joining the terrorranks, several cases regarding involvement in stonethrowing incidents were alsoregistered against Shalla, thepolice said.

Sheikh was involved in thekilling of a nonlocal labourer in the Litter area of Pulwama, they added.

The police said they recovered incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, from them, butdid not provide details.

‘Militant behind school killings dead’TRF ‘commander’, among 3 killed in Srinagar, had masterminded shooting of principal, teacher: police

Peerzada Ashiq

Srinagar

Encounter site: Policemen inspecting a spot after three militants were killed in a shootout inSrinagar on Wednesday. * NISSAR AHMAD

Pragya Singh Thakur, theBJP MP from Bhopal andaccused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast that killedsix and injured 101, appeared before the specialNational InvestigationAgency (NIA) Court onWednesday.

She told special judgeP.R. Sitre that she had to beadmitted to the KokilalbenHospital. The court repliedthat she should be presentwhen required. Ms. Thakurhad also appeared beforethe same judge on January4 after being given a “lastchance” to come beforethe court.

Then too, Ms. Thakurhad sought an exemptionfrom physical appearanceciting medical and securityconcerns.

On June 7, 2019, Ms. Thakur had told the court thatshe did not know anythingabout the blast.

She was granted bail bythe Bombay High Court onApril 25, 2017 after thecourt held “prima facie, nocase was made out againsther”.

Pragya Thakurappearsbefore court


Mumbai

Former Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Param BirSingh told a judicial commission that the allegationsof corruption he madeagainst former Home Minister of Maharashtra AnilDeshmukh were based on“hearsay”.

Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, on behalf of Mr.Singh, told a onemembercommittee of retired JusticeK.U. Chandiwal that Mr.Singh did not have anythingfurther to share in thematter.

Mr. Singh, who has beengranted protection from arrest by the Supreme Courtafter a lower court declaredhim a “proclaimed off�ender”, on Wednesday said hewas in Chandigarh andwould visit Mumbai soon.

Mr. Chandrachud onTuesday said he would fi�lean affi�davit in a week and “itwill say nothing more thanwhat has already been said,which is that the information given to Mr. Singh wasprovided by some offi�cers”.

“He [Mr. Singh] has no

fi�rsthand information ofwhat transpired,” the lawyersaid.

He added that the information provided by MrSingh, in that sense, washearsay. “Even if he were tostep into the witness box itwould have no value in lawbecause it would be what someone else told him. Therefore, he has nothing todepose.”

Two bailable warrantshave been issued against Mr.Singh by the ChandiwalCommission. The commission was appointed onMarch 30 by the Maharashtra Government to inquireinto the allegations made byMr. Singh in a letter hewrote to the Chief Minister.

‘Claims against formerMinister only hearsay’ No fi�rsthand information: Param Bir


Mumbai

Param Bir Singh

Time and again India hasproved itself to be “fi�rst responder” in the IndianOcean Region (IOR), Defence Minister RajnathSingh said on Wednesdaywhile stating that the COVID19 pandemic has reaffi�rmed the “centrality ofmultilateralism” in our interconnected world not only for matters of international security but also disastermanagement.

“India’s unique positionin the IOR, complementedby a capability of our armedforces, enables us to contribute signifi�cantly in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) situations,” saidMr. Singh while virtually inaugurating the 5th WorldCongress on Disaster Management .

“India has been regularlyconducting exercises to deepen the HADR cooperationand coordination amongour neighbours and friendlycountries with a focus onsharing expertise and building capabilities,” he said.

In this context, he re

ferred to some of the HADRmissions in the IOR undertaken by India in recent years,including Operation Rahatin Yemen in 2015, cyclone inSri Lanka in 2016; quake inIndonesia in 2019; CycloneIdai in Mozambique andfl�ooding and landslips inMadagascar in January2020.

Challenging landscape Stating that we live in a challenging geopolitical landscape where countries haveto face, traditional and nontraditional threats includingnatural calamities which include pandemics like COVID19, which has wreakedhavoc in the last two years,Mr. Singh said, “We mustlook at cooperating moreclosely to strengthen international architecture forbuilding structures to prevent and manage future disasters.”

He said benefi�ts of cuttingedge technologiesemerging in the fi�elds ofspace, communication, bioengineering, biomedicsand Artifi�cial Intelligenceshould be shared with all.

‘India fi�rst responder inIndian Ocean Region’Rajnath highlights unique position


NEW DELHI

The credit for loosening thesmog’s choke on Delhi in thepast few days largely goes tothe wind, an “‘act of God”,but the wind may die by theend of the day to leave theCapital again at the mercy ofpollution, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana told the Government on Wednesday.

“We are saved because ofthe wind,” the Chief JusticeRamana addressed SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, forthe Centre. “It is what wecall in law an ‘act of God,’”Justice D.Y. Chandrachudnoted.

The SolicitorGeneral saidthe ban on construction anddemolition activities had notbeen extended in the Capi

tal. But the ban would be reimposed if the situation worsened, he said.

The court reimposed theban in DelhiNCR as an interim measure. The court nevertheless allowed nonpolluting activities related to

construction like plumbingand interior decoration tocontinue. The Bench directed that funds collected as labour cess for the welfare ofconstruction workers shouldbe paid for their subsistence.

“I think there is no sub

stantial change. It appears tobe getting serious again.. Youwill have to take measuresfor another three days,” theChief Justice told the Government.

The court clarifi�ed it hadno intention to dispose ofthe case or stop monitoringthe pollution graph. If necessary, it would hear the case“almost every day”, theBench underscored.

Justice Chandrachud criticised how the Governmentwaited for pollution to take aturn for the worse beforescurrying to kick in pollutioncontrol measures.

The court urged the Government to continue withantipollution measures foranother three days. It listedthe case on Monday.

SC reimposes Delhi construction banCourt slams Govt. for delayed response, says measures should be ready

Gasping for air: Antismog gun being used against airpollution in New Delhi on Wednesday. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI

A webinar on MBA/M.Sc. inanalytics with work permitin ‘U.S., Canada and Europe’ will be held as a partof The Hindu EducationPlusStudy Abroad Series presented by INSOFE at 6.30p.m. on November 27.

INSOFE is a Data ScienceEducation institute withworld class research andconsulting experience. Itoff�ers global masters programmes in data scienceand business analytics tostudents from diverse education disciplines. The webinar series, organised by TheHindu, aims to help graduates fi�nd the right careerpathway.

Venkatesh Sunkad, Dean,Business Programs, INSOFE; Suzy Siegle, Provostand Executive Vice President, Professor of Management, Walsh College, U.S.A.;Maud Le Bars, South AsiaArea Manager, Rennes

School of Business, France;and Robin Ritchie, AssociateDean, Professional Graduate Programs and Associate Professor, Marketing,Carleton University, Canadawill speak as a part of thewebinar.

The discussion will bemoderated by YashasviniRajeshwar, Founder andCEO, AuxoHub.

To register for thewebinar, visit: https://bit.ly/INSEDIT or scanQR Code

Webinar on career inbusiness analytics Series organised by The Hindu

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI

The Assam Government hasdecided to grant its employees leave for four dayson New Year to meet theirparents or inlaws.

Employees whose parents or inlaws are not alivewill not be entitled for this“special headquartersleave” from January 69,2022, the State Cabinet

headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma decidedon Wednesday.

The Cabinet meeting washeld for the fi�rst time inwestern Assam’s Bongaigaon. Ministers, IAS and IPSoffi�cers posted in the Statecan also avail this leave butfi�eld workers, including police offi�cers up to the rank ofSuperintendent of Police,cannot.

Assam employees to getleave to meet parentsSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

The historic land boundaryagreement between Indiaand Bangladesh has set a unique example on resolvingborder disputes through mutual negotiations at a timewhen “certain” countries aretrying to alter the status quoby force, said Army chiefGeneral Manoj Naravane onWednesday without naminganyone.

His comments come inthe backdrop of continuingnegotiations between Indiaand China for disengagement and deescalation towards ending the ongoingstandoff� in eastern Ladakh.

Speaking at a seminar on‘IndiaBangladesh: 50 yearsof friendship’ organised bythe Centre for Land WarfareStudies, Bangladesh HighCommissioner MuhammadImran noted that water shar

ing was an “emotive issue” inBangladesh and called for attention on resolving the outstanding issues.

“The historic land boundary agreement betweenour nations has set a uniqueexample on how to resolveborder disputes through mutual negotiations and a constructive outlook. This at atime when certain countriesare trying to alter the statusquo by force, bypassing traditional norms and protocols and with complete disregard to the territorialintegrity of others,” Gen. Naravane said.

“Such agreements as thatbetween ours epitomises the

three ‘Ms’ — Mutual respect,[mutual] trust and [mutual]commitment to the rulesbased order.”

India and Bangladeshhave resolved both the landand maritime boundary issues by mutual agreement.

This year marks the diamond jubilee of the 1971 warand also 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic tiesbetween the two countries.

Observing that there wereissues in the bilateral relationship in the past, Mr. Imran said that under the present Government of SheikhHasina the relationship between the countries hadmade progress.

‘Bangladesh pact example of mutual respect’‘Certain’ countries are trying to alter status quo by force, says Naravane

General Manoj Naravane

Dinakar Peri

NEW DELHI

CMYK

M ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


NEWS

The BJP’s SC Morcha willorganise 20 big programmes covering nearly150 Assembly segments inUttar Pradesh, apart fromseveral programmes inother States, to mark ‘Constitution Day’ from November 26 to December 6 (considered the deathanniversary or ‘Maha Parinirvan Diwas’ of Constitution framer Dr. B.R. Ambedkar).

Sharing the details of theprogrammes, Lal SinghArya, BJP’s SC Morcha president, said starting on November 26, the day theConstitution was adoptedby India, ‘Samvidhan Gaurav Yatras’ will be organised by the party workersacross the country in alldistricts. These programmes will conclude onDecember 6.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP’s headquarters in New Delhi, Mr.Arya said all district unitsof the party would organise programmes on Constitution Day in their respective offi�ces. All theseprogrammes will start bybowing in front of Constitution and B.R. Ambedkar,who drafted the Constitution, he said.

Asked about programmes organised in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Arya said20 big programmes hadbeen planned in the State.Many of these will be addressed by Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath, and Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma. Theseprogrammes will span over20 districts covering nearly150 Assembly segments.Sources said special emphasis on these programmes will be on Daliticon Ambedkar. His largesize portraits will be usedin the public rallies.

ConstitutionDay: Morchaplans big


NEW DELHI

The Centre must not disturbthe federal structure, WestBengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly toldPrime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday at ameeting in Delhi, fl�aggingthe expansion of the BSF’sjurisdiction in the borderStates. Ms. Banerjee hasbeen demanding that theamendment to the BSF Actbe withdrawn immediately.

The Union Home Ministry,in a notifi�cation on October11, amended the BSF Act of1968 expanding its jurisdiction from 15 km to 50 km inborder States. Though theBSF does not have policingpowers, it can apprehend asuspect and conduct “preliminary questioning”. Theseized consignment or suspect has to be handed overto the local police within 24hours.

West Bengal has a 2,216km border with Bangladesh,and the ruling TrinamoolCongress contends that theextension of jurisdiction will

eff�ectively bring nearly onethird of the State’s territoryunder BSF control. Of the 23districts in the State, nearly10 will be aff�ected. Thiswould have an impact on 21of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, which can havelarger political implications.

Ms. Banerjee said she toldthe PM that if the law and order was solely a State subjectand if this equilibrium waschanged, then it would lead

to an obvious confrontation.“Our country has an esta

blished federal structure. Weare not against the BSF, I respect all agencies. But lawand order is a State subject.Giving more powers will leadto a confrontation,” Ms. Banerjee told presspersons.She referred to incidents ofrecent encounters that theBSF has had in the State. “Ifyou need more power toman the borders, then you

should ask for the State Government’s help. But do notunnecessarily disturb thefederal structure. This issuemust be debated and the lawmust be withdrawn,” shesaid.

Ms. Banerjee said she hadinvited the PM to inauguratethe Global Business Summitin West Bengal next year. Sheurged him to clear ₹�96,000crore in dues that the Centreowed the State.

The Trinamool is trying toexpand its footprint acrossthe country and making a serious eff�ort to dislodge theCongress from the positionof the lead Opposition party.Asked if she will be meetingany other Opposition leaders, Ms. Banerjee said herDelhi visit was specifi�cally tomeet the Prime Minister.

No meet with SoniaShe snapped at reporterswhen asked why she was notmeeting Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, whose 10 Janpath house used to be a regular stop for her during everyDelhi visit. “Why should Imeet Sonia every time? It isnot constitutionally mandated.”

She said she had raisedthe issue of violence in Tripura where Trinamool workers were allegedly assaultedby BJP workers. On the UttarPradesh election, she said:“If Trinamool can help defeat the BJP in U.P., we willgo… If Akhilesh [SamajwadiParty chief Akhilesh Yadav]wants our help we will give.”

Don’t disturb federalism: Mamata to PMIn meeting with Modi, West Bengal CM demands rollback of the expanded jurisdiction of BSF


New Delhi

State interests: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting West Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee in New Delhi on Wednesday. * PTI

Senior Congress leader andLeader of the Opposition inthe Meghalaya Assembly,Mukul Sangma, along with11 other Congress legislatorsare said to have joined theAll India Trinamool Congress late on Wednesdayevening.

There was, however, noformal announcement bythe MLAs as they are likelyto hold a press conferencein Meghalaya’s capital Shillong on Thursday.

Trinamool Congresssources, however, confi�rmed the development.Mr. Sangma, along with hiscolleagues, submitted ajoint letter to Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, a source confi�rmed to The Hindu.

Principal OppositionWith this development, theTrinamool Congress will bethe principal Oppositionparty in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly eventhough it had not won any

seat in the 2018 Assemblyelection in the State.

The Congress that so farhad 17 legislators will nowbe reduced to only fi�veMLAs.

Among those who aresaid to have joined the Trinamool, eight MLAs, including former Chief MinisterMr. Sangma, are from theGaro Hills, while the remaining four legislators arefrom the Khasi Jaintia Hills.

Former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi had met Mr.Sangma and State Congresschief Vincent Pala in the fi�rstweek of October in Delhi toresolve their diff�erences.But the meeting clearlyfailed to prevent the formerChief Minister from switching over to the Trinamool.

In the 60member Meghalaya Assembly, the National People’s Party (NPP)ledcoalition is in government.

The NPP is a part of theNational Democratic Alliance in the Centre as wellas an ally of the BJP inManipur.

12 Congress MLAs joinTrinamool in Meghalaya Former CM Mukul Sangma among them


New Delhi

Uttar Pradesh’s farmers facehigher losses in comparisonto their counterparts in Kerala, Punjab and even Jharkhand, due to the current regime of patchy procurementat minimum support priceswhich are not comprehensive, according to the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS).

Problem remainsFarm unions are continuingtheir agitation calling for theruling BJP to be voted out inUttar Pradesh’s upcomingAssembly election, arguingthat while the repeal of farmlaws will prevent future catastrophe, a new law guaranteeing comprehensive MSPrates for all farmers is need

ed to deal with the currentagrarian crisis.

“This struggle was neverjust about the repeal of thethree black laws. The mainproblem is yet to be solved,”Ashok Dhawale, president ofthe Communist Party of In

diaaffi�liated AIKS, said onWednesday, explaining whyprotesters are not goinghome yet.

As part of the unions’ MissionUttar Pradesh campaign, the AIKS claimed thatthe prevailing market priceof paddy in Uttar Pradeshwas just ₹�1,100 a quintal,lower than the ₹�1,960 perquintal rate set by the Centreas MSP.

Across the country, only8.6% of agricultural households cultivating paddy wereable to sell their crop to a Government agency at the setMSP rate, the AIKS noted.

Several other major UttarPradesh crops do not benefi�tfrom the MSP regime at all,including potatoes, pulsesand sugar cane.

MSP law required to tideover farm crisis: AIKS‘Middlemen benefi�t without Government procurement’

A banner at the site ofprotest at Singhu.


NEW DELHI

The Congress on Wednesday issued a showcausenotice to its Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, wife of the former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, seeking anexplanation for her “antiparty activities”.

Issuing the notice to Ms.Kaur, Congress leader Harish Choudhary, inchargeof party’s Punjab aff�airs,wrote, “For the last manydays, we are continuouslyreceiving reports fromCongress workers, MLAs,leaders from Patiala andthe media about your antiparty activities.”

In the notice, the Congress asked Ms. Kaur to explain her stand on the issuewithin seven days “otherwise the party will beforced to take necessarydisciplinary action”.

Cong. noticeto Amarinderwife Preneet

Press Trust of India

Chandigarh

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday drove a jeep, his fi�rstvehicle, down memory laneand later inaugurated a 11foot ‘lantern’ (the party’ssymbol) at the party’s headquarters in Patna. Mr. Prasad also praised his heir apparent and younger sonTejashwi Yadav for steeringthe party to a great height.

“After several years, Idrove my fi�rst vehicle. In thisworld everyone is a driver insome way or another. Maythe vehicle of love, harmony, equality, prosperity,peace, patience, justice andhappiness in everyone’s lifekeep running with joy by

taking everyone along,”tweeted Mr. Prasad in Hindialong with the video of himdriving the jeep.

Clad in a white vest anddhoti, Mr. Prasad, 73, lookedcomposed while driving thevehicle.

“I used to drive this vehicle with the then Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur whowhile sitting beside me kepttelling me that I drive fastand well. It was his way totell me to drive slowly,” Mr.Prasad recalled with a smile.

In Patna, Lalu tries to showwho is in the driving seatIn nostalgia trip, RJD leader drives fi�rst vehicle he owned

Amarnath Tewary

Patna

Down memory lane: RJD chief Lalu Prasad driving a jeep, his fi�rst vehicle, in Patna on Wednesday. * PTI

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

On the draw

Rebel Congress MLA fromRae Bareli Aditi Singh andBSP MLA from AzamgarhVandana Singh joined theruling BJP in pollbound Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.

UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi is the sitting MPfrom the Rae Bareli LokSabha constituency whileSP president Akhilesh Yadav is the MP from Azamgarh.

Ms. Singh, after joiningthe BJP, said she was inspired by the work of Modiand CM Yogi Adityanath.

Congress, BSPMLAs joinBJP in U.P.


LUCKNOW

The Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) on Wednesday inthe Supreme Court defended its investigation into theGodhra riots cases of 2002.Appearing before a Benchled by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, senior advocate MukulRohatgi said the SIT, whichwas appointed by the apexcourt, did a “thorough” jobin probing the riots.

Mr. Rohatgi said the allegations of a “larger conspira

cy” behind the riots wasbaseless. The role of everyaccused was looked into bythe SIT. Accusations of “collaboration” by it were reckless, Mr. Rohatgi submitted.“There is no material to conclude that there was any other conspiracy than the casesthat are being tried,” the senior advocate argued.

He said several cases hadbeen reopened and investigated again. Chargesheetswere fi�led.

The senior lawyer said no

FIR had been registered onthe basis of Ms. Jafri’s complaint of a larger conspiracy.

In an earlier hearing, theapex court had observedthat its September 12, 2011order, had merely directedthe SIT to “look into” thematerial brought forth byMs. Jafri and fi�le a fi�nal report before the magistratecourt concerned in Gujarat.

Following the apex courtorder in 2011, the SIT hadgone on to fi�le a closure report in February 2012.

SIT defends investigationinto 2002 Godhra riots cases It calls allegations of a ‘larger conspiracy’ baseless

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Ahead of the 2022 Assembly election in Gujarat, theCongress on Wednesdaylaunched a campaign thatchallenges the “GujaratModel”. The party allegedthat three lakh people diedof COVID19 in the Stateand demanded ₹�4 lakh ascompensation for kin ofthe victims.

Termed the “CongressNyay Campaign”, the shortvideo has former Congresschief Rahul Gandhi assuring people that his partywill make sure the kin ofthe victims receive compensation. He also urgedpeople to register themselves on www.4lakhdena-hoga.com. He said the Government had acknowledged only 10,000 deaths.

3 lakh COVIDvictims inGujarat: Rahul


New Delhi

CMYK

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DELHI THE HINDU


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1 Commotion from one heldup in court? (6)

4 Rain storms crossing in the morning around harbour (6)

9 Emperor shoots arrogant guards (4)

10 Say crab cactus, near rocks (10)

11 “Harischandra” initially screened from machine projecting movie

(6)

12 Reverend airing sticky stuff with kid in scheduled hour (4,4)

13 American soldiers entering welcome treaty (9)

15 Chase people (4)

16 Story of son succeeding king in musical composition (4)

17 A sacred book with heavyweight describing India’s struggle (9)

21 In the US, say red party captures a state (8)

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+ 13411SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 13410 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

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In the depiction of Krishna avatar in the Bhagavata Purana,many people get the chance to move with Him closely andexperience His presence. They are attracted to Him and express their devotion in their individual ways. Among themUddhava, a kinsman and great devotee of Krishna, is described as one who is also most dear to the Lord. At the endof His avatar, when Krishna has to depart, Uddhava is unable to bear the thought of being separated from Him andvoices his many concerns to the Lord, pointed out Sri Dushyanth Sridhar in a discourse.

The Supreme Lord, the embodiment of Satchitananda,is beyond form and name; yet He came down to earth in human form for the sake of His devotees.

Now, without Krishna’s protection what would be the fateof people in Kali Yuga when cruelty is sure to hold full sway,asks Uddhava. Krishna should not leave the earth, for evengood people shall feel the adverse infl�uences of Kali Yuga. Inthe Bhagavata Mahatmya, it is held that the Lord started tothink deeply on what Uddhava said and then decided to assimilate all His powers and essence into the text BhagavataPurana. Krishna tells Uddhava that one who has intense lovefor Him and constantly remembers Him with love and devotion is sure to get liberated from samsara. He can attain whatever he wants.

Bhakti helps to initiate the thoughts of the Lord in peopleand by listening to the purana or by reading it one graduallybegins to feel the presence of the Lord in the text. The purana gives mental strength to people in Kali Yuga to overcomethe power of Maya that distorts one’s understanding ofTruth. It removes the sins of people and helps them to winover the passions of lust and anger.

FAITH

Bhakti in Kali Yuga

The Union Health Ministryon Wednesday expressedconcern over decliningweekly COVID19 testingrates in Nagaland, Sikkim,Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa,Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir,Punjab, Rajasthan, WestBengal and Ladakh, and directed the 13 States and Union Territories to rectify the“worrying trend”.

The Ministry, in a letter,noted that in the absence ofsustained levels of suffi�cienttesting, it was diffi�cult to determine the true extent ofthe spread of the infection.

With many countries witnessing surges in COVID19cases despite high levels ofvaccination, there was a

need for continued vigil, given the unpredictable andcontagious nature of the disease, it said. “Hence, all efforts must be implementedto preserve the gains madeso far and to prevent deterioration of COVID scenarioacross the country,” the letter said.

According to data released by the Ministry, Naga

land reported 342 averagedaily tests in the week ending November 22. This is instark contrast to the 1,250average daily tests conducted in the period August 2329. The Ministry further saidthat worrying trends with regards to tests, tests per million, positivity rate and higher dependence on rapidantigen tests had been observed in various districts ofthe State.

“Also, with the onset ofwinter and increased pollution in some States, prevalence of ILI/SARI and respiratory distress symptomsshould be closely monitored, with tests conductedregularly for timely monitoring and clustering of casesfor early hotspot identifi�cation,” it said.

Centre raises concern overfall in COVID19 testing rates Health Ministry writes to 13 States and Union Territories


New Delhi

A health worker collectingswabs in New Delhi.

* SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Private hospitals in Statessuch as Gujarat and Jharkhand could face wastage ofCOVID19 vaccines as stocksapproach the expiry date,Girdhar Gyani, directorgeneral of the Association ofHealthcare Providers (India),says.

By the association’s survey, such a situation can arise as early as December if amechanism to remedy this isnot immediately put inplace.

“This is happening in theprivate healthcare sector. Weare getting news from otherparts of the country alsoabout vaccine stocks nearingexpiry date. The UnionHealth Ministry has given usthis understanding that theymay export the excess stockto prevent waste. We haveapproached the Ministry ask

ing it to direct manufacturersto take back the excess stockand also look into makingbooster dose available forhealthcare workers whowere vaccinated early thisyear,” Mr. Gyani said.

According to the HealthMinistry, the States and theUnion Territories have morethan 21.65 crore balance and

unutilised vaccine doses.Earlier, the Central DrugsStandard Control Organisation had agreed to extendCovaxin’s shelf life to 12months from the manufacturing date.

The existing shelf life isnine months, which is sameas that of Covishield. Theshelf life of Covishield was in

creased from six to ninemonths.

Millions of dosesHarsh Mahajan, president,NATHEALTH, a healthcarebody which raises issues onaccess and quality of healthcare, said it was presumedthat there was unused stockof between fi�ve and 10 million doses in the private sector.

This stock would possiblystart expiring from Januaryor February 2022. Dr. Mahajan added that in case theexpert committee of the Government decided that abooster dose was necessary,then this stock could be usedfor boosters for healthcareand frontline workers andthose who were at higherrisk. “The objective shouldbe to minimise wastage ofthis precious resource,” hesaid.

Bishnu Panigrahi, grouphead, Medical Strategy andOperations, Fortis Healthcare, said that while his hospital continued to administervaccines across all its centresin India, the daily footfallwas low. “So looking at this,we are ordering in a prudentmanner, so that we are neveroverstocked. We are reviewing our vaccine stocks on aregular basis. We are also actively reaching out to peopleto take their second dose,”he said.

Stating that it was important to coordinate the production, storage, cold chainand distribution of vaccines,Rajeev Jayadevan, member,national, Indian Medical Association task force on coronavirus and deputy medicaldirector of Sunrise Hospitals,Kochi, said any imbalance inthis process could lead towastage.

Private vaccine stocks near expiry dateExperts call for administering COVID19 booster dose to frontline workers and those at higher risk

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI

Virus shield: Health workers during a doortodoorvaccination drive in Siliguri, West Bengal. * AFP

Assam has moved closer toresolving its decadesoldboundary dispute withMeghalaya, but tension hasbeen brewing on its Arunachal Pradesh frontier.

Miscreants allegedly fi�redat Assam forest offi�cials onNovember 23 in the RongaReserve Forest of the State’sLakhimpur district. Thespot is near the ArunachalPradesh border.

On November 20, a teamof Assam forest offi�cials wasdetained by allegedly illegalsettlers from Arunachal Pradesh in the forest. Theywere later rescued by theAssam police.

The Lakhimpur districtpolice offi�cials said a jointoperation was on with theirArunachal Pradesh counter

parts to apprehend the miscreants.

The fi�ring coincided withthe visit of the members ofthe border committees ofAssam and Meghalaya to various areas of diff�erencealong the interState boundary. These areas includedHawla, Lyngkhung, Jimbrigaon, Boklapara and Patgaon villages on the borderof RiBhoi (Meghalaya) andKamrup (Assam) districts.

Things have not beenquiet on Assam’s borderwith Mizoram too. Forest offi�cials in southern Assam’sHailakandi district havefl�agged a 3.5km road beingbuilt by Mizoram inside a reserve forest in Assam despite the Centre’s advisoryagainst construction in disputed areas along the interState boundary.

Tension brewing onAssamArunachal borderDispute with Meghalaya to be resolved

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

International fl�ights are likely to be normalised before2021end, Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Civil Aviation Ministry, said on Wednesday.

India banned scheduledinternational fl�ights fromMarch 22, 2020. Over thepast 18 months, however, ithas entered into “air bubble”arrangements with 31 countries under which a limitednumber of fl�ights are permitted with several restrictions.

Scheduled internationalfl�ights are likely to resume“very soon” and “by the endof this year”, Mr. Bansal toldreporters. Several airlines,

embassies, tour operatorsand travel agents have appealed to the Government toallow preCOVID capacity asrestrictions on the numberof fl�ights under “air bubbles”have led to fares soaring. Forexample, as per the agree

ment with Dubai, its airlinesEmirates and fl�ydubai are allowed only 4,800 seats perday, or 33,600 seats perweek, whereas they were allowed 65,200 fl�ights perweek before the pandemicunder the bilateral air ser

vice agreement. As a result,airlines say, the capacity hascome down to half on the IndiaDubai route leading todoubling of fares to₹�40,000₹�45,000.

As diff�erent Ministries sitdown to chalk out a strategyto reopen fl�ights, the key focus will be on ensuring safety of health. “I am all for regaining our space in the civilaviation arena and making ahub in India and for morewidebodied aircraft. We willget there but bear with meand trust me, I am on yourside. We will work togetherbut in a safe environment,”Mr. Bansal said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Restrictions on the number of fl�ights have led to fares soaring, say airlines

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI

Out of reach: Only a limited number of fl�ights are availableunder the ‘air bubble’ arrangement with 31 countries. * AP

Normal international fl�ights very soon: Govt.

Kolkata police summonOSD to Tripura CMAGARTALA

The Kolkata Metropolitan

Police have registered a case

against Sanjay Mishra, Officer

on Special Duty to Tripura

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar

Deb. He has been asked to

appear before the investiga

ting officer on Thursday.

IN BRIEF

Man held on terror chargesto be moved to AIIMSLUCKNOW

The family of research scholar

AtiqurRehman, one of those

arrested in Mathura on terror

charges while going to

Hathras following the gang

rape and murder of a Dalit girl

last year, said on Wednesday

that he was being admitted to

the AIIMS in New Delhi for

treatment of a cardiac

ailment.

Faced with a rush on fl�ightsto the Dubai Expo 2021 during the winter tourist season, the United Arab Emirates has asked India toreconsider its restricted “airtravel bubble” arrangementstarted during the pandemic, and to make a special exception for it during the expo that runs until March 31,Ambassador Ahmed AlBanna said here on Wednesday.

“If you try and book afl�ight from any airport in India to the UAE — Dubai, AbuDhabi or Sharjah — it is closeto impossible to fi�nd a seateasily. We are working onthat and we hope to fi�nalisesomething with the Indianauthorities,” Mr. AlBannatold reporters during a briefing on the expo which fallswithin the UAE’s “Golden Jubilee” year.

“We have asked the Government to exempt us fromthose restrictions during theexpo but are yet to receiveany green light.”

He said at present the UAEnational carriers — Emiratesand Etihad — were travellingat only 30% of their capacity,and the number of passengers travelling “would double” if India lifted the “bubble” restrictions. This wouldalso help those trying to visitthe expo that began on October 1, which, offi�cials said,received about 41 lakh visits,

including about 3.9 lakh visits to the India Pavilion.

Jaishankar visitThe problem over fl�ight capacity is also likely to fi�gurein the bilateral conversationsas External Aff�airs MinisterS. Jaishankar is expected totravel to Abu Dhabi nextweek to address the “IndianOcean Region” Conferenceon December 46.

This will be Mr. Jaishankar’s second visit in twomonths, after he visited theexpo and met the UAE leadership on November 1314.Speaking about the newlylaunched IndiaIsraelUAEU.S. quadrilateral at thetime, Mr. Jaishankar saidthere would be an inpersonministerial meeting of whatis being called the “WestAsian Quad” in the next fewweeks.

To questions on the new

Quad, Mr. AlBanna said the“Quadrant” is not a strategiccollaboration. “We have emphasised that the Quadrantis an economic arrangementbetween the four countries. Iread articles that said thiswas about … creating a second NATO ... that doesn’tmake any sense. This willconcentrate on business andeconomic collaborations.”

He said preparations wereunder way on teams thatwould work on the variousissues identifi�ed for cooperation, to be followed by a ministerial meeting.

Mr. AlBanna also said hehoped that the IndiaUAE negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic PartnershipAgreement (CEPA) would beconcluded in the next fewmonths, possibly even before March 2022, whichwould give a fi�llip to bilateraltrade, investment and travel.

UAE seeks exemption from air bubbleEnvoy cites Dubai expo rush, says passenger footfall will double if curbs are lifted

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

Ahmed AlBanna

Six construction fi�rms, including three majors thathave been awarded otherCentral Vista projects, haveapplied for prequalifi�cation for the construction ofthe new “executive enclave” that will include thePrime Minister’s Offi�ce, according to Central PublicWorks Department(CPWD) sources onWednesday.

The CPWD had invitedprequalifi�cation bids forthe ₹�1,171 crore project onNovember 9, with Wednesday being the day for opening bids. A senior CPWD offi�cial said Tata Projects,Shapoorji Pallonji & Company and Larsen and Toubro, which have alreadywon the contracts for thenew Parliament, CentralVista Avenue redevelopment and three buildingsof the Common Central Secretariat, respectively,were among the fi�rms thatapplied. The offi�cial saidNCC Ltd., PSP Projects andAhluwalia Contracts werethe other fi�rms that applied. Once the prequalifi�cation process was complete, the qualifi�ed fi�rmswould be asked to submitfi�nancial bids.

The project would include construction of aPMO, a conference facility,the Cabinet Secretariat andthe National SecurityCouncil Secretariat on aplot located near SouthBlock. The CPWD had saidthe executive enclavewould be “designed to improve potency and functioning through carefullyplanned formation of diff�erent departments with supporting facilities”.

6 fi�rms applyfor nod forPMO project


NEW DELHI

With things gradually returning to prepandemicnormalcy, the Indian Railways has decided to restorecatering services withcooked food on premiumtrains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Tejas and Gatiman.

As per the order issued bythe Railway Board on December 23, the Zonal Railways will verify the cateringcharges to be realised basedon services being provided

and the applicable rate listand feed the same in the PRSsoftware for enabling booking or opting out of cateringservices, from advanced reservation period (ARP) date,at the time of booking oftickets.

For PNRs already booked,the Indian Railway Cateringand Tourism Corporation(IRCTC) will intimate the Zonal Railway concernedabout the exact date fromwhich onboard catering services with cooked food willbe resumed on a particular

train for the journeys fallingwithin the ARP. The orderadded that the Zonal Railways on getting such intimation will enable the option ofbooking meal or opting outof catering services for thejourney dates starting fromthe commencement of catering service in the PRS.

The Board also directedthe IRCTC to inform passengers who have alreadybooked etickets throughSMS and email regarding resumption of cooked foodsupply.

Railways to resume cookedfood service on premium trainsZonal Railways directed to verify the catering charges


NEW DELHI

CMYK

M ND-NDE

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THE HINDU DELHI


A number of Chinese companies have already begun “onsite inspections” of possibleprojects to tap lithium deposits in Afghanistan, havingreceived the green light to doso from the Taliban regime,according to a report in theChinese state media onWednesday.

Lithium is one of many resources in Afghanistan present in large deposits but asyet untapped, largely because of years of political instability and the lack of infrastructure. A Chinesecompany secured the rightsto mine one of the world’sbiggest copper reserves inAfghanistan at Aynak morethan a decade ago, but hasnot yet begun work on extraction.

While Chinese fi�rms areaware of the risks and pitfalls, they have not wastedtime scouting out potentialdeposits of lithium, a valuable resource for a range of industries from electric cars to

energy storage systems.A report on Wednesday in

the Communist Partyrunnewspaper Global Times, citing Chinese businessmen,said, “Representatives of several Chinese companies havearrived in Afghanistan onspecial visas and are conducting onsite inspectionsof potential lithium projects,while others have made contacts about such projects.”

The visas were obtainedfrom Afghan authorities “after coordination betweenthe China Arab Economic

and Trade Promotion Committee in Kabul and Afghanistan’s Mining Ministry” with“representatives of fi�ve Chinese companies” arriving inearly November “to conductonsite inspections”, YuMinghui, who heads thetrade promotion committee,told the newspaper.

Besides the fi�ve companies present in Afghanistan,another “at least 20” stateowned and private fi�rms hadmade inquiries about lithiumprojects, the committee said.

Mr. Yu said company re

presentatives were “mostconcerned about basic guarantees of security and socialorder in Afghanistan”, but also “praised the Afghan Taliban’s friendliness towardChinese investors”.

The Taliban Governmenthas said it would welcomeChinese investment and support President Xi Jinping’sBelt and Road Initiative, andwas also open to extendingthe ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) toAfghanistan.

Security situationThe security situation, not tomention a dire economic crisis including food shortages,are among the many challenges. Chinese media reported that on Saturday, atrain carrying 1,000 tonnesof humanitarian aid was sentto Afghanistan from China’swestern Xinjiang region.“The problem is to ensure safety,” Zhou Shijian, formervice president of the ChinaChamber of Commerce ofMetals, Minerals and Chemi

cals Importers and Exporters, told the newspaper. “Ifsafety is not guaranteed, thegain will not be worth theloss.”

Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi metwith acting Deputy PrimeMinister Mullah Abdul GhaniBaradar in Doha, who assured Beijing that “a friendlypolicy towards China” was “afi�rm choice” by the Taliban.

Mr. Wang “expressed China’s willingness to continueto provide humanitarian aidto Afghanistan within its capacity and work with the international community tohelp Afghanistan alleviatetemporary diffi�culties andrealise economic reconstruction as well as independentdevelopment”, the ChineseForeign Ministry said then.Mr. Wang in September hadannounced China would “urgently provide 200 millionyuan [$30.96 million] worthof grains, winter supplies,vaccines, and medicines toAfghanistan” as well as 3 million vaccines.

Chinese fi�rms eye Afghanistan’s lithiumWith Taliban nod, companies have begun ‘inspections’ of possible projects to tap lithium deposits

Ananth Krishnan

HONG KONG

Untapped market: Taliban members atop military vehicles inKabul earlier this month. * REUTERS

Sri Lanka has decided torope in China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) toconstruct the second phaseof the Colombo Port’s EastContainer Terminal (ECT),which was earlier to be developed jointly by Sri Lanka,India and Japan, until Colombo reneged on a 2019 trilateral agreement.

In a Cabinet decision taken on Tuesday, Colomboapproved the developmentof the strategic port terminal

in stages, to be “totally operated” by the Sri Lanka PortsAuthority.

Prominent Sri Lankanfi�rm Access Engineering andCHEC have won the bid toconstruct the facility, the Department of Government In

formation said in a statement.

CHEC, a subsidiary of thestateowned China Communications Construction Company, is already involved instrategic infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka, including

the $1billion Colombo PortCity coming up near GalleFace — the capital’s iconicseafront — and a fourlaneelevated highway connectingColombo’s suburbs, with anear$1billion investment.The terms of the highwaydeal allow the staterun Chinese fi�rm to own and run thehighway for 15 years beforetransferring ownership to SriLanka.

With the ECT development project now, China’srole in Sri Lanka’s ports —China Merchants Port Holdings Company already holdsmajority stakes at the southern Hambantota Port as wellas the Colombo International Container Terminal at the

Colombo Port — has furtherincreased.

Limited to civil worksCHEC’s role at the ECT appears limited to civil works,according to sources familiarwith the tendering process.The Ministry of Port andShipping, in its invitation forinternational bids, said onlyfi�rms with a domestic majority ownership — over 51% ofthe state held by Sri Lankannationals — were eligible toparticipate. The ECT’s development would require construction of an additional700metrelong quay walland infrastructure around it,that was earlier estimated tocost at least $700 million.

While India and Japan hadearlier agreed to bring in theinvestment, involving India’sAdani Group, the Rajapaksaadministration in Februaryscrapped the deal signed bythe former SirisenaWickremesinghe Government withNew Delhi, citing resistancefrom port worker unions,and the Adani Group’s refusal to agree to the terms setby Sri Lanka. India and Japanwere quick to express theirdispleasure. Within weeks,Sri Lanka off�ered the WestContainer Terminal development project at the sameport to the Adani Group,with no known tenderingprocess, in what Colombocalled “a compromise”.

Sri Lanka Cabinet clears China’s role in terminal project Island nation ropesin Chinese fi�rm for second phase

Boosting ties: Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal.

Meera Srinivasan

COLOMBO

Three German parties havereached a deal to form anew Government that willend the era of longtimeChancellor Angela Merkel,according to Olaf Scholz,who is poised to replace her.

Mr. Scholz, of the centreleft Social Democrats, saidhe expects that members ofthe parties would give theirblessing to the deal in thenext 10 days.

At a press conference, Mr.Scholz and other leadersgave some indications ofhow the coalition wouldgovern. Among the fi�rstmeasures agreed: compulsory COVID19 vaccinationsin places where particularlyvulnerable people are caredfor, with the option of expanding that rule.

This comes as Germany isseeing a surge in cases, andthe political transition hassomewhat hampered thecountry’s response. Mr.Scholz also stressed the im

portance of a sovereign Europe, friendship withFrance and partnershipwith the United States as keycornerstones of the Government’s foreign policy — continuing a long postwar tradition.

The new Governmentwould not seek “the lowestcommon denominator, butthe politics of big impacts”,Mr. Scholz promised.

The Social Democratshave been negotiating withthe Greens and the probusiness Free Democrats sincenarrowly winning a nationalelection on September 26.

German parties reachdeal for coalition Govt. Agreement to end Angela Merkel’s era

Associated Press

BERLIN

Olaf Scholz

At least 31 people died onWednesday after theirdinghy capsized whilecrossing the English Channel from France to Britain,in the worst disaster on record involving migrants inthe waters separating thecountries.

More migrants leftFrance’s northern shoresthan usual to take advantage of calm sea conditionson Wednesday, accordingto fi�shermen.

One fi�sherman calledthe rescue services afterseeing an empty dinghyand people fl�oating motionless nearby.

Franck Dhersin, deputyhead of regional transportand mayor of Teteghem onthe northern French coast,said the death toll hadreached 31 and that two people were still missing.

British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson said he was“shocked and appalled” bythe deaths.

31 migrantsdead afterboat capsizes

Reuters

PARIS

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan is hostingAbu Dhabi’s powerfulCrown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Wednesday, asTurkey and the United ArabEmirates seek to repair theirtense relations and increaseeconomic cooperation.

The visit by the CrownPrince, seen as the de factoleader and the force behindthe UAE’s foreign policyposture, is his fi�rst offi�cialtrip to Turkey since 2012,and the highestlevel visit by

an Emirati offi�cial since relations hit a low. His brotherwho is the UAE National Security Adviser, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan,visited Turkey in August asthe fi�rst step toward mending ties. The fallout betweenAnkara and Abu Dhabi reverberated across WestAsia, resulting in a proxyconfl�ict in Libya as well astensions in the Gulf and inthe eastern Mediterranean.Tensions also played out onsocial media, with jabs andtaunts by offi�cials, statealigned accounts and Government supporters.

Erdogan hosts AbuDhabi’s Crown Prince Visit seeks to repair tense relations

Associated Press

ANKARA

U.S. President Joe Biden has invitedTaiwan to a virtual summit on democracy alongside more than 100countries — a move that sparked indignation from China, which is noton the list.

Taiwan thanked Mr. Biden forthe invitation and said the gathering would be a rare opportunity forthe selfruled democracy to burnish its credentials on the worldstage. “Through this summit, Taiwan can share its democratic success story,” Presidential Offi�ce spokesperson Xavier Chang toldreporters.

China said it “fi�rmly opposed”the inclusion of an island it regardsas “an inalienable part of Chineseterritory”. Beijing claims selfruledTaiwan as part of its territory to beretaken one day, by force if necessary. The global conference was acampaign pledge by the U.S. President, who has placed the strugglebetween democracies and “autocratic Governments” at the heart ofhis foreign policy. The ‘Summit forDemocracy’ will take place onlineon December 9 and 10 ahead of aninperson meeting at its second edition next year.

The meeting was long advertised, but the guest list — publishedTuesday on the U.S. State Department’s website — will be closelyscrutinised. The U.S.’s main rivals,

China and Russia, are not on it.The invitation is a major coup for

Taipei at a time when Beijing isramping up its campaign to keepTaiwan locked out of internationalbodies. Only 15 countries offi�ciallyrecognise Taipei over Beijing, although many nations maintain de fac-to diplomatic relations with the island. The U.S. does not recogniseTaiwan as an independent country,but it holds it up as a rare model ofprogressive democracy in Asia andmaintains it as a crucial regional ally. It opposes any change to Taiwan’s status by force. China balks atany use of the word “Taiwan” or diplomatic gestures that might lend asense of international legitimacy tothe island. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it would be represented atthe summit by its de facto U.S. Ambassador Bikhim Hsiao and DigitalMinister Audery Tang, who is oneof the world’s few openly transgender national politicians.

U.S. President invites Taiwanto online meet on democracy China says it ‘fi�rmly opposes’ inclusion of island

Agence France-Presse

Washington

Joe Biden

Sri Lanka partially liftschemical fertilizers ban COLOMBO

Sri Lanka has decided to

partially lift the ban on

chemical fertilizers and

permit the private sector to

import it to allow the nation's

farmers to purchase it from

the open market, Agriculture

Minister Mahindananda

Aluthgamage said. PTI

IN BRIEF

Sweden’s Parliament elected Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson as the country’s fi�rst woman Prime Minister on Wednesday, hours after she clinched alastminute deal that gave her victory bythe slimmest of possible margins.

The 54yearold, who took over as leader of the Social Democrats earlier thismonth, reached a deal with the Left Partylate on Tuesday to raise pensions in exchange for its backing in Wednesday’svote in Parliament.

Andersson becomesfi�rst woman PrimeMinister of Sweden


Stockholm

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BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 763.05. . . . . . . 33.80

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3157.00. . . . . . -28.55

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 685.15. . . . . . . . -0.50

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3407.10. . . . . . -27.75

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . .. 17408.70. . . . . . . 40.60

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7177.30. . . . . . . 63.00

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 758.90. . . . . . . . . 0.00

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 403.35. . . . . . . . . 5.75

Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3623.35. . . . . . -38.80

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 893.45. . . . . . -17.15

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 159.10. . . . . . . . . 2.90

Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 4682.70. . . . . . -80.60

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 4598.05. . . . . . -33.90

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. . . . 2536.95. . . . . . -62.25

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1746.95. . . . . . -36.40

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1119.45. . . . . . . . . 6.85

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2883.55. . . . . . -22.95

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1518.05. . . . . . . . . 2.50

HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 687.20. . . . . . . . -8.20

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 2621.05. . . . . . -11.15

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 452.10. . . . . . . . . 1.90

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2374.75. . . . . . -19.45

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 760.20. . . . . . . . . 8.35

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 970.40. . . . . . -10.95

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1696.00. . . . . . -40.90

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 127.60. . . . . . . . . 1.45

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 227.70. . . . . . . . -3.90

JSW Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 683.25. . . . . . . . -0.05

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2011.40. . . . . . . 28.50

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1862.50. . . . . . -23.85

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 893.20. . . . . . . . -8.15

Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7669.45. . . -184.55

Nestle India Ltd. . . . .. 19086.90. . . . . . -94.65

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 135.35. . . . . . . . . 1.85

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 153.45. . . . . . . . . 6.75

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 203.30. . . . . . . . . 1.45

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2351.40. . . . . . -34.45

SBI Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1163.75. . . . . . . 10.25

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 493.15. . . . . . . . . 0.10

Shree Cement . . . . . . . .. 26883.75. . . . . 143.25

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 778.95. . . . . . . . -6.25

Tata Consumer

Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 798.95. . . . . . -22.00

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 488.65. . . . . . . . -6.85

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1178.50. . . . . . -13.55

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 3443.30. . . . . . -20.95

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . 1538.10. . . . . . -22.45

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2375.85. . . . . . -11.85

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 7577.30. . . . . . -80.65

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 721.70. . . . . . . . -3.55

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 636.50. . . . . . . . -6.30

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on November 24

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 74.20. . . . . . . 74.52

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 83.18. . . . . . . 83.54

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 99.10. . . . . . . 99.53

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 64.46. . . . . . . 64.76

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 11.61. . . . . . . 11.67

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 79.26. . . . . . . 79.60

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 54.25. . . . . . . 54.50

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 58.47. . . . . . . 58.72

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 17.62. . . . . . . 17.70

Australian Dollar . . . . . . .. . 53.52. . . . . . . 53.76

Source:Indian Bank

market watch

24-11-2021 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 58,340 ddddddddddddd-0.55

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 74.40 ddddddddddddddd0.02

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 46,613 ddddddddddddd-0.60

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 82.09 ddddddddddddddd1.17


SPORTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Plans by the government fora new bill that would barmost private cryptocurrencies has triggered heavy selling in the country’s digitalcurrency markets, as investors look to exit positionsdespite the losses, said traders and investors.

The government will allow only certain cryptocurrencies to promote the underlying technology and itsuses, according to a legislative agenda for the wintersession of Parliament set tostart this month.

The bill, if passed, wouldeff�ectively ban Indian citizens from transacting in

most cryptocurrencies.The dollarlinked stable

coin tether (USDT) slumped25% to almost ₹�60 on Wednesday after news of the bill,according to Naimish Sanghvi, a cryptocurrency inves

tor. A second crypto investor

said the value of his portfoliohad fallen to about ₹�22,000from ₹�34,000 on Tuesday asa result of the heavy selling.

“I am contemplating sell

ing because the future is sounclear,” said the investor,who asked not to be named.

Several exchanges werefacing deposit and withdrawal challenges due to thehigh volume of selling, saidcryptocurrency traders.

WazirX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said earlier on itsTwitter account that it wasinvestigating reports that users were facing delays on itsapp and website. It later saidthe issue had been resolved.

There are an estimated 1520 million cryptocurrencyinvestors in India, with totalcrypto holdings of about₹�400 billion, according to industry estimates.

Centre’s cryptocurrency banplan said to spur heavy sellingTraders said several exchanges were facing deposit and withdrawal challenges

ReutersMUMBAI

In the shadows: Industry estimates peg the number ofinvestors in cryptocurrencies at 1520 million. * AFP

About 71% Indians have lowor zero trust in cryptocurrencies, according to a recent survey by LocalCircles.The survey added that 54%do not want the governmentto legalise cryptocurrenciesbut want them taxed on parwith digital assets heldabroad.

The community socialnetwork said the survey results were based on 56,000citizen responses from 342districts of India, receivedover the past 15 days.

The Centre plans to introduce a Bill to regulate cryptocurrency and ban all private cryptocurrencies in thewinter session of Parliament

that begins on November 29.The bill also seeks to create afacilitative framework forcreation of an offi�cial digitalcurrency to be issued by theReserve Bank of India (RBI).

As per the survey, familiesof 87% of the respondents donot have anyone trading orinvesting in cryptocurrencies and 54% do not wantthe government to legalisecryptocurrencies but taxthem like a digital asset heldabroad. “About 26% say theyshould be legalised and thentaxed in India,” LocalCircles

said in a release. “The studyalso fi�nds that 51% of the respondents support India rolling out its own digital currency which is managed bythe RBI while 26% areagainst the same. This indicates that the Central BankDigital Currency (CBDC)would be a more trustworthy investment,” it added.

“LocalCircles will be sharing the fi�ndings of this studywith the senior leadership ofGovernment of India, theRBI leadership and all Members of Parliament such thatpublic feedback on cryptocurrencies can be given thedue consideration as laws related to it are fi�nalised,” saidSachin Taparia, founder,LocalCircles.

‘Survey suggests 71% have lowor no trust in cryptocurrency’‘It must be taxed like a digital asset held abroad’

Special CorrespondentNEW DELHI <> The fi�ndings show

that the Central

Bank Digital

Currency is seen as

more trustworthy

The airports sector is expected to see an investmentof ₹�90,000 crore in a fi�veyear period, with almost₹�68,000 crore coming fromthe private players, a senioroffi�cial said on Wednesday.

The civil aviation sector,which was battered by theCOVID19 pandemic that hadalso resulted in the suspension of domestic and international fl�ight services, isslowly on the recovery pathand the daily domestic airtraffi�c is nearing the preCOVID level of 4 lakh.

Civil Aviation SecretaryRajiv Bansal said investments totalling ₹�90,000crore would be made for air

ports over the fi�veyear period which started in202021.

‘Private sector to invest’

Of the total amount, about₹�20,000₹�22,000 crorewould be invested by the Airports Authority of India(AAI), while the remainingamount of about ₹�68,000

crore would be from theprivate sector, he said.

The government expectsto have 220 operational airports, including heliportsover fi�ve years. Currently,there are 136 operational airports in the country, andmany aerodromes are in theworks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay thefoundation stone for thenew airport at Jewar in UttarPradesh on Thursday.

A new airport at Mopa inGoa is expected to be readynext year, and an aerodromeis also coming up at NaviMumbai in Maharashtra.

Besides, expansion workhas been taken up at the airports in Delhi, Bangaloreand Hyderabad.

‘Airports to attract ₹�90,000 cr.in investments over fi�ve years’Airport count to rise to 220, from 136 currently: Bansal

Press Trust of IndiaNew delhi

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) should continue withan accommodative interestrate stance as long as necessary to sustain and furtherpush the pace of economicgrowth, Assocham said onWednesday.

While concerns over infl�ation, especially in theWholesale Price Index,needed to be addressed,measures other than reversal of the accommodativestance should be encouraged, it added. “The RBIand its Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) havedone a commendable job toretain the present policyrates. However, centralbanks in some of the developed economies are mov

ing towards tapering the accommodative policies.

“We are sure and as wehave been maintaining thatthe RBI would not followthis template and continuewith the low interest rates,”the industry body said in astatement. “Any reversal ofthe accommodative interestrate stance may dampen faster revival in investment,”Assocham added.

‘RBI must aid growth bystaying accommodative’ Reversal risks faster revival: Assocham

Press Trust of IndiaNew Delhi Government thinktank NI

TI Aayog on Wednesdayproposed setting up of fullstack ‘digital banks’, whichwould principally rely onthe Internet and otherproximate channels to off�er their services and notphysical branches, to mitigate the fi�nancial deepening challenges being facedin the country.

“In other words, theseentities will issue deposits,make loans and off�er thefull suite of services thatthe Banking Regulation Actempowers them to. As thename suggests, however,DBs will principally rely onthe Internet and otherproximate channels to off�er their services,” it said ina discussion paper.

NITI Aayog forfullstackdigital banks

Press Trust of IndiaNew Delhi

IL&FS Group said it hadcompleted the sale of71.84% stake in IL&FSPrime Terminals FZC(IPTF) to VTTI Terminal IBV. “Sale of IPTF has successfully resolved IL&FSGroup debt outstanding tothe tune of ₹�757.79 crorethrough this transaction,”IL&FS said. IL&FS’s stakein Prime Terminals FZCwas held through IL&FSMaritime InfrastructureCompany Ltd. (IMICL).

The sale has also enabled release of corporateguarantee of $110 millionissued by IMICL. Key lenders to the fi�rm, includingSBI, had debt outstandingof more than $80 millionwhich has been fully repaid, IL&FS said.

IL&FS resolves₹�757cr. debtwith IPTF sale

Special Correspondent MUMBAI

India and the U.S. haveagreed to a transitional approach on the equalisationlevy or digital tax on ecommerce supplies beginning April 1, the FinanceMinistry said onWednesday.

“India and the UnitedStates have agreed that thesame terms .... shall applybetween the United Statesand India with respect toIndia’s charge of 2% equalisation levy on ecommercesupply of services and theUnited States’ trade actionregarding the said equalisation levy,” the Ministrysaid in a statement.

‘Transitional’digital tax pactstruck with U.S.

Press Trust of IndiaNew Delhi

Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd.’s ₹�7,249 croreIPO will open on November30. The Rakesh Jhunjhunwalabacked insurer aims toraise funds to help improveits capital base and maintainsolvency levels.

The shares will be listedon stock exchanges by December 10. The price bandfor the off�er has been fi�xedat ₹�870900 per equityshare.

Bids can be made for aminimum of 16 equityshares and in multiples of 16thereafter, company offi�cials said. The off�er com

prises fresh issue of sharesfor ₹�2,000 crore and an off�er for sale of 5.83 croreshares by shareholders suchas Safecrop Investments India — which is selling 3.06crore shares — KonarkTrust, MMPL Trust, ApisGrowth 6, Mio IV Star, University of Notre Dame DuLac, Mio Star, ROC Capital,Venkatasamy Jagannathan,Sai Satish and Berjis MinooDesai.

About 75% of the issue isearmarked for qualifi�ed institutional buyers, 15% fornoninstitutional investorsand 10% for retail investors.Shares worth ₹�100 crore arereserved for employees.

Star Health public off�erto open on November 30Price band fi�xed at ₹�870900 a share

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

Betting big on the tech prowess of India, Music Tribe, aglobal player in the audiovisual industry, has set up aninnovation centre in Bengaluru to develop embeddedsoftware, applications andmobility solutions for nextgeneration music production systems like synthesizers, mixers and other audiovisual products.

“This new innovationcentre in India is in line withour digital obsession and theinitial aim is to deploy over100 engineers here over thecoming quarters,” said founder and CEO Uli Behringer.

“The new innovationcentre will collaborate with

the company’s other such facilities in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, U.K.,U.S. and China,” said G.Krishna Kumar, VP andcentre head at Music TribeIndia. “The India team willstrengthen Music Tribe’ssoftware capabilities aroundembedded software, cloud

and digital technologies including AI, ML and edgecomputing,” he added.

Music Tribe also has audiovisual product manufacturing facilities in China, Malaysia and Thailand and islikely to set up a manufacturing facility in India as well ata later point.

Music Tribe designs andsells a wide range of audiovisual products includingmixers, synthesizers, amplifi�ers, signal processors, microphones, hifi� speakersand headphones.

Other than products under the Behringer brand, thecompany also owns brandssuch as Midas, Klark Teknik,Lab Gruppen, Tannoy, AstonMicrophones, TC Electronic

and TC Helicon.The $12billion audiovi

sual product industry is currently dominated by companies such as Harman,Yamaha, Cisco, Crestron, Logitech, Roland, Bosch andMusic Tribe. Americas account for 40%, while Europe, Middle East and Africa(EMEA) and Asia Pacifi�c hold30% market share each.

Thin market

India currently has only athin slice of 23%, in the sector. However, the country isexpected to witness a steadygrowth in the use of audiovisual products/systems andthe consumption of musicaland audiovisual content wason the rise, said Music Tribe.

Music Tribe bets big on India’s tech talent Sets up centre in Bengaluru, to deploy 100 engineers for toning up software

Mini TejaswiBengaluru

Uli Behringer

Cybersecurity fi�rmInspira to raise ₹�300 cr. MUMBAI

Cybersecurity firm Inspira

Enterprise India is planning

to raise fresh capital of ₹�300

crore through an IPO to

pursue geographical

expansion. The company is

planning to expand footprint

across European, West Asian,

and South Asian countries.

IN BRIEF

JM Financial unveilsBondskart.comCHENNAI

JM Financial Products Ltd.,

the NBFC arm of JM Financial

Group, announced the

unveiling of Bondskart.com,

a digital investment platform

for ease of investment in an

extensive array of debt

securities. “There is no entry

or exit fee for the investors.

The minimum investment is

₹�2 lakh,” said Ajay

Manglunia, MD and Head,

Institutional Fixed Income.

BENGALURU: Salazaar, who hasbeen well prepared, is expectedto score in the Ashoka ChakraCup (1,800m), the main event ofthe races to be held here onThursday (Nov. 25). False rails will be announced onthe race day.

1 NARMADA PLATE (DIV. III),(1,200m), rated 00 to 25, 130

p.m.: 1. Altamonte (9) SalmanKhan 60, 2. Rightly Noble (8)Vishal Bunde 60. 3. Baroness (5)Angad 59, 4. Lady Nectar (6)H.M. Akshay 59, 5. Lifeisamiracle(10) L.A. Rozario 59, 6. Altair (2)Saddam H. 58.5, 7. He’s The One(7) Chandrashekar 58, 8. IronFist (4) J.H. Arul 58, 9. Prerana (1)Shreyas Singh 58, 10. SantoriniSecret (3) Tousif Khan 57 and 11.Fierce Fighter (11) Ikram Ahmed55.5.1. RIGHTLY NOBLE, 2. BARONESS, 3. PRERANA

2 HALF A CROWN PLATE(1,600m), maiden 3yo only

(Terms), 200: 1. Force Assault(4) R.N. Darshan 57, 2. Fun AndLaughter (9) Antony Raj 57, 3.Limited Edition (1) Anjar Alam57, 4. Turkoman (5) RanjeetSingh 57, 5. Analect (2) DhanuSingh 55.5, 6. Eternal Blaze (7)C.S. Jodha 55.5, 7. Mystic Mountain (3) Akshay Kumar 55.5, 8.Secret Of Life (10) Arshad 55.5, 9.

Spectacular (8) A. Sandesh 55.5and 10. Super Ruffain (6) R. Pradeep 55.5.1. SPECTACULAR, 2. ETERNAL BLAZE, 3. ANALECT

3 NARMADA PLATE (DIV. II),(1,200m), rated 00 to 25, 2

30: 1. San Bernardino (10) P. Siddaraju 60, 2. Sir Jersey (6) H.M.Akshay 60, 3. Max Mueller (8) S.Saqlain 59, 4. Ozark (4) ShreyasSingh 59, 5. Rainbow Rising (3)L.A. Rozario 59, 6. Silverita (7)J.H. Arul 59, 7. Aerospeed (1) Saddam H 58.5, 8. Estella (9) VishalBunde 58.5, 9. Glorious Logan(11) Angad 58.5, 10. Top News (2)Tousif Khan 58 and 11. EcoFriendly (5) Chandrashekar 57.1. SIR JERSEY, 2. OZARK, 3. SILVERITA

4 COUNT FLEET PLATE(1,100m), maiden 3yo only

(Terms), 300: 1. Chiraag (6) P.Mani 57, 2. Gunmaster (9) AnjarAlam 57, 3. Lauterbrunnen (7)Vishal Bunde 57, 4. Matera (4) Akshay Kumar 57, 5. SunshinePrince (2) Antony Raj 57, 6. Tactical Command (10) R.N. Darshan57, 7. The Adviser (3) P. Sai Kumar 57, 8. The Inheritor (12)Arvind Kumar 57, 9. ThousandWords (1) Arshad 57, 10. Demeter(11) Dhanu Singh 55.5, 11. Domina(5) R. Marshall 55.5 and 12. Star

Of The Hills (8) Kiran Rai 55.5.1. MATERA, 2. DEMETER,3. TACTICAL COMMAND

5 CHATRAPATHI TROPHY(1,600m), rated 40 to 65, 4

yo & over, 330: 1. GreenChannel (1) Darshan 60.5, 2.Lake Tahoe (4) S. John 60.5, 3.Peluche (6) Vinod Shinde 60.5,4. Electra (2) Akshay Kumar59, 5. Starry Wind (7) VishalBunde 58, 6. Indian Pharaoh(9) R. Marshall 57, 7. Speedster(8) S. Shareef 56, 8. First Impression (5) Antony Raj 55.5and 9. Crack Of Dawn (3) Ranjeet Singh 53.1. LAKE TAHOE, 2. FIRST IMPRESSION, 3. GREEN CHANNEL

6 ASHOKA CHAKRA CUP(1,800m) 3yo & over

(Terms), 400: Lagarde (1) Akshay Kumar 63.5, 2. Salazaar(2) S. John 60.5, 3. Point ToProve (3) Antony Raj 57, 4.Automatic (4) S. Shareef 56and 5. Sovereign Legend (5) A.Sandesh 56.1. SALAZAAR, 2. SOVEREIGN LEGEND

7 DABBE FALLS PLATE(1,600m), rated 20 to 45, 4

yo & over, 430: 1. Katana (3)Akshay Kumar 61, 2. Christopher Wren (10) Antony Raj56, 3. Striking Memory (2) S.

Saqlain 56, 4. Ombudsman (5)Darshan 55, 5. Amazing Blaze(7) A. Sandesh 54.5, 6. Almanach (8) J.H. Arul 54, 7. TytoAlba (9) Rajesh Kumar 53.5, 8.Gazebo Talk (6) S. Shareef 51,9. Cinco De Mayo (1) Dhanusingh 50.5 and 10. ImpellingPower (4) Nazerul 50.1. KATANA,

2. AMAZING BLAZE,

3. CHRISTOPHER WREN

8 NARMADA PLATE (DIV. I),(1,200m), rated 00 to 25, 5

00: 1. Nostradamus (8) H.M.Akshay 62.5, 2. Immaculate (2)L.A. Rozario 61, 3. StrikingSupport (4) Likith Appu 61, 4.Jersey Legend (9) Saddam H60.5, 5. Tenali (3) ShreyasSingh 60, 6. Comeonson (6) S.Saqlain 59.5, 7. Commandpost(11) Angad 59.5, 8. Galactical(7) J.H. Arul 59.5, 9. LightningCharlie (5) Vishal Bunde 59.5,10. Lucky Chance (1) TousifKhan 59.5 and 11. StunningBeauty (10) Chandrashekar 58.1. LIGHTNING CHARLIE,

2. NOSTRADAMUS,

3. GALACTICAL

Days best: MATERA

Double: SPECTACULAR

— LAKE TAHOE

Jackpot: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

Treble (i): 3, 4, & 5, (ii): 6, 7 &8.

RACING

Salazaar for Ashoka Chakra Cup HYDERABAD: Trainer Pesi Shroff’squeen filly Miracle (P.S. Chouhanup) made it sixinarow by winning the Golconda 1000 Guineas,the first Classic of the HyderabadWinter races here on Wednesday(Nov. 24). The winner is owned byMr Mehernosh H. Deboo & Mrs.Auzita M. Deboo. Miracle wascomfortably kept fourth byChouhan till the bend and thereafter this classic daughter of Multidimensional–Khalila cruisedinto the lead to win the race by acomfortable margin.1. DONEGAL PLATE (1,200m),(Terms) Maiden, 2yo only (Cat.II): HAPPY GO LUCKY (Ashad Asbar) 1, N R I Superpower (AkshayKumar) 2, Essential (D.S. Deora) 3and AYR (Nikhil Naidu) 4. Notrun: Lafayette. 2, 43/4 and 1/2.1m, 16.10s. ₹�21 (w), 14, 14 and 10(p). SHP: 34, THP: 42, SHW: 10and 17, FP; 86, Q: 46, Tanala: 288.Favourite: Happy Go Lucky. Owners: Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta &M/s. Mukteshwar Racing LLP.Trainer: M. Srinivas Reddy.2. HIMAYAT SAGAR PLATE(1,800m), rated 20 to 45 (Cat. III):MORINGA (Chouhan) 1, In Contenion (C.S. Jodha) 2, Nightmare(Abhay Singh) 3 and Gurbaaz (Md.Ismail) 4. 2, Hd and 2. 1m, 56.62s.₹�53 (w), 17, 13 and 33 (p). SHP: 48,THP: 72, SHW: 15 and 20, FP: 146,Q: 44, Tanala: 791. Favourite: InContention. Owners: Mr. Champaklal Zaveri, Mrs. Bindu C. Zaveri rep. Zaveri Stud Farm Private

Limited, Miss Harsha N Desai &Miss Niti N Desai. Trainer: L.V.R.Deshmukh.

3. CABARET PLATE (1,400m), 4yo& upward, rated 20 to 45 (Cat. III):STAR BABE (Abhay Singh) 1, RoyalGrace (Akshay Kumar) 2, StarDancer (Kiran Naidu) 3 and Castlerock (Md. Ismail) 4. 1/2, 11/2 and23/4. 1m, 28.22s. ₹�171 (w), 27, 15and 17 (p). SHP: 43, THP: 37, SHW:37 and 23, FP: 1,168, Q: 543,Tanala: 4,789. Favourite: Multimoment. Owner: Mr. Ch NagaNancharayya. Trainer: R.H.Sequeira.

4. MEDAK PLATE (DIV. I) (1,600m),rated up to 25 (Cat. III): LIGHT-NING FAIRY (Akshay Kumar) 1,Team Player (Nakhat Singh) 2, Inception (Ajit Singh) 3 and Astronaut (Khurshad Alam) 4. 31/4, 11/2 and 1. 1m, 43.83s. ₹�19 (w), 14,23 and 107 (p). SHP: 44, THP: 331,SHW: 10 and 50, FP; 78, Q: 71,Tanala: 2,328. Favourite: Lightning Fairy.

Owners: Mr. T. Rakesh Reddy, Mr.V. Narendar Reddy, Mr. Syed AbulHasan Razvi, Mr. Guja SrikanthReddy & Mr. N.V. Rohin Kumar.Trainer: Anant Vatsalya.

5. GOLCONDA 1000 GUINEAS (GR.2) (1,600M), (TERMS) FILLIES, 3-Y-O ONLY: MIRACLE (MULTIDI-MENSIONAL–KHALILA) (P.S.CHOUHAN) 1, Own Voice (Excellent Art–Sweeping Success)(Ajeeth Kumar) 2, Ruling Goddess(Excellent Art–Miss Mystique) (Akshay Kumar) 3 and Soloist (TopClass–Allee Bleue) (Ashad Asbar)4. Not run: New Look. 43/4, 11/4and 3/4. 1m, 40.66s. ₹�10 (w), 11,38and 13 (p). SHP: 127, THP: 34,SHW: 12 and 93, FP: 149, Q: 128,Tanala: 415. Favourite: Miracle.Owners: Mr. Mehernosh H. Deboo& Mrs. Auzita M. Deboo. Trainer:P. Shroff.

6. MEDAK PLATE (DIV. II)(1,600m), rated up to 25 (Cat. III):ICE BERRY (Gaurav Singh) 1, Wot’sUp Jay (Koushik) 2, Queen Blossom (Rohit Kumar) 3 and RoyalPal (Abhay Singh) 4. 2, 2 and 1.1m, 43.83s. ₹�57 (w), 16, 25 and 20(p). SHP: 64, THP: 53, SHW: 33and 45, FP: 705, Q: 333, Tanala:3,955. Favourite: Royal Pal.Owner: M.A.M. RamaswamyChettiar of Chettinad CharitableTrust. Trainer: K. Satheesh.

NOTE: Golden Amaris (KuldeepSingh up) reared up in the stallsand fell down, dislodging herrider, and did not participate.

Jackpot: 70% ₹�6,413 (45 tkts.) and30%: 612 (202 tkts.).

Treble: (i) 3,755 (15 tkts.), (ii) 170(479 tkts.).

Mini Jackpot: 2,741 (36 tkts.).

Miracle obliges in Golconda 1000 Guineas

Rewarding success: Miracle’s trainer P. Shroff�, left, receivingthe Golconda 1000 Guineas trophy from HRC Steward C.S.Suresh, as N.V.R. Narasimha Reddy, K. Bhupal Reddy and HariKishen Gupta look on. * NAGARA GOPAL

CMYK

M ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

Finally, the wait is over forShreyas Iyer. The Mumbaiplayer will make his Test debut against New Zealandhere on Thursday.

First added to the Testsquad in March 2017 as cover for Virat Kohli on the eveof the fourth Test againstAustralia, Shreyas went onto make his ODI debut(against New Zealand) andT20I debut (against Sri Lanka) later that year.

As a result, after 22 ODIsand 32 T20Is, Shreyas gets toplay Test cricket. Havingmade a mark with some tallscores consistently in thedomestic circuit, Shreyas averages 52.18 in First Classcricket (4592 runs in 54matches).

Interestingly, in his lastFirst Class match, Shreyasplayed for Rest of Indiaagainst Vidarbha in the IraniCup in February 2019.

Confi�rming the Test debut for Shreyas, standin

skipper Ajinkya Rahane didnot rule out another debutant in Thursday’s playingXI. This leaves a ray of hopefor his Mumbai teammateSuryakumar Yadav.

Rahane described the absence of opener K.L. Rahulas a “big blow.”

“He did really well in England. Obviously, we willmiss him. But, we have guyswho can do that job (of anopener).”

Like Cheteshwar Pujaraon Tuesday, Rahane, too,chose to downplay his inconsistency in getting bigscores since that matchwinning century in Melbournelast year.

“My job is to contributefor the team and contribution doesn’t mean you scorea hundred every game. A 30,40, 70 at a crucial momentare also important contributions,” he said, before strangely adding: “I have neverthought where I am going.What happens in the futureis not of concern to me.”

RAKESH RAO

KANPUR

The wait is over: Shreyas, seen with India coach Rahul Dravid,is likely to get his Test cap on Thursday. * AFP

Shreyas set to make Testdebut, confi�rms RahaneStandin skipper says the absence

of K.L. Rahul is a big blow

With a new coach, a standincaptain and another homeseries waiting to be won, adepleted India still looks ready to whip out a familiar result as the fi�rst Test gets underway here from Thursday.

Moreover, given the conditions at the Green Park Stadium here and spinresources in the squad, coach RahulDravid may not be requiredto bring in much of his cricketing acumen to stump theopposition on his “Testdebut”.

Leading the squad whichis without some of the regulars, Ajinkya Rahane is confi�dent he has the ammunitionneeded to take out New Zealand, the reigning World Testchampion.

Pitch looks dryAlthough not a rankturner,the pitch here appears dryand good enough for thespin trio of R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel toget into the act early. Inshort, the longevity of thisTest depends entirely onhow New Zealand bats.

Last time a Test wasplayed here, involving theseteams in 2016, Ashwin took10 wickets and ManoftheMatch Jadeja six, to go withhis unbeaten 50. The matchdid go into the fi�fth day,which India won by 197 runs.

For the fi�rst Test to becompetitive, skipper KaneWilliamson and Ross Taylorwill have to show the way toplay spin. The duo, afterplaying an important part inthe World Test Championship fi�nal at Lord’s, will bekeen to repeat the dose tothe Indian spinners, despitethe occasion and the conditions being vastly diff�erenthere.

A similar sentiment runsin the Indian dressing room,too. Having blanked NewZealand in the threematchT20I series after losing thekey World T20 league matchto the Kiwis, the host is raring to infl�ict a 20 whitewashin Tests to avenge the losssuff�ered in the WTC fi�nal.

Looking to do one betterthan last time in the ongoingWTC, India has no reason toprovide batterfriendly pitches in the series. Similarly,New Zealand is not known toalter its home advantages inany format.

After all, India and NewZealand thrive in home conditions. In the past 10 seasons, if one considers onlythe decisive Tests played inthese countries, New Zealand won 43 out of 48 and India 47 from 51.

Given that spinners willcall the shots, it remains tobe seen which two newballbowlers among Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj,Umesh Yadav and PrasidhKrishna will be considered.

The absence of K.L. Rahulmeans Shubman Gill andMayank Agarwal will open,and Shreyas Iyer makes hisTest debut. Regulars like

Ajinkya, Cheteshwar Pujaraand comebackman Wriddhiman Saha, along with thefi�ve bowlers, complete theplaying XI.

New Zealand not only faces concerns regarding playing quality spinners on thesepitches, but also how itsslower bowlers bowl to theIndian batters.

Leftarm spinners MitchellSantner and Ajaz Patel appear certainties along withpacemen Tim Southee andKyle Jamieson. FourTest oldoff�spinner William Somerville could well be the thirdspin option.The teams (from):India: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain),Cheteshwar Pujara (vicecaptain), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), K.S. Bharat (wk), RavindraJadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel,Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma,Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Sirajand Prasidh Krishna.New Zealand: Kane Williamson(Captain), Tom Blundell (wk),Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, DarylMitchell, Henry Nicholls, AjazPatel, Glenn Phillips, RachinRavindra, Mitchell Santner, William Somerville, Tim Southee,Will Young, Neil Wagner andKyle Jamieson.

Match starts at 9.30 a.m.

Spinners hold the key as India begins its Test journey under DravidNew Zealand will bank on its experienced duo of skipper Williamson and Taylor to show the way in these conditions against Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar

RAKESH RAO

KANPUR

NZ IN INDIA

“I am sure throughout theseries the spin componentwill be a defi�nite factor. Itwill be no diff�erent here atKanpur. We played here in2016 but things havechanged a little bit.”

These words fromskipper Kane Williamsongive a peek into the

mindset of the NewZealand batters against thepotent threat of the Indianspinners — R. Ashwin,Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Pateland Jayant Yadav — in theseries.

“The guys have beentrying to prepare as well asthey can and lookingforward to the challenge,”Williamson said.

We know the challengeis big, says Williamson RAKESH RAO

KANPUR

Asplendid double from Javi Hernandez and a fi�ne

individual eff�ort from AridaiSuarez handed Odisha FC a31 victory over BengaluruFC in its Indian SuperLeague opener at the TilakMaidan Stadium in Goa onWednesday.

That Hernandez’s goalshad their origins in completely avoidable mistakesfrom BFC shouldn’t takeanything away from the execution; the fi�rst was a delightful longrange chip overthe entire defence and thesecond a swerving freekickfrom just outside the penaltyarea.

At 12, BFC skipper SunilChhetri could have broughthis side back and equalledFerran Corominas’ alltimeISL goal tally (48), but his penalty in the 61st minute wassaved. Substitute Cleiton Silva, who earned the spotkick, bundled in the rebound, only for the referee

to disallow the goal.Replays showed that the

Brazilian had encroachedthe penalty box before thekick was taken. But the samereplay also showed an Odisha player encroaching,which should have resultedin the penalty being retaken.

Regardless, BFC wasclearly below par. The even

ing was off� to the worst possible start when a botchedclearance by Gurpreet SinghSandhu, following a miscommunication with his defenders in the third minute,was beautifully chipped intothe goal by Hernandez.

Marco Pezzaiuoli’s outfi�tequalised in the 21st minutewith Alan Costa towering over Nandhakumar Sekar toturn in a fi�ne corner fromRoshan Naorem.

Hernandez’s second wasthrough a brilliant free kickto the topright corner, butthat came after a blunderfrom Udanta Singh. The winger misplaced a pass, and inan attempt to make amends,ended up fouling JonathasCristian.

In the 90th minute, Silvasaw a powerful shot fromclose range saved by Odishagoalie Kamaljit Singh. Soonenough, Suarez turned Pratik Chowdhary inside outand bundled the ball in toput the result to bed. The result: Odisha FC 3 (Hernandez 3, 51, Suarez 90) btwith Bengaluru FC 1 (Costa 21).

Javi on a high, sinks BFC

Sports Bureau

Javi. * FOCUS SPORTS/ISL

ISL 2021

A welloiled France outsmarted defending champion India 54 in a Pool Bmatch to cause the biggestupset on the opening day ofthe Junior men's hockeyWorld Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday.

The lack of cohesion wasapparent as the host was outplayed by France in everydepartment.

France, which fi�nished asurprise runnerup in NewDelhi in 2013, stunned thedefending champion byscoring in the opening minute through captain Timothee Clement’s fi�eld goal.

India’s shock doubledwhen the pacy French sidewent 20 up in the seventhminute. The trio of MathisClement, Jules Verrier andBenjamin Marque fi�nishedoff� a wellcoordinated move,refl�ecting France's excellentpreparation.

India managed to pull oneback as Uttam Singh slottedhome a rebound off� theteam’s fi�rst penalty corner.Sanjay's dragfl�ick drew parity before the fi�rst break.

The second quarter belonged to France. Clement's

crisp dragfl�ick off� the fi�rstlong corner put his side inthe lead again.

The Frenchmen, whodominated the proceedings,earned three successive penalty corners after halftime.Clement went on to com

plete a hattrick in the 32ndminute.

France pulled away further through Corentin Sellier'sfi�eld goal in the fi�nal quarter.

Though Sanjay strucktwice in the closing minutesand performed the threepeat, it wasn’t enough to deny France.

The results:

Pool A: Belgium 5 (Roman Duvekot 7 & 45, Nelson Onana 24,Arno van Dessel 55, Rik vanCleynenbreugel 58) bt SouthAfrica 1 (Jacques van Tonder15+); Malaysia 2 (Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin 34. SyarmanMat 43) bt Chile 1 (SebastianWolansky 59).

Pool B: Poland 1 (Eryk Bembenek 34) bt Canada 0; France 5(Timothee Clement 1, 23 & 32,Benjamin Marque 7, CorentinSellier 48) bt India 4 (UttamSingh 10, Sanjay 15+, 57 & 58).

Pool D: Germany 5 (MichelStruthoff� 1. Robert Duckscheer14 & 54, Maximilian Siegburg19, Benedikt Schwarzhaupt 22)bt Pakistan 2 (Abdul Shahid 18,Muhammed Hammadudin 49).

Clement and Sanjay perform hattricks, but the latter’s goes in vain

Y.B. Sarangi

BHUBANESWAR

Ecstasy and agony: The French players celebrate while theIndians are crestfallen. * BISWARANJAN ROUT

Determined France ambushes India

JUNIOR WC

Sri Lanka needs just fourwickets to win the fi�rst Testagainst West Indies in Galle after setting the allbutimpossible target of 348 on Wednesday’s penultimate day of play.

West Indies had made just52 before bad light forced anearly end after the hosts’ spintrio made quick work of thetop order.

The sensational collapsesaw the tourists lose fourwickets in 15 balls for just fourruns.

Ramesh Mendis was thepick of the bowlers fi�nishingwith four for 17. The off�spinner had the makings of a hattrick as he trapped KyleMayers leg before.

Lasith Embuldeniya accounted for Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase.

There was little hope for

West Indies at 18 for six and allsigns were that the game wasgoing to end on the fourthday.

Then Nkrumah Bonner (18)and da Silva (15) batted for justover 45 minutes to hang in be

fore the umpires called badlight.

Sri Lanka declared its second innings on 191 for fourafter a 123run stand by Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne in just 150 deliver

ies. Skipper Karunaratne,who had posted 147 in the fi�rstinnings, narrowly missedtwin centuries with 83, including nine fours.

West Indies was 230 all outin the fi�rst innings.

Mendis puts Lanka on the brink of victory


Galle

Bamboozled: Jason Holder, much like his teammates. had no answer to Ramesh Mendis. * AFP

WI IN SRI LANKA

Mahmudullah retiresfrom TestsDHAKA

Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah

Riyad announced his

retirement from Test cricket

on Wednesday after a 12year

career. The 35yearold played

his last Test against Zimbabwe

in Harare in July this year with

Bangladesh recording a

220run win. AFP

IN BRIEF

P.V. Sindhu showed greatdetermination to outwither opponent in the women’s singles openinground, while B. Sai Praneeth and K. Srikanth alsoadvanced to the men’s singles second round of theIndonesia Open Super1000 event here onWednesday.

After a slow start, Sindhu engineered a turnaround to register a 1721, 2117, 2117 win over AyaOhori.Other results (fi�rst round):Men: B. Sai Praneeth bt TomaJunior Popov (Fra) 2119, 2118; K. Srikanth bt H.S. Prannoy 2115, 1921, 2112.

Women: Doubles: GabrielaStoeva & Stefani Stoeva (Bul)bt N. Sikki Reddy & AshwiniPonnappa 2927, 2118.

Mixed doubles: Kyohei Yamashita & Naru Shinoya (Jpn)bt Sikki & Dhruv Kapila 217,2112; Takuro Hoki & NamiMatsuyama (Jpn) bt Ashwini& B. Sumeeth Reddy 2224,2112, 2119.

Sindhu ralliesto advance

Press Trust of India

BALI

Sri Lanka — 1st innings: 386.

West Indies — 1st innings:Kraigg Brathwaite c Nissanka bMendis 41, Jermaine Blackwood lbw b Embuldeniya 20,Nkrumah Bonner c Dhananjayab Jayawickrama 1, Shai Hope* cFernando b Mendis 10, RostonChase c Fernando b Mendis 2,Jomel Warrican c Chandimal bJayawickrama 1, Kyle Mayers cKarunaratne b Dhananjaya 45,Jason Holder c Chameera bJayawickrama 36, Joshua daSilva (not out) 15, RahkeemCornwall c Mendis b Lakmal 39,Shannon Gabriel lbw b Jayawickrama 2; Extras (b8, lb5,nb2, w3): 18; Total (in 85.5overs): 230.

Fall of wickets: 146, 251, 380, 483, 586, 6100, 7163,8175, 9224.

Sri Lanka bowling: Lakmal 61101, Chameera 80140, Embuldeniya 3211671, Jayawickrama 19.56404, Mendis 171753, Dhananjaya 30111.

Sri Lanka — 2nd innings:Pathum Nissanka c Hope bCornwall 3, Dimuth Karunaratne c Blackwood b Cornwall83, Oshada Fernando lbw b

Warrican 14, Angelo Mathews(not out) 69, Dhananjaya deSilva c & b Warrican 1, DineshChandimal (not out) 10; Extras(b8, lb2, nb1): 11; Total (forfour wkts. decl. in 40.5 overs):191.

Fall of wickets: 14, 239, 3162, 4163.

West Indies bowling: Cornwall15.50602, Holder 50190,Chase 61280, Warrican 91422, Gabriel 40230, Brathwaite 1090.

West Indies — 2nd innings:Brathwaite lbw b Mendis 0,Blackwood c Mathews b Embuldeniya 9, Bonner (batting) 18,Hope b Mendis 3, Chase b Embuldeniya 1, Mayers lbw bMendis 2, Holder b Mendis 0,Joshua (batting) 15; Extras(lb4): 4; Total (for six wkts. in25.3 overs): 52.

Fall of wickets: 13, 211, 314,415, 518, 618.

Sri Lanka bowling: Embuldeniya 103182, Mendis 111174,Jayawickrama 4280,Dhananjaya 0.3050.

*Hope replaced Solozano as aconcussion substitute during SriLanka’s first innings.

SCOREBOARD

IndiaA was 125 for one,chasing South AfricaA’smammoth 509 for sevendeclared, on the secondday of the fi�rst ‘Test’ onWednesday.

Captain Priyank Panchaland Abhimanyu Easwaranwere batting on 45 and 27at close. India still trails by384 in the fourday match.

Opener Prithvi Shaw(48, 45b, 9x4) was lookingominous before he was dismissed in the 14th over.

Earlier, South AfricaAadded 166 before declaringits fi�rst innings at 509 forseven.The scores:

South AfricaA 509/7 decl.in 135.3 overs (Pieter Malan163, Tony de Zorzi 117) vs IndiaA 125/1 in 33 overs (Prithvi Shaw 48, Priyank Panchal45 batting).

India-A makescautious reply

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

BLOEMFONTEIN

Vaughan dropped by BBCSALFORD (ENGLAND)

Former England cricket captain

Michael Vaughan was dropped

by the BBC because of his

involvement in the racism

controversy enveloping

Yorkshire. Vaughan has denied

the allegations and said his

reputation has been “trashed

unfairly,” calling it “the worst

thing I have ever experienced.”AP

CMYK

M ND-NDE

SPORT

India vs New Zealand: 1stTest, day 1, Star Sports 1 (SD& HD), 9.30 a.m.Sri Lanka vs West Indies:1st Test, day 5, Sony Six (SD &HD), 9.45 a.m.ISL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD),7.30 p.m.Europa League: Sony Ten 2(SD & HD), 11.30 p.m.; SonyTen 1, 2, 3 & Sony Six (SD &HD), 1.30 a.m. (Friday)

TV PICKS

Jhili Dalabehera will represent India in the women’s49kg category, in place of Mirabai Chanu who has pulledout, in the upcoming Worldweightlifting championship inTashkent next month.

The squad:

Men: Sanket Sargar (55kg),Guru Raja (61kg), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (67kg), AchintaSheuli (73kg), Ajay Singh andAmarjit Guru (both 81kg), Vikas Thakur and Jagdish Vishwakarma (both 96kg), Lovepreet Singh (109kg) andGurdeep Singh (+109kg).

Women: Jhili Dalabehera(49kg), S. Bindrarani Devi(55kg), Popy Hazarika (59kg),Komal Khan (64kg), HarjinderKaur and Lalchhanhimi (both71kg), Poonam Yadav and R.Arockiya Alish (both 76kg),Anuradha Pavunraj (87kg)and Purnima Pandey (+87kg).

Jhili to replaceMirabai


BHUBANESWAR

Sixth seed Ramkumar Ramanathan beat qualifi�er Vladyslav Orlov in the fi�rstround of the $52,080 Challenger tennis tournament.

In the $100,000 ITF women’s event in Dubai, Ankita Raina and Tereza Mihalikova made the quarterfi�nalsbeating Alena FominaKlotzand Ekaterina Yashina.

In the $25,000 ITF women’s event in Ortisei (Italy), Karman Kaur Thandi defeated fourth seed YlenaInAlbon to reach thequarterfi�nals.

The results: $100,000 ITF women, Dubai: Doubles: Prequarterfi�nals: Tereza Mihalikova (Svk) & Ankita Raina bt Alena FominaKlotz & EkaterinaYashina (Rus) 75, 75.

$60,000 ITF women, Brasilia:First round: Carolina MeligeniAlves (Bra) bt Riya Bhatia 36,

62, retd.

$25,000 ITF women, Ortisei,Italy: Singles: Prequarterfi�nals: Karman Kaur Thandi btYlena InAlbon (Sui) 64, 46,63. First round: Karman KaurThandi bt Deborah Chiesa (Ita)46, 60, 10, retd.

$15,000 ITF women, Cancun,Mexico: First round: RaveenaKingsley (RSA) bt Sahaja Yamalapalli 75, 62.

Doubles: Prequarterfi�nals:Isabella Barrera Aguirre & Marika Jones (US) bt Lucia Gonzales(Per) & Sahaja Yamalapalli 61,61.

$52,080 Challenger, Manama:First round: Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Vladyslav Orlov(Ukr) 62, 64.

Doubles: Prequarterfi�nals:Sriram Balaji & Divij Sharan btAbdulkarim Abdulnabi & HasanAbdulnabi (Brn) 61, 60; ArjunKadhe & Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Omar Ahmed & Saud Alhogbani (Brn) 60, 31, retd.;Nuno Borges & Francisco Cabral (Por) bt Goncalo Oliveira(Por) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 36, 62, [106].

Ramkumar easespast Orlov

INDIANS ABROAD

Sports Bureau

MANAMA


DELHI THE HINDU


NY Knicks hold off�shorthanded LA LakersNEW YORK

Evan Fournier scored 26

points as the host New York

Knicks squandered a 25point

lead before recovering to

beat the LeBron Jamesless

Los Angeles Lakers 106100

in the NBA on Tuesday.The results: Miami 100 btDetroit 92, New York 106 btLA Lakers 100, Portland 119bt Denver 100, Dallas 112 btLA Clippers 104 (OT).

IN BRIEF

Harmanpreet namedWBBL Player of theTournamentSYDNEY

Melbourne Renegades star

Harmanpreet Kaur has been

named the Women Big Bash

League (WBBL) Player of the

Tournament. The Indian

allrounder, who ended the

regular season as her side’s

leading batter with 399 runs

and 15 wickets, finished

ahead of the Perth Scorchers

pair of Beth Mooney and

Sophie Devine. ANI

National weightlifting coachVijay Sharma said winning amedal in the 2022 AsianGames would be the maintarget for Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu.

Sharma has decided notto fi�eld Mirabai in the upcoming World championships in Tashkent from December 7 to 17.

“We are working on Mira’ssnatch technique. We aretrying to rectify a technicalfault. You need time for that.I cannot see the kind of performance she needs to produce to compete at theWorld championships,” saidSharma on Wednesday.

“Since we are working on

the technique, there is noquestion of how much shedoes in snatch. In clean andjerk, she has not gone past100105kg. We are not takingload in jerk. If you don’t prepare the body for taking the

load and rush, then there is achance of picking up an injury.” Sharma said the AsianGames, where Mirabaiwould face strong competition from the Chinese lifters,would be the main challenge

for the 27yearold.“When we are qualifying

(for the CommonwealthGames) on the basis of herNo.1 ranking, then there isno need to go to the Worldchampionships (which is also a qualifying event for the2022 CommonwealthGames). We have a (CWGqualifying) competition (inSingapore) in February, weneed to test ourselves there.

“Even if she does not doanything special, she willwin the CWG gold. But themain target is the AsianGames. We have suffi�cienttime to train for the Asiad,which is very close to theCWG. If we achieve the peaktoo early, then it will be diffi�cult to maintain that performance for a long period oftime,” said Sharma.

‘Asian Games is Mirabai’s main target’Coach Sharma says they are working on her snatch technique

WEIGHTLIFTING

Getting ready: Mirabai is missing the Worlds to fi�netunesome technical issue. * PTI

Y.B. Sarangi

BHUBANESWAR

G. Sathiyan and Ayhika Mukherjee were the lone Indianplayers to enter the singlessecond round of the Worldtable tennis championshipshere on Tuesday.

The mixed doubles duoof Sharath and Archana Kamath entered the secondround with a 117, 116, 116win over Algeria’s Sami Kherouf and Katia Kessaci.

The results (fi�rst round): Men:Singles: Cedric Nuytinck (Bel)bt Sharath Kamal 911, 115,116, 117, 119; G. Sathiyan btYaroslav Zhmudenko (Ukr) 112,119, 11, 113; Bode Abiodun(Ngr) bt A. Amalraj 116, 511, 511, 118, 1012, 119, 116; Benedikt Duda (Ger) bt Harmeet Desai 119, 117, 117, 114.

Women: Singles: Bruna Takahashi (Bra) bt Manika Batra 511, 1315; 118, 114. 116, 411,117; Ayhika Mukherjee bt FarahAbdelAziz (Egy) 117, 1416, 811, 116, 119, 116; Choi Hyojoo(Kor) bt Sutirtha Mukherjee 811, 114, 115, 110, 114; SakiShibata (Jpn) bt Madhurika Patkar 117, 114, 113, 118.

Mixed doubles: Sharath Kamal& Archana Kamath bt Sami Kherouf & Katia Kessaci (Alg) 117,116, 116.

Sathiyan, Ayhika advanceAll other Indians exit in singles

WORLD TTSports Bureau

HOUSTON

G. Sathiyan. * FILE PHOTO

Energised by a change ofmanager and another opportunistic fi�nish by CristianoRonaldo, Manchester Unitedqualifi�ed for the knockoutstage of the ChampionsLeague with a game to spare.

United was led for the fi�rsttime by Michael Carrick following the weekend fi�ring ofOle Gunnar Solskjaer and,just like his predecessor, theinterim manager was thankful for a goal by the Champions League’s record scorer.

Lobbed fi�nish

Ronaldo produced a sublimelobbed fi�nish to put Unitedahead against Villarreal onTuesday and a 90thminutestrike by Jadon Sanchosealed a 20 win to secureprogress as the winner of

Group F. Another English team, de

fending champion Chelsea,also advanced on the back ofa 40 win over alreadyqualifi�ed Juventus.

Chelsea and Juventus aretied on 12 points with a gameleft to play.

Barcelona, now coachedby former star midfi�elder Xavi Hernandez, has advanced

from its group every seasonfor almost two decades but a00 draw at home to Benfi�cameans the Spanish clubmight need to beat BayernMunich in the fi�nal round of

games to advance.

If Barca fails to beatBayern away, Benfi�ca couldovertake the Spanish clubwith a win at home to alreadyeliminated Dynamo Kyiv.If they fi�nish tied on points,Benfi�ca would advance courtesy of their headtoheadrecord.The results: Group E: DynamoKiev 1 (Garmash 70) lost toBayern Munich 2 (Lewandowski14, Coman 42); Barcelona 0drew with Benfi�ca 0.

Group F: Villarreal 0 lost toManchester United 2 (Ronaldo78, Sancho 90); Young Boys 3(Siebatcheu 39, Sierro 80, Hefti84) drew with Atalanta 3 (Zapata 10, Palomino 51, Muriel 88).

Group G: Lille 1 (David 31) btSalzburg 0; Sevilla 2 (Jordan 13,Mir 90+7) bt Wolfsburg 0.

Group H: Chelsea 4 (Chalobah25, James 56, HudsonOdoi 58,Werner 90+5) bt Juventus 0;Malmo 1 (Rieks 28) lost to ZenitSaint Petersburg 1 (Rakitsky90+2pen).

United & Chelsea make the knockoutsBarcelona still needs a mountain to climb in its fi�nal game against group leader Bayern

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Goalfest: HudsonOdoi, left, pokes in Chelsea’s third in the rout of Juventus. * AP

Associated Press

Paris

Manish Sureshkumar got hisact right and beat the fi�nalistof the last two events, PhilipSekulic of Australia, 63, 76(5) in the fi�rst round of the$15,000 ITF men’s tennistournament at the TennisProject on Wednesday.

The 22yearold overcamemoments of uncertainty tohaul himself past the talented Sekulic, whom he hadbeaten for the title in the fi�nal in Indore.

Sekulic engaged in verbalvolleys with his father rightthrough the match andlacked the mental energy tofi�ght his way past troublethis day. Thus, he was unable to drive home the advantage when leading 53,300 in the second set.

In another match, KaranSingh continued to holdsway over twotime nationalchampion Niki Poonacha ashe beat the second seed 62,63. Poonacha has been trou

bled by back pain and couldnot stand up to the barrageof winners that the 18yearold Karan unleashed.

Having negotiated threerounds of the qualifyingevent, Karan was sharp withhis game. He had beatenPoonacha in the fi�rst roundin Indore.

Ishaque Eqbal convertedhis sixth match point to beatseventh seed Rishab Agarwal 76(4), 63.

Top seed Sidharth Rawatplayed close to his best todismiss the challenge fromthe young Dev Javia in

straight sets. Eighth seedS.D. Prajwal Dev overcame atricky start to beat RomainFaucon of Belgium in threesets. In the prequarterfi�nals, he will play Nitin Kumar Sinha who also overcame a slow start to beatBharath Kumaran.The results: First round: Sidharth Rawat bt Dev Javia 63,64; Arvid Nordquist (Swe) btMadhwin Kamath 26, 61, 64;Paras Dahiya bt Shahbaaz Khan76(4), 61; Ishaque Eqbal btRishab Agarwal 76(4), 63;Manish Sureshkumar bt PhilipSekulic (Aus) 63, 76(5); Digvijay Pratap Singh bt LakshyaGupta 75, 57, 61.

Julian Cash (GBr) bt ArthavNeema 62, 62; Dusty Boyer(USA) bt Adil Kalyanpur 61,64; S.D. Prajwal Dev bt Romain Faucon (Bel) 46, 61,62; Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Bharath Kumaran 46, 63, 64; Nicolas Tepmahc (Fra) bt FardeenQamar 36, 63, 60; KaranSingh bt Niki Poonacha 62,63. Doubles: Yuki Bhambri & Saketh Myneni bt Aryan Goveas &Karunuday Singh 63, 64; Julian Cash (GBr) & ZsomborVelcz (Hun) bt Ishaque Eqbal &Faisal Qamar 64, 62.

Manish gets the better of SekulicKaran Singh beats Niki Poonacha in straight sets

ITF MEN

Manish Sureshkumar.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kamesh Srinivasan

GURUGRAM

Yuvan Nandal overcame anindiff�erent start to beat Aditya Nandal 26, 64, 64 inthe boys’ prequarterfi�nalsof the ITF grade4 juniortennis at the DLTA Complexhere on Wednesday.

Yuvan, who had lost thefi�nal in three sets to Adityalast week in Guwahati, settled the scores quickly insetting up a second roundagainst Parv Nage.

In the girls’ section,Renne Singla prevailed overNandini Dixit in the secondset tiebreak to set up aquarterfi�nal against SuhithaMaruri.The results (prequarterfi�nals): Boys: Aman Dahiya bt

Nikhil Mukherjee 63, 64;Deep Munim bt Abhay Chhabra67(4), 60, 61; Parv Nage btDaniil Felker (Kaz) 67(10), 61,62; Yuvan Nandal bt AdityaNandal 26, 64, 64.

Muni Ananthmani bt AryanLakshmanan 36, 63, 62; Monil Lotlikar bt Daksh Prasad60, 62; Daksh Agarwal btJaishnav Shinde 64, 61; MaxBatyutenko (Kaz) bt BushanHaobam 67(3), 61, 60.

Girls: Shruti Ahlawat bt Tamanna Takoria 61, 61; SainaDeshpande (US) bt HitakamyaSingh Narwal 61, 76(7); Erkezhan Arystanbekova (Kaz) btSukhmanni Bhandari 63, 26,61; Lakshmi Prabha bt KristiBoro 26, 63, 62.

Renne Singla bt NandiniDixit 64, 76(4); Suhitha Maruri bt Niyati Kukreti 62, 63;Vaishnavi Adkar bt Ruma Gaikaiwari 62, 60; Sonal Patil btLakshmi Gowda 61, 60.

Yuvan bests AdityaITF JUNIORS


NEW DELHI

Kabir’s fi�vefor helpsHaryana Academy reach the fi�nalA fi�vewicket haul by KabirBishnoi helped HaryanaAcademy beat Sehgal Clubby three wickets and reachthe fi�nal of the 36thLaxman Das Chhabramemorial crickettournament.

The scores (semifi�nal):

Sehgal Club 171 in 37 overs

(Shivam Gupta 58, Kshitij

Sharma 44, Kabir Bishnoi 5/26,

Poonish Mehta 3/24) lost to

Haryana Academy 174/7 in 38

overs (Yash Vardhan Dalal 40,

Vishal Choudhary 3/24).

Prince Kumar powers MPS Club into fi�nalA fl�uent knock of 74 byPrince Kumar helped MPSClub to a fi�vewicket victory

over India Power Pro andinto the fi�nal of the BimalaDevi Kapoor crickettournament in Noida.

The scores:

India Power Pro 169/9 in 20

overs (Mayank Raghav 52,

Prince Kumar 3/29) lost to

MPS Club 172/5 in 18 overs

(Prince Kumar 74, Sachin

Bhatti 33).

Digvesh bowls SepienceClub to big win

Digvesh took fi�ve wickets asSepience Club beatLearners Academy by 194runs in the Sita Rani Junejacricket tournament.

The scores:

Sepience Club 277 for seven in

40 overs (Raghav Kapoor 86,

Abhimanyu 63) bt Learners

Academy 83 in 32 overs

(Akshay 30, Digvesh 5/18).

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

\ DELHI CRICKET \

Darshna Rathore shot 50 tobeat Ganemat Sekhon byfour points in the women’sskeet fi�nal of the 64th National shooting championship at the New Moti BaghGun Club on Wednesday.

After qualifying thirdwith 113, Darshna did wellto top the fi�eld ahead of Ganemat (117) and AreebaKhan (116).

Former champions, Maheshwari Chauhan, SaniyaSheikh and Rashmmi Rathore failed to make the fi�nal.

Ganemat won the juniorgold beating Areeba Khan43 in the shootoff� afterthe two tied on 50. The results: Skeet: Women: 1.Darshna Rathore 50 (113); 2.Ganemat Sekhon 46 (117); 3.Raiza Dhillon 36 (110); Juniorwomen: 1. Ganemat Sekhon50(4) 117; 2. Areeba Khan 50(3) 116; 3. Darshna Rathore 41(113).

Darshnatriumphs

Darshna Rathore.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT


PATIALA

CMYK

S ND-NDE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 follow us:

thehindu.com





The story so far: India on November 23announced that it will release 5 millionbarrels of crude oil from strategic petroleumreserves (SPR) or the stockpiles. This is partof a coordinated approach mooted by theU.S. and other major oil consumers after theoilproducing OPEC+ bloc waved off�suggestions to boost the output for a calmingeff�ect on the prices. At the heart of this arethe petroleum product prices that have beenrising steadily for months now, and whichthreaten to throw a spanner in thepostpandemic economic recovery process.

What is behind India’s decision to usecrude oil stockpiles?Rising crude oil prices in internationalmarkets to which pump prices of petrol anddiesel in the country are intrinsically tied to,a nudge from the U.S. and the longfelt needto send out a stern message to the powerfuloilproducing lobby are behind the Centre’sdecision to use crude oil reserves, albeit in a

limited way. Quoting an unnamed topGovernment offi�cial, PTI said it would be thefi�rst time that India will be releasing crudeoil stocks to cool international oil prices.About 5 million barrels will be released,starting as early as 710 days, according tothe offi�cial.

India is not alone in resorting to such amove. The U.S., China, Japan, South Koreaand the United Kingdom have alsoannounced that they will be part of thisexercise, widely perceived to be a measureby major energyconsuming countries to fl�extheir muscles.

When are the rest in the group likely tofollow suit?The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in astatement on November 23, said that at thedirection of President Joe Biden, theSecretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm,authorised 50 million barrels of crude oilfrom the DOE’s Strategic Petroleum Reserveto be made available. According to the PTI

report, China has also said it is working oncrude oil release. Citing a report in Nikkeinewspaper, Reuters stated that Japan willhold auctions for about 4.2 million barrels ofoil out of its national stockpile.

How many petroleum stockpiles doesIndia hold and who will get access to it?India stores 5.33 million tonnes (MT) ofcrude oil in underground caverns. Thestrategic crude oil storage at Visakhapatnam,commissioned in June 2015, Mangaluru(October 2016) and Padur, near Udupi(December 2018), were created from aperspective of ensuring energy security,especially during any supply disruptions.The contents from the caverns can besupplied to refi�neries either throughpipelines or through a combination ofpipelines and coastal movement, accordingto the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves(SPR) Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary ofthe Oil Industry Development Board. Thesestrategic storages are in addition to the

existing storages of crude oil and petroleumproducts with the oil companies. Two newSPRs, with an additional storage of 6.5 MT,are proposed to be constructed atChandikhol in Odisha and Padur.

India relies on imports to meet 8085% ofthe crude oil refi�ned in the country.According to the Petroleum Planning andAnalysis Cell, there were 226.955 MT crudeoil imports in 20192020 as against 226.498MT in the previous fi�scal year. In 202021, ayear ravaged by the pandemic, the importswere lower at 196.461 MT.

According to PTI , the 5 million barrelswill be sold to refi�neries of MangaloreRefi�nery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) andHindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd(HPCL), which are connected by pipeline tothe strategic reserves.

Will this move change pump prices ofpetrol and diesel ?The pump prices declined sharply after theCentre, earlier this month, reduced the

excise duty on petrol by ₹�5 a litre and thelevy on diesel by ₹�10 a litre. In addition tothis, some States also reduced the VAT onthe fuels. Interestingly, global crude oilprices that were behind the Government’sdecision to cut the levy started tapering onthe back of fresh COVID19triggered worriesin Europe. The threat of a coordinatedrelease of the reserves, the PTI report said,has knocked the wind out of crude oil’s rally.

It would be sometime before any impact islikely on the pump prices as the quantitiescommitted to be released are not enough tocause a ripple eff�ect. The OPEC and its allyproducers could resort to putting on holdthe incremental production they plannedahead as a measure to keep the global pricesfrom crashing. Bloomberg oil strategistJulian Lee says the OPEC+ group would haveto defer at least two months’ worth ofplanned output increases to off�set strategicstockpile releases led by the U.S. The groupis due to hold discussions on Dec. 2 to setproduction plans for January.

EXPLAINER

Will the move to exert pressure on the powerful OPEC+ oil producers, that turned down suggestions to enhance output, payoff� or prove counterproductive?

Falling back on reserves to tilt the scales

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The U.S. along with China, Japan,

South Korea and the United Kingdom

have also announced that they will be

part of this exercise,

THE GISTB India has announced thatit will release 5 millionbarrels of crude oil as partof a coordinated approachmooted by the U.S. afterthe oil producing OPEC+bloc waved off� suggestionsto boost the output for acalming eff�ect on the prices.

B India stores 5.33 milliontonnes (MT) of crude oil inunderground caverns whichcan be supplied to refi�nerieseither through pipelines orthrough a combination ofpipelines and coastalmovement.

B The OPEC and its allyproducers could resort toputting on hold theincremental production theyplanned ahead as a measureto keep the global pricesfrom crashing.

N.Ravi Kumar

Black gold: A view of the

crude cavern of the Indian

Strategic Petroleum

Reserves Ltd at Lova Gardens

in Visakhapatnam, in 2015.

THE HINDU

The story so far: The UnionGovernment has listed 29 Bills (26 newand three pending) to be tabled in thewinter session of Parliament. In 2014, thePreLegislative Consultation Policy wasadopted, mandating a host of rules,including that whenever the Governmentmakes any law, it must place a draftversion of it in the public domain for atleast 30 days. Since the inception of thepolicy, 227 of the 301 bills introduced inParliament have been presented withoutany prior consultation. Of the 74 placedin public domain for comment, at least40 did not adhere to the 30day deadline.

What is the policy? The PreLegislative Consultation Policy(PLCP) 2014 mandates that whenever theGovernment makes any laws (bills, rules,regulations etc.), it must place a draftversion of it in the public domain for atleast 30 days. The policy also says thatalong with the draft, a note explainingthe law in simple language and justifyingthe proposal, its fi�nancial implication,impact on the environment andfundamental rights, a study on the socialand fi�nancial costs of the bill, etc. should

be uploaded. The respective departmentsshould also upload the summary of allthe feedback that they receive on thecirculated draft.

The PLCP was formulated based on thebroad recommendations of the NationalAdvisory Council headed by SoniaGandhi (2013) and the NationalCommission to Review the Working of theConstitution (2002). It aimed to create aninstitutionalised space for publicparticipation in lawmaking processes.

Why is it important? This policy provides a forum for citizensand relevant stakeholders to interact with

the policymakers in the executive duringthe initial stages of lawmaking. Protests inthe recent past over laws such as the farmlaws, the RTI Amendment Act, theTransgender Persons (Protection ofRights) Act, etc. have all highlighted thatthere is discontent among relevantstakeholders and the public at large sincethey were not looped in while framingsuch laws. Public consultations enhancetransparency, increase accountabilityand could result in the building of aninformed Government where citizens aretreated as partners and not as subjects.

For example, concerns raised by civilsociety members (#SaveTheInternet

campaign) were addressed by theTelecom Regulatory Authority in itsframing of the net neutrality rules afterextensive consultation and deliberationprocesses adopted by them.

What is the status of itsimplementation?During the 16th Lok Sabha (May 2014 toMay 2019) 186 bills were introduced inParliament, of which 142 saw noconsultation prior to introduction. Fromthe 44 bills placed in the public domainfor receipt of comments, 24 did notadhere to the 30day deadline. Duringthe 17th Lok Sabha ( June 2019 topresent), 115 bills were introduced inParliament, of which 85 saw noconsultation prior to introduction. Fromthe 30 bills placed in public domain forreceipt of comment, 16 of them did notadhere to the 30day deadline.

The tentative schedule for the wintersession indicates that a total of 29 billsare listed for introduction and passing. Ofthese, 17 saw no prior consultation whilefrom the 12 that were placed in the publicdomain, only six adhered to the 30daydeadline.

Why is implementation diffi�cult?

Though it is required that the mandatesof an approved policy be heeded by allGovernment departments, the absence ofa statutory or constitutional right haswatered down its eff�ect. The eff�ectiveimplementation of the policy requiressubsequent amendments in executiveprocedural guidelines like the Manual ofParliamentary Procedures and Handbookon Writing Cabinet Notes. However,during a subsequent amendment to theManual of Parliamentary Procedures, theMinistry of Parliamentary Aff�airs ignoredthe Ministry of Law and Justice when itrequested them to incorporate PLCPprovisions in the manual.

Incorporation of prelegislativeconsultation in the procedures of theCabinet, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha etc.should be prioritised. Similarly, it mustbe required of ministers whileintroducing the bill to place anaddendum note on the details of theprelegislative consultation. Empoweringcitizens with a right to participate inprelegislative consultations through astatutory and a constitutionalcommitment could be a gamechanger.

Arun P.S. is a public policy researcher based out ofKerala

The need for a proper Pre- Legislative Consultation PolicyHow many bills have been tabled without prior discussions? What needs to be done to improve public consultation in policymaking?

EXPLAINER

THE GISTB In 2014, thePreLegislative ConsultationPolicy was adopted,mandating a host of rules,including that whenever theGovernment makes any law,it must place a draft versionof it in the public domainfor at least 30 days.

B This policy provides aforum for citizens andrelevant stakeholders tointeract with thepolicymakers.

B Though it is arequirement that should beheeded by all theGovernment departments,the absence of a statutoryor constitutional right haswatered down its eff�ect.

Arun PS

Terror again in J&K

3The number of militants killed in

an encounter with the security

forces in the Rambagh area of

Srinagar on Wednesday. Officials

said the militants’ identities and

group affiliation were still being

ascertained. Two spells of lockdown —

the first after J&K was stripped of its

statehood and its special constitutional

status, and the second related to

COVID19 — had put a lid on new

terrorist incidents.

However, terror seems to be increasing

again, and civilians, including from the

minority community, are being

targeted more. AGENCIES

COVID19 and a cult

4,116The number of new

COVID19 cases

reported in South

Korea on Tuesday, a

new record for any

singleday for the country. A

littleknown sect led by a pastor who

pokes people’s eyes to heal them is at

the centre of the latest outbreak. In a

tiny rural church in a town of 427

residents in Cheonan city, south of

Seoul, at least 241 people linked to the

religious community had tested

positive for COVID19. About 90% of

the religious community was

unvaccinated. REUTERS

Lira on the decline

40In percent, Turkey's currency

Lira's losses against the

dollar this year. On Tuesday,

it crashed to record lows

driven by President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan's defence of rate cuts.

On Wednesday morning, the Lira

weakened as far as 13.15 to the U.S.

currency. Many Turks, already

grappling with inflation of around

20%, fear prices will accelerate.

Opposition politicians have accused Mr.

Erdogan of dragging the country into a

crisis. Retailers are also struggling ,

with some websites stopping sales of

electronic products. REUTERS

One more debut

303The number of players

who would have

debuted for India in

Tests after Shreyas Iyer

joins the playing XI in

the first Test against New Zealand in

Kanpur on Thursday. India's standin

captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed

Iyer’s inclusion on Wednesday. Iyer has

secured the spot after K.L. Rahul was

ruled out following a left thigh muscle

strain. "It's obviously a big blow. Rahul

did really well in England. But we have

guys who can do the job, guys who

have done well for us in the past and

are experienced," Rahane said.

Half eff�ective

50In percent, the effectiveness

of two doses of Covaxin

against symptomatic

COVID19, according to the

first realworld assessment

of India's indigenous coronavirus

vaccine published in The Lancet

Infectious Diseases journal. The results

of an interim study recently published

in The Lancet showed that two doses of

Covaxin, also known as BBV152, had

77.8% efficacy against symptomatic

disease and present no serious safety

concerns. The latest study assessed

2,714 hospital workers from April

15–May 15, who were symptomatic. PTI

COMPILED BY THE HINDU DATA TEAM

CMYK

S ND-NDE

thursday, november 25, 2021

| II



Workers (NDUW), which was to have been doneby July 31, 2021. Government agencies are rushingto comply with both the directives. In ONOR,Aadhaar seeding and the universal availability ofan electronic point of sale (EPOS) system arenecessary. And for the NDUW, it has to registereach of the approximately 400 million workers, aconservative fi�gure.

Perhaps, the Supreme Court passed such anextraordinary perhaps impracticable orderfollowing the hesitancy in early 2020 to providerelief to suff�ering migrant workers following thenational lockdown. One is not sure whenGovernments would comply fully and well withthe Supreme Court’s orders. Unorganised workersincluding migrant workers will continue to bedeprived of their promised and extendedentitlements.

Government’s line vs realityThe Government said the codes would extenduniversal minimum wages and social security,enable enhanced industrial safety and theprovision of social security to gig workers, amongother things. The Industrial Relations Codeprovides for recognition of trade union(s) byemployers, a labour right that eluded workers forseven decades. On the other hand, employerscelebrated the extension of tremendous fl�exibilityto them, even those unasked, such as relief fromframing standing orders for most fi�rms. But dothey enjoy these benefi�ts?

On August 3, 2021, I browsed the Simpliancewebsite (a law portal) to assess the record of StateGovernments regarding rules under the codes. Itwas a revelation to fi�nd that major States such asTamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra,Haryana and Delhi have not issued the draft rulesunder any codes. Karnataka, Gujarat andJharkhand have framed Rules for the Code onWages and the Industrial Relations Code. MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Punjab have framed rules for all

The shaky foundation ofthe labour law reforms

Following the repeal of the farm laws by theUnion Government, the Trade Unions havedecided to step up their protests against theLabour codes passed in 2019, 2020 and which areyet to be notifi�ed. In this article dated August 10,2021, K.R. Shyam Sundar writes about the codes;what they are, how they were formed and are nowbeing implemented. Edited excerpts:

The National Democratic Alliance Governmentenacted the Code on Wages in August 2019 andthe other three Codes, viz., the IndustrialRelations Code, the Occupational Safety, Healthand Working Conditions Code and Code on SocialSecurity (CSS) in September 2020. Later, it hadframed the draft rules albeit incompletely underall the codes — incompletely because the ruleshave not covered some aspects of the Codes, e.g.rules regarding recognition of central tradeunions have not been framed so far.

A rushed exerciseControversies surround the processes of theenactment of codes and the framing of rules. TheGovernment has held only symbolic and partialconsultation with the central trade unions. Thethree codes were passed in Parliament even as theOpposition parties, otherwise insignifi�cant,boycotted the proceedings. The tearing hurry inwhich the Government carried out the reformseven during the COVID19 period gavetremendous hope to employers and potentialinvestors. It announced its intentions ofimplementing the Codes from April 1, 2021 even asState governments were completely unpreparedwith the rules. Symbolically, labour law reformshave been aff�ected and the Government can boastof it; simply put, it is more symbolic rather than ameaningful act.

Court directivesThe Central Government has deferred thepossible date of implementation to October 1,2021, again tentatively. In the meanwhile, theSupreme Court of India has exerted pressure onboth the Central and the State Governments toimplement a ‘one nation, one ration card’ (ONOR)scheme and register all the unorganised workersunder the National Database for Unorganized

the codes. Even though the Code on Wages wasenacted in August 2019, it was only in March 2021that the Central Government notifi�ed theconstitution of an advisory committee. On June 3,2021 it also announced an expert committee witha tenure of three years to advise it on minimumwages. Then, on July 12, 2021, it announced thatthe wage index’s base year would be shifted from1965 to 2019 to use the revised wage index todetermine minimum wages. The Governmentseems to be clueless regarding theimplementation of minimum wages.

Poor safety recordThe incidence of major industrial accidents hasremained undiminished even during the COVID19period. For instance, IndustriAll reported thatbetween May to June, 32 major industrialaccidents occurred in India, killing 75 workers.Industrial safety continues to be a grave concerneven after the enactment of the OccupationalSafety, Health and Working Conditions Code.

According to several research reports,COVID19 intensifi�ed informality, led to thewithdrawal of workers from the labour market,reduced earnings, increased unemployment andwidened inequality. The nonstatutory fl�oor levelminimum wage remains a meagre ₹�178 still evenas Wholesale Price Indexinfl�ation rates havegalloped to 12% in June 2021. It did not implementthe widely endorsed measure of direct benefi�ttransfer at least for lowincome families.

In perspectiveThus, we see two aspects concerning labourmarket governance in India. One, the Governmenthas failed to provide legal visibility to millions ofunorganised and migrant workers, even afterdecades, and despite direction by the highestcourt in the land.

Two, despite the gazetting of four Codes,ageold laws are in force. Thus, they refl�ect poorlynot only on the governance abilities of thegovernments but also on the countervailing powerof the Opposition parties. Were the labour lawreforms rushed with little or no debate andconsultation whatsoever, only to remain in thegazette books? Employers and workers cannotenjoy the socalled benefi�ts extended by thecodes.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

It could be a long wait before employers and workers enjoy the socalled benefi�ts extended by thelabour codes

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The Government said the codes would

extend universal minimum wages, social

security, enable enhanced industrial

safety and the provision of social security

to gig workers, among other things.

THE GISTB The National DemocraticAlliance Governmentenacted the Code on Wagesin August 2019 and theother three Codes, viz., theIndustrial Relations Code,the Occupational Safety,Health and WorkingConditions Code and Codeon Social Security (CSS) inSeptember 2020.

B The Government passedthese laws in a hurry andheld only symbolic andpartial consultation with thecentral trade unions. TillAugust 2021, major Stateshave not even issued thedraft rules under any codes.

B In the meanwhile, theSupreme Court of India hasexerted pressure on boththe Central and the StateGovernments to implementa ‘one nation, one rationcard’ (ONOR) scheme andregister all the unorganisedworkers under the NationalDatabase for UnorganizedWorkers (NDUW).

K.R. Shyam Sundar

Hard work: A daily wage labourer eats lunch on a piece of tin sheet at a construction site in New Delhi, in 2019. * THE HINDU

The term ‘hysterical realism’ was supposedto be the fi�rst salvo in a literary feud. Whilethe feud never really took off�, the term itself,despite being intended in a pejorative sense,has gained currency as a useful descriptor ofa certain kind of contemporary fi�ction. It wascoined by the English critic James Wood in a2000 essay in which he lamented a literarytendency to cover up a lack of somethingprimary with an excess of many thingssecondary.

These novels – Wood invoked ZadieSmith’s White Teeth, Salman Rushdie’s Fury,Don DeLillo’s White Noise and David FosterWallace’s Infi�nite Jest, among others weretypically marked by an overabundance ofcartoonish characters, a profusion of stories,and a surfeit of information about obscurethings, all rendered in glittering prose running into 1,000 pages or more. For Wood, aconservative who believes that a novel’s mandate is to explore individual consciousness,these works were “brilliant cabinets of wonders” that hid a profound lack – “the human”.As he put it, in the hysterical realist novel,“the conventions of realism are not beingabolished but, on the contrary, overworked.One’s objections are made not at the level ofverisimilitude but at the level of morality: thestyle of writing is not to be faulted because itlacks reality the usual charge but becauseit seems evasive of reality, while borrowingfrom realism itself. It is not a cockup but acoverup.”

Wood’s essay was so closely argued thateven Smith, the immediate target of his critique, was forced to acknowledge that hysterical realism was a “painfully accurate term forthe sort of overblown, manic prose to befound in novels like my own White Teeth”.Her defence was that novelists write not whatthey want but what they can.

From the vantage of literary history, therise of hysterical realism is only a recent wrinkle in the vast canvas of realism that beganthat began to dominate prose fi�ction in themid18th century. Realism, simply put, denotes fi�ction that faithfully mirrors reality. Itevolved in opposition to romanticism, whereit was not reality but dramatic or genre conventions that dictated content. There are many types of realism, depending on which aspect of reality gets priority. For instance,social realist novels dwell on the lives of theworking classes, whereas psychological realism focuses on character motivation. Thenthere is magic realism, which blurs the linebetween reality and fantasy.

To the lay reader may not be conversantwith literary theory, realism might seem likethe ‘obvious’ framework for fi�ction writing.After all, the most ‘commonsensical’ criticism of a novel (or even a fi�lm) is that it is ‘unrealistic’ or ‘not believable’. But things arenot so simple. Realism is one response to aproblem of literary aesthetics, which we candefi�ne as follows: if creation is an exercise inautonomy, then what is the nature of the relationship between text and reality?

If the subjectivity of the author is at oneend of the spectrum, denoting absolute autonomy of the text, and objective reality is atthe other end, then the kind of realism onefi�nds in a novel refl�ects the nature of the relationship between the text and the world. So,for instance, the Harry Potter series of novelsis a complete fantasy, whereas Gabriel GarciaMarquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude,which too has fantastical elements, isn’t it ismagic realism. Practitioners of hystericalrealism – while they may not particularly likethe term – might argue that how a human being experiences reality in the age of the internet is best depicted in the ‘hysterical’ mode,for that is the eff�ect of hypermediated realityon human consciousness.

KEYWORD

Hystericalrealism

G. SAMPATH

How an insult turned into aliterary genre

Please send in your answers to the

[email protected]

Answers to the previous day’s daily quiz:

1.Chaebol, 2.Kim DaeJung, 3.Hellbound, 4.Ri

Chunhee, 5.Largest known prime number,

6.Soohorong & Bandabi; Pyeongchang

Early Birds: Mohd Kiron Karim| Ranjan Anil

Kumar| Sakshi Shahi| Nagamani Cherukuri| Manish

Mittal

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THE DAILY QUIZ

A popular quote goes thus “The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love asunconditionally as a dog”. A quiz on ‘man's best friend’.

1 The dog is one of the mostubiquitous domestic animals.

According to experts, all dogs,more than 400 breeds of them,trace their ancestry to whichspecifi�c member of the Canidaefamily?

2 Usually standing no tallerthan 8 inches, which breed is

considered the smallest and isnamed after a place in whichcountry?

3 What is the native name forthe 'Maiden's Beastmaster',

an indigenous sighthound foundin South India (specifi�cally TamilNadu)?

4 What is the adjective fordoglike and what is the

study of matters related todomestic dogs called?

5 Two of the most popularfi�ctional dogs are Snoopy

(Peanuts) and Snowy (Tintin).What breeds are they supposedto be?

6 Which breed of our furryfriend is called the ‘barkless

dog’ because it is known formaking a yodeling noise insteadof barking?

F According to the Guinness Book of WorldRecords, this is the world's oldest known breedof domesticated dog. Identify. * AP

Compiled by: V.V. Ramanan

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